************************************ Authors Note *************************************

Hey Guys,

So this chapter is going to be a bit longer than usual. Good for you right ;)

On another note, I understand I have been pushing that Alina is the stronger of the two. But if paying close attention, I also put in hints that Drake never uses his full power. Anyway, Alina will be confirming that this chapter. And when Drake did use full power, he destroyed what is essentially a Gundam single handed. (I was picturing the Mk. 1 from the original mobile suit gundam series when I was creating the F.E.A.R)

Thats all I got for now, so please let me know what is confusing you and I will try to clear as much of the fog as I can. :)

Enjoy,

Karma

***********************************************************************************

Alina jumped awake in a hospital bed. Looking around she noticed her vision was very milky. Still half asleep it took her a few seconds to remember that she was supposed to be blind, yet now she can see; even if it is extremely blurred vision. Excited she looked around for Drake, but her horrible vision got her nowhere. So she used her sensing vision to look for him but couldn’t find him.

“Well look who’s finally awake.” Came a familiar voice from Alina’s right.

“Gabby?” Alina asked in shock.

“Yep it’s me, but kinda creepy that you’re not even looking at me.” Gabby answered.

“Hahahaha sorry, I can’t see very well right now.” Alina answered remembering Gabby doesn’t know about her other vision.

“So I have heard. Though your new friends didn’t give a good explanation as to…” Gabby started.

Suddenly Momo pushed Gabby out of the way. Gabby was going to say something but wasn’t given the time.

“Yay! You’re finally awake!” Momo yelled as she hugged Alina.

Confused Alina just pushed Momo away. She then noticed that Momo didn’t have her tails and figured she didn’t want her saying anything.

“Why is everyone so excited to see me awake?” Alina asked.

“Cuz you’ve been out for a couple weeks.” Gabby answered before Momo could.

“Where’s Drake?” Alina asked in a serious tone.

“Huh?” Momo asked confused by the sudden change in tone.

“He’s out hunting.” Gabby once again answered before Momo could.

Momo shot Gabby a dirty look.

“He woke up a week ago and has been eating non-stop since.” Momo said to Alina.

Momo ignoring Gabby only served to piss Gabby off. But once again before she could get around to saying anything she was cut off.

“I need to find him.” Alina said in a monotone voice.

The tone brought back chills for Gabby who had heard that voice before. Suddenly Alina tried to get out of her bed, pulling her I.V’s with her.

“Woah there.” Both Gabby and Momo said as they reached to get her back into the bed.

But Alina resisted with a strength they weren’t expecting. As they struggled more and more, Alina fought back with more and more strength.

“I must see him.” Alina whispered over and over as she struggled.

“The hell is wrong with her Ms. Friend?!” Momo asked sarcastically.

“She has severe monophobia and Drake is the focus. If he isn’t around her she loses it. That’s how she got the scars on her face.” Gabby answered.

Momo just shot Gabby a look of disbelief and shock.

“If you know where Drake is; I HIGHLY recommend you get him… NOW!” Gabby commanded.

Momo didn’t even think twice and ran to go find Drake while Gabby struggled to hold Alina down.

“Alina… You… Need… To… Stop.” Gabby struggled to say.

“Drake… Is… On… The… Way.” She finished; hoping that would calm Alina down.

For a brief second Alina did stop. She looked Gabby in the eyes with a cold, unfeeling, stare. The same stare she had given her back when she though Drake had died and it once again sent shivers down Gabby's’ spine. At the same time Gabby also realized the change to Alina's eyes and how they now had runic circles around her pupil.

“Where is he?” Alina asked in a cold monotone.

“On the way hun. Just be patient.” Gabby cautiously replied.

“He’s not here. Where is he?” Alina asked again.

“I told you Alina, he’s coming right now. Just give him a few minutes.” Gabby replied.

“How about you tell me about your fight? I want to hear about it from the mouth of the victor.” Gabby suggested to distract Alina.

Suddenly Alina's’ eyes changed. They went from a cold, thousand mile stare to an excited and focused look. She wanted to tell the story of how she dominated and decimated a Ruby Ridge single-handedly.

“First, I want to know what you mean by how I got the scars on my face?” Alina asked.

“Well when you thought Drake had died during the invasion of our base, you had a severe meltdown. With Drake's blood on your hands you clawed at your own face so his blood could be mixed with yours and you could always be together.” Gabby answered.

That answer shocked Alina. She didn’t realize it was so bad that she would have a meltdown like that. She may have just had one, but it didn’t end with self harm; much less to that degree.

“So your victory story?” Gabby asked to change the topic.

“Well before I tell you that story I gata tell you how we got into that situation to begin with.” Alina started.

From there she unfolded the story about the F.E.A.R, how Drake had dismantled and destroyed it. How they met Solly and Momo, but left out their tail rankings. All the while she became more and more animated telling the story. She then went to how Solly and Momo kept screwing with each other, and Drake's exhaustion. Then she moved on to her fight with Yuming and how she was the older sister of the Gold Ridge Drake had fought and killed.

At the end of the story Gabby was just awestruck. Not just because Alina had defeated one of the most powerful GenOpS the Ridge Power Group had but also because of her eye powers and her ability to spontaneously combust someone.

“So quick question…?” Gabby started.

“Hum?” Alina asked raising an eyebrow.

“You started to go blind round the time you got the rings in your eyes right?” Gabby asked.

“What rings? No I went blind shortly after Yuming spontaneously combusted.” Alina asked.

“You have these black... runic like rings around the pupil of your eyes. Guess no one told you…” Gabby started.

“No, no one told me anything. But I can kinda see now so I’m probably thinking the same thing you are, and that my burning power is somehow related to my vision.” Alina confirmed.

“I do; but I don’t understand how.” Gabby wondered.

“I don’t either.” Alina said.

After a few moments of silence and thinking, Drake barged into the room.

“Alina! You Ok?!!?!” He asked out of breath.

The sudden entrance caused both Alina and Gabby to jump.

“Yah I’m better now that you’re finally here. But Gabby did a good job distracting me.” Alina said after she regained her composure.

“Good. Now everybody out.” Drake commanded.

“Everybody who Drake? It’s just you me and Gabby in here.” Alina explained.

Drake looked around confused for a second. Then his expression changed from a stressed out one to one of a calm nature.

“Sorry, Gabby can you please leave us alone for a bit?” Drake asked.

“Sure” Gabby replied and walked out.

“Nothing naughty you two. We are in a military hospital after all.” Gabby said with a dirty smile then closed the door.

“What was that about Drake?” Alina asked after a few seconds of silence.

“What was what?” Drake asked knowing full well what she meant.

“Don’t give me that.” She scolded him.

“What was that about everyone getting out?” She specified.

“I thought Momo and Solly were behind me since Momo came and told me to get here as quickly as possible. I thought they followed me here.” Drake lied.

Drake knew Momo and Solly didn’t follow him; or more that they couldn’t keep up with him as he sprinted his way back. In truth Drake thought he saw other people standing around but once Alina pointed out that no one was there they all disappeared.

“Don’t give me that shit Drake! I know you can see the auras of everyone all around you when you activate your vision!” Alina yelled at him.

It hit Drake like a semi-truck; he had left his eye vision activated and thus Alina could see his red eyes and could tell that he had been using it to hunt.

Drake simply dropped his head in defeat.

“Fine.” He solemnly started.

“I thought there were orderlies in the room as well and once you pointed out that there weren’t any there they disappeared. Almost like once I realized they weren’t real they left.” Drake explained.

“It honestly scared the shit out of me.” Drake whispered under his breath.

When Alina looked at him she could see the fear in his eyes and he was trembling slightly. That worried her. Drake wasn’t afraid of anything, not even death as long as he was enjoying himself. But this hallucination… It scared him bad.

Alina felt horrible about it and wanted to reach over and hug him. However, as she was doing so she felt the tug of her I.V line. So instead she just reached out her left hand and grabbed his shirt. Gently, she tugged him closer until he lost his balance and fell onto the bed and dropped to his knees. Drake didn’t even bother adjusting himself; he just layed there with his head resting on Alina's’ stomach. She gently ran her fingers through his hair that was long and messy.

After a few minutes of that, Drake finally adjusted his weight to turn his head around and look Alina in the face. Her amazing eyes, beautiful face and awesome scars all mesmerize him every time he looks at her, but this time was different.

“I was so worried about you.” Drake started.

“Why?” Alina asked while she continued to stroke his hair.

“Cuz I woke up days before you. I spent the first day n’ a half here next to you. But after I ate everything here I had to start hunting for myself. For whatever reason I have this insatiable appetite and just keep eating. But I still came back every few hours to check on you and would stay until my hunger was too much and I had to hunt again. Only early today did I stop being as hungry, and after eating another full bear before Momo found me I now feel much better.” Drake explained.

Alina was just in shock.

“How much did you eat?” She asked.

“Let's see…” Drake started.

“Three weird looking antelope with curved horns, two bears, and a leopard, plus what the leopard had killed… A small monkey I think.” Drake answered.

Alina shot him a ‘the hell’ look. To which Drake could only shrug; he knew he was over-eating, but what could he do?

“I don’t know what else to do. I’m so hungry it’s freaking pissing me off.” Drake explained.

“But like I said, I’m feeling much better now. Not so hungry.” Drake finished.

“You think it’s a consequence for using that Creator power or whatever?” Alina asked.

Drake's head just shot up.

“So what happened with that?” Drake asked inquisitively.

Alina looked at him confused. But then she remembered that he didn’t remember and she never got around to explaining anything to him.

“Well from what you said…” Alina started.

“No not that. The fight… I wana know about the fight!” Drake said excitedly.

Drake was looking at her with a childish excitement in his eyes that made her smile.

“Hahahahaha, well that was epic….ly short.” Alina started.

A look of disappointment came over Drake's face.

“But it was like that ‘cuz you completely overpowered a giant robot.” Alina quickly explained to get Drake's spirits back.

It worked as Drake looked up completely interested in how he had overpowered the robot.

“It was crazy, first you crashed through the wall and your body was completely mangled and twisted. I thought you were dead, but then you opened your eyes and took a deep breath. Then your bones started to set themselves and the sound really made me sick. Then I saw that your eyes had changed colors again, but this time one was like navy blue and the other was gold.” Alina enthusiastically explained.

But when she said something about the eyes, Drake knew instantly that it was that other version in his head.

“It was crazy. You stopped the robots punch just by holding out your arm like this.” She explained as she imitated Drake's pose.

Drake smiled and was totally engrossed in Alina's story telling.

“Yah, then you held out your other arm and your Demons Eye flew into your hand and you threw it at the robot hard enough to send it flying back while you held onto the arm. Then… Then you walked over all calm and cool and jumped up onto the chest as your Demons Heart flew into your other hand and you jammed it into the shoulder to rip off the robots other arm. Then you jumped down grabbed the robot by one of its feet and swung it over your head. The thing crashed through the roof of the hangar and everything. When it crashed to the floor you ripped both the legs off and kicked the chest to turn it around and ripped the cockpit open.” She told Drake in an animated fashion.

“But the best part, when you pulled the pilot out he was like ‘NNNNOOOOOO’, then you had punched through his chest with one hand and then you punched your other hand in and ripped him in half. It was awesome!” Alina finished more excited than ever.

Drake was loving the way Alina was acting out the story as she told it. Well as best she could since her I.V tubes and sensor wires kept getting in the way. But she made due none-the-less. And when it got to the point where she demonstrated how Drake had ripped the pilot apart, he grew his sadistic grin ear to ear; relishing in the moment. He may not remember it, nor may he have been the one to do it, but it still excited him.

“Oh ya. Then the other you wanted me to tell you something.” Alina remembered.

Drake looked at her with a serious face and she returned the expression.

“He told me that you have Creator genes in you, making you part Creator… Whatever that is… Anyway, The Creator you got your genes from is still on Earth and you have to find him to gain control of your powers.” Alina told Drake.

Drake thought about it for a while.

“Did he say where he is?” Drake asked.

Alina shook her head. He had said nothing like that, only that he must find him. So Alina honestly had no idea.

“I know, how about we ask Jeff if he knows how to search for a specific aura. If it’s like yours then it should be easy.” Alina offered trying to brainstorm ideas.

“Maybe, but if anyone has that chance, it would be you.” Drake countered.

“My ability is limited to what my eyes would be able to see. You seem to have more of a sense that can see everything, even things that are behind other objects.” Drake explained.

“Like when I look down my scope I can see the auras of the people in my scope, but the second they walk behind something I can’t see them anymore. However, with you no matter where they are within your range you can see them. But looking down a scope doesn’t expand the range like it does with me,” Drake informed Alina.

“Honestly your ability is pretty badass.” Drake finished with a complement.

“Not as good as yours. You can see how people are going to move before they do. That’s perfect for you. Plus we make a good team. I can find people while you can fight them.” Alina said trying to comfort Drake.

“But you’re even a better fighter than me.” Drake started.

“Not even.” Alina interrupted.

“You are faster and stronger than I am. I'm lucky to do half of the things you can do. If you would actually use all of your abilities and power I wouldn’t stand a chance. But you always hold back against me, even more than you do for everyone else; rather it’s intentional or subconsciously I don’t know, but I can tell you do.” Alina pointed out.

What she was saying was making Drake feel better about himself. He’s pretty confident in his abilities but he just strives to protect Alina as best he can. Even if she is the better fighter he would rather take the damage since he seems to recover better and always has. But Drake didn’t want to argue. He wasn’t feeling down or anything and didn’t need to be reassured of his power. So he just raised his arms in no contest and layed back down on her belly. This time he reached out his hand and grabbed hers. They both smiled and closed their eyes.

Next thing Alina knew she was being unhooked from the I.V and sensors.

“Huh? Whats going on?” She asked groggily.

Then she heard Drake chuckle in the background.

“I forgot even you can be groggy.” Drake said with a huge grin on his face.

Alina still didn’t understand what was going on and it showed on her face.

“You’re no longer on life support babe.” Drake said with a smile.

Those words sent a shock through Alina's system.

“I was on life support?!?!” Alina asked shocked.

“Nnnnaaaa, just on an I.V drip until you regained consciousness.” Drake laughed.

Alina was about to yell at him for the joke when Momo barged in the door with Solly. The sudden noise of the door slamming open made both Alina and Drake jump. When Momo realized that she just started cracking up.

“You guys are idiots!” She pointed out through laughter

“Thanks Momo...” Drake said sarcastically.

When he turned around to talk to Momo Alina noticed Drake now had three tails.

“The hell? How did he get two more?” She thought to herself.

Curious she sat up and looked back to see if she had anymore. What she saw shocked her to the point that she gasped. Drake heard it and quickly turned around.

“What’s wrong love?” He asked.

“I have… I have.” Alina stammered out.

Drake raised an eyebrow, curious as to what she had to say now.

“I have five tails…” Alina said in shock.

“About that, that’s actually the reason the numbskulls are here.” Drake replied while pointing to Solly and Momo behind him.

“How can you just blow that off?!!” Alina questioned.

“What they have to say will make the tail rankings mean nil. Me having three tails and your five will mean absolutely nothing.” Drake replied nonchalantly.

Alina just looked at him. What could be more shocking than gaining four Fox Tails? Then she looked to Momo and Solly inquisitively; almost begging them to spill what they have to say. The two got the hint and walked in.

“We think those tail rankings are wrong. But only for you two for some reason.” Momo started.

“No one in the history of the Group has ever had black Fox Tails, nor has someone with only one ever been able to dominate someone of the next tier like you did against Yuming.” Solly continued.

“We have no proof, just observation. But there is no way either of you guys are at your tail rank. You are much more powerful.” Momo finished.

“Wait a second. But you have never seen Drake fight, nor have you seen me fight fully recovered.” Alina countered.

“Well as for Drake we’ve seen some of what he is capable of. When he was hunting, he never once used a weapon. Hell he still hasn’t even picked up his swords from our room… We needed a team to drag those things into the room by the way… Anyway he completely overwhelmed a bear empty handed, and when he ran to your side at full speed neither of us could keep up with him.” Solly said impressed.

“And for you… That’s the scary thing. You dominated someone close to our power level while you were exhausted. I can’t wait to see what you can do recovered.” Momo finished.

“And luckily we have some people willing to spar against you. They are both three fox tails, but they both have plenty of experience over you. And they don’t know about the fight with the Ruby ridge. As far as they are concerned we killed it.” Solly stated excited.

“Who??” Drake asked.

“A three tail Captain by the name of Derek, and a Three Tail Commander by the name of Gabby.” Momo responded.

“Uuummm Momo, Gabby knows about me killing the Ruby…” Alina informed them.

“What? How??” Momo asked.

“You guys told her. And I told her about Drake destroying the F.E.A.R.” Alina finished.

“Why did you tell her?” Momo asked blowing off that she had told Gabby before hand.

“She was our caretaker and became a friend over the years.” Drake answered for Alina.

“Well…” Momo responded with a hint of jealousy.

“Anyway when is the spar?” Alina asked.

“They are ready whenever you are ready hun.” Momo answered.

The news excited Alina. She wanted to get up and do it as quickly as possible. Slowly she turned her body to put her feet on the floor. When she touched the cold tile a sense of relief came over her. She loved the feeling of cold tile on warm feet. As she stood up she became a little unsteady, but quickly recovered. She looked around but couldn’t seem to find what she was looking for.

“Sup?” Drake asked

“Where are my clothes? I wana change out of these stupid hospital robes. Oh and I wana take a shower and grab a bite to eat. I’m hungry.” Alina listed.

“Hahahaha I’ll be right back.” Drake said.

“Where are you going?” Alina asked.

“Getting your clothes. Then I’ll take you to the bathhouse for a shower and finally we’ll get something to eat.” Drake answered.

“Sounds like a date night to me.” Momo mocked.

“Better than being at each other's throats all the fucking time.” Drake quipped back.

“Hey hey hey. We have date nights too.” Momo responded somewhat offended.

“That doesn’t involve harming, hitting, shit talking or insulting at the others expense?” Drake inquired.

“Well…” Momo stammered.

“Exactly. Taking relationship advice from you two is like taking fighting advice from a pacifist, totally counterproductive.” Drake finished.

“Hey that’s uncalled for!” Solly responded completely offended.

“Don’t get me started on you, always taking that shit. Not saying that you have to do it back, but you just take it up the ass with no lube.” Drake insulted.

Alina was just confused. Suddenly Drake became so hostile and she couldn’t understand why.

“And what makes you think that we don’t like it like you like causing pain?” Solly countered.

“I love causing pain and tormenting others, but causing her pain doesn’t excite me like that. Sure when she flusters herself I enjoy it; hell think it’s funny even. But I’ve never been the one to cause her anguish intentionally. I just react to it. And when it has been my fault I’ve felt horrible.” Drake answered coldly.

“Drake… it’s ok. Let’s just go.” Alina suggested trying to calm him.

“No just stay here. I’ll get your clothes n’ then we can leave.” Drake instructed.

But it was too late Solly was now pissed.

“What? Got nothing else to say punk?” Solly asked while getting in Drake's face.

Drake returned the gesture and got right back into Sollys face.

“Wana test me bitch?!” Drake taunted.

Thinking the same thing, both the girls grabbed their man and pulled them away. A fight between the two powerhouses would end badly for everyone. Even more now that Drake is recovered and wouldn’t hesitate against Solly.

Quickly Momo pushed Solly outside and Alina tried to pull Drake to the corner. But he wouldn’t budge. More like she was trying to pull a tank that didn’t want to move. After a few seconds Drake finally calmed down a bit.

“Sorry about that. He just pisses me off for some reason.” Drake responded.

“At the same time I can’t help but respect him.” Drake finished.

“Aaawww that’s sweet.” Alina said sarcastically.

Drake chuckled a bit.

“Alright I’ll be back in a few.” Drake said then walked out.

Alina just sat on the bed and waited for Drake to return.

Alina heard some tapping coming from the window.

She turned around to see Momo waving through the window. So she crawled over her bed to get to it and open it for Momo.

“Hey just wanna say sorry. They actually get out of hand pretty often.” Momo apologized.

“It’s ok. Drake has a hell of a temper and is real quick to snap.” Alina giggled.

“Hahahaha they are more alike than they are willing to admit.” Momo laughed.

“Anyway, again I’m sorry. I’ll keep a better eye on my Stupid.” Momo finished and jumped down.

Alina was totally unaware they were even on a higher floor, but it was only the second floor so not too bad. When she looked out she saw the destruction of the Ridge Back groups base. Now she was confused. Why was she hospitalized in the enemy's base? She tried to think of reasons, and came up with several but had no proof for any of them.

Ten minutes later Drake walked in sporting a shiner on his left eye.

“What the hell happened?” Alina demanded.

“Ran into Solly on the way back. Got into each other’s face and he swung first.” Drake answered coldly.

“Hahahaha so how does he look?” Alina asked.

“Didn’t hit him back. The look on his face when he hit me and I didn’t react or even turn my head was reward enough.” Drake answered holding back his elation.

That wasn’t the answer that Alina was expecting. But still she was proud of him. He managed to resist his violent personality and not fight back. Though that was probably only because his sadism was still satisfied.

“Anyway, here are your clothes. I’ll be in the hall waiting for you. By the way I grabbed a change so you can have clean clothes after the bath.” Drake told her then shut the door behind him.

Drake had brought her a change of pants and a new black tank top as well as her sports bra and skater shoes. She was happy that he brought her new clothes and a second change of clothes for after the bath. Once she finished changing she walked out of the room and saw Drake leaning against the wall waiting for her. She saw a backpack resting against his leg and she figured that was her other change of cloths.

“Ready.” Alina said cutely.

“Good. I’m ready for a bath too.” Drake answered.

He reached down to pick up the backpack and put it on his shoulder. Then he reached out to hold Alina's hand. After walking through a busy hallway full of wounded humans and GenOpS alike they turned a corner and headed down some stairs. Once all the way down they walked right into the entryway and out the door.

Alina didn’t recognize the area, though her experience with the area was pretty limited to the hangar and the entrance they came in through.

“So why are we in this base?” Alina asked.

“From what Solly and Momo told me we are here ‘cuz they have better facilities than the base we were using. Not too surprising considering that place was built as a temporary base. And since we won, this base became ours.” Drake answered.

“Wonder if that’s all.” Alina wondered cynically.

“Couldn’t tell ya. That was all the info I was given. Anyway I wana say I love your eyes. The rings are hella badass.” Drake complemented.

“You know… I still haven't seen them.” Alina pointed out.

“Don’t worry. Plenty of mirrors in the bathhouse.” Drake said with a smile.

“You’re gana love them.” He finished.

The rest of the ten minute walk not a word was said. Alina moved from holding Drake's hand to holding onto his arm. But they are an odd couple. Drake towers over Alina by more than a head. And while they are both tone and muscular, Drake's build is unnatural. Versus Alina who looks like a normal sporty teen. One of the few things they have in common is their cold glare that sends most people packing. So as they walked, the two garnered some stares; to which they took turns glaring back then laughing about it.

Finally they got to the bathhouse and Alina was impressed by the architecture. It had a forbidden palace look, however it also had a modern twist to it. All the rough edges had been smoothed and rounded giving it a squircle look. The white paint had dirty spots scattered from the fighting and the red roof had some chips but the building itself was otherwise completely undamaged. Drake let her take it in for a few minutes then opened the door for her to walk in.

“Welcome, split or private?” The deskman asked.

“Private” Alina answered.

“Very well, fifteen hundred ruble for a half hour.” The deskman answered.

“Should be good, right Drake?” Alina asked.

“You sure, that means we sharing a bath.” Drake pointed out.

“Not like we don’t already.” Alina returned.

“Okay.” Drake said as he handed the money over.

“You guys sure are young to be here. You actually take part in the invasion?” The deskman asked.

“We did.” Drake said as he showed his tails.

“Wow… Three fox tails. But never seen any like yours before.” The deskman replied as he handed Drake the receipt.

“We know, we don’t know why they are different either.” Alina answered.

The Deskman then signaled for them to follow, but before they did Alina took a look at the interior design. All around was classical Chinese art and hakus. Alina was amazed she was able to read them even though she had never even see Chinese characters before. But still the look was exotic, she was use to the boring plain white design back at base. Even the interiors were boring and white. So she enjoyed this while she could.

“... young lady?” the deskman asked.

“Huh” Alina asked not paying attention.

“I said, how many tails do you have young lady?” The deskman asked again.

“Oh I have five Fox Tails like his.” She answered pointing to Drake's tails.

“Wow five already? If you don’t mind, how old are you two?” The deskman asked.

“Seventeen.” Drake answered.

The deskman paused and looked back in disbelief.

“Only seventeen?” He asked.

“Yep.” Drake answered.

“You two wouldn’t happen to be Drake and Alina would you?” The deskman asked.

“Huh? How do you know us?” Alina asked now suspicious.

“Hahahahaha you are. Do you remember Amanda? One of the guards that responded when you nearly killed… what is his name…. Ah yes Mathias.” The deskman asked.

“I do…” Drake hesitantly answered.

“I’m her boyfriend. And Sasha is actually my uncle. I have heard so many stories about you two. Though I will admit some of them aren’t the greatest... Oh well, but I am actually a bit of a fan! You know I thought it was you two but I have never seen you so I wasn’t completely sure so I didn’t want to say anything. But wow!” The deskman answered excitedly.

“Ooookkkaaayyy….” Drake started, not sure how to react.

“I’m so sorry, My name is Alex.” Alex introduced himself and reached out his hands to shake theirs.

Alina quickly grabbed his hand and shook it but Drake was still lost. Alina bumped his arm to snap him back, He looked at the outstretched hand, Grabbed it and shook it.

“Ouch, quite the grip you two got.” Alex said shaking his hands.

“Anyway, please follow me. Your room will be just two more doors down.” Alex finished and led them to their room.

“Enjoy, and don’t worry about the time limit. Take as long as you want.” Alex informed them as he closed the door.

“Well he was interesting…” Drake started after a brief silence.

“Sure was.” Alina said distracted.

“What’s got your attention?” Drake asked.

“Just the design of this place. Everything is so beautiful and elegant. I love the art style of the paintings and the design of the architecture.” Alina pointed out.

“As beautiful as they may be, I get the privilege of looking at something even more breathtaking every single day.” Drake said as he put his hands on Alina's shoulders.

He turned her so she can look into a mirror and look at her face for the first time since she got her scars. She was just breathless, the scars ran deep and defined. And her eyes, she was finally seeing the runic circles and she loved them. But then she started crying.

“What’s wrong?” Drake asked worried.

“I know how I got the scars Drake. I remember Gabby saying something to Momo to get her to run and find you. She said I had a monophobic meltdown in the past when I thought you died and I gave them to myself. I’m so sorry...” She said almost sobbing.

Drake quickly grabbed her and pulled her in close and held her tight.

“Sorry for what? Your scars are awesome and I love them. I always figured it had something to do with that anyway but never got any proof. But still, those scars are awesome and add to your beauty. Please don’t feel bad about them.” Drake comforted her.

After a few minutes of crying into his chest, Alina started to feel better. So she lifted her head off of Drake's. Instantly Drake's hand was there to wipe away her tears. She smiled for a second, if only because she knew he would do that for no one else but her. They may have their problems, but it’s nothing compared to how much they care for each other.

“So how about that bath?” She said as she dried her eyes.

“I’ll get in first. Just remember to clean off your body in the shower first. Everyone uses the bath, don’t get your funk in it.” Drake said with a smile as he stepped into the shower to wash off.

Alina quickly got undressed and jumped in the shower with Drake. It felt so good to finally take a shower. It’s been nearly a month since she took a proper one and she desperately needed it. Two big battles and two subsequent hospital visits made it impossible to get into one. A few minutes later, they walked out and walked into the bath.

“Feels good huh?” Drake asked.

“Hell ya!” Alina replied as she sunk under the hot water.

“So how did we get all of this set up already?” Alina asked after she resurfaced

“Already? Hun remember it’s been over two weeks. That’s plenty of time for a army to get set up.” Drake reminded her.

“Rrriiiigggghhhttt….” Alina dragged out.

“A back rub would be great ‘bout now.” Alina hinted.

Drake chuckled and signaled for her to come closer. Alina scooted over and in front of him and turned around so he could rub her back.

“Just tell me if I start going to hard ok?” Drake asked.

“Sounds dirty out of context.” Alina laughed.

“But ya I’ll let you know.” She finished.

“All you have to do is say the word and it will become dirty.” Drake joked.

“Don’t wait for me. Be the man and be aggressive.” Alina semi-scolded him.

“I did. Then you backhanded me remember.” Drake reminded her.

“Cuz you did that half assed and had no intent.” Alina fired back.

Drake got the hint, but didn’t want to just jump on it. Figured that would ruin any good mood she was in. Slowly he worked his way down her back, then back up. But as he move up he slid his hands to her boobs.

“You really like ‘em huh.” Alina chuckled.

“Always have.” Drake answered.

Alina scooted back until her back was against Drake's chest.

“I can tell” Alina chuckled as she reached down.

Drake twitched when she touched him, more because he wasn’t expecting it to feel that way. Alina chuckled and turned around to kiss him.