Fourteen Times in Perim

by Quazer

When humans found themselves on a Perim that never knew humanity before, they had to learn a lesson quickly, that Perim devours and destroys the unprepared. I, however, found myself having to learn that lesson time and time again. I have died so many times, only to start all over again. Maybe this time I'll survive. AU, rated M for violence and sexual content.

73. The Realization

I do not own Chaotic nor anything related to it. It belongs to TCDigital.

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The Realization

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Days pass. I don't know how many. I've lost track of the flow of time, and I don't have any frame of reference to reacquire it. Meals are few and far between, and more often than not it's already partly rotten. I don't have anywhere I can use the bathroom, so... yeah.

Aa'une rummages through my head from afar occasionally, pulling up memories of my past. He seems desperate to prove that I'm not dreaming, that the world isn't simply inside my head. He's stopped talking directly to me, which is a small comfort.

Today, whatever day it is, I hear a somewhat familiar psychic voice.

{have you noticed how distracted oligarch aa'une-}

{seems to be lately, yes i have, and i think it-}

{has something to do with this human, i thought so too}

I look up at the small window to my cell, and I see light blue skin past it.

{oligarchs k'yall and pah'ziq have also noticed, aa'une never seems to-}

{pray anymore, always giving another creature the honor}

{something has shaken him}

{he never smiles anymore either}

I try to call out, but my voice is raspy. "Twins?"

{the human called for us, what do-}

{we do, we aren't allowed to speak with-}

{anyone, but maybe he doesn't count}

{should we risk it}

{let us put our heads together and think}

I hear a soft wet slapping sound from beyond the cell.

{it is too dangerous, but maybe-}

{we could talk to each other about what he says-}

{and let him overhear us}

...Um, I guess that means they're listening. Of course, now I've forgotten about what I was going to-

{good cothica it smells bad in there}

{how could anyone-}

{survive in those conditions}

{we need to clean him up}

{is it allowed}

{i don't care, it isn't-}

{healthy, true, i will find a tub and you-}

{will get the sponges}

The light blue worms vanish from the window, leaving me rather confused.

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Some minutes later, one of the Twins gives me a sponge bath while the other scrubs the floor. Assuming that each worm is using the sponge closest to her and not the other, of course.

{what has aa'une been doing}

{leaving this human here to rot, apparently}

{he called him michael}

{he also called him prince osiris}

{prince of who}

{the mipedians}

{what's a mipedian}

{those reptile minions are mipedians}

{he's not a reptile}

{i know}

{so he's a mipedian prince who's-}

{not a mipedian, i guess}

There are Mipedians down here now. That's a depressing thought.

{phelphor's leading an army to mount pillar}

{what's mount pillar}

{no idea}

"Home of the Danians," I mutter.

{what's a danian}

{the bugs}

{they're so-}

{cute, i know}

"How do you two do that?" I ask. "Are you always reading each other's minds?"

The Twins stop scrubbing and turn their heads towards each other.

{finishing each other's-}

{sentences is what he's talking-}

{about, nobody has ever-}

{asked about that-}

{before, maybe we should-}

{risk talking to him, it's-}

{been so long since we've ever spoken-}

{to anyone besides ourselves}

The Twins float beside each other, their heads turn towards me, and in my mind I hear their voices overlap and blend together. {{hello, we are the twins,}} they say.

I discover that my jaw is hanging open. I close it quickly. "You two are actually the same creature." I say it as a statement, but it's more a question than that.

The worms lean their... I mean its heads together. {{we never imagined that anyone would see through our persona, our false face, it is refreshing to be wrong}}

"How does that work?" I ask. "One mind, two bodies, I mean." It's so great to actually talk to someone after who knows how long.

{{we are twins,}} Twins replies, {{hatched from the same egg, our minds fused since the days we fed from the same yolk, brothers or sisters we may call ourselves, but in the end there is no difference between us}}

"Then why do the two of you act so different?" I ask. "You argue with each other, for example, and you don't seem to share the same memories." Not to mention your discussion about whether I was male or female.

{{a facade, a part of our false face,}} Twins chuckles. She sways her bodies side to side. {{we are forbidden from speaking to others, and others do not speak to us, so who to speak with but ourselves}}

"Sounds awful," I mutter.

A light ignites in the center of the room, slowly growing. Twins' bodies shudder, then dive in different directions. The light takes Aa'une's shape, then turn into Aa'une himself.

Aa'une is looking at me at first, but then he glances at each of the Twins' bodies. "Twins, what are you doing here?"

Twins quickly says, {we are doing our job-}

{of cleaning up-}

{ever so obediently}

{i saw that this room was filthy-}

{and you, dear sister, suggested we take action-}

{before the prisoner takes ill from the waste}

{i hope oligarch aa'une isn't too-}

{angry with us}

Aa'une lets out a hiss and turns back to me. "You," he growls.

I try very hard to piss him off. "Vee, double-you, ex, why, zee."

Aa'une's eyes flare up, and I feel my heart freeze. Aa'une spits, "Twins, pay no mind to what is about to happen."

{i will obey oligarch aa'une}

{as will i}

Aa'une places a hand on my forehead-

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A spectral blue hand floats in black space, surrounded by thin threads.

{How useful can you be to me?} Aa'une mutters as his hand wanders through the void. {What can you let me see?}

The spectral hand grasps a thread-

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"This unexpected fifth tribe, the Humans, they are presenting a problem," I note. The muscles across my lateral lines flex in response to my annoyance, sending ripples along my body.

{K'yall-is-correct...} Pah'ziq says in that infuriatingly slow voice of his- no, hers- wait, his- it isn't important. {Their-knowledge-of-our-tribe-allows-them-to-accur ately-determine-who-among-their-own-tribes-are-mos t-likely-to-have-been-converted-to-our-side...}

"Making our attempts at planting spies fruitless," I elaborate before Pah'ziq takes another eternity to do so. "We need to face reality, Aa'une, our invasion is not progressing the way you had planned."

Aa'une folds his arms. His projected arms, I remind myself. Aa'une's real body lies sleeping at the bottom of the Deepmines. What I see is a biological puppet, a mass of muscle and blood and nerves that is not his true body. Not that it actually means anything to me.

Aa'une bares his teeth and growls, "We need spies among their armies! How are we to gather intelligence otherwise?"

{Not-through-minions...} Pah'ziq drones.

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Aa'une's hand releases the thread and takes a hold of another one-

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{Not-through-minions...} I think out loud.

K'yall flicks his tail in annoyance. "We may need to scale our endeavors back, work on controlling the Underworld before we try taking a hold on locations in the Overworld."

"It will take too long," Aa'une says bitterly. "The slower we attack, the more time our enemies have to find ways to defend against us."

{Do-we-have-any-more-reliable-means-of-gathering-i ntelligence...?} I ask Aa'une. K'yall being in charge mainly of manufacturing and myself more focused on civilian matters, the more militaristic Aa'une should be able to find an appropriate solution to his own problem. Sometimes all he needs are the right questions to be asked.

And it seems that was the correct one. Aa'une's eyes widen, and he unfolds his arms. "The dreamer," he whispers, and he disappears in a flash of light.

K'yall turns one of his three eyes at me. "Do you know what he means by the dreamer?"

{Not-a-clue...} I answer.

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I shake my head as Aa'une stops probing my mind. "No! You're not using me as-!"

Aa'une grabs my shoulders and presses me to the wall. "Anything that has ever happened, it's sitting inside your head," he says with a triumphant smirk. "I don't need spies if I have you!"

Aa'une, with unlimited access to any mind in Perim, past or present? I can't let that happen. I can't subject Perim to the whims of a nigh-omnipotent M'arrillian lord. And the only way I can stop him is...

I bite down on my tongue. Hard. Oh God, it hurts so much, but I can't stop. The only way I'll keep my mind out of Aa'une's hands is to die, and my movement is to restrained for me to do anything besides try to drown in my own blood.

Aa'une's smirk fades. "What are you doing?"

Twins makes both her bodies look at me. {{michael, what is-}} Then she stops, and her bodies tremble. {{oh}}

Goodbye for now, Perim... I'll do better next time.

"NO!" Aa'une screams. He presses a sharp finger against my forehead and-

I release my hold on my tongue. That was unintelligent of me. Any harder and I might have bitten it right off.

Aa'une takes his finger off my forehead. "Tell me who you are," he orders.

"I am your loyal servant," I answer. As if there could be any other answer.

"Tell me how you will serve me," Aa'une continues.

"In any way that I can be of assistance," I reply.

My oligarch grins widely, and he straightens to his full height. "Excellent. Twins, unlock his chains. Michael, we're going to do a little demonstration."

I smile widely. My master is pleased with me! Nothing in all of Perim could fill me with greater joy than this.

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up next: the humble manservant

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Like I said before, Chaotic belongs to TCDigital.

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