History in the Remix

Lanshu couldn't believe his eyes, even though right in front of him, in real time he held Ismyrea in his arms tightly. His thumb ran over the back of her neck where the chip had malfunctioned - a chip that tracked her every single move, and more than likely had suppressed her memories.

If that hadn't been enough, it turned out that the company he was raised in just so happened to manufacture such a little piece of technology - and if that evidence wasn't effective, it had the company logo stamped across it.

He was furious - and now more than ever he questioned the "love" Adelaide had for him. So far, she tried to sell his beloved, chipped her, and tried to use a potential progeny against him. Come to think of it - the night Ismyrea's parents had died, it happened right after he and Ismyrea were shooed away.

Had she actually been behind it all these years? Had the woman he looked up to and raised him as her own actually just used him for the power of his blood?

Warm, golden light emitted from his palms as he closed his eyes and concentrated on his task. He channeled strings of energy through her body where it lit up her blood veins briefly, and faded out as fast as they had illuminated.

Lanshu had yet to recover all of his memories - but the few that had awakened in his dreams showed that there had been many times, and many ways Ismyrea had perished before him.

Some of them were too gruesome for him to try to recall.This one was tame by far, but how would he find her again if this body failed? ...and how was it she seemed to always come back to life within Adelaide's control?

He no longer trusted his adoptive mother. She had to be the one behind all of this - or at least maybe someone bigger than her. Had there even been a "secret council"? As everything he knew spiraled downwards at a face pace, his thoughts were halted by Ismyrea's eyes that clenched closed, and her head that moved back and forth in slow motions.

"Hey, hey hey hey - I'm right here," Lanshu comforted her and ran his fingers through her hair with tender affection and care. "It's okay. You're okay..."

Her eyes blinked open rapidly and her hand reached out and clenched his shoulder with desperation.

"Isme - it's alright. I'm here, you're here - and we're safe." Lanshu reassured her once more and kissed her forehead as he cradled her into his chest.

Even without sound, he knew why her shoulders shuddered so violently - she cried hard against him and her tears soaked his shirt in warm puddles that grew the more she went on.

"We'll rest here and then leave immediately when we wake up. We'll have to move fast now that I know Adelaide had tracked us - and she possibly still is if I too have a chip in my neck." His voice dipped into one of anger as the idea that he had been double-crossed passed behind his eyes again.

Ismyrea raised her head and looked very confused through her sorrow. Before her hands could be raised to speak, he answered her inquiry.

"Yes, a chip. I think I know how all of this keeps happening. You and I can't trust anyone for a while. We'll have to survive out in the wilderness for a bit - and figure out how to deactivate any other devices that have been sneaked into our bodies." Even now, he smiled and ran his thumb across her bottom lip.

"This time, we're going to be the ones dancing without puppet strings because we finally have a head start - something we haven't had before," he added and allowed his smile to grow wider with hope.

She wiped her eyes and nodded, but he still felt like she didn't trust him fully - which kind of hurt, but he understood why.

"Come on, let's eat." He offered and pulled her up with him as he stood up in the same bay they had first crawled into.

He had never really cooked before, but he would do his best with what little knowledge he had about food and temperatures. The four large fish he had caught still waited for him on the counter where they had been left.

All four of them had the same red scales, two sets of eyes on both sides of their heads and two sets of pectoral fins lined along their body. He planned to descale them - but it would be hard with their spiky, bone-lined dorsal fins.

If they tasted as beautiful and majestic as they looked - then they were both in for a treat for dinner.

His stomach rumbled as he prepared the meat to the best of his ability. The way he pulled out the innards was a rather sloppy technique - but it did the trick. There would be no need to for them to be de-boned, though. If what his memories recalled were correct, then both he and Ismyrea would appreciate the mix of crunchy and soft together.

Lanshu salivated further as he carefully used a long claw he transformed on his finger to slice through those spiked fins at the top of each piscine morsel in front of him. Then, he ran that same sharpened barb down their bodies and caused those crimson scales to splatter across his arms, shirt, and a little on his face. Had they been any other color, they would have probably looked like adornments of tiny jewels - but really he looked like a serial killer.

The beginner chef then skewered each of them on an item he had never seen before - but it had many lines of metal melded into some sort of X shape that had dishes on it. He discarded the serving platters and tore it apart with ease so that they were suspended above the rack for his fire to scorch them evenly.

They smelled heavenly to him. The way the salt and buttery-like scent filled his nose directly caused his stomach to growl and his tongue to swipe his lips in anticipation.

Now, to him - it looked glorious - maybe a little burnt - but they still smelled good. So he was completely perplexed when Ismyrea good one good look at them, and then turned to vomit what little contents had been in her stomach.

"....Is it really that bad?" He asked himself softly with embarrassment.