同章对照

“—Dynamis’ stock price has steadily crumbled since the disturbing revelations about their Knockoff Elixirs, and public outcry from former clients who recently lost their expensively-purchased powers,” the newscaster said on the hospital room’s TV.

Ryan squinted, as a video of Alphonse Manada’s explosion appeared behind the anchorwoman. The quality was terrible, probably due to radiation interferences, though one could see Wyvern and Enrique flying towards the blast’s source.

“—Dynamis’ spokesperson confirmed that Alphonse Manada, alias Fallout, was responsible for the explosion that shook the old harbor. The reasons for this action remain obscure for now, though Wyvern affirmed that the now former vice-president is now safely out of commission—”

The next images then showed the cyborg’s ejection into space. Only Ryan and Livia’s armors had been caught on tape, with the latter’s face and identity remaining mercifully hidden.

“The new acting Chairman, Enrique ‘Blackthorn’ Manada, promised a full indemnity to the victims of both incidents and a public trial to judge the responsible. His actions have so far been met with division among staff— ”

“I still can’t believe they came clean,” Mathias said, sitting on a chair near the window with his arms crossed. Ryan himself occupied the seat closest to Livia’s bed, Henriette snoring at his feet while Eugène-Henry unilaterally decided to occupy his lap. The courier had traded his damaged Saturn armor for his stylish suit, at least until he could repair it. “I thought they would at least sugarcoat the truth, not… spill everything to the press.”

“It was necessary,” Livia replied, wearing a white gown and bandages around her forehead. Braindead’s operation had prevented brain damage from her close brush with Fallout, but it would take her a few days to recover. “You cannot learn from your mistakes without owning up to them. Enrique understood that, and Wyvern all the more.”

After the battle with Fallout, Enrique had the group transported to Dynamis’ hospital, with Stitch and Alchemo tending to their wounds. Thankfully, Ryan’s evacuation warning had borne fruit, and though some locals had been wounded when Alphonse detonated himself, nobody had perished. The Perfect Run had been preserved.

At least, for the moment.

“Waves of resignations continue after Il Migliore’s disbandment,” the newscaster continued. “Though Wyvern promised that a, I quote, ‘clean and nonprofit law enforcement organization’ would take its place, the fate of many heroes remain uncertain—”

Ryan deactivated the TV. “How long before thunder strikes?” he asked his girlfriend.

“Not long,” she admitted, looking away through the windows and the veil of time both. “Things are moving quicker than I expected. Vulcan has already left the Augusti. My father learned of Wyvern’s visit and has ordered her death.”

Ryan’s heart skipped a beat. “Is she going to make it?”

To his relief, Livia answered with a nod. “Thankfully, Vulcan was no fool and spied on my father’s communications.”

“It doesn’t bode well if he’s already purging his own ranks though,” Mathias said with a frown.

The seer nodded slowly. “Fallout’s defeat and Hector’s arrest have him on edge.”

“If it’s too good to be true, it probably is?” Ryan guessed.

“Yes. He will make a push to take over New Rome, but he is smelling a trap.” Livia sighed. “His forces will move into Rust Town anytime soon… and if left to their own devices, they will find the bunker.”

“I will repair the Saturn armor one last time, and destroy the base,” Ryan replied, rising from his seat. Eugène-Henry immediately leapt from his lap to Livia’s. “Looking Glass, you gather the others. Livia, you stay here.”

“I won’t,” she replied, biting her lip. “Uncle Neptune will soon pick me up to take me to Sorrentos. My father won’t let me stay in a Dynamis hospital while he’s plotting their destruction.”

Mathias frowned, but shrugged. “Well, we have prepared for the attack for days. We can do it without you.”

“I wish I could supervise the assault,” Livia said with regret. “To make sure it goes well.”

“You could supervise it from afar,” Mathias pointed out. “My mother did that with the Carnival, and it worked very well for them.”

The fact that he was willing to relinquish command to Livia at all surprised Ryan. The courier guessed that watching her take wounds in an attempt to protect New Rome from Fallout helped build trust between them.

“My uncle won’t let me out of his sight.” Livia joined her hands, while Eugène-Henry nuzzled her fingers. “I… I will try to find an opening.”

“No,” Ryan insisted. “If Braindead says you should rest, then you will. If you don’t, he’s likely to put your brain in a jar, and you truly don’t want that.”

Livia pouted. “Ryan, I can’t stand back while you and the others risk your lives cleaning up my family’s messes.”

“You helped us clean our own with Bloodstream, and the Meta-Gang too,” Mathias replied. “To each their turn.”

Livia frowned, and refused to stay idle. “I can at least make some calls. This will be a game of rock-paper-scissors, and I can bring more counters to the table.”

Ryan squinted. “Did you set up everything so that we would have the perfect people assembled for the job?”

She answered with a sly, foxy grin. “I would be a poor seer if I didn’t.”

“I love it when you’re in a mastermind mode, pulling strings from the shadows...”

“All is going according to plan.” Her smile faltered. “I hope.”

Ryan glanced at his translucent friend. “Matty, can you leave us for a second?”

“I will brief the others,” the vigilante replied, before taking the door.

Livia exchanged a heavy glance with her boyfriend. “Ryan, after destroying the island…” She cleared her throat. “You’re going immediately after him, aren’t you? Alone?”

“Yes.” If Lightning Butt didn’t come for his head first. Ryan expected the madman to get off his mountain after watching Ischia Island go down in smoke. “It will be alright. I won’t kill him.”

“It’s not his life I fear for. You can’t save.”

“Didn’t anyone tell you?” Ryan asked with a smirk that didn’t reach the ears. “I’m immortal.”

“Don’t joke about this!”

Her startling reaction took her boyfriend aback and woke up Henriette. Livia closed her eyes, but failed to suppress tears forming at the edge. She took a deep breath as the dog started licking her fingers to console her, and sobbed.

“Ryan, the man I love is about to go fight my father. And one of them might not come back.” When she opened her eyes again, Ryan could see the fear and dread in them. “Either he will kill you and you may not restart, or you risk permanently landing a killing blow. And I can’t do anything to prevent it.”

“Livia…” Ryan began.

She didn’t let him finish. “I know you’re trying to comfort me, tell me it’s alright, but it’s not. Ryan, your sister just euthanized her father, and Enrique Manada arrested his own before banishing his brother into space. Even if both hoped it would end otherwise… they accepted that it couldn’t. While I… I still can’t, Ryan.”

Ryan listened in respectful silence, letting her say what weighed on her mind. Instead of answering with words, he sat on the bed and gently wiped away the tears.

“I’m scared, Ryan,” she confessed, taking his hands into her own and squeezing his fingers. “I’m scared because I’ve seen how it could end, but not how it will. I… I thought I wanted to be surprised, but… not like this.”

“Livia, do you remember what you told me at the restaurant the other night?” Ryan asked, trying to reassure her. “That the Ultimate One guided us together, and that I should carry on to see what it had in store. Even if I couldn’t save.”

“I said that,” Livia admitted, sighing. “I thought I could shoulder the doubt back then, but now…”

She had wanted to reassure him. To tell him it would be okay, that it would turn out alright, the same way he tried to comfort her before.

“Ryan, if you can’t save… if you feel your life is in danger, in real danger, flee.”

“I can’t, Livia.” Not his style. “After the destruction of his island, your Thundering Daddy will shock everyone he can get his metal hands on. If I can’t defeat him, thousands will pay the price.”

“I know, but… there is still time to solve your save point’s problem. Restore that safety net at least.”

“I think I have a solution,” Ryan replied, though he doubted it would work. Still, it cost nothing to try. “Trust me on this.”

“I trust you with my life, Ryan… but I don’t want this to be the last time we see each other, you understand that?” She locked eyes with him, and he lost himself in the blue abyss of her gaze. “Promise me that you will come back to me, alright? Just… promise me.”

Ryan held her gaze for a while, before lightly kissing her. Her lips tasted like strawberry, soft and gentle to the touch. The contact lasted no more than a few furtive seconds, but the courier wished it had lasted a lifetime. “I will,” he promised. “I swear. Quicksave delivers, no matter how many tries it takes.”

It drew a tired grin from her. “Make sure to succeed in one go this time.”

The courier smiled to hide his own unease, before petting Eugène-Henry and Henriette one last time and exiting the room. He felt Livia’s worried gaze on his back as he closed the door behind him.

He found Len waiting outside the door, wearing her terrible jumpsuit and carrying her water rifle. “Shortie,” Ryan said. “You heard everything?”

“I didn’t mean to.” She looked at him with resolve. Although her eyes remained slightly red from dried tears, her body language appeared different… more confident. “Promise me you will come back too, Riri.”

“Can you stop raising death flags, please?” Ryan asked. He had the intuition every promise he made jinxed him further. “Fine, I promise I will come back if it makes you feel better.”

“I… I am already better.” Her smile had a sorrowful edge to it, but it was a smile all the same. “Thanks to you.”

“The thanks are all from me, Shortie,” Ryan replied. “You saved my life when you developed that mind-transfer tech. In more ways than you can count.”

“I told you before, Riri. What we have is more powerful than friendship. Whatever we are up against… I know we will face it together.” She bit her lower lips. “It’s… it’s what Dad would have wanted, I think. My… my real dad, I mean. Not what he became.”

Ryan examined her face closely. That bittersweet expression of someone who had found an answer to a lifelong question, though it had cost her a great deal. “You’ve made peace with yourself?” he asked her.

“I think so,” Len replied. Instead of looking away, as she usually did, she held his gaze. “I… I did all I could, Ryan. It’s hard to explain but… I don’t feel happy about my father’s death, but I don’t feel guilty anymore either.”

“I understand, Shortie. Believe me, I do.”

“For a long time, Riri, I thought it was my fault,” she admitted. “That dad… that dad wouldn’t have become a monster if I could defend myself. I wanted to return my father to normal because I loved him, and… because I blamed myself.”

“You don’t anymore?”

“No,” she replied while shaking her head. “What happened, happened. As you said to me once… there are things you can’t change. I tried the best I could. It’s… it’s time I move on. I can’t change the past, but I can improve the future.”

She had failed to save her father and would carry this pain all her life, but accepted that she couldn’t have changed anything.

Len Sabino had found closure.

“I… I’ve given some thoughts about what I should do now,” Len said. “I thought I would take the children away with me to the sea, but now...”

“But now you’ve changed your mind?”

“I… yes. I thought the world couldn’t change. That the surface could only get worse. But…” Her eyes shone with a hint of hope. “It’s getting better. We made it better.”

Ryan chuckled. “We did, yes.”

“If even Dynamis can change… I think the world can too.” Her cheeks blushed, as a shy grin formed on her lips. “I’ve… given thought about the Architect. She wants to create cities, to repopulate the countries devastated by the Genome Wars. I think I can help. Not just help Rust Town’s children, but all children across the globe. Make sure they grow up in better conditions than we did.”

“Good luck exporting the socialist revolution,” Ryan said with a chuckle, but deep down he couldn’t feel prouder of her. “But it’s good, Len. You’ll help countless people, and not only because of your power.”

Len frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You have a kind heart, Len, and that’s what matters most I think. Mechron, the Alchemist, even Fallout… they all had the power to make the world a better and more bountiful place, but they misused their gifts. Mechron made weapons, the Alchemist empowered the likes of Augustus, and Fallout lost sight of what truly mattered to him. But you, Shortie?”

Ryan grinned ear to ear.

“You will do great.”

She reddened so much that Ryan wondered if her inner commie had come out of hiding. He decided to tease her a bit. “Did I give you diabetes with mere words?”

Len answered his jab with a sisterly hug. He let her arms move around his back, and his around her. He listened to her slow breathing, as his mind wandered to his first family. It had been almost nine centuries since his parents perished at the hands of raiders, so long that he could barely remember how they looked, or even their names. Ryan had been twelve when Bloodstream and Len found him hiding in his home’s wreckage, a lost child with nothing.

Though he had lost a family of blood that day, he had gained another forged in sweat and tempered with struggles. A sister he loved dearly.

“Thanks, Riri,” Len said, before breaking the hug. “We can discuss our future after we win, alright?”

Yes, indeed.

After they won.

---

In the depths of Mechron’s bunker, Ryan laid on an operation table clad in his Saturn Armor as robotic arms repaired Fallout’s damage.

Since he wouldn’t have the opportunity to improve upon the design further, the courier had taken the opportunity to install a few upgrades. The most important of all was a system based on the mechanism his team’s Geniuses developed to discuss with Elixirs.

“Can you hear me?” he asked, his helmet’s lens shifting with the Elixirs’ rainbowy colors. A voice channel opened, as his armor’s computer translated his words into Flux signals.

The synthetic voice that answered through the channel was unlike the one he heard while in the Black World… but Ryan knew, deep within his bones, to whom it belonged.

“Ryan.”

His Elixir.

“You know, we’ve been together for a very long time,” Ryan said, wincing as a robot added a new chest plate on the armor. “Yet I never learned your name.”

The notion seemed to amuse the Elixir. “We emissaries do not have names,” it said. “You may call me however you wish.”

Ryan gave it some thought. Lightling? No, Darkling would get jealous. “How about Magenta?”

“Magenta?”

“Violet would have been too simple. Or maybe you would prefer the Color out of Space? Coos? Or the Color out of Time?”

The Elixir didn’t answer immediately, but when it did, it sounded quite pleased. “I like Magenta better,” it said. “Better than fuschia or purple. How long did you ponder that one?”

“Shouldn’t you already know? I mean, you are inside me.” Now that Ryan thought of it, it meant that his Elixir had experienced everything its host did...

“I am no peeper,” the entity answered, vaguely amused. “We have bonded for so long that I understand human thoughts better than the rest of my kind, but it remains a second language to me. Subtleties escape me… though I do know why you wanted to have this conversation.”

Ryan looked at the metal ceiling above his head. He could almost hear the Augusti troops marching above his head, hundreds of meters beyond the steel and dirt. “Why did you prevent me from saving?”

“I had nothing to do with it,” his Elixir admitted. “All Violet powers ultimately derive from the Ultimate One. As Darkling said, we are priests. We do not bring miracles; we can only ask for them.”

So Ryan had been right, it had been an Illuminati plot from the start. “Then let me rephrase myself: why did your boss prevent me from saving?”

“I do not know, but I can guess. Your connection to the Black has grown, Ryan. Before you could barely consume Fallout’s Red Flux, but now… now you could harm him directly.” His Elixir sounded quite concerned. “Black is a sword without a hilt. Unlike other Colors, it is as dangerous for its wielder as for its foes, and it feeds on the timelines you delete. If it grows too strong…”

“It will grow uncontrollable and destroy me. Powerful as it is now, it might cause my save to go wrong.” That would explain why the Ultimate One would prevent the courier from accessing his trump card, but the implications worried him greatly. “If I can neither create a new save point nor die, then what will it mean when I, say, die of old age?”

“I do not know, Ryan. But the Ultimate One sent you a message. To carry on until the end, and see what lies beyond victory. Maybe… maybe you won’t die at all. Maybe you will ascend instead.”

“I thought I closed that door when I refused to stay in the Black World?”

“Ascension is not an end, Ryan, but a process by which lesser lifeforms ascend into the cosmic beings inhabiting the higher realms. The door is always open.” His Elixir struggled to find the human words to explain the phenomenon. “I can hardly describe it. Each ascension is unique, and you are closer to it than most. The Hargraves lifeform too. He is trying to delay the process as long as he can, so he can stay on this Earth, but eventually, he will become a bright star in the sky. If he chooses to.”

Ryan marked a short pause. “Why me?” he asked. “Why am I closer?”

“Because power is not the only thing that conditions ascension, Ryan. Wisdom is another. This is why the creatures you fought in the Alchemist’s ship were denied this reward. Their eyes were small, and could see no further than themselves.”

“With cosmic powers come universal responsibilities?” the courier scoffed.

“Yes,” his Elixir answered softly, its voice full of pride. “We have been connected for centuries, Ryan, and you have grown with them. Time has no more secrets for you, and though the road was long and difficult, you have reached the end of your journey.”

It sounded like a teacher happy to see their student graduating, even though the final exam was yet to come.

“Do you think we can beat him? Augustus?” Though Ryan always projected confidence to others to keep their hopes up, his Elixir knew his thoughts. Lightning Butt was the strongest Genome the courier had ever faced, and this time he wouldn’t have a do-over if he failed. “Can the Black harm him now?”

Magenta was suddenly a lot less enthusiastic. “Augustus is made of the strongest material in creation, an indestructible metal invulnerable to non-conceptual abilities. Even if it has grown stronger, your other power will make it possible to defeat him, not easy.”

So it would be victory or death. Ryan’s Elixir must have read his thoughts, before it immediately tried to reassure him. “I have faith in you, Ryan. In us. I know we can make it.”

“I hope so too,” Ryan replied, right as the robots finished their work. The courier stepped on his feet, his steps echoing on the steel floor. “Any word of advice before we go in?”

“One.” The Elixir’s voice turned cold and deadly. “Don’t cheat on me.”

Ryan blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

“Now, I know you are a perfect specimen of Homo Sapiens with excellent genes, so I am not surprised that some of my kindred propositioned you.” Now the Elixir sounded positively jealous. “I am very proud that you resisted the lure of free bonding, but let this be clear: I will not tolerate Elixir bigamy. I didn’t carry you for over eight hundred years to share now.”

“Wait, can the Ultimate One grant divorces?” the courier asked playfully.

“That would be against my religion, but I can make this bonding a living hell.”

“I’m joking,” Ryan replied. “You’ve been my best bud since I was sixteen. I’m never cheating on you. Even with Darkling.”

“I know, Ryan. That was a joke too.” The Elixir sounded so serious and deadpan, that Ryan hadn’t noticed. “Was it funny?”

“You’ve still got a few years of practice ahead of you, but I’ll help.” Ryan put on a cashmere poncho over the armor, as he didn’t feel complete without it. “Till death do us part, then.”

“No, Ryan. Death is but a door, and the ending yet awaits us.” The Elixir marked a short pause, before uttering one final word. “Onward.”

Ryan cut off the communication and prepared to activate the bunker’s self-destruct mechanism, when he noticed a small, white shape in a corner of the room.

The Plushie stood on its two feet, gazing up at Ryan with its big, beautiful blue eyes. The creature didn’t make a sound, nor did ominous eldritch voices echo in the room. The monster that had haunted the courier’s nightmares and slaughtered its way across multiple loops now gazed at its maker with solemn silence. It looked… thoughtful, for a lack of a better word.

Almost sad.

“Why are you here, buddy?” Ryan asked, a little bit scared by its unusual behavior.

“Let’s go to Disneyland!” the creature replied with its paws raised, its sorrow swiftly replaced with malice and cruelty.

Ryan raised an eyebrow behind his helmet, before suddenly trying to remember Narcinia’s age… and failing. “No multiplication,” he warned while pointing a finger at the murderous lagomorph. “If you mess up my Perfect Run, I’m never letting you disembowel anyone again.”

“I am your friend!”

“You are.” God have mercy, they had become friends one rampage at a time. “Is it about sticking it to Lightning Butt?”

The rabbit slowly nodded, as Ryan had guessed. It wanted payback for its previous defeat, and now might be its last chance to deliver.

“Alright,” the courier said. He still owed the Plushie for saving him from Adam, after all. “Jump inside the backpack and let’s blow up Olympus. And maybe Dreamworks too, if we have enough time.”

The Plushie cried out in joy, and climbed on Ryan’s armor. The courier opened the backpack compartment, and the demonic toy vanished inside.

The courier glanced around the metallic chamber, almost with a sense of sadness. Though his team had already taken away all beneficial, non-lethal technology from the bunker, it still pained Ryan to condemn this place to destruction. The sheer potential of its accumulated knowledge, centuries ahead of its time...

But as Sunshine had said it, there were no right hands to use this power.

“I always wanted to say it,” Ryan muttered to himself, as he glanced at the room’s cameras. It had taken all his charm to convince Alchemo to program this specific order into Mechron’s mainframe. “Execute order Sixty-Six.”

An alarm immediately echoed across the bunker. “Self-destruct sequence initiated. Explosion expected in: six minutes.”

Ryan was outside in three, though he used his power to cheat.

When the countdown reached its end, the courier hovered above the empty Junkyard, watching on as Augusti cars crossed the checkpoints into Rust Town. With Dynamis’ collapse, the guards had been either recalled back to other areas, or simply deserted. Nobody opposed the criminal syndicate’s invasion.

Yet, no sooner had they crossed the border that the whole district trembled.

The quake wasn’t powerful enough to devastate Rust Town, but Ryan couldn’t say the same for the Junkyard. The open garbage den collapsed on itself, its ground falling down as explosions devastated the bunker hidden beneath it. Piles of cars and trash fell into a deep gaping hole, blowing a cloud of dust into the skies.

When the dirt fell down back to earth, only an abyss of smoking debris remained from the Junkyard. Though the rest of Rust Town remained intact, its major landmark had vanished. Ryan wondered if it would harm the local tourist industry.

A crimson light briefly glowed in the blue skies above, like a red star shining in its final death throes. The Bahamut satellite had self-destructed alongside its orbital command center, the sword of Damocles that had hung over New Rome shattering.

Mechron’s legacy would never haunt the world again.

This last loose end closed, Ryan turned to glance at Ischia Island. He noticed the shadow of Mechron’s submarine making its way there, ready to disembark troops. New Rome would have its own D-day, with a time-traveler leading the charge.

Len immediately established communication. “We’re waiting for you, Riri.”

And so, Quicksave flew on to his last battle.

“——自迪纳米斯仿制灵药的惊人内幕曝光，加上近期失去高价购得的超能力的原客户纷纷公开抗议，该公司的股价便一路下跌。”病房电视里的新闻主播说道。

女主播身后的屏幕上出现了阿尔方斯·马纳达引发爆炸的视频，瑞恩眯起了眼睛。画质糟透了，恐怕是受了辐射干扰，不过仍能看见双足飞龙和恩里克正飞向爆炸源。

“——迪纳米斯发言人证实，震撼旧港的爆炸由阿尔方斯·马纳达，代号‘辐尘’，一手造成。他采取这一行动的原因目前尚不明朗，不过双足飞龙已确认，这位如今的前副总裁已被安全制服，不再构成威胁——”

接下来的画面，是那个半机械人被弹射进太空的过程。录像只拍到了瑞恩和莉维娅的装甲，谢天谢地，后者的面容和身份都没有暴露。

“新任代理董事长恩里克·‘黑棘’·马纳达承诺，将对两起事件的受害者进行全额赔偿，并公开审判责任人。目前，公司员工对他采取的行动意见不一——”

“我还是不敢相信，他们居然全招了。”马蒂亚斯双臂交叉，坐在窗边的椅子上。瑞恩占着离莉维娅病床最近的座位，亨丽埃特在他脚边打着呼噜，欧仁-亨利则自作主张霸占了他的大腿。快递员脱下了受损的萨图恩装甲，换回那身时髦西装，至少修好装甲前得先这么穿着。“我还以为他们至少会粉饰一下真相，而不是……对媒体和盘托出。”

“这是必须的。”莉维娅答道。她穿着白色病号服，额头缠着绷带。她险些死在辐尘手里，多亏脑残动了手术，才没留下脑损伤，但仍要休养几天才能康复。“不肯承认错误，就不可能从中吸取教训。恩里克明白这一点，双足飞龙更明白。”

与辐尘一战过后，恩里克把他们送进了迪纳米斯的医院，由斯蒂奇和阿尔凯莫为他们疗伤。幸好，瑞恩发出的疏散警告起了作用。虽然阿尔方斯引爆自身时有些当地人受了伤，但无人丧命。完美通关得以保全。

至少眼下如此。

“至优者解散后，离职潮仍在持续。”新闻主播继续说道。“虽然双足飞龙承诺，会有一个——以下引用她的原话——‘清白的非营利执法组织’取而代之，但许多英雄的去向依然未定——”

瑞恩关掉电视。“离雷霆落下还有多久？”他问女友。

“没多久了。”她承认道，目光既望向窗外，也穿透了时间的帷幕。“事情发展得比我预想的快。伏尔甘已经离开了奥古斯蒂。父亲得知双足飞龙去见过她，已经下令杀她。”

瑞恩心头一紧。“她能逃过这一劫吗？”

莉维娅点了点头，让他松了口气。“幸好伏尔甘不傻，一直在监听我父亲的通讯。”

“可如果他已经开始清洗自己人了，那可不是好兆头。”马蒂亚斯皱眉道。

预言者缓缓点头。“辐尘落败、埃克托被捕，让他警觉起来了。”

“好事要是好得不像真的，多半就不是真的？”瑞恩猜道。

“对。他会出手夺取新罗马，但他已经嗅到了陷阱的气息。”莉维娅叹了口气。“他的部队随时可能开进锈镇……要是放任他们不管，他们就会找到地堡。”

“我会最后修一遍萨图恩装甲，然后毁掉基地。”瑞恩说着，从座位上站起。欧仁-亨利立刻从他腿上跳到了莉维娅腿上。“镜子，你去召集其他人。莉维娅，你留在这里。”

“留不了。”她咬着嘴唇答道。“尼普顿叔叔很快就会来接我，把我带到索伦托去。父亲正盘算着怎么毁掉迪纳米斯，不会让我住在他们的医院里。”

马蒂亚斯皱了皱眉，随后耸耸肩。“好吧，我们已经为这次进攻准备好几天了。没有你，我们也能办成。”

“真希望我能亲自督战。”莉维娅遗憾地说，“确保进攻顺利。”

“你可以远程督战。”马蒂亚斯指出，“我母亲就是这样指挥嘉年华的，效果很好。”

他居然愿意把指挥权交给莉维娅，这让瑞恩很意外。快递员猜想，亲眼见她为了保护新罗马、阻止辐尘而负伤，应该有助于他们建立信任。

“叔叔不会让我离开他的视线。”莉维娅双手交握，欧仁-亨利蹭着她的手指。“我……我会想办法找个空当。”

“不行。”瑞恩坚持道，“脑残既然说你该休息，你就得休息。不然他很可能会把你的脑子装进罐子里，你肯定不想那样。”

莉维娅噘起嘴。“瑞恩，你和大家在冒着生命危险收拾我家惹出来的烂摊子，我不能袖手旁观。”

“你也帮我们收拾了血流这个烂摊子，还有超能帮。”马蒂亚斯答道，“该轮到我们了。”

莉维娅皱起眉，还是不肯闲着。“我至少可以打几个电话。这一仗就像石头剪刀布，我能多找些克制对手的人手来。”

瑞恩眯起眼。“你是不是早就把一切都安排好了，好让最适合这次行动的人全都聚在一起？”

她回以一个狐狸般狡黠的笑容。“我要是没这么做，也太不配当预言者了。”

“我就喜欢你这副幕后主使的模样，躲在暗处牵线布局……”

“一切都在按计划进行。”她的笑容淡了下去。“希望如此。”

瑞恩看向半透明的朋友。“马蒂，能让我们单独待一会儿吗？”

“我去给其他人说明情况。”义警说完，便走了出去。

莉维娅与男友沉重地对视了一眼。“瑞恩，毁掉那座岛之后……”她清了清嗓子。“你就要立刻去找他，对不对？一个人去？”

“对。”前提是闪电屁股没有先来取他的脑袋。瑞恩估计，那疯子看见伊斯基亚岛化为一片烟火之后，就会亲自下山。“不会有事的。我不会杀他。”

“我担心的不是他的命。你没法存档。”

“没人告诉过你吗？”瑞恩勾起嘴角，笑容却有些勉强。“我是不死的。”

“别拿这个开玩笑！”

她突如其来的激烈反应让男友一怔，也惊醒了亨丽埃特。莉维娅闭上眼睛，却没能压住眼角涌出的泪水。狗狗开始舔她的手指，想要安慰她。她深吸一口气，抽泣起来。

“瑞恩，我爱的人就要去和我父亲交战了。他们之中可能会有一个再也回不来。”她再次睁开眼时，瑞恩看见了其中的恐惧与不安。“要么他杀了你，而你可能无法重来；要么你可能给他致命一击，再也无法挽回。而我什么都阻止不了。”

“莉维娅……”瑞恩刚开口。

她没让他说下去。“我知道你想安慰我，告诉我没事的，但不是这样。瑞恩，你妹妹刚刚亲手给父亲实施了安乐死，恩里克·马纳达逮捕了自己的父亲，又把哥哥放逐到了太空。就算他们都希望有另一种结局……他们还是接受了事实，接受了事情只能这样。可我……我还是接受不了，瑞恩。”

瑞恩静静听着，没有打断，让她把压在心上的话都说出来。他没有用言语作答，只在床边坐下，轻轻替她拭去泪水。

“我害怕，瑞恩。”她坦白道，把他的手握在掌心，紧紧攥住他的手指。“我害怕，是因为我看见了它可能怎样结束，却看不见它究竟会怎样结束。我……我以为自己想要意外，想要出乎预料，可……不是这样的。”

“莉维娅，还记得前几天晚上在餐厅，你对我说过什么吗？”瑞恩问道，试着让她安心。“你说是终极者指引我们走到了一起，我该继续走下去，看看它为我安排了什么。即使我无法存档。”

“我是说过。”莉维娅叹息着承认，“那时我以为自己能承受这份不确定，可现在……”

她那时是想让他安心。想告诉他不会有事，最后一切都会好起来，就像他刚才试图安慰她一样。

“瑞恩，如果你没法存档……如果你觉得自己有生命危险，真正的生命危险，就逃吧。”

“我不能，莉维娅。”那不是他的风格。“岛一毁，你那个雷霆老爸就会把金属爪子够得着的人全电一遍。我要是打不倒他，就会有成千上万人付出代价。”

“我知道，可是……还有时间解决你存档点的问题。至少先把那道保险找回来。”

“我想我有个办法。”瑞恩答道，尽管他也怀疑那能否奏效。不过试试总没有损失。“这件事上，相信我。”

“我连命都愿意交给你，瑞恩……可我不想让这成为我们最后一次见面，你明白吗？”她直视着他，他沉入了她目光中那片蔚蓝的深渊。“答应我，你会回到我身边，好吗？只要……答应我。”

瑞恩与她对视片刻，随后轻轻吻了她。她的唇带着草莓的味道，触感温柔而柔软。这个吻只有短短几秒，快递员却希望它能持续一生。“我会的。”他许诺道，“我发誓。不管得试多少次，快存总能送达。”

这让她露出一丝疲倦的笑。“这次可一定要一次成功。”

快递员用笑容掩住自己的不安，最后摸了摸欧仁-亨利和亨丽埃特，走出了病房。关上身后的门时，他能感觉到莉维娅担忧的目光仍落在他背上。

蕾恩正在门外等他，穿着那套糟糕的连体服，带着水枪。“小矮个，”瑞恩说，“你都听见了？”

“我不是故意的。”她坚定地看着他。泪水虽干，眼睛仍有些泛红，但她的举止显得不一样了……更有自信。“也答应我，你会回来，瑞瑞。”

“能不能别再给我立死亡旗了？”瑞恩问。他有种预感，每许下一个承诺，自己就更倒霉一分。“好吧，我答应你，我会回来。如果这样能让你好受一点的话。”

“我……我已经好多了。”她的笑容带着一丝悲伤，但终究是笑容。“多亏了你。”

“该道谢的是我，小矮个。”瑞恩答道，“你开发出那套意识转移技术，救了我的命。你救我的地方，多得数也数不清。”

“我早就说过了，瑞瑞。我们之间的感情比友谊更强大。不管遇到什么……我知道，我们都会一起面对。”她咬住下唇。“我想……爸爸也会希望这样。我的……我是说，我真正的爸爸。不是他后来变成的那个样子。”

瑞恩仔细端详着她的脸。那表情苦乐参半，像一个终于为毕生疑问找到了答案的人，尽管为此付出了巨大的代价。“你跟自己和解了？”他问。

“我想是的。”蕾恩答道。这一次，她没有像往常那样避开目光，而是与他对视。“我……我已经尽力了，瑞恩。这很难解释，但是……父亲死了，我并不开心，可我也不再内疚了。”

“我明白，小矮个。相信我，我真的明白。”

“很长一段时间里，瑞瑞，我都觉得是我的错。”她承认道，“觉得爸爸……如果我能保护自己，爸爸就不会变成怪物。我想让父亲恢复正常，是因为我爱他，也……因为我一直在责怪自己。”

“现在不怪了？”

“不怪了。”她摇摇头，“发生了就是发生了。就像你以前对我说过的……有些事是改变不了的。我已经尽了最大的努力。是……是时候往前走了。我改变不了过去，但我能让未来变得更好。”

她没能救回父亲，这份痛苦会伴随她一生，但她已经接受了自己无力改变这一切的事实。

蕾恩·萨比诺终于释怀了。

“我……我想过，接下来该做什么。”蕾恩说，“原本我是想带孩子们一起到海里去，可现在……”

“可现在你改主意了？”

“我……对。我以为世界不会改变，以为地面上的情况只会越来越糟。可是……”她眼中闪着一丝希望。“它正在变好。是我们让它变好了。”

瑞恩轻笑一声。“没错，是我们。”

“如果连迪纳米斯都能改变……我想，世界也可以。”她脸颊微红，唇边浮起羞怯的笑意。“我……想过建筑师的事。她想建造城市，让那些被基因者战争摧毁的国家重新有人居住。我觉得我能帮忙。不只是帮锈镇的孩子，而是帮全世界的孩子。让他们成长的环境比我们当年更好。”

“那就祝你输出社会主义革命顺利了。”瑞恩笑着说，心底却为她骄傲得无以复加。“不过这样很好，蕾恩。你会帮助无数人，而且不只是靠你的能力。”

蕾恩皱起眉。“什么意思？”

“你有一颗善良的心，蕾恩，我觉得这才是最重要的。梅克隆、炼金术师，甚至辐尘……他们本来都有能力让世界变得更美好、更富足，可他们用错了自己的天赋。梅克隆制造武器，炼金术师把力量给了奥古斯都之流，辐尘则忘了对自己真正重要的是什么。可你呢，小矮个？”

瑞恩笑得嘴都咧到了耳根。

“你会做得很棒。”

她红得如此厉害，瑞恩不禁怀疑，是不是她内心那个共产主义分子终于不藏着了。他决定逗逗她。“我光说几句话，就甜得你得糖尿病了？”

蕾恩用一个妹妹给哥哥的拥抱回应了他的打趣。他任她双臂环住自己的后背，也伸手抱住了她。他听着她缓缓的呼吸，思绪飘向自己最初的家。父母死在劫掠者手里，距今已经将近九个世纪，久到他几乎记不起他们的模样，甚至记不起他们的名字。血流和蕾恩在家宅废墟中找到躲藏的他时，瑞恩才十二岁，只是个失魂落魄、一无所有的孩子。

那一天，他失去了血脉相连的家人，却又得到了另一份亲情，由汗水铸就，经磨难淬炼。他得到了一个深爱的妹妹。

“谢谢你，瑞瑞。”蕾恩说着，松开了拥抱。“等我们赢了，再谈以后的事，好吗？”

对，没错。

等他们赢了。

---

梅克隆地堡深处，瑞恩身穿萨图恩装甲，躺在一张手术台上，机械臂正修复辐尘造成的损坏。

以后再也没有机会进一步改进设计了，快递员便趁机装上了几项升级。其中最重要的是一套系统，以队里天才们研发的灵药交流机制为基础。

“听得见我吗？”他问。头盔的镜片变幻着灵药般的虹彩。语音频道开启，装甲电脑将他的话转译成通量信号。

频道里传来的合成语音，与他在黑色世界听见的声音不同……但瑞恩骨子里就知道，那是谁的声音。

“瑞恩。”

他的灵药。

“说起来，我们在一起已经很久了。”一个机器人将新的胸甲板装到装甲上，瑞恩龇了龇牙，“可我还不知道你叫什么。”

灵药似乎觉得这念头很有趣。“我们这些使者没有名字。”它说，“你想怎么叫我都可以。”

瑞恩琢磨了一下。光灵？不行，暗灵会吃醋的。“品红怎么样？”

“品红？”

“叫紫色就太简单了。还是你更喜欢星之彩？简称COOS？或者时之彩？”

灵药没有马上回答，不过等它开口时，听起来倒是很高兴。“我更喜欢品红。”它说，“比紫红或紫色都好。这个名字你想了多久？”

“你不是应该早就知道了吗？毕竟你就在我体内。”瑞恩这才想到，这就意味着，他的灵药经历过宿主经历的一切……

“我没有偷窥的癖好。”那存在回答，隐约带着笑意。“我们结合了这么久，我对人类思想的理解的确比其他同类更深，但对我来说，那依然是一门外语。有些微妙之处我领会不了……不过，我确实知道你为什么想和我谈话。”

瑞恩看着头顶的金属天花板。他几乎能听见，隔着数百米的钢铁与泥土，奥古斯蒂的部队正在上方行进。“你为什么不让我存档？”

“这件事与我无关。”他的灵药坦言道。“所有紫系能力，归根结底都源自终极者。就像暗灵说的，我们是祭司。我们不能带来奇迹，只能祈求奇迹。”

看来瑞恩猜对了，从一开始这就是光明会的阴谋。“那我换个问法：你老板为什么不让我存档？”

“我不知道，但我能猜到一些。瑞恩，你与黑色之力的联系加深了。以前你只能勉强吞噬辐尘的红色通量，但现在……现在你已经能直接伤到他。”他的灵药听上去相当担忧。“黑色之力是一把没有剑柄的剑。与其他颜色不同，它对持剑者和敌人同样危险，而且以你删除的时间线为食。如果它变得太强……”

“就会失控，把我也毁了。以它现在的强度，可能会让我的存档出问题。”这或许能解释终极者为什么不让快递员动用这张王牌，但其中的含义令他深感不安。“如果我既不能建立新的存档点，也不能死，那比方说，等我老死的时候，会怎么样？”

“我不知道，瑞恩。但终极者给过你一个讯息：继续前进，走到最后，看看胜利之后还有什么。也许……也许你根本不会死，而是会升格。”

“我还以为，我拒绝留在黑色世界的时候，就已经关上那扇门了？”

“升格不是一个终点，瑞恩，而是低等生命升为高层领域中的宇宙存在的过程。那扇门永远敞开。”他的灵药艰难地寻找人类语言里的词，来解释这种现象。“这很难描述。每一次升格都独一无二，而你比绝大多数生命都更接近它。哈格雷夫斯那个生命体也是。他正在尽量拖延这个过程，好留在地球上，但最终，他会成为天空中一颗明亮的星。只要他愿意。”

瑞恩顿了片刻。“为什么是我？”他问，“为什么我更接近？”

“因为力量并不是决定升格的唯一条件，瑞恩。智慧也是。这就是你在炼金术师船上交战过的那些生物没能得到这份奖赏的原因。它们眼界狭窄，看不见自身以外的事物。”

“有了宇宙级的能力，就得负宇宙级的责任？”快递员嗤笑道。

“是的。”他的灵药轻声回答，声音里满是骄傲。“我们相连了许多个世纪，瑞恩，你也在岁月中成长。时间对你已再无秘密。虽然道路漫长而艰难，但你的旅程已经走到了尽头。”

那语气就像一位老师，欣慰地看着学生即将毕业，尽管最后的考试还没到来。

“你觉得我们能打赢他吗？奥古斯都？”瑞恩总是在别人面前表现得自信满满，好让他们不失去希望，可他的灵药知道他心里在想什么。闪电屁股是快递员对付过的最强基因者，而这一次，失败了就没有重来的机会。“黑色之力现在能伤到他吗？”

品红的热情骤然减退。“奥古斯都的身体由世间最坚固的物质构成，那是一种不可摧毁的金属，非概念性能力无法伤及分毫。即便你的另一种力量变强了，它也只是让打败他成为可能，而不是变得容易。”

所以，不成功，便成仁。瑞恩的灵药想必读到了他的念头，立刻试图让他安心。“我对你有信心，瑞恩。对我们有信心。我知道我们能做到。”

“但愿如此。”瑞恩回答。机器人恰在此时完成了工作。快递员起身站好，脚步声回荡在钢铁地面上。“出发前，有什么忠告吗？”

“有一条。”灵药的声音陡然冰冷，杀气腾腾。“不许背着我出轨。”

瑞恩眨了眨眼。“你说什么？”

“我知道，你是一个基因优秀的完美智人个体，所以有同类向你示爱，我并不意外。”这回灵药的声音简直醋意十足。“你抵挡住了自由结合的诱惑，我很骄傲。但有一点必须说清楚：我绝不容忍灵药重婚。我带了你八百多年，可不是为了现在拿出来跟别人分享的。”

“等等，终极者能批准离婚吗？”快递员戏谑地问。

“那违背我的宗教信仰。不过，我可以把这段结合变成活地狱。”

“开个玩笑。”瑞恩答道，“从我十六岁起，你就是我最好的搭档。我永远不会背着你出轨。暗灵也不行。”

“我知道，瑞恩。我刚才也是在开玩笑。”灵药的语气太过严肃，太过一本正经，瑞恩根本没听出来。“好笑吗？”

“你还得练上几年，不过我会帮你的。”瑞恩在装甲外披上羊绒披风，没有它，他总觉得少了点什么。“那就，直到死亡将我们分开。”

“不，瑞恩。死亡不过是一扇门，终点仍在前方等着我们。”灵药短暂停顿，最后只说了一句。“前进。”

瑞恩切断通讯，正准备启动地堡的自毁装置，却注意到房间角落里有个小小的白色身影。

毛绒玩偶两脚站立，仰着那双美丽的蓝色大眼睛望着瑞恩。它没有出声，房间里也没有回荡起不祥的诡异低语。这个曾经盘踞在快递员噩梦中、在多轮循环里一路大开杀戒的怪物，此刻正庄严而沉默地望着创造者。它看起来……像是在沉思，一时也找不到更贴切的词了。

甚至有点悲伤。

“你怎么在这里，伙计？”瑞恩问，多少有点被它反常的举动吓到了。

“我们去迪士尼乐园吧！”它举起爪子回答，悲伤转眼便被恶意与残忍取代。

瑞恩在头盔后挑起一边眉毛，忽然努力回想纳尔西妮娅的年龄……没想起来。“不许繁殖。”他伸手指着这只嗜杀的兔形动物，警告道，“你要是毁了我的完美通关，我就再也不许你给任何人开膛破肚了。”

“我是你的朋友！”

“你是。”上帝垂怜，他们竟然在一次次暴走杀戮中成了朋友。“是想找闪电屁股算账？”

兔子缓缓点头，正如瑞恩所料。它想为上次的落败复仇，而眼下也许就是最后的机会。

“好吧。”快递员说。毕竟毛绒玩偶曾从亚当手里救过他，他还欠着这份人情。“跳进背包，我们去炸了奥林匹斯。要是时间够，说不定还能顺手炸个梦工厂。”

毛绒玩偶欢叫一声，爬上了瑞恩的装甲。快递员打开背包舱，那个恶魔玩具钻了进去，不见了踪影。

快递员环顾金属舱室，心中几乎有些伤感。队友已经把地堡里所有有益、非致命的科技都带走了，可要亲手宣判这地方的毁灭，瑞恩依然心痛。这里积累的知识领先时代数百年，潜力何其巨大……

但正如阳光所说，这种力量，无论交到谁手里都不合适。

“我早就想说这句了。”瑞恩望向房间里的摄像头，自言自语道。为了说服阿尔凯莫把这道特定指令编入梅克隆的主机，他可是使出了浑身魅力。“执行六十六号令。”

警报立刻响彻地堡。“自毁程序已启动。预计爆炸倒计时：六分钟。”

瑞恩三分钟就出去了，当然，他用能力作了弊。

倒计时归零时，快递员正悬停在空无一人的废料场上空，看着奥古斯蒂的车辆穿过检查站，开进锈镇。随着迪纳米斯的崩塌，守卫不是被调回其他地区，就是干脆开了小差。无人抵挡这个犯罪集团的入侵。

然而，他们刚刚越过边界，整个区便颤抖起来。

这场震动还不足以摧毁锈镇，但废料场可就另当别论了。地下的爆炸撕碎了藏在那里的地堡，地面向下塌陷，露天垃圾场随之垮了下去。成堆的汽车和垃圾落入深不见底的巨坑，扬起漫天尘土。

尘埃落定时，废料场只剩下一口堆满冒烟残骸的深渊。锈镇其余地方完好无损，可它最主要的地标就此消失了。瑞恩不禁琢磨，这会不会影响当地的旅游业。

高处的蓝天中，一点猩红的光短暂闪耀，像一颗红色星辰在最后的垂死挣扎中放出光芒。巴哈姆特卫星连同它的轨道指挥中心一并自毁，悬在新罗马头顶的达摩克利斯之剑，终于碎了。

梅克隆的遗产再也不会威胁这个世界。

收拾完这最后一个隐患，瑞恩转头望向伊斯基亚岛。他看见梅克隆潜艇的影子正朝那里驶去，准备让部队登陆。新罗马也将迎来自己的登陆日，由一名时间旅行者率先冲锋。

蕾恩立刻接通了通讯。“我们在等你，瑞瑞。”

于是，快存飞向了他的最后一战。