As Rohan made his way home, he used his watch to change his clothes into casual wear. He let out a sigh of relief before walking up the stairs to stand in front of the door. He raised his hand to knock but stopped and dropped it by his side.
He thought back to the vision he saw about his father and took a step back, contemplating whether or not to enter the house and he succumbed to the latter. But just as he turned to leave, the door opened and the younger Rohan rushed out. "You are back. Did you end it? Will I be safe if I enter the Cherry Parlour?"
The dark-haired man smiled bitterly. "I still have to find Miss Havishma, but yes, you should be fine the next time you enter the arcade."
"Hey, boy! Is that him? Let him in already."
Rohan's brows shoot up as he heard the voice of his father. He looked at the door and then back at the boy in front of him. "You told him?"
The boy shook his head no. "Not the exact story. He saw you dropped me off earlier and asked so I told him you were a teacher from school so now he wants to thank you personally."
"I…" the dark-haired man tried to find the right words to use but nothing came to him. His chest also pounded loudly as the boy's next words rolled out of his tongue.
"Come in, it'll just be a quick thanks and you'll be on your way."
Rohan decided to do it. He never got the chance to say goodbye to his father, and part of him convinced him that it was the moment to get one final sitting with his father. The moment he stepped foot inside the house, he felt as though everything around him had glitched, but it all happened quickly and it was gone the moment he realized it.
'What was that?'
"Mr. Klark, welcome, please come on in."
The dark-haired man froze in his tracks as he stared at his father. He looked just like the last time he saw him, but unlike the last time he was inside his father's house, it was neat with no alcohol bottle lying around. The younger Rohan rushed out of the kitchen with a plate filled with chips. He dropped it on the center table and ran back into the kitchen.
Nicolas, the dark-haired man's father extended his hand for a handshake and Rohan shook it. He held his hand for a little too long until his father signaled how awkward it was. "Please come, have a little snack with us before you leave."
"Oh… err, sure."
Rohan sat on a chair across from his father and let out a deep breath.
"I just wanted to thank you, for defending my boy against those bullies," he started. "Believe me, I have sent a complaint to the school and went personally to talk to the management but it was as though the situation worsened every time I tried."
"I…it's nothing dad, I mean, Mr. Coco… I just happened to be passing by and I witnessed the thing happen."
Nicolas waved his future son's comments off. "Please, I wonder what would have happened if you didn't pass by." He laughed. "Would you like a drink? Rohan, get us a drink from the fridge," he ordered without giving the dark-haired man a chance to make a decision.
Nicolas sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "It's been really hard trying to raise him alone. Since his mother passed away, I've tried, I may have not been an attentive father but I always tried to make him happy, but sometimes I just feel as though I'm suffocating him, it is as if…" he let his words trail off as he realized the look on the former Rain X's face.
"Oh, I'm sorry…" he laughed awkwardly. "Spewing all that nonsense to a total stranger."
The dark-haired man forced a laugh out. "It's nothing, I… I'm glad I could help you get your feelings out."
The young Rohan returned with the drink and set it on the table. He turned to walk away but stopped and turned back to his future self as he started speaking.
"I'm sorry Dad. I'm also to blame for the way our relationship turned out to be, really," he started. "I used to think of you as a burden and a plague in my life, but now I see… I finally realize all the hardship I put you through. Though you weren't the best father, I still had no right to act the way I did, because you still are my father, and I'm sorry."
Nicolas was quiet for a while before a smile formed on his lips. "Wow, that… that touched my heart."
The dark-haired man let out a broken chuckle. "Sorry, I just thought I should also share my feelings so it wouldn't be awkward."
"Ah, I see. Is your dad still… alive? Because from your words, it sounded like he isn't."
Rohan held his father's stare before looking down at the drink in front of him. "He uhh… he died a long time ago, and I only recently found out the things he used to do. I was a terrible son."
"Mr. Klark, let me tell you something."
.
.
.
Havishma typed into her watch but she couldn't send any signal to the Department H ship. She immediately realized that she was being locked out by an external source.
After leaving the warehouse, the pale-skinned woman drove her space car to the borderland between Zoda and the Underground to get away from her pursuer, Storm 01.
She pushed open the door and stepped out of the car before trying again but she ended up with the same outcome. "Did, he already find out about it?" Just as she muttered the words to herself, the watch around her wrist began to buzz. Havishma quickly answered the call and broadened the image.
"Hello Havishma," the chief of Department H greeted.
"Augustine…"
"By now I'm sure you've realized the situation you are in," he chipped.
"What are you talking about."
"There's no need to act a fool, I know about your secret mission to kidnap children you intend to use for your Power Syrup experiment."
"It's the only way we'll be able to make it work, I explained it to Damiano and he understood, we can only use the syrup on people with the Power cell, I realized that after my last experiment… and people with the Power cell are extremely rare, one in a million."
The Chief of Department H shrugged. "Then I guess I'll just have to shut down the experiment."
"You can't do that…"
"I can, and I will, matter of fact, I just signed the paper," he said. "Anyway, don't bother returning here, I've sent a message to ARCHER, their agents, and my agents, will be looking for you."
He smiled. "Thank you Havishma, for making this easy for me." The projection disappeared and Havishma was left with her thought.
"Are we really the same person?"
The pale-skinned lady veered around to see three individuals. Two wore the Department H Red agent's uniform and stood behind a woman in a blue oversuit. As she stared at the lady, she felt as though she was looking into a mirror that reflected her older self.
"You are…"
"I doubt it," she chipped. "I doubt we are the same person, at least I would have never ended up in the situation you are in right now."
The younger Havishma smiled and took a step forward. "Did we do it? Did we achieve it?"
"We?" Miss Havishma interrupted. "You just got kicked out of the D.H. You can't do your research anymore, you've been turned into a criminal, and you still think you are me?"
"I made it happen... I created time travel, I created the Z-syrup, not some stupid Power Syrup, and soon enough, I will unite the entire Galaxy."
"But you are me from the future, isn't that right?"
Havishma slipped her hands into her pocket. "How about we test that theory?"
One of the men behind her pulled out a gun. Without hesitation, he aimed it at the younger Havishma and gunned her down before she even had time to say a word.
The pale-skinned woman remained quiet as if she was waiting for something to happen. She then turned and started towards her space car. "Time really is a complicated concept," she added.
She then stopped and turned to face one of the two men she had with her. "I can't allow a Department H without Havishma… so you know what to do."
****
Hours later,
Rohan continued to chat with his father, giggling, both throwing their heads back as they laughed. "It's true, and you know it is Mr. Klark."
The dark-haired man nodded understandably, deciding to just agree to what his father said. "Yes, yes it is…" Before he could add to his words, their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"I'll get it." The young Rohan shot his future self a wink before proceeding to the door.
The dark-haired man smiled and took a sip of the drink in front of him. "It was nice talking to you, but I have to go."
Nicolas sighed. "I guess I can't keep you here forever. It was supposed to be a simple thanks but it turned into a full conversation, sorry for keeping you here for long."
The duo both turned in the direction the young Coco went through, only to find Miss Havishma there with her Red agent holding the young boy captive.
The dark-haired man's eyes widened in shock. He was a lot more than just confused. Seeing Miss Havishma standing in front of him made no sense to him. "How?"
"What's the matter, Rohan? You look like you've seen a ghost."
....
ns 15.158.61.5da2
