“There’s no need… to be a xx--x--x-x”

 

…

 

‘...What was that--?”

 

*SNAP*

 

Porter let out a strong gasp. He’d awakened on a carriage led by two black horses. The carriage looked as if it was laced with futuristic technology. A huge touch-screen panel filled with a wide array of options was in front of him. 

 

His eyes felt weak. He had trouble waking up.

 

Next to him was Hayes, although with more blood on his clothes than the last time in the car.

 

“You’re up. It’s morning, and we got a few more hours till we’re back.”

 

The low morning sun shined on a blue sky with early pink clouds. 

 

It struck Porter as odd that they’d need horses instead of using a car, but from the looks of things, horses seemed to be the popular way of transportation in wherever he was now.

 

Ground paths that looked like rides crossed through plains of grass that spread for miles. For a moment, it looked like any other fantasy world with primitive life.

 

Red azalea flowers were scattered everywhere. There hadn’t been a stone unturned without an azalea growing from it. The dew in the grass shining off of the early morning sun made it seem like they almost glowed.

 

‘Must be that time of year for blooming.’

 

“Lucky bastard, you missed a hell of a rain storm a few hours back, y’know that?”

 

“I slept through it all..?”

 

“Yeah. We even had to seek shelter for a while. You must’ve been out for real.”

 

“How long was I out for?”

 

“At least 12 hours, we’ve been on a horse for 13, and you just now woke up.”

 

Porter had a look of sleepy shock on his face. He’d never been able to sleep that long in his past life.

 

There’d been a certain charm to the world he’d seen. It looked like there was a stark difference between areas. The climate itself hadn’t changed. Spring temperature was the same both in the city and in the rural fields.

 

Even so, Porter found the complete lack of any humanity around the fields to be uncomforting.

 

Hayes hummed a bittersweet tune to himself as Porter groggily sat up out of his sleeping position.

 

He seemed calm and relaxed. Hayes’s  eyes shined in the sunlight. His older appearance was hardly visible with the beauty of natural light.

 

“--So, Arlo. Ready to face them?”

 

‘Them…?’ Porter thought to himself.

 

“Probably not.”

 

Hayes gave off a small smirk. His head slightly shifted towards Porter, and his eyes widened.

 

“They’re pretty worried sick, so maybe they’ll just be happy that you’re back.”

 

Porter smiled at the idea of people being happy to see him for once.

 

“Though, we really need to talk.”

 

Hayes’s entire demeanor shifted. His smirk turned emotionless, and his tone became more stern.

 

“You’re the future head knight of Deadwood, I’m sure you know the prestige of that title. Unlike the others living with us, your name is very well known to the other Deadwood domains, as well as Aether.”

 

“--I understand.”

 

Porter’s forehead had a sour chill. He began sweating at the thought of his importance.

 

Hayes had lightened up for a moment hearing Porter sound so apologetic in his tone.

 

“You're a prime target for anything ill to come to our domain, for...many reasons you know other than your title. You cannot be careless with what you do. We don’t even know what the hell you were doing out there.”

 

“...I’m sorry.”

 

An eyebrow raised when Hayes heard those words. He chucked for a second.

 

“Well. It seems being shaken up by the Bliss domain did a good thing for that fuckin’ attitude.” Hayes retorted in a sarcastic manner. 

 

“Though…” He followed up, in his same stern tone as before. “We’re gonna need to check out the old testing grounds soon now. Aether’s hostility is rising as of recent. It can’t be good for the nearby Deadwood domain.”

 

Porter had more questions than answers.

 

‘I guess Arlo’s more important than I thought. The idea of that scares me though. It should all fall into place soon. I hope.’

 

----

--

--

--

 

The afternoon had arrived. Hayes and Porter had since dropped off the carriage.

 

The large panel’s main function is a map with a gps to locate every horse carriage location in all of Deadwood.

 

An afternoon storm breezed through the air. Azaleas and trees flew in the striking wind as raindrops skewered the ground.

 

“I saw that damn map, there’s a horse location right near where you said we have to go! What the hell are we doing walking in this, shithead?” Porter stammered.

 

“I don’t know if you remember this shit but even I think it’s obvious we can’t be livin’ out in the open! Making sure our living quarters is secret is key, and you should know that.”

 

Hayes yelled like an old fool, though he made sense. Porter almost felt bad for whining about it.

 

It’d been miles since they began walking. They’d been heading up a steep hill with forest that you couldn’t see out of.

 

Within minutes, Porter had seen what looked like a torch in the distance.

 

“There we go. Ezra making himself useful.” Hayes sarcastically spoke.

 

It had to be where they lived. There’d been no other explanation.

 

The old wood of a cabin smelled like piss in the rain. It looked like nothing they’d seen. It had no trace of this world’s technology.

 

‘This...is it?’

 

----

----

----

 

Upon them opening up the door, a young blonde man greeted Hayes and Arlo as they walked in. His smile reminded Porter of Hayes’s own. 

 

He was slim, about a foot shorter than Hayes, with a beige button-up shirt and black khakis. He wore no shoes and had green eyes that glowed in the torch light.

 

“--Turn a lamp on, I’m blowing this out.” Hayes said.

 

“--Yeah...” The boy replied. He sounded startled.

 

The small lamp turned on, filling the room with a slightly dim surrounding house-light. Faded blue carpet with stains filled the room. The furniture looked brand new, fit with black leather couches and glass tables.

 

Not to Porter’s surprise, the source of the boy’s shock was him.

 

“--Arlo, you’re…”

 

“Alive, yes. Please don’t overwhelm him, Ezra.”

 

“--Understood.”

 

Ezra sat quietly with an expression of awestruck wonder. He took frequent glances at Porter, looking over him as if his presence was surprising. 

 

“--What was that?” A female voice called out. It was muffled, but Porter could tell it came from the house.

 

To his left, a door opened and a girl walked out.

 

Her darker skin tone and long black hair came into view. Her eyes were a bright blue color, and she wore a white shirt with a blue coat similar to her eyes.

 

“--Huh!?” She gasped upon looking at Porter.

 

“...Hey.” Porter replied in a soft tone. It was something that looked to be hard for Hayes to believe as well.

 

“You’re...al-”

 

“Alive. Yes.” Ezra interrupted. “Don’t overwhelm the guy, Lapine.”

 

The girl, named Lapine began slightly tearing up.

 

Another door had opened in the same hallway Lapine had come from. It was slightly further away from hers. 

 

The head of a girl with pink hair in a ponytail, with light skin and red eyes popped out for a second, then immediately went back inside. She looked almost shocked, like everyone else.

 

“Salem’s still good, too.” Hayes spoke up.

 

“It’s been two days, where’d you find Arlo?” Ezra asked.

 

“Aether. Bliss domain.” Hayes hesitated. His words felt like they caused pain to say.

Looks of shock and concern filled Ezra and Lapine’s faces. 

 

“What does that mean for us?” Lapine added.

 

“Unknown. Arlo seems to have lost memory of the incidents he experienced, so we’re clueless as to what shit they might’ve gotten him into while he was gone.”

 

Porter sat in silence, his nerves had him practically paralyzed.

 

“I just don’t get what the hell brought you to just leave like that…” Ezra said. His eyes were in pain as he looked toward Porter

 

“--I don’t know…”

 

“The hell is that? We could be in some serious trouble now.”

 

“Ezra, don’t assume the worst yet.” Lapine spoke up. Her mind was clearly tied in knots as well. Her eyes showed it. Although, she tried her hardest to hide it the most.

 

“I’m just worried. What if they come for us? For Hayes? We’ve been speculating something huge ever since Clearwick, and this all but confirms it.”

 

“It’s perfectly fine to be worried.” Hayes replied. “But. As of right now, Arlo is our number 1 concern. I speculate some form of soul reset, though I’m not so keen on it entirely.”

 

“--I see. But that’s a very old form of magic.” Lapine replied.

 

“From what we know of Aether, they’re not afraid to modernize certain taboo spells. I wouldn’t put it past their guardians to do so, especially Andromeda.”

 

“Soul reset doesn’t even fit into a category of magic. Not anymore.” 

 

“You may be right, but think about it. The soul isn’t the only way of resetting someone’s memories. While it’s the most efficient way, a temporary solution could be achieved by altering the brain itself.”

 

“--Then that’s…”

 

“It’s a form of psychological magic. It has to be. Though, like I mentioned. I have my doubts. This could be something we’ve never seen the likes of before.”

 

“For now, what’s the plan?” Ezra asked.

 

“We’ll need to keep watch over the machinery testing grounds. It might not be truly abandoned like we originally speculated.” Hayes replied. “It’s a bit of a long walk, though one that’s worth it.”

 

“Understood.”

 

“Salem should be able to stay here alone when we do.”

 

----

----

----

----

 

Evening had come around. Porter had found himself a room. It’d been Arlo’s. The small room with the same color carpet only had a bed and a drawer, along with Arlo’s sword.

 

A black and white, sharply made sword. It had no curvy design. The top of the handle right below the blade had a white orb inside of it.

 

“The legendary sword. Is it..?”

 

“I guess I’m going to have to pretend, just for a while. I’m not sure how they’d react if I told them who I really was. I don’t even know if I can use that damn sword.”

 

“At some point, they'll catch on. But for now, I have to go along with it, even if I have more questions than answers.”

 

As he mumbled to himself, His door cracked open, and Hayes’s voice could be heard.

 

“Coming in, you cool with that?”

 

“Sure.”

 

“You were quiet today.”

 

“I’m just tired right now, Hayes.”

 

Hayes’s look of comfort took Porter aback for a moment. He had a small, though genuine smile.

 

“Your eyes look nicer than usual, you’re more softly spoken. It almost frightens me.”

 

“--Is that so…?” Porter asked.

 

“You see, I originally believed soul reset to be a possibility for your situation, though I no longer do now. You’re so...different.”

 

Porter had a deep look of awestruck discomfort toward Hayes.

 

“Perhaps not a reset.” Hayes added. “But a swap.”

 

“What do you mean…?” Porter reluctantly asked.

 

Hayes’s smile felt warm. Porter was nervous but he had faith that Hayes knew what was best for him and the others.

 

--

--

 

“You’re not Arlo, aren’t you?” Hayes calmly asked.