01-28-2016, 06:33 AM
For just a brief moment, nothing else mattered.
All of the horrible things they had experienced in their lives seemed to fade away. Atrocities that were burned into the psyche of both of the hardened warriors vanished. The horrors of the temple, the swamp, and the Void were gone. Even the trip to the Oververse, and what had promised to be the ultimate salvation but instead turned into merely another step, was irrelevant. For that moment in time, the only important thing was each other.
But like all moments, it passed as quickly as it arrived.
As they parted their lips and pressed their foreheads together, Abner and Christa found themselves smiling uncontrollably. Abner couldn't believe it. After all that he'd been through in the past months, Omni hadn't been the prize. All this time, it had been Christa. That realization was bittersweet, though, because he knew as well as she that the time had come to part ways, if only for a little bit.
They parted from their embrace, with Christa glancing to Katia to see her somewhat disgusted and disapproving grimace. To be young again.
"I needed that," Abner quietly remarked. After all, this whole journey had been one punch to the gut after another. Even if he was better off because of it, it hadn't been easy.
Christa quietly nodded, still collecting her thoughts. Her eyes drifted from Katia back to Abner as the realization sank in that it was time to go. It was a rare moment where she was unable to simply say what she was thinking. Instead, she bit her lip innocently as she tried to process her thoughts, which ended up being a gesture that Abner found irresistible.
Still, he found his eyes drifting to Katia. She was looking at him curiously, unsure of her sister's relationship with this former stormtrooper. He had read through the lines in what she'd previously said. The girl, for some reason, seemed to remember the events of the swamp and the entire journey that led them here. Whether she had the powers to display the feats she had performed before was unknown to him, for as long as he'd spent on duty in the Nexus, he never understood the intricacies of handling Omnilium. The potential, alone, was terrifying. He'd never felt so powerless in his life, and he'd dealt with plenty of crazy Primes.
"It'll be alright," Christa interrupted his thoughts when she traced his line of sight to the young girl.
Abner looked back to Christa, and genuine worry set into his heart. "You're sure?"
"It has to be," Christa firmly responded. If she wasn't convinced, her tone hid it well.
Not the answer he was looking for, but it was the ultimate truth of the situation. Christa had worked too hard and struggled through too much to accept any other outcome. He had to admit to himself, that was what he fancied about her. The concern was still there, and it sure would have been nice to get some clarification from Omni. But then, the deity was only one hellish adventure away.
Abner paused. The time was here. Seeing her go would be hard, but taking the next steps of his own would be harder. He realized he was delaying it, but he couldn't do that forever. He had run from reality for too long. Christa looked past his shoulder, and Abner did a half turn to see two stormtroopers approaching them. He had seen them scoping them out from a distance upon their arrival in the Nexus, and had little doubt Christa had, too.
They were smart. They analyzed and watched Primes from a distance to assess the nature and powers they held, so they would not put themselves in any unnecessary danger. Hell, he was probably the one that taught them that. He'd barked at more than one overeager stormtrooper about what the hell running towards a six armed flaming demon, or whatever the ridiculous prime of the week was, accomplished for them personally. A smarter approach meant a smarter stormtrooper, which was what he needed at this moment.
The stormtroopers closed the gap, and Abner instinctively shifted between Christa and the white armored men, just as she did the same with Katia. It was more for their benefit and safety than hers. One spoke, and he was cordial and polite, for the two seconds it took for him to recognize their former commanding officer up close.
"Welcome, primes, to the Omni– what the fuck!?"
Their helmets prevented their facial expressions from being seen, but it didn't take much to guess what they might be. Abner recognized the voice he heard, though he couldn't place it to a name, a face, or really anything identifiable. He just knew that he'd met the man at some point.
"Captain...Captain White?" the second stormtrooper asked, as they both stood their dumbfounded at who this new Prime turned out to be. "Is that really you?"
Abner briefly looked to Christa, and then turned to face the two stormtroopers completely. His eyes locked on the one that spoke first, and the former stormtrooper brushed right past any formalities.
"Who's the commanding officer at the Nexus, this shift?" Abner's stern tone was less of a question and more of a demand for information.
"Captain Avin Searle," the stormtrooper immediately replied.
Finally, some good news. Avin was one of Abner's oldest and closest friends in the Omniverse. Right now, it would be really nice to have someone he could trust and depend on walking this gauntlet with him.
"Go get him," Abner ordered, paying no mind to his own lack of authority over these two.
They also disregarded such trivialities, and immediately departed. In theory, it was a chance for him to slip away and bide his time until he was ready to face his past. He couldn't do that to himself, however. He also couldn't bring himself to do it to those stormtroopers. He'd have to face this one head on.
He turned to look back to Christa as an embarrassed smile crept onto his face. It felt a little awkward acting like a stormtrooper in front of the woman who rightfully despised the Empire so much, even if they'd put the past behind them. It wouldn't be long until they came back, though, so it seemed the moment he was silently dreading had arrived.
The time to walk their own ways.
All of the horrible things they had experienced in their lives seemed to fade away. Atrocities that were burned into the psyche of both of the hardened warriors vanished. The horrors of the temple, the swamp, and the Void were gone. Even the trip to the Oververse, and what had promised to be the ultimate salvation but instead turned into merely another step, was irrelevant. For that moment in time, the only important thing was each other.
But like all moments, it passed as quickly as it arrived.
As they parted their lips and pressed their foreheads together, Abner and Christa found themselves smiling uncontrollably. Abner couldn't believe it. After all that he'd been through in the past months, Omni hadn't been the prize. All this time, it had been Christa. That realization was bittersweet, though, because he knew as well as she that the time had come to part ways, if only for a little bit.
They parted from their embrace, with Christa glancing to Katia to see her somewhat disgusted and disapproving grimace. To be young again.
"I needed that," Abner quietly remarked. After all, this whole journey had been one punch to the gut after another. Even if he was better off because of it, it hadn't been easy.
Christa quietly nodded, still collecting her thoughts. Her eyes drifted from Katia back to Abner as the realization sank in that it was time to go. It was a rare moment where she was unable to simply say what she was thinking. Instead, she bit her lip innocently as she tried to process her thoughts, which ended up being a gesture that Abner found irresistible.
Still, he found his eyes drifting to Katia. She was looking at him curiously, unsure of her sister's relationship with this former stormtrooper. He had read through the lines in what she'd previously said. The girl, for some reason, seemed to remember the events of the swamp and the entire journey that led them here. Whether she had the powers to display the feats she had performed before was unknown to him, for as long as he'd spent on duty in the Nexus, he never understood the intricacies of handling Omnilium. The potential, alone, was terrifying. He'd never felt so powerless in his life, and he'd dealt with plenty of crazy Primes.
"It'll be alright," Christa interrupted his thoughts when she traced his line of sight to the young girl.
Abner looked back to Christa, and genuine worry set into his heart. "You're sure?"
"It has to be," Christa firmly responded. If she wasn't convinced, her tone hid it well.
Not the answer he was looking for, but it was the ultimate truth of the situation. Christa had worked too hard and struggled through too much to accept any other outcome. He had to admit to himself, that was what he fancied about her. The concern was still there, and it sure would have been nice to get some clarification from Omni. But then, the deity was only one hellish adventure away.
Abner paused. The time was here. Seeing her go would be hard, but taking the next steps of his own would be harder. He realized he was delaying it, but he couldn't do that forever. He had run from reality for too long. Christa looked past his shoulder, and Abner did a half turn to see two stormtroopers approaching them. He had seen them scoping them out from a distance upon their arrival in the Nexus, and had little doubt Christa had, too.
They were smart. They analyzed and watched Primes from a distance to assess the nature and powers they held, so they would not put themselves in any unnecessary danger. Hell, he was probably the one that taught them that. He'd barked at more than one overeager stormtrooper about what the hell running towards a six armed flaming demon, or whatever the ridiculous prime of the week was, accomplished for them personally. A smarter approach meant a smarter stormtrooper, which was what he needed at this moment.
The stormtroopers closed the gap, and Abner instinctively shifted between Christa and the white armored men, just as she did the same with Katia. It was more for their benefit and safety than hers. One spoke, and he was cordial and polite, for the two seconds it took for him to recognize their former commanding officer up close.
"Welcome, primes, to the Omni– what the fuck!?"
Their helmets prevented their facial expressions from being seen, but it didn't take much to guess what they might be. Abner recognized the voice he heard, though he couldn't place it to a name, a face, or really anything identifiable. He just knew that he'd met the man at some point.
"Captain...Captain White?" the second stormtrooper asked, as they both stood their dumbfounded at who this new Prime turned out to be. "Is that really you?"
Abner briefly looked to Christa, and then turned to face the two stormtroopers completely. His eyes locked on the one that spoke first, and the former stormtrooper brushed right past any formalities.
"Who's the commanding officer at the Nexus, this shift?" Abner's stern tone was less of a question and more of a demand for information.
"Captain Avin Searle," the stormtrooper immediately replied.
Finally, some good news. Avin was one of Abner's oldest and closest friends in the Omniverse. Right now, it would be really nice to have someone he could trust and depend on walking this gauntlet with him.
"Go get him," Abner ordered, paying no mind to his own lack of authority over these two.
They also disregarded such trivialities, and immediately departed. In theory, it was a chance for him to slip away and bide his time until he was ready to face his past. He couldn't do that to himself, however. He also couldn't bring himself to do it to those stormtroopers. He'd have to face this one head on.
He turned to look back to Christa as an embarrassed smile crept onto his face. It felt a little awkward acting like a stormtrooper in front of the woman who rightfully despised the Empire so much, even if they'd put the past behind them. It wouldn't be long until they came back, though, so it seemed the moment he was silently dreading had arrived.
The time to walk their own ways.