Upon reuniting with Cyrus, I felt like I was walking on cloud nine. These feelings I hold towards Nick... is this what love feels like?

I never knew how exciting it could be. It's like I've got butterflies in my stomach from just thinking about him.

"Hey, are you going to join me inside or what?" Cyrus asked as he poked his head out the metal door. Taking his hand, I joined him inside the shuttle.

It was more spacious than I had originally thought but having said that it still felt slightly cramped inside.

As I looked around, I could see numerous monitors displaying various maps and diagrams onscreen. I suppose this green murky wasteland used to be Cyrus' home planet. It's sad to look at. The air looks barely breathable. I could understand why the Strigets would want to relocate now.

Whilst I was preoccupied with surveying the shuttle, Cyrus was tapping away on a screen in the background.

"Any luck with finding a receiver?" I asked absentmindedly. In truth, I could barely stay focused as my mind was overwhelmed with all of the advanced technology.

"It's here alright." He responded blankly.

In joy, I hurried over to his chair while wincing in the process. "That's good then... right?" I tried to smile through the pain in my feet with fake optimism. "This means you can tell your people to come but not to lay a hand on any of the humans."

Cyrus' face hardened as he stared at the receiver. He was silent for an uncomfortably long time. Thus, I hesitantly went to shake his shoulder.

"Uh, earth to Cyrus. Is something wrong?"

Cyrus turned to look at me deadpan in the face. "What if I don't want to be with my kind?"

Huh?

"What if I want to continue to stay by your side?" Cyrus went to engulf my waist in a tight hug as he nestled his head into my hip. "You taught me so much. So, it's hard to even consider leaving your side now."

Uuuu... I feared that Cyrus would eventually grow more attached to me. I need to convince him to rethink his ways immediately!

"Cyrus, you need to be with your people. If you don't... then everyone in this town will die. You don't want–"

"Fine by me," Cyrus replied curtly.

Oh wow. I expected a little bit of compassion if I'm being totally honest here. But his response was completely devoid of any kind of empathy.

"You don't mean that," I responded, hoping that Cyrus would see the error of his ways. "You don't want everyone to die."

Cyrus stood up from his seat and gently cupped my hands. "I don't have anything against them. But they're not you. Therefore, I don't care if everyone on this entire planet dies."

I tried to back away, but Cyrus maintained his tight grip on my hands. "Y'know, we could always hijack the shuttle they're coming in." Cyrus leaned in to whisper into my ear. "We could leave this planet for good... that way no one would bother us."

I can't go travelling the galaxy with Cyrus! It's not part of the agenda!!! "Cyrus, please don't be like this. Where is the caring a-a-and inquisitive guy I knew gone?"

Cyrus ignored my protests as he tied my hands up with a nearby cable. "This is who I am, Vana." Once Cyrus tied a secure knot, he looked up at me with a cheerful grin. "And if we're being honest, isn't this kind of romantic?"

Romantic? If you think me developing Stockholm syndrome down the line is romantic, then it's clear we both share two different meanings to the term!!!

"We're like those star-crossed lovers running away together. Y'know like in those movies you let me watch on TV." Cyrus picked me up and giggled. "Even in the literal sense too."

I tried to resist, but no amount of squirming in Cyrus' arms was enough to deter him. He was stubborn to a tee.

As Cyrus strolled through the backwoods with me in his arms, a beam of light shot down from the sky.

They're here.

I swallowed a gulp when Cyrus' entire face lit up. "It won't be much longer now!"

As the large spacecraft materialised out of thin air, a staircase slowly descended to the ground. As Cyrus stood at the bottom, he straightened up his posture as he prepared himself to make contact with his kind.

A few seconds later several men who all adorn similar green locks to Cyrus stood before us. "Are you the one who contacted us?" The leader who bore a green beard inquired.

Cyrus shook his head firmly. "No, that was another... Striget."

As the man gave me a brief once over, he knitted his eyebrows. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell that I'm not an alien. I am lacking the signature green hair after all.

But before the man could even point this fact out, Cyrus spoke up once more. "I am another Striget. I was hoping to board this shuttle. That wouldn't be a problem, would it?"

The man fell silent as he contemplated Cyrus' request. Eventually, he had his answer.

"You are one of us so that is fine."

In a split second, I felt a strong pain in my head. If this is what I think it is then joy, I'm saved!

Opening up my status window I saw the sentence I had longed for the most. Mission accomplished.

"Alright then, let's get going then!"

I quickly snapped out of my bubble of bliss to realise that I still wasn't safe from danger just yet. The only way to move onto the next world is to... die.

But how can I do that if Cyrus whisks me away and refuses to take his eyes off of me for even a second! "H-H-HEY! I'M NOT AN ALIEN LIKE YOU PEOPLE! SO, YOU CAN'T LET ME ON BOARD!" I screamed from the top of my lungs.

The leader who did all of the talking with Cyrus eyed him suspiciously. In his nervousness, Cyrus tried to save face with a lie. "She's just dinner. So, she won't be around for much longer."

This guy!!!