[017. I reveal nothing, both played fate.]

[lydiascreams]

[Open Spam]
[Her body is still shaking from the scream, from watching Zane kill Vergil when she wakes up in her bed. Her bed. They are back. And she almost rushes right out of her room toward the infirmary when she realizes she has a katana and a necklance in each of her hands. Her hands that are covered in blood. Both items that she retrieved from Vergil's body.

So instead, Lydia takes time to shower, to both clean herself and pull herself together. She knows from experience that, after something like that, no one needs a reminder of what happened, of how terrifying all of it was walking around the Barge. And it helps her, too.
But as she sits down to put on her make up (not bothering to cover the bruises around her neck this time, either. She survived again. Twice). But when she checks the network as she gets ready, her stomach drops again.

Allison, Mr. Powers. Both of their messages tell her something is wrong. Worse, they tell her that things aren't normal. They tell her that some people are still switched even thought they are already on the right barge.

Or maybe they she is on the wrong barge. Their rooms were the same for the most part.

So Lydia ventures her way out of her room and into the hallway slowly. The mountain ash line underneath her door tells her that she really is back in the right Barge. But then, she has plenty of werewolf enemies in the mirror barge, too. She heads toward the Infirmary to check on Vergil. And once she's done there, she makes her way straight to the seventh floor, using her key to get into Stiles' room ]



[Open Video]
[A few hours later, it's pretty clear to Lydia that this is the normal barge and that there are plenty of mirror people in there still. Which means she needs to be careful and pretend to be her mirror self for as long as possible. A couple of people already know who she really is, but she trusts Stiles, Allison and Mr. Powers not to out her.

So she puts her best glare on and starts the video. Very visible bruises on her neck both from when Jackson tried to strangle her and from the necklace that Zane used against her have already formed.

If someone she trusts contacts her, she will just switch to private and tell them the truth.]

What the hell is going on?


[ooc: Lydia is not switched. More info here.]

Comments

Spam

[voluntaryapnea]

[He focuses on instantly on Beacon Hills.]

Who? Who from Beacon Hills? And which version of it?

Spam

[lydiascreams]

[Lydia pauses at his reaction but then she remembers. Everyone is dead. She wonders if he means the Sheriff.]

I think from where I'm from. I spoke with-- Mr. Argent and your dad. [And Jackson and Matt but there's no point in mentioning them.]

Perma-Spam

[voluntaryapnea]

[He struggles for a moment, with that revelation. He struggles even harder not to react to that information. He doesn't drop want to drop his guard with anyone, Lydia included.]

But you don't know how it happens.

[lydiascreams]

[She wraps her fingers around his hand and gives him a moment to process it, then shakes her head.]

No. It was some kind of glitch. But some people felt side effects of your Barge being near us. Maybe we can figure something out that way.

[voluntaryapnea]

What kind of side effects?

[He lets his hand drop from her face but doesn't let go of her hand.]

[lydiascreams]

Like they were sick. Weak. Some of them like they were losing their minds.

[She glances down at their hands then looks back at him.]

I think it'll be safer if I pretend to be her, I'll need your help figuring out who is from your barge and who's from mine. And how to act around them.

[voluntaryapnea]

[He cocks his head to the side, considering that. Wondering why the approach of his barge would make people on this barge ill -- physically or otherwise.]

If my Scott's here, he'll pose the most problems for you. But I can probably hold him back.

[Maybe.]

[lydiascreams]

[She remembers what happened the last time -- as far as she knows -- that Stiles was stuck in the middle, between her and the other Scott.]

I'm hoping that won't be necessary. Even if it is him. Do you think he'd still attack me if he knew the truth? [And the answer to that question is more than likely yes.]

[voluntaryapnea]

[He doesn't, fortunately, have that memory. He doesn't have any of her Stiles' memories, and he's glad. His head being clear is one of the best side effects that came with accepting the bite. His mind isn't full of a whirlwind of mostly useless crap anymore and he's glad. He's more focused now.]

Yes. [The answer is instant and he meets her eyes.] He sees you as a problem. I don't think it'll matter to him that you're not the same Lydia that he knows.

[lydiascreams]

[With a soft sigh, she nods. It's about exactly what she expects from what she's seen of the other version of Scott. But the real Scott has to be somewhere in there, right? Just like Stiles is.

She looks up at him, her expression open with a hint of hope.]

Do you think you could help me convince him I'm on his pack? Maybe he'd eventually listen.

[voluntaryapnea]

[He looks at her skeptically. He's fairly certain that there's no chance Scott will listen, even to him, about Lydia. He hasn't before.]

Don't get your hopes up, Little Red.

[lydiascreams]

[It's hard not to. Not when the Scott she knows is so good. She smiles softly at Stiles, then cocks her head at the nickname.]

Little Red? Really? [Oh, she gets it. It's not really just an innocent pet name, not between these two. She can practically see her other self purring 'Big Bad Wolf' back to him. Possibly from a faded memory. At least their lives are interesting, she supposes.]

[voluntaryapnea]

[There's nothing innocent about it usually. She's not his Lydia, but she's still the Little Red to his Big Bad Wolf. Even if she's not purring it. In this case, the nickname is probably a lot more accurate.]

It fits. [He looks toward her door, considering for a moment.]

I'll go out. Take a look around. Stay here, see what you can find out on the comms. You have those here, right?

[lydiascreams]

[She definitely doesn't like that idea, but she made up her mind in the arena. She knows she has to let him take care of her so she can take care of him and help him. And she needs to remind herself that this Stiles can take care of himself.]

We do. I'm sure some people said something but Stiles. [She has to, okay? Just in case.]

You need to be careful out there. In our Barge, our biggest problem is Jerry's double. He's a vampire. And he hates you. You don't know how much transferring Barges messed with your abilities, so just avoid him if you see him, okay? Please.

[voluntaryapnea]

[He can tell she doesn't like the idea. But logically it's their best bet. He's a good liar. If she lies and any of the werewolves from his barge are aboard, they'll know immediately.]

Jerry is a vampire? [His voice is dubious. Because Jerry? Really? It's nearly impossible to imagine. Still. He shakes his head.]

I'll be careful. I'm a bit more stealthy now than I was when I was human. [He rolls his eyes.]

[lydiascreams]

A vicious one at that. [Having met the other Jerry, she doesn't blame him for not believing her. But at least he seems to be listening.]

Keep your comm on you, okay? I'll talk to you if something happens and-- watch out for mountain ash. [Speaking of, she should probably clean up all of the mountain ash Stiles no doubt has in his room. Not as traps, but stashed.]

[voluntaryapnea]

[He's listening. He believes her, even if it's hard to picture Jerry being anything but a pathetic cowardly human.]

Werewolf troubles here?

[lydiascreams]

Just the vampire. It works against him, too.

All of the werewolves here are part of the same pack. [Even if Erica doesn't accept it. Even if Jackson isn't ready for that yet, they will both get there eventually.]

[voluntaryapnea]

All of them?

[He knows Scott considers Erica and Isaac part of his pack even though Jackson's arrived and has been trying to re-stake his claim on the betas. But he also knows Scott doesn't really trust them anymore than Scott trusts anyone.]

Including Jackson?

[lydiascreams]

[Of course he has to ask about Jackson. He's Stiles and every version of him is smart. Lydia won't lie to him. She refuses to.]

Jackson just arrived here. He doesn't trust the rest of the pack yet. But Scott is willing to help him. He will with time.

[Unconsciously, she lifts a hand to her neck as she remembers the Jackson she met in the arena. A Jackson so far removed from humanity, she doesn't know if he could ever become even the version she knows. The version she can reach.]

He's not an Alpha here.

[voluntaryapnea]

[He follows her hand as it travels to her neck and his eyes narrow.]

Did he do that to you?

[He's glad to hear that Jackson isn't an alpha here. That'll certainly make it easier for him to take him down if he needs to, to protect her or to protect Scott, or even himself. He's pretty sure that if there's really a universal truth -- aside from he and Scott being friends -- it's that he and Jackson hate each other.]

[lydiascreams]

[When he asks, she stills her hand and slowly drops it. She knows there's no point in lying. Not when her heart is suddenly beating faster. Not when he could probably smell the lie, anyway.]

It doesn't matter, Stiles. It wasn't really him. [Not the one from this Barge.]

[voluntaryapnea]

[Of course she'd defend Jackson. His jaw tightens and he just shakes his head at her as he moves toward the door. It's always Jackson. Always. His words are clipped when he speaks, not turning around as his pulls the door open.]

I'll be back.

[lydiascreams]

[She doesn't need the werewolf senses, she doesn't need to hear his heartbeat or catch his scent to know he's furious. She's not sure if with her, with Jackson, or with both. But she knows better than to let him go out there like this.

So Lydia reaches out and takes his hand, stopping him. She can't help but think of how her Stiles acted and looked when Jackson first got there. She knows it's a sensitive subject for him. She assumes it makes him feel insecure. And just the idea that it hurts both versions of him as much as it seems to is enough to make her chest painfully tight.]

Stiles. Wait.

[voluntaryapnea]

[He grinds his teeth together when she reaches out and takes his hand, and he struggles for a moment, shoving his anger as far down as he possibly can so he doesn't end up doing anything he'll hate himself for. Then he takes a deep breath and shuts the door once again, turning to look at her.]

What?

[His voice is distant. Flat again.]