Sam was on his laptop typing through the keys while Gordon stood by his side and they meddled in a conversation in the living room, right by the corner.

"So the other two went to cool off huh?"

"Yep," he answered as his eyes were firmly glued to the screen of the laptop.

"It's tragic really, what Seth did. The sort of violence that he inflicted was beyond comprehension. It reminds me of the prehistoric age when all universal races clashed in a blood war for grand supremacy."

He fell back on his chair and sighed heavily, with his arms crossed behind his head, "Til now I still can't fathom what he did. He destroyed everything that we held dearly. Now all of us are forced to deal with the ramifications of his deeds. That's why Diana and Dan went to their rooms, for some personal space. Me on the other hand, I'm obligated to attend a meeting with the Watanabes tomorrow, to explain to them my failure of protecting the train."

Suddenly, the doors of the elevator gaped thoroughly opened and Kendall stepped out and approached Sam with pursuit, "Ahem!... Can we talk?"

"Sure," Sam replied.

 "I'll give you guys privacy," Gordon said as he trotted away.

 "What brings you here?" He inquired as he stood up and circled the table. He sat on the table and looked at her as she stood slightly further from her.

"We need to talk about us?!" 

Sam smiled albeit and inquired, "Us? I didn't know that there was an us." 

 "I had some time to think about what transpired recently, between the two of us." 

Curiosity piqued his interest, therefore influencing him to place his finger under his chin. "Ohh? And what is it that you were thinking about?"

"You and me."

"Hmph. Ken, I don't wanna..."

She interrupted while he spoke and said, "I've always had feelings for you since your father assigned me to be your P.A."

Sam narrowed his eyes with perplexion and stammered, "Wow...I mean...I thought you didn't feel uh..." he uttered as if his tongue was tied to a knot.

Kendall walked toward Sam, once she had reached his proximity, she placed his hands on her waist and said, "I'm ready for us to..." She paused briefly and sighed. She then found the strength to speak and rephrased her sentence, "I'm ready for us to date." 

"I'm game if you're game," he replied and shrugged. Kendall shone a warm smile toward him, and the two shared a passionate kiss. Unbeknownst to them Gordon, witnessed the entire exchange unfold.

**********

Sometime later, Gordon approached him sitting behind his desk in the corner of the the living room. He was working on his laptop once more, "It's fascinating really, what you and your friend have."

 Sam looked at Gordon and asked, "Are you talking about me and Kendall?"

"Yes, whatever her name is," Gordon said without being unapologeticly. 

"I don't know, she makes me feel somehow and I enjoy that feeling I guess," he said with ecstasy. 

Gordon smiled at his infatuation over Kendall and he inquired, "Since you and your siblings are back together as one unit, is our bargain still in....?"

"Yes, don't worry about that I am a man of my word," Sam replied.

 "You know, when I came to this planet I had one goal and that was to bring all four of you into custody but in the short time I have gotten to know all of you...You might say I've grown fond of you," Gordon replied.

"I guess we remind you of our...our...our...parents," he replied with a smirk.

Gordon chuckled and said, "So, you finally acknowledge that you're of Codex and not of this world."

 "Hmph..." He pursed his lips and continued, " I still prefer Earth though." 

"Really? You are a child of Codex and not of Earth. This world is too primitive and its lifeform is fragile!" He said sternly.

Sam's eyes glazed open with anger, "You know you're starting to piss me off. I don't care what you think. Let me tell you something that you didn't know. Don't let your preconceived notions about Earh mislead you about the humans. You haven't spent enough time with them to truly know what they're capable of.  There's more to this planet than what meets the eye, so Fuck you!!!" 

He stood up and left the latter puzzled as he struggled to understand what he meant by that term.

********************

Dan stood on the balcony the next morning, his eyes clenched as he took a big breath. He reflected on what took place while the soft zypher bounced around, nibbling his skin and raking his hair toward the right side.

The fields of grain and wheat were enveloped in flames as the enormous conflagration devoured them. crippling them and covering the plants with ashes, which expanded greatly along the edges. Furthermore, another scene appeared in his mind, one in which the barn's wood was consumed by flames, and the wooden beams started to collapse to the ground as the supporting framework failed. 

To make matters worse, the immense blaze ate through the flesh of the horses and cows, inflicting much-anticipated agony. They struggled to release themselves from the flame's burning reach but they failed as they wailed miserably.

With that, he snapped out of his trend of thoughts and opened his eyes, which mirrored the index of the horizon that loomed far ahead as buildings from afar succumbed into a motion of linear perspective. 

He then pushed the glass's edges between his lips and took a drink of the finest whiskey. He set the drink down as Sam approached him; he had just finished putting on his tuxedo and all that remained was a blazer. So he picked it up and tucked it in. 

He stood next to him and gently touched his back, "Rough night huh?" 

"What do you think?" He snarled at him as he slightly backed down with his hands raised in surrender, "Whoa, easy big guy. Remember that what happened, did not only affect you. It affected the rest of us." 

Sam then placed his hands on the rail and intertwined his fingers.

"As much as Diana and I don't see eye to eye. But I felt bad for her man. She's locked herself up in her room the whole night," Dan said as Sam sighed.

"It's not only her, what about Harrison. His mother was murdered in front of him. And his father is paralyzed. He hasn't come back since Yesterday," replied Sam.

Dan then turned around to face him, "Do you think that he is stupid enough to go after Seth? The kid's gonna get himself killed."

 "No, Seth is in space while we are on Earth. There is no way he could reach him. I think he wanted a bit of space." "

I agree," said Dan.

Sam then turned to face Dan, he paused for a couple of seconds and continued afterward. "You know it's times like these where we need to stick together. We may have grown up separately and done things our way, but this comes to an end today. Whatever we do from now on, we do as a family!"

"Understood," replied Dan as turned around and walked into the building.

He abruptly stopped in his tracks and said, "Before I go, how's your farm doing." 

"Well, luckily for me, my farm has insurance. So the insurance company will replace everything that was destroyed by the flames."

 "That's good to know."

******************

Seth sat on his chair and reminisced about recent events.

Harrison stretched his hand forward, shivering at the same time, "Why are you doing this Seth? I thought that we were siblings."

"We were, right until you stabbed me in the back. You remember don't you Harry? My intentions were pure! All I wanted was for the four of us to reconcile. However, you decided to listen to Sam and that damned traitor. You humiliated me, and now I carry that agony with me even at this second. Today, you will know how I felt when you betrayed me."

A stream of tears flowed down his cheeks while Seth laughed hysterically.

"Please, Seth don't, I'm begging you," The young lad fell on his knees with his hands intertwined.

"Have mercy, " he pleaded. " I'll do whatever you want me to do, I'll join you in destroying Codex. Heck, I'll even convince the others to join us. Think about it, this is what you always wanted!"

The depraved Seth nodded and pursued his lips. From his reaction, one was convinced that he was considering his proposal, "You're right Harrison, we could join forces and destroy Codex together..."

A grin was placed on the young lad's features. It was so wide, that it radiated the surging energy of his now optimistic heart.

However, the tone of Seth's voice deepened in an eerie manner. His facial expression was as stoic as ever, "...but that ship has already sailed its course.

Instantly, he shoved the blade from her spine and through her gut.

Seth then returned to reality and smirked once more, "No second chances." 

He then lifted his hand and moved his fingers steadily,  "I am a warrior who takes pride in his actions, regardless of how ruthless they are. We live in a ferocious realm where the weak are trampled upon and are left to perish as the savages mount their corpses to reach the ladder of success. This is the reality we live in."

He closed his eyes once again and reminisced of an event that occurred when he was but a child.

A young Seth stood before the throne of a powerful being. The being wore a black armor and a black cape, his face was unidentified since he wore a hood. The young Seth fell to his knees, starving to death as his gut rumbled with fury.

On his knees, a stream of tears drizzled down his cheeks. "Please, kind sir...I humbly ask for refuge in your solitude. I am starving. I don't have food,  friends, and a family." The being spoke in a deep vibrant voice.

 "What happened to your loved ones?"

 "My father, Caldor, was executed by the Council of Codex. I was banished for something that I did not do! I've been scrapping on crumbs and garbage for survival. I beg of you, please let me join you and also to prove myself worthy of your service. You are my only hope for survival!!!" The figure spoke after him, "I do not have sympathy for children from a race that I loath!"

Seth broke down into tears, "On the contrary, I can pardon you for your upbringing. If truly you desire to prove your worth to me, bring me the head of one of my citizens. If you fail, run and never come back because we as the Martian race disregard failures. Such people will put our reputation to shame."

**********

Seth approached a Martian who drew water from a well, his arm morphed into a blade made of crystal matter. As he approached the alien from behind, he was clouded with guilt and doubts, "No, what am I doing? I am not a killer!" He reflected.

 "But if you don't kill the Martian you will starve to death," said another voice in his head.

 He was conflicted, "No Seth, don't! You're not a murderer...Rather you die than take someone else's life," said another voice.

He shook his head and came to a conclusive decision. He climbed on the Martian's back and decapitated him.

Later, he brought the head of the citizen to the Martian King. He was in tears and threw his head on the ground. 

"Her...Here...Here I brought the head of a citizen," he sobbed.

 The Martian King snapped his finger, and Akatsuki his second in command appeared from the side. 

"Akatsuki! Put him in baptism clothes. From this day onward, we will baptize him,  declaring him as a part of my legion." 

She took him to a hall where there was a pool of blood. As she got inside the pool, Seth trembled violently, it's almost as if you could hear his bones vibrate with intensity. 

"Am I going to be baptized in that?"

 "Indeed, for you to be under the Martian King's protection, this a part of your ritual."

He bravely climbed into the pool of blood, his skin was crawling with repulse as he squirmed. He held Akatsuki's hand. "Before we begin, proclaim your allegiance to the Martian King and swear to never betray him. If you do then you shall be put to death. Do you promise to serve the Martian King til death?"

 "Yes, I do." 

"Then it shall be so," She then baptized him.

Seth then returned to reality from his flashback, "Failure is an abomination in the Red Empire. I will fulfill my task and bring my siblings to the Martian Empire by force!" He stated as he clenched his fist.