Yayyy, second chapter! :D Cookies to Randomness from Boredom and Absol Master for telling me to continue this!

Eye-piercing sunlight streamed in through the small square opening called a window cut in one concrete walls of my room. What time was it? With one hand shielding my eyes from the light, I reached for my PDA that I left on the bedside table, and glanced at the time before closing my eyes again. 7.40am… Wait, 7.40?! I woke up with a start. I'm late!

"Mmm…" came a voice from the floor.

I looked down, and I saw Luke! He actually fell asleep in my room! He wore a content smile on his face, and I found myself smiling back at him.

"Focus! Don't think of such things!" I scolded, while I giving myself two mental slaps.

Grabbing my pillow, I whacked Luke as hard as I could.

"Luke! Get up! We're late!" I said, frantically.

"What time is it…"

"7.40! 7.40! Get up!"

"What?!" He practically shouted as he sat up. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

Without giving me time to respond, he bolted out of my room and I heard water rushing only a few moments later.

"Hmm, 5 seconds, getting slower by the day," I thought to myself, as I washed up. Today was the big day, and we couldn't afford for any distractions.

In five minutes, I was done changing into my clothes and almost as rehearsed, Luke and I opened the door at the same time.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me in the direction of the meeting room. I felt a flush go to my cheeks.

"C'mon, we're freaking late. Boss is gonna explode again."

"Yeah," I said, pulling my hand away and beginning to run. "I bet I can get there faster than you!"

"In your dreams!"

"Is everyone present?"

"Yup!" Luke yelled as we entered the room at the same time.

"You two are late again…" Sen sighed.

"Uhh, yeah, we kind of overslept," Luke tried to explain.

"Never mind. Take your places. This discussion is about to begin."

As we sat down at our respective places at the meeting table, Sen started the meeting by showing us a map of Victoria Island.

"As you can see, our boundaries are marked by these green lines on the map, stretching from Henesys to Kerning," he said, pointing to the green lines on the screen.

Luke yawned.

"The Salvation's boundaries used to stretch from Perion to Ellinia," Sen continued, in a louder tone. Gesturing to the red lines on the map, he continued. Their boundaries have been limited by our strong defensive forces, but now, there is a new problem." New yellow lines appeared, stretching towards Sleepywood. "Apparently, the Salvation has a new goal in mind. They aren't intent on invading our territory anymore, but they seem to be headed towards the centre of Victoria, the Sleepywood dungeon."

Luke and few other restless soldiers sat up, looking interested.

"The dungeon holds many untold secrets, of which many are capable of unleashing forces that can destroy the whole world. The purpose of this big day today, is to announce our radical plans to counter the Salvation's movement. I need volunteers to form a team, and their sole purpose will be to find out what exactly is The Salvation planning to do. Their job involves sneaking into enemy territory and retrieving information. This is a very risky job, and you may never return. But that's a chance we should be willing to take, if we want to protect the innocent lives that depend on us for protection!"

Shouts of agreement echoed through the room like a ripple on water. Frankly, I wasn't that interested on going on some suicide mission for no actual reason.

"Anyone interested can sign up after tomorrow's residents' meeting. Meet at Headquarters' meeting room 3. We have also managed to obtain information about the leaders of The Salvation," Sen continued, as he flashed several slides displaying pictures of several members.

I slumped down in my chair. Great, I thought, nothing worth noting this time round. I was really hoping that my platoon would get assigned field duties, but all there was for us to do was patrol the city.

I was staring blankly at the slides when one caught my eye.

On one slide was a man with hazel eyes and bright orange hair that looked strangely familiar. I wasn't paying attention to Sen's speech at all, but thinking hard. Where have I seen him before? Why is he so familiar?

Suddenly the slide changed, and my blood froze.

Cold, unfeeling blue eyes started back at me; eyes that bore right into mine, sending a chill down my spine.

I remembered the nightmare. The man with the orange hair and hazel eyes. The one who told me to run. The one from the dream-turned-nightmare.

"Ari, Ari!" Luke's words jolted me out of my trance as I realized that Sen was no where in sight.

"Oh, it's over already?" I asked.

"Yeah, you feel asleep? I can't believe Sen didn't even notice!"

"Um, not really…"

"What do you mean?"

"I recognized two of the faces…from my nightmare…"

"Really?" Luke's face expressed genuine concern. "Come on, we'll go somewhere else and talk."

We walked out of the Restoration's main headquarters and into the town, starting our daily patrol duty.

"Care to tell me what's bothering you?" Luke asked, apparently noticing the dazed look on my face.

"Well," I began, sitting down on an unstable bench in Henesys Park, settling my Kage on my lap and looking at the wide barren field in front of me. "Two of The Salvation's leaders are the guys from my nightmare."

"And..."Luke started, then paused and added. "Wait, you're thinking of volunteering for that special team in order to discover your past? You're going to look for the men in your nightmare? Are you crazy?"

"You can really read me like a book, Luke," I smiled.

"You still can smile? Do you even know what you're thinking of doing?"

"Yes, I know perfectly well. Luke, listen to me. I have no memories of my past before Sen found me in the ruins of the only village in Henesys that was attacked by The Salvation 2 years ago. I don't even know my real name. Sen just gave me the name Ari. Since the age of 14, I've been exposed to death and misery, and I've been fighting for The Restoration since then. I was told that The Salvation killed my family and destroyed the entire village, but I don't know why. Of all the villages in the area, why mine? But why can't I remember anything about my village, my family, my name, my past? Who does that voice in my nightmare belong to?" I was hysterical. Why didn't Luke understand?

Luke was silent.

"I lost my family in the Perion Massacre 5 years ago." He started. "I saw my parents and siblings murdered right in front of my eyes. I recognized someone from the pictures too. The one with the bright green eyes. I can still remember. He turned towards me, laughing maniacally when he saw me pick up my sword and try to defend myself. I was only 10, incapable of protecting my siblings. I thought, this is it, I'm going to join everyone up there. I thought, that I would never be able to fulfill my dream, my dream of making a difference in this world. I was prepared to leave this world, when The Restoration came to my rescue."

"That's why you fight, isn't it?" I said, softly, fingering the rings of my Kage. "You fight for revenge; to fulfill your dream in the only way possible now."

"Yeah," Luke answered through gritted teeth. "Look at this place!" He pointed to the barren surroundings. "Henesys used to be colourful, so vibrant! Now it's just a field of gray. Everything is either gray or red, destruction and rubble, or blood! This peaceful land is now bloodstained, and forever will be! How can we possibly erase the memories of those that have experienced the cruelest of fates by being born into this disastrous era?"

"At least they can remember," I commented, fingers tracing the horns of my battered old weapon.

"Trust me, sometimes it is better not to," Luke retorted, his back turned to me.

"Luke, I really want to know more. I want answers. I want to know about my past, no matter how tainted it might have been. I just want to be able to remember."

"Well, if you're so intent on it," he responded, turning to face me. "We'll both volunteer. Together. What do you say?"

"You'll do that for me?" I asked, a little shocked. "I thought you said I was crazy?"

"A friend in need is a friend indeed, my mom used to say," Luke replied, with a small smile. "I can't abandon my best friend, can I?"

"Thanks Luke, you're the best. We better finish patrol duty, or Platoon Leader Ina is gonna skin us alive."

"Race you to the marketplace!" he yelled, running off with his Fairfrozen swinging on his back. I smiled and teleported after him.

Note: Absol, 'maniacally' and 'manically' both work actually, but thanks anyways. :D