Doppelgänger 5

"You're alive!" Snohbal didn't see how. There was so much blood. She got down on her knees to look at her. She saw the fear in the woman's eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you," she murmured reassuringly. Snohbal may have been born on one of the 666 layers of the Abyss which was filled with evil beings, but for some reason she didn't think of herself as evil.

"Are you human?" Snohbal hadn't seen many races. Mostly just the one she saw at home. "Can you talk? Do you understand me?" Snohbal questioned since she didn't know that many languages.

"I have a way of communicating if you're willing. It will mean your death but you're going to die anyway." There wasn't anything she could do for her to prevent it. She took a blink from the woman as a yes. "I'm sorry." She apologized now since she didn't think there was going to be a chance later.

Snohbal leaned down, placed her hands on each side of the woman's head, then bent her head to the woman's. She had given permission so Snohbal gently kissed her, right on the lips. For the succubus it was a soft kiss, meant to convey trust. Kate, though, felt even more of her life drain from her. Kate had feared that she was dead; now she knew she was.

Kate heard a voice in her head. "Who are you?" How was that even possible? "Who are you?" She heard the voice again.

"Kate Beckett, homicide detective, 12th precinct, New York City, New York, United States." Kate didn't know how she conveyed all that information since she didn't remember saying a word.

Kate had her own question. "What are you?"

"My name is Snohbal, I'm a succubus from one of the 666 layers of the Abyss. I recently escaped my home since it doesn't feel like home to me. What happened to you? Just think about it, it will be faster." She feared this woman didn't have much longer.

Snohbal really wasn't prepared for the flood of information she got in response to her question. She watched and felt her head being dunked in ice water. The feeling of the water hitting her lungs.

"They killed you. …Why?" Snohbal listened to him ask his question over and over again. "You didn't know." She could feel that. "Tell me more, think about family and friends."

Snohbal got hit with still more information. Lanie, Ryan, Espo, Jim, Roy, Karpowski, Johanna. "Johanna, tell me about Johanna." She seemed to be the dominate name in everything. The name Johanna seemed to be very important to her.

"She was murdered and you want to find who killed her. You are with law enforcement. Interesting… Who is Castle?" Snohbal could sense his name even if she hadn't thought about him.

Suddenly Snohbal was deluged with really strong emotions and found herself making love to him.

"You love him… You are really in love with him. But you're scared. Why are you so scared?" She had the life that Snohbal wanted so very badly.

"I can be you. You can live through me. It won't be you. You'll never know what happens, but I can be you. Let me be you. I need a new life." Snohbal practically begged for her permission. She tried to convey how badly she needed a new life. She so desperately wanted to escape her old one.

All she got back was one word. "Castle."

She removed her hands; the woman – Kate – had died. Her eyes were still open so she passed her hand over them and closed them for her. "I'm sorry, but thank you." For the first time in her life Snohbal wept.

She had a life. Someone she could live her life through. Snohbal spoke her heartfelt words. "I promise to do my best. I promise."

There was just one thing left to do. For her to become Kate Beckett, the real Kate Beckett needed to disappear forever and never be found. It took a little time but Snohbal had everything off of Kate Beckett just outside of the door. Now she just needed to get it open again.

After getting it open she picked up the naked body of Kate Beckett and carried her through the door. Then she walked over to the edge. "I'm sorry but I can't let anyone find you. Maybe the gods will be kind, find you, and give you a new life on another plane."

Snohbal dropped her and watched her fall into the Astral Mist. If that woman was right she was going to fall forever. Snohbal hoped she hadn't just committed Kate's soul to purgatory. To forever fall and never be found.

"I'm sorry… I swear to do my best. I promise." Snohbal stood there for a moment before turning back to the door. She still saw no one. No one knew she had just dropped the real Kate Beckett into the Astral Mist, to forever fall.

Once through the door she found everything right where she had left it. She may never be a succubus again. It was a sacrifice she was willing to make if it meant she could have a life.

It only took seconds for her to use a natural succubus ability. She changed her shape to perfectly match that of Kate Beckett. On the outside she was now Detective Kate Beckett. To anyone looking she was an exact match for the dead woman. Snohbal even had a lot of her memories. Accessing a lot of them was going to be hard for her. She was Snohbal and feared she would forget and lose herself to Kate Beckett.

She was going to be living Kate Beckett's life. Answering to the name Kate Beckett. Still she had promised. Snohbal tried it on for size. "I am Kate Beckett. Now who is Castle?"

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"Why do you look like me?" Rick asked, stunned. Suddenly the male's eyes snapped open. "You're awake! You're still alive! How is that possible?" He could only barely think of the pain he had gone through to end up like this.

His primary job function kicked in. "Who did this to you? I will hunt them down and make them pay." He made his decision. "I need to know, need to work fast." He really feared the male would die before he could learn anything.

He lifted his left hand and called for the device he wanted. He quickly attached the terminal to the male's temple. He knew doing this would hurt a little since it would actually penetrate through his skull and touch his brain. Just that it was one pain he didn't think he would notice after going through what he already had. He was wrong, though. He saw the male wince. "Begin download." Rick activated the device. Still he had questions and didn't want to wait. "Who did this?"

He looked at his device and watched as a man asked him questions then beat him before crushing his fingers and finally his balls. "You didn't know, did you?" He was convinced even he himself would have told him if it had been him.

"What is your name?" Just who was he?

He read from the display. "Richard Edgar Castle." Then this appeared on his screen: "Why do you look like me? Who are you?"

"My name is Richard James Rodgers. I'm a hunter. I hunt down unwanted people or creatures. I also hunt down objects. Objects that have been stolen from a person, company, or planet."

His eyes went wide when he read that the male's name used to be Richard Alexander Rodgers.

Then the names Alexis, Martha, Kate, Ryan, Espo, Lanie, and Roy came across his screen. "Tell me about each of them. Just think about them, it will be faster." Rick watched as Alexis changed from a newborn baby to a teenager. Followed by Martha growing older as he went from just a child to a grown man.

He got really interested when he watched Rick make love to a beautiful woman. "Who is she? You love her. You are deeply in love with her. Why are you not married to her?" Anyone who loved another that much should be married, right?

"I don't understand. You love her yet you are scared." What was Richard Castle scared of?

Rick slapped his device since it had stopped working. He looked down at him then lifted his other device and did a quick scan. "Dead." He sighed; he wasn't going to learn anything else.

He removed the terminal from the man's temple. "I can be you since I'm trapped on this planet. Live your life and mine through you. I hope that comforts you in some way," Rick said to the now dead man. "Since I'm a hunter I promise to hunt down who did this to you and extract an equal pound of flesh. Hopefully that eases your soul."

He retracted his devices and moved to his case. Opening it he took out a vial and then snapped the case shut. "I don't need to but it might be a good idea," he said to himself. He set the vial down and got to work stripping everything off of the body. "OH GOD!" He reached the writer's smashed balls. "Whoever did this to you really needs to suffer." He couldn't begin to imagine the amount of pain that would have caused.

Satisfied that he had everything he lifted the vial. "I promise to do the best that I can for both of us," Rick vowed and poured the vial's contents over the dead body. To be Richard Castle he needed the man's body to disappear and never be found again. He got up and stood back as he watched the liquid dissolve the corpse till the only thing left was a little liquid that stained the ground. It had taken just a few minutes for the entire process.

Rick took what he'd removed from the body and retreated into the shadows. He was just in time; a pair of male humans turned the corner and walked in his direction. They were in uniforms and he had no problem determining that they were both armed. Thanks to his dark clothes and dark hair they didn't notice him. It was time to find someplace where he could look over this Rick's memories. He needed to learn who Richard Castle was.

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Snohbal needed to get moving and she knew it. She needed to begin learning about this new home. "Home? Do I even have one?" She tried to access her new memories. What she feared was losing some of them before she could use them all. Neglect might equate to losing them forever. She might need some of those.

She searched the things that she'd taken off of Kate. They were round and shiny and connected by a chain. "Bindings… A key!" Snohbal pulled out the key. The big black thing on her hip was interesting but didn't have anything to do with home. There was another one, only smaller, attached at her ankle.

A small black box on her belt. Her pants had pockets. "KEYS!" She was suddenly assaulted by memories of a building, going inside, going up in a small box, inserting the key into a hole in a door.

There was something shiny and gold on her belt.

CITY OF NEW YORK POLICE

DETECTIVE

41319

There was something about it, but she was interested in home. "How do I get there?"

She stuck her hands in her pockets and found a card with her picture on it. Well Kate's picture which was now her.

NEW YORK STATE

DRIVER LICENSE

ID: 96347732R

BECKETT, KATHERINE HOUGHTON

179 EAST THIRD STREET, #12

NEW YORK, NY 10019

DOB: 11-17-79

In another pocket she found green and white pieces of paper. "One, Ten, Twenty. FEDERAL RESERVE NOTE, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Money!" Money she understood since she had some from her home.

Snohbal started walking. She still didn't know how to get to this home. In the distance she saw one of those strange objects rolling across in front of her. "They're cars! TAXI! Transportation!" Now she knew how to get there. But how did she get one of these taxis?

Then her hand went to another pocket and pulled out something really strange. It was really thin, white on one side and had a picture of clouds on the other. Her new memories told her just what it was. "Communication… This thing?" She didn't understand how it was supposed to work.

She walked to where she'd seen the other taxi and saw another. She raised her arm and stepped closer to it. She was smiling when it came right over to her. Snohbal showed him her badge which also exposed her weapon on her hip. "179 East Third Street," she told him.

"Get in." He nodded, indicating the seat behind him. She looked through the window. "Get in." How did she do that? "Maybe…" She reached for the protrusion on the side and found she could pull a section off. It allowed her to get inside and close it behind her.

She was amazed as the driver drove her to the address she'd told him. There were buildings as far as she could see. There were cars everywhere. Most of them were yellow like the one she was in, but not all of them.

Suddenly a screaming sound unlike one she'd ever experienced before could be heard and was getting louder. She looked around for it. Suddenly it went flying across the front of the taxi from right to left. It was mostly white with blue stripes and said NYPD on the side. There were also flashing red and blue lights on the top.

Snohbal felt herself being forced back into the seat. Everything changed; she was sitting up front in a car. There was a shotgun, something between her and the person sitting behind a round thing. She could hear that same sound. Looking down she was wearing the same dark blue clothing the guy driving was wearing.

A voice brought her out of her head. "We're here." He turned his head and called out through a small opening in the clear plastic that separated them. "MISS, we're here."

There was a red number on the box next to him and she handed him some of her green and white papers. She got out and watched him leave then turned to look at the building. It looked rather plain to her. Other buildings were far better looking. At least she now knew what to do and how to get there.

She was soon stepping out of the tiny room that moved and was walking down the hall to a door, walking past a few others just like it.

Snohbal knew to put the key in the hole. Turning the key got her inside. Just inside she found a bag laying on the floor. Looking around, everything seemed familiar. Yet all of it was new to her. She ignored the bag for now and started walking around. It all looked so familiar and yet felt so strange. Everything about this place was just strange.

She started to question her leaving home till she remembered why she had wanted to leave so badly. "I promised." That was the most important thing to her.

It was time to find out what she had and what she had brought with her. In only minutes she had everything spread out on a piece of furniture in what she knew was the living room. Snohbal huffed out a laugh. Everything was new to her. Every single item. "This is going to take some time." There was so much to learn, so much to try and remember.

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Rick had a lot of reading to do. His only real question was just how much of that Rick's memory did he actually have. The next big question was how he was going to fit in. "I hope you weren't some kind of doctor, like a specialist surgeon." If that Rick was, he was in big, big trouble.

He adjusted his clothes to mimic what the other Rick had been wearing, stepped out of the shadows, and started walking.

Thanks to his travels this city didn't look all that alien to him. A little old school, yes, but familiar enough that he knew what most everything was. "How the hell did these people get that much junk out into space?" Everything looked so… OLD.

"First question, where do I live?" He looked at his data and saw an address. Looking around it wasn't hard to tell that the yellow vehicles were there to take him where he wanted to go. However, he likely needed money. He checked his pockets where he had put everything he had taken off of that Rick. He pulled out something that looked to be made of leather.

NEW YORK STATE

DRIVER LICENSE

ID: 22879108M

CASTLE, RICHARD EDGAR

595 BROOME STREET

NEW YORK, NY 10013

DOB: 4-1-69

At least he had an address. Continuing to search what he had he found a set of keys and then came across something else. "Hmm." He looked it over and saw that it required him to swipe his finger across the screen. Doing so only brought up a code he had to input using numbers. "Locked… Portable computer maybe?" He looked around till he saw a couple of people walking, holding something similar to their ears.

"Communication device." Now he just needed the code. But first he needed a ride. Watching others for a little while he worked out how to flag one down.

Success! He got in the back. "595 Broome Street," he told the guy in front and sat back to wait. A little later Rick got out after handing him some green and white pieces of paper that had numbers on them.

Studying the building, he thought it looked a little old. The ground floor seemed to be a restaurant since he saw tables out front with people seated around them and eating. He went to the number and found a guy standing there who opened the door for him. "Welcome, Mr. Castle."

Rick smiled at him and patted him on his shoulder a little and walked inside. Then he stopped. "Anyone home?" he asked him.

"Your mother left several hours ago and hasn't return. Miss Alexis is also not yet home."

Rick did his best to keep his mouth closed. ALEXIS! This Rick had an Alexis? He wondered what the differences were. Then it struck him. MY MOTHER? This Rick lived with his mother? With what he was guessing was his daughter.

He didn't remember going up the elevator or how he got to the door that the directory downstairs said was his. At least he was on almost the top floor. Inserting the key and opening the door, he found it was dark. It took some searching before he found the switch that turned on the lights. What he saw was not what he was expecting to see. He saw a set of stairs leading up to the next floor. "I have the top two floors."

The main floor had high ceilings. A large leather sectional to sit on. A large table that he was betting people gathered around to eat. "Kitchen." He searched it, opening cabinet doors and generally poking around. Then he found something. "Be home late. Grams has gone to the Hamptons. A" He took the A to mean Alexis. Home late didn't help since he didn't know what time it was now or what late meant to her or the other Rick.

"At least his mother isn't here. The Hamptons?" He definitely had a lot of reading to do. "First things first." He needed to search this place. If he was going to live here, he needed to know his way around. "So much to do."

He hoped he missed seeing this Rick's Alexis come home. He wasn't ready to face her yet even if he was dying to see her. He really did miss his Alexis. He didn't even know where she was now. Last he knew she was headed out on a job to pick up someone, much like he had been doing.