Chapter 3 - Memories Both Lost and Forgotten
#3 of Chains of Destiny
Chapter 3 - Memories Both Lost and Forgotten
"Don't make me laugh. You think that bright light is going to help you at all?!" shouted Taras as he began to charge towards Leo.
"No, that bright light is just for show, what it did to me is what's going to happen to you!" replied Leo as he began to concentrate on his newly found abilities.
Kanis Falthelom gave Leo the strength to use to spells, increase all of his senses, and allowed him to utilize more than his fists.
Leo and Taras charged at each other at full speed which seemed evenly matched to anyone that is watching (Mokona) but what someone sees can also be an illusion. Leo was only charging with half of his speed to evenly match Taras's speed. Within near collision of one another, Taras bent away quickly and let loose a kick surrounded by darkness.
"You won't be able escape my assault, Shadow Kick!" shouted Taras as his kick almost hit Leo but missed because Leo increased his speed in order to evade the attack in time.
"You call that a kick," smirked Leo. "I'll show you something that will hurt a lot more!" Leo came to a stop underneath a Sakura tree and began to feel around his body. The energy was scattered but he is able to draw them together along with cherry blossoms. The petals encircled him and he stood there with his eyes closed.
"Your silly flower trick won't be able to stop me. Dark Assault!" and a stream of darkness, greater than earlier headed towards Leo but in the shape of a sword.
"This 'flower trick' as you call it is much more than it seems. Blossom Rain," said Leo calmly and the petals flew into the air and came raining down on both Dark Assault and Taras. The petals were sharp as knives and made many cuts into Taras's skin, causing him to bleed but to him, they were only scratches. The Dark Assault though, shattered and became pure energy of light.
"Healing Dust," spoke Leo softly and the pure energy moved towards Fay-san, Kuropi-kun, Li, and Sakura, settling on their skins, bringing peace to them as their wounds recovered.
"GRRR! Nobody uses my attacks for good! Star Shatter!!!" screamed Taras as large rocks began falling from the sky at high rates and plunged into the ground, destroying many trees and much of the earth became charred.
"Trying to destroy me is one thing, but destroying the land is something I do not approve of at all!" raged Leo. A large circle appeared under his feet under a different symbol than the one his brother used. It was filled with different kind of symbols but soon straightened out into a symbol that expressed the Kanis Fathelom, a clock surrounded with many feathers shaped into wings. He raised his left hand and another symbol appeared but it had many shards of crystal connected to each other which fanned out in all directions.
"From which the past has come. I call upon the one. With nobility and pride it stands above all. Its aid is what I draw. Seeping strength within this land. Bring forth Bahamut!"
The sky overhead became dark and thick with clouds as lightening protruded from them. The wind began to blow roughly, equal strength to a squall. Taras looked up at the sky in fear with the only bright light coming from Leo as the crystals began to shine brightly and spin rapidly.
Within the sky, a loud roar streaked the sky and the sound of loud wings flapping shook the ground below. A dark dragon descended and landed with a loud crash on its feet, sending waves of quakes in all directions. The dragon was marked with many symbols stood tall and it crossed its arms and stood facing Leo. Fear had entered Taras, paralyzing him as the dragon began to speak loudly, possibly deafening.
"Who dares call upon the great dragon?" spoke Bahamut.
"I do," said Leo confidently looking into Bahamut's black eyes.
"You are a fool to call upon me but a courageous one to face the fear," praised Bahamut and he looked around the marred land. "Your reason for calling was strong, that is why I answered for the land screams in pain that you do not know or feel. Your heart though says different."
"My heart gave me the strength I needed to decide on such a rash action but I believe that it is the right one. Even though you responded, do you wish to aid me?" questioned Leo without taking his eyes away from Bahamut's.
"You are wise. I value respect but I cannot trust you entirely yet but for this problem, I shall aid you. Tell me your wish."
"I wish that that man behind you, Taras, be vanquished or at least injured greatly."
"So be it," said Bahamut as he turned around and got on all fours.
Bahamut gathered what energy he could feel around the area and concentrated it into a large mass of energy. The energy amassed above his back and he spread his wings out wide.
"From the depths of this world the power grows as if it was no other. Foul being in my sight, become erased and leave no trace. Atom Smash."
The mass of energy shot itself towards Taras at a high speed and exploded when it was close to contact, sending a massive wave in Taras's direction. The blast was very powerful and left a large cloud of dust as a large wave of force spread out. Bahamut returned to his upright position and blocked the force from blowing Leo, Li, Sakura, Fay-san, and Kuropi-kun far far away. The explosion didn't leave any mark on the ground to Leo's surprise.
As the dust began to part, Leo could see Taras's silhouette and it appeared that he was still standing even though the blast was powerful. Bahamut also looked over his shoulder at the silhouette but in a disturbed manner, as if Taras absorbed the attack rather than receive damage.
When the dust cleared, Taras stood shaking, with multiple marks that can be taken as if the attack did hit, but it wasn't clear aside from the bleeding.
Leo began to walk towards Taras mystified. Bahamut didn't stop him but wasn't sure if that is the right thing to do. When Leo was 50 feet away, Leo could hear Taras speaking but he wasn't sure what Taras was saying because it was barely audible.
"You fell for my trap Leo," said Taras when Leo was only 40 feet away and the ground beneath Leo gave way forcing Leo to drop into the hole but became suspended by a magical force restricting his movement.
"NO!" shouted Bahamut and quickly dashed towards Taras.
"There's no point in trying to save him, because you can't!" said Taras as he looked up immediately and set an invisible wall between Leo and Bahamut, impeding his movement. "As for you Leo, I will have your powers even if its stronger than mine, but I haven't even reached full strength yet and I believe the time is now."
Leo watched in shock as Taras began to change shapes yet again. The darkness that surrounded him began to glow a brilliant black but Leo was close enough to see the transformation clearly. The head began to take shape of that between an alligator and a dragon, his body took on the form of a fused dragon and human with crude looking wings forming on his back. The clothes he wore changed from a martial arts appearance to a full plated body of armor that didn't include gauntlets, boots, and helmet. When the transformation was over, Taras's body became that of a dragon knight who can't fly but is able to.
"Thanks to Atom Smash, I am able to take on a much stronger form than before. Humans are weak while the beasts hold all the power that I need," said Taras darkly.
The surge of darkness seeped into the hole in the form of a cloud and floated above Leo's head. The large mass of power that Taras suddenly obtained made Leo dizzy, breaking his ability to concentrate on anything, even his current situation. It was as if he was drugged.
"Your wounds...they healed," said Leo slowly as he tried to get a better view of Taras but couldn't.
"Indeed they have, but I don't think I want to make any more chit chat with you. Like this land around us, you're going to look like it only a lot worse," sneered Taras as he raised his hand and erected a black spear above his palm. "It pains me to do this but seeing you in pain will make me very happy believe or not. Spear Cascade."
A light rain occurred as the black spear began to quiver and change its direction towards Leo. Leo, who still was dizzy, didn't know what was going on until he felt the pain that seared through his body. The black spear shot itself at Leo creating multiple versions of itself and plunged into his flesh and came out the other side. The strikes missed the vital points on purpose because Taras wants to see Leo in much pain before his death.
After the barrage was over, Leo was unable to say anything because another event shined, causing him to become silent and blind but increased his sensitivity to pain. Although the dizziness finally subsided, Leo was in a lot of pain, possibly much more than getting into a bad car accident.
"Doesn't it hurt? You see, the spears leave behind a portion of their darkness and it sticks to your wounds such that the next damage that you take will be ten times stronger, an experience you will not like. Shadow Crystal."
Shards of crystal formed around Leo, small specks as large as a broken glass and as long as a regular glue stick. Crystals are usually clear but because of the darkness that surrounded Taras, the appearance was black. Leo couldn't see the crystals but could hear their formation and feel their presence.
"Is this the end for me?" thought Leo. "No, this is far from the end."
The crystals shot them selves at Leo, digging deep into his skin and shattering inside sending millions of waves of pain through his body. He wanted to scream but nothing would come out of his mouth as more crystals formed and struck Leo.
After ten minutes of constant pain, the crystals barrage came to a stop and Taras looked down at Leo. Leo was badly wounded, he was bleeding in many areas and losing blood at a fast rate. The clothes he was wearing was cut and torn in multiple areas along his arms, legs, and torso. His upper body was completely bare of any clothing and most of legs were exposed. The blood dripped out of every wound on his body including his cheeks, hands, and feet aside from the large areas. At this point, Leo was unconscious and was barely breathing, he hanged between life and death.
Out by the force field, Bahamut tried many times to break the shield using his fists and tail but he could do nothing to aid Leo no matter what he tried, all he could do was watch and listen in disdain. Mokona stayed near the others just to make sure that nothing bad would come to them and became sad when he heard the shattering crystals.
"I can't do anything to help and yet I am an ancient," said Bahamut with tears flowing down his face.
"Mokona can't shake the feeling that Leo is going to die," said Mokona as he sat there.
Both were in audible distance and all they could do was just weep for Leo and hope for the best.
Taras stood above the hole with a pleased expression on his face. I finally get the power that I was looking for. He descended into the hole and levitated in front of Leo. Looking at him closely, he could tell that blood soaked into his fur and his mane started to turn red around his face and around his chest. Using his right hand, he grabbed Leo's face and roughly, lifted the head into so he could see Leo's face clearly. Leo's face was lined with cuts from the Shadow Cascade rather than the Shadow Crystal, bringing disapproval to his face.
"The fun lasted as long as I could make it last but now the power is within my grasp," spoke Taras triumphantly and he let the darkness begin to consume Leo starting with his head.
Inside Leo's mind, his soul was hanging on a thin line dividing life and death. There was nothing he could do because he lost too much blood but a fighting spirit inside of him continued to fight to live even though it was hopeless at this point. People understand the saying that we see our lives flash before our lives before we are going to die but Leo saw nothing. It was as if he had no existing memory. Half of him wanted to just give up while the other half fought on.
"It takes courage to live rather than die but what courage do I have left?" thought Leo's soul. "Having no memories though is hard to live through."
"But your body also remembers things as well," spoke a soft voice. "Don't worry, we, of the high order, will come to your aid."
Taras watched as the darkness almost completely enveloped Leo with darkness. His smile widened as the darkness finished enveloping him.
"The power is now mine," chuckled Taras at his success.
"The power will never be yours! Kanis Falthelom belongs only to the chosen and no other!" shouted a feminine voice from high up in the sky.
A bright light descended from the sky and a female dressed in battle armor appeared, floating above the hole. Her armor gleamed with bright light as did her helmet, sending off a radiance of light blue. She was human but not an ordinary human.
"Vile beast! Stay away from the chosen one! Ray!" shouted the warrior and orbs of white light, shot themselves towards Taras.
Taras quickly evaded the attack and flew out of the hole immediately to confront the warrior.
"No one will stop me. Not even a women," snapped Taras as he sent a serge of darkness towards her.
"I will stop you here and now," spoke the warrior and she drew out a bow from mid air. Pulling back the string, a bond of pure energy in the shape of an arrow formed. "Foul beast who stands in my way, be vanquished by my strength! Holy Arrow!"
Letting go of the string, the arrow flew towards Taras and the serge of darkness but the arrow sliced through the darkness, eradicating it from sight as well as piercing Taras heart bringing near death to Taras. On contact, Taras didn't move and couldn't see the warrior well because his eyes were failing on him. Taras's whole body gave way to him, sending Taras down his own hole dead with no trace of any cause of death. The darkness enveloped around Leo disappeared and so did the spell restricting his movement causing him to drop into the hole unconscious. The force field gave way allowing Bahamut to fly as quickly to the hole as he could. The warrior dived into the hole and caught Leo before he began fall into the never ending darkness.
Minutes later, the warrior floated out of the hole and landed on the ground far from the hole as possible to tend to Leo's fatal wounds. She placed her hands on his chest, closed her eyes, and began to speak. "Oh great one, lend me your strength and heal the chosen one, the one destined to free us all!"
Bahamut watched as dim lights buzzed around Leo, landing on his wounds and healing them. Mokona hopped to Leo's side and watched as the lights land within the wounds and healed them from the inside out. It only took a few minutes for the wounds to heal completely and once the process was over, the warrior stood up, beginning to float into the sky.
"Live chosen one and one day, we will meet again but hopefully, it will not be life threatening to you," she spoke softly and dissolved into the sky.
Bahamut quickly moved to Leo's side and picked him up. Mokona hoped onto Bahamut's shoulder as he began to fly towards the trees where the Sakura and Li seemed to be sitting, wide awake, with Fay-san and Kuropi-Kun still unconscious next to them.
Night came by the time Bahamut stopped in front of them and placed Leo down. Mokona got off and sat in Sakura's lap.
"I'm afraid we can't doing anything but wait," spoke Bahamut in a remorseful tone as he looked at Leo's face.
Leo's appearance slightly changed from the beginning. He still wore his armlet/gauntlet but there was no sign of ever having any upper body clothing. His pants still clung to him but they were really cut short and torn up badly, almost as if a sudden sharp movement would leave him stark naked. His face had a long scar on his left cheek reaching from his chin to his left eye while his back was lined with multiple scars going this way and that, swerving in many directions. The back of the right hand had the crystal circle symbol, the symbol used to summon Bahamut. Luckily, the rest of Leo's body didn't contain scars and his tail was still intact, untouched throughout the whole ordeal.
"Is waiting all we can do?" asked Sakura as she noticed Leo's irregular breathing because the warrior only healed his wounds, not return the amount of blood lost.
"It seems that way Sakura-hime," replied Li as he got up to check on Fay-san and Kuropi-kun.
"I have a message from Yuuko," said Mokona sadly and faced the tree, projecting an image onto the tree which was Yuuko's head, white and pale as ever.
"I'm here to check up on Leo to see how he's doing," began Yuuko as she looked at Sakura then to Leo. "I see that he isn't doing so well after all. That is a shame but there are many hard times for him. When he wakes up, have Mokona contact me." With that, Yuuko disappeared from the tree. Mokona turned back to Sakura and went to sleep because he was tired.
"You sleep to, I will stay awake and keep watch over Leo," said Bahamut and stood where he was, determined not to fall asleep or to lose an argument should one arise.
"Thank you," said Sakura and settled down as best as she could and gradually fell asleep. Li dropped down next to Sakura and also fell asleep, over hearing Bahamut's words to Sakura.
Bahamut knew that there was no danger in the country at the moment but he refused to risk that notion. Leo started to mumble something which was inaudible for a standing person to hear. He bent down close enough so that he could he the mumble and make out the words.
"There were always things I never thought about, things that would change my life entirely but I can't be too sure. I mean, even in my current state I'm not smart, yet, I'm not dumb either. Like hell would freeze over if I committed suicide...I bet no one would miss me either but I just can't bring myself to do it. No matter how many times I tried to shoot a gun through my head or take a knife and stab my heart or slit my throat...I can never bring myself to completing the task. I...," spoke Leo as he began to produce tears at 'I...'
Bahamut refused to listen to any more and re erected himself, standing at his full height of 8 feet and surprisingly, began to cry himself. Tears fell from his face and landed on the ground with a soft thud near Leo's head. Leo heard the soft thuds and woke up, looking into the night sky and Bahamut's face, which pointed upward towards the silver moon that hung with great pride.
Leo got up but his legs shook underneath him causing him to lose his balance easily should he walk to fast. He slowly made his way towards Bahamut, trying not to fall on accident, and leaned on Bahamut's leg for leverage before he spoke anything.
"What's wrong Bahamut?" asked Leo surprising Bahamut.
"I don't know young one. I don't know," said Bahamut as he continued to look at the moon.
There was a moment of silence before Bahamut said something. "I over heard you talking in your sleep. Is something the wrong with you?"
Leo became distraught again from his lack of blood but still responded never-the-less. "I suppose there is. A long time ago, my father told me that fear resides not only in your mind but also in your body. I never the meaning of it but every time I think about it, it brings tears to my eyes...a lot of things do."
"Reminiscing the past is sometimes hard to do, especially if it hurts."
Leo's legs finally gave way and he fell with a hard thump in the dirt but didn't mind the fall. Bahamut laid down on his back and looked up into the stars but placed Leo on his broad chest before looking up. Leo could hear Bahamut's breathing which soothed his heart and caused him to calm down but his eyes became teary as a result.
"Up until today, I've never felt very lonely before in my life. In my struggle to survive, I couldn't remember anything of my past but now...it's different. It's almost as if..." quieted Leo.
"Almost as if what?"
"Almost as if my family was not who they seem. When I was only 15, my father and mother passed away leaving me in my brother's care. Their deaths were said to be natural but I had a feeling in my heart that it wasn't of natural causes because they were still young. During that period of time, from their deaths to my 16th birthday, I've found a way to cope with it by not thinking about it and smile whenever I am sad. That worked for a while but now, their memories...returned."
"I think that this is a good time to let it all out. To let out the sadness and anger that you hold within you."
Leo began to make hiccup sounds and let the river of tears flow and fall on Bahamut's chest.
"In order to be strong, you must not let the past hold you back. If you do, you will die with regret than die a free person."
Leo continued to cry not making any sign of speaking. His sadness to his loneliness, the loss of his parents, and the sadness towards himself, took over his ability to speak during the time he was awake. Bahaumut didn't say anything more and continued to gaze into the night sky. The stars above were bright and twinkled with every waking second but Bahamut wasn't thinking about the stars, the moon, or the night skies. He was thinking about the various symbols that ran down both his forearms and sporadically lined his wings.
After an hour or two, Leo became silent and Bahamut soon followed with sleep.
Morning dawned and the rays of light shined directly on Leo's face. The river of tears was still flowing with a pool of tears underneath Leo's head. Sakura was the first to wake up and noticed that Leo was on Bahamut. Mokona quickly woke up and hopped on Li. Fay-san, and Kuropi-kun to wake them up. Sakura decided that it would be best to let Leo and Bahamut sleep and took Li into the woods. Fay-san and Kuropi-kun had to deal with Mokona but followed Sakura and Li leaving Leo and Bahamut to sleep.
"I hope he's okay," said Sakura when Fay-san and Kuropi-kun quickly approached.
"Don't worry Sakura, he will be fine. Yuuko knows what she's doing. Remember...this is for the future so we must have hope," responded Li.
"Besides, everyone's future will either be in his hands...or the others," said Fay-san seriously.
"I can't help shake the feeling that something will cause him to fall," said Sakura as she looked back towards Bahamut.
When the others left, Leo woke up but continued to lay on Bahamut's back. Listening to Bahamut's breathing, he brought up his right arm to take a look at his uncle's handy work. Etched on the smooth black plate had the words "The future is always there but you need to reach for it" written in a language that only his uncle knew. A language he called Cituras which consisted of a bunch of designs that don't depict their real meaning. When he sat up, he noticed the pool of tears underneath him.
"Have I been crying that long?" asked Leo quietly.
"Yes you have. I suppose your still crying right now," responded Bahamut who was still asleep.
Raising his hand to his face, he still felt the tears moving down his face. He also felt the scar on the left side of his face as well.
"You have plenty of scars all over your back in case you're wondering. That battle did a lot to you," spoke Bahamut again. "Plus, you need new clothes soon."
Leo knew he needed new clothes but didn't know how badly until he look down at his body.
"I do need new clothes, but I don't think I need to get some now," noted Leo and he attempted to raise his left arm but felt an excruciating pain just trying to move it. Bahamut didn't see it the first time he looked at Leo's body after the battle but there were still wounds in his left arm that weren't healed and they were long.
Bahamut picked Leo up, avoiding his left arm, and set him on the ground before he sat up to look at Leo's arm. Bahamut's dragon claws were bigger than Leo's hand but he knew how to use them carefully as he began is inspect the long wounds.
"They aren't deep and you're lucky that Taras didn't cut any nerves," began Bahamut, "I guess it wouldn't hurt for me to use my magic, though it might be too much for your body to handle at the moment."
"I can take it," said Leo confidently sitting there.
Using his other hand, Bahamut positioned it above the wound, about an inch away and began to chant the language of the ancients. Leo recognized the language but couldn't remember where he heard it from. As Bahamut chanted, a soft light began to travel into the wounds and heal them from the inside, causing large amounts of pain to travel up his bloodstream and the veins to bulge. The last time Leo remembered this kind of pain was the year of his accident but he couldn't remember what happened or why.
After a few minutes, Bahamut stopped chanting and the soft light disappeared, revealing a perfectly healed arm. Turning his head slightly, Leo was in a state of unconsciousness once again.
"I told him the magic would be too much for his body to handle. At least he isn't dead though, that's good," said Bahamut in relief laying Leo down underneath a tree. "Some things never change I guess. Some things never change."
Looking at Leo's right armlet/gauntlet, Bahamut noticed the symbols engraved on it. After finish reading it he smiled to himself and said, "What was that old fool thinking? But he did choose the right thing to do, I can admire him for that." Bahamut turned around and faced the barren land and thought to himself, generally keeping quite until he heard Leo mumbling to himself again.
At first Bahamut didn't want to listen but did so anyways when he sat down. "Memories are like dreams. They fly through everyone's minds and connect to one another unlike anything humanity has ever seen before. It's actually a great mystery but I believe that the stream of memories exist and so does the stream of dreams. I believe that they exist in a far away place. A place where everyone is waiting for me. A place known as the Country of the Forgotten. Don't you think the country exists...Bahamut?"
Caught by surprise, Bahamut didn't know what to say but Leo's mumbling didn't go on any further after "Bahamut." "Aye, young one, I believe the Country of the Forgotten exists but you won't like it one bit. Not the way it looks now. There are two types of memories. The memories we make together and the memories we never want to make in the first place. Like dreams, there are two types of dreams. One that eats you up and one that lets you rest. What memory and dream did you make there?"