[video]

[derivativeofx]

[Oh, hey X. You're looking... kinda different? He's actually in his armor, for one, and he seems to have... invested in new contacts? Jeez, X, red's a pretty sinister eye color. Might wanna reconsider that one.

He doesn't appear to be in his room, either. People who know the school reallly well might recognize the truancy office. Or recognize Resetti's holes in the ceiling.]

I guess I'd better introduce myself sooner rather than later. My name is X. I'm what you might call a reploid, if any of you are familiar with the term. If you're not, I suppose it'd be simplest to just call me a robot. I'll be joining this school's truancy staff. I expect, of course, that I won't be all that busy. You're all dedicated students here, I hope?

[Is there an implied "or else" in there? No, of course not. Nice reploids like X would never do something like that.]

There's... something a little unusual that I'd like cleared up, actually. I was familiarizing myself with the school's records, and I was more than a little surprised to note that I'm apparently already here; there's an X listed in the enrollment records. Is this some sort of filing error?

Comments

[maverickhunterx]

[...Yeah, Just look at yourself staring back at you Copy X. Just with green eyes. And no armor (though his armor is clearly in the shot, sitting in a neat stack near the diagnostics console).

And with a wired connection.

...Though what the hell, this is like looking into the uncanny valley. Seriously, X finds himself in absolute shock for a few minutes before replying, his expression of surprise making it in the beginning of his feed:]

No, it's not.

[But what were the odds of another machine who looked just like him (but in...rather strange armor) going to the same school?) It was simultaneously exciting and...somehow a little uncomfortable, in a weird way.

Maybe his aesthetic design was based on his? Yeah, that had to be it! After all, why else would they have the same name, and strikingly similar features? Though wow, small world.

Still, this was awkward. But at least he'd try looking pleasant.]

Um...hello, sir. I'm the X that's listed in the records. It's...nice to meet you.

[It's nice to meet you, Mr. Robot who looks just like him in weird armor.]

[1/???]

[derivativeofx]

[HOLY PISS IT'S THE REAL X.]

[derivativeofx]

[It seems impossible -- this is a solid, subtantial, living X, here, right here -- but it has to be. Their faces are identical, except for the eyes. (His are green. The color they should be.) The armor's a little hard to see, stacked off in the corner somewhere, but it looks to be accurate for sometime in the Maverick War era. Why isn't he wearing it? Is he embarrassed about it...?

More importantly... because he isn't wearing it, it's even more obvious this one's real. There aren't a lot of records of X out of armor -- you'd have to be special to know little things like what color his hair is supposed to be.

This has to be the real thing. It has to.]

[derivativeofx]

[So the obvious thing to do, then, is correct this misunderstanding before he lands himself in trouble. Just explain that he's not actually X, he's just a replica -- if he'd known that somehow, the real X was actually here, then... well, he just has to tell the truth, right?]

[derivativeofx]

[But then...

X calls him sir.

The original X calls him, the imitation, sir.

Like he's somebody important. More important than X himself. Like... like even he believes that Copy is actually X. How backwards is that? An imitation will never be above the original, right?

But... if this X had armor from the Maverick Wars era -- if this X wasn't a Cyber Elf -- then... he wouldn't know, would he? It's just a small little word, probably said unthinkingly, but it hits him like a bolt of lightning. Some part of him had obviously always wanted to outshine the reploid whose shadow he'd been stuck in all his life, but he'd never actually dreamed the original would...

And just like that, a thought pops into his mind: a perfect copy is indistinguishable from the real thing, right? What if... what if...?]

[aaaand done]

[derivativeofx]

[There was no need to fake the look of surprise and awe on his face, of course -- that was genuine. He did, however, modify it juust a little: add in a very deliberate note of confusion.]

Unbelievable... you look just like I did centuries ago.

[X, after all, was the only familiar name in the school's records. Zero, Ciel, Weil... none of them had popped up. Even if someone from Copy X's own time were here, the general public had never actually known of his existence.

He... had a once in a lifetime chance, here. Nobody knew what he really was. And if nobody knew he was a fake X... what was stopping him from being the real X, as far as everyone here was concerned?]

You're... you're really me, aren't you?

[1/??] (And now it's Jen's turn to TL;DR)

[maverickhunterx]

[Wait.

What.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on a cotton-pickin' minute!]

[2/3] I actually did research for this tag.

[maverickhunterx]

[X had seen some strange things here. Some rather strange things. Magic, anthropomorphic hedgehogs, pokemon, and even a strange item that allows inhuman beings to become human.

But time travel?

It was true that there were various means of time travel, and many theories attached to it, though nothing was conclusive. And say that someone several hundred years in the future could invent time travel just to go back in time to a strange place between worlds to work as a truancy officer; that was all well and good, and could be probable, X supposed.

But what about the whole fact that what he was proposing was that they were, in fact the same person? Sure, there was the Novikov Self-consistency principle (IE: everything a time traveler did was meant to happen anyway, and caused history to go through *because* of his time travel), but wouldn't that have been too farfetched?

Then again, all time travel concepts were pretty farfetched, whether it was the Multiple Universe or Multiple Timeline hypotheses, but it had to be something.

If X had a stomach, it would have clenched. As it stood, his body heat was rising and his fans were audibly trying to cool him off as his insides sparked with excitement.

Was he really looking at himself, or was it an uncanny facsimile with a different eye color?

Either way...he clearly looked just like he did hundreds of years ago (hundreds? Was X really going to live that long?), and they had the same name...]

[3/3]

[maverickhunterx]

[Still, if it was him from the future...

Or even an alternate timeline...

His tone was almost a bit giddy, even if the clear confusion was in his voice, surprise, shock, and a thousand other things shining in his eyes.]

I...I don't know, sir. I could be. I might be.

[derivativeofx]

[...Was it really that easy? X was accepting it that quickly? That... wasn't what he expected of the legendary oh-so-wise founder of Neo Arcadia. Somehow, some part of his mind had maybe built the real X up to be infalliable just by virtue of being X. To think he might actually be so easy to fool...

Copy's... actually kind of getting a rush out of this. He may actually outsmart the original! He's not in the clear yet, of course -- he still needs to tread carefully. He keeps his demeanor calm, maintaining a look of composed but interested contemplation.]

You definitely look the part. This obviously isn't 23XX, so I suppose I can't say it's impossible that my past self might be around... or maybe calling you my present self makes more sense?

...If you don't mind my asking, what has your life been like up until now? If your experience lines up with my memory, then I'd say we're one and the same.

[ video ]

[obfuskate]

[ This is one very bewildered truancy hedgehog staring into the screen in complete and total awe-slash-confusion. That can't be, though! This X looks like the X he knows, yet he is acting as if this is his first time here. Along with that, his demeanor is... not quite the same.

Those eyes, notably...

Shadow whispers something under his breath, a word connected to a memory long past, a word that he never cared to use, yet stuck out in his mind. ]

Faker...

[ Finally, his voice lifts to a normal volume, his expression growing more and more irked. ]

What is the meaning of this?

[ video ]

[derivativeofx]

[the fuck is this

some kind of animatronic Mickey Mouse or something

dude what is its beef]

You seem upset. Let me guess... you're already acquainted with my other self?

Re: [ video ]

[obfuskate]

[ man, if you think he's an animatronic mickey mouse right now, just wait until sonic drags him to disney world and gets him some cute little ears! (spoilers: that is not planned to happen at this time.) ]

Well-acquainted.

[ This... may or may not be a thinly-veiled protective maneuver. To what end, though? ]

Give me your real name. Who are you?

[ video ]

[derivativeofx]

[but shedo didney worl :*(

On a more "actually happening" note: PISS. BALLS. DANG AND SHIT. Does he know? Oh god has the pooch been screwed already? IS IT TIME TO PANIC?]

I... I'm sorry?

[NO, there will be no panic. Panic is a terrible idea that leads to bad decisions. Let's settle for appearing confused and kind of hurt. A very believable reaction -- one he doesn't necessarily have to fake -- and one that doesn't immediately give him away as fake. Maybe this train isn't totally off the rails yet.]

I've always been X. I'm not sure how you expect me to answer that.

Re: [ video ]

[obfuskate]

[ Shadow pauses, eyeing him carefully. Those eyes, for one, and his demeanor being immensely different initially... He isn't acting like the real X. He couldn't see any alternative explanation other than a fake.

His brows furrow, the accusations starting all over again in full swing. ]

Liar. Do you take me for a fool?

[ He's more perceptive than to believe such a flimsy ruse. ]

[majorjealousy]

Another security officer.

[derivativeofx]

There isn't a problem with that, I hope?

[majorjealousy]

Hope you come up past my waist in height.

[derivativeofx]

Excuse me?

[majorjealousy]

One of the other guards. The rodent looking creature with the toy motorcyle. Hope you're taller than him.

[video]

[the_blue_rose]

[Whhhhhhhhaaaat. So he is X but he is not, he is a copy? He is a robotic copy and he was...okay with it? HOW DO ROBOT WORK. Garry didn't know, this guy had an off body language.]

Consider me one of those who knows the other X, he's a student of mine.

Does it upset you?

[video]

[derivativeofx]

That you're teaching my past self? No, not at all. Should it?

...Ah, I suppose it goes without saying that you already know my name, don't you? May I ask yours?

[video]

[roses_are_blue]

[Garry is so confooz. But.]

It's Garry. I'm the painting teacher.

...I only mean it if you are both "X", then does it upset someone is here who is much like, if not exactly like you then...

[Oh my gooooood, Garry what do you know about robots. Answer: nothing.]

Listen to me, that must have sounded incredibly rude. Sorry, I'm not knowledgeable on the subject.

[video]

[derivativeofx]

Oh, no. It doesn't bother me at all.

[He says, wearing a plastic smile.]

I know who I am; the presence of my other self shouldn't necessarily have to change that, should it?

[AND TIME FOR A VERY QUICK SUBJECT CHANGE. This is not a topic Copy X does so hot with.]

You have nothing to worry about; I didn't think you were being rude. It's not as though there's much of a precedent for this sort of thing, is there?

[video]

[the_blue_rose]

No, I mean if it ever gets confusing since you're both "X" perhaps there would be something you'd like me to call you? It's a common thing. I kind of did it if there were other "Garries" around me.

[garry made an awkward smile.]

Yeah, that seems pretty obvious on my end, does it?