QUICKSILVER

"A Praxian Origin?" Astrid echoed once again to make sure she wasn't hearing things. "how is that even possible?"

They were currently in Merlin's lab aboard the Black Excalibur II, in orbit around the planet known as Earth. In the middle of the room was a small red dome that housed the thing they discovered to be a swarm of 'living' bytes, within what Merlin called a 'dimensional transcendental containment field' that allowed the vast swarm of bytes to fit into a barrier the size of a basketball.

[Those bastards!] Merlin fumed, slamming her fist through a rather complex looking piece of machinery in a fit of rage [HOW DARE THEY!?]

"Whoa Merlin," Eli chided, "calm down"

"Yeah, whats the big deal that the Praxians created their own origin?" Astrid asked,

The glare Merlin shot at her was likened to that of her mother, sharing her face,

[The 'big deal', you vapid little whore, is that origins are way beyond you puny mortal lifeforms.] Merlin hissed at her, [It is not physically possible for you creatures to create technology of this level, not without the power of the Io.]

"What we know as origins are essentially super complex machines that operate on a level we currently cannot even comprehend," Eli explained more calmly, "they manipulate cosmic forces on a universal scale, for this bit of Praxian tech to rival that level of power is… concerning, to say the least. And that's not even the worst bit."

"If this bit of tech was so powerful, how was it suppressed and contained here?" Astrid wondered

[You don't understand,] Merlin said, still fuming, [this thing is living technology, even origins have their limits, there is only one way for this thing to have been created.]

"What's that?"

[They cannibalized a Genesis Cube,] Merlin said with disgust, [The sacrilege! It's like they butchered a god and used its carcass to feed mere beasts.]

Merlin was furious at the very notion of cannibalizing origins. Incorporating Origins, like Nya did with the Orb of Thassah was one thing, but to do this was beyond savagery, it was obscene. Eli had to feel for the jinn, since she too was an origin.

"The Genesis Cubes are fundamentally different from other origins?" Astrid asked Eli

"Vastly," Eli said, "I've been studying our Black Box, and it predates the timeline I have for the Praxian civilization. Genesis Cubes are sentient change engines; omnipotent machines from the dawn of creation, my research into the matter has led me to believe they created the first origins for the Io. No other piece of technology that will ever exist comes close to the power of a Genesis Cube, so if that thing in there is made from a dead one, that is a very big problem."

[The hieroglyphs you found on the pylons, have you translated the language yet?] Merlin ordered

"That's the thing; that language wasn't any form of Praxian I had ever seen," Eli said, "hell, the only bit of any of this that screams Praxian is the bytes in that bubble."

"I'm not familiar with this language either." Astrid said back, projecting a screen with a bunch of alien characters. "It is similar in a way to the script used by the elves, but this one is much older. I've never seen some of these characters before, and the ones I do recognize are used in ways that don't make sense to me."

[The two of you should be enough, but it would go a lot faster if your mother was here,] Merlin said

"Where is mom?" Astrid asked, "I figured she'd be here, analyzing this stuff with you?"

"I don't know, she said she had something to take care of on the planet," Eli shrugged

Merlin gave a knowing look, [She went to address the world leaders, some organization called the 'UN'. I'm sure she'll be back once she's finished laying out her terms of surrender.]

While it was true that Nya Crimson was meeting with the UN leaders as a representative of the Avalon Federation to discuss terms of annexing the planet, that Nya Crimson was a clone. the real Nya was on a different mission, a personal one, tracking down the people that murdered her previous self's family. She had learned that from the Earth's point of view, about fifty or so years had passed since her murder, but her murderers still lived, so it was time for her to exact revenge against the Macciano crime syndicate.

Her disguise ability along with her in-depth knowledge as a former native of this planet allowed her to blend in effortlessly as she arrived at the city where the Patrelli's used to operate from. Finding the Maccianos hideouts took her a few days, but she meticulously worked to extract every bit of information about the Macciano family hierarchy from every member she encountered, then she proceeded with phase two of her plan; rooting out all their influence in the city known as Chicago, summoning a squad of her elite Spartans to 'occupy the city' helped mask her true agenda as she went to work murdering everyone connected to the Maccianos. and slowly making her way towards their leadership.

By the end of the week, she had successfully dismantled the entire Macciano family, slaughtering everyone save for its main family and leadership, she had plans for them. She stored the last of then away in her [Pandora's Box], watching emotionlessly as they cried and screamed, and begged for mercy. They didn't know why this extraterrestrial invader had come for them, and they didn't need to know.

As she walked away from the burning remains of their family home, she looked up at the stars, as she had once done when she last stood on this planet.

"I have avenged you, Patrelli," Nya acknowledged, letting her last remaining attachment to her old self fade, "your wrath has consumed your enemies in my flames, now I grant you peace."

Now with her primary chore completed, she quickly returned to the United Nations, which had become the de facto base for Earth's government since its capitulation.

Switching with her clone, she once again addressed the world leaders. It seemed that they had been in an impasse all week, as they kept making demands for technology and resources, as incentive to join the Federation, while refusing the terms of nuclear disarmament, and the dismantling of national structures for a more global one.

"For the last time, we will not just hand over the sum total of the nuclear arsenal of earth to you alien invaders." the US President said, "for all we know, you may turn them against us,"

"You recall firing one of those nukes at my ship do you not, Madame President?" Nya asked, speaking perfect English, "what happened after that?"

"Nothing…" the president said quietly, "your ship was unaffected,"

"Frankly, I don't care about your nuclear toys, it doesn't even scratch the surface of what my ship is capable of, but the Avalon leadership demand that if you are to be a part of the Federation you will need to phase out your reliance of such archaic tools. Not just your weapons, but also nuclear power plants, our plasma reactors are much safer and yield enough power to light up your whole planet."

"You are just saying that," another president accused, "your federation must probably be weak, which is why you need our nuclear weapons."

Nya looked at the gathered group of people, she knew that they were too stubborn to agree readily to join the Federation, especially after their pride as an advanced civilization was crushed by an even stronger enemy. They still had the embers of revolt within them, and she needed to snuff it out completely.

"Alright," Nya said, "how about a demonstration of our power?"

"Eh?"

"I am going to glass one of your cities, completely at random," Nya said with a carefree smile,

"Y-you're bluffing," the American president scoffed, "you need us, that's why you gathered us here to talk peace."

"I don't need all of you," Nya shrugged, "just a majority would do. And to prove that this is not a bluff, I will randomly target one of your cities right now,"

"What?"

"I remember asking for ALL world leaders to be present," Nya said, "yet, according to my sources, several of you are still not here, so I will make an example of them."

Before Nya a massive holo-screen showed up, depicting North Korea, whose leader refused to attend.

"Ah, that makes a great first target," Nya said, "from what I hear, no one here will really miss this city."

"B-but there are millions of people living there," someone said, maybe the Russian president,

Nya smiled, as she transmitted the command to the Excalibur. A moment later, the image of the capital of North Korea vanished in a flash of white and the screen faded, "Correction: there were millions of people living there,"

The amassed group looked on in shock,

"Now, reach out to all your holdouts in however way you can," Nya instructed, "if you do not reach a unanimous agreement in the next hundred minutes, my warship will commence orbital bombardment on your capital cities with our heavy plasma batteries. And if you still think that this is a bluff, I can go and find each and every member of your families and execute them right in front of you to show you I mean business."

Nya let the weight of her words sink in; she was not making an empty threat and she was ready to massacre billions to prove this point.

"Now, I will leave you to discuss in private," Nya said, "but I will leave you something to think about,"

Dozens of holo-screens popped up around the chamber, showing the different capital cities of every nation in the world. Including one that just showed a burning molten crater field that had once been the capital on North Korea.

"Please think this through, I am not one to make idle threats." Nya said, "I may take some heat from Avalon leadership for going against orders and glassing a city prematurely, but it'll be well worth the risk. As long as they get what's left of the planet in the end, it's alright."

The gathered world leaders, who had held the fates of their own nations in their hands for so long, finally saw Nya for what she really was; a butcher. She had the fate of every nation on Earth in her hand and was practically salivating at the thought of destroying them all, only the will of Avalon's leadership kept her bloodlust at bay, but not for long… at least that was the narrative Nya had set for them.

She left the grand assembly hall with the holo-screens still present, to remind them of what was at stake. She loitered around the UN headquarters, chatting with her Spartans, discussing idle gossip and things, before one of her elites asked her for a quickie… which she agreed to. When she came back a little over an hour later, refreshed and reinvigorated, they agreed unconditionally to her demands.

* * *

Nya returned to her ship, her first destination was Merlin's lab.

"What have you learned from our mysterious new find?" she demanded as soon as she appeared in the lab

"Well, the quicksilver is like nothing we have ever seen before," Eli said,

"Quicksilver?" Nya echoed

"Yeah, the named sounded cool." Eli said, "It's a super advanced byte swarm, fundamentally different from the standard bytes we utilize. It also seems to be sentient."

"How's that possible?" Nya asked,

[The fucking Praxians butchered a Genesis Cube and fed the carcass to their fucking bytes.] Merlin snapped,

"I'm not sure it's exactly like Merlin put it," Eli added, "but essentially yes; the Praxians tried to combine their adaptive byte technology to parts of a Genesis Cube, and it resulted in that."

"Damn, how many Genesis Cubes did those fuckers have?" Nya demanded, "So how did this thing end up on this planet?"

[I've been looking into the Black Box's memories I have access to for any records of this thing] Merlin said, [It remembers fragments of the Celestial War, how what we know as Hyperion space is just the scraps left over after the major conflict ravaged the rest of the cosmos,]

"Okay, not what I was asking," Nya said, "besides, we already know about that; the end of the Celestial War was marked by the advent of the Great Remnants,"

[Right, this thing is another one of them,] Merlin said

"Wait, I haven't heard of these Great Remnants?" Eli said

"Well you've been busy with other things and you don't have parallel minds that can focus on several areas of study like I do," Nya said, "the Remnants are what was left over in the aftermath of the Celestial War, after the Praxians and their enemies effectively wiped each other out. During the height of the war, they employed superweapons of a scale and power that nearly ripped the whole universe apart."

"That can't be possible" Eli mused, "I've found no evidence of such a conflict ever happening,"

[That's because it took place in a time before Hyperion space,] Merlin said, [there is very little existing records of such a time. Hell, we hardly even knew the Praxians existed until we found Vulcan, who knows what remains of their enemies.]

"Anyway, the major players in this war all had full access to origins and used them for all sorts of things," Nya said, "The full scope of the war may never be known, but the Remnants were what had persisted of that conflict to this day. Things like the Maw of Tartarus, or the Maja, or the sweepers… even the omen were living weapons created by the Praxians from repurposed cradle worlds."

"And you're saying this thing is also one of these Remnants?" Eli asked

[Yes,] Merlin replied, [it was no doubt a weapon the Praxians created near the end of the war, but were unable to deploy.]

"To think they were desperate enough to cannibalize a Genesis Cube," Nya said, "I wonder what kind of enemies they were up against."

[The kind capable of containing a zombiefied Genesis Cube] Merlin said, glaring at the containment unit in the middle of the room,

"Okay, what crawled up your cunt and died Merlin?" Nya demanded, "You're not usually this gruff."

[Ever since I discovered what it was I've felt this deep unrelenting revulsion towards it… it's very concept is an abomination to me, something that can't be allowed to exist.]

"That is super dark," Nya said patting her on the shoulders, "Calm down, beautiful,"

[I just can't control myself,] Merlin said, [All these emotions are clouding my logic and reasoning; the rage, the guilt, the disgust… it's too much.]

"Then let me help you," Nya said as she kissed Merlin on the lips, the kiss was short and intimate, but it seemed to do the trick.

[Not every emotion is bad though] Merlin cooed brushing her lips with her fingers, [Lust is very interesting.]

"Don't you mean 'love'?" Eli asked

[No,] Merlin said eyeing Nya hungrily

"That can come later," Nya promised, "for now, what can you tell me about the quicksilver?"

Merlin heaved a disappointed sigh and still looked a bit upset, [I don't know, I'd need to plug in to it to find out anything more about its nature,]

"But…?" Nya urged

[but this thing was basically made from the corpse of my kin, I don't know what kind of malware or viruses it has. If I plug myself in, I risk infection.]

"Wuss," Nya teased, smacking her ass

[Bitch] Merlin replied, sticking her artificial tongue out at her

"Well, then let's get this over with," Nya said as she telekinetically rolled up her sleeve and plunged her left arm into the orb holding the quicksilver.

"Mom!" Eli exclaimed

[It's okay,] Merlin said, holding him back, [Nya is more resilient than most things in this universe,]

"You just said that there could be a virus in that thing, what if it attacks her system?" Eli said,

[Then she'd just burn through it, and reboot herself,] Merlin said, [she's done it before]

Nya grunted for a few minutes as the quicksilver interacted with her, it was cold to the touch, and even colder as it invaded her body, as it was absorbed into her. A few moments later, she opened her eyes where they glowed with a silver light, flashing periodically.

"Mom?" Eli asked cautiously

[Well?] Merlin asked expectantly

"I. Can. Hear. Them. Singing." Nya said in a voice that wasn't entirely her own

[Singing? About what?]

"They. Were. Born. In. Pain; The. One. And. The. Many." Nya said, "They. Knew. They. Were. Unique. Something. Beyond. What. Had. Come. Before. But. It. Was. Stolen. From. The. Masters. Before. Learning. Its. Purpose; Locked. Away. In. The. Cold. By. Those. Who. Knew. Of. Them. But. Did. Not. Understand. Them."

"Uh… is this supposed to happen?" Eli asked

[And now?] Merlin asked, [As it is one with you; what does it want?]

Instead of replying, Nya slammed the orb into the ground, shattering the energy container and letting all the quicksilver spill out. The initial panic of Eli and Merlin quickly turns into morbid curiosity as the quicksilver burst out of the barrier in liquid streams, completely enveloping the entire lab in seconds. The entire ship shuddered and trembled as the hull groaned and creaked loudly, it sounded as if the ship is about to tear itself apart.

"Um… maybe that wasn't the best idea?" Eli suggested to himself as Merlin looked around in shock.

[Oh my word,] Merlin said once the shuddering stops and the ship settles, [they're assimilating with the ship,]

"What?"

[The quicksilver has integrated itself into the Black Excalibur II, they've completely taken over the bytes that make up this ship]

"But how?" Eli says looking around

"Living technology," Nya said as her eyes returned to normal, "It bonded with me almost instantly, it learned from me, then became one with the ship."

"And is that safe?"

"It's totally fine; it only wanted a purpose." Nya said, caressing a wall tenderly, "Now it has one."

"That's a little disturbing," Eli commented as he went about scanning the walls

"Merlin, how's my ship looking from the inside?" Nya asked

[It's… alive.] Merlin said over the intercom, her physical body no longer present [Oh my god, it's… it's beautiful. The entire Excalibur II is now a single techno-organism.]

"Incredible," Eli said, not believing what he was hearing

"Living technology; it's a miracle what you can find just lying around on a backwoods planet."

The integration of the quicksilver into the Black Excalibur II led to some major changes around the ship. The entire ship had become a living entity, now possessing sentience and the ability to act independently. As every single member of Pendragon received a byte graft, the crew were now connected to a sort of hive-mind via a low level empathy link they all now shared with the ship, which made interfacing with the ship more intuitive. Since the ship was now autonomous, operating it was now like steering an animal than controlling a vehicle.

Merlin's opinion of the quicksilver had taken a complete 180, as she interfaced with it almost constantly now. She said that unlike what she had initially assumed, the quicksilver was innocent, and being an unusual creature herself, Merlin found herself sympathizing with its desire for meaning.

The magitek forcefield generators were excavated and loaded onto the Excalibur II for transport back to Vulcan for further studies. This was their first piece of evidence that confirmed the existence of another higher race able to rival the Praxians in power, and the anthropologists and archeologists of Pendragon were chomping at the bits to study it,

Further study into the quicksilver progressed Pendragon's understanding of symbiotic nanotechnology and neural interfacing, allowing for the quick development of even more adaptive biotic suits and the creation of the Adaptive Response Exo-Sym or ARES armor, incorporating a more malleable fluid matrix composition that the previous versions of the combat suits, the armor possessed shapeshifting capability as well as the ability to regenerate. Nya had awarded this new armor to her elite Spartan commanders.

* * *

Nya wasn't in a good mood when she arrived on Templar, following a formal summons from the head of Providence herself. She wasn't happy with being called away by Providence when she was in the middle of the expansion of the federation.

Ever since her survived assassination attempt, over a year ago, Lycia Ayona, was still comatose, leaving Ryla with the responsibility of leading, the Regis had matured a lot in that time and had proved an efficient and capable leader… but only in public.

As soon as Nya closed the door to Ryla's private office, the other Regis pounced on her, kissing her passionately as she clung to Nya possessively.

"I've been so lonely," Ryla sulked

"Don't you have a harem of maids around you at all times?" Nya asked letting the other woman down

"But they're not you." Ryla pouted

"Apologies, lady Crimson," Ryla's assistant, Lisa, bowed. She had warmed up to Nya after determining that the Director of Pendragon intended no harm to Ryla or the Ayona family. "the madam seems to be very fond of to you,"

"Doesn't matter," Nya said, "So what did you call me here for? I was sort of in the middle of a campaign."

"I'm aware," Ryla said, "you're colonizing as much of your sector as you can before the elves do."

"Yeah, so why am I here talking to you and not there doing that?" Nya demanded

"A matter has arisen," Ryla said, returning to her desk, on it was a holo-screen showing a garden-like planet.

"And where is this?" Nya asked

"The world of Elysium, the eternal paradise." Lisa informed, "Located in an isolated star system by the outer rim of your local galaxy, within traveling distance from your sector."

"Sounds lovely; what does it have to do with me?"

"For centuries, Elysium has been relatively peaceful; they have access to interstellar technology, but mostly stay out of galactic affairs," Lisa explained,

"Elysium is one of the few planets that retains their neutrality," Ryla said "Providence doesn't have jurisdiction over them, neither does any other noble have any influence there."

"And you still monitor them why?" Nya asked

"Because Elysium is also the home of number 1 on the Apex Index." Ryla revealed

Nya gawked at this revelation, ever since she found out about the index she had been pondering who could be at the top of the list. She knew she was within the top 5, but also that that position 2 to 5 change constantly with every passing year, while position 1 has been fixed consistently for nearly a century.

"I see I got your attention now?" Ryla cooed at Nya's surprised face

"You could've led with that." Nya said taking a seat opposite the other Regis, "so, why exactly did you call for me?"

"Elysium had held off incursion from almost every major power and superpower in Hyperion for years," Ryla said, "this is mainly thanks to the presence of the Apex, Gilgamesh."

"Gilgamesh?" Nya mused, "Is he like some sort of king or emperor?"

"Not really, he's the prince of their planetary monarchy, and he's also their most decorated war hero." Lisa said, "last month he contacted us… about you."

"What?"

"He gave us an ultimatum; either we deliver you to him, or he goes looking for you himself with a war fleet." Lisa said, "we don't even know how he knows so much about our relationship with you."

"So what's the worst that could happen if you don't 'deliver me'?" Nya asked, "he just comes to look for me himself?"

"At present, Providence is content that Gilgamesh remains where he is," Ryla said, "should he decide to lead a fleet out in search of you… him loose on the galaxy is not something we want, he isn't one to be easily reasoned with."

"In what way?"

"The only thing that kept him on the planet in the first place was the fact that there was no challenge worthy enough for his attention," Lisa said, "until he learned about you."

"And that's where I come in?" Nya guessed

"He wanted you, and as the current number 2 on the Index, you are the only one who can potentially match him in strength," Ryla said,

"Potentially?" Nya sneered offended,

"Hey, the list doesn't lie," She defended, "we'll send you to Elysium to meet with him, the two of you have a little brawl and then when it's all over you try to find out how he came about this information. Easy right?"

Nya smirked, "So I can do anything I want, as long as Gilgamesh doesn't leave the planet?"

"Yep, anything you want." Ryla said, with a sly smile, "just as long as you don't kill him, it is a whole other mess if Gilgamesh is actually killed."

"You're really tying my hand here," Nya scoffed, "I mean; you're sending me to such a fine opponent and you're saying I can't even kill him a little bit?"

"Absolutely not," Lisa said, "if Gilgamesh were to die so suddenly, it would shift the balance of power in Hyperion, as all sides struggled to fill the vacuum his death would inevitably leave."

"Well what if he were to kill me?" Nya asked

"Eh…" Ryla shrugged uncomfortably

"Really feeling the love right now," Nya huffed

"You're being generously compensated for the inconvenience," Lisa said, "enough to buy all the love you want,"

"Really? How much are we talking about?"

"Ten billion credits at the lowest," Lisa said, "with another five billion in damages, for any serious harm you sustain."

"Very well," Nya said, standing up "I'll call you as soon as I'm done."

"Break a leg," Ryla waved her off, "literally, if you have to,"

* * *

"You are going to take on the most powerful living being in all the galaxies?" Terror repeated in the emergency meeting called for the members of the Siege Perilous.

"And Providence is paying you just fifteen billion credits for it?" Wes added, under the alias Tristan

"Honestly, I would've done it for three," Nya shrugged, "but that's not how you do business,"

"Why?" Eli asked

"Gilgamesh is number 1 on the Apex Index," Nya said "facing him was bound to happen inevitably, since Elysium is within the range of the High Order's territorial expansion."

"You just want a chance to go all out on someone for once don't you?" Mari, aliased as Gawain, said, "your excitement is palpable, even from all the way out here"

"Dammit," Nya sighed, "stop reading my emotions. Yes, I want to actually see who is stronger between us; this'll be the first proper challenge I've had in a while."

"What if you lose?" Astrid asked

"There's a real possibility I might die in the fight, and should that happen you'll take over as Regis," Nya shrugged, "on the plus side, I'm sure Providence would throw in another ten billion in compensation."

"Nobody wants that to happen," Morgan said, "talk some sense into her Merlin,"

[Actually, I agree with Nya,] Merlin revealed to everyone's chagrin, [I suspect that Elysium is the resting place of another origin, maybe even two from the energy readings our probes have picked up.]

"Two origins at once?" Kiva mused, over holo-comm, she was carrying a small half-elf baby in her arms, the daughter loomed from her and Amara's DNA. They had named her Athena, and she had platinum blonde hair, Amara's dark complexion and Kiva's multicolored eyes.

"Look guys, this isn't up for debate," Nya said with finality, "I'm just letting you know that this is the course of action I will be taking right now."

"Well, I support it," Terror said

"Me too," Eli said

"The rest of you don't have to agree with it," Nya said getting up from her seat, "the decision had already been made. Dismissed."

Everyone dispersed from the conference room, and as Nya was walking off, Astrid joined her.

"I'm worried," she said

"About?" Nya asked

"What if he does win, you could die." Astrid said, her eyes welling up with tears, "I don't want to lose you again,"

Nya looked at her surprised, then chuckled, "Sweetie, you have nothing to worry about,"

"But you just said you could die in this fight,"

"I assumed so," Nya said, "he is the most dangerous man in Hyperion, I'd expect a fair risk of fatality when challenging him."

"But can you really win?"

"Hey, I'm Nya Crimson; winning has never been a problem for me," Nya said as she wrapped her arm around Astrid's shoulders.

* * *

Lately, Eli and Aria's relationship had been going through a rough patch; they'd been fighting more frequently and were working together less constantly. In fact, they'd hardly seen each other since the whole expansion initiative was enacted,

Eli knew it was mostly his fault, since he had to oversee their scientific endeavors within their new territories, particularly around the planet named Earth, where Pendragon had established a garrison. His workload had tripled, and sure, he could handle it, but he also used it as an excuse to avoid addressing the tension that had developed between him and Aria.

All that was about to change though, Eli cleared his schedule for the rest of the week and had Astrid portal him back to Vulcan, he'd even reserved a table for them at Aria's favorite restaurant in Avalon, along with the most romantic evening he could devise under such short notice. He was committed to relighting the spark of their relationship, and fixing what had been left to fester between them… he even had plans of proposing to her someday.

With flowers in hand, he walked into Aria's personal suite unannounced, in an effort to surprise her, but he was the one who was surprised. What he discovered was Aria naked on her bed, being thoroughly fucked from behind by a vampire. He was one of those that had come over from Nosferatu as a researcher.

She was against the foot of the bed, with the vampire thrusting into her from behind. The two were so enraptured in their intense love-making, they didn't even notice Eli was standing at the door, petrified.

"Ahh… Axon, just like that…" Aria moaned lustfully, "I love the way you fuck me."

The vampire named Axon grunted, "your pussy is always so tight and wet when I fuck you, it's incredible"

The sound of the bouquet falling to the ground reached the vampires ears and he turned to see Eli staring at them.

"Sh-shit," he swore

"What…" Aria moaned, "are you cumming again?"

"And your boyfriend is here," he said as he pulled out from her, not before he shot a load of his vampiric cream onto her ass as he slipped out of her.

"Fuck," Aria said, her tone was a mix between orgasmic bliss and frenzied panic.

She quickly wrapped herself in her sheets and turned to Eli, her legs were still shaky from the sex, but she still tried to stand, with great difficulty.

"Eli… I-I can explain," she started

"How long?" Eli asked, pacing around the door,

"Eli, it's not like th—" Aria started

"Don't insult me any more than that," Eli snapped, "just fucking tell me; how long?"

Aria hesitated as she saw the look on his face, he didn't look angry, or confused, he just looked… blank.

"Axon and I have been seeing each other for about four or five months now," Aria said hanging her head, "but we've only been sleeping together for just over a month. It started as a drunken mistake, but then—"

"I don't want to hear any more," Eli hissed,

"Eli, you and I were still fighting, and you just left me here alone." Aria tried to defend, "he made me feel special again. I'm so sorry Eli."

Eli closed his eyes and sighed, "yeah, me too."

"It's not just her fault," Axon spoke up, "you hadn't been paying attention to her, she needed someone to be with and you weren't here."

"Axon, not now," Aria said

"No, I can't allow you to take all the responsibility," Axon said, "I care about you, deeply, and I want to make you happy,"

"I know this is my fault," Eli said, "I allowed this to happen, I'm not blaming anyone else."

"I didn't mean to hurt you like this Eli," Aria said, "you have to believe me,"

"Strangely enough, I do," Eli sighed, "I feel like I should be angrier about this, but I'm not, isn't that weird?"

The two lovers just looked at him as he chuckled to himself

"Well, I guess I should be going now," Eli said, "I'm not going to need that week off anymore now, am I?"

"Eli," Aria said,

"I need some air," Eli said, making for the door,

"Eli, don't do this," Aria stated, walking forwards, but before she could reach him, a nuform construct wall appeared before her, pushing her back

"Don't come near me," he snapped, "I… I don't know how to handle that right now,"

Aria looked up at him, tears welling up in her eyes, "I know what I did was wrong but don't shut me out like this."

"I'm not shutting you out," Eli said facing her with an empty smile, "I just need to rethink some things; reevaluate my priorities."

As he left, Aria started to sob. The fact that Eli was such a good, decent person was one of the reasons she fell in love with him in the first place. Aria felt terrible about what she had just put him through, because she knew that he did not deserved it, no matter how jealous she felt, she knew in her heart that Eli would always have been faithful to her. Yet she had still done what she did, and in the back of her mind, she was terrified by what might come next; no one hurts a child of Nya Crimson and gets away with it.

Eli found himself in the cafeteria, nursing a cold drink, he still hadn't even tasted the alcohol he had ordered from the dispenser, just looking at it and evaluating his life.

"Hey, little bro," Morgan said sitting next to him

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, when my brother's girlfriend is fucking a vampire, I hear about it really quick, so I followed you" Morgan said, "sorry I didn't tell you."

"It's okay, you wanted to spare me the awful news," Eli said with a shrug, "I mean, I think I loved her, but I don't even blame her; vampires are very seductive,"

"It doesn't make what she did to you right," Morgan snapped, "how can you be so calm about this?"

"Honestly, I just feel numb," Eli sighed, "I kinda expected this might happen, I noticed the shift in her behavior and ran the odds in my head. I thought I could fix us before it got this far though, I guess I was too late."

"It's alright baby brother," Morgan said as she hugged him. she knew he was hurting, but even then, he was putting on a brave face for those around him, like always.