Leonard sat on the ground, disbelief and shock coursing through his body. It's as if that one singular word paralyzed him. He hadn't heard that voice in such a long time. Tears started to well in his eyes as he sat as still as a statue on the cool and squishy earth. "Dad?" The voice came again. Leonard slowly stood to his feet. The scuffle that had broken out in front of the living area had come to a complete stand still, and everyone was staring past him. Naomi and the other Divers were staring now, waiting for what came next. The older woman that had lead them into the compound was also looking, her expression not changing. Her Fencer bodyguards were not looking, instead, their helmets were locked onto Leonard. The very air was silent, the only sound being the slight breeze rustling the massive leaves above. Leonard turned around.
There stood before him was a Fencer. This Fencer had a small frame, and the typical heavy, bulky, and Squarish armor was instead roundish, streamlined, and curvy. The exo armor wrapped around the slender figure over a black, form fitting bodysuit, and had the same dark blue accents that Leonard's armor had. The soldier reached up and removed her helmet. Beautiful black dreadlocks fell from the confines of the helmet, falling down into a ponytail. The woman had flawless dark skin and strong, athletic features. Leonard stared at his own daughter's beautifully silver white eyes in utter disbelief. "Lisa?" The word came out barely a whisper.
Lisa sprinted towards her father practically tackling the man to the ground. The pair embraced for a long moment, sobbing into each others shoulders. Wordlessly, Leonard separated from his daughter, hands still on her shoulders. He stared into her teary white eyes searching for the words. In that moment he saw her eyes flit upwards and past him. He turned around to see the older woman gesturing towards the house again. Without looking back he asked, "Lisa what is this place? What's going-" Lisa interrupted him, "Dad it's okay. Settle in and I will come and see you later." Leaonard swore he heard a hint of fear in her voice. He turned back towards her, staring into her eyes again, searching. She gave the slightest of nods. He took a long moment, then stood and nodded at Naomi and the Wing Divers. He walked past the ragged Fencers, still staring at him, with the divers close behind. "Hey dad!" Lisa's voice sounded again. He turned around. "I think you dropped this." She said with a small smile on her face. She held out the bright purple flower that Sarah had put behind his ear. Leonard felt his face warm slightly. Tasha let out a short and soft chuckle. "Keep it." Leonard said softly and with a warm smile. Lisa brought it in close to her chest, a smile on her face, and a tear streaking down her cheek. She turned and walked away, glancing back one more time.
Leonard turned back to see Sarah and Naomi with wide grins on their faces looking back at him. Tasha's gaze seemed to be following Lisa as she walked away. He returned the smile and nudged Tasha as he continued towards the house the woman was gesturing towards. She slightly recoiled. "What?" She asked with a slight crack in her voice. He walked past the gesturing woman, smile fading from his face. He gave her a sideways glance as he passed. She showed no emotion. Leonard and the Divers funneled through the front door of the house, only to have the door slammed behind them.
A glance out the front window showed two of the Fencers standing guard right outside. "I don't understand." Leonard turned from the window to face the voice. It was Sarah. She wore a worried expression. "Are we prisoners? Did we do something wrong?" She continued. "This could be a top secret location. I've heard the EDF has secret installations all over the world." Naomi chimed in. Tasha scoffed from across the room. "Yeah like we need to be keeping secrets these days." She growled. The three Divers looked at Leonard. "What do you think?" Sarah asked. Leonard crossed his arms and furrowed his brow. "Lis- My daughter, said she would come by later once we're all settled. Maybe she can shed some light." He said with a tinge of hope. "Speaking of…" Sarah started to say, her voice suddenly full of cheer. She shed her plasma core then hopped over the plain couch in the room, laying on her stomach and kicking her legs in the air, "…You have a daughter?" She finished. Leonard smiled and started stripping his own armor, down to the bodysuit underneath. Once finished he took a seat in an old recliner. "Yes. Yes I do." He said, still grinning. Tasha and Naomi had both stripped their plasma cores and found their own seats, listening to Leonard. "Her name is Lisa and she is… was my everything." His grin faded. "Was?" Tasha asked. Leonard sat in silence for a moment, then spoke, "When the invasion started, Her mother and I were part of the very first Fencer team deployed against the aliens. The operation was an overwhelming success. She and I were a well oiled machine. Success after success." He sat back deeper into his seat, sighed, and continued, "Lisa looked up to her mother more than anybody in the world. She joined the EDF when she was of age and trained to be a Fencer just like her. Even when the recruiters and higher ups tried to get her to be a Wing Diver. She stayed the course, wanting to be just like her mom. She was still in training when…" Leonard's voice trailed off, and he closed his eyes trying to block the flow of tears he felt coming. The memory was painful. "I… I couldn't…" He looked up and opened his eyes, glancing around the room. The Divers all had sad looks on their faces. He tried his damndest to continue, choking up a bit. "You all remember the first time humans encountered an Erginus? Jenny and I were part of the operation to take it down. We had no idea of its power and its abilities. Jenny and I had taken to the frontlines, to try and distract it, to give the others a chance to escape. All I remember is seeing the monster's fins, claws, and eyes start to flash and glow brilliantly. Something told me it was about to attack. I grabbed her shoulder and we both made for an alleyway." The tears flowed freely. "She fell just before we made it. I turned to help her the moment the beast fired off its attack. I almost made it to her but…" Leonard brought a hand to his forehead. "She raised her shield and used the repulsor to fling me back into the alleyway. The plasma the monster fired from its mouth washed over the street a moment later. After that, the bastard just left." He stared at the ceiling. "There was… nothing left of her." Leonard looked back down, tears in his eyes, and saw Naomi crying. Sarah was trying to comfort her, and Tasha stared blankly with a stone cold look on her face. "I'm sorry." She said. Leonard, surprised by the sentiment, nodded and wiped the tears streaming down his cheeks. He continued, "Basically Lisa blamed… or still blames me for her death. She threw herself into the EDF. Last I heard she was being shipped off to an undisclosed location. Guess that's here."
The four of them sat in silence for a moment, collecting themselves. Tasha spoke up, "I know im not the best at this heart to heart stuff but… after what I saw with your daughter today, I think she is happy to see you." Once again Leonard was caught off guard by Tasha's sincerity. He nodded at her, "Thank you. I… hope so." She nodded back.
Sarah had laid back down on the couch and seemed to be fighting fatigue. A quick look around revealed that everyone probably needed a bit of rest. Leonard realized his own muscles and body were exhausted. It had been a hellish past few days, and he wasn't even sure he remembered when he slept last. "We all need to get some sleep." His voice boomed in the small space. "I'll stay out here in the front room, keep an eye on things." Sarah was already asleep on the couch, Tasha made her way to one of the rooms near the back of the space. Naomi walked over to Leonard and put a hand on his shoulder. "I uh… I lost my sister in the fight with the flagship." Leonard looked up and into Naomi's bright green eyes. She wiped the wetness away and continued, "She shot my plasma core and fired me out of the way of falling debris." She looked deep into Leonard's eyes. "I'm here for you. I'm here for you because of her. You can be there for your daughter now because of Jenny." She removed her hand and strode to one of the other doors leading to another room, stopped, and faced Leonard once more, "You're a good man Leonard. I can see that. Your daughter will see it too." With that, she disappeared into the room, the door closing behind her.
With the room now empty save Sarah sleeping on the couch, Leonard let the tears flow. He missed his family more than anything. Seeing his daughter again made him immeasurably happy. He had convinced himself he would never feel this way again. The happiness was accompanied by painful thoughts and memories. He sobbed into his hands, wanting to turn back time. He had the chance to fix things with his daughter now. Naomi was right. Lost in his own mind, Leonard slowly drifted to sleep, not even realizing it.
A loud knock on the front door ripped Leonard from his slumber. He shot out of the old recliner he was in and made his way to the door carefully. It was dark now. How long had he been asleep? Sarah stirred on the couch and sat up, rubbing her eyes. Naomi and Tasha both made their ways out of the rooms, also with tired looks. Leonard cracked the door open slightly and peered through the opening. He let out a short sigh of relief when he saw it was Lisa. He opened the door wider. She still had her dreadlocks in a ponytail, but was now out of her armor. She was wearing a gray t-shirt just short enough to show a small bit of her stomach, and form fitting blue jeans. Leonard gave her a warm smile, and she smiled back. He stepped out of the way and Lisa stepped in. She was carrying a large plastic bag. "I brought you all some clothes to change into. Hope I got all of the right sizes." She said as she entered and set the bag down. Sarah was wide awake now and sprung towards the bag. "Oh thank god!" She said excitedly. She practically dove into the bag of clothing. Tasha let out a chuckle and Naomi was smiling. Lisa's eyes flitted to Tasha at the chuckle, and she smiled a bit wider. "Well come on in and make yourself at… well home I guess." Leonard said with a sigh. He walked back and took a seat in the recliner he was sleeping in. Sarah was still rummaging through the bag of clothing, pulling out and discarding what she didn't want. She then stood with a pile of very colorful clothing and made her way into one of the side rooms. Naomi sat on the couch and Lisa sat next to her in the middle. Tasha took a seat next to her on the other end. Lisa sat back into the couch and drew a long deep breath. "There is so much I need to say to you dad." She looked at him with sad eyes. "But we can't get into that now." She looked from him to Naomi, then to Tasha. "This place…" She looked down and then back at Leonard. "You don't belong here."