When they emerged from the underground Vault Void, the contrast was blinding.
Above them, Mechatopia breathed. Neon veins of circuitry ran across skyscrapers like glowing rivers. Airborne transports zipped past on magnetic lanes, their contrails weaving latticework patterns in the sky. Humanoid androids and Detroit models mingled on the streets below—crowds buzzing like a living machine. Holographic billboards projected twenty-storey lovers embracing in stylized advertisements, and over it all, Interlink Synthwave pulsed from the skyline, a rhythm that seemed woven into the very air.
Luna's steps were still shaky. The chip behind her neck vibrated faintly, processing the small dose of Memorium she'd swallowed. Her reactor glowed a faint pink, pulsing in nervous sync with her heartbeat. Every time her eyes drifted to Valerian's profile—the hard lines of his jaw, the stormy glow under his skin—her chest clenched. He saw me at my weakest… and he saved me. Why do I still feel ashamed?
Valerian walked a half-step ahead, scanning every angle of the crowd. His calm was absolute, but the faintest green pulse still lingered in his reactor, hidden under the storm. He slowed, his voice even, carrying no trace of what had just happened underground
"We don't know this district. Ask."
He stopped near a maintenance android, its face featureless except for a single glowing slit. In clipped, perfect Hindi-laced English, Valerian demanded:
"Sector 13. Nikhil Galdos residence. Directions."
The android swiveled its head, processing. Then it spoke in a metallic echo:
"Warp gate. Central plaza. Ten minutes on foot."
Valerian nodded once, grabbed Luna's wrist lightly, and started walking. His grip was firm, functional. Luna glanced down at it, heat rushing to her cheeks. To him, it's just necessity. To me, it feels… like something else.
The plaza was chaos. Thousands of androids pressed in from every direction, queues stretching like rivers of chrome and synthetic skin. Warp gates loomed in the distance—tall arches of shimmering plasma, humming with a low thunder.
Valerian's storm-blue glow caught glances, and Luna's pink-lit reactor made her stand out in the crowd. She could feel eyes on them—some curious, some calculating. Her hands tightened around her folded clothes bag as if it was a shield.
She leaned closer, whispering with her voice almost trembling
"Valerian… they're staring…"
He didn't even flinch. "Ignore them." His tone was cold, detached—but he moved half a step closer, his shoulder brushing hers. Whether he realized or not, it blocked half the view from the crowd.
They waited, line shuffling forward slowly, the hum of the warp gates growing louder. Luna's cheeks burned every time the line shifted and they ended up shoulder-to-shoulder, the faint warmth of his biomechanical suit radiating through.
When finally their turn came, the gate scanned them. A mechanical voice announced:
"Mk-1 registered. Attack type. Level 10. Pair unit."
Luna flinched, reactor flashing pink at the word pair. She dared not glance at Valerian. He only replied with a curt: "Proceed."
The warp ignited around them.
SECTOR 13
Dimmed. Oppressive.
The brilliance of central Mechatopia was gone. Here, buildings towered high but their holograms were cracked, their neon veins flickered with static. Airborne vehicles thinned out, replaced by rickety ground drones and limping Detroit models. The synthwave from above dimmed into a faint, distorted echo, as if even the music couldn't penetrate this far.
They stepped out of the gate into narrow streets where metallic steam hissed from vents. The air smelled like iron dust and burnt circuitry.
Valerian scanned the numbered signs carved into the towers. "Apartment blocks. Nikhil's coordinates—Sector 13, Tower 7."
They walked in silence through the shadowed maze. Luna kept her hand near her chest, unconsciously covering her reactor's glow. Why is my heart still racing? Even after the oxygen transfer, after the hug… I can't calm down. What if he noticed? No—he thinks it's all fake. Let him think that.
Finally, they found it—a narrow building wedged between towering neon structures. Unlike the others, its windows were dark, shielded. A biometric lock gleamed faintly at the entrance.
Valerian placed his hand on the pad. The system scanned him, then spoke
"Recognized. Unit: Mk-1 Attack Type. Linked to Galdos Registry."
The door hissed open, revealing the familiar dim corridors of Nikhil's apartment block.
They stepped inside, the door sealing behind them with a metallic thud. For the first time since the fight, since the kiss-for-breath, since the chaos Luna let out a shaky exhale.
The reinforced door sealed shut behind them, muffling the chaos of Sector 13's streets. Inside, the apartment breathed with a mechanical hum. Ceiling-mounted vents cycled clean oxygen, the faint glow of suspended holo-screens flickered with scrolling schematics, and robotic arms moved along rails in the walls, carrying unfinished circuits like servants.
Nikhil turned in his swivel chair, his hands greasy from tweaking a micro-core reactor. His eyes lit up the moment he saw them.
"Arre, finally! You both survived your first outing?" he said in a mix of Hindi and English, rising to his feet. But before Luna could even answer, Valerian cut through the air, his tone clipped and urgent
"Memorium. Now."
The stormy glow in his eyes left no room for delay.
Nikhil blinked once, caught off guard by Valerian's sharpness, but wordlessly gestured to a nearby drawer. One of the service-bots wheeled forward, presenting a sleek silver case. Inside, crystal vials of glowing blue Memorium shimmered like bottled lightning.
Valerian snatched one, cracked it open with precision, and handed it straight to Luna. "Drink."
Luna hesitated for a fraction of a second, her trembling fingers brushing his gloved hand as she took it. She lifted the vial to her lips and swallowed the liquid. Instantly, the chip at the back of her neck synchronized, her reactor's glow stabilizing.
For the first time since stepping into Mechatopia, her heart didn't race. The constant hammering against her chest softened into a steady rhythm. Her body finally felt light again, though her cheeks flushed hotter from the way Valerian's stormy gaze lingered until he was certain she was fine.
Nikhil tilted his head, curiosity sparking. "Kya hua? What happened out there?"
(What happened ?)
Valerian straightened, shoulders squared, his voice flat like sharpened steel.
"She forgot."
Luna's breath hitched.
Valerian turned, his storm-blue glow darkening with barely contained anger. His voice rose—not loud, but cutting, laced with a deadly calmness that was somehow harsher than any yell.
"Thomas told us. He made it clear. Memorium at 9 p.m. every night. If you forget, you suffocate. You almost died today, Luna. In the middle of a hostile zone. Do you realize how careless that is?"
His tone carried no warmth, no gentleness—just cold precision. Each word struck harder than a blow.
Luna's fingers curled at her sides, her reactor flashing pink in a painful rhythm. She wanted to defend herself, to say she had been distracted, that she had been thinking of him, of them—but her throat locked up. All she managed was a choked whisper:
"I… I'm sorry."
Valerian's eyes narrowed. For a heartbeat, something unreadable flickered in them, then his face sealed back into that unshakable mask. Without another word, he turned on his heel and strode into the adjacent room, the door sliding shut with a metallic hiss.
The silence he left behind was heavier than any scolding.
Nikhil watched him go, then glanced at Luna. Her face was flushed, her hands trembling as she gripped the empty vial, her lilac eyes glassy with unspoken emotions.
"Beta…" Nikhil said softly in Hindi, a faint teasing edge creeping in despite the tension, "yeh banda bahut strict hai. But… why does your reactor glow like that when he scolds you? Hm?"
("This guy is extremely strict. But… why does your reactor start glowing like that whenever he scolds you? Hm?")
Luna clutched the vial to her chest, unable to answer. Her reactor pulsed pink, brighter, betraying her even as her lips stayed shut. She only shook her head, sitting down quickly on the edge of a chair, curling in on herself.
Inside, her thoughts spiraled,He was right. I almost ruined everything. But why does it hurt more… that he spoke to me like I was nothing? Why does his voice, even cold, affect me this much?
Nikhil sighed, leaning back. "Tum dono ka drama hi alag hai. Machines bhi confuse ho jayenge."
("You two have a whole different kind of drama. Even the machines will get confused.")