Chapter 3: Painful Memories

Roland left his room and made his way to the roof, he looked around and saw all the hot springs, he could see his ship had landed safely away from them. "Time for a diagnostic check up." Roland thought to himself, he quickly started it up…and went through every program at least three times before turning it off again.

"Nice piece of machinery you've got there." said a voice from behind, Roland turned around and saw Ambar standing behind him, she had a towel wrapped around her. "Where'd you come from?" Roland asked. "After what you told us about the Omega Faction I thought a soak in one of these hot springs would help me unwind. So did you make this?"

"Well actually I followed some blueprints my father had drawn up, I've some more in a safety deposit box in London." Roland replied. "He was a genius…he was a technician during the war, I was born some time near the end."

"What side was your father on?" Ambar asked, Roland took a deep sigh and said, "The wrong one."

"You don't mind if I ask how your father died?" Ambar asked, "Look…what's done is done, I can't change any of it." Roland snapped, with that he went back to his room, got into bed, closed his eyes, hoping to dream of happier times.

But oh how hope fades.

"Well…it looks as if Alistair Victoire has fallen pray to me." said a cold voice.

" I am a victim to no one." said the other voice.

Suddenly there came a bright flash of light, the room of which the two men stood was a complete mess. The two men still fighting each other.

"No…not this, not again…please let me wake, let me wake."

Suddenly he saw the door open and a 7 year old version of Roland stepped out of his bedroom, just in time to see the man, his father…die, stabbed just below the rib cage. Then he saw his younger self in a blitz of rage pick up one of his father's daggers and charge at the man who had wronged him.

But Roland knew what happened next, the stranger smashed him in the head with the hilt of his sword, knocking him out. After that all he could remember is waking up in his neighbors' apartment.

Roland then heard a soft voice around him say, "Roland…wake up, Roland…wake up."

Suddenly Roland snapped back to reality, he was in a cold sweat…there was a faint odor of something in the air, he looked down and wouldn't you know it…he wet himself. He looked around and saw Vixy and Kate to his right, "What are you two doing here?"

"Vixy said she heard you screaming, what ever you were dreaming about…it was enough to make you do that." Roland looked where Kate was pointing and saw a baseball sized hole in the wall, he looked through it and saw it went straight through to the one next to it."

"That's my room if you need to know." Vixy told him.

"Get the others in here," Roland told them, "I think it's time I told you my story."

When everyone arrived Roland took a deep sigh and said, "As you recall I told you my father died a long time ago," a shadow seemed to cross Roland's face at this point, "what I didn't tell you is that his death wasn't natural…it was untimely."

"What was it, car crash, a work related accident?" Grace asked, Roland's face then lost all emotion, "Homicide."

Everyone sort of gave a look of shock (except for Sem…who just stayed with his back against the wall), "Roland that's horrible…your mother must've been devastated!" Carmesi exclaimed. "She wasn't there either…died before I was even 2."

"So you've never had anyone to look after you?!" Nearie asked, Roland nodded, "Just call me 'Peter Pan' I suppose. Only I'd never truly found my Neverland, I suppose after that I left home and traveled the world. Check my traveling purse and you'll find at least several different passports." Minos walked over to it and opened it up, he found what Roland was talking about, several passports from places such as Egypt, China, and the UK. Roland continued: "Yeah I've traveled almost all over this great world of ours, I was 10 when I visited Egypt…that's where my fears were put to sleep for a while, a lady in black clothing used some kind of voodoo to repress the nightmare I just had tonight. She also gave me a few crystal pendulums that she said would 'help me find peace and unity when the time came'. After that, that's when the weirdest of things started happening."

"Like what?" Feather asked, Roland took another deep sigh and said, "You're not going to believe me. But here it goes…I started having memory lapses, I'd be someplace one minute, and then somewhere else hours or days later with god knows what and god knows who without any memory of how I got there."

"So what maybe you just had one drink too many." Bengala told him. Roland shook his head, "I haven't touched a beer or anything near that in my life…though I would wake up with a hangover."

"But how did you survive so long without any money?" Vixy asked.

"I patented and sold a few of my fathers' blue prints…made quite a bit of money out of it all." Roland responded, "Now…if you don't mind I'd like to be alone."

When everyone was gone Roland heard Vixy say, "You know…it's sad actually, not having anyone to care for you. You must've grown cold along the way."

Roland walked over to the hole in the wall, "What do you mean by that?" he asked. "I mean you never really knew what love was, to you love must've only been a dream." Vixy answered.

"Alas too true, too true." said Roland, "Well goodnight."