Chapter 6: The Depths of Darkness

The girl, unaware of what was going on, merely shook off the strange sensation in her head and continued to study the lost coat button. Wuya saw the newer memories first, one of which was Jack stroking her ears. A wave of the emotions felt then flooded Wuya over. This girl was quite fond of Jack. She also saw the memory of waking up to a sudden thump against her and opening her eyes to find Jack lying on top of her. "So it was an accident…" Wuya laughed to herself.

Then a thought came. This girl supposedly has no memory. But, is that really true? Perhaps she has some shards of her past lying around in the back of her mind. Wuya floated deeper into the girl's thoughts, trying to find something. When she left the memory of the girl first waking up, she searched quickly. In the deepest, darkest corner of her mind, Wuya found tidbits of memories. The first one was shocking. There were several people around with guns and knives. Wuya had the sensation of being tied up by something familiar. The Tangleweb Comb? A Sheng Gong Wu? She also felt enormous fear fill her head. There was another memory as well. She watched in horror as a young boy was stabbed in the neck with a bronze sword. A great panic of anger and sadness swept in, telling Wuya that this boy meant a lot to the girl. A man then grabbed her and forced her down. A cold, suspending substance began crawling up her legs in waves. It was emerald! This was the memory of being sealed away in the gemstone. After the hole for her face closed up, the memory shard ended. Full of fear of what she just witnessed, Wuya exited quickly.

She pulled herself out of the girl's mind and backed off a bit. Was she wagered in an ancient war? "…it just doesn't make sense to me,"

Jack had been talking to either himself or Wuya all this time. Wuya mumbled a bit, trying to make it seem as though nothing had happened. "You know, Wuya," Jack said, "we should really give her a name."

"A name?" Wuya repeated.

"Yeah. Just something to call her while we take care of her." He suggested.

It would be useful to give her a label of some sort. But, what would suit her? "What do you think?" Jack asked the girl.

"Mew! Mew mew mew!" she cheered out.

"Mew-Mew?" Jack looked puzzled.

"Mew-Mew?" she repeated back to him.

"Mew-Mew?" Wuya repeated to them both.

"Sounds like a kitten's name." Jack said and looked at Wuya for consent.

"I don't care what you name her." the witch said.

"Mew-Mew it is!" Jack said to the girl.

"Mew-Mew, Mew-Mew, Mew-Mew!" she happily repeated her name.

Jack laughed to himself and continued to steer the ship. The girl crawled over to him and purred as she wrapped herself around his legs. Wuya saw him try to hide a blushing smile. It was like watching a loving kitten indulge her master. Wuya herself had to hide a smile.

"Now," he said rather seriously, "if you're going to be on the Heylin side, you'll have to take a test."

Wuya perked up. A test? When did this idea happen? How long had Jack been planning this? She listened intently, trying to hear for more. "I need to know the extent of your abilities. If you'll show me your skills when we nab this Sheng Gong Wu, I'll know just how valuable you are."

Discovering her abilities by using her to steal the Sheng Gong Wu was a brilliant plan… for Jack. "Excellent." she hissed a praise, "We'll know just how powerful she really is."

Mew-Mew blinked, unaware of anything they were saying about her. Despite it all, she smiled and uttered a cheerful "Mew!"