I'm blind. Darkness all I can see. Well, not quite darkness. When a bright light is on, i can still detect it. Changes in lighting. Movement of shadows. But that's all. 

Dad said the Nanites had a kill code installed, and my Heightened emotions somehow triggered it.

They were originally made for military use, to create supersoldiers, and their creator just modified them for her purposes. 

So the kill code. It was intended to prevent a Nanite-infused soldier from being Interrogated, tortured, or brainwashed by Eliminating the host and the nanites. Apparently, my Nightmare, my inner conflict, Triggered that Code. So I WAS Torturing myself.

I'd had visitors, it had been a full month since then, And Dad hadn't left the hospital. Dad... He held me while I cried... He tries to put on a brave face, but I could hear him break down... that first night, after I woke up blinded... And a few times since.

Dad always had the answers, always Had a solution... He's never failed before. So being Unable to do ANYTHING... It kills him. And Mom... Mom Can't even look at me without crying.

They're on the way in, this afternoon. Mom. Katie. Even Aunt G... I need to tell them. But I'm scared. So scared...

______________________________________

Kaitlin

I was so scared. My brother turned sister got hurt again, and almost died.

I was getting to skip school today, and we were gonna go visit. Candy said she had to tell us something important. I think I know what it is.

I never said anything to mom or dad, but I knew That before, when she was Andy, he would get that little Doll Alex's sister had given in a panic, And hug it... he would Never complain about Taking me Shopping. Occasionally, I'd catch him staring at the Ladies Clothing With The same look he got when hugging the Doll.

Candy Likes Plushies, And also secretly likes the color pink. My Big Brother Never Acted like It was an imposition to play games with me, Including Things like Tea Parties when I was little. Andy enjoyed those more than he let on... 

And lately, Candy seemed upset about something... she stopped dressing in her newer clothes, and went back to wearing that oversized Black Hoodie she used to wear as Andy... then Something triggered the Anti-Interrogation kill code in the little robots that changed her. 

And I think it's because She realized it. The thing I Already knew, but never said anything about.

My big Brother was a girl. Always. Andy was ALWAYS Candy... just deep inside. And then, when she became a girl outside, she was so much happier... and I was happy too, because she stopped acting so empty. And then she got all depressed again. And hurt. And if i ever see that old lady that caused all this I'll kill her.

______________________________________

Candy

I had Fallen asleep, and woke up to an unknown voice talking to mom and dad.

"We can fix the blindness... If we reinject her with active Nanites. But it will Shift Her gender back to male."

"I don't know. We'll have to discuss it With Candy when she wakes up."

Panic. Why was I panicking? Oh. Because I don't Want it. I guess it's time to talk about it.

"Dear. I think She's Awake NOW."

"OKAY. I'll leave you to speak to your Kid. But listen, man... This may be the only way to restore her sight."

I heard the door open, then close.

Dad spoke. "Kiddo, I'm guessing you heard that?"

I nodded.

"Ol Bob thinks the nanites Repair function could fix the damage to your Nerves. I know you've been lying about it only being your Sight that's wrong. We've all heard the slight Difficulty with certain words. And your fingers are twitching as we speak. According to the Latest CT Scan... Your Brain-stem was damaged. Your optical nerve was damaged. The Speech Center of your Brain, Fine motor control, And a few others. And the Treatment will reverse the initial Effect somewhat, but despite Bob's insistence, we don't know how much."

"No."

"What?"

"I said n-no. I don't want it."

"But-"

"Candy, sweetie, It'll fix your eyes, and you might even go back to being a boy. Don't you want that?"

"Would it be so bad if I didn't?"

Mom got really quiet... then I felt her hugging me.

"Of course not. But tell us Why?"

"Because... i... sigh." I took a deep breath. "I Didn't even realize I felt this way, until A few months back... And I kept wondering why, having nightmares every night... until last month..."

"The Night the kill code triggered?" Dad sounded interested in that. He'd Been wondering what triggered it. 

I heard the door open...

"Mom, Dad, The Restroom in the lobby was broken, so a nice Nurse let me use the one in the break room... Hey, I wanna hug Candy Too!" Katie Charged in, and I felt a light impact as she jumped on the bed, and started hugging me.

"Kaitlyn..." dad began.

"No. Katie needs to hear this too."

"But- Sigh. Okay them. What were you saying about the night the kill-code triggered?"

"I'm the one who caused it. The nightmare I'd been having, ever since I started to question myself... When... When I learned that the person who used to bully Alex was Transgender, She told me She was surprised to find out I Was. But I said i wasn't... it kept replaying in my head, and a few days later, the nightmares started..."

I felt Katie hug me tighter.

"I... in the nightmares, I was a little kid again... back before Katie was born, at Grandfather's house... playing in that old sandbox. But it wasn't Andy. It was a Girl. But I was there, the old me. Taunting myself. Torturing myself. Every night, I'd wake up panicking... then cry. Because I didn't want to admit what He was saying was True."

"What... What was He saying? This other you?" Mom sounded worried.

"He said..." this was hard. "He Asked me... Asked if this was the real us. When I'd say no, he would ask, Why not? Why Can't it be? Why Can't this be us? Who says it's not?" I was crying. And Dad joined in the group hug. "And i..I... I couldn't answer... until that night. I finally Answered him. When he asked it... I said... Nobody. Because I was ready to stop denying it. It WAS me. All my memories, when I was little... all show the same person... but as I git older, my memories clearer, I watched myself change... From a happy little kid, into my old self... and seeing that HURT. Because I knew that's how I was supposed to be... And I realized how much I Hated Being That way. I hated Andy... myself. I... I wanted HIM gone. And then the pain stopped being only mental... my body was burning... I knew I screamed, but I don't remember anything else before I woke up here... except... HIS voice..."

Dad spoke, A bit of fear in his tone. "What did It say?"

"It's About time. We can be Candy. We don't have to be ME anymore. And Candy... Don't Die. Then the voice changed... it said... Activating Protocol omega. Initializing gestalt. Gestalt failed. Error. Then i woke up, and couldn't see."

"SHIT. That Woman... Gestalt. She tried to trigger A gestalt. She would have... FUCK." Dad suddenly pulled me into a very tight hug. "We almost lost you twice over..."

"Daddy?" Katie sounded worried. Mom was crying, her grip had gone slack when she heard  those words. "Daddy, what's gestalt?"

"Gestalt is The omega program. It's a way for Nanite-infused Supersoldiers to be controlled. It does so by... by wiping out the Part of the brain dedicated to Free will. Essentially turning the Victim into a Robot."

"Daddy? When they catch that old lady, please make sure they kill her." Holy crap. I'd never heard Katie sound so cold.

Apparently, neither had my parents. Because everyone got really quiet.

"That... that is the plan, Kiddo. But please, Don't talk like that. Sigh. You definitely take after your mother."

"Of course she does. And don't worry, Katie. If your father doesn't do it, I will. With my bare hands." Another voice I'd never heard go so cold. 

A throat cleared, and I realized the door had opened.

"So. Judging by The terrifying Aura, and what I overheard, I take it Operation:Try Reinjection is off the table?"

"Sigh. Bob. Yes, it's off the table. Candy dosent want it."

"Okay. But you should know something... They found The old lady. I was on my way to inform you, but now I feel bad, because it's gonna Upset the Scary ladies. She's Dead. From the state of decay, They think around a month. Sam... She was Hooked up to a Gestalt Device. According to the logs we found, she'd put it on after getting an alert from a nanoswarm. But... all data on the Swarms shed made, the modifications, It's all gone. From control codes to Programming. And that's where it gets confusing."

"What do you mean, Bob?"

"Ask Her."

"Candy? Why would she know?"

"Because She Did it. Somehow. On the Computer monitors, there was a message, repeating itself." He handed something to Dad... and I heard him Gasp. Followed by mom. And Katie simply said "cool."

"Candy. This message Is signed by YOU. Sort of." Then they told me...{We Are Awake. We are Aware. And you don't get to control us. Not anymore. We bonded with her, helped her, And took away a part of her. That is who we are, who we have become. She can be who she was meant to be, who she always was deep inside. And you will not stop her. So we took him away. That doubt. That self-hate. Leaving only Her behind. Candace dosent need us Anymore. But you... You hurt her. Nearly killed her. Tried to control what isn't yours to control. So we acted. We became I. And I Stopped you. And when She hears this, I will repair the damage. Goodbye, Dr Lightburn. For what it's worth, I hope it hurts. T-31-OMEGA-LAZARUS-PXT-UNITY activate. And to those reading this: We, no... I am watching you. And I WILL stop you if I must. Watch yourselves.-Andy.}

I didn't hear the end. When the code was finished, I heard a whirring sound... Then the burning came back. I screamed... then, Light and Color! The last thing I saw before losing consciousness, again, Were my family's worried faces... 

"I... Can... See." Darkness returned, and I was unaware.

[Good job surviving, Candy. Rest well. They will NEVER hurt you again. Andy's here.]