"Mother! Why are you calling me all of a sudden?" Tephe asked in surprise as the image of Pevaphio appeared on the mess hall's large holographic screen.
"Can't a mother call and check on her daughter?" Pevaphio asked with a smile.
"Well, you haven't bothered to call before now," Tephe retorted.
Pevaphio showed a sad look before wiping a fake tear away as she said sadly, "I could say the same about you. Look at how you've forgotten about your mother after finding a mate."
"He's not my mate… not yet," Tephe replied.
"Keep working on him, little one; I know you'll win him over eventually," Pevaphio said supportively before looking at the others in the mess hall and saying, "Hello, Diva Aphrodite, I hope my daughter's not causing you too much trouble?"
"Not at all, Senator Pevaphio," Aphrodite replied.
"That's a relief," Pevaphio replied before asking. "But who are these two unfamiliar faces?"
"This is Eri, the social media influencer who is assisting Lorelie, and this is Emma, who is from Earth like Adam," Tephe replied.
"The same planet as Adam?" Pevaphio asked in surprise. "Did you also find a ship and travel out here?"
"No, Mother, don't be silly," Tephe replied before boasting. "We recently visited Earth and picked Emma up."
"You visited Earth? Isn't that far outside the known universe?" Pevaphio asked in shock. "How did you possibly manage to travel there and back so quickly?"
"That's a secret," Tephe replied cheekily.
"Damn brat, you think I can't guess that you probably managed it by using his ship's ability to travel in time?" Pevaphio asked with a smirk.
"How do you know about that?" Tephe asked in shock.
"I'm a Universal Senator, little one; if the Senate is aware of something, then naturally I am as well," Pevaphio explained.
"That's not really surprising considering the summons Revi received," Aphrodite stated.
"Indeed," Pevaphio replied. "But where is Adam? I need to speak with him about being my bodyguard for the upcoming Supreme Speaker selection."
"He's probably still assisting Eytelis with her checkup," Tephe replied while pouting.
"Eytelis!" Pevaphio repeated in surprise. "As in Dryad Eytelis?"
"That's the one," Tephe replied.
"What is the Solarian Prime Bureau Chief doing on a ship in the Ashes Galaxy?" Pevaphio asked in surprise.
"Turns out she had been kidnapped by the same organisation that recently came to light," Aphrodite replied. "Adam rescued her."
"Kidnapped!" Pevaphio exclaimed in surprise. "I knew nothing of this."
"Seems the Solarians and Environmental Sustainability Bureau worked together to cover it up," Aphrodite explained.
"It definitely sounds like something they would do," Pevaphio said with a nod. "Well, since Adam isn't free right now, let's discuss the other, more important matter for which I called."
"Other matter?" Tephe asked.
"What's this I hear about you somehow changing aspects?" Pevaphio asked in a serious tone.
"You heard about that as well?" Tephe exclaimed.
"I did, and I'm most disappointed that you didn't contact me to inform me about it," Pevaphio replied while frowning.
"Sorry, mum, but honestly I still don't know how it happened," Tephe said apologetically.
"Then tell me everything you do know," Pevaphio instructed. "Describe the entire fight to me in detail."
"Ok," Tephe replied before she began her recounting of the fight.
***
"Are you ready?" Lorelie asked with a smile as she looked down at Adam, who lay on one of the medical beds.
"It's just like donating a little blood; I'll be fine," Adam replied.
"Have you donated blood before?" Stacey asked.
"You mean other than to you and Rowena?" Adam asked with a smirk.
"If he can make jokes like that, he's fine," Rowena said with a smile.
"I donated blood a few times in the past," Adam replied. "The country had a mass shortage at one point and so paid people to donate blood.
Turns out I have the rarest blood type on Earth, called Rh null."
"Really?" Rowena asked with interest.
"I bet they loved you then," Lorelie said with a smile.
"You would think, but it's actually the opposite," Adam explained. "Apparently Rh null is so rare that it's found in only about 50 people in the entire world. Because of this, they weren't all that interested in me; they were more excited each time a type O negative donor arrived."
"Why that type?" Lorelie asked.
"It's because type O negative can be donated to anyone," Adam answered.
"Although this is fascinating and all, do you think we can get started?" Eytelis asked from where she sat in a chair next to Adam's bed.
"Someone's impatient," Rowena said with a smirk.
"Spector, let's begin," Adam instructed.
"Affirmative," Spector replied before the section of the bed where Adam's right arm was lying rose up slightly to reveal a section filled with multiple vials.
After reaching the required height, sections of the armrest slid out and curved up and over Adam's arm, locking it in place.
Then the end section of the armrest opened up to reveal two items. One was a circular ball, while the other resembled a miniature blaster that was connected to the inner workings of the armrest via a tube.
"Adam, please take the stress ball and Eytelis the blood release gun," Spector announced.
"A stress ball?" Lorelie asked in confusion as she took the ball and gave it a slight squeeze.
"Squeezing the ball helps with blood flow and provides a faster collection rate," Adam explained.
"But we don't want it to be fast, right?" Lorelie asked as she placed the ball in Adam's hand.
"Since this is a good opportunity, I am going to collect and store vials of Adam's blood in case of future emergencies," Spector explained.
"Does that mean I can sneak in here in the middle of the night for a midnight snack in the future?" Rowena playfully asked.
"Negative," Spector replied.
"How does this blood release gun work?" Lorelie asked as she inspected the miniature-looking blaster before offering it to Eytelis.
"Currently it is set to release one drop of blood upon pulling the trigger," Spector replied.
"I get it," Eytelis said in understanding.
"Beginning blood extraction," Spector announced before Adam felt a tickling sensation on his arm that made him smile.
"What?" Stacey asked as she saw the smile.
"Nothing, I just felt a tickle on my arm," Adam replied just as they saw blood begin to enter the first vial.
"Looks like it's working," Rowena stated before turning to Eytelis and saying. "I guess that means you can begin."
Eytelis nodded before placing the end of the blood release gun in her mouth and pulling the trigger.
As Spector had explained, a single drop of Adam's blood was ejected from the barrel into Eytelis's mouth.
Not that she was no longer covering her face, the others could see that as the blood entered her mouth, her eyes shone slightly brighter before the dead-looking bark of another finger fell away to reveal a healthy one.
"If she can only drink one drop at a time, this could take a while," Stacey remarked.
"It can't be helped," Rowena replied. "If a single drop of Adam's blood already has this much of an effect, it could be dangerous if she gulps it down."
As Eytelis took another drop of blood into her mouth, rejuvenating another finger, Lorelie thought of something and said, "So I just realised this, but you do realise that you're going to have to strip soon, right?"
"What?" Eytelis asked in surprise.
"Well, if the rest of your body rejuvenates the same way as your fingers, then the bark is going to drop off, and I don't think you want to be wearing clothes when that happens," Lorelie explained.
"Want me to close my eyes?" Adam asked with a smirk.
"Pervert," Eytelis replied while blushing.
"You were all for playing with his cock earlier, yet now you're getting embarrassed at him seeing you naked?" Rowena teased.
Eytelis hung her head before saying meekly, "I don't want him to see me naked in my current state; at least not until I'm fully rejuvenated, anyway."
Lorelie nodded in understanding before saying, "That's understandable; no woman wants the guy she likes to see her in a poor state."
"Maybe we should set up some kind of curtain then?" Adam suggested.
And just as he finished speaking, a section of the roof retracted before a curtain fell between the two medical beds.
"Thank you, Spector," Lorelie said in amusement.
"You're very welcome," Spector replied.
Lorelie smiled before asking Eytelis, "Do you want to move to the other side of the curtain?"
Eytelis flushed slightly before nodding as she stood up and did just that.
"Sorry, babe, no new naked body for you to admire just yet," Lorelie teased before following Eytelis.
"If he wants to see a naked body, he just has to ask," Stacey stated.
"I said a new naked body," Lorelie replied from behind the curtain. "And don't get up to anything naughty while his blood's being extracted."
"Fiinnneeee," Stacey replied before leaning next to Adam's ear and whispering. "I'll save it for later since it's been a long time since I had you all to myself."