I have my head curled down around her so that no one can see my face. I have heard Phendrene and Rue calling me already, asking me what in the world had happened, but I try to block their voices out. One time I sense Rue closing in, but with my mind I force her away.

"You don't get to do that!" Rue yells at my action. "Don't just ignore us! What happened to Vie!"

"Stop." Phendrene walks next to the Haxorus. "That will only make him more upset."

"Yeah, well, so what? I'm her friend as well! Tell me what happened to her!"

Sick of her complaints, I raise my face. The tears have mostly dried, but I still feel their remnant. "She's dead. Can't you see?" I answer as flatly as I can manage. "Vie, the Flygon, is dead."

"T-This isn't a joke, right?" the Haxorus steps forward and asks. "Are you sure she didn't just faint?"

I glare at her in silence. How dare she think I'm one to joke about something like this?

"Rue. Nova wouldn't say that if he wasn't sure. So… it has to be true." She looks away from the impending answer.

"No!" Rue stomps and waves her arm. "I don't believe it! Nova, you're invincible! How could Vie die when she's with you?"

"She was shot by an arrow," I answer, my gaze turning to the one still stuck on Vie's chest. "She took it for me."

"But how?" Rue yells again. "Shouldn't you have sensed the attacker's mind?"

"I never keep my mind open among you. None of you want your minds read. But in the future, it will be necessary," I answer.

"Why are you so cold!" Rue walks over and tries to touch me, but I send her back slightly with my mind. "And let us see Vie!"

Maybe I do sound cold. But the truth is, I've spent all of the emotion I had. Vie is already dead, and it's my fault. I can't feel anything anymore.

Hearing Rue's demand, I lay Vie back down onto the sand, making sure that she is still lying peacefully, and stand up. "There's nothing more to see," I tell Rue. "It's what it is."

She comes over and bends down, putting her hand over her neck, searching for a pulse. I look down blankly as she retracts her arm and slams the ground, shaking. "Dammit! I leave to get a drink, and this is what happens?"

Seeing that I let Rue close, Phendrene instantly comes near and takes my arm. "Nova… It's all right," she tries to soothe me.

"No. It's not. And it will never be." I let myself fall back out of her grasp, and sit down. "The arrow was meant for me. But she pushed me out of the way." I glance downward at my unharmed chest. "She died to save me," I confess.

"I'm sorry," Phendrene says, but the reactive nature of her response means I can't take it as genuine.

"No, you're not. I already killed the one who should be sorry," I spit.

"You what?" Rue turns her head over and asks.

"I killed the ape who shot the arrow," I answer with a deep breath, as it is the only thing I can be remotely proud of. "The only thing I should have done with make his death more painful."

"Oh, Nova's killing people now?" a sarcastic voice comes from behind. I turn to see Spire appearing from behind the outcrop, with Blight to follow. "So you're finally over your silly dilemma, huh?"

"Shut up, you idiot!" Rue rushes over. "It's not the time to act like this! Vie… she just…"

"What?" After hearing Rue's line, Spire's tone loses his smugness and turns to worry. "What happened to Vie?"

"She… she got killed," Rue says and looks away. "You can… see for yourself." She steps aside solemnly.

Spire just stares at the corpse with his mouth agape, and Blight comes walking forward. "How can you be sure? …She might have just fainted?"

"No," Phendrene answers for Rue and me. "Nova was with her the entire time. Vie is really gone."

As Blight is about to answer, a sudden scuffling comes from Spire as he simply turns around and takes to the air. The four of us look to him, but none of us call for him as he disappears over the outcrop.

"He must be in shock, and not know how to deal with this situation," Blight answers. "I'm sorry."

Apologies. All of these apologies mean nothing. It's not their fault, and Vie is still dead. I look up to the elder Salamence and remember his seasoned expression and language. Maybe… Vie doesn't have to stay dead.

"Father… If you could defeat the Hydreigon… Do you know anything that can bring back dead people? We can't do it for Mum, but with Vie's body… maybe…"

He walks over slowly and nuzzles me. I don't back away. "I'm sorry, son. If there's one thing in this world that not even the strongest dragon or psychic could do, it's to bring back the dead. We can't do anything."

"But maybe!" I hold his face and look him straight in the eye. "Maybe we can find some legendary Pokémon. Jirachi can grant wishes. Celebi can turn back time. There's got to be something!"

But he just shakes his head. "If these legendary ones truly exist, they have not shown themselves to us, nor will they grant their powers to what is just a regular mortal death." He retracts his head. "We can only bury her, and move on."

Feeling hopeless, I turn my head back look at her. I hope she really is as peaceful in the afterlife as she looks, if there even is one. I sigh. "Okay. We'll bury her with her family. I know where the grave is." I stand up and near her, wanting to pick her up with my arms instead of my psychic grasp.

"Wait," Rue motions an arm to stop me. "We can't bury her yet. There's still someone who hasn't seen her." She looks to me with a solemn gaze and I instantly know whom she's talking about.

Hale.

I'm not sure I would want to see him. Even if they aren't identical twins, they look like each other enough for me to confuse them. And seeing the image of a light-skinned Flygon moving again… maybe it would incite too much of an emotional reaction in me, just after I have calmed down.

No, Nova, you have more self-control than that. You shouldn't react at Hale. He's still a separate person, even if you don't know him that well.

I sit back down and look up at the sky, wondering where Hale could be right now. The sun is rather high up in the sky. It would normally be time for lunch, but none of us dare ask about eating, even as I hear some stomachs grumble.

Phendrene settles beside me and wraps her arm around my back, trying to comfort me. Rue quickly follows on the other side, and even Father sits down next to her.

"What are we going to do afterwards?" Rue asks after a period of silence. "We can't continue living here, can we?"

"It's too dangerous," I concur. "If they can find me here… it's not safe."

Father turns his head over. "They? Who's they?"

"There are a group of non-dragons stay with the Salamence," I explain. "They must want to kill me, so they sent an assassin here. He's dead now." I let Vie's body tell the rest of the story.

Father simply nods without a response, and we lapse back into silence.

My mind sifts through many things, as all the guilt and grief about Vie has long since been exhausted since I was holding her. I can't honour what I said last night to my brother, given the circumstances. The same for Porygon-Z, too. Perhaps I'll visit him after we find a new place to settle down. And…

I shake my head. No, it feels wrong. I can't just think about other things and not feel guilty. Vie has just been killed in front of me. I should honour her memory, if at least for a day.

And suddenly, I remember her last thoughts to me, as she lay dying on the sand. There was something to protect… below her cave. I'm almost tempted to yell it out right now, but then I remember that she had been keeping a secret. It must have been the reason that she asked me not to read her mind. I can't just out it right now, not when she's dead. It seemed important to her that I knew before she died, so I will definitely check it, when I am able to find a time when no one is here.

"Hale should have come back by now," Rue breaks the quiet. "Maybe we should try and find him?"

"I'll go," Father volunteers, and stands up. I watch his back as he takes off over a cliff.

After a short while, he appears back from the other side. For a moment I'm anxious about Hale's arrival, but soon it's clear the Salamence is alone. "He's not anywhere near the Shallows," Father clarifies.

"Let's just wait for him, then," Rue answers, and we continue sitting in silence.

The sun noticeably moves down below its peak, and a particular loud grumble from someone's stomach makes Rue perk up. "I know that she just died, but that doesn't mean we should starve ourselves. I mean, unless you don't have the stomach to eat it, but… otherwise, let's go hunt."

"No," I answer flatly. "I'm not eating anything." The blood will make me sick for sure. "I can stand one day without food."

Rue sighs. "Maybe you'll change your mind once we finish hunting. Blight, Phendrene, come on."

The two she called both look at me, as if asking for my approval. "Go do what you want," I say bitterly. "I'm staying with Vie until I bury her."

Father motions Phendrene away and I feel the warmth leave my side as the three dragons scatter out. Once I am alone, I crawl forward next to Vie, and lie down next to her, holding her hand firmly in my grasp. My mind can still barely register the reality of what had happened. What had been a live person, capable of fighting, flying, hunting, laughing, is now just a body on the floor. This hand that I am holding could channel the powers of the earth and make the sand obey to its will. But now it's just a piece of flesh.

I remember the last time someone died. My mother. Until that point, she was always with me, too, and I never really thought about how much she meant to me until she was gone. If it's any consolation, at least they both died in peace, with me next to them. I don't know what I would feel if I weren't beside them at their last moments.

Hearing a swooping noise above, I look up and see the figure I dreaded, a light skinned Flygon soar down from the outcrop and land a few feet from us. "Vie? Nova?" he calls us and closes in. "What are you two doing on the ground?" he asks in a confused voice.

I have no words as I watch him, his eyes dashing between the two of us. "Nova… what is that pointy thing? Why… why is the sand red?" his voice begins to quiver and he takes another step forward. "Nova, what happened to my sister!" he roars.

"Hale, she... she was killed. I'm sorry," I tell him and look down, not willing to see his face. This time, the apology is genuine, because it really was my fault.

Hale is completely silent as I keep my eyes away, not wanting to see his reaction. My heart is pounding, not sure how he's going to react further. But all of a sudden I hear a step in the sand and a claw shoots forward into my chest, sending a jolt of pain through my body as I fly back in the air. Too shocked to right myself with levitation, I land and skid backwards in the sand.

Lifting my head up weakly, I see Hale's furious expression as he charges towards me again, and I don't manage to muster the effort to repel him and close my eyes, bracing myself for the next hit.

But it doesn't come, and instead Hale lets out a cry of pain and I hear him fall backward. Opening my eyes, I see a Salamence coming down next to me. "Hale, you want to kill him, too?" my father growls.

I clutch my chest and feel the blood coming from it. What Vie sacrificed herself for was now broken by her brother.

"Take one step closer and I won't hesitate to attack again," Father warns Hale is in a stance indicative of readying another attack, despite a clear injury in his side that I recognize, since I had performed it on Rue before. It's a pulse attack.

"Stay out of this, Salamence," Hale hisses, standing his ground across from us. Though he is not advancing, he is certainly not retreating. "Nova's strong enough to kill me. I'll attack him and force him to do it, just like how he killed my sister. And that'll show you his true nature."

I muster enough strength to push myself up and lean on Father's leg. "I'm sorry, Hale," I let out. "She… she pushed me out of the way of an arrow meant for me. I wanted to save her, but it was too late…"

"I don't care!" he shouts with a furious expression, waving his hand to dismiss me. "I don't care if you're sorry! You promised! You promised that you were strong enough to protect all of us! And now, look at her!" He points to his sister's corpse. "She only let her guard down because she thought you would be safe enough."

"Nova!" It's Phendrene's voice. I turn my head to find her gliding towards me. "Your chest! What happened?" I don't answer and instead redirect my gaze to the Flygon responsible. "Hale…?" Phendrene manages to let out, and I give a soft nod.

A sudden brightness appears in my peripheral vision as Hale jumps out of the way of a stream of fire, falling over to the side, but he rights himself quickly and still stares at us with intense loathing. "Phendrene!" Father scolds. "Don't do that!"

"Hah, of course she would side with Nova!" Hale exclaims, panting. "She was the one that you ignored my sister for, isn't she?" Hale points his hand accusingly at the Charizard. "Ever since Vie met you, she would stop coming with my brothers and me. She would always say, 'Nova is going to be lonely if I'm not with him,' and then rush over to find you in your cave. She always took care of you when no one else would. But then, the instant this Charmander appeared, you started ignoring my sister, forgetting everything that she had done for you." He stops for a moment and grits his teeth. "I always told her to stop thinking about you, but no, she cared too much. Even in her last moments, she trusted her life to you. And you betrayed her."

I find tears forming in my eyes again, reflecting on Hale's words. Vie had always been here for me, and I'd neglected her, even letting her die for me. But I didn't mean to be caught off-guard… I would have never imagined that there was someone out there to kill me. I can't help but let out another sob, causing everyone to look at me.

"And now you're crying to gain sympathy," Hale accuses. "What a selfish, snivelling-"

Another flamethrower fills the air, and Hale barely dodges it this time. I expect my father to chide Phendrene, but he doesn't. "Hale," he says in a serious voice. "If you continue to act like this, you're no longer welcome to stay with us."

"Hah!" He rolls his eyes. "As if you two aren't the ones related to Nova! Of course you're going to side with him. And who do you think you are? You're not in charge of us! If Rue were here, she-" He stops himself and looks to the side, and I follow his gaze to find the familiar Haxorus holding a Sandshrew.

"Hale?" Rue's voice sounds. "Why are you standing across from them? What's going on?"

Hale lets his mouth hang agape for a few more seconds before managing to compose himself to speak. "Even you, Rue…? You'd go hunting… right after Vie dies?" I see Hale's expression turn to despair as he breaks completely. "To think… I admired you. How foolish I was to stay because of Vie." He lets out a hopeless sigh. "Goodbye." With that, he turns around and leaps into the air and speeds over the rock and out of vision. None of us make a move to follow him.

I have the feeling he won't be ever coming back.

"Nova, are you okay?" Phendrene's voice breaks the silence as she lowers her head with a concerned gaze.

"The wound doesn't seem too trivial," Blight adds. "You might need to teleport yourself to Fen."

I shake my head. "It doesn't hurt that much," I say and manage to stand up. "I'm going to bury Vie."

Ignoring the dull pain in my chest, I force myself to pick her cold body up, and begin walking to the graveyard. For the past few hours, I've been trying to avert my gaze, but now I find myself observing her carefully. I remember the wonder I first had when meeting Aya, almost as if it was the first time meeting a female of my species, but now I realise that there was someone with me. From her delicate antennae to the wings folded at her side and then finally down to her segmented tail hanging off my arm… she is beautiful as well. But she's been with me for so long, I took her presence for granted. Hale is right. She has been with me and supported me for all my life, yet sometimes I don't even notice her…

My destination comes into view. I've been here once before, but only now do I realise the meaning of such a place. Beneath every gravestone, there is someone who died, and with every death, there is someone who mourned, and perhaps still mourns. I know I am still mourning.

I stop at the pile of stones I was led to last time I came here, and I lay Vie on the floor in front it. I hear the others stop behind me as they gather round.

"So… what do we do now?" Rue asks from aside, unsure.

"Take the arrow out," Father says. I bend over and grab onto it, and close my eyes as I pull it heavily. There's a disgusting sound but I stay composed and throw the arrow aside.

"Now, if you've all had your final looks, then let Nova bury her," Father concludes and looks over to me.

"Okay. Step aside." They obey, and I extend my arms out. First I lift the pile of rocks aside carefully. Then I begin to part the sand below Vie, so that she starts sinking beneath the ground. The image is painful to watch, so I shut my eyes again, and let my psychic feel direct the rest. Eventually, I know Vie's body has fully disappeared beneath the sand, so I relax my grip and open my eyes. Panting slightly, I clean the sand back to its natural state with a rough swipe, making it look as if nothing had ever happened. And finally I move back the stones, the symbol that there are people buried down here.

I continue to stare at the stones in silence before I realise that they are all waiting for my order to leave.

I sigh. "We're done here. Let's head back."

Rue leads the way as we leave the graveyard area, and I trail behind them last, feeling the pain on my chest again. I was so focused on Vie and her burial that the injury had escaped my notice.

"So, should we hunt now?" Rue suggests tentatively. "Or should we… leave?"

Everyone looks at me expectantly, and I realise I'm supposed to answer.

"You guys can go do whatever you want," I say, upset that they are all focusing on me so much. "I'm going back to my cave to rest. But I'm not eating or teleporting anyone anywhere today. If even her own brother won't stay here with her for one night, I will." With that, I turn and fly back to my cave, trying not to show any pain from my wound until I get out of sight.

No, I told a lie. I'm not here because I need to stay with Vie for one night. It's because of her last thoughts, what she entrusted to me as she lay dying: there's something below her cave.

Arriving in the cool darkness of my cave, the nostalgia I feel is damaged at the thought of Vie. I can't really rest in this condition, but I'm not here to rest, anyway. I'm waiting for nighttime to fall so I can have all the time in the world to search below her cave.

What could it be? It was clearly an important secret, as she didn't want me to read her mind. Yet it was also important that I knew it existed. When I read her thoughts, it felt like it she was the only one knew it, and desperately needed someone else to knew before she died. But none of this helps me learn what exactly it is she would keep below her cave. Some precious artefact? Or another item that was important to her? Maybe a book? Can she read? Or something that she kept as a family secret? Wouldn't Hale know?

The thought of him makes me shiver as I close my eyes. I never knew someone with such an easygoing personality would attack me, and violently at that. There were precedents, however. Once, when he was a Trapinch, he did the same thing in the underground of Lyrl.

Though, what he said about me neglecting Vie, I have to concede to, because it's true. And sounded as if he held the grudge even before we left the Shallows. But to leave and abandon us simply because of his rage, not even to attend her simple burial… Did he really care about her?

I shake my head. He's gone now. I won't see him again, and I don't want to. Instead, I think about what we will do from here. We're going to have to leave to somewhere farther away, a place where we are free from this group of misfits that, for some reason, wants my life. We could simply return to the forest, or perhaps down south near the beach, if my brother is taken into consideration…

But none of these places will be the same. Before, there were three Flygon in our group. Now there is just me. The sight of these places will surely evoke everyone else's memories, just like how the Shallows evoked mine. It will be a long time before we will be able to move on.

And then what? I was already lost in life. Teaching Vie briefly gave me a purpose, but then that was snatched away as fast as it came. I could still teach Phendrene, and perhaps Spire and Fly, but it doesn't feel like it would be enough. The only time where I wasn't lost was when I was with Aya, but she's gone too. Perhaps I could lead the others on the journey we had… no, I can't. There are people out for my life. I can't endanger any more of my friends, not after what had happened to Vie.

Will we even stay together? Vie and Hale were the people that initially glued us despite our disagreements. Rue and Phendrene never got along well together, though they both were okay with Vie. And without the Flygon's ostensible goal of defeating the Salamence, Spire may be disinterested.

Spire. He ran off the instant he saw the body. He must have been too shocked, and didn't know how to react. I don't really blame him. For a while now, he has been the least mature member of our group, and he wasn't particularly close with Vie, I can understand why he doesn't really want to be around people in a time like this. He doesn't seem like the type to mourn in public, even if the deceased was someone he was close to.

Even if he has been quite distant lately, I hope he can stay with us. It feels like this group, which had been together for so long, might just fall apart.

I don't know what I would do after that.

Phendrene comes back for me soon, bringing me a piece of food like she always does. My hunger gets to me and I do gobble it down, and Phendrene asks if I want another one, and regretfully, I say yes. She seems to be happy at my answer and brings some more food.

"Is your chest okay?" she asks and sits down beside me.

"It only scratched my skin, even if it was a pretty big one," I answer. "I'll be fine."

"That's good." She leans in over on my shoulder, and closes her eyes.

It is only afternoon, but I also share her lethargy. After what had happened to Vie, I don't feel like doing anything for the rest of the day, but to wait patiently until I can finally uncover her secret.

I'm content to lie here with Phendrene for the rest of the day, patiently waiting for my opportunity to honour Vie's last request. The light outside gradually fades and I try to feel calm with the rhythm of Phendrene's breaths. But I still can't maintain my composure completely. Sometimes a particular memory of Vie flashes and I flinch, causing Phendrene to perk up and ask if I'm okay. I tell her to give me a few days before I can act normal again.

I feel tired and would want nothing more to collapse in Phendrene's arms and go to a realm of dreams where I can forget everything. But no, I have a responsibility. Watching the Charizard's expression, I wait until her breaths become slower before pulling myself away from her and standing up. The movement makes my chest ache but it doesn't matter. Quietly I exit the cave and look up to the sky. It reminds me of yesterday, when we were practicing together under the starlight.

I shake my head. I can think about that later. For now, I take to the air, high enough to remain unseen from the ground, and circle around the Shallows. I find Father with Spire, both of them next to the lake. Spire seems to have rested already while Father is talking with my brother. Rue is nowhere in sight, and I can only presume she has taken residence in one of the caves. As long she's not in Vie's it doesn't matter where she is.

It's a while before I see Father finally settle down beside Spire and go to sleep. I glide down to Vie's cave, and venture into it. The smell of her and her brother doesn't help me remain calm, but I need to search the cave first. To no surprise, despite being huge, there's absolutely nothing in it.

Below her cave. That's what Vie actually conveyed. But how would I get under her cave? She certainly wouldn't expect me to be able to lift this entire rock off the ground. And I doubt that before I taught her yesterday, that she would be able to break the rocky floor anywhere inside this cave. Strolling outside, I notice the somewhat uneven sand at the entrance. Normally I would have glossed over it, because someone might have kicked it up recently, but with Vie in mind…

Taking a deep breath, I ready my hands to part the sand. Beginning to channel my powers, a pit is formed slowly but surely. But as soon as it gets as deep as a leg, I spot something grey amidst the yellow, and stop. Levitating myself down, making sure not to touch the sand lest it fill the cave again, I close in and observe the grey object. It looks somewhat like a pebble, but we find them by the lake instead of here. Using my claws to part the sand around it delicately, the oval shape becomes more pronounced. I take it into my hand, and feel that there's a slight warmth to it.

I stop as I finally realise what I'm holding in my hand.

This is Vie's egg.

I lose my control of my levitation and land back down in the pit and sit down against the side, my legs too weak to remain standing. Vie has laid an egg. How didn't I notice? There were so many signs. Hale noticed that she was skinnier; she suddenly became interested in becoming strong, saying that she needed to become worthy; and she even told me to protect something in her last thoughts. She must have not told anyone about these, and so she entrusted it to me, knowing that her time was over.

I sit there in shock, the guilt of Vie's death swarming over me again. My neglect has made this child motherless. Yet, maybe it's not an orphan.

Who's the father?

My mind sifts through the males I know. Hale is her brother. Spire and Father are both Salamence. Would she really mate with any of them? I doubt it. She could have been seeing some wild Flygon, but there's no way to know or find him.

Clutching the egg close with one arm, I stare down at the sand pit. Is this really it? I use my free arm to scatter the sand out briefly, and for a moment I see another grey object before the sand falls back down.

Hurriedly placing the first egg carefully at my feet, I dig through the sand further, uncovering the next egg. And I continue searching the sand around us, and find yet another one behind it. I don't stop until I meet a rocky wall that is the under of the outcrop, but that's the last. Vie buried them close together.

Hah. Not one, or two, but three eggs. Vie's genetics must really favour multiple eggs in one batch. After dying, she left behind three little lives for us… It is almost like fate's compensation for her departure.

I gather then at my foot, thinking of what I should do with them. It's impossible to carry them all at once in my arms properly, and I'm certainly not going to levitate them, lest something happen to my psychic powers again. I can't risk anything. They're too precious.

Vie. As per your last wish, I will protect them. I won't fail again.

My brief moment of resolution still leaves me anxious. I have never even seen an egg, let alone tended to one. Do I need to incubate them? Are they fragile? How long will it be before they will finally burst from the shells, to find that their mother is already gone?

In a sense, they are lucky that Vie was killed after they were laid. But still, to grow up as orphans from birth… that would be an even more lonesome experience than mine. At least I had my mother briefly, and was safe with Silex before my father came. I can't let them experience the lack of parenthood; I have to be the figures that were once there for me. I will raise them as my own, as best I can. I will strive to be the best parent I can, better than all the ones I knew.

Carefully, I carry each egg out of the pit and lay them against the outcrop. When that is done, I fill up the pit with the surrounding sand, taking care to make sure it looks like the area had not been disturbed. I sit down next the rough rock wall, and look over the eggs. The three are roughly equal in size, slightly smaller than a Flygon's head. To think that Vie managed to contain this in her body without anyone noticing… It must have been quite a feat. And I can only wonder what it felt like to lay them…

But enough thinking about her. I've already taken care of her body. With the newfound knowledge of her eggs, I can no longer continue to stay inactive and mourn. I have to do something about them. Should I really tell the others? Will they be co-operative in raising them? What if Hale hears of it? He'll certainly try to pry them away from me. I can't let that happen.

Is there anyone I can turn to and confide in? If only Silex were here… she would definitely know what to do with these eggs with all her wisdom. I think of Father, and even though I've mostly made peace with him, the fact that he wasn't here when I was laid only makes me not trust him with this. Her other brother? No, he doesn't even know what happened to her. What if he has a similar reaction to Hale? I can't risk it.

I spot a brief luminescence appearing in the distance, behind the corner of the outcrop across of me. It only takes me a second to realise it must be the tail of a certain Charizard, coming to look for someone who had disappeared from her side. Frantically scrambling to my feet, I gather the eggs carefully in my arms. It's a tough fit, but I use my mind to keep them aloft as I run around the outcrop.

But just before I disappear behind it, I hear her call, "Nova!" Surprised, my legs bump into each other as I almost fall flat onto the ground, but with a psychic power I manage to prevent myself from crashing and right myself.

Realising the futility of my efforts, I place the eggs back down onto the floor. The secret is not worth keeping if I am going to endanger them. I stand and stare at them, wondering what I'm going to say to Phendrene as I hear her footsteps become closer. Instinctively, I place my body over the eggs and wrap my arms around them, shielding them from view, if only to delay her discovery for a few seconds.

"Nova, what's wrong?" she asks as she turns the corner, out of breath. "Please. Don't do anything stupid."

I stay still and keep the eggs within my arm and out of view. "Phendrene, go back to sleep," I answer without turning to face her.

"It's all right." I feel a warm hand on my back. "I know it's a difficult time, but I'm here for you."

I grunt in frustration. "I don't need you here for me! I can deal with this myself! Go back to sleep like a good child!"

Her hand flinches and I realise I've called her a name that represents a view of her I've never really vocalized. "You… you think of me in that way?" she manages to say after a pause. I'm unable to formulate an answer she steps forward around me, discovering what I've been hiding in my arms.

Her eyes widen for an instant, but she contains her surprise with a sigh. "So that's why," she says, eyeing the eggs in my arms. "That's why you were so sad when the Flygon left. Because… because she was your mate."

She turns her gaze from the eggs to me. I'm left utterly dumbfounded at her statement and can only stare back in silence.

What is she saying? Is she implying that these eggs… are mine?

The idea dawns on me and only then do I realise that it is the perfect excuse. If I don't want these children to grow up orphans, and I want to avoid people like Hale taking them away, then… I can just claim that they are mine.

Slowly pushing myself up to a standing position, I try to maintain a forlorn expression. "I'm sorry. I didn't want any of you to know," I say in a regretful and helpless tone. "But she left me these eggs, and I just… don't know what to do."

Phendrene's gaze softens as she moves forward and wraps her arm around me. "Even if she is gone, I'm still here for you. Everything will be all right."

There is a pang of guilt at how I'm playing with her emotions, but I keep it down. It's not as if I am lying for any personal gain. It's for Vie's children.

Feeling Phendrene close to me only strengthens my resolve. I've sacrificed my dignity and let the others think I was really mates with Aya, even if I was always against such relationships. What they think of me and who I mated with doesn't matter. All that matters is that I can keep and raise these children safely. Only then I will be able to forgive myself for letting Vie die.

Author's Note: Thus concludes the arc about this death and its consequences. Obviously, these eggs will matter far into the future, but for now, Nova has established something that he is going to keep…

I have written very fast lately and I hope my story isn't too rushed. Please tell me if you find any areas for improvements. I have posted my thoughts on the new chapters recently in an extensive deviantArt journal. If you'd like to see my reasoning for the character and plot decisions, feel free to go there (dA) through my profile to read and comment.

Until the next chapter, then.