Chapter Text
Once you visit The Memory Thief, you can never get your memories back…
Or that’s how the tall tale went on what the inhabitants rumored in WonderWorld.
He had a figure just like Lance’s, but unlike The Grinning Man in the Top Hat, who’d also bared a hat as well; he never smiled. He always gave that cold stare, as if he was judging you by every move you make. He always never leaves without his sword, which he can pull out from the back of his long, velvety green tailcoats. The sword also possessed a beautiful, golden-blue magical ribbon. It always whisked, danced, and twirled so gracefully around him like he was dancing to the rhythm with it. No one was able to talk to him or even catch him stealing the drops, for he would always disappear in a flash.
Maybe the Memory Thief was just a myth, maybe it was not.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The stage was a quiet, little city in which a stage prop-like crescent moon lightened blissfully of a fake night. It was adorned with little shopping centers and a beautiful plaza fountain, which on top had a statue of a swordsman. The grinning man, along with The Fighter on his side, looked around the dream-like plaza. Fighter couldn’t shake her head off the eeriness of the mannequins with the many and multiple sizes that had a variety of clothes on them. One was a frilly dress, another a simple suit, most had sheets covered on them as if they were ghosts. One after one, each mannequin looked uncanny and stranger as they progressed from the stage.
“...Balan?”, Fighter asked.
The Grinning Man turned to the side of Fighter.
“Why are we here again…?”
The man sighed, as if he heard this many times. He knew she was getting anxious with this stage, so it was best to reassure her:
“This stage that you see right now may be ordinary, but it is not what it seems on the contrary…” The Grinning Man says, as if trying to solve a mystery.
Fighter gulped, this wasn’t a good sign.
The Man trials off in rhymes again as he was thinking to himself; “Now I could’ve sworn I’ve seen this stage before. The mannequins, the towns, the swordsman on the fountain… it’s all too familiar what we have to restore…”
Restore…? Restore what?! Fighter thought. That maestro, he’s always aloof with what he says in his actions and words. Fighter thought it was best not to ask him, not only he hates questions being repeated, but he was in his thoughts again.
Whatever was going on, they kept going until Fighter stopped and looked at the brick sidewalks, they were all this beautiful wood-orange, not those sidewalks that she’s seen from her city. Until she saw something glisten in the sidewalk.
…A drop…?
Those drops were everywhere in everyone's stages with Fighter’s adventures with the Grinning Man. Many had different varying colors, one pink, blue, gold, red … the colors were endless! The man even told her once that they represented the emotions of each person's heart. Some say they were stolen, or lost.
Her curiosity took over her as she picked up the drop. It was beautiful, it glistened rays on her face of all of the colors of the rainbow, until she caught a glimpse of…a shadow. Fighter’s eyes widened as she narrowed them down to see what she actually saw.
A figure of a little girl just like her. She had brownish-blueish hair that was stylised with low dropping pigtails. She wore a white summer blouse and jean shorts with leggings. She was probably around her age, maybe younger than that. Fighter couldn’t recall what she was doing, but it looked like she was in her room and she was… sewing? Drawing? Whatever she was doing, a woman came into the room. Fighter assumed it was her mother, maybe it was to check on what she was working on…?
As she watched the memory go by like a movie, the mother and the girl seemed to look at her, then she started to see the shadows, the visions in her mind .
She gasped and dropped the memory drop in her hand.
She saw a vision of a swordsman, his cavalier hat drooping down where there was a shadow on his face and you could only see his eyes on his hat band, just like The Grinning Man. Unlike the The Grinning Man however, he didn’t seem to carry that theatrical grinning smile. His hand band was also adorned with these beautiful feathers as well. He also had a suit that had two puffy shoulders and two long tail coats behind his back. He also wielded a sword that possessed a ribbon right around it. Beside him, there was that little girl that Fighter saw in the drop, except her hands had a pleading side, was she trying to tell them to save her? Save Wonderworld? Help them? What?
As the visions went away, Grinning Man caught the drop just in time before it hit the ground, as if this was expected to happen to her.
“Be very careful on dropping these, dear Emma!” Balan said with his wide grin,
“These drops are delicate and could easily break if you are not careful enough.
One mistake, and all of the memories you seek will be rough!”
Emma tried to gain all the information she just witnessed from the visions. The girl, the swordsman that looked just like Balan, and why did the woman and girl stare back at her in the drop? What could all of this mean? Wonderworld was always a strange place, but she had so many questions that she wanted to ask Balan.
“Ah, so you saw those visions..?” asked Balan as if he could read her mind.
Emma nodded slowly, Balan kneeled at her level.
“And you saw the girl and the swordsman that looked just like me, correct?” Balan was in full detective mode, he wanted to make sure that Emma saw what she actually saw.
Emma nodded faster, determined to find answers on this mysterious duo.
This is all the Balan wanted to know;
“Now, that was none other than Detective and The Memory Thief. Nobody knows who they are and what their business is here. Nor Lance or I know, for they would always disappear.”
Emma listened, taking all of the information that she could process.
As Emma looked at the drop to see the reflection again, it was gone! Her eyes widened with surprise as she then looked behind her to see all of the other drops that were laying as well. As soon as she tried to pick up another drop, Balan put his hand on her shoulder to stop her.
“Little one, I believe it is best if I took care of them. Those memories are too precious to handle like a gem. One crack and it could easily erase all of them in an instant!”
Emma was at unease with this thought, one crack could erase all memories. It could mean that someone, or perhaps Detective, could easily forget her memories by just a crack from this gem.
.
.
.
At the corner of Emma’s eye, she saw that the statue of the swordsman from the plaza was gone in a blink of an eye. Strange things had always happened in Wonderworld so she shrugged it off until she thought she saw the vision of the girl from the drop in the corner of an alleyway.
…Detective…?
The vision, or detective, looked like she was caught in the act as she ran in the other direction. Part of Emma wanted to talk to her as she ran up trying to catch her.
“Hey! Wait!” Emma yelled, but as soon as her hand tried to touch her shoulder, Detective vanished in an instant.
Emma had a confused look on her face as she tried to look everywhere throughout the ally on where she went.
On the other side of the alleyway, she saw the exact swordsman with the long tailcoats. With shock across her face, she ran to catch the swordsman, who vanished in front of her eyes as well.
Emma once saw the Detective again as she ran straight out of the alleyway and chased her down until..
“HEY! COME BACK HERE YOU-“
Balan said with a booming voice as he was chasing the Memory Thief, the swordsman snickered when he disappeared as if taunting him.
Both of the two made a big chase all over the stage, failing to catch them at hand.
“Oof!” Both knocked each other and fell down on the ground.
“Are you alright, dear Emma?” Balan lifted up from the ground and held out his hand to help her up.
“Ugh, yeah I’m wondering the same as you…” Emma said as she rubbed her head.
“Hmm, well I believe this adds more mystery into our hands. What are they trying to hide…” Balan muttered and pondered.
As the two catch their breath, Balan hears a faint giggle of Detective and Memory Thief's shadowy figures, standing near a fountain as if watching their every move.
Whatever that thief had in mind, he was up to no good….