He could see the desperation in her eyes as she anxiously sought a way to prolong life by investing all her energy into searching for something he knew was impossible, though she still clung to that blind hope, the same hope Justin had tried to talk her out of, but with no success. He could still see the heartbreak that remained deep in her heart from her loss. He knew he was not the one she loved, yet it made him wonder if she'd mourn like this for him if he were dead. Some small part of him knew she would, though doubt lingered, threatening to dash his hopes.

It was a difficult, exhausting task for Tori to try to learn all the science and biology of the Iredescent alien species they had all become. She had but limited resources from the ship she'd stolen from planet Iredescent, as well as her human knowledge from college courses she'd taken. Her degree in human biology and anatomy wasn't helpful in that Iredescent bodies were very different from human bodies.

Iredescent bodies were complex and unique. Iredescent blood corroded and wore away at human skin from contact. It was sort of like mercury and other metals that burned through human skin, but Iredescent blood wasn't a metal; it was just blood, a powerful blood that dominated human blood while also having the capability of killing other lifeforms from contact. Tori thought it was one of the most phenomenal designs of the Iredescent lifeform. Who knew that their blood could either kill or transform another lifeform upon contact? she thought, watching as Iredescent blood killed a beetle from contact.

The n-r element that gave Iredescents their shimmery skin and wings/fins seemed to have lunar origins and properties deriving from Iredescent's two moons. But Tori had no way of confirming anything; all she had to go by was her limited knowledge of everything Iredescent. There were other components of the Iredescent body that Tori knew nothing of. She had seen some of their abilities in action, but had no idea why only certain Iredescents had abilities while others didn't. Camdren's ability to melt metal really fueled her drive to learn more about the Iredescent body.

She started experimenting on the irangels to try to find more information so she could use that information for her own purposes. She sought for a way to bring Nate back to life, but first she needed to find immortality so she could immediately make him immortal after she brought him to life. Tori suspected electricity was key to bringing the dead back to life, and she sort of had an idea how exactly to do it, but she never tested it, too intent on discovering immortality first. She didn't want to bring Nate back to life just so he could die again.

She started with internal study. She chose Millian for his slim, fit body and the fact that he had vision impairment as a human. Turning into an Iredescent had completely restored his vision, giving Millian cause to celebrate never having to wear glasses nor contact lenses ever again.

But Tori wanted to know precisely how Iredescent blood did that and how exactly it restored vision and eyesight. She had watched how Iredescent blood and elements turned humans into Iredescents; now she wanted to know how it did that.

Even though Tori had given Millian anesthesia so he would be unconscious while she cut open his body to examine and study his internal organs, Millian woke up screaming, the pain cutting through his consciousness.

His cries echoed in the hallway, reaching where the irangels were chained to the wall to keep from interfering with Tori's work. Cole's eyes widened in horror. Camdren exclaimed, "It sounds like she's cutting him open!"

Alarm, shock, horror, and dismay flashed through all their faces. Fear gripped them as Millian's screams and cries continued. Cole began violently tugging against the chains, moving rapidly until he suddenly broke free of the chains with an electronic spark, inadvertently freeing Justin who was chained with him. The irangels stared at them in astonishment. Eamon yelled, "Go help him!" propelling Cole to run for the experimentation room, Justin behind him.

Tori was surprised Millian had woken up during her experimentation on him. Millian was in too much pain to be able to focus on anything else. Tori reached for the napkin to knock him out again, but Cole rushed in and dove right into her, grabbing the napkin first and pressing it hard against her face as they crash-landed on the floor. Tori immediately passed out, Cole rolling off of her.

As Justin knelt to tend to Tori, Cole tossed the napkin back on the roller cart and hurried over to Millian. He gasped, absolutely horrified that Tori had indeed cut him open and was attempting to stitch him back together when he woke up from all the pain his body was unable to take.

Millian was pale and breathing hard, his violet eyes brimming with agony. He was crying, his face and shirt soaked with tears. He kept shaking as if cold. Cole knew it was his body reacting heavily. Though Iredescent bodies healed at the same rate vampire bodies healed, the intense pain Tori had put him through was worse than any pain Millian had ever felt. She had used specially sharp equipment that tore through his skin and microscope technology that recorded the elements healing, showing how Iredescent blood and elements repaired torn and cut Iredescent skin.

Cole's hands bunched in fists as he vowed to make Tori pay for what she had done to Millian. The irangel kept pleading for it to stop, too painful for him to bear. Cole put a cold wet cloth over his wounds, though Millian was still bleeding profusely, his blood sparkly red. Cole started to cry, Millian's pain affecting him in a deep way. He held his hand, trying to give him any comfort in this, no matter how small.

"Please make it stop," Millian kept pleading, his eyes wide with pain as he kept sobbing. "It hurts so much."

Tears kept flowing down Cole's face as he cried. He continued holding Millian's hand, mentally searching for a way to help him. "I'm here, brother. I'll make sure Tori can't hurt you again."

Millian gasped, a painful scream tearing out him as another wave of searing pain coursed through him. Cole flinched, gritting his teeth. He knew it was too late for Millian; the poor guy was going to die soon with the way he kept bleeding. He felt Millian squeeze his hand super tightly.

I can't keep watching him suffer like this, Cole thought, unable to take it anymore. His eyes frantically panned around the room, taking in various different sights he'd ignored: a knelt Justin on the floor, holding an unconscious Tori; the lab; the roller cart with medical equipment on it; the stacks of cold wet cloths; a small handgun on the top shelf of a cabinet.

With tears in his eyes, Cole went over to the cabinet and took the gun off the top shelf, figuring a bullet would be the quickest way for him to die. He cocked it, making sure it was loaded before going back to Millian. He held Millian's hand again, feeling the irangel desperately grab it as more pain ripped through him.

Cole kept crying, unable to stop. The gun felt heavy and light at the same time. Cole looked at Millian through watery eyes, unable to bear seeing his irangel brother in such pain. "I'm sorry, Millian. I would rather you die than continue to suffer like this." And he mercy killed him with a bullet.

Justin had seen the whole thing and ducked when the gun went off. The irangels who were still chained in the hallway had gotten wide-eyed in fear, wondering what happened and who shot the gun. Camdren started freaking out while Elisa gasped and Eamon paled. Even Keith and Velo went silent.

Cole tossed the gun to the side and broke down crying. He saw Justin standing up in his peripheral vision. The sight of Tori in his arms set Cole on fire.

"She tortured him! I was forced to mercy kill him so he would no longer suffer. He was bleeding to death from all those wounds...." Cole glared at Tori's limp form, wanting nothing more than to run a bullet into her after cutting her open himself so she'd know exactly how Millian felt.

Justin saw the trauma and horror in Cole's eyes, saw the rage that now took place. He told Cole in a warning voice, "If you kill her, I'll be forced to kill you."

Cole met his eyes, dark and hate-fueled versus tense and edgy. "Perhaps it would be for the best. At least she would be dead."

"I don't want to have to kill you," said Justin, reluctant to intentionally hurt one of their own, especially after seeing what Tori did to Millian. "Look, maybe I can change Tori and make her stop. She saved me from a life of prison. Perhaps I can save her from herself."

"She did nothing but cause destruction to our lives," Cole said bitterly. "Let me kill her."

"No," said Justin, holding Tori closer to himself. "If you touch her, I'll – "

Both men heard Eamon's shocked, freaked-out voice call out from the hallway, "What's going on? Who fired the gun? Is someone dead?"

Ignoring Eamon, Cole said to Justin, "You saw what she did to Millian. Why do you still want her alive? She'll only continue to do worse."

Justin carefully went over and picked up the gun, tucking it in his waistband. He ignored Cole as he walked out of the experimentation room with the unconscious Tori in his arms. "Millian died," he said sullenly as he walked past the irangels, continuing down the hallway and heading to Tori's bedroom. He locked the door behind him, assigning himself the task of guarding and protecting the woman he loved.

Cole numbly walked over to the stunned irangels and freed them. They all gasped when they went in the experimentation room and saw Millian dead. Cole just sat against the wall with chains hanging on either side of him. He continued crying, his shoulders shaking as he hugged his knees to his chest.

Eamon surveyed the room. Seeing Cole's tear-streaked face and the pale, traumatized look in his eyes, he realized what had happened. He quietly cleaned Millian's open cuts and wounds with water, using the cold wet clothes to wipe away blood. Camdren helped bandage him while Keith, Elisa, and Velo stood watching. Elisa looked away, covering her face with her hands. Keith looked shocked and concerned. Velo watched unemphatically, though there was a shade of fear in his eyes.

Eamon and Camdren carefully covered Millian with a white sheet, causing Camdren to start crying as it dawned on them that another one of their own was truly dead.

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Music:

"Agony"
by Argyle Park

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