The time in the hospital was short lived. Unlike many others, Chailee had no extreme injuries. Just scrapes and bruising (the ones in the tell-tale sign of Laurelite’s grip on her neck getting her a lecture on abuse) and all of those could be left to heal on their own time. The memory loss that Paris and Chris had told her about, well, she kept that bit quiet. It wasn’t like she could explain to the doctors that she had been almost corrupted and may have lost some memories in the process.
Instead, Chailee was left to go home after a thorough check and she spent several days doing nothing but sleeping. Exhaustion was to be expected after what she went through but after several days of sleeping and resting she had begun to grow incredibly antsy. Part of her feared stepping back out into the world. This was where she’d begin to discover the true extent of any memory loss she may have suffered and it terrified her. Already she had noted a few small things from home.
But, as much as she wanted, she couldn’t hide away forever. So she decided to take little steps. Changing into jeans and a hoodie (which sort of hid the still angry but slightly greening bruising on her neck) Chailee grabbed her bag and got her Dad to take her to the library. It wasn’t a bold move on any sort. Chailee had all intentions of drowning herself in a book to try and forget her problems for the day, but she’d at least be out of the house.
After being dropped off, and receiving a lecture about coming straight home afterwards, Chailee plodded into the library. Out of habit she moved right up to the second floor where most of the fiction books were located. She deposited her bag on the floor by a large cushioned chair situated in a reading area before perusing the shelves. It didn’t take her long to find something of interest, and with her nose in the book already began weaving through the shelves to get back to her chair. That was when she pretty much ran bodily into someone.
She fumbled with her own book and just barely managed to save it from flopping onto the ground. Looking up at the man, who she assumed must have been a librarian by the way he was organizing and reshelving books, Chailee blushed. “I am so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” She wasted no time in making a hasty, abashed retreat to the reading nook.
Tony was hard at work in the library, as he often was. He was dedicated to his job, and he loved working with the books. Now, it was actually an escape, where it used to be just a job. The peace that came from this kind of work was a stark contrast to the things he had to do as a Royal Knight, and the weight of patrolling the city and doing his part to keep it safe. By comparison, sticking books on a shelf in the proper order was a welcome little brain numbing task.
The thing he had been doing for a third of his life, now, was enjoyable and all appreciated in a brand new way. It was refreshing and for that he was thankful. The library was his little haven, and he found honest peace when he was there.
Even when guests were bumping into him.
“Oh, dear, sorry,” he said quickly, turning to look at her and already offering a hand to steady her in the effort. He immediately took the blame for it, though he had not been moving and it was clear she’d run into him while not looking, but that hardly mattered. As a polite gentleman, it was clearly his fault the accident occurred. “Oh! Chay! How are you doing? I haven’t seen you in a little while, there, and I was beginning to worry!”
He had no idea anything was wrong with her, and, as he had not been involved in that ill conceived attack, did not know what events had transpired in his absence. He followed her as she tried to flee, not realizing she was actually uncomfortable with him, and considered him a stranger.
Chailee wasn't exactly paying attention to the fact that the librarian was following her. That was until she heard her own name and she stopped dead in her tracks just in front of the chair she had been fleeing to. Turning around abruptly, the book clutched to her chest, she gave the man a good hard look. Surely if he knew her name they knew each other. Right?
A part of her was hoping that the man was just recognizing her from visits. She did tend to visit often, but she never really spoke to anyone here. Especially someone old enough to be 9 her own father. At least, not that she remembered.
“I've been a bit too busy to read.” She answered his question with slightly furrowed brows as she tried to remember his face to no avail.
“How do you know my name?” There, easy enough question. If she didn't actually know him he'd just brush it off or if he was just an acquaintance, well she never was terribly good at remembering people's names or anything.
Tony stared at her for a long moment, stunned by the question.
A million explanations for it ran through his mind, but the one that rang out clearly was the most terrifying. She had been corrupted. She forgot everyone, everything, just like before. Just like… no, it could not be happening again. If she was taken from them, he would bring her back: that was his duty. That was his promise. He would take care of her, always.
He would not be made a liar: he would not fail her.
“I… it’s me, Tony? We… work… together…?” he tried to be subtle. Maybe she had bumped her head… maybe she was messing with him. Maybe she would know what he meant when he emphasized work in such a weird way. Powered work. Or maybe she would think he was being some creepy old man trying to hit on her or something. That was definitely not what he was aiming for, a lump of fear in his throat as he struggled to not jump immediately to panic.
Corruption was always the thing he feared most, when he watched young knights and senshi growing up on the battlefield. Losing themselves to chaos, being stolen from the white moon, from their destiny and their potential… it seemed too cruel for words. He had the limited ability to help some of them, to bring them home and save them from that terrible fate, but others…
He did not want to be too late already.
The stunned look and the way he reacted was more than enough to clue Chailee that this man was someone she should have remembered. Someone who was important to her, maybe? That realization began the bubble of panic to grow in her chest. What else was she forgetting? Who else? How extensive was her memory loss?
She had no way of telling.
“Tony? We….worked? She questioned softly as she stared at him as if willing herself to remember the middle aged man. Nothing. Nothing came to her. And what did he mean by worked? She didn't have a job, so there was no way she could have possibly worked with him. Not unless you counted….oh. Oh!
Did he mean being a senshi?
It wasn't enough for her to connect both Tony and Camelot but it began to open doors for her. Still, after what Laurelite had done to her, Chailee was being extremely cautious. She may not exactly remember the attempted corruption, or anything from that night, but she had no intentions of accidentally handing herself over to the Negaverse. “Do you mean...our uh….night job? I am sorry, I just don't recognize you. I just got out of the hospital and all...well…”
This was like beating around a small bush that possibly held deadly thorns. She just didn't know.
“Come with me,” Tony said, offering her his hand. There was only one way to really settle this, and he had to take the risk. It donned on him that if she was really corrupted, she would not remember him at all and he would not recognize her. She would be a stranger in a sea of faces, with a new name and a new life, and he would have no part in it.
He knew that all too well.
No, this was something else, and he had to get to the bottom of it. He hesitated with his hand offering, though, as it might be a little strange for her to take the lead of someone she did not know. He leaned on his cane with both hands instead, clearing his throat and looking at her imploringly.
“Please, trust me for a moment. I promise, I’ll try to make this all make sense as soon as I can.”
She remembered that she was powered, he knew that much. She would not have mentioned her night job if she did not know that. So, maybe there was a chance she remembered him when he powered up. He knew others who had partial memory damage, so it was something he could actually put some hope in.
He led the way to the roof, his favorite place and somewhere they could go without being watched by anyone. It was always a risk, powering up in the day time, but it was one he had to take now. If she could remember him, even just as Camelot, that would be a profound relief.
Chailee didn’t move at first. She was too wary, too unsure of herself...of this man that was making no sense to her. Still that little voice in her head that said ‘what if you should know him’ would not stop. It’s constant chant was what eventually prompted the girl to move. Tentatively she placed the book she had practically been clutching as a safety line on a table a step or two away from her.
“Alright.” She said tentatively. So much about Chailee was different at this point. She wasn’t as outgoing, boisterous or carefree as she had once been. Instead caution and fear were the underlying emotions that were now dictating her life. How could she not be after what she went through? Even if she didn’t remember it?
As the man, Tony, led the way up the flights of stairs to the rooftop, Chailee grew increasingly anxious with each stair. They were going someplace where they were sure to be alone. But...why the rooftop of all places? Surely the Library had a room they could have popped into to talk? Maybe talking isn’t what he had in mind. But what? What could he be showing her? Was he a senshi? Was that really what he was talking about when he meant work?
Either way, she was tense and ready to bolt away and back down the stairs they had just emerged from onto the rooftop. One way or another something was going to happen that she wasn’t sure she wanted to find out about. “Um…the roof?”
“The roof. Please, stay calm. Hopefully, this will make sense soon…”
If it didn’t, he wasn’t sure there was any way to remind her who he was. He could only hope, though it was a distant hope, that this memory lapse was limited only to her civilian side, and she would know him when he powered up. It was a risk, but he trusted her and he always had. He held faith in the fact that he could still recognize her, even if she had forgotten him.
Taking a breath, he calmed his nerves and called to his shield, focusing on its power and donning the armor of the Royal Knight Camelot.
It only took a moment, and yet he changed entirely. Where there was standing a limping, older librarian there was now a powerful, armored knight. The soft, warm gaze of his eyes remained, however, and he looked at her hopefully so that she might realize who he was.
“It’s me, Chay. It’s Camelot. Please tell me you know who I am. Who… who you are.”
“Camelot…” Chailee just stared at the man for a moment. So much was going on inside of her that she couldn’t react until finally tears formed in her eyes and she completely broke down. She fell to her knees before giving in and sitting back onto her heels and letting the tears fall. Obviously with the way he had been acting she should have known that Tony was Camelot. She had known at some point.
This meant that her hopes that she hadn’t lost anything important was completely dashed. That little fantasy she had created for herself was shattered and now she was forced to face the chilling fact she she may not, would not remember friends. People she had loved at some point or another were a complete stranger to her now.
But why did she know Camelot? Was it just certain memories? Not that that helped quell the onslaught of tears.
“I...I...I didn’t...don’t remember you as Tony.” It was a complete blank to her, like meeting Tony for the first time ever...again. The glamor was now gone for her between his two identities but the memories of him as Tony did not return. “I am sorry.” She said between tears.
“I know,” he said gently, seeing her tears. It was as he had thought, even hoped, though it was clearly still heart breaking to her as she realized what happened. Something must have taken those memories from her, and she could not know just what she lost until she faced it. There was no way to make that an easy burden to carry. He moved to her, carefully putting his arms around her as she cried and hugging her to him.
He remained powered up, if only because it was easier on her, to remember who he was. And now he could keep an eye out for any unwanted Chaos auras, though the only one in the immediate area was that of the half youma sleeping under the library.
“I’m so sorry.”
He guided her to a place for them to sit, so she might be able to calm down a little without having to worry about staying on her feet. He did his best to wipe her tears away, using his cape to do so and offering her a friendly, warm smile.
“It’s okay. I’m here now, and I’m going to help you as best I can. Whatever happened… I’ll do everything I can for you, okay?” He couldn’t bear her crying, feeling guilty despite not knowing what happened to her. Or maybe that was why he felt guilty. He hadn’t been there to help her, or to keep it from happening.
Chay melted into Camelot’s embrace. It was exactly what she needed. A Comforting embrace and someone to whisper soothing words to her. Still very much a child, even if she was 15, the words of an adult, especially someone like Camelot was an incredible medicine for her frazzled emotions. So when Camelot wanted to move to a place where she could sit as opposed to balancing on her knees and heels she didn’t protest.
Slowly the tears began to subside and Chay was left sniffling softly as she worked to continue to get herself under control as Camelot put his cape to use to help dry her swollen eyes. Eventually, after a few hiccups and a few more sniffles she nodded at Camelots words. “I don’t know if there’s anything you can do.” She mentioned softly as she vaguely remembered Chris, or was it Paris, saying that Chris had not managed to regain any of his lost memories.
“I...I was corrupted.” She said softly. “I don’t remember it happening but I guess Laurelite must have tried to corrupt me while we were all fighting in the portal.” She turned to look at Camelot and carefully moved the neckline of her hoodie to show him Laurelite’s bruised fingerprints that went around her neck. “I am assuming this happened then too.”
She fidgeted in her seat on the brick ledge they had positioned themselves on. One that would be out of prying eyes from anyone on the street. “From what I was told Ganymede managed to purify me before I was fully corrupted.”
Camelot listened, but did not like the story. He was glad, at least, that she had managed to not be fully corrupted, but the lingering damage to her memories and to her starseed were troubling. He knew others that had experienced something similar, and it was not easy on them.
“No one should have ever gone in there,” he said, with a sigh, but it was not the time for that. He held on to her until she was feeling a little better, not crying any more, and watched her with concern etched on to his kind, weathered face. He saw the bruises and felt anger rise in him, though the physical damage was much less than what the Chaos had done. It still infuriated him to see people he cared about injured.
“Then the consequence for that partial corruption was your memories of your civilian life… but you did not lose that identity, as the fully corrupted do, since I could recognize you. That’s a small hope, then, that these memories will come back to you in time, once your starseed can recover from its exposure to Chaos. Maybe spending time on your planet might help with that.”
He knew the restorative powers of senshi planets and the wonders could really help when some people were injured. Maybe the energies there could help her starseed as well.
Chailee sniffed and wiped at her eyes. “Going to Harmonia can help?” She questioned softly as she looked up at him with eyes even more green courtesy of the tears. “I...I didn’t know that.” She sat and thought about the ravaged planet that was her own. She wasn’t sure how long she could stay there considering she had her parents to worry about. The last thing she wanted was to cause them anymore pain.
Plus, there was the fact that she wasn’t even sure if she wanted to power up again. Could she go back to being a normal girl? Oh, how her heart yearned for it in that moment. The idea of fighting again was too much for the teen to handle, and the anxiety of it made her want to run away in all cases.
But if going to her planet might help her memories…
She’d think about it later. There was no rush to make a decision, right? She could take her time. Plus, it was doubtful her parents would let her out of their eyesight for very long. It had taken some sweet talking to get them to even let her come to the library.
“I’ll do that. Eventually...maybe.” The doubt and fear was clearly on the 15 year old’s face. Chailee was a girl who very much wore her emotions on her sleeve for all the world to see.
“Um...you can power down if you want” She appreciated that he had remained as Camelot though as he consoled her.
“It might help. It certainly won’t hurt.”
Camelot smiled and nodded his head, powering down to be Tony again. He felt like it was better to be Camelot, since she recognized him, but now at least she knew the connection and would be able to see through the glamour again. Even if she didn’t remember the librarian himself, or their encounters as civilians so far.
He took a clean handkerchief from his pocket, offering it to her with a twinge of his usual gallantry. He could not help himself as far as things like that went: being a white knight had always been in his nature. He hated to see anyone crying, and wished there was more he could do to help make her feel better.
Unfortunately, it was something she would have to do on her own.
Or at least, without him.
“You’ll have to keep me up to date with how things are going, okay? If going to your planet helps at all. Or… you know. Just to check in so I don’t worry too much, hm?” He chuckled, patting her lightly on the arm, trying to gently reassure her that things would be okay, without having to say so. It always sounded less sincere in words rather than actions.
Chailee smiled at Tony’s gallant presentation of his handkerchief which she tentatively took to dry away the remaining tears. She wanted to try and look somewhat in order when she went back into the library and tending to her swollen eyes helped. Thankfully, make-up of any sort hadn’t been on her to-do list that morning so she was able to return the piece of cloth back without any make-up smudges. “Thank you.” She said softly.
With a nod of her head she carefully slid herself off the ledge they had perched upon. “I will. I promise. The last thing I want is you worrying about me anymore.” She grinned and gave the man an impromptu hug. Thank you again.” She said with earnest.
After pulling away she sighed and glanced back at the door in which they had come from. “I am going to go back in. If my dad shows up and I am not in there he’ll be so angry at me.” She shrugged. It was annoying to have her parents be so protective now but she couldn’t really blame them. Twice she had been in the hospital within a year for injuries now. Of course they were going to be extra protective with her.
With a last smile and a wave the 15 year old made her way back into the library to enjoy a bit of reading before her parents came back for her.
Lithiasaur
Fin
