"Uncle, were you thinking about ever having kids?" I asked, tugging on his coat. Mark smiled and thought, bending down to my level.

"A child of my own? It would probably be having another one of you!" I giggled as he picked me up, rubbing my cheek with his knuckles. "Maybe, but the Misses would have to agree. And you know how we are, always busy trying to help people." He laughed, setting me down.

I shuddered at the thought again. Looking back up at him, it looked like he wasn't finished.

"Yes, I had a daughter, Louisiana. I was so afraid that this would... somehow happen, so I sent her to Earth, where I knew she would be safe. It might have been a terrible decision, but I had to. I set her up in a chamber where time still moves, so by now, she should be about seven or eight by now... and have really long hair. Yeesh."

I sighed, wiping another tear from a eye. I couldn't believe him.

"I know I'm putting a really big burden on you, and I'm sorry. I somewhat regret everything that I have done, and I can't forgive myself for it. I need your help, Avrilon. You've been like a little sister to me, and now I need you to be big, OK? Don't be afraid. Don't flinch, only fight. What do you say?"

I nodded in the empty room; and I knew that I had to save him, save his daughter, and save the world from this dreaded monster that's lurking somewhere out there.

"I can't thank you enough, Avrilon. You can take anything in this room that you might need to help me. To be honest, your heart and compassion for my work has affected one invention after the other. And there's one more that I had finished tinkering with, I think you'll like it. I'll see you again some day, and I'll say hello to your mom for you. In return, you give Maisie a big hug for me, I hope she's doing OK."

The cube dropped back onto the table. I left it there as I heard a noise behind me. I turned to notice the pedestal flipped to reveal a pair of Roots.

The title card read: Roots: Heels Edition, 5.0. My face cracked into a big smile as I grabbed them, slipping them onto my feet. They fit nicely, almost perfect. As I was making sure they wouldn't fall off, I touched the pendant of my necklace, a menu popping up in response.

"Inventory?" I questioned unseemly, poking the screen. I grabbed something off of a table and tossed it into the screen. It stored items!

I walked around, throwing in two earpieces, the pistols, and the other pair of Roots. I also grabbed a weird-looking helmet thing, I guess to help breath when you couldn't. The pendant acted like a virtual backpack. I started to head out, but one last thing had caught my attention.

I stopped at a table where a sword was put on stands. It was called Echo, 2.0. I picked it up and held it in my hands. It was light, and easy to jab with. I gripped it tighter, and did some practice slashes. I grinned and strapped it to my back, having a weapon just in case things got messy. I slid the door open to find the cube that had Mark's message in it. He appeared again, wagging his finger.

"You're going to need this cube. It allows you to teleport to my lab and back, as well as other places you've been to. You're going to need it, trust me." I picked up the cube and placed it in my pocket.

"Don't worry, OK? I believe in you. Don't give up. I love you, my little princess."

-~-

The front door slid shut as I took off running. I know what I had to do.

And I needed to do it for him.

-~-

I landed in front of my house, the sky changing into a brighter shade of blue to represent morning. I couldn't believe that I was there for almost the entire night. Yawning, I opened the door, it instantly detecting that it was me.

"You've been out pretty late. Welcome back, Ms. Avrilon." The door chimed as I closed it softly. I walked into the kitchen to see my dad slumped over the table, snoring away. I grabbed the bottle of beer that was next to him, tossing the empty cup that was also next to him in the trash.

I could imagine that it has been pretty rough for him. I rubbed his back and let him sleep. He wasn't a heavy drinker, but took a couple sips whenever he was stressed. The bottle wasn't even halfway empty. I sighed and sat on the stool next to him. I brought out another one of Mark's famous inventions, the TypeWriter. It basically allows you to write things without paper, but it produces something paper-like so that another person can see it. I typed out a short note to my dad:

It'll be OK Dad. I'm fine, sorry for not coming home yesterday. I'm going out with my friends, won't be back for a couple of days. You should go out and do something. Go see a movie or play golf. Do things that you want to do. I'll be back, I promise. Walk Maisie for me? <3

I placed the note next to him as I got up. Maisie came barreling down the stairs, whining to be comforted. I rubbed her head softly and grabbed her favorite pillow to lay on, placing it next to my heavily sleeping father. I smiled as I filled up her food bowl as well before giving her a rub one last time. She licked my nose, as if to say 'you better hurry back'. I ran upstairs to change into a new pair of clothes, as well as packing a new set to bring along.

I looked around the house before I stepped outside, making sure that everything was alright, finally closing the door.

"Locked." The door chimed again. Hopefully it won't be the last time the door will say that. I adjusted the sword that was strapped to my back once again. I smirked and blasted off into the morning sky, looking for the nearest edge of our Alversia ship.

"Looks like it's my time to be the hero!" I shouted over the wind, shooting off again.

You could say that again...

-/-

~SkittlesBeats