Protocol: Quite

The wind howled outside the crumbling church. Broken stained-glass windows scattered soft reds and blues across the dusty floor. A single candle flickered between them—Riven and Lucy—seated against a cracked stone wall, hidden in the remains of a forgotten place.

It was the first moment of stillness they'd had in weeks.

Riven's breath came out in slow, tired waves. His hoodie was torn at the shoulder, boots scuffed, the red glow of his Execution Code dimmed to a soft ember. Across from him, Lucy leaned forward with her arms wrapped around her knees, head tilted slightly as if listening for ghosts.

Neither had spoken for hours.

But the silence said enough.

Finally, Lucy broke it. "Three months... and we haven't stopped running."

Riven gave a bitter laugh. "Feels like my entire life."

She nodded, her voice quieter. "I still see them in my sleep. Cipher... the others. The look in your sister's eyes."

He flinched at the mention. "She's not dead."

Lucy met his gaze. "I know."

Riven looked down at his hand—the one that glowed when he executed Jason Vega. The one that couldn't save Cipher. The one that failed to reach his sister.

"Do you think…" He hesitated. "Do you think she can be saved?"

Lucy didn't answer right away.

"Riven…" she whispered, "the moment I saw her eyes… there was a part of her still there. Even if it was buried beneath everything they did to her. I saw it."

Riven closed his eyes, trying not to drown in that hope.

"They took everything from her. From us," he said. "I lost my parents when I was nine. They were killed in a fire that was never explained. Just… gone. No justice. No answers. Just silence."

Lucy looked at him, startled. "You never told me."

He smiled without humor. "I stopped talking about it. What was the point? No one cared. No one ever did. Kira and I—we only had each other. I promised her I'd protect her."

"And she died anyway," he added, his voice breaking. "Or… I thought she did."

Lucy crawled over and sat beside him, shoulder against his. "You didn't fail her. They failed all of us."

Riven turned to her, pain etched deep into his face. "What about you?"

She looked away, exhaling. "I was five. I didn't even know what a family was supposed to feel like. One minute I was chasing a stray cat down an alley… next thing I knew, men in black coats were dragging me into a van."

"By six, I was killing. By eight, I stopped asking why. Death Protocol trained us to feel nothing. To believe we were justice."

Her eyes met his, shimmering with something fragile and rare. "But then I met you."

Riven blinked. "Lucy…"

"You were reckless. You were angry. But you cared. Even after all the lies. After all the death. You cared." She shook her head. "It scared the hell out of me."

He chuckled. "Same."

They sat in silence again. The candlelight flickered against the walls like tiny ghosts dancing on old stone.

"I have to save her," Riven whispered. "Not just from them. From what they turned her into. She's still my sister. She still matters."

"She does," Lucy said softly. "And so do you."

Her fingers reached for his hand, cold and trembling, but firm.

"I'm not leaving you, Riven. Not now. Not ever."

He looked down at their joined hands.

"You sure about that?" he asked, voice tight. "You stay near me, and you become a target. Cigar won't stop. I don't even what to do anymore."

"You're the boy who ran into fire to find the truth. The one who still hopes, even when it hurts." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "And I'll be here. Even if the whole world burns."

He didn't speak, only leaned his head against hers. The candle between them flickered one last time before the wind snuffed it out.

But even in the dark, they stayed close—two broken souls holding each other up in the ruins of everything they once believed.

Because even now, even after everything…

They still had each other.