Let's Get You Home

[Veggie 150]

Mellow took a deep breath in as he stared at the empty bottles before him. His shirt was half-tucked, his hair looked as if it'd never been brushed, and it was clear at a glance that he had no clue where he was. Haense? Norland? Yong Ping would certainly make sense, given the distance - had he even left Sarissa? Never again with this kind of thing, he knew this was unhealthy and frankly unsafe. He stumbled away from the bar and out into the cobbled streets of anywhere. It was nighttime, there was a nip in the air. A soft breeze blew over him, to which he shivered and crossed his arms. Now, how do you find your way home when you're too drunk to remember where you are? The answer is actually quite simple, you get a friend to take you. As such, a soon-to-be friend called over to him.

 

"Mellow, you utter buffoon," a familiar voice called over. Too familiar.
"Who said that?" Mellow looked around for the source, only to lock eyes with the spitting image of himself. Well- himself when he wears his mask, at least. Even in his blurred vision, he could make out the intricacies of such a familiar item.

The doppelganger spoke back. "Think of me as a friend. The only one you've got at the moment."

Mellow rubbed his eyes once, twice, three times. Yet the man was still there. Focusing in on him, he noted the long hair with a short ponytail in the back, the outfit - albeit, less scuffed than his own - was the same as well.
"Are you real? A-are you me?"
"As real as the day you were born. I'm not you, but we were once one. It's not much of a business persona anymore, is it?"
He took a shaky breath, exhaling fog into the open air. Drinks don't make this happen, right?
But the only other explanation is that, in some capacity, it's real.

"You're s-saying that you're... Mister Smile? But that's- How?"
"Two things. One, yes, I'm that Mister Smile. You let yourself be geistreached so your friends would be spared. That's when I showed up. Second, you really don't need to speak out loud. I'm only in your head, after all."

Mellow could hardly believe what he was hearing. Yet, he did have vague memories of that, and that's around the time people claimed his mask was haunted.
So that would mean-
"I can hear your thoughts, you know. Yes, anytime you wore the mask between then and now, I took over. Sometimes, I stayed regardless of the mask. Now, I need you to trust me on one thing."
"A-and what-" Mellow caught himself speaking aloud, then resumed speaking in the safety of his own mind. "What might that be?"
"I am not your enemy. I'm here to help. With the clarification I can take over whenever I need, I'm still going to ask permission. Let me take over."
"Just- just like that? Why? How long?"
"Long enough that you don't die in the street. Deal?" Smile stuck his hand out to shake, which Mellow tried to accept. In that instant, when his real, meaty hand collided with the entirely mental one before him, they switched places. Smile was in full control.
He muttered a single sentence under his breath.

"Let's get you home."