They were deep in the mystical forest
Leo hadn't seen the texts in his mind ever since he entered the forest
The sun was slowly going down
Well, they couldn't see much of the sun anyway
Ever since they entered the forest, they'd seen nothing but fog in the sky
The trees were twisted in awful shapes
"Of course, we're fucking lost!" Thomas cursed
He jumped over a dead tree
Leo remained silent. His right hand couldn't stop fidgeting
Maybe he felt bad for leading them there
He wasn't even sure why he made that decision
Autumn floated cautiously, avoiding the ground and the trees
Ever since they entered this part of the forest
They hadn't seen any signs of life
The forest was awfully quiet.. and gloomy
Like it was aware of the trio
Even the air felt stagnant
"... Inverse my ass," Thomas mumbled
Thomas kicked a rock
Hands in his pockets, he looking around warily
Leo and Autumn followed
Leo couldn't help but clench his fist as he walked
He couldn't stop clenching his jaw
Or looking at the ground every time one of them looked at him
Autumn hovered beside him
"How are you feeling?" she asked
"Better." Leo looked at his hands. " I'm able to walk freely now"
"No, I meant...you seem distant" Autumn looked deep into his eyes
Leo looked away
"Oh... oh, um that" he mumbled
Autumn rested a hand on his shoulder
"It's alright" she said
She began distancing herself
"I remember!" Leo blurted
Thomas stopped in his tracks
His back was still turned
"Really?!" Autumn shouted
Her face lit up
Leo remained silent
Autumn got closer to him
"Took you long enough!" She cheered
Thomas turned and looked at Leo
He still looked...pitiful
"Wait, what do you remember?" Thomas asked
Leo avoided his deep gaze
"I-I remember Boris... I've killed him before, but he's still alive" he answered
"Tsk." Thomas hissed through his teeth and continued to walk
But Autumn was still there staring at him
"You really don't remember us?" She asked
Leo didn't answer
So she started flying again beside Thomas
Leo sighed while walking behind
Something kept pricking at his heart
Why did he trick them into entering this forest?
He looked at the two ahead
But he knew he couldn't talk to them right now
THOMAS'S POV
Autumn hovered alongside him
"He can't control what he remembers" Autumn said
Thomas looked at her
"Why are you acting like this?" she asked
"So you don't feel it?" Thomas asked
"That is not Leo" he answered
Autumn looked back at Leo
Leo was slouching, heads low
"He doesn't remember," Autumn said "How can he be the same then?"
...
Thomas remained silent as if pondering her words
Autumn stopped
Thomas looked up too and stopped
"Well I guess we need this" He muttered
Just In front of them was the end of the path
And at the end was an old wooden building
Leo stopped beside them
They walked towards the building examining it
Thomas pushed the door open
The rusty hinges let out a loud creak
The door opened
They stepped through. The house was just one whole room
The bed was flat...and the sheets were very dirty
On it rested a skeleton, flat on its back
"Egh" Autumn took a step back
A broken table rested in the middle of the house
"Yeah, I'm taking the floor" Thomas muttered
He moved to a corner and cautiously leaned against the wall
The trio each found their spot
No one spoke
Just silence
The full moon shined through the fog
Illuminating the room
...
NEXT DAY
It was morning
Leo was awoken by Autumn
He stepped outside of the house
The sun was already up, but dew was still on the grass and trees
The sun didn't really change the dark atmosphere of the forest, though.
"We are definitely lost" Autumn said
"I'm gonna do some scouting. I'm not planning to sleep here another night"
She started hovering
"Okay..be safe" Leo replied
Thomas stood beside Leo, arm folded as he yawned
Autumn waved before soaring higher through the sky
...
"Well I guess we are gonna starve" Thomas mumbled
He walked towards the back of the wooden house, arms folded
Leo looked around
There wasn't a single animal or fruit in a tree
Leo saw a giant leaf from a plant, to the left of the house
A good amount of dew had settled on the leaf
He walked over
Using the dew to wash his face
He washed his face
While washing his face, he rubbed his hands over the scar
It was noticeable smaller
Leo touched it again to make sure he felt it correctly
"Hmmm"
The punches he'd taken yesterday didn't even hurt anymore.. he'd completely healed
Just further down in the bushes another plant like it, held more dew
Leo's throat ached.
He walked towards the plant
He sipped the dew
It wasn't enough, yet
Leo began sipping again
'Feel... You're closer'
'Find me'
The words appeared in Leo's mind again
Its presence couldn't be ignored, it felt soothing
The way blood repeatedly dripped from the words
...
Leo stood up, his eyes twitched twice
It was like he could feel it. He started walking deeper into the woods
"Where the hell are you going?" A voice asked
It was Thomas
Leo didn't answer
He continued walking
"Hey?!" Thomas called
Leo didn't stop
Thomas dashed forward, rushing towards Leo
He grabbed Leo's hand, squeezing tight
"Are you deaf? You can't leave here till Autumn comes"
...
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Thomas asked
Leo turned his head looking at Thomas
Leo swatted his hand away
Then shoves Thomas in the chest
Sending him crashing back into the wooden house
It all collapsed onto Thomas
Leo turned fully walking closer towards the house
"Oh hell no!" Thomas shouted
He burst through the collapsed debris
Flames around his fist
Leo walked, towards him
Eyes locked on
With one final step, he dash towards Thomas
Thomas barely dodged Leo's grasp
Before Leo recovered,
Thomas countered with a left hook
Leo's jaw rattled from the punch, and he immediately dashed backward
He stared intently at Thomas
'REMOVE THE THREAT'
Thomas watched as Leo stood there
"I get it... you're not Leo are you?" He asked
No answer
Leo shot forward, fist aimed at Thomas's face
Thomas barely dodged
Just inches apart, Leo's fist passed him
Leo used that same hand to backhand slap Thomas
But Thomas ducked
His heart pounded with fear
He clenched his teeth, rising with a flaming uppercut
Slamming Leo's chin
Leo backed up, growling, his eyes grew wider
Thomas didn't waste any chance
He aimed his left hand
Flames compacted together and released in a violent wave
Leo dashed to the side immediately
The flames blasted the forest behind him immediately
Leo lounged forward, and grabbed Thomas's hand
Leo spun and hurled Thomas through the forest
Thomas rolled continuously
He slammed through some tiny trees
Then into a giant tree
He wiped blood from his lips standing up
Leo was already roaring while charging
Thomas jumped out of the way
Leo rammed the huge tree toppling it
It fell with a heavy thud
Leo turned, panting heavily
Thomas held his arm. It had been dislocated when Leo grabbed it
He too was panting
Leo charged again. Thomas tensed.
He's too fast.
Thomas's eyes widen as Leo leaped toward him
Dammit, Leo, what happened to you
How did we end up like this?
Before Leo could deliver the final blow
Something slammed into him
Sending him sliding through trees and bushes
It was Autumn. She was on top of Leo.
"Leo what are you doing!?" She wailed
She looked into his eyes. They were cold, completely unrecognizable
Suddenly Leo gripped her arms, squeezing tight
Autumn screamed in pain
'KILL HER'
Leo squeezed tighter, her bones started to crack
She screamed louder
"LEO!!" Thomas shouted
He created a fireball, but he couldn't aim properly
And Autumn was right there too
Thomas's hand shook violently
"Aaaaghh!!" Autumn screamed
Suddenly the pain eased
She opened her eyes
Leo was there eyes wide
"Autumn?"
A single tear fell down his cheek
"Help me," his voice cracked
Leo leaped away from her
He backed away, breathing heavily
'AVOID THE GIRL'
'YOU'RE CLOSE. RETURN TO ME."
Suddenly, Leo ran deeper into the forest
Going deeper and deeper
He turned around just to see Thomas running towards Autumn
Leo ran deeper and deeper into the forest
Faster than he'd ever run before
He kept running until his pupils finally shrank
His heavy, ragged pants, sounded like the growls of a beast
Leo ran and jumped
Using a branch to swing to the next one
He continued to swing
One destination engraved in his mind
Almost like an instinct
He swung from branch to branch until he saw a thin bridge
That wasn't going to hold him at this speed.
Leo landed on the ground
He charged forward at full speed
Then jumped
It was as if time slowed in midair
He watched himself slowly get to the other side
With a huge grunt, he landed
He rolled, then recovered
He ran on all fours this time
Before jumping again to another tree
The forest only got darker and darker
Dew whipped across his face
While his drool splashed all about
Suddenly, he landed outside the forest
In front of him was a gigantic city wall
The tips of the buildings could be seen
...
In that split second
Leo was himself
He was calm. Everything flashed before him.
Every memory. Every pain and confusion he'd caused.
Leo's breath hitched.
He looked up to the sky
Tears welled in his eyes
"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!!?" He shouted
He fell to his knees
Sobbing softly
'I'VE BEEN WAITING...LEO'
Soon his pupils shrank
His sobbing stopped
He stood and started walking towards the city
End