Left the Window Open (Open to 1)

On Earth, somebody walked through a door. It could have been any door, really. Once they reached the other side of the door frame, however, they would not be where they expected to end up.

Space. They were in outer space. Strangely, they would find that they were able to breathe. There seemed to be gravity, as well, and they were standing on an invisible plane. There did not seem to be any deadly radiation, either.

A shark 'swam' by, as though it were in a tank full of water. It ignored the person, and instead swam up to a planet. The shark seemed to grow as it approached the planet, in some strange play on perception, because it ate the planet with a single bite.

This was the Realm of Chaos.

At this time, the person might have noticed that the door they had walked through had disappeared.

A short distance away, there was a table, set with tea for 2. In one chair sat a stuffed toy rabbit. The other chair was empty. A dozen red balloons floated around the table, moving on their own in lazy patterns.

Beyond that was a bathtub with a shower head still running water. The water didn't seem to be coming from anywhere, and there was nobody in the tub. There were, however, some clothes and a damp towel left in a pile beside the tub.

Farther still, there was a cushy king sized bed. Sleeping atop it was a humanoid figure comprised of a bright orange flame. The flame didn't seem to be burning the sheets, even though the heat could be felt from one hundred feet away. The burning figure rolled over, still asleep.

(Well, I figured on waiting for somelse to post, (no reason to hog), but it appears no one will, so here I go, saving da topic!!DaDaDah!!)

Toji walks through his bedroom door, whistling as a mischievous gleam enters his eye. He'd finish prepping Kristen's 'gift' and....Guwhaaa?! The Halfling rapidly glances around. This wasn't his room....in fact...it was outer space!! He clutches his throat, falling to his knees, before realizing one important fact...He could still breath. Getting up sheepishly, he freezes in place as a shark 'swims' by, somehow managing to swallow a planet."Alright....think Ill just leave...important business..." He spins around, his jaw dropping as the door disappears."Heh.....um...Alright...." Turning back around, he walks forward slightly, stopping as he sees a figure sleeping on a bed, seemingly made of heat and fire, which radiates out.

As Toji came closer, the fire person rolled over, opening its eyes. A moment later, the fire turned to flesh, and the body shrunk to the size of a child. A purple bathrobe formed around the figure.

Shivering Jemmy sat up in the bed. "Toji? How did you get in here? I must have left a window open or something." She looked around. "Strange. I didn't put in a window."

She noticed that her left foot was still made out of fire, and she quickly fixed it, turning it back into a foot. She looked sheepishly at Toji. "I...I kinda didn't want you to see me...like that. People tend to stop being nice to you when they realize you're...different. I'm sorry if I tricked you into thinking that I was...I don't know. Human? Something normal?"

Toji blinks as the figure turns into Jemmy, breathing a sigh of relief."Thank the Forger...thought I was about to face a ArchDemon or something....." Then he's asked how he got in here." I don't know.....I was going to my room to finish making a pra-er, gift for Kristen, and I find myself walking into here."Toji raises an eyebrow." Jemmy, I've seen you teleport, summon lava and steel spears, and throw huge blocks of ice. I didn't exactly think you were a standard kid. You're Jemmy, and that's what counts. Besides, I'm a halfdemon, so why would I judge someone simply cause of what runs or don't run through their blood?"

An arch-demon? Jemmy couldn't help but laugh.

So Toji had just suddenly been transported to Chaos? Jemmy shrugged. It made about as much sense as anything else that happened here, and she wasn't overly concerned about it.

Toji said that he knew she wasn't a 'normal person.' As always, Jemmy felt conflicted on the matter of her identity. She wanted to be viewed as human. Humans could make friends and people were nice to them. On the other hand, she always had a bit of pride, that reminded her that she was a great Lady of Chaos, and deserved to be treated as such. It was a miserable way to live, really. Whether people saw her disguise or her true self, Jemmy was unhappy.

"Yeah, well, if humans are apples and demons are oranges, then I'm the bulldozer wrecking the fruit stand." There she goes again, telling Toji things he didn't need to know, things that could make him like her less. It was hard to avoid saying something, though. She didn't even have blood. Not really, anyways.

Even when she existed as a flame, it was merely an illusion, both to Toji and herself. Without that illusion, she wouldn't exist.

But it was best not to think of such things. "Well, don't worry, you're safe here. I mean, it's a dangerous place, but I'm here with you." She held her arms out wide, as if showing off their surroundings. "Behold, my realm: Chaos! Here, I am king...or...queen, I guess. Not many people get to see this place. I guess I'm glad it was you, and not somebody I don't like." Jemmy's face suddenly brightened. "I don't suppose you'd like to stay here with me forever? You could, you know. You could live forever. Or at least for a really long time. You wouldn't have to worry about protecting the world anymore. I mean, it would be worlds away. Maybe you were sent here for a reason. Maybe you belong here."

Toji winces in embarrassment as Jemmy laughs."Y-you don't have to laugh....Archdemons are no joke..."Then his little friend remarks about if humans are apples and demons are oranges, she's the one bulldozing the tree down."Well...you are powerful, heh....But still, you're you." Then, she offers to let him stay, essentially giving him immortality."Wah?.....woah, that is a amazing offer, very generous...even though this area is a little odd.." He thinks it over, before sighing."I'm very happy you consider me freind enough, trust me enough, to make that offers. I really am, Jemmy, but....well, its not just my job, but its what I want, who I am.I can't abandon it." He smiles." That said, what's stopping you from visiting me, and visa versa?We don't have to live together to be friends.If you want, you can even fight beside me, and we can play Super Ninja Blizzard Advance together." He grins,getting up and bowing." Milady....would you be my friend?"

No, no they weren't. There were beings that made even Jemmy cower in fear. Fortunately, these days they were too busy doing who-knows-what to bother her.

Toji took her bulldozer comment as strictly a way to judge her power. There was more to it than that. She was different. Very different. But she wasn't about to correct Toji if he thought well of her.

He thought that she was generous. That was...cute. Maybe after all these years Jemmy had become too subtle, too good at acting like an innocent little child. Her illusion was so strong that everyone believed it. Even her.

Toji said that she could come visit him, play video games, and fight crime together. Jemmy waved a dismissive hand. "Ah, we already both live in the Titan's Tree. I just sneak in and sleep in Bow's room." Technically, though, the Titan's Tree wasn't her home. Chaos was. Everything else was just a diversion, a vacation. "But I suppose I could spend a little more time there."

Toji asked if she would be his friend.

Jemmy blinked. He knew what she was, and he still wanted to be her friend? What was wrong with him? She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, preventing the tears she felt from welling up in her eyes. Only a few people had ever said those words to her, and most of them had been recent. Bow had been the first, then came Miley, Jenny, Annie, and (oddly enough) Kyte. She still wasn't used to the emotion she felt from gaining a friend, probably because each person was so different.

She opened her eyes. "Thank you, Toji. I would love to be your friend. Okay, I'll take you back. Hold on tight." Jemmy hugged Toji around the chest and teleported them both back into Toji's room at the Titan Tree. "So, what is Super Ninja Blizzard Advance?"

Toji blinks." You sleep in Alphas room? Wait, you know alpha?....Cool!"Then, Jemmy hugs him, teleporting them back home to his room.The half demon looks around, grinning."Woah...what a sweet power....very cool!& Then he blinks."oh, right, Snba!!" He grabs a game case." Its a fighting/slash RPG game, with tons of chars! Withier own stories…"

"Bow is...special. She was the first person to be nice to me. I didn't deserve her kindness, but she gave it anyway. I..." Jemmy hesitated. "I love her." There were very few people that Jemmy had ever seriously said that to. She had said it to Annie, her daughter. Odd, even after meeting Rico several times, Jemmy had never said those words to Annie's older sister. Maybe it was because Jemmy had spent more time with Annie. They had lived together for months. Perhaps Jemmy had merely said the words to Annie because they were expected. What kind of mother wouldn't tell her child that they were loved?

But Jemmy had never claimed to be 'good' at anything. When it came right down to it, Bow was the one Jemmy loved the most, and she hadn't been around much lately.

It took a moment for Jemmy to come out of these thoughts and realize that she was currently playing some video game with Toji in co-op mode. She wasn't doing that well. She tried to focus on the game at hand.

"She's the only one I've ever loved. I don't think I really even loved 'him.' I think I wanted to, but...I don't know. Stuff like that doesn't come easily to me. Have you ever loved anybody, Toji?"

Toji blinks, smiling." You love her, huh? That's good." He unleashes a combo, sending his enemy flying, turning his head and smiling at his friend." Its nice to love, and be loved."The halfling tilts his head."Him?" Then she asks if he ever loved anybody."Oh. Well, my parents.And I also love my new family, the Titans. They accepted me, also." His face reddens."Also, there's a girl.." He grunts in annoyance as his character takes a hit.

"Yeah, I do." Jemmy was very rarely this sincere. It was the first time she had been truly sincere about love. Bow had comforted her, cared for her, defended her. Jemmy felt that she needed Bow to be happy. It was an odd thing, to be dependent.

Toji asked about him, and Jemmy tilted her head back, forgetting about the game for a second and causing her character to die. "Well, do you know Annie? About my size, has a big wolf thing with her? She's my daughter. I liked her father a lot. But he liked the city he lived in, and Chaos doesn't stay in one place for very long. Sometimes, no matter how much you like someone, you're just too different." Jemmy sighed. "He never knew who I really was. You know more about me than he did. I thought people would like me more if they didn't know the truth about me, but I ended up just feeling bad about it."

Toji went through the checklist of people that he loved: his parents, the Titans, the general populace...

Wait a minute. A girl? Toji had a crush on some girl? Jemmy found that funny, and couldn't help giggling. She picked up her controller, using another continue and started fighting more baddies. "I always figured you were too much of a child-at-heart to fall in love." This was coming from an immortal ten-year old. "Either that, or too battle-hardened. Well, that's all well and good, but why are you playing video games with me instead of her?"

Jemmy suddenly jumped to her feet and dropped the controller. "That's it! I must be the one you love. You came all the way to the Realm of Chaos to confess, and then you invited me to your home for a romantic night of video games and chocolate."

Toji sits, listening to Jemmy,then blinks." Wait....you haveva daughter?! Um, no disrespect, but aren't you a tad..not young...small to have a kid?"Then of course she begins teasing him about having a crush.The uhalfling blinks."Hey, hey, hey!!I'll have you know I'm very mature!!Besides, I'm not sure what to call it.…When she's around, she makes everything in here.." He taps his head." Quiet down. I.....I haven't had as many nightmares with her around.And I would've, but she's been busy..." Then comes the shocker. Toji's jaw drops, and he jumps up, crossing his arms in a x." No way, you're like a little sister to me!You're a kid,besides!"

"I have two daughters," Jemmy said, a tad annoyed by Toji's comment.  

The half-demon talked about how this mysterious girl somehow made his nightmares go away. That was...weird. Maybe she was slipping some sort of medicine in his pop or something. Apparently, she was busy right now. That meant that the most important person to both Toji and Jemmy didn't seem to have the time for them right now. It was a sad thought.

Toji said that Jemmy was like his little sister. Jemmy wasn't quite sure how to take that. Why would they be siblings? She put her hands on her hips when he called her a kid. Between that and the earlier statement about her being small, Jemmy was getting a bit angry.

Of course, it was all her fault. She chose to look like this, and she was largely responsible for causing people to judge people by their appearances. Shallow was a part of Chaos, a part that Jemmy specialized in, a little too well.

"And I'm supposed to be the shallow one. Look..." Jemmy grew taller, more mature, more developed. Within a few seconds, she had grown into a teenage girl of about 18. Her hair was longer, she had some make up, and her clothes were more fashionable. In her current state, she was actually taller than Toji.

Jemmy held her arms out with jazz hands, as if she had finished a performance. "Time doesn't mean anything to me. Neither do age or size. You saw my true form, didn't you? Everything else you see is just what I want you to see. That's why you can't even hurt me. I don't really heal, I just reform an illusion."

Jemmy's red balloon moved down from the ceiling, and she hugged it gently. "I'm just like this balloon. I can get as big or as small as I want. But at the end of the day, I'm just...empty inside." Why was she telling all of these things to Toji? She had no idea. For some reason, she just felt more comfortable sharing secrets with him than the grand majority of other people. "So yes, I can bear children, and yes someone could have a crush on me. It's just...a smaller balloon is a smaller target, and balloons can't take many hits." Jemmy looked down at her feet. She wasn't used to being this big. "Kids don't have to face a lot of problems that adults do. They don't have to pretend that they've got it all together, and they aren't held responsible for their past mistakes. They're just kids."

Jemmy looked at Toji again and grinned sheepishly. "So, would I still be your 'little sister' if I looked like this? Would this special girl of yours still hold your heart if she had the body of a child? You want to know a secret, Toji? My body is just an illusion, but so is everyone else. None of it matters, but everyone thinks it does. Everything is just a mask over the heart."

Toji blinks as Jemmy grows, and begins s scolding him.The halfling winces in shame, but listens, considering what she said before responding."..I...guess you're right. I was insulting, and I'm sorry." He rubs the back of his head." Its true what I said, though. My feelings towards you are more like a sibling, or freind, though I guess i shouldn't have called you little.As for Ruin....I beleive that if she was suddenly transformed tomorrow, I would care for her, all the same.If she was the age of your preferred form when we met? I....I don't know.It feels...wrong to consider  someone young that way.Maybe it IS shallow, but, it feels like I would be taking advantage....And yah, you're right, a smaller form usually, and should, takes less hits." He smiles sadly." I've taken enough hits to know that isn't always true though..." He dredges up a grin."And hey!!! I would hardly call you empty! Look at all you're telling me. If you were as you say, would you even have thinked of these things?"

Toji said that she wasn't 'empty,' inside. Since she was able to tell him things he hadn't thought or considered before, it seemed that he considered her to be somewhat smart. Jemmy looked away rocking on her feet a few times. "Yeah, well, I've had a lot of time to think. I try to avoid it as much as possible."

Jemmy looked back at the half-demon. Her nerves had calmed considerably. Having someone agree with her, or at least acknowledge the validity of her logic, usually did that. "Look, I shouldn't say you're shallow for liking this Ruin girl. Physical attraction is usually shallow, and that's the way it should be. I mean, what is more shallow than a crush? It just....it just gets old, you know? I can be anyone, but I don't want to be anyone. I want to be me, and I wish someone would like me for who I want to be."

Jemmy smiled, just a bit. It seemed like Toji understood where she was coming from with being small. At least, she thought he thought he knew. He was a funny kid.

"Say, Toji," Jemmy said, going on a bit of a tangent. She was curious about something. "Is there anyone that you hate? Any enemy that has done so much evil that they cannot be forgiven?" She wanted to hear his answer. No matter who he hated, or how evil they were, Jemmy had probably done more.