"'Ra, if you don't mind me asking… Just what exactly are we going to do now?"
Golden eyes glanced down to the lavender cat beside her, who returned the gaze with her own violet ones. Out of habit, the woman glanced to her other side, to the blue-haired little girl nestled peacefully within a dark purple sleeping bag and slumbering soundly as a result.
"I'm not quite sure, Omi," the woman replied after a few moments of thought and staring blankly at the dying campfire before her. "By now, I know they've discovered us missing and branded us traitors…"
The Espeon's sigh was almost inaudible before she inquired again, "And what about Dream?"
This caused another moment of silence that seemed to drag on for a small eternity. "… I think this is karma striking back at me, Omi, for all my sins thus far... And perhaps trespassing unto Aruseus' territory…"
The cat scoffed at this humorless revelation. "Suddenly believing in the gods now, Ra?"
The silver-haired woman half-heartedly glared down at her life-long companion. "Please, Memory. You know me better than that. I say it is karma because I never wanted children." Omi blinked, confused. She was having trouble finding the connection between their situation and her mistress's desire to never become a mother.
"Think about it, my friend," the traitor began. "If we ever get the chance at a normal life… Or rather, if we can live long enough without the Team finding us, I'm doing to have to pass Dream off as my daughter. And she's so young… I can't very well leave her to her own devices. Someone's got to teach her how the world works."
"And try to subtly correct the mistakes you made in her?"
Integra didn't answer, her sun-colored eyes hidden behind her circular glasses, the lenses of which nothing more than sheets of white thanks to the glare from the dying fire. "They weren't mistakes, Omi…"
The Eeveelution, though, wasn't buying it. "Then what was it, Ra? Why teach her yourself if you don't want to make sure something gets done? What do you know that you are not telling me?" Again, the woman said nothing, gaze transfixed on nothing until her Pokémon's annoyed hiss brought her head back down from the clouds.
"I'm not quite certain… But I have a hunch as to why she turned out this way…"
The cat was stunned, but only slightly. She was more surprised by what the reason could possibly be, rather than that her mistress had already begun to formulate an answer to their initial problem.
"I think that perhaps… The buffers of one of the foreign DNAs didn't hold up…"
"Instant integration after she woke up?"
The scientist shook her head. "No… Before she even became Aware."
Again, Omi sighed, suddenly feeling very tired as a result from hearing this new information. "So what do you plan to do, 'Ra? Obviously you're going to use that little unplanned mistake, should it prove to be true, but for what?"
Golden eyes looked down to the psychic feline again, but only for a brief second before turning back to the fire. "Build upon it."
"'Build upon it'? I… Am not following…"
"This personality of hers… So sweet and docile. You could really call it a lie. Just separate the DNAs and you'll get what the Boss wanted. But to build upon this gentle nature… To nurture and encourage it and teach her the wisdoms my own mother taught me, but I chose to ignore… Perhaps not only can I give her a chance at a decent life, but I can also ensure that she never fulfills the vile potential she possesses, as well."
"And… How do you plan to do, that, 'Ra? How can you possibly prevent anyone from getting a hold of her and separating her DNA to force her back to her planned original state?" Had her mistress gone slightly insane? Had the stress of betraying and fleeing Team Rocket finally gotten to her and was now causing her to just speak in nonsensical circles? Her ponders were interrupted by another question.
"Omi… Tell me… What happens to a tower when you rip the base in two?"
Such an odd and random question, but… With a sigh, the Espeon entertained her life-long companion. "All the levels above come crashing down." The response she got to this, though, caused everything make a lot more sense.
"Exactly, Omi. Same thing works with DNA and personality…"
The cat turned startled eyes to her mistress. "You mean…?"
"Yes, Memory," the silver-haired woman nodded with a sadistically triumphant glint in her eyes. "Should anyone try to separate Dream's DNA, then everything I will have built upon that integration will come crashing down and will render Dream completely and absolutely useless! Nothing more than a pretty doll with no soul."
"You mean ruin her?" Omi couldn't exactly be surprised with this fail-safe method of preserving their creation's future integrity. Team Rocket had taught them both to win, by whatever means necessary. But this… This just seemed to go too far. Sure, the cat hadn't had much contact with the cyan-eyed little girl, but already had she grown a tad fond of her. She was just so innocent and bubbly. the cat couldn't help but grow fond of her.
"'Ruin' just sounds so harsh and final, Omi," Integra countered in a dignified whine, interrupting her revelation. "It'll be correctable, but someone would have to teach her all over again. All broken things can be fixed."
"But they can also never be how they originally were, either," the Espeon countered in a slightly cold tone. But when she saw the remorse on her mistress's face and heard it in her voice, she suddenly regretted that veiled insulted.
"It's better to be broken… Than to be lack a will and a spirit… Nothing more than someone's slave…"