Seeing Through the Trauma

My Worst Enemy. Me (2)

Why him? MK preferred it when the curse was mimicking other people. Staring at himself with glowing eyes and a creepy smile, made of ink and a blackness that felt too dark to be real MK shivered, chills running down his spine. 

"What's wrong, guy? You look scared?" The figure asked him, and the sound of MK's own voice distorted like that made him flinch as he took a step back, arms raised and on guard. 

"Uh, yeah, 'cause I am?" He responded, unsure as to why the thing was being almost civil with him, why it hadn't started attacking him already. 

"Oh yeah. That's right, I forgot. You're just a scared kid, too useless to be of any help and always running away and clinging to others at the first sign of danger." The curse scoffed out, almost glaring at MK now who felt himself blink at the whiplash of emotions and shake his head to deny it. 

"Hey! That's not true, I-" 

"Oh? Isn't it though? Look at you now, shaking like a coward, too scared to face me." It taunted and MK glanced down at himself, noticing the way his hands were trembling and balling them into angry fists to hide it even if it was too late. 

"Who even are you anyway, what do you want?" He gritted out, watching with weary, on-edge eyes as the being rolled its eyes, stretching its arms out wide. 

"Isn't it obvious?" It chuckled, grinning widely. 

"I'm you!" MK shook his head, taking a step back. It wasn't him. It wasn't. MK wasn't like that.

"Only better. I'm stronger. Less scared. Weak. Useless." MK shook his head again, the words feeling like they burned as fear scorched through him, flashes of her whispering those words at him scathingly making him flinch.

"Stop." He muttered, his voice little more than a croak that the creature ignored, continuing on proudly.    

"As for what I want, I want what you want. To be strong, right?" MK's immediate thought was to deny it but... well it wasn't wrong. MK did want to be strong. He didn't want to be weak all the time, scrambling to run away like a coward. He didn't want to be so afraid.     

"Aren't you tired of losing over and over? Tired of letting other people have to save us like we're some damsel in distress?" It asked and MK clenched his hands together, wishing tightly that he had his staff or any weapon right now to clutch onto because he felt very, very unsafe. Weak. 

"Don't you want to be strong?" 

"Of course I do-" MK started quietly but was cut off. 

"THEN STOP HOLDING BACK!" Other him yelled in a sudden burst of anger and rage that caught MK off guard as his breath caught in his throat. What... what did he mean? 

"I'm not holding back." MK protested, shaking his head as he looked around wildly for an exit, somewhere to run to before stopping, realizing that he didn't want to keep fleeing from his problems. He didn't want to prove this thing right. 

"You are!" MK shook his head again, anger bubbling up inside him as he growled and felt something that wanted to take more of an offensive stance build up inside him. He wasn't scared! He wasn't useless! Calling the shadows to his side MK felt his magic build up in his hands, eyes glowing brightly under the blackened darkness that surrounded them as something formed in his hands, something cool to the touch, and when MK looked down he was holding a pointed staff in his hands, the weapon long and dark, thin and lithe with a sharp edge either end like a two-sided spear. 

"I'm. Not." He growled out, holding the staff out in front of him defensively, his tail flicking around behind him and he didn't even have time to marvel over what he'd just accomplished because his double grinned widely, suddenly much more amused.