Encounter of the Other Selves
This certainly was not what she expected.
This world was not her own, which made her frown form dimples. Buildings made of cement towered over her. She believed she was in some sort of shopping district, industrialized and mechanical to the point where she could still smell the lingering fumes of long gone vehicles. She stomped down the paved sidewalk, taking in the cracks beneath her boots and observing her passive reflection in the dark windows. She gazed at modern clothing, graphic tees and jeans, and the latest in electronics beckoning her in another store, goods unavailable in her original world.
It was like a world her other self had seen, but it was new nonetheless. Certainly, it was much better than an endless void, but she hadn't expected to end up in a strange city after finally managing to open a dimensional rift. She was still unused to technology and modernization. It was the electricity she could feel crackling in the phone lines above her head and the overbearing honking of cars as they shot past her that made her skin crawl with goosebumps.
Not a lick of magic existed in the world. It was replaced with technology and science. She couldn't sense anyone with any prowess for even the most basic of spells. She wrinkled her nose and stepped to the crosswalk, the red lights forcing her to halt.
A spark raced up her arm, and her eyes widened. Somewhere, she sensed a coming aura. Compared to the vibrantly commercial world, the rustic sensation of magic felt like a wave of nostalgia. She quickly jerked her head, feeling the presence coming closer only to regain her composure when she looked straight ahead.
She caught eyes with the girl across the street. Deep green clashed with hollow magenta. She remained resolute, refusing to back down from a challenge. The numbers slowly counted down from when they would battle, and she found herself clenching her fists as the smirk the other girl wore tore deeper into her cheek.
With the signal given and cars coming to a screeching halt, they walked. Long and slow, deliberate in their steps, they sauntered towards each other. She made out the other girl's outfit, the trickling of magic swelling up inside of her like a blooming flower. Purple robes and a witch's cap, reminding her of an old friend, came into view in the twilight. The long oak rod tapped at the girl's side, and she carried a straw basket, odd, violet fumes wafting from underneath a checkered cloth.
"Care for an apple?" crooned the girl as they stopped inches from one another. "For a traveller, you must be hungry."
"How considerate, but I'll pass." She glanced at the numbers reaching their half-way mark. Only ten seconds remained.
"Are you sure? They're my treats. I craft them with care." She held out an apple, cerulean blue on the bottom and topped in a purple caramel.
"I was unaware such a delicacy could exist."
Five seconds counted down. Drivers slammed on their horns, interrupting their pleasant conversation. The lights changed to green, and drivers roared for them to move. The girls paid the insipid people no mind at all, focusing on the other with cold, analytical eyes. This challenge was once in a lifetime, and no one could interfere with their bout, each wondering when the other would break.
One foolish man dared to smash his foot on the pedal and burst forward, his car a blinding red as he madly rushed towards them. Other drivers erupted in screams, but they had the gall to smirk. With a snap of her fingers, she opened a rift full of comets and stars, which to the normal humans appeared like a torn cloth in the fabric of their reality. The car sped through it, the breeze kicking around them, and the other girl clutched her hat, her apples threatening to bounce out of the basket, but her smile remained.
"Impressive. Warping magic?"
"That's right." She tilted her head, allowing the girl to follow her.
As the rift sewed itself, the girls, cloaked in the darkness of night, vanished from the sight of the screaming drivers. Desperate people flashed their phones in their directions, but none could catch their visage. All they caught as their cameras flashed were black swathes in the night, blurred distortions that could not be made out, and no one would rightfully believe them if they screamed their truth to the rest of the world.
"And your name is…?"
"Well, since I live here, I guess it's only fair to say my name first." The other girl raised her hat. "I'm Ringo Ando, and at the same time, I'm not Ringo Ando."
"Ah, so, we're the same." She chuckled. "No wonder you and I were drawn to each other."
"As if fate brought us together."
"Arle Nadja is who I am regardless of what my other self says," the doppelganger replied, extending her hand.
"Poison Ringo is what I'm called in this world." Ringo shook her hand with the grace of a newborn devil.
"Interesting. Could it be you're called that because of your poisoned apples?"
She laughed, a honeyed, cruel tone piercing through the starry sky. "Oh, that would be so simple! Some are poisoned, but others aren't. They're all different and packed to the brim with my magic. Some can make you grow, others can make you combust." She tossed one in the air. "You won't know until you try one."
Arle patted her shoulder. "Well, I'm not so eager to die yet that I'd blindly bite into it."
Ringo shrugged. "Suit yourself.. Need a place to rest for the night? From one magical being to the other, of course."
"And I was thinking this place lacked even the slightest bit of magic," she said, nodding. "Sure. I'll take you up on it. This world might be a bit interesting after all."
Ringo's laughter heightened once again, becoming a devious cackle that would have made normal beings tremble. Arle grinned as well, calm in the presence another sorceress and rolled her shoulders back. It seemed she had found a kindred spirit, a fellow doppelganger, and they left in tandem, leaving behind no trace of their existence in such a boring world.