Equinox

Chapter 21: Bunnie The Nomad

Milky dashed away, dragging Lita with. Bunnie smiled at the sight of the spirited duo and stepped outside of Star Grazer to get some fresh air.

"Where did those two run off to?" Fish was on the approach, genuinely curious as to where two of their party members were running off to.

"Oh, Milky said she heard music and ran off to go find it," Bunnie answered.

"That makes as much sense as half of the things we've been through. Yet there's one thing I'm genuinely curious about."

"What would that be?"

"You," Fish answered. "What's your role to play in all this. Everyone has some skill or power they bring to the table. Except for you. You're just some bum that gave a bit of medical attention on the beach. Nothing special about you at all. On top of all that, Orroth is fascinated by you."

"Yeah, that was weird. I don't know why he was so curious about me," Bunnie commented.

"What do you bring to the table? Because if you really are useless, I don't see a reason not to kill you now."

"Try me." Bunnie approached the nearby bush, admiring the flowers and the leaves. Fish clenched his fist and threw a sphere of acid at the nomad. To the sorcerer's surprise, Bunnie's entire body formed into diamond so that no pain would be inflicted.

"How did you do that?!" Fish shouted, approaching him.

"I don't know. Things like that just happen to me. I can never feel pain."

"But how? Are you cursed? Is it some kind of spell I don't know about? Tell me!"

"Like I said, I don't know. I woke up one day in a crater with no memories. My body just does stuff like this on its own."

"You have amnesia? I can help with that," Fish offered.

"You can? How?"

"I can detect your thoughts, but also dig deeper into the locked away parts of your brain. Hopefully triggering you to remember what you've forgotten."

"Okay, sure. Let's do it." Fish approached Bunnie and they both closed their eyes. The sorcerer held a hand up to his patient's face and began to cast the spell.

Honking cars and people chattering about. A young freelance reporter with a big head of hair was rushing through the crowd to get to the subway. The camera hanging around his neck had to be clenched tightly as he parkoured through the terminal and dove onto the train before the doors could close.

"That was a close one," said a fellow passenger.

"Yeah, it was. Couldn't afford to miss this train."

"I hear that. What's your name, kid?"

"Collin Walker. Freelance reporter and amateur magician. Specifically for card tricks." The ride to the hospital was fairly chill for the most part, but Collin was only getting more excited to get there. When he got to the facility, he checked in at the usual visitation desk and rushed up to the same room he was expected to go to.

"These photos are amazing, Collin!" said the young woman sitting in the bed. She took in every photo of the city landmarks with pure joy. "You're getting better at this."

"Hey, cut me some slack, April. Your big bro knows how to work a camera."

"That's true. Dad taught you well. He'd be proud of these." April put the photos down and gave a nice long look at her brother. "You look hungry. Have you been eating well?"

"What? Of course I've been eating! I've been-" The sound of Collin's stomach rumbling made him shut his trap.

"Bro you know you gotta keep your strength up if we're gonna visit all these places when I get out of here," said April.

"I know I know, but I have more important things to worry about." Collin's phone began to ring, but an unknown number was displayed. "I gotta take this. Might be important."

"Okay, sure. Oh, by the way, can you do me a favor while you're out?"

"Yeah, sure, what do you need?" Collin asked.

"Can you swing by the house and get my bunny hoodie? The white one with the floppy ears on the hood."

"Sure thing. I'll bring it over when I visit tomorrow." Collin stepped out into the hall and answered his phone. "Hello?"

"Is this Collin Walker?" said the man on the other end of the call.

"Yes. Who's speaking?"

"Doesn't matter who I am. What matters is what you can do with that camera of yours. Are you familiar with M.O.O.N.?"

"The moon? Uh, yeah. I see it every night," Collin answered.

"No! Not that moon. I'm referring to the Military Of Organized Nations. They're a private security company here in Bespoken Prime."

"Okay, got it. What's going on with them?"

"They've got something planned and I mean something big. Nuclear reactors and supernatural stuff."

"Supernatural? That seems more like fiction rather than news."

"Trust me, kid, you'll make a fortune off this story."

"Okay... what do I gotta do?" Collin asked.

"M.O.O.N. is expecting a large shipment of something tonight. Swing by, get your proof and go public with it. Their base of operations is in the heart of town."

"Got it. Thanks." Collin hung up on the anonymous tipster and took one last look at his sister before leaving the hospital.

With the last of the funds he had, Collin took a cab back to his family's home. Everything was dustier than he had left it. As instructed he went up to his sister's room and retrieved the bunny hoodie. On the way out he caught sight of a family photo, a simpler time when baby April was sleeping in the hands of their mother while Collin sat on his father's lap.

Snapping back to reality, Collin left his home and started walking across the city. When he reached the big metal gates of M.O.O.N. headquarters, he knew he had to get a vantage point if he was gonna get the scoop of a lifetime.

Without fear he climbed up the fire escape of a nearby apartment building. From the roof, he had a clear view of the base courtyard. To his luck, though, it was just starting to rain.

"Aw man," he groaned. Wanting to avoid catching a cold, he put on his sister's jacket.

His hopes for action were eventually fulfilled when a large semi pulled onto the base. Collin immediately began snapping photos. He watched as the personnel began unloading equipment. What really caught his eye was a car sized nuclear reactor that looked like it was operational. Yet even that was small stuff compared to the main event, a caged necron being taken inside.

"What is that thing?!" Collin asked himself as he snapped photos.

"Oh, that thing? It's called a necron," said a voice creeping up behind him. "And you, good sir, are in a load of trouble." Collin felt something wrap around his neck, then everything went black.

That's as far as Fish's spell could take them, and both he and Bunnie were exhausted from the trip to the past.

"April..." Bunnie fell on all fours, processing the memories that were flooding back to him. "How... How long ago were those memories?"

"I'm not sure," said Fish. "It wasn't clear."

"You have to try it again!" Bunnie was in tears. He was so overcome with emotion that he even grabbed the sorcerer by his collar and shook him around a bit. "I need to know what happened!"

"At the moment that's as far as I could get. You have to figure the rest out on your own."

Bunnie released Fish, enraged but more focused on what he was feeling inside.