It's 12:00 in the morning on a school night...and I'm here posting things.

This is the on time I'm glad there were no questions, but after this I may have a bit more time to answer them. But right now I'm tired. So enjoy.

November 16, 2051

Location: UNKNOWN

Time: UNKNOWN

Nana diligently wrapped the bandage around White's arm, reattaching the severed limb to its owner. White lay her head back against the chair and said nothing.

Finally Nana, who could no longer stand the silence, asked "Mother, are you in pain?"

White faked a sad smile. "Yes my darling. I'm in pain at the thought of my precious daughter being brainwashed and taken from me."

Nana stood. "You still have me, mother."

White looked at her and smiled. "Yes…I suppose I do." She sighed. "But a mother cannot choose her favorite child."

"If you want, I can go get her."

White shook her head. "No, I can't bear the thought of losing you, Nana. We'll just have to wait for them to comply."

"What if they don't?!" Nana cried out. "I hate seeing you in so much pain, Mother!"

White looked at her daughter and beckoned her closer, and with her functioning hand stroked her hair.

"Don't worry about me, sweetheart~" She said soothingly. "They'll bring her."

"How can you be sure?"

White smiled. Her arm glowed magenta, and with a crunch was snapped into place, violently jerking up before flopping by her side.

White raised her hand and clenched her fingers. "That's how I'm sure." She replied. "No one dares go against me~"

…

November 16, 2051

Location: Mother Ship

7:40 P.M.

"ABSOLUTELY OUT OF THE QUESTION!" Marion shouted.

Rothcol cringed and held the phone away from his ear. "Look, just so you know Commander, this thing really amplifies sound."

Two days after his initial call to Phobos, the Lieutenant had relayed his call to Marion.

And Marion was less than pleased.

"I DON'T CARE!" Marion replied. "You're asking us to go against our own race to aid the people who turned our planet into a post-apocalyptic wasteland!"

"I'm not!" Rothcol protested. "We're aiding an alien CHILD, Commander! One who's at risk of being kidnapped!"

"She's still an alien!"

"She's TWELVE YEARS OLD!"

Marion sighed. "We can't Sergeant."

"Why the hell not?!" Rothcol yelled, fueled by a burst of anger. "We've been fighting for 19 years, Commander! And where's it gotten us?! No where! These so called beasts took me in when I was injured! They fed me! They housed me! They trusted me as a friend! I won't just turn around and start shooting them!"

"You've obviously lost touch with reality, Sergeant!" Marion countered. "You've turned your back on the human race!"

"Really?! Because it seems to me the creatures on this ship are THREE TIMES AS HUMAN as and of US!"

The other side was silent, and as soon as Rothcol was about to respond, Marion hung up.

"Damn it!" Rothcol shouted, throwing down the phone. Shizu walked in and cringed at the metal clang the machine made.

Rothcol clenched his fist and punched the wall, a gesture that was unusual for him. Shizu held back, almost slightly afraid, and watched as he stormed out of the room.

A bit later she saw him out the window, walking through the streets. She knew he wouldn't try to leave, as his own team had basically abandoned him.

She raced down the stairs, grabbed her coat off the hanger and followed him.

…

Mii sat on the couch in the living room, her knees pulled up to her chest. She had been desperately trying to come up with some sort of plan to guarantee her daughter's safety, but every one ended in a dead end.

She laid her head back. She'd never felt so helpless before. Every other threat she could face, but this…this was far too much.

Suddenly the green light on the TV beeped, indicating there was someone on the line who wanted to talk to them. She hesitated, and then picked up the remote, turned on the TV, and gasped.

One would have guessed that Mii was looking into a mirror, for the young lady on the screen appeared to be the spitting image of her in every way, shape and form. However if looked at closely, one would notice that the woman on the screen was dressed in different attire, and a slow smirk formed on her face where Mii's stayed shocked.

"Hey sis." The woman said. "Miss me?"

Mii finally found her voice. "Elly?!" She cried. "Qué estás haciendo?!"

Elly shrugged. "I heard you got into a bit of trouble with the government. Funny how it ended up being you and not me, right? Anyway, I'm here to save your ass."

Mii shook her head slowly. "How did you find out?"

"I work for Arcana, Mii." Elly replied. "I know a lot of stuff. So, you're in trouble and the General wants your head. You wanna tell me why?"

"It's a long story…" Mii began.

"I can take my break now." Elly replied, putting her feet up and making a sweeping gesture with her hand. "Proceed."

"Um…" Mii found herself fumbling for words. "Well…you're an aunt now-"

"I KNEW THAT'S WHY YOU RAN AWAY!"

"Can I tell the story, please?" Mii asked, annoyed. "No, I didn't run away because I was pregnant."

"Your kid had to come from somewhere."

"Y la hizo…look, it's complicated-"

She heard footsteps behind her, and before anyone could move, Elly smirked. "Hey, Lirio, long time no see~"

"Oh gods, not you again." Lirio said. He stood behind the couch and leaned on the back, rubbing his forehead.

"What, you're not happy to see me?" Elly asked. "Someone's a bit grumpy~"

Lirio growled.

Elly smirked and leaned back. "So, where is this adorable new niece of mine? I'd quite like to meet her."

Mii stood up and looked down the hall. "Stella, Mija, come here for a minute!"

Stella, having changed into a light pink dress and her long black hair now in braids, entered the living room and looked around.

"Mija…" Mii pointed at the screen. "This is your Auntie Elly."

Stella moved closer to the monitor and curtsied. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Auntie."

Elly squealed. "YOU ARE SO CUTE!" She looked her up and down. "Interesting hair color though…"

"Elly…" Mii whispered. "Stella's…technically…adopted…"

Elly nodded. "So…you didn't cheat?"

"NO I DIDN'T CHEAT!" Mii cried. "What do you take me for?!"

"Easy sis, I'm just teasing~" Elly said with a smile as she stood up. "Let me go get the rest of the team. I think they'd like to meet you."

…

November 16, 2051

Location: San Francisco, C.A.

7:45 A.M.

Xiaoming sharpened his knife quietly in the corner of the room, remembering what Phobos had told him.

"It's not our problem." Alexey insisted when he saw Xiaoming moping. "It was Rothcol's choice."

"Still." Xiaoming protested. "That girl was twelve years old. We're just sitting here and-"

"I already told you it's not our problem." Alexey scolded him. "We're humans. Our job is too protect THIS planet, not someone else's."

Xiaoming growled. "Maybe I'm tired of protecting this planet."

"You and Rothcol both!" Alexey chided. "How long is it gonna take for you to let go?!"

"Maybe we already have."

They both looked toward the voice, which came from Lars, who sat at he other end of the room with the youngest of their group, Darry.

Lars looked up at them. "Maybe we have let go. Maybe that's the problem."

"Your problem, maybe." Alexey replied. "This is how you battle. You have to numb yourself."

"Good god, look at yourselves!" Darry shot up, knocking his chair over. "We've turned into fucking robots, guys! What's the point in fighting for the few people still alive out there if THIS is all that's left of us?!" He kicked the chair. "I'm tired of all this! Is it so bad that I want to actually FEEL again for a change?!"

"Rothcol was…no, is our comrade." Lars assured him.

"I wanna believe him." Darry whimpered, like a little boy who had just gotten put in time-out. "I don't wanna fight anymore."

Everyone was silent for quite a while, before Xiaoming said "My sister always believed that the aliens attacked because we'd wronged them." He hung his head. "She thought if we could make it right they would leave us alone."

Lars stood up. "I think several of us would be willing to find out."

"This might get us killed." Alexey piped up.

"It also might get us where guns and brute force never could." Lars countered. "I'll go round up whoever else is willing to come along. After that, Xiao, we'll just have to hope Ekishou was right."

…

November 16, 2051

Location: Tokyo, Japan

7:45 P.M.

Shizu found Rothcol sitting on a rock, overlooking the highway. He didn't turn as she approached, even as she scuffed her feet as not to surprise him, and finally cleared her throat.

He still didn't turn, but he spoke quietly "Why don't they understand?"

Shizu sat beside him on the ground.

"They should trust me." He said again. "I wouldn't lead them into a trap."

"They trust you." Shizu assured him. "It's me they don't trust."

"And I don't get that."

She shrugged. "Well, they never met me. It's only natural."

Rothcol got off the rock and sat beside her on the ground. "I'd never met you before, and you trusted me."

"You seemed different." She whispered. "You looked kind. I knew you wouldn't have tried to hurt me."

"And what if I did?" He asked.

"But you didn't, did you?"

He couldn't reply to that, only sigh.

She brushed a strand of wavy blonde hair behind her ear. "You seemed different. You are different. That's why I opened up to you. True, you could have taken advantage of me, and used me and eventually hurt me, but you never did, and by the way things look, I don't think you plan to." She looked up at him. "The only thing I can't figure out is why."

He was silent for quite a while, before he said "You said that you felt like you had lost your brother because of his condition. I lost someone. And it hurt, so that's why." He shrugged. "Before she was the reason I fought, because fighting distracted me from the pain. Now I can't fight, because fighting hurts to much." He flashed her a faint smile. "It's like a box of cookies. You eat one, and you have to eat the whole box, because your teeth start to itch. That's what getting a taste of peace is like. Or war. It can work both ways." He sighed. "When you fight it hurts so you fight more to distract yourself, and once you stop fighting, you can never pick up a gun again." He shrugged. "I know that's not what it is for most people, but it is for me."

"I think that's a good philosophy." Shizu said. "This girl…was she nice?"

Rothcol was silent again. "…Yes."

"Did you…love her?"

"…Yes."

She looked up at the sky. Now that the clouds were dispersing, bright stars could be seen, lighting up the sky like a field of diamonds.

"Do you think you'll ever love again?"

Neither of them answered that. Neither of them had to.

Rothcol didn't remember his hand moving to hold hers before it did, he didn't remember pulling her on top of him before it happened, and he didn't know he was kissing her until their lips connected.

His hands moved on their own as they strayed around her body. He kissed her neck gently and she gripped his shoulders, her breath tickling his ear. Just as he began to unbutton her collar she pushed him away, almost reluctantly, and whispered "We can't…"

Rothcol withdrew his hands. "If you're not ready…" He said "I can wait."

Shizu shook her head. "It's not that." She said. "I'm…I'm not human."

He nodded. "I know."

"I don't age as quickly." She told him. "Our race ages at about half the speed of humans." She looked away. "You'll die before I do. I know that if we do this tonight I won't be able to let go of you. And when you die, I'll still be here." She looked up at him with a tear streaked face.

He looked away.

"I want to do this." She assured him. "You have no idea how much I want this. But…"

"Shizu." He said, taking her hands "Haven't we suffered enough?" He smiled for her. "Lets not think about what might happen. Let's just utilize the time we have."

Rothcol saw tears slip down her cheeks and fall onto their hands. "One more thing…" She said. "Do we…have to do it here? Out in the open?"

"No, we can go back." He said.

She smiled and blushed as he helped her up. She held his hand on their way back, and slowly and quietly led him to her bedroom.

He sat down on the bed while she stood, locked the door, made sure it was locked, and then turned back to him. "I don't really know where to start." She whispered. "I've never done this before."

He thought for a minute, and then lay down, scooted over to one side, and patted the bed next to him. "We'll start here."

She blushed and smiled, but before she lay down she removed her glasses and ponytail, letting her long, golden hair spill around her shoulders in luscious waves and making Rothcol's breath catch in his throat.

She lay down next to him. "Um…"

He changed position so he was now half on top of her and kissed her gently again. She reciprocated, and before he could make another move she had already flipped him over and torn off his shirt. He unbuttoned her collar and removed her sweater, his hands gently caressing her now freed skin, her soft, lithe body now tangled in his.

They'd let themselves go, and now there was no turning back.

Yes, Elly=Tightmare Elly from the Arcana series.

Now, I know you guys are the ones usually asking me questions, but I really need your opinion on this one thing...

Should Shizu get pregnant?

You guys wanted those two to get closer, and I don't think you could get any closer than that. I would just like an opinion on whether to have Shizu get pregnant or not.

Well, nighty night!