"Hello Mr. Heffernan, I'm Doctor Sonya of the Grand Liberation Program. I will be examining you today to confirm your diagnosis by the healer. Would that be alright with you?" She asked.
"Yeah ..."
The brown-haired woman placed her box on the table in front of them and adjusted her glasses over her brown eyes. "Are you nervous?" Doctor Sonya of the Grand Liberation Program asked.
Hunter shoots her a weak smile. "A bit ..."
"There's nothing to get worked up over, Mr. Heffernan," said the doctor. "This would be a quick and harmless procedure," she assured.
The doctor took out a rectangular object the size of a baton and held it just above the sprite's right arm. "You're going to feel a slight pinch," she said before bringing it down to the green-eyed boy's skin.
As advertised, the sprite felt a pinch followed by a bit of lightheadedness. "Can you tell me what you last remember?"
Hunter pointed to the rectangular object. "You stabbed me with that sci-fi syringe." This draws a soft giggle from the doctor. "I meant before waking up here in the Sector 5," she clarified.
"The last thing I remember from back then was my friend reminding me I'll be joining the Sprite Guardians in a week."
"Does the word 'River Pot' ring any bell?" She asks.
"That was where the Sprite Guardians were, right?"
"Correct. Does the name Alice Lewis mean anything to you?"
The teal-green-eyed boy paused, racking his brain to see if he could connect anything in his head to the aforementioned name. "Vaguely familiar. I'm not sure where exactly I've heard that name ... Is she perhaps related to Alex?"
"Yes," Sonya nods. "Alice Lewis is Alexander's stepmother."
"Oh?" The brown-haired woman reached into her box and pulled out a photograph which she placed on the table.
The dark-haired boy scanned the image in front of him. It was a middle-aged woman with blonde hair and gray eyes. "Do I -- is this Alice?"
"Just keep looking at the picture," Sonya said walking to the back of the sprite. "The memory would come to you any minute now!" As she said the last word, tendrils emerged from her fingertips and went into Hunter's head. The latter's eyes rolled back into his head and he soon found himself remembering a memory he had long forgotten.
...
"I already know you grew up in an orphanage and that you're an expert when it comes to crashing weddings, what else is there to know about you?" Alice asked.
Hunter raised an eyebrow. "I feel like I've said a lot about myself and you haven't told me anything about you," the teal-green-eyed boy pointed out.
"That's because you never asked me about me," the blonde-haired woman argued.
"Plate."
"What?"
"Pass me a plate; the soup is ready to be served," said Hunter.
"Oh! Okay," she exclaimed, grabbing a clean plate and handing it to the dark-haired boy.
After solving the mystery of the missing people in River Pot, the Sprite Guardians volunteered at several charity centers. Hunter and Alice worked most of the mornings and evenings at a local kitchen, donating foodstuff and helping with the preparation and serving.
"So can I ask you questions about you now?" He queried.
"Um, no! I already called dibs on the probing today, you'll get your chance next time," said Alice.
"Phrasing?"
"What? I thought you'd appreciate it," said Alice.
The dark-haired boy shook his head. "So? Tell me more about you."
"Well I --" the sprite paused after noticing blood on the ground. "What the -- this isn't how this is supposed to go ..."
He looked up at Alice only to find there was no one there but himself and he was at an uncompleted building. He looked back to the ground and found three kids, none older than sixteen bleeding out.
The dark-haired boy stumbled backward. "Not this ..." He said almost quietly.
And then everywhere turned black and in front of the dark-haired boy was a mirror of himself but with hair running down to his shoulders.
"Where am I?" said the sprite.
[Congratulations Hunter, you've done it! You're dead]
"How can I be dead?"
[By dying?]
"Huh?"
...
"So where am I, really?" Hunter asked.
[I took you to my realm, you were about to die.]
"Wasn't I seeing a memory just now?"
[Yes. However, the amount of energy that the doctor was using to unlock your memories was more than your body could handle. I brought you here so I could heal you before you passed.]
"Does that mean I just disappeared from Sector 5? Wouldn't the doctor find that suspicious?"
[No. I created a copy of you on the ship. As far as the doctor is concerned, you're still very much on the ship, just knocked out.]
MEANWHILE
"What did you do?" Skylar asked. She had run into the room when she heard the sound of a body hitting the ground. Aragones was behind her.
"What happened?" The blue-eyed man asked as Skylar checked for a pulse.
"I was testing a theory," said Sonya.
"What theory did you have that you almost killed him to confirm?" Skylar said angrily.
"According to Dr. Salvador, the patient's amnesia was a side effect of being in the curacion pod," said Sonya. "... But the amnesia has persisted longer than I'd expect if it was truly caused by a healer's pod," Sonya continued. "That is why I believe his amnesia is trauma-induced. The events of River Pot must have been too much for him."
"I see," said Sir Aragones, rubbing his chin. "Will the boy be alright?" The brown-haired man asked.
"He'll be fine. I was careful to not overexert his body. He should fully recover in under twenty-four hours and we can continue our exercise."
"I think the both of you should leave," said Skylar.
"Calm yourself, Dr. Salvador. We are here with approval from the Bureau you cannot legally ask us to leave," Sir Aragones pointed out.
"I don't care; get off my ship ... or I'll have both of you thrown out."
"Fine. But expect to hear from the Bureau."
----