Chapter Text
One by one, the enemy agents pushed into the main archway to try to get to the central pillar of the site, and one by one, they fell victim to Jett’s bullets.
Her senses were extremely sharp today, and her Sheriff felt perfect in her hands. Maybe it was the warm weather that this tropical getaway had to offer. Maybe there was something in the pizza she had for lunch earlier.
Or perhaps it was because she needed to impress Sage as much as possible, as was the usual on every mission.
Another enemy rounded the corner, and Jett managed to land a shot on their shoulder.
Yet the target didn’t die as easily as the others. Instead, it retreated while stumbling with great speed, something which caught Jett by surprise. Even by her standards, it was quick.
Despite that, Jett was unsettled. A target was still alive, and it bothered her, like a loose end that still needed to be tied up.
“I’m rushing them!” She shouted to Astra, who was busy recollecting her stars to place in the middle area.
Jett made her way through the main arch, and in the distance, she was able to hear a conversation. It sounded like someone was nervous, or even panicking.
The voice sounded familiar…
Jett now found herself in the tunnels. When she peeked around the corner, she could see a small trail of blood, leading up to a small alley with a double archway. She would’ve taken a second to take in the intriguing architecture had it not been for the scene that unfolded in front of her…
She recognized the black and gray uniforms, the same ones that almost all the enemies she’s ever faced have worn. In addition, she saw helmets, the same ones she would shoot through, tossed aside on the ground.
In particular, though, she recognized the silhouettes that were in front of her. She recognized the hair, the faces, the eyes.
“...please, stay awake Jett…”
Jett’s eyes widened, and she pointed her Sheriff away from the scene.
It now made sense what was happening. She saw herself, another Jett, desperately clutching at her shoulder, and another Sage, desperately cupping the fallen duelist’s face.
Desperate to keep her awake…
This… is this for real?
As Jett approached slowly, the Sage took notice, and stood up while drawing a Sheriff of her own.
A Sheriff with the same exact patterns and designs as Jett’s…
“Stay back! Take one step closer and I won’t hesitate to kill you!”
Jett winced at Sage’s words, but continued to look on in confusion. Carefully, she lowered herself to the ground and placed her Sheriff down, and got back up with her hands raised slightly.
How was there another Jett? And how is Sage here when she’s supposed to be defending the other site?
“You’re Sage?... And that’s me?... wha-“
“Do not feign ignorance, murderer," the alternate Sage shouted.
“I-I’m not!” Jett struggled to comprehend the situation she found herself in. She willingly let her guard down, and now she was being held at gunpoint. Even though the other Jett and Sage were in enemy uniforms, they still appeared to be Jett and Sage. When she first approached, Jett could tell that these two alternates cared deeply for each other, just from the way they were looking at each other before she interrupted.
“I didn’t know she was me, I just assumed you both were hostile. I… what is happening...”
As Jett and the other Sage stared at each other, the downed Jett tried to stand.
“S-Sage…”
Without breaking eye contact, the sentinel shifted to position herself in front of her duelist, who was still clutching her shoulder. Sage spoke up again.
“Your protocol took everything from us, but you’re not going to take her from me.”
Jett wanted to plead her case, as she had no idea what this Sage was talking about. The bloodlust drew her here, drew her to finish the kill, but even if she could dash to get the drop on them both, she couldn’t bring herself to do so.
The sight before her was truly something to behold. Despite both of their blood-stained uniforms, Jett couldn’t help but admire the alternate Sage, who seemed solely committed to keeping the alternate Jett alive. She also couldn’t help but admire the Jett, whose hand shifted from her own shoulder to the Sage’s.
“We need to go…” the alternate Jett said weakly.
Sage didn’t move, and kept her Sheriff at the ready. Suddenly, the alternate Jett came alive, throwing a cloudburst beneath her and lifting Sage into her arms. On instinct, Jett dashed backwards, looking for cover that wasn’t there. When the cloudburst dissipated however, she noticed that the other two weren’t there anymore.
They got away...
Jett knew she wasn’t dreaming, but what she just witnessed certainly felt like it was a part of a dream sequence. As she walked back toward her Sheriff, her mind wandered.
She was aware that a lot of the enemies she’s faced were just randoms, looking to harvest enough radianite for themselves. But clones? It seemed like that Sage was well aware of who Jett was, which would explain the willingness to point a gun at someone who looked exactly like her partner.
Jett stared at the Sheriff in her hands. She needed answers. Was there more to this conflict that others didn’t know about? What was that Sage talking about when she said that Valorant took everything from them?
———
The doors hissed open, Sage walked into the quarters. She glanced at Jett, who was still seated at the edge of the bed, staring down at the floor.
The past three hours were stressful for them. After having secured her site, Sage rotated over to the other site to find Brimstone and Jett shouting at each other.
“WHAT ELSE HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING FROM US?”
“Jett, we’ll talk about this later! Right now we need to regroup and get out of here!”
“Whatever. Keep your secrets, old man…”
As the two walked past each other, Jett had stopped in her tracks as Sage walked up to her. Upon asking what had happened, Sage was taken by surprise when Jett suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace and a kiss. Afterward, Jett retreated into the dropship, and didn’t utter a single word.
Sage knew that whatever went down at the secondary site must’ve been extreme, even for someone like Jett, who was always extreme by nature.
The sentinel sat down on the bed and squeezed Jett’s shoulder, which prompted the duelist to look up.
“What happened?”
Jett turned away slightly, and stared at the floor. Seeing this, Sage wrapped her arms around Jett, and rested her head on Jett’s shoulder. After a while, Jett finally spoke up.
“There were two enemies left on our side, and… I decided to rush after them. When I turned the corner, I found them… and…”
Sage lifted her head up slightly. “And what?”
Jett turned to look at Sage again. “...it was us, Sage.”
“What do you mean?”
“Before I found them, I shot at one of them in the shoulder, and she dashed away. When I found them, I saw exact copies of us. You were there, keeping the other version of me from dying.”
Jett brought her hands up to rub her temples. “I know it sounds crazy, but I promise you that’s what I saw. When I tried to approach, you aimed at me, and stood in front of the other me. They both retreated after a little bit, but… ughhh, I can’t tell right from wrong anymore, Sage. I’m used to those usual goons, but clones? They’re us! I couldn’t just shoot them dead!”
Sage gently pulled Jett into a hug. “It’s okay, it’s okay. You did what you could. Is that what you were talking to Brimstone about?”
“Yes,” Jett sniffled. “He wasn’t bothered at all when I said I saw a clone of myself. It was like he knew, but never told anyone… Did you know about this?”
“No, actually,” Sage replied. “This is the first time I’m hearing of copies of us.”
Jett sighed. “It’s all confusing and frustrating at the same time. Why were we never briefed on this stuff?”
“Have you followed up with Brimstone yet?” Sage asked.
Jett looked off to the side. “Not yet, and I don’t really want to...
“...to be honest, I don’t even want to be here anymore. Like, I understand what we’re fighting for, but there’s no need for secrets.”
After that, the two of them were silent. Sage still held on to Jett, tightening the embrace. She completely understood Jett’s frustration, but to say that she wanted to leave…
Sage would respect any decision Jett ever made, no matter what, but the last thing she wanted was for the duelist to leave.
“You would really leave?”
Jett sighed again. “I don’t know, Sage, I… I’m just super out of it right now.”
Sage brought a hand up to stroke Jett’s cheek. “Let’s just get some rest now. We’ll figure it out tomorrow.”
Jett buried herself in Sage’s embrace, and the two remained like that for a while.