Kelvena closed her eyes, sighing, as she rested her hand by the door. It had been only a few minutes since Fei and the others had departed to fight Deus. The fate of the world, as well as her own, rested solely on the shoulders of the small, ragtag group of fighters that had so recently been her enemy.

Dominia was not happy about that. The brash leader of the Elements wanted to prove her might and worth in battle, as usual. On the other hand, Tolone and Seraphita seemed glad they didn't have to go. The whole idea made timid Seraphita nervous, while the pessimistic Tolone didn't think there would have been any point. To Tolone, the world was already doomed.

There already had been massive loss of life, Kelvena knew, and nothing anyone could do would bring those people back. It was funny... a few days ago, she would have said that those who had died were the weak, and it was their own fault they had been weeded out. But since the encounter at Merkava, her feelings had changed.

Not all of them, however. One strong emotion she'd felt for as long as she could remember remained, and it was for this reason that she now stood outside her commander's door.

She knew the state he was in, of course. Though the Mother had essentially used Kahran Ramsus his entire life, he'd loved the woman who was the last incarnation of the Mother. He'd loved Miang with all his heart, though she gave him only lies and manipulation in return. But now she was dead.

Now was Kelvena's chance.

She waved her hand in front of the sensor that would open the sliding metal door, taking a deep breath. "Commander," she called softly. "May I speak with you?"

His room was dark except for the moonlight pouring through a porthole which he sat before, apparently staring outside at the monstrous structure that Fei and the others had just entered. The Yggdrasil hovered just outside, waiting for any signs of trouble. "Kelvena," he muttered, not bothering to turn to her. "Dominia's already spoken to me. I talked with Sigurd, and if there's trouble in there, you girls will be the rescue squad. Other than that, there's nothing more I can do."

Kelvena covered her mouth, hiding a smile. Seraphita and Tolone would not be happy about that. "I'm not here about that."

"Oh? What is it, then?"

He still hadn't turned to her, and Kelvena began to wonder if this was such a good idea after all. But if Fei and the others succeeded... if they fell, and the Elements had to go in after them... she would never get another chance. "Well... Commander..."

"Don't call me that anymore," he interrupted.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Huh?"

"Don't call me Commander," he repeated. "I'm not your Commander anymore. Solaris and Gebler are gone, I have no rank. All of us, we're just common people now, no more."

"We're still the Elements," Kelvena pointed out. "It's a bond that goes far beyond any government classification, so it doesn't matter if we're commoners. We'll always be the Elements, and you will be Commander Kahran Ramsus."

"Please, Kelvena," he said wearily, holding up a hand in protest. "Don't call me that anymore. I'm not your Commander."

Kelvena bit her lip. "What should I call you then? You've always been my Commander..."

"Call me Kahr."

Just like she used to... A shiver of pleasure went up Kelvena's spine. "All right then, Kahr," she replied, testing the way the name felt on her tongue.

"So. Why is it you've come to see me, if it's not about the mission?" he asked.

"Well... I was thinking..." Kelvena felt herself flushing, and was very grateful the room was so dark.

"Yes?" he prompted her.

"I thought... you must be lonely," she finished.

He turned to look at her now, silohuetted against the circle of light from the porthole. "I've been alone most of my life," he replied.

"Not after you met Miang."

He said nothing, nor did he move. Kelvena hadn't expected that, and suddenly she wished she could make out his expression. "I don't mean to intrude or offend," she added, "but I understand you must be feeling tremendous pain now."

There was another long pause before he spoke. "Yes," he admitted. "To discover she'd been using me for all those years..." He shook his head. "All this time, I thought she loved me."

"Yes..." Kelvena said softly when he paused, cursing herself for her indecision. She had to let him know, somehow... but she'd never heard him speak so openly about his emotions.

"It was all a lie," Ramsus continued. "A blasted lie. I thought for once I'd found someone in my life that I could love... who could love me. And she was a fabrication... by that thing out there," he said angrily, gesturing at Deus's structure behind him. "The only person who loved me, in my entire life... was a lie."

His voice broke at the end, and Kelvena peered at him curiously. In the dim light, she could see a tiny gleam of reflected light on his face... trickling down his cheek, and she could stand it no more.

"That's not true," she told him, approaching his bedside hesitantly, her hands clasped together nervously.

She was close enough that she could just barely make out the look of agony on his face as he looked up at her. "How can you say that?" he asked. "You know what happened at Merkava."

"No, not that part," she said quickly. "It's the other part that's not true." She swallowed one last time, summoning up all her courage. "The part about... her being the only person who's loved you in your entire life."

The agony on his face gave way to disbelief. "Who are you referring to?"

Sitting down next to him on the bed, Kelvena answered his question by taking his left hand in both of hers. Raising it to her lips, she kissed his palm gently.

He stared at his hand in her smaller ones, then met her eyes again, confused. "Kelvena...?"

"I'm sorry about such awkward timing, Co... Kahr," she corrected herself. "I know this isn't the best of times to be telling you this, not so soon after the events at Merkava, but I was afraid. What if Fei and the others can't stop Deus? What if they act as a catalyst, and everything's gone tomorrow? I didn't want to let you die feeling unloved, Kahr."

He turned his head away from her, and she dropped his hand. "I'm sorry," she said again, but he shook his head.

"Don't be," he murmured. "It's all right. Kelvena... I... almost didn't ask Sigurd about Dominia's request, making the Elements the rescue squad."

Kelvena frowned at the sudden change of subject. Even if he didn't return her feelings, she'd suspected he'd at least acknowledge them, for better or worse. But it was her own fault for not giving him time to heal, she supposed. At least now it was out, though her heart felt as though it might burst. "Why not?" she asked, giving up.

He glanced over his shoulder at her soberly. "I'm a selfish person, Kelvena," he replied. "For two reasons: One, we may be on the same side now, but I still don't care one bit about the wellbeing of Fei Fong Wong. Two..." His somber expression softened a bit, into a sad smile. "I was afraid if you went in there, you might not return."

The tiny spark of hope in Kelvena's heart flickered once more. "By 'you', I assume you mean the Elements..." she said slowly, wary of her hopes soaring too high.

"I do care for all you girls," he acknowledged. "But in this case..."

Kelvena caught her breath as he reached up to touch her chin. "I meant you," he finished in a whisper.

Scarcely able to breathe, she returned the gesture, wiping away the single tear that had flowed down his cheek. "Commander..."

He smiled warmly at her. "I told you, don't call me that," he murmured, drawing her chin up to kiss her.