A twelve-by-twelve room was illuminated by its white tiled flooring, matching walls, and glistening ceiling. At the side of the room was a small blue cot with white bedding, while at the front laid a long silver desk filled with papers and notebooks crammed with formulas, scribbles, and drawn sketches of a curved black pistol.

An older man sat at the head of the desk in a floating white desk chair. His long black locks, shimmering in the room's whiteness, were wrapped into a tight ball atop his head. He scratches at his growing beard, black in some places, while white patches formed beneath his chin and mustache as if not use to the excess facial hair.

His brownish pupils focus intensely on the project at hand. His left hand writes down several numbers on a blue-laser tracepad while his right fiddles with a dark-blue cube. The object in his palm sparkles with small white orbs on its sides, like stars in a midnight sky. Though the ripples causing it to tilt on its axis ever so often make it seem more like a majestic sea reflecting the heavenly bodies above.

The man lops his neck to the side with a series of cracks, then drops both the cube and tracepad, standing from his chair with a yawning stretch. His 6"4 frame was defined by his muscular build, his abs, and biceps bulging from his white latex bodysuit like circular blocks that hugged his skin.

“… Dr. Yamauchi Ashihei. You have visitors." A male's voice echoes through an intercom, though the source is unable to be seen.

Ashihei looks at the white rectangular outlining beside the desk and then nods.

"I would've preferred a bit more time to correct some readings but sure, I'll see the advisers now."

The white outlines collapse together with the door, then sliding upward. Ashihei's eyes widen as Loliel runs through and leaps into his arms, still looking forward as if in shock.

“L-Loliel… What are you-“

A man with blue-leathery skin and green reptilian eyes wearing a black Federation uniform steps in front of the doorway with a sneer.

"You have five minutes, yabacha. We're on a tight shift in these quarters so-"

"She can take as long as she wants. And keep your Aiktelian tongue to yourself before I cut it off and make whoever's your superior swallow it."

The guard looks down to the side with a shiver, nodding his head and making way for Miya as she glares at him while walking through the door. She then perches her back on the wall near the doorway with crossed arms while looking to the side.

Loliel looks back to Miya with a smile, then back to Ashihei. "She got us some time with you before we leave. Guess knowing a Patroller isn't too bad after all, I guess."

"Y-yes… Wait, did you say before you leave?"

Loliel unwraps her arms around him and nods his head before taking a few steps back. "We… After I told everyone about what transpired, um… We all decided to continue looking for a new planet to live on."

Ashihei sputters with a gulp. "B-but, why not just stay here? I was made aware that I'd be compensated for my efforts here so I'd be able to take care of you when-"

Loliel lowers her gaze, then steps to the side. "Believe me, I thought it was an outlandish idea myself, but… Someone persisted on it, and you know how she is when she gets an idea…."

Ashihei looks at the shadow looming past the side of the door. The sides of his eyes begin to moisten as he drops to his knees, still keeping his back straight.

Vivi walks through the door accompanied by authoritative clacks of her black inched heels. The swaying skin-tight pants complimenting her dark brunette hair had oversized cuffs stopping at her ankles. They matched the material from the glossy polyester jacket resting on her shoulders but covering her white dress shirt with a square black tie perched on the bulge of her bosom.

Ashihei's eyes dart at her every angle with a slightly lowered jaw as if witnessing a magnificent being only spoken of in fables.

She bends down in front of him and caresses the sides of his beard with her slender fingers, chuckling with several pats to his cheeks.

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"You look silly with a beard, mon amour. You need to shave, or you'll end up looking like an actual prisoner of war."

Ashihei's eyelids blink, causing tears to shimmer down his face and collect into his beard as he rests his head on the side of Vivi's shoulder.

“Qu'est-ce qui se passe? You're like an infant who's lost its mother… Calm down, please, my love."

Ashihei lifts his head with a sigh, looking up at Loliel and then back to Vivi with a somber gaze. "But I… I did lose something. I lost the two people I cared about most due to my selfishness and ignorance. I thought I'd never see you again… I thought…"

Vivi holds his head up, wiping a few tears still trailing down the sides of his face. She then leans in with a tilt and locks lips with his. Ashihei's eyelids lower as he pushes gently into her embrace while their chests press against each other and arms hold together close.

After a few seconds, she turns to the side with closed eyes, then looks back into his with a glare.

—PLAP

Ashihei's face jerks to the side with a red mark smeared across his cheek. He then looks at Vivi with hints of fear and confusion shrouded in his eyes.

"The Conglemerate of Earthian Nations, Stellar Security, Sirius... Whatever the hell they call themselves these days; They own a system in the Eagaura Galaxy called the Kappa Humania Pass. If it's true that the remnants of our old agency are still alive, I'm sure my mother and brother are still are too, too dammed to die by their own insidious creation."

Vivi then stands with a quick about-face, Ashihei looking as her glittering black locks glide to the side then rest on her back.

"I've been thinking about the entirety of the situation for the few days we've been kept at this station. The truth is that you lied to us, put your work before your family, the people you care about. I thought I knew the man that I married all those years ago, but you've… You've apparently grown accustomed to other priorities."

Ashihei lifts one knee off the ground. "N-no…! I've seen the error of my ways, the costs, the- "

Vivi turns her head to the side, then nods before turning back. She then continues walking toward the door, her eyelids scrunched with a determined glance.

"Maybe caring so much for others has made you blind to how much you truly care for yourself. You've done so much for us… For me, as a husband… Loliel, as a father… And the rest of the children as a positive male figure, but… Maybe you've taken us for granted, your concern more duty then affection."

She stops in the middle of the doorway and places a hand on the side, not looking back.

"Once you figure out your priorities, I want you to come find me. I think we can all use this time for a little bit of growth, some recollection about who we're going to be for the people in our lives."

Ashihei tilts his head to the ground, gripping his hands into fists with a grunt. He then nods his head with scrunched eyes.

"I'll… I'll finish what needs to be done here then… Then I'll find you. And, I'll make you believe in the man you once vowed your life too! I swear by it!"

Vivi tilts her head to the side, her lush eyelashes shadowing the dark-gray pupils below her lowered eyelids. She then disappears past the doorway, the clacks of her heels growing out of earshot after a few seconds.

Ashihei takes a deep breath and then stands back on his feet, looking down at his clenched palm with a half smile. "I… I swear by it…."

He then looks over to Loliel and opens his arms. She dashes over to him, and they engage in another loving squeeze, then release each other with broad smiles on their faces.

"Please take care of your mother in my absence. I know I haven't been the best father for you most recently but-"

Loliel puts a finger up to his lips and nods her head. "You're doing fine papa. Just make sure you stay out of trouble here, okay? We'll come back to visit soon."

She then waves while moving out the door, Ashihei clenching his chest and taking another reassuring breath. He then looks at Miya, still leaning on the wall gazing to the side.

"Are… Are you leaving as well?"

Miya cocks her head to the side with a raised eyebrow.

"To accompany them to Kappa Humania Pass I mean. For protection…?"

"Ha! I can't just leave whenever I want! That whole adventure we had was simply because 4056-E had some unwelcomed guests. I have other situations to attend too. I can't play favorites."

Miya leans herself off of the wall and pivots to the doorway. Before she exits, she looks back at Ashihei, still standing in the middle of the room.

"But yes, I will keep a close eye on them. I know there's not much you can do from this cell so I'll take your burdens upon myself, and all of that."

"T-thank you…"

Miya sighs while walking past the door. "Once again, this is for them. Not for you."

She glares up at the guard, who shimmies past her hugging the wall, then taps the panel next to the door, closing it shut.

Miya continued down the white corridor full of other metal-plated rooms on either side until noticing Vivi bent down on the floor with Loliel patting her back close behind. Vivi's sobs and weeps are heard as she walks closer beneath her lowered gaze, causing her to stop a few inches behind her.

Vivi looks back at Miya between another sob and sniffs, wiping the sides of her face and springing up from the floor with a bright smile.

"N-no need to worry. This is just, um, a new chapter — Yes! And with any type of literature, it takes a bit of emotion to…."

Miya shrugs her shoulders and continues walking down the hall. Vivi sighed with a droop of her shoulder, locking eyes with Loliel giving her a concerned gaze.

"I'm fine hun, don't worry! Let's go, we've got big plans ahead of us!"

Loliel nods her head with a smile. They then lock arms behind each other's back as they walk down the rest of the hall.

"You've got it, mom."