Hello, old friend

Quickly activating his bracelet, he contacted Cassie. The two slits undulated a blue light as silence overtook the compound.

"Come now, Cassie. Pick up..."

Solace's right foot repeatedly tapped on the dusty floor; leaving an imprint behind.

Then, as he started to think she wouldn't answer, the undulating lights turned green, followed by a whispered voice, quiet and tremulous, yet somehow still soft.

"Solace, don't worry. I sent someone your way about 2 hours ago, so they should be there soon. I-"

Noting the strain in her voice, he whispered back:

"Are you ok? Do you need help?"

"No, I can handle it."

She whispered, her tight voice loosening ever so slightly.

"Are you sure?"

Solace asked, only to be met by a half-hearted sigh as Cassie ever so elegantly worded:

"You worry too much; ding dong. I'm fine."

"Well if you say so, but you'll have to explain it to me later. Anyway, I need you to listen well. Tell every Astral to be extra careful from now on; especially of each other, even more than usual."

Concerned Cassie asked:

"Why? What's happening?"

"Döppelgangers, we've been infiltrated, Cassie."

Whispering still; her voice was calm and measured, almost unsurprised as she spoke:

"So, they've finally made a move."

"Huh, what do you mean? You knew about this?"

She paused briefly; then answered:

"Not exactly; I just had a sneaking suspicion, is all. I'll explain everything later, but for now, I have to go."

Abruptly, the connection was severed. Solace sighed.

"Great... So I guess it's just me and you now, my formerly Orc-ish fellow..."

Looking back at the Orc, his words died in his throat as a gem with runic inscriptions on it floated in the air in front of the mirror.

And faster than he could blink, the compound was filled with whispering shadows, rapidly consuming the light of day and threatening to desert him in absolute darkness.

Then, from the depths of that dreadful silence, laughter emerged, one all too familiar, the laugh of a man he hated to death. Soon, his face was wet with lines, and his vision quickly blurred.

Looking down he paled as the realization hit him. He was the one laughing, with tears rolling down his cheeks, and although he tried to stop, the compulsion was far too strong.

He couldn't walk, speak, or even to breathe. He could only sob and weep as he cried out into the universe in a deranged laugh.

Trying to think of ways out of this mess, he suddenly found his mind nearly empty with the only thing left being a splitting headache.

But as he would soon find out, things would only get worse from there, as the whispers quickly burrowed into his mind from all angles, smothering him in their forbidden lore.

The pain escalated as he tried reaching out his hand to claw out his eyes and sink his fingers into his skull to somehow ease the pain, as if to give himself something else to focus on, but petrified by the mumbled knowledge he remained in the agony of that moment.

Powerless to stop them, the creeping shadows began to close in all around him, but before they could reach him,, suddenly something small pierced through the broken window, followed by a faint crashing noise, as the shadows were quickly sucked back into the mirror.

Yet not content with leaving empty handed several shadowy hands reached out, trying to drag the döppelganger back along with them.

But four shots of arcing lightning pushed it back forcing the rest of it to retreat.

Finally, the madness that overtook Solace started to subside, and the pain slowly went away. Replaced by a duller lingering sensation. Shakily he picked himself up and looked in the direction of the shots.

In the distance, on a stormy roof, he watched as a bolt of lightning retreated into the tempest above. Then, looking at the entrance of the warehouse, lightning flashed, and thunder roared, forming into an hourglass figure of a woman.

As the light faded, the figure was revealed to be wearing sleek black armoured gloves with a short black jacket over a white button-up shirt tucked into smooth black pants and delicate black segmented leather bound boots tagged "VW". With a confident demeanour, she walked into the compound, rifle in hand.

Her hair was wavy and slightly covered her eyes. Scanning the compound she relaxed and smiled, looking at Solace expectantly she said:

"So, no 'Thanks for the save, sis'? Kinda rude if you ask me."

Relieved, Solace took a step towards her only to quickly stumble, still shaky from the experience; luckily though, Isolde caught him, putting his arm around her shoulder for support.

"Woah! There buddy. Take it easy, we can't have you cracking your cranium open right after narrowly missing what would have been almost certain death. Now can we? Just imagine me at your funeral weeping over your passing only for your tombstone to read 'Hit his head and died' I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face."

Efficiently, she folded her gun into a more compact shape and attached it to a small rectangular black leather book bag strapped to her lower back. Solace spoke, his voice hoarse.

"Haha, at least you'll have a body to bury. The people will get to see my dumb face one more time."

Reaching into her bag she took out a cylindrical device with a slender tip that extended into a sharp, needle-like point, poised for precise delivery. The device's chamber housed a red liquid.

"Heck, who knows? We might even see Father shed a tear for once."

Solace chuckled.

"Bold of you to assume father would even arrange a funeral for me."

Taking his hand she carefully injected the serum into his arm.

"No, I'm sure he would, but if nothing else me and Seth would do it."

Putting a silver bracelet of a sleek utilitarian design similar to the one Solace uses, close to her lips, she uttered.

"Virtual Systems: On, Destination: Current location."

"How long is it gonna take to get here?"

Solace asked, his voice slightly more audible. She looked at her bracelet.

"About 3 minutes. Luckily I didn't park too far away. Oh, and sorry for taking so long. I got a little sidetracked is all. Didn't expect the fight to escalate so rapidly."

Solace shrugged.

"It's fine; I'm just glad you showed up when you did."

She smiled and turned to look at the unconscious döppelganger.

"Yeah, me too."

Following her line of sight, he smirked and jokingly said:

"What? Surprised to see you have a twin?"

Nudging him gently she chuckled.

"Shut up... But I do wonder how the organization's gonna go about solving this problem? Because honestly, I can't see this panning out well for any of us."

The sound of rain drummed softly against the dilapidated rooftop of the compound as a small Vehicular Arcanum streaked through the storm to their current location.

Solace sighed and shrugged.

"No blood, no glory..."

Tiredly she sighed as well.

"No blood, no glory..."

...

The rain sang outside, a distorted melody. On a bed of sumptuous linens rested a lonely figure shifting and turning amidst the voluptuous fabrics.

The figure's breaths were heavy, seemingly stopping for a time only to resume moments later. The expression on his face never changing.

Slowly being consumed by the warmth, he struggled against it. Then shooting open, his eyes darted around the room taking in his surroundings as his thoughts gathered:

"Where am I? Where is this?"

Calmly, he sat up, displacing a sea of navy blues and greys.

"Am I dead?"

Putting his hand over his face, he sighed and took a good look around the room. To either side of the bed stood matching bedside tables, each with a table lamp that cast a soft golden glow.

The room was barely visible under the dim light. As dim darkness seemed to creep around every corner. Yet he could see better than most.

"I- I think I did it."

He gulped, thinking to himself:

"I survived; against the odds, I made it."

As he said that, a tear made its way down his cheek.

"But then... Why don't I feel something? anything?"

He moved his left hand to his heart and climbed off the bed. Noticing the rain outside, he slowly and deliberately dragged his feet against the cold wooden floor and over the carpet as he walked onto the balcony.

The rain was unforgiving as thunderous whales shook the ground beneath. Opening the balcony door he walked onto its edge.

The rain was cold against his skin, and the storm screamed in his ear; he could feel his dreads become dishevelled in the winds. And craning his neck, he looked up curiously at the sky. As for the first time in a long time, he spoke:

"(18)(1)(9)(14)"

The lamps inside the room next to him flickered, and the sky boomed with thunder as he said that word; it seemed the forces of nature were trying to drown out their alien presence.

"Oh right, sorry universe."

Clearing his throat he tried again.

"Rain..."

Gently he lifted his hand up to gather the water on his palms.

"It's been too long, old friend."

The edges of his lips curved up ever so slightly, and he leaned up against the railings; as he looked up into the storm.

Time seemed to pass in absolute silence as seconds turned to minutes.

A shadowy figure too fast to see jumped past the fence, then from downstairs, the door quickly burst open, and less than a second later, the door to the room he was in swung open, nearly flying off its hinges.

Looking back, a figure adorned in sleek, tactical armour crafted from matte black composite materials, stood at the entrance.

Both her hands were palmed and raised as she shouted:

"Stop! Wai... Wait just a second."

"Huh?"

The boy replied, his clothes stuck to his skin. Slowly she approached the balcony.

"Don't jump! I- I haven't told anyone about you, I swear."

"Jump...?"

Glancing back at the storm then at the railings, he sighed and left the balcony. Closing the door behind him, he looked up at her.

Steam emitted from her person while her eyes hid under her white-streaked, jet-black bangs. She stood taller than the boy, perhaps by a couple of inches. Silence quickly spread across the house but it wasn't awkward just... Curious?

The feminine figure was looking down and fidgeting with her fingers while the boy looked to the side with his hands behind his back as he leaned on the door. The woman was the first to speak.

"You're finally awake... Oh, uhhh, I mean, hello..."

She lightly lifted her face to look at him but found her eyes meeting his. Quickly they both averted their gaze. Finally, he spoke:

"Hello... Uhh, sorry about the last time we met. I didn't mean to put you in that much danger."

The boy spoke calmly with clarity, maintaining composure, but looking at his hands she saw movements ever so subtle in nature. Behind his back, the boy was fidgeting his fingers.

The promise of a smile crept its way onto her face. Her voice croaky and shaky she spoke:

"My name is Sumi. What's yours?"

He paused for a moment, his eyes slowly blinking as they moved to look at her. He thought to himself:

"My name? I have one of those...? Oh right, I've got two of those. Now what were they again? Wait, are people supposed to give their names to strangers? What does it matter? She already gave me hers, and without her, I probably wouldn't be here right now..."

Fearing she might've been asking for too much, too quickly, she was about to apologize when the boy suddenly spoke. His voice leaden with a sense of quiescence.

"I... Am... Al- Altha. Sorry, I just haven't heard it in a while, so I had to word it out a little to remember."

Smiling she reached out her hand for a handshake.

It's very nice to meet you, Altha."

Tilting his head curiously, he approached her carefully and shook her hand.

"Indeed, it's nice to meet you as well."

Noticing he was dripping wet, she asked:

"Need a new set of clothes?"

Looking at himself he shrugged. She nodded and said:

"You should probably take a... Uhh, are you a shower or bath type of guy?"

"I don't really have a preference, but I'm a bath type of guy, I suppose."

She opened a holographic screen from her communicator and said:

"Noted... Oh, also, I'll be having some friends over tonight that I'd like to introduce you to if you don't mind. Is that ok?"

He shrugged again and muttered:

"I suppose... What for?"

"Well, you sort of popped up out of the blue, and I'm not quite sure how to proceed quite yet. So it would help having some of their input on the situation."

She said as she walked over to her wardrobe and pulled out a black shirt and long black shorts, and walking to the edge of the door to the room. Altha walked over and she handed him the clothes while pointing at the bathroom.

"How strange, no Ether Signature."

Quickly changing, she headed downstairs to the kitchen, readying for tonight.