The following week was relatively calm since there were few witches that needed hunting. Bushtit and Robin had few difficulties helping Dickcissel ease into her new life as a hunter at the STN-J. The girls, however, proved unsuccessful at convincing the new witch to use orbo during hunts. She had quietly murmured something about how it was barbaric, disgusting and something else Robin and Bushtit had been unable to catch.
The most important issue now at hand was where Dickcissel should work. Obviously, she couldn't continue to share a desk with her sister when there were already too many squabbles between Robin and Bushtit as it was. That left Kosaka to determine that he should pair her with another STN-J member.
Kosaka scanned the office as he decided which one of his hunters it would be. Karasuma furiously typed a report, hoping Kosaka would find her too busy to interrupt. Similarly, Sakaki frantically searched through files on his computer, pretending to look for a lead in a phantom case. Doujima happened to be out for the day; either shopping or involved in some other spy activity they were of yet unaware. Kosaka frowned as he observed their reactions and dismissed them. He briefly considered Michael, but decided against it once he caught sight of potato chip bags overspilling from his desk onto the floor. Kosaka brightened as Amon returned from waxing his car.
"Ah, Dickcissel, you can share a desk with Amon!"
The young witch's face immediately lit up as her sisters standing behind scowled. Amon didn't bother hiding his displeasure at the news – not even after Kosaka sent him a pointed glare. Amon had had enough of this identical sister fiasco.
"This is perfect," Kosaka continued, "especially since you'll be partnered with Amon and your sisters for the time being!"
Dickcissel enthusiastically began transferring her meager personal belongings to the new desk. Amon watched her a moment before passing by his – their – desk in favor of the briefing room. Michael managed to catch the hunter's eye before he fully walked away. Amon jerked his head towards the conference, indicating he wanted the hacker to follow. The two made their way into the darkened room and took their respective places.
"What have you found?" Amon asked.
"That's just the problem. I've been unable to find any information on what you were looking for. It seems Solomon is keeping the background of these girls very secret."
Amon placed his chin in his hand, brow furrowing. "Why is Solomon doing this? It's doubtless they have sent Bushtit and Dickcissel to join Robin for some important purpose."
"Yes, that's fairly obvious."
"Have you learned if HQ is sending us another hunter yet?"
"Actually, I have. It's the main reason I wanted to speak with you."
"And?"
"They are sending another hunter and it does appear she is an earth craft user."
"Is it another clone?"
"Well, it seemed that way at first, but some of the data doesn't fit."
"Could you stop being cryptic and just tell me what you've found?"
"Of course, that's your distinctive personality trait. The new hunter is an Italian female, but her age is different from Robin's. Also, I managed to find a portrait of the new hunter and it definitely doesn't match."
"Are you sure you hacked the correct files?"
"What do you take me for?" Michael replied offended. "Of course I hacked the right files. Jeez, I've been doing this for quite some time, now."
"We're getting another hunter?" Doujima suddenly hollered from behind.
Amon turned, ready to question why the blonde had been listening in on their conversation when she should be out somewhere shopping. Instead, he remained silent as he discovered all of the STN-J members crowded around the doorway of the briefing room. He looked back towards Michael, signaling for the hacker to take the lead.
"Yes, that's right," the young hacker nodded. "We are getting another hunter."
"That's just crazy," Sakaki interjected. "We were just sent two new hunters."
"This new girl doesn't look like Robin?" Karasuma clarified.
"As much as I can tell, no."
"Then why are we getting another one," Bushtit whined.
"We'll just have to wait and see," Amon said seriously from his seat. "Solomon is definitely up to something."
"Yeah, Amon," Karasuma responded as she rolled her eyes. "We kind of already figured that part out."
The members of the STN-J spent the next week anxiously awaiting the coming of the new hunter. In the meantime, there was much discussion as to why Headquarters would send them three hunters in less then a six-month period. No one could think of any logical, plausible reason for why this would be. Michael continued to determine Solomon's motives regarding the clones by way of his computer skills. No matter how hard he hacked, though, he could not find any information relating to the girls.
Shortly after Dickcissel's arrival, Robin once again contacted Father Juliano about the new identical sister. Amon had actually been the one who suggested she speak with her grandfather and she, of course, had also agreed. The old priest seemed more shocked at the news than even Robin had expected. He promised her that he would quickly find what he could on the matter and get back to her when he had more information from Solomon.
The fateful day of the new hunter's appearance finally arrived one sunny Tuesday. As usual, the team – save Bushtit who was always late for such meetings – assembled in the briefing room and with much difficulty attempted to follow Amon's droning words about the hunt the night before. Even Robin and Dickcissel had trouble paying attention to what the man was saying. Relief flooded through the room as Amon concluded and sat back down in his chair. Next, Michael's related the information he had found the day before on the new hunter and Solomon's plans for the triplets. While telling the group he had found little new information since the last briefing, a familiar figure appeared in the doorway – though, if by familiar one meant Robin's face covered in gothic makeup along with nose and eyebrow piercings and hair dyed coal black.
The others stared dumfounded at the girl before Doujima rudely commented. "Come on, Bushtit, that's not funny. We all know the new hunter doesn't look like you."
The girl stared uncomprehendingly back at Doujima a moment before responding. "What are you talking about? My name is Woodcock (1), not Bushtit. Is this some sort of sick joke? Why would someone name me after a small brownish bird primarily found along the Pacific Coast of North America?"
"I know what a bushtit is!" the blonde furiously replied. "I was beginning to wonder why someone named you after a chunky, quail-sized bird with large bulging eyes located near the back of the head found primarily in the eastern half of North America (2)."
"I was not name after some freaky looking bird – ahhh!" Woodcock covered a shriek with both her hands as she caught sight of Robin and Dickcissel staring at her from their seats. "Doppelgangers!"
Woodcock rushed over to Amon, pulling him back into her arms. "Do you see them too? Are they phantoms only I can see? Will you be my protector, oh strong and handsome man?"
Amon tried frantically to pry the girl's hands from around his neck. "Let…go…of…me," he managed to gasp out before Woodcock realized she was nearly choking the life from him.
"Oh, I am so sorry!" she exclaimed.
"What's going on?" Michael asked baffled. "How can you be the new hunter? You don't match the data I found of the hunter."
"Yeah, I know," Woodcock replied, looking up from her futile attempts to soothe Amon. She smiled deviously. "I hacked my files."
"You hacked your files to intentionally trick us?" he responded incredulously. His expression changed to one of thoughtfulness. "That's actually pretty good. You busy Friday night?"
Presently, Bushtit arrived to the briefing room carrying two cups of coffee – one for Robin and the other for herself. Goddamn it, Robin even had her drinking the sludge. Her feet ceased moving when she caught sight of Woodcock, paralyzed was she by shock. Woodcock stared back, before glancing questioningly again towards the two identical girls already at her side.
"This is not happening," Bushtit managed to whisper. Finding her voice, she loudly whined, "I'm supposed to be the important one with the special power."
"What is going on?" Karasuma asked perplexed. "Why are there three replicas of Robin?"
"And why does someone have an inexplicable fetish with unusual North American birds?" Doujima added under her breath.
"I am not a replica of her!" Woodcock insisted, pointing a finger at Robin and Bushtit, not entirely sure which one was the original Karasuma had indicated. They did look identical, after all. "And I am not named after a North American bird!"
"Let me guess, uh, Woodcock," Sakaki interjected, "you happen to be named after some famous dude no one else has ever heard of, right?"
"No, that's not true," Woodcock indignantly replied. "I was named for Woodcock Johnson, renowned Amazonian Sheik of the Sea Urchins (3). Everyone has heard of him."
Karasuma placed her face in her hands with a sigh. The girls were clearly pulling the wool over the other STN-J members' eyes, somehow all involved were they in this prank. Karasuma wasn't surprised to find she no longer cared.
Amon sat in a similar position to Karasuma, but consumed by an entirely different predicament. He couldn't handle another Robin. Especially when this clone appeared even more overt about her feelings than even Bushtit. Amon wondered what exactly he had done to deserve this fate. He, of course, glossed over in his head how he had used Toukou all those years and that he hunted innocent witches without a second thought before turning them into orbo.
"You know," Michael hesitantly began. "Maybe we have been wrong about Robin. Maybe she's not the original."
"I have to be the original," she angrily insisted. "I'm the only child given to Juliano by Toudou."
"Possibly," he slowly responded. "However, what if you were merely a clone of Maria's true child? Or, what if Maria had four children, each possessing a different element?"
Robin appeared ready to cry at Michael's hypothesis. Doujima sympathetically placed a hand on the young witch's shoulder while Bushtit walked over to where Robin sat and wordlessly handed her sister one of the cups of coffee she still held. Robin may have had an addiction to coffee, but now was hardly the time to bring up the subject. She silently took the cup and downed approximately half of the 20-oz container of its contents in a single gulp.
"Why don't we send the girls home to recuperate from the shock they have undoubtedly experienced?" Karasuma suggested. "We can attempt to sort out this mess ourselves without their help for the moment."
"I think that would be the best plan for now," Amon agreed, glad for the rare chance to get away from the obsessive psycho clones.
"And just where is this new impostor supposed to stay?" Bushtit asked angrily. "She's not supposed to live with us, is she?"
"The apartment is large enough for all of us, Bushtit," Robin countered. "You're just messy and leave your belongings everywhere."
"I am not messy!" she whined.
Robin sighed in frustration and turned back to the other STN-J members. "Um, Woodcock is more than welcome to stay with us at the apartment."
"Whatever," Woodcock carelessly replied. She looked over to discover Dickcissel staring fascinated at her multitude of facial piercings and gave the timid witch a frightening glare. Dickcissel immediately turned white and looked to the floor, fearing her new identical sister would pummel her is she was caught staring again.
The rest of the STN-J watched as Bushtit angrily strode from the briefing room in a huff with Robin and Dickcissel quietly walking behind. Woodcock stared a moment after her new three identical sisters, slightly baffled at the situation, before shaking her head and following the others. Karasuma turned back to look at the other hunters after the girls had left the office.
"This is definitely a strange situation we now have."
"It is imperative that we find out what Solomon wants with these girls," Amon said.
"I've been trying!" Michael exclaimed, frustrated. "The security measures on Headquarters' system are too difficult for even me to crack."
"The statement wasn't directed at you," Amon replied, tiredly. "Maybe Woodcock could help you with hacking the security system."
"Hmm, that might work. I've always wondered what Robin would be like if she was into the gothic look."
"Keep your mind on the task at hand, Michael," Amon admonished, before continuing. "Four Robins with four different elemental crafts. Maybe they're split off from the original child Maria had. Robin is convinced that Juliano only knew of one child. However, it might not have been Robin, but rather an entirely different child."
"You think Robin is just another clone like the other girls?" Sakaki asked doubtfully.
"Are we even sure that these girls are all clones in the first place?" Doujima countered. "Isn't it possible that Maria did have four children and that Toudou simply never told Father Juliano about the others?"
"Yes," Amon slowly replied. "That could be a possibility, except that Juliano was with Maria during the pregnancy. It's fairly obvious when a woman is carrying more than one child. So, either Maria really did carry one child or Juliano is very unobservant – and I mean, very unobservant."
"It's going to be difficult telling these girls apart," Karasuma said suddenly. "Amon, I'm curious as to how you have managed to keep track of them so far."
Panic threatened to consume Amon as he quickly thought of a way to skirt the issue of Bushtit's larger assets. "Well," he began slowly. "Woodcock will be easy to tell apart from the others with her, uh, look and Dickcissel always refuses to look at me. And Bushtit…she, uh -"
"She's got larger tits!" Doujima broke in, giggling.
"Oh, so you noticed too?" Sakaki asked with wide eyes. "I thought it was just me."
"I kind of thought so, as well," Karasuma agreed. "I thought it would be rude to mention it, though."
"Same here," Michael nodded.
"I hadn't noticed," Amon said stoically while desperately trying to remain outwardly indifferent. "I was going to point out that Bushtit has a slightly different facial structure than Robin."
"You really didn't notice, Amon?" Doujima asked incredulously. "You?"
"No, I didn't," Amon insisted, praying that he was convincing the others. Distractedly, he wondered what Doujima had intimated with that question.
"Back to Robin – is she the original or a clone?" Karasuma questioned thoughtfully while Amon sighed with relief at the change of subject. "And, where did these other clones originate?"
"Maybe the original child Maria carried contained the power of all the elements," Michael interjected. "Someone else came along and split the child's DNA into the four respective elemental replicas."
"Yeah, and they got Robin and Bushtit's powers reversed in the process," Doujima couldn't help but add.
"Hey!" Sakaki exclaimed excitedly as he looked up from his Game Boy. "What if they're not really clones, but replicants (4)?"
Everyone in the room turned to give the former rookie hunter a blank stare.
"You know, an android created with organic parts to resemble a living person?"
"Oh, right!" Doujima enthusiastically agreed. "I saw something like that in a movie once. We could send Amon to examine the girls and make sure they're fully human!"
Amon gave the blonde a murderous glare in response before quickly bringing the focus of the room back to the topic at hand. "Who would be able to conduct such a dangerous cloning experiment? Further, was Toudou somehow related to this activity?"
"I assume since I am the only capable of tracking down such info that you are speaking to me?" Michael asked, slightly irritated.
"Yes. I'm sorry, but you are the only one who has the ability to find this information for us."
"Did you just apologize, Amon?" Sakaki asked incredulously.
"Well, actually in this instance it was just a figure of speech."
"Figures," Michael muttered under his breath.
"For the moment," Amon continued, "we'll just wait for Solomon's next move and keep an eye on the girls. I'm going to speak with Father Juliano and ask him about this situation myself."
Everyone nodded in agreement – save Michael who was still grumbling about having to do everything himself. With nothing further to discuss, the STN-J members filed out of the briefing room to return to their daily witch-hunting duties. No one could shake the feeling, however, that something very sinister was hovering just around the corner.
Author's Notes:
(1) The American Woodcock is an actual bird. Going through the bird guide, I knew that Woodcock would be one of the finalists for the three identical sisters of Robin -- it's just such a funny name for a bird. Additionally, the bird is also called a Bogsucker.
(2) I didn't mean to steal the description almost verbatim from the Audobon's Field Guide, but it was so hilarious that I couldn't resist. Here's the actual description: A chunky, qual-sized bird with a very long bill and rounded wings…Eyes large, bulging, and located close to back of head. Sounds lovely doesn't it? I thought the description fit Woodcock just fine (not that she actually resembles the bird in any way). If you can, do a search on the American Woodcock -- they do kind of look freaky. I have a picture of the bird, as well as my version of the clone, on my website. You can find the website under my profile on There should be some images under the Avatar and Fanfiction sections.
(3) Woodcock Johnson, renowned Amazonian Sheikh of the Sea Urchins IS NOT A REAL OR FICTIONAL PERSON. Just to clear up any thoughts on the matter. If you don't get what Johnson is a reference to, you are too young to be reading this fanfiction. I randomly picked the Amazon and I had been hoping to use the title of Sheikh for awhile now. I then had to find something rather odd for this guy to be sheikh of and sea urchins definitely seemed to fit. I know, I'm weird.
(4) After Attack of the Doppelgangers didn't work out, I decided to go with replicants until I found out that that word was already taken and meant a certain type of android. Darn it! There just aren't enough synonyms for clone.
Next Up
Chapter Four: Blue Skies