Tenn @tennofficial - Tumblr Blog

Tenn hasn't walked these halls in a long time, not since she'd first been taken in by Dwight after crashing on Lazuroth. After helping Addie and Leera save Dwight and Johnny from Jimmy, she'd been allowed a little more freedom to move about the giant space station.

But after betraying- no, not betraying, how does betrayal even work if you never were loyal to begin with? After helping Vargas execute his retrieval of the Experiment 777, she'd been thrown in a cell and stayed there ever since.

Of course, that didn't stop the Dwicky boy from visiting her and bringing her Psychology books every day or so. And as much as she hated her situation, hated being left with the enemy, she couldn't hate the child. She still doesn't.

In fact, she hates none of the people she'd hurt. She was only doing what her Father wanted her to do. What she was made to do.

Her mind is preoccupied thinking about the same thing that'd ran through it the very first time that she'd been told about her summons to return to the System with Vargas. Does he mean to keep her? Is this just a visit on her side as well? Why does he need - no - want her?

She looks up at Dwight when he considers her, and she can't help but remember the look of fury and desolation in his eyes when they'd last interacted. She even notices that the metal arm is back on. And his hair is streaked with gray.

He doesn't seem angry now, doesn't seem anything but collected. And not in a calculating way. Almost an accepting way.

She nods, taking the red star ring from Dwight's hand before chucking it forward.

"Home," Tenn says wistfully and the red star ring shakes in midair before enlarging and opening a portal, a sprawling building comes into view on the other side.

[ previously ]

@tennofficial

"Iris says similar, but I'm pretty sure he's just trying to hide how much he likes me." He's not fazed at all by Tenn's poor reception of him. He's heard so much worse in his lifetime.

Chance wonders for a moment if he should talk more about the universe he comes from. There, all Invaders are considered "defective," and the Invader program itself was established as a way to weed them out. He knows thats not the case in every universe, but he knows either way he hates the word defective.

He snorts at Tenn's answer. At least he knows where to find plenty of those. "You know, in another life, you and Dwight would probably get along rather well." There isnt bitterness in his tone, but it does sound hollow. Maybe even sad.

His eyes fall to the floor. What does he really want? Should he answer? If he's honest there's a lot of things he really wants. He wants to finally be able to marry Addie. He wants Egan to never have to face anybof the horrors he's had to. He wants to just talk to Dwight and let him have it for everything he's been put through, yet there's a part of him that also wishes he could just bury the hatchet.

However, all of that pales in conparison to what he truly, deeply wants in this moment.

"Johnny...helped me realize what I'm truly capable of. What I'm worth. That I can be better if I just try. When I first realized that they were in love with Dwight, all i wanted to do was scream. How could they love someone who's caused so much hurt? Had Dwight changed so much? It made me question everything...

"However...there was one thing i couldn't deny. I had never seen my Parent happier than when he was with Dwight. And I also couldn't deny that Dwight loved them, too, and that he would do anything and everything for them.

"All I want is for my Parent to be happy and safe and loved. He found it with someone who had made my life hell, but even i couldnt deny what i was seeing. I knew Dwight would take care of him. He would do whatever it took to keep Parent happy and safe.

"That's what i want. I want them to be happy and safe. I want to see him smile and laugh. I want him to know that it's okay to let it all go and just live."

Because if he can do that...maybe Chance can too...

Chance clears his throat and shrugs. "But like you said, its not going to happen, right? Im never going to see him again." The thought feels like a knife in his heart. Does he believe that? He doesn't want to believe it. He can't let Johnny go without trying. He pushes himself up from the tree stump and brushes himself off.

"Unfortunately, I've got to get going. Probably got a fuck ton of emails to go through. Next time im on Serpens I'll be sure to grab what psychology books i can find. Im sure the old man won't even notice." He gives Tenn a little salute. "See ya."

"In another life, I probably wouldn't even have the displeasure of meeting any of you," Tenn comments. In another life, I would be Tallest. In another life, I would be an Operator. `I could think of a thousand better things to do with my different, other lives than spend any second of it with you people."

She waits for Chance to answer, sure that his response would center around the Experiment. That he would preface it with a bunch of nostalgia and further try to convince Tenn about how beneficial the Experiment has been to their lives.

Even though she asked the question, she still feels the strongest urge to roll her eyes into the back of her skull and keep them there. This group couldn't be more dramatic, and probably this spawn in particular takes the cake right next to the Experiment.

Out of some minute amount of respect, Tenn keeps her mouth shut and her eyes trained on Chance as he speaks. She thinks for a moment about what he's saying and looks internally at how she personally feels about the Experiment. Past the education that Father fed her. The Experiment as she knew him- it.

After a few seconds she sighs and leans back into the wall behind her. "I never said that I didn't want the Experiment to be happy or safe. Yes, you won't ever be able to see it again, but at least you know that it's... alive. Father doesn't wish to exterminate the Experiment, you know. It's much too valuable for that. I can't say for sure that I know what Father intends to do with it."

Tenn looks unsure.

[Previously]

@addie-bear

The Irken's jaw and brow relaxes in confusion as Adalet admits that she really doesn't know what it's like to be her. She had expected the girl to continue to lament about her life, how she wished she was so far removed as to not care about anything so that she wouldn't ever feel hurt. And boy would she have gotten an earful for such an accusation. But. But she doesn't.

Tenn barely catches Adalet's last words before they begin to descend into Lazuroth's chilly atmosphere. She doesn't want to believe in the hybrid's words. Doesn't want to believe that she can be anything other than a pawn in someone else's game.

But... but what would it feel like to choose? She's never had a voice in anything. She always spoke only when spoken to. She earned all the highest marks and completed every task all for seemingly nothing. The Meekrob were taken over by Vargas, not by the Empire. The Empire left her behind. Vargas didn't take her back even after she'd done everything he'd asked. Vargas left her behind.

She hates that this girl has gotten to her. Hates that now she's even entertaining the thought of helping. Not only is it a lost cause, it's also treason. But what is treason if you no longer serve a ruler?

On the other hand, wouldn't this just be another rehash of her past two lives, serving someone for a "better purpose" only for her to do all the work and put in all her effort and care and then be discarded as soon as she has given them what they want, or until they find someone who does?

Her mind continues to race up until the door to her cell slams shut. After a few failed attempts to reconnect with her PAK, she reaches into the pocket of her tunic and produces the red star ring. It's cracked in some areas and completely devoid of its once vibrant ruby color. Powerless. Just like her.

Chance doesnt need much explanation for what Addie asks from him. It's probably unhealthy that he never does. But it's more than that. Whether Tenn will believe him or not, he knows what she's going through. And he knows it wont be easy to get her to help.

But maybe...he can help her help them, so to speak...

He comes over to the front of the cell, trying to decide how to begin as he watches the Irken. It lighting here makes his hair look even more blue, bringing out his eyes. He buries his hands in his pockets and clears his throat.

"Fancy meeting you here," he says, a snarky grin on his face.

Tenn looks up from the ring and glares. Of course. The Spawn. Vargas had told her all about the accidental creation that is a mixture of both Dwight and the Experiment's genes.

The Doctor wouldn't stop obsessing over the boy. They were always speculating about the Spawn's abilities, whether his superhuman strength was dormant because of the human DNA.

But Vargas never had much interest in the boy despite his origins. He wants to see what the Experiment produces by different means. He'd engineered its body to be able to procreate whenever the time would be right.

Tenn tries not to think too much about what her Father has told her about 777 at this point. It just makes her queasy.

With Chance's opening phrase, Tenn huffs and rolls her eyes.

"I'd rather hear the Justin Bieber."

Chance isn't fazed by the glare. With a wave of his hand he produces a tree stump to sit on. He's dealt with much worse than mean looks.

He snorts at Tenn's phrase. "You say that now, but after three hours you'd be wanting to bang you head against a wall." He runs a hand through his hair. "Trust me. I would know."

Tenn bristles at his attempt to be funny. He can banter with her all he’d like but it will get him nowhere.

“What are you trying to do here? Are you this person who is supposed to understand me and make me want to be good? Join your little brigade and help you rescue your pretend father?”

She scoffs. “Seems the Experiment passed on its manipulation gene.”

Chance raises a brow at Tenn for a long time before bursting into laughter. "Man, you really do sound like me. I forget what a jackass i was. Careful or she'll end up swoocing you, too." He winks playfully.

"Hate to break it to you, but manipulation isn't my thing. Sort of try to steer clear from it since the old man likes it so much." He pauses, watching as a bell of of blue hyacinth curls around his hand. "Liked it." It's still so hard. He doesn't think it will ever be easy.

"But let me guess. You idolized the guy, did everything right, finished every mission to the letter and yet it wasnt enough. It was never going to be enough. Sound familiar?"

"And he's not my pretend father. Even before we knew i have their DNA, Johnny has always been my father. My parent. He means everything to me." The hyacinth morphs into black hellebore.

Tenn makes a face. “The very notion that I’d find myself in any sort of relationship with that Hybrid is insulting at best and disgusting at worst.”

“That’s right: you’re the amalgamation of both Doctor Dwight and the Experiment’s genes. One way or another you were meant to be groomed into the perfect little death machine weren’t you?”

Tenn flicks her fingers in a dismissive manner, but her antennae twitch toward Chance. “If I say ‘yes’ will you go into a whole speech about how good you are now despite having the blood and influence of two homicidal maniacs?”

She rolls her eyes at the comments about the Experiment. “Oh please, you’ve hardly known the Experiment for less than half a decade. You humans and your near-hyperbolic attachments and feelings.”

"You just haven't noticed her fantastic legs," Chance replies lightheartedly. He won't be baited into getting angry. It's perhaps the one thing he's better at than either of his...fathers. He isnt sure if he should thank Leera and her genetics or the influence of Midge.

He'll admit, some of those words cut deep. Because it's true. "So were you, if I'm assuming correctly. The Empire wants you all to be perfect soldiers, perfect killers. You made one mistake and you were abandoned by them. You thought you found somewhere to finally belong, except he also abandoned you, and you didnt even do anything wrong."

Chance snorts, his mouth twitching. "You're having a lot of fun using my genetics to decide what i am. If that's so, let's use that logic on you. Irkens are just mindless killing machines, right? They don't build bonds of any kind, are only loyal to their Tallest and their Empire. Strange that you attached yourself to someone so much so that you called them 'Father.'" He shrugs. He, of course, doesn't believe a word of what he's said.

"But to answer your question, I don't think I'll ever see myself as good," Chance admits. "But that's not because of my genetics. Its because of the things I've done. You probably didnt notice, but there's a scar under one of Addie's eyes. I...I did that to her. I kidnapped her on Dwight's orders. And i hurt her." He pauses, allowing a moment to collect himself. "That's also the first time i met Johnny. They came to rescue her and, boy, did they kick my ass." He rubs the back of his head.

"For some reason, Addie saw something good in me. Parent, too, eventually. As nice as it is, it doesn't change what I've done. Things i would do just about anything to take back.

"And it doesn't help those thoughts that i was never good enough for him to change. I was never good enough for him to try."

He laughs at Tenn's words. "Technically I'm not a hundred percent human, but I get your point. Can't help that im a Pisces."

“Lalalala I can’t hear you, human,” Tenn screams, placing her hands over her antennae despite the race of pain through her skull. She’d bash her brains in to not hear this engaged slut of a man carry on about his fiancé that just threw her in jail.

Tenn just stares at him as he continues to showcase his knowledge of Irkens and the Irken culture. She’s not really all that impressed. Everybody knows about the Empire. Going by what Adalet had said in the ship, not only did she expect this, but she’d thought she’d have a good comeback by now. She just continues to turn the red star ring in her hands.

Her eyes flash with fury, looking at Chance like she might kill him. “You. Know. Nothing. About me. About Father. About the Experiment. About my loyalties or me. You have no idea what I’ve been through and why I do the things I do.”

“I could give less of a seventh of a shit about your daddy issues and your imposter syndrome. What do you hope to gain from this conversation? Why are you telling me these things?”

"Well that's just immature," Chance says, grinning like the little shit he is. He knows he's pushing it, but what can Tenn even do? Her PAK is deactivated and there's bars between them. Not to mention he's more than capable of holding his own in a fight. "But I'll stop. I dont actually want to bother you."

He whistles, seeing the first sign of anger coming from Tenn. "Touched a nerve there, huh? It's not fun when someone shoves the truth in your face, is it? Sorry to break it to you, but though i may not know your full story, i know what it's like to want nothing more than someone's affection. To practically dedicate your life to making that person proud of you, only for them to cast you off because you don't actually fit into their grand scheme."

"I know you don't care. I didn't care when people tried to talk to me either."

He remembers something, deciding that instead of completely answering Tenn's question, he'll ask a seemingly unrelated one. "Do you like to read?"

“Oh, sure you don’t. You’re just giving a good natured welfare visit aren’t you,” Tenn snarks. Like she honestly believes that Chance is here to do anything other than convince her to come to their side or draw up some truce to help them get the Experiment and “revenge” on her Father.

“Affection. Pah. What an assumption and a poor projection at that. See that’s where you’re wrong, Spawn. Irkens have no need for something so useless.” Her anger suddenly dies out like a snuffed flame. She scratches against the red star ring. “Pride… well. That’s more like it.”

“You’re right. I don’t care. Reading- that I do care about. Knowledge in general. It makes you more powerful.”

She spins the broken relic around her finger like a spinner. “I asked you once, I’ll ask again: why are you telling me these things? Why are you here?”

"You wound me. Have i truly made such an awful impression?" He clutches his chest dramatically, as if Tenn had truly hurt his feelings.

"Really? So you weren't shouting after your father and begging him to take you with him? Huh. I guess Addie misheard. Forgive me if the Irkens I've met are nothing more than tsunderes who like to pretend they don't care about feeling loved and safe when really it's the one thing they want more than anything in the universe." He waves his hand. "But that's not you. My sincerest apologies for my mistake."

He keeps going as if Tenn wasn't using a biting tone with him. "Anything in particular you like to read and learn about?" He asks.

Chance contemplates his answer for a while. He knows lying will get him nowhere with Tenn, and telling the truth will get him nowhere even faster. He mulls over his options and his words before finally speaking again. "Does it matter? We both know you're not going to give me what i really want. I told Addie such when i decided to come in here."

"Your so-called charm translates to little more than annoyance to me, boy," Tenn shakes her head. Really, is it too much to ask to just be deactivated or shot out of a canon into deep space? Did she really have to deal with this for the rest of her miserable existence?

Her face flushes dark green and her pink eyes narrow to slits at hearing her own moment of weakness put into such pitiable words. She had not begged him. ...Did she? It had all gone by so fast... No wonder he mocked her. She was acting like a little smeet. Worse- a defective, sniveling smeet.

"You should be sorry. I'm not like your friends or lovers or whatever you find yourself surrounded by. I am not defective."

"... Human psychology books. Only because of how archaic some of the practices had been and how malleable the typical human mind can be."

She is quiet for a moment after Chance gives her his answer. Then she thinks of another question. One that she didn't expect herself to ask. "And what do you really want, Spawn?"

[Previously]

@addie-bear

The Irken's jaw and brow relaxes in confusion as Adalet admits that she really doesn't know what it's like to be her. She had expected the girl to continue to lament about her life, how she wished she was so far removed as to not care about anything so that she wouldn't ever feel hurt. And boy would she have gotten an earful for such an accusation. But. But she doesn't.

Tenn barely catches Adalet's last words before they begin to descend into Lazuroth's chilly atmosphere. She doesn't want to believe in the hybrid's words. Doesn't want to believe that she can be anything other than a pawn in someone else's game.

But... but what would it feel like to choose? She's never had a voice in anything. She always spoke only when spoken to. She earned all the highest marks and completed every task all for seemingly nothing. The Meekrob were taken over by Vargas, not by the Empire. The Empire left her behind. Vargas didn't take her back even after she'd done everything he'd asked. Vargas left her behind.

She hates that this girl has gotten to her. Hates that now she's even entertaining the thought of helping. Not only is it a lost cause, it's also treason. But what is treason if you no longer serve a ruler?

On the other hand, wouldn't this just be another rehash of her past two lives, serving someone for a "better purpose" only for her to do all the work and put in all her effort and care and then be discarded as soon as she has given them what they want, or until they find someone who does?

Her mind continues to race up until the door to her cell slams shut. After a few failed attempts to reconnect with her PAK, she reaches into the pocket of her tunic and produces the red star ring. It's cracked in some areas and completely devoid of its once vibrant ruby color. Powerless. Just like her.

Chance doesnt need much explanation for what Addie asks from him. It's probably unhealthy that he never does. But it's more than that. Whether Tenn will believe him or not, he knows what she's going through. And he knows it wont be easy to get her to help.

But maybe...he can help her help them, so to speak...

He comes over to the front of the cell, trying to decide how to begin as he watches the Irken. It lighting here makes his hair look even more blue, bringing out his eyes. He buries his hands in his pockets and clears his throat.

"Fancy meeting you here," he says, a snarky grin on his face.

Tenn looks up from the ring and glares. Of course. The Spawn. Vargas had told her all about the accidental creation that is a mixture of both Dwight and the Experiment's genes.

The Doctor wouldn't stop obsessing over the boy. They were always speculating about the Spawn's abilities, whether his superhuman strength was dormant because of the human DNA.

But Vargas never had much interest in the boy despite his origins. He wants to see what the Experiment produces by different means. He'd engineered its body to be able to procreate whenever the time would be right.

Tenn tries not to think too much about what her Father has told her about 777 at this point. It just makes her queasy.

With Chance's opening phrase, Tenn huffs and rolls her eyes.

"I'd rather hear the Justin Bieber."

Chance isn't fazed by the glare. With a wave of his hand he produces a tree stump to sit on. He's dealt with much worse than mean looks.

He snorts at Tenn's phrase. "You say that now, but after three hours you'd be wanting to bang you head against a wall." He runs a hand through his hair. "Trust me. I would know."

Tenn bristles at his attempt to be funny. He can banter with her all he’d like but it will get him nowhere.

“What are you trying to do here? Are you this person who is supposed to understand me and make me want to be good? Join your little brigade and help you rescue your pretend father?”

She scoffs. “Seems the Experiment passed on its manipulation gene.”

Chance raises a brow at Tenn for a long time before bursting into laughter. "Man, you really do sound like me. I forget what a jackass i was. Careful or she'll end up swoocing you, too." He winks playfully.

"Hate to break it to you, but manipulation isn't my thing. Sort of try to steer clear from it since the old man likes it so much." He pauses, watching as a bell of of blue hyacinth curls around his hand. "Liked it." It's still so hard. He doesn't think it will ever be easy.

"But let me guess. You idolized the guy, did everything right, finished every mission to the letter and yet it wasnt enough. It was never going to be enough. Sound familiar?"

"And he's not my pretend father. Even before we knew i have their DNA, Johnny has always been my father. My parent. He means everything to me." The hyacinth morphs into black hellebore.

Tenn makes a face. “The very notion that I’d find myself in any sort of relationship with that Hybrid is insulting at best and disgusting at worst.”

“That’s right: you’re the amalgamation of both Doctor Dwight and the Experiment’s genes. One way or another you were meant to be groomed into the perfect little death machine weren’t you?”

Tenn flicks her fingers in a dismissive manner, but her antennae twitch toward Chance. “If I say ‘yes’ will you go into a whole speech about how good you are now despite having the blood and influence of two homicidal maniacs?”

She rolls her eyes at the comments about the Experiment. “Oh please, you’ve hardly known the Experiment for less than half a decade. You humans and your near-hyperbolic attachments and feelings.”

"You just haven't noticed her fantastic legs," Chance replies lightheartedly. He won't be baited into getting angry. It's perhaps the one thing he's better at than either of his...fathers. He isnt sure if he should thank Leera and her genetics or the influence of Midge.

He'll admit, some of those words cut deep. Because it's true. "So were you, if I'm assuming correctly. The Empire wants you all to be perfect soldiers, perfect killers. You made one mistake and you were abandoned by them. You thought you found somewhere to finally belong, except he also abandoned you, and you didnt even do anything wrong."

Chance snorts, his mouth twitching. "You're having a lot of fun using my genetics to decide what i am. If that's so, let's use that logic on you. Irkens are just mindless killing machines, right? They don't build bonds of any kind, are only loyal to their Tallest and their Empire. Strange that you attached yourself to someone so much so that you called them 'Father.'" He shrugs. He, of course, doesn't believe a word of what he's said.

"But to answer your question, I don't think I'll ever see myself as good," Chance admits. "But that's not because of my genetics. Its because of the things I've done. You probably didnt notice, but there's a scar under one of Addie's eyes. I...I did that to her. I kidnapped her on Dwight's orders. And i hurt her." He pauses, allowing a moment to collect himself. "That's also the first time i met Johnny. They came to rescue her and, boy, did they kick my ass." He rubs the back of his head.

"For some reason, Addie saw something good in me. Parent, too, eventually. As nice as it is, it doesn't change what I've done. Things i would do just about anything to take back.

"And it doesn't help those thoughts that i was never good enough for him to change. I was never good enough for him to try."

He laughs at Tenn's words. "Technically I'm not a hundred percent human, but I get your point. Can't help that im a Pisces."

“Lalalala I can’t hear you, human,” Tenn screams, placing her hands over her antennae despite the race of pain through her skull. She’d bash her brains in to not hear this engaged slut of a man carry on about his fiancé that just threw her in jail.

Tenn just stares at him as he continues to showcase his knowledge of Irkens and the Irken culture. She’s not really all that impressed. Everybody knows about the Empire. Going by what Adalet had said in the ship, not only did she expect this, but she’d thought she’d have a good comeback by now. She just continues to turn the red star ring in her hands.

Her eyes flash with fury, looking at Chance like she might kill him. “You. Know. Nothing. About me. About Father. About the Experiment. About my loyalties or me. You have no idea what I’ve been through and why I do the things I do.”

“I could give less of a seventh of a shit about your daddy issues and your imposter syndrome. What do you hope to gain from this conversation? Why are you telling me these things?”

"Well that's just immature," Chance says, grinning like the little shit he is. He knows he's pushing it, but what can Tenn even do? Her PAK is deactivated and there's bars between them. Not to mention he's more than capable of holding his own in a fight. "But I'll stop. I dont actually want to bother you."

He whistles, seeing the first sign of anger coming from Tenn. "Touched a nerve there, huh? It's not fun when someone shoves the truth in your face, is it? Sorry to break it to you, but though i may not know your full story, i know what it's like to want nothing more than someone's affection. To practically dedicate your life to making that person proud of you, only for them to cast you off because you don't actually fit into their grand scheme."

"I know you don't care. I didn't care when people tried to talk to me either."

He remembers something, deciding that instead of completely answering Tenn's question, he'll ask a seemingly unrelated one. "Do you like to read?"

“Oh, sure you don’t. You’re just giving a good natured welfare visit aren’t you,” Tenn snarks. Like she honestly believes that Chance is here to do anything other than convince her to come to their side or draw up some truce to help them get the Experiment and “revenge” on her Father.

“Affection. Pah. What an assumption and a poor projection at that. See that’s where you’re wrong, Spawn. Irkens have no need for something so useless.” Her anger suddenly dies out like a snuffed flame. She scratches against the red star ring. “Pride… well. That’s more like it.”

“You’re right. I don’t care. Reading- that I do care about. Knowledge in general. It makes you more powerful.”

She spins the broken relic around her finger like a spinner. “I asked you once, I’ll ask again: why are you telling me these things? Why are you here?”

[Previously]

@addie-bear

The Irken's jaw and brow relaxes in confusion as Adalet admits that she really doesn't know what it's like to be her. She had expected the girl to continue to lament about her life, how she wished she was so far removed as to not care about anything so that she wouldn't ever feel hurt. And boy would she have gotten an earful for such an accusation. But. But she doesn't.

Tenn barely catches Adalet's last words before they begin to descend into Lazuroth's chilly atmosphere. She doesn't want to believe in the hybrid's words. Doesn't want to believe that she can be anything other than a pawn in someone else's game.

But... but what would it feel like to choose? She's never had a voice in anything. She always spoke only when spoken to. She earned all the highest marks and completed every task all for seemingly nothing. The Meekrob were taken over by Vargas, not by the Empire. The Empire left her behind. Vargas didn't take her back even after she'd done everything he'd asked. Vargas left her behind.

She hates that this girl has gotten to her. Hates that now she's even entertaining the thought of helping. Not only is it a lost cause, it's also treason. But what is treason if you no longer serve a ruler?

On the other hand, wouldn't this just be another rehash of her past two lives, serving someone for a "better purpose" only for her to do all the work and put in all her effort and care and then be discarded as soon as she has given them what they want, or until they find someone who does?

Her mind continues to race up until the door to her cell slams shut. After a few failed attempts to reconnect with her PAK, she reaches into the pocket of her tunic and produces the red star ring. It's cracked in some areas and completely devoid of its once vibrant ruby color. Powerless. Just like her.

Chance doesnt need much explanation for what Addie asks from him. It's probably unhealthy that he never does. But it's more than that. Whether Tenn will believe him or not, he knows what she's going through. And he knows it wont be easy to get her to help.

But maybe...he can help her help them, so to speak...

He comes over to the front of the cell, trying to decide how to begin as he watches the Irken. It lighting here makes his hair look even more blue, bringing out his eyes. He buries his hands in his pockets and clears his throat.

"Fancy meeting you here," he says, a snarky grin on his face.

Tenn looks up from the ring and glares. Of course. The Spawn. Vargas had told her all about the accidental creation that is a mixture of both Dwight and the Experiment's genes.

The Doctor wouldn't stop obsessing over the boy. They were always speculating about the Spawn's abilities, whether his superhuman strength was dormant because of the human DNA.

But Vargas never had much interest in the boy despite his origins. He wants to see what the Experiment produces by different means. He'd engineered its body to be able to procreate whenever the time would be right.

Tenn tries not to think too much about what her Father has told her about 777 at this point. It just makes her queasy.

With Chance's opening phrase, Tenn huffs and rolls her eyes.

"I'd rather hear the Justin Bieber."

Chance isn't fazed by the glare. With a wave of his hand he produces a tree stump to sit on. He's dealt with much worse than mean looks.

He snorts at Tenn's phrase. "You say that now, but after three hours you'd be wanting to bang you head against a wall." He runs a hand through his hair. "Trust me. I would know."

Tenn bristles at his attempt to be funny. He can banter with her all he’d like but it will get him nowhere.

“What are you trying to do here? Are you this person who is supposed to understand me and make me want to be good? Join your little brigade and help you rescue your pretend father?”

She scoffs. “Seems the Experiment passed on its manipulation gene.”

Chance raises a brow at Tenn for a long time before bursting into laughter. "Man, you really do sound like me. I forget what a jackass i was. Careful or she'll end up swoocing you, too." He winks playfully.

"Hate to break it to you, but manipulation isn't my thing. Sort of try to steer clear from it since the old man likes it so much." He pauses, watching as a bell of of blue hyacinth curls around his hand. "Liked it." It's still so hard. He doesn't think it will ever be easy.

"But let me guess. You idolized the guy, did everything right, finished every mission to the letter and yet it wasnt enough. It was never going to be enough. Sound familiar?"

"And he's not my pretend father. Even before we knew i have their DNA, Johnny has always been my father. My parent. He means everything to me." The hyacinth morphs into black hellebore.

Tenn makes a face. “The very notion that I’d find myself in any sort of relationship with that Hybrid is insulting at best and disgusting at worst.”

“That’s right: you’re the amalgamation of both Doctor Dwight and the Experiment’s genes. One way or another you were meant to be groomed into the perfect little death machine weren’t you?”

Tenn flicks her fingers in a dismissive manner, but her antennae twitch toward Chance. “If I say ‘yes’ will you go into a whole speech about how good you are now despite having the blood and influence of two homicidal maniacs?”

She rolls her eyes at the comments about the Experiment. “Oh please, you’ve hardly known the Experiment for less than half a decade. You humans and your near-hyperbolic attachments and feelings.”

"You just haven't noticed her fantastic legs," Chance replies lightheartedly. He won't be baited into getting angry. It's perhaps the one thing he's better at than either of his...fathers. He isnt sure if he should thank Leera and her genetics or the influence of Midge.

He'll admit, some of those words cut deep. Because it's true. "So were you, if I'm assuming correctly. The Empire wants you all to be perfect soldiers, perfect killers. You made one mistake and you were abandoned by them. You thought you found somewhere to finally belong, except he also abandoned you, and you didnt even do anything wrong."

Chance snorts, his mouth twitching. "You're having a lot of fun using my genetics to decide what i am. If that's so, let's use that logic on you. Irkens are just mindless killing machines, right? They don't build bonds of any kind, are only loyal to their Tallest and their Empire. Strange that you attached yourself to someone so much so that you called them 'Father.'" He shrugs. He, of course, doesn't believe a word of what he's said.

"But to answer your question, I don't think I'll ever see myself as good," Chance admits. "But that's not because of my genetics. Its because of the things I've done. You probably didnt notice, but there's a scar under one of Addie's eyes. I...I did that to her. I kidnapped her on Dwight's orders. And i hurt her." He pauses, allowing a moment to collect himself. "That's also the first time i met Johnny. They came to rescue her and, boy, did they kick my ass." He rubs the back of his head.

"For some reason, Addie saw something good in me. Parent, too, eventually. As nice as it is, it doesn't change what I've done. Things i would do just about anything to take back.

"And it doesn't help those thoughts that i was never good enough for him to change. I was never good enough for him to try."

He laughs at Tenn's words. "Technically I'm not a hundred percent human, but I get your point. Can't help that im a Pisces."

“Lalalala I can’t hear you, human,” Tenn screams, placing her hands over her antennae despite the race of pain through her skull. She’d bash her brains in to not hear this engaged slut of a man carry on about his fiancé that just threw her in jail.

Tenn just stares at him as he continues to showcase his knowledge of Irkens and the Irken culture. She’s not really all that impressed. Everybody knows about the Empire. Going by what Adalet had said in the ship, not only did she expect this, but she’d thought she’d have a good comeback by now. She just continues to turn the red star ring in her hands.

Her eyes flash with fury, looking at Chance like she might kill him. “You. Know. Nothing. About me. About Father. About the Experiment. About my loyalties or me. You have no idea what I’ve been through and why I do the things I do.”

“I could give less of a seventh of a shit about your daddy issues and your imposter syndrome. What do you hope to gain from this conversation? Why are you telling me these things?”

[Previously]

@addie-bear

The Irken's jaw and brow relaxes in confusion as Adalet admits that she really doesn't know what it's like to be her. She had expected the girl to continue to lament about her life, how she wished she was so far removed as to not care about anything so that she wouldn't ever feel hurt. And boy would she have gotten an earful for such an accusation. But. But she doesn't.

Tenn barely catches Adalet's last words before they begin to descend into Lazuroth's chilly atmosphere. She doesn't want to believe in the hybrid's words. Doesn't want to believe that she can be anything other than a pawn in someone else's game.

But... but what would it feel like to choose? She's never had a voice in anything. She always spoke only when spoken to. She earned all the highest marks and completed every task all for seemingly nothing. The Meekrob were taken over by Vargas, not by the Empire. The Empire left her behind. Vargas didn't take her back even after she'd done everything he'd asked. Vargas left her behind.

She hates that this girl has gotten to her. Hates that now she's even entertaining the thought of helping. Not only is it a lost cause, it's also treason. But what is treason if you no longer serve a ruler?

On the other hand, wouldn't this just be another rehash of her past two lives, serving someone for a "better purpose" only for her to do all the work and put in all her effort and care and then be discarded as soon as she has given them what they want, or until they find someone who does?

Her mind continues to race up until the door to her cell slams shut. After a few failed attempts to reconnect with her PAK, she reaches into the pocket of her tunic and produces the red star ring. It's cracked in some areas and completely devoid of its once vibrant ruby color. Powerless. Just like her.

Chance doesnt need much explanation for what Addie asks from him. It's probably unhealthy that he never does. But it's more than that. Whether Tenn will believe him or not, he knows what she's going through. And he knows it wont be easy to get her to help.

But maybe...he can help her help them, so to speak...

He comes over to the front of the cell, trying to decide how to begin as he watches the Irken. It lighting here makes his hair look even more blue, bringing out his eyes. He buries his hands in his pockets and clears his throat.

"Fancy meeting you here," he says, a snarky grin on his face.

Tenn looks up from the ring and glares. Of course. The Spawn. Vargas had told her all about the accidental creation that is a mixture of both Dwight and the Experiment's genes.

The Doctor wouldn't stop obsessing over the boy. They were always speculating about the Spawn's abilities, whether his superhuman strength was dormant because of the human DNA.

But Vargas never had much interest in the boy despite his origins. He wants to see what the Experiment produces by different means. He'd engineered its body to be able to procreate whenever the time would be right.

Tenn tries not to think too much about what her Father has told her about 777 at this point. It just makes her queasy.

With Chance's opening phrase, Tenn huffs and rolls her eyes.

"I'd rather hear the Justin Bieber."

Chance isn't fazed by the glare. With a wave of his hand he produces a tree stump to sit on. He's dealt with much worse than mean looks.

He snorts at Tenn's phrase. "You say that now, but after three hours you'd be wanting to bang you head against a wall." He runs a hand through his hair. "Trust me. I would know."

Tenn bristles at his attempt to be funny. He can banter with her all he’d like but it will get him nowhere.

“What are you trying to do here? Are you this person who is supposed to understand me and make me want to be good? Join your little brigade and help you rescue your pretend father?”

She scoffs. “Seems the Experiment passed on its manipulation gene.”

Chance raises a brow at Tenn for a long time before bursting into laughter. "Man, you really do sound like me. I forget what a jackass i was. Careful or she'll end up swoocing you, too." He winks playfully.

"Hate to break it to you, but manipulation isn't my thing. Sort of try to steer clear from it since the old man likes it so much." He pauses, watching as a bell of of blue hyacinth curls around his hand. "Liked it." It's still so hard. He doesn't think it will ever be easy.

"But let me guess. You idolized the guy, did everything right, finished every mission to the letter and yet it wasnt enough. It was never going to be enough. Sound familiar?"

"And he's not my pretend father. Even before we knew i have their DNA, Johnny has always been my father. My parent. He means everything to me." The hyacinth morphs into black hellebore.

Tenn makes a face. “The very notion that I’d find myself in any sort of relationship with that Hybrid is insulting at best and disgusting at worst.”

“That’s right: you’re the amalgamation of both Doctor Dwight and the Experiment’s genes. One way or another you were meant to be groomed into the perfect little death machine weren’t you?”

Tenn flicks her fingers in a dismissive manner, but her antennae twitch toward Chance. “If I say ‘yes’ will you go into a whole speech about how good you are now despite having the blood and influence of two homicidal maniacs?”

She rolls her eyes at the comments about the Experiment. “Oh please, you’ve hardly known the Experiment for less than half a decade. You humans and your near-hyperbolic attachments and feelings.”

[Previously]

@addie-bear

The Irken's jaw and brow relaxes in confusion as Adalet admits that she really doesn't know what it's like to be her. She had expected the girl to continue to lament about her life, how she wished she was so far removed as to not care about anything so that she wouldn't ever feel hurt. And boy would she have gotten an earful for such an accusation. But. But she doesn't.

Tenn barely catches Adalet's last words before they begin to descend into Lazuroth's chilly atmosphere. She doesn't want to believe in the hybrid's words. Doesn't want to believe that she can be anything other than a pawn in someone else's game.

But... but what would it feel like to choose? She's never had a voice in anything. She always spoke only when spoken to. She earned all the highest marks and completed every task all for seemingly nothing. The Meekrob were taken over by Vargas, not by the Empire. The Empire left her behind. Vargas didn't take her back even after she'd done everything he'd asked. Vargas left her behind.

She hates that this girl has gotten to her. Hates that now she's even entertaining the thought of helping. Not only is it a lost cause, it's also treason. But what is treason if you no longer serve a ruler?

On the other hand, wouldn't this just be another rehash of her past two lives, serving someone for a "better purpose" only for her to do all the work and put in all her effort and care and then be discarded as soon as she has given them what they want, or until they find someone who does?

Her mind continues to race up until the door to her cell slams shut. After a few failed attempts to reconnect with her PAK, she reaches into the pocket of her tunic and produces the red star ring. It's cracked in some areas and completely devoid of its once vibrant ruby color. Powerless. Just like her.

Chance doesnt need much explanation for what Addie asks from him. It's probably unhealthy that he never does. But it's more than that. Whether Tenn will believe him or not, he knows what she's going through. And he knows it wont be easy to get her to help.

But maybe...he can help her help them, so to speak...

He comes over to the front of the cell, trying to decide how to begin as he watches the Irken. It lighting here makes his hair look even more blue, bringing out his eyes. He buries his hands in his pockets and clears his throat.

"Fancy meeting you here," he says, a snarky grin on his face.

Tenn looks up from the ring and glares. Of course. The Spawn. Vargas had told her all about the accidental creation that is a mixture of both Dwight and the Experiment's genes.

The Doctor wouldn't stop obsessing over the boy. They were always speculating about the Spawn's abilities, whether his superhuman strength was dormant because of the human DNA.

But Vargas never had much interest in the boy despite his origins. He wants to see what the Experiment produces by different means. He'd engineered its body to be able to procreate whenever the time would be right.

Tenn tries not to think too much about what her Father has told her about 777 at this point. It just makes her queasy.

With Chance's opening phrase, Tenn huffs and rolls her eyes.

"I'd rather hear the Justin Bieber."

Chance isn't fazed by the glare. With a wave of his hand he produces a tree stump to sit on. He's dealt with much worse than mean looks.

He snorts at Tenn's phrase. "You say that now, but after three hours you'd be wanting to bang you head against a wall." He runs a hand through his hair. "Trust me. I would know."

Tenn bristles at his attempt to be funny. He can banter with her all he’d like but it will get him nowhere.

“What are you trying to do here? Are you this person who is supposed to understand me and make me want to be good? Join your little brigade and help you rescue your pretend father?”

She scoffs. “Seems the Experiment passed on its manipulation gene.”

[Previously]

@addie-bear

The Irken's jaw and brow relaxes in confusion as Adalet admits that she really doesn't know what it's like to be her. She had expected the girl to continue to lament about her life, how she wished she was so far removed as to not care about anything so that she wouldn't ever feel hurt. And boy would she have gotten an earful for such an accusation. But. But she doesn't.

Tenn barely catches Adalet's last words before they begin to descend into Lazuroth's chilly atmosphere. She doesn't want to believe in the hybrid's words. Doesn't want to believe that she can be anything other than a pawn in someone else's game.

But... but what would it feel like to choose? She's never had a voice in anything. She always spoke only when spoken to. She earned all the highest marks and completed every task all for seemingly nothing. The Meekrob were taken over by Vargas, not by the Empire. The Empire left her behind. Vargas didn't take her back even after she'd done everything he'd asked. Vargas left her behind.

She hates that this girl has gotten to her. Hates that now she's even entertaining the thought of helping. Not only is it a lost cause, it's also treason. But what is treason if you no longer serve a ruler?

On the other hand, wouldn't this just be another rehash of her past two lives, serving someone for a "better purpose" only for her to do all the work and put in all her effort and care and then be discarded as soon as she has given them what they want, or until they find someone who does?

Her mind continues to race up until the door to her cell slams shut. After a few failed attempts to reconnect with her PAK, she reaches into the pocket of her tunic and produces the red star ring. It's cracked in some areas and completely devoid of its once vibrant ruby color. Powerless. Just like her.

Chance doesnt need much explanation for what Addie asks from him. It's probably unhealthy that he never does. But it's more than that. Whether Tenn will believe him or not, he knows what she's going through. And he knows it wont be easy to get her to help.

But maybe...he can help her help them, so to speak...

He comes over to the front of the cell, trying to decide how to begin as he watches the Irken. It lighting here makes his hair look even more blue, bringing out his eyes. He buries his hands in his pockets and clears his throat.

"Fancy meeting you here," he says, a snarky grin on his face.

Tenn looks up from the ring and glares. Of course. The Spawn. Vargas had told her all about the accidental creation that is a mixture of both Dwight and the Experiment's genes.

The Doctor wouldn't stop obsessing over the boy. They were always speculating about the Spawn's abilities, whether his superhuman strength was dormant because of the human DNA.

But Vargas never had much interest in the boy despite his origins. He wants to see what the Experiment produces by different means. He'd engineered its body to be able to procreate whenever the time would be right.

Tenn tries not to think too much about what her Father has told her about 777 at this point. It just makes her queasy.

With Chance's opening phrase, Tenn huffs and rolls her eyes.

"I'd rather hear the Justin Bieber."

[Previously]

@addie-bear

The Irken's jaw and brow relaxes in confusion as Adalet admits that she really doesn't know what it's like to be her. She had expected the girl to continue to lament about her life, how she wished she was so far removed as to not care about anything so that she wouldn't ever feel hurt. And boy would she have gotten an earful for such an accusation. But. But she doesn't.

Tenn barely catches Adalet's last words before they begin to descend into Lazuroth's chilly atmosphere. She doesn't want to believe in the hybrid's words. Doesn't want to believe that she can be anything other than a pawn in someone else's game.

But... but what would it feel like to choose? She's never had a voice in anything. She always spoke only when spoken to. She earned all the highest marks and completed every task all for seemingly nothing. The Meekrob were taken over by Vargas, not by the Empire. The Empire left her behind. Vargas didn't take her back even after she'd done everything he'd asked. Vargas left her behind.

She hates that this girl has gotten to her. Hates that now she's even entertaining the thought of helping. Not only is it a lost cause, it's also treason. But what is treason if you no longer serve a ruler?

On the other hand, wouldn't this just be another rehash of her past two lives, serving someone for a "better purpose" only for her to do all the work and put in all her effort and care and then be discarded as soon as she has given them what they want, or until they find someone who does?

Her mind continues to race up until the door to her cell slams shut. After a few failed attempts to reconnect with her PAK, she reaches into the pocket of her tunic and produces the red star ring. It's cracked in some areas and completely devoid of its once vibrant ruby color. Powerless. Just like her.

[ Previously ]

@tennofficial

Dwight glares lethally at Tenn, every word she says making his blood boil more and more. He was looking for someone to take his rage out on and now he has the perfect target.

After helping Adalet to her feet, he's about to make his way over to Tenn and beat the information out of her. However, he suddenly finds himself being handing his infant son. He meets Leera's gaze inquisitivly.

"Hold him, please," she says, he voice as sweet as poisoned honey. He knows that look in her eyes. There's a reason the woman was his body guard for so many years. He takes Egan without needing to be asked again.

As soon as Egan is out of Leera's arms, Leera gets to her feet. She looms over Tenn before she conjures a wall of fire with the wave of her hand. She moves to surround the Irken, leaving her in a ring of fire.

"I asked nicely the first time," Leera says venomously. "You should not mistake someone's kindness for weakness. Would you like to try again?"

Addie blinks. She never thought she would see Leera as particularly scary, but damn if her tone isnt make her tremble a little.

Tenn rolls her eyes. These people and their dramatics. She hardly blinks when Dwight glares at her with all of the coldness of seven winters. She doesn't feel like getting into a tussle with a soft flesh-bag of a human, but if it comes down to it, she'd rather fight than lay there and take it. She still has her PAK after all.

Even as the fire threatens to lick at her antennae and clothes, Tenn still feels nothing. Normally, she'd have some sense of self-preservation or moxy, but ever since Vargas left her all she's felt is... nothing. Just an emptiness.

Leera's voice raises above the crackling of the flames and Tenn's eyes raise to meet hers.

"I don't rescind a word I said. The Experiment is gone. Move on. I won't be swayed by your threats or your actions. Do what you will with me, but even if Father left me to rot here, I won't betray him. Be grateful that I convinced him to just knock you out and tie you up."

Shit. Shouldn't have said that.

The fact is that kindness is weakness.

Leera knows she has only herself to blame for others thinking she's all soft. But those people don't know the full extent of her crimes. She stood by Dwight at his worst. She may have been a softer and warmer alternative to her employer and now boyfriend, but even know she shows no mercy to protect those she loves.

In a flash she lunges forward, keeping the flames in place to ensure Tenn has no escape. Years of Irk being the enemy made her knowledgeable about where Irkens are weak, and she doesnt hesitate to grab this little bitch by her antennae.

"Then I'm afraid you are of no use to anyone then," Leera tells Tenn, her voice could almost be mistaken for sympathetic if not for the murderous edge in her tone. "I'll put you out of your misery, then."

Addie jumps up. "Wait. She's an accomplice in the kidnapping of a member of the Lazurothian royal family." She brushes herself off. "She should be taken prisoner."

"Adalet," Dwight asks. "Are you sure?"

"Tch. Have you met my mother? She's gonna tear her apart for helping that bastard." She pulls out a device and presses a button on it. A net jumps out and bounds Tenn completely, even incapacitating her PAK.

"Shouldn't you be tracking my uncle's location?" Addie asks Dwight.

The man rolls his eyes. "I am taking that as a suggestion, Admiral."

Addie grins. "Good." She walks over and grabs Tenn from Leera. She doesn't grab her antennae, but it does look like she's scruffing the Irken like a cat. "Former Invader Tenn, you are under arrest for the kidnapping Prince Johnny Denivar of Lazuroth." She begins to walk out with Tenn. "Be right back!"

Leera's words scathe her more than the scorch of the woman's flames or the pain racing through her skull and rendering her nearly paralyzed. They remind her why she is here on this God-forsaken ship and not back at Headquarters training with the other Operators and getting her regular updates to her PAK. She truly is of no use to anyone.

Normally, when an Irken's mission is compromised they self-destruct for the good of the Empire. But here she is being stubborn and wanting to live. Yet another flaw that probably drove her former leaders not to care any longer. But how would they have known? She'd done everything right, made sure that she was as ruthless and unfeeling as possible. Still, it was never enough. For either of them.

She isn't about to just let herself be barbequed by the Mefni woman, but without control of her PAK, she's as good as gone. But then that girl is interrupting. Tenn catches the word prisoner and her mind flashes with images of her past life. Of being found by the Meekrob, of being tortured every day, experimented on, dissected.

Tenn shrieks in anger once her body is completely immobilized. She kicks and scratches from inside the net, but the material is more than durable, and her PAK isn't listening to any of her commands. What the fuck?

"You idiots! You won't be able to find him! Don't you get it?! You will never find the System! You will never find your precious Johnny!" She spits out his name with venom. "You can search every corner of the known universe and you will never get any closer! You will waste your entire life and only be sorry in your last dying moments."

Addie leaves Dwight and Leera to hold each other, knowing Dwight will do his part. She gives Tenn a distasteful look.

"Are you going to be like this the whole trip to Lazuroth? Because I'd rather not have to gag you."

Addie makes the way to her ship with her cargo, plopping Tenn in one of the back seats before securing her seatbelt. She starts getting her ship ready to go.

"You know, there was a Tenn in my universe. She joined the Resisty after being abandoned. I guess to each their own." She pushes a stray hair behind her ear. "She would've kick your ass, though."

The ship begins to purr to life, coordinates for Lazuroth set in. She sends a message to give her mom a heads up. She notices a post on her feed and nearly crushes her phone in her hands. She growls, black flames dancing on her shoulders.

"Honestly I should kick your ass, myself," she says. "I should take my weapon and beat the shit out of you. But i won't. Because that's not going to help get my uncle back. By the way, whether you believe it or not, we will get him back." She huffs. "If there's one thing me and that old bastard have in common, when we truly want something there's no stopping us."

Despite glaring heatedly at Adalet, Tenn does not say another word. For a moment she debates declaring that the threat hadn’t silenced her, but she figures that it’s simply not worth it. She’s already said what she had to say.

The Irken looks outside of the window of the ship, watching everything go past in blurs of color and light. The ship they’d been on disappears behind them. Tenn can see Leera’s tear-streaked face and Dwight’s desolate eyes in her mind. It doesn’t bring her joy or a sense of victory. She just feels that same sickness in her spooch.

Tenn’s antennae twitch and perk up, earning her a sharp jolt of pain from the previous abuse at the hands of the fire witch. “What do you mean ‘in my universe?’ Are you not from this one?”

She watches Adalet’s black fire blaze, a frown on her face. She knows her Father. She knows that he has probably either posted a photo or an audio recording of the Experiment in some way. She remembers what the black fire represents.

Tenn thinks back to the times when she’d interacted with 777. Namely the time that he’d gone to her and they spoke about Vargas together. She hadn’t been poisoned then. Hadn’t seen the Experiment as a father or a partner or a being with fears and joys yet. It had just been a moving target. Now, well…

No. She can’t start to feel guilty now. Irkens never feel remorse for their actions. She will not start now. She refuses to go so low, to betray her training and the very way of life that she used to know. Her lack of compassion is what still makes her - her. She won’t lose that so quickly.

“You have one other thing in common with him. You both feed into this delusion that the Experiment has. Don’t you see that you’re nothing more than distraction at best? When it remembers its true purpose, it won’t even recall your name.”

Addie shakes her head. "Well...it's complicated. Im from an adjacent universe you could say. A different timeline." She pauses for a moment before continuing. Her voice holds none of the bitterness it once did. In fact a part of her hopes this fact scares Tenn a little. "Dwight destroyed it. I was here when it happened. Now everything is out of balance and fucked up but...its still home."

She actually laughs at Tenn's words. "Good Togal, you remind me of someone." Her chest feels tight. A lot of someones. "Do you really believe our fates are so predetermined? That there is only one path for us to walk and nothing else? Funny enough...i used to think that myself because I saw a glimpse of the path ahead. But...there's more to me than that. I know that, now. And while I'm still learning a lot here and there, i believe in the end its my choice where my destiny lies.

"After all, destiny is a matter of choice, not chance."

“… I heard that the Doctor- er- Dwight had destroyed a universe amongst other things. I’m not completely in the dark, but I hadn’t made the connection about that universe being your own.” Tenn doesn’t know what else to say. She feels a condolence on the tip of her tongue, but she can’t do that. That’s too soft. She is not soft.

“Of course our fates are predetermined. I was made to be an invader. I lived as an invader. And I died as an invader. If that isn’t proof enough that we only have one path then I don’t know what to tell you, kid. You might think that you can change your fate, that it’s choice, but the irony is that is just what fate had planned for you.”

“Don’t try comparing yourself to me, Hybrid. I’m not clouded like you. Just because you got the chance to do what you want with your life doesn’t mean that you’re better than me. I don’t care where your destiny leads you. Mine ended me up here and that’s what I got for trying to step out of line.”

"...He did," Addie answers. "He also tried to kill me numerous times. Apparently he was told by some future version of himself that i would be his downfall."

"How are you so sure it's predetermined? What makes you think that life isnt just a series of paths and choices to choose from? You say you died an Invader, but you're still alive from what I see. If your path is at an end, why aren't you dead?"

She shrugs. "My grandfather was an Invader," she says. "He was one of the greatest Invaders who ever lived. Stepping out of line may have cost him his life, but he got something else out of it. He found love and a family. Without that my dad wouldn't exist and neither would I.

"When my mentor stepped out of line, it lead to a new and independant Irk away from the Control Brains. When my fiance stepped out of line he not only defeated his creator but surpassed him as well. History isn't made by the ones that behave.

"I dont think im better than you. I dont think im better than anyone. I think life isn't cut and dry, black and white, and that no one can tell us what our purpose is, not even those who create us. Its something we have to discover for ourselves.

"Anyway, could be worse. You could be dealing with sixteen year old me who plays Justin Beiber for the people I take prisoner."

Tenn let’s the girl continue to talk, even though she already knows about the attempted murders on Dwight’s part. She doesn’t know why she doesn’t interrupt and snap that she’s not ignorant. There’s something about hearing the facts from someone who was so close to the fallout that makes her feel different than she had learning about it in the System.

“Why? Why did he suddenly stop pursuing you? You ask me why I’m not dead, you tell me the same.”

Then, because she just can’t stand not having a fair fight or a fair conversation, she sighs and spills her own story. “I’m alive because of Father… Vargas. When the Meekrob grew tired of torturing me, they ripped my PAK off and left me to expire in their catacombs. He found the shell of my body and my PAK while he was investigating Meekrob for research and resource purposes.”

“He fixed my PAK and restored my body to its remarkable state. He went beyond that really- he used the hyper-go-on energy from the drained Meekrob and fused it with my DNA. He helped me not only live again but live stronger and with more power than I could ever imagine. I can overcome even death.”

Her brow furrows again as if angry with herself for sharing anything. “You’re a bigger fool than I first thought. Letting your attempted murderer walk free. Siding with him over this silly attempt of a rescue. But I wouldn’t expect much else from someone who believes such drivel as defying a creator. Look what could also happen when you do.”

“You get taken down a peg. You get left behind or abandoned. Kicked to the side for something more obedient, better. Not everyone lives the fairy tale life of getting to do whatever they want to without consequence. Just because you’re surrounded by all of these… anomalies doesn’t mean that’s the case for everyone.”

“You’re just a stupid naive girl who thinks just because she’s gotten to play hero a few times she has the power to change the universe. Well sorry to tell you, but you can’t change this. You can’t change what’s happened and you can’t change the Experiment’s fate. And neither can it.”

Addie hesitates. It's not really anyone's business why she kept Dwight alive, but she's been asked that question so many times. Why why why. She usually just answers with "I dont know" or "it felt right" but thats not the truth.

"You know all the talk about different paths?" Addie says. Her grip on the steering tightens to keep her hands from shaking. "I saw a glimpse of what i could become if let vengeance consume me. I decided i didnt want to be that."

She takes her turn to listen, keeping an ear out for anything of interest. She doesnt expect much, so she's not disappointed when she doesnt get anything of value. She does learn how much of a fuck asshole Vargas really is, though.

Addie is quiet for a long time after Tenn's last words, she takes a deep breath and sets the ship to autopilot before getting to her feet. The shaking in her hands is noticeable, but for probably only a moment before she slaps Tenn hard across the face.

"If you think my life has been a fairy tale, you dont know anything about me at all," she growls. "You have no idea what ive lost. You have no idea what my uncle means to me and you have no fucking idea how hard it was to let Dwight live after everything he did to me. You have no idea..." Swirls of flame envelope her arms, navy blue in color. "You have no idea how confusing it is one day to wake up realize not only is the person you've spent almost your whole life trying to take down not the same person...but you actually fucking care about him.

"You're not the first to call me stupid or naive, and you won't be the last. But I've learned those words come from people who don't understand, you think you're either born good or bad or whatever bullshit. I choose to believe our choices make us who we are, that they matter. Because if they don't then why do we have the choice in the first place?

"By the way? You were plenty obedient. You were just a means to an end from the start."

She returns back to her seat in the cock pit, still shaking. Just a little further and she'll be able to activate warp to Lazuroth.

The slap catches Tenn completely off guard. She didn't anticipate the assault, even if she should have. Probably has something to do with the net that she'd trapped inside of. She longs to be free to return the smack tenfold to the hybrid girl and she's seeing red.

"I wasn't calling your life a fairy tale; I was referring to the concept as a whole, you bitch. Forgive me if I have little sympathy for someone who even had people to lose, who had the option to make choices, who had the freedom to feel and care. I didn't have any of that. Not with the fucking Tallests, not with Father."

"You talk about not understanding- you will never understand what it is to be a cog in the machine, to just be seen as little more than a weapon and discarded at your lowest moment. You will never understand how it feels to have to hide that you are horrified with the things your own hands have done and expected to continue to do it until you expire! You will never understand what it feels like to not once, but twice be reminded that all your worth is tied up in how you serve a master! You talk about choice like it's something I fucking had when I never had it in the first place!"

"But forgive me, Hybrid, for not seeing things your way."

[ Previously ]

@tennofficial

Dwight glares lethally at Tenn, every word she says making his blood boil more and more. He was looking for someone to take his rage out on and now he has the perfect target.

After helping Adalet to her feet, he's about to make his way over to Tenn and beat the information out of her. However, he suddenly finds himself being handing his infant son. He meets Leera's gaze inquisitivly.

"Hold him, please," she says, he voice as sweet as poisoned honey. He knows that look in her eyes. There's a reason the woman was his body guard for so many years. He takes Egan without needing to be asked again.

As soon as Egan is out of Leera's arms, Leera gets to her feet. She looms over Tenn before she conjures a wall of fire with the wave of her hand. She moves to surround the Irken, leaving her in a ring of fire.

"I asked nicely the first time," Leera says venomously. "You should not mistake someone's kindness for weakness. Would you like to try again?"

Addie blinks. She never thought she would see Leera as particularly scary, but damn if her tone isnt make her tremble a little.

Tenn rolls her eyes. These people and their dramatics. She hardly blinks when Dwight glares at her with all of the coldness of seven winters. She doesn't feel like getting into a tussle with a soft flesh-bag of a human, but if it comes down to it, she'd rather fight than lay there and take it. She still has her PAK after all.

Even as the fire threatens to lick at her antennae and clothes, Tenn still feels nothing. Normally, she'd have some sense of self-preservation or moxy, but ever since Vargas left her all she's felt is... nothing. Just an emptiness.

Leera's voice raises above the crackling of the flames and Tenn's eyes raise to meet hers.

"I don't rescind a word I said. The Experiment is gone. Move on. I won't be swayed by your threats or your actions. Do what you will with me, but even if Father left me to rot here, I won't betray him. Be grateful that I convinced him to just knock you out and tie you up."

Shit. Shouldn't have said that.

The fact is that kindness is weakness.

Leera knows she has only herself to blame for others thinking she's all soft. But those people don't know the full extent of her crimes. She stood by Dwight at his worst. She may have been a softer and warmer alternative to her employer and now boyfriend, but even know she shows no mercy to protect those she loves.

In a flash she lunges forward, keeping the flames in place to ensure Tenn has no escape. Years of Irk being the enemy made her knowledgeable about where Irkens are weak, and she doesnt hesitate to grab this little bitch by her antennae.

"Then I'm afraid you are of no use to anyone then," Leera tells Tenn, her voice could almost be mistaken for sympathetic if not for the murderous edge in her tone. "I'll put you out of your misery, then."

Addie jumps up. "Wait. She's an accomplice in the kidnapping of a member of the Lazurothian royal family." She brushes herself off. "She should be taken prisoner."

"Adalet," Dwight asks. "Are you sure?"

"Tch. Have you met my mother? She's gonna tear her apart for helping that bastard." She pulls out a device and presses a button on it. A net jumps out and bounds Tenn completely, even incapacitating her PAK.

"Shouldn't you be tracking my uncle's location?" Addie asks Dwight.

The man rolls his eyes. "I am taking that as a suggestion, Admiral."

Addie grins. "Good." She walks over and grabs Tenn from Leera. She doesn't grab her antennae, but it does look like she's scruffing the Irken like a cat. "Former Invader Tenn, you are under arrest for the kidnapping Prince Johnny Denivar of Lazuroth." She begins to walk out with Tenn. "Be right back!"

Leera's words scathe her more than the scorch of the woman's flames or the pain racing through her skull and rendering her nearly paralyzed. They remind her why she is here on this God-forsaken ship and not back at Headquarters training with the other Operators and getting her regular updates to her PAK. She truly is of no use to anyone.

Normally, when an Irken's mission is compromised they self-destruct for the good of the Empire. But here she is being stubborn and wanting to live. Yet another flaw that probably drove her former leaders not to care any longer. But how would they have known? She'd done everything right, made sure that she was as ruthless and unfeeling as possible. Still, it was never enough. For either of them.

She isn't about to just let herself be barbequed by the Mefni woman, but without control of her PAK, she's as good as gone. But then that girl is interrupting. Tenn catches the word prisoner and her mind flashes with images of her past life. Of being found by the Meekrob, of being tortured every day, experimented on, dissected.

Tenn shrieks in anger once her body is completely immobilized. She kicks and scratches from inside the net, but the material is more than durable, and her PAK isn't listening to any of her commands. What the fuck?

"You idiots! You won't be able to find him! Don't you get it?! You will never find the System! You will never find your precious Johnny!" She spits out his name with venom. "You can search every corner of the known universe and you will never get any closer! You will waste your entire life and only be sorry in your last dying moments."

Addie leaves Dwight and Leera to hold each other, knowing Dwight will do his part. She gives Tenn a distasteful look.

"Are you going to be like this the whole trip to Lazuroth? Because I'd rather not have to gag you."

Addie makes the way to her ship with her cargo, plopping Tenn in one of the back seats before securing her seatbelt. She starts getting her ship ready to go.

"You know, there was a Tenn in my universe. She joined the Resisty after being abandoned. I guess to each their own." She pushes a stray hair behind her ear. "She would've kick your ass, though."

The ship begins to purr to life, coordinates for Lazuroth set in. She sends a message to give her mom a heads up. She notices a post on her feed and nearly crushes her phone in her hands. She growls, black flames dancing on her shoulders.

"Honestly I should kick your ass, myself," she says. "I should take my weapon and beat the shit out of you. But i won't. Because that's not going to help get my uncle back. By the way, whether you believe it or not, we will get him back." She huffs. "If there's one thing me and that old bastard have in common, when we truly want something there's no stopping us."

Despite glaring heatedly at Adalet, Tenn does not say another word. For a moment she debates declaring that the threat hadn’t silenced her, but she figures that it’s simply not worth it. She’s already said what she had to say.

The Irken looks outside of the window of the ship, watching everything go past in blurs of color and light. The ship they’d been on disappears behind them. Tenn can see Leera’s tear-streaked face and Dwight’s desolate eyes in her mind. It doesn’t bring her joy or a sense of victory. She just feels that same sickness in her spooch.

Tenn’s antennae twitch and perk up, earning her a sharp jolt of pain from the previous abuse at the hands of the fire witch. “What do you mean ‘in my universe?’ Are you not from this one?”

She watches Adalet’s black fire blaze, a frown on her face. She knows her Father. She knows that he has probably either posted a photo or an audio recording of the Experiment in some way. She remembers what the black fire represents.

Tenn thinks back to the times when she’d interacted with 777. Namely the time that he’d gone to her and they spoke about Vargas together. She hadn’t been poisoned then. Hadn’t seen the Experiment as a father or a partner or a being with fears and joys yet. It had just been a moving target. Now, well…

No. She can’t start to feel guilty now. Irkens never feel remorse for their actions. She will not start now. She refuses to go so low, to betray her training and the very way of life that she used to know. Her lack of compassion is what still makes her - her. She won’t lose that so quickly.

“You have one other thing in common with him. You both feed into this delusion that the Experiment has. Don’t you see that you’re nothing more than distraction at best? When it remembers its true purpose, it won’t even recall your name.”

Addie shakes her head. "Well...it's complicated. Im from an adjacent universe you could say. A different timeline." She pauses for a moment before continuing. Her voice holds none of the bitterness it once did. In fact a part of her hopes this fact scares Tenn a little. "Dwight destroyed it. I was here when it happened. Now everything is out of balance and fucked up but...its still home."

She actually laughs at Tenn's words. "Good Togal, you remind me of someone." Her chest feels tight. A lot of someones. "Do you really believe our fates are so predetermined? That there is only one path for us to walk and nothing else? Funny enough...i used to think that myself because I saw a glimpse of the path ahead. But...there's more to me than that. I know that, now. And while I'm still learning a lot here and there, i believe in the end its my choice where my destiny lies.

"After all, destiny is a matter of choice, not chance."

“… I heard that the Doctor- er- Dwight had destroyed a universe amongst other things. I’m not completely in the dark, but I hadn’t made the connection about that universe being your own.” Tenn doesn’t know what else to say. She feels a condolence on the tip of her tongue, but she can’t do that. That’s too soft. She is not soft.

“Of course our fates are predetermined. I was made to be an invader. I lived as an invader. And I died as an invader. If that isn’t proof enough that we only have one path then I don’t know what to tell you, kid. You might think that you can change your fate, that it’s choice, but the irony is that is just what fate had planned for you.”

“Don’t try comparing yourself to me, Hybrid. I’m not clouded like you. Just because you got the chance to do what you want with your life doesn’t mean that you’re better than me. I don’t care where your destiny leads you. Mine ended me up here and that’s what I got for trying to step out of line.”

"...He did," Addie answers. "He also tried to kill me numerous times. Apparently he was told by some future version of himself that i would be his downfall."

"How are you so sure it's predetermined? What makes you think that life isnt just a series of paths and choices to choose from? You say you died an Invader, but you're still alive from what I see. If your path is at an end, why aren't you dead?"

She shrugs. "My grandfather was an Invader," she says. "He was one of the greatest Invaders who ever lived. Stepping out of line may have cost him his life, but he got something else out of it. He found love and a family. Without that my dad wouldn't exist and neither would I.

"When my mentor stepped out of line, it lead to a new and independant Irk away from the Control Brains. When my fiance stepped out of line he not only defeated his creator but surpassed him as well. History isn't made by the ones that behave.

"I dont think im better than you. I dont think im better than anyone. I think life isn't cut and dry, black and white, and that no one can tell us what our purpose is, not even those who create us. Its something we have to discover for ourselves.

"Anyway, could be worse. You could be dealing with sixteen year old me who plays Justin Beiber for the people I take prisoner."

Tenn let’s the girl continue to talk, even though she already knows about the attempted murders on Dwight’s part. She doesn’t know why she doesn’t interrupt and snap that she’s not ignorant. There’s something about hearing the facts from someone who was so close to the fallout that makes her feel different than she had learning about it in the System.

“Why? Why did he suddenly stop pursuing you? You ask me why I’m not dead, you tell me the same.”

Then, because she just can’t stand not having a fair fight or a fair conversation, she sighs and spills her own story. “I’m alive because of Father… Vargas. When the Meekrob grew tired of torturing me, they ripped my PAK off and left me to expire in their catacombs. He found the shell of my body and my PAK while he was investigating Meekrob for research and resource purposes.”

“He fixed my PAK and restored my body to its remarkable state. He went beyond that really- he used the hyper-go-on energy from the drained Meekrob and fused it with my DNA. He helped me not only live again but live stronger and with more power than I could ever imagine. I can overcome even death.”

Her brow furrows again as if angry with herself for sharing anything. “You’re a bigger fool than I first thought. Letting your attempted murderer walk free. Siding with him over this silly attempt of a rescue. But I wouldn’t expect much else from someone who believes such drivel as defying a creator. Look what could also happen when you do.”

“You get taken down a peg. You get left behind or abandoned. Kicked to the side for something more obedient, better. Not everyone lives the fairy tale life of getting to do whatever they want to without consequence. Just because you’re surrounded by all of these… anomalies doesn’t mean that’s the case for everyone.”

“You’re just a stupid naive girl who thinks just because she’s gotten to play hero a few times she has the power to change the universe. Well sorry to tell you, but you can’t change this. You can’t change what’s happened and you can’t change the Experiment’s fate. And neither can it.”

[ Previously ]

@tennofficial

Dwight glares lethally at Tenn, every word she says making his blood boil more and more. He was looking for someone to take his rage out on and now he has the perfect target.

After helping Adalet to her feet, he's about to make his way over to Tenn and beat the information out of her. However, he suddenly finds himself being handing his infant son. He meets Leera's gaze inquisitivly.

"Hold him, please," she says, he voice as sweet as poisoned honey. He knows that look in her eyes. There's a reason the woman was his body guard for so many years. He takes Egan without needing to be asked again.

As soon as Egan is out of Leera's arms, Leera gets to her feet. She looms over Tenn before she conjures a wall of fire with the wave of her hand. She moves to surround the Irken, leaving her in a ring of fire.

"I asked nicely the first time," Leera says venomously. "You should not mistake someone's kindness for weakness. Would you like to try again?"

Addie blinks. She never thought she would see Leera as particularly scary, but damn if her tone isnt make her tremble a little.

Tenn rolls her eyes. These people and their dramatics. She hardly blinks when Dwight glares at her with all of the coldness of seven winters. She doesn't feel like getting into a tussle with a soft flesh-bag of a human, but if it comes down to it, she'd rather fight than lay there and take it. She still has her PAK after all.

Even as the fire threatens to lick at her antennae and clothes, Tenn still feels nothing. Normally, she'd have some sense of self-preservation or moxy, but ever since Vargas left her all she's felt is... nothing. Just an emptiness.

Leera's voice raises above the crackling of the flames and Tenn's eyes raise to meet hers.

"I don't rescind a word I said. The Experiment is gone. Move on. I won't be swayed by your threats or your actions. Do what you will with me, but even if Father left me to rot here, I won't betray him. Be grateful that I convinced him to just knock you out and tie you up."

Shit. Shouldn't have said that.

The fact is that kindness is weakness.

Leera knows she has only herself to blame for others thinking she's all soft. But those people don't know the full extent of her crimes. She stood by Dwight at his worst. She may have been a softer and warmer alternative to her employer and now boyfriend, but even know she shows no mercy to protect those she loves.

In a flash she lunges forward, keeping the flames in place to ensure Tenn has no escape. Years of Irk being the enemy made her knowledgeable about where Irkens are weak, and she doesnt hesitate to grab this little bitch by her antennae.

"Then I'm afraid you are of no use to anyone then," Leera tells Tenn, her voice could almost be mistaken for sympathetic if not for the murderous edge in her tone. "I'll put you out of your misery, then."

Addie jumps up. "Wait. She's an accomplice in the kidnapping of a member of the Lazurothian royal family." She brushes herself off. "She should be taken prisoner."

"Adalet," Dwight asks. "Are you sure?"

"Tch. Have you met my mother? She's gonna tear her apart for helping that bastard." She pulls out a device and presses a button on it. A net jumps out and bounds Tenn completely, even incapacitating her PAK.

"Shouldn't you be tracking my uncle's location?" Addie asks Dwight.

The man rolls his eyes. "I am taking that as a suggestion, Admiral."

Addie grins. "Good." She walks over and grabs Tenn from Leera. She doesn't grab her antennae, but it does look like she's scruffing the Irken like a cat. "Former Invader Tenn, you are under arrest for the kidnapping Prince Johnny Denivar of Lazuroth." She begins to walk out with Tenn. "Be right back!"

Leera's words scathe her more than the scorch of the woman's flames or the pain racing through her skull and rendering her nearly paralyzed. They remind her why she is here on this God-forsaken ship and not back at Headquarters training with the other Operators and getting her regular updates to her PAK. She truly is of no use to anyone.

Normally, when an Irken's mission is compromised they self-destruct for the good of the Empire. But here she is being stubborn and wanting to live. Yet another flaw that probably drove her former leaders not to care any longer. But how would they have known? She'd done everything right, made sure that she was as ruthless and unfeeling as possible. Still, it was never enough. For either of them.

She isn't about to just let herself be barbequed by the Mefni woman, but without control of her PAK, she's as good as gone. But then that girl is interrupting. Tenn catches the word prisoner and her mind flashes with images of her past life. Of being found by the Meekrob, of being tortured every day, experimented on, dissected.

Tenn shrieks in anger once her body is completely immobilized. She kicks and scratches from inside the net, but the material is more than durable, and her PAK isn't listening to any of her commands. What the fuck?

"You idiots! You won't be able to find him! Don't you get it?! You will never find the System! You will never find your precious Johnny!" She spits out his name with venom. "You can search every corner of the known universe and you will never get any closer! You will waste your entire life and only be sorry in your last dying moments."

Addie leaves Dwight and Leera to hold each other, knowing Dwight will do his part. She gives Tenn a distasteful look.

"Are you going to be like this the whole trip to Lazuroth? Because I'd rather not have to gag you."

Addie makes the way to her ship with her cargo, plopping Tenn in one of the back seats before securing her seatbelt. She starts getting her ship ready to go.

"You know, there was a Tenn in my universe. She joined the Resisty after being abandoned. I guess to each their own." She pushes a stray hair behind her ear. "She would've kick your ass, though."

The ship begins to purr to life, coordinates for Lazuroth set in. She sends a message to give her mom a heads up. She notices a post on her feed and nearly crushes her phone in her hands. She growls, black flames dancing on her shoulders.

"Honestly I should kick your ass, myself," she says. "I should take my weapon and beat the shit out of you. But i won't. Because that's not going to help get my uncle back. By the way, whether you believe it or not, we will get him back." She huffs. "If there's one thing me and that old bastard have in common, when we truly want something there's no stopping us."

Despite glaring heatedly at Adalet, Tenn does not say another word. For a moment she debates declaring that the threat hadn’t silenced her, but she figures that it’s simply not worth it. She’s already said what she had to say.

The Irken looks outside of the window of the ship, watching everything go past in blurs of color and light. The ship they’d been on disappears behind them. Tenn can see Leera’s tear-streaked face and Dwight’s desolate eyes in her mind. It doesn’t bring her joy or a sense of victory. She just feels that same sickness in her spooch.

Tenn’s antennae twitch and perk up, earning her a sharp jolt of pain from the previous abuse at the hands of the fire witch. “What do you mean ‘in my universe?’ Are you not from this one?”

She watches Adalet’s black fire blaze, a frown on her face. She knows her Father. She knows that he has probably either posted a photo or an audio recording of the Experiment in some way. She remembers what the black fire represents.

Tenn thinks back to the times when she’d interacted with 777. Namely the time that he’d gone to her and they spoke about Vargas together. She hadn’t been poisoned then. Hadn’t seen the Experiment as a father or a partner or a being with fears and joys yet. It had just been a moving target. Now, well…

No. She can’t start to feel guilty now. Irkens never feel remorse for their actions. She will not start now. She refuses to go so low, to betray her training and the very way of life that she used to know. Her lack of compassion is what still makes her - her. She won’t lose that so quickly.

“You have one other thing in common with him. You both feed into this delusion that the Experiment has. Don’t you see that you’re nothing more than distraction at best? When it remembers its true purpose, it won’t even recall your name.”

Addie shakes her head. "Well...it's complicated. Im from an adjacent universe you could say. A different timeline." She pauses for a moment before continuing. Her voice holds none of the bitterness it once did. In fact a part of her hopes this fact scares Tenn a little. "Dwight destroyed it. I was here when it happened. Now everything is out of balance and fucked up but...its still home."

She actually laughs at Tenn's words. "Good Togal, you remind me of someone." Her chest feels tight. A lot of someones. "Do you really believe our fates are so predetermined? That there is only one path for us to walk and nothing else? Funny enough...i used to think that myself because I saw a glimpse of the path ahead. But...there's more to me than that. I know that, now. And while I'm still learning a lot here and there, i believe in the end its my choice where my destiny lies.

"After all, destiny is a matter of choice, not chance."

“… I heard that the Doctor- er- Dwight had destroyed a universe amongst other things. I’m not completely in the dark, but I hadn’t made the connection about that universe being your own.” Tenn doesn’t know what else to say. She feels a condolence on the tip of her tongue, but she can’t do that. That’s too soft. She is not soft.

“Of course our fates are predetermined. I was made to be an invader. I lived as an invader. And I died as an invader. If that isn’t proof enough that we only have one path then I don’t know what to tell you, kid. You might think that you can change your fate, that it’s choice, but the irony is that is just what fate had planned for you.”

“Don’t try comparing yourself to me, Hybrid. I’m not clouded like you. Just because you got the chance to do what you want with your life doesn’t mean that you’re better than me. I don’t care where your destiny leads you. Mine ended me up here and that’s what I got for trying to step out of line.”

[ Previously ]

@tennofficial

Dwight glares lethally at Tenn, every word she says making his blood boil more and more. He was looking for someone to take his rage out on and now he has the perfect target.

After helping Adalet to her feet, he's about to make his way over to Tenn and beat the information out of her. However, he suddenly finds himself being handing his infant son. He meets Leera's gaze inquisitivly.

"Hold him, please," she says, he voice as sweet as poisoned honey. He knows that look in her eyes. There's a reason the woman was his body guard for so many years. He takes Egan without needing to be asked again.

As soon as Egan is out of Leera's arms, Leera gets to her feet. She looms over Tenn before she conjures a wall of fire with the wave of her hand. She moves to surround the Irken, leaving her in a ring of fire.

"I asked nicely the first time," Leera says venomously. "You should not mistake someone's kindness for weakness. Would you like to try again?"

Addie blinks. She never thought she would see Leera as particularly scary, but damn if her tone isnt make her tremble a little.

Tenn rolls her eyes. These people and their dramatics. She hardly blinks when Dwight glares at her with all of the coldness of seven winters. She doesn't feel like getting into a tussle with a soft flesh-bag of a human, but if it comes down to it, she'd rather fight than lay there and take it. She still has her PAK after all.

Even as the fire threatens to lick at her antennae and clothes, Tenn still feels nothing. Normally, she'd have some sense of self-preservation or moxy, but ever since Vargas left her all she's felt is... nothing. Just an emptiness.

Leera's voice raises above the crackling of the flames and Tenn's eyes raise to meet hers.

"I don't rescind a word I said. The Experiment is gone. Move on. I won't be swayed by your threats or your actions. Do what you will with me, but even if Father left me to rot here, I won't betray him. Be grateful that I convinced him to just knock you out and tie you up."

Shit. Shouldn't have said that.

The fact is that kindness is weakness.

Leera knows she has only herself to blame for others thinking she's all soft. But those people don't know the full extent of her crimes. She stood by Dwight at his worst. She may have been a softer and warmer alternative to her employer and now boyfriend, but even know she shows no mercy to protect those she loves.

In a flash she lunges forward, keeping the flames in place to ensure Tenn has no escape. Years of Irk being the enemy made her knowledgeable about where Irkens are weak, and she doesnt hesitate to grab this little bitch by her antennae.

"Then I'm afraid you are of no use to anyone then," Leera tells Tenn, her voice could almost be mistaken for sympathetic if not for the murderous edge in her tone. "I'll put you out of your misery, then."

Addie jumps up. "Wait. She's an accomplice in the kidnapping of a member of the Lazurothian royal family." She brushes herself off. "She should be taken prisoner."

"Adalet," Dwight asks. "Are you sure?"

"Tch. Have you met my mother? She's gonna tear her apart for helping that bastard." She pulls out a device and presses a button on it. A net jumps out and bounds Tenn completely, even incapacitating her PAK.

"Shouldn't you be tracking my uncle's location?" Addie asks Dwight.

The man rolls his eyes. "I am taking that as a suggestion, Admiral."

Addie grins. "Good." She walks over and grabs Tenn from Leera. She doesn't grab her antennae, but it does look like she's scruffing the Irken like a cat. "Former Invader Tenn, you are under arrest for the kidnapping Prince Johnny Denivar of Lazuroth." She begins to walk out with Tenn. "Be right back!"

Leera's words scathe her more than the scorch of the woman's flames or the pain racing through her skull and rendering her nearly paralyzed. They remind her why she is here on this God-forsaken ship and not back at Headquarters training with the other Operators and getting her regular updates to her PAK. She truly is of no use to anyone.

Normally, when an Irken's mission is compromised they self-destruct for the good of the Empire. But here she is being stubborn and wanting to live. Yet another flaw that probably drove her former leaders not to care any longer. But how would they have known? She'd done everything right, made sure that she was as ruthless and unfeeling as possible. Still, it was never enough. For either of them.

She isn't about to just let herself be barbequed by the Mefni woman, but without control of her PAK, she's as good as gone. But then that girl is interrupting. Tenn catches the word prisoner and her mind flashes with images of her past life. Of being found by the Meekrob, of being tortured every day, experimented on, dissected.

Tenn shrieks in anger once her body is completely immobilized. She kicks and scratches from inside the net, but the material is more than durable, and her PAK isn't listening to any of her commands. What the fuck?

"You idiots! You won't be able to find him! Don't you get it?! You will never find the System! You will never find your precious Johnny!" She spits out his name with venom. "You can search every corner of the known universe and you will never get any closer! You will waste your entire life and only be sorry in your last dying moments."

Addie leaves Dwight and Leera to hold each other, knowing Dwight will do his part. She gives Tenn a distasteful look.

"Are you going to be like this the whole trip to Lazuroth? Because I'd rather not have to gag you."

Addie makes the way to her ship with her cargo, plopping Tenn in one of the back seats before securing her seatbelt. She starts getting her ship ready to go.

"You know, there was a Tenn in my universe. She joined the Resisty after being abandoned. I guess to each their own." She pushes a stray hair behind her ear. "She would've kick your ass, though."

The ship begins to purr to life, coordinates for Lazuroth set in. She sends a message to give her mom a heads up. She notices a post on her feed and nearly crushes her phone in her hands. She growls, black flames dancing on her shoulders.

"Honestly I should kick your ass, myself," she says. "I should take my weapon and beat the shit out of you. But i won't. Because that's not going to help get my uncle back. By the way, whether you believe it or not, we will get him back." She huffs. "If there's one thing me and that old bastard have in common, when we truly want something there's no stopping us."

Despite glaring heatedly at Adalet, Tenn does not say another word. For a moment she debates declaring that the threat hadn’t silenced her, but she figures that it’s simply not worth it. She’s already said what she had to say.

The Irken looks outside of the window of the ship, watching everything go past in blurs of color and light. The ship they’d been on disappears behind them. Tenn can see Leera’s tear-streaked face and Dwight’s desolate eyes in her mind. It doesn’t bring her joy or a sense of victory. She just feels that same sickness in her spooch.

Tenn’s antennae twitch and perk up, earning her a sharp jolt of pain from the previous abuse at the hands of the fire witch. “What do you mean ‘in my universe?’ Are you not from this one?”

She watches Adalet’s black fire blaze, a frown on her face. She knows her Father. She knows that he has probably either posted a photo or an audio recording of the Experiment in some way. She remembers what the black fire represents.

Tenn thinks back to the times when she’d interacted with 777. Namely the time that he’d gone to her and they spoke about Vargas together. She hadn’t been poisoned then. Hadn’t seen the Experiment as a father or a partner or a being with fears and joys yet. It had just been a moving target. Now, well…

No. She can’t start to feel guilty now. Irkens never feel remorse for their actions. She will not start now. She refuses to go so low, to betray her training and the very way of life that she used to know. Her lack of compassion is what still makes her - her. She won’t lose that so quickly.

“You have one other thing in common with him. You both feed into this delusion that the Experiment has. Don’t you see that you’re nothing more than distraction at best? When it remembers its true purpose, it won’t even recall your name.”

[ Previously ]

@tennofficial

Dwight glares lethally at Tenn, every word she says making his blood boil more and more. He was looking for someone to take his rage out on and now he has the perfect target.

After helping Adalet to her feet, he's about to make his way over to Tenn and beat the information out of her. However, he suddenly finds himself being handing his infant son. He meets Leera's gaze inquisitivly.

"Hold him, please," she says, he voice as sweet as poisoned honey. He knows that look in her eyes. There's a reason the woman was his body guard for so many years. He takes Egan without needing to be asked again.

As soon as Egan is out of Leera's arms, Leera gets to her feet. She looms over Tenn before she conjures a wall of fire with the wave of her hand. She moves to surround the Irken, leaving her in a ring of fire.

"I asked nicely the first time," Leera says venomously. "You should not mistake someone's kindness for weakness. Would you like to try again?"

Addie blinks. She never thought she would see Leera as particularly scary, but damn if her tone isnt make her tremble a little.

Tenn rolls her eyes. These people and their dramatics. She hardly blinks when Dwight glares at her with all of the coldness of seven winters. She doesn't feel like getting into a tussle with a soft flesh-bag of a human, but if it comes down to it, she'd rather fight than lay there and take it. She still has her PAK after all.

Even as the fire threatens to lick at her antennae and clothes, Tenn still feels nothing. Normally, she'd have some sense of self-preservation or moxy, but ever since Vargas left her all she's felt is... nothing. Just an emptiness.

Leera's voice raises above the crackling of the flames and Tenn's eyes raise to meet hers.

"I don't rescind a word I said. The Experiment is gone. Move on. I won't be swayed by your threats or your actions. Do what you will with me, but even if Father left me to rot here, I won't betray him. Be grateful that I convinced him to just knock you out and tie you up."

Shit. Shouldn't have said that.

The fact is that kindness is weakness.

Leera knows she has only herself to blame for others thinking she's all soft. But those people don't know the full extent of her crimes. She stood by Dwight at his worst. She may have been a softer and warmer alternative to her employer and now boyfriend, but even know she shows no mercy to protect those she loves.

In a flash she lunges forward, keeping the flames in place to ensure Tenn has no escape. Years of Irk being the enemy made her knowledgeable about where Irkens are weak, and she doesnt hesitate to grab this little bitch by her antennae.

"Then I'm afraid you are of no use to anyone then," Leera tells Tenn, her voice could almost be mistaken for sympathetic if not for the murderous edge in her tone. "I'll put you out of your misery, then."

Addie jumps up. "Wait. She's an accomplice in the kidnapping of a member of the Lazurothian royal family." She brushes herself off. "She should be taken prisoner."

"Adalet," Dwight asks. "Are you sure?"

"Tch. Have you met my mother? She's gonna tear her apart for helping that bastard." She pulls out a device and presses a button on it. A net jumps out and bounds Tenn completely, even incapacitating her PAK.

"Shouldn't you be tracking my uncle's location?" Addie asks Dwight.

The man rolls his eyes. "I am taking that as a suggestion, Admiral."

Addie grins. "Good." She walks over and grabs Tenn from Leera. She doesn't grab her antennae, but it does look like she's scruffing the Irken like a cat. "Former Invader Tenn, you are under arrest for the kidnapping Prince Johnny Denivar of Lazuroth." She begins to walk out with Tenn. "Be right back!"

Leera's words scathe her more than the scorch of the woman's flames or the pain racing through her skull and rendering her nearly paralyzed. They remind her why she is here on this God-forsaken ship and not back at Headquarters training with the other Operators and getting her regular updates to her PAK. She truly is of no use to anyone.

Normally, when an Irken's mission is compromised they self-destruct for the good of the Empire. But here she is being stubborn and wanting to live. Yet another flaw that probably drove her former leaders not to care any longer. But how would they have known? She'd done everything right, made sure that she was as ruthless and unfeeling as possible. Still, it was never enough. For either of them.

She isn't about to just let herself be barbequed by the Mefni woman, but without control of her PAK, she's as good as gone. But then that girl is interrupting. Tenn catches the word prisoner and her mind flashes with images of her past life. Of being found by the Meekrob, of being tortured every day, experimented on, dissected.

Tenn shrieks in anger once her body is completely immobilized. She kicks and scratches from inside the net, but the material is more than durable, and her PAK isn't listening to any of her commands. What the fuck?

"You idiots! You won't be able to find him! Don't you get it?! You will never find the System! You will never find your precious Johnny!" She spits out his name with venom. "You can search every corner of the known universe and you will never get any closer! You will waste your entire life and only be sorry in your last dying moments."

[ Previously ]

@tennofficial

Dwight glares lethally at Tenn, every word she says making his blood boil more and more. He was looking for someone to take his rage out on and now he has the perfect target.

After helping Adalet to her feet, he's about to make his way over to Tenn and beat the information out of her. However, he suddenly finds himself being handing his infant son. He meets Leera's gaze inquisitivly.

"Hold him, please," she says, he voice as sweet as poisoned honey. He knows that look in her eyes. There's a reason the woman was his body guard for so many years. He takes Egan without needing to be asked again.

As soon as Egan is out of Leera's arms, Leera gets to her feet. She looms over Tenn before she conjures a wall of fire with the wave of her hand. She moves to surround the Irken, leaving her in a ring of fire.

"I asked nicely the first time," Leera says venomously. "You should not mistake someone's kindness for weakness. Would you like to try again?"

Addie blinks. She never thought she would see Leera as particularly scary, but damn if her tone isnt make her tremble a little.

Tenn rolls her eyes. These people and their dramatics. She hardly blinks when Dwight glares at her with all of the coldness of seven winters. She doesn't feel like getting into a tussle with a soft flesh-bag of a human, but if it comes down to it, she'd rather fight than lay there and take it. She still has her PAK after all.

Even as the fire threatens to lick at her antennae and clothes, Tenn still feels nothing. Normally, she'd have some sense of self-preservation or moxy, but ever since Vargas left her all she's felt is... nothing. Just an emptiness.

Leera's voice raises above the crackling of the flames and Tenn's eyes raise to meet hers.

"I don't rescind a word I said. The Experiment is gone. Move on. I won't be swayed by your threats or your actions. Do what you will with me, but even if Father left me to rot here, I won't betray him. Be grateful that I convinced him to just knock you out and tie you up."

Shit. Shouldn't have said that.

The fact is that kindness is weakness.

[ Previously ]

@tennofficial

Dwight yells as he watches his metal arm be torn apart before his eyes. He screams, the integrated nerves feeling just as painful as when he first lost the arm in the first place. Maybe more. Its like its being burned off little by little.

He makes one last run for Vargas. He doesn't know what he means to do but he also doesnt care. He has to get Johnny back. He cant let Vargas take him!

However, finds himself running into a wall of Egan's nursery. "No," he hisses under his breath. "No, no, no!" He pounds the wall with his fist, leaving a large dent. The vibrations cause the closet door to pop open, and Dwight sees a very familiar blue foot.

"Leera," he breathes, falling to his knees, scrambling over to his partner. She's tied up with some strange material, but it's enough to keep her secure. There's a gag around her mouth, as well. "Hold on, Firefly, I'll get you out I..." He remembers that he is currently missing an arm, but he manages to take the gag away.

"Im so sorry, dearheart," she sobs, her green eye already wet with tears. "The rope it...it's made of something I...I couldnt use my flames. I didnt even see him Im so sorry."

Dwight pulls Leera to him with his remaining arm, shushing her sweetly. "Its not your fault, Firefly, its not your fault." His own voice is getting choked and his eyes burn.

He almost forgot what it felt like to truly lose...

"I got here as soon as i could I couldn't..." Addie rushes into the room, cutting off as she looks around. There's baby Egan with a baby dragon on the bed of the master bedroom, an Irken with pink eyes that Addie cant remember meeting, and there's pieces of metal scatter all over the floor. She looks over at Dwight and Leera. "Where's Uncle Johnny?"

Dwight feels everything at once. Frustration. Rage. Despair. Another person he couldnt save. Another something dear stolen from him. Another moment where he was left alone and no help came. His eyes are like blizzards, cold and deadly as he turns them on Tenn.

"You. Finish untying her," he orders Tenn, indicating Leera. "You try anything else and i will not hesitate to rip your head from your body one handed."

With one hand its hard to get up but he manages, making his way over to Adalet.

"Where. Were. You?" He demands.

"What happened to your arm?" She asks, trying to ignore his tone. "Where's Uncle Johnny?"

"You can thank Vargas for both of those things," Dwight replies, his voice like ice. "You know most people when they get a distress signal they move their ass to get to the trouble."

Addie doesnt like that tone. Something about it is making her stomach twist horribly. "I didn't...I didnt know thats what it was. It was just flashing-"

"What the hell else would it be, Adalet?!" Dwight snaps. "Did you even try to contact me? That's the first thing a supposed genius would do!"

Its hard to breathe. Is Dwight looming over her or is that her imagination? Her ears are ringing. "Dwight...I think you're scaring me." Her voice is too soft for her liking.

"Oh, am I? Am I scaring you, Adalet?" He mocks. He can barely hear Leera pleading something behind him. "Perhaps that could have been avoided if you had FUCKING BEEN HERE WHEN I CALLED FOR YOUR HELP TO STOP VARGAS FROM TAKING JOHNNY!"

There's a high pitched scream that breaks through everything, and an explosion like Dwight has never seen. The room is bathed in deep blue light, produced by the flames now shooting out of Adalet. Dwight's first instinct is to grab Egan, who makes a coo of curiosity. Another burst of navy flame sends Dwight backwards to avoid it, making him land on his backside.

Addie falls to the floor, hands almost squeezing her head and knees curling into her chest. Its like her fear is suddenly a raging animal and it has her pinned. She can't move. She cant speak. The only coming out of her mouth is loud broken sobs.

Tenn doesn’t know what to do. She stays standing in the same place, her squeedily-spooch twisting and pounding and overall feeling like a knife is running through it.

She doesn’t understand what just happened. She thought she was going home. Vargas was supposed to rescue her too. She’d done everything that he asked of her. And it wasn’t enough. Just like it hadn’t been enough for them.

She doesn’t move, even when Dwight punches a wall and ultimately discovers the woman that Tenn had been instructed to lead to the nursery. Her antennae perk up when she hears Leera sob, her spooch continuing to churn. She never wanted the rest of the family to be involved.

Her eyes finally look over to Egan when the child begins to babble ‘ma ma’ over and over again. Tenn especially didn’t expect her Father to endanger the infant. She might have pointed a gun to the child’s head, but she alone knew it wasn’t loaded.

Suddenly, the Experiment’s niece appears and Tenn is hit by a rush of misplaced anger and renewed awareness. The Irken glances over to Dwight when Adalet asks about her uncle. She watches the man’s distraught expression morph into one of fury all over again. It sends a chill down her spine when it gets directed directly towards her.

“I’m doing it because I want to, not because I’m following orders from you. I don’t follow orders from anyone anymore, especially not from the losing side.” Tenn goes over to Leera and sets to untying the woman, slowly. She doesn’t say a word as she unravels knot after knot. Vargas had bound her very well.

She finishes and quickly stands up, avoiding eye contact once more. She won’t apologize. This is what happens when people are weak. They are easily conquered. Easily subdued. Brought to their knees by the slightest defeat.

There is no sympathy in her eyes as she watches Dwight and Adalet’s interaction. She shields her eyes as the flame blasts through the room. Her antennae raise in interest. She can’t recall if she’s ever seen Adalet’s flame turn this color before. She’d been around during the Jimmy debacle, but she hardly remembers much about their interaction, focusing solely on getting Dwight to the doctor on board.

Tenn’s spooch curls when she watches the man fall back and the girl crumple down into a ball. She clenches her fists at her side. She will not start feeling sorry for this group. They knew what was coming. They knew what they had. The Experiment never belonged to them.

And this is just another show of weakness. Her lip curls up at the sight. How dare an Irken, or at least someone with Irken blood act in such a sniveling smeet-like way. She closes her eyes to ignore the memories that come snarling back at her, taunting her for her own cold-hearted words.

Alone. Abandoned. Frightened just like the girl feet away from her. But even she knows she’d been weak. Perhaps that is why her Tallests had given up on her. She’d shown weakness and that is what cost her everything, which is why she can’t grow attached to this family and their grief. She won’t.

Even still, she averts her eyes from the scene unfolding in front of her, glaring at nothing and thinking about everything.

Dwight can only stare at Adalet in stunned silence. He's seen the girl use her powers but nothing like this. This is wild and uncontrolled. This is Adalet's terror given form. The fire is catching on things in the room, the curtains, a plush or two. In a flash they are disintegrated by the navy fire. Why does it feel like the room is getting...darker?

"Dwight?"

He jumps at the sound of his name, turning to find Leera sitting beside him. Egan has found his way off the bed and is now curled in her arms, the dragon now on Leera's shoulder. That green eye is looking at him pleadingly, and he swears he sees an inkling of fear there. But is it because of Adalet's flames? Or something else entirely?

Leera reaches over to take Dwight's remaining hand, lacing their fingers together. She could never be afraid of him. She knows who he truly is, and who he is isnt his anger. She knows how much he's come to care for others. She knows he would never hurt those people intentionally.

But she also knows he has made a dire mistake in this moment.

Dwight doesn't have to be told. It takes several moments for him to deduce why Adalet's fire would be that color. Flashes of memories come to mind, of the girl brushing off and snuffing out flames before he could completely catch the hue. But now he sees it completely. And he can't deny what it represents.

He's in a maelstrom of feelings. The fear and uncertainty is threatening to eat him alive. But the longer he watches Adalet and hears her scream, the more he finds himself drowning in guilt.

"Adalet?" Dwight says, his tone completely changed from harsh to soft. "Adalet, I'm so sorry. I promise you're safe. I would never..." I would never hurt you again. Never again. And i would kill anyone who dares to try. "I shouldn't have yelled like that. I shouldnt have said those things."

His change in tone seems to have helped but only slightly. The flames are still towering over them, even though the room seems to be getting darker by the minute.

"Adalet. You have to breath, okay? If you don't get your breathing under control you could pass out. Can you breathe in and out on counts of four? Just in, two, three four. And out, two, three, four." He mimics what hes saying as well, hoping its enough for Adalet to start calming down.

Addie can barely hear anything with the ringing in her ears. Everything feels cold and dark regardless of the flames surrounding her. She feels weak and scared and she cant fucking breathe.

I tried to tell you, turtle dove, says a nasty but oh so familiar voice in her head. No. She should be gone. Injustice can only be answered with justice. Your kindness has become your weakness once more.

No. Thats not true. It can't be true.

He let your Uncle get taken away, and now he has the audacity to blame you? After everything he's done to you? You cannot possibly still believe he is worth saving.

Thats not why I spared him. I didnt do it for him.

Oh? Let me guess. You thought if you didnt let the evil mass murderer get the punishment he deserves that I could never exist? Oh, turtle dove, you are so naive. I am you. Dont you remember what i told you? I am always a possibility.

Dwight's brow furrows. Its like the room is getting darker. Egan clings to his mother as she tries to conjure a flame. However, it extinguishes as if blown out by a strong wind. Or like...its light had been stolen.

"Adalet. Can you hear me at all?" He's afraid to touch her in case it sets her off further. Egan makes a whimpering noise.

You have the button for his anklet, dont you? All you have to do is push it. You have to know its the right thing. He will never change. He may have for a time when your uncle was here, but now your uncle is gone. There is no one to hold him back now.

Addie can just shake her head, more tears falling down her face.

Alright thats enough from you.

Addie's eyes snap open. She knows that voice, even in her darkest moments. "Tallest Purple?"

There's a sound of hissing before Addie can feel the presence of Darth Phoenix disappear. It almost feels like her old mentor is here with her. Holding her.

Holy fuck he is.

Dwight finds himself also flabberghasted. There's a ghost in his fucking space station, and of all the ghost its Adalet's old mentor and someone he spent a great deal of his life hating. He isnt sure how to feel in this moment.

Then those deep violet eyes are narrowed right at him. He's shaking and he cant tell if it's from rage or fear. He does his best not to look away, though. Something tells Dwight if he breaks eye contact he will lose something.

"Call to her again," Tallest Purple tells him. "You seem to have forgotten how much you've hurt her. That pain doesn't just go away, Dwicky. She may be one of the strongest people you know, but remember she is also a fragile young girl."

Addie huffs. "Im not fragile."

Tallest Purple just pats her head before he fade away. "Be glad i dont tell him why the flames are navy blue. Though something tells me he's already figured it out."

Just when Addie is about to retort, the ghost Tallest disappears, the shadows in the room are beginning to recede. The flames are still there, now in Adalet's neutral lavender. She meets Dwight's gaze and begins to tremble.

"Adalet," Dwight says. Its perhaps the gentlest he's ever said her name. He really had forgotten that while Adalet has seen her share of battle and bloodshed, she's still so young, and had had monumental trauma she probably still needs to work through. He makes a note in the back of his mind to find her a good therapist.

He moves a little closer and reaches out his hand. He doesnt move to touch her, letting her be the one to take his hand if she chooses.

Addie hesitates. Can she really do this? She thought she was so much stronger than this. She shouldn't be so affected, right? But something about seeing Tallest Purple made her remember. They all have their dark sides. They all have people they have hurt. And they all are just trying to live.

She doesnt even care as her flames transform back into the navy blue.

Slowly, she reaches for Dwight's hand, and as soon as their fingers touch, the flames are gone.

Dwight holds Adalet's hand for just a moment before letting go, not wanting to make the girl uncomfortable. He clears his throat. "I am...very sorry. I...should not have snapped like that. Not at you."

Addie shook her head. "Im sorry I didnt get here sooner."

Theres a long silence, the air heavy with uncertainty. Leera manages to sooth Egan for the time being before turning a sharp gaze at Tenn. "Where is Johnny. How do we find him?"