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Koko's face creased ever so slightly into a frown as Zed began to talk; she was intelligent enough to understand what he was explaining & it was that understanding that meant she also realised the pilot was condensing the explanation for her sake. Her attention diverted briefly to Finn as he spoke, exhaling slowly when he stated how long the trip would probably be. So 2 weeks wasn't too bad, but it was still a rather long time for her to be inside. She'd have to try & keep herself occupied, lest she go mad. That said, she could certainly think of worse people to be in fairly close proximity with than Zed. She didn't really make any sound as the two men talked, aside from the occasional 'mmmhmm' to prove she was indeed listening. It was a tad peculiar how the rest of the Universe would only experience an hour while the pilot & herself lived through 2 weeks, but heck, there had been much, much stranger things happen over the last 24 hours.

The mercenary placed a hand on her chin, her face lost in thought for a few moments to the point that she didn't notice Zed being brought over until he touched her. She'd been wrapping her mind around all the various things that had happened to her, that she'd been told & what she'd learnt. It was a lot to take in. The feeling of a hand on her waist made Koko flinch for a fraction of a second - an almost instinctive reaction to an unknown touch, which had saved her life many times in the past, but in the current situation was probably unnecessary - & she turned slightly into Zed, abruptly registering who he was. She turned her gaze away sharply, fixing her gaze on Finn instead, suspicion all over her face.
"& just what do ya think you're doin' Finn?"
Not a moment after the words left her mouth the ancient man make his statement & the whole situation & what the man was implying suddenly clicked into place. Koko's face instantly turned a brilliant shade of red & she stared at the ground, suddenly very conscious of Zed's warm presence beside her & his hand on her hip.

Another thing the woman was aware of was the turn the conversation had taken. There was a definite feel that it was now building up to the farewell that was ultimately going to happen. A lump rose in Koko's throat in a strange mixture of embarrassment & sadness; she kept her head down, her long, brown hair covering her features as she did so.

Finn Angelus, the man who walked the Earth for ten thousand, three hundred and seventy four years- saving it's inhabitants more times than he'd care to mention, the man who had seen and heard it all, the man who was only silenced by the moon itself falling to the Earth - but not without a fight first, the man that'd had to say goodbye to each and every one of his friends and lovers as he eventually outlived them, who had no main purpose in life other than to ensure the creation of one woman, was now stood before that very woman, as well as the man torn from another reality to fill the gap he had left.
Yet he still managed to crack a small smile when she spoke.

"As I said before, time is not an issue... at least not for you two that is. You have all the time in the world to live and love. I however, have run out of time, but that won't stop me saying a proper farewell this time."
He paused, looking at Koko, knowing this would most likely be the last time he'd ever see her.

"Hmm... You two look good together, a little unconventional, but that's not usually a bad thing."
He looked from Koko to Zed then back again.

"Oh, Koko, that revolver I gave you all those years ago should work again now. Also, I want you to have this."

The hand-cannon revolver that rested in his holster was as old as he was, over the millennia, he had used it very few times, only really using it after the point that guns were in common use, mostly due to a lack of ammunition.
The revolver itself was sliver in colour, adorned with elaborate gilded patterns that covered the weapon, it's handle wooden and polished to a perfect sheen with the word 'Aleksander' engraved into the side of the barrel in flawless calligraphy. Each of it's moving parts had been engineered precisely to preform perfectly in all conditions, making it an incredibly reliable as well as superbly accurate weapon.

He removed the holster that the revolver was sat in and handed it over to the female mercenary, recalling the time he handed the other revolver to the young Koko.
"Heh. I feel more irresponsible handing you this now than I did back with the other one when you were still a kid..."

Zed knew how much this meeting had meant to Koko, so he kept quiet, keeping his hand gently rested above Koko's hip.

"Koko..."
Alek exhaled, placing he arms back around Koko, rubbing her back lightly. He spoke quietly, his voice nearly a whisper.
"I've lived far too long my dear, the number of times I've had to say goodbye far too many, though this is by far the hardest."

He closed his eyes for a moment, recalling their last moments together as he was preparing to leave for Earth, a trip he would never return from. He remembered the words he'd meant to say, that he had always loved Koko, but the moment slipped away. In their last years together the pair had gotten very close, mostly jokingly, but neither of them ever admitted their true feelings for one-another. Leaving he did not regret, if he hadn't, she would never of existed, he did however, regret not telling her how he truly felt about her.

"My only regret is that I never told you how I truly felt about you before I left... that I loved you."

He kept his eyes shut as he ran his fingers through Koko's long brown hair, his form flickering ever so slightly as his he entered his last minute among the living before he could finally rest. This was long awaited the end of his story and he was glad of that.

"And so it ends... You are my last remaining gift to this world... Make me proud, little one."

The dead man planted a small kiss on the woman's forehead, placed both hands on Koko's shoulders and stepped back from her, holding her out in front of him for a moment before letting go, his small smile re-appearing.
"Make ol' Finn proud"

He grabbed Zed by the arm once again and pulled him back towards Koko, placing him by her side once again.
"That's better"
The deep-blue colour returning to his eyes as a wall of blinding white light appeared behind him. His scars appeared to fade, his hair appeared to gain a little colour, returning to what it once was when he was a young mercenary back on Ares. This transformation only lasted a few seconds before he returned to his current form.

"Hey there handsome"
A figure stood in the wall of light, it was his wife, Lilith.
He turned towards the sound of her voice stepping towards the wall of light to join her. Looking over his shoulder back at Koko for the last time, he spoke quietly.
"If you ever need me Koko, I'll be right here. Just look for the third rock from the yellow star"
He turned back around as he stood beside Lilith in the light, taking her hand as Lilith gave a small wave back to them.
His face concealing any sadness as he'd trained it to do over the years, still maintained the small smile on his lips.

"Goodbye Koko... Don't let them forget me."


The wall of light suddenly flashed incredibly brightly, with a noise not unlike a strike of lightning, and with that the two dead people were gone. Leaving Zed and Koko feeling suddenly aware that they were now very much alone, light-years from any other people, aside from each-other.

At Finn's revelation about his true feelings for her, Koko felt herself jolt slightly, a stream of memories flashing across her vision as the final little piece of her past with him slotted into place. All those times of gentle flirting, of physical closeness, even sleeping in the same bed only to occasionally wake up with his arms round her - one memory in particular stuck in her mind, when the two of them had been trapped in an abandoned building, little more than a shack, to escape one of the Arean blizzards that would always ravage the planet at least once during the winter months. The two of them had needed to huddle together for warmth during the two and a half days that the storm raged yet, looking back, it had been a much more tender and close than a couple of people just trying to survive; she'd never given it much thought at the time, it had been such a natural progression that she never really considered he actually had feelings for her. In that instant she also had a sudden questioning of her own affection towards him. Could it be that somewhere along the lines her love for him had developed into something else? Something more than that held for a father-figure? It barely took a second for her to realise that yes, she did indeed have romantic feelings for this man. She mentally scolded herself for being so blind, both to his feelings as well as her own.

She began to shake ever so slightly as he stated it was ending. She knew it was coming but now that he was actually about to leave she could barely keep it together. She focused on the feeling of his hands through her hair, as though attempting to burn the action into her memory forever, anything to keep his presence alive for longer. It was at this point that she felt his kiss upon her head & she was completely unprepared for the sheer heat that spread through her body. Not a burning, but more a deep, soothing warmth. She could feel his glow, his energy... his love. From inside her, Koko felt almost like a huge wound was being sealed, finally alleviating the suffering she'd endured over the years. She looked up as he stepped back, her bottom lip quivering ever so slightly as she willed herself not to cry, though her eyes shimmered with tears. The girl nodded a little at Finn’s mention of ‘making him proud’ & she held onto her arms to stop herself reaching out & grabbing him again as the wall of light appeared. For an instant he looked exactly as she remembered him from all those years ago & the sight of him made a small, choked sob escape her lips; she hugged herself tighter as he moved away, her light blue eyes watching him intently so that she didn’t miss a single moment while he was still visible. Then, almost as suddenly as he had appeared, the ancient man was gone.

A moment later Koko was stood in the spot Finn had been not a second before, the speed of her movement too fast to comprehend by any regular person. Without a word she sank to her knees in the grass, her facial expression one of pure sorrow. Her anguish was almost tangible – the strong, fearless female mercenary had been reduced to a heartbroken woman on her knees - it would be almost painful to look at her in this state. She stared at the empty space in front of her for a few seconds before crying out & burying her face in her hands, her body visibly shaking. She seemed completely oblivious to Zed's presence, her current sadness simply overwhelming her.

The pilot's eyes widened as the light breeze suddenly ceased, along with the quiet sound of Koko crying. The world froze in place as the ancient man appeared before Zed once again.
Aleksander looked back down at Koko, who was frozen in time as well as the rest of the world other than the two men.
"This world is a cruel one, full of injustice. I was taken from her... I'm sure you know the feeling well."

Zed did not speak, he simply looked at the ground. The broken memories that remained of his life before the accident that saw him wrenched from his own reality into another still haunted his dreams.

The dead man looked away into the distance when he spoke.
"This is something I cannot decide for you, I have to offer you the choice; you can return to your own universe, your old life, everything the way it was before the accident."

He turned his head towards the pilot, the fragmented moon perfectly reflected in his cold gaze.
"...Or, you can remain here, the way it is now, with Koko and with the heavy burden of immortality. It is your choice and cannot be undone once you make it."

Zed breathed deeply, his decision made before the ancient man had even finished talking.
"This is my life now, what I once had is now gone and that's a real shame, but I've had to move on. Just like you my old friend."

A small smile returned to Alek's lips.
The ancient man appeared to fade as he spoke his last words to Zed, his voice becoming more and more distant.
"Good. That's the answer I wanted to hear."

With that the light breeze returned, along with the quiet sound of Koko crying. The pilot looked around at the endless green meadow that surrounded them then crouched down beside the teary-eyed woman, placing a hand around her back as he sat down in the grass, gazing upwards at the obsidian sky. He held Koko by his side to comfort her, not saying anything, as there was nothing to say. He was gone and nothing was going to change that, it was now up to her to move on for the second time.

"We'll be home soon Koko"

Jackal grunted as the lifeless body toppled on top of him just as the dead man's squad opened fire, bullets tearing through the air and smashing into the corpse with dull thudding noises.
The mercenary snarled as a bullet punched through the sergeants belly, grazing his arm a little and burying itself in the wall. But as his eyes dropped to the dead soldiers tac-vest his grimace was lost as his thin lips curled into a smile. Grenades he thought, beautiful.
Gritting his teeth, Jackal heaved the man upwards with relative ease despite the dull ache that now throbbed through his left flank, and looped his fingers through the pins of the three grenades strapped to the soldiers torso, grimacing as lead continued to pepper the air around him, a few bullets hitting their mark, but nothing worth taking notice of. Gripping the dead mans throat with his left hand, he snarled as he dragged the pins from the grenades and threw the corpse through the air with as much force as his injuries would allow, which was considerable given recent events.
The squad ceased fire as their sergeant soared towards them, attempting to avoid the impact from the heavy body, and then in a deafening explosion, throwing flesh, bones and shrapnel across the corridor, they were gone, blown to pieces by the force of the explosion.
Jackal wiped some flesh and cartilage from his face before admiring his handy-work. "Nice" he mused to himself as he regarded a particularly desiccated corpse.

Slowly Koko opened her eyes, to find she was staring at the high ceiling of the Aiolos cargo bay. Of all the places she could've woken up, this was probably the one that made most sense, after all, she spent a lot of her time in here. What didn't make sense was what she saw when she looked around; dozens of metal shards were scattered around her, each and every one had been dented, scratched, burned or otherwise damaged in some way. She raised an eyebrow, but figured in had been some sort of release of anger from the past few days since she couldn't actually remember the real reason (she hoped Zed had enough sense to stay away from her). She sat up, resting her arm on one knee as she looked over herself for injuries. She had a few small scrapes on her knuckles and her neck was aching slightly, but other than that she seemed to be in good condition. She was wearing a set of combats and a blue sleeveless top, but her trenchcoat was nowhere to be seen, she figured it was probably in the crew's quarters to avoid getting it damaged.

As the mercenary looked about the room to see if anything else was amiss, the memories of Finn's departure started to creep into her mind and she was momentarily thrown into a depressive state. She no longer felt the need to cry, she just felt empty inside. Not cold, not hot, not cheerful, furious, or even sad. She felt nothing. It was odd, being so detached from everything and a thought occurred to her that maybe it would be easier to stay this way forever, a hollow shell devoid of any emotion. As soon as this stray thought entered her head she cut it off however, with a flare of her anger.
What am I doing? Wallowing in self-pity like this? That's not what he would have wanted.
The conflict between what she wanted to feel made her inner fire blaze even more furiously, making her want to strike at anything around her. That was probably what she'd spent the day she couldn't remember doing, taking out these feelings on the metal around her. The situation suddenly seemed amusing and she couldn't help laughing out loud at herself. It helped, so she continued to laugh until she was practically crying and bent double over her knees. When she did eventually stop she wiped the back of her hand over her eyes, finding that she'd started crying at some point during her fit of hysteria; the rush of emotions was a relief, even if some of them were negative - it proved she wasn't just a seething ball of rage, empty of anything else.

After a few moments she raised her head, a melancholy smile playing across her lips.
Looks like I'll be ok, eh Finn?"