—Albedo—. A female voice echoed through the door of the laboratory where I was.
—May I come in?— she asked cautiously.
Yes, I admit it, I haven't been in the best mood lately.
Can I be blamed?
Absolutely not.
This human body was unpleasant, but it was the only thing that kept my body at standard performance to continue my experiments. My intelligence had been reduced; it was expected. A human being could never withstand the intelligence of a Galvan.
I sighed several times while squeezing my head. It's not their fault, I must not take it out on those who are trying to help me.
—Yes, Xylene— I answered. —You may come in— I indicated.
Seconds later, the laboratory door opened and a female but disheveled figure entered the safe area.
A huge glass pane separated us; it was for safety.
—Xylene— I called softly. —How are you? How are the others?— I asked with sadness, an emotion that did not plague the mind of my true form.
I couldn't see her, but I knew she didn't have much time left. The putrid smell assaulted my sense of smell; it was horrible, almost to the point of making me vomit. But I endured it for them.
—…We still have time, not much, but enough to make one last attempt— she spoke between gasps, drooling from the pain and from the loss of some of her teeth. —We've lost Xolek, Mylec, and Yorku— she stopped for a few seconds —There are few of us left.—
—I know, I know… it's my fault. I can't reach Azmuth's mind, I can't replicate what he released into the universe. If he were in my place he could fix the damage he caused.— I set aside the instruments I was using for research; the chemicals with the infection sample remained unreversed. I let myself fall into the chair, worn out. —I'm aging, Xylene. I'm worried about leaving before fixing everything. I'm worried about disappointing all of you.—
I ran my hand through the silver strands of my head. Fragile, weak, they remained in place through a natural fixation that was wearing down rapidly.
—Don't rush, Albedo, all of this is Azmuth's fault— she replied fiercely, the resentment and hatred she felt for him had grown as the chaos spread across the universe. —You're doing what you can; no one will blame you for that. As for us, we've all accepted it on an unconscious level. We will die, yes, but we will do it on our own terms. When the final moment arrives, we will bring down the Plumbers' station. The Universal bridges will be disconnected to buy them more time, but nothing guarantees they will survive their premature end like the rest.—
—Anyway, I didn't come here for that… Albedo, we've found it— she whispered.
—…We found it…— A fleeting emotion enveloped me for a moment, but I masked it immediately. The traitor could be listening. Yes, that's why she whispered. —Good, good… It's not hopeful, but I'm glad we all remain strong in the face of the end.—
Xylene approached the glass and pressed her necrotic hand against it. Several fingers were missing, and the ones that remained were worn by time; the bone was already visible.
Attached to her palm was a piece of paper.
«The Omnitrix fell on Terraquia 1, it is the same planet to which we sent the missing Squadron Z. The five died infected upon entering the planet at an unknown point; their suits were altered and the GPS as well. We never knew what happened to them, but they probably didn't survive long without the protection of their suits. Curious, yes, far too curious. It was a good feint, I admit it, Azmuth. You alerted us to the Omnitrix's landing 140 years after its actual launch, and as if that weren't enough, you left us thinking Terraquia 1 was the wrong location.»
—Goodbye, Albedo— she said farewell. —I will offer your condolences to our companions for the loss of the Plumbers.—
—Thank you very much, Xylene— I thanked her. —And I'm sorry, tell them I'm still trying to find the cure, but that my heart is with them.—
She nodded and left.
The laboratory fell silent once more.
«Right now it's impossible for us to send someone to intercept it. We cannot risk infecting the device or the humans of the planet.» I sighed from exhaustion. «When did everything become so complicated? We're in check, we don't know the traitor at the station, so we cannot make unnecessary moves. And if the news of the Omnitrix spreads through the universe, dozens… no, hundreds of enemies will go to Earth looking for hope for their species, or revenge.»
«For now we can only pray that whoever finds it can survive long enough.»
—SIR, THE EMITTER HAS SENT RECENT INFORMATION. THE OMNITRIX HAS LANDED ON TERRAQUIA 1—
«How much time has passed?»
The pain had numbed my wrist, but fortunately it had stopped.
«No, it's more than that. I feel much better than before.»
I got up from the ground while paying excessive attention to the artifact on my wrist. I dusted off my clothes and began leaving the place. It was four in the morning, far too late even for me.
«Crystal must be worried, I can figure the rest out when I get home. Besides, I don't want someone finding me at the impact site.»
I dragged myself through the forest back to the gas station, the place where I had left my bicycle—nothing extravagant, even a little depressing to the critical eye, but it served its purpose—and it took its proper time, because the path was not short at all. But something I noticed was that my exhaustion had disappeared along with everything that had affected me hours earlier; it was a restorative sleep like no other.
So the journey was much faster than before.
Before I realized it, I was at the gas station again. I took my bicycle and headed toward the city at a moderate but surprising pace.
I watched the road while reviewing the events of the night; my gaze turned toward my wrist for the tenth time in the last thirty minutes.
It was black, metallic. A plate that began on my forearm and extended toward my knuckles surrounding the fingers—similar to cool people's gloves, as Crystal once said when she saw them in the store—it had metallic edges, giving relief to the boundaries of what could possibly be my new skin. On the forearm was the striking part. There was a clumsy, thick device, with several tiny cables tangled in all directions, surrounded by four tube-shaped connectors that wrapped from below and connected in the center, in a circular dial with a dull hourglass symbol in the middle. The dial was surrounded by a metallic contour with four small green circles on the cardinal edges. On the side there was a button of the same color but larger.
«And I was tempted to do it, but I don't plan to act in such a stupid way again for a long time. I'll try to remove it with the tools at the School.»
—I'm home…— I said softly as I stepped inside.
«I hope she's not awake, I have no way to hide what I have on my wrist.»
I brought the bicycle inside the house while trying to sneak in. I moved through the narrow hallway with the worn green and brown wallpaper toward the main room; the room was small, but it seemed tiny because it contained the kitchen, a laundry area, and the dining table. On top of the table there was a small television.
At the back there was a door that allowed access to the outside, a small patio with enough space to hang clothes but nothing more. On the right there were two doors; one led to the small space containing the bunk bed and a wardrobe for both of our clothes; the other led to the bathroom, nothing extravagant but clean and functional. Having a female presence forces you to keep everything spotless.
She was in the living room, her head resting on the table beside her arms.
Her back rose slightly each time she breathed.
She had dark hair with green eyes, with an adorable gaze. She didn't resemble the other girls her age, because she understood the difficulties they themselves had; even so, she always offered more than she had to help those in need.
«I'm proud of her.»
I picked her up in my arms and carried her to the bed, there I covered her with a blanket.
«She must have been very worried, she didn't even have her video game in her hands. Tomorrow I'll prepare a good breakfast for her as compensation.»
I brushed my teeth and locked the doors and windows, then I turned off the lights and headed toward the bedroom.
Soon I was in my bed with both arms behind my head, thinking.
The exhaustion had disappeared, but even so I allowed myself to sleep a couple more hours.
And my body had no problem with it; for the first time it obeyed my will.
«Right, Shannon… It doesn't matter, tomorrow I'll check her message. For today I've had enough.»