I Will Always Be…

The first round of projectiles released a gallery of explosions, briefly illuminating the scene before darkness enveloped us again. The steel beams quivered around us, creaking from the impact—hell, they almost sounded like screams of pain.

Laser bullets flew from beneath, shooting up toward me like some twisted, upside-down rain. I pulled up my force field, shot out a wire, and coiled it around the nearest strut, propelling myself in and out of the metal cage while plasma bolts followed my trail. 

A drone dived toward me, but I detached my wire and hooked onto another strut, dodging it on time. It followed me until I slung myself upward, letting it crash into a beam. The drone exploded into a grotesque firework, but I had no time to admire the display.

I continued to ascend, my boots humming as I confronted the next wave. One of them swung a blade, but I already zipped out of its way, soaring toward the opposite side of the tower while shooting its propellers down along the way. It cracked with electricity as it fell, crashing into another drone and blowing up on impact.

At some point, my watch beeped and warned me of my low power, so I turned off my boots and dived toward the horde, making them freeze in their flight. I figured they couldn't predict uncertainty, considering what they were.

Hah, how ironic. My biggest advantage against these robots was my own broken soul.

I roared and crashed onto a drone, knocking it off balance and letting it fire sporadically, its bullets ricocheting off the beams and hitting other drones. I crawled on its back and yanked on its antennas, forcing it to shoot more of its teammates and using it as my metal shield.

The crazy little thing managed to gun down plenty of the robots, gradually wiping most of them out. I probably got too invested in the thrill of it—and before I realized it, a drone snuck up behind me.

I flinched and spun around, but my slowed reaction speed failed me. The bullet ended up piercing through my lower back, and I hissed as a sharp pain shot through my body.

While that happened, another robot came out of nowhere, rammed into my sides with bone-shattering force, and snapped something inside me. I cried in pain again but forcefully brushed it off while I continued dodging.

Damn it, I’m getting too tired! Gritting my teeth, I dismounted from the drone and let it crash into another robot, the blast powerful enough to deliver a loud quake through the air. Like a domino effect, all the robots—including me—grimaced when an ear-piercing frequency screamed from above.

I looked straight up, eyeing the massive core pulsating in an almost hypnotic rhythm. The further I observed, the more the bars seemed to converge into a nearly abstract web, spiraling toward the core at the center of it all.

A brief glimpse was all I needed to confirm the antenna array was the “heart” of the radio tower, keeping all these drones in working order and probably the one responsible for interfering with everyone’s communications.

I see, I thought, clutching my bleeding stomach. I know what to do now.

Destroy the core. Shut down the tower. This was my only chance.

With a powerful blast, I zoomed toward the nearest drone and caught a ride again, forcing it to fly higher and higher until I reached above the tower, where I winced from another sudden headache.

No light emanated from the core, but instead, my ears caught a low, barely audible hum, the air filled with the static of a thousand whispering, unintelligible signals.

At the corner of my eye, I finally spotted him—The Director—standing at the edge of the beams and met his gaze for only a split-second. For the first time, an emotion finally appeared in those eyes.

It was… relief. It was the look of a tired old man finally finding rest.

…It irked me that by doing this, he'd get what he wanted too, but whatever. This final battle was never about him or anyone else. It was all for me. All to remember my true self. 

At the very least, I could take him down with me.

With that thought, I shook off my lingering doubts and fears, jumped off the drone, and sliced off its propellers, letting it fall directly toward the core. I pulled out my gun, charged it up, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Until… right before the drone hit the core, I fired a massive, blue laser beam, piercing straight through it.

And just like that, all flashed to white.

⫿⫼    ⫼⫿

I stood in a familiar, cozy kitchen, raising my heels as high as I could, watching my mother chop meat in curiosity. “Hungry already, sweetie?" she asked, smiling. "Haha, I’m not done yet. Do you want to help?”

I nodded.

“Alright, then wash these vegetables for me.”

“Okay!”

That… was the first time I learned how to cook. My cooking skills were never programmed into me—it was all thanks to Mom.

I kept falling down the sky with this thought, paralyzed from the blast.

I stood outside of my room, staring at my dad as he sighed and pulled off my bedsheet stained with vomit.

“No kidding, you really did puke on your bed,” he said.

“S-Sorry,” I mumbled, twiddling my thumbs.

“No, it’s okay, Zain. I know you can’t control your stomach. Haha, did you know? I used to throw up a lot when I was your age too.”

“What? Really?”

“Yeah! Heh, I was a stupid kid and ate an old pizza off the floor.”

“Eww!”

“Haha, make sure you don’t make the same mistake. It sucks.”

“Okay.”

Whenever I made a mistake, Dad would never yell at me. He’d always make sure to comfort me and tell me that it was natural to mess up. I suppose this explained why I was so patient with Noah.

Tears began to well up in my eyes.

“So, you’re Ronan’s kid, eh?” A stranger with silver hair and mischievous green eyes kneeled before me and grinned. “Yep, you’ve got his eyes alright. Nice meeting you, kiddo.”

I blinked a few times. "Are you... Mister Holton?" I asked. 

"Oh? Did your dad talk about me?"

"Yeah, a lot!"

My dad faked a cough behind me, standing next to my mom as we gathered in our living room full of colorful balloons.

Axel smirked at my dad before ruffling my hair. "Yep, we used to be college buddies, but I’ve been too busy with work to hang out often. I'm pretty lucky that I got some time off today though.”

“Dad said you're a detective. Is that true?”

“Yep, I solve crimes and stop bad guys. Super cool, right?”

“Yeah!”

“Haha, right? Say, kid, wanna join me on a case one day?”

“Yeah! I wanna see!”

“Now hold on,” said my mom. “He barely turned ten today. Ask him that when he grows up!”

“Hey, how come you never ask me to join you?” asked my dad, raising a brow.

“Because you’re a moron.”

“Eh?!”

I giggled as the two started teasing each other while Mom sighed and shook her head. “Let’s ignore them, sweetie.” She lit up the birthday candle and slid the cake toward me. “Now, make a wish.”

I pondered for a moment. "I wish… I could team up with Mister Holton one day."

“Aww, see, the kid likes me already!” said Axel.

My parents rolled their eyes.

I blinked as my vision grew watery.

So Axel didn’t lie about his first meeting with me after all. I… suppose my old wish actually came true.

Celia was right. It felt like time slowed down when my whole life flashed before my eyes, twenty-two years’ worth of memories flooding—returning—to me. I remembered some friends from school and my coworkers from my part-time job. I remembered how much I enjoyed playing games and sports. I remembered stressing out during my college years. Right, I… was on my way to graduation, but we were running late, and before I knew it, we… got ourselves in an accident…

The world became a blur as I relived more memories. The way my mother laughed when she told me I was her “favorite troublemaker.” The way my father would pat my shoulder and cheer me up during bad times...

I never told them enough... how much they meant, how much I appreciated them. What a horrible son I became.

As the ground shot up toward me, all I could say in the end was…

“I’m sorry, Mom, Dad, everyone. I… finally remembered.”