An Elephant Never Forgets

by Hoprocker

Dizzy the elephant was ready for a new life, a fresh start in a flourishing town. But after making the big move, a chain of mysterious events begins to unravel in his life. Odd rumors and disturbing urban legends come to light. At the center of it: a little, shiny-eyed girl who seems to know Dizzy, somehow. She appears innocent enough…but appearances aren't everything…

10. Reset

Get ready for the most exciting (and possibly the longest) chapter yet! My computer's hard drive decided to be a butt, but thankfully I had sent this chapter to my sister on Facebook so I was able to dig it back up. Whew, was that a close one!

Anyways, I wanted to post this in celebration of the fact that…TayTay made it to Smash Bros! And so did Alexann! Yes, the Villager has already been confirmed for a year, but today it was announced that he has girl versions of himself. One has Alexann's eyes, and another looks exactly like TayTay. It even has the same T-shirt she wore when she stepped out of the cab in Wild World. /wipes away a tear/ Needless to say, I'm really happy I'll be able to kick butt with her!

Finally, this chapter is named in honor of the song 'Reset' from the game Okami. The lyrics match this story surprisingly well. You should give it a listen!

Chapter 10

TayTay was dangerous. Resetti was dangerous. Dizzy didn't know what to believe.

All he knew was that he no longer wanted to be in the middle of this. So he decided to report back to Resetti, tell him the truth, and suggest that the mole do his own dirty work. Then he would split like a banana. Speaking of banana splits, the one he had eaten yesterday sure wasn't doing him any favors now…urgh.

Dizzy arrived at the Reset Center, out of breath, his stomach full of cramps. He entered without knocking, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible.

"Mr. Resetti?" He hollered, hitting the bottom of the ladder with a thump.

No response.

"Hello?" He called, looking around. The office was empty. Mr. Resetti and his brother must have been out on official business—whatever the heck that was.

Dizzy began to walk towards one of the chairs to wait for his gracious hosts, but then his eyes fell upon the mysterious door and its number pad. 01042013. The combination repeated in his head.

Before he knew what he was doing, he was punching in those numbers. The door unlocked with a satisfying click and swung open. Who has a poor memory now, Mr. Resetti? Dizzy thought, smug.

The smiling elephant turned back towards the chairs to sit down. He took one step and froze. Oh no. Here it came. That gnawing curiosity that was eating him up like a hungry tiger. He wanted to know where the mysterious door led. It was like it was calling to him. Literally. He could have sworn he was hearing the same distant voices from this morning.

One little peek couldn't hurt… Dizzy thought, pushing the door open the rest of the way. To his dismay, the door only led to a tunnel. It was pretty shabby and looked as if the moles had hand-dug it themselves. It stretched ahead into deep darkness.

Normally, Dizzy wouldn't have dared to go wandering into a dark hole. Luckily there was a nearby miner's hat with his name written all over it. The elephant grabbed the hat, turned it on, and set it atop his head (it was too small to strap on).

By this time, the loud grumblings of curiosity had completely drowned out the tiny voice of reason. Dizzy went tramping through the dank tunnel, shining his light in every direction. It was actually pretty cool down here! Dizzy had never been in a cave before.

He kept walking until the light of the exit had completely faded behind him. Still, he couldn't spot the other end of the tunnel. He was contemplating turning back, when he heard it…

Cough, cough.

Dizzy let out a gasp. Someone else was down here! One of the moles?! Or worse—a monster they're keeping locked away and now I've unwittingly released it and it's going to devour every single resident in Tay—

"Hello?" A voice rasped, from somewhere up ahead. "Is someone there?"

"It's probably just Resetti. Or his brother. Don't get your hopes up," Another voice answered.

That didn't sound like a monster. That sounded like people. Dizzy was poised to run, but something held him back. He looked back the way he had come, shining his light towards the exit.

"Wait. Please don't go. Come back," the first voice croaked.

Pity tugged at Dizzy's heartstrings. Slowly, he crept towards the voices, shining his light all around. He squinted his eyes when it reflected back to him. Something was catching the light. He blinked a few times, trying to make sense of what it was. Dread gripped him when he realized.

The walls of the tunnel were lined with black bars. Holes had been dug behind them. And there were pale, ghostly faces peering at him from between the bars.

This was a prison.

Dizzy nearly screamed, but then one gaunt face smiled at him.

The smile belonged to a girl with long, brown hair and soft eyes. She was wearing a dirty Festivale dress and a red bow. "It's not Resetti! Becca, come look!"

One cell over, another face appeared. This girl had round eyes and her dark hair was up in a messy ponytail. Like the first girl, her own colorful dress was smudged and even a bit torn. "You're right, Lizzie! Hey Mr. Elephant, please let us out!"

More pleas followed hers as more faces appeared. Five-fingered hands were reaching through the bars, from every direction.

Slowly, Dizzy realized that all of the prisoners were human. All of them had dirty faces smeared with grime. Their ragged clothing hung loosely off their emaciated bodies. They looked like zombies straight out of a horror movie.

"You're…the voices…why…why are you all down here?!" Dizzy stuttered, beginning to breath heavily. His chest felt like it was seizing up. He grasped at his shirt, willing himself to calm down.

"Resetti put us here, obviously. Now let us out!" Becca demanded, then added, "please," as an afterthought.

"How…?" Dizzy breathed, trying not to panic. He looked from face to face as they all began talking at once. Each voice wailed on his ears, sounding more desperate than the last.

"Don has the key!"

"Resetti's brother!"

"You have to find him and take it from him!"

"Please help us!"

"WAIT! H-How do I know you're not criminals?!" Dizzy cried out, beginning to back towards the exit.

Lizzie reached a quivering hand towards him. "Please," she begged. She tried to smile reassuringly. A thin layer of dirt on her face formed cracks as the corners of her lips turned up. "We're not criminals. It was all a mistake. Please trust me."

"Sounds just like something a criminal would say!" A gruff voice roared over the humans, causing all of them to fall silent.

Dizzy turned around, shining his light on Resetti.

The mole was sporting his own miner's hat, and holding the same brown-stained sickle he had that morning. He was glaring daggers at Dizzy. At that moment, the elephant wished he could crawl into one of these cells and hide. He felt like a child having been caught breaking an expensive vase. And he was about to be punished for it.

"So where's my stylus?" Resetti snarled.

Dizzy looked to the humans, as if for aid, but all of them had retreated to the back of their cells, immersing themselves in the shadows like cockroaches scattering from light. Dizzy swallowed nervously and answered, "I couldn't get it. TayTay refused—"

"YOU IDIOT!" Resetti screeched. "YOU STUPID, BLUNDERING FOOL! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW BADLY I NEED THAT STYLUS?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA—"

"NO! I don't!" Dizzy shouted, suddenly finding his voice. He stepped forward, towering over the squat little mole. "Why is it so important? Why do you want it so badly? And did TayTay really steal it from you or does it belong to her in the first place?! And…and why on earth is there a prison down here?!"

Resetti gritted his teeth as question after question was flung at him. Dizzy could see a vein throbbing at his temple. The mole was beginning to turn red in the face.

"It's TayTay's," a male voice said quietly.

Dizzy looked behind him, wondering who had spoken. A red-headed boy with slanted eyes was staring at him from one of the cells. As soon as their eyes met, he retreated back into the darkness. Dizzy looked back to Resetti. The crazed mole was trying to compose himself to the best of his ability, though his face still appeared mildly purplish.

"Fine. I'll tell you the truth," Resetti growled. "It's not mine. But there's a very good reason why I must have it—" "

"Tell me everything," Dizzy said, trying to stand tall. His resolve was wavering on the inside, but on the outside, he tried to appear brave. He wanted answers and he wanted them now.

"Okay, okay!" Resetti snapped. He motioned to the cells all around them. "You see these chumps? Notice anything peculiar? Anything they got in common?"

Dizzy nodded. "They're all humans."

"Bingo. See, you're not a complete loon." With a snort, Resetti plodded over to one of the cells, leaning against it to peer in at its resident. A scared-looking boy shrunk away, avoiding eye contact. "These humans may not look it, but they're somethin' special. Every single one of these nasty creatures is granted with a special power. And that special power is this."

Resetti stepped away from the cell, coming back to face Dizzy. With exaggerated slowness, Resetti reached into the pocket of his overalls and pulled something out with a flourish. Then he held it up for everyone to see. An excited murmur came from the cells, as all of the humans focused their gaze on it, like a pack of hungry lions eyeing the last gazelle.

Dizzy just frowned. "…A pen?"

"No!" Resetti barked. "It's a stylus! How many times do I have to tell you?!"

Dizzy squinted his eyes, trying to work this over in his head. "So every single human has a special power and that would be the stylus?"

"Right," Resetti said, tucking the magical object back into his pocket. "These styluses give them a dangerous power. Power they don't deserve to wield…" He trailed off.

"What is that power?" Dizzy asked, unconsciously leaning in closer to the mole.

Resetti's gaze darkened. His lips moved, and Dizzy could just barely make out the words: "Time travel."

Dizzy nearly laughed out loud. "Time travel? That's not—"

"Possible?" Resetti growled. "Oh, it's very possible. And these little troublemakers milk that power for all its worth. They reset time. They travel back to the past and far into the future. For example…"

Resetti approached one of the nearest cells—Lizzie's—and pointed at her. "This one tried to reset time after she pissed off a nest of angry hornets. She could have just run into a house, but no, she had to abuse this godforsaken power!"

"I told you, it was a mistake!" Lizzie said through tears. "I didn't know it was wrong! It was the first thing I thought of. Please let me go, I promise it won't happen again."

Resetti ignored her and moved onto Becca's cell. He chuckled at the sight of her sorry state. "This one traveled far into the future in hopes of making a fortune from her bank account! Greedy little numbskull. Money won't save you now."

"Nor will it save your face," Becca muttered, but Resetti chose to ignore her, approaching yet another cell. It was the one that belonged to the quiet, red-haired boy.

"And this one…" Resetti pushed out his lower lip and said in a mock-sad voice. "Dis one was feewing so sad and lonely, he went awww da way back in time to his birthday. So he wouldn't have to be awone anymore. Aww." A cruel laugh followed his words and echoed through the empty tunnel.

Please stop, Dizzy wanted to say, but he was frozen, weighed down by all of this new information. His mind could barely come to grips with it.

Resetti came walking back to stand in front of Dizzy, chest puffed out with pride. "See, we moles are special in our own way. No matter what these humans do to try and screw up the space-time continuum, us moles are unaffected by it. We retain all our memories. My brother Don says that we're the heroes put on this earth to stop the evil humans from completely screwing it over!"

"What are you saying?!" Dizzy burst out, unable to keep quiet any longer. He motioned to all of the encaged humans. "This is cruel! You can't punish them for such a small crime."

"Small crime?" Resetti blustered. "SMALL CRIME?!"

Eep! Dizzy stumbled backwards onto his rear as Resetti flew at him, eyes bulging, nostrils flaring.

"You have no idea what you're talking about! Time travelling has all sorts of negative side effects! Plants rot, weeds grow, cockroaches are EVERYWHERE! Villagers move away without warning! Stores close up! But worst of all…" Resetti stopped suddenly, nose quivering. His bulging eyes slowly receded back into his head.

It took Dizzy a few seconds to realize he had stopped breathing out of fear. He looked up at Resetti from his position on the ground curiously. "Worst of all…?"

"I don't know. You tell me," Resetti said with a smirk, crossing his arms and straightening up.

Dizzy felt a flash of frustration. "You don't know?"

"Course I know. I know everything. But you should know best of all."

"You just said—"

"Hey, I answered your questions, didn't I?" Resetti interrupted. "Now you know why your precious mayor can't be trusted!"

Dizzy nodded, a sinking feeling in his chest. "She's using her stylus to abuse her time traveling powers…and if she doesn't stop, Taytown will suffer for it."

"Exactly," Resetti said, grinning. "Glad you see it my way." He reached a paw towards Dizzy, offering to help him up.

Dizzy took it and stood up, frowning. "But…you can't lock her up like this. You can't lock anyone up like this, no matter what!" His voice sounded surprisingly powerful in his ears. He towered menacingly over Resetti and told him, "Let these people go!"

"Or else what?" Resetti said in a low voice. For some reason, this tone was even more unnerving than when he screamed.

Dizzy felt his resolve failing. "Or else…" His words died in his throat. He couldn't think of a suitable threat to make Resetti change his mind. Or else I'll steal all your food and eat it! was the best one he could come up with, but even that sucked.

Resetti snickered softly at the poor elephant's lack of response. Then he grew serious once more, eyes narrowed dangerously. "All of these criminals deserve to be here, TayTay more than anyone. She has broken the rules over and over again, yet I can never catch up to her. When things look bad, she jumps right back into the past for a do-over. She's even taken to creeping around at night with a ski mask and an axe. She thinks she can scare me off! WELL THINK AGAIN MAYOR TAYTAY CAUSE I AIN'T SCARED!"

Resetti threw back his head and screamed this to the heavens, his words echoing all around them. Flecks of spit flew out of his mouth and landed on Dizzy's face. Dizzy whimpered softly, beginning to shake.

Resetti took a shuddering breath and lowered his gaze. "Taytown's going to become a hellhole thanks to Mayor TayTay…and to you."

Dizzy's heart nearly stopped in his chest. Resetti's eyes were two pitch black holes, boring into his own. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the mole shifting his grip on his pickaxe.

"Wait!" Dizzy cried out, taking a step back. A hysterical laugh pealed from his lips. "What are you talking about? I just moved here! I—"

"I am the protector of this town! No, not just that…of the entire time-space continuum!" Resetti laughed, a mad gleam coming into his eyes. He took a step forward. "I'm not against using force against someone who resists. I've done it before and I'll do it again."

Dizzy suddenly realized what that awful red-brown stain on Resetti's pickaxe was. An image flashed before his eyes—a dark-haired boy who looked somewhat familiar was laying facedown in the mud, a wound on the back of his neck gushing blood…

"No!" Dizzy gasped, his legs giving out from under him.

Resetti grinned, flashing sharp little teeth. "The walls you built are cracking, eh? Well, it's too late for you now. You're the root of the problem. TayTay wouldn't be doing all of this if it weren't for you."

What are you talking about?! Dizzy wanted to wail, I barely even know her! But then another image forced its way into his head. He could see TayTay's eyes shining at him hopefully. A wide smile stretched across her face. She was saying something as she held up some kind of dessert. But then the memory slipped away before he could grasp it.

Dizzy groaned, squeezing his eyes shut and bending over. His head was pounding like a drum. He pushed his hands into his temples, but it did nothing to stifle the pain. "What's happening to me…?"

"Don't worry. You'll be put out of your misery soon enough."

Dizzy lifted his eyes. Resetti was holding his pickaxe high over his head, preparing to drive it into Dizzy's skull. Dizzy was paralyzed with fear.

He could hear the humans beginning to plea for his life around him, but their voices sounded muted in his ears. All he could see was the point of Resetti's pickaxe glimmering in the dim light. Resetti's lips curled into a sneer.

"I'm going to kill you," he snarled. "I'm going to kill you and kill you again. As many times as it takes for her to give up on you! AS MANY TIMES AS IT TAKES!"

Dizzy watched his life flash before his eyes as the pickaxe came boring down upon him. I never should have left Startown, he thought sorrowfully, bracing himself for the pain.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light that filled the entire tunnel. Just behind Resetti's head, something appeared—a portal. It was like a window opening up in thin air. Its surface rippled like water and its edges glowed with all sorts of colors. And from the middle of it came an angel.

At that moment, Dizzy could have sworn he was dead. But then he noticed something quite odd. What kind of angel carries an axe?

With a primal screech, TayTay leaped through the portal and drove the axe directly into Resetti's skull. Blood spurted forth and flecked across Dizzy's face, warm and sticky. The portal behind TayTay disappeared with another flash. All of the humans began screaming frantically. But they weren't afraid—they were exuberant.

"TayTay! Let us out!" Becca yelled, shoving an arm between the bars of her cage and waving it.

TayTay didn't respond right away, wrenching the axe out of Resetti's skull with some difficulty. It took her three tries to separate it. Each time she pulled, Resetti's head gave a disturbing jerk that made Dizzy's stomach clench a little bit tighter.

Once she had her axe, TayTay stood there panting and looking at Dizzy, as if gauging his reaction. Dizzy just stared back at her. She wore the same outfit from earlier. Her white dress was dirtied at the bottom, but contained no traces of blood. Her forehead shone with sweat.

Dizzy he turned his attention back to Resetti.

The mole was facedown in the dirt. Blood was clotting around the axe wound and flowing into a scarlet puddle around his head. His pickaxe lay forgotten a few feet away. Dizzy turned and closed his eyes, stomach squirming. Every part of his body was trembling. Don't throw up…don't throw up…

TayTay approached the other humans. "Where's the key?" She asked in a soft voice that didn't suggest she had just murdered someone.

"Don Resetti has it," Lizzie explained quickly. "He might be—"

Suddenly, a new light blinded everyone. For a second, Dizzy thought it might be another portal opening up. But then he squinted against the light and saw the silhouette of another mole. Don Resetti. He was standing far away, near the entrance of the tunnel.

Then the light flicked off.

"Get the key!" Becca shouted. "Before he gets away!"

TayTay didn't respond. She rushed to Dizzy's side and dragged him to his feet with one hand. In the other hand, she still held the axe, dripping with bright red blood and gooey brain matter. Dizzy couldn't stop staring at it.

"Come on, we have to stop him!" TayTay pleaded.

Dizzy wanted to tear his hand from hers. He wanted to run far away from this murderer. But slowly, he realized: she wasn't just a murderer…she was his savior. She saved his life. He looked deep into her eyes, searching their dark depths for some kind of answer. Just who are you…?

"We have to go," TayTay murmured, her face lined with guilt. She blinked rapidly, as if clearing away tears. Her voice cracked. "I'm sorry. There was no other way. He was going to kill you. I saw it with my own eyes. Please…trust me." She squeezed his hand.

Dizzy could feel his heart softening. He squeezed her hand back. "I do trust you," he said with quiet conviction.

TayTay's entire face lit up. "Then try to keep up!" She said with a grin. Then she took off running, dragging Dizzy along with her. As they ran, she called to the imprisoned humans, "Don't worry! I'll come back for you!"

Becca shouted a response, but it was lost over the sound of their footsteps. Dizzy kept stumbling in the darkness, but somehow, TayTay kept him on his feet and led him to freedom. Light pierced his vision as they burst into the Reset Center. Dizzy paused for a moment, shielding his eyes, but TayTay tugged at his arm insistently.

"We have to hurry," she told him. "We may already be too late."

As they began scaling the ladder, Dizzy's sensitive ears picked up the sound of police sirens. "TayTay, they're coming!"

Gasping for air, he forced himself to climb the rest of the way up and squeeze his giant head out of the hole at the top. TayTay shortly followed him.

"This way," TayTay said, once again grabbing Dizzy's hand and pulling him along. They ran east, along the river. Dizzy's chest was burning. With each step, a jolt of pain lanced up his legs. He had never run so far or so fast in all his life.

They turned south. Dizzy could see the glittering ocean coming into view, through the trees. Meanwhile, the police sirens were growing louder. Dizzy could see red and blue lights flashing not far behind them. "Where are we going?" he shouted over the noise.

TayTay didn't answer. At that moment, the policedogs burst out of the treeline and came bounding straight towards them. TayTay swerved, dragging Dizzy along with her, but then stopped short.

They stood at the edge of the cliff. Not far off, the river swept by, swollen with rainwater. Officers Copper and Booker closed in, cutting off all escape routes and pointing pistols at them.

TayTay stepped forward and tucked Dizzy behind her, glaring at the cops. Don Resetti stood a ways back, watching silently with his beady eyes. Dizzy could see a key dangling from his hand, as if he were taunting them with it. So close and yet so far.

"Mayor TayTay!" Officer Copper barked. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you—"

"No!" TayTay shouted, whipping out a familiar black pen.

The stylus! Dizzy thought wildly.

TayTay held it high in the air, poised like a pencil. The tip of it was glowing brightly, a rainbow of colors dancing at its edges.

"Stop her!" Don shouted at the cops. This was the first time Dizzy had heard him speak. He sounded frantic. "That thing is dangerous—stop her now!"

"Drop your weapon!" Copper snarled, cocking his gun. "Drop it now or I'll be forced to shoot!"

TayTay ignored him, carving the stylus in a large circle. Before his eyes, a portal flashed into existence. The cops yelped in alarm, having no idea what they were seeing.

"Come on!" TayTay shouted, eyes wide. She held her hand out to Dizzy.

He reached for it. As soon as their hands met, a gunshot rang in his ears. Dizzy screamed from the sheer sound of it—his eardrums felt like they were imploding. TayTay jerked him forward. The next thing he knew, he was spinning through time, his senses filled with light and color.

As quickly as it had started, everything spun to a stop. Dizzy landed on his belly in a soft bed of flowers. The world seemed like it was pulsing around him and his ears still rang. With great difficulty, he shakily climbed back to his feet and tried to make sense of where he was.

They were exactly where they had been a few seconds ago, but there was no sign of the cops or Don. It was as if they had vanished into thin air. Dizzy noticed the sky had suddenly turned cloudy, though there wasn't a cloud in the sky earlier. Is this what time traveling was? Had they escaped back into the past?

Dizzy felt a thrill of exhilaration. But then he spotted the flowers at his feet. Just this morning, they had been brightly colored and cheerful as ever. Now the ones that had not been crushed underneath him were withering. Resetti's warning briefly sounded in his head, but Dizzy brushed it aside when he spotted TayTay standing a few feet away, facing away from him and looking out over the cliff towards the sea.

"TayTay!" Dizzy exclaimed with relief.

She didn't respond.

"TayTay, we made it. We're okay!" Dizzy said, smiling at her.

Slowly, she turned around to face him. But she did not share his smile. Her face was pale, her dark eyes wide with horror. As soon as Dizzy saw why, his expression came to match her own.

There was a spot of red on her pure-white dress, just above her heart. Dizzy watched helplessly as the spot grew bigger and bigger, blooming like a scarlet rose.

Dizzy realized tears were forming in his eyes.

TayTay wavered on her feet. "Sorry…" she whispered apologetically.

Then she fell.