My Shadow Remembers (MemoryLoss! Alastor x Reader - Short Story)

Chapter Three: That's not what you asked Charlie for.

It's been a few days since Alastor first woke up. That first day in his room was a lot for him to comprehend. I explained it may be better to go over things gradually and not have to try and remember everything in one day.

Because of this, we met as a group in the hotel, without Alastor, to go over a recovery plan. Instead of him interacting with everyone so quickly, we figured it would be best to slowly introduce people back into his life. Maybe this could help trigger some of his past memories.

He met with Charlie yesterday, and they seemed to have a good rapport overall. He still hangs on to my every explanation and word when meeting with people. I kind of feel bad about it. To not have any control of who to trust or believe, so he only relies on me. It's a lot of pressure for sure, especially since I don't know every little aspect about his life.

Now, Alastor and I are up on the balcony, looking over the night sky after a busy day.

"You know, I think I might remember something after meeting with Charlie again." Alastor explains, making me look from the city back over to him.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" I ask him.

"I believe I have a deal with Charlie." He explains. I don't interject yet. He's told me about his deal with her before, I want to see if he truly remembers the details.

"I remember her being stressed about an extermination. I had information she wanted, so I told her I would give her that information if we made a deal." Alastor continues explaining. So far, this is all accurate. How can I try and continue this conversation without accidentally swaying any of his thoughts?

"So, what did you ask of her?" I ask Alastor. I want to see if he remembers that he asked her for one itty bitty favor at a time of his choosing.

"I..." Alastor stops, like he's thinking. It must be hard for him to remember. He still doesn't explain, but he lets out a little laugh. That's an interesting reaction to my question.

"Difficult to remember?" I ask.

"No, it's not that." Alastor explains. "It's... embarrassing." He clarifies.

Well, now I'm intrigued.

"If it helps, I actually already know what you asked of Charlie." I explain, making Alastor look at me with a bit of shock. "Sorry. I wasn't trying to hide it from you, I just wanted to see if you were actually remembering facts or not." I explain. "So, if you tell me again what you asked of her, I can be sure your memories are lining up!" I say cheerfully, hoping that I can help him.

"Well, in that case..." Alastor takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. He looks out at the city lights. "I asked her for as much information as she had on your favorite things." Alastor admits. Okay, now I'm confused. "Exchange of information for information." Alastor continues.

That's not correct. That's not what he asked for. Where is this coming from? Does Charlie even know my favorite things? "And what were the things she told you?" I ask him.

"Your favorite animal, your favorite color, favorite food, if you prefer sunrises or sunsets." Alastor explains, still not looking over at me.

I don't ever remember having that conversation with Charlie. I do remember talking about these things with Alastor though. Quite a while ago.

"Um... Alastor?" I get his attention as he looks back at me. "I'm sorry to tell you, but I think you're mixing up some memories." I hope this doesn't embarrass him. He tilts his head like he's confused. I'm going to have to explain more, aren't I?

"That's not what you asked Charlie for. She's indebted to you for one small favor whenever you ask. That's what you asked for." After I explain I see the look on Alastor's face change. He looks shocked. "But I did tell you about my favorite things, a couple of years ago." I continue explaining. "You never really asked for them, but I know I ended up telling you about them one day. We were just talking about our favorite things one day at the bar." I explain.

"So, my memory..." Alastor thinks through it out loud. He lets out a frustrated growl and runs his hands through his hair. "This is quite frustrating." He explains through gritted teeth.

"I can only imagine!" I tug on his sleeve, trying to get him to calm down. Instead of calming down he pulls away. That wasn't quite the reaction I was expecting. "It's okay! If it helps, I know your favorite things too!" I smile, trying to ease him out of the embarrassment.

"That's great." Alastor doesn't sound very enthused. I think it's getting to him quite a bit. My smile fades away as my hand drops back to my side. "I'm sorry. Can I have some time to myself?" Alastor asks. I know he's trying not to be rude, but he really doesn't want to be here right now.

"Y-yeah. Of course." I stutter, still feeling like I messed up. I shouldn't take this personally; it must be hard.

"Thank you." Alastor says quietly as I hear him open the door from the balcony to go back inside. I don't even look. I just hear the door shut, knowing I'm on the balcony alone.

I can't help but sigh as I look back out to the city. What can I do to make this better?

As I continue thinking I feel something move around my ankle. I know KeeKee and Fat Nuggets wander the hotel often, one of them must have snuck up onto the balcony.

When I look down, I notice it's some sort of thick cable that's snaking around my ankle. Before I can even move out of the way, it holds me in a tight grip and yanks me up and over the balcony. I don't even have the air in my lungs to yell with how fast I'm being whipped around.

Once I finally stop moving and my head stops spinning, I'm hanging upside down in the air in front of a smirking Vox. Hands on his hips with the confidence of a man who's accomplished his goal.

"Vox?" I question, still stuck in the grasp of this thick cable that Vox must have sent to grab me.

"I've heard through the grapevine that a Mr. Radio Demon has lost his memories." Vox begins as the cable moves me closer to him. He runs one of his fingers from my neck up to my chin, making me shiver in a bit of fear from the touch. "It seems like you've been working on building him back up since he can't remember a damn thing." Vox continues as he tilts his head and laughs. "You'll be very helpful in getting him to be friends with me again." Vox laughs.

"Vox, what are you-?" That's all I remember after looking into the hypnotizing pattern of Vox's eye. The circle patterns are so captivating, and all I can do is focus on that pattern. My vision is consumed with them, my mind is filled with them.