Chapter 2 – Radiant Memories

The bell, which was just a simulated noise, rang throughout the school. The classroom doors slid shut automatically: a precaution against late students. Anyone that didn't make it on time had to suffer the consequences.

Link pulled out his school tablet from his brown backpack. A white plate bordered the clear, seventeen-inch tablet, bearing the logo for AvaDyne on its sides, which was the major electronics supplier for schools in Centropolis. He snapped the bottom connector to the socket at the far end of his desk, letting the school programs load across the screen in tandem with the electronic board at the front of the classroom.

"Alright class," Mr. Vaughn called, running a hand through the synthetic hair used to cover his balding as he waited for the program to fully load, "turn in your homework."

Link heard an audible palm to the face in return. He grinned, knowing it was Freddy without having to look.

Touching the screen, he guided the file to the icon resembling the teacher's desk. The homework had been a mini-quiz on Centropolian race relations over the past century.

With that task completed, Link propped his chin up on his palm while Mr. Vaughn started the lesson plan. He let his mind wander back to the jackal and his words. There was no denying that he knew something on the passing mysteries of Link's dreams, not that he wanted to deny what the jackal knew. Class had started soon after the encounter, so he wasn't able to have much of a discussion about it with his friends.

He turned to the window half expecting to find the jackal's hard gaze upon him again, but instead caught a glimpse of the wraith from his nightmare. He blinked and it was gone – nothing more than a street with cars hovering by in front of an auto shop. He was relieved since it was just another flash, but it left him a little edgy, a fact that became evident when he leapt in his seat after Mr. Vaughn slammed an old-fashioned ruler onto his desk.

"Daydreaming again, Mr. Jensen?" Mr. Vaughn asked with a hint of agitation. The small traces of a grin showed that he enjoyed spooking Link. "You won't be able to dawdle in those Gardens you love so much if you get detention."

"That's rank."

"You can join him Mr. Marshall. Now pay attention or the both of you will stay after school."

Mr. Vaughn was known as a hardass so Link had learned to live with his bitter ways. In fact, he welcomed the distraction of his teacher's sour personality. But in the instant that the wraith's image disappeared, Link had made a quick and effortless decision.

He was going to meet the jackal.

Link grimaced at the food on his tray as he approached the opposite side of the cafeteria table where Derwin sat. He understood the health craze, but the vegetable medley looked like it was grown in a swamp, and the meat had a plastic sheen to it. But even less appealing than the meal was the horrified look on Derwin's face.

"You're not actually considering going, are you?"

Link sat down without a reply.

"You are, aren't you? Freddy, he's gonna go!"

"Aaahhh..." Freddy uttered in contemplation, also taking a seat. "I probably would too, even though it sounds like a really bad idea."

"It is a bad idea," Link admitted, staring into his tray. "But I don't think I'll get another opportunity like this again. That jackal said everything I wanted to hear."

"All the more reason not to go," Derwin said. "He looks like a pokemon to me. What's a pokemon gonna get outta telling you about your dreams?"

Freddy laughed. "It's simpler than that. He thinks he's tough. That guy basically said 'meet me after school.' He probably wants to beat you up and tell all of his friends. It's not like your nightmares are a secret."

Derwin narrowed his eyes. "I bet he's from Centro High. All the kids from there are douchebags."

"Derwin, pokemon don't go to school," Link halfheartedly informed his friend.

"They don't talk either. Explain that one! Yeah, you can't, can you?"

"Maybe I'll ask him."

Jake, a particularly nosy kid, peered over Link's shoulder. "Hey Link, what did that blue guy want from you?"

"None of your business!" Freddy snapped, brandishing his fist in Jake's direction. "It's a secret to everybody."

"Screw you guys anyway," Jake declared, his ego slightly deflated.

Link sighed, pushing his tray away. "Now people are suspicious of me. Yet another reason why I want to get this over with."

"Link, Jake is in everybody's business. It's what he does," Freddy stated matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, nothing to get upset over." Derwin's eyes lit up with Link's tray in his sights. "Soooo...since you don't seem to be hungry..."

Link knew the drill and slid the tray over to Derwin. His bushy tail whipped in excitement until Freddy poked him in his stomach.

"And this, my friend, is why you're starting to pack on the pounds."

"Kiss my ass, Freddy."

"Don't be so sensitive!"

Link smiled at his friends' bickering, remembering why he didn't need to care about what anyone else thought about him.

The last moments before departure were silent and awkward. The trio of friends stood along the walkway outside of the school as students happily evacuated in a weekend dash. With school out, Link's stomach fluttered with anxiety and a bit of excitement. Now that the moment had arrived, no one was quite sure what to say.

"So, uh...I'll see you guys later. Maybe," Link offered weakly.

Freddy pounded his first into his palm. "If that pokemon tries to fight you, we'll all kick his ass, right?"

"Yeah, right."

"You sure you don't want us to come too?" Derwin asked, confliction written across his face.

"He said come alone. He might blow his top if you guys came along, or he might just leave altogether."

"Okay..."

Link's bus was preparing to leave, but he had no intention of catching it. The Lucent Gardens were only a few blocks behind the school and within a comfortable walking distance. And so he departed, leaving a forlorn silence in his wake.

The mix of emotions continued to churn in his stomach along the way, but as he approached the natural paradise, he felt a sense of relief wash over him. The walkway gave way to a stone-laden path through the grass, leaving the metal and concrete of Centropolis behind. The host of flora grew in bursts, a stark contrast to the implanted line of trees along certain roads in the city.

He passed under a series of stone archways and stopped in front of a fountain. Granite flowers fed water into the center pool. Beyond the fountain was a small forest that he liked to explore in earlier years.

Looking back, he could still see the buildings of the Centropolis towering into the sky, including the triple stacker – the government building in the center of the city that was topped off with three saucer-shaped floors. Within the forest, the canopy of trees masked the city, and Link would pretend that he had stepped into another world.

Link saw the blur this time as it darted from the direction of the forest. With a swift leap, the jackal nimbly planted itself on the edge of the fountain. Link felt an overbearing presence exuding from it; he was staring into a power he couldn't see, and yet all of his senses tingled in awareness.

"You've come," the jackal began, "but are you prepared to learn the truth?"

Link's gaze was fixated on the jackal, and in the direct sunlight, his earlier suspicions were confirmed – its mouth was unmoving. The voice was as demanding and gruff as ever, but there was a slight, nearly indiscernible echo in the back of his head, one he originally chalked up to imagination during the shock and confusion of their first encounter. But now he was certain. This was the power of telepathy.

He had no doubt in his mind that he wasn't being strung along.

"I've had these questions for as long as I can remember. If I don't get answers now, they'll haunt me forever."

There was no overt reaction from the jackal. "As I mentioned before, once you learn the truth, you won't be able to deny it. There is much more happening in this universe than the denizens of this city realize, and it's tied to your sealed memories. Once they are unlocked, you will have to make a choice. You can pretend that what you learn here has no bearing on your life, but your soul will always know the truth. "

"Tell me...everything."