Erased

Dietrich could still feel an inner pain much too difficult for him to handle on his own; Earendil was quiet and his restricting handcuffs made it impossible for him to leave, rather he kept his eyes on Dietrich, trailing him as he walked across the room in search of tools. He had transferred Earendil and 10010129 to a comfortable room within the counsel palace. Dietrich caught sight of him and they stared at one another for a brief moment, Earendil eventually looked away, Dietrich sighed and turned his attention to 10010129, the ship's android as it slumbered in the decoding chamber. They looked content and youthful, unlike any creature in their galaxy they truly could live forever.

Earendil sat up and looked at Dietrich, despite being deaf or mute he could command attention. Dietrich watched as Earendil pressed both of his hands together, not leaving him to chance he yanked the kid from the sofa.

'EEERRrrrruukkkkkuuuu!!!!!!' A loud sound interrupted them; as it brought Dietrich to his knees and sent Earendil hurling to the floor, an elusive tension was in the air constantly building. The pressure building in Earendil's eardrums causing him to scream in agony, Dietrich grabbed the kid and held his head close to his chest before scanning the room for the sound.

Dietrich noticed 129, they popped up from their chamber and there was code flashing in their eyes. Earendil winced in pain and Dietrich held him closer trying to alleviate the pain unsuccessfully. Just as sudden as the sound had come, it disappeared and Dietrich let Earendil settle to the floor. He checked his pulse and ran his hand across the kids' buzz-cut head before turning on his com.

"What in the hell are you doing, you nearly killed us?" Dietrich yelled towards the android before returning his attention to an unconscious Earendil, he sighed and let his head fall into his hands.

From deep within the exiting bowels of the Cryislis called a mechanic, he appeared on screen to give a late warning.

"An alarm was triggered when the system started processing the new upgrades that it couldn't avoid. It's my fault for not running the proper coding maneuvers. Sorry for any disturbances it caused' He took off his hat and held it in his hands, looking at the tank next to him as it started to beep. 'I didn't mean to cause any chagrin to you or any other crew members, King Dietrich" A small dwarf spoke hesitantly through the screen.

"Never mind the mistake, don't let it happen again!" Dietrich yelled angrily making the mechanic jump back frightened. 129 disconnected the signal and turned her attention to Dietrich who was cursing under his breath as he tried to bring Earendil to. 129 came next to Earendil and x-rayed his body with their renal scanners.

"Do you give me permission to wake him, Excellency?" The android asked pointing their finger at his chest. Dietrich warily looked at them and then at Earendil.

"Don't hurt him.' Dietrich said weakly before backing away from the kid. 'I'll downgrade you to an A.I. system if anything goes wrong" He whispered behind her, the android pressed her fingertips over his soft round chest.

Dietrich watched in fear as electricity licked the air around and through her hands before they went into his chest making his body jolt. He laid there unresponsive, Dietrich could feel the tension in his chest rise, the android reassessed and leaned against his chest to check his heartbeat. Earendil's heart pounded softly as he laid there.

"He has a steady pulse, he should've regained consciousness." 129 said quietly.

Abruptly; Earendil grabbed a hold of 129 by the wrist, sending 1000 joules throughout their system with a crude complacent smile, he rolled over and jumped up. Dietrich watched in terror as the android dropped to the ground, enraged he looked at Earendil and watched as electricity ran around the elven boy and across his eyes. He dashed to the doors but the shields rose around him. He whipped around and looked at Dietrich with disgust, Dietrich returned his gaze with annoyance.

Brothers will be brothers.

< Amoeba's Expanse: Tower of memory>

Amoeba sat beside her bed; she tried to keep her eyes open as she watched Balin slumbering, she kept breathing him in.

Interspecies beings were a sacred commodity, a rare species but human beings were impossible to find. She had sketched him in the water as it floated up through the ceiling, she knew that water had memory and she never wanted to forget a single moment meeting her first interspecies, human. He stirred in his sleep, restless in his dreams he was back on Galleria capturing the sunlight in crystal jars. She stared at him with hope, ambition and excitement. His eyelashes flit open, his light brown eyes widen as he caught her peering back at him.

" Aahhhh!!!!!" Balin shrieked, falling to the rough dirt floor. Amoeba fluttered above a nearby perch and peered over its bedding at him.

He curiously looked at her above him, how her silks dripped off her shoulders and onto the duvet, her skin shimmered in the lamplight.

'She's pulchritudinous.' He thought the incredibly long word seemed to echo in his mind as he took in every bit of her.

"I'll give you a riddle,

one sleeping, one wrong and one right,

you can't catch me here,

but on the petals in the morning sunlight?" Amoeba spoke in riddle upside down, mesmerized he watched her translucent silks reflect light in turn as she twirled through the air. She was grinning at him, he found her sharp teeth alluring and fascinating. She was close now but he didn't feel endangered.

She touched his cheek softly and held his face in her arms.

"Is it dew.....is it dewdrops?" He spoke in a certain matter-of-fact way, Amoeba could tell her powers were working on him. She pushed him slightly onto the ground, the moss floor cushioning him, her nails trailing down his shirt.

"Are you going to...going to kill me?' Balin said terrified as he started to realize he couldn't move. She noticed his fears seeping through his pheromones. He shut his eyes tight and, his face went sour. The air between them started to tense and fizzle.

"Light is concise, speak with honest replies." He whispered and both their ears popped as if they were underwater. He opened one eye and watched her shaking her head to one side.

"What do you want with me?" He asked Amoeba sitting up slowly realizing her powers were wearing off quickly. She gave him a glance over and quickly clasped handcuffs over his wrist and locked them in place. He held her hand in his own and inquired with his eyes until she had to speak.

"Dietrich wants me to watch over you. He told me that you're the stow-away who attacked him..." she surprised even herself when riddles failed to come from her mouth as if she'd been released from a verbal prison. She held her throat and looked at him in shock.

"What kind of magic is this?' she kept her eyes on him as she inched away from him. When he looked away from her she quickly reached into her silks and lunged at him.

They fell to the dirt, rolling around for dominance until he laid on top of her motionless.

The tranquillizer quickly put him to sleep, she pushed him onto the floor beside her.

"How did he do that?' Amoeba sat up and stared at him for a moment. 'Who are you?" She rested her fingertips on his temples and started to scan through his memories. She was deep inside his mind, trying to find the trigger for his hatred of the Alliance and Dietrich. She watched him as his memories told the story of a young Elven prince following idly in the footsteps of his strict Elven father, how he longed for the presence of his mother and how much he loved his little brother.

She saw Lia; a full reenactment of her death played in the background of every scene, she was laughing at a party, all the moments with Lia were hyper-focus on her. She could feel the warmth of Lia's head pressed against his own, the smell of licorice as she breathed close to him. Through his eyes, she was beautiful and tender and strong. As if he had so much to say to her but there was never truly an opportunity to say the things that needed to be said, he was always being dragged away by his father to complete medial tasks for the people of his kingdom.

There was never a moment for them, he tried to fight her but with the tranquillizer assistance, she overpowered him. She left the memory of Lia and strolled through other memories, she stopped as he stood next to a high window. From his perch, she could see the battle unfolding below him. He was focused on a tall robust Elf as he glided through battle, every swing he sliced through an Alliance warrior. She noticed Yuma in the background hurling her axe wildly and several yards away Dietrich, he floated through the crowd using Tryfing to weave in and out of the Elven warriors.

His feet gracefully touched the terrain soil and Tryfing spun around him, the robust Elf lunged for Dietrich but without an ounce of remorse, Tryfing pierced the Elf's skull. Amoeba sensed Balin, he groaned in sadness beneath her, she slowly altered the memory.

She rewrote his memories. Every moment with Dietrich she modelled after Lia, she kept Lia just the way she was and changed everything else. When Balin awoke from the tranquillizer, everything would be different. Balin was no longer Balin however, he was a tool of the Alliance.

She'd made him the prefect puppet for Dietrich.