2011-11-02 - The Time To Choose

When Liu Feng's forces had been driven back, the rescue teams charged forward, moving to assist downed

salvage machines and scrambling to the aid of the Azure Dream, which still lay motionless against the frozen

earth. The sound of static, yelling, frantic voices, and then a burst of cold air which seemed to be the

last truly conscious thing Emperor Xiang Yuan would remember for quite a while.

Images and sounds drift in and out like water flowing over a rock, wearing it away slowly over time. A line

of people watching with their faces showing looks of fear. Prayers said in low voices, and curses from

others. The name, over and over again: "Feng." "Is he dead?" The question is spoken by a woman, perhaps one

of those who had tried so hard for his attention. "Ambushed." "Cowardly traitor." "Attacked unarmed mechs."

Bits and pieces here and there, but none of it would make sense until later. All the world fades into

darkness.

And in darkness, it remains. At least until a light comes to it.

"Yuan." The voice pierces through the darkness like a song from some distant land. It sounds loud within his

mind, even if the voice is just a breathy whisper. "You have to wake up..." Pleading. "Please..." The voice

is so familiar, and so close, if only he could just push himself out of the darkness to reach it.

But the darkness is deep, and it presses down against his chest, making it hard to breathe. This is a

drowning darkness, the kind that comes before the end. "Is this how it ends?" This is a different voice. It

moves like the flow of water over his mind, settling in the depths. "You are stronger than this."

The darkness receeds for a moment, and Xiang finds himself standing just outside his home on the SuiKyosha.

It seems strange somehow, though. Everything has a slightly different color, taste, as if time had somehow

left him behind. There is a sound, little yells as if a child were exerting force on something. If he were

to round the corner into the garden, what he'd see might just come as a surprise.

A boy, possibly no older than nine is breathing heavily, his striped skin bare down to a pair of silken

trousers drawn up awkwardly onto his hips. A tail sways behind him as he seems to gather his courage, and

then he gives another of those little yells and lashes forward, slaming his foot into a piece of thin wood

which barely even wobbles under the force. Thrown back, obviously for not the first time, the boy lands on

the ground and pouts, "Stupid board." He mutters, small black ears drawn downward.

Even within this 'reality' he senses. The reality in which he moves around, he only barely remembers those

former voices which had pushed through the darkness to bring him those immaterial sprites of light. But none

of them had been things he could have lifted himself up by. Instead, he now finds himself here, in this

strange... 'moment'. The pain in his body is gone, and he doesn't even feel his own anger anymore. Had he

given up entirely? Was this the other world, where all Emperors would go after death? If so, then this was

certaintly a lonely place. Nobody around, he couldn't 'feel' or 'sense' the people on the ship. Was his bond

with SuiKyosha that weak?

His ears then pick up the sounds of the little child. Confusion breaks on his face for a moment, and he

doesn't bother to hide any of his emotions. To say that he's depressed is certainly one way to see his

expression. Sadness for not being able to retain his life, sadness for not being able to create a world with

Sinya on his ship. To be bested by that foolish warrior named Feng. His feet slowly carry him towards the

single sound he'd heard, and feels disoriented on his own ship. Without his connection to SuiKyosha, without

sensing Sinya around... things are just... incomplete. Like there's a part of his soul missing, cut off from

the rest of his body.

When he comes across the young boy with the striped skin, for a moment he confuses the little one with Sinya

- thinking she might have been kneeling there. Her vision appears translucent over the child... before

fading when the boy falls over. The momentary smile on his face disappears again. He watches the boy, the

way he tries to crack the board. Who is that boy? The thought crosses his mind for a moment. Did it really

matter though?

The man takes a few steps forwards and then kneels onto one knee and looks at the board, and then the boy.

"You know..." He whispers, smiling in a way that only barely hides his sadness. "... you can't just put all

of your force behind your strikes." That's what he'd done against Feng... and he'd lost miserably. "You have

to feel the board first. You need to feel where it weakness lies. Then, focus the force of your attack into

one spot in your foot, and strike at that one point with determination." As he explains this, he uses one

palm as the board, rubbing against it with his other hand (the foot), and then points where to focus the

strike and the strength of the attack.

If this were a dream, all of Xiang's attempts to communicate would fall on deaf ears. However, the sound of

his footsteps draws the boy's attention instantly, his little head turning and his ears lifting upwards. He

scrambles to his feet, quickly rubbing at his eyes with his hands, trying not to show any sign of the tears

of frustration that he'd let slip. There is a smile on his face, a bright one, and when Xiang kneels next to

him, the boy looks first up at him, and then at the board, his head tilting in a way that might just be

reminiscent of Sinya's cat-like consideration.

The boy reaches forward, his hand almost touching Xiang's as he tries the same thing, touching his black-

clawed fingers to the board and feeling around on the surface. "It... feels like wood." He comments,

laughing a little bit. Still, his nose twitches at the indicated spot, and he seems to pay more attention to

it, prodding at it with one finger.

"Oh, don't go teaching him that, love. He'll go breaking the furnature next." Another voice interrupts the

scene, sounding bemused. "Nuh huh!" The boy protests, looking up and puffing his chest out in a show of

childish pride. "Da's home." He reports, as if this were some great news, and the female voice replies with

a laugh, "I see that." Into the doorway leading out onto the garden walks a woman who might just make

Xiang's heart skip a beat. Long red-toned hair is tied back into an oriental bun at the back of her head, a

few strands trailing down onto her neck. Her features have aged some, not as gaunt in places and with a

softer expression to them, but to him - she would be unmistakeable. Sinya - but not /his/ Sinya.

"Welcome home." She offers in that same soft voice, to which the boy brightly chirps, "Da's home!" A couple

of times, bringing a smile to her face. "Shh now. You'll wake your sister." She warns, and then turns her

green eyes onto Xiang, looking at him warmly. That odd feeling remains - no connection to the SuiKyosha, or

to anyone he's seeing, but they seem real enough.

Xiang's ears almost pull back, when the other voice reaches his ears. He slowly stands up, while reaching

out and ruffling the kid's hair, before turning to face a most /beautiful/ vision. If this was a dream, or

the afterlife... he could deal with this kind of life for the rest of eternity. The fact that the child

calls him his 'Da', or Dad, doesn't even seem strange to him. Seeing Sinya like that, he can see that this

is somehow 'later' than before.

Still, there is that spark of guilt within his heart. Like giving up like this is somehow wrong. And... he

still indeed cannot feel her. He cannot 'feel' anything around himself. He's bare. Not in the physical sense

of course. Still, he walks up to 'this' Sinya, and tries to reach his hands out towards her to touch her.

"How long have I been gone?" Is the only question he can ask. It's the only thing that comes to mind, amidst

the chaos of 'I have a son and daughter', and 'Sinya looks beautiful like that'.

As Xiang moves forward towards her, the vision of Sinya moves to join him. Her arms slip up around his neck,

drawing him into a warm, full hug. Her touch, the warmth of her body pressed up against him, it all feels

real, even if the world itself still feels disconnected. There is a small purr as she nuzzles her cheek

against his, an affectionate greeting that is ended only as she draws back slightly to touch her nosetip to

his. The whole exchange might just remind him of those days that weren't so far in his own past - but have

long left these ones behind.

She seems about to lean in and kiss him, but the boy chimes in, "Eww, no kisses!" He protests, and sticks

his tongue out as if the idea were completely gross. "Oh, no kisses, huh?" She releases Xiang, giving him a

knowing look before crouching down and pulling the boy into a hug, tickling his sides and then planting kiss

after kiss on his face as he squirms and protests, pawing like a trapped kitten. Her fingers slow, though,

when he asks that unusual question. Her ears tilt back slightly, looking up curiously as she sets her son on

his feet.

"That's a strange question." She notes, looking puzzled as she tilts her head. "You left a few weeks ago.

You were meeting with the envoy from that La Gian land, I always forget the name." A worried look crosses

her features, "Are you alright?" She reaches her hand out, fingertips tracing his cheek. "Why are you

looking at me like that?" The boy seems to think this is a good time to interrupt, and tugs on Xiang's arm.

"Da', you gotta come to my rank ceremony. Please? You promised." He reminds his father, ready to pout of he

gives any excuse about why he can't make it. Obviously, excuses happened from time to time when your father

was the Emperor.

It's just then that a tiny girl reaches the doorway. She's the spitting image of Sinya in miniature,

although her ears are darker and her eyes are a mixed blue-green. She can't be more than three, and she

toddles out unsteadily, yawning. Then, blinking big eyes, she seems to realize that her father is home and

goes running at what probably is top speed for her, holding her arms up and obviously expecting a hug.

"Daddy!"

This is all so confusing to Xiang, and he feels a heavy feeling in his chest even amidst all of this. He

didn't remember any of the 'past'. All he remembers is being beaten by Feng to within a few inches of death,

and now just being... here. In this place, in this time, in this... whatever this is. But still, all the

personas around him are so real. There is no way he can really convince himself that this isn't real. And

when Sinya nuzzles against him, he nuzzles right on back - a thing that at least comes natural to him. He's

a bit sad that he doesn't get to taste her lips, when the youngster interupts, but still manages a bit of a

grin at the young one.

He doesn't even know the boy's name. He only 'knows' Sinya. How many years had passed since 'then'? He

watches what obviously was now his 'wife' nuzzle his son, and catches that obvious sign of confusion in him

after his question. She reaches out towards him, to which he responds by laying his cheek against her

fingertips, and reaching up against the back of her hand with his, softly touching it. This was all so real,

but still... it wasn't. "I'm... I'm okay." He lies. "I just can't seem to feel SuiKyosha." He admits, before

he's tugged on by the arm, and he ends up letting go of Sinya and kneeling besides the youngster.

"Oh, the rank ceremony huh?" What rank ceremony? "Of course I'll be there." He chuckles nodding in

agreement. Then he notices the little girl who appears in the doorway. The little one is adorable, that is

for sure. But... he doesn't know her. He knows immediately that she must be his daughter, but... "Hey my

little kitten." Xiang muses and spreads his arms out when she comes running, and when she reaches him he

grabs her by the sides and raises her above him into the air and does two turns before putting her on his

strong shoulders.

This wasn't real... but... this was nice.

"How's my cutest daughter?" He requests.

The boy does a little fist pump into the air, obviously quite pleased with himself. His mother just

chuckles, reaching a hand out to ruffle his hair. "He's been working really hard on his forms, and was

hoping you'd get home in time to see his rank test." Perhaps this little explination helps to full out some

information - that his son was training as a martial artist, which probably explained the wooden board.

Breaking them is often part of such promotion exams.

The little girl, though, just squeels in delight as she's raised up into the air, giggling and then hugging

her father's head before nuzzling him with a kittenish purr. "Goof. I loss a toof, see?" She opens her

mouth, showing one missing front tooth. Sinya simply watches with a smile on her face, although his words do

seem to trouble her.

"You don't feel me, because this is not real." The voice whispers in his ear, and as soon as the vision had

come, it begins to fade. The voices of his wife and children disappear, and soon the visions of them are

gone into the darkness as well.

"This is but one possible future, Xiang Yuan. This is another."

In an instant, he's thrown to the floor, as if the ground ahd been taken out from underneath him. He's in a

hallway of the SuiKyosha, near the bridge, but it looks nothing like what he'd remember. There are no lights

in the watery walls. Everything is dark. Twisted bits of glass and metal are strewn about the walkway, a few

bits of still weakly glowing bioluminescent plants still clinging, but flickering slowly fainter. There is

another bang, another explosion, but he cannot feel the pain of the SuiKyosha - it seems that something has

gone terribly wrong.

"Ah, but soon there will be a new one!" Xiang replies, smiling as the girl shows him his missing tooth. "And

if you put your missing one under the pillow, maybe a leviathan will come and give you a gem for your

tooth!" He slowly bows down to put her down, and the smile disappears on his face as he suddenly hears a

voice he recognizes. He tries to turn towards Sinya, to tell her what he thinks of his son's progress, but

they have already started to disappear. Then suddenly there is a push against his body, and a feeling like

he'd just tried to step down a stairwell where there was a missing step, and lands hard on the ground.

He blinks a few times, his body hurting from the fall, and he starts to pick himself up. "Another future?"

He whispers, and pulls his knees under his body, before his hands help him push himself up, and he staggers

a few steps backwards before he gets a feeling for what is going on. "We're under attack?" He looks around,

seeing just how everything looks... horrible. Dark. Twisted. Damaged. He is quick to run forwards, straight

to the bridge, to see if he can help!

The doorway to the bridge doesn't open at his approach as it normally would. In fact, it's mostly held open

by a huge piece of bulkhead that has fallen down and nearly blocked it entirely. There is just enough room

to crawl through, hazarding a scattering of broken glass and plantlife. It almost seems as if an aquarium

has broken, leaving what had once been trapped within strewn upon the floor.

Once through, it would be clear that this is worse than just being under attack. The bridge has been nearly

destroyed. Bodies of the crew lay strewn across the floor, or propped against nearby consoles. Perhaps the

worst of these is the sight of Yu Zhi Wu, her body turned face-upwards. The right half of her face is nearly

gone, a mess of scorched flesh and bone. The other shows a single eye staring lifelessly skyward, her limbs

set at odd angles. The smell in the room is dank - filled with water and blood.

Another blast rocks the ship, but the displays are all blank - cracked and dripping water down from them.

There is no sound of alarm, no footsteps, not a single living soul seems to be on the bridge. At the very

least, that's how it seems at first. After the blast ends, there is a faint groan from the direction of the

captain's chair. The area is nearly destroyed, huge beams of glass having fallen in on it. Yet there is

someone there. Someone is sitting in the chair, speared into place by a huge piece of glass wall that had

fallen and impaled them through the chest. The head is tipped forward, blood dripping down below them, but

upon their arm is the control gauntlet, fingers still twitching.

What had happened here!? Xiang crawls through the broken glass and twisted metal, before finally getting

onto the bridge... and almost gets a heart-attack. "Wu..." He whispers, bore he continues to wordlessly

stare at her broken body for just a few seconds... and then has to avert both his head and eyes from the

awful form. He slowly moves forwards, a hand up to his nose to guard him from the awful smells, until he has

to grab onto a nearby piece of metal to keep his footing as another blast sounds.

That's when he notices the groan and the person in the captain's chair. They're wearing the gauntlet!? He is

certain it must be him. If this is another vision of the future, then who-ever is in that chair must be the

'him' from this time. From this future. Right? He quickly steps forwards and gets in front of the person,

refusing to touch the glass wall that might be keeping them 'alive'. "Hey, are you al... right?" His voice

lingers as he takes in their appearance, the blood dripping down their face, and the gauntlet barely moving.

"What... happened?"

The voice seems to rouse the captain, a wet cough hacking as their head lifts slowly, responding to it. It

isn't Xiang in the captain's seat, though. Once again - this face would be all too familiar, even if it is

so very different than before. There is a scar going across Sinya's face, stretched over a closed, empty eye

socket, but the remaining one looks up at him, squinting. Blood drips down the side of her face, and from

the side of her mouth, and her ears are drawn back, tattered and torn. Still, the most eerie thing is that

this is not an older Sinya like before. This could be her months from now for anyone's guess.

A ragged sound bubbles from her throat, along with another stream of that prescious life's blood, and when

she shows her teeth, they are marked with it. "Dead?" Her voice manages with some effort, but then the

gauntleted hand closes, as does her remaining eye. "No. She's... still keeping me alive." The expression of

pain is clear on her features, even as the gauntlet glows. The same glow seems to linger weakly in the glass

spearing her chest, pulsing like a beating heart. When Sinya's eye opens again, it's almost accusing. "Come

to haunt me, then. Do you hate me that much... Xiang?" She winces and grits her teeth, her eye rolling back

into her head in pain that just talking has caused.

"I'll be with you soon enough. I can promise you that." She hisses, panting for breath, a steady dripping

sound seeming to tick the seconds towards her demise as her life slips away drop by drop.

Xiang should have known it would not be him on that chair. He should have known it'd be the only other one

SuiKyosha would possibly bind with. If he'd known... would he even have dared to look? The blood dripping

down Sinya's face... the missing eye... the nasty scar. All of it. Even the way her voice is ragged and

bloody, barely able to speak while her longues are drowning in blood. Even a man like Xiang, normally so

strong, can't help but feel nauscious at this sight. He falls weakly onto his knees and stares at her with a

gastly look. "S... sinya..." He whispers, tears starting to trail along the outsides of his eyes without any

sense of control.

"I... I would never." He continues to whisper, shaking his head. SuiKyosha was still keeping Sinya alive,

even amidst whatever battle it was she was fighting. "I... I didn't mean for this to happen." His body

begins to fail him, and he grabs for Sinya's shoulders, giving her a most terrified look. "Is this... is

this because I died that day?" The man shudders all-throughout. Again that nauscious feeling moves up along

his throat, but he tries his best to restrain it. "I could never hate you..."

Another blast comes in, forcing Sinya against the glass and causing a whimper of pain that she barely

contains with clenched teeth. "Fourth floor containment, failing. They're all dead anyways." She grunts to

herself, the words sounding more like a whisper than anything else. Her eye looks downward, as if she were

seeing something the SuiKyosha were showing her, and then she shakes her head, "It's no good. Vent the

floor." She taps with the gloved hand, ignoring Xiang as if he were just some figment of her imagination.

There is a sound in the room, as if a microphone were being switched on. "This... this is Captain Leland. If

there's anyone left alive. Go now. The life-pods on the fifth level are your last chance." She coughs once

more, the sound echoing wrechedly across the ship's speakers. "To those on the lower floors, there's nothing

more I can do. May your souls find rest. I'm sorry."

With another tap of her finger, Sinya looks sideways again, seeming to be looking /through/ Xiang in that

moment. "Lower the oxygen levels on the remaining decks below five, it's the kindest thing we can do." She

grits her teeth, and then as his hands come to touch her shoulders, the Captain's head snaps upwards. It's

clear she believed him to be just her mind bringing him back to haunt her last moments, but now that

peircing green eye bores into him. "I buried you, myself." She laughs, bitterly, the smile on her face one

of pain and sorrow. "So she chose me to follow in your footsteps." Sinya's hand closes the gauntlet into a

fist, as if she might just haul off and hit him if it weren't for the fact that she was pinned to the chair.

His admission that he couldn't hate her does seem to give her pause, and she looks at him more piercingly.

"I hate myself enough for both of us. If you're here to see the end, then strap in. It's going to be one

hell of a ride." Her mouth curls up in a feral sort of grin, showing those bloodied teeth. "Let's end this.

Set course, and let's ram them back to hell." The ship lurches forward, and in that moment, the light fades

out of Sinya's one remaining eye. Her head lols backwards, her chest no longer struggling for breath.

Quite suddenly, there is an impact, and Xiang is thrown forward, but not against the blank viewscreens. No,

he's simply thrown back into the nothingness. "Is this what you wish, Xiang Yuan? Is this the future you

hope for all those you hold dear? Are you too weak to save them from this fate?"

Xiang's heart sinks further. Is this what it'd be like if he'd choose to take an active part in the war?

Would he have to decide over the lives of his people like that? Cut their life-support in order to let them

slowly fall into a sleep they'd never wake from? His face turns white with the way Sinya is behaving, making

choices he'd never wished for her to ever have to make. Choices he himself never wishes to make. But

surely... one day would come where this battleship would have its role to play. And the crew as it was

now... they were just not prepared for what was to come. Not him, not Sinya, nobody. Feng's surprise assault

had proven that much. And then... this.

"I'm sorry." Is all Xiang manages to say, convincing himself that this isn't real... that this isn't Sinya.

He doesn't even turn his head to try and see what they are about to impact with. He just wants this to all

go away. And that's exactly what happens. They crash into whatever object they crash against, and he's flung

out of that reality and continues to fly until he just kind of... 'doesn't'. His body stops flying back, and

he halts in the middle of nothingness. It's not even darkness. Just... nothing.

And that voice appears again. "Of course I don't wish for this future." Now he's angry all of the sudden. To

show him such horrible things. To insult him so. "You can read my mind, SuiKyosha, you know /exactly/ what I

/want/!" He continues with and 'looks up', even though there isn't really anything there. "I am not too weak

to save Sinya that sorrow, but I don't know what state my true body is in!" Admittedly, he knows what

SuiKyosha means. The fact that he'd 'given up' on life. That he'd surrendered himself to the fact that he

was likely already dead.

"You will live if you wish to live. You will die if you wish to die." The disembodied voice speaks once

more, although the tone is not unkind. "The question I pose to you is this: Have you given up? The girl is

not the one destined for this task, but if I am given no other option, she will have to do." The darkness

around him shudders slightly, as if his eyes were moving behind closed lids. There is a feeling of pressure

around one hand that comes briefly, and then fades away as quickly as it came. "She is not the one destined

for this task. Nor is she strong enough to face it. You are the one I need. But you must make the choice to

stand."

"Stand and fight. Be the warrior you were meant to be, not just the Emperor they have made you. Ralley those

who love you behind your strength. Even you cannot win alone, but together you stand a chance of finding a

happier future than the bloody end you have seen." The darkness moves again, shades of faint light showing,

then vanishing again.

"She calls for you. Will you stay here in your own self-pity, or will you rise up and be the man she needs

to stand at her side?"

"Yuan." It's Sinya's voice again, not the one from either future, but the one from the present. There is

worry in her tone, "Come on, it's me, Sinya. Please... open your eyes. You have to." There is warmth wrapped

around his fingers, her digits moving in small worry circles over his skin.

"Open your eyes, Xiang Yuan. Be who you were destined to become." The god machine croons in his ear.

Self-pity? That certainly was where he was in a way. But it isn't so much SuiKyosha's attempts at trying to

guilt him into gaining a true heart to keep living. It was Sinya. It was that he didn't want to do that kind

of thing to Sinya. To die on her, to let her live in a world without him. Perhaps that was selfish, to force

himself onto that girl, and into that girl's life. But there was one thing which the ship was right about.

He needed to gather his friends behind him. He needed to have his people know what was truly going on.

And then Sinya's voice finally breaks through, after each little break of light. His eyes flicker slightly

open, in response to the warmth of Sinya's fingers against his. Slowly he lifts himself from that darkness,

towards that faint light in the distance. Faster he moves, grabbing onto that light as if it was physical.

As if Sinya's hand in the real world was pulling him out of that mental slump.

His eyes open slightly, and then close again. But... he's back. He's 'here'. He's where he can sense Sinya,

where he can sense SuiKyosha and all the people that live upon it. His fingers close strongly around Sinya's

hand.

The room that Xiang finds himself in is not the infirmary, but his own quarters. The lights are dimmed, the

only glow coming from a small lamp at a nearby table where Yu Zhi Wu is sitting. With the connection

restored between his mind and the ship, it wouldn't take long to be filled in on what had happened. There

were some losses during the skermish with Feng's raiders, but not as bad as it could have been. The entire

ship was in a tense state, worried over the fate of their Captain and Emperor. While his injuries had not

truly been life-threatening, the healers couldn't explain why he wouldn't wake, and this seemed to trouble

everyone all the more.

It was Yu Zhi Wu who chose to have him moved into his own quarters, using her ability as the second in

command to override anyone who might have objected. Here, at least, he might recover in some relative peace

and quiet without every member of the crew trying to check on him all day long. It also gave one special

thing - the ability for Sinya to actually sit with him. The catgirl had awoken from her own coma not long

after he had been brought in by the rescue crew. Bad timing - that. At least here, she could sit at his

bedside, sharing watches with Yu Zhi Wu, and doing her best to try to get him to come back to the land of

the living.

Sinya is murmuring something in a low voice to Yu Zhi Wu when she first feels the twitch of his fingers. At

first, she's convinced it's just her imagination. "I don't know what else to do." Her voice becomes clear,

ears slicked backwards. "He has to wake up soon or he's going to die." Things like feeding tubes were not

exactly part of the SuiKyosha's usual medical bay accessories, and there is real worry in the catgirl's

voice. With an almost defeated whimper, she turns back to him and seems about to try again when she feels

that grip of his hand.

"Yuan?" Sinya asks, leaning her head down. Closing her eyes, she rubs her cheek against his hand. "Come

on... open your eyes. Wake up." She begs, her fingers still clinging to his.

The sudden influx of information, as well as the pure emotions of those upon the SuiKyosha become

immediately apparant to the man when his consciousness resurfaces. Yu Zhi Wu and Sinya might not at first

realize it, but there is a certain sense of 'awakeness' about him that can be sensed through SuiKyosha. He

doesn't speak at first, nor does he open his eyes. Instead, he squeezes Sinya's hand again, to let her know

he's there. The touch against his cheek gets a little twitch from him as well, and his eyes then slowly

flutter open to just the barest of a squint.

"Ssssinya." The man whispers, but he closes his eyes again. Though the lights are dimmed, and the 'light'

doesn't hurt him, his eyes still feel painful. Like someone who has been sleeping all too long. Her name is

all he manages to speak for now however. Indeed, his injuries had not been life-treatening, but there is a

sense of shame and disappointment in himself that cripples his body still.

Sinya might catch little signs off of the surface. Those thoughts of guilt, as he thinks back of how the

future would look like without him. That sense of anger, for having been bested by Feng, as well as having

lost his temper and concentration during that fight. Feng. "Feng..." He then groans. "The... surveyers."

The moment that he speaks her name, it nearly makes Sinya's poor heart skip a beat. She'd been waiting for

days for any sign of life, and now that it has come, she's nearly overwhelmed by the joy of it. Leaning

forward, the catgirl nuzzles her nose affectionately against his cheek, and then licks it in a kittenish

display of love and relief. "Don't you ever scare me like that again." She butts her forehead into the side

of his head - which luckily is one of those uninjured places, with just enough force to nudge him slightly.

There are tears in her eyes, and the nudge is enough to allow one of them to drip down from her cheek onto

his.

She raises her head to look at Yu Zhi Wu. "Have them bring up some food. Soup, bread. Nothing too heavy.

He's going to need to eat." It seems that in his absense, Sinya had also taken on a bit more of an assertive

role, at least when it comes to his care. It would come as a slow realization that nearly a week had passed,

so it is likely that these two women had been seeing to him all that time.

When her attention comes back around to Xiang himself, Sinya's ears droop slightly. "Most of them got out

alright. Only two casualties. You took the worst of it." Beneath the covers, his chest is swathed in a

wrapping of bandages, covering broken and bruised ribs. He's otherwise donned in just a simple pair of his

usual silken pants, the cloth drawn up over one braced leg. "You're going to have to eat, okay?" She's quick

to change the subject, and the worry in her eyes shows that she's afraid he might just slip off again and

not come back.

Xiang groans when he realizes just what shape his body is in. Still, it is a sound, and that should be

something Sinya is happy with. Sounds. Sounds and responses to her adorable way of greeting him back to the

world of the living. "I'll try not to." Xiang muses, trying to nuzzle his head back against hers, but

failing miserably in really moving much. The tear that touches his cheek however brings him to that very

realization of the time that had past, and how these two women had been caring for him. Yu Zhi Wu, he knew

would always take good care of him. To go out of her way to get Sinya involved is only natural to him. But

still, it is commendable... and in a ways, would perhaps make a lot of people jealous, if they knew just how

much the women in his life cared about him. Sinya especially.

Still, Sinya's words cause the momentary smile to falter again quickly. 'Only' two casualties. "He sees us

all as enemies." Xiang whispers, seeming sad about this. "I thought, maybe if he had time, that he at least

would still see us as his family. But... he has only grown more bitter and filled with hatred." He puases,

and then says; "He claimed they mucked up your transmission, causing the EFA unit to fire at you." His right

eye twitches a little, but the anger doesn't well up this time.

When she asks him to eat, he appreciates the change of topic. "I'll be..." Pause. He's feeling faint-headed.

No, can't make her worry. "I'll be fine. But some food would do me good." He then nods his head, and decides

to just talk telepathically to the two instead, it takes less out of him. He directs 'thanks' to the two of

them, in the warmest way possible.

Sounds are good. Sounds mean that he's awake and alive and that her next shopping trip with Yu Zhi Wu won't

be to pick out matching mourning outfits. "You better." She snaps back with a little more force this time.

For someone who had been unconscious herself just recently, she seems remarkably well recovered. There is a

faint scar along her forehead, but it's already fading with the treatment from the healers on board. "I

won't have you die on me." There is a slight catch in her voice that suggests that she was worried about

just that. It's something that might just remind him of that possible future - the one where she had watched

him die in this place rather than seeing him wake up.

She had barely even registered Yu Zhi Wu's movements, or the sound of her return with a bowl of soup and

some bread. Apparently, they'd been refreshing a meal tray somewhere outside every hour or so since he'd

been brought up here, just incase it was needed. The catgirl takes it with a small nod, and then sets it

onto the nightstand next to Xiang. "Don't worry about Feng right now. He's a heartless bastard who attacked

unarmed salvage mechs." There is a hint of anger in her own voice, although it calms somewhat when he

reveals what the exile had claimed. "I heard. I should have checked my own machine better before taking it

out into combat. It's my fault as much as it is his."

She sighs to herself, and plucks up the bowl of soup, holding it in one hand as she leans over him, trying

to brace his head slightly with the other. "Come on, try to sit up. You need to drink some of this." She

holds it out towads him, but it's clear he'll have to make some effort to push himself towards it. Sinya's

own thoughts are still filled with termoil - relief, worry, anger, but behind all that is her love for him,

a love she thought she might just have lost forever.

Still, Xiang' can't help but tell Yu Zhi Wu privately, without opening his lips, that she is to look into who managed to get close enough to Sinya's mech in order to sabotage it. Because if it'd been done once, it could be done again. And there is /no/ chance he'll let someone who almost got Sinya killed just wander around freely. He's normally not very vindictive... but this was personal on so many levels.

He then looks back at Sinya, and lets her help him up. He does his best to help out in the progress, "Don't worry Sinya." He whispers. "I am not going to leave you behind like that. I can't worry the little ones." The little ones? Ah right, Sinya would have no clue what he's talking about. Maybe she'll just assume it's him babbling incoherently, having been unconscious for so long. Still, an image of what he'd seen drifts to the front of his mind, possible to be read. But for Sinya, can see see that as a memory... or as just a 'hope' or 'thought'?

He tries to drink from the bowl of soup as she offers it to his lips, and does so quite slowly. Even while drinking, he takes a moment to look at that scar of hers. And with one hand, very carefully, he tries to reach out to her forehead. He seems worried.

There is a knowing look from Yu Zhi Wu, although it goes unnoticed by Sinya, who has her eyes focused mostly on Xiang as she tips the bowl of soup towards him. 'I had them look into it when we analyzed the radio chatter. The one responsible already left. They were clever, though, to go unnoticed by either of us.' There is worry in her thoughts, and an image of an older man who seemed to somehow slip under the radar. Perhaps his mind was foggy with age and that made it harder to for the SuiKyosha, and her captain to see into.

There is a confused look which shows on Sinya's face as she lifts the bowl away from him, her head tilting as she looks first at Xiang, and then at Yu Zhi Wu. It seems that the second in command gets it a moment before she does. "Wait, you're not... are you?" Zhi Wu asks, eyeing the two of them with amusement. That's when it seems to click with Sinya. She raises her hands to protest, which removes the support at Xiang's back quite unintentionally, which means he'll have to sit on her own or flop backwards without it. "What? No! I mean..." Her ears slick back, looking quite embarassed about the question. There is a shy glance towards Xiang, and then she shakes her head again. "I'm not."

Yu Zhi Wu's gaze moves from Sinya to Xiang as she finger-steeples, a smirk written on her lips. "My my, Xiang Yuan, you're going to have to try harder." This proclaimation only makes Sinya blush a more furious shade of red and duck her haed. "Zhi Wu, stop it." It's a mild protest at best, her one hand still holding onto Xiang's fingers, squeezing them lightly as her eyes go unfocused. It's the image that catches her, and she turns her eyes back to him, head tilting slightly. Her expression isn't hard to read: confusion, but also uncertainty. "You really must have had some interesting dreams while you were out." She murmurs, setting the bowl to the side. Words seem to just linger as a jumble in her mind, none finding their way to the surface. Instead, she just looks down at him, blinking softly as he raises that hand to touch her forehead. "What is it?" She asks, brows drawn inward slightly.

Xiang can't help but start chuckling. "Don't mind my mad rantings. Neither of you are pregnant." It seems that he has no issues with speaking his mind anymore. There's no need to go and getting shy around these two women. However, he does give Yu Zhi Wu a stare when she suggests he should be trying harder. "First this place needs to be a safe environment for children. And for that to be the case, this place must be safe for Sinya in general." He pauses for a moment, and then turns his look back to Sinya. "Yes, interesting dreams." He isn't going to tell her that SuiKyosha had been a meddling little god-bitch again. He generally tries not to let her worry.

"And the first step towards doing that, is to let people know that we need to start getting properly prepared. And to make it official at some point that me and Sinya are officially in a relationship." He's just talking and talking, not letting Sinya object one bit during this entire 'rant' of his. He remains seated up even after she puts that soup away, and looks back up at Sinya. He moves his hand to the one she'd put on his forehead and draws it towards his chest. Bandaged or not, he lets her touch the place over his heart.

"It's matters surrounding the ship and the war that is sure to come on day in the future." He then lets Sinya know what he's worrying about.

This time, it's Yu Zhi Wu's turn to look a little flustered, especially when she's included somehow. Afterall, it had been her intention to simply tease Sinya about their relationship, not to have it turned back onto herself. "Of course not." She lays her hands down across the table and sips a cup of tea, which she hadn't had a moment before. The XO has ninja tea skills, apparently.

As for Sinya, the catgirl remains as confused as ever. Since her life ahd been so changed by becoming part of the fate of the SuiKyosha, she can't help but be marveled by just what sort of oddness it has continuously thrown her way. Her ears stay folded downward, which is probably the one sign of her discomfort that is all too visible. "Yuan... There's no such place. I wasn't safe in La Gias, and I'm not safe here." She lowers her head to where her lips just trace the edge of his hand, seeming worried and more than a little lost. "But this is my home. I'm safer here than anywhere else in the universe, because this is where the people who care about me most are."

Something has changed in him, something that is more than just his battle with Feng. Sinya can see it in his eyes, and hear it in his words and his resolve. She doesn't interrupt, not that he really gives her any place to do so. Her eyes follow first as her hand is lead to rest over his chest, and then to his eyes, her expression serious - still worried. "It's coming, isn't it?" She asks in a low tone, but it's enough to carry even to Yu Zhi Wu, who gets to her feet. The XO bows her head in a display of 'following orders' that isn't strictly necessary. "I'll call a meeting for a few days from now. Once you're fully recovered."

"No, tomorrow." This is Sinya, looking away from Xiang as she glances over her shoulder. Something about the way Xiang is speaking about things has her feeling as if there is some darkness looming, and every second they have to spare is one they should be using. "Are you sure?" Yu Zhi Wu asks, looking a bit dubious, but Sinya simply nods, giving Xiang only a small half-glance to see if he does agree with her. At this, the XO heads out - because she has a lot of work to put into motion if half of what Xiang has stated proves to be true at the meeting tomorrow.

As for Sinya, she's left to look down at him, sighing softly. "You need to eat, and you need to rest. Especially if you plan on changing the world tomorrow." She murmurs, lightly stroking her hand over his bandaged chest before lifting it again to pull the bowl back across.

Yes, something had changed within Xiang. Let's hope it is for the good. "It's coming, slowly. But it's not 'that' soon." The man replies to her. "Before that starts, I just wish to be prepared. I wish everyone to be prepared." The man watches as Sinya turns her worried and serious look onto him. He is glad that Sinya understands him so well though. And when she speaks up for him, he just nods at the woman in agreement with the girl.

He then turns back to Sinya and smiles as she touches his chest. "I will eat and rest. But I am not changing the world... not all of it. Just... just our world. Just the world of this ship." He hopes that there won't be too many others who will leave this place. He knows that some of the beastmen they'd taken in had come here to enjoy peace. Who knows what their reaction would be to being thrust into a situation of combat.

"I will change this world, so it may be as safe to you as I can make it." And with that in mind, he commands something of SuiKyosha which he never believed he'd ever have to do. He commands it to invade the privacy of his subjects, and seek out anyone who has intentions to kill or endanger Sinya, or is so close to Feng that they'd so so in the future.

"And it's not just for you. I know this might sound... sudden to you. But Sinya, one day in the future... I'd like us to start a proper family here, on this very ship." The man reaches out towards her cheek, trying to touch it in that gentle manner he is known for to her. "So that this can be 'our' home." He adds. He then follows this up by taking her hand and giving her a look that should tell her enough, as he tries to very slowly lead it towards his throat. She should know what that means. It's her culture. He just... wishes to affirm this motion. A motion he had not been able to perform since the war around Teppelin.

For good or bad, everything changes. The pople of the SuiKyosha had been living on the edge between two worlds for a long time, and in many ways, so has Sinya. It was only recently that she decided to dedicate her life to the ship and her people - something she'd never thought she'd do for anyone. They had become a part of her as much as the war that she'd run from had become part of her past, her present, and her future. Now, the people of the SuiKyosha would change, too. They would have to rise up to the new world they had become part of, but in some ways, Sinya is sure they are ready for that challenge. As much as so many might have come here looking for peace, there is a strength in her own people, and in those from the the village - to protect that fragile peace that they do have here.

"I'll talk to my people tomorrow." She seems to almost read his mind, although it's really that her thoughts run parallel to his own. "They'll stay. We're loyal creatures, and we're fierce fighters when we need to be." Her ears stay folded back, as they have since the conversation had started. She /is/ afraid of what this change means for her, for them, for everyone, but that doesn't mean she isn't up for the challenge. "And the others will see it, too. We're strong here, together, than anywhere else. Lord Genome, and the Crusaders, it's showing people they aren't safe anymore. But here, we can at least be ready for whatever comes."

Her head tilts as she watches him, the way his expression has softend somewhat, and that slight shift of determination in his mind. Just what he had asked the SuiKyosha to do, she can't quite grasp, but she knows it has something to do with her. "We will." She replies simply, as if this were as certain a fact as she can make it. Pushing herself up, Sinya moves along to the edge of the bed, and then crawls in next to him. It's now, perhaps, that it might be clear just how worn she looks. Her eyes are tired from nights at his side, and she lays her head against his shoulder so gingerly that one might think she were afraid fo breaking him further. "Wherever you are is home. At least to me." She murmurs.

No, she's no longer pushing the food on him. There is a sneakining suspicion that he has enough will alone now to keep himself from falling back into that dark place. When his hand comes towards her, she lifts her head, resting it lightly first against his fingers, and then closes her eyes as they come down onto her throat. She lets those fingers settle there, and then lifts her own to repeat the gesture ever so lightly against his own skin, clawed fingertips barely touching. "I really missed you." She murmurs in a breathy tone, one that seems to finally let loose some of the torrent of fear and worry that had wracked her mind these past few days. Rather than saying it in words, though, she simply takes that hand from his neck and wraps it around his chest in a hug, burying her head against it as the emotions flow far more reasily now.

"Thank you Sinya." Xiang replies warmly, not at all surprised that she thinks in a similar pattern to his own. It just proved to him how good of a match this girl was for him, and how well she'd do later as his empress. Because there is no more doubt in his mind that that is their future. To sit on the throne side-by-side, Emperor and Empress. "And I will do my best to protect their peace within the walls of this ship." The man nods his head in acknowledgement of his own words. He then goes as far as to pull up the sheets slightly when she moves off of the bed and towards the side of it, so that she has an easier time getting in.

When the girl is settled, and she has her head laying on him ever so carefully, he then lets his own fingers be moved to her own throat and gently touches the sides with the flats of his fingers' ends. Her own claws don't bother him. They'd never bothered him. This entire motion of trust was something that came natural to him somehow. Maybe it was because of Yu Zhi Wu's stories she'd shared with him, from the time she'd lived in a Beastmen community.

"I missed you too." Xiang answers the girl, and watches her curl against him with her whole body. He places a hand on the girl's back and makes some gentle motions with that hand, whilst leaning over a bit and kissing the nearby shoulder. "I missed you too, to-be-empress Sinya." He smirks as he says this, proud of this claim. She'd already admitted that they'd make a family on board this ship. He feels his heart warming a little.

And perhaps something Feng had said, he'd have to work on. Perhaps he should move more amongst the people. It isn't that he had never done so before. In fact, Xiang was known to show up amongst the commoners quite a lot. But perhaps it was that solid mask that needed to leave. He thinks about this for a while... but cannot decide on either direction.

As Sinya closes her eyes, it's with a bit of acceptance that as much as the world changed, she still had some things left to believe in. Hope. A future that she'd never imagined for herself when she took her first steps onto this outside world from La Gias. There is that future she'd gotten that tiny glimpse of from Xiang's mind, although the image is already fading for her. She has her doubts that she could ever be that woman, but time would tell. Time would change things. "Hrmph." She mumbles, "If you say so." No, Sinya is still not sold on the idea of becoming Empress. The people accepted her as a mechanic and a friend, but a outsider - a commoner as royalty? That may be a hard pill for them to swollow.

After that nuzzle against his chest, that flow of her worries, Sinya lifts her head just in time to watch him kiss her shoulder, and she purrs softly, ears still tucked backwards. "I love you." The words seem to carry so much with them - if nothing else the urge to say them when she had thought that she might not ever have a chance again. She shifts herself slightly, moving up to lightly nuzzle her nose against his. For Xiang, there might just be an eerie familiarity of this action to the greeting he had felt in that future time, but this... this is /his/ Sinya. The SuiKyosha transmits her love, her affection, and the warmth of her green eyes seem alive and young in this moment. Then, she closes them and presses forward, drawing a loving kiss onto his lips. A kiss that seems to last for a very long time.