Title: Gemini Twins: Finding Hyde
Fandom: Real Person Fiction, 我是歌手 | I Am a Singer (China TV) RPF, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
Characters: Dimash Kudaibergen (Qudaibergen), Hyde Kudaibergen (Qudaibergen) (OMC)
Tags: Deception, Secrets, Darkness, Gemini Twins
Description: Dimash thought he knew his family history, but an unexpected photograph guides him onto a dark path of deception, secrets and a single question: Who is Hyde?
Gemini Twins: The common name for Dimash and Hyde Qudaibergen. The concept behind Hyde's character came about because of the song "Mademoiselle Hyde" by Dimash. Check out the official performances of "Mademoiselle Hyde" on Dimash's Official YouTube Channel.
THIS STORY COMES WITH COVER ART. I cross-posted this story. To see the image, please go to my AO3 (Archive of Our Own) account (under the same username, RainbowSheltie).
BETA: Annabelle
Today was a clear, sunny day of 90°F (32°C) weather—everywhere but in the northern outskirts of town. Dark clouds were gathering around the Newhaven desert testing site, a large area over 100 miles (160 km) wide surrounded by tall barbed wire fencing. In the heart of the area there was a massive compound that included a deserted laboratory and testing center. Official accounts said they were completely shut down 50 years ago.
But in reality, except for the underground labs, they were still in operation, run by a group called "DimashAli," so named for its two founders, Dimash and Ali. This was one of several groups that had been created when the compound first opened, but now it was the only one left.
Dimash knew all of this, because his parents were scientists there and Dimash occasionally came with them to the lab. The story was that Dimash had been born in the compound while his mother was working on an experiment.
He was now 25, and had moved out of his parents' house years ago. He never questioned his upbringing until an unmarked envelope was slipped under his apartment door a few days ago. It was a picture of his family. His parents were sitting on the couch, each holding a small, identical child, who wore tiny, cone-shaped party hats with silver pom poms on top. On the back was written:
Dimash and Hyde Qudaibergen, with their parents, at Hyde's last birthday party. We'll miss you, Hyde!
He had rushed to look at one of his old picture albums, flipping through the pages until he found another picture with the same two boys. It was a picture of Dimash and the same identical boy, sitting on a picnic blanket, eating from a shared snack bowl. Dimash's parents had told him the other boy belonged to one of their neighbors, whose family had moved away shortly after the picture was taken.
Two conflicting accounts, and one missing boy. Who was Hyde?
The day after Dimash received the photo, another envelope was slipped under his door. Inside was a map with instructions and a note:
Tomorrow, 6 AM
The old refinery, west side
This is your only chance to find the truth before it's destroyed.
A thick forest lined the backside of the refinery. Dimash parked a few blocks away, and found the hidden trail which ran parallel to the refinery. He walked down the path until he came upon a small parking lot with the three abandoned semi-trucks, parked near some loading docks. Dimash searched the ground until he found a small red flag, marking the trail he should take into the forest; they would be guides, and he was instructed to pick them up as he passed.
The trail eventually led him into the densest part of the forest, a foreboding place where the forest canopy blocked the moonlight and threw the woods into pitch darkness. An eerie feeling crawled up his spine.
Dimash took out his phone and turned on the flashlight.
The rustling of the wind through the trees, the nocturnal animals scurrying around, and the sound of the insects all combined to create a familiar backdrop. But the farther he walked, the fainter they grew, until it turned dead silent. There was something unnatural about this place that he couldn't shake off.
There was no light, no sound; just the flashlight on his phone which lit up a path that was increasingly hard to follow as the forest grew denser and more claustrophobic. A voice whispered Dimash's name and he nearly jumped out of his skin, accidentally dropping his phone and plunging the area into darkness.
"I'm the one who left the envelopes at your apartment," a male voice explained. "I'm glad you came."
Suddenly a bright light filled the area, and Dimash blinked a few times to adjust his eyes. A man with short brown hair was wearing a dark blue overcoat and large goggles, and was holding a lantern in his left hand. With his free hand he took off his goggles.
"Night vision goggles. I didn't want to waste the oil in the lamp," he stated.
Dimash grabbed his phone from the ground, and turned the flashlight off. He then pulled the two pictures from earlier out of his pocket.
"Who he is?" Dimash demanded, holding up the photos. "Who are you and why are you helping me? Why now?"
"Who I am doesn't matter. What does is this," the man beckoned someone over, and a person wearing a dark hooded cape walked into the light. The person's face was in darkness, but Dimash could sense he was being carefully studied.
"Show your face," the man directed.
There was a short pause before the person complied, and slowly lowered the hood.
"Your mother was a participant in her own experiment," he continued. "She, along with your father and Dr. Henry Jekyll, wanted to see if they could separate a human from their darker impulses. To create a good and evil version of the same person; human and monster. This is why you and Hyde were born.
Dimash was looking at his identical twin; the boy who was in those pictures.
"My name is Hyde," the hooded man revealed. "I'm your counterpart."
"Once the experiment started, they needed to keep you separated. Hyde's last birthday symbolized the day he stopped being their son, and started life as another entry in their research log."
Hyde motioned for the pictures, and Dimash handed them over. He studied them curiously, before slipping them into his pocket.
"The original Hyde, created by Dr. Jekyll, was a success and he's been trying to replicate and improve upon that ever since. To what ends, I don't know," the first man explained.
Hyde laughed.
"And just how do you measure the evil inside the human mind? You found ways-unimaginable ways." Hyde snorted. "I watched you grow up, in a loving family, friends, and everything you wanted. I'm supposed to be a monster of pure evil, and they were using you as a trigger for that transformation, but it was hard-I was never jealous of you."
Dimash was wary, but it did mean something else: Dimash was an unknowing subject in one of his parent's experiments.
"What I don't know is what experiments they've performed. But I've seen what he looks like when they're done," The other man noted, nodding his head towards Hyde.
"It's nothing pretty," Hyde added. "But I know they never found what they were looking for."
"It took them years, but they finally created a drug to induce the transformation," the man went on. "It was a success at first, but a few days ago, the drugs stopped working."
They were interrupted by a loud snap, like the sound of a branch breaking underfoot. It echoed within the darkness surrounding them. The man became nervous, and his hands started shaking, causing the lamp's light to dance around them.
Another branch snapped underfoot.
"Hyde wasn't performing like they wanted, so he was scheduled to be terminated, but I couldn't let that happen."
Sticks were popping all around, closing in.
"They found us," the man reported. "It's too late for me, but you two can still make it."
Dimash began to see shapes forming in the shadows. They were eating at the edges of the light.
The man put on his night vision goggles, before grabbing Hyde's wrist and pushing him and the lamp against Dimash.
"I want both of you to run until you see the edge of the darkness, and from there it will drop you off at the refinery. Go back the way you came and—this is important—you must never come back here again, do you understand?"
Dimash and Hyde nodded. Dimash reached out his hand and Hyde grabbed it tightly.
"Hold onto each other," the man added. "You must leave, and never look back. Now, RUN!"
He ran off into the darkness and while the shadows seemed to follow, Dimash began to see the light reflecting off of small, round surfaces. Small white orbs, blinking in the dark.
Dimash held the lamp ahead of them, and with Hyde at his side, began to run.
End Notes: I was looking for a story to write for April Fool's day (April 1st). So, I ended up writing something that has absolutely nothing to do with it. Surprise! xD
Prompts:
- You thought you knew your family history, but when you find an unexpected photograph from 30 years ago, the story begins to unravel.
- The meteorologists had predicted that it would be a bright, sunny day. However, strange green clouds were hanging low around the town. Something must have gone terribly wrong at the local testing site.
- Write about someone who grew up in a bunker, and lockdown life is all they've ever known.