Chapter 4: Memories, Reappear

BOOM!

Riba was jolted awake by what felt like an earthquake. The ground was rumbling, and he heard what sounded like trees falling. Len was curled up into a ball like a cat, despite not being in her cat form. Her eyes were open, and she didn't even look like she was sleeping.

"Len, what's going on?!" Riba asked, grabbing ahold of her cloak and pulling her out of the shelter they had made. It collapsed in on itself right then, but they had both managed to make it out safely.

"You may have angered the spirit of the forest somehow," Len replied. "We should get out of here. But not without that Memory Fragment. There's no time to waste!" Len tore a hole in reality with her void hands, and Riba ran in without even looking, covering his head from the falling branches and logs.

They were in a calmer part of the forest now. A large opening, with the biggest tree Riba had ever seen in the center. Out of it, it dispensed Honey Syrup into many rivers that split apart like veins. Almost like it was the heart of the forest.

Riba felt his own heart pulsate, and not just from stress. "The Memory Fragment is nearby," Len stated. She turned into a cat and then ran forward towards the tree. Once at its base, she sat down. Riba followed, but as soon as he took a step forward the ground rumbled again. Then, it began to split apart beneath him.

"Whoa!" Riba cried. He slid down the uneven ground, like a playground slide. The ground at the end of the slope cracked open, revealing a long drop with hot bubbling magma at the end of it. Riba jumped...

And grabbed a ledge! Riba pulled himself up, and rolled onto the ground. He ran forward, jumping over cracks in the earth until he reached Len. She was as calm as ever, and the ground beneath her had not become uneven. If she was just stopping here... the Memory Fragment had to be right here somewhere, right?

Riba's eyes were caught on a shining yellow orb in the grass. He reached for it in desperation, and everything went white as Riba lost all consciousness.

A door to a house swung open, getting the attention of a young girl. She looked about five. "Koi!" A female sing-song voice exclaimed.

"Mom! Dad!" The girl, whose name may have been Koi cried, getting up off a very comfortable looking sofa that looked fit for a queen, and dropping her storybook. She ran up to the front door, where the smile on her face and the happy glint in her eyes only grew. She gasped.

In her mother's arms, was a baby wrapped up in a baby blue blanket. He hardly had any hair, revealing oddly pointed ears. "Baby brother!" Koi screamed. She ran up closer, but the baby just started crying. "Huh?"

"Shh," Koi and Riba's mother and father hushed Koi.

"Oh, yeah..." Koi giggled. "What's his name?"

"His name is Riba," Koi's mother replied, with an adoring voice.

"Riba," Koi gasped. Baby Riba looked into Koi's eyes, and she stared right back. But she couldn't help but notice a red glow coming from underneath the blanket. "What's that?" She asked, pointing towards the glow. She pulled down the blanket a little, revealing a blood red gemstone in his chest. Red particles like mist swarmed it.

"It's a good luck charm," Koi's mother responded. "It means RIba is a symbol of fortune, peace, and love across the Wooded Kingdom. He will bring everyone around him such joy and prosperity. Sooner or later. He is a good and pure soul, and that is why we must have him become the best he can be."

It took Riba a while to get accustomed to the world around him. But soon he felt like he had gotten a rhythm going. He could crawl around and ask people to get what he needed, he could play games when it was rainy out, and every Wednesday they would all go fishing for yummy Cheep Cheeps in the Honey Syrup lake.

He lived in a wonderful place called the Wooded Kingdom. There were funny little creatures that would wander around their secluded town. He was friends with everyone, even the mayor, Koopingston.

It wasn't until a few years later that he could do really fun chores, mainly going to the edge of the forest that enveloped their village and getting delicious and clean Honey Syrup fresh from the trees. The more daring he was, the further he would go. The further he would go, the better the Honey Syrup.

"Now remember, Riba," Riba's father would say. "Never go too deep into the forest. There are hungry varmints that will eat you in an instant." Riba always obeyed, but one night... Riba found himself really hungry.

Riba packed his bags without telling anyone, knowing they wouldn't let him go, made sure to bring his favorite toy dinosaur plush, Spotty, and ventured off out of the house, and into Honyrup Jungle. He was a big kid now. He could do this on his own.

Riba walked far into the forest under the night sky. He had forgotten to bring a jacket, and had goosebumps. Not only from the cold, but at the realization he hadn't brought any weapons... and that he had forgotten his way home, and forgot his compass as well. He had no idea where he was. Maps were meaningless to him. He thought... he should just stay where he was.

And then a Scuttlebug, one of the many varmints his father had spoken of, shot down from a tree and tried to gobble him up whole! But he ran out of the way, screaming. Possibly attracting more of the beasts. He just kept running, trying his best to keep his cries and whimpers as quiet as possible. He ran until he found himself in a clearing. A clearing with a huge maple tree in the center of it. Out of it, there came streams of Honey Syrup. "Whoa..." Riba gasped, his eyes lighting up and his glasses glinting.

He took a step forward, but then, the ground beneath him began to rumble. "Ah!" He shouted. Something began to rise from the pool of Honey Syrup. A horrible beast unlike anything Riba had ever seen. He took a step back...

The first thing he saw were horns, then a back full of bony spikes and black, matted hair. Then, he saw a rat tail poking out of the stream. The creature had a horrible, giant, singular, blood red eye. It was... a Screeker! Riba had heard horror stories of them back in town. They were the guardians of Honyrup Jungle. And anyone who came close to the heart of the jungle... would perish at their hands.

Riba fell onto his backside, and scuttled away from the Screeker. He was sizing up his enemy. But then... it began to charge right at him! He screamed, and closed his eyes, preparing for the worst...

And heard a loud SCREEEE!

He opened his eyes suddenly, and saw it in slow motion. The droplets of blood in the air that were erupting from the Screeker's eye. The shine of metal. And a furious Koi. She held a machete Riba had only ever seen on his parent's bedside plaque. Riba was in awe as the Screeker fell onto its side, kicking up dirt under its corpse, and coming to a complete stop.

"Koi... you...!" Riba sputtered as Koi landed, and stabbed the machete into the corpse.

"What do you have to say for yourself?!" Koi screamed, with the same ferocity and strictness in her voice as their parents when one of them had done something wrong.

"I..." Riba said, tearing up and looking at the ground.

"Say it," Koi hissed, hardly looking at him.

"I just wanted to bring back some Honey Syrup for everyone in town. To surprise them," Riba whimpered. "I'm so stupid... I should have waited until morning."

Koi looked right at him, and sighed. "We can get some at the edge of the jungle," she offered, her voice suddenly calm. Riba looked up at her. She smiled, and reached out her hand to help Riba up. "Just stay out of trouble. Stay behind me. I've got this."

Riba followed her out of the jungle. Any stray beasts or varmints, Koi sliced in two. She was surprisingly good at handling the machete. When they were out, they collected Honey Syrup from the trees at the edge of the forest in pitchers.

When they returned home, they saw their parents waiting at the front door, with angry expressions and folded arms. Koi smiled confusedly. "Uhh... we brought snacks?" Riba stated.

The next morning, they held an outdoor party. Everyone was invited! They had a huge feast, the best one to grace the town in ages. Koi and Riba glanced at each other amidst everyone's celebrating, and smiled smugly. They clinked their glasses full of sparkling honey cider together. "Cheers!" They both exclaimed, taking big swigs of the sweet drink.

Riba grew up little by little from that point on. He was about eight when it happened. He had gotten into an argument with Koi which had a starting point forgotten amongst both of them alike in the heat of the moment. It was probably something stupid, but it grew into a big fight neither of them had bargained for.

"You think you're so great, huh?" Riba shouted.

"Yes, I do," Koi replied. "I'm definitely better than you, you're just some stupid kid!"

"Well then why don't you just leave?!" Riba snapped. Koi's eyes narrowed. She looked like she was in disbelief. But Riba didn't stop there. "Yeah..." He said, grinning. "I hate you, obviously. Mom and dad used to care, probably. But then I came along, and they forgot all about you."

"What do you---?" Koi asked.

"Well yeah. Everyone who ever cared doesn't anymore. You have no right being here," Riba laughed. "You may as well just die." He felt something in his chest. Right on his good luck charm, and he could see it glowing through his shirt. It felt like he was bleeding.

Koi stepped back, and she looked like she was about to cry. Her cheeks were red and her eyes were watery. She then sniffled sharply, turned away and ran out of the front door, sobbing. Tears fell from her eyes as she ran far away. Into the deep jungle.

Riba didn't tell anyone of what took place. There were people looking for Koi the next day when she wasn't in her room. But they found nothing. Not even when they went to deepest part of the jungle. Even when approached about it, Riba did not confess.

He would make sure she stayed missing.

It wasn't until years later that he decided, he needed to do something with his life. He was no longer satisfied with the town he came from. Not all the friendship in the world could satisfy him in this place. So he decided he would move out.

He had gotten a job offer through Stork Mail from a town in the far-off Cap Kingdom, from the head of the church, Birino Evangelisti. Apparently they were looking for people to protect and tutor the heir to the pastor role, Marchionne Evangelisti, Birino's son. With any luck, Riba could be in a position of power over the people. If he somehow got Marchionne and Birino out of the picture, he could even rule the town and church.

So, he packed his stuff in a horse-drawn carriage. Food, water, weapons, and of course his first childhood toy, Spotty. "Do you have everything you need?" His mother asked. She had grown wrinkly and frail with age, along with Riba's father.

"Yes, I do," Riba responded. Riba's father stepped forward.

"Never in my years have I known a person so selfless, caring, and noble," Riba's father said. You could tell he was holding back tears to maintain the masculine image he was always so proud of. But then, it all came out. "I think... I think... you'll do wonders for the world, Riba." He sobbed. He hugged Riba close to him, tightly. Riba's mother soon was bawling her eyes out, and she too hugged both of them close.

Riba grinned.

"Bye, Riba!" Riba's mother and father cried as he set off. He looked out of the carriage back at his parents, waving with a tacked on smile. Then, he was waving at all the friends he had made in his life. Then, it was the speck that was the town that he had grown up in. Riba decided... it was worth leaving behind.

They never did find Koi.

Riba had her machete. He would use it to his advantage in this new life of his.