video;

[purestambition]

[Saretha sits as she often does when addressing the Network. She looks prim. Proper. Subdued and yet fully attentive and with an expression that appears as if she is outright demanding respect, whether or not she gets it, without saying a word.

However. There is a difference.

The camera is pulled back. The shot is wider.

Standing behind her is... also Saretha. Both appear functionally identical, right down to the Kamui worn by them. The only difference is negligible, and yet stark - Saretha's face is impassive, unflinching, while with "Saretha"... she currently wears a decided smirk, with a look in her eyes that foretells a danger all too real and far different from whatever Saretha herself offers.

Saretha, sitting, the real one, is who begins to speak.]

Do not be alarmed. I am not be coerced by my "other" here, and if you know me even remotely you know such a thing would be laughable. I am in no danger from her, not at present.

She--

[The doppelganger clears her throat, side-eyeing Saretha.] We really should make an attempt to distinguish ourselves at this point, my dearest Saretha. Satsuki will do, I think, yes?

[The doppelganger has a look of sick amusement in her eyes, while Saretha's jaw visibly clenches. She shoots a glare, and then continues on.]

She has given me an idea of how her and the other "doubles" have been standing in terms of perspective. Upon your inception, you knew not what you were. Nor did we. This led to a certain... level of misunderstanding about your intentions, I believe. Or yours about ours. Yet, between what they have experienced earlier in this month, and what Young said the other day... not to mention when I met her in January... and what Dr. Smith proposed to us before his Numbers stopped responding...

I was already reaching a state of clarity about what we are facing.

All... [Hn.] Satsuki here has done is verify that.

[The double smirks. Saretha gives her a look as if threatening to slit her throat.]

The initial monster, the snake, only woke upon the interference of the first alien. "Tiny." But... to what purpose? To what end? That alien obviously knew why. The way Young spoke before, these creatures are not things that were suddenly transplanted here. No, they have most assuredly been sleeping. Waiting.

The pink lights. The echo boundaries that result. The monsters, and their "offspring" - be it the snake's scales, our doubles, the Santas and Grinces... US. The way Young spoke of everything, of our souls, their souls, and everything that ties them together... All of us are connected, and not necessarily by way of the aliens.

Yet, Young seemed rather surprised we have not hunted down these doubles to kill them. Or perhaps she was disappointed that we instead stopped the Santas and Grinches in their goal to defrost whatever lay under Lapland.

Or maybe... both.

We know Benwick has been manipulating us. I know now why I trusted him where I trusted no one else in the world. It was very fortuitous that they set Young before us to speak, because that has opened my mind rather profoundly.

Tiny did not waken the snake to destroy us. Not then. No, the snake beneath Locke City, the shellfish in Las Vegas... those were never their weapons against us.

On the contrary, Young spoke very much - especially during the meeting with the Secretary of Defense, Lazarus, Shou, Benwick, and msyelf - as if they were beings to be destroyed. Aliens invading our planet, our Earth, that we know have been manipulating us. Manipulating the world, as is evident by Benwick's constant presence in the political limelight. Yet they... want us to destroy these creatures?

Tiny was no rebel.

Neither the monsters, nor their offspring, are our true opponents.

The aliens have been making us do their dirty work all along, setting us into a position where we would take out forces that could withstand untold damage. That could obliterate entire armies if roused.

We and our doubles share a common foe. And, I think, especially after everything that Young has said...

So do those monsters.

Comments

[Video]

[scarlet_devil]

[Emilia looks troubled, but there's one difference she has, and it comes in the form of a small bat-like creature with swan wings sitting on her shoulder. For the moment, little Tupai is asleep.]

I know these won't attack us. [She points to the sleeping bat-swan. As for Saretha... She'd not spoken to her much, but she didn't take her to be likely to make something like his up. So, the vampire will listen.] That fellow, the loud one with the beard? He sensed the crab-lobster's thoughts. It was flailing about in panic.

[Video]

[purestambition]

Arthur Curry. Yes, that is a valid point. And Young's subsequent description tracks with that, and if they are countless souls embodied into one being...

It explains much.

video/mindspeech

[wingsister]

[Enjoy the horse staring at you.]

:Are you saying the big pink snake was meant to be on our side?:

[That... doesn't seem right.]

video;

[purestambition]

[A... horse.

Both Sarethas look at each other. They blink.

Been awhile since there's been a talking horse on here, hasn't it?

They look back in unison, and the real Saretha nods.]

If acting upon the theory that Tiny was indeed not a "rebel," that may well be the case. It was shocked and sent on a rampage, woken forcibly by both the actions of Thunder Corp and the alien itself.

[video]

[feastorfamine]

[this has actually taken Amy by surprise - she's usually quick to know everything that Saretha has going on, and this has blindsided her. She can only figure it happened quickly... and what she's saying does sound incredibly important...

Hn. She has to focus on what she can, for now. She can't get worked up like this]

So... then the monster that appeared in Las Vegas... what the lobster cultists said, everything... they were right. They do have a connection to us.

If other creatures are going to appear just like that one, and they're our hope towards fighting them... That's really kind of a terrible choice, isn't it? We know what those things are capable of.

[Amy, perhaps better than anyone else]

[video]

[purestambition]

[Saretha's expression flickers, noticeably. She'll apologize to Amy later, this really had come up suddenly.

Still, she understands that could be hard to accept. Knowing full well that the second one, that monster in Vegas...

It had killed her brother.

Yet...

She does seem to understand, which brings a smile to her face. Offset by the smirk of "Satsuki" beside her.]

It is a horrible choice, but consider this... If these creatures have existed in this world, in our planet...

They may well have been there before we were. Before our cities and our population had become what it is today. It may be difficult to accept, but...

What is the alternative?

[Video]

[charcoalfeather]

[Rakka was shaken, right down to her core. She had never expected this.]

S-saretha, so you're saying that... [The words weren't coming to her nearly as fast as she wished they did. Her mouth opened, and closed, and opened again. Finally, she shook her head.] I can't believe it... You mean, they've been lying to us about everything?

[Video]

[purestambition]

["Satsuki" raises her brows, but says nothing. Saretha leans forward, nodding.]

Well, this is the information we've had staring us in the face. Can you draw any other conclusions from it, Rakka?

[Video]

[oncedevil]

Back when I first wrote down my numbers, the snake woke up shortly after. I'd talked to Shou, and he spoke of the snake as a god. Wise Snake, right? I remember it, almost got crushed by it. It seemed more... frightened?

And I remember Arthur mentioning the shellfish was too. I kinda wondered all this time if we weren't supposed to be helping the gods, rather than killing them. But what choice did we have at the time?

I guess what I'm saying is: What do we do now?

[Video]

[purestambition]

I received my Numbers upon the snake's appearance. In retrospect, you're not wrong.

What we know is that, combined with what Young told us. That these creatures, they are like millions souls, one to each cell of their being. She claimed all they seek is survival, but it makes me wonder...

Just what are they striking out against? What threatens them? Is it us, humanity, who has stood on this Earth for thousands upon thousands of years...

Or something different?

Something new?

[video]

[ruleorserve]

Not their weapons? You're quite sure of that?

[Words can and do mean so many things, after all. Not that he's any more fond of being manipulated than the next person. But still, best to be sure of the answer first, just in case.]

[video]

[purestambition]

The way Young spoke to us in that meeting with the Secretary, I rather got the impression she was an advocate of killing them.

That makes it pretty clear that these things are not theirs to use. If not that, then what?

[Voice]

[espigeonage]

That's... an uncomfortable twist to consider.

I remember Benswick lied, when I talked to him and asked if he can change people like Tiny and some of his uh forces could. He claimed he couldn't. A lot of us have been suspicious of those guys for a while. This, though.

[Voice]

[purestambition]

Remember that lie. Hold onto it. Be prepared to use it, in your mind, as a reminder.

We may be aware of Benwick's power, but... That doesn't mean it is not still in effect.

video

[bythewaves]

I knew Benedict was okay! [ Arnold grown men are not meant to fistpump ]

That's my double, I mean. Good! I've always wanted a brother. My other self had several! So I'm glad. Benedict'll be happy too, he was so miserable when he thought he wasn't real. Thank you for saying so.

video

[purestambition]

Well. "Okay" may be stretching it in some respects.

[Her own doppelganger gives a snort and laugh behind her. Saretha frowns.]

But they are definitely real, it is simply a question of... where our common enemy lies.

audio - original Marina

[dragon_blossom]

So we've just straight up killed our allies.

[ It was already sitting heavy inside her, and saying it out loud makes it much, much worse. A sinking, sickening feeling. ]

They exist to defend Earth. We do too. And they just...

...manipulated us.

audio

[purestambition]

If one looks at all the evidence, I am not sure what other conclusion we can draw.

There is always the off-chance I am wrong, but...

[Well, that's actually pretty rare on her end, yet even she isn't going to be pompous enough to boast that right now.]

Everything fits, with what we know.

[video]

[peacefulwinter]

Then what the hell have we been doing until now!? Everything... everything we've done, everything we've fought and bled for... it means nothing? Our losses to the snake, to the lobster, were because we were wrong!?

[An explosion like this is... uncharacteristic for Winter, though still technically possible. So it's probably her double. Hopefully.]

Damned aliens... that's the only other thing it could possibly be. They've been messing with us the whole damned time, haven't they? Ooh, they're going to get it when I'm through with them. Nobody uses me for their own stupid schemes and gets away with it! Except maybe Lily and Jas, and they don't count, they're special.

[video]

[purestambition]

[Saretha's eyebrows raise. Although it is technically possible for Winter to have an explosion like this, Saretha hasn't seen much of it since coming on the Network. Not quite like this. She casts a look back to her double, who gives a mild shrug, before focusing back onto the camera.]

Take it for what we have. That we know what these Animals can do. That we may have a goal in mind. That we have an idea of where both our sides lie in matters...

[She pauses and purses her lips. The last comment seals it for her, because... from what she's seen, the Tsukuyomi sisters aren't exactly the type to "use" Winter for any schemes.]

We are to contend with the same enemy, potentially. No matter which Winter you might be.

[Video]

[guitar_case_vagabond]

[So, let's get down to brass tacks, shall we?]

There is no way in Hell I'm working with that other me after what that fucking bitch pulled in Vegas!

[She's not exactly giving "Satsuki" the warmest of looks either.]

[Video]

[purestambition]

[Saretha doesn't blink or hesitate in her response, she simply nods.]

I don't blame you, and I cannot disagree. This does not give our doubles a free pass, in any regard...

If she continues to act as she has, continues to bring harm to others... She will be dealt with.

[Her expression hardens, knowing full well that the other Raye can see this just as well as her actual sister.] Accordingly.

Audio;

[knights_king]

Nobody knows the future. You've gotta deal with things when they come.

If we hesitated, a lot more people would have gotten hurt and died.

Audio;

[purestambition]

We were lulled into something where we had little choice, yes. But...

We may well have ensured many more deaths for our actions, at the same time.

[evowhisperer]

*The video may well be the first shot she's actually seen of him directly. His face has half-healed bruises from what must've been a direct hit to the nose, and he's holding a paper sign.*

'This isn't good news.

If everything you've said about Locke and Las Vegas' guardians is true, then we have no real way to replace them. What happens if a situation arises when the guardians would've been called?

Has anyone mentioned secondary guardians? Redundancies?

[purestambition]

[Her eyes widen briefly, but she focuses quickly enough.]

I think, when it comes down to it...

You're looking at the redundancies. Here. Or when you look into a mirror.