บท 97: Doppelgänger

Pushing open the door, Esau looked out into the forest that enveloped the area around him and his childhood home, yet he ignored them all in favour of gazing upon the creatures that surrounded his home. There were ten of them in total, all of them foxes a burnt orange in colour and possessing a varying number of tails from none, all the way to nine. Yet all of their blood-red gazes were focused entirely upon him, Esau unable to shake the same feeling he possessed when first entering his mind and wandering deep through the forest.

He was being surrounded, like a prey being hunted.

Clenching his fist, Esau no longer felt as confident about this arrangement as he had been initially, not because he was afraid about what would happen to him, but what this would mean for others. The Kitsune had made it no secret that it wished for control of his body, nor had it made secret what it intended to do once it got control. Esau couldn't afford to let it do so and he was wary that if he moved any further then they would swarm him from all sides and take control by force.

He didn't know how this whole thing worked, but Esau wouldn't be surprised if that was how it worked.

"You no longer seem confident." The Kitsune taunted, dropping down to the ground from its perch upon the tree, joined by the tailless version of itself. "Was it perhaps all bravado?"

Gritting his teeth, Esau glared at the creature. "It's still here." Esau replied shortly. "I just don't know whether I can trust you. What's to stop you from, I don't know, all ganging up on me one at a time and taking control that way?"

"It's not possible for us to do that. You must surrender control to us willingly." The Kitsune answered.

"You expect me to believe the word of a Kitsune?" He questioned. "I researched the form you took and thought it had to be based on something, guess what I learned? Your kind are notoriously known for being tricksters. As I came out here, it dawned on me that this entire thing could just be one big trick to get me to come out into the open. Easy pickings for you I'm sure."

"You would be." It seemed amused by itself as it said that. "But whether you believe me or not does not matter. You wish for power, you must risk everything to claim it. You are no stranger to risking your life, Esau, why is now any different?"

"Because now my friends are in danger as well."

"Friends?" The Kitsune scoffed at the idea of it. "You speak of Barbara Gordon. Perhaps even the clone or the Atlantean? They are not your friends, they are leeches, draining the life from you. They have already corrupted you with the thoughts and ideas of being a hero, making you weaker because of it. They are..."

"They are by my side." Esau retorted firmly. "Just as I have theirs."

His words seemed to trigger something in the Kitsune who snarled angrily, sparks of flames appearing upon the edge of its fur coat, a wave of heat washing over Esau. "...Very well." It raised no further objection or argument, though its anger had not subsided in the least, the sparks still present and frequent. "Then, if you do not trust me, change the shape of your home, your stronghold into something different. As this is your mind, you can change a section of it, and allow entrance to us to it if you wish."

"All of you?" Esau wondered, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't feel comfortable with all of you, just that one." He didn't have a hundred percent certainty on why the tailless Kitsune had accompanied what he could only assume was the main one, but Esau had a strong suspicion that was the one he was going to fight.

"If that is your wish."

"It is." His response was quick and Esau stepped back into the safety of his home, not willing to remain outside for too much longer as he focused on other things. He still did not trust the Kitsune in the slightest and so, while momentarily vulnerable, he would much rather not be exposed in an area the Kitsune could attack him.

But, now in the safety of his home, Esau took a calming breath as he moved to the door to his left, opposite to the door leading to the living room, and entered the garage. It was small but appeared much more spacious without any car taking up much of the space and so, Esau stood in the centre closing his eyes. There were many areas he considered, including the training grounds of Mount Justice, but ultimately, the one most vivid to him where the training grounds he had used when being the apprentice of Deathstroke.

Ultimately, Esau knew this fight had a lot of many stakes and the weight of that was crushing and almost suffocating, yet that feeling was familiar to him. He needed to commit himself as he always had to training, that was the best way for him to overcome that feeling, throwing himself a hundred and ten percent into his training so those feelings never got any more overwhelming.

This fight against the Kitsune held so many stakes, but Esau was not going to focus on them like he would have done, not allowing his mind to become clouded. No, instead, Esau was going to treat this as a sparring session, forgetting everything and focusing purely on that one single aspect, ensuring no needless thoughts ever intruded and distracted him.

As a result, the area in which Esau fought against the Kitsune needed to remind him of that fact.

The Mount Justice training grounds were new and fresh to his mind, but they held no weight to them, they didn't resonate with him in a way that would let Esau forget every unnecessary thought. No, there was only one place that truly resonated with him in such a way and that was a place in which Esau had risked his life time and time again with simple sparring sessions.

Opening his eyes, Esau looked out onto the old traditional grounds, tiled marble floors filling the area out towards a few small steps leading to a raised platform that surrounded the courtyard on all sides. It was just as he remembered it and Esau didn't know how to feel, nor did he like the small feeling of yearning he felt as he looked at his surroundings. This place did hold many memories of being beaten into the ground, but he could not deny that he had enjoyed the time he spent training under Slade.

It was a strange thing for sure.

"I see, this is the place you choose?" The Kitsune also seemed to recognise this place. "A place in which you can ignore everything else and focus only upon your opponent, just as you were taught."

"I guess in some ways, you do know me." Esau muttered, looking to the tailless Kitsune and waving his hand, indicating for him to come in.

"I am you." The tailless Kitsune moved, body passing through the sheltered raised platform and walking down the stairs towards the training courtyard till it came to a stop across from Esau. "We share differences, but we also share many similarities. As you grow, so do I. As you learn, so do I. As you experience hardship, so do I. This place holds memories for you, but it also holds many memories for me."

Esau ignored that entirely, loosening his body off with a few stretches. "So, how do we do this then? Set some rules and whatnot?"

"If you wish to set rules, you may." The Kitsune replied. "It makes no difference to me."

Esau shook his head. "No point." He said. "If you have the same skills and experiences as me, then we both know that rules would only limit me. But there is one thing I want to make clear, you beating me does not give you permission to take control of my body."

"As I said, so long as you do not give me permission, I cannot take control."

"Somehow, I doubt that's everything." Esau retorted. "Like you've said before, we're apparently similar and I get the feeling you're keeping things from me."

"I do not lie."

"But you don't give the whole truth." There was no response, meaning no denial and Esau ruefully smiled, shaking his head. "Tell me something at the very least, is protecting me really all you desire?"

"It is." The answer was immediate, no doubt, no hesitation or anything that would convey uncertainty.

Esau considered asking why, pressing the issue but decided against it as he instead lowered into a ready stance. Loose and ready to react, gaze sharp and focused and arms raised keeping as much of his body and his vitals protected as possible. Not even when the Kitsune before him changed and grew, morphing into a humanoid figure that slowly began to take shape into an exact replica of himself did Esau lower his guard or act surprised.

He had seen many things, but something like this no longer shocked him.

The doppelgänger of himself took a deep breath, as if breathing the air for the first time and then opened its eyes, revealing blood-red eyes with slitted pupils. It then shifted its stance to a mirror image of his own, hands flexing to reveal sharp claws as it took on the form of his Tailless State. The air shifted and a sharp pressure fell upon his shoulders, but Esau did not falter or blink, continuing to survey the figure before him.

"Alright." Esau murmured, narrowing his eyes cautiously. "Two can play that game."

Though he had yet to fully master his powers, Esau was confident in using a small amount to boost his strength and speed to give him a fighting chance against Kaldur and Superboy. Even though he had not fully gotten control of his powers, Esau was confident in using a small amount to close the gap between him and his doppelgänger.

"That won't work." The doppelgänger replied, for the first time its mouth moving in time with the words he spoke, the other Kitsune moving around the barrier, perched upon the trees and overlooking the training courtyard. "That power of yours is not yours, it is mine, more accurately, it is this version of mines power. If you wish to gain control of this versions power, you must beat this version of me in a fight; with your own power."

Frowning, Esau finally began to feel some of the pressure upon his shoulders, his stance deepening and body lightly tensing in preparation for what was to come. This would not be easy, yet that didn't bother him in the slightest, in fact, he looked forward to the challenge because now, he had a new wall to surpass and if there was one thing Esau was good at, it was reaching new heights.