Moments after your head becomes the victim of a double-whammy, you find yourself floating near the ceiling of Ellemenie’s room. Given this isn’t the usual time for a visit, Ellemenie is not waiting on you, and is instead preoccupied with drawing something over at her desk. Reaching out, both physically and mentally, you’re able to gain her attention within a minute. Half a second later, you are on floor level, your hand touching hers.

“Eeozi and Zujii are at the school, and we fought, and I don’t know what they’re doing now that I’m out of it, and—”

Pressing a finger against your lip. Ellemenie nods. “Let’s go.”

~~~

Staring at us in a mixture of horror and confusion, Eeozi mouths the word ‘Zi’ and scrunches her face, eyes flicking up and down our form. We nod our head. “It’s me, ‘Zi. Or, well, in part.” Her eyes go wide. “Now let’s talk this out, there’s no need to fight.”

Our goblin friend’s eyes shoot up briefly to Zujii. She shuffles her body to stand directly between her large partner and ourselves. “There’s no talkin’ this out, whoever you are. We’ve gotta job ta do, an’ we’re gonna do it.” Alone this might be worrying, but we’re paying less attention to the words coming from her mouth, and more to the words being formed by her hands. Eeozi is signing three words on loop: “Imxach. Zujii. Mirror.” It’s all we need to know.

Gripping our fists and hunkering down into a fighting stance, we proclaim, “If words won’t do it, we’ll have to use other methods!”

“Hah!” Eeozi shouts back with a smirk. “You’ll hafta catch me first!” She scampers away. “Just try an’ stop me, ‘defender,’ before I obliterate your stupid school!”

We take a few quick steps her way, before stopping in our tracks and casting a look back to Zujii. With a glance, we gesture at Umeso.

“I won’t hurt them, School Defender,” Zujii says, shaking their head. “That isn’t our mission.”

So we dash after Eeozi, hopeful we can end this without more fighting. As we start to race off, we feel a strange, momentary tightness at our wrists. A glance reveals nothing, and since the sensation leaves so quickly, we elect to ignore it. Can’t let Eeozi get too far away, afterall. She is liable to cause mischief if we make her wait.

~~~

As our savior sprints away, leaving Umeso and I with a hulking brute that, despite their promise, could very easily choose to squash us both like bugs, I let out a heavy sigh. Well, that didn’t go quite how I expected. Those two — or one, maybe, the whole merging thing makes identity weird — had better know what they’re doing. I’ll never forgive them if I get squashed like a bug.

Getting back up to their feet, Umeso fidgets, glancing away from the brute, where freedom lies. Though given our last escape attempt went so poorly, I’m rethinking my earlier advice.

“Don’t run,” the brute says, apparently reading my mind. “It won’t go any better than last time.”

Slumping, Umeso sighs and then drops back to the ground, legs crossed. Their arms still hold me close. Eyeing us — or, well, probably just Umeso — the big monster decides to follow suit, sitting down right next to us.

After a minute of awkward silence, the brute speaks. “I like the new name.”

Umeso frowns, not responding at first. “…Thank you? Um… What was your name, again?”

“Zujii.”

Shuffling to more directly face our captor, Umeso says, “Zujii, what is going on? Who do you remember me being? And why are you sure it is me?”

Zujii glances away, grumbling incoherently, then looks back at Umeso. “You know that our boss, Imxach, is listening, right?”

“Can he tell me what is going on?” Umeso says, irritation evident in their voice.

A grimace is the immediate response, followed by, “Maybe? But not through me.”

The grip around me tightens. “Then stop stalling and answer my questions!”

“I wasn’t—” Zujii sighs, then chuckles softly. “Well that much hasn’t changed, at least.” Shifting to fully face Umeso, Zujii says, “I don’t know what happened. All I really know is who you used to be. You were our friend.”

“Whose? You and the goblin woman?”

“Among others,” Zujii says with a nod. They cross their arms. “You were always distant, though. Castle life can be hard on most of us, but it seemed especially difficult for you. Fortunately, Imxach’s purpose for you was to go out into the world and scout.” They shrug. “The third time you left, you never came back.”

Silence overtakes us all. This stuff is way over my head. Umeso is some sort of monster, like those two, and from the same place? But… they look just like me. Or, like I used to, anyway. Like an Idrestian. Is that appearance fake, somehow? I’ve got no clue. All I know is that this whole mess is clearly screwing them up inside. Being held like I am, there’s not much I can do, and for once I can’t think of a thing to say. So I just nuzzle my head against their chest, hoping this sappy maneuver does even a little to raise their spirit. They squeeze me tighter.

“Zujii,” Umeso says quietly, finally breaking the silence. “Was I the sort of person that would… hurt others to get what I want?”

The brute shakes their head. “I don’t think so? I didn’t know you all that well, but…” They pause, pensieve. “Do you have something specific in mind?”

A teardrop hits the top of me. “Would I…” They shudder, then take a long, deep breath. “W—would I scramble another person’s memories, just to benefit myself?”

It’s clear that question is a surprise to Zujii just as much as it is to me. Who in the world could they possibly mea— Oh shit, wait, do they mean their grandmother?? “That is… a different sort of hurt than I’d assumed. I… I don’t know.”

Gripping me so hard that with lungs I’d be choking, Umeso cries, their tears dripping down their face and onto me. Normally I’d be annoyed, but now? I just let it happen. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Zujii slowly reach out a hand, as though to pat Umeso’s back. But then they retract it, turning away. Maybe my fear of being squashed like a bug was unfounded.

The emotional moment is ruined mere seconds later, by the screaming of a certain goblin approaching at terminal velocity. Reacting faster than I’ve yet seen, Zujii holds out a hand, deftly catching their partner’s head as the goblin hurtles toward them. Still gripping the goblin, Zujii ambles up to their feet with a sigh.

“Well, time to finish this.”

~~A Few Minutes Ago~~

We chase after Eeozi, our powered-up speed greatly outpacing hers, allowing us to close the distance in seconds. When we’re almost there we ease up on the speed, screeching to a halt just as she turns to look at us.

“Damn, bitch. You’re fast, huh?” Glancing behind us, Eeozi seems to judge that we’re far enough away not to be overheard. “Now explain yourself, an’ fast!” To punctuate her final word, she throws a punch directly at our face, which we narrowly dodge.

“It would probably be easier if you weren’t attacking us,” we say as we dodge a kick.

“Gotta keep up appearances,” she replies, scratching at our hip. It doesn’t hurt much, but it’s very rude. We respond with a kick, which she pirouettes away from.

“We lied about Biat being made by Imxach, okay? We apologize,” we say, dodging a tiny fireball.

Eeozi cocks an eyebrow, “Oh yeah, you apologize, huh?” She laughs, a sharp bark of a sound. “I don’t give a shit about your apologies. Why’d you do it in the first place!?”

Part of us knows the answer to that, but is reluctant to state it. The other part of us is confusedly sorting through memories. The whole merging thing is difficult to parse while we’re in the midst of it. Ostensibly we are two people in one body, yet we are also sort of one new person that is a combination of those two people. We have two completely different sets of memories and they intertwine and overlap in ways that make it difficult to remember anything clearly. But all of us know the fundamental answer to the question: Ellemenie does not trust Eeozi. She did once, but now, she does not. As we stand there dodging increasingly frenzied attacks and half-heartedly returning our own, we debate if there are any other ways to handle this situation than telling a harsh truth. But lying got us here… it feels like only truth will get us out.

“We don't trust you.”

Halting in her tracks for just a moment, Eeozi scrunches her face up in rage — though the wobble of her lip suggests there might be other emotions there too. “This fuckin’ we stuff!! Who doesn’t trust me? Both’a you??”

Bending away from a kick, we shrug. “Yes, though not for the same reasons. Biat barely knows you.”

Stopping her attacks altogether, Eeozi stares us down. “And Elle?”

The part of us that is Ellemenie does not particularly want to answer. Her conviction is firm, but there is still guilt associated with it. The memory of why feels like it’s dangling just outside our reach, unobtainable no matter how much we flail around for it. Frustrated, we resign ourself to ignorance. “We aren't sure.”

Surprise briefly crosses Eeozi’s face. She looks away, tears glinting in her eye as her head turns. “Convenient,” she mutters. When she locks eyes with us again, fury is all we can see. “If you can’t even say it, then why the fuck are we even botherin’ ta talk!?”

Leaping forward, she directs both a punch and a kick at us, which we easily dodge. But her other fist then manages to catch our side, followed by another kick that slams into our leg. The flurry of blows doesn’t cease, but fortunately, none of them hurt much, physically. Emotionally, on the other ha—

Pain. Sharp, stabbing pain. There and then gone, right in our side. Right where we just barely dodged a swipe of Eeozi’s claws. Did she actually manage to hit us? Perhaps some sort of magic? So far it is the only attack of hers to actually hurt.

Shaking our head, we refocus. “We’re sorry, Eeozi! Combined like this, it’s hard to remember.”

Letting out an angry growl, Eeozi joins her hands into one big fist, then smashes them into our leg. She’d been aiming for our calf, but our attempted dodge makes it hit our ankle. Though it doesn’t hurt, the attack does make us lose our balance. Taking advantage of this, she presses her assault, knocking us to the ground. Leaping onto our chest she practically screams, “I don’t want your excuses!! Just fuckin’ say it ta my face, you coward!! Tell me how weak I am, how little faith you’ve got in me!!” She clenches her fists. “SAY IT!!”

We open our mouth to respond, but then a pulse of electricity courses through our body, roughly in sync with the stomping of Eeozi’s foot. It burns us from the inside-out, pulsing three times and then disappearing, leaving us gasping for air. What… was that Eeozi?? A glance tells us she is similarly confused, conflicted between worry and anger. We push her off and sit up.

“Are you— Did I—?”

So if it was her, it wasn’t on purpose. That would hardly be surprising — with how angry she is, we could easily believe she’d accidentally unleash magic upon us. “It’s fine! You’re angry, we understand. But we… Elle doesn’t think you’re weak.”

Worry fading, Eeozi glares. “Don’t fuckin’ lie ta me. I know she hasn’t trusted me ever since…” She looks away. “You know, the time I told him everything.”

Finally the memory is there, right in front of us, and we grab hold. A young girl, no more than ten years old, finds a hiding place. A young goblin begs to be let in on a secret. A cold-hearted man steals the goblin away, and soon after, finds the girl in her hiding spot. She is punished severely. The young goblin does not seem to fare any better.

Alright, we understand. Ellemenie doesn’t trust Eeozi because her trust has been broken before… but can we entirely blame Eeozi for that? Whether or not she is to blame, does it actually change our trust in her?

We reach out a hand, which Eeozi glares at distrustfully. “It isn’t about you being strong or weak, ‘Zi. It’s about him being cruel.”

Not yet taking the hand, Eeozi locks eyes with us. “But you don’t trust me.”

“…Well, not currently, but—”

She slaps the hand away, fist clenched and teeth grit. “You don’t trust me because you know I’m a weakling that blabs under pressure! But you can’t just admit it, you wanna try an’ coddle me like the baby you think I am—”

“Torture is more than simply being ‘under pressure!’ We don’t think—” Two hands-worth of claws come raking toward our face, which we narrowly manage to avoid.

“Enough!! Fight me, coward!!!”

She leaps towards us again, and this time, we decide to use her momentum against her. Dodging to the side, we reach out and grab her, spin along with her trajectory, then launch her back the way she came. Unfortunately, we underestimate our strength — Eeozi goes flying through the air like a bullet, directly toward Zujii. We race after her, hoping to grab her before a collision can take place. But Zujii, with their long reach, catches her before we can.

“Well, time to finish this,” the giant says as they rise to their full, formidable height.

The hope of ending this without a fight still burns, even if it’s dimmed. “Finish? Zujii, Eeozi, we don’t need to—”

“Smash her!!!” Eeozi shrieks. Zujii immediately tries to oblige.

Two giant fists launch toward us, while on either side of them fireballs rain down. Leaping to the right, we cast a shield spell, only taking one fireball to the shoulder before it’s up. We roll as soon as we hit the ground, springing back up to ready our next move— but then pain lances through our leg, dropping us to one knee. The feeling is intense, but gone quickly. Our eyes scan the ground around us, then glance back up at Eeozi and Zujii, who are turning our way. It couldn’t have been them, right? There’s no sign of it. But there’s no sign of anything else, either. What in the world is happening?

We aren’t given long to ponder, as we are immediately forced to dodge another flurry of blows and fireballs. But as we do, an electrical shock courses through us, nearly dropping us to the ground. We barely manage to avoid taking multiple fireballs to the face. Immediately after that, Zujii is throwing more blows and Eeozi is launching more fire, and thus we get stuck in a loop of dodging them and then being struck by stabbing or electrical pains from seemingly nowhere. When Zujii’s fist manages to catch our side, launching us meters away and into an already partially-destroyed building, we realize that the only way we’ll have any chance of winning  this fight is to end it fast.

Doing our best to ignore what feels like a spike being driven through our left arm, we try to recast our reach-enhancing spell, but after the initial flick of our wrist, our mind blanks. Wait, how do we do this? Shit, only part of us knows. And Zujii is almost here, there’s no time—!

We sprint to the side, barely avoiding Zujii’s grip, and not at all avoiding a couple of fireballs that clip into our side. Combined with the stabbing pain in that same side, we nearly collapse. But we have to hold it together, have to remember how to cast the spell, have to end this!!!

As we continue to sprint, putting as much distance between ourself and our attacker as possible, we try to cast the reach-enhancement spell again. It fizzles out — we must have forgotten a movement. We try again, and again, and finally, we get it! Turning the corner around a building, we use it as cover as we try to remember how to electrify our hands. Our first attempt is ruined by something choosing to electrify our innards, nearly forcing us to vomit. But we hold it in. The second attempt fizzles, and the third — we get it! Alright, time to end it.

Swiveling around, we see Zujii barrelling down on us, arms oustretched. Coiling our legs, we wait for just the right moment and— we leap forward. Punching at each of our enemies, we force Zujii to screech to a halt as their body starts coursing with electricity. The fireballs stop too as Eeozi convulses. Planting our feet into Zujii’s face, we keep the power flowing through both of them — but we need to make sure they go down. Through a combination of our kick and the ongoing electrical shock, we manage to knock them both to the ground, Eeozi rolling to the dirt beside her partner. Leaping away, we glance back at them. Neither move, save for the occasional twitch. Smoke rises from their charred bodies.

Panic shoots through us at the same time that a random electrical current does the same thing. Ignoring our own pain, we sprint over to our fallen foes, desperately trying to make sure they’re still living. Eeozi… yes, good, she’s breathing, she has a pulse, she’s alive. Zujii… we feel around on their gargantuan neck for a pulse, but it proves difficult. Finally, after much searching, we find it. A hand in front of their mouth proves they’re breathing, too. Thank goodness.

“Biat! Or, whoever you are! You did it!” a familiar voice shouts. Umeso stumbles toward us, clutching nothing that we can see very tightly. As we open our mouth to reply, a stab of pain in both our legs forces us to the ground. Gasping, Umeso stops in their tracks. “A—are you alright? What is wrong?”

The pain won’t stop. Stabbing pain and electricity hurt us again and again and again, becoming all encompassing. Umeso’s lips move, but we can’t hear the sound, and then we can’t even see them anymore. Our vision goes white as we collapse, and then everything goes dark.

~~~

You awake with a start, chest heaving. Instead of dirt beneath you, there is only cold steel. Where…? You glance around, realizing this dark, cramped space is familiar. This is Imxach’s lab! But how are you—? Your breath hitches as your eyes catch on the operating table sitting next to you. There’s someone on it. Scrambling to your feet, you see exactly what you feared — Ellemenie is strapped to the table like before, but she looks even worse than last time. She’s bleeding all over, from wounds in her arms and her legs, and her clothes are singed, burned, with holes in them that uncover similarly charred skin.

Heart breaking, you reach out to help her, to do something, anything. As your fingers close around her shoulder, the back of your mind begins to realize your mistake.

Bright blue eyes stare down at you from a severe face framed by long, dark hair. Imxach opens his mouth to speak.

“Finally we meet, Disruptor.”

Electricity courses through you again, and your world goes dark.

Exceedingly

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