The pod stopped right in front of her apartment building. Amir stepped out of the pod first once it fully parked and he stepped aside and waited for Rory.

Rory climbed out, a little disappointed that Amir rushed her back home so early. She grabbed her things, including the box of cupcakes. Before Amir could register, Rory embraced him with a small smile.

"Thank you, Amir,"

Amir chewed on his bottom lip and tapped Rory's back awkwardly. The hug was so sudden and caught him off guard. He almost forgot how affectionate Rory was compared to Astellians.

"You should head inside,"

"You're not gonna come in? I mean, you brought me here. At least stay for a snack or something—"

"I can't, I've got to head back to the Agency." Amir grinned. "Direct orders."

"Direct orders?" Rory mumbled. "I guess Theodore is prepping the Agents for something big?"

"Something like that," Amir huffed. "He called to say congratulations, by the way. If not for paperwork, I'm sure he would've made it to the ceremony."

"I wasn't expecting for him to come anyway." Although Theodore placed her in a position to work with the Agency because of Jax, their relationship wasn't all that great. Theodore was always formal with her.

He did treat her better than before, but there was still some distance. Rory tried many times to find common ground with him. To even hear that he thought of coming to her graduation ceremony was surprising.

"Well," Amir glanced back at the pod. "He sends you his best wishes. I've gotta go and head back. I'll see you tomorrow, or maybe in a few days." Amir shrugged. "Depends on when you come in to conduct maintenance. Speaking of which, my glove has been acting a bit odd lately. Hope you don't mind checking it out."

"How odd?" Rory raised a brow.

"You'll see when you get there." Amir sat back inside the pod and the doors slid to a close. He waved at her one last time before it took off and drove away. The gust of wind blew her hair and skirt back as the vehicle fled away.

Rory sighed and slugged her feet toward her home. While everyone else was out celebrating, she was forced to stay at home and eat her cupcakes alone. Well, not exactly forced, but she didn't have a pod to just escape on her own.

She was saving up for one though.

Rory went up the long staircase that led up to her apartment on the next floor. The elevator was still in repair. By the time she got up there, she did her usual routine and scooped out water from a bucket with a cup and poured it over the klovoc flower in front of her door.

"At least he was kind enough to leave me with a plant," Rory scoffed and made sure that the flower was in good condition. Two more buds were forming beside the main flower, which was a good sign. It was thriving.

To her, it was all she had left of Decha. "Now that I think about it, maybe you need more sunlight." Rory dragged the pot a bit further out for the Sunbeams to shine on the dirt. Talking to her flower was normal for her. She didn't care if her neighbor downstairs thought she was insane for doing so.

Flowers and plants responded well to sound. "There you go," She brushed the dirt off her fingers on her skirt. Then she turned toward her door and dropped the package of cupcakes. It busted open and some fell out onto the floor.

Her jaw dropped.

Decha was leaning against the door to her apartment casually with a slight smirk on his face. He was dressed in a long-sleeved black shirt with a black vest wrapped tightly around his torso.

His hair was styled neatly, his black bangs were slicked back which gave more attention to the long dark purple scar on his eye. It healed a lot since its first appearance, but it was very prominent.

The uniform style was very different from the usual one Generals wore at the Agency. His combat boots and slacks were the same color and style. Rory also noticed that he didn't have his cap that displayed the pins for all his achievements.

What happened to them? Where did he put them?

Decha's dark eyes lit up when he saw her. He started to make his way toward Rory, containing his joy. He opened his mouth and started to speak, but Rory raised her hand and slapped him.

His head whipped aside, and he remained there. Shock spread across his face when he realized that she just struck him. Rory covered her mouth and her angry expression quickly changed to one of worry.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Rory noticed black ink that tainted his neck. The markings were the shapes of the pins he had. She decided to force her eyes back on him. "I thought I was hallucinating for a second. Are you okay?"

"Fine," Decha rubbed his cheek to ease the sore feeling. "I—" Decha tried again but Rory grabbed him by the sides of his face and yanked him down. She pressed her lips against his before he could say anything.

Decha responded positively to the kiss and pulled her closer. A tear escaped Rory's eye and it wasn't long before she began to cry in the middle of their act of affection. Her sobs were very soft, but Decha noticed them and quickly pulled away from her.

"What happened?" He frowned and studied her body to make sure she wasn't in any pain. "Hey," Decha snapped. "What's wrong? Do you need to see a Doctor?"

It had been almost an entire year since he'd seen her. His mother and Amir had been updating him about her but he still had no idea of how much she improved health-wise. Was it her kidney? Was she hurting?

"I'm so angry," Rory huffed.

"You're angry but you're crying?" Decha chuckled softly.

"How dare you show up here?" Rory sneered.

"Last time I checked, I bought the place." Decha retorted.

"You left me! Do you have any idea what mentally draining process I went through while you were gone? I cried through my entire process of learning how to walk again! I tried so hard because I thought you'd come back as soon as I recovered! Even though I was in so much pain! And you left me with Amir, by the way, he wouldn't tell me anything about you! But I saw the letters everyone got from you! Everyone but ME!" Rory grabbed Decha by the collar of his shirt and narrowed her eyes at him.

"For 4 months I cried myself to sleep over you! 4 freaking months! There were times when I thought you got hurt, or worse! I even thought that you didn't... that you..." Rory took a heavy breath before she continued. "I thought you didn't love me anymore... Why did you come back?"

Rory's voice cracked as more tears streamed down her face. "I don't know what to think, or what to say! I'm so frustrated!"

Decha grinned at her and pulled her close for a tight embrace. It was then Rory remembered how strong he was. She felt the air leave her body as her front pressed against his.

"Too... tight!" Rory heaved and tapped on his shoulder. Decha relaxed his grip on her. It was what he had been waiting for. He felt happy to know that her habit of rambling hadn't stopped.

"I read your letters..." He mumbled in her ear.

"So why didn't you respond?" Rory whined.

"I... didn't know how to. I tried to think of something, but there was nothing. I was just so happy that you were okay."

"That's stupid..." Rory scowled.

"I suppose I can't use losing paper and supplies on the Outside as an excuse?"

"No,"

"I thought so," Decha laughed.

"My cupcakes..." Rory whimpered. "You made me drop my cupcakes..."

"You should've kept a tight hold on the package." Decha brushed by her and began cleaning up the mess she spilled. "I'll buy you more."

"Were you here the entire time? When did you get here? You missed my graduation ceremony!"

"I was there," Decha rebuked. "I saw you walk across the stage. I saw your classmate looking at you weirdly, and I was gonna step in before she got any ideas... but Amir told me it would ruin the surprise. It's a good thing he confronted her before I did."

"You were there and you didn't even bother to say hi?" Rory gawked.

"Considering your reaction earlier, I'm sure you'll understand why I chose not to greet you." Decha smiled.

"I just... I have so many questions... I don't even know where to start!" Rory grumbled. She typed in the keypad to her apartment and unlocked the door. "Does Mrs. Chen even know you're here?"

"No. And I'd like to keep it that way for a while."

"Why?"

"Because it's been almost a year since I've had you to myself." Decha kicked the door shut and locked the door behind him. Then he turned to face Rory with the most predatory look she'd ever seen. "I'll be here for 2 months before I go back."

"Only 2 months?" Rory pouted. "That's such a small amount of time."

"Mhmm," Decha wrapped his arm around her waist again and dipped in for another kiss. Their lips touched momentarily before Rory pulled away.

"Wait!" Rory nudged him back. Her cheeks burned in embarrassment. "I've gotta show you something!"

"Okay," Decha sighed. He thought she would've wanted to be a bit more intimate, but then again, he never really knew what to expect from her. Just seeing her alive and well was enough for him to be content.

Rory disappeared into the bedroom and the door rocked open to follow her trail. Then she came back out with a large box in her arms. Decha quickly noticed her struggle and immediately went over to help her carry it. "Hey, I hope you don't normally carry this much weight while you're here alone." Decha scolded her. "I gave you that kidney. Take care of it."

"It's fine," Rory rolled her eyes. "I feel better than ever."

"Do you still have issues with breathing?"

"Nope! I'm IDS free."

"You'd better be." Decha groaned. "I don't know what I'd do if you ever relapsed. What are you looking for?"

Rory was so focused on rummaging through the box that she didn't even hear the rest of what he said. She pulled out a few plugs, a large folded cloth, smaller pieces of cloth, and a small tablet. "Take off your clothes,"

"... What?" Decha blinked at her.

"Put the box down and take them off."

Decha could hear what she was saying... he understood it. But he wasn't sure what she meant by it. "... Now?"

"Yes," Rory took the box away from him.

"... You wanna do this, now?"

"Just take them off already!" Rory crossed her arms. Decha eyed her one more time for confirmation before shrugging and unzipping his vest. "Alright then," He murmured. Within seconds he pulled his shirt off, and the pure muscle underneath made Rory blush.

He tossed both his vest and shirt aside before reaching for his belt. Rory stopped him. "Wait! What are you doing?!"

"You started this," Decha raised a brow at her.

"Don't take off your pants!"

"You told me to take off my clothes..."

"I meant just your shirt!"

"Then you should've said you wanted to start slow instead."

"Start slow?" Rory huffed. "What are YOU talking about?"

"I think you already know the answer to that." Decha challenged her.

"I'm trying to show you what I've been working on," Rory explained. She stammered when she realized what Decha was implying.

"I just got back and you're already planning on using me for a science project." Decha shook his head to tease her. Rory unfolded the large cloth and wrapped it around his abdomen nervously.

"I've been asked to help build weapons for Generals at the Agency. But I realized that their uniforms are very outdated. Rather than building something used to attack, I wanted to make something that raises defense."

She clipped the large belt together and then she placed a compression band around his head. There she was able to get a closer look at the markings on his neck. Her eyes locked with Decha's before she realized he caught her staring at them. "Those are the star pins you've earned... right? Is that why you're not wearing a cap anymore?"

"My cap and pins are on display at Council Hall." Decha answered, "I can't wear them Outside anymore, so that's why I had to have them imprinted here."

"Why not?"

"Huh?"

"Why can't you wear them Outside?"

"They're a hassle to carry around. If you lose one, you don't get it back. The Council requires all Generals with 10 or more pins to have it stamped or burned onto their skin."

"They had to burn your skin?"

"Not mine, no. But they're permanent."

"Does it hurt?"

"Not anymore."

"Can I touch it?" Rory reached her fingers high enough for him to see.

"It's no different from the mark on your neck." Decha chortled sarcastically. A chill went down his spine the moment her index finger trailed down one of the most intricate designed pins.

"Wow! Whoever did this is very great at paying attention to detail."

"What do you want to show me?"

"Oh, yeah!" Rory giggled. She tapped on the tablet and a holographic interface fizzed in front of them. "I've been working on a program to support Generals by analyzing their fight styles and recommending better combat motives. Specifically, it's designed to help increase awareness and tension... funny enough, both of those qualities heighten defense responses."

"Uh huh..." Decha smiled awkwardly, understanding half of her fancy words. "So, what's the getup for?"

"You'll see," Rory smiled and tapped a button on the interface. The interface pixelated and formed a figure, one as tall as Decha. It was similar to his shape as well. Before he knew it, the hologram that appeared was a split image of him.

"Um..." Decha looked to Rory, perplexed. He wasn't sure whether to be disturbed or flattered that she modeled an AI after him.

"Meet ROXi."

"ROXi?"

"I used the same coding as the gloves I made for you... before it was, well... destroyed. That's what Jax told me, anyway." Rory shrugged. "ROXi works similarly to POYO's goal, to help its users. But it can only be controlled by whomever I assign it to."

"Can... we change its appearance?"

"Oh? I thought it would've been better for it to be designed after you. Amir told me that you didn't like Rox's last design."

"It's not that I didn't like it... it just looked too similar to you. I'd rather not see you during any battle."

Rory's face scrunched up in offense, and Decha reworded his sentence before he'd dug himself into a deep hole. "I meant that you distract me. And if something is there that looks like you and in my way, I just... I'm saying that I don't want to ever envision you in a dangerous situation."

"I thought modeling the original Rox would've helped you a bit more, emotionally."

"Not exactly, no." Decha shook his head.

"I don't get what you mean by saying I distract you. I try my best to help keep you focused."

"The only thing I can focus on right now is thinking how beautiful you looked walking across that stage when you received your degree," Decha admitted, unashamed. "You straightened your hair, it's a nice look for you."

"Don't flatter me," Rory rolled her eyes. "It's weird. Be more serious and scary like you used to be."

A glint of something flashed in Decha's eyes. Rory couldn't tell what it was, but it woke the butterflies in her stomach.

"If you want me to be serious, I'm gonna be honest." Decha took a dangerous step toward her. "You know I don't like to waste time and get straight to the point. I don't wanna test this thing out for you. Not now, at least. I didn't come all the way here to be a human lab rat."

"So what do you wanna do?" Rory frowned.

"I wanna finish what you started so many months ago..."

"Huh?"

"9 months, 2 weeks, and 5 days ago, to be exact."

"How the heck am I supposed to remember that far?"

"The day Amir walked in on us..."

"Oh. Nope." Rory remembered that day so clearly. It was one of her most embarrassing moments. "You can go back to being flattering. I prefer you that way more." Her face reddened. "Anyways! I'll change ROXi's design if you don't like the current one. Maybe to someone you don't like that much."

Rory's mind went blank. She didn't know who exactly Decha didn't like. It could be anyone. He always seemed annoyed by anyone's presence. "You know what? I'll just change it to look like Jax..."

"Am I supposed to fight this thing?"

"Sort of..."

"Then this will be easy." Decha stretched both his arms with an evil smile. The AI locked itself into a battle position, and Decha nudged Rory back gently. It was inside the apartment, but there was enough space for an enclosed fight.

However, before Decha could strike, he felt an unbearable tingling in his abdomen, and the AI sprinted forward and punched him. It fizzled into pixels before disappearing. "What the...?" Decha grunted and collapsed onto the floor.

"Sorry!" Rory huffed. "The setting was too high!"

"What setting?" Decha spat.

"Tension. It's supposed to help you sense danger so you can block any brute force." Rory rushed over to the tablet and began fiddling with the buttons.

"Shite!" Decha snarled as the belt compressed tightly around his body. He ripped the cloth off and tossed it aside.

"I'm so sorry!" Rory apologized profusely. "I'm still tweaking a few bugs." She extended her hand to help him up.

"Starting to think..." Decha panted softly, "you set it high to damage my ego."

"What ego...?"

"Haha... funny..." Decha grabbed onto the couch nearby and pushed himself off the ground.

Rory giggled quietly in response. "I'll work out the rest over the weekend and we can test it again."

"You're not." Decha shook his head.

"Of course, I will. I'll knock it out pretty quickly too. You know, my sleep schedule has been getting better. I have more energy during the day—"

"I'm saying you won't be able to this weekend. I'll be taking you out."

"Like... on a date?" Rory's eyes lit up.

"That wasn't originally what I thought of, but... sure?" Decha chortled. "When was the last time you've been by the Border?"

"To see my father? It's been a while... probably around 2 months. The ceremony was broadcasted online so he should've watched it. I'm surprised he hasn't called me yet—"

"Rory," Decha shushed her. He did miss her endless rambling. "Recently, I've been in contact with Kanemaru Stein, the Council member who's responsible for construction in the Sectors. We've been talking a lot about rebuilding the walls that separate Sector A and B."

"Oh..." Rory paused, "Does that mean I'll be limited to visiting my father?"

"Quite the opposite."

"Huh?"

"Half of the construction should be finished by now. Instead of building a wall, he's planned on forming a MOAT with a large foundation in between the Sector borders. That foundation should have some houses and shops. It'll be the place for both Astellians and Bracketers to travel around freely without restrictions."

"You're kidding," Rory gasped. "Wait... but that's... won't that require a few laws to change?"

"That will be the first step for Astellians to get used to Bracketers. I think if anything, Windsor's scheme united the Sectors more. It spooked everyone into communicating more."

"But if the foundation is in between the border, then... what exactly will that piece of land be called? Sector AB?"

"Don't tell anyone yet... it's a work in progress... but he's been thinking it should be called Base Piche."

"Piche?" Rory furrowed her eyebrows. "It sounds weird..."

"Your country is called The Brackets, but I don't hear you complaining about that name."

"Fair point," Rory laughed.

"I'll take you there over the weekend. Some residents have already moved into that area... including your father..." Decha mumbled the last part quietly. But Rory heard it.

"You moved my father closer to me?" Rory's jaw dropped.

"Something like that..."

"... Even when you're not here, I still have so much to do to repay you."

"Consider your debts repaid." Decha snickered.

"I have yet to pay you back a single tekel."

"You don't have to anymore," Decha crossed his arms with a smile on his face. "We made a deal. You had the surgery, and you're doing well... That's more than enough to make me... well..."

"It makes you... happy?"

"Content." Decha finished.

"Aw," Rory gushed.

"Just be sure to take care of your health well... I don't want anything crazy happening while I'm here... or when I return to my station."

Without a response, Rory dragged him in for a hug. Decha's kind reciprocation was a dream come true for her.

She wanted to live. She wanted to live to help others live too.

Decha still had some issues he wanted to resolve. But in that moment, for once there was no more pain and no more fear. Decha's job was to protect the Sectors, as well as protect the one who strived to help the Sectors improve for the better.

And saving the Sectors and Rory from Deliverance was only the starting point to a long journey he wanted to travel through.

~~~

Thank you so much for reading this story from beginning to end! We made it through together! If you enjoyed this story, please recommend it to others :)~ Now that Sector B is completed, I want to introduce you all to my next story that I'm working on. It's called:



It is a REMASTED/REMAKE of the Original story. Please be sure to check it out. The first chapter is already there :)! And I welcome to readers of the original book to check it out. I think you'll really enjoy it. I put a lot of effort into it.