Memories in Addition

15: Toxic Thoughts

Michael paused from gathering the trash around Rasheed's corpse to look at Joyce. "What?"

"You heard what I said", Joyce rolled her eyes. "You asked for it, anyway. The only thing I remembered from my past life is being surrounded by fire while being tied down to a giant tree trunk with no leaves and a huge mob surrounding me, and...that's it."

Michael frowned at her. "That's..."

"Morbid? I know", Joyce sighed, before starting to turn her back from him to help out Errol. "That's why I can't exactly go around saying, hey! This is what I recall from my previous life! I'd look like a lunatic. Or worse; be pitied on that the only thing I remember is the moment before I died."

The reincarnation of Richard the Lionhearted took a moment to study her with an unreadable gaze  which immediately made her self-conscious.

So, Joyce unconsciously started to fix her long, raven black hair, shifting it from a braid to a ponytail.

So, she really doesn't remember who she was..., Michael thought considerably, before he looked at her again. I wonder...

"Hey, if you don't mind, I want to show you something."

Joyce let out a hum as she turned to him, only to let out a scream when Michael started to take off his shirt. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

He took a deep breath, before turning around and exposing his bare back. On the spot near his shoulder, there was a shield with two golden lion images supporting a sword in the middle in it.

Errol also stopped when he saw it, too.

"This is my symbol", Michael stated. "The one that proves that my past life is real. How about you?"

Joyce looked at the symbol a moment longer, before her gaze shifted to his face and meeting his earnest gaze.

Then, she opened her mouth to say something--

Errol stepped forward and rolled down his right sleeve, revealing a hammer and sickle pointing at a red star. "This is my mark that identifies me as Joseph Stalin."

Even if Michael was obviously not referring to him, he still gave out a shrug. "It looks cool."

"Thanks", Errol nonchalantly replied, before going back to investigate.

Joyce bit her lip, before turning around and revealing her symbol, which was a wooden stake crossing a silver sword there, and in it's center was a ball of fire. "This is mine. Do you know who this points to?"

Michael's eyes visibly widened, before he took a step backward in utter disbelief and...horror? "It's...it's you...!"

...

"D-do you really intend to keep your promise to me?"

Michael (or was it just Richard now?) stared at the Hazel Brown eyes of the girl in front of him, before his jaw set in determination. "Yeah. Even if you die somewhere along the way. I'll make sure to keep the promise I made to you no matter what."

"But...why?", the girl frowned.

He stared at her for a second, before turning to the side while clutching a single golden key. "Well..."

Her eyebrows furrowed.

"We'll all die someday", Michael told her off-handedly. "But...as long as someone keeps their wishes alive, they won't die."

He clasped his hand on her's, earnest and hopeful.

"No matter what happens, even if all the odds turned against you, you stick to them", Michael give a small smile to her. "After all, that was once what a knight stands for."

The girl blinked at him. He sighed. "As expected...you were a princess from before. You wouldn't understand."

She watched him leave, wondering what had taken place.

"Wait, Richard!"

He turned around.

She took a deep breath, before telling him. "I expect you to keep your promise, to make things better here. But...I'm not a princess. I'm not from this timeline either."

Michael, or Richard, rather, stared at her in surprise. "Not...from this timeline...?"

She nodded, before looking down. "This is probably just a freaky dream, but...in case we meet again, you'd know me by the symbol of one of the people you call a saint."

"Symbol of a saint...?"

Another nod. "My name is..."

...

He had willingly gave himself up, fully prepared to be executed, when Gail, Moselle and Khea suddenly revealed Bea to be alive.

And she knows who the mastermind is.

It's really actually making him hope that it's going to be fine now.

After all, if the mastermind was found and restrained, this whole mess would end.

But the problem now...is that who is really the mastermind here.

He inwardly sighed. This is not going to be easy, will it?

"It's really simple, really", Bea chuckled. "We don't even need to read into the past cases!"

That caused widened eyes and gasps across the room.

"We...don't need to?", Nadhine's eyebrows furrowed.

Bea nodded with a smug face. "The ones who first knew Clark's abilities were Joyce, Ashi, Phil, Alex, Moselle, Yanyan, Sachi, Nadhine, Rasheed, Hans, Ysa, Wyatt, Stephen, Michael, Franchezka, Dumo and I, right?"

Joyce hesitantly nodded. "Yeah...?"

Michael's eyebrows furrowed. Where is she going with this?

"Well, it should be obvious", Bea let out a princess-like laugh. "Clark lost 3 wishes, right? Then, tell me, who in the people I mentioned would be someone Clark trusts enough to give them to that person?"

Silence reigned.

Then, all heads turned around to look at Wyatt with a blank gaze.

It should have been obvious, Michael scolded himself.

Wyatt and Clark had been inseparable. Clark was smart enough to keep his abilities a secret.

So, if it was anyone who took the wishes, it would have been him.

"Wyatt...is Bea right?", Clark hesitantly walked over to his closest friend. "Are you really...the one who started everything...? The mastermind...?"

Wyatt sighed. "Seriously."

He went to the furthest part of the room, before his tone changed. "You shouldn't have found out."

He snapped his fingers, and he saw a portion of the room crumble on top of both Bea and Joyce.

Agh! ****!, his body moved before he knew it, and he grabbed Joyce from the falling rock and cement.

In turn, he lost his balance and fell to the floor right in the line of fire.

Their eyes met. Joyce's eyes gradually widened at the realization of what's about to happen.

I'm glad...I don't have to lose her anymore.

Michael gave her a small sad smile, and a little wave. I'm sorry.

Then, he only felt a heavy weight fall onto his head and back, followed by many more.

After that, he didn't know anything anymore.