Pain. Horrible, distinct, pain.
Mason had hoped that the pain in his heart had stopped, that he would feel that everything was going to be fine, that everything is okay and right. Nothing was right, and nothing was okay. If anything, it just got worse.
He awoke in a hospital like room, with bandages covering up most of his entire body. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak, he could only listen for sounds and noises. He felt his energy shot, and his entire right side burned greatly.
He guessed that this was deserving for him. He could've done more, he should've done more, he thought. The pain of losing him was still fresh, the slash mark on his heart still gushing blood and anger and sadness.
Even the slightest breeze disturbed his side, and whenever the doctors that Catalyst had entrusted Mason to open the door, he felt like his eyes were going to bleed. The brightness of the outside was far too bright for him.
Mason blamed himself so much. He was left alone in a dark room, his friends not allowed in due to the boson energy they have, and Mason would have to heal before going outside, even as someone that could harness the energy.
Since Hannah was his sister though, Catalyst made sure that she could see him. Mason had asked when they got here, and apparently it was right after Mason was rushed to the hospital, sometime after The Machine and B-64's fight with B-01.
The military had responded quickly enough. Right after Mason had passed out the military arrived. Catalyst had told them everything, and being as high in the government as he was, he directed them to rush Mason to the hospital.
Catalyst had Ion's backup restored as well into a new body, though Mason was saddened to hear what the backup meant. The original Ion, the one that froze and was glitching out slightly, was dead. There was no longer that version of Ion.
The backup was merely a copy of that consciousness. Technically alive, and their own individual, but not the same. Mason had nearly teared up again at that point. Not only was B-64 a casualty, but Ion to.
For the most part, Mason rested in the room. With small, introductory doses of Red-Boson Energy, he could heal at five times the normal rate, and with some top of the line technology on the Protogens part, they could definitely rebuild that side of his body.
But it would take a long time, and even longer before he could do anything else but rest.
Mason wasn't ashamed to admit he cried a lot after the whole fiasco. Through the nights, into the mornings and sometimes the entire day. He cried so hard that he could no longer cry, or his vocal cords were shot.
He sometimes chided himself, saying that he shouldn't be this hung up. He only knew B-64 for a little over a week, maybe two. He couldn't really remember. The point being, he should not be this emotional.
But he was. No matter how many times he scolded himself, no matter how many times he attempted to stop feeling this way, he always returned to the same sentiment. He lost someone he cared about, someone who cared about him.
Someone he loved more than a friend, more than a best friend.
He wished he had more time, even for just a few minutes. And nothing, nothing pained him more than that. In B-64's last moments, he wasn't there by his side, he wasn't even near him. He was hiding, like a scared and abused feral.
Was it his fault? No, it wasn't. Everyone that could hear his thoughts knew it was not his fault that it had happened, he couldn't do anything they said, but it still didn't stop Mason from feeling horrible about not being there.
The days soon turned to weeks, and the light in the room steadily increased to something akin to sunlight. Mason had adjusted relatively well, though he still needed the badges on his side. He could move now, at least.
And his friends were now allowed to visit, something that actually managed to cheer him up. Hannah was the only thing that stopped him from going stir crazy in the first three weeks.
"Hey man..." Axel muttered, waving his hand in an awkward hello. Mason smiled even though it hurt, his ears perking up slightly at the sight of his friends. Marissa was soon to follow, along with what looked like a mechanical lizard.
"This is... Well, this is-" Axel attempted before stopping himself. There was no real use.
"My name is Epitome. I am currently your working physician to make sure that you heal properly." Epitome said, his mechanical body as seamless as skin. Mason raised an eyebrow, turning his head to look at the Synth.
"I-I'm-" Mason started, but stopped as Epitome raised a hand and smiled warmly, stopping him.
"I understand who you are. Quite the brave soul, I must admit. Marissa, if you will." He turned to Marissa, who handed him a small packet, after waving hello to Mason. Mason smiled as she did so, finding that his friends still cared for him heartwarming.
"I'm planning on allowing the doctors to administer Relic-1, a new type of bio-enhancement produced by Ion, and surprisingly, Axel here. It doubles as a catalyst for healing, as well as an upgrade that can flawlessly integrate itself with its host system." The Synth told him, leafing through the packet.
"W-What does that mean?" Mason asked, coughing as his voice hadn't been used in a long time. The Synth smiled a patient smile.
"It means that you might be able to get out of here much sooner than possible before." He stated simply, "Here, I'll leave you with this. I believe your friends want to tell you about what has been happening out there, if you're ready, of course." He waited for Mason's approval.
Mason nodded, though he felt a little apprehensive. What was happening outside?
Epitome nodded and soon left the room, with a goodbye bow to all three. Axel scoffed at the gesture, Mason gave a faint, if fake, smile and Marissa was pleasantly pleased with the grace of the lizard.
Axel gave a content sigh, cracking his knuckles while observing his friend, "It's been a wild ride, to say the least. After the fight with... with B-01, Catalyst managed to get enough protogen together to talk to the council."
Marissa interjected, "With what happened out there, a lot of the public wasn't happy with the council allowing B-01 to destroy an entire planet. I guess they've been pretty shitty rulers and leaders these past few centuries." Marissa finished with a warm smile.
Mason gave a small, 'huh'. Axel sighed, pushing his hands together, "It's been rough too. Me and Marissa have been dealing with Hannah. She's really missing you, you know?" Mason nodded, remembering Hannah's sad little face the last time she left, which was over a week ago.
"You guys... Aren't too hung up with earth being... Destroyed?" Mason asked, pausing for air as he talked. He really wasn't used to talking again. He'd better change that.
"After like, two months? Nah, pretty much everyone's dead already. At least it was relatively quick, and-" Axel paused, biting his lip and just sat back in his chair, not making another sound.
"W-What's wrong?" Mason asked, beginning to get worried again. Marissa noticed that, and decided that it was about time Mason heard what they have been doing.
"See, Axel here has been taken under Ion and Catalyst's wing. He's helping them work on something that could, in theory, bring back a Earth." Marissa said, taking extra care to pronounce the A.
"Wait, w-what?" Mason asked, bolting straight up and regretting it almost instantly.
Axel was knocked out of his stupor by Mason's pain, and once understanding what he was responding to, Axel answered him, "That green shit that B-01 was producing? We've dubbed it Green-Boson Energy. Like the others, it pertains to a certain aspect of physics or universality."
"But, this one has great control over time. Now, we can't bring back our earth, because it would need to reverse the beam, thus bringing back B-01. And we can't do that because, you know..." Axel trailed off, not wanting to say B-64's name.
Mason couldn't blame him. He barely wanted to think of his name. All he wanted to was just to snuggle and cu-
Mason cut off his train of thought, sniffling a little. No, he needed to get over this. Even if it took a couple decades, he will get over this. And to do that, he needed to face his demons.
"Because it would bring B... B-64 back. Undoing everything we've done in the process." Mason finished for him, rubbing his left hand with his right in an attempt to stop the sniffles with just saying the name.
"Yes... If that were the case, we would reverse everything we've done this few months. Including you, all memories of this, and just... We need more time, to be honest, but we have a working theory." Axel stated, nervously twitching his fingers.
"You saw those weird shadowy things expelled by that light, right?" Marissa asked, toying with her upgrade knife, "Well, apparently B-64 and B-01 ripped such a massive hole in reality, that the theoretical concepts of ideas and thoughts, such as time, reality, death and the like, were given form and life."
"What?"
"The opposite of Green Boson Energy is Yellow Boson Energy, distance. Without matter, there wouldn't be distance, and without distance there would be no matter. Without matter or distance, there would be no time. What we think we can do is combine the two, and create a..." He thought for a moment.
"A specific region locked in time, so to speak. With this, we can rip a whole through our universe, and well... Drag another Earth into our own universe through locked time and distance formulas."
Mason blinked.
For once, he didn't think about B-64 when they spoke. And despite not really grasping on what Axel was saying, Mason began to understand what that could entail. If they could drag another earth...
They theoretically could drag another B-64.
Mason paused for a moment, considering the idea. His face turned blank as he thought more and more about, would he really be willing to take another universe's B-64 for his own? In this current motion of time, B-64 is either dead, or alive and with Mason or some other person, or is still important to the Protogen Empire.
If he took another, he'd rob that universe's version of B-64. He may have been welling in self-deprecation, depression even, and he wasn't even close to getting over his death. But it would do a dishonor to B-64's sacrifice to accept bringing another one here, and to rob another version of himself or someone else of their happy ending.
"I see you realize what we mean. And to be clear, you do understand that we have discovered proof of the multiverse while doing this, no? Because as someone that loves science, I-" Axel was stopped in his tracks by a gut elbow by Marissa.
Marissa sighed, turning her head to Mason, "You understand what we mean. Would you... Do it?"
For once, Mason was sure of something. Never been surer in his entire life, "No."
Marissa gave a soft smile. It appears that she also understood what B-64 really meant to Mason, and what bringing another here could mean.
Axel rubbed his stomach, standing up, "Well, we have agreed on the earth bit. It deserves another chance in this reality, and I'm sorry but I want some little kids running around some day. All we need to do is hunt some theoretical concepts given life by robots!"
Marissa stared down at Mason, one last teasing, questioning look on her face, "And, what do you say. Want to come with?"
And with a smile, Mason nodded.
The End