dimidium-recordatus somnia
Something's missing.
For the first few minutes after he wakes up, he barely even knows his own name.
But she's there helping him. She helps him remember who he is. She helps him remember her. And then he remembers what she meant to him, and what he meant to her. She was the comfort that came when he needed it most.
But it feels like a half-remembered dream…
He saves her and she saves him. They help each other. That's what they're supposed to do, isn't it?
But it's over too quickly.
Strange faces come from nowhere, and then everything disappears.
Something's missing.
For the first few minutes after he wakes up, he tries to remember everything he'd just been told.
His name is Zane. Her name is Pixal. They were special to each other, and they found each other when they needed each other the most.
But he can't remember why. He can't remember why he needed her.
She doesn't know, or maybe she won't tell him. But they talk in the dark. They talk about how they met, what they did together, the things they did for each other.
Maybe it doesn't matter. What matters is that they found each other, and that now they have each other again.
And then there's a noise outside and he's quiet again. He cautiously approaches the door in case if it's a threat.
He doesn't know the face in the little window, but he's not afraid of it. It speaks, and then… the voice, it…
He knows that voice…
Cole.
They make a promise to escape together. Bad things have happened to both of them, and they need to get away as soon as they can.
And then Cole's gone, but it doesn't matter.
He's found another familiar face.
Something's missing.
For the first few minutes after he wakes up, he's not sure what's happening.
The dragon was in his dream again. He doesn't know what the dragon is, but he's afraid of it. But he pays the dream no mind, because Cole is here with the keys now. They're going to get out together, and then they're going to go home.
Home.
For a moment, a split second, the word seems to have a second meaning. Something old, and warm, and small, something that both was and wasn't a place. But he dismisses the thought, because he also knows that – whatever it is – it's gone now.
But it doesn't matter. The two of them are running away from this maze. They're going home, wherever it is.
Suddenly, there's a giant snake, and he realizes that it's there just a moment too late. He runs after Cole as fast as he can, and eventually, they get rid of it by going somewhere that it cannot follow.
And then they're running again.
Something's missing.
For the first few minutes after he wakes up, he's crying.
He can't remember ever crying before.
Cole's still asleep, passed out on the floor of the long, dark tunnel next to him. He can smell something – sea salt, maybe. The tunnel will probably let them out near the sea.
He can't remember why he was crying. Pixal told him that his memory drive isn't working right. Maybe it is a strange side-effect. He doesn't care.
It's not like it matters.
Something's missing.
For the first few minutes after he wakes up, there's a nagging feeling itching at his head.
He meets four more familiar faces later. Kai, Jay, Lloyd, Garmadon. They have a happy moment together. They're surprised that he and Cole have escaped, and he's surprised that they're here.
But they're here.
They tell him that Nya and Dareth – more names – are on the run and that they need to find them before the other contestants do.
And then the race is on.
Something's missing.
For the first few minutes after he wakes up, he wonders why he can't sleep anymore.
The others are silent inside the little base. They've disguised it to look like a rock, and he thinks it's clever.
He knows that Nya is good with her hands, and he knows that he's met other people that are. He knows that Jay is. Nya, and Jay, and… and…
He doesn't know.
Maybe he'll remember them later.
Something's missing.
For the first few minutes after he wakes up, he feels violated.
Why, why, why, why, why, a single word, a single thought infinitely repeating itself, babbling to itself in the back of his mind. He doesn't understand.
They're outmatched, he knows. There are hundreds of Serpentine against eight of them. Kai and Lloyd still have their elemental powers, but so do the Serpentine.
So they don't have much of a chance, but they still have the chance. They're not guaranteed to lose.
But if they do lose…?
The scratched record in the back of his brain roars at him. No, no, no, no, no, not like this, not like this, not like this…
He feels afraid, but he's not sure why.
Something's missing.
For the first few minutes after he wakes up, he's happy.
They've won.
And then he sees the survivors, and for some reason, he can't take his eyes off of one face in particular.
His restored powers surge through him.
He gets up and he runs, he's running, running, running, and he can't stop himself. He's helping this person up because he knows him. He knows him, and he knows that this is where he figures out why he's been feeling so wrong.
He's looking this man in the eyes with such hope in his eyes, such overflowing, certain, naïve hope, because he knows, he knows, he knows, and he only needs to put a name to the face and then everything will come crashing back into place and he'll feel right again.
And he doesn't know how to say it so he just says it, he just throws it out in the open with minimal thought for the consequences and he hopes.
And then the man is shocked. And then he's sad. And then he shakes his head and Zane doesn't know what he's supposed to do.
He walks away with his shattered hopes and broken dreams, and he goes home with his brothers.
Something's missing.
For the first few minutes after he wakes up, he doesn't know where he is.
This isn't the first time he's had this happen, he remembers. He's remembering things better these days.
He recognizes the location, but he doesn't know why. It's a dark room with a tall, spiraling staircase, and he is alone.
Home, he recalls, but he doesn't know why.
He walks to a little table and examines the papers strewn across it, and they tell him things that he already knows.
His name is Zane. He is a nindroid, an artificial human. He has a familiar, a falcon, who is also inorganic. He is in love with another named Pixal. He has many friends that he considers family, and he will never forget them again.
But something's missing…
…and it feels like a half-remembered dream.
(A/N): I am so done. I realized something awful about canon today from Episodes 37 and 38, and dear god. I am a horrible person.
Basically, because Zane's memory is on the fritz, and he can't remember people or places that he hasn't been to until he meets them again or goes back to them... well, there's no way for him to remember who Julien is ever again, and he's lost fifty or more years of memories. Julien's dead, after all.
So yeah. Here's me making you feel very sad, and me simultaneously laughing and crying as I am in pain and I make hundreds of others feel my pain. :)
The title is in Latin (I love Latin okay Latin is amazing) and translates to half-remembered dream, if Google Translate can do anything right. I kinda stole the title from the movie Inception. :D