Awaken

The moment Albert woke up, a strange glint flashed through his eyes. He felt an influx of emotion overwhelm him. The ever present fear, sorrow, anger and desperation that burdened his child self resurfaced with the regained memories. He was aware that his life was entirely different now, that he would never be threatened like that ever again, but reliving those dark moments in his dreams awoke the irrational fears within him. He couldn't help but to shiver, feeling as though at any moment, he could easily return to those days in that desolate room by his lonesome self, constantly worrying for his survival and plotting to kill his tormentor.

He breathed in and out, in and out and in and out again. However, Albert couldn't exactly shake off that feeling of dread, but at least he felt that the holes in his life were somewhat filled. Answers to questions that were always slipping from his grasp were finally known to him. He knew why he didn't like the feeling of a shirt collar around his neck, why the heat bothered him so much and why hunger made him nervous and afraid. However, along with the answers came the burden of knowing.

He now knew what it was like to be burnt until your skin crackles and bleeds. He knew what it felt to have been beaten until just a wind passing by was enough to send shivers of pain coursing through his body. He knew what it was like to watch your friends struggling to survive as they were being burnt alive. Yet he also found what he always felt was missing from his life. The emptiness was still there but at least he had a name for it.

Calming down, a new wave of anger and rage washed over Albert. He was angry at just about everything, Houston, Justin, the henchmen and...himself. 'Why did I forget?' 'Why did I only remember now?' 'How could I be so cowardly?' As the questions echoed in his mind, Albert couldn't help but to start hating himself.

He hated that he turned away from his past because buried along with the painful memories were the happy ones too. He remembered his fifth birthday, when his busy parents brought him to an amusement park and they stayed the entire day, watching the parade and the fireworks at the end. Then, when he was too tired to walk, his dad carried him on his back all the way home. He remembered when a new family moved next door and their son became his friend. He remembered how all the older kids at Don, or rather, Houston's hideout had sang him happy birthday on his birthday. In choosing to forget, he lost his family, his friends and himself. He forgot the things that were precious to him in order to escape the pain.

So why now? Why had he remembered? Was it because he saw a familiar face from that moment in his life and decided that it was too pathetic to keep running when even that small child was able to retain her sanity? Or was it because he was sick and tired of doubting himself all the time. Perhaps it was just a coincidence.

"Albert?" A familiar yet unfamiliar voice reached his ears.

He glanced over at the ajar door and found the little girl from his memories staring back at him with teary eyes. Her brown hair was tied neatly in two pigtails that rested on her shoulders and wore a white dress filled with a pattern of her favourite sunflowers. Albert had heard of the life she led after their separation and knew that it wasn't pleasant. But seeing her now, alive and well, there was something inside him that was glad she was sent there. Because, now, they were family.

"S-" Before her name was about to slip from his tongue, Albert stopped himself. With the gentle smile he had cultivated over the past year, he greeted the young child, "Good morning, Io."

"Albert!" Io pounced onto the bed and gave Albert a bear hug. "You're awake! You're finally awake!"

"Oh, you've woken up, young master?" Cain pushed open the door further and saw Io hugging Albert with frantic joy. Instantly, he activated his ability and showed Victoria what he was seeing. "You've been sleeping for three days so we were getting worried."

"Three days?!" Albert exclaimed with surprise.

Cain nodded but before he could explain any further, a barrage of kids barged into the room with a wail. """"ALBERT!!!!""""

Instantly, the double sized bed was filled with crying children and even the usually stoic Vin was sobbing with relief.

"Thanks for worrying about me, guys. I'm fine now." Albert wrly smiled as he awkwardly hugged the children.

Iris suddenly raised her head and looked at Atlas who nodded back. ""EAT"" They screeched.

"W-what?"

"It's time for lunch!"

"You have to eat or you'll faint again!"

The twins sprinted out the room and returned with a...loaf of bread? With oddly practised movements, they tore the bread into bite sized pieces and began to fill Albert's mouth with it one by one.

As he chewed almost mechanically while being force fed, confusion filled Albert's heart. Behind the twins, the other kids just shrugged and treated it as if it was normal. Helpless, Albert redirected his gaze towards Cain.

Dutifully, the bodyguard explained, "While you were sleeping, Atlas and Iris would visit you with a loaf of bread for every meal. Whenever food was put into your mouth, you would just chew and swallow even though you were sleeping so it became a daily routine for them."

??? Did he hear that right? He ate in his sleep???

"Really, I wonder where all that food went." Victoria waltzed into the room with Cotton in her arms and spoke with her usual smile on her face.

Albert knew what she was implying and flashed that same smile back at her without a word. Victoria was better than he was at snarky banter so he wasn't going to entertain her like that.

"You remembered your past?" Victoria inquired, knowing full well that if she herself didn't bring it up, he would never voluntarily tell anyone.

Albert nodded. "Yeah, turns out I'm a hero."

"What??? Albert, you were a hero?" Unable to detect the joking tone Albert used, Atlas cried out in confusion.

Chuckling, Albert pat the child's head. "Yeah, I stuck a knife into Ignite's back and gave it a good twist."

At the mention of Ignite, a light flashed through Io's eyes. She looked at Albert in shock but he just smiled back and said no more.