UNLOCKED

Just then, Lilith disappeared and appeared several meters forward, running as fast as her legs could carry her.

With a wave of her arm, Bertha summoned an army of hundreds of raging monsters charging at Lilith.

The girl jumped up then landed, making a huge golden fireball fly forward and burn the creatures which started screeching in agony as the flames engulfed them.

Lilith was walking past all the monsters when Bertha smirked then touched the ground then sharp rocks started breaking through the ground and charging towards her.

Lilith then mumbled to herself,"Space Time Contihumans don't have sixth senses."

Bertha didn't realize the tree growing behind her then a branch immediately pierced through her belly, then pulled back, immediately after that, Lilith fainted.

Bertha was shivering then began to laugh as the deadly wound instantaneously healed.

Apollo, who had been trying to get the rest of the family to safety, saw everyone else.

' This is my fault... ' He thought.

Just then, Bertha appeared right beside him after everyone else fell unconscious then she said,"Boo."

He yelled, startled then took a step back as she said,"It's your turn."

He then yelled,"I'm not afraid of you!"

She chuckled then said,"There are ways to correct that, but I don't want you to be scared actually...do you want to hear a secret?"

She then vanished into a thick black vapour which encircled him.

He blasted wind at it but it simply spread, then came back together, then her mouth appeared right next to his ear, then whispered,"You're not real."

***

He looked at her lips as the cloud took form again then she said,"You're simply a figment of my imagination, a false fantasy."

He was hyperventilating as he yelled,"You're lying!"

She started floating as if sitting on an elevated invisible chair then asked,"Really? Ask your false father of how you were born one month after we got married, how I was just pregnant for a day then had you, how you celebrated your sixth birthday a day after that, how it is totally impossible for a person to be born with three lights, now, I'm going to send you back to where you came from."

Apollo yelled in pain as his body started to contort in abnormal ways and she cackled.

I regained consciousness then yelled his name and struggled, then frost started forming on the metal, right before water squirted out of the spaces between it and me, then it exploded with massive volumes of water pouring out.

I ran as fast as I could to save him but it was too late, she had already done it.

***

Apollo started crying as he was in the air then Bertha said,"Aww, don't worry honey, this wouldn't last long."

Apollo's eyes started to dimly glow then she twisted her hand and he yelled as a diagonal donut blast erupted from his body.

She rolled her eyes as she could easily deal with water then stretched her arm, but nothing happened.

Before she realized, the water splashed on her with monumental pressure which, on its own, was able to knock her unconscious.

Apollo then fell out of the air and landed in my arms as tears streamed down my cheeks.

Apollo then called in a weak voice,"Dad?"

"No, no, no son, don't talk, you're going to be okay, I'll get you help, just wait."

"No dad please listen, she wasn't able to hurt me, rather, she activated my lights."

I widened my eyes as he continued,"Dad, am I real?"

Tears started welling up in his eyes as I said,"You're real to me."

Then I hugged him.

I felt his brainwaves dim down as he fell unconscious.

I looked at my family then ran to Anneliese as she just woke up.

She was still weak then I saw her wound and immediately started healing her but she held my hand then asked,"Where's my son?"

I then smiled then said,"He's fine, his reality lights have been activated."

She smiled then said,"That's nice..."

Then she slipped out of consciousness again then I kissed her forehead, but realized...her eyes were fully brown.

I continued healing her then went to Lilith, who had started waking up then helped her.

She could sense the pain everyone was in then ran to heal all of them and in seconds, she was done.

She was also able to break down some of the fat and glycogen stores in their bodies to give them the needed energy to wake up.

We took Bertha back to jail after that and Alex was really sorry for that, he hadn't meant for that to happen, so we forgave him.

But there was one problem, Anneliese had lost her light...

We tried everything to help her, we took her to the best doctors, gave her all the healing we could but, it was all futile.

I was searching through some papers on my desk in the rebuilt mansion, I hadn't slept or eaten in days, I had too much work to do, how to help Anneliese.

But then she placed her soft hand on mine then used her other to remove the hair from my face, kissed my forehead then said,"It's enough honey, I'm fine."

"No you're not, look at what that woman did to you."

"She could have done worse, let's just be thankful for what we have left."

"I...I can't, I'm going to get you your light back, at the same, if not a higher level, I promise."

I kissed her, took my coat then left then she sighed.

Apollo was drawing a picture on a tablet then Lilith came to ask what he was doing.

She was impressed as it was the spitting image of Squeakers.

She was shocked then said,"It's amazing!"

"You ain't seen nothing yet."

He then swiped up the screen with the pen then a paper thin copy of the picture was shot out then got depth, to become...another Squeakers.

The original hissed, so as the new one, then they both made their high pitched barking sound, before tilting their heads after they realized they were each others' mirror image, then rubbed their heads and bodies together, like a claiming cat.

The picture on the tablet had disappeared since he had made it real and Lilith was surprised.

***

I sat down then the woman sat opposite to me. She smiled at me but I was still frowning.

I then asked,"What did you do to my wife?"

"I improved her."

I yelled then knocked her down while still holding her collar then some guards came to pull me off her as I struggled.

I wanted to break past them then cause her the same pain she had caused me but Anneliese's words came back to my mind,' It's enough honey, I'm fine. '

I then struggled out of the guards' grip then walked away as she laughed maniacally.

A boy was watching the stars with his astronaut father then asked,"Dad, what's that star's name?"

"Rigel."

"And that one?"

"That's Venus."

"You're just making up names."

"Nuh uh."

"Yeah huh."

"Nuh uh."

He then started to tickle his four year old son who then looked at a really bright star then asked,"What about that one?"

"It's... actually I'm not sure."

He took a look through the telescope but saw it, a bright light, just like the other stars yet was confused, he had never seen that star before, maybe it was just young and far.

I returned home with a storm cloud over my head and a blank expression on my face.

I then walked to Anneliese who was concerned.

A tear fell down my cheek as I said,"I'm sorry, I'm sorry I let this happen."

She also began to cry as she hugged me then said,"It wasn't your fault, it's no one's fault."

"That's not true."

We both looked at Alex whose head was hanging.

He then looked up to show his teary eyes then said,"It was my fault, I freed her."

We both went to give him a reassuring hug and told him it was alright, the circumstances were to blame, not him.

I then saw two Squeakers and was confused as they played together then asked,"Lilith, did you clone Squeakers?"

She smiled then said,"Nope, it was Apollo and his reality lights."

My heart was filled with joy as he already had such mastery after barely a week.

I then went to hug my favourite son and daughter in the world...