I had to be real with myself. Something told me that… I probably wasn’t going to graduate if I didn’t do this.

...I had to ask Fansa if she was willing to give her mind to me.

“Nico, are you alright? You got… a little pensive all of a sudden.” Crap, it was showing on my face.

“Fansa, I… look, I don’t… know… how to say this, but…”

“It’s alright, take your time. Unless you want me to find out now?”

“Uh… w-what?”

“This power, this Vamp Fragment. I can absorb memories and thoughts and, if I don’t linger, they actually return to you.” She raised her hand and the energy- she called it a seal?- returned. “M-may I?”

Now, I wasn’t one to take candy from strangers. I wasn’t that dumb. But I was also dumb enough to assume that Fansa was still shaken up enough that she wouldn’t try anything.

I mean, it was a CORRECT assumption, but it was still a dumb one. I still don’t know if she was the dumb one for not taking advantage, or if I was the dumb one for making that assumption. Nevertheless, I agreed, and she took her glowing hand up to my head and-

Pain.

Pain.

Drain.

Confusion.

Who was I.

What was happening.

Movement. What was that.

Nothingness.

Everything? Nothing.

What even was-

WOOOOOO that was a rush. Everything was slowly coming back to me. My name… was Nicoletta. Memories… slowly returning. My plans-

Ohhhhh crap.

My plans.

About Defteri.

Those were all in my memories. If she got a peek at anything else other than what she wanted to look for-

“...um… I’m just going to answer the question now… no. I have seen enough within you to know that your intentions are as they seem to be, but… I have too much at stake to afford to leave it all behind. I can’t just leave my world to rot. I’ll agree to us practicing on each other certain things, but I am NOT abandoning the fight I’ve fought for six years just because my classmate wants to graduate. I understand your desperation there, maybe even agree with it a small amount, but no.”

Well, she sure knew how to be succinct… “Sure. I mean, practice sounds reasonable. I’m glad you understand, didn’t want to get off on the wrong foot that fast or did the gun already do that BUT ANYWAY yeah I’m just gonna unpack the rest of my stuff, all that goodness, you know?”

Face (somewhat) saved, I walked over to my stuff and finally faced reality as it stood. Or was it realities…? Whatever.

• I probably gained Fansa’s trust enough to pull something.
• She was my roommate. I had a chance at her every damn day in total privacy and seclusion.
• Defteri was a long shot. She seemed WAAAAY more competent with her abilities.
• Defteri also seemed easier to manipulate, what with that singular motivation and all.
• Defteri also motivated me specifically, because… wait, I was getting off-track.
• I had ABSOLUTELY no capacity to use my psychic powers to actually achieve the goal of… enslaving Defteri and Fansa.

GOD saying that was still a bitter pill to swallow. But what else could I do but just swallow it?

My eyes fell on the MCU map pamphlet.

“Hey, Fansa, I’m gonna step out for a little bit, try to meet the teachers before classes start. Wanna come with me for defense?”

The plan was in motion. The gears were turning. I couldn't dare leave her alone in the ultra-safe rooms where she'd have no disturbance. But if I didn't bring her with... I would be able to talk in secret to-

"Huh? Uh... sure, I guess. Makes sense to meet them early, get a lay of the land."

GOD... bless. Okay. Okay. I had to think. Defense was good. It wasn't total bullshit that defense was important. Leaving her alone was suicide, regardless of trust levels. The teacher had an astronomically small chance of helping me in regards to that privacy...?

Ah, screw it. I took the map and walked to the door. "Alright, Nico. Where to first?"

- - - - -

The hallways were oppressive. I couldn't tell if it was because of the 38 forces of opposition that could lie around any corner, or if it was because of the twisting designs that I was SURE were hand-crafted to lure any aimless walker into a state of highway hypn-

Damn you, Mesmerra. Puns that shameless would never be forgiven.

But either way, Fansa and I got out of the dorms relatively easily. We did get some stares, though. Confusion over the paranoid watching we both did over both pairs of shoulders? Likely. The hungry gazes of those who would destroy us? Unfortunately, more likely. I prayed that it only equated to the others only viewing us as paranoid nutcases who'd prepare for every eventuality, as opposed to scared and vulnerable children.

I considered it a scary and existential moment when I realized I didn't know which of the two described me more.

Eventually, though, we reached the faculty offices. The hallways were large, yet the doors felt even bigger. The fourth one down was the one that caught my eye, though. The one I came for. I looked behind me to Fansa, saying, "Alright... you ready to meet the teach?"

"About as ready as I'll ever be," she said. I noted that her face was rock-solid. Gone was the false confidence she had earlier, it wasn't even ABOUT confidence. She had adjusted to her environment in some capacity, she had a goal, and all that mattered was that she was going to see that goal through.

Damn.

I gently opened the doo-

"And the diamond in the rough comes to me, at the only time in my life when my jewelry budget is limited. Faaaaaaaantastic."

I hadn't even registered that I couldn't notice Fansa's presence anymore when I gulped and responded. "U-um... hello, uh... Professor Carter..."

The first thing I noticed about her was the purple suit he had on, all at once fitting her tightly but somehow making her frame look larger or more built. A yellow shirt peeked out from her collar, softening the harsh nature of the sharp purple. Her face was even more sharp, a razor-edged jawline and defined cheekbones setting the stage for an INCREDIBLY emotive pair of thin, purple-pink eyes. They stared in pure, expectant fury at me…

Or, perhaps… they didn’t. The more I saw, the less I was sure it was all fury. Part of it seemed more like frustration. Like… the denial kind. I didn’t know for sure, though. Either way, she was clearly PISSED. And she had called me a "diamond in the rough"? What was that about? And-

Fansa was gone.

FANSA WAS GONE.

I started jerking around like a dog at the doorbell, figuring out where she had gone. I couldn't find her. Was it a SEP field? Shielding? Had she not followed me in the door, or- oh, she was levitating and drooling in the corner of the room.

...

WHY WAS SHE DROOLING AND LEVITATING IN THE CORNER OF THE ROOM?!

"D'AGH! Shut UP in there, kid, you're going to give me a migraine if you keep yelling like that!"

Professor Laura Carter (the full name in the itinerary I was given) very quickly snapped me back to reality with that one. I turned back towards her. "Um... I don't think... I was saying any-"

"I know you weren't saying anything, I'm trying to get you on the wavelength you SHOULD be on here! Just like you weren't ACTUALLY giving me a migraine there. If something like a scared moron with more power than they deserved to have was enough to give me a migraine, I wouldn't be here. Think on the psychic side a little more, and this will go much smoother. Deal? Before I keep the minty one and take her away from you?"

"Can teachers even do that? And how did you know I wa-" Wait. Psychic. Riiiiiiiiiiight.

Professor Carter glared at me, and it was all clear. Teachers weren't allowed to do that, it was just to make a point, and OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH CARTER OH CARTER-

Um... wow. Don't piss off a teacher. N-noted.

"I get the plan, Miss Doulis. You wanna graduate, you think the best way to both do that and stay safe is to enslave this one," she pointed to Fansa, "and you were scared of the inadequacy in your psionics, so you made it priority one to get here to me for some training. I got all that from the moment you thought of it. It's why she's off in la-la land, far away from ever being able to register what we're saying."

"U-um, wow, I-I didn't think you'd be so accommodating. Thank... you...?"

"D-don't mention it," she forced out the words. Kindness was a learned gesture for her, perhaps? "Because I'll tell you this much, Miss Doulis- unlike some of the others here, I actually want you to ACHIEVE this year. I want to test myself, to do something new- and teaching pathetic little whelps in a field I have long since mastered might just be it. But, at the risk of inflating your ego to the point where I've shot my whole stated mission in the foot, I'll tell you this too: you're good. Your potential is quite high. Any normal tutoring I'd give to another student now would shoot you a little too far over the top. And there are four individuals on these grounds I'd rather not mess with that have a vested interest in keeping things somewhat fair, so the long game isn't ruined; apparently, some other class got too set too fast and Mesmerra's struggling to keep everyone else at a slower pace. So, in the interest of doing the teacherly thing and granting your request for help, but also in the interest of keeping the powers at be placated, I'm going to go in your head, knock down a couple walls so you can do what you need to right now, all without giving you any sort of guidance on HOW you can do it, nor enough power to do EVERYTHING right now. Deal?"

Wow. She took NO shit. I had to wonder what her world was like, how it treated her and how she treated it. But how could I say no?

"Deal. And thank you aga-"

My obligatory courtesy was cut short by my sudden appearance in a void. There was only solid ground to stand on, which felt like brick for some reason, and a spotlight shining down upon me. Beyond that, there was nothing here. Just me, and the empty void.

Until a massive earthquake shook everything and led to the blackness giving way to massive glowing patches of blinding light leaking through and I was jettisoned back into Professor Carter's office.

With my nether regions moist and warm.

What... in the flying fuck was happening?

"There, I did the thing. Now take your bitch and fuck out of here."

Hm, should I-

"No pleasantries, I get the picture. Get out."

Nnnnnnnnnnnnoted.

- - - - -

"Well, the teachers seem... fine. Mostly. Professor Carter seems pretty cool though. What did you think, Nico?"

"Uh... yeah, pretty much the same thing," I responded. Damn, Professor Carter had even installed fake memories of seeing the other teachers. She... she was gift-wrapping Fansa to me.

But... why? Doubtless she would be getting away with it, or at least getting away with it twice if I kept the rest of the day on the down-low. The only clue I had to tie any of these pieces together was... that feeling.

The moistness of my nethers when I got pulled out of what I assumed was my mindscape.

The moistness was the key.

Those feelings weren't mine. They... they were leftovers. Leftovers from Professor Carter.

Was she... getting her rocks off on my potential?

I shelved the thought and followed Fansa back to Room 7. Back inside its safe walls, I looked at my watch. Four-ish, eh? Still some time left before dinner. "Hey Fansa, I'm gonna go through all of my stuff right now. Let's coordinate on the things we have, alright? Best to come up with a plan."

"Hm? Oh, uh, I didn't bring anything that would constitute any plan, beyond my own abilities as a Fragmentary, though... but I did do some pseudo- reconnaissance work on the rest of the student body before the Dean's speech. Perhaps that'll suffice?"

Oh-ho. "Brilliant. Gather your thoughts, I'll gather my shit, and we'll talk about this in a second."

I quickly scrambled back to the couch with my stuff on it. I had small audio/visual recording devices, able to be hidden in clothing or innocuous objects with relative ease. Perhaps in the library or cafeteria, they would be best hidden...? I quickly swiped them up and made my way back to Fansa.

"So, let's start with you. You clearly seem a touch more sociable, so with whom did you talk?" Fansa asked.

"Oh, me? Uh... I... didn't actually do that much talking. I moreso looked at everyone with a critical eye. I can tell these sorts of things. So, really, I don't have names-"

"Even when you can glean them off of peoples' heads?"

"Hey, you're the only one I tried. The circumstance gave itself to me," I smiled. "But yeah, I don't have names- only descriptions and opinions. That should be enough to start with, I guess. Then we'll go from there. Sound good?"

"Yes, that sounds good."

And so I described to her everyone I saw. The sweater girl with the suspicious levels of happiness. The lizard (?) girl. The girl with the earrings. The brunette who looked physically and spiritually exhausted. The purple-head freak with the gauntlet. And... Defteri.

Yeah, I saw no point in hiding it.

"So, there's this harpy here. You've probably seen her. Green and blue, white dress, wings on her arms?" I forced out, my expression getting more pained by the minute.

"Yes, I have." Fansa's face quickly hardened. "Wait, Nico, did she try something on you? Is that what's bothering you right now? Did you go to the Dean?!"

"What? No! I'm fine, she didn't try anything. Why would I go to the Dean, anyway? Why would she give a shit if Defteri tried anything? That's exactly what she wants to happen."

She looked at me with confusion and disappointment. "Nico... you really didn't pay attention during orientation, didn't you? That makes me even more curious when, how, and why you got the information you did about the death wards, but so long as a student subverted isn't reported to the Dean before her captor can "register" her, I suppose would be the best terminology, then there's nothing anyone can do besides capture her themselves! But if you report the would-be slaver, then they get punished!"

...wow. I really fucked up in not listening, didn't I? "Okay, ignoring that little tidbit of stupid I pulled, back on track. No, Defteri didn't try anything. However..." my face tightened again.

"...are you okay? Whatever it is, I... I'll listen," Fansa said. "You want me to use the Fragment again?"

"No, no, no, that's fine, thanks," I replied. "I can do this. See, when- wait, you already saw all of this with the Fragment. You know exactly what I'm going to say! Why didn't you?!"

Fansa was taken aback. "U-um, I didn't mean for it to come across that way. Quite the opposite, actually. Using that power as a substitute for... well, anything more normal always sits with me wrong, so I just try to be polite and ask anyway. That, and if there's any weird inconsistencies caused by things I don't understand in the Fragment, I get to hear things many ways."

"Heh, yeah," I chuckled. "Also helps you sniff out liars."

"Ha! That too. But back on track... yes. I did see that you intend to... enslave her. That doesn't and will NOT sit right with me, no matter how many times I need to say it or see it this year. But at the same time... I get it. Not only do I get it, but I can very much see that it's out of necessity for you. So... I'm willing to help to a certain extent. Just a bit, though. Perhaps with training your psionics? I can tell you haven't been in the exact same frame of mind ever since Professor Carter... ahem... 'knocked down some walls', as you put it. Maybe we can go the library, find some relevant materials, and get you some practice? I'd find whatever materials relevant to the Fragments, of course. I don't want to be completely helpless here."

…now, I had a choice here, but it was a brain-dead one. Fansa was too much of an unknown variable, and to make her a known variable was to waste too much time. I had to bring her under my power as fast as possible, or I'd have to be watching my back for the entire year.

And as a not-owl person, that was an EXHAUSTING proposition.

It was... such a painful proposition. To think I couldn't trust a single thing I'd see or think for an entire year was painful. To have to betray or avoid or destroy everyone I came across lest I suffer that very fate was painful. The only way to fix it... was to fix them.

I grit my teeth and grabbed some of the bugs. "Alright, Fansa. Let's go get our library on."

- - - - -

Getting our library on was an awe-inspiring experience. Books abounded on every shelf, those shelves stretching back and left and right and everywhere else for eternity. Desks, bean bag corners, and spiral posters (harmless propaganda... hopefully) littered the rest.

Fansa leaned in. "We should probably ask the librarian for advice and whatnot, yes? Surely a multiversal library would be a nightmare to navigate on our own."

"Uh, sure. That seems fair," I replied. I turned around and immediately got jumpscared by a clockwork robot with a porcelain face and a centipedal body.

Soooooooo COOL! I needed to think of questions. A lot of questions. If I had people to depend on to think of questions for me, this is where I'd ask them to go crazy with eeeeeevery question they could think of that this librarian would know the answer to- questions about where they came from, what they are, who/what made them, the rules of the library…

...well, most of that could wait. We weren't going to be staying long anyway. There was only one BIG ask that didn't have to wait for anything.

"Um, excuse me, where could I find books about psionics and, um... defenses? Mental defenses? You know where I can find those?" I asked.

The robot barely gave me a glance. Instead, another arm shot up and pointed down one of the infinite rows of books while the three arms I could see kept feverishly sorting books, writing things so fast I couldn't make them out, and doing some form of paperwork.

"Um... thank... you. You... wanna be friends? What's your name?"

Nothing.

"...good talk. Let's go, Fansa," I said as I tugged her arm to get her following into the endless paper abyss.

At a couple of the tables and at some shelves, I could see some more students. It was time for more recon!

The blue-haired girl was studying a book at a desk. She kept taking glances around, but enough that I felt it was more out of basic safety precautions than anything else. No immediate suspicious behavior.

A well-dressed brunette sat in the corner, eyeing everyone with extreme suspicion and... some anger? Righteous anger, huh. Interesting. Maybe she felt like she was above this whole game of cat and mouse and was pissed off by having to be a part of this...

Most of the others weren't illiciting any suspicion, though the exhausted girl from earlier was flipping through a bunch of books frustratedly before throwing them all in her satchel and hurrying out of the library. I quickly surmised it had more to do with urgency than safety precautions.

"NICO! This might be the section," Fansa's words snapped me back to reality. Oh, right, I had gone to the library for books. Right. I quickly started scanning titles. Psionics 101. The Psionic Theory On Every Mental Level. Psychic Powers For Dummies? That series had one too? Sweet! I grabbed all the books off the shelves- and watched in AWE as they magically restocked on said shelves.

"Wow... that's really cool. This place is gonna take some time or traumatic experiences before that stops being awesome," I quipped.

"I suppose?" Fansa responded. "Now, judging by the infinite natures of the library, I believe we just have to walk in a direction with a set goal-type book in mind to get there. So, let's quickly grab some things about defenses, as well as whatever we can find about my Fragment or any other magics, and get out of here!"

I nodded and escorted my roommate over a few rows until what we wanted came into view. She grabbed the books she liked most, waited for them to respawn, and power-walked right past me, with me only barely able to keep up.

"Fansa! Fansa, wait..." I panted. Jeez, how had I managed to lose her already?! These shelves weren't that impossible, were they? Hell, the end was right next to me! Maybe she had already gotten outside. I decided to follow her then-

My mind was caught in a spider-web.

My nerves were splayed in a spider-web of pain and confusion.

I was confused and entangled, and before I even knew it...

A girl stood before me, with incredibly long jet-black hair and a black leather corset to match. She stood exuding pride and domination- and I was hers. I was utterly-

.

"Aw, the pathetic whelp wanted to arm herself with knowledge? Funny. Pathetic, even."

.

"Oh, silly me, I forgot to give you any mental capacities back. A quick pressure-push here..."

.

.

Listening. Absorbing.

"Alright, pup. Get used to being called that, that's what you are before me. That's what you ALL are before me. The sheer concept of anyone else in here being above me? Laughable. With my own two hands, I carved out a throne from the fabric of reality, and I sat upon it! And now, though it seems that throne is smaller than I thought in the grand scheme of things, all it means is that I need to carve one larger. And YOU, my first of many slaves from other worlds, shall have the honor of being the seat of that throne, upon which LUCY ANGOSTRA SHALL SIT!"

Seat. Pup. Let Lucy sit.

"I... SHALL... shall... shhhhhaaaaallllllllllll..."

*THUD*

Seat. Pup. Let Lucy sit.

Seat. Pup. Let Lucy sit.

- - -

Seat. Pup. Let Lucy ROT IN HELL, WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED TO ME?!

...alright... alright. I had to recap:

• I lost Fansa in the shuffle of the library.
• I went outside and... got... enslaved? Holy shit, that memory was WEIRD. Like I wasn't allowed to make memories so I wouldn't be able to remember it, but then the memory was gifted by a third party.
• Something knocked out "Lucy Angostra", the biggest bitch in the multiverse, and I was...

Where was I? I looked around, and...

Oh.

The Dean.

The beautiful... sexy... UNBELIEVABLE-

Focus. FOCUS.

The Dean. So that means whoever found me had mercy on me.

"Miss Doulis, I'm glad we get to talk again," Mesmerra began. "I'm sure you'd have preferred if it were under different circumstances, but as it stands, the outcome still stands in what you would consider to be your favor. In no small part thanks to Miss Tellion saving you back there, so I do believe thanks are in order for her. Miss Angostra was caught, and per the rules, she and you were to be brought here- her to be punished, you to be salvaged."

"Oh, um... wow," I stammered. I turned around to look at Fansa, who sheepishly waved at me with a small grin. Turning back to Mesmerra: "So, uh... punishment, huh? What happens to her? Also, I get the feeling you led me astray with the questions I asked and didn't ask way back when, so can we rectify that?"

The Dean smiled. "As for what happens to poor Lucy, well... I tend to come up with the punishments myself, but sometimes I let the first one of the semester be victim's choice. As for the questions..." she spread her arms. "Any time you can talk to me, questions are allowed. What would you like to ask?"

I could do whatever I WANTED to punish Lucy? Oh, man, that'd be INSANE! Turns out it only took the promise of fun rewards to get over the death of innocence and the fear of death, who knew?

Oh, but what to choose? I likely couldn't ask for her as a slave immediately, so that would definitely be out; especially considering what Professor Carter said about "balance" or whatever. But to force her to be without clothes? To make her speak all sweetly and self-deprecating with everyone?! Any number of things to bruise her massive e-

...oh.

Ohhhhhh my god.

Oh, I had it.

The ultimate punishment. Monokuma be damned, I make the best ones...

"Nothing."

Mesmerra cocked her head. "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me. No punishment for Lucy. Just drop her off in her room, let her know that the one who foiled her is my close ally, and we decided that to waste our energies coming up with a punishment befitting an inferior being like her was... well, pointless."

For the count of five, Mesmerra had pause. Then, the smile slowly grew back across her face. "And you once again prove to me why you're the most entertaining and interesting one in this class."

Fansa got a really weird look on her face. "Wait, once again? Have you two had dealings befo-?!" One look, and she stopped. "Yes, Mistress. I shall go wait in the corner without paying attention, not thinking anymore about what was said regarding your relationship."

...well. That happened. "I have a few questions, if you don't mind."

Mesmerra smiled. "Ask away, dear."

I gulped. "Um, I know about the death wards- and I get the feeling I shouldn't, I'm grateful you never smited me for that- but how exactly does all of that work? If I turned around and shot Fansa in the head, how exactly would that happen? Would she heal from it, or...?"

"A fair question. The death wards don't exactly work the way you're thinking. If someone who couldn't take it- like Fansa, for example- was shot like that, they would technically be 'dead' by the metrics you'd use. However, the death wards moreso catch the soul and salvage it immediately thereafter, and the medical offices grow a replacement body to then be transported back into the dorm room the student lives in."

Oh. That was interesting. "But that process still takes time, right?" I continued. "I mean, surely it can't be instantaneous."

"Ah, it most certainly isn't. If you're killed in the afternoon, expect to be back by the next morning, most likely. That's why early kills are heavily implicitly discouraged- forcing someone to miss class for any reason is a grave violation of our rules here, after all," Mesmerra replied.

"I see..." I replied. "And, um, I had a question or two about... Professor Carter?"

Mesmerrra's smile finally wavered. Something WAS up with that, after all. "Oh, I'm afraid that I'm not going to be answering any of those questions. That's a situation you're going to have to sort out on your own."

On my own? Mesmerra HAD to have known that the implication was that Fansa was being gift-wrapped to me. Was... was that... part of the plan all along...? But whose plan? What was the rest of the plan? The end goal of said plan? Why I was chosen for said plan? SO MANY QUESTIONS-

"Miss Doulis?"

Oops, got carried away again. "M-my apologies, your honor. No more questions. If you don't mind, I'd like my Fansa back on the way out."

The Dean chuckled. "Ah, you always know how to get a giggle out of me." She snapped her fingers, and I was back outside with Fansa.

"She's... nice enough, I suppose. Wow, though, the threat of this place just became a lot more real. I know you're technically okay, but... are you okay okay?" Fansa asked.

"Huh? Y-yeah, I'm fine. I just need to think about a couple things on the way back to the room," I said.

"That's okay, I'll keep watch," she smiled.

Alright, it was time to get back to thinking:

• Someone had a grand plan in motion concerning the students and faculty of this class.
• Part of that plan involved my psychic powers being awakened early by external influence, in effect handing me Fansa's free will on a plate.
• That plan clearly involved the manipulation or involvement of the teachers and faculty, beings that I DID NOT WANT TO FUCK WITH.

The natural conclusion was that, clearly, I was to play along for now and take Fansa's mind as was expected of me. Then, I would continue to build my power base a bit, become more powerful. And then finally, figure out who was ACTUALLY behind all of this and get on the good side of whoever was in control; the people who had a surplus control tended to give some scraps of the stuff to their allies.

And this revelation didn't come a second too soon. We arrived back at Room 7, and I watched with trepidation as the sight of minty hair walked in, her back straight to me. Gulp.

"Um, so now that we're back... wanna help me test out some of the stuff in the reading about, like, cognitive manifestations and mindscapes?"

"Oh, sure!"

It was showtime. HOOOOOO boy. Game face. Game face. Fansa sat back on the couch, and smiled at me.

God, how I wished I could tell her the level of innocent ignorance in that smile was killing me. What I was about to do to her...

I steeled my nerves and flipped through the textbook hastily. Where was it, where was it... ah! The guide to entering mindscapes. I looked back up at her, lifted my hand, closed my e-

JEEEEEEEEEESUS CHRIST WHERE WAS THE RESISTANCE WHAT WAS HAPPENING-

- - -

My name was Fansa Tellion, and at that moment I was sitting down as my roommate tried to test her latent psychic abilities after meeting with the teacher. I- wait, she- wait, that's me- no, that's her- that's- I- we- one- two- aaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-----!

Okay... okay... okay. My name... was Nicoletta Doulis. I was... alive. Conscious of my own thoughts. Staying within my own frame of mind while standing before the physical manifestation of my roommate's.

That manifestation was a massive city in the middle of desolation. Behind me lay nothing, ahead of me lay a steel-plated, sloppily-riveted oasis in a desert. Buildings towered and whimpered, some quaint suburban-esque abodes, all the way ranging to massive multi-layered slapdash highrises that were giving me massive vibes of the Tower of Babel for... some... reason... oh wait, those were Fansa's thoughts. So, the owner(s) of said building was some person or persons thinking themselves gods? That made a little too much sense, given back home. Nevertheless, I realized that my goal lay somewhere amongst this city. It wouldn't be hard to find, given how hard the CITY WAS SCREECHING PSYCHIC NOISE AT ME FROM EVERY DIRECTION JESUS CHRIST IT WOULD NEVER END STOP STOP STOP-

Everything went dead quiet.

I didn’t think most brains were supposed to go dead quiet…

"Oh... shit..."

I looked around, the lights were slowly turning off. Sector by sector, this city was darkening and the air was turning dead quiet. Oh god, did I shut down her brain?! "TURN BACK ON!"

The noise deafened me again. That did it, I would sit here and try to parse and deal with this noise of Fansa's existence until I wore it down. Maybe I'd learn something about her, too.

The noise kept crashing into me, worsening as the lights began to re-flicker; it was as though I was slowly restarting and catching up on her life and-

"Daddy... please... don't go..."

The tears fell as I, Fansa Tellion, watched over her father's fading lighhhHHHHHAAAAA it happened again. I lost myself again. But if I kept pulling myself back, I kept not making progress. Would I have to make the full dive? Bear the brunt of her whole existence and pain just to get to my ends?

My tears dropped from Nico's eyes, as our eyes opened.

We owe this half of us this much. Soon our halves will learn to separate, through learning what defines the second half. Nico leaned forward, and pushed forward into the unkown within Fansa Tellion.

It was 2008 that Fansa Tellion was born into the world.

It was 2014 that she first fought another human being, over stolen toys and a fellow child beaten up.

The tears dripped again from Nico's eyes.

It was 2015 that saw the world around Fansa shatter as it was traded for the strange glow of Traglow City, as her father was given new work. He said it would be better for everyone.

Drip, drip.

His eyes didn't agree.

Drip, drip.

It was 2020 that her father was taken away from the world by those he worked for, those who promised to give new life to the world.

Drip, drip.

It was that day Fansa decided to take the lives of those who said that...

and end them.

Drip, drip, drip.

The timeline sped ahead of me at lightning speed.

It was 2021 that Fansa ran away from home.

Drip, drip, drip.

It was two weeks later her soul was bound to the Fragment. No longer was her soul entirely her own.

Drip, drip, drip, drip.

It was that day she lost the right to call herself any better than those vampires of good and light she fought- and yet she did anyway.

Drip, drip, drip, drip, drip.

It was for five more years that she fought. She planned. She closed her eyes as those around her killed. She accepted her invitation to MCU hoping to end the eternal conflicts of her soul. No less a hypocrite than the people who promised her father a good life, the girl who made a vow to kill blanching every time a teammate took a life in pursuit of the same goal. 

No less a vampire. 

Drip.

It was in 2026 that she met... she met...

- - -

I opened my eyes again. This was horrible. Horrible, horrible, horrible! What needed to be done, what should be done, what I wanted to do, what I also wanted to do, all fighting endless proxy wars in my mind. Right was wrong. Up was down. Red was blue. My existence, the little pile of events that made it up, felt more insignificant and pathetic than ever next to the ocean that was this girl's whole life.

But... this was too important. I had to swallow my feelings, even if for a moment.

- - -

It was in 2026 that she went to MCU and met the love of her life, her rock, her anchor, her everything, her Mistress... Nicoletta Doulis.

- - -

I still want to believe the last few tears shed were my own. I looked around, proclaimed "L E A V E", and opened my eyes.

"Fansa? Fansa?"

The mint-head was passed out, her position implying she was knocked RIGHT back from where she was with concussive force. I reached out gingerly to touch her... at which point her eyes shot open. "Wh... whuh...? Where...?"

Oh god. Oh god. Oh GOD NO WHY. Did I erase her memory completely? I thought I acclimated to the mindscape! What happened? What did I do? Oh no, what did I-

"Mistress? What's with that look? I h-haven't caused any problems, have I...?"

I jumped to attention as if shocked in the ass. Well, in all fairness, that WAS  massive shock in the ass, because what on Earth was THAT? Who said that? Who was there that would ha-

My eyes fell on the couch, where a mint-haired doe-eyed leather-clad girl was slowly climbing off and onto the floor before me, sinking to her knees.

...welp. That worked.

If only I didn't have a need to ignore that victory and vomit all night to cleanse my insides of what I just did.