My eyes fluttered open at the feel of something cool dabbed gently on my forehead. Sweat dripped gradually down either sides of my face as my body temperature became stable again. I managed to shift a bit and was aware that I was currently laying on a bed high off the ground. It wasn't my bed, however.

"I had to drop you off in Asao's room since it's downstairs and yours is upstairs," came a calm, male voice that sent warm chills to my body.

That's when I tilted my head to the left and perceived a man sitting at the edge of my bed next to my limp body, keeping a close watch on me.

I recognized him.

But when I tried to utter his name, I found no words coming out. Was it because I was dreaming and I didn't know his name?

There was no doubt, however, that that was the younger version of Beta.

"Fill me in, commander," I heard myself talking softly, "What did I miss?" The man's face was regrettably blurry from my perspective, but I had expected it since the last dream was fuzzy as well.

"1am, the team found you laying face-down in front of the penthouse when we arrived." the man explained attentively. He paused to give me a quiet gaze before continuing, "Your whole body was covered in bruises and cuts. I took you to Asao's room away from the noise outside. Everyone's fuming at your condition, they're planning to pull an all-nighter to get to the bottom of what happened to you."

I sighed with a shaky breath as he removed the damp towel and placed a hand on my forehead to check my condition. I couldn't see nor feel the wounds that Beta had said I received because of the blanket covering my body and because this was a dream, but I chose to believe the severity of the situation.

"You seemed in a rush, otherwise you wouldn't have passed out so close to the penthouse," he spoke up again, "Can you remember where you went tonight?"

I tried. But I knew it was useless. I didn't have the memories of whatever dream this was. So I stared at the man instead. I tried to figure out who he was. Does this mean the team had met? But... when?

His eyes came into view. They mesmerized me. He was... beautiful. I wanted to stroke his hair and peer into those eyes more. But he was sitting a bit far away. I wanted to tell him to come closer. His lips looked inviting. I glanced down at his lower half and my heart thumped rapidly. I wanted to calm the beating down, or else he'd hear it.

I had an urge to touch him. But he was sitting on the covers. What should I do... I almost looked frustrated and Beta caught me giving him a frown. I never saw him like this before.

Something was... happening. I could sense it through the fogged dream, even though my physical body was numbed.

All of a sudden, I was separated from my body and it was almost as if I was kicked out of first person and forced to be an onlooker, because now I was standing at the corner of the room, watching Beta tend to a young woman on a bed.

The girl whispered something that I couldn't hear from where I was standing, but I caught a glint of mischievous intent through her eyes. I froze after I walked slowly forward and realized that the woman on the bed now was a perfect replica of me.

The closer I got, the more I discovered that I could see all of her features perfectly. And I was afraid to say that while I did not know why this lady had my face and body, her eyes and expression... creep me out.

She was smiling a little to wide. An odd twinkle in her eyes. Her body was shifting into something not usual for a wounded and sick girl. My eyes were wide when her arms shot up and wrapped around Beta's neck. It was a swift, sudden move that even Beta hadn't suspected. Rather than pay attention to where 'my' arms were, he was still and gazed into my eyes with a small frown.

I almost wanted to rip my own eyes out as I saw her fingers slowly run through his hair. And to add to the horror and confusion, the me in bed suddenly pulled Beta onto the bed and flipped him over so that she straddled him on top.

"Risa, stop." He grunted as his head hit the headboard of Asao's bed before looking back at me in concern. It was like he was trying to find 'me'... while looking at me in my eyes.

"Risa?" The woman spoke up with a hint of amusement, "Why are you calling another lady's name when you're with me?"

I was caught off-guard when she started talking. Because it was my voice, but it wasn't at the same time.

She was definitely not me. I would never do something this humiliating. Straddling my team leader? You've got to be out of your minds.

"Get off me, and let's talk." He was angry. I wanted me to get off of him badly too. But the me on the bed didn't seem like she cared much for words. I hate being forced to do something against my free-will.

Somehow, I sensed... remembered..[?] that I was going to throw myself on him. I was angry at myself for knowing that I was capable of stooping so low. This was harassment. I knew it, so why didn't I stop...?

That was it, I've had enough of this nonsense. I ran to the side of the bed just before replica me leaned in and embarrassed myself. I pushed myself off of the man.

Nowhere was I warned that she would vaporize as soon as I touched her and I was now forced to take her place. Instantly, I switched back to first person and now it was me holding back against my body.

I pulled back. I was not going to touch him. I didn't want to. Something in the back of my mind wanted him, but now that I was in first person again, I struggled with myself to keep a distance.

Beta stared up at me with his lips parted and breathing steady. How could the man keep his calm in this situation? I was trying to seduce him, for God's sake, throw me off the bed and leave!

I hadn't realized that tears were dripping down my face. What a strange sight he must be seeing. A teammate on top of him, frozen, with a smile on her lips, but scared, tearful eyes conflicted with her actions.

He seemed to reach a conclusion in his head before sitting straight up. The man touched the side of my face, hand firmly on my hair, before leaning in to secure an innocent kiss on the top of my head.

I was afraid to breathe or else my body might move, but the shock from his response broke me out of my trance and I began breathing rapidly, loudly, and unsteadily.

Whatever was controlling me was... gone. I was me again. I snapped my head up to look at Beta and my eyes widened in confusion, even though I had witnessed what was going on. I quickly tried to climb off of him but was stopped when he held me back and told me to look him in the eyes.

"Was that..." the man began, sensing I was back again, "...her?" He seemed to have a grasp on what was going on. Meanwhile, I did not.

"If there was any error in all my life of being a hacker that I could erase... it would be this very moment."

I realized that even though I was now in first person, the Risa that was talking now wasn't the me that was witnessing this, but she was... still the real me. The Risa I knew. I trusted this version, so I calmed down and listened to myself speak.

Beta chuckled lightly and gazed into my eyes with a warmness that greatly contrasted with his behavior towards me with my other version.

"You did nothing wrong." He was still trying to make sense of it all, but he did understand that I was back and that he was free to talk. "I didn't know you were capable of that, Risa."

"I don't remember what happened," I heard Risa answer with raised eyebrows, "But what I do know is that you're holding me a little too close for my comfort zone. That, was what I wanted to erase."

"I hate it when you two don't share memories." He mumbled, running a hand through his disfigured hair from before.

Risa wiped a tear off her face and frowned, holding it out to him. "You made me cry?"

He seemed amused as he let slip a quiet scoff. "Did I?"

"Well did you?" she tested, before moving on to the next topic, "Also, why is your hair so matted up? It was fine when you placed the towel on my forehead."

"Not my fault, sunny."

"You deserve to be dead meat," she sneered, not believing him, "Mark my words, I'll never be sick again, especially when you're around. Losing my guard around you is more dangerous than my occupation."

"Please do," he scorned earnestly, shaking his head as he peered at her with incredulity, "I can't take another look at her."

"Her?—"

"What's all this ruckus? What are you two doing in there!" came a voice on the other side of the door.

Beta and Risa snapped their heads to the door just as the other team members busted the door open.

Risa's eyes were wide.

"... Commander," the female at the door hissed, "Why the fuck are you sticking to her like a ring on a fat finger?! What did you do to her?"

"Can you lower your language?" Beta shot back with disinterest.

"Can you somersault off the bed?" the woman taunted, dramatizing a headache to the man next to her. The other man at the door, plus a younger boy, clicked his tongue in amusement while the boy who leaned in the doorway mumbled, "私の目。" ["my eyes。"]
  
"Asao," Risa cued the boy for his attention before she mouthed, "それは彼のせいだった。" ["It was his fault。"]

The boy nodded after those words and smiled cheekily as he shook his head at Beta.

Suddenly, amidst the relieving atmosphere, Risa seemed to gain a portion of her memory from what happened before 'I' was found outside the penthouse.

I saw her eyes shift into fear as she stared outside the door, past her members, and into the hallway. I looked too. The hallway, now slowly transitioning into an unwelcoming setting, led to the living room, which would be the first area someone would go through after entering the front door.

The others didn't have time to react before Risa fell out of bed and raced outside the door, knocking into M&M and L01. Arsomis slid out the way just in time and after she had passed, he came to the side of Pooh who had tripped to get out of Risa's way.

Beta stood up immediately and called out, "RISA."

I had followed her in the midst of the chaos. But she wasn't coming back. They were calling for her, but she wasn't turning back.

So I turned around, and the others' eyes were all on me, as if I was the Risa that had been talking since I snapped out of my trance earlier.

And I found a voice within me that knew what was going on. I had no idea what spurred me to say these specific words, and I don't know if I was straying from what the actual dream would have said, but I said it anyway.

"They are coming," I heard myself warn the others, "Risa was running away from being caught. You need to get out."

"What do you mean?" Asao grimaced as he absorbed what I just said, "come back, please."

"Don't be blind to the men in charge," I pleaded, feeling myself run out of time, "they're using us."

I felt like I had heard this saying somewhere.

But before I could hear myself get more words out, the team's faces disappeared, and the penthouse swiftly vaporized into darkness. And with that darkness, a brighter light soon wrapped around me.

▂▂▂▂▂

I woke up with a cold sweat. Feeling my chest rise and fall unsteadily, I groaned in confusion as my head tried to make sense of why I was in this state.

It was a wrong move to suddenly glance to my door, because nothing would have prepared me for the sudden figure of a man standing at the doorway.

I gasped and cut myself short from yelling right when I made out those familiar gray-tinted eyes with hints of tropical green fading in and out... the same ones that had gazed at me so intently in the dream.

Pierce.

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