A Curious Knock (Bow)

Shivering Jemmy skipped down the road, without a care in the world. She had decided to meet up with some of these people she supposedly knew. The next on the list was Rain Lynn Bow. Jemmy checked the note in her hand, making sure she had the right address. Coming to a stop, she crumpled up the paper and tossed it at her balloon. The balloon grew a sharp-toothed mouth and devoured the paper before returning to a normal, red balloon.

Jemmy rang the doorbell, and rocked back and forth on her feet. When the door opened, Bow would notice that Jemmy's eyes were now blue.

"Hello there. Are you Rainbow?"

The pink haired girl had just gotten the note. After reading it a couple times, she had fallen to her knees as tears slipped down her cheeks and a storm began to brew outside. When she heard a knock at the door, she was confused, but slowly got up and answered it, tear stained cheeks and puffy eyes.

Her eyes went wide when she saw who it was and looked as if she had seen a ghost. Before saying anything, she dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around the girl's shoulder, crying. She didn't know what to do. Her best friend, her daughter, had forgotten who she was. Memories of their time together flashed through Rain's mind as her thoughts swirled into a cloud above her. Their time at the amusement park, the rave, ice cream, movies, sharing her dad, the Titan's tower, and even the first time they met when Bow refused to fight back. But the girl in front of her knew none of that. What was she going to do now? She refused to give up her daughter to this. She wouldn't abandon her like everyone did when she lost her memories.

Slowly but surely, she let go of Jemmy and sniffled, calming down enough to force a small smile. Her voice was soft and sweet, dripping with pure love for the child in front of her. "Hi there... Yes, my name is Rain... I am... well... was... y-your mother... If you'd let me... I want to prove my love to you..." She bit her lip and didn't know how she could, but she would try. "Please come in... Would you like some ice cream?"

Her mother? That was a strange thing to say. Did Lords of Chaos have mothers? Rain said that she was willing to prove her love to Jemmy anew. That was fine. Rain could do whatever she wanted, Jemmy decided. She didn't think that Rain could actually succeed. What could this pink-haired girl possibly do that could make Jemmy love her?

Then Rain offered her ice cream. Jemmy's eyes opened wide. She had already sampled this wonder food, and found it much to her liking. It was the greatest thing that existed.

"Of course I want ice cream. Give me some now...please." Jemmy tried to look cute. "I looove you mommy. Can you give me some ice cream now?" The little girl started bouncing with anticipation.

Bow listened to the girl in front of her speak and teared up once more. It wasn't the Jemmy she knew. This child. The pink haired girl smiled though and nodded, walking into the kitchen and fixing two bowls, making the ice cream exactly the way she remembered that Jemmy loved it. She tried to think of how best to go about this. What did people do when trying to get her to remember? Well, it didn't really matter. They failed. However, maybe that was the wrong way of going about it to begin with.

Instead of trying to regain old memories, Bow decided she would just make better new ones! She smiled as she brought the ice cream to the little girl and instinctively kissed her forehead, blinking and blushing lightly. "S-sorry... Habit..." She sighed and sat down next to her. "I made your ice cream just how you like it... I hope you still enjoy it..." She watched as the girl took her first few bites before starting on her own.

Rain got the ice cream, kissed Jemmy on the forehead, and apologized. Jemmy blinked. "For what? Kissing me? You can do that if you want." As long as this woman gave her ice cream, Jemmy really didn't care what Rain did.

Jemmy started eating her ice cream, slowly at first. It was so sweet! Jemmy began scooping the ice cream in faster and faster. Before she realized it, the ice cream was all gone. Considering how large the bowl was, that was quite remarkable. Jemmy frowned and looked up at Rain. "Um...is there any more?" Jemmy studied Rain for a moment. The pink-haired teen didn't look very happy. "Why are you so sad, Rainbow? The ice cream is really good. That should make you happy. I'm happy."

The Lord of Chaos stretched her smile wider than any human mouth could ever reach. "See?"

The girl couldn't take it. Couldn't handle this. She wrapped her arms around her daughter's neck and pulled her in close for a hug as she broke down, crying into her shoulder. How was she supposed to communicate with her precious daughter that she wasn't acting the same? That wouldn't be right of her. Even though she couldn't understand it, the weight of hundreds of years of memories must be hard on anyone, but why did she have to forget her? Rain was so selfish. She just wanted her daughter back...

Rain pulled the girl into her lap and stroked her hair, giving her multiple kisses on her forehead as she wept gently, whispering. "I love you so much... You're my precious daughter and nothing will ever change that..." She kept repeating that over and over until Jemmy would finally stop her.

"Um...That's great," Jemmy said, squirming out of Rain's arms. "You know what, forget the ice cream. It's really yummy, but it's probably really high in sugar and fat, and I don't want to be fat, so..." Jemmy tried to back up towards the door, but one more look at Rain's miserable face stopped her feet from moving.

Jemmy sighed. Should she just command this human to be happy? But she was a Lord of Chaos, so it seemed to Jemmy that it wasn't really right for her to give commands to people. Threats, maybe. Motivation, perhaps, but not orders. But which one would be better, fear or reward?

"Everything changes," Jemmy said, at last with an even tone. "The universe changes. People change. I change. If you don't know that, then how could you possibly be my mommy?" She put her hands on her hips and pouted. "I mean, if we were really good friends before, then that's great. But things are not the same now, and they will never be the same again. And that's a good thing. If nothing changed, then life would be really boring. Of course, you can change things to make them the way you want. If you want to be my mom again, then first you should be my friend." Jemmy chuckled. "But right now, you're the one crying like a baby, and I'm the one comforting you like a mom."

Jemmy looked up at her balloon for a moment, then down at her feet. "So...since I'm your mommy, I'll give you a reward if you stop crying. I will either give you a hug, or I will tell you a secret. A secret I've never told anybody...in the last day. Pick wisely, but you have to stop crying first."

Rain listened to the girl say that she didn't want to get fat and couldn't help but giggle softly. The girl had practically eaten her out of house and home before and not gained an ounce. Then the mood changed though as she began to talk about change. Bow nodded and quickly was able to dry her tears. When she thought the girl was done speaking, she opened her mouth, but had to close it as her friend continued her little speech.

Bow blinked. What kind of secret could the girl have if she only remembered the past couple days? It was either that or a hug. Of course she wanted the hug, but she needed to know everything about the girl in front of her if she was ever to regain her position as her mother. Bow smiled gently and wiped her tears away, speaking in her soft cantabile tone. "I would love to hear the secret, Jemmy. I'm sorry I'm being such a baby... It's just... *sigh* I know you've changed, but it was so sudden... And... I know it's being selfish but... I want you to remember me..." She shook her head and smiled again. "But I know why you did it and I know things will change! So. What's that secret, friend?"

Good. Rain had calmed down. She had wiped her tears away, and there didn't seem to be any new ones to follow. The pink haired girl had chosen the secret. Jemmy raised her eyebrows. She hadn't expected that, but it was fine. What was the point of secrets if you didn't tell somebody every once in a while?

"Okay," Jemmy grinned. She paused for dramatic effect. "I...am not a little girl. You might think you know this, but do you really understand? When the universe was formed, I was formed as a part of it. When Earth came into existence, I was watching, curiously. The day you were born, I was watching you, as I have watched and experienced all of human history. I don't remember any of it, of course, just like I don't remember the day you were born. But I was still there. I look like a child and I act like a child because I choose to do so, but I am not a child, in body or in mind. I am a part of the universe, an abstract, a shallow. I'm not the manifestation of shallow desires. Rather, the only reason people have shallow, greedy desires is because I exist. Because of me, you humans desire to stay alive, and because of me you take actions to do so. Because of me, wars are fought, and people die. You will die because of me. When this world is one day destroyed, I will be right there, watching, probably partially responsible."

Jemmy sat down and tilted her head. "Knowing that, Rain, knowing what I truly am, how can you do anything but fear me? Why do you stand in my presence when those much more powerful have fallen to their knees and surrendered their souls to me?" She glanced at her balloon for a moment before looking back at Rain. "Please tell me. I'm not angry about it. I just want to know. Isn't it normal to hide from danger?"

Bow listened with a small smile on her face. They had had similar conversations in the past, but of course the girl in front of her didn't know that. She just sat quietly and nodded gently. When the girl finally finished her monologue, Bow opened her mouth to speak.

"I have never been classified as normal, Jemmy. I know what you are. I know who you are to this world. To the universe. Was I shocked to find out the first time? Yeah, a little... But you're the you I know, and that's all I care about. The you that has that title. The you that is pure chaos. The reason us humans have wars and selfish desires. That's the you you can't control. My Jemmy can be sweet and loving and so much fun on a deep level. I won't fear you. I won't surrender my soul. I will not hide. Because I want to be there for you when you need a shoulder to lean on. I want to be the one that you can depend on. Because I know that even though you may act invincible. You still need love. And, I love you. With all of my heart." Her eyes were gentle and sincere. Not an ounce of deceit in those violet eyes. She opened her arms for a hug, but she wasn't sure she'd get it. She had opted for the secret, she wasn't supposed to get a hug too.

Fun on a deep level? To Jemmy, that sounded like an oxymoron, but Rainbow seemed sincere. The teen girl said that she would not be afraid of Jemmy, because even Lords of Chaos needed love, confidants, and comfort. For some reason, this time when Rainbow said that she loved Jemmy with all of her heart, it had more of an emotional impact. Somebody sincerely caring for Jemmy this much made her feel special and appreciated.

Jemmy was impressed. This human had insight.

Well how was Jemmy supposed to reply to that. She found herself without any tools to help her in this situation. She had innately known how to use her powers, and a the basics of how to do her job, but Jemmy had no innate knowledge on love. It simply wasn't in her vocabulary, at least not in the way Rainbow was using it.

"Yes...well," Jemmy swayed from side to side, awkwardly trying to come up with a suitable response. "Thank you. I do really appreciate it. I don't know if I can return your affection. I'm sure that, as you said, I can be "deep." But being shallow is what I'm best at. It comes the easiest. Either way, though, I am very happy to have met you, Ms Rainbow. Say, would you mind giving me a tour of Jump City? I've been told that the economy will collapse without my business at every ice cream store, so I better find out where they are."