Archive of Our Own

Her entire body screamed in pain as the sword pierced straight through her chest. Warm blood trickled down her skin as she fell to the ground, lacking the strength to keep herself standing upright any longer. She clenched her hands into fists, digging her nails into the palms of her hands, doing everything in her power to ignore the sheer level of agony she was in. But nothing she did could make the burning pain go away.

She could barely even hear the speech Nelly was giving to the Patrons above the sharp ringing in her ears. Nelly’s voice voice was nothing more than a distant echo in her ears.

She desperately tried to take in a breath, only to choke on her own blood. She coughed, desperately trying to gasp for air, yet no oxygen managed to get through.

That was when Nelly turned upon her with a darkened gaze, full of nothing but pure fury.

“Oh… look who’s still alive. Barely…”

She honestly felt betrayed. She thought she’d done everything right. She thought she was carrying out Agamemnon’s plans of getting the coterie to trust her flawlessly.

But all along, these two little rats had been plotting behind her back, meanwhile she was blissfully unaware.

She desperately reached out a hand.

“I thought you trusted me… Nelly…” she croaked out, her voice barely above a whisper.

And the final thing she saw before her vision faded to darkness was Nelly and Nathan standing triumphantly above her, a mix of anger and satisfaction clear in their eyes as they glared down upon her…

*****

Dove awoke in a cold sweat. She immediately sat up in bed, her heart running a thousand miles a minute as she struggled to reel herself back to reality.

She shakily lifted a hand to her chest. She expected to feel fresh blood graze against fingertips, but much to her relief, it was completely dry.

She took a breath. She was fine. It was just a dream. A flashback. Nothing more.

She wasn’t being murdered by her own Coterie members right on the stage for everyone to see.

She ran her fingers along her blanket, trying to ground herself back in reality. She wasn’t dying. She was alive.

She hadn’t been murdered yet again. She was perfectly fine.

She glanced over at her alarm clock, reading the time: 3:04 am.

She sighed; yet another sleepless night for her, it seemed. And here she was hoping that, after countless sleepless nights on the streets, she’d at least get a decent amount of sleep in Lana’s guest bedroom.

She carefully slipped out of bed. She wandered out into the kitchen to get a drink of water to help her wind down.

But before she could reach the cupboard, she stopped by the stairs. She peered up into the darkened hallway which led to Lana and Julie’s room.

Careful to make as little sound as possible, she slowly made her way up the stairs. She walked down the hallway, stopping right at the entrance to the bedroom to find that the door was just slightly ajar.

Carefully creaking the door open, she walked across the hardwood floor, stopping right at the foot of the bed. She peered down upon Lana and Julie as they peacefully slept in bed together, their arms wrapped tight around one another, both completely unaware that Dove was even here right now.

She looked at Lana with contempt. She couldn’t help but feel a little envious of Lana. Sure, Agamemnon had fucked up Lana’s entire life. But at least Lana was innocent in all of this. She had no reason to lie in bed all night long, wide awake with guilt and regret. She had no reason to look at her own reflection like it was a monster staring back at her. She had no need to worry about whether or not she was truly the person she claimed she was.

For a short moment, Dove briefly considered simply killing Lana and Julie, right here and now. It would be so easy to get away with; she could simply sneak down to the kitchen, grab a kitchen knife, come back up here, and do the deed. No one would ever know.

Perhaps, with the real Lana dead, Dove could take her place instead. She could easily keep up her act of being the real Lana without anyone of anything to challenge her.

But she quickly stepped back, shaking that thought out of her head. She couldn’t do that. She couldn’t kill yet another innocent person. Not again. As desperate as she was to keep upholding her own lies, she simply couldn’t let herself fall back into being that same heartless monster she’d been in the past.

She couldn’t add onto her list of crimes. She’d rather take her own life than let another person’s blood stain her hands.

She had to become a better person. She had to atone for her sins, one way or another.

But how was she supposed to move past her mistakes when nothing could change the fact that her own Coterie members were dead…?

******

She tried to go back to sleep, but she found it nearly impossible to relax. For the rest of the night, she just kept tossing and turning in bed, plagued with guilt. Each time she closed her eye, all she’d see were the looks of fear and betrayal in her coterie member’s eyes in their final moments before she ended their lives with her very own hands.

She couldn’t forget about what she’d done, no matter how hard she tried…

As the first hints of dawn rose over the horizon outside, she gave up on trying to go back to sleep. She instead began mindlessly scrolling through apps on her phone, trying her best to distract herself. She usually didn’t use much social media, but she was just going to consider today as an exception.

Eventually, she found herself logging into the account she used to use to communicate with her Patrons. She hadn’t been online for months now, having been on the run ever since the spring. So this was the first time in a while that she truly had the chance to look through the group she’d made.

Scrolling through the messages on the group’s wall, the first thing she noticed was the eyesore of spam messages clogging up the feed. God, she’d have to do something about those stupid bots sometime.

But between the countless bot messages, she found genuine people speaking their mind. And she was shocked to find that most people were questioning where she was, asking when she’d come online yet again, telling her that they’d support her. Hell, there was even one person that kept leaving behind messages about how hot she was, which honestly left her a little flattered.

She laughed to herself a little; she didn’t deserve these people’s support. Not after everything she’d done.

How could her Patrons possibly still support her, even after she’d blatantly misled them for months?

She was not deserving of love or praise. She deserved to fucking rot.

And yet, at the same time, part of her felt a little bad for leaving everyone in the dark for so long. Her Patrons didn’t deserve to keep wondering where she was for months on end with no real answer.

She typed out a short message, saying that she was okay and that she was missed everybody dearly. She considered sending it out as a group shout, just so everyone would know she wasn’t dead, but she hesitated. Her finger hovered over the send button, frozen in mid-air.

As much as she wanted to update her Patrons on how she was doing, she knew that if she wanted to interact them them yet again, she’d have to put the mask of being the real Lana right back on once more. After all, they had no clue she was a doppelgänger; they genuinely believed that she was real.

She’d kept up the act of being the real Lana for so long now, she knew that if she dared slip out the truth, her patrons would feel angry betrayed. And who knew how they’d take out their feelings?

What if they lashed out against her?

What if they tried to kill her, the same way Nelly and Nathan had all those months ago…

Even if her Patrons still had the kindness to forgive her, even if they tried their best to understand her plight, they knew better than anyone else just how monstrous the other doppelgängers could be. Most of the other doppelgängers were nothing but wild beasts incapable of any real human thought. She didn’t want her Patrons to lump her into the same category as those wretched creatures.

She quickly deleted her message. As much as she wanted desperately to speak with her Patrons again, she didn’t want to deal with the mess she knew it would start.

She would much rather remain silent if it meant avoiding opening that whole can of worms.

*****

Dove sat at the table, eating breakfast with Lana and Julie. As much as Dove would rather stay alone in her room, Lana had insisted she join her and Julie for breakfast.

Dove tried to brush all the thoughts spiraling in her head aside. She didn’t need to confront her Patrons right now; that could wait for later. They were just a bunch of random people; their opinions of her shouldn’t matter.

But she couldn’t help but keep glancing down at her phone, watching group messages in Saudade go through. Each message held a similar sentiment of wondering where she was. Seeing so many people asking how she was doing honestly hurt a little. She didn’t deserve that kindness. She didn’t deserve to be loved by the very same people she’d been lying to for months now.

She’d led the Patrons into believing she was the real Lana, and now she was trapped in that facade.

She only had two choices: keep playing the part or come clean about who she really was.

And honestly, she didn’t want to do either.

“What are you looking at?” Lana questioned, catching Dove off guard.

“Oh! Nothing,” Dove said quickly, frantically shoving her phone back in her pocket, “Just scrolling through social media. Nothing much.”

“I didn’t know you used social media,” Lana said suspiciously, “I thought you preferred staying away from it.”

“I’ve been getting more into it these past few days,” Dove said quickly, not wanting to delve into what was actually on her mind, “It’s pretty fun on there. I can’t believe I didn’t start using it sooner.”

“Riiight,” said Julie sarcastically, clearly seeing straight through her lie, “Well, once you’re done being an iPad kid, I need to change your bandages.”

Dove groaned. “Julie, you just put them on the other day. Why the fuck do they need to be changed anyways? They’re just bandages.”

“Because I’d rather not run the risk of those wounds of yours getting infected,” Julie said sharply, “And, no offense, Dove, but I don’t really trust you to actually take care of those wounds yourself. They were an absolute mess before I cleaned them up.”

“I’d rather die from an infected wound than live in a house with you around,” Dove grumbled under her breath.

“What?”

“Nothing. I’ll be done eating in a minute.”

*****

Dove stayed quiet as Julie cleaned up the cuts on her hand.

The first night Dove had spent here, Julie was horrified to see all the cuts on Dove’s hands from breaking the window open while escaping Lina back at the hospital. Julie was quick to disinfect all of Dove’s injuries and bandage them up to they could heal properly.

Dove admittedly still felt a little uneasy around Julie, if she was being honest. Each time she felt Julie’s hands graze her skin, she was certain they’d work their way up to her neck yet and strangle her yet again. It took all the strength within her not to flinch away at the slightest touch from Julie.

And it was pretty clear that Julie wasn’t too fond of Dove either. She didn’t speak much to Dove when she was changing out the bandages. She simply worked silently, in stark contrast to her usual bubbly, talkative personality.

Dove didn’t particularly like living in this house with Lana and Julie. There were a million places she’d rather be than stuck within these walls.

But she’d at least take living here over being trapped in the hospital office at Agamemnon’s will yet again.

Once Julie was finished cleaning up Dove’s wounds and had put on some clean bandages, Dove was excited to head back to the guest bedroom and spend the rest of the day alone, just as she usually did.

But before she retreat back into the guest bedroom, Lana stopped her.

“Hey, Dove?”

“Yes, Lana?” asked Dove with an audible sigh.

“Can I speak with you for a second?”

Dove groaned. “Fine. But make it quick.”

Lana took Dove aside and began to speak.

“I noticed you were online last night in Saudade,” Lana began.

“Were you fucking spying on me or something?” Dove asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Not intentionally,” Lana said, “It’s just, sometimes I like to check the group out of curiosity.”

“You’re acting like you were involved in anything I did in Saudade.”

“I mean, I wasn’t really involved in the doings of your group, but I did see everything through her eyes,” Lana said, “So, in a way, I feel connected to it regardless of my lack of involvement. And I noticed you were online last night.”

Dove crossed her arms. “And? I’m the leader of the damn group. I’m allowed to check on it if I want.”

“And you’re allowed to do that,” Lana said, “But you haven’t really been online in months. So I just wanted to check… are you doing okay? Is there anything on your mind?”

“Everything’s fine,” Dove murmured, turning away, “Now leave me alone.”

“You sure…?” Lana asked slowly.

“I’m sure,” Dove spat out in anger, crossing her arms, “Nothing’s wrong.”

“Okay…” Lana muttered, “But Dove, if you ever wanna talk, I’m here for you…”

“LEAVE ME ALONE!” Dove screamed aloud, fed up with this conversation, “If it wasn’t for you, maybe I would still have some semblance of identity. Maybe I’d actually be able to face my Patrons without worrying about them finding out the fraud I am!”

Silence rang through the air for a short moment. Neither girl said a single word.

Then Lana finally piped up yet again.

“So that’s what’s worrying you?” Lana asked, “You’re afraid of the Patrons finding out you’re a doppelgänger?”

“Shut the fuck up! I don’t wanna talk about it!” Dove went on.

“But Dove,” Lana began, reaching out a hand, “You can’t keep hiding from the truth. You have to tell them eventually.”

“No I don’t,” Dove grumbled, “I don’t need to tell them anything.”

“So you really think you can just keep pretending to be me forever?” Lana asked slowly, “Do you really think you can keep up this act for the rest of your life?”

“I’d rather keep pretending if it means I don’t have to run the risk of them turning on me,” Dove said coldly, “Don’t forget, Nathan and Nelly murdered me because they were angry about the people I sacrificed. I don’t want to give anybody a reason to turn their anger against me like that again…”

“But the truth is going to get out eventually, no matter what you do,” Lana told her firmly, “If they don’t hear it from you, then they’ll figure it out themselves. And they’ll be far angrier knowing you hid the truth from them rather than if you came clean on your own terms.”

“But... I can’t…” Dove murmured, shivering at the memory of the cold metal sword piercing through her chest, burning hot as a raging fire.

She couldn’t relive that moment… not again….

“And I’m not saying you have to do anything about it right now,” said Lana, “But if you want any hope of keeping their trust, then you need to tell them the truth, sooner or later.”

As much as Dove knew that Lana was right, she honestly just wanted Lana to shut her mouth. She couldn’t stand hearing those words all out of that girl’s mouth.

“Just shut the fuck up already,” Dove growled, “I don’t wanna hear another word from your annoying mouth! Now leave me alone.”

“But-“

“LEAVE ME ALONE!” Dove snapped, “You need to stop interfering with MY problems. With MY life.”

And with that, she stormed off into the guest bedroom, not even giving Lana a chance to respond.

*****

Slamming the door shut, Dove slumped down on the bed. Honestly, Lana could be so annoying at times.

Sure, Dove knew that she couldn’t keep up her act forever. She knew she had to tell the truth, one way or another.

But the idea of doing so simply because Lana had told her to honestly disgusted her a little. She hated the idea of letting anyone have control over her actions, no matter how pure their intentions were.

She glanced back down at her phone screen, looking down at the group wall. Each new message from an actual person asking where she was cut deep into her soul.

This whole group of people was worried about her, even after everything she’d done…

How could anyone possibly have the capacity to care about a monster like her? How could anyone forgive her when she’d killed people with her own two hands?

Maybe if these people were willing to forgive her for the deaths she was responsible for, then perhaps they’d be willing to accept her s a doppelgänger as well.

But at the same time, what if they only cared about her because they believed her to be the real Lana?

If they knew that she was nothing but a fraud, then who knew how they’d react?

They knew about all the people she’d killed. They’d watched her sacrifice her own Coterie with their very own eyes. The only reason they even still sided with her was because they believed her to be the real Lana. So if she revealed herself as a doppelgänger? She shivered, thinking of what a disaster such a revelation would set into motion…

She didn’t have the strength to face her Patrons again when there was nothing more than a paper-thin act in between her and the hatred in their hearts.

She couldn’t tell them the truth… she couldn’t give them a reason to lash out against her.

But if she just kept her lies going? If she just let her Patrons believe she was real, then what would that really accomplish?

Sure, she’d at least stay safe from their wrath.

But at the end of the day, she’d still be lying to them, intentionally or not.

She’d still be no different from the time when she’d been completely willing to execute her own Coterie members…

If she truly wanted to atone for her past mistakes, then deceiving her own Patrons wasn’t going to help matters whatsoever. She’d ended many lives, she’d told countless lies, and yet even still, she was misleading people.

She had to make at least something right. Even if she couldn’t take anything else back, she had to at least tell her Patrons the truth off who she really was, no matter what the consequences may be.

She quickly drafted up an announcement. She reread it several times, each time tweaking small details in her wording until she finally got it to a point that she was ready to post it for everyone to see.

But that was when she hesitated yet again.

Was she really ready to tell them all the truth?

Was she ready to reveal that she was a doppelgänger…?

She stared at the message she’d typed out on her screen. She desperately wanted to simply delete it and return to her usual routine of avoiding the harsh truth.

But if she didn’t take action now, then she’d simply keep pushing it back over and over again.

She had to break free from her facade as soon as physically possible.

She had to tell the truth if she wanted any hope of even beginning to forgive herself.

And so, without another thought, she sent the announcement out for the public to see.

*****

When Lana got home from the salon that evening, Dove immediately rushed over to her.

“Oh! Dove!” Lana exclaimed in surprise, “What are you here for?”

“I wanted to talk to you real quick,” Dove murmured.

“If it’s about this morning, I’m sorry if I was pushing you,” Lana said quickly, “I should’ve realized you weren’t ready to talk about what was bothering you.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t ready to talk about it,” Dove said bluntly, “But I mean… you were kinda right, in a way… I can’t keep pretending to be you forever…”

Dove looked down at her own bandaged up hand. It was only a few short days ago when she was still keeping up her act, insisting she was real, blocking out any evidence to the contrary. She hadn't wanted to hear the truth, no matter who it came from.

But she didn’t want to keep up that charade any longer.

She was finally going to come clean. She was going to undo her lies, whether she wanted to or not…

“So I’ve decided,” Dove went on, keeping her voice steady as she showed the announcement she’d made on her phone screen, “Tonight, I’m going to hold one last meeting in the Fortress to tell everybody who I truly am.”

Lana looked down at the screen, astonished. “You sure? You don’t have to if you don’t want to right now, Dove.”

Dove knew that she could give it more time. She knew that there was no real time limit.

But the more time she waited to let the truth out of her mouth, the longer she’d have to live with herself knowing she’d lied to all her Patrons about who she was.

She couldn’t delay telling her Patrons the truth.

She had to take the first step in bettering herself as a person.

“I’m sure about it,” Dove said firmly, “Tonight, I will finally tell them all I’m a doppelgänger.”

*****

She stared up at the portal atop the stage before her, glowing in a shimmering crimson hue.

It was strange honestly a little strange, being at these old meeting grounds again.

This was where she’d hosted her early questionnaires. This place was sacred to her, in a way. But ever since she’d opened the portal to the Fortress, she’d just left it abandoned. She hadn’t stepped foot anywhere around this area in over a year.

She hated to think that this was the very same stage she’d sacrificed her own Coterie members on. Her own friends, sacrificed simply to open that wretched portal into the Fortress.

The thought of traveling through it again honestly sickened her.

But this portal was the only entrance she had to the Fortress. The only other alternative would be using a portal summoned by either Agamemnon or Lina, and she’d rather pluck out her other eye rather than see either of them again.

She stepped up onto the stage. She would just use this portal this last time. She’d enter the Fortress, tell her Patrons what she needed to, flee the realm before Agamemnon could catch her there, and destroy the portal once and for all.

But regardless of how many times she repeated this plan in her head, over and over again, her legs trembled with each step she took each step she took towards the portal. Lana and Julie followed behind, careful to give her some space.

As she walked across the stage, she couldn’t help but find her gaze drifting over to the decaying bodies that lay around the portal, each stuck in a snapshot of the moment they’d died. Red energy still reverberated from their chests, keeping the portal open.

These were the bodies of the Coterie members she’d so selfishly sacrificed, all for Agamemnon’s selfish plans…

She stopped by one in particular. Kneeling down to get a better look, her heart nearly stopped as she immediately registered who this corpse used to belong to.

Even though its skin had weathered away, leaving nothing but bones, the body was unmistakable.

This was the original body she’d inhabited before she’d been murdered…

She carefully reached out her hand, running her fingers along the decayed arm, still outstretched, still desperately reaching out towards where Nelly and Nathan had once stood. The other arm was still clutching the body’s chest, looking as though the burning pain still lingered, even now.

Even the knife that Nelly and Nathan had used to end her life still stuck out of the chest, in the same exact position in had been in when she’d felt her own consciousness slip away…

The memory of that fateful day ran through her mind. She could never forget the horror she’d felt as she felt herself sinking into nothingness. Even though she knew that Agamemnon was waiting on the other side of the portal for her, even though she knew that he was ready to bring her back, she was afraid, regardless. She didn’t know what, exactly, was going to happen next, in the realm between life and death.

She’d found her soul wandering through the endless darkness for what seemed like an eternity, trying to find even the slightest prick of light shining through, trying to find even the smallest sign that she was somehow still alive. And yet nothing came along. She was just stuck in the darkness, nothing more than a lost spirit with nowhere to go.

That was, until at long last, there was a faint red light appeared somewhere in the distance. She’d chased after it, filled with nothing but pure desperation, determined to find it before it faded away. She carried herself closer and closer towards the light, each step echoing through the endless void all around, until finally, it was within her reach.

The next thing she knew, she’d awoken in the Fortress realm, in a new body that Agamemnon had transferred her soul into so she could continue working for him.

She placed a hand on her chest, feeling her own breathing.

Even though this was the body she currently inhabited, it wasn’t her original form. It wasn’t her own.

That body that lay rotting on the stage was her actual body.

She should’ve been dead long ago. The only reason she was even still alive was because Agamemnon had brought her back for his own selfish purposes.

Lana and Julie stopped beside her, noticing her hesitation.

“Dove…?” Lana began softly, stepping forwards, “Whose body is that…?”

Dove took a small breath as she slowly answered, “It was mine… at least, before, well… you know.”

She didn’t say anything else, as she knew that Lana understood exactly what she meant. Glancing over at Lana, Dove could see the same remembrance in the nail tech’s eyes.

It was strange to think that Lana had witnessed the exact same events that she had. For all this time, Dove had believed she would always be suffering from these painful memories alone.

But all along, there was someone else who had also lived through those memories, in a way. Maybe she hadn’t been physically there, yet regardless, these memories surely haunted Lana the same way they had always haunted her.

But there was one stark contrast between the two: one was a monster, and one was completely innocent.

Sure, Lana had experienced the same exact same pain and suffering Dove had gone through. She’d witnessed each and every life that Dove had been responsible for ending.

But Lana had never done any of it herself. She wasn’t the one who chose to make all these terrible decisions. It was Dove. Dove had killed those people, Dove had to live with the guilt of remembering everything she’d done.

Even though both girls had witnessed the same exact events, their experiences couldn’t be any more different.

Dove took a breath, slowly pulling herself up. She looked back at the portal, its red glow dazzling in her eye.

She had fucked up in so many ways. She was certain she would never truly be able to atone for everything she’d done.

But regardless, she had to try.

And so, stepping forwards, she entered through the portal.

*****

Hiding in a room off to the side of the stage, Dove peered out at the crowd which was quickly forming. Everybody was busy chatting with one another, speculating on why this questionnaire had been announced so suddenly after several months of silence. Some tried to claim that she was working with Agamemnon once again. Others speculated that she was rallying everybody against Lina.

Little did they know the real reason she’d scheduled this questionnaire…

She took slow, steady breaths, trying to quell her anxiety. Her heart raced in her chest as her mind twisted like a hurricane, coming up with the worst possible outcomes.

All these Patrons attending this meeting had followed her story since the very start, from her humble beginning as a girl who simply wanted to exact revenge against the that wretched nail salon to becoming a cult leader sacrificing innocent souls for Agamemnon’s sake. They’d seen all the horrible deeds she was capable of. They’d watched first-hand as she murdered innocent people right before their very eyes.

If she was some random person, these people would’ve seen her as the devil in the flesh. They would’ve hated and despised her for everything she’d done.

And yet, because they believed her to be the real Lana, they instead felt sympathy towards her. They supported her because they could empathize with Lana’s story, completely unaware that the story didn’t truly belong to Dove.

Dove knew that as soon as she told the Patrons she was a doppelgänger, their sympathy for her was going to dissolve, and who knew how everyone would react? Just what lengths would their fury of being lied to for all this time bring them to?

She placed a hand on her chest, right where the sharpened blade had pierced through her former body.

What if they took their anger out on her, the same way Nelly and Nathan had…?

“Dove?” Came Lana’s voice from beside her. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Dove said quickly, “Just a little nervous… I’m afraid of how they’ll react. That’s all.”

“You don’t have to tell them right now,” Julie said.

Dove just rolled her eyes. “You think I didn’t already know that, Julie?”

She knew that there was no real rush to tell her Patrons that she was a doppelgänger. She could easily just call this questionnaire off and wait until she felt better prepared to face the Patrons with her truth.

But each day she delayed the inevitable was another day she’d have to live with the guilt of knowing she was lying to her own supporters.

She couldn’t keep up the lie any longer.

If she wanted to become a better person, then she’d have to start by coming clean about who she truly was, no matter what the Patron’s reactions may be.

She couldn’t let this chance slip away. Not now.

“I’m going to tell them,” Dove said firmly, trying her best to keep herself composed, “I have to, sooner or later…”

Lana just shot her an encouraging smile. “Well, we’ll be right here for you, no matter what happens.”

Dove fought back the urge to laugh at just how genuine Lana was acting towards her. Why did Lana give a shit about her anyways? Lana had no good reason to support her. Why would anyone choose to support her when they knew the manipulator she was?

But she put those thoughts aside for the time being. She glanced back out the door again, at all the Patrons gathered around the stage, eagerly waiting for her to show up. Their voices all intermixed together, with questions she wished she didn’t have to answer. She didn’t even want to get up onto the stage, she was so afraid of telling them who she really was.

But she had to face her Patrons, one way or another. They deserved to know the truth.

She couldn’t run away. Not now.

She shot one last glance back at Lana, who gave her a small thumbs-up, before she reluctantly stepped out of the room.

As soon as she stepped up onto the stage, the voices all around hushed to a silence. She could feel everybody’s gazes all landing upon her, eagerly anticipating what she was about to say.

She closed her eye, taking a short breath as she began. “Hello, everyone…”

She took a short pause. Opening her eye, she looked around at all the people surrounding her, all watching intently.

All of whom were about to have a massive truth bomb dropped upon them…

“I’m sure you are all wondering why I announced this meeting for tonight,” Dove continued, striving to keep her voice steady even as anxiety tried its best to take over, “I know you all may have many questions right now. While I unfortunately will not be answering any questions regarding my absence tonight, I would like to make an announcement that I’ve honestly wanted to make for a while now.”

Her head felt like it was spinning as she spoke. She couldn’t believe what she was saying. Was she really doing this?

Was she really about to strip away the identity she’d hidden behind since the very start…?

“I know that this revelation will be shocking to a lot of you. And I can understand if it may cause you distrust in me. But regardless, I need to tell you all the truth.”

She paused once again, stalling for a second, delaying letting out the words she dreaded the most.

She just didn’t want her Patrons to lose their trust in her… she didn’t want them to turn them against her the same way Nelly and Nathan had.

But she had to rip the bandaid off the wound, sooner or later.

And so, averting her gaze from everybody all around, she finally began the long-awaited sentence.

“You see, I’ve been lying to you all this entire time,” she said finally. She gave a short glance back over towards the door. Through the small opening, she could see Lana, who simply gave her an encouraging nod, gesturing her to continue.

“The truth is,” she said at long last, “I’m not the real Lana. I’m a doppelgänger.”

She fell silent for a moment, squeezing her eye shut. She didn’t want to look at her Patrons right now. She just wished she could melt away and never stand on this stage again!

Immediately, the crowd began piping up with frantic questions.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU’RE A DOPPEL?”

“WHERE’S THE REAL LANA?”

“I LET A DOPPELGÄNGER DO MY NAILS?!”

”I FUCKING KNEW IT!”

“WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL US SOONER?”

Each question cut deep into her, feeling more like sharpened knives rather than just simple words.

Her heart pounded in her chest as far too many questions to answer came soaring her way. As much as she wanted to answer everybody’s questions, she just stood there, frozen in place, unsure of what to next.

She simply couldn’t believe it.

She’d just done it.

She’d told them all the truth.

And now she had to clean up the mess she’d made for herself.

“I’m sure I need to explain some things,” she said quickly, which hushed the crowd up once again, “You see, the Lana in the salon is the real Lana. She’s the one who was kidnapped by Agamemnon and nearly got her soul sacrificed. I, on the other hand, have been a doppelgänger since the very start. I was the person who created Saudade. I was the person helping Agamemnon run the Awakening. I was the person who sacrificed people’s souls for Agamemnon’s agenda…”

She would’ve usually spiraled thinking back on that part of her life, but right now she tried her best to keep herself stable. She had to keep up a brave face. She had to stand by her words, no matter how painful they were to say.

“I’m sorry I never told you all sooner,” she said slowly, lowering her head in shame, “I regret withholding the truth from all of you. The last thing that I wanted was to mislead my own supporters. I was just afraid of what you’d all think of me. But you all deserve the know the truth about me.”

She paused again, taking a breath, trying to keep herself calm.

“So, tonight, I’d like to show you all who I truly am. And I’ll begin by reintroducing myself.”

She took a small step forwards, facing the crowd directly. “My name is Dove, and yes, I’m a doppelgänger. But despite being a clone of somebody else, I’d like to invent a new identity for myself. I want to become a separate from the persona I hid behind for so long.”

It still felt a little strange, calling herself Dove. Sure, she’d chosen the name out for herself. But after going my “Lana” for most of her existence, it was a little difficult to adjust to her new name.

“I know you all may be angry at me for hiding the truth from you, and for that, I apologize for,” she added on, shutting her eye once again, afraid to look at the crowd for any longer, “I just hope that, if you still have any trust left in me… that you’ll still support me, even now…”

She let her voice fade off into silence, hearing the sound echo off the walls of the Fortress.

She tried to forget that she was standing onstage in front of hundreds of people. She tried to forget that she hadn’t just broken her own patron’s trust in her.

But then everyone began speaking up again, much louder this time. And their words were sharper. Meaner.

Many voices were filled with disgust and anger, directed straight at her…

Dove tried to block out everyone’s screams and shouts being aimed her way. But the spiteful words which reached her ears stung deep in her heart.

She stepped back, wishing she could just disappear. Why did she think any of this was a good idea?

Maybe she would’ve been better off if she’d never said a single word about being a doppelgänger…

That was when the clack of heels sounded out, stopping right beside her. Opening her eye, she found Lana by her side.

“What are you doing…?” Dove whispered in disbelief.

“Helping you,” Lana answered with a determined look in her eyes.

Dove couldn’t believe it. Why was Lana trying to come to her aid? This was Dove’s battle to fight, no one else’s.

Sure, she was a doppelgänger of Lana. Sure, she only existed because of Lana’s soul.

But that didn’t mean Lana had to help her with anything.

“I know you all may have your grievances with her,” Lana began, voice strong as she addressed the angry crowd. She sounded so sure of herself. So free of doubt.

“I know she hasn’t been perfect in the past,” Lana continued, keeping her voice firm, “And I know that this revelation may shocking to all of you. But I want you all to remember that, at the end of the day, she’s a human being. She deserves empathy, just like anyone else, doppelgänger or not.”

Dove could hardly even believe what Lana was saying. A monster like her was far from deserving empathy. How could anyone possibly think otherwise?

She honestly deserved to rot in the depths of hell for all the lives she’d so carelessly thrown away.

Yet regardless, Lana was persistent. “So please, give her grace. I implore you all to give her a chance to become a better person.”

The crowd went silent once again for a long minute. Everyone was clearly processing what Lana had said.

But someone near the back of the crowd sprang up. They tore through the people all around, and before either Dove or Lana could do anything to stop them, they jumped up onto the stage.

“You seriously believe we’ll feel sympathy for you when you’ve sacrificed so many?!” The person demanded, words hot and vile as they escaped her mouth.

“Well, I—“ Dove began.

“Don’t think we’ve forgotten about your list of crimes,” the girl continued, forest green eyes full of rage, “You killed your entire Coterie. You sacrificed your own Horizon members. You helped Agamemnon fulfill his evil plans. And yet you think all you’ve done can simply be erased just because you feel bad?” The girl scoffed. “What a joke!”

“Well, yes, I did do all that,” Dove murmured, gaze falling to the floor, “But—“

The girl was right up in Dove’s face now. It made Dove a little uncomfortable, being so close someone who was so furious with her.

“You don’t deserve empathy,” she snarled, “You deserve to fucking rot.”

Before either Dove or Lana had to chance to object, the girl turned to face the crowd.

“My fellow members of Saudade, do you really want to support a monster like her? Somebody who hides behind another person’s identity just to get away with unspeakable acts?”

Cheers rang out from the crowd, much to Dove’s horror.

“That’s right!” The girl called out, “A monster like her deserves to suffer and die the same way as her victims!”

Dove shivered at those words. This girl wanted her dead?!

“Who’s with me?!” The girl demanded.

The crowd continued to cheer in agreement with her. While some backed away, clearly not wanting to partake in the chaos that was quickly unfurling, many others stepped forwards, gathering around the girl as they began chanting. Over and over, they repeated one single phrase: “Kill the doppelgänger! Kill the doppelgänger!”

Dove watched in horror as the crowd began drawing nearer to the stage, each person’s angered gaze directed straight at her. Her heart raced several miles per minute and her breathing grew erratic as people began scaling up the sides of the stage, trying to surround her.

Lana grabbed Dove’s hand. “Dove, are you okay?! Dove?!”

But Lana’s voice sounded echoey in Dove’s ears. As the chants calling for her death kept sounding out all around her, she couldn’t help but almost find herself back on the fateful day when Nelly and Nathan had stabbed her. It was all crystal clear in her mind: the searing pain as the weapon pierced through her body, blood dripping down from her chest, the sharp pain in her lungs as she desperately gasped for air.

And, most hauntingly of all, she could still clearly picture the looks of pure satisfaction on Nelly and Nathan’s faces as they looked down upon her.

She felt lightheaded. Tears formed in her eye, making her vision go blurry.

She couldn’t relive that day…

Not again…

“Dove?! Are you okay? DOVE?!”

Lana kept calling out her name, desperate to get a response from her, but Dove could hardly hear anything over the ringing in her own ears. She could barely even form a coherent thought in her head except for one single instinct: to get out of here.

And so, without sparing even a second, Dove bolted off of the stage. She sprinted past the crowd of people as fast as she physically could. Her injured knee screamed in pain, but she didn’t care about it right now; all she could focus on was getting away from that wretched stage before the past could repeat itself all over again.

She stormed off through a nearby door, slamming it shut behind her. She ran through the halls of the Fortress until she found an exit. Prying the door open, she rushed out into the open air outside. The sky glowed a crimson hue, red as the blood she’d spilled in her past. She ran as far as she could, driven forwards by nothing but pure fear.

She simply couldn’t face her Patrons anymore. She couldn’t dare to look them in the eyes now that there was nothing keeping their anger against her at bay.

*****

“DOVE!” Lana shouted as Dove sped off. She tried to give chase, but Dove slipped through a nearby door before Lana could catch up.

“Oh shit…” Lana murmured, glancing back over at the angry crowd gathered atop the stage, “What do I do, what do I do, what do I fucking do…”

She couldn’t help but panic. Sure, she’d faced crowds of people plenty of times before. She’d run Style Showdown effortlessly for the past few months, and she’d even been on stage with Lady Gaga not too long ago.

But never before had she dealt with a crowd that was this angry, this bloodthirsty.

“I’ll handle them,” Julie said firmly, rushing over to her side.

"You sure?” Lana asked nervously, continuously glancing back over at all the faces, all snarling in fury. “I don’t want them to take their anger out on you…”

Julie just shot her a grin. “Do you really think I’m scared of them? I was a monster for a decade. If I know how to deal with my own anger, then dealing with them will be a piece of cake! Don’t worry about me, sweetheart.”

Lana giggled to herself. “Okay, fair point. Just try to save the real monstrous energy for Agamemnon.”

“Oh trust me, I’ve got something special planned for Agamemnon if I ever see him again,” Julie said confidently, taking hold of Lana’s hands, “Now you go and find Dove, and I’ll get everybody in this crowd to quiet down.”

“Thank you, babe,” Lana whispered, smiling at her, “You’re an actual angel.”

She gave Julie a small kiss before pulling away.

“I’ll be back soon,” she said before heading off after Dove.

*****

Dove had no idea how far she’d gone. Her mind was such a haze, she hadn’t kept track of where she was going.

Eventually, she found herself standing at the edge of some sort of cliff. Her legs gave out beneath her, and she fell to her knees, exasperated from her panicked escape.

Peering over the edge, she found a lake of water down below. Due to the red light streaming down from the sky, it looked more like a pool of blood than a pool of water. The water gently lapped against the shore, almost reminding her of the ocean’s waves.

Usually, she steered clear of large bodies of water. She didn’t know why exactly, she just tended to get uneasy around the water. She just had this strange, deep-rooted fear in her heart that the waves were going to envelop her and drag her under the water to drown.

But right now, she couldn’t stop staring down the water below. Right now, she almost wouldn’t mind being falling over the edge of the cliff and drowning in the murky water below.

She looked blankly off at the horizon. She could still feel her heart pounding in her chest.

Tears began streaming down her face. She just couldn’t believe the mess she’d created for herself.

All she wanted was to come clean to everybody. All she hoped was that she could begin to better herself as a person.

All she’d wanted was to begin to build her own identity, seperate from the false persona she’d kept up for so long…

But instead, all she’d done was create a hateful mob of people that wanted her dead.

She looked down at her hands, still tightly wrapped in the bandages Julie had given her to protect the cuts underneath.

They were the very same hands that had taken the lives of her own Coterie members.

Rafael, Michael, Sunny, and Nathan. All dead, and all because of her own greed.

And then there was Alatheia. She’d genuinely cared Alatheia. The two were similar in countless ways, both driven to Agamemnon’s side because of financial hardships.

She’d felt a deep empathy for Alatheia. She wanted nothing but the best for that girl.

But Alatheia, too, had died as well because of her, eaten alive by that monster Agamemnon was building.

Alatheia had met the exact same fate as everyone who’d crossed paths with Dove before…

Dove looked down over the cliff’s edge once again, mind wandering. Why couldn’t she be just another one of those mindless doppelgängers Agamemnon had created? At least if she could do nothing more than run around and scream, she wouldn’t have to feel this way.

But instead, she had to live with the constant guilt of killing her own allies eating away at her.

She inched closer to the edge of the cliff, deep in thought. Perhaps that girl earlier had been right. Maybe she truly did deserve to die.

She hung her legs over the ledge, feeling slight wind whipping up against her skin. Closing her eye, she imagined herself falling through the air, down and down and down, until she finally landed in the ice cold water down below.

Maybe that was the fate a murderer like her deserved…

*****

Lana rushed out the door and through the grass outside of the Fortress walls. Dove had barely ever ventured away from the Fortress during the time Lana had been able to witness what Dove was experiencing, so she was pretty unfamiliar with the area. But likely due to her connection with Dove via the shared soul, she could almost sense which direction Dove had gone in, which made the search easier on her.

Her legs burned, sore from walking in heels. She was honestly starting to regret wearing her usual heels. She hadn’t planned on going for a hike across all creation.

But she went on, determined to track down where Dove had gone.

She was just glad that Julie was so understanding about the entire situation. When she’d first reunited with Julie, she never would’ve imagined what the two of them would have to face. From their encounters with Lina, to the remnants of Agamemnon’s power over Julie still affecting her, to the whole situation with Dove, Lana was just glad that she and Julie were able to stick together through it all.

But as Lana wandered through the wilderness of this realm, she began to notice the sound of footsteps in the grass behind her, signaling that she wasn’t alone.

Her mind quickly jumped to conclusions Had one of the Patrons followed her or something? Were they plotting to murder her simply for being associated with Dove?

She turned around, expecting to see a face she didn’t recognize looking back on her. But instead, she locked eyes with a pair of emerald green eyes she knew all too well.

She took a step back.

It was Julie…

“Julie?!” Lana asked in shock. “You said you’d be handling the crowd! Why are you here?!”

When Lana had left to search for Dove, Julie had assured her that the whole crowd situation would be handled. But now here Julie was, standing right before her, eyes filled with pure anger.

“You seriously believed I would clean up Dove’s mess?!” she snarled.

Lana was taken aback. This sudden anger was nothing like Julie!

“You said you could deal with those people!” Lana started frantically, “So why are you here…?”

“Oh sure, I said I would,” Julie said sharply, “But truthfully, I really didn’t want to.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?!” Lana demanded. Her head felt like it was spinning. Why was Julie just turning on her all of the sudden?! This was so unlike her. Was this the anger from being a monster rearing its ugly head again? Or was Julie actually mad at her…?

“Because it’s not like I had much of a choice anyways,” Julie said bitterly, crossing her arms as she added, “I didn’t want to get involved in Dove’s miserable life in the first place, but you were just so insistent, and I wanted to be nice. So I caved in, and now look at where that had gotten me.”

“I wouldn’t have let her stay with us if you’d said no,” Lana insisted, stepping forwards, “I would’ve found some other solution!”

“Oh really?” Asked Julie angrily, stepping away, “Then why did you leave me behind while you went in search of that stupid doppelgänger?”

“You promised you could deal with the crowd!” Lana went on, tears bubbling in her eyes, “I would’ve stayed with you if you’d just asked!”

“But you didn’t even bother to ask ME if I wanted you to stay there with me,” Julie groveled out, “I’m always bending over backwards for your sake, but never do you consider how I feel.”

“I do!” Lana called out, her voice on the verge of breaking into a cry, “I do care about your wellbeing! I’m sorry if you feel otherwise…”

Her mind kept whirling about like a wild storm. She kept thinking back to the confident grin on Julie’s face near moments ago. Julie had been so sweet, so understanding towards her.

How could Julie have possibly switched to acting like this so suddenly…?

“I’m sorry…” Lana went on, voice trembling as she spoke, “I truly am… I’m sorry…”

Julie just scoffed. “You should be sorry."

That was when something inside Lana just snapped. She turned away from Julie, done with hearing these spiteful words fall out of the mouth of someone she loved for any longer.

“Hey, where are you going?!” Julie demanded.

“I’m leaving,” Lana said coldly, “Clearly, you don’t want to listen to anything I say. So I’m going to find Dove. Alone.”

And then she marched off, leaving Julie behind. If Julie wasn’t going to drop this hateful attitude of hers, then Lana wasn’t going to keep pleading for forgiveness.

*****

Dove sat on the edge of the cliff for a long time, head hung low, tears falling down her cheeks as she gazed down at the lake far below.

Oh, how much easier it would be to simply throw herself over the edge than confront the harsh truths of her reality….

But then she heard footsteps rustling through the grass from behind her.

She turned her head to find Lana there, looking down at her with concern.

“Dove?” She asked slowly, “What are you doing here…?”

Dove just let out a sigh. “What do you think I’m doing here?”

“…you’re not going to do what I’m thinking, are you…?”

Dove just shrugged. “I mean, it’s not like someone like me deserves to live.”

“I mean, yeah, you were a pretty shitty person,” Lana agreed.

Dove was put off by that response. “What?”

“I mean, I’m just saying,” Lana said, “You DID kinda kill a bunch of people. That’s not exactly something an innocent person would do.”

“Gee, thanks a lot for the support,” Dove said, rolling her eyes. While she knew the Lana was right, at the same time, this wasn’t the response she would’ve expected from Lana . Sure, Lana’s humor could get a little morbid at times, but Lana never seemed like the sort of person to let this kind of humor seep into a situation like this.

But it was whatever. Dove had to get her cruelty from somewhere. At least a dark sense of humor wasn’t nearly as grave of a sin as sacrificing innocent people’s souls.

But something about Lana just felt… off, somehow. And Dove couldn’t quite place her finger on why.

She pulled herself up off the ground, getting closer to where Lana stood.

The girl that stood before her looked exactly like Lana. Everything about her appearance was spot-on.

But there was just one thing that felt off.

Usually, Dove felt a strange energy when she was around Lana. It was a strange, radiant energy which almost seemed to rejuvenate her. It made her feel complete. It made her feel whole. Dove didn’t know exactly why she felt this energy around Lana, but she just assumed that it was due to the fact she was created from a piece of Lana’s soul. So, in a way, Lana was almost like the other half to her.

But there was no such feeling when she was around this woman.

It was just pure nothingness.

“You’re… not the real Lana,” Dove said slowly, stepping back.

“Oh?” asked the impersonator curiously, “Why do you say that?”

Dove just scoffed. “You seriously thought you could fool me? I’m literally a doppelgänger of Lana. If anyone can tell her apart from a lookalike, then it’s me.”

“I’m real,“ the impersonator insisted, “You can trust me.”

Dove just scoffed. “Sounds like the kinda shit I used to say.”

“Dove, I’m not a doppelgänger!” the impersonator insisted, “Why are you doubting me?”

“I don’t know whether you’re a doppelgänger or something else,” Dove said, completely disregarding what the impersonator was saying, “But whatever the fuck you are, you better leave me be.”

“But-“ the impersonator tried.

“LEAVE ME BE!” Dove shouted aloud, “You know you can’t fool me, so you might as well cut the act now.”

The impersonator just sighed in disappointment. “I let you stay in my home, and I defend your reputation, and this is the thanks I get?!”

“Those are things the real Lana did for me,” Dove said coldly, “But you’re not her. So scram.”

“Oh Dove,” the impersonator said with a small laugh, “You can’t possibly be serious about this—"

Just then, a voice cut through the air.

“YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!”

Both Dove and the impersonator glanced over at the start of the cliff where another Lana stood. Her hair was an absolute mess, sweat coated her skin, and her white heels were caked in mud. Her eyes were full of fury as she looked upon the impersonator, who just looked back in shock.

And as soon as Dove’s gaze landed on this Lana, and she felt that familiar warm energy flowing through her body, she knew that this was the real one.

“You heard me,” Lana repeated, “Leave her alone! I don’t know what you want out of her, but whatever it is, I’m not letting you take advantage of her!”

The impersonator just laughed. “You can’t seriously think you’re the real Lana, can you?”

“Well, you may be doubtful of her, but I know that she’s real,” Dove said, storming past the impersonator and standing by the real Lana’s side, “You can’t fool me.”

The impersonator just looked bewildered. “How can you possibly feel so sure?! I’m real, you idiot! No one else is!”

“For one, we kinda share a soul,” Dove said, “So it’s kinda easy to tell her apart from a clone. And, second, only a fake would insist so heavily that they’re real! Like, come on. Learn a thing or two, you idiot.”

“Just admit you can’t replicate my perfection,” Lana said, striking a small pose.

The impersonator just let out an audible sigh.

“Fine… you win, other me. But just know it isn’t over yet…”

And with that, the impersonator slinked off in defeat, disappearing off into the distance.

“Was that some sort of doppelgänger or something?” Lana asked.

“No idea,” said Dove, “But whether she was a doppelgänger or not, she was terrible at playing the part! Like, come on. The way she was acting just screams that she’s a doppelgänger trying to gaslight herself that she’s real.”

“I’m just relieved she didn’t try to attack us or anything,” Lana murmured, “I remember just how violent most of the doppelgängers Agamemnon made were.”

“Yeah,” Dove agreed, “There’s a reason we had to keep them locked up.”

“I’m just glad she’s not violent, just like how you’re not violent.”

Dove was in disbelief as Lana let that sentence slip out of her mouth. She held back the urge to laugh a little. After all, anyone who insisted she wasn’t a monster like the other doppelgängers was delusional

Sure, she wasn’t running around and screaming her head off.

But she has still committed the same exact atrocious acts those doppelgängers had…

She was a violent creature, much the same as those doppelgängers were. The only difference was that while they didn’t have to live with the remorse of killing, she did. She had to lie awake in bed every single night, constantly reliving each of every death she’d been behind in her mind.

“Say, how’s the crowd doing…?” Dove asked slowly.

“I’m not exactly sure,” Lana admitted, “I left Julie in charge, but then she and I kinda had a bit of a fight, so honestly, now I have no idea.”

“Oh shit. You and Julie got in a fight?”

Lana gave a small nod. “I don’t even know why she got so angry at me in the first place… but that’s not anything to worry about right now. I wanted to check in on you, Dove. Are you doing okay?”

Dove hesitated for a long moment, not exactly knowing what to even say.

Then, finally, she muttered, “I mean, not great… I kinda pissed off all my Patrons and now they all hate me.”

“It’s not your fault,” Lana assured her.

“How can you be so sure about that…?” Dove asked slowly, “I mean, I killed so many people in the past… that girl was right: I’m a monster.”

“Well, what you did in the past, they weren’t your... best moments,” Lana said, clearly trying to be cautious with her words, “There is no avoiding the fact that you did kinda murder people.”

“I know…” Dove said with a sigh.

“And you can’t control how the Patrons feel,” Lana continued, “They’re entitled to their own feelings. And simply apologizing and taking accountability won’t change how they feel..”

“But then what can I do at this point…?” Dove asked slowly.

“The best you can do is to keep working to become a better person, whether people forgive you or not,” Lana said simply, “You’ve made a great stride forwards by admitted you’re a doppelgänger, so now you’ve got to keep improving upon yourself. Even if your Patrons may never forgive you, that’s just something you’ll have to live with. This has to be a battle you’re willing to fight for your own sake, not to win other people’s favor.”

Dove just nodded. As desperate as she was to gain her Patron’s trust again, she knew that Lana was right: nothing she did would guarantee they’d go back to supporting her once again. She had to grow from her mistakes for herself, and not for the validation of other people.

"Now come on,” said Lana, “We should probably head back so we can get out of here.”

Dove just nodded. “Yeah… I’d rather not be in this realm for longer than necessary.”

Lana turned to begin the trek back over to the Fortress. But before Dove followed along, she shot one last glance back at the cliffside she’d been sitting on.

Mere moments ago, she was certain that ending her own life would be easier than dealing with the consequences of her mistakes.

But after hearing what Lana had to say, she began to slowly realize that her own death wouldn’t change a thing. Sure, she wouldn’t have to face the people she’d hurt anymore. But if she’d died, then she’d never get the chance to grow from her mistakes and prove herself to be a better person.

And besides, her death would simply add yet another death to the pile of lives she’d taken.

If she wanted to end her streak of murders, then she had to live on…

*****

The whole walk back to the Fortress, Dove’s heart was filled with dread. Just how much angrier had the crowd become during the time in which she and Lana were gone?

But when she and Lana returned to the stage, much to Dove’s surprise, the area had been pretty much cleared out. A few people still lingered around, but most had already left.

Immediately, Julie rushed to Lana’s side.

“Lana!” She exclaimed eagerly, “You’re back! Are you and Dove okay?”

Dove rolled her eyes; here the two were about to go again, being in love as usual.

Much to Dove’s shock, Lana pulled away.

“Julie…” she murmured, voice low and hard, “You’re… still here?”

“Um, yeah?” Asked Julie, puzzled. “I dealt with the crowd as you asked.

“But you said you didn’t want to,” Lana continued, “You said you didn’t want to be involved with Dove’s problems anymore…”

“What are you talking about?” Julie questioned, clearly confused.

“When you followed me when I was trying to find Dove,” Lana explained, “You were all angry at me, and…” Lana paused for a moment before she added, “Unless… it wasn’t you…”

Immediately, a look of concern dawned upon Julie’s face. “Someone was pretending to be me…?”

“I think so…” Lana murmured, “I don’t know how, but they were able to look exactly like you.”

“We also saw what appeared to be one of Lana’s doppelgängers,” Dove added, finally joining into the conversation.

“Yeah,” Lana said, “Maybe the two are connected, somehow…?”

Dove shook her head. “I have no clue.”

She couldn’t stop thinking about that impersonator, even now. The impersonator had just seemed so off-putting. Dove had seen multiple doppelgängers before, each of a varying level of intelligence. But strangely, this one seemed… different, somehow. The look in her eyes unlike from any other doppelgänger Dove had seen. No matter how monstrous a doppelgänger was, Dove always noted that each one appeared to have some remnant of the original Lana’s soul inside of them.

But this one didn’t have that same quality.

Almost like it was someone else entirely…

And now that it was clear that someone or something had managed to impersonate Julie too, it made Dove wonder: was that Lana impersonator really a doppelgänger? Or was she something or someone else…?

“So… that means that you’re not mad at me…?” Lana asked Julie slowly.

“No, of course not,” Julie said quickly, “Why would I be?”

“I was just afraid that you were upset with me about my decision to help Dove,” Lana explained.

Dove sighed. “You’re acting like I’m not standing here right now.”

“I just didn’t know if you were genuinely okay with it or not,” Lana murmured, ignoring Dove’s little comment.

“Lana,” Julie said, taking hold of Lana’s hands, “I wouldn’t have lied to you, even if I was uncomfortable with the idea. I trust you enough to be able to be honest with you. Sure, Dove and I didn’t start off on the…” she shot Dove an awkward glance, to which Dove just rolled her eyes, “…best of terms, to say the least. But regardless, I agreed to this because I trusted that this was the best course of action. I love you, Lana, and I would never lie to you.”

A smile flickered onto Lana’s face as she pulled Julie closer. “I love you too, Julie.”

And then the two locked lips, embracing one another, enjoying each other’s company.

When they pulled apart after a good minute, Dove giggled a little to herself.

“Wow, not surprised you two are being gay as hell,” Dove said, grinning.

“Oh shush!” Lana shot right back at her, “You’re acting like you’re not gay as hell too!”

“Fine, you got me there,” Dove sighed, “I would be doing gay shit too if only I had a girl to kiss like you. Honestly, if I could, I’d find whichever Patron keeps sending messages in the group wall about how hot I am and ask her on a date. Now, can we get going now? I’m tired as fuck.”

“Alright,” Lana said, “We probably should get out of here before Agamemnon finds us and tries to make more doppelgängers of us.”

As the three turned to begin making their way back to the portal, Dove couldn’t help but look back over at the stage. She still couldn’t seem to shake the moment when everyone had ganged up on her out of her mind.

So many people were ready to take their anger out on her…

She knew she may never regain the public’s trust of her.

But in the very least, she’d finally come clean to everybody. She’d finally told the truth about who she was.

She no longer had to hide behind a mask; she could finally begin to live as the person she wanted to be.

*****

As Dove stepped out of the portal leading back to the old Questionnaire grounds, she honestly felt relieved to finally be out of the Fortress. That realm brought back far too many painful memories. Lana and Julie followed close behind, both clearly also filled with the same relief she was.

“Give me a second, guys,” said Dove, stepping back towards the portal, “I need to do something real quick.”

As she walked across the stage, she kept glancing about at the dead bodies strewn all around the portal.

Tonight, she was going to finally let those dead Coterie members rest, once and for all.

She knelt down beside her former body once again. Wrapping her hands around the hilt of the sword piercing through its chest, she carefully drew it out of the rotting corpse.

Turning back to the portal, she lifted the weapon.

She was going to destroy that portal, once and for all.

Closing her eye, she took a breath, and she swung the blade towards the portal.

*****

When the halls of the Fortress had cleared, and not a single soul remained, three people met on the stage in the center: the Lana impersonator, the Julie impersonator, and the girl who’d confronted Dove during the questionnaire.

The Lana impersonator lifted a hand, red magic unfurling from her palm. It swirled about the three until it fully enveloped them. And when it finally dissipated, it revealed who these people truly were: Lina, Nelly, and Audrey.

“Didn’t that feel great, giving those three a piece of their mind?” Lina asked, grinning.

“Oh, it felt amazing!” Nelly exclaimed, “I’ve been wanting to tell her that shit for months now! Your powers did us wonders!”

“Yeah,” Audrey agreed, “But it did feel a little mean… I mean, I made Lana really upset…”

Nelly sighed. “I mean, I can’t really blame you, sis. I kinda felt bad, too, when I murdered that stupid doppelgänger. Even though she deserved it, still, I do feel a little guilty for it…”

“I know what we’re doing may be a little harsh,” Lina said, “But they needed some sort of reality check! They can’t just walk around acting like they’re completely innocent.”

“But still… it just felt cruel,” Audrey murmured.

“Is it really as cruel as what that doppelgänger has done to you?” asked Lina stubbornly.

“Okay, true,” Audrey said, “She wasn’t exactly an angel.”

“By the way, Lina, can we get some dinner on the way back home?” Asked Nelly, “We haven’t had dinner quite yet.”

“Yeah,” Audrey agreed, “I’m hungry. Plus, I wanna see you two be in love with each other.”

“WE’RE NOT IN LOVE!” Lina and Nelly shouted in unison.

“Suure,” said Audrey, “Totally not in love.”

“Anyways, back on topic,” Lina said, quickly pivoting the conversation back on track, “There’s this nice looking hibachi place that just opened near our apartment recently. You guys wanna check it out?”

“You mean that place where the people cook in front of you?” Audrey asked excitedly.

“Yeah,” Lina said.

“Well then, I’m down!” Audrey exclaimed excitedly.

“Same,” said Nelly, “Let’s go.”

Lina just nodded and summoned a portal so the three could get out of the Fortress realm.

*****

Agamemnon’s eyes flickered between the notes scattered all about his room in the Fortress he’d written about the doppelgängers he’d created. Each one had its own complications. One didn’t have any eyes. Another had no face. Another had sharp talons in place of its hands. Each one was a new experiment. Each of the findings he got from the doppelgängers he’d created brought him closer and closer to creating the perfect one.

His eyes then landed on the notes he’d written about perhaps his most advanced doppelgänger, Dove, as she now insisted on calling herself. She’d been the closest he’d gotten to being perfect.

But this perfection had come at a cost.

She may have been convincing enough to fool the general public into believing she was the real Lana thanks to her intelligence. But this same intelligence also gave way to her leaving him and trying to strike out her own path.

Agamemnon approached those notes he’d written about that doppelgänger.

 He’d noticed her trespassing into his realm earlier to speak to the Patrons. He was aware of when she’d destroyed the portal she’d sacrificed her own Coterie to create.

She really thought she could slip into this realm without him noticing…

“Oh, Dove, or whatever you want to be called…” Agamemnon muttered under his breath, “You may wish to become a different person. But sooner or later, you’ll have to remember that you are nothing more than my little experiment…”