"Indra!" Akio screamed, stumbling in the direction her girlfriend had run. "Indra!" Her throat closed over, suffocating her with each syllable of her name. Burning agony shot up her arm, following intense dizziness. The bruising on her broken arm continued to darken, blood leaking from each puncture of bone on the surface of her skin.

"If we don't take you back, you're going to bleed out, Akio," Elias stated, her voice low and wavering. "Indra's made her choice. If we follow, all we do is raise her risk of getting found."

Akio shook her head, tears streaming down her face and blurring her vision as she took two more steps forward. "She's blind, Elias! She doesn't know the territory, she doesn't have Fluffy. Every step she takes is into the dark with lava pools on all sides."

The Lizz hung her red-scaled head. "It's more than likely she's already dead."

Weight that pushed against Akio's chest, heavier than the grip of this sectors leader pulled her to her knees. Pain, grief, self-hatred, regret all stringed into each second of the scream that ripped through her throat like a burning fire, devouring everything she'd been clinging to, everything she'd been pushing towards. Akio slammed her broken arm against the ground, wanting it to bleed, wanting it to hurt.

This is all my fault.

Throwing her body to the side, she hit it again. Blood splattered the ground from the bone piercing further out.

Everything that's happened is because of me.

She hit it again, screaming when the impact caused one of the sharpened bones to slice vertically through her bicep. Violet blood gushed from the opening, unrelenting, pooling on the ground, and causing smoke to rise in the nearby lava pool.

Hawke. Indra. Eris. They're dead.

Heaving, Akio could feel her oi'ek twitch before growing still as more blood leaked from her body.

It should have been me.

Sobs overtook everything as she collapsed on the warm, rocky surface. Her vision swam, blurring the world to nothing more than hues of orange and black swirls.

It should have been me.

..... ..... ..... .....

Warm liquid, strong with the scent of medicinal herbs was the first thing to pierce through Akio's senses. Whispers in languages she didn't know echoed around the room. A haze of numb imitated the sensation of weightlessness.

Indra.

The warmth of silent tears left her still closed eyes. There wasn't enough energy left in her limbs to do anything more. She'd abandoned Hawke. She'd abandoned Indra. The logical, trained assassin argued, knowing that it was the right choice, the best choice for survival. But the Se'li side didn't care. It ached, it wept in their absence. It cried for every grave that had been dug since she took on the role of being the leader.

"It took you long enough to wake. I never thought I'd see you again, Six," a water voice declared, a slight gurgling traveled from the speakers throat when they spoke her weapon name.

Akio weakly fluttered her eyes open, taking in the unfamiliar room. This wasn't the mansion. . . Advanced medical equipment that seemed to be in ill-repair surrounded them in a dimly lit room. Tools were set out on a table, alongside pieces of cybernetics. Sparring a glance down, Akio let out a surprised squeak. Her natural arm was gone.

The speaker came closer. "There was so much damage done that repairing it wasn't feasible. Even if we tried, you'd already lost so much blood by the time you came to us that the risk of such a surgery wasn't wise."

A being shaped like a human, came into the light. It's watery form appeared like Arden's, but it had greens, reds, and dots of glowing pieces that sparkled as a starry sky. "My engineer is working on two new arms to fit you with as we speak. Your vigilantes were—intercepted on their way back to your mansion."

"Are you with the Commander's?" Akio croaked, unable to speak much above a whisper.

"No. I have never been a supporter of extermination of any species," the water creature stated. "You may call me Meli. We've been watching the vigilantes for quite some time now, but generally interference is forbidden."

Inhaling a deep breath, Akio glanced between the three blood bags hovering above her. "Then why are you helping me?"

Meli's watery form boiled. Steam hissed, rising behind them like a cloud of smoke. "Because the Commander is planning to commit genocide, eliminating all species that don't belong in his perfect galaxy."

Akio froze, her hearts racing fiercely in her chest until they ached. She gazed into Meli's eyes, sensing the want for justice, the desire to save others, but above it all a gut-wrenching emotion that screamed the truth of their words.

Fear.