melodiesoflife | I'm So Sorry, Kupo

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I'm So Sorry, Kupo

WHO: Akane Kurashiki
WHAT: Possessed by the spirit of a vengeful Moogle, Akane isn't quite herself these days, kupo. It's high time she created herself an army of equally vengeful zombies. Kuppopo.
WHEN: October 20th - ???
WHERE: Aqures Ixen
NOTES: Feel free to Plurk or PM me, or use the plotting post, if you would like your character to interact with Akane in some way. If she kills you, I can send you instructions so you can go out and wreak havoc. If you want to tussle with her too, I can probably roll with that!

Akane kept looking at her hands. It was so strange to possess such long, slender fingers. She was so much taller, too...but her body felt awkward and heavy. Moving around in it took some getting used to, but with Akane's memories and knowledge at her disposal, it wasn't too difficult.

She sat down at her desk and held her head in her hands, closing her eyes. She had a plan. Of course she did. But that plan had to remain flexible, not rigid, if she was going to have any luck seeing it come to fruition. That was part of the reason why she wore a long, thin dagger at her waist...for improvisation, kupo.

Naturally the housemates had to be the first ones to go. They would notice something off first. And there was the brother, too. Akane took a sheet of paper and began to write. The brother, at least, would be ridiculously easy. He wouldn't question a thing if she played her cards right...

'Aoi,

I need your help. I can't tell you everything, and we have to be very careful over the next several days. The business with the Ultima WEAPON isn't yet complete, and if we don't want to see the city destroyed, I'm going to need you to follow my instructions. What I have to ask you will seem cruel, but once you realize the truth, you will understand why I've had to keep my secrets. Please meet me at once outside of the city gates where we can speak in private.

Love,
Akane'

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Aoi doesn't write a letter in response. They're too easy to intercept, or to trace, and it sounds like Akane needs this kept on the down low. He sends Crash Kupo to manage the bank and so he take a couple day off. Then he hurries to the city gates.

He looks around. "Akane, you here? Whadda you need me to do?"

Akane turned her head to look her brother. There were already tears clinging to her lashes as she looked at him with her wide violet eyes. "You came, kupo!" A tentative smile twitched at the corners of her lips before she turned the rest of herself around to face him. That ghost of a smile didn't last, however, and her gaze dropped to the grass.

"It's awful... Someone's managed to take control of our doppelgangers out there, and they've slowly been infiltrating us one by one. I think...I think some of us may already be dead, or kidnapped, or... I-I'm not sure, kupo," she shook her head. "But they've been doing this for a while, trying to get their hands on the Ultima WEAPON by replacing the people we trust and care about most with their own puppets."

Her fingers knit tightly in the hem of her tunic. "What we have to do...it's a terrible thing. And people who haven't been taken over won't understand. But between the two of us, I think...I think we can put a stop to it, kuppopo. Before it's too late."

"Of course I came." Was that even ever a question? He's not sure what's with all the 'kupo's though. She must be really upset to be resorting to such weird speech. She does look kind of...feverish. Crap, the situation must really be bad.

"We'll stop the dopplegangers, don't worry. Tell me who they are and I'll take 'em out. We'll save everybody we can save, same as always." Just another day in the life of the Crash Keys.

Edited 2016-10-27 03:50 (UTC)

Akane smiled through her tears, reaching out to grasp her brother's hands and squeeze them in gratitude. "Okay. Thankkupo you. You're the only one I can really trust." She let her head tip forward as she closed her eyes, as if concentrating on feeling some sort of psychic frequency in the air.

"It will be very dangerous. Sephiroth...he may be contaminated. He's been acting so strangely lately. And you've seen the window that bears his image, where he's cutting down the Heroes. There really can't be any doubt, but...it's a serious matter, isn't it? I'll let you know once I'm completely certain." Akane took a breath. "Test him. You can create illusions with the job you have now, can't you? Create a situation that would cause him to attack, and if his actions are violent, he will have revealed his doppelganger nature."

She had to be cautious. The young man was gullible when it came to his little sister, but if she sent him on a rampaging murder spree, even he would begin to question his assignment. Best to start out slow and build up to it. He was her most valuable tool, because he would cooperate without operating as one of the undead. No, she wasn't about to risk it by asking him for too much too soon.

Aoi nodded. It wasn't all that different than the Nonary Game.

"Yeah, like we did to get that asshole Ace to show his true colors, 'cept using magic instead of psychology. Ok. I can do it."

If anyone could provoke someone to violence, it was Aoi. If Sephiroth was a doppleganger, Aoi would make him prove it.

"And if he is...?"

"Yes. It should be much easier this time as a result," she nodded.

As for what if? They both knew the answer to that. "Well," she sighed, as if it were some minor annoyance, "I suppose we'll just have to kill him. But if I'm the one to strike the last blow, I think I'll be able to make him work for us instead of the culprit responsible for all of this. Maybe we can get him to tell us who he's working for."

Her response was almost chillingly nonchalant. But then her shoulders wilted, and her head seemed heavier. "I think Hisui is a doppelganger sent to spy on me as well. If he finds out I know that he's against us..." Akane shook her head dismally. "I know he'll be watching me closely. But you might have better luck getting to him. And there's one other..."

Akane cupped a hand to the side of her mouth and leaned in to whisper confidentially to Santa. Never mind that they were out on the plains where they could see all around them, once could never be too careful. Especiallly when some Heroes had the Invisibility skill!

Aoi nodded. The threat had to be really serious for Akane to suspect the guy he was sure she liked. He wasn't surprised to hear the calm ruthlessness in her voice as she talked about killing people. That was her resolve to protect their family and the world as a whole.

"Ok. I'll do it. I'll find them and bring them to you, and if you can't get them to repent, we'll make sure they don't hurt anyone else."

"Okay-kupo," she agreed, releasing a shuddering breath and offering up a nervous little smile. "Thank you. If I had to do it on my own, I don't know if I could." Akane looked down at her hands, her fingers twitching and jerking, and she laughed a little. "Look at me, we haven't even done anything yet and I'm already shaking! It's so pathetic, kupo...!" She brushed her cheeks with the long hem of her robe sleeves and took one great sniff to calm herself down.

"Be safe, Aoi. You don't know just how important you really are to me." He was her most invaluable tool, and she meant to use him to the fullest.

Aoi eyed her shaking hands, frowning. "You sure you're not getting sick? Maybe you should go rest. You don't gotta push yourself so hard."

He waved off her concern for him. "You know I know how to take care of myself. 'cept that one time I got sick. I got this."

Maybe her sickness and verbal ticks were tied to connecting to problems in the Morphogenetic Fields, like when she got fevers back in Nevada. Best for her to rest until Aoi could right whatever was wrong with their timeline.

"I...!" She looked as if she wanted to protest, and her eyes flicked back and forth as she searched his face. Then she exhaled, sagging in place as she relented. "Maybe you're right. I haven't been able to sleep since I found out. It's too risky to let my guard down."

She rubbed at her eyes and brushed at her cheeks. "Maybe I'll rent a room at the inn. No one will expect that, I don't think, and it'll help me clear my head and think in a safe place. Thank you, kupo."

Turning toward the city gates, she was quiet for a moment, as though gathering her resolve. "All right. Let's go."

Aoi nodded. It wasn't paranoia if corrupt pharmaceutical CEOs and crazy cult leaderspeople were really out to get you.

"You need gil for that? Remember, use cash, not your bank card, if you want to make sure nobody can trace it back to you." That was, like, basic 'life on the run' stuff, but Aoi figured a reminder wouldn't hurt if Akane was feeling really off at the moment.

"I'll come help you get settled in," he declared. That way, he'd know Akane was safe.

[[OOC: wanna wrap here, or was there anything else you wanted to do?]]

[OOC: That covers it! Feel free to threadjack the Duster one below.]

Something was wrong

Something had been wrong since a week ago, when Heroes were being attacked by their own. And not in the possessed way Duster had when controlled by Narasimha. This was planned. There were four that were determined the most suspicious after a while: Chiaki, Meredy, Sonic...and Akane. There was no way Akane could do something like this. It wasn't like her.

But what worried Duster just as much was Aoi's sudden disappearance. One day, he just stopped talking to Duster, and that could not mean anything good. Whether because he was distraught over Akane or because he got...

No. That can't happen.

That fear was shoved to the back of his mind while fighting off the zombies that just wouldn't leave. Every day, a new sighting. Every day, worrying about who would be taken next. Aoi couldn't be among them. He couldn't. He couldn't.

Akane didn't go out much. Why would she? There were hordes of zombies roaming around, both of her roommates went missing, and her brother came to check up on her frequently. It wasn't safe to go out, and with her fledgling jobs, she wouldn't have lasted more than a few minutes out there on her own.

So she said, anyway.

The door to her quiet and mostly empty house was locked tight, the windows shuttered, and there was a sign on the front lawn that said 'ZOMBIES KEEP OUT KUPO!' Probably put there by Akane's Moogle friend. ...Probably.

So if Duster was coming to Akane's house to speak with her personally, he wasn't about to get a warm reception right off the bat.

"Akane? Akane!" Duster pounded on the front door. If she had been turned into a zombie, he had to know if she was in there with her roommates. All of the Heroes needed to be accounted for.

"Akane, can you hear me?!" He held an ear to the door. There wasn't any sound. The house was big, maybe they were upstairs. Yeah, that was it. Or they could be very quiet and the Heroes locked themselves up on the second floor.

He stepped away from the front door and eyed the roof of the neighboring house. That'll provide a better view, he thought. Through a window, he'd be able to see if there was someone still inside or if there were any hints of someone having been there today. With one Jump, he leaped onto the brown tiles and searched the darkness of the windows.

There wasn't much to see. The curtains were drawn on the second floor, and no one seemed to have any lights on in their rooms. But if he was listening closely, he'd hear a slight rattle and a click outside near the front door, and a quiet creak.

Akane came to see who was yelling out ~~the name of her puppet~~ her name, unlatching the door just enough to peek outside. But not seeing anyone on the front porch, she frowned to herself and shut the door, locking it tight again.

Duster's breath hitched. Akane was alright, though holing up in the house. He wasn't surprised. Junpei couldn't be left alone.

He dropped to an overhang, his metal armor striking the wood with a loud noise. The streets remained deserted, but the fear that the zombies would come after him was there. He had to check in on her and defend the house. He dropped to the stone street, still nervous, and knocked again. This time, he didn't run.

It took a while for her to answer. If he was particularly observant, he might have noticed a small puppet peeking around the corner of the house before it quickly darted out of sight. Whatever it had to report to its owner must have been good, because the same rattle and click of locks and latches being unfastened came again before Akane cautiously cracked the door open.

"Ah...yes, kupo?"

The Moogle-like puppet peeked out from between her legs as well, regarding Duster with its mechanically stoic face.

Aoi had been checking up on Akane pretty regularly. He was trying to give his sister some space now that they both had houses and stuff, so instead of teleporting directly in to her house, he appeared on her porch so he could knock before letting himself in ~~with the key he stole and copied~~.

And there was Duster, who he had been trying to avoid this week. Awkward. He didn't want his boyfriend seeing the more ruthless side of himself. Aoi knew he had to do what Akane said, to keep the world and the people he loved safe. But it was one thing for him to tell Duster about it, and something completely different for him to actually see it in action.

"Ummmm...hey."

Duster jerked at the sight of a small person standing by the house at the corner of his eye, but it was too fast for him to get a better look. He hoped it was a cowardly zombie. He hoped it was only his imagination. He didn't know which was the better scenario.

Most of all, he hoped it would show up while waiting for Akane to open the door. His eyes widened at the unusual choice of word, but he was interrupted by another voice beside him.

"Aoi? You're alright!" His day got better, even if only for a few seconds. Aoi was safe.

"Where were you?"

It almost breaks Aoi's resolve, hearing the relief and the excitement in Duster's voice. Who has ever been that happy to see him?

But no, he's still got work to do. He can't just go over and embrace Duster.

"I've been...around. Busy, trying to help stop all the weird stuff that's been goin' on. You know."

It sounds so lame.

Akane, too, brightened for a moment at the sight of ~~her most prized puppet~~ her brother returning to her side. But as she watched the two of them speak, a strangely flat look crossed her face, twisting into an expression she didn't usually wear. They were ignoring her, kupo...!

"Did you come to see my brother, or to see me?" she spoke plaintively, her grip tightening on the doorknob. Akane looked as if she wanted to say more, but she locked her jaw and restrained herself. If she lost her temper now and let her facade slip, then that deep trust this fool placed in her might begin to waver.

Duster spun his head to Akane, then to Aoi, then back to Akane. His romantic reunion was cut short before the sparkles could appear, but then again, a zombie invasion is the last place to have a romantic reunion.

"Both of you," he insisted. "I was worried since I didn't see you two in days! What if you were killed by zombies, or raising the dead, or--"

He shut his mouth. There couldn't be anything worse that turning into a Necromancer. There couldn't.

"But we're all here now, and that's what matters. We need to get inside."

Aoi frowned a little at Duster. He couldn't think something like that about them.

"We can take care of ourselves. You don't gotta worry 'bout us." The Kurashikis had always worked better on their own. How were they supposed to get anything done in a group with a bunch of untrustworthy people, huh?

"C'mon. You're right, it's not safe out here." He didn't see any reason not to bring Duster in with them.

At Duster's insistence that they move inside, Akane shot her brother a nervous little look, holding his gaze for a few meaningful seconds before looking back at the moustachioed man on her porch. Quietly she stepped back, holding the door open, but keeping herself behind it as if it were a shield...all the while watching Duster very carefully.

"My brother is right, kupo. We've been watching out for each other all this time. It's why we're still alive." She didn't close the door until Santa was safely inside, then she locked, latched, and bolted it firmly with one last quick peek between the boards on the window.

"I'd offer you tea, but the kitchen's a mess right now." Especially with a few splatters of Ellana's blood on the table and floor.

Duster entered, giving Akane a concerned glance. She was justifiably nervous, but there was something...off about her. It was likely something minor that would be rude to bring up in conversation, but an uneasy feeling hung in the air.

His hand reached for Aoi's once the two were inside and the door secure. "Don't worry about me. Where were you this whole time? Heroes are missing every day and turning into these...Necromancers, and I had no idea what happened to you two this whole time!"

Aoi let Duster take his hand, twining their fingers together. He didn't get why Akane was giving him the look. Duster wasn't any danger to them. He was the only person beside Akane that Aoi knew he could trust. Maybe she was still not feeling well. They'd both been working so hard lately...

"Duster, I told you before...about how Akane's special. She knew something was going on from the start, and we've been tryin' to stop it." The pride was clear in his voice. Nobody else could do what Akane did.

Akane just nodded once silently, looking more and more self-conscious and uncomfortable as she took a seat in one of the armchairs. "It's not safe for anyone out there, kupo. Of course we had to lay low." Of the doppelgangers she said nothing, instead picking up a long knife from the coffee table and laying it on her lap with an uneasy glance at the door, then the windows.

"Then why didn't you come to the labs?" He stepped towards Akane, only for Aoi's grip to hold him back. Duster resigned to leaning at her direction. "We can help you out with whatever! We have to work together!"

His eyes held desperation back when he looked back at Aoi. "Teleport us. It's not safe here."

"No way! We can't go to where the others are. Don't you get it? Some of the Heroes aren't who you think they are. They've been compromised."

He tightened his grip on Duster's hand, confused about why Duster was getting so worked up and why Akane wasn't saying anything to help him understand. He looked at his sister.

"Tell him, Akane. We can trust him. Tell him he needs to stay with us so we can protect him." He didn't even care that there were zombies outside, not when the only two people who mattered were here with him.

Akane was quiet, her eyes locked on Duster. Even when her brother spoke to her, she said nothing, still staring at the older man. Finally, when she did speak, she had to wet her lips as the words stuck in her throat.

"Two months ago, I told you about a certain item I wanted to request from Cid." She gripped the fabric of her skirt a little tighter as she paused, then continued.

"What item was it?"

He didn't understand. What was it that she wanted? He hated these moments where he was being dumb, the moron who forgot conversations from two months ago. Duster shook his head as he stared worryingly at Akane, his grip ever tightening.

"I don't remember...I'm sorry..." Something awful was happening outside, and an extra awful thing was happening inside this house. He had no clue whether what Akane had found was good or bad. He wanted everything cleared up and for all of them to escape together to safety.

"What? No. Akane, no. Duster isn't one of them. I know him."

He moved himself between the two of them, letting Duster's hand drop. Silently, he willed Duster to remember whatever it was Akane had told him. Then Akane could drop her suspicions and they could all work together against the real threat.

Akane's gaze was sympathetic as she gazed at her brother, full of pity and apology for what had to happen next. She didn't yet rise from her seat, but her fingertips edged that much closer to the handle of her knife. Duster had failed the doppelganger test.

In truth, there was no way he could have passed that test to begin with. She'd rigged it so he would fail, as his fretting and demands were going to get in the way of their plans. He had to go.

"Aoi...would you please feed Jumpy, kupo?" she asked him quietly. He didn't need to be here for this.

Duster wished Aoi was still holding his hand. If Akane weren't moving her hand, he would take her as being upset that he forgot something so important. He was sure he forgot, there was no other reason Akane would ask him.

"Not one of what? What are you talking about?" He looked at Aoi for answers.

Aoi was facing Akane now. He just couldn't accept that Duster was a threat. That murdering thing had been somebody else controlling him. Duster would never do anything like that. "Feed your own fatass rabbit, Akane!"

He reaches a hand back blindly to give Duster a push backward. "Duster, it's fine. Maybe you should go for now. We'll talk later."

This wasn't happening. He was not going to leave the two of them alone until they were all on the same page about who the real enemy was.

Akane's mouth fell open in silent shock. "You...why would you speak to me that way, kupo? My own brother...!"

Her hands were shaking as she wrapped her slim fingers around the handle of the knife as she rolled up onto her feet, pain and distress clearly written all over her face. "I knew it. I knew you would choose him over me. I tried to save you the pain, because you would be too weak to do it yourself. Even with all of the evidence, you can't do it."

Tears were beginning to swell in her eyes, threatening to spill over her lashes. "Maybe this is what you wanted all along...to let him wrap his hands around my n-neck, kupo, and choke the life out of me. Then you'd be free of me forever...is that it...? IS IT?!" she suddenly screamed with a shrill harshness in her voice that sharply contrasted against her quavering and quiet fear.

"Akane!"

He wasn't to run away. Not when Aoi was in danger. Duster gripped his arm, pulling him closer to himself and the door.

"What are you saying? I'd never do anything like that! Is this..." He bit his lip and swallowed. "Are you mad at me? I'm sorry! Just...what are you planning to do?!"

His eyes went to the knife on her hand. He wasn't going to engage in combat with a distressed, armed friend, but if she wouldn't stop any other way...

...He'd make sure she only be unconscious.

Shit, everything was falling apart. Aoi knew how ruthless Akane could be. He knew she'd never hurt her brother, but Duster...

"Akane, I'm not choosin' anybody. I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you, you fuckin' know that!"

He took a step toward her, pulling against Duster's hold. "Let's just leave him. If he's bein' controlled, we gotta deal with the one pullin' the strings. There's no reason to hurt him, so just put down the knife."

He couldn't look at Duster. Last time Duster was being mind-controlled, Aoi had gotten murdered. He didn't want to look in his boyfriend's eyes and see his killer there.

Akane didn't answer with words. Instead she released a blood-curdling shriek of anguish and hatred as she rushed toward the duo, hefting the knife high as she prepared to bring it down on her target: Duster's face. If her useful tool persisted in interfering, she would cut him too, and consider it a lesson for him to learn not to stand in the way of her goals.

Duster's hand slid out of Aoi's as Akane ran at him, brandishing her knife and screaming. Friend or not, the reasonable thing was to duck and rush toward the door. Duster reached out for the doorknob, still facing his attacker.

This couldn't happen. It couldn't. Aoi threw himself at Akane and activated his teleportation powers. Akane would cool down and listen to reason when he got her by herself. For now, he just had to get the two of them out of here. He'd...figure out a way to explain it to Duster later. Hopefully.

In one quick blip, the two of them were gone, leaving behind a silent house that didn't even so much as creak when the wind blew.

But wherever they reappeared, the sound of Akane's mad shrieking was a sonic explosive as she collided with her brother's arm, the knife stretched out to stab at nothing. Having been robbed of her target, Akane jerked back, her eyes wide with confusion.

They they began to swell up with tears.

"Why...why did you stop me, kupo? What did I do wrong?!" She dragged a hand down her face in crazed frustration. "Why is this happening?"

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I'm So Sorry, Kupo

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somwhere outside?

Assuming he went to her house? idek

Sure

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Thread-jacking wooohooooo

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