MLII C2, P1- "Painful Memory"

"Painful Memory" is the first Part of "Miracula Luxia II" 's second Chapter. It was released on 25.10.2020.
== Plot ==
Jared continues to train, this time without his friends by his side. Although he is alone, he knows that a lot of people depend on him. A lot of people trust him to defeat the dangerous enemies known as the Darkside Loyalists, as well as Rentar-Ihrno and her worshippers. He knows that, in order to fully focus on his current task and nothing else, he has to free his mind of all impurities, of all painful memories that are still stuck within it.
However, there is one memory that he can never get rid of. A memory that will always burn into his mind like a fire, that will always make him feel guilty for not becoming stronger earlier in his life:
The memory of losing someone very important to him.
And it seems like his dear sister also shares the same memory.
It seems like neither of them can truly rest from all the pain that they suffered recently. At least not until the enemy has been taken care of.
== Story ==
Jared continues to train, focusing on honing his skills in order to defeat the Darkside Loyalists.
"I won't let them weaken us again! I won't let them take anyone else away from us!"- He mutters to himself as he hits a training dummy.
In reality, the dummy looks completely normal. However, in Jared's mind, it looks like the man who caused all of the problems that have been happening to him and his allies recently. The man who is behind the deaths of many innocent citizens.
Dorikas.
"I... will... destroy you!"- Jared yells and continues hitting the dummy, slowly draining his own energy with each hit.
Instead of stopping to rest, Jared continues to hit the dummy, determined to not show a sign of weakness. Regarding this as the fight between him and Dorikas- the fight between Good and Evil.
Suddenly, Jared steps back and groans, dropping his wooden sword in the process. It seems like he has hurt himself.
Hearing that there is something happening in the room, Aleks hurriedly enters and sees his son. He also sees that he is hurt.
"Son! Are you... are you okay?"
Jared does not respond. He simply holds his hurt arm and inspects it.
Aleks grabs some bandages from nearby, helps his son stand up and begins to bandage his wound.
As his father bandages him, Jared looks at a nearby window. It is unclear what he is seeing, but once he realizes what it is, he falls down to his knees and begins to cry.
Aleks also realizes what his son is seeing. Once he is done bandaging his wound, he sighs.
"Jared, I... I'm so sorry... "- He says.
Jared looks at him. Then, he shakes his head.
"It will never go away, dad. I cannot get rid of it!"- He says.
Aleks looks him in the eyes.
"It's... like a scar, a scar within your mind. Isn't it?"
Jared nods.
"A very painful one."- He responds- "Words cannot describe how I am feeling right now. How I am still holding on, especially after what happened... "
Aleks sighs and shakes his head.
"Normally, I will tell you to simply move on. To remember that you still have people that trust you, that depend on you."
"However... "- He continues- "... I'm afraid that you cannot recover from something so painful so easily. In fact, I do not know if you can ever move on."
Jared does not respond to his father. Instead, he crawls into a corner and quietly whimpers.
Aleks, seeing that his son is showing sighs of weakness, helps him stand up.
"Look at me."- He says coldly.
Jared looks at him. He sees the serious look in his father's eyes. The determination that never wavers, even when his own son his feeling down.
"When you were born, I vowed to make you a hero, just like myself. I wanted to make you, my dear son, a kind and caring person who cares about the people around him more than he does for himself. I wanted to help you open your heart to this world and give it a ray of hope with your actions."
He inspects him from head to toe.
"And, from what I see here, this is not the son that I have fought so much for!"- He continues- "This is not the Jared who showed the world that nothing is impossible. Who guided his allies toward victory, risking his own life without thinking twice. Who reminded me about who I really am, why I'm here and what I fight for. Who helped me become a better father, solely with his presence in my life."
He looks at him.
"I know that it's bad for me to force you to do something that makes you remember those painful memories."- He says- "However, I also want you to know one thing. You won't achieve anything by simply sitting here and drowning yourself in your own sorrows, watching the Darkside Loyalists destroy everything and kill everyone that you love so much."
He stands up.
"So, if you want to be the Jared whom everyone loves and respects once again, you know what to do."- He says and leaves the room.
Jared stands up, analyzing his father's words. Slowly, the gears of wisdom within his mind start to crank.
In a few moments, he finally realizes what his father meant when he said those words.
"Dad is right!"- Jared says to himself- "There is no time to be weak! The world, it still needs me. And I must not let it down by being so pathetic. Not in this situation!"
As he starts to leave, he notices his grandfather approaching him.
"Grandpa?"- Jared says- "Is something wrong?"
Lethal shakes his head.
"No. I just... "- He responds- "... I just wanted to tell you that your sister's awake. And she wants to see you. Urgently."
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Jared opens the door that leads to his sister's room in the hospital. He enters the room and sees that she is standing near a window, looking at something.
He lightly taps her shoulder and she turns around.
When she sees her brother, she hugs him.
"I missed you so much."- She says- "I... I thought that I was going to lose you as well."
Jared smiles.
"I would never leave you on your own, sister. Not without a fight."- He says- "You know that I am not going to die that easily, right?"
Marinette nods. Then, she looks at her brother.
From what he sees, her eyes are filled with sadness.
"Do you... still remember what happened to her?"- She asks him, seeing the pain in his eyes- "Do you still miss her?"
Jared nods.
"Yes. Of course I miss her. In the end, I didn't even have the chance to say how much I love her... or assure her that I will never give up."- He responds- "However, I also remember what she told me before she left us. How I should always fight for what is right and prevent my guilt from dragging me down into the depths of sorrow. To always protect the people who are around me and regard them as my own family. I vowed to remain strong, to be brave and determined until the end. Sure, at times I felt weak and insecure. But, in the end, both her and dad gave me the strength to move on and continue being who I am, the person that everyone wants to see. This... is the love that a parent always shows to you. The love that I want to show to my own child someday. The responsibility within a parent, their desire to risk everything to make their child happy. It is all clear to me now. The way you help people, how you reassure them, give them hope and strength to continue fighting... in the end, you are like a parent to them. You are like a beacon of light that pierces the Darkness within their hearts... and brings out their inner Light."
Marinette begins to cry and hugs her brother again.
"I'm scared, Jared. I'm not going to lie, I'm scared."- She says- "I don't want to end up like mom. Or like uncle Jason. I don't want to leave you, dad and grandpa alone! I... I don't want to die!"
Jared smiles and hugs her back.
"Don't say that! You are not going to die, alright?"- He says reassuringly- "You are a strong one, onee-san. You are just like me, you always fight for justice, for the good of everyone. And you always do it with such bravery, such determination. You have always been a hero in the eyes of every person that you helped out... and trust me, you will always be. Especially for me, dad and grandpa."
He thinks about what else to say to make her feel happy. Then, he adds:
"You are my biggest inspiration behind my status as a hero. Ever since we were younger, I always dreamed of showing you that I can also help people, that I can also reassure them, give them hope and defeat the enemies that are bothering them. And I hope that I succeeded with this."
He starts to leave. Then, he looks back and smiles again.
"Stay strong, big sister. And remember- even when I am not with you physically, I will always be here in spirit. I will never leave you alone. I will always think about you, no matter where I am."
"I love you, Mari."- He finishes and leaves his sister to rest.
A few minutes after her brother's departure, Marinette stands up once again. She looks at the wound on her stomach- it is still pretty bad. Still bleeding, though not at such an alarming rate.
Still, she musters the strength to stand up and go to the window.
Once she is there, she begins to cry again.
"What kind of a big sister am I?!"- She yells- "I'm supposed to be down there, helping my little brother defeat those fools, keeping him safe, not standing helpless like... like this!"
She sighs.
"But... I also know that he needs to fight alone in order to be a true hero."- She says to herself and looks at the sky- "Me and Chat Noir helped the citizens of Paris, but that was a long time ago."
She stares at the street below the hospital that she is in.
"Now, there are new heroes in Paris who are always ready to protect it from evil. And one of them is my dear brother, of whom I am very, very proud."
She smiles as she watches him slowly leave the building and head off somewhere.
"Good luck, dear brother. No matter what's on your mind right now, what you're going to do... I'm absolutely sure that you will succeed."