Allelea and Lead sat with Cyto in the safe house, surrounded by mementos from their past. The air was filled with a mix of anticipation and hope as they continued their efforts to restore Cyto’s memories.
“Let’s try this,” Allelea said, handing Cyto a small, worn-out notebook. “You used to write in this all the time.”
Cyto opened the notebook, his eyes scanning the familiar handwriting. As he flipped through the pages, fragments of memories began to surface. He saw notes about their missions, sketches of plans, and even personal reflections. It felt like copying memories from one hard drive to another in a computer.
“I remember writing this,” Cyto said, his voice filled with wonder. “It’s like pieces of a puzzle coming together.”
Lead smiled. “That’s great, Cyto. Keep going.”
As they continued, Cyto’s memories became more vivid. He recalled their time in France, their escape from the algorithm-controlled country, and their early days with Enigma. Each memory brought him closer to fully understanding his past.
Finally, Cyto looked up, his eyes clear and determined. “I remember everything. The missions, the resistance, our fight for freedom. It’s all coming back.”
Allelea’s eyes filled with tears of joy. “Welcome back, Cyto.”
Lead nodded, feeling a sense of relief. “Now that you’re back, we need to prepare to leave Russia. We can’t stay here much longer.”
They spent the next few days gathering their belongings and making plans for their departure. Lead received a message from Selena, requesting a video call to discuss their progress.
As they connected the call, Selena and Gallus appeared on the screen. “Hey, everyone,” Selena greeted them. “How’s it going?”
“Cyto’s memories are back,” Lead announced, smiling. “We’re getting ready to leave Russia.”
“That’s fantastic news!” Gallus exclaimed. “We’ve been making progress on our end too. We need to coordinate our efforts and plan our next steps.”
“Agreed,” Lead said. “We’ll stay in touch and keep each other updated.”
"Sure will. But first, can y'all update me and Thalia on what was happening?" Aurelia asked, having just entered the meeting.
"Not much. Cyto's memory is healing, and I'll be leaving Russia soon. Their memory system thing is weird. The memory removal was a punishment from the government."
"And ours was a punishment for what, existing after 1946?" Nick asked, announcing his entrance with a 'ding' and a notification- 'nick_a has joined the call.' He looked around curiously, scanning everyone's faces. Unfortunately, his mind was a blank.
"Hey, good to see you!"
"I read your book, Lead. And... you may be right. I don't know, I'm still skeptical, but something here just feels... right."
"Ohh!" came a loud voice, followed by an "I just realized!"
All eyes were on the 'Thalia Cobalt' tile, but Thalia's eyes were on the girl seated beside her, who'd just had an epiphany.
"Is Alithea from the book really my aunt?" she asked, gasping softly at the implication. "Which means my aunt was radioactive, and we were actually close friends!"
"I think so. I don't think family connections changed much. Why?" he asked.
"Oh, no reason..." she said, slowly getting up and leaving Thalia alone. In the background, came a scream. "Aunt Alithea, can you come over here a minute?!! This is urgent!!"
"Okay, no need to hurry, what happened? Why are you dragging me into your room? I thought you were having a video call!"
The platinum-blonde haired 40-something-year-old woman was soon seated next to Thalia. She just stared into the screen cluelessly.
Thalia took a deep breath. “Aunt Alithea, do you remember anything unusual about our past? Anything that might seem out of place?”
Alithea frowned, her eyes narrowing as she tried to recall. “Well, there were always strange things happening around us. I used to think it was just my imagination, but now… I’m not so sure.”
Lead leaned forward, his interest piqued. “Ma'am, you might have been affected by the same timeline shift that impacted us. Your memories could hold crucial information.”
Alithea’s eyes widened. “Timeline shift? What are you talking about? What has Aurelia gotten me into?"
Thalia quickly explained the situation, detailing the timeline shift and their efforts to restore Cyto’s memories. As she spoke, Alithea’s expression shifted from confusion to realization.
“I do remember something,” Alithea said slowly. “There were moments when I felt like I was living two different lives. It was like I had memories that didn’t belong to me. Somewhere, when I was in my second or third year of college, I always felt these weird déjà vu kind of experiences, which... I don't know...”
“That’s it,” Lead said, nodding. “Those are the residual effects of the timeline shift. Your memories might help us understand what happened.”
As Alithea began to recount her fragmented memories, Gallus, who had been quiet until now, suddenly spoke up. “I think I remember something too,” he said, his voice shaky. “It’s like a fog is lifting, like you said Cyto was feeling. I can't believe I'm just noticing this.”
Selena looked at him with concern. “Gallus, are you okay?” Over a span of a year and three months or so, she seemed to have warmed up to him substantially. But this was merely a professional thing, of course, and everyone knew.
Gallus nodded, though he seemed a bit disoriented. “Yeah, it’s just… overwhelming. I remember being in a lab, working on something important. But it’s all so hazy.”
Lead exchanged a virtual glance with Selena. “We need to dig deeper into these memories. They could be the key to understanding the timeline shift and finding a way to stabilize it.”
"Hmm, you're right. Last time as per your document, you turned back time. But will it work again?" Selena asked. "Can you still do that?" She, being an arts student was not particularly a science person, but in the old timeline, she got way more lab classes than what she bargained for.
"No... my powers were lost the minute I turned back time again. And my leg injury was healed too." he answered, looking at her, deep in thought.
"I... I might have an idea," Thalia spoke up. "But will it work... I don't know. Engineering, not science major."
"Okay, what is it?" Aurelia asked. "Someone finally decided to talk."
"I remember some power copying thing from the book. Where Gallus copied Aurelia's mom's power. And as per the information you gave, radioactive people still have their memories of the old world. Maybe they also have their powers?"
"Well, my aunt was radioactive too. And she did remember things." Aurelia shrugged. "Could Gallus copy whatever dormant power you may still be hiding... enhancing you somehow?"
"Maybe you need a catalytic effect?" Selena chirped in. "Nick's old element and mine both are pretty commonly used."
"But we don't have them." Nick added.
Lead took a deep breath, processing Thalia’s suggestion. “It’s worth a try. If Gallus can copy the dormant powers, it might give us the edge we need.”
Gallus nodded, though he still seemed a bit unsure. “I’ll do my best. But we need to be careful. We don’t know what kind of side effects this might have in either of us. And there's the fact that we're on different condiments.”
"... Condiments?" Selena asked, trying not to release a very unladylike snort and a laugh. "You mean continents?"
"Autocorrect, Selena!!"
"You're not typing."
"I didn't say that was my autocorrect..."
Thalia looked thoughtful. “We should gather as much information as we can before attempting anything. Maybe there’s something in some old research notes that could help.”
“Agreed,” Lead said. “Let’s take this one step at a time. For now, my priority is getting out of Russia safely. My next mission is still on-”
His smart watch vibrated quickly. He pressed the digital crown, which intuitively recognized his fingerprint and began playing a message.
` Agent C-14, your next mission has arrived in the United States. Arrangements for your exit from Russia have been made. Please wait for further instructions.`
Lead sighed, and looked at Aurelia's tile. "Aurelia, Thalia... guess I'll see you in the States..."
ns 15.158.61.8da2
