Remember

He was still rolling, still falling. Everything around him was pitch black. Nothing had any defining features, the world blended together into a gradient of darkness. At some point, the ground had shifted into a deep ocean. No liquid was clinging to his clothes, and yet, he continued to roll, continued to fall.

Where was this? He didn’t know, nor did he care. Letting the currents of the dry, cold expanse pull him around, he gave up all control. Not as if he had any in the first place. He couldn’t even feel his own body anymore.

That was when he felt a small tug at the back of his jacket. He tried to look over his shoulder, but only his eyes would move. He caught a glimpse of gold flowing in the depths beside him, but it vanished as soon as he blinked. Next thing he knew, the small tug became a large hoist, an unseen force picking him up and slamming him down on a hard surface. The darkness had not changed, but wherever he was certainly had.

Not being able to muster the strength to stand, he simply adjusted himself and rolled onto his rear, sitting up and supporting himself with his hands, but not going beyond that. He saw a familiar figure with their back turned ahead of him. Who was it again? Oh right, his sister. He almost forgot.

You wanted to save her, didn’t you?

It was a familiar voice. It came from behind him. Where had he heard it again? Before he could think of the answer, two small hands covered his eyes. It was barely different, besides the gradient simply becoming solid black and the image of his sister vanishing. He stewed in the more simple darkness for a moment, but eventually, the hands removed themselves, and the figure who had spoken earlier ran out in front of him.

The figure was the silhouette of a young boy, aside from his fiery spiky hair poking out of the undefined outline. He was supposed to know this one too.

He looked down at himself, now realizing his body had shrunk. His clothing was different, but nondescript. Simple colors and nothing intricate. That’s what he wore then after all, right? His gaze returned to the boy before him, whose face became clear now.

“Elio…” Escaped his mouth.

The boy laughed. Yeah! That’s right! I’m surprised you remembered so fast! The boy approached, plopping himself on the ground, if you could call it that, across from him. Unless, you’ve really been thinking about me all this time? The boy resumed his laugh from earlier. That’s just like you! It’s good to know you haven’t changed! After all, you failed to keep me around back then, and look what happened now! It’s hilarious! The boy’s laughs echoed throughout the space, but he didn’t react. His face remained the same as it had been, staring ahead at the boy whose demeanor stood in stark contrast to his.

He tried his best, didn’t he though?

Another voice entered, this time walking by him on his right. The golden hair made him realize, this was who he had caught a glimpse of earlier. He didn’t have to recall who it was, he already knew by the worker’s uniform. He kept his hands in his pockets, choosing to stand next to the two seated kids, but only looking down at the unreactive one.

But, you still couldn’t protect anyone, even now. As long as you live, that will always be the case.

The man with gilded hair smirked as he looked down on him, who had returned to his appearance when he had first arrived here. He buried his head in his knees, bring them close to his head and curling into a ball. Even then, his face did not change its expression.

The boy stood up to tower over him as well, creating a semi-circle with the golden-haired man.

Man, to think he even thought he could protect people now! He hasn’t been able to keep anyone safe since then! As he had earlier, the boy kept up his laughs.

Oh, really? You should’ve told me he said that! The man joined the boy in laughter. The only purpose of this space became making the one curled on the floor aware of his mistakes and flighty hopes, defined by the cacophony of laughter which multiplied itself as nameless faces formed from the surrounding darkness to join in. He sunk deeper into the group with each passing second, each mocking laugh penetrating deep into his mind.

Oh, shut it! All of you!

The laughter petered out, with the faces returning to the darkness from whence they came, leaving only the boy and the man to turn and face the woman’s voice serving as the only advocate in the room.

Standing much farther back than where the two other figures had been placed, a woman with pale skin dressed in a white summer dress made her way down the center, across from the one being chastised, almost as if walking down the aisle to be wed. Her hair was a pale blue, and bright blue veins glowed across her skin, almost as if cracks about to burst and have her fall apart like a porcelain statue. She stopped her advance, commanding the two figures to her sides to step back, which they complied with immediately. Next, she crouched down and flicked her subject on the forehead.

You still have a lot of work to do. So, get up, show them you still have things to protect. Your sister isn’t gone yet. Do everything in your power to save her, because you still can fight, Slater!

When his name finally returned to him, he freed his sight from his knees, looking up at the unfamiliar woman. Her voice he had heard somewhere before, but his appearance was one he had never seen. After all, her glowing cracks bordered on the fantastical, and that’s a sight Slater would never forget. He reached his hand out, placing it into the woman’s hand. He grasped it, feeling the warm sensation as he was pulled to his feet.

Her smile of pride was the last thing he saw as his eyes reopened.

The ground was soft. In fact, it wasn’t the ground at all. Slater was laid in a bed. A soft bed, not like the firm and stiff ones he was used to back home. Around him was a landscape of mint green paint, with multiple scattered white machines populating the room, some of which even had wires and tubes connecting to him. He grabbed some of the tubes in a fist to examine them, but as he followed them back to himself, he noticed his clothing.

His jacket was gone. All he wore now was a pale medical gown. Besides how unfamiliar it was, he just felt vulnerable.

Slater’s focus on his clothing was broken, however, when the door to the room creaked opened, revealing a woman in a white coat. Instinctively, Slater reached for his blade, but found nothing at his side. It was only then that he realized the coat the woman wore was nothing like the ones he had grown so accustomed to seeing on his enemies. It was just a simple doctor’s uniform. He let himself relax as the woman approached him.

“You’re finally awake. I was getting scared for a bit there.” She held up a holographic tablet as she seemingly checked things off.

The boy in the bed tilted his head to the side in response. “What?”

“Right, you must be confused.” The woman dropped her tablet to her side. “I’ll let someone more educated on your situation explain it to you.” Bringing the tablet back up, the doctor scrolled through a few menus before landing on an option which made a pinging sound. It irritated Slater’s ears, but he could tell it wasn’t meant for him. Furthermore, the woman seemed completely unbothered, like this was a sound she heard every day. Before he could ask any questions about what she had done, the door creaked open once more, revealing a new figure.

A man in a gray sleep mask stepped in to the room, hands in his pockets and showing no signs of removing the eye covering. At the very least, two large simply drawn eyes were present on the mask, letting Slater look into his eyes in one sense of the phrase. Above his mask was unkempt and shaggy blonde hair, with his manner of dress being a loose red button down covered by a light gray overcoat draped around his shoulders. The quality of his clothes was rather high-end, but that meant nothing due to all the wrinkles suggesting he had just woken up.

Even though Slater was patiently waiting for an explanation, the greeting the man gave from the end of his bed was a prolonged yawn emphasizing the sharp angles of his face. Once his mouth closed, he got right into the topic at hand:

“Welcome to the Eastern States, bucko.”