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Butterflies	By : Esequell Category: 1 through F > Alien (All Movies) > Alien (All Movies) Views: 9166 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Prometheus and I'm not making any money from this (though I'm enjoying myself IMMENSELY!)

Chapter List
- 1-Butterflies
- 2-Unfoldment
- 3-Emergence
- 4-Wings
- 5-Waves
- 6-Caged
- 7-Unbalanced
- 8-Air
- 9-Flight
- 10-Dust
- 11-Grounded
- 12-Aliens
- 8
- 9
- 10
9. Flight
She was so warm with David curled around her. His knees were tucked behind hers, his arm over her waist. She could feel the soft hairs on his forearm. She could feel him breathing, warm moisture in her hair. The stars were scattered overhead like the aftermath of a jewellers accident.
'David,' she murmured. 'Did Mr Weyland believe in God?'
He was quiet so long she wondered if he'd drifted off.
'I think he did. He spoke about God at great length. He found the subject...fascinating.'
'Do you believe?'
He could see the details of each strand of her hair, even in the dark. I believe in a creator, he thought. The man who gave me hair and eyes and skin. I don't know.
'I think there may be too much of the scientist in me to believe anything blindly.'
Shaw smiled playfully against his bicep.
'Do you think...that because a man made you...you don't have a God? A God like mine?'
'How can I?'
'David. If God made Weyland, and Weyland made you...that makes his God your Grandfather.'
David stared, stunned.
'I think...I'd be a somewhat biased researcher if I explained every discovery based on a preconception of intelligent design. On the other hand...if I did, by chance, discover that intelligent design is the reason behind life...I'd be happy to re-evaluate.'
Shaw laughed and wriggled until she faced him.
'You're a funny little robot,' she smiled. 'And an odd little man. What about love? Did Mr Weyland give you that?'
He nodded. 'If he hadn't, I'd have been a lot harder to control. Humans prefer to deal in equations they feel they know the answers to. Why program me with alien responses, when human ones will do just as well? It may surprise you to know that I'm fairly predictable, Elizabeth. Once you understand which directive comes first.'
'What do you love?' she whispered.
'Children. Flowers. The stars. Beautiful people. Symmetry. Asymmetry. Difference. Faces. Industry. Discovery.'
Shaw put her head on his chest. Her hair tickled his throat.
'I'm not supposed to fall in love with you, David.'
He licked his lips nervously.
'Because I'm a robot. You know...you could just say that. It'd be more polite.'
'It isn't that.'
He blinked slowly in the darkness. She couldn't see the tears threatening in his eyes.
'I didn't intend to hurt Dr Holloway. I was simply following orders. Most humans would do anything to save their own life. I'm not sure why you expect any different from me.'
Shaw shut her eyes tightly.
'Is your distress down to love...or lack of love, Doctor?'
Shaw hid her face in his shoulder.
'You're crying,' he murmured.
She made a noise.
'I suppose...it's too much to hope that they're happy tears?'
'Confused ones.'
'Ah.'
Silence.
'Stay,' she whispered, thickly, when the silence had gone on too long to be comfortable. 'Please. David.'
'I don't know where you think I'd go. But yes. Of course.'
'With me,' she clarified.
'You and Sinashi are my responsibility-'
'Not for that reason!' she breathed. 'Do you understand me, David?'
It took him a minute to run through every possible explanation. Then he nodded, stunned, his grip suddenly very posessive.
'Yes. I believe I understand you perfectly.'
000
Atri returned and nothing was said about their experience in the living room. Shaw procrastinated until it was both impolite and foolish to continue. She found him weeding, his back damp with sweat.
'Can I talk to you?' she arched an eyebrow. 'In private?'
'Alright,' he didn't sound enthused.
He followed her into the greenhouse. It was uncomfortably hot, but private.
'It's good to have you back,' she said quietly. 'I just wanted to say I'm sorry, for what I said. I don't know how it stands between you and David, but can we at least try to be friends?'
Atri considered that. He folded his arms.
'I've been your friend for a decade. I'm not sure that's ever been enough for me. I want more. And you know it.'
'I know,' she nodded. 'It's not going to work, Atri. Even if David was OK with it...I'm not.'
Atri pointed to her face.
'Your mouth says one thing while your eyes say another. I'm not going to make this easy for you. You deserve the truth. And so do I.'
Shaw smiled tightly.
'Great,' she muttered.
'I don't get angry very often,' he murmured. 'Watching you lie to me makes me angry.'
'I think you assume a lot,' her patience broke.
He smiled, without a lot of warmth.
'This isn't going to happen,' she said simply.
She turned for the door. He grabbed her wrist.
'Let go!' she said, sharply.
'No. I've seen what you're hiding, and I'd be a fucking idiot to let you go now.'
Shaw moved closer, her eyes dark and fearless.
'You have no idea what I'm hiding,' she said evenly.
'I've been in your mind.'
The blinked dumbly. For a full minute she stared at his face, trying to discern the truth. Then she managed a shaky;
'What?'
'When I took the sickness out of you.'
'You read my mind?' she tugged her hand away sharply. He let go. 'Oh my God.'
'Eli-' he started, as she slammed the door behind her and ran for the house.
'Don't run from me!' he yelled, at her back. 'Don't you dare!'
David caught Shaw by the elbows but she pushed past him and kept running.
Atri turned on his heel, his eyes full of tears. An arc of light split the air and he walked into it. For a second he was a shadow against the sun, then the rip closed and he was gone. David stared from the patio. He searched his databanks for any precedent and came back completely blank. His optical sensors were functioning normally, not even a single error.
'Interesting,' he set his glass down and went to poke around at the scorch marks.
000
A full year passed. Nobody heard a word from Atri. Sinashi often asked after him and Shaw wanted to tell him something positive. She couldn't find a lie in her heart, but neither did she have definitive answer so in the end, she told him only what they knew for certain. Atri had left, and nobody knew when he was coming back. Sinashi grew angry. He sprouted up half a foot and became the teenager Shaw had been dreading. He packed on muscle in line with an appetite like a wolf.
His fights were no longer playful. The local boys battled like starving dogs, neither willing to give until blood flowed. Sinashi was as savage as any of them, but his real power came from his intelligence. He was cunning and often vindictive. David's attitude to this was one of mild acceptance, which was a point of view that Shaw struggled to match. She found it increasingly difficult to contend with Sinashi's violent streak. He was tempered only by the tenderness he'd inherited from her. If it made his Mother cry, Sinashi would stop.
Shaw and David both wished Atri would return if only to lend Sinashi some direction.
Sinashi grew less eager to be cuddled. He spent more time in the towns. One weekend he arranged to lend Onyx to a farmer for breeding. He rode a full day and half a night and when he came back, he was older. Shaw couldn't put her finger on exactly what had changed, only that Sinashi held himself differently. His underconfidence was gone. He was the man she'd imagined he'd be, one day in the distant future. Not now. Right now it was a terrible shock.
He'd grown up overnight.
In time Shaw began to grieve for Atri. Sinashi often came back from the towns bruised, sometimes bleeding. His first acquisition was a crate of odd birds. Shaw thought they looked like naked chickens. Their feathers were made of thin, semi-translucent skin. They clucked and wandered around the garden and began to lay odd, putried-looking green eggs that actually tasted better than chicken eggs back home.
Then he won a cow, which he sold. He came home with new clothes. Shaw laughed when she saw him. He scowled at her and asked her what was funny. When she said he reminded her of Atri in his new robe, he swiped away the evidence of tears and turned away from her. She caught him by the crook of his arm. It was thicker with muscle than her thigh.
He was two heads taller than she, and Shaw was certain that she was now the only person, aside from David, who could restrain or praise him.
'I'm so sorry, Sinashi,' she tugged him close and wrapped her arms around him. 'I haven't heard from him since the day he left.'
'He left because he loved you.'
'He never said so,' she edged around the truth, responsibility burning under her breastbone.
'You didn't love him back.'
'Sinashi, I never wanted him to leave. It's too complicated to explain to you.'
'I need him,' Sinashi breathed. 'He'd know what to do. What to study first. I have to pass, or-'
'You will. I'm so proud of you, Sinashi.'
He smiled grimly.
'When I'm gone...will you take care of Onyx? I don't want to uproot him. Maybe Father would keep him-'
'Yes,' Shaw nodded quickly. 'When you come home he'll be waiting for you. I promise.'
He wrapped her in a hug.
000
The river ran unusually cold. The Observatory managed to remain warm enough to be comfortable to Shaw, but the plants that grew on Anatak were mainly tropical sorts, with little tolerance for the cold of space. Everything died and the Igogi scientists went about in double layers, shivering and complaining about the freeze. A decrease in solar activity was blamed and generators were shipped in to rectify the problem. Sinashi carved a silhouette against the flowing river, practising the series of movements he'd need to win every battle from here to flight school. He buried the end of his stick in the dirt. There was a sudden, subliminal pop. He turned. Atri leaned against a tree.
'You,' Sinashi breathed.
He grabbed his stick from the dirt.
'Bastard!' Sinashi smacked Atri in the jaw. His skull thumped back into the trunk. Sinashi pointed the stick at Atri's heart.
'I never meant to hurt you, lad,' Atri clutched his face, panting. 'I'm sorry.'
Respect shone in Atri's eyes. He made no move to defend himself.
'But you did!' Sinashi's jaw clicked forward, threatening. His shoulders tightened. He drove the stick into Atri's belly, a parting shot, but it passed clean through him and hit the wood. Sinashi stared at the empty spot. A twig snapped behind him. He spun, stick ready. Atri stood there. Sinashi swayed, his expression dissolved into confusion.
'Are you a dream?' he asked quietly.
'No, lad.'
Sinashi poked Atri in the shoulder. He was solid.
'You...moved. Somehow.'
'It's called dematerialisation,' Atri spread his hands helplessly. 'I can't explain it in any way you'd understand. Yet. Things have changed. I'm not what I was...but I'm still Atri. OK?'
'You're a ghost?'
'No. I'm alive. Just...changed.'
'Why did you leave us?' Sinashi asked. 'How can you come back here now...after that? You betrayed us all!'
'I'm sorry, lad. I was heartsick. For your Mother. You don't know what it feels like. I went to find an old friend. He taught an old dog a few new tricks...and sent me back. Just before he died.'
'I'm sorry,' Sinashi said.
'How's your Mother?'
'Worried,' Sinashi confessed. 'About me. I've got to pass the exams for flight school. She thinks I'm being reckless with my life, and I probably am. But I don't care. It's something I have to do.'
Atri glanced at the house. The garden was empty. He'd hoped for a glimpse of her. He swallowed his disappointment.
'You've got to promise me something, lad. No matter what you see, you don't tell your Mother I'm here. Not yet.'
'She'd want to know,' Sinashi said uncomfortably.
'I know,' Atri nodded. 'But I don't want her to. Not yet. Don't tell her, and I'll teach you everything you need to know, to get that job you want so badly. OK?'
000
Sinashi lied to his Mother. He rode Onyx down to the riverbank every day, leaving hoofprints in the clay. Atri was waiting there, most often sitting barefoot, on a log crusted with moss. There were two sticks on his lap. He leaned over them casually.
'You haven't been home,' Sinashi said simply. 'I checked the logs on your apartment door.'
'And how did you manage that? Atri looked a bit worried.
Sinashi slid off his horse and landed in the mud.
'I know a bit more about technology than I used to. Where did you sleep last night?'
Atri shrugged.
'I slept in my new house.'
Sinashi smiled.
'Oh,' he said. 'Can I come see it?'
'Only if you promise not to tell your Mother about it.'
Sinashi sighed softly.
'I don't like lying to her.'
'Might be best you don't come see it then.'
Atri stood up and tossed him one of the sticks. Sinashi caught it.
'Best three out of five, lad. I hope you're up to this. I'm faster than I used to be.'
000
Sinashi tugged his Mother to one side a week before he was due to leave. He pointed to the forest beyond the river.
'Atri's back,' he said softly. 'He made me swear not to tell you. So I'm breaking a vow but you need to know.'
'Sinashi...are you serious?'
'I swear it. He's got a Sphere. I've seen it. It's like a living bubble. I've seen him pass through things...put his hands inside trees. He's like a ghost who can become solid.'
'And how long have you been taking his private tuition?' David asked suddenly.
Sinashi spun. David was standing behind them, wearing a knowing smile.
'I'm afraid that when I saw the rather...extensive...bruising you were sustaining almost daily, I put two and two together.'
'No,' Sinashi stared at him. 'I don't believe even you could have guessed that. Did you watch us?'
David shifted his weight.
'What do you think?'
Sinashi nodded suddenly.
'It's exactly what I'd expect you to do.'
'I'm afraid my primary directive...is still the protection and preservation of life. For you...and your Mother. At any cost.'
'Who decides who you protect? Weyland? Earth?' Sinashi asked suspiciously.
'At first, Mr Weyland. Then...upon his death, I took the liberty of extracting certain passwords from the data storage brought on board the Leviathan. Backups. Of the Prometheus' systems. They contained the necessary markers, and a handy How-To file that I used to simply...reprogram myself. I believe Mr Weyland would be very proud. And very confused. I've become my own God.'
'What would have happened...if you hadn't?' Sinashi asked.
'The answer to that doesn't bear thinking about,' David admitted.
Shaw waited until Sinashi was gone. Then she turned to David.
'Why didn't you tell me?'
'I was under the impression that you'd already made your feelings clear.'
'David,' she shook her head. 'You know my bloody feelings! Why didn't you tell me!'
'Atri doesnt want to be found, Doctor.'
'Did you talk to him?'
'No.'
'But you saw him.'
'Yes.'
Shaw sat down and leaned her head on her head.
'We shouldn't have done that. He was worth more as a friend.'
'I remember it differently, Doctor. It wasn't a friendship he wanted, in the end. Neither did you, for that matter.'
'David-'
'Does the truth offend you, Elizabeth?'
'It does what you say it like that.'
'Sorry,' he said. He didn't sound contrite. 'If he does come back...I'd be interested to see this Sphere. It seems strange that he'd stick around. When a Stage Four Sentient could go almost anywhere-'
'A what?'
'A Stage Four Sentient, Doctor. It was merely a hypothesis until a few weeks ago, when I overheard their first conversation. I believe that Atri had found a way to alter his frequency. If I'm correct...he could conceivably be capable of...almost anything.'
'What does that mean?'
'Oh, he could walk on water. Turn water to wine. It's mere science, Doctor, don't look so shocked. There's a theory that whole universes may exist within states of higher vibration. I found a paper some time ago that detailed a vehicle. It has no literal translation, except for perhaps "Sphere." It's an intelligent engine, built from the genetic material of the Sentient, plus a few bits and pieces from rarer, more far-flung places. It grows to be part of the body, rather like the Igogi spacesuits. It's composition is quite remarkable. It can be used two ways, to alter the state of matter inside it, or to alter what's outside, to within a certain distance. I expect we have a great deal to learn from Atri now.'
'David,' Shaw said suddenly. 'Are you telling me that Atri has become some sort of...God?'
'No,' David said mildly. 'There is a word for it, but again, there's no simple translation. It happens very rarely, usually only to the oldest Igogi. Many die, during the process. Ascension.'
'Do you think these...Sphere's ever came to Earth?'
David sat back.
'It's certainly possible,' he agreed. 'I'd be more inclined to believe that a Sentient posed as Jesus Christ, than a man was able to walk on water.'
'How is it you always seem to know what I'm thinking?'
'Practise, Doctor,' he smiled. 'What do you want to do? If we search for him, it's quite possible we'll only drive him away.'
'I'm not going to chase him down,' Shaw said. 'David. Do you think he left...because of me?'
'Certainly he did.'
Shaw bit her lip.
'It's no secret you loved him.'
'What about you?' she countered. 'You're the one that kissed him! I didn't have anything to do with that.'
'I loved you,' David said casually. 'That was enough.'
'What?' she watched him walk away. 'David! Don't walk away from me,' she grabbed his arm. 'You did that for me?'
'Almost everything I've done since we came here..is for you. Haven't you figured that out yet?'
'You can't do that to him, to make me happy.'
'I already did.'
'David, you don't get it! Atri doesn't deserve to be manipulated. That's what you're doing. You're playing with his heart.'
'I thought that was your job, Doctor,' he pulled his arm free.
000
The morning Sinashi was due to depart by hoverpod for flight school, Shaw was in pieces in a way she'd never anticipated. Nothing could have prepared her for the wrench in her heart when he climbed into the pod and she realised he was actually leaving.
Then a familiar presence arrived behind her. She knew him by the weight of his attention, she didn't need to turn and look. Atri passed them by. Sinashi left his bags on the seat and came to receive the bear hug Atri offered. His eyes were full of tears. Atri gripped the back of Sinashi's neck.
'Don't look at me like it's the last time, lad. You get good, do it fast, and come home next chance you get. We'll be waiting for you.'
Sinashi watched them as the pod closed. Shaw flinched, reaching for him involuntarily as it turned a corner and disappeared. David caught her hand, then her waist, and pulled her in before she could crumple. She buried her face in his neck. So many years of history stored in the smell of his skin, his hair, the taste of his mouth. Her knees turned to jelly. By the time her backside hit the kerb, Atri had turned to stare at her.
'Elizabeth-' David brushed her hair out of her eyes tenderly. 'It won't be forever.'
'I know,' she whispered.
'He'll be back.'
'I know!' she sobbed.
'Don't be upset,' David whispered to her. 'I won't be leaving.'
'I know,' she held him tighter. 'God, David.'
Atri gazed at her, his attention heavy, his odd blue eyes a shade lighter, or was that just the sunlight? Shaw wasn't certain.
'Atri. I'm so sorry. What now? I suppose you're leaving again, now that Sinashi's gone?'
'I considered it. I suppose it depends on what I have to stay for.'
'You've been teaching him all this time.'
'Yes.'
Shaw found her feet.
'What I said to you that day came out all wrong. I just meant that I couldn't deal with both of you. It was like being torn between you...I didn't know what to do.'
'You could have said yes,' Atri said simply. 'Then it wouldn't have been so complicated. You could have been honest with yourself.'
Shaw swallowed hard.
'God, you're still an asshole.'
'Good,' he nodded numbly. 'At least I know I'm still myself.'
'I missed you,' she whispered.
'Does this mean I get a hug?' Atri smiled lopsidedly.
She nodded, her throat tight with tears.
'Yeah. Sure.'
He was broader than she could get her arms around, all muscle. He enfolded her in white strength and the unique smell of his skin. It was all Atri, and it was all she wanted. Her heart was confused, but that didn't stop her from squeezing him, grateful to see him again. His eyelids flickered against her temple. She remembered landing in his lap in the pond, soaked and irritated. She'd not seen the truth for looking.
She found his eyes were open. Stuck like a pinned butterfly. Eternal. She forgot to breathe. Atri kissed her softly on the mouth, and waited for the inevitable rejection. It never came. Shaw marvelled at his eyes, like two perfect blue gems. The second kiss wasn't so innocent. It lasted until she tingled, until her fingers tightened on his muscles, until David murmured;
'Finally!'
He sat down.
'What the hell do you think you're doing?' Atri looked over her shoulder.
'I'm enjoying a well deserved rest,' David said. 'Pretend I'm not here.'
'No,' Atri shook his head. He pointed to a spot right in front of him. 'Here, boy.'
David's eyebrow went up. He didn't move.
'Are you sure?' he said softly. 'I was under the impression that Dr Shaw is uncomfortable with the more...atypical relationship templates.'
'David-' Shaw reached for him compulsively. His clear eyes clouded with something disturbingly close to need. He twitched.
'She can decide that later. For now, I just want a fucking hug.'
000
David made three drinks with the same, chilly, perfect precision that Shaw knew from the Prometheus. With fingers that seemed to know the length, breadth and depth of each item within reach, graceful, an artistic expression of perfection. David was everything Weyland had wanted to be. Youthful. Innocent. Immortal.
Mine, Shaw thought. He's mine. That powerful feeling brought her to the kitchen counter where he was placing ice into the glasses, one cube at a time, with a pair of silver tongs. Shaw wrapped her arms around his belly, her hands on his perfect abs. She sighed into his spine.
'Is everything OK, Elizabeth?'
'Yes,' she whispered. 'Everything's fine. David. I just want to touch you.'
'Are you distressed? About Atri's return?'
She nodded.
'Ah.'
He sounded disappointed.
'That isn't why I want to touch you,' she murmured quickly.
David put down the tongs and placed his hand on top of hers.
'Perhaps you want to touch me...for the same reason I like to touch you? Familiarity. Comfort,' he turned around to face her and gathered her into a warm, intimate cuddle.
'Love,' she said softly.
'Yes,' he breathed into her hair softly. 'Love would be an...appropriate description. I wasn't sure if I could feel it. At first.'
'And now?'
'I'm certain that I can.'
His shirt was warm, smooth, freshly laundered against her face.
They spent the evening polishing off the alcohol David kept for special occasions under the kitchen counter, where Sinashi wouldn't find it. Shaw stuck close to David, and neither he nor Atri instigated more than a brush of hands, or a squeeze to say goodnight. Shaw was glad of that because although she had given Atri a cuddle that lasted much longer than normal, she was hardly willing to repeat the uncomfortable feelings from before, when they'd tried to persuade her into a complex, three-way relationship. The kiss went comfortably unmentioned, for now.
Atri caught her on the bottom step, before she could catch up with David. By now he'd be turning the bedcovers down, setting her glass of water meticulously on her side, unmisting the walls so that they could lay together under the stars, naked limbs entangled. Shaw had never liked sleeping naked, until she met David.
'I wish I hadn't spent a year thinking. But the year bought me a gift, one I'd like to share with you, if you'll let me?'
'What sort of gift?' Shaw asked him quietly.
'I promised to take you to Ishhi-Addu. He's dead now. Before he passed, I convinced him of your purpose. He gave me the means to take you to meet your maker. Do you still want to?'
'Yes,' she breathed. She searched his face. 'Of course.'
'It's a long journey. A month around trip. If you'll trust me. You and David.'
Shaw stepped closer.
'Yes,' she nodded.
'Good,' Atri smiled. He let her go. 'We'll leave when we're fully supplied. Best wait until Sinashi writes. Wouldn't want to panic the boy.'
Shaw slid into bed in the dark, her nightdress a crumpled, silken puddle by the bed. David received her, his arm, smooth arms so familiar that she knew them by the texture of muscle, skin and vein. She kissed his chin affectionately. He wasn't asleep. He smiled.
'David?' If we had the chance to answer those questions, about who made us, about who we are. Would you still want to go?'
'I take it Atraharsis has offered his Sphere-'
'You're a smart little robot, aren't you?'
'I have very good hearing,' he smirked.
'So?' she prompted.
David's arms tightened imperceptibly.
'I want to go wherever you go, Doctor.'
Shaw gripped him.
'Good. Because I'm not going anywhere without you.'
David caught her lips, hungry and urgent. She almost forgot he wasn't human, and never could be. What mattered more now was how he behaved, his choices, his consistency of character. She kissed him back until they were moving together, driven by instinct and something that passed for instinct. He flipped her onto her back and held her there to tease her. Before she could start to beg, he drove his body into hers until she yelled, arching, pleading.
'Did I hurt you?'
'No, David!' she gasped, as she squirmed to get him closer, deeper, again and again.
'Good,' was all he said, until it was all over, and she was sticky with whatever fluid he produced in place of semen, and sweaty, and satisfied.
'I...love you,' he breathed.
She blinked at him.
'What did you say?'
'I said I love you, Doctor,' his eyes were bright, reflective in the dark. He smiled that odd, tight little smile he favoured whenever he was busy thinking deeply about something. 'Elizabeth,' he added.
'Jesus,' she buried herself in him, as close as she could get without taking off his skin to wrap around them like a blanket. The words tripped off her tongue so naturally she wondered why it had taken so long, what had held her back. Hesitation seemed nonsensical now, with so much feeling at stake.
'I love you, too,' she said. 'David,' the bit at the end nearly broke her in two, but for the fact he was smiling.

TBC ...Almost at the end now.
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Butterflies