Hey bestknight32here! I hope everyone had a Happy New Year! This months chapter is special to me its probably the most orginal chapter so far to me at least. So i hope everyone enjoys it! This fic will contain my own headcanons as a disclaimer I also like to thank dahliingg for creating the base of the story and Tim Baril for making this chapter you two are the best! Alright thats all until next time! "The name is Chapter…..Next Chapter."


The drone of the chopper had long since become Hayden's world. He'd drifted in and out of sleep for the journey under the wall of noise and therefore had stopped paying attention to the world outside. But when the aircraft suddenly banked, quite sharply, the centrifugal force pushing him up against the wall, he curiously looked back out the window.

It was evening now, but a multitude of yellow lights illuminated their destination below.

Amiya yawned and stretched. "That's Rhodes Island. Home."

It was another mobile fortress, rumbling along the bleak and almost desert-like landscape. Though on a considerably smaller scale than an entire city, it was still as if an entire building had been put on tank treads. Flat and rectangular, like a box, it was mostly steel gray, with a tall, yellow silo or tank of some kind jutting up in the front like a horn, RIM BILLTON written sideways on the side. A long platform ran along the side of the base, a loading bay in the middle suggesting it was used for drones or other aircraft.

"Eighteen rooms divided into nine facilities," she described to him. "There's a control centre, dorms, a powerplant, a factory and workshops, offices and research labs, even training facilities."

"Must be a lot of people here."

"Yes. It can get kind of cramped." She giggled.

They came to rest on a helipad in the centre of the Rhodes Island's base. Everyone unloaded from the chopper and flowed in different directions, exhausted and wounded, not talking to each other much. Hayden was led down into the interior of the base. The interior was largely dark gray and dimly lit, giving it the feel of a military installation more than anything.

Amiya led him into the dorm section and stopped outside a nondescript black door. "This is your room. I…guess you probably won't recognize anything inside, but it's yours. See?" She pointed to a nameplate on the wall that read HAYDEN.

It felt strange seeing his name there. Then again, he didn't know for certain it was his name for it was the name they'd given him when he'd woken up. But since it seemed to be the truth it felt silly to deny it. He opened the door and entered a small, tidy space. There was a single bed high off the ground with a ladder at the end. Under the bed was a small desk, the top currently bare. "Looks like a prison cell," he wryly mumbled.

"Well, you've never been one to have a lot of personal stuff. And the room was cleaned after…well. Anyway, there are fresh sheets and a pillow." She pointed to the objects laying on top of the bed. "Bathrooms and showers are just down the hall. Shared, of course. The mess will be closed at this time of night but I'll send someone by with some food. Get some rest. Someone will come by in the morning, say 0800? After that we'll show you around and, uh, reintroduce you to everything I guess." She made an akward laugh. "Feels strange that you don't remember anything. Unless…?" She looked up hopefully.

He silently shook his head. "Nothing rings a bell."

She remained optimistic. "Maybe tomorrow something will spark." Giving him her best, tired smile, she bowed and exited the room.

Hayden sighed and heavily sat down in the desk chair. He was completely worn out, despite the rough nap on the ride here. Too lazy to make the bed, let alone shower or wait for food, he crawled up into the bunk and collapsed, asleep in moments.


He woke up sore. No wonder, given what he'd been through the day before. Getting out of bed and down the short ladder was an ordeal and he grumbled to himself. What the heck were they thinking with this setup? Well, they were thinking of trying to save space. Still, what a pain.

He saw that someone had left food on his desk in the night: a sandwich and water. He debated eating, his stomach feeling hollow, but elected to take advantage of the nearby bathroom and showers first.

Very much refreshed after a hot shower, he was just changing into a fresh change of unfamiliar clothes from his closet when a knock on his door made him look up. "Yes?" he asked, buttoning his shirt.

The door opened slightly and the medic, Ansel, poked his head in. "Good morning, Doctor Hayden. Maybe I come in?"

He nodded and finished buttoning his shirt.

The young man entered, wearing a white lab coat and bearing a tray with breakfast, which he placed on the desk. "Ah, passed out before dinner, huh?" He nervously chuckled. "I think a lot of folks did last night." He gestured to the breakfast: fried eggs, sausage and bacon, hashbrowns, fried tomatoes and mushrooms, a little pool of baked beans, and a slice of toast. "Amiya made it herself. I think she might have gone a bit overboard." He laughed more naturally this time.

"Not a problem," Hayden answered truthfully. "I'm starving." He sat down at the desk. "This was very nice of her."

"She wanted to bring it herself but she's catching up on paperwork before things get hectic today." He chatted about random nothings while Hayden ate, mentioning people and places that Hayden didn't recall, but nothing of consequence. When the breakfast was finished, the young medic stood with a warm smile and pulled out a syringe and glass vial. "Ready for your shot?"

Hayden was leary. "Shot of what?"

"Ah, no memories, right. It's just a stamina shot. You usually get them daily because you get tired easily. I figured you'd want it for sure today after everything that happened yesterday."

Admittedly, he still felt worn out but he found that he was still short on trust. That went double for some stranger putting some unidentified chemical into his body. "Maybe not today," he firmly replied.

"But—"

"Another time."

"Oh. Um. Ok, sure." The medic awkwardly put the syringe and vial back into his coat pocket.

Hayden could tell that the young man was embarrassed and hadn't been expecting the shot to be refused. Too bad. He didn't mean to be rude, but he needed more time before he truly trusted everyone here. Living without memories was like being in a dark room, unable to see anything, and being scared of moving in any direction lest there be danger waiting. It was very frustrating.

They left the dorms and moved into the operations section. To Hayden's surprise, the people all about, though largely human, often had animalistic features: antlers, horns, a halo, dog ears.

"Quite the colourful array of people," he commented.

But Ansel seemed lost in thought and didn't answer at first until Hayden repeated the remark. "Hmm? Oh, yes. There are quite a variety of people throughout Terra. Makes it interesting, I think. Better than everyone being the same." He absently rubbed the back of his neck, still looking shy and uncertain around Hayden.

Feeling a touch of guilt, Hayden apologized. "Sorry about turning down the shot."

"What? Oh, it's no trouble. Really. I wouldn't want some stranger poking me with needles and giving me strange medicines either, right?" He forced a laugh just as they came to an open door. "Here we are. These are the offices."

Hayden entered the office room and saw a cluster of desks, each topped with computer monitors, with more large screens mounted on the walls.

Amiya, fingers hammered away at her keyboard, looked up. "Oh! Good morning! Thanks for bringing him, Ansel."

"Yeah, sure. Well, I'll leave you here and get back to work." He smiled and waved before turning to depart.

After he'd gone, Amiya gave Hayden a questioning look. "Something happen?" When Hayden told her about turning down the shot, she put her fingers to her lips and giggled. "It's ok; don't feel bad. He's still in training and kind of nervous about a lot of things. He probably took it as a lack of confidence in his skills more than your missing memories."

"He said it was a stamina shot. I'd just like to see how well I do on my own before relying on aids like that."

"Of course." She gestured to the desk next to hers. "Take a seat. I'm almost finished."

He sat down, glad to get off his feet. It might take a while to recover.

Amiya glanced at a notice on her screen and frowned.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

She opened her mouth to reply but the intercom cut her off and called her away. She leapt up, looking urgent. "Sorry! I'll be right back. Feel free to look around!" She raced off.

He sat back in the chair and looked over the desk he was sitting at. With an odd feeling, he noticed the nameplate had his name on it:

HAYDEN

Researcher, Operator, Strategist

Apparently, this was his desk. He put his hand on the surface and ran his eyes over the keyboard, the monitor, the lack of personal effects. It didn't feel familiar. Looking over at the other desk next to him, he saw another nameplate:

KAL'TSIT

Chief Doctor and CEO

The name didn't ring any bells either. Rising to check out Amiya's station, he saw a framed picture of himself and Amiya and a woman he didn't recognize and wondered who it was. Regardless, if it was real, then the picture was evidence enough that he really was from here and that the things they'd said about him were also likely true. He really was some kind of doctor with this mysterious half-research, half-military organization. And Amiya evidently held him in enough esteem that she kept a picture of him close by.

The words on her monitor caught his eye and he read over what she'd been working on a moment ago. It was an After Action Report. The number of people listed as killed or missing in action was disheartening.

Amiya rushed back into the room. "Sorry about that!"

He straightened and nodded towards the screen. "Was it really worth it, trying to rescue me? So many people…sacrificed?"

She hesitated and her steps stuttered. Coming to a stop next to her desk, she looked serious. "Rescuing you wasn't the only mission. And everyone who signed up specifically volunteered to do so."

He felt glum. "Seems a waste of lives. After all, I don't remember anything. I'm no use to anyone here anymore."

"That not true!"

"Amiya. Thank you for your kindness. And for rescuing me. But the truth is, I don't recall you or anyone here. If we were ever friends or anything else, I don't know it. And if I was some kind of researcher or strategist, all that seems wiped from my mind as well. There's no way that I can continue to be whatever I was, either to you or to this organization."

"Wait, Doctor Hayden—"

"I think that maybe I should leave Rhodes Island," he confessed, not looking at her.

"No!" She rushed over and stood before him looking panicked. "Don't think like that. This is your home."

"It was. But not anymore. I'm not the person you remember."

"But…but that doesn't mean you should leave!"

"Amiya, what would I do here? I'm too old to pick up a gun and have no desire to run around shooting people." He sighed. "I should leave."

"Doctor Hayden—!"

"What's the problem, Amiya?" A chilly voice called from the doorway.

He looked up.

She was middle aged, her features stern and unfriendly. A tight, lime-green dress with white sleeves clung to her thin body. Fox ears poked out of her shoulder-length white hair, long bangs cut just above her cold, green eyes. It was the woman from the photo with him and Amiya on the desk.

He greeted her. "Doctor Kal'tsit, I presume?"

She ignored him. "Let him go. He's right: he's no useless. There's no reason to keep him around."

Amiya looked wounded. "Doctor Kal'tsit, please don't give up. There could be a way to restore his memories."

"Not our expertise, nor our job." Her eyes rose to his for the first time. "We're better off without him."

"He's done so much—"

"He's gotten even more people killed," the woman angrily snapped. "It wasn't bad enough that his methods over the years were so often brutal, so often cost us the lives of our own. Now we've wasted even more trying to bring him back and he can't even be of what little use he was in the past. He's a traitor and a villain." She turned her gaze on Amiya. "Discard him and move on. I've told you before, there are far better mentors out there." With a savage glance his way, she turned on her slow heels and departed.

Hayden sat back down again, disheartened even more. "Well, she hates me. And it seems like she has good reason."

Amiya looked awkward and took her own chair at her desk. "I'm sorry. She… You two… Um, you don't have the best history."

"Because I was some kind of monster?"

She looked down and took a minute to gather her thoughts. "When Theresa was assassinated, there was no evidence of who had done it. You and her were the only two in the room. You were found laying unconscious and had…"

"No memory of the event?" He sourly finished for her. "You've got to be kidding."

"So you said at the time. But Doctor Kal'tsit has since expected that you had something to do with her death."

"But there's more, isn't there? She said I had gotten people killed."

"It's…complicated. I don't know."

"What did I do?"

"As a strategist, you've always had a stroke of brilliance. You've been able to see us through some dark situations in a way nobody else thought of. Or…nobody else was willing to think of." She took a deep breath. "Some people have criticized your methods for being…cold hearted. Some say that you easily sacrifice others for the cause without caring about them." She frowned. "But…they… That is, you're not cold hearted. I've never thought so."

"But I was callous with my methods and people died." The idea made him sick.

The young woman shrugged, the emotions on her face conflicted. "I don't know. I'm not an expert on strategy yet. You've been my mentor for a while now and I've learned so much! I really respect you and I have so much more to understand."

"From Doctor Kal'tsit's attitude, and what you're saying, it sounds like I was worth hating." He huffed. "Maybe it's a good thing that I lost my memories."

"Don't say that!" She protested.

"If I got to know who I was before, I'm not sure I'd like who that person was." He looked off into the distance. "Maybe it's better this way. I should leave Rhodes Island. Leave and start fresh. A new life. A new person."

She pleaded with him. "Please don't think of leaving."

"Why would I stay?"

"We need you. People all over the world have been infected with oripathy. Almost everyone at Rhodes Island has been. It's caused so much chaos and pain. And we're fighting for a cure, a way to save everyone from this plague."

"A plague I can no longer help cure because I don't remember anything about it."

"But you haven't even tried!" She countered. "Maybe if you started back into your research, you'd remember something. Even if you had to start from scratch and relearn things, obviously you have an aptitude for it; you were brilliant before. We need everyone, every smart and able person we can find to help us in this fight."

He sagged in his chair.

"Please, Doctor Hayden. We need you. And I need you. You're my mentor."

"I think we're past the point where I can be that for you any longer."

"Why are you giving up so easily? You haven't even tried to get your memories back. We have no idea what's possible."

"And I don't know if I want my memories back. Look at the hate in that woman's eyes," he gestured to the door where Kal'tsit had stood. "She hates me. Why would I want to become that person again."

"She didn't always hate you. And I don't hate you." She blushed and paused. Then continued in a calmer tone. "Say you don't get your memories back. You can still make a fresh start here. You can help us save the world. Isn't that something worth doing?"

"Maybe." He looked up at her. She was so young and earnest. She obviously cared for him. Maybe he had been a decent mentor to her or some kind of uncle or father figure even. Whatever else he'd been, maybe he'd at least done something right with her.

Did he really want to stay here with Rhodes Island? He didn't know much about this world. Maybe it was all one big war zone and there was nowhere peaceful to start over. Or maybe part of it was peaceful and he could find a place to live a quiet life.

He looked around the office. Rhodes Island was a big organization. They obviously had funding and a lot of committed people, so much so that many were willing to put their lives on the line for their cause. It seemed…noble.

Amiya sat quietly in her chair, giving him time to think. She seemed like a good person. It would be nice if she had a better world to grow into and live in.

He rubbed his jaw, conflicted. "You're right, maybe I'm giving up too quickly."

Hope lit in her eyes and she smiled.

He waved her down. "I'm not promising anything or committing to anything. But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to look around a little. Meet some people."

"Great!" She came alive again with excitement. "How about I show you around headquarters?"