Alex looked at his father, still teary eyed from surprise. He wanted to continue talking, but he interrupted him.
"Look, we had our goodbyes. You have your friends. Go say goodbye to them too, Al." He told him, going away and waiting.
Alex was so overwhelmed that he got lost in his own emotions. He should really talk to them. Especially Unako. Somehow he still felt guilt that this had to end like this. Maybe if he was less caught up in the past, or if he was more understanding, or maybe if he gave her a chance. He sighed. All of it kept piling up.
"I told you we'd make this work." Unako laughed a little, showing how proud she was.
"It didn't have to do anything with your intuition." Mia brushed her off immediately.
Unako only sighed, knowing Mia wouldn't agree. It felt nice to be right though, as always.
As Alex approached them, the pressure of seeing them the last time made him feel nauseous. He could only stare at them, almost scared to talk to them.
"Cat got your tongue?" Unako looked up at him innocently with her pink eyes.
He didn't know why he felt so ashamed to talk to her. He breathed in deeply and decided to get this over with.
"Could I have a talk with Unako alone?" He questioned Mia, with determination in his voice.
His determined face made Mia laugh a little bit, which crushed his confidence a little. She covered her mouth, showing just how much things she couldn't quite take seriously. He laughed along with her, knowing it wasn't anything that serious.
"Sure thing. We already had our overly dramatic goodbyes." She punched him lightly, but he hugged her out of nowhere.
She stiffened up, obviously surprised. She sighed with a grin and hugged him back. When he let go of her, he had tears in his eyes again.
"Aw, come on, Al. It's gonna be good. Just hold on tight." She patted his back roughly, a very forced smile on her face, as if she was containing her pain once more.
Even if it was rough, he could feel the gentleness she had for him and just how much she did care. He resisted hugging her once again, knowing he shouldn't take up much of their time. He had to contain himself, it'll be easier. He just wanted to say one last little thing, just so she has it in mind.
"I love you a lot, Mia. Keep that in mind. Someone will always care for you, no matter what." He told her, almost breaking into tears after that sentence.
Mia looked a little shocked when he said that, but after a second she recovered and grinned a toothy grin. She lightly punched him one more time.
"I love you too, Al. I won't forget this." She said before leaving, obvious that his words gave her an odd energy boost.
She ran happily to Ruben, giving him an enthusiastic speech that he couldn't her. Seeing her so happy made Alex have some hope for the future. That maybe she'll be better off than he thinks.
As soon as he focused on Unako, he didn't feel as good as before. He was still scared and nervous, unsure if he should even be doing this, but somehow he felt as if it was his duty to talk to her one last time. He was close with the short girl after all.
"Let me guess, you feel guilty for me leaving?" Unako questioned, smiling softly.
"It... It's that obvious?" He questioned weakly, not knowing it really was that obvious.
"You're an open book, Alex. You're easy to read." She answered jokingly.
She looked a little bit awkward, like talking to him pained her, but tried to hide it. It seems like all her feelings for him didn't fade like he was scared of, but he could also say the same for himself. He had no idea why he just wanted to save her from Earth, but to be with her was something that he was hesitant about.
"Are you sure you want this?" Alex asked her, not wanting to be pushy.
"I do. But it's a little too late for you to start fixing things, isn't it?" She said in a colder tone.
He froze, feeling guilt tripped very easily.
"You're still hurt, huh? I'm sorry, I just-" He got cut off by Unako.
"Listen to me carefully now." She went to him, very close, her voice a bit lower, yet softer.
He got flustered in the face from that closeness. He had to focus harder to listen to her voice, it made this all oddly intimate and all the more embarrassing.
"You can still make a difference."
That sentence made his heart beat faster.
"I-I can?" He almost yelled out, but she pulled him by the shirt to get closer and hushed him.
"You see her? She looks happy. Like she's ready to talk more now." She pointed at Mia, who looked like she was just casually goofing around with Ruben.
He didn't know why, but he felt like Unako was tempting him with something now. Like he shouldn't listen to her now.
"I told her I'll let her go." He backed off slightly, feeling the pressure he had on himself hard.
She rolled her eyes, like she liked to do when he was being stubborn. She pulled him in again, seeing that he wasn't bothered by it, judging by how he blushed.
"No, you let her make her own choices. Doesn't mean you can't join her." She told him seriously.
He hated her for making sense. He needed to fight with something, some good argument for her voice to get out of his head.
"Listen to this idea. Breaking out with Mia, teaming up with her... Helping her. Look at how happy she looks now. Imagine how she'd look with your help where she actually wants to be. You can save her." Unako's words were now in his head and they couldn't go out.
"But Mr. Marais and Eleonore... And..."
...Oliviera...
"Alex. Listen to me. The two of them have each other. You're of no use to them. Don't you want to be helpful?" She was persistent.
He didn't know why but he felt like he was being manipulated again. But she always managed to do it. It hurt. She'd win again and he'll let her. But Oliviera was still somewhere.
"As for your little girlfriend, she might still be alive. If she is, she probably found someone new. If she's dead, she won't remember you and you most likely won't find her." Unako stated, her voice soft but her words harsh.
It hurt to listen to. He knew it was the truth though, he just never wanted to hear someone say them. He knew he'd agree with them. He just wanted to remain hopeful and ignorant, like this he was forced to admit he was stupid for still hoping to find her.
Unako noticed him getting more weak to the mind. She felt relieved. She was almost scared he wouldn't listen.
"You can start a new with your dad now. With Mia. With... Me. If that means something for you. I'm right here, Alex. You don't have to chase after me. We're all here." Unako's voice got more and more serious.
She won. No matter what he did, he'd feel guilty now. But he knew what he'd feel less guilty for now.
"I understand if you don't want to join me..." She looked down at the floor, making him feel even more inclined to join her.
As planned. Just as planned.
"I'll... I'll join you." He barely mustered out, afraid of how Adrien will react.
She smiled, hugging him tightly. He returned the hug barely, feeling absolutely drained from this. Making this decision made him dead mentally, although it had a completely different effect on Unako, who was bursting from inner joy now. Her plan worked and now he'll be with them. Just like she wanted.
