Remember

Episode Seven: Countdown

Chapter Three

The sight of the chained Dark Prognosticus sent shivers down Aldrik's spine. The Voice squirmed at the forefront of his mind, as if to coax him closer to the book. It thrilled him, standing so close to it, with his brother awake and willing to let him touch it. His fingers brushed the blue gem centered in its cover, trailed past the dark leather, and landed on the golden shackles that held the tome to its pedestal. Energy pulsed under his touch like a heartbeat.

"What...what will you do with the Prognosticus, when you have unlocked it?" Aldrik barely recognized the halting, uncertain voice as his brother's.

"I will use its power to better our Tribe. To make it stronger. I will succeed where you have failed, Basile."

"And...that is what it wants?"

The Voice shifted in the back of Aldrik's mind. Fear flashed across his chest and bled into his expression. He turned his face away from Basile. "It will do what I want it to. I control it, not the other way around."

Basile's hesitation made his doubt evident. His eyes narrowed. "Will this destroy you, brother? Tell me the truth."

A dark laugh echoed through his mind's chasms.

"No."

With slow, trembling hands, Basile reached up to touch the crown adorning his head. The twisted gold and black metal sought purchase on his slicked hair as he pulled it away from his skull. A pair of spiraling shapes reminiscent of eyes served as the crown's centerpiece. Smaller ellipsoids crossed with jagged, thorny protrusions formed the rest of the crown, braided into a circle broken only by the space between the two eyes. The thorns scratched along Aldrik's scalp as Basile placed the crown on his head.

"Use this power only to better the tribe, brother. Do not let it consume you further."

Aldrik straightened. "I will take those words as a suggestion, brother, seeing as you are no longer my king." His fingers searched the back of the crown for the loose thorn. He removed it with the tinny rasp of metal-on-metal. Aldrik's hands shook and the tome thrummed with power as he inserted the key into the padlocks holding down the Prognosticus.

"Don't forget your promise to help me find my son!"

Basile's voice drowned in a roar of magical energy as Aldrik grasped the Dark Prognosticus with both hands, pulling it from its pedestal. The energy rolled over Aldrik as he opened the book, revealing pages that had been closed for nearly fifty years. His muscles tensed, his hands gripping the binding, refusing to let it go. Thousands of voices passed through his mind, screaming, whispering, chanting. And beyond them, The Voice.

"Dost thou bind thyself with thy blood and makest thyself a vessel of chaos?"

Before Aldrik could answer, the Dark Prognosticus ripped from his hands and hurtled toward the wall, where it thumped to the floor, unharmed and closed tightly. Aldrik crumpled to the floor as well, catching himself with his forearms. The tang of blood seeped past his lip and onto his tongue.

"Aldrik!" Basile's hand grasped his arm, pulling him back onto his feet. "What happened? Are you alright?"

Aldrik's head lolled to the side as he struggled to maintain his balance. It felt like bits of his own life force had scattered, and now his body was trying to reel them back in, piece by piece. He forced his hand up to his mouth and wiped away the blood that trickled down from his nose.

"Are you alright?" Basile repeated.

The Voice returned, bringing with it a wave of nausea.

"What makes you think you are worthy to glimpse my prophecies?"

"I did everything you asked!" Adrik's voice echoed through the small chamber, raw with emotion. "I am worthy!"

Basile said something, but his words fell unheard as The Voice's cackle struck the sensitive walls of Aldrik's mind.

"Fool! Your heir draws nearer to the light every moment! He will never be fit to be my vessel!"

"I will force him into the darkness!"

The Voice continued its laughter. Aldrik clutched his head with one hand, the other tucked against Basile as his brother held onto him, keeping him upright. The thorns of the crown dug into Aldrik's palm as he could no longer hold back a scream.

"Aldrik! ...Aldrik!"

Basile's voice finally broke through the clamor, and the entity in Aldrik's head retreated with a final laugh. He leaned his full weight on Basile, his eyes pressed shut against the lingering headache.

"Aldrik? Speak to me. What did the book do to you?"

Taking in deep, methodical breaths, Aldrik calmed the fear that sparkled through him like lightning. He willed his limbs to cooperate. Easing himself out of Basile's grasp, he stood on his own feet and attempted to appear stable.

"It only gifted me more of its power, Basile. Now then, shall we go find Blumiere?"

Basile nodded, but his eyes narrowed with wariness. "If you are able."

"I am." Aldrik held out his hand, inviting his brother to take it. Basile touched trembling fingertips to Aldrik's palm, but Aldrik shifted his grip so his thumb pressed over Basile's wrist. "I will have to take your signature, brother. If Blumiere knows where you are, we'll never find him." Before he could object, Aldrik shot the spell into his brother's bloodstream.

The dimensional fabric around them warped and shimmered as they disappeared. Behind the podium, the Dark Prognosticus lay unchained.

"Wake up, Dimentio. We must keep moving."

Dimentio resisted his grandfather's attempt to pick him up, mumbling, "I'm awake."

Together, they returned to the rest of the group. Blumiere was on his feet now, stretching his arms. Dimentio avoided making eye-contact. He didn't really want to talk to anyone right now, and he certainly didn't want to invite conversation about why Merletoph had taken him aside.

"How are you feeling, Blumiere? Are you up for more teleportation?" Merletoph asked. Dimentio shuffled closer to the sage, trying to hide from the curious stare of Mimi.

"I think I can manage a few more jumps. But, I was wondering," Blumiere stepped forward and knelt in front of Dimentio, "would you be able to teach me to streamline my teleportation? You mentioned earlier that I was using up too much energy."

Dimentio spared a glance at his cousin. "It's not something you can learn immediately. You would have to practice, and if you took the time to practice right now, it would be too late."

"Alright." Blumiere nodded.

"Why don't you just tell him? Maybe he'll figure it out," Timpani said. "If it could possibly help us right now, you should tell him."

"I can't just tell him," Dimentio said.

Kathleen spoke up, breaking Timpani's frustrated silence. "If I 'ad teh guess, I'd say we 'ave t'ree or four more movements before we get there. Can yeh do it, Blumiere?"

"I will take Dimentio," Merletoph said. "It will be more manageable for you to move just Timpani and yourself."

Blumiere nodded. "Yes, okay."

With a slow exhale, Dimentio returned his gaze to the ground. If he hadn't upset his father, he would still have his magic, and he could be helping right now. If he had been more careful, his father wouldn't be following them, and they wouldn't have to teleport at all. The others were counting on him. He should have tried harder.

Merletoph's hand rested on top of his head. Tilting back to meet his grandfather's eyes, Dimentio met with a warm smile. "Remember to breathe deeply, my grandson," he said. "It will soothe your soul."

Aldrik pulled Basile through a series of dimensional jumps. He picked the highest points of the mountains that surrounded the path to the Dimensional Gateway, hoping to catch a glimpse of travelers below.

If Blumiere and his rag-tag group of runaways were following any particular path, Aldrik guessed it would be similar to the route he and Sha'i discovered. In their own search for The Gateway, their journey had been highlighted with excited conversations of roaming the stars together, raising a family, forgetting their past. He'd been foolishly in love then, hopelessly certain he would escape the claws of The Voice.

Now, those memories only reminded him of the mistakes he'd made, the bitterness that followed denying one's destiny. He still paid for those years of weakness, paid for them every time The Voice reminded him he was less than worthy.

There.

The next clifftop brought a view of rolling hills. A speckling of dark shapes among the tall grass indicated a group of travelers.

"Is that…?"

Aldrik nodded before Basile could go on. "I'll take us closer. Don't make a sound."

"Wait—" Before Basile could finish, Aldrik initiated another teleport.

From their next vantage point, Aldrik glimpsed a bit of blue skin. There stood Blumiere, partially leaning on the human woman he'd fallen in love with. Aldrik held a hand out as he crouched in the grass, preventing Basile from making his move too soon.

His arm froze mid-reach as his gaze caught sight of a small child with dark brown hair. Aldrik couldn't make out any facial features, but the beige-and-purple poncho hanging over the child's shoulders was unmistakable.

And behind him, Merletoph, the reason for his son's straying toward the light, reached out to touch the top of Dimentio's head.

Blumiere stretched his aching arms over his head, preparing himself for the next leg of their journey. With only Timpani to worry about now, he was more confident in his ability to make the rest of the teleportation jumps.

After finding the spot along the horizon that Kathleen indicated, he laced his fingers in between Timpani's and gave her a small smile.

"Ready for the next jump?"

"Are you?" She asked, leaning into him gently.

"I have to be." Next to him, Merletoph nodded, surrounded by the rest of the group. Blumiere felt a pang of guilt for forcing the old man to transport so many extra people, but Merletoph didn't appear phased by the jumps they'd made so far. As he disappeared, Blumiere wondered about what Dimentio said. He needed to find a way to streamline his energy.

"Let me try something," he began, pulling Timpani a little closer. "Dimentio said I needed to streamline my magic. Maybe there's some way I can pull us both through together, like I'm moving one soul instead of two."

Timpani opened her mouth to say something, but all that left her lips was a startled gasp. Her eyes trained on something behind Blumiere, filled with such fear that the hairs on the back of Blumiere's neck raised in anticipation.

"Blumiere, wait."

His body tensed, his hands trembling in Timpani's grasp. His father's voice penetrated his skull, ringing in his ears.

No...how could he have found us here?

Timpani, defiant as always, leaned around Blumiere and shouted, "Leave us alone! Blumiere is not coming back!" To Blumiere, she whispered, "Please, my darling, you have to move us."

Blumiere couldn't move, not even to look back at his father. He blinked, pressing his eyelids together hard to try and wake himself up. His mind was stuck in a loop.

"Don't touch him, you filthy human! If it weren't for you and your stubborn kind, none of this would have happened!" Basile's voice shook with raw emotion. It fell to a murmur, crackling with grief as he said, "Blumiere, please. Come home with me. I can't lose you. I don't want to lose you."

Dimentio knew something was wrong as soon as Merletoph brought them out of the teleport. While the other passengers staggered yet again, he searched the sky, looking for the source of the prickling in his skin. When he turned around, he met his father's cold, blue-eyed stare, causing a ripple of chills to scamper down his spine. Calculations stirred behind those eyes. Dimentio assumed he was trying to figure out how he'd escaped. Dimentio still wondered how he'd done it himself.

A glint of metal drew Dimentio's eyes to the new accessory on his father's head. The crown? Why is father wearing Basile's crown?

"Stay back," Merletoph warned. Dimentio couldn't tell if the words were meant for him or for Aldrik. Either way, he backed up closer to his grandfather. Without thinking, he reached for Merletoph's hand and found it already extended toward him.

"So," Aldrik said, not breaking eye-contact with Dimentio, "you found your way back to your friends."

Merletoph gave Dimentio's hand a gentle squeeze. "Kathleen," he said, keeping his voice level, "take the children away from here."

Aldrik's gaze drifted to the other three. He lingered on Mimi for a moment but made no move to stop them. His eyes rested again on Dimentio, sharp with scrutiny. "You disobeyed me."

A flinch jerked its way through Dimentio's shoulders. "Aha ha. Yes, I did."

"I won't let you escape, boy. Your purpose is to stay on this world, at my side."

"You do not have to listen to him, my grandson," Merletoph said in a slow, soothing voice. "The choice is still yours. If you wish to return to your father, you have the right to make that choice for yourself. I will not stop you."

Dimentio only watched as his father moved his hands, signing out two silent sentences.

You are mine. There is no choice.

Timpani released an unrequited glare at the man who'd dropped her off a cliff and promised her a fate worse than death should they ever meet again. In spite of this, when it came to Blumiere's defense, Timpani found nothing but courage.

"He doesn't want to live with you anymore," she snapped, stepping around Blumiere. He still hadn't moved, and Timpani brushed one of her hands against his in an attempt to calm him. "Let us go. We won't trouble you any longer if you just let us leave this world."

Basile scoffed and narrowed his eyes. His teeth flashed as he barked, "Let him go? After all I've done to protect him, do you really think I'd let him go because some wretch of a human wants to take him away?" He took a step toward her. A spark of fear ignited underneath Timpani's courage.

"He'll be happier away from here. Isn't that what you want? For—" she cut off with a shaky gasp as he stepped forward again and then continued in a quieter voice. "For him to be happy?"

She flinched away as Basile closed the gap between them, snagging her by the wrist and yanking her away from Blumiere. She yelped and twisted her arm, trying to get free. "No! Blumiere, help! Help me!"

Relief flooded through her as she saw Blumiere turn around to face his father at last.

"Father, let her go," he said, steady despite his horror-stricken expression.

Timpani barely heard him. Pain sped down her arm, pooling in her shoulder and crashing a wave of nausea over the rest of her body. The mage's next words pounded through her head.

"If you do not return home, Blumiere, I will kill her."

Aldrik fought with every fiber of his free-will to keep The Voice shoved away in the back of his mind. He felt it slithering forward, trying to take control of him, to make him slip up so Dimentio would escape. Rage seethed through his veins as he stared at Merletoph. He knew the sage was at fault for his son's escape, for tainting his heir's mind with delusions of light. The Ancient should have stayed in his invisible hut to rot with the rest of his forsaken tribe.

"Dimentio must not be manipulated," the old man had the gall to demand. "He must make the decision for himself, or his condition will destabilize. His fate is in his own hands."

"Silence!" Aldrik swept his arm in front of him, gathering up a swath of dark magic as he did so. It crackled on his fingertips, gathering in a mass centered in his palm. An ache quivered in his muscles as the spell pulled blood from his heart to his hand. "Your Ancient stars and cryptic fates have forgotten you. Join your ancestors in the land beyond the sky!"

The sparking orb tore itself from his fingers with a jolt as it hurtled toward Merletoph. The sage clenched his jaw and stood firm.

But Dimentio moved.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Ex—

Dimentio's breath escaped in a gasp as his father drew his hand through the air. He could feel the energy the spell was consuming, he knew exactly how much damage this would do to someone. And yet, his feet automatically jerked forward, putting himself in between the orb and Merletoph.

But Merletoph would not allow it. With a strength that Dimentio couldn't resist, he pulled his grandson back and turned around, hunching protectively around Dimentio with his back to the spell.

Inhale. Exhale.

The spell never hit its mark. Instead, the ground disappeared as they crossed into the white void, reappearing moments later on the other side of Aldrik. Dimentio stared up at his father's back, any attempt at breathing exercises replaced by ragged panting.

Before Aldrik could react, he was struck in the back by an orb of light that shot out of Merletoph's outstretched hand. Aldrik stumbled forward from the impact, but as far as Dimentio could tell, no real damage had been done.

Undeterred, Merletoph took aim again, this time catching Aldrik in the shoulder as he turned around. Dimentio caught sight of a ripple in the air near the site of the impact.

"He's being protected!" Dimentio yelled, tugging on Merletoph's arm. "Stop trying! He'll kill you!"

Merletoph's golden stare still said you have to choose, but thankfully, he seemed to agree there were more pressing matters at the moment. His next teleport took them around a jutting group of rocks, where Kathleen was huddled with Mimi and Ronan.

"Where's Blue?" Ronan asked, jumping to his feet. "An' Miss Lady Timpani?"

Dimentio had no answer for them. In truth, he'd been so disturbed by the appearance of his father he hadn't noticed their absence.

"They never made it to this location," Merletoph supplied. "Something must have happened before they could teleport."

"I pray 'twas only Blumiere catchin' 'is breath," Kathleen whispered.

"Father, please." Cold fear curdled in Blumiere's stomach as he watched the magic spell infect Timpani's blood. "You're hurting her. She's done nothing wrong."

"She has infected your mind with foolish ideals. She wants to take you away from this world, Blumiere! Away from me!" Basile tightened his grip on Timpani's wrist. Her whimper cut like a blade across Blumiere's chest.

"I don't want to be around you anymore, father!" He tried not to notice the grimace that colored Basile's face. "You're obsessed with control! You can't dictate everything I do anymore. I may be your son, but I am my own person. I want to go with her. I want to go away from you!"

Timpani's body dropped to the ground at Basile's feet. Blumiere stepped in her direction, hand still outstretched.

"I gave the crown to Aldrik."

Blumiere froze.

"In exchange for his help in finding you, I gave him the crown. I'm no longer king, Blumiere. I am only your father. And I wish to care for you as such."

Reeling, Blumiere drew his hand back toward his chest, cradling it over his heart. "No… Oh, no...You gave up the crown?" Clenching his teeth, Blumiere swallowed his fear and forced himself to don some of Timpani's courage. "How could you have done that? What will become of the Tribe now?"

"I did it for you, Blumiere! You are all that matters to me."

Blumiere shook his head slowly. "You shouldn't have done that, father." With a deep breath to steel himself, he launched himself forward, diving for Timpani's body. As soon as he made contact with her, he teleported them both in the direction Kathleen had pointed to earlier.

They landed sprawled in the grass. Blumiere pushed himself up immediately and was about to help Timpani when he noticed another figure looming in the distance.

Aldrik.

"Blumiere! Quickly, we have to go!" He spotted Merletoph nearby, and he half-dragged Timpani over to where they were hiding behind some rocks. Kathleen was on her feet, alert and pointing.

"It's tha' way. Hurry! We're almost there!"

Head spinning, Blumiere hoisted Timpani up, slinging her uninjured arm over his shoulder, and set his jaw. He had no choice but to push himself through another teleport.

Merletoph emerged from the white void onto coarse soil shadowed by a sheer foothill. The dark mouth of a cave drew his gaze, but he turned his attention back to his dimensional passengers. After counting and recounting heads, he glanced over his shoulder, watching for Blumiere and Timpani. Poking out of the long grass, a meager stone announced:

TALANTON GATEWAY

OUR SOULS BID YOU WELL

REMEMBER OUR WORLD FONDLY

MAY YOUR NEXT BE JUST AS HOMELY

"It really is the Dimensional Gateway," Dimentio said. Merletoph held onto the boy's hand, wishing to keep him close. Dimentio's heartbeat thrummed in the tips of his fingers.

We are almost there. Merletoph wished the realization could bring him more comfort, but Blumiere and Timpani hadn't arrived yet.

The couple finally appeared, several meters from the cave entrance. Timpani leaned heavily on Blumiere, who struggled to move them forward. Merletoph took a step in their direction, and his concern increased exponentially when he noticed a second dimensional ripple deposit Basile directly behind Blumiere.

"Look out!" Merletoph's free hand shot out, flinging a glowing orb at Basile. It caught him in the shoulder just as he grabbed Timpani's arm. Basile let go of the woman and staggered backward, but his contact with Timpani dislodged her from Blumiere's shoulder. She crumpled to the ground in a heap.

Merletoph ran toward them, throwing another orb Basile's way. This time it struck Basile in the chest, flinging him back another step. Sensing an opening, Merletoph halted, drew a breath, and raised both arms above his head. A clear yellow box encased Basile, halting his movement as he lunged for Timpani. Merletoph exhaled and a series of explosions filled the box with fire and smoke. Basile emerged from a teleport just outside of the box, smoking from the hems of his robes.

Before Merletoph could try again, Basile dragged Timpani off of the ground and away from Blumiere. "You have ten minutes to come home, Blumiere," Basile said, a frantic edge to his demand. "If you have not arrived, I will kill this human myself."

Then, Basile vanished, taking Timpani with him.

"No!" Blumiere rushed to the place they'd just been, reaching through thin air as if to grasp some of Timpani's essence. "No! No, Timpani!" The young man turned desperate eyes on Merletoph. "What are we going to do?"

Merletoph drew a breath to ground himself. He reached for Dimentio's hand, realizing he'd let go of the boy while casting his spell, but his hand glided through empty space.

"Dimentio?"

He hadn't left Merletoph's side since their conversation earlier. But I took my eyes off of him for two seconds...

No. Whipping around, Merletoph scoured the area for any sign of Dimentio. The farewell message inscribed on the stone seemed to taunt Merletoph as he searched every scrawny bush and crevice.

Behind him, Blumiere repeated his question. "What are we going to do?"

Merletoph let out a slow, strained breath before he replied, "Whatever it takes."

I REALLY struggled with this chapter. I'm still not entirely satisfied with it, but I'm feeling better about it. A huge thanks to my friends jumbi and Katherine Snow for all of their help editing this monstrosity.

Let me know what you think! There are only three chapters left, and I'm not going to start posting them until they're all three written and edited. I already have the first draft of the first chapter done, and I'm working on the second.

If you'd like updates on Remember's progress, I have a discord channel dedicated to this work, now! There's also behind the scenes content there, so if that sounds like a neat thing to you, here is the link~!

/T8HEr34 (enter this code after discord . gg) (Fanfiction, why haven't you fixed links yet?)

Thank you for reading!