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Professor Doll
Mythag University
Londinium
Research Notes #1
Ramona’s surgery was a success. I am looking across my desk at the vial that contains an atom-thin strand of her Silver core. Winkle and I had been researching on the methods of extracting this strand, and we asked Ramona to be our first subject. She gladly accepted the offer, stating: “If something were to happen to me during the operation, I go in knowing I did it for the Keeper.” As expected of Dexter’s daughter; she is ready to undertake anything that she believes may benefit the Keeper and Mythag as a whole.
With this single strand of her Silver core, we can awaken another her. Specifically the one we refer to as Ramona: Timeworn (henceforth referred to as Timeworn). We specifically located the strand that contained Timeworn’s soul from her timeline, and now intend to undergo her awakening ceremony. If my theory is correct, it will mean Ramona no longer needs to give up her body in order to summon Timeworn, and we will have two of her walking this campus simultaneously.
This could be monumental, or it could cause a cataclysm.
—Doll
Winkle’s notes: The odds of a cataclysm are very low…
Professor Doll
Mythag University
Londinium
Research Notes #2
Artificial awakening isn't something the university tends to undergo. It's more reserved for the Sculptors Association’s nefarious purposes. But standing before me now is a successful result of their research.
Timeworn has been awakened as expected, and Ramona and Leonora will take her through the school to get the rest of her paperwork set as well as get her oriented with a place she once knew in her time, but has long since been left behind her. I look forward to what we can do with two Ramonas.
—Doll
Winkle’s notes: Let’s try not to think about what this means for Tawil…
“I'll have your back,” Ramona places a supportive hand on Timeworn's shoulder. “Remember, she likes you too.”
Timeworn nods and smiles at Ramona, then marches on her own through the courtyard. She finds Leonora reading a book on a bench facing the founder’s statue, haloed by dusklight. Timeworn holds her hands in front of her before stopping in front of Leonora with a short bow.
Leonora looks up from her book and smiles. “Oh, hi Ramona.”
“Keeper…” Timeworn blushes and toys with her fingers. “I hope you're well.”
“With you here, I always am.”
Spots of pink fill Timeworn’s cheeks. “…I feel the same. You… read that book very well.” She swallows. Her tone is short, and an underlying tremor starts to take hold in her throat. Leonora's confused look slips past her. “Uhm, I just… wanted to ask you something.”
Leonora fishes in her coat pocket for a red bookmark and puts her book on the bench beside her. “Yes?”
“I…” The insecurity in her hands intensifies, fiddling further with her fingers. “I want to make up for the time that… uh…”
An unsure sound leaves Timeworn’s lips. “Do you… have…”
Leonora tilts her head and knits her brows.
Timeworn grumbles to herself, makes a small apology, then rubs her arm. “Do you own a dress?”
“Hmm… I would need to go through my wardrobe again. Why do you ask?”
“Have you had dinner wearing it?”
“…?” Leonora cannot tilt her head further without her hat falling off. “I'm… not sure what you mean.”
“…” Timeworn makes an undecipherable noise and curls her gloved fingers into her arm.
“…Ramona?” Leonora picks up her book, stands, and gives Timeworn a small bow. “Listen, I’m sorry, but I should be getting to class. We can talk later, okay?”
A deathly quiet “yes…” leaves Timeworn's mouth as she hears the sound of Leonora’s shoes clocking along the path.
“Ramona…” A concerned voice comes from behind the monument. Ramona comes out from where she had been watching and confronts Timeworn. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t think so…” Timeworn faces her other self.
Ramona watches the trembling glove at Timeworn's side and takes it into her own. “How about we go back to my room and we can go over this in further detail?”
Timeworn nods. “Right. Thank you.” She smiles and strengthens her hold on Ramona's hand. “I’m sorry for using up your time.”
Ramona takes Timeworn along the path in the opposite direction that Leonora fled to. “It’s nothing we can't learn from.”
“Yes,” Timeworn nods. “That will always be true, at the very least.”
…
The space feels just as Timeworn remembers it. Even though it’s been a long time since she’s been in this dorm, she “sees” it perfectly.
From the the smell of her bedsheets to the exact way she used to keep her desk sorted, it all comes back to her so naturally.
Ramona takes a seat at her busy desk and Timeworn sits in a more comfortable chair in the corner nearby.
“Haven't you ever thought about what you would do after you achieve your goal?” Ramona looks up from her shuffling papers.
“As strange as it seems…” Timeworn sits at a strange angle in her seat, her hands folded in her lap. “I haven't felt like I had the time to think about things like that.”
“Well, what have you been thinking about in the last week since you’ve awakened?” Ramona puts her pen to page, occasionally glancing up at the other her.
“…To be honest with you,” Timeworn’s voice turns somber. It’s hard to notice with her always talking with little to no affect, but if anyone could tell, it’d be Ramona. “I’ve been thinking about how unneeded I am.”
Ramona looks up from her desk. “What… do you mean?”
“Everything the Keeper needs from you… that’s what you’re there for. I’m… not good at that anymore. I changed everything about myself to fight for her life. I’m just a fighter now, not a thinker.” She sighs. “Doll and the others probably expected more from there being two of us.”
“You’re an excellent fighter, and when it comes to Dissolution, we always need more fighters. Especially of your caliber.” Ramona touches the tip of her pen onto her tongue before returning to passively completing her classwork. “And you’ve been me before. You can be her again if you really want.”
“…” Timeworn brings her knees up to her chest. “Thank you.”
“Do you remember our study method?” Ramona puts a paper to the side and starts on another.
“Hmm… ah, recreate test environments?”
Ramona nods with an approving smile. “Right. So… think of asking her out like a test.” She smiles. “Ask me out.”
“Ah, alright.” Timeworn sits up straight and takes a deep breath. “Leonora… I want to be with you.”
Ramona blinks. Secondhand embarrassment floods her being as she listens to Timeworn's completely flat voice. “Um… okay, you need more inflection. And you should probably be less direct. Try telling her what you like about her.”
“Hmm.” Timeworn taps her chin. “I like your hair, and your voice… and I’m quite fond of your bust, too.”
Her voice has a little bit more affect this time at least. Ramona clears her throat through her blush. “Er… let's focus on those first two. Not so much her bust…” And she murmurs to herself, “Though I'm inclined to agree…”
“Okay.” Timeworn centers herself. “Your hair… makes me happy. It’s like a… golden, field.”
“Gold…? Ramona?” Ramona frowns. “Uhm, when was the last time you took your blindfold off?”
A tinge of red crosses Timeworn's cheeks and she clenches her jaw. “Please… don't doubt me. I know what she looks like. I…” The direction appears in her voice properly now, however frustrated she may be. “I have to. Her face is forever burned into my memory. I surely… remember the color of her hair…?”
Ramona sets her pen down and kneels before Timeworn. She gives a pitied sigh as she brushes her thumbs across Timeworn's cheeks, wiping her tears.
“I want to see her again…” Timeworn whispers, desperately fighting her whimpers.
“Why don't you?”
“I'm terrified she won't love me like I love her. What if I see something in her that I don’t want to see?”
“I—” Ramona starts, but pulls her hand away. “I know exactly what you mean.” She looks down, watching Timeworn's knee bounce. “But please don’t be afraid. Because if you’re afraid, I'm afraid. and…” She sighs. “Leonora counts on us to be sound of mind. Just remember your bond with her.” Ramona takes Timeworn’s hands in hers. “She loves us. More or less than we love her… it’s arbitrary. The love is there, and it’s real. That’s what matters.”
“…Right, of course,” Timeworn takes a deep breath for a moment. “I'm sorry.”
Ramona opens her arms and pulls Timeworn into a deep embrace. “How does a practice date sound?”
It feels strange. Sure, she's hugged herself before, but doing so with two bodies offers a brand new feeling. To be embraced by one who shares your exact DNA. Who shares your name, your childhood, your lineage. That same piece of an Aeon resides in them both, sleeping like a dormant curse that bears over them. A power within them they both know all too well.
To receive her comfort; her touch. It’s a paradoxical love, yet it defies paradox. In a way, a love of oneself, yet expressed between two individuals. No matter what, she is Ramona, and Ramona is her.
Timeworn smiles. “…Yes, I would like that.”
…
They sit down on the edge of Ramona’s bed, heavy breathing from walking through town. “Well, it could use some work…” She mutters, looking at Timeworn whose body language shows surprisingly bashful, and puts her notebook on the bed. “I'm glad to know you still remember her favorite sweets shop, at least.”
“Of course. I did better than I thought, though why can I remember that but not the color of her hair…? At the very least we made good notes.” She frowns and sets her own much thicker notebook to the side.
“Sometimes we remember things we don't expect. It's alright, Ramona.” She puts her gloved hand on Timeworn's, tugging her shoes off with her other. “You are much bolder than me by asking her out at all.”
“You... haven't? “ Timeworn looks up. “But you told me you've kissed her.”
Ramona blushes. “Yes, but I get terribly cold feet when that question emerges in my head. When… the potential for something more arises.”
“I suppose it’s my fear of running out of time that urges me.”
Ramona nods and sets her shoes down beside Timeworn's. “Oh, I almost forgot. There’s… one more thing. At the end of a date…”
“Ah… you're curious, too.” Timeworn's cheeks tinge pink and she feels Ramona's bare hands take hold of her face.
“I want to know…”
“…what it'd feel like.” Timeworn finishes her sentence. “It's… good to research it. Yes. That's all.”
Ramona smirks. “You don’t need to lie to me.”
“…” Timeworn stifles a sigh. “I'd like to do it. I want to.”
With no further hesitation Ramona pulls Timeworn into her lips. Immediately an odd sensation arises: their Silver cores pulse in perfect sync, and they find that this gesture between them—those of the same soul—feels more different than it should.
Not that either of them have kissed anyone much. Ramona thinks Timeworn might not have ever kissed anyone before, frankly. But Timeworn can tell too: there's something else here.
On otherworldly… tingle, on their lips. It doesn't tickle and it isn’t painful or uncomfortable, but… it certainly isn’t of this dimension.
They part and immediately turn to their notebooks. Ramona gives Timeworn a spare pencil the moment Timeworn realizes shes missing hers. They quickly record their findings, but Ramona stops as she feels—and sees—a white glow on hers and Timeworn's lips.
Where their saliva had mixed, now something completely new had taken its place. “Ramona…”
Timeworn looks over. “Yes?”
“Is that… Silver? On your lips.”
Timeworn hesitantly reaches to touch her own lips. “I did feel something, but… elaborate?”
Ramona swipes her lip of the remaining saliva and examines it on her finger. This shining glow is unmistakeably Silver. “I… don’t know what to make of this, but when we kissed… it seems where our saliva mixed it transmuted into… Silver.”
“…we should repeat this,” Timeworn says quickly. “If we confirm a pattern then we must tell Doll right away.”
“I agree.” Ramona blushes and tucks her hair behind her ear. Timeworn wastes little time in pulling Ramona into another kiss, this time with more vigor and more saliva.
“Hmh…” Ramona's eyes shut and her heart jolts, taken aback by Timeworn's sudden passion. This time when they part, there’s a strand of Silver saliva briefly connecting their lips. Ramona touches it and turns to her notebook again.
Another entry for this experiment. “Silver again.” Timeworn mumbles to herself, chewing her pencil before adding additional notation.
“Three times is a pattern,” Ramona clears her throat. “This is… enlightening.”
Timeworn smiles. “You don't need to lie to me, either. It's okay to say you enjoy something.”
“Y-you’re one to talk…” Ramona looks away, but Timeworn tilts her head to face her.
Passion and vigor overtakes them both as they kiss a third time, allowing indulgence to take priority over research, if only for this. Ramona's tongue slips by Timeworn's lips as Timeworn pins her to the bed. Surely, they think, this will be a substantial amount of spit to be sure of the data.
But they continue—much longer than necessary—and as they break away from each other in labored breaths, Ramona looks up with half-lidded eyes, this time not reaching for her notebook right away.
Timeworn swallows as she looks down at her second presence. “…More data?”
Ramona nods, and once more they bury each other in their lips. Silver kiss-marks trail down Ramona's neck, and she glances at her neglected notebook open on the bed.
It can wait.
…
A loud silence dwells between Ramona and Timeworn as they walk down the halls. Ramona finishes securing her shoes back on as they exit into the courtyard, and Timeworn clears her throat and lowers her voice.
“By the way… did I… do a good job?” She wipes her mouth.
“Oh. Y-yes… you did.” Ramona holds her notebook to her chest and smiles. “It felt… odd. But still, very nice. thank you for indulging my curiosity.”
“And you, mine.” Timeworn smiles. “Leonora will hopefully enjoy it too. If… it ever gets to that.”
“L-let's just focus on telling Doll first…!”
“Right…”
“That’s impossible.” Doll watches as the Ramonas part, observing the appearance of Silver once again in the lingering moisture on their lips. She takes a cotton swab to their lips and examines it closely. “Silver with no Dissolution?”
Ramona blushes as she watches Doll touch the fluid then lick her finger. “So… what are your thoughts?”
Doll looks at the two of them with an inquisitive stare. “…That you may be kissing a lot more in the future.” She rushes to a cabinet and takes out a handful of petri dishes and a microscope. “Please provide a more substantial sample. Thin residue on your lips isn’t enough.”
“What do you suggest we do?” Timeworn glances at Ramona, feeling her cheeks burn a little more.
Doll doesn’t look up from hooking up the microscope. “Spit in her mouth, please.”
“…!?” Ramona’s face turns bright crimson. “I-I… er… right…” She swallows.
Doll touches the badge on her chest. “Winkle, please bring drinking water. An ample supply.”
Ramona puts her hand on the back of Timeworn's head. “Lean back and open…” She murmurs.
Timeworn nods and does so, waiting with her mouth open as Ramona builds up a large amount of spit before letting her tongue hang out. The saliva drips down her tongue and Timeworn jolts slightly as she feels the strand hit her tastebuds.
“And do not swallow anything, obviously.” Doll says, leaning on the arm of her chair as she watches them intently.
A red-haired and extremely exhausted looking girl comes into the lab with an entire water cooler in her arms. She sets it down before seeing what conspires in front of her. “Um…!?”
“Deposit here.” Doll moves a petri dish toward the edge of the table which Timeworn spits a generous amount of Silver into.
“Is that… Silver? W-why was that in her mouth!?” Winkle looks nervously at the petri dish as Doll puts it under the scope.
“Paradoxically so.” Doll mumbles as she takes tweezers to the sample, picking it apart to confirm its makeup. It is in fact the same Silver that Mythag University knows so well. “It seems wherever their saliva meets it completely changes into Silver. This seems like pure alchemy at first glance—not scientific in the slightest.”
Winkle turns to the Ramonas. “So, um, how did you first come across this…?”
Ramona clears her throat. “We… shared a straw.”
Timeworn nods rapidly. “Yes, we were sharing a drink.”
Doll gives both of them a look, then she turns back to the computer screen. “From these results it looks as though any kind of fluid-borne DNA when mixed between two individuals that share an identical Silver core will create Silver. Saliva, blood, sweat…”
“Could it have something to do with Tawil’s influence?” Winkle rubs her chin and conjures a cup of coffee from her jacket.
“It isn’t out of the question. We would need to test this with other Genesis Awakeners to see if it is unique to a shared core or simply something between these two.” Doll scrolls through the data and highlights a few sections.
Then the door opens, and a euphonic voice captures the Ramonas’ ears. “You called for me, Doll?”
Like a halo of light, the sunshine from outdoors outlines Leonora’s form and Ramona’s eyes glisten at the sight. Timeworn is similarly enraptured, and her thoughts are turned on their head. Her moments of self doubt earlier in the day when discussing her usefulness at this Mythag resurface.
And this discovery helps her realize that maybe… she can be useful here after all. Not just as another blade in the fight against Dissolution, and Aeons know her academic mind isn’t what it used to be, either. No, she can create Silver. All of a sudden Timeworn feels that she actually can be the most useful of all. And that, alongside the sound of Leonora’s voice, puts a smile on her face.
“Good, Keeper, you’re here.” Doll beckons Leonora over with a wave of a hand. “I should be telling higher figures about this before you, but…” She points to the petri dish. “Tell me what that is.”
Leonora leans over the table, crouching down as she observes the liquid. “It’s Silver.”
“That's right. And—”
“Leonora,” Timeworn steps forward with her hands held in front of her and she bows deeply. “I would like to go on a date with you.”
Leonora blinks. The whole room turns silent for six seconds before she registers what had just been said. “R-Ramona…! I…” Her face turns bright red, both at the offer and the fact they’re surrounded by peers.
“I'm sorry. That was not the best time to say that…” Timeworn remains bowing, not daring to face the room even if she can't really see it.
Until Leonora smiles and steps closer, prompting Timeworn upright. “I-it’s alright. Let's… talk about it later, okay?”
“…Keeper, please look at the data we've collected.” Doll calls out, saving Timeworn's embarrassment.
Ramona whispers to Timeworn as they stand beside each other again. “…Why did you do that!?”
“I… felt it, as soon as I knew she was here. I had to act on my instinct or it would never happen.”
“That’s… unlike us.”
“You say that… as if you don’t know what she does to us…”
“…” Ramona blushes and looks over at Leonora chatting with Doll and Winkle. Nothing out of the ordinary or particularly visually striking, yet she can't help the way her heart blooms at the sight. “Yes… you're right.”
“Spit.” Doll raises her voice.
The Ramonas look over and notice Doll is looking at them. Ramona hesitates. “You… need more?”
“It's Silver; we always need more. Honestly, what a stupid question.”
The Silver-haired girls glance at Leonora, who tilts her head—evidently she wasn’t told yet what creates this phenomena. After a beat, Ramona puts her hand at the back of Timeworn’s head again, prompting Timeworn to lean back and open her mouth. Ramona positions herself over her and with a beet-red face, lets her tongue hang out as her saliva travels down.
She tucks her hair behind her ear and makes the mistake of peeking at Leonora during the process. As expected, the Keeper’s pale green eyes are wide and her own cheeks take on a dusting of pink at the sight.
Doll produces a new petri dish, which Timeworn spits the glowing white fluid into.
“W-wow… er…” Leonora stammers. “What… is the meaning of this?”
Doll positions the petri dish under the microscope again and looks at Leonora. “So you see what makes this Silver special.” She gestures to the microscope and Leonora looks into it for a moment before backing up again.
Leonora’s eyes flick between the Silver and the Ramonas with disbelief coating her face. “This is… a lot.”
“I apologize, Keeper…” Ramona rubs her arm.
“What for?” Leonora dons a reassuring smile. “You two have clearly discovered something groundbreaking!”
At that, Timeworn smiles. After a bit more light conversation and a dismissal from Doll, the Ramonas take some water and walk out of the lab with Leonora.
“So…” Leonora slows down on the courtyard sidewalk. “About that date.”
“A-ah, right…” Timeworn looks away, her hair blowing in a gentle breeze.
“I was wondering… were you… both asking me out?”
The group stops. The Ramonas look at each other, and then back at Leonora. Ramona takes hold of Timeworn’s sleeve and pulls her behind a wall. “Please wait.” She asks Leonora.
“I’ll be at the founder’s statue.” She nods.
Now out of view of most prying eyes, Ramona takes a breather. “I didn’t think about… both of us going on a date with her. What are we thinking?”
“I want to go with her on a date.” Timeworn gives a flat response.
“But she asked if we’re both going.”
“But…” Timeworn tilts her head. “Surely, when I say that I want to do something with her, then we’re both included in that. Because we’re one.”
“I…” Ramona looks down. “Of course.”
“Ramona,”
“I just don’t want to take this from you.”
“You would be taking it from me if you weren’t there.” Timeworn says. “I would be half a person—half a mind.”
“And we… want all of us to be with her. You’re right.” Ramona sighs. “Okay. But if we want that, then…” She takes her right glove off and raises her hand toward Timeworn’s face, who backs against the brick.
“…” Timeworn lets Ramona’s fingers trail along her skin. A familiar otherworldly tingle reappears in the wake of her touch, tracing up her cheek and slipping beneath her blindfold. Timeworn puts her hand on Ramona’s, stopping her. Ramona glances at where Timeworn’s eyes are underneath the cloth, and Timeworn’s breath shakes. “I… I want her to do it.”
“Ramona…” Ramona sighs. Her hand moves down from the blindfold to Timeworn's cheek. “I get it. But… ultimately this is about you. All of you, right?” She looks down, noting Timeworn’s finger fidgeting. “I know it’s easy to think of what would be most romantic, having her be the ones to lift our blindfold—to bring us back to the world.” Her fingers move up to the cloth again. “But you can't put that on her. You have to be the one who moves forward on your own.”
“I know, I just…” A burning emotion in Timeworn’s eyes leaves a tearful wake. “I want to have something, one good memory to hold onto.”
“We have… so many of those with her.” Ramona smiles. “And when we go out with her…” She slowly starts to slide the blindfold upward, millimeter by millimeter. “We’ll get to have even more.”
“You…” Timeworn whispers, choking on a sob. “I’m sorry, this is a strange thing to ask…” She takes a few breaths. “But who are you, really?”
Ramona starts to see her own eyes beneath the black fabric, for the first time in such detail—more than a simple mirror could ever show. A calm grey in one, and in the other a tempestuous blue emblazoned with a curious mark. “I suppose I'm… your conscience? And… you're mine, too.”
The sunlight of a familiar grey sky streams through the few openings in the bulbous clouds. It strains Timeworn's eyes, and she holds her hand to her face to block the light as Ramona lifts the blindfold completely.
When her eyes adjust, for some reason the last thing she expects to see is herself. And not just herself, but the very same way she looked when she first met Leonora—a very special version of herself.
And she doesn't even notice the tears streaming down her face.
Ramona feels a tight snare of a hug wrap her arms against her body. She groans in effort as Timeworn whimpers into her shoulder and strokes her hair.
“I'm sorry…” Timeworn chokes. “I'm so sorry…”
“F-for what…?” Ramona strains as she manages to pull her arms free and hug Timeworn back.
“I don’t know… I'm just—thank you.” She sobs. “I love you.”
Ramona's eyes widen at that. It feels strange to hear in general, and even stranger with her own voice saying it. It’s… potent. And Ramona’s embrace intensifies, too. “I love you, too,” She lets out a short, single laugh. “Ramona.”
All her life she’s been hard on herself; always making sure to put her own expectations higher than anyone else can try to put on her. It's hard to love like that, and even harder to love the self. Maybe she doesn’t feel it quite yet, but she can say it, and she can hear herself say it, and that's something stronger than Silver.
“…Please tell me if she looks at us the same way we look at her.” Timeworn mumbles, her gloved fingers weaving through Ramona's hair.
“…You're still afraid?”
“Yes.”
Ramona smiles and pulls back, looking Timeworn in the eyes. Her hands move up to Timeworn's face to wipe her tears away before she puts her glove back on. “That’s okay.”
“Thank you. I'll get rid of this blindfold forever one day. Maybe it will burn in Silver fire.”
“I like the sound of that,” Ramona brings Timeworn into her lips only for a moment’s kiss. “I'll be there for it. Take all the time you need.”
Timeworn's eyes flick down to the Silver on Ramona's lips and she smiles. Then she meets her own eyes and says, “Taking time is what I know best.” And her hand falls in Ramona’s and with her other one she pulls her blindfold back over her eyes. “Shall we get back to our partner?”
Ramona squeezes her hand as they return to the courtyard. “We shall.”
Professor Doll
Mythag University
Londinium
Research Notes #3
What I believed to be a milestone in research, having effectively cloned an Awakener, turned out to be only the start of something far larger.
Yes, it would seem that both Ramona and Timeworn have discovered a way to create Silver free of Dissolution. Naturally this requires much more research; we must discern the limits of this before we can utilize it fully in our efforts.
Until then, I look forward to seeing those two swap spit in my lab.
—Doll
Winkle’s notes: Finally, less of that horrid, dark… no, no, ah, thank you Ramona!