A/N: This is a story I wrote some time ago for a friend that is active on . She told me to upload it, but I never did. While transferring documents from my laptop to new desktop, I came across it and decided to fulfill their wish.

"Hmm… Dogen's raw, untapped power could provide the energy necessary to power a psy-signal that large, but if he can't control it he could wipe every living being's mind clean. Perhaps if I add an overload switch…" Sasha Nein sits in his lab puzzling over a stack of schematics while sipping coffee from a sleek, ceramic mug. He runs his hand through disheveled hair, greasy from a few days of consecutive work, removing it from his vision.

"Psitanium wires would certainly be strong enough to carry his energy. It's keeping it in the wiring that will prove difficult." Behind his glasses, Sasha's eyes dart around furiously; they register, analyze, and memorize the equations set before him just as fast as he can write them.

"Of course! Tin foil! If I wrap each section of the machinery in tin foil, the mayhem of Dogen's brainwaves will be contained. Hmm… but how can I use it without making the machinery look like complete garbage?" His entire being is engrossed in his work, engulfed in the scent of eraser dust, motor oil, and the stuffiness of a room that has not been opened in days.

Sasha focus remains unbroken, even when the door to his lab creaks open and a silent form slips inside accompanied by a myriad of colors and a low hum. It silently glides up behind him with dark arms swathed in colorful fabric.

"Oh my!" The mental minx, Milla Vodello glides up behind her partner and rests her hands on the back of his chair. "It smells like you've been partying in the grease pit for a week, darling."

"I would greatly appreciate it if you would refrain from levitating in my secret laboratory, the light is too bright."

Milla rolls her eyes and lithely slinks to the floor, dissipating the glowing orb.

"Well I hope you don't go telling that to the sun. It's a beautiful day! Anyways, how can you still call it 'secret' after all these years? To be honest, I think even the bears are aware it."

"I wonder if they would be willing subjects for experiments… their metal progress is undoubtedly due to the psitanium deposits… but why only the bears?" Sasha swivels around slowly at the last part, all the better to face her and show the earnestness of his inquiry.

"You're missing the point Sasha. This room is too stuffy and lacks a positive vibe… and sunlight! The last few weeks of camp are approaching and you are going to miss all of the festivities."

"Miss going outside into the blinding sunlight and having children stare at me and whisper behind my back? No thank you. The only time I desire having children near me is if I am giving their brains a good tumble. For science." Sasha's gaze fixes on Milla, tired and forlorn. "Besides, I am making progress. If I did not think I could handle the stress of hard mental labor, I certainly would not have become a Psychonaut."

"I'm certain that your mind is very capable, Sasha dear. It's other parts that make me worry." Milla's look of concern only deepens when Sasha grabs his pack of cigarettes from the desk, drawing one.

"Name a single aspect of my health that warrants concern." Sasha retorts, lighting the cigarette.

"You're joking right?" Anger, confusion, and surprise all fight for control of Milla's facial expressions, causing Sasha to sink deeper into his chair and focus on the nicotine between his lips. "How can someone so bright be so clueless? I know that everyone thinks that I'm some carefree minx of a woman," Milla blurts out, beginning to pace in front of Agent Nein as well, "and yes I do enjoy a good party, especially when the rhythms rocking, but I am always aware of my guests. I purposefully make sure that they're living it up too and you're no exception Sasha." Milla pauses and looks Sasha directly in his eyes. "You're my partner Sasha. The only one I have. I don't want to lose you, especially to yourself. I only want to help."

Milla reaches out to Nein both physically and mentally, warm gestures to express how earnest she is. The chilled steel trap of Sasha's mind braces against her advances, rejecting the intrusion. His hand is no kinder, as he pushes away from her embrace and turns towards the desk.

"Please Agent Vodello, I am not in the mood for such things. I have work to be done."

Hurt, Milla holds one of her arms and glances around nervously.

"You know, Sasha, you can be a real downer sometimes. I just wanted to you leave this metallic chamber at least once this century."

"And why would I ever want to do that? It's sterile, has everything I need, and is quite aesthetically pleasing as well." Sash suddenly stops, and his psychic atmosphere changes. "Except," he slowly turns in his chair, "for," and rises, "that."

Milla turns to the corner farthest from Sasha's desk where a curtain hangs, matching the walls.

"What? A curtain? I'm surprised you dislike it, especially since it blends in with the wall so well. Normally that sort of thing would give you good vibes, no?"

"No, the curtain is of my own design and yes, I do get… do enjoy it." He clears his throat. "The curtain is simply a temporary solution to a far greater threat to this camp and my own sanity." Nein crosses the room, shuddering as he draws the curtain back to reveal an entrance to Cruller's underground transport system. "Why I ever allowed Cruller to install a stump in my lab for his transportation system, I will never know. In the woods it works as a concealed entrance… but in a lab it is pointless and does not blend in at all. Its symmetry and functionality are on the same horrific level."

Milla lets out a chuckle and strides over to her partner.

"That's all? For a second I thought you had a psychic platypus or some equally terrifying beast caged in the corner over here."

"Trust me, Milla. These stumps have a greater influence on your daily mental wellbeing than you think. The brain craves a uniform environment to feel safe in. These abominations are an affront to everything we stand for." Sasha takes a long drag on his cigarette, as emphasis.

"I think you're taking it far too seriously, darling. Besides, you've been in my mind. Everything is colorful and fun and different! You never know which accessory will bring the life to the party, so have them all!"

"But how would you feel if there was a stump in the corner of the dance room?"

"Pardon?"

"How would you feel if-"

Milla shushes him and giggles.

"I heard the question, silly. I just don't understand where you are going with it."

"Imagine you are throwing a party and it is designed exactly how you want. All of the vomit inducing florescent colors you can imagine. But in the corner there is… that horrible thing."

"Well, it would certainly be off-putting at first, but I think that its individuality would become the life of the party, baby!"

"Ugh. Your optimism is worthy of a promotion… or perhaps an experiment."

"No way Sasha. No matter how much you wish you were as delightful as me, you can't study my happiness. That, my dear Nein, you will have to find for yourself." Milla takes a few steps closer to her partner. "But you don't have to find it by yourself. No dance was meant to be performed alone." She takes Sasha by the hand and spins him around, causing him to stumble and drop his cigarette as he grasps at her shoulder for support.

Milla chuckles. "It's about time, but your hand isn't supposed to go on my shoulder, Agent Sasha Nein."

"I didn't even mean to touch you. I would have simply caught myself mentally, but my levitation isn't quite up to par."

"I know, silly. That's why I'm your partner. To catch you when you inevitably fall."

She twirls around, relaxing the mood, but not her grip on Sasha's hand. Milla takes the lead and begins moving Sasha's body in a style in something akin to a freeform tango. They dance up and across the room, stepping on loose papers and bumping into boxes of research set aside. Despite the German Psychonaut's resistance and attempts to produce a downright unhappy face, he couldn't help but feel excited as his heart races from his first time moving quickly in days. Milla is very pleased. She can tell that her partner is putting up less resistance than she expects and, frankly, is pleasantly surprised.

"That's it darling! You are doing wonderful! Now, let's make this a little more interesting."

"More interesting?" Thought Agent Nein. "Uh-oh."

That's when Agent Milla Vodello, the mental minx, begins to levitate the duo, everything completely out of Sasha's control. Frantically, he deflects her mental energies from around his body and falls crashing to the floor, Milla's grip not being strong enough to support Sasha's suddenly heavy body.

"Oh my! Sasha! Are you alright!" Milla quickly lowers herself and rushs to the aid of her companion.

"Agh. No. Milla, I am not. I haven't been alright for the last five minutes. I haven't been alright since you arrived. Now I want you to leave so that I can go back to how I was before you entered, completely and utterly alright."

"You know what. Fine. I'll leave you to have your pity party." Milla turns away from Sasha, who is nursing his recently bruised head and hip. "I'm sorry that you got hurt, but for what it's worth… I had fun." She doesn't even bother conjuring a glowing orb as she floats herself out of Sasha's lab.

Agent Nein continues to sit on the floor for a few minutes, just holding his head and trying not to think, to not feel the pain or anything else for that matter. He then slowly gets up and turns toward his desk and, with a sigh, gets back to work.

…

Around midnight, Milla Vodello receives a visitor. If she were being honest with herself, she would know that she isn't in the mood to see him, but she expected this and having Sasha come to her is all too rare to pass on. Rather than say anything, she simply reaches out with her mind and gives him the 'okay' to come in. He silently slides in and takes a seat next to her on her bed, him still in the same green pants and jacket, while she has changed into some flannel pajamas. They sit together like that, completely silent and immobile. Milla doesn't dare to make the first move, as she knows Sasha came here for a good reason and would act when he was ready. Minutes pass that feel like hours to the mental minx, like days for the German fellow. Eventually, Sasha relaxes and allows himself unlatch a few mental locks, open a few metaphorical windows and let the fresh air in. It's foreign and extremely warm, almost unbearably so. Milla is very aware of each slight change her partner makes and appreciates each one, and begins opening her mind, almost instantly and with much more ease. Slowly Milla begins entering Sasha's mind in order to keep him on familiar ground.

She finds herself on the familiar cube shaped world that represents Sasha's mind. The surface is so barren that it takes Milla no time to find Agent Nein's astral projection of himself, sitting near a corner and rubbing his hand on the smooth metallic surface of the floor. Agent Vodello slowly walks over and takes a seat next to her partner, no closer than she would sit if he were a total stranger. Sasha turns to her and for once is slow to speak as he is at a loss for words. Timidly, he finds them and begins his apology.

"Agent Vode- … Milla. I want to apologize for my earlier behavior. It was very… ungrateful of me to act in such a manner. I know you mean the best, truly, but… well… you know me. Too well."

Sasha beings projecting a slideshow of images before the two of them, ranging from memories to raw emotions, like the feeling that your mere birth caused excruciating pain to those who should be most precious. They sit together and Milla takes it all in. Most of what he shows her, she has seen before. It is her job, after all, to be intimately familiar with the intricacies of his mind. There are, however, new things he shows her. Visits to his mother's grave. The memory of his pet German Shepard, Lebenschein, passing on after Sasha's father hit her while driving his truck, drunk. His feeling of total isolation upon arriving in America, a foreign land with a foreign language.

But most importantly, he shows her his memory from earlier. Since it was only a few hours old, it brims with mental energy, the emotions flooding out into the atmosphere and choking Milla. She experiences Sasha's genuine comfort from being in his lab, as well as the pleasant surprise he felt by having Milla in the same room as him. Milla experiences firsthand the discomfort of when she initially tried to breach his mind and the pain of rejecting someone dearest because of it. Everything Sasha experienced, she lives as well.

By the time the memory runs its course, tears are streaming down Milla's face. She always knew what Sasha was like and had experienced his emotions before, but it hurts her more and more each time. Empathizing with his pain is extremely difficult for her, but living it causes her own emotions to double up in a mental heaving of pure emotional energy. As difficult as it is for Sasha to open up, it is even more difficult for Milla to accept it.

Both of them continue to sit there, Milla crying and leaning on Sasha, while he stares past the horizon of his psyche off into the uncreated aspects of his inner mind. Eventually Milla slips out of his mind and finds Sasha leaning on her, sound asleep.

She gives him a smile and takes off his scarf, shoes, and jacket, tucking him under her sheets. Agent Milla Vodello slides in next to him, chuckles, and then slips his glasses off. It isn't often that she gets to see him without them. Gently, Milla places them on the nightstand and turns back to her partner who is wandering, lost in his own dreamscape.

"Goodnight my dearest." Milla whispers before kissing him on the cheek and turning the other way, all the better to get a good night's sleep.