Going through the labyrinth--

"Who's the one making the rotten fruit?" Fainntwo repeated. "Honestly... I don't think there's just one answer. I think a lot of things are coming together."

I nodded, and Fainntwo continued.

"Marellia's power to fracture her soul--the kid had learned a variation of it and fractured his identity when he couldn't take it anymore, creating the segments. What was one, became two... That's all. The kid fractured himself into the two of us. There's no third that he created, so it's not some mysterious third party... If we want to get critical about it, I'm probably the most 'kid' of the two of us, given that I'm the one that safeguards the memories. But it's really up to semantics. I'm the kid's past, you're the kid's future, and so on...  Anyway, I can tell you this--I haven't seen anyone else like us here."

I thought about the memories I saw. "If we open the door between us—would he come back—"

"Opening the door just lets us communicate more, but we'll still be two segments holding hands. Imagine a single rectangle. Then imagine a line forming between the two, turning them into squares. That's what we are. That boundary is immutable. That kid was the rectangle, and we're the squares—"

"What if we use Nightmares ARE Fiction to blur the lines?"

"Are you calling us a nightmare, Fainn?"

"A-ahh, no, I didn't mean it—"

"Fainn, there's no changing that past. We are that kid, all grown up. We started from him, but we are not him anymore. We have a purpose different from his, and that's okay."

"But then, the rotten fruit. What is it?"

Fainntwo twisted his lips. "Well, I think it's important to remember the timeline. First came the wish, then came the fracturing that resulted in the two of us, then came the Apocalypse and the powers. The power to fracture came from our mother, and our powers now came from the Apocalypse. There is only one thing these powers have in common. The powers were guided by the wish and shaped by the purposes the kid intended… Based on that, I have a theory…"

"Go on. I want to understand."

"The only other party is our dear subconscious who so graciously stands aside for us… That subconscious transcends this egoic fracturing that has occurred. It's why our powers overlap when you're asleep. I think our subconscious is where the kid's wish is recorded. Maybe our subconscious is scarred… Or maybe we all are. Anyway, that little kid's wish got burned into the deepest part of our being, and then it was answered by the powers we got during the Apocalypse… That wish was targeted at Mother, but the person that made it is no more. For us now, the guys who have to live with the aftermath, I think the fruits might be the symbol of the nightmare we keep telling ourselves is fiction… We were born to handle that nightmare in the kid's place… But no matter how much we try, you will never be able to use +Nightmares ARE Fiction+ on time itself; therefore, you can never turn our past into a fiction. Nightmares are fiction, but the past is set in stone, forever unreachable. The further you get, the harder it is to read that stone, but that's about it… We can't reject it, and maybe, we can't forget it either."

"Maybe it will never let us forget it… Not truly…"

Faintwo chuckled. "Yeah, that past is written in such big, bold letters; we may be able to see it forever."

"So… the fruits… a memory of the past so deeply burned into us that we'll never forget it truly? That's what you think the rotten fruits are? A manifestation of that idea?"

"No matter how many tricks we try, no matter how I sequester myself in here and close the memories off from you, it will always be able to remind you—it is the one nightmare that will never be fictional… A nightmare so strong it has transcended logic and become real. It's the nightmare that rejects your assertion that Nightmares ARE Fiction."

"Damn, man... Is it bad that I hope there's another explanation?"

"I'm not sure any other explanation will be better. But, I have another reason why I think there's not another party like us producing the fruit."

"What's the reason?"

"I'm the one that has to remember everything."

I cocked my head.

"Those fruits aren't there to remind me of anything. I remember the cursed fruit the child plucked out of Gloria's body. I'll never forget it. I close my eyes, and I see it."

I nodded slowly. "They're reminding the one that doesn't remember that scene."

"Yeah… You were the segment created to live, unbound by the past. The one that gets to be happy. You were the kid's attempt at turning the past into a fiction before your power arrived. You are intricately tied to the assertion-- 'Nightmares ARE Fiction.' Every moment you breathe, you live because of that purpose. So, without a Nightmare that you're always, by nature, trying to call fictional, would Nightmares ARE Fiction even work? Maybe the day that the fruits stop manifesting—maybe that's the day you lose your power."

"W-Wow. Why couldn't I come up with that?"

"Because emotion and pseudo-science mumbo-jumbo is the kind of stuff you make up as you go along... But in all seriousness, being behind that door got me closer to our subconscious. It was like a side-effect." Fainntwo chuckled. "I'm sort of closer to enlightenment than you are. But hey, we serve different purposes. You don't need enlightenment when you have me."

"Or served a purpose, I guess," I replied. "Since she isn't in here anymore, we can probably open the door up. No need to be separated, right?"

"We could… But… I don't want to do that too often."

"Why not?"

"Because this is a pretty secure room with only the threads of our subconscious leaving it… This is also where we're storing our really sensitive memories… I think what we have here is an amazing gift. Fracturing WAS a superpower before the Apocalypse powers came. What Mother said about people earning powers—the ability to fracture really was one we EARNED by suffering at her hands. We should use it. Let us use it to gain something not many people have—mental defenses."

"I feel like you're not telling me something."

He sighed. "You're right. Our subconscious is a bit more aware of things, and it whispered some things to me… Fainn, there's someone else who was trying to get in here."

I cocked my head, and then the memories started flooding back. "The woman that looked like Dorth—she was real!"

"Well, real in the sense that she wasn't produced by our head. But yeah—"

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?! She pushed me in here—"

"Exactly. She helped us. I'm not sure what to make of her, so I didn't want to be hasty. On the other hand, I don't want her to see the stuff the kid wanted buried. That's my nature. I need to protect it from you, and from the world. So that's why I want to keep the door closed most times. If you need my power, you need it. Crack the door open, and I'll try to lend it to you, my Mind Rot. Take this inner power of mine into the outer world and let it rot stuff. Given that it only comes out when you sleep, though, you might need to learn some kind of extraordinary method to use it. Maybe you need our subconscious's help or something."

"Yeah… Thinking about how this got to happen, and then the stuff with the Inverse… So far, I've only been able to use +Nightmares ARE Fiction's+ other side through other external factors. So, yeah, I may need extra help to get Mind Rot outside."

"But that's exciting, isn't it? There is another goal for us!"

I chuckled. "Yeah... That is really exciting, Fainntwo."

***

Our journey through the labyrinth of memories came to an end, and I stood in front of a familiar door with Fainntwo.

"Well, here's the door," I said.

"Yup. I'm happy to see it intact," Fainntwo replied.

"You sure you don't want to take control and meet the others?"

"Nope. Honestly, man, I cannot understate how disgusting of an idea that was. I'm the inexplicable existence made for the inside world—you're the guy that was made to be the one who wouldn't be held back by the nightmare that was our childhood. So go out there, unshackled, and become someone amazing." Fainntwo chuckled. "I'll watch everything from the safety of my room."

"Hey... You're really amazing, too, Fainntwo."

Fainntwo looked away and scratched his head. "Ahh, well..."

"No, don't squirm away. You're amazing, Fainntwo. Sitting here, every day, keeping those memories in here, and keeping a literal demon locked up? You're a Hero, man."

"Ahh..." Fainntwo rubbed his eyes. "This is getting me more than I thought it would."

"You really are amazing, Fainntwo..." I faced the door. "You're sitting on all that. Meanwhile, I was such a coward I had to get Svilran to wipe away the memories of the best parent in the whole universe's final moments... You're strong and amazing, Fainntwo."

"Only because I had to be... Surviving the Apocalypse and still going forward? The whole world was trying to make you miserable, and you still tried."

"Well..." I chuckled. "If I kept trying, eventually, the world would no longer be able to contradict me."

Fainntwo chuckled, and we shared a moment of silence for the fallen.

I dried my tears and nodded. "Alright… So, when I go out there, will I forget anything?"

"Yup. If you saw anything pertaining to the memories I guard, you'll forget the images. You'll keep general facts, like, "Yeah, this was terrible," and maybe some feelings, but otherwise, nothing. You'll probably remember your fight with Mother and the brat, but that's because I'm not supposed to be guarding the nature of what was left in here with us, nor present events. So that's good." Fainntwo put on a dry grin. "You now truly know the face of our mother."

"Alright… Understood… Well, I'll come back and visit when I figure out how to see the door by my own volition."

"Sweet. Look forward to it, buddy."

"Yeah..." I walked to the door and then looked back. "Fainntwo?"

"What's up?"

"I love you, man."

The comment caught Fainntwo so off-guard his nose reddened, and his eyes watered. He chuckled back at me. "I love you too, Fainn... Say hi to the girls for me... Get going."