Ban was anxious as the group walked quietly through the halls. Zeldris had managed to deactivate their cell without suspicion from the guards outside, giving them the opportunity for Merlin to use that cloaking spell on them again.

But that didn't help the nerves the immortal felt after knowing that Meliodas wouldn't remember them again. He felt a lot of things about that.

Guilt from knowing it was because of him telling the boy everything. Maybe it had been too soon? Maybe the boy hadn't been ready? Maybe he shouldn't have let the child go back. He should've insisted the kid take more time to process before he went back home with emotions so high.

And the other emotion competing for the top spot was doubt. Doubt that this plan was going to work. Doubt that Meliodas was going to believe them and let them take him far away from his "home". And also doubt that he'd be able to take seeing the blond look at him so blankly all over again. He had held it together pretty well last time, but that was because he had to. The other sins had all been freaking out and he had to step up to ensure they'd get they're captain back. But instead, after all of that work and effort, things still fell apart and he had only managed to hurt the Cap'n worse by getting him his memory erased twice. 

Stop it. There isn't any point on dwelling on this any longer. What's done is done, now I just need to focus on my current task. Although, I'm still doubting how well this'll turn out. I'm not sure how this trinket Zeldris gave me will make Meliodas believe us when we say he sent us. It's just a locket. 

Sneaking through the corridors as quietly as possible, Ban kept a tight fist around the necklace to ensure it wouldn't be dropped on their way to Meliodas's room. It wasn't terribly far, but the group as a whole was still very stressed about getting to the room as quickly as possible. The spell Merlin used was flimsier than last time since she made it to where no one could see them at all, but that made the time frame go from two hours to fifteen minutes in which they'd have to grab the child and get out by. 

Arriving at the door quickly, the group didn't even bother knocking as they burst through the room and shut the door behind them with equal speed, causing the young boy to jump in freight, thoroughly startled by the people suddenly in his room. 

"W-Who the heck are you guys?"

The words stung but were understandable given the circumstances. And it wasn't like they had time to dwell on the feeling, they only had seven minutes left to get out before the spell wore out.

"Listen kid, I know this is weird, and I'm sure your brother Zeldris has talked to you about going places with strangers, but something bad is about to happen and your brother sent us to get you. He gave us this locket to show ya as proof."

Definitely not the most tactful way of handling this situation, but they didn't exactly have time for a chat. They just had to hope this would work. Because the alternative was Ban using Fox Hunt on the kid to keep from being demolished as he scooped up the boy and ran like hell. 

The boy blinked for a second before studying the locket closer as Ban handed it to the kid. 

"Yeah okay. So where are we going?"

The sin of greed probably should've just accepted the answer and left, but the compliance was so surprising he couldn't help but ask. 

"Wha- That's it? Ya don't want us to explain how we know your brother or what's going on or anything?"

"Nah, this is definitely the locket I gave him, it even has the notes in it, see? And you guys aren't even close to being strong enough to take it from him by force."

"But still, no questions other than where are we going? Really?"

"Nope! You said we're in danger and that Zeldy sent you. That's enough for me for now. I trust my brother, and if he trusts you guys to get me out of here, then you're probably fine. And I can always escape if you aren't."

The group was probably making a very interesting impression considering the ridiculous gawking, but they were knocked out of the stupor pretty quickly by the sound of a loud thump outside as Meliodas perked up again. 

"Sooooo, speaking of danger, don't we need to get out of here?"

"R-Right. Merlin, how far away from the seal do we have to be before you can teleport us home?"

"We just need to get to the garden borders. But we better hurry, there's only three minutes left on the spell."

That motivated them to move pretty quickly as Ban picked up Meliodas and ran to the palace exit as quickly as possible. Something they barely managed as the magic started to fade right as they got to the garden.

"Merlin! Now!"

She needed no further commentary from Ban as they quickly disappeared from the battlefield and reappeared at the boar house still right where they left it. About two hundred miles away from Camelot. 

"We need to get moving to the goddess temple again with Zenari. They'll probably be our best bet at hiding from the demon's presence."

The other's agreed with Merlin as they quickly set the course, each nervous that the trip would take longer than Zeldris could hold off the ten commandments. 

"Um, Ban, you can set me down now."

Realizing he was still clutching the child tightly, he nodded sheepishly before setting the blond down, noticing only a moment later, the magnitude of what the boy had said. 

"Right, sorry kiddo-"

He cut himself off as his eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat. 

"What did you just say?"

Meliodas gave him a puzzled look, not understanding the reaction. 

"What? I just asked you to set me down. Sorry, was I rude? I didn't mean to be-"

"No, what you called me. You called me Ban. You said my name. I haven't told you my name yet."

"Huh? Yes, you have. You told me when we first met. At the garden. N-No wait... it was at the prison, wasn't it? Wait, but... I just met you. I haven't seen you before at a prison, or the garden. But... I've been here before. I know I have. I-I was here, they were going to hurt you... I-I had to stop them."

His face twisted into a mix of confusion and pain, like his three lives were colliding and overlapping and he couldn't tell which one was real. And while normally the sin would be overjoyed at the progress, there wasn't any room for the positive emotion when fear and alarm grabbed him quickly at the sight before him. Blood was dripping down the boy's face. Deep crimson dripping down from his nose and the corner of his eyes like the liquid was replacing tears in a disturbing contrast. Before seconds later the child collapsed as Ban dove to grab him.

"MERLIN! ELIZABETH! GET IN HERE NOW!"

The two he called for approached quickly as Merlin tried to figure out what was wrong, and the princess immediately began using her magic to try to heal him. Only to have the child scream as soon as her magic activated, like it was burning him from the inside out. 

Unsure of what was happening, Ban was grateful the mage seemed to realize something before he did as she commanded them to take him up to his old room before she began a chant in what seemed to be demonic tongue. A dark glow covered Meliodas that died down when she finished, as did the bleeding and screams of pain. 

"What... What happened to him? One minute he seemed to be remembering everything and the next he was bleeding and collapsing like it was killing him."

Merlin's voice was grave as she responded to the man, fatigue also influencing her tone.

"As Zeldris told us, the magic being placed over him a second time was dangerous, and it's harming the boy. From what I can understand, this is the age his darkness first appeared, which was originally supposed to add a layer of protection to the child to keep this spell from overwhelming him. However, the captain's magic is closely connected to his emotions, and while they were able to eliminate any and all memories of the ages that passed beyond this point in time, they weren't able to destroy the emotions. It's likely why he trusted us so quickly the first time, and why coming back to the Boar Hat revitalized his memories so quickly this second time. But with the three thousand years' worth of memories, comes three thousand years' worth of pain, and loss, and grief. The grief of leaving the demon realm behind alone I believe is what's causing his magic to flair and attack. Which also causes the grip of the spell the commandments used to strengthen in retaliation. "

Ban didn't like the way that sounded. Or the pain that came with what he feared this meant. 

"So... What can we do? His memories can't come back without it killing him, but there's no way to stop them from coming back slowly and naturally the longer he's around us. And we definitely can't break the curse without memories coming back, so what's the solution?"

The silence that filled the air was almost as bad as the answer she uttered next, leaving them both feeling worse than before.

"I don't know. At the moment... there isn't one. But we must find something soon, because-"

She was cut off as the blond stirred in the bed, something that made the immortal rush to his side.

"Kid! You feeling okay? You scared the hell out of us, ya know that?"

The boy rubbed his eyes before they settled on Ban again, a puzzled look flooding his features again like before. 

"W-Where am I? Who are you guys?"

Panic overtook confusion quick as Meliodas seemed to realize something with alarm. 

"W-Why can't I... remember my name?"

It felt like the sin was experiencing this curse himself as burning agony filled his chest to hear those soft, helpless, scared, words be said by the captain. Merlin sighed behind him, finishing what she intended to say earlier with a grave tone."

"We must find something soon. Because as I thought, the curse will continue to erase his mind the more he recalls... until there's nothing left. 

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Theories and ideas are always welcome. 😁