Blood is thicker than water

[Garza]

It was silent. And part of it felt good, while the other felt off. I couldn't decide wither I should speak, or stay silent. I chose the latter. Still holding onto her hand, not because I loved her, or had a liking towards her. I held her hand because she needed it. Someone to make interaction with her.

And I would have never said this to anyone, that I as well needed it. I had become colder and colder, pushing others away, and I needed something before I snapped.

[member="Lexa Imura"],

 

[Zayani Brin]

Finally, they neared their destination. Lexa gently removed her hand from Nick's. "So. Where are we, exactly?" She asked.
[member="Nickolas Imura"]

 

[Garza]

My hand grew cold when Lexa let go. Even then, I still drove with one hand. Simply because I had gotten used to it already, I just stayed the same. With Lexa then asking on where we were going, I indicated my head forwards. Ahead in the mountains was a yellow dot. It was really only a few miles out. Not even two minutes by the way that I was going. "Up ahead, is a house built into the mountains. Its a place where I can work alone away from the prying eyes of others, as well that the Protectorate does not really come here at all, It's a place I can be in peace without people coming looking for me."

The truth was, the yellow dot was not the house that I lived in. The home was close to the dot, however hidden. The yellow dot was really an old mans house that I had built for him, with the deal that he would watch over my things when I was gone. While he never actually did that, a woman, Kalee, a offshoot that was in debt to him, was really the one who watched my place. I only wondered if she was okay since my last visit almost two months ago.

[member="Lexa Imura"],

 

[Zayani Brin]

Lexa focused on the yellow dot. "Must be nice to live in such a cold place. Sure, it's practically lifeless, but when the sun shines, it's breath-taking here." She said. She always got up early to see the sun rise on planets like this. Something about it was just to irresistible to miss.
[member="Nickolas Imura"]

 

[Garza]

I nodded my head as she commented about the sunshine and what happens with the crystals and ice along the entire mountain range. I had not seen it because when I was here, I came here for work. Not because I wanted to see the star that this planet revolved around make crystals shine. "We can do that in about 70 hours." The turn of this planet was different than others, slower than the standard day of 24 hours, so it was a little longer. "I have to tell you, I have a person who works with me. Kalee. She rarely sees women as she was taken as a slave by men. Now she works for me and she will question you."

[member="Lexa Imura"],

 

[Zayani Brin]

Lexa smiled. "Don't worry. I'll assure her that you didn't enslave me," She joked. "What do you work on?" She asked. she knew it wasn't any of her business, but it never hurt to ask, right?
[member="Nickolas Imura"]

 

[Garza]

I smiled and shook my head at her comment. But my face became a blank slate when she asked about what I did. Well, I did many things. One of them was minor Sith Alchemy. Applying it to things at random to try and get better. However, it never turned out too well. Or how I worked on forging so I could create a sword in my brothers honor. but there was one more thing that I was not really willing to share. But, she was family. I would.

"I can't tell you." I spoke, and then again before she could respond. "I have to show you."

[member="Lexa Imura"],

 

[Zayani Brin]

Something about the way Nick said this made Lexa a bit uneasy. "Please tell me you aren't like a Sith experimental scientist or something," She said. Just the thought of what it was rumored that they did to people made her want to throw up. She'd met a few products of their work in her day. The subjects were always scarred in some manner, and not for the better.
[member="Nickolas Imura"]

 

[Garza]

My face broke into a sad smile. Really I was, but I never tested on others. There was once where I did that, however, he wanted me to do it to him. Ending up a little like frankenstein's monster. But he thanked mentor keeping him alive. Looking to Lexa, I nodded my head. "I am kind of like that. Only I don't experiment on people or living things." I held up my right hand in a stop sign, "Dont ask, just let me show you. If I tell you while I am driving, I might crash. And it is easier to understand if I show you."

It was only ten seconds later that I took a tunnel underground. Only the headlamps were lighting the area up. Beginning to slow down, I came to a stop in a rather wide out and open spot inside a cave. The vehicle on top if a very large and sturdy grate to allow the melted snow to drain out. Jumping out, I rushed to the other side to help her out when Kalee walked in already having the tablet ready for my evaluation since my last leave.

"Nick, glad to see you back. Since your last leave, ex1 has started to glow, ex2, 4, and 7 show changes in color and...." she stopped as the sight of Lexa met her eyes. "What the...." rushing over she got up really close to her face, "Woah are you Nick's girlfriend? Nick I thought you already had one, I mean she was a little of a nutjob, but this one lo-" cutting her off with a wave of my hand, the force clamped her mouth down, but it was gentle.

"This is my sister-in-law, you two will meet later as she and I have things to discuss. Go to the lab and finish your work." she looked at me with a scowl and huffed as she preformed an about face to stomp off toward the lab. Muttering under her breath about smothering me in my sleep. "Sorry Lexa. I would rather us talk first before she takes you away." there was a slight pause in my wording, "Literally"

[member="Lexa Imura"],

 

[Zayani Brin]

Lexa had to supress her laughter as Kalee asked her if she was Nick's girlfriend. It wasn't the question so much as the flabbergasted expresson on his face that tickled her funny bone. "Kalee seems nice," She said as the girl walked away. "So, you have a girlfriend, huh? That's good to hear. What's she like?"
[member="Nickolas Imura"]

 

[Garza]

I shook my head as Kalee walked away. And simply smiled at Lexa's comment about her being nice. "Yes. She is nice, but acts like a child. Not her fault though. She deserves to act like one since it was taken away from her." I the tried to move on to the question that came with a girlfriend.

"Yes I have a love interest. Long story short, I stopes her from making a mistake, we became friends, and started dating when we met each other again. I took the shot since I liked her." thinking about her brought a smile to my face. Soon I would go see her again. "She's nice. Thoughtful, independent, funny, and accepts me for what and who I am."

I reached up and began to pull off the head band and my cloak. I then draped the both of then over my left arm. "Come, we have much to talk about. And some of it, you may bot like."

[member="Lexa Imura"],

 

[Zayani Brin]

Lexa nodded, and followed Nick inside. She didn't know what to expect to see, so she readied herself for a large range of options. Some of them were absolutely despicable, but also incredibly unlikely. It never hurt to be prepared.
[member="Nickolas Imura"]

 

[Garza]

(forgive my spelling, I am on my phone.)

I lead her into the same doors that would lead to the lab. Kalee would be on the other side with the office, and we would walk through the area to get there. Opening the door for Lexa, it would reveal a large room filled with one wall having weapons of just about every type. Tags were placed on them with codes and names and anything else. In the middle was a forge with a table that had old scrolls and datapads on it. No cages, no live specimens. However on the right side of the room, was a large shelve full of clear jars with some preservative liquid inside to let a sliver of black and red hide float in almost the smack center if each one. A smoky like liquid was slowly filling into the top, each in varying levels.

"Here I work with Sith alchemy, and some poisons. Nit because I want to, but because I need to. Laying the clothes Ina clear portion of the table, I took off the gauntlet on my left arm, followed by an assortment of sleeves that covered up a black and red hide that covered my skin. "Lexa, I am. Not normal. I am a monster that was created by the two things I work on. Alchemy and poison."

[member="Lexa Imura"],

 

[Zayani Brin]

Lexa's eyes rested on Nick's arm. She slowly walked over to him. "Are you trying to find a way to fix it?" She asked curiously. It didn't rally need to be fixed, though. It was something that made him unique. Why should he try to fix it if it didn't do anything other than scare people? Unless, of course, it actually did do something else...
[member="Nickolas Imura"]

 

[Garza]

I shied away as Lexa came closer to me. Almost trying to hide it again. "It's not normal." picking up a knife from the other side of the room, it flew to my hand, but instead of catching it, I let my hand come up flat and watched as the entire blade went Into my wrist. I didn't cry out in pain. In fact the only thing I did was wince as I was still not used to the idea of stabbing myself. I used my right hand to pull the dagger out and indicated the blade.

Covered in a black acidic like blood, there was a slight Huss sound as though it were melting. "Gets better" I walked over to a wall. Simple and about four feet tall, and wide enough that most men can't punch through it. I tried the same, and watched as my hand slid through like a hot knife in butter. I then punched the metal found to show that I could make dents in it. And the floor was a good 7 inches thick.

"As I said, it's not normal."

[member="Lexa Imura"],

 

[Zayani Brin]

Lexa nodded. "No. It's not normal. It's extraordinary! It can't be normal to be amazing!" She said. She looked at the wall, and then at Nick. Her light brown eyes were agog with fascination. "What it can do is breath-taking, Nickolas! Just because it doesn't look the same as your other arm doesn't mean you should hide it. It's a beautiful thing, despite how it was made."
[member="Nickolas Imura"]

 

[Garza]

I shook my head. Why does everyone around me think it's so great. "No it's not!" I yelled. Clearly angry. "I was made in a fething lab Lexa!" I pulled my shirt off to show that the arm was leaching up toward my neck and around my left pectoral muscle. "This was not done suddenly. This was done over a span of almost 20 years! I was taken as a child to be tested on because of my lineage to the Shapers." my hands ignited into flame.

"I have more power than what my brother had at this point in his life. Simply because I was grafted to be stronger and used as a weapon for the Sith who has long since abandoned me." I winced as my anger glued the poison in my arm to higher levels. "The angerier I get, or the more dark sided actions I take increase the pain that the poison in my arm causes me. This arm prohibits me from having a normal life!"

I was mad. I had let the fire in my hands disipate and I walked over to the wall again. The first hole I made was just the size of my fist. I screamed, sounding almost like some kind of animal, as my force fueled rage increased my punch to where I blew the wall apart. Sending pieces of it flying across the room. Yet once more, my hand was not broken, it was not in pain.

"I am a Mutt. A creation of some psychotic sith that wanted a weaponized Apprenice so he could rule. Not a person." even if Aerin liked the arm, and accepted it, I wanted to be a normal person with a left arm that could not destroy worlds. Others might want it, but I didn't. As much as this arm looked cool. I hated it simply because I went through more clothes than 3 women, had people, no matter the background, walk away scared from me because they don't know what this is. And that's why it hid it with the golden-bronze gauntlet.

"Lexa, I just want a normal life."

[member="Lexa Imura"],

 

[Zayani Brin]

Lexa chuckled dryly after Nick's little fit. "Don't we all want a normal life, Nickolas?" She said, almost cruelly. "Do you seriously believe that because of that arm, you're any less of a human than I am? Huh. You couldn't be more naïve. You're still human. You still feel, you still think. Every emotion, every thought, every idea, every pain. Everything that makes you human. It's still there, whether you see it or not. One limb will never change that." She walked up to him and placed both her hands on his shoulders, staring him directly in the eyes. "I have the Dark Side within me, too. Even now, I can feel it bubbling deep down. Waiting to erupt. But I keep it down as much as I can. Do you know why? Because I've seen what it does to people. It turns them into monsters. You aren't a monster now, and neither am I. We have to be careful if we want to stay that way."
[member="Nickolas Imura"]

 

[Garza]

I listened to her as she spoke about all of us being human. Part of me wanted to actually believe her. The other half, wanted me to just throw up from all this sentimental crap about being human. When she placed her hands on my shoulders, I let them be there, and when she was finished, I shrugged them off. "Then explain how this arm can help me more than hinder me." I shook my head. almost disappointed. "Yeah yeah, I am strong and all, but even then, I have still lost fights against others. I feel myself becoming darker each day. and the arm takes more of my body. This arm is a literally growing virus that is infesting my body and forming me into this." My right hand extended and a datapad came to my hand, it flickered to life and I went through the files and found what I needed.

Tapping on it, I projected a hologram of my body as of the current moment. "This is me now." My hand came up and slid across the bottom platform that the Hologram was standing on. "This is me in just a little less than five years." It was me. Still the same, however, the arm had grown to envlope my entire chest, and started to work on my right shoulder, moving its way down towards my left thigh, and even started to crawl up my neck.

"This is the beginning of a Monster." I shut the datapad off and let it drop to the ground, not caring about it. "This Sith poison will take over my body. Increasing my strength to be near twenty fold of any normal human. It will have high resistances and protect me from many things. However, I will lose my mind. I will become a shadow of my former self. I will not be Nick in less than five years. I will have become something else."

I held the arm out for her to touch, daring her to. "Now please tell me again that I am not a monster, and that I am just a human. Because you will be the last person to say it." Letting my arm drop, I shook my head, wanting so badly to not have this.

[member="Lexa Imura"],

 

[Zayani Brin]

Lexa gave him a look, and touched his arm. She gripped it very tightly, actually. "I'm not one to be considered 'fragile', Nickolas. Let's get that straight right now. If you ever attack me, there will be Hell to pay." She said solemnly. "As of this moment, right now, this very minute, you are still human. If you're going to lose your mind in five years or less, then we'll deal with that first. If you can't neutralize the poison, maybe you could at least find a way to slow the spreading, if not stop it altogether." She released him. "And one more thing..." She reached up and smacked her palm on the center of his forehead. "Don't be so pessimistic! The day you lose the fight is the day you give up on trying. You're still here. So, there's no need to act like you've got nothing left to fight for."
[member="Nickolas Imura"]