Monsieur? "L-Luka? Don't you recognize me?" He asks, squinting his eye in confusion after she's drawn nearer.
"Is it the—" His hand reaches up to enter the empty space where part of his face used to be, but stops just before. If he had thought they had any chance of a reunion, this was certainly not the way he imagined it would play out.
Suddenly, the observer's voice comes to life and surrounds them once more, introducing themselves as
MALDACENA. Despite the presence of his former lover by his side, Remiel rips his attention away from her for the time being to regard the information spoken. Though, instinctively, his fingers reach to entwine themselves with her own.
UNIVERSE 820. The
ORIGIN POINT. Things are slowly starting to make more sense now. To think of all that he'd gotten himself rolled into when he'd moved to Hoenn...
Had the work visa for
DEVON CORP been an act of fate? He doesn't often believe in such things, of course, but his decision to move away from all he knew had ultimately united him with
ZEKROM. It had introduced him to his first love. It had placed him right here, right now— at the crux of a dilemma that threatened the very existence of their universe.
Then, in one startling announcement, his world comes crashing down.
He'd seen newspaper headlines decimate others in his family before.
Martín del Mar had even warned him of what was to come. But it didn't make the revelation any easier to process. He gulps, and it goes down his throat like barb-wire and vinegar as he swiftly rereads the article with a stunned, wide-open eye. Maldacena's last words are lost to him as his sense of hearing fades in that moment.
Hammerlocke.
His home.
His people.
It's only when he staggers down onto one knee that he realizes he's gripping Luka's hand a little too tightly. He only acknowledges it for a moment before letting go, the tidal wave of desperation and disbelief crashing back into him immediately afterwards. All the signs had been there. He'd failed to take them into account. He'd failed to take precautions. And
this... this was
his fault.
His selfishness. His desire to be anything else but heir apparent. He should have done more. He should have dedicated himself to saving them. He—
THIRD SCAN COMPLETE. THREE OUT OF FOUR SCANS COMPLETE.
He doesn't remember... who he is?
Where he's come from?
Why he's on the ground?
He looks down to stare at his open palm, struggling to draw back the memories again. Anxiety and distress crawl under his skin like scarab bugs.
He doesn't know. He doesn't know! When he jerks his head upward to gauge his surroundings, however, the first person he sees is
luka chêne .
And, just as suddenly... he's calmed.
Perhaps it's her angelic demeanor. Perhaps it's his underlining embarrassment to be seen in such dire straits. Whatever it might be, it prompts Remiel to lift himself up from the ground and take a deep breath. Whatever he's forgotten continues to nag at him in his subconscious, however. He even has to wipe away a tear that had been forming at the corner of his eye.
Though, strangely enough, he feels as though a giant weight has been lifted off his back.
"Right... sorry about that," He says, recomposing himself quickly as chaos ensues all around them.
"We really must get out of here, though."'Run, you rat,' The voice below him sneers. 'Like you always have. Coward. Imbecile. Failure!' Remiel looks down, and the sight of his reflection smirks up at him with savage glee. Too unsettled by it, however, he swiftly looks away and shakes his head. No time for that.
Smoothly, he unclips a luxury ball from his belt and summons his
SHINY NOIVERN,
GUAVAFANG. He mounts it without hesitation afterwards, his eye darting between each new pathway that has spawned before he turns back down to
luka chêne . Just as he's about to offer his hand to her, however,
jayden cross intercepts.
His hand retracts, and he plays off the disappoint with a clearing of his throat.
"Where are you two headed? I've got my sights on TERMINAL 4..."
Meanwhile, his Noivern loosens up its muscles (
DRAGON DANCE) in preparation for their daring escape. A fiery, harmless blue aura surrounds it.
📝
TL;DR