I awoke at dawn, sleeping on a cushion in what appeared to be the living room of the house. Felix and Ella were still asleep, as revealed by the door to the only room left intact still closed. I wondered what their relationship was. Perhaps they knew each other from before, either that or they've lost restraint due to the apocalypse.

I tidied up the cushions and blanket, placing them neatly on a high place. Sunshine peeked through the broken walls and windows, illuminating the room. I grabbed my bag. I had fixed it yesterday, adding a few more vines for strength. I exited through the kitchen.

Once outside, I immediately checked around for any sign of those machines. They seldom came out from Utopia, preferring to use the scouts they have instead, but I was still cautious.

Seeing no sign of either danger in the distance, I set my destination in mind and began. Thanks to the shoes I'd found inside, I was a bit less worried about the glass and rubble on the road.

'What happened yesterday?' The thought came naturally and intertwined with my knowledge before the apocalypse. The more I delved into the past, the more my conviction to enter the city just a few kilometers from here - Utopia- grew.

I scavenged around a few buildings towards my destination, finding nothing to compensate for my efforts. Everything around was either broken or empty. Continuing around the once familiar neighborhood, I reached a block I know well.

I stared at the decaying house in front of me, my hands reaching towards my ring. The plants I had grown here were long overgrown, twisting around the house in a need for more space. And the vines had grown sturdy enough to keep the house from falling apart.

'You're still alive... right?' Tears formed in the corner of my eyes before I wiped them off.

After taking a deep breath, I entered the house. The memories I shared with her resurfaced as the door creaked open. I took a step into our home, into the adventures I shared with her.

Even with the plants holding the walls, it seemed like just a bit of force could cause it to collapse. Cracks formed along the walls in networks, and dust and rubble blew off whenever a light wind passed. Nervous, I turned back, paused, then sighed and continued walking inside.

As I walked out of the living room and into the corridor, I passed by two empty guest rooms, which were supposed to be the kids' bedrooms. We never got around to having children.

Advancing further, I passed by the bathroom, then pushed open the door to our room. Lying on the bed was a very old newspaper.

"Locally scientist cr..." Was about all I could make out before the words turned blurry.

Looking around, I was surprised at the emptiness inside. There was no clothing, no belongings, not even any of the photo albums we had. The only thing that was off any value to me was a picture of us two on the wall.

"Were her ears always that small?" I chuckled to myself as I stared at the picture.

Interestingly, there were a few details that I remembered wrongly about her, one of which was her ears. The other was the lack of any piercings on her, which was weird because I always remembered her with earrings.

Snapped out of my stupor by the dust falling on my head, I continued exploring for what I mainly came for. After searching and rummaging through the room for a few minutes, I finally found the keys that I had been looking for.

I don't know whether they'll be any helpful, nor do I know I'd I survive long enough to use them, but I'd be prepared. Sighing, I left the crumbling building with a small picture of her.

Returning to base, I kept sure to stay out of the sight of any potential scout or machine.

I returned around late morning, having been out for what I think is an hour or two. Both Felix and Ella were awake, with the latter being deeply in thought, and Felix was tapping and twirling around the house.

"Happy?" I asked Felix, who seemed taken aback by my presence.

" Yep, I finally have someone to talk to." He answered

His response elicited a smile from me.

"What about Ella?" I asked him

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"She's mostly quiet," he replied," and talking to the same person for months does get tiresome."

" You should be thankful," I retorted. "Being alone for months isn't any better."

" Yeah yeah", His easy going attitude was slightly troublesome."Where were you earlier?" He asks

"Scavenging some clothes, food and water," I lied

Felix didn't dwell too long on the subject, accepting what I said. He went over to where they kept the food, using a key to open the cupboard. Taking out a snack and two fruits. He tried tossing one of them to Ella but hit me square in the face.

"I thought you said you never miss!?" I shouted, passing the fruit to Ella.

He stayed silent, finding no retaliation against his own words. His expression turned more serious as he locked the cupboard again.

" We're running out of food." Those dreaded words were spoken.

" We cleaned out the area," Ella spoke for once. " There's no more food around."

" At best, there's probably a little more than 3 days' worth." Felix says.

My expression turned sour, I had been off-putting the need to enter Utopia for as long as possible.

" We'll have to go there," I told them.

" To the machines?" Felix asked

" Yeah, it's the best shot we have."

Ella stood up, walking towards me.

" You told me we'd get answers." She accused

I nodded my head slowly, getting at what she wanted.

" Explain."

I stayed silent, conflicting with myself over such sensitive issues. Both companions looked at me, Ella's gaze harsher and demanding, while Felix was curious and perhaps slightly distrusting.

I could've just answered that I was guessing, but the ones who saved my life probably deserved a better answer.

I excused myself, promising to give them the answer once I returned.

Exiting once more from the house, I went in the opposite direction from when I did this morning, traveling once more towards the borders of Utopia.

I jumped the hurdles of rock and debris, traveling along the shadows. I used the same road that I had encountered the AI on the previous day. Passing where Felix, Emma, and I first met. The robotic body we left lying on the ground was no longer there.

Finally, I reached a passage hidden well from the world and looked towards the empty, grassy plains leading to the city.

' You're still alive... right?' I asked, fearing the answer.

I embraced the eerie silence over the possibilities my mind was telling me.

'It's been hard without you'. The thoughts continued.

'Years without anyone to help me, years alone, years without you...'.

The towers in the distance reflected the light brightly, and I swear I saw her smiling on one of them.

' Even if you were alive, do I still know you after 5 years?' A deep sense of fear and sorrow invaded me.

' Have I become a stranger to the one person I love?' I asked myself such, but even my memory of her had been fading away the last 2 years.

Each day, the will to live decreased, the only comfort I had being the ring on my hand, yet even that I fear had lost its meaning over the years. And similarly to my will, the ring loses its shine each day.

The image changed on the tower. The reflection of the sun blinded me from seeing it, but the sound broke my heart further.

" Jackson, where's Jackson!?" She screamed, the silence carried a sound only possible in memory.

My eyes turn blurry from a mixture of tears and light, though my mind persists to see it.

" I'm sorry," she said, being dragged away. She murmured a few more times while being dragged away.

" It... wasn't your fault." I croaked in between sobs. Using the walls, I crouched down slowly.

Once more, the reflection changed. This time, it changed to one of those machines, lying down dead. My memories shifted towards the first incident, and its words were eerily similar to the one yesterday.

" Forgive us, we've forgiven you..." It said before it lay down dead.

I sobbed silently for a while. The images disappeared on the reflection. After what felt like an eternity, I stood up and looked in the distance.

" I'll find you." I croaked out, trying to ignore the possibility of her being dead. I turned back towards the house, certain of what I had to do.

Wiping what was left of my tears, I arrived towards the house. Ella and Felix were seated, discussing whether or not they'll trust me to lead them into Utopia.

I sat in front of them, on a stool beside the table.

"I'll tell you." I took the initiative, holding my tears back as I began to explain.

" I'm sure you've all thought of the cause of this?" They nodded.

" And I'm sure you know of Dr. Serah, the inventor of the AI?" They nodded, Felix's eyes turning slightly hostile.

" It was her, wasn't it!" Felix exclaimed. I found myself holding back the impulse to lash at him.

" That's my fiance you're accusing."

Their jaws dropped, and they started to notice the ring on my hand.

I took a few breaths and continued.

" She didn't cause this," I told them.

Felix stired a bit more, and Ella's expression has become more serious.

" Who did?" He asks me with malice in his voice, a contrast to what I had seen of him so far.

" I... don't know," I answered, " What would it help to know anyway?"

" What do you mean you don't know!?". Felix exclaimed.

Ella took to calming him slightly, whispering something to him before I continued.

"As I was saying, Serah created the AI without such an intent to happen."

"Where is she now? Dead?" Ella asked.

" No...well..." My speech faltered. "I don't think so."

Felix chimed back in, " What do you mean you don't think so? Where is she?"

" Remember when I told you we'd get answers in Utopia?" Their eyes widened at my words, connecting the dots at my words.

" The machines took her after the first incident, and I never saw her after that." I said.

"How do you know she's not dead then?" Ella asks.

" They aren't so cruel as to harm their creator, and I haven't seen her as a scout anywhere in these five years."

" You think she's being held?" Felix questioned.

" I don't know."

The conversation turned silent at my last words, with both characters digesting what I just told them. I left them in silence and walked outside for some air. Felix, calmed after a few minutes, came to join me.

" You okay?"He asked me.

"Yeah." I answered

We both sat in silence, looking over at the setting sun in the distance. The world turned a shade of orange. After a while, I entered the house again. Ella brought me some water and an apple.

"You really think she's in there? " They asked.

" She has to be..." My words trembled slightly.

The atmosphere stayed heavy as dusk turned to night.

" We're leaving Tommorow." I told both of them. They agreed, though clear worry was written on their faces.

'We don't have a choice,' I thought to myself, considering our lack of food supply.

I found myself sitting beside a fire. This time, however, it was not Felix, but me who made it. Both my companions came to join me a few minutes later.

"Beginning tomorrow, we face the machines." I told them.

It would've been a lie to say that we've gone and faced the AI directly. Except for the initial uprising, the machines had never often gone out to look for people. Rather, they lured them in using other means.

The remaining time was spent in silence. The flames crackled as I looked towards stars. They seemed dimmer than usual, but with a persistent glow against everything. As the flames burned out, we entered back inside and fell asleep with a sense of dread for tomorrow. It took a while to fall asleep.

***

??? POV

In the same world, yet seemingly decades apart. A woman sat inside a tall, extravagant tower, dressed in luxurious clothing and looking out the window. The stars glimmered and sent messages to her, reminding her that one day she would be free.

"Jackson..."Serah murmured.