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Memories	By : Asirainis Category: +A through F > Dragon Quest/ Dragon Warrior Views: 1615 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Quest VIII, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
Memories
Chapter Twelve: A Ship Without Water?
When she awoke, it was nighttime, and the lack of chattering told her that the others were either asleep or away somewhere as she got out of the wagon. Trode looked around, "Airlia?"
She smiled as she came around the wagon, "Yes… I'm sorry to have worried you. How long have I been asleep?"
He looked up at the sky, "A few hours I'd wager. The others have been in Pickham for quite some time though."
Airlia nodded as she joined Trode on the wagon. He gave her a smile as he said, "I know that you've given up much to join us on our journey, but I wanted to say again, thank you, for all of it. Any time you need to rest, just climb in the wagon, and get some rest. No one will say anything against it, I'm sure my dear."
She nodded as she stretched her arms, "I feel much better right now actually. My sleep for once in a long time, was dreamless." He nodded as the group rejoined them.
Airlia smiled at Draco and Alistair as Angelo filled her in. "Brains was truly on the mark, saying he was walking on the surface of the sea to the western continent. He didn't know much more beyond that, but it was good enough for us. We knew we had to cross the sea. He knew we didn't have a boat, but thought of a solution to that. He heard about an old, abandoned ship in the middle of a wasteland to the west of Port Prospect. He wasn't sure why the ship would be in a place devoid of water, which I agree about. However, he said that rumor has it, it's a magic ship. He suggested that we see if we can get it up and running again. The path to it had been closed by a rockslide, but it's open again."
Trode nodded in agreement as he thought about it. "So then, it's time to head back towards Trodain. That wasteland is halfway between Port Prospect and Trodain. There may be a clue in my books in the library with regards to the ship. Shall we try?" Airlia nodded as everyone gathered together.
"Zoom; please take us to Port Prospect." Airlia said as they were enveloped in a blue light and the next sight they saw was the edge of the town where Airlia had taken Alistair to in order to try and revive him. She turned to the alchemy pot as they started heading west towards the wasteland. Keeping pace with the wagon, she placed her bow and was about to put something else with it in the pot when she knocked over a garter into it. She went to reach it out when she saw something happening. Blinking, she put the lid back on the pot and smiled as she waited for the faithful chime.
As they proceeded into the mountain path, Trode sighed wistfully. "My home… My Trodain… was so beautiful before all of this began."
Airlia nodded as Alistair asked, "So Draco, are you originally from Trodain?"
He shook his head as he said, "No, I was found in the fields just south of there, but still in their lands. Trode and his daughter, Medea, were out on a walk to see their lands when they found me. He was unable to adopt me because of the fact that he had already had a daughter, and as a king, he couldn't adopt every orphan. However, he got one of the local mothers to raise me. From the time I could hold a sword, I was brought into the guards so I had others to grow up with." Airlia saw the devotion the young guard had towards the king and his daughter.
It had given her pause as they walked, making her think of Marcello as her heart squeezed painfully in her chest. She knew what the feeling was, and closed her eyes briefly as she pushed the pain and the emotion away while the ding of the pot woke her from her thoughts. Opening it, she saw it was another bow, one that was much stronger.
She smiled as she traded bows with Angelo as he looked at it. "Wow, glad you're on our side Air."
She gave him a smirk as she began to reproduce the next one as Alistair raised an eyebrow at Airlia grinning playfully. "What, you think I'm not going to make more of them so the three of us who use bows won't all be a bit stronger for fighting off bandits as monsters seem to stay away from us?" Alistair thought about it, about the attacks in the tower. Airlia knew that look, "I suspect the hand of the evil in the scepter in that one Alistair. Most seem to be quite gentle, or at least not want to really attack travelers."
Alistair nodded, "You're right. We were attacked in the ruined abbey because Dhoulmagus was in the area. But he's not here, nor was he in the labyrinth. Strange."
The chime had stopped the talking as she grabbed another bow out of it and handed it off to Alistair. She placed the last bow into the pot as she said, "I just want all of us to be prepared for when we go off to fight Dhoulmagus. Who knows what we'll run into out there?" They nodded as they walked in silence until the final chime came. Retrieving her bow, they proceeded onwards as she noted the results in the journal she was given. They found the path widening into an open field as Trode found himself lost in his thoughts, as they went up the slope towards a hut. Angelo sighed happily, the thought of sleeping in a bed for once as night began to fall.
When they arrived, night was fully casted over the land as they piled into the hilltop hut. Airlia smiled as Draco paid for the night. Since there were limited beds, everyone paired up where they could. Airlia lay next to Jessica, Angelo and Alistair, Draco had his own and Yangus did as well. When morning arose, they were greeted by the smell of fresh bread, cheese and fruits. They ate their fill as they were given extra for their trip. Airlia squirreled some away for her friend who slept outside in the wagon to ensure no one took it. Jessica looked at the pot nearby and saw a medal sticking out of it as she grabbed it. "Another medal?"
The man running the inn sniffled, "That old thing? Take it. No one will pay anything for it. And even when it's free, no one wants it cause it's not worth anything." Jessica smiled as she pocketed the medal with her items.
When they left, Trode was still left in his own thoughts as Airlia went up to him. "Some breakfast for you, Your Majesty."
He smiled at her, "You truly thoughtful my dear. I just wish your parents knew what they had given up my dear."
Airlia went over to the cursed princess. "An apple for you Princess? I know you must tire of eating grass most of the trip." Medea nodded as she eagerly ate the apple, enjoying the sweetness of the fruit. They looked at the map and left the hut, going down the path back towards Port Prospect. However, once they went down the slope, they went towards the ridge, bearing west towards the desert. Something was out there, something big. Proceeding along the ridge, they found the entrance to the wasteland.
The grass suddenly vanished leaving nothing but dirt before them. They saw the path spill out onto a steep hill as they went north down the slope to the land below. Heading northwest at that point, they followed the ridge to an outcropping of mountain and saw there, a path off the side. "Let's go there guv, I have a feeling what we're looking for is over there." Jessica said as Draco nodded. When they rounded the out cropping of rock, they saw a ship that had been still since the day it landed there. Surrounded by huge jutting rocks, it was a ship with blunted edges that stood what must have been two hundred feet tall, at least. Giant oars protruded from the sides while the sails were missing from it.
However, at the top were propellers while what could have been blue or purple paint, as the dust made it hard to distinguish between the two, rimmed the wooden vessel along the top of the ship. Gold trimmed along the top, down the sides only until the oars protruded from the ship. Trode gaped at the ship as he got off the wagon and ran to the ship. "Wow, I had no idea such a vessel was here. But there's no water here… How did it get here? How do we get it out of here?"
Airlia put a hand to her cheek as she thought, "Good question Trode. For it to be here there would have to have been an ancient ocean."
Alistair nodded as he supplied, "But it has obviously long since dried up, now what do we do?"
Trode nodded, as he said, "Well, let's stick with the plan and head to Trodain to find out anything we can about this ship in the books in the library. There may be a clue on how to free it."
Nodding in agreement, they turned from the ship and found the path leading to higher ground, and following the map's guidance, they found themselves back on the path to Trodain. They went around the corner and once grass was under their feet again, they saw the entrance of a cave ahead, heading towards Trodain. Her heart felt heavier each and every minute that they went towards Trodain, towards one of her nightmares. Alistair saw her fear and came over to her. He grasped her hand and gave it a friendly squeeze, a reminder that she has friends who will stick with her. Angelo nodded in agreement as he caught the gesture. Airlia nodded as Angelo decided to break the silence, "Trodain Castle… Yeah that was the place you told me of wasn't it Airlia in that note you left me?"
She nodded, as he continued, "It got cursed and turned into a ruin overnight. I suppose that explains how the horse-princess and the troll king ended up looking like they do. Dhoulmagus is really a foul piece of work."
Airlia lost herself to her thoughts as she feared more for whomever Dhoulmagus was going to go after. The cave was straight forward as they followed the path that seemed to slope upwards at a slow incline as they followed it to the exit. Once they were out of the cave, they went down the slope and turned north. Following the path along, Airlia allowed her thoughts to drift to Marcello, and while she wished him well, it hurt still somehow that he couldn't get past this vanity of his, that they had to be together, that it couldn't be more than just a case of 'she's minebecause I said so…' Shaking her head, she found herself at the intersection, leading to the castle. She held her hand up. "Another from Morrie's memos is here. Remember the slime?"
Draco nodded as he left to go find the slime near the water just down the small incline. He returned moments later, "He's off to Morrie and there was a look of relief on his face. Seems you were right, there are some around here that are poisoned towards the darkness from the curse, while others just ignore him so he had to pretend to be stronger than he is to keep himself safe from attack."
Airlia nodded, "Squiggles was just frightened of everything, and only hung out by the lady bandit cause the group there kept him safe while they could." The group went towards the castle as Airlia stared in shock at the beautiful castle that had befallen a curse.
Draco frowned in memory, "Somehow, while everyone around me were cursed, I remained untouched. I was unconscious though from the sheer force of the power. To this day, we still don't know how I came through that without being touched by the curse."
Airlia frowned in thought, "I've heard through teachings that if you have a curse on you, you cannot be touched by another curse." She wondered though, why had he been unseen initially in her dreams. Why had it been another scene where she saw him with the cursed king? Perhaps it was the same reason she didn't see him in the course of her dreams. The curse on the kingdom could have prevented her from seeing him, even though she saw him in the next scene.
They approached the gates as Draco tried to push it open. The thorn encrusted vines however, kept the doors shut tight. Airlia looked at the doors as she pondered how to get in. Trode sighed, "Hm… we can't get in like this. Jessica, can you get rid of these thorns with some of your magic?" He refrained from impolite words, knowing that getting help meant being congenial more often than not.
Jessica sighed as she thought about it, "I guess I can give it a try. Let's see…" She focused on her powers of fire, the ball coming to her hands as it grew in size. Once it was large enough, she flung it at the branches, casting it alight with fire. Each of the vines slowly died, burning to ashes. She smiled as she turned to the group, her brown eyes shining in pride, "There! Just don't ask me to get rid of all of them, okay!? My magic may be powerful, but it's not that powerful."
Airlia smiled at Jessica, "That should be more than enough. We just wanted to get into the main gates. We should be able to find a way into the castle after that."
Jessica nodded as the men of the group shoved the gates open together. Nothing could prepare the group for the sight ahead. Just like in her dreams, vines were everywhere, like an overrun evil garden. Dark clouds loomed threateningly overhead as they stared at the smashed windows. Trode began – his heart heavy with sorrow as he looked at his home while Draco looked more determined than ever to fight back and reclaim the home that belonged to them. "Oh, my poor castle! It used to be so beautiful, but now it's in ruins. I'm just thankful my late wife can't see this… And it's all because of Dhoulmagus's evil curse. That's when our journey began Airlia, when the castle's secret treasure was plundered…" Airlia nodded Trode thought back to that fateful night, "Here is how this dreadful curse, and all of our journeying began…"

I approached my daughter out on the terrace of the castle. She had been standing there, staring out at the stars. I smiled wistfully as I spoke to her, "Ah, there you are, Princess. I know you like to look at the stars, but it's a little chilly to be outside. Perhaps you should retire to your chamber?"
She turned to me, looking so radiant from the cool night air. I just didn't want her to get ill from being out too long."Of course, Father. I'll come right away." She had thankfully remembered her blue cloak, wearing it over her red underdress and her white overdress. The golden bracelets and belt gleaming in the light of the moon as we slowly went inside.
I held the door open for my daughter, and once she was inside I shut it behind her. We went up towards her chamber when we saw a guard that was supposed to be guarding the secret treasure was lying on the ground, unconscious. Gasping in horror, I spoke hoping someone would hear me and give answers to what had happened,"What's this!? What's going on!?"
Medea was afraid for the poor guard as she spoke, "Hello? Is anybody there? There's a man injured here. Somebody please call a doctor!"
My fright overtook my common sense as I demanded of the guard, "Speak to me! I command you! Tell me what happened here!"
The guard started to wake up as he mumbled, "Y-Your Majesty… S-Somebody… …Th-The sealed chamber… Urgh…"
With that last gasp, he fell back unconscious. Then it slapped me so to speak as I spoke to no one in particular, "The sealed chamber!? But surely no one would…!?" I looked up at the doors just before Medea's chambers to see them ajar. Something wasn't right!
Normally I wouldn't have Medea come with me, but if what I feared was true, I didn't want her anywhere else! I pushed the door open, beckoning her to follow. One look around showed that a guard to the left of the stairs was unconscious, slumped against the wall. His shield and spear were away from his hands, indicating he had been slammed there and his gear had been flung from him by the impact. Gritting my teeth, I started towards the stairs as Medea shook her head, holding her hand up to stop me. "Father, the intruder may still be up there. It's too dangerous."
I nodded, but explained, "Yes, but what if… I can't just stand by and let someone steal it! The treasure is one of pure evil. It could destroy the world if let loose." Medea nodded as she came closer to me, torn about what to do. She didn't want me in danger, but she didn't want to be up there without the guards. However, she knew that I was right. We had to stop the intruder if they could. We went up the stairs to find Dhoulmagus trying to grab the staff that was held by four chains, one pulling in each direction of Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, and Northwest. "You! What do you think you're doing!? I forbid you to touch that scepter!" I demanded of him, trying to hope that more guards would see something wasn't right and join us against the jester.
Dhoulmagus turned to us and sneered, "Why if it isn't King 'Troll' and Princess 'Mare-dea'. I didn't expect you to find me… But what's done is done. Tell me; is this scepter as powerful as people say?"
Rage flowed through me. He had only come to our kingdom with the full intent to steal the scepter. Draco had been right that something was amiss of the man, but I was foolish enough to think otherwise. "So it's true then!? You came to my castle just so you could steal the scepter!?"
His snide laugh spoke of much before he spoke, so sure of his victory, "Well deduced! You save me the bother of explaining myself, Your Majesty! I've heard all about this scepter… About a legendary magical scepter sealed deep inside Castle Trodain. And about how it could bestow ultimate magical powers. With this, nothing can stop me from becoming the greatest magician of all time! Then I'll have my revenge on those scornful snobs who made a fool of me!"
My fear rising for my kingdom and for the world, I screamed, "Stop! That scepter must never leave this castle!"
He cackled as he reached back to grab the scepter. "Nothing can stop me!"
Suddenly as he held the scepter, a severe wind pushed at us both. It sent me tumbling back as Medea braced herself against the wind. The scepter began glowing, evil permeating the air as the evil jester spoke, "I see no reason to delay this any further. Time to unleash its true power… King Trode. You will be my first guinea pig."
I quickly got up and rejoined my daughter in the sacred circle that had bound the scepter for so long. However, even as the scepter glowed an evil red, my daughter turned to me, running. "Father! Look out!" She took the blow that was meant solely for me. I could hear him, even if I couldn't move, and from the sounds around me, Medea wasn't moving either. All I could do was listen… Listen to the destruction of my kingdom around me.
"Hm? Is this the best it can do? The mare I can see, but you look more like a toad than a troll to me!" He then seemed to figure it out by his next sentence, "… Ah, but wait! The magic circle here must be restricting its full powers. Hahaha. If I take it away from here, I'll see what it can really do!"
His footsteps fell away from us. But I'm sure that Airlia can explain more here from her dreams than I can.

Airlia nodded as the group waited for her to continue, she took a deep shuddering breath as she explained…

He came out onto the very terrace that Medea had been standing on minutes earlier. Holding his scepter high to the air, it began to glow an eerie red color. He demanded of the scepter he held in his hand, "Come, precious scepter! Show me your true power!" The glow began to spread throughout Dhoulmagus's body as he exclaimed, "… Oh yes! What incredible magic! Perfect!" I noticed him clutching at his chest as he stammered, "S-So powerful… I… I can't c-control it…"He screamed as he doubled over, and then he bent backwards as powerful thorn encrusted vines exploded from the castle and as they entwined the castle in the curse, the vines ran everywhere they could in the castle. Dark clouds filled the skies as anything they touched seemed to bring ruin to it. But, the people who were in the castle were in for a far different part of the curse. They turned into plant like creatures, still as plants, neither living nor dead, but in a limbo state. If you look closely, you can see who they once were. But sadly, that's all I saw of my vision. I never saw Draco until the dreams came of the journeying cursed king with his cursed princess and a man dressed in gold and blue traveling together.

Trode nodded as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "Dear girl, it's horrible that you have had to dream those nightmares so frequently, truly. When I awoke, I was stunned that Medea and I were safe within the sacred circle. However, the vines did try to break the magic, but lucky for us, it held."
Airlia sighed, "If I'm right though about curses, then it wouldn't have mattered I think. The scepter cursed you once already; so if I am right, the next curse couldn't touch you either way."
He nodded in agreement, even as tears leapt to his eyes in memory of the event before them. "I saw a horse next to me where Medea was. His laughter could still be heard even into the sacred chamber. Draco came up to the sacred chamber and found us there. I still didn't understand how he survived, but you may very well be right about curses Airlia. If that's so, what is the curse on him? Why was one placed?"
Airlia shook her head, "I don't know. None of his equipment is cursed, so it's hard to say."
Nodding in agreement, Draco he led the way to the exterior library door on the left side of the castle, only to find it locked. "Follow me everyone, we're going in upstairs. I tucked away some special items in a storeroom before all this happened because I didn't trust that jester. Then the curse hit, and I was concentrating more on getting to King Trode and Princess Medea. The items tucked away weren't necessary then, but they are now."
Trode smiled at the boy, "Always so thoughtful. Let's hope that they haven't been pillaged already though."
Draco nodded as they went back along the side of the library to find stairs going upwards. He led them to the door as he opened it. "Stay close to me everyone. There's a lot of fallen floor as you saw on our way in."
Airlia nodded, thinking about the gaping hole just above the library. She could only hope that the books weren't overly damaged. Trode merely sighed as he looked about the castle, and he smiled when Jessica put a hand on his shoulder, "We will fix this Your Majesty. So many innocent people suffered at his hands, too many as it is." Trode nodded with a watery smile. Alistair merely smiled as he thought about how much his sister had already changed. She still had her fire in her personality, but now that she was seeing the power of a parent's love for their child and a king for his people, it was slowly changing into something more powerful. This man had suffered too much already. They walked inside the castle as Airlia shut the door behind them. Going around the corner into the hallway, Airlia could see the curse on the people. The cat that was blooming into a flower outside, the item seller at the shop stall that turned into a vine plant. The only clue they were human before was their face and the clothing they wore were still visible.
Draco looked angrier still as he said, "She sold items, but always managed to get extra cheese for Munchie." He absentmindedly picked a piece of cheese off and fed it to his friend.
He went into the room on their right and opened a chest to find the key he tucked away with several other items. "I found more of those medals here in the castle. I just wish I had pushed more on my distrust of that man."
The cursed king sighed hard, "I should have trusted your instincts my boy. However, with regards to the scepter, once out of the magic circle, it would have taken you over Draco. No, things would have happened as they did. At least we have access to our treasures to aid in our battle."
Draco recovered everything and put it into the bags. "This old, rusted sword must have once been amazing. But right now, it's in no shape to be used."
The green skinned man nodded, "Yes, it was a mythical sword of incredible power."
They left the room as Draco sighed, "I hope that not every path has been ruined by these thorns."
They turned right and proceeded through a doorway and into the main hallway. Going across the floor to the other door, they saw the damage done to the floor below, vines encrusting the grounds everywhere, even up to the chandelier above. Trode seethed in quiet rage as Airlia placed a calming hand on his shoulder and said, "We know how you must feel King Trode. But seething in rage isn't going to help anyone. Let's continue onwards." He nodded in agreement.
They progressed into the hallway and Draco smiled, "Let's go left." He moved them down the path only to see the floor had collapsed – blocking their movements. "I may know of another path. Let's go this way."
Trode nodded in agreement. "I know what you're planning, Draco and I agree with it." He nodded as he headed up the stairs to the third floor. When they arrived on the floor, he went immediately to their right, around the steps and towards the back of the castle. Following the hallway through the bend, he arrived at another door. They went to the main doors there, and opened it.
Arriving back into the open, they followed Draco to the tower in the corner of the castle. He smiled happily as he saw steps going downwards. "Follow me everyone, we're almost there!"
They ran down all of the steps to the first floor, as Jessica joked, "Wow, that made me a little dizzy." Airlia chuckled, grateful for the laugh. He went to the first door on their right and opened it. Poking his head in, he saw the floor under the stairs was destroyed.
He closed it as he shook his head. "Not here sorry. Let's go around through the throne room." He closed the door as they went through the throne room. They went around the thrones as Trode caught sight of what was a man garbed in a blue robe with a brown robe beneath it, and over his chest was a gold medal. He wore a hat of blue and gold, like the material that held the medal in place with a thick moustache and beard.
The man was short, but seemed to exude power as Trode sighed. "Oh, my poor minister! The curse has deformed you, too…" However a light came to his eyes as he saw where the man was sitting… "Although, it was unleashed in the middle of the night… So what were you doing in the courtroom? On my throne!?" He started jumping up and down, flailing his arms and hands formed into fists as he screamed, "So! You enjoy the feeling of being enthroned, do you!? Well your secret is out now, you frivolous old fool!" They went down the courtroom and off to the right corner where a door was. He crossed his fingers that the room wasn't locked too.
The handle turned easily beneath his hand as he led them to the corner and into the Library. He smiled in relief as he quickly went to the side door and unlocked it. Airlia smiled as she said, "Let's split up and see if we can find the book in question. Everyone pick a section. We have a lot of bookcases to look through."
Everyone nodded as they all picked a section. Airlia, Draco and Angelo picked the right wall near the door while Alistair, Jessica and Yangus picked the other side. When they finished, upon finding nothing, Trode smiled, "Don't worry about alchemy from this place. They're in the journal already." Airlia grinned at him as they proceeded into the bigger section of the library. Trode heaved a heavy sigh. "Oh dear… What a state the place is in. It's such a terrible shame."
Airlia looked around and saw windows broken, stone crumbling, and vines were everywhere. She saw a familiar shape against the wall, where a door had once been, or an exquisite window perhaps. Trode nodded as he resolved himself. "To work, then! First things first, we need to find a book containing information on that ship. Maybe there'll be some kind of clue as to how to get it moving again."
The group nodded in agreement as they split up to look around. Angelo took the section on the right as they entered the room, going to the bookshelves between two windows. Alistair took the section next to Angelo. Yangus took the section near the edge of the room on the right. Draco took the section on the left, near the edge of the room. Airlia took the section at the very end with Jessica taking the section between them. Airlia looked at the cases and saw nothing of interest beyond the pitfall of alchemy book. She however, saw one bookcase tucked away in the corner of her section and went around to it. She saw a green covered book, covered in dust as she picked it up. Dusting it off, she saw it said, The Forgotten Ship. "Guys, I think I have something. Let's go to the desk and I'll read what it has to say aloud."
She went to the table as everyone removed books so she could sit properly and read from it. Skimming quickly she nodded, "Yes, this appears to contain information about an ancient ship that was abandoned in that wasteland. No wonder Brains said it was rumored to be a magic ship." Looking through the book, she frowned. "Seems that the area where we found the ship was the bottom of an ocean long, long ago. That's not helpful to us. However…" She looked at the window formed by the vines covering the broken frame and sighed wistfully.
Trode looked at her, "However? What is it? This information doesn't help us right now unfortunately." Airlia shook her head as she clasped her hands together in prayer.
Angelo frowned as he said, "Praying to the Goddess, while good, isn't going to help us right now Air."
She shook her head. "I'm not praying to the Goddess Angelo. I'm sending my thoughts to one who awakens ancient memories…"
Trode looked at her, "What do you mean? Ancient memories?"
Draco thought for a moment before he grinned. "You're brilliant Airlia. Let's hope the conditions are right for it to work!" She nodded as she looked up, to see the moon shining brightly, the shadow stretching to a section of wall that held no bookcase. Once the shadow was fully casted, the door that formed in the shape of the window sparkled.
Airlia looked at it as Jessica gasped in shock. "I know why it worked, but it's still inconceivable."
Draco nodded as Angelo paused thoughtfully. "An inconceivable ship in an equally inconceivable place. And now, a Moonshadow window in a cursed castle, smothered in thorns. Sure it sounds like a fairy tale, but I could get on board with that. Amazing Airlia!" She nodded as she tuned everyone out and touched the window. She followed the path, not noticing that the others had joined her as she arrived to his door. She smiled as she opened the door, which quickly melted into a frown when she saw he wasn't on the platform where he was the first time they arrived to his realm…
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Memories