'Flawed Copy.'
'Alert.'

'Don't forget to grab the brownies.'

"I know."

'Flawed Copy.'
'Alert.'

'I'm sure he'll accept your apology. You're a good person, Erica. The Sage will forgive you. Don't worry. Just be yourself. I'm rooting for you!'

"Leave me alone. You're not helping."

Erica had spent the better part of the week home from work in her room crying, sleeping, and trying to recover from the extensive and extreme changes Flawed Copy had forced on her. She couldn't stand her new psychically enhanced body. It was too different, too sensitive, too powerful. She didn't feel normal or real or right. Her eyes itched all the time and hurt when she looked at bright lights. Her limbs were clumsy, heavy, and awkward. And everything was sore. Her feet, her hands, her arms, her legs, her back, muscles she didn't even know she had... everything hurt all the time.

At least she didn't feel sick anymore. At least, not as much. Her newly revamped central nervous system had a far greater tolerance for drugs and strange psychic stimuli, and her revamped urinary and digestive systems were a lot more efficient at processing and filtering out waste. She still felt a bit loopy whenever she smoked more than a single Rampage cigarette in one sitting, but it didn't make her feel like her head was going to explode anymore. The stomach aches didn't go away, but they were a lot less severe now. Fewer migraines. Less dizziness. No more throwing up every two hours on the dot.

It was a mixed blessing. At any rate, Erica didn't have any choice in the matter, so she might as well try to make the best of it, right?

'Flawed Copy.'
'Grand Clairvoyance. Life Force Sense. Emotion Sense. Indicator.'

'The SAGE OF DESTRUCTION is listening to music in his student Michael's office in the recruitment division (suite 1404) along with his other student DEWAYNE. The SAGE OF DESTRUCTION is curious, amused, and-'

"Would you stop? I've had enough of your nonsense today. I don't want to know what he's thinking. I don't care. You're just messing with me because you have nothing better to do."

Flawed Copy never bothered arguing with Erica. It didn't have the capacity to feel anger, annoyance, or resentment. It didn't care what Erica said. All it cared about was helping her be more like Jessica. Yes, it was helping her. Just not in the way she wanted. If it wanted Erica to suffer, it wouldn't be encouraging her to read self-help books and watch daytime talk shows on the off chance she might pick up a tip or two on how to interact with other people. It wouldn't make her practice public speaking in the bathroom every day. It wouldn't give her a body capable of shrugging off high-level radiation poisoning.

And that was the problem. It wasn't a malicious or evil presence. Not really. It was coming from a place of love. A twisted, bizarre form of love, but love nonetheless. It was just completely out of control. It should have never been able to acquire abilities anywhere near as powerful as 'Grand Clairvoyance,' 'Soul Snake,' 'Control,' or 'Psychic Structure.' If it was limited to using little things like Alex's 'Watchlist,' Tracy's 'Alert,' and Maxwell's 'Emotion Sense,' then maybe it would even be kind of nice to have around.

But no. It had to have access to 'Grand Clairvoyance' for some reason, and it had to show it off. It had no sense of restraint. It kept pushing itself further and further just because it could. Erica could feel her mind breaking down more and more with each passing day, bulging and stretching to accomodate her unininvited guest's ever-growing arsenal of ultra-powerful psychic abilities. She felt like she was going to transform into a Feeder any minute. Or, more realistically, something much worse.

Flawed Copy was broken. And it was broken because it loved Jessica. It loved her so much that it couldn't help itself.

Perhaps... perhaps that's why Erica couldn't bring herself to hate it. At least, not all the time.

"I FLY SO HIGH, SO HIGH, I SMOKE THAT NUKE, THEN I SOAR THROUGH THE SKY! "

"Um... is the Sage of Destruction here?"

The former Sage of Destruction was listening to music, just like Flawed Copy said. Loud hip hop music. Erica poked her head through the door and saw the wise old man in a purple robe pumping his fist and bobbing his head to the beat. He looked like he was having the time of his life. For a moment, Erica thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.

The Sages were supposed to be wise and quiet and peaceful. They sat around contemplating the mysteries of the universe all day. They discussed the ancient laws that governed the earth, the heavens, and the great seas and meditated on the inner workings of the soul. That's what she thought, at least.

But then, this was the same wise old man who got himself banned from the Grand Temple for buying a fancy mansion and filling it up with priceless ancient artifacts. The same man who wore loud, garish clothing and expensive jewelry despite the fact that he swore an oath of poverty. The man who was rumored to spend all of his free time with murderers and ex-cons. Who was Erica to say what he could and couldn't enjoy?

"I FLY SO HIGH, NO LIE, NO LIE..."

"Hmph. The former Sage of Destruction is currently occupied. But if it's you, Erica, I have a few moments to spare."

Erica quietly stepped into Michael's office and shut the door behind her. She stood awkwardly in the middle of the room holding her tray of brownies in her trembling hands. The former Sage's disciple, Dewayne, was sitting on a large leather couch reading a men's fashion magazine.

"D-Money, would you mind giving me a moment alone with our guest?"
"Oh... oh yeah. That is cool, teach."

Dewayne left his magazine on the table and walked out of the room without even looking Erica in the eyes. The Sage of Destruction turned down the music and raised a hand in greeting.

"To what do I owe this honor?"

The disgraced Sage seemed amused by Erica's nervousness. Erica took a deep breath and slowly approached him, holding out the brownies. She cleared her throat and tried to speak in a clear voice, but the words wouldn't come out right.

"I wanted to see how you were doing... and... um..."
"I am doing splendidly, child. As you can see, the supreme ones have granted me a stay of execution.”
"Y-yeah. That's good. I just wanted to let you to know, um... that I'm sorry about what happened."

The Sage accepted Erica's apology with surprising ease. Or, he didn't think Erica did anything wrong. She wasn't sure what exactly it was he said. She was really nervous about apologizing and the music was a little too loud for her to hear too well anyway. She was pretty sure he said something along the lines of "what happened was my fault" or "it wasn't your fault," or maybe "don't worry about it." She was positive he was in a good mood, though. Flawed Copy told her so multiple times.

Erica was relieved when the former Sage finally stopped talking and turned his attention to the tray of brownies. She sat and watched him eat while fidgeting with her hands. She was starting to get annoyed with her own awkward behavior when she realized the Sage was staring at her.

"I sense there is still something troubling you, child."
"I'm... um... that is... I couldn’t possibly bother you... it’s not your problem.”

"Let’s not tiptoe around the issue. Out with it."
"I feel bad asking for help, especially after all this, but... I was wondering if you could help me... with my p-powers..."

"Be at ease, child. I will help you in any way I can."
"It’s getting stronger, and... and... I can't control it..."

'Flawed Copy.'
'Soul Noise. Autohypnosis.'

"I am-"
"Ungh!"

Flawed Copy tried to stop her from saying anything else, but Erica fought back. This was her only chance. She bit down hard on her tongue so Flawed Copy couldn't hypnotize her and suppressed her aura as much as she could. Her mouth quickly filled up with blood.

She was trying her hardest to be strong. Stronger than she really was. She was terrified, but she wasn't going to give up control over her own body without a fight.

The Sage looked at the pained expression on Erica's face and smiled knowingly. He lifted his index finger in the air and mumbled under his breath.

'Fated Outcome.'

Erica felt the pressure inside her mind start to fade away. The room started to spin and she closed her eyes. Her aura had been reduced to almost nothing. Erica exhaled deeply and relaxed. It was over. The Sage was going to help her. She was going to get her body back. He would destroy Flawed Copy, or weaken it, or something, and she would get to enjoy a pleasant, normal life without any more psychic craziness.