In the wake of dawn, the engines of the combat planes roared to life and black propellers spun against the lilac sky. Each of the green planes lined up side by side as a group of three, sometimes four, Technos boarded each plane. Among them was Max. By this time, his sandy blonde mane had been cut off which left him with nothing but a clean buzz cut. As he watched the purple sunrise, he slipped on his black leather jacket. He patiently awaited Noelle's arrival. He figured the girl would be late since he was leaving so early in the morning.

"Max, let's go," his mate said to him right before he entered the plane.

"No, she said she'd be here," Max replied. Just as he spoke though, he finally caught a glimpse of her. He watched her walk, absorbing every move she made with the knowledge that this could be his last time seeing her. As she was within arm's reach, he gently grabbed her cold hands.

Byte's hands shook as he grabbed her. She gazed down at the ground now as he pulled her closer to him.

Ever since the fight with Java three weeks ago, the girl wasn't the same. She had a certain frailty about her now and she wasn't that strong willed and outspoken girl she used to be. She didn't have motivation in completing the game and was less interested in her work as a Commander.

Max witnessed the girl's change in behavior, but felt that he couldn't do much about it. The argument was between herself and her mother. He wanted to do so much more to make her happy, but with his departure he knew it wouldn't make things any easier. Now as he stood in front of her, he wrapped his arms tightly around her. "Don't worry about me, okay?" he whispered into her ear then kissed her softly on the cheek.

As he held her, she could feel her throat tighten up while tears brimmed over her eyes. She struggled to speak clearly and instead she buried her face into his shoulder. "Okay," she said after a few moments.

He pulled away from her and took her face into his hands. He let his thumbs glide over her cheeks as her tears fell. Then he stared into her helpless green eyes, and sighed softly. "One way or another, I'll come back to you…and our baby."

She nodded as her tears were subdued. She wiped a few of them away quickly then backed away from him.

He watched her for a moment just as the sun's rays broke into the sky, filling it with its warmth. "I'll be seeing you," he nodded to her.

She moved even farther from him but she stopped herself. Suddenly she ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him to which he lifted her off the ground.

He held her tightly with one arm wrapped around her thighs and the other on her back. He looked up at her as he slid one hand up to the back of her head.

"I love you," she finally said to him before she kissed him on the lips.

He simply grinned, "I love you too." He put her back down on the ground and held on to her for one last time.

The two finally separated after a few moments. Max headed into the plane after Byte backed away from him for the last time. He nodded to her and gave her a small wave as the engine of the giant plane started up.

As Byte was escorted away from the runway she gave Max a small smile, something she hadn't done in a while. She watched now as the green plane sped off and became airborne. She sighed softly while she headed back into the hotel. She tried to keep herself from crying again but couldn't help it. Along the way through the halls, she passed Java, who simply glanced at the girl.

Three weeks was a record for the both of them; neither of them talked or even gave any acknowledgement to the other with the exception of Byte's game. The whole silence game was driving the two of them insane. But neither of them could swallow her pride to speak to the other.

Java may have been harsh with her words, but she felt the right to act the way she did. Noelle was her daughter for god's sake. After warning her several times about Max, the girl still kept him around. Her daughter disobeyed her and that was the main point. She needed to be reprimanded and Java's choices of words, she felt, were appropriate for the circumstance at hand. More so, Noelle had even disrespected her and of course that wouldn't be tolerated. Then again, slapping her wasn't so right either. She had become the person she never ever wanted to grow up to be. That person was her own mother, Camille.

Java didn't live the life of the average child. Fun parents? Hm, not so much. Fun siblings? Not really…except maybe for Siva. But being the eldest daughter, Java assumed the responsibility of taking care of her younger siblings. That usually meant protecting them from the alcoholic ways of Camille. Of course, with Ebony in the picture, Java was usually her scapegoat for many of her wrongdoings. Thus, Java would get the punishment unintentionally.

Many times, Java was beat and slapped by her own mother. Not only did she suffer from the physical abuse, she suffered the mental abuse. She was always under the impression that she was just a "dumb little fuck" according to her mother. It was from the age of six, the first time she was ever hit, that she vowed to never hit her own kids if she ever had any.

Yet here she was, doing the exact thing she promised herself she'd never do.

Later that night Java headed to the casino for some relaxation. That usually meant she was to bond with her friends: Vodka, rum, and tequila.

As the bartender saw the lady walk into the crowded casino, he brought out the three usual bottles as well as a couple shot glasses. "Good evening," he said to her with a slight nod, only to receive a nod in reply.

As Java took a seat on the black leather stool, she poured herself a shot of the vodka and drank it like water. "God I can't believe it, my daughter and I haven't talked in three weeks," she muttered to herself while she placed her forehead against the palm of her hand.

"So you're a mother," the bartender smiled with a raised a brow. "It must be hard out here for the both of you."

"What do you mean?"

The bartender set down his rag and poured her a shot of tequila, "Look around this place. Everyday's a struggle here. Everybody's got a wing man and I'm sure you two depend on each other greatly. But without that communication, who can you really trust out here besides her?"

She took the shot then sighed. "You're right. I mean, I have two sisters but one's a demon child and the other's living in La La Land."

"You don't have a man?"

She smirked at the question before she took one shot from each bottle on the counter. "Well ain't that a kicker. I have a husband, but the damn guy's psycho. Got another man but….it's complicated. My whole life's just complicated."

"Complicated huh?" he set down a glass of water and slid it toward her. "You're drowning your sorrows in three different types of alcohol. I hope tonight's the night where things will get uncomplicated for you."

"Thanks," she smirked. She then held up a shot glass full of tequila, now that it was added to the mix. "Cheers."

Their glasses clanked then the two of them drank.

Once Java drank about half the bottle of the vodka, she could feel the wave of drunkenness come over her. The room spun and she could feel herself become light headed while her feet became clumsy hooves. She turned around in her chair, only to see a familiar face in the crowd. It was her daughter. She scoffed and poured herself a glass full of rum.

Byte simply watched Java drink from the glass. From afar she could tell that her mother was pretty much hammered because of the way she so awkwardly poured the drink into her glass. She looked to Siva, who was standing next to her with her four month bump, and sighed. "Well, looks like a party in here," Byte commented sarcastically.

"C'mon kid, it's only your mom in here," Siva sighed as she led the girl to a table nearby. "Besides, you wanted to talk somewhere besides the mall."

As she sat down, she shook her head. "I don't know what to do anymore, Siv. I mean everyone's just leaving-"

Before she could continue, Java had gotten off her seat and made her way to the two of them. Byte simply watched as the drunken mess stumbled along the way. But after seeing her almost fall, she stood up. "Are you alright?" she asked Java.

"I'm fuckin` alright man!" Java exclaimed. She giggled slightly right before she leaned against the table. "It's Noelle," she laughed. She turned around after she spotted Siva and suddenly clung on to her. "My sister's here too!" she yelled. Suddenly, she hugged her sister tightly. "The whole gang is here!"

Siva looked over to Byte like a deer in the headlights. "Hey, how are you?"

"Welcome to the party, mate!" Java squealed suddenly.

Byte laughed since she'd never seen her own mother so…careless. But before she knew it, Java came over to her and clung to her like a koala on a eucalyptus tree. The woman's breath reeked of alcohol and her mannerisms were so clumsy that she too almost stumbled.

"Noelle, I love you! You're my favorite daughter!" she yelled then grinned.

"Well that's because I'm your only daughter."

"I know," Java replied quietly. She whined for a moment as a few tears started to flow. She held on even more to Noelle with her hands wrapped around the girl's side. "I know! And I screwed you up so badly! I'm sorry…"

"Let's get her out of here," Byte whispered to Siva.

"You need help?"

"No, no, I think I got it," she replied as she held up her mother a little.

"What did I do?" Java complained.

"You didn't do anything wrong. It's okay Java," Siva said reassuringly as she tried to get her to drink a glass of water.

Java pushed the water away while Noelle helped her walk out of the casino. "Okay, Java, I don't intend to carry you back to base, now could you please….wha…what are you doing?" she exclaimed as she watched Java get off her and take a few steps back.

"I'm gonna be alone," she cried. "I don't wanna be alone!"

Byte stepped toward her, "You aren't going to be alone. I'm still here, okay?"

The drunk nodded and slowly her knees began to give way. Byte was quick to catch her though. She adjusted herself so now she held her mother by piggyback. "God please don't puke on me," Byte muttered to herself.

Siva sighed softly while she walked with her, "You sure you're gonna be okay?"

"I don't think she can walk, Siv. So I think this might be the only way to get her back to base. Just open the door for me."

Siva smiled slightly as she watched Noelle carry her own body weight. "Well this was a fun night," she laughed. "You have to admit…this is pretty damn hilarious."

Byte shook her head as she walked with pretty much dead weight on her back. She knew she couldn't put too much stress on her body now that she was expecting. She took a few breaks every now and then with Siva faithfully behind her. As they neared the hotel, she handed Java a bottle of water that Siva was carrying. "Drink up," she said to her.

Java shook her head while she tried to drink from the bottle. She only took a few sips before she handed it back to Noelle. "I don't want anymore," she mumbled.

Byte huffed as she took a sip of the water as well. "Okay, well can you walk? I just about walked a mile with you on my back," she said while she tried to catch her breath. She saw the hotel about 100 yards away. Once she looked back to Java, she noticed that she was on her knees. "You alright?"

"The floor's spinnin," she replied.

"Well that's what you get for mixing drinks," Byte said. "Alright, c'mon…it's late." She then allowed Java to ride on her back once again.

As she walked back to the hotel, Java muttered some incoherent things against the girl's shoulder blade. "Byte…Noelle, I really regret…drinking tonight."

"Yep," she replied. "We have a little bit more to go."

Java nodded as she felt Byte strain up the stairs and head inside to the hotel. "Java, you have to be really quiet. Do not…do NOT yell," she whispered to her. She felt a nod in reply.

As Byte walked through the halls, she did so hastily and quietly. She then opened the door to her room and placed the drunk on her bed.

"This ain't my room," she said.

"I know," Byte muttered while tossed some pillows on the floor for her.

Once Java lay on the floor, she could still feel the room spin. Even when she closed her eyes, she felt like she was on some kind of roller coaster. "Noelle, c'mere," she whispered.

After she tossed a blanket, Byte kneeled down in front of her. "Yeah?"

She brought her hand up to her chest and took off a small silver necklace then placed it on Noelle. "I know you…purposely left this in my room. Thing is, kid, it isn't mine," she sighed as she lazily read over the quote on the coin-like charm. "It was always yours from the beginning. I…I dunno…I just wore it to wear it. But you," she smirked, "you wore it because it meant something to you."

Even though the woman's words were slurred, her theory made sense. Byte simply nodded then placed the blanket over her. "Goodnight," she muttered quietly. From there she slipped into the comfort of her bed. She sighed quietly and turned off the light.

Java woke up the next day with nothing but nausea and a huge headache. She groaned as she turned around to look at the clock. "Sweet Jesus!" she screamed once she realized that it was one o'clock in the afternoon. Hastily, she sat up, only to realize that Noelle was standing in the doorway with a bottle of aspirin in her hands.

"So glad you're up," the girl smirked then tossed her the bottle. "I covered your shift for the day. You better get out there though; people are wondering where you are."

She caught the bottle and immediately took two of the pills. "Yeah, I'll be right out." Before she could say anything else though, Noelle had already left the room. Java got up quickly and headed into her own room where she freshened up and now looked a bit lively. Just as she got out of her room, she saw her daughter again. She was interrupted once again as Damien moved toward the girl.

"So, looks like you had a rough night," Damien said to Byte.

"What do you mean?"

He chuckled and crossed his arms, "I saw you last night. Playing piggyback with mom are we?"

"Yeah, so? She needed help and I gave her some," she replied defensively. "If you breathe one word about this to anyone, especially Ram…I'll have you deleted."

"Whoa, whoa calm down there. You're starting to sound like Java," he smiled slightly. He thought it was cute when the girl was mad. "I was only joking. Of course I won't tell Ram."

"Well good for you," she sighed. She was surprised at herself for becoming so catty with Damien.

"Is something the matter?" he asked and led her down the hallway.

"No, of course not," she replied quickly as she let her hands rest on her hips.

Damien shrugged then turned to the girl. "Alright…well if you ever do need some cheering up, you know where to find me," he said. He left her alone now to go back to the computer room. Along the way, he passed Java. Before he could speak to her, he found the elder commander rubbing her forehead.

"Good afternoon, Commander Java," he said to her as he passed.

"Hello Damien," she sighed as she stepped toward the front of the hotel.

He stopped and turned around, "I see you might be stepping out. Would you like me to send some guards with you?"

"No, that won't be necessary. Thank you anyway," she replied quietly. She sighed before she stepped out of the hotel fully. The cold breeze and ashy stench of the city hit her almost immediately. It made her even more nauseous but she had to go on this walk. She'd realized what happened the night before. Apart from getting drunk, she realized that her daughter wasn't the kid she used to be. Even though they were angry with each other, it amazed her that Noelle could swallow her pride for just one quick moment. It showed that the kid grew up into a young woman. Now here she was, on a walk to see her sister Siva and the two of them would have a talk.

There were so many things that she needed to get off her chest. In reality, it was just one giant, mammoth sized issue that she'd been dealing with for years now. It was weighing down on her and ever since she fought with Noelle, it just dragged her down even more. If anyone knew how it felt to not be able to breathe, it'd be her. For years and years, she had so much to say. But she never got the chance to say it, nor did she have a person who would listen to her. As she grew up, all of that pent up emotion just turned into anger. Through this talk, she felt that if she let the thirty-something years of contained emotion, she'd finally be able to let people in. she'd be able to live freely instead of living in a cage of anger and resentment. She'd finally be able to be happy, free of inhibitions and free of pain.

She was never a bitter person. Underneath it all, she was simply a fragile individual, very far from unbreakable.