Serix was relieved when he and Cassie escaped the dining hall and made it back to their room without any more confrontations. Even though Emily had said she spoke for most of the humans in the caves when she apologized, he had seen the faces of the others. Mistrust, hate, disgust, anger, annoyance… He had seen it all reflected in the humans’ expressions. They were not so ready to forgive him for the crime he never committed. He only hoped they would keep their frustrations to themselves rather than lash out at him like Hunter did. One bitter male was bad enough. He didn’t need an entire colony of them stalking him like prey.

“I’m glad to say it wasn’t as bad as I expected either,” Cassie said as they sat down together on the bed to eat their dinner privately. “I was worried one of them might try to jump you with the looks some of them were giving us.”

Serix winced slightly. Cassie had noticed the humans’ hostility, too. He knew he shouldn’t have been surprised by his mate’s perceptiveness — it wasn’t like the half-bloods were trying to be particularly sneaky — but he still didn’t want her to worry for his sake. She had done enough of that after what happened in his earlier “interrogation.” When she leaned in to kiss him, he met her lips with a weary exhale, running his thumb over her hand as he held it in his. After the difficulties they had faced in the humans’ compound, he was even more grateful to her for staying by his side.

After a moment, Cassie leaned back to go over their new rules once more, “We just... need to be very careful from here on out. Keep to ourselves for now and interact with people we know for sure we can trust. We also need to make sure you go nowhere alone with anyone else. We can’t have a repeat of what happened at the bonfire that caused all this trouble. We need to make sure that I go with you, no matter what. They can’t say anything against you if I was there with with you as well.” She kissed him again. “I know it will be difficult. But once all of this is cleared up and what Hunter did is brought to light, then things will get better and people will start trusting us more.”

Maybe, Serix added silently. Somehow, he doubted that Hunter would get caught any time soon, if at all. Ryan and the other humans were too afraid to consider the possibility of one of their own pulling such a risky stunt. They would much rather stay in their blissful ignorance and assume that it was the fault of an outsider. He lifted a strawberry to his mouth and took a bite, chewing thoughtfully. At least the worst had passed. The humans were content to believe the Pilot snuck in without help, so he wasn’t in immediate danger anymore. He and Cassie had that going for them.

Serix nodded when Cassie pointed out that they also had the rest of the day to relax by themselves, “True.” He looked up, meeting her gaze. “A whole day to spend with my beautiful mate. I feel like I just won some sort of prize.” Letting go of his concerns for the moment, he gave her a playful simper. “If only we had a door with a lock so we could keep them away longer. I wouldn’t mind being stuck in here with you for a week.”

Cassie smiled and laughed lightly at his comment, "A door and a lock would be nice. That and a truck load of strawberries since you seem to like them so much." She joked, taking another bite of her own apple that she had gotten. It was nice, to spend all this alone time with him, even it was just for a little bit. He always made her feel so relaxed, something that was hard for anyone to do in the world they lived in. Before she had met him she had always been so hardened. Always on her toes, waiting for the next attack, whether it be humans crazed by the plague, rabid animals, or aliens. But around him, she was calm and actually managed to enjoy herself despite the horrible world they were in.

She supposed she should enjoy the quiet time with him while she could. They would likely be right back to work tomorrow and that meant being around all the other half-bloods more and having less alone time with him again. She knew he didn't want her worrying about any of that, but she couldn't help but wonder if any of the others might try to harm him again so soon after this incident. She wouldn't put it past them to be honest. Especially not Hunter. She would just have to keep true to her word and not leave Serix's side. No one could blame him for anything if she was always with him, and she hoped no one would try anything to harm him if she was there as a witness.

Finishing her apple and the rest of her food, she sighed and leaned back on the bed, looking up at him, giving him a small smile. No reason to let him know she was worried about him, least he start worrying about her worrying so much. It was an unfortunate and strange cycle of worrying over each other, yet not wanting the other to worry about them. And so, she did her beast to try and not show it on her face. Instead she merely kissed him softly, deciding to change the subject to something more light-hearted.

"If we had a child, Serix. What would you want, a boy or a girl?" After all, they had been trying for a few days to have a child and it was a nice change in subject away from all the gloom of worrying about the other half bloods so that they could just talk about themselves and their future. What would their child be like when they finally did have one? Would it be like her? Mostly human looking with blonde hair and blue eyes? Or more like Serix with the Lunairan features of dark hair and glowing violet eyes? It was interesting to think about, but either way she wouldn't care. It would be their child and she would adore it either way and was sure Serix would as well. But it was still fun to think about an ask about, "What do you think a child of ours would be like?"

“Strawberries are delicious,” Serix nodded and popped another into his mouth. “They’re so different than the fruits my people eat. Well… all of your Earth fruits are different than ours, but strawberries taste the best. They stain everything though.” He contemplatively held up his hand, which was tinted red from the berries, and then shrugged, continuing to eat. There was a brief silence between them at they lapsed into thought.

Serix wondered what had become of the other Lunairans on the ship. It had been quite a while since he left them, and apart from the unexpected appearance of the pilot, he had caught neither sight nor sound of his people since the humans took him and Cassie to their hideout. Were they still on the ship or had they started forming colonies on the Earth? Did they ever find out about the remaining humans? The pilot was supposed to have reported back to the higher powers, but after he turned up in the caverns with Hunter, Serix wasn’t sure that he had.

He exhaled and leaned back on the bed next to Cassie, carefully angling his body so he wouldn’t put too much pressure on his healing wounds. No point worrying about future uncertainties when he and his mate were safe for now. Everything was back to normal, so he wanted to savor their day of privacy for as long as he could. He met her kiss and smiled when she changed the subject, obviously eager to put their misfortunes behind them.

“If we had a child, Serix. What would you want, a boy or a girl?” Cassie asked. “What do you think a child of ours would be like?”

“To be honest, I haven’t thought much about the child’s sex,” Serix answered with a shrug. “I suppose I can more easily picture myself as the father of a male because the only parent-child interaction I experienced when I was younger was that of myself and my father… but that doesn’t mean I would be disappointed to have a female.” He paused to think. “As for the appearance, I’m confident the child would look more Lunairan than human, given our heritages.” He met Cassie’s eyes thoughtfully. “I’m a pure-blooded Lunairan, and you also share half of my people’s genes, which means any child we have would be mostly Lunairan as well. I don’t know how that would translate physically… It depends on whether the human genes or Lunairan genes are more dominant. Most likely the child would inherit a darker hair color and lighter skin tone, but I don’t know about the eyes.” He tilted his head slightly. “It looks like none of the half-bloods here have luminescent eyes, so I’d guess it’s a recessive trait. But who knows?” He smirked and leaned forward to kiss Cassie again. “We won’t find out until we have a child and see for ourselves.”

Cassie giggled softly as Serix kissed her lips and nodded, "I guess we won't know until then, huh? But, I think no matter what, whether it be boy or girl, or whether he or she looks human or Lunairan, our baby will be the most wonderful and most loved child in the whole universe." She gave him another light kiss, "Of course, it will help that our baby will have such a caring and protective father as well. I have a strong feeling you wouldn't let our child out of your sights for the first few months after its birth. But, that's okay, because I think I'll be just as protective as you will be." Sitting up slightly, leaning over from where they lay so she could look down at him with a smile still plastered on her face, "It will be trying too. I know absolutely nothing about children. I never had to care for one before since I always had just myself to care for. And seeing as I didn't exactly had a 'normal' childhood myself. And neither did you. But...I think even if we're just learning as we go, everything will be okay. And that with the two of us working together, we can figure this all out and become the best parents anyone has ever seen."

She hoped anyway. She sure would try her best. Sure, she might not become the greatest mom the universe had ever had, but she would make sure her child had everything he or she needed and that they were loved and cared for to the best of her ability. She was so excited. So ready to have a child of her own with Serix and complete their small family. To show the others that it wasn't just their parents that had been able to live in harmony with a Lunairan. That it was still possible even today in the horrible world they lived in. That peace was still possible.

She layed back down, "What about a name? If the baby is a girl, I was thinking Kidamas if its a girl." She looked over to him, a small smile on her face, "It's the only Lunairan name I know aside from yours. It was my mother's name." She thought it sounded pretty. Plus she could call her Kida for short, "What about if its a boy? Any ideas?"

Serix laughed when Cassie confidently stated that he would be a protective father. She was definitely right. As long as they stayed with the humans, he wasn’t about to put his child at risk of being targeted by them. Of course, he had no way of knowing if the humans would treat a child that shared their blood the same way they treated him, but he didn’t want to take any chances. He was grateful that Cassie seemed to feel the same way. As long as they worked together as a team, he felt certain that they could protect their child from danger. He could almost feel his worries about having a baby in the caverns melt away. Almost.

Serix stared up at the ceiling when Cassie asked what he thought about for a name, “I honestly haven’t thought much about that either… Kidamas is a noble name for a female though. In the ancient tongue, it means ‘Light of the Moons.’” He held Cassie close and met her eyes, smiling thoughtfully. “Your mother must have been a special female to have had such a beautiful name.

“As for male names,” Serix mused, lifting his violet gaze to the ceiling once again. “I know quite a few. Yandre, Kojax, Zoaril, Gavik, Ixmaar… Those were some of the Lunairans in my classes. There were elders with regal, ancient names as well: Roagaraw, Ziffirak, Lyndagor, Fraverel, Hynderix…” He trailed off as another thought came to him. “What about Traejak? It means ‘Resilient Spirit’ in the ancient tongue. It’s a powerful name for a male.”

He turned to Cassie. “I don’t know much about human traditions, but for Lunairans, names are believed to be important in foretelling what kind of person one will become. I’ve never considered myself very superstitious, but I still believe it to a certain extent… For example, my name means ‘Curious Wanderer,’ and look how I turned out.” He laughed. “I wandered away from everything I knew to follow a curiosity: you.” He kissed her playfully. “If there’s really something to this naming business, I’d like for my son to be resilient in these hard times. What do you think?”

"So, you're name means Curious Wanderer?" She said, giving him a kiss with a soft laugh, "I think that fits you perfectly. And Traejak....hmmm...Resilient Spirit...I like it. I think its a perfect name if its a boy." Though she couldn't help but silently wish for a girl. There was just something about the idea of having a daughter that seemed so exciting for Cassie. Of course, if their baby was a boy she would be just as happy. Any child of theirs would certainly be a gift she would cherish. Nuzzling her forehead against his, she smiled gently and sighed softly. It was peaceful with just the two of them and she savored the quiet the two had for the time being.

She knew they were going to have trouble for now on. That people wouldn't be so trusting of Serix. And maybe not so trusting of her either. They might try to harm him or separate the two of them. And she had a feeling there might even be some people that might be against a pregnancy between the two of them. She could imagine all the whispering that would be done around the caves once she did get pregnant and word got out to the others about it. But, she was willing to put up with it and work past it. She was determined to have this child and keep it safe, no matter what.

Thinking back on the names he had told her, as well as telling her about how they all had meanings, she spoke, "You'll have to teach me this ancient tongue of yours one day. It'd be nice to learn more. You know, about the other side of me. My mother's heritage that she was never able to teach me. That same heritage that we could one day teach to our child together." She intertwined their fingers together, holding his hand in hers, "I want our child to not feel so...torn like me. I want him or her to know about both places, both Earth and Lunair. To know that its okay to be two things at once. You know?" She looked up at him, letting her blue eyes meet his glowing violet ones, "I just...want our child to feel loved and accepting of himself or herself, no matter what."

Serix chuckled at Cassie’s excitement at the prospect of having a child. She was already way beyond him in planning how to raise it and teach it to accept its unusual heritage. He was still just thinking about the humans’ reactions when they found out—as they would find out eventually—about what he and and his mate were trying to do. He only hoped they would be forgiving because of Cassie’s good standing with them. The half-bloods may have hated him because he was a Lunairan, but at least she had earned their trust and loyalty. That had to count for something, right?

“With you around to tell it how perfect it is, I’m sure any child of ours will feel completely accepted,” Serix assured her with a soft smile. “You’re already so caring and fiercely protective, and the baby hasn’t even been conceived!” He laughed again and drew her into a playful embrace, burying his face against her neck. “I love you, Cassie. Your passion for the things you care about is endearing. I’m lucky I get to call you mine.”

---

Over the course of the next three weeks, things slowly returned to normal. Serix’s injuries healed almost completely, leaving nothing but faint scars in their place on his back. He worked hard whenever the humans allowed him to help out and eventually regained the trust of all but Hunter and Ryan—although the latter was likely just frustrated with him for winning over the female he loved. Overall, the caverns were peaceful once more. No one tried to lay traps or start any trouble. It was even beginning to seem like many of the humans were softening to the idea of accepting Serix as one of their own.

He should have known it was too good to last.

The invasion happened on a day like any other, when Serix and Cassie were helping till the fields of the humans’ artificial farm. They were assisted by Jerry and Sarah, who made their usual sibling banter to keep the work entertaining, and by Tori, who gave her usual silent smile when her mate cracked a joke. Everything was fine until Gunner sprinted out of one of the tunnels, eyes wide and weapon drawn. The group in the fields looked up, alarmed.

Gunner paused only to catch his breath before shouting, “Lunairans in the hideout! Everybody, arm yourselves and get ready to fight.”

“What?” Jerry gasped, all humor fled from his eyes and he grabbed Tori’s hand without a second thought. “I need to get her out of here… I’ll come to help soon! Hold them off until I get back.” His gaze flicked to Serix for a brief second, but he said nothing more and turned instead to run down another hallway with his startled mate in tow.

Sarah frowned concernedly as she watched her brother take off, then turned to eye Serix with hostility, growling: “Well, now’s as good a time as any to prove which side you’re really on, alien. Who’s it gonna be? Us or them?”

Still reeling from Gunner’s unexpected announcement, Serix barely registered the female’s words. Other Lunairans? Here? Now? What was going on? He knew where his loyalties lay—with Cassie—but that didn’t mean he wanted to fight his own people. No, no, no, no. This can’t be happening. He raked his fingers through his hair in frustration; his wide, violet eyes fixed on the ground in front of him. It had been hard enough for him to fight the Scouts last time, and they were even threatening to kill his mate! Even though he knew he only had one option, he couldn’t help but feel torn.

“I…” Serix faltered. He swallowed and took a breath, forcing himself to accept the situation, then looked up at Sarah with newfound determination. “I’m on your side. Show us where the weapons are.”

“Lunairans in the hideout! Everybody, arm yourselves and get ready to fight.”

At those words, Cassie stood up straight, wide eyed at the prospect that the Lunarians may have finally found them out. If they had, then what were the chances of surviving this? How many Lunarians were there? And did more Lunairans besides the ones that were here know about them? Would more Lunairans be sent to take them out if these failed? All of it was a scary prospect for her to think about. Of course, her husband probably had it a lot harder than her. After all, these were his people that he would be forced to fight against. If he didn't fight then people would surely get suspicious and try to blame him again for the fact that these aliens had found their hiding place.

She looked to Serix wide eyed. She wouldn't blame him if he refused to fight his people. If it had just been them two she would have said she would do all the fighting so that he wouldn't have to if it saved him that trauma. But they both knew here, where everyone had reasons to be suspicious of him, people wouldn't be so understanding if he didn't fight. Yet, it was still surprising when that look of determination came to his face, him asking Sarah to show them the weapons. She had a slightly concerned look on her face for him, but it seemed like he had made his mind up. If anything, she could talk to and comfort him afterwards. Right now they didn't have any time to talk or even think about anything.

Soon, Sarah was leading the two of them quickly through the halls of the caved, down in the storage area, where they got to the room that the weapons were stored in. Most of them were guns, but there were also knives and such as well. Sarah herself grabbed, to Cassie's surprise, a pink handgun and a pink knive. Had this been any other situation, she probably would have teased the girl for her choice in weapon, considering Sarah was not at all the type to like anything pink, but she could do that later. For now there was a task at hand and they had to get out there as fast as they could.

She picked up a pistol and nodded to herself as she checked to see if it was loaded. Once she was sure it was, she looked to Serix and after seeing he was all ready to go as well, pressed a quick yet meaningful kiss to his lips, "I love you." With that, the three were rushing back out toward where the others were already fighting, wondering just what might come from all that was happening now.

Serix sprinted down the corridor after Sarah, forcing himself not to think about the impending fight. He had to focus on what was most important: Cassie’s safety. Compared to that, nothing else mattered. So, when Sarah handed him a sleek, black pistol from the humans’ weapon storage, he accepted it wordlessly and emotionlessly. He had to do whatever it took to keep his mate safe. It didn’t matter that he was fighting his own people, that his race was on the verge of extinction, that he might have to shoot someone he knew personally. None of that was more important than Cassie’s life. He was only doing what was best for both of them.

Serix was so caught up in his tunnel-vision that Cassie’s sudden kiss caught him off guard. It was passionate, and just enough to break the spell of indifference that had taken him over. He blinked, slightly dazed for a second, before pulling her into a tight embrace and responding to her sentiments, “I love you, too. Be safe.” With that, he let her go, and they all ran towards the sounds of battle.

After a bit of running, they came to a haphazard barrier made of any spare materials the humans could get their hands on. Serix eyed the structure curiously. It was being used in a clever way that he had never heard of in the Lunairan military strategy he studied back on the ship. The humans were hiding behind it while their enemies fired at them, waiting until there was a break in the assault before they returned fire with their own guns. While they had yet to hit a Lunairan—the invaders were taking cover behind large growths of stone whenever they had to recharge their weapons—they were preventing their opponents from progressing further into the caves, and buying themselves more time to come up with other battle tactics. It was a brilliant, humanly creative design.

As a stray bolt from a Lunairan laser gun ricocheted off the wall near Serix’s head, he quickly took cover behind the half-bloods’ barricade, finding himself positioned between Connor and Ray. The two humans were furiously reloading their guns and muttering swear words to themselves as they did. “What happened?” Serix asked, raising his voice to be heard above the roar of battle.

“Damn aliens figured out where we are,” Connor snapped angrily. “I don’t know how, but they’re here and they want us dead.” Bullets reloaded into his gun, the human rose up on his knees and fired a volley of shots over the barricade at the Lunairans, then dropped back down to take cover when fire was returned. He glared suspiciously at Serix, “You here to help or hurt, alien?”

“I’m on your side,” Serix snarled defensively.

“Then why are you just sitting there? Take a damn shot!”

“Fine,” Serix cocked his gun and got up on his knees to aim over the barricade. His targets were quick. The Lunairan invaders were working in the mechanical synchronization that had been ingrained into them during their training as soldiers. They hid behind stone columns, waiting until the humans needed to reload their weapons, then leaped out into a two-row formation, the first row kneeling and the second row standing as they returned fire all at once. The formation only lasted for a second before they split off and began attacking individually at different parts of the barricade and then taking cover behind the stones. It was a maneuver that Serix was unfamiliar with, but it was similar enough to one he had learned in his training that he could predict their movements. He lifted his gun… waited for an opportunity… and fired.

There was a sharp cry of pain and a burst of red that made Serix feel dizzy. He had only grazed the Lunairan’s side with the bullet, but the part of him that was still loyal to his people loathed what he had done. He forced himself to swallow the emotions as he sat down behind the barrier again. It was too late to get upset. He had chosen his side.

“Nice shot!” Ray clapped him on the back. “Give those aliens a run for their money.”

“Thanks,” Serix nodded halfheartedly. He glanced down the barricade, searching for Cassie. She must have joined another group of humans a bit farther away. I hope she’s doing alright…

Cassie was worried about Serix. How was he handling this? Having to fight against his own people? Surely it was tough for him, and hopefully it wouldn't be something that would later haunt him. It was in the back of her mind as they rushed to the scene of the battle, where all the capable humans were taking cover and firing at the enemy, keeping the Lunairans at bay for now. She rushed to one side of the barrier, crouching down with Jared and Sara, as well as a man she faintly recalled as Wes with the girl named Terra that had brought them food that one day a little bit away from them down the barrier. As she readied her gun and began to take shots at the invading Lunairans. Her first few shots between her shooting and ducking missed, just as many of the others seemed to be doing.

There was a cry of pain on the Lunairan side, letting her know that at least someone had hit a target. Looking down the way to the others, she barely saw Serix crouched down as well, and there was a look on his face that told her he was the one that had made the hitting shot. She knew it hurt him to have done it. She hated to see him like that. But, right now, there was nothing she could do to comfort him. They had to protect their home first, then worry about emotions later.

She took a couple of other shots, and finally on the next one, she managed to hit one in the stomach, watching the person fall back with a thud on the ground. This reminded her a lot of her earlier days, when she had been in the care of her uncle. The two of them having to kill other humans to protect themselves. It brought up bad memories and left a lump in her throat. These Lunairans, they were her mother's people. How could she not feel guilt for killing one? Of course, not to the extent of guilt Serix likely felt. But it was still there. She crouched back down and swallowed, loading her gun once more as Sarah place a hand on her shoulder, "You got one. That's one down, a hell of a lot more to go."

She nodded and took a deep breath, going back to firing her gun. Things at first were looking to be a dead lock. Not many Lunairans were dying. But every once in a while the halflings would get a good shot in and take one of the many of them down. If they kept this up then surely they could either make them retreat or capture them in some way, right? She continued taking shots, getting another Lunairan in the shoulder, when there was a shout of pain a little ways from her and a girl's scream,

"WES!"

Cassie looked over to see the Terra girl knelt down beside the man named Wes, the poor girl panicking as she shook him, trying to get a response, the man's now clouding over eyes staring blankly at the ceiling with a seared wound in his chest, obviously having been shot by one of the Lunairan's lasers. The young girl, in her panic over her brother's sudden death, stood up, but thankfully Sarah was fast, moving to the teenage girl and pulling her back down just as a laser shot, the laser barely missing the girl's head when she did, "Get down, Terra!" Sarah screamed, holding the girl's arm, blocking the poor thing's view of the dead body as she sobbed, Sara continuing to keep an eye on the girl and shoot at the Lunarians at the same time.

Cassie pulled her eyes away from the heart wrenching scene and went on shooting, wondering just how many they would loose before this fight was finally over.

Serix ducked down behind the barricade, gritting his teeth as he heard the sound of bullet render flesh across the cavern once again. He never thought he would see the day when he loathed his own fighting abilities, but here he was, cursing himself for being such a good shot. He stared down at the gun in his hands, trembling with a mixture of emotions: anger at the Lunairans for disrupting their peace; fear for his and Cassie’s wellbeing; shock from shooting his own people. He hated everything about the battle.

Suddenly, he was ripped from his thoughts by a heart wrenching scream. He looked up to see the teenage girl, Terra, kneeling over a lifeless body. One of the half-bloods had been killed. He continued to watch in horror as one of the Lunairans took aim at her. Being too far away from the scene, he could do nothing but stare as Sarah swooped in to rescue the traumatized girl, saving her from getting shot.

Forcing himself to look away from Terra, he began to analyze the rest of the fighting in the cavern. Time seemed to slow down strangely as he took in one group after the next. The able-bodied Lunairans, executing precise military maneuvers; the crippled Lunairans, nursing their wounds or firing at their enemies from behind columns of rock; the humans, trying desperately to save their home. Despite his lifetime of preparation for war, it all made him sick.

Taking a steeling breath, Serix lifted his gun once more to shoot at the attackers. His violet eyes scanned the battlefield in search of a target, quickly landing on one female Lunairan not too far from where he was crouching. She moved with the characteristic grace of any female of his kind, but he could see hints of weakness when she stepped on her left leg. She was injured.

He raised the barrel of his weapon, taking aim… and then froze.

“Celuria?” he gasped. The female spun around at the sound of her name. She met his eyes for only a moment before she pointed her own weapon at him and fired. He swiftly ducked behind the barricade to avoid the laser, suddenly grateful for his quick reflexes. There was no doubt in his mind: This Lunairan was Celuria, the female he had found friendship with on the ship, and who had—as rumor would have it—been assigned to become his mate.

And she had just tried to kill him.

He rolled out of the way as a set of boots landed hard on the ground where he had been kneeling just a second ago. Celuria had jumped the barricade. She swung at him with a bladed weapon, which he dodged by jumping to his feet. Not wanting to give her a second chance to hit him, he stuck her wrist, disarming her of her knife. She followed with a punch that connected with his jaw.

As they engaged in hand to hand combat, Serix’s mind reeled. Why was Celuria here? Why was she attacking him so viciously? He sidestepped another punch, throwing one of his own in return. She was fast, but he managed to throw her off balance—just enough that he was able to knock her to the ground with a sweep of his right leg. He pinned her down, twisting her arms behind her back to force her to yield to him.

“Get off of me, cretin!” she spat, writhing beneath him.

“Why are you here?” he asked, ignoring her insult. “How did you find us?”

Celuria just grunted as she continued to fight against his grasp.

Serix twisted her arms a bit more, causing her to cry out in pain. His anger was starting to get the best of him. “Answer me, Celuria!” he snarled.

“Traitor,” she gasped. Her eyelids fluttered as if she was beginning to fade from consciousness.

“Fine,” he sighed. “I didn’t want to do this, but you give me no choice.” He cocked his arm back and dealt one swift blow to the back of her head, knocking her out. If she wouldn’t tell him what he wanted to know now, he could at least take her prisoner for the humans to interrogate later on.

Serix dragged Celuria’s body out of harm’s way, binding her hands, feet, and mouth with some rope and cloth he found nearby in case she was to wake up before the battle ended. Once that was done, he rejoined the others to find that the humans were finally beginning to turn the tide of the battle. Some of them had taken Lunairan prisoners as well, while others continued to fight off the remaining invaders. He exhaled in relief. It seemed like the fight was finally drawing to a close.

It was all so fast paced. A battle for their lives. It brought back memories of her time with her Uncle. Shooting other humans, fighting to stay alive. She didn't have much to live for back then. But now, she did. She had Serix. And everyone in the caves. This was her family now, and she was going to protect it with her life. She wasn't as skilled as Serix was, but the two had trained together and she was skilled enough. Her eyes observed the enemy, just as he had taught her to do, and took aim. Another Lunarian down. She knelt behind the barricades to load her gun again, when suddenly she was tackled, causing a scream to shock to escape her. The Lunarians had abandoned their own barricades in a last attempt to fight the humans (or what the Lunarians thought were humans) on closer grounds.

She struggled under the person, managing to give them a kick to get them off of her and then the two were scrambling. She managed to snatch up her gun from where it had fallen to the ground in the struggle and pin the boy, gun to his head. Yet, she paused. Cassie got a better look at the person that had attacked her as she in turn pinned him down. A lad, perhaps a few years younger than herself. And the look on his face, was fear. And Cassie.....couldn't kill him. But she couldn't let him get up either, otherwise that might be the end of her own life. In a last minute decisions that was made in just a few seconds of having him pinned, she flipped her gun in her hand and brought it up, hitting the side of his head with the butt of the pistol.

He was out cold then and Cassie got off of him, catching her breath as she glanced around. Things had...calmed. A little anyway. There was some struggling on the Lunairans, those that were awake, though if they were awake, they were already bound, unable to escape. All others were either dead or out cold. She herself took a moment to bind the hands of the lad she had taken down, before she stood with a shaky breath to inspect the losses. Many Lunarians lay, dead on the ground on both sides.

On the humans side of the barricade, two casualties from what Cassie could see. The man she knew as Ron, someone she remembered never looking kindly to she and Serix, lay dead with what looked to be a broken neck, having died in what appeared to be hand to hand with the dead Lunarian that lay close by, shot by an injured Monty, Monty currently laying next to Ron's body, Ray attempting to bind his wound. She looked to the other casualty. Wes. He was again another man that she hadn't seen much of, but had always notice his closeness with his sister, always by her side and taking care of her. He lay there, Terra sobbing with her face buried against his shoulder.

The others left her, letting her mourn. They all knew loss, what it felt like to lose family. They let her have this last moment with him before they would go to bury the dead.

By now, the humans were taking the Lunairan survivors to the hold and Cassie's eyes were searching for Serix when Sarah spoke, hand on her shoulder,"Your arm is bleeding. You should see Ray."

Cassie was a little surprised at such a comment, looking down to her arm. Sara reached out to inspect the wound, but Cassie pulled her arm back, hissing in pain. She hadn't noticed it before, numb to her own pain with so much pain and death around her. She must have cut her arm on the rocks when the Lunairan lad tackled her. Taking her her over shirt off (she had a tank top on underneath), she wrapped it around her wound to help with the small amount of bleeding, shaking her head, "I'm fine. Ray needs to take care of the others that are worse off. This is just a small cut." With that, her eyes finally spotted Serix and she moved quickly to him.

Approaching him...he didn't look so good. Yes, he was a little scuffed up from fighting, but more worrisome was the look in his eyes. He had just fought and killed some of his own people. People he may or may have not known. Maybe even friends. She knew this wasn't easy for him, and a large part of Cassie felt guilty. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't be in this mess, feeling this way. Her steps slowed a bit and finally she reached him, seeing a Lunarian female, bound and unconscious next to where he stood. So, he had taken a prisoner as well.

Carefully, Cassie reached out, taking Serix's hand, looking up to him. Opening a link, she let calm and love flow from her to him, hoping to make him feel better, as well as relief that he was safe and unharmed. It could have very well been one of them that died today, yet fate had been kind to them. Finally stepping to him, she wrapped her arms around him, breathing in shaky relief.

Her moment of comforting him was over though when one of the other humans moved to take up the female Lunairan. She was the last one to take to the hold and Cassie glanced to Serix, opening another link, so that the other humans didn't hear. They needed to go to the hold, and make sure the humans didn't kill the survivors. She....wasn't quite sure what they should do with the invaders yet, but killing them isn't something Cassie didn't want to be an option. Looking to Serix with purpose, she then turned and the two were making their way to the hold.

Altogether, Cassie saw about nine or ten Lunairans in the hold. Many of them had started to wake up by now, and though their binds were cut, the cells kept them from attacking the humans before them. She turned her gaze to Ryan, who stood speaking to Conner, her gaze hesitant, "What are you planning to do with them?"

Ryan looked over to Cassie, though kept his gaze even, especially in front of the enemy, "Get information. After that, we'll see how I feel."

In other words, the death of these aliens was likely a high option. Cassie opened her mouth to speak to him again, when a heart sinking sound cut her off, making all the humans in the room freeze in horror. It was the scream of a little girl, one that made Ryan's eyes widen in fear and Cassie to turn her head to the tunnel the sound came from in fright.

Sally.

Suddenly everyone was moving, dashing through the tunnels, getting to where the sound had come from, toward the tunnel both Sally and Charlie had been hidden in during the battle. And then they got there, it was a heart wrenching sight. Little Sally lay on the cave floor, sobbing and clutching her stomach as blood began to escape. Charlie was in a scuffle, having jumped on the Lunairan's back to defend his friend, the Lunairan trying to get the little boy off, throwing him to side finally, the boy hitting the ground hard with a yell of pain before going unconscious. The alien pulled out a blaster and took aim at the little boy. Ryan pulled out his own pistol, aiming and shooting. The Lunairan fell to the floor in pain, clutching his shoulder and unable to grasp his weapon, as Ryan quickly made his way over to his sister. The humans surrounded the sobbing girl, Ryan gathering her up in his grasp, trying hard to stop the bleeding, "Sally.....Sally stay with me."

The girl let out a small scream of pain as her brother pressed against the stab wound to try and stop the bleeding, her small hands clutching at his, "It hurts....it hurts..." She was crying out, Ryan in panic trying to keep his sister alive. Yet, within moments, life began to fade from the little girl's eyes, and with one last breath of air passing from her lips, her body stilled, hands over Ryan's going limp. Ryan was trembling and tense, pulling the dead girl's body close to his. The room was silent aside from the injured Lunairan's struggles, which didn't even stay that way for long, a numb and angered Ryan grasping his gun and without even a glance in the alien's direction, pointed and shot, the sounds of struggles silencing with a soft thud of the body falling to the cave floor.

So this is war, Serix thought as he watched the humans take care of the aftermath. Corpses littered the cavern floor, some human, but most Lunairan. He knew in his head that he was on the humans’ side, but he couldn’t help the wave of sadness that swept over him at the sight of his fallen people. How many of them had mates or children waiting for them on the ship? How would the Lunairan population recover from such a loss? He wondered if the soldiers knew what they were going up against. They had fallen so quickly. Had their intel not given them an accurate picture of the humans’ hideout? Of their vast numbers? Of their weaponry? What they must have expected to be a quick and easy raid had turned into a bloodbath.

He looked up as Cassie approached him. Her arm was bloody, but other than that, she appeared to be unharmed. He exhaled in relief. They had both escaped alive.

Serix wanted to go to her, but his feet remained stubbornly planted. He could only stare as she walked up to him and grabbed his hand, lacing her fingers with his as she opened a connection between their minds to share her affection for him. He knew she was trying to comfort him—his expression must have given away his dark thoughts—so he managed to return a weak smile. He didn’t want her to worry about him. Yes, it had been difficult to fight his own people, but he would get over it. He had to, for her sake and his own. With time, it would become easier… he hoped.

At the sound of a small scuffle behind him, Serix turned to see one of the humans collecting Celuria’s unconscious body. They were taking all of the prisoners down to the hold. He wondered if they would be put through the same interrogation he had experienced mere weeks ago. Even though they were his enemies, he shuddered to think of them being put through such torture. Especially Celuria. They were on opposing sides now, but he could never erase the memories of the friendship they had shared when they were younger.

He nodded when Cassie opened a mental link with him and said she wanted to follow the humans into the hold. He shared her concern that the prisoners would just be killed. He certainly wouldn’t put it past Ryan to do something like that, and he wasn’t going to stand for it. There had been enough bloodshed for one day.

The hold was just as dark and unwelcoming as he remembered. He took a calming breath, forcing away unpleasant memories and reminding himself that he wasn’t here to be “interrogated” again. He looked at each of the cells in turn. There were nine Lunairans, each in his or her own cell with the exception of two—one young male and a female—in one cage at the end of the room.

Cassie went to speak with Ryan, asking him what he planned to do with the prisoners. Knowing his presence would do nothing to calm the light-haired male, Serix spent the time wandering among the cells, examining the captured Lunairans. Most were still unconscious, but a few were hazily waking up. Fortunately for him, there were no familiar faces other than Celuria’s. He paused by her cell, watching as she slept. Her chest rose and fell so peacefully. It was hard for him to believe it had really been her who had attacked him so viciously.

He wondered again how she had ended up as a soldier for the Lunairan army. Last time he had seen her, she had just been put into training to become a military strategist. It was the reason why they hadn’t been able to see each other for the last two years; he had been assigned to become a foot soldier, and she was to become a tactician. Once a Lunairan received a career path, he or she was to be placed into specific training regiments for said path. There was little interaction between members of different fields. However, what Cerulia had done in the cavern was far from just strategizing. She had been on the front lines of battle. The higher powers didn’t often reassign someone to a new task, but obviously something had changed for her.

Serix looked away from her cell when he heard a scream echo out of a nearby tunnel. The sound was shrill and desperate, like a frightened child. He quickly followed after the humans as they sprinted towards the source of the scream.

Eventually, they reached a small cave that was hidden away from the rest of the hideout. The approaching tunnel was narrow, so Serix had to run at the back of the group. He missed most of the events—he heard a gunshot, the whimpers of a child, Ryan’s pleas, another shot—before he managed to shove his way past the others to stand beside Cassie.

“Oh no,” he breathed, violet eyes wide. He reached for his mate’s hand as he took in the morbid scene. Ryan clutched his dead sister’s body to his chest, while the Lunairan attacker slowly bled out on the ground beside him. He shifted his weight. As terrible as Sally’s death was, he couldn’t help but fear what this would do to Ryan. The human leader was already quick tempered without being provoked. Now, he had just lost his only living family member.

Serix tensed as Ryan climbed to his feet, holding his sister’s limp body in his arms. Ryan looked up at them, his eyes dull and his cheeks stained with tears, “Interrogate the prisoners, and then execute them all. I want them dead before tomorrow.”

Cassie too feared what might happen now. She felt Serix take her hand and she held it tightly, worry crossing her face on top of the grief for the little girl they had just lost. Ryan slowly stood and at his words, Cassie's face went pale. All of them dead by tomorrow? He was being rash due to his anger and though Cassie wanted to speak out against such a thing...what was there she could say to convince him? These people had killed three of their own. What used to be twenty one (including she and Serix) was now eighteen. How was eighteen people supposed to defend themselves against a whole Lunairan invasion? Ryan was grieving and fearing for the lives of his people.

There had to be something they could do! She was wracking her brain out as Ryan carried his sister from the cavern and everyone filed out. All those Lunairans were going to die if they didn't think of something quickly. Everyone was gone and Cassie stood there with Serix, turning her worried gaze to his, "W-we'll think of something. I'll talk to Ryan, maybe get him to extend all this until his head is clear from all of this." Carefully she leaned up to kiss his lips, "We won't let Ryan kill them."

Taking a deep breath, she looked back toward the entrance, "We should...we should go. They'll be burying the bodies." She said, though there was a clear sadness in her tone, for both sides. Many lives were lost. There would be people without loved ones returning in these caves and on the Lunairan ship. She walked, leading Serix down to the same cavern that Ryan had taken her during her first day here. The same one where her parents were buried, as well as all the other human sympathizers and their mates. All the halfbloods that had passed over the years were buried here as well.

When she arrived, there were some working on three graves, one next to Wes and Terra's parents, another for Ron by his parents, and lastly a smaller grave beside Ryan's parents. Conner was working on Sally's grave, and slowly Cassie moved over to him, speaking quietly, "What do you plan on doing with the other bodies?"

Conner looked up, "The Lunairans? Ryan said dig a trench. We'll deal with that after this."

A trench? For the bodies of all those people? Such a thing sent sadness through her. Though they were the enemy, they had been fighting for what they believed was right. They had been lied to and manipulated by their leaders into thinking the humans had to be destroyed. Some of them might not have even willingly been in such a fight. Did they not at least deserve a proper burial and final resting place?

Silently, Cassie picked up a shovel and moving to an open area began to dig, speaking to Conner, "How many Lunairans were there?"

"Castiel, what are you doing? Ryan said--"

"How many?" Cassie said a bit more forceful, looking to Conner.

The young man sighed, shaking his head, clearly not in the mood to argue, "Seventeen."

With a nod, Cassie began to dig silently. She was sure Serix would probably help, but whether the others helped or not, she would make sure those Lunairans had a final place to rest. They dug for a while and had managed to get ten of them done before the three bodies of the humans were brought in, causing Cassie to pause. She stopped and watched on in respect as each body of the deceased humans was carried in. Their bodies were wrapped in a blanket, likely to save more grief to the loved ones. Ryan carried in his sister, the little girl wrapped in a flowered blanket (likely the one she would sleep in). Ryan climbed down into the hole and there the others lowered her gently into Ryan's arms, where he so gingerly layed her down. There was a long moment that Ryan spend, sitting next his sister's body there, before the others helped him back out of the hole. Much the same Ron was lowered into his grave, as well as Wes. The teenager Terra stood next to her brother's grave sobbing, rubbing her arms and shaking her head.

Carefully, Cassie set the shovel she was holding down and made her way over to the girl. At first, Cassie merely placed a hand on Terra's shoulder in a small means of comfort. However, she hadn't expected the girl's reaction. The girl turned and clung to Cassie, sobbing into her shirt, obviously seeking comfort from whoever could give to her. A sad look in her eyes, Cassie wrapped her arms around the girl and pulled her close, letting her cry as the grave was filled in. And even after all the graves were filled, the grieving people stayed, not willing to leave their loved ones as of yet.

Slowly, after a long while, the people began to move, likely to gather the bodies of the Lunairans. Ryan clearly wasn't happy to see the graves Cassie and Serix had been working on, but still too distraught over his sister to argue at this point, silently letting it go for now. Cassie let go of the girl when she was ready to be let go, and then went back to digging. They still needed seven more graves. However, what she hadn't been expecting, was the silent teenage girl, tears still streaking her cheeks from grief for her brother, to pick up a shovel and begin digging as well, working on a grave for the Lunairans. It really said something about the girl's character, that though her brother had been killed through this battle with the Lunairans, she still had the humanity to help in such a task as being sure the enemy had a proper burial just as their own.

Seeing the girl working on a grave, it wasn't long before others joined in, digging the remaining graves as well. Soon, the bodies of the fallen Lunairans were brought in and lowered into the graves. No one really stayed for these afterward though. There was no one who knew these people to mourn them. Despite this, Cassie stood next to Serix for a moment, looking at all the graves. All the people who would not return home, both Lunairan and human. Carefully she turned to Serix and placed her hands on his cheek, resting her forehead against his. Opening another link, she sent emotions to him as well as let his emotions flow to her. Sadness over the dead, worry and fear over what might happen next, relief that neither of them were in one of these holes. And of course, above all her love for him, hoping to comfort him with some good emotions at least.

Finally pulling back, she let out a breath and looked to him, "Come. They're going to start the interrogations soon and I need to speak to Ryan." With that, she was moving quickly through the caves, exhausted from both the battle and the digging, yet was determined to find Ryan before he went to question the Lunairans. She found him, making his way back down to the hold, and managed to catch up to him, gently gripping his arm, "Ryan, we need to talk."

Ryan looked to Cassie, and apparently he already knew what she was going to say, because he spoke quickly, shaking his head, "No. We are not keeping those aliens alive."

"Ryan, there's been enough death for one day, don't you think? Do you really want more people to--"

"They killed Sally, Cassie!" he said angrily, stopping and turning to her, "Killed an innocent little girl who didn't even know how to hold a gun! Those things down there aren't people! They're monsters!" He calmed his voice a bit, though there was a growl behind it, words still laced with anger, "And they'll die for it. I can't let them live, not even for you."

With that, before Cassie could even say anything else, he was walking quickly back to the hold. Cassie looked to Serix worriedly and followed behind, walking into the hold just as Ryan ordered Conner and Quincy to get the first Lunairan out to interrogate, the young solider in the far cell.

Seventeen, Serix felt lightheaded. So many of his people, dead after just one battle. He turned away from Connor and Cassie, pretending to take interest in the memorials as he hid his pained expression from them. The Lunairans couldn’t survive many more of these fights. He hoped the higher powers would be wise enough to see the truth for themselves. This last raid had turned into a suicide mission for the platoon. They couldn’t handle a war until they got their numbers up and that wouldn’t be for many years.

When Cassie began to dig, he observed her in curious silence. Looking at the mounds of dirt next to each memorial, her actions clicked in his mind. It appeared that humans buried their dead. He smiled softly as he watched his mate attempt to show respect for the fallen Lunairans. It was a kind gesture. He took up a shovel and followed suit, digging a second hole nearby.

After a while, more humans slowly filed into the burial chamber. Among them were the three bodies of the deceased. Serix and Cassie paused in their work as the funeral began, paying respect to the mourners by standing quietly to the side. One of the females, the young human named Terra, was weeping loudly, so Cassie made her way over to comfort her in her loss.

Rather than joining his mate, Serix hung back. Even though he wasn’t one of the Lunairans who had attacked, he felt out of place at the funeral, as if he didn’t belong. He shifted his weight uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact with them in case they might take their anger and sadness out on him for being one of the “aliens” they so despised. It was better for everyone if he stayed out of it and let them grieve among their own people.

A while after the holes were filled in with dirt, some of the humans left to gather the bodies of the Lunairans. Serix and Cassie continued digging, and to his surprise, the young female, Terra, joined them. Despite losing her sibling to the battle, she was willing to help bury their enemies. He met her tear-filled gaze for a brief moment and nodded his gratitude, appreciative of the help she was offering. Terra held his gaze for a heartbeat longer, but said nothing. She dug on in silence.

A few more humans joined the female as well, digging the final holes that the Lunairans would be buried in. Serix was moved by their compassion for his fallen people. They had no reason to show any respect for their enemies, yet here they were, working hard to create a proper funeral for them.

When the bodies were brought in, Serix stopped digging and stepped over to Quincy, who was guiding them towards the holes. “Don’t bury them just yet,” he said quietly. “We have a ritual for our dead… to help them pass on to the nether. I’d like to at least give them that.”

Quincy nodded in understanding, “Take your time.” He directed the others to lay the bodies beside each hole while Serix took a moment to prepare himself.

Serix knew he couldn’t give them a traditional Lunairan funeral—in the ship, his people were cremated and their ashes were sent into space—but he would try his best. Removing his shirt, he picked up a nearby knife—it had been left by a human who had set it down to dig holes—and pressed the blade into the palm of his right hand, wincing slightly at the sting of the metal. Dark red blood dripped from the cut onto the stone floor of the cavern. Using two fingers, he traced the blood from his hand onto his arms, face, and torso in a series of precise lines and dots. In his culture, it was believed that in order to send a soul to the netherworld, the guide was to prepare his or her own body with blood that functioned as a map for the dead.

Once he finished painting the traditional pattern on himself, Serix stepped over to the closest body and knelt down beside it. Murmuring a few words of condolences, he closed the male’s eyes and used his thumb to smear a line of blood across the body’s forehead which would, according to Lunairan beliefs, connect the soul to the map he had drawn and guide it to the netherworld.

He repeated this process sixteen more times, until each one had been lowered into the holes and buried. Cassie came to stand beside him and he exhaled solemnly, “I wish I had known who they were.” It was sad to see them all be put to rest without any family to see them off, but he hoped his efforts would be enough for them to find peace.

He closed his eyes when Cassie sent her emotions to him once more. They shared a moment to grieve together in silence before she pulled away and reminded him that they needed to get to the hold before the interrogations would begin. They exited the cavern and headed quickly to the hold, where they ran into Ryan. The human leader had a cold look in his eyes that sent a chill down Serix’s spine.

Cassie was the first to approach him, “Ryan, we need to talk.”

“No,” Ryan shook his head, predicting Cassie’s request. “We are not keeping those aliens alive.”

“Ryan,” Cassie went on anyways. “There’s been enough death for one day, don’t you think? Do you really want more people to—”

“They killed Sally, Cassie!” Ryan’s voice boomed with a fury Serix had never seen in him before. “Killed an innocent little girl who didn’t even know how to hold a gun! Those things down there aren’t people! They’re monsters!” Serix grimaced at his harsh words. He agreed that Sally’s murder was a terrible thing, but his people had only been following orders. They didn’t understand how incredible the human race truly was; how killing a human child was practically the same as killing a Luniaran child. They were ignorant.

Ryan finished by telling Cassie that he wouldn’t spare their lives, even for her, and took off. Serix exchanged a worried look with Cassie as they followed after him. Ryan called Connor and Quincy over to retrieve one of the prisoners from a cell. It was the youngest captive, a wide-eyed male who appeared to have only just been assigned his life career. Just one glance at him told Serix he wouldn’t last ten minutes under the human’s torture. He turned on Ryan with a glare, “He’s just a child. Interrogate someone else.”

“Stay out of my way,” Ryan snarled, shoving him aside.

Serix stubbornly planted himself between Ryan and the young Lunairan once again, “Interrogate someone else. He can’t handle it, Ryan.”

“Whose side are you on, alien?” Ryan narrowed his eyes, stepping just centimeters away from Serix. His hands curled into fists at his sides.

“You know as well as anyone that I’m not a traitor,” Serix said icily. “But I’m not going to stand by while you put a child through that nightmare.”

“Fine,” Ryan’s voice was frighteningly calm. He signaled behind his back to Monty and Ray, who were standing off to the side. They began to approach while Serix was focused on Ryan. “Then I’ll just have them make you stand by.”

“What do you—” Serix inhaled sharply as he felt two sets of hands grab him by the shoulders and drag him away. He had let his guard down. He fought against Monty and Ray’s grips, but Monty quickly pulled out a metal device from his pocket, latching it onto Serix’s wrist and a bar of the closest cell. He tugged against the device, but it held fast. “Damn it,” he muttered, using one of the human curses he had learned from the half-bloods.

“Just sit tight, alien,” Ryan said, taking out a key to unlock the young Lunairan’s cell. “I’ll bring him back soon… He just might not be breathing.”

“You’re the monster here,” Serix spat, fighting relentlessly against the metal band clasped around his wrist.

Ryan ignored him, unlocking the cell and opening the door. Connor and Quincy stepped inside to retrieve the young male, but as soon as they stepped past the bars, they both doubled over, clutching at their heads in pain. Serix’s eyes widened and he turned to the female Lunairan in the cell with the young male. Her pupils were dilated to the rims of her irises.

“That’s…” he breathed, recognizing the technique. He was astonished to meet one of his kind who had learned to inflict pain through telepathy. It was a rarely taught gift, almost exclusively learned by talented Lunairan medics, since they had backgrounds in understanding the body.

“What’s going on?” Ryan’s voice wavered. Suddenly, he too cried out in pain.

“Go now, Jaxil!” the female gave the young male a push towards the cell door. “Go while you still can.”

Overcoming his fear, the male, Jaxil, nodded and sprinted for the tunnel, dodging the reaching hands of Monty and Ray as he passed by them. Serix watched as he disappeared from sight. He could only hope Jaxil would find his way out of the humans’ hideout without getting caught.

Ryan let out a howl of anger at the sight of his prisoner getting away. “Why, you—!” fighting the pain, he marched up to the female Lunairan and struck her in the head. She gasped and her violet irises returned, ending the trance. Quincy and Connor stood upright, rubbing their temples as they recovered.

“We’re interrogating this one first,” Ryan growled, glaring down at the cowering female. “Don’t hold back on her, Monty.”

As Ryan went to retrieve the young male out of the cell, she could see the frightened look on his face, much like he had on his face when she almost killed him. The lad wouldn't last. She had seen the wounds they had inflicted upon Serix, and they had at least known him a little. These were enemies and the humans clearly had anger toward these Lunairans for the deaths of their friends. That boy would not survive an interrogation. Serix knew it to, because soon it had stood between Ryan and the cell, telling Ryan to interrogate someone else. There was an argument, before Serix was grabbed and handcuffed to the bars of one of the cells.

Cassie moved quickly to him, helping to try and force the cuff open, glaring over to Ryan as he opened the cell, Conner and Monty stepping in. She took a stop to attempt to stop them as well, though froze in shock to see both Conner and Monty double over in pain, soon Ryan joining them. Before anything else could take place, the boy was dashing off and Cassie didn't know whether to stop him or check on the others. But...she didn't want to stop the boy. She hoped he would find somewhere safe. One less death today the better.

Ryan struck the girl in the head and the pain on the males stopped, Ryan stating coldly that they were interrogating her first. She had seen enough. This was going to too far and Ryan was letting his anger control him too much. She was moving forward, gripping Ryan's arm, "Wait." She looked to the cowering female, then back to Ryan, "The interrogations should be held off for now. If that boy gets out, we need to make sure the entrances to our caves are sealed and we are hidden should another fleet come. Our protection is more important than getting information and killing."

Ryan considered her words, and though he didn't seem to like it, her point was one he couldn't argue with, "Fine." He growled out, looking to the others now, "Go find that kid! Now! We can't let him get out of here! Monty, Conner, and I will go camouflage the entrances. Get to work!"

Cassie looked to the female sitting the corner as she stood in the cell next to Ryan, the male still giving off orders to the others. She felt pity for the fear filled young woman, giving her a concerned look. This wasn't right. Something had to be done. And though for now the prisoners wouldn't be harmed or killed, it wouldn't stay that way forever. She had bought them time, but now she needed to think of a more permanent solution. As Ryan walked out of the cell, Cassie gave the girl one last sad glance, before stepping out of the cell, it being closed and locked behind her.

Everyone in the caves who weren't injured or tending to the injured were put to the task of finding the boy. Cassie had Serix unhandcuffed and the two were moving through the caves. She had no intentions of harming the boy. And though she knew it wouldn't end well for her, she prepared to protect the boy from Ryan, if not help him get out of here. Yet, she couldn't find any trace of the lad. After a while of searching, she found herself looking over to Serix, a curious look on her face, "Do you suppose he found a way out before one of the others could find him?"

.......................

A Lunairan escaped. That was all Terra was told, and it frightened her. She hadn't been there to see first hand the death of little Sally, but she had seen her body as they prepared her, Wes, and Ron for burial. The Lunairan that killed her didn't hesitate despite the girl being a child. Which meant the person wouldn't hesitate to kill her either. She held a small pistol in her shaky hands as she moved through the caves, her one uncovered blue eye searching around warily. Everyone was told to kill on sight and everyone was sent out searching for the dangerous Lunairan, including her. She could fit in smaller spaces than the others, her being younger, so she took to the caves near the river. She moved through the smaller caverns and even right up to the water's edge, searching.

Nothing. Would the Lunairan be able to get through the smaller tunnels leading up to the more dangerous parts of the river? No one ever went there. The ledges were smaller and rocks more slippery. Surely even a Lunairan wouldn't risk that. Yet, as she turned, she heard something. A pebble from a foot sliding falling into the raging river of the upper currents, coming form the dangerous caverns. She supposed she was wrong. A Lunarian, if desperate enough, would go to such a life threatening place.

Her heart was pounding in her chest. Her mind reeled as she thought of what to do. Would she have time to go get the others? No, no by then this Lunairan would have left. She...she had to do this? She didn't want to! She had enough death for one day. Yet, if this Lunairan was as dangerous as the others said...what if she turned her back to leave and they attacked her?

She had no choice but to face this head on. She was trembling slightly as she carefully scaled the slippery rocks, slipping through the tight tunnels and into the upper caverns that lead into a larger cavern. One even she had never been into. The river was wide here and rushed dangerously quick, with just a few feet of space between the wall and the rushing water. As one moved up the rock got wider and less dangerous, but it was still very dangerous to just get to that part.

She moved, a hand on the wall of the cave, staying as far from the rushing water as she could manage, having to kneel at one point to crawl up a few steps.

It was as she knelt there though, that she spotted two glowing purple eyes.

Frightened hands gripped for her gun and lifted it, pointing to the Lunairan, only to pause. This...wasn't what she expected. When Ryan said a 'dangerous Lunairan' escaped, she hadn't expected someone so young, close to her own age. He was curled there and his expression matched the fearful expression on her face. They were both scared. Two unwilling participants thrown into a war they wanted nothing to do with.

Slowly, the wide eyed girl lowered the gun, though kept it in her hands just in case, staring at the boy with her one visible blue eye, and unsure and fearful look still on her face, "You're...scared?"

Serix watched helplessly as Ryan ordered the others to bring the female in for interrogation. He knew they weren’t just going to question and torture her. The humans would surely kill her for what she had done. He jerked his arm against the metal device that pinned him to the cell bar, but it didn’t budge. Whatever the contraption was, it was extremely well made. He cursed again under his breath.

It’s all your fault. He jumped at the sound of a cold, feminine voice inside his head. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.

Calming himself enough to focus, Serix reciprocated the telepathic link to see who was contacting him and was surprised to find that it was coming from Celuria. He spun around to face her cell, meeting her venomous stare. Pure hatred flowed from her across the mental bond. The intensity of it left him paralyzed. Why did she loathe him so much? He had left his people for the humans, but she seemed to be taking his decision personally. He had to find out the reason.

Celuria, he tried to approach her in a friendly manner. It’s been a while, huh?

Traitor, she curled her lip at him.

Nice to see you too, he thought to her dryly. Why are you so mad at me?

You ruined everything, you selfish xordolk.

Mind easing up on the name calling a bit? He rolled his eyes. What, exactly, did I ruin?

Everything, she practically hissed across the link. You ruined our people, you ruined our migration, and you ruined me.

Serix froze at her final accusation, What is that supposed to mean?

You don’t know? She drawled. Oh, of course you don’t know! You were too busy playing guardian to these Earthlings to learn that we were supposed to be mated upon your return from the scouting mission.

W-what? he stared at her, wide eyed. The rumors had been true after all. He and Celuria actually had been assigned to be mates.

That’s right, Celuria went on viciously. And guess what? Now that you’ve gone and turned traitor, I will never have a mate. I’ve been placed in the barren female community, even though I tested as highly fertile. Tears stung at her violet eyes. I can never serve my people by bearing children.

I’m… I’m sorry, Serix looked away, unsure of what else to say. Female Lunairans considered childbearing to be the most important role they could fulfill in their society, since they were on the verge of extinction. By leaving his people, he had inadvertently taken that role away from her. He shifted his weight from his left foot to his right. He didn’t know what she hoped to gain in telling him this information. It wasn’t like he could go back in time and change his decision. Besides, he had Cassie now, and he was happier with her than he ever would have been with Celuria. Cassie was his mate for life. That was never going to change.

Orruasi, Celuria spat the insult across their mental bond.

Sensing that she was done having a civil conversation, Serix broke off the link between them and turned his attention back to Cassie and Ryan, who had been arguing about what step they should take next. It seemed that Cassie had finally convinced the male to leave the prisoners alone for now and search for the missing Lunairan instead. He let out a sigh of relief. They would be okay for now.

Cassie came over with a key for the metal device, unchaining him from the bar. He rubbed his sore wrist and started to follow his mate as she walked towards the tunnel.

“Wait,” a soft voice spoke up from behind them. Serix turned to see the female from before clutching at her cell door. Her eyes swept over his painted body. “Did you… did you hold a funeral for our fallen?”

Serix hesitated a moment before he nodded, “Yes.”

“Thank you,” the female’s voice quaked with relief.

“Peiylo,” a sharp, male voice spoke up from one of the other cells. An older Lunairan, who looked to be about twenty-four or twenty-five to Serix, glared at him from across the room. “Don’t speak to the traitor. He is a disgrace to his people.”

“But he performed the ritual for our dead,” Peiylo’s pale face flushed with embarrassment at being reprimanded. “He helped them when we could not.”

“I don’t care if he walked them to the gate of the netherworld, hand in hand,” the older Lunairan grumbled. His harsh eyes turned upon Serix once more. “As far as I’m concerned, this traitor is among the dead, himself.”

Serix felt a pang of sadness at the Lunairan’s cold words. It seemed he had no place even among his own kind anymore. He turned away to exit the hold with Cassie, leaving the prisoners behind as they went to search for Jaxil. He hoped they would find the missing child before Ryan did. If the hot tempered male got to him first, there would be no telling what he would do.

They searched for a while, but found nothing. The young Lunairan must have been skilled in erasing his trail, because even Serix couldn’t find a sign to lead them on. Cassie turned to him curiously, “Do you suppose he found a way out before one of the others could find him?”

“It’s possible,” Serix shrugged. “And for his sake, I hope he did.”



Jaxil sprinted down the tunnel as fast as his legs would carry him. His labored breaths echoed loudly against the rock walls. He looked back over his shoulder, but so far there were no pursuers on his tail. Still, he didn’t let up on his pace. He couldn’t let himself get caught by the humans. He didn’t know what sort of interrogations went on in these caverns, and he definitely didn’t want to find out.

He inhaled sharply as he tripped on a rock in the shadows, stumbling to catch himself before he hit the ground. As soon as he regained his balance he took off again, choosing random forks in his path as they appeared. Right… Left… Left… Right. His sense of direction became a blur of winding tunnels.

Eventually, he somehow managed to find his way into a larger cavern that branched off into a multitude of smaller caves and tunnels. He looked between each option, bouncing nervously on the balls of his feet. He didn’t have time to explore them all. For now, he would have to choose one and hope it led him to a good hiding place.

Bracing himself, Jaxil selected one of the openings on the right and took off running once again. He followed the tunnel for a while. It narrowed frighteningly as he travelled down it, making him concerned that it would eventually taper out too narrow for him to squeeze through, but his fears were laid to rest when the passage opened up again near the end.

He finally slowed to a stop, resting his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. He was now alone in a spacious cavern with a fast-flowing river in the center. The roar of the rapids would surely help to hide his presence, and he didn’t have to go far to keep hydrated. It would make a decent hideout for many days if he needed to stay long.

Suddenly realizing how thirsty he was, he stepped up to the edge and dipped his hands into the cool water, cupping them together to bring the refreshing liquid to his mouth. He repeated the motion a few more times, quenching his thirst until he heard the sound of small rocks skittering across the stony floor of the cave. Not wanting to get caught by the source of the noise, he quickly clambered up the wet rocks to get to a small cave higher up.

Jaxil bit his tongue to keep from crying out when he felt his foot slip into the swift currents. Steadying himself, he crept away from the edge of the water and slipped quietly into the cave, drawing his knees to his chest to keep out of view. He closed his eyes, trying to calm his racing heart. It was a difficult climb to reach this point. Surely no one would try to search this part of the cavern, right? As long as he stayed hidden, everything would be fine.

Of course, it wasn’t that simple.

The inside of the crevice was slick with water as well. As hard as he tried to keep his legs pressed to his chest, he couldn’t help the slip of his heel against the wet rocks below him. He held his breath as the motion sent a large pebble bouncing along the ground, out of the cave and into the river below. There was no hiding the loud plop the rock made when it hit the surface of the water.

In the next instant, Jaxil heard the sound of a body climbing the boulders that led up to his hiding place. He had been discovered. He pressed his back into the corner of the crevice, hoping futilely that the shadows would be enough to conceal him. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. A young female poked her head into the cave and looked up, meeting his gaze in the dark. They stared at each other for a moment before she raised her weapon, aiming the barrel of it at his head.

He shut his eyes and turned away, trembling in anticipation of the shot that would inevitably come… Only, it didn’t. After a moment, he opened one eye to see the female looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and fear. What was going on? Why wasn’t she shooting him? She further surprised him by lowering her weapon and speaking softly, “You’re… scared?”

Jaxil blinked, trying to stop himself from shaking. He knew he wasn’t supposed to show fear in the face of an enemy, but he couldn’t help himself. This was the first real war he had ever been a part of. He wasn’t as strong as his battle-hardened superiors.

After a moment, he forced himself to nod in response to the human’s question and ask one of his own, “You are too… right?”

Seeing the boy in front of her nod, Terra's racing heart calmed just a bit. He was scared, body trembling as he looked to her. But then again, with the others looking for him, his life was at risk. Who wouldn't be afraid of such a thing? He was helpless and without a weapon to defend himself. Not to say he wasn't dangerous. He likely know how to fight in some shape or fashion, otherwise he wouldn't have been put into that battle. In a way, the fear on his face reminded her of herself, how scared she was with all of this. Normally when she was scared, her brother would comfort her and let her know everything was going to okay, but now he was...

She didn't need to think about that right now, least she start crying again. She took a settling breath and kept her gaze on the boy in front of her, who in turn asked her a question as well, “You are too… right?”

Hearing that, she swallowed and slowly nodded, "Yes. Very much so." Why wouldn't she be, when faced with the unknown of everything. Her brother was dead. There were Lunairans being held captive in the caves, ones that could very well be dangerous. And who knew if there were Lunairans besides this group that knew about their location? There were so many unknown factors and she was scared for her friends and her home. For all she knew, within weeks, or even days, everything she held dear could be gone and there was nothing she could do about it.

"War is....a scary thing." She mentioned quietly, shifting slight from her kneeling position to sit there on the cave floor, her gaze turning back to him, "I don't like it. I don't like seeing people die, no matter who they are." She mentioned and then glanced over her shoulder to the small crevice she had come from. The lower parts of the river used by her people were unseen thanks to the cave walls, leaving this place and them completely hidden to the eyes of her fellow survivors. She looked back to him, "Ryan told everyone a dangerous Lunairan escaped, and to kill on sight." She glanced down the gun in her hands and then moved it, but perhaps not to the place the boy might have thought. She set the gun down beside her rather than keeping it in her gasp, close enough in case he tried to attack, but not in a threatening manner, "I don't think that's right." She looked to him again, "You're afraid, running for your life. You shouldn't be killed for that."

She paused before she spoke again, "I don't think Lunairans are evil. There's a few other people in these caves that feel the same. We all know that peace between humans and Lunairans is possible. Cassie and Serix, the blonde girl and her Lunairan husband...or, you call them mates don't you?...those two are proof that peace between humans and Lunairans is possible." And of course, all of their parents are proof of that as well, but she left that out. She didn't know this boy well enough to give out such important details to their people, not wanting him to use the fact they are half Lunairan against them should he manage to get out of the caves.

"I'm not going to tell the others you're here. I've....seen enough death today to last a life time." She paused, taking a deep breath, "You...should be safe here. It's against our rules to come up into this part of the cave, the river being too dangerous up here. So you shouldn't be found." With that, she shifted slightly so that she was a little closer, but still with a few feet between them, sitting on her knees. She reached out her hand in the normal human greeting. Though seeing his confusion, she nodded to her hand, "It's a greeting." She knew this was dangerous. That he could very easily grab her hand and jerk her into the river for her to drown. But, something inside her told her such a thing wouldn't happen, and hopefully he wouldn't think such a thing of her either, considering she could have just shot him rather than struggle trying to get him into the water.

She waited and if he took her hand, she moved it slowly so as to not frighten him more, moving it up and down in a hand shake, "My name is Terra."

Jaxil couldn’t believe he was still alive. The human kneeling before him had chosen not to shoot him right away. He found that he was beginning to relax around her, despite himself. He tried to remind himself of his commander’s description of humans: They were ruthless, sadistic, and quick to violence. When confronted, they would fight first and reason only to save themselves when captured. They had no morals, and most importantly, they despised Lunairans.

He reminded himself of the information he had been provided by his commanding officer, yet somehow, no matter which way he looked at it, this human didn’t fit the description. She had been merciful, empathetic, and quick to speak before shooting. Had his leaders been wrong about humans? He grimaced in the dark, cursing himself for having such little faith in his superiors. Of course not. This human must have been the exception among her kind. Or maybe she was too young and hadn’t developed a sense of brutality yet. Whatever the case, he knew he could count on one thing: the higher powers were never wrong. They knew everything and only wanted the best life for the Lunairan people. He had to trust them.

It was easier said than done. As the human continued to speak to him in that soothing tone of hers, Jaxil found that—as much as he wished it wasn’t true—he agreed with her about the war. He agreed that it was scary, that it was just causing unnecessary loss of life… and in that moment, he hated himself for it. I’m not a traitor, he silently tried to convince himself. I can’t be a traitor. The higher powers know what they’re doing. I just can’t understand it, that’s all. I don’t have enough information.

The female’s next statement began to put his mind at ease. Apparently, one of the other humans had sent out a search party to find a “dangerous Lunairan.” He let out his breath in relief. The higher powers had been correct, after all. The humans really did want to kill his people. This female was merely an exception to the rest of her kind. The war was just.

Jaxil’s interest was piqued when the human began talking about the Lunairan traitor, Serix. His commander had informed the platoon that there might be one of their own fighting on the side of the humans. Supposedly, this male had gone missing during the scouting mission, but had never reported any danger to his pilot. He had simply vanished. Now, here he was, sidling up to the humans like an obedient pet and hurting his own people’s efforts to repopulate this planet. He had even taken a human female as a mate. The thought of it turned Jaxil’s stomach.

Apparently, this human didn’t think Serix’s betrayal was a bad thing though. She spoke of him and his mate fondly, claiming that their union was a sign of peace between humans and Lunairans. Jaxil wasn’t sure what to think about that. Sure, those two might have somehow ended up coming to an agreement that didn’t end in death, but it was an isolated incident. The other humans were vicious and needed to be exterminated… right?

His confidence wavered as he looked at the human sitting before him. Her weapon lay harmlessly on the ground and her expression was kind. The longer they stared at each other, the harder he found it to see her as a threat. He no longer knew what to think.

He reeled back as she suddenly extended one hand towards him. What was she doing? Was she going to harm him after all? He eyed her warily for a moment, then decided the gesture wasn’t malicious. Still, he didn’t know what it meant, so he just stared at her blankly.

“It’s a greeting,” the female explained, understanding his confusion.

“Oh,” he furrowed his brow, looking at her hand. He held out his own hand, copying her position so his hand was outstretched in front of him.

The human took it in hers and shook it in an up-and-down motion, “My name is Terra.”

“Jaxil,” he said in return. “It’s, err… pleasant to meet you.” He lowered his hand when the human released it. She was truly a curious specimen. His violet eyes swept over her form. She had a slender body and long hair that fell across half of her face, covering one of her eyes. She also appeared to be about the same age as him, if perhaps a little younger. If he was honest, she looked just like a Lunairan, except for the colors of her hair and eyes. He didn’t know what to think about that.

“Thank you for not telling your people where I am,” he said gratefully. He still didn’t understand why she was helping him. As soon as he found a way out of the hideout, he planned to inform his leaders about what had happened and update the tacticians’ intel. It was his duty as a soldier, but somehow Terra’s friendly presence was making his convictions a little harder to stick to.

Terra had not missed the expressions on this boy's face as she spoke, specifically when she had mentioned Serix and Cassie. Where as she thought the way Cassie and Serix loved each other despite their differences was sweet, he had an almost disgusted look at the mention of the Lunairan and Human being together romantically. As she spoke, the whole time she could see an inner struggle of sorts and she wondered just what was all running through his mind at this moment as she greeted him and introduced herself to him.

“Jaxil,” The boy in front of her said in return, “It’s, err… pleasant to meet you.”

Hearing his hesitant greeting for some reason brought a slight amused smile to Terra's lips. Perhaps it was the irony of his statement and she tilted her head to the side, "Well, you Lunairans must be pretty strange if it is a pleasure meeting someone in these conditions." She joked softly, an attempt to lighten the dark situation they were faced with, even if just a little.

As the boy in front of her thanked her, another soft smile came to her face, "Don't thank me." She shrugged, "It's...it's the right thing to do. Human or not, you're still a person. A life that matters." Her mind wandered back to the the others, the ones still locked away in those cells. Before coming to search for this Lunairan in front of her, she had caught word that interrogations were on hold for now, thanks to Cassie convincing Ryan to instead focus on their defenses. Should she....should she tell him?

Looking to him, she met his gaze again and decided that, yes she should. She thought to her brother, that if he was locked up and she had escaped, she would want to know he was alive. She should give this Lunairan the same grace, "You're teammates...they...um....they haven't been interrogated yet." Averting her gaze, she looked down her hands as she spoke, "It's been put on hold. Cassie managed to convince Ryan to wait until they've looked for you and have fortified the caves." She looked to him once more, "They're alive. And knowing Cassie and Serix, they'll continue to work to make sure it stays that way."