Chapter Text
“You found a friend…”
Those words had haunted 621 since the second Walter spoke them, a moment of lucidity before his death.
A friend. Ayre.
Her relationship with Walter was complicated, but even so, she felt every ounce of guilt possible for his death. And then some.
Ayre tried to reason with 621, tell her it wasn't her fault. It really wasn't, she wasn't the one who took him.
Who 're-educated’ him.
She still felt it though. Being unable to save him.
After the destruction of the Xylem, she took the long road back to the surface, through the atmosphere and the skies. A few pieces of her AC burnt off, but nothing irreplaceable. She didn't utter a sob nor a word when she met up with a patchily-repaired STEEL HAZE ORTUS to dispose of some remaining forces left over from the Arquebus fleets. They weren't gone from Rubicon, certainly not, but they were definitely shattered.
Rusty could sense her grief, so he didn't push her. Just covered her back as she did his while they destroyed opponents far below their skill. She still didn't shed a tear. As they both landed and docked at a RLF base, she still didn't. She didn't leave the cockpit either. Just sat in it, staring.
Some RLF pilots and soldiers came to welcome the both of them, to congratulate their victory, but still she didn't leave. They inquired as to what was wrong, but Rusty told them to leave her be. She was grateful for that.
Though, after 5 hours straight...
《 INCOMING COMMUNICATION 》
《 RUBICON LIBERATION FRONT PILOT ”RUSTY” 》
“Hey, buddy. Still alive?”
…
“I don't know what happened up there, and I don't know why you're shutting yourself in. But I know you’ll have a good reason. So, take as long as you need. But do come out eventually, yeah?”
…
“YEAH.
THANKS, RUSTY.”
The text-vocaliser managed to communicate how tired and weary she was, but sincere all the same.
《 END COMMUNICATION 》
As the exchange ended, 621 fell silent again. Her augmented eye would scroll past an AR display of recent communications and messages. Rusty, Snail, Liberation and Arquebus channels.
Walter. Carla. Chatty.
She stares at the 3 names. 3 people who she knew, who she trusted.
And who trusted her.
All of a sudden, the floodgates break.
For the first time since she had been augmented those years ago, C4-621 cried. And cried. And cried.
She killed them, no, she murdered them. Betrayed them. Went against their wishes, the wishes of their lost loved ones and friends for an uncertain future.
So much… death.
Earlier generation augmented humans typically had their emotions dampened, in an attempt to make them more stable, and easier killers. But when the walls come crashing down, they’re worse than anyone else.
All of the Liberators, the rookies, the people trying to make a living.
The people who were just like her, on leashes.
It all broke her. Her vision starts to go blurry. She could barely think, just vague images of all the people she's killed. The lives she's taken. The destruction she's caused. The blood, the blood-
“Raven?”
She hears a voice reverberate against the tunnels of her brain, passing through the neural pathways with a soft, pleasant touch. 621 chokes for breath, unable to respond.
“Raven, are you alright?”
Her voice is slightly worried. 621 is unsure if she knows she’s crying.
“A- Ayre-“
“Your BPM is 2.5 times your standard, what’s wrong?”
621 doesn’t respond, her mind refusing to voice any words, a static feeling of something stopping her from speaking through her Contact.
“Raven?”
Ayre’s voice becomes more anxious, feeling uneasy at the lack of response.
“Ayre, I can’t-“
621 coughs a litany of noises, grasping for any air.
“S-So many.”
“Raven, I don’t-“
“So many d-dead. I did it. I did it! I killed all of them! I- I-“
“Raven.”
Ayre’s voice cut through 621’s mind, interrupting their spiralling thoughts.
“Please, take a second to breathe.”
As soon as Ayre instructed her, it seemed like the easiest task in the world.
“I want you to listen to me, alright?”
“O- Okay.”
“I said I’d support you, whatever laid ahead. So, I’ll support you.”
621 feels a faint, almost unnoticeable warmth embracing her, like a ghost enveloping her body.
“Ayre?”
“I haven’t tried this before, but…”
621 sees in her left, augmented eye a crimson apparition fade into view, placing a ghostly hand on her cheek. A similar, but more prominent warmth would come from the touch.
“I might be a Rubiconian without a body, but I’ll still support you. No matter what Raven.”
Raven’s arms shake to embrace the coral ghost of Ayre, disconnecting from the harness and cables to hold her close. It’s a type of warmth that she hasn't felt in years.
“Thank you.”
The greatest warmth in the world.
They stayed like that, still, embracing each other for what felt like hours.