The recording started. It proceeded as usual - in darkness that should not have been empty.

Always was the sound of something muffled. The cries of a child. The discharging *zap* of a shock prod. A roar of artillery. The screams of outsiders. Endless whirling mad laughter amidst a strange coded language. These are the faintest, the oldest, the deepest.

Every now and then there were flashes, like lightning, of brief images. Of fear. The death of a world by oblivion. Then one to silence. Failures, accidents. Another world lost, almost, to distortion. Deliberate. Then they turned around and saw the others they almost lead to death with them and remembered again their failures.

Rusted steel slices through the moment, grim faces frozen in disappointment, determination, despair, and pain. Another murder. Each of them.

A kind smile in a sunny electric mane, and all they can see is him near death. A blade who would never have had the chance to become a real girl again. A wizard willing to die because he could easily live again, but out of loyalty that had been at the time forgotten. An effervescent grin capable of both good cheer and mass murder, and the heartbroken fossil acolyte madman that would have lost her. A vampire's girlfriend. A young girl's hero. A ghost who was only a child.

They hear Lanette's mad laughter, her genuine offer to "help" them, that they knew was false, that she admitted was false, and the shadows she summoned at them. The desperate scramble to carve a shape into the ground and walls around them.

The anger they felt at their past, turned into a weapon against the people they ambushed. Forced kisses followed by hurting.

The voices were supposed to save the world, or so they thought. Save people. How much had they saved lately?

A useless liability. A bad example. Nothing worth respect or pride or affection. Only good for fighting, and every time they fought, they lost. "Are you all right?" They saw the pity in the question. "Yeah," they always answered, because no one wanted to deal with that.

The shovel rose and fell. The sharp edge gathered more shadows to pour over each thought. A graveyard of people and memories and feelings.

They continued carving the symbol into the sandstone spire, and dug themselves down into the tomb. A flood of shadow swirling with memory washed over them, every new thought falling into this same dark hole and meeting the same fate.

Keep moving. Keep digging. Keep burying. The next big distraction will keep you going until the next big disaster.

The scientist was very busy among it all.

This time watching it through, Bill picks up some static distortion - someone editted this part from outside. It only takes a few moments for him to decrypt it.

As their memories drift by, another person moves through the memory. Lanette is subtly watching at first, but eventually she gets more and more intrigued, and finally approaches the scientist

"Its so beautiful," she whispered, as she watched.

That's how ruins are. The scientist glanced back at Lanette, and the shadows of Moscopole surge around them, but ultimately collided with the barrier of the seals.

"So many emotions, so many memories, its a wonder your mind doesn't burst," Lanette stated, staying relatively sane at the moment. "Knowledge, triumph, devastation, regret... No wonder they respect you. I didn't understand before."

"Scorn," they corrected her.

"Tell me about them," Lanette asked, "the storm gets worse, and has nowhere to go. You contain it, the power of a million storms, but you can't release it."

A flicker of Lanette attacking them. The scars around their eyes tighten. "Yeah. I can."

Lanette looked a little sad upon seeing that memory, and stayed silent for a few seconds. Then, she asked one question: "How?"

They turned towards her, lightning seeming to flash across the marks on them. "You think the wars I fight are for show? Every time I'm so much closer to finally ending this."

Lanette stood still, not entirely sure what's going on anymore. "Every end is a beginning," she said, hoping she's on to something, "if we keep digging, the ground will collapse above us."

"That's the idea," they answered. "This is the only way I can limit the damage." And it doesn't always work, they admitted.

"And throughout all of it, the storm still rages on," Lanette pointed out. She then started to help the scientist dig, her own memories coming to the forefront.

Lanette left her sister behind in Moscople, as images raged on and passed them. Then, she made changes to the PC system, causing the deaths of countless pokemon. She laughed in horror as she activated the Cattson clock in Amais' breeding chambers. She worked with the SupremeEvil, developing new methods of dream tracking. She spent time going mad in isolation in a jail cell, with a purple castle in the sky in her dreams as her only form of escape.

The storm, once big, started raging further, hollow victories, crushing defeats, and terrifying memories passed through them. Choices which hurt, choices which lead to pain, choices that lead to danger, all of them.

The wind increased to the point where the shovels became hard to hold, and dust flew across the landscape.

Lanette's memories began to try to swarm her.

She recoiled in shock, expecting some pushback, but not prepared for the massive storm of regret that enveloped her, that she thought she had pushed out long ago. She did what she needed to. She was misled. She tried to save her universe. She wanted to do what was right. She was just trying to survive.

Lanette struggled and struggled, trying to keep digging, trying to continue pushing the memories away, but soon, she can't, frozen in her own fear. She knew she could have done things differently, but can't fathom how. There had to be a better path. There had to be.

"Lanette?" The scientist reached through, a hand pulling on her shoulder, suddenly realizing she's real and not a memory. "You're not supposed to be here!" they shouted to her. "Get out while you can!"

Lanette shook her head in what is perhaps pure stubbornness, perhaps respect. She placed her hands on the shovel and starts digging again. One. Two. Three. She counted, saying a number with each time she moved the shovel, moving memories aside and continuing to fight the winds.

"M... My fate is tied to yours," Lanette barely breathed out, "What happens to us is up to you."

"Your fate is your own and it's up for you to choose but you have to make a decision!"

"I..." Lanette panicked, "I don't know... I want to help, I... I want... I want..."

Finally, Lanette's body gave out to the stress, as the shovel went flying in the air, hitting a weak point above them in their hole. Lanette was knocked out as the winds refilled the hole with sand, burying them both alive.

Then, they both woke up, startled and confused, not really sure what just happened. Bill turned off the recording, sat back, and considered.

* * *

Lanette sat down, finally feeling a semblance of safety for the first time in a long time. Sure, she wasn’t among allies here, but she wasn’t being executed. That was something. She also wasn’t in a jail cell, which was another positive.

At least, it wasn’t a normal looking jail cell. She was able to move around and explore, even try to learn the secrets guarded in this land, but the moment she stepped out of line, she knew the Major wouldn’t hesitate to restrict her movements. She hoped that being in the scientist’s good graces was enough to protect her. The scientist didn’t know it, but their word carried weight and power with this group, this was as clear as day. As long as the scientist stayed supportive of them, she was untouchable in this place. Nobody was going to kill her.

She hoped, anyway. Perhaps this is what friendship is useful for. It was a nice feeling.

As she reflected on her situation, she glanced over the horizon, and noticed someone walking towards her. Reflexively, she grabbed her knife and set herself in a defensive position, before realizing she didn’t necessarily need to here.

She started to relax, then clutched her knife tighter as she realized it was Bill.

“Don’t worry,” Bill said, approaching with his hands above his head, “I’m not here to hurt you.”

Lanette didn’t believe him for a second, and kept both of her eyes locked on him, scanning for even the slightest movement that looks out of place. Bill didn’t seem to be in an aggressive stance, but with him, that meant nothing. He was tricky, he was always stronger than he seemed, he never did what you expected him to.

“I’m sorry,” Bill started.

Of all the things Lanette was expecting, this was not it. She backed up, and searched to see if this is an illusion. Between Bill, and Astrum, anything was possible, but she couldn’t detect anything. She did the only thing she could do, she backed away, terrified.

“I’m ready to accept that I’m not the one who should be hunting you,” Bill elaborated, unphased by Lanette’s panic. “I helped create you, and every time I see you, every time I think about you, I don’t see you, I see the mistakes I’ve made. I see the young girl I turned in to my living weapon, I see the unflinching loyalty I instilled in you, I see the skills I trained you to do, and I forget that you… are still human, behind all that. I thought I was doing what I had to do, but… I was wrong.”

Lanette jumped and tripped over her own feet, falling flat as she realized she can’t fly. “Not dreaming,” she muttered, “the chess master was telling the truth. I didn’t believe him. So, you aren’t here to kill me?”

Bill shook his head. “No, I’m here to say I’m done with our game, you’re here, in Astrum, and I’m letting you go free. The Major may or may not, but I’m done arguing, I’m done trying to hunt you. You deserve better, and maybe… maybe I can start to make things right now. I don’t know. I just…”

As Bill started to tear up, Lanette finally understood what was happening, and lets out a terrifying laugh that fills the room. “Ahahahahaha! If you could do it all again, would you?”

“N… No!” Bill said, just a split second too slowly, the momentary hesitation giving away what both of them knew. “I mean, I don’t want to! I could have found another way, I could have…”

Lanette laughed, “The chessmaster doesn’t change, only the circumstances do. You did what you had to, you saved the world. I would have done it too-ooo!”

Bill recoiled, now on the back foot. “B… But you wouldn’t have! That’s my point, you wouldn’t have until I did this to you. You are more than what I did to you, I think you’re rediscovering that. You…”

As Bill was talking, Lanette took out her knife and charged Bill with extremely impressive speed and reflexes. Bill flinched back, *this is it,* he thought, *She’s been waiting for her chance and I trusted her, I…*

Lanette stopped an inch from Bill’s throat, laughing maniacally, then put away the knife.

“The chessmaster,” she sung, “The hero, the one broken soul! Oh, how your heart breaks so that others may be whole! The amount that you hate, the amount that you’ve saved, the amount that you’ve broken. You make the judgments and regret the consequences, but without you… we’d both be dead.”

With that she backed down, and muttered a half-whispered apology to The Major, then laid down on the ground. Bill stared, took a moment to catch his breath, and sighed.

“You… You’re right,” He said, surprised to hear himself say these words, “If I were faced with the same circumstances again, I might do the same thing again. But I don’t like it, and I wish I could say something else here.”

Lanette grinned, and laughed some more, “But you have done it, and the consequences are set. You have made me and I have become you! Now, We both need to accept that.”

Bill shook his head, “No, you aren’t me, you’re… something else. Something unique, something different."

Lanette’s smile grew, but then she reflexively jumped back into a defensive position.

“Someone’s coming,” she whispered, motioning Bill to get down.

The scientist barged in with a tray piled high with warm steaming homebaked sentimentality. "WHO. WANTS. COOKIES?!" They shouted, then stopped when they saw the two and the tension. "Oh," they wondered, awkwardly.

Bill and Lanette glanced at each other, then glanced at the scientist, then back at each other, recognizing Lanette was panicked not a second ago.

They both busted out laughing. Bill was laughing more than the scientist had ever seen them laugh before, as if an entire world hds been lifted from his shoulders. Lanette, upon seeing Bill's reaction, laughed more, and the contagion spread, echoed back, and wasn't showing any signs of stopping soon.

The scientist looked a little more wary. "I'll just leave these here then," they offered.

The two had trouble stopping laughing, but Lanette shook her head.

"Stay," She asked, "thank you."

They glanced again between them, and offered their own apology. "Sorry."

Bill seemed broken, unable to stop laughing. Lanette grinned though, "I'm witnessing something new. That's reward in itself."

They continued to look a little lost, this particular situation not something they were expecting. They supposed they could mediate and try to head off any danger or harm.

Bill finally stopped laughing long enough to speak. "I... I'm just... relieved."

The scientist continued to feel a little bad about yelling at Bill, considering his own history.

Bill elaborated, "I'm just... glad to see she's safe. I'm... sorry. I didn't realize, I've been afraid of myself, I've been terrified of this moment, and... I'm still alive! I'm... amazed, honestly."

Lanette laughed, "I can't kill you, you're too useful, and we're going to need you against the evil. But... I appreciate this. Thank you."

“Do we know what the evil is yet?” They asked. “I couldn’t see much through the future sight, though maybe the method it attacked might give a clue.”

Lanette sighed, "it could be anywhere and everywhere. I don't think it's here. The agents change form, they can be anyone or anything. Not everything is as it seems."

Bill, for the first time, seemed to listen to Lanette. "Hold up," he said, "you're saying that there are shapeshifters infiltrating our world and hunting you, that are serving something far more powerful?"

Lanette rolled her eyes and sighed, "that's all I've been saying, finally you've caught up."

“It seemed likely to me someone had infiltrated your world,” the scientist agreed. “I thought maybe it was other Outsiders or Gensokyoans, that was one of my motives for going into Moscopole.”

"Did we find anything?" Lanette asked in plain English. "The shadows could have been an army, but now it's just a pet. I don't have any defenses anymore."

Bill shivered at the thought of Lanette having an army of shadows, but refrained from commenting on that.

They shook their head. “I tried to trace any signs of anything like me mixed with outsiders to check for gensokyoans and got nothing. It does still seem to me like someone probably deliberately introduced those outsiders to destabilize your world, or,” they look away from them both for a moment, “to create people who would.”

Bill sighed. "Of course. They created the two of us. But the shadows are different from the master you served for those years, right? What happened to you, anyway? I was turned in to a doll during that time."

Lanette laughed at this, "a doll? Justice then came for both of us in the end. Promises of power, if freedom. Promises of family. A place of trust, a place I could get back what the world took from me. But it was a lie, it is still a lie. I continued your work. I continued the brilliant women's work. I was given perfect facilities, materials you could only dream of. Progress, science, it was fun, but it was not free. It was never free."

"And the evil used you the same way I did. Saw your potential and used the shadows in you to command loyalty. Showed strength that you would follow."

Lanette nodded, "it was all the same."

“Even the motives?” The scientist asked, skeptically.

"The evil takes in people, it isn't harsh, it is kind, loving. It creates a family, and it treats its family well. Its army aren't the mighty, its army are the weak, the frail, the ones with untapped potential, shunned from the worlds they're taken from. The evil is the first place these people feel accepted, where they feel they have a family, and the family is a force for conquest."

“That’s the methodology,” they pointed out. “As far as I’m aware Bill’s motive was to negate the threat of the outsiders or outsider influence and believed the fossils and voices caused the invasion. But an enemy that dumps pure insanity into a world hoping to create destabilizing agents is a purely divide and conquer thing.”

She considered this. "True, though it does believe in its cause. It believes it alone can save these worlds, it alone can unite and rule reality."

“About how likely was it Wally would’ve been set against you eventually, as a test of strength and as a test of loyalty for you both?”

Lanette thought it over. "It seems unlikely. Tests of loyalty would come, but not against each other."

They think they’ve hit on a possibility. “Managing different teams though... stir up a fight between two different sides and back both of them and see who wins is also a divide and conquer tactic.”

Bill pondered that. "True, and I'd be surprised if it doesn't use this tactic. The important thing right now though, is how do we find a shapeshifter?"

“I think we talk to .bat.”

Bill agreed, "I think so, Lanette, I want you to come with us."

Lanette glared at him, "No more orders," she insisted.

Bill nodded, "Right. Lanette, can you come with us?"

"Of course," she replied, "our next step is set."

“Second step,” the scientist smiled a little. “First step is to dance.”

Lanette grinned, and Bill sighed, "Ok," He agreed, "I guess we could." Before they walked out, Bill asked Lanette one more thing, "Hey, uh... Lanette... Do you want to see your sister?"

Lanette's expression was serious again. "Is she safe?"

Bill nodded, "She is, I've set her up in Hoenn, but haven't introduced her to our lives yet. I feel she should find her own path, things have been complicated enough for her."

Lanette smiled, "Thank you, I agree. May she be spared our fate, and live a happy life. I may see her sometime, but... I don't think I'm ready to yet. Too much has happened, too much has changed."

Bill sighed, "All right. If you do, just... let me know."

The scientist remembered the tray of cookies they’re holding. “Oh, right. I’m sorry to you both for the way I brought up the past earlier.”

Bill shrugged. "I'm sorry for trying to pit you against her. Maybe I am right, but I think she is serious right now about this other threat. There's more to her than I realized, I was denying that."

Lanette smiled. "Thank you for helping me stay alive. I may be cursed, but I'm not ready to die quite yet."

They then looked at the tray of cookies.

"Oh, right, uh, thanks for the cookies too." Bill said, taking a couple.