Chapter 25

My return to consciousness wasn't a fast one, it tried to keep me under with an iron claw and I'll be honest, I almost let it, but then I felt the warm body surrounding me, the skin contacting mine. It was just intriguing enough to rouse my interest, so with a groan I opened my eyes. I blinked a few times, luxuriating in the warmth enshrouding me even as I felt out the various aches and pains my body was feeling.

"Morning." I heard a mumble from behind me. Who was that anyway? With a grunt, I shuffled away a bit and turned over onto my back, allowing me to see Rialle's bleary eyes blinking at me. The visual jolted my memory, still foggy from sleeping. It came in flashes, but I did remember what happened last night. Some of it was a little hazy, but the gist of it was there.

It was a good night.

"Mornin." I murmur, staring at her. From the looks of it she had been awake not much longer than I. Craning my neck like this was annoying though, so I turned over fully so that I was now facing Rialle, my flesh meeting hers in a gentle reminder that we were both naked with nothing covering us. Neither of us said anything, but Rialle's cheeks did flush as she registered where she was.

"… so," Rialle began.

"Yeah." I sighed, staring into her eyes. Hers looked back at me, swimming with unstated emotion.

"… are we going to talk about last night?"

Rialle licked her lips as she considered what to say.

"Well, what is there to say?"

"If you enjoyed yourself for one." I remarked.

"No!" Rialle panicked. "It was great! You were great! Um … what about you? No, you don't have to answer that. You were drunk and I, Oh god …" I lifted my hand up and place a finger on her lips, waiting for her to calm down. She had begun to hyperventilate, and I wanted to stop that.

"It's alright Rialle. I had fun too." I removed my finger and cupped her cheek, then I kissed her nose. "And I'll tell you a little secret, I wasn't really drunk, I wasn't even tipsy after a while. You are aware of how fast biotics neutralise alcohol, and how much, well … for lack of a better word … stronger I am?" Rialle blinked, still reeling from the peck on her nose. It took her a moment but my words finally registered.

"You mean … you did all, that, while sober?" Rialle swallowed.

"I did." I grin salaciously at her, reaching around with my hand and giving her a firm squeeze on her ass cheek. "Are you going to punish me?" Rialle squeaked, face a brilliant purple.

"I'd be happy to do so!" Peros called from behind me. I flinched at the sound, it was only for a moment though, and I welcomed her presence behind me as she laid down and wrapped her arms around me. I was pleased to find out she wasn't dressed either, her warm globes pressing into my back even as one of her own hands grabbed onto one of mine and gave it a squeeze.

"Mnhm~, promises, promises." I groaned.

Peros chuckled behind me, I could feel the reverberations of it on my back. Returning my attention to Rialle, I found her watching me intently, a soft look in her eyes. I didn't know exactly what emotion I could see in them, but it left me feeling bubbly, warm. On an impulse, I locked my lips with hers for a good moment, pulling back after a long moment and even then the contact lingering. While this was a pleasant wake-up call, it was all teasing, so I stopped their somewhat regretfully. Peros seemingly already knew that and hadn't tried to escalate from her position. She didn't let go though.

"So, I hate to say it but last night didn't seem quite as … spontaneous as one might think …, care to explain Peros?"

"I'd be happy to! You see, for a while now I've noticed a problem." Peros began, wrapping herself even more firmly around me as she placed her chin on the top of my head. "Rialle was shy."

"Hey!" she protested but I snorted, Peros shushed her with a finger on her lips. Rialle just sighed and stopped protesting.

"As I was saying, Rialle was shy. She was super attracted to you, and we could all see it. Well, all of us but you Jack." It was my turn.

"Hey!"

"Oh hush, you have the social skills of a brick and you know it."

That's not … entirely untrue, well maybe.

"She was outright pining, but you didn't notice and she didn't have the guts to confront you about it. I suppose it was a little harder for her what with her total lack of experience."

Wait, what? Had Rialle ever …?

"Was I your first?" I asked her. Raille didn't say anything, biting her lip even as she nodded, unable to meet my eyes. That was … I didn't know how to feel. Your first was … special. I still remember Rielle vividly, come to think of it the irony of their similar names isn't lost on me.

"What made you choose me, if you'd never done it before?"

"You were, strong. And beautiful, and friendly and … I don't know, it just felt … right." She murmured.

"It doesn't hurt that she is massively turned on by tattoos." Peros piped up. Rialle only whined at the accusation, closed her eyes, and buryed her face into my chest. This whole situation was unfamiliar to me, and I didn't really know what to think. Peros' words from earlier were right. My social skills weren't exactly strong, and this wasn't something simple either. Would this change things between us? Did it need to? … did I want it to?

"Don't overthink it Jack, just see what happens, we'll help you." Peros murmured into my ear, before settling in behind me and snuggling into my back. Deciding I'd rather not think about it, and still feeling tired I did the same, closing my eyes so I could enjoy the skin ship between us all.

I was starting to drift off when a notification chime broke the silence, it was a special one that I had allocated to one person, and one person only. My eyes snapped open as I concentrated on my biotics, using them to pull my Omni-tool band towards me.

I opened it immediately and read the short message intently, my eyes narrowing.

"What is it?" Rialle asked, feeling how I'd tensed up as soon as I heard the chime. Neither her nor Peros complained about the interruption either. Instead of answering, I closed my Omnitool and threw it back to the corner of the room where a pile of clothes laid.

"Jack?" Peros squeezed me gently. "What's wrong?"

I don't answer for a minute, still processing the message. Both wait patiently for me.

"It's Aria, she wants to meet with me in a few days." Neither say anything, both knowing what I had to be feeling. Confused is probably the best description. Aside from that, I'd noticed something else while checking my Omni-tool. "… What are the pictures you sent me Peros?"

"Ah …," Peros sounded sheepish, "I may have documented our festivities. I would probably be a little cautious with them …, they may be a little, intimate."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. If it sounded a little hysterical, no-one said anything.

[POV: Aria]

I sat there, my knee bouncing up and down from my seat on one of the boulders that littered the abandoned mine. I'd set the meeting place here for privacy reasons, but also as a precaution. Jack was a lot like me, and I knew myself well enough to realise she might be angry, and when I get angry I get violent. I'd hope she didn't pick that up from me, and I think I could safely say she hadn't.

She'd already been that way when we met.

I'd been waiting now for about 10 minutes, but it was still 5 minutes before the agreed upon meeting time. Jack's reply to my message was … curt. She just gave a day and time to meet me, I replied the location and that was it. That was still the most communication I'd had with her for almost 6 months.

The sound of crunching gravel had me lift my gaze from my feet, turning towards Jack's approaching figure. She wasn't in her armour, which I hope's a good sign. Instead, she was in some new clothes I hadn't seen before, far more tight fitting than I'd ever seen her in as well, that must be the influence of her dancers. Her gait was altered too, smoother would be the best way to describe it. I ignored the thought about what else she picked up from them, it wasn't the time. Might never be.

I kept my shoulders loose as she approached, trying to keep myself relaxed as she came closer but it was a struggle. Jack was tense enough for the both of us too, her face blank even as her eyes stared intensely at me. I kept my eyes on her until she stopped before me, so I gestured to the boulder across from me. It was about 2 metres away from mine, I'd chosen this spot carefully. She said nothing as she sat down, just continued to stare at me in an unsettling manner. We sat there for minutes, with no sound to be heard aside from soft breathing.

"Why did you ask to meet?"

Jack finally breaking the silence nearly made me flinch, and I exhaled fully to calm myself before answering.

"… I wanted to talk to you."

"Why." It wasn't a question. This conversation was giving me flashbacks to when I first met her, back when she first appeared on Omega. It was before she has learned to socialise, and before she learned to trust me.

"I wanted to apologise. For what I said …, for what I did." I decided to rip off the band-aid. My hesitance was a big part of why it had come to this in the first place.

"Apologize?" Jack asked, her brow furrowing and her mask finally cracking. Her eyes somehow sharpened even more than they already had.

"Yes. To apologize. I made a mistake, I was rash and I punished you harshly, harsher than I should have."

Jack closed her eyes and her shoulders began softly shaking. Is she alright, I didn't want to upset her, I wanted nothing less –

"Rash?!" Jack growled standing up. "So, I still deserved to be punished then?!"

"You got hurt, badly, on a simple reconnaissance mission. It made me realise I had been pushing you too much, you had been on far more dangerous missions before. What if you got hurt like that again, or worse? I wanted to protect you." I tried to explain why, something I should have done before I demoted her. Maybe then it wouldn't have caused this rift. I wasn't in my right mind at the time, I know that now, but I still think I did the right thing. I'd forgotten how young she was, how little she'd really lived.

"No." she whispered, mouth gaping at me.

"What do you mean no? Omega is a dangerous place, it …"

"I didn't get hurt by anyone else! It was my own actions that did it!" she shouted, fists clenched as she glared. What?!

"That's even worse! Self-inflicted biotic burns are a sign of poor control. I knew you were struggling with your control, but not that much! You shouldn't have been going on missions if you managed to fuck up a technique that much." I glared back at her, my hackles rising. "I'm ordering you now, you aren't to remain an enforcer if your control is that poor!" Jack grit her teeth and breathed harshly through them. Biotic energy was beginning to flicker around her, and my focus turned razor sharp.

"You can't do that!"

"Yes I can! I'm the Queen of Omega!"

"No! You're not! You're a fucking figurehead."

I gasped at her, outraged. I let my own biotics began to flare as well. It's been far too long since I've shown her where she stood, I'll gladly do it again if I have to.

"You take that back." I hissed.

"Or what?" she laughed bitterly. "What exactly are you going to do that you haven't already?" She taunted me and I saw red. I forgot all about my purpose for this meeting, rational thought leaving me. What could I do though, Vassen was already ignoring my orders. That left the rest of my employees such as … her … friends.

"I could always fire your little friends." I grinned at her mockingly. Jack flinched at that, and I thought to push my advantage, but that was when her fist rocketed towards my face. I barely formed a barrier before she made contact and my head snapped back, stars covering my vision as I took a step back to keep my balance.

"Leave them out of this!" she shouted at me and I wiped my mouth, a little splash of purple on the back of my hand now present.

"Or what?" I spat some more of the blood out onto the ground.

"Let's find out." Jack grunted, biotic energy enshrouding her frame as she slammed her fists together raising a barrier. I did the same, and then ran at her. The first few seconds allowed me to see the progress she'd made in her time away from me. I tried to strike her from the same odd angles I had in the past, but this time she was ready for them, slapping them away or trying to go for an opening herself, forcing me to pull back.

I growled, but couldn't help but acknowledge the progress she's made at the same time. I'd have to get serious, which is more than I've had to do in a long time, not even against her. I couldn't just overpower her like I would others, she didn't know it but she could use more energy than I could at this point. That left me with my experience, which would be more than enough to overwhelm her, she was just too young.

Calming myself out of my rage forcibly, I exhaled though my lips and started holding back my blows. I needed speed more than anything right now, including being able to redirect and halt my strikes instantaneously. Jack tried to stop me, but it was useless. She would try to block, but it would never work the way she wanted it to. I would either stop that blow entirely, or use her block as a chance to strike her in a different way. Jack tried to stop me, tried to fight back, but my onslaught couldn't be stopped. I may have only hit her every third strike or so, and none of my blows were particularly strong, but she couldn't stop me. Seeing a big opening, I finally took the time to connect a solid hit to her ribs, throwing her back away from me and shattering her barrier. Jack was forced to roll over backwards, landing in a crouch.

"And what did your little tantrum accomplish, hm?" I snorted derisively. Jack held her side as she stood up glaring at me, and said nothing. Instead, she flooded her aura with energy and slammed her fists together, the barrier's emergence accompanying a bright flash of light. It shone nearly blindingly, showing just how much energy she was wasting. It was strong, I'll give her that, but it would fade away in moments.

"Foolish." I sneered, rushing towards her. Something was different this time though, as she didn't try to block me, or even dodge. She just let me hit her, absorbing the blow with her barrier. She used that time to hit back, finally landing a blow which did hurt. I grunted at the pain but pushed through it. My barrier could absorb it and I would easily outlast her, so we continued to trade punches. There was no finesse anymore, no real technique as we just tried to beat the shit out of each other. It took me a minute to notice, but something was wrong. My barrier was starting to flicker, yet hers was still going strong. It should have broken long ago, but instead it stayed … Jack slammed a massive haymaker into my side with my distraction. It was strong enough to break my barrier and I was thrown of my feet, my ribs cracked on the side she hit.

I coughed from my position on the ground unable to get up as I wheezed. How much energy did she flood into that punch?! I wasn't capable of getting up, and she was standing there watching me. Finally, her barrier fell, but I didn't know if it was forcibly or not.

"How's that for lack of control?" she sneered. "You never let me fucking explain either, I didn't lose control of my fucking technique that day." That doesn't make any sense! "It just required too much energy." That …! Just what could possibly require that much energy that, that …

"Were the burns just from channelling sheer amounts of energy?" Jack nodded, still glaring at me.

"Just what …?"

"I played tug of war with a ship carrying Commander Shepard's body. It was trying to leave the atmosphere. I stopped it." She played tug of war with a ship …, and won? Why would she … no, it doesn't matter why right now, who knows if she would even explain herself. Still, using that much energy at once is, … terrifying. It also speaks of incredible energy control on a macro scale, a control I wasn't capable of. That is if she was telling the truth and at this point, I was starting to believe her too. The pain in my ribs had knocked me out of my rage, and I was crushed by the sudden shame I felt at my actions today. I came here to explain myself, not taunt her. It seems I had much to apologize for.

"If that's true, then I have blamed you unfairly. I still stand by what I did though, you were doing too much, taking on too much." I needed her to see reason on this, it hadn't been healthy. How do I make her see that?

"I know." Her quiet admittance knocked me for a loop. She'd already realised it? Why was she so upset then, why was she so angry? Why did she keep away from me for so long?

"Then what's the problem?" I frowned at her, still at her feet. She'd made no effort to help me up, so I just forced myself up even as she watched me, her eyes still awash with negative emotions.

"My problem," she spat, "is that you didn't wait till I was healed, you didn't ask for my explanation, you just ordered my demotion and decided to treat me like a child!"

"You are a child!"

"No, I'm not. I haven't been a child for a long fucking time."

"That wasn't your choice, you had your childhood taken from you, you should be given the chance to enjoy some of it."

"That's right. It wasn't my choice, and what happened when I got injured?"

I demoted her, forced her to return to being a bouncer, stopped talking to her. I … I took away her choice. Oh, oh shit. Jack had many issues from her time at the facility, but her lack of choice was perhaps the biggest one. I'd re-read the entire document about her time there multiple times during these last few months. I could picture the words in my mind, the way they forced her to fight, the way they forced her to kill. She was never given a choice before she came to Omega.

"Jack, I didn't … I didn't realise. I wouldn't have … would have discussed it if I knew. I … I, I'm sorry Jack." I whispered the final three words. Finally comprehending just what I'd done, from her perspective.

"It doesn't help." Jack laughed a bitter, sad laugh and turned away from me. She's not leaving is she? No! If she leaves she's not coming back. Not again, it can't happen again.

"I'm sorry alright! What can I do?" I ask desperately. I'm past caring at this point. Any hang-ups, any pride, I just wanted my daughter back.

"You were the first one I gave my trust to Aria. The first one I told everything, the first one who I thought really understood me. You broke that trust. I don't know if there's anything you can do."

That can't be right, there has to be something I can do, I just need to think of it. I need time to … that's it! Time, I need more time with her, and maybe this will also help.

"Do you want to return to being my bodyguard?" I hoped this would be a solution.

"No," Jack shook her head. "I'm not ready for that, not after everything I've been through the last 6 months. For months, I had to stew with my thoughts. You know how I work through my emotions don't you?"

I nodded, she trained and fought. I was the same way, able to think best when my blood was pumping.

"I couldn't do that, the entire time. This is the only place I can train without destroying anything. I didn't think I was allowed here, so I didn't come here. The only thing I could work on for months was my barrier, and Jia'nor. Training with the girls was fun, but I couldn't let loose with them. They aren't strong enough."

No, I don't suppose they would be. How did I fuck up this badly, this was worse than I had with Liselle. Was there nothing I could do?

"You can come here now, you always could."

"I know that now." Jack turned around again and started walking away. No!

"Jack!" she stopped but didn't turn around. "Can we speak again …? After you've had some time, I … I don't want to end like this."

"…"

"Yes"

Then she left. She left me standing there, and I wrapped my arms around myself. That went so much worse than I'd hoped. I almost lost her, lost another one, but I have a chance.

I let the tears in my eyes finally fall, now that I was alone, sitting back down on my boulder and hunching over.

I have a chance.

[POV: Fury]

I paced around my room, agitated. I couldn't seem to sit down, unable to relax enough to, I'd tried too. I'd given up after and just continued to pace instead, and that's where I'd been for the last 15 minutes. What happened today, it left me out of sorts, confused. I hadn't known what to expect when I saw Aria today, but somehow …? This wasn't it. Her choice of location had concerned me, as I thought she wanted to 'knock some sense' into me, or something like that, wasn't her that started the fight. The knock on my door caught my attention and I rushed over to it, opening the door immediately to find Bari with her hand still raised.

"Jack! What -," I grabbed that hand and pulled her in, shutting the door after her. "… can I … do for …you?" she tilted her head, bewildered. I made sure the door was shut properly and locked before finally turning to her.

"I need advice." I told her, seeing the question on her face.

"oookkaayy~" she trailed off, thoroughly confused, so I tugged her by the hand I still held over to my bed. There wasn't anywhere to sit in here, not enough space. There was just my bed and the bathroom, I chose the bed to sit down on. Bari sat next to me, still compliant to my movements.

"… is this about the meeting with Aria?" I shot her a deadpanned look, saying nothing. "Should have known," she muttered, "What exactly is your problem?"

I sighed, rubbing my hand over my face tiredly. My jitteriness seems to have faded now that there was someone here to talk to, here's hoping requesting her help with prove fruitful.

"I don't know." Bari opened her mouth to say something, but I continued to cut her off. "I don't know what to do."

"Did the meeting not go well then?" she asked, curious. I snorted in response.

"… not exactly."

"You do know you're going to have to give me more detail then that if you want me to help, right?"

"Of course, I know that!" I waved my hand at her. "Just let me think for a moment, I'm trying to decide what to say."

"Take all the time you need Jack," Bari soothed me, placing her hand on my back and rubbing up and down, "maybe start at the beginning?"

"Yeah," I sighed, "good a place as any. It wasn't so bad, at least at first."

Bari hummed in response, continuing to rub my back.

"She began by apologising."

"That's a good sign." Bari nodded.

"For being too harsh in punishing me."

"Not as good." Bari sighed.

"It didn't really get better. I got annoyed and tried to explain what happened, but she interrupted me and began to focus on my so called lack of control. That escalated and she called me a child, tried to treat me like one and ignored everything I said. Then I got … angry."

"I don't suppose you just shouted at her?" I shook my head, knowing it to be a mistake now, doesn't really change things either. To be fair, she was asking for it.

"And then I'm guessing you both fought until you calmed down?"

"I won actually." Bari paused, eyes widening.

"You won?!" she gasped, shocked. I nodded, I was shocked myself. I'd never won before. It didn't really even click with me till after but … I won. I beat her, I beat Aria. It was done by taking her by surprise, but it wasn't a dirty trick or anything else, and I won! I always thought I would be ecstatic when it happened, yet I … don't. I feel almost apathetic towards the fact, at least compared to everything else on my mind.

"… I was only able to fully explain myself after I'd beaten her into the ground, and I think I finally figured out why it … why it hurt so much." I choked up a little but pushed through.

"Are you willing to tell me?"

"Of course. You know a little about my childhood, but it can be summed up as … controlled. I wasn't allowed to do anything they didn't want me to, I wasn't allowed to not do what they wanted. If they ordered something, it was to be done, and so help me if I refused. I don't like to talk about it, don't like to even think about it, but it comes down to a lack of control. I spent all of my life like that until I met Aria."

I smiled at the memory, even now I thought back on it fondly, and somewhat bittersweet.

"She let me choose for the first time, she let me … do things for the first time. She was patient, she was kind, she was everything to me. I never had parents before but … but she was the closest thing I had to one."

Bari didn't say anything, but she did pull me into her side, letting me lean on her.

"I miss those times, back when things were simple. Aria was somewhat hesitant about me becoming an enforcer, but I wanted nothing more at the time …, and she let me. I was able to finally repay her for all she did for me … and I was happy. At least I thought I was, I didn't realise … didn't see how unhealthy it was. I put her on a pedestal, thought her incapable of doing wrong." I chuckled bitterly. Yet I longed for those times, back when things were simple.

"This was when you were constantly busy, constantly exhausted and hurt, and so very, very tired." Bari stated, it wasn't a question.

"Yeah. I don't deny things had to change …, I know that now. It was the way she handled it that mattered so much. It all came down to choice, the freedom to choose I had. Aria would try to advise me in some ways, but ultimately she let me choose. Then, when I was bed-ridden and barely conscious I found out what she did, through a fucking message!"

"Oh … oh Jack." Bari wrapped her arms around me fully and my grimace gradually softened, but it let other things in.

"It hurt me Bari, it hurt me so much. Still, I obeyed, hoping she would talk to me, that she would see me and everything could be explained, but she didn't. She didn't see me for months! And … and" I buried my head into her shoulder, closing my eyes in the hopes that the tears would go away.

"Then finally, finally she contacts me. And she starts to accuse me and -"

"Shh, Shh, it's alright." Bari murmured fully bringing me into her embrace. I just let the tears fall, having been holding in the urge since the moment I turned away from Aria. If I kept looking at her any longer, I'm not sure I could have stopped myself. I let myself stay like that for a few minutes, just let myself feel for a time, something I hadn't really done for months know, at least not about Aria. Even just these few minutes was enough to calm myself down.

"Did anything else happen …?" Bari asked, hesitantly as if afraid to find out.

"After the accusations and the fight and when I'd already begun to leave, after all of it she asked to meet again, and I don't know what to do."

Bari said nothing for a while, and I let myself feel the rising and lowering of chest, focusing on it so I didn't have to focus on anything else.

"Thank you for trusting me, I know it must have been hard."

I nodded into her, she was right. She was also the one I felt would be the most helpful, the one I was closest too. I suppose she was my best friend, because as much as I liked the others, I'm not sure I could go to them with this.

"Aria knows about your childhood right?"

"All of it, she might even know more than I do."

"Then I can say you are fully justified to not see her, to ignore her. She should have known better, then even if it was an in the moment thing, it doesn't excuse today. Aria fucked up royally."

I raised my head so I could look into her eyes clearly, and Bari sighed before looking at me again.

"Based on what I know you have no reason to see her again, but you want to. You are still debating it in your head, and while Aria may have screwed up, it wasn't malicious intent on her part. She was out of line and handled it horribly, but she did try to protect you. Those are some reasons why you should see her, but it comes down to what you desire, and you miss your relationship with Aria. I don't know if it will ever be the same, but if Aria is willing to make an effort, maybe you can try."

Bari's words resonated with me, they were the truth, the one I had been ignoring. What happened hurt, but it only hurt so much because of what I had hoped it to be. Was it wrong to hope still? I didn't know, but I'd already made my decision.

It was the next day and I'd asked to meet Aria again, she responded almost instantly, and I was now walking towards her 'office', for the first time in a long, long while. I was in my armour as well, for a reason. I wanted to make a statement, and I do think I'm making one.

It was the first time Fury had been seen in the main club in months and as you can imagine there was a lot of staring. Still, it wasn't important as I'd made it to Aria's office. I jerked my head back once the guards saw me. They didn't resist and left with only a nod, courtesy of Vassen I imagine. I walked in without knocking, but she was expecting me. Her eyes were instantly on me, but she waited until I shut the door to say anything.

"Jack -" I held up my hand to stop her.

"It's Fury. I'm not ready for Jack." My voice was altered by the voice changer, deeper, robotic. Aria winced at my statement, but she didn't reject them so I walked over to her and sat on one end of the couch, as far from her as I could be.

"… Fury then. What did you want to discuss?"

"A few things. Firstly, I'm an enforcer and you aren't changing that." Aria inhaled forcibly through her nose, but she nodded jerkily after. "Good. Second, I won't become your bodyguard." Aria's face closed off, but her eyes showed her disappointment.

"I won't, but Fury will."

"You will?" Aria's eyes widened in surprise, and her lips curled up ever so slightly.

"Fury will. Last, I … want you to continue teaching me."

Aria looked taken aback, but she nodded without comment.

"Is that all you wanted to talk about …?" Aria asked after a pause. I felt my hands shake at her question, but I resisted the urge to move them.

"It is, for now. I'm not … ready, for more." Aria closed her eyes, saddened, but nodded her acceptance. The silence was awkward, but I wasn't willing to break it. I hadn't known what to speak about, so I defaulted to what I was comfortable with the moment I saw her. It wouldn't be the same as before, there wouldn't be the same closeness we once held, but it was a start. With time, maybe things can change.

"Do you have anything you want me to look into or deal with?" I asked Aria after a time, trying to resume the routine I remembered from so long ago. Aria didn't say anything for a minute, just staring at me with a conflicted look on her face. Finally, she sighed and grabbed a data pad next to her and opened a file, sending it to me.

"What do you know about someone called Archangel?"