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She'll be no better than Nyx or Eris if she does this! To think I thought she was different! How could she? She told me that she doesn't want harm innocent humans and that we were not supposed to hurt anyone.

I stare at Persephone's image for a moment. Wait, that's it! She doesn't want to be like Eris, does she? I can use that to implore her to stop.

"You'll be no better than Eris if you do this," I cry.

"How dare you compare me to Eris!" she snaps, her voice full of anger.

In the corner of my eye, I see Althea clench her gun tightly. Despite my outburst, she remains quiet. Her eyes narrow – though she doesn't turn to look at me. I can guess she must be getting at annoyed at me for arguing with Persephone, but I can't let her distract me.

"You said you wanted to be different," I say, almost pleading.

"I am different! I didn't threaten you like Eris or Nyx did, did I?"

"That's true, but you have to listen to me! Those people we killed defied orders. They insulted you, sure, but Dr. Dickinson put things right! He even gave us some food as an apology!"

Persephone slams both of her hands onto the surface in front of her, her arms extending in front of her – squeezing her breasts together. Her neck comes into view, but she manages to keep all of her face of screen. Below, her breasts compact from the pressure from her squeezing arms.

"Why are you defending the people who tried to kill you?"

Despite her body language suggesting otherwise, the tone of her question is quizzical – and gone is the anger from before. Why is sparing the lives of sick and injured people so confusing to her? She won't even be able to eat these humans, let alone enslave them.

"There are entirely innocent people on there..."

"Probably, but..."

She trails off. She relaxes her arms a little, allowing her breasts to move more freely again. She then lifts one arm up, apparently to her face. In the pause, I decide to speak up again.

"You told me you didn't want to kill innocent people," I prompt.

"Still..."

"There are sick and injured people in a hospital, you know that."

"Hercules..."

"Yes."

"Hercules, do you think that I'm a monster?"

Oh crap! I was hoping I'd never be asked that question. I can't tell her what I really think about the Angels. Sure, she's a bit different, but she was just threatening to kill hundreds, if not thousands, of humans in a single blow. I take a deep breath.

"Not if you spare the hospital," I offer, in a calm a voice as I can given then tension.

Persephone sighs. It seems I've finally gotten through to her. For a moment I thought I was going to be Althea and Persephone's lunch.

"Alright, Hercules, I won't shoot the stupid humans."

"Thank you Persephone."

Persephone closes the line. In the distance, I see her flagship beginning to turn back around. Glad we could end the conversation on a positive note. Still, I wouldn't call the doctor stupid.

Unfortunately, I sense a new problem. Althea is brooding. She turns to look at me with a fierce expression, and the harshness of her words burn through me.

"Why are you lying to my mummy?" Althea growls.

"Al..." Is all I manage to say before she cuts me off.

"Those filthy humans tried to kill us and insulted my mummy. They deserve to die!"

"I know of plenty more deserving humans. Your mummy needs to save her ammunition for the real fight."

Her expression suddenly switches to one of confusion. She stares at me blankly. Wasn't she mad at me just a second a go?

"What do you mean?" she asks me, the anger no longer present in her voice.

Was she even listening when I was talking to Dr. Dickinson earlier? Or did she simply hear what she wanted to hear? We will need to save our energies for the final fight against the arms company and Eris.

"Well you heard what the doctor said, didn't you?" I reply, "He said is being helped Eris by humans and we need to fight those humans."

"Mummy was not created by stupid humans!"

"That's not what I said..."

"Isn't it obvious what the doctor thinks? Who does this Wayne guy think he is? He thinks he can just turn up one day and boss my mummy around! We could have been having a nice relaxing time in my mummy's swimming pool. But instead we have to risk our lives for this stupid human. Why does my mummy have to listen to stupid humans all of the time?"

"I'm not fond of Wayne either. You know I really did not want to do this either. But I did not want to see your mummy angry, so I did as she said."

Althea looks towards the floor, almost remorseful – though I can't quite tell. Gosh, she is a woman of such mood swings. To think I thought Maxine was bad.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"I made a deal with your mummy," I continue, "And I aim to keep my end of the deal."

"That's why we like you Hercules. You're always so obedient. You're not like the other humans. You make my mummy happy. It's not often I get to see mummy happy."

"Thank you, I guess."

Althea turns to smile at me. I smile back, trying hard to hide my uneasy feelings. I'm not sure I feel safe with her having a gun.

Fortunately, we've practically arrived. Our ship locks on to its hanger, and I begin the landing procedures. I turn to Althea, who looks at me with another wide smile and I nod. She knows exactly what to do, and Persephone promptly appears on the screen.

"We've arrived," she says, excitedly.

"Excellent," Persephone responds, in a voice that manages to mask any hint of her previous frustration, "I expect to see you two up here straight away."

Before I have a chance to say anything, Persephone closes the line. In a way it's a good thing though, of course, because I'd hate to have her breasts distract me during the landing process. I don't think any of the Angels have ever explained why they wear barely any clothing. But psychological warfare is implied, and sure that throughout history lust has caused people to make silly decisions.

As we close in on the hanger, I spot someone waiting for us through the transparent material that sits between the hanger and the hallway. It's Lyra, I think. Of course, it's hard to tell from this distance.

Just as we're about to enter the hanger, I tell the ship to make a one-hundred and eighty degrees turn – so that the supplies will be easier to unload. As I turn on the reverse thrust, it occurs to me: Does Persephone know anything about her own origins? I think she may have said to me once before that Wayne claimed to have created her, but I can't remember.

And how have they managed to keep the Angels under relative control for so long? They are all such powerful beings, and their flagships are equally as grandiose. How is it that Eris has not turned against her human master yet? Or has she? I find it hard to believe that the mining conglomerate has total control over something as powerful as her and her band of Angels. After all, Eris doesn't have complete control over the Angels herself, As evidenced by the fact that Persephone and Nyx are willing to defy her.

And something else I need to ask Wayne: How many Angels were built? Let's see: Eris, Nyx, Persephone, Nike. That makes four, but are there more? To spend this kind of money building and maintaining these huge flagships and women must mean there is something incredibly valuable on that planet. But what could it be?

Realizing that the ship has now landed safely, Althea doesn't wait for my instruction, and immediately goes to open up the airlock behind us. I, perhaps feebly, raise a hand in protest, but she ignores me. I take a moment to check everything is in order, turn off the engines, and quickly join her.

When I reach the cargohold, Althea has already begun to unload. The back doors open and we are greeted by Lyra, who is standing by the door to the hanger. Althea takes a hand off of the blood analysis machine to wave at her. She waves back, and I raise my hand in acknowledgement.

"Persephone was so worried," Lyra says as she walks up to the cargohold, "I had to calm her down."

"Then why did she send us?" I ask as I grab the trolley with the food.

"That's what I said to her, but she proceeded to inform me of how much of a good naval pilot you are and how athletic Althea is. I understand that you've been telling her lots of stories of your heroism these past few days."

"I know; Persephone has really taken an interest in me. Do you mind if I ask you a question or two about her?"

"Sure."

I leave the trolley by the door and follow Lyra back into the cargohold. As we walk towards the cart with the medical supplies, Althea continues off down the hallway, into the distance, to the lifts presumably. Lyra looks at me with a worried expression, as if she knows I'm about to ask a troublesome question.

"Has Persephone ever told you where she comes from?" I ask.

The words seem to hit her like a bullet (would). Her face turns white. How could such a simple question do this to her?

"Whatever you do, don't ask her that," she responds, gasping.

Placing one hand on the cart with the medical supplies, I look at her with a concerned expression. Why this kind of adverse reaction to such a simple question? Is that another thing Persephone wants to hide from us humans?

"What's the matter?"

"Believe me, I've tried to find out, but it just makes her angry...I...I don't think she knows."

That certainly is odd. How can somebody not know where they were born? Perhaps Persephone's existence is far sadder than I first thought. I can 't imagine being created solely for the purpose of warfare. Even though Mars is literally the planet of war, involvement in the military has always been a voluntary thing.

Should I have any sympathy for the Angels? Tough question. Maybe for Persephone, since she's been a good host so far, but not for the others. Persephone can probably be salvaged from her cursed existence, but I can't imagine Eris or Nyx ever wanting a peaceful coexistence with humanity.

"The reason I ask, is because the doctor in charge of the medical outpost Persephone sent us to, said humans designed her."

Lyra chokes at the revelation. It really shouldn't be that far-fetched for her though. She knows Persephone isn't supposed to harm mining vessels and miners, and she must have wondered how Persephone's ship is kept in such good condition. Not to mention where all of the fine food comes from.

"How can you be sure?" she says, her voice reinforcing her shocked state,"Why would you believe the words of a stranger? A stranger who just tried to have you killed, I might add."

"He is the brother of Wayne, who is the reason Persephone sent us."

"How do you know he's not lying?"

"He had photographs of himself and Wayne together. Wayne, I'm sorry to say, is apparently one of the people who helped to create Persephone."

Lyra looks at me, dumbfounded. She stares silently at me for a moment and then places both of her hands on her forehead. I wait in silence whilst she musters her next words.

"It's true, isn't it?" she says, "She was created by the miners."

"Exactly," I reply as we guide the cart out of the cargohold, "But I've yet to find out why."

When we exit the hanger, we see Althea patiently waiting for us by the trolley with the food on it. When she sees us, she gives us a look that says: "What took you so long?" She doesn't say anything though, and begins to push the food in the direction of the lifts.

Throughout the journey up to Persephone's bedroom, the mood remains sombre. Nobody says a word. The silence is only broken by Persephone's gleeful mood upon our return. As usual, she is waiting patiently for us cross-legged beside the lift lobby.

"What took you so long?" she asks, "I saw the ship come back ages ago."

I gaze up at her godly body, still clad in the same undergarments as when I last set eyes upon her. Should I tell her what we were discussing? I don't like to keep secrets from people, but then again Lyra did warn me about...I'll just reassure her and hope that she doesn't ask too many questions.

"You know we had loads to unload," I say, my eyes staring up at her stomach, "The doctor gave us some nice human food to try. Some of it is still hot. Would you like to try some?"

"How do you know it's not poisonous?" Althea asks, her voice full of concern.

Good point. But Dr. Dickinson appeared genuinely apologetic. Surely he wouldn't, would he? After all, he also benefits if Eris dies.

"I'm sure the food is all fine," I reassure the girls, "Besides, Lyra is a doctor, so she'll know what to do."

"I guess so," Althea replies, her voice descending into a whisper.

"Tell me about this 'human food' Hercules," Persephone says as she sets one of her hands out in front of me to climb onto, "It looks yummy."

As I climb onto her waiting hand, her other hand wraps around the food trolley. Behind me, Althea and Lyra stare in silence as they wait for their next instruction. It's only after Persephone has me positioned next to her breast that she talks, and I hear the vibrations of her voice emanating from deep within her body.

"You two are dismissed," she says, "You're free to do what you like for now, but I expect you both back up here in time for my dinner. You know the routine."

"But, mummy, I want to play with Hercules too," I hear Althea protest.

"Mummy needs to have a serious talk with Hercules. Why don't you go and play with mumy's other humans?"

"Fine. I'll go play with your other humans."

"Good girl."

Persephone swiftly gets up, causing her breasts to wobble a little. Fortunately, I'm held tightly against her body, so I won't fall. I'm then placed onto her bed, next to the food trolley. Persephone then stretches out onto her bed beside me.

She lays on her side, forming an arc around my body and the food, placing her hands slightly below my position. I gaze up at her head, clad in the mysterious light bending material and sigh. What is it that she wants to talk about?

"I've already put in the coordinates to go back to Nyx," she tells me, "My flagship is on autopilot now. So you can stop worrying about those stupid humans."

"I wasn't worried about that," I say, "I trust you."

"Then what are you worried about? I want to know."

Well, here goes nothing. I'll have to tell her about the things Dr. Dickinson told me sooner or later, so I might as well get them out now. Where do I start though? Should I start with the part about Wayne and the doctor she talked to being brothers, or should I be blunt and start by telling her she was created by humans?

"It turns out Wayne's brother was the man you talked to..." I manage to say before she cuts me off.

"Is that why you didn't want me disciplining the humans?" she interrupts.

She talks softly, as if she is talking to a pet – well sort of – yet I know that she values my views. Perhaps there is some internal conflict going on? All this time she's considered herself better than all humans, yet she knows that if she wants real friends she wont find them amongst the Angels.

"I actually don't like Wayne, or his brother. I think Wayne, in particular, evil for what he did, but I guess somebody else would have done what he did if it wasn't him. As soon as we get back I want to talk to him. He has lots of questions he needs to answer."

"What did he do? I thought you liked humans?"

"I don't like all humans. Especially not after what the doctor told me. Some of the things he told me were just too crazy."

"Really? What did you two talk about?"

Well here goes. I'll have to tell her about what he told me about Wayne. I'm not sure how she'll react. Hopefully I'll still be alive by the end of this.

"As I said, the doctor in charge is the brother of Wayne and he told me some interesting things about him. He said he knows who created you..."

"Hercules, I'm an Angel," Persephone interrupts sternly, "You know that. Do you really believe that I was created by some stupid humans?"

I shift my gaze to the mattress below me. Of course I believe that. But do I tell her what I really think?

No, it's too risky. What if she gets angry and crushes me? I know she said she didn't want to harm me, but... suddenly Persephone snaps me out of my thoughts.

"You do think that, don't you, Hercules?" she says, her voice now full of sadness.

"Sorry, think what?" I quickly spew.

"You know, that I was created by humans."

"Probably not, but I'm entirely sure. I'll be honest with you, the doctor was quite convincing, but I..."

She, now much more assertive, interrupts me again. And, in the corner of my eye, I see her clenching her fist. Oh no, what have I said? I hope she's not going to do anything irrational.

"You would believe that filth over me? How dare you!"

"Wait...I...just listen to me...please!"

Did I just shout at Persephone? What has gotten into me? She'll kill me now for sure. Rather than finish what I was going to say, I cower on the bed. I curl up into a ball-like shape against the mattress, shaking in fear.

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