The silver door to the bedchamber slid open and when Kyungsoo’s eyes landed upon Jongin, they widened in shock. An equally surprised Jongin stared back at him, his body frozen, the roll of gauze fell to the ground and unraveled as it rolled to the wall where is stopped.

Kyungsoo silently stepped inside and grabbed Jongin’s arm, looking closely at the immaculate layer of skin free from any burns or cuts.

“You...you’re healed?” Kyungsoo said in an awe induced state as he continued to examine his arm. Jongin slowly pulled his arm from his grip. “You need to start talking to me, Jongin...You, you could heal...” Kyungsoo’s face curved in confusion.

The nomad sat on the bed, his line of sight straight ahead toward the wall. “I didn’t always heal...My body began to change and things started to become...different.”

“How so?” Kyungsoo sat on the bed beside him, his gaze never leaving Jongin’s profile.

“For one, I could heal through anything, cuts, burns, every time I got injured it was healed within hours. I still feel pain but it only last a moment.” Jongin swallowed, “I no longer feel temperatures. My body no longer reacts to the cold or heat, and I also have an infinite amount of stamina. I don’t sweat at all because I never exert enough energy to sweat. I can literally keep running for days and never tire.”

“Jongin, this—”

“I’ve tried it once—running. I tried to run until my legs grew tired, numb from the pain. I searched for it, hoped for it but...it never came. My body doesn’t respond to poisons either...So essentially, I can’t be killed.”

“But what about your scar?” Kyungsoo reached up, his palm gently cascading down the deep wound across Jongin’s forehead.

“I was ten...but my body didn’t undergo changes until a little over 8 months ago, when I turned 25.”

“A little over 8 months ago?” Kyungsoo’s palm flowed through Jongin’s hair. “And then your body changed?”

Jongin closed his eyes, reveling in the soft touch. “Yes.”

“Do you know why it happened? Why your body suddenly changed?” Jongin soundlessly nodded though made no effort to comply with an answer. Instead, Kyungsoo allowed him space to speak about it another day, he didn’t want to jeopardize the progress they made thus far. He slowly pulled his hand down. “Are you afraid?” He asked softly.

Jongin swallowed thick and tentatively. He gradually opened his eyes and turned from the wall to look inside of Kyungsoo’s gentle and comforting green irises. “Yes.” He whispered as he leaned in towards Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo wrapped his arm around Jongin and used his palm to rub up and down the nomad’s back. “Don’t worry, I’m here now...I’ll always be here for you.” Kyungsoo inhaled deeply before exhaling with his shoulders. “I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”

“Thank you.” Jongin sighed. “I’m surprised you didn’t find out when that scorpion attacked.”

“I had my suspicions.” Kyungsoo chortled. “But, I wanted to wait until you decided to let me in.”

“I already had, the moment I allowed you to stay.”

“Now it is my turn to question whether I have a place here, especially with the narobots gone.”

Jongin pulled back from the hug and gave him a small grin. “Yes, Kyungsoo. You do.”

Satsum and a parliament of Simradian officers stood in the clearing of a forest on the outskirts of Ceres waiting for the space shuttle to reach the ground.

Junmyeon brought the ship down slowly, the subtle rock from the land swayed the passengers who all chuckled at the less-than-perfect landing Junmyeon promised them moments ago. They all filed out of the shuttle, welcomed by delighted grins, enthusiastic handshakes and numerous people raining praises on their team and what they had accomplished.

Jongdae was swept into the crowd, immediately telling his side of the journey and being so dramatic in his storytelling that even Junmyeon had to roll his eyes. Kyungsoo being an alien to this planet for the duration of the war felt his sense of obligation leave him. He no longer had a civilization to help which left him with no goal aside from regaining his memories.

As the horde of people moved into the city to continue the celebratory welcome, Kyungsoo lingered behind in the forest, resting on a fallen trunk and looking up at the night sky. He missed this place, he’d admit. But the only reason it was a place like home was because of Jongin.

What Baekhyun said dwelled in his thoughts the entire ride back to Simradia, and he couldn’t understand how he allowed such strong emotions to manifest. He reckoned with Jongin’s effortless charms, he was bound to fall in love, but he never expected it to be so soon.

It didn’t help that his memories were gone and with no way to retrieve them, he was left to live a new life. However, now that he had friends and Jongin, maybe it wasn’t too bad—maybe he didn’t need his memories after all.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Kyungsoo saw a glowing lime green light. He raised from the trunk and followed its subtle glow until his feet came to a stop before the entrance of the space shuttle. The door opened and Kyungsoo absentmindedly stepped inside as if something called for him to enter.

There, a man stood with his back facing Kyungsoo. He was tall with black tufts of short hair and large broad shoulders. When the man turned around, he immediately bowed before raising his head with a grin.

“Kyungsoo. It’s a pleasure to see you again.”

The confusion that fell over Kyungsoo made his words disappear along with any rational thought. His heart rate tripled, anxiety settling in and causing his finger to twitch.

“Kyungsoo?”

“I-I’m sorry.” He cleared his throat. “...It’s just been so long…” He played along, trying his hardest to remember this person but drawing blank after blank. The man’s eyes were green, similar to his own and he appeared friendly, no movements to attack or anything of that nature.

“I have your memories for you but did you reprogram Mina? She doesn’t answer when I call for her. I had to manually awaken her. I know Mina is your soul companion, but you shouldn’t erase her memories too. Then who would guide you through the galaxies?”

“I didn’t reprogram her. She...she did it automatically herself after I crashed.”

“You crashed?!” The guy’s eyes widened as he hurried to Kyungsoo and circled around his frame. “Are you alright?”

Kyungsoo twitched again, jerking his head and watching the man closely. “I’m fine.” He said quickly.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to touch you, I know you don’t like any form of body contact. I’ve only been your friend forever.”

“Why are you here?”

“Your signal, you called me two weeks ago using titch. I observed that you’ve gained the trust of the people on this planet and you also located Scire. That’s spectacular.”

Kyungsoo his lips, his fingers trembling. “Ah, that. Yes, I found Scire.”

Suddenly, a steady beeping noise sounded inside the ship which made Kyungsoo flinch. “Oh. I have to go. This clone body of mine doesn’t last long. Me and Luhan are working on a way to prolong clone life. If you’d like access to your memories, ask Mina. I have downloaded them to her drive along with your current standing and profile. I will see you very soon Kyungsoo. Sehun out.” The man waved before his body disintegrated into a pile of gray ashes which now lied at Kyungsoo’s feet.

Kyungsoo stood motionless for what felt like weeks trying to make sense of what had happened, but every thought filtered between disbelief and a dream. The thought of someone coming to find him was thrilling months ago, but now he loathed the very fact. Was he truly ready to embark down a path which may change his present or future?

He wanted to know—no, he needed to.

He slowly walked towards the control panel and brushed his hands over the buttons. “Mina?”

“Welcome Kyungsoo. It has been a while.”

“Yes, it has.” Kyungsoo’s entire body shuddered, nerves ricocheting inside his stomach nearly making him want to hurl. He gradually sat in the chair and placed his palms over the panel. “Mina…”

“Yes, Kyungsoo?”

“I would like to know who I am…”

“Yes, Kyungsoo. Please apply the memory equipment.”

Kyungsoo searched the ship for this equipment. It was underneath the control panel stashed inside a metal casing. He removed two small cupped oval shaped electrodes.

“Please place the electrodes on either temple.” Kyungsoo attached them to the the sides of his head, one on each of his temples. “Where would you like me to start?”

“A general profile is fine.”

“Yes, Kyungsoo.”

A sharp and intense white noise assaulted his head, his eyes screwed shut as hectic hands reached out to grab the panel. His conscious plummeted down a white void into a realm of cloud-like substances. His body spasmed, tumbling from the chair and onto the ground, tremors torturing his limbs as Mina’s voice slipped inside his consciousness.

“I am detecting an elevated heart rate. Please calm down.”

“I-I’m...I’m calm.” He said, relaxing his muscles and stopping himself from convulsing. He slowed his breathing as he lied on the floor. “Begin…”

Name: Do Kyungsoo
Age: 25
Eye Color: Green
Hair Color: Black
Native Planet: Avitius
Native Language: Akala
Occupation: Avitian Soldier

Kyungsoo inhaled roughly, coughing and choking on the air gathered in his lungs. His eyes screwed tighter as the string of information continued flowing into his memories.

Specialty: Intergalactic Espionage
Skills: Deception, investigation, interrogation, adaptability, networking, ranged combat, melee combat, stealth, surveillance, athleticism, psychology.
Languages: 120 Known, 3 of ancient origin.

Tears flooded inside his eyes, welling up in oceans. His lips trembled, holding back the screams that crawled up his throat as the sequence resumed.

Fleet: Avalon
Position: Admiral of Fleet
Second in Command: Oh Sehun
Avitian Standing: 1st place ranked out of 1,050 fleets. Top of the scoreboard with a record of 150 weapons farmed.

Kyungsoo’s eyes flew open, tears overflowing down the sides of his face. His body spasmed uncontrollably and his palm repeatedly pounded against the floor of the ship as his face curved in dense anguish. His legs tormented, kicking and shaking, his body moving on its own accord. He couldn’t withstand the information. The pain was too great.

Planets Destroyed: 150
Total Number of Inhabitants: 1 trillion

He yanked the memory device from his head as he rolled over to his side, wailing and screaming for his past was absolute devastation. The world shattered under his feet and he plummeted into an abyss of darkness, falling to the very depths of Hell. The haunting images wouldn’t stop; the names and faces of those he came to know only to destroy them when he had accomplished his goal; the bonds broken when his missions took place; the trillion lives forfeited at the command of the highest ranked individual in the Avalon fleet—himself.

He pulled in his knees, balling in on himself. Overwhelmed by the intense emotions, he cried until his eyes were swollen, until his head pounded and throbbed, until his sinuses ached and his chest constricted causing hyperventilation. He wailed to the numerous people he’d murdered, the innocents lives stolen at the whim of his call, an evil and vicious weapons farmer who stole from all. He was the monster at which they quivered in fear and loathed. He was the one who caused chaos and destruction, playing the Devil’s role. He was an Avitian soldier. And he absolutely hated himself for it.

Life was meaningless.

He no longer had the desire to live. He no longer thought he deserved it.

But, there was Jongin.

He stood on weakened legs and almost collapsed to the floor again, but caught the control panel to keep himself on his feet. He left the shuttle walking aimlessly on slurred feet to find Jongin.

He didn’t have to travel far because the nomad stepped out from the dark forest into the clearing with his cannon raised and aimed towards Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo’s steps halted. “W-what are you d-doing?” His saddened eyes grew deeper in remorse, tear stained cheeks falling into a confused frown.

“Don’t act like you don’t know.” Jongin was furious, a deep scowl settled over his features.

“I-I don’t.” He lifted his foot to make a step towards the nomad.

Jongin repositioned his cannon. “Don’t move! Or I’ll blast your head off right this instant!”

“Tell me what’s going on, why are you treating me like this?” Kyungsoo was perplexed and taken aback by the sudden change in his behavior.

Jongin scoffed. “I followed you back to the shuttle. You didn’t think anyone was watching when you met up with your fellow officer. I heard him! He said that you gained the trust of everyone here and found Scire.”

“Jongin, listen to me…” His voice shook with fear; fear that Jongin would never allow him back into his life, right when he felt as if he belonged beside him until death forced them apart.

“I will not.” Jongin stepped closer. “I’ve been fooled this entire time, thinking you lost your memories. You tricked me! I can’t believe my own ignorance.”

“J-jongin—”

“And you even helped this planet win the war. How far will you go to deceive?” Another step.

Kyungsoo’s blood began to boil. “Jongi—”

“I trusted you! I let you in. I admired you. I respected you. I…” Jongin hesitated, “...I even loved you.” His eyes welled with tears but he blinked them away. “But you are an Avitian soldier tasked to find Scire.” One last step and he was at point-blank range from Kyungsoo. “Any last words?”

The fathomless pool of hurt morphed into searing anger, dangerous and merciless. “If you’re going to shoot. Then do it!” He threatened but Jongin stood motionless aiming his cannon and nothing more. “Do it!” Jongin’s fingers flinched and his grip tightened on the weapon. “Shoot me!” He yelled before storming up to Jongin, who hesitated. He aimed the barrel against his chest, directly above his heart. “Right here.” Kyungsoo peered into his eyes. “There’s no way you could miss.”

Jongin’s hard gaze never faltered, never blinked, never moved. They stared for a moment deciphering the emotions held deep within—the memories of swarming warmth within emerald irises and the depths of profound longing shimmering in golden ones.

Slowly, Jongin lowered his weapon, a tear rolling down his cheek. “You were the first person who didn’t judge me or think ill of me. The first person who truly accepted me as I am...Why?” Another tear rolled down Jongin’s cheek. “Why did you deceive me?"

“Jongin, listen to me please…” Kyungsoo’s eyes softened over. “I didn’t lie...I didn’t know I was a soldier until today. My mission was to find and secure the most sought out weapon of destruction. I raced to get here against the people of Phos. But I was attacked and my ship was horribly damaged so I found refuge on another planet waiting for the repairs. When I crashed onto Simradia, the memory of my mission was still there, but when I stumbled down a slope and hit my head, it erased them.”

“You didn’t know?”

“I didn’t know…” Kyungsoo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I knew that I was here for a reason, but I didn’t understand, I thought I was sent here to help. I thought I was the key to saving this planet but that is not true. The man I spoke with will be bringing a fleet here to destroy this planet. Jongin, do you understand? We need to find Scire, I believe it is here and it can destroy them.”

“You’d turn on your own people?”

“I no longer have a place there...My father, the head of the armed forces, was the one who pushed me to join. I didn’t like it, but if I were to do it, I had to be the very best. My father wouldn’t allow for anything less. I fell into a routine: retrieve the mission, carry out the mission and then I’d wipe my memories in order to cope with the pain. It was the only way.”

“When will the fleet arrive?”

“From the past, it usually took one day.”

“We have time to devise a plan against them.”

“Yes, but we need to find the weapon in order…” Kyungsoo trailed off, realization dawning upon him. “You know where the weapon is, don’t you?”

“You’ve been searching for what has been beside you the entire time.” Kyungsoo took an involuntary step back. “I will not be captured, used for personal gain or targeted.” Kyungsoo’s mouth fell open, stunned to silence as questions upon questions raced inside his mind. “I don’t know how they found me or how they were able to detect my whereabouts, but now that they know I am here, I can’t sit idly by anymore.”

“Y-you…y-you—” Kyungsoo couldn’t voice it, he could hardly believe it.

“Yes, Kyungsoo. Your mission was to capture me. I am Scire.”

“It all started centuries ago...The Orans were a race of highly immune individuals. They weren’t subjected to many of the diseases which plagued the world and remained alive because of it.”

Kyungsoo sat down in the chair of his shuttle, still non believing of Jongin’s words. He listened attentively, attempting to make sense of it all.

“You see, my people didn’t need help surviving, but the Simradians…A dangerous disease swept over Simradia, and in order to save his people, the scientist Mok, began to experiment on my people. We lost countless lives during his invasive experimenting. My people were hunted down and captured treated as subjects and slaves all to better understand their genetic makeup so that he could imitate it. He wasn’t successful, however, he was successful in finding something…”

“What was that?” Kyungsoo looked up at Jongin who leaned against the inside of the ship with his arms crossed.

“A genome which passed down would eventually deliver a person who had the abilities to heal, whose life wouldn’t be jeopardized by anything, immune to everything and could never die...He awaited for that person to be born within my race.” Jongin pushed off from the wall. “He intended to use that person to engineer a bioweapon which could wipe an entire planet clean. Using my blood, he could create an invisible, tasteless, odorless agent. With those three things alone, you could understand how deadly the weapon could be.”

“You are the key to this, the key to making the bioweapon…” Kyungsoo sat staring blankly into space. “Could he use you now?”

“Well no, he’s dead. He didn’t finish his research because my father, my biological father, held an uprising and Mok’s life was lost. But, as you can see, my people ultimately lost in the end. My mother ran deep into the forest and when she gave birth to me, she passed.”

“H-how do you know all of this, Jongin?” Kyungsoo asked.

“A letter...that same letter you found the day you entered my tent.”

Kyungsoo stumbled upon a piece of parchment hidden underneath stacks of mechanical scraps. It stood out amongst the metals, its stained white surface a glaring contrast against the gray.

“I remember…Who gave you that letter?”

“The man who raised me, he found my mother and me, and took me in after realizing what happened. He gave me that letter and said if anything were to happen to him, then I should read it...He was Simradian,” Jongin tilted his head down, “So you see, I was conflicted for a very long time. Here, this Simradian saved me from the same race which hunted me down. I...I chose to live righteously and not allow the past to fuel any hatred, because hatred only begets hatred, but there are times when I don’t want to be so forgiving.”

Kyungsoo rose from his seat. “What are you saying? The Avitians that are coming here are monsters. They must be stopped and I need your help to stop them.”

“This isn’t easy Kyungsoo! I am exposing myself, and when they find out what I am—who I am—the entire universe will come for me. Don’t you understand? You asking me to help is signing me up for a lifetime on the run.”

“I understand.” Kyungsoo collapsed back into the chair. “I understand but there isn’t anything else we can do. I want...No, I need them to pay for what they’ve done, for all the agony they’ve caused. The Avitians need to be stopped. Jongin I know what they’re capable of and I know that stopping them can save many lives, but the decision lies with you.”

Silence loomed over the room as both men sat with heavy decisions delving into the crevices of their minds. Jongin paced, his gait slow and steady over the floor back and forth in deep thought.

“Alright.” Jongin said. Kyungsoo snapped his head up. “I know that you want to stop them, no matter what and I can’t think of another solution. Either we use me, or we fend with an army which I doubt is well equipped to handle the fleet.”

“I have a plan.” Kyungsoo said.

“Let me hear it.”

“Mina.”

“Yes, Kyungsoo?”

“Give me direct transmission with the Second in Command of the Avalon fleet, Oh Sehun, please.”

“One moment.”

Kyungsoo rested in his chair, waiting to intercept the video transmission. His heart thumped loudly in his ears drowning out the sounds of his foot tapping underneath. He took deep breaths to calm himself, and when the video popped onto the front widow of his ship, his eyes went sharp.

“Ah, my son. Another weapon, another planet.”

Kyungsoo nearly jumped, but refrained from doing so. “Ah, yes, father. I have found Scire.” He gulped. He didn’t anticipate his father to be along the fleet. The unexpected turn of events caused his facade to waver slightly.

“That is wonderful. This is the greatest weapon yet, it will keep you at the top of the boards.”

“That, I am aware. It’s what I look forward to.”

Kyungseok laughed hard, his obnoxious guffaws sickening. “That’s right. You only cared for remaining in first place. Is there something you want to say? We are only 3 parsecs away.”

“Yes I do. When I crashed landed on Planet 29-08, Mina was reprogrammed and data was lost. I’m calling to confirm the number of shuttles within the fleet and the number of crew members in each shuttle.”

“The numbers haven’t changed Kyungsoo, your fleet is the smallest but the most formidable. A mere 8 shuttles, with 3 crew members in each.”

“I need the shuttles to land at the coordinates I will send.”

“Is there something wrong?”

“The weapon is unstable and I cannot capture it alone. So I am requesting for assistance.”

His father rubbed at his chin in thought. “We can send two shuttles down, an entire fleet is impossible without alerting the inhabitants of our arrival.”

“The location I’ve chosen is remote, no civilizations for miles. No one will know of your entry in the atmosphere. I need everyone.”

“If this weapon is as formidable as you claim it to be, then we will assist you. However Kyungsoo, we can not stay for very long.”

“I understand father.”

The transmission vaporized with a whoosh and Kyungsoo promptly leaned over, trying to catch his breath.

“How did it go?” Jongin asked as Kyungsoo exited the space shuttle.

“They will be here in 18 hours.”