William couldn't shake Addy. She was constantly finding him when she had spare time and gluing herself to his side. He was soon realizing she was just there to get pet, her cat-like self was finding great enjoyment from his hand on her head.

If he could of stopped it he would, but Addy's ferocious attempts to grab his hand and bring it to her head easily became large spectacles when he did not comply. William settled for a hood covered girl clinging to him, luckily a random girl and a guy sharing personal space didn't attract allot of attention. The worst he got was a few giggles and passing stares.

What William found intriguing about Addy however was that she was somewhat a genius. One could still talk to her as long as she was not riled up and she never needed to pay much attention. She remembered everything someone said, everything she saw, and did most problems in her head.

William did not know what her actual marks were but he could see her easily being around his score near the top. If she cut down on the cat naps and increased her attention span, she might become peerless. Though seeing how unreasonable she was, that was not going to happen. Period.

Today's class was studying old theory's relative to virtual reality. It was similar to learning Newtonian physics back in the day before learning quantum mechanics when you were older. The calculations and theories were highly accurate for most problems but could never be exact.

Keeping up with the lecture, William noted what was important after fighting for his hand back from Addy. She seemingly fell asleep not long after class started but William suspected she was still listening somehow.

Unfortunately, part way through the oncoming information became less productive and William no longer needed to note it and just listened.

Meanwhile he ran his fingers through Addy's hair and down her arm. He called it 'being proactive.' By calming her down little by little, she would wait longer before grabbing his hand when it wasn't on her.

Her body wiggled a little at his touch, the weight of her head in his lap pressing down then up.

William finding the material a bit dry and irrelevant activated a nearby console and began a search. He was flattered by Addy's interest in him but he needed to find some way to get away from it.

Searching Addy and cat, his first hit was her fan page... William, figuring it would be a useful tool in understanding her, instantly regretted it. There was nothing useful about it. The entire resource was filled with love confessions and wishful thinking of those that were most likely, not in a relationship. William backed out of the material and searched again, avoiding anything else tagged with 'we are fans' related material.

Getting to the bottom, William eventually found something. It was a private research report produced by a Britannia Shivermore. When he looked at her profile picture he knew he had found what he was looking for as it had an uncanny resemblance to Tama in First, minus the beast traits.

Tama as Addy's sister and a researcher of her condition was the best candidate to seek help from.

The only issue was that Tama was a member of Advent and they were as high profile as they come. With William preferring to stay inconspicuous, this made for him a dilemma. Unfortunately, he didn't see how he could avoid it.

William couldn't read more than the synopsis of the report but did find contact information. He sent a message asking to meet with her about Addy.

Immediately he had a reply giving him instructions on how to meet. She was working at a Nexcom research facility not far away and would be available for the rest of the day. Security would allow him to pass if he gave his name and that Addy already had clearance if she was coming.

***

Arriving at the facility there, it was huge. Nexcom was never one to hold back on expenses and like everything else they own, it had been decked out with every gizmo imaginable.

Walking up to its front gate, William spoke to guard whose tactical gear make him look capable of single handedly taking the beach of Normandy in WWII. A self-activating, shoulder mounted projectile launcher, energy blades capable of cutting rock as they would hot butter, variable focus continuous laser rifle, and glowing high tech armor. Yes, even Germany's tank brigade back then wouldn't of lasted 5min.

William gulped hard as one of them escorted him in. Anyone would get nervous with a tactical super weapon walking beside them.

Taking a seat in a well-equipped lounge, William was left to wait alone with Addy. He took a seat on a large cushioned chair and was soon join by Addy as she climbed into his lap and curled into a ball.

William sighed... And waited.

Britannia soon arrived.

In appearance, she was similar to Addy, just older for the most part. There were a few minor differences here and there but it was obvious that they were related.

He eyes first opened wide in shock and adoration seeing Addy but then turned cold while looking at William and the scene.

"Who are you? What have you done to my sister?!?"

"I'm William and nothing, nothing at all. This was her own choice and I am trying to find a solution for her behavior."

"Mmmm, is that really true?... Wait..." Britannia squinted her eyes. "John?!?"

"Yes, that's how people know me in First."

"It's me, Tama, remember?"

"Of course, it's nice to see you again."

Britannia smiled, "it's nice to be remembered."

"Yes, but I unfortunately didn't come here for a social call."

"Unfortunate indeed, it's been so long. But I regress, what's going on with you and my sister?"

"I'm not really sure but I can tell you wants happened..."

William retold the events exactly as they happened.

"I see," but did she really see? William almost felt bloodlust when looking at her face.

"Well I have one thing to say to that. If you ever bring her to your room again, by herself... She will be the least of your worries."

William shivered, she was serious. "I'm sorry, but the situation at the time was no good. I had hoped somewhere private to resolve it peacefully and that was the best I could come up with."

"Haaaaaa... My stupid little sister."

Britannia shook her head, clearly frustrated by the situation. From her lab coat she took a bag of something and brought out a small black marble, tossing it at Addy's head.

Addy reached back and grabbed it out of her hair, putting it in her mouth.

She was finally paying attention.

Britannia threw another and this time Addy caught it midair while getting closer. With another and another Addy was finally in Brittania's lap.

Bribery...

"Fish bites," said Brittani. "I have them on hand to deal with Addy and no, I'm not giving you any. God only knows what you could get her to do with them."

"I would rather have a solution honestly."

"Yes, well first it might be prudent for you to understand Addy's condition as it is permanent and untreatable.

Addy suffers from a specialized form of species dysphoria. She believes herself, as a result of her exposure to First, that she is part feline. It is not full animal dysphoria because she has retained human characteristics in her behavior."

"What have you tried."

"Put simply, allot. Drugs, therapy, social groups, and experimental procedures were all given a go, and all failed miserably. At a basic level she has undergone physical changes in her brain that make her very difficult but at the same time interesting. Nexcom is very interested in the changes she's undergone as a result of First and makes a point of periodically checking up on her as there have been other cases like this, but not to this extreme."

"What about First? There's the purge mechanic for removing beast traits."

"I tried that, but it didn't work, she still thought she was part cat in and out of First regardless. I tried mixing her with something other than cat and it was a disaster, she went berserk. Seeing her like that I could only purge and at the time she almost died from the stress on her body."

"How unfortunate, is there no way to help her?"

"I'm her sister and the lead scientist researching her condition. The answer is no."

They both looked at Addy while she curled up in her sister's lap, being bribed to stay there with food.

"So what now? I can't live a proper life with my hand glued to my head."

"Agreed. Addy is not better off glued to your side."

"Well, from what I can tell... You've made her submissive, winning a bought of strength and providing food. In animals that is more than enough for one to follow another."

"But she's not an animal. Moreover is that she forces getting a pet by getting violent while staying by me at all times."

"Sorry, but I can't give you a clear answer. This is the first time she's ever done this. I’ve seen her causing problems before and this research program has dealt with them but this... I just don't know.

I can only guess that you've formed a pride with her somehow given her animal traits and that she is addicted to being pet you somehow.

I'm sorry..."

"It's ok, I'm managing it somehow but I am worried. She found me in First as well and now travels with me. I just want a plan."

"She's traveling with you in first? Alone?"

"No, there is another."

"Well, I've already taken the First route with her so I don't mind. Just please be kind to her there."

"I will."

"But I'm sorry William, she's valuable to Nexcom. My hands are tied in doing anything to Addy. She is by order, to be allowed full freedom and expunged from any offences resulting from her more, animal, instincts."

"It's unfortunate but I have a better understanding now."

"You can look on the bright side. She's doing something irregular right now, maybe it will lead to a breakthrough. Even though that is unlikely, if she's with you in First she'll really help you out. She's my sister and likely not far behind me in skills."

Suddenly Britannia realized she was out of snacks for Addy. Addy immediately got off her and got on William's lap, grabbing his hand to put on her head.

"Addy, get back here."

"You have no food." Was her reply.

"But I'm your older sister, you should listen."

"Older sister with no food."

...

Without food, Addy was not coming back to her.

William sighed, "We should get going. Britannia, please contact me the minute anything comes up."

"Yes, but let's catch up sometime like normal."

And with that William left, with Addy in tow and a very scary security guard leading the way.