ã€ŠBetween the Unknown of Dreams and Memoriesã€‹


 Chapter 1 - Dreams

    Ever since he was a boy, Will Ash had dreams.

    His memories and dreams begun to blend together from day to day. What he remembered and what he saw when his mind was far away at night seemed to be one, both equally vague, and yet so incredibly real and clear. He would live in his sleep and he would walk in his dreams, wandering in an endless haze. Nothing was ever clear. Nothing was ever right. Nothing pieced together. Nothing fit in. He had no idea about his own life, about his own story. Every moment was just another unfitting piece of the puzzle, dropped into the mix. But there was some of them ¨C Some storylines, almost, some worlds, some stories, that he took and put together.

    He had a close friend? - enemy? - partner? It was hard to tell with all of the jumbled memories, but he remembered some things. A convincing voice, a chilling laugh, and a cold, angry glare. The voice, any time it spoke, made him trust whoever it was. The laugh, whenever it echoed through his mind, made him tremble in terror. And the eyes, whenever he saw them, burned through him and made him wish he knew who they belonged to. But he never found out.

    He had a companion? - co-worker? - ruler? It was impossible to figure out with how everything flowed together, crumbling any time he tried to hold on. But he remembered very small elements. A glimmering crown, blood stained hands and a sharp sword. The crown, any time it showed itself, reminded him there was someone strong leading him on. The blood stains, any time they appeared, showed him he was dealing with something powerful, something twisted. And the sharp sword ¨C A sword that had taken more lives than any other, a sword that had toppled empires and ended eras... He wished he knew who wielded such a weapon. But he never found out.

    He had a brother? - cousin? - son? There was no way for him to know for sure with how much of a mess his mind was at all times, but he remembered fractions of him, he remembered elements of his face. That annoying laugher, that light blonde tuft of curly hair, and those three music discs. The laughter, although it came at the worst times, always made him feel like things were okay. The hair, whenever he saw it, made him remember the person he cared for was safe. The three discs, the discs that, as long as they remained in his possession, showed that things were normal. He wished to know who the owner of these three discs was. But he never found out.

    He had friends? Family? He had people with him, he had worlds he ruled. He had a land all for him, he lived in a land belonging to someone else. Sometimes he wielded a weapon and slayed hundreds ¨C Other times he was the one being slain. He would talk to people, he would tell them of his life? Dreams? Hallucinations? Nothing ever stayed, nothing ever remained, everything was a passing glance filled with fakes and red herrings, no truth was clear and no lie seemed to ever be told. Everything was fact but nothing made sense, everything was a constant haze, a constant fog covering up the true order of things and he would never know what was happening because this was his life and this was what was going on, this was...

    Will Ash remembered his son.

    That''s when it started. That was the first time his memories finally fell into one, clean line, and his dreams became something he no longer mistook for reality, but instead clear fiction. When he held him in his arms, when he watched him look back with those bright eyes. No chilling laugh, no blood-stained hands, and not a single music disc. All it was was his son, and he knew he was real. He knew he was there, and he knew he finally had something to fight for. He was still lost, wandering in the fog, but he was finally with someone, he finally had a definitive to hang onto. Where did he come from? Who was the mother? How would he know, from all these dreams and memories? But he knew he was there, and he knew his name.

    His name was Fonda, and he was real.

    From this single truth came more and more, from a small caravan by a lake to a nearby, ever-growing city. He started seeing people, people who he could hold onto. No longer were the mysterious eyes glaring at him, no longer was the sharp sword taking lives, and no longer was the blond tuft of curly hair wandering around his mind. He was finally grounded in a singular reality, a reality he could understand. He lived by a lake while a nation grew nearby ¨C Eventually, he was invited to become a part of this very nation himself. He didn''t know how he got there, who the founders of it were, or why they wanted him and his son on their side. But they didn''t ask questions, and that was all he needed. He got to finally live a free life. So he went through everything in his head, enjoying the freedom he got from finally being able to exist.

    No one here used their real name ¨C And the reason was supposed to be universal. He was supposed to know. But Will didn''t know which memory to turn to, which lie to believe, so he was simply himself. He was simply Will Ash, whether or not it was strange. But no one else had a name like he did ¨C Everyone else had something else. Everyone else donned a lie as their title.

    A man named Dissonance ruled it all ¨C A fair ruler at first, but slowly but surely growing more distant and political as the city grew stronger and its population got larger and larger with each day. Georgie and Sapana were by his side, always protecting him, always watching over him, always giving anyone who got too close to him dirty looks. There was Burgess and Sot ¨C Inseparable friends, always annoying each other as much as possible but instantly coming to each other''s sides if either was hurt. There was Quawin, a man who he rarely saw around but whenever he did, he always seemed to be up to something. Taza was there ¨C the young boy only four years junior to Will''s son, who spent many days wandering the city, often spending most of his time with the bees in the nearby flower field. And there were many, many more people... And Will knew they were all real.

    Everything was fine.

    That was, until the annoying laughter, the blonde tuft of hair and the three discs came back, they came back and they were real. For a long time, Will believed his dreams and the world in his head to all be fantasy, he believed he had lived out a normal life but locked himself away in another world, cut himself away from whatever he was going through. He thought he was past all that, he thought he was building a new life far away from his dreams? Memories? To this day, he did not know. But the annoying laugh, the blonde tuft of hair and the three discs were here, and they were real, and they were standing in front of him and they had a name and their name was...

    "Tom!"

    "E-excuse me?"

    Will looked down, snapped out of a trance. Although his memories and dreams separated, and his present was clear, hours and days still blended into each other. The locals and Fonda knew, of course ¨C They knew Will wasn''t always there, but he tried his best. The laugh, the hair and the discs did not know that.

    "You asked for my name.", the boy explained.

    He was short, young. He looked right about Taza''s age, from the little time Will had seen him around. He had a white shirt with a red patch at the top, light beige shorts and bright, blue eyes. And the hair. A curly, blonde tuft of hair. Just like the dreams. Just like the memories. Just like the- What even were they any more?

    "So yeah. Tom. Tom Indeo, if you''re one of those title people."

    No one else used names over titles here. Just Will Ash, because Will Ash didn''t remember why everyone else used titles.

    "...Oh. I did, didn''t I?"

    The memory slowly came back, just as it always did. Tom came over to visit, a new citizen of the city, and upon seeing him, Will blanked. He must have connected him to his dreams... memories... whatever, and it triggered some sort of defensive reaction in him ¨C Just like most things these days did.

    "¡­Nice to meet you. I''m Will. Will Ash."Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    The boy laughed slightly, with that annoying laugh, tilting his head and making that tuft of hair jump.

    "I know...? Uh... you told me already."

    Tom would have laughed on, most likely, but when he noticed Will''s both confused and somewhat worried expression, he held it back.

    "Sorry...", he muttered in response.

    "I... don''t have the best memory."

    Tom shrugged.

    "Well, I said it once and I''ll say it again, then. Nice to meet you Mr. Ash. I''m new around here!"

    The boy reached out with his right hand, and Will shook it with a bit less hesitation than he spoke to him with a few seconds ago. Slowly but surely, he was warming up to this boy. But it was difficult with the connections his mind was making as he tried to focus. He wanted to get away already, hide inside his home and let his mind settle this for him, pushing this whole conversation into a dream or a distant memory that never took place. Maybe this was just one of those that he was recalling, maybe it was just another laughter, hair, and disc memory. Maybe.

    But as the conversation carried on, Will realized things had changed.

    "...How old are you?", he asked him, surprised the conversation still carried on without cutting him off somewhere, suddenly.

    It were as if his mind, for once in his life, focused on a singular moment and didn''t want to let go, no matter what. It were as if finally he had found the space between the dreams and the memories, and it was Tom that was in the centre of it all.

    "...Uh... fourteen...", the boy replied, but the moment of hesitation in his voice could not be overlooked.

    Either way, just as Will had guessed, he was the same age as Taza, and only four years younger than his son, Fonda. He was a little taller than the other fourteen year old, though. Will had asked Taza why there was a kid like him all alone in this city in the middle of nowhere before ¨C And the look on his face was one memory he held onto dearly. This was mainly why he avoided asking this question with this blonde teenager. Same as him, the people here either ran from their pasts or simply didn''t remember them ¨C Will had no reason to press the boy on it further.

    "My son''s eighteen.", Will informed him, every second passing bringing more and more questions.

    He wanted to shut himself away and figure out why it was now, of all times, that he was allowed to be completely aware of his present. But he was also afraid, afraid that the moment he turned away he would just lose himself in that fog again.

    "Maybe you two could talk?"

    "...That''d be fun!"

    The boy was swaying back and forth on the balls of his feet, a leather backpack loosely hanging off of his shoulders. He clearly wanted to say something else, but found himself completely unable to put it into words. He stammered for a bit, and Will finally decided to cut in, knowing that he would not find his words any time soon.

    "Anything else you want to say... or can I...?"

    He didn''t want to. He didn''t want to turn around and get back to the mess and fog or whatever he called his life these days. He didn''t want to lose this single moment, but luckily, the unsure expression on Tom''s face remained unchanged;

    "Right! Sorry! I don''t wanna take up any of your time!"

    He hesitated for a moment, scrunched up his nose, and fixed up his backpack once more. He cleared his throat, and with how awkwardly and slowly everything was going, Will decided it would be best to just shut the door and cut this whole thing short. Maybe he would finally free himself from whatever limbo this boy seemed to trap him in, and return to his normal life. He would never find out why the laugh, hair and discs from his dreams were right there in front of him ¨C But maybe that wasn''t the worse thing? However, as he tried to close the door, Tom put his arm in front of it and exclaimed;

    "Wait, hold on!"

    "...Yes, Tom?", he asked, looking at the helpless expression now appearing on his face.

    He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and sighed, finally gathering up enough courage to say whatever it was that he wanted to initially ask.

    "...I... I don''t have anywhere to stay, Mr. Ash.", he muttered under his breath, Will barely being able to hear what it was he said.

    "...I just got here and no one really wants me... around...", he sighed, looking back at the city.

    "Especially Dissonance. I kind of... well... pissed him off a little."

    "You... ''pissed off'' the guy in charge of the city?"

    As Will said this, he couldn''t help but laugh. From his bruised knees, many band-aids and a single, missing tooth, he could tell this kid was a trouble maker. And Dissonance had always been a stickler for rules...

    "...Look, it''s not my fault I have an incredibly unique personality that Dissonance just... wasn''t... a fan of...''

    Tom tilted his head and grinned.

    "But hey, you seem cool, Mr. Ash! So can I stay for a bit, until I can find somewhere else to sleep?"

    Will had to give this a lot of thought. The answer was obvious, right? A fourteen year old kid needed a place to stay and had no one else to turn to, and he had more than enough space and materials to keep him warm and fed for a couple of days. This city had always had a sense of community, and helping and trusting each other was something expected of everyone as a basis. But there was another problem here, of course. Will Ash, known throughout the city for being distracted, distant, always somewhere else and only ever present when people spoke to him, and even that was rare, was having a full conversation with a stranger. He remembered the conversation, he remembered the person he had it with, and he was able to respond however he wished. And although Will had long found a way to differentiate his dreams from his memories, he still struggled to recall them quite right. And he thought that was it. He thought that was life.

    He thought it was normal that his past until the birth of his son was an endless haze, a mix of memories and dreams he could never tell apart, a constant struggle to ground himself in reality. His son told him he most likely experienced something traumatic, it was most likely his brain dealing with it. And he took that as a definite. He got used to only ever being ''present'' when people he recognized were around, only remembering fractions of conversations before his mind took him to yet another dream, to yet another world he would never be able to quite recall. He thought he was just a victim of something long, long gone, but could live freely now. But no. Tom, with the annoying laugh, the blonde tuft of curly hair and the three discs came into his life and once more made him question where the line between dreams and memories could truly be drawn ¨C So naturally, Will Ash did the only thing he thought he could. The only logical thing;

    "Sure. Come in. Make yourself at home."

    He turned back, and left the door wide open. He wandered inside and upon turning away from Tom, expected another cut in his memory. Another dream. Still, nothing. The world was still there, where he had left it.

    "Thank you so much Mr. Ash! You''re like... an actual hero!"

    The boy stepped inside, scraping some dirt off of his shoes on the door frame. Will turned back and smiled.

    "Just call me Will. No need for formalities."

    The boy''s face lit up. He grinned for a moment, revealing that missing tooth of his. He couldn''t help but wonder how it came to fall out...

    "Sure thing Will! Uh... so.. where can I sleep?"

    Tom started looking around, laying his bag down by a nearby closet. And as the top of the bag slowly slipped open, he noticed something strange inside. Something he was wondering if he would ever see. He crouched down to take a closer look as the fourteen year old became distracted with something else in the caravan. In the bag, as the boy''s only possessions at all, he found three things.

    Three music discs.

    Will would have asked something ¨C Maybe he would have asked what they were, where they came from, maybe gotten some answers as to why he kept seeing them in his dreams. But he didn''t. Why? He wasn''t sure. Maybe he was afraid? Maybe he didn''t want to know? Either way, he zipped up the bag and joined Tom as he wandered the small caravan, showing him a place where he could sleep. And the whole time, he couldn''t help but find himself completely shocked ¨C Shocked by the fact he was still there, shocked by the fact he was still aware, shocked by the fact that he knew what was going on and who he was with. Eventually, Will got a place ready for Tom and after thanking him a total of right around twenty times, he finally left to go and look for somewhere where he could stay permanently before night came. And here came the final surprise ¨C The final shock, the final revelation, the final unexplained occurrence;

    Tom was gone, and Will was still there. For the first time in as long as he remembered, Will stood alone, with no one else nearby and still managed to be there, be aware. And although he was lost, confused, so incredibly in need of some explanations, he was happy. He was overwhelmed with joy from whatever freedom meeting Tom had brought him, and he could not describe the feeling of finally being able to stay somewhere, in one place, between one dream and one memory, for all this time. He didn''t really know what to do, so he just... sat there. Just like he always did, sitting in one place, enjoying the silence and whatever thoughts his brain brought along. But this time, he thought about what was around him, what he could see, what he could feel. He noticed when the doors opened and Fonda got back ¨C He rummaged through their stuff, got something, and then walked up to Will. And he would never forget how happy the conversation he had made him;

    "Hey dad. I just got back-"

    He started with that usual patient tone of voice.

    "-five minutes ago. Yeah. I know."

    Will smiled.

    "I remember."

    The smile on Fonda''s face was something he would never forget, same as the brief hug that followed. It was such a simple thing, but to them, it was so important. That evening would be a normal evening to anyone else ¨C Talking, eating, going to sleep. But to them, it was different. To them it was so much more important. Will was happy, that much was true. But...

    Although he was happy, he could never predict the suffering his new awareness would bring.

    And it all started with Dissonance.

 Chapter 2 - Realizations

    Fonda was tall, red-haired, and had deep, brown eyes. He always wore a black cap with golden shapes on it, a black jacket, and a white shirt underneath. He was incredibly skilled at hunting, he was impressive with a bow, and as a pastime, he enjoyed fishing with his father in the lake that they lived by. Yes, indeed, to the average eye, Fonda was a typical eighteen year old. But if one looked closer, they noticed some other elements of him. Such as his unnaturally sharp teeth, a pair of fox ears, and a fox tail always fluttering about behind him wherever he went. Perhaps that''s what would catch your attention after giving the boy a closer look. Actually, that might even be something that you notice first and foremost, and kind of chuck everything else aside... Either way, Fonda, even with his unusual characteristics, really enjoyed fishing.

    And Fonda was fishing with his father the day he started noticing some things.

    "...So how did this even happen?", he asked at some point, casting the rod without giving it much thought.

    With how much they did it, it was almost second nature. There was something else taking up all of his attention ¨C His father. His sudden awareness, a fix to something he had been struggling with his entire life seemingly overnight, and that boy he let stay with them, despite having virtually no space for him to sleep and barely enough food to feed one another.

    "I don''t know."

    Even this was shocking. Will responding without having to have the question repeated to him, without taking a few seconds to once more ground himself in reality. This didn''t seem like something that could disappear overnight ¨C And yet somehow it did. Why? How? Even his own father didn''t seem to know.

    "But you''re my son, so I''ll be honest with you here. That kid... Tom..."

    Will paused for a moment.

    "I don''t know why... when I saw him... it was like everything just... clicked. I can''t explain it."

    "So... Tom shows up and suddenly you''re okay? Just like that? Don''t you think that''s a little weird?"

    Fonda focused his eyes on the rod, seeing a fish aimlessly circling the lure. Did it know it was merely a farce? And even if it did, would it still bite? After all, it sees food. Even if it''s out of place, it sees it, and that''s what matters to it the most of all. Even though something seems suspicious, it bites. Even though it knows it''s a trap, it bites. Because it''s food, and it''s there when it wasn''t before, it bites.

    Fonda looked at his father briefly.

    The fish bites because it knows nothing else.

    "...Do you really think Tom could be bad?", Will spoke up, his voice tired and gentle.

    There was more control and focus in it than usual ¨C But it was still weak and strained. All of this must have been so tiring for him ¨C He had spent almost an entire morning without blacking out. And that was rare. Incredibly rare.

    "I talked to Sot.", Fonda started, watching as the fish bit, just as he predicted.

    He pulled it out from the water carefully, placing it aside into a bucket. He wished they could only fish for sport, but with how little there was on the table day to day, it was best not to waste time doing that.

    "...He told me Tom got here yesterday, and instantly, tried to steal from Georgie. And when he caught him, the kid screamed at him, picked up a bow and tried to shoot him."

    Will''s eyes widened a little, but his son talked on regardless.

    "Dissonance was furious, but Burgess convinced them to give him another chance. The only reason the kid is still here is because Burgess is way too nice..."

    "The kid was scared, Fonda!", Will said instantly, letting go of his fishing rod and looking right at his son.

    "He probably just wanted some food, or some warm clothes! He got scared when Georgie came in and panicked, he probably wanted to... I don''t know... defend himself?"

    "You don''t know that kid, dad.", Fonda reminded him.

    He, himself, did not stop looking at the lake. Another fish saw the lie. Another fish fell right for it.

    "You don''t know what he''s like. You don''t know what he was looking for. You don''t know-"

    "He''s fourteen!", Will snapped suddenly, seeing his son flinch.

    He waited for a few seconds and shook his head, grabbing onto his forehead.

    "Sorry. I didn''t... I didn''t mean to shout."

    Fonda sighed and spoke;

    "No, you''re right. He''s a kid."

    He shut his eyes.

    "How bad could he be?"

    "But I still don''t get it... Why him, of all people?", Will continued.

    "I don''t know dad, but... at least you''re here now, right?"

    ''At least you''re here''. Such a simple phrase, but in this small family of two, it carried such weight. More than once in their life Will missed out on something, whether it be Fonda''s first accurate shot with the bow, the first time he caught a fish, or anything he ever managed as a kid, but something that only passed in a short moment ¨C A short moment Will Ash just had no way of really grasping onto. And now, with every second within his grasp, with every minute under his control, Fonda felt... disappointed. Disappointed that it wasn''t earlier that this realization came about, and that he wasn''t already practically an adult. He wished that, maybe, Tom had walked into their life with the magical cure back when it actually mattered most. For just a moment, Fonda glanced towards the fish in a bucket, long dead and having had given up on its struggle.

    You don''t always get what you want, I suppose.

    "Hello, gentlemen."

    A voice rung out from behind the two, both instantly abandoning their rods and turning around. There, they found the image that never brought along anything good. And that image was light blonde hair, a freckled face, and a black mask covering the person''s eyes. He took a few steps forward, adjusting his light-green hoodie and grinning with malice that could never bode well. He was dragging a small cart behind him, completely empty, as if asking to be filled with god knows what.

    "Dissonance...", Fonda said with hesitation, sighing.

    He rolled his eyes a little, careful enough as to not have Dissonance notice, but made sure his father saw. Clearly, between the dreams and the memories, Will had missed why the local ruler wasn''t so liked.

    "Hello there."

    "...Good morning.", the man replied with an impartial tone.

    "I''m sure you know why I''m here."

    He tapped the cart behind him lightly with his right hand as he spoke. Fonda glanced at him, his eyes widening and ears slowly moving down, resting on the top of his head aimlessly. His face dropped completely as he stammered;

    "A-already? Isn''t it too early-", Fonda tried to speak, but the sudden change in Dissonance''s expression was enough to silence him.

    No smile, grin or smirk. Just a stern grimace that could intimidate anyone. Fonda''s nose twitched slightly and stood up as he stepped back, hiding his hands in his pockets. After clearing his throat he finally spoke;Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    "...Why now, Dissonance?"

    "We''re expanding the pathway. The city needs more supplies. Don''t make me take them by force.", Dissonance carried on, completely ignoring the outrage of both Fonda and his father.

    Momentarily, he looked at Will himself with that glance of pity he usually received from people.

    "Mr. Ash. How has your-"

    He started, probably expecting to have to repeat himself. He was acting as if this harassment of his son was a completely casual morning - A casual morning Will failed to remember, it looked like. Were things always like this while he was away?

    "Spare me the formalities.", he cut in coldly, causing the other to hesitate, just for a moment.

    "What is this about? What do you want from us?"

    Dissonance paused for a few seconds, gathered his thoughts, and then returned to his empty, aimless smirk.

    "...Call it taxes."

    The man shrugged.

    "This city needs its people to contribute. We''re expanding the pathway and we need wood, food and water for whoever will work and also tools. You two live in the forest. You''ve got to have some wood to spare, right?"

    And while the phrase itself was a question, Dissonance very much stated it as if it were an order.

    "...Yes, sir. I''ll get whatever I can."

    To the dismay of his father, Fonda wandered over to a small pile of freshly chopped wood the two kept around for emergencies. He helped Dissonance load it onto the cart and then returned to where he stood, watching helplessly. And since Dissonance seemed dissatisfied with the result, he was forced to reluctantly hand over the bucket with a few long dead fish in it alongside everything else. This time, the man bowed his head slightly and turned back, pushing the cart with him;

    "Thank you for your generous contribution, gentlemen.", he said as he walked away, no hint of regret over what he had just done.

    "The City of Dissonance will grow strong thanks to you!"

    "Imagine being so self-centred you name a city after yourself...", Fonda muttered under his breath, but was clearly quiet as to not have Dissonance hear him.

    Will, completely lost as to what had just happened, begun to voice his opinions;

    "Fonda? What the hell was that just now?", he asked, turning his gaze from Dissonance to his son, over and over, back and forth... he just could not comprehend at all what had just gone down.

    Why would he give up so much with so little hesitation, so little consideration for what they themselves may need? His son, however, appeared to see no issue with the whole affair.

    "That''s just how Dissonance is.", he responded, blowing some of his hair out of his face.

    "He takes whatever he thinks he''s entitled to because he owns the whole city. And even if he''s wrong, we have to comply. In the end, he''s the one keeping us safe from..."

    Momentarily, his focus turned to the woods surrounding them.

    "...Whatever is out there."

    "Has he... always been this way?"

    Will was shocked. He knew Dissonance was cold at times, but this level of greed showing itself when he knew the two barely had anything was not something he expected. Had things been like this while he was away? How did his son cope when he didn''t even know such heavy tolls were placed on them?

    "Yes. Yes, he has.", Fonda nearly snapped, anger flooding his tone.

    He wasn''t sure where it came from. Now that his father was there and listening, it were as if he just wanted to dump all of his frustration on him right there and then. He knew it was unfair, but he couldn''t control it. It came out itself. And it went something like this...

    "You''d know, if you were here.", he started quiet, but his father noticed his rage instantly.

    "You''re not blaming me for-"

    But he couldn''t even finish his sentence. Fonda had too much to say.

    "No, but that doesn''t change that you weren''t here."

    His voice was cold, alien. It wasn''t him speaking, Will knew that much. It was the pent up anger, the frustration from all of this. But it didn''t change the fact that it hurt.

    "...It doesn''t change that I''ve had to work for two people when I was just- Just a kid! It''s... it''s not fair for me, and it''s not fair to blame you, and-"

    "Fonda!", Will exclaimed, but it barely did anything.

    "-I know that but what else am I supposed to do? My whole life I''ve done all I could trying to snap you out of that trance, trying to slowly ease you back into things and- And then this random kid comes along and suddenly you''re just fine? Why couldn''t you have been fine back when Dissonance took all of our food for himself, why couldn''t you have been fine when he threatened to burn down our caravan if I didn''t help with that damn build-"

    "Fonda, listen to me!", he tried again, but it was futile.

    "-And now you think it''s so easy to just say no to Dissonance, to just turn away but you know nothing because you''ve never...like I... and..."

    Will wasn''t sure what it was, but as Fonda spoke on, angrier and angrier, with more and more venom, he slowly felt things fading, in larger and larger chunks. He knew this feeling. He knew this defensive tactic, he knew what it was triggered by and he knew what would come next. He thought it was something that was gone, but the combined rage of his son aimed at him and the guilt he felt over not being-

    -able to do anything to stop it. But he won''t try, because he knows how this works. He''s been through all of this before, he''s been through it, and he lost so much, and he lost people, but this time he''s not as afraid. This time it seems like it''s okay, this time it seems like it''s natural. This time it seems like nothing will go wrong, as foolish as that is to believe. He slowly turns around, and he finds the faces of so many different people, so many different individuals. Enemies, friends, family. And they are all there, because at this point, there''s no reason to hold on.

    "I don''t want to forget you.", he hears.

    "I know. I don''t want to forget either.", he responds.

    "But what if there''s a way-", the other questions.

    "There isn''t. But don''t be scared, okay?", he states, knowing better.

    The group is uncomfortable. Someone is crying. Someone else clears their throat.

    "Take these."

    He shoves something in his hands.

    "But I won''t remember-", the other protests.

    "Doesn''t matter. It will help us find each other.", he promises.

    "Are you sure?"

    He''s not convinced.

    "I''m... hoping.", he says, unsure himself. They hug.

    "I''ll miss you, Will."

    "It won''t be long."

    He walks away, turns around and waves. And just like that, the annoying laughter, the light blonde tuft of curly hair and the three music discs disappear. And he never-

    -saw his son shaking him, his eyes filled with tears and his hands trembling. He was squeezing onto his clothes with his sharp fingernails, his breathing was panicked, he was completely hysteric. When he noticed that Will was looking back at him he quickly pressed his face into his chest, wrapping his hands around him in a tight hug. He didn''t say anything, but his father knew exactly what had happened. He didn''t speak, for a moment. He put his hand on his son''s head, moving it through his red hair, very slowly, reassuring him he was there, reassuring him he was present. He gave Fonda some time to calm down, and then spoke;

    "I''m here.", Will whispered, as slowly and as quietly as he could.

    "...I''m sorry! I''m sorry, I thought you were back to- Because of me and I- I didn''t want to, I promise-", Fonda tried to say, but his father cut him off.

    "It''s not your fault."

    He pushed him away, as gently as possible, and looked him in the eyes. He watched as his nose twitched as he sniffled, and how his ears fell completely. The two didn''t speak for a long while, letting the wind aimlessly blow around them.

    "I guess... I guess it''s not completely gone, then?", Fonda asked after a moment.

    "...It would seem so..."

    Will looked towards where Dissonance had once stood, spite in his voice.

    "...You have a right to be angry. And so do I. What Dissonance is doing here is unfair... especially with how we''ve been until now. He exploited you when you couldn''t stand up for yourself and kept me in the dark ¨C What kind of man does that?"

    He looked at his son once more, and found him trying to get rid of the tears dripping from his eyes. He narrowed his own eyes.

    "This isn''t right. His rule isn''t right. You can see that, can''t you?"

    To this, Fonda appeared shocked. Worried, even. He stepped forward.

    "Dad... what do you... what do you plan to do here?"

    Will thought for a moment. If he had been aware of what was going on behind his back all this time, what would he have done? Ran away, taken his son somewhere else? That would risk losing their only home, leaving them stranded in the wild. No, no. There had to be another way. Another way to stay where they were while staying safe from Dissonance''s endless influence ¨C A way to separate themselves completely from the City of Dissonance. Some sort of way to force Dissonance to give them the power and control they needed to keep themselves alive and comfortable ¨C But in a way where he had no way of hurting them or kicking them out. They had to play it safe ¨C But they had to also take some bold steps. And in this very centre, in the middle of this haze, Will Ash saw only one way to find the freedom he so wanted for him and his son. A smile spread across his face, a grin of confidence almost identical to that of the very tyrant who they were discussing.

    He only said one thing, but it was enough.

    "Fonda... What are your thoughts on revolutions?"

 Chapter 3 - Flowers

    "First, there are the daffodils. They symbolise rebirth, and new beginnings..."

    Tom always had those dreams. As long as he remembered, from the first day his memory reached back to, he had dreams every night that felt so real and so much like memories they hurt. He had always tried to place them somewhere, try to see where they came from. But eventually, he gave up. He assumed everyone was like this - Recalling a life they never lived in their minds. He assumed no one talked about it - So he didn''t talk either. And he assumed he''d be judged if he did - So he feared to tell even the closest of friends. But the memory he got that night... it was different. It was so different to all of the others, and that was what scared him so much. Because it was vivid, it was clear, and it showed him something he could never quite place. Something he couldn''t comprehend, no matter how hard he tried.

    "Next, there are tulips. A flower of love and royalty. A very, very special one."

    The dream went something like this... He was running, he remembered it well. He was afraid. So unimaginably afraid. He wasn''t sure where exactly he was, but he knew it was hot, scorching hot. The sun was shining above and burning into his skin as he tried to run, tripping over everything in his way. Eventually, he collapsed onto the sand below, blinded by the light from above but still able to see the figure standing over him. Long hair blowing in the wind, slowly rising and falling. A tilted crown on their head. And a long, sharp sword in their hand, pointed right at the boy''s throat. Their hands were covered in blood - Blood he feared to even wonder about the origins of. They raised their sword high, high above him, and as it came crashing down, Tom felt all of his fears fill him. He felt the fear of death, the terror this unknown enemy caused him, and the complete helplessness at the fact he could not defend himself. And just as the weapon was about to meet his chest, ending his life, he woke up in a cold sweat.

    "Oh! And Lavender! Lavender is purity, grace and peace. Its smell can calm anyone!"

    So that''s how Tom found himself here - In need of a distraction and a place to unwind, he sneaked out of Will and Fonda''s home early in the morning with nothing but his three music discs. He wandered the city for a while, but as the people started waking up, he had to hide somewhere. And in all of his confusion and stumbling about, he hadn''t even realised when he wandered into a grand, colourful flower field. He had never seen so many beautiful colours in one place - It was as if the whole rainbow had just spilled over this valley, leaving nothing but a gorgeous view. He thought he could sit here alone, for a while. But then he noticed someone - Someone sitting in this very field, observing the flowers, and listening to the soft buzz of the bees around him. He didn''t speak, but he noticed Tom in the corner of his eye. And instead of running away or telling him to go, he invited this complete stranger to sit down with him.

    "And then there''s poppies! These ones are my favourites..."

    And that was how Tom found Taza - The eccentric boy with chestnut hair and light blue eyes. He introduced himself very briefly, and in their short chat, ended up spending more time on the flowers than himself. It was difficult to describe him... passionate about his interests but incredibly inconsistent about how he described them or talked about them. His dark green shirt was loose and at some points unbuttoned, and his jeans were old and torn in places. He didn''t seem to mind ¨C as long as he had something to wear, it looked like he was satisfied. He was going through all of the flowers around him, touching and examining them but never ripping them out, never damaging them a single bit. A few bees were floating about, but he paid them no mind. He even seemed to enjoy their company, to an extent.

    "Taza, I think you''ve talked enough about flowers by now..."

    Tom finally cut him off, getting a disappointed look in response. The boy let go of the poppy he was looking at and placed both of his hands on his knees, glancing at Tom with the corner of his eye.

    "...This is the last one. I promise."

    He leaned down slightly, moving his face close to the poppy.

    "Poppies symbolize sleep and peace ¨C But they have another more prominent meaning."

    The boy shifted closer, watching as the poppy swayed aimlessly in the wind.

    "...Death."

    "...Poppies? Death? Seriously?"

    Tom tilted his head.

    "How does that make sense? They''re so small and bright."

    Taza chuckled a little, noticing his sudden interest. He turned around and wrapped his arms around his legs, looking the other boy in the eyes.

    "I thought you weren''t interested in the flowers?", he asked him, instantly having Tom wave him off with an absent tone of voice and and feigned disinterest in his eyes;

    "Well, obviously I don''t care. But you seem like you like these things, so tell me. Why poppies, of all things, for the symbol of death?"

    Tom inched closer to the flower himself, both of the teenagers now staring deeply into it. Taza moved his hand closer but did not touch the poppy ¨C He simply traced his fingers just at the edges of it.

    "You see, these flowers are very, very interesting and unique ones. They grow only in certain conditions, which is why natural fields are such a phenomenon. However, there''s one thing that can provide the conditions a poppy needs to grow..."

    Taza paused, narrowing his eyes slightly. His tone turned grave, for just a second.

    "War."

    Tom felt something tug at the back of his mind as he heard the word, but he ignored it.

    "War?", he repeated, the word stinging his tongue like some sort of poison.

    He wasn''t sure why that word of all things made him so uncomfortable, but he didn''t have time to think about it. He focused his attention on one of the band aids on his knee and started aimlessly playing with it. Taza carried on with his explanation, still observing the poppy with great interest.

    "...More specifically battlefields. Once battle ceases on those, poppies rise from the ground and grow over the ruined dirt, the old arrows, the abandoned bodies. Battlefields become poppy fields after some time ¨C It''s kind of nice, in a way, you know?"

    He turned around and faced Tom, a smile spreading across his face.

    "Knowing that even in destruction and suffering, you can rest assured it will all turn into something beautiful one day."

    Tom turned his attention away from his band aid and to the flower once more ¨C he looked into its blood red shade, and took notice of the small, pitch black seeds scattered on the inside. It was such a simple shape ¨C A small, little, gentle flower blowing in the wind and bowing under Taza''s delicate touch. But his mind seemed to take him elsewhere as he watched it ¨C The red colour stood out from the rest of the flower field and completely captivated his mind. In no time, all he could see before him were puddles upon puddles of crimson red blood, more dripping from the grass and onto the ground below. The wind blew harder than it had before ¨C It wanted him to look forward. And he did. And who else could he have seen at the centre of this unimaginable slaughter then the stranger from his dreams?

    He stood alone. He was turned away, looking into the distance. His hair was long, past his shoulders and reaching to around his waist, thrashing in the wind. There was a long, silky red cape over him, hanging loosely off of his shoulders. He didn''t look back ¨C And even so, Tom could feel his blood-thirsty gaze staring into him. In his right hand was a sword - A sword that glimmered in the sunlight above, with the deaths of thousands to its name, he could only imagine. And although the fourteen year old had no idea who this person was, the crown on his head was enough to remind him to stay away. And just as he was about to turn... just as Tom was to see his face for the first time... he felt someone shaking him.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    "Tom?"

    And just like that, he was back.

    The wind was calm, the poppies were fewer in numbers, and the stranger was gone. All that was left was a stunning flower field and the eccentric boy right at the centre of it ¨C The boy shaking his newly found friend out of his trance with great force. When he noticed that Tom was finally looking back at him he smiled ¨C And it was a smile of great relief. He grabbed onto the other''s hand for just a moment and squeezed it, making sure he was there. And then he sat back, giving him space to breathe. Tom relaxed himself, his muscles losing tension and his breathing getting slower and slower. He shook his head and pulled himself away from Taza, trying to figure out what had just gone down in his head.

    "Sorry... I guess poppies weren''t the way to distract you.", he heard the other speak from behind him, and his head instantly snapped back, staring at the boy shielded by flowers.

    "¡­Distract me?", Tom repeated hesitantly, unsure what exactly he had meant.

    Taza couldn''t hide the small smirk that came to his expression as he watched a few bees fly by.

    "...When you came here this morning, you looked like you had something on your mind."

    The boy touched a small daffodil with his hand.

    "I thought the flowers might distract you. But I guess it just brought back more painful memories, huh?"

    "That''s the thing..."

    And this, Tom most likely would say, was the moment he first trusted Taza. Because when half of the city hated you and the other half didn''t know your name, it was the people in the middle that you had to turn to. And apart from Will, Taza was the only person available to him right now. So, without giving it much thought, he spoke;

    "I had a dream... A nightmare, even.", Tom started, staring down at the grass, rubbing the back of his neck.

    His friend inched closer, propping up his legs and wrapping his arms around them once again. He lay his chin down on one of his knees and listened in.

    "...There was this... this guy... chasing me. And I don''t know why but... I was really scared. Like... I knew that if he caught me... that''d be it."

    Tom looked up for a moment.

    "The end, you know?"

    "...Dreams are like that sometimes."

    Taza shrugged.

    "...You just know something. You feel it. And when you wake up it just makes no sense. You have no idea why you knew. Maybe it was that?"

    To this, Tom shook his head. He knew that it was different. He felt something different. And that something was true and unimaginable fear.

    "No... no, it was more. When I woke up... I still remembered that fear. I still felt it. Even though I don''t even know who that was, I know I should be scared... and I''m still scared. I''m so scared of him and... and I don''t even..."

    Before he could say more, the feeling of dread overtook him, and Tom was forced into silence. Taza looked at him for a moment, a mix of worry and pity in his eyes. He cleared his throat and spoke;

    "Gladiolus...", Taza started, turning his attention to yet another flower.

    This one seemed more rare than the others in the field, only one being in his direct reach. He put his palm around it and bent it slightly so it faced Tom ¨C But as per usual, he dared not damage it.

    "...Symbolises remembrance. Remembering a past, whether good or bad, to honour what was lost to ensure today happened."

    "...But I don''t even remember who this guy is..."

    Tom touched a bandaid on his knee, slightly lifting it up and down.

    "...I don''t even know if he''s real."

    "But you remember the fear. Because your mind wants you to. It''s like a warning, right?"

    Taza crossed his arms and grinned.

    "And if that stranger ever comes here, you''ll know. And you can warn us! As for the fear itself... it always goes away eventually. Just let yourself be distracted."

    "By... your flower lessons?", Tom asked, unimpressed.

    "...Well, they''ve helped a bit, right?"

    His friend asked with a laugh.

    Taza was an eccentric boy with a passion for flowers, and Tom was a troublemaker with a knack for breaking rules ¨C Yet somehow, these two ended up connecting a lot on that day. Tom could have sworn it was from the comfort that Taza provided him ¨C But perhaps it was because of being a good distraction? Taza could have sworn it was because he finally had someone to talk about his interests with ¨C But perhaps it was simply because Tom actually listened? In this city, Tom was always given shifty looks and Taza was always ignored... didn''t it make sense for two outcasts like these to find so much comfort in one another? Both Tom and Taza knew they had to do something, the former scrunching up his nose and shifting his position while the latter coughed and cleared his throat. In the end, both of them spoke in unison;

    "Hey, thanks for-"

    "Thank you for-"

    And instantly, both of the boys laughed.

    "Hey there, guys. I''m not interrupting anything, am I?"

    The two''s moment of peace was cut short by the voice of none other than Will Ash, appearing in the field seemingly out of nowhere. He was standing in-between the flowers, aimlessly keeping his hands in his pockets. There was this strange look in his eyes ¨C A look of motivation.

    "Oh! Hi, Mr. Ash!"

    Taza jumped up, dusting his trousers off. He turned around and reached out with his hand to Tom, helping him onto his toes, which the other greatly appreciated. He was still a bit light-headed from whatever that poppy brought him to... yet he was soon standing by Taza''s side, both of them giving a rather confused look to Will.

    "You usually walk around with Fonda... did something happen?"

    "Not at all."

    Will shook his head with a reassuring smile.

    "But I do have to talk to Tom about something. Would you mind if he comes with me for a little bit?"

    Will looked at Taza, who, although a flash of disappointment went through his eyes, smiled gently.

    "Sure... right..."

    He looked at Tom and grinned.

    "Come over again sometime, okay? This was really fun!"

    The other didn''t speak, but simply nodded. And in his eyes was a look of pure honesty ¨C Not only would he come here again because Taza asked, but it was no secret he enjoyed his time with him, too. Tom waved his new found friend goodbye and then followed Will, wondering what it was exactly that could have brought him out here.

    "...So... Is something wrong?", the teenager asked after the two got a bit further from Taza, making sure he couldn''t hear them as they spoke.

    Tom could tell from the expression on Will''s face that whatever he came here to discuss was urgent, unusual, and most likely, not very legal. Or, maybe, that was just the type of thing Tom wished to do himself.

    "¡­Yes. Something is very wrong."

    Will stopped suddenly, right at the edge of the flower field and on the wooden pathway Dissonance was so known for always expanding. Where was it heading? Why did it always grow? No one knew, but it was the only way to find your way around this mess of a city nowadays. The wood creaked uncomfortably under their shoes as they turned to face one another, an intense glare in the older man''s eyes.

    "...It''s Dissonance."

    The moment Will said this, Tom could feel his heart drop. He knew that the local ruler wasn''t a huge fan of him ¨C So hearing that something was ''wrong'' with him he could probably guess it somewhat involved him.

    "Is- is he mad that I''m staying with you?", the boy asked.

    "You know, I could leave if it''s a problem- I wouldn''t want to cause you trouble-"

    But Will would not let Tom speak ¨C he quickly cut him off and grabbed his shoulders, staring right into his eyes.

    "No, Tom. It''s not that... but it would take far too much explaining for you to understand exactly what''s going on right now."

    Will paused, sighing.

    "You made me realize some things. And the most important thing is that Dissonance is corrupt. Far worse than corrupt... he''s... greedy and unjust, and he exploits those who ask him for help. It''s not- It''s not right."

    The man paused, turning away from Tom and looking down the path, into the centre of the city.

    "So... what''s your plan?"

    Tom couldn''t hide his excitement as he inched closer to Will, already jumping up and down on the tips of his feet. The older one grinned as he looked ahead.

    "I say it''s about time we take things into our own hands. And I have the perfect idea on where to start. But I do have to ask you one thing Tom."

    Will turned around once more, his expression far more serious than it was before.

    "...I know you don''t know me, and you definitely don''t know the favour you did me by coming to my door yesterday. But despite all this, I know you can see this too. I know you want change. I mean, look at how they treated you!"

    "...What do you need from me, Will?", Tom asked him without any hesitation.

    What else was he to do? Stay and risk Dissonance catching him doing something again? Keep running and lose himself, this time without a place to go to? No. Tom knew for sure, all he could do to protect himself was stay and fight for his own safety. Will narrowed his eyes.

    "Are you ready to risk everything, even war, to give us the justice we deserve?"

    For a moment, Tom could swear it was the stranger with the crown speaking to him. Blood running down his hands and sword, long hair flowing in the wind. And a blood-thirsty look in his eyes that could never bode well. And despite all this, Tom still nodded;

    "...Ha! Obviously!"

    He grinned and winked.

    "Let''s kick some ass!"

 Chapter 4 - Potions

    In his dream, he sees potions.

    He''s slowly inspecting them, turning them in his hands and watching the liquid flow inside. The glass bottles in which they are contained glimmer in the light that comes in through the window, and the strange colours sparkle inside. Ripples are sent through them as he shakes them slightly, watching the shape of the liquids change. He''s completely entranced by it, so much so that he doesn''t even hear when someone enters the room he''s in. He continues observing, taking in the strange colours of the-

    "Are you ever gonna stop staring at those damn bottles?", he hears the convincing voice, soon followed by that chilling laugh.

    Or maybe, more of a chuckle. Either way, it is there.

    "...They''re potions.", he responds, turning back.

    His eyes meet with that cold, angry glare. But he''s not afraid. He knows this glare well, and he knows that if the person truly were mad, they''d be having a far different conversation right now.

    "...Born of alchemy... they''re really... magical."

    "It''s just fancy chemistry though, isn''t it?"

    The man steps closer, looking over his shoulder. He, himself, starts watching the glimmering colours.

    "Put things together and you make something cooler. Science is all experimenting and never profiting, if you ask me."

    The man picks up a potion and turns. It''s a green one, swirling with great strain, the stench of rotting corpses surrounding it. For a moment he plays with it, but soon, his companion snatches it out of his hand and carefully places it back on the table. He sets it aside and warns him not to touch it again. The other looks at it with great interest, but stays away in the end.

    "If you ask me..."

    The man carries on, sitting down on the table.

    "You need something bolder than some potions to make real cash. Might if I give you a little pitch, see how you like it?"

    "Do I have a choice in the matter?", he asks with a laugh.

    He knows that he doesn''t, but he doesn''t mind, either. Listening to this man talk, for some reason, is incredibly comforting.

    "Alright... So imagine this."

    He lifts his hand and traces a circle in the air with his finger.

    "...We have a coin, right? And we tell people it''s worth a lot. We sell it all, let''s say... twenty diamo!"

    "No one will buy that...", he mutters as he adds an ingredient to some boiling water, watching the colour of it change at a sluggish pace.

    "Far too expensive for some coin."

    "Ah, you see. That''s where the twist comes in."

    The man lifts his finger.

    "We tell them that the prices of the coin will rise as more people buy them. And then we announce that we will buy them back - For said raised prices."

    "...So people blindly invest in something they don''t know?"

    He plays along, even if the idea sounds ridiculous. Because he knows more than anyone that no matter how ridiculous an idea is, he will go through with it if he even sees a chance at gaining something.

    "People are dumb! You know they''ll follow the crowd! The hard part is forming the crowd!"

    The man leans back.

    "And here''s the big finale - We say the price dropped to ten diamo shillings and leg it with the money!"

    He sighs, pausing his work and looking at the other.

    "...A scam."

    "What?"

    "What you are describing there is a scam. You want to scam people."

    "I mean... if it gets us free diamo... sure!"

    "...You''re gonna make some dangerous enemies one day."

    He looks down, honesty flooding his voice.

    "I''m worried about you."

    "Well, I''ll have you by my side, right?"

    The man jumps down from the table and puts his arm around the shoulders of the other, grinning.

    "Partners in crime, till the end of time! Ain''t that right, my friend?"

    "...Ugh..."

    He rolls his eyes, unable to hide the smile now spreading across his lips.

    "Yeah, I guess so. Partners in crime."

    And for a moment, things are good. Things are calm. But this serenity is cut short as he remembers that this isn''t where he is meant to be-

    -but he was standing in front of his home, Tom and Fonda both looking back at him. They seemed shocked as well as worried, with fear for what could come of whatever was just revealed and concern for how such an idea could be born from this person''s mind. There was no doubt - Will had blacked out again, whether it was because of speaking to Tom or something else, but this time, he spoke while in his trance. And from the way these two looked at him, he could guess it wasn''t anything good. He waited for some time, and to his relief, his son spoke;

    "You want to do... what?", he muttered, unsure if he was hearing correctly.

    "Huh?"

    Tom tilted his head, taken aback by the man''s words.

    Now Will knew - In his trance, he had revealed his plan.

    "Yes... yes... of course.", Will spoke slowly and slurred his words ¨C Tom had no idea what it meant, but Fonda was instantly signalled that his father had just gotten back from another dream.

    He stepped forward, but Will waved him away, reassuring him he was fine.

    "...That''s my plan exactly. Do I have to repeat myself?"

    Tom rolled his eyes.

    "Sorry big man but ''steal their potions'' isn''t exactly the clearest of plans. Would you mind explaining a bit further?"

    Ah ¨C There. He had learned to use these strategies over time. Ask questions that actually meant something else and get answers you actually need, with the person you''re talking to never becoming aware you weren''t even there a minute ago.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    "...Dissonance uses potions to protect himself."

    Will may have been away a lot, but he knew this much about this place. Dissonance and his infamous potions ¨C He was never seen without at least one ready to be downed if danger arose.

    "That''s why he''s so powerful. That''s why he''s able to protect the city. He drinks those potions and becomes infallible. But he needs a constant supply of them flowing in to stay that way, he needs to keep getting more, and more, and more."

    Will suddenly stopped, pointing his finger at his son, making him jump.

    "Fonda! Trivia time! Where does Dissonance get most of his potions?"

    "Uh- It''s... Taza! Yeah, he gets the ingredients from that flower field and then sells it to Dissonance. That''s how he pays for... pretty much everything he has."

    Fonda answered, clearly relieved to see his father fully aware once more.

    "Precisely!"

    Will started pacing around the place.

    "And the rest, an emergency supply, gets brewed by Sapana if needed... so if we were to get rid of those two supplies... completely take over potion production... Dissonance would have no choice but to listen to us."

    Will glanced up, grinning.

    "And that''s how we get our justice. Our freedom. And finally, some peace from that tyrant. It''s as simple as that!"

    To this, the two people in front of him were conflicted.

    "...And how do you plan to do that dad?", Fonda instantly asked.

    "It''s not like Taza will just hand over his production. He may be a kid but he''s a smart kid. He won''t just give up everything if we ask him. Not to us, at least. He barely knows us!"

    "No."

    Will turned to the teenager standing with them and smiled.

    "But he knows him."

    Tom jumped, stepping back. He looked around, chuckling nervously, and then finally set his eyes on Will once again. He rubbed the back of his neck.

    "You want me to... convince Taza to give up his potion supply? Just like that?"

    Will thought for a moment, fixing up his glasses and rubbing his chin. After a while, he spoke;

    "No... but... we can surely offer him something better than Dissonance can."

    He put his hands on his hips.

    "If he treats Taza like he treats us, if we offer him an escape from that endless cycle of doing so much work for barely anything he is guaranteed to come along."

    The first to be convinced was definitely Tom ¨C Obviously. He was always looking for trouble, something to do, something to go against. So when Will proposed this idea in the first place, he was already on board before it was even fully explained. He wasn''t sure where he got this thirst for unruliness and rebellion, but somehow, he felt as though it all linked back to that stranger with the crown... Fonda, on the other hand, had a far more difficult time trusting his father''s plan here. He still believed he was a little confused with only recently having had been awoken from his endless trance, unsure if he was really capable of properly handling this sort of operation. But on the other hand, what sort of son would he be if he did not trust his own dad? After a few seconds of hesitation, he sighed and shook his head.

    "...This is a stupid idea.", Fonda stated, brushing a hand through his hair.

    "We''re gonna make some dangerous enemies if we go through with this, you know that, right?"

    Hearing this, Will remembered someone from his dreams ¨C Someone who went through with all of his plans, whether they''d make him enemies, cause him grief, or put him in danger. Because he always had a plan, he always had a goal, and he never, ever gave in. And although Will didn''t remember his name... he remembered his motivation. And that was enough.

    "Well...", Will started, lifting his hand and pointing upwards.

    "...Without risk there''s no profit. We have to make some bold moves if we want even a chance at getting a better life here. And taking full charge of the city''s potion supply is that step we need. A leverage against Dissonance. Take something he can''t have. Hold it above his head and ask for something in return. That''s the only way. And you two can see it too, right?"

    And as much as they did not want to admit it, they did. They knew that if they didn''t take a leap of faith like this there''d be no hope from here on.

    "...I''m with you, Will."

    Tom nodded.

    "It''s not like there''s anything else we can do."

    "Just so you two know, I thought this was a bad idea from the start.", Fonda muttered.

    But things were now set into motion, and there was no way to stop it.

    "Daffodils symbolize rebirth... rebirth equals health... daffodils are needed for healing potions..."

    So why exactly did Taza have such a fascination with flowers? Well, it was a bit more complicated than having lived in a flower field for almost five years now. An average onlooker would see this as unusual ¨C A boy getting his own house at nine, and living completely alone? Living out his life in a little wooden house in the middle of a flower field? Well, you had to look at his background. Then everything became clear.

    "Tulips symbolize love... love is a strong force... tulips are needed for strength potions."

    When almost five years ago a beaten, bruised and near-dead nine year old stumbled into the City of Dissonance and begged for help from Dissonance himself no one knew how vital he would become to the city after just a few hours of being there. Technically, back then the city was more of a town than anything, the locals barely able to get by. But Taza brought what they lacked ¨C Taza brought power. Left alone with a boiling pot of water and a few flowers, the boy managed to heal all of his wounds by putting together a brew like no other. Those who saw it with their own eyes described it as magic ¨C And one of those onlookers was Dissonance.

    "Lavender symbolises purity, grace and peace... its calming aroma makes for a great anaesthetic."

    Dissonance, originally with good intentions, begged for the boy''s help with protecting their town. His potions combined with his combat skill would be all they needed to keep their city strong and ever-growing. So a deal was struck ¨C The boy was given a home, all the brewing tools he''d ever need, and protection from whatever it was he ran from in the first place. And at first it was fine ¨C He didn''t mind it. He stayed by himself, learning about the various uses of the flowers around him and what else he could make with them. Dissonance and his two friends took care of his home and ensured he was always comfortable. They put food on his table, gave him clothes, and helped him gather the materials he needed. It was ideal - But such bliss couldn''t last forever.

    "Poppies... poppies symbolize death... their seeds make for the most severe of poisons."

    Dissonance got more and more greedy as time carried on. It started with asking Taza to keep quiet about his potions. Then it spiralled into him threatening him to be quiet about his research. Eventually, it became rare for Taza to even be allowed to leave his small flower field, where he spent hours upon hours trying to string together a new potion that would make Dissonance happy enough to keep him safe for another night. Because if Taza refused to work, he would be kicked out and doom the whole city. If he used his potions to fight that tyrant he would still leave many without protection. Whatever he did, there was no way out of this cycle. No way to break free from-

    "Gladiolus."

    Taza heard from behind him, instantly jumping away. He turned around, nearly knocking over the small bottles he had been working on until now. The last person he expected to be standing in his doorway was Tom, that blonde he had met just a few hours ago. He wasn''t sure how long he had been standing behind him, listening to him going through the small list in his head. It was hard to keep track of all these properties when Dissonance refused to let him write them down anywhere ¨C So he had to figure out something else that worked. It would seem his friend had picked up on his strategy, continuing to talk;

    "...symbolizes remembrance. So is that for good memory? Makes for memory loss medicine? Something like that?''

    "It''s a little rude to just sneak up behind people, don''t you think?", Taza said as he moved the bottles aside, trying to get them out of sight.

    It was quite difficult, seeing as his whole house consisted mainly of his bed, a box of all the things he had, and almost three tables covered in harvested flowers and bottles filled to the brim with clear water.

    "...I didn''t mean to. It''s just really interesting how the stuff you told me actually has two meanings."

    Tom got closer to the table, picked up a bottle and slightly shook it.

    "...Why didn''t you tell me you make potions? This seems really cool!"

    And while he was quite light-hearted as he spoke, the terror on Taza''s face made him change his tone instantly.

    "I''m not supposed to talk about it to new people."

    Taza sighed.

    "Dissonance thinks it''s better if people don''t know I make all of the potions... because..."

    "Because if people don''t know, he can keep exploiting you?"

    Tom raised an eyebrow and watched as his friend nervously played with the buttons on his shirt.

    "Because then they could easily cut the city''s supply-"

    The boy claimed, grabbing the bottle out of Tom''s hand forcefully.

    "-And that could get us all killed."

    "...You don''t have to keep lying, Taza. Everyone can see it."

    The blonde crossed his arms.

    "...Dissonance is using you because he has leverage over you. But you could help us."

    "Help... you?"

    The boy put down the bottle and slid it aside.

    "...How would I even do that? There''s no way to get away from Dissonance and you probably know that..."

    "Not alone."

    Tom reached out with his hand.

    "But with your potions and us backing you up? We will have Dissonance begging for our help. We''ll give you a place to stay, food, anything at all that you need ¨C As long as you stop providing the potions to Dissonance. Come along with me, and I promise you, me and Will will give you a deal you can''t refuse."

    And it was at this moment that Taza wasn''t really sure why he did what he did ¨C But almost instantly, he seemed to trust the teenager he had only met this morning. He wasn''t sure where this trust came from, but it was something so rare, something so new, and something so unnatural, he just couldn''t help but grab his hand and shake it. With uncertainty in his eyes, he only said one thing;

    "I hope you know what you''re doing, Tom."

    Will was sitting alone inside of the caravan when he heard Taza and Tom approaching ¨C Whatever that kid did, it seemed to have worked enough to convince the potion-maker to come over to talk. He rubbed his eyes and got up, trying to keep his focus on the space around him. Ever since that memory from earlier, he had been finding it hard to focus. No matter where he looked, he would see that stranger, that stranger with the convincing voice, that menacing laugh, and that cold, angry glare. He was always there, always coming up with some sort of scheme, always chuckling under his breath, always making enemies wherever he went. Yet somehow, every memory Will had with this stranger was a fond one. Every time he saw him, he felt a strange sense of familiarity. Every time he saw him, Will just felt like... someone had his back.

    And as someone knocked at his door, he only had time for one more memory;

    "Partners in crime, right Will?''"

    "Till the end of time, like we promised."

    And with a smile he did not quite know the origin of, he opened his door.

 Chapter 5 - Consequences (1)

    It was a sunny Friday morning.

    The sun itself had never been brighter, lighting up the city and its outskirts. Glowing, warming everything up, bringing life to the normally bleak and uneventful world. The flowers in the field were blooming more than ever, the various animals everywhere wandering the plains and the forests with glee. One thing was for sure ¨C Summer had come to the City of Dissonance, and the warmest days of the year were ahead of its citizens. Tom couldn''t get enough of the weather ¨C With how much work he, Taza, Will and Fonda had put recently into their potion scheme, he barely had enough time to just rest. The work they had managed to get done itself was impressive ¨C But tiring.

    In the span of a single month, potions went from being exported privately to Dissonance to being sold at fair prices to all citizens, behind his and his two companions'' backs. With Tom helping him, Taza managed to keep up with both Dissonance''s demands to keep him in the dark, and the orders coming in from the citizens. And when the four ensured that everyone in the City of Dissonance could protect themselves if the need arose, they finally gave Dissonance his ultimatum ¨C They asked him to pay Taza at prices equal to everyone else or lose his supply completely. If Tom didn''t know Dissonance any better, he would have said he took it rather well. But that small twitch in the edge of his smile as he reluctantly agreed and the whisper into Sapana''s ear on his way away from the caravan was enough to reveal that he was far from complying ¨C He had a plan, and it could not bode well.

    And so, it was a sunny Friday morning, and Tom was bleeding out.

    If you were to ask him how exactly he got here, he would most likely say something along the lines of, ''I guess that little bitch boy couldn''t handle a fourteen year old who can pack a punch.'', but then again, Tom also had an incredibly dangerous habit of lying to unimaginable degrees. How exactly the whole thing spiralled into where he was now, in overwhelming agony and trembling on the cold, hard floor of a cave, was a mystery to him. At one point, it became a blur of sounds and images, only becoming clear when his head met with the stone below. And as he lay there, he swore he could feel his own muscles being torn to shreds.

    How to describe his situation accurately... he was completely in the dark, the only source of light being that beautiful summer sun peeking in from above. Something was slithering behind him, something else moved across the wall. But Tom could not move ¨C And that was what scared him most. The moment his body hit the floor it were as if his ability to move at all ceased, his limbs refusing to listen to any of his orders. All he could truly feel was the trail of blood moving down from his nose, onto his lips, and eventually dripping onto the floor below. Every muscle in his body pulsated with endless pain, and his head was spinning so much he felt as though he was about to lose consciousness any minute. The aching in his body, however, would not allow him to drift away quite so easily. So he was forced to listen.

    Up above, over the sound of whatever creature was watching him in this cave, he could hear arguing. It was distant and unclear ¨C The pounding of Tom''s heart and how it made his ears pulsate kept him unable to hear anything at all. He knew one of the voices must have been Will ¨C And after some time, he recognized the other as Sapana. Everything that had led him to this moment was still swirling around his mind ¨C But he knew that pyromaniac with a crappy sense of style and cocky grin was responsible for it all. The shouting was vicious ¨C Even without understanding any of the words, Tom could tell that these two were definitely not having a pleasant debate about their newly-established potion business. He just hoped that someone would come to look for him soon enough ¨C He was not alone in this cave.

    The hissing and scratching was now growing ever closer, and Tom felt himself slowly spiralling into this awfully familiar feeling of helplessness. That same helplessness he felt with the stranger with the crown pointing the edge of his sword at his throat. And this helplessness told him one thing ¨C If he wasn''t saved by waking up from this as if it were just another nightmare, he would die. He wished this could have all been a dream, or memory, or whatever the hell it was that his mind constantly tried to shove down his throat. He just wanted to be back in that make-shift bed Will prepared for him. He just wanted to check his bag, like he did every morning, ensuring his three discs were still there. He just wanted to eat a peaceful breakfast with all of his three companions, and continue that work of theirs.

    But Dissonance wouldn''t let them, Dissonance wouldn''t allow them to, because Dissonance would never, ever, let anyone take his power away. Dissonance would never, ever let anyone be better than him and he wouldn''t let them and I''m gonna die here, I''m gonna die here and no one will ever find me. I''ll never find who those discs belong to, and I''ll never help Taza and I''m just an awful person because if I had just calmed down if I just never hit him if I just never started any of this I wouldn''t be here I wouldn''t be alone I wouldn''t be scared everything wouldn''t hurt so much and maybe I''d just run away again and find another town and ruin another life because I can never do anything right and maybe it''s better if I just die here and-

    For the first time in a long time, Tom cried.

    He wasn''t sure what it was. Maybe it was the pain, controlling every part of his body, muting out every other sensation and leaving him immobile. His whole body was trembling but no matter how hard he tried he could not control his movements. And that was another feeling ¨C This helplessness, this complete inability to stand up and defend himself, or to even call for help when he needed it. He wanted to stand up and run, get away from whatever was lurking in this darkness, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t. And of course, there was also the regret. The regret over starting all of this in the first place, the regret over escalating it so much, and the regret of never telling Will what he''d been wanting to tell him since the first time he saw him. Because there was another reason he stuck around, another reason he clung onto him so much, another reason he didn''t want to leave no matter what happened. Because this was not the first time-

    Crack. Slash. Splat.

    Silence.

    "...It''s okay.", he heard a voice, a deep and foreboding one, from behind him.

    He wished he could turn around, see who was speaking. But once more, his body failed to listen to him. In the corner of his eye he noticed something ¨C A pile of pitch black and hairy limbs, with ruby red eyes slowly losing their colour. Whatever it was in that darkness behind him was now dead, a far worse foe having defeated it. And although the monster was gone, its blood slowly seeping out of it, the strange feeling of helplessness did not fade.

    Somehow, it only seemed to grow stronger.

    "I''m here with you. You''re not alone."

    He felt someone''s hand touch his head, slowly running their hand through his hair. He shuddered at the touch, fearful of who it may be standing so close to him. He just wanted to see someone, anyone, a familiar face that could give him peace of mind. This encounter did far from that.

    "...I''ll keep you safe until they find you. Just calm your breathing and focus on my voice. Don''t sleep. No matter how tired you are, stay awake. That thing was only a spider.", the voice carried on.

    Tom looked briefly at the pile of unrecognizable remains and felt his heart skip a beat. If a spider that large lured in this cave, he truly feared what else could emerge from those shadows.

    "I killed it. One stab and it was dead. Even if it had gotten to you, it wouldn''t have done much. But it could have moved you, made your condition worse. You most likely broke something. Once they get here, they can''t move you. They need to lift you up on something. Are you listening to me? If you weren''t, then do. If you are, keep at it."

    The stranger''s tone of voice alone made Tom listen, afraid of what could happen if he did not. He could hear voices above getting closer ¨C Familiar voices calling out his name.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    "This is far too much to heal with bandages and rest. You''ll need potions. Daffodils make for good healing potions. Those, you can drink. Make another one from peonies. Those you can pour onto cuts and breaks and they''ll make recovery faster. They are hard to make, though. They can be harmful if not done right. Are you still with me?"

    The boy could now hear someone shouting down from the edge of the cave, and the stranger slowly backing away deeply into it.

    "Stay awake until they take you somewhere safe and take care of you. Just stay strong. You''ll get out of this, just stay focused. Oh, and here are your discs. They fell out of your bag and flew everywhere. I put them back in."

    Tom heard some shuffling and noticed his bag being plopped down next to him.

    "I have to go now. Good luck, and stay strong."

    And in that very moment, so many things happened at once that Tom could barely keep track. The stranger ran away, with their footsteps echoing further into the cave behind him. From the top, both Will and Fonda slid down along the side of the wall and started inspecting him and calling out to him almost instantly. He wanted to ask questions ¨C Where''s Taza? What happened? Where''s Sapana? Where are our potions? But of course, nothing came. Just as he couldn''t move his body, his mouth did not let a single word through. He wanted to say something ¨C About the stranger, about the advice he gave, about what he''d been wanting to tell Will for a long time and now felt like he would never get the chance to. But once more, his voice failed him as he tried to speak. All he could do was lie there, hoping that the father and son standing over him knew what to do.

    "...Tom? Tom, can you hear me? Just stay with me, alright?"

    Will was soon kneeling by his side, touching his shoulder gently but not moving it at all.

    "Fonda, we''re gonna have to carry him out of here... and grab the..."

    The man''s voice started to fade as Tom failed to grasp onto reality, everything slipping from under his control at a worrying rate. He wanted to stay, remain awake as the stranger had told him, try to stay strong. But it was impossible. In the haze that everything was, Tom only heard one thing from above before losing consciousness completely;

    "Hey, you three down there! Do you need help?"

    And so, the world was dark. But a dream prevailed above it all;

    "Why are these discs so important to you, anyway?"

    "I don''t know, to be honest. I''ve had them for as long as I can remember."

    "And you just keep them? Why? If you don''t know why you have them..."

    "I''m... not sure. It just feels like someone really important gave them to me."

    "Do they even play any more? They look super old!"

    "I haven''t really checked... wanna give them a try?"

    "You''d trust me with your discs, Will? Aren''t they like... super important to you?"

    "Someone else trusted me with them before, Tom. About time I do the same."

    Now he remembers. He remembers what he has to tell him.

    And he wakes up with a task.

    It was hard to describe what his body was feeling ¨C It were as if the pain was still there, but instead hidden behind some sort of fog, overwhelming his whole body. The smell of herbs and some sort of food floated around him, the strongest aromas making his nose scrunch up as they got too intense. His body was stiff and uncomfortable, but he could move it ¨C And that was enough for him. With that complete helplessness he experienced in the cave, even being able to turn on his side and look at his own hand as he moved it in front of his eyes was good enough. He wasn''t sure where he was, but he could tell he was in a rather comfortable bed in a small bedroom, chatting to be heard right outside his door. With not much else to do, he listened in;

    "So how did this even happen?"

    The voice that spoke was deep, but it was not the stranger from the cave. Tom would never forget that voice ¨C And if he ever heard it again, he couldn''t even imagine how he would react. This person, however, sounded just as calm and collected, speaking slowly and with focus. Tom listened in.

    "...It was Sapana."

    The voice replying was that of Will, and instantly, Tom flinched. He had something incredibly important to tell him, after all.

    "...I don''t know if Dissonance sent him or if he was working alone, but he showed up at our door and demanded Taza go back to the flower field and that we hand over any potions that we had left over. And of course, all the money we made."

    "What an asshole.", the other voice muttered.

    "...But that still doesn''t explain how the kid ended up at the bottom of a cave. I''m guessing he escalated things a little?"

    Tom gulped. A little was definitely an understatement to how he reacted back there. But there was no taking it back now, and at least he was still alive. But where was Taza and the potions?

    "...Sapana got violent when we stopped cooperating. First he grabbed Taza and pulled him away, throwing him on the ground. Then he lit a torch and threatened to burn down our caravan if we didn''t listen. So... I did. I started handing all of our supply over, and Tom, he-"

    Will paused, sighing.

    "Just... came up and punched him in the face."

    To this, the unknown voice laughed.

    "Kid''s got some spunk!", he exclaimed after a pause.

    "And Sapana, fully armed, still decided that the more mature thing to do would be to grab the kid and throw him into a cave?"

    "...I didn''t even know how to react. I told Fonda to go get him while I tried to talk it out with Sapana, but there was no way. He said the only way he would let us stay in the city without burning down our home is if Taza went back to the flower field and continued making the potions the way he did before."

    Will paused, his voice beginning to tremble.

    "And I... I just had no choice. So I let him take Taza away, and we went to get Tom. And then you got there. You saved his life, Errett. We''re forever in your debt."

    "It''s no big deal. I''ve started getting tired of Dissonance myself..."

    Finally, Tom decided it was time to get up and ask questions. Questions about Taza, questions about their plan, and questions about that stranger ¨C If they had even seen them. And of course, Tom had a task. A task to tell Will something very, very important. As he shot up, he could feel his head spinning, his hand moving to his forehead. There was a bandage there now, laced with various herbs that formed a sickening smell. Most of his body was bandaged, and he couldn''t even imagine walking with how agonizing the pain in his legs was. Still, this sudden movement was enough to get the attention of both Will and this ''Errett'', who were standing right outside the doorway. They both rushed in, the man he knew sitting by his side while the other kept his distance.

    "Tom, Tom, take it easy-", Will tried to say, but the blonde instantly cut him off;

    "Where''s Taza?! Where did they take him?!"

    The strain in his voice couldn''t be ignored, but no matter how much it hurt to scream, he could not stop. He just wanted to be assured his friend was safe ¨C But both Will''s and Errett''s expressions showed him he was most likely far from that.

    "...He''s in the flower field. In his house."

    Will put his hand on the boy''s shoulder.

    "They''re keeping him there but he''s safe. And he''s okay. So relax and focus on yourself for now, okay? You need to rest. We''ll figure everything else out later."

    Tom hesitated for a moment, stammered, and then sat back. He couldn''t hide how calm Will''s voice made him feel.

    "...Okay.", he whispered after a moment.

    "...We''ll figure it out later."

    "I better replace your bandages now that you''re awake. I need to get some from storage. You two stay here and lay low, alright? It''s best if you don''t get in Dissonance''s way right now."

    Here, Tom finally noted Errett to be a tall man with brown hair and dark sunglasses covering his eyes, obscuring whatever colour could be hiding behind them.

    "Thank you again, Errett."

    Will looked at the man but stayed close to Tom, his hand still on his shoulder.

    "If you ever need anything just-"

    The man with the sunglasses, however, would not let himself be thanked so much. He chuckled and then spoke;

    "Don''t worry about it."

    The man grinned.

    "You''ll get a chance to pay me back some day, I''m sure."

    And with this he left, leaving Will and Tom alone in an uncertain silence. Errett turned the corner where he could no longer hear them, and almost instantly, they both spoke;

    "Tom, there''s something-"

    "Will, I need to-"

    They paused for just a moment.

    "You say it-"

    "Go first if-"

    And once more, a pause.

    "Tom, I-"

    "Wilbur, I-"

    And in perfect unison, they blurted out;

    "I''ve seen you in my dreams before."

    And for that single moment, the whole world seemed to freeze.

 Chapter 6 - Consequences (2)

    "Try it more to the left."

    "Like this?"

    "Tighter grip. There, you have it."

    "Um- Okay- Okay-"

    "Now! Fire!"

    "Ah! ...Oops."

    Fonda was standing completely still, his hands slightly lifted in the air as an arrow shot in front of him and lodged itself in the ground right before his feet. For just a moment he didn''t move, giving an angered side-eye to the two responsible for the firing in the first place. In front of him were two men ¨C One, dark skinned with black hair and possessing cyan eyes, and the other with his face completely obstructed by a dark, black hood. It was the one with the hood that was holding a bow, his aim being guided by the other. There was a firing target on the tree near which Fonda found himself, but the shooter most definitely missed by a lot.

    "Ah! Sorry Fonda! I didn''t mean to do that!"

    The hooded person instantly started apologizing, while the other stepped away with a shrug. He prepared another arrow for his friend, taking it out of a large quiver that he had left lying on the grass.

    "Are you alright?"

    "...Yeah, you just barely missed."

    Fonda stepped over the arrow and chuckled.

    "I guess it''s good you two aren''t too far into your training then, right?"

    To this, the hooded figure looked down and raised his shoulders slightly, meanwhile the other man exclaimed;

    "Ha! As if! We''ve been at this for days!", he shouted out with a laugh, causing his friend to cover his face from embarrassment, "I guess Burgess is too sweet even for a bow. We''re gonna have to figure out some other weapon for you to use..."

    "I really tried my best... I just can''t get the hang of it."

    Burgess rushed over to the arrow he had just fired, Fonda passing him as he did so. He stopped right where the two had originally fired their shot, looking around. From the amount of arrows scattered everywhere and how exhausted the man with the cyan eyes seemed to be, he could tell this had been something that had carried on for days now.

    "Don''t be too tough on him, Sot. Bows are pretty tough to use."

    Fonda picked up one of the spare bows, readying an arrow and playing around with it for a while. He didn''t fire, however. He wasn''t sure that he was in the good mindset for a clear, daring shot to show off right now. He had also come here for a reason, after all.

    "You really need to get the movement right to be efficient."

    "I''m way better with a sword!", Burgess exclaimed, momentarily sitting down on a nearby tree stump.

    "But for some reason Zack thinks we should be trained in a lot more different styles. Gives us a... what did you call it again?"

    Burgess looked to his friend, who shrugged. Fonda noted his use of his real name ¨C Around these parts, using a name over a title showed trust and a deep bond. Very few even allowed others to use their real names, but to this, Sot and Burgess were small exceptions.

    "A colourful pallet, I think? I don''t know, I barely listen to myself to be honest.", he responded, playing with an arrow in his hand.

    He looked at Fonda.

    "Well, you never come here without a reason. And the reason is usually you want something from us. So what''s up?"

    Damn, read me like an open book... Fonda played around with the bow he had picked up a little more before speaking, eventually putting it down without firing a single shot. The nearby valley was already sprinkled with arrows - He didn''t need to add to that.

    "Did you hear about what happened this morning?", he started, sitting down on one of Sot''s boxes.

    The man himself opted for just standing nearby, leaning against a tree.

    There was this look in his eye ¨C As if he wanted to say something, but he couldn''t bring himself to.

    "...The fight by the caravan?", Burgess asked, tilting his head.

    "Everyone''s heard about that. It''s pretty big news... is Tom doing okay?"

    Of course, Burgess wouldn''t be Burgess without worrying about others.

    "He''s... recovering. We were lucky Errett was in the area."

    Fonda looked down for just a moment, remembering that fear and panic as that whole situation spiralled out of control. He shook his head, trying to force it away.

    "But things have... well, they''ve gotten worse. That''s why I''m here."

    "...I warned Will. Going against Dissonance is not a good idea. No matter what."

    Sot crossed his arms, his eyes focusing on the city nearby them.

    "Something was ¡®bout to go wrong eventually. That''s why me and Burgess never got involved. Besides, we don''t need potions to kick ass, do we?"

    "Language!", Burgess shouted almost instantly, a knee-jerk reaction for him any time anyone dared to swear near him.

    He shifted in his seat, sighed and raised his hands.

    "But... you''re right. We didn''t need the potions and we didn''t wanna cross Dissonance. So we stayed out of it."

    "I... I get that... but this is something far worse than just Dissonance and his policies. He''s keeping Taza locked up in his house and making him work for him ¨C That, no matter how much he may need those potions, is evil. That kid is fourteen!"

    For just a moment, the two men in front of him considered his words. And of course, Sot was the first to retaliate;

    "Let me guess, you want us to help you?", he asked with a tone that suggested he was completely unconvinced.

    "...Because whatever you might offer, I''m not interested."

    "And what if I offered you a test of morality?"

    Fonda turned his voice into a more grave one, noting how he finally got Sot''s attention in full ¨C That wasn''t something easy to do.

    "...Go on."

    The man narrowed his eyes, meanwhile his friend shifted closer to him. It was clear he was worried for whatever this ''test of morality'' may entail.

    "...Taza has been living locked up in that flower field for five years now. We finally offered him a way out and a way for everyone to have the potions that could save their life. The only reason Tom is alive right now is because Errett bought health potions from us in the first place!"

    Fonda paused, standing up and pointing vaguely towards where the flower field was.

    "...When those three bastards heard about us finally giving Taza some freedom they took him back and locked him in again. He''s in there right now, working without getting anything for it! The question is this, Sot. Are you willing to put your own needs aside to help someone else?"

    And here, both Sot and Burgess were forced into silence. Having been part of the group that founded the city with Dream, they knew him better than anyone. They knew what he was like when he didn''t get his way, they knew how far he was willing to go for victory, and in some cases, they found out the hard way about what he was capable of at his worst. But they also knew that if they wished, they could take him down. Probably... it would take a lot of work, preparation, and some calculated risks, but they could. But the problem was they didn''t want to ¨C As Dissonance''s close friends, they never experienced the worst parts of living in this city. They had no reason to go against the guy who gave them a place to stay and ensured they were safe. But it was unfair to leave Taza trapped, too. They had to find a balance between these two ¨C A way to help without crossing Dissonance, a way to go directly against his orders without him ever tracing it back to them. And while Burgess stayed silent with his own internal battle, Sot cut in with an idea;The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    "I can''t go against Dissonance, and you know that.", Sot started, playing aimlessly with his hoodie strings.

    "But... I can help you. As long as you keep it under wraps."

    Fonda nodded almost instantly. He knew that without the help of someone far more skilled and far better off than him and his father they had no chance at rescuing Taza.

    "...Yes. Of course. Thank you!", he started, but was cut off as Sot lifted his hand with a sharp movement.

    With a grave tone of voice he said;

    "Don''t thank me yet. I can''t do much for you without getting me or Burgess hurt.... but... I have a few spare weapons and some armour lying around."

    The man paused, looking away.

    "You''ll have to keep them. That''s the only way for Dissonance to not trace them back to us."

    "A-are you sure? I mean, you don''t have to-"

    And Fonda, once more, barely got time to speak. Another thing about Sot ¨C he wasn''t very patient.

    "Two bronze swords, a bow, enough arrows for a good battle, three steel chest plates, one leather tunic and a single fresh steel sword. It''s the best I can offer right now."

    Sot sighed.

    "Things haven''t been the best on our end, either. Dissonance may like us, but taxes are taxes, I guess."

    "I saw the house earlier today.", Burgess finally spoke up, having been mostly silent until now.

    He was aimlessly kicking a patch of grass under his foot.

    "...Georgie and Sapana are both guarding it. If you take Errett with you, you might just have a chance four on two... but that''s a big ''maybe''."

    "Those two have spare potions, fresh steel gear, and years of combat training from Dissonance himself. It''s not gonna be easy, and you have no chance if you just attack them outright."

    Sot paused, narrowing his eyes.

    "Move at night. Distract them. Don''t engage directly."

    "...Thank you, Sot. Truly.", Fonda said, and this time, was not interrupted.

    One thing was clear - This man was done talking and this was all of the advice he could give.

    After some further conversation, Sot agreed he would leave the supplies at the caravan that evening. Fonda headed back to Errett''s house with small sparks of hope in his heart - There was a chance at saving Taza, at showing everyone that Dissonance wasn''t as powerful as some would believe, at showing them standing up for themselves is truly worth it. But this hope didn''t last long - The things he began noticing left him unable to relax so easily. First it was the smell of smoke, the sickening miasma of gunpowder all around him. He walked faster. Then, there was the distant smoke rising from Errett''s house, the crackling of fire growing louder as he got closer. He started running. And finally, he arrived at where the home had once been, a large crater and nothing else left below. He stopped. Edges of the walls collapsed one by one as he watched, any of the remainders of the man''s home being engulfed by flames soon enough. He collapsed onto his knees.

    From the rubble of the house, the only person that emerged was Dissonance, dawning a twisted grin.

    "...When I was little... just a few months old... I was abandoned. My mum found me outside her house in a basket with these three discs tucked in with me."

    Tom, after some time to rest, was finally able to talk without as much strain as earlier. And with a few more potions from Errett, practically using up his entire stash, he was finally able to sit up on the bed and sway his legs back and forth from the edge. He had his leather backpack on his knees, taking out one of his discs and inspecting it with his bandaged hand. On its edge, his name was painted onto it, done with expert precision as to not disturb the actual disc and how it worked once out inside of a jukebox. The name itself, however, seemed to be written over another.

    "...But that doesn''t make sense... I remember giving the discs to you when you were the age you are right now, probably even older. It wouldn''t make sense for you to have them as a baby."

    Will grabbed the disc gently from the boy, noting how tightly he was gripping onto it. He traced its edge with the tip of his finger, feeling the rough texture.

    "...And I remember that, too. Well, remember that in a dream. So is it even real?"

    Clearly, this whole situation was starting to give Tom a headache. Will slipped the disc back into the bag and focused his attention on the blonde himself, seeing him shifting around in discomfort.

    "What happened after? Why did you come to this city?"

    Will decided to aim for definitive memories to give the boy some time to unwind. He noticed his eyes fill with sadness as he tried to keep tears at bay, and with a shaky voice, he spoke;

    "When I was six.... I think... the city we lived in, similar to this one, was attacked by monsters. It all burned around me and I just... ran. I left everything behind, and I kept running until I made it to another... and another... and another.... and all I had with me were the discs."

    "Why... why didn''t you stay somewhere? You just kept running?"

    To this, Tom paused and bit his lip. He once more focused on his bag, playing around with some of the straps on it. Finally, after some hesitation, he spoke up;

    "Because you weren''t there. And I was looking for you."

    "...Looking... For me?", Will repeated, surprised.

    It made him wonder - If his dreams had not been as invasive as they were, would he have looked for the three people, too? If he had that sort of control of his life up until now, would he have tried to find them, ran from city to city as Tom had? Would he have eventually found the owner of that cold, angry glare, with the chilling laugh and the convincing voice? Would he have eventually discovered who wielded the deadly sword, with the crown of a leader and the blood of thousands on his hands? And would he have eventually found Tom, with his three discs, the one point of connection between them, running from everything that was real and in search of his fake world, just as he was? Would it have changed anything, or would they end up here, with their dreams serving as a distraction to their unjust reality? There was no way to know, and that was what scared him most.

    "I kept looking... looking for the man with the sweet singing voice, the round glasses and the yellow sweater. That was all I remembered about you - Only those three bits. And I kept looking for them, and when I finally found you and you didn''t even know my name... I didn''t know what else to do. So I stayed, hoping you''d remember and tell me what those dreams were."

    "...Well, I''m sorry, Tom... but until now I didn''t think you were even real. But you coming here, it changed something. It made me realise that... those dreams were far more than that. They were like memories of things that never happened, but also something far more than that."

    Will paused.

    "Whatever memories we share, they have to come from somewhere."

    "What if we never find out?"

    Tom''s voice was shaky and uncertain, his eyes growing fearful.

    "What if we never figure out what these dreams are, where we got these memories, and we just keep looking and looking but we never find anything and we just die without knowing-"

    "Tom! It''s alright."

    Will cut the other off, noticing how stressed he started getting.

    "...Even if we don''t find anything, at least we''ll be looking together. And that''s better than what we''ve been doing so far, right? You, chasing a stranger from your dreams and me not even knowing where I am... even without clear answers, this is better."

    The boy''s face filled with hope for a split second.

    "Right... yeah... at least we''re-"

    "Will! Tom!"

    Errett''s voice, coming from somewhere downstairs, was enough to end their short moment of peace. The man turned the corner and faced the two, panic in his expression and one of his arms holding onto his stomach. Will shot up, meanwhile the teenager sitting next to him took his time rising up, grabbing onto his backpack as he did so.

    "Errett? Errett, what''s happening?"

    Will came closer to the man, grabbing his shoulders. He was gasping for air, blood seeping into his clothes from a wound around his stomach. He couldn''t even say a word as an explosion erupted from the left, stunning all of them and forcing them to their feet. Will first helped Tom stand and then got close to Errett, but the man pushed him away.

    "Go! Just get out of here! I''ll hold him off!"

    For a single moment, all three looked down the stairway of the house. There, with his black mask fully over his face this time, stood Dissonance, sticks of dynamite in one hand and a lit match in the other. His sword, now strapped to his back, was covered in blood - Errett''s blood. For a second all four just looked at each other, momentarily stuck in an oblivion, the seconds seemingly stretching into hours.

    Another explosion from the right snapped them all out of it.

    Tom felt his wrist being grabbed and was soon pulled along one of the corridors in Errett''s home, the smell of smoke filling the rooms one by one. There was no way to go down the stairs, with Dissonance slowly making his way up and throwing the explosives wherever he could. Errett himself tried to hold him off for a while, rushing forward with a bronze sword. He was soon thrust aside by a swift kick to the stomach, and after narrowly avoiding an explosion, clearly decided to give up and focus on himself once more. He made his way out a distant window, meanwhile Tom and Will tried to do the same.

    The house was getting more and more heated, and pieces of the floor began to slowly fall away as they were consumed by the flames. The two ended up getting stuck in one of Errett''s storage rooms, items falling out and crashing below. The boxes could barely be held by the wood any more - the floor was about to break any minute. And in this situation, looking around with seemingly no way out, building up inside of him, the feeling of helplessness returned once more. Tom grabbed onto Will''s arm and gripped his yellow sweater as hard as he could ¨C It were as if he was just holding onto one last bit of familiarity he knew around here.

    "Tom?", Will suddenly shouted, barely heard over the fire and the explosions around them.

    "Yeah?", he shouted back, coughing on the ever-rising smoke.

    "Do you trust me?", the man asked, readying himself for... something.

    "...You''re the only one who''s seen those dreams."

    Tom looked at the man.

    "Of course I do!"

    "Well then know that... whatever happens, everything will be fine. I promise."

    Before the boy could even ask questions, Will suddenly grabbed his shirt and threw him aside, sending him tumbling out a window and landing on a large patch of grass below. All of the bruises from the cave suddenly made themselves known again, but his adrenaline allowed him to ignore it as he looked up at the house. There, in the window, Will was cut off by another wall of flame and disappeared behind it. Tom wanted to scream, call out to him, help him, but before he could even react, the house experienced one final explosion, knocking him far away and reducing the whole house to rubble. Tom''s ears were ringing, his head was pulsating with pain, and his eyes began to grow blurry with tears. He looked into the flames in stunned silence. He watched and stared intensely, waiting for someone to emerge.

    But even as the dust settled, Will was nowhere to be seen.

 Chapter 7 - Consequences (3)

    The pain he''s feeling is unimaginable.

    He tries to put pressure on areas of most pain, but no matter what he tries, he can''t feel it easing. He can smell his own burning flesh, the horrible stench is filling his nostrils and making him sick. His head is spinning and he feels like he''s about to lose himself any second ¨C but he stays awake. Because he knows that as long as he is awake, he is alive. And as long as he is alive there''s still a chance someone will find him here. Because down here he has no chance at saving himself, buried in some pit as a fire rages above. He tries to remember how he got here but it escapes his mind ¨C All he can focus on is the overwhelming heat and the pain in his entire body.

    "Will! Will, you''ve got to stay with me, man! I can''t- Come on, not like this!"

    The panicked voice he hears is unlike it normally is. It''s not convincing, it''s not foreboding, it''s full of fear, uncertainty and every word it speaks is littered with cracks.

    "...Get out of here... you''ve got to... get out...", he speaks slowly, his voice raspy and similar to a whisper.

    He can barely even open his mouth, not to mention get his words out properly. The man leaning by him starts rummaging through his bag.

    "Shut the hell up and listen! I''m not gonna leave you here, are you crazy?"

    After some searching, the man removes two bottles from his bag. They both glisten with a strange, orange glow. He opens them both and passes one to Will, tilting it slightly and letting the liquid flow into his mouth. As it moves down his throat, he can feel the pain around him easing, and the heat becomes something unnoticeable. His saviour drinks his own potion, helps him stand, and begins leading him out of the burning pit. With great struggle the two crawl out, just in time before the whole building collapses completely. They wait for a few moments, gasping for air.

    "You... you idiot...", Will says between coughs.

    "You could have died! Don''t you get that?"

    "...We''re partners... partners in crime, right?"

    The man takes a deep breath, laying down on the ground below.

    "We can''t be that till the end of time... if one of us is dead... can we?"

    "...You stole my potions."

    He looks at the two empty bottles the two carried out, both of them with ''Fire Nullification'' lazily scribbled onto them.

    "You''re an idiot and a thief."

    "An idiot and a thief who just saved your ass!", the man shouts, but is unable to do anything else as he continues coughing at higher and higher rates.

    "You should be grate- You should be-"

    And as the coughing gets too intense to deal with, the man sits up and spends almost half a minute just trying to put an end to it. As he finishes, his friend gets closer, putting an arm on his shoulder.

    "Are you... are you okay?"

    Will comes closer, his hands trembling.

    "I''m fine!"

    The man pushes him away.

    "Just... thank me for being a valiant hero already, and..."

    "It''s not normal to cough like that-", he speaks, concerned for the man more than himself.

    "It''s not normal to not thank someone for-"

    He coughs once more.

    "For saving their life!"

    Maybe if Will didn''t back down so easily then, he-

    -felt the heat rising, stronger and stronger, dizzy from having just gotten back from his memory. Will rubbed his eyes and tried to focus back into the world, his lungs filling with the smoke-ridden air and his legs trembling from fear. He looked outside for a moment before a wall of flame blocked him off ¨C Tom was safe, and that was all that mattered to him. He hugged the wall with his back and closed his eyes, as if praying to some unknown entity to rescue him. And just when he thought all was lost, right in the corner of his eye, he spotted something. Something glimmering with an orange glow different to that of the fire, reminding him of a similar potion he saw in his dream. He knelt down and quickly grabbed it, reading the charred label on the side. Although barely readable, it was there, clear as day;

    ''Fire Nullification''

    Will didn''t waste time opening the bottle and downing all of its contents, the heat and the pain from some of the flames getting far too close for comfort fading in seconds. He covered his mouth with his sleeve to try and not choke on the smoke, and then finally, started making his way out of the slowly collapsing house. He rushed right through the wall of fire in front of the doorway, sprinting to the stairs as fast as he could. The ceiling cracked and fell around him, sparks hitting him as the charred wood dropped on every side of him. He was about half way down the stairs when he felt something push him forward, making him collapse into a large fire. He was lucky the potion effect lasted as long as it did. He turned back, and looked upon the stairs, where Dissonance stood in silence, the fire burning away his mask. He didn''t care ¨C Of course, he, himself, came prepared with more potions he could ever carry, all of them brewed by Taza, imprisoned in his own home.

    "Heading somewhere?", the blonde asked as he lit another stick of dynamite, his blood-thirsty grin showing from behind his burned mask.

    His eyes were filled with nothing but lust for power.

    "...Screw you, you maniac!", as Will shouted these last few words, Dissonance lit his final explosive and threw it up high, disappearing behind another wall of inferno.

    And all Will could do was huddle in a corner, hoping for a miracle.

    "...What do you mean... what do you mean he''s gone?"

    Errett was bleeding and covered in ash. Tom''s whole body ached and some of his bandages were still smoking. And Fonda stood there, staring at them, with his ears laying low and eyes pacing from one to the other, terror and confusion alike overwhelming them. The smoke from Errett''s home was still rising from afar ¨C More and more people from the city were walking over to see what was going on. But these three did not have time ¨C These three knew that what had just gone down meant one thing, and one thing alone; War. It was either the start or the end of the first battle this city had ever seen, and it was up to these three to decide whether it was the latter or the former.

    "He was in that house when it blew up, Fonda!"

    Tom was out of breath, in agony, tired and filled with more regret and guilt than he could admit. And yet still, he spoke. Because this teenager had a habit of speaking more and more the less he wished to.

    "It all went up in flames, and- And everything just- That son of a bitch, I''ll tear him to shreds!"

    "If you don''t calm down, we''re just gonna have another death on our hands! Do you want that!?", Errett yelled at Tommy, grabbing his hand and pulling him back before he could rush off to god knows where.

    The blonde paused for just a moment, stepped back, and then fell to the ground, unable to stand any more. He now sat aimlessly on his knees, looking into the grass field below.

    "...He''s... he''s... he can''t be... n-no..."

    Fonda started pacing around, whispering to himself and rubbing his shoulders. Tom had lived with him and his father long enough to recognize that he was truly past the point of giving up, and had fallen into something far deeper, far darker. Complete and utter despair and helplessness.

    For a moment, the three all sat in silence.

    What else was there to do? In a single day, virtually everyone here had lost everything they could ever care about. Tom had first lost his friend, captured and taken away, with no hope of ever being freed. And then, on top of that, he had lost the one other person who was like him, who understood what he was going through. Errett himself tried to help a stranger and in turn lost everything he had owned ¨C His home, his possessions, all because he showed an act of kindness to those who Dissonance deemed unworthy of it. And finally there was Fonda, who had lost most of all ¨C His father. Because Will was gone, and there was no way he could have made it out of that-Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    "You weren''t gonna give up on me that easily, right?"

    And to the familiar sound of someone who they had thought to be gone, they all reacted instantly. Errett looked up and with a sigh of relief, smiled, unable to believe what he was seeing. Tom''s head snapped to the side and he gasped. And Fonda, without hesitation, ran forward almost instantly. Because from the edge of the forest, limping, struggling to walk, gasping for air, but still, walking, breathing, living, was Will. His clothes were all covered in soot, most of his sweater having burned away at its edges. His trousers were ripped, and all he held in his hand was a single, empty, glass bottle. He nearly fell over, his son luckily catching him and supporting him before he properly had a chance to. Fonda, with no regard for any wounds he may have started, instantly began embracing him and sobbing into his sweater, meanwhile Errett and Tom slowly made their way to them. It wasn''t long before the younger one joined in, meanwhile the older man kept his distance.

    "You''re okay!", Fonda exclaimed through his sobs and sniffles.

    "But Tom said you were-"

    "I thought I was a goner."

    Will lifted the empty bottle.

    "But I guess someone is looking out for me."

    "You- I thought you were-"

    Tom suddenly shot up and stepped back, crossing his arms.

    "Why did you do that?"

    "I saved your life! You should be thanking me..."

    Will suddenly looked at Errett.

    "I guess it''s good you bought this from us, huh?"

    He lifted the small bottle in his hand and handed it to the man with the sunglasses, who took it from him hesitantly. He looked more closely at the label on it, and then with a confused grimace shrugged.

    "I never bought any Fire Nullification from you.", Errett bluntly stated, causing the other man to stammer.

    "...Check your records if you don''t believe me. I never once ordered Fire Nullification because I didn''t need it. All I ever bought was the Healing and Recovery I used on Tom."

    "...So then... how did this..."

    Will looked down at the edge of the glass, the reflection of that cold, angry glare seeming to shine right through. His ''partner in crime''... ''till the end of time''... a partner in crime he failed to even remember the name of.

    "I guess someone really is looking out for you.", Errett said, patting him on the back.

    "But maybe we should actually take care of those burns. Once the Fire Nullification wears off, all of that pain will hit you at once. Do we have any potions left?"

    The rest of that day was a bitter-sweet moment of peace between all of what had gone down and their planned rescue mission for that evening ¨C It was hard to describe the feeling exactly. On one hand, everyone was relieved to be back together, and to see Will on his feet. His wounds were taken care of rather quickly, and with the right herbs and potions, his pain was eased, too. Him, Tommy and Errett all changed and had time to tell Fonda what had happened, giving them all a rather grim outlook on their chances at rescuing Taza. Still, they waited, and at some point during the evening, when none of them were really paying attention, a box with a note attached to it appeared seemingly out of nowhere near the caravan. Will picked it up and read it aloud;

    To whoever made it out of that house, know that I have not lost hope. Whether there''s still four of you or just one, I still believe that you have a chance at making this work. Dissonance doesn''t have control over everything - And you can show everyone that. You can show them that there''s a chance at rising up, and maybe then I''ll stop being so cautious and do some revolting of my own.

    No promises though.

    Use whatever I left here as best as you can, and don''t throw this chance away. No matter how hopeless it may look, even trying will give the people here something to fight for. And that will set us on the path to making this place better. Or, at least, I hope so. I really, really do.

    Good luck, and remember, we''ve all got our eyes on you.

    - Zack

    "He signed it with his name...", Will whispered under his breath as he finished reading the note.

    Tom was already rummaging through the items as Errett helped him sort it out. Meanwhile, Fonda got closer to his father and placed his hand on his shoulder, smiling;

    "It means he trusts us."

    He looked into the chest, watching as Tom carefully removed a bronze sword from inside, swinging it around for a short while. Errett had to stop him before he slashed a hole in the wall of the caravan.

    "It means he truly believes we have a chance at this."

    "With stuff like this?"

    Errett lifted a steel chest plate, shaking it around for a bit and exposing its many cuts and bends.

    "I''m all for being an optimist, Will, but with these things we barely stand a chance. Unless you''ve got some sort secret weapon up your sleeve, we''re not gonna-"

    "Holy shit!", at Tom''s exclamation, the whole group was forced to look into the chest.

    With most things moved aside or laid out on the grass by the chest itself, only one item remained in their direct view. That item was a single weapon - A sword with a wooden handle lined with rope for an easier grip, and a blade made of pure fresh steel. The sword glimmered in the sun above, the sun rays reflecting on its crystalline surface. Unlike the other weapons Sot had gifted them with, this one had no scratches, no stains, no marks. All it was was a carefully polished blade, as if prepared specifically for this very occasion. Either that, or it''s former owner somehow managed to keep it in pristine condition. For a minute or two they simply watched, enticed by the slight glow on the edges and the pristine craftsmanship on the handle. Will was the first to move, picking the sword up and wrapping his fingers around the handle with great care. He moved it around a few times and finally swung it at full force, making a clean cut in the trunk of a nearby tree.

    "That''s so cool! Can I have a try?"

    Tom, seemingly forgetting the many bruises on his body and disregarding the burns he got from the earlier explosion, ran up and started watching Will carefully as he played around with the sword for a little longer. He was completely entranced by its sharpness and how easy it was to manoeuvre.

    "Careful, Tom, it''s not a-"

    Before the man could even finish speak, the boy snatched the weapon out of his hand and started hitting all of the nearby tree branches with it, making clean cuts each time. Even without any experience with a sword, the boy was dealing incredible damage. Fonda soon followed him, ensuring he didn''t hurt himself or anyone who would be unlucky enough to pass by. And so, Will and Errett were left alone to talk.

    "That''s not just some used sword.", Errett started, watching the teenager swing the blade around.

    Every time it moved, it made a sharp sound reverberate through the air.

    "He must have made that recently. Very recently. Even Dissonance, Sapana and Georgie don''t have weapons this fresh."

    "I guess we got our secret weapon, then."

    Will looked at Errett as he scoffed, seeing a small smile grow on his face.

    "Sot must really believe in us if he gave us a completely new sword, right?"

    "...It could give us a chance. A sword like that scares anyone who knows better away. It might not be the key to removing those two maniacs, but it''s what we might need to give us an equal chance. And that''s enough."

    The other man bit his lip in contemplation.

    "Now the question is how to secure that chance..."

    Will looked down, looking at all of the bandages on his arms. They were all burned at their edges.

    "Which one of us is the most dangerous with a sword like that?"

    He looked briefly at Tom, who now needed help from Fonda after getting the sword stuck in the bark of the tree, both pulling at it with all their might.

    "...I think you already know.", Errett murmured soothingly, his own eyes focusing on the young blonde as well.

    He managed to get the sword out of where he had trapped it, lifted it in his hand and grinned. The man carried on as they both watched in silence;

    "...There''s only one among us with the type of flame we need for this to work out."

    Will looked at Tom''s eyes. And Tom''s eyes burned with a fire of hope.

    "...Fonda, I trust you to cover us. You''ll take the bow and the tunic and stay at a distance."

    Will stood in front of his son, handing him his gear.

    "If they get close to you, run like hell. You know more than anyone you''re not the best at hand to hand combat and I don''t want you to-"

    "I get it."

    Fonda tilted his head slightly and smiled.

    "I''ll give you guys cover and retreat if they notice me. Don''t worry. I''ve been using a bow long enough to know how to do it safely."

    He crossed his arms and relaxed.

    "...Just trust me, dad."

    "...Alright... alright, I do."

    His gaze moved to Errett as he picked up a bronze sword and steel chest plate.

    "You''ll go with me, Errett. We''ll distract Georgie and Sapana and lead them away from the house so Tom can break Taza out. I''m gonna be relying on you."

    "You can put your trust in me, Will."

    Errett grabbed the weapon and chest plate, getting himself ready. Will put on one of the chest plates himself and then turned to Tom, passing him the last one of three.

    The boy waited as he picked up the two swords they had left ¨C One, a flimsy bronze one. The other, a pristine blade forged from steel. Instantly, Tom reached for the bronze sword, but the man pulled it away and moved the other forward.

    "W-Will... are you... are you sure?", he asked, gently grasping onto the handle.

    "You''re the one who''s gonna be going into the epicenter of it all."

    The man nodded.

    "You need all the defence you can get. Don''t let us down."

    The boy hesitated for a moment, and then grinned.

    "Obviously! I won''t let you down, Will!"

    Tom moved away with the weapon and slashed at the air with it, giggling to himself as he did so. And even though this moment of bliss was more than welcome after their day of struggles, it couldn''t last long. Because the sun was already setting, and night was getting closer and closer.

    And at night, they would make their move.

 Chapter 8 - Rescue

    The first arrow was fired at sundown.

    Georgie knew this, and he knew this well, because every day at sun down he would look towards where the sun was setting and try to at least take a single second to enjoy it. Enjoy it as well as he could, of course - While others saw a pleasant mix of colours, all he could really recognise was a smudge of washed out yellows and greens that all just sort of... blended together. Despite this, still, he would look at the sun as it went down, and wonder how he found himself here, relentlessly following Dissonance''s every order and doing things he''d never expect to be doing a few years back. And as another day came to an end and he watched, lost in thought, he couldn''t overlook the whizzing noise passing right by his ear, snapping him out of his momentary trance.

    Picking up his bow and aiming it with expert precision towards where he deduced the shot to have been fired from, he let his eyes wander around, scanning the edge of the flower field for the possible archer. Sapana was soon by his side, lighting a torch and putting it in one of his hands while he wielded an axe in the other. Georgie wasn''t sure where exactly Dissonance found him - The three of them meeting had been so long ago, it was hard to recall. But he knew one thing for sure - It must have involved fire. As the two men stood still and watched in silence, they finally saw two figures emerging from behind the trees at the edge of the field, dawning armour and wielding swords. Georgie kept his aim steady, speaking;

    "You''re trespassing on private property. If you don''t leave now I will be forced to-", Georgie started, giving the usual phrase Dissonance had drilled into their heads.

    It was important to try and keep everything clean and political, otherwise people might get outraged when the deaths of locals or strangers pop up where they shouldn''t.

    "Cut the formalities!"

    Sapana moved forward, pointing his axe towards the two figures.

    "These are those traitors that tried to take our potions! They''re here to break the kid out!"

    He turned around, pointing to the house. Georgie waited for a few seconds and then lowered his bow for just a short while, tilting his head with a grin.

    "Is that so?"

    He asked, moving his glasses down and over his face. Instantly, the colours around him went from bland, identical shades, to vibrant and clear ones, showing him exactly who was standing at the edge of the field. One had sunglasses. The other, a dirty yellow sweater.

    "...Well then, let''s show them how we deal with traitors around here!"

    Breathe in. Breathe out. Keep your grip steady. You''ve got this.

    Tom could feel the sweat building up on his palm, making the steel sword slip from under his control. He could feel his heart pounding, the sensation making his whole body tremble. His eyes stayed focused on the house in front of him as he lay low in the grass, feeling the various flowers touching his skin and bandages. Daffodils, tulips, lavender, poppies, gladiolus, peonies... his mouth was beginning to get awfully dry, and his burns seemed to be more bothersome than ever. Not to mention the cold wind, the wet grass, the-

    Breathe in. Breathe out. Don''t get distracted. Focus on the house.

    He had to remember. Remember who was in the house, and what was happening. Because someone he truly cared about, a boy he had started calling his best friend, Taza, was inside, and he had no way out himself. This was their only shot at getting him free and giving him an escape from it all, maybe finally making the choice to run away from this city and leave it all behind. Maybe he could build a future with this newfound ''family'' they had managed to form, and maybe things would finally be okay from there-

    Breathe in. Breathe out. Fonda fired. They''re distracted.

    But what was the point of running, anyway? He had been doing that all his life, hadn''t he? He promised himself that when he found the man with the voice, the sweater and the glasses he would stop and he would finally try and learn more about the memories. But this is a cycle that will never end, as long as they''re here and Dissonance rules above them they will always, always suffer. But is there another way? Is there a way to stay, but be free from that tyrant at the same time? Maybe-

    Breathe in. Breathe out. They''re after them. They''ve left the house.

    No time to think. Time to move. Now!

    And just as he ran motivated by fear when the stranger with the crown chased him, just as he ran after the man with the signing voice all his life, and just as he ran away from everything that came before, he ran towards the house, driven by the flame of hope for a better future burning in his heart. Because in front of him there was injustice, there was tyranny and there was a possibility of breaking it all down. He just had to take the first step, and that first step, whether he could handle the pressure or not, all depended on how he acted here. And even though just seconds ago he was doubting himself, now he knew - He knew that whatever happened, he would do anything he could as long as he had a chance at saving his friend.

    Because right now, that was all that mattered.

    "Oh Will! Don''t run! There''s nothing to be afraid of..."

    One thing Will noted about Georgie was how intense he seemed to get when fighting, compared to his rather calm personality when he saw him around the city. He knew that Dissonance had strange ways of training his two bodyguards, one of them including the so called ''hunts'' - It was often that the people in the city would find Georgie and Sapana chasing the local leader with bloodlust in their eyes. They''d shout, push people over, have long fights that resulted in damage to virtually everything around them, and would usually spiral into insulting one another for days after. This essentially meant that the one thing these two specified at was chasing people down ¨C That, and sounding incredibly intimidating as they did so.

    Georgie was nearby. Will could hear his voice echoing from virtually every direction, his sing-song tone cutting through his very psyche. Luring him into the woods where he could not see Tom in the flower field was certainly a good idea, until he realized that he himself was lost and struggling to find his way. Only a few seconds later, he felt something slamming into him, causing him to collapse to the floor and hit the back of his head on a nearby tree. His head was spinning as he got to his knees and got ready to stand, dodging an oncoming arrow just in the nick of time. He rolled to the side and finally got to his feet, already feeling his reality fading as he did so. He knew that if he were to black out here, he''d be a goner. He raised his sword and got ready to block as another arrow was fired, this one stabbing into a thick, leather strap on his chest plate by sheer luck.

    Will quickly pulled the arrow out and dropped to the floor as Georgie fired another, doing so at speeds so quick it was impossible to keep up with. He dodged two of them by hiding behind a large boulder, and as Georgie got close, Will grabbed onto his arms and tried to force him over to his side. He succeeded, leaving the man lying in front of him and giving himself a head start as Georgie got up to run once more. He could already feel himself getting out of breath, wheezing and coughing as he lacked air to breathe. It wasn''t hard for Georgie, who did stuff like this on the daily, to catch up with him and knock him to the ground. This time, he put his knee on his thigh, essentially pinning him down and leaving him immobile. Will lifted his sword and swung it but the other deflected it with his forearm, which was protected by a steel guard. The sword flew away at great force and lodged itself in a nearby tree, leaving Will with no weapon and no hope for survival.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    "It''s funny, Will.", Georgie started, attaching his bow to his back and removing a small, steel dagger from a sheath on his right leg.

    He moved it close to the man''s throat, and from the fear alone, he could already hear the passing whispers of a memory getting ready to embrace him and lock him away from the pain. The blade stung him with its chilling temperature, clearly a weapon not often used and reserved only for unusual situations ¨C Situations like these.

    "It''s almost like you thought you had a chance at getting away from me. But that would be stupid. Even from a man as... unusual, as you."

    And as always, Will was already fading out, barely able to comprehend what was being said to him. Because every time Will was about to face something where he''d actually be required to act, to be brave, to do something of use, he was snatched away. Because he was useless. He was a useless piece of garbage and never contributed to anything of use and oh god he was so afraid he couldn''t even think straight-

    "But as a distraction, now this... is interesting."

    ...useless, I''m useless, I''m a horrible person and an even worse father, I can''t do anything right and I always need help and why am I even here doing this I wanna go back I just wanna go back to the fog being alive hurts too much I just want to forget all of this again just take me back to the strangers take me back to the cold glare to the crown to the laugh to the sword to the discs to the I don''t care just take me back

    Why am I not going back?

    "...I''ll make sure to tell the kid you gave it a good try. Right before I drown him in that little lake by your caravan."

    And as Georgie moved the dagger back, getting ready for a deadly slash, a large, unidentifiable shape slammed into him, and he was forced aside, his weapon tumbling away. Will reacted instantly, pulling himself away from his thoughts and rushing to grab onto it. A bright, orange light filled the area just as he did, Sapana appearing with his torch and axe, the latter stained with blood. Will''s eyes were instantly drawn to Georgie, now in a vicious fist-fight with Errett, who had tackled him only moments ago. Will now focused his attacks on the man who had taken Taza away in the first place ¨C A personal spite building up inside of him.

    Will lunged forward, moving at a speed faster than he could fully comprehend. It was like something else than his raw strength was driving him, something far deeper, stronger, and darker. Way, way darker. Sapana clearly wasn''t expecting it, letting his guard down long enough for Will to stab his axe-wielding hand from the side, blood seeping out as he did so. The man backed away and dropped his weapon, unable to hold on, beginning to blindly wave his torch around. Will dodged one attack, then the next, and then the next. And as he looked at Sapana, all he could see was him grabbing Tom, pushing him into that cave, and dragging Taza away. Nothing more. Just the pure hatred and lust for revenge. But revenge tends to blind you, and Will had failed to account for how quickly someone like Sapana could flip a situation like this around.

    During one of his blind slashes, Sapana ducked to the floor and kicked forward, knocking Will on his back. He tried to stand up but felt a strong kick to his stomach, causing him to curl up in pain. He watched helplessly as the steel dagger was once more picked up by its rightful owner, Errett nowhere to be seen. For a moment the two spoke, as if behind some sort of wall, their conversation muted and unclear. And then, without any further attacks, they ran to the side, disappearing into the dark woods. Will now saw Errett ¨C He was slowly standing up from the floor, holding onto a large bruise on his head, blood pouring from his forehead and onto his face. Despite this, still, he rushed forward and checked the other man first and foremost.

    "Will... Will, you feeling okay? Did you break anything?"

    Will shot up almost instantly, grabbing Errett''s hands and stopping him from doing anything.

    "Errett, you''re bleeding! What did he do to you? Are you alright?"

    The man fixed up his sunglasses and gritted his teeth, trying to move his focus away from his overwhelming pain.

    "That doesn''t matter right now! Where are- Where are they?!"

    The two men looked around, noticing Georgie and Sapana had long disappeared. For a moment, it seemed a blessing, giving them a chance to get away and live. But they were soon reminded why exactly they were out here, fighting for their life ¨C And that reminder was a shout for help.

    A shout for help from an archer hidden deep in the forest.

    "Taza!"

    The boy, who had been sitting on his floor and sobbing into his knees until now, rapidly wiped his tears away with his sleeve and looked up. Although his eyes were still slightly blurred, it wasn''t hard to recognise the teenager forcing his way in through his window. Blonde hair, a red patch on top of his shirt and way too many band aids and bandages for him to be considered ''cautious''. Taza instantly shot up, rushing over and wrapping his arms around his shoulders, receiving a hug in return. He backed away, already bouncing on his feet from excitement.

    "You''re okay!", he shouted, putting his hands together.

    "When Sapana threw you down that cave, I thought- I thought you were dead- And- And he told me about the explosion, and-"

    "Some things happened, but we''re all fine."

    Tom grabbed his friend''s shoulders and narrowed his eyes.

    "Right now we have to get out of here. We have to go before-"

    "Time''s up."

    The two boys turned around, and in the doorway, found none other than Sapana, a torch in one of his hands, meanwhile the other hung limp by his side. Tom could not overlook the blood gushing right out of it ¨C But the man seemed to ignore it. His full focus was on the teenagers in front of him, their fear outlined in the warm glow of his torch. He didn''t speak, instead making his first move. Tom pushed Taza to the side and readied his sword, just barely managing to deflect a swing from the torch. The fire was close to his face and produced great heat, reminding him of everything that happened at Errett''s house in an instant. This small flashback was enough to stun him and leave him completely unguarded as Sapana swiftly kicked his leg, causing him to collapse to the floor. Taza took this moment to react, rising up from where he had fallen and tackling the man by pushing himself into his waist.

    The next few moments were the most messy and chaotic of the night ¨C Firstly, Taza got off Sapana before he could gather himself and helped Tom stand, the boy readying his blade for another attack. He pressed it against the man''s throat, but deep inside knew he would never have the motivation to take a life, right here, right now. And the one under the blade must have seen it, too, and instead of saving himself, picked up his torch and threw it onto one of the tables ¨C A table filled with dry flowers, which quickly lit on fire, a fire which began spreading to the walls. Tom grabbed onto his friend and the two stumbled outside, Sapana giving chase. Without his torch or axe he grabbed onto one of the arrows Fonda had fired and began swinging it around like some sort of dagger ¨C At this stage, it was clear to see he was getting desperate.

    Tom dodged one of the man''s blind attacks and spun around, his sword cutting right through his chest plate and leaving a rather large gash. Sapana looked down in disbelief, then back at Tom, and finally, his eyes settled on his newly found weapon. His eyes wandered back to the small house Taza had once lived in, now up in flames, the fire slowly spreading further and further out. That''s when the man knew ¨C He knew he had done too much to ever be able to look Dissonance in the eyes and give a report of this whole incident with pride. He cursed under his breath, turned back, and ran into the night, disappearing somewhere in the woods. And while Tom seemed satisfied with the result, his friend definitely was not.

    "Tom... Tom, the flowers..."

    Taza grabbed onto his friend''s shirt and tucked at it, his teary eyes locked on his house. The flames began spreading onto the grass and consuming the many flowers, the colours fading from them as they became dark and shrivelled.

    "They''re all gonna burn... every single one of them, the whole field, it''s gonna-"

    "We have to go, Taza!", Tom exclaimed, already feeling the smoke fill his lungs.

    He pulled his friend along but he remained unmoved, watching the fire spread in silence.

    "Taza, I''m sorry, but there''s nothing we can do. We have to go! Now!"

    Tom came closer, grabbing his friend by the shoulders and turning him around so he was forced to look him in the eye.

    "All battlefields turn into poppy fields eventually, right, Taza?"

    The boy sniffled.

    "...They do... they always do."

    He wiped a few more tears away, and let himself be led home. And as the two boys walked away from the field, the flames only grew stronger and stronger, consuming more and more of the daffodils, tulips, lavender, poppies, gladiolus, peonies and everything else the field had ¨C And there was nothing that could have been done. There was no way to stop this destruction, this pain, this suffering, because what had happened there that night was only a start ¨C A start to something far worse, far more twisted, far more painful.

    It was the start of a war.