Memory Glitch (Book 2 in the "Glitched" Series)

[EIGHT - Operation Search Party]

'Guys, we have a problem.'
'Make that two. Vik and Lachlan are missing, and nobody's seen them since last night.'
'Well then... Operation search party?'
'Let's go.'

~~~

'Hold up - So all the stories about the Glitched Lands are true? Notch's Army, the hybrids-' Lachlan nodded, his breath turning to steam in the crisp morning air as he and Vik made their way towards the forest. He'd told him a few things, but not too much.
Especially nothing about the fact that he was a hybrid, and technically the shorter boy was too. 'Yep, then when the people from your village came to get you guys back, they started attacking everything. They wouldn't let us explain, or even defend ourselves, we had to fight back.'
'We?'
"Well crap... Think Lachlan, think!" 'I mean - I just got a bit confused, ignore what I just said.' Attempting to ignore the dull brown orbs boring into the side of his head, the Australian increased his pace and stuffed his hands in his pockets 'Nope, you said "We" - Were you one of the hybrids?'
'Vik, drop it.'
'No! There's something you're not telling me, you've got to tell me everything.'
'I'm serious, just... Just stop, please.' He was starting to shake as he walked even faster, but Vik didn't notice; He just continued pressing for answers 'What are you hiding from-'

The blond stopped ins his tracks, turning to face the older teenager with rapid emotions flickering through his lightning blue eyes 'I said, drop it!' He snapped, 'You want to know what happened, I get that, but I can't - I just can't!'
'Crap; Lachlan, Lachlan, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to - No no no , please don't cry!' Lachlan covered his face with his sleeves, his shoulders shaking violently as more memories pushed to the front of his brain. The screams, the cries for help, the sounds of his family dying, all around him...
Then, there was nothing, except a warm fuzzy feeling spreading through his chest. Moving a hand away, he saw a mop of ebony hair as Vik held him tightly 'I'm sorry, I pushed you too far.'
'It-It's fine, I jus-just - Sometimes, I remember all of the pain people had to go through, and the fact that I couldn't do anything about it. I see them in my dreams, just watching th-them burn...'
'Don't think about it, alright? Think of a happy place, somewhere you used to go where you made good memories - Focus on the good, even if the bad's right behind you, just go straight ahead.'

"Think of a happy place...
Good memories.
You're okay Vik, you're okay' Lachlan muttered quietly, the shorter nodding and taking a deep breath to try and calm his nerves 'Th-Thanks, Lachlan... I guess I-I was overreacting a bit, huh?'"
'Y-You always were the sm-smart one.'
'What can I say? Somebody's got to stop their friends from having an existential crisis.' The Brit grinned, pulling away before noticing tears well up in the blond's eyes once more 'Hey, what's wrong?'
Lachlan simply shook his head, a soft smile on his own face as he looked at the boy 'You really haven't changed, at all.'
'Is that a good thing?'
'It's an amazing thing'

~~~

"There it is; Choco's old place. Well, what's left of it." Chuckling at his own dark humour, Kenny slowly walked over to the large scorch marks and knelt by the patch. A small gathering of flowers was beginning to sprout through the dirt, and he could see a small sapling protected by a ring of thick, fresh dirt "That's weird; Somebody's been here, and by the look of things it was pretty recent."
He glanced around anxiously, the feeling of being watched beginning to crawl up his back as he stood up. The Sun was just peeking over the mountain's peak, a soft golden glow illuminating an important part of this tale - And, in the distance, a lone figure.

Once they realized that they'd been spotted, whoever it was seemed to freeze before running to the treeline. Confused, Kenny stood and dashed after the figure, shielding his eyes again the obnoxiously bright glare of the yellow light "Hold up a second - Did I just see feathers?!"
The two were, unknowingly, heading straight for a ravine that travelled directly through the mountain and into the ocean. The ground began to turn to stone, but this fact went unnoticed by the runners as they both tried to gain ground "Dang, whoever this is, they're fast."
Soon enough, the panicked runner found the ravine. Infact, you could say that he fell right on top of it.
And that's no metaphor. The cloaked figure let out a loud gasp as they started to fall, the fabric billowing around them to, indeed, reveal feathers.
The golden feathers that Kenny had dreamed of seeing once more. The scene seemed to fall into slow motion, with the blond pushing himself to go faster as he lunged forwards, gripping the chocobo's arm with one hand and securing himself with the other.

'For Notch's sake, Choco, are you trying to get yourself killed?!' Kenny screamed above the sudden, ominous winds that howled through the ravine walls. The hybrid said nothing, but his eyes told a different story - He was scared, nervous, he even felt a bit betrayed 'I thought you were dead!'
'I could say the same for you, mate. C'mon, let's get you back up.' Slowly easing himself back, the teenager pulled Choco onto the ravine edge and let out a small puff of air, running a hand through his blond quiff before catching the bird's eyes 'What?'
'Why did you come here?' He spoke quietly, catching Kenny off guard. The human tensed up for a few moments, the soft yet angry tone muddling his thoughts 'I - Well, I mean - D'you not want me to be here?'

'No! No, it's just... It's dangerous for your kind, it's even dangerous for us. The Orespawns have lost all control, and they be taken over the mountains.'
'Then why're you here?'
'I'm trying to figure out what's going on. The others don't know that I'm doing, and I - Oh, fudge.' The golden bird's eyes were wide as he focused on something behind the blond, reaching into his cloak and withdrawing a set of throwing daggers, specially modified to looking like feathers 'There's one right behind me, isn't there?'
'Y-Yep'
'Caterkiller?'
'Uh-huh'
'Wonderful,' Kenny wore an oddly confident smirk on his face as he turned and looked the mob directly in it's crimson eye, watching as the creature's jaw quivered with anticipation, 'Let me guess, here for a round two? Honestly, I don't even have girls after me as much as you are.'
Choco glanced worriedly at his old friend, concerned that he'd whacked his head on something as the older teenager walked forwards 'You climbed this entire mountain, just to track me down? You're way too committed, mate, why not go find another Orespawn, settle down and - OH GOD WHAT AM I DOING?!' At the louder tone, the Caterkiller screeched and knocked the blond to the side with it's large head before turning all attention to Choco.

The golden bird hybrid was seemingly frozen, blue eyes widening before narrowing. This happened for a few moments, with neither of the two moving. Kenny groaned quietly and pushed himself to his knees while this occurred, swaying slightly as his head swam until he focused on the Caterkiller.
It was slowly inching forwards, making Choco step back, therefore getting closer to the ravine's edge again. He swore silently, standing to his normal height and attempting to survey his options; Run away and stay safe, able to go home to his friends...
Or save one person.

A difficult decision, but he had to do it.
"Sorry, Choco, but you need help."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What's he gonna do, guys? Feel free to make your theories in the comments.

Also keNOCO'S FINALLY REUNITED YEET YEET.

(You're welcome for that cheeky Vikklan fluff right there XD)

See you all in the next chapter, and have a great Morning - Afternoon - Evening - Dawn - Dusk - Midnight - Paranormal Timezone!