When Yesterday Returns

The ruined outskirts of Pyrite Reach stretched out before Dax, a shadow of the rough community he once knew. The slum had always been unforgiving, but now it was an abandoned shell, the remnants of its crumbling structures silhouetted against the eerie glow of the growing distortion at its center.

Dax approached the Aequitas outpost, a repurposed old factory whose smokestacks jutted into the sky like skeletal fingers. His chrono gauntlets and knight uniform visibly absent, leaving him armed only with his resolve. The surrounding streets were desolate, save for scattered Aequitas guards patrolling the area, their dark uniforms blending seamlessly with the shadows.

Each step closer to the facility made Dax’s heart ache, memories of his childhood here flashing through his mind.

“This is what it’s come to…” he muttered under his breath, his voice laced with bitterness. “The place we fought to leave… twisted into this.”

Of course Reid would call him all the way out here, he thought, there was no chance he would miss this big of a chance to strike the balance between ironic and convenient, seeing the distortion in their old neighborhood.

The entrance to the facility indicated by the coordinates was guarded by two Aequitas soldiers. They stepped forward as Dax came into view, weapons at the ready.

“Dax Vanon,” one of them said, his voice distorted through his helmet. “We’ve been expecting you. Hands where we can see them.”

Dax complied, “I’m here as agreed. No weapons. No tricks. Just take me to Reid.”

The soldiers exchanged glances before stepping aside. One of them gestured for him to follow. “Move. He’s waiting.”

Dax stepped into the factory, the interior cold and metallic, a stark contrast to the rough, grimy streets outside.

Reid waited for Dax in a large, open space near the back of the facility. His figure was unmistakable, his metallic features glinting under the sparse lighting. He stood with a calm composure, arms crossed, his human eye narrowing as Dax entered the room.

“Dax. Foolish, but brave, just as I remember you. I knew you’d come.”

Dax’s fists tightened at his sides. “I came like you asked, Reid. Alone. No weapons. No squad.”

Reid studied Dax with a calculating gaze as he spoke, “And why is that, I wonder? Did you really think you’d just walk out of here with the girl?”

“I had to try,” Dax said firmly, his voice low but steady, “But before anything else… I want to know why. Why are you doing this, Reid? What happened to you?”

For a moment, Reid’s expression hardened, and a flicker of something unreadable passed through his human eye. Then he spoke, “I’ve been blind all this time. The Aequitas opened my eyes to the truth.”

“Then tell me the truth, Reid. What is it you think you see?”

Reid ignored the question, gesturing for Dax to follow him. “Come, let’s relocate. This place is too unfit to be either of our graves.”

Dax however, didn’t budge, “No. Not until you show me Liriana. I need to know she’s safe.”

Reid’s eyes narrowed with a robotic whir. “The girl is safe like I promised, Dax. Where’s your faith in your old friend?”

“She’s my responsibility, Reid. I came here for her sake.” Dax shot back. “You wanted me here, so prove you’re not just a spineless coward. Let me see her.”

For a tense moment, Reid seemed poised to refuse, but then he exhaled sharply.

“Fine. I’ll indulge you. Follow me.”

The soldiers resumed their positions behind Dax as Reid led the way through more winding corridors. They led the knight to a reinforced chamber near the center of the factory. Through a thick glass window, Dax could see Liriana, her small frame hunched on a cot.

Dax forced a smile, nodding to her with as much reassurance as he could muster. Liriana’s lips parted as if to call out to him, but no sound came. Reid stood beside Dax, his expression unreadable.

“I didn’t say you were gonna have a chat. You’ve seen her,” Reid said coldly. “That’s all. Satisfied?”

Dax turned, his voice firm. “For now.”

“Let’s go.”

This time Reid walked down the winding staircase of the building and exited through the doors. The two men stepped foot in the dirt outside the facility, the corroded air of the abandoned slums hitting them in the face and reminding them of what used to be their home.

“You just had to bring me here, didn’t you?” Dax sighed as he looked around the familiar sights. Abandoned buildings, ruins and streets devoid of breath and emotion. Pyrite Reach was never a nice place to be, but even the lack of criminality and scum in the area wasn’t a pleasant sight in this situation.

Reid’s tone darkened, his boots crunching against the gravel as he walked ahead, “Pyrite Reach is a testament, Dax. A reminder of the Knights’ failures. This place—our home—was abandoned, left to rot while they clung to their precious ideals. The Aequitas showed me the truth. They showed me how blind we were.”

Dax exhaled bitterly, trying to hold back his emotions, “What have the Aequitas shown you? What sort of lies did they feed you?”

“Lies?” Reid clenched his fist, “No Dax, it was the truth. The unmistakable truth the knights don’t want anyone to see. That they only care about their precious stream of time. Not the people living within.”

“And what do the Aequitas do to protect those people? Murdering them through rogue time distortions?”

“We do not murder anyone. The devices that kill are bought by the very same people who fall victims to. They’re the ones getting involved.”

“Can you hear yourself Reid? Are you saying your parents were at fault back then, too?”

Upon the mention of his parents the man’s eyes narrowed into thin lines.

“What do you know about that, Dax? Did you doubt your precious knights for one time and decided to learn the truth yourself?”

“I didn’t doubt them. I was never about blind trust. But now I know what I believe in is true.” Dax took a deep breath, his voice steady but filled with conviction. “Your parents weren’t killed by the knights, Reid. They were tragic victims of a distortion. A distortion the Aequitas made them create. They used them, manipulated them into running that rogue device. They promised your family a way out of the slums, but when things went wrong, they left them to die.”

Reid’s expression remained stoic, his metallic jaw glinting in the light. “And?”

Dax blinked, confusion evident in his tone. “The Knights didn’t betray you, Reid. They tried to stop the distortion, to contain the damage. Your parents were pawns to the Aequitas, nothing more. You’ve been fighting for the people who destroyed your family.”

Reid’s human eye burned with fury as he stopped in a wide desolate plaza and turned to his former friend, his voice low and venomous. “Destroyed my family? The Knights killed my family that night. The Aequitas… they gave them a chance. Instead of casting them aside like the Knights did, they gave them the only fighting chance they had.”

“They used your parents, Reid! They didn’t care about them—they don’t care about you. You’re just another pawn to them.”

Reid’s lips curled into a cold smile. “What if they did? What if I’m just a pawn? At least I’m part of something that matters. They gave me a purpose, Dax. They gave my parents a purpose too. Theirs was to die that night for the sake of the Order. The very same order that I will help fulfill its ambitions! That’s a purpose the knights could never give me.”

Dax momentarily froze, seeing the menacing glint in that familiar eye screaming at him… that his old pal was no longer there.

“That’s not purpose, Reid… That’s manipulation. Madness. Paranoia. And you’ve fallen for it all.”

The tension between them crackled like static, but before either could speak again, the crackle of a colorful fabric in the space behind Reid sparked fiercely.

Reid’s lips curled into a small, menacing grin as he turned to the massive distortion growing in the heart of Pyrite Reach.

“Beautiful, isn’t it? This is where you’ll meet your end, Dax.”

“So this is the distortion you want, huh?” Dax clenched his jaw, “Don’t you care that it might swallow you whole in the process too?”

“It might. You know this one in particular is too unstable. It could erupt at any moment.”

“Why are you doing this? Is destroying time and space the Order’s idea of fun?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, Vanon?” Reid turned back to him, this time his eyes set in a cold hard stare, “All you need to know is that when the Order is done with its work, none of these distortions will ever even matter.”

Before Dax could retort to that, a siren blared in the distance.

“Intruder detected in the facility. All personnel, preparing for lockdown.” Reid’s earpiece screamed into his ear.

Reid’s smile widened, a cold, predatory grin. “You didn’t come alone after all. Clever.”

Dax glared at him, his heart racing. “Reid—”

But Reid raised a hand, silencing him. “No matter. My men will handle them. You and I have unfinished business.”

With a nod, the powerful man signaled for the Aequitas that followed them to move back to the facility from whence they came. He was completely confident in the fact he could best Dax on his own.

Reid turned to face Dax fully, his posture tense and ready. “Let’s settle this, Dax. Once and for all.”

Dax’s eyes narrowed, his stance shifting as he prepared for the inevitable. “Fine by me.”

With their desolate neighbourhood as the backdrop, brown dust whirring in the air around them, the two men stared each other down.