Heart Game (Kyte)

The sun was going down. Jemmy found herself on a hill outside Jump City, watching the dying light part with the magnificent city. Her blue dress was perfectly clean, despite the smears of chocolate ice cream on her lips. A red balloon floated next to her, weighted down by a small weight at the end of the string.

It seemed sad to Jemmy that anything must come to an end, especially something as perfect and joyful as a single day. Of course, she knew that the Sun wasn't going away forever. It would be back, to bring light and warmth to Jump City tomorrow.

But until then, it would be missed.

Thousands of years ago, Jemmy had gifted a demon with the very ability to feel love. She had given him a heart, and though it seemed like a noble gift, it could not have been shared with a more evil intent.

'I will make you love something, and then I will take that something away.'

The threat had come so very close to coming true, but in the end, Jemmy had not been able to bring herself to go through with such an evil act. The reason was simple.

Someone had given her a heart, too.

Conflicted, Jemmy erased her own memory, inevitably leading her on her current path of frequent amnesia. Now she no longer remembered anything about the game she had played with Kyte for thousands of years. She didn't remember anything, really.

Jemmy turned as a stranger drew near. Her innocent eyes looked him over, and did not recognize him. She smiled, friendly. "Hi, I'm Jemmy. Want to sit with me?"

Sunset on a hill outside of Jump City. It sounded like a scene right out of a book, especially for the point of the story that was going to take place there. It was interesting. Fate was putting these two back into the same location and neither knew what was about to happen.

Kyte was flying over the city, looking out over the outskirts of it when he saw her. A strip of gold on a luscious green hill. It glinted in the sunlight, and brought Kyte's attention to it. He couldn't determine anything about it, but he would fly closer either way. When he saw that it was a little girl with that golden hair, his heart skipped a beat, and he flew down. As he got closer and closer it became even more apparent that this was his long searched-for quarry.

A few black feathers fell in front of Jemmy, as Kyte landed behind her, staring at her. Their relationship had changed. Kyte would have killed her on sight almost a year ago. But now...now...

He reached a bit for her, but then she turned and smiled at him, and said she was Jemmy, asking if he wanted to sit with her. Kyte froze. Was she being serious? Did she not even recognize him?

She might as well have slapped him in the face. He glared at her.

"I know who the hell you are, Jemmy. Don't even play around like that. I know what you did to me. I know what you're planning to do. And I'm not going to let you."

Well, somebody needed to wash his mouth out with soap. Jemmy didn't bother to stand up, even though this stranger was acting quite aggressive. He said that he knew who she was. That was good. It would save a lot of time on introductions, plus an awkward attempt to explain just what a Lord of Chaos was. It was better if people thought they understood the concept. Honestly, Jemmy felt like she didn't really know what she was.

Jemmy frowned a bit, bringing her knees up to her chin and hugging her legs. This man certainly seemed upset about something. If sounded like Jemmy had some sort of history with him, and that they apparently hadn't gotten along the best. He mentioned a plan that she had for him, and he seemed intent on preventing that plan from happening.

He feared her.

Was that what she had wanted? Was it what she wanted now? Not if it made people dislike her, like this man did.

"You don't have to. I've changed my mind, though I don't know why. Why don't you relax? Here."

Jemmy waved her hand slowly. A plate of cookies and a glass of milk appeared between them.

"Help yourself. I don't mean you any harm, at least not anymore. Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't even remember who you are anymore. A while ago, I decided to erase my memory. That way, I get to experience everything like it's new." It was true that she had lost her memory, but the reason wasn't quite truthful. In all honesty, she had no idea why her memories were missing. But it didn't matter, because she didn't miss them. How could she? She didn't remember them.

"But if you want, go ahead and tell me what this is all about. I'd love to hear a story."

Kyte paused again as Jemmy looked up at him with complete ignorance. She didn't even remember who he was. There wasn't even the faintest sign of acknowledgment. She didn't hate him. She didn't like him. She wasn't angry. She wasn't happy. She just didn't care.

She offered him cookies and milk as she said she didn't have to stop him, and that she changed her mind, Kyte becoming more and more enraged with her indifference. She said she didn't mean him any harm anymore, and that she didn't remember who he was anymore, though she asked him not to take any offense to it. She said she had decided to erase her memory a while ago so she could re-experience everything.

Kyte was shocked. He wanted to punch her into a smear but he couldn't. He couldn't even move at the repercussions she had just told him about.

Finally he got his body working again and picked her up by the collar, bringing her to eye level.

"What do you mean no offense...? No offense?! You changed my life! You've wanted to kill me for well over a thousand years! I've suffered! You suffered!" He glared. "You masqueraded as somebody else and gave me a child, just so you could kill her to destroy me!

But now you erased your memories and left me behind? You're supposed to be Shivering Jemmy of the Shallow Brigade, not a damned coward!"

Wrath enraged. Imagine that.

"You have a child! With ME. And you just ran away from that so you didn't have to deal with the consequences?!"

Jemmy allowed Kyte to pick her up. It wasn't like he could actually hurt her, right?

It seemed that Kyte had quite a bit of baggage that he needed to unload. He was so full of steam that his face was actually turning red. He was angry, and as Jemmy listened to his words, she couldn't help but feel that he was justified in his actions.

So, Jemmy had given birth to this man's child. Furthermore, she had done this out of some sort of spite, meaning to kill the child and break the father's heart. It sounded like such a cruel thing to do. Jemmy was surprised at herself. She wondered what must have motivated her to act in such a way, but she didn't think about it for too long.

He called her a coward. Jemmy didn't really think of herself that way, but she had no experience to draw from. She wondered what consequences Kyte was talking about. Whatever they were, perhaps those consequences were now weighing down on him.

"You're right," Jemmy said, softly. "It wasn't fair of me to trick you, or to threaten to take away your child. I can tell that you love her. Why else would you be so upset? But you don't need to worry anymore. I'm not going to hurt your daughter...our daughter, so all that is left is good. You have someone you love, and you get to stay with them. Maybe I didn't erase my memory because I was afraid. Maybe it was a gift, to you. When I made that decision, I gave you your daughter back, to keep forever and ever."

Jemmy attempted to hug Kyte, if he would allow her. "You know, losing my memory has taught me something. It doesn't matter what happened in the past. All that really matters is the future. I can't give you or your daughter a happy future. Only the two of you can do that. Say, would you mind telling me your name? And our daughter, what's her name?"

Kyte was getting ready to defend himself, but something that shocked him to his very core came from Jemmy's lips: an apology. She said she was wrong to trick him, and threaten to take away Rico. She said she could tell he loved her a lot, and said he didn't need to worry anymore. That she wasn't going to hurt Rico, and that he got to stay with someone he loved.

He looked at her with wide eyes, frozen in place. What the hell was she doing? She suggested she didn't erase her memories because she was afraid, but perhaps she did it as a gift to him, because when she made that decision, Rico was now his forever and ever. Jemmy hugged him, and a good thing, too, because his arms dropped almost lifelessly from her neck. She could have tried to punch a hole in his neck and he wouldn't have been able to do anything.

She said it didn't matter what happened in the past, and that what really mattered was the future. She said she couldn't give his daughter a happy future, but wanted to know his name, and their daughter's name.

Kyte slowly fell to his knees, almost as if Jemmy's weight was tugging him down. His entire world had just been shattered.

"... Everything I've done. All that I've worked for all these years... It doesn't mean anything anymore." His voice dropped in volume, barely a murmur. "It all means nothing..."

After a few moments he solemnly looked up to her. Even Jemmy was taller than Kyte on his knees. He couldn't even accept this right now. Everything Jemmy had ever wanted just happened; Kyte displaying weakness. And now she didn't even get that.

"My name..." he said almost weakly, before steeling himself. "My name is... Wrath, the Acrimonious. And my... Our daughter is Rico Avytrius. She's...almost eleven years old."

The man dropped to his knees. After Jemmy's feet touched the ground, she released him from the hug, only to stare down at him, curiously. He murmured something about all of his past efforts being meaningless. Was he sad? Had she said something wrong? Jemmy simply nodded. The past was the past, and it didn't mean a thing, especially to a Lord of Chaos.

But then the man straightened up a bit and introduced himself. He was Wrath, the Acrimonious. An interesting name. She wondered if he was actually the Sin himself. In her current form, Jemmy had no way to confirm such a position, but she suspected that was because she simply didn't care. Who cared what sort of position or power or prominence someone had? At the end of the day, they were just a somebody.

Rico Avytrius? So that was her daughter's name. Jemmy smiled. It was strange to think that she had flesh and blood relatives. These last few days, Jemmy had considered herself alone in the universe. Sure, some humans were nice, but she could never truly belong among them. But she had a daughter, and she was 11 years old. Funny, that would make her older than Jemmy looked herself. She giggled a little.

"Those are both very nice names. I know you don't really like me, Mr. Wrath, and that's okay. There's no rule that says that you have to like somebody. And even if there was, I don't think you'd follow it." She smiled. "But I am very glad to have met you, Wrath, and I'm glad that our daughter has such a caring father to take care of her."

For a brief moment, Jemmy was jealous of that. Who was ever going to take care of her? The feeling passed.

"All the time you spend together with the people you love, and all the things you do for them, that will always mean something."

She reached down and picked up a cookie, taking a bite of it. "Are you sure you don't want one?"

He looked at Jemmy as she said he and Rico had very nice names. She moved on, though, to saying she knew he didn't like her, and that it was fine because there wasn't any rule that said he had to. She even made a joke and said if it were a rule, he probably wouldn't follow it anyways. He was so out of it that he actually chuckled, and escalated to laughter slightly. She said she was glad to meet him, and that she was glad Rico had someone good to take care of her.

All of it was still a lot to take in. She told him that the time he spent together with those he cared for would always mean something, and then offered him a cookie, asking if he really didn't want one. He looked down at the plate, contemplating for a few moments, and then plucked one, looking back to her.

"... I don't like who you were, Jemmy. Granted when we met I was beyond rude, but...you weren't too many shades better. And now...now I really don't know how I feel about you."

He gazed at her solemnly.

"But you're wrong. I really don't know if I could ever accept you, even with these new ruminations. But Rico... She wants you, Jemmy. She doesn't know who you are. And before, I wouldn't let you step within a kilometer of her. But now... I think I'd very much like her to know who you are.

Maybe that's unfair, since you aren't who you were before. But we're two very...exceptional individuals. And she needs to know where she's coming from." He stared into Jemmy's eyes with his crimson orbs.

Meet their daughter? It made sense that Rico wanted to know who her mother was, but Jemmy was still figuring that out herself. Jemmy certainly didn't feel ready to be a parent. It wasn't really in the job description as a Lord of Chaos, and she didn't know much of anything else.

But just imagine the fun! Besides, what else was she busy doing right now? If Wrath wanted her to meet Rico, then she had no reason to refuse.

Jemmy smiled. "I'd love to."


To Be Continued...