Convergence: Rise of the Eternal Empire

Ten

['The Boss' led Zinjai to a underground section of his headquarters]

Underneath was a well built man with a strong jawline, five o'clock shadow, a Fluar De Lis tattoo on the right side of his neck. His hair was short, almost gone on his sides while the rest on his head spiking upwards, no gel required. His eyes were small, but burned with a unbreakable will and desire to get what he wishes through any means necessary. But now, those eyes were clouded as fresh hot tears poured from them, a small puddle being made from it.

"Sir, are you alright?", Zinjai asked, the boss giving him a small glance as the tears suddenly stopped. "Huh, oh, y-yeah, just uh, got emotional seeing them", the boss said as he whipped the tears from his face. "Did you know them perhaps?", Zinjai asked, "They were like family to me, they meant everything", the boss said seriously. Zinjai was surprised at the sudden changes with his mood and how passionately his was about it.

"If they are family, why are you crying?", Zinjai asked, "Because... I had thought they died years ago. And for some of them, I saw it happen, that they died right before my eyes", the boss said as he looked at Dex's sleeping form. "I see", Zinjai said, "How are they here?", the boss asked the alien, who turned to the computer. "Let me take a look", Zinjai said as he went to work, the boss looking at his sleeping friends/family.

Something he noticed was off about a few of them, that they looked older than they did when they died. 'Lin was 18 when she died, now, she looks like my age', the boss thought as he stared at her peaceful form. 'She's still beautiful', the boss thought, having remembered his small crush on her when she was alive.

Carlos was older as well, but not by much, yet there was still changes, 'Carlos, I promise I'll make you the Saint you always wanted to be', the boss vowed in his mind. Dex, Troy, and Donnie had slightly changed, but not by much from when he last saw them. 'Donnie does look different though, older, and I wanna guess wiser?', he thought, the mechanic not being very mature as memory serves. Julius was the oldest there, now around King's age, 'I just hope he can forgive after what I did', the boss thought sadly.

*DING!*

The boss looked over to see that Zinjai had found the information they needed to find out. "What's it say?", he asked. "Well, from what I can gather, after you and your friends freeing your friend Mr. Gat, Zinyak made a new plan. After replaying all your experiences on Earth, he had abducted or cloned the people that mattered most to you", Zinjai explained. The boss nodded, "That sounds like something he'd do", he said, "What else does it say?", the boss asked.

"Zinyak had two options on how he'd use your friends here against you; the first was to put them in your own simulation. In there, they'd live out scenarios where they had never met you and would be betrayed by you again and again. The other would be a trade, where you forfeit your life for there's, should you be selfless enough", Zinjai read off. The boss understood, and had he gone through with it, he would defiantly let himself be the sacrifice.

"That would explain why they look older than I remember them to be", the boss said, "How so sir?", Zinjai asked. "Well, see her, the first woman?", the boss asked, pointing at Lin, the alien nodding, "Well, she died when she was 18. Now she looks to be around my age", the boss explained, "And that's the same for everyone?", Zinjai asked. "Yes, like Carlos, he was even younger than her, so I could tell the difference", the boss explained.

"What do you want to do with them?", Zinjai asked, the boss going into deep thought as he went over his game plan. "If we were to remove them from the pods, how long would it be until they'd awake?", the boss asked. Zinjai checked the data, and found the answer, "Over a day or so, they are clones so they are weak and their memories will be what they last remember. Though that's only the case for 5 of them, your friend with a beard was abducted years ago", Zinjai said.

"Alright, I want some Zin over here with some clothes like the ones me and the rest of my crew had. After that, I want them brought to my own room, and that you don't tell my crew any of that, ok?", the boss requested. "Of course sir, right away", Zinjai said as he began leaving, but noticed the boss hadn't moved. "Are you coming sir?" Zinjai asked, "Not now, I wanna be here when they're moved", the boss said, the alien nodding.

Having been left alone in the room, the boss occupied himself by checking his friends pods, as well as the others. No one that really stood out, until he checked a certain pod that held a young, beautiful woman. Looking at the keypad for it, his eyes widened as he stared at the woman's name in shock.

"Jane Austin?",

Zinjai: [In thought] I hope he delivers on his promise.