Before The Cataclysm

Altair was startled by a knock on the door. Seven never knocks: he just walks right in. So who could it be? Had the ADF found his secret hideout? He grabbed a blaster gun as he responded to the knock: "Come in".

The door swings open and he exhaled heavily, tension draining from his shoulders: Long, bouncy brown hair, green eyes and light skin. Her heels clicking and clacking as she descended the stairs. The sound stops as she pauses midway, gawking at the machine Altair is standing behind.

"Altair", she called, her voice laced with familiarity and a hint of disbelief. "What in the name of Aria is that?"

It was Nelly Brian, the boys' childhood friend and Seven's fiancée.

 "What do you want, Nelly? This isn't a good time."

Nelly flashed a small smile, though it didn't reach her eyes. "I just wanted to see you. You've been cooped up in here for weeks, haven't you?" She descended the last steps, her gaze still fixed on the intricate machinery, a mix of awe and curiosity flickering across her face. "So this is what's been keeping you so busy. Seven doesn't talk about it, but he says you're building something… important."

Altair scoffed, shaking his head as he turned a bolt on the machine's side panel. "That doesn't mean you should be here. Go home, Nelly."

"Why are you so cold?" she countered, stepping closer. Her voice took on a softer, more dangerous edge. "You weren't always like this, Altair. I remember when we were all friends… You, me, and Seven. Back when you'd laugh, not just bury yourself in this… whatever it is."

Altair didn't look at her, his focus remaining on the task before him. "That was a long time ago. Things change. People change."

Nelly moved to his side, closer now, her perfume lingering in the air. "Not everything has to change," she murmured, her hand brushing against his arm.

Altair froze mid-turn, his eyes darting to her, wide with shock.

"Nelly," he said, warning thick in his tone. "What are you doing?"

She stepped closer still, ignoring the anger rising in his voice. "I just… I don't want to feel like this anymore. Like I'm stuck. Don't you feel it too? Don't you miss how it used to be between us?"

Altair dropped his wrench onto the table with a loud clang. "First off, there was never anything between us. Secondly, and more importantly, you're Seven's fiancée. You don't get to talk like that—and you definitely don't get to act like this."

Nelly faltered for a moment, but her eyes held a desperate gleam. "Why do you care so much about loyalty to him? He's your friend, sure… but he's not you. I thought maybe…" She trailed off, her voice breaking.

Altair stared at her as if she were a stranger. "You thought? Thought what? That you could come here, say a few things, and I'd… what? Betray my best friend? Throw everything away? You've lost your mind, Nelly."

The room felt heavy with silence.

Nelly's face reddened with frustration, her hands balling into fists at her sides. "You think I'm crazy? For once, I'm doing what I want. Can you even say the same? You hide down here, building this stupid machine, but for what? You're too scared to live."

Altair slammed his fist onto the table.

"You need to leave." The words were like ice. "Right now, Nelly. I swear—"

She stepped back, startled by the force in his voice.

Altair turned back to his machine, his pulse pounding in his ears, trying to ignore her presence. But as she moved away, Nelly's heel clipped a power cable on the ground. The machine sputtered, sparks flying, and suddenly there was a small explosion—a burst of smoke and metal clanging against the floor.

"Nelly!" Altair shouted, pushing her aside.

She stood frozen in shock, her eyes wide as smoke filled the room.

Altair grabbed a fire extinguisher and snuffed out the sparks, coughing as the smoke from the small fire stung his lungs. When the room finally settled, his anger boiled over.

"Do you have any idea what you just did?! That voltage conglomerate—weeks of work, gone! Gone because you couldn't take a hint and leave me alone!"

"Altair… I didn't mean to…" Nelly started, her once confident voice reduced to nothing but a whisper.

"Get out!" he bellowed, pointing to the stairs. "Go back to Seven—go back to wherever you came from! Just get out and stay out!"

Nelly hesitated, looking like she might say something, but then Altair snapped:

"Do you hear me? I don't care what you do anymore! Go and die for all I care! It's not like you're of any use to me anyway"

The words hung in the air, cold and final.

Nelly's face paled, her lip trembling, but she said nothing. She turned and hurried up the stairs, her heels clicking in a frantic rhythm that echoed long after she'd gone.

Altair exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples as guilt already started gnawing at the edges of his anger. "Damn it," he muttered under his breath, staring at the broken component.

And that was the last he saw of her—until Seven arrived the next day.

The next morning, Seven descended the stairs, his expression uncharacteristically grim.

"Nelly came down here yesterday, didn't she?" he asked, his voice tight.

Altair, hunched over the scattered remnants of the machine that had exploded, barely glanced up. "Yeah," he muttered, still fiddling with a charred component. "That fiancée of yours is something else, you know."

"She said she's sorry," Seven interrupted sharply. His voice wavered, almost pleading. "That she wasn't thinking right. And she promised she'll never do it again."

Altair snorted, rolling his eyes. "That's not the first time we've heard that, is it? She's always apologising, always promising. Tsk."

But Seven said nothing. He stood there, unnervingly still, his silence pressing into the room. Altair finally looked up, his frown shifting to concern. "What?" he asked cautiously.

Seven swallowed hard. His voice trembled when he finally spoke. "So… when we were talking on the telephone… the ADF barged in."

Altair froze, the component slipping from his hand and clattering against the workbench. "No," he whispered, his voice cracking. "No, they didn't…"

Seven's eyes shimmered, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. "They asked her questions. About you." He blinked rapidly, as if trying to hold back tears. "She denied everything. Every accusation. Then… there was a struggle. I heard gunshots."

Altair's breath hitched. His head shook, over and over. "No… no…"

Seven's voice broke as the tears finally fell. "Then there was a thud. And one of the men… he… he walked up to her. I heard him say she was dead."