The General cast a careful glance over his shoulder before retreating into the Oregon forest. He felt the Rebel Headquarters presence fade away behind him. The air was humid and moist, the scent of rain drifting through the air. The trees felt cool, and once in a while a plop of cold water hit his arms through the uniform. A peel of thunder rolled in the distance, abruptly shattering the comfortable silence. Dark storm clouds gathered together above him. The leaves rustled with the icy breeze.
The General held his arms and shivered. Ever since giving up Element Evil, he'd never gotten used to living without them, even with the years of military training under his belt. They meant nothing after he'd gotten used to Element Evil. There were some days when he wished he'd never given them up, and was better off dead. Even through his rebel uniform, he still felt the chill nipping at the air.
His eyes roamed through the vacant woods. He called her name. No response but the howling winds.
Another growl of thunder.
Grounding his teeth, he pressed on through the arctic-like chill, winding his way through the forest. After the Mind Worm and the Presence had been defeated, global warming ceased immediately, and the glaciers were restored. If he didn't know any better, he would've worried that the Earth would freeze into another Ice Age from too much heat reduction. Or perhaps he was just used to the Texas heat that seemed to rise from the ground itself.
There. Overhead.
A barbed wire fence weaved through the cool trees. The gate hung open by one of it's hinges, creaking ominously with the wind.
The General stepped inside, passing through an invisible barrier. A threshold.
He checked his memory. Everything from the previous events were still intact. He felt the slightest twinge of guilt for the rest of the team. He felt a calling - a need to tell them the truth, but that was impossible at this point. And he wasn't going to drag them through another round of hell. Not anymore.
In the center of the field, circled by a barbed wire fence, a sphere of stardust and light took form into a tree. It's gnarly branches and roots twisted into the sky. It radiated the five senses. It smelled of incense, sounded like firecrackers and bells, felt like the heat of a thousand suns, and the harshest breeze of a frozen tundra, looked like a tree of pure starlight and galaxies, and gave the air a salty taste like the sea.
The General removed his beret. The aura of the area demanded silence and respect. He approached the tree, feeling a familiar heartbeat radiating from it. As if it were alive.
He dared a step forward and placed his hand on the trunk. He felt the presence of the very person that changed him. That changed everything. The person who redeemed him from the addiction and anger that had been manifesting inside him ever since he could remember. His eyes flicked up to the sky as rain pounded against the damp soil, but the area around the sacred tree remained dry.
The General spoke, but his voice was drowned out by the sharp sound of rain that fell in heavy sheets. "I remember you."