Nyx's Recovery

Ci walked into the ABC headquarters silently, led by G.

"Done already?" Jay asked. "Hey, where're P and Heavy D?"

"D took P to the hospital," G said simply. "Her leg's broken."

"What happened?" Bea asked with concern. Ci began to shudder and shiver uncontrollably.

"It's okay," G whispered to her. "You're safe now. Just relax over there at the bar." She walked uneasily over to the bar and sat with her head down. "That Nyx, chick… She wasn't kiddin' about not being normal."

"What, did she freak out?" Jay asked. "It's probably just a blood fetish."

"No, you don't understand," the black Racast replied quickly. "Nyx is fuckin' crazy! At first she was just being a bitch about getting to Forest 2 since it was too bright in the first area. Next thing we know, she's attacking us and slaughtering every animal in sight."

"You look alright to me," L commented.

"Does she look alright?" G countered, motioning toward Ci who was still sitting with her head buried in her arms at the bar. "I've never seen the princess like that. Even in the face of android-haters, Newks, Droids, terrorists, and kidnappers, she never showed any real fear. It was always just caution and awareness of danger to her, just like any other Android. But that person over there is full of real fear."

"So where's Nyx now?" Bea asked.

"We left her in Forest 2," G said.

"Well, someone has to go get her. We can't just leave her there."

"What makes you say that?" G asked seriously. "I don't think she was joking when she told us to kill her on the spot if we couldn't get her blood in time. We shot her a few times and she treated it like we were chucking snowballs at her."

"If everything you say is true, she should have all she needs by now," Bea said.

"And what if she doesn't?" G asked. Bea frowned at him and walked out the door.

"Dammit," Jay cursed, following her. G walked over to where Ci was and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Come on. I'll give you a ride home."

When Bea and Jay arrived in Forest 2, they were met with the smell of blood. They glanced at one another and moved toward the broken gate. When they looked through, they saw what looked like the end result of a massacre. Animal bodies were tangled and twisted in horrible ways. There were various dismemberments all over the ground. The soil was soaked in blood. Suddenly they heard a sniffle from behind. They turned around, with sword and scepter ready. There Nyx was, sitting by the hill amongst supply boxes, covered in blood, with shredded clothing.

"You don't have to worry about me," she whimpered. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Did you do that?" Jay asked, pointing at the disaster beyond the gate.

She nodded sadly. "That's what happens when I go through my hunger pains. I'm sorry I attacked your friends."

"It's okay," Bea said, approaching her slowly. "P's leg will be repaired. And Ci…well I'm sure Ci will get over it."

"Say, why didn't you massacre them like you did those animals?" Jay asked a little too casually.

"Androids have oil for blood," Nyx replied. "As long as they didn't attack me, I knew I wouldn't hurt them too much."

"And how did you get so strong?" Jay continued.

"The extra nutrients in all the blood I drink," Nyx answered. "The strange thing is, the closer I get to death, the stronger and harder to kill I become."

"Are you ready to go?" Bea asked gently.

"Yes," Nyx said. "But I don't think I'm up to standing on my own yet. I'll probably be set for at least a month before I even think about blood again."

"It's okay," Bea smiled. "Jay…"

"She's covered in blood," Jay said, frowning. "Can't we at least dunk her in the pond a few times?"

"Jay…" Bea warned.

"Or just let the rain wash it off first?" he continued.

"Jay, if you don't…" Bea began.

"I'll take care of it," Nyx said, beginning to lick herself like a cat.

"So what, you're a cat now?" Jay asked.

"Newman, actually," Nyx said, pushing her hair aside just enough to reveal a long pointed ear.

When they arrived at her apartment, Nyx invited them inside. There, they found Ace sleeping on the couch, looking unusually pale.

"So this is where he's been," Jay said, putting Nyx down.

"I didn't trust myself to go to his place, so he came here," she said quietly. She walked over to him and placed a hand against his cheek. "He's such a sweet guy."

"…You're in love with him, aren't you?" Bea asked after a moment. Nyx smiled with a rosy hue on her face and nodded.

"Oh, boy," Jay muttered, beginning to walk out. "My mush meter is going off. I'll be in the car."

"Don't mind him," Bea giggled.

"He can handle seeing a field of mangled bodies, yet he can't stand a tender moment," Nyx smiled weakly. "Would you like something to drink?"

"No, thank you," she replied. "Don't you think you should lie down? You probably used up a lot of energy and it'll take a while for you to digest."

"You're just like Mother," Nyx smiled. "After myself, of course, I've never met anyone more like her. I hope you meet her someday."

"Um…thanks, I guess," Bea said uneasily.

"Oh, I almost forgot," she said, immediately looking through drawers. "Your payment."

"Don't worry about it," Bea insisted. "Getting you under control is good enough."

"Take this," Nyx said, forcing a card into her hand. "Use it to take as much Meseta from my account as you want."

"I wouldn't feel right," Bea said, trying to give it back. Suddenly it was snatched from her hand.

"Yoink!" Jay said from behind her. "Never refuse monetary payment."

"I thought you were in the car," Bea said in an irritated tone.

"I was eavesdropping outside," he said, taking a good look at the card. "Say, Nyx, what kind of work do you do for a living?"

"I work at Regalia as Bloodlust," Nyx said, looking at Ace. "That's where I met him."

"Figures," Jay sighed.

"I'm sure you know about some of his other…um friends from Regalia," Bea smiled nervously.

Nyx nodded. "I know all about them. He goes to Hilda when he wants a workout. He comes to me every month or so for…obvious reasons. I also already know that he has many girls to visit. But personally, I think his favorites are the Newman Twins, Chandra and Selene."

"And you still think you have a chance with him?" Jay asked, immediately getting an elbow in the gut from Bea.

"We should get going now," Bea said, grabbing Jay by the collar and pulling him out the door. "If you ever need anything, you know how to contact us." They exited, closing the door behind them.

"We'll meet again Beatrice, my sister," Nyx thought aloud.

"She's your sister?" Ace asked, startling her.

"I was trying to be dramatic," Nyx said, catching her breath. "I'd appreciate it if you kept that a secret for now."

"Why?" Ace asked, sitting up.

"There are people that don't have our best interest in mind," Nyx said, sitting next to him and leaning her head on him. "They are the kind of people that would starve me just to use me as a weapon…Try to keep that a secret, too."

"Okay…Um…do you have any more secrets?"

"Maybe another time."