A/N: Yeah, so I lied at the beginning. Will wasn't really dead, and Liam wasn't even an OC. He was more of an adopted persona for Will (but, I suppose, technically…). Oh well, what're you going to do? Find where I live? Ha! I'd like to see you try! (Actually, please don't. That'd just be weird.) Anyway, make sure to bring your machete, because we have a thickened plot up ahead! There's no death (or not-really-dying-though-it-seems-like-they-have), but oh, you're still gonna hate me for how I've ended it. *evil cackle*

You know, I love the word cackle. It just sounds cool, don't you think? It just rolls off the tongue… or in this case, fingers, seeing as I'm typing it on a keyboard. It kind of but not really reminds me of cake, which is something else I like. Very good for noms.

Okay, completely off track. Like Dory, from Finding Nemo. I've seen that movie so many times it's not funny. You know, I've never understood that phrase… At what point is it funny seeing a movie? I mean, it could be a comedy, but the actual, physical watching of the movie, how is that funny in the first place? And we apply it to other situations too, of course. And now I'm off course. Again. *slaps self*

Umm, now where was I again…? Oh right, dramatic plot twist, yeah. Ahem. Continue on to the FINAL chapter, for those considerate few that bother and/or are bored enough to read my ramblings.

.:':. .:':. .:':.

Liam had left the Ranger standing dumbstruck in the field whilst he took his son inside. He scooped up the twins, pressing them into Kaileen's arms and urging her to go for a walk in the sunshine with them. She had cast him a concerned look, burning with curiosity. She refrained from saying anything, however, knowing he would tell her when and if he felt that she needed to know. Only once she had disappeared into the forest, one twin in each arm and young Thomas clutching her skirt did he return to the field and lead Halt into his kitchen.

"Explain," Liam demanded, crossing his arms. "Why did you call me Will? I am Liam. Will saved my life. He's dead."

The old Ranger shook his head slowly, eyes glittering. "Don't you see? Ava and David - they've been masquerading as your parents this whole time! Liam - the real Liam - must have died after we brought him to them. Then, days later, they find you on the side of the road. They must have decided to raise you as their son in the real Liam's stead... How do you not know any of this? How do you not remember anything of your childhood?" How could he forget his mentor?

Liam shifted uncomfortably. "I don't have any memory of my life before the accident," he finally confessed. "My parents said it was because I hit my head when I fell out of the tree..."

But Halt was already shaking his head. "You'd been captured by a troop of bandits, they hit you with the pommel of a sword, knocked you unconscious..."

He subconsciously ran a finger along the now barely discernible scar that tracked just over his right ear. All those years he'd thought it had been caused by a fall from a tree! Was it possible that the truth was it had been from being hit over the head with the hilt of a sword? His brain could barely process all the information and the subsequent implications.

Halt was still talking, pleading with him. "...And Alyss - she never stopped loving you, could never even contemplate the thought of finding someone else! Maybe because, deep down, she knew you were still alive. You have to come back to Redmont - you'll remember everything, you'll see!" His face shone with hope.

"And then what?" Liam replied, averting his eyes. "You're so sure I'll get my memories back, but in all likelihood, I won't. What'd happen then? I couldn't stay with a woman I have no recollection of, even if I did at one point love her! I have a life here. I have a family here, a wife that I adore and children that I cherish. You can't ask me to leave that behind."

"Will, you don't understand! We need you to-"

He slammed his fist on the table, losing his calm. "I am not Will!" he shouted. "My name is Liam! I may have, at some point, been someone you were close with, but that personis gone. You need to accept that and move on with your life!" His chest heaved in anger.

Taken aback by his ferocity, Halt nonetheless was still overrun by his emotions and kept pushing. "You have no idea how your death affected everyone you knew. If they knew you were alive - with no memory of them, but still alive-"

"I said no." Calmer now, Liam still had to force the words through gritted teeth. "I'm not going to Redmont, and I will not allow you to bring anyone from Will's life to this farm." His eyes blazed with conviction. "If you tell them, they'll have only your word that I… that he's alive, with no desire to see any of them. They'll think you've gone mad. I won't let you tear my family apart over this." He folded his arms and turned away from the grizzled old man. "Now if you don't mind, Ranger Halt, I'd appreciate if you got the hell off my land."

Liam felt slightly sick. He didn't often get this angry, and he had a niggling worry that, still reeling with the outrageousness of the Ranger's claims, he was making a bad decision. But what else could he do? The Ranger couldn't seriously expect him to just abandon his family. Besides, it was too late to change his mind now, so he held firm. Halt opened his mouth to speak again, then sighed sadly and closed it.

A single tear ran down his stubbly cheek as he pulled a small bronze oakleaf pendant - the same one he had kept in his breast pocket all those years - and coiled it on the table. "Goodbye, Will," he murmured softly, leaving the room with an almost imperceptible swish of his cloak.

.:':. .:':. .:':.

A/N: Well, hope you all enjoyed Myriad Memories! Again, I apologise how it kind of tapered off at the end, but it was either this or no ending at all. :/ Any fans of Sherlock (BBC), I'll have a fanfic for that coming up soonish. Those who only read my Ranger's stuff, I'm sorry, but I think it'll be a while before I write for it again. If I do, it will almost definitely be reviving Ranger's Apprentice: Future of the Kingdom. If you haven't read that yet, please don't until updates start again - I'll be rewriting the chapters already up (mostly minor tweaks, but enough that you'll look at it in the end and be all 'why did she never address this plot point?' - it was because it was removed.)

Until next time,

-pixie.