Darian knew that now, around 10 p.m., Rusty was about to charge itself. It was giving the last check over the fields before going.Snowy, seeing Darian going out, chose to remain on the bed. He was really tired, so he stayed curled up on it.
"Don't worry, it won't take much, Snowy," said Darian as he slowly patted his head. He walked quietly, trying not to make any sound, he didn't want to wake the others sleeping beneath him.
As Darian got out, he noticed Rusty. His eye emitted enough light for him to be spotted in the dark night. Darian couldn't even speak before Rusty noticed him and spoke first.
"What is it, master?" asked Rusty while giving the last check before going to charge itself. Darian got closer with the feather in his hand. Rusty noticed that the colors had changed.
"You see, Rusty… it's the feather," said Darian after getting right in front of him. Rusty was more focused on the object than on his owner.
"It looks like it changed color…" said Rusty as he started to scan it with his eye, trying to understand something more. "Would you like me to analyze it right now, master?" asked Rusty. Darian nodded and gave him the feather.
Rusty put the feather inside a small opening on his body. After a few seconds, he finished reading its DNA.
"From what I can see, its DNA slightly changed," said Rusty. Darian was shocked to hear that.
"Changed? Its DNA? How is this even possible… it isn't only for the color, right?" asked Darian as Rusty started to project the feather's DNA.
"From what I was able to analyze, the structure of the color remained the same. What changed the most is that many different atoms got electrified, especially these ones." Rusty zoomed in on a specific part. In those, the atoms were still moving, going extremely fast, faster than normal.
"How is this even possible…" thought Darian as he kept inspecting the DNA. Only someone like Rusty would be able to find the best explanation, Darian didn't have the proper instruments for a detailed analysis.
"When did you notice this change, master?" asked Rusty as he kept analyzing the mysterious object. But even an AI as powerful as him was having trouble.
"I dunno… I completely forgot I had it in my backpack, and literally before, it fell from it… I can't tell," answered Darian as he gave up inspecting the DNA, just waiting for Rusty to find something.
"It seems weird. I can't tell when they got electrified… but saying that they got electrified isn't even the right word," said Rusty. Now Darian was even more confused than before.
"What do you even mean, Rusty? Explain yourself better…" said Darian, but Rusty didn't answer.'He's probably analyzing everything…' thought Darian as he chose to wait.
After a few seconds, Rusty came up with something that shocked Darian even more than before."It looks like the atoms are somewhat alive… but they are slowly losing their life. I don't know when, but they will return to normal, and the feather will go back to the color it had before," Rusty explained as Darian tried to follow him.
"The conclusion I've come up with is that someone was able to force them to move, like they had been asleep for so long, and suddenly woke up," said Rusty as he zoomed once again into the DNA sequence. Darian noticed that some of the atoms suddenly returned to their normal path, no longer moving randomly.
"This atom returned to its old position. I don't know how long it will take, but all the others will probably do the same too," finished Rusty as he removed the DNA projection, giving the feather back to Darian, who noticed that as the atoms stopped, some of the purple parts were turning black again.
"Do you think it was totally purple once it got alive? Heck, I don't even know what I'm saying, this confuses me so much," said Darian as he couldn't stop thinking about what he had just learned.
"It's really hard to say… but this is all I was able to come up with," finished Rusty as he went toward the house, it was time to charge itself.
'I wasn't able to tell because I had it in my backpack… but maybe if Rusty had it!' thought Darian as he immediately rushed toward Rusty and stopped him.
"Rusty, can I give this feather to you? Can you always keep it around so you notice once it changes color?" asked Darian.
"I can do that, master," answered Rusty as he grabbed the feather and brought it with him.
"I need to calm down… that was too much to handle," whispered Darian after seeing Rusty enter the house. He didn't follow him, he chose to remain outside to chill a bit.
"Man, that's crazy… when did it even happen…" muttered Darian, but nothing was coming up in his mind. Suddenly, he heard some footsteps, as he turned around, he saw Eros.
"Eros?! What are you doing here?" thought Darian, wondering if he had heard him or not. Darian wanted to keep this a secret, he didn't know who he could trust, so he chose to keep it to himself.
"I couldn't sleep…" said Eros as he looked up at the sky with eyes full of emotion.
"Oh, sorry, did I wake you up?" asked Darian, worried that he might have woken him or that he had overheard him.
"Oh no, don't worry… I've got something on my mind bothering me," said Eros as he looked directly into Darian's eyes. Darian had never seen that type of look, he could barely see in the dark, but he understood those were the eyes of someone burdened by too many problems.
"What is it? Do you wish to talk about it?" asked Darian with a reassuring voice. Eros nodded, and the two of them sat down on the sand.
"I've never told anyone about this… but once I gain control of a person with my power, I can fully hear their thoughts," started Eros, looking at the sky. There wasn't any light at all, this night was more darker than usual.
Darian listened carefully, not understanding what Eros wanted to say.
"I usually take control over krukins who can't speak, so I only hear weird sounds, depending on which krukin I take control of," continued Eros. Darian now understood what he wanted to say, probably something related to when he took control of one of the nine black defenders.
"Once I was able to take control of Liztawul's body, I could hear his thoughts… he was begging to stop. He didn't want to hurt his brothers and sisters," said Eros. Darian was a bit shocked to hear that.
"Wait, they're all brothers and sisters? Even the smallest ones?" said Darian. Eros nodded.
"It seems like it… but what stayed most in my mind was his voice, how sad he was," said Eros. Darian now couldn't follow him anymore. What was he trying to say? he kept thinking.
"What has been bothering me since that talk with him… is whether we're really doing the right thing, Darian," asked Eros. Darian was both shocked and mad to hear that, he could almost scream.
"What? Obviously not! They were the ones who attacked us first! Do you really believe what they say?" yelled Darian, getting mad at Eros's words. He now stood up.
"But what if that isn't really true… what if we really started this war and we're only destroying their population…" answered Eros. Darian couldn't understand what he was thinking.
"From what Liztawul told me, Earth was the planet that crashed against theirs," said Eros. Darian was surprised to hear that.
"US?? EARTH COULDN'T EVEN MOVE BY ITSELF 500 YEARS AGO!" yelled Darian, he couldn't remain calm hearing those words. Eros got up too and started to shout.
"I KNOW, BUT WHAT IF IT'S POSSIBLE? WHAT IF THAT 'SCIENCE' OF YOURS IS JUST A BLUFF AND SOMEONE COULD ACTUALLY MOVE EARTH AND WANTED TO ATTACK THE KRUKINS?!" shouted Eros, tears coming down his cheeks. Darian, noticing them, decided to calm down.
"Let's say what you're saying is true… why would they even want to attack a planet that has nothing to do with Earth? What would they even gain?" asked Darian, now with a calmer voice. Eros, with tears still flowing, answered,
"How am I supposed to know… but I just can't stop thinking that we're doing something bad to these creatures… they're just defending themselves, Darian… do you even get what I mean?" asked Eros as he kept crying, the tears wouldn't stop.
"Darian, Liztawul was scared… he couldn't accept seeing his brothers and sisters dying… and we killed countless of them," said Eros as he tried to calm down, but it didn't work, he was still crying.
Darian remained silent, not knowing what to say. Was Eros really right?
"But now it's total war, Eros… we can't talk about this anymore, especially after 500 years…" said Darian, trying to calm him.
"I know… and I can't even tell the humans that we should surrender, they'd hate me," said Eros, with fewer tears now. From his eyes, it looked like he had come to a decision.
"My power is different from yours… you fought against the krukins, but I make them fight against each other. Now I understand what their screams were, they were surely of pain and sorrow. They were sad that they were killing their brothers and sisters, who trusted them with their lives… getting killed by someone you trust must be traumatic," said Eros as he finished his speech.
"I don't care anymore about the war or fighting the krukins… I don't even want to hear about this stupid power anymore. I will retreat, I've made my decision," said Eros as he looked directly at Darian, who gulped, surprised to see him like that.
Eros was smiling, the smile of someone who had just made the hardest decision of his life, knowing it might not be the right one, but choosing it anyway.
"Once we get back to Skar-Zhul, I will announce my retreat… can you please keep this to yourself, Darian?" asked Eros, extending his hand.
"I will, you can count on me, Eros," answered Darian as he shook it.
"Thank you so much, Darian… without you, I probably wouldn't have been able to make such a hard decision…" said Eros right after their hands touched.
"There's no need to worry, Eros… I'll just miss defending the krukin who attacked his brothers and sisters," he said jokingly. Eros laughed a bit too.
"Guess I'll go in before you, Darian… I'm too tired after all this," said Eros as he leaned toward the house. His eyes had fewer tears now, speaking with Darian had really helped him.
"Don't worry, Eros… have a good night," said Darian.
"You too," answered Eros warmly.
After Eros returned to the house, Darian couldn't stop thinking about what had happened that night. He was so shocked to hear all of it, it felt surreal.
"I can't believe all of this happened… in just one night…" whispered Darian as he lay on the sand, watching the sky.
"At least I can see more stars than 500 years ago…" he thought, then his eyes suddenly closed without him realizing, and he fell asleep on the ground.