THE MOMENT
"HELP! PlEASE HELP!!" The red beast stirred at the shrill echo bouncing around his cave. He opened his eyes and saw a small figure dashing towards him in a panic. She was a small girl, no older than 10. London was inclined to ignore disruptions, but the way she was dressed stood out to him. He lifted his head and gave her a more appraising look.
London deliberately picked an Earth going through its industrial revolution. The constant hum of machinery around the Earth helped him sleep, but he didn't like the high-pitched frequencies of cell towers. However, this girl wasn't wearing a plain, rag dress that all the girls wore when he settled in, and he hadn't even managed to sleep longer than a month yet. She wore jeans and a colorful t-shirt that didn't quite belong in the era.
London's first thought was that she might be a lost Estrella and he used his own Star Sight on her. Golden stars glowed in his eyes, but the girl's purple aura glowed quietly. She was a Zero, but that piqued London's interest even more.
"What?" he asked. The girl needed a moment to catch her breath. She leaned over and wheezed but London could tell she'd been crying as she ran. Her eyes were pink and puffy.
"You're real!" she said between breaths. "Please, help me," she added. London initially wondered how she knew he was there, but it seemed that she didn't know. She must have been chasing rumors, but he was curious about the origins of those rumors. Either way, he needed to learn more.
"Help you with what?" London asked. He lowered his neck and rested his head on the floor again to show her he was willing to listen.
"I don't know," the girl shook her head. "Magic, I think. That's why I came to you; dragons know magic, right?" she asked. London raised a red, scaley eyebrow at her.
"How did you know there was a dragon here?" he asked. She shook her head again.
"I..don't know. I heard a legend somewhere...," she said.
"What's your name?" London asked.
"Brenda," the girl replied. London smiled.
"Well, you know something," he said. "Why do you think you need help with magic?"
"Magic happened... I think," she said. "I was playing with my friends by the creek; and then, I was playing with my friends on the internet," Brenda's eyes got bigger as she talked. She shook her head at the end. "I never heard that word until I said it just now! And my parents are different," she added.
"Different how?" London asked.
"DIFFERENT!" Brenda said. "They're new people that I don't recognize." London lifted his head again and looked attentive.
"Brenda, this is kind of an important question. I don't want to hear, 'I don't know.' Take your time to think about it, you do know the answer. Okay?" he asked with a stern demeanor. Brenda hoped that meant he was helping her and she nodded.
"Yes," she confirmed.
"Did you hear there was a dragon in this cave before things changed?" he asked. She shook her head, but she took the time to think. Brenda closed her eyes and tried to imagine how she felt playing with her friends. But, no dragon appeared in her thoughts until after she found herself in front of a computer.
"No, I don't think so," Brenda said. London let out a heavy sigh.
"Great. That's all we needed...," he mumbled under his breath.
"What's wrong?" Brenda asked. "Can you fix it?" London chuckled.
"Can I fix it? No one can; what's done is done. And what's wrong is, the universe got an unexpected update; that's why things are different. But, it's not a perfect process," London looked down at Brenda. "That's why you remember. The memories will fade in a couple of days and your new life will have always been your old one."
"I don't want this new life, I want my old parents!" Brenda argued defiantly. London nodded.
"I'm sorry to say that you only think that because you still remember them. Once the universe finishes settling, you wouldn't even recognize them on the street."
"You don't know that!" Brenda shot back. "Maybe it's your memory that's fried and you can only remember bad stuff."
"The update doesn't affect me. Instead, it built the universe around me, including legends my cave," London said. "And, I do know that you're going to lose your memory," London shook his head. "I've seen it happen before. This isn't the first time it's happened."