Geryuganshoop groaned as his body hit the bed. His tentacles slithered onto his new bedsheets as he dug his face into his pillow, too exhausted to bring a tentacle to his face. Despite the injuries healing rather nicely, it could not have fathomed the monotony that he had to undergo the past week.

Due to Asriel's rampages, the ship required a massive overhaul when it came to it's repairs. Many walls were shattered, only remembered by the melted fragments they left on the ground. Dozens were killed, and many more were still dying in medical rooms as Geryuganshoop awaited his short time for rest. Every single day has been excessive work to get everything back into function. Workers needed to be assigned to new tasks, some collateral damage must be assessed more properly than initially expected, and dozens of computer screens must be managed simultaneously.

Unfortunately a lot of the work could have been dealt a lot faster if not for Groribas and Morphis. One of them was dead, and the other played dead. Based on Asriel's powers and Boros' account, it's assumed that Groribas was a sparring partner for her. He was a stepping stone for the sake of getting at Boros. Without Groribas, some physical labor either took a while, or required Geryuganshoop or Boros to step in for him, be pause Melzegard was often busy from other parts of the ship.

Then there was Morphis. For the past week he was slumped over in his chair, unable to do much work. His fingers seemingly dragged itself to the next key on the keyboard, slowed down by the weight of a guilt that no one in the room seemed to understand. During that week Geryuganshoop would try to lighten the mood, and it seemed to work somewhat. The issue has certainly diminished a bit, with his efficiency improving day by day, but while his brain improved, his heart certainly hadn't.

All of this work has taken a toll Geryuganshoop. The workload has made his time with Boros nonexistent, making him feel as if his life were some cubicle. He'd type away, unable to see the world around him except for someone occasionally passing by. His eyes sagged, his neck ached with each turn of his head, and his heart that once worked overload in the heat of a sparring match now worked quietly in the now hollow chambers of his soul. It distracted him from the main question that had yet to be answered- Why did Asriel turn to dust?

Geryuganshoop tossed and turned in his bed, waiting for some answer for his mind to explain everything. Did she run out of energy? If so, why turn into dust? At the time Boros had no answer; maybe she assumed that he would come up with something. No- he couldn't, not when the workload already took up so much. Now, in this moment, he just wanted to sleep.

A notification popped up on his tablet, creating a small sound in the room. Geryuganshoop groaned before groggily picking up the device. Was it another engine that required repairing? Perhaps another small explosion that resulted in something he had to fix? No.

Geryuganshoop, meet me outside of the ship.

Outside the ship

Boros sat down quietly at the Ship's entrance, looking at the night sky. This planet had an interesting night sky, with varying tints of blue and purple melting into each other. It was oddly peaceful, with enough stars to keep her staring.

Eventually Geryuganshoop stumbled out of the ship, his body dragging itself and resisting the idea of movement. Regardless he mustered up a small weary smile on his face, sitting down next to her.

Boros chuckled and offered him a cup of coffee. "I think you need this, I doubt either of us are in the mood to have me carry you to your room."

Geryuganshoop's eyes widened, and he hastily took the cup, "My apologies, but I need to just- feel awake" he mumbled. He downed the cup quickly, and paid the price by then coughing profusely.

She patted him on the back, a hint of concern starting to mix in with her face. "Careful, I don't want the Dominator of the Universe dying on me. It's been a week."

Geryuganshoop straightened his posture to the best of his ability and smiled at the gesture. "Yes, yes, it's been a week, but it feels like years have."

Boros smiled and sipped some tea, "Yeah, and I can say the same now that you're here. So, how bad was your week?"

He groaned, "Frustratingly boring, and I guess you agree?"

She nodded, "I was more bored than anything. Going from place to place and doing physical work is not something I'm a fan of- I'm a warrior, not a method of transporting materials."

Geryuganshoop chuckled, resulting in Boros to playfully roll her eye. "I understand," he said, "It's been a busy week, but despite the chaos I can't help but feel like it's been too...quiet ? It's hard to put into words"

"I know, you feel like you're in a dead and exhausted shell of yourself, but you have the urge to yell and crack that shell open."

Geryuganshoop nodded as his eyes widened, "Yes, that's it. I just need to do something, anything other than looking at a screen."

She nodded. They spent the next few seconds looking at the night sky, a comforting silence between them. After a while Boros leaned over in Geryuganshoop's direction and asked softly, "Do you mind us talking for a little longer? I don't want to waste you-"

Geryuganshoop shook his head quietly, ignoring the stiffness in his neck, "You're not wasting my time. Luckily my schedule is going back to normal now, so I can deal with sleeping a little late. Besides, you're worth staying up for. My neck on the other hand..."

Boros looked at him, her smiled fading a bit, "Your neck?"

He nodded, "Yes, my neck. I wouldn't be surprised if it has been permanently disfigured from the office work. I feel so stiff."

Boros looked at him, her eye showing a little more concern, "Can I help you with that?" She asked quietly.

He nodded, and she quickly readjusted his neck and with a few quick cracks, creating loud pops. Geryuganshoop's eyes widened, a sense of relief washing over him as days of stress melted away. He then readjusted his position, sitting much more naturally.

"Thank you, you can't believe how much that's done for me" he thanked.

Boros patted him on the back and lied down, "You're welcome. It's nice to have you here, do you just want to just stargaze for a bit? You don't have to worry about falling asleep, I won't mind carrying you to your room."

Another short chuckle came from Geryuganshoop, "Oh please, I can carry myself to my own room...hopefully."

He got down and settled himself next to Boros. The two of them looked at the sky, occasionally moving a little to find a comfortable position. They were in arms reach, quietly looking at the night sky. They got on the floor and looked up at the sky. It was quiet, other than the sounds of their breathing and the calming wind. Each star shined quietly, painting the night sky with something beautiful. To be honest, he was never that fond of stars. To him they were just a tool for space navigation, but now, they make him feel...peaceful.

"So Boros, would you like to spar in two days?" Geryuganshoop asked quietly.

Boros looked at his direction, a smirk quickly forming, "Ah, so eager to be wrapped by more bandages?"

Geryuganshoop swatted at her shoulder, causing her to stifle incoming laughter. "They've already healed. I'll make sure you eat those words."

Boros playfully scoffed, "Ah yes, eating words, while you're on the floor eating dirt after a strong combo." She stifled more laughter until she felt him swat at her again, causing her to burst out in laughter. Geryuganshoop sighed and lazily rolled to his side. Boros then settled and looked at his exhausted expression. "Sorry- I'm just,..excited to just have you around," she whispered.

Geryuganshoop weakly smiled and gestured for her to look at the stars in a moment of silence. She agreed, simply looking at the beautiful array of stars in the sky.

After a few minutes Boros looked over to him, a lingering thought resurfacing in her mind, "Geryuganshoop, sorry to interrupt but do you have any explanation for Asriel's...powers?" She asked quietly.

Geryuganshoop opened his right eye, before shaking his head. "Asriel is too odd of a case for me. Perhaps her physiology could explain the growth in power via some ability to store kinetic energy, but I've never seen anyone crumble into dust. No chemical reaction could make that possible."

Boros' eye widened, as if she remembered something, "Wait, I've had something like this before."

Geryuganshoop sat up, "You have?"

Boros nodded, old memories flooding in at a fast rate. "Yes," she reaffirmed, "It was an old battle, back when I was much still a novice, and before I met you."

Geryuganshoop's eyes widened, his body now straightening out as he grew curious. "Go on," he urged.

"It was on my home planet, and I was fighting an extremely determined warrior. I forgot his name, but he was the fiercest guy on the planet. He used to brag about destroying a meteor that could've brought our species to extinction, dodging light based attacks, etc. He'd have a lot of moments where he would soak up the glory, a bit annoying really. At the time I was younger, looking to pick fights and be the strongest. I remembered my spar with him near the arena where he would train at. Like the rest of my home-world, it was a hellhole, but we fought. At first he had the advantage, but I was able to grow in power and beat him, or so I thought. I left him in a crater where I thought that he was healing for an awfully long time. The crater was too big to go looking for him, so after a while I assumed that he ran away or something. When I started to walk away, a hand the color of lava bursted through my chest. Somehow he transformed into weird lava creature, starting to spit and vomit out load from his mouth. He was a lot stronger too, punching a few holes into my stomach. Another battle ensued, in which I adapted to his strength and was able to overwhelm him with my energy attacks. He was practically a corpse clinging to life with his regeneration when I was done with him. Though he was near dead, what was really damaged was his ego. He started muttering a few things, stuff I really didn't care about. I simply wanted to wait for him to finish, give him some advice, and help him up. When I gave him a helping hand, he accepted it before dying. Not through heart failure or a lack of energy, but by-"

"Turning into dust," Geryuganshoop whispered. Boros nodded.

"Yes. That was ages ago- I rarely think about it, but it was a good fight, not as interesting as being stuck in that atomic explosion of yours, but impressive."

Geryuganshoop chuckled. "That is interesting. Do you have records of this warrior? Anywhere I can read or search about him? I can cross examine them with Asriel's known information."

Boros smirked. "Where do you think I got the ship?"

Geryuganshoop's eyes narrowed before rolling his eyes with a subtle smirk. "Alright. Maybe there is a correlation between the two that I can track down, perhaps a cult? They are both stories of people randomly gained some massive spike in power, and losing it all after a sudden change of character. I can solve th-"

A large yawn came from Geryuganshoop's mouth. He sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Actually, we can split it. You'll do the research on Asriel, I'll do the research on that warrior. I don't want you to overwork into learning how to read another language," she suggested, causing Geryuganshoop to sigh in relief.

"Oh thank goodness," he muttered to himself, before clearing his throat, "Boros you're a lifesaver. Okay then, so we can talk about it after we spar, in 2 days." Geryuganshoop proceeded to get up, and being courteous, he lifted her onto her feet with his telekinesis.

"Sounds like a plan. Thank you, by the way...for being here. Again- I'm sorry if you end up waking up exhausted from a lack of sleep. It's been a while since we've spoken."

Geryuganshoop shook his head, "No. It hasn't been a while. It's been a week, and it's been too long. It's nice seeing you again, really."

Boros smiled, and started walking to the ship, with Geryuganshoop by her side.

"Anyway I'm the master psychic, so some research won't be hard for me," she playfully boasted.

"Keep boasting and The Dominator of the Universe will destroy this planet," he retorted.

They walked into the ship, now more at peace with their state rather than exhausted or irritated.

"We should play that board game sometime."

"Yeah."