Chapter 100: Americas. 1513 CE

[Tenochtitlan]

Pluto was standing calmly, leaning against a temple wall, while an Aztec man was suddenly dragged towards an altar on top of the temple. They tied the man on the altar, ignoring the man's plea and scream.

A priest suddenly walked towards them, a dagger was in his hand. He then whispered something, like a prayer, and stabbed the man to the heart, letting the blood flow to the temple.

The priest then took the man's heart, before putting it in a vase.

Pluto sighed as he saw it, and walked away from it. Soon, he saw Sprite, sitting in front of children, showing off stories that she made.

"You alright?" asked a woman suddenly, it was Thena, walking towards him with a drink in her hand.

Pluto smiled at her warmly. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You don't look fine, something's bothering you." commented Thena, she knew him after thousands of years, she knew if he's upset or not.

"No, it's just unbelievable that our mission is almost coming to an end." answered Pluto. "And there is so much to worry about."

"Well, we could go home after this right?" smiled Thena. "We could spend the rest of our lives in Olympia, maybe have a kid."

"We can't have children Thena." chuckled Pluto.

Thena shrugged. "Maybe when we go home, they already discovered a way to do it." shrugged Thena. "Who knows."

Pluto just clenched his hand, hearing Thena spoke of coming home. "Thena… there's something I need to tell you?"

"Hm? Just say it."

"We… are not-"

"Pluto, Thena, how are you doing?" someone interrupted him, he turned around, and saw Ajak, smiling widely at them.

Pluto frowned, but said. "We're fine." Thena also nodded, agreeing with Pluto.

"Good," said Ajak. "Pluto, I need to talk to you for a second."

Pluto looked at thena, looking for her approval. Thena just squeezed his hand, and smiled, giving her permission.

Pluto then hummed, before following Ajak to their home in the city.

Pluto closed the door as they entered the room, and Ajak told him to sit, but he kept standing.

"What do you want to talk about?" asked Pluto flatly.

"You know what." answered Ajak. "You almost told her."

"I will still tell her after this." continued Pluto.

"Pluto… we can't tell them… they will–"

"What? Rebel?" cut Pluto off. "It is your own fault Ajak, you should've told them earlier, and they won't be attached to humans so easily."

Ajak looked at him for a second, before sighing. "I understand that you feel pressured because of your relationship with Thena, Pluto, but it is Arishem's command, we can't break that."

"Well, tell him I will tell her then." scoffed Pluto. "Ajak, I am tired of it, using the names of Arishem in order to stop us."

"But it is the rules, Pluto…"

"Did you know? Druig had a breakdown last summer. When he saw these people killing their own on those altars for the first time." commented Pluto. "Did you know? Ikaris is going through the same thing as me right now, because you just had to tell him the truth but not to everyone."

"Pluto-"

"Did you know? That Thena had symptoms of Mahd Wy'ry?" said Pluto again, which made Ajak surprised.

"Since when?"

"A couple of years ago." answered Pluto calmly, but a silent rage was brewing. "It wasn't bad now, but I could tell on her sleep, dreaming of the times she had on other planets."

Ajak hummed. "We need to get to the Domo to erase her memory."

Then, silence. Pluto stared at Ajak with his deep violet eyes. "Erase her memory?"

"It's the only way Pluto."

"No, it's not the only way, you and I both know that." continued Pluto. "You just don't want to risk her knowing everything right?"

"Pluto, we can't risk her spreading the real mission objective…"

Pluto then slammed the table in front of Ajak and shouted. "Damnit Ajak! You're supposed to be our mother! Not our warden!"

Ajak's eyes went wide when she heard that. She stared at Pluto speechlessly, and she didn't say anything.

Pluto stared at her. "I will fix her memory after the mission is complete, I will tell her everything, and you can't stop me." he stated. "It's your choice to tell the others, but I WILL tell Thena."

Before Ajak could say anything, Sersi entered the room. She sensed the tense atmosphere around them, and asked. "Did something happen?"

Pluto then answered her, without even looking at her. "Nothing happened, Sersi, nothing happened."

Pluto then walked out the room, leaving Ajak pondering to herself, while Sersi was even more confused.

Ajak looked at the window, she saw children playing with their mothers.

She then asked Sersi. "Sersi, was I a good leader to you?"

Sersi was confused. "Err… Yes… I think you're a good leader…"

It didn't make Ajak happy though, instead, she just clenched her fist, before calming herself down.