Revolution
"And it is for that reason that I say, tear off the yolk of your oppressors! Amhal DEMANDS you be free! That you retain the fruits of your labor! The False Gods have taken from you for decades! It's time to show them just how much you truly care for them!"
The crowd roared. The speaker was, of course, Nikolas. He was using his Prodigy power to appear to the mortals as a divine emissary, shimmering with golden light, with two vast golden wings each as long as he was tall. He made himself look ruggedly handsome, with long blonde hair, sharp cheekbones, and eyes of pure gold.
The mortals took surprisingly little convincing to believe he was an emissary of Amhal, a divine entity that created the world they stood on. He suspected the horrible treatment they received at the hand of the Exemplars turned them into miserable sods, eager and ready to believe anything that would bring them out of this pit.
Nikolas, Autumn, and Fate had touched down on this planet three weeks ago for this job. After some information-gathering, they had learned that a yearly audience that the Exemplars held was fast approaching, and this year the human subjects were required to bring a sacrifice. Fate and Autumn persuaded the farmer whose daughter was meant to be offered to let the Embodiments take the place of the two. The farmer agreed instantly.
With that done, Nikolas set about inciting the mortals to rebel, disguising himself and preaching about a deity he made up to the people around the world. Autumn and Fate made sure to scout out the temple of the 'Great Ones,' taking care of any who would tell the Exemplars of their machinations.
Now, on the day of the audience, at least half of the planet was gathered with rapt attention, blanketing the world for miles as he spoke to them from atop a building. He made sure to use his Prodigy power to convey his words to the masses, as well as make it appear like he was flying in the air, above every town on the planet.
With his TK's evolution to Divine Hold, he could easily five hundred thousand miles with his ability, and the planet was only an eighth of that in size.
He heard Fate say in his Ex Ear, "It's done."
Smiling, Nikolas said "My fellow emissaries have quashed the pretenders, these so-called 'Great Ones' that do nothing but take and take! Your oppressors are gone! Now, live as Amhal commands! Be beholden to no divine figure, except him! Be ruled by none other than your peers and friends, and no longer offer up your daughters to sadistic, lazy buffoons! YOU ARE FREE!"
The entire planet roared, causing Nikolas's bones to vibrate with the sheer force of it.
"Amhal will be watching you, but it is now my time to leave. Keep to the tenets I have described here today, and you will be guaranteed a place at his side on your passing!" With that, he stopped his illusion, jumping off the small building and striding toward the temple to meet up with his friends.
Behind him, the mortals went to work tearing down the many statues scattered throughout the planet.
Fate and Autumn watched the revolution through the gap in the wall.
"Yep, he handled it," muttered Autumn.
"A little overboard, but you can't argue with results," Fate replied.
They heard footsteps and turned to the door to see Nikolas walking in.
"You sure worked them into a frenzy," Fate said, walking to the door. Autumn followed.
"When did you become so convincing?" she asked.
"I don't know, probably all the soap operas I watched on TV. Never really got a chance to use my verbal skills before, what with the business we were in."
"Now that we're done, I say we go collect our payment. Sleeping in the ship for three weeks gets old quick," Fate stated, continuing to move to the door. "We need to get a house built soon, or I'm going to go crazy."
"I really need a bath," groaned Autumn. "The ship ran out of clean water three days ago. Why did we spend three weeks doing this, again? We could've killed these morons on day one."
"If we did that, those people would probably install some demented dumbass that claimed to be a 'reborn Great One' or something like that within a year. Or some kind of king or emperor. With this, they should hopefully make some form of government with the people's best interests at heart. At least for a few years. This was the best way to make sure the planet will be better after we get rid of the Exemplars," answered Fate.
"That wasn't in the job description, though," grumbled Autumn. "But I guess helping people for a change does feel nice, even if in the end we still kill."
"Mm," intoned Nikolas. "Were we thinking one story or two for the house?"
"I think we can get three no problem with how much this is gonna pay, along with what Maya, Cait, and Tom bring back," Fate said.
"Oh yeah. Forgot about those three. It was nice playing the part of the all-powerful angel from above for a few weeks. May use that again."
"Just don't start believing that you ARE one," Autumn told him, "Or you'll become just like those guys." She gestured to the four corpses in the room.
"Noted."
They walked the rest of the way to their ship in silence, which was hidden in a small forest to the south of the temple. Upon arrival, Autumn pressed a button and the door opened, a small ramp extending out to let them on. They entered, Autumn taking the passenger seat while Nikolas and Fate got situated on the couches. Fate popped a movie disc into the television's slot, to entertain them on the trip.
Their job done, Autumn brought the ship out over the tree line, continuing up until she was out of the planet's atmosphere. When she broke past it, she flicked on the Kozmos Drive and leaned back in her seat, the space outside of the windshield blurring into a tunnel of light.