A/N: Hello readers! I apologize for the delay. I have been feeling pretty overwhelmed with work and such so I haven't been able to devote much time to writing. But here we are with a brand new chapter. A very looong chapter! I hope you enjoy :) Let me know your thoughts. Reviews are always welcome ^_^ This chapter was quite a journey to write and i'm curious as to your thoughts.

It was almost unbelievable that the woman who had disappeared from his life years ago had returned. Her eyes still held the same challenge, her lips an invitation, her voice a lullaby, and her personality was as wild as ever. She was here, in front of him, in the flesh. And it wasn't a illusion, or an apparition that would disappear in the blink of an eye. No, Senara was back from the dead.

Of course, she had never died, so that was an incorrect statement. But nonetheless, she was back in his life and he was...elated.

Yesterday, after their reunion kiss, they had wandered through Colony 9, hand in hand. Dunban had shown her how everything had grown and changed in Colony 9. It seemed as if no time had passed between them, and they could pick up where they left off, fall into step easily with each other. It was so easy to unlock the door in his heart where he tucked away his feelings for her, but while his whole being wanted to fall head first back into the warmth of her body and soul, Dunban knew that that was unwise. He kept each smile smaller than it wanted to grow, each kiss shorter than it should've lasted. How he wanted to be sure and let her in, but he couldn't. At least, not until he knew her story.

Naturally, he'd broached the subject in the late afternoon following a swim in the lake. It was one they had both avoided all day long. He could sense she wasn't interested in saying anything, and he didn't want to shatter the happy mood. But he knew if things were to progress in any way between them, he needed answers. And so Dunban had asked Senara where she had been the last four years. Short and concise, she'd told him about the destruction of Colony 3, hiding in the caves and finally resurfacing after years. When he pressed for details, her answers were terse and laconic. Her choice of coarse words created a friction between the previous lovers that carried on into the evening.

Dinner with Fiora, Shulk and Melia hadn't helped their mutual mood. To his surprise, Melia asked the same questions of Senara that he had, and he watched the Homs Entia closely. She had seen the exact same holes in Senara's story, though he wondered what her motivation was of asking the questions. When he'd walked Senara back to the military district after dinner, they argued over the validity of those same questions and the impractical answers that came with them. But, without the shadow of a doubt, the argument ended in a passionate kiss, as many of their fights always had in the past.

But he was unsettled. The Homs hero knew he wouldn't be able to let it go. As he lay in bed in the night, Dunban wondered what Senara was hiding.

"What shall we do today?" Senara asked, her eyes aglow with excitement and curiosity. "I seem to recall a secluded spot at the top of Outlook Park. You could show me that." She batted her eyelashes coquettishly and laughed.

"I thought it would be nice to sit by the beach." He held up a large basket, its contents expertly prepared by Fiora.

"A picnic? Like our very first date? You are so sentimental, Dunban. I'm glad that hasn't changed." Senara kissed his cheek and grabbed his hand, leading him down to the beach. They found a nice patch of grass on the Agora Shore, directly in the sun. After a few moments of pulling out the contents and arranging them in an organized fashion, the two were comfortably lounging, feeding each other grapes and reminiscing about the past.

"It's really good to see you." She said, putting her hand over his, her green eyes staring into his.

"I never thought I'd see you again." He said, turning her hand over and clasping it with his.

"I wasn't lying when I said it was the thought I'd see you once more that kept me going."

He squeezed her hand and felt his heart leap. The smile that appeared on her face warmed him and released his hand from hers to touch her cheek. She turned towards his hand and kissed it gently, savoring each kiss. It was still surreal, to see her alive, instead of haunting his dreams. But there was small corner of his mind that remembered Melia's questions, his own questions, and a crack in his heart that enflamed with the knowledge of the lie he had lived for four years.

"You know what I regret most?" She asked, grabbing a few grapes and seductively popping them into her mouth.

"What's that?"

"Not answering your question."

"What question?"

"Oh come on," she pouted. "The question you asked me before I went back to Colony 3 and it got blown to smithereens."

Dunban raised an eyebrow and regarded her silently. Oh, he remembered. How could he forget? Nonetheless, the man wasn't particularly eager to talk about it. She hadn't given him a 'yes' or 'no', exactly. She'd said she would think about it and give him an answer on her next visit to Colony 9.

And then, of course, there had been no next visit.

An inner desire to hear her answer flamed to life, but he tempered it with logic. Already he could feel himself falling back into his previous feelings, no matter how tumultuous the previous day had been. Dunban wasn't the sort to easily let go, nor engage in casual intimacies. So, his younger self wanted the answer, the confirmation of mutual regard he'd painstakingly longed to hear four years ago. Nevertheless, it didn't matter what the answer was at the present moment. They had to get reacquainted with each other to see if a future together was even possible.

"Why didn't you come back earlier?"

Senara looked at him sharply. "I told you. It wasn't feasible."

"You and I both know that's not true. You could easily sneak past a scouting party of Mechon."

She looked away from him off into the distance, not answering.

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine." But it wasn't fine. He wanted to know. Needed to know the truth.

Senara turned back to him, misty-eyed. "We were prisoners of the Mechon."

Prisoners? He had never known the Mechon to take Homs as prisoners. "For how long?"

"About a year." Her voice was hard as she continued, "There were about seventy of us taken. When we escaped, there were only forty left. A lot of things after that that I'm not proud of. A lot of things we did to survive. It's not something any of us wants to discuss. We just want to put it behind us and move on."

Dunban said nothing, but put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

She sighed and looked into his eyes, biting her lip. "I'm sorry. I was a coward. I should've have tried to come to you earlier. I know you must be angry with me."

He shook his head and pulled her toward his chest. Maybe he had been too harsh on her. After all, it wasn't as though she hadn't wanted to come back. He kissed the top of her head and he could feel her wrap her arms around his waist. But questions nagged in the back of his mind: how had they escaped? And what were those things they had done to survive? A feeling of trepidation washed over him; the story wasn't over. Protectively, he squeezed her closer to him, uncertain of what was to come.

When Dunban escorted Senara back to the Military District barracks that evening, some of the Colony 3 survivors were huddled together, talking in low voices. Upon seeing the two walking towards them, they straightened and changed the tones of their conversation. It was odd behavior, but Dunban knew everyone had their secrets. Though the expressions on their faces were full of anger. That made him wary. As they passed the group and arrived at the barracks door, Senara interrupted his thoughts with a kiss on the lips. Deepening it, she pushed her tongue into his mouth, exploring. Desire flared up in his gut and he pulled her against his body, meeting her tongue with his. His hand increased the pressure on her back, and he kissed her hard. Moaning into his mouth, Senara bit down on his lip, causing him to yelp. As she pulled away, she whispered seductively, "You know, this doesn't have to be the end of the evening."

He raised his eyebrows and couldn't help but smile back. "Is that an invitation?"

"Yes."

He wanted to say yes. Badly. Every inch of his body burned for the feel of her skin on his. But it was too fast, too soon. "Not tonight."

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Senara rolled her eyes. "Fine. Your loss."

"Have a good night."

"See you later." She winked and walked into the barracks, shutting the door behind her.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and shook his head, a wry smile on his lips. The things she did to him. Sticking his hands into his pockets, Dunban walked away from the barracks, intending to head back home. But he stopped and decided to make a detour into the Weapons Lab to visit Shulk and see how he was doing. Descending the stairs into the weapons lab, he found the blond young man hunched over a work bench, soldering some circuits together on some sort of device. Patiently, Duban waited until Shulk was done, not wanting to distract him.

A few minutes later, Shulk looked up and saw his mentor examining a few ether rifles on the opposite side of the room. "Dunban! I didn't hear you come in."

"I was in the area and thought I'd come see how you were. What are you working on?"

"I'm just repairing this monitor. I'm planning on running an experiment. With Zanza gone, the cycle of ether has changed in the world. I'm trying to discover how the cycle actually works now." Shulk explained.

"Ah, that is quite a question to answer."

"Yes, but it's exciting! I believe there are still places in the world that have higher concentrations of ether than others and I want to understand why. Discovering how the cycle of ether operates may provide some insight into why those pockets exist."

A shadow of concern passed over Dunban's face as his thoughts went straight to Melia and the High Entia. "These pockets of higher ether concentrations...would you say hypothetically that the amount of ether in one of those would be enough to change Entia back into Telethia?"

Shulk's brow furrowed. "I hadn't thought about that...I suppose if the concentrations were high enough, it would be possible."

"That's worrisome. Are there any of these pockets around the Eryth Sea?"

"Unfortunately, I haven't done a survey there yet. I've only processed Colony 9 and Tephra Cave. There's a huge one at the back of Tephra Cave." Shulk paused and said, "I should tell Melia about this."

Something in him wished he could talk with the Empress, but Dunban knew the news would be best coming from Shulk. "I agree."

"I'll send her a letter tomorrow. Maybe I'll ask to visit her and conduct a survey."

"That would be wise. Quite the forward thinking, Shulk." Dunban praised.

Shulk laughed and shook his head. "You were the one to ask the question. I'd just been focusing on the experiment."

"But if you hadn't undertaken this initiative, we wouldn't be thinking about the consequences in the first place."

Sheepishly, the younger man nodded. "I guess you're right."

Nodding, Dunban walked towards the door. "I'll head out now and leave you to it. See you tomorrow." As he took his leave, Dunban mulled over the conversation and its implications. He wanted to contact Melia immediately about this possible threat, but he knew he should leave it to Shulk. The message would get to her and she would address the problem.

Without him.

As he thought about the Empress, the man remembered the Homs Entia's face the previous morning before she'd departed for Alcamoth. Melia had been the picture of diplomacy and politeness, so distant compared to their usual candor. He'd wanted to discuss what happened at the party, the kiss with Senara, the future possibility of working together, but none of that happened. Melia had wanted to take her leave as quickly as possible. And he'd let her. Now, as he walked home under the stars, he wondered if he'd made the right choice, letting her leave without trying to engage her in a conversation of clarification. It didn't matter now, he reminded himself. The damage was done. She was gone and he didn't know when he'd see her again.

A pounding on the front door woke Dunban in the middle of the night. He ripped off the blankets and grabbed the sword resting underneath the bed, anticipating the need for its use. Who could it be so late? His heart pounded as he crept out of his room, seeing Fiora already in the corridor, eyeing the door uncertainly. Motioning for her to stay put and ignoring her eye roll, he moved silently down the stairs, readying his sword and pulled open the door.

"Dunban!" Shulk said, clutching his own sword at his side.

"What's going on?"

"Dunban, what's happening?" Fiora asked as she joined him, carrying her own daggers. "Shulk! What are you doing here?"

"I saw a group of people carrying weapons through the military district. I couldn't get a good look, but they looked like some of the Colony 3 survivors. I think they raided the armory."

Dunban's eyes widened. "Where did they go?"

"I followed them here. It looks like they were headed towards Tephra Cave."

"Let's go."

Fiora and Shulk nodded and they exited the house, racing into the hills towards Tephra Cave. As his feet hit the ground one after the other, the dread rose within him. Why would Colony 3 survivors raid the armory? What need for weapons did they have? The climb to the cave seemed to last forever and the questions ran through his mind as they made their way to the entrance. Two torches burned, lighting the way into the dark cave, but the guards were missing. Where were they? What the hell was going on?

A bloodcurling scream emitted from the cave, stopping them in their tracks. Dunban looked from Fiora to Shulk, who nodded, and he lead the way into the cave.

As they entered, he heard the echoes of voices and paused, putting a hand out to stop Fiora and Shulk as well. Quietly, the crept through the cave, keeping to the shadows, following the sounds of lowered voices. From the end of the passageway, they could see the faint light of fire. Pointing to the right in the dark, he took Fiora's hand and lead her down a darkened corridor to the right and they ascended up a ramp, Shulk following behind being led by Fiora. Crouching down, they crawled to a position in the darkness that allowed them to see the action unfolding below.

From their perch, they could see a small group of Homs armed with blades and ether rifles crowded in a circle. At the center of the circle were two High Entia, a woman and man, cowering, and a third prostrate on the ground, unmoving.

Fiora put a hand over her mouth in shock at the dead body, but Dunban felt a deep-seated anger bubble up inside of him. What right did they have to play God?

"Please, don't hurt us," the male High Entia begged.

"Shut up, you cur," spat a young Homs man. "You're next."

Before anyone could react, he shot the the High Entia straight through the heart with his ether rifle. Blood splattered all over the Homs' face and he cackled as the High Entia male stumbled backward. His eyes wide with shock, he dropped to his knees and fell forward. A puddle of blood surrounded the body, dark red in the firelight.

Dunban signaled to Fiora and Shulk to be ready to drop down. He certainly wasn't going to let them kill one more innocent person in cold blood.

"We haven't done anything to you!" the female High Entia pleaded. "Just let me go!"

"Not yet anyway," another Homs said from the crowd. The voice stopped his brain in its tracks. Dunban knew that voice. It couldn't be...

"Well, let's have a little fun with this one." Then the first Homs landed a punch to the stomach of the female High Entia. She groaned and dropped to her knees. The Homs thrust his knee into the High Entia's face. The sound of bone breaking reached Dunban's ears and the High Entia shrieked in pain. Blood poured down her face as she sobbed.

The violence jolted him back to reality. He didn't waste any time thinking. Without another moment, Dunban signaled to Fiora and Shulk and they jumped downward, tackling a few of the Homs in their landing. As they wrestled to their feet, Dunban came face to face with Senara, who wore an expression of horror.

"Dunban! What are you doing here?" Senara asked, emerging from the back of the group.

"I might ask what you're doing to these people." He shot back, placing his body between the High Entia and the ether rifle. He looked at the woman he once loved, unable to keep his anger from his face. What explanation could she give for such senseless violence? For hurting innocent people? "What are you doing? Let her go before you spill any more unnecessary blood."

Senara narrowed her eyes. "You know what they are. They cannot be allowed to live amongst us."

"They are innocent people. They don't mean us any harm." Shulk said.

"Are you serious? They'll turn into monsters and kill us all!" Senara snarled, gritting her teeth. The bitter glare in her eyes made Dunban pause.

"And this is your solution? To kill them?" Fiora asked, outraged. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"If you want to kill her, you'll have to go through me." Dunban finished, meeting Senara's level gaze.

"Don't be ridiculous! Move!"

Instead, he assumed a defensive position, pulling his sword to the ready. Fiora and Shulk followed his example with their weapons, waiting for the coming attack.

"So be it," a male Homs said and lunged. Dunban met the blade with his own, struggling against the man's strength. The man pressed down on him, sneering as he pushed his blade closer and closer to Dunban's face. With effort, Dunban pushed the man off of him and feinted left, avoiding a strike to his abdomen. Whirling, Dunban swiped his blade right, catching the Homs' sword-holding wrist. The man howled in pain as the blade swiped through his skin and he dropped his sword. Without hesitation, Dunban landed a kick to his stomach and he fell backwards with a grunt.

Another Homs male launched himself and Dunban, tackling him to the ground. They wrestled, Dunban focusing on using the strength in his leg muscles to turn the man over onto his back and land a punch to his face. He landed a few more punches to the man's head, knocking him unconscious. Before he had a chance to survey the scene, another Homs came up behind him and brought his arm around Dunban's head, putting him into a headlock. The pressure on his throat was intense; he struggled to breathe.

"STOP!" A loud voice reverberated off the cave walls. The fighting ceased as all eyes turned to the squadron of soldiers that had appeared. It was the defense force of Colony 9. "RELEASE THEM." The captain shouted at the Colony 3 usurpers.

Dunban felt the arm around his neck grow slack and withdraw. He stood, rubbing the sore area at the base of his throat and helped the female High Entia to her feet. Through the blood and tears on her face, she looked up at him and whispered, "Thank you for saving me."

The Homs hero nodded, but did not speak. He didn't trust himself to say anything. Inside, he could feel the impending explosion of his fury, and he slammed it down. He would not allow himself to unleash it on undeserving parties.

"Sir, are you alright?" The captain asked him. His soldiers had surrounded the group of Colony 3 antagonists, rifles and swords pointed threateningly.

Dunban nodded and turned away, his hands clenching into fists. The shock of what he had witnessed was still rolling through him.

"Please get her medical attention at once." Shulk said to the captain and gestured to the High Entia woman huddled on the ground, trembling.

The captain nodded and pointed to two of his soldiers. "Take her to the healer." He turned to the rest of his soldiers and ordered, "Take these traitors to the cells!"

As they were led out of the cave, Dunban caught sight of Senara, who looked back at him, her eyes a mixture of pain and despair. He looked away, clenching his fists. How could he have been so deceived to her intentions?

"What the hell was all that about, Senara? You just killed two people!" He demanded, his eyes blazing with violence. He could feel the rage bubbling up in the pit of his stomach, threatening to erupt. Everything in him wanted to shout at her, rage, grab her shoulders and shake her. How had he been so blind? His emotions swirled around inside his body, fighting the logic, which ordered him to calm. He needed to understand what had just happened in the cave.

"Dunban, I can explain!" Senara pleaded, reaching for his shoulders. They were in a small room in the military district, away from prying eyes. Outside the door, the defense force was rounding up the rest of the Colony 3 survivors, including the ones that had not participated in the evening's events, and putting them into cells around the barracks. But inside, it was just the two of them and the truth.

"Then do it."

"You won't understand unless I start from the beginning."

"Fine Just talk." He ordered, taking a step back from her out of her reach. "And don't lie to me. I will know."

"I wasn't lying when I said we were we were taken by the Mechon."

"Elaborate. What did they want you for?"

"They treated us like animals." She swallowed and said, "They kept us in this pen and it seemed like every couple of weeks they would take one of us. All we knew was that the person disappeared and never came back. So we assumed they were killed. Why? We had no idea."

Dunban waited for her to continue, his arms crossed against his chest as he leaned against the wall, watching her. He would give her no sympathy. Not for the pain she had caused intentionally.

"It drove me mad, being cooped up in their all day and night. I was desperate to get out. I started collecting little things: screws, pins. I even fashioned a shiv out of an old comb. One evening, during the change of the guard, two of us snuck out of the cage and we found their lab..." she drifted off, trapped by the memories. Closing her eyes, Senara said, "What we saw...there was so much blood and bone and guts covering the floors. Obviously, as machines, they don't care about that stuff. But it was disgusting...like walking through a war zone. You know we're trained for that in battle, but this was...different. Inhumane. Then we saw Jacob from behind a glass wall. They were trying to put him in this mechanical body. It became clear to me that we were being used for experiments. They were figuring out how to merge our bodies with the Mechon shells." She blinked rapidly as a few tears fell down her cheek. "It was awful, Dunban. His screams...I've never heard a sound like that."

Despite his anger, Dunban wanted to reach out to her, to comfort her. He could see the pain of the memories etched over her face, but he held his ground, remembering the dead bodies of the High Entia in the cave. He couldn't imagine the type of trauma that living in an environment like that would cause, watching your friends taken against their will to be used in experiments that would most likely mutilate their bodies and cause certain death. It could certainly drive one to madness. In the past, Dunban had wondered how Egil and the Mechon had learned how to adapt Homs bodies to Mechon shells. Now he had his answer. It had been achieved by the use of the lives of Homs from Colony 3. Clearly, the Mechon's experiments had been successful. Mumkhar, Gadot and Fiora had been living, breathing evidence of the experiments' success.

The dark-skinned woman took a deep breath in and out, gathering herself before continuing, "We ran back to the cage and told the others what we had seen. There was no way we could afford to wait for a perfect opportunity to escape if we wanted to survive. So one evening, we took what precautions we could and ran. But we set off the alarms. The Mechon were on us in a matter of minutes. We lost a few in the run but we thought we were going to make it, taking a path through the sewers. And as we reached the entrance, a woman blocked our way." She glared at him. "A woman like your friend Melia."

"What do you mean blocked?"

"She said she'd help us escape if we did everything she said."

"And you went with her?"

"Of course. What choice did we have? Get caught by the Mechon and be most certainly killed? No, we decided to take our chances."

"What was her name?"

"Lady Lorithia."

His blood turned cold. Lorithia had been Zanza's disciple before her demise in the heart of the Bionis. She had been a proud, ruthless Entia, dedicated to her goal of serving her God in exchange for immortality.

"What happened next?"

"We were taken to a facility unlike I've ever seen. And, we realized in a short time, that we had traded one devil for another."

"What do you mean?"

Senara bowed her head. "Lorithia was experimenting on others of her kind. Changing them into these large, silver beasts. Telethia, she called them. She would have us expose the subjects to high amounts of ether to force their transformation. Then she would inject them to all sorts of ether spells to try and change their behavioral patterns. I think she was looking to make them submissive creatures. She was hardly ever successful. And once she was done with them, she would change them back to their human forms and...we'd dispose of them."

"You killed them? No questions asked?"

Senara shot her head up and glared at him. "She said she'd kill us if we didn't do as she said! She said she'd set the Telethia on Colony 6 & 9 if we refused! We didn't have a choice!"

"You always have a choice!"

"You weren't there. You have no idea. Sometimes she would have a few of us fight the Telethia as an experiment, to see who was stronger. And usually the Homs were the ones to die. Do you know what it looks like when a Telethia kills a Homs? It tears it apart and sucks its ether away! It's just as horrifying as dying by the hands of a Mechon!"

"And what? You just stayed in her lab, torturing innocent people at her beck and call? You didn't fight back?"

"How could we? She kept armed guards with her at all times. We were each kept separately in a cell so we couldn't coordinate an escape plan! And you should've seen them Dunban, when they were changed back. They were all mad, insane. It was mercy killing them!"

He looked at her with a blank face, astonished by what he was hearing. But Senara seemed not to notice and continued.

"Besides, they're descended from such animals! Anyway, Lorithia left one day and didn't come back. Two of the remaining Telethia destroyed the lab and we decided to take our chances and escape. We traveled through the Bionis and eventually got to here. That's it. That's the whole goddamn truth. I've got nothing else."

"You didn't stop at Colony 6 on the way here? That's closer."

"I told you. I wanted to get to you. To be with you. I made them come here for you." Senara looked up at him with a combination of resentment and desperation.

"That doesn't explain why you would attack the few Homs Entia that live here?" Those three had been the only Homs Entia citizens in the Colony, and now there was only one. "Do you realize what you've done? High Entia will never want to live here again because they'll be afraid some crazy Homs are going to kill them!"

"Good riddance! I don't care if they think I'm crazy! I'd rather have them gone than live here with us. They're disgusting creatures with a monster mutation. We've just protected the entire Colony from a potential murderers. Why can't you see that? What if they change again and destroy us all?"

Did she truly believe these things? He couldn't comprehend the words she was saying as he heard his own voice rise.

"Did you learn absolutely nothing in your time in Lorithia's lab? Homs Entia cannot change into Telethia! They gene has been deactivated in their bodies. You just killed three innocent people because of your ignorance!"

"Of course we know that! But it doesn't matter. Lorithia was trying to find a way to turn all High Entia into Telethia. And she may have! I can't take the chance if there's a way for them to turn into those monsters and wipe us out!"

"And what if she was lying to you? Playing with your minds? Did you ever think about that? And even if she wasn't lying, what was your plan? To wipe out ever single High Entia in existence? To exterminate a whole race?"

"Yes if that's what it takes!"

Dunban shook his head and rubbed his brow, struggling to control himself from yelling at her. "Do you hear yourself? That is insane. You're no better than the blasted Mechon. This was nothing but an excuse for you and your people to lash out at someone for all the pain you've been through! This was nothing but a hate crime!"

"How dare you! I have been a soldier from the start, trained to watch for potential threats and eliminate them by whatever means necessary! And that is exactly what I was doing."

"HOW COULD YOU THINK MURDERING INNOCENT PEOPLE IS THE RIGHT COURSE OF ACTION?" He exploded, "Have you killed so many High Entia in your servitude that you no longer know what is right from wrong?"

"Dunban, you are being fooled by them."

He closed his eyes, scrunching up his brows. He didn't know what he was feeling anymore: pain, anger, despair, rage. It was all overflowing his mind and heart. "So if Melia still had been here, you would've killed her to? Even though she's my friend?"

"Yes. To protect you, I would do anything." She crossed her arms in finality.

It no longer mattered what Senara said. Whatever delusions she was under, she and the rest of her people were a danger to themselves and everyone they were around. They needed to be gone.

"We're done." He flung open the door and walked out into the main hall.

"Wait! Dunban!" She shrieked. "Stop! I came here for you. For you!"

Her words stabbed him in the heart but he didn't react. He didn't turn around. He kept walking home.

The next evening, Dunban sat out on the porch, his eyes focused on the stars, though his mind was elsewhere. Flashbacks of Senara and their courtship filled his thoughts. Such sweet memories tainted by present emotions. Never again would he look at her the same way. Though he never wanted to lay eyes on her again. He couldn't get the image of her smiling face out of his head. But it was quickly replaced by the mad determination on her face as she tried to explain to him her crusade against the High Entia. It was too much and in that moment, it had shattered any possibility of returning to her arms.

He heard the door open and close behind him and his sister sat down next to him. She didn't say anything and he waited. From his periphery, he could see her fidgeting, wringing her hands. A few seconds rolled by and Fiora sighed. "I'm sorry, Dunban."

"Why? You're not to blame."

"Because...you loved her."

Underneath all of the anger, he was sad. It was more than sadness. It was mourning. He was mourning the death of the possible future that he'd hoped for in his heart. With her return, Dunban had allowed the tiniest part of himself to believe that they could find love once again. He was mourning the future he would never have, and the past that was forever contaminated.

"I won't lie. I am...disappointed to say the least." He stopped and turned his head to look at his little sister. Her eyes were wide with sympathy, her mouth turned upside down into a frown. "But that's exactly it. I loved her. She's no longer the same person she was and I see that now." The words tasted of harsh truths, but he would face them head on. He wouldn't give in to fantasies that she could change for the better, or that he would grow to forgive her past mistakes and that they could move forward together.

"You don't think you can forgive her?"

"Not now. Maybe in time, but not right now. I cannot forget what she's done. And I cannot agree with what she believes. Her actions violate everything I believe in."

Perhaps it was the trauma of her experiences that impaired Senara's vision to see how destructive her beliefs were. And possibly he was being too harsh, not understanding enough of everything she and her people had been through. Had she asked for forgiveness in that room, asked for help to change, he would've given it to her. He was not above providing help to one in need, even one who had so deeply hurt and betrayed him when asked. But instead, she spurned him, over and over again. And that was not something he would tolerate or encourage in any way.

Fiora nodded and slid over the bench towards him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I still can't believe it..."

"Neither can I."

"What's going to happen to them?"

"The city council is making its ruling now. I suspect they will banish them from Colony 9."

"Where will they go?"

"I do not know. But the Mayor has already sent word to Colony 6 about the Colony 3 survivors."

"Wow. So they're to be exiled from all Homs villages. Is that a good idea?"

"One one hand it is unwise to allow them to exist without any security protocols in place, considering what has happened. On the other hand, what will they tell their progeny if they live amongst themselves? Will they grow up hating Colony 9 and Colony 6 as well as the High Entia? That's not a pretty future."

"What if they do not survive?"

"I believe they will. We can only hope that they teach their children differently." Slowly, he could feel the ache and pain of the previous evening's events ebb away, a numbness settling in its place. He welcomed it; the exhaustion of the anger and sadness was taking a toll on him.

They fell silent, watching the stars twinkle in the sky. It was comfortable, sitting in the quiet of the night with his sister. He didn't feel the obligation to make conversation. And she was happy to accept his need for solitude and reflection. Minutes passed in companionable silence and his thoughts drifted away from the drama of his past lover. Instead, his thoughts turned towards the High Entia...and Melia.

"Shulk wrote to Melia today. About everything that's happened."

"Very wise."

"Are you going back to Alcamoth?"

"I do not think so."

"Why not?" She sat up, her eyes narrowed.

"I'm not sure Melia desires my help any longer." He crossed his arms over his chest, keeping his eyes on the black sky.

"Has she told you that?"

"Not in so many words."

"Then you're being silly."

He pursed his lips. She knew he hated when she called him silly. It made him sound childish.

"What happened? Between the two of you?"

"Nothing."

"Clearly not nothing," she pressed.

"Fiora, it's not something I wish to discuss." He looked at her, the tone of his voice slamming the door on the subject.

Shrugging, she rose from her seat and said, "Well...whatever it was, I'm sure she'd be pleased to have you go back."

Fiora left him to his thoughts, going back into the house. As Dunban looked back into the evening, he thought about the last conversation they'd had in his kitchen. Melia had pulled up the walls around herself once more, and he knew why. He should have told her about Senara before they arrived at Colony 9. He knew that now. For a woman who intentionally isolated herself emotionally, he had unintentionally provided Melia with evidence that contradicted his words about learning to trust another. He knew better: actions always spoke louder than words.

Tomorrow would be the last day before the election. He suspected Melia was knee deep in preparations. He wondered what she was doing at that moment: if she was holed up in her suite doing paperwork, or at her secret place? He hoped she was sleeping better, though highly unlikely given the amount of stress he assumed she would be feeling. He speculated how she would be dealing with the saboteur. He hoped she was staying safe.

He stopped his trail of thought, suddenly becoming aware of an emotion that had hovered in the background since her departure.

He missed Melia.