daybreakacademy | The Hunt Is On!: I HAVE YOUR FACE!

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The Hunt Is On!: I HAVE YOUR FACE!

Who: Valvatorez, Tatsumaki, Yuya Sakaki, Jade Harley, Minako Arisato, Kohaku, Lie Ren, and a whole host of important people to them... or so it seems.
What: Hunting a Doppelganger
When: Midterms Week
Where: In a small town in the countryside.

With the visions of the seers signalling the dangers of a potential threat to the French countryside, the call went out for student volunteers to hunt the creature before the damage could get bad enough for people to start asking questions. Valvatorez quickly agreed to lead a hunt, finding it a useful exercise for his practical class... and even for students not enrolled in it. Knowing his foe, Valvatorez was more than prepared to deal with it if need be, but was more interested in letting the students who volunteered a chance to flex their muscles. Again. Even after the Ballroom Blitz, there was always more to be done, so those who had the thirst for another adventure were in for it.

Before departing, Valvatorez rounded up his volunteers in a small classroom, and started wtih a short lecture.

"Students. I thank you for signing up for this endeavor. I know the timing of this couldn't possibly be worse for some of you. Between the battle at the dance and now your week of midterms, this is a packed period of time. As such, I have taken the liberty of speaking with your teachers whose midterms are coming up, and you will receive temporary deferments in having to take them, and if you perform well out there, I will pass word on to them about it. Your retakes may not come at convenient times, but rest assured, I will see to it that we can accommodate you as best we can."

The vampire walked to the white board and produced a black marker from his cape. "Now, onto brass tacks. It's time to tell you what we're going to be hunting." Uncapping the marker, he drew a large question mark on the board, and next to it he wrote a word that might be intimidating to those who know their Outland lore: "Doppelganger."

"That's right, a Doppelganger," he stated, pointing to the diagram. "A creature that absolutely none of you should take lightly, even if you have experience. Doppelgangers, are of course, Outland creatures with the ability to shapeshift, taking on all manner of different forms to confuse and prey on the unwary. These creatures are wily, cunning, and clever, and will rarely stand toe-to-toe against a threat unless their backs are against a wall. No, they much more prefer to play mind games, and they will almost always stalk solitary targets first.

Their usual modus operandi is to attempt to read your thoughts and shift into the person you care or desire to see the most. This will often make its prey drop its guard, upon which the doppelganger will devour them, and claim their form as their own. They will use whatever means they have to attempt to mentally disarm you in this state. Do not let them. They will happily take the face of the people you care about to make you hesitate swinging your weapon." He turned back and scribbled notes on the board about this.

"Now then, you must be not only physically ready, but you must be mentally prepared for this fight. This battle will not only test your physical mettle, but your mental resolve. Know that if confronted with the doppelganger, you may well be facing the person you love the most. And you have to be prepared to hurt them, or worse. Now, how can you deal with this? Shielding your thoughts with the proper magics, either by spell or by Runic enhancement, will do wonders. If the creature can't get a read on you, you are less vulnerable to its mind game tricks. And importantly, stay together. Unless you are acting as bait, do not allow yourself to be caught out anywhere alone. And if the Doppelganger tries to take on one of the forms of your fellow students, or even me, have a code phrase ready. Like in those spy movies. It's more effective than you'd think."

Again, he wrote more notes up on the board.

"You might now be wondering how we deal with this creature. Don't let its proclivity toward skullduggery fool you. A doppelganger can be a formidable combat foe as well, once exposed and injured. Any form it has stolen by eating a victim can be used to fight with. Expect animals, people... even daemons or other Outrealm creatures. Never underestimate how dangerous they could be with any of them. Be prepared to face anything from a dog to lower tier daemons stupid enough to fall for its machinations. It may cycle through many forms the more wounds it takes... you will have to deplete its reserves of forms to bring it back to its true form, where it will be effectively helpless."

He stands up straighter, and flings his cape out to the side dramatically.

"However! There is more than one way to skin a cat. And there is more than one way to deal with a doppelganger. Doppelgangers, due to their very nature, have a very tenuous grasp on who or what they really are. Confronting them with their reflection, either by a mirror or any sort of reflective surface, may confuse, disorient, and even injure them. Without hyperbole, a hall of mirrors could be a psychological deathtrap for them. Even better still, is if you manage to capture a sight of the doppelganger's true form: a photograph, for example, will work even better. Even without a photograph, even telling it what its true form looks like may overload the creature into a state of weakness... even incapacitation, if you are skilled enough.

...But that requires you to see the creature's true face. And doppelgangers have a nasty habit of rarely using their base form, except between some of its transformations... and when it is at rest. But even that, is no promise that you'll be able to catch it that way."

More notes on the board followed, and he stood and a rigid attention.

"Our objective is to either capture or eliminate this doppelganger that has been reported in the French countryside. I will leave it to you to decide which is more viable, but we will have the means on standby to do either. A cage or a body bag for this monster, I do not care how we remove it, so long as it no longer can prey on innocent lives.

I will help oversee your planning. If you cannot come up with a sound plan, we will do it my way... but you would all be better served to devise something. I cannot be around to protect you forever. Learning to stand on your own two feet is an important part of your time at this institution. Remember, you must determine how you wish to deal with the creature, how you intend to draw it out, and how you intend to protect yourself from its tricks. Know that I will be in the field with you to protect you if the need arises, but again... you must be ready to stand on your own. If you can defeat this creature without my direct aid, so much the better. Before we proceed to planning, I will answer questions. Are there any?"

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[I will match either brackets or prose here, your choice.]

[Lie Ren has been listening carefully to the information presented by their teacher. He hasn't worked with a vampire before, but he's pleased to see this one is all business and has everything meticulously planned.

He raises his hand.]

If the doppelganger can read our thoughts, is it attracted more to people who are agitated or those who are calm?

That's a good question. Most doppelgangers seek the surface level thoughts, the easiest ones to detect. What it choose to prey upon can vary based on circumstance. Calmness doesn't necessarily make you a less desirable target. Sometimes they are the easier targets because it may not be as hard to convince them to drop their guard. An agitated individual may call for help if they get spooked, and that doesn't suit a doppelganger's desires. A calm security guard might be easier to trick than one that's on edge.

Context is everything with these creatures. They are patient and cunning, and will often wait for a perfect opportunity to attack. Think of a skilled ambush predator, only with advanced intelligence.

Hmmm.

My Flame power is that I can make people feel calm. It's useful in most fights, but maybe not this one. Would it be better if I didn't engage directly and just supported everyone else?

[He wants to be useful, Ren does. That includes knowing how best to fit into a group.]

If you are a capable fighter, you should consider engaging if you see the opportunity. Doppelgangers are dangerous and strong, but a skilled Hunter can still best one with the right preparation work. Discretion might be the better part of valor, but decisive action is what wins battles.

Keeping your teammates calm in the heat of a fight might be helpful, however. A cool head can prevent them from making mistakes, so long as it doesn't lead to complacency.

I have had a lot of training fighting with Hunters. I've never taken on a doppelganger before.

[It's only now occurring to him that he might be more useful than he thinks. He's just very used to being support because of his passive abilities.]

[A full body shudder. The idea of someone poking at her thoughts is CREEPY.]

Hey uh, you don't happen to have one of those runic thought protectors handy, do you?

Not on me, no. Unfortunately, I cannot issue equipment to you before we deploy, and I am currently unsure if such equipment will be available prior to departure.

[The vampire closes his eyes, briefly in thought.]

It would behoove you to check in with the armories at The Anvil of Hadur, or see if one of the smiths there might prepare you one if something is not available. Remind me when we leave to prepare you a letter of approval for such a device, just in case they start asking questions.

Be warned, however, if the beast cannot read your thoughts, it might sense something amiss. If you use one of those enchantments, be mindful of that in your planning.

I'll take the risk. I don't like the idea of someone reading my mind.

How accurate are their disguises, though? Like, if you had a doppelganger and the person it was copying unconscious in front of you so you could take your time observing them could you tell them apart?

Assuming the doppelganger hadn't seen the person they're mimicking, their disguises are as good as your instinctual memory of them. Odds are, it would be very difficult to tell them apart, which is why you need to rely on ways that aren't superficial and easily mimicked.

If faced in that situation, restrain them both, and find other means to distinguish them. Though, odds are, a restrained or injured doppelganger will likely shift forms into something else in an attempt to escape or fight once they regain consciousness.

Okay.

Oh, uh, one more question: If they turn into someone do they get the skills and powers of that person?

That's variable. The most powerful ones can, sometimes, but such instances are very rare. However, if we had reason to believe this target was capable of that, we would not be sending you out to deal with that.

That would be a danger level beyond what we would consider acceptable for you all to deal with as you are.

[Kohaku exhales.]

Oh thank god.

[Yuya raises his hand.] Do its injuries show up the same even if it takes different forms? Like if you cut its face.

Also an excellent question. It depends on the extent of its injuries. Severe injuries will make it much harder for it to make a perfect transformation, but smart doppelgangers often compensate for this. If they are able to escape, they may use the chance to flee to someone who can be duped into protecting them. Something like a soldier, an officer of the law, or even just a Good Samaritan, looking to help an injured person. Anything they can to escape.

The best way to prevent that? Don't let them get away from you in the first place, or have the area secured so likelihood of escape is reduced.

Edited 2019-02-22 03:18 (UTC)

So if we're going to confront the doppelganger, it should be cornered. As much as we can make it, then?

[They might not have the luxury of finding the perfect place for that. This is going to be a tricky assignment.]

Ideally, yes. If you can't corner it physically, consider thinking laterally. There are magical options for keeping it cornered as well.

Runic traps, containment circles, all manner of possible avenues of approach. I encourage you all to consider these as options as backups. Now is a good time to become familiar with them.

Do we have anyone in our group that's good at containment?

[Ren starts looking around at the other students. He doesn't know any of them particularly well to know for sure.]

I'm telekinetic, so that's one option.

[Although since it's true not everyone is completely familiar with each other's abilities, she has to mention other things.]

...although it's hard to do that and mentally shield a group simultaneously. There's also the risk that I might have a vision.

[She's a very versatile psychic, but the Seer powers come with a major disadvantage. Visions can come on at the worst possible times. It's why she accepts that she should work with a group instead of trying to take on enemies alone.]

[Well, she's confident that she can keep it out of her head, and out of the heads of everyone going along for the mission if it comes down to that, but she does have an idea and raises her hand.]

What if I intentionally projected thoughts out? I've got strong enough mental defenses to keep it from reading anything I don't want it to read. So what if I tried to trick it into taking a particular form that we all know definitely isn't with us?

[That causes the vampire's face to light up rather brightly.]

Ah ha! Now you're talking. That's some clever thinking right there. That's a notable weakness of doppelgangers: if they try to become someone who is nonsensical for their current prey, it can immediately expose them.

To people who aren't prepared for it, an appearance of the impossible can be incredibly disarming, but when you set the trap yourself? Well, the tables quickly are turned.

Maybe I should pick a dead celebrity like Elvis. A random Elvis impersonator in France's countryside should be weird enough to stand out.

[Hey, he did say nonsensical. Might as well make sure she's not doing anything by halfway measures.]

"Does it's scent change when it shifts?" If it does, that might end up being a problem for Jade. If not, then she could use that to her advantage.

"Exceptionally gifted ones can try to mask their scent, but it's not a sure thing. There have been cases of scent animals being able to pick out a faker, but the best doppelgangers have been able to fool some powerful noses. ...Though it depends on the scent you're hunting, too."

A gesture of him throwing his cape out to the side dramatically followed.

"I've been able to sniff out doppelgangers easily enough at times, especially wounded ones, because their blood is distinctly non-human."

[For your planning needs, talking between your characters, with Valvatorez adding input from time to time if desired.]

So what if we combine the mirror trick with the code phrase trick and carry around little hand mirrors. Our "password" can just be to look at our own reflections. Or something.

There's a lot of small mirrors in the theater storage. [Yuya counts everyone in the room.] And we can split up in pairs and--uh, one group of three. That way we cover more ground but nobody's alone.

Or just a phrase that isn't exactly common?

[Ren's just thinking out loud at this point, trying to come up with a solution.]

I'm a psychic. If no one minds, I can keep us all connected like we're in a telepathic conference call.

[She knows people get uncomfortable with telepathy, which is why she's really careful about making sure she has permission from people for the most part.]

That should make it harder for the doppelganger to read our thoughts in the first place, but we should pick a phrase that nobody would use normally. Like purple monkey dishwasher or something stupid like that.

I guess that's not a bad idea but...

[She makes a face, uncomfortable with the concept of someone poking around in her mind.]

If the doppelganger can read minds couldn't it just pick out our code phrase anyways?

[Yuya nods.] But they wouldn't be connected with Tatsumaki, and everyone else... we'd know for sure if it the doppelganger tried to look like one of us if we do that.

[Mind link stuff is a reasonable worry, but Yuya's got some experience with the feeling with his familiar, so he's willing to try a less comfortable version to strengthen their own defense against the creature.]

Don't forget, doppelgangers typically only skim your minds for people, images, and faces. Their level of telepathy is relatively limited. It is highly unlikely a doppelganger will be interested in sifting for a code phrase, especially if it has no reason to suspect it may be compromised.

That's exactly what the code phrase is for: in the event of being compromised, you can use it to prove you are who you say you are.

A mind link isn't strictly necessary in this case, though it is more foolproof. ...But if not everyone is comfortable with this course of action, I do suggest an alternate course.

[He's picked up well on Kohaku not wanting people poking around in her thoughts, and would rather not see her put in the situation where she'd have to be very uncomfortable. That could very well be a distraction they cannot afford.]

I don't mind a telepathic link, for what it's worth.

[Although "purple monkey dishwasher" is not a phrase he ever expected he'd be using. Or have stuck in his head now.]

[Tatsumaki decides to clarify what this would entail if she used her telepathy in this way.]

With a mind link like this, it's surface thoughts only. It doesn't let anyone see anybody's memories or anything. It'll just be...mental voices.

[She shrugs.]

We don't have to do it if not everyone agrees, but that's what it would be.

If it's JUST surface thoughts...I guess that's okay.

Yeah. I’m not too sure but it should be fine with me too, I think.

[Jade’s at least willing to try if it will help them.]

[Once a suitable course of action has been decided, the hunt for the Doppelganger is on: they will arrive undercover near the small French town where the creature allegedly is. Time to find a creature...]

Edited 2019-02-21 22:50 (UTC)

[Depending how the hunt proceeds and how the plan goes, confrontation with the doppelganger is inevitable. This is where it'll go down.]

[The hunt is now over, one way or another. Regroup, recover, and get ready to roll on home, and maybe talk about the experience.]

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The Hunt Is On!: I HAVE YOUR FACE!

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The Hunt is On!

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