Memory Glitch (Book 2 in the "Glitched" Series)

[TWENTY-SEVEN - We're Not Sure How This Happened]

'I mean, I guess.' The blond muttered quietly, pushing through into the area and taking a deep breath - This was his home, and he was finally back.
'Right, the first place to check would probably be the village, but to get through there we can do one of two things; Go through the mountains, or go through the forest. Any preferences?'
He turned to his group, ignoring the fact that Josh was just staring ahead blankly as he and Tobi continued to discuss the basics for their plan 'Going through the mountains would be more dangerous, but would get us there faster, while going through the forest would be-'

'Bro, look at Josh.' Tobi muttered softly, attempting to "discreetly" point at his friend as Harry followed his gaze. The eldest of the group had gone from staring at the mountains to his hands, eerily calm as some kind of inky substance began to make it's way up.
It seemed to stop at his forearms, but wasn't finished. It appeared in coils above his head, merging together and creating horn-like shapes.

Then, two strands shot out of the horns and stabbed him in the eyes. He yelled out in alarm, stumbling back and falling as he moved his claw-ish hands up to his face. "Oh, my gods... Is he-"
'Josh! Josh mate, you alright?' Tobi called, sprinting to his side and kneeling down to check for any bleeding or leaking of the fluid. They were past the barrier now, so they couldn't call for any help.
'I-I'm okay.' Josh stammered. He obviously wasn't, with how much he was shaking and the tone of his voice, but they didn't push it 'Here, let me see.'
With clear hesitation the male started to move his hands away, before wincing at the sunlight - It was way brighter than previously noted 'Dude, that mean you need to open your eyes.'

'Ugh... Fine.' He whined childshly, keeping his head down as he did so. Unsatisfied with the movement, the team's medic decided to tale it into his own hands and forced the elder to look at him.
'Stubborn - Woah. Harry, bro, could you check this about real quick?'
'Hm? Oh, yeah, sure.' Snapping out of some sort of daze, the golden-husky hybrid nodded and jogged over to check the dark-haired male's eyes. It didn't take him long to figure it out; He'd already been running through the possibilities.

'Right, Josh, there's no easy way to put this so I'm gonna be blunt. You're either some sort of undiscovered hybrid, or a descendant of Emperor Urie.'

~~~

"Alright Lachlan, you got this. You've been in a major, life-changing battle, you are part dragon, you've got this... No, no I don't. I cannot do this."
Not gonna lie, the dragon hybrid was terrified. Telling your friends and mother one of your darkest secrets can scare a guy.
"Deep breaths mate."
"What're you doing?"
"Ack! Bloody Nether mate, invasion of privacy." The blond internally groaned, glaring at Vik from across the room. Most of the boys were there, with the exceptions of Brandon (Ill, as always.), Kenny (doing something with Harvey and Jason) and Choco.
Yeah. Nobody knew where Choco was.

"Pfft, sorry, but seriously - What's up?"
'If I stop chickening out, then you'll find out in about two minutes. I'm gonna tell everyone."
"...Is it to do with your scars?"
Lachlan froze up for a few seconds, glancing around the room. His close friends and family were there. He couldn't tell them all.
Not now.
"I can't do it."
"Hey, s'alright. Do they know that you were gonna tell them?"
"No." His answer was short and blunt, and he saw the Brit frown out of the corner of his eye before he stood up 'I'm gonna go outside for some air, I'll be back in a few hours.'

'Stay safe honey, don't fall down any more arenas alright?' His mother called, and he nodded while walking out the door. Once he was out the Australian took a deep breath, wrapping his arms around his torso and beginning his short journey towards the beach. He needed to be alone with his thoughts, and that meant getting away from Vik.
He liked Vik - A lot, honestly, but the fact that he could almost constantly read his mind was unnerving. The shorter teenager couldn't help it, and they'd established that, but still.
It was risky.
"Gods, everything's a mess. I don't blame the guys for this, but... I just need to tell them."

'Salt I swear to Notch if you - THIS IS WHY YOU SCARE ME!' A distant voice screamed, followed by the gravely laugh of a dragon. Bewildered, the Australian glanced upwards to see his reptilian companion flying down with a flailing slime on his back.
'Oh hey Salt, hey Brandon. What're your guys doing here?' Something seemed different about the older hybrid. He was more... Familiar, in some weird way.
The teenager took a shaky breath as he glared at the dragon, who just snorted and nudged him affectionately 'I thought you were ill today.'

'Ah, yes, the infamous "I" that's been in my place for like five years. Slightly offended that nobody realized actually, but you guys always were oblivious so I guess... Meh.' He shrugged, one hand on the back of his neck while the other was resting on Salt's left-hand head. 'Basically, what I'm trying to say is that somebody's been pretending to be me? From what I've been told, anyway.'
'So, wait - Where have you been all this time?' Lachlan asked tentatively, and the slime hybrid narrowed his eyes before sighing. 'I don't know where, but... It was cold, and dark. I wasn't the only one there but - Nevermind.'

It was clear that Brandon was hiding something from him, but the Aussie pushed it aside for now and grinned softly 'Well, it's good to have you back. We can tell the guys about this whole situation, but I'm gonna get Mum to check you over first.'
'It's really not-'
'Shut up, it's happening... Oh, and there's something you might want to know.'
'Shoot.'
'Ahah, yeah; Kenny, Mitch and Vik are back.'

--------------------------

E'RRYBODY IS BACK M8 HAVE YOU NOT BEEN PAYING ATTENTION.

What do you think Brandon's reaction is gonna be? Any change from young Brandon?

See you all in the next chapter, and have a great Morning - Afternoon - Evening - Dawn - Dusk - Midnight - Paranormal Timezone!

(P.S - Ignore this horrendous update schedule like pls I fan XD)