Chapter Text
Gepard had trouble sleeping as of late.
Now granted he wasn't the best at staying asleep, unless his exhaustion kicked in after a heavy mission, he would normally wake up multiple times during the night. One could argue this is already enough sleeping trouble but no, not in this case.
It started happening after the Stellaron was taken care of. He would lay awake at night with the feeling that something was, missing.
He started to randomly remember the last chase Koski and him had before the Astral Express showed up in Belobog. For some unknown reason he kept replaying it in his head and he couldn't stop it.
Koski rounded the corner.
So did he.
Koski turned around.
He grabbed his handcuffs.
Koski threw one of his smoke bombs.
Koski vanished.
That is what happened.
Or at least that was what he was thinking before the Stellaron had been sealed.
The more the scene replayed in his head, the more things did not add up. For example, he couldn't remember what Sampo had said to him before throwing the bomb. In his memory, his mouth was moving but nothing came out.
Normally he would remember every teasing remark because it kept reminding him of his failure to catch the man.
However now it seems his memory is failing him. He recalls something being said, but what? He recalls Sampo making an expression he did not recognize on the man, but what was it?
How come he remembers a laughing sound and bells? Where would those even come from?
He had discussed this with Serval a few days earlier.
"You sound like you need some more sleep instead of overthinking it. It's just Sampo, he's nothing special."
Nothing special.
His gut told him otherwise. But no matter how longer he pondered it, nothing made sense.
He decided to go for a walk. Considering Lady Bronya gave him a week off. She had insisted on a month or even more but he heavily protested that. He was needed now more than anything, but an order is an order so he got the week off.
People all over Belobog, under or overworld, were still celebrating. Considering everything was still fairly recent Bronya let the celebrations happen, under watch of the Silvermane Guards and Wildfire.
It was especially busy in the administrative District. People were dancing with loved ones they hadn't seen in years, kids were playing tag, making new friends, it was a very lively atmosphere.
However Gepard did not need that right now. He needed a little peace and quiet. A trip to the museum should do for that. Personally he had not been to the museum a lot, not to admire the art at least.
By the time he realized going to the museum would only make him think of the memory more because of Sampo, he was already inside.
Well so much for that. At least the people were quiet in this room.
A painting caught his eye of the city of Belobog of maybe centuries ago. He did have to admit the paintings were beautiful, he would absolutely never get to that level artisticly. He remembered when Serval laughed at this wanted poster attempts, from before they had phones to work with. The memory made him chuckle.
The sound of a family entering the hall caught his attention. The child wasn't quiet in the slightest, he was very happy with whatever he got in his hands on if he heard it correctly. He would just come back when the family moved to a different hall.
"Mom can I pop it here?"
"No sweetie, for the 100th time, that is not for inside."
Gepard walked towards the mother and her son to head to the other hall. The mother was trying to calm her son down who definitely had too much sugar.
Now he could see what was in the boys hand.
A small confetti canon.
He must've gotten it from one of the people celebrating. At least it didn't cause any actual harm when fired, he would let the mother handle it.
And just as he nearly walked past them, the kid fired the canon.
Everything seemed to suddenly go in slow motion.
The bang of the canon was ringing in his ears.
He heard the popping of confetti canons before, but now the sound made his skin crawl.
Confetti was scattering around him. On his hands, his arms, his feet.
His breathing became heavier.
Qiploth, when did his head start hurting so bad?
"Captain, I wish you didn't have to see what's about to happen."
"Pop goes the weasel~"
His heart was banging so loud in his chest it might as well be popped along side the canon.
He remembered.
Sampo, the confetti, the laughter and the bells.
"My apologies Captain! My so-" He couldn't register the words she was saying. His ears were ringing with the sound of those bells, why those bells?! The breaths he let out were shaky, he himself was shaking.
"I...I have to go." he muttered. He ran out of the museum. People were looking at him as he ran through the crowd. He didn't register any of it.
After pushing himself through the crowd of people, he stopped in a nearby alleyway. He leaned on the wall for support, not knowing if his legs would give out or not.
Why was he responding this way? He saw Sampo the other day, he was alive and well.
The memory, vision, hallucination?, whatever that was, could not be real.
Yet his gut feeling was screaming at him that this was not just a fake memory.
Why would his body react so violently to something that he himself could not remember?
'The body remembers what the mind forgets.'
He remembered reading that in a book once. The mind may have moved on or forgotten but the body will always remember.
He slid down with his back against the wall, sitting on the concrete road now. Okay he could entertain the idea for a bit. He took a deep breath.
Up to this point he was under the impression that Sampo threw a smoke bomb at him and vanished. However if that memory is now incorrect that meant that he actually exploded into pieces of confetti.
The idea was so ridiculous he should've just ignored it, if it weren't for his body reacting the way it did, he probably would have.
Which would beg another question.
Did someone alter his memory?
Gepard was no stranger to trauma. He learned that the brain sometimes makes you forget certain events related to said trauma. However he never forgot.
He shot a glance at his prosthetic arm.
When he lost a comrade in battle, he would remember.
When a fellow soldier got heavily injured, he would remember.
When he lost his arm, it haunted him for months.
His brain never made him forget.
He let out another breath.
He did not want to dwell on those events. Because it was not important at the moment, but also because it was painful to think about it.
He shook his head.
So did someone alter his memory? If so, how?
If someone can explode into confetti, memory altercation wasn't off the table.
"Oh hey!" A very familiar voice cut through his thoughts. "Geppie! Taking a break from the celebrations?"
Sampo leaned against the wall with his arm, eyeing him up and down with amusement. "I have not seen you without uniform before. You should wear casual clothes more often, it suits you!"
Gepard slowly turned his head to look at Sampo. It all clicked into place. Of course it was Koski. When wasn't it.
If looks could kill, Sampo would be dead 10 times over by now. Gepard slowly stood up.
Sampo saw the deadly look in the man's eyes and gulped. "Hey, h-hey" He stuttered. "I do not like that look on your face."
Gepard lunged. "Should've thought about that before messing with my head!" He yelled in a fit of rage.
Sampo koski was caught off guard. You heard that right. The Sampo Koski was caught off guard by Captain Landau being out for blood.
With a loud thud they both fell backwards, Gepard was on top of him holding his wrists above Sampo's head with a firm grip. Granted Sampo could escape at any time, he was an escape artist after all. However he stayed in place for once, more so because he had no clue what was going on and would like an explanation.
He composed himself near immediately. He coughed and then chuckled, winking at the man above him. "Have I been on your mind that much? Why you should have said something sooner!"
"I demand answers Koski!" He gripped the wrists more firmly. "Have you been messing with my memories?!"
Sampo let out a small hiss, his poor wrists. "I'm going to need more context than that Geppie."
"The confetti, the bells, the laughing! Explain yourself!"
Sampo's eyes widened in shock, caught even more off guard. "You, you remember that? Oh shit."
Gepards frown deepend. So he was not going insane after all. "Start explaining." His voice ice cold.
The next few moments went by fast.
One moment Sampo was under him, he was holding the mans wrists in a firm grip.
The next Sampo just slid out of his grip with a smile, it was like there was soap on his wrists. With a swift movement he went under Gepard and ended up behind him.
Gepard, very confused, turned around to see Sampo take bow in his direction. "And that is merely one of the perks of being an Emanator of Elation!"
Now it was Gepards turn to be shocked. "An Emanator? You?!" When the Trailblazers left to their next destination, they left some information behind about the rest of the universe. Including about more Aeons and their path striders, even Emanators. Never in a million years did he think Sampo would be one of them.
"I know, I know, I don't exactly fit the role right now. Ah you should've seen me in my prime on Epsilon."
"What do you mean 'Right now'?" Gepard asked slightly concerned.
Sampo waved his hand dismissively. "It's a very long story, it's not important." He took a step closer, a sympathetic look forming on his face.
"Aha is the Aeon of Elation. THEY had something for me so I was called away for a bit."
Seeing the utter confusion and suprise on Gepards face, Sampo continued. "However we were in the middle of our game-"
"Not a game." Gepard interrupted firmly.
"...Our game." Sampo replied smugly. "So you unfortunately had to see THEM calling me away." Sampo sighed. "Aha rewired your memory for..." He hesitated. "Your own safety." He clapped his hands together "And that's all! Satisfied?" He said using his happy customer service voice.
After a few moment Gepard responded. "THEY do that often?"
Sampo laughed out loud. "Aha is very unpredictable but THEY don't seem to need me a lot, luckily."
The silence stretched between them. Gepard honestly didn't know what to say. The fact Sampo Koski of all people had a fraction of an Aeons power was honestly somehow becoming a bigger shock than him exploding.
Sampo cleared his throat. "Regardless, glad that's cleared up. As you can see I am a-okay! Alive and well." He awkwardly smiled. "Also we can keep this whole Emanator thingy between us, right? I won't do anything illegal for the next month, deal?"
Gepard rubbed his temples. "Make that two and I better not find out you're doing it in secret." Why he was entertaining the man way honestly beyond him.
"Oh you strike a hard bargain Captain, but considering it done. Sampo Koski does not go back on his word." He bowed once more. "Pleasure doing business with you Geppie." He said with a wink.
But before Sampo could leave, Gepard frowned again. "Hey hold on, I was never going to be able to catch you regardless, was I?"
"Aaaand that is my que to leave!" Sampo leaned closer to Gepard who did not back away. His hand went behind Gepards ear, and unlike the classic coin trick, he pulled out his signature smoke bomb instead. Letting it fall from his hand, it rolled between their feet waiting to detonate.
"Until next time Geppie!"
"KOSKI-"