Watching and Listening - An Empires SMP AU

Her other personality

            "it's not really that weird." False said, shrugging. "Oh, really?" Martyn asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that? You lot are pretty weird. I don't think you get what's actually normal or weird anymore." "Says the person who was trapped in a mineshaft." Jimena said. "Don't start it up again." False said warningly. 

           "But okay, I guess the other False is a little weird sometimes."

           "If I'm weird, then you are too, other me."

           "I just meant that it's weird because you're technically just a piece of me that was suppressed and then came back more self-aware." 

            "Yup, definitely weird." Martyn said, kicking up his feet and resting them on a nearby stool. He glanced at Jimena. "How about you? How's Herodias doing in your head?" "Herodias? She's um... I don't know." Jimena said, recalling her previous failed attempts at trying to understand her other personality. 

            "I still can't believe that 2 stuffed someone else in your mind." False muttered. "Okay, now you're making it sound weird." Herodias said, surfacing in Jimena's consciousness. "I meant what I said." False said calmly. "Yeah, I know." Herodias said, and then she sank back into the back of Jimena's head again. 

           "I get the feeling she only pops up like this just to remind us that she still exists and is still here." Martyn said, eying Jimena in a rather weird way. "No I don't!" Herodias suddenly erupted, wings flaring. Then she calmed down somewhat and settled her wings back down. "Okay, fine, maybe I do. But I need to remind you about the Watchers!" 

            Another reminder of what was to come in the next two days. Jimena sighed. "Herodias, can you just let us forget about that for a few seconds?!" There was a small pause where no one said anything. "Nope, no can do." Herodias finally said. "Orders are orders and I'm supposed to do my job and make sure you do yours." Everyone either rolled their eyes or sighed or did both. 

            "You know, Herodias, you really need a nickname." Martyn said a bit brashly. "What's wrong with 'Herodias'?" Herodias asked, sounding a bit affronted. "He-ro-di-as." Martyn said, pulling out each syllable. "It's four syllables. Can't you get a nickname with only one or two?" "I like the sound of 'Herodias'." Herodias muttered. "It sounds powerful and mysterious." 

            "It sounds old and dusty." Martyn shot back. Herodias suddenly stood up and flared her wings like earlier, but this time a little more threateningly. Martyn jumped and flinched slightly backward in his seat. "Hey, Qiron gave me this name and I intend to keep it." Herodias said darkly. "Okay, fine, no nicknames for you." Martyn said quietly. 

           Satisfied at least a little that she'd asserted her dominance, Herodias settled back down in her chair and let Jimena take control once again. "Maybe you should get a nickname, Jimena." Martyn suddenly said, looking at her. "Me? Why?" Jimena asked. "Three syllables." Martyn shrugged. "Maybe I should call you 'Jimmy'." 

         "But the sheriff already has that name." Jimena pointed out. "Yeah, but 'Jimena' is still a weird mouthful." Martyn said. "It's not really that much of an inconvenience." False said. "So?" Martyn asked. "I still want all my friends to have only either one syllable or two syllables in their name. Now to find a good nickname..." Jimena decided to change the subject before Martyn decided to give her a weird nickname. 

          "Why did 2 name you 'Herodias'?" She asked Herodias what she hoped was a pleasant way. "Because 'Jimena' means 'listener' and 'Herodias' means 'watcher'." Herodias explained. "When the Watchers decided to make new names for themselves it made sense for mine to be 'Herodias'."

           "Well... that's a coincidence." False said. Herodias shrugged. "Yeah, it is, considering what she did." She was somehow able to obviously motion to Jimena even though they were the exact same person. "Me? What did I do?" Jimena asked in confusion. "Oh, right, you don't remember." Herodias said, and then she did something mentally that seemed to flick a switch in Jimena's brain. 

           Suddenly she started remembering things that she couldn't remember before. About her time with the Watchers. Holes in her mind were not so slowly being filled up again and Jimena was aware. She was aware of what had happened. Most of it, anyway. Then there came a piercing pain of a migraine and she snapped out of it, screaming and clutching her head as Martyn and False rushed over to help. 

           Then Herodias did something and the pain was gone as suddenly as it came. Breathing heavily, Jimena uttered her thanks to her other personality and she acknowledged it. "What just happened?" Martyn asked in confusion. "Are you okay?" False asked. Jimena nodded. "Yeah, Herodias got rid of the migraine. I'm just surprised it came back after so long."

           "It's just a thing that happens when your psyche is damaged." Herodias explained idly. "Your psyche was in quite a state before which was why you kept on getting those headaches. It's like those times when False got nauseous constantly and threw up despite not having an actual physical illness." Everyone looked at False. 

           "That would actually explain a lot." False said. Then she turned to Herodias. "Why did the migraines stop for a while and then come back so suddenly now?" "After I came along her psyche was settled enough to not constantly disrupt itself." Herodias said calmly. "Just like after your other personality was fully realized you weren't as nauseous anymore, False." 

           "This brain stuff is way over my head." Martyn moaned. "Then why again did Jimena just experience another headache?" False asked persistently, ignoring Martyn. "I was trying to loosen up some of her memories so she could remember. Apparently her mind couldn't take that much of a strain. But I fixed it. She remembers more now." Herodias said, and then relinquished control to Jimena. 

           "You remember more now?" False asked her curiously. Jimena nodded. "What do you remember?" Martyn asked, also curious. "Well, just some more stuff about the Watchers." Jimena mumbled. "Oh, and this part where I was escaping them to go and join the Listeners." Martyn inhaled sharply. "The Listeners?" He asked with an urgent tone in his voice. 

           "They're Watchers who didn't agree with how the pantheon was going about doing things so they left to form their own faction." Jimena explained, wondering why Martyn looked so strange. "They've been talking to me too." He muttered in response to her asking. "Martyn, what is it about you that attracts the attention of gods?" False asked. 

           Martyn looked sheepish. "Uh, maybe I'm the main character or something." He said with a cocky grin. Jimena and False laughed. "If you say so," She said. Martyn said something else but Jimena wasn't paying attention anymore. Herodias speaking and only to her. This is why I need to keep you in line. She hissed, something sharp scratching the back of her mind. This is why I need to make sure you're listening to the right person. 

---

           False stopped paying attention to what Martyn was saying too when she spotted the look of pain on Jimena's face. It was quickly quelled, though, just like every other one that False had noticed out of the corner of her eye ever since Herodias had come along. So far False hadn't really talked to Jimena about it yet but the whole business still worried her. 

           What is Herodias doing that I can't see? And how do I help Jimena when it's all happening in her head? False sighed. It's really frustrating how much I want to stab that other personality of hers but can't. False's other personality said with suppressed anger. I know. I want to stop her too. False replied mentally. But this is one thing we can't really do anything about. 

           Yeah, that's why I'm so frustrated. The other False grumbled. False nodded and glanced back at Jimena, who seemed to be completely in control again. I'll be watching you, Herodias. False thought to herself. And if we ever somehow figure out a way to hurt you without hurting Jimena... Her other personality left her sentence trail off vaguely. I'm going to make you pay.