「Mentality・Reflection・Revelation」

Nemoi stood in the command center of the Chimeras Castle. He stared at the holographic display which surrounded the circular room. The surroundings were beautiful, the forest and in the distance the Castle of Lions.

He closed his eyes partially as he'd bring himself to sit down, deactivating his stealth module in the process. He became entirely visible, but not even a mouse was around. The silence of the halls was strange. There was no one present, no one to disturb him.

In his mind, he was reflecting on the conversation he had overheard. Part of him felt as if they had went there and spoke about him on purpose. Another just allowed him to assume that they were 'just human' and 'humans' were doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again. He knew that social people tend not to think about where they speak, at least not right away. They tend to just start talking. Even soldiers, or Paladins, who are going out to defend the galaxy are not always paying attention to their environments.

No, his mind was focusing too much on their faults and not his own. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter than before, to the point that blue splotches appeared in his vision beneath his eyelids. He could hear the muscles as they spasmed. It wasn't a bad feeling, but it also wasn't a pleasant one. It felt too stiff, so he decided to relax.

Opening his eyes, he began to relax the rest of his body. Relieving himself of tension, the pain was still there. He ached hard, and yet he tried to ignore it.

He was a sole survivor of a crew that numbered in the hundreds. He was a survivor of a race which numbered in the billions to even the trillions with probably less than a million left.

He could barely understand the scale of the change which had proceeded during those ten thousand years of slumber. Yet in the back of his mind all the knowledge of past and future events were jobbled up. He felt like his mind was splitting in two.

Placing a hand on his forehead, his thumb on one temple and his fingers on the other, he leaned forward with his elbow on his knee.

He could hear the shouting of the altean officer over the PA system within the ship screaming. They were being boarded. No, this was just in his mind. This wasn't happening, he was looking backward rather than forward, and in the present.

Nemoi opened his eyes and was greeted by silence. Nothing. He frowned slightly and opened up his status, seeing nothing on there, he growled lowly to himself. So much for a status, he thought. It didn't even show if he was affected by anything, if he had a mental condition. However he didn't feel as if he was different than he was before all this happened, he just felt like there was a heavier weight on his shoulders. A weight he put there on his own.

Did he not really belong here?

His mind went to Katie, how he had confessed to her back then. When she rejected him off the bat, he had tried negotiating by saying he'd help her get her family back. He knew that was probably the only reason why she was getting close to him. She wasn't afraid to use anything, or anyone, at her disposal to get what she needed, in this case her family.

He knew her as honorable and honest, she had always been. She stuck there beside him despite how strange and clingy he got. They had moments, but they were hardly romantic. They were more like comforting and bonding. As he continued to look back, there weren't that many bonding moments either. It was him just following her around, trying to hold her hand, getting her to sleep in the same room.

It was clear that he was tying her to him. He could see that, he began to calm down a bit. Nemoi wasn't angry, not with the Paladins and not with Katie.

He didn't want to be left alone. Everything he had chosen to do from what he could see, was to surround himself with people. Familiar people, familiar faces, a temporary klutch. Nemoi knew he knew their personalities, how they would react, how they interact. He thought he could manipulate them, but that hadn't gotten him anywhere.

Glancing at his inventory, the Fox was at seventy percent. "So it repairs while it's in my inventory... Nice," partially distracted, he glanced up to the ceiling and let out a hefty sigh. "At least I don't have to have it laying out in the open..."

His eyes narrowed on the blinking button at the communications console. It was clear that the Castle of Lions was attempting to communicate. However the castle after Adam had been transferred over, was not to be accepting open channels or incoming hails.

With a flick of his wrist the doors of the command center closed. He shuddered slightly as the sound of them hissing and locking together. He remembered the day that his father locked him in. It wasn't pleasant. They bickered and that was the last thing they ever did together. If he could go back, he would. If he could go back, he'd kill Zarkon, he'd kill Honerva and then should he be wanted as a criminal, he'd abscond with a ship to the far reaches of the universe and outlive everyone beneath the surface of Earth, or orbiting Jupiter...

The more he thought about it, the less practical it sounded. What would the use be if he were to become branded a criminal? They hadn't tried to take over the universe, so why would he have killed them? He folded his hands beneath his chin and continued to think about everything.

He remained in the command center for hours, just thinking to himself and about himself.

During this time the Paladins, Allura and the group tried to make contact with him. They flew their shuttles close to the Castle. They even entered the castle, and with no resistance, made it to the sealed door of the Command Center.

Yet with all their persistence, they couldn't get his attention, nor get passed the doors.

Even as Pidge attempted to hack into it, it seemed that there was no point in doing so. The doors had been magnetically sealed and a biometric system and voice command system had been put in place.

Even on Earth biometric scans and thumb print scans seemed to be the best kind of security to keep doors closed and eyes out. They weren't easily hackable, if at all. A voice could be faked, a password can be guessed, but for a biometric scan they needed a sample.

Despite the fact that he had bled prior, samples had not been obtained and had been since disposed of. The irony of that fact left them struck out of luck.

So when they returned to the castle of Lions, they suddenly came across the Arusian's greatest hunter gatherer. Everything went as planned, except for the lack of Sendak and his remnants. There was no one left to attack them in the sector, they were in the clear. So they declared they would be leaving the next day.

They could only assume Lord Nemoi Vargon knew of their plans to depart. And yet they heard nothing from him still into the late hours of the day's celebration.

While it could be seen as distressing to them, he was beginning to find himself. Or at least that is what he believed he was doing. Isolating himself like he had once been before, he let his thoughts roam in his head. Yet these thoughts were not the same as before.

These thoughts were meditated upon. He was sorting out his feelings, his desires. While he knew his original pursuit of Katie wasn't in the right mind, he did find himself still attracted to her. She was someone he admired because of how he watched her develop alongside her team. Her mannerisms, her experiences, she was someone he could relate to.

Allura was someone who ignored him in the beginning, but he knew she developed to be a more refined character. Just right now she sounded snobby to him, bratty. Though he knew she was always genuinely worried about everyone close to her, and that she herself was a fragile person.

However he had other attractions he could pursue. They'd be a lot of work, and he doubted he could cling to them like he did Katie. It would likely take a lot more effort as they were followers of someone else and fighting on the opposite side.

While there was a probability he could turn Lotor over to the side of good, he felt that it wouldn't work out. It'd be just like when Allura had thought he was a good man, only to find that he was questing for Quintessence just like his parents before him.

In his mind, Lotor was just power hungry and neglected. While he'd make a better Emperor of the Galra, it didn't mean he was the best.

Shaking his head slightly, he could feel his head pulsing from the pain. He didn't feel hungry, yet he felt empty. These thoughts, while they were better than what he had before, they were only helping a small amount.

Nemoi still felt drawn to the idea of becoming a King, the power that came with it, and the followers who he'd surround himself with.

Taking in a deep breath, he exhaled slowly, there was no more tension in his arms. He slowly raised from his seated position, stretching as he had been seated unhealthily for hours without moving much.

As he did so, his eyes narrowed on the Castle of Lions. Part of him wanted to go back there, part of him didn't. He looked over at the main console in the center of the room and then walked over to it. He caressed its glowing blue surface, the console beeping in response to his touch.

As the doors to the command center were to open, he turned and walked out of the room. Making his way down to the bedroom in the habitat section, he came to a stop as he stared at a piece of destroyed repurposed sentry.

A brow began to raise. This wasn't something he would have left laying around and he was pretty sure the Paladins would have no reason to destroy it. He glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was there, but there was none.

Reaching up, he removed his helmet, revealing his face to anyone whom could be watching. He wasn't quite sure who was there. From his memories, there was no one else in this sector who Zarkon had called on screen. So could it be he had changed the cycle of events?

Walking over to the terminal built into the wall by his bedroom, he opened up a screen and began going through the security logs. There were discrepancies everywhere when compared to normal activity aside from the Paladins coming and going over hours ago. "I seem to have a spook..." He muttered to himself before hearing the patty pawing of a small mammal making its way down the hall.

His eyes darted to the side and he saw a small cat-like alien, a beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "Kova?" His words were vocalized subconsciously, which stopped not only the cat in dead strut, but also Narti who was directly behind him and out of sight.

She was mere inches from touching him, and yet found herself frozen. Confused. Why did he know the cats name? The only cat she could interact with? She nodded slightly as the cat informed her of who he was, how it knew him.

It turned out Zarkon had warned his son, and despite his wayward ways, tasked him with removing Nemoi. Lotor who despised his father and denied the fact that Haggar was his mother, hating her in turn, so in spite he wanted to capture him.

It would be easy to assume Lotor believed his father saw Nemoi as a threat. The question was, who was he a threat to the most?

That's when he turned his head, his eyes locked on Narti. "Hello Narti. Been a good girl?" His tone and mannerism had superficially changed, sounding like a mockingly respectful gentlemen. Her hand was centimeters from touching his bare face. "I'll come along nicely, no need for the mind games."