The End

Eloise walked up the sloping hill and sat down at its top, breathing heavily as she looked down at the bandage covering her arm. It still stung where the alien's barbed tail had struck her. The docs said she'd be fine though so there was nothing she could do about it but hope they were right.
Her gaze turned to the skies as a warm breeze blew the grasses around her in a rippling wave. Overhead, the hive ship—or what was left of it—was beginning to enter the atmosphere.
The rock-like ship began to glow as it touched the atmosphere and then its already compromised shape began to crumble and collapse in on itself. Pieces began flying off, streaking away to form angry red trails across the sky as the bulk of the ship continued to disintegrate. Faces flashed in front of her eyes, faces of those who had died to bring the aliens to their knees.
Craig, Fury, Alfonse, Haru, Mika, Nikki...and so many more.
She closed her eyes, her ears flattening as she tucked her head between her knees as tears stung the back of her eyelids. So many dead. So many friends she'd never see again.
"You know you shouldn't be up here without a shirt on." Davidov said gently. "You'll get sick."
Eloise's head jerked up as he laid his heavy fur lined leather jacket on her shoulders. She tugged the thick fabric about herself, her ears flicking uncertainly as she looked down the hill slope sadly.
"I miss them." she murmured.
There was a sucking sound as Davidov took a long drag on his cigarette. Eloise glared up at him.
"You promised Nikki you'd quit."
"I have." he replied somberly, twirling the cigarette between his fingers. "It's electric."
Eloise's tail swished from side to side and Davidov chuckled at her annoyance.
"You know they wouldn't want you sulking."
"I can't help it...they were my friends...now they're dead."
He shrugged. "They were my friends too you know."
"You're a soldier, you're used to it." she replied sullenly.
"Oh? And you're not?"
"I—I don't know what I am anymore." she said with a nervous tick.
He squatted down next to her and put his palm atop her head, ruffling her hair affectionately.
"You're still you. The injections just made you stronger. It didn't change anything else."
She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. "Is that really true? What if the mutagens changed me? What if I'm not myself anymore? What if Eloise died when they pumped me full of that stuff? What if—!"
She stopped as he pulled her back into his warm embrace. She paused, her tears coming fresh as he held her and then twisted around to bury her head in his chest.
"I'm scared." she murmured. "I don't want to change."
"I know. I was scared too the first time I went through the treatment as well." he soothed, running his hand through her hair.
"The first time?" she asked, looking up at him with wide eyes.
He nodded, a wry smile crossing his features. "Yep, if you want to maintain it, you need multiple infusions otherwise your body flushes out the mutagens."
"It's not permanent?"
"Not until the sixth or seventh infusion."
She sank into his arms, relief washing through her body. She would be normal again. She didn't have to live with this curse anymore. She stopped and looked up at Davidov's gentle features.
"How many infusions have you had?"
"Seventeen."
She clenched her hand tightly, looking down. "So it's permanent for you...."
He nodded quietly, saying nothing as she turned her head to watch the remains of the hive ship soaring overhead like rockets, trailing broad swaths of billowing black smoke.
"It's over."
He chuckled, standing up and stretching. "Yeah. Time to get back to life as normal."
She nodded and stood up, looking at him strangely for a moment before reaching out and plucking his cigarette from his mouth and tossing it aside. She leaned in and kissed him. He jerked slightly but didn't push her back even though they both knew he could.
When she broke the kiss he looked at her in confusion.
"What was that?"
She blushed. "Nikki asked me to give that to you if we made it back."
He considered her a moment, his eyes trailing off to the skies as a piece of debris sailed overhead, a strange look in his eyes before he looked back at her.
Eloise looked away nervously. "Sorry, I didn't me—!"
He grabbed her and pulled her into a fresh embrace, pressing his lips against hers as his jacket fell from her shoulders and his fingers pressed against her bare skin. She shivered as she leaned into the embrace and when they both came up for air she leaned against his chest.
"I'm sorry." she murmured.
"Hmm?" he rumbled, leaning against the top of her head, his teeth nipping at her ears tenderly.
"I don't want to replace Nikki." she said guiltily.
"You never will...but she knew what was going to happen...she wanted this...I just didn't want to force the issue."
Eloise smiled and closed her eyes as she leaned against his chest. "Thank you."
He nodded, tracing his fingers down her back. "No problem."