Waking up feeling as horrible as he was, nothing was making sense. What had happened? He was feeling just fine yesterday. Had there been some kind of bacteria inside the cave they had explored? Regardless, the alarms going off set him on edge, and with or without Creighton, his body told him to move.
Something was terribly wrong, and while it was becoming hard to think, he spotted others in the same situation, rushing out of the city. He stumbled, coughing a bit as he leaned against a wall, eyes trying to focus around his surroundings. He hoped his partner was alright, wherever he was. But it was every man for himself and he needed to find somewhere to hide safely.
With the hook at the rear of Ghal Maraz sitting atop his shoulder, almost fitting around it, while kept firm on the hilt with his right hand, Karl was in a sprint towards those woods. Phone held in his left hand like a vice-grip, looking back and forth at the included map to ensure he was heading the right direction. Regardless of how long he’s lived in the city, or how accurate that map on his device may be, he could never be too sure.
One thing he did expect, is that this was not a task he could accomplish on his own. Even if he could take down Chaos Champions, Ork Warbosses, Undead Lords, and massive beasts in single combat, that was his biggest concern. Regardless of what his ‘double’ remembers or not, Karl was fighting himself. He could only expect to be fighting the exact same expertise of combat that he is, and he would need assistance.
Swiping to the side, he’d pop open the messaging service, frantically typing away at it with his thumb. Having to do both that, and look up now and again to not end up slamming his head into a pole.
These words were not his own; but the Ryoma who was born here, the other, almost thought he was hallucinating. But lo--there was another man who looked just like him, staring back at him, just beginning to place a phone back into the obi of very traditional looking clothing.
(The fashion choice was deliberate on Prince’s part.)
“I figure you have some questions. I do as well--do not panic, I wish not to resort to violence, unless you attempt so first.” The prince closed the space between one another, enough room between them at least for personal comfort. A few beats of the wave onto the dock rocked calmly.
“Wh...who are you?” Nerves struck the other Ryoma; his voice failing him. He wasn’t usually this shocked, but what else do you do when you see yourself? The spitting image--was this person some sort of shapeshifter? There were nonhumans in the city, sure, but he didn’t know if any could pull this sort of--
“Your name’s Ryoma, yes? You have three siblings by blood--Takumi, Hinoka, and Sakura. They’ve seen you through the deaths of many a parent, have they not?” He placed a hand onto his counterpart gently, trying to keep his tone reassuring. “You and I are one in the same, this...this life is mine as well, in a way.”
The other really...wasn’t sure how to process this.Sure, his family was affluential but why did he look just like him? “Look--- if you want to take my life, you can have it! You’ll cave under the pressure!” He was gesticulating, a laugh bubbling around each word like a feral foam. He pulled himself from the other, sea breeze on his back as he found himself closer to the tip of the dock. (Admittedly, he wasn’t worried about that, or even registering it.)
“I'm hardier than you realize. Besides, I don’t want your life, it’s already mine in a way. It’s...complicated, I don’t quite understand myself but, well--” He tried to launch into an explanation, but his other decked him square in the face, making Ryoma stagger away as other self made a run for it. He made a shot in the dark, grabbing the other’s ponytail and putting him into a headlock.
“Fine you want to do it this way? I’m no master of hand-to-hand, but I know full well how to incapacitate a man when my sword fails me!” The other Ryoma flailed against his arms, trying to lower his center of gravity for the upper hand, but Ryoma was more than a match for him. Even if they had similar builds, he was just simply more experienced. “Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way--I can make this painless for you, or I can have you bleed out by Raijinto’s touch.” Honestly, the other Ryoma lucked out, he wasn’t going to get a death by electrocution, which was very well possible had Raijtino been able to carry a charge.
“And what the hell entails painless? Gonna strangle me?”
“No. As I was trying to explain earlier--I can apparently seal you inside some sort of cyber-pocket. It’s apparently non-lethal, but I know nothing of this ‘cyberspace’. So you tell me.”
This actually relaxed the other somewhat. He, unlike this Ryoma, was a native of the city and fully aware of the technology at their disposal. And though he wasn’t sure how this would work, he was...oddly trustworthy of it. He still didn’t want to die, there wasn’t any peace in death, no stark awareness that death was simply part of his role to fill.
He was just some guy.
But did he really want to get gutted by a sword? Honestly, he wasn’t sure how good this guy was with a sword, actually, but if his own kendo skills were any indicator, as well as this stranger’s strength...
Ah, fuck.
He sighed. “Fine, do your worst. I wanna ask, though--how good are you with a sword anyway?”
Ryoma procured his phone, firing up the app.
“Well, for one, I’m a samurai, with the resources that nobility allots me at my disposal. I haven’t once dared to waste that.”
Damn. He wasn’t messing around about the sword thing.
“Maybe we can meet again and have a fair fight--how about that?”
Ryoma smiled, clicking the necessary button, his other beginning to fade.
Hello everyone! I’m putting out a plotting call for Part 2 of Subversion!
To put it simply, the copy Mokou will panic upon splitting from Mokou and the knowledge that she’s been infected and flee into the Mistwood and that needs to be dealt with.
Naturally, I can’t have every thread be handling that (for obvious reasons) but Mokou would likely also assist anyone else in tracking their doubles down if need be? Mokou would likely work with folks she met before of her own volition but if, say, someone new were to be going the same way...
for this event, galekh is keeping his double (which we'll refer to as xigisi) by his side whether the other wants him to or not. he's not aware of the danger present in regards to the virus since xigisi's hasn't kicked in yet, so he's trying to learn everything he can about his other counterpart, intrigued and yet afraid of what this could mean.
starter call, capping at 2! come have two indigos talk your ear off instead of one. ill be making another call later on when i feel like xigisi's virus has kicked in, so keep an eye out for that if you want a more high stakes thread!
Waking up to alarms and the strange communication device was certainly not what Pate had been expecting. He groggily reached over to the phone to look at the announcement, sitting up in bed slowly. Wait, what had been going on this week? Before he could recall anything, the voice of that android woman came through the phone, explaining the situation.
Copies? Seals? A virus? Pate stared in confusion at the phone before finally getting out of bed to get dressed quickly. He wondered if Creighton had overheard. Far as he knew, the man had never found his phone when he arrived here.
“Creighton, are you here?” he called, adjusting his shirt as he opened the door.
( PART 1 HERE )
He tried to walk back to the city to get help, but the closer he got the more it ate him alive, the feeling of guilt burning in his guts like hot coils.
Why should he make someone else deal with his issues? As he held onto his gold bleeding wound he stopped his steps.
He clutched the clothes, holding his breath as he weighed decisions in his mind.
He turned around, walking to face himself.
---
It felt wrong.
It was easier than expected, he was no more powerful than a human. Clumsy. His strength was average, while it was true the other human had weapons, a knife, a gun.
His body seemed to navigate such things easily, he managed to disarm the gun and now he was playing dodge with knife. He already seemed to know how.
He’s deal with violent supernaturals before, but he was entirely dependent on his limbs, this was different.
He was unarmed. But his heart was flying, sweat flying into the air as he knew what was coming a dodged.
It came easy, felt easy. He felt like he had been in this moment thousands of times before.
‘why are you being so nice to me?’ the question burned in his skull. It was asked by someone who was filled with guilt, someone who had done something terrible. Someone with his face.
He didn’t think much of it, it was an alternative version of him.
But he was always racked by guilt, he was never sure why. Dots were started to connect, he felt...haunted by it, by how easy this was.
His brain shut off, it felt like. He wasn’t sure if it was because he wasn’t sure how to process this feeling, or if it was something that was once natural to him, but time was lost.
It didn’t realize until moments after using the app, the situation was dealt with.
He stood, in the cold, bleeding gold into the snow, breath fogging up the air, reality slowly coming back to him.
He started walking back, carrying his heavy thoughts. He wondered if hospitals were free here.
He was impressed by the speed of his doppelganger, he was also shocked when his arm didn’t activate.
Before he could breathe out, he was holding onto a stab wound, golden ambrosia draining from his body.
He smiled, nervously. He’d need help with this.
Slowly he made his way back to Spirale, looking for a hand.
----
> Joseph attempted to talk to his copy, but the virus progressed enough he isn’t listening.
> Joseph can’t defend himself right now. His clone is a seasoned gang member- he’s going to need some help.
> If you’d like to befriend Joseph this thread would be a good start! Capping at 1.
