VB!Foxillians: Terminus

A Confuse Clone?

- Viper's POV -

Tsenre, wearing his night gear, walks into the lab where Ernst was setting up the cloning vat while carrying my unconscious attacker over his right shoulder.

"This is your attacker, right Viper?" Tsenre asks as he drops him onto the padded examination table.

"Yep, that's the one." I say as I cross my arms. "I'm sorry that I mistook him for you Ernst."

Ernst then walks up to the unconscious body and says "It's fine. I'd have mistaken him for me too. Poor guy looks like he's been through a lot, doesn't look like he's had a good meal in a while either. Tsenre, help me prepare this guy please."

Ernst and Tsenre strip him until he's left with just his underwear.

He has no tail and it seems as though it's been cut off and his body is covered in scars that look like somewhat recovered slice wounds.

"He's got a bite mark on his neck, something about the position though tells me he didn't want it there." I commented.

"Alright, let's get the mask on him and pop him in the vat."

While Tsenre and Ernst wheel the body towards the cloning vat, Emist walks in.

"Good evening, Boss. I heard you guys have the offender." He says with a casual salute.

"Good evening Emist, indeed we do. Are you here to observe the examination?" Ernst says as he places the vat's mask over the body's face.

"More or less. I'd say that guy isn't likely to be a clone though so don't try to Biomass him when you're done." Emist says as he leans on the wall opposite the cloning vat.

"Well, we'll find out in a little bit if he is or not." Ernst says as he puts the unconscious person on the holding rack of the cloning bay. "How's the tavern holding by the way?"

"Had Vimaat take over while I came to help with anything I could." Emist replied

"I see. I'm closing the vat now." Ernst notified the entire room.

After the vat sealed shut, fluid filled the vat suspending the body. The rack then retracted into the wall leaving the body suspended in the fluid.

"Alright, starting the examination now."

A minute of silence as the cloning vat whirred as it scanned the body. Eventually the results came in.

"Huh, 99.99% match, no linked clone number either. The age is quite odd, this guy's seven or so years younger than me" Ernst says as his eyes dart back and forth across the cloning vat's control monitor.

"Sounds fitting. He tried to pay for a drink I almost gave him with Audrian Dollars. Those phased out when again, boss?" Emist comments and asks.

"About a month before the Putsch campaign." Ernst replies. "Ah, our 'friend' is awake!"

The 'Ernst' that was in the cloning vat was now panicking and freaking out. The speaker of the control panel started screaming "Where am I! Let me out!"

Arms still crossed, I walked in front of the vat and stared him dead in the eyes.

"V-V-Viper?!"

"What the hell did I do to you to have you point a knife at me?!" I shout at him while his panic ensues.

"You've been chasing me through Fox forest, Nomadia and even Arias for three months now after killing Sophie and Bleach! It's only logical that I'd stay clear of you!" He shouts as his body language turns from panic to one of anger.

"Killing Sophie and Bleach? Viper would never do that!" Ernst says from the control panel.

"Wait, is that... me over there? You look..."
"Yeah, I know, 7 years does a lot to a man. Will you be willing to listen to me for a moment?"

"How can I listen to someone who would willingly accept Viper as a girlfriend after she killed your two closest friends, one of which was your girlfriend at that!" He lashes out at Ernst.

"Viper? My girlfriend?" Ernst asks in confusion.

"As much as I wish it were true, Ernst isn't my boyfriend." I say with a snicker on my face.

"You're... not?" he asks in confusion

"Nope, he's not exactly a better alternative, but I'd rather Tsenre over Ernst regardless." I say as I walk over to Tsenre who pats my head as I cling to his arm.

"You... You're the one from that vision!" He exclaims. Shortly afterwards, a ping came out of the Cerebralink device that was connected to the control panel. Ernst activated the device and put on the VR helmet.

"Hold on, this was a snapshot of my 19th birthday." He says with the helmet still on.

"So that was your memory?" the vatted Ernst asked through the speaker.

"It would seem so."
"You mentioned that Viper wouldn't kill Sophie, right? Where is she, I... I want to see how well she aged after seven years."

Ernst took off the VR helmet momentarily and looked at Tsenre.

Tsenre shrugged and left the room to call her over.

"I'm here Ernst, you need something?" Sophie says as she enters the room.

"I... wow..." the vatted Ernst says. "She really didn't get slain in this place and she's far more beautiful than I could've ever imagined."

Sophie worriedly asks "Did something happen to the 'me' from... wherever you came from?"

"Unfortunately, yes... I suppose I ought to tell you why I reacted so violently to your Viper earlier." Ernst says as his body calms down and stops looking for ways to escape.

"I don't know how... Tsenre was it? got into your group, but I reckon that's the thing that saved your Sophie and Bleach from getting killed seeing how your Viper is clinging onto him. Sophie, Bleach and I were all at home when the incident happened. Viper came over and in a fit of insanity slew both of them. She seemed to think that I was her true soulmate or something and that Sophie and, by affiliation, Bleach were keeping me from her. After that I managed to escape but she caught up to me a few times where I got all these cuts and I was forced to cut my tail off after it got caught by one of her traps. With what little sanity I had left, I avoided her to the best of my ability but she kept finding me somehow. Recently though, I thought that I lost her when your Viper showed up."

"And because of this, you freaked out, threatened her and ran away." Emist says still leaning on the wall.

"Correct, and I am very sorry for that."

"Well... I can at least understand why you did it." I say as my pity for him grew.

"Story checks out." Ernst says as he removes the VR helmet. "His memories coincide with his story. The memory of the slain girls will plague my nightmares for a few weeks though."

"I haven't had a proper night of rest in months. I would repeatedly awake to nightmares. It's a horrible life but I want to at least kill Viper before I go out, my Viper specifically."

"I see. How should we call you though since calling you by the boss' name would... cause confusion at the very best." Emist asks.

"I can go with Vagabond, and as for my target, we can call her Vileper."

"Even your naming methods are similar to our Ernst's methods." Tsenre says with a chuckle.

"I'm going to ignore that and let you out of the vat now. Emist, you mind giving the guy a room at the tavern for a while?" Ernst says after leering at Tsenre for a moment.

"No problem, boss." Emist says as he stands up straight.

"Where are my clothes by the way?" Vagabond asks.

"They're over there on the examination table, although we can give you a new set of clothes if you like." Tsenre says.

"I would appreciate it, thank you." Vagabond says with genuine appreciation.

"Alright, Emist? Do you mind?"
"Not at all Tsenre. I'll go get it."