Blue was still sleeping three hours later when Anna returned with some food and drink for Park.
"Thank you, your grace." Helen said smiling.
"Please, it's either just Anarietta or Anna." The duchess dismissed.
"Right. So...any stories of you two?" Park asked casually, hoping to strike some sort of conversation.
"Has he told you how we first met?"
"Yes, if not briefly, he went over the important points."
"He and his mother stopped an explosion that would have wiped out half of the continent, he solved the murder of my father and saved the city from a crime wave." Anna said as Park glanced at Blue. She was beginning to understand why he was so reserved about his past. "His abilities come at a cost you know?"
"What cost is that?"
"Every time he leaves a reality he forgets all memories that are associated with it. He can retain a few if they're very important, for example he'll remember me you and his parents, but practically everybody else he will forget." Anna said, her voice filled with sympathy.
"Is that why he has so many photos? To try and remember all the people he leaves behind?"
"I cannot presume to know what goes on in his head, all I know is that some things he wishes he couldn't remember."
"I've done some terrible things to him in the past, he would have been well within his right to kill me, but he forgave me." Park said as she noticed Blue groan.
"What have I said about that, you need to stop blaming yourself for that." Blue said quietly as he tried to stand. "How many refugees are left?"
"Too many for you to keep going like this. You carry on pushing yourself to extent as before you'll die." Park said as Blue gave a sigh.
"I have an idea." Anna said calmly.
6 days later:
Anarietta was leading the heard of refugees,she was still carrying the gun she had picked up from an attacker. Blue and Park were riding shotgun, Blue's old horse was still living up to the reputation it gained when Blue was riding it. The colt was holstered on Blue's right thigh, his XM4 was in his hands and his sword was on his back. Meanwhile Park was riding next to him on another horse from the royal stable. She was holding her MP5SD and had her colt holstered on her left thigh while she also had a combat knife sheathed on the right shoulder strap of her military backpack.
"Go on...say it." Park said in a resigned voice.
"Say what?"
"Your smart arse comment, I can almost hear it rattling in your head." she sighed.
"Are we there yet?" Blue joked, putting on a childish voice.
"You're incorrigible, how I put up with you I don't know." Park chuckled.
"I have certain assets that make up for it. My good looks for one." Blue laughed. Park put her face in her palm, knowing she brought this on herself.
"I've opened a can of worms there haven't I?"
"Nah. I'm done." Blue dismissed as he recognized the mountains in the distance. "Kaedwen. She's bringing me home."
"Did you say something?"
"She's taking us to my 'home', Kaer Morhen." Blue said, slight amounts of rejoice in his voice, Park looked at Blue, his voice sounding joyful but his face was telling a different story.
"Is something wrong?"
"The last time I was here it was to pay respects to the man who trained me and my father, Vesemir. He died when an enemy attacked the place trying to take Ciri, at least that's what dad told me." Blue said as he struggled to make eye contact. Park hadn't seen Blue this vulnerable since he found out about the brainwashing.
"I'm sorry." Park said as Blue looked at the treeline keeping his eye out for any ambushes. He noticed something in the treeline move, immediately aiming in through his scope to get a closer look.
"Ambush! Get down!" Blue called out as he dove off his horse and into cover behind a rock.
"Contacts 2 o'clock!" Park called as she began to open fire.
"ten o'clock!" Blue shouted as he too opened fire in the direction of the hostiles. The herd of refugees all dove to the floor to avoid the incoming gunfire.
"Blue, six o'clock!" Park called as Blue turned to see an armored vehicle bursting through the tree line. Blue dove onto the other side of the boulder he was using as cover.
"Honey, next date we go on I'm choosing the place." Blue said as he checked his combat vest for anything capable of destroying the vehicle.
"So long as it's not a chippie I'll be fine."
"I've got nothing." Blue said realizing he had no explosives.
"I've got one frag!" Park called as she passed Blue the grenade.
"Draw Its fire." Blue ordered as he thought up a plan.
Park began to fire at the small window for the driver to see through. The high caliber gun began to turn to her, allowing Blue to sprint towards it, picking up a rock and jamming it in the barrel of the 25mm gun, the gun fired and the round exploded the barrel Blue climbed onto the top of the tank and threw the live grenade through the hatch on the top of it. Blue was thrown ten feet away by the ensuing explosion, he landed directly on his shoulder. All he heard was the sound of his shoulder dislocating.
"Agh...fuck!" Blue growled to himself as he used his other arm to push himself onto his feet. Using one hand to pull the trigger and nearby cover to mount the gun on Blue began to fire his XM4 in short bursts, they heard the sound of an incoming Napalm strike, the refugees covered their faces in reflex to the incoming rain of fire, but it never came, Blue opened his eyes to see a woman with red hair tied in two buns at the back of her head. She was casting a large shield over the herd of refugees. She stood at around 5'6 ft and looked to weigh around 130 lbs, she was of slim build and looked to be quite young.
"Hey Blue." the redhead said as Blue used his own magic to assist her in keeping the shield going.
"Triss, not complaining but what are you doing here? I thought you were in Kovir with the other mages." Blue said.
"Heard about Toussaint and was on my way to help, I can't hold this much longer."
"I have an idea, on my signal take a section of the shield down." Blue said as he combined both the Igni and Quen signs to create a large ball of fire. "Three...two...one, Now!"
Blue launched the fireball at the returning jets that were attempting another napalm strike, the aircraft fell from the sky, crashing into the tree line the remaining enemies were attacking from. Both Blue and Triss were breathless.
"Just like when you were younger. With the dirty bomb." Triss laughed as Blue sat on a large rock and relocated his shoulder, the loud pop of it going back into its socket.
"I don't remember having a dislocated shoulder back then and there was definitely no napalm strikes attacking us." Blue smirked as he whistled for his horse, mounting it and holstering his rifle in the saddle holster. "Thanks for the assist Triss. I'd offer you a lift but..."
"Were heading in different directions, as always. One day I'll get to talk properly to the boy Geralt and Yennefer raised." Triss said, a hint of longfulness in her voice.
"Yeah, one day." Blue said giving a sorrowful nod to Triss as he rallied the refugees to keep moving.
1 Day Later, Kaedwen:
The herd of refugees arrived at the front gates to the crumbling keep of Kaer Morhen. They were greeted by the eerie silence of the abandoned keep. All of the Witchers that once inhabited it had left after the death of their mentor, their father figure, Vesemir. Blue felt strange being back here, his right index finger nervously tapping the reins on his horse. An all white Arabian breed stallion. He had won it in a game of poker when he was young, it reminded him of the Lone Rangers horse from the TV, thus Blue named the horse Silver.
"Are you alright Blue?" Park asked quietly to avoid drawing attention to the two of them.
"Fine, just need to go somewhere when I have some quiet time." Blue said remembering he needed to do something important on top of a nearby mountain.
"Set up the tents in the upper courtyard, sort yourselves out, we'll be staying a while so get comfortable with the surroundings and remember we are guests here, so try to keep the place acceptable." Anna called out to the refugees as Blue hitched his horse in the lower courtyard and began walking off in the direction of the mountain. Park decided to hang back a bit, able to tell that he needed a bit of space for where he was going.
Blue climbed up to the peak of the mountain, his arm giving him some small amount of trouble, though he was pushing through the initial pain. When he arrived at the mountaintop Blue was faced with two small murals to his believed to be dead parents. He fell to his knees and broke down.
"Mum, either of you, I don't know if I can beat the people responsible for all this, I just can't do this, Just a sign, anything to tell me I'm on the right track, please. Just keep everyone safe please, love you Mum's, Dad." Blue sobbed as he rested a small bunch of flowers he gathered while climbing the mountain on the graves. "I can hear you breathing back there."
Park gave a regretful look as she approached Blue.
"I built them the first winter I spent here." Blue said calmly as he stood up.
"We'll get them back."
"We don't even know who these people are that are attacking us, but they know a lot about us."
"That's never stopped us before." Park smirked as she gestured to Kaer Morhen. "Come on, I've got something to show you."
Blue followed Park to the upper courtyard of the keep, he was greeted by the sight of what was practically a settlement, children were still playing even though they had no home left to return to, people were banding together to help keep the settlement safe.
"You need to stop blaming yourself for people being hurt or dying, It's not your fault when we die Blue, Its your fault when we live." Park said as Blue looked around. He noticed that the guards were using pitch forks.
"Fine, first we need to train these people to defend themselves. Rally all able bodied and willing people, I'll get them real weapons." Blue said as he headed into the main hall for the keep armory.