Chapter Four
What's happening to me? I can't move my body or see a thing…oh right, I must be dreaming. Or unconscious perhaps, in any case I feel awful. I can barely remember what happened before I blacked out…wait…that girl. Yes, I was being held by the girl, it was nice. It…reminded me of someone else, someone from my past? How should I know, I can't remember a thing other than some guy's name.
"Barney? Barney…"
Must be a TV playing somewhere, I hear that dumb dinosaur's name being called…
"Barney, can you hear me?"
No wait…duh, the little girl called me that. But who's calling me?
Slowly, his eyes fluttered open to see the face of Becky's sister looking down on him curiously. Her face lit up as she smiled and said, "He's awake!"
"Lemme see, lemme see!"
Becky's head bounced into view repeatedly until Krissy picked her up and sat her on the bedside.
"Hey, Barney, are you okay now?"
"I…I think so. Where am I?"
His head still spun from the blow to his skull, or perhaps the pain relievers coursing through his body caused it, he wasn't sure. All he knew is his body felt numb from something and it made him uneasy for some reason.
"You're in a hospital, I brought you here after patching you up a little."
"The doctor says he recognizes you from somewhere, do you come to the hospital a lot?"
"I don't know…maybe I work here; my memory's a little foggy at the moment."
His eyes began to subconsciously roam around the room, scanning the objects within it and people wandering beyond it in the hallways. It was mostly doctors and nurses with the occasional patient in tow, but something still felt wrong, something was amiss, something…
"Barney? Are you okay? You look scared…"
Becky looked worried when his eyes suddenly shrank to tiny pupils and grew wide with some instinct telling him to run.
"Something's…wrong…"
"What do you mean? We're in a hospital, no one can hurt you here. Oh, doctor! How's he doing?"
Suddenly, a figure stopped at the end of his bed that brought a gasp from inside him. A man wearing scrubs stood casually by Barney's feet, flipping through his chart with slow, careful ease. When he finished scanning the clipboard's contents, he looked up and said, his golden eyes flashing mischievously, "He's doing…just fine."
"Ugh."
Barney's body tensed up and he stared down the doctor, a great surge of energy rushing through his veins and having no way of getting past the sedatives. He cringed at the pain it caused, feeling like he was going to explode if he didn't do something quick.
What's wrong with me! Why is this man causing me to react like this? Why do I feel like I want to…kill him? Who…who is he, I have to know!
"Who…who are you?"
Barney managed to ask the doctor, bringing a grin to his face. Approaching his side, the man slowly removed his hair net as he said with a Transylvanian accent, "Don't tell me you've forgotten…an old friend?"
Out tumbled a great mass of blonde hair, one long strand dangling between his cat-like gold eyes and caressing the devilish grin on his lips. He began to reach into his coat pocket when suddenly, a nearby window gusted open and allowed a flock of black feathers to fill the room.
"KAH! How did he find you!"
The man batted furiously at the storm of feathers blinding him from his target, trying to get a clear shot at Barney. Amidst the confusion, a single feather landed on Barney's forehead and seemed to free his body from the bind of the medicine. With a swift leap, Barney was out of the bed and by the window, both girls in his arms and completely lost.
"What's happening!"
Becky was screaming profusely as Krissy tried to get away from Barney's grasp, but his arms were strong and held on tightly to their waists.
"You won't escape me this time, do you hear me! I'm not weak like Satoshi!"
Satoshi…he knows…then he must know-
"My name, tell me my name!"
"Your name! Are you joking? This isn't some sick game you're playing is it or have you lost your mind!"
Barney didn't answer as he moved closer to the window, feeling the wind pulling him out.
"You don't know? So that's why you didn't return after that night, you've forgotten who you are; how wonderfully charming!"
"I don't think so, you psycho!"
Barney was becoming infuriated by his ranting and growing closer to just leaping out into the night, if it meant not having to hear his annoying accent anymore.
"But we are alike, you and I, I am merely a 'backward' version of you! How could you have forgotten me, your brother, Krad…"
"Krad? What kind of a name is Krad!"
"Why don't you ask yourself that…"
A backward version of me? What is he talking about! How could he be my brother if he's trying to kill me!
His back hit the windowsill and he knew there was nowhere left to go but down, and that would only come to one thing: death. Either way he was going to die, whether by the hands of his so-called brother or by his own through jumping. But he couldn't allow others to die with him, the girls who saved him were about to suffer the same fate as he and somehow, he knew he couldn't let that happen.
"NO! I WON'T LET YOU WIN! SOMEONE HELP!"
Just as soon as the words left his mouth, he felt a great gust of wind suck him and the girls out the window and into the sky, quickly moving away from the hospital and the immediate danger. While the girls screamed their lungs off, Barney stared in amazement at how small the world looked from up in the sky…and how familiar this felt to him.
Chapter Five
"What's happening?"
"Daisuki!"
Everything went quiet as they all looked behind Barney to see the shining black eyes of a winged dog peering back at them from his back, smiling happily. Just as suddenly as the screaming ended, it began again.
"What is that thing!"
Krissy yelled before she passed out from over excitement and left Becky on the brink of tears.
"SISSY'S DEAD!"
Becky wailed loudly, clawing at her sister's shirt trying to shake her to life.
"Becky, calm down, she's just…uh…asleep! YES, she's asleep, up too late watching TV does that to you!"
She stopped crying and stared at him with big eyes, as if waiting for more encouraging words to come from him. He blinked and thought, Quick, say something else!
"Daisuki!"
"Oh, I like you too, Barney."
Becky wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him as they continued to travel through the sky together, heading off to some unknown location.
"Huh? I didn't say that…is that thing on my back speaking! Okay…I am officially confused…and lost…but mostly confused. Oh well, maybe it knows where it's going, whatever it is…Hey, uh…whatever you are, do you know where we're going?"
"Daisuki?"
"Uh huh, we've established that you like me, but where are we going?"
"Daisuki!"
"Is that all you can say?"
"Kyuu?"
"This is gonna be a long night…"
Chapter Six
"Hey, Kyuu, set us down there in that part for a minute, will ya? My arm's getting tired of Krissy's dead weight!"
Barney's feathered savior lowered them quickly to a forested park below, gently landing on a bridge over a river. He let Krissy down onto the cement and let out a sigh as he plopped onto his backside with Becky still in his arms. The weight on his back lifted as well and a little whitish bunny hopped up next to him, startling him as he said, "What the-kyuu!"
"Daisuki!"
It chirped happily in its high-pitched voice, snuggling its nose into his leg as it flapped its large ears a couple times. The bunny looked up with albino red eyes and cocked its head to the side curiously at Barney.
"Kyuu?"
"Sorry, little guy, I don't remember you…if I knew you at all, that is. Care to tell me your name?"
The bunny looked sad and muttered another 'kyuu' before plopping down as well. With a sigh, Barney tilted his head back and looked up at the sky, his eyes lazily gazing off into the distance.
"I'm so close to knowing who I am, but the answer to my prayers only speaks nonsense. What am I going to do…?"
He fell back and laid flat on the ground, feeling his strength leave him through the sighs he let out. A single tear rolled down his cheek as he muttered, "Who…am I? Won't somebody please…tell me…"
Beside him, the small creature watched in sadness, wishing it could speak the words his friend longed to hear. With all of its might, it crawled over to his head and said, "With."
"Huh? What did you say?"
"With!"
"With what? Oh wait…is that your name?"
It nodded with a smile and snuggled into his cheek, causing him to giggle a little. He closed his eyes and said softly, "Well, at least it's a start…With."
As the three young people lay asleep on the bridge, time flew past and soon the sun was rising over the treetops. The beams of light gently caressed their bodies, the warm sensation awaking them from their slumbers. Barney's magenta eyes slowly revealed themselves through his long lashes, allowing him to see the world as it normally is in color. He sat up, still holding the sleeping child in his arms, and looked down at Krissy. She was gone, to his surprise, and he began to look around nervously.
Where'd she go? That Krad person didn't find us and take her, did he?
A footstep behind him caused his head to tilt back and look upside down at who was coming up. There she was, just wandering around while the others slept.
"Oh…you're awake…sorry, I had to get up and walk around, I was feeling a little light headed from that…flight we took. Is she…?"
"She's still asleep…"
Barney looked back down at the girl he held and rocked her softly, a smile crossing his lips at the shear innocence of her face. Krissy stepped up next to him and crouched down, looking over at her sister in a tending, motherly sense. She fingered a few loose strands of hair back behind Becky's ear before petting her tenderly on the cheek, saying quietly, "She's just like her mom, doesn't wake up until she feels like it."
"I see…Krissy, I'm…sorry, about all of this."
"What? What do you mean 'all of this'?"
"Breaking into your home, putting the job on you to help me, then the entire thing backfiring because of that sick demon who almost killed us all. It's all my fault, I should just take you home and leave you alone."
"But, you have nowhere to go! And I didn't really mind helping you, I actually work at a children's health clinic so I almost felt like it was my job to help you. Even if you did break in…which is still a surprise in itself that you managed to climb all the way up to the 7th floor in your condition."
"There's a lot to me that's surprising, I just have no idea what all of them are yet…I guess my name is the biggest surprise and mystery yet to unveil."
"I guess…"
They fell silent for a while, quietly sitting next to each other and watching the little girl sleep as the morning progressed. A flock of birds took off across the sky, heading out for a group lunch of gnats and flies. Ducks scooted out onto the water for their early baths and aerobics classes together, bringing along their children or looking for dates. A squirrel chattered in a distant tree, rustling the leaves of every branch it explored for acorns or other tasty treats. All seemed to be normal and well with nature and the world, everything was at peace and knew its place in life. All except one lost soul struggling to find its place in the world.
Krad must be the answer to my identity, if he is my brother like he says then he obviously knows who I am. But now that he knows that I can't remember, I'm sure he won't tell me now. Blast, everywhere I go I run into a dead end! His sadistic mind games lead nowhere, With can't speak a word of English to save him, and I sure as heck don't know! I have to find this Satoshi I keep remembering…he has to be the key! Krad knows who Satoshi is so maybe wherever I find Krad, I'll find Satoshi. I have to find him again, whether I like it or not he's part of this whole puzzle. But what did he mean by being a backward version of me? Does that mean that he's the sadistic one and I'm the normal one? He's evil and I'm good? But that makes no sense, because he's light and I'm all about the darkness…oh, all of this just gives me a headache. Maybe his riddle was all just another lie to throw me off the trail, he is pretty warped as it is. Right now, all I have to lean on is this little guy who knows me, maybe he can take me to someone who can give me the answers I want. But before I do anything, I have to take these two home…
During his long train of thought, Barney hadn't noticed that Krissy had been staring at him, taking in his whole appearance as it were. He caught her briefly before she looked away in embarrassment, blushing as she stuttered, "I-I'm sorry, I was just…"
"It's okay…I've gathered by now that I look weird. Purple hair and eyes, this leather-plastic-retro jumpsuit thing I'm wearing…I must look like a complete freak!"
"No no! You look…fine…"
"Yeah right, you don't have to be nice, I know I resemble a hooker."
"No, you don't! You look more like a spy or something…"
"With Purple hair?"
"Well…a punk spy?"
Barney laughed before looking out across the lake beside them. Krissy watched him in silence for a moment before saying, "You're beautiful."
He looked back in surprise, blinking his wide eyes as he took in her extraordinary statement.
"What?"
"You are! Except for the strange clothes, you're a very attractive young man. You have softly tan skin, gorgeous hair, the most…exquisite eyes I've ever seen, and such long lashes giving them even more depth. Your body's trim and nicely toned, sturdy enough to withstand anything it seems…"
"So you're saying, I've got the entire package deal going on?"
She blushed again and looked away, muttering, "Well…yes, I suppose…but I was just saying, from my point of view…merely in admiration, of course."
"Of course…"
His voice dropped to a smooth, gentle, deep tone, slightly deeper than it was originally. With a sensually graceful voice, he said, "Krissy…thank you…"
"F-for what?"
"For everything you've done for me, you truly are a wonderful person. I may be beautiful on the outside but you have beauty where it most counts…on the inside; you have a beautiful heart and soul that never seems to cease to amaze."
Krissy was take aback by his comment, unable to think of a response to his poetic accolade. She finally turned her gaze down into her lap and clutched at her pants uneasily, making fists. He smiled and said, "Don't be embarrassed, I only speak the truth…I may have no memory of who I am but I still know beauty when I see it. I still know how to tell good from evil and gentle hearts from cruel ones. Deep inside me something tells me when there is danger and when to run away but…when I'm with you, I feel like I could let my guard down and be at peace forever. You make me feel safe, like I could tell you anything and not be afraid of betrayal. You're…so kind…Krissy…"
He reached to touch her cheek but she quickly rose to her feet, saying, "We should head home, who knows when that blonde guy will come looking for you."
She reached down and took her sister from him, gently cradling her in her arms as she started off the bridge. In confusion, Barney scrambled to his feet and took off after her, With hot on his heels trying to catch up.
"Krissy, did I say something wrong? I seem to have upset you…"
"No, it's fine, we just need to get home before my mother worries."
"I see…"
For the rest of their journey through the park and town, they remained quiet by each other's sides, unsure of anything else to say.