It was after my exploration of the bottomless pit. Mabel approached me while I was preparing pancakes for the twins, claiming to have seen me the night before.
"Hey, Ray? I saw you last night..."
"...Last night? When?"
"Near the shack. You were standing in front of the door and then just walked away. I called you, but you didn't answer me."
"Hm. I was back home well before sunset that night. Are you certain it was me?"
Mabel affirmed, but I initially dismissed it as her vivid imagination.
"I saw you too."
"...Mr. Pines?"
Stan came down the stairs, eyeing me suspiciously.
"Yes, you kid. What were you doing in the middle of the street?! I almost hit you!"
"Wait, when?"
"Yesterday noon! I was on my way to the diner and you stopped me!"
"...Huh."
I found it intriguing. I had been examining the bottomless pit around that time and returned directly to the shack afterward. And Stan wasn't prone to flights of fancy. While it could have been a memory lapse due to his age, he didn't typically suffer from such conditions.
It dawned on me: the doppelganger story. Bill had dispatched a version of myself, free to roam and displaying inhuman behavior without conscience. I began making plans but found it challenging to track down; it was too elusive.
Finally, after a few days, I encountered the doppelganger, an unsettling discovery.
-Beep! Beep! Beep! BeeBeeBeep!
"I'm home, mom."
"Ray...?"
My mother was shocked upon my arrival, and when I followed her gaze, there I was, seated on the couch, drinking water.
-Thud!
In a moment of cardiac arrest, I was thrust backward in time. So, I die upon encountering it. That's a troubling revelation...
One thing is clear, I can't handle this alone. I need help. If I die just by looking at it, what if I touch it? Some stories suggest that two completely identical things touching cause something terrible to happen. Perhaps touching the doppelganger might trigger those stories and complicate matters further.
I gathered the Mystery Shack workers, avoiding involving the kids due to their tender age. Wendy and Soos listened to me with puzzled expressions.
"So, get it? There's a doppelganger of myself around these places. You guys need to tell me when you see 'me' acting awkwardly..."
"Hey, Ray."
It didn't take long for me to realize something was wrong. Wendy, with an unusual seriousness, mentioned something surprising... and disturbing.
"You just told us the same story... like five minutes ago."
That day, I scoured the shack to find the other Ray who relayed the story to Soos and Wendy, but he was nowhere to be found. Yet, what was more important wasn't my failure to locate him.
'...We merged?'
If the doppelganger possesses the same abilities as me—regression and the Memento Mori—things are getting complicated.
So, what should I do? For now, the doppelganger seems quite unstable. It doesn't seem sentient, more like a computer system that has acquired some aspects of me. I need to find a solution before it becomes fully functional.
Then, a realization struck. If the doppelganger, with my personality and intelligence, discovers its nature, it will undoubtedly strategize for survival. Being in league with Bill, it would likely avoid confrontation.
It might even try to eliminate me, exploiting its identical appearance to deceive those around me. So, I must act differently from the ordinary Ray.
I reached out to Wendy again. She's reliable and discreet, making her an ideal confidante. I disclosed my powers, withholding the part about my demise and simply claiming to foresee the future in a particular manner.
"...Wow! That's cool. So, what's tomorrow's game outcome?"
"...It doesn't work like that, Wendy. Anyway, I need your help. The doppelganger has the same ability, and if I see it directly, I will die. I need you to keep an eye on the doppelganger Ray when it impersonates me."
"Trust me, man."
"Thanks, Wendy."
The next day, after returning home from work...
-Beep! Beep! Beep! BeeBeeBeep!
"Mother, I'm home!"
The sound of a digital lock opening and the voice of a teenage boy reached my ears— the doppelganger. I swiftly changed into rarely worn clothes and exited through the window, using the emergency stairs. I left all other items behind to avoid raising suspicion, including my phone. My most significant assets are Wendy and the information I possess, and I can't risk the doppelganger realizing something is amiss.
I ascended to the rooftop, a space our family rarely used.
"...So, this is my new home."
After tidying up the rooftop, I settled on the floor, put on my earphones, and tuned in to the eavesdropper I had installed in my room earlier. The Doppelganger, previously limited to certain topics and then vanishing, was now effortlessly conversing with Mom, Dad, and even Candy. It appeared to have the same personality and memories as me.
...It was excruciating, the idea of battling someone who was 99.9% identical to me. It was both perilous and morally challenging.
Am I even real? Perhaps I'm also a doppelganger and unaware of it. Can't I convince myself? But can I convince myself, now that I've realized I've lost all chances at my dreams?
I clutched my head, continuing to listen to the doppelganger's odd voice through the earphones.
It was a long, long night.
Tomorrow night, I used a payphone to call Wendy and heard an even more astonishing revelation.
[Dude. I think the Doppelganger thing? It happened to me too. Today, my bed was covered in stolen carpenter stuff and similar things...I noticed it after work. And someone just entered my room, like it was normal! I'm at the telephone box now, avoiding any contact...but...'
"...Good job, Wendy. If you see your doppelganger, you will die. Instant death. We need to carefully plan and eliminate them all at once, or it will become a real problem."
[Okay... But Ray, by the way... you didn't come to the shack, right? The Ray at today's shack... it wasn't you.]
"Yes. The doppelganger has currently assumed my everyday life. Anyway, let's meet at the town Cafe tomorrow. No, we need a place where our doppelgangers won't venture... Great. I'll see you at the fancy Cafe tomorrow. I'll give you a call."
[Got it.]
The next afternoon, Wendy and I convened at the fancy Cafe. She ordered a sweet drink, while I settled for green tea.
"...So, if your doppelganger can even see the future and is practically immortal... I still don't understand what you mean by powers, but if he does... how are we going to fight it?"
"That's why we need to devise a plan... By the way, Wendy. If your doppelganger possesses the exact same personality as you, can you trust her?"
"...Huh? What do you mean by that?"
"If I inform my doppelganger that he's fake, he'll attempt every possible means to claim my place as the real Ray and do whatever it takes to survive. Even if it's unethical."
Because that's the kind of person I am. Soon, Wendy comprehended my implications and spoke after sipping her drink.
"If she's a 100% copy of me, I think I can trust her. Of course, as a doppelganger and given your warning about potential threats, she'll need to face the reality, and it might take some time, but with sufficient evidence, she might accept her fate... wow, this is dark."
"Is it? Then I'll show you the proof. Look out the window next to you. Do you see that red-haired girl?"
"...?"
Wendy glanced out the Cafe window. A red-haired girl sporting a green shirt and a trapper hat stood by the roadside, looking somewhat bored.
The expression on Doppelganger Wendy's face instantly stiffened. Earlier in the day, I had met the real Wendy and shared everything with her. We concluded that the doppelganger Wendy could be trusted and had called her here.
"That Wendy outside the window is real. I have more evidence if you need it..."
"...No, that's enough."
Wendy shook her head and fell into deep thought.
"...If that's the case, then I suppose that's what it is... But...Ha... Things were just starting to look up. My youth... Ugh, damn it. I just heard Stan is throwing a party on Friday!"
Despite her evident concern, she finished her drink. A party, huh?
"Are you settled?"
"Yeah, I guess..."
"I do have a question, though. Why did you pilfer from your cousin's place?"
"I... don't really remember."
Wendy tapped her finger on the table, trying to recall.
"I guess I've always wanted some tools of my own. Those are expensive, and my subconscious might have latched onto that desire... and made me act that way. I really don't know. All I remember today is heading to work and finding someone already there..."
"Probably similar to my situation. My doppelganger was feverishly consuming every book within reach. He's not quite complete yet. I believe the doppelgangers need time to develop their consciousness. During that period, they seem heavily influenced by our subconscious."
It appears my doppelganger is unable to recall the fact that we've died once. Now, he's merely devouring every book he can lay his hands on, mirroring my everyday life.
I then disclosed all my powers to Doppelganger Wendy, including the part about my demise. She seemed shocked even more than when I told her that she's fake.
"...Ray. You... you've hidden this from all of us? Even the kids? Stan?"
"Yes, and I need you to understand. I... I promise to tell the real you too one day..."
"...Okay, continue."
"...So Wendy, can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Shoot 'me'. Friday, just before the party. And tell him to find you when he comes back."