"Let me remember the things I love."

"So, uh… who are your friends, Tusk?"

They must've taken a wrong turn while trying to reach the area Elderbug was speaking of. Instead of lush vegetation greeting them, a large bug mound dominated the mammoth space. Unlike the Shaman's, it was a bit smaller, and composed of dirt instead of bones, yet used structural supports to form a multitude of smaller, egg shaped homes. It was also littered with more holes than Swiss cheese.

Chance hadn't seen any bugs like the inhabitants of this mound before. Three green caterpillars (or perhaps grubs?) stuck their heads out of the mound, far above them. One of them, an older looking grub whose maw gave the illusion of it having a greyed mustache, was cheerfully waving at Tusk, while the two younger grubs gave off little high pitched squeals of excitement.

Tusk, for their part, gave the grubs their signature blank stare. They didn't even change their expression as a bit of Geo bounced off their mask, flung at them by the older grub. Both looked up to see more Geo be thrown down upon them. As they were showered in the small chunks of metal, Chance covering his head with his arms for protection, one small piece of it went flying into Tusk's eyes… holes.

...What the hell?

Chance glanced up to see the elder grub stifling a laugh at the display, Tusk looking down at the floor as if only just registering that some metal flew inside of their skull. It even threw down an extra Geo plate to them. From what he understood, Geo came in multiple forms. Coins and plates were the only ones they had seen so far, but there probably were more out there. What Chance still couldn't grasp was why these things were throwing money at them. While the Geo thrown down so far wasn't the largest amount in the world (Probably. Geo's exchange rates were unknown to him), he supposed everything helped.

Despite the circumstances, he definitely wasn't someone to turn down a gift. While he bent down to collect the fallen Geo, he could see Tusk now had a hand firmly jammed into one of their eye sockets, presumably rooting about for that piece of Geo. Chance shuddered at the sight. It… raised questions about Tusk's biology, but it didn't matter for right now. Though, what did they look like under that mask? Was the mask their face?

But regardless, they had been given money by a small group of grubs whom they had stumbled completely by chance. Life sure was odd at times. And he doubted he would be getting an answer to this for a while, if at all.

Tusk finally withdrew their hand from the mask, clutching the bit of Geo. It was covered in a thin layer of an oily, tar like substance that absorbed the light around it. Literally speaking, as a small area around the coin was considerably darkened compared to the rest of the room. He almost felt compelled to touch it; it pulled him and everything around it inwards like a black hole. Almost.

As Tusk turned the Geo chunk around in their hands, however, one small thing stuck out from the strange vacuum around it. A small light hovered above the metal, flickering softly. Chance squinted his eyes and leaned forward to get a better look, and saw that the flickering was the flapping of tiny wings. It looked almost identical to the Lumaflies that were powering many of Hallownest's light fixtures. But this one…

Suddenly, it lifted the Geo out of Tusk's hand. The small knight jumped up, trying to catch it again, but the small fly avoided Tusk's grasp with ease, darting around with surprising speed. Tusk stopped jumping just for a moment, and the small Lumafly-esque creature took the opportunity to fly right towards Chance.

"W-Uaahh!" Chance stumbled backwards as the bug zoomed closer, only to swerve away and land on the Geo bag fastened to his waist. It deposited the small Geo into the bag, before scrambling away inside the bag with it.

Chance nervously eyed the bag. What was that thing? Some kind of hoarder bug? Just as his fingers tentatively reached around the bag, however, he felt… itchy. His eyes widened with terror as he felt something - no, many somethings, crawl along his skin, appearing out of nowhere under his shirt and climbing upwards along his arms. He could see them shuffling around under his clothes, all rushing towards the edge, seeping closer to the open air.

And they exploded free. Countless tiny Lumaflies shot forth from underneath his sleeves and out his wrists, from under the chest of his coat, rushing outwards like a geyser in a brilliant swarm of light. They spiraled around him, plucking the remaining Geo off of the ground and darting back towards his Geo pouch, slipping the metal bits inside before burying themselves inside of it as well. Tusk leapt around trying to grab the Lumaflies with their hands like a child trying to pop bubbles outside on a summer day.

Soon enough, the last of the Lumaflies had flown back into his Geo pouch, leavinig the room dim once more. Aside from some involuntary quakes of terror, Chance stood still as a statue for a minute afterwards, thoroughly petrified by the experience. After it passed, he reached down into his Geo pouch, prying it open and-

Nothing. Only four hundred and four Geo lay within, chinking about as he shuffled the bag. The Lumaflies had appeared out of thin air, gathered all the Geo in the room, brought it to him, and vanished.

Gathering Swarm .

As he stared down at his pouch in awe and fear, the pitter-patter of Tusk's footsteps echoed through the cavern. Chance looked up to see the small knight having turned tail to where they had come from. They didn't even glance back, just continuing on their way.

"H-hey, wait up!" he called, standing up to follow Tusk. He stopped mid-stride, however, and gave the grubs a wave, trying to force a smile despite being thoroughly shaken. "T-Thanks, guys!" They gave off several more happy squeaks as Chance rushed off to find where Tusk had wandered off to.

The next path down held a bit more promise. Unlike the previous, above entrance, it was surrounded by green plant life, a rare sight in these cavernous Crossroads; he almost felt bad about missing it twice while previously traversing the shaft. Not to mention how easy it was to get to as well; all it took was a few feats of acrobatics down the platforms to reach the opening into the area. As he was rapidly beginning to realize, they had skimmed over much during their first run through of the caverns. Though, to be fair, it was hard enough to find their way about with the scant light shrouding everything. Were it not for his phone and the occasional Lumafly lantern, it would be near impossible to make it through here in pitch darkness.

Quite suddenly, the cramped passage opened into a colossal space. It even put the great shaft they had just exited to shame.

It was a ravine, that much was obvious. Foggy distance stretched nigh endlessly in both directions, shattered stone structures visible amongst the darkness. Far below them, a powerful stream roared, spraying water to and fro, while a rocky ceiling plagued with stalactites rose high above them. They themselves stood on a bridge that stretched to the other wall of the ravine.

The bridge, a stone brick one, was held up by pillars that stretched far below into the rushing waters of the ravine floor. For whatever reason, the bridge had an elevated section in the middle, steps up, and steps back down on the opposite side with seemingly no purpose. A few metal support columns stretched up from the elevated section, holding up a carved slab of masonry which presumably kept the ceiling supported. To the side, Lumafly lamps lit the whole bridge in an opulent glow. There were even some vines and bushes growing along the center of the bridge.

Truly, it was a sight for sore eyes. He could say with damn near certainty that he hadn't seen anything resembling any shade of green since he had first arrived in Hallownest. The closest thing to green he'd seen was the seasoning on Iselda's soup, and aside from it; gray and blue rock. Rock rock rock. Maybe a shrivelled flower or two, plus some dying grass, in Dirtmouth, but besides that, nothing. No floral life whatsoever. Just an ecosystem consisting of infection spewing zombies and carnivorous flies. It was depressing, but if these plants were here, maybe there was something hopeful beyond.

Chance walked to the nearest plant clump; a bush with several small, white berries sprouting from it. Crouching, he plucked one from its stem and rolled it between his fingers. Smooth, cold, firm, but with some soft yield. He didn't plan on eating it, but holding such a delightfully organic object (That didn't come from a screeching predator) was certainly a nice novelty. It felt strange, thinking of holding a plant as a luxury, but everything about this place had turned the concept of "strange" on its head.

Tusk studied his actions for a moment before joining him, themself plucking a leaf from the bush. While Chance was gentle with his berry, Tusk firmly ran a thumb over the frail leaf, creasing it and ripping a hole through it. They tilted their head, confused, as if to ask, What's the fun in this? , before shoving an entire hand into the bush. Chance couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow at the display.

He shrugged; to each their own, he supposed. Plants appealed to a more instinctual, primitive side of himself, and he guessed that even the ever-stoic Tusk was wired the same way. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to be deprived of plants for your whole life, only to stumble into them by sheer chance. Standing back to his full height, he left Tusk to explore while he himself ventured a bit further. Specifically, to the prominent sign displayed near the elevated bit of the bridge. While the plants were a good sign they were on the right path, any more information would be very much appreciated…

...

...And he just remembered; he couldn't read it. An ability he had taken for granted for as long as he could remember suddenly rendered useless. Blinded. It wasn't the end of the world, but still, this illiteracy was starting to annoy him.

He wasn't even sure if Tusk could read. And if they could, there wasn't a way they could communicate its meaning… unless they could write as well. But that just complicated things further. They barely had enough room on paper for their map as it was.

He sat down on the step of the raised section, trying to gather his thoughts. Regardless of whether or not they were on the right track, they needed to push forward. And while the plants were a nice distraction, the two of them couldn't stay forever. As such, he cast his gaze to the other end of the bridge, looking for a way forward. Thankfully, there was a tunnel , but it was partially blocked by a large, shelly boulder, very much out of place on the otherwise uncluttered bridge.

...Oh, no.

He was not falling for that again. How did that phrase go? Fooled once, shame on you? Fooled twice, everybody dies? ...It didn't matter. If it was actually a boulder; no harm, they could just squeeze past it. But if it was another one of those huge bugs.. they wouldn't be caught off guard this time. Not again.

Either way, Tusk's help would be needed, just in case. He turned back to where he had last seen them, only to find the bridge deserted. Gulping silently, he pulled out the map to spy Tusk's location. Yeah… Tusk's little head symbol was close to his own.

"Tusk?" He experimentally called, slowly back away from the boulder. With hope, he wouldn't wake whatever it may be.

A rustling nearby caught his attention, and a set of white, bony horns popping out of a bush, followed by the rest of Tusk tumbling out. A few leaves and twigs were stuck on their horns and cloak.

D'aww...

Tusk quickly ran up to him, looking at him somehow disapprovingly. Chance almost felt bad about having spoiled their fun, but they needed to keep moving. And to keep moving, they needed to get past that boulder. He silently motioned Tusk to follow him, as he softly walked closer to it. Scooping a loose rock from the ground, he chucked it at the boulder. It bounced off and into the ravine with a haunting echo. Maybe a boulder could be just a boulder after all.

Relaxing, Chance stepped off of the elevated platform and onto the bridge below. They would just have to push-

The front part of the boulder suddenly opened into multiple segments, revealing a fleshy… something, inside. (Were Chance's memory still intact, he may have found it to resemble a giant Bakugan.) Before Chance could react, a thick, wet spit glob erupted out from the creature's maw. He wasn't sure what to expect from it trying to spit on them, but the crushing sensation of what felt like a cannonball smashing into his shoulder caught him off guard.

The boulder bounced off, thankfully, but the pain didn't. He staggered backwards, tripping over the step and landing painfully on his back with a hard thud on the stone floor. His hand instinctively went to cradle the injured arm, his face grimacing as the soft glow around his fingers made what felt like a nasty bruise slowly fade away.

Tusk dashed up, leaping into the air above him. Chance was blinded as a massive eruption of energy shot forth, bathing the whole ravine with pale light. The strange, otherworldly projectile Tusk launched forth, whatever it was, smashed into the large boulder-like creature before them; the force from the explosion made the creature stagger off of the edge of the bridge and fall into the darkness.

Tusk, who had remained airborne for their attack, fell back to the ground with a soft pat. They turned to look at the startled Chance, their expression empty as always, but with a strangely smug air about them.

"Th-..." Chance stammered, still reeling. "That was… easy enough."

The stark contrast between the Forgotten Crossroads and this new place took Chance's breath away. Compared to the dead caverns of the Crossroads, this area was covered with lush green, plants of all kinds growing vibrantly as far as the eye could see.

Oh, and the acid as well. That was new.

It was a sickly green, rapidly bubbling, and horribly effective. He had chucked a small piece of plant into the mixture, only for it to hiss and fizzle at contact, quickly dissolving into nothing. Strangely, the acid didn't smell as badly as Chance might've expected. It was some weird blend between soda and chlorine.

The fauna here caught his eye, too. Odd, bushlike beings which would scurry away and dive into the ground at the first sign of danger. Spindly creatures that hid in a plump ball of fur, an antennae-like strand stretching above them. Some had already succumbed to the infection; they would occasionally give off bursts of infected smog when threatened. Chance took extra caution to avoid the tangerine cloud; better safe than sorry.

The lime-green acid, which formed a lake below them, didn't help either. One wrong motion could mean a gruesome death. Chance morbidly wondered how quickly the acid might eat away at his flesh, and if he fell in, how long it would take for him to stop thinking.

As such, while Tusk jumped from the suspended platforms to solid ground with little difficulty, Chance took his time. He leapt to the next platform, only to spend several heart-stopping seconds righting himself, before preparing for the next jump.

The further they went in, the more the plant life dominated. Even the air itself grew warmer, though whether it was from the plants or the acid, he was unsure. Chance wiped his brow from the sheer humidity.

Nature was at work, and it was slowly consuming whatever had been built here previously. Vines and other plants wove and burst through the rough stone surfaces, while the acid only eroded the masonry further. Chance wasn't even sure what the structures were for, but anything was better than the acid in his eyes.

He couldn't help but take a second to take in the ambience all around him. Smell the roses.

Unlike the Crossroads, it felt alive . Even the bubbling hiss of the acid gave off a life of its own. It was one thing to survive in the dull, grey back at the bridge; it was another to live here, in this lush place that felt as though it had its own breath.

He turned back from the edge of the platform to catch up to Tusk, who was looking about the area as well. Little guy probably hadn't seen so much vibrant life before, especially if nothing like this existed above ground. An image of the barren, windswept planes above them flashed across his mind. It was hard to believe anything but the hardiest of plant life could survive above ground.

What he really couldn't grasp, though, was how the plants down here were growing without any sunlight. They must get their energy from some other source; maybe the acid itself?

Chance shook his head a bit. Another question for another day. For now though, they would need to explore further.

Before probing further, Tusk and Chance had taken the time to rest a bit. They had found an old and tarnished, but still comfy, bench in a spacious upper area, set up right next to a lumafly lantern. Somehow, impossibly, the plant life had completely taken over the space; not even rock was visible. If Chance had to guess, it had to do with the river running through the cavern, even if it was acid. It started out seeping from multiple crevices torn out of the walls, forming several waterfalls which congregated into a solid stream. It roared downhill, passing on into the unknown. Luckily, they were far enough away to not be doused by the spray.

The white noise from it was quite nice; he could almost fall asleep here. Maybe it wouldn't hurt if he just… took a small… nap...

His head snapped back up from his chin dipping down. Cripes, it almost did knock him out. He must've been more tired than he thought. Tusk, who had been staring blankly at their map, jumped slightly at his movement.

"Oh, um… sorry about that," he said sheepishly. Tusk, for their part, gave his thigh a silent pat. While Tusk did so, he caught a glimpse of the map.

"Why do you have that out?" It had just enough space for the Crossroads, nothing more; there was no way they could fit another section in. Tusk mimed scribbling on the edge of the map, on the section where they had just exited from. Oh.

"I don't think it's of any use to us," he said. Tusk looked to him for a moment, then looked back down to the map again. Maybe when they got the chance, they could zip back up to Dirtmouth and ask for more paper.

Chance stretched out to the side, resting an arm on the bench and propping his chin up on it to keep him awake. He gazed absently over the scenery, torn between the livelihood of nature energizing him, and the soothing lullaby of running water tempting him with sleep. The most defining feature of this forest-like cavern may have been the abundant greenery, but nothing accented it quite like the smell. The crisp air flowing over him was reminiscent of flowers and maple wood, with a caffinating twinge in the air from the acid. Even without any sunlight, if Chance closed his eyes, he could almost imagine himself lying under the sun in a forest back home…

The home he couldn't remember.

A chirp. Chance lazily glanced over to the side to see a bird that had landed in the grass, looking around erratically for predators. But this "bird" had the same skull-like mask that many others in Hallownest had, and its wings even matched the color of Tusk's cloak. It hopped around in place for a minute before a bored Chance nudged his foot towards it, startling the poor bird into flying off.

A bird. It was unmistakably, absolutely, definitely a bird. And yet, it wasn't his kind of "bird". Birds from his home. His birds didn't wear masks. But it was still a bird. Just not a bird he'd ever been familiar with.

...It was like a sickening joke. He couldn't remember much about his home, but there were still traces of ideas lingering around in his subconscious mind, just enough for him to realize that this new place felt wrong . He couldn't remember what "home" felt like, only that it didn't feel like Hallownest. If his memory had been completely wiped clean, maybe he could at least feel at ease here. But instead, his mind kept wandering back to how alien and otherworldly everything felt, and he couldn't stop thinking about the faces of strangers kept on his phone. Faces he smiled with, faces he laughed with, faces he cried with. Faces he once treasured and loved. But there were no longer any names to tie to the faces, no people, no souls. Dead to him.

Everything he had ever known had been reduced to empty faces, and that terrifiedhim.

Chance shifted on the bench, suddenly feeling uncomfortable on the iron seat. "We should keep moving," he said to Tusk as he sat up straighter on the bench. He didn't feel very sleepy anymore. Tusk tucked their map away and hopped down, also looking ready to go. Chance stuffed his hands firmly into his coat pockets, pursing his lips as he gave one last paranoid glance around the area.

Beautiful, but never his beautiful.

Maybe he was being selfish.

"I mean, look at this place!" exclaimed Chance in awe for what might've been the dozenth time since they arrived in this new area. "Even back at my home, we never had sights like this! All the dense greenery, and the, ahm…" He faltered. "And the acid, and…"

He bit his lip and shut himself up. Tusk didn't seem to be paying him any mind, anyway. Not that he could blame them.

Chance kicked a small, mossy rock aside as they traveled deeper into the natural wonderland, watching as it tumbled over the ledge and into the river of acid below, evaporating with a satisfying hiss. So what if he was being selfish? This world had already put him through hell, and he got the feeling that it was only getting warmed up. He had every right to be selfish. Besides, was it really so much to want his memories and his home back?

...Actually, no. This place was awful. It only looked nice so you'd get close enough, then be eaten up by one of those giant snapper-plants that had nearly done him in earlier. Not to mention that all the green gave him a headache. The damn place didn't even have any sunlight, and it still managed to be too bright for him.

What an arrogant place, thinking it was so pretty and majestic when it was almost a single solid color. You know what color would make this place less of an eyesore? Orange . Orange was a good color. Like tangerines, or mangoes, or fancy orange sports cars roaring down the highway that you couldn't help but stare at even though you knew nothing about cars. Some orange sunrises or sunsets would've done this place some good too, but there wasn't even a sun to rise or set, so that was a crying shame but he'd have to make do.

He trudged through the grass, finding more and more reasons to dislike this place. Something brushed against his ankles, his gaze turning down to see a lone, pale flower. Good on it for trying something new, but it was still such a boring color. What the hell kind of psycho would say that white was their favorite color? The same kind of asshole to submit an empty canvas to an art competition and go on tirades about "the beauty of minimalism" or some stupid shit. Chance gave the flower a frustrated kick, dislodging some petals that fell into the grass, but the flower itself remained rooted into the dirt. Unsatisfied, Chance stomped on the flower, driving the heel of his shoes into the earth to grind it to biological paste.

"Stupid flower," he grumbled. Who cared about bullshit "cures" or fighting giant plant-bug-monsters? He only ended up hurting in the end. Here, he was in control, and he wouldn't be the one hurting. He began stomping on the flower. Soon, that wasn't enough for him as he fell to his knees and began tearing the flower apart with his bare hands, ripping up grass and coating his knuckles in dirt as he vented all his frustration to the earth, clenching his teeth and he tore up roots and handfuls of dirt, pounding the dirt futilely, screaming in a blind rage, tearing everything apart-

"By the gods, what are you doing?"

The orange haze faded from his vision, Chance blinking it away as the burning inferno in his chest sputtered out. He glanced around, looking for the voice, when he looked up and saw a flash of red standing out from the greenery. On a high ledge stood someone new, donning a crimson poncho-like cloak and with a pale mask(?) showing off two tall horns. They seemed to be wielding a long sword- nail , sorry; but the shape was strange, unlike any other nail Chance had seen thus far. The handle was awkwardly long, and there was a… ringed piece at the end?

Their mask had the same two dark eyes as Tusk's, but they seemed more full , and they were staring down at him with contempt and bewilderment.

Chance looked back down at his hands. They were covered in mud, dirt having seeped up into his fingernails, and the scattered remains of a poor, inoffensive flower, its petals once white as snow, now torn to shreds.

He heard a pitter-patter of feet, and Chance's head whipped up to see Tusk sprinting towards the ledge, making a mighty leap up towards the figure, who merely hopped out of sight with a soft "hmph!" . Tusk reached out for the ledge, but even with their superhuman jumping ability, they still came just a few inches short of the ledge and instead fell down into the pit below.

Chance quickly regained his composure as he sprang to action, running over to the ledge and looking down for any signs of his companion. Thankfully, they seemed just fine, standing at the bottom of the ravine looking unharmed; unfazed, even.

Chance gave a sigh of relief. "Are you just, like, immune to heights or something?" Tusk merely lifted their arms in a shrug, and Chance couldn't help but smile down at the small bug.

The question was, how was he going to get down there…?

Chapter name and summary are a reference to Green River by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

I'll admit that this chapter was a struggle. The reason this relatively short chapter took so long was because I kept having on and off bouts of depressive writer's block, where I've been unable to get myself to write at all for days at a time. Thankfully, I've recently gotten better, but I still want to give huge thanks to my co-author, Piston24, for holding out for me and still making progress while I've been out. Hopefully, future chapters won't have so many issues surrounding it.

Regardless, I'm still pretty satisfied with how this chapter turned out, but remember to leave a review to let me know if you're satisfied too or not.

We intentionally shortened the Elder Baldur fight to one hit instead of a full fight to cut repetition and preserve flow. Also, that flower Chance went apeshit on wasn't a Delicate Flower, by the way; it was just an unrelated, sad white flower.

Thank you for reading, and we'll see you in the next chapter, whenever it may be!