Watching and Listening - An Empires SMP AU

The animals know all

           "They what?" False stopped in her tracks. You've been slowly killing your own citizens off. Or I am, technically. Anyone with good sense would want to keep themselves safe. Her other self said like it was obvious, and in retrospect it was.

           False was just surprised to realize how lonely it made her feel. Being an emperor had made her feel something, but now that her citizens were gone... she just had herself, her other self, Jimena, and Ginny. But we don't need anyone else but us, do we?

           False uncertainly nodded along and continued her chores. Once she was done she started walking in circles all around Cogsmeade, trying to clear her head and feel busy. But then she ran into Ginny. "Oh, hi, Ginny," False said. She reached down to pet the cat but she ran off, swishing her tail as if to beckon False to follow her.

           Curious, False followed her cat down a side alley, wondering what it was that she found. They came across a sign in the road, a sign that certainly hadn't been there the first time she'd gone around that block. And Pumpkin Jack was there, smiling happily at the company.

           "Pumpkin Jack? What's this?" False asked. The scarecrow seemingly waved his hand at the message and False bent down to read. "Tag, you're it. She tagged you. What?" Tagged us? Oh, of course False tagged us. It's how she realized we were coming to destroy her tower. Typical of that overbearing control freak.

           Before False could comprehend what she meant, Ginny surprisingly jumped up and bit into her shoulder. Yelping in surprise, False felt the spot that Ginny had bitten. "What was that for?" She's showing us. Growing suspicious, False pressed on the spot and she felt something hard just under her skin. Without thinking, she pulled out her knife and stabbed into her arm.

           When the knife came back out, she pried out a dark metal chip on its tip. She was tracking us with this. False made to throw it to the ground but then she stopped herself. She had a better idea. She grabbed a collar, caught the most energetic squirrel she could find, tied the chip and collar to the squirrel, and then set it loose in the woods outside Cogsmeade. The other False could never track her now.

           But then False got another idea. The finding of the chip had seemingly proven to her that hermit False was not going to stop going after her, deal or not. She needed to be ready if that happened. False bent down to strike Ginny. "Ginny, can you show me a good hiding spot?" Ginny meowed and raced off, with False following.

           They found a little cavern in the side of the mountain. It was very small, but False could dig it out to make it her own personal bunker. And it was close to her house, so she could connect the two. The rest of the day she took out her pickaxes and began to hollow out the solid stone, making a safe haven for herself and Jimena to hide in.

           "Well, what do you think?" False asked, looking around at the empty space she had made. She'd knocked a hole under her and Jimena's bed and sealed both with trapdoors so they could easily get in and out. "This is where we'll plan things, I think. Strategies against the hermits."

           False went out and came back with three chairs and a table and set them up in the middle of the room. She labeled all three chairs as 'False', with a subheading under each of 'me', 'other me', and 'her'. False will never be able to find us again, and no one will be able to find her again either. I'll make sure of it.