An Epilogue (or Prologue)

Ace

Ryn rushed to Ace, and he enveloped her in an embrace. Ace buried his face in her hair. His memories had been stolen away from him, but now they were back. They came back in tidal waves, crashing over the troubled unknowing shore of his mind. Painfully, slowly, but now he knew that now they were there, and Ryn had allowed for them to be back.

Gently, he bent his head down and kissed her.

They were making up for all the time they lost, and all the moments they could have spent under the stars. Ace felt like he was about to burst, a thousand visions of himself and Ryn darting through his mind. Ryn, coming up with the wildest idea to fill a Saturday with. Ryn, looking beautiful at an evening dance, perched high up above the action. Ryn, tying a wedding band around his wrist, and him tying one around hers. Ryn, pointing out constellations with infectious enthusiasm, Ryn and him living out their whole lives together.

Then suddenly a memory appeared, buried deep down. Ryn, betraying him to the Factions, screaming out that he was committing treason. That outburst had landed Ace in Dr. Angel's lab, and that lab had subjected him to torture and horror. He didn't know if the memory is real or twisted and implanted into his mind by the scientists, but it didn't matter. It filled him to the brim with sudden seething hate, for Ryn. Irrational but real. He curled his fists into the back of Ryn's shirt and kissed her with a new intensity, trying to bury the vision deep down. The vision stayed, unmoving, bright and glaring, Ace tore his mouth away from hers.

"It's your fault I'm like this!" He shouted, tears of anger and frustration pricking at the back of his eyes, "All your fault!"

She stared back at him in astonishment, her mouth a wide 'O'.

"What do you mean Ace! You're okay! You're alive. You were kissing me! You love me! You are still here with me..." She fumed back at him, scrambling away. Carefully she composed herself, her face melting back under an indifferent shield.

Of course she wouldn't understand, she didn't spend 10 years in a lab, stuck and helpless. She wasn't betrayed by her closest ally. Ace almost laughs out of the absurdity of thinking that he could trust her. He could never ever forgive her for what she did, ever, and had he really just kissed the monster? He spun away angrily, placing his armor back in place.

"This is our true goodbye Ryn, and you know what you did." Ace said quietly. His voice startled him, sounding calm and dangerous, as if coming from a stranger, "If we ever cross paths again, I would like to let you know it would only be as enemies."