"What happened to you three!?" Ava asked. The giant group hug had finally ended, and the population of the bunker slowly trickled by to express their relief at our return before scramming. Within a few minutes the only people remaining were our parents, Elias, Ben and Alexia.

"Let us move to a more... private location, dear," Elias said. "I'm sure the kids will have plenty to say."

With that, the mayor led us to one of the closed rooms on the Engineering Floor. Amidst dust and a few empty boxes, a wide meeting room sprawled out before us. One large oval table took up most of the room, surrounded by swivel chairs and flanked on all sides by a dozen monitors. It was an odd thing to see disused, but I'd had my fair share of surprises. An abandoned hidden meeting room was just one more.

"Please, sit anywhere," Elias said, gesturing to the table.

Considering that I expected to be questioning the people present as much as they would me, I sat at the closest end of the table. Danny sat to my right and Sam to the left. The rest of our family sat next, then Elias and Alexia sat on the opposing end of the oval. Ben opted to stand on the side of the room, hovering just behind my dad and Sam's.

The room was deadly silent. I gave my two friends a look as I let the loot we'd acquired from the trip clatter onto the table. Starting with the two charred pistols. Even from across the room, I noticed Elias and Alexia tense. Perception above human average is it... I thought quietly. Within the confines of the Bunker I could feel the difference the two Quotients made. The stagnant smell of the room, the sweat of our bodies and something else in the air.

Once my friends had finished placing their own spoils, I started to speak. Without break and for almost an hour I recounted our time on the surface. Sam cut in a few times to add to the tale, specifically the times I'd been unconscious. I omitted Ben's comments about Elias in my retelling, focusing instead on the guns as a means of self defense for emergencies.

Having anticipated our hunger due to a long meeting, or maybe the rumbling that was our combined stomachs, Juan ducked out and returned with a tray of tofu and flatbread. Thankfully, our retelling was over and we could eat unimpeded. It was difficult to think of anything else as we devoured the food, but I could see everyone present digesting the extent of our story. By the looks our parents were giving us, they seemed to be wondering if we’d cracked while on the surface.

The food was gone in minutes, and the meeting resumed with a throat clearing from Elias.

"That is quite the tale kids. I think I speak for all of us here when I say we are glad you made it back. What I am not certain about is... this whole meeting with a crystal situation and what exactly it did with our implant."

"Our best guess is that the crystal was able to interface and learn from us via the implant. Other than that, talking to the Entity was a bit confusing. Thankfully Ronan was able to broker the deal for us to... work for it," Sam said. I sat with my fingers steepled while looking at Elias and Alexia. Considering their clear positioning across from us, there was a group divide of some sort and I was determined to find the source. It could have also been a matter of posturing for authority, but I had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't.

"And this... magic. What can we make of that?" Elias asked.

"No clue. We'll need to return to the surface to really test out what it means. We also believe that the Entity will need our help to recover," I said.

"I see. Well, we will take a few days to go over what you've gathered then we will discuss a secondary expedition."

"No."

"No? What do you mean Ronan?" The mayor straightened as much as he could. "We make decisions as a group here."

"I agree. Except you haven't. Why would Ben give us weapons for self defense? Just where did we get Metier Crystals for the implant if we are the first to go to the surface? In our eagerness to go, we didn't even pause to consider it, did we? We aren't all on the same page here, Elias." I made it a point to use the man's first name. The three of us were not children anymore, and I would not stand secrets if we were going to work together.

The old man leaned back in his chair. Him and Alexia had an aside, and not even my enhanced senses were able to pick up more than garbled words.

"Oh, enough politics. Elias, they deserve to know!" Ben said as he brought his hand down on the table to emphasize his point. Everyone in the room looked away, including our parents.

"Wait a moment. You all know whatever secret Elias is hiding?" I asked incredulously, turning my pinning stare to my father. He gulped before my eyes, the motion subtle but clear with my increased Perception. "All these years... Why? What are you all hiding?"

"They hid the truth because I asked them to. We didn't know how to really explain, and then time went on and nothing changed on the surface," Elias said in a low voice. "You three need to understand. The world ended. It was mayhem, and feelings were the last thing on anyone's mind."

"Well, we are past that now, things have progressed too long, we will be going back to the surface with or without your support. Not only did we make a promise, this Bunker does not have a future for us," I growled. Sam lowered my hand, which I'd moved unconsciously to point at Elias. The dirt colored ring of magic had even materialized on my wrist without my knowing.

"Perhaps it would be best if we start at the beginning. We've been direct and unequivocal about the surface. Whatever secrets have been kept from us would be the least you can do," Sam said in an even and calm voice, gesturing at his own father.

Elias sighed and gave the other people in the room a look before placing his head heavily on his hands.

"This place isn't just some apocalypse bunker. It is part of a series of others in the Planetary Biosphere Bunkers project. They were the hope for humanity. A seed from which we could rise up and return to the surface after Landfall. The discoveries and breakthroughs achieved when Metier radiation was studied were unprecedented. The person who was responsible for that was almost solely Ingrid Metier. Your grandmother, Ronan."

The words hit me like a physical blow. My father never talked about my mother or anyone from outside the Bunker. "What do you mean?" I whispered.

"The group responsible for the survival of most of the human race was led by your grandmother. In fact, she lived in this Bunker for several years after Landfall. That is where the secrets begin. Her and your father were key to everything we've accomplished so far." I turned my eyes to my dad and he was forced to look away. Not once had he been to the lab. He even dreaded the place. "As I am sure you've picked up, something isn't adding up. Dale isn't your father, Ronan. He is your uncle."

The world spun around me as the information tried, but failed, to register. I'd expected something else. Some secret about cameras on the surface or maybe a communication network we weren't aware of. Not that my father was another person entirely. Had my friends not immediately grabbed hold of me, I was sure I would have slumped. The mayor continued to speak, but the words were muffled.

"A military squad was placed as the leaders of the Bunker. They directed and managed all of the continuing research. The General in charge forced your grandmother to continue her research. Ingrid had just been treated for cancer a few months before Landfall, and yet she continued to work until the world went to hell. When she moved here, she simply started back up.

"Her main focus shifted, against the desires of the General, from using the radiation to power Earth technology, to surviving it. The turning point for this was your birth, Ronan. The first generation born after Landfall. One that generated Metier Radiation. From your interaction with the crystal, I can only hypothesize this is the mana that you speak of."

"Then what happened to my father... to my mother..." The words scraped their way out of my throat. I reached for the canteen with shaky hands as I saw my father--no, uncle-- comb his hair back.

"I... should be the one to explain, Ronan. There were many... complications with your mother's pregnancy. There were too many variables, too much neither your father nor your grandmother understood about the radiation and its effects on organisms. When you were born... she passed away." My uncle paused to clear his throat and wipe his eyes. "Your father, Marcus, oh he loved her. And I loved him like my own brother. When she died he flew into a rage. He believed that if the General had allowed your grandmother to begin her research earlier... that Carla would not have needed to die."

Picking up where my uncle left off, Elias continued. "Your father was stubborn. I suppose considering where we are right now, all of us have a bit of him in us. His behavior was so unacceptable to the General that he was sent on an 'expedition'. " The mayor made air quotes with his fingers. "The bastard banished him for trying to question his leadership. Ingrid had long established that the surface levels of radiation had stabilized to the same levels as inside the bunker. That the surface of Earth was ‘safe’. So he was sent out in the hopes of getting some information about its state.

"A week. He was gone a full week. But when he came back he returned with a baseball-sized chunk of Metier Crystal and strange changes to his body. Again, from your tale, I can only surmise that this was a result of Mana Dregs thanks to whatever he survived on the surface. Your grandmother immediately quarantined him on this floor. Studied him at his behest. Ingrid took the details to her grave, but your father got out. He killed every single soldier easily. Each of their bodies crumbled to dust in his wake and when I finally laid eyes on him the...change had worsened."

Elias paused to take his own sip from a glass of water and tried to restart the tale, but failed. My uncle took the pause as his mark to resume. "He wasn't the same. We don't know why he did it, but your father wasn't acting right. The last thing he did was place you in my arms and beg me to keep him a secret, to raise you as my own. Then he was gone and we've not heard from him since."

"Your grandmother was a wreck for one day. Then she returned to the lab," Elias said once he'd gathered himself. My eyes easily picked up the slight shake to the old man’s hands. "Ingrid pushed herself way past what her body should have in the hopes of saving Agatha."

Samuel tensed beside me at the mention of his mother. His fingers dug into my arm as he pinned his father with a look. It was hard to figure out what was going on in my friend's head, especially considering the mess that was going on in mine, but I squeezed his arm back. When I checked on Danny, she had tears streaming down her face and her other hand wrapped around her mother’s in a death grip.

"She was...unsuccessful. Just like Ronan, Samuel generated a surge of power that your mothers weren't able to endure." The shock that I'd experienced at the beginning of the conversation had begun to fade as the pieces fit together in my head. The secrecy, the way no one talked about their pasts or even our childhoods.

"Your grandmother used you two as inspiration. When Ava became pregnant with Daniela, she watched you two like a hawk. All while passing along as much knowledge as she could to the Bunker's prodigy: Alan. Then, one day, she wasn't there. Right where we'd assembled your cribs was a scorch mark and a small pile of ash."

At the mention of how she'd been found, a chill ran down my spine. "What happened to our mothers?" I asked.

Having anticipated my question, Elias resumed. "Your mother simply... liquified. Samuel's disintegrated into fresh mulch and a small patch of grass. We didn't even know what to do with any of the remains, but they were all placed on the Greenhouse Floor. I can tell from your faces that you think it had something to do with the way creatures died on the surface. We do not know to this day.

"What we do know is that they did not die in vain. With Ingrid's research and tireless determination passed onto Alan, he figured out a way to save Ava. It was as simple as having the Metier Crystal pressed against her right up until the birth and through her recovery. Alan discovered that while the crystal generated its own radiation, it also absorbed it from its surroundings. Like a filter.

"It was that discovery that eventually led us to the implants, and what we hoped would allow us to survive on the surface without the side effects your father suffered. I..." Elias faltered once again, but shook his head angrily. "I should not have made this a secret. You all deserved to know your pasts and just what you all were getting into on the surface. I am sorry."

The three of us held onto each other for support. Our world had been obscured for so long that the truth almost felt like a lie. The sheer involvement that my family had had on our survival was something I'd never expected. A strange burden of responsibility, one I didn't feel equipped to handle, settled itself on my shoulders. Perhaps I'd been naïve in thinking that the future was such an easy thing to reach for. Or that the three of us were the only ones struggling to move forward.

A gentle embrace broke me out of my thoughts. My dad. No, my uncle. Dale wrapped his arms around us three. "You three are stronger than we could have ever dreamed. We failed you the moment we kept this secret. I failed, Ronan. My sister and your father loved you and I tried to give you my all. Their memory should belong to you, not hidden away in the Bunker. I hope you will find it in yourselves to forgive us," he whispered as his tears ran down the back of my neck. Silently, Sam and Danny's parents joined us as well.

The relief I'd felt upon returning to the Bunker passed through me again. I had been naïve. Just because these people kept secrets from us didn't mean that they did not care about us. My mind made the rational decision to forgive them, and even if my heart wasn't ready, one day it would be. I gave my uncle a gentle pat on the head. The huddle disassembled as I rose to my feet.

"I don’t blame you. I can't forgive you now, but I hope I will soon. That is the best I can do," I managed. The words tried to remain stuck in my throat, but I shoved them through anyhow. They needed to be said. "We will take part in all future decisions regarding the surface. At least, I will." I looked beside me to my friends, who met my eyes with a smile.

"Who is going to come up with fun things to do if I'm not around?" Danny said, standing and punching me in the arm.

"More like force Ron and I to clean up your messes," Sam quipped as he, too, stood. The stalwart blonde wagged a finger in Danny's face.

"Oh, come on. That was one time with the vacuum," she pouted. "How have you not forgotten?"

"I am certain no one has forgotten, mi corazon," Daniela's dad said.

With a quiet chuckle from those present in the meeting room, I smiled and knew that we'd already started the process of moving forward. With my friends beside me, there was little I couldn't handle.