Hero

Rules And More Rules

"I'm not signing this." I was dumbfounded.
"It's vital, Pan. I know it may seem excessive, but think of the bigger picture!" Sariel wasn't letting up on this. I turned to look at Cain who was standing out in the hall next to the doorway, quietly listening.
"I don't understand why I have to lose all of my memories too. Who even decided this absolute-"
"-'They' did, and we can't go against their demands." Cain sounded annoyed, sighing angrily after he spoke.
"You'll get them back when you get to my.... seniority."
"Why can't I keep my memories?" I asked again, knowing damn well I was pushing it. "I don't plan to visit people I once knew."
"A preventative. To keep your head clear of worries and regret so you can concentrate on the job." Cain paused, stepping back into the office space with us. "Even if you thought you could slip by on this, the memories of the people you knew are gone."
"What does that mean?" I felt my jaw tighten as Cain set his eyes on me.
"I've been actively working to make your familiars forget you existed at all. It is part of my job." I slammed my fist down hard on the worn desk, my skin burning.
"Was there ever a choice to begin with?" I half-laughed in a way that seemed maniacal. Cain was still as stone as he spoke.
"No. Once you're picked out of the bunch, that's it, kid."
I glanced over to Sariel who was fidgeting nearby. She knew something I didn't, but I had a gut feeling she wouldn't speak up around Cain either. I looked back down and picked up one of the cheap pens on the desk, and scribbled my signature over the contract. I'd find some way out of this. I just had to.
I stood up straight and turned back to Cain.
"What now, old man?"
Cain stared down at me.
"Your memories will fade on their own in time, but they disappear from your first memories to your most recent. As soon as you step out of this room, you'll notice it if you try to remember something you did as a kid." I could care less about that part of my past disappearing, but at least I'd have some time to find a way out of this before forgetting about Winrey.
"Fine, what do I need to do first?"
"Training," Cain said, bringing up his walking stick to swing it hard against my side. I gasped as the wind was knocked out of me, forcing my collapse.
"What, the absolute, hell!?" I gasped between coughs. Sariel had moved around me, seeing herself out of the office. Cain glanced at her and sighed heavily before looking back towards me.
"This is more like, on-the-job training. Learn to take a few hits and get back up. The villains won't be as kind."
"Villains?" I quickly recovered and stood back up, arms ready to brace myself against any future hits. Cain stood unnervingly still.
"Villains are failed heroes." There was a dimness in Cain's eyes, it was brief but not invisible.
"Are they chosen by force too or—" I paused quickly to dodge a sudden swing from Cain, almost a moment too late.
"Let's go outside. You'll learn to swim by drowning first." Cain led the way out.
"Pretty sure that's not the saying," I mumbled, following a few steps behind him.
After getting back outside, I instinctively headed for my car but it was gone.
"I'm guessing heroes don't get cars either?"
"Ya don't need it. Ghost types can float and all that. Just think about something light. Like a piece of lint."
"You want me to pretend I'm a piece of lint?" I snorted.
"I'm not great with comparisons, kid. Just figure it out already," Cain threatened me with his cane, ready to knock me down a few pegs surely.
"Fine fine," I muttered. Something light, like lint. Couldn't he have said a feather? "I'm not feeling it, Cain. Can't I just get my ride back for today?"
"You'll be on foot if you can't figure it out. The car's long gone. Don't worry, I'll walk with you for now. We gotta get going nonetheless." Cain started off quickly, and I tailed after him. We walked until the sky turned to night.
"If I'm a ghost-type, what are you?"
"We're here." I stood beside Cain and looked around in the darkness. There were no working streetlights here and the moon was barely of aid. Several vacant office buildings glared down at us. I glanced back at Cain whose eyes had turned into that white hot glow.
"Do you see something, Cain? Cause I can't see—"
"There." I tried to follow his gaze, and jumped. Someone, or something was scaling down the front of an office building. It looked like a human shaped-shadow but their eyes were bright red, like stop lights giving warning to not continue.
"Is it human?" I could barely voice my concerns loud enough, but Cain nodded slightly.
"It's a Villain, specifically a Nox. They can't feel physical pain." I tensed up.
"What happens if we just, leave it alone?"
"It'll kill me."
"What!?" I yelled regrettably, feeling my heart sink. The Nox flung itself to the ground a couple feet from us, landing in a crouch that was unnaturally silent.
"It's attracted to me because I'm a Lumos-type," Cain stated, "I didn't expect to run into this thing if I'm being honest. But I can handle it, kid. Try to go ghost and stay hidden. You're just observing for this case."
"I'm not gonna sit back and watch you die! Look at you, old man! You can't—"
Cain blinded me with his glowing eyes, his body changing into that strange winged thing I'd almost forgotten about. Everything was lit up and I couldn't even see what was happening. I crouched down to the floor and imagined becoming invisible. I struggled to concentrate.
'Invisible. That's what I am now isn't it? No one remembers me, no one knows me.' The negative thoughts replayed in my head again and again, until I heard Cain's ethereal voice.
"Ya still here, kid?"
I looked up and realized I could see past the brightness. It was like a dense fog now, I could only see as far as the buildings at most. I checked my hands and they were gone, a sign of progress. I stood back up, checking for the Nox. Cain had it cornered, trapped in a thin web of light. I looked back to Cain, now able to fully see him for the first time. His arm that was always in a sling was now a monstrous mass of black flesh that let off a toxic steam. His hand was composed of three large claws that dripped in the same white hot glow of his eyes. The rest of him was more what I remembered; night sky and iridescent wings. I couldn't see his face well, it was like he knew where I was so that he could avoid looking at me directly. I couldn't bring myself to move. The Nox got out of the web and moved rapidly on Cain. I blinked and the Nox was pierced by Cain's arm. It broke down the Nox and absorbed every bit of it into that black flesh. A moment after, Cain shifted back to his normal form, the arm being the last thing to return to normal and he cursed loudly as if it caused him immense pain. I ran over to him, stopping short a couple steps. I relaxed myself and felt my body reappear, it was getting a little easier.
"Cain?" I tested. He didn't move for a while, his body still letting off that strange steam for a few minutes. He sat himself down, eyes on the ground.
"I'll be damned if I ever let it win," he muttered.
I didn't really understand what he meant, maybe he just had a lot of hero pride or something.

It wouldn't be until much later, that I'd realize it wasn't the Nox he was referring to. It was himself.