Alex was in a state of numbness.
He heard many things but his mind was in full static. There was no dreams he could see yet clearly he can hear something.
He was however unable to make a thought or idea bloom. It was useless as his main concern was Lucy. The state of his body though did not allow him to even wake up.
It felt like hours and Alex had no clue what had happened. Literally the hours before he finally defeated Havoc became nothing more than will o whisps. He could only see a small frame of the entire memory.
He did not recall why he went unconscious and what happened to Havoc after.
All he could do was drift in the darkness as his eyes were sealed from tiredness and overuse of his abilities.
He weakly groaned in this dim state and drifted to deeper sleep, becoming null to time.
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Sometime after:
About 11 days had passed. And barely now the first to wake up was Lucy. She woke up from a bright light up ahead that flashed her eyes from a tent with a hole in its roof.
She woke up with a strange sensation and soreness as she heard many sounds.
Leaves swaying. Wind blowing. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Then Lucy snapped her eyes fully open when she heard the clicking of a beaker.
She got out of the cot she was resting in and immediately tried to summon her vectors as she turned to the sound.
Lucy was panicking as she heard the sound going. And there was a woman with worn out clothes and short hair. She was using goggles and tied her hair in a bun as she was mixing something in the beaker while having a whole construction of a chemical lab setup in front.
Diana noticed her and cringingly turned to Lucy. She blinked a couple times as Lucy failed to realized she could not create any vectors for the moment.
Diana rubbed her forehead with her forearm and looked at her with interest "Oh heya! Finally awake I see? I saved you missy and this idiot guy over here. You've been really out." Dana said as she continued mixing and this time she failed to notice that Lucy tried to skewer her as she crossed her arms but was shocked to not see any of her vectors form or anything happened in her swings.
"Kkgh... Augh... What..?" Lucy said as she dropped her arms and felt so heavy. Dana did notice that as Lucy's knees bucked a bit and moved a small office file cabinet near her cot as Dana put the beaker down in the table she was working with and rushed to catch Lucy in her arms.
"Oh whoa whoa! Careful missy! Literally you were the most damaged next to Alex. I need you to lay down and rest just like him over there. Don't over do it." Diana said as she then felt Lucy slap both arms on her back.
Lucy was frightened a bit as Diana rushed her but calmed down as even after her lame hit, she smiled up for her to see as he sat her down carefully. It was nothing she expected.
The eyes of the science girl were genuine and filled with good intentions that Lucy dropped her rude behavior to instead do as she told her.
The fact she heard Alex was here too made Lucy mellow to a peaceful state. Now in the cot, Dana sat on her turning chair and focused on the beaker as it was a yellowish color with red stuff on the top of the liquid.
Lucy took the initiative to figure out who she was.
"Um... Ma'am... Who are you?" Lucy asked as Dana giggled a bit before running to the beginning of the chemistry setup and poured the beaker to be diluted and processed in many ways until it reached the end of the setup that showed a greenish blue hue substance.
"Aha! I knew this idiot would never say anything about his great sister-! The gall on him!" Dana said as she broke the news to Lucy who was astounded to hear that.
"Sister-!? You!?" She yelled as Dana feigned being hurt, a hand over her heart.
"Awwhh.. what does that mean? That I am too beautiful to be compared to my half-virus brother? Heh... Well I guess I can't blame you. But yeah! I am Dana Mercer. Hacker. Expert Biologist and doctor by accident. And somewhat of a thief. But for that Blackwatch and Gentek are to blame for." She said as she side sat on another table to the opposite side of her whole chemistry setup and other materials.
"No I just uh- assumed Alex was alone. He never spoke of his family... And I didn't dare to hurt him to remember." Lucy said as she scratched her head to feel that she had no stitches or bandages wrapped all over. She the thought she would be a full mummy after that whole ordeal.
"I see. Welp, Don't fear cause big Onee-san is here!" Dana joked as she proudly grinned to then looked intently to her "Now that you know who I am. Tell me, who are you miss Diclonius. I've heard that you yourself are a thing to behold." Dana told Lucy as she tugged her hair and passed her fingers across her long pink hair.
"Oh right... I... I am Lucy. You can also call me Kaede if you wished... But I always liked to be called Lucy. I come from Japan and have been with your brother for a couple of months now... He has taken care of me as well I of him. As you saw... There was a multitude of people after us for our powers. We tried our best to not get captured or followed yet somehow they always still do." Lucy said with disdain.
She wanted so badly to be now with Alex but she heard what Dana said. He was still out and who knows when he will wake up. She was worried.
"Dana. When will... Alex wake up...? Can you at least give me an estimate...?" Lucy asked as Dana looked to her features slowly fall to a state of melancholy and depression. This made Dana feel for the poor girl as she suspected something. But never... EVER... Did she expect this type of reaction.
What base has her little brother gone to?
This made her smiled as she snapped her fingers and made Lucy look at her.
"Aww. Lucy, don't be like that. My brother may be in a state that is hard for his body to fix but don't worry. I have done and will keep doing the best I can to get him healthy again. What've I have seen is that my brother's body has a strange substance mixed in with his biomass that interferes with most, if not all, viral enhancements he has. So this curtails on his healing and even worse affects the most basic things in Alex's body. So yeah I think even breathing is hard for him. For now though, I'm confident he will recover with this-" Dana said as she walked over to her chemistry set and raised the beaker that showed the yellowish liquid that had lost all the reddish tint or hue from the top part to show a pure, glowing neon yellow shine.
"This-!!! Well... I haven't named it yet... But hence I will call it RVNA!" Dana said as Lucy was amazed to see the yellow hue. That's when she recognized it from the thing Alex himself created to make the anti-soundwave headphones.
"I've seen... That hue.." Lucy said as Dana was raised a bit from her awareness.
"Really? Well I might guess from other creatures or even maybe my brother too? Anyway, this substance is a bit special as here it collects nutrients and forms unique systems that have created many of what me and Alex have fought over the years. Now I can use it too and this substance works as a anti-coagulant, breaking down that 'Whitelight' chemical from his body and cleaning him out." Dana informed as she then pointed to blood bags and other bags with strange liquid that seemed like that stuff hanging from the walls and streets whenever Havoc would attack. That nasty matter that spread if left to thrive.
"Thank you. For coming and helping him" Lucy said as Diana nodded.
"Of course. I will always do that. Now for an estimate... Judging by the adverse reaction Alex had gone through, the amount of RVNA I have to pump into him, and then for all the damage he has taken within his body I will say... Eh... A month maybe." Dana said as Lucy picked up on that adverse reaction bit.
"Adverse reaction?" Lucy called on that as Dana cringed a bit. She gave a worried snide but huffed in acceptance to tell her what was going on.
"Ugggh... Lucy. I- well... I wanted to calm you down and tell you Alex will be fine but seeing how much you care for him I wanted to keep him out of your sight for some time. The thing is well RVNA is cleansing him from the chemicals stuck inside his body but at the same time the many lipids, proteins, viruses, and conjunction of other compounds has... Altered my brother a bit. Just a bit..." Dana said as she was sweating a bit.
That's when Lucy began to understand. What had happened to him while she was out!?
"What did you do-!?" Lucy yelled in anger while standing up from wanting to know now what had happened to Alex as she did not liked what she was saying
"-Like I told you! It was necessary. I would never cause him that reaction if I did not deemed it vital for him to live! Literally I've tried many forms but only through the RVNA has he shown any positive results...! Dammit I am angry too but now I understand why he took such a risk and absorbed those evolved bastards." Dana said as Lucy calmed down and lowered her eyes in slight trust of what she said.
Eating those soldiers was a wrong call. She felt it. But didn't stop it as she trusted he would be okay. He was being careless all because of her.
Lucy felt the weight on her shoulders for being a burden for him. She blamed herself as she saw that Alex would consumed them even if it staggered and conflicted with his body. She saw it and did nothing.
Lucy grabbed her horns and fell to her knees as she began to cry.
So many times this has happened. It hurt her as she wanted no more than rip the horns again that have cursed her entire existence. She heaved in anger and shed tears as Dana soften her look, feeling bad as Lucy curled down to slam her elbows to the ground while still gripping her horns.
"... Sscth... There's nothing good in being different... Me being here hurts him too-!" She yelled as she tainted the floor with her tears as they slid down her eyes and nose "Even someone as strong as him is hurt too... I am so tired of hurting those I love-! I don't mean to but somehow I- I- I- gghhhcth-!" Lucy growled and had closed her eyes as she hit the ground repeatedly, angry that she could not stop it even when she had learned a new ability.
Dana felt bad and wanted to hug the poor girl until she saw what she feared.
She had tested Lucy's blood too and was in charge of healing her. The shock was that most of what she did was useless. As a matter of fact, Lucy herself had healed herself even when she had more extensive damage and the severe one on her kidney.
Why?
Dana saw the answer clear as day and confirmed as Lucy kept hitting the ground
"I'm so useless-! Useless-! USELESS-!!! WHAT HAVE I DONE TO ALEX-!? WHY CAN'T I SAVE HIM FOR ONCE-! WHY CAN'T-!" Lucy screamed as she heard her fists were making heavy dents. She wondered if her vectors had come back.
The reality was much more shocking.
Lucy curled up and opened her eyes as through the tears she saw the truth of what Alex had done.
"Oooh SHIT-!? WHAT IS THIS-!!!??" Lucy shouted out as she looked at her left hand that had been hitting the ground and saw that it wasn't a human hand anymore. It was... A claw. Just like Alex's.
It was surreal but the more she felt it move, the difference was becoming more real. Lucy breathed rapidly and tried to shake her arm to see if it was fake or something but this was her real hand morphed into a weapon. She looked at Dana who also was amazed to what she was seeing.
"So... Yep... I thought I mixed the cultures, you know, me being sloppy and stuff... But I was right on the money. Lucy... I... Uh... Well I can't say it in any normal way so here it goes. You are now the same as my brother. The Blacklight virus has merged with you somehow and was able to save you. Alex did it in his last moments before losing consciousness at some point. Hadn't he... Who knows what would have happened to you." Dana explained as she walked to Lucy and touched the claw of hers. She prodded the sharp sided and spikes of it before placing her palm to her mutated one.
"I've read about your vector powers too... And found that you may have temporarily lost control of those powers thus no matter how much you try, you cannot summon those invisible hands." Dana revealed as Lucy was still grasping the fact she had a claw for a hand.
Then Lucy laughed a bit. This chilled Dana a bit as she found it creepy. She stepped back a bit before seeing her cheeks had gotten rosy. Lucy then brought her left hand to held it against her face.
"It's like... He gave me a part of him to keep me alive. A part of him to be with me when he couldn't." She said with a fond look as Dana was very observant and now her brain truly wrapped up in the gossip and teasing behavior of hers.
"Muhuhu... Hey~ Do I see love in those pretty red eyes Lucy-san?" Dana teased while picking the Diclonius up to her feet as Lucy immediately had cat eyes and accidentally detransformed her hand back to normal as she blushed heavily.
"oh... My... GODDDD-!!! HE IS YOUR BOYFRIEND-!!! ALEX HAS A NEW GIRLFRIEND NOW-!!! WOOHOOOOO-!!! I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! THAT'S WHY HE GAVE IT HIS ALL AND WANTED TO KEEP YOU ALIVE-!!!" Dana ecstatically said to Lucy as she looked away, shy from the uncommon behavior and being with a girl that seemed to fawn over things like this. She tried her best to look away but Dana grasped her head entirely and turned it her way. She gently pushed her back to the cot of hers and sat her like a schoolgirl, very upright.
"No no no-! You won't get away from not telling me what or how you got with my little bro. You are going to tell me now!" Dana said as she walked away and dragged a chair as fast as she could and sat in front of her.
"So may I ask... Tell me how you met. From there we go down the rabbit hole. As a girl, I will judge how much chemistry I find in you two. And yes, both scientifically and lovedovey. Begin" Dana said all professional in the end as Lucy looked down. She looked at her feet and curled her toes before realizing that the very least she could do was tell her what had happened.
Lucy grasped her knees and bit her lip awkwardly before settling as she saw the canaving eyes of someone who wanted to hear the drama.
"Okay. I guess it would be nice to tell someone..." She said before clearing her throat and saying the story of how they met.
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A couple of hours later:
Diana was shedding tears of happiness as she had never heard such a story that brought two beings that have suffered so much to be together. And then they fell in love trying to be human while living a carefree life.
"Kughgh... My god... I'mma a mess. Its such a beautiful story." Dana said as she was relieved that Alex's next girlfriend was such a good soul... Well of course redacting the fact she admitted to killing hundreds (but you know that's normal considering beyond human beings)... Yet deep down she was okay. Dana held her hands with palms together as she had used a lot of tissues and had written parts of her story on her logbook.
"How am I glad at least Alex was with you. Like it was rocky and hard for you two to get along but considering what you have suffered, it's soothing to see not one of you was alone. Being a couple now should be even better. You will never be alone again. Still, I am so sorry that you lost your family. The ones that loved you first. We won't be able to replace that or make you feel like they did but I hope that we can plug some of the hurt within you, Lucy. Now let me hug ya" Dana ended as Lucy did so and both giggled at the rollercoaster of emotions they had in this talk alone. Now both felt more connected than just Alex.
Dana got up and placed her log down as Lucy got up. She was a little sniffly but Lucy rubbed her forearm to her nose and was a bit ashamed of her red eyes from remembering the pain of losing Kouta and everyone else as well as her hardship through being imprisoned and persecuted. With Alex at her side though, she couldn't ask for a more loving partner by her side. Someone that had gone through the same type of hellish events in life.
Lucy now was fully confident and felt a lot better telling someone else she could trust her story. She now however wanted to see Alex herself.
Dana felt this as she turned about and had the new batch of RVNA ready on a little trolley that seemed to be good for use in the soil of this nature landscape that Dana had set camp in.
"I know. You want to meet Alex right? He's in another tent that I had to built just for him. You'll see why. And no. I cannot in good conscience have him and you together. Even if it pains me knowing how much your heart burns for him~" Dana teased again as Lucy pouted.
"Dana stop it..." Lucy pointed out as Dana did a little jump of giddy accomplishment.
"Alright. Now just follow me." Dana said as she raised the flap to the outside and Lucy saw that it was really sunny. And hot. Where were they?
Dana saw the Diclonius head out to see the landscape was truly a green area where trees reached high to form a vast canopy.
That's when Lucy heard the trolley was a drone remote moving one, following after her at a fast speed as Dana came out and held the remote for it "Always close the opening down, I put a rock there cause here the mosquitoes are so annoying." She claimed as Lucy now found it hard to be bothered by that as being someone like Alex would mean she has lost certain things, both good and bad. She won't dwell on her change today and was more alert to see Alex.
Dana walked down with her as the drone lead the way as she controlled it
"By the way, we are nowhere near the U.S. if you want to know. We came here by Jet, of course that I stole from Blackwatch some ways back, and have it parked somewhere far from here just in case. Don't expect to use it but at least we have a Jet if we ever need it. Thankfully through it, I was able to acquire some Blackwatch uniforms and raid military bases to steal stuff like the IVs and other important things. We are somewhere in South America, dare say near Columbia. Maybe Suriname. Shit, I should've really attended my geography classes..." Dana said as Lucy really pondered if Alex could help them when he woke up. She would never trust Dana in locations if she was this reckless to set up camp in the middle of nowhere. At the same time she was thankful they were miles upon miles away from any prosecuting forces.
The tent Alex was in shortly came into sight and Lucy picked up the pace as Dana let her and guided the trolley drone to move and sit near the entry as she came by to lift the opening, letting Lucy and the trolley inside as she followed suit by closing the opening.
Now inside, Lucy saw a bigger setup of chemistry and medical like instruments. What unnerved her was the blood on some of them laid in messy trays that had been used for operation. Lucy also saw the white substance that had damaged Alex to this extend. She hated them for creating something so harmful.
Dana whistled and lifted another liftable opening "Hey Lucy! Come here." She called as the trolley had powered down inside the room as Lucy barged in.
Lucy did not expect what she saw.
Alex was unclothed from his top part but had the rest of his clothes like his jeans still in him. Lucy saw his hair and came near to rub his hair softly, seeing that his entire skin that was showing had turned a grey color with blueish veins extending like vine across his limbs and even face. She turned away a bit putting hand over her mouth, as a devilish intent to go after those bastards that wanted to experiment on them now. Her eyes shined red before she calmed down and sat on the nearby chair then held Alex's right hand.
"Ghmmm... Alex. Why did you do this...? Why would you ever go this... Far-? For me? Really...? What would you expect me to do if you were gone...?" Lucy asked him as if he could even answer but lovingly held his palm that had blood on it. His hand felt slimy and frail as she could swear it was squishy. She didn't held it tight though and simply held it as she analyzed the surgical table he was in.
It was stained with blood but Lucy was happy to know Dana kept him warm with hospital blankets under his back. Lucy also saw the needle connection from his right hand connected with that yellow tube that showed the liquid going in him from the stand holding the IV Bags. She was now truly grateful Dana had found her brother and saved him.
She couldn't stomach the thought if she had to lose him. She would rather die before she held his dead hand had she been awake and forced herself to run away with him to safety. No way in hell could she ever do anything that Dana has done for him.
She shed tears and leaned back to sit while still grasping her hand.
Dana was about to tell her she was going to do a procedure but she backed away and left the room, giving her some time before starting as she saw the IV Bags we're almost done. After they were, she would begin the operation to rid Alex of more of that white substance off his body.
She let the two together and feigned she was looking for stuff while also using the computer to see if the perimeter she had set-up had detected anyone near here.