Rebekah
Frequent Visitor
Beware the ducks, for they will devour your soul.
Posts: 115
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Post by Rebekah on Jun 27, 2020 4:47:35 GMT -5
I revised it to clean up the prose, get rid of typos, and put in more Neopian references. There was no sensation, no thought, no dreams, or even memories. The void stretched on and on, or it would have stretched on and on, if such words had any meaning here.
Slowly, like sunlight illuminating the depths of a dark pond, awareness started to flood into the nothing. Anger, fear, confusion swarmed the...mind.
That's what it was called. Mind. A mind was something that held thoughts and controlled a body. Body. That was something different, wasn't it? If a body was something that the mind controlled, then a body was...what was the word? Real!
A body was able to move, to feel. Feel. It wasn't the same as emotions, but the two were somehow tied. Feeling was something that was exclusive to a body. It...it was no use trying to describe senses that could no longer be experienced.
If senses could no longer be experienced, then they had been experienced in the past. Past. Memories, if remembered awareness of one's own body could be called a memory, flooded into the void.
Instead of nothing, something could be felt. A body, a solid body, a real body that could dream, that could think, that could feel.
He struggled against the darkness, limbs flailing through nothing. The creature couldn't tell if he was falling or rising, or both. Warmth spread across his back and prickled at his arms and neck.
The world around him came into focus. Midday light spread over an unending stretch of grass, only broken up by a few sparse bushes.
"Where...am...I?" the figure thought. Also, who was he and what was he? Somehow he knew it wasn’t normal to ask such questions, as the answers should have been readily apparent. But, they weren’t. He wasn’t even sure what he looked like.
He got to his feet, and looked around, trying to find a way to look at his appearance. Mirror? He doubted he’d find one in a random grassy plain. There was a small pond a few yards away. Ah, nature’s mirror! Still, a real one would be better.
He knelt down next to the pond, and slowly peered into its depths. The water was placid and still. A strange figure gazed up from the water. A Uni. The figure’s hair was long and white, and his eyes were red, slightly shiny but not glowing. He had a horn in the middle of his forehead and a pair of white wings stretching out over his back. He wore a plain brown shirt and pants that seemed brand new, as if it was the first time they’d ever been worn.
The Uni stared down, a panic erupting up his throat like a volcano. That was not him! He finally managed to push up from the water, every muscle in his body screaming to get up and run as fast and as far as he could manage, but his limbs remained locked in place.
He took a few deep breaths and tried to calm himself. His beating heart slowed down, and the storm in his mind calmed a bit, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't get it to settle. There was too much going on.
He forced himself to think, straining to keep his thoughts in some sort of order. First things first, where was he, and how would he get...home? Somewhere in his muddled thoughts, he knew there was something wrong with that statement.
There was something missing, something that was just out of his grasp. Slowly, it dawned on him. He couldn't get home, because he didn't know where home was. The more he tried to search his mind, the more he found that it was as empty as the plains around him. Everything was shrouded in darkness, even his name.
His thoughts were interrupted by a hand on his shoulder. He leapt a bit and spun around, staring face to face with a tall silver Bori with short brown hair. The Bori was wearing a loose red shirt and black pants. He had a pack slung over one shoulder.
He glared at the newcomer, clenching his hands into fists. He took a step forward, causing the Bori to lower his hand.
“Who are you?" His voice was hoarse and didn’t sound right, though he had no idea what right was.
"I'm Vinas," the Bori said, taking a slight step back.
"You know what's happened to me, don't you?" He grabbed the Bori by the shoulder and pulled him closer. "What's going on? Where am I?"
"Please calm down," Vinas said, a slight tremor in his voice. “I don’t know what’s going on. I saw you appear out of thin air and stumble around.”
The Bori backed away and looked ready to run. Just great, the first person he met, or at least remembered meeting, wanted to run from him like a scared Faellie. He was in no shape to go chasing anyone and he needed help… and answers. Time to switch tact.
He let his arms fall to his side, not completely voluntarily since he and his limbs felt exhausted. He stepped away from Vinas. "Look, I just want to know what's going on."
Vinas sighed. "I don’t know. Magic isn’t my strong suit. Do you remember anything at all about what happened?”
He put his hand to his cheek and felt the stranger’s face that he seemed to wear. "I don’t remember anything before appearing here. I can’t even remember my name.”
Wait, perhaps he shared a bit too much. Who was this Vinas, anyway? Friend or foe? He felt as if that was an important distinction to make but he had no clue why. He decided to keep the fact that his face felt like it belonged to someone else a secret.
"That sure sounds like magic," Vinas said. "Memories don’t just vanish, at least not without a very good reason. Is there anything, however small, you can remember?"
"No," he said, as the air itself seemed to whistle through his thoughts.
Vinas shook his head. "Do you at least remember your name?"
He tried to pull anything from his mind that would even resemble a name, but all was blank and dark. He didn't want to go around as ‘nameless Uni that appeared in the grass’, so he said the first words that came to him.
"Dark Death." No! That sounded like the name of an evil ghost that lurked in the shadows, going boo to unsuspecting travelers.
"That's not a name," Vinas said. “It sounds like a stage name for an overdramatic singer who sighs way too much.”
"It’s a name now," Dark Death answered.
“Fine,” Vinas said. “But I’m a bit confused. Is it all said at once, or is Death supposed to be a last name, like Dr. Death?”
”How am I supposed to know?” he asked. “It was the first thing that came in my head. Though I think I’ll have Death as a last name and go by Dark. That makes it a bit less like I’m destined to be the lead singer in the world’s most depressing band.”
“Good to meet you Dark.” Vinas smiled. “Come on. I’ll take you back to the city and see if I can find someone who could help us. It’s about a day and half journey.”
***
Dark’s limbs felt heavy. A continuous sheet of sweat rolled down his body, gluing his clothes to his skin. His mouth felt as if it were made of sand, and even his eyes felt dry. Just his luck to be stuck out in a heat wave. Well, he assumed his luck was bad. It just felt as if when everyone was busy grabbing fruit from the luck tree, he grabbed a worm.
Vinas strutted along, whistling a high pitched tune and trying to converse about the various animals and plants they passed along the way. He was currently commenting on the dietary habits of Poppits, and how they slept while standing up.
Dark placed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "Will you just be quiet?"
"Sorry," Vinas said and continued to whistle.
"Don't be sorry, just be quiet."
Vinas muttered something under his breath which almost sounded as if he was comparing Dark to the backside of a Poppit.
"What was that?" Dark tried his best to glare at Vinas, but the bright sun made it more of a squint.
Vinas’ lips curled into a smile. "Nothing."
Dark felt rage bubbling up to the very tip of his throat. "That was not nothing! Tell me what you said!"
Vinas shrugged. "Hey, you're the one who wanted me to be quiet..."
Dark opened his mouth, but clamped it shut. He didn’t want to get abandoned in the middle of nowhere and raging at his only chance at help wan’t the wisest idea.
After a while, he spoke again, once he’d forced himself to calm down. Now he just had to come up with words that would hopefully keep Vinas from leaving. "Look, I'm sorry... I think the sun's getting to me. But could you please be quiet? I have a terrible headache."
Vinas fell completely silent and the only sound was that of the scurrying of Cobralls and Tigermice. Small black smudges dotted the ground, and grew as they continued on, until the grass grew in sparse patches and the ground was littered with bare rock.
Jagged pieces of grimy metal littered the ground, and the scent of fuel and smoke clung to the air. Dark took a closer look at the metal fragments, and saw that they were spread out, as if something had exploded. He bent down and picked a piece up, weighing it in his hand. A sticky tar like substance that clung his fingers. He looked up again, and saw that devastation went on for miles. He dropped the metal back down on the ground and rubbed his hand on his pant leg several times.
"What happened here?" He looked over at Vinas, who was watching the scene with wide eyes.
"Sloth," Vinas said, his voice slightly bitter.
"What's Sloth?" Dark looked around at the scene again, and a chill ran through his body, sending tremors to his legs and arms. He didn’t know why, but something was very wrong.
“Not what,” Vinas said. “Who. And judging from your eyes, you might be an experiment of his. That is not a normal eye color for a Uni.”
Dark turned to him. “What do you mean by that?”
"I’ll explain later," Vinas said, stepping forward. “We shouldn’t hang around here. The metal this close to the center of the damage may be toxic.”
Dark stared at him. “Explain later? You just said that I’m an experiment! And why did you let me touch that metal if it’s toxic?”
Vinas turned to face Dark. “I said, might be an experiment, and may be toxic. I’m an historian, not a scientist.”
"Still, I don’t want to end up with a space hand!" Dark waved his arm over the charred expanse of land. "And is this Sloth going to spring up and turn us to ash like this ground here?"
"I seriously doubt there is such a thing as a space hand," Vinas said. “And there is no danger from Sloth, not anymore.”
"You sure?" Dark peered around the area, as if expecting something to leap out at them. What, he wasn’t sure.
"Positive,” Vinas said. “No space hands, or Sloth.”
Dark rolled his eyes. “Enough with the space hand. I get it, it was a stupid thing to say.”
The metal became more dense as they walked along, crunching under their feet like brittle glass.
"It doesn't seem right,” Dark said, "walking here."
Vinas turned to look at Dark. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, it seems, you know..." Dark sighed. "This seems like a battle. It feels disrespectful of those who fought to just go stomping across it."
"There's nothing we can do about that," Vinas said. “If you want to get to civilization, we have to walk this way.”
"Can't we just walk around it?" Dark wondered why Vinas hadn’t thought of that. It didn’t take a genius to figure out a straight line wasn’t the only way to walk.
"It goes on for miles in every direction," Vinas said, sighing. "There's no way around it."
“Fine,” Dark said, crossing his arms. “Traipsing through a battleground full of exploded metal it is, then.”
***
Dark stared down at the lake from his perch atop a high ridge of rock. He dove into the water and splashed his way back to the surface, taking a gasping breath. He swam to the shore, and sat down next to a bush with orange leaves. He looked back up at the outcropping, and Vinas, who was stepping down from a rocky path.
The ash and metal stopped abruptly. Everything looked green and colorful again. Though Dark was happiest that he no longer had to cough on mouthfuls of soot kicked up with each step.
"You shouldn't have done that," Vinas said.
"Why?" Dark ran his fingers through his hair and squeezed out the ash and oil that had settled.
"Because lakes aren't always deep, and if you haven't noticed, your clothes are soaking wet." Vinas knelt down next to the lake and scooped up a handful of water.
Dark crossed his arms. "Well, it was deep. And how are wet clothes a problem? It’s boiling out."
"Just wait until night," Vinas said. “Temperatures drop when the sun goes down.”
Dark seethed at his tone. “I’m not an idiot. I’ve had my entire memory wiped, so why don’t you give me a break?”
***
Dark shivered next to the fire, a fine mist of steam rising off his clothes. He didn’t say a word. There was no way he’d let Vinas know he was right about the lake.
Vinas got up and walked over to a tree. He plucked two yellow apples and came back. He skewered both onto a thorny branch and held them over the fire. They sizzled and popped in the flames, a bitter and sweet smell wafting through the air.
"Do I know you?” Dark asked. “I mean, from before this happened. I feel… as if we’ve at least met at one point.”
Vinas looked up at Dark, slowly turning the branch over the fire. "No, I have never met you before. Then again, if you’re an experiment, your appearance might have been altered.”
Dark looked back down at the fire. That experiment thing again. But first, another question itched at the back of his teeth. "Why were you out in the middle of nowhere?"
"You aren’t the first person to show up there,” Vinas said. “Many experiments have wandered into the area beyond the battleground. No one knows why, but we think there might be an old hidden lab somewhere underground. I try to help as many as I can."
Dark shook his head. Something was wrong, he was sure of it. Deep in the haze of his mind, he could almost remember what. But it didn't matter. He'd still be stuck out in those plains without Vinas' help. And he still needed his help. Dark really didn’t have the luxury of doubt.
He sighed. "Where exactly are we going?"
"To Neopia Central," Vinas said. "It's the main city on this planet. In case you don’t remember the name, it’s Neopia.”
Dark wrapped his arms around his chest and inched closer to the fire. He poked the logs with a long stick and stared at the flames, watching little pieces break off and travel upwards as sparks.
"What happened to me?' he finally asked.
Vinas pulled the skewer from the fire and placed the two apples on a boulder. "Like I said, I don’t know much about magic, or science. Both could explain why you just appeared out of thin air. I’ve never seen that happen before."
For the first time, Dark didn't care about his missing memories. "Who did this to me? And why?”
"Well Sloth surely played a part," Vinas said. “And unless you ran afoul of some unknown creature, he’s probably at fault for your missing memories and sudden appearance too.”
"How do you know he was involved?" Dark looked up from the fire and into Vinas' eyes.
"You were in the middle of a plain where several of his experiments have been found," Vinas said.
Dark shrugged. "And?"
“And?” Vinas laughed. “Use a little common sense.”
Dark said, holding his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "It’s hard to have common sense, when my mind’s been wiped cleaner than a window. What’s with this Sloth guy, anyway? Why all the experiments, the battlefield?”
"It’s a long story." Vinas turned his attention to the fire.
“Then you should start it as soon as possible,” Dark said.
"Yes," Vinas said, still staring at the fire.
He didn’t say anything more, so Dark prodded a bit. “So, he likes to do experiments?”
Vinas frowned. "He’s done countless experiments. Horrible, vile, experiments.”
Something flashed through Dark's mind, but like lightning, it was gone. “I take it you don’t like him, then.”
Vinas looked at him, his eyes blazing. “I hate him. He’s destroyed countless lives. He’s a scourge on the planet, an alien from beyond the stars bent on the domination of our home.”
"I can't remember any of that," Dark said, as he pulled himself closer to the fire.
Vinas picked up one of the apples and offered it to Dark. He picked up the other apple and bit into it, wiping his face with his hand. Dark took a bite as well. It tasted sweet, with a slight hint at something tart. He wondered if the flavor should be familiar, but it didn’t even generate a blip in his mind.
"It's obvious you remember something," Vinas said."You wouldn’t be able to hold a conversation if you didn’t.”
"I know what words mean," Dark said. "Like I know what fire means. But I can't remember it. I can’t bring up any memories associated with fire. Maybe I’ve sat at a similar fire before, maybe I haven’t. I just don’t know. It’s that way with everything.”
Something tickled the corner of Dark's mind, and he tried to reach back and ease it out. The more he tried, the more wispy it became, until it disappeared completely. His body tensed, and he grit his teeth, before leaping onto his feet.
"If I have to track him down and wring Sloth’s neck, I'm going to get back what's mine!"
Dark had meant to yell, but his hoarse voice sounded more like the whistling of wind between trees.
"Calm down," Vinas said, standing up. "You're going to get into a whole mess of trouble. It's best if you just leave things be."
"That's easy for you to say! You aren't half a person!" Dark glared at Vinas, fire coursing through his veins.
"Memories are not who you are," Vinas said. "You are still you."
"I have no idea who I am!" Dark paced around the fire, his apple crush to pulp in his fist. “Memories mean something! I’m a blank slate and I hate it. No, I despise it! I’m a black hole turning in on myself!”
Vinas sighed. "I know how stressful things are right now. Believe me, I know. Please, just try and sleep on it. Things may look better in the morning."
***
Dark wandered through his dreams, smooth fragments of strange worlds, finally catching hold of a small fragment of memory.
"You can't do this!"
"It's already done..."
Vinas stood over him, one foot pressed against his stomach. Liquid silver metal surged from the ground and crept up his body like ivy. An icy chill filled his bones, and a piercing scream echoed around. It took a few seconds for him to realize that the scream was coming from his own mouth.
Dark sat up, his voice dying away in the red light of dawn. He scrambled to his feet, and whirled around the campsite, before picking up a large piece of wood from the fire from the night before. He stomped through the ashes.
The Bori who had helped him, had fed him and kept him safe, was the same Bori who had put him through this whole thing in the first place! Rage circled through his body, propelling his limbs with energy he hadn’t felt the day before.
He found the Bori standing next to the lake, holding a dripping water skin.
"Vinas!" His voice wasn’t hoarse anymore. It was loud and resonated like a drum filled with angry rocks.
Vinas looked up. His face drained of all color and he dropped the sack with now shaking hands. He backed away, but his feet seemed almost stuck in place like the ground had turned to glue.
Good. He was scared. He should be. Dark raced towards him, but Vinas turned around and ran into a field of tall grass that stood off to the side of the lake.
The grass towered over Dark like trees, bending and waving and obscuring Vinas from his sight. He ran onward, pushing his way through the blades, catching glimpses of movement ahead.
He smacked into Vinas just as he exited the grass and sent him tumbling. The Bori smacked into the ground like a falling boulder, Dark stood over him, foot firmly planted into his chest.
"I know what you did to me," Dark growled. “Seem familiar? This is exactly what you did to me, when you took my memories. I had a dream last night and saw what happened!”
Vinas opened and closed his mouth a few times. “I… I didn’t do anything… It’s just… just a dream… It wasn’t me!”
Dark pulled Vinas up by the shoulder, almost surprised by his own strength. This set off panicked flailing on Vinas’ part. Dark fell backward and the piece of wood flung from his hand.
Dark hit the back of his head on the ground. The edges of his thoughts grew cloudy and slowly started to creep towards the center of his mind. In the time it took him to regain his senses, Vinas had grabbed some rope from his pack and tied Dark’s hands behind his back.
"This can’t be happening," Vinas sputtered. “I… This just can’t be happening.”
Dark struggled against the ropes and attempted to stand, but the fight had drained what energy sleep had returned. Whatever had been done to him had left him with very little endurance.
"What can’t be happening?" he asked with venom in his voice. "That I couldn’t have figured out who you are and what you did to me? I know who you are...Sloth."
Vinas shook his head. “You’ve figured out nothing, but think I have. It was harder before, when you spoke so hoarsely. I don’t know how you changed into a Uni. But those eyes, that voice. I'm not Sloth, you are.” |
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Rebekah
Frequent Visitor
Beware the ducks, for they will devour your soul.
Posts: 115
|
Post by Rebekah on Jul 21, 2020 18:40:15 GMT -5
There I was, holding a complete short story in my hands. It didn't like being a short story and kept screaming, "When I grow up, I'm going to be a series!" I tried to tell it that it was being silly and that short stories are not sequels. But it worked out in the plot gym, and drank plenty of word count milk. Before I knew it, my sweet little short story grew up into a nice strong sequel. Anyone want to trade critiques? This is my first attempt at a story for the NT, so I'm not completely sure if it's something that would get accepted. I usually write original fiction. There was no sensation, no thought, no dreams, or even memories. The void stretched on and on, or it would have stretched on and on, if such words had any meaning here.
Slowly, like sunlight illuminating the depths of a dark pond, awareness started to flood into the nothing. Anger, fear, confusion swarmed the...mind.
That's what it was called. Mind. A mind was something that held thoughts and controlled a body. Body. That was something different, wasn't it? If a body was something that the mind controlled, then a body was...what was the word? Real!
A body was able to move, to feel. Feel. It wasn't the same as emotions, but the two were somehow tied. Feeling was something that was exclusive to a body. It...it was no use trying to describe senses that could no longer be experienced.
If senses could no longer be experienced, then they had been experienced in the past. Past. Memories, if remembered awareness of one's own body could be called a memory, flooded into the void.
Instead of nothing, something could be felt. A body, a solid body, a real body that could dream, that could think, that could feel.
He struggled against the darkness, limbs flailing through nothing. The creature couldn't tell if he was falling or rising, or both. Warmth spread across his back and prickled at his arms and neck.
The world around him came into focus. Midday light spread over an unending stretch of grass, only broken up by a few sparse bushes.
"Where...am...I?" the figure thought. Also, who was he and what was he? Somehow he knew it wasn’t normal to ask such questions, as the answers should have been readily apparent. But, they weren’t. He wasn’t even sure what he looked like.
He got to his feet, and looked around, trying to find a way to look at his appearance. Mirror? He doubted he’d find one in a random grassy plain. There was a small pond a few yards away. Ah, nature’s mirror! Still, a real one would be better.
He knelt down next to the pond, and slowly peered into its depths. The water was placid and still. A strange figure gazed up from the water. A Uni. The figure’s hair was long and white, and his eyes were red, slightly shiny but not glowing. He had a horn in the middle of his forehead and a pair of white wings stretching out over his back. He wore a plain brown shirt and pants that seemed brand new, as if it was the first time they’d ever been worn.
The Uni stared down, a panic erupting up his throat like a volcano. That was not him! He finally managed to push up from the water, every muscle in his body screaming to get up and run as fast and as far as he could manage, but his limbs remained locked in place.
He took a few deep breaths and tried to calm himself. His beating heart slowed down, and the storm in his mind calmed a bit, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't get it to settle. There was too much going on.
He forced himself to think, straining to keep his thoughts in some sort of order. First things first, where was he, and how would he get...home? Somewhere in his muddled thoughts, he knew there was something wrong with that statement.
There was something missing, something that was just out of his grasp. Slowly, it dawned on him. He couldn't get home, because he didn't know where home was. The more he tried to search his mind, the more he found that it was as empty as the plains around him. Everything was shrouded in darkness, even his name.
His thoughts were interrupted by a hand on his shoulder. He leapt a bit and spun around, staring face to face with a tall silver Bori with short brown hair. The Bori was wearing a loose red shirt and black pants. He had a pack slung over one shoulder.
He glared at the newcomer, clenching his hands into fists. He took a step forward, causing the Bori to lower his hand.
“Who are you?" His voice was hoarse and didn’t sound right, though he had no idea what right was.
"I'm Vinas," the Bori said, taking a slight step back.
"You know what's happened to me, don't you?" He grabbed the Bori by the shoulder and pulled him closer. "What's going on? Where am I?"
"Please calm down," Vinas said, a slight tremor in his voice. “I don’t know what’s going on. I saw you appear out of thin air and stumble around.”
The Bori backed away and looked ready to run. Just great, the first person he met, or at least remembered meeting, wanted to run from him like a scared Faellie. He was in no shape to go chasing anyone and he needed help… and answers. Time to switch tact.
He let his arms fall to his side, not completely voluntarily since he and his limbs felt exhausted. He stepped away from Vinas. "Look, I just want to know what's going on."
Vinas sighed. "I don’t know. Magic isn’t my strong suit. Do you remember anything at all about what happened?”
He put his hand to his cheek and felt the stranger’s face that he seemed to wear. "I don’t remember anything before appearing here. I can’t even remember my name.”
Wait, perhaps he shared a bit too much. Who was this Vinas, anyway? Friend or foe? He felt as if that was an important distinction to make but he had no clue why. He decided to keep the fact that his face felt like it belonged to someone else a secret.
"That sure sounds like magic," Vinas said. "Memories don’t just vanish, at least not without a very good reason. Is there anything, however small, you can remember?"
"No," he said, as the air itself seemed to whistle through his thoughts.
Vinas shook his head. "Do you at least remember your name?"
He tried to pull anything from his mind that would even resemble a name, but all was blank and dark. He didn't want to go around as ‘nameless Uni that appeared in the grass’, so he said the first words that came to him.
"Dark Death." No! That sounded like the name of an evil ghost that lurked in the shadows, going boo to unsuspecting travelers.
"Really?" Vinas asked. “It sounds like a stage name for an overdramatic singer who sighs way too much.”
"It was the first name that came to mind," Dark Death answered, crossing his arms. “I can’t remember my name, so I had to think of something.”
“Fine,” Vinas said. “But I’m a bit confused. Is it all said at once, or is Death supposed to be a last name, like Dr. Death?”
”How am I supposed to know?” he asked. “Though I think I’ll have Death as a last name and go by Dark. That makes it a bit less like I’m destined to be the lead singer in the world’s most depressing band.”
“Good to meet you Dark.” Vinas smiled. “Come on. I’ll take you back to the city and see if I can find someone who could help us. It’s about a day and half journey.”
***
Dark’s limbs felt heavy. A continuous sheet of sweat rolled down his body, gluing his clothes to his skin. His mouth felt as if it were made of sand, and even his eyes felt dry. Just his luck to be stuck out in a heat wave. Well, he assumed his luck was bad. It just felt as if when everyone was busy grabbing fruit from the luck tree, he grabbed a worm.
Vinas strutted along, whistling a high pitched tune and trying to converse about the various animals and plants they passed along the way. He was currently commenting on the dietary habits of Poppits, and how they slept while standing up.
Dark placed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "Will you just be quiet?"
"Sorry," Vinas said and continued to whistle.
"Don't be sorry, just be quiet."
Vinas muttered something under his breath which almost sounded as if he was comparing Dark to the backside of a Poppit.
"What was that?" Dark tried his best to glare at Vinas, but the bright sun made it more of a squint.
Vinas’ lips curled into a smile. "Nothing."
Dark felt rage bubbling up to the very tip of his throat. "That was not nothing! Tell me what you said!"
Vinas shrugged. "Hey, you're the one who wanted me to be quiet..."
Dark opened his mouth, but clamped it shut. He didn’t want to get abandoned in the middle of nowhere and raging at his only chance at help wasn’t the wisest idea.
After a while, he spoke again, once he’d forced himself to calm down. Now he just had to come up with words that would hopefully keep Vinas from leaving. "Look, I'm sorry... I think the sun's getting to me. But could you please be quiet? I have a terrible headache."
Vinas fell completely silent and the only sound was that of the scurrying of Cobralls and Tigermice. Small black smudges dotted the ground, and grew as they continued on, until the grass grew in sparse patches and the ground was littered with bare rock.
Jagged pieces of grimy metal littered the ground, and the scent of fuel and smoke clung to the air. Dark took a closer look at the metal fragments, and saw that they were spread out, as if something had exploded. He bent down and picked a piece up, weighing it in his hand. A sticky tar like substance that clung his fingers. He looked up again, and saw that devastation went on for miles. He dropped the metal back down on the ground and rubbed his hand on his pant leg several times.
"What happened here?" He looked over at Vinas, who was watching the scene with wide eyes.
"Sloth," Vinas said, his voice slightly bitter.
"What's Sloth?" Dark looked around at the scene again, and a chill ran through his body, sending tremors to his legs and arms. He didn’t know why, but something was very wrong.
“Not what,” Vinas said. “Who. And judging from your eyes, you might be an experiment of his. That is not a normal eye color for a Uni. And most Uni’s do not walk on two legs and even those that do have hooves for hands, not fingers.”
Dark turned to him. “What do you mean by all that?”
"I’ll explain later," Vinas said, stepping forward. “We shouldn’t hang around here. All of this came from beyond the stars. The metal this close to the center of the damage may be toxic.”
Dark stared at him. “Explain later? You just said that I’m an experiment! And why did you let me touch that metal if it’s toxic?”
Vinas turned to face Dark. “I said, might be an experiment, and may be toxic. I’m an historian, not a scientist.”
"Still, I don’t want to end up with a space hand!" Dark waved his arm over the charred expanse of land. "And is this Sloth going to spring up and turn us to ash like this ground here?"
"I seriously doubt there is such a thing as a space hand," Vinas said. “And there is no danger from Sloth, not anymore.”
"You sure?" Dark peered around the area, as if expecting something to leap out at them. What, he wasn’t sure.
"Positive,” Vinas said. “No space hands, or Sloth.”
Dark rolled his eyes. “Enough with the space hand. I get it, it was a stupid thing to say.”
The metal became more dense as they walked along, crunching under their feet like brittle glass.
"It doesn't seem right,” Dark said, "walking here."
Vinas turned to look at Dark. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, it seems, you know..." Dark sighed. "This seems like a battle. It feels disrespectful of those who fought to just go stomping across it."
"There's nothing we can do about that," Vinas said. “If you want to get to civilization, we have to walk this way.”
"Can't we just walk around it?" Dark wondered why Vinas hadn’t thought of that. It didn’t take a genius to figure out a straight line wasn’t the only way to walk.
"It goes on for miles in every direction," Vinas said, sighing. "There's no way around it."
“Fine,” Dark said, crossing his arms. “Traipsing through a battleground full of exploded metal it is, then.”
***
Dark stared down at the lake from his perch atop a high ridge of rock. He dove into the water and splashed his way back to the surface, taking a gasping breath. He swam to the shore, and sat down next to a bush with orange leaves. He looked back up at the outcropping, and Vinas, who was stepping down from a rocky path.
The ash and metal stopped abruptly. Everything looked green and colorful again. Though Dark was happiest that he no longer had to cough on mouthfuls of soot kicked up with each step.
"You shouldn't have done that," Vinas said.
"Why?" Dark ran his fingers through his hair and squeezed out the ash and oil that had settled.
"Because lakes aren't always deep, and if you haven't noticed, your clothes are soaking wet." Vinas knelt down next to the lake and scooped up a handful of water.
Dark crossed his arms. "Well, it was deep. And how are wet clothes a problem? It’s boiling out."
"Just wait until night," Vinas said. “Temperatures drop when the sun goes down.”
Dark seethed at his tone. “I’m not an idiot. I’ve had my entire memory wiped, so why don’t you give me a break?”
***
Dark shivered next to the fire, a fine mist of steam rising off his clothes. He didn’t say a word. There was no way he’d let Vinas know he was right about the lake.
Vinas got up and walked over to a tree. He plucked two yellow apples and came back. He skewered both onto a thorny branch and held them over the fire. They sizzled and popped in the flames, a bitter and sweet smell wafting through the air.
"Do I know you?” Dark asked. “I mean, from before this happened. I feel… as if we’ve at least met at one point.”
Vinas looked up at Dark, slowly turning the branch over the fire. "No, I have never met you before. Then again, if you’re an experiment, your appearance might have been altered.”
Dark looked back down at the fire. That experiment thing again. But first, another question itched at the back of his teeth. "Why were you out in the middle of nowhere?"
"You aren’t the first person to show up there,” Vinas said. “Many experiments have wandered into the area beyond the battleground. No one knows why, but we think there might be an old hidden lab somewhere underground. I try to help as many as I can."
Dark shook his head. Something was wrong, he was sure of it. Deep in the haze of his mind, he could almost remember what. But it didn't matter. He'd still be stuck out in those plains without Vinas' help. And he still needed his help. Dark really didn’t have the luxury of doubt.
He sighed. "Where exactly are we going?"
"To Neopia Central," Vinas said. "It's the main city on this planet. In case you don’t remember the name, it’s Neopia.”
Dark wrapped his arms around his chest and inched closer to the fire. He poked the logs with a long stick and stared at the flames, watching little pieces break off and travel upwards as sparks.
"What happened to me?' he finally asked.
Vinas pulled the skewer from the fire and placed the two apples on a boulder. "Like I said, I don’t know much about magic, or science. Both could explain why you just appeared out of thin air. I’ve never seen that happen before."
For the first time, Dark didn't care about his missing memories. "Who did this to me? And why?”
"Well Sloth surely played a part," Vinas said. “And unless you ran afoul of some unknown creature, he’s probably at fault for your missing memories and sudden appearance too.”
"How do you know he was involved?" Dark looked up from the fire and into Vinas' eyes.
"You were in the middle of a plain where several of his experiments have been found," Vinas said.
Dark shrugged. "And?"
“And?” Vinas laughed. “Use a little common sense.”
Dark said, holding his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "It’s hard to have common sense, when my mind’s been wiped cleaner than a window. What’s with this Sloth guy, anyway? Why all the experiments, the battlefield?”
"It’s a long story." Vinas turned his attention to the fire.
“Then you should start it as soon as possible,” Dark said.
"Yes," Vinas said, still staring at the fire.
He didn’t say anything more, so Dark prodded a bit. “So, he likes to do experiments?”
Vinas frowned. "He’s done countless experiments. Horrible, vile, experiments.”
Something flashed through Dark's mind, but like lightning, it was gone. “I take it you don’t like him, then.”
Vinas looked at him, his eyes blazing. “I hate him. He’s destroyed countless lives. He’s a scourge on the planet, an alien from beyond the stars bent on the domination of our home.”
"I can't remember any of that," Dark said, as he pulled himself closer to the fire.
Vinas picked up one of the apples and offered it to Dark. He picked up the other apple and bit into it, wiping his face with his hand. Dark took a bite as well. It tasted sweet, with a slight hint at something tart. He wondered if the flavor should be familiar, but it didn’t even generate a blip in his mind.
"It's obvious you remember something," Vinas said."You wouldn’t be able to hold a conversation if you didn’t.”
"I know what words mean," Dark said. "Like I know what fire means. But I can't remember it. I can’t bring up any memories associated with fire. Maybe I’ve sat at a similar fire before, maybe I haven’t. I just don’t know. It’s that way with everything.”
Something tickled the corner of Dark's mind, and he tried to reach back and ease it out. The more he tried, the more wispy it became, until it disappeared completely. His body tensed, and he grit his teeth, before leaping onto his feet.
"If I have to track him down and wring Sloth’s neck, I'm going to get back what's mine!"
Dark had meant to yell, but his hoarse voice sounded more like the whistling of wind between trees.
"Calm down," Vinas said, standing up. "You're going to get into a whole mess of trouble. It's best if you just leave things be."
"That's easy for you to say! You aren't half a person!" Dark glared at Vinas, fire coursing through his veins.
"Memories are not who you are," Vinas said. "You are still you."
"I have no idea who I am!" Dark paced around the fire, his apple crush to pulp in his fist. “Memories mean something! I’m a blank slate and I hate it. No, I despise it! I’m a black hole turning in on myself!”
Vinas sighed. "I know how stressful things are right now. Believe me, I know. Please, just try and sleep on it. Things may look better in the morning."
***
Dark wandered through his dreams, smooth fragments of strange worlds, finally catching hold of a small fragment of memory.
"You can't do this!"
"It's already done..."
Vinas stood over him, one foot pressed against his stomach. Liquid silver metal surged from the ground and crept up his body like ivy. An icy chill filled his bones, and a piercing scream echoed around. It took a few seconds for him to realize that the scream was coming from his own mouth.
Dark sat up, his voice dying away in the red light of dawn. He scrambled to his feet, and whirled around the campsite, before picking up a large piece of wood from the fire from the night before. He stomped through the ashes.
The Bori who had helped him, had fed him and kept him safe, was the same Bori who had put him through this whole thing in the first place! Rage circled through his body, propelling his limbs with energy he hadn’t felt the day before.
He found the Bori standing next to the lake, holding a dripping water skin.
"Vinas!" His voice wasn’t hoarse anymore. It was loud and resonated like a drum filled with angry rocks.
Vinas looked up. His face went blank and he dropped the sack with now shaking hands. He backed away, but his feet seemed almost stuck in place like the ground had turned to glue.
Good. He was scared. He should be. Dark raced towards him, but Vinas turned around and ran into a field of tall grass that stood off to the side of the lake.
The grass towered over Dark like trees, bending and waving and obscuring Vinas from his sight. He ran onward, pushing his way through the blades, catching glimpses of movement ahead.
He smacked into Vinas just as he exited the grass and sent him tumbling. The Bori smacked into the ground like a falling boulder, Dark stood over him, foot firmly planted into his chest.
"I know what you did," Dark growled. “Seem familiar? This is exactly how you stood over me when you took my memories. I had a dream last night and saw what happened!”
Vinas opened and closed his mouth a few times. “I… I didn’t do anything… It’s just… just a dream… It wasn’t me!”
Dark pulled Vinas up by the shoulder, almost surprised by his own strength. This set off panicked flailing on Vinas’ part. Dark fell backward and the piece of wood flung from his hand.
Dark hit the back of his head on the ground. The edges of his thoughts grew cloudy and slowly started to creep towards the center of his mind. In the time it took him to regain his senses, Vinas had grabbed some rope from his pack and tied Dark’s hands behind his back.
"This can’t be happening," Vinas sputtered. “I… This just can’t be happening.”
Dark struggled against the ropes and attempted to stand, but the fight had drained what little energy sleep had returned. Whatever had been done to him had left Dark with very little endurance.
"What can’t be happening?" he asked with venom in his voice. "That I couldn’t have figured out who you are and what you did to me? I know who you are...Sloth."
Vinas shook his head. “You’ve figured out nothing, but think I have. It was harder before, when you spoke so hoarsely. I don’t know how you changed into a Uni. But those eyes, that voice. I'm not Sloth, you are.”
Part 2
Dark kicked a small stone across the grass as he walked. It bounced along like an over enthusiastic bug. Vinas walked behind him, periodically prodding his back with the flat of his hand.
“Don’t even think of trying anything,” Vinas said.
Dark laughed, the first time he had laughed in… well, since he could remember, which wasn’t saying much. “What do you expect me to do? Break the ropes around my wrists and fly away?”
Vinas shoved at him again, which made Dark grit his teeth. “I’m not taking any chances with you. But now that you mention it, perhaps I should bind your wings as well.
Wings? Ah yes, he had wings. Dark had forgotten all about them. Seemed a pretty significant thing to forget, but this body just didn’t feel right. Maybe his true form was wingless.
“I can barely walk,” he said. “Why would I be able to use my wings?”
“Let me guess.” Vinas shoved him yet again. “Those wings seem alien to you, like you’ve never had them before.”
Dark swallowed down a dry lump that formed like a rock in his throat. “How… How did you know that?” He straightened his back andregained his composure. No need to let Vinas see his shock. “And why are you so convinced I’m this Sloth character? And could you stop shoving me?”
“I spent way too much time around him, around you, to not know who you are,” Vinas said. “Your true form has no wings. The fact that they seem so foreign to you is further proof of who you are.”
“To answer your last question,” Vinas said as he shoved Dark once again, “no, I will not stop shoving you.”
Dark narrowed his eyes, though Vinas wouldn’t be able to see it. A thought came to his mind, a phrase he had heard somewhere but, like everything else, couldn’t place. ‘Poking a sleeping Graarl.’ He contemplated mentioning it, but decided against it. It would just make him appear to be the threat Vinas was already convinced he was.
The sun hung low in the sky, and the sounds of wildlife chattered around them. A pair of Beekadoodle with purple feathers sailed across the sky, using their wings to make expert dips, dives, and loops. They probably had those wings their whole lives. Dark shook his head and continued to walk.
***
The sun hung high in the sky. Dark trudged through the grass as if his legs were made of iron. Even if he couldn’t remember anything about his life, he knew he used to have more endurance than this.
He kept his eyes on the horizon. Fuzzy outlines of a city wavered in the air like a mirage. The details sharpened into brick buildings and paved roads. Dark stumbled off the grass and onto the smooth stones that made up a pathway further into the city.
Several Neopets of all shapes and sizes walked along the sidewalk flanking both sides of the streets. Shoppers went in and out of various different shops. They wore a variety of clothes, some with fancy stitching and complicated designs, while others wore plain clothing similar to what Vinas had on. Their colors were as varied as their clothes. Dark even saw one Shoyru whose skin looked completely transparent. He wondered about the science behind such a feat.
A crowd of people started to gather around him, including the intriguing transparent Shoyru. They all seemed curious and a bit alarmed. Dark couldn’t blame them. He doubted they were used to random Unis being escorted into town, bound like criminals.
He turned to the Shoyru to ask him the scientific principle behind his see-through skin, when Vinas shoved him in the back again.
“Come with me,” he said, as he stepped beside Dark and jerked him towards one of the buildings.
It looked like a stately house. A large brass sign with the words “Neopian Central Hospital” hung on a pole near the entrance. Dark turned to Vinas.
“Why are we going to a hospital?” he asked. “With the way you’ve been acting, I expected to end up in jail.”
“We need to figure out what’s going on with you,” Vinas said. “And hospitals have ways to test things.”
“I doubt the hospital has the technology for the tests you’d need to run.” He wasn’t sure why that was true or why the mere thought of Vinas thinking it would have the necessary technology filled Dark with mirth.
He laughed. Now that Vinas was beside him, he could see his laugh had a distinct effect on the Bori. It made him visibly wince. Dark wondered if his laugh would have that effect on anyone else. He’d have to test it out later.
Vinas finally relaxed and shook his head. “Just go inside.”
The air in the hospital lobby was cooler than the hot day outside, and Dark couldn’t help but smile in relief. The lobby had several orange chairs lined up in three rows. A plain beige desk stood at the other end, next to a door leading further further into the hospital.
A Plushie Lupe sat at the desk. He had short black hair and a blue shirt, plus a name tag that read Luis. Another strange color configuration, almost as interesting as transparent skin.
“Vinas?” the Lupe said, his voice deep and completely unplushie-like. “What are you doing here?”
“Just get my sister,” Vinas replied. “I’ll be in exam room 26. Tell her it’s important.”
Once again, Vinas didn’t allow Dark the chance to speak and dragged him through the door. There was a hallway on the other side, with plain white walls, red carpet, and rows of doors with numbers painted on the sides.
Vinas pulled Dark into room 26. It had a padded exam table and a black leather chair in the corner. There were glass cabinets on the walls, and a counter with a sink and a jar of cotton swabs. There was also a painting hung on the wall, of a smiling Red Scorchio flying over a mountain landscape.
“What kind of hospital is this?” Dark asked. “It’s way too bright and cheerful. I may not remember much, but I know hospitals should be dingy with gloomy lighting. And stop pulling me around like some sort of toy!”
“I know what sort of medical bays and labs you’re used to,” Vinas said, his tone colder than the room. “We don’t do things like that here.”
Vinas took a glass from a cabinet and filled it with water from the sink. “You look sick. I may not be a doctor like my sister, but I can tell when someone’s dehydrated.”
Dark frowned. “And why are you helping me? Everything you’ve done since our fight has indicated that you hate me, or who you think I am.”
“Even so, you still need water.” Vinas brought the cup to Dark’s lips. “I seek justice, not revenge. I don’t want you getting sick and delaying that justice.”
The water soothed Dark’s throat, but he wasn’t about to let Vinas see his gratitude. He glared at him the entire time he drank and kept glaring even as Vinas set the glass down on the counter.
Glaring got too tiring and Dark let his face relax. He hoped he got his point across and Vinas didn’t realize just how exhausted he still was.
“I don’t expect you to thank me,” Vinas said. “You’ve never thanked anyone.”
Dark shook his head. He tried to cross his arms over his chest, but they were still bound behind his back, so it ended up just a twitch of his shoulders. “You seem pretty confident about who I am and what I would or wouldn’t do.”
“I’ve spent enough time around you to be sure. You’re burned into my mind like the afterimage from the sun, permanently etched into my memory. I dream about you every night.”
“That’s… a bit over dramatic, don’t you think?” Dark laughed again, though he had to admit his laugh had a certain malevolent ring to it. Though, that wasn’t such a bad thing. It flowed quite nicely.
“Nothing is over dramatic when it comes to you,” Vinas said. “Do you remember anything at all? Do you remember the lives you’ve destroyed?”
Dark slumped into the chair. His legs didn’t seem to want to hold his weight any longer. “The first thing I remember is being in some strange void that made me question my very existence. Then I met you, we had an amicable journey, until you decided I was some… villain I guess.” Dark paused. Maybe Vinas was onto something. He didn’t feel right in his own skin. Maybe he was this Sloth character. But… “If I am who you say I am, why didn’t you recognize me when we first met? If he was so etched into your memory, wouldn’t simple mannerisms give me away?”
“I… I think… you were out of it and weren’t acting yourself… how was I to expect… ” Vinas stopped talking but moved his lips, as if words were still trying to come out. “I don’t think I wanted to believe it, but something deep inside me… knew. And it’s more evident now. That laugh, for one. Everyone in Neopia recognizes that, even those who have never met you.”
“Really? My laugh is that well known?” Dark smiled at the thought, but shook his head. “That still doesn’t prove anything. A laugh is not a valid method of identification.”
“It’s enough for me,” Vinas said. “Especially with all the other evidence staring me in the face.”
Dark snorted. “I hope you will use something more definitive if you plan on bringing me to justice.”
“My sister will help with that,” Vinas said. “She’ll know a way to prove who you are. She’s a doctor.”
Doctor. That meant something even if Dark couldn’t remember what. “I doubt she’s the type of doctor that can help you.”
“You may be right,” Vinas said. “She’s a medical professional. She’s not the sort of doctor that’s a scientist, like you.”
“I’m a doctor?” Dark asked. “I mean, the man you’re convinced I am is a doctor and a scientist?”
Vinas’ eyes narrowed. “Yes. You call yourself doctor, while you do the opposite of what a doctor is supposed to do. You hurt instead of heal.”
“And you have personal experience.” Dark leaned forward. “I’m curious. Just how were you acquainted with this Sloth person? ”
Vinas’s eyes narrowed even further and his lips tightened until they paled. “How dare you. Even if your memory is gone, I know you well enough to see you’re just trying to get a rise out of me.”
“Maybe,” Dark said. “But I do have the right to know just what I did that made you so angry.”
Dark used his feet to get up from the chair, causing him to jump more than stand. Vinas backed away. The Bori wasn’t just angry. There was a vein of fear running through everything he did.
“Relax,” Dark said, as he swayed on his feet. “I can barely stand. I’m not going to be able to do anything to you. But…” He heard his voice grow colder, fueled by his impatience. “Answer my question.”
Vinas swallowed and backed toward the door. He bent his hand backward and rested it on the handle. “I… I was one of your experiments. You stole my sister and me from our home and forced me to work for you. I… I was lucky. I didn’t become a mutant. And my sister and I escaped. Not everyone was lucky like me.”
Mutant. The word nibbled at the back of Dark’s brain. Neopet’s in abnormal forms completely at odds with nature or even magic. Once again, he knew something but couldn’t remember it, couldn’t picture what mutants actually looked like.
“What-” The rest of the question lodged in Dark’s throat. His head spun and he fell forward. The floor bounced off his face. No, it was the other way around. He shut his eyes and let his mind drift away in darkness. Dreams came, but they were shapeless and smooth, swirling around like a cold drink of water.
Part 3
“You really need to take a break.”
Dark blinked away the heaviness from his eyes and looked across the room. Vinas was talking to a Wocky in a lab coat. She had strange green fur, purple tentacles sprouting from her chin, pupiless red eyes, a mouth full of razor sharp teeth, an impossibly long tongue, and a tail that looked like it was stained with red, purple, and yellow paint. A mutant!
Vinas reached up and started to pull his fingers through his hair, looked at his hand and placed it at his side. “I will… But… Something happened, something big.”
“What? And why do you sound so nervous?” Tasha adjusted a stethoscope that dangled around her neck. Her hands were a sickly yellow color.
“He brought another lost experiment in,” a new voice said, as the Plushie Lupe from the front room walked in. “I’m not sure what’s so big about that.”
Tasha turned around to face him and gave a polite nod. “Hello Luis.”
Dark gave a small grunt. All three of them turned in his direction.
“Vinas,” Tasha said as she pointed at Dark. “Why is my patient on the floor?”
Dark slowly sat up, his mind swirling with thoughts still trapped by sleep.
“He passed out,“ Vinas said, frowning. “It’s not like the floor’s going to kill him.”
The two of them stared at him. Tasha shook her head. “What’s gotten into you?”
“I’m still asking myself the same question,” Dark said. “Say, you’re one of those mutants, aren’t you? Kind of freaky, but I like it.”
Tasha gasped and nearly slipped trying to get back to the door. Her whole body trembled. Vinas put an arm around her shoulder.
Dark snorted. “Don’t tell me you recognize my voice as well. Are you going to get all annoying about it like Vinas?”
Luis walked over and jabbed his finger right on Dark’s nose. “What’s your problem? Leave them alone.”
Dark’s eyes narrowed and he made a move to grab the Lupe’s finger, but his hands were still bound. He struggled against the ropes. “Get your finger out of my face.”
Vinas ran up to them. He grabbed the enraged Lupe’s shoulder and yanked him away. “Luis, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”
“Hey, he’s the one who started it,” Luis said.
Dark glared at him. “I did not! You came up to me! I wasn’t even talking to you, you plush headed fool! And what are you anyway? A talking toy? Your color is ridiculous!”
“Touchy,” Luis said. “Maybe you should invest in some deep calming breaths.”
Vinas turned to look at Luis. “Just stop. There’s a lot going on that you don’t know about.”
Dark continued to glare at Lucas. His voice cooled to something akin to ice, just like his rage. Cool and sharp. “Maybe we should settle this outside.”
Luis shook his head. “What’s gotten into you? You’re acting like I was poking the Snowager with a stick.”
“You were,” Tasha said. She turned to Vinas. “How did this happen? How is he suddenly a Uni?”
Vinas sighed. “I have no clue. He just showed up, with no memory, like all the other experiments I’ve found out there. Well not exactly like them. He sort of faded into view like a ghost.”
Dark took a breath, not a calming one like that idiot Lupe suggested, just a breath. He needed to focus on the two people discussing his life and who quite possibly held his future in their hands.
“I was in some sort of void,” he said. “It was… strange. I can’t really explain it more than that.”
Luis frowned. “Guys, seriously. Stop ignoring me. What is going on here?”
Vinas took a few breaths. Dark figured they were of the calming variety. He seemed the type to need such things.
“This Uni is not a Uni,” Vinas said. “He’s not even a Neopet. I don’t know how he ended up looking that way… But that man is Dr. Frank Sloth.”
Lucus laughed. “Oh, come on. I mean, I admit those eyes of his are very Sloth-like, but this is just… silly. Are you sure he’s not some sort of strange clone? Or some Uni that Sloth altered to look like him?”
“You know very well that both my brother and I spent years around Sloth,” Tasha said. “We know his voice, his mannerisms. As soon as he spoke, I knew.”
“I know as well,” Vinas said. “And everything about him, his way of walking, his movements, are exactly like I remember. I didn’t want to accept it at first, it was as if my brain just skipped over the possibility. But now, I’m sure.”
“I… it just seems so strange.” Luis looked over at Dark. “I mean, nothing’s impossible with the level of technology he had, but why? Why is he a Uni? Why doesn’t he remember anything?”
Dark smiled. There was one way to truly see if he was who they said he was. “I want to test something out. Luis doesn’t seem to recognize my voice or the way I act or move. Vinas, you said there’s one thing about Sloth that everyone knows…”
His smile grew and he began to laugh. Vinas and Tasha winced and stepped closer together, almost as if they were trying to protect each other from… a laugh. This made Dark laugh more.
Luis’ jaw went slack and his eyes widened in fear. He swallowed and narrowed his eyes. “Stop it! You’re scaring them! I don’t care who you are, you will not torment my friends like that!”
Dark stopped laughing. His experiment told him two things. First, he was Dr. Frank Sloth, though part of him always knew. Second, Luis may look like a children’s toy, but there was toughness under that plush.
“Fine,” Dark said. “I learned what I needed to learn. Now I can at least stop wasting time wondering who I am. Though I wish I could remember.”
“Do you really not remember anything?” Tasha asked. She still seemed a little put off, but there was something new in her eyes, in the way they glared over at him. “Or is this whole thing just another plot of yours?”
“What could I possibly gain by turning myself into a Uni and claiming I can’t remember anything?” Dark asked. “That’s the plot of an idiot.”
Luis snorted. “Well, seeing as you’ve failed to take over this planet multiple times, I think you ran out of smart plans long before you got here.”
“I am not stupid,” Dark said. “And neither are my plans. I might not remember them, but I am sure they were all well thought out and expertly designed.”
“We need to stop wasting time,” Vinas said. “Tasha, is there any way you can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s Sloth? We can’t just rely on our word, not if we want to make sure he’s brought to justice.”
Tasha blinked. “Uh Vinas… You’re my brother and I love you, but you can be a bit dense sometimes. I’m just a regular doctor and this is just a regular hospital. We don’t have that kind of technology.”
Dark laughed. “See? I told you this pitiful hospital wouldn’t have the means to do the tests you want!”
“Don’t be so happy,” Luis said. “Well just need to find a place that does. How about the Defenders of Neopia? Or we could go to Faerieland. Even if they can’t help, they’d know how to contact the Space Faerie.”
Now that name made Dark’s blood run cold. An image appeared in his head. Blue hair, red eyes that were nowhere near as magnificent as his. No more memories after that, just a mix of terror and rage. There was no way they were going to hand him over to her.
Dark stood up and ran towards the hallway, barreling into Vinas and knocking over Tasha and Luis with his shoulders when they tried to make a grab for him. If they really wanted to keep him there, they should have remembered to shut the door.
He hurled himself into the hall and raced back down the way they had come earlier. Dark kicked the door to the lobby with his foot. It opened with a crash. He rammed his shoulder into the door leading outside. It swung open easily and Dark tumbled into the open air.
No time to dawdle. He quickly got up and ran down the path leading back into the town, but skirted around to run on the outskirts. He ran until his lungs felt like lead balloons hurtling about his chest. Dark found an alley between two buildings and hid behind a pile of old discarded boxes.
He sat down and took a few deep painful breaths. Hopefully no one would spot him while he recovered from his daring escape. Dark nearly laughed. It was pretty daring. Those fools didn’t know what hit them.
Dark closed his eyes. Not for a nap. This was no time for sleep. But his body didn’t want to listen.
***
He opened his eyes. The spot behind the boxes was very cramped but at least he was alone. Dark took a breath. Looks like his exhaustion was gone as well.
What now? While his strength had lasted much longer than it had when he fought Vinas, it still didn’t last nearly long enough. He’d been able to outrun Vinas and his group, but he still needed to find a way to escape.
First he’d need his arms free. He didn’t want to go into town and ask someone, as they’d want to know why his arms were bound in the first place. That and Vinas and the others were probably running around, asking people if they’d seen a red eyed Uni.
He’d been trying to get free ever since Vinas had captured him. Obviously the Bori knew how to tie a knot. Perhaps he could just break the rope. It hadn’t worked before, but his strength was returning. Was he strong enough for that? Had he ever been?
“Only one way to find out.”
Dark pulled at the ropes as hard as he could. The rope creaked but didn’t break. He kept pulling his hands apart, straining against the pain in his wrists. Finally, the ropes snapped and arms flung apart.
“I hope I didn’t waste all my energy on that,” Dark said, rubbing his wrists.
Now for the second part of his escape. He needed some sort of disguise. Something quick and simple that covered his face and clothes. Maybe the boxes would have something useful.
Dark searched through one of them. Dried bits of bread and torn copies of Lenny Crosswords for some reason. He went to the next one. Orange peels and Usuki doll heads? Great, was everything just a bunch of garbage?
One box had old scraps of cloth. Dark took some larger green pieces and tied them into a shirt and pants, covering his old brown clothing. He picked out a smaller piece of fabric that matched his makeshift clothing. He placed the cloth on his head and tied the ends at the front so that it formed a hood. Dark probably looked like a wandering vagrant, but at least people wouldn’t be able to see his eyes.
Vinas and his group would be on the lookout for someone in a brown shirt and pants. Why was he even wearing that in the first place? It didn’t feel right. Yet more questions that would have to wait.
He walked out of the alley and into the town. The sun blasted into Dark’s eyes. He pulled the hood down lower and he made his way down the sidewalk. There were plenty of oddly dressed Neopets, even some with hoods covering their faces, so he didn’t stick out too much.
Everyone rushed about, pushing and jostling each other as they tried to move forward. The air was filled with nervous chatter and no one even bothered to enter the shops.
Dark felt a tug on his leg and looked down to see a little blue Grundo girl in a pink dress and sparkly pink shoes. She clutched a red Gelert plushie in one hand.
“Hello,” she said. “I’m lost.”
Grundos were important, but he didn’t remember why. What he did remember was that he needed to get out of town and didn’t have time to talk to some brat.
“Go bother someone else,” he said.
The girl blinked back tears. “But I’m lost…”
Dark grumbled but his lips curled up in a slight smile. This child could be useful. If he could get her to her parents, then perhaps they would reward him, or at least help him leave the city.
“Fine,” he said in a voice he hoped was trustworthy. “I’ll help you find your family. Where did you see them last?”
“The Chocolate Factory,” she said.
Dark smiled. “Don’t worry, I bet they’re still there. Come on.”
She took his hand. It felt strange, almost annoying, to have a child hold his hand that way. Dark had no clue where the Chocolate Factory was, so he decided to walk in the direction he figured the child had come from. He doubted she had wandered off far.
“What’s your name?” the girl asked. “I’m Tivana.”
Dark chewed on his lip. That was a good question. Why did he still think of himself as Dark, when he knew his real name? Why didn’t he see himself as Sloth, or Frank?
Tivana looked up at him. “Aren’t you gonna answer?”
“Dave,” he said. Best not to answer with Dark, since word may have already gotten out that he was going by that name.
“I like that name. My doll’s name is Evan. He’s the best Gelert in the whole world.”
He half listened to more of Tivana’s prattle, while looking around for anyone who might be her parents. He spotted a green Grundo in a black suit and yellow and green striped tie walking with a yellow Grundo in an orange shirt and blue jeans. Their eyes were wide as they jerked their heads around, searching the crowd.
Dark pulled Tivana toward them. As soon as they saw her, they rushed over. They all moved to the side so as to not be in the way of the crowd.
The Grundo in the suit picked her up. “Tivana, we told you not to rush off like that!”
“Sorry Daddy,” she said. “Dave helped me find you.”
The two adult Grundos looked at Dark.
He fought the sudden urge to capture all three of them. What purpose would that serve? He had no resources to speak of and didn’t even know what he would do with a group of Grundos anyway.
“This is my Mommy and Daddy,” Tivana said. “Mommy and Daddy, this is Dave.”
“I’m Rivus,” the green Grundo said. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”
“And I’m Malix,” the yellow Grundo said. “I want to thank you for finding our daughter.”
“Yes, thank you,” Rivus. “We were terribly worried about her.”
Malix nodded. “There are rumors that Sloth is on the loose. No one knows anything yet, but when she vanished, we feared the worst.”
Dark grinned under his hood. If he had his memories, they would probably be very right to fear the worst. Lucky Grundos.
“I was just doing what any Neopet would,” he said, careful to mask his voice and make it higher and softer than normal. There was no telling if these two would recognize it.
“Not everyone would help a child in need,” Rivus said. “Is there any way we can repay you?”
So polite and right to the point. He’d easily get what he wanted from this group. Dark shook his head and carefully thought about what he needed to say.
“I require no reward,” he said. “I just ask for help in return. I am a wanderer from Meridell and do not know how the rest of the world works. Do you know of a way of travel I could use to make my way back home?”
Meridell. He didn’t know what it was, but the name came to Dark as something that would fit.
“The Uni Ferry would be your best bet,” Malix said. “But it might be a bit crowded. Many people are trying to get out of town. There’s a bit of a panic with Sloth on the loose.”
“I do not know who that is,” Dark said. “Meridell does not get much news of the outside world.”
“Dr. Frank Sloth is a menace,” Rivus said, his voice suddenly quivering. “He’s dangerous and whatever his plans are, we are all a lot safer far away from them.”
“He’s a big dung head,” Trivana said. “Mommy and Daddy say he’s especially mean to Grundos.”
“He is,” Malix said. Her voice quivered too, but it had a bit of bite to it. “Enough dawdling. We need to leave. You’re welcome to come with us, Dave. We know the way to the ferry.”
What a perfect idea! From what he’d gathered, everyone would expect him to run around attacking Neopets, especially Grundos. If he had such a desire to capture them, then he must have a very deep history with their species. Walking docilely next to this family of Grundos would give him just the cover he needed to escape.
“Thank you,” he said, still speaking in the same soft, high voice. “I truly appreciate it.”
The Grundos weaved through the crowd as it surged forward. Rivus still clutched Trivana in his arms. Dark fought to keep up, but made sure not to jostle anyone too much. He couldn’t seem too aggressive, but he also couldn’t seem too unconcerned with the situation. So, he let his body tremble a little, borrowing a bit from the thought that if this didn’t work, he’d most likely never see the light of day again.
“I see the ferry!” Trivana called out.
She pointed with the hand still holding the red plushie. Its ears flopped about in her small hand.
The ferry was more like a wagon, crafted out of wood and metal. The whole thing was painted to look like a sunset, with clouds tinted with a soft glow of orange and purple and a red sun setting against a maroon and pink sky. Dark pursed his lips. Of all the garish, tacky nonsense!
Seven silver Unis stood in front of the ferry. They were all attached to it by harnesses and two strips of gold thread. They stomped their hooves and whispered among each other. The one at the front had a large pink and black polka dot bag around her neck.
These unis almost looked like him, but not quite. They stood on all fours and had hooves at the ends of all their limbs. If he had access to technology and his memories, could he change them to look more like his current form? Or something completely different that no Neopian had ever laid their pitiful eyes on before?
No, this was not the time to daydream about the future. He had to focus on the present and right now he needed to get away. Dark stuck with Rivus and Malix as they pushed toward the ferry.
“Everyone calm down,” the Uni at the front of the group said. “More ferries are coming soon. We can only take the first twenty people at the head of the group.”
She stomped a hoof on the ground so hard that dust flew up. “Hey! No pushing! I can see who’s at the head of the group right now and if I see anyone try to push forward, I will make sure they are banned from the ferry for a year!”
Dark smiled. What spunk. Good thing he and his group of Grundo camouflage were near the front. Almost there. Still, Dark kept his body tense and cast looks around the crowd.
No sign of Vinas, Tasha, or Luis. Fools. They should have known he would try and escape. Perhaps they thought he’d try and take the town hostage or some other such dramatic act. Maybe that’s something he would have done back when he had all his memories.
Having a clear head had its advantages. He wasn’t held down by his past and anything he might be prone to do. His mind was open to the clearest and most practical path.
“The first twenty may slowly walk to the ferry,” the uni said. She quickly turned and glared at a Skeith. “I saw that! What did I say about pushing to the front? Banned!”
The crowd went much more smoothly after that. The doors to the ferry opened and people began filing inside. Rivus reached into his pocket and placed some Neopoints in the head Uni’s bag.
“I paid for you,” he said, turning to look at Dark. “I hope you don’t mind, but it’s the least I could do to repay you for helping Trivana.”
“Thank you,” Dark said softly, careful not to let any of his true voice come through. “I am grateful to have met such kind people.”
“As I am grateful to have met you,” Rivus said.
Malix smiled. “Fate smiled kindly on all four of us today.”
Dark nodded. “It did, indeed.”
Such kind folk and trusting too. Never once asking to see inside his hood, or questioning him more about his claims of being a wanderer from Meridell. Maybe they figured he was horribly disfigured and didn’t want to pry. Or perhaps they just didn’t want to invade his privacy. Either way, it worked to his advantage.
He climbed into the ferry and took a seat near the back, next to one of the windows. The Grundos took a seat near the front. Good. He didn’t want to spend the trip trying to come up with vapid conversation.
The doors closed and the ferry rose off the ground. Dark watched the land fall away. He’d made it. Whatever problems awaited him in the future, at least for right now, he’d won.
Dark smiled. Winning, however tiny the victory, made his heart feel as light as the ferry now flying across the sky. And he knew why he still saw himself as Dark and not Sloth or Frank.
From what others said about him, Dr. Frank Sloth was a force of nature, a storm that destroyed and dominated the ruins of his conquests. That’s why he couldn’t bring himself to use those names. He hadn’t earned them. At least not yet.
Sloth was his past… and his future. Dark would travel the world and learn more about the man he had been. He would find a way to return his memories, all of them. And after that, he would reclaim his name and take back his rightful place in the world.
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