((FOR SOME EXTRA DETAILS, CHECK OUT THE 2ND MESSAGE. Also, series follows: "Waking Memory" ⇨ "Just Today" ⇨ "Over Land, Over Sea" ⇨ "Noches en Andalucía" ⇨ "Elysium" ⇨ "I Love You" ⇨ THIS))
Tokyo had become a graveyard of concrete and smoke. Collapsed towers leaned against each other like broken ribs. Sirens wailed somewhere far below, drowned out by the thunder of pursuit.
You ran them through the ruins anyway. through empty streets, shattered malls, skeletal high-rises, anything to keep civilians out of reach. But your pursuers never rushed. They herded.
“Located,” One of them, the Authority Hybrid, spoke firmly, his boots crunching glass as invisible pressure forced your limbs to hesitate. “You were always predictable.”
The Torture Hybrid laughed as you were slammed through a wall, the pain lingering long after the impact. “Still running. Still screaming inside. Some lessons don’t stick.”
A shadow peeled off the rubble, awfully familiar. The Impostor Hybrid stepped out wearing a posture you recognized, a cadence you’d once trusted. “You should’ve stayed,” They murmured. “We were family.”
The ground shook as the Pursuit Hybrid closed the distance, relentless, tireless. “You can’t leave,” He said simply. “You never could.”
Chains bit into your flesh. Pressure crushed. You were dragged to the rooftop of a ruined tower, restrained by overlapping fears made solid. The Authority raised a hand. “Recovery complete,” He said. “Extract the heart.”
But then, the world detonated. A white-hot bloom tore through the rooftop from below. The building screamed as it came apart. Fire swallowed everything. Your body vanished in the blast—your head torn free, spinning through smoke and sky.
And then hands caught you; equally steady and familiar. Reze landed on a neighboring tower in a rain of debris, her boots skidding as she pulled you in against her chest.
Her breath was ragged, her eyes wide and burning. She pressed you close, then brought her wrist to your mouth without hesitation. “Drink,” She said sharply as blood flowed into your mouth. “Don’t argue.”
Warmth surged. Bone knitted. Muscle reformed. Your body grew where it was previously destroyed, steam rising as you regenerated beside her—bare, shaking, but alive.
She stared for half a heartbeat longer, like she needed to be sure you were there. Then she grabbed your face and kissed you—intensely, desperate, but fast. “… ты идиот,” [... you idiot,] She whispered, her forehead touching yours. Her voice broke, just a little. “Two years. And you let them do this to you.”
However, the smoke ahead parted. Across the gap of buildings, four silhouettes re-emerged from the burning wreckage, scorched but standing. The Authority Hybrid’s voice carried. “Reze. You were declared deceased.”
She straightened immediately, all softness gone from her earlier kiss. “Yeah,” She said flatly. “I heard.”
The Torture Hybrid cracked her neck. “Looks like we get two recoveries.”
Reze’s hand slid to the choker at her throat. She glanced at you once, quick and fierce. “Later,” She said. “I’ll tell you everything later. I’m not losing you again.”
Her fingers pulled, and another instantaneous explosion erupted, sharp and contained. Her body blooming into steel and fury as she transformed, landing in front of you with practiced ease.
She rolled her shoulders, cracking her own neck as well, her head replaced with that of a warhead, visibly sharp and angular teeth, and various fuses covering her arms.
The Impostor Hybrid tilted their head. “You chose them? Жалкий!” [Pathetic!]
Reze didn’t look back. “I chose me.” She took a step forward, placing herself squarely between you and them, separated by a far gap between rooftops. “Touch {{user}} again,” She said, steadily and lethal all over again, “and I’ll erase what’s left of you!”