CHAPTER 106: AN EMOTIONAL GOODBYE.

Hades flinched.

Sunshine softened her tone and run her hand through his hair. "Sorry. I did not mean to raise my voice at you, but I need you to trust me and support me."

He nodded, forcing himself to swallow the rest of the things he was going to say. "I trust you. I just hate knowing that you are heading out in danger and I am not going to be with you even though I can help."

She slowly arched his head back and looked down into his eyes. "You will be helping by keeping our home protected and alive while I am gone. Nothing will motivate me to finish the mission quicker than knowing that I have you and the children waiting for me. Trust me, having a safe home to go back to in the apocalypse is fuel that keeps everyone going."

He nodded. If that was what she needed, he would do it. It was their home; it would not make sense if they both left. His idea of putting the children in the space and all of them leaving fizzled out.

Hades was worried that they would just burden her along the way. How could she protect herself out there if she was protecting them as well? Wouldn’t they be the new Cassius and Raine couple that had hid behind her all the time before her rebirth?

He became calmer as he saw more reason. "We will talk when you return." He told her.

Robo-dog trotted into the living room, barking twice before turning and leaving. Lisha walked into the living room, looking just as unhappy as Hades had been when he heard the news.

"Not one word." Sunshine told her.

She and Hades separated completely, and he stood up, following her to the bedroom. He watched her pack up her tools and then they went to the information center in the first wall. The team which was going for the mission had gathered.

More sulking soldiers were standing around, mumbling their dissatisfaction because they all wanted to go. Inside a very large dressing room, members of the team were packing up or dressing up.

Weapons were being checked and packed into trunks. The rarely seen professors that worked in the weapons lab were showing the soldiers how the Nullfire guns and Dragonoids worked.

O’Toole was scanning the gear crates which were packed like they were seal teams about to infiltrate an enemy country. "We need three more oxygen masks, anti-corrosion boots, more fresh water, two decontamination pods. Who the hell thought one was enough? We are heading into acid rain and I for one have no plans to lose a lung out there." He barked.

Something exploded and everyone was startled. They turned to the place where the noise came from and saw Professor Miz from the weapons lab standing in shock. His face was dark with stains and his hair looked like it had been electrocuted.

Not a single person asked if he was okay, not even Ariel that was stuffing biscuits and emergency canned foods into a medium sized container. He had a team of four ten- to fifteen-year-olds working him. They were checking off the food supply list.

"Where are the drones?" O’Toole bellowed. "I mean sonar drones which we got from the weapons lab?"

The dressing room was very busy. Some soldiers were having conversations with their loved ones. One woman was clinging on to her husband and crying. The fact that the soldiers were dressed in their uniforms made it almost seem like they were at the airport, preparing to depart for war.

Unlike the mournful loved ones, the soldiers were all smiles and full of energy. Siegfried was even doing the shuffle, dancing like they were heading out to party on a very normal day.

One hour later everything was packed into the vehicles and lined up near the gate in the first wall. The team was standing around, saying their final farewells to their loved ones.

Nimo was hugging her mother who was crying. "We will do our best to find him mom. Even if we don’t find him on this trip, we will continue the search another time."

Sunshine had just finished hugging the children goodbye. Ariel was adult about her departure and Earl had told her he would miss her. Castiel had cried and Rori had to carry him away. She could still hear his cries in the distance.

Hadrian took Earl and Ariel away, tempting them with a promise of ice cream and a video game.

Sunshine fastened the zipper of her thick jacket all the way to her neck and smiled at Hades. "Is it wrong that I am excited to go out there?"

Hades responded by embracing her tightly. "Please be safe out there, the kids will be devastated if anything happens to you." Hades murmured with unease, his grip on her growing stronger.

With a soft and an uncertain laugh, Sunshine naturally relaxed into his hold. "Just the kids? And here I thought that a certain adult man will miss me more. He will never love again if I die out there." She made an expensive joke.

Hades drew back, adjusting her so their eyes could lock. "Sunshine Quinn! I forbid you from ever saying something like that even as a joke!" His voice was very stern, yet his eyes were crossed with a mix of pain and worry.

"I have promised to return, there is no way I would miss Ariel’s eleventh birthday which is in nine days." She spoke lightly yet reassuringly. "I have his gift already picked out. I have to finish Castiel’s robot bunny as well. You planted the idea in his head and now he won’t stop mentioning it to me." She sighed. "I am going to miss the kids.’

"Just the kids?" Came Hades’ question, a little pout forming on his lips.

A chuckle escaped Sunshine. "And you, of course." She stepped forward and smiled at him gently. "I am sorry that I will miss next weeks promised dance. I promise to make it up to you when I return."

Hades touched her cheek and leaned in closer, almost touching his forehead to hers.

The air between them prickled. All the tension, the slow-building weeks of closeness, now packed into this moment before departure. Sunshine raised a gloved hand and gripped his right-side shoulder.

Then, she stood on the tips of her feet and leaned in. A breath, a pause. And then she kissed him, pressing her lips to his forehead in an impulsive moment.

"I will be back." She whispered close to his lips as she lowered herself to stand properly.

Hades nodded and replied hoarsely. "You better be Sunshine."

"Time to move." Major Elio called out.

Five vehicles and two trucks were already waiting, with a team of sixteen people ready to leave. Sunshine turned away from Hades with one last glance and climbed into the third car.

"Do not worry President Quinn, I will watch out for her." Major Elio shouted to Hades.

The gates opened and the vehicles started to move. Sunshine’s eyes stayed on the side-view mirror, watching Hades until she could not see him anymore.

In the driver’s seat, Nimo chuckled. "Well, looks like your flash-slash-contract sort of marriage is evolving. Do you want to talk about it?"

Sunshine vanished into the space.

Nimo sighed.