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It all happened too fast. The vial of ichor barely touched his lips, but it was enough to make everything come rushing back with all the force of a battlewagon smashing into him. Memories he hadn’t even noticed were missing overwhelmed him in an instant. The Starblaster, soaring through planar system after planar system. An animal planet, giant mushrooms, robots, stone judges. The Hunger following him across each and every one, desperately trying to take the Light and consuming every system where he was too slow. Where they were too slow. No, it wasn't just him out there. There were seven of them. The birds Maureen’s core spoke of, fighting to protect the Light from the Hunger, running and sometimes losing each other in the chase, but never for long. He hadn't been alone. He never had been. Even before the Starblaster, before the IPRE and the Light of Creation and the goddamn Hunger, it had always been him and-
Him and her .
Time seemed to stand still. Taako started trembling, a simple quiver in his hands quickly turning into his whole body shaking like a leaf. Merle, Barry, and Angus rushed to his side, but he couldn't hear what they were saying over the sound of his heart pounding in his ears. How could you forget Lup?
She had always been there by his side. Growing up, doing their best to survive, jumping from place to place looking for somewhere that felt right. On the Starblaster, for an entire century of lost worlds. She had always been there, no matter what had been thrown at them. He couldn't stop the shaking that had taken over his whole body. His own sister, his other half, had been wiped from his memory and left a gap he hadn’t even noticed. A quiet thud echoed through the room, bringing him slightly out of his daze. Even then, it still took a bit too long for it to register that the umbra staff had hit the ground, the trembling of his hands having grown too harsh for him to keep his grip. It seemed to be inching back over to him, and had it been any other situation, he would have laughed. Loyal to the end, just like her. He scooped it up gently, clutching it tightly to his chest. He couldn't let it go. He had to keep it safe, protect it, give it back to her when he found her again.
If he found her again.
One more memory rushed back to the front of his mind. That skeleton in the cave, the same cave where they’d found her gauntlet. The red robes. Her umbrella.
Taako couldn't stop himself from falling, barely keeping his weight up on his hands and knees. He had found her. Everything made sense now. The red robe, Barry’s reaction to seeing the staff. Taako had found her, but he'd been too late. She was gone, dead, probably in her lich form, but what were even the chances of finding her again if she was still out there? If he found her, would she even still be her, or would she be like any other lich, crazed after so long without anybody she cared about? His blood froze at the thought. No, that would never happen, especially not to her. She was too stubborn, too strong-willed, he’d gone out of his way to give her as many good memories as possible for her to hang onto. Memories he was only recovering now. It was as though a dam had been broken in his mind, letting everything come rushing back. His eyes darted over to the small voidfish floating happily in its tank. There was no way anybody knew about it, not with how it was hidden all the way back here behind-
Lucretia’s office.
So it was her who did this. It had to have been her. Nobody else had the knowledge of their adventures so as to so cleanly wipe everything from his memories. Nobody took so meticulous of notes needed to have the Voidfish hide so much. Nobody would think of doing something like this other than her. He stopped trembling as he stood, back straight and eyes cold. She was the one to blame. The woman he had trusted this entire time had hidden everything from all of them. That couldn’t stand. As he took the umbra staff in hand, he could feel it thrumming with energy, seemingly ready for a fight. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling at that. At least when he kicked Lucretia’s ass, he’d know his sister’s will was behind him the entire time.