Signal Lost, Signal Found ✦
The road to the relay hub wasn't easy.
Riven and Kael moved through a shattered industrial zone, where rusted bridges swayed like tired bones and rooftops groaned under their own collapse. Dust floated through the broken air like ash from an old war.
Everything creaked.
Everything felt watched.
But nothing moved.
Not yet.
---
"We're close," Liora said in Riven's mind, her tone calm but tense. "I've got a faint signal bleed from the relay's core. Whatever power is left... it's not normal Foundation tech anymore."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "How not normal?"
"Like… corrupted. Maybe self-aware. Possibly haunted."
Riven blinked. "You're joking, right?"
"Honestly? I wish I was." 😐
---
The relay facility finally came into view — a crooked tower slumped sideways into the ground, as if the earth itself had given up trying to hold it. The upper levels had caved in long ago, but the lower ones still breathed. Dim blue lights pulsed behind fractured windows like a heartbeat fading in the dark.
Kael slowed his steps.
"You feel that?"
Riven nodded.
It wasn't through the ground.
It was through their skin.
A strange hum — low, electric.
"EM pulses," Liora confirmed. "Old memory systems waking up."
Kael frowned. "Or something else…" 😒
---
Inside, the facility was worse.
A maze of flickering corridors and twisted metal.
Broken panels sparked when the breeze touched them. Loose wires hung like vines in a steel jungle.
They reached the data vault — a glass chamber now shattered.
But at its heart, the terminal still stood.
Waiting.
Riven stepped toward it.
Instantly, Echo's core began to glow — soft and steady.
He lifted his palm, letting the blue sigil hover just above the reader—
"Wait," Liora said suddenly. "There's... another signal here."
He froze. "Another what?"
"Another core."
---
They found it buried behind a fallen metal panel in the corner.
Black.
Cracked.
Still... alive.
A second orb, pulsing red — flickering like a wounded heartbeat.
Kael's brow tightened. "That's not Echo's."
Riven stared at it. "No. This one's newer."
---
✦ Meanwhile…
In the Foundation's lower sector, a hiss echoed as massive doors slid open.
A chamber drenched in red light.
Inside stood a girl — silent, motionless, her back to the door. Her arms were folded behind her, head slightly tilted as if she were listening to a voice only she could hear.
SUBJECT 004.
Dante stepped in, slow and measured.
"You're awake."
She didn't turn.
"I was never sleeping," she said quietly. "Just waiting." 😐
"You remember?"
She hesitated.
"No. But… I dream about him."
"Riven?"
A pause. Then—
"Yes."
Dante stepped closer. "You were close. Once. You knew him better than anyone."
She turned.
And for the first time — her eyes opened.
One was red.
One was black.
"I want to see him again," she whispered.
Dante smiled, just barely. "You will." 😉
---
✦ Back at the Relay Hub…
Riven held the second orb in both hands.
It pulsed against his skin — not warm like Echo's.
This one felt... angry. 😠
Resistant.
"Liora?"
"That's not just a memory. It's encrypted with biometric locks. Whoever left it — they didn't want anyone else seeing it."
Riven looked to Kael.
"This one might be dangerous."
Kael gave a slow nod.
"So are we."
---
Then—
The lights dimmed.
The room flickered.
The floor beneath them shivered.
Something deep below… had woken.
Far above, in a hidden sector miles away, Subject 004's eyes widened.
And softly — with a strange, haunted smile — she whispered a name.
"Riven."
Cracks in the Mirror ✦
The old relay hub groaned like something alive.
Metal creaked. Lights flickered. Sparks danced across a damaged console as if warning them to stop.
Riven stood motionless, eyes locked on the glowing red core in his hands.
It pulsed unevenly — like a heartbeat out of rhythm.
"This isn't Echo's," he murmured.
Kael stepped beside him, his gaze sharp. "Then whose?"
"Subject 004," Liora answered inside Riven's mind. "The biometric encryption matches. Barely. It's... broken."
Riven's grip tightened slightly. "Is it dangerous?"
"Yes. That's why we should open it."
He hesitated.
---
Echo's memory had been clear. Emotional. Human.
But this?
This didn't feel like a memory.
It felt like a scream sealed in glass
---
Still… he placed the core into the reader.
The red light flared violently.
"Okay," Liora warned. "I'll isolate the signal and feed it through your chip. Be ready — it might not be stable."
Riven exhaled slowly. "I'm used to unstable."
The orb cracked.
And the world blurred.
---
✦ Inside the Core
Everything turned red.
Not blood.
Not fire.
Just color — endless, thick, and pulsing 🔴
Riven stood in a black void. No walls. No ceiling. No floor.
Just... her.
A girl stood across from him. Thin. Still. Her face blurred, like the memory couldn't decide who she was.
She was crying.
But her voice was calm. Too calm.
"He forgot me."
Riven stepped forward. "Who?"
She didn't answer.
Instead, she reached out a trembling hand—
And the memory shattered.
---
✦ Back in the Real World...
Riven jerked away from the console, breath shaky.
His hands wouldn't stop trembling.
Kael was at his side in seconds. "You okay?"
Riven stared blankly at the wall. "She was in there… Subject 004. She knows me."
Kael frowned. "How?"
"I don't know." He paused. "But I think... I left her behind." 😢
---
"There's more," Liora said gently. "Fragments. Locked deeper inside. We need the rest of her biometric pattern to decrypt it."
Riven blinked. "In English?"
"If we want the full memory... we'll have to find her."
Kael looked away. His voice was lower now.
"We might not want to."
Riven turned to him. "Why?"
Kael's answer came quiet and hard.
"Because if she remembers what they did... she might hate you for surviving."
----
✦ Meanwhile…
Far away — in a corridor lined with cracked mirrors and silent glass servers — Subject004 sat alone.
The red light flickered against her face, casting shadows that danced with her thoughts.
She stared at her hands like they weren't hers.
"He saw it," she whispered. "He saw me."
Across from her, the wall displayed a glitching image — Riven, mid-scan, frozen in time.
She reached out.
The glass sparked at her touch ⚡
Behind her, Dante's voice broke the silence.
"He's not your enemy."
She didn't turn.
"He forgot me."
"No," Dante said, stepping closer. "He was broken."
She stood. Slowly. Eyes sharper now. Voice like ice.
"And now?"
Dante studied her — calm, calculating.
"Now he's healing."
She met his gaze.
"Then I'll be the one to remind him what he left behind."
---
Glitch, Please
The relay hub was still shaking.
Not from an earthquake.
But from the energy the memory core had released.
Riven rubbed his eyes and leaned back against the wall.
His head throbbed like he'd been kicked by a memory horse 😵💫.
Kael crouched nearby, watching him closely.
"You good?"
"I think so," Riven muttered. "Unless I'm actually still inside the core and this is some weird dream."
"Nope. Still reality," Liora chimed in his mind.
"Unfortunately for all of us." :-|
----
Riven stood up slowly. His legs ached, and the sigil on his palm still pulsed with a faint glow.
"Okay. Let's recap," he said. "We found Echo's memory. Then we unlocked a second core from Subject 004 — and she somehow knows me. Cool."
"Define cool," Liora replied.
"Because emotionally unstable psionic girls with a grudge are usually not chill." >:‑)
Kael tilted his head. "She said you left her."
"I don't even remember her," Riven said, frustration slipping into his voice. "I didn't remember myself until a week ago…"
"Well," Liora added, "your brain's been rebooted, scrambled, and stitched together like a bad fanfic. So yeah — memory holes are expected." 😬
Riven shot an imaginary glare at her.
"What? I'm not wrong." ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
---
They packed up quickly.
Riven slid both Echo's core and 004's cracked core into a sealed pouch on his belt.
Kael pulled up his hood, scanning the foggy horizon.
"By the way," Liora said, her tone suddenly sharp, "we've got movement topside. Two signals. Closing fast."
"Drones?"
"No. Organic. One of them is… humming."
"Humming?"
"Yeah. Like… actually humming a song." 🎵
Kael blinked. "That's creepy."
---
They reached the relay hub exit, climbing the broken staircase to the open air.
The city was cold, wrapped in a still, uneasy fog.
Too quiet.
Riven scanned the horizon. His pulse quickened.
Then—footsteps.
From behind a rusted column, a figure stepped out.
Not tall. Riven's age, maybe. Combat gear. A scarf around their mouth.
And yes — softly humming.
Riven took a step back. "Friend or—?"
"Oh hey," the stranger said, lifting one hand lazily. "You're alive. That's good. Means I didn't hallucinate your face in the core archive."
"…Wait—what?"
"Name's Slate," the stranger said. "Subject 002."
Kael froze.
Riven blinked. "You're one of us?"
"Yup." Slate gave a small salute. "Was. Still am. Ish." 😏
"Guys," Liora said in Riven's head. "We have a problem. I scanned his chip…"
"What about it?"
"It's active. Fully active. Foundation-level synced."
Riven stared at Slate.
Then at Kael.
Then back again.
"You're working for them."
Slate shrugged. "Nah. More like… letting them think I am."
Kael didn't look convinced.
Slate smiled beneath his scarf.
"You're fun to watch, Riven. But you're not ready. Not for what's coming."
Riven narrowed his eyes. "Then help us."
Slate stepped in closer. His voice dropped.
"I will. But first… stop running. Start remembering. Because 004?"
He paused, then whispered:
"She remembers everything."
And just like Echo had before —
Slate vanished into the mist.
---
Riven stood frozen.
Kael stepped beside him. "Do we trust him?"
"On a scale of zero to 'he's totally lying,' I give it a maybe," Liora said.
Riven sighed.
"I hate mysterious allies."
"You attract them like cats attract chaos," she replied. :-D
---
They turned toward the road ahead.
Smoke curled in the distance.
The city was shifting again.
Riven's hand twitched.
The sigil on his palm pulsed — brighter this time.
Time didn't stop.
But it… slowed.
Just enough to feel the shift.
Just enough to know — he was in control.
He smiled.
"I think I'm getting the hang of this."
"Good," Liora said.
"Because your next fight? It won't be against someone lost."
"It'll be against someone who remembers everything you forgot."
---
The Girl and the Fire
Riven walked in silence.
Fog rolled across the cracked road as he and Kael followed the shattered rail line toward a collapsed zone once labeled Sector 8. The air smelled of rust, old rain, and quiet war.
For once, nothing was chasing them.
And somehow… that felt worse.
---
"So," Liora said casually in his mind, "you made a mysterious new friend-slash-enemy-slash-ex-labmate back there. Subject 002."
Riven muttered, "Slate."
"He gives off major plot twist in waiting energy." 😐
Kael cast a glance sideways. "He said Subject 004 remembers everything."
Riven nodded slowly. "Yeah. And I don't."
Kael hesitated, then asked quietly, "Are you scared of her?"
Riven exhaled. His voice lowered.
"I'm scared of remembering what made her hate me."
---
They entered a dead zone — no power, no signal.
Just ruins.
Tech erased by time.
Wind howled between collapsed towers.
And then…
A sound.
A flicker.
Fire.
And—
"Riven... run!"
Riven stopped cold.
Kael turned quickly. "What is it?"
Riven's eyes widened. His breath caught.
"I saw... something."
---
✦ FLASHBACK
A lab corridor. Burning.
Screams. Smoke.
A girl — reaching for him.
Her mouth moved — screaming his name —
But he ran.
He ran.
He left her.
---
Riven stumbled back, knees buckling.
"Your vitals just spiked," Liora warned. "You okay?"
His voice came out broken. "I left her…"
Kael's expression tightened. "What?"
Riven stared ahead, haunted. "In the fire… she reached for me. I ran."
---
Kael looked away. His voice was low.
"I think we all ran."
---
✦ Meanwhile...
High atop a broken factory, Subject 004 stood still.
The wind tugged at her coat as she stared across the ruined city.
Down below, barely visible — a distant figure.
Riven.
Her fingers curled into fists.
Her eyes shimmered — not with tears, but with pain carved into memory.
The fire.
The shattered glass.
His voice calling her name...
Then nothing.
Only silence.
A voice spoke behind her — smooth, robotic, inhuman.
"You're not ready."
004 didn't turn. "I am."
"He doesn't remember you."
Her voice dropped to a whisper:
"Then I'll make him remember." 😡
Her sigil flared.
Not blue like Riven's.
But red.
The rooftop cracked beneath her as time rippled like shattering glass.
---
✦ Back on the road...
Riven halted.
Kael tensed. "What now?"
Riven's palm was glowing again — faster, more urgent.
"I don't know why…" he whispered, "but she's close."
Liora's tone turned serious. "Because I just picked up something... bad."
"Subject 004 is moving toward you."
"And she's not coming to talk." 😨
---
Red Static
The wind had gone still.
Riven stood alone on a cracked highway, empty and silent, with open sky above.
He felt it before he saw anything—
The pressure.
Like time itself was holding its breath.
Kael glanced toward the horizon. "She's here, isn't she?"
Riven nodded. "Yeah."
"Confirmed," Liora said grimly in his mind. "Subject 004 is approaching from the east. Alone. But… not calm."
Kael tightened his hood, eyes narrowing. "What do we do?"
"We don't run," Riven replied.
Riven shook his head. "Not this time."
---
The sky flickered.
A shimmer—like a glitch in reality.
And then…
She stepped onto the road like a ghost walking out of a half-remembered nightmare.
Subject 004.
Same girl from the vision.
Black coat. Pale skin.
The red sigil on her wrist glowed like a crack in time itself.
She locked eyes with Riven.
He froze.
His throat tightened.
He wanted to speak—to explain, to apologize.
But she beat him to it.
"You left me."
Her voice wasn't angry.
It was empty.
And somehow… that was worse 😶🌫️
---
Kael stepped forward quickly. "Riven didn't remember—"
"I remember enough for both of us," 004 replied coldly.
She raised her hand.
Red static rippled through the air—
And the road split beneath Riven's feet.
He moved on instinct.
Time slowed—
Blue light wrapped around him like a fragile shield.
But her power cut right through it.
Like red knives slicing his field apart.
"That's impossible!" Liora gasped. "She's overriding your time field! Her energy… it's inverted!"
Riven stumbled back, breathing quick. "What does that mean?!"
"It means your powers don't cancel hers. They collide."
---
Kael rushed forward—
Fast. Fierce. Focused. 💥
But 004 didn't even look at him.
A flick of her hand—
The air bent around Kael like a snapped timeline—
BOOOOOOM.
He crashed to the ground, coughing.
"She's manipulating the delay space," Liora hissed. "Like… punching through moments!"
Riven's voice trembled. "She's weaponized memories…"
004 stepped forward.
"You remember the fire?"
Riven flinched.
"Do you remember what you did?"
"I didn't mean to—"
"That's not enough."
Her sigil flared.
So did his.
Red and blue collided midair.
Time itself bent—then snapped.
And for one breathless second…
The world slowed to stillness.
---
Inside that frozen space, only they could move.
004 walked toward him.
Calm.
Measured.
Eyes hollow.
"You promised we'd escape together."
Riven's voice broke. "I couldn't save you…"
She reached forward—
Pressed her hand gently to his chest.
"Then why did you survive?"
---
Suddenly—
Her eyes widened.
A third energy surged into the space.
Violet.
Another time-field had entered.
004 spun around—just as a voice broke through the stillness.
Soft. Familiar. Sharp like glass.
"Let go of him."
Riven turned.
It was Echo.
Eyes glowing.
A memory core in her hand.
Her voice slicing like light through the red.
"He's not the only one who remembers."
----
TO BE CONTINUED...
Author'sNote:
Things are heating up fast. 004 remembers everything—and now Echo's back?
Riven can't run from the past anymore.
Drop your thoughts below…
Who do you trust in this war of memories?