A Dream of Quiet (IC)

[Scarlet Dragon]

A Tyrant Lizard sized chameleon-furred panther, otherwise known as Dancer, bounds onto the scene and quickly becomes confused as he can be. He sniffs the air, and looks between the two but no matter what he can't tell any difference between them.
"Stop smelling same, me nose confused."

[Recaiden]

Drake laughs, and an Investigation charm sounds to Telltale Symphony. "I cannot believe you are trying this! There is nothing worse and more overdone than accusing the original of being the impostor!"

He puts his head in his hands and sighs. "We were stealing the Final Maelstrom from the Lion. Do you really think you can pose a question about me that Dancer knows but I don't?"

[Drascin]

"No, no. If you want to be me, you need a bit more snide and a bit more resignation. You don't phrase things the same way I do. See, the idea is sort of narrating to yourself while including the rest as an afterthought, like you're remarking on how bad the script to your life is and giving the others pointers." Drake grins.

"By the way, what was that Charm you just used? You DO realize I can hear you use them, right?

I wonder what its limits are, though. Can it tell you what happened inside the Maelstrom?"

[Recaiden]

"I'm not that snide. I just end up facing caricatures of myself because you're not good enough to properly understand that there's more than a narrative."

"Of course. You think I don't know the sound of my own charms? Trying to play ignorant of how your own disguise works is nice, but you forget how much Raziel and Orchid knew." Not that they told Drake anything about Ebon Dragon charms, but Dancer doesn't know that.

Expected Pain. You're about to be subject to a surprise attack. At the same moment, the other Drake twitches slightly, glancing about in alarm.

"It doesn't need to; I already know. Tell me, 'Drake', which of us killed that man in the control room?"

[Scarlet Dragon]

Dancer continues to glance between the two Drake's in confusion. One says something to lead credence to them being the real one and then the other counters with just as valid information, well to Dancer anyways. Otherwise Dancer does not act.

[Drascin]

"Oh, yes, yes I am snide. Not nastily so, or I try, but I'm snide, and i'm sarcastic, and I treat everything like one big joke, because my life makes absolutely no sense and if I didn't make every attempt to see it like one big story with me as the joke I'd have despaired ages ago." Drake grins. "Might wanna do some psych background checks on the guy you're impersonating next time"

The next bit makes himnarrow his eyes and drop the grin, though, angrier. "None of us" Drake's voice goes a fair bit lower for a second, venomous. "As you would know if you really were me". Whether Dancer has caught that Drake never considered Corona "one of us" or even barely a person in her own right, well, he doesn't know, but right now he's more having a kneejerk reaction.

He's waiting for the attack now, ready to block...

[Recaiden]

"As might you. That, what you just described, is a front. My life doesn't make any sense until you think about how it would be for the others without me. I'm sarcastic to let myself deal with those obstructive, selfish fools in the Celestial Bureaucracy, and if you think that's who I really am down here, you really don't know me." Drake grimaces. Laurel coming to impersonate him is oddly straightforward. No moral quandries or world-shaking revelations.

"So you know about Corona, do you? Quite a trick to...and getting out your gauntlets. I guess we've seen your true colors."

[Drascin]

"Actually, I just felt an attacking intent nearby. You seem to have the same charms I do, so either you were about to attack me or you must have felt it too. And if it's the second one I suggest you shut up for a goddamn minute, and later I promise I'll take out my portable couch and we can psychoanalyze each other until you're satisfied. You seem more interested in playing with me for whatever demented games you're doing right now than killing me, at least, while I can't say the same for whatever else might be out there" Drake says, back to scathing as he surveys the area while always keeping an eye on Laurel.

"Oh, and all that stuff? You should probably keep in mind my insecurities when impersonating me. "How the others would be without me"? Probably better off, overall. I'll get to the rest once I'm sure I'm not going to get eaten by a Sarlacc. If you even know what a Sarlacc is"

[Scarlet Dragon]

Dancer thinks to himself Well, I can't tell the difference between these two. Knocking them both out should give me some time to decide which is the real one, and I can also enlist Raziel in figuring this out. Having come to a conclusion Dancer leaps forward into action bringing both of his gargantuan fists rocketing into the locations of the two Drakes taking care to keep his claws to himself.

Spoiler

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flurry of attacks
At actual Drake (16d10)[6][3][7][6][10][3][1][1][4][6][2][5][4][1][9][8](76)-2 Acc +4motes spent on First Dexterity Excellency
Imposter Drake (16d10)[8][2][6][6][3][8][3][3][7][5][5][2][7][8][5][2](80)-3 Acc +5motes spent on First Dexterity Excellency

[Recaiden]

"Yes I felt it too and could you stop talking about my supposed insecurities long enough to find it?" Drake turns around, looking for it, and-

The threat is here. Drake feels the impossible thing coming at him just before it strikes, and narrowly gets his hands up to block.

Spoiler

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4m on Expected Pain because Dancer is Outside of Fate and apply DVs

[Drascin]

Drake manages to block narrowly, backing off as the impact skids him a few centimeters back. Thank god for Smashfists.

"Dude! What the hell!?"

(Yeah, Drake isn't about to attack Dancer, so I'm guarding for now)

[Scarlet Dragon]

"Me confused who real, so me knock out both Drake. Take to Raziel for decide." Dancer explains as he disappears from sight, and as if Fate itself seems to close up around him as if it is denying that he even exists.

Dancer then lunges at the imposter Drake, even though he does not know he is the imposter, with a powerful punch.

Spoiler

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Reestablishing Surprise and attacking the Imposter Drake hoping to knock out one then the other. All opposed checks for the surprise suffer a -2 internal Penalty and a -2 external penalty as he just went invisible
Flurry of two actions
7 successes (10d10)[7][1][8][3][8][10][10][6][7][1](61)2motes for Dexterity Excel. Establishing Surprise
7 successes (16d10)[6][3][2][7][4][1][4][8][3][8][5][8][5][8][10][6](88)-3 acc 5motes Dexterity Excel. Attack

Oh and I have 6m spent out of my peripheral at the moment

[Recaiden]

"Dancer! That's not the way to figure out that he's the fake." Drake ducks and weaves and with impossible speed, just gets out of the way. A blue mark appears on his forehead, the Sign of Serenity.

Like the original, he does not fight back, Guarding.

[Scarlet Dragon]

Dancer pauses and delivers his terms for him to stop trying to knock them both out. "Well, both get on back, I fly see Raziel he figure out or knock out who disagree drag Raziel anyways. Or drop disguise we talk no violence. Know me no know you well, tell who is. Choice yours"

Spoiler

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Dancer translated:
Well then, either you both get on my back and I fly us to see Raziel so he can figure out which one of you is the real one or I knock out those who disagree with this plan and drag them to Raziel anyways. Or drop the disguise and we can talk without having to resort to violence. You both know I don't know either of you well enough to tell which one is which. So the choice is yours

[Recaiden]

"A calm, reasonable discussion, resolved with no violence or trickery? I must be dreaming." But that, that doesn't sound fun. Drake decides he'd rather never have started this. And so he didn't.

Spoiler

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Avoidance Kata!

Drake, you were on your way to the manse when you ran across Dancer in the sandstorm. There were raksha, and something about a double. One of them was pretending to be you?

Dancer, one of the Drakes just vanished.

[Scarlet Dragon]

"Other Drake just vanish. You say he had your charms. What he do?"

[Drascin]

(Yeah, gonna be spending willpower on that one to keep the memories, myself. I dunno about Dancer. Mostly because I was really thinking to do that very same thing myself, so I figure Drake would be in a mindset to shake it easier)

Drake sort of stumbles back and blinks as the illusion confuses him - but he's too familiar with the effect, having abused it himself repeteadly, and honestly kind of almost about to use it himself. So he stays there for five seconds, trying to get the desert to stop spinning and think.

"...oh you son of a BITCH" Drake spits to nobody in particular, kicking the sand. Damn it damn it damn it.

"She left, in my shape. And with my charms. She'll be like twenty minutes away in any direction by now. And I don't even know if she read my goddamn mind, and if she did I am absolutely ****ed" Drake is kind of panicking and frustrated right now. He can think of seventeen ways Laurel in his shape can ruin his entire life and that's without even getting into the more involved ones. He takes it out punching a nearby rock cracked with his smashfist. "I ****ing HATE Solars and everything that has ever had to do with them!"

Okay, Drake, breathe. In, out. Calm down.

"...yeah, we have little chance of catching her with the charm she used. We need to warn the others that she can do that. She could go and meet any of them and stab them in the back while they're not suspecting it.

Hell, why do you even trust me right now? For all you know I'm the impostor and the real one bailed rather than having a close encounter with those freaking hammers you have at the end of your arms, dude. I almost did!"

[Scarlet Dragon]

"Well, I offer no punching, other Drake poof. Mean actual Drake you."

[Rhyvurg]

[City]

"The only problem with it is an unreliable source. Thaumic wards against an individual, Kaneko, made after 'his death' and with some of their energy actually spent on holding. Recovered from the slopes of Mount Kadathe by one of the Lunar Anathema." A shrug. "His armies did suffer a defeat at Red Ice Field. House Tepet had one whole member present, but someone's succeeding where they ought to."

"Yeah, if only. Finally something interesting's happening in the city, and nothing to do with us." Pyrus's report on the Lap is mostly well received, save one guy still shaking his head. Pyrus was there and he doesn't understand? He must not have seen.

Pyrus nods sagely at his cousin, not wishing to continue. "You need a vacation away from worrying about Anathema. I found a brothel in An Teng full of Godblooded girls, you could dive in and lose yourself for weeks."

Pyrus grins. "Come on lads, I know a place we can have a bit of fun. The empress almost never used her summer palace here, been empty for years. Who knows what kinds of things she kept in there. You got nothing else to do but worry, let's go have a look?"

[Drascin]

"I... don't think that's fully sound logic, but I probably should shut up and stop poking holes at the rationale that means I don't get punched in the face" Drake snorts darkly.

"Okay, then. Let's go back to Gem. If nothing else we have the advantage that she'll have to be some distance away" Then something occurs. Wait. If she got my memories. I can't leave the scarab in my hideout. She'll just grab it and poison the deal and then he's screwed. Dammit. I'll have to risk carrying it for a while while I find a safe house. "So, what were you doing all the way out here?"

[Scarlet Dragon]

"Me hunting Raksha. They run into storm, I follow. I give lift back Gem if want"

[Recaiden]

((May I direct your attention to the...))

SECOND IN-CHARACTER THREAD