The Battle Royale S2 [Round 4: Burnination Studios]

The other Sirius wasn't getting up.

"Thank-goodness-now-I-do-not-have-to-worry-about-my-protocols-preventing-me-from-harming-him," the robot said. "I-am-in-your-debt-other-Sirius-please-do-not-squander-it-with-a-pathetic-attempt-at-humor."

Sirius didn't respond. Jokes were even further from his mind than usual. He had so many questions now that his double's irreverence wasn't distracting him.

First and foremost, was the double really dead? That punch shouldn't have had that much force behind it. Had he overestimated the mortal's endurance? Or had he simply let his temper get the better of him again?

And for that matter, where had this doppelganger come from? Why did it resemble him so closely, and how was it so different?

And what had happened to the gods? He still wore the torc around his neck, but he could hear no voices. Were the gods stranded on Endymion, or was the Eccentric toying with him again?

For that matter, who had died in the last round? Geoff had been with him, but whatever had happened on Bracket's side was a mystery. As was the fate of Endymion itself.

But he still couldn't consider those questions in great detail when there was a body at his feet. A mortal dead at his hands. And the robot armadillo wasn't helping to keep his mind of it.

Suddenly, there was a flash of white light around the doppelganger, and his armor changed color to match that of the actual Sirius. He stood up, slowly, grinning eve as he braced himself against the pain.

"Well," he coughed, "looks like you really cleaned my clock!"

"I-take-it-back," the armadillo said. "You-did-not-hit-him-nearly-hard-enough."

"What's going on here?" Sirius asked. "Why do you look like me? What was that light?"

"Data-suggests-the-light-was-the-alliance-shift-we-were-told-about," the armadillo said. "It-appears-your-twin-here-is-on-your-side-now."

"You got that right!" the second Sirius said, limping over to the original. "You know, it's funny. I never thought anyone would call me two Sirius!"

Sirius felt his fist shaking again.

"He-is-your-problem-now. I-see-no-further-reason-to-deal-with-this-imbecile."

"Aw, come on RolloBot! We make such a great team! We're really on a roll here!"

The armadillo said nothing as it curled into a metal ball and bounced away.

"Oh well. So what's your name? I didn't quite catch it. No, wait, let me guess... It's gotta be Humerus!"

Sirius glared at his double, barely restraining his fist.

"I am Sirius!" he shouted.

"Could've fooled me!" the other Sirius said, laughing. "But you can't be Sirius. I'm Sirius! Well, except I'm not..."

Sirius sighed, and simply flew off. Maybe the double would get too lost in his own inane joke to follow.

"Hey! Don't leave me here, we haven't even gotten to the punchline! Oh, but I guess you already delivered that!"

"If this keeps up, I may actually start to miss the Eccentric," Sirius muttered under his breath.