It still seems to be nighttime when I wake up. I don’t feel fully rested, but there’s still a need for me to move, anyway. Again, I can feel danger approaching me. Knowing that I have to react, I stand upright once more, and walk out of the alley.
Five girls are standing there. Without a doubt, they must have been looking for me.
“What?”
The one standing in the middle of them, the long haired redhead in the white coat, steps forward--
“!?”
Quickly, she closes the distance between me and her. Before my mind has realized it, my body stepped aside as soon as she did this. This was probably a good idea, because…
BOOM!
What just happened? Let me think. She stepped in, reached out with her hand, and a light flashed. Where that light was shining, two buildings have been reduced to rubble.
I guess I had it easy yesterday, with those weak guys being the only ones to try and pick a fight with me. I don’t understand the attack she just used, but I think it’s enough to know I shouldn’t stand around and be hit by it.
“Hm.”
With a cold glare in her blue eyes, she quickly steps toward me again. I haven’t finished stepping away from her last move. How can she be so fast!? I don’t think I can dodge again; if I try it, I could completely lose my footing and fall. Against an enemy like this, it could be the end of me. I’m not going to go out like that!
“Tch!”
No doubt about it. I have to attack. As she closes in, I throw a left jab at her face. I’d rather not have to do this, but when it comes to an opponent this strong, I can’t hold back, no matter what--!
“!?”
Damn! How was she able to catch my punch while everything is moving so fast!? I don’t have time to think about it. She throws a punch that I just barely manage to stop with my right hand.
“You’re different from before,” she says. “Are you holding back? Get serious!”
“Urgh!!!”
She blows me away with a kick to my stomach. After flying backwards, I skid across the pavement, only coming to a complete stop a good distance away.
“Why are the rest of you just standing around?” I hear her ask the others, as I struggle to stand up again.
“It’s like you said; something’s not right!” Says the short pink haired girl, wearing a coat that’s just as pink. “He’s barely fighting back!”
“I agree,” says the pale, dark haired girl, wearing blue. “For all we know, he could be luring us into some sort of trap.”
“Who cares!?” Says the silver haired girl, wearing grey and yellow. “If we kill him before he can spring any such trap, it doesn’t matter!”
“Yeah, sounds about right,” says the girl with short, white hair, brown jacket. “If Nero’s information is correct, he should be working alone, anyway. There wouldn’t have been any time for him to set up any trickery of his own.”
“All of you, quiet!” The four of them obey the girl in white immediately. “Coordinate your attacks,” she says, reaching out. “We’ll end this as quickly as possible.”
“O-okay!”
“Yes.”
“Gotcha!”
“Understood.”
One of the girls, the short haired one, wearing the brown suit, touches the ground.
“Wha-!?”
The road under me breaks. What appears to be a pit of lava waits for my fall below.
“Shit!”
I just barely grab the edge where I was standing and pull myself up. Once I’m standing again…
“What the…”
...I realize it’s raining. How odd. I swear it wasn’t raining before. Even stranger, I seem to be the only one it’s raining on. Those five girls aren’t… wait. Wait--!
“Aaaaaaaaah!!!”
The world flashes. Pain shoots through my whole body. I have to assume it was lightning.
By the time I realize it has stopped, I’ve collapsed. Am I even still alive? It’s hard to tell.
“Ha ha ha ha ha, I guess that’s it, then? This was so simple that it feels like a joke.” I can just barely see that light that was aimed at me earlier. Now she’s aiming it at me again. “Goodbye.”
Is this really how I die? Killed, suddenly, in a city I don’t know, by people I don’t recognize, for reasons I can’t begin to guess? This is so unfair. I can’t accept this. I can’t accept this-!
“!?”
Suddenly, something blocks my view. The deadly light I thought was going to hit me suddenly disappears.
“John! Marie! Please, watch over him!”
Only now I realize. A person? I still can’t really tell what’s going on. My consciousness is fading.
“Alright, alright. Gimme a hand, will you?”
“Okay.”
Two other people are here… I think. It’s… it’s getting hard… to…
…
I open my eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling. I’ve woken up again, covered in warmth and comfort. A far cry from sleeping on the ground in an alley, that’s for sure. It’s so nice, and part of me is so tired, that I might be content to just slip into sleep once again, but I can’t right now. I really should get a grip on what my current situation is.
“It’s still night.” Looking out of the window in this small room, I confirm this with my eyes. The moon, the stars, and all of those signs create a light that shines through the curtains and into the room. None of them look like the sun. There’s something somehow strange about it, but I can’t quite put my finger on what.
I feel I should get up, so I remove the blanket from myself, and--
“Ah--”
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
...and I realize I’m completely naked. It looks like I’ve been completely cleaned up, though, and even my wounds are healed. Maybe those people that showed up right before I passed out did that, perhaps? Anyway, I think going to investigate will be a problem if I stay nude. I look to my right side. There is a nightstand there, and a lamp sitting on top of it, though it isn’t turned on. Right next to the lamp seems to be some clothing. There’s a note attached to it. It says:
“Please feel free to wear these.”
Blue jeans, and an orange shirt with an abstract blue pattern on it. Not something I’d pick out for myself, I don’t think, but this is a generous gesture that I don’t think I should turn down. I put everything on, and it all seems to fit well. That’s pretty lucky, I guess.
“Alright, no more putting it off.” Finally, I walk over to the door on the other side of the room, open it, and step out.
In the brightly lit room, where the television is playing, I see three people. Their attention taken from the screen by my appearance, they all look at me as I enter. An awkward silence sets in, as no one seems certain what to say, if anything.
“Hm. You’ve woken up much earlier than expected.” I look at the person who says that. A dark-skinned young man, with silver, shoulder-length hair. He’s wearing a shirt similar to the one I have on, now. Maybe this is his? “Still, it’s seems like you’re doing well. I’m glad to see it.” Looking back at me with kind blue eyes, he smiles brightly.
“Y… yeah,” I answer, still feeling a bit ill at ease. All three of them are still staring at me and the other two still haven’t said anything. “Who are you three? Were you the ones that saved me?”
“That’s right,” he says. “We could tell you didn’t stand a chance against those five, and we couldn’t just leave you at their mercy, now could we?”
“You should be thanking Aeon for the save, more than anyone else,” says the other guy in the room. He has dark, long hair, and seems a bit older than the other two. “I was going to just drive past you, to be honest, but Aeon insisted we step in and do something.” He chuckles a bit, then points to the white haired boy, whose name is Aeon, I guess. “So really, be grateful to him.”
“Uh, right. Thanks,” I say to Aeon, with a slight bow.
“Oh, don’t worry about it,” he replies. “By the way, we did indeed heal your wounds and clean you up and all that, and yeah we had to completely strip you while you were knocked out. I’m sorry about that.” Aeon laughs a bit, probably knowing how awkward it is to talk about this. I don’t blame him.
“No, it’s okay. It’s more important that you helped me out, I think.”
“Alright. Don’t worry, we’ll return your clothes to you once they’re finally clean.”
“Well, I don’t know about you two,” says the black haired guy, “but I would like to know a little more about the person we just saved.”
“Yeah, sure. I--”
I’m interrupted by a loud sound. Almost sounded like a roaring monster.
“That sound came from you,” says the blue haired girl, softly. “We figured you might be hungry, so we brought back some dinner for you.” She points into the kitchen. There’s a bag sitting on the table there. “I hope you like it.”
“Oh, thanks a whole bunch!” Man, it’s crazy how friendly some people can be. I grab the bag and look inside. There are some eating utensils and a plastic container in there. Seems like it’s filled with fried chicken, a mix of vegetables, covered in some sort of sauce. Well, it certainly smells good.
“Come on back into the room if you want,” says Aeon, “We’ve got no rules about eating in the living room, here.”
With a shrug, I take a seat on the soft, beige rug and place the container on the table sitting in there. I poke into the food with the fork, and take a bite. The sauce is kinda tangy, and a bit sweet. It adds a lot to it. I like this.
“Okay. What did you guys want to know?”
“Well, we haven’t gotten your name, yet,” the girl says, her red eyes almost seeming to be scanning me. “Would you like to tell us who you are? I’ll go first; my name is Marie.”
“I’m…”
...what?
“...wait…”
“Is something wrong?”
“I’m sorry, I just need a minute, here.” I’m… I’m…
“Hmm?”
...what the hell? What is my name? Why is such a simple thing escaping me? It doesn’t make sense. “I don’t know,” I say, holding my head in my hands. “I can’t remember what my name is. Who am I?”
“No way…”
“I’m dead serious, guys,” I say, fresh panic assailing me all over again. I feel that I’ve lost something very important and can’t get it back. No matter how much I focus on it, my identity is nowhere to be found within me. “I can’t remember. I have no idea who I’m supposed to be.”
“You probably haven’t just forgotten your name, have you?” Aeon asks, seeming a bit caught off guard. “It’s not normal to forget something as important as that.”
I sigh. “You’re right. There’s nothing else there. I woke up in an alley, wandered the streets for a while, some guys, a different group of people, picked a fight with me, but then I scared them off. I tried to rest some more, but then those girls came for me. Aside from that…”
Everything is a blur.
“Amnesia,” says the older boy, whose name I still haven’t heard. “Damn, can we speak with the show-runners about this? I can’t work with a script that’s this cliché.” He messages his forehead, probably feeling pretty irritated. “You’re not screwing with us, are you? I mean, it looks like you’re serious, but…”
“I don’t think he’s lying, John,” Aeon says, looking at him, then me. “I can see it in his eyes. He really does seem lost, and like he doesn’t remember anything.”
The other guy, John, I guess, lets out a sigh and tries to relax himself. “Well, you usually are right about stuff like that. Still, though, this could complicate things a bit.” He crosses his arms, closes his eyes, and goes silent.
“What will we do?” Marie asks, staring at John.
John uncrosses his arms and opens his eyes. “Aeon, Marie, I want you to go back to where we were fighting and make sure we aren’t being tracked. Uh, you,” he says, pointing to me, “let’s go for a ride.”
“To where?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.
“You’ll see. It’s fine, you can trust me,” John says, getting up and heading for the door.
“That’s right, you’ll be safe with John, I promise,” Marie adds.
“Exactly. No need to worry.” Honestly, I think Aeon is the one I trust the most out of all of them. If he says so, then…
“...alright.” I stand up and start to follow John.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” John reaches in his right pants pocket and produces a piece of plastic. “This is… well, was your Personal Card.”
“Personal Card?” I take a closer look at it. It’s broken, and splattered with blood. If it had some kind of use, I doubt it can be any good for such a thing, now.
“Sorry we couldn’t find the other fragments of it.” John gestures for me to take it, and I do. “Aeon and Marie might find something while they’re out there, but for now, this is all we know about you.”
I take a look at the broken card.
Name: Solo
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 147 lbs.
That’s all there is.
“I’m willing to bet that the rest of your name was lost when the card was broken. Sucks.” John shrugs. “Well, at least you have something, right?” He points to the fragment of the name that’s still there. “’Solo’. It’s not much, but, well, we gotta call you something, don’t we? Are you alright with us using that name, at least for now?”
I look at it again. There’s a bitter feeling, looking at that and knowing that there should be more, there, but not being able to tell what. Still, I should take what I have. From there, I’m sure I’ll eventually put together something coherent.
“Yeah. I’ll be Solo.”
“Alright, that works for me,” John says, nodding.
“You don’t seem like a ‘Solo’ to me, but if you want us to call you that, I’ll oblige,” says Aeon.
“Okay, then, I’ll remember to call you ‘Solo’, for now. I hope we’ll get your real name soon,” says Marie.
“Yeah.”
“Alright, Solo,” John says, “we’ll take the car. It’s down these stairs, and out the door at the bottom. Follow me.”
“Gotcha.” Putting the broken card in my pocket, I follow John out.