One Last Time

Audra sat in the VR pod as rain pelted the shop. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling her heartbeat race. She was nervous, but she was determined to do this. It might not have been the best way to go about things, but this way she would be able to give Zeph much needed context.

She briefly thought back to their earlier conversation where everything had just poured out. A part of her was embarrassed, but at the same time, it was a relief to finally get some of that off of her chest.

To think that it had happened just because she sucked at making egg sandwiches.

She felt her cheeks heat up at how ridiculous it was. She'd been so focused on trying to impress him that she'd ended up screwing everything up instead. Yet, even with that, he'd been patient with her and even helped her fix her mistakes.

"…" Hadn't it been like this since the start, though?

Ever since he'd found her in the scrapyard, he'd done nothing but try to help her. He'd given her a place to stay, food to eat, and even comforted her when she needed it, all for someone he'd only just met.

A smile crossed her lips at the thought. It was stupid. He had no reason to treat her this nicely, and yet he did. She still couldn't figure out why, but she wasn't going to question it too much anymore.

Perhaps he didn't even need a reason.

"Hey, Audra," Zephyr's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "I'm ready to go here. The debug console's all set up. Whatever you see and hear, I'll be able to as well. So if anything goes wrong, just call out to me. I won't be able to respond back, but I'll pull you out."

"O-okay." Her voice quivered slightly. "You'll be with me the whole time?"

"Yeah. I'll be right here, and I won't leave until you're out of the pod."

She nodded, steeling her resolve.

"Alright. Then I'm ready."

With the last of their words said and done, Audra began interfacing herself with the machine.

She took one last look at the pods insides as she felt the connection kick in. A brief sense of vertigo washed over her, and the world went black.

***

She was back in the void of the startup sequence, but this time she didn't have to go through the setup again. Once everything loaded it, she immediately opened the menu and selected the custom scenario option.

She took a few minutes to tweak the settings to what she'd originally wanted to make, although this time with a few alterations. Once she'd filled out the description of the antique shop and its surroundings, she started the simulation.

She closed her eyes and held her breath as everything around her shifted.

When she opened her eyes, the darkness around her had faded, giving way to the bright colors of a sunny day.

It was Portland. Her hometown. She could hear the sounds of cars in the distance and smell the familiar scents of the city. A gentle breeze ruffled her hair.

Her description of the scenario had been a bit vague, but the AI had extrapolated things extremely well. Honestly, if she didn't know better, she'd thought that she'd simply been teleported to the real world.

She stood in front of the antique shop, an unassuming little building nestled between two other storefronts. A sign hung above the doorway with the name 'Past Tense' painted in faded gold letters on a weathered wooden background.

It looked just how she remembered it—quaint and intact.

Immediately, she felt the tightness in her chest loosen slightly. She was home the day before it all happened. Even though it'd barely been a month since then, it felt like forever since she'd seen the shop like this.

She took a few tentative steps forward, and her legs shook slightly. When she got to the glass door, she saw a reflection staring back at her.

She stopped.

The person looking back was not the same girl that had left. She still had her bionics of course, but her hair was long again. She was wearing her favorite blue jacket too, the one that she had bought at a thrift store a few years ago. It wasn't burnt or cut up into scraps to be left on the hospital floor.

"…" She ran her hands across the fabric. It felt soft, and the smell was so familiar.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she reached out to touch the glass. For a moment, she could pretend that everything was okay. That nothing had happened. That everything hadn't broken.

She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, taking a deep breath to compose herself.

No, she shouldn't use this time to pretend. Rather, she would use it to move on. To show Zeph.

She stepped inside with the ring of a bell. The interior of the building was exactly how she remembered it too.

The walls were covered with old paintings, photographs, and even a few vintage posters. Shelves upon shelves of various knick-knacks lined the room. Tons of twenty-first century electronics and devices were also scattered about, as well as a plethora of old video games that her granduncle had insisted be put there.

"Audra~ You're finally home!"

She was nearly knocked off her feet warmth wrapped around her in a tight embrace.

Audra froze in place, too stunned to react as the woman buried her face into her neck. It was too familiar.

"H-hi, Mom…" she managed after a moment, hugging her back.

How long had she wanted to say that again?

Her mom pulled away slightly to get a better look at her. She was petite woman with light skin, amber eyes like Audra's own, and dark hair that fell in soft waves down to her shoulders.

She wore a flowy, light blue skirt and a white blouse under an apron along with a name pin that said 'Jada'. A small pendant hung around her neck, and she wore a number of silver rings and earrings that Audra knew were bought for her by Dad.

"Welcome back," her mom smiled at her, pulling away to put her hands on her hips. "You were gone for a while. Did you get held up at the store or something? Did you run into any trouble on your way back?"

"Uh, no, I didn't," Audra replied quickly to the onslaught of questions. "Just lost track of time, sorry."

"Well, that's okay. That is, so long as none of those jerks from your old school were bothering you again. I swear, if I ever see them again—"

"Mom, it's fine! Really!" Audra insisted, almost caught off by comment. "I haven't seen anyone from the school in months."

She gave Audra a doubtful look but didn't press any further.

"If you say so. But if anything happens, make sure you tell me, alright?"

"…I will."

Her mother smiled again. "Great, now. Why don't you come on upstairs? Your dad managed to get off early today, and he'll probably be back soon. I'm just finishing up dinner now, and it'll be ready in a bit. You can try go over the list of places we were planning on visiting behind the counter. Our Japan trip is just three months away, y'know."

"R-right. Sure, I'll be up in a minute."

Her mother gave her another quick hug before walking back towards the stairs.

Audra felt the tears welling up once more.

She knew this wasn't actually her mom. It was just a product of the simulation, and yet… it was so lifelike. The way she'd spoken, the way she'd moved and interacted, it'd felt so natural—just like the real deal.

"…" But she couldn't lose herself. Not when she was here for a reason.

She swallowed as she clutched her hands over her heart.

"…Just one more goodbye."