There was a short amount of time when Koko actually didn't remember anything. That day she had woken up in the hospital, greeted by Sherry, and given a false story that she had been in a coma for months. For that day, she believed Sherry. For that day, she was glad that she was alive.

For that day.

When she had slept that night, with a smile hinting at her lips, a voice called out to her in the depths of her sleep.

"Although I am no longer, there's one last thing I can do. Huhu…"

She didn't quite awaken then, although she was startled by the zeal in the voice, the liveliness, as if it were real. But the moment she heard that raspy voice, an odd sense of familiarity filled her bones. Where had she heard that voice?

"I only temporarily erased your memories. Now, Koko… remember." That was all the voice had to say before she did remember.

Koko remembered destroying the town. She remembered watching it all burn with a sick grin on her face, laughing as she told Sherry what she had done.

Koko remembered hurting Sherry. She remembered hurting her dearest with no remorse, laughing as she sent Sherry to what she thought would be her death.

Koko remembered Zofis.

She remembered everything he said to her, everything to turn her heart into a cold stone. His need for destruction and power. How dependent she had become on him.

Everything. Everything came flooding back to her as if it had never left. She clearly knew how she had ended up in the hospital now. Koko was awake by now. She tossed, turned, rolled, tried desperately to sleep everything away, but nothing disappeared. She couldn't sleep now.

The woman feared she would never sleep again.

Koko did end up attending the University, but it couldn't have been any harder. Each day, a new memory had to remind her of what she had done, whether it be enslaving innocent people, hurting Sherry, or burning books. And each of those memories pinned guilt on her shoulders.

It got worse whenever she'd see Sherry.

"Koko!"

Sherry's voice pulled Koko's head from the clouds. She turned to the approaching limo, watching with a smile as Sherry stepped out of it. The blonde woman always looked gorgeous in her dresses, no matter what length, style, or color.

"Sherry!" Koko called, and the two greeted with a hug, then facing each other with bright smiles lighting up their faces. Sure, times like this, when she could focus on what was happening in the present, Koko was able to forget about the past for a little bit. But whenever she'd find her quiet gaze lingering on Sherry, all she could see were the wounds she had inflicted on her.

"Oh! Here, I'll take this," Sherry tugged Koko's bookbag from her arm, reaching back into the limo to set it on the floor. Koko had followed suit, entering the limo before Sherry and making herself comfortable.

It was nice to forget about the past.

Especially nice to spend the present with Sherry, talking, laughing, enjoying life because they were the only ones who mattered to each other. The brisk fall day was refreshing. The harsh rays of summer weren't crashing on their skin, neither was the chilling winter winds. The women had ventured in and out of some shops, Sherry buying a blouse for Koko despite the woman's insistence otherwise, and finally bought themselves treats from an ice cream parlor. They decided to rest for a while, to watch the leaves fall.

"Man, you make everything better, Sherry." Afraid that the silence would cause her mind to wander, Koko spoke the first thing on her mind. Which didn't quite help the silence. It only caused the two women to sit in silence with their cheeks flushed.

It was much better to see Sherry's face lively. Koko remembered that she was always pale with either fear or rage whenever they had fought. Either that, or her cheeks were scraped and battered. She wanted to keep Sherry's cheeks that bright color.

"-Koko!" Said woman's voice brought Koko back to her senses, listening to Sherry's following laugh.

"It's melting!" Of course, Sherry was right, the ice cream had begun to trail to her hand, already making her fingers sticky.

"Hwuh!?" Koko tried to fix her cone with her tongue, which only tilted the remaining ice cream right into her mouth. The woman tried to express her oncoming brain freeze with her mouthful of ice cream, but it only came out as a muffled groan. Sherry tried to stifle her giggles as she watched her friend hold her head.

"My head…" Koko finally managed, the last of the ice cream down her throat.

"Don't you have to be a little bit more on your toes if you want to scope out stories?" Once the headache seemed to have faded, Sherry spoke with the tilt of her head. Koko looked up at her, proceeding to sit up straight. Immediately, her mind wanted to say as if I could, but she shook it off.

"I still have to work on that, but I should get it down!" With a grin, she assured Sherry that she was set on making it better. Sherry smiled in response.

After they finished their treats, the two went on a short stroll, knowing they would soon have to separate. Before they returned to the plaza, where the limo was waiting, Koko noticed her friend's gaze become rather solemn, averted off to the side.

"Something wrong, Sherry?" The other woman turned to her, trying to normalize her features, but she still looked saddened.

"I'm just…" Sherry hesitated a small bit, her azure eyes heading to the ground and then back up. "Thinking about the friend I lost while you were…"

Koko knew Sherry was talking about Brago. Brago was Sherry's mamodo, just like Zofis was to Koko, but their relationship was much different. She had to pretend that Sherry was talking about someone else in her coverup story, a friend she made at the same hospital Koko stayed who had ended up dying. The woman drew her arm around her friend's shoulders, taking it all in before speaking softly,

"I know it's… tough to think about, but hey, I bet they want you to live just as much as I do! And I bet they're watching you right now, cheering you on in everything you do." Koko had seen enough of Brago to know that he likely wouldn't cheer Sherry on, but instead push her himself.

"...Yeah, I bet they are. Thank you…" The blonde smiled slightly, taking in Koko's words, and the brunette offered a smile in response. They walked together to the limo, bidding each other a soft goodbye.

Koko watched the limo leave, waving to Sherry one last time before it turned a corner. Thinking of Brago soon brought the woman's thoughts to Zofis.

Just hearing his name made her heart pound with fear.

Even if he was dead, she felt like he still remained within her. Perhaps Sherry felt the same with Brago.

She remembered Zofis's hands. Those pale hands, one under her chin, other under her eye, to stop the tears.

"Now now, dear Koko, don't let out this anger by crying." He had crooned, seeping himself into her brain without her knowing.

"There's so much you can destroy. Because that's what you want to do." He knew that her mind and heart was his now. Zofis filled her heart with bad memories, even false memories, just to make access to her mind even easier.

Koko rubbed at her chin and then her eye, trying to erase the feeling of his hands ever being there. She hated Zofis. Hated what he did to her, what he made her think. Hated all the things he made her say to Sherry that she couldn't take back.

She hated that, in those months, she relied on him because he was the only one she had. He was good to her back then. And it made her sick.

Koko didn't get any sleep that night. She was disgusted with herself, disgusted enough that she wasn't deserving of sleep. Zofis had made her do so many things, commit so many crimes and hurt so many people. She remembered watching fear in people's eyes. Helpless beings who she hurt just because she could. It was unbearable.

The next day was foggy.

Koko could feel that darkness that Zofis planted in her heart. It was as if on this particular day he had planted it around the whole world as well. During her break, Koko found herself leaving the university. The melancholy grey clouds seemed as dull as her mind.

Anything she saw had begun to remind her of the past months.

She couldn't get anything out of her head. Koko was a killer. A heartless killer. Zofis's words returned to her.

"See what you can do when you open your heart to your free will?"

All of that was her free will. Koko didn't try to fight that thought. He was right. Zofis made her do those things, but it was her free will. It had begun to rain, but her spinning head hardly noticed. It was much more focused on other things.

The darkness he planted in her heart did not stay in her heart. Now it spread to her entire body, weighing her feet to the ground like cinderblocks. It made her hands feel slick, slick with the blood she had spilled. It made her numb to the current state she was in. She couldn't feel the rain, or her tears, for that matter. All she felt was that despair that she knew she was going to fall into all along.

Zofis had lovingly placed this pit of despair at her feet, knowing she'd jump right in when the time was right. When everything finally hit her.

Just thinking about him, Koko heard his laugh. That childish cackle that she had grown used to. Of course that stayed in her mind. Everything stayed. Just like Zofis wanted it.

Thinking about him more, Koko could feel him. His slender arms reaching out towards her. He was going to push her.

Zofis was right there.

He was right behind her.

Right there.