Forgotten in the Dust Part 2

Chapter 4

The sun shone brighter that day. Brighter than any day in autumn. The grass was soaked with dew and the birds sang like there was no tomorrow. Perfect weather. A hot day to get a tan, yet not hot enough to burn your skin.
Melody was eager to get back to her new friend in the woods. The situation had really excited her and she could barely sleep. She also couldn't sleep from the guilt of leaving that guy without warning. The next morning didn't even eat her breakfast. Melody just ran out the house after telling her mother where she was going. She ran back through town, beside herself with joy. Her hair flapped away as she sped past the butchers, then the Barbers and then the Jewelry store. The golden chain around her neck shuffled under her top as she raced.
In no time at all, she found the cabin again in the clearing. She started to call her memory-short friend's name. No response.
"Draxel? Where did you go?" She opened the door to the cabin and stepped inside. The fire ( that she had left when she rushed out yesterday.) had long since turned to ash and the cabin seemed cleaner than usual. She searched the house, up and down, yet no sign of him.
As she was walking back through the kitchen, Melody heard something. She really did have good hearing. It was a metal sound, .
like when you sharpen a knife with another. The noise happened again. It was coming from behind the cabin. She ran to the door, tripping over a first-aid box in the process.
Then she saw him. Behind the cabin he sat, slouching on a rock. She had never noticed that rock before. As she got closer she realized that he didn't look too good. His eyes were glossed over and his usually bright skin was pale. He was leaning forward, his hands making weird twisting shapes. Melody found it hard to find her voice again. Finally, she spoke up. "D-Draxel? You okay?"
A moment passed until she got a response.
"I remembered...after I killed him." His voice was low and sad.
"Killed him?! Who?!"
"He vanished and I passed out. Then I remembered. Not all of it but just the important parts concerning him. Axsaur was my mentor and my friend. He taught me most of my education, yet on the other side, he taught me everything he knew about fighting. How to strike down any different foe, how to wield any type of weapon. He was harsh and strict. But at the end of the day, we both knew he was helping me. Then came one day. Something bad happened. Axsaur was arguing with 2 people, their faces are blurry, while a child sat in the background. He was raising his fist and everything. Eventually he left, and then the memory ends. I wonder what he said?"
Melody was still in the dark. "Okay... Who's Axsaur?"
"Nevermind. Come on, lets go inside." Draxel said, leaving the questions unanswered. He pushed himself up and started walking
back to the front of the house. Melody shrugged it away and followed him. But she did have one more question that was worth asking (Since her other questions involved memories that Draxel didn't have).
"By the way, what was that metal sound that I heard earlier?"
"Oh yeah. That was the ring."
"The ri-" Melody froze in her tracks, a terrifying metal blade inches away from her face. She yelped and jumped back, not wanting her nose sawed off.
Draxel drew the sword away quickly. "Sorry about that."
Melody held back want to kick him in a certain place. She took a deep breath and exhaled. "Just don't do that again."
Back in the log cabin, Draxel had told her every detail about last night, including Axsaur's strange death. Melody thought silently for a while until she remembered the other reason she was so excited.
"Oh yeah! I almost forgot. You should come with me to the park. It's a beautiful day outside and it will take your mind off of things."
Draxel ran it though his head again. What more did he have to do? He had no more leads to his identity, so sitting around wasn't going to help much. "Sure, I guess."
Melody grinned. "Great! I got two friends going there so we can meet them and have a good time."
"Friends? Who are they?"
"Just two of my good friends from school. Their called Aaron and Tia. But first of all..." Melody looked Draxel up and down. "You're not going in that."
He looked down at his leather cloak and blood-stained top. "What's wrong with this?" He asked blankly. She raised eyebrow with sly smile. "Okay, okay. But what should I wear?"
"Follow me. I got an older brother. He left some of his clothes here. They'll probably fit you.
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After Draxel had put on the bright shirt and jeans, the pair set out for a day of fun and enjoyment at the park on a perfect sunny day. What could go wrong?
Draxel had seen the forest for enough time but when they reached the town, he acted as if he'd never seen a building made of bricks before. Which he probably never had. He stared at the tall apartment buildings and stores in wonder.
"You people live in rock houses?" he murmured, brushing his hand against a Jewelry store wall. He looked in, seeing small and large trinkets similar to his own ring.
"Almost everyone around here. Is it different where you come from?" she inquired.
"Where I come from, our homes are made from tall, thick vines. Thicker than those vehicles over there." He said as he pointed at
some cars across the street. Melody grinned. She was striking memories without him realizing. "We cut our own hair and hunt our own meat as well." passing the Barbers and Butchers.
"Hunting, huh?" Melody said. "Sounds like you're not from around here."
"Still," she thought. "I haven't seen anything like that ring/sword thing he has on this world. He's not from around here, I know that. But I'm beginning to think he's not from planet earth at all."
"Hey, are you okay?" Draxel snapped his fingers near her face a few to bring her back.
Melody shook herself out of her trance. "I'm fine. I just zone out sometimes. C'mon, the park is this way." she said, turning the corner. Draxel, still a little confused, followed her. The girl was right about zoning out and her friends could confirm. It had even affected her end-of-term test results because she 'zoned out' during the test, therefore having to rush the end of the exam. No matter. Now was a time for fun. They strolled on, passing a cemetery on the way. The place had always given her the creeps.
After a bit more walking, the two had finally reached the park. And it looked a lot better than Melody had said it would. The sun stood out in the cloudless lid of blue and beamed down on the dew ridden grass as families and friends came to have great time. The park was like any other. Hilly grasslands dotted with trees. The park was next to a river and a market so there was enough activities to do if you didn't bring your own. You could lie down and relax as the kids run around, sail boats down the river,play in the sprinklers, and a lot more if you're creative. It was a nice place. They usually closed it during the colder seasons, but today was so un for autumn, the manager just had to open it for everyone to have a blast.
Maybe it will be the same for our new friends. Maybe...
"This place is amazing!" Draxel said in delight as a child with curly hair almost bumped into his knee."Sorry Mister." He apologized and ran away, pretending to be an plane.
"Yeah I know. This place is closed during autumn and winter, but they decided the day was good enough." She said, scanning the plains. Her eyes upon two figures in the distance, near the river. "Over there! C'mon, Drax!" she squealed. She caught hold of Draxel's hand and sped towards them. Draxel allowed himself to be pulled away. in the blinding sunlight, Draxel noticed that Melody's hand was incredible soft and smooth. He was able to get a good look that he had never done before.
Draxel shook himself back to reality. He realized that Melody had slowed down and loosened her grip. They had reached the river.
"Tia! Aaron! I haven't seen you for a while!" (Which wasn't true, she had seen them a few days ago, before the holiday. She was just so happy to see them). "I'm so happy to see you!" she said, throwing her arms around them both.
"Me too!" exclaimed someone else, presumably Tia.
''Oh yeah! I almost forgot!" Melody stepped aside, revealing Draxel to her friends.
"Who's he?" The boy said.
"Guys, this is Draxel." She turned to him "Draxel, this is Aaron and Tia."
"Draxel, huh?" Aaron said, stepping closer "What a peculiar name." He wasn't exactly what Draxel would call muscular, not tall either. In fact, he had to tilt his head a bit to look Draxel in the eye. He had shaggy black hair and hazel eyes. His nose was small and he had a toothy smile. He had a blue shirt and grey shorts. He grinned and stuck out a hand. "Nice to meet you, Draxel."
Draxel noticed that he only had 3 fingers. The smallest one was missing. Nonetheless, he gladly shook it.
"You ain't from 'round here, are you?" he asked, a sort of western accent.
"To be honest, I forg-"
"He's a friend from a different town!" Melody cut in. She didn't know why. She just didn't want her day of fun to be halted by concern over Draxel's condition.
"Okay then." Aaron chuckled. They were strange but he could he the conflict in Draxel's green eyes.
However, Tia wasn't as good for welcomes. She looked Drax up and down and shrugged.
"So what do you guys wanna do? We got a whole day." Melody asked.
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Skip to, time had gone into the afternoon and as a few more people came in, several more groups left. The park wasn't nearly as full as it was earlier. Our four friends were still having fun. Aaron brought a football (Soccer ball) so they were able to play a match or two, once Drax figured out how to play. The four of them sat on the grass, legs dangling over the river bank.
"This was fun." Melody sighed "I do hope we get another day like this again."
"Me too." Aaron and Draxel said in unison. They both laughed at the coincidence.
Tia stayed silent.
"Hey Aaron..." Melody said "Let's go get some ice cream, yeah?"
"Okay, what do you guys want?"
"Any chocolate ones? I love chocolate." Draxel said.
Wait, do I? He suddenly had a flashback.

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A playground. He was on a slide, eating a chocolate bar, as a child. Was he the same kid as the one from the Axsaur memory. Two adults sat on a nearby bench, laughing and talking. No doubt about it. They were the ones who were arguing with Axsaur. Or will be arguing with him?

He jumped to another Memory. He was himself this time, not watching himself. But he was running. Wearing his blue cloak with his hood up. He turned his head to see what he was running from. He heard horns blaring and dogs barking. He seemed to be dashing away from some sort of castle. Didn't Axsaur say something about a castle? Search lights beamed up and people were shouting, chasing him on horseback Why? Was he a criminal?
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"Why are you here?"
Draxel was taken back to reality by a voice. He turned to see Tia looking out into the water. She was beautiful, but in an unsettling way. She had frizzy blonde hair tied back in a ponytail and a stunning complexion. Her eyes were a dark brown and her lips were curled into a mischievous smile. He noticed her fingernails were painted blood red and she had no shoes on, revealing crimson-colored toes.
"What do you mean?" He asked. He realized that Melody and Aaron had left, to get the ice cream. Left him with her.
"You're not meant to be alive, are you?" she said, turning to him, her eyes piercing him.
"Not meant to be alive? Why can't I be alive?" He asked, sounding more confident than he was.
"You avenged your family, but at a cost. Your memory."
"How did you-"
"I know a lot Draxel. You even forgot your name. Your pathetic." she said. The last word stung him. He apparently hated that word.
"Look, I don't know or care how you found out my problem, but you shouldn't need a say in it."
"Aww, is someone mad at me?" she pouted. The first cold wind blew at that moment.
"What is wrong with you?" he asked, keeping his cool. He felt her hand on his left shin.
She smiled seductively, showing gleaming teeth. "You want to know so badly? Too bad." Her hand slowly moved up his leg. She spoke again as it glided over to his thigh.
"I was there when you did the crime. But you did it out of anger and rage, right? It wasn't your fault, was it?"
Her hand reached the top of his leg and started to move to the right.
"Even in the evillest moments, the moon will always outshine the sun." she mocked.
Draxel sensed the imminent danger and leaped away, several meters. He landed perfectly and looked back at Tia.
She was still smiling.
"Draxel?"
He turned to see Melody and Aaron, each holding two ice creams, looking at him with concern.
"What's goin' on, bud?" Aaron asked "Why are you crouching?"
Draxel was about to tell them the story but Tia stepped in before he could.
"Oh you know, we were just talking and he got bit by a bug, jumped miles away" she said giving them the sweetest smile. A little too sweet.
"Okay then, here you go Drax-" Melody shrugged. She turned to Draxel to see that he had vanished. She searched until she saw he at the park gate, leaving.
She quickly ran after him, dropping both of the ice creams as she . Aaron reacted and handed his ice creams to Tia, before diving for the chocolate and mint cones. He soared over the grass, catching both of them in succession. He landed on the ground, holding the treats above him.
"That was almost a waste of perfectly good ice cream." he panted into the grass as Tia sauntered over.
"Yes," she slurred " a waste." she dug her heel into his neck and planted her foot on the back of his head. He struggled to push her off but somehow she was too powerful. He started choking at the sudden pressure. She heard bones crack, and then silence.
"You were a waste too..." she whispered before strolling away past the shocked faces of families.

Chapter 5

It took a while before Melody caught up with Draxel. He was a fast walker. As she hurried she realized that the street was deserted, apart from them. That was strange. Maybe they all left for the park or they all just closed for today for an odd reason. Even the cars were gone. A strong wind blew through as she had to practically sprint to get near enough.
"Draxel!" she yelled "Where are you going?"
He quickly responded with "You're friend is crazy!"
"What're you talking about? Slow down!"
Draxel obeyed, and slowly came to a stop. Melody came up to him, panting for breath. He hardly broke a sweat.
"What did she say to you?"
"That Tia girl said she was there in my past. How was that possible?!" he panicked.
"Did she say that?" Melody gasped, seeing a frantic nod from Draxel. "How? I've been friends with her for years!"
"Hehe, why don't you ask her?" said her voice.
Melody heard Tia's voice from above, and looked up to see one of the strangest things she'd seen. There were two of them. Both with the exact same face and identical clothing, standing on a rooftop. But the first Tia looked more healthy and was holding the other by the neck. The latter was horribly bruised and scarred. She was still conscious, but had stopped struggling.
"Tia!?" was all she could manage.
Draxel stayed silent, crossing his fingers.
The first Tia sneered. "I had to admit, I was a bit disappointed when I heard that Axsaur had failed, but ultimately, I was happy. Because I got orders to finish you off."
"Mel, get behind me." Draxel whispered. She went back and he took a step forward. "Who are you? Why are there two of you?"
She sighed and threw the other one of the building. Melody gasped as the body tumbled down the air. Instinctively Draxel shot up and caught her. He wall-jumped of the brick and landed safely next to Melody, carrying Tia close. He put her down in an alleyway, in cover, on the other side of the street. Melody followed him. Draxel turned to her.
"Stay with her and stay down. Keep yourself safe. If you get hurt, I'll kill myself." He was deadly serious.
He ran back into the middle of the road and looked up. Tia wasn't there anymore. In her place was another girl who looked around 16 maybe. Her short, spiky, jet black hair had a hot pink streak and she was wearing a biker jacket and leather jeans. Her face had a rough complexion.
"Illusion magic! Always reliable!" she laughed, throwing up a purple glass ball and catching it. She too, had a ring on her finger.
"Magic's bad." he growled "That's what Axsaur taught me!"
"Meh meh meh!" she mocked "Then what was that you did at the castle? Scrios, or as this language says it 'Destruction' ha! You brought the whole castle falling."
Draxel suddenly had visions of entire buildings falling down, big explosions and death. He shook the thought from his head.
"Aww, is it dawning on you? Don't worry, you won't live long enough to find out!"
She jumped down and landed with out any problem and crossed her fingers. A light flashed and a long chain appeared in her hand. In no time at all, she whipped it down onto Draxel with lightning speed. It missed him by a speck as he dodged at the last moment. He rolled to stop, with barely enough time to get away from two more lashes to his legs and a third to his head. He tried to study her movements. He couldn't even try due to her blurry movements. He just had to keep dodging, so he could summon his own weapon and fight back.
I guess Axsaur was going easy on me he thought as he back flipped over several attacks at least I could see what he was doing and when to strike. Huh.
But he was getting tired. He started to sweat and she didn't seem to be getting any slower.
He narrowed his eyes and found a weak point. Her up-strike is slower because of the momentum. That is when I go.
He waited for the right moment and he grabbed the metal chain and pulled with all his might. She decided not to let go of the chain and let herself be swung around. He successfully lifted her and let go, tossing her to the other side of the road. She crashed into a wall and fell to the ground, scaring away a ginger cat in the process. Perfect. Draxel quickly crossed his fingers and focused. He thought about the long sword appearing in his hand.
"Axsaur was just a taster of what was to come. I fought him and one, no matter how much I didn't want to. Let's do this.
He felt the leather hilt in his hand as the weapon summoned. Yet it all happened in an instant. The attacker had already jumped forward, chain in hand. Too slow. Draxel easily blocked her and tossed her away with his sword. She landed in a crouch as he had done when she was disguised as Tia. She observed the enemy and scoffed.
"That thing? You really are blunt!"
Draxel ignored that comment. "Time to-"
"Bite the dust? You say that too many times!"
Draxel groaned and readied an attack. He pounced forward, blade outstretched. He seemed to of caught her off-guard somehow and inflicted a cut on her arm, yet receiving a blow to the head with her chain. He jumped away, clutching his head. He had the same dizzy feeling as he had in the forest, before he collapsed. His vision blurred and he stumbled a little. Luckily he had learnt to cope with that.
"Still standing, huh? You fell down last time I hit you."
"Stop that!" he yelled. She fell silent. "What is with you?! Your stupid mocking attitude! Why don't you stop dropping bombs everywhere and tell me what the hell is going on!? If you're meant to be some great hero, and I'm the big criminal, then enlighten me. What what that crime?! What was my past?! What is my destiny, Luna?!" He did suddenly remember her name, and instantly remembered that he did hate her before.
Luna was thrown off. She looked startled to say the least. She tried to come up with a come back.
"Heh. Y-you finally remembered my n-"
SLASH!
The chain broke into each individual link and clattered down on the floor. Several cuts appeared on her arms and face, as well as her chest, much like he had at the beginning. She screamed in pain as Draxel quickly wiped a bit of blood off his blade. He glared at her, then pointed the sword at her.
"I know you won't tell me much, so let's go." His voice came out steely.
Luna gritted her teeth and crossed her fingers, the chain reforming and shooting back to her hand. She took a little green orb and smashed it. Instead of creating more cuts, it gave off a small wisp of green smoke, and her cuts sealed back up.
"You're gonna have to try harder than that."
They both dashed forward, ready to strike.

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Melody had almost fainted beside Tia from the sudden rush events. One minute Tia was holding a copy by the neck. Then she turned into this weird biker maniac. She's fast as hell, and now she was seeing her friend, with the terrifying chain wrapped sword what almost stabbed her earlier that day, in action for the first time. She knew about his clash Axsaur, yet she hadn't been there to see it. Now she had, she didn't know what to think. One one hand, she couldn't complain. This 'Luna' had been there in Drax's past and had been an evil character to him. She had also almost killed the actual Tia. She did want Draxel to get revenge for them both. However, now she had seen Draxel differently from before. Before, he was the fun, happy guy she had helped in the forest and they became friends. But now as she saw him fight- his relentless attacks, his swift dodges, that obvious rage in his eyes- she began to feel something else. Melody looked on as his made several jabs to his opponent, managing to land some blows. Luna just kept healing herself with those green orbs. She brushed some hair out of her face. She didn't feel joyful and cheery around him, she felt...
She felt...
Afraid.
Melody had thought about the past events that had led up to this point. It was hard to process all of it. She had wanted to help Draxel with his problem, but the more they learnt about him, the more she was beginning to wonder whether saving him in the woods was the right thing to do.

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Both Draxel and Luna stood a distance away, panting for breath.
"Okay..." she said "You... know... how to... use that thing quite well, don't you?" Draxel stayed silent.
"Well let's see how skillful you really are!" She fumbled around in her pocket and pulled another object out. Not one of those orbs (which Draxel had come to realize that those were the magic things that she mentioned) but another ring. She slipped it round her index finger on the right hand (Not holding the chain) and grinned. She stuck her hand out and made a gun shape. With a flash, she summoned her weapon. Now she was holding Draxel had never seen before. To Melody, it was a gun. It looked like a UZI.
"Like it?" she jeered before pulling the trigger. Draxel barely had time before loud bangs were heard and hundreds of metal pellets flew his way. He defensively blocked them with his sword, but a few got through and one even caught him in the shoulder. He groaned in pain and clutched his arm. Luna saw the opportunity and fired off a few more rounds. Fighting through the pain, Draxel ran to his left (Opposite side of the street from Melody) and kept running.
"I'll take you down with a hail of bullets!" she squawked as she shattered windows of homes and stores. How was no one hearing this? Where is everyone?
Fortunately, the gun stopped shooting and made a repeating clicking sound.
"Damn it! This stupid thing keeps jamming! C'mon stupid thing!" she started to hit the gun in the side.
Draxel found the point. But instead of taking a hit at her, he stopped, faced her and gripped the sword with both hands, and led into a defensive stance. He met Melody's eyes across the street and had a silent exchange.
What are you doing? Go and attack her!
Trust me, I have a plan.
But at any moment, she's gonna start blasting again!
What part of 'Trust me, I have a plan' do you not understand?
"Ha Ha!" Luna cried and raised the gun again "I thought you would of attacked me by now, but you're so dense, I shouldn't of expected much." Draxel just stood, his blade readied. Luna jeered, but she could see the steely determination in his eyes. It kind of scared her. She almost pulled the trigger when and Draxel's hand flashed and the chain wrapped sword dissapeared.
"What are you doing?" she spat.
"I obviously can't beat you, not when you have that." he said, nodding towards the gun "But tell me, Luna. What happened before? Did you always hate me? Were we, at one point, friends?"
Luna slightly lowered the gun, his eyes following every move.
"W-well." she sighed "We were good friends, technically."
"Really?"
"Yeah, we used to do every thing together. You, me and him."
"Who's him?"
Luna gave a sad gaze before saying "Necras. Your brother. We were all best friends, until the day your parents died."
Draxel's eyes widened at the statements. First a brother, and then dead parents. "After they passed and you ran away with Axsaur-you were only 4 years old- Necras took the throne since there were no other heirs to take their place. He was only 18 yet he controlled the kingdom with an iron fist. No one likes him but no one was brave-or foolish-enough to disobey him. We were still friends so I was made a general. But he never gave up searching for you. He'd send parties to bring you back with disappointing results."
Draxel breathed heavily, taking it all in. His brother? Axsaur? His parents? Was this all true? "But what did I do wrong?"
Luna was about to continue, before a resentful look came to her face. "No. Your just desperate for the answer, aren't you? That's why your acting so innocent! Well it won't work!" She raised the gun and pulled the trigger.
It all happened so fast.
Millions of tiny rockets stormed towards him, yet time seemed to slow down for Draxel. He summoned his blade and took a breath.
Concentrate, Draxel. You only have one try. You got this.
He opened his eyes and focused on every metal ball at once. In an instant, he brought his blade up and mightily forced it back down, slashing the air. The bullets hadn't even reached him yet. But it didn't stop there. In the swords wake, a massive wave of some sort of blue energy surged towards Luna, disintegrating every bullet where they flew.
Luna had no time to react to the sudden blast of power as it slammed into her.
The impact had created a blinding light which caused Drax to cover his eyes. The blaze faded, and she was gone. Draxel scanned the area yet no sign of her. He looked up to see her kneeling on the rooftop she dropped Tia off of. He clothes were singed and steaming and she was panting.
"More and more tricks, eh? You little..." she got up, but this time, she didn't heal herself with the orbs. Did she run out or did she choose not to? "You just wait. When you remember... you'll want to die." she smiled and clicked her fingers. A gust of wind she vanished.
Draxel thought about those words. This was getting stranger by the minute. He looked back at the alleyway where he left Melody. He saw a mixture of happiness, confusion and fear in her eyes.

Chapter 6

Draxel easily lifted the unconscious Tia off the ground and on to his back. Melody stood aside and looked up at the sky. "Sun's going down." she noted.
"Yeah," he said "You know where she lives?" Melody nodded and started to walk, Draxel following close behind. They walked in silence for a while, neither of them sure of what to say. The sky was tinging orange and the air became a little chiller. Melody decided to break the ice. Not very well, though.
"So... how are you?"
Draxel glanced at her. "What do you mean?"
"Are you doing alright? That must of been a sudden rush of emotion when you found out more about your past." she looked back at him.
"I feel, different. I wanted to know really bad. But now, I don't know. I have murdered parents, and a monarch brother." he heard Tia murmur a little. "But still, I have this burning sensation inside of me. It's telling me not to quit and to remember everything."
Melody felt ultimately bad for her friend. It sounded as if he'd been through a lot of grief. But how could she help? She didn't know a thing on amnesia or whatever he had. She also felt worried. Luna made it seem like he was the bad guy, what with the mention of his 'crime'.
"Can you recall what that crime she was talking about?"
"Kind of." he reflected back to that memory he had while fighting Luna. "I saw... destruction. A huge building being completely obliterated. People screaming for their lives. And I think...'' he hesitated "I think I did it."
Melody ran that through her mind. "So then, piecing this together, you were the one who hurt everyone. But that's not true, right?" She received no response as he looked at the ground. She quickly changed the subject.
"Hey, Drax? How did you do that thing with your sword? The big force thing?"
Draxel thought back to the battle. "I don't really know. It just kind of clicked, like a switch inside of me just turned on and I was able to do it. Half the time, I don't know what I'm doing, it just happens." They walked in silence for a little, they turned a corner. "The only thing that irritates me," he suddenly spoke up ''is the question; who killed my parents?" Melody glanced at him and back. "The only logical person would be... Axsaur."
"The one who attacked you on the first night."
"It's all I could think of. He was the one who ran away with me, apparently, so what was the reason? Maybe he wanted to lie to me so he could..." he trailed off. Melody held her hands together and sighed. It was so frustrating without all the answers. But no matter how much she wanted to help, she couldn't shake the uneasiness of Draxel being really dangerous.
However, Draxel read the sigh and noticed something was wrong. "Hey, Melody? You seem a little worried about something." he asked, as if he had read her mind.
"Come on, her house is over here." she said, not wanting to explain.
Melody knocked on the door and waited for response. Draxel was obviously taken aback when a burly man a good head taller than him and twice as wide, wearing a black vest that showed of his bulging arms, opened the door. Melody explained that she had fallen down a slope into some nettles. Drax knew they shouldn't get anyone else involved and potentially hurt. Luckily, the dad (as Drax assumed) didn't see through the lie and nodded. He lifted Tia off Draxel's back and into his arms. He grunted a thanks and shut the door, leaving the two of them. "Okay then..." he mumbled.
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The pair had reached the edge of the woods, both still in total silence. Draxel was already conflicted by his memory, but seeing Melody act really strangely was off-putting to say the least. She had been really open to him before, even when he was a total stranger. Yet, he still was.
"Hey," he said, breaking the silence "don't you have to be home by now? It's getting dark."
Melody looked up at something for a moment, and her hand went and fumbled around in her pocket. She pulled out the small digital device and tapped the screen. It lit up and displayed the time. "5 o' clock" she said, putting her phone away "we have some time."
"Cool" he said smiling "Let's head back to the cabin." Melody strolled after him. She had to believe that he was a good person, even with the doubt she had.
They sat down, but they sat in awkward silence for a while. Melody looked around the room for something to say when she saw his arm.
"Oh my god, your arm!" she exclaimed.
Draxel looked down at it and cringed. Blood stained the top and the wound was open.
"Hold on." she said, picking up the kit from the floor. She brought it back to him and opened the green box, pulling out the bandages.
"Do you mind unbuttoning your shirt."
Draxel obliged without a word, quickly slipping o the short sleeve. Melody brought up a cloth and wiped around the wound. Draxel winced in pain but kept still.
"We're lucky. That bullet only skimmed you. It could of been a lot worse." she said calmly.
Draxel sighed in relief when he heard those words. "Thanks Melody. For everything."
She smiled and finished bandaging.
After she had washed her hands, she came back and sat beside him. The talked for a while until...
"I've got it!"
Melody -unquestionably surprised- asked "Got what?"
"I know how to get my memory back!" he raced to the door and and pulled it open, letting in the wind and extinguished the fire. "You stay here, I'll be right back." and with that he was gone. Melody sat there, stunned and cold. She shivered and lit another match, setting the hearth ablaze once again. She settled back into the chair and pulled out her phone. She felt as if she was gonna be waiting a long time.

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He was all smiles and happy a moment ago, but now he was here, it was nerve-racking. He trudged into the woods and, for a while, wandered around aimlessly, not sure where he was going. After a while, he made it. The memory was telling him to go here. And he knew exactly what to do. He knew that it would be the last memory that would suddenly dawn on him for a while. The rest was up to him. But the memory told him how.
The trees stopped moving forward and went either direction, forming a round clearing. In the middle, a mystic disc of rippling green water, surrounded by thick weeds and tall grass, dotted with lily pads and small amphibian creatures.
"The lake." Draxel said. "Where it all started. Time to remember." He clapped his rough hand together and exhaled. He stalked towards the lake, to the place he first woke up. He still remembered the excruciating pain, when he aw his own scraped face.
He stood at the edge of the water as a frog croaked. He crossed his fingers and gripped the hardened leather hit in his fist. For once, he carefully looked over the blade. The stainless steel surface shone brilliantly, even when the sun was blocked by orange clouds. Thick and thin chains wrapped around the bottom of the blade, and snaked upwards. The hand guard was riddled with intricate patterns and designs. He felt somewhat safe and protected with it in his grasp. Without hesitation, he threw it into the air, as high as he could. It almost stopped in midair, then came shooting back down, treating to slice him in half. He just watched it fall. It got close, and he thrust his right hand out. He caught it by the handle, the tip pointing downwards. He held it in front of him and tightened his hand. He grabbed it with the other one and with the both of them, he forced it into the marsh ground. The earth gave little resistance and remained upright, half of the blade hidden in the dirt. After a moment, he sat on the mud and breathed.
"This is it, Drax." he said to himself "Time to remember." He put his hands on his legs, in a meditating position. But part of him didn't want to remember. With all the mention of his crime, destruction, it honesty took him effort to pull himself to do it. What would Melody think of him? What does she already think of him?
"I've got to." he said. "I need to set it straight." He closed his eyes and focused on his past, his family everything. A wind blew through an his body started to shake violently. The world was rocking back and forth. He felt like he was being ripped apart. He yelled in pain and opened his eyes, clutching his neck. He felt like throwing up into the water.
You got this. You got this, you criminal! C'mon!
He slapped himself as he psyched himself up. He closed his eyes and waited for the agonizing sensation to kill him.
And it did, he instantly blacked out as his senses went elsewhere. It looked like he got a bit more that just his past.

DRAXEL
He was born into royalty in a small country. Each city was stationed for different jobs Fishing and hunting, business and industry. Every once in a while, the people of the towns would meet and trade their spoils, and the place ran smoothly. Over looking the country, in a huge structure of a castle, were the leaders of all of it. If you have a castle, it's kind of obvious that you have a king and queen. The king- Terran was his name- was a strong, brave warrior on the outside. But when it came to compassion, he was second to none. He was the most kind and caring person that anyone had seen and he loved his land all his subjects. Even when it came to crime, he let them off with a warning. His wife was a little more fierce, and took their supremacy more seriously. However, she was just as merciful and affectionate as her other.They called her Queen Orchid.They were also proud of their children, that they made to take over after they passed. The first born was a happy, intelligent boy. He was named Necras, the reason for this name was simply because his mother went into labor and gave birth to him in a graveyard.
(Little fact: His name is deprived from the word Necro, which is associated with death, for those who don't know)
He was a smart boy, and was focused on being a good ruler one day. The only thing about him is that the Queen wasn't impregnated by the king. He was made due to a spell gone wrong or something of the sort. they didn't think of aborting it or anything of the sort, but they still hadn't told him about the mistake in sorcery.
They had another child, this time from the both of the parents. They named him Draxel. No lore behind his name. The king just wanted to call his first son Draxel for whatever reason. But the name didn't seem fitting for Necras who wasn't exactly his son. Anyway, Draxel was the ideal person. His skills greatly surpassed his brother, despite that he was the younger one. He was very intelligent and powerful, much to fuel Axsaur's pride. Even at a young age of 8, he became a star and was talked about all throughout the country. The king and queen were no doubt proud of him. And even when he became popular, he stayed sincere, and didn't brag about it to anyone. He had a lot of friends, including a girl he had a bit of a liking for. A girl with long back hair and who loved wearing dresses. Her name was something long and complicated, so everyone called her Luna.
The only one who wasn't exactly happy with him was his brother, Necras. He felt as if everyone liked Draxel a lot more than him, and who wouldn't? Drax was better than him in every way, except intelligence. Even there, Draxel was pretty smart. However, Necras kept his jealousy hidden. He didn't want to seem bitter, even when he found that he had a fancy for Luna (She was a year older than Drax, but a year younger than Necras.) as Draxel remained oblivious the whole time.
Until one day, when Draxel found out he was going to be able to bound a weapon to his soul. Getting a weapon was a great honor. It was a sign to say that this person has reached a level of skill so great, that he could upgrade from a wooden sword into force of nature. They held a ceremony and Axsaur presented the weapons that he could pick to be with him until the day he dies. The only weapon that stood out to him was the third one. A shimmering sword wrapped in chain. As soon as he grabbed the hilt, it transformed into a ring and magically engraved his name into the side of it. "The weapon will grow and fight with you, my boy." Axsaur said triumphantly. "Now raise your weapons!" It was at that point that anyone with a weapon rose it in their hand to the sky, a common gesture done to show respect. The king held up a massive hammer and the queen rose a spear. Draxel lifted his sword as Axsaur did with his halberd. Even Luna held up a small scepter and the knights held up their swords. The only one without a weapon was Necras. He did eventually get one though, yet he never let Draxel see it.
Then, one night. Soldiers ran the through the hall, waking young Draxel and Necras. A maid had told that the bodies of the king and queen were lying on the floor of the throne room, blood spilling from multiple parts of them. Draxel sobbed as he saw his murdered parents. Necras came in, reassuring him, not a tear in his eyes.
The next day, Draxel was nowhere to be found. Axsaur had orders from the deceased royalty, before the incident. Remembered it all to well.
"If something is to happen to me and Orchid," said Terran as he gazed out a window at the vast land before him. "I beg of you, Axsaur. Take my Draxel and run away. Raise him and teach him more about surviving and fighting. He will return when he is ready."
Axsaur was kneeling behind him. "But why, my Lord? And what about Master Necras?" The king looked reluctant to say. But he did. "The place will fall apart without me or Orchid. Necras is to stay behind to run he country. Draxel will learn how the truth plays out."
"But-"
"That is an order!" Axsaur had never seen the king so serious.
"Yes, my lord."
Years passed and Draxel had grown into a young man, 15 years old. Axsaur had, however, passed away due to a lethal disease that killed him quickly. Draxel had left his body in a tree, as was the knight's last wish. Everything changed when Draxel met a sorcerer, an evil one that influenced him to believe that Necras had killed Axsaur with the virus. Blinded my magic, Draxel accepted the deal and set out, to destroy the castle and his brother. The magician had given him the magic of 'Destruction'.
Draxel had managed to infiltrate the castle ran by this brother. In and out, he detonated the magic. Despite the confusion and loss, the remaining guards were on him like moths to a flame. The wizard had given him another magic, this one teleporting him away.
But it backfired.
As Draxel ran away, a long,deep trench stood in his way. Draxel activated the magic, but instead of taking him back to the wizard, the portal sucked him up and left him stranded on a distant earth, with no memory of his past.
He lay, face down, sprawled over the evening grass.


Draxel snapped his eyes open and felt short of breath. He clutched his head. He felt like throwing up. His mind throbbed and sweat trickled down his face. All of it had come back in a rush and we wanted to cry. Not only to mourn his parents, but his brothr. What had he done? He had killed so many people, he should die.
Bringing his blade back to his hand, he wiped his face with his arm.
"I have to stay strong." he declared. He didn't have a plan on what to do next other than to tell Melody. What would she think of all this?.

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"I'm back!" he yelled as he stepped through the door. It was open. "Melody!" he called. No response. Draxel looked around the house, but there was no sign of her. He went back into the main room and scanned the room. he first out-of-place thing he noticed was a red mug on the carpet. It was toppled on it's side and was spilling steaming, brown liquid. Draxel turned to look at the wall and his eyes widened. A small dagger was lodged into the wood, a paper note attached to it. He ripped it off the blade and and read it in his head.


Greetings, Draxel. As you may or may not know, your female friend is not with you. And if I predicted correctly, you have regained you memories. You know who you are, what you did to me and everyone. Fortunately, we were able to rebuild our society. But I wanted to leave you as you left us. Ruined, destroyed. So we have taken your companion . She was feisty but it was as effortless as it was amusing. If you want her back then you know where to find me. Let's end this, once and for all.
~Necras


Draxel breathed heavily. "Melody, no..." He whispered. His hands tightened into fists and he ripped the paper into pieces. He glared back the blade. Something else was hanging of the knife. He pulled it off and looked at what it was.
A thin, golden necklace.