Moving Forward to the Start

Prologue

I'm on my bed in the Mog prison in Alaska and I'm dreaming. I'm aware that I'm dreaming, but that doesn't stop my eyes from watering.

In my dream, I'm back at Ashwood Estates. I see my mother and Kelly. I see Ivan and the General. I'm trying to live up to my father's expectations while Ivan is trying to get in the General's good graces. 

Then the next thing I know, I'm at Malaysia. I see One trying to fight the Mogs with her legacies until one lucky Mogadorian sneaks up on her and delivers the killing blow, impaling her.

Next, I'm being hooked up to Dr. Anu's machine and being whisked into One's consciousness. It's as if my life is being flashed before my eyes and all the memories I had with One are moving through my mind in fast motion. I see young One on Lorien, happy as can be. I see the Great Expansion, when my people took over Lorien. Every experience I had in One's consciousness is set before my eyes. That's when the tears start pouring down.

Next, I wake up - in my dream - and am whisked away to London where I see Two get murdered. I see the fright in her eyes, the brutality in Ivan's, and the disgust in the General's. But most importantly, I see the disappointment in One's eyes. 

After that, it's the time I spent with One in the years that followed Maggie's death. That is, until I get sent to Kenya and watch Number Three die. 

I experience the guilt of not being able to save Hannu, just as I failed to save Maggie. I watch myself get thrown over the ravine by Ivan. And then I see One in the beautiful California beach, while my body is being thrown across the rocks in the ravine, where I've been left for dead.

And before I know it, I'm being rescued by a villager and am taken care of by the aid workers in Kenya. All the moments I spent with One are being replayed. How she helped me endure the long, hot hours of the day. How she was slowly blinking out of existence. And how I traveled all the way back to Ashwood Estates to find some way to revive her, actually losing her in the process but finding Malcolm instead and gaining her legacy.

All the events after that are blurred in my vision as the tears continue even harder.

Suddenly, I'm jerked awake.

I open my eyes to find Rex looking down at me, concern written on his face.

"Are you okay?" he asks. "I saw you crying in your sleep and I wasn't sure..." he trails off.

I don't bother to fake a smile. "Yeah, it's just... I dreamt about everything that happened before the world went into chaos. You know, everything with One..." I don't have to finish. Rex understands.

"You know..." he starts. "All the Mogadorians are doing really well. They don't seem to be rebelling anymore. It's been a few years since the war ended. The war between the Loric and the Mogs, that is. And you haven't seen your friends in so long--"

I shake my head. "No. I... I can't leave you here and someone still has to stay just in case."

Rex smiles. "Trust me. I got this. Besides, I have a few friends here besides you. I won't be alone."

I think about all the experiences I suffered through in the past... Well, it's been 5 years since the war ended, since Setrakus Ra died. Even the whole conflict between the Human Garde and the Foundation and all of the other people is over. It's been over a decade since everything started, when I was 13. My past with One.

I think about John and the surviving Garde. They're all at the Himalayas with the Human Garde. Being heroic. And what about me? I can't just pop in out of the middle of nowhere and expect things to be the same. They've all been through crap of their own. I need to restore myself first before coming to them. Then all of a sudden, I got it.

I turn to Rex.

"I know where to go."