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America. A great place. A place full of life, technology, and wonder – at least that's what they wanted you to think. And a place that Alfred F. Jones adored living in. It wasn't like what the government advertised was wrong, exactly... And Alfred actually quite like the rushed, noisy, on-edge atmosphere they neglected to mention. He could even live with the squalor and increasing poverty.

But that was not to say that the American (New York, born and bred) did not let out a sigh of relief as he finally stepped into his apartment. Not yet a home, this place was undecorated and unremarkable, and he eyed the final boxes in the corner of his room with a wary reluctance.

...Just having one small bite to eat couldn't hurt.

It was almost an hour and ten doughnuts later that he finally turned from the kitchen to tackle the last unpacked boxes. It didn't take too much effort, luckily – one box was just a load of Alfred's DVDs, and the other, his games consoles and Virtuous™. Once the boxes were unpacked, there was only one thing left to do – turn on his Mirror.

This. This was it. The technology he'd been looking forward to seeing since his classmate Kiku 'leaked' the prototype a few years ago (Alfred was sure it had been on purpose).

And so here Alfred stood, in front of his Mirror, excited to try out this new AI. The idea was, it had been confirmed, that a reflection of yourself would appear on the mirror, only instead of copying the original owner, the Reflection would move independently within the mirror. You could therefore converse with your mirror , and it, being you, could offer you a fresh perspective on your life, giving you both advice and companionship. It was an excellent idea, and one that Alfred was both enthusiastic and proud to have the opportunity to use.

So what was it they had said? Stand facing your mirror – check, Alfred said to himself. Gently brush over the start/setup button and... wait for it to set up. Alfred did so, eagerly awaiting his Reflection's appearance as he went over the setup protocol in his head. The Reflection should be set up and working within five minutes, and then you just had to go through some movements for it to copy and adjust to it's 'body', as it were.

Only a few moments after Alfred had started humming contentedly to himself, the mirror made a small whooshing noise to show it had finished booting up, and the American grinned with fervour as he watched his image fade in – golden blonde hair, sparking blue eyes, and a joyful smile not quite adult but far beyond child.

At least, that's what should have happened.

So imagine Alfred's surprise when a pair of very, incredibly green eyes looked blankly back at him, underneath a mop of messy, straw hair, and a blank, almost bored-looking twenty-something year old.

Alfred took a step back.

The Reflection took a step back.
Alfred's eyes widened.
The Reflection's eyes widened.

It was acting exactly like a normal reflection would, just like the book had said it would at first, but this most definitely was not Alfred's Reflection.

"What the hell?!"

"What the hell?!"

Alfred racked his brain, staring at the Reflection. It wasn't him, so he hadn't mistaken it for a normal mirror. The manual had explained that the Reflection would copy your movements at first to adjust itself to the system – he cursed inwardly when he realised he hadn't followed protocol and just done hand movements, though it was understandable given that his reflection was of some other fucking person.

"Okay... okay..." Alfred looked up to find that the Reflection had finished setting and was now watching him curiously. The mirror had definitely been reset since its last use – it had been a blank slate when Alfred had arrived, and he had followed the rest of the manual perfectly. But maybe it hadn't... what if the reset had messed up somewhere? Ah, it would likely just be that. Yes, Alfred thought, nodding to himself. I'll just call up technical support and they'll have it sorted in no time. He should probably ask the AI some questions first, though, in case it proved useful.

Standing, resolve strengthened, Alfred looked up at the image in the mirror, which was still staring up at him.

"...I'm not you," it commented, at the same time as Alfred pointed out that 'you're not me'.

Right. So it knew that much at least. "Do you know who you are? Why you're here?"

"Of course." The Reflection seemed almost affronted. Did it have someone else's personality too? "I am a Mirror Guardian, AI software designed to give a second perspective on my owner's life. My name is Arthur Kirkland. And I don't believe you are my owner."

That confirmed it. The last owner had just fucked up the reset. "Alright, so where is he now? Only he can reset you, right?"

"...I don't know."

Alfred stared at the Reflection - 'Arthur'.

"I've only just been woken. I assumed he was here." Arthur continued, his own brow furrowing in confusion.

"What?" When he only received a blink in response to his question, Alfred gritted his teeth. "You've not been awake before?"

"Not to my knowledge."

Right. This original 'Arthur' guy must've been an idiot with technology to have messed up so badly. Alfred simply shook his head and fished his mobile from his pocket, letting an avalanche of lint and old tissue paper tumble out too. It didn't take him long to find the helpline he'd need and he quickly called them up.

After a few rings, there was a crackling, then a tinny voice spoke up. "Hello, help and service for Mirror Guardians, how can I help?"

"Yeah, hi, there's a problem with my Mirror. I just moved in and turned it on and everything, but the Reflection's not me." Alfred heard the person on the other end pause in thought, before humming softly.

"Can you tell us the Mirror's model code and location?"

Glancing over at the Mirror, Alfred frowned before tracing his finger around the outside until he found the grooves showing the Mirror's serial. "Uhh... B179. I live in apartment J3 in the NYC Freedom block."

"Oooookay." Tapping - probably from a keyboard. "Last owner of the apartment was a Mr Arthur Kirkland. According to our date, reset process began at 7:16PM on the twenty-second of September. Every step was carried out, it seems."

"So you mean it was reset properly?" Alfred threw a hurried glance at the Reflection.

"It seems so..." the woman on the other line said slowly. "I can ask around, see if there's been any similar events or if anybody knows what could be happening. We might have to send someone round to check it out."

"That's fine."

"If all else fails, I'm sure we would be able to reset it again."

"Okay. Thanks."

"We'll get back to you in about a week. Goodbye!" The phone call ended cheerfully, and then with a click, and Alfred was left alone in silence with his Reflection – no, not his, some other man's. Shit, he wasn't even able to turn it off now it was on.

"...Looks like we've got a week together, then."

"Indeed it does."

A/N

Hello! Sage here with my first (finished) fic. This is dedicated to my girlfriend for our 6 month anniversary. I was meant to upload it anyway, but... haha.

Anyway, happy 6 month, babe!

I hope you guys like it, and as this is my first fic here, if you think there's anything I can improve on or anything you like, please tell me so I can get better~ Or if there's anything you want to see in future chapters.

Thanks for reading!