Cytonic Bound (Discontinued)

Chapter 17

A couple hours ago...

Spin POV:

I open the door Kimmalyn pointed to and find a set of stairs. I head up the stairs and come to the roof where I immediately spot M-bot a couple meters away.

I walk up over to M-bot and start inspecting him. "M-bot? Can you run your diagnostic?"

"Sure. But after we need to talk."

"Alright, fine. Just run your diagnostic," I say, rolling my eyes.

"Booster and thrusters: online. Activity ring and altitude controls: online. Communications and stealth systems: online. Lightlance: online. Self-repair: online. Destructors: online. Cytonic hyperdrive: offline," he lists.

"Alright. You're all good. Now... what did we need to talk about?"

"I'm afraid it's not good news Spensa," M-bot starts. "You won't like it and I am positive that your emotional state will deteriorate."

"Just spit it out," I growl.

"Your mom was found dead this morning. I'm sorry for your loss."

"My mom is what?" I ask in shock as I hold back tears.

"Dead, Spensa. Your mom is dead. Like I said before, I am sorry for your loss."

I try to hold back my tears but eventually cave in, bursting into tears and trying to think about something else.

"Do you want to talk about it Spensa?" M-bot asks as I calm down and stop crying.

"How did she die?" I ask instead.

"She was visiting the surface to take a walk in Alta Park. On her walk from the elevator shaft to Alta Park, there was a debris fall. She was crushed by a piece of debris. Salvage found her two days after she died."

I hold in my tears once again, trying to be brave, and sink to the floor.

After a couple of minutes, I compose myself and stand up, checking if my eyes are red in M-bot's shell. When I deem that I don't look like I've been crying, I head over to the stairwell. I walk down the stairs and stop at the bottom. I reach the door and before opening it, I take a deep breath. After a minute, I open the door and walk over to the kitchen. I snatch some rat meat up and start heading towards the living room.

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The present...

Jorgen POV:

Spin finishes telling the story, and I inch closer to her. She just slides closer to me and curls into my side. I grip her hand tightly and ask cautiously, "Are-" I hesitate. "Are you alright? Do you want to talk about it?"

"I do, just not right now. I'm tired-" she yawns, "-and want to sleep right now. Wake me in the morning and we'll talk. Deal?"

"Deal," I say.

Spensa wiggles closer and falls asleep within minutes.

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Spensa POV:

I'm in the elevator heading to Igneous. I heard my mom was going to be visiting Gran-Gran and I wanted to see them both. The elevator finally reaches Igneous and everyone steps out of my way when they see my pilots pin. I had gotten used to the looks you get as a pilot, but will never get used to everyone stepping aside when you are in Igneous. I shake my head and start walking, at a very casual pace, to my old house.

As I get close, I can hear my mom and Gran-Gran talking on the roof so I make my way over to the ladder and climb up.

"There's my Spensa," Gran-Gran says, "Come help me with the bread."

"None of the 'closing your eyes and do it all by touch' training right?" I say jokingly.

"No. Come sit and knead the bread" Gran-Gran says.

As I walk over and sit down beside Gran-Gran, my mom addresses me,"How has the DDF been?"

"It's been good. M-bot has been helping us get through the debris field so that we can attack the krell from space, which you already know," I respond. I look over at her, "Mom? What's happening to you?"

She's dissolving into dust, flaking away particle by particle. I run up to her, tears streaming down my face. All that's left is half of her face.

"Spensa, remember, I will always be with you and will always love you. Be safe," she says before the last piece of her dissolves into the air.

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"Spensa," Jorgen is shaking me, "Spensa, wake up!"

I jerk into a sitting position and Jorgen lurches forward to envelop me in his arms. I shake him off and climb out of bed, heading to the washroom.

I rest my head on the edge of the cold tub and sit there until I hear a light knock and a, "Spin? Are you ok?"

"Fine," I mutter.

"Please, Spin, talk to me," Jorgen pushes.

"Ok. Bring me a face cloth first though and we will talk... about everything," I say.

I hear Jorgen's footsteps heading away from the bathroom. Seconds later, he is coming back. Before he can knock, I open the door and snatch the face cloth from him. Turning on the cold water, I wet the cloth. I turn off the water and I can't help but shudder when the face cloth touches my face. After wiping my face down, I stride into the closet, toss the face cloth into an empty bin, and walk back into the bedroom.

I sit on the floor at the end of the bed and Jorgen takes a seat across from me. I take a deep breath and say, "You know my mom died and-" I hesitate.

"Take however much time you need, Spin. I will always be here for you and if I'm not I will be there as soon as possible. Hyperjumping should make that easy though," Jorgen says, taking the opportunity to speak.

"Thank you, Jorgen. That means a lot. It's probably best if I start by explaining my nightmare," I say quietly, but not weakly. After all, I'm Spensa and I've been crying much to often these past couple hours.

And so, I start explaining my nightmare.

A/N: Well, I finally did it! I finally got the next chapter out! And its even a decent length! 🥳
I didn't exactly meet my two-week schedule but I still made a chapter. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and have enjoyed the whole story so far.