Chapter 22: The Key to Origins: My R

**TRIGGER WARNING!! This chapter contains depictions of suicide, allusions to self-harm, and mentions of rape. Please read with caution and at your own discretion!**

“You know,” I mused as we stepped out of the Stargate. “Now that we’re back from the party, I’m gonna have to step up our training.”

“Why’s that?” Haley asked.

“Because you declined having your magic tested at the exam,” I retorted with a roll of my eyes. “Because you still haven’t figured out how to switch forms quickly, because your magic is still unstable. Take your pick.”

“Well that’s not my fault,” the girl pouted.

“Yes it is!” everyone in the room shouted. I would have gone on, but Melissa’s phone rang.

“Excuse me for a moment,” the techie turned around, pulling out the phone. “Melissa here… Uh-huh… sure… Alright, go ahead and dial it up, we’ll see you in a minute.” After hanging up, she turned back to us. “Mina wants to come by to hang out, and maybe train a little more, so, let’s not stand in front of the Gate.”

“Good call,” I nodded as the inner ring of the Gate began to turn. Stepping to the side, we watched as the portal opened, and Mina stepped through.

“Kairi!” Mina yelled in joy.

I smiled at the greeting. “Hey Mina, I take it you’re ready to continue up Tartarus? Or are you here to hang out?”

“Continue up Tartarus and then hang out. Maybe both at the same time.” She joked.

I nodded with an impish grin. “Alright then, I hope you’re ready to tell Twilight about the Heartless you encounter when you get back.”

“Oh, definitely… in fact we planned to start an investigation soon.”

“Vanitas wannabe?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yep. The sooner we learn where she is, the better we can stop her. Also if I might inquire…?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Go on,”

She grinned. “How’s lovely Melissa doing? I sure hope she hasn’t been too upset about me returning back to my own Equestria.”

“You know, you could always ask me directly,” a grinning techie stood behind my younger doppelganger. “Much more polite that way.”

Mina’s grin didn’t fade. “Well, it's true. I can always ask the source… also, here’s a little gift from me.” She walked over to Melissa and kissed her cheek.

The girl’s grin faded a bit, but didn’t disappear. “Heh, I guess you did miss me.”

“Nope. Never. I can’t leave a cutie like you alone.”

With a suspiciously sad smile, Melissa just shook her head. “Well, I probably shouldn’t keep you from your training, I’ll go get the sim set up.”

Mina noticed the smile straight away. “Melissa… what’s wrong?”

The techie shook her head. “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”

I frowned. “Melissa, this isn’t nothing, that much is obvious. Is this something to do with your past?”

“No, really, it’s noth-”

“Melissa, we’re your friends,” I cut her off. “Whatever it is, it’s hurting you, and we want to be there for you.”

Melissa sighed. “Alright, follow me, but Haley, I want you to go set up the sim. I don’t know you as well as Kairi and Luna. Mina, you’re welcome to come along as well.” She then turned and led us deeper into the tower.

We followed the techie to an elevator, where she pressed a button marked “TC”. We rode up to the very top of the tower and stepped out into a smaller version of the Simulator.

“This is my Trauma Cell,” Melissa explained softly.

“Trauma Cell?” Mina asked worriedly.

She nodded. “Yes. That’s what I call it anyway. It contains memories… Painful memories…” She sighed, pressing one of the buttons on one of the consoles. Immediately, the room transformed into the rooftop of a Japanese style building.

“I guess the best way to explain is to start here,” the techie sighed from where she stood, but it wasn’t the same girl. She stood a full head shorter, wearing a yellow cardigan, with her bright red hair up in twin braids. Her glasses, however, remained the same. “My old name was Hikari Kagami, a regular, Japanese, schoolgirl.”

I nodded. “OK, two things. Actually, make it three things. Why have you gone to so much trouble hiding your past when I never met you before? Why are we on a roof, and most importantly, how are we on a roof?”

With another sigh, Melissa turned away from us. “Believe it or not, I do actually have a tie to you. This is all a hologram, much like the Simulator, and as for why here…”

She took in a deep, shuddering breath as another girl roughly the same height, with black, braided hair appeared by the railing as Melissa began to sing.

“Just as I was about to take my shoes,
Off on the rooftop, there I see
A girl with braided hair here before me,
Despite myself, I go and scream
‘Hey, don’t do it please!’”

The girl at the railing stiffened, then turned to face Melissa as the music picked up. Luna turned away from the scene, a tear trailing down her cheek as she remembered this same presentation from a thousand years ago.

“Whoa, wait a minute what did I just say?
I couldn’t care less either way
To be honest, I was somewhat pissed
This was an opportunity missed
The girl with braided hair told me her woes
You’ve probably heard it all before
‘I really thought that he might be the one
But then he told me he was done.’”

Melissa grit her teeth as she walked up to the girl and gripped her arms.

“For God’s sake, please! Are you serious I just can’t believe
That for some stupid reason you got here before me
Are you upset ‘cause you can’t have what you wanted?
You’re lucky that you’ve never gotten robbed of anything!”

The girl smiled, before turning to the stairs.

“’I’m feeling better thank you for listening’
The girl with braided hair then disappeared.”

Time seemed to rapidly progress as Mina and I just stared in shock. Please don’t be going where I think its going was the thought running through both our heads.

“’Alright, today’s the day!’ or so I thought
Just as I took both of my shoes off
There was but a girl short as can be
Despite myself, I go and scream
The petite girl told me her woes
You’ve probably heard it all before
‘Everyone ignores me, everyone steals
I don’t fit in with anyone here’”

Melissa pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration before glaring at the petite girl.

“For God’s sake, please! Are you serious I just can’t believe
That for some stupid reason you got here before me
‘Cause even so, you’re still loved by everyone at home
There’s always dinner waiting on the table, you know!”

The girl looked down in shame as she turned to the stairs.

“’I’m hungry’ said the girl as she shed a tear
The girl short as can be then disappeared.”

Melissa closed her eyes, bowing her head.

“And like that, there was someone every day
I listened to their tale
I made them turn away
And yet there was no one who would do this for me
No way I could let out all this pain.”

Mina and I were openly crying now, as we watched a series of images where Melissa, or rather, Hikari, managed to stop multiple suicides. But as we watched, she seemed to become more and more depressed.

“For the very first time, there I see
Someone with the same pains as me
Having done this time and time again
She wore a yellow cardigan
‘I just wanna stop the scars that grow
Every time that I go home
That’s why I came up here instead’
That’s what the girl in the cardigan said
Whoa, wait a minute what did I just say?
I couldn’t care less either way
But in the moment I just screamed
Something that I could not believe
‘Hey, don’t do it please!’”

Melissa fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face as she screamed.

“Agh what to do?
I can’t stop this girl, oh this is new
For once I think I’ve bitten off more than I can chew
But even so please just go away so I can’t see
Your pitiful expression is just too much for me!”

The girl in the yellow cardigan seemed to sigh as she turned to the stairs.

“’I guess today is just not my day’
She looked away from me and then she disappeared.”

My eyes widened as another day dawned on the roof, this time no one there.

“There’s no one here today, I guess it’s time
It’s just me, myself, and I
There’s no one who can interfere
No one to get in my way here.”

Melissa stepped to the edge of the roof, shoes discarded behind her, as it clicked in my mind

“Taking off my yellow cardigan.”

Every girl she talked down,

“Watching my braids all come undone.”

Was a version,

“This petite girl, short as can be.”

Of her.

“Is gonna jump now and be free.”

I stared in shock for a few seconds as the hologram faded away. Something was nagging me though. “Melissa…” I hesitated, before forging ahead. “When you said earlier that ‘you’re lucky that you’ve never gotten robbed of anything,’ you weren’t… well…”

“Raped?” Melissa finished quietly. “Yes, I was.”

Mina gasped and walked slowly towards her before letting her hand touch Melissa’s. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

Melissa snorted, turning back to the console on the wall. “Why do you think? It was one of the things that led to my suicide. I didn’t plan to explain ANY of this!”

I sighed as I walked up to her. “I don’t blame you for not telling us, but why did you decide to tell us? You didn’t have to after all.”

The techie blushed. “Well, it's that time of the month. I’m not really thinking rationally right now.”

Mina raised a brow. “Not thinking rationally?”

Melissa’s blush deepened. “I’m being impulsive and moody, OK?”

“Oh…” Now it was Mina’s turn to blush.

I gave a light chuckle. “That explains your little ‘cello-off’ earlier.”

“Hey! That was fun, and you know it!” Melissa retorted.

Mina just whistled innocently.

Melissa glanced over, before sighing. “I’m gonna need a bit of time to get my equilibrium back. Go do your training for a bit. I’ll come back down when I’m calm again.”

“You sure?” I asked skeptically. “I personally find it very therapeutic to kill monsters when I need to calm down.”

“Why do you think this room has holographic projectors?” Melissa replied with a snort. “I happen to agree with you. Now get!”

Before leaving, Mina stopped for a moment and kissed Melissa’s cheek yet again. “For good luck.”

Melissa gave a slight, yet sincere smile, before turning back to the console, prompting us to get back on the elevator, though not before Luna darted over and gave her a big hug.

“We’ll talk about your comment about us having a link later,” I called out as the door closed.

“She’s dreamy…” Mina commented.

I raised an eyebrow. “Not the description I’d personally give, but whatever floats your boat I guess.”

Mina pouted at me. “Hey!”

Aaand, done. Whew, that was a tough chapter to write, wouldn’t you say Ocelot?

Definitely! The best parts were Mina comforting Melissa as best she could… Hopefully there’s more romance between them soon!

Well, we’ll see. I don’t know about you, but I SUCK at writing romance. In any case, more story coming soon! Thank you all for sticking with it, even when it takes almost a year to update.

Hope you have fun reading, ya lot! This is Ocelot wishing you all a happy reading day!

Indeed! See you all next chapter!

Red=SoulboundAlchemist
Blue=Ocelot the Devil

Song used in this chapter: My R performed by Annapantsu

Suicide is not the answer, if you're having suicidal tendencies, please seek help at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ or by calling 1-800-273-8255