daybreakacademy | Forget You

[As events unfold, entirely too much to be able to keep track of even half of it, he thinks dimly, he's taken a few more steps away. The distance doesn't help the grip on his lungs get any lighter, so he sits instead, still holding himself but otherwise giving in to the exhausted ache in his legs and his chest. His nails were short, but they still bit into his arms from his tense grip. The others, it seemed, were intent on punishment, justice, revenge... Good. They could handle that -- it seemed like something they all had experience in. He just wants to know about his friend, and watches Ekkehardt cast his magic with his heart hammering away.

Once accepting that Coco will be okay thanks to the doctor, Clifford draws his legs in so they aren't sprawled out weakly anymore, and drops his head against his knees. Fuck... This has been A Day, and he's content to stay back here and let the rest unfold without him until it's time to get back to a bed. He desperately needs one.]

[The child is safe, in the hands of someone who can take care of her. And Ernesto makes the mistake of coming back.

The darkness lights up with a burst of roaring flame. Adriel's fingertips burn badly but they continue to let the fire sweep through the air, only restrained by their careful control. Adriel casts the flames forward to cut off some possible escape routes before stepping forward.

In the darkness, Adriel does not look like the angel they normally do. Their expression is twisted with barely contained fury. They are...very, very angry and their voice is a low growl.]

You better have a damn good reasons for your actions here.

The shadows stretch past the curtain. He can just make out the shapes, faint details, the glow of many eyes (some animal and one pair completely red) and the rising sun. He flinches back from the black dog and from the woman with the gun. His gaze snaps to the one girl, then the other as the wretched thing whaps her umbrella at him causing him to yelp and stumble back.

And then the angel illuminates the nightmare. He cowers now. Behind him, that shadow still lurks.

"I... I had no choice. I had to..."

The charm hadn't worked. Killing Héctor hadn't worked. He's about to be killed by a collective of monsters.

But no. No, no, there's one option left, one option that brings his expression to twist, but there's no choice.

He doesn't draw on the charm for this. This time, he draws on his other power.

A silvery light dances over him. He's never done so much so fast, but in his panic, he must.

One by one, bit by bit, the group will start to remember the skeletal man they protect. In the same instant, they'll start to forget who he is. Only one person at a time and were he any less in his own head, he might think the daemon had planned this from the start for its own amusement. Forget your hostility. Forget him. It's a dizzying feeling. It should work, but Héctor's eyes still settle on him with a strange look in them. He doesn't recognize it. Is it hatred?

"They'll hunt you," He says, and there's something cold there. "The moment you let them remember, they'll find where you are. If you try to touch my family, they'll know. If you do anything with the songs you stole from me, they'll know."

Ernesto's eyes flick over the group and then back. He forces the power harder and Héctor's eyes narrow.

"Are you trying to make me forget too?" He asks. "Oh, Ernesto... You attacked my little girl... you murdered me... I'll never forget you."

With a panicked noise, while the group is still addled by the shifting of memory and their resprctive powers are thrown, he runs.

His head snaps up, a sharp pitched noise escaping as black receded from his eyes, crimson turning green as he shook and pawed at his nose as a strange feeling rose up in his throat, everything pitching inside his head.

Nausea... that's the feeling, how long has it been since he felt something like this? What... focus, his head is swimming as he tried to make sense of what just happened.

Memories fill.

Memories fade.

He had come all this way due to an instinctive hatred of... someone. And there was Héctor's daughter and...

And Héctor.

How long had he forgotten Héctor?

Why can't he remember who was right in front of him just then?

The darkness fades and Avery groans, lowering his head and rubbing his eyes with the heels of his palm.

Edited 2020-10-27 03:27 (UTC)

It's a strange feeling, to be caught between remembering and forgetting. Part of him wants to chase that feeling of fury, to chase the man even now running away, to hold onto the memories out of spite.

But Héctor has gotten himself into trouble once again, so reflexes take over.

"It seems your daughter has just as much of a knack as you for getting into troublesome situations," he says, kneeling to offer him a hand. "She's no less brave and reckless than you, for a start."

There's no bite to the words, though. He just seems faintly amused, and it's just like it always was.

Out with the old, in with the new... there's a funny little sound from one very surprised bird, and that's all. Family. A taste of family, thanks to the Héctor and the other Riveras. That's what he's been missing... the entire last year was better than he remembered, wasn't it? The relief that washes over him would have him smiling, if he had lips.

Fu- ow, not this shit again! [Hear that? That's the sound of Jail's seer powers colliding with enforced forgetfulness, resulting in yet another headache.]

[She's so fucking done with this shit.]

Good to have you back, got any aspirin?

Edited 2020-10-27 04:11 (UTC)

[Something was slipping and something was returning, but it was leaving a great deal of pain. The only good thing was that sudden wave of anger was being washed out, for something nostalgic? It felt kind of old and yet not really.]

...Héc... [The name still felt pretty foreign to say, after all this time, but she remembered everything now. There was so much she had forgotten too. Of course, he was primarily the reason she had this mask at all. And met Kit. And a ton of other things.]

[That's who they were rescuing, although now the rest of the details felt fuzzy.]

Nn... [Kokoro groans, trying to stay upright.] Mr. Rivera! You're here?

[They hold onto the image of this terrible man for as long as they can, trying and failing to commit to their perfect memory what he's done. But it falls through and they can only feel a faint sense of bitterness when they look at the spot where Ernesto once stood.

But it's for the best whatever just happened was forgotten. There were more important things as Adriel's memory of Héctor hits like a runaway train. Someone who was so kind to them...how did they forget? And he's--]

Héctor! Are you okay?

[Please be okay, please be okay...]

He watches Ernesto flee (and brush a bit of fire from his perfect coat left by the remenants of Adriel's power). Then he watches as the memories shift in that of his friends. His real friends.

Sherlock, Avery, Tobias...

"Hola, Kokoro. Hola, Puella. I'm alright, Adriel. I'm okay now." Banged up, cold to touch, weak... but things were going to be okay.

He casts an apologetic look at Jailbreak and shakes his head. He turns back to Ekkehardt.

"It seems she is. Her Mamá is not going to like that." He and Coco both weakly laugh. Then he asks, "You okay, Mija?"

"Yeah," she says softly. She starts to sit up. "Thank you, Señor Ekkehardt."

Héctor, sounding choked with feeling, echoes, "Thank you, Ekkehardt." He looks up. "All of you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Dios mio I missed you guys. And you..."

He looks to the last boy and his head tilts, a small grateful smile on his face.

"I don't believe we've even met."

"That's Cliff, Papá. He's my best friend."

"Ah, Cliff. Then, thank you, Cliff."

And then he looks back to his daughter. Their smiles fade a little as they meet eyes. They say a lot and very little. Finally...

"You're dead..." She says. Solemnly, he nods.

"Yes. I'm sorry, mija."

"The... the whole time...?" She asks, voice small. He nods again and her expression twists a moment with grief. Then, she smooths it out. "No more secrets. Right...?"

"No more secrets," He promises, a pained smile working over his face. She mirrors it and both try hard to embrace despite the exhaustion. She breaks into a sob. So does he. But this time there's relief to hold the hand of grief.

After a while, that very same exhaustion brings them to part. Coco sits up.

"We should go," Héctor says. "The sun's rising. I can't stay awake much longer."

"Wait," says Coco. He looks at her confused and she explains, "We need to make sure they know. We need to make sure they can't forget again."

She climbs to her feet, grimacing, and walks across the backstage. No one jumps out to grab her this time, though she appreciates anyone at her side. She moves to the guitars. And there, she pulls a white one out. His guitar. She goes to her father and presents it to him.

"Papá... one more song before bed?"

For a moment he simply stares at her, overwhelmed. Then, he rises up. He takes his guitar. He takes her hand. Together, living and dead, they walk out onto the stage and the world glimpses the real original version of remember me.

Forget You - End

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