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Chapter Text

Odalys stood tall against the wind, her white hair being blown every way behind her. She tightened her grip on the glaive she used as a walking stick and smirked when she saw the telltale shimmer in the reflection of the metal that meant Ancient Chaser was trying to sneak up on her. Instead of humor the old hunter, Odalys turned to him, chuckling. "You're getting sloppy in your old age," Odalys taunted. Of course, this was a lie; anyone with a trained eye could spot the shimmer.

Ancient Chaser had been living with Odalys for years, every year becoming more and more agitated. His ship had been torn apart by a Bad Blood and while he'd sent out his distress signal it seemed that no one was coming for him. What could stop them from picking him up? He was only stranded on Earth, unless of course, he suspected, his signal was never broadcasted in the first place because it was broken. He had no way to fix it though, as the technology available to him was old and useless.

Odalys hadn't minded him hunting when he finally did, being an immigrant from Mexico, she loved that Ancient Chaser hunted Marines and other well-trained personnel. It's one of the reasons she let him stay on her property. Odalys tsked when he remained cloaked and shrugged, turning her back to him just to enrage him. She was old and ready to die. Her children didn't visit anyway. "What's got you in a bad mood today?" Odalys wondered, looking back at the sunset over the mountains when he didn't ram the glaive into her heart for her insolence, though they both knew it was more painful for her to live than it was to die.

Ancient Chaser decloaked and clicked in agitation, not saying anything. Together they watched the sunset and said nothing. "You're dying," Ancient Chaser clicked, making Odalys' eyes widen.

"That's your problem?" She laughed, shaking his arm. "We all die, no need to cry about it." Odalys teased, watching in amusement as he spread his lower mandibles. She knew what he meant: he'd be lonely. But she couldn't help to want to tease him a little, she liked being a pain in his ass. "Besides, I'm ready to die." Odalys sighed. "Wish you'd actually fight me, though. It's more thrilling to die from a battle than in my sleep."

"I only fight warriors worthy of a challenge." Ancient Chaser denied for the thousandth time. Odalys wished he'd just end her life already. "Where will I go? No ship, no land. I'll again be alone," he said, facing Odalys. "You've been a generous host, while not an honorable warrior, your death won't be forgotten."

"Yeah, okay, tell that to my kids who don't visit," Odalys says, rolling her eyes. "I'm going to bed. This house will be yours as long as you want it. Though I hope something changes for you, I know being here must drive you mad." Odalys squeezed his shoulder sympathetically before turning and walking back to her house.

Ancient Chaser followed Odalys to the house, her humble three bed two bath ranch nestled gently between the barn and the cliff face. "I will be leaving for another hunt, I plan to be back in a few days."

Odalys didn't even acknowledge him as she walked to her fireplace and stared at the pictures of her husband and children. Somehow, she felt it now that he'd mentioned it. Walking back into her house Odalys' bones ached to be rid of their living burden and even the glaive wasn't a good enough support. She tripped on the carpet and caught herself, the boom of the glaive like a final warning. "I think it's going to happen tonight, Ancient Chaser," Odalys whispered, straightening. She picked up the most recent picture of her daughter and studied it with misty eyes.

She wished she could hold her baby in her arms again, even if just one last time, but knew it wasn't going to happen. Not after Alice felt she'd caused her father's death. She couldn't stand the house and neither could any of her siblings. So Odalys lived alone; abandoned. Alice was travelling the world and sometimes would send postcards, though. The only child who still kept semi-contact even though Odalys sent letters to all of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. The picture Odalys held was from the Himalayas from two years ago when Alice had climbed halfway. She said she'd wanted to make it to the top someday, but that she'd train harder the next year. Odalys figured since she never got another postcard Alice ended up abandoning the goal.

"Do I call them?" Odalys wondered out loud, knowing Ancient Chaser was still lingering in the doorway. Though he tried to hide his presence, Odalys was accustomed to the creaks in the wood that meant he was there. Odalys shook her head, setting the picture down. "No. I want you to have this house. You've lived with me for twenty years now." Odalys turned to Ancient Chaser, his erect body no different now than when he'd crashed down all those years ago and slain the other just outside her home.

Her green eyes looked at the long gash down his green and yellow molt patterned chest where he'd been hurt and chuckled fondly, remembering how she'd played nurse. Her once black hair and thin body now gray and fat made her annoyed. She chuckled and shook her head at him, though, dismissing her inner jealousy of his abled body. It wasn't his fault he was of a different species.

Odalys realized this would be her last interaction with him and cleared her throat. With a straightened back, she pushed her fear of the unknown aside and with the help of the glaive walked over to him. She bowed her head in respect. "Thank you for keeping an old croon like me company. I'm 88 years old and yet I've got nothing to show for it. I wish you honor and good travels. I know you'll figure out some way to get off of this shit hole and so before you leave I need you to do two things. One, I want to be buried under the oak tree next to my husband and our dog Ruffles. Will you do that, Ancient Chaser?"

He nodded and relief flooded Odalys' body, making her life her head to smile genuinely at the old timer. "Thank you. Second, I want you to gift you the glaive you gave me. It's been an honor to possess such a weapon and I'm thankful for your generosity. Besides, we both know it's much cooler to carry around a sword than a walking stick." The two of them shared a fond chuckle, Ancient Chaser accepting her gift.

"It has been an honor. Peaceful travels." Ancient Chaser said, gently shaking her shoulder. The two shared a nod then he turned and left, the heavy glaive resting easy in his hands.

Odalys chuckled and looked back at her bedroom, taking the picture of her dead husband with her from her side table as she walked back to her room. She knew the old guy had grown fond of her, even if only a little, and figured he'd have more to say during their final goodbye, but like her husband, he was a man of few words.

"I can feel that tonight is the night, Bernard. We got 34 years before you died in the accident. Now I can't wait to see you in Heaven and tell you all about my life. I have so much to share with you. I lived with an alien, Bernard, can you believe that? You were always so interested in aliens but I was the one who actually got to meet them. Kind of ironic if you think about it."

Odalys laid down and sighed happily, petting Bernard's face. She closed her eyes and drifted off, content. Ancient Chaser crouched under her window and listened in silently. He sighed when his mask showed her heartbeat stop and looked up at the stars, now completely alone again. While he'd never admit it out loud he had grown fond of her, though he felt it was more proximity based than actual enjoyment of a shared space with the old human. Either way, he was disappointed he hadn't met her when she was in her prime and able to get an honorable death.

"Where are you?" He wondered, wishing he'd see a ship entering the atmosphere to pick him up. 20 years. Twenty long, boring years stranded on this planet with an old and lonely woman kind enough to extend her home and food to him. This was not an honorable way to end, living out his life stuck on a planet full of humans. While they made good prey, he was bored of their presence. He wanted something new, something bigger. Next time he was thinking of going for an r'ka. As soon as he got off this planet that's what he would do.

When the morning sun rose he stood and looked in the window at his dead companion, her brittle arms wrapped around a picture frame. He sighed and got to work digging her grave. When the last touch was done, Ancient Chaser nodded, moving away from the fresh dirt and the piece of granite countertop he'd used as a headstone. He simply carved in her name, unsure of the exact dates and not sentimental enough to write anything else.

Then he hunted.

Months went by alone and he again grew used to the solitude. No one visited Odalys in the years he'd been there except three times. Once her son showed up for money, the second was a group of robbers who thought Odalys had passed, and the third was her daughter and grandson with the news that they were moving across the world to continue her research.

Any more visitation than that he didn't know, mostly because there were long periods of time where he went on hunts. His favorite being his targeting of a US military base. He'd hoped to find high tech ships that he could jerry-rig for his, but had only found disappointment. Humans weren't advanced enough, though they were quickly getting there it seemed. Thinking about it now, he realized that another raid would be necessary to check and see if the humans had cracked the technology barriers, but as of right how he was satisfied with hunting.

Coming back from his hunt with new skulls, Ancient Chaser did what he normally did and put them away in his ever growing trophy room on his ship before habitually going to the house. When he entered and didn't hear the news playing he was confused until through the window he looked at the oak tree and remembered his friend was dead.

He clicked his mandibles and stood there, stumped. What would he do now? He figured he could train and so that's what he did. For the next period of time, he trained, the Spring melting into Summer he trained and hunted for food and trained, sometimes checking the signal on his ship. Another year slipped by and finally, a car pulled up the driveway.

Ancient Chaser instantly cloaked himself and scampered up the tree when he heard the engine getting closer instead of taking the bend like normal, the Jeep Wrangler hitting a potted plant and shattering it making him growl lowly. That had been Odalys' favorite plant. "What the hell! Watch where you're going, you toad!" Luciana barked, smacking her fiance's shoulder. "That's my great grandma Odalys' pot you just ruined!"

The brown eyed boy chucked and threw the car into park. "Oops. Lo siento, Luciana. I guess you'll just have to forgive me."

Luciana rolled her green eyes at the charming boy and threw her brown hair over her shoulder. "Ugh, shut up, Marco. I haven't seen mi bisabuela Odalys outside of letters and this is not the first impression I want to make. She didn't write me a card this Christmas and I'm worried about her. That's why we're here. So can you, like, behave?" Luciana got out of the car and grabbed the bags of food she'd prepared in the hotel last night for her great grandma, knowing from her father that bisabuela Odalys was always happy when the family brought food over.

"I'll try sweetheart, but you know you drive me crazy," Marco teased, grabbing her ass.

Luciana shrieked happily and smacked his arm, giggling as she skipped inside. "Bisabuela!" She called, stepping into the worn ranch, taking off her shoes at the door. "Take your shoes off, pig," Luciana snapped, stopping Marco from dragging his muddy shoes into the house. "Will you please behave?" Luciana snapped as her eyes roved over the clean and very hispanic looking ranch.

Her great grandma definitely took a lot of pride in her home. Though a little dusty, it smelled clean and a window was open, letting in the sounds of birds and the sweet smell of her flowers on her windowsill making Luciana smile. The thin curtains fluttered gently in the wind and the large box TV sat playing the news. It was a sunny, clear day and it felt like it in the house, though the air conditioning worked fine when you stepped away from the door.

Marco chuckled and kicked his shoes off, looking around the humble abode. "Alright, sweet pea. I'll be on my best behavior until we get back to the hotel tonight."

Luciana smirked and rolled her eyes, turning back to her search for her great grandma. "Bisabuela?" Luciana called again, walking into the living room and looking into the kitchen. "She must be remodeling," Luciana said loftily when she noticed the missing granite on the countertop, looking jagged, like it had been smacked off. When she didn't see Odalys she frowned. Checking the rooms and the basement proved futile as well and now she was worried. "Do... do you think she takes strolls through the forest?"

Marco's eyes caught a glint of something through the window and gasped. "Oh no, baby, look outside."

"What?" Luciana asked, peeking out of the window. Luciana's eyes found the granite slab sticking out of the dirt and she gasped in horror. "No!" Luciana wailed, her sob catching in her throat. She ran outside barefoot and to the grave, falling on it. "Great Grandma nooo!"

Marco rushed out behind her and hugged her, kissing her head and rubbing her back. "Shh," he soothed, tears welling in his eyes as Luciana's tears soaked into his shirt. He hated to hear her cry, it broke his heart.

Luciana clung to Marco until she calmed down, her pain fading into acceptance. Odalys had been old, it only made sense. Then the two sat in silence, Luciana taking comfort in Marco's embrace while he kissed her head and whispered sweet nothings to her hair. Finally, Luciana wiped her tears, anger pressing forth. "Someone buried my great grandmother and didn't tell anyone."

"Or maybe-"

"No, Marco. La casa es limpia. There is grass growing over her grave and the flowers... someone's been laying flowers," Luciana snarled, baring her teeth in rage. She snatched the flowers and threw them over the cliff edge. "We're staying here. They may be gone for right now, but I want to know who's been living in Odalys' home as if it were there's. Ohh," Luciana moaned, her anger puttering back into sorrow. "Did they kill her to siphon off her resources?" Luciana sobbed again and pushed Marco away as he tried to smother her in another hug. "I need to eat," she said quickly at his hurt look, grabbing his hand and rubbing his knuckles.

"Okay," Marco agreed, standing and following behind Luciana. He understood her rage and sorrow and couldn't even imagine the same happening to his great grandmother.

Luciana walks back to the main bedroom and Marco watches her enter the room, deciding it best to make her food and then help her deal with her grief. He wasn't very sure on what to do, but right now he knew the food was the priority. Heating up the food, he scoffed at the fact the microwave still worked. How could someone bury the owner and not report this? Horrible.

Food heated, he moved into the dining room to eat and stopped dead when he saw Luciana holding a weapon. "What are you doing?" He rushed, worry overcoming him. He knew for a fact the worst thing for her right now was a weapon. Was she going to kill herself?!

"I... found this in the closet..." Luciana said softly, twirling the metal rod with a blade on one end and tiny spikes on the other easily. Luciana hummed and then slammed the smooth bottom of the rod down, creating a deep and authoritative boom that rattled them both, though Luciana giggled in amusement after a seconds pause. "Cool." She'd enjoyed color guard in high school and forgot how much fun drop spins were, especially when you had something as well crafted as this. It seemed to slice through the air with only a fraction of resistance, the weight not impeding it's grace.

"I don't think you should be handling weapons right now, Luci," Marco spoke up, gulping. He loved Luciana, but he knew her to be wild and irrational, especially when in a mood. A weapon was dangerous right now, for both him and her. "You don't know who that belongs to anyway, so I'd just put it back. That's pretty intense for a weapon, so let's continue carefully. We don't know who's been here before us but we know they buried you grandma... that could be the murder weapon. Do you really want your prints on that?"

Marco was right about one thing: they didn't know who it belonged to and that's all Luciana gave him credit for as she rolled her eyes and set it against the wall, and instead took the plate of food offered to her. "Alright," she agreed. She gratefully kissed his cheek and started to eat, happy that he was here with her.

Chapter Text

Ancient Chaser had heard the boom, the tell-tale sign from Odalys that he was needed, and rushed back to the house only to remember that she was dead when he saw the strangers from earlier in her house. Ancient Chaser watched from the trees, flipping through different filters to get the best view of the two through the large open window in the living room.

It irritated him and he clicked in annoyance as they made themselves at home in Odalys' house. It was his. He heard the man call the woman Odalys' great-granddaughter, but why were they here and what did they want? Obviously, they knew she was dead, he'd left when the woman ran towards the tree sobbing, the loneliness in his soul aching at the reminder. And it seemed yet again he was reminded with that hollow boom of the loss he took and their presence didn't help. He didn't want new friends. He'd grown used to being alone again and the ache that was settling was causing him more frustration. He needed to get off this dreadful planet. It did no good to dwell on the past, as was part of the Path. He knew that. Still, memories tugged at his soul as the girl's laughter rang out. She sounded a lot like Odalys...

He watched the two eat, gathering a lot of crucial information about them as he did, and then went to his ship, a plan forming in his head. Odalys never got to fight for her honor like she'd wanted to but Luciana was younger, smarter, faster, and stronger. Not only that but watching Luciana eat and tease her partner made him realize that she acted a lot like Odalys which begged the biggest question: Could she fight?

He was going to find out.

Ancient Chaser grew excited as he thought about his next hunt and trilled as he cloaked his ship for the first time a while, not wanting the two to suddenly stumble upon it before their game finished. He knew exactly what he could spend his time next on and that this was going to be fun.

That night Marco and Luciana slept in the master bedroom, Ancient Chaser used this time to lay clues of himself around. They'd already found Odalys' glaive so he figured it would be a fun kind of treasure hunt and the prize was to meet him and fight him. He knew Humans better than he wanted to and so once he'd completed his clues he went back to the ship to wait.

The sun rose and Luciana got up and made some coffee, eating leftover food from last night. She knew better than to expect Marco to get up before noon during the summer and so she got to work trying to find pictures for the proper funeral she was going to hold. Luciana had been to many funerals and so she knew the drill. There was no food in the fridge or pantry except for what they'd brought with them and so she left the remainder for Marco when he got up and went downstairs to the basement where all of the filing cabinets were.

It wasn't hard to find pictures since Odalys kept a very orderly home. It was, however, hard to find pictures of just her. She seemed to be the main photographer and it made Luciana's heart ache. How could she have let her family never take pictures of her? Most pictures were of great grandpa and her grandparents and great uncles. Luciana's head tilted in confusion when she finally saw a picture of Odalys but with a young girl.

Luciana didn't think she'd had a great aunt that she was related to, at least, she'd never heard of one. The girl was pretty, with thick straight hair, thick lips, and a smooth complexion, just like Odalys, though she definitely had great grandpa's hooked nose. She was still cute though. Turning the picture over she saw it was Odalys with a girl named Mariana. Luciana thought about it and then set it aside for the slideshow, Odalys looked happy in the photo and so it would be shown.

The next couple of hours were spent just looking through pictures until a decent stack was made of Odalys, though none of the pictures was of her alone. Finished with the project Luciana stood with the photos and headed back upstairs, hoping that Marco would still be asleep so that she'd get some time to call her dad without him being silly. Marco liked to get handsy when she was on the phone, it was just the possessiveness inside of him, but while she thought it was cute when she was talking to her friends she hated when he did it when she was talking to her parents.

"Hey daddy," Luciana greeted after she made sure Marco was asleep.

"Good morning sweetheart, how's the farm?" Emanuel asked, making Luciana's mouth dry up.

How does she tell him? Luciana paused for a minute, cursing herself for not thinking about how to break this news gently and sighed. "Daddy, when Marco and I got here bisabuela was dead... she's been buried and everything next to bisabuelo."

"Oh?" Emanuel said curiously, humming. "I guess Uncle Mateo must have come by and gave her a quiet burial. Probably guessed no one would want to come to the house anyway since no one visits. You should go see him to make sure, of course."

Luciana thought about it and her shoulders relaxed as the anger inside of her suddenly dried up. She chuckled a little, amused by her own foolishness. "That makes sense, you're gonna think I'm crazy, but Marco and I stayed here last night to try and see if people were syphoning resources from her." Luciana let out a louder, richer laugh. "What is wrong with me?"

"Nothing is wrong with you, sweetheart. I have to admit I'm quite shocked as well, so just make sure you talk to him. If the air and stuff are still on he should have turned it off, but then again, your great uncle Mateo is kind of a hard ass and might have not thought about it past getting her buried. Be careful, too, he's a stickler for people coming on his land."

Luciana smiled gratefully at the phone, "I will, thank you, daddy. Also, Marco and I are going to need money for food while we're here." Luciana smiled slyly when she heard her father scoff. "Please?"

"You're running me dry, cupcake, but I can't say no to you as your mother can. Just promise me you'll behave this upcoming Christmas and you can take as much as you need."

Luciana frowned, she hated her mother's family, though. Christmas time was always full of snotty assholes scoffing at her and her siblings for living their life to the fullest. Last Christmas her grandpa had yanked on her blue hair and kicked her in the ass for it, so what else was she to have done other than hit him back? "Father," Luciana said seriously, her tone pleading. "I don't like them. He hit me."

"I know he did and he won't do it again, so you need to move on. Just stay away from him next Christmas, okay?" Emanuel pleaded and Luciana pouted but gave in.

She loved her daddy too much to keep disappointing him and she knew how important this was to him. Emanuel liked everyone happy and taken care of and even if Luciana's grandpa was a monster, her mother adored him and her father adored her mother and wanted to keep her happy. According to Luciana's mother, her grandfather was strict but with a purpose. He hadn't meant to kick Luciana as hard as he did but it was understood that Luciana's response to hit him back was unacceptable and it enraged her. She didn't understand how her loving parents could side with that horrible man, yet Luciana also felt torn because she adored her father.

The entire reason she was even going to college was that her father had begged her to. Luckily for her though, it meant she got to meet her sexy fiancé, but still. If her dad hadn't begged her, Luciana would have wanted to become a Pilates instructor and probably settled down with a boy from her hometown instead of interning at Weyland Industries for her degree where she met Marco. Being engaged to the company's accountant son sure had its perks, too. Like a brand new Jeep from his adoring father who approved of Luciana and liked lengthy vacations during the summer. That's how Marco was even out here with her right now. He had a stable accounting job at Weyland Industries and since his dad is the boss a three-week vacation wasn't hard for him to get and since it was summer break, Luciana had nothing better to do than travel. She was happy she got to spend this time with Marco, too, even if the circumstances weren't what she thought they'd be, she was glad she had his support with her.

As much as Luciana wanted to resent her parents for being on her grandfather's side she couldn't and so while it hurt, Luciana sighed tightly and gave in. "I promise, father," Luciana whispered, her scalp and ass aching in phantom pain as her body recalled the incident. He'd bruised her and ripped out some of her hair but it was over now. She'd move on.

"Thank you, Luciana. Your account is connected with mine, just go on the app and transfer as much as you want. If I don't have funds I get paid every week on Friday, so just wait until then, okay pumpkin?"

Luciana smiled happily at the kindness of her father. "Of course, thank you so much, daddy!"

"You're welcome and remember to be careful when you approach Mateo's house. Also, he doesn't speak a lick of English, so bringing Marco along will be useless, just go alone."

"Okay daddy, I'm going to go now. Mateo lives on the edge of town near the water tower, right?"

"He should, yes. I love you, talk to you later. Bye sweetheart." Emanuel hung up and Luciana wrote a quick note and then got into the jeep and drove off.

Arriving at Mateo's ranch was... startling. Luciana had heard a lot about her great uncle. He was crazy. He was old. He had married his high school sweetheart. But after all of the stories, she felt like they left out the most important one: he was a hoarder.

Luciana grimaced as she knocked on his door, staring in the window at the piles of junk stacked inside. "What do you want?" Came an old, gruff voice when the door opened a crack.

Luciana forced a kind smile and looked at her great uncle. He looked a like a spitting image of her great grandpa and it made her voice catch in her throat. Something about looking at photos this morning and now having to repeat the news that Odalys was dead just upset her again. She could see Mateo simply burying her and going back to his hoard and it was sad that he would be the one to find her. It all made sense. Tears welled in Luciana's eyes. "Hola tío abuelo Mateo. Mi nombre es Luciana, y soy la nieta de Alice. Soy en pueblo visitar Odalys, pero ella es muerto. ¿Se sabe?"

Mateo just stared, though his eyes did soften once he realized she was family. He didn't seem to understand Spanish, though, which Luciana thought was weird. Why would her father be wrong about that?

"Did you know that Odalys was dead?" Luciana asked in English instead when there was a brief pause.

Mateo's eyes widened slightly. "My mother is dead?"

Instantly the blood drained from Luciana's face. "You mean you didn't bury her?" She whispered, eyes widening in fear.

"No! And what the hell is this? My mother is dead and I wasn't invited to the funeral?!" He snapped, enraged. "You think you can just come here and tell me this? Who the hell do you think you are, little girl?" Mateo bellowed, the despair clearly on his face. Luciana didn't take his anger seriously, knowing it was the pain speaking and that he wasn't really mad at her.

"I'm so sorry, I thought with you being in town you'd be the one to bury her. I was just coming to make sure. I'm so sorry. I'm going to hold a real funeral for Odalys and-"

Mateo slammed his door shut and Luciana pulled her head back, shocked. A moment later he opened the door fully with his keys in his hand. "I've got to see this for myself."

"I-okay," Luciana muttered, turning on her heel and going to her car while he went to his. They drove back and it only then dawned on Luciana that she had left Marco sleeping in a house that had obviously been invaded. She felt guilty, but when she saw him on the porch drinking coffee she relaxed. Getting out of the car she ran over and gave Marco a couple of kisses, "Mateo didn't bury bisabuela," she said quickly, the panic in her voice bouncing right off of Marco. It didn't seem like he cared at all.

Marco kissed her and chuckled, infuriating Luciana. "Babe, I've been here and no one has come by. Calm down. I think our biggest concern should be your uncle, he looks devastated."

Luciana looked back at Mateo and nodded, Mateo's warm hand squeezing her's. "You're right," Luciana sighed, walking over to him. "Mateo, are you okay?" Luciana asked gently, rubbing his back as he looked down at the graves.

He sniffed and shook his head. "I can't believe it. I just can't."

Luciana gave him a quick hug and invited him in for tea. At the table Mateo eyed around the house, his voice mystified. "It looks the exact same as when I grew up," he said, then he looked into the kitchen. "Well, there was a complete countertop when I lived here," he deadpanned, making Luciana and Marco chuckle a little.

"So we're going to plan a real funeral. We think bandits came in and have used the space as they've wanted," Marco spoke up. "We haven't seen signs of a struggle and it was dusty, but we don't think they killed her. Just broke off some granite and buried her. We..." Marco glanced at Luciana when he saw her tilt her head.

She didn't say anything but frowned. Marco liked making decisions by himself and then tacking "we" on it as if they'd both talked about the idea even if he was just speaking his opinion. Luciana hated it, but she didn't disagree with anything he'd said so far so she kept quiet, peeved but allowing him to go on.

"We didn't want to dig her up," Marco finished his thought.

Mateo shook his head, "It would make sense. There has been a surge of crime here lately and it's more likely that she died of natural causes, not that we'll ever know." He sighed, his shoulders slumping. "I should have checked on her more."

Luciana's face dropped and she rubbed Mateo's back sympathetically. "It's not your fault. If anything, everyone should have visited more, not just you. Anyway, Marco and I were thinking of crashing here and getting a proper funeral in place. I've already found photos and am happy to start making preparations for the party to be held. Do you recommend any funeral homes or know who her priest was?" Marco already had a notebook and pen, always at the ready when it came to taking notes. It was his speciality.

Luciana, Marco, and Mateo spent the rest of the day coming up with plans for the funeral, Mateo saying he'd call everyone and ask about a lawyer for the will. Marco offered to go into town and get the priest and so that was his duty. Luciana was tasked with meeting with the funeral directors to get flowers and a closed casket ceremony. And so, with the sun fading and plans made, Luciana walked Mateo out to his car. They gave each other a quick hug then Luciana watched him drive away.

Luciana turned to go back into the house when something shiny caught her eyes in the grass near the house. Curious, she walked over to the side of the house and bent down to examine a ball of some sort. Probably as big as the golden snitch from Harry Potter but without the wings, it really didn't look like anything special. "Huh, is this some sort of dryer ball?" Luciana wondered out loud, picking it up. It was metal and next to the clothesline, so it would make sense, but it was heavy. Too heavy to make a good dryer ball.

She gasped when the device made a small beep and she turned invisible. Stunned, she dropped the ball and became visible again. She paused a moment, looking around and at her hands before picking it back up again. She didn't turn invisible and so she felt around it until that beep happened again and she was gone. Was this really happening? Was she crazy? She hit the button she'd found and returned visible again. Luciana laughed blithely, eyes sparkling with bewilderment.

"Amazing..." Luciana said to herself. She knew her father and grandparents were super into technological science - had great grandma Odalys been just as into that? Had she figured out how to make invisibility an option and never told anyone because she didn't think anyone would hear her out or because she was happy knowing she knew it? If people would have visited more would she have told them? "Thank you, Odalys. I'm not sure what these gifts mean, but I know they're from you and they're amazing. Thank you," Luciana spoke softly, looking up at the starry sky with searching eyes, willing her bisabuela to hear her.

A renewed sense of invigoration overtaking her, Luciana pocketed the device and skipped inside, kissing Marco passionately. "Well hello there," he chuckled, "is this because I behaved?" Marco asked, his hands gripping Luciana's ass tightly as they swayed in the kitchen.

Luciana moaned happily and smothered him with more kisses. "Partly," Luciana drew as she pulled back, her teeth pulling on his lower lip. His eyes were lustful and so Luciana toned it down, wanting to actually talk. "Though if I'm being honest, it's mostly because you've been so sweet to me. This has been hard and you're putting up with my crazy mood swings really well." She gave him a small peck on his lips, tears forming in her eyes. "It's nice to know you're sticking through thick and thin."

Marco's eyes softened and his hands went up and down her back as he started to rub the stress from them. Luciana hugged him close and moaned softly into his chest, adoring him more. "I'm happy to be here with you. I know this isn't the vacation we planned, but I'm happy to be here to support you. I love you, Luciana." He kissed the top of her head and moved his hands to cup her face, a wicked smirk on his lips. "Even when you've got smeared eyeliner all over your cheeks, I still want to kiss them," he teased, leaning down and giving her a flurry of kisses.

Luciana giggled happily and pawed at his chest bashfully, "Stop it, I'll go clean up." They kissed again before Luciana went to the bathroom and Marco followed her, both getting ready for bed.

Outside, Ancient Chaser watched them through the window. So far the girl had found one of the pieces he'd left around to clue them to him, but she'd thought the glaive and cloaking device were Odalys' and while he knew she'd find out they weren't her's, it still bothered him. The girl seemed content to stay in the house and plan, the two of them with their visitor hadn't even stepped outside most of the day which presented a problem for him. He wanted to fight, especially if there was going to be a party. His cover would be blown and there'd be nothing he could do about it.

Ancient Chaser went back to his ship, contemplating whether or not he'd need to be more hands-on, but figured he'd give them another day before he intervened. They'd been making funeral preparations and he'd heard they were going to be having the reception outside, so he knew they'd eventually find the rest of the clues, but until then, he'd have to be patient.

Chapter Text

That night Luciana closed all of the open windows, sick of letting in the summer heat and pushing the air conditioner to work overtime. She didn't know why so many of them were open in the first place but figured that it didn't matter. Her new goal was to use as little electricity as she could the days before the funeral because after she was going to have it be turned off. With the windows closed the air conditioner wouldn't have to work nearly as hard which would hopefully save some pretty pennies.

Finished with her task, she went to cuddle with Marco in the master bedroom. Marco snored softly, already out as Luciana entered the threshold and she smiled gaily at his sleeping form, enamored with him. His thin brown hair fell over his face and his mouth fell open slightly, drool trickling down the corner of his mouth. He looked like a dork and Luciana rolled her eyes but still smiled. Dork or not, he was her dork. Stepping on her pants as she walked to the bed she stopped when her foot landed on something round.

The device!

Luciana cursed herself for having forgotten about it and picked up her pants, fishing out the invisibility device, mesmerized yet again when she accidentally clicked the button. "I'm gonna play with this," Luciana giggled to herself as she dropped her pants and put the device in her shorts. Marco was kind of a square when it came to technology. He liked his iPhone while Luciana preferred her android. She figured he didn't have to know until she'd had her fun because without a doubt when he found this technology he'd call his dad and have him assess the worth of the device and then his father would call him home and this vacation would be over. A device like this would be critical for Weyland Industries but Luciana didn't want to share. Not yet, at least.

Slipping outside into the warm Summer air Luciana stood in the moonlight, soaking it all in. True freedom, that's what this device allowed. She looked for a shadow and found none. There was nothing to give her away. Knowing she was free to do as she pleased without anyone to tell her no she giggled before she ran to the cliff and leapt off it. Luciana had heard the stories from her abuela Alice about how the cliff was high enough to be a thrill and the water at the bottom was deep enough to be safe. Her grandma had jumped off that cliff hundreds of times and Luciana knew that with this device she could finally get away with it without the fear of Marco catching her first.

The fall was extraordinary. Luciana had gone cliff jumping before and knew that the best way to go was to just leap without a second thought. The thrill she got was exhilarating, making her heart pound in her chest as she watched the water rush up to greet her beaming face. Splashing down into the icy water below Luciana yelped in shock. She hadn't expected the water to be so cold and the shock brought her body alive in a new way. Gasping heavily as she breached the surface the device crackled angrily, dropping her camouflage. Realizing she wasn't dead, even if her heart wanted to beat right out of her chest, Luciana threw her head back and laughed and laughed. Her laugh echoed in the night as she swam to the side of the pool, taking the device and clicking it off so the angry hissing would stop.

She walked on the shore and rang out her shirt and hair, still giggling as her body buzzed with life. She could feel her heart and the throbbing of blood rushing throughout her body and it made her feel so good, so alive. She liked being crazy and for the most part Marco was right there beside her, ready to have fun. It was jumping off cliffs, skydiving and pretty much anything he deemed too risky that he avoided and as such Luciana knew she'd never tell him she did this. It would just worry him and he'd find a way to talk her out of doing it again like he somehow always did. He could be very persuasive when he wanted to be and the fact they were even getting married was a prime example; California is full of rich and cute guys, he hadn't got his ring on her finger easily.

Calmed down some Luciana started to wonder how she'd get back up. Abuela seemed to leave that part out of her story and there didn't seem to be a path back up. Luciana smirked at the side of the cliff, flexing her fingers as she sized it up. Well, there was one way. She could feel the ring on her hand and could hear Marco's voice in her head telling her to find a safer way, but ignored it. She'd also leave out this detail, too.

She began to climb the side of the cliff, her eyes adjusted to the darkness well enough to see the rocks in front of her. She'd taken rock climbing lessons all throughout her childhood and up until college. She knew how to climb. She also knew what she was doing was dangerous, not having a safety net and proper gear while also climbing an unfamiliar cliff in the dark. She knew what she was doing was unsafe, but it just made it all the more thrilling. She loved danger and sitting cooped up in Odalys house knowing she'd been alone when she'd died snapped something in Luciana. She didn't want to die in her sleep. If Luciana was going to die one day she'd rather die climbing a cliff than in her sleep, which by the smell of the sheets before they washed them was how Odalys died.

You only live once and Luciana didn't plan to sit on the sidelines. She wanted everything she could get. She wanted to feel the wind in her hair and to get dirty and to be madly in love—she wanted to live.

The thought of dying so easily chilled Luciana and her hand lost grip of rock above her as her focus waned. She quickly snatched a different rock and her focus zeroed back into her task at hand as her body tensed, her body buzzing again with adrenaline. She spared a glance down and blew out a breath. At this height she could have seriously harmed herself if not landed wrong and died.

Ignoring everything else, Luciana quickly scaled the rest of the cliff. Reaching the top she cried, "ugh, thank god!" as she dug her fingers into the grass on top of the cliff to pull herself up. Flopping on her back in exhaustion she tried to catch her breath and shook her head, willing herself to not laugh. She laughed away. It wouldn't have been funny if she'd been hurt—or worse—and Marco would have been the one to find her.

But you weren't hurt.

Luciana scoffed at herself and then she laughed again. The burning in her arms made her pride swell along with her amusement and she flexed, enjoying the accomplishment that came with the ache. One day she'd get herself killed being so reckless, but today was not that day.

It had been a couple of years since she had to decide to either keep on with rock climbing or dance. Due to her ideal of going out with her friends on the weekends and working during the week, Luciana had only the time for one extracurricular in college. In the end, she'd chosen dance. It was nice to know she still had good upper body strength though, she'd have to thank her instructor for that one.

Luciana looked up at the sky, dangling her legs over the cliff as she caught her breath. She had lived in the city for most of her life so Luciana still wasn't used to the beauties of the countryside. "So many stars," Luciana said out loud, her breath caught in a different way.

Thrills were a rush that Luciana couldn't get enough of but the beauty of nature was another thing she appreciated deeply. A shooting star flew across the sky and Luciana smiled softly, wishing her bisabuela happiness in the afterlife. Luciana didn't believe in God, but she was never going to be rude to people who did. She understood some people wouldn't be able to find solace in the world without being able to have a scapegoat for everything and she couldn't fault them for it. It's always easier to point fingers than accept responsibility.

Odalys had been Catholic and so a Catholic priest was going to be here in a few days, Luciana lectured herself to be kind. While she didn't mind religion, she didn't like Catholics. They seemed to be cut of the same bigoted, ugly cloth and always seemed to rub her the wrong way. She thought all religions were ridiculous, yes, but Catholics always seemed to have something to say when others didn't. Still, being respectful was key to a good funeral and so Luciana stared at the sky, mentally preparing herself for the religious parade she'd face in a few days. She could do it as long as she prepared for it and she wanted Odalys to be honored.

Sighing as her breathing returned to normal and the adrenaline faded, Luciana stood from her spot and stretched, ready to head inside for the night. Turning towards the house she stopped dead when she saw a hulking mass near the window. She gasped and clicked the little ball, becoming invisible. Feeling safe with this on she crept closer, feeling like her heartbeat was going to give her away.

She kept her distance and instead crept in front of the house, wanting to sneak in to grab the weapon. It looked like the beast was trying to claw the window open and was working to do so quietly. With gentle steps, Luciana was glad for the first time that the porch was concrete so no wood creaked as she stepped up to the door. She hadn't closed the door to the house but had let the storm door remain closed to keep bugs and heat out.

She could see the glaive still resting against the wall and so she crept in, the sound of the storm door creaking open suddenly the loudest sound in the universe. The clawing stopped and she rolled over to the glaive, looking at the window to find the beast gone. Just to be sure, Luciana grabbed the glaive and then headed to the window, peaking out. The moonlight cast silver tones over everything but she didn't see the beast.

Perplexed and unable to go to sleep now she'd seen it, Luciana set the glaive back down against the wall and closed the door, locking it. Was she crazy? Luciana's nerves kept her alert and she walked around the house to look out every window to make sure they were locked. It took an hour for her to calm down and since she hadn't seen the beast again she wondered if she'd hallucinated it.

Luciana chuckled to herself and pinched her wet clothes, finally clicking the device off. "I'm going to bed," she muttered, taking off her wet clothes and tossing them in the dirty laundry. She brushed her hair and put on a fresh pair of pajamas before joining Marco on the bed. Marco's snoring paused when her arms wrapped around him and he woke up a little to turn and spoon her before falling right back asleep and it warmed Luciana. He didn't snore too loudly to where it was a problem and especially on a night like this Luciana appreciated the honking reminder that he was next to her.

Ancient Chaser frowned as he watched the house. She'd closed all the windows so he couldn't see in and he didn't like being blind. What were they doing? He wanted to know. Badly.

He'd tried opening it but a noise outside had drawn him away from the side window and to the front door. He changed filters but didn't see anything. Still, he dropped it for tonight. He didn't want the first time they meet to be without her having all the pieces of armor he'd left around. She'd need them if they were going to fight.

He couldn't help his smile at the idea of a fight. It had been a while since he'd been excited to hunt and the blood rush he got from just the thought of it felt good. He felt alive. This was his purpose, his Path. The hunt was life and it had been so long since he'd felt the thrill. If anything, he could thank Odalys for giving him this.

He wasn't sure how she'd react to him hunting her great-granddaughter but figured she'd find it amusing. He wasn't out to kill her, he could never bring himself to kill a descendant of Odalys, just test her skills and if she agreed he'd train her to be a Yautja like he wished he could have done with his friend. It was exciting and in a way, this reflected back on Odalys so for her sake he hoped her descendant could live up to his expectations.

If not, though, he'd be disappointed, but that would be it and he'd just keep to the shadows. If anything he'd just put his time into finding materials to fix his ship. A chance at honor was fair and he was a fair Yautja, so it was the least he could do for Odalys.