Owen

I would be lying if I said I wasn't anxious about meeting up with Spencer. We had once been friends - not friends like Vai, Esther and the others, but friends. Then we became enemies - not by my choice. I helped kill his mother who tried to strangle me. His mother had always been kind and bright before the Corruption became a part of her. And now I was meeting him again to make a business deal.

My hand gripped the bag tighter - so tight my fingernails began to cut into my skin. It wasn't hard enough to bleed - or maybe it was. I didn't check.

Vai put a large hand on my shoulder as we stepped out of the elevator on deck 2 as if he knew I was feeling anxious. He probably did. I wondered how much his green light showed him. How did anxiety look in the eyes of one who could heal? Did my adrenaline levels jump? Did my heart beat rapidly? Could Vai see all that?

I looked up into his dark eyes, but didn't see any sign of his green light. He smiled down at me. "It's going to be all right," he said. "I'm here and Warpaint is here."

"Yes. I am here, sir," Warpaint stated matter-of-factly.

"It's not too late to call the deal off if you are really worried about it," Vai said. "I don't want to see you in trouble with security again."

"I'm already in trouble," I said. "As soon as they figure out I killed people, it won't matter that I'm a minor."

"I've killed too," Vai said. "And what's worse, Other Vai killed innocents. Security isn't going to know that was an incomplete clone and now I've taken over his body."

Vai mentioned the clone thing again. He said it like it didn't bother him, but he wouldn't keep bringing it up if it didn't. I didn't care that he was a clone. The original Vai meant nothing to me. This Vai was my friend. He was a complete person. I wondered if I should say something.

"What?" Vai asked.

I shook my head. Now wasn't the time to deal with his identity issues. I needed to see this deal through with Spencer. I had to. I knew it wouldn't bring his mother back, but it would help him in some small way.

"Let's go," I said.

I led the way down the corridor towards the Starrise. The restaurant was closed. The lights were out. All was quiet. We continued on through the dim corridor passed the Starrise. I came around the curve first and stopped.

Spencer wasn't alone. Hani and Nathan leaned up against the corridor wall. Spencer stood in front of them. They spoke in whispers. Nathan noticed us first and nodded in our direction. Spencer turned to look at me. His blue eyes drifted to Vai and then Warpaint before settling back to me. He approached me. Hani and Nathan came behind him.

"You're not alone," I said quietly.

"Neither are you," he said.

That was true.

"I have 50 chocolates." I held up the black bag. "I'll arrange to get more when these are gone."

Spencer took the bag and opened it. He took out one chocolate wrapped in gold foil. He unwrapped it and took a small bite. He let it linger in his mouth for a few moments before he handed the rest to Hani. She smiled brightly and bit half of the remaining chocolate and handed the rest to Nathan. He popped the rest into his mouth.

"I'll want the wrappers back if possible," I said. He handed me the empty gold foil and I tucked it away into a pocket.

"That was the same as our old deal," Spencer said. "That won't be a problem. I'll pay you for the 50 pieces now. When you bring more I'll pay you more."

I nodded.

Spencer navigated through his Okulus. "I just sent you the money with twenty percent more than my mom used to pay you as agreed upon." He looked down at me. And waited.

It was my fault his mom was dead and the only thing I could do for him was a business deal for chocolate? Really? That was it?

"Don't you want to check to make sure the money went through?" Spencer asked. He handed the bag of chocolate to Hani. She squeezed it tightly as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

"No," I said and my voice cracked with the emotion I was trying to keep hidden.

"It's okay if you do," Spencer said. "I won't be offended. This is a business deal after all."

"No," I said again. I grabbed his wrist.

He looked down at me confused. I tugged on his arm until he crouched down so he was eye level.

"Your mom is dead," I whispered. Spencer's body tightened and he tried to pull away, but I wouldn't let him. My vision became blurry as stinging tears welled in my eyes. I blinked and the tears spilled onto my cheeks. "The Corruption took her over. A parasitic alien species that uses us as hosts to do whatever they want. There isn't a way to fight them. She choked me. She tried to kill me."

"Owen! What are you doing?"

I ignored Vai. Spencer tried to pull away again, but I held on tighter and with the light he was no longer stronger than me. Spencer's legs gave out on him and he collapsed in front of me.

"You can recognize the Corruption from the pink glint in the eyes," I went on.

Spencer pinched his eyes shut tight. Not to try and hide any pink glint, but to try and deal with what I was telling him. I knew then that he had seen the pink in his mother's eyes.

"This isn't funny, Owen," Hani said from behind Spencer.

"Really what are you doing?" Nathan asked me.

"Owen, stop," Vai said. "They'll be in danger you can't - "

I put one hand on Spencer's forehead and the other to the back of his neck.

"Owen!" I heard Vai's steps as he rushed up behind me.

I put up my yellow shield around myself and Spencer before Vai reached me. His hand hovered over my shoulder.

"Please, Owen, you are putting them in danger."

But Vai was wrong. They were already in danger at least this way they knew it.

"There is only one way to stop them from getting in to take you over," I said quietly as tears continued to spill onto my cheek. "I will give it to you. I know it can't make amends to what I've done, but it's something."

"Owen, we have to at least discuss this with the others," Vai said. "Drop your shield. Owen. Listen to me."

Hani reached out to Spencer, but her hand stopped inches away from his shoulder.

"What is this? Why can't I touch him?'

Nathan reached out, but he was stopped by my shield too. "What is this, Vai?"

Spencer's eyes were opened. Great tears spilled out. He didn't know exactly what I spoke of, but an understanding passed between us at that moment. He gave me permission even if he didn't know what he gave me permission to do.

I closed my eyes and reached for his light. I tugged and pulled. It resisted like taffy and then suddenly sprang forth in a mustard yellow.

I opened my eyes to see him staring down at the palm of his hand. Yellow blazed all around him. I dropped my shield.

"Owen, what have you done?" Vai asked from behind me.

"I couldn't protect Adi Pines, I can protect her son."

Vai dropped to his knees beside us. "This isn't protecting him."

I looked at Vai. "He was in danger. They are all in danger whether they have the light or not. At least with the light he can keep them out so he has his own mind."

"But if the Corruption finds out they'll target him and try to kill him," Vai said. "They just tried to kill you. They've already ki - " he glanced at Hani and Nathan, "tried to kill me on Doussix."

"What are you talking about?" Nathan demanded.

Hani kneeled next to Spencer and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right?" she asked.

"I don't know," he said as he stared down at his yellow light.

"My light is yellow too," I told him, "but brighter." I surrounded myself with the light. He looked up from his hand to study the light around me. Then he looked at Vai.

Vai closed his eyes and breathed out heavily. "I can't believe you did this, Owen." He opened his eyes and his green light surrounded him. "My light is green," he said.

"You still aren't explaining to me," Nathan said. He stood in front of Hani and Spencer as if to protect them from me and Vai.

"Everything Owen said about the alien species - the Corruption is true," Vai said. "They call themselves the miasmids. They've infiltrated different facets of the government. Captain Axa has the Corruption inside her."

"All the disappearances on the ship," Hani said, "was that you? Did they all have the Corruption."

"We're not responsible for all the disappearances," Vai said, "but yes, those we were responsible for had the Corruption. There is no way to separate the Corruption from you completely once they have bonded. We had no choice."

"What proof do you have that this is real and you aren't crazy?" Nathan asked. "Because to me it sounds like you are just crazy and tormenting an already tormented Spencer."

"The power of my light is fire," I said. I brought the flames to the palm of my hand. Nathan and Hani drew back from me. They couldn't see my yellow light, but they could see the flames.

"How?" Nathan asked.

Spencer blinked at the fire in my hand unsurprised before he turned back to the light in his hand. "I don't think mine is fire."

"All of ours has been different so far," I said. "Esther said even if the light is the same color the powers can be vastly different."

"Esther? Shel's new foster sister? She's involved in this?" Hani asked. "Does that mean Shel and Minmin are too?"

"Yes," I said. "Esther was on a colony that discovered an ancient alien who brought out their light. They called him the Awakened One, but the Corruption found them and killed all of them. Esther managed to escape mainly because of the Awakened One. We found another Awakened One on Doussix, but he had to retreat when the Corruption attacked us there. Am I giving them too much information?" I asked Vai.

"We're way passed that," Vai said.

"I had to give him some way to protect himself," I said to Vai in the hopes that he would understand.

Vai sighed and placed his hand on my shoulder.

"I can't see any light," Hani said.

"You can't until it's been opened in you," I said. "Do you want me to open it in you? As Vai said, once the Corruption knows you have it, they'll try to kill you, but it is the only real way to keep them from taking control of you."

"I want it," Hani said without taking the time to think about it.

I stepped towards her, but Vai held me back. "Maybe she should take a day to think on it," he said.

"She said she wanted it," I said. I moved out of his grasp and went to Hani. I placed a hand on her forehead and the other behind her neck. Her light was pink.

"Like Esther's," I said out loud. It was a little darker pink than Esther's, but a similar shade.

Hani smiled at her pink hands. "It's so pretty," she said.

"I guess we might as well give it to you too," Vai said to Nathan. Nathan didn't protest as Vai approached him. Nathan's light was gray.

"This seems a little - dull," Nathan said as he looked down at his light.

"It is the same color as the Awakened One's on Doussix," I said.

Nathan brightened at this. "Really?"

Vai nodded in agreement.

"What could his do?" Nathan asked.

"We weren't really around him long enough to know," Vai said, "but I think it might have to do with dirt or rocks. He was hiding deep underground when we found him."

"So, should we start hanging out with you and your friends?" Hani asked. "Start learning more about the light?"

I was about to say yes, but Vai said, "No."

All of us looked at him in surprise.

"The Corruption don't know you have it yet. Learn as much as you can on your own first. Hopefully they won't know you have the light. Just send us messages and we'll help you discover what we can that way. If you ever think the Corruption is targeting you, let us know. I think you are safer on your own as long as the Corruption doesn't know you have the light. If that changes, then you should train with us."

Vai looked at me and shook his head. "Next time discuss with the rest of us first."

I smiled up at him. "Of course, my friend."