It had taken Arvella some time to convince herself to go and see him. Not because she was afraid to see his broken body hooked up to various tubes and wires, but because she was afraid of herself and her lack of control around him. If she wanted she could have easily forgotten what he had done to her, of his strong hands wrapped tightly around her neck. She could have put that all behind her and ruled beside him, but what sort of future would that have brought them?

Destruction.

Balem's fate had already been determined on that planet, he should have been buried under billions of tons of hurricane and the ruins of his empire. She should have forgotten him there, but her heart hadn't allowed her to be merciless. No, there was something in Balem that she still clung to, perhaps it was just a distant memory of what they could have been. No matter, this was her reality now and she had no choice but to face it.

They had since boarded their much larger main vessel, the one that would take her and Batair back to Cenus. There Balem was transported to their well-kept infirmary, where he would receive more extensive treatment for his injuries. Batair has made the mistake of bringing up Regenex as a solution to his injuries and Arvella had quickly shut that idea down. Balem would just have to heal somewhat normally while he was still in her care.

There was also the matter of what they were going to do with this Abrasax sibling. Surely they couldn't keep him hidden here forever, his siblings ought to know that he did in fact make it off the planet in one piece. When Balem was well-enough to go off on his own she supposed she would hand him back over to his family.

She stood at the doorway for the longest time, leaning against it with arms crossed as she watched him silently. He was still unconscious, his chest rising and falling slowly but noticeably stronger. The medics had just finished up with him, doing all they could for now to manage his injuries. Something terrible had definitely happened between him and Jupiter as far as she knew, his body was broken from head to toe. He had sustained a blast to his leg, a gaping hole that had been patched back up, his bone mended together for now. Not to mention several broken and bruised ribs and his jaw had been shattered pretty severely. Thanks to the technology aboard her ship, these things had been mended fairly well and his prognosis was decently good. It would only take a few days for his injuries to heal completely.

Taking a deep breath, she finally approached him, the melodic beeping and whir of machinery echoed around her in the sterile room. She hated the smell of sickness, the artificial stench that plagued medical facilities. This was the last place she had wanted to be but she knew she couldn't just leave him like this.

She took a seat next to him, a metallic chair positioned by the bed, folding her hands in her lap. Her eyes slowly drifted to his face, his flawless skin having been restored almost fully with a simple spray of medication. It was astounding how far medical advancements had come in her lifetime, if only there was a more humane alternative to extending one's time.

She sighed, her eyes straying away from his face, down his healing and bare torso. Several wires were attached to him, monitoring his vital signs closely. The blue screens that hovered above reflected what those were, seemingly normal and calm. She tore her eyes away from him, back to her own lap where her fists clenched tightly, knuckles turning white. She exhaled quickly, her hands relaxing back so they were lying flat. She wouldn't allow him to have this effect on her, not at a time like this.

She turned her head as something glittered in the corner of her eye, enrapturing her attention. It was a simple purple crystal, sitting by itself on a small table just on the other side of the room. It was easy to miss, hence why she hadn't noticed it to begin with, and yet within its smooth and glassy surface it held something worth more than all of the Regenex in all of the universe.

She stood up, her breath hitching in her throat, her own eyes reflecting the stone. She recognized it right away, could feel its energy beckoning her closer. She closed her eyes as her hand closed around it, sighing as memories flooded her mind.

For a moment she was back with Balem, all of those centuries ago, in the crystal cavern back home. She had given this to him, given it to him as a memory, as a way to remember the time they had spent together that day.

She turned it over in her hand as she opened her eyes, getting lost in its ever-changing hues, stars and galaxies swirling in its depths.

"They found that in his garments."

Arvella was jolted out of her thoughts as she heard her brother's voice, turning around to face him, the crystal still held in her palm.

"He kept it," she finally spoke, her voice cracking as she could no longer keep her emotions reigned.

"I thought that crystal looked familiar," Batair smiled lightly, glancing over to where Balem rested.

"I never knew you took him there," he huffed a small laugh, "that place holds a lot of memories for our people."

Arvella nodded her head in understanding, a smile gracing her lips as her eyes fluttered back down to the crystal in her hands. There were no words to describe what she was feeling right now, for all of the emotions flooding back into her heart. After all these years, after all those decades of being apart, he still carried this token with him, he still cared. Tears trickled down her cheeks, but not ones of sorrow.

"I'd best be going then," Batair nodded, leaving his sister with her thoughts.

Arvella wiped her cheeks, stepping back over to Balem. Lifting up one of his folded hands, she placed the crystal under his palm.

"So you can remember us," she whispered, leaning down and placing a gentle kiss on his forehead.

Her lips lingered for a moment longer, closing her eyes as she took in the feeling of his skin against hers. She hadn't realized how much she had missed the moments she used to spend with him, back when she was still oblivious to the sources of Regenex. The connection she had to Balem was real, at least it had been. After meeting with him at his refinery for the last time, she thought she had lost him forever. Time was now the only thing that could heal their wounds.