Okay, what do we know? Slayn Wilder had an extremely messed up flashback...or was it? Monika Allenford seemed really ticked off at him, and Hugh Foster seems to be willing to go to the rescue. What could possibly go wrong? Oh, I had to ask...

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Hugh's Point of View

"Yayoi, how did you know what the poison did? And what's the point of it making the person unaware of their most cherished memory?" I asked.

"I heard rumors. The people I heard from said that it would cause extreme stress on the mind and body. So much that it'll take away part of the memory, whatever stands out most gets damaged the most. I think that something from the Moon Shrine has something of that effect, but not in a negative way. I suppose he stole some and mixed it with his own vile creations," Yayoi said matter-of-factly.

"Whoa whoa, WHOA there Yayoi! How do you know all this stuff? Seriously, nobody knows what that guy Randolf has in his arsenal. How did YOU happen to know all that?" I asked really flustered. I mean, come on! How did she know all these things?

"I just do."

"I'm SERIOUS!"

"Oh, all right!" Yayoi gave in. "Randolf once invaded the Moon Temple. He accidentally dropped some of his poison during a battle we had, and we took it for analyzing. We also found that he stole some of our Secret Mind Tonic. It helps revive fallen memories, but places great physical and mental stress on the body taking it. When we mixed it with his poison, we found that instead of reviving memories, it will destroy them. I found this when I saw Slayn's open arm in the memory of his battle. Only a combination like that would cause his current memory loss, as the color of the liquid mixed with blood would be relatively clear, slightly altering the redness of the blood."

"Wow, you sure know a lot, Yayoi," I stated rather pathetically. "I guess I know why Randolf took that tonic. He wasn't intending to let it take away memories, the paralysis would usually be enough for him to kill someone. But Slayn was different...Randolf didn't expect to die. I bet he never even found out that it DID wipe out memories!"

"Yes...but how did Slayn fight back? Normally, it would be impossible for the body to move for at least two days! And after all the experiments, there is no possible way for the poison to initiate a total mind wipe!"

"Yayoi, I know I said you knew a lot, but I didn't mean you knew everything. Slayn is so different from the rest of us. You should've known that by now!" I said to her, smiling.

Yayoi did nothing, but I could sense her sorrow. She was possibly thinking of an explanation. I guess I was faster.

"Slayn probably overexerted his body limits. That added strain caused his memory of Monika to be nothing but a total blank."

"Yes, that could be possible."

"Now, how exactly did you experiment with the poison?"

"I suppose that's why my idea of the poison was wrong. We boiled it down to its natural elements, mixed them back together, and asked a scientist to examine its effects. He was probably wrong due to lack of a living subject to test it on."

I pondered that, then left Yayoi to think upon her sadness. Where on earth is Slayn?

Slayn's Point of View

What a strange memory...ugh. I need some rest. I started walking towards the cafe when I saw the same girl in my memory. She was wandering around, slightly sad. Then she noticed me and brightened slightly.

"Hello, Slayn. I see you're feeling better..." she said. I can swear her face is slightly red.

"Ummm...yeah," I replied.

"Hm? Your behavior is unusual. What's wrong?" she asked, confused.

"I...are you Monika?" I asked, then beat myself up internally on how stupid I was. Stupid, stupid Slayn!

"Wh-what? Of course I am! What is wrong with you?" she asked, slightly angry now. "Is this some kind of a joke?"

"Umm...yeah! Of course he's joking. You know Slayn, that kidder. Heh...heh," Hugh said pathetically from behind me. "Eh heh...ah forget it."

"Forget what? You're not making any sense!" Monika asked, now outraged.

"Slayn fought with a guy named Randolf, and was poisoned during the fight. He...lost part of his memory. More specific, he lost the part about you," Hugh explained. Monik certainly didn't feel any better knowing this, and I found myself backing up a little.

"Slayn...how could you? How could you ever forget?"

"Monika, you can't blame him! I just told you, a poison took away part of his memory! There's no way he could have prevented that!" Hugh yelled.

"I still just can't take it!" Monika yelled. She ran away into the Detective's Agency, and I heard sobs. I fell to my knees and my vision blurred. I felt myself being dragged to my room.

Hugh's Point of View

I saw Slayn collapse from where he was standing. Obviously he still has his feelings for that girl, even if he doesn't remember her. I just picked him up and sent him to his apartment suite, then went to find Monika. She wasn't in the Detective's Agency anymore, so I knocked on her apartment door, but no answer. I leaned against the wood and heard sobbing coming from within. I knocked again, and a crying Monika answered the door. Her eyes were slightly red, and tears were evident on her face. I couldn't help but feel sympathetic.

"Hey sweet-cheeks. You all right?" I asked with sorrow of my own. Poor, innocent little girl.

"I...I'm okay," she said between sobs. I could tell she was lying; she didn't even act offended when I called her "sweet-cheeks".

"Ha, I don't think so. Think you can let me in and talk about it?" I asked.

"Oh...okay." Obviously she was too upset to argue. We went in her room and I sat down.

"Oh, what's wrong?"

"Slayn...you were wrong, Hugh. He doesn't care about me! How else would he have forgotten about me?" Monika said.

"No! Believe it or not, it's the other way around," I told her with a wink.

"You're saying that to make me feel better," Monika told me.

"No, I'm not. Yayoi told me about everything. He forgot because he cares about you! I don't wanna explain it, that's WAY too complicated. Just take my word for it!"

"Really? Oh...I guess I overreacted...well it's too late now. He probably hates me by now...oh, what have I done?" Monika started crying again.

"Hey, don't be like that! If something bad happened, fix it! Remember, no problem's impossible to solve unless it's imaginary," I reassured her.

"Oh...I guess you're right, Hugh. Thanks, you're so good."

"Sure, anytime, sweet-cheeks!"

"Please refrain from calling me that."

Ha ha ha, yep, she's definitely back to normal.

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How will things turn out? I know that conversation with Yayoi was unnecessary, but you need to know what happened, right? Right. Don't flame that part, but feel free to burn all the other parts.