A vast green field stretched out over the horizon in all directions, vibrant and colourful flowers bloomed all around, forming a sheet of petals across the landscape, it was tranquil, like a dream.

Atop a hill sat a small, white, round table with two chairs around it. On one of the chairs, a masked woman wearing a grey robe with a hood sat.

"Please, come to me..." she beckoned softly.

"Sit at the table..."

"Good, do you remember who you are? Please look at the table for me..."

She ran her index finger around the rim of the table carefully and then tapped it in the centre, the table surface rippled and reflected like a mirror.

In the reflection was a young man, his short black hair messy and ragged, his irises dark yet expressive.

He sat across from the young woman, confusion in his eyes.

"What is this place? where am I?"

The woman waved a finger at him "All in good time, for now, it seems you've lost your memories, while I don't know how or if you can get them back, I can tell you one thing..."

"Your name, while I can't discern most things, your name has been clearly shown to me in my dreams, you're Claude, and you're the one who will either save this world or end it..."

She glanced around at the scenery "Where we are right now, this is a dream world, a world inside your head... this location must be significant to you, due to it's appearance here..."

Claude looked around, he took in the scenery of the peaceful environment around him, it felt too real to be a dream.

"I don't recognise this place, it feels entirely unfamiliar to me."

"Yet it appeared here all the same Claude... this place is important... it may even hold the key to your lost memories..."

"So, if I find this place in the real world then I will recover my memories?"

"That should be the case Claude, however don't rush into this... You have plenty of time to come to know yourself..."

She looked around frantically. "Somebody's coming, we shall speak again when the time is right, awaken now Claude, this is goodbye."

The woman slowly faded and vanished, the environment darkened and disappeared, leaving behind a black void, several seconds later Claude suddenly jolted awake.

He awoke to find himself lay down on a grassy forest floor, gigantic trees towering all around him.

Claude rose to his feet and looked around at the landscape.

A monumental steel wall stood imposingly a few meters in front of him, atop the wall, a silhouette stood proudly against the sunlight, looking back at him.

"What's that?"

The silhouette leapt from the wall, landing with a small thud a few meters away.

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The figure stood up, becoming much clearer in view.

He wore a bright red suit with gold accents and a helmet that covered his entire face, it had a black visor in the middle, He had a strange metal armband on his upper right arm which reflected the bright sunlight, it had an unfamiliar silver shield insignia on it. He spoke like a superhero from a kids TV show.

"Good morning, what are you doing here? this isn't the kind of place for a civilian, fear not, I shall rescue you, like a true ranger should!" He posed dramatically.

"My name is Ranger Ranger, I'm one of the heroes from this city, please come with me, I'll take you to safety" Ranger Ranger extended a hand towards Claude.

"Safety? What's going on?" Claude looked at Ranger Ranger with a concerned expression.

Ranger Ranger looked taken aback "You didn't know? There are monsters outside the city, it's certainly no place for a civilian, please come with me."

Without waiting for a reply Ranger Ranger quickly grabbed Claude's arm, crouched down and jumped into the air.

He landed on the colossal wall with practised precision, as if he'd done it a thousand times before, once safely landed he assisted Claude in getting his footing.

Claude looked out at the view beyond the wall, a series of towering skyscrapers, busy vehicles, dancing lights and the bustling sight of people going about their lives in this noisy city. Large blaring screens and surveillance cameras also clearly in view perched innocuously on buildings and towers.

Ranger Ranger released Claude's arm and turned to speak "This is Arhke, the final bastion of humanity, protected and watched over by trusted authorities and heroes. The people can go about their lives freely and peacefully because of the work of me and my colleagues."

"The city is home to just over five million people, all that remains of humanity, fortunately thanks to the Hero Organisation, peace and justice are upheld!"

Ranger Ranger paused, he walked along the wall and turned around, he tapped the right side of his helmet, he spoke as though he was on a phone call.

"This is Ranger Ranger... Yes I just found a civilian outside... You want me to what?..." Ranger Ranger paused and sighed "Yes of course... I understand... goodbye" He tapped the right side of his helmet twice and turned to Claude.

"May I see your Arhke citizen identification card?"

Claude looked at Ranger Ranger, he was confused. "Citizen identification card? What's that?"

Ranger Ranger sighed "So HQ was right... you're unauthorised... for your own safety as well as that of Arhke's people, I am afraid I shall have to apprehend you and take you into Arhke custody, I apologise for any inconvenience, I'm just doing my job, like a true ranger should!"

"Please understand, this is standard procedure for all unregistered people, you're not in the database, you'll most likely just get questioned and then given a citizen identification card. I am sorry."

Ranger Ranger bowed to Claude and escorted him into Arhke proper.

Ranger Ranger and Claude walked through the busy street, crowds of people gathered around, all shouting and cheering at Ranger Ranger.

The crowd surrounded him and he posed heroically. Children rushed up to Ranger Ranger, "Ranger Ranger, thank you for keeping us safe!" The children were wearing Ranger Ranger themed shirts and holding Ranger Ranger action figures.

"I'm just doing my duty, like a true ranger should!" He crouched down to the children's eye level and nodded to them "Keep being good kids and you too will someday grow up to be heroes too, I'll be watching over you, like a true ranger should!" The children laughed and saluted Ranger Ranger.

"Now, I must be on my way, I have more justice to enforce, remember everybody trust in the shield to keep you safe" Ranger Ranger pointed to the silver shield insignia on his shoulder.

The crowd dispersed, speaking amongst themselves. Claude stood beside Ranger Ranger "Somebody's popular."

"Yes, this is how the heroes, especially those of higher ranks, are treated in Arhke, we're major public figures as well as protectors."

"What about the whole shield thing you were talking about back there?" Claude looked at the insignia on Ranger Ranger's shoulder.

"The Arhke Shield, it's a symbol of hope, the general public look to it and know they are safe, it comes in four colours, police officers wear blue shield insignias and heroes wear bronze, silver or gold depending on their rank."

Claude nodded in understanding and Ranger Ranger continued to escort him through Arhke.

They reached a police checkpoint, the officers wore dark blue uniforms which had a blue shield on the shoulder, "Arhke Police" was plastered on their backs, they saluted to Ranger Ranger as he approached.

Ranger Ranger explained the situation and Claude was cuffed and placed in the back of a police transport, Ranger Ranger joined him, his morals not allowing him to leave Claude alone in unfamiliar surroundings.