Chapter Text
“See, Mira? Everything’s fine!” You give her a silly grin. Luckily, your eyes are closed so that you don’t see her horrified expression in the instant before-
Crunch.
You jolt awake from your nap in the meadow. Huh?
There's someone right beside you. You startle and reach for your knife. The movement makes them startle from their own nap and-
Wait.
That's you.
You stare at each other in blank confusion, hands on knives.
“-frin!” Mirabelle calls as she approaches. “Siffrin! …Siffrin?”
You both look at her. She looks at the other you, then back at you. “...Um. Why are there two of you?”
You’re still processing the fact that you DIED, so other Siffrin answers first. “I don’t know??” he says. Helpful.
“I think I just died,” you say, because it seems relevant. They both look at you, now with fear added to their confusion.
“What?!” says Mirabelle. “Are you okay?!”
You look at yourself. “Well I'm not a pancake anymore? So yeah?” This doesn't seem to reassure them much.
“Okay, seriously, who are you?” says other Siffrin. “Why do you look like me?”
“Uh, I think I'm you from the future,” you say. “Like, tomorrow. We miss a trap and…” Mirabelle gasps, hand over her mouth. “It’s okay! I’m okay now! I’ll just look harder this time.”
“Uh,” says other Siffrin. “You’re… coming… with?”
“Yeah?” you reply.
It's at that point that you simultaneously realise that there are two of you and only one set of your friends, and the tension immediately rises.
Mirabelle claps her hands. “Well, with two Siffrins we’ll be sure not to miss any traps! But we should ask Madam Odile about this. And let Bonnie know that they need to make extra tonight.”
You both sigh, and give each other Looks. Yep, there are two of you. Guess this is just the way things are now.
Mirabelle leads the way straight to Dormont’s shop, where Odile was buying supplies yesterday. Today. Odile doesn't look up until Mirabelle speaks up. “Um, hi, Madam Odile…”
Her expression of sheer confusion when she looks up makes the other Siffrin crack up. “What? What??” she says. “What is this?”
“I’m from the future,” you say. “Tomorrow. I died and woke up back in the field.”
“...” Odile stares at you. “How?”
“Um, big rock trap,” you say, burning with embarrassment. “I didn't see it in time.”
Odile pinches the bridge of her nose. “No, how did you travel back in time?”
“Uhhh,” you say. “Dunno?”
“Right,” says Odile, and when she meets your gaze again, you flinch. Her eyes are hard as diamond. “And how do we know you’re telling the truth, and aren't a Sadness somehow taking the form of Siffrin to get our guards down?”
“Oh! Oh! I know this one!” Mirabelle says. “Something that only Siffrin would know!”
You look at the other Siffrin. Other Siffrin glances at Mirabelle and Odile, then pulls you aside. The brims of your hats form a wall.
He takes out the silver coin, and you take out your own. You feel unstable on your feet. You don't like seeing the vulnerable look on your own face. “Heh, croissants, am I right?” you whisper in a forced light tone. He nods stiffly.
You both put it away and straighten up. “Yeah, he’s me,” other Siffrin says. You nod.
Mirabelle and Odile glance at each other. “Well, okay then,” Odile sighs. “I guess you could still be a Sadness and be able to copy memories as well, but if you’re that powerful of a Sadness we’re screwed anyway, so. Welcome to the team, Siffrin Two.”
“Hey,” you say, indignant. “I should be Siffrin One. I’ve been around longer!”
“Sorry, Siffrin Two,” Siffrin Two says. “Madam Odile has spoken. I’m One and you're Two.”
You grumble under your breath.
“Anyway, I've still got to buy items,” Odile says. “You go let the others know what’s going on. I'll meet you at the Clocktower later.”
“Okay!” says Mirabelle. “Oh, um… you two probably want some private time, right? You go tell the others. Bonnie’s in the fields to the east and Isabeau’s at the Favour Tree to the west. I'll be by the library, okay? Oh, and don’t forget to visit the Change God statue in the middle of town! For good luck!”
You both nod. What about the sleepover? Guess all the weirdness made her forget. “See ya, Odile, Mira,” Two says, and you wave goodbye as you leave the shop.
As soon as you two are alone, a voice echoes in your heads, causing both of you to flinch. [So… You two should come by the Favour Tree when you have a second.]
“Did you hear that too?” Two says. You nod.
“Weird,” you comment.
By unspoken agreement you both head immediately to the west. Turning a corner in the path, Isabeau comes into view.
“ISAAA!” shouts Two before you remember to.
“SIII-iiifs…?” Isa replies. He glances between you. “What?”
“This is me from the future!” Two says.
“Hi, Isa,” you say, smiling.
“Huh!” says Isabeau. “That's cool! H-” he blanches. “How far in the future?” What?
“Just tomorrow,” you say. “I missed a trap, died, and got sent back here somehow.”
Isabeau’s relieved expression quickly morphs into horror. “You died?!”
You’re getting kind of sick of this, actually. “Yeah, but I'm fine! Look, see!” You spread you arms out. “All healthy. Fixed by time travel.”
Isabeau sweatdrops. “O-okay… So… There’s just two of you now??”
“Guess so,” Two says. Isabeau looks concerned.
“Well, um, okay…” he says. “Anyway… I was looking at this tree. Isn't it great?”
You nod at Two. They haven’t made the pun yet, so it's only fair. They grin. “Yeah,” they say with an anticipatory tone. “I guess you could say it’s a pretty…”
“Yeah?” Isa says.
“TREE-mendous tree,” Two finishes. Isabeau laughs uproariously. You smile, until you see it. He lifts his hand up as if to place it on Two’s shoulder, and then brings it back. Two watches this and frowns at you. You shrug back at them.
“Yeah… well,” Isabeau says. “Maybe it’s just me, but I was getting a pretty weird feeling from this tree just now.”
Huh? “Huh?” you say. “You didn't say that last time.”
“What do you mean by weird?” Two asks.
Isabeau frowns and rubs the back of his neck. “I dunno, it's just… weird! Not mean, though. Like if a lion came up to you and offered you candy, it’d be weird, right?”
“Sure,” you say.
“Yeah, it's that kind of weird,” Isabeau nods. “Maybe it's something to do with…” he gestures to the both of you.
“Yeah maybe,” Two says, with a speculative look.
“Anyway, I'm gonna go so you can do your thing with the tree,” says Isabeau. “Was there anything else?” You shake your head. “Okay, see ya!” He runs off. Did he leave that quickly before? Weird.
Well, time to investigate the tree. The two of you approach it cautiously, brushing aside foliage and stepping deeper under the shadow of the canopy.
There's someone there. A figure with starry skin and a head that glows so bright you can hardly make out the shape. “Hello, stranger,” you say.
“...Hello,” the stranger replies.
…
“My, struck speechless at the sight of me, huh? You two are so cute!” They giggle, hand in front of their invisible mouth. “I guess one Siffrin just wasn't enough!”
“What-” you say.
“How do you know my- uh, our name?” Two says.
The stranger laughs. “Well of course I know your name! You’re Sif! Siffrin! No middle names, no last name. Just Siffrin. Well…” the stranger tilts their head. “Siffrins, I suppose.”
You look at each other. “Do you know what’s happening?” you ask.
“Well,” says the stranger. “I can tell you why you time travelled. You’re looping in time! Repeating these two days over and over. Every time you die, you'll wake back up in Dormont!” They frown. “I… don't know why there's two of you though.”
You blink. “So… there's not meant to be a Siffrin that doesn’t remember?” Two suddenly looks distressed.
“I know as much as you do, stardust,” the stranger shrugs. “Hey,” they focus on Two, who is beginning to panic. “Breath with me?”
All three of you pause. Innn… and ouuut.
“Alright,” says the stranger. “I should probably introduce myself! Hm, let's go with… Loop! Your ally Loop, here to help you with the loops. Easy to remember. And as for pronouns… You may address me with the Royal We.” They giggle.
“That doesn't make ANY sense,” Two says.
“Nothing about this makes sense, stardust!” Loop replies cheerfully. “But yes, okay. They/them will work just fine. And as for your pronouns…” You open your mouth. “He/they, I know.”
You frown. “How did you know that?”
Loop laughs. “I can read, stardust! Anyway, I'm here to help. I'm sure you must have a lot of questions. So ask whatever your little hearts desire!”
“...What should we do?” Two asks, half to you.
Loop answers. “Well, hm…” they mock-think. “Have you tried not dying?”
Helpful. “Any advice for that?” you prompt.
“Advice, yes. I have advice,” Loop replies. “...Don’t eat pineapple! You’re allergic.”
You stare at them. “Am I??” Two asks.
“You REALLY are,” Loop says. “Don't try it!”
You groan. “Any ACTUAL advice?”
“Okay, okay,” Loop says. “Actual advice. Hm. In the course of the loops, you might find yourself having the same conversations over and over again. If that happens, feel free to zone out. No need to waste your time listening to the same things over and over! You might miss some small things, but that's alright. If you make your party mad, you can just loop back again!”
Hm. “Okay…”
“...” Loop looks consideringly at the two of you. “To be honest, I don't really know what’s going to happen. But… I'll always be here to help, even if that just means having someone to talk to. Okay?”
“...Why are you helping us?” Two asks.
“Because I think you should be helped,” Loop answers simply.
“But… Neither of us asked for your help…” you say.
“Well, too bad!” Loop giggles. “I’ll be here anyway! …That's all I have for you now, stardusts, but come back anytime!”
The two of you walk away. Loop waves excitedly at you as you go.
…
“That was weird, right?” Two asks.
“Super weird,” you agree.
Two frowns. “What’s their deal? They say they’re here to help, but they seemed pretty confused too…”
“They were confused by there being two of us.” You hum. “Apparently the time travel was expected though. So I guess what should have happened is that my mind from the future would be put in my present body, but instead I have my own body?”
Two remains silent. You glance at him.
“... It sounds like I wasn't meant to exist,” Two says quietly. Oh.
“Well,” you say. “I'm glad you’re here. We definitely won’t miss anything if we work together.”
Two nods, although they don’t seem particularly reassured.
You head over to the eastern fields where Bonnie is. Two hangs back a bit while you step forwards. “Hey, Bonnie,” you say.
“...Heyfrin,” Bonnie says, not looking away from the field.
“So, um,” you say. “There's been a… thing.”
“A thing?” Bonnie says confusedly and turns around. “Hey!! You have a twin?! You never told me!!”
“Uhhh, yep,” you say, because you’re not about to tell Bonnie that you died. “This is my secret twin I never told you about.”
“What's their name?” Bonnie asks.
“Siffrin,” you say.
Bonnie laughs. “That's stupid. Why do you have the same name as your twin?”
“Cuz we have the same face, duh,” you say.
“Oh, I see,” says Bonnie, as if that explains it. Hah, kids are great.
“Siffrin is coming with us to the House,” you say. “So you're cooking for six people tonight at the Clocktower.”
“Hm,” says Bonnie. “Okay!” They turn back around. “See ya, Frin, other Frin!”
You wave as you go. Huh, that was easy. Guess Bonnie was too distracted to remember that they don't like you.
-
Two devours samosa after samosa at the Clocktower. It’s strange - you can't bring yourself to eat much at all in comparison. The others notice, of course.
“Frin, your twin isn't eating much,” Bonnie complains to Two. Oh, so you’re the twin if the other one eats a lot?
“I'm just not very hungry,” you say defensively.
“Not very hungry? And you call yourself a Siffrin?” Odile snarks at you.
“Yeah, no true Siffrin would ever turn down food,” Mirabelle giggles.
Isabeau watches your face, and his brow creases a little. “Maybe they just ate something earlier,” he says instead of joining in.
You take the lifeline. “Yeah, I wasn't expecting to have dinner with you guys, so I had some bread earlier,” you say. Two gives you a confused look, but Bonnie doesn't notice.
“Aw,” they say. “Well, next time don't eat any bread!! Okay?”
“Okay,” you say.
As dinner wraps up, Mirabelle makes her speech. It’s the same, despite how different things are. She must have been thinking about it for a while.
Two eyes you, but says their line like you did. You stay silent, not wanting to interrupt. Isabeau, Mirabelle, and Bonnie hug the same as last time, and then it's time for bed.
…Bed. Who’s going to get the bed?
You and Two stare at it, then at each other, then at Isabeau, then back at each other.
“...Rock-paper-scissors?” Two suggests. Yeah that works. You throw paper and Two throws scissors.
Ugh.