Miss Planner hoped the process of transferring a piece of her soul would be easy. She would have enjoyed spending the rest of the day with Erica having a picnic or something. But it didn't end up that way. In fact, it was a horrifically painful experience that left both woman in so much agony, they wished they were dead. Nikki dragged Miss Planner and Erica down to the research division where they gave them both painkillers to help dull their senses.

It was done. Miss Planner's light had faded. She had about half as much psychic power as she did before. One of her strongest abilities, 'Soul Creation,' was gone entirely. Her mind was a little less sharp. It was a little easier for her thoughts to wander. It was a little harder to remember things. She had been weakened, diminished, and she was painfully aware of it. But she was still alive. And she had a successor now. Someone who could carry on her legacy. Someone who could continue guiding the Chosen Ones on their path to world domination. Someone who could become the next Miss Planner.

She had to be careful from here on out. She had to avoid any situation that might expose what she did. It would probably be best to avoid the Elders entirely for a while. They'd notice the change in her aura immediately if they got close enough. Maybe the Sages, too. She had to keep Erica safe until she adjusted to the new arrangement of her psyche. And she had to get stronger again. As quickly as possible, before her enemies realized what kind of state she was in.

In short, Miss Planner had a lot of work ahead of her.

For the first time since she was a young girl, she felt lost and unsure of herself. She realized how fragile she was. How vulnerable she was. And that scared her. She was afraid that she would never find her footing again.

After a few hours of drifting in and out of consciousness, she finally managed to head up to the cafeteria for dinner with Erica in tow.

"The painkillers aren't strong enough. My head is killing me. I can't eat this."
"You don't have to eat. You can just... just get some food to go..." whimpered Erica.

"No... I want to eat. I'm just not hungry. My stomach hurts from the pills. I need calories."
"Yeah..."

Miss Planner pushed her plate of pasta across the table, a little too forcefully. Her head pounded furiously, and she had a splitting headache.

"I'm so sorry, Erica. I tried..."
"No, it's okay... I understand. I think I'll get us some soup."

"I'll get it. Sit down."

Nikki hopped to her feet, grabbed her purse, and ran off to the cafeteria line, leaving Erica and Miss Planner alone at the table. Erica sat quietly, not wanting to draw any attention to herself. Miss Planner stared at the food in front of her. Pasta in basil cream sauce with cherry tomatoes. One of her favorites, normally. But now, it looked and tasted disgusting.

"I feel bad for Nikki..." whispered Erica. "She really wanted to go to the mall with her friends..."
"She's fine. She can go another time. The whole point of this was to keep her safe, you know? That's why she's not complaining anymore. But I wouldn't have sent Milly home if I'd known it was going to be this b- nnngh!"

A new wave of pain crashed over Miss Planner's head, and she had to stop talking. Erica scooted closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Planner."

Miss Planner felt her eyes welling with tears.

"It's okay... it's just a headache. How are you? It... it worked, right? Please tell me it worked."
"Yeah... it seems like it's combining with Flawed Copy, just like you said it would. I'm leaving the rings on tonight just to be sure, but it's... it's not bossing me around anymore. Do you think we should try to come to work tomorrow? I already missed two days this week..."

"I'm staying home. You should too if you don't feel better by tomorrow. It's not like either of us have any major work to do. Everything's kind of on hold right now, and I don't think I'll be able to come up with anything new with this headache anyway."
"Yeah... okay. But I think I'll be fine once I get some sleep... it's just that the medical beds in the lab aren't very comfy..."

"I'm back. Here's your soup. It's tomato. That's all they had left. Drink up. I need to leave soon. I want to see you both finish your soup before I go."

Nikki brought back a tray with two small bowls of soup on it and a brown paper bag. She dropped the tray down in front of Miss Planner with a thud. 

"I know you don't keep any food at your house, so I had them pack up some sandwiches for you. And there's a box for your pasta. For tomorrow. In case you can't make it in."

"That was really nice of you, Nikki. Thank you. Come on, Erica. Let’s finish up so Nikki can get going.”

Miss Planner winced as she drank down the soup. It tasted horrible. But she forced herself to finish it, knowing she needed it. Her stomach was turning sour with every passing second, and her head pounded viciously.