Chapter 10

Meanwhile…

Suiryu kept staring out the front window. She's been gone for days again, and each time she comes home, Alley is far more stressed than the last time. "Keeping vigil I see…"

Suiryu paused as he turned to Garou. He smirked to his actions as he began to approach. "You have gone to visit her, right? You know more as to what is going on than her own mother and I."

He smiled for but a moment, yet sighed. "I worry about her. Is she doing too much? How can I possibly help a mind like that? Each time she comes home she is far more stressed out than the last time. There's nothing I can do to settle her down or even say to take away her stress and worries…"

Suddenly, there was a smile on the face of the human monster. "So, you haven't found her sweet tone yet" he said.

"Sweet what?"

"Sweet tone. All mates have a sweet tone. A simple solution if you think about it, I got one, Melee has one. It's the pitch when done correctly, relaxes your mate and brings a sense of calm over them. Have you never heard it come out of Melee when I was freaking out? She held me close and gave off a purr. Next thing, I'm like putty in her hands."

He was confused to it all. "A sweet tone?" he muttered. "How would I know?"

"You got to test it and see, it takes time and practice. You'll know the moment she is in a state of relaxation, she will be limp and calm, not tense or stressed out." He explained.

As good and simple of a solution that sounded, Suiryu couldn't help but feel Garou was messing with him. Yet, he would try it anyway. If it is to help calm his daughter, the idea couldn't be far from the truth. Still. Suiryu stood in wait at the window. Until he saw it.

Her feet touched down, Alley came home!

Suiryu smiled as the door opened, but, she wasn't smiling back. Alley was pale, and trembled. "My God, are you okay? Did…"

"No" she snapped. "No…" was all she could bring herself to say. Suiryu could smell it on her, despite the shower she took, he picked up a faint scent of blood. Not hers to say the least, but human. Worry began to fester his mind. What went on at the lab? What is making her tremble so much? Why is she so startled? He wanted to ask her everything, yet before he could, Alley saw her father lingering by. Garou was about to speak until she rushed to her room and slammed the door.

"I am not thrilled by this…" he growled. Garou turned to Suiryu. "What do you know?"

He wanted to tell him, but promised Alley he wouldn't. Instead, he hung his head and refused to speak. "Hey, Garou!" Snek called. Suiryu peered up as Snek nudged towards his room. Suiryu felt the burden lift off his shoulders, there was no doubt Snek figured now was the time to tell the family of Alley's little summer venture. But it also allowed him to keep his promise to her. With that settled, Suiryu knew he has to try and calm her down. She went through hell to say the least, now he needs to man up and take care of his woman!

Approaching the room with caution, he knocked gently first. "Alley…"

There was no answer, with care he turned to knob and peered into the room. She laid on the bed in a fetal position, her body trembling out of fear, tears silently escaped her eyes as she couldn't bring herself to move let alone speak. He crept in and sat at the bedside. "Alley… you may not want to talk to me right now. And that's okay, but I want you to know. I am here for you. I'll listen and even though I may not be able to contribute to your work. I'll always encourage you."

Not a sound came out of her. The smell of tension and fear began to flood the room, it all came off of her. 'What the hell happened at the lab?' he thought. But it didn't matter, now was the time to take Garou's advice. It was time to find her sweet tone.

With care he reached over and picked her up off the bed. Suiryu cradled Alley in his arms and wrapped his wings around her, from there, he tried to purr. It was far more difficult than he would imagine. Normally he could do it automatically! Now, he felt there was pressure! A few growls escaped from him, until he managed to get the right tone, from there, he tried various pitches to see which one she reacted too. High pitches were no good. So he began to go lower and lower, until he found a deep and prolong pitch. Instantly he felt the tension in her melt away, Alley began to move and cuddle up to him. "Do it again…" she whispered.

A smile came over him as he gave off another purr. Alley began to coddle into him, refusing to let go. The tension she had released, her mind settled, as her eyes grew heavy. He kept it up until she fell asleep. Letting out a relief sigh, Suiryu managed to slink to the end of the bed, His eyes grew heavy, yet kept Alley in his arms all night.

#

He felt her move.

It was barely five in the morning, when Alley was struggling to break out of his embrace. "Come on, I got to go…" she whispered lowly.

One eye opened as he peered down at her, trying to slip out of his arms. "Leaving, so soon?" he asked of her.

Alley froze, her gaze slowly turned up as he peered down to her. Suiryu held her even closer to himself. "You scared me yesterday, I didn't know what happened, why you were so terrified… why you looked so pale?" he asked.

She was silent. Not a word escaped from her as she nestled back into his arms. "I did something terrible." She whispered. "I tested something, without being sure about it on a living being…"

"Genus." He muttered.

Alley nodded to him. "I… I didn't want to, but he insisted on it. But then, we learned that the affects of what I created would only work if he was brought to the point of death."

Suiryu began to feel his heart race, she wouldn't! Would she?

"And…" he said.

"I didn't… but Zombieman did… right in front of me… I couldn't stop him in time…" Alley began to weep. "I couldn't help him!"

Suiryu's embrace only grew tighter around her. Alley wept into his chest, she kept saying how sorry she was for what she did. "Alley… it wasn't your fault!" he protested.

"It was!" she said. "I should have known better, this was a stupid risk! I should have done something more! I should have worked out the problem with more thought and consideration!"

"Alley… Alley… you didn't cause this…"

"I did… what ailed Dr. Genus was caused by the cell I made to cure Tank Top Tiger, it got modified… I didn't know it could be used for something like this!"

Suiryu fell silent as Alley continued to weep in his arms. What could he say? What could he do to help her with this burden? "Want me to go with you to the lab?" he asked. "We will clean up and start again, okay? You need to keep moving forward, for there is a lot more at stake isn't there?"

Her tears suddenly stopped. Alley cleared her eyes and nodded. "You're right, there is… Dr. Genus was a harsh lesson to learn… but… I have to keep going." Suiryu let her go from his grasp, Alley rose out of bed and got ready for the day. "I have to… for all of us!"

Suiryu got out of bed as well, he was going to follow her out, but Alley stopped him. "No. I have to do this, please, stay here… I need a clear mind to see this through."

The words stung him. He was a distraction? Yet, he understood, Suiryu nodded in agreement. Not before pulling her into his arms. He gave a passionate kiss to her and embraced Alley tightly. "Be careful." He whispered.

She returned the hug. "I will, I promise."

Just like that, he let her go without arguing or stating he'll go with her. Suiryu felt he had to be at her side as she returned to the lab. He struggled with the thought of it all until he finally gathered his courage. Rushing to the door, he opened it and was ready to give chase of Alley, only to realize, someone was waiting on the other side for him…