Split Personality

 Split Personality 

Katherine Rholonda Marmo leaned forward in the mirror, putting on light touches of blush on her already rosy cheeks. “Hey, Karla! You wanna hurry up in there?” The heavy voice of her husband, Terry Marmo, was heard from behind the bathroom door. “Give me a minute, dear. If getting to the bathroom was so important, you should’ve been awake sooner.” Smiling to herself, she didn’t mind if Terry, her brother Murdoc or anyone else called her by her full first name, but she made everyone call her Karla for so long it stuck. Karla was no longer the little kid her brother had to look after anymore. She was a grown woman now, and her name should reflect that. But hearing her niece call her “Auntie Karla” was just too cute, she could argue with Emily! While those thoughts passed through her head, she stopped and looked at herself in the mirror, her smile slowly fading as she sighed to herself. She lightly touched the image of herself, watching as her opposite did the same. “After all these years, I’ll never be able to look myself in the mirror the same way again…”

                                                   Mario Central: Marco Zone Attic

“…Ungh…What happened?” Karla looked around as she slowly stood up from where she apparently had fallen. “Hey, bro? Terry?…Come on, this is a pretty lame joke…”  Karla’s eyes came to a stop on a few boxes piled in the far corner of the room. Other than that, the room was empty. Apparently, I’m not in my living room anymore… She thought while making her way to the pile. ''What’d they do? Drug me, then drag me to an empty room!? And what are these boxes, anyway?'' Before reaching them, she stopped in the bathing sunlight of the window and decided to look outside. ''Huh!? N-no way! How did I end up at the beach!? Is this an attic? We never lived by the beach, and we never had an attic! And is that a giant turtle!? Where the hell AM I!?'' Karla began to pull at her hair in frustration. “Ugh! This is so irritating! So many questions, and apparently no one to help answer them. I’m stuck in an attic of who knows where in the middle of the beach, and Terry and Murdoc are gone.” Looking back at the window, she walked over and pushed against it. Finding that it didn’t put up any resistance, she made her decision. “Looks like I’ve gotta lean out a bit and dirty these new clothes I got just to escape this room! Man, what a birthday this turned out to be…Hmm? What is that back there? Is that a statue?”

Before Karla had time to get a good look around, she heard footsteps approaching the attic. “Oh, crap! I’m pretty sure that’s not Murdoc or Terry!” She quickly made her way out of the window and clung for dear life to the side of the roof, while listening to the voices that slowly filled the attic’s walls.

“I still don’t understand why you keep coming up here. No one’s been here since his disappearance, so you’re not going to find anything new here. Besides, you have a tournament to run, don’t you?” She heard a gruff masculine voice say. “True. But I can’t help but feel that I might be able to find something, a lead that will help me get closer to his whereabouts, or even a reason why he vanished. I miss him, and coming here helps me to relax like he did,” another voice said. This voice was heavy accented and very familiar, but Karla couldn’t quite put her finger on where she’d heard it before. “Besides,” the accented voice continued, “with the way this tournament is set up, I won’t have to worry about much. I have plenty of workers keeping an eye on things. Including yourself and my younger guard.” The masculine voice grumbled a bit before voicing his opinion. “Hmph. Well, I don’t really approve of sending her out to keep an eye on things. She seems to have her head in the clouds, and only talks to a few other people…”

While he was talking, a ringtone went off, and was answered by the accented one. “Yes?…I see. I’m glad you found out. No, no. Let him participate, he hasn’t caused any problems and it seems as though his duel monsters deck is legal, even if he has registered late. Keep an eye on him and inform my Guild representative of my decision. Also, if you can, bring me a list of the cards in his deck? Excellent, I’ll be right there.” Karla listened to what she could of the conversation. ''Wait. Duel Monsters!? That’s YuGiOh!! Where in BlazBlue am I? And what of the other participant? Could that be…MY BROTHER!?'' While she was deep in thought, she heard movement coming closer to the window. “Say, Mario. Was this window open the last time we were up here?”

Mario!?

“No. Mama Mia, that window’s always loose. Just go ahead and close it, Knuckles.”

''Mama Mia!? Knuckles!?''

*Slam* *Click* The last thing Karla heard was the closing and locking of her only way back inside the attic. SUNOVA---*sigh* This can’t be happening… Karla steeled herself and began to climb the roof of the house until she reached the top. As she looked over the area, her suspicions were confirmed by a giant statue of Mario standing far off to the left edge of the island.'' I’m on Mario Land!? This has to be a dream, or a nightmare…'' Looking towards the ground, she realized that if she fell, she’d die. Luckily, she noticed another open window, which led to a flight of stairs down and outside safely. Quickly, but carefully strafing along the roof, Karla squeezed her way through the window. Making sure there was nobody around, she softly leaped onto the floor next to a hallway mirror. “Aww, man…My new clothes are dirty now,” she said as she dusted her pants and jean jacket off. However, she stopped and slowly looked at the reflection in the mirror, noticing that even though it was supposed to be her reflection, all it did was stand with its arms crossed. Also, instead of hazel colored eyes, her reflection had a sinister green color instead. “Um, this is one strange mirror…”

“Hah! If only you knew the truth, little girl!” The reflection replied, making Karla stumble back in fright. “W-who are you!? This isn’t funny anymore…Murdoc! Terry!…Mommy!!” The image only laughed. “Crying for your mummy, huh? She won’t be helping you anytime soon! And now, your body is finally mine!!” The image thrust her arm out to Karla, causing her to clutch her head in pain. “Nugh…Augh…AAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!”

                                                  Marmo Residents: Main Bathroom

“Karla!! Did you drown in there!? I know we have the day off of our respective jobs, but that doesn’t mean…Karla? Whoa, you look bad!” Terry Marmo finally opened the door to see his wife clutching the edge of the bathroom sink, shaking in fear. “Ugh, no. I’m okay, Ter. I just had a flashback, that’s all. Really, I’m fine.” Terry smirked while placing his strong arms around Karla in a loving embrace. “Mm-hmm…And you know people who say they are fine usually are not. Frantic, Insecure, Neurotic and Emotional. Katherine, if you want to talk, I’m here.” Karla smiled at hearing her full name. ''I know. But this is an inner demon that I can’t seem to shake''. She turned around and poked his side a few times, a ticklish spot to Terry. “HAhaha! Cut…that…out!” Karla, in the mist of her lover’s laughing fit, made her exit out of the bathroom. “You’ve got the bathroom now, Terry. Better take advantage of it! And we‘ll be leaving for Murdoc‘s in a few hours, so hurry up~!” Terry shook his head while closing the bathroom door. “It’s only 8 o’ clock. We aren’t headed there for another 2 hours…” You’re still the master of dodging difficult questions…"

Karla walked into her bedroom, noticing the fact that she had 3 different mirrors installed. Unlike her brother Murdoc, and his wife, Mizuki, she and Terry decided to get separate bedrooms. They do sleep together, but their lifestyles are so different they couldn’t confine it to one shared room…

At least that’s what she told everyone. Karla had her own room for a specific reason, and that was to try and conquer her phobia of mirrors. Eisoptrophobia, as her doctor called it. A fear of mirrors or seeing one’s self in a mirror. ''But they don’t understand. Not even Murdoc, Terry or even Mizuki truly understand. The one I saw that day, and many other days was'' not me!! She moved to her sliding closet door, reaching for the handle, but stopped short when she saw her figure. Even though she wore her nightgown, she felt naked.'' And even though I said I forgot what happened that day, I didn’t forget. I still remember the horrible things that happened in the short span of an hour…''

                                                   Mario Central: Marco Zone Main Hallway

“What…happened…?” Karla looked up and rubbed her eyes in a daze. Rising off the floor, she took a look at her surroundings, noticing that she was still in the hallway with the mirror. But her view was different, or rather reversed. While the stairs and the door where still behind and in front of her respectively, the mirror that was on her left was now on the right. “''Oh my gawd…This is too weird! I’ve gotta get outta here and find my brother…huh!?''”  When she tried to move for the front door, her body didn’t comply with her movements. In fact, she felt much lighter than the 115 lbs she normally weighted. “Why…”

“You won’t be goin’ anywhere, little miss prissy.” Karla looked to her right and saw herself standing in front of her. Her arms crossed and hair no longer bound by the accessories, glaring at her with those piercing green eyes that made Karla shiver in fear. “Welcome to the astral world. Here, you’re in spirit form, weightless and detached from your body as you can clearly see.” Karla had trouble breathing. “''Is this…true!? Am I dead!?''”

“No. You’re not dead. And yeah, in this world, you need some real concentration to block me from hearing your thoughts.” Her clone said. Karla closed her eyes and sighed. “Who are you, and how did I get like this?” Karla watched as her other self brushed her hair back and off her shoulders in a haughty manner. “Not that it matters, but I’m Ladera. And for the record, I’m keeping this body! Sure, it’s not as top heavy as the last one I tried to nab, but the ass is quite nice…”

“Hey! That’s my body your referring to, so stop talking about it in such a lusty manner, you!” Karla shouted at Ladera, but she only laughed. “Really? If I’m not mistaken, weren’t you just looking at your ass in the mirror before your siscon brother showed up to stop you?” Karla froze, her jaw dropped when she remembered what happened moments before their separation. What she did in the mirror after her birthday gathering…

'She then lowered her eyes and looked at her rear end to see how the jeans looked before she noticed another pair of legs standing behind her. Jerking her head forward, she saw Murdoc standing there with his arms crossed. "You better be looking for the price tag!" Karla groan, as her brother made his way back to his PC. "Ugh! Stop being so traditional, big Bro'! This is the look for females my age…" '

“No way!! How did you even know about that!? Didn’t you come out of that mirror?" She said as she frantically pointed to the mirror in front of her. “No. I’ve always have been inside of you, since the moment you were born. I know EVERYTHING about you. Your fears, likes, love and hate. You could say I’m you, a shadow of your true inner self…But that would be too cliché, right?” Ladera laughed as Karla’s blood began to boil. But before she had the time to reply, two men who looked like knights walked in the front door. Both men looked at Ladera, as she slowly walked towards them. Karla floated along with her body, as if being pulled by an invisible force. Ladera frowned as she noticed Karla along side her. "Tch. Seems she hasn’t given up on her body just yet. Oh well, i'd better deal with these clowns first..." Before she could walk through the front door, one of the men stopped her. He had long flowing red hair that was slightly messy and the aura he projected gave Karla the chills.

"Hey there, sexy. Where do you think your going? How about we talk for a while an-" The man was cut off by a fierce shove by Ladera's hand that sent him flying back a few feet. Dispite the blow, the stranger flipped backwards and landed safely on his feet. However, Karla noticed something about the attack that seemed a bit odd. "How could she deal such a blow without touching him at all!?" However, she forgot about her current state and Ladera mentally laughed. "You forget about where you are, brat! This is Mario Central, and unlike Yird VI, if you have powers you can use them."

"...Yird? The hell is that!?" Karla said with her arms crossed. "Sounds weird." Ladera mentally smacked herself. "Hmm. I forgot you're stupid. Maybe if I gave you a few other names. Stop me if your tiny brain has heard any of them. Terra, Tierra, Pamint, Aarde, Erde, Jorden, Maa, Toka, Zeme, Dunya…”

Karla gripped her hair while she tried to take everything in. “Ugh! You don’t have to treat me like an idiot! You mean Earth, right? I’ve heard of Terra obviously, and Toka comes to mind from what my brother was studying at one point. Everything else, over my head.” Ladera smirked, before looking back at the two men. “Not as dumb as I thought. We’ll talk later, seems as though pretty boy over there wants some more.”  As she said those words,  the other male unsheathed his sword. He wore an indigo outfit with a lighter shade trim around the edges of his clothes. His hair, while being the same color as his partners, was shorter. “Zelos. Keep you hormones in check.” He said with a calm attitude. Zelos only shrugged, before pulling his own sword. “Yeah, yeah. Man, Kratos. You need to live a little. Sure, we gotta fight her and all, but that’s a nice piece of ass!” Ladera only crossed her arms and smirked. “I know, right? C’mon boys. No need to be a stick in the mud, let’s have some fun.” As she said that, she took a fighting stance that looked very familiar to Karla.

“''Is that…Tae kwon do!? I’ve seen Terry use that before…''”

“Um, still can hear you! I guess its true what they say about blondes…” Ladera said as she lowered her stance and readied herself for the two swordsman. The calm one quickly thrust his sword forward, making Ladera sidestep to her left. In response, she spun and almost contorted her body so she was in a position to raise her right leg over her shoulder and kick the back of Kratos’ head. Zelos came down from the sky after leaping a great distance and swung his sword to his opponent. Ladera only back flipped and landed in her lowered stance. Karla was highly impressed, as the exchange of blows were almost to fast for her to keep up with. She could only marvel for a short time, though as she began to remember something about the two attackers. “''Those two are from a game my brother and I played. Hmm, the name…escapes me''.”

“Hey. I’m sure the name of the game isn’t important, brat. Any info about these two would help in the slightest!” Ladera said aloud after breaking away from the two swordsmen. “Give me a good reason why-”

“I’m in your body. You wouldn't let anything happen to it, yeah?” Ladera smirked and her green eyes narrowed, making her look even more menacing. “Now. Search that tiny brain of yours and tell me what you know about them. After all, you didn’t really believe this was all a game, right?” Karla sighed, feeling defeated. First she ends up in a weird world with video game characters, separated from her brother and her friend. Now a rouge spirit has taken over her body, forcing her mind and spirit out. “''…They use magic. I don’t know what kind. My brother played more than I did…''” Ladera turned back to her attackers. “Good. You told me just in time, girl. Apparently, they’ve been building up their mana all this time. You might want to shield your eyes…”

Zelos and Kratos had been talking amongst themselves during their time away from the fight. “Zelos. This is no ordinary girl. I sense a strong energy coming from her, but it seems unstable.” Kratos said, his composure as calm as before. Surprisingly,  Zelos was just was serious. “Yeah. It’s like two energies clashing with each other. Polar opposites usually destroy each other when they mesh like that, right? So, how is she still standing, let alone fighting both of us at the same time?” Kratos glared at his enemy, formulating a plan. “We need to subdue her. Knock her unconscious so we can take her to Mario. But try not to hurt her too much. Ready?” Zelos smirked, readying his sword. “It would have been a lot easier had she have just agreed to go out with me…” Kratos smirked, shaking his head. …”Let’s just end this.” Kratos and Zelos rushed to their foe, blades in hand flowing with energy. Zelos thrust his empty hand out to Ladera. “'''Air, Form a Dividing Blade Between my Enemies! Air Blade'''!” As he spoke, a great force of wind rushed at Ladera and Karla. Karla however didn’t feel the force and was only able to watch as Ladera did her best to avoid the fast air strikes.

But because she was unaffected by the first attack, she was able to see through the setup.

“Ladera!! The other swordsman is coming through the first attack!” As Karla was warning her body snatcher, Kratos rushed in low, his sword ready to strike. “'''O' Heavenly Lightning, Bring thine Judgment and Course Through the Cursed Bodies of Our Enemies! Thunder Arrow!'''”  Ladera sneered as she covered her face. “Finally you’ve become of some use, girl.. Beings in the astral plane obviously aren’t effected by 3rd dimension magic. And their about to learn the hard way who they’re dealing with!” At those words her green eyes glowed fiercely and a force field knocked Kratos and Zelos a few feet away. However, Ladera didn’t have the slightest look of fatigue, shocking both Karla and Kratos. “Wait, green glowing eyes and magic repel? You’re…Ladera!?” Before Kratos could react, Ladera was in his face, sneering like before. “That’s right. You realized it too little too late, I’m afraid. Sleep tight…” Zelos tried to reach his friend in time, but could only watch as his abdomen was struck with enough force to send him to his knees. “KRATOS…!!”

“Don’t worry.” Ladera voice was heard calmly from behind Zelos. Both he and Karla were visibly shaken. “When did she…“ Karla said, sinking to her knees, hugging herself in terror. Zelos could only turn his head to the side in shock. “How did you…“ Ladera only stood there. “He’s alive, but he won’t be moving anytime soon. Like you~!” Zelos felt a quick, sharp pain around his neck before his vision faded.

Karla, still on her knees, watched as Ladera stood between the two beaten men as she laughed manically at her victory. “…You’re still here? Just fade out of existence, you brat!” She said to the astral form of Karla. Karla, however, slowly stood up. “I want my body back! You…turned my body into a vicious killer! Gimme back my body, NOW!!” She rushed at her body as Ladera only crossed her arms in mock anger. “Aww~ the little brat is growing some backbone. This should be interesting…” Karla was focusing on one thing at the moment: “I have to find Murdoc! I have to find Terry! I have to find them!!” And as she dove for her body, Kratos snapped his hand out and grabbed Ladera’s ankle. Pain showing on his face, he began another incantation. “'''Consume and Destroy, O' Covering Darkness! Negative Gate!'''” At those words, a dark energy formed a barrier around Ladera, paralyzing her. “What!? Argh! Damn you, Kratos!!” Karla took advantage of the distraction and was able to force Ladera out, reclaiming her own body. However, the battle that Ladera had fought put a strain on the body that Karla was not accustomed to. Not only that, but the spell Kratos cast before passing out still had a lingering effect. “Ugh…Ahh…Brother. Gotta…find…Murdoc…” Karla said, breathing heavily and crawling away from the remnants of battle. Slowly bringing herself back to her feet, Karla looked out past the house and saw what looked to be a rather large building. “Is that…the place Mario and Knuckles were talking about in the attic?”

“Hey! Don’t think you’ll have this body for much longer!!” The angry voice of Ladera was heard inside her mind. “When I get my strength back, you body WILL be mine!!” Karla winced at the booming voice, but slowly pressed on, looking at the brightly lit building with the Yu-Gi-Oh logo on the side. “He has to be there. If Murdoc is here, he’ll be in that building. He would never pass up a chance to play Yu-Gi-Oh.”

Not too far from the limping Karla, behind a wall stood a short brunette with an open blue jacket that looked two sizes too big on her. She reached into one of six phone cases on her belt and flipped it open, tapping a few keys before bring it to her ear. “This is the Guild Rep. We’ve got a situation at Marco Zone. Connect me to Mario…”