“Indri, have you found the way to destroy whatever this… Zane… thing is?” Ali walked into the library.

People were hanging around, reading books on the glowing holo displays, which hovered in the air. They looked up when he and Indri entered, and upon seeing who it was, they went back to what they had been doing.

Ali cleared his throat, looking pointedly at someone who stared too long. They looked away quickly when they saw his look.

“Not yet. It’s bad though. All the stuff I’ve been reading about Zane is… It’s just bad.” Indri cleared his throat and stopped.

Ali gave him a narrow-eyed look. “Elucidate.”

Indri glanced around. “I will, once we’re in the back of the library away from prying ears.”

Ali shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

They walked in silence then, until they reached a table in the back that was piled high with papers.

“I thought that you digitalized everything.” Ali remarked, blowing the dust off one of the papers.

“We do now. These are old. They came from the archives of the oldest documents from the beginning of this Base. I’m the only one who can access them as far as I know. Regardless, I had Alonzo start in on the materials that I had the librarian deliver.”

Alonzo looked up from a book, bleary-eyed. “Hey, you guys. This doesn’t look good.”

Ali rolled his eyes. “Oh, I daresay it doesn’t.”

Alonzo frowned. Looking over at Indri, he raised an eyebrow. “What’s his problem?”

“Stress.” 

Alonzo nodded, giving a thin smile. “Got it.”

Ali waved a hand at them. “You two know I can hear you, right?”

“Yes.” They answered in unison, voices flat.

The tension and Hanna’s disappearance was getting on everyone’s nerves.

Ali cleared his throat. “Right then. So… What’s the bad news about this… Zane?”

Indri cleared his own throat, placing his hands on the table. “Ali, I don’t know how to say this, but we’ve been searching for two weeks now. Hanna’s been gone for nearly that long, and we aren’t any closer. If we don’t find her soon and also find a way to stop Zane, he’ll break loose, and she won’t remember any of us ever again.”

“What! That’s ridiculous! Why would she forget her best friend and her brother?” Ali protested, hands raised slightly, eyes wide.

“Because Zane, unlike the other Demutatori, could take memories from people, and he could make it permanent. If he wants your sister for his Queen, he won’t want her remembering any of us or her former life. Much less the parts involving Alonzo.” Indri glanced at the disheartened boy, who was looking at the book he had been reading with a glazed look.

“Alonzo?” Ali looked at his friend too.

Indri nodded. “It’s sort of obvious. Those two are like two attracting magnets. No offense, Alonzo. But I’ve noticed that you and Hanna seem to be quite taken with each other.”

Alonzo looked up quickly, but looked back down, blushing. “Yeah… You could say that.”

Ali smiled. “Indri, I already knew that. Why would Zane care specifically about Alonzo?”

“Because I get the feeling that he didn’t take her just because he needed a Queen. He picked her for a specific reason. Remember what I said about your ancestor and Zane?”

“Yeah. So?” Ali frowned, his expression filled with that blankness that told Indri he wasn't getitng through to the boy.

“Ali. You can be so thick-headed sometimes.” Indri sighed, shaking his head.

Ali frowned. “You think he’s fallen in love with her because of who our ancestor was?”

Indri shrugged. “To be blunt, yes. And the worst thing he could possibly imagine is to have the woman he loves in love with someone else. So my guess is her memories of Alonzo are the first thing he targeted.”

Ali stood straighter. “How long before she forgets us entirely, Indri?”

“Well…” Indri looked away from Ali in uncharacteristic hesitance.

Ali was tempted to shake the man. But he didn’t. He just stood there, hands clenched in fists. “How… long!” He gritted his teeth.

Indri shook his head. “Ali, she’s already forgotten. All reports say that the longest anyone lasted was a few days. There aren’t many reports, but all of them agree on that. No one lasted more than four days. The people that were interviewed said they experienced vague feelings of old memories trying to resurface for a few days after Zane first took them, but after that… They didn’t remember anything he’d taken. Nothing. Not even their oldest friends, spouses, children, parents… Nothing.”

Ali sank into the chair, eyes squeezing shut. He rested his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands, rocking back and forth. Sobs wracked him softly. The news was the last thing he needed right then. His heart broke as he realized how much he'd never said to Hanna when they were together. He never told her how much he loved her. Instead, he'd fought with her continuously. Tears dripped onto the table through his fingers as he cried for everything his sister was going through and the things he regretted not saying.

A few people looked over to see what the issue was, but Indri’s hot glare sent them back to whatever they were doing.

Indri rested a hand on Ali’s back gently. “I’m so sorry, Ali.”

Alonzo sat there, stony-faced. He’d already known this. Indri had asked him to help in the research, and Alonzo had been the one to find that piece of information, the reports, and the interviews from Zane’s first rising. Even if he got Hanna back, he doubted she’d remember him. But he held onto a slender thread of hope.

Hanna was strong. Stronger than anyone he knew. If anyone could resist Zane’s influence for longer than normal, it was her. But as the days dragged on after he found the fatal words, even he had begun doubting. And two weeks?

Truth be told, he didn’t really believe that Hanna remembered anything but her life with Zane wherever in the dungeons he had imprisoned her. The dreams he’d been having. He knew what they were. He’d read that Zane could send impulses, even images to people in their dreams.

At first, he had refused to believe they were real. But as time wore on, he couldn’t help but believe they were. He dreamed of her ever night. Of her kissing Zane. Of her looking at him with adoration. They looked so happy together, and Zane’s smile was so smug.

It ate at Alonzo day and night, but he couldn’t bear to share such private dreams with anyone. Especially not if they were true. It would break Ali’s heart if he thought his sister was in love with that monster. No sense in hurting Ali anymore than he already had been.

Ali’s sobs stopped slowly. He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself. His face burned with shame. He had just broken down in front of a whole library of people and in front of his best friend. He didn’t even want to think about the fact that Indri, a good family friend and one of his personal heroes, was also watching. He would hate himself if he let himself think of that.

He stood up, wiping tears away. “I need to be alone. I’m going to my dorm.”

Indri nodded. “I know words can’t make this shock or the pain better, Ali. But I am so sorry.”

Ali nodded. “Yeah, whatever.” His tone was flat and distant.

“If you need someone to talk to, Ali… I’m here.” Alonzo said.

Ali nodded again. “Fine.”

Alonzo felt himself withering inside. His best friend was taking this hard. He rarely spoke monosyllabically unless something was wrong, and he never did it to Alonzo.