It took two days for things to settle, between Lisa getting proper healing of her limbs and the Major almost avoiding Taylor. She knew Sophia was spending time with the Major, and she wasn’t sure how to feel about that. It all culminated an hour earlier when Taylor told Sophia that she and the Major shared a mind. That had nearly led to a fight, only for Melissa to step in and force the pair to sit down and talk.

Now, Melissa sat between them, her recliner upright as she glanced from one, to the other. “Right, so, I take it you’ve noticed?”

“That something changed?” Taylor asked.

The Major nodded. “You could say that.”

Melissa sighed. “Welcome to plurality. The past Butchers and I have something similar going on.”

Taylor shared a look with the Major and an internet search was performed, dozens of windows opening as they worked in tandem to sort the data. What they read certainly fit their circumstances, and several things slotted into place. It fit, and yet, was that truly what happened to them?

“That seems a bit far-fetched,” the Major said, echoing her own thoughts. Taylor had to blink for a moment, realizing what had just happened. “Are you sure this isn’t just a trauma response?”

Melissa smiled softly, though there was pain behind it as she shifted in the chair. “I only have the one body, but that doesn’t mean I only have one mind. You have two bodies, a power that allows nigh endless multitasking, and two distinct personalities split between them. Major, admit it, you were lost without Taylor having her usual outlet, weren’t you?”

“You’re not wrong,” the Major said, glancing back at Taylor. “What was it like for you?”

Taylor thought it over, remembering the distance she felt from everything, like she was a muffled voice barely heard as everything happened around her. Like someone else was in control, yet she was still experiencing all of it. A shiver ran down her spine, imagining if that was how a Master victim felt.

“It wasn’t pleasant, was it?” Melissa asked.

“No,” Taylor said, her voice shaking. “It was like I was a spectator in my own body, save for one short-lived moment when the Major insisted Dragon call us Taylor.”

“I think that was the moment it started to click for me,” the Major said. “That something had changed.”

“It’s probably best that you two explore things between you,” Melissa said. “I’ll always be around if you have questions or concerns, but ultimately, this is your journey, not mine.”

“You’re just going to leave us?” Taylor asked.

Melissa smiled. “I’m just going to the room across the hall. We are busy preparing for a Nine run after all, and unlike you two, I can’t set up a rotation for near round the clock Tinkering.”

“At least we don’t need separate sleep schedules,” the Major said. “That would get annoying.”

“I think we might end up there,” Taylor contested. “It’s not been overt, but sometimes one of us will doze off without the other falling asleep. It’s weird when it happens too.”

“I hadn’t noticed that,” the Major said with a frown. A gentle click of a closing door drew both of their gazes, Melissa had slipped out on them. “Damn, she really wants us to sit down and talk, doesn’t she?”

Taylor sat across the break room from the Major, watching her, wondering. She could see herself through the Major’s eyes, that hadn’t changed, their beings intertwined, and yet…

And yet.

There was a separation there, not complete nor defined, but observable. The Major could see it too, they could feel one another as easily as they felt themselves. That Taylor knew that only made the coming conversation all the more disconcerting.

“This is weird,” Taylor said, attempting to break the ice.

“You’re telling me,” the Major answered, sitting back and setting her arms on the back of the sofa. “Like, where do we even start? Obviously something happened that caused a division between us, but I think it was forming even before that.”

“Getting gunned down did seem to accelerate things,” Taylor begrudgingly agreed. “I was barely present during your raid on the PRT, like our mind tried to reconcile the loss, but couldn’t, so it left the division in place and reinforced it.”

“Sounds as good as any other theory,” the Major said with a sigh. “I started as nothing but a cover story for you, a persona adopted for your combat shell. Now, I’m something more than that, and that is just…”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Terrifying?” Taylor finished. The Major nodded. “I get it. Like, my brain, or rather, ours, is in your head. Am I even the real Taylor? Are you actually her, and I’m just some fragment of her old self preserved?”

Silence lingered for a moment, the Major staring up at the ceiling while cold dread coiled around Taylor’s stomach. After an agonizingly long time, the Major spoke.

“I think at this point, we shouldn’t dwell on who is what. We’re each our own person now, and thinking any deeper is just going to lead to existential questions we aren’t ready to ask.”

“Easy for you to say when you’re the literal brains of this operation at the moment,” Taylor grumbled.

“Well, if it makes you feel better,” the Major said, pausing for a moment. “I feel no attraction to Lisa. She’s your girlfriend, not mine even if I do still feel protective of her.”

“That was a bit random?” Taylor said, sitting up a bit straighter. Why would she bring up something like that unless… “Wait, who are you interested in?”

“It should be obvious,” the Major whispered and Taylor felt a spark of indignation.

“Sophia,” she said, and the Major looked away. “Are you fucking serious? She’s the one who pushed me into the goddamn locker! She’s the reason I wound up in the hospital where I triggered.”

“She claims Emma pushed you, but it doesn’t matter either way,” the Major answered, cupping her face in her hands. “If you needed any real proof that we’ve become our own persons, that should be it. I’ve been the one working with her all this time, bantering as we take down criminals, cursing when things go sideways. She didn’t know until you burst her bubble in a moment of spite. I think that was the moment I realized how different we really were, because I wanted to beat the shit out of you for hurting her like that.”

Taylor blinked at the vehemence in the Major’s voice, watching her fists clench and tremble. She was genuinely angry, and could feel that rage in the parts of her mind that weren’t quite disjointed from the woman.

She knew there was no denying it, they really were different people at this point. Taylor felt nothing but loathing for Sophia each time she looked at her, and she wasn’t sure that would ever change. She needed to talk to Lisa, try to work some of this out with her girlfriend, which was apparently something that was uniquely her. Maybe bring it up to Melissa as well, see if it’s a good idea to take it to Jacob or not.

The fear had been there, that she was the fake, that Lisa would be the Major’s and Taylor would be left with nothing. The relief she felt left her woozy. Shaking her head, Taylor stood and walked towards the door. She reached out and touched the handle, but hesitated to turn it.

“I’m going to go talk with Lisa for a bit. Maybe you should do the same with Sophia.”

The Major watched her for a moment, then nodded, standing up as well. Taylor didn’t wait, throwing the door open and made her way out of the room and down the hall. She heard it slam shut behind her, and a moment later, the Major stepped out, shaking her head in amusement.

Taylor hated that she could feel her… Whatever the Major was, she could tell what she was feeling despite them having mostly separate thoughts. It was so damn weird. Shaking off those thoughts, Taylor hurried to Lisa’s room. She was mostly recovered, if a bit skinny following having her limbs regrown. Her shell was almost ready, but the Major was reluctant to continue to work on it at times given their separation.

Sophia couldn’t get a shell, her power affected her physical form and was electricity adverse besides. She wouldn’t be able to get anything other than some of the biological upgrades Riley and Amy came up with. There were plenty of them, but none carried the security that a cyber brain brought with it.

Taylor knocked on Lisa’s door, more out of courtesy than anything. She had already pinged Lisa to let her know she was coming. When the door opened, her girlfriend greeted her, moisture dripping from her brow as she dabbed some of it with a towel.

“Hey Tay, you caught me in the shower,” Lisa said, trying for levity, but with the way she was biting her lip, Taylor could tell she was nervous.

“Hey Lise,” she answered, pulling her girlfriend into a hug. “Missed you.”

Lisa snorted, pulling back but kept her arms on Taylor’s shoulders. “Dork, you saw me less than two hours ago for my physical therapy.”

“Feels like longer,” Taylor muttered. “The Major and I finally sat down and talked for a bit, it didn’t go well.”

“Power’s off,” Lisa said, guiding her over to the bed where they sat down, side by side. “Talk to me Tay.”

“This plural thing, it’s scary,” Taylor whispered. “Am I even me? Am I a broken fragment of what used to be Taylor? I just, I’m not the body with the brain in it, the Major is.”

“You’re afraid that she’s the ‘real’ you,” Lisa answered. “Well, I gotta call bullshit on that.”

Taylor startled, looking up at her girlfriend whose eyes were filled with conviction. “How can you be so sure?”

“I don’t need my power to know you’re the woman I fell for,” Lisa said, cupping her cheek. “I’d tell you to stop worrying, but I know you better than that, so I’ll just keep showing you at every opportunity that you’re still Taylor.”

She smiled, leaning into the soft touch of her girlfriend. Was it really that simple? Taylor didn’t think so, but in the face of such a touching and heartfelt declaration, who was she to argue against it? She sat there for some time, just basking in the presence of someone who loved her, who didn’t second guess if she was real, not that anyone but Taylor had truly done so.

So of course that was when the Major found Sophia and ruined the moment. Groaning, Taylor pulled herself away and sat up. She might be her own person, but that didn’t prevent reminders of their joined existence from slipping in.

“What is it?” Lisa asked.

“Sophia and the Major are going to spar. They picked up Amy and everything.”

“Wanna watch?” Lisa asked with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “I bet it’s gonna be bloody.”

Taylor grinned. “Only if we grab some popcorn first.”