A perfect then messed up past
Flying feels as natural as breathing in this vision. I'm surprised at first, because I had no idea it was possible to fly in these dreams, but when I saw the pale me taking off I realised that maybe it's easy after all. I just sort of will myself up, and quite soon I'm heading over the jungle in the distance.
Why is he taking me there? Is there something he wants to show me?
The jungle is so beautiful. We land on the ground and I stare around in wonder. The luscious green leaves form a thick canopy over the forest floor, with little rays of sunlight hitting the ground here and there through gaps in leaves above. We stop beside a little river, where I can see a strange looking animal taking a gulp of water. It resembles a deer in the structure of its body, but its fur is turquoise and seems to glow, and it has no antlers. Zangetsu has often told me of the beautiful creatures living on Lorien. So much more special than anything you'll find on Earth.
So very perfect. A wonderful planet.
I see a whole load of other amazing animals as I make my way through the undergrowth, following the pale me. All of them are fantastic shapes and colours, blending in and camouflaging with the weird shades of the leaves. Every colour of the rainbow can be found if you look hard enough, but the hundreds of shades of green dominate the jungle, the only things Earth jungles actually have in common with those of Lorien.
Eventually, the trees part and I can see civilisation. It isn't too different from the cities on Earth, but the architecture differs greatly. Great monuments stand out, and I can see people gazing at them in wonder, despite the fact that they probably pass them every day. It makes me sad to think of how I was denied this life. This past flashback is beautiful, and I want nothing more than for it to be real.
We wonder through the streets, and I'm struck again by how similar some of this can be to Earth. Zangetsu has told me that the Loric were thousands of years ahead of humans in terms of technology, and so whenever we travelled to Earth we often helped humans out. The people of Earth were influenced by our cultures, and they even worshipped our people as gods in places.
The neighbourhood that we're in now is peaceful, with the odd few people in their gardens enjoying the sunlight, while children race up and down the street playing imaginary games. The pale me finally stops in front of one house, staring at a small child of about four years old playing with an animal that resembles a German Shepard puppy.
A small child with orange hair.
I press my hands up against the fence, knowing that I am invisible because this is a memory, staring down at the younger version of me. He is giggling as the puppy rolls around on the grass, barking in delight. Little me tries to grab the puppy's tail, but the animal changes shape in the blink of an eye, becoming a small green songbird. The younger version of myself lets out a shriek of laughter and tries catching the bird, but it soars too high over his head.
'What are you doing?' comes a cheerful woman's voice from the door to the house, and my heart skips a beat. Standing there, smiling down and the younger me and the animal, is my mother.
Her long wavy brown hair is tied in a knot at the back and she has long bangs coming down to her chin. Her warm brown eyes are fixed on the younger me fondly. And, clutched tightly in her two arms, are my baby sisters. One has hair the same shade as our mother's, but the other one has jet black hair. Both are wide awake and are blinking confusedly in the bright light from the sun.
'I was just playing with Kage!' little me exclaims, getting to his feet.
'Ah! Why don't you wanna play with me?!' my father exclaims, appearing at the door with a ridiculous grin on his face, making them all laugh.
.
The scene shifts, and now it's night time and there are fireworks high up in the black sky. We're in a square, and I can see my family and my younger self all standing together among the crowd, all laughing and cheering like everyone else. A celebration. Two moons, hanging on opposite sides of the horizon. Oh God. This is the day that the Hollows come.
A man is trying to push his way through the crowd towards my family. With a start I realise he is Zangetsu. He's so much younger, and he's not even wearing glasses. He seems frantic and as soon as he locks eyes with my father, it seems contagious. My father is already looking worried.
'Are they-?' he begins.
'Yes. They're here,' Zangetsu says darkly.
.
Now we're in my old home, and it's very dark. No lights are on but outside there are flashes and loud bangs. My family and the younger me are huddled around in the living room with Zangetsu, while the pale me and I are watching the scene.
'We need to get him to the ship straight away,' Zangetsu is saying. 'They'll be leaving as soon as possible.'
'Can't they take Karin and Yuzu too?' my mother asks tearfully.
Zangetsu shakes his head sadly. 'The Charm has already been cast. Besides, they're not Garde. I'm sorry, Masaki.'
'What number has he been given?' my father says quietly.
'Number Four.'
'Mama... what's going on?' asks the little me.
'Hush, darling,' my mother says, holding him close to her.
'We have no more time to spare,' Zangetsu says, standing up from the armchair he is sitting on. 'We need to get out of here. Now.'
.
'What's going on?!' screams the younger me. He and Zangetsu are racing down a darkened street, only illuminated by the flames. Around them, people are running around, screaming, shouting, yelling. Everyone is panicking and above there is a ominous dark shape, standing out from the sky by the bright lights flashing around the edge. A Hollow ship.
'Come on. We need to hurry,' Zangetsu says urgently, grabbing the hand of the younger me and pulling him along.
'I want Mama and Papa!' little me cries.
'We have to go!'
'What happens now?' I whisper, watching them run off.
'Everybody dies,' the pale me says simply. 'Everyone except you lucky lot.'
The scene dissolves again.
.
Somehow the younger me has gotten separated from Zangetsu. People are pushing past, and at the end of the street I can see a dark figure clad in black amour and a darkened helmet, shouldering a huge gun.
Then that figure starts firing at people.
All around, the Loric are falling. Ordinary Cêpans, unable to defend themselves. The Garde must be elsewhere, battling an army, while stray Hollows have attacked the neighbourhood and are murdering the people.
I remember some of this happening, but up until now it's all been a blur. I remember always being so very terrified, and now I'm being given a vision to show exactly what my four-year-old brain never remembered.
'Zangetsu!' the younger me wails.
The dark clad figure walks right up to the younger me and suddenly I am the younger me, staring through four-year-old eyes, so terribly afraid as the Hollow approaches. Where is Zangetsu? What's going to happen?
The gun is pointed directly at me and I hear a whirring sound inside. Somewhere deep within, I hear a child scream, NO!
The Hollow seems to be hesitating, as if confused. Is it taking pity because I'm a child? Of course not, that can't be possible... they're destroying my planet, killing millions of children...
The Hollow's head jerks forwards, then he crumples, narrowly dodging me. I stand, frozen in fear, then I realise my rescuer is my Cêpan.
'Come on!'
.
I'm still in my four-year-old body, staring out of the spaceship window, watching my dying planet grow smaller and smaller as we move further away.
'I want Mommy and Daddy...' I whisper, tears falling down my face.
They're gone now, comes that same child's voice. A younger version of the pale me frowns in my mind.
'I wanna go home!' I sob, bending down beside the window and burying my head in my hands.
'Four?' comes Zangetsu's voice from an open doorway nearby. He walks over to me and bends down to talk to me.
'Listen to me, Four. One day, we'll come back. We'll leave Earth and Lorien will be our home again. Until then, we have to stay safe. Okay?'
I nod, but the tears still come.
.
I must have blacked out. I'm lying on a skyscraper, no longer four, and the pale me is sitting next to me.
'That's how it happened?' I whisper.
'That's how it happened,' he confirms.
I get to my feet, feeling a slight lump in my throat, but unlike all the other times I've threatened to cry in the past, I'm not embarrassed. I have just watched my people getting slaughtered, knowing that my family was among them.
'I still don't know what the Hollows look like,' I say after a long pause.
He grins slightly. 'Do you really wanna be in a situation where you find out?'
I think about that. I'll probably only ever see them when my life is in danger. So no. Obviously not.
'Who are you?' I ask for the final time.
He sighs, then looks up at me, serious for once.
'I'm your final Legacy.'