A/N: There is a LIME in this chapter. For Disclaimer, refer back to Chapter 1.

Chapter 3: Incubus

Argilla looked at herself in the mirror. She had always been a soldier. She didn't have many memories of her childhood; and what she remembered were scenarios of blood, gore and guts.

She looked at herself regretfully.

Could her life have turned out any better than this?

Probably not.

She could have been killed; or worse, had she not joined Embryon.

But, reminiscing wasn't the reason why she was looking at herself. It was her, per se. She wanted to look at herself as a third person. She wanted to know how others viewed her. It was true that since she had been always a soldier, she hardly cared about what and how she looked like, most especially to other people.

'They could go shove it up their asses for all I care' was the usual sneer that she used to bark at anyone who would dare to comment on her physical appearance.

But, now though, it would seem that something had changed.

She no longer saw a soldier in the mirror. She saw a woman.

She saw a woman with soft, fluffy pink hair with bright pink eyes. She saw a woman with full luscious lips, a long elegant neck and collarbone, broad shoulders, unblemished skin, a developed chest and long creamy legs.

But, despite her acute assessment, she did not know how to interpret it.

Do her characteristics measure as good or bad?

In short, she was asking the same question that immature and insecure teenage girls had done, "Am I ugly?"

"Am I unattractive?"

Hold on.

Unattractive? To whom?

Who cares?

'Serph would care…'

'What the-? Where did that come from?' she shook her head, closing her eyes. Since when did she care about how she looked in front of Serph?

She desperately wanted to say she didn't care but she couldn't. Why? Because at the end of the day, she cared. She cared about what he thought of her.

'I'm not getting anywhere with this…I'd better get some sleep.'

With a tired body and a defeated mind, she collapsed on her bed and with the last ounce of strength in her body, she buried herself under the covers.

'I wish I could just stay here forever…'

xxxxx

Serph watched her from the shadows of her room. She had not been aware that he had been there the entire time, evaluating her.

He watched her breathing and as it became slowed and steady, he knew that she was asleep.

He carefully watched the woman in front of him and walked slowly towards her, not daring to make a sound.

He stopped right in front of her bed and let his eyes travel up and down her body. He gazed at her longingly. Something in him had awakened once more as he suddenly had the compelling desire to touch her.

Unconsciously, he sat on her bed as his left hand reached out to touch her face. Serph could feel what little amount of self control he had begin to dwindle away.

He wanted this woman in front of him.

He gently stroked her face and then caressed her hair. It was soft and feather-like. Completely complying to his urges, he carefully got on the bed with his legs straddling her without touching her. He supported himself by being on all fours with her securely beneath him.

He gazed into her face. Her lips were slightly parted with its corners curved upward with a hint of a smile. Blood rushed into his system as he felt her minty breath tickle his face.

All he wanted to do now was kiss her. He began to lean in towards her but then, froze as her eyes met his.

"Why did you run from me?" he asked innocently, as the woman beneath him was too shocked to talk.

"Serph…" she whispered, "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to know why you ran from me…"

Serph searched her eyes for answers. He gazed intently at them then realized that she was having an internal battle within herself. She couldn't answer.

"Why?" he asked again, prodding her to give him any answer.

"Because…" she began, "I…We can't do this…" she finished lamely.

"Why?" he asked once more, his eyes twinkling.

"Because…I don't feel anything for you…and you're my CO…"

Ah yes. It was her ace in the hole. Serph would leave her alone once he realized that it was against military conduct to fraternize with subordinates.

The triumphant feeling within her began to shake as she noticed that Serph had neither spoken nor moved from his current position.

"You lie…"

"What?" she asked, disbelieving in what she had just heard.

"You feel something…"

Before she could respond he clamped his mouth over hers, kissing her hungrily. His hands that supported his weight grabbed her arms and pinned them over her head as he expected her to attempt to squirm from him yet again.

His legs straddled her hips and immobilized her, keeping her in place. She gasped in his mouth and he just kissed her harder with urgent fervor as his invading tongue raided her mouth.

His weight fell on her and he pinned her down successfully. Now, she can neither move nor speak.

Up to now, she had been running from him and had succeeded in eluding him. Now, she was not going anywhere until he got his answers.

Feeling the need to come for air, he dislodged his lips from hers but quickly covered her mouth with his left hand, leaving only his right hand to pin both her wrists over her head.

"Don't scream…" he instructed.

She nodded and he slowly removed hand from her mouth. He looked at her once more and saw that her eyes were shocked and slightly afraid. But behind those emotions, he saw what he had been searching for in her since the night before; lust.

Serph had been right; she felt it too.

She wanted him as much as he wanted her.

"Why did you run?" he asked again.

She let out a deep breath and closed her eyes, "I ran because…I didn't know what to say to you…or how to act around you. Last night changed everything for you and me…I felt…differently about you since last night…"

He said nothing but then presented her with a new question, "Why did you lie?"

She bit her lip, "I lied because…I feel that this is wrong…We…can't-we shouldn't…"

"We shouldn't what?" he prodded gently.

"We shouldn't…give in…to our desires…"

He smiled gently at her, removing his right hand from her wrists to cup her face, "Then," he whispered seductively, "you feel it too…"

"Argilla…I want you…"

"Serph…but the others…"

He shook his head, "They don't matter…"

"But…"

"Just feel…"

He silenced her with another bruising kiss. Argilla had fought so hard against her desires, but now, she wasn't so sure she wanted to keep fighting. She felt warm in his arms; warm and wanted. This was a new feeling for her; to be wanted; to be coveted and desired.

That night, it was just Serph and her. No one else mattered. No one else's opinion mattered.

"Don't fight it…" he said gently.

He began to kiss her neck and she did not object. She too, had lost all control. His hands were roaming wherever they pleased and she didn't care. She wanted this; she wanted him. She moaned as his left hand fondled her right breast. His lips left wet kisses on her neck and collarbone before they finally descended on her chest. His hands then traveled to the straps of her gown and pulled them down.

She shivered slightly as her skin met the chilly air in her room.

But all feeling of the cold quickly dissipated as he covered her in his arms.

She didn't know how much time had passed. But now, they were both bare, their limbs entangled, their lips engaged in a duel for supremacy.

Her hands that once protested were now latched onto his shoulders, pulling him closer to herself.

Serph never knew that feelings like this existed. He had found the one for him. Something told him that she would be the one. The one what? He wasn't exactly sure, but he knew that in the face of uncertainty, she would be his only constant.

By now the air in her room grew damp. Serph stifled the moans and grunts that threatened to erupt from his throat.

They didn't want to be heard after all. The air ducts were distributed throughout the barrack. He knew that from firsthand experience after all.

"Serph…please…"

Serph groaned in her chest. His instincts were guiding him now. In this moment, he completely forgot that he led Embryon. Tonight, he was just a man. The primordial feeling deep in his chest pushed its way into the forefront and overwhelmed his senses.

Now engulfed with a new feeling of urgency and possessiveness, he parted her legs. His instincts told him what to do. Argilla knew too what was to happen.

She braced herself for the pain. It came all too suddenly as she felt him force his way inside her. At that moment, she didn't know what to make out of her feelings.

She felt happy and…complete.

It was as if, something in her had always been missing. But now, Serph had filled that void. She felt happy and fulfilled. She didn't really understand it yet, these emotions that she felt, but she had a feeling that now that Serph was with her, everything would be alright.

Argilla felt her tear roll down her cheek and held him closer to her.

"Serph…" she breathed out.

In the next moments, their unity had given them their keys to nirvana. Serph fell on her body once more, breathless.

He held her closer to himself and mentally promised that nothing would ever happen to her. He would protect and cherish her. She was no longer just a comrade to him; she was more. She was his mate. She was his better half and no one would ever tear them apart.

"Argilla…"

"…?"

"I…" he thought for a moment, further nuzzling in the crook of her neck, "I…want you with me…for always…"

"Serph…"

"I want to always have you…with me…"

"I think I understand Serph…" she smiled gratefully, closing her eyes as she took in his scent of sandalwood and fresh rain.

"I want that too…" she whispered.

So where did one's conscious mind fit in? Nowhere. The conscious mind reminded them of what they should and shouldn't do. It was the source of all human reason. But, Serph concluded, what he and Argilla had just shared needed not the mind. What they needed was the heart.

They did not need to find reason; they needed to feel.

xxxxx

The three at the Strategy Room stood shocked at what they had just witnessed. But no matter what kind of rationalization they wanted to air, nothing made sense.

That was…erotic. Erotic? What did that even mean?

"I don't know," Heat interjected, "but it sounds about right, don't you think?"

"…"

Gale stood frozen at his spot. He was shocked, to say the least at what he saw; shocked but intrigued. What Serph had said to Argilla made absolutely no sense to him whatsoever. What they had just done was completely out of bounds. It was completely devoid of reason. He simply did not comprehend it.

Heat gazed at Gale and saw him with closed eyes while his finger touched his forehead.

'What had just happened between Serph and Argilla…?'

When Gale ordered that Argilla's movements and activities monitored, he had only the purest of intentions. He did not believe her when she had said that nothing had happened during the time when they had gone on their mission. Gut feeling or intuition, Gale knew that she, as well as Serph, was hiding something.

As a cool and calculating leader, Gale felt it was his responsibility to ensure that there was nothing amiss. 'After all,' Gale mused, 'Argilla may be a spy for the other tribes. Trust is a very delicate thing. I cannot risk defection here.'

But, truly, what he had just bore witness to was something that was completely unexpected.

"Dat was…interesting ja?" Cielo said, flabbergasted.

"I saw it coming…" Heat said, smirking, "I'm just glad that Leader finally grew up."

Gale looked at Heat questioningly, "Heat? What do you mean that you 'saw this coming'?"

Heat looked as if he was a burglar caught in the middle of a heist, "Well…nothing…"

Gale quirked up an eyebrow, "Does this have something to do with this morning's issue with Argilla and Serph?"

Ouch. Bingo. Direct hit.

Heat had always been glad that Gale was as sharp as a knife, but these where the times when he just felt damned annoyed. Why did Gale have to be that smart?

'If you ask me, he's too smart for his own good!' he thought.

"Well, nothing. Can't say old man. I promised it was confidential, so I can't say a word. But don't worry, it's got nothing to do with espionage and spying and that crap that you're probably thinking of right now." Heat smirked and gave himself a mental pat in the back, 'Nice save Ace!'

Gale may have been a smart-ass but he was honorable. He would honor Heat's vow; at least, that was what Heat was counting on anyway.

Cielo looked from Heat to Gale and from Gale back to Heat, "Ey? Everything okay brudda?"

Gale snapped from his trance and nodded at Heat, "Agreed. Your word must not be broken."

Heat's inner self shouted cries of victory and he smirked triumphantly. He then stretched his limbs, "Well, as much as I enjoyed this, I'm tired. I'm going to bed. Goodnight." It was then that Heat heard the voice inside his head, 'What about your promise to her? Eh? She'd kill you if she knew that you saw everything.'

'Would you give me a break? I just saved my word back there!' Heat growled at himself, 'Besides, technically, I kept my word. I didn't tell Gale or Cielo; nor did I tell them to monitor the two…'

Heat's two comrades remained unspeaking and he stopped just before the door, "Oh and, if you need to, do it. But, just don't make a mess of the bathroom okay? I was talking about you Cielo."

"Wat?" Cielo asked, wide-eyed.

Heat smirked and turned to Gale who had a lost expression, "As for you, I'll take you out one of these days to meet a special lady."

Gale's cheeks turned pink but said nothing and Heat continued, "Well, who knows, you might get lucky like Serph eh?"

"Heat. Get out." Gale said indifferently.

'Special lady? Lucky?' these terms made no sense to Gale.

"I'm goin!"

Gale stood there for a moment, thinking once more about Serph and Argilla. He had seen and heard them, much to his dismay. But, it was their words and how they held each other after their union that captured Gale's interest.

In the beginning, he mused that coupling or their union was a necessity. Undoubtedly, he concluded that it was a very pleasurable act. Men and women in their world suffered greatly of war and tragedy; it would be natural to assume that some form of escape or recreation was necessary to sustain one's physical and psychological wellbeing. 'Could this coupling be one of the ways in which this could be done?' Gale thought calculatingly.

'It would make perfect sense. It is required by the body and of the sound mind…But…' he frowned. There was a flaw in his sense of reasoning.

'Then…if that is so, then why did Serph…say all those things…? Why not simply unite with other females of his choice? Why stick to Argilla?'

It was unreasonable…unless…it was not reason that drove the union of people.

'Then, what is it?' Gale asked exasperatedly. His head was beginning to hurt from all this contemplation. He frowned as he remembered Heat's proposal, 'Meet a special lady?' He didn't want to admit it to anyone, most especially to Heat, but Gale knew that in this area, he was as blind as a bat.

Heat and Serph knew more about it than he. Perhaps taking his proposal will serve as an advantage for him rather than as a point of ridicule.

'Hm, come to think of it, it would be a perfect opportunity to test my hypothesis…'

Cielo's grumbles broke Gale from his thoughts. He turned to Cielo, "Don't forget to remove the cameras at the ventilation shaft."

"Why do I have to do it?" Cielo asked, pouting.

"Because I said so."

xxxxx

FIN