Chapter Text
His hands are shaking.
Everything hurts. He'd been trying so hard, to keep everyone safe, no, rather — wasn't it Miu he wanted safe? In the end, he'd dropped the election for her sake, not for everyone else. He'd made the right choice, of course, because, because —
just look at the city!
Sinking and SINKING!
You need.. to calm down, right? Hands on the sink. Don't think too much. It's gonna be okay. You need to calm down. You're fine! It's all fine. In fact, it's… it's right as rain, and, everything's gonna be okay, and as long as Miu's okay, it's good.
Venus, Evo, they'd called you good. That you had such a kind heart. You couldn't see where they were getting this idea now. You were just a coward.
Look into the mirror.
Your hands shake. You hate the sight of yourself — is it not pathetic?
Ah.
Huh.
A hand is reaching through the mirror.
You flinch back, and in the end, that gives them enough space. You watch your face contort into theirs, though not quite, it didn't seem they had terribly different features than you other than missing an eye. Their hair is grown out quite a lot longer than yours.
Crawling out of the mirror, an image that is not quite you, but startlingly close.
Were you going insane from stress? Well. It couldn't be the first time something crazy happened near or around you, but to you? Actually, no, scary things happen to you all the time. Like today! Oh, god.
Ugh.
They try to push themself up, struggle a bit, and just roll over onto the ground.
"Owieee…"
Uh. Uh huh. You can't really speak, you're too scared.
They raise their head to squint at you. "…Sean?" They mutter. "Am I in Wonderland again…?"
OH OKAY? You need to get a grip. If you're quiet, what if that's taken as an invitation for something? But your mouth is dry, and fear is trying to cloud your vision.
"…nah, both your eyes are green— which one are you? Care to remind me?" A strained grin tries to grace their face. They force themself to get up, clearly real now, what the hell? You reach to touch them and confirm it.
Why. Are you doing that?
This isn't real!
You feel the wetness soaking the cape they wear, can see the red of blood, can smell it, too.
"What the hell." Is all you can get out.
They huff, pulling away from you. They force themself to stand up to unsteady feet, a hand clutching their stomach.
"…aaand why am I alive?" A mutter under their breath, scowling at the pain. "It gets kinda old, y'know!" They look upward, but are greeted by nothing in return. "Fuck this, man… I was fine with that ending, too, ugh…"
They turn their resentful gaze toward you. "'Kay, soooooo. You look like me."
Well.
Yeah???
They glance around them, as if searching for something, but ultimately, they give up on that.
"…You look like me." You correct softly. Your voice shakes. "Am I going crazy?" The answer is yes, but hey, may as well ask.
They laugh.
You flinch back.
It's the worst sound you've heard, completely empty of amusement other than something sort of incredulous. They tilt their head at you, looking up at you — you're taller than them, oh.
"If you're crazy, then I'm crazy! …oops, I'm definitely crazy, so! The both of us must be!" They shove you aside, real, painfully real, and swing the door open. "So! Where are we, huh?"
"Miu's.. you wouldn't know who that is, um… my friend's residence."
They scrunch their nose at the sheer tone you have. "Holy fuck, you're too serious. Who says 'residence'??"
"…Me? I do? I just did?"
"It wasn't literal."
Wow, they are— just a hassle, quite frankly. Why do they have your face again? What even are they?
They hum as they step into the main room. You follow after them. God, how were you going to explain to Miu that some random guy just showed up?? That you're crazy now??? FUCK!!
They are NOSY, too!! Looking all around Miu's apartment like it holds the secrets of everything!!
Of course, unfortunately, Miu takes this second to return. She pauses, blinking wildly at the sight.
"…Did- did you just… do, like, spontaneous mitosis, errr, Sidefall?? What? Happened?"
Whoever this guy is freezes. Like is frozen. Like, he's still. Squints at Miu a bit, notices something, and pretends to relax. "No, I'm, I'm like— oh, ignore the blood—"
Oh. Right. They are kind of soaked in that. Weren't you having an inner monologue earlier about everything being scary? You kind of wish you could go back to that. This is way too much for you to keep up with.
"…Um, I think— uh, I don't even know, Miu," You breathe in. Breathe out. Calm down. Couldn't get worse, could it? It's allllll good. "He just, um… showed up?"
You probably shouldn't mention he came through her mirror. That'd be kinda freaky.
"You don't know???" Miu squeaks. "He looks just like you, Sidefall!" She gestures to them incredulously.
"I'm Sidefall." The other you raises their hand. "Uhh. That's gonna get confusing real quick, huh." They try for a smile, but it just does not work with how much they're shaking. "You can.. uh, just call me Sean?"
Oh. Huh. That's a normal name. It is probably the only normal thing about this… Sean guy.
"Ok." Miu sighs, burying her head in her hands. "Sean— Sean, where the hell did you come from? And why do you look like Sidefall?"
They take this moment to sit on Miu's table. Really respectful. So well-mannered. That's… good heavens.
"Uhhhhh. A mirror?" They point to her restroom. "And I came out of it after dying painfully!" They try to laugh, but it really does not come out right. "Uhhh, and I look like Sidefall 'caaaause… I dunno, I'm also Sidefall?"
Wow.
So. Helpful.
"That's not like… possible." You mutter. "I'm me. I'm not dead. Alternate… alternate universes, stuff like that— that's not real. So."
This kid has the audacity to facepalm.
"Ok, Sidefall, ugh, that feels weird— you have to get really cool with a lot of things reaaaally fast, okie doke?"