Tanya ushered the group into the shop to talk, as they once again fell into at least 3 conversations at once.

Ishita was standing awkwardly by the closest armchair, seeming unsure whether she should join in, but very clearly listening in.

The sight of her with her long prosthetic fingers across the back of the armchair gave Tanya pause. Her mind was filled with a memory of Ishita in the same place, back before she looked like this, and before this armchair was even here. It quietened the chaos around her for a moment.

"You can stay if you want," Tanya said. Her voice was quiet over Olena and Mrs Eceer quizzing Ian, but the words cut through anyway, and Tanya knew Ishita had heard them.

Ishita gave the same sad smile that she had last time and twitched her head slightly to one side.

Tanya had expected it. "I owe you a tattoo now. When do you wanna chat about it?" Tanya asked.

Ishita furrowed her eyebrows. Tanya remembered when she could read in a single look how Ishita was feeling. She wasn't sure what was going on in her mind now.

Lookin' concerned for a tattoo is new, I wonder what it is?

Ishita looked like she was about to say something, but then Olena yelled some excited NO WAY, and it seemed to remind her of where they were. "Could we chat tomorrow morning?"

"Absolutely," Tanya said.

"And, um, if you weren't too busy—"

"Anything."

"Fahad misses you."

"Oh, shit." Tanya had forgotten. "I'll make a full mornin'—day of it. Whatever it needs to be."

Ishita's shoulders relaxed. "Thank you." She placed her hand on Tanya's shoulder as she passed to walk out the door. It was cold. It took Tanya a moment to realise that it hadn't been the prosthetic.

As soon as Ishita left the shop, it felt like the sound rushed into her ears again.

"We need to be testing this," Mrs Eceer insisted.

"I barely got through killing the monster—"

Olena cut him off. "It needs danger—we can see how difficulty scales!"

"Or perhaps we change the reward," Mrs Eceer continued. "I believe the authenticity and value will be most potent. If we could send him on some quest we really require, it will level him the fastest."

"Okay, okay, I see. Perhaps just keep killing things to set baseline. 10 monster?! You think will be enough?"

Ian grew paler. "I don't think—"

Mrs Eceer wafted at him with her hand. "You could do them one by one, of course. I think a repetitive activity could be good, especially if we could hone in on the maximum experience for it."

"Guys, this isn't how we test new Abilities," Tanya said, walking over.

"I GOT IT!" Olena yelled. "Most important thing right now is to see if Boss can get through Wards after tweaking. Maybe he can lead one here. If we stack many tasks on the way, then it—what the word—"

"Compounds," Mrs Eceer finished.

"I think I'm better analysing the wards than leading a—" Ian interjected politely.

Mrs Eceer buried her head in her notebook again. "Compounding is a very interesting theory. We will just need Ian to—"

"GUYS!" Tanya yelled. They all turned to look at her. "You aren't listenin' to him." Tanya turned to Ian, ignoring the other two. "Ian, I have an errand if you choose to take it."

"Uhhh," Ian wiped his brow with his plaid shirt sleeve. He looked like a deer in the headlights.

"Assistant would like to learn how to sign. It has the Ability to speed its learning growth. How would two hours sound?" Tanya summoned Assistant as she spoke. By the end of the line, it was perched on her arm.

Ian visibly relaxed. "Oh, yes, that sounds great. But, hm." He furrowed his eyebrows. "It hasn't popped up as an Errand.

Mrs Eceer held up a finger. "May I?" It was far more sheepish than before.

Tanya was glad she'd gotten through to her.

Ian looked at Tanya, like she was going to reply to Mrs Eceer, but Tanya made a point not to.

Eventually, Ian said. "Uh, yes."

"My theory is that Errands must be goal-oriented," Mrs Eceer said.

Tanya scratched her chin. "Suppose that makes sense. Could always draw it out longer otherwise."

Assistant hopped down, writing a note.

Would you teach me everything you know?

"Is that too long?" Tanya asked, reading over his shoulder.

Ian shook his head. "I'm conversational, and I have some books I already promised you when we first spoke."

"I think that offer was more about how strong I could get you. Not sure that's really somethin' I can measure," Tanya said.

"Well, you can have the books in this deal for sure," Ian said. "I'd be happy to do that for the tattoo—along with looking at the Wards of course."

Assistant wrote:

That was a deal with them. This is a deal with me.

It made Tanya smile. Each day Assistant became more and more their own person.

Ian looked as anxious and apologetic as ever. "Oh, I'm sorry for assuming."

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"You can get some specific wording in place for Mrs Eceer with the Wards. She'd be so curious to know how this System works that maybe she can max out the value part of your Errands, eh?" Tanya joked.

"That means I still need to trade you something for the tattoo," Ian said to Tanya.

Tanya's instincts were that Ian had more than paid for it by looking at the Wards and helping Assistant, as well as Mrs Eceer's well-meaning and surprisingly successful goose chase, but that wasn't the right answer. Making these deals was helping him. The best way she could help him was to think of something she really wanted and that he would be really good at.

Tanya wracked her brain for the answer.

Assistant tugged on her sleeve.

Can we get my level up? I might need the Mind Meld to trade with Ian.

"Oh, yeah, course, bud," Tanya said.

Olena was throwing a string of Errand ideas at Ian so long that it looked like his head would burst.

"Maybe brainstorm on paper an' then come to Ian with your best ones?" Tanya said.

"OOOo I need paper!" Olena declared.

Assistant held out some of its paper, and Olena grabbed it with excitement. Tanya noticed her nails were painted a very chipped, deep green.

"You have any colour pens? I think much better in colour," Olena said earnestly.

Tanya smiled. "Top drawer in me flat next to the sofa." Before Olena could completely run out of sight, Tanya added, "You got any spare nail varnish goin'. I'd trade ya for the coloured pens?"

Olena squealed. Disappearing from view. "Deal. I bring next time."

Tanya smirked at Assistant, who was almost vibrating with excitement.

"Think that makes up for the shop watchin'?"

Assistant nodded enthusiastically.

Assistant then turned to Mrs Eceer and Ian. "We need to do a level up. You two wanna chat 'bout Ward Errand stuff first?"

"Sure," Mrs Eceer said.

Ian looked between Mrs Eceer's back and Tanya, throwing 'help me eyes' at Tanya.

All Tanya could do was smile and shrug. Mrs Eceer wouldn't be as harsh on him after Tanya's telling off… she hoped.

"We'll go into the back," Tanya said, turning to go.

Mrs Eceer caught her arm with perfectly painted teal nails.

"That was the kind of thing people remember in a leader."

It touched Tanya. "Thanks, Mrs E." Her smile turned into more of a grin. She glanced at Assistant. "Think it might be so cool that you'd be able to lend me a spare nail varnish of yours?"

Mrs Eceer massaged her temples, sighing deeply. "I'll see what I can do."

Tanya lounged on the tattoo chair, Assistant hovering beside her.

"With all the other mind interface shit messin' with us so much, this might be a weird one."

Assistant stretched.

"You ready?"

A nod.

Once again, they opened the Interface, the two dots filling and taking them through to the options.

Tanya read through the Ability one more time.

• • •

Improved Mind Meld

Unlocked from Unique Track: Prophetic

Can access your interface, memories and thoughts perfectly. Can utilise your muscle memory, Abilities and physical skills as well as you.

• • •

Tanya didn't need to ask Assistant if it was sure. She knew.

They both confirmed the choice, and the world became slow motion.

Tanya turned her head towards Assistant. Everything in her vision was wobbly, like she'd had too much to drink. Her heart raced in her chest, then slowed, then stopped.

For a moment, she felt what it was like to be Assistant.

Her skin was ink, her flesh was ink, everything was ink. She changed shape in her mind's eye, the reality of the limbs below her an uncanny wrongness.

She felt what it was like to be at no temperature at all because Assistant couldn't feel it. It was a sense she could never imagine losing this vividly. Emotions filled to take their place.

They reminded her of a child. Each thing she focused on was everything. She looked at the tattoo chair and was overcome by delight. The subtle glow of the Monster Core in the cupboard filled her with. Then she finally saw Assistant—this creature that was supposed to be her, but also wasn't. She was filled with a love so deep that even though she knew it was her own feelings, she struggled to comprehend it.

Between the all-consuming emotions, she was filled with a boredom like she had never experienced before. Every moment was torture. It was like she'd experienced in Assistant's memory, but so much deeper.

She thought about how Assistant had done that for her without complaint, and the love came back.

Time was moving so fast. So incredibly fast.

Her thoughts jumped around madly as she failed to grasp onto anything for long enough to find meaning.

On instinct, she opened her Interface and saw her Attributes jittering between her own and Assistants.

36 Dexterity and 10 Concentration.

That explained it.

The world was so fast, and the thoughts were so slow.

Tanya clenched her eyes shut again, welcoming the boredom.

She wasn't sure how long had passed before she opened her eyes as just herself again.

Assistant was still, perfectly still. Tanya hadn't remembered the last time Assistant hadn't been floating or twitching or stretching. Actually, she could. She remembered Assistant limp in her hand after being in the mouth of the beast in the stairwell. Her perspective switched between her own and Assistants. Tanya's hands had been so comfortable as the world faded out from under it.

Tanya snapped herself out of it.

Assistant slowly reached for their pile of paper and pen.

Is this what it feels like to be you?

It's nice.

A new memory surfaced, hitting the wind out of her. Now she knew what it felt like to crawl out of her skin. It tingled like pins and needles.

Then darkness. Then light. Assistant crawling out for the first time. The bright light of being created.

"Are you seein' me memories too?" Tanya asked. Words felt foreign on her lips. She already knew the answer before she finished asking.

The entire experience was so discombobulating that Tanya's only point of reference was using her Design Overlay for the first time, but this was different. There was no headache, nor physical discomfort at all.

Tanya felt so close to Assistant in this moment, and although she knew it would fade over time, she would never forget this.

• • •

Achievement: Complete Synergy

Nothing quite takes one's breath away like two puzzle pieces of different sets fitting together perfectly. You have discovered a pair of Abilities with unique Synergy.

These Abilities are:

Number: 10056

Name: Tanya

Ability: Mnemonic Etching

Number: 10056A

Name: Assistant

Ability: Mind Meld

Achievement Boon: These powers now have a 50% Synergy Bonus whilst used in tandem.

• • •

All Tanya could do was gawp.

She knew that Mnemonic Etching could have potential when she chose it, and again when it levelled to allow for her customers to use their memories as well, but this was an entirely different ballgame.

She struggled to communicate what had changed.

Assistant was alive just like her. She knew some of what it felt like to exist as it now, and more than that, she knew how it experienced life with the stats she had given it—

I gave it those stats.

She began to process the experience.

Assistant's Dexterity being so high compared to its Concentration was likely why it experienced the world with so much frustration. The Emotive focus of her Intention had then exaggerated those emotions.

Her thoughts were still jumbled as she tried to put her finger on the growing feeling in her chest.

What if Phantom Brand had been feeding on her life force because of some imbalance in how she'd built it?

What if Tanya had truly understood what it felt like to be Ishita's hand, could she have crafted one that Ishita hadn't learnt to use at all?

The building feeling burst. It was guilt, and it washed through her.

Assistant landed on her arm, pulling her back to the present.

It squeezed her arm, then wrote:

You did the best you could.

Thick tears streamed from Tanya's eyes. She had made Assistant a tool, and she'd completely messed up the balance it needed to function happily. She'd made a life without ever considering what that meant.

Assistant's empathy washed through their connection, and it made her feel even worse.

"I'll help you train your Concentration," Tanya promised.

I know you will.

She ran her hands through her hair, leaning forward onto her knees and letting out a breath.

"We can use this new synergy to help people a lot more. With their memories, maybe we can even get more of them Life Changing Magic Achievements."

Assistant paused. Tanya could feel the depth of its reaction, but it was too complicated to identify.

We.

"Of course 'we', you silly dufus." She cupped Assistant in her hands, laughing and sobbing at the same time. She remembered sitting at the table with Assistant the day she made it. Between both of their recollections at once, the memory came alive like it hadn't since that day.

"You," she said to her friend, like she had so many weeks ago, "are gonna be me secret weapon."

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