From different locations and through different means, Elsa and Mary simultaneously watched Gerard and Alicia stride hand in hand through the castle grounds toward the exit. Elsa’s viewscreen turned off with a near-inaudible hiss. Mary snapped her third eye shut and turned to Zack.. “Something is very wrong.”, the two said in unknowing unison. Elsa fired up her scanners and began to analyze the lifeform in the next tower over as her hook gun found a distant gargoyle and pulled her closer to her quarry, her gut tightening with each centimeter closed in. Mary clung tight to Zack’s arm as she told him what she had seen and how the sight of the young woman had made her feel. Both of them were driven to get a closer look at this strange girl and do something, but neither one had the slightest clue what was so strange about her or what they were meant to do when they were face to face with her. All they knew was that they had to go to her.
Zack slammed to a halt before a darkened hallway and put an arm before his sister. Mary, so lost in thoughts about the mysterious girl she had seen a vision of, bumped her chest against her brother’s steadfast arm before realizing she should stop walking. A diminutive being, no more than two feet tall and all gnarled horns and leathery skin, strode forth from the gloom to stand in front of the siblings. “Get out of our way.”, Zack growled. The creature shook its tiny head and took another step forward. Zack’s sword was out and inches from its potential target in less than a second. “Shake that head at me again, see if I don’t lop it the fuck off, you little bitch.” The creature leapt back with incredible speed. The ground around its landing site cracked and flexed as though presented with an impossible weight. The creature waited for Zack’s response. “You don’t scare me, pipsqueak.” The creature answered him in a perfect copy of Gerard’s voice. “No, but I do.” A partially transparent vision of Gerard, bathed in a red glow, appeared before the pair. “Oh, come on. Illusions? What are we, kids?” The illusory Gerard shot forth with its sword out and left a very real gash on Zack’s cheek as he leapt away at the last possible instant. “What the hell?!”, he screamed, and reflexively fell into his battle stance. A triumvirate of fireballs converged into a fiery tornado from the fake Gerard’s hand, searing Mary’s robes as she spun out of the way just in time. The follow-up blast came just as quickly and took some of her hair. Before the third blast could meet its target, Zack was there with his wide sword held in front of him like a shield. The magical blast bounced harmlessly away and tore a deep crater into the ceiling, letting moonlight shine through. Giant wings sprouted from the false Gerard and it snatched Zack up in its arms as it ascended out through the hole. Mary let off a few magical potshots, but was forced to turn her attention to the tiny demon and its copy of her brother. The fake Zack’s shield repelled magic just as well as the real deal, leaving Mary to dodge frantically while trying to get to the source of the clones and kill it as quickly as she could. A few hairs fell away as the glowing red Zack just missed beheading her and got a fireball to the face for his troubles.
Roughly a half mile up and ascending fast, the false Gerard let go of its prey. The magic clone almost seemed surprised to see wings made of magical energy form behind its victim. “Ah-ah,” Zack tutted, “We’re not done here.” His magic wings propelled him forward with sword held high. An attempt at a parry by the copy was met with a shield to the gut, but before Zack could strike the finishing blow, the clone’s fist found his collarbone and snapped it with a sharp punch. Pain blurred Zack’s vision, but he raised his sword in time to block two more punches, then threw a spinning kick of his own. His kick met its target, who was far too busy preparing a reckless haymaker, and sent it sprawling groundward, seemingly forgetting how to use its wings. Zack chased it toward the ground, sword raised high to strike the finishing blow, but was thwarted when the clone’s shield came up just in time. The wasted force threw Zack off-balance in his freefall, sending him headlong into the wall of a nearby battlement. His shield barely came up in time to block a barrage of lightning and a powerful thrust that pinned him to the wall. The fake Gerard pushed hard into Zack’s shield, grinning viciously and meeting his eyes with its own dead-eyed gaze all the while.
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