Viza woke up to see Amelia gone and Hal left with him in her room, confusion crossed his face and sudden worry that she had been abducted flashed through his mind. Instinctively his fur stood on end and claws extended, looking around to try and find any trace of a fight or scuffle, something to clue him in on who took his mate, only for Hal to speak up after a moment.
"She's fine, Viza. Well, I'm not sure fine is accurate, I've never seen Mother like this, but at the very least she is safe and still aboard. I believe she went to the material fabrication lab now that S.A. sanctions have been lifted from the ship's systems." Hal's voice was difficult to read emotion from when he spoke neutrally like this, but Viza thought he could detect a hint of worry. Regardless, tensing up and jumping at shadows like this wasn't helping anyone, so he took a moment to calm himself using long, deep breaths. Unconsciously his one hand moved to the new marking on his uniform, the Ryder clan mark, and it seemed to give him strength and composure as he sat back down on the bed.
"What do you mean, seen her like this, Hal? Is something wrong?" Viza asked, worry evident in his voice. Hal made a facsimile of sighing before unfolding himself to "sit" beside Viza.
"Mother told you the short version of her past yes? Trust me when I say it's worse than what you are imagining. What happened to the kits on the station? Mother had to watch people do the equivalent to my siblings, powerless to stop them. The whole episode with the station, I believe it's affecting her more than she's letting on. It was like a reminder of...of what she went through." Hal said solemnly, making Viza's chest sink with sadness. He hadn't realized, or perhaps didn't want to think on it so much, how bad what Amelia went through before had been. But if what happened at the station was relative to it like Hal suggested...
"How..how do you know about it, Hal? Did she tell you?"
"No... I...I have access to Mother's implants in a limited fashion, similar to how I hacked your translator, but more in-depth. One of her implants, it acts as a kind of backup for her mind and her memories. It's called the Cheshire implant. It's a blessing and a curse, as it's gotten us out of tough situations, but it practically tortures Mother with her being unable to forget painful memories she'd rather not think about. And if she uses the Cheshire protocol, it's worse. The implant takes primary control, giving her much better reflexes, processing speed, and more. In exchange, it locks her in...She describes it as "a room with nothing but painful experiences." I think it tortures her. Each time she uses it, it's like it takes a bit more of her. I've tried talking to it but, to be honest, I think it's insane. Regardless, I was able to glean a good bit of Mother's past by looking into it. Even I don't know everything though."
Viza sunk, listening to that. What kind of monsters would do that to one of their own? How had Amelia even remained sane with that kind of trauma constantly in her head? He only heard of it and wanted to curl up next to her, and probably would've if she were here.
"Hal, what's she need access to the material synthesizer for?" he asked tentatively, but Hal gave no response, seemingly thinking deeply, though Viza could be just reading into it. Hesitantly, Hal moved over to Viza's arm, forming into the all too familiar band-like form on it. It felt..strange. He expected Hal's frame to feel cold, like metal, instead, it was warm with a gentle thrumming, almost like a heartbeat. Hal's voice entered Viza's head with a surprise, shocking him for a moment as Viza let out a gasp.
"Let's go see. I have an idea, but it's something better seen than explained." And then, as if reading Viza's thoughts, Hal continued.
"Yeah, my body isn't made from metal, it's a complex bio-synthetic meta-material. Yes, I can read your thoughts, just the surface ones though. Direct contact allows me to pick up the neural patterns of the person I'm attached to, which I can then process. Oh, the thrumming is from my power core, a micro fusion reactor. Don't worry, it's far too small to ever go critical."
'He had a what reactor?' Viza thought causing Hal to laugh in his head. Viza realized he was manipulating his translator implant, much like the private connection, but learning Hal could read his thoughts was a bit frightening. He should definitely not think of Amelia then, or what he-
"Hey, that's my mother. What you two do is your own business but I don't wanna see your dirty fantasies of my mom, Viza." Hal thankfully interrupted.
"Sorry," Viza responded meekly, a slight blush on his face from embarrassment.
"It's fine, let's go."
-------
They walked mostly in silence, Hal not seemingly having much to say and Viza making sure to mind his thoughts while Hal was attached. Eventually, they reached the material synthesizing lab, but rather than enter Hal told Viza to stop and directed him around to the observation part of the lab, meant for when making dangerous materials. Inside he could see Amelia, looking like she needed sleep and sweating profusely as she worked on something with the nano-forge. Nano-forges were extremely expensive pieces of equipment, able to produce almost any material and design but had huge power costs, and industrial ones like this one also produced a lot of heat, Viza was surprised Amelia could handle the heat.
"What is she making?" Viza asked quietly. Whatever it was had a similar blackness to Hal himself, but was much larger.
"If I had to guess, something from the Azathoth files," Hal said quietly, It sounded almost like a whisper in Viza's head, and was filled with sadness. That was another thing, with Hal speaking directly in his head like this, Viza could tell he was much more emotionally expressive.
"What are the Azathoth files?" Viza asked, not understanding the reference.
"Mother, whether she realized it or not, had a bit of a dramatic flair in her naming conventions. One of them was mythology, which she usually used for things she deemed too dangerous for other people to know, weapons, and the like. The exception was my siblings, but that was because they chose their names. Azathoth was the name of a god in Lovecraftian mythos, it's monikers included Sleeping Chaos, The Cold one, The Blind Dreamer". According to its lore, Azathoth was a primordial god that took the form of a sentient black hole, the end of all things. The Azathoth files contain the weapons and designs that Amelia considered in one form or another so dangerous that Humanity should never get their hands on them."
The way Hal spoke of it was almost as if she were conjuring the deity itself, which from its description Viza would never want to see.
"So then why is she making one of those things if they are so dangerous?" He asked concernedly, at which point he could hear another sigh from Hal.
"Because of you, Dummy."
"Me, what do you mean, I never told her to do anything like this!"
"No, you didn't. But for the first time in a while, she has someone besides me to worry about. Mom and I can take care of ourselves if we need to go on the run and repair ourselves if we get hurt. You though, you don't have that luxury. She wants to make sure you aren't taken like....like before. And I agree with her."
Viza just stood there in shock as Hal explained things to him, letting it all sink in as he watched Amelia work. She was so focused on what she was making that she didn't even look up once to see him. Unexpectedly at one point she stops the nano-forge, looks at what appeared to be part of an arm, perhaps for an exo-suit, and throws it in frustration, it not being up to standards. He watched as she sat down in a chair, collapsing in on herself in frustration, and Viza couldn't help it. He walked into the room, walked straight up to her, and held her, ignoring her surprise at seeing him and Hal there.
"Stupid fucking machine! can't even get the-Viza? What are you-hey, you okay?" She said as she was suddenly hugged by him. Viza ignored the scent assaulting his senses, having forgotten to take his medication, and Amelia's blocker evidently worn off, and instead focused on her. He felt stupid, he should've realized that she was hurting more than she let on. He had leaned on her and he thought she would lean on him, but he didn't realize how hard that was for her to do, given her past. He had to make sure she knew she could count on him to be there for her, so he held her. Her small, unassuming 5'4 frame swallowed in his own 7'2 body.
"You should take a break, yes? This, whatever it is, it can wait, until you're more clear of mind," he said softly.
"No, I need to make this, Viza. My body can fix itself, given time, yours... can't. I have to make sure you'll be safe no matter what, I have to-"
"AMELIA!" Viza, for the first time, shouted as he noticed her rampant panicking starting to set in again, snapping her out of her worries to look at him, surprised. Shocked. Worried.
"You need time to rest, you need time to heal. Working on this, whatever it is, won't do that. Please, for me, just for a little while, take time for yourself. Talk to me, I am here for you, my Huntress. Let me give you strength as you do me." He said, softly. Grabbing her chin as she had started looking down, he raised it so they were looking at each other.
"As you fear for me, I too fear for you. I fear you may lose yourself and I'll be helpless to stop it. And I do not wish to see you gone." He said, genuine worry in his voice. Amelia started crying a bit. No noises, but a few tears started falling.
"I almost lost you Viza! I almost lost Hal. Everything! I almost lost it all again! I can't...I can't... I have to..to protect.." As she spoke, the metaphorical dam burst as Viza gently picked her up, holding her close, and started taking them back to her room. Along the way they caught the attention of several Hexat ship workers, but he paid them no mind, they weren't even a thought or concern, Only Amelia was right now as she held onto him so tightly even a hammer couldn't knock them apart. When they reached her room, Viza gently laid her upon her bed, Hall removing himself from Viza's arm and heading to a stand that looked like a charging port of some kind, powering down. Sitting on the bed next to Amelia, he was surprised when she moved to sit in his lap, and wrap his arms and tail around her, but complied. He started purring as well, a calming, comforting purr to help her relax.
"You will not lose me, Amelia. You will not push me away, you can count on me, yes?" He said, to which she gently nodded. He held her like this, whispering soft reassurances as she gently cried. Not the fast, situation sobbing of before, this was more a slow wave. Quiet, but powerful. Eventually, when all the tears had left, with Viza leaning against the wall of the bed and Amelia against him, she spoke again.
"I don't like that being near me puts you in danger, I'm scared." Her voice was small, meek, quiet, not the normally powerful and charged voice he had come to expect.
"I would be in just as much danger on Krultatha. You cannot help that there are people after you." Viza softly countered, pulling some of her hair away from her face.
"But, what if you get hurt, what if they try to kidnap you again, what if-" She started, but Viza held one of his fingers to her lips, silencing her.
"I am a deathworlder too, remember? I am not as weak as you think. And if they somehow succeed, I know I can count on you to rescue me. You have to count on me to survive, okay?"
Amelia slowly nods, her voice caught in her throat. They sat like that for another hour, until they had both calmed down some before Viza would try and leave. However, Amelia would grab onto him. "No, stay, please?"
"I haven't taken my medication, and your blocker is wearing off. If I stay much longer.."
"I don't care. I want you to stay with me. Please..L...love?" She says, turning a bright shade of red as she spoke the last word and shocking Viza. He wasn't sure if she was saying what he thought she was, but he also knew he didn't really want to leave either, so he relented, sitting back down next to her.
"You...That's the first time you've said.." Viza started, not quite able to finish his sentence.
"I've..been kinda scared to," Amelia replied shyly.
"I...I don't know if I can control myself without the blocker or medication, my mate." Viza repeated, with nervousness and a bit of shyness in his voice as well.
"Do..do you want me?" Amelia asked as she turned in his lap to face him, worry and concern, and more than a little blush on her face.
"Of course I do. So much so it hurts." Viza replied, his voice barely over a whisper as he looked down, his ears going flat and his eyes closing, more than a little blush on his face as well.
"Then it's okay," Amelia said, smiling sweetly at him. A genuine smile as she leaned in close to him, just to be closer. Their first real night together began. No interruptions, no attacks incoming or new ruining, no medications in the way, just the two of them.