When Salvatoris and Melissa re-entered the hangar, they both saw Alice standing there, illuminated by the light of the setting sun filtering through the ruined roof. Her appearance wasn't much better than before, so much so that she looked as if she might break at the slightest gust of wind. However, Melissa threw herself into his arms. Her eyes watered as she was overcome by genuine joy, if nothing else, to the point where she couldn't think of a single word. Seeing Melissa's reaction, Alice spoke to her in a robotic, yet strangely reassuring voice, as a smile split her face.
"I'm back. It's fi-finished now."
Melissa's trembling voice replied next, as she kept her head buried in Alice's chest.
"You-you... You promised you'd be careful!"
"Sorry... But, I'm here now. No need to worry."
Alice looked a little saddened at the idea of having put Melissa through centuries of waiting. But at the same time, she was overwhelmed by the joy of this reunion, and the idea that she could walk this earth again.
"I'm... I'm so happy to see you again!"
Melissa declared, tears streaming from her eyes as a shy smile crept across her face.
"Me too."
Alice replied while tightening her embrace around Melissa, making the latter blush even more, whose smile intensified. However, one question seemed to break the joy of this reunion.
"Melissa, what happened to your voice? You also told me to take care of it!"
Melissa's good mood seemed to drop, as she raised her head, a bitter smile written on her face.
"Mo-me too, I couldn't keep all my commitments...After Li-i-i's mo-rt...na... I..."
Melissa stopped, leaving Alice saddened by the answer as she stared at the ground for a few seconds, her mouth agape. But she didn't have time to think about it any longer. Her gaze was fixed on Salvatoris.
"If you're here... it's because you want to know all the history of your world, and help us, right?"
Salvatoris nodded, a resolute expression passing over his face.
"You risk losing yourself forever if I show you the rest. I want you to know that it won't interfere with my plans, on the contrary. But I must tell you before I go any further."
"I know, and I've prepared for it."
Alice then looked at a rectangular machine edged with grayish line, whispering in the hollow of close Melissa's ear, uneasy at Salvatoris' resolute answer, which had just returned a dear friend to her.
"He already doesn't look the same. The first time, he screamed at the mere idea of me touching him, and the second time, it was curiosity that motivated him... now... it's as if he feels compelled to know the rest. It-it's probably too late for him. There's nothing we can do about it."
Melissa nodded. She understood what Alice meant. What's more, night was falling, a sign that she had to prepare a small group of androids to go into the nearby forest. They needed food to stay active, and although they were inactive most of the time, resting wouldn't allow them to survive for centuries without doing anything. Especially since, if they kept Salvatoris, they'd need water.
When Melissa had left the factory, after a quick good-bye, Alice approached the rectangular contraption she'd been staring at. She then looked at Salvatoris, asking him one last time, as she connected a cable from her spine to the machine, which was beginning to emit a soft light.
"You-u're really sure."
Salvatoris nodded, convinced. However, he thought back on his day, and a piece of information he'd pushed from his mind resurfaced as his consciousness faded.
[My mother... she's been hurt! Why didn't I go and see her, I-]
However, as his last thoughts assailed him, images began to invade his mind. A battlefield, Reiner being thrown helplessly about. Then, the landscape of the battlefield, which was nothing but destruction. Only flames and corpses adorned the bleak, monotonous desert landscape where Reiner's inert body now lay before Salvatoris. And suddenly, Reiner's inert corpse was lifted by an imposing mechanical hand, as everything seemed to blur once again.
* * *
When Reiner, a dark-haired young man with blue eyes tending towards gray, opened his eyes again, the first thing he saw was a ceiling he didn't recognize. It was a remarkably immaculate white, but the sound of various medical devices woke Reiner from his strange contemplation and torpor. The sound of patients holding back their cries of pain began to be perceptible to his ears, but when he tried to stand up to see them, naturally shifting his body to the right side, he fell with a loud crash. His legs no longer responded to his will, and had become nothing but dead weight.
"Huh?"
Reiner muttered in shock. He tried to move his legs, but nothing changed; he couldn't perceive the slightest movement or sensation. Then a door opened, revealing a doctor in a white coat who had rushed into the room after hearing a loud noise. He stopped momentarily after looking at Reiner on the floor, and spoke perfect English, which Reiner understood relatively well. But after realizing his clumsiness, he activated his translator, and repeated himself in a professional, reassuring voice.
"I apologize for that. Are you all right, Private Reiner?"
"I... what's happening... I... I can't move my legs..."
Reiner replied, his eyes trembling, and filled with great concern mixed with a feeling of intense incomprehension. The doctor responded by approaching Reiner, dropping to one knee as he spoke.
"I can understand your shock, but above all, I would ask you to remain calm, and accept my help."
The doctor held out his hand, which Reiner grasped. After confirming that Reiner seemed calm, at least on the surface, he helped him to lie down on his medical bed, which he raised, paying attention to the setting of the machines, before again looking at Reiner, who was waiting for an explanation.
"Your spine suffered a shock during your last fight. The fracture was quite serious and widespread, but we managed to save you. However, even now, medicine has its limits, and your lumbar vertebrae, which were particularly badly affected, could not be properly reconstructed."
"So... I won't be able to walk again?"
Reiner replied, his voice betraying panic as he did his best to remain calm.
"There are many operations that would restore most of your mobility. We can even recreate your spine artificially and exchange your lumbar vertebrae with them. However, these are very expensive procedures. And there are limits to the care your government can provide. To tell the truth, with these funds, we should hardly have saved your life, but some funding has been made available by an army laboratory of particular interest to you. So we've done all we can with the funds available. If you want another operation, you'll have to finance it entirely."
The doctor's voice was as calm and professional as ever, but strangely, after his words, it also sounded incredibly cold. Reiner was more than a little flustered, and looked around him, unsure of what to do or say. He then drew up a quick list of urgent questions in his mind, and asked the first one.
"I... I understand, but... what 'fight' are you talking about?"
The doctor seemed momentarily shocked, then whispered in a low voice.
"Noted, additional symptom due to trauma, partial amnesia."
He then looked at Reiner, and spoke again in the same voice.
"You fought a strange demon god head-on in a titan, accompanied by your recomposed squad, and suffered at the end of this battle a mortal wound."
Reiner's eyes twitched; he couldn't remember that, his memories were hazy. Only an intense headache assailed him. Once the pain had become bearable, he spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Okay... and, can you tell me where we are? And who brought me here?"
The doctor sighed quietly, obviously annoyed at being asked such a question.
"We're in the second nearest town to the battlefield, New Frontier. Your camp has fallen, and the town closest to the front, New Alamogordo, is about to fall. Ah, and this is the last survivor of your squad who picked you up and brought you here after receiving orders."
"Okay...thanks..."
As Reiner struggled to organize his thoughts, the doctor stood up, obviously in a hurry, saying a simple sentence.
"I have other patients to see, if you'll excuse me."
"Wait! What's this lab you mentioned that's interested in me?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
Replied the doctor, without even stopping his steps. Totally unaware of his patient's feelings. Reiner was even more confused; he didn't know what to think. He couldn't even remember what had happened before his injury, or even piece together his other fragmented memories from before this confrontation that he had retained. Everything seemed so confused, so unrealistic, it was as if it were all a dream. Yes, it was, it was a dream, or so Reiner hoped from the depths of his being. He couldn't feel the joy of being alive after enduring hardships he couldn't even remember, leaving only despair to crush him under its full weight. However, a familiar voice woke him up, belonging to Rakta, who had just opened the door, wearing the same outfit as Reiner. His body was covered in wounds, his gait clumsy, but he found a place to settle down next to Reiner.
"I'm glad you're alive. After the camp fell... even before, when I was wounded... everything happened so fast, everyone died so quickly...so, knowing you're alive is a real relief."
"Alive..."
Reiner let out a chuckle devoid of any will or emotion, turning empty eyes on Rakta, before looking down at his legs and replying.
"Yeah, alive..."
Rakta felt her heart clench, and tried to speak comfortingly.
"All is not lost, you're still alive, you have ways to live your life carefree as you are, you can even run away from the fighting. And if you wish, you can even walk again, nothing is lost, the most important thing is your life."
Rakta waited a few seconds, hoping to elicit a reaction from Reiner, but faced with his lack of response, he continued, in an uncertain voice.
"You know, in the early days, I was in charge of allocating androids to the army horns. They didn't even know how to put on their armor, there were women, even... children, some in size and appearance, others in mentality, even, in mentality and appearance. I didn't like my job, because even though they were androids that could somehow come back to life even after death, I was sending them into the fray, even though I knew they wouldn't come back after death, even though it was possible. I'd even helped a kid by adjusting his armor, he was with someone who was supposed to be his mother, with purple hair, yet, even seeing him, I still sent him to the front. So... well, it's a bit confusing, but what I'm trying to say is that after sending so many people to their deaths, to see one of them come back alive is more than a relief, it's... a kind of hope, so don't give up on everything because of a setback, and go forward instead. There's no point in looking back or letting fear control you, you... you can get out of this place and live happily ever after, so seize this chance as a new beginning, not an inevitability."
Reiner hadn't paid attention to the end of the sentence, his eyes having widened the moment Rakta had mentioned a purple-haired android and a child. With his memories fragmented, he felt as if he were reforming, his head aching excruciatingly. He could clearly see the scene of his decapitated head and the child being swept away as he waited by his corpse, and everything that had happened afterwards. His memories were gradually coming back to him, but it was also extremely painful, and he clutched his head tightly, gritting his teeth as hard as he could. Rakta worried, asking him how he was, but Reiner only answered belatedly, in a weak voice.
"I'm fine, I think... Thanks for asking. I think I need some time to organize my thoughts, I've got a lot on my mind... I'm sorry."
"That's normal."
Rakta replied weakly, then stared at Reiner, and nonchalantly told him another thing to think about.
"You're safe here, only the wounded brass were transported here, it's... a bit surprising you're here too, but it must mean you're not bad. If you want to pass the time, you can activate a screen above, from your bed, feel free to use it if you want to think about something else for a bit."
Reiner seemed shocked at first, then nodded, letting Rakta go with a weak good-bye, leaving the room.
Just as he thought he was alone, his eyes turned slightly watery, but he gasped as he heard the door open again, revealing Clovis in his hastily spoken rank uniform.
"Reiner, how are you? How are you feeling, what happened to you?!"
"I'm... I'm fine, it's been a long time, I'm glad to see you again."
Said Reiner, a smile replacing the tears that threatened to roll down his cheeks.
"I'm happy too, but the doctors told me your condition! Are you sure you're all right?!"
"I assure you, but... I hope you didn't badger them for an answer, did you?"
"I just moved up the ranks, you know I did a military service push after the orphanage, it was simple to move up the ranks."
A loud noise then made Clovis shudder, prompting him to hastily add a final sentence.
"I shouldn't be here, normally I command our units from the front, so I don't have much time, but I absolutely had to see you and know how you were, so please answer me. Are you really okay? If you're not feeling well, tell me about it... I'll always listen to you, man."
"I assure you I'm fine, seeing you like this reminded me of a lot of good times... frankly I-"
Reiner's sentence couldn't be finished, as a soldier's yell replaced it.
"I've found you again, sir, we've got to go, we're in a hurry!"
"I can explain, wait! You're my aide-de-camp, you should treat me with respect! Let me talk to my friend for a minute, no, two minutes!"
Clovis retorted, hurriedly. But he was caught by his aide-de-camp, who dragged him out of Reiner's room. He stared quickly at Reiner, and said quickly.
"Sorry for the inconvenience, I'll try to contact you when he's free. But...I couldn't guarantee anything."
"I'll be back Reiner, wait-"
Clovis tried to say, but he couldn't finish his sentence as the door closed and muffled all outside noise. Reiner laughed to himself. His laughter was strange, a mixture of tears and sincere laughter, as he whispered.
"He was fooling around to the end again."
Reiner's laughter intensified, letting his tears disappear completely.
* * *
Some time had passed since Rakta and Clovis' visit, and Reiner's mind was still foggy, but he was feeling slightly better. With a quick command, he activated the TV Rakta had mentioned, bringing up a screen above his bed, adjusted to his eye level. Unfortunately, the first thing he saw wasn't anything that would help distract him. It was the landscape of the new Alamogordo on fire.
Skyscrapers were collapsing from the might of the demon gods' attacks, leaving civilians who hadn't yet evacuated or taken refuge in the author, to rise undead from the rubble. They joined a huge army of undead, all wearing civilian clothes. Few monsters could be seen among the undead horde. The majority had undoubtedly been killed at the front, and the survivors kept by their masters for breeding. However, the rare Clapeurs in the field were so vivid that they contrasted with the horde of which they were a part, annihilating soldier and fugitive alike with a devastating bite. The few colossi in the horde were at the beginning, clearing the rubble and debris left by the skyscrapers by their very presence to ensure a route for the undead to follow. Reiner was initially absorbed by the shocking landscape, but quickly sought out a particular demon god, the one he'd fought with. His memories were hazy, but he could now remember what he looked like, but he couldn't see him anywhere. He was completely absent from the battlefield.
Reiner closed the screen, not wanting to see the devastated landscape any more, but just as he was about to close his eyes, hoping that after closing them he'd reopen them at home, free from this nightmare, but it was not to be. Even as he chuckled at the hope that this stupid idea might be true, the door to his room opened to reveal a small group of people. All were well-dressed, wearing glasses as well as a suit, surrounding one person wearing a white lab coat. Seeing this, Reiner asked him.
"Doctor?"
The answer he received was different from his expectation.
"You can also call me that indeed, but I'm a scientist. Scientist Orson Margand. I'm part of the Ares army, like you, and I'd like to propose something that would be mutually beneficial to us."