Forgotten

Jessica put on a strained smile, trying to show she was friendly, in hopes that would mean anything. As for Emma, after sniffing her once, she then came in closer to do so again. She furrowed her brows slightly, before pushing aside Jessica's shirt slightly, prompting her to yelp.

Emma revealed a bruise on her body before sniffing that part too.

She then tilted her head to the side slightly. After a minute or so, she stood up with the same smile she always had.

"Say, have you noticed... this compulsion to do things that you may have not necessarily intended on doing?"

Jessica blinked a few times, still rather overwhelmed by the strange behavior from Emma. Only after gathering herself was she able to give a half-hearted answer.

"U-Um, I think so? Maybe... maybe a few times."

Emma let out a rather long hum before putting the tips of her fingers to her chin, almost like she was a teenager trying to gossip.

"When is the earliest you can remember this started happening? Has it been for your whole life?"

Jessica opened and closed her mouth a few times. She was still jittering slightly, partially from shock and nervousness.

"I-I... I don't know, maybe? I-"

Emma put a hand on her shoulder gently. The look in her eyes softened considerably as she spoke melodiously. In such a way that people who were familiar with this kind of speaking would instantly recognize it was someone trying to manipulate another.

"It's alright. You don't have to be worried, I really don't mean any harm, promise! If I really wanted to do something like that, I wouldn't be waiting this long, right? Now just take your time to think about it. When do you think this first started to happen?"

Jessica calmed down considerably, almost like she was put into a trance. She put a hand on the side of her head and lowered her head in thought. However, none of those thoughts were put to why Emma might've wanted to know this information, or if she really should be giving this information.

Although calmer, her emotions were still making her forget to question things.

"I... the earliest I can remember is from some time in elementary school when I was walking with my friends and suddenly stopped moving even though I didn't know why. Then right after, a lamppost came down and hit them instead of me."

The corner of Emma's lip twitched when she heard that. She stood up and looked off into the distance.

"Is that so..."

After a moment of silence, Emma turned back to her with a smile.

"Would you like to come with me?"

Jessica stared back for a while, the meaning of the sentence lost on her.

"H-Huh?"

Emma tilted her head to the side slightly.

"Didn't you say that you didn't care to try going through the floors anymore? After all, you wanted to sever all ties and die here. But of course, if I was with you, then naturally there would be nothing to worry about! Doesn't that just sound like the best option?"

By following the logic that Jessica had originally wanted to follow, it made sense. However, she couldn't help but feel an extremely strong rejection of the idea. She couldn't help but question her own logic. Jessica wondered if she really was so useless despite somehow beating an enemy whose difficulty was dictated by a 7 when she previously only beat one at level 5 after taking injuries.

It didn't make logical sense. But regardless, the facts were pointing towards the fact that she wasn't as weak and vulnerable as she claimed.

Still, without the memories, it was hard to come to any sort of real conclusion. After all, she didn't actually have any feeling of accomplishment since she never did anything in the first place.

"I... I don't know."

Emma narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Oh, really? And why don't you? Is there something wrong with what I said?"

Jessica flinched. There was a part of her that instinctively wanted to agree out of intimidation, but in the end, she didn't. She looked down and shook her head, a little too afraid to make eye contact.

"I-It's nothing wrong with what you said. The only problem is that I... was in a bad place when I made those decisions. Besides I didn't know that I actually had the ability to fight something on this level."

Jessica swallowed hard, still unable to face her properly.

"I don't really understand what this level means, since I don't have the memories of the fight. But if I really did beat it, then that must mean I wasn't as weak as I thought I was. If... that's the case, then I want to think about this a little more."

Emma looked at her for a little while longer before giving a small nod.

"Very well. It was only an offer."

A few moments later, Jack had come over while being carried by Seedy.

"You were so cool! Can you teach me how to be like that?"

He waved his arms around rather excitedly, further propelled by Seedy lifting him up and down to match that energy. On the other hand, Jessica hesitated a long time over what to say, not knowing how to respond properly. In the end, she just smiled awkwardly and said the truth.

"I... I don't really remember what I did. Sorry, but I couldn't teach you even if I tried."

Jack pouted, puffing up his cheeks. He scratched the side of his head a few times.

"Oh... ok. But good job anyway! I never knew you could do something like that before!"

He went back to a smile right away, giving a thumbs up as Seedy continued to lift him up and down excitedly. Jessica scratched the back of her head, blushing a bit from the compliment as a small smile formed on her face.

"Thank you. Though it's probably nothing like the things you've done. I should be praising you instead."

In the distance, Mia had walked a tad bit closer, clearly not very enthusiastic about meeting Jessica again. She walked very slowly and stopped while she was still in the distance. Mia held out one hand with a bit of fear and retracted it in the end. Her face displayed a rather horrified look.

Jessica slowly turned to look at her, as a feeling of guilt washed over as she remembered the last words that she said. With that in mind, it was perfectly justified for Mia to look at her that way.

Understanding that it was her fault, Jessica wanted to make it very clear that she didn't mean the things that she said.

"Mia, I'm really sorry for the things I said. I don't know why, but I just felt so powerless. But I guess that can't be right if I was able to win here. If it's like this, then I take back everything. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to join you again in trying to get to the top of the tower."

As for Jessica, she simply looked back at her with an awkward and forced smile. In reality, while she was hurt by the things said and the apology made her feel much better, that wasn't the issue. For her, the main concern was now whether or not Jessica was even a human, and if she was, then how much of her was human?

In short, Mia was afraid of her.

"It's... alright. I don't mind."

Jessica blinked a few times, rather confused about that kind of response. While she wasn't sure if she was going to get forgiveness, it still wasn't too hard to tell that fear was the main response. Jessica dismissed this fact, thinking that this fear must've been because of Emma somehow, not considering that Mia was looking at her the whole time.

"Mia, would you like to talk about this later?"

In response, Mia simply turned away and looked at her card.

"S-Sorry, I need to do this now before time runs out."

It was a 3 of spades, a very low number considering which ones could've been pulled. Despite that, she ran as though her life had depended on it. While she was going, the man in a suit suddenly appeared on top of a tree in her path before pointing in a direction.

"It's not as though you're going to lower that card, so just go that way. It's where the next fight will be."

Mia promptly nodded before heading off into that direction, leaving the others to watch her go. Jack let out a giggle, thinking only the best of the situation.

"Wow, she's so excited! Hehe, I would be too after seeing all those cool moves!"

Emma let out a chuckle as well.

"Of course, I must say that I am rather excited myself."

Jessica was a step behind, not really understanding them. Though her thoughts were still hinged on Mia. A question gradually formed in her mind.

What happened in the blank of her memories?