Chapter Text
Ludwig desperately gasped for air, stumbling forwards and out of the respawn machine, nearly tripping over his feet amidst his hysteria. He stopped for a moment, catching his breath and regaining his composure before brushing himself off and readjusting his glasses. Going through the respawn machine was never a pleasant experience, however, Ludwig realized that this time would be much different whenever he heard screaming begin to echo out of the machine that he had just left moments ago.
Under the impression that it was one of his teammates who was calling for help, he ran to the rescue without much hesitation, grabbing a man that he couldn't quite see, listening as the other cried out in pain…it sounded…strangely like him…
Ludwig hesitated for a moment, but quickly pushed the thought out of his mind and continued helping the other, that is until the other man's hand emerged, revealing a gloved hand, except these gloves were red, which contrasted harshly against Ludwig's blue gloves. Ludwig suddenly let go of the unknown man, unsure of who he was now, as he obviously wasn't one of his teammates. Unfortunately for him, Ludwig had already helped him enough, and the other tumbled out of the respawn machine, coughing and sputtering.
Ludwig stared in awe. The other man looked identical to him, apart from the color of his outfit. It was like looking at an exact clone of himself. Feeling a newfound morbid curiosity taking over, he knelt down to his newfound twin and put on his usual facade, smiling and speaking with a friendly voice.
"Hallo, my friend! You seem to have had a bit of trouble exiting the respawn machine…do you require assistance?" He asked politely, watching as the strange copy of him begrudgingly raised his head and locked eyes with him. Even his eyes were red!
"Uh- yes!" The clone reached his hand out towards Ludwig, allowing Ludwig to do the same and grab onto his hand, helping him onto his feet, before quickly taking his trusty bonesaw and holding it to the clone's throat.
"You aren't one of us." He stated in a much lower, more menacing voice, "Who do you work for?"
The clone's eyes widened, and he appeared terrified, "
Ludwig sighed in annoyance, loosening his grasp on the clone enough for him to desperately pull away. Despite being strangely hysterical, this clone seemed to match him in strength. Once he was free, the clone stared Ludwig down, seemingly terrified of him.
Ludwig stared back, appearing not at all impressed, readjusting his glasses. Though, in reality, he was incredibly intrigued. "...Who are you?" He questioned sternly, causing the clone to tense up.
"...I-I'm…" The clone stuttered, struggling to find the words or will to speak, anxiously straightening up his outfit as he thought nervously, "...M-My name is Augusten."