There had been a time when life was easy. That was before…no, she didn’t want to think of that bullet hitting her father’s chest. She hated herself every single day for taking him away from his family. From taking him away from her siblings. For…she knew he was alive now, but it wasn’t the same. Because she saw how Apollo and Alistair had been lost without him. And she would never be able to erase those thoughts from her mind. She had aligned herself with a man who was as good a liar as he was a time traveler. Mason had told her that he had changed. He had acted as if he had. He told her that he had wanted to stabilize the world. He was moving on.
She had agreed to help him rid the world of her family. Things were set in place that could no longer be reversed. In just a few generations, there would be no more Grays. And that was because she had believed by eradicating them, the world would right itself. But it wouldn’t. Because time wasn’t what was destroying the world. It had to do with dimensions, and what Mason had thought he knew was wrong. Or, maybe he had known all along and knew Pandora wouldn’t help him eradicate her family. But it was really too late. She had made a mistake.
Leaving his side didn’t help. Because she thought his vendetta against the Guardians may have been unwarranted. She thought they could have been the lesser of two evils. But working with Emit had only garnered more of Mason’s attention. So, she left to have a normal life back in Sunlit Tides.
Allen was a bit older than her then, having been affected by time moving forward. But he had remembered her clearly, and despite the apparent age difference, she had loved him. With all of her heart. She had loved her daughter too. Until Mason had forced her away from them. A life of promised torture for her husband and daughter, unless she came back to help him. She didn’t know what he had planned this time around. She didn’t know back then either.
But now, there were more enemies and dimensions. She didn’t feel like a Gray. She felt like a sellout. A woman who simply walked out of her daughter’s life. And she knew, that if he had asked her to shoot someone she cared about again, she would. Because he would hurt her family. And though her daughter would be an older woman by now, much older than Pandora herself, who was plagued by unchanging time, she wanted her to live a normal and happy life.
Her siblings were much older now. Night and his son didn’t age, but the others? They had kids now. Even her baby brother had grown up kids. Life was passing her by. All she got to do was watch everyone she ever cared about grow old while she wasted away, body strong, but mind tortured.
“Excuse me, are you Pandora Gray?” The small feeble voice made her heart sink. Something was familiar about the blue haired girl, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.
But that was quickly replaced by anger and defensiveness. “How did you get in here?”
“I uh…traveled here. Kind of…I think?” She scratched the back of her neck nervously. “I’m still new to this whole thing.”
“Traveled…did Mason send you here? Tell him to leave me alone. I did what he asked of me. There’s nothing left of mine to take.”
“No…I don’t know who that is.” She shook her head, her short hair bouncing as she did so. “We’re related! My parents sent me to find you. They said you’d know what to do.”
“I don’t. Goodbye.” Pandora turned back to the computer, eyes glazing over the screen.
“Wait, hear me out. We need help. Our home is in danger!” She took a step forward cautiously. “Please help us. Millions can die.”
“Welcome to this shit hole world, darling. Everyone suffers. Nobody makes it out in one piece.” Pandora began to type on the keyboard feverishly.
“I’m not leaving until you listen to me! I am NOT your enemy. Why won’t you listen to me?” She cried. “You are the only one who can help me.”
“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to deal with this on your own. I have other things to worry about.” She shut her eyes, hoping when she opened them, the girl would be gone.
A Graying World 