Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 685: Paula’s breaking point.

The other children followed suit, swarming Emmet like a pack of puppies. They were talking all at once_ about the food, about the new clothes, about the soft beds, and about the ’big man with the beard’ who had given them chocolate.

The older ones were asking if he had been hurt, as if they would rush out and get revenge him.

Emmet stumbled back, laughing for the first time_ a genuine, high-pitched sound that made Sunshine’s heart swell. He immediately went to the smallest children, patting their heads like a grown up would when they met a cute toddler. One of them reached up, grabbed his nose, and blew a giant, messy spit-bubble right in his face.

"Gross!" Emmet laughed, wiping his face while the toddler giggled uncontrollably.

Sunshine stood to the side, watching the chaos. She saw the way the guards in the hall softened their stance, their hands moving away from their weapons as they watched the reunion. It was a reminder of exactly what they were fighting for. It wasn’t just about closing rifts or killing mutants; it was about spit-bubbles and playgrounds.

Sunshine tucked her hands behind her back, a small, tired smile playing on her lips. She began to hum a soft, aimless tune_ the same one she used to hear children sing in the apocalypse, in her last life. It was the anthem of the lambs and wolves, and it would never be heard in this life.

She turned away, and walked out of the juvenile section to the parking area of the Fortress Four prison. It was big and cold. It smelled like old trucks and fuel. The familiar bells rung, and a voice announced that it was midday. Sunshine sighed, wondering how time was running so fast.

She wanted to leave immediately, but saw Paula waiting by her vehicle. The young woman looked terrible. Her hair was messy, and her eyes were red. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days. Her first guess was that this was related to whatever Dominic had done.

"You look very stressed, Paula," Sunshine said as she walked up to her. "Is something bothering you? Do you need to be in a hospital bed?"

"I had to see you," Paula said. Her hands were shaking. "I can’t wait anymore. I can’t eat or sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I have nightmares about my family."

Sunshine immediately assumed it was about Paula’s father, she wanted to work on this issue but bigger emergencies seemed to take her time. The problems of the Drift lands were not high up on the priority list. "Is this about your father?"

Paula shook her head fast. "I don’t care about him. It’s about my brother, Arwin. I’m scared for him. My father is mean, and I’m scared he will hurt Arwin or use him for something bad. You do not know my father when he gets desperate, by now he must have tried all tricks in the book to break Arwin and if his stance has not changed...my father’s insanity must have multiplied. We need to get him out of that place."

Sunshine put a hand on Paula’s shoulder to help her calm down. "Listen, the world outside is dark, I believe that your father is busy. He has to fight mutant and mutated monsters all day and night. He won’t have time to hurt Arwin right now. He needs Arwin because he is a good fighter."

"You don’t know him," Paula whispered. "He isn’t a normal father. He only cares about power. I need to be sure Arwin and my mom are safe. I can’t live like this. What if they die in this darkness? What kind of daughter and sister does it make me if I am here enjoying all this and they are back there, living in fear." Paula looked into Sunshine’s eyes. "I’m a good fighter. If we go there and remove my father from power, my father’s army will follow Arwin. He is the male heir. It’s the rule my dad made at the beginning of the apocalypse. If he is gone, Arwin becomes the leader, and the army will become his."

Sunshine sighed. She had so many problems already. Some parts of the sky were open, and monsters were coming at any time, the watchers had been quite unsettled. "Paula, I prefer to wait. This isn’t a small job like you think."

"It’s a simple plan," Paula said. She pulled a piece of paper out of her backpack. "I’ve thought about this every second. I can catch him when he isn’t ready and grab him. In this darkness, we can stop him without a big fight."

Sunshine looked at the paper. "Okay, tell me. How are you planning to do this?"

Paula pointed to the highlighted parts of the paper and began to brief Sunshine about the details.

Sunshine studied the roadmap Paula had drawn. It was a risky plan. If it worked, it would be easy. If it failed, innocent people would die. But she saw how much Paula loved her brother. Personally fighting every battle around them was impossible. She might as well wash her hands off this matter like she had done with New Eden.

"I will give you some men and the necessary things that you need to rescue your brother and the others. But you will not make the calls because you are too close to this....Major Grayson will."

Paula looked so relieved she almost fell over. "Yes of course. Thank you, Mrs. Quinn. Thank you."

"Don’t thank me yet," Sunshine said. "And you have a lot to prepare for." She looked at her watch. "You will leave when the Major says so."

Paula ran off immediately to search for Grayson.

Sunshine set off for the main base, driving her truck personally. The phone buzzed from the passenger seat and she snatched it. It was Hades, so she answered it immediately.

"I am leaving the base now," He said.

The words ’don’t’ were on the tip of her tongue but she swallowed them. "Have a safe trip honey," Sunshine told him. "Please be careful out there." She contemplated on telling him about Peter Strauss now or later and chose the latter.

Through the radio, she could hear Caesar screaming. He was yelling and asking where they were taking him. The noise was very loud and annoying.

Sunshine groaned. "Hades, get someone to shut him up. If he keeps shouting, you are all going to get a big headache."

"Carson is going with us, I am sure he will not be noisy for long." He replied. "Gotta go, we are boarding."

"Keep the plane on invisible mode." She reminded him.

"I love you too." He replied and hung up.

She hung up and sighed. Times had changed, different people were handling different tasks. It made her both worried and proud.

Sunshine went home and then straight to another world.