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The following is a fan-based
FICTION
Las Lindas and other products set in the same universe are all owned by Chalo/Chalosan and SoulKat.
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Chapter 17: Haunting Past
Beta-Reader: Ant0nius (FFN)
~Matt's POV~
Humming quietly, I carefully positioned the small picnic basket onto the grassy ground.
It was a sunny day in the outskirts of town, and the morning was already showing some pretty sights for those that were awake to see them.
A morning that saw me having nothing to do at the farm for how much early it was, allowing me the opportunity to kindly accept Taffy's offer to have a picnic at this stage of the day.
This wasn't a bad idea, as it's been ages since I've spent time like this with someone else. What made this event more interesting was that we both had contributed by bringing along a few baskets filled with food.
The plan was simple, and terribly delicious.
The Bunny Prime had prepared some small cakes and other sweet-food to be used as appetizers before lunch, I could recognize some apple-like flavor from the mere delicious scent coming from the container.
Meanwhile, I had been focused on making some food that was meant for us to have for lunch.
I had prepared several sandwiches ranging from meat-lover to vegetarian as an effort to give both of us the chance of enjoying the pleasant time shared together the best way possible.
The young woman sighed happily as she sat down on the light-green blanket, fixing the hems of her strawberry-pink dress.
We picked the little area of grass near to the shade of a lone tree near the muddy path that led to the inner section of the settlement, deciding that it was for the best to have some place where to rest in case we felt the need for a nap.
Sitting near her while humming quietly, I noticed that her green eyes directly glanced at my face, causing me to mirthfully frown back at her.
"Something's got your attention?"
She blinked at my question, giving a small smile in return.
"You know, I didn't expect you would shave your beard without a good reason"She added that last bit with a snort. "You look a lot younger without that mess."
I groaned at her thought, almost facepalming.
"It wasn't that bad," I replied with a huff, thinking about it a little as I could remember Diana pointing out that I looked 'cleaner' without that much hair on my face.
Same for Randal.
Probably Minos as well, with how nervous he appeared to be when I met him at the pub earlier.
'Dangit.'
"Sure thing, Matt," The Bunny replied with a mocking sigh. "I guess you are mourning the passing of that thorny bush you had on your face."
Snorting, the effort to get annoyed at her smug comment faltered the moment I got an idea on how to react to her bravado.
Taffy let out a quick squeak as I pushed her to the floor, softly taking hold of her shoulders and smiling close to her face.
"Truly?" I inquired with an amused voice, letting quite the pretty blush to spread on her lovely face.
She hadn't expected my little counter, and she ended up sparing some seconds of silence to recollect her thoughts before giving me a raspberry.
"Jerk," The Prime retorted with a huff. "You are pressing a little too much on my arms."
I blinked, glancing away from her face as I turned to see if this was true but… just as I did this, she moved and pushed me to the side.
My eyes widened as I suddenly realized what had just happened.
Now I was the one pinned on the blanket, a giddy-looking young woman sparing me a mirthful glance at the fact she had succeeded with her trick.
"But yes, your beard was itchy to the touch," The pink-haired lady hummed back with an entertained voice as she moved her hands to the near food basket, rummaging inside of it while still sitting on my chest.
"There," She continued with a sigh. "Try this."
A small fork hovered just a little bit above my lips, a small-sized piece of apple cake on it.
I leaned up and snagged the food with a swift bite, taking my time to study flavor and texture, but ultimately I nodded at the delicious sweet.
"Yummy, isn't it?" She inquired quietly, before retracting the fork and taking another piece herself to try. "Yep, this is one of the best ones I've ever made."
I glanced up as she continued to take more bites out from the cake inside the basket, making me frown as she seemed to forget where she was currently sitting by.
I blinked, hoping that it was just a willing trick once again, but then she seemed to relax on her 'seat', swiftly devouring the cake with gusto.
Finally, I decided that it was about time to have her experience some retaliation for ignoring me so much.
Taffy took a moment of pause to properly enjoy the cake some more, giving me the chance to swiftly move my hands by her side and poking at the same time both of her flanks.
She tensed up suddenly, a yelp drowned by the food still in her mouth and she was quick to bend forward towards me.
Quickly wrapping my arms around her, I pushed her nose on my chest while nuzzling on her hair.
"Y-You jerk."
"You literally forgot about me," I shot back with a hum, while enjoying the sweet fragrance of… raspberries?
The young woman moved her head up, chin resting on my chest as she stared up at my face.
"I was just enjoying some cake-"
"That we were supposed to share," I interjected with a sigh. "You truly are distracted today."
Taffy blinked at my comment. "Am I? I think you are the one distracted with how long you have been looking below my face."
"I-I think I've explained to you already that your little fluff is mesmerizing," I admitted with some embarrassment. "Seriously, why is that so hypnotic?"
"I think you are the only one thinking so, Matt," The Bunny Prime mused quietly. "Still, can I ask you something more serious?"
…
That was quite the sudden topic change.
I gave her a slow nod, surprised by this immediate change of course.
"Sure?"
She nodded back, smiling nervously.
"I-I know that this might sound a little difficult to answer, but can you tell me about your parents?"
I let the query sink a bit into my mind before answering, trying to muster up some words for the reply.
"I suppose I can..." I whispered quietly while staring up at the branches of the nearby tree. "What do you want to know? Anything specific or-"
"It's just that… you rarely mention them, even though you promised that you were going to say more about them instead of… ignoring this little promise."
I felt my throat tightening at that comment, flinching briefly at that comment.
"I guess I did..." I admitted with a quiet tone. "I'm sorry if I did break any promises or-"
"You didn't," Taffy interrupted with a sigh. "It's just that I would like to hear more about them."
Grasping my shirt tighter, the Bunny Prime tensed a little more at the fact that we were talking about parents.
She did tell me what happened with her mother, and how things had almost spiraled out of control if it hadn't been for her grandfather.
But I could only connect this curiosity to the fact that she wanted to know more about what good parents were meant to be.
The young woman didn't spare herself to point out that she dreamed to have quite the numerous family once she properly settled down with someone, and any tales I could offer her could become good means to achieve this dream.
"Well, there was this time when I decided to try and help my mom around with the little garden she had at home," I started to narrate with a calm voice. "I was pretty young, around four years old, and in my childish mind, the best way to help my mother with her garden was to use bleach on her plants."
There was a look of dread on her face. "That's pretty… bad as something to try. Even for someone that young."
"I was quite the pest," I admitted with a little shrug. "The little nightmare that just did things to garner the attention of those around me. But boy, I can't forget how furious mom was when she discovered what I did."
"I can only imagine that she was mad to you for causing that disaster."
I smiled a little at the understanding tone in her voice, but I was far from done with this story.
"Actually, she was more angry about the fact that I had somehow got hold of a bottle of bleach when she had been careful enough to put it away from my reach," I replied with a sigh. "As I've said, I was pretty much the nightmare at that stage of my life."
"Making your parents' lives quite tough, but… I guess you learned to not play with bleach."
"I-I was four, I remind you," I shot back with a hint of embarrassment. "And I'm certainly not running around with bottles of bleach in my hands any more.
"True, true," Taffy giggled a little at my mock-outburst. "But still, I doubt that was your worst situation."
I blinked. "My worst situation?"
Did she seriously want to know about the worst I've ever faced?
I mean, I did have that kind of story but…
There was a reason why I wasn't that much at ease to bring it up.
Some confusing reasons to be fair, but still enough to urge myself to not think too much about back then.
"Well, there was one time when I almost broke my leg because I had tripped badly on some rock during a trip when I was about… ten or so," I mentioned with an uneasy tone. "I was scared at first because it had happened during nighttime. I had gone out pretty far from the camp my family had set up, leaving me without any means to call them for help other than shouting until my breath turned itchy."
Her green eyes widened. "T-That sounds horrible," She whispered with some surprise dripping from her words. "Were you hurt by some other animals or-"
"Luckily enough for me, I was just frightened to a shivering state by the various noises around me," I reassured her with a tiny smile. "Nothing truly dangerous, as dad found me about two hours later when he noticed that I wasn't sleeping in my tent."
"Still, you had to have been scared to death. All alone, in the dark," The Bunny Prime pressed on with some surprise.
"Oh, but I didn't leave that little experience without issues that troubled me for the next decade," I pointed out with a hum. "For some time I was subject to panic attacks when I found myself dealing with closed spaces that I knew much about. It was problematic since it would happen every time I went to school, or even when I started Uni."
"But, aren't you still affected by it?" Taffy muttered with a frown. "I mean, you don't seem prone to have those kinds of reactions when going to new places."
My lips parted, ready to speak up the real curious element that made that predicament fairly odd to even think about.
But, should I really show this little confusion over the matter? Especially when I myself was unsure about what had caused that to happen?
Glancing at the Prime's waiting green eyes, I tensed a little at the pressure coming from those demanding orbs and… I sighed.
"I was meant to suffer from this trauma for much longer than I did. It was about a few months before my parents passed away that I actually noticed that something had changed with my disposition to hang around new places," I ultimately explained with a nod. "There was no panic, there was no sudden stressing over the closed spaces… but for some time, I was prone to get angry with everyone and everything."
"Is there a reason for you to behave like that or-"
"That's the thing. I don't have any reasons, or at least I can't remember what truly got me that quick to get furious," I interjected with a drained sigh. "I lashed out with pretty much everyone that knew me, even my parents weren't spared by the odd episodes I had about little things. I was just-"
"Angry at yourself?"
…
I blinked, returning my glance down to Taffy and away from the sky.
"Yes. And the maddening thing is… that I don't know why it was like that."
"Maybe you did make a mistake, something that made you so nervous that you just ignored the trauma you had."
"Perhaps," I muttered quietly. "Yet… I think there is much more to it. If I did make a mistake 'that big', I'm sure it would have stuck around in my head even until now. But… nothing."
Taffy sighed, and slowly fixed herself better on my chest as I lessened the hold of my arms over her waist while I told her about those stories.
"Maybe it's just something that you've bottled up unconsciously because of how impactful it was to your inner self," The pink-haired lady suggested calmly. "Maybe you tried to cope with it by burying it deep in your mind after your parents… passed away."
I gave her a silent nod, yet I felt something clicking in my mind.
This kind of conversation was slowly connecting with the words I shared with Diana about the circumstances that had led me there.
But the correlation was abysmal, if not coincidental considering that I hadn't experienced any abnormal degrees of anger when I wounded up at Las Lindas.
In fact, I would even say that I had been gloomier than I had been mere weeks earlier, even before that visit at the pub…
I felt the guilt resurfacing back with a stronger kick than usual, one that not even a normal hangover should have brought me to experience.
And yet I did for some reason.
But why have I felt so guilty until a few days ago? Why did I feel so furious when I lost my troublesome trauma-induced panic attacks?
Why?
There was no answer from my core, only some minor headaches that threatened to disrupt my concentration for the work that awaited me in a matter of a few hours from now.
But I had to think about this thoroughly once I was done with the work, maybe when I was done with dinner and left alone with only my thoughts.
Instead of being able to muse more on the matter, I felt Taffy slowly climbing closer to my face, her stare directed at me as she settled there.
I blinked at her rapt interest over my face.
"S-Something wrong?" I asked quietly, stuttering early on as I was still trying to understand why she had adjusted herself much closer than before.
She hummed. "You know, Matt… can I say that I might have lied to you?"
…
What?
What was she talking about?
My brain scrambled for an explanation over her heavier words, but before I could try to get an answer out of her, I found myself facing a strong sign that something was aloof.
She leaned in and took a quick peck at my lips, before leaning back.
"I… I might be actually in love with you, Matt."
I blinked again, then once more before finally taking note of her words.
"Y-You are?"
She gave a solid nod before snuggling on my chest. "I am."
"B-But I thought that-"
"I thought this too at first," She interjected in a whisper, looking quite nervous. "But then I realized that I really like you. A lot."
There was some silence between the two of us, with the wind blowing softly around and moving some of the grass around the blanket, as we both thought about what we were supposed to do now that this was out.
I was… surprised, but also confused how I was supposed to deal with this new development.
I saw Taffy as a lovely individual, quite the beautiful young woman with the most-delightful of personalities. She was cute, she was responsible and… she was still my friend.
Despite the endearing traits she had, I still couldn't see her as more than that.
I couldn't even explain this myself. It just felt that any further steps beyond that would see the two of us dealing with quite some complications for our individual lives.
Taffy wanted a big family, and I wouldn't have been able to provide her with one, considering the low compatibility between humans and Primes.
"I'm glad," I replied slowly. "Actually, I'm happy you told me this. I really am… but I hope you understand that-"
"I know."
...What?
"I had this hunch about it. I could feel that you weren't going to return my feelings, but I still wanted to tell you about them," She explained with a calm sigh. "We have been honest to each other. I feel like I should tell you this instead of just keeping quiet about the matter."
"You aren't wrong. I'm thankful that you told me this," I pointed out with a kind tone. "And while I'm sorry that I can't return these feelings, I still appreciate that you were brave enough to come up to me with this."
I hugged her, nuzzling her forehead with my chin as she drowned her face on my chest.
"You are one of the individuals I care about here in this town, Taffy," I continued with a resolute voice. "Maybe the one I care for the most. You have been there since I first met you, and I always cherish your company."
The Prime sniffed a little, her face still hidden from my sight, but I was fairly sure that she was starting to cry even with how much careful I was being with my words.
"You are so stubborn in helping others, I guess I can say that this time I will be the one to give you some help," I concluded with a hum. "Because I sure as hell am not going to end this embrace until I know you are fine and all."
…
"And by fine, I mean really fine. I will not accept a silly 'I am fine'."
She snorted a little at this last comment, finally turning her stare up and showing her tears.
"E-Even though you aren't much experienced with this," She said while sniffing a little more. "You would still go through this. I-I can work through this on my own as an adult-"
"You are an adorable Bunny with a silly complex of helping people that doesn't easily accept the help of others," I remarked with a frown. "You are lovely, Taffs, but I will still put you in Cuddle-jail."
Her lips twitched in amusement at the made-up word. "C-Cuddle-jail?"
"I'm working on it," I admitted with mock-embarrassment. "In fact there is also gulag-hug, and embrace-cage."
Taffy let out a giggle. "O-Oh no. N-Not the gulag-hug."
I chuckled back at her comment.
"See? I'm getting progress done here."
"N-Not truly!" She affirmed while snuggling once more in the warmth. "Y-You are far from it."
…
"Really?"
There was a tiny smile on her face. "Maybe."
I smiled back. "Then I guess I need to intensify my efforts!" I exclaimed determinedly. "I will have to unleash my trump card!"
She frowned at my words, confused by what I was talking about, but then the young woman tensed as she felt my hands by her hips.
"N-No. You know that I'm-"
"I know," I interjected with a bright smile. "That is why I'm doing this!"
She didn't have time to react as my fingers started to tickle all over her.
The effect was immediate, giggles and full-blown laughs erupting from that interaction as the girl was brought to a state of endless amusement over what I was doing.
My own lips parted to let out my own chuckles at the scene, enjoying the developing situation the more it continued.
From there, the little picnic went smoothly, and without much of an issue.
Lunch passed quickly and I escorted Taffy back to her flat, ending up getting a new promise of visiting the day after tomorrow.
But even though she seemed to have recovered from that problematic dilemma we had faced together, I still felt that much was left unsolved about this relationship.
And, that this had to be dealt with in proper circumstances.
~Minos POV~
There were a few things that could instantly get Minos this tense and nervous, even if he was enjoying his new life in the peaceful region of Gossamer.
Most of those issues correlated one way or another to his past. Back to the war, back when he was still part of the Emperor's side.
All of these troubles came from his early naivety, or from his initial lack of understanding to the struggles his fellow Primes had to go through during and after the battle with his former lord.
The pain, the sorrow, nothing he tried back then had matched with the dreadful conflict that had dragged around for millennia.
He had collaborated willingly with those that were the aggressors, with those that had so easily shed the blood of many innocents for the sake of some vain man with a thirst for power.
While Grace had led him through a recovery path after defecting, having been the one to genuinely help him regain some control over his life, she had been but a minor part of what had truly gotten him out of that horrible misunderstanding.
An individual that was unique, a 'pest' that he had been so driven to try and kill back when he still served the Empire, but that eventually bested him one too many time, showing him mercy all of those times.
He had faced defeat several times, the most humiliating moments in his life for someone that prided himself over his immense strength.
Minos was the Crest of Earth after all, his raw power was supposed to be unmatched to normal beings.
Yet it had still happened.
He had faced a brutal and harsh series of losses that led him to stray away from the collected and submitted state of mind that had left him a puppet for the evildoers, and right into the peaceful and understanding arms of those that wished to bring unity in that divided house.
The Bull Prime was aware that some things were just impossible to be achieved, yet that little human had done it back then.
How foolish he had been to consider his deeds so miserably early on, how childish he had been for diminishing the worth of such a brave warrior.
A brave warrior that he had long forgotten about, lost in his memories after so many centuries gone by without his presence lingering in this universe.
And now, much to his immense surprise, he was disproved of the chances that the young man had perished after that final battle against the Emperor.
After a quick stay at the local town's bar, Minos was quick to make a return to his home, to reach out for the communication device and the number connected to Ambar's private phone.
He was nervous, he was panicking and… he can't still believe it.
But it couldn't be otherwise.
The resemblance was just too similar to be a coincidence, there was no way that his sight had messed the vision he had been bestowed earlier that morning when he had graced upon Matt's face.
He had removed his beard, shaved off and left no injuries on his 'clean face'.
Gone was the simple camouflage, the little detail that had just hidden away the true key of familiarity that had been hovering over the young man.
The trusting manners, the familiar friendliness, and his sense of kinship having matured over the years.
There was no doubt in his mind and heart, yet he had to seek an audience with Ambar.
She had to know, her eyes saw what many failed to catch at first impressions, her Crest having bestowed her of the capacity of noticing the most insignificant-looking details while making it the most important of them all in every situation.
The communication service took some time to properly establish, but his attempt was met with success as he was greeted with the sight of a red-haired Bear Prime lying sprawled on some comfy-looking sofa while reading a strange book titled '101 New Mom Jokes'.
Ambar glanced to the side where the phone was visualizing the call and smiled.
"Oh, hello there, Minos," The woman yawned while greeting the fellow Prime. "How are you doing, big guy? Any reason for calling this early, and without notice?"
Normally, he would have been annoyed by the childish manner he was being treated like, knowing full well that the Crest of Wisdom was merely trying to get a reaction out of him. This time, he wasn't in the mood for playing games.
"Ambar, we need to talk of something fairly serious."
She blinked. "If it's about the night calls, I can already tell you that I'm not going to stop and-"
"Matt Newcastle, he is the one that defeated me many centuries ago, isn't he?"
The interruption was followed with several seconds of silence, as the Bear Prime closed her book and looked briefly surprised by the words uttered by Minos.
"Come again?" She inquired with a more serious voice.
"He is that knight, the one that was assigned to-"
"Stop! Okay, I see where you are going, don't continue right now," The woman interrupted suddenly, picking up her phone and rushing away from the room she had been staying by.
The Bull Prime followed her actions for some time, keeping quiet as he tried to understand what Ambar was doing by running around so quickly and without explanation.
A door closed and the Crest sighed as she dropped by her bed.
"Please, continue but… let's keep the discussion-making to a limited degree about this matter," The woman finally spoke again. "If Geecku ends up learning about this, we would be dealing with quite the issues all at once."
He blinked. "So Matt is-"
"It's him, yes." Ambar interrupted with a huff. "He is the 'Grand Knight', the one that fought for 'Her', and was the funniest target to tease about back when he was around."
"But then why didn't you tell me?" He asked with some irritation. "I understand that you wish to keep this a secret, knowing how big this one is, but you could have told me about-"
"There are more complications that it might seem, Minos," The Crest of Wisdom admitted with a sigh. "Complications that I can't even talk with Apogeo for too long before the Gods become too uneasy about it."
The Bull Prime tensed a little at the mention of the deities.
The Gods had been dormant for centuries now since the end of the War, many having just decided to reduce their presence and capacity to intervene for the sake of allowing the proper healing for humanity and primekind as a whole.
For them to have a role behind the disappearance and the return of the Grand Knight was somewhat worrying.
"But why would they decide to meddle with his life?" Minos finally asked. "While I understand the blessings he had received back during his first steps in his journey, he should have been allowed to enjoy the fruits of his efforts. The end of the War was partly won thanks to-"
"The Gods have been very cryptic about the subject itself. Even Apogeo doesn't have a full understanding behind their actions over this specific case," Ambar admitted with a serious tone. "But I can assure you that he will not disappear anymore. Not with how much effort that has been put to make him return once more here, on Neo-Earth."
"B-But why can't he remember anything?"
The question was a legitimate one.
Why couldn't Matt just remember the past? Why couldn't he just remember the multiple adventures he had shared with so many people from across the entire galaxy.
A true explorer, but ultimately his main role was to protect the greatest thing for Primekind.
Their chance of having a future once the War was over, to have someone to believe into.
Sadly, with his disappearance and the dreadful toll during the final battle for Earth, the young woman that was once the ward of this single human had long decided to live as a recluse, as a frightened child before the crumbling hopes of having the best ending possible.
Truly a depressing outcome, considering the efforts that Ambar had to take to make sure that nothing fell apart at the lady's decision.
Truly a pity.
"When forced to make his way back home, he was reluctant to let go of his bonds," The Crest of Wisdom gave a tired sigh while commenting on this. "He tried to oppose their wishes, to stay there to bask in the resulting peace… but he was still sent back. Even erasing his memories of what had happened wasn't enough to deny him the furious state that lingered for him for the months that followed."
"So why are his memories still sealed? It's been years now, I'm sure he would easily hold back from-"
"He blames that anger for killing his parents," Ambar interjected with a grim tone, causing Minos to stare in shock at her. "He really believes that by driving them away, he was the one cause that killed them."
"That's foolish, he never mentioned that-"
"He didn't need to. Why would he give out his greatest guilt?"
Silence resumed with Ambar staring at the ceiling of her bedroom with a tired look, her light-blue eyes showing hints of sadness about the topic.
How much did Matt keep to himself despite their friendship? How much was he bottling up for the sake of not hurting others?
Was this why he was so appeasing? Why the fiery personality the 'Grand Knight' was known for was diluted in that docile maturity of his?
"Never think that I'm doing this happily, Minos," The Bear Prime muttered quietly. "I know that there are some shaky elements in whatever they are planning, and while I can't tell you what is going on, I can assure you that I will keep everything safe for everyone. Even for Matt."
The Bull Prime took a long sigh. "I know that you wouldn't diminish the value of any life, Ambar. But I beg you to not let anything mess things up about it."
"I will not," The woman promised with a solid nod. "But I need you to promise me that you will not tell anyone else about this."
"Why?"
"Some would rush to meet up with him. I know that Pulsar, Howl, Xeanica, and Bengala would restrain themselves and understand the need of not hurting him while he is still amnesiac," The Crest of Wisdom admitted. "The rest would just try to catch up with him, ignoring the fragility of the predicament."
"So… we just wait?" Minos inquired quietly, hoping that he could still try something about it.
"If you think you can help him around without sounding suspicious, then you may try," Ambar said with a nod. "But don't mention anything that could damage his mind when the memories start to resurface."
…
"I understand," The Bull Prime hummed quietly. "I guess that now, I will be more cautious about this."
The woman smiled and nodded at him. "Indeed. Be careful around him, Minos."
The call ended and the Crest of Earth sighed at the draining revelation that was now confirmed in his mind.
It was true, he was back.
The 'Grand Knight', the one that had one of the greatest duties, was once more wandering in this dimension.
But much to Minos' and Ambar's unawareness, someone else had listened to the call by eavesdropping from behind that door.
AN
A new chapter, the plot thickens and… there is a prequel planned.
One about some abs-
And about friendship, love and-
ABS!
Yes, there will be Abs!
Yes!
Still, this story needs to wrap up and… we have 13 more chapters before the end of it all. The bet are open about what is going to happen now-
Either Crests' intervention or my daughter's decide to thread carefully on this situation.
Both are chaotic, but only one is the correct answer!
