Part 10 [spoiler] More fog filled his mind, and suddenly, it started to make sense. He was seeing things, flashing buy, like lightening. It was the life of this alien. What it saw. What it knew. What it wanted. And what it was losing. And, he understood. From the very first time she found him, she wanted to go with him. She wanted to see what he was. To know that she wasn't alone. But, why was she alone? The painful exchange continued, and Davidson saw it. A plague. The scenes of her kind, floating lifeless in the sea in great droves. But, why? Where did it come from? More clouded images, and then he saw them. Roots. Roots? And as Davidson puzzled about it, the creature drew what it was learning from him, and held the thought in her mind. It was the plants...... The particles they made. Were, alien. They were a foreign parasite! This world had nothing on the surface originally. Her people once lived higher up in the seas. But it came from somewhere, and was strong enough to survive the extreme cold, boasting hyper adaptation. In the end, they had to go deeper and deeper to avoid spores. The creature watched through the fog of his own mind, what he had heard about the plants. They killed his kind too. Davidson started convulsing now, as the current became too much, and the creature unwound its grip from him. Davidson convulsed, falling back into the sand, watching as the creature drifted aimlessly nearby. He closed his eyes, the last residual images of what he'd seen fading into nothing, as his mind went blank. Davidson recovered, opening his eyes to the blackness of the ocean. Nearby, the alien drifted rather weakly, but was watching him. It drifted over slowly, as he reached out in silence. His head still hurt. But, he knew what he saw. And, he was crushed. Visions of this alien's kin, dead by the thousands, their bodies drifting in the water, silent, had temporarily merged with the footage of his children on their last day. It was too much. He couldn't take it. He stood up, and unlatched his other gauntlet, tossing it onto the ocean floor. The creature drifted by, its beady eyes watching as he approached. He hung his shoulders, but held out his hands. The creature drifted closer, and when it was close enough, he pulled her in, feeling that electric tingle across his hands once more, but not as, invading as it was prior. He pulled it in close, and before he even knew what he was doing, he had wrapped his arms around it and fallen into the sand, cradling it. Partly because of the crushing sadness that completely overwhelmed him, and partly for this alien. He saw everything, and although it was quick and faded like a matchstick, he knew. And as he held the strange being close, feeling her oddly squishy skin, watching as its veins pulsed with blue light, she let out a long, mournful sound that rang out into the ocean depths, answered by none. He held her there in his arms, grieving for his own losses, comforting a being that since she was born, only knew that she was alone in the world. He held her there tight, watching as her beady eyes stared into his, an odd sense of sadness conveyed. And she brought one of her hands up to his cheek, placing it firmly against it, and he shuddered from the touch, in part from the current, but from something else. That was the way his son did it. She knew. He smiled suddenly, watching her as she continued to press her hand against his cheek gently, sending shivers down his spine. An alien, who had lost everything, and his children, left alone in the world. And an alien, who was born into nothing, alone from day one, and now, had contracted the plague, was doomed to death alone, afraid. But she wouldn't have to be. He was here. He was here, to say hello, and goodbye. He understood now. He wasn't going anywhere. Even if he was late. He wouldn't leave her side. 1 Day Later, 24 Hours after Contract completion Davidson and the creature had remained close together for the better part of a day. And he knew that her time was running out. But she remained the curious, playful being that she was. But even now, he could see that there was something wrong. The various neuron like lights that traveled all across the inside of her body were going dim, and slowing down. Davidson could do nothing. And it was bothering him. He wanted to do something more than just sit and watch. As she drifted closer, watching him, Davidson reached out with his hand, drawing her attention. She looked at it, before realizing what he wanted to do. He couldn't speak with her directly. But he knew through the link things were shared. She placed her hand up to his, and this time, Davidson held hers in place, as the current passed through him once more, and Davidson tried to think about what he wanted to do. Symbolize what he meant. He wanted to help. More than what he was doing now. But, he didn't know what he could do, and the sadness started to creep up again, a reflection of his kids and how he wasn't there. He was trying to help. But he was never there for them. And now, he was here for somebody, and it wasn't enough. It wasn't right. He watched neurons fire off in her large domed head, and as the current grew stronger, Davidson let go, as her own images and responses flashed by. She was content. And she knew there was nothing she could do. When Davidson had asked about her kind, images flashed by in his head. She thought she was the last one. All it did was reaffirm that he had to do something. If she was the last of her kind, then not only did he have the weight of his family on his shoulders, but of an entire species. He had already let one let become snuffed out in darkness. He wasn't going to let another. As the creature stayed close by to him, he took her hand once more. The current traveled up his nerves as he projected the idea to her. After all, he had seen everything before. He knew what they could do. They were adaptable. If they could come this far down in the ocean in such a short time to flee the spores from above, they had a chance. She reeled back at his suggestion, and she showed him what it would mean. Her time would be shortened. But, if it worked.......[/spoiler]