Abandoned Memories(chapter 5)

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Chapter 5. {••¥••}



{*The Calm*}



Xelabus asks Cierra, "Who are the Elders?"



         "Our guide to the divine. They only appear when they’re really

needed. Don't ask me why. They're one of the strangest, secretive,

and most unknown things about this world. You used to know more about

them than anyone. We always thought you were an Elder incarnate, until

we realized......" she pauses.



         "Realized what?"



         " Nothing.", she touches her forehead with both hands and yells

out, "Aww my heads starting to hurt again. Xel, can you get me some

water?"



         "Sure, if there IS any here."



         She continues to feel the pressure in her forehead, "Ughh,

there's a pure water pond not too far from here." Celest then looks

disgustedly at Xels bleeding limbs. She sees the flesh of his left,

upper arm torn, and a large bloody wound gaping at his right knee. She

then implies, "Oh no, Xelabus youre bleeding a whole lot. Maybe I

should go with you. You know, just in case you pass out."



         "Celest Ill be fine. You just get some rest."



         "Xel, I don't think you should go alone. You don't look good."



         He starts to get a little annoyed, and replies,"I told you, I'll

be fine, just get some rest."



         She hesitantly gives in to him, "All.....right, but if you go

alone you should at least go for a swim in the pond. The water will

heal your wounds."



         "It can do that?"



         "Yea, and in seconds, too. Cmon Xel, after all this your still

surprised over the littlest things. Ughh, aww my head. It just doesn't

stop throbbing!"



         "Dont worry I'm going."



         As he gets up she reaches for something on her back, "Wait, I

almost forgot. Take this." She opens up a sash and takes out a glass

bottle. She throws it to him. "You can't come back with water with

nothing to put it in silly."



         He catches the bottle, and sarcastically replies, "Thanks."

Xelabus begins to walk away, and is yet again halted.



         "Oh, and if you don't come back soon I'm coming to get you."



         He pauses for a little while, saying nothing, and then, quickly

ventures into the beautiful forest. He sees the exotic lush around

him, glowing with neon like colors, while millions of fire flies roam

all over the forest. His mind boggles with absolute aww, as he treks

through the beautious, mystical place. As he continues to walk, he

steps on something wet. He looks down, and notices a small, glowing,

crystal blue stream of water. The blood from his right arm drips into

the stream, and due to the direct travel of his blood, he sees

the current heading in the direction in front of him. He continues

to walk along the stream, which grows in height and width as he

furthers his venture along it. It's path seems uncanny and twisted, as

it flows upwards over a small hill.

         He stops for a moment, and yet

again takes a look at the mystifying forest. The atmosphere around him

is filled with pure peacefulness. He thinks to himself, "No wonder why

this place is called The Calm. I could stay here all my life." He sees

the trees, all holding their own shape, surrounded by the beautious

lush of bushes, exotic glowing plants, and above all, the light given

off by the combination of every glowing object, arranging and

rearranging to create a peaceful, colorful aura throughout the entire

forest. It is almost overwhelmingly peaceful.

         By now the stream grows so large that it overcomes his ankles.

Far ahead of him, he notices that the height and width of the stream

drastically changes, and another open, circular area looks to be

formed. He moves farther towards the edge of the stream, where a small

waterfall resides. He kneels down, opens up the bottle, and reaches

towards the stream, but pauses. He thinks to himself, "Maybe it would

be better if I just filled the bottle up there." As he gets up, and

runs towards the waterfall. He looks over the edge and sees a huge

pond. He not only notices its incredible size, but it's striking

beauty. The end of the stream marks the beginning of the ponds magical

escense, creating an elegant waterfall that deluges itself into the

beautious pond. The bright blue water sparkles, and is accompanied by

many bright fireflies hovering over a series of  glowing lilly pads.

Its beauty shines, revealing itself as the center of the beautiful

blue-green light spread throughout the entire forest. He begins to

wonder. He wonders why the stream would pour itself into the pond, and

never eventually run out, since there was no other water source to

fill it with. Then he comes into realization that this world is filled

with infinite wonders, and figuring out every one of them couldn't

possibly be accomplished. He mine as well let it be, and accept the

wondrous beauty of this magical place.

         Xelabus opens the cap of his glass bottle, kneels down towards

the edge of the pond, and fills it to the top. He then stands up,

twists the cap back on, and examines the water inside the bottle. It

sparkles, and acts as a dim light, glowing in the dark.

         Remembering Celests advice, he sets the bottle down next to the edge, and dives into the pond, causing a blast of shining ripples to spread all over. While underwater, he feels the wounds on his limbs healing, and his

bleeding diminishes, even before it gets the chance to spread

throughout the pond. He feels great bliss throughout his healing

wounds, circulating along his no longer pained limbs, and rather than

feeling weakness from blood loss, he yet again feels that auxiliary

power building up within him again. What could it be? Maybe now he

could find out, but he had already been away from Celest for too long.

         He could imagine her screaming in agony, while a hooded man, somehow

from a distance, toggled with her helpless throbbing head.

         

         "I need to

go now,"he thinks to himself, "she needs me," he implies while

ascending to the surface of the pond. He swims towards the edge of the

pond and climbs up the land where the waterfall begins. He grabs the

bottle, and begins to venture back to his distressed friend, until he

hears a series of perfidious footsteps walking along the stream.

Xelabus looks behind him, and sees a blue, transparent, almost

vitreous figure of a woman walking along the stream behind him. As the

figure walks, it reflects the light around it, causing it's appearance

to fluctuate, in continuously repeating flashes of bright light. It

then speaks, with the soft, elegant voice of a beautiful, angelic woman.



         "Our hero returns", it announces.



         Xelabus looks at the graceful, curvaceous figure in amazement,

and replies, "Are.... are you an Elder?"



         It replies, "Naturally. But my beauty will always remain

unwithered. I may be old, but I will always carry my youth. Xelabus,

it seems your age has rather culminated. So sad, that you are so young.



         "Im confused. What do you mean culminated?"



         "Im sorry Xelabus, but after you end this worlds suffering, you

will no longer age. Your purpose is soon to be forfilled. There is no

reason for you to continue to waste the power of aging on your

withering soul.



         "I dont understand. Are you saying that im going to die?"



         "Xelabus, you are here only for one reason, and that is to rid

this world of Organization XIII. After forfilling this purpose, you

will soon depart from this world. Yes, you will pass on, but no ones

heart ever dies. Your heart will travel to a place it remembers, and

your existence will be born once again."



         "I still don't understand. What do you Elders even consider

death in the first place?"



         "What do we consider death, you ask? What a naive question

coming from such a wise being such as yourself. You of all people

should know more about death than any of us.  But, I will answer your

question nonetheless. It is not something anyone or anything could

possibly explain in words. Once you enter such a state of of being,

you will have a higher understanding of not just who and what you are,

but why everything of which was brought upon to you in life, came to

be.  Emotion, lies, the truth, it will all make sense as death takes

you. How does that sound? To be at total peace and tranquility. To

fear nothing, only to know everything. It's a great experience that we

must all take one way or another.  But Xelabus, to become deceased may

seem like a relief from all this madness, but, you must know, that

life is like a great path, and you must never take any shortcuts."



         He then replies to her angrily, "What makes you think I would

ever", he pauses and irritably  finishes his question, "CONSIDER

KILLING MYSELF!?? I HAVE FRIENDS TO FIGHT FOR! THIS WORLD EXPECTS SO

MUCH OF ME, AND YET IT WARNS ME NOT TO KILL MYSELF? I CANT DIE! NOT

UNLESS I DIE KNOWING THAT MY FRIENDS WILL BE SAFE!  I'll never end

my own life, and I CERTAINLY WONT LET ANYONE TAKE IT!"



         The Elder walks closer to him. "This is why we chose you,

Xelabus. Your tenacious nature gives you transcendent strength, and

will power unparalled by even the greatest Elders. You are borderline

pig-headed, but for all the right reasons. You care not what others

think, but how they feel. That is the effect you have on this world.

It lacks emotion. But, because of your fervent nature, you have

already begun to free it from extirpation, and the hearts of it's

inhabitants have grown. Its only flaw resides within the evils of an

unruly organization. Because of this organization, this world is

dying, entrapped by their unrelenting grasp."



         Xelabus then thinks to himself. He remembers the man in the

black hooded robe, who attacked his friend, causing severe headaches

to course throughout her head. He could remember her deathly scream,

and her eyes rolling to the back of her head as she fainted. He then

thought of the great power he had summoned within him while defending

his helpless companion from the merciless enemy. The power that he

felt seemed unreal, but incredible as it was, he felt fear, fear that

he would lose control, and let his emotions get the best him, until he

destroyed the very world he was meant to save. He could remember the

neverending barrage of glowing spikes, that almost killed him and

Celest. Then it hit him, like the effect of stimulus and reaction

after touching a hot stove, that  the man in the black hood had to be

a member of The Organization. For some unknown reason he was one

hundred percent sure.  It was like a flash of memory had hit him,

turning his misconception into recognition. Xelabus found himself

filled with overwhelming feelings of obscurity, and had suddenly

remembered exactly who this man was. He could remember the voice, the

proud stature. The deliberate evil of this mans voice that sent

shivers down the spines of those that dared to cross his path. Xels

confidence in this sudden knowledge now turned into irrefutable truth.

He now knew that this formiddable foe had to be none other than his

downright heartless brother. It was Xavier, the sovereign ruler of The

Organization XIII.

   

          Now, under this sudden realization, Xelabus asks, the Elder, " I 

saw a man in a black hood. Could he have been part of that 

Organization?"

      The Elder looks slightly puzzled, and answers, " Xelabus, have 

you guessed, or do you truly remember?"

      He replies, with a large grin, " Yea, I think I remember. I keep 

on hearing the name Xavier for some reason. I have this feeling that I 

know him. It's like I'm positive that he's my brother. I can't figure 

out exactly why.

      In response, the Elder shudders in fear, as if a sudden, almost 

foreboding sense had washed over her. She then replies, her words 

filled with distress, "Xelabus! Oh no, this is not right. He has 

already seen you?"

  Xelabus, unpatiently looks to the Elder for clarification, "My 

brother? Cmon I need your help, is he my brother or not?"

      "He is not your brother. He is pure evil, and will stop at 

nothing to get what he wants. He is unlike you in every way. Xelabus, 

you are not like him. Do not let yourself fall into his trap. Dont you 

realize? He has brainwashed you. That is what he does. He will fill 

your head with ideas, all for his own malicious purposes, his own evil 

greed."

      Xelabus becomes confused. He finds himself stuck in between the 

belief of his own rightful truth and the distressed lies of the 

beautiful Elder. He then replies instinctively, almost as if he had 

been possesed by some wierd memory, "I know he is my brother. There is 

no doubt about it. Alexia, it's me. Don't you remember that deal we 

made?"

      The Elders mouth drops, awe struck by the childs memory. 

"Xelabus, you remember me? How is this possible? The deal, you were 

not supposed to remember anything."

      "Alexia, it is only for a moment. I might forget any time now. 

But when I forget you need to tell me something. You need to tell me 

that he is my brother. It's the only way any of this will work. 

Please, Alexia I beg of you. You need to trust me.."

      She replies, still blown away by his sudden memory, "ughh.....Ok 

Xelabus. I trust you."

      "Alexia, my life. You said it's coming to an end. Why would you 

tell me that? You know me. You know I would never wish to die, that I 

want to stay with my friends forever, because they are what makes me 

me. Trust me, Alexia, my memories will be lost, but I will find a way 

to..", Xelabus then falls to his knees, and begins to feel a sensation 

of lost energy. He then mutters,"Uggh, aww my head. I feel dizzy. What 

happened? Elder thing what did you do to me?!!!!"

      She then replies heartily, now under the realization that Xels 

memories are not absolutely lost, that they are still somewhere deep 

inside of him, "Xelabus you are fine. Relax. Let me tell you something 

that may aid you in your journey."

      "Ughh, ok?"

      "That man you saw, he is your brother."

      He becomes confused, and retaliates, "Whaa? But you just said 

earlier that...... MAKE UP YOUR MIND! ELDER THING!"

      She giggles slightly and then replies, "Xelabus, you must know 

that this man is within your blood. You have many of his traits, but 

you are not him. Evidently, you are the exact opposite of him. Before 

you lost your memory, before you rightfully abandoned this world, you 

engaged in a tremendous battle with your brother, in order to save 

this dying world. Both of you, outraged, anger flowing from body to 

body, fought mercilessly, until......" she paused.

      "UNTIL WHAT?!! TELL ME!"

      She then smirks, "It is against the Elders Law to tell you, but 

I can show you."

      Xelabus looks puzzled. He asks, "how?"

      The Elder walks up to him, and  touches his forehead with 3 of 

her fingers; her middle finger on the top of his forehead, with her 

ring and index finger touching along the left and right side. She then 

conjures up a bright teal aura from within her that surges up from her 

feet, and flows to the tips of her fingers, and as soon as the aura 

touches Xels forehead, the Elders arm jolts back, recoiling at the 

slightest touch. She screams in agony for a slight second, while 

Xelabus falls to the ground, seemingly unconscious.