[Kitsumi]

The Seraph stared down at the gun in her hand. It was now clear to her that Kzeleck was being serious. He was leaving the decision up to her. He trusted her to make the right decision. With her partner trusting her so implicitly, Gloria knew that she had to do what was right.

Handing the gun back to him, she shook her head. "As long as I don't have to see her ever again, I don't want to have to kill her. I do, however, want her monitored...not by us. I want her to be in an environment where she can't harm anyone. I don't want her stabbing anyone else."

[Jedi]

Kzeleck wasn't the type to usually take prisoners, but there was a place that had been provided when he had started. It had been given to him by the same agency that had been sending him to hunt them. He had never actually used it, considering that Gloria was his first target to not be killed on the spot. Luckily, he hadn't even informed his superiors that Alana was alive. He'd kept telling them that he was tracking her, but that she was more clever than him. Clever enough to avoid his detection. All of which were lies. "I have a place we can put her. Do you want to see it first?" He could take her there at any moment he wished, as the agency never monitored it anymore.

[Kitsumi]

"A place? You mean...like a prison?" Gloria had simply meant that she wanted Alana monitored. But if keeping her imprisoned was an option, she would definitely consider that as well. "Yeah, I'd like to see the place. Is it something you came up with yourself? Or did the agency create it?" It would be a surprise to find out the latter. Kzeleck hadn't exactly been in the mood to take prisoners before the Seraph began insisting that they give aliens the chance to behave themselves before putting them down.

[Jedi]

"It's nearby, created by the agency. I've been there a few times, but not in a while. We should leave now to check it out. Just play along." He went back to the door panel and pushed the button again. Immediately, there was a loud thud, the door unbarring from the wall. He opened it up and walked up. He strapped on a sidearm as well as a melee weapon. Alana came up to him, asking "What's going on? How is Gloria?" He lied, "She's doing better, but still a little nerve-wracked. I'm taking her out for a scouting mission. Maybe the fresh air will help."

[Kitsumi]

"Alright," Gloria said. "I"m ready to go when you are. I hope playing along involves plenty of scowling at Alana. I don't think I can look at her without getting upset." While she didn't want the woman to die, she also couldn't just forget that Alana had tried to kill her.

Frowning, the Seraph was barely able to bite back the question she wanted to fling at Alana. Why did the alien care about how she was doing? It was her fault that Gloria was even in this situation! Turning her head, she forced herself not to look at the woman as she followed Kzeleck outside.

[Jedi]

After Gloria stepped out of the building, he closed the door. He entered a key sequence on the panel next to the door. Kzeleck was the only one who could enter or leave the building willingly, a measure of added security. It also meant that Alana could not leave the building while they were out. "Alright, just follow me, Gloria."

Before too long, they were standing in the entryway of another small building. It was roughly the size of a small shack. "I know it doesn't look like much, but trust me. It's more than it seems." He pulled up a trapdoor, then pressed a button on the floor. From where the trapdoor had been, rose a small elevator box. "Going down?"

[Kitsumi]

Out of respect - and now a force of habit - Gloria looked away while her partner punched in the code for the door. She had asked him quite a few times in the beginning for the code, but he had refused. While she wasn't exactly a prisoner anymore, she still wasn't allowed to go wandering around on her own. "Lead the way," she replied simply.

"Oh, I'm sure it's more than just a shack." Despite the situation, the woman couldn't help but grin. "Everything is more than it seems with you, Kzeleck." Standing back, she allowed him to show her the way in. When the elevator appeared, she stepped inside. "Bottom floor, please." She decided to play along with his little joke.

[Jedi]

He pressed the button, starting the small elevator's decent. On their way down, there was a loud thud as the elevator pulled the trapdoor closed over them. Kzeleck stood there, next to the woman he had longed to see awaken again. He truly had missed her over the past weeks. "So how are you feeling? You're not dizzy or nauseous from unconsciousness, are you?" He held his hands together behind his back, trying to look professional. He wanted to know she was okay, but didn't want to screw anything up between them. After all this time, she was still his only friend.

[Kitsumi]

The sudden concern Kzeleck was showing was...almost unnerving, to be honest. Gloria was so used to seeing his more stern, almost feral side. But their time together had tamed him, even if only slightly. Perhaps all he had needed was interaction with another being who showed him kindness? Either way, she smiled at him and reached behind him to grab one of his hands. "I'm fine, physically. And I'm sorry I snapped at you, about the whole Alana thing. It was just disconcerting to awaken from the brink of death, only to find the woman who tried to kill you still hanging around."

[Jedi]

The rush of her hand grabbing his was enough to spike his heart rate. He tightened his grip, trying to soak up the warmth of it. "I'm sorry about that. I should have kept her locked up as soon as that happened." He was slightly lying, as that was, in a way, what he was doing. He had kept her locked inside their base and away from Gloria's body. It wasn't until this evening that Alana managed to see her still alive. He guess was that she assumed Gloria to be dead. He gave her little access to his lair. Just the basic accessories; Bathroom, kitchen, living room. But he kept all weapons away from her. He gave her no access to any knives in his kitchen either, as those could easily be used for weaponry.

[Kitsumi]

"Eh, I guess she technically is under lock-down. I mean, you don't allow her outside without you, right?" It may have just been because she was eager for things to be alright between the two of them, but she was beginning to forgive him for allowing Alana to live. After all, to him it had probably been a sort of gift. He was allowing Gloria to decide the other woman's fate.

When the elevator stopped, Gloria stepped out first, tugging Kzeleck along after her. "So, you plan on giving me the grand tour, right?"

[Jedi]

The elevator opened to a convergence of three hallways; one to the left, one to the right, and one straight forward. His heart sped up as she pulled him out of the elevator. "Sure I will, if you'll let me." He managed to get a hold of himself, then cocked his head in the direction he was going to take her. "This way." He led her down the right hall, briefly explaining half a dozen aliens that he had put in here. They were all aliens that the two of them had tracked down together. Several of them had snarled, glaired and even verbally assaulted them as they passed by. Then he led her to the end of the hallway. There stood a bolted steel door. Beside it was a panel which was the operations to it. Using his free hand, he punched in the code. A large bang was heard as the bars that bolted the door shut suddenly retracted into the frame. The door slowly creaked open.

Inside, was a living space, complete with bed, bathroom and refrigerator. "The place uses alien technology to generate food, evaporate waste and even recycle carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen. They kept me here when they first caught me. So do you think this is an adequate place for Alana to live? Away from us but perfectly comfortable?" Part of him yearned for the pleasure of executing her himself, but felt it better if Gloria's wishes be fulfilled.

[Kitsumi]

Gloria laughed. "Oh, yeah, sorry about that. It's pretty hard to lead when someone's pulling you along, huh?" Giving his hand a gentle squeeze, she followed him down the path to the right. "So this is where you've been keeping all the aliens we've left imprisoned!" Her face turned a bright red as one of the prisoners made mention of her in a rather crude fashion. "Looks like they're not too happy to be detained. Oh well, not like I care. I'm just glad they're not out there hurting people."

"This seems nice enough," Gloria said, looking around. It was a lot more than what the other prisoners had. This was more like a living space than a prison cell. "It locks from the outside, correct? I don't want her getting out and hurting people. Maybe she isn't as dangerous as I think she is...but I don't want to take that risk. Not yet, at least. I'm just...not ready." She looked down, her free hand rising to touch the mark over her heart where Alana had plunged the knife.

[Jedi]

Kzeleck couldn't help but notice as she touched her scar. He turned to look at her. "I'm sorry, Gloria." He placed his hand where hers was, feeling as if he were touching her heart. His hand raised to rest against her face. It was then that he looked at Gloria in a completely different way. He couldn't explain it, but he felt like he was being drawn towards her. He stepped just a little closer, leaning in towards her. His face was just a few centimeters away from hers when he realized what he was doing, but he didn't pull back.

[Kitsumi]

With the man's hand pressed over where her heart was, the organ began to beat faster at his touch. "Kzeleck," Gloria whispered, wondering if he realized what he was doing. It became obvious that he did, when his hand rose to touch her face. She blushed, wanting to look away out of a sudden feeling of shyness, but unable to tear her gaze away. When he leaned in, she almost forgot to breathe. He stopped, but didn't pull away. She realized that he was waiting for her, giving her the chance to pull back if she wanted. It was a respectful move, and one that made her realize just how much she didn't want to move away. Instead, she leaned forward.

And her lips met his.