Songs that inspired this chapter:

This is How Legends Are Made by Sam Tinnesz

I Walk the Line by Halsey (Cover of Johnny Cash's version)

Find Me When You Wake Up and Combat Training by Christophe Beck

2020

Heathrow Airport Base

Reset 5

Rita saw the pair of boots stop in front of her eyes. She was about to let out a tongue lashing for the interruption when the person spoke.

"You gotta straighten out a bit more, but you always did have a hard time with that."

Luke bloody Wright. She should have known.

"What the bloody hell do you want?" she demanded, dropping to her stomach quickly and pushing herself up to a standing position. She glared at him.

"This is gonna be so much fun," he commented.

"Excuse me?" she asked, incredulous.

"What do you call it when you die and reset the day?" he countered, a smirk on his lips. She stared at him, slowly figuring out what he was saying. Of course it would be him. Of course. Who else would hijack the Omega's power and then stand in front of her like a wanker?

"You can reset the day," she said out loud.

"I daresay that you kind of need me again," Luke replied, his arms crossed with that annoying smirk he always had permanently stuck on his face.

"I don't need you," she snapped. He dropped his arms and stepped into her, not touching her or kissing her, but just hovering next to her face. Rita did her best to not react in any way despite the fact that his closeness made her feel slightly weak in the knees. Some things really didn't change.

"You need me a little," he corrected, reaching to tweak her cheek before heading off towards where she trained. At first, she didn't want to follow him, but she knew this was a rare opportunity to end this war, and even though it was Luke freaking Wright who had the power, a small piece of her was glad it was at least someone she knew and wouldn't say anything to anyone in order to risk what they were doing. He'd had enough practice at that in his lifetime.

She jogged after him, and she stepped outside through the door he'd held open for her.

"This doesn't mean we're friends again," she warned. "Or anything, for that matter."

"Alright."

When they reached the training arena, he was already picking up the melee and testing the weight of it in his hands.

"Mech suit," she instructed.

"Don't need it," he replied, stepping out onto the fake battleground after switching the machines on. She watched as he moved fluidly and quickly. Something about it made her fall back into a memory, which she worked hard to never do all the time.

After a while, he got clipped by the machine and was sent sprawling. He landed on his back, growling in pain or frustration (or both). Rita turned it off and walked towards him. Blood was trickling out of his mouth a bit.

"You're hurt," she commented, kneeling down next to him and smirking a little.

"Don't gloat," he retorted. She pulled out her pistol, loading it loudly. She rested it against her knee, finger tapping it lightly.

"I think we should reset," she said.

"Hurry up then."

"Mech suit next time?"

"Fine."

"I have been doing this a little bit longer than you." She had been both surprised and not surprised to hear he'd joined two months ago. She'd been waiting for that to happen, if she was honest. She had also wondered how long it would take for her to run into him.

"Nobody likes a smart ass," he told her, swallowing and grimacing from the pain of his wound.

"Really? You said it was one of your favorite qualities of mine."

"I've changed," he said, scrunching his face slightly as he said it. She snorted.

"Okay, well...see you when you wake up," she replied, aiming her gun at his head. He closed his eyes.

Reset 8

They were sparring with each other. Luke wasn't even sure how it had happened. He'd picked on something she'd done, and she'd come back with an insult about something he'd done, and then they were trying to knock the other down.

It definitely reminded him of the old days.

He currently had his left arm around her neck with her left hand twisted behind her by his right hand and his left leg wrapped around her right one. She was growling in frustration and anger, trying to escape while staying upright.

"Say it," he ordered.

"You are not the king of the bloody hill," she retorted back.

"Says the little girl who is almost on the ground," he mocked. She stopped trying to pull away and instead shoved into him suddenly, ramming his ribs with the fist of her right hand before clipping his neck with her elbow and untwisting her other arm so that she was free and standing opposite of him with her fists up.

"You wanna say that again?" she asked, barely breaking a sweat.

"You had a good teacher," he commented.

"I've learned a lot more than you ever taught me," she snapped.

"So defensive," he sighed. She reached to punch him, and he easily dodged her. "Come on, Rita, put some muscle into it." She launched herself onto him, shoving him backwards and dancing away from his return blow, which made him lose momentum and his balance. He landed on the ground on his back, and she was instantly sitting on top of him and wrapping a fist around his throat as she pressed her leg down over his to prevent him from moving to kick her. He moved to put his thumb into her eye, making her yelp and let him go, falling backwards off of him. They both lay there panting, and Rita suddenly started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Luke asked, lifting his head to look at her.

"I just," she started, laughing again before being able to continue, "I just can't believe I'm doing this with you."

"I'm glad this is amusing to you."

"Oh lighten up," she said, propping herself up onto her elbows and looking at him. He was still flat on his back. "Once this is over, you can go back to doing whatever it was that pleased you."

"You say that like I'm going to survive this," he retorted.

"You gotta fix that attitude if we're gonna win this," she chastised.

"Tell me something," he said, finally sitting up now and hugging his knees as he looked at her. "You never once thought about me? All this time?"

It caught her off guard, but she wasn't going to admit it. She didn't like where this conversation was going. She didn't want to think about the past. It just hurt her more than anything.

"No," she lied.

"Liar," he said on cue.

"Luke, this has nothing to do with the war..."

"Of course not, this is about us," he interrupted. "Did you even love me, Rita? Was that why it was so easy to walk away? Were you just faking the entire time?"

"I'm not having this conversation with you."

"Say no all you want, but eventually, we are going to have this conversation."

She was on her feet now, having enough of this conversation. She pulled out her gun, ready to reset him because she didn't know what else to do. She knew it was pointless. He remembered all of this. She didn't. Then again, she didn't want to remember.

"Go on then," Luke said, standing up and walking towards her. He stopped inches away, pressing his forehead against the muzzle of the gun. "Do it. Run away from the problem like you did last time, if there even was a problem. I still don't know what it was, by the way." Her hand was shaking, and she felt like she might cry. Of course she wanted to run away. It was easier than facing all that pain and trying to deal with it. She knew she couldn't deal with it, not all of it.

"I did love you," she said, her voice tight. "And I meant it."

He just looked into her eyes, not saying anything. She lowered the gun slowly, and he pulled her into him, caressing her cheek with the back of his fingers before he kissed her softly. She didn't know why she was letting him do this with her. It was probably because of their history and probably because she really had missed him and thought about him almost every day since she'd seen him last despite being so pissed off at him. She gripped his shoulders tightly with her fingers, kissing him back harder. It felt like yesterday that they'd done this.

She gasped as she held him at arm's length after a moment. He just stood there, looking at her with that look of care and concern he'd always had for her in the right moments.

"Don't do this to me," she said, looking at him again.

"Do what?" he asked.

"This!" she exclaimed, pushing off him now and grabbing her head with a hand. "Kissing me. Challenging me. Trying to make things right between us. Just keep training and find the bloody Omega and leave me alone in regards to the rest of it."

"Is that what you really want?" he asked. She swallowed.

"Yes," she answered.

"Alright," he said after a pause. "I won't do anything but focus on winning the war."

"Thank you."

He took the gun from her hand, his eyes never leaving hers. She couldn't help but look at his mouth because despite her rant, she'd wanted every second of it. Reading her mind, he moved in to kiss her one last time. Rita felt that familiar weakness in the knees as he gently pulled at her lips with his before catching them and pressing into them in that way he'd always done. She reached to hold his jaw for a moment, knowing he was doing this for the last time, that he'd reset so she wouldn't remember it. He stopped, his face inches from hers as he breathed for a moment. Looking into his eyes, she almost took it all back, but she held her ground.

"See you soon," he said. Then he pulled the trigger.

Reset 23

Luke was starting to grow weary of dying every single day. He did nothing but train, and he was realizing that with all his years of training, nothing was compared to this.

"Again," Rita said from her post, her hand on the controller that turned on the Mimic machines. Luke was panting on his knees in the middle of the battle arena. He turned his head to look at her.

"Give me a minute," he ordered.

"You don't get a minute in real life," she retorted. He rolled his eyes and shook his head as he got back to his feet.

"You do know who you're talking to, right?" he asked.

"I know."

"I'm not 23 anymore."

"Maybe not, but you have enough muscle memory to help you with this."

"Can you toss me a water?" he asked. Her response was to turn on the machines again. He dropped to the ground quickly before getting flattened and rolled to avoid the flying legs of the machine.

"RITA!" he bellowed. He looked to see that she was smirking. Smirking! He suddenly wanted to wipe it off her face, so he forced himself up and ducked and weaved, attacking his fake enemy as hard as he could. When he was done, pieces were on the floor. He was breathing harder as he walked towards her, dropping the melee at her feet with a loud clatter. He reached for his water bottle without breaking eye contact with her and took long swigs from it.

"Feel better?" she asked when he was done.

"I wasn't this hard on you," he countered.

"Maybe you should have been," she shot back.

"Too late now."

They were quiet for a moment.

"There's really no one else to talk to about what's happening here?" Luke questioned. "Everyone will think we're crazy?"

"There is someone," she said after hesitating.

"I knew it. Who?"

"Dr. Carter."

"Then let's go," he said, gesturing.

"We have to pick the right time. If he gets caught talking to us..."

"He's not allowed to talk to us?"

"Let's just say he got in trouble for studying the Mimics and finding things out that the superiors didn't like," she explained.

"Like what?"

"Just forget it," she answered, waving her hand. "Forget I even mentioned him." Luke started to take off his mech suit and set down his melee.

"What do you think you're doing?" she questioned.

"Going to meet the doctor."

"Now? No, I just told you it will get him in trouble if he gets caught..."

"Doesn't hurt to know things," he answered with a shrug. "And you were the one who brought him up, so he must be important. And I can reset and all will be well in the world again." Fair point, but she didn't want to acknowledge that.

"I thought you wanted a break."

"From combat," he said, gesturing. "Not the game entirely."

"I really don't think..."

"Either I go, or we have the conversation about why you walked away from our relationship," Luke said, giving her an ultimatum. She ground her jaw and growled.

"Fine," she muttered, jerking her head as she started to walk again. Smiling, Luke followed.

...

Rita hated how much Luke was getting under her skin. She refrained from stomping as she made her way towards where Dr. Carter was currently working as a mechanic. She realized she hadn't told Luke about Dr. Carter. That meant she hadn't told him she had the power previously, which meant she hadn't wanted to look like a failure to him. She didn't want to risk it being revealed, but he should really hear more about this from Dr. Carter, even though he probably wouldn't tell Luke much more than Rita already had. She still felt bad for what happened to him after dealing with her.

"Don't pout," Luke said. "Makes you look like a four year old."

"I'm not pouting," she said through gritted teeth.

"You're sulking then," he corrected. "Sorry." She spun and gave his chest a shove with her hands, making him stumble slightly.

"Just back off," she said angrily. Her emotions were all over the place. Seeing him, talking to him, having him do this with her...she couldn't take it anymore. She knew he remembered all of their interactions and she didn't, but she reckoned she had difficulty with her emotions in every reset.

"Why do you hate me?" Luke asked, putting his hands up in the air as she glared at him.

"I..." she trailed off. She didn't hate him. She just felt angry at him for what he'd done.

"Rita?"

They both turned to see Dr. Carter standing there. They were just outside where he was working after all.

"Sorry," she said to him, ignoring Luke and walking towards the scientist. "I know you said not to bother you..."

"I did," Dr. Carter confirmed. He shot Luke a curious look.

"You might as well know," Rita sighed. "He's got the power."

"He...he what?" Dr. Carter asked, astounded.

"Yea," Rita said with a nod. "Can we talk?"

"Come on," he urged, gesturing for them to follow. He led them past all the mechanics and equipment being worked on to a quiet room, and once the door was shut, he spun to face Luke, moving his hand behind his back.

"How many fingers am I holding?" he asked.

"Um...?" Luke said, confused. He looked at Rita for help.

"Your first time then," Dr. Carter said, nodding excitedly. He pulled out his two fingers from behind his back to show Luke.

"Okay..." Luke said.

"Come on," Dr. Carter urged, ushering them inside. "When did it happen?"

"Tomorrow morning on the beach."

"Good. Okay," Dr. Carter said. He reached to fiddle with the table, switching it on and revealing information about Mimics and Alphas. Rita crossed her arms and stood off to the side. She ignored Luke looking at her for an idea as to what the scientist was doing.

"How many resets?" Dr. Carter asked Luke, looking up from the table.

"23."

"You're just bringing him to me now?!" Dr. Carter said to Rita, his voice slightly outraged.

"He's been training. I explained everything to him."

Dr. Carter walked over to Luke and went to reach to grab his chin, but Luke smacked his hand away.

"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded.

"Trying to look for noticeable changes," Dr. Carter answered, grabbing his chin again and examining him closely.

"He's the same arsehole as always, trust me," Rita told him.

"Am I gonna morph into one of them?" Luke asked, sounding slightly concerned as Dr. Carter moved his head around to look at all angles.

"I don't think so, but it never hurts to monitor physical appearances," Dr. Carter replied with a shrug. Rita felt Luke shoot her a look, but she refused to look at him.

"So, now what?" Luke asked. "I know the basics. Is there anything else I need to know?"

"Just keep an eye out for the vision," Dr. Carter replied. "Talk to me after that."

"Alright."

Luke and Rita walked back outside, winding through the other mechanics. She could feel his annoyance and not learning anything new from Dr. Carter, but she didn't care. He was the one who wanted to waste time talking to him without anything exciting to offer back.

"Hey! I said I needed a socket wrench ten minutes ago. Where is it?!" a voice shouted, and a young Chinese woman appeared from nowhere. Upon seeing Luke, she froze, the rest of her words dying on her lips. Luke was staring at her like she had three heads. Rita felt mildly curious. What would make him start to look incredibly furious like this?

"Mei," Luke said, his voice low and dangerous sounding. "What in the fresh hell are you doing here?"

...

Luke couldn't believe what he was seeing. Mei was standing in front of him and looking like she wished she could disappear. His mind couldn't comprehend how she was even there. She was supposed to be in North America.

"Answer me," he said when she wouldn't speak. Her eyes darted back and forth between him and Rita.

"I knew you'd get mad," she started quickly.

"That's an understatement."

"I needed to help!" she exclaimed. "I needed to not just sit at home and wait to die. I've been helping the mechanics."

"You shouldn't be here," Luke said angrily, pointing a finger at her. "You should be back home and staying..."

"Safe," she finished for him. "I know."

"Then why are you in the most unsafe place in the world right now?"

"Don't be mad," Mei implored him. "I can help, and I am helping. I can't just sit back at home and do nothing while you're out here risking your life."

Luke inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying not to lose his shit. Mei was supposed to be safe. That was his most recent mission in the last eight years, and here she was making it very difficult for him to carry out.

"How long have you been here?"

"I arrived a week after you did."

Luke ground his jaw as he looked at her. She gave him a defiant look back.

"Am I missing something?" Rita asked.

"Luke's just worried about me," Mei answered.

"You are not to see the battlefield," Luke warned, jabbing a finger in her direction again. "You hear me? You get on the first plane out of here..."

"I'm not doing that..."

"Yes, you are," he cut her off.

"No," she said. Luke knew he had to leave, that he couldn't keep arguing with her all day, but he didn't want to. She looked small before him suddenly, and he just wanted to keep her out of harm's way.

"We have work to do," Rita said now, her voice slightly on edge. Luke resisted snapping at her. Instead, he reached to grab Mei into a tight hug. He knew it wasn't the last time he'd see her, but he just needed to feel her breathing in his arms for right now.

"Luke," Rita's aggravated voice said.

"Don't do anything foolish," he instructed Mei.

"I won't."

He let her go and walked past Rita without looking at her. He ignored her calling after him. He just wanted to be alone for a while.

...

Rita found Luke on his hands on the training room floor, his legs raised in the air with his back perfectly straight. Her mind flashed to a memory of her breaking his concentration and knocking him over onto his back. She recalled how he'd laughed and fought off her playful wrestling before managing to pin her underneath him and turn his roughhousing into intimacy.

"Go ahead and say it," Luke's voice interrupted her train of thought. She blinked as she looked at him on the floor in front of her.

"Say what?"

"Something sarcastic."

"I just came to reset you."

"Right," he sighed. She sat down cross legged next to his head. He was sweating a little from the effort of his pose, but he didn't say anything else.

"Who is Mei to you?" she asked. She had tried to remember if he'd said anything about her before, but she was drawing a blank. If he'd told her during a reset, she wouldn't remember anyway.

"She saved me," Luke said quietly. "I was in a very dark place, and I almost let it take me away, but then I saw her. She needed someone to help her, and I suddenly had a purpose again."

"You always did care about the underdog," Rita commented. Luke gave a slight chuckle before lowering himself down and moving into a sitting position next to her. She wondered what he was thinking, but she didn't ask.

"Alright," he said after a moment. "Reset me."

She pulled out her gun, but he didn't look at her.

"You'll tell me when you have the vision right?"

"I will."

"It shouldn't be long now..."

"I know," he interrupted, finally looking at her. She felt a bit annoyed. She'd obviously told him this multiple times before. She cleared her throat.

"Alright," she said. "See you yesterday."

Luke said nothing as he closed his eyes. She hesitated briefly, but then she pulled the trigger.