Julian's Hollow Shell (Prime Awakening)

    Julian held an arm in front of Mae, preventing her from running forwards. Jak would be enough of a surprise to the things; no sense in having her go there and get hurt in the process. Narrowing his eyes at his persona, the teen studied it for a moment, confused as to why he wasn't cackling or shredding into anything as was the norm when it came to shadows. His answer came within secons as he saw the demon right himself slowly, slipping back into the gentlemanly demeanor.

    // Twas a ruse... //

    The thought drifted into Julian's mind moments later, and understanding dawned on him. So it wasn't a Shadow he saw, just a trick of the light or something similar. No need for a fight after all, it seemed. Allowing his posture to relax a little, the male looked towards Mae and gave her a light smile. "False alarm, it looks like. Jak says it's all clear." That said, Julian motioned Mae to come along as he began walking down the corridor again, cathing up to his persona who quickly fell back into line at the rear, as before.

    "Sorry. You were asking me about Em earlier, right?" He glanced over his shoulder at the girl for confirmation. Should she say no, he'd shrug and remain silent. If she said yes, he'd continue on. "She's...well, headstrong is kind of the right word, but not really. More...determined, I guess. She's the head of an army, after all; you kind of have to be set on your goals in that situation. Hm...what else..." He flipped his knife back and forth from a reverse grip to a normal one as he thought for a moment. "She's got a strong maternal streak. And she's a pretty rational person. Sentimental, but rational." That was a precarious balance she'd found herself, but he couldn't help but kind of admire it too. On one hand, you wanted to be close to people, but in her position, you had to take everyone into account, not just a handful of lives. Definitely not an easy choice, but somehow she made it work. Must take an awful toll on her psyche, though...

    It wouldn't be too long until they came across another door. Like the others, this one had no distinct mark on it, and no way to tell what was waiting on the other side. Julian glanced at the handle for a moment before turning to face Mae. "Alright. Same drill as before." His voice was soft, so as not to possibly alert anything behind the door. "This could be an empty room, like the one we arrived in, or it could hold one of the other three. Get ready to fight, just in case. It'll be the same as before, when we saw that other copy earlier; I'll make sure you stay safe, so just back me up and we can get through this, just like last time." With one last reassuring smile, the teen turned to the door and gripped the handle, slowly pushing it open before quietly sliding inside, blade at the ready.

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"Huh... That's odd..." Mae blinked for a moment, speechless. Why was there no shadows here? She had clearly seen them... "I hope so... It would be bad if we got ambushed..." Better staying cautious than running around without a care in the world. That would just be foolish, not to mention dangerous.


Qilin sounded worried as she narrowed her glowing eyes at the spot where the shadows supposedly were... "Me neither, Qilin... It's convenient. A little too convenient. We should be careful, just in case." You'd never know what kinds of tricks the shadows might employ to ambush them. "I know I really shouldn't worry too much about it, but... It keeps bugging me... It's almost like someone or something is playing mind games with us..." Or it could just be her being a bit paranoid. Not that the oppressive atmosphere of the place did her any favors. Why did it have to be a scary place? As she kept on walking, Mae felt something crack underneath her foot. She stopped for a moment, looking at what she had stepped on. A small picture frame with it's glass shattered... what was originally dispalyed was nowhere to be seen...

Making sure that they weren't being followed, Mae kept on walking with Julian as he started talking about this Emmeliene. "Yeah, I did. Might as well get to know what she's like before seeing her clone, don'tcha agree?" A faint smile would make it's way across her lips as the two moved forward through the club. "That seems like an awfully big burden to bear. She must be quite the woman then, if she can handle that. I sure wouldn't." Considering the state of Alternate Penecia, the fact that Emmy still had the will to fight was impressive enough. "She seems very nice. I'd love to meet her sometime."

"You got it. If it is indeed another clone behind this door, then we just have to take it out. And yeah, I'll cover you, so don't worry about that." Mae smiled at him before facing the door once again, taking a deep breath. "I'm ready when you are. Let's do this." What awaited them behind this door? She had no idea, but whatever it was, Mae prepared herself for the worst. She was in Top condition, and so was Julian, thanks to Qilin earlier. If there was indeed another Fragment waiting for them behind this door, then they were more than ready to face it. "After you. Teehee." Mae said in a chipper tone, making a gesture towards the door. It was now or never.

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    The door slid open easily, oddly enough. He thought the hinges might creak or groan from the obvious lack of use, but it was silent, something he was extremely grateful for. At least now if something really was in this room, it wouldn't be tipped off too soon. Still, Julian only pushed the door open just wide enough for him to first peek inside, then, if the coast was clear, slide inside and press himself close to the wall, eyeing the place in case something was hiding about.

    Rita had mentioned this place was tied to him. A twisted version of things and places and people he held dear. Maybe that was why he felt uneasy in some places. It was a little like when he was in the desert and had a...well, gut feeling when he was about to run into a shadow. A tingle down his spine and a heavy feeling in his stomach. That feeling was back with a vengeance. Surely something was in here...was it one of the two his "dad" mentioned, or just another shadow...?

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Mae followed Julian carefully as he opened the door. Whatever was waiting for them inside, if anything at all, could attack them the moment they opened that door... Luckily, nothing seemingly attacked him as he moved through, so that was good news. Her grip around her naginata tightened as she stepped inside the room...

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    God, how long had it been since he'd seen this room? Months. Maybe a year? It was in as as shody shape as the rest of the club and way out of proportion, but he could easily recognize key components of it. The carefully done, hand-carved headboard Mrs. English worked on for weeks under her son's instruction. The band posters strewn all along the walls. Instruments scattered around, although horribly smashed, rusted, or otherwise incapable of being played. That alone made Julian want to laugh, not out of humor, but at how poorly Casper was recreated. The guy would never do such a thing to his instruments. He loved them too much.

     ...Was this what Rita meant by "twisted"? Taking something that you thought could never happen and making it a reality? Turning everything in your life upside down?

    The shattering of glass kept him from going further down that rabbit hole.

    // Damn, how'd that thing even play...? // the teen wondered briefly, studying the worn TV for a moment before turning to see Casper's large blue eyes staring back at him, their playful glint long lost.

    Normally, Casper taking anything seriously was kind of scary in and of itself. But it was a little strange to see his friend come at him with a game controller out of all the things he could've possibly used. That in and of itself was almost funny. In any other situation, Julian might've grinned at the sight. But this was serious. This wasn't Casper; just a trick of his mind, a little hidden fear or whatever the hell this place wanted to call it. And he had to act like it.

    Giving the visage of his friend a listless, cold smile, Julian spoke up. "You will, huh? Well, give it your best shot, short stuff." It was almost hard not to call this thing "Cas" as usual. But it was better he didn't. The sooner he accepted the fact that what he was being shown and what was real were two separate things, the easier this would be.

    Behind him, Jack crouched low, his eyes gleaming at the prospect of another fight come so soon. He managed to catch the fragment's gaze, giving it a sinister little smile that would have it shaken in moments.

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That certainly was Casper alright... But something was off, clearly. His eyes didn't carry that glint of joy, nor did he carry that bright smile. Instead, his eyes were completely devoid of anything other than malicious hate... And the smile wasn't there to begin with. Just like the Clone from before, this one seemed to be covered in the same concentrated evil that coated every inch of this dreadful place.  Mae stood next to Julian, this time not as scared as she was before. This time she knew what she was facing... Her gaze didn't leave the Fragment for a second.

He wasn't real right? "Let's hit it with everything we got Qilin! No need to hold back!" Mae braced herself for combat, and Qilin's flames intensified. "Let him have it!"


The horse sprayed a large cascade of blue fire all over Casper, covering him in a sea of Cerulean flames. Her eyes glinted for a moment as she soared back behind Mae. "It's not over yet... If The fragment earlier is anything to go by, he's still alive and kicking." And indeed, when the flames died down, Casper would most likely stand there, still on his feet... Their way to Julian's Shadow was through him... So regardless whether they wanted to fight him or not... They would have to eventually...

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    Gritting his teeth, Julian pushed Mae behind him and winced as the controller whacked him across the chest. // That's going to bruise... // He considered lashing out at Casper--no, this imitation of Casper--with Daemon, but he couldn't bring himself to ruthlessly stab the image of hsi best friend, regardless of whether or not this thing was an enemy. It was just too eerie, too...painful. Before he could think to clock it in the face or knee it or something, the imitation struck at his knees before slithering back, just out of reach.

    A slight hiss of pain came from Julian before he looked back at Mae. "You alright there?" He took the blow, right? She was unharmed?

    "Oh for--" Was this what this world wanted to spew at him? Was this it's idea of what had happened? Damn those attendants and damn this stupid world! In some part of his mind, he considered--no, knew they were only trying to rile him up. Getting angry would only fall into their trap. But the things this fake said...damn, this was one thing he couldn't help but retaliate against. "Goddammit, do you just focus on shit that's meant to push my fucking buttons? Well congratufuckinglations, you found my trigger." The sardonic smile he tried to shoot the copy came out more like a sneer. "Yay, you did your homework. I fucking moved. I left most of my family there, I left Casper, I left every single fucking thing and came here. Did I want to? No. Did I have a say? I guess I did. I could've whined and pitched a goddamn fit but you know what? Things worked out. I found a purpose here. I've met good people. I've learned things I never would've in Beverly Hills."

    As Julian spoke, Jak slinked behind him, his top lip curling back in a snarl. His purple eyes focused on the blonde, growing sharper and narrower as his owner's voice grew more empassioned and angry. It didn't take 20/20 vision to see the correlation between the two at that moment.

    "So don't think you can say things like that with Cas's face, things he, everyone else, and more importantly I know aren't true." Jak leaned back, readying himself, while Julian's lips twitched upwards into a slow, almost sinister smirk. "At least don't think you can get away with saying it without hearing what I have to say about it."

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"AH! Julian! Are you okay?!" Mae squeaked worriedly, as he took the two hits for her without a second thought. He was a bit reckless... but she was thankful for what he did... This was the second time he had taken a hit for her. "Y-yeah, I'm f-fine." She said, quite shaken. "Th-thank you..." her voice had toned down into a quiet whisper as she got back up on her feet.

What happened next scared her a bit. She had never seen Julian, or anyone else for that matter, this angry before... It was terrifying. Even more than anything she had seen up to this point. But she had to be brave. After all, he had saved her life. Running away now... would make her look like an asshole... And that was something she didn't want to be percieved as. So, instead of running away, Mae slowly inched her way towards Julian, despite how scared she was. She would eventually hold his empty hand reasurringly. "I... Know this stuff hurts to hear... but I think... Cas would never harbor these kinds of feelings. At least, that's what I think. You two are really close, and quite frankly, transparent with eachother. Just like close friends should be. If he really saw you as a traitor for leaving him back in Beverly Hills... Would he have even visited you here in Azores in the first place? What I'm trying to say is... I don't think this is the Velvet Room's distortion of Casper... I think it's... what you percieve him as. He's important to you, right?" Mae said, putting on a brave face for him. Heck, she even managed to give Julian a reassurring smile. "I'm here with you for a reason, you know. Now, let's get you patched up."


Qilin narrowed her eyes towards Casper. "This clone spawned from Julian's subconscious, right? Julian has to face this and come to terms with it... They are here for a reason, after all..." She looked at the Fragment. A way of self-improvement, huh? Maybe that's what the true purpose of this whole ordeal was... "I'm with you every step of the way, Julian. So don't worry."

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    ...What did she say?

    This was his distortion of Casper?

    The thought gave him pause for a moment. Rita did mention this was all a byproduct of him, in a sense. A fight against himself, he was pretty sure she said. But still, why would something like this be in his mind? Casper wasn't like this. Of course he wasn't. ...Right?

    Jak seemed unburdened by these thoughts and worries. He quite literally launched himself at the blonde, seemingly hesitating only a moment before raking his nails at the copy's cheeks, arms, and torso furiously. "I dO nOt aPProVe Of yOur GAmeS." he hissed lowly.            

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"He's up to something... I'm not sure I like this... Let's end this quick!" Qilin huffed in confirmation as she released yet another cascade of flames over Casper. She wasn't gonna let him do whatever he was planning.

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