A/N: This story is inspired and influenced by the musical Be More Chill. It's not necessary to be familiar with the show or book before reading this, but it might make things more clear from the very start. For those who are already familiar with Be More Chill, be aware that in this story Squips can be seen and heard by everybody, not just their host, though they still only have influence over someone they're connected to.

Also, the specific inspiration behind this idea (Dakota being a Squip) comes from an animatic of the song Be More Chill Part 1 (yes, the song actually has part 1 as part of its title. Just go with it). This specific animatic, created by Youtuber Spectral-Sketch722, just so happens to have a Squip design that looks a lot like Dakota (the curly hair, shaded glasses, half closed eyes), so shout out to that creator and their video, because that's what sparked this idea in the first place.


Cavendish wrote the final word of his final essay and sighed in relief as he put his pencil down. That was it, after twenty long cycles of studying time travel, he was all done with his training. He was a time traveler now...well, not officially. All of his exams and essays needed to be graded. And then there was all of that paperwork that needed to go through, and the background checks. But other than that, he was a time traveler, at last.

Cavendish proudly stood up and handed his papers to the supervising time traveler. He knew that his work was quite a few pages longer than what they had asked for, but he believed that it was always better to be thorough. The supervisor didn't even look at the paper, she just put it on her desk. She then picked up an identification card and handed it to him.

"Congratulations, Agent Cavendish, you're a time traveler," The supervisor said boredly, as though she wasn't the least bit interested in what she was saying. Cavendish didn't care about her lack of enthusiasm, he was too excited to finally be an agent. "You are to make your way to the labs."

"Thank you," Cavendish looked at his Bureau of Time Travel card identifying him as a third-class agent. It was the lowest ranking in the bureau, but that was alright. Cavendish could make his way up the ranks. After staring at his card for a moment he looked up in slight surprise as he realized something. "Wait a moment, I thought my work needed to be assessed and-"

"It was graded in the future and they sent word back," The supervisor said in annoyance as she turned back to her own paperwork. "You've been approved, and now you need to go to the labs to get your partner."

"My partner?" Cavendish blinked in slight surprise. "Why would they be in the labs?" The agents who worked in the labs weren't field agents, they didn't leave the labs. Why would his partner be in the labs? Were they a scientist? "I'm afraid I don't understand-"

"You'll understand when you get there," The supervisor said tiredly, like she had said this same thing hundreds of times. "Now get going," She was clearly tired of all his questions, but that was alright. Cavendish was an agent now, it was his job to do what he was told without questioning his superiors. He just had to consider this as another test.

"Of course," Cavendish tipped his hat in appreciation and left the room. He couldn't stop grinning broadly. This was the proudest moment of his life. He finally had a chance to prove himself, to save the world. Show others just how great he could be.

But first, he needed to meet his new partner.

Cavendish walked, head held high, towards the labs. He may not know who he was about to meet, but he couldn't wait to get started.

Cavendish made his way to the labs, or at least tried to. Headquarters was a very large place, and while Cavendish had been in training he hadn't gotten the chance to see very much of it. He'd memorized the maps, but everything looked different in real life. Cavendish took a wrong turn at one point, and then just got even more lost as he tried to find his way again.

After nearly half an hour of wandering aimlessly around headquarters Cavendish finally found his way to the labs. Deep down he knew that he had just gotten lucky, to have gotten so lost that he ended up in the very place that he had been trying to get to, but he still felt a sense of accomplishment.

Cavendish opened the door to the lab and saw all of the other new agents who had finished their essays before him, as well as another man that he had never seen before waiting impatiently for something, possibly him. Cavendish closed the door behind him and sheepishly made his way to join the other new agents.

"I still don't understand why we have to be here," The man said moodily. It seemed like the man was addressing them, but he was glaring to his side. "We're first-class agents, it shouldn't be our job to teach these amateurs,"

"One, we're not teaching them," Cavendish jumped, startled, when a finely dressed young woman seemed to appear out of nowhere. "We're introducing them to their partners, that's it. Two, it is your job to do what your told."

"But it's so degrading," The man practically whined.

"Stop," The young woman said, and Cavendish could hear a kind of power in her words. The other man's mouth snapped closed. He glared fiercely at the young woman, whose brown eyes seemed to flash bright purple for a moment. "What have I told you about complaining? If you want people to take you seriously, you need to act like somebody worth respecting."

The two of them stared at each other for a few tense moments before the young woman's eyes went back to their regular brown. The man crossed his arms. "You know I hate it when you do that."

"I'll stop as soon as you stop doing things wrong." The woman said. She turned towards Cavendish and the other agents, an impatient but not unkind look on her face. "You're the last new agent here."

"Well, I got lost," Cavendish said sheepishly. "And it took me longer than expected to write my essay." He couldn't help but be intimidated by this young woman, it felt as though she was looking into his very mind. He had to try very hard to not let his slight fear show. "I wanted to be sure to write as much as I could."

The other man huffed in annoyance "Time travelers need to know how to work quickly." The young woman gave the man a quick look, and he reluctantly backed down.

"It's also important for a time traveler to be thorough," She turned to Cavendish and held her hand out to him. "They call me Savannah," She gestured to the man close to her. "That is the partner I'm stuck with, Brick."

"Balthazar Cavendish," He took Savannah's hand and shook it. "So, uh, may I ask what we're all doing here?"

Savannah smirked and nodded to Brick, who rolled his eyes, at least, he began to. He stopped mid eyeroll, unfolded his arms, and stood up straight. "You're here to get your partners." Brick turned and grabbed a box that looked like a glorified shoebox. Cavendish didn't know why the B.o.T.T. had a box like this, but he believed that he was about to find out.

Brick opened the box and approached the new agents, showing them the contents inside. Cavendish raised a confused eyebrow when he saw that the box was full of gray, oblong pills.

"What are those?" Cavendish asked, and one glance confirmed that the other new agents were as confused as he was.

"They are Super Quantum Unit Intel Processors, otherwise known as a Squip." Brick said as he looked over at Savannah. "Each of you will have a one"

"But what are they?" Cavendish asked.

Brick let out a slow sigh. "Look, whatever I tell you, you won't believe me, so just take the pill and do what you're told."

"Trust me," Savannah looked at Cavendish, her eyes flashing purple again. "Everything will make sense once you have your Squip."

"And you can't be an agent unless you have one," Brick picked up a pill and shoved it into Cavendish's hand. "So take the stupid pill." Brick moved on to hand out pills to the other agents. Cavendish eyed it warily, but when he saw the others taking it, he reluctantly put it in his mouth and swallowed it. The pill tasted like nothing, and Cavendish didn't feel any effects, good or bad, and pills in the future had a tendency to work immediately, so he was a little confused.

"What...was that supposed to do something?" Cavendish asked.

"The Squip has to be activated." Savannah said. She handed him a green bottle of soda. "Drink this, and you'll understand everything."

Cavendish accepted the bottle and examined it. The bottle didn't seem to be tampered with. And though Cavendish rarely drank soda, he recognized the brand. It was something that had been really popular in the past. He opened the lid of the soda and reluctantly took a sip. He barely resisted the urge to spit the small amount of soda out. It was much too sweet for his tastes. Cavendish didn't want to take more than was necessary, and when he put the lid back on the soda and Savannah gave him a small nod, he knew that the small sip had been enough.

Once they all had drank the soda, Savannah muttered something under her breath. Her eyes flashed purple again, and Cavendish began to wonder what it meant. The strange coloring was gone just as suddenly as it had shown up. "Your initiation is done, and soon all of you will be given your assignments."

"Unfortunately, your Squips are connected to mine," Brick glared in annoyance at Savannah. "If you absolutely need help, they can contact each other...please don't need help." With those last words, Brick and Savannah left the lab. Cavendish and the other new agents exchanged confused glances. They hadn't been assigned their partners. They had just been given a strange pill and some soda.

"Well, this has been an odd and stressful day," Cavendish straightened his vest. "I don't know about you lot, but I'm going to go prepare for my first assignment." He tipped his hat at his fellow agents and turned sharply to follow Brick and Savannah's lead. Just as he put his hand on the doorknob he felt a pain in his head that was so sudden and sharp that he yelled out in pain and clutched at his forehead.

"Stay," A voice that he had never heard before said clearly, almost right in his ear. He turned and didn't see anybody there, and none of the other new agents were even paying him any mind. After a moment Cavendish shrugged and walked out the door. The second he was back in the hallway, his legs gave out slightly.

Cavendish put a hand against the wall to steady himself. He didn't know what had happened to his legs so suddenly. It was as though they just decided to stop working right. Cavendish's legs weren't in pain or numb, they just weren't doing what he wanted them to do. He hoped that this was just temporary, because he didn't know what he would do if this sudden paralysis was a permanent thing.

After nearly five minutes of his legs betraying him, the door to the labs opened and the rest of the new agents came out, talking casually with each other. They walked right past him and went down the hall in the way opposite of where he had been planning on going himself.

"They look like they're having fun," That same voice that he had heard before seemed to say in his head. "Why don't you see what they're talking about? You might make some friends." Just as suddenly as Cavendish's legs had worked up, they started working again. Cavendish straightened and frowned when he felt a strong urge to follow the other agents.

"I'm not here to make friends," Cavendish said to himself. He adjusted his hat and made his way down the hall, away from the others. The pain in his head from earlier returned, even more fiercely than before.

"Really, Cavendish?" He jumped when he felt a touch on his arm that shocked him slightly. He turned to see a younger, shorter man with unkempt hair and a mischievous smirk standing next to him when he certainly hadn't been there before. "You've finally become an agent, and you think the best thing to do is study some more? You should hang out with the other agents. Having friends in the bureau could come in handy someday."

"I don't need friends," Cavendish huffed. "And I don't remember asking for you opinion." He eyed the other man's casual clothing and darkened glasses. He certainly didn't look like an agent. "Who are you, anyways?"

The younger man chuckled in amusement. "Yeah, sorry, I guess you're not too trusting of strangers, are you? Don't worry, we'll fix that."

Cavendish raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me?" Cavendish wasn't used to being spoken to so casually, especially not by somebody who was a complete stranger.

The younger man grinned, and Cavendish noticed for the first time that one of his eyes were brown, and the other was a shade of orange that was even brighter than the clothing that he wore. Cavendish was unnerved to see what looked like a literal spark in the orange eye, giving it an almost glowing effect. "It's good to meet you, Balthazar Cavendish. I'm your Squip."

Cavendish felt suddenly ill as he looked at the stranger in front of him. "I'm sorry, you're my...what?"

"Squip," The man, Squip, whatever he was, said. "You know, a Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor."

"That...that pill they gave me," Cavendish said breathlessly while he tried to work through what he was hearing, what he was thinking. "What...what is it? What are you?"

The younger man sighed and put his hands in his pockets. "Man, you can't just go around asking people what they are. But you know what? You're freaked out, I get it, so I'll give it a pass this time."

"What are you talking about?" Cavendish took a step away from the so-called Squip. "Would you begin explaining things?"

The Squip frowned and his orange eye flashed. Cavendish's breath caught in his throat and his hair stood on end. "I'll explain things just as soon as you let me, so would you just be quiet for a minute?"

Cavendish tried to open his mouth, but found himself unable to. So he just bit the inside of his cheek and nodded. The Squip nodded. "Great, thanks. Look, a Squip is like a supercomputer implanted in your brain. It tells you what to do, what to say. I'm your Squip. It's my job to influence your behavior to be the way it should be." When his words were out the Squip relaxed, and Cavendish felt the force that was keeping him silent disappear.

"You...did you just silence me?" Cavendish didn't know whether to be afraid, furious, or impressed. This was some advanced technology, even for the future.

"I didn't want to, but it's not like you left me much of a choice." The Squip shrugged, and Cavendish marveled at the fact that this strange man was actually a supercomputer. "I had to get you to listen to me somehow."

"Well, next time I would appreciate it if you would find another way of being heard," Cavendish crossed his arms indignantly. "I do not like being controlled."

The orange eye flashed, and between this Squip and Savannah, who, it was clear now, was a Squip herself, Cavendish figured that it was something that happened when they were using their powers. "Alright, noted." The Squip's colored eye dimmed slightly. "Well, we've got to figure something out, because the two of us are stuck with each other, so we've got to be able to work together."

Cavendish sighed and eyed the Squip warily. "If you don't try to control my actions anymore, I'll try harder to hear what you have to say."

"You can't just hear what I say," The Squip said unexpectedly sternly. "You have to listen."

"I'll do my best," Cavendish said somewhat reluctantly. The Squip didn't look like the kind of person he would normally listen to, but if it meant keeping his free will, he would give it a try. "So, you're supposed to be my partner?" Cavendish didn't understand how, with all of the training and studying he had gone through, he hadn't known that. It seemed like something worth mentioning at least once.

"All time travelers have a Squip," The young man walked past Cavendish and began to make his way down the hallway. He looked back and gestured for Cavendish to follow him, which he was more than happy to do so. "All of your assignments, the information of the time period you're sent to, all of that's going to go through me. You can think of me as a kind of guide to the past or something. A walking history book."

Cavendish blinked. He still didn't know how he felt about having a computer in his mind, but so far it seemed like the Squip could be rather useful. He wasn't too fond of the Squip's attitude and personality, but for all he knew the Squip would only be in this form and behave this way for a short time, like some sort of phase.

"Well, what am I supposed to call you?" Cavendish asked. "Because I'm not just going to call you Squip."

The other man shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me what I'm called. Why don't you choose something?"

Cavendish thought for a moment. He wasn't very good at this kind of thing, but he refused to use a word as ridiculous as 'Squip' to refer to his partner. "What about...Vinnie Dakota?"

"Vinnie Dakota," The Squip tested out the name and nodded. "I'm guessing Vinnie is short for Vincent, like your least favorite cousin? And Dakota, meaning North Dakota, where you were raised and couldn't wait to get away from?"

Cavendish flinched slightly. "How did you-?"

"I told you, I'm a super computer in your mind. I've got access to all kinds of memories. Whatever you know, I know, and more." The Squip reminded him. "And don't worry, I don't mind being named after two things you hate." And, strangely enough, Cavendish felt sure that the Squip meant that. He wondered if the Squip could be insulted by anything? Because it may look and act fairly human, but it was still a supercomputer.

"Alright then, Vinnie Dakota it is." Cavendish smiled at his new partner. Now that he had a name to attach to the face, it all felt more real. "I look forward to working with you."

"Hey, man, me too," Dakota half grinned and half smirked. His orange eye sparked again. Cavendish was getting increasingly uneasy with the oddly colored eye.

"I...excuse me, but is it possible for you to…" Cavendish trailed off and gestured to his own eye.

Dakota blinked and brought a hand to his orange eye. "Oh, yeah, that'll probably draw attention, won't it?" Dakota chuckled and pulled what looked like a pair of dark glasses out of his pocket. "Most Squips' eyes look identical, and they're usually a more, you know, normal color. But I...well…this will have to be good enough." Dakota put on the glasses. Cavendish could still see Dakota's eyes, but the shading made them both appear to be pretty much the same. "Is this better?"

"Much better," Cavendish said in relief. "Thank you,"

"No problem," Dakota shrugged and held out a hand with a grin. "It's my job to help you, after all, right?"

Cavendish took Dakota's hand without the smallest bit of hesitation. "Right," Dakota's hand felt pretty much like human flesh, but it was just different enough to remind Cavendish that Dakota was something more than human. "Something tells me this is going to be an interesting partnership."

"Yeah," Dakota agreed, a somewhat odd tone to his voice. "Interesting."