If Opposites Attract do Identicals Collide?

[Jonathan & Jacob Bishop]

John and Jake didn’t used to spend too much of their free time around Hammel. But that was before they’d met Rain. Even before they had awkwardly confessed their love, they’d spent a lot of time hanging around the school just hoping for a chance to see her around. Of course they’d also made other friends around the school and it was nice to feel like they were starting to belong around the campus.

And they had discovered yet another benefit to being around Hammel. Being away from their parents’ and siblings’ watchful eye meant more opportunities for adding a little excitement in their lives.

It was finally warming up enough out that the brothers had ridden their bikes to school. But not just for the sake of getting their exercise. Each brother was ready to ride full speed off of a makeshift ramp they’d assembled from boards they found in an old shed. The plan was to head right at each other, reach out midair, grab the others hand and spin hard enough to send each other down the ramp they had just come. The idea came from a dream John had about a month ago. Or was is Jake? Maybe both? It was confusing these days to figure out which brother came up with which idea first, feeling, or emotion first.

”Ready…” John yelled across the training field to his brother.

”Set…” Jake yelled back as both brothers mounted their bikes.

”Go!” ”Go”

The makeshift ramps didn’t hold as well as the brothers had hopped, each one wobbled just enough to send their bikes crashing straight into each other. Resulting in a very large crash and identical yells of pain.

[Xavier & Jaxon Wright]

It was Xavier in control, and Jaxon was resting in the back of their mind; he wasn't gone, just simply idle, and knowing that relaxed the Xav significantly. As of late, with the blackout occurring and all, the two had been very antsy, taking more time to stroll around the grounds of Hammel in search of something to do. Really, most places had been shut down entirely, but with school still in session, the Hybrid found this was the most active place to be.

Why he was on the training field was beyond him, but the light summer breeze the outside offered was a nice warm-up from the chilly inside of the school hallways. Sitting in a desk all day wasn't the greatest job, but it was one they both enjoyed, especially when their students graduated, knowing full well they were in control of the thing they thought they could never control at one point in their life. It was rewarding, and frustrating, but the pro's outweighed the cons.

The peaceful air that the field provided was slashed by the sound of a sudden crash and two identical screams. Xavier turned around, and Jaxon whispered in the back of their mind. <Who's hurt?> Xavier couldn't answer that, and so instead of replying, he simply looked out and scanned the field for anybody that might have caused that, eyes falling on a heap of two boys, two bikes, and wood surrounding them.

Xavier immediately went running to assess the damage.

[Jonathan & Jacob Bishop]

John and Jake were a tangle of limbs and bicycle parts. John’s head was bleeding from one side and his sight was blurry as he tried to untangle himself. Jake also tried to pull himself out, but when he moved his left arm he scream out in pain. As did John, who also felt the pain in his brother’s arm in his own arm.

”I think it’s broken,” John said, moving a bike of his brother.

”Is that my head or yours?” Jake added, holding his head and grimacing in pain.

It was then that John looked up to see a man running towards them. He stood up to wave the man over, even though he appeared to already be on his way.

”Help! We’re broken!” ”Help! We’re broken!” they called out as the man approached.

”Sit down,” Jake moaned to his brother, holding his head. ”You’re making my head swim.” John agreed and slumped to the ground.

”Next time. Better ramps.” Because of course there would be a next time.

[Xavier & Jaxon Wright]

Help! We’re broken! Two boys said in unison, and immediately, between their resemblance and their synced speech, he realized they must have been gestalts, which wasn't good in the slightest. Xavier sprinted the last few yards and found them tangled up with debris all around them. One of them was bleeding, while the other held his head in his hands.

<Jesus christ, are they idiots?> Jaxon exclaimed, causing Xavier to flinch slightly.

<They're kids, don't act so surprised. And can you not fucking yell. They can't hear you!> Xavier responded within their mind, the irritation clear in his thoughts.

Next time. Better Ramps. Xavier heard one of them say, and immediately he interjected. "There won't be a next time," He stood above them for only a moment before crouching down to look at the head wound of the bleeding twin. "You two are a gestalt pair, correct?" Xavier concluded that fact already, but he wanted confirmation, and he also wanted to see how coherent they were at that moment. Keep them talking, assess the damage done. "What are your names?" He would ask what happened in a bit, once he determined if they needed immediate care or not.

<They can't be anymore than 15,> Jaxon added.

<Which means they probably don't understand what being a gestalt really means.> Xavier had a feeling they would be in for a very rude awakening.

[Jonathan & Jacob Bishop]

Of course the brothers felt there had to be a next time. What was the point of having accidents if they couldn't prove they'd learned from their mistakes. Though maybe they should have Connor test out their stunts before they attempted them. He could heal, so there was no need for him to worry, right?

"Why not?""Why not?" The twins asked, almost whining. Whether it was a side effect of getting lost in their huge family or whatever, John and Jake never had much trouble with adults telling them what they could and couldn't do when it came to their stunts. Sure they got a mini lecture sometimes when one of them actually broke something or required stitches, but other than that they were usually left to their own devices.

"Yeah, I'm the better half," John said, he laughed at his own joke, but stopped when the effort made his head hurt worse.

"Yeah, well I'm not the one who set up the ramps,"Jake pointed out, pushing his bike off his legs with his good arm.

"I'm John, he's Jake.""I'm John, he's Jake." the brothers answered. John turned to give his brother a concerned look. It took Jake a moment to realize he'd introduced himself wrong.

"Wait...no, I'm Jake," he corrected. "Why does my head hurt so bad? he asked no one in particular. Jake could still feel the pain in his arm, though as long as he didn't move it, there was no shooting pain. But his head was still swimming even though John was sitting down now.

[Xavier & Jaxon Wright]

From up close, they could see the damage far better, and their faces read to be in pain, but Xavier maintained his composure, especially when the two asked why they wouldn't have a next time as if it were a question. Most definitely they wanted the adrenaline and the satisfaction that came with making a successful stunt like they had attempted to pull off -whatever it was- but the Hybrid wasn't going to allow them to do so.

"If you don't know why, then you definitely aren't going to get a chance to do this again." They really didn't know, which scared them both -though Jaxon had a more frustrated fear than Xavier did- quite a bit.

<Do you want to take this, Jax?> Xavier asked his brother carefully, but the other man simply rejected the offer.

<You're handling both of them quite well, plus, recklessness is your thing. Not mine> Jaxon shot at his brother, but the smile laced around them caused a physical smile to form on their body.

<Jeez, you make me seem so bad.>

<That's because you are.>

The inner banter left them a bit disoriented, but finally Xavier came to his senses and stood up just when they introduced themselves.. and confused themselves. From this simple observation, Xavier and Jaxon both could tell that they were having trouble adjusting to their power. Or it could have been the head injury.

Xavier kneeled in front of John, examining his bleeding head before turning to Jake and said, "It's because your brother seems to have hit his head so hard, he's bleeding. Come on, we need to get you to the nurse."

[Jonathan & Jacob Bishop]

The man's reply confused the brothers and they both cocked their heads slightly to one side trying to figure it out. "But we'll do it better next time," Jake said. "Yeah practice makes perfect and all that." Really even if this man, whom they were assuming was some sort of staff person around Hammel, forbid them from pulling a stunt like this again they could still pull one at home. Their parents and older siblings were at the point where they usually just shook their heads in surrender and ignored them.

Still their injuries were hurting. And while the pain was fresh in their minds they would hold off on the acts of bravery and daring for a bit.

"Oh so this is your fault," Jake complained at his twin, still holding his head.

"Oh grow up baby," John replied, though he help his brother gingerly to his feet, being careful of Jake's arm. John had always been the tougher of the two brothers, ever since they were young. Still lately he was finding it harder. Even now he wanted to grimace in pain, but tried to keep himself in check.

"Gee, we haven't been to the nurse in almost a month now..." John added as they walked towards the building. "Think they missed us?"

Jake smiled halfheartedly before turning towards the man helping him. "You work here, right?" Something about getting to his feet was helping to clear his head. It still hurt though. And the moving around was reminding his arm that it was in pain too.

[Xavier & Jaxon Wright]

"If you do this again, I will personally provide you with enough detention for the year so you don't have any time to try a stunt like this." Xavier was not going to have them injuring themselves in such a way again, or at least, not on his watch. They were gestalts, and so he could ask for them to be transferred to him for training purposes, and also because they worried for their safety and would be willing to take the responsibility.

<Even if we do, Xavier, there is a chance they will rebel and do it anyway.>

<That depends if they live on campus or not>

Xavier was growing irritated with the boys and their banter with one another about taking the pain. "I'm sure they will be absolutely thrilled to see you so beaten up. Come on." The hybrid turned to the other when he acknowledged him, "Yes, I do. I'm a trainer specializing in Gestalt pairs and mental powers."

"And I can see you two really don't know what it means to be what you are, both of you. Do you have any idea what would happen if one of you would hurt yourself so bad, you couldn't be saved?" Xavier's voice was stern, it was concerned, but most importantly, it was factual.

[Jonathan & Jacob Bishop]

"For a year?" "A year?" The twins asked in shock. Neither brother could wrap there head around why this should be so serious of an offense. Really, they'd done much worse at home. They had the scars to prove it.

Luckily, or unluckily depending on how you looked at it, the brothers didn't live on campus. And while they sometimes wished the did live on campus so they hang out with Rain more easily, the truth was they loved their family. And it would be weird to live in a dorm away from their parents and the house they were used to.

The boys trudge along. Truthfully, they weren't really looking forward to the talking to they were expecting to get from the nursing staff. Especially if it was anything like the lecture they were getting from this guy. This was a meta school after all, couldn't someone just fix them up so they could be on their way? What was the big deal? John actually opened his mouth to say so, but Jake, knowing what his brother was going to say, reached out his good arm and smacked him to keep him quite.

"So are you supposed to be our trainer then?" "Like eventually?" The brother's recalled something their current trainer had mentioned about the possibility of them being switched over to someone who specialized in their ability once they started to progress a bit.

"Are you tryin to scare us or something?" John asked. He gave his Jake, who was already wearing a worried expression, a glance before stepping up towards the man so that he was between them.

[Xavier & Jaxon Wright]

<Would we train them? There have been a lot of transfers lately>

<At this point, I think I may want to ask for them just because it seems like their trainer at the moment clearly hasn't given them the tools that they need to keep themselves safe.>

For most students, the idea of losing one sibling was enough to scare them straight, but then continuing on and presenting them -lightly, of course- with the idea of what could happen if one of them had gotten injured beyond repair was simply a double whammy.

"Who is your trainer now?" Xavier asked, watching as one brother stood in between them and his brother. At least they cared about one another, which would probably help the lesson sink into their slowly joining minds.

<Jaxon, they honestly don't know. Why don't they?>

<Probably for the same reason that is holding you back from saying it right now.>

Oh crap, he was probably right. Fear of shattering their entire existence in a single sentence, taking everything they knew and enjoyed and potentially scaring them out of doing anything. That wasn't what Xavier, nor Jaxon, wanted, but it ultimately had to be done.

At the last moment, Jaxon shifted into control, and Xavier allowed him to, watching quietly in the back of their mind.

"No," He said simply, "I'm not. Gestalts move together, speak together, think together, but they also die together." At this, Xavier cringed, and Jaxon had to hold himself from visibly responding to that cringing that Xavier offered in their mind. "John, Jake. If one of you gets hurt and dies, the other does too."

[Jonathan & Jacob Bishop]

The brothers exchanged a glance, trying to recall the man's name. They had been trained by both an Asian man and some old dude with glasses since arriving here at Hammel. They hadn't had a permanent placement yet. Something about waiting for them to sync more or something.

"Uh...something with an 'M'?" John offered. He gave a shrug. It wasn't that the twins were usually so bad with names, but they figured if they were going to be moved on soon anyway, there was no use in getting attached. They had gotten the feeling their trainers felt the same way, even if it wasn't true.

"Oh maybe a 'B'?" Jake added, also shrugging and regretting the pain in his arm when he did so.

"Would you stop movin around so much," John said, when his brother did so. Jake only glared.

The two were busy sticking out there tongues and making other such faces at each other that a first they hadn't noticed the man was talking. But finally, they caught up to what he was saying.

"Wait...die?" "Wait...die?" the brothers asked. Their faces shared identical expressions of shock as they looked from each other to the man and back to each other. Jake started to tear up a little.

"Who do you think you are? That's not true," John said, stepping forward to shove the man. He was also tearing up a little, feeling both his brothers shock and sadness as well as his own anger.

"Not true?" Jake echoed pitifully.

[Xavier & Jaxon Wright]

Their reactions were just as expected, and he could tell by the way they reacted differently that they were still in their relatively beginning stages of their merge. While one got angry, the other was visibly scared. They were still brothers, and while their mind was slowly coming together, they were still their own people.

<You think you could've been any harsher?> Xavier muttered, hiding out in the depths of their mind like a wounded puppy. Xavier enjoyed being liked by all, whereas Jaxon -while not heartless- didn't mind if they didn't like him for now.

They'd see reason, and when they did, they'd come to thank him. This was a situation that could have potentially left them much worse off than they had been, which both Xavier and Jaxon were grateful that they were relatively okay. They would heal, at least physically.

<They needed the truth, and I gave it to them. There isn't a point of hiding that, Xav>

<But you were a dick about it>

<I was honest, and hell, even if I was a dick, it was for a reason>

"You can push me and call me a liar, but it is true. I have no reason to lie to you, and since you seem to have exhibited this behavior more than once according to your words, I had to let you know."

There, Jaxon stopped and turned to face both of the boys. They stood only a bit shorter than him, but he held a more authoritative posture, while not being too intimidating. His expression softened from the hard lines that it was not a few minutes before.

"We don't want you to not enjoy your teenage life, and we don't want to torment you both with false and terrifying words. We only want to help you, and if you continue with these types of activities, nobody knows what will happen. Listen, when you two finish this transition, your minds will be basically one. You'll feel everything the other does, exactly as you are doing now. You'll be a single entity that has been split into two bodies, so what do you think will happen if one of those halves disappears from the world?"

Jaxon, so used to referring to himself as 'we' since he wasn't the only person occupying the body, but it might have sounded strange to the boys who were only staring at a single person. However, if they asked, now was not the time to go into their own ability. Jaxon also wouldn't be informing them that they will attempt to get the boys transferred to them.

<I still feel bad>

<You gotta learn to stop caring about image, dude.>

<That's easy enough for you to say>

[Jonathan & Jacob Bishop]

It was true that John and Jake still had a long way to go in terms of synchronicity. Though some days they were closer to being one, they still had a lot of their own individuality. And this was the reason that they trainers so far hadn't been too worried about placing them with someone more specialized so far. They often shared pains and emotions. But it was usually a passing thing. And something they they didn't really notice. After all, they felt a lot of the same emotions anyways just from being together so much. Though they were having more trouble these days speaking singularly or figuring out who was going to say what when.

That being said, John, who had always been the more outgoing and self assertive one of the two, was feeling very protective of his brother at the moment. He didn't want Jake to have to deal with this, even if it was true.

Jake on the other hand was looking for any valid reason for why this older man would be lying. It wasn't like he was just one of the older students, or an older sibling, who had a reason to get a kick out it. The twins had often been used for their gullibility. And they were just learning to question things they were told. Still Jake couldn't think of a valid reason why this man would be lying.

"But...but..." John said, still keeping himself from this man, who had to be lying somehow, and his brother. If they weren't already injured and on their way to the nurse, John might have suggested they just run home.

"Who is 'we'?" Jake asked. All of this was only making his head hurt worse. It was confusing, so he found the one question to ask that might not lead to more horrible truths of life.

[Xavier & Jaxon Wright]

Jaxon was correct in assuming at least one of them would ask questions, but he was still adamant on the fact that it was not the place or time to explain his power. That wouldn't please the twins, he was sure of it, but both Jaxon and Xavier were more concerned with the well being of the students rather than the information one of them asked for.

"That isn't important right now," Jaxon started, looking to see if both boys were bleeding any more or more harshly - it was not the case. But he knew that if he didn't give them something, the stubbornness, especially from Jake who seems to be the more dominant one, would probably hinder the Hybrid's attempt to get them to the nurse's office. After all, if it were them, they would have done the same exact thing. So instead, Jaxon offered another thing, "Once you get checked out, I'll answer any appropriate questions, including the one you asked me just now."

<Good call> Xavier said.

<Well, I know us. And if they gave us a half-assed answer like that, we'd be doing whatever we could to get the answer out before having to go to the nurse.>

<Good point. Damn, you're limiting me to two word sentences. Man, fuck you.>

Jaxon tried to avoid rolling his eyes, but it proved difficult. There was also a smile threatening to form. His brother was the only one who had been able to elicit such a response.

"Sound like a deal?" He then asked then, stopping for a brief moment to receive their answer.

<Ignore me, why don't you?> Xavier muttered, but he could feel the invisible smile forming in his brother's mind.

[Jonathan & Jacob Bishop]

The brothers were still in shock at the man's statement. And so not ready to be dealing with something like that. Especially since they were both in actual physical pain at the moment from their own and each other's injuries. It was just too much to handle.

It was much easier to ignore that and focus on finding out whatever this man was apparently trying to hide from them at the moment.

"Not important? Why?" John asked. "You can't just drop a bomb like that."

"...bomb like that." Jake echoed.

"And then be Mr. Mysterious." "And then be Mr. Mysterious."

Jake, still holding his head, opted for an even easier question. "Wait? What's your name?" He tried to remember if the man had told him or not yet. And with his head hurting, he wondered if maybe he had a concussion and forgot. Maybe he did. Maybe he was dying. And John would die too. Suddenly he was finding it very hard to breath.

"What's happening?" John asked, hearing the panic he was feeling from Jake in his own voice.

Neither boy was injured that badly, but since they were both happy-go-lucky usually, they hadn't ever experienced a panic attack either. So it certainly felt like they were dying. The stared at each other, scared and having no clue what to do about it.

"Help?" John asked,trying to catch his breath, not even all that angry at this man anymore. He and Jake were too scared to really be angry at this point.