Suddenly Claude awoke in that all too familiar flower field.

He sat up and looked around at the environment once again, the scenery was unchanged from his last visit, the only difference was the table on the hill, it was nowhere to be found.

The mysterious woman that Claude spoke to last time stood a few meters away, she faced away from him yet somehow knew he was there.

"Welcome back... Your Awakening was bigger than we thought... you've been sleeping for nearly a month..."

Claude stood up and walked towards the mysterious woman.

"Who are you? Why do you keep bringing me to this... dream world was it?"

"Claude... I told you last time... everything will be revealed soon okay?... trust me..."

Claude sighed. "Fine, so why am I here again this time?"

"Oh... I wanted to make sure you were okay..."

"You wanted to make sure I'm okay? That's it?"

She shrugged and turned around to face him, her brown eyes were visible through the mask she was wearing.

"Your Awakening... it nearly killed you... it was hard to save you..."

"As a result of your power Awakening... your body formed some kind of invisible barrier around it... it stung anyone who touched it... that disappeared a few days ago..."

"It's about time you wake up now Claude... I'll be waiting for you in the real world..."

She turned around and began walking into the distance.

Claude chased after her, the scenery distorted around him as he got closer to her, everything faded and went dark, the dream dissipated into a void.

Claude suddenly awoke, he was in a white hospital room, a bright light shone down on him as he lay in a bed.

Machines beeped and hummed periodically, the room was isolated. Claude felt a warm sensation on his right arm, he looked over to see what it was.

A young woman was hunched over on the bed, sleeping, she had her hand on his arm.

Gently she stirred from her slumber, she looked up at him and spoke in a soft and groggy voice "Oh... Hi Claude...

She had dark brown hair which was tied in a small ponytail, her light brown eyes looked up at Claude, she was half-asleep.

She wore a dark blue uniform, similar to that of the police, except it was more baggy and loose fitting, designed for comfort over anything else.

"Uh, hi I guess, who are you?" Claude shook his arm lightly.

"Me?... I'm your dream guardian..." she smiled to herself.

"Sorry for the close contact... my power only works if I touch you..."

She released his arm and backed away from the bed to give him space.

"My name is Mei... I can control dreams..."

Claude nodded. "I see, Mei, Where am I right now?"

Mei yawned "This is Hero HQ... we saved you..."

She walked seemingly aimlessly around the room for several seconds before stopping and crouching down at a cabinet.

Claude watched as the cabinet creaked open and the sound of rustling could be heard as Mei began to rummage around inside it.

She abruptly broke the silence after a minute "You made me sleepy Claude... I spoke more in the dream world than I usually do..."

Mei absently continued her search of the cabinet.

"Mei, it's obvious you want something from me, what is it?"

Mei shrugged her shoulders, not stopping what she was doing.

She pulled a Hero Organisation uniform from the cabinet, it's dark blue colour contrasting with the lighter hospital bed. "Here... Wear this... I'll be outside..." Mei quietly walked out of the room, the door clicked shut behind her.

A few minutes later the door clicked open, Claude stepped out dressed in the Hero Organisation uniform.

Mei was a few steps away, she was with Ranger Ranger, his suit had been repaired from the Pyrebomb incident. She tugged gently on his sleeve. "Hey... can you show Claude around?... I'm not good at this stuff..."

Ranger Ranger sighed "Well Mei, this is your chance to improve your skills, you should try and show Claude around."

Mei shook her head "I have something important to do... Ranger Ranger... please?"

Ranger Ranger shook his head "All you're going to do is wander off somewhere to sleep."

Mei shook her head faster and pouted "Please Ranger Ranger..."

Ranger Ranger reluctantly nodded "Fine, but next time you should try and step out of your comfort zone to help better yourself, okay?"

Mei nodded and turned around, she walked down the corridor and turned the corner, disappearing from view.

Ranger Ranger turned around and saw Claude, he approached him and nodded.

"Good morning Claude, I'm thankful to see you recovered, how do you feel?"

Claude looked at Ranger Ranger. "A little lightheaded but otherwise I'm okay."

"I see, that's likely just a side effect of being bedbound for as long as you have, I'm sure it'll pass."

"You've met Mei, she's a bit of a mystery, sometimes she's completely transparent and blunt, other times she's extremely vague, it's difficult to understand what she's thinking. She's not a bad person though, she's reliable when it counts."

"She's been with us for just over a year, she's the newest member of the Organisation."

Claude nodded "Yeah, she seems... a little out of it, I guess."

"That's likely a side effect of her power, it affects her in many more ways than we know."

"Oh and I should warn you, despite her outward appearance, she's scarily smart, I'd advise you not to underestimate her."

Ranger Ranger turned around, walking into the corridor. "Let's be off Claude, I'm to give you the tour of this place."

Claude and Ranger Ranger walked down the corridor, various doors on both sides. "You know, that uniform suits you Claude, have you considered becoming a hero?"

Claude shook his head. "I'm not really interested in becoming a hero, I'm just trying to get my lost memories back."

Ranger Ranger sighed. "I understand, still, I do think it's a waste, your Awakening was huge, your power will be too in turn, you'd be an asset to the Hero Organisation."

Claude sighed "I have no experience, I don't even know what my power is, It just happened out of nowhere when I was trying to defend myself."

"That's no problem Claude, we have the facilities to train you, to help you learn about your power and how to use it for good. You may even learn more about yourself."

"I'm looking for a specific location, a vast field covered in flowers, it seems like such a peaceful place."

Ranger Ranger shook his head. "No such place exists within Arhke... You'd have to look outside these walls, however there are monsters outside, so joining the Hero Organisation would make your search a lot easier."

Ranger Ranger and Claude continued walking, they came to a stop near the exit of the building.

"The Hero Organisation is split into three buildings, the leftmost building is the one we are currently in, this is where the infirmary, kitchen area, cleaning room and living quarters are located, It's encouraged and incentivised for heroes to live on site so that we always have heroes on hand should they be needed. Benefits include rent-free accommodation and other such things, heroes are also exempt from taxation."

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Ranger Ranger pushed the double door open, outside was a path that lead to a large golden monument, from the monument sprung three paths, each leading to a building, the leftmost one they were in now, a central one, and one on the right.

Ranger Ranger walked up to the monument in the centre, it depicted three people, three heroes, in the middle stood a tall and proud man, to his left stood a shorter and more reserved woman, and to the right confidently stood a second young man.

Ranger Ranger looked at the monument of these three figures immortalised in gold.

Claude looked upon the figures and a strange feeling washed over him, he'd never seen these people before, yet they seemed strangely familiar.

Ranger Ranger pointed to the figure in the middle. "That's the Golden Regent, the strongest hero of the modern era, continued serving Arhke long after the Monarch fell, he retired from active duty ten years ago and has since disappeared entirely."

Ranger Ranger's finger moved to the figure on the right.

"That man who is stood next to Regent, that is Daniel Draven, his power allowed him to manipulate the shadows of objects and people, bending them to his will and using their properties and powers."

"He used his powers to fight off the monsters and guide what remained of humanity to Arhke, were it not for him, we'd all be dead. Unfortunately he died when a powerful monster got the better of him after he'd exhausted his power."

"His son, Damian Draven, is the current highest ranked hero in the Organisation, he inherited his father's shadow power, yet he's rarely been seen using it. As the highest ranked hero he has a spot on Arhke's Council, he's one of five councillors who meet to make up Arhke's Government. It's tradition for the highest ranked hero to have a spot among them."

Ranger Ranger pointed at the figure to the left.

"That young woman is Hua Liang, she had a regeneration power, it's said that it could even repair lost limbs, she kept the Golden Regent alive throughout their ordeal."

"Unfortunately she died after a long battle with The Monarch, despite her best efforts, her power wasn't a combat one, so she was slain by a barrage of attacks that she couldn't regenerate from fast enough, or so the archives say."

"Oddly enough, after she died, her body regenerated, it's perfectly preserved, the Golden Regent brought it back to Arhke where it was handed to the Human Enhancement Institute to study."

"She had a complicated family history... She's also Mei's aunt."

Ranger Ranger turned to Claude and then pointed at the other buildings.

"Now, onto the main buildings, the central one is for missions, the archive is located there along with the reception, meeting rooms, offices and administrative rooms."

"Lastly is the building to the right, it's where the armoury and training ground are located, we have an indoor and outdoor training area for all heroes to use freely."

Ranger Ranger began walking towards the central building, the smallest of the three, atop it the Arhke Shield sat proudly, a beacon of hope.

"Come Claude, let's get you registered as a citizen."

Ranger Ranger took Claude to the reception inside the central building, he pushed open the large door.

A receptionist who was wearing the Hero Organisation's uniform greeted Ranger Ranger with a salute.

He approached the desk. "Greetings, can you assist me with something?"

The receptionist gave Ranger Ranger a nod "Of course, how can I help you?"

Ranger Ranger nudged Claude forwards a little. "This is Claude, I'd like you to get him a citizen card."

"Understood, leave that with me Ranger Ranger." The receptionist saluted him again.

Ranger Ranger walked down the hallway with Claude.

Claude stopped at a bulletin board. "Ranger Ranger, what's this?"

Ranger Ranger turned and approached the board, on it were several wanted posters, the newest one featured Pyrebomb.

"It's a board of commissions for the heroes, it allows us to know which criminals need apprehending."

The poster at the top of the board was dusty and worn, it had a portrait of teenage girl on it, she looked cheerful and friendly, not at all like anybody who could do any harm.

The name beneath the portrait read "Violet Arhke".

Claude brushed some of the dust away. "Who's that?"

Ranger Ranger put his hands together in a solemn prayer "Violet Arhke, the daughter of Chairman Arhke, the leader of the Arhke Council and founder of Arhke."

"Four years ago, Violet Arhke was responsible for the biggest tragedy Arhke has ever faced. The Arhke Academy bombing, Arhke Academy was where we trained heroes, she attended in hopes of becoming a hero, yet she had no powers, it must've been hard on her, we failed that day, failed to notice something was wrong until it was too late."

"She's public enemy number one, the only incident that Arhke couldn't cover up, trust in the Hero Organisation took years to rebuild. Her whereabouts are currently unknown, she disappeared after the bombing, she's presumed dead but due to the lack of a body being found the chairman demands we keep the poster up. It's a constant, painful reminder of our failure."

"As far as the general public are concerned she's dead, the official line is that we apprehended her and she killed herself in prison, the truth though is that she simply vanished, it's believed that she had somebody in the academy help her, we ran out of leads incredibly quickly though."

Ranger Ranger sighed and stepped back "Claude, becoming a hero means you'd face all manner of hardship and difficult choices, however I believe it to be the most direct route to recovering your memories."

"Fine, I'll give it a try, this isn't a definite yes but I'm willing to at least hear them out."

"Understood, on that note Claude, there is somebody you should meet"

Claude looked at Ranger Ranger "Oh, who might that be?"

"We call her Ghost, she's our navigator, archivist and... I'll let her introduce herself properly."

"She'll initiate first contact via a small static sound you will hear in your mind, tap your earlobe once with a finger to initiate contact properly."

Claude nodded and a static sound began to faintly ring through his head, he tapped his earlobe with his index finger. An energetic and cheerful voice suddenly echoed through his mind.

"Heya, I'm the Hero Organisation's very own navigator, mission coordinator, hacker, archivist and local telepath, folks call me Ghost because I'm here without being here. My power is called Spectral Echo, it allows me to speak inside your mind using my mind, and in turn you can speak to me the same way, pretty fun right?"

"Anyhow, down to business, Claude, from what I'm hearing your Awakening was pretty intense, you've got an incredible power no doubt. I heard from Ranger Ranger that you're willing to join our little Organisation, that's great! I know exactly where you can start looking for your missing memories too."

Claude raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "You know how to get my memories back?"

Ghost chuckled "Yep, there's a lot I know about you Claude, as I do everyone in Arhke. One thing at a time though, I need you to follow my instructions."

"What exactly do you want me to do Ghost?"

"Oh that's easy, I want you to make your way to the meeting room at the back of this building, I've made arrangements for you to join one of our squadrons, it'll benefit you a lot to learn from other active heroes, it'll also help you find your memories faster, because that'll be incredibly difficult to do alone."

"I see, how do I get to this meeting room?"

"Oh right, my bad, you don't know your way around yet, don't worry, Ranger Ranger will guide you, I've already told him what he needs to do."

Claude nodded and Ranger Ranger guided him down the corridor, they came to a door on the right at the end of the corridor.

"This is where I leave you Claude, Ghost will provide introductions and assist you further."

Ranger Ranger walked away and disappeared down the corridor.

Ghost's voice echoed through Claude's mind once again. "Claude, the squadron I'm having you join is Regent Squadron, Ranger Ranger was a member but he's been given clearance to form his own squadron now. Each squadron is named after it's respective captain, I'll get introductions done for everyone once you're in there. Go on Claude."

Claude opened the door with a click and stepped inside.

The room was well lit with modern lighting and furnishings. A large table sat in the middle of the room, several office chairs around each side of it.

Around the table sat three people, one familiar face stood out, Mei was sat at the back of the room, sleeping on a chair.

The other two people were both dressed in modified hero uniforms, the one closest to the front was an older man with light grey hair and a short beard, his hero uniform was modified to look like a formal suit.

The person in the middle was a young woman with long light brown hair that flowed down her back, her uniform was modified to have a sewn in bandana which covered her lower face and neck.

She turned to Claude, her green eyes looking at him as though she was analysing him.

Ghost spoke up again. "This is Regent Squadron, I've been given permission to explain things, I'll start with the person you've already met."

"At the back there is Mei Liang, she's new to the squadron, having only been with us for just over a year. Her power is called Waking Dream, it not only allows her to control and enter dreams, it also allows her to control somebody's state of consciousness as she sees fit."

"The Liang family are a criminal syndicate originating from what was once China before the world fell, they came to Arhke undercover and quickly rooted themselves within the city, now however there aren't many of them left. Mei here came to us with a recommendation letter from the Golden Regent himself, we know better than to question his judgement."

"Next is the man at the front, he's under the employment of the Regent household, his name is Michael Falkirk, his power is largely unknown to us, we know bits of what it does but we don't have a name for it or fully grasp how it works. He's been with us for several years, he joined shortly after the squadron captain."

"Lastly is the woman in the middle, her name is Claire Regent, she's the adoptive daughter of the Golden Regent and captain of this squadron, I'll let her reveal her power in due time, it's not a power ever recorder in a human throughout all of history. As for why her face is covered like that, well it's linked to her past, a terrible incident, it left her unable to speak and she has a nasty scar, however she can still communicate through my power because it's a mental link."

"Well Claude, I've talked for long enough, I'll be leaving you now, tap your earlobe twice in quick succession to end the link, 'kay bye!"

Ghost stopped speaking and her voice faded away, leaving a static sound behind in it's place, Claude tapped his earlobe twice and the sound abruptly stopped.

Claire gently tapped Mei's shoulder. Mei opened her eyes a little, she looked around the room before her gaze landed on Claude, she stretched and yawned. "Oh... Claude... you're here..."

"Welcome to Regent Squadron... I guess I'm your teammate now..."

Claude looked at Mei and nodded "I guess so, well it's nice to meet you all." He looked around at the group. "As you know, I'm Claude, I'm not entirely sure what my power is but I'll try and learn from you all."

Claire nodded to Claude and extended a hand for him to shake, Claude shook her hand firmly.

Michael stood up and looked at Claire "Miss Regent, it would be a good idea to begin preparation for our mission." Claire nodded and stood up, she left the room with Michael.

Mei stood up dizzily and approached Claude. "We're going on that mission too... but first... I want to speak with you... somewhere they won't hear us..." Mei nods towards a security camera "Ghost is always listening..."

Mei signalled to a chair with her hand, prompting Claude to sit down.

Claude took a seat and Mei placed a hand on his shoulder, she yawned "Goodnight...". Claude began to feel sleepy and lost consciousness.

He awoke suddenly in the same room he was just in, only without the security camera. Mei was set on a chair next to him. "We're in the dream world... I can form it from anywhere you've seen... any memory you have..."

Mei sat up straight and a serious expression crossed her face.

"Claude... I have a proposition for you... Arhke is lying to everyone... that much is clear already... I know how and where you can get your memories back... I want to know the truth about Arhke... I don't believe for even a minute that the Golden Regent beat the Monarch as quickly or easily as the archives say for example... help me and I'll help you.."

"So, you're using me to get information?"

Mei nodded "Let's use each other... you'll help me get into the archive... and I'll help you with your memories..."

"Fine, but if this is a trick then I'm reporting you to Ghost."

Mei nodded "That's fair..."

"Let's go Claude... we have a mission briefing to go to..."