Knowing what lies in front of you

In life there will be times where you are faced with a decision that either way will change

your life as you know it. You could say that it's just a natural order of things as it were. That

life in it of itself is all about the choices that you do or do not make. Most people do not seem to

take this into much, if any consideration any when deciding on something. If someone could

play the ramifications of what their decision was then there would be less chaos in the world.

The situation at hand would not have manifested. But, that's not a natural part of being alive.

The decision that Cassandra had to make was one that she would love to have left up to a roll of

the dice. Only she knew all too well that whichever path she chooses would have ripple effects

that would be felt for a great deal of time. In short, she could not simply go with the flow as it

were. She had to see she was going to know what to do at this fork in the road.

All the while she was in the middle of the galaxy, practically in Xavier's arms. If she was into

romance she would have found this absolutely thrilling. But she was not and found it awkward,

yet interesting. The combination of the two brought her further anxiety over what she was being

beckoned to do. Xavier patiently awaiting her response more than likely didn't help her out as

well.

"I…I… I don't know about all this." Cassandra finally let out.

"For sure." Xavier said with reassurance. "I would have been weirded out if you were just gung

-ho about it. It's a lot to handle."

"Tip of the iceberg my friend."

"What is it that you want out of life Cassandra?"

Like any normal human being, Cassandra had to pause at Xavier's answer. Just what did she

want out of life? With all that has gone on there wasn't any time to dwell upon that. And even

with being in the top university within the dome, she had never actually given that notion any

serious amount of thought. That in it of itself disturbed her.

"I haven't really thought about it."

"And don't you see the problem with that? Going through life aimlessly. Just trying to make it

though the day."

"What's the point of living a life like that?"

"There is none. Your life at that point is futile."

"So, I guess my life is futile."

"Maybe it's been heading in that direction. But the thing is, you can steer away from that."

"By joining your crew?"

"Well…"

"Look…"

"Just think about it. Life in the dome may be futile. However, with us you will be able to rise

against your fate. You will no longer have that feeling of being stuck somewhere that you do not

belong. Or even care to for that matter."

Hollowness in a funny way filled Cassandra's emotional body up. Her intention to not allow

for Xavier's words to not sway her. His essence rang of someone who was a grade A salesman

at best. A grade con man at the worst. Even with this in mind, he was cutting into something

that had been within her for a long time.

The Dome was created as a way for the remaining members of humanity to not perish. Not

only has it made sure of that, but the number of babies being born has increased by three.

Dome had become what Earth wanted to be. A place of endless opportunities for growth. It was

able to come closer to achieving perfection in a year than the Earth during its billions of years of

existence. And the technology was only growing day by day.

All that in mind, Cassandra could see that wanted she was pushing up against was only going

to get worst. That she herself had been caught up in the spinning wheel of everyday life to the

point where she thought that she was caught up in the middle of a worm hole. Stuck inside a

timeless existence. While she had judged everyone around for allowing the new world to turn

their worlds into different directions, the truth had become sharply clear to her. She was asleep

as well.

"Okay, you're saying that I should just leave everything behind?" Cassandra asked, covering her

words with a down trotted essence.

"It'll require taking a risk and several thereafter. But absolutely."

"And if things don't pan out?"

"Then we just move forward."

"Okay. I see. Wow."

Taking a seat, Cassandra was troubled regarding even conceptualize what Xavier was

conveying. Alas, she was lost and far away for her trail of thought. Once she began to relax

she was able to look deeper into his words. Essentially, she was being asked to join him on

something that if it were a failure, that would have to be an acceptable result. Understandably

so, this did not entice her.

"I always thought that what was in the Dome was pathetic." Cassandra started. "And I made fun

of everyone for buying into it. As it turns out, I was right there with them. I was as pathetic as

they were."

"You were just doing what you were conditioned to do."

"Nevertheless, I thought that I could rise above it. It's funny, I've been playing myself the whole

time. I know even less than what I had imagined. It's been more fruitless than I have imagined."

Staring out of the window, a thought of the days of old popped into Cassandra's head. Days of

her childhood past that in that moment felt so genuinely free. That freedom had been stripped

from her and those precious feelings from those days were long gone. As she could see more

than ever, her options were extremely limited. And just waiting for destiny to strike wasn't

going to make it anything better.

"Okay, how does this work?"

Walking into a room with empty white walls and a table, Cassandra and Xavier made their way

through. Looking around the area, the confusion that was within Cassandra just continued to

blossom. She couldn't for the life of her understand why she would be brought into what

was revealing itself to be an interrogation room.

"What are you going to do with me?" Cassandra asked with more than a hint of fear.

"Don't worry." Xavier quickly assured her. "Nothing bad. Just take a seat."

Hesitantly. Cassandra made her way to the chair that was facing the door. As Xavier walked

over to his chair, a crazy amount of thoughts began to race through her mind. "Why the hell did

I say yes?" Cassandra asked herself as she allowed her anxiety to build. Once Xavier took a seat,

she felt her blood pressure spike at least two points. Perhaps even three.

"I still don't get this."

"Yeah, it's just a thing that we do around here. You can say that it's a part of our initiation

process."

"So that Elisa chick came up with this?"

"See, you're already apart of the team!"

"Let's move this along shall we?"

"Okay, just some random questions."

"Random questions?"

"No big deal."

"Go ahead."

"What is your full name?"

"Cassandra Alejandra Rodriguez."

"Where were you born?"

"In Los Angeles California."

"How old are you?"

"18".

"Did you have any pets growing up?"

"A dog named Lucy. She was a Pitbull."

"And what happened to her?"

"She got hit by a pickup truck and died. I had to drag her corpse in the snow and bury her."

"Did you have any brothers and sisters?"

"One brother, one sister."

"Are they alive?"

"Both are dead. My whole family is dead."

"Have you ever been in love?"

"I don't know."

"Why don't you know?"

"I've felt strong emotions for people. I have people in my life that I love. But in love? That's a

whole different thing."

"Have you ever been in a fight?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever killed anyone?"

"No thank you."

"Are you prepared to kill for this cause?"

"I'll just have to see when the time comes."

After leaning back in his chair, Xavier smirked at Cassandra. The more and more that he spoke

to her, his impression of her just became magnified. She appeared to be some aloof chick who

was frail and stuck in her head to him. Yet, she was revealing little by little an inner strength that

explained exactly who she was.

"You find life to be a very precious thing."

"Well yeah. Don't you?"

"I suppose so. It's just that so many human beings turn out to be pieces of shit."

"That's why you got to give them some love."

"How to you love hideous things?"

"By looking at what's beautiful about them and looking away from their ugliness."

Taking a pause, Xavier quickly digested what she had just said to him. His impression just

grew and grew into a brighter ray of sunshine. It was clear to anyone that she was someone

who had experienced a great deal in her life. Still, despite all of that she was someone who

exhibited a tremendous amount of warmth within her soul. To say it was impressive would be

under selling how special she was showcasing herself to be.

"That's just… something else."

"Hey, everybody deserves to be loved right? Why withhold it from those who starve?'

"What a lovely way of thinking."

"So, are we finished yet?"

The port of the ship was fancier than on would imagine that this team would be able to pay for.

Or even construct for that matter. Anyways, this was an eloquent one and Cassandra was

brought by Xavier in front of the rest of the team to officially induct her as a member of the

Chrome Dragons. Jin and Joseph appeared to be quite pleased with her becoming a new addition

to their group. Elisha however, made no attempt to hide her displeasure about her new

teammate.

With all that had happened, it was easy to comprehend how Cassandra felt that none of was

real. How she could go from living her everyday life to now essentially becoming a freedom

fighter. There was no way for her to truly figure out where this cosmic intervention came from.

Viewing it from a logical perspective, the experience that was right in front of her eyes had to

either be a dream or the result of a chemical imbalance.

"When is this going to be finished?" Elisha snapped, growing tired of Cassandra maintaining the

spotlight.

"I would like to welcome out new Chrome Dragon, Cassandra Rodriguez." Xavier started.

Cassandra has shown with great pace that she is more than ready to fight alongside us in the

battle for truth and freedom from the confines of the dome."

"I mean, that was just one time." Elisha injected, quite rudely. "It could have been a fluke."

"There are certainly times when someone just gets lucky." Jin said. "But with Cassandra, it's

more than crystal clear that she possesses abilities that not only none of us have, but also

desperately need."

"I mean, I guess."

Peach pink came around Cassandra's cheeks after Jin's words. Those same comments also

stirred up rumination. What abilities could he be talking about? She never viewed herself as

anyone who was special. She was always under the assumption that she was, essentially just

another basic bitch who was taking up space like the other ones. The notion of having high level

abilities weren't even a thought that has passed through her subconscious.

As the ceremony moved on, suddenly the ship was hit hard as a loud noise vibrate through

the walls, immediately ceasing the festivities. At once the group stared out of the window,

extremely confused, Xavier was the only one ready to take some action. Seemingly in a flash,

Xavier ran out of room without saying a word.

Meanwhile, Cassandra had become as frozen as an icicle in the alps. It was one thing when this

was all in theory. That in it of itself was a bit scary. But now all of this? Things had reached a

whole new level. Theory became reality. And the reality that she was facing was one that was

too hard for her to take in all at once. To say that she was in over her head would be a massive

understatement.

Stuck within the relams of her own anxiety, she watched as the rest of the team rushed out to

join Xavier in fending off whatever it was that was attacking them. Part of her did indeed want

to move and join them. However, a greater part of her was way too scared to do anything like

that. That greater part wanted to hide in a corner and wait for everything to go away.

"Hey bitch!" Elisa cried out. "Get moving!"

A hint of movement did ignite within Cassandra. But alas, it was simply her legs shaking.

Could anyone truly blame her for this reaction? She was nowhere near prepared for this. She

went from having a party to being under attack. The amount of processing that her brain waves

were going through could rival of flux capacitor.

Mustering up some courage, Cassandra was finally able to run out of the room and was able to

catch the rest of the group heading into the main room. Once in there she could see that Xavier

was already geared up, wearing the most serious expression that she had seen him don since

they've met.

"Alright!" Xavier shouted as everyone settled in. "This isn't the best timing. But that's why we

do this right? No matter what we must fight it out. Even if it looks like a lost cause.

"Who do you think is attacking us?" Jin inquired.

"The military must have caught wind of us and sent out their special forces."

Upon hearing special force, Cassandra's skin became a very fainted white. Chris had just

joined the military. She could recall a time where he was going on about being in some special

group as well. While the odds of him being out here were not the highest, the possibility of him

just being around for whenever the call was made to do this was high enough to cause a near peak degree of discomfort with her.

"So, we're just going to go head to head with the military?" Joseph asked with traces of fear in

his voice.

"Don't be so fucking stupid." Elisha snapped. "Xavier wouldn't send us to out deaths like that."

"It's not a matter of sending us to our deaths." Xavier started, getting everyone to intently listen

to him. "It's a matter of protecting everything that we've built. Even if it is for the next group of

Chrome Dragons."

Literally, everyone was speechless. It was known that Xavier had a bit of a hero complex

within him. Nothing too surprising considering the line of work that he was in. What was

surprising was how little it seemed that he cared about his own life. He was willing to throw it

all away for some beliefs that he had been holding onto for God knows how long. In a lot of

ways, it was admirable. But right now? It was downright terrifying.

"Xavier…" Elisha started.

"We all know what we signed up for. We all what's a part of this game. No reason to freak out.

Just execute."

"But…"

Another hit landed, jarring everyone as the ship shook violent for several seconds. While

no one was down for what it looked like Xavier had in mind, the severity of the situation was

completely obvious and leaving the group with no choice but to take the military head on. Or at

least fight back in a way that would get them off their back. Fears would have to be transmuted.

Most were would become suppressed.

"No more stalling!" Xavier commanded. "Suit up and get out!"

Everyone began to get their gear on. Putting on her suit, Cassandra felt a weird sensation. It

was a mixture of anxiety, excitement and the thrill of the unknown. Her blood was pulsing at a

rate that she was not accustomed to. Her muscle felt relaxed and her focus was becoming more

razor sharp on what was ahead of her. Perhaps this was this feeling of feeling passionate that she

had been missing for such a long time.

The group began to move out of the room to exit the ship and fight back. Before Cassandra

could leave Xavier tugged on her arm. She turned around and stared into his eyes. What she

caused an electric current to run through her veins. She could see what he was all about in just

one moment. The seriousness, the hope, yet bliss of being in this battle was abundant within

him.

"Cassandra." Xavier said, slowing down his speech. "I'm sorry that this is how you're getting

started with us. A bit of baptism by fire."

"Sorry? I mean, you had nothing to do with this."

"Nevertheless, it's my responsibility to protect my team. You've never seen battle once and now

you have to go against the military."

"Like you said, baptism by fire."

"I appreciate your optimism."

"I'm trying. I just don't want to die."

"No worries, I'll make sure of it."

Xavier ran out of the room with Cassandra following extremely closely behind. Running

through the halls, random thoughts jet lined their way through Cassandra's mind. Thought of

being shot down immediately as she left. Not being able to do anything when one of the

military's men or women got in her face. Or worse, having to see Chris. In a lot of ways this

was a nightmare. Yet, she couldn't deny that there was something about this that was causing

her a good bit of enjoyment.

Once they reached the access point where the rest of the group was somewhat patiently waiting

on their arrival, a fever pitch hit when everyone looked out and saw a small brigade of military

members, all waiting to pounce on them once they exited the safe confines of their ship. Staring

out far into the distance, Cassandra fixed her eyes and found just who had hoped to avoid.

It was of course Chris.

Even more dapper when in uniform, Chris was there with hill fellow soldiers and looked very

gun ho in their pods. He was a recent addition to the brigade. However, he had shown a tremendous amount of promise in training and with all his tests. His potential was as high if not higher than anyone who had preceded him.

Using his extremely high-tech binoculars complete with special specs that allowed him to

adjust amount of clarity that he could home in on, Chris was able to see that the Chrome Dragons

were ready to fight back against their attack. The attack was one that Chris had concocted after

being able to track down their location.

"They're out." Chris said as three other soldiers gathered around him.

"Then their stuck right?" Ricky Carlson, a fellow solider asked.

"Stop and think for a moment." Chris replied. "These guys found a way to exit the dome and

have a ship without anyone's knowledge for quite a while. Do you really think that they would

just waive the white flag like that? No. They're going to go on the defense."

Sure enough, Chris was accurate with his assertion on what they were up to. Xavier was staring

at them, knowing that the odds were stacked against. Knowing that the only way out was

through. While the rest of the crew was trying their hardest to gather the strength to not turn

back, Xavier only saw one way to go about everything.

"Elisha! Jin!" Xavier called out. I need you two to fly out West. Joseph, go North. Cassandra

and I will go South."

"Why is Cassandra going with you?" Elisha asked, obviously having poor timing.

"What does it matter?" We don't have time for that kind of shit! Let's go!"

With a huff Elisha took off with Jin right behind her. Joseph took off as well. Not noticing her

body, Cassandra began to slightly vibrate like a tuning fork. Xavier put his hand on her

shoulder, catching her off guard, but creating a calming effect. She turned and looked at him.

His reassurance felt warm. It was evident how Xavier could do this. He gave a fuck.

"What now?" Cassandra asked, deep down knowing that she was in good hands.

"We're going to play a game with that guy."

Xavier pointed up and sure enough, it was Chris. When one says that their heart skips a beat,

there is a feeling of emptiness that fills from within for only a few seconds. That is brought on

by the realization of something that was perhaps unwanted. Cassandra's heart skipping a beat

was because she was about to come face to face with Chris. Her helmet would protect her

identity. But all the same, she did not want to have to battle him. He possessed skills that the

mere thought of them made her shutter. In everyday life, this would turn her on. At this

moment? She was terrified.

"We're going to take him on?"

"In a way. If I get in his way, he's going to solely focus on me. What you can do fire off a shot

at him. He'll begin to fight you off. After that point either he'll retreat if he's smart or be taken

down by us and our prisoner."

"You don't think that he's going to try to just kill us then?"

"Of course, he will. That's all a part of the game, right?

And the game had only just begun.