[IC] The Dark Beyond

[Estylwen]

Unknown Museum, Office

@WhiteAngel25

---

The pickaxe struck through. The stone angel cried out as it was destroyed and soon became nothing but crumbled stone. After a moment, it reduced to dust and scattered across the room. Sabrina was successful, tactfully heading off the attack by the Hollow. The darkness returned to normal, and the museum fell silent.

---

Mediterranean Sea, Slowly Sinking

@Days

---

”Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Star said, reaching out to Subject #3, who was a shivering mess, barely holding back the tears in her eyes. She tried to be brave, nodding despite her trembles.

"I'm okay, Star. I'm... I'm... I'm okay. Wh-what..." She couldn't finish her sentence. What happened? What was that? Her eyes searched the silhouette of Star, trying to make out her expression in the sinking darkness.

Subject #3 took a moment to completely get out of her hazmat suit, pushing it to the side as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She then lurched to the side, the submarine losing its balance again as it slowly swirled in the water. Subject #3 held onto something. It felt like a seat.

"I- do you have my location? I think- I think I need some help.” Star said, making Subject #3's head turn.

"Are... are we gonna... die..?" She whispered, feeling the submarine take another sinking dip into the darkness.

Then, a metallic thud. And another. It was impossible to see without the submarine lights, but it felt like something big, and something massive, was circling the sub.

Subject #3 stared out the dark window, a petrified look on her face.

---

HiveMind Underwater Research Facility, Sub Contained Lab

@WhiteAngel25

---

"What is going on? Where am I?"

The researcher's eyes lit up, and she gave the lollipop a voracious lick before speaking, "You're not dead. In fact, you could say you've never been better!"

The lights stopped whirring, settling into a uniform pattern over Stella's head, and the magnetic stimulation stopped.

The researcher looked down at her clipboard, her lollipop sticking out of the side of her mouth as she clicked a pen. "You're in the deeper levels of HiveMind's facility. You're under my care until your father comes by."

She mumbled to herself incoherently for a long moment before her gaze focused back on Stella strapped to the table. "There's a lot to do to make sure you're ready for that, though. Absorbing a DCE, a Heart of Hearts, a nexus of energy, is like having a nuclear bomb tucked under your ribcage. I'm sure it feels... interesting."

She got closer to Stella face, where Stella could feel the hot breath of the enthusiastic researcher. "Tell me, do you notice anything different? Any murderous tendencies? Anything I should be worried about?"

She smiled gleefully, waiting for an answer, before leaning back slightly in her wheelie seat. "You're one of the first of your kind. We've tried many, many times, but all of our experiments were failures. It seems it's just your destiny to be your father's perfect daughter, no?"

---

HiveMind Underwater Research Facility, Floor 3, Secure Control Room (And the 'Storage Closet')

@Lexisheeps, @Days

---

"Do you have family, Von? What's the rush? You've got all the cards."

Von Galloes stared hard at Thierry, sitting across from him. He watched silently for a long moment, the tension in the room palpable. His eyes narrowed finally, before he glanced at Mr. Cress.

"Mr. Cress. You might want to avert your eyes."

At a click of a button, lights flickered on the screen overhead. Lights on the headpieces, activated.

"Monsieur Thierry," Von Galloes smiled, revealing sharp teeth. "You should know this game better by now. I get what I want, always. But I should be congratulating you. After all..."

He leaned forward, raising his glass of wine with an evil smirk. "You're the one who just signed the death certificate of your two beloveds."

And just like that, the needles dove into the skin of both Nick and Aurélie.

Biting.

Delivering its contents.

Nearly instantly, Nick and Aurélie would feel a strange sensation. If one had to describe it, it felt like a sticky sweet blanket wrapping around them, coating them in what could be pins and needles. In another instant, there would be a strong disconnect from their mind and body, feeling wholly drugged. In the following instant, there would be an immediate slack in their bodies as the neurotoxin paralyzed their limbs. Unable to move or speak.

Limp in their seats, woefully limp and still, appearing dead.

Von Galloes smiled, watching Thierry's reaction hungrily. "You sure you were wise not to give me what I wanted, little Thierry?"

Von Galloes' eyes glanced to Ramses, then to Aaron beaten and broken on the floor. His eyes were alight with malice. "Well done, my dear."

He gestured to Ramses and Mr. Cress as his gaze focused on Thierry, "See? Polite and obedient. You could learn a thing or two from your colleagues."

He swirled the goblet in his hand, relaxed in his seat. "I have all the cards, yes. You and your cohorts are nothing but dust under my feet at this point, my beautiful, broken playthings. Oh, how I adore your struggles. But you know all struggles must come to an end."

He pulled out a letter from within the folds of his jacket, and passed it to a security drone, which then presented it in front of Thierry, along with a pen.

Von Galloes stared over his goblet, waiting for Thierry to open and read the letter. It was a contract, legally binding, and had been curated for this specific moment.

"If you read that, you'll find everything I want from you, for now. All Louvre assets you own, your title, your power and status, everything you control, you will relinquish and turn over to me. It will become the property of HiveMind."

His tone dropped to a darker note, not leaving any room for debate.

"Sign it, and you might walk out of here with your family in one piece..."

[Days]

”Look at me, or at least at what’s left. Look at me, before I hate myself.”

TW: Very depressed thoughts

”Aurélie?"

She blinked, swallowing her next sob. ”Nick?” Her voice was breathy, somewhat desperate. Her eyes shot to the side, and she saw Nick was with her, in the same kind of chair as hers, the same kind of needle hovering close to his skin. There seemed to be a struggle outside of their confining space, gunshots sounding off, ricocheting against the walls. But Aurélie wasn’t focused on that. Instead, she looked at her father through the screen, her heart squeezing and her entire body tingling, wanting to go back to his embrace that promised she’d be loved and held from here on out. That she was safe. The ghost of his warm touch was still a ghost on her skin.

Through the static speakers fixed to the ceiling, Aurélie heard the voice of the man who had talked to her for the past 7 years. Telling her things. Seemingly innocent stories, oddly placed bits of advice, carefully constructed manipulations and cruelly stated truths. And now, Von Galloes gave a choice to her father. The young woman’s fingernails, once prettily manicured, now weak and brittle, tried to dig into the metal of her armrests, not giving way. With her knuckles white, and her body trembling, Aurélie’s eyes darted around the small room. There must be a way out for them both. She tightened the muscles in her arms and tried to pull, but was only met with the biting resistance of her restraints. Beside her, Nick softly whimpered.

A choice. And a clock. No, a timer. Her head angled a little to the side, mirroring the tipped screen as she studied the scene displayed. The very sight of Von Galloes was lava in her veins, firing her up, angering her. But her gaze shifted to her father. There was turmoil in his eyes. The same type she would see when Theo begged him if they could play together, but Thierry had to leave because he got called in. The very same eyes she witnessed when Cosette would run into his office with her drawing to show him, only for him to get an important call he needed to pick up instead of acknowledging his youngest. Those were choices, too. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of Aurélie’s stomach that she couldn’t quite place yet, but it constricted her breathing and made hot tears press behind her eyes.

The man beside her was married to her father. Appearently. And Sabrina, where was she? Maman. It was hard to wrap her head around. But, if they were married, that must mean that her father loved him, right? So his choice was between two people he loved. It made the daughter feel intense sorrow for her father, as no one should be faced with such a choice. Surely, he would figure out a way, right? But knowing Von Galloes. There wasn't one. The eerie silence dragged on, aside from her ragged breaths and the soft sounds Nick was making. The clock was ticking down. Something in her blocked her from begging for her life. She was done with that.

The door opened in the room where her father was, and two men she didn’t know appeared. Hope suddenly surged inside of her, thinking that they were there to save her father, kill Von Galloes and get them all out of this mess. But it seemed to be different. One slumped man on the ground and the other? A flash of memory went through Aurélie. This same man, on the steps of the pyramid where this all started, waiting for the de Villiers, but older now. She blinked, but put her eyes back on her father, not a word having left his mouth, or so much as a movement from his fingers. Swallowing, she looked to the side to Nick. But, her breathing stopped for a moment when it suddenly clicked for Aurélie. Things she noticed before but didn’t quite place. Nick was wearing a guard uniform for this facility. But he hadn't been a guard that she didn’t know. The uniform was too big, put on haphazardly, one button fastened to the wrong hole. She studied him, really studied him. Small signs she recognised from herself. A small patch of hair missing, signalling he'd been augmentated. The slight bruising and marks that the collar on her neck did to her too. A conclusion dawned on her. Nick, was a subject too. He’d been captured by Von Galloes at some point. And judging by his state, not that long ago. Aurélie's hair had all grown back over the scars on her head. So he was stuck here, too. And her father had come here to save him.

Him. Not her.

Her father’s surprised eyes in the doorway hadn’t been because he was surprised he found her in that cell with a syringe, but that he found her there at all. She tore her eyes away from Nick and reluctantly placed them on her father again, her eyes misting over.

Van Galloes may be an asshole, and he may have made her life the last 7 years a living hell, but he hadn’t lied. He wasn’t making things up when he told her that her parents weren’t looking for her and Cosette. That Thierry had moved on. That no one was coming for her and Cosy. She always fought him on it, thinking he was just trying to break her spirit. Keep her from fighting and revolting. She told him her father wasn’t like that. That he was surely going to kick his ass and get his daughters. Just he wait! But he had been right, all along. Thierry he- he didn’t love her. He hadn’t wanted her, either. She was an accident, after all. A lapse of judgment on an intoxicated night with her biological mother. Someone who didn’t want her, either. Her bottom lip trembled as she closed her eyes, making tears breach her waterline and roll down her cheeks. The realisation dawned like a burning hot piece of coal being shoved down her throat. She knew what his choice was going to be.

Not her. Not her over him. Not her over, well, anything.

”Nick,” Her voice betrayed her broken state, but she didn’t care as the clock neared its final point. ”Save Cosette, please. For me. Tell her I love her. Tell her… that I’m sor- sorry.” She sniffled, a sob escaping her anyways. The tortured woman hung her head and closed her eyes. She didn’t think she could shatter more than what the last 7 years had done. But still, small fracture lines appeared in her already broken pieces, breaking further until she was nothing more than dust. Blow and she’d disappear.

She wasn't loved. She wasn't held. And she wasn't safe.

She didn’t want to see the timer reach its end. All she wanted was her stuffed kitten which Sabri- her mother had made for her. She wanted to see Theo’s laugh one more time, and joy on Cosette’s face. She wanted one last hug from someone who actually loved her. She wanted to eat the meals of the woman she had always seen as her mother. But she would get none of that. There was acceptance in Aurélie as she heard her father's voice through the speakers but didn’t pay attention to it anymore.

And she wasn’t surprised when the needle pierced her skin, and she could feel the biting sting of its content. Almost instantly, it pulled her under, a bitter taste in her mouth.

---

It was eerily dark in the submarine, as metallic buckling and creaking of the pressurised vessel could be heard through Nova’s cochlear. The floor under her vibrated, and it felt like the ship was moving. Yet, without power, the only way it could be going was down, deeper, being swallowed by the sea Nova had spent a great deal of her life avoiding like the plague. She tried not to let that particular panic take over. The young scientist swallowed, knowing damn well what sinking would mean. It seemed like forever before someone answered. To Nova’s surprise, it was Dragon who answered her request for help. But as her situation started to dawn on her, she realised her plea for help may have been a little underwhelming. Un...representative. Still, a sigh of relief left her lungs as she looked at the girl, but found that she could barely see her in the dark.

Dragon knew where she was. He was going to help. He- he called her babe. She blinked twice as if that would change the word in her vision. But, no, he called her that. Whether he meant to or not. Suddenly, she was glad it was dark, so 3 couldn’t see the blush creep up on her face, rosying her porcelain skin. Julia’s addition only made it worse. She’d never known the man to be anything else but calm and collected. A tremor in the vessel set her priorities straight again as if reminding her that this was a life-or-death situation. Which it was. She was about to reply to Julia when 3 spoke. "Are... are we gonna... die..?"

”No.” Nova said, but it lacked conviction. ”No.” She repeated, this time with more power. She was not going to fucking die in the middle of the of the ocean without having felt Dragon’s warm embrace. She wanted to see the word fall from his lips, and not displayed in her vision. And she wasn't dying without saving this girl, keeping her promise to Stella. At the very least, she had a cat home to get back to. Nova raised her hands, putting them on 3’s shoulders and looking down into her eyes. ”We’re not, okay? Dragon knows our location, and he said he’s coming. He’s my…” Nova hesitated for a small moment. ”friend, and he will be here, okay?" Her eyes were on 3’s, making sure she could see how serious Nova was, despite the darkness. She had to hold onto the fact that he was coming for her.

”We have to try and see if we can turn this thing on again, okay? It’s gonna be okay. We’re going to be fine.” She told the girl, sliding her backpack off her back. After reaching in, she found what she was looking for and cracked the lightstick, illuminating the space around her and 3. ”Here, hold this.” She said, handing it to her while grabbing her own flashlight from the side of the pack.

She moved to the centre console, the ray of light illuminating the eerily unfunctioning screens and buttons. She held onto the seat and things around her just in case the vessel decided to toss her around again. Her teeth clattered, and she raised her hand to her forehead when she felt an odd sensation. There was something wet and sticky on her forehead and when she brought her fingers in her vision, she saw it was blood. Shit.

Here, deep in the ocean, in a vessel without power and temperature control, the freezing temperatures took hold of the two girls. Now that their space was lit up by the two lights, she could see her breath flutter over her lips in a little cloud every time she exhaled. Nova pressed some buttons on the console, but nothing seemed to work. The electric panel below seemed to be fried, and everything else was non-responsive. ”Julia. We can’t come to the docks. The submarine is without power, and I don’t know how to fix it. We’re-” Nova swallowed, looking back at 3 who was staring at the small window with terror in her eyes. She didn’t want to scare her more, but Julia needed to know the gravity of her situation. ”We’re sinking. Tell Dragon to hurry.”

A cold tremor went through her just as the submarine seemed to buckle again, swaying, while a loud thud could be heard. She abandoned her efforts at the console to walk back to 3, who seemed rooted to her spot, looking outside. Nova followed her gaze and she could swear she saw something move out there, but now was not the time to let her massive thalassophobia take over. ”Come here, we need to keep you warm.” Her voice was soft, hopefully soothing, despite her own hammering heart. She guided the girl away from the window and sat her down on a bench-type seat beside it. From her backpack, she took out a small shiny square, unfolding it to reveal an aluminium emergency blanket. ”This will help.” She told the girl as she covered her frame with it, ensuring to tuck her in entirely. There was only one blanket in her backpack though, so she’d have to make due.

Nova sat down next to her, wrapping her arm around the girl and pulling her a little toward herself, in the effort to keep the girl from freezing. ”I have a cat.” She said suddenly, hoping to be able to distract the girl. ”You want to see her?” She added, going to click off the tablet from it’s place on her thigh, holding it out in front of three and finding an image of her big, brown and fluffy Maine Coon cat. ”Her name is Cinnamon.” She smiled, watching 3 look at the screen before Nova raised her head, her eyes straying to the window. Outside of it, something massive seemed to move, making dread creep into Nova’s bones as they waited for rescue.

She hoped 3 didn’t know the concept of implosion. Unless the cold would take them first.

Or whatever the fuck was circling outside of their submarine.

[WhiteAngel25]

"You're not dead. In fact, you could say you've never been better!"

Stella would beg to differ with the pink-haired woman. She would say that this was the worst thing imaginable. Slowly, but surely the lights stopped and the uptake in her heartbeat evened out. Stella arched an eyebrow as the scientist clicked her pen, jotted down notes, and spoke words that made her heart drop.

"You're in the deeper levels of HiveMind's facility. You're under my care until your father comes by."

No, no, no! I need to get out of here. I refuse to be a test subject again. The snow-haired woman thought as she began to look around for any option to release herself from the table. Flashbacks of her mother arguing with someone, who wasn't in view that Stella was too young for all the augmentations that were recommended for her. However, her mother didn't have a choice.

A younger version of Stella, hugging her mother's pantleg tight, shivering with fear as who she had assumed was her father, yelled at them. Saying that 'he' wasn't going to like her mother delaying things and if it continued, 'he' would take care of Stella's augmentations himself. This happened every time a tall figure would observe Stella's training from the observation booths and whenever she surpassed her augmentation levels. It wouldn't be until her mother 'accidentally' left codes to unlock the doors to the outside world when Stella was a teen that she would be free. The other woman addressed Stella again, breaking her from the flashbacks.

"There's a lot to do to make sure you're ready for that, though. Absorbing a DCE, a Heart of Hearts, a nexus of energy, is like having a nuclear bomb tucked under your ribcage. I'm sure it feels... interesting. Tell me, do you notice anything different? Any murderous tendencies? Anything I should be worried about? You're one of the first of your kind. We've tried many, many times, but all of our experiments were failures. It seems it's just your destiny to be your father's perfect daughter, no?"

Stella moved her head away from the pink-haired woman's leaning face. "Besides wanting to gut my father like a fish for destroying not only my life but multiple others? And wanting to shove a peppermint down your throat for that awful artificial cherry lollipop smell? No, not really." She retorted as she lied a little. At the mention of murderous tendencies, she couldn't help but want to feel the warmth of watching the light fade from someone's eyes. But Stella couldn't admit that, because she knew that wasn't truly her. It was whatever energy she absorbed from that dragon.

---

"DAMN IT!" Dragon shouted as his fists smashed against the desk, denting the metal frame. Julia tugged at the collar of her shirt as the temperature in the room increased significantly and the news of Nova's submarine was sinking back down. Dragon stood up went to the closet doors of his office and swung it open.

"What would you like me to tell Star, sir?" Julia asked with a timid tone. Dragon's fiery furious gaze snapped to his assistant who shrunk back.

"Tell her that I'm on my way," Dragon retorted and Julia nodded, quickly leaving the office. The fired-up young man shed his work attire before wearing blue jeans, a white T-shirt, and his blue jacket with utility pockets. He tugged on his gloves and rolled his sleeves to show his forearms before sliding on his necklace.

Kai Stoick wasted no time making his way to Voidlight's teleportation pad. He gritted his teeth as there would be barely enough dark matter energy to get himself and the two girls home. Dragon was forced to leave Ghost behind. He pulled the large switch down to fire up the machine as an older male figure entered the lab where the pad was housed.

"Are you sure about this?" The older man asked as Kai rolled his eyes.

"You know as well as I do that we need to do this. We were contracted to save the girl, we will follow through. We just so happened to have an agent with the girl and we lost contact with Ghost," Kai replied as he put his pistol harness under his jacket. Dragon preferred to fight hand-to-hand combat but sometimes a little firepower was necessary. He hoped he wouldn't have to use it.

He quickly typed Nova and 3's location into the computer. "I will save Agent Star and the girl. We will have to go back for Ghost later," Kai added before he grabbed the return teleportation pad and button remote. The return pad folded out like a Dance-Dance Revolution mat with a long wire and button remote to it. He stepped into the middle of the teleportation machine and nodded at the older man. The man gave Kai a salute before throwing the switch.

The shock wave of teleportation rocked the submarine that Nova and 3 were in, creating a loud thud. Suddenly, the sound of sparks going off could be heard in the submarine as well as a bright orb of light getting increasingly bigger in front of the woman and the girl. Then a flash occurred and there stood Dragon for a moment before he hunched over a bit.

"Fuck, I will never get used to that," he commented as he realized how cold it was in the submarine. They didn't have much time. Dragon quickly spotted Nova and 3, relief washed over him as he was glad that they hadn't sunk any deeper. He could've missed them. He quickly laid out the return pad and turned it on to warm up.

Dragon wasted no time in pulling Nova close when she stood up, his left arm wrapped around her waist while his right hand gently grasped her chin. His amber eyes narrowed at the sight of blood on Nova's forehead and cursed under his breath as he neared the two.
"You had to go and get yourself hurt. Now, I won't be able to stop myself from worrying about you," Dragon clicked his tongue disapprovingly at Star but mostly at himself. He unwillingly let Nova go to assess 3 as well, she after all had been the target this entire time.

"How about we go back on land, hm?" Kai suggested as he gestured to the return pad that was ready to go. He grabbed a hold of the button, "Now, little lady, would you be so kind as to stand here for me?" Dragon asked 3 as there wasn't much room for three people, but they'd make it work. He pulled Nova close with his left arm, gave her a wink, and then looked at 3. "Teleportation is a bitch, and you may feel woozy and light-headed afterward. However, that's completely normal, paramedics are waiting for us,"
Dragon explained as he handed 3 the remote and pulled her close as well to keep everyone towards the middle of the pad. "Go ahead and hit that button, please," he added.

Once 3 hit the button, they would be consumed by the brightest light imaginable as if they were in the middle of the sun. A dull electrifying feeling would rack through the three people, followed by swirling around and around. Suddenly, they would find themselves in Voidlight's teleportation room. Kai kept his hold on Nora and 3 to prevent the girls from collapsing since it was their first time going through a teleportation unit. He let go of them once the paramedics took over and sat down himself, two teleportation visits in a week were hard on the body.

[Lexisheeps]

The warmth of the sun danced with the bitterness of the air. There was a bit of a breeze but it was being easily kept at bay, though his ear felt bitten. Was the chill in the air caused by the onset of winter? The fresh air felt good in his lungs as he inhaled deeply. The sounds of the ships in the harbor, the gulls. Everything that currently entered into his senses felt wonderful. It had been so long since he'd last remembered feeling this level of comfort. It was blissful. Arms wrapped further into himself and nudged his face into a relaxed chest.

You have the most soul crushingly blue eyes...

Gunshots. This is who I am, combat boots and water. That's not fair. Pleasantries, insecurities, and travel, oh my. The Haollow. Laughter. You don't deserve to have kids. Ramses, Aaron, Cosette, and... Save Cosette, please. You'll die unwanted and alone. Gunshots.

...mon amour.

The blurred vision of a harbor came into sight as Nick jolted upright. He looked all around him, wide eyed. His breath was hard and he was confused. He spoke just as rapidly as his heart did in his chest, trying to make sense of everything as he looked to Thierry, "What, where? Aurélie? Where are?!? HiveMind?"

Thierry did his best to keep his calm. Nick was already upset, he'd been out of it the entire way to the surface. "We're in Syracuse."

"Italy?! H-h" Nick blinked as he tried to gain his senses, but was unable to form any other words, let alone sentences.

"I signed some papers." Thierry spoke softly while clutching Nick.

"Wha- paper-"

"Everybody got out. Aaron and Ramses are just fine too, well... cranky, but you know how it is after getting back to civilization. Subject #0003... she's Cosette, my child. All my life I've neglected everybody around me for my life's work. But this time," Thierry whimpered as a single tear threatened his dry face, "This time I chose you."

What? Did he hear Thierry right? No. The confusion danced with a lump in his throat as Nick scanned the birds that flew by. After a minute of silence he then brought his attention back to Thierry's facial features. The man looked rough. Like it'd been the hardest week of his life, but the reality of it was that it had probably only been a day. The words rang heavily in the forefront of his mind. I chose you. Nick was like a deer in headlights as Thierry gently ran a hand across his face. Nobody had ever chosen him over anything. He didn't completely believe Thierry, despite the pointedness of it all. Either Thierry was flat-out lying, or Nick was certain he was drugged... He did feel stiff in the neck.

The noise didn't stop their conversation, despite it being a tourist attraction. In Nick's mind, he was floating out somewhere beyond the clouds. Or? He was trying desperately to ground himself as he fell deeper. He couldn't breath, but was breathing just fine. He pushed Thierry away then asked, "What exactly did you give him? And where's Aurélie?"

"Von Galloes is now the proud," Thierry paused pulling out a single artifact from his inner coat pocket... "or potentially disappointed owner of all my Louvre assets." The savvy man pocketed the hard earned trinket then pointed to a coffee shop behind them. "She hates me! But with every right, oui? I think Sabrina might be coming to get her. And from the sounds of the call I had with her, she's not very thrilled with me either. I imagine that Sabrina will think I should be holding Aurélie right now and not you, but... c'est la vie."

There was relief in knowing that Aurélie was safe, along with a certain lack of jealousy, but he still questioned his husband. "I don't get it." He paused and shook his head. "You never told me what was so fucking special about that pendant. I fell off a damn semi getting it for you, but it's just a Spirit Halloween purple tear drop."

Thierry laughed softly, and shook his head in disagreement. "This was forged from Dark Energy by Khufu's priests."

"Wait. Why would Khufu even need... Oh" Nick's pause caused Thierry to slowly nod in agreement, "Shit."

"We'll lie low for awhile. Let him think he's got all the cards. In the meantime..." His voice trailed.

...

A honeymoon might be in order.

[Days]

_{A collaboration by @WhiteAngel25's Sabrina and @Days's Aurélie}

---

There were seagulls in the sky, mewing and circling over the many boats of various sizes in the harbour. Aurélie sat on a chair by the window in the deserted coffee shop, where the smell of coffee and muffins reminded her of her old workplace in Paris. If it still existed. She was told to wait here, and so she obliged. The mug of hot chocolate in front of her was cold now, untouched aside from one sip. It was too sweet for Aurélie’s liking. She hadn’t had anything sweet in a long time. Instead, the balls of her feet rested on the edge of the chair, and she hugged her knees to her chest. She wasn’t sure why this felt comfortable right now, but she knew it had something to do with the semblance of a hug. It felt like she was embracing herself, seeking comfort no one was quite willing to give her. She didn’t blame them, either. The young woman was just staring blank-faced out toward the water, unapproachable. Shattered. But, as usual, she’d probably done it to herself. Deserved it.

She was wearing a jacket but was unsure who had given it to her. It didn’t smell like her father, though. Maybe from one of the other two men that accompanied them. It kept her warm and comfortable as she looked over the harbour. To the old Aurélie, this would’ve been beautiful. The way the sun was low on the horizon, making the water sparkle on its way to her appraising eye. The birds overhead promised freedom, and the sky had almost surreal puffy clouds. Teenage Aurélie would’ve taken pictures, finding odd angles and the perfect composition. Maybe, just maybe, she would’ve taken a beautiful picture of her father holding Nick into an embrace, the sea and blue sky in the background. It had been a very, very long time since she had seen the sky. Inhaled fresh air into her lungs, her eyes caressed by natural light instead of artificial illumination. This Aurélie wouldn’t take pictures anymore. It was just grey and bleak to her, and where old Aurélie saw authentic homes with character, this one just saw poorly maintained properties.

The only light she had was the news her father gave her once she woke up. Cosette was still alive. And in the end, that was all Aurélie really wanted. And Sabrina wasn’t dead, but on her way instead. Aurélie had been too out of it to reply, wondering why she herself wasn’t dead, either. The haunting feeling of the realisation she made just before the needle pierced her neck had stayed like it had been painted on her soul and she wasn’t sure how to scrub it off. And maybe the trauma of the last 7 years was catching up to her. She had been on for so many years. Studying everything, fighting her own mind, fighting for Cosette. But she was safe now, and Aurélie shut off. She longed for her mother, Sabrina, but walled in her heart just in case she would end up disappointed again.

Her eyes slid to her father and Nick, further down the docks. He was awake, now, and Aurélie felt genuine relief. The man had been kind to her, down there, before it all went wrong. ”Hate me later, let's just get the hell out of here.”. His voice was a distant ghost in her mind. She wasn’t entirely sure why she should hate him, but she didn’t. He’d done nothing wrong to her. It wasn’t his fault. There was constant pressure behind her eyes as she tried to keep any tears from falling, her eyes following a boat leaving the harbour.

Sabrina got out of her red Porshe as Aviator sunglasses rested on the bridge of her nose as she waited. She was dressed in a red blazer, white silk blouse, black business slacks, and black heels. Her long dark tresses were out of her normal braid or bun. Her gaze didn't waiver one bit from the coffee house door. For seven years, she had been searching for her girls. Seven years without Auri snapping her photos. Seven years without Cosette asking for new batteries in her Hello Kitty flashlight. Seven years without either of their laughs echoing throughout the halls of the estate with Theo's in tow. And what did her ex-husband do? He chose Nick over the girls. Sabrina could give a rat's ass at this point if Thierry cared about her anymore, but he should try for Auri and Cosy.

The ex-wife had no real issue with Nick. He was a kid who needed support, and it was a coincidence that he happened to find that support in Thierry. She supposed that it bothered Nick that she was rather neutral about the whole situation. Sabrina didn't make a fuss when Thierry asked for a divorce. She didn't complain when she paid Thierry the alimony in their settlement. Staying calm and collected was the best way she could bother the young blonde man, who was an emotional time bomb, every time they met.

Sabrina grabbed her purse and car keys before pressing the lock button and hurried inside the coffee shop. She lifted her sunglasses to the top of her head. Her golden gaze scanned the building to land on a young woman cuddled by the window. Sabrina fast-walked over to the girl. Was this her Auri? This girl's hair was pale-ish blonde, and her porcelain skin was practically see-through from the lack of sunlight exposure. "Aurelia? Ma douce fille?" Sabrina asked to confirm if this shadow of the young woman she had known was her eldest daughter.

When Auri made eye contact with her, Sabrina's eyes instantly watered as she threw her arms around the young woman and pulled her tight to her. "Ma fille chérie, tu m'as tellement manqué," Sabrina spoke with a broken voice as silent tears streamed down her face. "After seven years without hearing your voice or your sister's, I felt like I was going crazy. I never stopped looking for either of you," she added as she let Auri go to gently cup the young woman's face in her hands to examine her.

"I hired a private entity to follow through with the leads I had been given. I don't have the strings your father does, so I used what I could. I just got off the phone with their Vice President, and they have Cosette. They found her, Auri. You did well protecting her, ma belle et forte fille," Sabrina expressed how she used her family's money to do her best to find the girls over the last seven years.

Aurélie’s cheek rested on her knee as she gazed out the window, though she had long since stopped seeing, locked in her mind and thoughts instead. It was only when her name was spoken that she blinked herself back into existence, and she raised her head to look for the source. She sucked in a breath at the sight of Sabrina. No, her mother. Her feet slid off the chair and landed back on the floor as she saw tears pool in her waterline. Involuntarily, Aurélie’s bottom lip started trembling and she was suddenly pulled into an embrace so tight that she could barely breathe. But who needs oxygen when you’re receiving an embrace so touching? Aurélie’s arms hung weekly to her sides, but as her mother’s voice broke, emotion lacing her confession of missing her, Aurélie cracked as well.

She raised her hands to her mother’s back, pressing her back to her as if she may not be real. The tears she had been fighting off streamed freely over her face as a strangled sob fell from her lips. ”Maman.” She smelled so good. Still the same. A scent Aurélie could only connect to motherhood and Christmas mornings, her hair being combed when she had been too wild with playing, a kiss on her cheek when being tucked into bed, or a cuddle on the couch when watching a movie together. Her mother. She was here and saying the things Aurélie was begging weren’t figments of her broken mind.

She couldn’t answer as emotions constricted her throat, but she nodded in the hands of her mother once her face was cupped. That she was hearing her mother, who confessed to never having stopped looking. Von Galloes was a liar. Cosette was safe. Aurélie was safe. Her traitorous bottom lip kept trembling when her mother told her she had done a good job protecting her little sister. Cosy kept her going for 7 years, and she couldn’t wait until she had her back again. So many feelings flooded her. Wanting to apologise for 7 years ago, wanting to thank her for not giving up. So many times she thought about this moment, and what she would say. Instead, she just shook her head and nestled her face to the crook of her mother’s neck. ”Tu m'as manqué aussi. I'm- so sorry.”

Sabrina felt Aurélie tremble in her arms as the young woman tried to be so strong, even after being rescued. She had seen this a time or two from her ex-husband when he would return from assignments at the beginning of their former relationship. "Aurélie, you don't have to be so strong anymore, but only when you are ready to let go," she murmured. The mother gently rubbed her eldest daughter's back as she slightly swayed back and forth, humming a song she sang to all three children consistently when they asked.

"You don't have to be sorry for anything. None of what happened was your fault. The main and most important thing is that you and Cosette are found," Sabrina spoke after she gave Aurélie another squeeze. She didn't want to let the young woman go, fearing that this was just one of the many dreams the mother had in the past. But Sabrina did release her hold on Auri. "Now, let us go talk to your father. I have more than a few things to say to him and his husband."

Aurélie nodded against her mother's skin when told she didn't have to be strong anymore. But she wasn't entirely sure how to do that. Instead, she could just feel herself shutting down. And maybe that's what she needed to recover. And a therapist. A really expensive one. With an NDA. Sabrina started humming and Aurélie sniffled. She'd recognise that song from everywhere. Whenever she felt desperate, she would hum it to herself in her sorry excuse for a room. And she used it on many occasions with Cosette, trying to get through to her after a memory wipe, or when the little girl was feeling particularly distressed. Von Galloes tried a lot with her mind, but the bodily reaction of feeling safe, the muscles relaxing and the heartbeat lowering was something he couldn't erase. This song always had that effect on Cosette.

She nodded more at her mother's words of not having to be sorry, but the guilt wasn't erased from her mind. That too, would take a while. For now, she didn't want to spend time convincing her mother that she failed her, failed everyone around her. For now, she wanted to be selfish and enjoy her warmth and her motherly love. Once she let go, she used the sleeve of the jacket she was wearing to swipe at some tears. Her other hand ended up in her mother's as she pushed herself up from the chair. She felt a little wobbly but was fine enough to walk on her own. She followed her mother toward the door, looking behind her to softly smile at the barista and give her a nod in thanks. It seemed her manners hadn't disappeared, then. Though there would be a lot she would have to relearn.

There was a little bell that rang once her mother opened the door and walked them both through it. The young woman closed her eyes, letting her lungs take in the air from outside. It was marvellous. A car that wasn't there before showed off a French plate, and she knew it was her mother's. Approaching her father and Nick, she stopped, pulling on Sabrina's hand. There was a swirl of anxiety with every step they neared them, and she shuddered, shaking her head. She couldn't face her father, not now. "I'll stay by the car." She said, her eyes pleading. She didn't want to explain but had a feeling that her mother knew. Reluctantly, she let go of Sabrina's hand and walked to the car, leaning against it. With her arms crossed, she gave a reassuring nod to her mother.

[WhiteAngel25]

Sabrina stood against her red Porshe while Auri leaned back on the side of it, Aviator sunglasses rested on the bridge of her nose as she took a drag of a Gauloises cigarette, she hadn't touched one since Thierry brought Aurelie home. She was trying to stay as level-headed as possible but it was hard to do with the thoughts running through her mind.

Instead of staying calm this time, Sabrina radiated quiet fury. Her right foot wouldn't stop tapping as she gripped and ungripped her left hand. Her gold-hued stare pierced through her sunglasses at her ex and Nick sitting on a bench on the docks. The Louvre usually sent her to collect Thierry, despite both of their pleas for someone else to pick him up from missions such as these. When Sabrina finally had enough, she exhaled the smoke of her cigarette and smothered it in the cigarette trashcan outside the coffee shop. "I had hoped I never had to use one of these again. Your father, I swear-." Sabrina tried to apologize for smoking in front of her eldest but stopped as Auri wasn't the target of her anger.

Sabrina stalked down the stairs of the dock, the fury in each click of her heels on the wood could have burned through if she had the augmentation. She raised her shades to the top of her head as she neared her ex and his husband. The bad news was that the moment Thierry stood up, a slap rang across his face with her left hand, giving him the grace of not using her dominant hand. She shot Nick a look, daring him to speak to see if he wanted to live or die.

"I saw everything, Thierry. You chose the option to let our daughter die, just like in Giza. Do you think you're fucking above everyone? That Auri's life was expendable to you? You're lucky Nick is skilled enough to get both of them out of there if that had been needed," Sabrina's voice was calm, hushed, quiet enough that yelling would be a blessing at this point.

"Espèce de fils de pute, you see him as a project to save, something to work on, that he needs you. What about your children? What about me? Over two fucking decades we were together, and never once have you ever looked at me or the kids the way you do Nick," She hissed as she clenched her hands into fists again as she laughed darkly. "And I'm the fucking idiot still in love with you after all the shit you've pulled in the last decade!" She shook her head at herself before taking a deep breath to force herself not to hit her ex again.

When Sabrina opened her gold orbs, they were softer in expression like the normal honey tone, only with a huge touch of sadness. She was calmer in her body language, her hands relaxed at her sides as she glanced at Nick. "I get it, Thierry. I do. You love him, more than anything. But it's a shame that it came with the cost of your family," she murmured as she placed a red leather ring box in his hands. The red leather had a little age to it. It was the home for the wedding ring Thierry had given her, although one could see a faint line on her left hand still if they got close enough.

Sabrina appeared more exhausted than ever after admitting things she had kept bottled up for the last seven years. "I don't want any part of it anymore. I'm done trying to protect the kids from who you are as a person. I should've stopped a long time ago," she continued with a sigh. "I'm going to call Theo to meet Auri and me at the airport. We are going to go get Cosette," she paused as her gaze flicked to Nick. "Do what you want. It's not like you haven't the last two decades," Sabrina uttered before turning around and making her way back down the docks to the car.

[Lexisheeps]

Parabellum

Sometimes you have to kill what you love...

Their togetherness was cut short as a certain bitch finally appeared on the scene. Thought she was hot shit with her heels and fancy car. To put it simply, Nick- of all people- felt that Sabrina was tone-deaf. Nick pulled away from Thierry and let Sabrina be the piece of work that she was. Did she even know Thierry? How he'd struggled with losing sight of his children over the years and then having two of them physically be taken too? He stayed quiet and let her ramble her displeasure at a man she was no longer married to. Personally, Nick would've just come and picked his kids up and left, had it been him, but women had a way of prolonging any internal dialog to a point of frustrated tears. So he sat there quietly and soaked in the birds, the harbor's noise, and the smell of the ocean.

Even after that bitch hit Thierry across the face, he opted to listen to Thierry's attempt to control his whimpering. Who the fuck does she think she is? Can't she see how torn he was already? Did she even try to understand anything from his point of view? She'd clearly been given everything in her life. It was perfect up to a point, save for her inability to have and keep Thierry- despite the desperate attempt.

The suit jacket that Thierry had pulled around him was warm. He pulled it tighter around him as another breeze past them by. There was a slight hint of men's cologne that Thierry wore, but unfortunately, it was diluted. Nick was never one for strong scents and Thierry observed this by toning down his normal level of use. Still though, Nick sat there on the chilled bench, wishing that things were different as he inhaled deeply, trying to grab a stronger hit of the smell. That he was 20 years older or that Thierry was 20 years younger.

Nick flinched as Sabrina shoved a wedding ring box in Thierry's hand. It was a knee-jerk reaction on his part and he hoped it'd looked more like he shivered from the wind. That level of rejection was something he'd felt before. A longing for someone to care, but that person, for whatever reason was unwilling to do so. Still though, Nick sat there calmly... but then her last words burned deep.

...

"Do what you want. It's not like you haven't the last two decades."

...

Nick stared blankly for a moment with his mind wrapping around what had just been said. Thierry hadn't said a word this whole time and that alone would have been enough to keep Nick's mouth shut, but alas, bitches be bitches- and this particular cuntasaurus didn't know a damn thing about him. However, he was more than happy to oblige in a dog fight instead of take cover any day of the week. He sat there calmly, a small smile forming across his lips. There was absolutely no way in hell that he would let this go. He'd heard enough of her bullshit, and he had a full clip waiting to be fired. He spoke with an air of superiority, "So what's it like losing your husband to a man who's 20 years younger than you? Because I'd really like to know," He paused to shake his head and with a bit of a chuckle he added, "But I don't think I'll be able to cross that off my bucket list in this lifetime."

Nick gently pulled the wedding box from Thierry who did little more than wet blink at him in reaction and looked back to Sabrina before he opened the box. The sparkling stones were bright in the sunlight. It was as if looking into a crystal ball as he stared for a moment. What he really wanted to do? Chuck it over the railing and let it sink deep into the ocean like the old lady did in that one movie with the ridiculously big boat. Set it on fire and see how long until it melt? A myriad of other fantastical ideas crossed his mind, but he stood up and cautiously wandered over to Aurélie, "Here, you deserve this more than your maman does." He placed the tiny box in her hands and put a hand on her shoulder. His blue eyes stared into hers as he continued to speak calmly, "Maybe one day you'll understand that it's just as much her fault and not entirely his. Things can still be different, but you just focus on feeling better for now, alright?"

The young stepfather held no more grudges against any of Thierry's children. He looked up to another set of birds in flight as he walked back over to the railing to gaze out into the harbor. He was free.

...to keep them safe.

[Days]

_{A collaboration with @WhiteAngel25's Sabrina, @Days's Nova and @Estylwen’s Cosette}

---

It was just so damn cold, and dark, and downright terrifying. But the scientist tried to keep brave for 3, holding her close when there was a sudden loud thud and a bright flash. For a moment there she thought she was truly a goner, but the light made way for Dragon. Nova sucked in a breath as if his apparition was a hallucination of what she longed for most, shortly before the ocean claimed the woman as her own. Her mouth hung open a bit, and she stood up. But, to her surprise, the man didn’t stop before her and instead placed his hand on the small of her back, pulling her close. It radiated warmth and something else she couldn’t quite place her finger on.

He looked at her and saw her headwound, and Nova shuddered at the intensity that flashed in his eyes. Her cheeks reddened slightly, but her mouth closed as she was reminded about their precarious situation. ”I’m alright.” She said, and it was only a half lie. She took 3’s hand in her and led her to the pad. Nova didn’t question it, and she knew that he had her full trust. With a kind smile, she gave a reassuring nod to 3, signalling that everything was okay. She stood on the pad, where he pulled her close and warmth flooded her body, fighting off the cold, trickling down in her veins like molten lava. But the pleasant kind. She gave him a grin in answer to his wink, allowing the feeling that they were going to be okay to steadily settle.

"Go ahead and hit that button, please,"

Subject #3 held the emergency blanket close, almost like a plushie, as she stared up at the man who appeared out of thin air. She had never seen anything like it. He said he was here to save them, though. Her gaze flickered over to Star as she held the remote. Star seemed at ease, delighted, even. Perhaps there was nothing to worry about.

Swallowing nervously, teeth chattering from the cold, Subject #3 held up the button.

WHAM.

The sub took a hit, thrashing in the water violently from side to side as massive jaws crunched down on the metal. A shark, massive in size, with edges glowing a stark purple, had the sub in its jaws. It thrashed once more, the man holding on desperately to Star and Subject #3 to stay on the pad.

Water burst forth from the hull in a small stream as one tooth broke the sub's integrity.

Sucking in a sharp breath, Subject #3 squeezed the button.

The sensation was dizzying. As the submarine drifted out of existence, the lights danced in front of her eyes as Subject #3 struggled, and failed, to remain conscious.

Dragon quickly caught 3 before the girl's body could collapse onto the floor and prepared himself to catch Nova just in case. He began to bark orders at the paramedics for them to hustle with getting 3 and Nova to the Infirmary on the tenth floor of the building. The Infirmary was for employee and their families only. Voidlight hired excellent doctors, nurses, and surgeons, and the whole healthcare work paid for through the employees' health benefits.

Kai gently laid the passed-out girl onto a gurney for the paramedics to send her up. He turned to Nova on her own. Smiling softly with a touch of concern. "The girl's mother is in the process of making her way here. She is currently in Italy with the eldest and the girls' father. Congratulations, Agent Star, you completed your assignment," he spoke quietly as he was tempted to kiss Nova but refrained. HR would chew his ass a new one if he pressed his lips to a co-worker's much less one that was viewed as a subordinate.

Nova's stomach did a loop in her chest, taking a detour in her throat as her eyes stood wide open, shocked. The terror of that beast grabbing onto the submarine was still etched in her mind. Dragon's hand was firm when she threatened to keel over, but it left her once 3 fainted. With her palms on her knees, Nova inhaled through her nose to stave off the sudden nausea. If two grown, fit adults got this reaction from that jump, then she understood 3 fainting. She bit her lip, straightening as he saw Dragon put 3 on a gurney. She knew that the girl was safe here, but her entire body still begged her to follow.

Instead, Dragon stood before her once more and Nova blinked the vertigo away. 3 had a mother and a father. And the mother was coming to get her. Relieved, she nodded and blew out another breath between her lips. It was a bit of a whirlwind to process everything that had happened. Then, he congratulated her, making her head angle slightly to the side in confusion. She would hardly call it a completion. She only got the girl out and left everyone else. She swallowed and reached her hand forward, taking his in hers and squeezing lightly. If only to feel a little bit of his warmth as the blue tone of her lips slowly faded back to pink.

"Thank you, Dragon." Her gaze darted over his face while her heart did a weird thump. "For saving me." Her head bowed in a quick nod and she let go of his hand, stepping to the side instead. "I want to stay with her if that's okay." She stole one quick glance at the man before hurrying after the paramedics.

---

Darkness. It was peaceful, in a space without space or time. Subject #3 could stay here, dead to the world. Maybe she really was. Wasn't that the whole point of her life? To fail, and then to die? That's what the doctors said, anyway.

To her right, the darkness took shape, expanding, before a slow exhale. There was a murmur. Not enough to call it a voice. No. Not enough to be a voice. But there was something. A string, or a tether, pulling at Subject #3. It was soft, yet firm, and felt like sunlight.

That's when Subject #3 opened her eyes, and found herself in a large, white room.

Dragon quietly entered the private recovery room. He carried two coffees and a hot chocolate in a drink carrier. Silently, he placed the drinks on the counter by the sink outside of the bathroom area. He took an extra blanket from the closet and carefully covered Nova with it. He smiled softly down at her as she finally seemed peaceful for the first time since they returned.

Nova leaned her cheek on her knuckles, dozing off in her chair. She had been by 3's bedside ever since they arrived back here, only taking breaks for food and small naps on the couch or chair in the room. Dragon had sent an assistant to her apartment though, so now she was freshly showered and wearing her own clothes. Black yoga pants and a forest green cashmere sweater. Her headwound had been nicely treated, and thankfully, there was nothing else wrong with her, aside from some bruises and cuts.

She hadn't wanted to leave 3's side, because there was no one the girl knew but Nova. And even Nova was still a stranger. The girl's name was Cosette, apparently. Still, she couldn't force herself to go home like she was told to. She was staying until the girl's mother would pick her up, though she hadn't missed Dragon's worried hovering, as well. Between naps, glasses of water or small snacks would suddenly appear on the small table beside her chair.

Stella’s face was etched in Nova's mind. Her outstretched hand, telling her to get 3 to Dragon. Well, she did that. But why didn’t it feel right? She left Stella behind, and let Aaron leave. Not to mention the other three they had parted ways with earlier. Her guilt for leaving Stella was so grand that it apparently started to haunt her in her short naps. She knew she wanted to go back for the agent. If only Dragon would let her.

Kai gazed around the room to check on Cosette. It was crazy to think the small girl was almost seventeen. She was so small, most likely due to no sunlight exposure and poor nutrition by HiveMind. He saw the young lady’s eyes meet his as he placed a finger against his lips to stay quiet. Dragon plucked the hot chocolate and brought it over to Cosette’s bedside tray.

“Good morning,” Kai whispered to not wake the sleeping Nova. “This is a hot chocolate to help warm you up. Your mother called and said that she, your sister, and your brother are on their way. They boarded a plane about six hours ago so they should be landing here soon,” he explained as he crossed his arms and smirked at the woman in the chair.

”Ah, Sleeping Beauty has finally joined us,” Dragon teased with a wink. He walked back over to the counter and then strode over to Nova, handing her the coffee cup. “The barista in the building’s cafe said that this is your regular order. I hope it’s okay,” he spoke as his phone rang.

Dragon bowed a bit dramatically and winked at both women. “Excuse me, ladies, but duty calls,” he joked before grabbing his coffee and leaving the recovery room.

Subject #3 watched, eyes wide as the man gently placed the hot drink on her bedside table. The wafting aroma of hot chocolate mingled with the scent of sterile cleaners, and Subject #3 felt a pit form in her stomach. Where was she? They had been in a submarine, and then. Did they get re-captured? No, but, the man who appeared out of thin air- he was here!

Subject #3 brilliant eyes creased anxiously as she tried to lift her head, to sit up, as the man made his exit. Where was she? Who was coming to get her? Where was Star- Oh-

As her head threatened to lull off her propped-up hand, Nova woke up with a start. Her different coloured eyes landed on Dragon’s right away, though where hers were wide and surprised, his winked, and it made her heart take a beating too. She had probably been sleeping very unflattering on this chair. Sleeping beauty, my ass.

Still, her face reddened ever so slightly, but a grin cut across once she was handed coffee. ”Oh, thank you.” She said, taking the warm cup in her hands as she straightened a little. Looking down at her lap, she found that she was covered by a soft blanket. Dragon? Probably. He explained it was her usual order and her smile faltered a little, as she was touched by his thoughtfulness. She eagerly took a sip and found it was indeed her regular. ”It’s perfect.” Her gaze went to his pocket, where his phone was loudly ringing, a smile on her face as he bowed out, nodding.

She put her eyes on 3- no, Cosette, and was relieved to find she was finally awake. God, she must be feeling all types of confused. ”Hey, you.” She said softly, leaning forward a little so she could take the girl’s hand. ”You’re safe, don’t worry. You’re in the hospital. We’re safe.” Her voice was soft and low, hopefully soothing the girl enough so she’d remain lying down and resting.

Subject #3 had sat up fully in bed, staring at Star, her breath becoming shallow and uneven. There was a terror growing behind her brilliant eyes. She could feel Star's hand on hers tethering her, trying to keep her from running from the room.

Not that she would have the energy for it at the moment. Everything felt woozy. Very strange. Unlike any experiment, the doctors had done on her. She looked down at the hand, trying to process where they were. 'The' hospital. Who's hospital?

"Is it really... safe?" Subject #3 whispered, her attention snapping back to Star. "D-did we... did we make it?"

She paused, before tears welled up in her eyes, her breath hitching. "W-who's coming to get me...?"

Nova’s brows knitted together in sympathy for a moment, seeing the tears pool in the girl’s eyes. It tugged at her heartstrings to see her like this. Right, something about her memory not being all there. Nova had been very tired when Dragon explained it to her once they were all safely in the recovery room. ”Yes, 3. We made it. It’s really safe. Here, come on-” Nova moved, keeping her hand in Cosette’s while setting her coffee down. She removed the blanket Dragon had so kindly covered her in, leaving it on the chair. Pressing a button, she moved the head end up, then sat on the edge of 3’s bed. Leaning against the now raised portion, she pulled 3 back to her like she had on the submarine, with her arm over the girl’s shoulder.

Subject #3 felt weak and trembling in Star's embrace, staring up as Star rested beside her and drew her in. There was a word for this, wasn't there? Affection? Something that Stella and Nick had shown Subject #3 when they found her getting torn apart by the wolf.

None of the doctors had shown her affection like this. Not the Director. They only looked at her like a thing. Was she really... free? What did free mean? Would she have to live in another white room? Would it be a similar routine? Would she become a failure again?

The questions grew behind Subject #3's eyes as tears slipped down her cheeks.

Her hand came up to brush at the girl’s tears. ”I know that it all feels scary and overwhelming right now, but I’m with you, okay?” Her voice was, hopefully, soothing, and Nova felt this intense need to protect this girl, just like she had down there. ”Listen,” she started, thinking that maybe she would need to prepare her for what was about to come. She spoke slowly and deliberately. ”In a little bit, Dragon will come back through that door. You just saw him, my friend, who saved us.” Her brows were raised as she looked down at the girl, trying to see if she was following while her finger pointed at the door. With her lips curled up into a soft smile, she continued. ”And he will probably have a woman with him. Your mother. She missed you very much and will be incredibly happy to see you. She may even cry a little. And she will probably call you Cosette because that is what your name is.”

Nova’s hand was rubbing Cosette’s arm in an attempt at a soothing gesture. ”You may not recognize her, and that’s okay. We’ll work on that. And I’ll be right,” with her free hand, Nova pointed at her chair. ”there, and I won’t leave you until you say it’s okay, alright?”

Subject #3 nodded along as Star spoke, absorbing her words. There was something about her presence, her familiarity, that eased some of the tension in Subject #3's mind. Meeting her at the other end of the electrified path was rather fortuitous then, she guessed. Star just seemed... safe.

Subject #3 took a shaky breath, wiping her eyes on her torn sleeve. Still the same patient suit she had nearly worn to shreds. The last memento of her life. Her entire life, in a padded cell.

"So, no more tests? No more... needles?" She asked.

"My mother isn't a doctor, right? She... she's like you?" her breathing hitched, voice straining nervously, "She won't hurt me, right?"

The girl nestled against Nova’s side was trying to keep it all together, and Nova was trying not to let her full emotions be displayed on her face. She felt so bad for the girl, and what she’d been through. And even though she has a mother who is going to take care of her, Cosette herself will probably be confused, and distressed. It would take her a while, most likely. She blinked down at the girl’s question about tests and needles. Jesus, just what had they done to her down there? ”No more tests. You will not have to do anything you don’t want to, okay?” Nova smiled down at her, rubbing the girl's arm when her breath got caught in her throat.

”She is not a doctor. She- yeah, she’s kind of like me.” The woman was a pretty big deal, apparently, but Dragon had said she was also just a worried mother. A fist wrapped around Nova’s heart when she asked if she would be hurt, and it made Nova want to hold her and never let her go, snarling at everyone who dared to touch this kid. ”She won’t hurt you. She may want to hug you, or she may cry, or she may be calm like I am. It might be a little confusing for you, but 3, I’m not leaving you until you feel safe, okay? And I’ll hold your hand until you decide to let it go. It’s all your choice.”

Kind of like Star?

Subject #3 stared, teetering between fear and relief as Star comforted her. From all she knew of Star, the woman had only ever tried to help. Even from the very beginning, when Star and Stella had helped guide Subject #3 through the water, Star had been a calm, grounding support.

Oh. Yes, that was right. Stella. Subject #3's face fell for a moment. These two knew each other. Star knew Stella...

Where was Stella? Subject #3 remembered how she disappeared right before the submarine was rocked hard. Before the shockwave.

Was Stella... with Director Galloes now?

Subject #3's nerves tensed, realizing Stella was probably in a worse place than she.

But Subject #3.... she made it out, with Stella's help. With Star's help. Even Aaron... Thierry, Nick... they all helped. Did everyone else... Was everyone else okay?

Her mind stirring with questions, she only looked up at Star, and tried to smile. Whatever the situation, everything seemed to be okay. For now. She could trust in that, right?

"O-okay.. Star... That makes me feel better. Much better."

The scientist took a deep breath and worried her bottom lip with her teeth for a moment, reaching out toward the warm chocolate milk Dragon brought the girl. She held it in front of her. ”Here, take a sip. I promise it’s delicious and warm.” She winked, nudging her head toward the cup in her hand.

Subject #3 leaned forward, taking the hot chocolate in her hands. It was still warm, the mug radiating a sense of tranquillity. She took a sip, and her brilliant eyes glowed.

"It... it's sweet." She said in a hushed tone, awe in her voice. She had never had something sweet before.

---

"I have to warn you, Ms. de Villers-,"Dragon tried to start explaining but the woman with honey-gold eyes interrupted him.

"It is Miss Lennox, officially, or it will be once the paperwork I filled out on the airplane is processed," Sabrina replied, dressed in black leggings, a Louvre crew neck sweatshirt that Theo had gotten her from the gift shop as a Christmas present in the years past, and black tennis shoes. Her long chocolate locks were thrown up into a messy bun that still had an elegance to it somehow. She hadn't officially taken 'de Villers' off her hyphened name. To her, her ex's last name was the only thing she had left of her girls, a reminder to never stop finding them. Now that Aurélie and Cosette were safe and found, she could let that piece of herself go as well.

The Vice President nodded in understanding of the correction. He was still dressed casually from earlier in simple dark jeans and a more dressy shirt. He glanced at the young man and what he assumed was the other missing de Viller daughter. The young woman appeared almost ghost-like, she was there but the look in her eyes seemed eons away.

"As I was saying, Miss Lennox. Cosette had a rather serious case of amnesia," Dragon began to explain. "She remembers nothing except that her subject number was 3. It will take time for her memories to come back. According, to Agent Star, Cosette didn't even remember hot chocolate being her favorite drink," he spoke gently and calmly as Sabrina hadn't realized how tight she had clenched her hands until Theo touched her shoulder.

The mother closed her eyes and took a deep breath quietly through her nose. "Then it is probably best that you two stay here in the waiting area," Sabrina murmured to her two eldest children. She knew that they wanted to see Cosy as well. "I don't want to scare her and learning she has a whole family could be a lot for her," she added as Dragon nodded his head in agreement.

"Cosette has also had augmentations done. The surgery marks are evident, although, we aren't entirely sure what they all are," Dragon informed as he felt it was best the mother was prepared.
Sabrina nodded and gestured down the hallway at Dragon. "Very well," he turned to Theo and Aurélie. "My assistant, Julia, is just over there monitoring things. If you need anything while we are gone, she can get it for you," the Vice President added before leading the mother down the hall.

Sabrina paused at the door as Dragon knocked gently for a warning before he went inside. She was trying to keep calm but it was hard. Her baby was finally safe, and yet, she couldn't hold her like she wanted to. She heard him speak...

"Hello again, your mother is here. She would like to see you, if that is okay?"

There was a quiet voice that replied but Sabrina could barely hear it. Then she saw Dragon open the door and smiled sympathetically at the nervous woman. Sabrina paced in slowly as she turned the corner. She placed a cupped hand over her mouth as her eyes began to water.

"Ma petite fille," Sabrina's voice broke a bit as she got closer, careful not to rush and scare her youngest. "My baby girl," she reiterated in English just in case Cosette didn't know French anymore. Once Sabrina got to Cosette's bedside, she reached her hands out slowly to cup her face as if to make sure that her daughter was truly there in front of her. When she confirmed that Cosette was real and not a figment of her imagination, Sabrina wrapped her arms around the girl and pulled her in for a hug.

"I have missed you so much, ma petite fille," Sabrina murmured into Cosette's ear as a few tears escaped. "Your father-," she paused for a moment to stop herself from crying. "Your father and I never stopped looking for you or your sister. We are so grateful that you and your sister are finally safe."

Nova held her now empty coffee cup loosely in her hand, her stare far away and drifting as she took up residence in the chair beside the bed once more. That was until the door opened, announcing Sabrina's arrival. She put down her cup and leaned forward in her chair, taking 3's hand in hers as promised. She sat to the side and out of the way, but she wouldn't let go of her hand until the girl did so.

At first the woman's touch, her embrace, terrified little Subject #3. Positive human contact was something Subject #3 still wasn't entirely used to, despite Stella and Star's efforts. She could feel her heart racing in her chest, thrumming against the woman who held her.

There was a gentle caress, and Subject #3 realized Star was still holding onto her hand, as she had promised. Weakly, Subject #3 squeezed her hand back, trying desperately to process the tears the woman in front of her shed.

She was frozen for a long time, unsure of how to react. A part of her was still waiting for pain. For all of this charade to stop and everything to return back to normal. The tests. But as the woman with chocolate hair, who smelled like sunshine, held her, Subject #3 realized one very important thing.

There was no pain.

She wasn't hurt. Being squeezed in a hug didn't count as being hurt, right? A few more seconds went by, as Subject #3 held her breath. Still no pain, still a softly tearing woman. Maybe... there was no danger? Maybe...

Subject #3 gently let go of Star's hand, swallowing nervously, before gently patting the back of the woman who held her.

"Je suis désolé," she said softly, surprising herself that she knew a foreign language. "I... I don't... know who you are..."

She pursed her lips, feeling an ache in the pit of her stomach. "I... I don't know anything..."

It hurt. It was pain she inflicted on herself. Was she forgetting something important...?

"Wh-... what am I forgetting...?" She said, more so to herself, in a pained tone. She had... family? They never stopped looking...? Was she... really lost this whole time? Wasn't she just doing tests? Weren't the doctors her 'family'? She was so confused. It hurt. Her brows wrinkled, and a small whimper escaped her lips, tears threatening her eyes.

"H-how long.. have I been gone..?"

Nova squeezed Cosette’s hand, watching her being pulled into an embrace. The woman’s tears and confessions hit Nova where she didn’t expect it, and she looked away to give the two a semblance of privacy. And to hide the tears misting in her eyes. The guilt that had settled in Nova’s bones, making a home, got slightly dampened by the fact that at the very least, this girl was back in her mother’s arms. At least she had done that.

Cosette’s hand left hers eventually, opting to pat her mother on the back. It seemed that, while confused, the girl felt safe enough to let go of Nova. Subtly, Nova got out of her chair and moved out of the way, so the girl’s mother could take her chair if needed. Instead, she walked over to where Dragon was standing beside the window. Standing next to him, she sniffled softly and watched the scene. The young woman crossed her arms over her chest, her fingers curling around her upper arms as she held herself. As a slight tremor went through her, she realised the cold of the submarine never fully left her.

Nor did the haunting memories.

She tore her eyes away from the scene to glance up at Dragon beside her. What would’ve happened if he hadn’t come for her? It wasn’t something Nova wanted to spend time thinking about. Needing some form of comfort, she slowly leaned her head against the side of his shoulder, shifting her gaze to the floor.

Sabrina pulled back from her hug and gazed into Cosette's frightened eyes. She felt her heart break with each word, however, she knew there was nothing she could truly do. Cosette would have to remember all on her own. There was no magic button or pill that would bring back the baby girl Sabrina had lost years ago.

The mother smiled tenderly as she gently caressed some hair out of Cosette's face upon instinct. "It is okay that you don't remember, who I am or why you don't know anything," she murmured as she pressed a soft kiss to Cosette's forehead.

"I am your maman, your mother," Sabrina explained as she had to pause in order to keep herself composed. "You have been gone for seven years. Your father and I have been searching high and low for you and your sister every day since you went missing," she said as she pressed her lips together, thinking of how much she would love to ring her ex-husband's neck right now.

"Your brother, Theo, and your sister, Aurelie, would like to come in and see you. All this can seem overwhelming, so I brought you something from your room back home," The mother of the three de Viller children reached into her bag and pulled out Cosette's old stuffed rabbit. Still in good condition despite the slight fading of the bright pink color of the bunny's coloring.

The motherly attention Sabrina gave Subject #3 helped to ease some of her trembling. Is this what mothers did? Is this what... her mother did?

Subject #3's eyes widened at the mention of siblings. "Th-there's more?"

Her brilliant eyes fell on the stuffed rabbit, confusion catching her features before they smoothed into a small, timid smile. She held her hands out, wanting to hold it. She could feel the rabbit's softness on her fingertips and felt a part of her presence ease. Quietly, she pulled the rabbit closer, drawing her knees to her chest, embracing it and herself. For comfort.

Her gaze lingered on the stuffed rabbit. "This.. this is... mine?"

More people would be here soon. More memories she didn't have. More pain she was going to cause.

It was her fault she didn't remember, right?

Her stomach twisted nervously, eyes glancing to the floor.

"O-okay... I think... I'm ready to see them." She paused. "They... they know I... I can't remember?"

Dragon observed the scene in front of him as he leaned against the window. His keen eyes took notice to Nova's expressions and slight shivers. He was genuinely shocked when Nova laid her head on his shoulder. Dragon shifted slightly to have his Star stand in front of him so he could wrap his arms around her.

"You are safe, Nova. I would have burned the oceans to a vapor if that's what it took to save you," he murmured quietly in her ear, knowing that his words would pick up on her augmentation but would go unheard by the mother and daughter.

"You will never have to step foot out of your lab for assignments again, if that is what you wish," Kai added as he felt the urge to kiss Nova silly to make her forget about what happened even if it were for a moment, however, HR would have a field day with the two of them. Dragon was technically Nova's superior and he knew that Nova enjoyed what she had been researching before the assignment. So, for now, he squeezed his arms around her, with a brief nuzzle into the crook of her neck, before letting go.

Subject #3 glanced at Star and the man who had the teleporter previously. Star seemed... upset. Was it something Subject #3 did? Or was it... what they ran from, what they may have been free from?

Were they free? Were they really and truly free now..?

Subject #3 tried to catch Star's gaze, and give her a reassuring smile before her gaze flickered between the one who claimed to be her mother and the door.

She had no idea what to expect.

Did her siblings even remember her? Was she good to them? Did they hate her....?

She felt her heartbeat pick up again, one hand leaving the stuffed rabbit to hold onto the woman's wrist.

At first, Nova thought Dragon was shrugging her off. What was she thinking, anyway? But the man shifted behind her instead, his arms around her waist. She was fully aware of every spot on her body where hers connected with his, and it made her stop breathing for a moment. What was he doing? Her throat muscles worked to gulp away her nerves, but as she remained in his hold, she slowly let out a shaky breath and adjusted to the warm and comfortable feeling.

A slight red tint travelled from her chest to her cheeks, brightening the tips of her ears as she read the words in front of her. But she heard them, too. There was something about the low timber of his voice. She was safe. He’d saved her. But Stella… she wasn’t safe. And while she wanted nothing more than to go back to her studies and ogling this man from afar, Nova was in too deep.

She knew things now. Things she couldn’t make herself forget. And most importantly, Stella wasn’t home safe. His hold tightened for a moment as Nova processed the information, his head lowering to the side of her neck, sending a tremor down Nova’s spine. Unable to speak, she angled her head and raised her shoulders for a brief moment to give back the moment of affection. When he let her go, Nova realised just how warm the man’s hold was, and how chilly she felt when it was gone. Her eyes went back to Cosette and the girl gave her a smile.

Nova smiled fondly, her eyes sparkling with a newfound joy. Stella had sacrificed herself for this girl. Stella had given her all to get this girl out. And now? This girl would always have Nova. It was the least she could do for them both. She made a mental note to give her number to the mother, just in case. And then? She would focus her efforts on finding Stella, hoping Dragong would agree.

There was a soft knock at the door, and Nova knew it was going to be the siblings. A girl entered first. She looked pale, withered. Shattered was the word Nova was searching for. Then, a man. Almost the spitting image of the Louvre director she had seen down below the sea. Looking back at the girl, she kept a careful eye as the siblings reunited.

[Estylwen]

HiveMind Underwater Research Facility, Sub Contained Lab

_{A collaboration with @WhiteAngel25}

---

There was pin-drop silence as the pink-haired researcher stared hard at Stella. “Huh.”

The girl adjusted her goggles, the cherry lollipop making a wet smacking sound as she shoved it into the side of her cheek.

"You really don't understand the position you're in, darling. No... not one bit."

Stella didn't understand. The scientist had asked her if she felt anything, and she gave the lollipop-smacking bitch an answer. Stella wanted her 'father' on ice although somehow she felt like it wasn't her place to be the one to see the life fade from his eyes. As for the scientist, Stella just didn't like the smell of artificial cherries, reminded her of medicine when she was younger.

There was a cold smile as the girl pulled out a needle, removing the cap.

"I can make your life as much of a hell as I want."

And she roughly jabbed the needle into Stella's arm, the contents making the room dance before Stella passed out cold.

Stella's crystal eyes widened slightly at the sight of the needle and stiffened. She saw the needle. How she hated those silver pricks. Stella experienced enough needles and surgeries for a lifetime.

---

When Stella awoke, she was in an entirely different place. Instead of pristine grey and white walls, she was greeted by dark drywall, wooden beams along the ceiling, and the scent of dampness. For all intents and purposes, it almost looked as though she was in a small room of an unfinished basement.

Her padded table was very much the same, except far more futuristic, ergonomic, and tilted slightly so she was looking more ahead than up at the ceiling. The metal cuffs holding her in place had glowing lights curling across the stainless steel.

To her left was a desk showing a holographic display of her vitals. And in front of her watching from the murky darkness, was none other than Von Galloes.

He was dressed a bit differently, lab coat changed for an elegant, dark business suit. His hair was perfectly oiled back, and his eyes had a hunger to them as he watched from the shadows.

As Stella stirred, he stepped forward, towering over her. He methodically began stretching blue latex gloves over his hands, snapping them at the wrists.

His voice was deep and cold, his lips curled in a smirk.

"How are we feeling, daughter of mine?"

Stella slowly blinked her icy orbs open as she registered that she was in a different room. She was on a hospital surgery bed of sorts. Her gaze caught sight of her vitals first before jerking at her wrists to see how secure the tie-downs were. Stella stiffened as she saw Von Galloes step into the light of the room and snapped his glove.

His words were like a haunting memory. Every instance of her mother begging for a man to leave her alone after surgeries from augmentations were tested out. Then the last augmentation before Stella left, she had forgotten all about the mysterious tall figure. But lately those memories had been flooding back like a dam had broke. Stella quickly realized her mother had place a memory blocker on her to prevent her from ever finding the HiveMind facility, away from her father.

"I feel like you don't deserve to call me your daughter. I am nothing like you," Stella quipped back with a glare. "Mom did her best to make sure of that."

"Ah yes, your dear mother..."

Von Galloes moved to sit upon a stool, scooting it forward so he was beside Stella. He seemed unbothered by Stella's words, the cold smile never leaving his face.

Stella did not enjoy the heartless look in those dark, frigid eyes. She gripped her hands into fists as she was trying to stay calm. She noticed that when her blood pressure elevated, so did the urge to murder increase as well as shock-like energy coursed through her body. The longer she was with Von Galloes, the more the memories were returning.

From the very beginning of Stella's formative memories, her mother had tried to either hide Stella, under utilize the augmentations, or had Stella feign illness whenever Galloes paid a visit to the Home Facility.

"Did you ever wonder... what really happened to her?" His smile grew a bit, a gleam in his eye.

The rhetorical question had Stella placing the puzzle pieces as to what truly happened to her mother. She was told illness, but now, from all she's been through in the last almost two months, she wouldn't be surprised if Von Galloes tortured her sweet mother for every juicy bit of information he could obtain.

Von Galloes' foot pressed a pedal at the base of Stella's operating table, adjusting Stella so she was lower, and more horizontal.

"Your mother... she made a mistake. A horrible... terrible mistake..." He continued, grabbing a device - what looks like two dentist's sickle probes - pulsing with green light.

Stella's gaze caught the glint of medical tools. She had hoped to never see instruments like those ever again.

"And..." He cold eyes locked with hers, "She paid the price."

Von Galloes pressed a button, and Stella would feel a tingling, magnetic sensation as a mirror of her heart appeared above her chest.

Stella's crystal eyes widened with the sight of her heart being displayed in front of her. No wonder the dragon questioned as to whether she truly wanted to take the power. Her chest cavity looked like it threw up grape and black raspberry coloring with her heart growing slightly larger in size.

It looked completely alien. Thick veins of black and purple, a larger heart-shape, flashing with energy at every pulse. It trembled with power, threatening to burst.

Von Galloes had a sick smile on his face as he held the probes at the ready.

"Now, shall we begin?"

"Begin?! You want to do exploitative surgery on an organ that just absorbed dark matter energy? Are you nuts?!" Stella snapped as the probes began to hum in Von Galloes' hands before they bent in half with a wave of energy from Stella's heart. She blinked her eyes and sighed in slight annoyance, it was another test.

Stella closed her eyes. "Did you ever love her?" She asked as she opened her eyes and just stared emotionless at the ceiling. "Did you ever truly care and love my mother?"

Stella smirked coldly, not unlike Von Galloes' own chilly smile. "My guess is probably not. She had loved you at one point though. Enough that she made me think that I never had a truly bad memory of the tall man watching from the windows. She always said, 'He just wants to see the best. And you are the best.' with that warm smile that made any worries go away."

He watched, his eyes slightly widening, at the display of power Stella showed.

"Facinating..." He whispered under his breath, placing the broken probes in the tray beside him. He stared at her cold eyes for a long moment, before his smile returned, and a low chuckle emanated from his throat.

"Love is... such a strange word."

He leaned forward, standing over Stella, his gloved hands finding their home around her slender neck, slipping below her white collar.

Stella glared at him feeling the pressure around the base of her windpipe.

"I loved her as much as I love you, perhaps even more."

There was a vicious look in his eyes as he began to squeeze her airways, choking the breath out of her.

"But love always has a price."

He leaned in close, his hot breath against Stella's ear.

"Now, let me make one thing very clear, daughter. You fight against me again, and I will make sure you regret it. I will use every ounce of newfound power you have, and use it against you. Strangle you until you can no longer think, until you beg me for mercy."

His grip tightened.

"Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." Stella managed to wheeze out through her limited breath.

The snow-white haired woman refused to lessen the glare even as her father choked her. She knew that she had little control over her newly obtained power nor did she have the freedom to object Von Galloes. With Nick and #3 hopefully safe with Star, Thierry, Aaron, and Ramses, she had to focus on learning her new abilities. Unfortunately, the only person who could train her was the one making threats on her life. She would have to play the waiting game, no doubt, Von Galloes would figure this into his plans as well. The daughter would just have to out play the father.

---

_{Reunion, Part Three}

Paris, The Louvre Museum

_{A collaboration with @Lexisheeps, mentions @WhiteAngel25}

---

There was not a cloud in the sky as Subject #3 stood at the grand entrance of the Louvre. It was at a special request of none other than Thierry, the one who had come to help free them. Subject #3 didn't really understand him. He actually kind of scared her with how he handled the rocket launcher at the dark energy crocodile. Dangerous. Kind of like the doctors...

She was more comfortable with Nick, the one who had helped free her from the wolf in the ruins over a month ago. She could get behind that. There wasn't a lot that she understood, having her whole life revolve around tests, needles, and dark energy. But she could understand, just a little, that Nick at least seemed alright.

She swallowed hard, white hair fluttering in the wind, before pushing aside the door and entering the Louvre.

Seven years was a long time.

It was so long of a time, but such passage was not lost within him. While he understood the concept of long lost days to nights and back again, he didn't fully understand the paternal turmoil going on within his husband. He wasn't a biological father and became a stepfather through a set of signed marriage documents. Yet despite being a stepfather, he wasn't on the best of terms with Theo, Thierry's only son, and hadn't actually met Thierry's girls as they'd both been abducted by HiveMind. Several months before he even got involved with The Louvre. It was about time he'd finally had the chance to met the girls, outside of them being captured by an evil corporation. He was certain that if Aurélie didn't hate him for his tone with Sabrina the other day, she'd probably be swayed by Theo. Cosette though, Nick felt he had a fresh start. He had a clear mindset that was unobstructed by returning from a stressful work life, unlike his last interaction with Aurélie. It had been several hard day's night indeed, so he was feeling much better despite the overall situation.

Still though, there were times where Nick felt like no matter what he did, he failed at doing it properly. When he wanted to be social and interact with others, he was a ticking time bomb of pent-up frustration. This type of interaction left people numb to his situation and typically resulted in them leaving him alone, which is what he wanted while in social settings. But then once he was truly alone, his heart would ache and weep for the companionship of others. Thierry knew this well, as the man had empathic tendencies... even if flawed ones when dealing with his own personal endeavors. It was a constant inner struggle of damned if he did, damned if he didn't. He just knew he wanted change in his life, one way or another. He was tired of the constant outbursts and disregard for his own personal welfare. He hated the feeling of vulnerability, but knew he wouldn't get the support at least half of his conscious wanted, if he didn't reach out to others.

He pulled away from Thierry and managed to do so ungrudgingly. He hated leaving Thierry like this, but did so as he left the biological father to his own heartache- if only momentarily. Thierry was currently in the midst of his third or fourth breakdown that morning. Nick had lost count somewhere while trying to gather important family memorabilia and other savable documents Thierry thrashed around his former office space. Thierry's current distorted mannerisms could take Nick's own temper tantrums on a run for his money. The idea of losing his family emotionally over the years imploded, then the realization of how deep the papers were that he'd signed...

...he hadn't even touched his coffee- a true rarity within Louvre walls.

Thierry's inner convictions had been so incredibly strong all morning, that they metaphorically fractured The Louvre's walls. Thierry's secretary, Lucy, had broke down in the elevator while clinging to Nick. Stranger still, several staffers approached Nick, trying to figure out what the actual fuck was going on, despite their general dislike of Nick on a personal level. One guy actually apologized for something Nick couldn't even remember happening. It was becoming very obvious to Nick that more than just few other fellow staffers on the 6th floor weren't thrilled with The Louvre's compliance of the signed papers either. And heard rumors that many vowed to thwart any of HiveMind's attempts to even gain access to the 6th floor, let alone Thierry's personal office. A significant temporal vein that kept a decent chunk of the Louvre in tact, had in fact been ruptured by HiveMind's meddling and The Louvre was hemorrhaging...

de Villiers loyalists...

And many vowed to keep Thierry's family members, Louvre workers or not, and any remaining documentation safe to the best of their ability. You can't just uproot and remove 27 years without consequences and while Thierry had failed at keeping Sabrina and his children by his side over the years, he did have a reputable work life. And his fellow staffers now knew the full scale of what The Louvre had been ignoring the last 7 years. Formerly wild rumors had been confirmed, along with many strange questions answered. The scope of the situation for staff was as if they watched a broken man desperately trying to gasp for air in his dying moments. And the outpouring response was nothing less than a mixture of empathic fury. Nick was relieved that he didn't have to pick up Thierry's shattered remains by himself as several people helped him pack his husband's car full of private belongings. There was a bit of a scramble as a timer had been set by the High Table- Thierry had a week to vacate the Louvre. Someone obvious to the chaos had managed to pull some strings to get that much time, as Thierry had only been given a few hours at first.

Nick needed a moment to breathe. He wasn't sure what he was going to say to Cosette when the time came, but he did have an idea for a present for her, "You're alight, Iyvolo." He spoke softly to the bundle of terrified fur that nestled in the safety of his zipped leather jacket. An ice breaker in the form a Newfoundland puppy to soften the harshness of the situation. He'd gotten the idea when he remembered Cosette's good reaction to the wolf cub he'd given her back in the cave.

He weaved in and out of traffic on his motorcycle. Speed limits? Fuck those. Despite a few accidents he almost caused and several horns being angry with his lack of grace, he arrived back at the Louvre just in time to see his frail daughter being escorted inside. He damn near jumped off the still moving bike, or had he been thrown? Didn't matter as he tore his helmet off to bare face the chill night air. He caught up to the escort group halfway up a familiar flight of stairs and called out, "Cosette!" And proceeded to pick her tiny frame up. Nick wasn't a very large man, but had no problems bringing his 17 year old daughter into his arms. His many years of endurance training was currently serving him well, as he adjusted her weight to put the strain evenly on his body.

He carried her the rest of the way up the steps and adjusted her firmly over his hip once on the landing. He didn't know what the hell to say, so he decided to focus on the dog in his jacket, "Hey, Iyvolo and I missed you!" The little puppy wasn't sure whether to be confused, happy, or scared and seemed to be all three at one point or another, before deciding on tail-wagging face licks. The dog's black coat was just as shiny as the Dark Energy wolf cub's was, but Iyvolo was real this time. He'd decided on such a large dog breed as he had plans to train it to be a guard dog for her. He'd trained some of his dogs before and felt confident that he could get it done, or that he could afford a trainer if need be. The papers that Thierry unfortunately signed only affected Thierry's Louvre stash and not his own. So care for the dog wouldn't be a problem if Sabrina decided that she didn't want the dog at her estate, due to it's connection to Thierry. She had made it clear at the harbor that she wanted nothing to do with him anymore, but Nick found himself unsure of exactly how far that well dropped.

Thierry stood there in the disaster area that was his former office, breathing hard. He'd just beaten the hell out of his now empty desk by throwing his office chair repeatedly into it. If Vonny wanted his office, c'est la vie, but he sure as hell wasn't getting anything decently maintained and well presented. He had stopped his wraith on the inanimate objects only momentarily to look up as Nick had entered the room. He didn't say anything to announce his presence, but Cosette looked terrified despite a jovial puppy licking her face. It wasn't a good first impression and he was fully aware of it.

Thierry's angered demeanor had shifted to a sense of demanded stability as he spoke. If he couldn't be stable for himself, he at least needed to be there for his daughter, "Cosette, c'est bien toi?" Then approached his protective husband and safe daughter calmly, "Cosy?" There were doubts, of course. It had been seven years after all. But the doubts didn't last long, despite Cosette still looking like Subject #003.

Former fits of rage turned to whimpered uncertainty as he gently caressed Cosette on the back. She was real. Really real and not just a memory, a hologram, or a figment of his drunk imagination. "Ma petite fille." He had spoken softly with a bit of an inward lean on Nick's steady frame, with Cosette firmly in the middle. For the first time in seven years, Thierry could breathe. The de Villiers loyalists who were in the room with the three of them, attempted to follow Nick's lead in not showing their full register of emotions, if only to help Thierry find his footing in the midst of his reunion. The room had fallen silent save for Thierry's whimpers, happy puppy sounds, and Cosette's sweet little voice.

Thierry momentarily looked from Cosette's augmented eyes, to lock onto two shimmering pools. Despite the constant family-induced chaos Thierry found himself in, all was right with the world in that instant. He knew now that he'd clung to Sabrina because of how his father was and that was not fair to her at all. Or to Aurélie's mother before her. Thierry knew his actions had impacted Theo as well. Would they ever forgive him for using them to hide his feelings towards other men? Society was on the verge of sexuality expressive freedom. Very different from when he was Nick's age. He leaned his head onto Nick's as he listened to Cosette. She had a lot to catch up on over the next coming days, weeks, or however long she needed. And he worried and wondered, but with time he hoped she'd accept Nick as her father, despite some ongoing drama within the family.

Is this what true happiness is? To love and feel loved? Both men thought about making arrangements to meet up with Theo and Aurélie as well. A true family reunion seemed to be in order, whether it was sanctioned by The Louvre or not.

---

---

Ambiance

---

---

"Cosette, c'est bien toi?"

She looked up, frozen with fear. Her eyes slanted to the desk, dents and scuffs marring the surface of what had once been a beautiful mahogany desk. Is this what Director Galloes had done? Is this what the fallout of expecting the Director's clutches meant?

She felt sick, seeing the man in front of her so broken.

Almost immediately, she couldn't understand herself and her own distrust of the man. Surely a grenade launcher wasn't warranted to distrust something, right? All Subject #3 could see was someone who just needed some compassion.

Everything felt... funny. Felt new. Even though this man had helped rescue her from the time bomb and made his sacrifice for Nick, going back into the complex to find another way out... Even though she had seen him in action, how he worked, it all seemed so... so strange. Her whole life had revolved around being alone, being a failure. She had no idea that her salvation had only been a few feet away.

Now that everyone knew.

Apparently.

Subject #3's lips pursed, feeling the man's hand caress her back. It was comforting, similar to when the one who claimed to be her mother had held her. But... she felt so inadequate. Maybe this was Director Galloes' plan all along. Reunite her with strangers? With people who didn't recognize her at first, only to torture her further when she couldn't return their smiles like they wanted her to?

It was painful, standing here. Trying, with every fiber in her being to remember the man who wept openly in front of her.

But she couldn't do it. Just like she had been trying all these past few days since she had escaped the facility with Star and the man with the teleporter.

She couldn't do it, but with his touch, his kind gaze.... something in her clicked. The fear... melted away.

"Papa, es-tu... vraiment mon papa?" Her small voice spoke, looking up with flutters of confusion, not understanding her feelings at all, at the man before her.

Her father.

"Are you... really? My..." Tears welled in her brilliant eyes, and her voice choked out.

The curse of having her memories stolen, yet the blessing of having others know who she was...

It was too much to handle.

She trembled as she stood there, the tears pouring more in bitterness to her condition. She'd lose it if she didn't try to distract herself. Anything to distract these painful feelings.

With shaky hands, she lifted up the small, adoring black puppy, showing her father. Her eyes glanced up at Nick, then back to her father.

"L-look, look what Nick gave me. His name is Iyvolo. You can pet him, but he likes to lick you..." She said, her voice shaky.

"... really? My..."

His heart shattered at the realization that his daughter didn't remember him. Thierry's heart had been broken thousands of times by Galloes for almost a decade. He could feel the anger swelling deep within, but remained soft spoken as he answered Cosette. A new set of tears threatened to keep his drying face moist, "Oui."

Thierry reached into his suit jacket to pull his leather wallet out. With a few flips of cash and useless Louvre staff cards, he handed her a family photo. The photo was the very last one taken by Aurélie of her full de Villiers family, before literal shit hit the fan. A particular trip to Egypt seven years ago, "This is you." He pointed to a tiny little girl of the age of ten, who was holding a hello kitty flash light and stuffed rabbit Sabrina had made for her. Thierry watched his wording as he spoke, not wanting to upset her with big words like augmentation or scary things like brain surgery, "I know you don't remember Chignon-chignon, but Papa va t'aider."

Thierry looked to the puppy and gave it several pets and a head kiss, "Hello, Iyvolo. You're such a cute little guy!" He smiled at the excited dog. It was a nice distraction from all the bullshit, but despite the happy tail and face licks, Thierry still noticed Nick's sudden lack of participation. The man might have been quiet naturally, but this time he seemed... still, almost surreal. Thierry's heart feared something was going on with his husband's augmentation, but sincerely hoped the young man was just exhausted from such a hard day.

Ba-bum!

The sound of a choked heartbeat. As Nick stood there, he would feel entirely overcome. The ‘clearing of the table’ to make way for a word. A wish. A command, as it were.

This time, the command was simple in nature. It could be completed in as little as a few breaths. But its effects would be shattering. As the mastermind behind Nick's strings knew all too well.

The words consumed Nick, not letting him rest until he spoke the words in his mind, snaking around his central nervous system. He wouldn't be able to rest, to think of his own free will, until the words were spoken.

Subject #3 was staring hard at the photo in her hand, trying her best to connect with the small brunette in the photo. She recognized the one who claimed to be her mother, and she recognized her father, Aurélie and Theo. The smallest one, though. It was like water dripping into a cup, filling with knowledge. This was who she was? She had a life and a family before the doctor and tests?

She had lived, truly lived, before her memories were stolen…?

She looked up at her father, blinking through the tears that wet her cheeks. “You'll… really help me… Papa?”

“Oh, he'll help you alright.”

Just like that, she felt hands. Rough hands, closing around her throat.

She could see Nick towering over her, hands slowly clenching over her airways. There was a faraway, thousand yard stare in his eyes. His voice was distant, cold.

“Did you really think you could escape my clutches, child? Don't you know that your ‘father’ had the option to save you, but didn't take it? Let you suffer at my hand all these years?”

Subject #3 gasped for air, one hand holding Iyvolo, one hand holding Nick's wrist. She looked up at him wordlessly, terror in her swimming eyes. Shock, disbelief. She didn't want to hear what he was saying.

There was a pause before Nick continued. “Oh, but you don't remember, do you, pet?”

"That's not him! Nick would never hurt you!" Nick could hear Thierry's whimpering. Sounded like he was explaining things about the Mute augmentation as quickly as he could, but he stayed there on the floor with his eyes closed, unresponsive. Nick wasn't fluent in French by any means and with how quickly Thierry spoke, it was honestly hard to catch anything. He didn't remember any of it, everything was blank.

How much time had passed? What had he done? When he finally did open his eyes, he saw Thierry clutching Cosette, clearly shaken by whatever it was that had happened. Fearful, Nick managed to pull himself up. He was still sore as he'd hit the floor hard. He could feel blood trickle from his nose. A little more alert, some of Thierry's French strung words and phrases together.

"Von Galloes is a narcissistic manipulator! He likes to play games, there were no real options to save you, Cosette! Surely you know that!"

Words formed in retaliation to the things Thierry was saying, but he fought to not speak as he pulled himself to his knees. Down the hall he went and around some corners. Then the fancy staircase. Nick didn't stop once he'd reached his tipped bike. He had to get the hell out of Pairs, separate himself from The Louvre, but more importantly, Thierry. As Nick weaved in and out of traffic, almost causing an accident here and there, he had no idea where the hell he was going. But he knew he had to get out, one way or another.

'There were no real options to save you'...

Subject #3 stared up, lips parted in shock at her father, who held tight to her. The damage was already done. The trust she had formed almost broke with an audible sound as Von Galloes sent a sledgehammer into the de Villers family once again. She gazed up at her father, unconcerned that Nick had tried strangling her. She was used to these things, after all.

No, what struck her was that her father knew something she didn't. Withheld something she perhaps ought to know. What did it mean?

Did it matter? The real question here was: Could she trust her father?

That, she didn't have an easy answer for. But she stood there shivering, clutching Iyvolo as her father clutched her. Her eyes were downcast to the floor. Her breath was a whisper.

"...Let go of me, p-papa."

Tears pricked her eyes, threatening to pour again. "I want Nick."

Thierry's arms dropped to his sides as his heart slid from his throat. In his rush to explain, he either over did so, or didn't do enough of it. Used the wrong words and said something wrong, but he wasn't sure of exactly what or how to correct it. He'd lost touch of being a father a long time ago. Long even before the girls had been abducted, but knew he needed to say something calming, "Cosette..." He started, but he wasn't sure where to go next with his train of thought. Silence between the two of them lingered a moment before he finally blurted out with a whimper, "I do too."

The speedometer said 50mph at first, then slowly rose steadily. 55mph, 70mph. 110mph. Nick hadn't made it out of Paris just yet when his thoughts became muddled. Confused with thoughts that weren't his own. Just like last time and the time before that when he directly assaulted Thierry, "No, not again. Get the fuck out of my head!" But the message was clear: Kill anybody related to or associated with de Villiers.

At one point, Nick did get off an exit ramp to turn around and head back to the Louvre. Several times. Several resubmissions happened. Again and again. His head felt like it was going to explode each time the thoughts turned against Von Galloes. Some of the pressure was released when Thierry being shot crossed his attention. He thought about what the doctor said at HiveMind, "What? 'You'll love it, I promise!' The fuck kinda love is this?"

On his way headed back out of Paris after yet another mission update, his hands burned white with how hard he gripped the handles. Subject #6425 was still in the clutches of Galloes, and it was really pissing Nick off. The Mute prototype was desperately trying to take control. Why was Galloes so obsessed with Thierry? He damn near caused an accident at how hard he laughed. It probably wasn't true, but the idea of Galloes being jealous struck him as incredibly humorous. As Nick's mind flooded with indecency, he noted that Subject #6425 fucked rightfully off. It was starting to feel like Mute had finally been deactivated. But it didn't matter much. Nick noticed he was being followed by four semis with an ever familiar HM symbol, "Shit." They were going to corner him back to The Louvre, or kill him trying. Nick wasn't sure were the speedometer rested as his bike threw him...

Subject #6425 stood up, seemingly unphased as several HiveMind agents approached him, "Sir." The leading agent started, slightly nervous at what he'd just witnessed, "You have a phone call."

#6 Tilted his head, then proceeded to take the opened cellphone, "Yes, Mr. Galloes?"

It was a toss up. Some of the agents were amused, greed entering their minds at how smooth of an agent they could become with Mute. Some of the other men who stood there? Not so much greed, but feared the repercussions they'd face should #6 become Nick again. Nick was known by field agents all across the board, as being incredibly unforgiving, particularly for traitors to The Louvre or The Council.

"Sir, in order to do that, I'll need agents..." He paused, "And guns." #6 stated coldly then handed the phone to the agent who'd handed him the phone in the first place, "You, you and you, with me." #6 pointed, causing some of the agents to head back to their vehicles.

"Pathetic." #6 eye rolled as he shoved the shotgun aside, "Where you guys fucked up in killing Monsieur de Villiers, I will not."

"We've been at this for years, #6." One agent shuffled on his feet, as if itching for an all out war.

"Oh yeah?" Nick's shell smirked, "But I've," He pointed to himself with raised eyebrow, "Got something that you don't." Nick held out his left hand for the agents to see his lover's ring, "This won't take long. Just don't get in my fucking way." He spat, heading back to his bike.

Headed back to The Louvre, 6 pulled his left wrist to his mouth, "Hey..." He started.

"Where the hell are you?!" Thierry whimpered through the watch's phone setting.

"Outside of Paris, but uh, I've got some news. Good or bad?"

"Bad, as always."

"Right," Nick chuckled at his husband's routine, "I figured out how to turn Mute off."

"Understood." Nick listened to Thierry's sigh through the watch, "Nicholas, I lo..."

Nick clicked his watch back to the time setting, causing the phone to be turned off, "...You too." Much to Nick's annoyance, his watch rang with Thierry's icon listed as the caller. Five or so minutes went by of him ignoring the call before finally answering with a sigh, "I know you do, but now is not-"

"It's Cosy." Came his husband's voice through the watch once more.

"Hey!" Nick tried to sound calm as he talked to his daughter for potentially the last time, "I'm sorry about before, little angel. I need you to do me a favor! I need you to protect Iyvolo and dad, alright? Can you do that for me?"

---

---

Ambiance

---

---

Subject #3 listened carefully to Nick's instructions, her bottom lip trembling. What had happened? What was wrong?

“O-okay… I promise. I'll keep papa and Iyvolo safe…” Her voice seemed a bit relaxed as she spoke, having some satisfaction that she could at least hear Nick.

She looked up at her father who had his watched outstretched to her. There was a whimper in her arms, and she gave Iyvolo a pet. “There, there…”

Her brilliant eyes shifted back to her father, whom she looked at hesitantly. “Is… Nick gonna be okay…?”

What she should have asked was if they were going to be alright. Only a few minutes passed, and huge semi trucks with the HiveMind logo on them parked around each side of the Louvre, with HM agents armed to the teeth surrounding the front and back entrances. The leader eyed Nick/#6.

“Ready on your mark, #6.”

On #6's mark, Hive Mind agents would flood the museum with one goal: find and destroy the de Villiers family.

Now would be a terrible time for a zombie apocalypse to start. The onslaught of HiveMind agents was immense. Between the heads up Thierry had been given from a phone call with a certain fiery blonde, to the luring of agents by '#6' himself. A true bait and switch attack that gave the de Villiers loyalists the upper hand they needed. Thierry clearly held some cards. Slumped bodies littered the floor, blood smeared with shoe prints along marbled white flooring. Most but not all, bore an HM symbol. A bland insignia that wasn't nearly as winsome or objet d'art as The Louvre's heirloom crest. The augmented anger slowly made his way to the 6th floor, with the intent of finding Monsieur de Villiers.

But upon reaching Thierry's office, #6 sighed, "How many more agents am I going to have to sacrifice?"

"And exactly which set of agents is that?" Galloes questioned verbally.

However, Galloes did so through controlling Nick's body just as he'd done previously while hurting Cosette. Simply wanting change in your life and wanting to live life to the fullest, wasn't exactly the simple way out as Nick had previously assumed. It was a mixture of mental and coding stability, if he'd ever truly get a grip of himself again. At one point Nick had been certain that he'd figured out how to control his Mute Augmentation, but as he stood there in the dim lighting of Thierry's office, he realized he'd been battling with Galloes' hackers for awhile now. He stood there with his vulnerability in full view, realizing he'd need people in his life who cared about him, if he ever planned to rid himself of the HiveMind hardware that infected his mind. But who could he trust? He'd pushed so many others away during his short life. Making it colder and now potentially shorter than need be.

"What do you want from me?" Nick questioned while his bottle lip trembled.

"Be a good boy and fulfill your objective, #6425. Kill de Villiers loyalists, Louvre members, Thierry, anybody who stands in HiveMind's, no... my way."

"You'll remove the augmentation?" Nick shivered as his head felt like it was going to throb out of his skull. But his own laughter caught him off guard, causing him to realize that Galloes had no intention of letting him go. Probably not even after death, should he not live to see tomorrow after this. The pressure in his head eased up a bit as #6 slowly took control, while Nick mumbled one last time, "Yes, Sir."

As Nick caved to the mind control of Hive Mind, of Von Galloes, the final phase of the battle would begin. What Hive Mind soldiers remained regroup and met #6 at the top of the stairs, in front of Thierry's office door. With a few buttons from the rifles, and well-placed kicks, the door swung open.

Inside, Subject #3 was peeking up from behind the desk as her father had instructed, hiding, and watching, as HiveMind agents poured into the room, creating a semi-circle, rifles drawn, around and at Thierry.

Subject #3 couldn't take it anymore. She gently place Iyvolo on the ground, hidden from view, and eyed the agent's, swallowing hard as she slowly moved to stand in front of Thierry.

“P-please, you can't do this.”

The Hive Mind agents only stared down the sights of their rifles at her, waiting for a cue from #6 to take them out.

Subject #3 turned her attention to Nick.

“N-nick, please- did… did I do something wrong?”

The room started off blurry as Nick slowly attempted to open his eyes. He felt different, great even. Well, mentally that was. Despite all the aches and pains of the day, he finally felt like himself. Honestly like himself before the damned augmentation HiveMind had given him. His ears picked up a lack of noise one minute, then hushed talking with typing another. He could feel the warmth and sensation of being clutched tightly. It was nice... but then a surge of emotions flooded his mind and almost instantly started to sob.

"No!" Nick cried out, causing the tight grasp to pull him tighter. He wiped at the waterfall that had graced his face. He was surprised, but quickly relieved to see the sight before him, "Cosette!"

Cosette had been the one clutching him. As if he was an oversized teddy bear, "Where's Thierry?! I..." He whimpered, "I shot him! He fell on top of you, I-"

"I'm going to turn these codes on now."

That voice... "Aaron?!" Nick tried to turn to see who all was behind him, but suddenly fell slack in Cosette's arms. The worry escaped his body like refugees fleeing a warlord.

"And then you slowly reinstate them, starting with this one here." Aaron's voice was calm as he spoke, but sounded almost heartbroken.

The urge to stay silent faltered a bit as emotions tap danced around his thoughts. He could feel a sturdy loving caress across his back, Thierry?! There were a few more clicking sounds as he listened to Cosette ask him a question, "I don't know." He replied, "Ivaylo maybe? I've had lots of doggos over the years. You would have liked Mr. Putty Putt-Putts. Had a strange thing for chewing on golf balls."

"I don't like this." Aaron mumbled, followed by, "Avoid these codes here the best you can."

Nick rested his head on Cosette's shoulder and closed his eyes, just wanting to go to sleep.

---

With a flip of the wrist, a hologram snapped to life in the air in front of the man shadowed in darkness. Sheets of code buzzed in a PowerShell-esque program, highlighting error after error, flashing red. There was a problem - a bad problem - that needed his attention.

Looking from behind, over the shoulder of the man and his watch, one could see a small woman tied to a table, a glowing black heart hovering outside her chest.

The man chuckled, half-heartedly flicking through the error code with his latex-gloved fingers. It seemed they were finally wising up. Trying desperately to regain some form of control. Heh. They thought they were finally getting some kind of advantage. It made him smile, his insides glowing with sick pleasure. He'd let them think that all they wanted.

Soon enough, he'd shatter everything once again.

Von Galloes, smirking to himself, closed the hologram and turned his attention back to Stella.

"Now then, where were we?"

---

"Nick... why do you have to scare me so badly...?" Subject #3 murmured, pouting slightly as she pulled him closer.

It all happened so fast. Nick shoved Subject #3 out of the way and shot her father, who fell back. Then, the door opened again, just as the Hive Mind agents trained their sights on her. A smoke grenade was thrown, coating the room in dense smoke, before an unknown assailant took out the remaining Hive Mind agents, bodies dropping to the floor with precision.

Subject #3's eyes widened as the smoke cleared, seeing Aaron standing amidst the remains of the battle. He had come to save them in the nick of time, and was working on whatever thing had control of Nick's mind.

In a panic, Subject #3 turned to her father, who was sitting up with a groan. He had taken the shot, but was unharmed physically.

"Papa?!" Her eyes stared at him frantically. He was okay, but how?

She had tried to catch Nick as he fell to the floor, and now sat trying to keep him as 'normal' as possible by sheer desperate will. This included clutching him desperately.

He was back. Physically and mentally. That's all that mattered.

A pause. Then, a slow inhale. Hesitation. "Nick... what are we? If... Papa is my dad. What does that make you?"

She wanted to hear him say it. In her terrified state, she needed to know who she could depend on.

The look on his face was one of distraught as he listened to Cosette, but Nick wasn't sure exactly how to answer her. He fidgeted a moment and folded his arms to hug himself tightly. He wasn't trying to scare her and honestly? He'd been scaring himself since getting the augmentation. So far, he'd almost strangled her tiny frame, then shot his husband. What was next? No... he didn't want to think about it. Out of all the terrible missions he'd endured over the years while working for The Louvre, this was by far the worst. At least before he had his full set of faculties and able to control his own personal destiny. He felt like everything in life had been ripped from him, even with extended behavioral therapy. The idea of not even being allowed to acknowledge himself and what he was facing? Made it that much worse.

Mr. Von Galloes was no Mister.

The gaze stayed steadily as far away from Cosette as possible as he answered her, "I- I'm sorry. It's the augmentation." Honestly? Nick wanted to cry, but there seemed to be a sensation that kept the tears from falling.

"What does this code do?" Thierry questioned Aaron while still rubbing Nick's midback, but then turned to look at Cosette, "I'll be alright, Cosy. You just focus on Nick, okay? He needs you."

"I'm not entirely sure." Aaron sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose, "I'm definitely going to need Ramses' help with this. So for now, I have it disabled."

He needs you... ? Nick let Theirry's words repeat in his mind. Fully aware of all the bridges he'd burned over the years and damning himself for it.

It must of been damn near an hour as Thierry sat there staring at the black screen of code. How did Aaron do this shit all day? Most of his screens were white and had paragraphs separating thoughts and ideas. But this nonsense? Thierry sighed several times, and once while rubbing his side where the bullet had assaulted his Kevlar vest. If Nick hadn't called him earlier to warn him of Galloes' plan, it would have been fatal. He most certainly wasn't angry with Nick due to the augmentation, but the saddening realization that Nick currently couldn't be trusted alone, was heartrending madness. And the etiolated tone of voice Nick currently sported as he spoke with Cosette, made him feel disastrously vulnerable. He listened quietly as Cosette carried on her conversation with his husband.

"Nick... what are we? If... Papa is my dad. What does that make you?"

Damn. It was a loaded question. A question that popped Nick's gaze back to Cosette's, even if only momentarily. If a scared cat running to hide under it's favorite human's bed could ever be used to metaphorically explain Nick's mindset, it would be now. He hugged himself tighter and wished Cosette would just... let go of him. It didn't help him any that Thierry wasn't jumping in to save him. What exactly had he done to deserve this? To feel abandoned, unwanted. If he told Cosette, would she accept him as her stepfather? Probably not... ?

The question Cosette had asked caused a lump to form in Thierry's throat. He'd help Nick explain, but felt Nick had a right to answer first, uninterrupted. But the longer Nick hesitated to form any congruent sounds, the more Thierry started thinking of exactly what to say and how to say it. Bluntly? Probably. He was a bit surprised, but happily, when Nick's hidden voice reached his ears.

"I- I'm... We're... your father and I... you see," He started unable to form a full sentence as he spoke, but then finally managed to find some valor as Thierry's hand rubbed across his back again, "We... are married." Nick looked to Cosette, tears threatening his face all over again as he desperately searched her facial features, "I'm your stepfather. I'm-" He hesitated a bit as his voice cracked, "Not trying to replace Sabrina."

Nick was relieved when his husband finally spoke softly but assertively, "You have two dads now, Cosette." Thierry turned around to fully face Cosette, leaving Aaron in tears as the blonde brother continued typing. He then wrapped his arms around Nick's smaller, but still bigger than Cosette's frame. With one arm around his husband's waist, the other moved up to pull Nick's head close for a kiss on the temple, "This might be hard to process and I'm sure you have a million questions for us, but we both love you, Cosy. You are our petite fille, and both of us sont tes pères."

Thierry briefly wondered if Cosette would notice the stark contrast of his behavior towards Nick. Verses when he was still married to Sabrina. An overabundance of adoration verses an inexhaustible void. However, that thought faltered as the realization of the augmentation came into play. Damn him, that bastard.

Subject #3 took in a little breath as Nick spoke. She watched more closely how her father behaved around him. Was it really true, then? The woman that claimed to be her mother, was she really alone?

If Subject #3 had a memory span of longer than a couple of months - if she actually remembered something, would she be upset? She couldn't remember her parents and only had these words and these photos. There was a huge disconnect she just couldn't cross, no matter how hard she squeezed her eyes and banged her head.

Looking at them, though, Nick and her father, there was a strange symbiosis between them. Even she could pick up on that. They seemed... happy.

Thierry finished explaining, and she adjusted herself, sleeves touching Nick and her father. She was almost embraced by how close both were to herself. The both looked at her with soft eyes. Soft expression. Spoke softly, sweetly. Unlike how the doctors spoke. It was like.... night and day.

Was this what a family was? Was this what love was?

There was a long pause as her eyes flickered between her father and Nick. Soft breathing, the click-clack of keys as Arron typed behind them.

A quiet inhale, steadying her nerves.

"So... should I call you papa as well, Nick?" A soft smile on her face.

Yes, this is what family was.

There was rustling behind Thierry's desk, and Iyvolo jumped out, running up to give licks to the trio. Subject #3 giggled, sounding strangely similar to a certain Cosette many, many years ago. Behind them, the door opening as a cleaning crew came in to start removing the bodies of the Hive Mind agents. The Louvre alarm shut off, and everything was at peace.

She looked up at Thierry, her father. "You mentioned you wanted to look at something while I was here visiting, papa?"

The sounds of typing mixed equally with pitter-pattering paws. Nick flinched just as he was about to speak. Iyvolo's peppy jump onto them had frightened him with a stutter, "You can, I-if you want to."

"I would like that." Thierry smiled softly as he pulled the frantic puppy up for petting. The dog really was a nice distraction, causing Thierry to chuckle a bit at the loving facial licks, but that distraction was interpreted by Cosette's harsh reality, "Yes, I do." He turned around to face the typing brother once more while leaving the puppy on his husband, "Aaron, do you still have that device Dr. Richter gave you?"

"Device?" Nick questioned slowly while holding the dog.

Thierry sighed as Aaron looked frustrated. Something seemed to be wrong, but Aaron wasn't saying exactly what. Thierry wasn't entirely sure, but it looked that the codes for Nick's augmentation had been put in another tab. Just long enough so Aaron could message Ramses. Was something wrong with Ramses? He hadn't talked to the Egyptian after leaving the harbor, but it might have just been job related stress, so Thierry shrugged it off. Maybe he shouldn't have...

"Yeah, I have it." came Aaron with a twirl in his seated position. Once he was close enough, he held up a little device no bigger than a flash drive. First to Nick's left eye, a flash happened causing Nick to flinch, and then again to his right. He spoke to Cosette, "If my brother is willing to do this, that means it's safe for you too! Look straight into the red dot, please."

Thierry knew that both augmentations were implanted in the brain, but the device wasn't compatible at all with Nick. Showing Nick getting the flash was just to help ease any fear Cosette might have had. And it seemed to work as the flash hit one eye, then again as Aaron adjusted his hands next to her face, "I should have it cracked in a week."

"A week?!" Thierry whined as he was desperate for this whole thing to end. He wanted his husband and daughter back to normal, but patience seemed to be a virtue he was running out of.

Subject #3 held perfectly still as the light flashed in her eyes. Aaron’s demonstration helped - she was, well, apprehensive when it came to medical devices. More often than not they had pointy ends that dug in her skin, leaving her shaking. But this one was alright. She could handle a little light. Little did she know the inside of her brain was getting imaged, a matrix of neural synapses mixed with implants that would take time to decode.

With their work done, it was time to leave Thierry’s office and move to other areas of the Louvre. Despite the attack, the Louvre was still a captivating enigma, and Subject #3 was curious to see more of what her… what her father - was she saying that right? - did here.

Director Galloes’ words uttered from Nick’s mouth knocked around in little Subject #3’s mind again. What exactly happened after that family photo was taken? How was she taken? Why couldn’t her father save her? Did he… really… leave her for dead..?

She softly shook her head, trying to dispel her worry. There was nothing she could do about it right now. And it was the director’s way of speaking - he seeding doubt and control.

Shivering, it took her a second to realize Thierry and Nick were looking at her. She pursed her lips together, and offered a hand out to each of them, waiting for them to lead her to the next activity in her time at the Louvre.

Before she would know it, the special event her… brother… mentioned would be here, and she would be busy once again.

Were her days of needles and tests really done?

A slight smile formed on Subject #3’s features, and allowed herself to relax. Just a little. Just for now.

Right now, everything was okay.

---

The Louvre, Brain Analysis Report

@Lexisheeps

---

Directory: C:\Users\aaronb\classified\dir\

…Accessing file.
…Loading 60%
…Loading 85%
Load complete.

Name: Cosette de Villiers (aka: Subject #3)

Brain scan: Analysis complete. Notes below.

Notes:On the left hemisphere is a protruding augmentation typically seen of supermodels, meant to project out and affect the optical nerves of those who view the subject, Cosette. It warps her facial structure, eye color, hair, and size. This type of augmentation is fringe-type, uses experimental code that is highly risky, and it’s surprising it functions as well as it does. It causes frailty, so extra care should be used when in contact with the subject. To deactivate this passive augmentation, brain surgery is necessary. It is a highly risky procedure, involving separating brain matter from metal nodes. Survival rate for these operations is 40%. An alternative is to deactivate the server sending the signal to the augmentations.

The hippocampus is dark, with less than 50% brain matter and even fewer neutral connections. There is an incision mark on the skull here, where it appears several operations were done to remove more and more connections in the brain. It is proposed to locate the memories taken, if they still exist, and reupload them into the brain over several sessions to rebuild the connections in this area.

On the right hemisphere are the remnants of an unknown augmentation that take over most of the brain area. It is tied intrinsically into the neurons, so removal is not recommended. It appears to be benign, so action isn’t recommended at this time.

…File access timed out.
…Reconnecting 2%
…Reconnecting 9%
Reconnection failed.

Access terminated.

---

Chapter Three: The Trial of Unwilling Enemies

The Louvre, Gala

@Days, @WhiteAngel25, @Lexisheeps

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One week later…

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The Louvre’s massive lobby was polished, glossy, and highly glamorized for such a festive occasion. Red banners hung from the vaulted ceiling, with chandeliers glinting over the crowd. Guests had begun to gather, attended by servers in beautiful red and black uniforms, offering drinks and refreshments to create an inviting atmosphere.

In the center of the gala and red carpet there was a centerpieces sectioned off in red rope, a cloth obscuring its features. This is what everyone had gathered over, set up congratulations over. It was the Louvre’s newest addition, restored by non other than Theodore de Villiers. The man’s father’s reputation preceded him. It was not a long shot to say the entire room buzzed with excitement, wondering what the next generation of archeologists had to offer.

From the east side wing, Subject #3 was dressed in a gift from her father - a full-length pink dress with satin and embedded gems, elegantly flowing. She had never worn anything like this, not that she could recall. Heck, she never worse anything beyond a patient’s scrub just a little while ago. She stood there, staring at the floor nervously, holding the hand of her stepfather… her stepfather, Nick. The presence of rescuer-to-family help[ed ease her nerves a bit, and she hesitantly raised her eyes.

She was told there would be all kinds of people gathered here tonight for her brother. Namely, her mother... and sister.

She licked her dry lips nervously. It had been a whole since seeing them, and like a lost puppy with short term memory,she was missing them.

So, as they stood there at the edge of the crowd, she glanced between Nick and the crowd.

“Do you see them yet?”

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The Louvre, Gala, Backstage

@Days

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A few Louvre staff attended to Theo inside the right side wing connected to the gala. Giving him a once-over, ensuring the mini-mic buttoned to his suit was on and working.

One Louvre staff member with a clipboard and high heels stared hard at her clipboard, striking one more box off her list.

“Now, when you get out there, I want you to give them a good impression. Talk a bit about your discovery, and then give the backstage the hint to lift the sheet. Got it?”

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Undisclosed Location

@WhiteAngel25

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The week passed with torture, brain surgery, heart surgery, and a few precious breaks off the operating table for Stella as she bided her time in what appeared to be some type of basement.

After passing between resting and pain with Von Galloes and his sick experiments to her heart, things were about to change.

Stella would be alerted to a noise as the door to her ‘contained lab’ opened. Von Galloes walked in, dressed in a different suit, a pensive, thoughtful look on his face. He lacked the latex gloves this time. There seemed to be anticipation in the air.

He pressed a few buttons on the console beside Stella, before turning to her.

“I have an experiment I want to try today, my dear. But it involves your best behavior. You behave, and I will give you a top-secret mission. Disobey, and I’ll just have to find someone else to feel the sunlight outside…”

He leaned in close, watching her face closely as his sick grin widened.

”Do we understand each other?”

[WhiteAngel25]

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An Random Coffee Shop in Paris

Collab with @Lexisheeps

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Sitting in the coffee house near Thierry's place, Sabrina sat near the window with a cappuccino. She wore casual khaki slacks and a soft brown cashmere sweater that sat off her shoulders. Her long dark chocolate locks were twisted back into a fishtail braid with a few loose pieces to frame her face. She completed the casual attire with faux leather slip-on flats that matched her sweater.

Swirling spoon around and round in her coffee cup, Sabrina's mind wouldn't calm down. It couldn't calm down. The monotonous action of stirring the hot liquid helped. After seven years of throwing herself into her job and every possible lead to find the girls, the mother of three found herself at a standstill. She stared out the window and began to wonder how she let her life end up this way. Sabrina had every intention of solving some of history's biggest mysteries. Why did the Mayans seemingly disappear? Where was Cleopatra's true tomb? The location of Alexandria's Library of Scrolls.

Twenty years ago, Sabrina had been paired with Thierry as a part of her internship. Sure, he was only a year older than her, but he quickly rose through the ranks of the Louvre. He was the lead investigator on the dig in Panama. There were a few other interns and staff in the group besides Sabrina, but Thierry seemed to gravitate towards her. Sabrina had told Thierry jokingly that she never missed a shot when she found a gun among his things in a drunken stupor after discovering a major missing village. She remembered a man who wanted to desperately pound Thierry to a pulp for an artifact he had found on the dig in the middle of the night almost a week later after finding the village. The man had Thierry by the throat with a knife, and she saw how trusting he was of her. Sabrina took Thierry's gun, aimed, and put a bullet through the brows of the man. She remembered how much she shook after that. It was her first time shooting a person, much less killing someone. Sabrina had only shot at targets on gun ranges up until that point.

After that, Sabrina was told the truth about the Louvre, and higher-ups themselves commissioned her to become an agent after Thierry's report. Ever since then, it was high-stakes digs with Thierry or going after him when he got himself in trouble on more than one account.

Sabrina wondered if her ex had ever truly loved her as he claimed those years ago when he proposed after they returned from Peru. By that point, they had grown to know each other over those few years, and a relationship had formed, but the Louvre was funny about agents being together. So, they had hidden it for a while until Sabrina agreed to be a support agent. The one behind the computer, the one to pick him up and bandage his wounds when he returned; and the one who was truly an archaeologist aside from knowing the truth about the secret jobs of the Louvre.

Sabrina thought that Thierry was happy. He never brought anything up to her if he wasn't, and then they found out about Auri right before their wedding. She accepted that girl like she was her blood; those blonde curls and warm eyes stole Sabrina's heart. Sabrina thought that they were passionate enough when they were together. It didn't take them long after getting married, and she was pregnant with Theo. That was when she supposed the signs of hesitancy showed when Thierry came home. It was even more evident after they got pregnant with Cosette after a celebration of their anniversary night. Thierry slowly stopped any physical contact aside from a chaste kiss on the cheek or a pat on the shoulder.

Tears welled up in Sabrina's honied eyes. Of course, she knew Thierry didn't love her at that point. She forced herself to be blind to it all, hoping for the best that he was just focused on work. She honestly thought Thierry was seeing another woman with how late he'd work sometimes. When he brought Nick home for the first time, it hit Sabrina like a ton of bricks. She kept calm through it all, even when she saw how her ex looked at the young man.

The girls disappearing was the tipping point for their relationship. Sabrina couldn't remember when exactly they officially divorced. Thierry had been living in Paris for a long while before papers from his lawyer appeared on Sabrina's front step. It didn't surprise her, but it hurt all the same. She had still loved him at that point, and if Sabrina was honest, she did love her ex. He was a caring father, and when he was her husband, she supposed that he loved her. It was hard to tell now.

Sabrina glanced from the window when she heard the jingle of the bell on the coffee shop door. Damn him, how does he manage to still make me feel like this? She thought, meeting Thierry's gaze with her stoic expression. Sabrina had loved him for so long it was going to take a while for those feelings to subside, she knew that.

"Thierry. Nick didn't want to tag along this time? Such a shame, he's a good kid," Sabrina managed to not sound not like a bitch, just a neutral displeasure. She figured that he'd meet them in New York at Voidlight's private hospital to see Cosette, but no, he again chose work over his children...again.

"He..." Thierry sighed while placing his hands together on the table. It was complicated to explain the inner workings of his emotionally distressed husband, "He's very apologetic for his comments at the harbor. And to Aurélie as well. I'm not here to make excuses for him, nor will he not take responsibility when he talks to you later, but he decided to sit this one out." Thierry fidgeted with his thumbs a moment, looking away from his ex-wife, "Due to the nature of what's been going on between us."

Truth of the matter, Thierry was incredibly anxious. Here he was, a grown ass man in his mid forties, but still managed to feel like a school boy who was talking to a girl for the first time. Not really afraid of what others would think, but of what she'd think. He'd spent over twenty years with this woman pretending to be interested in women. He used her like a brick wall to hide behind, whenever his militant father came around. But then between the girls being abducted and his father's sudden passing, that wall was no longer needed. He shoved down some harder feelings towards himself as he continued, "I... I-" Jesus Thierry, get a grip on yourself, "I wanted to go to Cosette first, but the papers I signed. Everything is bigger than just the two of us and the girls now. I had no real choice."

Thierry looked from the window back to Sabrina, "If I picked Aurélie or Cosette the first time, Cosette would have been lost without Aurélie. Theo made the most sense. If... he had become an agent like I had, he could have helped look for them. And as far as picking Nick, I... my reasons are similar to picking Theo. Not the only reasons, of course." Thierry fumbled over his words as a lump formed high in his throat, his voice low but steady, "I have failed. As your husband, a parent and..."

Honestly? At this point, Thierry wished Nick had of tagged along. What he'd give to just sink and hide behind Nick's I don't give a shit persona, even if it was a facade, "I'm..." His vulnerability hit peak as he sank back in the seat. He looked to his trembling hands as he tried to steady them, avoiding Sabrina's gaze as he spoke, "I'm so sorry for using you." He looked back up, then promptly back at his hands, "I don't deserve you, the girls, Theo, not even..."

His voice faltered as he collapsed into his folded arms. Surely by now Sabrina saw how he'd looked at Nick whenever the dirty blonde was around. Whenever the young man was near, he felt ageless, invincible almost. He was playing with fire while working for The Louvre and Nick was a constant source of kerosene. As he'd been an administrator for the agents, he'd been given the ability to hand pick different jobs for the young restless man. Acting as a mentor of sorts. It started off innocent enough, but turned into a guilty pleasure. Purposely picking and choosing jobs he'd like to have done, had his left knee allowed it.

Things were changing. Both within the larger societal view of openly gay men and within himself. Thierry looked up as he pulled a handkerchief out to dry his face, "Why didn't you leave me and take Theo? To protect him the way I can't."

Sabrina believed that Nick felt bad. She could see that the young man was growing into himself like Theo. From what Sabrina understood, Nick didn't have the easiest childhood and she tried to show as much grace as she could when Thierry had first brought him home. It was right before they officially broke off their marriage. She hadn't expected that Thierry and Nick would end up together but that was Thierry's specialty. Expect the unexpected.

An eyebrow arched as Thierry's nervous ticks showed. The tapping of his foot, the twirling of thumbs, and Sabrina had to resist the urge to reach across with a calm hand and tell him it was okay. Part of her was glad that her ex-husband was this nervous, as he should be. Sabrina was trained just as much as he was, Thierry trained her himself. The much larger part of her couldn't help but feel for her ex-partner.

When Thierry spoke of wanting to go to Cosette but what he signed over was bigger than just their family, Sabrina sat up a bit more and narrowed her glaze a bit. Then he admitted that he chose not to pick their daughters in the past because Theo could help him. That was when her eyes closed and she pinched the bridge of her nose. With every word Thierry spoke, the more her slap on the beach felt better and made her feel less guilty. It was when Thierry spoke of failing that Sabrina opened her eyes again and gazed at him. Thierry had never admitted failure in the past about being a father and husband. Her gold eyes widened a fraction as she hadn't expected him to apologize for using her as a shield.

Sabrina watched while Thierry folded into himself, talking as if he didn't deserve anything. She reached halfway across the table to comfort Thierry but gripped her hand and pulled her arm back. 'He needs to admit this more than I need the confession, she realized as her stoic expression broke with Thierry's question.

"Why didn't you leave me and take Theo? To protect him the way I can't."

Sabrina shook her head. "Damn it, Thierry. I'm trying to not love you," she sighed and smiled softly at her ex. She reached across the table and gently placed her right hand on his left wrist. "We didn't leave because I knew you needed us just as much as we needed you. I wasn't going to abandon you when we were both at our lowest," Sabrina answered his question as she let go and brought her hand back to herself. Her expression softened as she thought about Theo. "We owe more to our son than we will ever realize."

She took a sip of her drink and closed her eyes briefly, remembering Theo hugging her tight and calling emergency services after she had tried to end herself. It was after the girls disappeared and Thierry moved out to his penthouse flat. Sabrina had never been more embarrassed in her life since. Her son shouldn't have to worry about his parents the way he does. The mother and son agreed not to tell Thierry about it as long as Sabrina sought help.

Sabrina looked back at Thierry, her smile easy and gentle. "We were both trying to fool ourselves, Thierry. I thought I could hope and love enough that you wouldn't go. But you weren't meant to be mine, that I know for a fact with the way Nick looks at you," she spoke honestly, followed by a smirk and a shrug. "Now, don't be getting jealous of the men I date from here on out, Thierry. That wouldn't be very nice. I can't stay by myself forever, you know." She teased with a wink and a light laugh.

The Lennox heiress sighed and sat her cup down on its saucer. "You know that you and Nick are always welcome to come to the estate and see the girls. Theo has stayed since the girls have been home. It has been nice to hear their voices fill the halls again," Sabrina offered to Thierry.

The cold metal of his golden cuff links hit his skin as Sabrina wrapped her well manicured fingers around his wrist. Was this a loving touch of forgiveness for his past behavior? He hoped so. Thierry listened intently to her words as he desperately tried to figure out exactly how upset with him she truly was. Her voice stayed calm and he hated it. He didn't feel he deserved her restraint. He swallowed hard when Sabrina uttered Nick's name. So she had noticed after all. But it was a bit of a relief that Sabrina understood that they'd both been fooling themselves over the years. That she'd hoped he'd love her just as much as he'd hoped he could love her truly. But it just wasn't meant to be, almost as if by default.

"Now, don't be getting jealous of the men I date from here on out, Thierry..."

He couldn't help but chuckle with his charming smile, "I would never! I'm not as young as I once was." Thierry joked about his husband with a wink, "Besides, I've got enough problems dealing with just one man in particular."

The tone of the conversation seemed to change with just that single line from Sabrina. It was like a comfort to him. A realization had come over Thierry, one of forgiveness for himself. He looked a bit surprised at the suggestion of being able to visit with Nick and nodded, "Of course."

But with the idea of bringing Nick along to visit the kids, Thierry felt Sabrina needed to know a few things. Things he hadn't openly discussed with her before, "About Nick visiting. He is very..." He hesitated to think about his wording, "Cautious. And due to this he, um," It was honestly hard to explain his husband in only a few short sentences, "Pushes people away. I'm sure Theo has had a few choice words. I would be honestly surprised if he didn't. But... that's not what my husband wants out of life. He's just," Thierry sighed, "Scared."

Sabrina smiled softly as Thierry flashed his signature smile and teased back. She took another sip of her coffee as her ex explained how his husband handled situations when it came to being personal with people. She raised her eyebrows in a mix of unsurprising and disbelief. Thierry was known for fixing problems that tended to carry over into fixing people. Sabrina wasn't shocked that Nick was cautious and scared about others. The way Nick carried himself and spoke screamed trauma from his past.

"Well, you should know that Theo is less hateful of Nick and more jealous," Sabrina murmured as she gazed out the window thinking about how Theo seemed to turn into a wonderful young man overnight. "Theo hasn't told me that but every time he returns from staying at your place or running into the two of you at work, I can see it in his eyes. He's jealous of the time Nick gets to spend with you," she explained further with an apologetic smile as she gazed back at Thierry.

"I wish I could help you with that, however, I believe that I'd be overstepping boundaries that are no longer allowed for me to cross," Sabrina stated as she couldn't cover for Thierry anymore. She was the ex-wife, and while she was the mother of Thierry's children, two of the three were adults and could decide for their relationship with their father on their own.

Thierry adjusted himself uncomfortably at Sabrina's words, "Jealous?" He cupped his hands together and shook his head. There seemed to be some things he hadn't realized were going on in Theo's mind, "I've always tried..."

There really was a lot going on, but not just for Thierry, it seemed. He sighed and fidgeted with his hands as he realized he hadn't adequately done his job as a father, "I could never protect Nick from The Louvre, but I felt like I could..."

It took a lot of vitality and mental gymnastics for Thierry to not break down again, "Protect Theo. There are things that Nick has seen as an agent." His bottom lip trembled as he twitched a foot, "Things that he's flat out refused to write reports for after getting back." He looked down at his hands to avoid Sabrina's gaze and his voice lowered, "Things he won't even tell me."

"He was so," Thierry continued, looking out the window as he thought about his husband, "Angry with... life when we first met. A lot has changed since then, but... There is nothing to be jealous of. That time we've spent together is numbered. Many of the jobs he's chosen over the years are the ones other agents have failed to come back from."

Thierry finally looked back to Sabrina and spoke sternly, "Suicide missions. And that is not worth being jealous over. But I guess I never realized that he felt this way."

He shook his head with a nervous laugh, "Oddly enough, there have been times when Nick's been jealous of Theo. I guess I should have realized it worked the other way around too. And while I don't believe that there's anything to be jealous of, that's not to say that Theo's feelings are invalid. I should have... been a better father to help ease some of these emotions. I should have been there."

There was another twitch of his foot and wringing of his hands before the silence was broken again, "I haven't talked to him in a while, but I don't know if he'll want to talk to me. I wouldn't blame him if he didn't."

Sabrina knew it was hard for Thierry to understand where Theo's feelings came from, her ex was just trying to protect their son. She smiled softly as Thierry continued to explain why he protected Theo from the Louvre. It stemmed from Nick not telling him anything when he was sent out on assignments. Sabrina was surprised that Thierry even divulged a little information about the start of Nick's career. Her eyes widened and her eyebrows raised when her ex explained that his husband was even sent on suicide missions. She didn't disagree that there was nothing for Theo to be jealous of job-wise concerning Nick, but it was the time Thierry spent with Nick that their son coveted above all else.

Sabrina reached over and gently touched Thierry's wrist. "You are a good father, Thierry. The most present? That is debatable," the mother of the de Viller children teased and shot him a wink, "however, you are there for our children in the times that they need you the most," she spoke with a softening of her eyes.

Her heart felt like it was breaking as Thierry was breaking down in front of her again. "You are one hundred times better than your father, Thierry. At least, Theo will answer the phone if you call him, that wouldn't have happened with you and your father. Theo loves you. He wants to be like his papa so much that he's an actual archaeologist, not like us. He's following the right path." Sabrina hoped that her last sentence was correct. She had heard rumors that the higher-ups were looking for fresh blood to join the ranks of agents. She prayed that Theo wouldn't take the bait.

"I want things to be different between him and I." Thierry stated pointedly while rubbing at his eyes. They had threatened to mist over again, but he continued, "I've got all the time in the world, now that I'm no longer employed by The Louvre." He looked at her and fidgeted with his hands a bit, "And with you as well. I don't want to to lose you, Sabrina..."

Thierry's voice cracked as he spoke, "As a friend. It's the least I can do, after all that I've put you through." He swallowed hard, "If you'll have me, that is."

The avoidance was real, as Sabrina brought up his father. His gaze sank beyond just his hands. But leveled back out as she stated he was nothing like that terrible man. Was this true? She'd met the strict pretentiously prestigious war vet, but Thierry still had his hesitation. The idolization that Theodore had given him, Thierry had not granted towards his own. The military wasn't exactly something Thierry had wanted to join, but still somehow ended up in a job similar in nature. Thierry loathed his father for this and even now, after his passing a few years ago, there was no forgiveness to be had, "I never told him that I'm..."

His voice had abruptly fumbled with words, "I stopped calling him shortly after the girls were taken." Even now, after being married to a man, Thierry had issues coming out verbally to Sabrina. As if afraid her opinion of him would shrivel.

The muscles of Thierry's face contorted to show the disapproval towards the dead man, "I didn't want to listen to him rant about how useless I was. For being a linguist archeologist." He looked back to Sabrina which caused his expression to soften a bit, "That's all I ever wanted. To have a lovely man and transcribe ancient texts. But that's not nearly as flashy as being a decorated war hero. When I took on being an agent, I thought he'd be proud. Guns were involved, after all."

Thierry laughed and shook his head with a sigh, "Silly me." His tone turned more serious, "So much has changed since then with his passing. I was stunned when parliament started acknowledging same-sex marriage. Never thought I'd..." He paused a moment, "I am sorry for using you, Sabrina. I don't think it's fair of me to ask for your forgiveness, so I'm not going to. Whether I deserve such mercy, isn't really up for debate."

Sounds of a parallel parking car caused Thierry to look out of the window. The apple red 1984 C4 Corvette's engine came to a stop, "I do hope you'll find someone who cares about you romantically." Had it been that long already? He paused long enough to watch for a certain fiery blonde, but nobody stepped out, "You deserve to be given the moon and back."

The father looked back to his ex-wife, "So, about the girls. I'll take them the rest of this week, then you can have them back during the gala? Admittedly, my current abode is small, but I do believe Nick's apartment is more than enough. He certainly enjoys his space. It's nothing fancy, of course, but the view is amazing." Thierry's charming smile graced his expression once more as the bell over the glass door chimed, "Of course, I'm sure Aurélie still hates me from my lack of attentiveness at the harbor. But I would at least like to have Cosette with me for a few days."

There was absolutely no hurry, as he casually walked up to the barista. He wasn't much of a coffee drinker but figured he'd order something while he waited. It seemed Sabrina and Thierry were still figuring out where the girls were going to be and for how long. The menu his blue eyes glazed over, was difficult to read, to say the least. Despite all the years working for The Louvre and living in the heart of France, Nick still wasn't confident with his French and opted to use the pictures as a guide. His sweet tooth had kicked in.

"You come to a coffee house and order... " Fight me. Thierry giggled as Nick endearingly booped coffee buttercream on the tip of his nose. It was nice to hear his husband's laugh. Earlier that week, Nick wasn't sure if he'd ever hear it again. But Nick shied away slightly. He was worried. He didn't want to upset Sabrina with his affectionate antics towards her ex-husband. Nick was fully aware of the many years Thierry had romantically stagnated her.

There was a slight nod of acknowledgment, as Nick looked to Sabrina. With an almost inaudible, "Hey." It seemed their conversation was over, but Nick was still heavily embarrassed by his behavioral issues back at the harbor. Sabrina might have slapped Thierry and taken her words to him personally, but Nick still felt he failed to exercise restraint as he should have. So the focus on his frosting was real. Maybe the next time he saw her, he'd sit and chat for a while. Once everything calmed down, "Maybe we can talk sometime." He mumbled softly.

Sabrina smiled gently as Thierry spoke his peace about his father. Her eyebrows rose when he mentioned that he was no longer employed by the Louvre. What did he do down in that HiveMind facility? She knew that Thierry gambled big on something but enough to lose his tenure over? Then he mentioned how he didn't want to lose her and she laid a tender hand on top of his fidgeting ones to reassure him.

"Thierry...I'm not going anywhere. Weirdly, I will always love you, regardless of our relationship status. Just not in the same way as before. I don't know if I ever truly loved you like I thought I had. I wanted to be blind to it as well. Caring for you hasn't changed since we are friends instead of a married couple. We were never meant to be together in the end. We just didn't know it. Well, I should say I didn't know it," Sabrina murmured as she brought her hand back to herself. "As for your father, I don't blame you. He was hard on you and I can understand why you did what you did. I forgave you a while ago for leaving our marriage. But harboring that frustration was the only motivation to keep me going after the girls disappeared," she took her final sip of her coffee as her gaze caught the bright red Corvette of her ex's partner.

Sabrina smiled faintly and shook her head as Thierry wished for a romantic partner in her life. "Taking care of you and our children for almost three decades is enough for me. Plus, one of us has to keep tabs on Theo at work now that you're no longer there," she explained and nodded when Thierry began to discuss the girls staying the week with them.

"Cosette is...distant, Thierry. Although, she has mentioned wanting to talk with Nick several times. I told her it was best to settle in first. As for Auri, she doesn't hate you. She's been tortured relentlessly for the last seven years. Cosette was used as a carrot to be dangled in front of her. She's healing, Thier, like all of us. It will just take time," she finished as she glanced at Nick while she stood up from her seat.

Sabrina smirked at Thierry booping Nick's nose with cream from his coffee. She didn't mind it. The two men were romantic partners. They deserved to be happy. She nodded back to Nick with a completely neutral expression as a reply to his 'hey'. In all honesty, Sabrina just liked to tease the poor kid.

Sabrina arched an eyebrow as Nick suggested talking to her sometime. "Sure, whenever you're comfortable and ready to talk. I already told Thierry that you and he are always welcome to the Estate," she replied as she placed a gentle hand on Nick's shoulder and leaned in to whisper into his right ear so only Nick could hear her.

"His eyes sparkle and he gets a faint blush on his cheeks every time he talks about you. He loves you, Nick. Don't ever doubt that. My guess is if you pop his personal bubble and tease him a bit, you'll see what I've seen too," the dark-haired beauty pulled back and smirked at her ex. "Have fun you two. I'll see you at the gala," she waved as she walked away and left the coffee shop.

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The Louvre Gala

@Estylwen@Days@Lexisheeps

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"Everything will be okay, Auri. The moment you want to leave, you may. I know this isn't easy for you, especially with returning home. But Cosette is excited to see you, at least that is what your father says," Sabrina spoke gently, her hand rested softly on Aurelie's knee reassuringly as they took the Lennox Family limo to the gala event in representation of the Lennox Family as major donators to the Louvre. She was dressed in a full-length red satin dress with a deep v-neckline and an open back with crystals that embroidered the edges and hung down from delicate chains at the top. Her stilettos matched her dress in color. Her long dark locks were twisted up in an elegant updo.

"Plus, Theo is pretty proud of his displays. It will mean a lot to him that we have come to see his work," the mother of three added as she brought her hand back to her own lap. It was hard to believe Auri was a grown woman, experienced more than what most her age would have, and unfortunately, still healing from that growing process. All the de Villers were.

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Undiscovered Location

@Estylwen

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Stella lay on her left side on the mattress that rested two feet off the floor, knees curled up towards her chest, as her dull, icy gaze stared at the cement wall. The right side of her head from her temple to the base of her skull had been shaved. The two-inch wide strip had just barely grown back after the surgery. The scar was healed more or less, well hidden with the short fuzz of her snow-white hair.

Pain. That was all Stella knew of the constant poking and prodding of surgery tools. The dull feeling of a scalpel slicing her skin over and until the part of her body that Von Galloes was after was revealed. Stella heard the robotic female voice announce Von Galloes' presence. She sat up and sighed softly in relief as the dull humming of the shock collar around her neck was silenced with her biological father's typing on the computer keyboard. This collar was a bit different. Instead of the clunky model that Nick and #3 had, Stella's was thinner, more necklace-like, and it was more accurate.

Obey. That had been evident from the beginning of her time here. Obey to be rewarded. Refuse to comply, and punishment with enforcement will be expected. Stella blinked her eyes and nodded. "Yes, Father. I understand. I will behave," she replied with no joy. Not even a hint of sarcasm was in her voice. She was too broken at this point to refuse.

[Days]

_{“Who do I trust? I thought that you loved me. What is happening to us?”}

Paris, Theodore de Villiers’ apartment

_{Mentions @WhiteAngel25 & @Lexisheeps}

---

Aurélie stood leaning against the side of the window, looking out at the people on the street below. Mostly tourists, in this part of Paris, but Aurélie still watched them curiously. Her fingers were curled around her upper arms as she stood with her arms folded over her waist, studying those below. Her soft blonde hair flowed loosely over her shoulders. Still thinned from her ordeal, but clean and smelling like flowers. Somewhere in the back of her mind, her old hobby tried to crawl to the surface. To photograph the people she was watching.

Fashion had changed since the last time she was here, and her clothes didn’t fit quite right anymore. Some of her items were too big. She had lost some of her curves, more bone than fat at some points. Her mother had ensured she got a whole new wardrobe nonetheless. A new Aurélie, basically. A week of eating and sleeping well brought more colour to her face, and a slight chub to her cheeks. She stayed in her same old room at the estate. It was exactly as she left it, and it had been comforting to walk the halls and lay in her soft bed under the canopy with fairy flights. Her mother, who doesn’t owe Aurélie a single thing as an adopted, now adult daughter, took care of her. She was a warm hug on a cold winter night. One of the only reasons Auri didn’t let her dark thoughts take her away. She no longer had to fight for Cosette’s survival. So what was she here for? But, today she had travelled here to her brother’s home by taking a taxi, and she was really proud of herself for doing so. Leaving the comfort of her familiar home. Even though she did have to text both her mom and him a status update every couple of minutes.

Behind her, Theo was pacing his apartment, scatterbrained as usual, trying to find his phone charger. ”You live really close to the Louvre.” Her eyes drifted to a picture on Theo’s windowsill. It was the family, posing for a picture in the warm sun of Egypt. Her yellow sundress blew a little with the wind, and the grins on everyone’s faces were genuine. She blinked, wondering when Theo had taken her camera to develop the pictures. What else did he develop?

She looked at her baby sister, the turmoil in her heart swirling like a hurricane. She missed her. All Aurélie did was for Cosy. She fought for Cosy, survived for Cosy, did Von Galloes’s beckoning so she’d be able to see her, talk to her. The older sister had spent countless visitation sessions earning back Cosette’s trust, telling her who Auri was, who her parents were, who Theo was and that they were coming to save them. Until eventually, Von Galloes would re-wipe Cosy’s mind all over again, and Aurélie would choke back tears upon the discovery. Then, it all started back over again. Now Cosette is with Thierry, and she is with Sabrina, like a properly shattered and divorced family.

”I like walking to work. You know how the traffic is in Paris and public transport every day would drive me insane.” The man dropped his charger into his backpack as he looked at his sister, her eyes still on the road below from his apartment on Rue Chanoinesse, above a liquor store, almost next to Aurélie’s old workplace; Au Vieux Paris d'Arcole. He lived here both because it was close to work, and the street reminded him of his sister. Though he wouldn’t easily admit to this sentiment. He walked through his home, in search of something else this time. He’d been at the estate for the last week, only returning to his Paris apartment this morning to prepare for tonight’s gala, gathering his notes he had left haphazardly on his desk when he was called by his mother because his sisters had reappeared. The shock of his damn life.

Aurélie smiled a little, pulling herself from her thoughts. She knew her brother well, and it wasn’t a coincidence that he lived on this street. ”Well, your apartment is really fancy and quite neat. Look at you adulting.” She looked over her shoulder at her pacing brother. She wasn’t exaggerating. The apartment was, despite its place in an old building, fully renovated and modernised, though its ancient beams and old windows remained as a reminder of the building’s origin. The wooden herringbone floors were well-kept and original, but the doors had been replaced by black steel and glass variants. It reminded her a lot of Theo’s bedroom at the estate. Blue, dark and broody. It was nice, but it also reminded Auri of how much 7 years actually was. He was no longer a teenage boy with too much energy and an appetite larger than life. He was a man, taller than his father, dressed neatly most of the time and owned an apartment, worked, lived his life as an only child of divorced parents. Her baby brother was a man, and Aurélie was stuck in time as a teenager.

The week at the estate wasn’t nearly enough to catch up on it all, but Theo gave her the gist of it before they spent hours in front of the fireplace hashing out the details. Of his life. Of France. Of the world. Everyone had grown up, moved on, and made a life. While Auri had been yanked from her life like pulling on an elastic band, and now she snapped back into place. Yet she never felt so wildly out of place. Her fingers sometimes twitched with the side effects of the augmentation in her mind, and the first night at the estate she woke up screaming, bathing in sweat from her nightmare. It took her mother and Theo a while to calm her down. The second night, Theo slept on the couch in her room, the poor tall man all curled up and cramped. She screamed that night, too. On the third night, Theo slept next to her in bed. He wasn’t leaving her side, hadn’t until this morning when he left the estate. Words couldn’t describe how thankful she was for him. ”The Louvre pays you well.” She teased him instead. Her brother, a Louvre conservator-restorer extraordinaire.

Theo stopped in his tracks, shoving his water bottle in his bag with a little too much force, a twitch of annoyance in his face. ”The Louvre pays me well because dad makes them pay me well. So I won’t ask questions, or stick my nose in places it doesn’t belong.” There was a bite to his tone as he abandoned his bag on the table once more, walking toward the front door instead, collecting his boots to bring back to the living room. He started putting them on after sitting down on his sofa.

There was a lot he had to process over the last week, and it brought a lot of old pain back, too. Pain he’d very carefully drunk and fucked away. That or by entirely burying himself in his work. Maybe he was more like his dad than he would like. The events in Egypt, the divorce of his parents, navigating life as an only child, everything came flooding back. He’d spent a good two days entirely knocked off his axis, upset at his mom before he let up for Aurélie’s sake. Both of his parents had kept things from him, and Theo wasn’t entirely sure what to think about it all. All he knew was he had his sisters back. Even though he missed his littlest one like crazy when she left to be with Thierry.

Aurélie was a bit surprised at the bitterness lacing her brother’s voice. He had always balanced the delicate matter of choosing not to see his father’s upbringing or lack thereof, and its effects on his kids. Chose not to see their mother’s part, either. But now that he had learned everything, and that he was kept in the dark, and the choice Thierry faced, Theo was mad.

Aurélie only knew what Theo had told her, accompanied by hot chocolate by the fire. He had actually made a good life for himself, and she couldn’t be more proud. He had to navigate a lot by himself. There was some really complicated stuff there, but Theo always tried to be a good son. Tried to visit both his mom and his father on days like Christmas. Tried to be kind to Nick. Bowed down and did his job. Just to show his father that he was a son worth loving. Worthy of attention. Anything. But now? Theo was a grumbly, frustrated man, and Thierry had fallen off the too-high pedestal Theo put him on.

Aurélie didn’t like it. She didn’t want to see Theo and her father grow apart, despite knowing that there was 7 years of history she wasn’t here for. She hadn’t spoken to her dad since it all happened, because she needed time. Everything was rushing toward her, missing 7 years of her life, suddenly being an adult in a world she left as a teen. But Theo? She didn’t want that relationship to shatter beyond repair. ”Theo, you can’t stay mad at dad forever. He loves you. You love him. You shouldn’t push him away.” She tried, tearing her eyes from the road below and turning, looking at her brother instead.

He scoffed, trying to act tough, but she could see the hurt swimming in his eyes. His parents had kept him in the dark. He hadn’t spoken to his father yet, either. ”Yes I fucking can. And he pushed me away first, Auri. Hell, he never let me in to start with.” Auri winced as she saw a frustrated muscle in the man’s jaw tick. A sigh came from her lips as she walked up to him. ”Just talk to him, Theo. When you’re ready. Hear him out. And tell him your truth. Your feelings… they’re important too. But don’t make decisions on unspoken conversations.” She tried. Sure, this family was broken as hell, but she’d be damned if it broke even further.

Theo nodded but looked away, focussing on tying his shoes instead. He wasn’t certain how to act, and thankfully, he hadn’t needed to be anywhere near his father or Nick, completely focused on Aurélie and Cosette. His sisters. His priorities. He even broke it off with his situationship, so his full focus could be on the girls. Took a week off, too. His request for leave had never been fulfilled so fast, yet he had to answer a lot of calls surrounding tonight’s event. That and, there was still an odd offer lingering on his desk from the higher ups.

Looking down at her brother, Aurélie still couldn’t get over how much he looked like their father. He had always taken after Thierry, with some softer edges because of Sabrina. But now, he’s a man. And the spitting image of her father. But less weathered. Less haunted by his choices. It conflicted somewhere in Auri’s mind. Would it conflict with Nick, too? She sat down in a brown leather armchair and pulled up her legs, hugging one knee to her chest. ”Dad thinks I hate him. Maybe I should try that… hating him.” Her gaze shifted from her brother back toward the window, where the sky beyond the buildings was turning orange. ”Maybe that would make all of this easier.”

The young woman blinked, only to try and disguise a pool of tears rising in her waterline. She was sure Thierry had given up on trying to repair anything with her right off the bat. It would require effort on his part. But he made his choices, about the daughter who had been critical of him when she was still around. Angry, argumentative and sometimes even mean. Maybe he finally had some peace and quiet when she was gone. No one nagging him to be better to Theo and Cosy. When the reality was in between them. She had been an unwanted child. Not worth the effort. And now she was back. He hadn’t come by the estate to visit her. And while a rational part of Aurélie realised that may be because of Sabrina’s words at the harbor and Thierry just wanting to give her and Auri a respectful time and distance away from him, it still stung.

”But you don’t. You still love him.” Theo stated simply, leaning back on the sofa. He put one ankle over the other knee and held onto it with his hand, his other arm draped over the back of the sofa as he and Aurélie shared a look that could only be described as ‘c’est la vie’. ”Yeah… I do.”

She had never really liked embraces, yet she couldn’t help but long to be back in the one her father gave her upon finding her. Or the one her mother gave her when they reunited.

After a moment, Aurélie looked back at her brother. They had to leave soon, take the motorcycle and head back to the estate. To get ready for tonight’s event. But it was kind of nice to be with Theo, just together. ”What about Nick? What do you think of him, really?” she asked, curiously, wanting to stretch this moment. She hadn’t asked before. Didn’t want to push his buttons.

Theo raised a brow at his sister. ”Il es américain.” He stated as if that explained all of it, his lips slightly curling. Aurélie let out a slight snort. Sure, the cultural differences were definitely there. Aurélie smiled and rolled her eyes at Theo, raising her brow right back for the real opinion. Theo moved his hand and raked it through his hair, opting to cross his arms instead, as if his feelings needed to be protected, guarded by his toned biceps. ”I don’t know. I think it went wrong from the start. The way I was introduced to him. Mom and dad were still married and-” the man’s adam’s apple bobbed and he briefly glanced to his lap. The divorce wasn’t just a mess, it was goddamn terrible. ”And I was still… uprooted. From you guys being missing and,” Theo looked away, and Aurélie could see he was trying to push down emotions once more. She angled her head slightly to the side and patiently waited until Theo gathered himself again.

”I was still not over the divorce, I guess. And seeing mom just… shatter.” He looked back at his sister as the hurt swam in his eyes as if it belonged there. Nestled in, made itself a home. He couldn’t bring himself to tell Aurélie of his shaking hands when he called an ambulance for his mother, the night it all became too much for her. That was between them, mother and son. ”Everything is just so complicated. And I don’t nearly see Nick often enough to really have to have an opinion about him, you know?” Theo audibly cleared his throat to avoid obstruction with his emotions. The topic of Nick was complicated to Theo because he had spent a lot of time just trying to deny that what remained of his family, his married parents, broke too. The changes were too much for him as he tried to navigate life as an adult.

He kind of figured that Nick thought of Theo as an annoying kid who wanted to be just like his dad but couldn’t. And frankly? It had been painful to see his father bond with Nick over things that he had wanted to bond with his father about. Sitting at the dinner table with them, the two laughing and talking about some adventure somewhere, details probably redacted. Or how he’d hear from colleagues about his father’s adventures or discoveries, instead of from his father himself. Theo was both happy about his father’s genuine smiles and jealous of the experiences he wasn’t having with him. Theo’s own stories weren’t as thrilling, either. His requests to get to the field were constantly denied for various unknown reasons, and so the restoration wing became his home. Unless he went on extremely safe trips to extremely safe regions to excavate in the field. In hindsight, Theo should’ve been more suspicious of that. Now there was an enticing offer on his desk at the Louvre.

Aurélie nodded slowly. It was easy not to think of, or make decisions about their father and Nick when they weren’t around them. But it wasn’t like Aurélie wanted to leave everything unsettled. Nick’s face as he gave her Sabrina’s ring flashed through her mind. The image she had of him; kind, caring, it fractured there. How he spoke to her mother. She knew that there were several years of history between those three that she wasn’t privy to, but it had been her first look at how shattered her family had become. And while Nick had been an immediate calming force for her, he unwillingly represented something for Aurélie. How her father had moved on, and her family was never going back to how it was. Theo’s voice broke through her thoughts.

”I haven’t given enough of an effort, maybe. I could’ve been a better son. And it’s not really fair on them, I guess. I don’t care that dad is gay. I mean, you are half gay.” Theo’s lip curled up, and Aurélie chuckled softly. Their dad didn’t even know Aurélie dated both a girl and a boy in high school. Seemed so far away now. ”But Nick is younger than I am. I am barely an adult, I barely know wrong from right and what is right side up. I don’t think I can understand it, is all. The age difference, the timing.” Aurélie nodded, surprised by Theo’s maturity. Very different from when he was a kid, that was for sure. He was calmer and more self-reflective. But, she didn't like to see the frustrated tick of his jaw more often than the bright goofy grin he had sported as a teen. It was like he’d lost his spark, somewhere there in Egypt.

”I guess maybe no one would’ve been good enough, or okay enough in my eyes. I think I would’ve had issues with anyone. Young, old, male or female. All of them aren’t mom.” He cleared his throat and looked away again, grabbing his bag and letting his feet touch the ground once more. He pushed off the sofa and looked down at his sister.

”Well, we’ll see them tonight. So,” Aurélie let the implications of that hang in the air as she stood up from her chair. Theo gave her a wry smile. ”If dad even comes.” He said, walking with Aurelie to the little hallway at his front door. She tugged on her boots there, and Theo grabbed two motorcycle helmets from the hanging cabinet.

”He will. This is your work. Something you’re proud of. And it’s being celebrated. He’ll be there. And he’ll be proud of you, Theo. I’m proud of you.” He handed Aurélie her helmet, and she grinned, taking it in her hands after having put on her coat. Her brother was a damn steady rock during all of this. Sure, she had her mother, her father, and probably even Nick. But her brother and sister were everything for her and always had been. Everything she did was for them, even though it meant burning her own bridges.

Now, without any bridges or building materials, she wasn’t sure. It felt like drowning in the Seine, and the only thing keeping her from going under was this tether called Theo. Even now, she found herself wanting to fight for her sibling's relationships with their parents, while hers was silently going up in flames. She watched as Theo’s eyes focussed on her, reading sorrow in his deep brown eyes.

”Thank you. Auri. I’m… really glad to have you back.” The tall man wrapped his arm around his sister. She had always been the older and wiser one. The one protecting him. Fighting his battles. Responsible, so he didn’t have to be. But their roles have kind of shifted now.

She had always protected him. Now it was his turn to protect her.

---

_{“I've been dreaming, dreaming 'bout you, 'bout us. My head is a jungle.”}

Voidlight Headquarters, Basement research labs, Doctor Nova Ashford's office

_{Mentions @WhiteAngel25}

---

Nova was supposed to go home and rest up after her harrowing experience. Nova did no such thing. When Dragon showed his handsome face in the basement labs, of all places, after Nova retreated there like a naked molrat hiding from sunlight, Brenda about passed away in awe. Nova had to mop her drool off the floor and reattach the woman’s jaw to her face. He had come to ask why the hell Nova hadn’t taken the offered ride home, but instead went to her office to work. Nova understood his worry, but she couldn’t deny that she saw appreciation in his eyes. He wasn’t forgetting about Stella, either.

Accompanied by the warmth his caring created in her belly, she worked. She couldn’t forget, not that easily, and she was not giving up on Stella. It was true had her motivation had multiple factors. She had appreciated the woman’s strength and clarity down in the facility. Admired her self-sacrifice. She was important to Dragon, too. But she also wanted to give Cosette the good news of Stella’s return. The girl’s distraught face was one of the images that came by often in her restless sleep. And, she wanted to show Dragon she was worthy. Of what? She wasn’t sure yet, but someone couldn’t be entirely selfless, after all.

She ensured to make a detailed report of her experiences with the Dark Energy below the sea, specifically focusing on the heart of hearts. Her subsequent tests and experiments on smaller Dark Energy animals weren’t unsuccessful per se, but it was nothing compared to the behemoth of a beast Nova had shot with the arrow. The heart of hearts Stella now possessed.

The amount of coffee the young scientist consumed was nothing short of problematic, but she kept going. Every minute Stella was being held there was a minute too long, though even Nova couldn’t deny a person couldn’t think well without sleep. And so she napped, on the sofa in her office, or with her cheek on her arms at her desk. She’d slept at home twice, but it was short and restless. At one point, while Nova was more staring straight through her tempered glass computer screen than at it, a message popped up on the lower right-hand side. A little caught off guard, Nova opened the message with a tap from her finger, seeing that it was from the Vice President himself.

“Is there anything I can do for you, Nova?”

Her heart tried to find all corners of her chest cavity. She had answered Yes, coffee, please. The way I like it. Thank you! while in reality she had wanted to answer Yes, coffee, please. And your company. Maybe a snuggle? Thank you! But she was too chickenshit. When had the adoration from her side, and the oblivious to Nova’s existence from his side turned into a mutual friendship? And understanding, of sorts? How does she find piping hot coffee on her desk after having stepped out for fresh air, or when did he arrange for an assistant to fetch her things from her apartment?

During coffee, he told her they were expected in Paris, at the Louvre, for a Gala. Together. She knew it was because of their involvement in the rescue of the two de Villiers daughters, and to strengthen the bond between Voidlight and the Louvre, but Nova couldn’t help but feel a little nervous about travelling with Dragon. Paris was a very romantic city, after all.

At the very least, she was happy to see Cosette again. And to get out of her basement. It was just a shame her travels to France weren’t accompanied by the good news about Stella she had hoped to bring.

---

<sub>Singlehood


“Singlehood makes me suffer from loneliness, couple life makes me suffer from weariness.”</sub>

Paris, the Louvre, Gala

_{Mentions @WhiteAngel25 & @Lexisheeps}

---

The young man with brown, slightly curly hair and striking ember eyes trotted up L'escalier Lefuel at the Louvre, taking two steps at a time. He could do so easily because he was tall, taller than his father. But unlike the quite clean-cut man that fathered him, Theo was a bit more scruffy. His hair is a little bit wilder, his facial hair short, and his clothes usually not involve a suit, but jeans or chinos instead. He looked a lot like his father, and he wanted something to set him off against him. Yet, his letters said Monsieur T.N. de Villiers, and in passing, he was often greeted as monsieur de Villiers by employees of the Louvre, from cleaners to security to higher personnel in neatly pressed suits. Everyone knew who he was. Both because Theo wasn’t above striking a conversation with literally everyone, and because of who his father was. Who his mother was. Two powerhouses in this business of dust and bricks and fantastical places. But those closer to the Louvre’s ex-director’s only son knew he didn’t like being called by that title. That was his father, and Theo was well… Theo. He would often find himself insisting that people call him just that.

Maybe it will always be like this. Overshadowed by his father’s name and legacy, his mother’s accomplishments and the Lennox family name. Even now, during an event in honour of an artefact he had both retrieved and worked on restoring, the whispers in the hallway spoke of Thierry’s somewhat unconventional departure instead. Still, it didn’t damper Theo’s own pride, and he’d damn well show them. Show everyone that Theodore de Villiers is his own man, not just the son of.

He walked the brightly lit halls at a brisk pace, a big smile on his face but this time, it didn’t quite meet his eyes. The route through the Louvre’s employee spaces was ingrained in his brain, from when he was a little kid and his mother took him through the Louvre, to his father’s office, just to see him. Because little Theo wanted to. Picking him up from work was always great fun, too, and Theo always wanted to go see the exhibits. The Louvre had always felt like a second home, and it still was. Yet, something sinister lurked behind the walls that Theo hadn’t privy to. Secrets hidden, stories untold. But he wasn’t a fool. He knew the truth now, and that made this whole event tonight a weird mixture of faded pride, muted self-importance and cognitive dissonance.

Today he was wearing a three-piece suit, emerald green and charming. Aurélie said it made him look dashing. His smile was flattering as he arrived at the right side wing. A woman Theo knew as Céline stood before him, ordering all the other staff around. A woman twirled one of his rebellious curls the right way, while another fixated a small mic to his suit. He let it all happen as his gaze landed on the woman before him. He had fleeting something with this particular event coordinator. In the supply closet, like the casanova he kind of was. In her car, too. But, it seemed like any type of relationship wasn’t in the cards for Theo, and lately, he’d begun to wonder if that had anything to do with his upbringing.

Or if he was just incapable of loving.

Or being loved.

He gave her a firm nod, his hands coming up to straighten his jacket. ”Thank you, Céline, I’ll be on my best behaviour.” He winked at her, and the woman rolled her eyes with a knowing smirk. His gaze slid to the door he’d be walking through. In a way, he’d been dreaming of a moment like this for all his life. But right now, he wanted none of it. The man felt uprooted. Tossed around. Nothing was what it was anymore, and the people he had looked up to fell down in front of his eyes. Was his father out there? Was Cosette here? Was Aurélie still panicking about having to be in a crowd of people?

His sister had said his dad would be here. That he would be proud of his son, but frankly, Theo didn’t quite know the feeling, despite chasing it all his life. The man fixed his tie and waited patiently in the room as he was finally deemed presentable enough.

---

<sub>Nothing but hope


“Is it my time? Here comes the pain. All over Paris, I’m abandoning myself.”</sub>

Paris, the Louvre, Gala

_{Mentions @WhiteAngel25}

---

Aurélie’s knee moved up and down with nerves as the Paris lights flashed by the limousine’s window. Her heart hammered out of her chest as she tried to find a peaceful place in her mind that didn’t make her want to drop and roll out of the car. The gentle, soft voice of the woman who raised her reached her ears and the daughter focussed her gaze on her mother. She looked stunning. Ethereal even. While probably not Sabrina’s intention, Aurélie found it to be a perfect revenge dress.

With a small smile and a nod, Aurélie showed her appreciation to her mother’s words. She was just incredibly nervous. Once upon a time, Aurélie loved the gala’s and the grandeur. Watching her parents on the stage, people dance and wear the most extravagant clothes. Now, it had been 7 years since she had been in a room with more than a maximum of 10 people. As her mother spoke of Theo’s pride, her face brightened and her nod was more enthusiastic. ”I know. It’s the only reason I’m here. Theo and Cosy.”

The chiffon of Aurélie’s dress flowed around her legs smoothly as she walked the staff halls with her mother sometime later. It was dark blue: Theo’s favourite colour. And it brought out her honey eyes well. Or at least, that was what Sabrina had told her. Her ashen blonde hair fell in soft curls over her bare shoulders, and her make-up was done exceptionally well by her mother. Her nails were manicured like they used to be. It felt odd, being a 25-year-old woman all of a sudden. She never felt like she had grown up. She just spent 7 years as an 18-year-old. Thankfully, she had her mom to hold her hand tonight. Literally.

They had opted for the side entrance. The eldest de Villiers had already anticipated the curious stares, insistent whispering and pointing of fingers, but she’d like to put it off as long as possible. And that included avoiding the red carpet full of cameras. They were tough out of luck if they wanted to photograph the stunning Lennox woman and her missing and found adopted daughter. A soft squeeze in her hand from Sabrina made Aurélie look up at the woman. Warmth flooded her system as she smiled up at her. Aurélie was an adult now, and by no means did Sabrina have to take care of her, or take her in. Especially after the divorce. She was Thierry’s mistake, after all, not hers. And while she might have been officially adopted by the woman, that didn’t mean Sabrina still had any obligations toward her now.

And so, how she treated her the last week was even more touching to Aurélie. The eldest wasn’t a fool. She never blatantly chose to not see her mother’s busy schedule or her part in their upbringing, as Theo had, but right now she woman was like an anker to Auri’s capsizing boat. But this week Sabrina prioritised her. Chose her. And loved her unconditionally.

A few Louvre employees walked past the two women, not even attempting to hide their stunned whispering. Aurélie was used to it from her youth. Both her mother and her father were a big deal at the Louvre, and whenever she would walk the halls with them, whispers of awe would reach her ears. It always made her proud of her parents. Who they were. What they have achieved. Despite its effect on their children. But now the whispers and stares were more toward her. The missing de Villiers daughter is no longer missing. Just… alive. A freakshow. Come one, come all.

Before a door that would lead to the main lobby, Aurélie stopped her mother in her tracks and took a steadying but shaky breath. She was here for her brother. She had to support him. Yet she felt unsteady on her legs at the prospect of the crowd. At the very least, she’d see her little sister again. Her mother’s previous words went through her mind and she took in a massive breath. ”Okay. Sneak in the sidedoor completed. I can do this. I can.” She said it more to herself than to her mother. One nod from the beautiful brunette caused the doors to swing open for them, exposing them to the grandeur of the gala.

---

_{“I’ll take anything you’ve got, or could you help me find your pulse? Teach me how to dance with you.”}

Paris, in a car

_{Mentions @WhiteAngel25}

---

With big eyes, Nova looked out of the car window at the sights Paris at night had to offer. Her different coloured eyes roamed over the streets, the people walking, the shimmering lights. It was marvellous, and way better than the fake window’s ‘Paris at night’ setting in her office. Nothing could beat the real deal, after all. It was cold outside, but the woman’s cheeks were rosy with anticipation and the blush she had chosen to brush on her face.

As they entered a tunnel, her gaze tore from the sights back over to her companion. Dragon, whatever his real name was, looked more dapper in a suit than she would’ve ever imagined. She was lucky her cheeks were already dusted rosé because one look at him right now resulted in the very same shade. Her hands were folded on her lap, and the soft satin of her dress was like a caress to her hands. Dragon’s assistant had picked it out for her, as Nova was too busy to go dress shopping on top of everything. It’s not like she knew what to wear to a party in France, at the Louvre, anyway.

In a way, it felt odd to go to a party and drink cocktails and possibly throw in a flirtation or two toward Dragon while Stella was still not found. Guilt had it’s nasty claws in Nova. Yet she also knew this event was important for networking as well, and establishing further relationships between Voidlight, The Louvre and possibly the Lennox family. And who better to send than the Vice President and his arm candy, Ms. gathered-from-the-basement? In reality, she knew her personal invitation stemmed from her role in getting the girls and Nick back. She had a bit of social anxiety about such a big event, and the woman briefly wondered if she should inform Dragon about it.

Though, he might already know everything about her. She was sure he had her screened entirely before allowing her to be an agent for him. To be in the know. To bide her time, she speculated what would be in the file. Has a cat. Owns an alarming amount of houseplants. Caffeine intake is at its very best concerning. May require additional feedback on how to ensure no strands of hair fall from a bun. Her eye twitches when colleague ‘B’ is closeby, may need further medical investigation to find the cause. Heartrate picks up when presented with pictures of the Vice President.

Right, this was going nowhere. But the car was steadily approaching the Louvre. Big lights were already visible as the car slowed to a crawl, getting in line with other cars waiting to unload the VIP’s. While the entire world had modernised at a shockingly fast pace, Paris had a knack for remaining old and classy, like being transported 50 years back in time. There seemed to be a red carpet, as lights kept flashing, photographing people in front of a massive banner. She looked at Dragon again, her chest constricting for various reasons. ”It seems a bit… hectic.” she admitted nervously as her hands on her lap started fidgeting.

[Lexisheeps]

The Stepfather

_{A collab of @lexisheeps and @Estylwen}

---

The rain finally stopped. But the repetitive dripping kept giving the pleasant sound of water to focus on. Something to dull the mental sensation that accompanied the physical tingling. Nick sighed a bit, happy that Thierry had finally fallen asleep. Happy that Cosette seemed just as passed out as well. But he laid there now, sandwiched between his husband and daughter, trying to focus less on his sore arm and more on the water.

Damn, Nick thought, as he realized just how tight Cosette's grip really was, but the human-sized teddy bear finally freed himself. He moved his fingers cautiously, looking past her hair that partially blocked his vision. It was odd. The feeling. No, not the sensation of blood rushing back to his fingertips. The feeling that washed over him. The realization that the fight to find Thierry's daughters had finally come to an end. It had been over a week, true, but the silent moment to himself just now occurred. A time to think. A time to let everything sink in. A chance to breathe.

Seven long years. Nick had known Thierry for only six of them. And all six of those years Thierry had been hellbent on finding this tiny frame that at least seemed asleep at the moment. He sighed. Would his marriage be affected now that the girls were back? No, Sabrina's words at the coffee shop rattled around in his head, He loves you, Nick. Don't ever doubt that. If he got up now, would Cosette wake up?! At least he knew Thierry wouldn't. The prescription ensured that. He wiggled himself out of the uncomfortable position, being a bit more careful with Cosette.

Made his way down the liminal space of a hallway. Brushing past silly thoughts that came to him as he caught his own shadow, who was not actually staring him down. The splash of water felt nice, cool against his warmed skin. Was he having a panic attack? He hadn't had one in years, but with this new augmentation, possibly? He wasn't sure. A second splash of water and then rubbing of his eyes. He sighed, drying only his hands on the towel.

Stopped dead as the shadow crossed his mind. But once more, it was just normal night lighting. Why was he so spooked tonight? Instead of heading back to the bedroom, he headed down the hall. Stopping again as he pushed the door to his left, a little further opened. The spare bedroom he'd set up for Cosette. Stuffed animals galore. Each hand picked at a local shop. But she'd refused the room as if a monster hid in the closet or under the bed. Even after showing her nothing was there.

The Hollow?

"I'm going insane." Nick mumbled ever so slightly with an eye roll.

The wood was cold under his feet and the blast of cold air made his toes wiggle under his flowing sweatpants. The Gatorade from earlier was good enough. Took a sip as he headed back through the living room. He started for the bedroom, but stopped at the foot of the stairs. Took another sip. Turned on his heels and plopped on the couch.

Hobbies. Nick has them.

The next set of magazines to go through were monster trucks, monster movies, and music. Scrapbooking. The images from the magazines helped reinforce the imagery of some of the journal entries. It wasn't one of his original hobbies. It was inherited when he'd married Thierry. But it wasn't too far off, as he'd already kept regular journals. So it was a no-brainer to sit there and cut out little squares of this and that. It was an interesting way to pass the- "Jesus, it's 2am." Nick blinked at the clock on the muted tv. A politically geared news channel, but repeat gossip about The Louvre's upcoming Gala played. Thierry's unhinged departure really did have an impact on Paris. At least for the art world.

"Oh," Nick found himself smirking at the tv's captions along with the following headline, "If only you knew."

Some of the recent events had been damn well covered, Nick realized, raising an eyebrow. He'd caused an accident on the freeway, hadn't he? But as a Louvre employee, it was nice to see that at least his ass was still being covered by the higher ups. A quick glance over to the foot of the stairs caught him wondering for just how long exactly?

A sudden shuffle, a rustle of movement. Subject #3 - Cosette - hovered at the doorway, anxious and out of place.

“N-nick?” She called softly, her tired eyes curiously passing over the the cut squares and shredded magazines.

Before she bit her lip, her eyes staring at Nick before crossing to the floor.

“I… I had a nightmare.”

She had woken abruptly on the bed, and had found her father unresponsive to her light pats. Her side was cold - Nick had gotten up and was no where to be seen. So, naturally, her anxiety and need of comfort caused her to worm her way off the bed and shuffle down the hallway.

Which led Subject #3 to the only lights on in the apartment, and where Nick was resting. She shivered a bit, staring at him anxiously.

The building was old.

This meant that Nick could hear the creaking of the stairs once Cosette had stirred awake. He wasn't really surprised that she'd come down. Her shivering. He wasn't sure if it was because she was cold, or just upset. Once she mentioned the nightmare though, he felt he had a pretty good idea and gathered the clippings. They weren't appropriate for right now, considering the scary imagery some had. With the little bin back in place under the coffee table, he pulled the couch blanket next to him.

The tv stayed muted, but Nick tuned to something bright and cheery. Not pictures of The Louvre, co-workers, and her father. Or the upcoming Gala. He looked to her, "I get those too sometimes." He smiled softly and patted at the blanket indicating to come sit with him awhile.

It might of been a long shot, but maybe Cosette's memory augmentation could be loosened, if she had the chance to think beyond just her current physical surroundings. Nick pondered the idea and would mention it to Thierry for shits and giggles tomorrow, "You wanna tell me about it?" His tone was quiet, soft in nature.

Subject #3 hesitated for a moment before she wordlessly nodded, and climbed up onto the couch beside Nick. She wrapped the blanket around her, staring up at Nick briefly before her gaze dropped to her lap.

“I… dreamt of dust, and dirt. I was in the darkness, and it was suffocating. All these rocks came down on top of me, and I couldn't breathe. I tried to move, but I ended up making it worse. I…”

She paused, her arms moving to hug herself tightly, her shivering increased.

“I cried for help. I cried until my voice was hoarse. I cried for what felt like hours. But… no one came.”

Her eyes closed, trying to hide frightened tears that wanted to pool at her waterline.

But no one came.

Mental gymnastics... Her words burned. He knew that feeling. Knew it well. A little too well for Thierry's liking. And even though things were completely different now from what they used to be, things still roamed freely around the back of his mind... were at play as Nick's demeanor remained calm. He crossed his ankle over his knee and leaned back casually, "I'm here now..."

Patted softly at her back before adjusting the blanket over her shoulder, "Because I heard you." A soft smile crept at the corner of his lips, "And I know you're not wolf food."

Subject #3 blinked for a moment, before staring up incredulously at Nick. No, not Nick… He wasn’t ‘Nick’ anymore. He was ‘step-dad’, or ‘step-father’, and he had already saved her life once.

She matched his soft smile.

“Did I… step-dad, did I ever thank you for making sure I didn't end up being wolf food?”

She lifted her arm briefly, displaying the pink lines of a scar that had smoothly healed. The bite marks of the wolf.

“I really thought I was gonna… You know, not make it.”

Her smile was rueful as she glanced up at her step-dad.

“I'm glad you were there.”

The soft smile widened as it continued creeping across Nick's lips.

This is who I am. I will not idly sit by.

---

---

The Son

_{A collab of @lexisheeps and @Days}

---

”...I’ll be on my best behaviour.” The words, that voice.

Thierry stopped dead in his tracks, letting the words repeat in his mind. He'd heard that voice say that exact phrase with that intent, what felt like many times before. The words weighed heavily on his mind. It wasn't the first time he'd stalled that day and probably wouldn't be the last. But the simple act of his boy saying he'd be on his best behavior, really hit him hard. The realization of his son no longer being a child, but a young responsible man, is what caused his heart to flutter. This idea caused him to stand there, to hesitate.

Did Theo even need him, let alone want him? How could he? He was once a prominent figure within these hallowed museum walls. But now? After the egregious act of signing 27 years worth of his life's work over to Von Galloes... how? How could he face Theodore now? His only son, who once idolized him so dearly. Wanted to be nothing less than just like him. Theodore de Villiers was, in fact, his own man, not just a son. But that hadn't stopped Thierry from wishing desperately. To see that special sparkle in Theo's eyes, upon entering the room. To know that he was still wanted as his father. That he wasn't as worthless as his signature had recently become.

A lump had settled high in his throat while his bottom lip trembled. When exactly had he started failing as a father? He wasn't entirely sure. But was sure he knew exactly when he'd thrown his work life aside. After a minute or so of his hardened emotional whirlwind, Thierry pulled his cuff back over his watch after confirming the time, or more specifically... the date. Surely he was running out of time to piddle around like this. The sounds of shuffling could be heard in the next room. Along with the chatter of some aides.

With one last quick glance at the clock on the adjacent wall, his feet hit the ground until he found himself standing directly in front of Theo, his only son. However, upon making eye contact, the valor he'd found had plummeted. Thierry had been reduced to little more than a deer in headlights. Theo's smart green suit was the safety of the forest, but his eyes held a mirror to what was surely, the oncoming pain. The tightness in his chest increased as his heart furthered it's race. His face felt warm despite the slight chill in the air. Could Theo hear it? The thumping of his broken father's heart?

There was only one other time in his life, that Thierry truly remembered feeling this level of vulnerability... the day he'd asked for his husband's hand in marriage. Albeit for a completely different set of reasons, well maybe some were a little different. But the sensations he felt now, the anxiety, the flushed face, were exact replicas. Did Theo still accept him as his father? Despite everything? He swallowed hard and spoke softly, "Je suis fière de toi, mon fils." As a single tear attempted to put out his burning cheek.

Unsure of Theo's acceptance of his behavior, he did not pull his son in for a tight hold. That didn't stop him from raising his hands to do so, but Thierry panicked half way through the motion. His arms dropped to his sides as his emotions fumbled around. He bit his bottom lip and swallowed hard, waiting for a much deserved judgement and possible punishment. Would Theo be as angry with him as Sabrina had been at the harbor? He certainly felt as though he deserved nothing less. As his gaze diverted from direct eye contact, he noticed that Theo's tie was a little off centered. He managed to bring his hands up steadily, just long enough to adjust the knot.

It felt like the air was being sucked out of the room, inhaled by small, barely audible gasps from the aides around him as the actual monsieur de Villiers strode into the makeshift dressing room. Scattering was the only word acceptable enough for how the girls grabbed their make-up bags, hairspray and other belongings and quickly left the room in their high heels. Céline was the only one to give the two a glance over, her eyes inquisitive. Theo gave her the smallest of nods that he was fine, before shifting his eyes back to his father.

His dad was here. And not only did he attend the gala, he'd come here to seek out his son. Why?

Swallowing in an attempt to regain some composure, Theo felt his back straightening ever so slightly. As if he couldn't be found slumping around the reputable man. It was nothing short of off-centring to see Thierry now, the man he had, until a week ago, put on a pedestal and admired, chased after every bit of acknowledgement and mutual interest. Father and son bonding. He'd always idolised his father. Heroized him, even. That image had already started tumbling down after the divorce, where Theo held his mom in his arms while waiting for an ambulance. Now, the man who fathered him lay crumpled and whimpering at the bottom of the podium. Yet Theo felt no pity. Nor his previous anger of the day. Only guilt, for having put him so high up in the first place. Numbness. "Dad.."

Maybe now, at the bottom, they were one and the same. Two men looking for acceptance, and love. One way or another.

As they stood eye to eye, Theo found himself to simply be...over his anger. Anger hadn’t gotten him anywhere with his mother, and he knew he’d forgive his father just like he did with Sabrina. Maybe he already had, due to his talk with his sister. Her words played back to him. Theo, you can’t stay mad at dad forever. He loves you. You love him. You shouldn’t push him away. Even when her own life was entirely uprooted, her relationship with Thierry more shattered than ever, she had still attempted to mend that of him and their father.

And she was right. Everyone else was disconnected. Just islands adrift in the sea, bridges snapped off, burning. So why should theirs, too? The man with whom he'd laughed at inaccuracies in a newly released Indiana Jones knockoff so bad it hurt, only a couple of weeks ago. He refused to sow the seeds of hurt and loneliness with his anger and bitterness. There was some ground to cover still, more truths to be said. But for now, Theo was just- a kid who needed his parents. As his father spoke the words so genuinely, so softly spoken yet hitting so hard, Theo had to blink away traitorous tears that would give away his gentle soul. His father was proud of him, and Theo could feel it. It wasn’t the first time Thierry had said it. He said it often enough. When he graduated high school, did well in university, and when he graduated that, too, and got his job. Yet it never felt more genuine than it did right now. Theo had genuinely made him proud.

Surely his voice would betray him, too, so Theo gave him a curt nod before angling away his chin while his father’s hands fixed his tie. Oddly enough, he'd dreamed of a moment like this. Theo, accomplished, his father, decorated high on his platform, fixing his son's tie before Theo finally got the recognition he'd be looking for. Both from his dad and those in their field. He couldn’t help but flash a grin to that.

He put one hand on Thierry’s shoulder and squeezed, a small nudge making his father look him back into the identical set of eyes. ”Thank you for being here, dad. It means a lot. Especially after… well.” everthing. The Louvre wasn’t his home anymore, signed away by a simple scribble. His eyes flashed to the clock, seeing he still had a little time before looking back at his father. Once he lowered his hands again, he rested his hands in the pockets of his suit pants. At this very moment in time, Theo just wanted his dad here for support, and there he was. "I'm kinda nervous, actually." He told his father with a grin, though his eyes betrayed the truth behind his confession.

The words that came forth from Theo were not of anger, as Thierry had rightfully expected. But were unfeigned, even with everything that had happened. And despite admitting to his trepidation, Theo's tone remained ardent in nature. The gentle way in which Theo had spoken back, coerced his self-contempt aside. A sense of ease pushed back at the ache in his chest. A soft smile started across the corner of his mouth. It started off subtle, but grew into genuine charm. A charming smile that was cherished by those who knew him. A certain level of charm that his son had rightfully inherited and shared just moments ago.

There was a moment to pull his handkerchief out, a quiet moment to regain his composure. Wipe the tear away to pretend he was nothing but rigid. His exhale was audible as he put the cloth back in his pocket, "I wouldn't miss this for the world." Which was nothing less than true, of course. Despite his paternal flaws for regular activities, Thierry had always pushed work aside to be around for the more special occasions. Both of Theo's schooling graduations and then when he'd got the job offer from The Louvre. His tone was one of guilt, "Though I almost didn't make it back here to be with you. You see, there's a new guard monitoring the staff area and he didn't recognize me. If Mr. Cress hadn't walked by, I..."

There was an exhale while he hesitated. His rambling was something Theo probably didn't care about, but he finished his train of thought, "Would still be here, but out there." He pointed to the closed curtain. Thierry placed his hand on Theo's shoulder, returning the gesture his son had given him. And spoke with a sense of restored dignity, "I want things to be different between us. I want to be there and not just for things like this."

Theo's slanted smile was sympathetic. Understanding. He knew his father wouldn't want to miss this for the world, neither did his mother. Nor his sisters, for that matter. Aurélie was probably close to a nervous breakdown somewhere out there, but she had pulled herself together to come. Theo's own pulse skittered all over, both with nerves and the close confinement with his dad who seemed to ramble, a thing he did often when he wasn't sure what to do with the feelings crowding his chest. The son knew his dad well, though his eyes met the ground when he mentioned Mr. Cress, to hide his flash of anger. The only son couldn't let his emotions take over now. Because his father seemed fully, if not mostly, focused on his son, and it was a rare find. And now that he had his father's full attention, Theo didn't quite know what to say anymore. Or well, there was a lot he wanted to say. 'How could you' was the one that kept playing over and over in his mind. 'Lie to me, keep things from me, leave mom, hold me down'. But now it was all background noise. There was a bigger picture to look at.

A hand on his shoulder pulled him from his thoughts, and Theo raised his head to lock eyes with his father again. His facial features showed more certainty and Theo knew his father's words were true. But he also knew his father had always wanted things to be different, to be there. But wanting had never been enough. Would it be different, this time? While appreciating the sentiment, Theo was careful with his hope.

His Adam's apple moved with his swallow as he nodded, once more avoiding his father's gaze. He just hoped Thierry would have the same sentiment with his big sister, and not just with him and Cosy. Frankly, the biggest reason Theo was letting his father in at all was because that is what Aurélie wanted. For him not to fight her battles. She'd done a lot for Theo, fighting his battles so Theo could remain the good son. He didn't want to brush away her effort by pushing away his father. If that was what he could do for her, he would. His eyes flicked up back to his, slightly misted over by the promise of a hopeful future. "I want that too." he said, pressing his lips together in a smile while his eyes showed a careful yearning for their relationship to heal.

A charming smile formed as his eyes sparkled with joy. A sense of regained freedom danced around his aura. The ability to make up for lost time. Time to laugh together and love one another.... To bond as a father and son should, "I'm nervous as well," Thierry started honestly enough, "I've been worried that my departure from The Louvre would cause you to not want..." His voice trailed with a slight whimper, as he looked down. Ashamed of himself once more...

He looked up and locked eyes with a nervous smile, "I should probably go find my husband and your sisters. I trust you'll do magnificently with your reveal." He glanced over to the covered artifact, genuinely curious as to what it could be. Thierry stood silently a moment, a father in awe of his son's accomplishments. Then blurted out with a slight chuckle, "Nick is just as curious about this as I am!"

As his father said he was nervous too, Theo let out a breathy laugh and nodded. It felt good, this talk. Honest, too. Because frankly, it felt entirely uprooting to suddenly be on lesser terms with the man he'd been on relatively good terms with up until a bit ago. Perhaps if they were okay, everyone else could slowly be okay, as well. Start to talk and start to heal. There were things that needed to be accepted. His parents were divorced and would not get back together. His father had a husband. His sisters were back and needed support. A support that only their family could really give. So they needed to find a way to coexist.

Or next Christmas was going to be awkward as hell.

Yet it seemed there was still a way to go as Thierry trailed off mid-sentence, his shoulders slumping ever so slightly as if he wanted to crawl back into himself. It wasn’t a demeanour Theo was used to from his dad, and it was every bit as unsettling as it was disarming. Cause him to not what what? Want him? Need him? Admire him? His father’s job was both a blessing and a curse. It made Theo shove his father on a pedestal so high it could only tumble, but Theo’s real adoration came from the moments spent together aside from work.

At some point, the Louvre, work and his dad all became one identity. There had been a tumultuous time in Theo’s life where he had questioned himself if he actually liked archaeology, history and restoration, or if he just wanted to impress his dad. He found that both of them were true, but that the second wasn’t the cause of the first. His interest, no, infatuation with the subject was genuine. Almost hereditary. Yet Theo couldn’t deny that his pursuit of the topic was partially due to the need to bond with his father.

In the end, it worked out for him. It was great to combine true passion with a paternal bond, even though Thierry’s work was far more exciting than Theo’s.

The young man nodded once more when Thierry stated he’d go find Nick, a familiar swirl of anticipation at the mention of his sisters. God, he wanted to see Cosy badly. This whole half-week thing was wrecking him, but he knew his parents were just trying to figure out how all of this would work. There was no blame there, just the missing of what his family once was. At the mention of Nick’s curiosity, Theo couldn’t help but chuckle back in a similar timber. Surely, Theo’s digging and restoring of this long-lost artefact, while historically valuable, would be incredibly boring in Nick’s eyes. It was nothing compared to what those two had done and achieved. Something Theo hoped to become, but likely never would. ”I’m glad he’s here too, but you know the Louvre doesn’t turn down any reason for a party.” There was a wry smile on his face in an attempt to temper his father’s expectations.

Theo turned to the door where a soft knock sounded. Céline, no doubt. He blinked back at his father, and without really thinking Theo raised his arm over Thierry's shoulder and pulled his father in for a half hug. ”Talk to you later. Tell Nick I said hi, Cosy too.” With a clap on his father's back, Theo took a step back and cleared his throat as Céline opened the door to the room, a questioning look on his face to see if Theo was ready.

---

---

Homecoming

_{Interactions with @Days, @Estylwen, and @WhiteAngel25}

---

The refection he'd caught a glimpse of, Nick didn't recognize himself. But Thierry had told him he still cleaned up pretty well. Nick figured he'd just have to take his husband's word for it, but he'd much prefer his combat boots or sneakers any day. He didn't really like the subtle intrusive thoughts of running around the Louvre chasing after HiveMind agents... in a suit. He wasn't James Bond. Nope, that was his husband, Monsieur Thierry Claude James de Villiers.

Cosette's grip was firm as she spoke, “Do you see them yet?”

Nick was taller than Cosette, but not by that much more. He still found himself standing on his tip toes, a good three inches shorter or so, in his loafers, "Nope," He started, "But let's keep checking."

The guard at the counter was new. Shit. Nick sighed, wondering if Thierry had made it back to see Theo or not, as he pulled his own staff card out. After the HiveMind attack, extra guard posts were put in place. Then some extras for tonight specifically. And this guy hadn't even recognized him, despite him being a regular attendee. It was a little odd as he anxiously pulled the card out and handed it to the man. Is this how Thierry had felt? But entirely more defeated?

"Go ahead."

Nick nodded and hurried Cosette along. He didn't want her out on the floor to be gawked at. Were the rumors true? Was this one of the missing de Villiers girls? Nick felt it his duty to keep Cosette close to him, even if he hadn't been married to Thierry. To protect her against the prying eyes of the broken Power Family's coworkers. He realized his own social anxieties were kicking in and was entirely relieved when he caught a glimpse of Sabrina near the main lobby, "There they are."

Nick pointed through a set of antique mirrors to show Cosette he'd spotted them. It seemed that they'd just missed them in the main lobby by mere minutes. They'd have to double back, but that was fine. Back at the main hall, he called out, "Sabrina!"

Hopefully she'd heard with the noise level of the chatter being rather high tonight. He glanced his husband's ex-wife over with a raised eyebrow as they'd finally reached a certain level of earshot, "Are you wearing a revenge dress?" He smiled, but in a playful he's mine expression, "It's pretty."

Nick smiled softly at Aurélie, "Your dress is pretty too. I hope you're feeling a bit better."

"There you are!" Thierry's voice suddenly behind him, caused Nick to jump a little. But pushed his social awkwardness aside with a smile.

The de Villiers family was all here. Exchanging pleasantries, starting the healing process. Finally together again. Properly, under the watchful eye of The Louvre. Everything was just as it should.

What Thierry said next caused Nick's heart to skip a beat, "I was just talking to your brother and I do believe Nova and Mr. Stoick are coming as well."

Shit. Stella! Nick went silent, despite the chatter that sounded him. Realizing how deep this well went. It was far from over...

---

The Former

_{Juicy Background Noise}

---

The aged paper pusher had finally found his way to his office after attending an emergency meeting with Mr. Augustus. But more surprisingly, certain members of The Council had attended as well. His involvement with HiveMind and Thierry's fall from grace had been the subject of the conversation, naturally.

He'd stumbled by Thierry who'd been left dumbfounded at the guard's post. Thierry's plea with the guard rattled around in his head, as he swirled his brandy. Then his own words he as he approached the sticky situation he'd had a hand in...

This is Monsieur de Villiers and he's with me. Put him on my approved visitors list.

Yes sir.

It was nice to have all of the de Villiers under The Louvre's roof again. Mr. Cress leaned back in his armchair as he gazed absentmindedly out to the glass pyramid, "I'm so sorry, Thierry."

Assuring Mr. Augustus that his loyalties lied with The Louvre and not HiveMind, had been particularly difficult this time around. But for now, it seemed as if he'd talked his way out of certain financial ruin.

"But you are increasingly becoming a thorn in my side."

---

[Estylwen]

Undisclosed Location

@WhiteAngel25

---

Von Galloes smirked triumphantly at Stella response, and offered his hand to her. “Good girl. Now, come with me.”

Whether she took his hand or not, he would lead Stella out of her chambers and down a narrow hall, and through another locked doorway.

The moment Stella would step through, the door would slide shut cleanly and quickly behind her. In front of her, the room was split in two. An observation room that she currently stood in, with a large window and another sliding door ahead.

Von Galloes moved to the console in front of the window, and pressed a button. The sliding door ahead opened up, revealing a small concrete room lit by caged lights.

Von Galloes stepped closer to Stella, gently running his hand over the fuzz of her hair where it had been shaved, before his fingers gently cupped her chin.

“You're about to perform a miracle for me, my dear.”

His eyes gestured to the room. “You're going to step inside the testing chamber, and I'm going to close the door. Today, we will bear witness to all the careful augmentations I've done to your new powers. Today, we will see the powers of beyond.”

He nodded to the door, and gave her a gentle nudge. “Off you go, daughter of mine.~”

As he spoke, there was movement in the testing chamber as a singular target marked in red circles was lowered from the ceiling.

---

Voidlight Headquarters, Basement Research Labs

@Days

---

Delving deeper into her experiences with the heart of hearts, and her subsequent experiments, Star would discover a very interesting trait. Beyond the extreme power source, off the charts compared to regular dark energy, she would discover one other key fact: the heart of hearts had a looping effect, connecting one place to another through an unknown space.

---

The Louvre, Gala, Grand Entrance

@Days, @WhiteAngel25

---

As Star and Dragon arrived in the VIP valet drop-off area, they would find attendants dressed in paper black opening the back door on Nova's side, exposing her to the flash of the cameras.

Upon exiting the car, Star and Dragon would find everything perfectly taken care of for them. Attendants and bodyguards kept the paparazzi back as they would make their way across the banner stationed in front of the steps to the inside of the Louvre.

As they moved closer to the building, however, they would see a woman ahead approach them. She was dressed in a brimmed black hat and black feather dress, and had a disarming twinkle in her eye.

“Monsier Dragon, Madame Star, what an honour this is.” She smiled, extending her laced hand in a handshake to both of them.

In front of the flashing lights of the paparazzi, she smiled, completely unfazed. “My dears, it's a special day, and you are the talk of the crowd.”

She turned to Nova. “Is it true that you've discovered a new form of dark energy? When will we hear more about this? It'll change the world, it will.”

Then she turned to Dragon. “And I heard through the grapevine you saved this angel from the depths of the sea?”

A dramatic sigh as she pulled her clutch over her chest, pretending to fan herself. “Oh, how romantic!”

She gave a light giggle before her features smoothed into an enigmatic smile. “Oh, but where are my manners.”

She gestured to herself. “Madame Veno, at your service. You are in the presence of the spokesperson of a very, very special group.”

She seemed to smile, before passing over a business card, embossed in gold. In shimmering text, the word ‘Ethereum’, a phone number, and an address were printed on the front.

“Consider yourselves cordially invited to my estate at your earliest convenience after this lovely gala concludes…”

---

The Louvre, Gala, Main Area

@Lexisheeps, @WhiteAngel25, @Days

---

Subject #3 gave a small squeal as she laid eyes on Auri. Her memories were scant from, well, before. She remembered how the woman in front of her cried and cried when Director Galloes told Auri to say goodbye.

She still didn't fully understand, but she liked Auri. Subject #3 gently untangled herself from her stepfather’s arm as she crossed the gap to give Auri a hug.

“Auri! You look so pretty.” She said, pulling back and smiling.

Her eyes glanced to the woman beside Auri - her mother. She suddenly felt sheepish and shu, her eyes drifting to the floor as she approached Sabrina.

“Hi… maman…” The words still felt foreign in her mouth, but she tried a small smile regardless. This woman cried and wept over Subject #3’s hospital bed at Star’s place of work. That had to mean something, right?

”Sabrina!”

Subject #3’s head turned, and her stomach did a little flip. Her father approached them. A smile hesitantly spead across her face before it became more genuine. Her father scared her a bit, but the time she had spent with him and her stepfather eased the nerves she felt a bit.

“Bonjour, papa…” She said softly, approaching her father, wholly expecting a pat on the head.

Before she returned to Nick’s side, and gripped his arm again. A grounding mechanism. It felt good to hold onto the one who saved her. Even better that that someone was her stepfather.

A slow clap from the side as soft footfalls clacked on the glossed floor. Pointed loafers, expensive suit in hues of black and verdant green accents. Tousled black hair and stubble. The man regarded them with sharp emerald eyes.

“My sincere congratulations, Monsier de Villiers, Madame Lennox. Your recovered family truly is a sight to behold.” His voice was husky and warm, a slight curve to his relaxed lips.

He extended his hand to the father and mother of the de Villiers, before he also offered his hand to Nick.

“The name’s Rodrigo Vandelez. I'm the representative of the Historian’s Congress. It’s truly a pleasure to meet you.”

Like the mundane world had its United Nations to keep the peace, likewise, the world of architects and history had an international government body - the Historian’s Congress - to ensure the safety of the international community.

---

The Louvre, Backstage, Dressing Room

@Days

---

As Thierry departed from the room, Céline and the girls entered the dressing room once again. She gave Theo a curious look before her eyes glanced back down at her clipboard.

“We're behind schedule. If there's nothing else, handsome, it's time to get you on stage.” She said with a glossed smirk, and gestured to the door.

The gala had a makeshift stage built on a raised platform at the end of the main area, and in front of it, the artifact in question covered in a cloth. Céline and the girls led Theo up the steps to the wing of the stage. Theo was protected by velvet curtain on both sides, and he could peek ahead to the gathered guests in the crowd of the gala. Somewhere in there, his family was waiting for him.

The MC, an older Louvre staff with a trim mustache and mic pinned to his suit, greeted Theo backstage.

“Hello, young man! How are your nerves? You feeling ready?”

---

The Louvre, Mr. Cress’ Office

@Lexisheeps

---

“Still talking to yourself, old man?” Said a sneering voice as someone just let themselves in. She stood over Mr. Cress, pink hair and goggles the telltale signs of exactly who this was. Von Galloes' right hand, no less. One of the head researchers of Hive Mind. The one who had put Stella to sleep.

She took a smug seat on Mr. Cress’ desk, crossing one leg over the other and wrapping pale fingers around her knee, glancing slyly at the Louvre's council member.

“So I've had some fun poking around my new asset, Mr. de Villiers old office. Seems he wasn't too happy about the whole ordeal - his desk is just riddled in fresh scratch marks and dents.” She gave a boisterous laugh, throughly pleased with herself.

“As we discussed, you'll allow me to come and go from his office as I please, full access to his archives and computer, and we'll consider your part of the deal upheld.” She said, pulling out a lollipop, tossing the wrapper on the floor, and sticking the cherry-flavoured candy in her mouth. She glanced at him and smirked.

“Right, Mr. Cress?”

[Days]

The Louvre, Gala, Main Area

_{Mentions @WhiteAngel25, @Estylwen and @Lexisheeps}

---

Aurélie felt like a small child once more, holding her mother’s hand and trusting her utterly and completely when navigating busy streets or cramped events. She hadn’t known Sabrina wasn’t her biological mother then, as she had been too young to understand. But eventually, her parents sat her down and told her the truth. She had a mother somewhere in the Netherlands who had dumped baby Auri with college-aged Thierry and left France altogether. It had been a bit confusing for her to learn about the other woman, but nothing had been more clear to her than looking up at Sabrina with a raised eyebrow. ”So? Maman is my maman now.”

As she felt her mother’s firm handhold as they stepped out to the lobby, Aurélie knew there would be no anonymity for her tonight. The sensation was odd. The old de Villiers daughter wouldn’t care. Maybe she even kind of liked it, the attention. But now gasps, mutters and whispers filled the spaces beside them as further along the crowd was chattering along, unaware of the freakshow taking place by these doors. She’d gone missing with her sister 7 years ago. And it was probably a really, really bad idea, but Auri read the comments online. The little girl is 10, she’s innocent, a victim. But the 18-year-old? She should’ve known better. She probably caused it. She should’ve been more careful. I heard she wasn’t very nice anyways. She was just a rich spoiled girl.

She had brought her new phone to her mother in tears, asking if this was what people thought of her. Some people did. Some didn’t. And it didn’t matter. Well, that was what her mother had assured her. Shame left a bitter taste in her mouth as she tried to focus on anything else but the whispers, her eyes going to a covered glass case with the artefact in it. Theo had said it was nothing special, but she knew he was downplaying it. Because he couldn’t help but compare himself to Thierry and Nick.

”Sabrina!”

A voice now familiar called out to her mother and Aurélie turned her head to see Nick approach with her little sister. The man made her feel a nervous loop in her stomach and she wasn’t quite sure why. He had emanated trust and comfort when he saved her from her cell. Though, as her chest rose up and down in her tight bodice, she knew it had something to do with what he represented, and what he said at the docks. The end of her family as she had left it behind. She didn’t know him. She didn’t know how to read his mannerisms, and she sure as hell didn’t know the history. All she knew was how he talked to her in the facility, and how he spoke to her mom. From safety to betrayal. Two very different Nick’s, in Aurélie’s opinion.

All she could muster was a slight nod, a soft curl of her lips before she avoided his gaze entirely, her blonde curls sliding over her bare shoulders as she looked at her little sister instead. Without realising, her face lit up at the sight of her little sister. Her whole reason for fighting, for being here, for not giving up. The recognition in Cosette’s eyes threatened to break the dam in Auri’s emotions but she kept it together. There had been so many times when she hadn’t recognised her big sister anymore. ”Salut, ma petite lumière.” Her voice was soft, laced with fondness as she let go of her mother’s hand to hug her sister back, squeezing a little harder than necessary. ”You look very, very pretty yourself!” A small laugh fluttered from her lips as she straightened again.

It seemed the universe really didn’t allow the eldest daughter a break, and while she knew she would be met the face of her father, she still wasn’t entirely ready to see him rushing up to them. For a once very confrontational teenager who didn’t hide any of her feelings, she sure as hell did a lot of avoiding his eyes right now. They turned to the floor as she nervously picked at her freshly manicured nails.

With a couple of blinks she managed to keep the welling tears at bay as her newly combined family talked, and she picked up on Thierry having seen Theo. She hoped it went well. She hoped Theo was okay. As the topic changed to the two Americans that saved Cosette, her eyes went to her sister and gave her a little wink, hoping her sorrowful eyes weren’t too noticeable. She hadn’t had the chance to thank the Vice President and the Star woman, so she’d have to be sure to find a chance to do so tonight.

The Louvre, Gala, Main Stage

_{Mentions @WhiteAngel25, @Estylwen and @Lexisheeps}

---

Theo pushed out a shaky breath as he watched his father leave and Céline entered, a curious look on her face that Theo knew all too well. Not many people knew of his struggles with his father, and Theo kept his feelings close and guarded for a long time now. But Céline, unlike his other situationships, worked at the Louvre and was acquainted with the culture in the company. And who his mom and dad were. They sometimes talked. You know, in between the sessions. The son was glad she didn’t push for more information and instead let out a hearty laugh at her comment.

”Funny, usually you like it when I take my time.” He raised his brow at her, the cheekiness returning to his face, then gave her a qui k wink before letting himself be guided to where he needed to be. His nerves had settled, despite being in the wings of the stage allowing him to hear the crowd. Damn, there were a lot of people out there. No matter though, Theo wasn’t afraid to talk to crowds.

He tried to peek, seeing men in neatly pressed suits and women in extravagant dresses meander about, talking, pointing to the covered artefact. There was a double feeling in the man. What he found, what he restored, it wasn’t nearly as amazing or cool as some of the things his father, his mother and Nick had discovered or seen. They wouldn’t be impressed. Or well, his mom would be, but the woman was also proud of his god-awful clay sculptures from kindergarten and his charcoal messes from middle school. And the sorry excuse for Pâtes à la Ratatouille he tried to make here when they lived with just the two of them. The thought of his mother and her proud smile made the son smile too. It didn’t matter if he wasn’t like them, yet. Everyone had to start somewhere.

He swallowed and looked down at his shoes for a moment. The fact that his mother was here, able to see his milestone, was already rewarding enough. He almost thought he lost her, that one day. He cleared his throat as he was approached, and put his grin back on as Monsieur Dupont stood before him. Theo had known the man since he was a little boy. He presented all the Louvre events. He was funny and enigmatic, and Theo ate up all his words every time. And now? He was going to introduce Theo himself. ”Oh, you know… big shoes to fill.” He grinned at the man.

The Louvre, Gala, Grand Entrance

_{A collab with @WhiteAngel25, mentions @Estylwen}

---

_{Earlier that week...}

Kai was glad to have his Star back where she belonged and safe. He checked on her (what seemed like) every two hours for the first few days. Nova wasn't used to such missions, and he wanted to make sure that she was stable for the moment to continue her normal duties in the lab. He had to lessen his visits though. They still had to track down and find Stella. Knowing HiveMind, they probably had her in a makeshift facility in some basement somewhere.

Kai found himself getting lost in Nova's beautiful multicolored gaze, especially when she got excited speaking on a subject. The way her voice rose to a vibrant level as she was just as determined to find Stella. While Kai appreciated Nova's enthusiasm, there was no way in hell he'd let her step foot in another HiveMind facility. He about lost her once. He wasn't going to lose another person he-.

Dragon couldn't think like that. Forming a romantic connection in his field of work was dangerous, but he also couldn't stand any man near their age around Nova. Just the thought of some idiot trying his luck made Kai's fingers burst into flames thanks to his augmentation. The number of copied paper reports had increased within the last few days. He even couldn't help himself by sending coffee to her regularly or having one of his assistants help her grab things quickly from her apartment. Kai wanted to do nothing more than have his Star safe and cared for for the rest of her life.

"Aw, the hell with it," Dragon muttered as he shot Nova an email.

'Is there anything I can do for you, Nova?'

It didn't take long to receive a reply. 'Yes, coffee, please. The way I like it. Thank you!'

Kai assumed that Nova must have been on break. He left his office to personally deliver her coffee order this time. Dragon even brought a paper copy of his email from the Louvre, inviting him and Nova to celebrate Theodore de Villers's achievements in archaeology and, the most obvious, the return of Cosette and Aurelie. Kai was glad when Nova accepted the invitation to go with him. He was already making plans with his mind to court his Star properly from here on out.

---

Dragon observed his Star with gentle amusement and happiness. He was glad that Nova was enjoying the sights of Paris, especially at night. Kai was getting closer to telling her his real name, it would be tonight after the Gala.

Nova was beautiful in her emerald-sheen gala dress. It fitted her body in a sweet yet tempting manner. There were several moments when Dragon had to remind himself to be a gentleman and not want to tear that dress off her form and leave her breathless.

”It seems a bit… hectic.”

Kai took Nova's hand was the closest to him as the car slowed, he pressed his lips against the back of her hand. "I apologize for not saying this sooner, Nova. You look ravishing tonight," he murmured and gently returned her hand back to her lap and his into his own. "And don't worry, I will be here with you every step of the way."

Nova’s breath got stuck on an inhale as warmth enveloped her hand. The motion separated her fidgeting hands as he held one in his own as her gaze lowered to her hand, dwarfed by his, before her eyes flicked up to meet his in surprise. Dragon’s eyes were soft and caring somehow, and Nova blinked as her breathing picked back up. The gentle touch of his lips against the skin of her hand made her pulse skitter and her lips part to ensure oxygen still reached her brain somehow. The compliment heated up her cheeks but he had managed to distract her from the chaos outside of their car.

Her lips curled up into an amused smile. ”You look quite presentable yourself, Mr. Vice President.” Her tone was teasing and despite the things this man did with her constitution she felt her nerves fade a little. It’s just a red carpet and a gala, what can go wrong, right?

”I’m not a fan of crowds.” The scientist admitted with a sheepish grin. Her manicured hand came up to motion at her ear. ”It gets overwhelming.” Pressing her lips into a tight line, she looked back down at her lap. The augmentation she managed to afford on her own could never keep up in large rooms and crowds. And even though it had been upgraded by Voidlight, Nova loved the solitaire and silence of her basement and she was well on her way to becoming a cat lady. But with this man beside her, she was beginning to think she should face the music more.

The limousine came to a halt and Nova’s eyes flickered back up to Dragon’s. As their door got opened the basement-dwelling woman took in a sharp breath. ”Let’s do this.”

Kai smirked at Nova's reply, the teasing tone of her voice made his gaze darken with desire for a moment. The glint lasted just for a second as he didn't want to push Nova too far. He was used to the flashing lights and red carpets, but Nova, this was her first time. An event like this needed to be introduced to her slowly.

”I’m not a fan of crowds. It gets overwhelming.”

Dragon watched the bashful smile appear on Star's lips, and as she gestured to her augmentation, he couldn't help but feel guilty. He should have known that noise was a big reason for her social anxiety.

”Let’s do this.” Before she could step out, Kai reached up and gently tucked a stray hair behind Nova's ear. "If at any time you feel overwhelmed, you let me know and we can go somewhere quiet. I promised to take care of you tonight, Nova, I fulfil my promises," he informed his date for the night.

Nova blinked but didn’t move when Dragon’s hand came up to brush some hair behind her ear. He was close enough to hear her heart beating out of her chest, but the woman decided she could easily disguise that by claiming it was nerves for the event. His promise struck true though, and she knew he was fully committed to this promise he made. He was being considerate, but this seemed to go past casual politeness. ”Thank you.”

The two Voidlight employees moved down the red carpet, Kai leading Nova gently by his arm. A practised PR smile on his lips as he only took Star to the main key photographers. Once inside the Louvre, Dragon didn't let go of Nova, in fact, he slid his arm around the small of her waist and leaned over. "Do not stray too far, just because this is a gala, doesn't mean Hivemind won't try to pull something. With what Thierry sacrificed, they would be nuts not to try something tonight," his voice low and deep. "I mean it, Nova. No curious wandering off, no matter what. Okay?"

The flashes of the cameras were bright and overwhelming, and the scientist’s augmentation had trouble keeping up. She was sure people were yelling things like ‘over here’ and ‘big smile’ but Nova was like a deer in headlights, instead. She took in a deep breath and ignored the words in her vision, and instead focussed on the feeling of the man’s bicep under her manicured hand and looking into the camera’s with the most charming smile she could give.

She could already see the headlines. ‘The Vice President of Voidlight, accompanied by basement dwelling scientist. Charity case, or golddigger?’ The thought made her grin, and she was sure her pictures were better for it. She felt a bit calmer, now. As they walked from the main banner she uncurled her hand from his arm, only to receive his warm hand around her waist. Well, she wasn’t going to complain about that. It’s not as if she had shamelessly fantasised about this moment many times. His voice reached her ear, once more in that timber that seemed to reach the little part of her eardrum that still worked. His warning was in writing in her vision anyway. Aware of the cameras, she smiled widely and gave him a short nod. ”Okay.” Her voice was cheerful, but her eyes fell on an approaching woman.

Suddenly, a tall woman dressed in a black decorative hat and matching feather dress appeared. Dragon recognized her as Madame Veno. He was honestly surprised that she was here greeting them, most of the French avoided American institutions.

Dragon let go of Nova just briefly to shake Madame Veno's hand as she spoke of congratulations. Kai became quickly suspicious the moment she started speaking of details of the recovery mission that were not public knowledge. He didn't let that phase his cool, calm smile on his face.

"You flatter us, Madame Veno. Someone as informed and inquisitive such as yourself honoring us with an invite, we are truly grateful," Dragon replied as he took the business card. His tone was that of a person who was used to the elite group of people in the world. "We will most definitely visit as you said, at the earliest convenience, but first, I must show Madame Star to the dance floor for a dance," he added as he pocketed the card and led Nova away.

Nova shook the woman’s outreached hand after Dragon had as well. She didn’t know who the woman was but thought she saw a twinkle of recognition in Dragon’s eyes. It wasn’t until the woman fully addressed her instead of Vice President that Nova paid extra attention. It took all of her willpower and her three whole minutes of media training not to narrow her eyes at the woman, casually dropping that she knew of Nova’s research, and results thereof. Almost no one knew about the discovery she made a few days ago, the interesting traits of the heart of hearts.

And then, through the grapevine how Dragon saved Nova. Her entire media training relied on shutting the hell up and letting Dragon do the talking. The only reaction to the woman’s words was the pinking of her cheeks at the mention of romance, and Nova decided to play along and divert the conversation to that. ”Isn’t it?” She said, with a soft laugh, her head cocking slightly to the side to touch Dragon’s bicep. Rather the woman focused on the romance than the secrets, yet something told Nova she wouldn’t be easily fooled in any case.

After an exchange of more pleasantries and a card, Nova was whisked away by Dragon once more. Politely, she gave the woman a slight bow of her head. ”Pleased to meet you, Madame Veno. Until then.”

As they walked away and into the Louvre, Nova barely had eyes for the grandeur the Gala had to offer. Instead, once they entered the hall of people, Nova made use of the relative anonymity to push herself up on her toes a little to whisper to her companion. She was curious, which was just a fancy word for nosy in Nova’s case. ”Who was that? And how did she-” The woman glanced around for a moment before focusing back on Dragon. ”How did she know? Are we like… planning on going?” She rocked back on her heels and sent a curious raised brow his way.

---

---

Dragon led his Star closer to the dance floor. His PR smile was still on his lips as he weaved with Nova through the crowd. He listened to her murmured questions. He glanced down at her spectacular multi-colored gaze with his dark one. Kai let his arm drop to Nova's waist, pulled her close to his strong form in a respectable manner, and then took her free hand into his. He leaned down to whisper into her right ear.

"Madame Veno is one of the few women to have broken through levels that even Madame Lennox, Cosette's mother, has yet to achieve," he spoke as he led Nova in the dance. The Dragon smoothly led his date around on the open marble floor, any mistakes in the dance were well covered.

"I'm not sure as to how she knew of the more intimate details of the mission, however, if she knows," Kai paused to twirl Nova out and then back into him, only closer to his person this time. "It confirms that something big will happen tonight and reinforces my words earlier. Stay close to me," he encouraged with a heated gaze. One would not like to know what Dragon would do to those he loved, Von Galloes was in for a world of pain once Stella was safe and out of his clutches. But that wrath was not his to carry out, the de Viller family would have that satisfaction someday.

Nova was too wrapped up in her curiosity to feel shy about starting a dance with Dragon. She barely noticed that he took her to the dancefloor, but it did bring enough anonymity to have their conversation. Win-win, she guessed. As he pulled her to him, it felt natural, and Nova noticed her small casual coffee dates with him, or interactions talking about work or Cosette or about her cat had made her less of a nervous wreck around the man. Which wasn't like her to begin with, so what was it with this man? Her brain was in overtime though, trying to figure out how the woman knew Nova's research.

As they danced, Dragon's lips came close to her ear and she could smell his cologne. It wasn't overwhelming, but a soft dusting of comfort and warmth. Could she order a pillow sprayed with it? Or rather, maybe he should come spread it on her pillow? Her eyes narrowed and she nodded dutifully, grateful for the information Dragon gave her, and the trust he seemed to be having in her to hold the information safe. Nova had always been a knowledge seeker, wanting to know more. It was an inherent trait of being a scientist, after all.

She easily executed the twirl and ended up back in his arms, but there was no blush or reaction to the closeness of his body because her brain was still processing the bits of intrigue. Was it Brenda? Damn, Brenda. If she blinked really sweetly, would Dragon fire the woman? The tone of the man speaking to her changed to a more serious one once more, and she put her eyes up to his, seeing the warning in them. She flashed him a grin. "Close to you. Got it. I could think of worse things." Her genuine smile displayed a hint of playfulness once more as they slid smoothly over the floor. As if to put her money where her mouth was, the next time the man twirled her she ended up even closer.

The dance was nice, but Nova knew they should probably search for Madame Lennox and provide their thanks for the invite. Even so, Nova would gladly just stay here all night where she could pretend trouble, Hivemind and Madame Veno didn't exist. The thing she was looking forward to was seeing Subje- Cosette again. Nova had grown quite fond of her little fellow survivor. She just regretted she didn't have good news about Stella, yet.

But, with Dragon's warning in the back of her mind, she finally understood why his assistant had her outfitted with a dagger on her thigh.

[Lexisheeps]

The Louvre, Gala, Dance Hall

_{Mentions: @Days & @Estylwen}

---

---

The conversation within the little de Villiers reunion was going well enough. But aside from the occasional head nod or slight smile of approval, Nick allowed himself to get lost in thought after shaking Vandelez's hand. He wasn't jealous of Sabrina or the kids anymore, but still felt like the third wheel. Wanted to give them space. A chance to adjust to him being there. To realize that things were not going to be the way they were before the abduction.

Found himself thankful. The sensation to his arm had finally come back, leaving Nick rightfully thrilled. For now, he simply didn't have the heart to tell Cosette to stop manhandling him like a personalized Bearlieve Bear Talking Teddy Bear. She'd been through so much, so he'd grumble privately at Thierry about it later. It'd been awhile since he'd bitched about the mundane world after all. And he missed it- not worrying about HiveMind's tomfoolery.

Almost.

Who was he kidding? What would he do should he leave The Louvre behind? Go back to being a mechanic? Already tried that once and damn near wen- "Dance with me."

Shit, Thierry...

The song was slow and sappy, yet oddly relatable. Nick wasn't embarrassed by dancing with his husband, but still felt slightly out of touch with his surroundings. Sort of missed his combat boots right about now. Caught a glimpse of Nova and Mr. Voidlight's VP who seemed to be falling for each other, if they hadn't already. That strange sensation equally familiar whenever Nick locked eyes with Thierry.

"Why is Rodrigo Vandelez here again?" He'd been looking across the ballroom as he spoke, trying to make sure Cosette and Aurélie were okay, "I mean I know there are Americans here tonight, but..." But the reaction Nick received startled him.

Thierry seemed calm despite such a loaded question, "Are you armed?"

While side-eyeing Thierry's family members as his feet moved under him, "As a matter of profession." Nick nodded.

The Louvre be damned should anything happen to Thierry's kids so soon after such a heartwarming reunion. But the seed had been planted. Worry grew and threatened to form a lump in his throat.

"I trust you with my life."

I know." Nick started calmly enough, then leaned in on his husband's ear to whisper, "But some days I wish you wouldn't." The sight of his brother across the room caught Nick off guard. Was he... was he recording this dance on his phone?! Aaron, no! I have two left feet!

---

The Secret Admirer

_{Interactions: @Days & @Estylwen}

---

Of course The Louvre loves to party! "...It's located in the heart of France, after all!" Aaron unambiguously grinned as he pocketed his phone. Who was he speaking to? Just a little commentary. He'd just caught Nick on video acting like a fish out of water, and was loving it. Never gonna let him live it down! But he really was happy for his normally cantankerous brother.

The younger of the two brothers stayed off to the walls. But he'd spotted who'd he'd wanted to chat with- His brother's kids. With work being so chaotic, Aaron hadn't had the chance to formally introduce himself to Cosette and Aurélie. Or at least not interact with them outside of work. And now, at The Louvre's Gala, was his chance to be the social butterfly that he really was. To really show just how polar opposite of his brother he was in these situations.

Once close enough, he nodded at the girls with a grin, "Hey, how's it going?" And held out little mini snack cakes he'd pulled from a waiter he'd passed, "Want one?" He asked Cosette first, as she was rightfully the baby.

"How have you been since getting back?" The question was in earnest. Aaron was genuinely curious, "I, uh, I've been busy with work, or I would have stopped by sooner."

Busy? That was an understatement. Damn near drown in the paperwork. HiveMind this, HiveMind that. HiveMind, HiveMind, HiveMind. Well, at least he'd finally memorized how to spell Galloes properly. Kept switching the e and the o. And Ramses made fun of him for it a few times. That jerk! There were no apologies about his brother's lack of social skills as he spoke, just a sincerity with his own lack of attentiveness about his expression.

But, while Aaron was normally very socially interactive, "Interesting party! I'm seeing some peo-" His voice cut off as he locked eyes with Aurélie, then looked to Cosette. Nervously smiled a little, then continued his train of thought, "Lots of people here that I wasn't expecting to see. I'm used to being one of the oddball Americans roaming around..."

There was... still time ... to chat before Theo comes and fucks it all up, right? Right?! Right.

"Your dress is lovely!" Aaron managed to squeak with a smile, "And yours is cute too, Cosy."

Yeah, he'd seen the rumors about Aurélie online. They didn't scare him at all, though they did bother him a bit. A lot of keyboard warriors that knew next to nothing about what the actual situation was. And while most people might have found such a negative attitude to be off-putting, Aaron felt there was something oddly familiar about it. Couldn't pin point exactly what in that moment. But there's definitely a slightly older grump that Aaron was used to dealing with...

And while Aurélie was clearly timid due to the trauma of what had happened, Aaron couldn't help but ponder some of the grief she'd probably given Thierry back in the day. Wondered momentarily if her former attitude problem could take Nick's temper tantrums on a run for the money.

"I'm excited to see what Theo's going to show us!" The younger brother found himself slightly lying, "I suppose you guys don't have insider knowledge you're willing to share? Can only imagine how proud your dads are." Considering Aaron didn't have any children of his own.

---

The Lollipop Girl

_{Interactions: @Estylwen}

---

"You'd grow senile too, staring at this damn pyramid all day." Cress smiled softly at the HiveMind pet as a booming amplified voice rang out in the Gala. Theo's artifact must of been being introduced right about now... "I suppose I'll visit the after party to make up for all the boredom this office brings me."

Could only imagine having to deal with this girl frequently and how annoying for Von it must be. She was loud and obnoxious. But Cress didn't let on his disapproval of her choice of seating as she casually sat on his furniture. Kept his smile warm and pleasant to work with. Besides, Little Miss It couldn't be all bad. Cress had even managed to convince her that he was The Louvre's council member! He wasn't, but the less she and her big business daddy knew, the better for the safety of the de Villiers- for The Louvre.

A chattering laugh escaped him, "No, I don't suppose Thierry was very happy about being evicted from his apartment."

The lollipop. The wrapper...

Cress' demeanor shifted a bit as he spoke more formally to the woman, attempting to sound more like a cranky father, and less like she'd bothered him on a personal level, "Manners, my dear, manners. Even if you're more familiar with farm life over in the States, we are not heathens here in Paris."

He held out his hand as if pledging some sort of allegiance to the girl, "You have my Scout's Honor!" But of course, it was just a necessary rue for what was to come. But then he blurted, "I'm assuming Von hasn't spoken with Mr. Augustus yet?"

"Then again," Cress' smile was sly and deliberate, "I suppose you're not high enough on the totem pole to know that sort of thing."

[Estylwen]

Undisclosed Location

@WhiteAngel25

---

The door had slid shut behind Stella, leaving her alone in the testing chambers.

Von Galloes pressed a button on the console from behind the observation window. “When you're ready, dear.” His voice echoed over the intercom.

Stella had raised her hand, and zap! She would feel it. The power of the heart of hearts, coursing through her arm and out her fingertips as a black electrical ray struck the target, leaving it half-melted.

“Hmm…”

There were a few fingertips on the handheld console in Von Galloes’ hands, and the ‘necklace’ around Stella's neck suddenly buzzed with static life, shocking Stella in rapid succession.

“I've calibrated your frequency, and in turn your new powers. Give the target a try again.” Von Galloes said coldly, not giving any indication of remorse that he'd just shocked his daughter.

A new target switched out the old one. Should Stella try her powers again, she would find an interesting result. Instead of shredding the target like before, a swirling vortex would burst into life from the contact point. Looking inside, it seemed a swirling purple sandstorm was within, with ethereal glowing lights blinking amidst the dust.

Von Galloes was slack-jaw as he watched on. Excitement only known to a researcher grew on his face.

“Yes… Yes, this is it. My daughter, you've done it. This… This is exactly what we needed. What I've been seeking all this time.”

A pause. Von Galloes shifted his gaze from the portal to his daughter.

“You deserve a reward. Are you ready to enact my will now? I want you to hit the target again, but this time, envision… [indecipherable]. You will ride the heart of hearts like wings, and the world will be your oyster.”

---

The Louvre, Wing of the Stage

@Days

---

Monsieur Dupont smiled, and clapped Theo on the shoulder. “My boy, you might fool.the world but I know you're a bit afright. Heavens know I would be too, unveiling my first big discovery in front of the man.”

He let out a boisterous laugh, hands going to his stomach as he rumbled in good humor. He dramatically wiped a tear away, and leveled a warm look at Theo.

“No, my dear boy. I'm honored to open for you tonight. This is a very special day, if I dare say. A day where you are a boy no more, but a man, truly and honestly.”

With that, one of the stage hands tapped Monsieur Dupont on the shoulder, and he nodded. “It's time.”

He gave a wink to Theo. “You'll do fine, Monsieur de Villiers.”

Monsieur Dupont straightened his jacket, and moved into the spotlight of the center stage.

---

The Louvre, Gala, Main Area

@Lexisheeps, @WhiteAngel25, @Days

---

Rodrigo Vandelez watched patiently as Nick and Thierry moved to the dance floor, before he turned his attention to Sabrina, fishing three small gift boxes from his inner suit pocket.

“I have a little something for you, Madame Lennox. You and your newly reunited kids. Consider it a… token of goodwill, of letting bygones be bygones.”

He pressed the golden gift box into the palm of her hand, and did the same for Auri and Subject #3. If they were to open it, the identical gift would be in each: a gold and diamond bracelet with fine detail, shimmering when beheld. A very expensive gift.

Rodrigo looked over Subject #3's shoulder to see another Bergman strolling up, and took that as his cue to leave.

“Ladies,” he smiled sweetly at the three of them, “As you were.”

Subject #3 had a big smile on her face. She didn't really understand why she was getting a gift, but it was very pretty and she had never seen anything like it before. It was held delicately in her hand, like a gem.

She of course took one of the cakes as Aaron offered it, remembering the last time she had seen the man, he had put a strange light in her eyes, and told her he'd learn more about her brain and augmentations. That was that, though, and she hadn't heard anything else since.

Would now be an improper time? Well, it couldn't hurt, right?

Subject #3 smiled, her eyes widened and innocent. “Aaron- wait. No, isn't it Uncle Aaron? Uhm, have my test results come back yet?”

She paused, before she suddenly remembered. “Oh, look at this!” She cracked open the small gift box. “One of the gala people gave it to me!”

---

The lights dimmed and the music slowed to a stop. A light shone on the center stage in front of the draped artifact, and the murmur of the audience died down as Monsieur Dupont took center stage. He gave a flourish of his arm, with a warm smile on his face.

“Ladies and gentlemen, you're in for a treat tonight. Hailing from this very city, a man you all know and love, has continued on with the Noble de Villiers line of archeologists and explorers to give us something no eyes have seen, and no souls have lived to witness in our day and age.”

There was a camera crew in front of the stage with a camera on a metal appendage, filming live for local news and art show channels.

“Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we celebrate history. Tonight, we will be in shock and awe as a cornerstone of history makes it way back home to the Louvre. And tonight, we have none other than Monsieur Theodore de Villiers to thank. May I warmly welcome our breath-taking, hard-working archaeologist, and may I also mention he's Paris’ top fifty bachelors - Theo!”

He clapped and stepped to the side, giving Theo the cue to take center stage and whisk the audience away.

---

The Louvre, Mr. Cress’ Office

@Lexisheeps

---

“Oh please, Mr. Cress,” she said, smacking the lollipop in her mouth as she enjoyed its sweet cherry flavour. “No need to get all riled up, I was merely confirming you and your other senile folks hadn't gotten any funny ideas like trying to upend my boss’ hard work!”

His proposition intrigued her, even though she could only laugh. If he really thought she was just any researcher, he would be sorely mistaken.

“Hmm!” She kicked her feet a little as she sat on his desk. “Now a meeting with the big boss himself, what a thought.”

She leaned back, tilting her to give Mr. Cress a knowing smirk. “Depending on how tonight goes, a meeting between the two of them may very well indeed be the thing to do! Then again…”

She stood, stretching a bit before she made her way to the door. “It may be less of a meeting and more of a begging, by the time the night is over.”

She smiled as she held the door open. “Do enjoy yourself, Mr. Cress.”

And like that, she was gone.

[Days]

The Louvre, Gala, Main Area

_{Mentions @WhiteAngel25, @Estylwen and @Lexisheeps}

---

Steady breaths. In, and out again. Words were spoken, uttered and exclaimed. Softly, carefully or without inhibition. This strange family, broken, mended. It began to dawn on Aurélie, as Cosy was so trusting and interactive, that she was the black sheep of the family once more. Not that it mattered. She had to find her own way in life, right now, and she was hellbent on navigating these complicated relationships at her own pace. It was a toss-up between judging those around her for moving on easily and admiring them for it. They were trying. She, apparently, was not. Not outwardly, at least. Inside, she was making massive leaps and steps to try and find the concept of trust and utilise it.

Through her painted lashes, she briefly looked at Nick. He was still a riddle to the young woman. But, Cosette seemed incredibly at ease with him, which was all she could hope for, really. Her hesitant self would follow behind, soon enough. If only so Cosette could be happier. It wasn't nice to be apart from her, just because Aurélie didn't want to stay over at her father's. But it was a reality they’d have to live with for now.

At some point during the idle talk, her parents and Nick carefully skirting around bigger topics like a ballerina performing a grand stage, Auri let go of her mother’s hand. She folded her hands in front of her, finding an odd solace in the soft fabric of her dress. A man unknown to her approaching caught her attention, but stragglers, fans, or big shots striking conversation with her family wasn’t an unfamiliar thing. There were always people that wanted to get in with the family. Either Lennox or de Villiers.

She ignored the man as pleasantries were exchanged, instead opting to give a cheeky wink to her little sister. But, after an uttered ‘excuse me’, her eyes followed as Nick and her father walked toward the designated dancing spot. Her back straightened ever so slightly as she took them both in, momentarily distracted. Oddly, it seemed to be a right fit. A thought she had also surprisingly nourished when she was sitting in the café, looking toward the pair embracing on the dock. It had seemed quite right then, too. Picturesque. It’s not like she didn’t accept it. It’s not that Nick was a man, or that he was young, or American. Or maybe it was. The point was more that Aurélie found herself lacking the bandwidth to truly focus on it. The survivor mode was still slowly seeping from her being as her body got used to what to do with itself when not in constant fight or flight.

The young woman’s attention was pulled back when she was handed a golden little box, her mother and sister holding the same. Old, hammered-in politeness took over as she gave the man a slight nod of her head, her brows raised in a manner of thanks. But was she thankful? One more nod signalled their goodbye, and Aurélie looked down at the odd gift, opting to briefly open to box to find a bracelet, an expensive one.

Never in the history of suspicious gifts had something been more suspicious. She closed the box, not trusting to wear the gift, and shoved it into the hidden pocket of her dress instead.

As Aaron approached, she couldn’t help the softening of her eyes. While she had only seen him during her scan, Cosette seemed entirely fond of Nick’s younger brother. Theo had said he quite liked Aaron, too. Conveniently leaving out if he liked Nick or not. But, Aaron was as a coincidental addition to this family as she was at this point. He hadn’t done anything to receive Auri’s distrust.

”Aaron, hey.” She answered, though a small shake of her head and the showing of her palm had her deny the sweets. She’d probably get sick from nerves mixed with sugar. Cosette, a child obsessed with snacks, obviously took the chance right away. Hell would freeze over before she would decline a snack.

She wasn’t quite sure what got the addition to their family stammering his words, but as his eyes met hers, she smiled at him, encouraging Nick’s brother to speak and feel at ease. As he rambled on about American stragglers the blonde couldn’t help but crack a grin, the skin beside her eyes bunching up as her eyes twinkled with humour. A reprieve from all the awkward and solemn interactions people had with her thus far, this one. At the compliment, her smile softened with genuineness. ”Thank you.” She told him, despite knowing his compliment was likely mere politeness.

At the mention of her brother, her eyes shifted toward the still-empty stage. Was Theo nervous? Or was he totally fine? She figured the latter. He’d always been better at these types of things. Social, amicable, likeable. Unlike her. She put her gaze back on the man before her and shook her head slightly. ”You’ll have to wait and see.”

The slight tightening of her throat and narrowing of her lids would’ve gone unnoticed by Aaron, who mentioned dads because Cosette asked him about the scan’s results instead, before practically shoving the bracelet in Aaron’s face. She didn’t want her little sister to wear it, as she didn’t trust it, but how could she tell her that?

The Louvre, Gala, Main Stage

_{Mentions @WhiteAngel25, @Estylwen and @Lexisheeps}

---

A playful roll of his eyes graced Theo’s face as he was easily seen through. Of course, he was a bit afraid, and a bit was an understatement. Yet, he found himself not afraid of public speaking, being the centre of attention or his pants dropping off mid-stage. The fear found itself rooted in the wanted acceptance of his father, which Monsieur Dupont seemed to understand. Then again, not much went past the man who had known Theo his whole life.

His laughter, much like that of a mall Santa Claus, brought comfort to the young man and he grinned, a slight shake of his portraying his fondness.

He knew now that Thierry was proud of him. But there was being proud, and there was being impressed. And he wanted to impress him. Thierry could have easily been proud of Theo excavating a coin from ten years ago if he showed it off proudly enough. No, Theo wanted more. Needed more. His elevation had been a priority for him, despite the shady denials of his requests for more adventurous missions. In the back of his mind, he knew more would come soon. Knew he’d been rewarded, knew an offer was waiting for him. To become more like his father.

Still, the man’s kind words touched the ambitious young man and Theo raised his hand to his shoulder, squeezing ever so slightly. ”No, it is I who am honoured that you are opening for me. Thank you, monsieur Dupont.”

His own hands straightened his jacket a bit as he watched the man walk onto the stage, years of hosting having him emanate a presence that quieted the crowd.

With a wide grin, partly trained, partly his born charm, Theo walked out on stage and was met with applause. He raised his palm to the crowd, greeting people, pointed a finger to the colleague who was on this project too, and waited until the crowd chose curiosity over the politeness of clapping. Time to put on his best English. ”Thank you, thank you. And a very special thank you to Monsieur Dupont. I may be dubbed as a desirable bachelor by the press, but Monsieur Dupont is celebrating a marriage of 60 years this week with his loving wife Florence. A feat more admirable.”

An applause ensued for the man before it eventually died down again, much more exciting things were on the verge of being unveiled. ”There is a list of international missing treasures, with artefacts none other than the lost Imperial Fabergé eggs and the Crown Jewels of Ireland gracing the top of it. This summation of wonders is used almost as a life goal by most archaeologists something great to achieve. A bucket list, if you will.” His eyes roamed around the crowd as he got comfortable speaking, eliciting laughs from the crowd.

He did not seek out his parents with his gaze, or his sisters, but he knew they were watching him. His hand moved to undo the one button holding his jacket together before it gracefully slid into his suit pants pocket. A more casual and relaxed appearance. ”I did not necessarily expect to find an item from this list as I entered the Basilica of St-Sauveur, nestled on the lovely clifftop commune of Rocamadour. A building that had been undergoing renovation, but a miscalculation of what exactly a supporting wall does caused a portion of it to crumble.”

A charming grin graced his face behind him, on the big screen, a slideshow began to play. Of Theo and his team, helping with the effort of clearing the rubble, piece by piece. The cliff-top village was visually stunning on its very own as if the buildings were caved out of the very stone while sheltered by a blanket of bright green trees. ”My team and I worked with a set of admirable volunteers to clear the rubble and set to work at restoring that which we still could, in the scorching hot July sun.”

More pictures showed the effort of the team, Theo coordinating the volunteers, his team bowing over a piece of wall with the remains of a painting, and Theo with a small brush by a wall. The angle of the picture and the look in his eyes reminded him very much of a picture his sister had snapped of him in the pyramid of Giza when he was pondering about the words on the wall while assisted by his brilliant mother. ”I found artefacts that didn’t quite belong in the quant village and decided to investigate further.This brought me to an elongated broken piece of stone, already put in the pile for rubble to be crumbled and remoulded into new stones.” Theo let his gaze go over the crowd, seeing the attentiveness he was getting, everyone eager to find out what was still hidden.

”This story brings us to another basilica, the one of Saint-Denis, where parts of the French Crown Jewels had been stolen in 1795 and never to be returned.” Theo knew that this specific information would connect the dots for those well versed in the subject. ”It took me and my team months of careful restoration, but I am beyond proud to announce that this part of the French Crown Jewels has returned to see the light of day once more, back to it’s home in Paris. Maria, if you’d please.”

He nodded toward the woman standing by the display case holding Theo’s biggest discovery as of yet. ”Everyone, I present to you, the previously missing Scepter of Dagobert!”

As the woman did as told, the artefact of about 56 centimetres long was gracefully displayed in the case, shown in a bit of an angle, held up by two satin-clad hooks. The beautiful artefact, made of enamelled gold, shone brightly as the flashes of cameras went off to try and capture a semblance of its splendour.

[WhiteAngel25]

Undisclosed Location

@Estylwen

---

Stella stayed quiet as the paternal donor of her genetics led her out of her room into a hallway. The space was just wide enough that Von Galloes took the lead. The sounds of Stella’s bare feet plodding on the white tile with the weird yellow glaze most labs and testing facilities had. The walls were pristine white with the annoying hum of the fluorescent lights above. Stella felt an ache in her body as she was towed into a concrete-floored room.

This ache was an odd one. It wasn’t of the pain her biological father bestowed upon to ensure obedience. It wasn’t from the tugging and pulling of the stitches on her chest. The pain came from her plum-colored heart. Stella felt sorrow but it wasn’t coming from her own emotions. It was as if she were the host of another being catching a ride.

Stella’s dull icy orbs gazed up at Von Galloes as he touched the new growth of her hair. She wanted the pain to end, however, she’d be damned if she would let her psychopath of a sperm donor obtain it. He spoke of her performing a miracle, instructed her on what to do, and what they were going to experience.

“Yes, father.” Stella’s voice had a soft, complacent tone as she entered through the door of the testing chamber.

The lights of the chamber blinded her for a moment as she heard her father’s voice echo over the intercom. Stella raised her right hand and wiggled her fingers slightly feeling a tingling sensation before a full-on shock rocked through her limb and a blast of purplish black energy eliminated the test dummy.

Stella’s eyes were wide with shock and physical pain as she observed the half-gloopy mannequin. Dips of the faux leather coating the cushion fell onto the tile. She couldn’t believe that power came from her. She glanced down at her augmented arms which were no longer the same abilities that she had before. Stella winced feeling the shocks from the collar, her knees buckled with the electricity but even now, she still refused to kneel consciously.

’Okay, power-buddy, if you’re as real as I think you are. I need your help please’.

’Power-buddy? What is this you call ‘buddy’?’

Stella hid her shock from her father. It helped that she was getting shocked at the moment. She hoped that her theory had been wrong.

’Fuck me, I didn’t actually expect a response.’

’Why not? You asked a question. You should receive an answer. The voice was surprisingly male in tone despite it being within Stella’s head. The voice spoke in a regal intonation.

[b][i]’Look, I just need your help right now, okay? The power of you residing within me is unstable. And until we work as one, the shock and pain will continue. Please, I need your help. I’m sure you can feel it too.’[/b][/i] Stella was trying to stay calm and keep suspicion under wraps.

’Oh, yes. It is quite annoying, a damaged vessel isn’t ideal. Much better than the female dragon I had been residing in for the last few decades. Poor thing was finally exhausted from the torment.’

With that Stella panted softly as Von Galloes gave his explanation while the shock had finally ended as he commanded another demonstration. Stella sighed softly with her hands on her knees. She straightened herself up and raised her right arm again.

’Please, help me satisfy him for now.’ Stella begged in her mindscape. With the last plea, the tingling returned, followed by the electric blast that created the purple vortex. She heard Von Galloes’ praise.

’Thank you.’ Stella thought back as the presence of the other being inside her faded. Her gaze flicked to her father as he spoke of her reward while the original vortex faded away. It seemed that the portals had a time limit. Her eyes widened just a smidge as Von Galloes spoke of where he wanted her to go and what she would do.

---

The Louve, Gala

@Days@Estylwen@Lexisheeps

---

After Sabrina had done her duty as the CEO of a company by greeting a few key individuals, she made herway through the gala crowd. Her sharp golden gaze caught the sight of the Voidlight VP and the head scientist and then her ex-husband and his husband. She smirked softly to herself as she spotted the panic in Nick’s eyes dancing in front of a crowd. Sabrina was glad that Thierry still managed to make the young man stutter, he deserved someone who could give him the love that he sought.

She smiled softly as she reached he girls standing with Aaron. Before the mother could even greet her children and thank one of the men that saved her said daughters. Rodrigo Vandelez walked up to her, handing a golden gift box, followed by handing the same to the girls. His words were like nails on a chalk board.

...letting bygones be bygones…

Was he serious? Her daughters had been subjected to cruel experimentation by a man insane enough to believe that he could fuse dark energy into augmentations. For what end, Sabrina didn’t know what Von Galloes was up to but she’d spend the rest of her days uncovering every double agent that bastard has under his control. Sabrina kept her expression calm during the duration of the gift exchange, but fire blazed in her honeyed orbs. She gritted her teeth and followed Vandelez’s retreating figure into the crowd.

Sabrina’s gentle smiled returned as Cosette was handed a cake by Aaron. “Darling, let’s put these away for now. No need to show off a gift,” she spoke with a gentle, caring tone. She glanced at Aurelie, hoping the look in her eyes would deter her eldest daughter from being entrance with the sparkly jewelry. She sighed in almost an exhausted manner. Auri and Cosette both deserved to know why she spoke the words she did.

“Girls, I don’t want you wandering too far from Aaron, Nick, your father, your brother, or me. Not everyone here is a friend of ours, especially those who are most likely on someone else’s payroll. You both are old enough to know that what your father and I have done for the Louvre wasn’t exactly hunting down skeletons preserved in the ground. We will explain more some day but tonight is about Theo. Leave the jewelry in the box and please, do not put it on until it is further examined.” She paused just enough to smile softly look at Aaron. [b] “Thank you, Aaron, for helping save Aurelie and Cosette. I hope you don’t mind my informality.”

It wasn’t too long after that the lights dimmed and Monsieus Dupont took his place on the stage. Sabrina felt her heart swelling with pride as her son was announce and strode out to the podium. Theo spoke so well and confidence radiated from him that tears began to well up in the mother’s eyes. In an instant, the little boy she had held in her arms at one point was now a man. A successful man.

Sabrina’s eyes widened in surprise at the announcement of the Scepter of Dagobert by her son, who uncovered it himself. Her shock slowly turned into a frown as the lights of the cameras bounced off of the jewels. She had been standing close enough to the stage that her gaze caught the sight of an unnatural glow. Sabrina grabbed Aurelie’s wrist and then Cosette’s and began to move them away from what she had seen a time before. Theo was too far away for her to try and snatch, she hoped her ex and his husband would quickly come to their senses and spot the same.

The dark violet light began to swell and engulf the scepter’s jewels and thanks to the spot light for the stage, it was just enough to provide a target for a landing on the wall next to Theo…

---

A young woman’s scream of pain echoed throughout the gala, shattering the blubs of the cameras and cracking any nearby glass or mirrors. Theo’s presenation flicked until it was a static screen. A large swirl of amethyst sand grew larger until what appeared to be a corpse with long white hair and a slight aubergine hue stumbled out of the vortex.

Only this was no corpse, it was Stella. A severly underfed Stella.

Her dull icy gaze cast around the room. This was defintely the Louvre. Was she in a dream or was there a party going on? No matter if she wasn’t back in time…

…another cry of pain left her lips as one hand grasped the collar around her neck but she still refused to drop to her knees. Stella was to retrieve and send a message.

“Father sends his regards.” Her tone void of life and meaning. With a raised hand, a beam of dark energy hit the joint holding the chandelier. The crystal light began to creak and groan onimously, a nice distraction for her hand to reach for the Sceptor as partygoers screamed and ran.

A strong grip wrapped around her wrist. Stella found herself locking gazes with deepest arrays of chestnut and sepia. She sucked in a breath, and then ripped her hand away.

“Don’t touch me, you’ll be cursed too,” Stella snapped before suckerpunching the young man in the jaw. The hit was hard enough that it would make linebackers stumble. She punched through the cracked glass case, palmed the Sceptor of Dagobert staff, and was quickly recalled back through the swirling purple sand that dissenergrated into thin air.

[Estylwen]

The Louvre, Gala, Main Area

@Lexisheeps, @WhiteAngel25, @Days

---

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Apashe - Good News

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---

The chandelier swayed and swayed.

Almost in time with the rush of boots enclosing the space.

As Stella's portal closed, and she ran off with the sceptre, the Louvre was flooded with the heavy boots of body armored, masked HiveMind agents, assault rifles raised and pointed at the guests in the crowd.

Tear gas canisters rolled across the ground in droves, spewing forth dangerous white smoke that would cause the eyes and throat to burn, and make every breath like scraping against glass.

"Get on the ground!"

“Everyone on your knees!” Shouted the agents, forcing guests down. Anyone resisting was shot with a taser. Security guards that approached the agents were immediately shot on sight with the rifles.

They weren't messing around today.

Sabrina, Thierry, Cosy, Auri, and Aaron would have little choice but to follow suit with the other guests starting to kneel. Or, they could resist and risk getting tazed.

Theo was given special HiveMind treatment. All aloof and alone on stage, he would only need to look up and see, morphing out of its invisibility camouflage, was none other than The Beast, the medusa-like robot that served directly under Von Galloes. The Beast snaked down from the ceiling, encircling Theo with its body, red eye staring down at the man.

“Theodore Noel de Villiers, you have been summoned by my master. Resist, and you will know true pain.”

The Beast, towering a good four feet over the man, held out a pair of handcuffs from one of its hair-like appendages.

“Put these on, and accept your destiny.”

Nick, meanwhile, received a different gift from HiveMind. All at once, his vision blacked out as the directives in his system started overloading his mind, making him more susceptible to mind control. As his vision returned, Nick would feel a specific flood in his mind, drowning out everything else. A directive. A new command, straight from Von Galloes.

“Put Thierry in an arm lock behind his back with his stomach on the floor.”

Concise and detailed, ensuring Nick couldn't use his creativity to worm his way out of the command.