Chapter Seven: Dragon

[Leo]

Several hours later on Kyoto, everyone from way back when was seated at a table, even Rag who was broadcasting herself to a small communicator on the table. Shan, Gwen, Kurt, Rag, and even Takashi showed up.

"What I'm going to tell you is hard to believe...and I believe one of us has seen it. Leo's body, is dead, yes, but Allecto didn't shut down, she's still active, in everyone who has the implants. And with Allecto, is Leo...Leo's still alive, in a way."

"And it's broadcasting his image into the one's who are still active!" Shan stood up, almost shouting.

"Exactly. That means my theroy was right, you've seen him havn't you Shan?"

"Twice already, once at Kyoto, and once when you showed up, one the side of the ship was painted the words 'you are not alone'. I didn't understand what it meant at the time though. Now I do, he's with all of us."

"And he planned it so that you would be given the implants, but not the Nomad...that's how you stayed active."

Was it true? Could Leo still be alive in some way and simply be trying to instruct us to do something he had failed to do during his time in the living?

"Impossible." a voice said. Takashi sat with his eyes closed and shaking his head. "Once you are dead, you are dead. That's all there is to it. If Leo still exists with in our minds, and in whatever remains of our implants, why have I not seen him? I was his best friend."

"But your implants aren't active Takashi." Shan said. He made a sighing noise and stood up.

"If you all are going to lie to yourselves to get some of the mourning out about his death, go ahead. I've mourned his death and moved on. Now if we are done here, I have an important meeting on New Tokyo that I'm already almost late for."

"Fine, go."

He turned and left. Shan staring after him. He had changed more than she cared to tell herself. He was arrogant, rude, and even condesending.

"Then there is the fact of Allecto..." said Rag speaking up. "She never went offline when Leo died. She remained online, in Leo's mind. But she doesn't want to be contacted, I've been trying to get ahold of her, to find out what's going on and why she's not getting out of Leo and terminating her program...but no response."

"So she's alive then...and so is Leo." Gwen said for the first time.

"Leo's alive. Indeed."

Gwen squeeled and hugged Kurt.

"We have to find him!" she said.

"While I would love to, the station and cloud that he was inside vanished shortly after the incident. We went back, and the cloud and station were both missing, we don't know what or why it happened...we believe the Order has something to do with it, but there is no mention of it in their records, only theroies to how it happened. So that leads my individual conclusion to the fact that they don't know either. Leo is missing..."

The group got quiet at this point and no one spoke.

"I'm still active..." Shan spoke up. "I havn't gone active for a while, it's a strange feeling and I hate it, but if you need me to..."

"Try it." Kurt said standing up next to Shan. She focused on the memory that had been used to trigger the activation and her eyes illuminated blue and the room turned a blue haze followed by a H.U.D. on in her field of vision. Immediately, she felt a tingle in the back of her brain and there was someone else in the room...

...Leo.

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You fear oblivion. Yet you forget. The universe remembers every atom of your being. Even dust hums your name in the dark.

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