Creating an Identity
'Where am I?' thought Virginia, 'This place doesn't seem familiar at all. But I can't remember much about myself, so it might be an important memory of my past. Like my hometown.'
Before her, the young woman saw a small brown haired child with blue eyes. The girl was about eight or nine years old, and was crying. Around her neck, there was a golden locket with a picture of a man and woman in a loving embrace, with a brown haired blue eyed baby in the woman's arm. The man had brown hair and blue eyes, while his wife had yellow hair and green eyes.
"Daddy, why did you have to leave me? Now, because you're gone, mommy left me too. I'm all alone now, why did you have to go?" she inquired. Her questions remained answered.
Virginia wondered, 'Is that me as a child? It has to be, maybe I'm traveling through my memories. I would like to know what she meant by her parents leaving her. It sounds like the father ran off and the mother followed. But it could also mean that she died of sorrow due to his absence, or he died causing her to run off or die as well. Seems like I was a very lonely child.'
She then saw the scene before her fade out. A new memory was forming. There was Jet, Gallows, Clive and herself, all fighting monsters in the Wastelands. She could see one beast trying to attack her when she was down, and Jet protecting her by knocking her out of the way.
All too soon, the memory changed. Now, the group was going to sleep in their camp. The night was cold, and they were all huddling in their blankets. But Virginia was much warmer than the others, as she slept, Jet held her in his arms. A peaceful look was on his face.
Before Virginia could wonder if he was her lover, older brother, or just a real close friend who protected her, a new scene was shown. Let's just say that the memory was not exactly PG. Heck, the scene she saw before her wasn't even PG-13. Virginia blushed as she watched.
She looked towards the ceiling. 'I get it now. I was a very lonely child, and I joined up with those three male Drifters some time in my late teens. The one with the silver hair seemed to be my protector, and we eventually fell in love. And I do mean love. Oh Guardians, they must have died in the accident. I didn't see them in the rubble, and they most certainly would have died if they were completely covered by the rocks. And they would have saved me if they had gotten out before me.'
"Go figure," she muttered, "I finally find someone to love me, and I'm left alone all again. Why should I remember those happy times at all? These stupid memories are just going to upset me when I think of them. Might as well just get rid of them here and now."
She began to hear a voice in her head. The voice seemed to be male, and quite cold. But there was something familiar about him, as if she'd known him in the past.
"Memories, who needs 'em? I certainly don't. I could care less if you find out who I really am or not. So why don't you just give it up, it's not going to matter if you do or not," he stated.
Virginia said, "You seem to have the right idea. These memories are just confusing me. I'll just forget about them. What's the use remembering a lover who you'll never see again?"
When Virginia looked up again, she saw the four High Guardians. Raftina stepped forward to acknowledge the girl. "Your past lies with us. Trust, and you will eventually find your answers. Look for the Dragon, the Wolf, and the Lion, they will help you find your future. Remember, you are my master, the bearer of the Goddess's power." Then, Raftina touched her and turned into a Medium. She saw Zephyr do the same with Jet, Lucied do the same with Gallows, and Justine do the same with Clive.
'Goddess?' mused Virginia, 'Dragon, Wolf, and Lion? What does that all mean?'
"Your past is tied with the four of us. Same with that of the others," the Love Guardain told her.
Virginia thought, 'She must be talking about our names. But I don't think that our names are Goddess, Dragon, Wolf, and Lion. It must be those terms in another language. How about Megami, Ryu, Okami, and Raion? That's it, that must be our names.'
Raftina's voice still could be heard in her mind. "You must awaken now. Only by looking to the future can you find your past. So you must return to the world of the living."
* * *
When Virginia opened her eyes, she saw the "doctor" shaking her awake. The woman just wanted to continue to sleep. What she'd dreamt about didn't matter, she just needed to sleep.
The first thing she noticed was that there was no sight in her left eye. When the woman felt the area where her eye was, she found only a scar. It seemed that the doctor had sewn it shut.
"Are you ok miss?" asked the doctor, "You've been stitched up, and will survive. But your eye was a lost cause. And you're carrying a kid as well. Seems like you're three months along as well. You should take it easy for awhile, else you might reopen your wounds, or kill the kid. What's your name anyway?" It was easy enough to hear the concern in his voice as he spoke to her.
"My name is Megami, the Goddess warrior," she told the man.
He replied, "Megami, eh? Well, I reckon you should stay in bed for at least a week. But it wouldn't hurt you to spend a little more time than that. Just take it easy for awhile, at least until your kid is born. Where's the father anyway, he should be here to help you out?"
She looked down. "He's dead. Died in the same accident I was in."
"Sorry," he replied, "I had no idea that you were all alone."
"Don't worry, there's no point in dwelling on the past. Just promise me that you'll never breath a word of this encounter to anyone. If the townspeople ask, that's one thing. But I don't want the rest of the world to have to know about my messed up life," she requested.
The man answered, "Only you have the right to tell anyone about your past. I'll let you be the one to explain about who you are when you're good and ready."
Virginia - - now Megami - - was impressed by his kindness. But she knew she'd never tell anyone about her past. She would become a heartless Drifter, one who would never have to suffer from the loss of friends or family ever again. People would learn to fear and respect her, and she'd never form an emotional tie to another person again. Ryu would be her first love, and her last love.
- - - -
Teefa's Last Words…
As to why the story is longer. Well, I needed to give Jet the abridged version. Since this is based more on Virginia, I could give her dream more screen time.
