It's Sunday, the last day of Azule's treatment. He suffered two heart attacks last week; many nurses thought he'd be dead at this point. Dr. Sinclair's admiration grew of him, seeing such a young man endure everything of this magnitude. Sky stood by his side, missing almost three weeks over school; Aaron stopped by to give her the work she missed though. Azule had been able to walk again and do normal tasks; he was ready to head back to the real world. But for some reason, he was reluctant to leave. It was as if he'd become attached to the hospital staff for everything they'd done for him.
"I'm proud to see how far you've come…" said Dr. Sinclair as the entire hospital staff gave Azule round of applause as he exits the hospital; some patients even gave him departing gifts.
Sky and Azule hop in Sky's stingray and drive back to the big city, leaving the hilly forest. Azule stayed silent, he hadn't said a word since his first heart attack, hiding his face with his army cap. They enter the heart of the Inkopolis, passing by all the skyscrapers, the many condos and hotels and businesses.
"I guess you want to go to your dorm? I know you haven't seen your friends for a bit…" said Sky, hoping to rid the silence that filled the car.
"No…I'll stay over at your place for a little while…I don't want to see them…"
Sky looks at Azule, surprised to hear that answer from him, "That's great that you want to stay but, you have to be over at your dorms since you're a first year. What's wrong? Don't you want to see your friends?"
Azule looks away, reluctant to answer. Sky drops the conversation, taking him to a nearby Taco shop to get him some food since he spent the last three weeks eating hospital food. As they enter, Sky and Azule spot Tangie holding 7 bags worth of tacos.
"Hey! Tangie, what are you doing here?" called Sky, running over; Tangie stood frozen from the sudden ambush of the two sibling.
"Oh…uh…"-looking around the room-"I'm just waiting on Cobalt; we're on our way back to the dorm…" Tangie said, avoiding eye contact with Azule, who did likewise.
"Cool, well I brought Zule back from the hospital…"
It felt awkward for the three of them to be there, everyone in the restaurant stared at them, unaware of the history behind the trio. Sky left Azule with Tangie, driving off in a hurry as Tangie froze, unsure how to stop Sky. Cobalt returned, and saw the captain before him, Tangie looked anxious to get home, now that the beloved captain was back with them.
The walk home was silent, since Azule allow any openings for interactions. Tangie was on her phone texting someone, probably Reice and the others to notify them of their captain's return. Cobalt kept glancing at Azule, observing what changes might've taken place since his memory loss, noticing a different feeling about him, one that wasn't gentle like before.
I know his memories are gone, but, something feels strange…thought Cobalt, moving closer to him; Azule backs away, wanting to keep some space from these strangers.
"Are you happy to be returning back home with us?" asked Cobalt, trying to make Azule comfortable; Azule doesn't respond, keeping his eyes forward.
They arrived at the dorms, where Reice and the ladies were all waiting; Todd was in the next room-reading. Everyone's facial expression turned blank once Azule stepped in the room. The first time everyone finally saw him since the day he woke up and scarred them all with his amnesia. Azule immediately saw the truth, the fake smiles they displayed as they came over and hugged him, the pain in their eyes knowing the captain they sacrificed everything for was gone-for good.
Reice sat Azule down, turning the TV on. Violet and Fuchsia kept themselves at a distance from Azule, it hurt too much to see a different person sitting there. Cobalt and Reice invite him for a seat to watch something; Todd, got out as he heard Azule's voice, he learned everything that'd happen from Reice and Cobalt.
"Azule…"-settled Reice in a serious tone-"you still don't remember us, eh?" he said, placing his arm around Azule; Azule shook his head "no".
"Please watch this video then…"suggested Cobalt starting a video on the TV.
"It's our way of trying to help you understand a little more about what you meant to us." added Sally, taking a seat next to Azule.
The video shown was a compilation of all the matches Squidcom participated in, both Ranked battles and the Rank Wars. They especially highlighted that matches that Azule participated in, focusing on the emotion that Azule displayed as a leader, showing the spirit and devotion that Azule gave to mold the squad into the Iron-heart team they are now.
Azule's stiff posture loosened as he viewed the video further, becoming inspired by the actions that he'd done in the video, and the words said along with it. But, that wasn't all; the video was narrated by the different members of Squidcom. Each member shared their personal memory and moment that they had regarding Azule, expressing their thanks and how grateful they were to have known him-highlighting moments such as the fight with the black urchins, the first encounter they had with him, their first match together, or just the many undocumented moments that happened.
Azule was moved to tears after watching the video, realizing just how much he meant to these people. Although he couldn't remember their faces, or the adventures that he was having with them, he knew at that moment that they had a special aura-similar to Sky.
"My family…" whispered Azule to himself, beginning to feel the love that he'd been searching all along for. It may have cost him his memory, but he finally felt the love, the environment and the family that he wanted.
"So…did it help?" asked Todd, shedding a tear, also moved by the video, realizing the man he'd despised was quite the respectable man. Azule hid his happiness, returning to his stiff behavior, although it was clear to see he was hiding his true feelings.
"Well, that was quite an outstanding video…" praised Azule, saying his first words to them since he woke up. "May I ask, how did you get that footage?"
"Violet got the footage from our AV club and from Inkopolis TV. Fuchsia over there edited the entire video, even interviewing us too." Said Sally, pointing to the two girls who had their hearts broken the most by him; they look away, embarrassed.
"I'm thankful that I got to watch such a high quality production…It's influenced my decision." Said Azule, standing up; everyone awaits the skipper's decision.
"I would like to join your team! I want to become a member of your sports club like how I was before my injury!" declared Azule, displaying the same purity in his eyes like he did on the first day of school, like he did when he added Cobalt and Tangie and of course, the Octarian princess, Fuchsia.
Everyone exchanges a smirk with one another-even Todd can't help but chuckle. Azule looks at them all, curious to their laughter. "What's so funny?" he asked.
"Because, you're already our leader... We've been waiting for the day you'd come back to us." Said Reice; Azule smiles a little.
"But…I don't remember anything about these things I did before…won't I be a burden as the captain?"
"Oh please! We'll teach everything to you! What matters most is having you back at the best position, our team captain!" said Sally.
Azule's eyes sparkle as he shakes his head rapidly, "For sure! I'll be your team captain!"
Everyone rejoices as Tangie jumps on Azule's shoulders, leading the others to dog pile on him; Todd smiles, heading back to his room, satisfied with the somewhat happy ending. Although he may not have his memory back, it is very certain to say that Azule Royale, it once again the captain of Squidcom! The team is finally whole again as everyone shares laughter.
