Alex – Heart Of The Vanguard

---Back to present time---

__________*_Alex_*_________

Benthoul, Aberdeenshire, Fri 21st Jan 22 12:51

Me: "No please, keep away from me!... but tell me, what the fuck happened?"

Wrex: "Do you not remember at all?"

Me: "No! Or I wouldn't be asking!"

Wrex: "Ok Ok, calm down ok. Erm-"

Me: "Why do you keep telling me to calm down as well?!"

Wrex: "Because... Because you violently killed two Skylen's cronies the other night. And you also spoke, but it didn't quite sound like you."

Jinx: "Yeah, you said something about a betrayal of flesh and blood, an eternity of imprisonment, key to your release has been given or passed to you... I can't remember the rest-"

Sora: " 'The betrayal of my own flesh and blood deminishes to nothing but a painful memory. An eternity of imprisonment, The key to my freedom, Dropped within my reach, finally the cage has been unlocked, And I take my steps into a world unknowingly eager for my return.'... I'm fairly sure it was that anyway. The other thing is, is that it sounded like a mixture of your voice and Crystal's."

I grabbed my helmet, trying not to stress again. Something was creeping in... a voice... As a whisper, deep in my mind... A voice that sounded just like Crystal's, but more natural than computerised...

*"They don't trust you... Given the chance they will turn on you..."*

Me: "No! they are my friends!"

Wrex: "Alex, are you ok?..."

The room blurred out, Wrex's voice echoed off in the background as a memory came back to me, I remember it clearly! I was in the council chamber, back on Draconia! But I wasn't on the podium where I was before... I was at the back of the room, and I was surrounded by Honour Guards, and I was in chains! Like an animal! Wrex was on podium and Skylen was there as well, in the witness box, where Sora had stood before. Wrex then stepped down from the podium, armour scratched up fairly badly, his face all bloody and he was walking with a limp.

Wrex: "You are showing a primary example of what we are trying to prove to you." He said back towards the 'V' shaped table, limping towards the exit but Skylen quickly made his way to stand in front of him.

Skylen: "You're leaving?"

Wrex: "I've said what I can brother." And went to step around Skylen but his brother quickly grabbed his arm, stopping him again.

Skylen "You haven't even tried to help us yet." He replied with a hint of a growl.

Wrex: "You've heard them yourself brother, they're not interested in what I have to say."

Skylen: "You're betraying us..." Wrex yanked his arm away,

Wrex: "I've done what I can! That was all I promised!" He went to limp away again, but Skylen grabbed his shoulder and spun Wrex around. Wrex seemed to hiss in pain at this, stumbling on his leg slightly and Skylen swung his tail at the leg that Wrex had been limping on. There was a loud *Crack* of bone snapping and Wrex fell to the floor, roaring in pain. Two Honour Guards then quickly moved in and grappled Skylen away from Wrex, protesting in the process,

Skylen: "Unhand me!"

I felt my rage building during this sequence and seeing Skylen being apprehended sent me over the edge and I lost it.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" I shouted, trying to pull forwards to help, but the guards held me in place. I needed to help Skylen, I concentrated my energy, let it build inside me then unleashed it, sending a shockwave of red and purple energy out and the flinging the Guards around me outwards towards the sides of the chamber.

But before I could go anywhere I froze on the spot. In the darkness up ahead on the V shaped table, in the center, a figure stood, hand clenched and glowing red and purple as well.

Skylen: "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER?!" I heard him demand in a rage as he wrestled to free himself.

Mother: "I've heard enough!... For your crimes, consisting of but not limited to: Conspiring with forces against the throne!, Endangering the people of Draconia and by consequence of your actions, have lead to the deaths of thousands and conspiring to assassinate Princess Arisu... Reikon..." The voice echoed around the chamber, I could feel the tone of anger and disappointment with every word that was spoken.

"Mother... Please... I..." I started begging with genuine guilt, causing me to sob, but I was ignored and spoken over,

Mother: "...I had hoped I brought you up better than this, but these actions are unacceptable and unforgivable. You are my daughter, but only in blood, you have no place in my heart..."

Her words were stabbing me like daggers...

A moment of realisation, a piece of 'me' that was trying to get a hold of the small truth of reality of what was going on...

That isn't my mother...

I don't have any sort of affectionate feelings for Skylen...

And this wasn't my memory...

And yet I was stuck watching it through someone else's eyes....

"Mother please... I love you! I'm so sorry!" I sobbed and begged again, but it fell on death ears.

Mother: "...I hereby remove the powers you had gifted to you and I, HEREBY, CAST YOU OUT!"

She drew her hand back to her chest then threw her hand back out, as if throwing an invisible object at me, then I got smacked, wave upon wave hit me, feeling like it was ripping me apart whilst sending me flying backwards and everything faded out...

*"You see, just because they are friends and family, doesn't mean they won't betray you... Better do the deed sooner than later or they will stab you in the back."* Reikon whispered to me, trying to persuade me.

Me: "NOOOOO!" I screeched just as something pulled at my wrists to pull them away from my head.

Wrex: "ALEX!"

I jumped back out of his grasp, leaping up onto the table with silent grace.

Me: "No! You have to stay away from me!"

He sighed looking up to me from the floor as I stood up on the table above him and he turned to the others.

Wrex: "Can you guys give us a minute?, please?" Sora nodded and guided Jinx out of the garage, closing the door behind them. Wrex removed his helmet, placing it on the table next to me and turned back to look up at me.

Wrex: "Come here." He beckoned me down to him.

Me: "No."

Wrex: "Why not?"

Me: "Because I will hurt you."

Wrex: "You can never hurt me, now, come on." He gently asked, reaching up and grasping my hands which are draped by my sides. He pulled me towards him and stepped backwards to walk me off the table and I begrudgingly allowed him. I stepped off, silently landing in front of him. This new body was definitely shorter than I use to be when I was a Dragon, baring in mind I use to be a little over seven foot tall, I now reckoned I was lucky if I hit six foot comparing myself to Wrex, now looking up at him.

Wrex: "Why don't you open your helmet so we can be civil?"

Me: "Because I don't know what I look like under here."

Wrex: "Even better reason to do so then, eh?" He smiled.

Me: "But what if I'm ugly?"

Wrex: "But what if you're not?"

I walked away, pulling my hands from his and stepped around the table. I hadn't even really taken notice of where I was, I was in a garage by the looks of it, half a dozen luxury vehicles lined up side by side going down the length of it. The closest being a 2020 Range Rover with blacked out windows.

I stepped up to a side window of the Range Rover and looked at the reflection, I caught Wrex just about to round the table towards me.

Me: "Stay there a minute, please." I said, glancing back at him, thankfully he stopped and just stood watching. I looked back to the SUV windows, the black and red armour with dull glowing red eyes stared back... why was the Stranger's... sorry... the other, future me wearing white and black as opposed to this?, my old colour scheme? I guess it was a question that would answered at some point or another and so I returned back to the situation at hand. I was hoping my helmet opened the same way as it use to, I put thought into it, and sure enough, the four faceplates opened, just as they use to on my old helmet. I stared back at a face of a rather pretty looking girl I had to admit, even if the details were a bit hard to make out in the tinted windows. Not that I needed to see the details... I knew this face, I had stared at the reflection before, well, not me, but the original owner. But it was certainly Human, the only thing that suggested anything Draconian about it was my eyes. They were a blue colour now.... I mean, my eyes have always been blue, but now they were a strong blue, almost luminous and had a hint of a reptilian slit to them. I wanted to look at the rest of my head so I unlatched my helmet... or I tried and wanted to, but there was no sound. I pulled and tugged at it, but it wasn't coming off.

Wrex: "Are you ok?"

Me: "I... *Grunt**strain* ...can't get the helmet off." Answering his reflection.

Wrex: "Hmm... The other night, when you first appeared... like this, your armour did something odd. It appeared to sort of appear from nowhere, new pices sliding over the others, rather then attach like it use to. If that makes sense?"

I tried to imagine what he was talking about and at that moment the helmet retracted, just as Wrex had described but in reverse. The armour plates separated into sections along invisible seams, slid backwards and down my head over each other, seemingly melding into each other, creating a slick, smooth metallic sound and motion until it revealed the base of my neck.

I gasped slightly, seeing the rest of my head, it was indeed Human, but as my future self had told me, there was a line of scales that started behind each ear and flowed down in a line towards my collar bones. My hair was rather short and blonde, kind of reminded me of the pixie cut that Captain Marvel has in the Avengers Endgame film, it was certainly similar. I heard the clatter of metallic feet step up behind me and a pair if hands grabbed my waist and in the reflection, Wrex's head appeared above mine in the reflection.

Wrex: "Can I see, properly?"

I sighed and turned, pulling away from his grip on my waist and looked him dead in the face.

It was subtle, but I noticed it... He had pulled his head back ever so slightly and his face almost wincing.

Me: "What is it?"

Wrex: "What?"

Me: "Something about this face, it shocked you. And I don't think that reaction was due to the aesthetics is it?... Tell me I'm wrong, and don't bull shit me."

Wrex's head dropped slightly,

Wrex: "I've... I've seen it before..."

Me: "Let me guess... Reikon?... When she was banished on Iceland?" His head picked back up slightly, now looking shocked.

Wrex: "How do yo-"

Me: "-know? Because I was there, in memories that aren't mine... memories from a thousand years ago... Yet I was born in 1992, so I'm only 30 years old."

Wrex: "That's... Impossible..."

Me: "Then how do I know Skylen broke your leg in the council chambers? How do I know that you and Skylen found Reikon in that auditorium in the city of Mu, on a planet a billion miles away from here when I have only ever been in Axis Mindis? How have I grown up alongside a snooty sister named Arisu when I've only met her once? How have I seen your face thousands of times before and known you since I was three years old and yet I've known you for less than a couple of weeks?" I watched him wince slightly again, either from remembering the pain of having bones broken or the fact that I knew all that and that wasn't good news, I don't know which though, but otherwise, he was speechless.

Me: "That's not all... I've been to the future."

Wrex: "You what?"

Me: "Two years from now... I met myself... I looked just like this, well, almost. I told myself that Reikon posseses my body... To the point that she forces me to kill..." I couldn't tell him who exactly, I didn't have the heart to... "...*Sniff* Just... too many people that I know and love, and more. And she wins."

Wrex: "What do you mean she wins?"

Me: "Earth and Draconia... Wiped out... Everyone I love is dead! Even you. *Sniff* And I'm frightened that it's me that's going to do it."

Wrex: "That's not going to happen."

Me: "Wrex..." I tried to fight back tears, but it wasn't working, "...Reikon is in my head... She WILL control me... And I don't what to do, and I'm scared." He pulled me in for comfort placing a hand on my head and I sobbed into his cold chest plate.

Wrex: "We're going to fix this, I promise you."

Me: "I hope you're right *sniff* because otherwise the future, is going to be very dark..."

After a few minutes of silent cuddling I eventually pulled away, and suggested for Wrex to go bring the others back in. I leant against the table as he returned with Jinx and Sora following, Sora giving a small wave which I just forced a small smile to.

Me: "Hey, Jinx, good to see you, good to see you not attacking me for a change."

Jinx: "Sorry about that."

Me: "It's fine... I'm sorry about your arm."

Jinx: "It's ok, it's on the mend."

Me: "Good... *Sigh* Guys, so that you're all up to speed and I'll get straight to the point... I'm becoming possessed by the soul of a Dragoness that everyone thought was dead. Reikon. She use to be a friend of Wrex's and is your aunt, Sora. I don't know how long I have, but when she does take over... bad stuff is going to happen, because she is just pure evil."

Jinx: "Well there must be something we can do?" I shrugged my shoulders,

Me: "Maybe, but I don't know what but... Hey, where's Sarah?..." The three of them exchanged looks, "... just tell me. What's happened? Where is she?"

Wrex: "She was injured, quite badly, while trying to jump start your armour."

Me: "How?"

Sora: "She held the Shard directly, very few Draconians can do that let alone a Human."

Me: "What's happened to her?"

Sora: "Severe radiation poisoning, burns to her right arm... Among other things."

Wrex: "But she's alive and stable for now, that's the main thing." He added, obviously noting the guilt building up in my face.

Me: "I think... That I already know the answer... So where's the Shard now?"

Sora: "It's in your suit somewhere, we haven't been able to open it at all."

Me: "I can feel it, I can feel it's power."

Sora: "Only Draconians who have been near it for years can sense it, you've only been near on and off for a couple of weeks."

Me: "No Sora, I can FEEL it, I can the power flowing through me. But I can also feel something else and I've worked out what it is. You know Crystal, Sarah's AI?, her parents found her consciousness somewhere, adrift, not knowing who or what it was, no memories, nothing. They pulled it, gave it an ironic name, shaped it, gave it rules and limitations. But it wasn't just some random consciousness, it was Reikon's soul. Pulled from the Shard. My connection with her must have allowed her to invade my mind."

Wrex: "If this is true Sora, then we need to get Reikon out... How do we do it?"

Sora: "I erm... I might know how to harness and use the power, but I don't know the ins and outs of it! I have no idea how to accomplish that!"

Wrex: "Well who does?!"

Sora: "No one! This has never happened before!"

Wrex: "Well it must be possible surely?"

Sora: "Well, maybe, the limitations of the Heart's power is unmapped."

Wrex: "Can you look into it?"

Sora: "I err, I can try... Do some research, but I don't think there's been anything remotely like this recorded like this ever in our history."

Me: "Please Sora... For me... For all of us... Trust me, the alternative to anything you can find... It won't be pretty." Sora slowly nodded.

Sora: "Ok. Ok, I'll head back to Draconia shortly, see what I can find in the archives."

Wrex: "We might need a Jump to Sarah's safehouse in Marland first..." he looked to Jinx, "...I'm not sure some of us will be able to keep up."

Jinx: "Hey! I'm fast!"

Wrex: "Faster than the speed of sound?"

Jinx: "I... Well, no."

I was staring off into space, listening to the group's semi playful bicker... Before my attention snapped to Sora.

Me: "Sora? How do you do it?"

Sora: "Sorry? Do what?"

Me: "Make a jump."

Sora: "Well, years of practice and-"

Me: "30 second crash course, go." I demanded

Sora: "What?! It's not that simple-"

Me: "It is, I know it is, I know I can do it."

Sora: "Alex this isn't-"

Me: "Sora!"

Sora: "Ok! Fine! The basics of it are, you need to have three clear things in your mind. Number one is point A, where around you that you want the Jump to open. Number two, you need to know where you're going, point B. Picture it in your mind, that's why I said you need to have been there at least once to remember and know what it looks like. Number three, you then need to think that 'I want to cut from A to B in the shortest time possible."

Me: "Sounds easy enough."

Sora: "It's not. Most are lucky to get Point A open after a day of practice."

I closed my eyes, envisioned what she just said, stretched my arm out, hand open wide to me left. At the back of the garage there was a sparkle of static in mid-air, then another which quickly developed into swirls of inward flowing red and purple mist. It grew in size into a full sized Jump.

Me: "Let's go." I said with a grin. She ran in between the Jump and myself.

Sora: "Whoa whoa whoa!, You can't just step into the first jump you make! It could end up anywhere, even in the middle of space! To be honest, I don't know how you managed to open it on the first go!"

Me: "As I said, I can feel the Shard. I know what I'm doing. I know it's going to the right place."

Sora: "It is IMPOSSIBLE to know!"

Wrex: "Then let's go with her and find out. You can correct it worse case can't you?"

Sora: "Erm... Yeah, I guess? But why take the risk? It's her first go!"

Me: "As I say, let's go find out."

_________

Welcome, MD, USA, Fri 21st Jan 22 08:40

We neared the end of the Jump, Sora had looked nervous the whole time.

Me: "Get ready, we're nearly at the exit."

Sora: "WHAT?! Where was the whisper?! And, there's no way we crossed the North Atlantic in that time!" Even Wrex and Jinx looked concerned now.

Me: "Here we go." We slowed from our glide to a walk at the end of the Jump, Sora frantically using her powers to call up a whisper, I just saw a it appear as the the mist at the end of the Jump enveloped us and I stepped out into the long grass in front of Sarah's holiday house, stepping forward some more and turning as the others stepped out behind me. Wrex looked Impressed, Jinx had no real look on which I could judge, but in fairness, she hadn't been here before, but Sora's face was the best. She was speechless, jaw hanging low and looking around at her surroundings before looking back to me as the Jump closed behind her.

Sora: "But... How?! Without a whisper?! And I swear that took us less time than usual, normally that takes about 25 minutes to cross the North Atlantic!"

Wrex: "That took 11 minutes, according to my clock."

Sora: "11?! How?! It's impossible! And... And it was perfect! How?! For your first time?!" A smug smile crossed my face.

Me: "I simply KNEW I could do it..." I chuckled to myself slightly, "...'stop thinking about what isn't possible and start thinking about making everything possible'..." I recited the Stranger, "...And as for the whisper, I could see it in my head. And the speed? To be honest, I don't know."

Sora: "I..." You tell from her face, she was scared, but was trying her best not to show it, "...I'm going to go do this research for you..." She said cautiously, "...Please Alex, don't abuse or get use to this power. It might not be good for you and you might lose it anyway if we get Reikon out."

Wrex: " You mean 'When' we get Reikon out, not 'if'."

Sora: "Yeah... right."

She said her good byes and entered a Jump she had made, destined for Draconia and after the Jump closed we retreated into the house.

Me: "Make yourself at home Jinx, I know the owner well enough to know she'd say the same."

Jinx: "Err, ok, can I have a word with you though? Please?..." I looked to Wrex, who was already making himself scarce in the direction of the kitchen, "...Oh I didn't mean it had to be private Wrex, sorry."

Wrex: "Oh ok, I'm just going to grab a drink anyway, I'll be there in a sec. Can I get either of you two anything?"

Me: "I'm ok, thanks."

Jinx: "No thank you."

I directed Jinx into the lounge and we each took a seat.

Me: "What's up then?"

Jinx: "Nothing bad, I don't think. But this is the first time I've seen you in weeks, or so to speak..." She gestured down at me with her good hand, "...Back as my self anyway, and not a mindless drone. But, I just want to say, thank you for giving me my memories back, for not giving up on me, and most importantly, for not killing me. And sorry for attacking you constantly, had I remembered-"

Me: "Honestly, don't worry about it..." Wrex joined us, sitting down as best he could on the sofa next to me, placing his drink on the table in front of us. "...but you said 'I' gave your memories back?"

Jinx: "Yeah, back in Iceland. I thought you were going to kill me to begin with, but as soon as you touched my head, there was this loud screech in my head, then I think I passed out because it was so painful. As soon as I woke up I remembered everything about my life, even before being turned into a Dragon."

Me: "But I don't remember doing that."

Wrex: "I 'think', she's referring to moments after your change, at a moment when you weren't 'you'... If you know what I mean."

Me: "Oh..."

Jinx: "I didn't mean to remind you of-"

Me: "Don't worry about it, it's not something I'm going to forget any time soon." There was a small pause so Wrex, obviously picking up on my depressed tone, tried to change the subject.

Wrex: "So Jinx... Were you selected for Skylen's team? Or was it at random? Or what?"

Jinx: "Part of his deal of working with Sky High Technologies, apparently he is allowed to select members of each batch, of his own choice, and he usually picks according to test scenario performance scores. Apparently I was one of the top of my batch... Second to only one other apparently, not that I quite believe it..." 

She looked over to me.

Me: "I don't believe that either! I was hardly the quickest or most efficient. And I certainly didn't obey their rules."

Jinx: "No, but resourcefulness, tactics, team leading skills, problem solving all come into it as well apparently."

Me: "Wait, how do you know this?"

Jinx: "Skylen, he came to speak to me. Just after that American town scenario and we were split up. He was brutally honest, told he would have picked you, but after 'betraying' SkyTech, you were to 'repurposed', what ever that meant. He also said he was going to pick Bruticus over me, despite my scores being better, something about more willing to do as he was told? But suddenly he was unavailable or something. So he chose me instead, but then had the techs reset the memory block, but only anything to do with you, the others and my normal life, any training I had was kept."

Memories of what Bruticus did came flooding back upon hearing his name, my mind a blur, almost blocking everything else out with static as it focused on the memory and how I made him pay the price for it. Any sort of guilt I had before was non existent now, I just felt anger and sheer hatred,

Me: "Ha! 'Unavailable', Jesus Christ..."

Jinx: "What? Bruticus?"

I got up and walked over to the other side of the room, I felt their eyes watching me. I was deep in the memory, I wasn't just satisfied with rewatching the moment in my head of myself ripping him to pieces... I was relishing the moment!

Me/Reikon: " 'Unavailable'... I killed him,..."

Wrex: "Alex?!"

Me/Reikon: "...tore him apart for what he did to me!" Wrex leapt across the room at me and grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me hard.

Wrex: "ALEX!" He screamed at me, looking me dead in the eyes. My mind settled, the memory quickly fading as I was brought back to reality.

Alex: "What are you doing?" I asked, looking down at his grasp on my shoulders.

Wrex: "You... She... You started talking in that dual tone again."

Me: "Did I?" I had to question, I actually felt a bit light headed.

Wrex: "Yes. You need to stay calm, try not to get agitated, because I think that sets... 'her' off."

A whisper starting appearing in my head, it was Reikon...

*"See, they want to hold us back."* I screwed my face up trying to ignore her.

Wrex: "Alex, are you ok?"

Me: "I'm... I'm fine..." I pulled away, I couldn't look at him, and sat back down on the sofa, looking down at my hands hunched over. "... Lets just... Can we talk about anything other than me for now?"

Jinx: "Like what?"

Me: "I don't know! How about... Jinx, now that you remember everything, where is Skylen based?"

Jinx: "I'm er... I'm not going to be much use there. I might have been on his team, but even we weren't trusted with site locations, Skylen used that portal Jump thing each time."

Alex: "Real helpful..." I said sarcastically.

Jinx: "What could I do about it?"

Me: "Did you not think to ask questions?"

Jinx: "Well no, I was under orders! I had no idea who I was! Just did as I was told!"

Me: "Well why couldn't you have done that when I asked you to do things before?!" I didn't even realise that I had stood up again and was full on shouting at her until I had finished talking.

Wrex: "Alex..."

Jinx: "I'm sorry! I didn't know what I was doing. I... I-" She replied seemingly disappointed with herself as well, Wrex stood up between us again.

Wrex: "Alex!, The SkyTech turned her into a mindless drone, designed to do the one thing of following orders and devoid of free will, the same thing they tried to do to you but with Jinx they succeeded. You freed her now but before that she had no control over herself."

Alex: " 'I' freed her? Or you mean Reikon did?"

Wrex: " *Sigh* ... Alex... You did, I'm sure of it. You might not remember it but Reikon was going to attack Jinx, I saw, but I think you stopped her, then rather than attack you her, you turned off her block."

Me: "I doubt it..."

Wrex: "Then Reikon made a move for me and you stopped her again."

Me: "Don't... don't tell me, I feel bad enough as it is."

Wrex: "Tough, you need to hear it because I don't think you know the whole of it. You stopped her, as she approached me, your voice alone came through, shouting 'No not him.' Then you collapsed, which now I think you made her do so. So if you can break through and control her then, then you keep her out as well, because I believe you can." I calmed down, because I realised Wrex was just trying to help me, how harsh I was being on Jinx and how much I was being an asshole...

Me: "I... I'm sorry, I... I need time."

And without another word from anyone I promptly left the room.

(-AC DC)