A battle with Aphels will typically only end if they have captured a sufficient number of Phelion fragments (anywhere from 1-10 Phelions, typically, depending on the size of the invasion) or if they are all defeated. If no Phelion fragments are ever captured, they fight to their end. If some have been captured, they may retreat at any time, or the ones who have taken the fragments may escape on their own while the rest fight to the end.

You may freely use existing designs or randomly design your own if you want to, say, draw a scene during an Aphel invasion. You have no ownership over the design, however, and you cannot make them characters—they are non-sentient drones. You can use the designs repeatedly, as many Aphels look identical. In my mind, a "character" is a unique individual in existence that makes multiple appearances and has some significance; this is not allowed. Every Aphel is a mass-produced drone with no individuality or uniqueness.

Aphels generally have the same shape, consisting of:

• a black amorphous body

• dark metal parts around their head and for their wings/other structures

• saturated red markings, including a thin sliver/diamond shape on the head. 

They typically have an almost serpentine appearance, though with numerous tendrils coming from the back of their head and the end of their body. Wings are typically attached by extensions from the body, and they do not usually have hard-light structs.

They have many abilities that are similar to those of Phelions, if in a much weaker form. Abilities include metallokinesis, hard-light struct fabrication, and a hivemind connection. If their armor becomes damaged/scratched, it will "heal" very quickly, with the metal becoming more liquidlike and smoothing over the damage.

Aphel Hive

The Aphel hivemind is a different system from Phelions, one that allows little individuality of will. When an Aphel attempts to extract the fragments from a Phelion, if they are conscious or regain consciousness, they may briefly connect to it. The will is astronomical and apathetic, a crushing weight that tears away their own thoughts and replaces them with nothing but the unified will.

The same exact individual Aphel will never be seen twice, even if it escapes. Phelions are unaware of this at the start, but they are absorbed into a mass to have their materials recycled, in a sense; the mass will then produce new Aphels.

Extraction

The process by which Aphels extract fragments is essentially by interfacing with the Phelion. They attach their tendrils to the Phelion's own body and tendrils, and they fuse slightly before the hard-light structs break apart, the armor dissolves into the body, and then the blackness is entirely absorbed by the Aphel, leaving only the former Phelion's original form behind.

Aphels are able to sense Phelion fragments. On Earth, there is much background noise due to the dispersion of fragments, so they generally cannot sense those in an absorption stage and only have vague sense of those who are at the integration stage. They can immediately sense those in the mergence stage. 

If they suspect a non-Shifted individual of being a Phelion host, they will scan the individual by projecting a beam of red light from their "eye" lasting a few seconds; they may scan normal humans due to fluctuations in the signals on Earth. If the individual is normal, the Aphel will leave them alone. If they are in any stage of Phelion metamorphosis, even the absorption stage, the Aphel will be able to detect it and will attempt to grab the individual to take their fragments. An Aphel can make contact for about 5-10 seconds without there being any consequences for the individual, but any further and the connection will be established, allowing the Aphel to take the fragments.

If an Aphel succeeds in interfacing with a Phelion, which generally involves their tendrils merging into a Phelion's blackbody for 5-10 seconds without the Phelion severing the connection, then the Aphel hivemind will be pushed into the Phelion's mind. It is an overwhelming presence, with many paralyzed and unable to think properly. It can be extremely painful, like their mind is splitting apart—the Aphel hivemind is trying to take over the cognition of the fragments, which is an integrated part of the Phelion's mind. Once this state is reached, there are two possibilities: 

• The extraction fails, which almost necessarily requires the intervention of another Phelion slicing the tendrils the Aphel is using to connect to the Phelion. This results in an Aphel-touched Phelion. The Phelion may take days to weeks to recover, with some being in a coma or going in and out of a dissociative state as their psyche settles. 

• The extraction succeeds, leaving only the host behind. These individuals are often referred to as the "Fallen." Immediately after extraction, they will be extremely vulnerable and unwell, requiring immediate life support to save them, even if they are not in space. If another Phelion is nearby, they can hold a Fallen within their blackbody and provide life support that way. If the rescuer is able to bring them back to a Periapsis base, the technology there can stabilize them. 

The Aphel-Touched

The Aphel-touched are those who have survived a brief connection to the Aphel hivemind. Those who do often have an instinctive sense of approaching Aphel attacks, but also may be influenced by the Aphel hivemind on occasion with generally weak effects: they may be put into a brief defenseless daze during an Aphel invasion as the will presses on them, and they may occasionally experience episodes of something like dissociation as they feel the echoes of the hivemind. There is special mental training that some might go through to turn the effect on Aphels, using their connection to briefly paralyze those nearby. This is difficult and can easily result in the opposite happening, however.

The Fallen and the Arisen

After a week of intensive medical care at a Periapsis base, a Fallen will be conscious and able to walk. However, their thoughts are often scattered, they are very forgetful, and they tire easily. Some may have trouble retrieving knowledge; they may not recognize details, they might forget the year, etc. This state persists unless they reintegrate with new fragments. 

Simply by exposure to other Phelions, the Fallen are likely to accumulate fragments; generally, after a year or so, they will be in integration stage again. A Phelion can also infuse their own fragments into the Fallen to bring them to integration stage within a month or so, generally with the Fallen's consent. Many Phelions have in their record whether or not they want to be  infused and if there are specific Phelions they are willing or not willing to be infused by if they become Fallen. This is due to the fact that a Fallen infused with another Phelion's fragments will gain all of the other Phelion's memories, and both will have a lasting strong connection with each other. In better cases, this is just a strong telepathic bond, with thoughts leaking to each other unintentionally at times. However, there are some rare cases: a few will lose their boundaries of identity and physicality with the Phelion that infuses them. For instance, they could perceive their body as part of the other Phelion's and the other Phelion's as part of theirs, and/or they could come to think of themself and the other Phelion as a single unit. 

All this occurs even when the individual is in the integration stage. When a Fallen reaches the integration stage, their mind and body stabilizes, and they become perfectly healthy physically and cognitively. However, many do not remember the vast majority of their memories from before becoming Fallen. Over time, they can recover those memories, but some never remember everything entirely. 

Not all Fallen reach the mergence stage again, but many do—if they feel a strong enough sense of self along with a sense of unity with the hivemind. These Phelions are sometimes referred to as the Arisen. The memories of Arisen Phelions tend to recover more easily and more quickly after that, especially with some of their memories potentially lingering in the hivemind. Still, some don't remember everything, especially if they do not wish to. 

Note: The Fallen and Arisen are not considered Aphel-touched, as all of their fragments would have been taken and there would be nothing to sustain a connection to the Aphel hivemind.