Cease and Desist - 2/3

Month 3

“They wanted you to do WHAT?” Zach had shouted in surprise and indignation.

The Hawkmoths were currently observing Zeydaan, who was now wearing the clothes that the canon Nia would have worn, clad in yellow. Their face was starting to warp, her snout having shrunk and her eyes changed color. The tail was gone, though with it was a more sizeable trunk. Some splotches of fur were still present, but nothing intense anymore.

“They said if I want the copyright whatjamacallit, I have to wear these clothes,” Zeydaan explained. “’Lest they sue us to the ground.”

“Unbelievable...” Zach grumbled in irritation. “Can’t we pull some strings? Surely Luna could say something.”

“She’s been busy on assignments, you know this,” Alvis said. “None of us enjoy this at all. But it is a temporary measure until they provide Zeydaan with the ability to walk around as themselves.”

“They kinda had us in a bind,” Agent admitted, begrudgingly. “But I’m working on getting them off of their back, I promise.”

“I appreciate it,” Zeydaan smiled and nodded. “Yer a real friend, uh...”

She paused in thought, and snapped her fingers twice, trying to jog her mind. She eventually gave up. “What was yer name again?” she asked.

Everyone in the room paused in shock, much to Zeydaan’s confusion.

“What?” She asked. “Ye look like ye’ve seen a ghost, ye have.”

Alvis tapped on Agent’s shoulder, doing the same for Zach. “A moment?” he asked.

She nodded; Agent and Zach followed Alvis. The android did not sugarcoat anything, so they were bound to get the unsanitized version of events.

“That costume is the worst possible thing for her,” Alvis started. “Prolonged exposure to elements related to her new form will only instigate problems with her memory and personality. You just saw how she forgot your name.”

“Hey, we all forget names on occasion-“

“Agent, she’s known you from when she was a pup. That wasn’t Zeydaan having a moment. That’s Nia having never met you before.”

“I know, I know,” Agent said. “We’re really caught in between a rock and a hard place here...”

“I’m torn myself,” Zach said, uncertain. “I don’t want her wearing the clothes and being at the mercy of a company like this, but what else can we do?”

“What’s Zeydaan’s take on all this?” Alvis asked. “That should be our concern. Making sure they’re aware of what’s happening and whether they have a choice in this is vital. Treat this like any other transition.”

The three mulled over the clothing situation, and the dangling threat of a video game company over their heads. A thought was raised.

“Should we just let it happen?” Zach asked, hesitant. The others looked to him in surprise. “Think about it. The agony she’d be feeling would be intense, her mind rebelling against her body. But with a new body and a new personality, it’d be a fresh start.”

“But her friendships--” Alvis protested.

“We’re not going anywhere,” Zach reassured the android. “None of us are. Zeydaan is our friend, and if she is going to become Nia for real, regardless of what happens, we’ll be there.”

Alvis nodded, as did Agent. “We’d have to speak with her first about it,” Alvis said. “Not to mention how this does nothing about the problem of ownership.”

“Right,” Zach said. “But, uh...That wouldn’t impact what we’ve been doing any, right? It wouldn’t stop every transfer at once?”

Alvis didn’t answer. He couldn’t. And that scared Zach.

…

Asriel was not taking these events easily, though he tried to conceal his emotions for the sake of the group. It was more than just losing a friend, it was about his crush on Zeydaan, a fairly-obvious emotional turnout that even Zeydaan could see for herself. She was flattered, yet their initial asexuality had kept them from being an official couple. But now? Asriel’s love would truly be unrequited, he felt. No more Zeydaan. Just Nia.

To answer his thoughts as he worked on examining the cells Zeydaan left behind, Zeydaan herself had wandered into his workshop. Her presence surprised the goat, who struggled to suppress his blush.

“Evenin’, doc,” Zeydaan greeted. “You, ah...Your name escapes me.”

Asriel could feel his heart tearing a bit at that. Now Zeydaan barely remembered him, it seemed. It wouldn’t be long before the mental overwrite would be dominant. Maybe some remnants of their past selves, but they’d be starting from scratch. “It’s...Asriel,” he finally said. “Asriel Reinsford.”

“Lovely name, ‘at,” Zeydaan said with a smile. “I just wanted ta thank ye for the work ye’ve been doing, tryin’ ta keep me myself.”

“Oh, it’s nothing...” Asriel said; he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “Though I’m not having much luck bringing back your old self, I’m afraid. This is far beyond even me.”

“But still,” Zeydaan nodded, with a smile. “Gives me a break from all that paperwork. Sign this, initial that, bunch of bollocks if ye asked me, but the banks like that, I s’pose. Feels like it never ends, and we’ve not gone anywhere either.”

“Well, small victories,” Asriel said. “You’re doing everything you can here, and we’re all proud of you for that.”

“Tell that ta the gov’mint offices,” Zeydaan was dismissive. “Slow-arses...Never had anything like that in Alrest, let me tell ye.”

“R-right,” Asriel stumbled briefly. Zeydaan could at least tell the goat was flustered, it seemed.

“Anyway, thank ye,” Zeydaan smiled gently. “And ye have a good night, eh? Get some rest.”

Zeydaan had walked off, and Asriel slowly recovered from their minor shock. As they looked towards Zeydaan, their love resumed...perhaps aided by something else. A sense of something different within Zeydaan.

“Maybe,” they thought. “Maybe...”

...

Month 4

At this point, all progress had completely stalled out. Zeydaan’s progression had intensified further, reducing her body into an exact copy of Nia—for all intents and purposes, Zeydaan was now Nia outright. There was still the matter of her memories, which were slowly eroding from her physical form and the restrictions placed upon her. This was bad enough, but now all their remaining tasks required complete identification to see to the end. Until this happened, everything was in limbo.

Another letter had arrived from Nintendo eventually, addressed to Zeydaan’s original name. Nia had moved to collect it, but Zach had beat her to it. She sat back down patiently.

“Allow me,” he said, tearing the envelope with a nail, not taking any precautions out of pure spite. They pulled out the letter, with Zach growing increasingly miffed the longer he read it.

“More stipulations,” he said. “No relationships, evidently. Further, she’s required to get ID.”

“We expected as much,” Asriel sighed. “But surely that can’t be hard to do?”

“It’s a fookin’ trap,” Lilith blurted out. “Ye read the copyright shite? The copyright keeps ‘er from nabbin’ the card!”

“But she can’t protest the copyright without ID either,” Alvis said. “Most infuriating.”

“Yeah, it’s bureaucracy making a loop,” Zach scoffed. “Need ID, can’t get ID due to requirement, can’t pass requirement without ID. There’s no way they don’t see this.”

They were caught off-guard when Nia suddenly stood up, storming off out of the room. Everyone grew silent in realization. Everyone stared.

“I should go after her,” Zach said, standing up in concern. “See if she needs anything.”

“I’ll help,” Agent agreed. He followed Zach out of the room carefully as they searched for their friend.

Nia was seated outside, staring up at the night sky wistfully. She was silent, even as Zach sat next to her. Agent took the other side.

“Ye all been workin’ hard for me…” Nia whispered. “So, so hard…And I can’t even repay ye.”

“You don’t have to,” Zach said, reassuring. “That’s what friends do.”

“Ye, ever since ye brought me from Alrest,” Nia said. “But all me memories stop there. All yer names are blurry to me, an’ yer faces too. I…” Tears started to form. “I know I used ta be someone else, but I can’t remember! Am I even meself still? Can ye even call me your friend like this if I’m replacin’ yer ol’ one?”

“Hey now—” Zach tried to protest.

“An’ these rules!” Nia was shouting. “All these rules from the driver’s place and the bank an’ the landlord and now this company that tells me they own me? Am I supposed ta just be their puppet, sendin’ out bloody catchphrases?”

It was a difficult question to ask and answer. Zach didn’t immediately respond, and when he did, he was uncertain.

“We’ll stick by you, no matter what,” he said. “No matter who you are now, we’re here.”

Nia sniffled, curling up amongst herself. “Bein’ a gormotti an’ dealin’ with this shite…” she muttered. “Ye have a saint’s patience with me…”

Zach had sat by Nia for a bit longer, to offer support. Eventually he had stood, allowing her some alone time to think and vent a tad more. Agent quietly followed, having let Zach do the work, as he was more knowledgeable in social matters.

“It really is a mess,” Zach admitted. “Dealing with Nintendo and all. If they own her—”

“We haven’t responded to their letter yet, right?” Agent suddenly asked. Zach blinked.

“Well, no,” he said. “Remember, we only just walked out to get it.”

“Good,” Agent said. “What I want you to do is to write them back and tell them to fuck off.”

Zach was caught off-guard—not by the emotional outburst, as he too would have happily said the same thing in better circumstances—but primarily shocked at hearing the shy, quiet and mild-mannered Agent cuss so strongly. “Beg your pardon?”

“Sure, they may sue,” Agent continued. “In fact, I’m counting on that. Maybe they’ll listen better in a courtroom, and then I can verbally rip them a new—”

“What’s with the sudden shift here?” Zach asked. “I mean, yeah, I’d love to take the fight to them, but—”

“They made Nia cry,” Agent simply said. “No one makes my friends cry.”

They stood silent for a moment, to let their emotions linger. Their frustration on their friend’s behalf. For all the bureaucratic hell they had to endure for a shapeshifter to receive some semblance of piece and mind.

It would all be over soon. They would swear on it.