015

The machine hummed loudly yet again. Jeremiah stayed on the Ambrosia, constantly checking and recalibrating the piece to perfection. I glared at his back, at the glass dome containing Haya, "I need an explanation, Twain."

"Whatever explanation you need, Pollus." He glances back at me, "It'd be better for her to be the one to say it."

"Why? Why does it take me so long to know the truth? Why is it that everyone's suddenly so secretive around me!?"

"Because I don't know!" He breathed heavily, "I don't know, Marcus. I haven't seen you in a long time, and here you are limping into my cottage all bloodied and bruised with a dead partner. How could I know?"

"Because you said my memories were real, you both did. And we met last month."

He turned around and stared right at me, "last month?" He rushed towards his laptop, his fingers moved quickly as the light flashed on and off at his face. "No, no, no, no. Ugh" He groaned, leaning back on his chair.

"What?" I questioned.

"Cecil you fucking bastard…" He sighed, "This is awful. Awful awful."

"What? What's going on, tell me."

"She messed with your mind."

"I-... what? Messed with my mind? So what, my memories aren't real?"

"No." We both turned towards the Ambrosia, where we saw Haya sitting up, she continued talking, "I'm sorry for keeping you in the dark for so long, partner." She was looking down on the ground. Stepping out, she turned her head to look towards me.

Her green eyes were welling up, "Just tell me." I told her.

"Fine, you're not…"

"Marcus Pollus?" I continued her words.

"No," she replied, "You are, but…"

"But?"

"The memories that you have right now, and the memories we had with you back then are different but similar. You remembered our time in the war, no?"

"No… also, go get some clothes first will ya?"

"Oh, s-sure, sorry I forgot." She said, scrambling to find a set of clothes. Jeremiah threw her a basic suit that he found in his chest as she wore it.

Jeremiah then prepared a table for us, "Look, if you two are gonna start talking about memories, go eat first." He went over to what he was cooking and started serving us the soup, "It's made by me, I hope Cecil didn't erase the taste."

I smiled at him, "I'm sure she didn't…" I took a sip of the broth and was delighted, as I knew the taste of what it was, "Still the same old. Though, can you continue?" I asked Haya.

"Oh, yes." She sipped her finely made soup, "You don't remember being in the war, but we fought in the Vega System together."

The Vega system… I don't remember the Vega system being in the war, then again. I don't think anyone ever mentions much of the war nowadays… "Wasn't that system safe from the war?"

"Oh goodness…" Jeremiah put up his palms on his face and groaned, "Cecil really messed up with this one." This one?

"Yeah…" Haya agreed, she pinched the bridge of her nose, gritting her teeth, "I know this already but, you don't know about the thousands of times you've died, don't you?"

"Thousands of… no? I don't even remember dying, I was born 8 years after the war. I've not known of any death!" I reasoned with them.

"No," Haya giggled sadly, "We were born 50 years before the war." She explained.

"And?"

She looked down into the soup, "I have my morals, like you have yours. I don't want to tell the same story over and over, it would be better to learn the rest on your own."

I gritted my teeth, but just accepted it in the end. She of all people would know that I don't just accept words without evidence. I continued with the soup.

"Since when have you known this?" I asked her.

She just looked at me, "I never forgot. I wish you didn't as well."

"I see… by the way, how could I get my memories back anyway?"

Jeremiah butted in, explaining that, "There's probably a copy of your memory in the consciousness servers. I could check now, but I won't guarantee anything."

"Thank you," I finished up all the soup and sat up from the bed once again. The pain was starting to disappear, but I still need to regain my strength.

"Jeremiah." Haya took notice of the old man.

"Yeah?" The old man then turned to look at her.

"You got a spare laptop there, yeah?"

"Didn't manage to take it back, huh?"

"Yeah. It's all cool though, I rigged for that thing to blow up anyway. Some poor schmuck is now handless."

"I'm sure the agency won't cover that." They both laughed, I was still moping around my bed.

"That said," Haya started, taking a laptop from Jeremiah's duffle bag, dusting it, and turning it on.

"Hm?" Said Jeremiah

"Maybe we should call up the gang?"

"Oh? What do you have in mind now?"

"Ending this.