Jeff sat alone on the docks, staring out across the stary expanse reflected in the ocean. Though happy that Greed had been defeated, his was bit dispondent, dissapointed that he had contributed little to the overall battle. Despite the fact that the other gamers were the friends with whom he'd shared so many adventures, he no longer felt entirely like he belonged with them. They were all growing further away, and Shauni most of all. Perhaps he should have stayed with Amhal and helped the prince lead the army to defend Orca. Perhaps... He sighed. What he should do. Where he belonged. He just wasn't sure anymore.
"Why do you keep resisting? What do you have to gain by denying your true self?"
He looked up at the voice to see the ghostly form of a bird standing nearby. "Do, do I know you?" The bird seemed so familiar yet the details danced just outside of his recollection.
"After all we went through together, you still don't remember my name?" the bird asked sadly. "You suppress your memories, your powers, your very self...and what does it get you? Confusion? Isolation? You worry that your friends are drifting away from you, but you're the one who's abandoning them."
"No! That's not true! I'm-"
"Think back on the time you've spent with them. Your adventures together. The times you faced the chosen, Moenn, and Bowen. How much of it do you really remember?"
"Of course I remember!" Jeff retored angrily. "I..." he tried off as realized that the bird was right. His recollection of those days were vague and hazy, the details lost from him. "So I can't remember all the details? So what?!?"
"Your memories define who you are. Your values, your personality, your relationships. Without those memories, you're no longer the Jeff who went on those adventures. That's why you're so conflicted, so lost. You have to remember or the things you care about most will continue to slip away."
"How would you know anything about me?!?" Jeff slammed his fist against the sturdy wood of the dock, anger still lining his face.
"I've always been with you, Jeff. Ever since you first came to this world. If you'd only remember, you'd know that."
Jeff frowned and looked back into his thoughts, trying to pierce the invisible wall the seperated him from the memories of times past. They were all right there. The good times, the desperate battles, his friends, Shauni, and... "NO!!!" he screamed as his body, stiffened. "No! I can't!"
"Not all memories are pleasant." the bird spoke calmly. "Some are sad, and some are terrifying. But they're as much as part of you as the rest. If you supress them, you supress everything else as well. You must accept the bad along with the good. If you deny the darkness, you'll lose the light as well."
"The darkness..." Yes, there was darkness in those memories. In himself... He could remember it spreading though him, guiding his actions... "No..." he was trembling. "I don't want to remember. I, I..."
"Forgetting the past doesn't change it. Your friends have already forgivin you for what happened back then. All that's left, is for you to forgive yourself. Forgive, and remember..."
"Forgive myself?" Memories began flooding into his mind. The darkness that took over him and the horrible things he'd done and said under its coertion. How he later threw himself into his military duties and training, struggling to forget those dark days and no longer be the person who had allowed darkness to take control. Yet, not all the memories were bad. He remembered the times with his friends and their adventures. He remembered Shauni as she once was. Her light, her smile... And, at long last, he remembered them. The companions who he trusted and fought along side. The ones who had defined him as a gamer. The ones he thought were lost forever...
When Jeff looked up again, he wasn't aware of how much time had passed, but there were tears in his eyes as he thought of all the things he come so close to losing forever, just because he couldn't bring himself to accept that darkness in his past. Facing and accepting that darkness, difficult as it may be, was a small price to pay to regain everything else.
"Now," the bird asked gently, "do you remember my name?"
"Yuki..." he whispered, wondering how he could have ever let himself forget his first and strongest monster.
"Yes, it's me." the bird seemed to smile as the air shimmered around it, revealing more ghostly figures.
"Bubble... Drakkone... Fangrel... I, I'm so sorry..."
"Don't be sad. Though our physical forms were lost in the collapse, we were always there with you, Jeff. You just needed to remember. And now, we can aid you again. We'll always be here. Just remember your powers, remember us, and call whenever you need our aid. Our powers are yours, use them to fight alongside your friends again, just like you used to."
As the images of his monsters faded away, Jeff felt a warm glow coming from the Yuki Revolver on his belt. Picking it up, he saw that the chambers that had been empty were now loaded. He could also feel the sprits of his monsters inside him, their powers tied into the data shifting ability he'd long forgotten, ready for him to call upon at a moment's notice. "Thank you." he smiled as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "I promise that I'll never forget you again. From now on, we'll always fight together."
((Ended up being a bit longer than I though, but that wraps up Jeff's sub-plot. Next up, David and then it's time to get back to saving the world.))
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