Memories

The hideout was restless. The occasional sound of hurried footsteps in the corridors and the hum of holographic terminals filled the space like a constant backdrop. The weight of uncertainty hung over everyone, but Leo chose not to linger, leaving Rubi to her frustration.

He walked through the hallways leading to the top of the hill. The fresh night air enveloped him as he emerged, and he took a deep breath, trying to ease the tension that seemed to chain his shoulders like invisible weights.

From above, the suburb stretched like an uneven carpet of flickering lights, its streets weaving between makeshift houses with metal roofs glinting in the moon’s pale glow. In contrast, Atlanlane’s city center gleamed in the distance like an isolated jewel—an unreachable promise.

Leo sat on a flat rock, his eyes fixed on the distant horizon. He ran his fingers over the pendant around his neck, feeling the cold touch of the metal against his skin. Lucy had given it to him as a gift, a keepsake of the happy moments they had shared. Now, it felt like the object carried the weight of everything he had lost.

It hadn’t been long since his sister was taken from him. Her image stayed vivid—her laughter, her dreams, and the person she might have become.

Now, it was all just a reminder of why he was here, of his motivation to hunt down those responsible for turning his life into what it was. Yet, something still tightened in his chest. He hadn’t thought it would be easy, but it was harder than he had imagined. He had assumed that Lucy’s work had become something far greater.

The Vanguard’s influence had not only shaped his sister’s fate but continued to affect everyone’s lives, weaving through their daily struggles. An invisible force, unnoticed by many, but ever-present, its influence reached into every corner with unseen hands.

Leo activated the hologram on his pendant, watching the projected images. He and Lucy laughing, teasing each other. Small fragments of a time that seemed to belong to another life. Memories that now felt increasingly distant.

The sound of light footsteps interrupted his thoughts. He turned to see Rubi approaching, her expression soft but still tinged with unease. She didn’t speak right away, sitting beside him and pulling her knees close to her chest. For a while, they remained silent, just watching the twinkling lights of the suburb below.

Leo was surprised by her approach, so different from the provocative and self-assured demeanor he had seen until now. Yet, something was endearing about seeing her face partially hidden behind her knees. For a moment, he felt part of something greater than his own struggles. It was as if he didn’t have to bear everything alone.

“It’s beautiful from up here,” Rubi finally said, breaking the silence. Her voice was calm, almost reflective. “But it’s sad too, isn’t it? Seeing all this... knowing how things got to this point.”

Leo shook his head, his gaze still fixed on the horizon. “It’s always been like this for me. Growing up and living as just another person... I never thought it was strange until I started seeing how the rest of the world lives and how things ended up this way.”

Rubi looked at him curiously. “Was Lucy like that too?”

“Like what?”

“Explosive and headstrong, chasing what she wanted at all costs.”

He hesitated, clutching the pendant in his hand before responding. “No. She always thought differently. She believed she could change things. That she could make a difference.” He smiled faintly. “It was impossible not to believe her when she talked.”

Rubi gave a small smile. “I wish we could live in a world full of people like that.”

Leo activated the hologram again, letting the images play in the air.

Rubi leaned in to get a closer look, watching the siblings laugh and joke together. “These photos... She had a special talent for capturing the moments that mattered, didn’t she?”

Leo chuckled softly. “Yeah. And she always caught me in the worst poses.”

Rubi laughed too, pointing at one particular image where Leo seemed to be struggling to balance a stack of boxes, clearly failing. “This one’s the best. You look so... clumsy.”

“Hey, I was trying to help!” Leo protested, though his smile betrayed that he found it funny too. For a brief moment, the weight of their worries seemed to lift.

But then, the laughter gave way to a heavier silence. Rubi studied the images again, her gaze lingering on the faint distortions and almost imperceptible glitches in the projection. “There’s something odd here,” she murmured, her tone shifting. “It could be wear... or maybe it was done in a rush.”

Leo frowned, watching as Rubi adjusted the controls on the pendant. “What do you mean?”

“I can fix this for you,” Rubi said, trying to reassure him. “Make the images clearer.”

She carefully examined the pendant, turning it over in her hands while analyzing the flickering holograms. Her eyes scanned it with curiosity and focus, as though unraveling an intricate puzzle.

“Hmm... This isn’t just wear,” she murmured, more to herself than to Leo. “There’s something strange here. Maybe interference... or a deliberate design flaw.”

Her symbiont shifted, its metallic surface flowing like mercury into a precise tool as she delved deeper. Rubi pressed the tip against the pendant, a faint pulse of light flickering as she connected the device to the hologram. The projection wavered, growing more unstable before stabilizing again.

“This thing is much more advanced than it seems,” she said, her brow furrowing. “Lucy really knew what she was doing. This isn’t just a memory hologram.”

Leo leaned in, intrigued by the ease with which Rubi worked on the pendant. She seemed completely immersed in the process, her fingers deftly navigating the device as the symbiont emitted soft flashes of light. At one point, she pulled out a portable terminal from her pocket, connecting it to the symbiont to expand the data emerging on the screen.

“This will give me more control,” she explained without looking up. “The symbiont is great for quick adjustments, but sometimes you need something more stable for delicate work.”

Adjusting the hologram again, it flickered violently before projecting a new series of lines and patterns. Rubi narrowed her eyes, her lips tightening in concentration. “Wait... there’s something here.”

Leo’s heart raced as he watched. The symbiont began to vibrate more intensely, accompanied by a pulsing light. Rubi typed commands into the terminal, analyzing the fragments of data now appearing.

“There’s a lock,” she concluded, speaking more to herself than to Leo. “Something’s preventing the signal from projecting correctly. But this isn’t a flaw. It was done on purpose.”

Increasing the intensity of the symbiont’s probe, Rubi navigated the pendant’s hidden layers. Small clicks echoed as she unlocked concealed segments of the device. “Lucy knew exactly what she was doing. She hid something here... something only meant to be found if you knew where to look.”

Finally, the hologram shifted again. This time, instead of familiar images, lines of text appeared, accompanied by fragments of encrypted files. Rubi held up the portable terminal to examine the data more closely, her expression growing more serious.

“Leo,” she said, handing the pendant back to him. “These aren’t just messages. They’re something bigger. Lucy wanted you to find this.”

Leo took the pendant, staring at the hologram’s text. It felt like a message left by his sister, an enigma that carried the weight of her absence. “What was she trying to tell me?” he murmured.

“I don’t know yet,” Rubi replied, storing her terminal and letting her symbiont return to its original form. “But whatever it is, we need to decode it. These files... they could change everything.”

Holding the pendant tightly, Leo felt the enormity of the moment. Rubi’s words echoed in his mind: Lucy wanted you to find this. He looked at the projected text, fragments of a secret his sister had hidden for him.

The ache of her absence was sharp, the void left by her death almost overwhelming. Yet, beneath it, he felt something else—a quiet assurance that Lucy was still with him, guiding him toward something greater.

“Let’s go,” he said, his voice firm but laced with emotion. He glanced at Rubi, who nodded silently, sharing the weight of the discovery.

As they made their way back to the hideout, Leo gripped the pendant as though it were an anchor—a promise to uncover the answers and, perhaps, something more. In the distance, the suburb’s lights twinkled, contrasting with the cold brilliance of Atlanlane’s city center. Whatever Lucy had left behind was about to change everything.