Dark Cloud 2 Fanfic
Chapter 3: Monica----By The Several
Author: Hey, everybody! Thanks to everyone who reviewed my works! To anyone who hasn't, please do! I really REALLY want the reviews, especially from people who haven't done so yet in the past! Please, review!
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Max around the town with the desire device the Dark Element gave him, trying to find the largest source of desire he could find. He runs near Claire's house, and from afar, he sees Claire and Monica.
Max stops to think, far away for the two girls not to notice him. Maybe I should try making her remember who I am… It's worth a try, he thought as he ran towards their position.
Stop right there, human! Words came out of his mind, stopping him in his tracks. The voice was all too familiar for him not to know who it is. It was the Dark Element.
I know what you're thinking, boy! the Dark Element said from his mind, probably speaking to him telepathically. I forgot to mention one tiny detail… Her memories of you take the biggest part of her life. Making her remember such a huge amount of memories would…take her to the brink of insanity.
Max shrugs. "I knew your game was too good to be true. And... 'A minor detail?' If you told me too late, she could have died! Why are you warning me anyway? I thought you wanted us to disappear?"
Max could hear the dark entity's laughter echoing inside him. It would be rude of you to die now. My game isn't done yet, and the game must be played until the end. Keh, keh, keh... He hears the dark cackling echo away from his mind. Now, he's back to square one: the search for the person with the biggest desire. But first, she goes over to Monica and Claire.
Claire notices him and greets, "Max! What's wrong with Monica? She's acting real strange."
Max takes her by the hand and drags her away from Monica. He whispers in her ear what happened. He then requests, "Please don't remind Monica about me. We'll just leave her like this for now."
Claire looks at him worryingly. "Are you sure? Doesn't it hurt you to see her like this?"
Max looks away to the ground, trying to stop his tears. "Yes, it does. But… it's for the best. Just trust me."
They were both silent for a moment, waiting for Claire's response. She then replies, "Okay. I won't." She then begins to leave walk towards her house. She stops and turns around halfway. "Just… please, be strong. You're still in her heart somewhere."
"Yeah," Max replies as Claire began to walk away again, back to her house. Although that was his reply, what he was really thinking was, I hope so…
Max then walked towards the waiting Monica. "Hello."
"Hi," greeted Monica back. "Claire said your name is Max. You new around here?"
He tried to stop the tears, to prevent Monica from noticing, and replied chokingly, "Y-Yeah… I… live o-on that house over there." He then points towards his giant manor.
"Wow," Monica gasped as she looked at the beautiful palace that was Max's house. "You must be rich! You know, another person used to live there. Are you relatives or something?"
Max looks away. She remembers everything else, but it's like fake memories are my replacement, he thought, knowing that the person she was talking about was his dad. He tries to smile again and replies, "Yes. I am."
"Hmmm… I didn't know he had any other relatives… Oh, well," Monica finishes off. She then scratches her head, "How long have you been in town? I don't live here, and since this town doesn't have any hotels, do you know where I was staying?"
Max sees the sun go down, and the lone moon was nearing to take its place. "You've only been in this town today, so you haven't stayed anywhere yet," he tells her. It's better if she doesn't know… that she's been living with me, he thought, the sadness present in his eyes although he tried to fake a smile to cover it.
"Oh," Monica replies back, thinking of a solution to her dilemma. "I wonder where I could stay? Maybe Claire has an opening…"
"You could stay at my place if you want," said Max like a reflex action. He then just thought about what he said. No... What am I doing? It's too risky! But… He then looks at Monica, how oblivious she was to the fact that the Dark Element had erased her memories.
Monica thought about it for a minute, then said, "Sure, why not… But you better not do anything funny!"
Max laughed, but Monica looked at him, seeing that cold vacant look in his eyes, hiding behind his laughter.
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Monica follows him into the dozens of hallways inside his house. Max leads her to her room, when Monica said, "Um, don't you have a two-bed room so we can sleep together? I'm not really comfortable sleeping alone…"
Max looks away, then looks at her again with a same meaningless smile, "Of course... Right this way."
As Monica follows him, she couldn't help but feel something strange around him. I can't believe I just said that! I'm okay sleeping alone, but... This guy... He's a nice guy, she thought. ...But I feel like every time he looks at me, he fades away. I wonder just who he is really? Her heart began to pound harder, her chest got tighter. She felt like she was starting to remember something, but it wasn't there.
Max tried to sleep. He still had work to do to get Monica's memories back, and he would need all of his wits to figure out the Dark Element's game. He tried and he tried, but he couldn't sleep, not while Monica was in the same room as he was.
"Max?" Monica said weakly, trying to see if he was already asleep.
"Yes?" Max replied, trying not to look at her to keep the pain away.
She turned to face his bed, looking at Max, the sadness in his eyes. "Are you okay?"
Max looked at her with the same fake smile. "Of course. Why do you ask?"
Surprising Max, Monica was looking at her with such a worried look. The same look she had always given him when she still knew him. "Are you sure? Because… every time I look at you, I feel like… I feel like there's no one there. Like every smile you give me is empty…. Why are you so sad?"
Max looked down from his bed, his arm twitching and his fist tightened. Tears tried to roll down his face, but he keeps them at bay underneath his eyes. "I lost… someone very precious to me," he explained, talking like he was about to choke.
Monica looked at him so sadly, saying, "I'm sorry… Did she... did shedie?" She tried to stop herself from asking, but she thought curiosity had the better of her. As she asked, her heartbeat quickens again, as if it was trying to catch something it missed.
Like a weird vibe hit her, Max looked at her, trying to smile as hard as he can. "…You can say that." Max then began to lie down back on his bed again. "Can you tell me stories about your adventures? It… might take my mind off of this," he requested.
Monica was silent. She knew there was something he wasn't telling her. But if it stops him from being sad, why not? she thought.
What Max really wanted was to find out what was missing from her memories. He listened and listened, and there, he realized how much her memory was changed. She told him of about how he fought Griffon alone; Dark Element alone; making her feel that she was able to do everything alone. Like she didn't need anybody else.
Monica stopped her stories, and she looked at Max once again. The tears had moved from his eyes, down his face, and into the pillow he was resting on.
"I'm guessing…. the stories didn't help much," Monica apologized.
"It's not your fault," Max said. "It was my request." Max then turned away from her and slept.
Monica stared at him as he tries to sleep. She was worried like she has never worried before. That man… The cold stare in his eyes, so empty…she thought. But something's still bothering me, though… Why did I go back to this time? Was there someone important to me that was going to die? How could I have beaten Griffon and Dark Element alone? Why can't I remember this boy? She put her hands on her chest, feeling her heart beat faster, her face getting red. Why is my heart beating so fast when he looks at me? It's like my heart… is telling me something important I've forgotten….
To be continued…