Uhm… Happy almost one year since I last updated...?
Chapter 5—
Initializing the final memory fragment. Preparing for final procedures.
X wakes up to the sound of Church bells, the gongs hammering through his throbbing head, making his whole body churn with pain. It took effort for him to open his eyes once more, the scars from what transpired just before still fresh within him—still crisp and clear and sharp and damaging.
But he still did, and he welcomed the feeling of slight relief to know that he was nowhere near that darkness that he was in. The whole scene was once again filled with the light of daytime, the early morning's rays tickling his face as he lay there on the graveled ground, conscious but unmoving.
The boy moved his eyes around, trying to take in the scene with what minimal perspective he had given his position, and all he could see was the sky clear from any clouds, its cerulean glory unobstructed.
A small flame of warmth ignited within X. One he has never felt in a long time. It made him want to cry for a moment, but somehow, no more tears would come out anymore.
X can finally safely say that he has cried enough.
With a heavy grunt, he convinced himself to push his limp and almost lifeless body up from the ground, and as he did, the image of a tall architecture made itself more clear and pronounced to his perspective.
A church.
The boy journeyed his eyes down and up the construction, trying his best to remember where this was and what it had to do with him, but no matter what he did, he just couldn't.
Then a thought occurred to him:
How on earth am I still aware?
Vigilantly, X looked around, afraid that the memory sequence from last time was still not done, and that he was still being paraded to more memories for him to watch be destroyed. His eyes scanned the whole scenery, trying to find another form of life that he needed to be wary about.
All the color in his face has drained again, completely destroying what measly form of relief he had allowed himself to feel earlier on. But as he mentally listed down everything he's seen—from the small, man-made lake just next to where he was lain down, to the vast grass fields and the beige-colored paths that stretched across the whole vicinity —he's realized that, aside from the birds that chirped along with the gong of the bells, he was indeed alone.
A small but flourishing pain stabbed at his left temple.
Those church bells…
X hasn't completely regained enough strength to stand up, but he's regained complete awareness to feel annoyance, and somehow, the peal was filling him up to the brim with irritation.
It was enough to make him stand up without even thinking twice, and what resulted from the sudden spring was the feeling of instability. His legs trembled from the sudden weight, and he had to bend over for a moment to let the dizziness past.
And as soon as it has, he looks up again, beholding the image of the church once more.
X doesn't remember being in any form of church.
Am I still…?
With a deep breath and hollowed determination to see what he may not want to see, he began marching towards its half-opened gates.
-…-
"H-Hello…?"
X weakly pushed one of the tall, heavy doors, enough to make a small crevice to let himself in. With a grunt, he was able to squeeze through, coughing as dust coming from the door's side began flying around him.
Dusting himself, he looked around.
It was a grand church, but it was old. Its arc-shaped ceiling stood high up, filled with faded images of indiscernible figures and symbols. Its walls were donned with tall pillars outlined with intricate patterns, symbols, and cracks, all painted cream and blue, all faded over the course of time.
There was no lighting, and the whole place was fairly dim save for the portions being hit upon by the morning light, seeping through the Church's small, half-circle shaped windows.
X takes a step forward, gradually lowering his gaze to the ground he was walking on, watching as the dust that flies from the carpet where his foot lands would fly up, glittering upon the rays of sunlight, and faintly hypnotizing him.
As how it was outdoors, X couldn't find anyone inside. He considered going back outside to continue his investigation, but he's noticed how the gongs of the church bells are barely heard from inside, and thus, for the sake of his own sanity, he decided to stay. At least until the sounds would stop or until he's grown indifferent to its detestable sounds.
Whichever comes first.
X reached the one of the pews situated at the farthest back of the church, and grabbed its end. He traced his fingers on the ornate carving just to its side, marveling at how much this church had dedicated to its design, and dreading at the same time how these designs have been put to naught as the whole place has obviously been abandoned.
With a remorseful sigh, he drops himself to the seat, coughing again as more dust flew up around him. Wafting the particles away from his face, he focused on the altar at the other far end of the church, lazily eyeing the empty niches and the dusted table.
A thought occurs to him.
How beautiful but fleeting.
His nausea from a while ago overpowers him the second time. With a deep breath, he pulled his head back, to the indiscernible images just above him, and simply listened.
Now that he's cleared his mind from the gongs, he can strongly convince himself that he can hear faint, unfamiliar voices. Conversing voices. Slightly arguing voices.
Doctor, is this really necessary? It's just…
The order was that we erase every instance of the girl in his memories…
X swallows hard, noticing that small cracks were beginning to form along the ceilings intricate designs.
It was beginning.
Including this…
X knew better than to fight this one off. Wasn't that exactly what they were trying to do since the moment he's met Older Y?
Older Y…
He's surprised he can still remember her. Not really saddened nor overjoyed.
Just surprised.
Slowly, X began closing his eyes, readying himself to submit to whatever it was that was going to happen. If this church was to crumble down into pieces, then he will simply stay there and close his eyes until every single piece inside it is gone.
Until he—a virus that contained every single memory of Y, both beautiful and painful—is finally gone.
He wondered if the next time he opened his eyes would be the time when he's back to a reality where he's ridden of Y for good.
He wondered what that life would be like.
X was about to drift back to sleep when the faint sound of an organ playing brought him back to consciousness. He opened his eyes for a moment, and found that he was still in the same church, looking at the same ceiling. The boy briefly searches his immediate surrounding, and found nothing.
The boy closes his eyes again.
Must be just me…he thought to himself. But still, he focuses on the tune, and, not long after, he was able to discern it as a familiar tune.
Something he's never grown tired of singing.
"Oh, my lovely… Oh, my honey…"
X unconsciously hums the next melodies to himself.
"Oh my darling, Hummingbird…"
Then X suddenly stopped.
It was either just him, or the music was getting louder and more pronounced.
He listened for it again, and true enough, someone was playing somewhere nearby.
Promptly, he straightens himself and opens his eyes, and the scene that meets him came as a surprise.
The church was suddenly brimming with life.
All the cracks were gone, the paintings more refined, and the whole place was filled with the scent of flowers. Filled with awe, he scanned his eyes around again. Each pew was now decorated with white, fancy cloths, and on each of their sides, a small bouquet of flowers was perched. The doors behind him were now opened wide, and the aisle that led to the altar was covered with a long, velveteen red carpet.
But still the church was empty.
X followed the red carpet with his eyes, all the way to the platform, and realized that he wasn't entirely alone. For just in front of him, a figure donned in full white stood straight, looking up to the altar as well. The boy tried to recognize who or what the figure was, but seeing that it was standing way too far from him, there was no way of telling.
Letting his curiosity get the best of him, he stands up and starts walking down the aisle, trying to push away his fear that this was most certainly the trigger to the 'final erasing'.
Soon, he was able to reach the end, and was able to make a more refined image of the figure, and upon realizing who it was, X could feel his heart break once more.
"Y…?"
Said girl turns to him, a kind smile on her face.
"Hello, X…"
X's eyes quivered as he traces her figure from head to toe and back, feeling his whole body tense as the memory of him pleading and her jumping and a raging river slowly calming began plaguing his already plagued mind.
He couldn't believe it.
"You were saved…?" was all he could say between slow, careful breaths. Slowly yet mindlessly, he reaches forward, his body still in doubt despite his mind.
Older Y simply smiles, taking his trembling hand and enclosing with her long, tender fingers.
"It's okay…" she cooed. "I'm real." Then with a short giggle, she adds: "At least, as real as your memory sequences will allow me."
X just watches her, and then their hands locked within each other, and then her once more. Older's Y smile grew even more at the image of his confused eyes, and it drove him even more perplexed.
"But… But how?"
Older Y simply shakes her head as she follows his stare the next time he lowers them to their hands.
"I'm not really sure myself," she admits, letting her other hand envelope both their hands. "The last thing I remember was me begging that you listen to what I had to say, and before I knew it…" She gives him a short glance, and then extends her look to the scenery behind X: the lively setting donned with white cloths and pastel-colored petals.
"God, this church is beautiful…" she sighs.
"Y, I'm confused."
"So am I, X…" she whispers, her eyes still focused beyond him. "So am I…"
Then she smiles as she lets his hand go.
"But I still have my assumptions…" she says, grabbing a part of her long, flowing skirt, as if to adjust it. Then she tries to walk a few paces, performs a few steps in place, after which, a look of relief spread across her face.
"... I think this has something to do with our interactions from some memory fragments from before. Yes, they were able to get rid of me, and it would've been the end of everything if it weren't for the fact that I was able to 'corrupt' you."
She gives him another smile. He still looked forlorn.
"You're technically a 'virus' now, same as me."
Older Y starts reaching behind her back, trying to detach her long-flowing train. After about one try, she immediately gives up, and looks at X with a sheepish smile. X, despite his confusion, still works as he was programmed to do: be there at Y's beck and call, even if he himself do not even know what exactly was happening.
Carefully, he steps forward, and tries to find his way in unbuckling the unholy amount of cloth from the back of her dress.
"...And because they're almost done with the obliteration, they brought me in here with you." X looks up at her in surprise, his hand already holding the detached train in his trembling hand. Y turns to him, and the third smile she shows him was weak.
"They brought us here so they can destroy us along with your final memory. This is their way of eliminating everything for good."
X's eyes widens for a moment, but much to Y's surprise, they immediately turn supple as he pulls the train near to his chest.
Somehow, the statement, though hurtful, barely surprised him.
"This is it, the last memory fragment ..." he mumbles, his voice slowly breaking. "This is the part where I lose you forever."
Y smiles ruefully, walking a few paces to where he stands, and touches his face. X, though slightly surprised by the sudden feeling of warmth on his then cold cheek, immediately welcomed her heat, relishing to those moments when her touch was all he needed.
Now, her touch was everything he needed.
"Not yet," she whispers tenderly. Then she giggles.
"Technically, you only forget me after they've erased everything, including you and me. We have until then…"
X takes that moment to inhale deeply, and exhale slowly. Then he looks at her again.
"...What should we do until then?"
Y smiles even wider.
"Enjoy it."
Giddy like a child, Y grabs X's wrist and leads him upward to the elevated platform, towards the altar. X eyes the tall structure for a moment, taking in every single image before looking back at her. Y was still looking up, as if in deep prayer, and he took the chance to have good look at her.
One long, meaningful look.
As he did, his right absent-mindedly felt for the ring finger to his left, and felt nothing.
"Y…" he then whispers. "Are we…?"
The girl, instead of replying, simply looks at him, her peaceful expression unchanged.
X looks up.
"But wait… How come I don't remember this?" He scans the whole room with his wary grey eyes.
"How come I don't remember this scene at all?"
He looks back at Y, just in time to watch her beautiful, almost-frozen smile, slightly break as she looks elsewhere.
"...Because you never showed up, X."
-...-
"Surely, you still remember finding out about my appointment with Pierre, right? Regarding erasing you?"
X swallows heavily, but nonetheless nods.
Y simply smiles ruefully.
"You ran away that time, a little too soon before I could explain anything. Though there wasn't really much to explain."
A sour taste played around X's mouth. He wanted to follow-up a question, but the look in Y's eyes told him that he wasn't going to like her answer.
So he chose to keep mum and listen.
"You… Disappeared after that," she continued. "For a really long time. And when you finally came back…" She shrugs.
X found himself continuing.
"I already made an appointment with Pierre…"
Y nods.
"I begged that we talk about what you found, but you already told me about your appointment, and that you will push through with it. Then we started fighting… Hurtful words were told, voices raised… Frankly, I don't remember much of what we said, but I do remember me having enough, and walking away..."
"I'm leaving, X… There's no point in fighting about this…"
"So go… Just go! Isn't that what you've been wanting all along? To leave? I'm a nuisance to you, after all, right? Just go! I don't need you to be happy!"
"Goodbye, X… We'll talk again once you've cleared your head..."
"No, Y… Once I've cleared my head, we'll never talk again… You know why?! Because I'm erasing you and I'm happy! I'll be so… damn… happy… So so should you.. So you can grow back the wings I've cut off from you…"
"...After that, I remember traveling overseas to live with relatives in the meantime. I was very much filled with rage and pain that it took me some time to realize what you really meant when you said, 'grow back the wings I cut off from you'." Y smiles again, but this time, her eyes remain focused in front of her, as if her smile was directed to something X couldn't see.
And X wasn't sure if he wanted to see it at all.
Then Y raised her head again.
"You know, this wasn't supposed the be the church we were gonna have our wedding in. We can't afford something as pretty as this."
She chuckles for a moment, making X feel a little warm inside.
Y's laugh always made him feel that way.
"This," she continues, her smiling fading once again. "This was probably just how you pictured everything when we first planned our wedding. Or maybe even before that…" She looks at him.
"And for this to be the final memory fragment… Your dream must probably be the most important memory you have…"
That was the time when Y's voice finally broke. Tears start streaming down her face and her shoulders start shaking violently.
"You must've really wanted this wedding so bad…" She starts wiping her face inelegantly with her hands, much like how she'd do so when they were kids. Y rarely cries, X remembers, but when she does, X always found himself wanting to cry as well.
Y was so brave. For her to cry over something… That something must really be scary.
And true enough, everything that has happened them… All the hurt, all the pain, all the anger…
They were the scariest things X have seen in his life. And he's seen plenty.
Not knowing what to say, X simply steps closer to the sobbing girl, and collects her tenderly in his arms. Y welcomes the gesture, and presses herself tenderly and longingly to his body. She lets him wipe away her tears with his thumb, and she blushes slightly when he leans forward and brushes his lips against her forehead.
They stay like so for a few short moments, rocking gently as they both hum the soft melody that they've been singing longingly to each other since they were kids. The song that they vowed to keep on remembering, even after all that's been said and done.
They sing it for one last time.
Oh my honey…
Oh my lovely…
Oh my darling Hummingbird
Oh I need you
Oh I love you
Never leave me, Hummingbird….
With a sigh, Y gently breaks from X's hold, and tries to conjure up another smile.
All of a sudden, the task became harder.
"I have to go…"
X looks down sadly at her, but he nods either way.
"So go…"
"I did. I thought you didn't want me anymore, after what I did. But you just wanted me to go after my dreams instead." She smiles at him again.
"You went out of your way to without even realizing that you were my new dream…"
It was X's turn to finally cry. His face breaks for a minute in tears, and Y reaches up and wipes them away with her hand.
"I wish you stayed," X whispered.
"Oh, X…" Y cooed tenderly. "I wish I stayed too." Then she snorts.
"Now I wish I stayed… I wish I did a lot of things. I wish I…" She looks up at him, and he could see the tears fighting away her still shining smile.
Y shakes her head as if to shake the sadness away.
"I wish I stayed."
X smiles and pulls her in again, hugging her tightly-something he wasn't able to do since they were engaged.
He, too, wished he did a lot of things.
"I went to your house, you know," he said. "To return your things to you. But your mom said that you left…"
"I moved out. Went straight to Hoenn without even looking back."
"Why?"
"I was scared…"
"You were scared?" X blinks.
For someone like Y, it was unheard of.
"Yeah. I thought I was putting you through more harm than relief. I wouldn't have forgiven myself."
"Was it something I said?"
"Yeah. You said 'so go'... With so much disdain, you know?"
"I'm sorry…"
"It's alright…" Y sighs, lifting her face from his shoulders.
"But you know, I still thought you were going to wait for me… Even after then."
"I did," was X's immediate answer, but the look in Y's eyes made him want to take it back.
If he did wait, they wouldn't be here in the first place.
X bites his lips in frustration. Then he slowly breaks away from the embrace so he could take both her hands, and envelope them gently with his.
"It will be different," he said firmly. "If we could just give it another go around."
Y looks at him like he was mad, but his eyes were as firm as his voice-so different from the timid and quiet X she's found herself caring for. Then she looks up at the church's ceiling.
It was beginning to fall apart.
Then she looks back at him.
"Remember me," she found herself whispering.
X does not react.
"Remember me," she said again, louder this time. "Try your best."
Then she finally smiles.
"Maybe we can."
The whole church was falling apart, but just like in the memory fragments that X admits that he will never ever see again, there were no sounds. All he could hear was the sound of his own breathing, in sync with Y's. Then they both giggle.
"You know, it's kind of a waste…" she pointed out. "How we never pushed through with this wedding, considering we paid for it and everything."
X chuckles slightly.
"Yeah, you're right," she chuckled with him. "It would've been a disaster if we had."
"Besides," X whispers. "If we were to get married… I want it to be in a church like this… With you in that dress…"
"You can do still do that…" she pointed out jokingly. "Like, right now."
X thought for a moment, and nods. Then, despite Y's surprised face, he takes her hand, and looks up at the altar.
"I, X," he said in the loudest way he could, lowering his gaze at the still dumbfounded Y. "Do take you, Y, to be my lawfully wedded wife"
"X…"
"To have and to hold, from this day forward… For better, or for worse... For richer, or for poorer... in sickness and in health…"
Y looks down as she feels something smooth being pressed against her palm. She turns her hand up, and found a small, plastic ruby.
The girl bites her lips as she forces a smile.
"...Until death do us part."
Y looks up at him and finds him smiling. Then she looks down on the plastic gem for a few moments before burying it beneath her fingers.
"I, Y…"
One of the giant chandeliers falls a few paces from where they were standing, but the two barely moved, their hands and their eyes still locked with the other.
"Do take you, X, to be my lawfully-wedded husband…"
She takes a sharp intake of breath, and starts sobbing. X puts his finger under her chin and lifts her face up. Y looks into his eyes, and after a short moment of simply looking into each other's eyes, she continues.
"To have, and to hold… From this day forward..."
She wipes her tears with her hands, much like a child. X could only watch her so fondly.
And sadly.
"...For better or for worse... For richer or for poorer… In sickness and in health…"
Another large piece of debris falls, and hits the altar. X gently moves Y towards him, far enough for the scraps of wood and cement to miss the girl. Y allows him without much of a struggle.
"...Until death do us part."
They look at each other with a smile. Then X holds her face with both his hands, and leans forward.
"May I now kiss the bride?"
And the two kisses as the whole church crumbles down.
Final fragment obliteration complete. Operation status: success.
-END OF CHAPTER FIVE-
There's a big possibility that I may have posted this still with numerous grammatical mistakes. But I might forget to post the moment I get drowned in work. Still, hope you guys liked my update ^_^ This is the second to the last chapter :) See you until then, guys!