The Protagonists

Chapter Twenty - Nana

"What are you going to do to her?"

"Why do you care?"

"I just don't think she truly knows."

"That is an absolute lie, Flynn! You are the one who told her everything!"

"What are your plans, Iris?"

"Because of you, Flynn, this wonderful, once-pure girl is now going to lose her memory; everything in her memory, from her family to eleventh-grade school curriculum, will be completely washed away."

"And what will you do with this empty-minded, teenage girl?"

"I'll give her my mindset."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Stacie's been a bit flat lately; I need a new companion. And Annalise here would make a perfect companion for the Intellectual Consort. With another mindset equivalent to mine, the Protagonists would have no shot against us. We would be invincible, Flynn. And I have you to thank for this wondrous idea."

~o0o~

The girl awoke in an empty, white chamber; she laid on a bed, the sheets in a tangled mess over top of her. Her curly hair was spread around her in a mangled clutter above her, as if she had been tossing and turning in her sleep. She sat up, rubbing her tired, red eyes and kicking off the covers. Her feet gently hit the cold, frigid flooring as she stood up from the bed. A clock ticked annoyingly above her, capturing her utmost attention; it read noon. She frowned, unable to clearly remember what had happened the day before; her memory was fogged up and the only thing she could possibly recall was an old, leather book. "Die Märchen," she recalled out loud, admiring the city view from outside her chamber window: every skyscraper visible was painted completely white, tons of people walked down the streets, and the sky remained bright and glistening, although no sun was in sight.

"Zentrale really is beautiful, is it not?" The girl spun around to see a familiar girl staring down at her-the girl was very short. "I believe you do not know my name, correct?"

The girl shrugged, admitting that the girl did seem familiar in a sense. "My name is Iris," she introduced, "and I am in the Intellectual Consort. Does that...spark your memory at all?"

The girl stood still for a moment, searching through her brain. Zentrale, Iris, and Intellectual Consort all did seem familiar to her in a way. Just as she was about to admit to Iris that she remembered nothing at all, everything came back and hit her: her job as the Intellectual Consort's companion, the travelling, the rings, Die Märchen, the difference between the Protagonists and Antagonists, the fading of the tales due to Iris's plan, Iris's plan in general, and Flynn and Stacie, the two former companions.

She stumbled back as the memories abruptly flowed back into her mind. Iris merely laughed, placing her hand on the doorframe beside her. "It's a lot to handle," Iris told her reassuringly. "Trust me when I say I know. You'll get used to it all. I mean, you've dealt with this for the first sixteen years of your life, so it'll come back to you rather quickly."

"I-Iris," the girl stuttered, glancing around the white, bleached chamber. "Can you tell me a bit about myself? I mean, I can remember everything about travelling and the tales and stuff, but I just cannot recall anything other than that. You say that I am sixteen years old, but that's all I seem to know about myself."

Iris looked down at her rose-gold watch and frowned; she looked back up at the girl and sighed. "I have to go," she replied gloomily, obviously not wanting to leave the confused, absent-minded girl. "I can have Flynn come in and talk to you if you want. You do remember him, right?"

The girl nodded, remembering Flynn Rider, the intimidating man-although he wasn't intimidating when he got to know you-who was Iris's loving boyfriend; she recalled his light-brown hair that had become bleached by the sun, his jade-green eyes, and his slightly-crooked jaw. "I'll bring him up here to talk to you," Iris reassured, still upset that she could not stay with the girl. "You'll be fine, Annalise."

"Annalise?" The girl's back straightened. "Is that my name?"

"Er, no," Iris replied quickly, "I'm not sure why I called you that. I just know someone else named Annalise. Your name is..." Her voice trailed off as she looked around the room. The girl, supposedly easy to mix up with the Annalise that Iris had spoken of, did not suspect Iris's hesitation; instead, she too looked around the room, pretending to search for whatever Iris was. "Your name is Nana."

"Nana?" The girl frowned, repeating her name over and over in her head. She suddenly smile, very much loving her name. "It's a beautiful name," she noted, causing the same, toothy grin to appear on Iris's face.

"Flynn will be here in a moment," Iris explained at the doorway, "and then once he's done explaining everything to you, Stacie will come in and help prepare you for the initiation."

"Initiation?" Nana asked, perplexed yet again. "As in, the official marking of me becoming your companion?" Iris nodded, relieved that Nana could indeed remember everything concerning Die Märchen. She sent off a wave and walked out of the chamber, leaving Nana alone with her thoughts.

Nana kept repeating her name over and over again, incredibly gleeful. A knock interrupted her from saying "Nana" for the sixty-fourth time; Flynn stepped in, looking rather glum than joyful, like Iris was before. "Hello, Flynn!" Nana said cheerfully, waving him inside.

"You're a lot more cheerful than I expected you to be," Flynn admitted, sitting beside her at the edge of the white-covered bed. Nana frowned, still feeling Flynn's glum, melancholy aura come off of him. "What's that supposed to mean?" She curiously questioned.

"Nothing." Flynn quickly shook his head, as if to shake off the bad thoughts. "So Iris told me to come in and tell you what happened and who you are and stuff." Nana nodded, interested in Flynn's words. "So your name is Nana," he said her name like it was poison on his tongue, "and you're sixteen. You're from Earth and you were Iris's childhood best friend. Your last name is Dakota. Anything else?"

"Is that all you have?" Nana asked disappointedly. Flynn nodded and shrugged in reply. Without saying another word, Flynn sat up and walked out of the chamber, leaving Nana alone again with her thoughts. She frowned, disappointed that she could not receive any information about herself other than her name, her home tale, and her age-not to mention, Iris had already told Nana her age and name. "Flynn didn't tell you much, I assume." Nana looked up abruptly to see Stacie, the soon-to-be-former companion. "He's having a bad day," she added, placing a woven basket on her bed.

Nana looked down curiously at the basket; it had a cherry-red wig, a pink box of various makeup tools, a box of blue contacts, a flower crown, a long, violet dress, and a pair of matching, violet ballet flats. "Why is there a wig and why is there a pair of blue contacts in here?" Nana questioned, looking up and down from the basket, filled to the brim, and Stacie.

"Iris has requested that we change your look slightly," Stacie explained, sitting between Nana and the basket. "You just need to wear them when you're out somewhere else; you don't have to wear this wig-to be honest, it's quite horrendous-or these contacts."

Nana nodded her head understandingly and allowed Stacie to completely change up her look, starting with a powder much too light for her dark complexion and ending with the red, tangled wig. Stacie said her farewells and benedictions, leaving Nana alone in the chamber yet again. She still felt empty inside, like she was missing something; that something was more than just knowing more about her, however.

Why is it that I only know the way of the Intellectuals? Nana pondered, finally stepping out of her empty chamber to head to the plaza. Why do I know everything about this center city and this glass castle, yet I know absolutely nothing about my past?