Cindy/Raven was positively floored that Dark's only child would help them out of their predicament. She had not only saved her beloved Shadow, but she had slain her embittered elder brother before he could report to Dark. Raven was grateful, but she was also concerned. Raven still hungered for power and she wanted to know what it was that Shade knew about Eugenics Amalgamated or Mentem Micronics. Why were they doomed if they traveled back to the time of human supremacy and altered fate.
"Why did you help us?", asked Raven. "You're a member of the order. You should be hunting us."
Shade looked sad as she spoke, "Yes, I am a member of the Order of the One, and yes I have credited my kills to many different assassins. That was my feeble attempt to distance myself from my deeds. I discovered a long time ago that I couldn't continue as my father, Dark, wanted. The pain that I had caused others in the name of one creatures greed is inexcuseable. One night, I told Dark that I refused to be his assassin anymore. He was furious. He sent me away and then he sent Sthyth to kill me."
"That's right, I had heard that Sthyth had slain you. It made him infamous throughout the order. How did you survive?", asked Raven.
"Sthyth never attacked me. We struck a bargain. In a strange way we respected each other. Sthyth knew he was no match for my powers directly, and I knew that he would never stop stalking me. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life always looking over my shoulder. Sthyth was dedicated if a bit twisted, but that is the nature of serpents. I haven't met one yet who was pleasant.", Shade paused for a moment and then went on "I told him that I wanted out of the business and that if he would leave me alone, I would disappear and he could claim the bounty on my head. He lived up to his end of the bargain, and so did I. Now that he's dead though, I have come back to help fight the Order. They are very close to achieving something of great importance, but I still do not know what."
"How do you know that if Shadow and I go back to the time of humans that we will meet our doom?", asked Raven.
"Time is cyclic Raven", said Shade. "What if you already went back in time, were caught, imprisoned, studied, tested and finally vivisected. What if you and Shadow are the reason that Eugenics Amalgamated started working on genetically altered animals."
"What are you saying? That the world as we know exists because we were successful?", asked Raven.
"No, this world exists as we know it because you failed.", stated Shade.
"So what you're saying is that we have to go back and sacrifice ourselves so that we can exist now to go back and sacrafice ourselves?", said Shadow. "The whole concept is a paradox. It's preposterous!"
"You've already done it. The past is eternal, the present is perpetual, and the future does not exist. There is no need for you to go back and disappear from this perpetuality."
Needless to say, Raven and Shadow were dumbfounded. The whole concept sent their minds realing and yet, strangely, they were both smart enough to follow the concept. Shade presented her argument in such a matter of fact manner, they were both truly impressed and had to believe her. At this point...
Tue Dec 25 01:24:56 2001