The PulseTeam, Book Two: Evolution

Chapter Twenty-Four: Relief

Part One: The Transmogrification

The Monitor | Cleveland, Ohio
Sunday, June 11, 2034 | 00:35 EST

It's finally time! I'm about to get to physically meet my twin sister. As Davida and I prepare to undergo the spell, both of us very uncomfortable with being at the mercy of something we don't believe in, I silently pray to the Creator for her safety, as well as my own.

We use the same regeneration room in the medical bay that I first found myself transformed in to perform the procedure. And because we are all unsure of what to expect during the procedure in question, the room is cleared of all items (including furniture and tools), save for my uniform and one for Davida, which are both folded neatly and stacked on top of each other in a locked cabinet, and all non-essential personnel. The only ones left in the room are Alura, Asune, and me and Davida. Everyone else is left waiting outside in their uniforms.

When I finish praying, the magicians have us strip nude, put her uniform in the cabinet mine is in, and stand on a spell circle they drew on the floor in white smear-proof, water-soluble chalk. This is so that when we separate, we can just speed-change into our uniforms, and when we finish, we can easily mop this up.

At this point, as I cover up our extremities as best I can (Man, Alexa was right: This member of mine really is kind of big!), Alura asks us, "Are you both ready for this?"

So I slow down my perception of time and ask her, You ready to be your own person?

Is that even a question? I mean, after all: No pain, no gain, right?

Alright, then. I accelerate my time perception back up to normal speed, and I answer for the both of us, "We're ready."

"Fabulous," says she. "Please lay flat on your back in the middle of the circle."

We comply.

"Wait!" says Asune, and we sit up a little.

"Are you absolutely sure?" she asks. "Because we need you to understand that once Alura and I start invoking the spell, we cannot and will not halt the process, no matter how much pain you both may be in, and no matter how much you may scream for us to stop."

"Initiate," we both say without hesitation.

"Alright," she says to Alura, "let's begin."

They both close their eyes and start chanting in some weird language. When they open their eyes, said eyes and the spell circle begin glowing brightly (Asune's glow red, Alura's glow green, and the circle glows pure white).

About several seconds later, we begin lifting up into the air despite neither me nor Davida activating any of our powers. Then we feel a throbbing pain in our entire left side. That pain is me, I'm growing back to myself on the left, but on the right is still Davida. And now I can no longer hear my sister, nor can I feel the right side of our shared body.

Oh, damn. Even though we can't hear each other's thoughts anymore, I think both Davida and I both know how we're getting into our own bodies. And the girls were right: This is REALLY going to hurt. Badly.

And it does: As Davida and I involuntarily put our arms out to the side and do a full Chinese split (thank God we're both really limber), Alura takes my leg and arm and pulls as hard as she possibly can. I can only assume that Asune is on the other side, doing the same thing to Davida, and I think that this far-beyond-excruciating pain just might kill us both. We're literally getting ripped apart from each other.

My God, the pain.

Oh, my God, I can feel our organs duplicating themselves. And... our heads are free. But the girls are still pulling. And it's still a multiverse of pain.