"Damnit!"
Lucas grabbed Cullen and dragged him out of the way, but it was too late. Stones pounded on the ground around them, sending dust flying through the air and bombarding them with noise.
Cullen raised his hands above his head, but nothing hit them.
"Cullen?"
When he looked up, a barrier of vines formed from thin air to block the falling debris. No, not from thin air. They were extruding out of Cullen's back, the tattoos on his body coming to life.
As Cullen and Lucas watched in awe, the vines continued to grow, forming a sphere around the two of them.
"Hey… can you feel that?" Lucas pointed to Cullen's back.
"A little, but it doesn't hurt like before."
Cullen couldn't see it, but he felt like the muscles on his back had expanded. A part of him that had a mind of its own. When he tried to control them, he was met with silence.
'Is this my ability? I can transform the vines in my body to protect myself? But I have no control over them…'
The sounds from outside grew louder. There was no sign of it stopping, which made sense considering The Island's size.
Waiting, the two of them stood in awkward silence as The Island collapsed into itself.
"Why did you help me?"
Cullen looked closer at Lucas and noticed him in a worse state than ever before. Cuts all over his body, his hair a mess, and his face paler than a ghost. That last one was probably because he ran out of QI.
"You know that they'll punish you for helping me. Especially after I told you I'm a criminal."
Lucas grinned.
"I know that the government seems evil to you, especially after you discovered all of the secrets on your own. But it isn't all lies. Most Gifted want the same thing as you."
Cullen figured out that there were other Gifted like him. He thought that going against the government meant there was no going back.
But here was a way back.
"When we return to the city, you won't be alone. While some will try to get rid of you, others will try to help.
The rumbles around them started to slow down.
"But Cullen, you need to understand something."
He turned serious.
"You are the first human to kill a Grade-E Abomination. You won't be able to hide yourself anymore."
The vine barrier retracted back into Cullen against his will, exposing them to the outside world. The scene around them caused Cullen to forget about their conversation.
They were still on an island, but a strikingly different one. Smaller trees replaced the massive jungle ones, and the spot they stood on had a clear view of the ocean.
Around them, wreckage of the base camp littered the open area. Medics and Gifted rushed to help the injured, but there were no buildings still standing.
"What happened here?"
Cullen hadn't considered the effect killing The Island would have on the base camp. Well, maybe he did, but he convinced himself that everyone here was against him.
"My guess is that this is the original island," Lucas said. "The Island formed around a smaller one on which it was created, so the base camp must have fallen onto this. The only things left behind were not a part of The Island."
"Lucas!"
A man ran to Lucas and Cullen, whom he recognized as the person who fought the Cursed Child with him.
"Eddie! How's everyone doing?"
Eddie bent down with his hands on his knees, panting like a dog.
"W-What do you think? The entire island collapsed! What the hell happened?!"
Eddie's eyes widened when he saw Cullen, and then Lucas started laughing.
"Ha! I told you not to underestimate my disciple's strength! He took care of The Island without breaking a sweat, you should have seen it! One touch of the finger and it was already in pieces."
'He's back to normal…'
Eddie stammered, unsure of what to say.
"B-But you know how much trouble he's gonna be in? Shouldn't we try to contain him?"
Lucas side-eyed Cullen.
"I'm not sure we should even touch him right now. You know his ability."
Behind Eddie, a girl Cullen had never seen before came up to them.
"Nova! How are things going?"
"People are mostly ok, just a couple of injuries. Damn, Lucas, I knew you were dumb, but this is still unexpected."
"Whoa, hang on for a second," Eddie interrupted. "What did Cullen get from The Island?"
Suddenly, everyone turned to Cullen.
"I, uh, got these tattoos."
He showed everyone his arm.
"They come out and protect me… sometimes."
They all stared at him, more unimpressed than Flora when he explained his ability to her.
"So," Nova replied. "You have the power of a Grade-E on your body that you can't control, and could come out and kill any one of us."
Hearing her, Eddie took a few steps away from Cullen.
"Well, if you put it like that…" Cullen wasn't sure how to defend himself.
"I'm sure if it wanted to kill us, it would have already," Lucas said, lifting a finger.
BOOM!
Cullen saw what he thought was a meteor come crashing to the ground, then dust flew through the air, obstructing his vision.
"Cullen? Was that you?!"
Cullen's vines did not come out.
When the dust cleared, a figure emerged from the crater now in the ground.
A beautiful woman, clad in armor that seemed to be crafted from gold and obsidian, approached them. Cullen immediately recognized her, but not from the long blonde hair and striking brown eyes.
'Shit.'
A pair of angel wings with countless feathers stretched out, an ivory color instead of the perfect white Cullen had seen on the broadcasts.
'Lyra, The Angel. I've seen her on many announcements throughout the city, but she looks different in person.'
The Triarch strolled towards them, a mischievous smile on her face.
"Cullen, I finally get to meet you."
She looked him up and down, examining every part.
"And it seems you succeeded. Congratulations."
'Congratulations? That's not what I expected to hear.'
She turned her gaze to the Gifted around Cullen.
"But what I want to know is how exactly did such a weak boy destroy a core with 100 Tavros?"
Before Lucas could explain, Cullen spoke first.
"I gathered a lot of bombs using the Kamikazes, then blew up the core in an instant. I don't need to use my own strength to fight."
This was going to be Cullen's plan, but he wasn't sure if it would work. He just had to hope Lyra would believe him.
Lucas eyed Cullen, then stood in silence as Lyra stared at him.
"Well, I guess we have our answer then."
Faced with a scene of such destruction, Cullen imagined the Triarch would attack him on the spot, but she acted far calmer than expected. Too calm, actually. Cullen was still terrified. A Triarch could no doubt get past The Island's ability, if it even came out, that is.
"All the other Gifted here besides Cullen should help clean up. The government will arrive shortly to assist. But I will be taking Cullen back with me now."
'Taking me back? Am I being arrested?'
Lucas and the other two looked at Cullen sympathetically, then moved on to follow Lyra's command. She approached Cullen, who was frozen in fear.
"While we travel back, I'll ask you a few questions. I expect the entire truth of this matter—lying to the government is not a great idea."
'I already did.'
She reached out her hand to Cullen.
"I'll slow down so it's not too hard on your body."
Cullen realized how they were getting back. He wasn't a big fan.
He grabbed her hand, and then Lyra immediately shot off the ground. She held him in the most impolite way possible, dangling him below her as he gripped her hand tightly.
Her wings were mighty, and the wind helped. It seemed almost effortless.
"We'll arrive at headquarters shortly. I assume you're familiar with the rules. You cannot speak to anyone about what you see inside there, even other Gifted. It's an honor to set foot in that building."
The ocean below them glistened, stealing Cullen's attention. He had never been this high up before, so the world seemed so small now.
"As soon as we get back, you and I will be going on a broadcast. I'll do the talking; your job is just to stand there and not look surprised at my words. They will be pretty surprising."
"I'm going on a broadcast," Cullen stammered. "Why?"
"You'll soon find out, just do as I say."
He watched as the island faded into the distance, and a new object grew bigger in front of them.
Land, as far as the eye could see. Most of it was the Outskirts, which Cullen previously knew of, but he still couldn't believe it. Darron told him that on the other side of the ocean, the Outskirts stretched for hundreds of miles. This was previously the United States of America, and they were in New York. But Cullen couldn't see the other side. He couldn't see where the Outskirts stopped and where the next ocean began.
'How big is the world?'
He imagined all the Abominations crawling through that place, but also all the different sights he could see.
He wanted to be out there, more than anything. Far away from the city. Separate from the government. He wanted to be alone.