Chapter 6: Heirs Of Fate 2: Realms Collide 2
George, Lil, Phil, Kimi, Wally, and Nicole suddenly found themselves in a castle, with a large number of invisible soldiers around, and started fighting them. As Kimi used Grim Razordark on a semi-visible brown haired magic scroll wielding girl, she noticed Lil nearby and moved over to her.
"Are you alright?" Kimi asked.
Lil was startled.
"Yikes! Who are you?" Lil asked.
"My name is Kimi. I'm no enemy. We came investigating the dragon's roar. And when I say "we", I refer to my friends Wally and Nicole here. What can you tell us about this dragon?" Kimi asked.
"Poor guy. He was like that when I got here. I wish I knew what happened. I tried to knock some sense into him, but I didn't get too far with that approach. It seemed a shame to abandon him, though, so I'm staying by his side." Lil replied.
"That's very noble of you. But you see, our enemy has noticed the dragon's presence and is closing in. If you don't move quickly away, I'm afraid you will meet a swift end here." Kimi said.
"Eeeeep! That explains all the yelling and marching sounds. A-Am I going to die here?" Lil asked nervously.
"Worry not. We have an escape route in mind. If we can break through their ranks, there's an exit to the north. Step lively!" Kimi replied.
Lil sighed.
"Whew! Will do! I'm Lil, by the way. The moony troubadour over there is Phil." Lil said.
"Lil and Phil. I'll remember that. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Kimi said.
"Same here! I'm so excited to have another addition on the team!" Lil said.
After breaking through the invisible soldiers defenses and reaching the exit, the group met up outside the castle, in an area underneath a grove of cherry blossom trees.
"Did everyone make it through in one piece, more or less?" Kimi asked.
"Yes, I'm still keeping body and soul together." Wally replied.
"We made it... somehow." Nicole added.
Lil frowned.
"Uh, don't look now, but something's going on with the dragon!" Lil said.
"What?" Phil asked.
There was a flash of purple, and when it faded, George was kneeling, back as a human.
"Owww." George muttered.
"Welcome back to the world of the bipedal." Kimi said.
George panted.
"What happened to me?" George asked.
"You transformed into a dragon. It was a remarkable sight to behold." Kimi replied.
"Huh? I was a dragon? I don't remember that... I didn't do anything bad, did I? Please tell me I didn't hurt anyone!" George asked.
"No worries. It was just a mini rampage. You didn't attack any of us." Lil replied.
George sighed in relief.
"Whew. Okay." George said.
"So, why were you scaly? A wizard's curse? The bite of a weredragon?" Wally asked.
"I don't know. I just remember being really sad. Some scary-looking people came to my home... and my mama... she stood between me and them..." George started to reply.
"Don't tell me, let me guess. She told you to run while she stayed behind?" Nicole asked.
"Yeah! How did you know? She gave me her sword and said to go far away. I always wanted to fight like my mama, so I've been practicing with my sword. But... when she needed me, I was too afraid to do anything. I left my mama behind... alone... then I guess I walked out here and fell asleep." George replied.
"And I bet we can fill in the rest." Phil muttered.
"I know how upset you must be. Phil and I went through the same thing." Lil said.
"How tragic." Wally said.
"Yep. Strange enemies, separated from our parents, "save yourselves", all of it." Lil said.
Nicole narrowed her eyes.
"There's more going on here then any of us realized. There must be some reason why all of us were attacked at once." Nicole said.
"A dragon's strength would go a long way toward helping solve the mystery. Used judiciously, I think it could be just what we need to save our parents." Kimi said.
"But... if I can turn into a dragon, why couldn't I do it before? Why now, and now when my mama needed me?" George asked in frustration.
"Er, please calm down..." Kimi started to reply.
"It's not enough that I saved myself! I should've saved my mama, too! It's because of me that she's..." George started to say.
He started sobbing again.
"Uh oh. I think we're about to have an angry dragon on our hands again." Phil said.
Kimi sighed.
"I'm sorry. This hurts me more then it will hurt you." Kimi said.
She tossed Grim Razordark at George. It hit him and bounced back to Kimi, who caught it.
"OUCH!" George cried.
"I hate to be so brutish. I did try to go as easy on you as possible... but you must understand that time does not flow in reverse. You can still help your mother, but only by looking forward, not back. None of us could help our parents, and yet, you don't see us frozen with grief." Kimi explained.
"None of you?" George asked.
"Yes. Without exception, each of us left our parents behind to fight for us. But rather than weep over our loss, we keep hope alive of finding them. I expect you feel alone without your mothe, but we're here for you now. So dry those eyes. Your a brave warrior in our stalwart band now." Kimi replied.
"A brave warrior? Me?" George asked.
Kimi nodded.
"I don't see any other little dragons here. Do you?" Kimi asked.
George smiled.
"Haha... that would be silly, huh? Thanks, everyone. I won't cry anymore. And I promise I'll learn how to control my dragon powers. If I can do that, can I join your team?" George asked.
"Of course!" Kimi replied.
"Thank you! I'll try really hard!" Kimi replied.
Suddenly, like Sky Erebus and Blazing Yumi had before, Grim Razordark started glowing a dark purple color, while Erebus started glowing purple as well.
"Gracious! I've never seen my father's Grim Razordark glow like this before." Kimi said.
"My sword's glowing too! Do you think it's because it's close to your shield?" George asked.
There was a flash of purple before the glow around Erebus and Grim Razordark faded. Grim Razordark looked the same, but Erebus was different. It was radiating a purple aura, and the second to the bottom slot of the blade was illuminated purple.
"Erebus changed shape!" George said in shock.
"You don't suppose... could this be the legendary Nightwing Erebus?" Kimi asked.
"Wh-What did you call it?" George asked in confusion.
"My father told me about the sacred weapons of the world once. The dark blade, Erebus, upon exposure to one, becomes Nightwing Erebus, just like what happened to Grim Razordark, which used to be a weaker blue-and-white shield, instead of gray-and-white, and was just called Razordark. I suppose Grim Razordark qualifies as one of these. A second sacred weapon, if we had one, would achieve Midnight Erebus." Kimi replied.
"The Nightwing Erebus and Midnight Erebus..." George muttered. He then smiled and said "I know I can help the fight now that I have this sword!".
"I look forward to your contributions." Kimi said.
"Dang! You know you've got a cool magic sword going when it GLOWS!" Lil said excitedly.
"My maiden heart flutters at the sight! And Nightwing Erebus... I couldn't have named it better myself!" Wally said.
"Heheh... nice. The two of you come together and literal sparks fly." Nicole said.
"Is that all you can think about, even now?" Phil asked bluntly.
"Welcome aboard, at any rate. I'm thrilled to gain another ally." Kimi said. She then frowned and started to say "Er... that's strange. We haven't introduced ourselves yet, but I almost thought...". She suddenly held her head and muttered "Ungh... my head.".
"Kimi? Are you okay?" George asked in concern.
"I'm fine. I just felt a splitting pain in my head for a moment. But you know my name, I see. I take it my reputation precedes me?" Kimi asked.
George became confused.
"Huh? Don't be weird, Kimi. Of course I know your name!" George replied.
"And without me having properly introduced myself... tsk, tsk. I take it you overheard it while in dragon form?" Kimi asked.
"Um... is this not a joke? What's going on here? Hey, Lil, Phil! Wally! Nicole, too! What happened to Kimi? Why did she forget who I am?" George asked.
"I, uh... are we SUPPOSED to know each other already? Because I don't remember introducing myself to you. So how did you know my name?" Nicole asked.
"This isn't funny, Nicole! Of course I know your name! Don't tell me you forgot me, too. It's me, George!" George replied.
"George... George... hmm." Wally muttered.
"The name does sound kind of familiar for some reason." Lil said.
"Does it? I don't think I've ever met anyone called that." Phil asked.
"What? Come on, everyone... why can't you remember who I am?" George asked.
"It's alright, George. Once this is over, they will be restored to normal. Along with the memories they've lost." a voice replied.
The same man that had appeared to Abigail, Dil, Harold, Francine, and Prudence appeared to the group.
"Mike! Is it really you?" George asked.
"Yes. So... you remember me?" Mike asked.
"Sure! You were a good friend to my mama, right? But why are you all... glowy? Oh, right... I think I remember. After the war, you... huh? Now I can't remember what I was going to say. How come?" George asked.
Mike sighed.
"We may have less time then I hoped for. You'll soon forget me, too. Just as the others did. Just as everyone has forgotten you." Mike replied.
"Did we forget George? I feel like I would remember doing that." Lil asked.
"Inconceivable! As he is my friend, his name is etched into the Companion Compendium. Though, er... I seem to have neglected to bring it with me from my Deeprealm." Wally replied.
"I'm so sorry, George. Though you clearly remember me, I don't recall you." Kimi said.
"It's okay. It doesn't sound like there's anything you can do about it. I remember you all, and that's good enough for me. I won't let it get to me. After all, I have Nightwing Erebus now. Plus, I can turn into a dragon!" George said.
"I regret to tell you that it would be dangerous for you to transform now. Without more control over your dragon form, you could go berserk again." Mike said.
"Really? Aww..." George asked.
"But I have a solution. I'll crystallize your impulse to transform into a stone. That way, you won't give in to it and become a dragon against your will." Mike replied.
He formed a second Dragonstone and gave it to George.
"Thank you! I'll take good care of it." George said.
Mike smiled.
"I have faith that you will." Mike said.
"Here's what I don't get. You said we'll forget things, but WHAT things? Because I still remember my father and all my time spent in the Deeprealm." Nicole asked.
"My memories of home are just as vivid. And I still recognize Wally and Nicole. Why is it that George is the only sticking point in my memory?" Kimi asked.
"It does seem strange, doesn't it?" Mike asked.
"Pardon?" Kimi asked.
"Perhaps it isn't memory loss at all. Maybe you've never met this George who met you. I couldn't really say. Memories aren't something you collect intentionally, nor do you abandon them deliberately. It's like rain. It falls where it will, forms pools, and then evaporates. The next day, there's no trace of the water that was there." Mike replied.
"Is there no way to stop ourselves from forgetting things? There has to be!" George asked.
"Unfortunately, I don't know of a way. If one exists, you must find it yourselves. I could tell you the truth now, but it would only evaporate from your minds. The only thing to do for now is to press onward." Mike replied.
"Mrrgh." George muttered angrily.
"Don't worry. As I said, your memories will be restored once this is all over. But even if they aren't... it's practically the same as never having known. From your perspective, there'll be nothing to be sad about." Mike said.
Wally scoffed.
"Nothing to be sad about? Forgetting one's friends is the most dire tragedy!" Wally said.
"Yeah. If everyone forgets you, you might as well be dead." Phil added.
"True enough. One's memories can be as previous a thing as one's life. You might almost consider them interchangeable." Mike said.
"What? How?" George asked.
"That's a question best left unanswered for now. But listen well. If you ever need to weigh memories against something else asked of you... when the time comes, make sure you choose what you can't afford to lose." Mike replied.
Back in the ruined land, Zack was still singing to himself.
"Embrace the dark you call a home... gaze upon an empty, white throne... a legacy of lies, a familiar disguise." Zack muttered. He was silent for a few moments before he said "A song for those who choose the black rose over the cherry blossom. And a curse keeping a dragon from attaining his own private paradise... the curse affects all those who visit the invisible kingdom. The key to escaping it is the stone left behind by the dragon. Follow those who hold it, and never stray from their path. To do so means succumbing to the curse and forgetting all that you knew. Your purpose in life... those you hold most dear... even your innermost feelings will be washed away on the tide.".