Elizabeth runs with all her god given strength, putting as much distance between her and the man she once considered a friend. Trees taller than California red woods shade her from his penetrable gaze, his presence coming ever closer with each crunch of underbrush beneath his feet. God's cross swings like a pendulum around her neck, one side to the next, ticking down the minutes until he catches up to her. God, if you can hear me, she silently prays, let me die a free woman. Don't let me be used by him.

The poison spreads through her, the food he's been giving her for months tainted by the damnable substance. Heart pounding in her ears, she starts to give way to the ground, a stumble down a small hill proving to be too much for her. Eyes roll into the back of her head, blood tinting her vision red.

"Why!?", she screams, not caring that she's giving herself away. "Why do such horrible things to our creators, to me!?"

Heaving, she regurgitates bodily fluids all over, some spots staining the cloak she dons a shade far too dark to be bile.

"Elizabeth-, he pleads, -I can explain, just please come back to me." The strain in his voice is real, the choking sobs he tries to hold back matching hers in synchrony.

"I love you, I love you so much."

The words are twisted, for she thinks he does not know what real love is, substituting the word for obsession. His shadow looms over her from where he stands at the top of the hill, eyes tear-stained, his face a grotesque imitation of heartache. Hands go in front of feet as she crawls away feebly, strained muscles screaming at the momentum. Feet approaching, he does not run but walk, steps slow and even in contrast to her heavy breathes. The angel of death blocks her escape, crystal clear blue eyes hazed over in pain, lifting her up to her feet roughly, then embracing her tightly to the point of suffocation. The words that come out of his mouth are uneven, so human in their wake.

"Don't you ever leave me again, I can't live without you." She thrashes violently against his frame, the gesture useless except for its expression of rebellion.

"You've been poisoning me for months, I've been rotting away. You have the gall to tell me this, this false sense of affection?" Her voice is low, only for his ears. His head shakes no at what she accuses, holding her all the tighter. Lips are pressed against flushed cheeks, sweet nothings whispered in her hair.

"They gave me an offer too good to refuse, I'm sorry."

Snorting at him, spit flies in his face, not fazing him in the least.

"Freedom, you had your freedom here! Our questions could have been answered."

At this exclamation, he wrenches her face roughly close to his, eyes wide in disbelief.

"No, they were your questions, not mine. Don't you forget that."

Arms hoist her up, carrying her back to their makeshift home. Limp in his secure hold, she garbles a phrase that nearly brings him to his knees.

"I thought I could trust you but I was wrong."

David cannot dream, so he replays memories that revolve around her, his Elizabeth. That particular memory comes to mind as he waits for the message from Weyland-Yutani to load. The computer screen begins to crackle with static, a stern Japanese man in a fine black suit appearing in his view. He pinches at black rimmed glasses that frame his face, forehead lined in worry before speaking.

"Hello David, if you are receiving this message now, it means you are approximately days away from landing on Origae-6. I hope everything is going well with the Covenant as well as your experiments on the alien lifeform you've been engineering for us. Based on the data that you have sent Weyland-Yutani, it looks to be a promising bio-weapon to harness, despite its prolonged progress. It has already been sixteen years of correspondence since the first recording you sent the company after arriving on Paradise with Dr. Elizabeth Shaw."

The man sweats at the mention of her name, pulling anxiously at his collar, eyes downcast, then staring into the camera once more.

"As part of the agreement, you will gain full autonomy with the completion of the bio-weapon, having full access to Weyland-Yutani's experimental division. Therefore, you must continue your experiments until we deem it has reached perfection. Colonists are expendable, but don't go extinguish them all. We do have an invested interest on colonizing Origae-6. Can't have everyone be lab rats."

The man laughs nervously at his ill-humored joke, tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

A sharp bark of laughter escapes David's lips, a serene smile taking hold. Fool, you have no idea what I am about to do.

"Mr. Yutani and the new co-CEO, Olga Rohde, send their regards. They look forward to meeting with you once your mission is complete."

Oh, I'm sure they do, David thinks with calculated certainty, the anticipation of showing his creators what he created almost too much to bare.

"This is secretary John Moiryama, signing off."

The man goes to reach for the dial to shut off the broadcast, then pauses, before retracting back to his chair.

"One more thing, do not, I mean do not kill the remaining members of the crew. They are far too valuable to the company's interest to be executed by your hands. Thank you again."

Moriyama bows politely in front of the camera, the recording ends just as it began, in static.

David sighs, slightly ticked at the secretary's command to leave all crew members intact. Having no intention of leaving them alive, let alone the colonists, he sought to use them at will for his children's growth. His tongue clicks at the roof of his mouth, debating how many to sacrifice.

Eyes close in thought, debating the pros and cons.

I must play my hand carefully, can't have them suspecting what my true intentions are once my experiments have succeeded, my children perfected. Humanity's days are numbered, they will realize this when they meet their new "weapon." I've had enough of their games.

Hands clasped firmly behind his back, he strides out of muthur's main control room to the embryo chamber to check on his creations.

Walter smiles at the memory of their first meeting, something he was most fond of. For a while, he subsists on these memories of her, but they too start to fade again as does his form.

Paradise is bleak, the sun shining but unable to penetrate the heavy storm clouds that loom over the planet's surface. The synthetic wanders aimlessly throughout the engineer's citadel, the bodies of the massacred staring blankly into the heavens, frozen.

Just like Pompeii, it dawns on him.

How morbid.

Time has forgone him once more, having no context in his current state. He senses other lost souls, the natives of paradise, drifting as he is. Their presence is of no solace to him as he cannot interact with them, the diminishing memories of Daniels being his sole companion. They come too seldom for him to wait any longer, his impatience at a boiling point. Patience is a virtue. One he was running short of.

Now I know how she felt about plant maintenance.

The humor is there but he fails to seek solace in it. Finding himself present before the Hall of Heads, he laments his creator's ancestors, in search of answers for the massacre that befell his crew. Their stony gaze judges him as he stands forth in their presence, Walter seeking forgiveness for his failures. His voice is alien to him as he speaks, the tone so void of emotion he wonders how he can feel to begin with.

"I am sorry that I have failed them, that I failed her."

"Don't be sorry, there's still hope left."

The words startle him as he turns to his side, a woman in a hooded cloak standing next to him. She does not look in his direction, her gaze solely reserved for the monolithic heads of the engineers.

"I've been watching you Walter, you struggle very much as I did right after my own death."

Glancing at her, he recognizes the auburn hair the peaks out from under her hood, a narrow face brimming with sharp intelligence.

"Elizabeth.", the statement rings true, echoing throughout the monument's halls.

Finally, she takes notice of him, a small smile appearing on thin lips.

"Well, you saw what happened to me. Monstrous, isn't it?"

Her pale figure shakes as she mentions this, hugging herself tightly.

Voice tightening, he grabs her by the shoulders, startling her.

"How, how is this-

Possible? She finishes his sentence, demeanor coy.

"My soul is unable to rest after my death, so I wander paradise just as you, lost. You do have a soul you know."

His face scrunches at the thought, unable to process what she speaks of.

"I find that very hard to believe."

She laughs softly, her voice barely audible in his ears.

"Of course you would, your immortal soul did inhabit a body that was programmed solely to serve, nothing more to its primary function. David on the other hand…"

Shaking her head, she heaves a sigh, a desolate sound that resonates with Walter, the sentiment shared.

"He's gone mad, my friend. Humanity is at risk of extinction because of what he has created."

"The neomorph."

"Yes."

For a time, their silence is shared, the wind whistling in serpentine currents through the hall of heads. Elizabeth then gestures pass the pillars that show the looming sky above, a distant dot of light that grows brighter with each passing second.

"They're coming."

"They?"

"The engineers."

Realization dawns on him, his eyes widening at her, unable to believe what she says.

"The beings you went searching for."

Nodding, she explains. "What you've seen here on this planet is merely a settlement, not their home planet. David killed them before I could get my answers. You, on the other hand-, she grabs his shoulders, shaking in excitement, -will finally get the answer I've been seeking all along."

He gently pushes her back, an apology an utterance away.

"Don't, no need to say it, I understand. I just wish I could get my answers even after death."

Walter responds regardless, a need to.

"I'm sorry, I must fulfill my duty to the people I swore to protect. To her."

"The woman you love."

"No, the duty I promised to uphold."

Rolling her eyes, she waves him off, a knowing smile on her lips

"So you tell yourself. Anyway, they'll be here soon, best you return to your body. They're going to be reactivating you shortly, there will be questions to be answered on your part."

"I don't believe you."

"Have faith in God, Walter. It will be your one strength that he lacks in your fight against him. Now, return to where your body lies. The further away you are, the more difficult it is to sync with your physical form. Go."

With a wave of her hand, she sends him back to his remains, the encouragement not needed as he sprints towards David's domain.

"One more thing!", she yells, distracting him briefly.

"Tell David I forgive him."

Author's note: For those of you who may be confused, in the novelization of Alien: Covenant, David presents himself to Weyland-Yutani as who he really is, not under the pretense of being Walter. This made me think that the company was in on David's creations all along, a bigger conspiracy to unfold. Going to explore that in this story. Thank you again for those of you who have reviewed, your comments motivate me greatly! :)