2048: Mother Plague

Introduction
2048: Mother Plague is a playthrough for the Apocalypse challenge. This seems like a really fun thing to do, and I decided to use Strangerville as my setting for it! The mother plant is what brought about the end of the world, and the challenge will end when she reaches the top of the military career, solves the mystery of Strangerville (aspiration), defeats the mother plant, gets married, and has a kid. I lost the save file for this series so it is now a one shot.

Backstory
As a child, Aero Pond lived a normal life. Her parents were hard workers, but always made time for her and her younger brother, Edwin. She wasn’t popular in school, but she had a nice group of friends that made each day better than the last. Her grades were slightly above average. Her life was normal and her family was happy. Everything changed on her 18th birthday, though.

The day started as any other day had. Her parents hugged both her and her brother before leaving for work. Aero walked her brother to school before heading to her own. Like any other day, the classes were quite boring and the day ticked by slowly. Lunch had just finished when the shrill sound of an alarm filled the air, easily breaching the thick brick walls of the school. Panic set out, filling the students as they scrambled to see what was going on. The teachers did their best to keep everyone calm. No one knows what happened, whether it was a bombing or a nuclear explosion, no one knew, but it was over as fast as it began and things were never the same.

The Story
Today is my 17th birthday, but I'm not really excited. You can blame it on teenage angst, but I didn't feel like having a party this year. I just wanted a relaxing day at home. My mom, being self-absorbed as she is, tried her best to convince me to have a party so she could show off the house. My grandma had been a somewhat popular actress and left her house to my parents. It was a nice house, sure, but it certainly wasn't the most impressive in our neighborhood where world-famous stars lived. Still, my mom seemed to think our house was the best and she never missed an opportunity to show off.

That's part of the reason I didn't want a party because I knew it wouldn't actually be about me, but that's okay. I was fine just relaxing at home.

I glanced at the clock, seeing that it was nine-thirty, Sunday morning. 'I'll do my homework and get that out of the way, and then I have the rest of the day to relax. But first...' I grabbed a spray bottle filled with cleaner and a rag from the laundry room before heading to my room. The desk wasn't filthy per se, but I couldn't use it until I gave it a thorough cleaning. Yes, I'm a neat freak, just like my mom.

Edwin, my younger brother, walked into our shared room to grab a toy from the toy box and I called him over. "What's up, sis?"

"Let's take a picture together," I smiled, pulling my phone from my pocket.

He returned the smile and nodded, throwing his arms around me. I leaned down to get both of our faces in the frame.

"Say cheese!"

"Cheese!"

The camera snapped as the picture was taken, temporarily blinding me with the flash. It came out looking adorable!



Before he could pull away, I pecked his cheek, giggling as his face scrunched up in disgust.

" Gross ~ sister germs!" He made a fake gagging motion before running out of the room, leaving me giggling. I honestly had the cutest baby brother.

I sat down at my desk, flicking on the cat lamp and pulling my homeroom from my bookbag. I'm not the smartest person in the world, but I'm not dumb either so I understood most of it. When I got to the math section, though, I was stumped. " Mom !"

" Yes, Aero ?" She called back. Her voice was close, so she must be in the laundry room across the hall.

" Can you help me with my homework ?" I got no answer and it was quiet for a moment before she appeared in the doorway.

"What subject is it?"

"Math,"

Her eyes lit up since it was her favorite subject. "Of course! Show me what you're working with."

With her guidance, I started to understand the problems and was able to solve them on my own, despite my mom trying to just tell me the answer. It was an hour later and I had all of my homework finished. I thanked my mom and headed downstairs to watch some TV. There wasn't a specific show I wanted to watch, and I mostly just channel surfed trying to find something interesting.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my dad whispering to Edwin, who nodded enthusiastically before rushing over and plopping down onto the couch beside me. I raised my brow curiously but said nothing.

"Hey, sis, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"I got into a fight with Brandon at school about which Voidcritter is more powerful. I said it was the Arcticorn, but he kept saying Suintor. Which one is it?" He asked, tilting his head to the side with a slight pout.

"Uhh..." I knew nothing about Voidcritters, but I also knew that he loved them dearly. "Well, I don't know much about them, so..." He frowned, lowering his head. "But, um, Arcticorn is totally the strongest! Everyone knows that."

Edwin's face lit up and he nodded. "Right! Water Voidcritters are always stronger than Earth ones. I can't wait to finally get that card!"

I smiled as he rambled on and on about his favorite critters and their strengths and weaknesses.

"Aero! Can you come upstairs, please?" Mom called. I assumed she just wanted me to put away the laundry so I stood up and headed up the stairs. Directly across from the stairs was a new piano! "Happy birthday!"

"Happy birthday, darling." Dad threw his arm around me, pulling me into a hug.

"Thank you so much!" I hugged both of them before rushing over and sitting down behind the keyboard. I've always loved music, and I had been saving up my allowance to get a musical instrument. I didn't expect to get one for my birthday!



My mom's face twisted as I pressed the keys and she cringed at the sound. "Maybe we could get you some lessons," My dad elbowed her, giving her a look and she cleared her throat. "If you want, that is."

I looked at her grimace and frowned. "Yeah, that'd probably be best."

"Great! I know just the person." She clapped her hands together in excitement before rushing off to make the call.

Dad walked over, putting his hands on my shoulders and pecking my forehead. "Don't worry about her, you know how she is."

"Thanks, dad." I smiled, giving him a hug.