Unexpected Guests

"Gabriel... Gabriel Santiago," he replied, "and my companion is Josephine Lightbourne."

Katye and I shared a look of surprise because we recognized the names even if their appearances did not match the show. Gabriel and Josephine were two of the thirteen Primes who ruled over Sanctum. Since the pair had been brought together and seemed to still be close, it was likely before Gabriel had had his moral awakening and still apart of the 'royals' leading the Sanctumites.

"Well... this is going to take a while to explain. You've been brought to Earth, but not by us, intentionally, at least. You should recognize the artifact next to you since there is another one on Alpha, if I am not mistaken. We had just placed it within this cavern, and it erupted with green flame-like energy, bringing you two here, I imagine," Katye replied.

"We were engulfed by something similar then..." Josephine started.

"Wait, how did you know we were on Alpha?" Gabriel asked, cutting her off.

"Because that is where the Eligius III was sent to colonize with a thousand embryos. Am I wrong?"

"We believed that Earth had been destroyed," he said.

"It was, twice, in fact... How about we move this conversation to a more comfortable environment than the cave? This isn't going to be a short conversation, and we need to report your 'arrival' to our leaders," Katye suggested.

"Sure," he said, a little hesitantly.

"Follow us," Katye replied.

Katye and I walked out of the cavern and made our way to the kitchen-living room with the pair following a few feet behind us. They looked around with surprise and interest, but it was likely due to our unique construction method for the building and the main furniture.

"Becca, why don't you go up and see if you can alert the Council on the computer?" Katye asked.

"Why am I the one that has to always tell them when something has gone wrong, or is about to?" I complained.

"Do you want to stay and answer their questions?"

"Touche, I'll go," I replied and headed for the stairs.

I made my way up to the second floor and walked over to the desk where Raven's laptop was laying. I opened and then booted it up before I navigated to the messaging program. Clicking on all of the Council Member's names, I sent out a video call and waited to see who was near their computer. Thankfully, everyone was still working on Luna's orders, so they all picked up after a minute.

"What's important enough that you didn't just 'jump' down here?" Kane asked with a sigh.

"Well... when Katye and I placed the Anomaly Stone into its original home, something unexpected happened, and we have two visitors that have joined us. They aren't Disciples, and probably don't even know about them, but they are people from our 'past'," I explained.

Luna sighed, "Why do you never have good news for us?"

"I do have a little; we were able to sense when the stone brought them here, so we should know if any Disciples cross over," I replied.

"That's something, I guess. Kane and Indra, could you go up and meet these people? I'm sure that they are going to have a lot of questions and we'll need to figure out what to do with them, unless you neglected to mention that you know how to send them home," Luna instructed.

"I didn't, but I would like to ask that Diyoza also joins them to come up here. They are also from the Old World, so she would be able to help validate some of our claims," I requested.

"That's fine," Luna agreed.

"Thanks. Katye is talking with them now and explaining the situation, so just come on in when you get here."

"We'll see you in a bit," Kane said.

I disconnected from the call and closed down the laptop. Running my fingers through my short hair, I sighed and headed back downstairs. This was certainly a curveball that we did not expect, so I could only guess why they had been pulled into this. Since the Disciples had already appeared, it seemed like we would be able to skip Sanctum altogether, especially because the city-state would be in its infancy similar to Eden, but as Katye had said, Fate was not always so kind and conforming.

"... similar problems trying to tame the wildlife, once we figured out what we could eat, of course," Gabriel chuckled.

Clarke had once accused me of 'knowing' people and how they react, but what Katye could do was far scarier, if you could notice it. She had a natural charm that drew people in and made them let their guard down. The sheer fact that it was never in a malicious way is what gave it all its strength. What she did was listen to your side then explain her side in such a way that, not only did you understand it, but you could relate it to your own life experiences, making you far more open to her. It seemed that she had already worked her magic on the pair.

"Becca, good timing," Katye said, turning to look at me while standing up. "Entertain our guests; I want to run up and grab my notebook."

"What? Do you want me to pour drinks for them, or sing?" I mocked.

"That would be better than your stand-up comedy anyways," she retorted.

I chuckled, "Go."

Katye kissed my cheek as she passed and headed up the stairs while my eyes followed her.

"Is there anything that I can offer you? We haven't quite recovered to the luxury of the Old World, but I've done my best to emulate what I could... fruit juices, lemonades, moonshine, wine. We also have food, but I'm a terrible cook, so you should just wait for Katye to come back if you are hungry," I said after I sensed Katye slipping into the Shadow Realm.

"I'll take a glass of lemonade," Gabriel replied.

"What kind of wines do you have?" Josephine asked.

"Red and white for the normal grape version, but I also have an array of berry wines if you have a preference," I replied as I walked into the kitchen area.

"Blackberry?" she asked hopefully.

"Alrighty," I replied, opening the cabinet under the counter.

Thankfully, the counter blocked the view since I had to use my mana to open the cabinet, as we kept it sealed to ensure that Madi never got into the alcohol. I pulled out a bottle of blackberry wine and one of the cherry Spirit Wine and set them on the counter. The jug of lemonade was in the main fridge, so I pulled it out then grabbed a few glasses from the cabinet next to it, including some for the three that would be arriving soon. I carried everything over on a stone tray as well as a bowl of berries then poured the drinks and sat down.

"Is there a reason why you use stone for so many of your products?" Gabriel asked.

"Nearly ten years ago, the planet suffered its second nuclear apocalypse. This valley only managed to survive due to whatever powers the Anomaly Stone has, we believe, but the rest of the planet is barren. Stone is one of the few resources that we have an abundance of," I replied with half-truths since I was not sure if Katye had revealed anything about our powers.

"Katye did mention that," he said with a nod. "I asked because the amount of detail to this room is amazing. It's incredible that you were able to create it in such a short time."

I chuckled, "Eden holds its fair share of surprises, I assure you."

"I'm sure," he agreed as Katye returned and walked over to the table.

"Here is a set of my notes on the Anomaly Stone so that you can compare them with your own," Katye said, holding out her notebook.

"Thanks," Gabriel said as he took the journal and then slid it into the bag hanging off his shoulder.

"So, who did Luna send?" Katye asked as she sat down next to me.

"Kane, Indra, and Diyoza, at my request since she's also from the Old World," I replied.

Katye gave a wry chuckle, shaking her head, and remarked, "You know that we want them to have a good first impression of us."

"What? Diyoza's a great..." I started then I remembered her status in the Old World. "Alright, I see your point, but they're already on their way. I'm sorry; I don't really see her that way anymore."

Seeing the confused looks on Gabriel's and Josephine's, Katye sighed and explained, "Colonel Charmaine Diyoza, ex-Navy Seal and war criminal from your original timeframe. The prisoners of the Eligius IV returned a couple of years ago with Diyoza as their leader. We made a deal, forgave their crimes, and allowed them to join us. Despite their past, they have all become members of Wonkru and have been contributing their fair share to raising this city."

Both of them looked surprised but considering the show had portrayed her amongst the like of Hitler and Hussein, it was understandable. I had known her for years, at this point, so I had forgotten about her past. She was just the strong, confident woman that could somehow keep all of the prisoners in line and happy with their new lives here, and the mother of my adorable goddaughter.

"She's a mass murderer and a terrorist," Gabriel said.

"Was and she was also a decorated hero before she found out just how corrupt the Old World government was when it abandoned her, her troops, and the civilians that they were escorting. Even if her methods were misguided, she was fighting for more than just herself and not..."

"That's enough, Becca. They'll be able to form their own opinions of her once they meet her. I know that you two are close, but starting a fight isn't going to help," Katye said, cutting me off before I could expose their usage of the Mind-Drive to live 'forever'.

I gave a huff and chugged my drink. Thankfully, before things could get anymore awkward and uncomfortable, we heard the rover pull up. It only took a few more minutes for the three of them to walk in, so we all stood up and Katye started the introductions.

"Thanks for coming so quickly. This is Gabriel Santiago and Josephine Lightbourne, members of the Eligius III original crew. These are three of our Council Members, Indra, Marcus Kane, and Charmaine Diyoza," Katye said, motioning to each person as she named them.

There was a round of handshakes, though Indra elected to not join it since she noticed my suspicion towards the pair. She was not rude, but using her Grounder charm, neither Gabriel nor Josephine approached her while she gave a familiar scowl. I needed to learn that trick from her, to keep annoying people away, in my future.

"So, what did you two do to bring these two here?" Kane asked as we all took our seats around the table.

"Nothing," I replied, "I was carrying it back to the cave and it reacted to the mana in the cavern. Katye and I were barely able to retreat in time to avoid the portal opening, or it might have been an exchange instead of just bringing those two here."

"You've been able to detect some kind of energy from the artifact? How?" Gabriel asked.

Diyoza chuckled and took a sip of the wine that I had poured for her already. Indra mirrored her actions, but without the chuckle though there was a smirk, if you knew her well enough to see it. Kane also looked away, making it clear that he was not going to explain. Katye sighed and gave me an annoyed look to which I simply shrugged.

"Unless you manage to figure out how to ship them back in the next day or two, they're going to learn about us. The entire city knows about our powers," I retorted.

"Fine, you have a point," Katye agreed begrudgingly. "Rebecca and I are able use abilities that we have simply deemed as magic. This structure, for example, was created by Rebecca's ability to manipulate the ground, creating both stone and metal at her will. The same energy that fuels our abilities is what we can sense within the Anomaly Stone."

"You are trying to tell us that you..." Josephine started.

I placed a hand on the table as soon as she opened her mouth then used my mana to change it. A lump of stone seemed to grow in front of her and sprouted a few fingers, taking the shape of a hand in less than a second. Her words died off as the stone hand waved at her.

"How is that possible?" Gabriel asked with disbelief.

"We don't really know ourselves and have been muddling through our abilities, trying to figure out what we can do with all of them, but they are somehow related to the Anomaly Stone since I've been able to create spells using the cave drawings as a guide," Katye explained with half-truths.

"Incredible... I've been studying the artifact for years and knew it was tied to the temporal anomaly, but you can harness the same kind of power? Was it something you did with the artifact which caused you to gain these abilities?" Gabriel asked.

"No, it has been buried under the Second Dawn Bunker until recently which was our first interaction with it, but we've had our powers for longer. You called it a temporal anomaly, which means you know of its time-bending properties, so you shouldn't be too surprised that what came along with our powers was a vision of the future. We've changed things quite a bit from that timeline, so we had hoped that certain events could be avoided, but more and more we're realizing that not everything can be," Katye sighed.

"So that's how you knew about Alpha and us, you've seen it," he deduced.

Katye nodded, "I did, but it was over a hundred years from now, in your third host, Gabriel, and fourth for Josephine."

"Host?" Diyoza asked.

"Using a prototype version of the Flame, they figured out a way to insert their minds into the bodies of Natblidas," I explained. "The main reason why Katye and I were so desperate to avoid Sanctum was because I refused to work with the 'Primes'. Extending your lifespan by harvesting another's crosses my bottom-line."

"It's not like we are heartless people, but after the first Red Sun, there were too few of us left to survive. The members of our team were handpicked to build a colony, but it was just Russel and me. He's an astronomer and I'm a geneticist; how would we have been able to do it all alone?" Gabriel defended.

"But when is enough, enough? Third and fourth hosts... You may have grown a conscience by the end, but the spoiled princess next to you, and her deluded father, had completely lost the value of a person. They were either servants or breeders for new bodies while they lorded over the population like kings and gods," I retorted.

"And you're so perfect? Let's see how high and mighty you are in ten or twenty years," Josephine spat. "Do you even know what it's like to die, or watch someone you love die?"

"Yes, I do, to both, in fact," I replied, "but, unlike you, I didn't turn into a piece of shit. I worked harder, gave everything to my people, and saved thousands of lives. I've used my second chance to make myself a better person."

"That's enough, Rebecca. We 'did' agree that we would only judge people by the actions that they have taken in this life. Josephine had no hand in her own resurrection and even you would be tempted to use the method if it was Raven, Echo, or me who had died. Eden is a city of second chances and, like it or not, they have made it here, so they get to restart from the moment that they stepped foot here," Katye chided.

"Fine. Since I'm not needed in this conversation anyways, I have work that I can do in the garden," I said, standing up.

It was clear that my temper was acting up again, even if it was pointed in the right direction. The best thing that I could do was remove myself from the situation. I had enough enemies with the Disciples trying to kill me, so I did not need to add Sanctum's Primes and followers.

A/N: I would like to ask for those of you who are enjoying the story to leave a review on the story if you haven't already since we are getting near the end goal of 100 chapters!

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