"When you leave the void, part of it always follows you."
— Zara Vey
Part I: Debrief
Setting: Command Deck of the Atlas
Characters: Zara, Kael, Mira, Thorne, Rin, Ayla
The Cradle's gateway snaps closed behind them with a hiss of displaced time. Rin and Ayla step out — battered, silent, and surrounded by the sterile hum of the Atlas. Their suits are still partially activated, flickering with residual void energy.
Zara is already there, flanked by Kael and Mira, both grim-faced. Thorne leans casually on a bulkhead, chewing on a stim-branch, but even his posture tightens when he sees the two reappear.
Zara (firmly):
"Status."
Rin (quiet):
"Memory field intact. The Void tried to rewrite us. Failed."
Ayla (half-laugh):
"Ten out of ten stars. Would not visit again."
But her voice lacks its usual bounce.
Mira walks forward, scanning their energy signatures. The white on Rin's armor pulses faintly in response. Mira frowns.
Mira:
"Residual exposure to Erevis's Core Matrix… This level of morph destabilization is dangerous. You should've been disintegrated."
Rin (dry):
"We weren't."
Kael (stepping forward):
"You went alone. No extraction plan. No backup. What were you thinking?"
Ayla (irritated):
"We were thinking we didn't have a choice, Kael."
The temperature between them spikes, tension rising. Zara raises a hand.
Zara:
"Enough. You made it back. That's what matters. For now."
Silence.
Ayla glances at Rin. He doesn't meet her eyes — just nods slightly to Zara, then walks away.
Part II: Aftermath
Setting: Medical Bay – Observation Room
Characters: Ayla, Mira
Ayla sits on one of the medical cots, absentmindedly turning her morpher over in her hands. Mira patches up a minor shoulder burn, working in silence.
Mira (quietly):
"You almost died in there."
Ayla:
"I mean, I almost die in most missions. That's kind of our thing, right?"
Mira doesn't laugh. Ayla sighs.
Ayla:
"I felt it this time, Mira. That silence. Like… it wanted to erase not just me, but the idea of me."
She hesitates.
Ayla (softer):
"But Rin pulled me back. Again."
Mira pauses mid-motion.
Mira (without looking):
"You care about him."
Ayla doesn't answer. The silence between them says enough.
Mira:
"Be careful, Ayla. Rin's a fracture point in the timeline. He's more connected to the Grid than we understand. If he breaks, so does everything else."
Ayla (biting her lip):
"Then I'll make sure he doesn't."
Part III: The White Room
Setting: Personal Quarters – Rin's Room
Characters: Rin, Thorne
Rin stands alone in his quarters, staring at a wall covered in symbols — fragments of Grid language, fractured timelines, and names of Rangers long erased. He doesn't notice Thorne until he's already leaning in the doorway.
Thorne:
"Deep thoughts, White Knight?"
Rin (flat):
"They're all dead."
Thorne:
"Lot of dead people in our line of work. You want to mourn each one, you'll never sleep."
Rin turns.
Rin:
"I'm not mourning. I'm remembering."
Thorne (shrugs):
"Same thing, different guilt."
He steps inside, tossing a data chip onto Rin's table.
Thorne:
"By the way. Ayla's been staring holes through your door for twenty minutes. Maybe say something before she combusts."
Rin (confused):
"Why would she—?"
Thorne (smirking):
"Exactly."
Thorne leaves.
Rin stares at the door for a long moment.
Part IV: Through the Glass
Setting: Outer Observation Bay
Characters: Rin, Ayla
Later, Ayla sits alone in the Atlas's outer bay, looking out at the fractured stars. The void around them crackles — damaged timelines visible like cracks in a windshield.
Rin walks in silently. She doesn't turn, but her posture shifts slightly.
Rin:
"You stayed."
Ayla:
"Of course I did. Somebody's got to make sure you don't brood yourself into a coma."
A pause.
Rin:
"Thank you. For back there. You could've let go."
Ayla (quietly):
"Yeah. But I didn't."
She glances at him, eyes catching his — only for a second. Then back to the stars.
Ayla (more carefully):
"You're not alone, you know. Even if you feel like you have to be."
Rin (soft):
"I don't know how to… not be."
She wants to say it. She wants to tell him everything — how she watches him when he isn't looking, how her chest hurts when he flinches away from kindness. But she just leans her head on his shoulder.
Ayla (gently):
"Then I'll remind you. Every time."
They sit in silence.
Somewhere far below, the Grid pulses—as if responding to the bond that neither of them fully understands.
But something else feels it too.
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