Xiao Yan was deep asleep when suddenly he jolted awake, panting and shaking. His eyes widened as he focused on the bright white walls surrounding him.
Where is he? Is this one of Valentin's cells?
"Heine! Heine!" Xiao swiftly sat up and someone immediately grabbed his hand and held his shoulder. The familiar strength of that touch instantly soothed his rapidly beating heart.
"I am here."
This simple statement dissolved the uneasiness in his body and mind.
Xiao Yan turned to the side and his gaze was filled with the stern features of Heine Burton.
"What happened? I feel like I just had a nightmare. I dreamed that we tracked down Valentin and entered a ship..." Xiao shook his head confused and disoriented. "Am I still dreaming?"
Suddenly his mouth was seized by Heine. As his tongue slipped past his lips his fears, and tenuous grasp on reality, settled and stabled. Heine's palm cupped the back of his neck and he pulled his head toward him. His desperate kiss held hints of madness but his movements were tempered and restrained.
Heine pulled back from his mouth slowly and his forehead gently dipped low to settled on his brow. His warm breath swept over Xiao's skin.
"This is not a dream."
Suddenly his mind began to busily take in his surroundings. He grabbed onto Heine and looked at the glass walls of the room. On the other side of the wall was a large and busy space.
Numerous researchers were tackling complex and involved calculations. Xiao curiously walked up to the wall and touched the surface. The minute his fingers made contact, the system responded and the data flashed in front of him. The information scrolled so quickly he could barely keep up. His eyes widened as he took in the implications of what he was seeing. "The Shire...They're planning to build a new city?"
"Yes, they are waiting for you."
Xiao Yan excitedly moved toward the door and opened it. As he stepped into the room, he saw the data surrounded him and the researchers, that were involved in their tasks, suddenly straitened and looked at XIao Yan before saluting him.
"Where...what is this?" Xiao Yan looked around in surprise. He was not at the Academy, nor was he in the Special missions, it wasn't the presidential palace either.
"This is not Shire." A smiling man came up to him, followed by Admiral Sharif and General Gordon. Both were attired in their military uniforms.
Xiao Yan stood stupefied for a long time. Eventually he regained his senses.
"The president...Sir..."
The man, who can only be seen in the military video conferences and news broadcasts, was standing right in front of his eyes.
The president stopped in front of Xiao Yan. "This is the first time that we have met, although I have heard much about you. You have come far from just an ordinary researcher...When I left the Shire with Heine's troops I finished my tasks and stared out the window, looking over the dome and smiling happily. I watched the people scatter and move about their day. Then I asked myself. How can we stay? Whether the field we are striving further in is virology or mechanical physics, they all represent the world...but our researchers are frightened of the world. Look at you...You go outside once and create miracle after miracle. I have wanted to meet you face to face for a long time. I believe that you are a revolutionary pioneer."
Xiao Yan did not think that he had been noticed by the president.
The president casually sat at the desk with his hands on the table. The curve of his smile revealed a side to him that was far removed from the intellectual temperament of Lieutenant General Ervel. Regardless of the differences between the two men, it revealed a wise demeanor. "You have accomplished great things Xioa Yan. You have disintegrated the organization that has threatened humanity for over 200 years, although this achievement is not entirely yours." The president's expression was solemn.
Xiao Yan's mood is inexplicably heavy.
He knows that in these hundreds of years their are many people far better than him that have made huge sacrifices in an attempt to get people out of the Shire.
"Your true purpose was not to eliminate the Surge, or to stop Valentin's rebirth. Rather it was to force people to look forward to the world outside for their future. To convince them to not be afraid of it. We have lost over a third of the city, instead of using our resources and man power to repair this city...perhaps it is time to build a new one. A city without walls...a city illuminated by a true sun."
Xiao Yan glanced at the president to see his eyes gleam with an entirely different type of ambition.
"I am officially inviting you, not to board the last Noah's Ark, but to leave Noah's Ark and welcome the world."
Xiao Yan swallowed a sip of water and looked over at Heine. He discovered that Heine was standing. near him and his eyes couldn't help but subconsciously seek him out.
"I accept."
"Good." The president pressed a button and the wall behind him slowly slid open. Fresh air rushed into the space and the boundless blue sky burst in through the opening. Birds flew overhead and XIao stepped forward instinctively. In front of him were the ruins of an old city. The worn roads were littered with stumbling zombies and the special mission forces were busy cleaning up the area.
"How long have I been asleep?" Xiao Yan took a step back and glanced over at the president.
A familiar figure began walking towards him. His flashing green eyes made XIao's heart race excitedly.
"Casey!" XIao rushed forward and hugged him tightly. "That is so great! You are back in the military!"
Casey looked at Xiao, an uncomfortable tension straining his smile, and shook his head.
"Do you think that I would return to the military? Those guys want in my head to assuage their fears that I am not here to avenge Valentin or inherit his goals."
"But you can return, you will pass the inquiry concerning Valentin."
"But i don't want to enter the military. From now on I am just an ordinary consultant for the Central Academy. I am not even a research supervisor anymore. I simply provide my insight and advice, but i will not be participating in any research projects directly. Plus, we are very different." Casey smiled wryly and pointed his finger at Xiao, pressing it into his chest. "I want to sleep in. Even of I slept for a full month I would still wish to sleep longer. Its fine, I don't want that measly salary that the Shire gave me. And you...you are carrying the hope of the entire city as you move from project to project."
"I do want to remind you that not only are you receiving a modest salary but we have allowed you to retain your citizenship." The president coughed awkwardly.
Casey didn't spare the president a glance. He grabbed Xiao by the shoulder and walked with him up to the holographic display. "Have you seen your team?"
"Not yet, I ....wait...what team?"
"Yes. Your planning team. Living within the SHire and in the outside world are very different concepts. A real city does not need a biological circulation system, nature can be used to protect against nature." Casey tilted his chin toward the display that now revealed several of the Shire's elites. This includes Ritz, Loch and Lauren. In the biography interview, Lauren wore a Lt. Uniform, although is impish face gave his expression more of a childish visage as opposed to a professional demeanor, his face already looked more mature than when he had fist met him.
"This is the most elite team in Shire. Are you sure you want to hand it over to me?" Xiao Yan looked back at the president.
The president nodded silently.
"Before that, I want to see Valentin's battleship. Maya's troops did not let it sink."
"It is one of the many bases of his that can be moved. Its not anything special, but I think I know what you really want to see. Take him to the sample room." The president glanced at Gordon.
Xiao Yan left here under Heine's protection.
As the plane moved out of the passage, he looked up at the large buildings. They towered at brilliant heights, the tops seeming to touch the sky.
"How long have I been asleep. The Shire actually built...Tongtian Tower." Xioa Yan moved from the glass, the weight of this new reality still settling into his mind. He had no words to descrube the feeling of seeing the Shire's first building outside.
"Not too long, three days. But Tongtian Tower is not a good comparison"
Heine and XIao sat alone in the cabin; A very rare happening.
"I know that the humans angered God by building a large tower, and thus their languages were splintered, giving them a natural barrier. No matter what happens, if I build a large submarine base or a castle in the sky, you will always be the person who knows me best...because you made me the person I am now."
Xiao Yan looked at Heine's eyes adoringly.
"That is not my achievement. You chose your own path."
"Are you sure that we will not be attacked by any missiles? Will there be a Surge craft tailing behind us?" Xiao suddenly asked very seriously.
.
"I am sure ."
"So I don't need to wear my safety device."
Xiao lifted the safety device and stood up. He walked toward hien and straddled him. Lowering his head, he kissed him without hesitation.
Heine stretched his arm around him and his fingers tangled in Xiao's hair.
Xiao Yan wants nothing more than to strip everything away in the world and lock him and Heine in this space forever. Heine's safety device digs painfully into his chest as he passionately kisses Hiene. Still...he cannot stop and pressed his mouth more firmly against Heine's.
"Only when I kiss you do I believe this reality. We are still alive. I am grateful for the president for giving me that task fo planning our first city."
XIao leaned his face against HEien's cheek and closed his eyes. He began to make an outline of the new world in his mind. "I want to walk with you in the sun, along quaint streets. Stop and have a drink at the side of the road. I can't stand coffee though..."
"There is still black tea."
"If it rains, we will stay at home."
"Have sex all day." Heine leaned his head down and rubbed his face over Xiao's skin. Xiao closed his eyes and contentedly sighed.
'Doesn't sound bad. I can design this city to look like whatever my heart wants. Then you can live with me in this life I have dreamed of."
"Do I have other options?"
" No." Xiao Yan smiled and winked, then leaned in to kiss Heine lovingly.
He knew that he had almost lost this man and he would never forget that feeling when he thought that even if he gave everything he had, he might not be able to catch him.
The aircraft landed and the sunlight drifted dazzlingly inside the cabin.
When the door open, Ling stood looking at Xioa and HEine with his arms crossed behind his head. "I am sorry to disturb you two in your own world, but we have arrived."
Xiao looked over Ling's shoulder. The cold destroyer sat alone on the beach. It could no longer move, it was so badly damaged.
Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yan got up.
"Let's go, Heine."
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There is a tiny... little more to go. I may have to re-upload this one if I find that not all of it transferred. I have been having some problems with that. I will make a comment on my profile feed if I find that I made a mistake and let you know. One more....and a little surprise... that some may hate but I am hoping at least a few people love.
I like that this goes full circle. Such a true love story. Heine fell in love with the world he saw in Xiao's subconscious and wanted nothing more than to live in it...and now he can. It seems for all the times that Heine was ready to catch Xiao, Xiao worked diligently to be there to catch Heine in the ways that he could. I love that evolution of his character and the story. I hope at least some of you love it as much as I do. I think it is unique and yet a great example of a relationship in which both characters give everything they can to the other. I am so sad that it is (essentially) over. There is one more epilogue (and a related/unrelated thing I plant o post) and then we are done. I have a lot to say but I guess I will save it for the next epilogue.