Chapter 5: What Once Was, Now Is.
Jean Engarde paced around the giant blue orb stationed in the center of the Council of Six headquarters. Nikolah, on the other hand, stood patiently with his eyes closed. The empty chairs in the room glared at them both, but Jean shook it off as his nerves toying with his preoccupied mind.
He heard the creaking of the elevator get louder, and he took a deep breath. In his opinion, what he was about to discuss was controversial at best.
His guests arrived with wary expressions. The most cheerful (if he could call it that) of the bunch was unexpectedly Kamiizumi, entering with a sort of curiosity rarely seen. Minette stood next to him, out of place from the adults in the room. Geist and DeRosa eyed each other uncertainly, while Praline created as much distance from Amy as possible. The retired pope herself was the last to enter.
"Thank you for coming, everyone. I apologize if I gathered you here under short notice. I'm sure you all have duties to attend to, but hear me out. It has something to do with something I recently...discovered." His last word was hesitant, and Jean shook his head. "No, not discovered...something I recently...unlocked." Former enemies and allies alike were silent.
"I've...remembered some things."
"What does that have to do with us?" DeRosa grumbled. Knowing that he was dealing with some...eccentric characters, Jean gave the simplest answer, "It has everything to do with you. And everyone here, too...except for Minette." The red mage closed his mouth at Jean's blunt statement. The cat-loving child pouted at her exclusion.
"Forgive me, Minette. This really has nothing to do with you, but I don't mind your presence here. You've taken quite a liking to Kamiizumi, haven't you?" The youngest member of the former Empire happily nodded her head in agreement. "Yep. It's fun just being able to fish and sail the oceans, being all carefree…"
"She retained her quirks. That's good," Jean noted.
Behind him, Nikolah cleared his throat. "Shouldn't we get back to the topic at hand, Jean?" Amy, who oddly didn't speak a word from the moment she stepped into the chamber, managed to crudely point out, "What exactly do you mean when you say, 'It has everything to do with us?'"
"Okay...if this goes well…"
"I'm just going to ask each of you a few questions. Please answer honestly and the best that you can." He addressed DeRosa first. "DeRosa, do you remember fighting Nikolah and me along with Yu a year ago? Do you remember talking with us in the desert near Istantal, or even meeting Geist somewhere in the depths of an underground dungeon?" The red mage stroked his chin slowly, eventually shaking his head. "I do not believe so." Geist finally acknowledged the other red-clad asterisk holder in the room. "Hmm. Funny how I don't seem to recall you from anywhere. If I truly have met you, I would remember the shade of red of your...coat." He snickered at DeRosa's appalled expression.
"I'll have you know my coat is the rage with the young women these days. Unlike yours...well...you look like someone who recently bathed himself in blood." Geist let out a tiny growl. "What was that?!" The two men drew their swords; their glares sparked uneasiness with the other asterisk-holders.
"We will not have fighting in this room! Put down your weapons at once!" demanded Agnès. Her voice echoed across the narrow room, providing an echo just as authoritative and powerful as her original command.
Flinching from Agnès's tone, Jean turned away from them to Praline and Kamiizumi. "I knew it was a bad idea to put those two in the same room…" "Ah anyway, Kamiizumi...do you happen to recall a time where you fought us in some ruins? Or, Praline, do you recall holding some sort of sinister attitude towards us?" The idol confidently shook her head, but the swordmaster kept quiet, still sifting through his past memories.
Amy, bewildered by the questions fired by Jean, slightly flinched at his eyes when she was the center of his attention. It searched for something inside of her, matching the intensity of his namesake title.
"Amy, this is the most important answer I have to get. Please think long and hard about my next question." She nodded hesitantly. "Good," he started, "Now, when you kidnapped a child with a few Empire soldiers-" Amy suddenly retorted back, "Now, wait just a second! Since when did I kidnap a child?!"
The room was silent. The occupants looked at Jean with incredulous eyes.
Then, he cracked a smile.
"That's the answer I was looking for."
Everyone staggered back in shock, including Nikolah. "W-what do you mean?" Agnès inquired. Jean breathed out a deep sigh. "The things I remembered...were the events I just asked you about. If you'll give me a moment to explain in further detail..."
As Jean set off to fill the holes of their confusion, Nikolah went back to their conversation with Jean in Istantal.
"We have much to discuss, Nikolah."
"I'm...not sure I understand."
"It doesn't make sense to me either. However, I feel like I can confide in you, Nikolah. We have been through a lot the past couple of years..."
"Jean..."
"Enough of that. To make things short, I had some weird visions…No, they weren't visions. Rather, they're recollections."
"Oh...and what may they be of?"
"...Yu's first mission as leader of the Orthodox Knights."
"W-what?"
"You heard me right. Try to remember when we were here with Yu a year ago…"
"Hmm...Huh...I don't particularly remember such an event. How odd..."
"However...there's one thing you shouldn't have forgotten about."
"Hmm...Wait, you mean-"
"Yes, that moment one night when we found Yu on the bridge with a flower in his pocket."
"I-I see, but how is that related to your recollections?"
"Everything. I finally remembered why that flower looked so familiar…"
"Correct me if I'm wrong...but that flower is a magnolia, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
"That means...y-you're joking!"
"No, I'm not. In fact, it's exactly what you think."
"Then, that means…"
"There's something that doesn't add up here, and I intend to find out. Nikolah, I need you to contact some people."
"O-okay, I understand."
"Thank you for letting me share this with you. Now, we need to find these people and tell them to meet us at the chamber of the Council of Six in a week…"
"That's...quite a tale, Jean." Kamiizumi's remark snapped Nikolah out of his stroll in memory lane. While everyone processed what Jean just told them, Agnès stood still, her face pale and her hands trembling.
"Why are you telling us this, Jean? If you already knew what our response is, then why bother?" Geist slowly asked.
Nikolah addressed the exorcist. "Jean only wants to acquire the reason why we have lost these memories...and the reason why they're coming back. In order to start searching, he has to find any irregularities with his memories and the memories of others. And as of so far, he hasn't found anything abnormal yet." Everyone other than Agnès shifted restlessly. She felt even more out of place than Minette now.
"Jean, can you please tell me what irregularities you have in mind?" He turned to the former pope of the Crystal Orthodoxy. "What I'm looking for are people who remembered something about this event, or any evidence that the incident happened in the first place. But by the looks of it, the one responsible cleaned up their tracks very well." Agnès bowed her head down, her eyes silently switching between shades of brown as she apprehended her choice of sharing what she knows.
"Jean...there's something I would like to share," she requested. The fencer did not expect such a response, and he braced himself for her contribution. "Yes, anything is good at this point," encouraged Jean. She then looked to the ground, a moment's hesitation in her solemn frown.
"Yu and I...were discussing about the very same events just a couple of days ago. It truly troubled me how my memories failed me when I needed them. In any case, Yu said he just remembered something about a flower and an overwhelming sadness associated with it." He crossed his arms after she finished. "Yes, I suspected as much...Yu was supposed to remember that-wait, what do you mean 'just remembered?' He was supposed to have that intact!" The asterisk-holders jumped at his sudden yelp.
She hummed and swayed back and forth, trying to connect the jumbled pieces in her head. "Perhaps we should continue this conversation when the others are dismissed. It seems like this is starting to involve them less and less." The former Empire members especially agreed with Agnès, and they moved towards the elevator.
"Okay, I get it. Amy, Geist, I thank you for listening to what I have to say." The tomahawk turned around. "Jean, if there's one thing that should have happened while I was in the Empire; it is that we should have gotten to know each other a little better. The same goes for you, Geist. Now that I know about what I've missed, it feels a bit odd, knowing about how we may have more contact than I have originally thought." Geist let out his slow throaty laugh. "Jean, if what you say is true...what is the reason we have forgotten these memories?" He could only respond with, "I don't know." He continued, "Before you go, there's something that all of you should know. During this time, there was a fourth person with us. Someone worth taking note of." The exorcist turned back around.
"Who is this person, then?"
Jean closed his eyes and skimmed through his thoughts once more. He had to be absolutely certain.
"This person is well acquainted with everyone here. In fact, you've crossed paths with her many times. Yet, somehow, she has intervened in our world before the Empire kidnapped Agnès." His implications were instantly clear to the shepherd's fiancée.
"No...It can't be..."
It was time to bring forth his suspicions. He nodded at the harsh gasp that Agnès let out.
"Her name is Magnolia Arch."
Upon hearing her name, the room became filled with shouts of disbelief. "W-what?!" exclaimed Kamiizumi. Praline looked around innocently at their stunned expressions. "Eh...you mean that woman in the Sacred Flower Festival that fought me? She's rather plain..." Jean huffed in exasperation.
"Yes, Magnolia. There's no mistake. She has been here." Everyone went silent. How does one process such a bizarre story and accusation?
Fortunately, Agnès was an expert of dispelling awkward silences. "Everyone, thank you for listening to Jean. Now, I'm sure that you have other things to attend to, so please, be on your way. Also, inform Jean about anything you might recall that's important." The asterisk-holders all gave their word, and they headed back to their daily life.
Once most of the people cleared out of the small chamber, Jean and Nikolah faced one close-eyed troubled shepherd. "Agnès, can you please tell me more about your conversation with Yu? It'll give me some answers."
"Of course. A couple of nights ago, when I was retelling my story of the Great Chasm and my journey to awaken the crystals, Yu noted how he doesn't remember his first mission, yet it was an event very important to him. He was very distressed about his lack of memory, but he did remember a flower in his possession…" Jean crossed his arms. "That flower that he was holding...was a magnolia. No doubt about it."
Something nagged at Agnès. Surely, if someone recovered his or her memories...they would tell the person most prominent in them, right? "Jean...why don't you tell Yu or Magnolia about this? They deserve to know."
"I can't tell her! But...wouldn't it be easier? Agnès did have her share of suspensions thrown at her…" Nikolah looked at Jean, whose face scrunched up in concentration over his answer. "Agnès...alright fine. I'll tell you why I'm keeping this from them, but you must not tell Yu or Magnolia." The former pope glared at the fencer. "Is your reason for secrecy so severe as to prompt such actions?" Jean could only nod.
"Agnès, the reason for hiding this from Yu is different than the reason with Magnolia. I'm afraid...one of them is not so pleasant…" He broke eye contact from her, his vision pointed at the cold stone floor. Agnès closed her eyes, hoping she doesn't regret her answer. "I'm fully prepared to listen to these motives," she wholeheartedly affirmed.
Jean gave her a relieved sigh. "Thank you. Now...I'll start with Magnolia. She must not know because…" A flash of hesitation marred his face, but a shake of his head erased it. "Magnolia is in the root of these lost memories. I'm suspecting that she might be hiding something that could cause danger to this world..." He saw Agnès shrink back in shock; her eyes gleamed with an appalled glare. "How...I can't imagine Magnolia ever doing something that could harm Luxendarc! Didn't she defeat Providence with Yu and the others?!"
Nikolah intervened in their conversation. "Agnès, allow me to explain. We had just discovered memories that we should have, but didn't. And...they all revolve around Magnolia. Now why would that be? What is it about her that prompts us to forget? Some possibilities come to mind, but the most logical one is that her presence could trigger unwanted...attention." The way he said the last word oozed with uncertainty, and Agnès shivered in anger.
Jean did his best to calm the rage of his listener, but he wasn't successful. "Ah...that's right. I really don't want to doubt Magnolia, but...there has to be a reason why. And as for not telling Yu...he has grown...attached to her, and I don't want to ruin what they have because of my uncertainty. So, please, Agnès...keep this between us until I'm satisfied with my findings."
She hummed. It seemed wrong to conceal such a heavy accusation, but her experiences with Airy and the sage...it provided enough incentive. "Okay, Jean. I believe in you. Just...whatever you do, I hope it doesn't cause any harm between Magnolia and Yu. They share such a nice bond…"
"Of course. I'll keep you updated with whatever I find."
"Please do."
Silence then creeped into the tense room. Both parties couldn't think of a way to wrap up the discussion.
"Neh, Jean...do you know why Yu felt despair over Magnolia's leave?" Agnès slowly asked. The fencer crossed his arms. "It's possible...that Yu felt more than simple friendship back then." At his answer, she smiled slightly, unbeknownst to the others.
"I...see. Well then, if that's it, I'll be on my way." Agnès humbly bowed before turning around and switching the lever on the lift. As she waited for the elevator to come up, she suddenly recalled a message she had to give.
"Oh, one more thing, Jean. I hope you aren't doing anything of importance soon." A thick eyebrow was raised. "I do not think so. Why?" The retired pope giggled, which caused Jean to worry.
"Edea is thinking about making the Orthodox Knights deliver all of the wedding invites personally. If you don't believe me...wait a few days. Well then, farewell for now." Soon, it was only Nikolah and Jean in the narrow, circular room.
"Jean, did you accomplish what you wanted to do today?"
"To be honest...it left more questions than answers."
Another trip into the quiet sanctum.
"Neh...Should we take Agnès seriously on that note?"
"I highly doubt Agnès is one to joke around on any topic, Jean."
The former Empire member grinded his forehead against his hand.
"Damn it."