via Docs
Backdated to early September 2015


The autumn cold was nipping at every bit of his exposed skin, but Dominic didn't really mind. Honestly, he preferred this weather over the dreadful summer heat any day; it'd always been something he attributed to being a winter baby. A passing breeze made him shiver but all the same smile wide as he pulled his jacket closed even further; he didn't much like zipping it closed until he got on his bike. It wasn't too far off now, the white was stark against the black background of night. At the sight of it he thought of the warm bath he would sink into once he got home, assuming Dani wasn't already using it…

His pace quickened at the thought of losing out and having to defrost in the living room, but as he cleared the last school building the faint sound of rustling caught his attention. Even after having his brain swiss-cheesed and losing basically the entire year (and then some) before his ordeal, Dom was still as curious as ever. He contemplated a moment, gaze shifting from the small speck of white in the distance to the side of the building where the rustling had come from and back again.

It was probably just a cat, he thought to himself. Or even a mouse or some kind of animal. Or maybe it was nothing and he was totally just imagining everything. Still, no matter how he tried to justify the sound he knew it was a losing battle. With a groan Dom promptly turned and crept toward where he thought he heard it, then peered around the corner just to make sure. Just to sate his curiosity; it was probably nothing, anyway.

Right?

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Corinth was TIRED. It was COLD. He wanted to go back to his dorm and just… Sleep for the rest of the week. But a patrol was a patrol and that required him to go out. He’d gone the whole route too - not cutting it short and making sure he’d swung by Crystal Academy. Thankfully Dallol was NOT out in this weather or she’d of probably died of hypothermia.

He made a mental note to bring a nice big parka for the next time they went on patrol. Her fuku was nice for the summer - but Autumn? No. Nope. Not one bit.

Speaking of the chill, he was starting to get some gathering into his bones. He didn’t sense any power signatures as he slipped out of the bush behind the buildings, so he shook his head and powered down instantly, glad that he’d at least worn his heavier clothes as Darren.

He wasn’t even aware of the barely visible spying figure at the end of the row of buildings.


Of course it wasn't just a cat, or just anything else. With his luck it had to be one of them, he wasn't sure what kind...knight or senshi or what. There was no way he could tell from such a distance, but the man that he assumed emerged from the bushes (hence the noise) went from carrying some kind of container or drum to being a regular person in a surge of bright light so he knew it was one of those powered folk.

With a heavy sigh Dominic emerged from his hiding spot, a right unpleasant expression on his face.

"I thought you guys were supposed to be good at keeping those nifty identities a secret," he said with a huff. Dom adjusted his backpack as he moved closer, and he did his brows slowly but surely began to scrunch together as the face on the unnamed person before him became clearer and certainly more familiar. A few feet closer and he squinted, obviously confused at who he was looking at, all clad in winter wear.

"Darren?"

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Darren was about to cuss loudly when he heard the voice, spinning quickly on his heel and about ready to charge at them of his own accord on the off chance they were one of the enemy. He blinked for a minute when he realized who it was. “Dominic, right?”

He crossed his arms then, trying to think this through. “You guys? So you know about Knights and Senshi then… Normally I’m better about it but I was getting damn cold so I rushed things. Stupid mistake on my part… You’re not part of the Negaverse are you? I’d really rather not have to go into hiding this week…”

Or have to come up with some way of keeping you silent… like doing something I’ll regret. But that thought he kept to himself.


"Yeah," was his initial reply. Wow...so Darren was one of them, too? How many others were DCU students then? He tried not to think about it and let the thought pass. No reason to make himself all curious enough to go around snooping, after all. The question that came next was met with a nod as he moved closer, then extended a hand to serve as a formal, if impromptu, greeting.

These were...odd...circumstances to be meeting under, and he was sure the gesture was equally as odd but it'd have to do.

"Yeah, I know about you guys. I used to be one of you, actually," emphasis on the "used to" part. Dom couldn't help but chuckle at the other man's excuse for powering down so out in the open. In the bush would have been just as plausible and certainly a whole lot safer, not that it was any of his concern anymore. "So I guess that answers your question. No, I'm not part of the Negaverse. Couldn't pay me to be, trust me."

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Darren relaxed a bit and took the other male’s hand in a firm grip. Strange yeah, but still, it wasn’t every day you learned one of your fellow classmates was what basically amounted to a super hero. He was actually about to see if Dominic would want to talk shop, but stopped himself with a small frown when Dominic admitted he USED to be a knight. His face went neutral when he said he wasn’t part of the Negaverse though, that was good at least.

“What do you mean, used to? Did you like… quit or something?” Darren was legitimately curious now. He’d never met anyone who’d quit.

He wasn’t even aware you could.


The expression that crossed his features was of obvious discomfort at the idea of hashing out even just a few vague details about what happened several months back, but it was a fair question that he assumed he would get from just about everyone who was powered. With a sigh and a shrug he gestured toward one of the buildings. No sense in chatting out in the cold, right?

"Not willingly," he said slowly as he began walking. "Most of the night's a blur to be honest, but something happened and I woke up not remembering a whole lot about...well, everything. I gave it a shot after I pieced a few things together, but all I got was a headache that stuck around for days. Haven't tried since."

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Darren watched him for a moment and then cleared his throat. “Why not try now? I’m no medical expert but I can help you out if something go south.” He clicked his tongue for a moment. “I’m surprised that something like that could happen though. I’ve never heard of anything like that before.”

It was kind of frightening when he thought about it. Being forced to no longer be able to use your powers.


Dominic paused mid-step and turned to his classmate, friend even, and gave him a questioning look. To be honest, he was rather fond of being normal again; or about as normal as he could manage with the gaps in memory and occasional nightmares of death and destruction that he still couldn't explain.

"Not too interested in going back," he replied finally. "Life as a regular person is complicated enough, y'know? I figure if this was my only chance at getting back to that…" He let the thought trail, the admittance suddenly deflating his mood. It'd never been anything he admitted out loud before. No one asked or really pressed the issue, and the closest ones to him still kind of walked on eggshells around him, so this would mark the first time he ever told anyone about his decision to stay out of it.

"Anyway, far as I can tell there's load o' you guys, right? Losing me probably isn't that big a deal."

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“We need every hand we can get!” Darren said. He couldn’t believe it! Granted, he didn’t know Dominic well, they were on friendly terms sure. But still this was ridiculous! He was letting innocent people suffer just so he could be normal? That was just... Criminal.

“We were given these… abilities for a reason.” Darren said, gesturing between the two of them as he spoke. “All of us were chosen for whatever reason, to fight this fight.” He watched Dominic, knowing that he probably sounded super preachy, but whatever.

“My girlfriend is a part of this whole… war thing… Do you think I like that thought? I wouldn’t ask her to quit in a second, even though she just got out of the hospital after almost having her brain splattered against the pavement. This is a shitty job, dude, trust me I know. But what gives you the right to just walk away when so many innocent lives are at risk!”

That was the worse part. Really, in Darren’s mind.

“You need to come back. We need you out there helping in this fight dammit! You can’t just give up and walk away! If we don’t do this, then nobody will - and then the Negaverse wins and the next thing we know we’re all getting our faces torn off by youma!”


Dominic winced at the sudden...well, preachiness of the whole situation. It was refreshing, someone not handling him with care like he was some fragile thing about to break any second, but it was also plenty uncomfortable and maybe even downright irritating. He held his tongue though, maybe because deep down there was a part of him that sided with Darren. That knew that being "normal" would cost people their lives and that it wasn't a fair trade-off by any stretch.

He was about to say something when Darren finished speaking, about to try and defend himself and his decision and how it was his to make since he'd been the one given the chance to go back to being nothing more than a civilian, but instead he got blasted with a vision. Crimson red on everything, on everyone he knew. Family, friends, strangers he passed by on the streets...a darker future than any of them could possibly imagine. It choked him up, kept the words in his throat when the vision finally receded and he swallowed the lump there, swallowed up whatever comment he originally meant to make.

"I…" he tried to start but cut himself off in favor of trying to find better words to justify his decision. "I'm not sure what's even wrong with me, Darren. And I've barely got my head on straight as it is, going back…" doesn't feel like an option, even if I wanted to.

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Darren reached out, gently placing a hand on Dominic’s shoulder. “But you have to try! Even if it hurts, even if it sucks. Even if it kills you! That is what we all have to do now.” He sighed and looked down. “Look, all I’m asking is that you try? Just this once. With me here. If it doesn’t work… If it's… not possible. Then maybe whatever happened messed you up enough that you can’t anymore… If that’s the case then I’ll take back everything I said.”

He looked back up at Dominic and squeezed his shoulder. “But you have to TRY.”


It'd be news to him if Darren got anything less than an A+ in his speech class, but the man's words dug deep enough to get him to consider it. He wasn't asking for a whole lot, and Dominic already knew what the outcome would be. Aside from getting some memories back nothing had changed about his condition, so he expected nothing more than a serious headache to plague him for the next few days for trying. If it got Darren to understand his position though, then it was worth a shot, and frankly he didn't have a whole lot to lose anyway.

"Fine, but you owe me a bottle of Advil for the headaches I'll be getting this coming week." It was meant to be a joke but he wasn't laughing. Instead, he pointed toward an open door to the building just beside them. "Let's head up to the roof, less likely to get any unwanted eyes on us, right?"

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Darren nodded. “True, and if it doesn’t work I’ll go and I’ll buy you the bottle myself.” He was a man of his word after all. Though, what he wouldn’t tell Dominic is he’d been making impassioned speeches for years… As a LARPER granted, but still - it wasn’t like he was out of practice.

Moving over to the door, he tried to knob and was relieved to find it unlocked. The last thing he wanted to was to have to break into a building on campus, still, he held the door open for Dominic.

“After you.”


"Thanks."

The walk up to the roof was long and filled with idle chit-chat, and when they were finally away from possible prying eyes he dropped his backpack and took center stage, so to speak. Admittedly he was a little nervous; a part of him was genuinely curious if it'd actually work, if time had been the only factor that he needed to heal. It'd been months, after all, so it was certainly a possibility.

"Alright," he said finally and with a shake of his head. "Here goes…"

Dominic closed his eyes and focused on his weapon, or at least what details about it that he could remember. Size and weight, color and texture, he let it fill his mind until there was nothing else, not even the cold, and he tried to summon it to him. Instead of being bathed in light and warmth he felt a sudden, sharp pain and pressure on his chest. It brought back memories of that fateful night in February, of someone's hand in his chest and the surge of chaos that was forced into him…

It was enough to bring him to his knees, crying out and clutching his chest. Even after all thought of his weapon had gone the pain lingered for seconds that felt like hours. Eventually it, too, faded away and all he was left was the expected splitting headache. And possibly some scrapes on his knees.

"See?" he said through heavy breaths. "Told you."

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“What happened to your chest?” Darren asked quietly from his spot on the roof. The voice was filled with concern. “You started clawing at it like it hurt…” There was a mystery here - one that Darren desperately wanted to solve.

He wouldn’t bring up transforming again, he was a man of his word in that regard. And he would more than happily go to the corner store and get Dominic some pain relievers. But for now, this one particular mystery hounded his brain.

He had to know.


Deep breaths, that was what Dominic was focused on. Deep breaths and, oddly enough, Darren's voice. Eventually he was fine, save for the headache, but still he took a seat. He needed a quick rest before he'd be headed anywhere, but he did hear the man's question.

"When I woke up," he started, "I didn't remember a whole lot, not about that night or anything the past year or so. They explained to me what happened, pretty hard to believe so I didn't buy it at first. Then I started remembering."

Dom sighed. "Someone stuck their hand in, a higher-up in the Negaverse named Laurelite. She got a hold of my starseed, I guess, and...did something. You know how we can feel chaos? It was a little like that, except if you can imagine that feeling mixed with a thousand sharp needles and burning hot magma flowing through your veins. Kinda like that."

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Darren frowned. “It sounded like she tried to corrupt you but got stopped before she could finish the job.” He moved over to Dom, kneeling down and looking him over. “I wonder if that could be fixed…” He raised a hand to ward off any potential ‘but you promised to shut up about this’ thing. “Since she didn’t try to grab and pull your starseed out of your chest. Which, I would suggest avoiding by the way…”

Darren rubbed his own chest for a moment as he thought about his own incident with the Negaverse and his Starseed, his eyes getting a bit distant. “Being dead kinda sucks.”

Standing up slowly, he offered Dom a hand up. “Whenever you’re ready to go, take my hand, and we’ll go get you that Advil…”


Being dead kinda sucks...he chuckled at that.

"Funny guy. I'll try and keep my starseed out of their reach, " he said once he finally opened his eyes. "Yeah. I mean that makes sense, wanting to bring us over to their side. Not sure why they picked me, but…"

He left it with a shrug and took Darren's offered hand to pull himself to his feet, then wobbled for all of a second before he put a hand up to let the other know that he didn't need any help. He managed once before, this wouldn't be any different.

"I really haven't given it much thought. Like I said, I've been spending the months recovering and getting my memories back. Maybe there is, but why don't we start with some Advil, huh?"

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Darren nodded. “Baby steps my friend, baby steps. No need to rush things.” He waited to be sure Dom wouldn’t need any help, but once he was sure of that, he led him back down the building, taking time to make sure that he didn’t rush the man. Once they reached the ground floor he squinted his eyes and looked out toward where he knew the road was.

“Nearest corner store is about two blocks from here. Think you can manage?” He asked. He didn’t want to overwork the poor man.


In his woozy state his bike was out of the question, which meant he'd be forced to take the bus tomorrow morning. Fantastic.

Dominic tried not to groan out of annoyance and instead managed to nod. "Yeah, I'll manage just fine." If memory served, and lately it served a whole lot better than months prior, he'd been in worse condition before and he'd gotten out of them alive. A headache was next to nothing.

Torvil