Ch11-1: Hazy Memory
So much seemed to have happened so quickly that it all became a blur for Chase.
The last two Crystals were destroyed. The elements of the Blue Planet are acting crazy. And somehow that Dragon helped Ben win the fight against the O.M.E.G.A.
It had been a terrible battle that had left Chase shaking all over just to watch. He didn’t know what had happened to the O.M.E.G.A. when everything was over. Because as soon as the glowing white Dragon had vanished, the girl who called herself Sparrow began ordering people around.
Though Chase didn’t understand everything going on, he knew something bad was happening to the Blue Planet. And they needed to get away. The girl had commanded a glowing portal of light to open. They had all walked through the portal and ended up somewhere very different.
This place is so strange…
Chase couldn’t tell if they were still on the Blue Planet or not. But he didn’t think so. Everything appeared to be made of dimmed light, shaped into normal objects. Except, it wasn’t very normal to see white trees with white branches and white leaves that never moved in the wind.
If there is wind here.
The place seemed to waver and shift at the corner of his eyes, never quite staying one thing or another. A dull ache droned in the back of his head. His thoughts were heavy and sluggish, trying to move off in directions without his permission.
What’s wrong with me…?
The others had gathered in a small glade made of tree-lights, not too far ahead. Chase was so disoriented that he had fallen behind as he had tried to follow. He could hear an intense conversation as they tried to make sense out of where they were and what was going on. It was just as confusing to the grown-ups, too.
“Hello, Aur,” a small, quiet voice said from behind him.
Somehow Chase knew that it was a greeting for him. He stopped and slowly turned around. The little girl with black wings stood there, simply watching him with mysterious dark eyes. A feeling of familiarity swept over the boy, the throb in his head causing him to stumble for a moment.
When he spoke, it was a word that he knew without knowing. “Suzume?”
“I thought it was you!” she smiled. “So it must be true. Lord Zemi is still alive.”
The world twisted and reeled around him. At first there was a roaring like a storm of confusion between his ears. But when it cleared, Chase’s golden eyes seem to shine more sharply. Within that moment, he remembered who he was. And why he was there.
Lord Zemi… that’s right. I’m his Watcher. I was known as Aur. And I’m here to…
His golden gaze glanced over, peering into the glowing glade at those that sat within. He sought out one person in particular.
I’m here to Watch over Ben. And to make sure he’s kept safe until… the Coming of the Darkstar.
“Aur?” the girl’s voice brought him back out of his thoughts. “Are you alright?”
The boy rubbed his head and nodded slowly.
Then Sparrow muttered, “You were always a little on the strange side.”
“You have always spoken first before thinking,” he answered.
She simply grinned. “I’ll take that as a yes to my question. Lord Zemi must be alive and has returned to the living world, just as we suspected.”
“Yes. However, he does not have the power that he once did,” the boy cautioned with a frown.
“Lady Zazo and Zeni have their plans. Up until now, we thought Lord Zemi was gone.”
“And what are your plans?”
Sparrow seemed taken off guard. When she answered, her words were vague. Time had changed her as it had changed all things, “I think you know what my plans are.”
“Do you think you can save him?” Chase asked.
“I have to try, Aur.” There was a sudden deep sadness in the depths of her dark eyes. And he knew there was nothing that anyone could say that would coax her away from her path. Even if it meant her own destruction.
“I see…” he pursed his lips and glanced back at the glade. “Shall we go, then?”
“Yes,” Sparrow nodded slowly. “They will want answers. I’ve been given clearance to offer them information.”
“Is that really a good idea?”
“I don’t know. But they can’t go to the Red Moon without having some idea of what is waiting for them,” the girl spread her hands with a ruffle of her wings.
“That is true, I suppose,” Chase took one step forward, then paused. His gold eyes were intense as he looked back at Sparrow. “Will you do me one favor… for old time’s sake?”
“Hm..? I’ll think about it,” she teased softly. “What do you need, Aur?”
“Call me Chase,” the boy corrected softly. “Ben’s not ready to learn about Aur yet.”
“Oh…?” Sparrow puzzled over that for a moment. “Are you asking me to lie for you?”
He winced. “Not… lie. Just…”
“Withhold the truth. That’s lying?” she teased again, walking around him in a circle.
“Ben will learn enough unsettling things today. I don’t want to add to them,” Chase replied with a stoic face.
“Alright. Alright…” Sparrow grinned. Then she leaned over and gave the boy a kiss right on the cheek.
Eight-year-old instincts kicked in. Instantly, Chase scrubbed at the spot with his sleeve and a grossed out face, “Ew! Suzume!”
But the little girl was already rushing off, trailing a peal of giddy laughter. The boy sighed and followed, trying to maintain a sense of who he was. Hoping that if he concentrated hard enough, Ben might not know the difference. Might not be able to sense that anything had changed.
Afterall, the moment that he stepped from within the magic void-world, Chase knew that any memory of his former time as Aur would vanish once again. Until the proper time for himself. And for his old friend.
“We have no time!” Edge was protesting at Sparrow with a look of extreme discontent. “If what you’ve told us is true, that little Lunar thief is on her way to find the–”
“Don’t call Joran that!” Ben’s voice was large and upset. Defensive. Lines of stress stood around his eyes. The events of the past few days had not been easy. And they would not get any easier from this point onward.
“Please!” Cecil took his usual position between the two, green eyes glinting and sharp. “Now is not the time to–”
“This is unacceptable,” FuSoYa added to the frustration. “That rift was supposed to bring us to the Lunar Fortress. With such a threat looming, why are we here in this place?”
“Because,” Sparrow said simply.
One word. That’s all it took. The protests and chattering fell away to silence. All eyes were on the winged girl.
Chase was impressed.
When the silence dragged out for too long, Ben encouraged politely, “Please… tell us why you’ve brought us here.”
Sparrow smiled. It seemed that Ben had already won the girl over, no matter how distant she attempted to hold herself. The Master Wizard tended to have that unknowing effect on children.
“I’ve brought you here because there are things you must know before you face what lies ahead,” she told them in a calm voice. As her wings folded, everyone could tell that something important was about to be revealed.