Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Shadow Realm: Fifteen ❯ Shadows Within Steel ( Chapter 12 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

In an apartment in the Low-Level Spellcaster Living Complex 2, a young woman in light blue robes and incadescent headdress busied herself locking the door before relaxing. She was a Lady of Faith by species, Liselle by name. The rioting and other unpleasantness hadn't penetrated this part of the Central Shadow Realm yet, but it was better to be safe than sorry with things of that nature.

Satisfied that no one would break in without her at least hearing it, Liselle took off her headdress and set it on the hatstand next to the door, idly brushing a stray lock of dark blue hair out of her eyes. She chanced a small smile, and then looked to where she'd hung a portrait of a Witch of the Black Forest - the one she planned to fuse with. The portrait had tilted, and so she sighed and went to straighten it.

At that moment, a small knot of panic gripped her stomach. She slumped down, gasping, as a very dark sensation rushed through her body. It was a disturbing premonition, and Liselle knew who it was about.

"Oh, Naomi," she finally whispered once the sensation broke, "please be safe..."

0000000

A Labyrinth Tank broke from the street in the Work Quarters, its four passengers disembarking as soon as it came to a halt. Without any words of farewell, it promptly dug itself back into the street, vanishing from sight.

The street in front of the abandoned Equip Factory was deserted, as was the rest of the Work Quarters - there were perhaps three monsters crazy enough to work during the rioting, and none of them worked in this area. Raelvion separated himself from the rest of the group (Fifteen, readjusting his hat; Tessia, clinging to her staff; and Tilde, who just watched Raelvion silently) and walked slowly around the street, examining each detail. Finally, he nodded. "I thought this was the place," he said.

"What do you mean?" Fifteen asked him.

"The day after the Blue Nemuriko massacre, there was a tragedy on this street - a M-Warrior from a police task force headed into the Equip Factory and left it in a berserk rage. He slaughtered every other member of the force before his own death by mysterious circumstances." There was a pause, and Raelvion added, "They attributed the slaughter to the Shadow Killer, of course."

Fifteen's expression was utterly unsurprised as he replied, "Well, of course."

The two males were snapped out of their discussion by Tilde, who stated, "That's all well and good, but by my watch it's already ten after one. We don't know if something will keep us out of the Equip Factory, so shouldn't we get there?" She slid her watch back into a pocket of the apron.

Raelvion chuckled and replied, "You cut straight to the point, Tilde. Onward."

The four regrouped and headed down the straight path to the factory, Tessia keeping an eye over her shoulder. The door was already wide open, letting light into the long-neglected building.

They made their way into the center of the factory, standing by one of the pentagram-engraved tables. There they stood, awaiting some sort of response.

After thirty minutes of silent waiting, Tessia finally asked, "Do you think they're busy?"

"Perhaps they're somewhere else in here, and this is just cover," Raelvion replied. "Let's see if there's anywhere else they could be."

The group broke up, and Fifteen drifted along the assembly lines. Not watching where he was going, the Witty Phantom walked directly into a large piece of equipment. Uttering a curse in Draconic (the only word of Draconic he knew), he pulled back his foot and kicked the machine...

...and it wobbled.

Once he had recovered from his surprise, Fifteen shouted, "Over here!" As the others approached, he put his hands on the machine and pushed hard.

Resisting for a moment, the "equipment" finally fell over, revealing it was made of papier-mache. Underneath it, the concrete floor gave way to metal, gleaming in the afternoon sunlight from the windows. The center of the metal section was a raised circle, a line splitting it down the middle, and a set of numbered buttons was on the line's right.

"I suppose this answers the question about where they took Naomi," Tessia said. "But how do we get through it?"

Kneeling, Raelvion examined the buttons, and then said, "I don't want to risk setting a trap off by getting the passcode wrong. Unfortunately, I don't know who built this, so I can't think of any significant numbers."

"In other words, we're stuck," Tilde said, and then sighed, her usual hovering lowered to the point where her fingers touched the floor.

"Can't we just break through?" Fifteen asked.

Shaking his head, Raelvion answered, "If there is a trap on this door, that's guaranteed to set it off. Besides, I doubt you're strong enough to punch through this thing, and I can see metalsilver around the circle - that would suck in any magical attacks the rest of us tried."

A low whirring noise caught their attention at that point, and all four monsters turned their attention to where it was coming from: directly under the metal floor. Wordlessly, Raelvion passed a magic cube to Fifteen, who activated it and readied the resulting Sword of Deep-Seated.

The circle split, and from an elevator platform emerged two Mechanicalchasers. The robots didn't seem to notice Fifteen's silent, stunned group at first - they moved off the elevator, which lowered back into the platform as the hatchway closed over it, and made their way towards the Equip Factory's door.

And then Tessia, despite her efforts to keep it down, sneezed.

The sound galvanized the Mechanicalchasers. They whirled around, metal poles emerging from their bodies and blades popping into view on the ends. "INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!" both declared, the blades beginning to spin around themselves as they moved in to attack.

Leaping off the metal floor, Raelvion landed behind one of the Mechanicalchasers, spinning his staff around himself. He caught the robot's weapons, and in one smooth motion he flipped it over. Before the machine could get back up, the Dark Magician let loose with his magic, reducing it to ashes.

The other Mechanicalchaser charged at Tessia, who dodged to one side at the last second. Turning to follow her, the machine didn't see Fifteen's sword coming around at it. It split the machine quite cleanly in two, and the top half fell to the ground, its weapons stilled.

Cutting off the poles and blades, Fifteen turned the bisected machine over and asked, "What's the password to get into the hatch?"

The red light in its eye flickering, the Mechanicalchaser managed to say, "7...75...855...13..." With that, the red light died, and the Mechanicalchaser and all its parts shattered.

Raelvion walked up to Fifteen just as the Witty Phantom dusted off his pants leg. "Quick thinking," he complimented. "Don't put away the sword, though - if those two came from wherever they've taken Naomi, I doubt it will be the last fight we get into today."

Nodding, Fifteen kept his sword drawn as he moved up to the hatch. He knelt, studied the numbered buttons for a moment, and then tapped 77585513 into the hatchway. It slowly opened, and the elevator platform returned.

"Onward," Raelvion said, and the group boarded the elevator. It slowly descended, and soon the hatchway slid shut above their heads.

0000000

Even on the best of days, Exodia had long ago decided, keeping the Shadow Council running smoothly was like juggling greased swords. Trying to keep things running smoothly during a war was much the same, except the swords were electrified as well.

His attention returned to Escalus, who was making a report: "The Low-Level Zombie Housing Quarters is completely destroyed. Counting both slain members of the Yamiryu Ninjas and the Ha Des Business Syndicate, the death toll nears 10,000. The Level Six Warrior Living Quarters was hit by a massive fire - three-fourths destroyed. The Pyro and Thunder Living Quarters is severely damaged in the Low-Level, Level Four, and Level Five areas, and riots are still continuing in all three. There is still rioting in the Warrior and Beast-Warrior Living Quarters, and it may soon spread to the Beast and Winged Beast Quarters as well." The Frontiet Wiseman sat down.

"Thank you, Escalus," Exodia said. "The floor is now open to discussion." The instant those words were out of Exodia's mouth, he regretted saying them.

The first one to slap the "Request Turn" button was Pumpking. "I request funds to rebuild the Low-Level Zombie Housing Quarters," it said.

Sellick slammed his foot down on the "Request Turn" button and shouted, "What, so Ha Des can move back in and make it his base of operations again?!?"

Not even bothering with his button, the Legendary Fisherman wheeled around on his seat and called over, "I daresay the army can keep them out this time! If they do, we don't have to worry about Skull Servants pushing bootleg magic anymore..."

"Who says it'll stop them?" Sellick called back. "Besides, the army can't even stop the riots!"

Forseti hit his "Request Turn" button so hard that it broke. "Is it the army's fault that monster can't listen to reason?" he shouted down.

"What sort of 'reason' do you call putting guns to their heads?" Ophelia replied, standing on her chair - which almost made up for her lack of height.

"The best kind!" came Forseti's answer.

Calmly pressing his own "Request Turn" button, Kalvelos the Summoned Skull said, "I suggest that we give the army more power. Let us call in the reserves."

At her own lectern, Messiena, the Wingweaver and Fairy Representative, tapped her "Request Turn" button, waited for the light, and said, "What good will sending more troops into the city do? The ones we have are goading the rioters into fiercer acts of violence, as they want to get in what they can before the army kills them..."

Forseti drew his sword, pointed it at Messiena, and yelled, "Why are we letting her talk?!? All Fairies are pacifists, and this is a council of war! She won't suggest anything that will help stop the madness in this city!"

"Order!" Exodia shouted, but all it did was soften the volume a smidge.

Standing on his own chair, Sellick called out, "Messiena has a point! By now the negotiators should have gone out and tried to talk the riots to an end. I note a distinct lack of negotiation in this matter..."

A ball of fire took out Mr. Volcano's "Request Turn" button, but his light still came on. "Why are you even in this discussion, Sellick?" the Pyro and Thunder Representative taunted. "You're only on this council because your sisters pushed you to the top. Where were you for the first hundred years?"

"You take that back or I swear I'll shove a Follow Wind down your throat!" Sellick yelled, enraged.

"Agreed!" Exodia said, slamming his fist on his lectern. "Withdraw your remark, Mr. Volcano!" For the first time since the Shadow Council's inception, Exodia was ignored.

The Machine King emitted a piercing whistle, causing everyone to clutch their ears and drawing their attention towards it. "We are ignoring a vital issue," it began. "Currently, all refugees from the affected areas are being housed in two buildings in the Level Five Spellcaster Living Quarters. Their conditions are cramped and unsanitary, and we have no back-up plan for moving them in case of the rioting spilling into that zone. We must create a contingency and improve their conditions."

Ignoring what the Machine King actually said, Forseti replied, suspicion overflowing his words, "You know, I don't think I've seen a single machine since the rioting started. According to Gilford of the Lightning, all the machines that were supposed to be in the army dodged out. And the ones in the police force have been acting strangely..."

"Are you making an accusation?" the Machine King replied in its usual monotone.

"You could call it that..." Forseti now pointed his sword at the Machine King. "How long have you metal nightmares planned this attack?"

Breaking from his fight with Sellick (who was in a four-way shouting match with him, Pumpking, and Mr. Volcano), the Legendary Fisherman turned to Forseti and shouted, "How dare you accuse an entire race due to one or two incidents!"

"I never trusted machines to begin with!" Kalvelos interrupted, lightning dancing on his hands. "I say we've put up with them too long!"

Raising his fists, Exodia destroyed his lectern, screaming, "ORDER!" His jaw dropped as none of the monsters even looked at him, instead continuing their endless arguments.

As a bolt of lightning and a jet of water struck each other overhead, the Forbidden One sank back into his chair, complaining to Suleiman, "When did I lose control of the Central Shadow Realm?"

0000000

Not having a watch in his possession, Fifteen couldn't gauge how long it took for the elevator to finish its descent. When it did, there was a low clunk, and the wall slid open in front of them. And then his eyes went wider than he'd ever thought possible.

Before him stood a massive room, completely empty. Every square inch of the room was metal, shining in some spots and tarnished in others. On either side of him were long, ridged strips that led down the room and into a dark hallway. His eyes slid up, finding a set of indented light panels in the ceiling. None of them, however, were on - the only light came from a set of glowing circles on the walls.

Impulsively, Fifteen took a step forward, off the elevator. As soon as his foot touched the floor, the light panels turned on, exposing just how large the room actually was. Behind him, he heard Tessia and Tilde both gasp as the sheer size of the place came into view. In the hallway, more lights turned on, revealing that the passage led on about a hundred yards before it forked, and only one of the forks lit up.

Raelvion stepped off the elevator, followed by Tessia and Tilde. "This answers one of my questions," he said quietly.

"What question would that be?" Fifteen asked.

"If my suspicions are correct, whoever planned this was a machine; this entire room is evidence of that. A fiend would just carve out their lair in rock, a warrior would use wood to make the caverns more comfortable, and a spellcaster would use magic to create whatever they wanted - but never metal." Raelvion paused, tapping his staff against the floor and sending up ringing sounds. "We don't mind some metal, but surrounding ourselves with it is not what we call a dream getaway," he admitted.

Fifteen nodded, and then moved up to one of the ridged strips, running the tip of his sword along it. "What might this be?"

Examining the other strip, Tilde answered, "I think it's a transportation system - or used to be. If this place is any significant size, they'd need a way to get back and forth from the elevator quickly. It's probably been disabled so we have to take the long way in."

The echo of footsteps caused all four monsters to go silent. Flattening themselves against the wall outside either side of the hallway, they waited for the source to arrive.

A Roboyaru, Sparks gun drawn, stepped out into the elevator chamber, looking for the source of the voices he'd heard echoing. The blue android never had a chance - Tilde blasted him in the back with a shot of magic, and he shattered before he could hit the ground. His gun spun around and struck the back wall, and a long black strip of metal bounced once before settling on the floor.

Stepping to the gun, Fifteen picked it up and handed it to Tessia. "You're the weakest out of the four of us," he said - it wasn't an insult, it was simple fact - "so stay back and only use this if it's an emergency."

"Got it," she said. She then pulled out the gun's clip, checked it, and frowned before reinserting it. "One shot wouldn't do much good outside an emergency, anyway."

Raelvion had picked up the strip of metal left behind after the Roboyaru's destruction, and his eyes went wide. "This is an army membership certifier," he said. "It had a Remove Brainwashing effect built into it. How strong is our enemy if they can override this?"

"We'll ask that question in person," Fifteen replied, already heading into the hallway. "Let's go - we can't gauge how long until sundown from here, so we don't have time to waste."

The Dark Magician nodded his agreement, and with Tessia taking up the rear, the four headed down the hallway.

0000000

At the heart of the underground complex, a kneeling figure let its mind loose, tracking after the newcomers to its lair. Hearing their conversation, it chuckled and spoke to Pav, the Amphibian Beast it had chained to a post. [They begin to work it out, my pet,] it said, ignoring Pav's answering snarl. [They know what I am, but not who I am. That question they will not be able to answer until they get here.]

Behind the figure now stood a giant metal device, looking a great deal like a scale. One towering column was crossed by a steel beam, from the ends of which descended two poles. On the ends of those poles hung two large cups, both of which had a long, drill-like device on their edges. From the center of the beam descended a long rod, with a nozzle at the end.

Breaker was standing on the edge of the left cup, strapping down a struggling Naomi. Even with a gag in her mouth, the Witch of the Black Forest yelled curses at the spell-casting warrior, causing him to roll his eyes and on occasion kick her in the ribs. Turning slightly, the figure on the floor sent a loud thought: [Don't hit her too hard! We don't want to jeopardize damaging her and wrecking her energy!]

"And just what do we need her energy for, anyway?" Breaker answered, tightening the last strap. "You never really answered that when you sent me to get her."

[It is not necessary for you to know,] came the unhelpful answer. Turning its head, the figure looked to the Copycat, who was just staring through its mirror at Breaker's work. [Copycat,] it thought, [I have something for you to do.]

The shapeshifter moved itself off the wall it was leaning on and stepped forward, its form blurring slightly. "Yes, master?" it said in its usual cracking-mirror voice.

[Go down through the tunnels until you find the Witty Phantom and his allies. Cut him off from them, take his shape, and do away with him. Under no circumstances are you to initiate mutual destruction or to take a stronger form. Do you understand?]

A glimmer of light slid along the Copycat's mirror - in a monster that actually let its face be seen, it would be a spark of hope in their eyes. "I see..." Chuckling, it stepped up to the door, tapped in an eight-digit code, and slid out into the tunnels once the door opened.

There was the sound of metal clanging together as Breaker leapt down from the device. He briefly readjusted his shield and then said, "Is it just me, or did you just send it off to die?"

The figure chuckled, one hand sliding along Pav's head. [If all goes as I have planned,] it thought, [the Copycat won't need to kill D-15A itself. Fate will see to his death.]

0000000

After the Roboyaru, there were very few guards in the way of Fifteen's group, and those that happened to get in the way were swiftly reduced to scrap metal. Each time one fell, it left behind an army certifier, deeply dismaying Raelvion.

"You seem troubled," Tessia noted after the quartet had wiped out a Robotic Knight. This one had dropped a lieutenant's certifier.

One hand rested on Raelvion's brow as he sighed. "Why are so many of them army?" he asked without expecting an answer. "After all these years of trying to get accepted, why would they revolt en masse like this? Was Forseti right when he demanded they stay out of the army?"

Fifteen leaned against a wall, checking the blade of his sword before saying, "Knowing you, you probably saw the coming of the machines firsthand. Wasn't it only like two hundred years ago?"

"Yes," Raelvion said, and then smiled slightly. "I was still a student back then, a Skilled Dark Magician. I didn't become the Dark Magician proper for another ten years."

Something in Fifteen's heart caught at the idea of an actual childhood. Most monsters were born as they were; they didn't have the luxury of actually growing up. But by now, the usual flames of envy had long burned out, and so Fifteen just nodded.

Clearing his throat, Raelvion began: "The first machine to appear in the Central Shadow Realm was a Cyber Commander. It was seen wandering through the Warrior and Beast-Warrior Living Quarters, looking confused and helpless. Nobody was sure what type it was, so it was sent to the Shadow Council for evaluation. Back then, of course, the Council only consisted of Exodia, the Dark Sage - my teacher - and the Summoned Skull, Kalvelos. They were extremely dismissive of this inexplicable new type, and sent it to live in the Pyro and Thunder Living Quarters..."

"Where, I expect, it overheated and died," Fifteen interrupted.

"Exactly," Raelvion picked up. "But then another appeared, accompanied by a Metal Fish. They sent the Metal Fish to the Aqua, Fish and Sea Serpant Living Quarters - where it rusted apart - and the Cyber Commander to the Warrior and Beast-Warrior Living Quarters. It was destroyed by a Swamp Battleguard, but this time they managed to save the body and examine it. Everyone in the Council was shocked to realize this wasn't just an unusual offshoot of another type, but another type in itself. When more of them showed up, the Machine Habitation Quarters immediately went into construction." He paused, and then sighed before continuing, "It was blown up by an unknown saboteur a year later. The next one lasted three years before anti-machine riots claimed it. Even now, some monsters don't trust machines - and having so many of them turn against the Central Shadow Realm in general will not help matters."

But by now, Fifteen had stopped listening.

Nobody would blame the Witty Phantom, as he had only just realized he was on a fast-moving conveyor belt. He gave a gasp of shock and tried to escape, only to have twin clamps catch his shoes.

"Fifteen!" Tessia cried, and the other three jumped to save him. They were stopped when a giant metal barricade slammed shut in front of them.

0000000

The conveyor built held onto Fifteen's shoes for about three minutes more before it let go and stopped. Stumbling off the belt, Fifteen crouched and massaged life back into his feet, cursing in the one word of Draconic he knew. Here, the lights had turned out at either end of the hallway, leaving a space of about a hundred yards lit up. Otherwise, this stretch of tunnel looked no different from what they'd walked down for the past half-hour or so.

"I apologize for the circumstances," an eerily familiar voice said. Fifteen tried to place it mentally, and then went pale. It was his own voice, as it would sound from outside of his head.

A low clicking noise heralded the voice's arrival, and then Fifteen saw himself step from the shadows. The new Witty Phantom tipped his hat, which looked new and was the only difference between them (Fifteen's hat reflected all the fights he'd gotten into).

"So that's how you managed to get all the murders pinned on me," Fifteen said. "But why was there never any aura evidence?"

"Because I don't project an identifiable aura," the fake Fifteen replied. "I am a Copycat - our auras are so generic they leave no traces."

"Then why mimic me in the first place?" the original asked. "You could have taken any form and had it pinned on me."

Chuckling, the Copycat tugged on one of his gloves. "But I did," it answered. "When I killed Ansatsu and the Dark Witch, I appeared as the lover of the one I was killing. The shock on their faces was exquisite."

"You're sick," Fifteen said, shuddering.

"I never denied it," the Copycat said in return. "Now, if you try to hit me with that Sword of Deep-Seated, I will become an Armor Exe and tear your throat out. If you attempt to use Phantom Strike, I will become the Armor Exe. You will put the sword away and fight me hand-to-hand."

One of Fifteen's thumbs found the proper switch, and the Sword of Deep-Seated became a magic cube again. He pocketed it, and then shed his hat and jacket, kicking them to one side.

The false Fifteen slid off its own hat and jacket, cracking its knuckles and grinning. "This will be so amusing," it said, and then sprang forward and threw a left cross at Fifteen's jaw.

Dodging to one side, the Witty Phantom answered it with a right body blow. The Copycat was stunned just long enough for Fifteen to swing his left hand across and smack it in the face.

The Copycat rolled aside, laughing slightly before rising to its feet. It then charged in, feinted to the right, and swung a left kick into Fifteen's ribs.

Noting the kick, Fifteen answered by elbowing the Copycat's knee and swiftly punching it in the gut. Once again, it was stunned long enough for Fifteen to deliver a punch to the chest. Staggering back, the Copycat feinted right, and this time Fifteen fell for it. He was punished with a hard uppercut, sending him into the metal wall.

Dazed for a moment, Fifteen could do nothing to stop the Copycat grabbing his shirt and slamming him into the wall again. Pulling himself up with his hands, he mule-kicked, driving the Copycat back, and then threw himself forward, catching the shapeshifter with his knee. It shook off the hiy, and they went into an exchange of blows, a few getting through but not being noticed.

Suddenly, the Copycat hooked Fifteen's ankle and tripped him. Stumbling, he caught an elbow to the spine and went down. As he tried to raise himself, the Copycat kicked him hard in the chest, rolling him across the floor and into the wall again.

A low, mocking laugh filled the air as the Copycat stalked up to its prone victim - and was caught off-guard when Fifteen hurled himself up, driving his body into the Copycat's midsection. This bought him time to stand, and he threw himself shoulder-first into his opponent, hurling the Copycat back and causing it to collapse. He reached down...

...and both of the Copycat's hands slid around his throat, squeezing hard. Fifteen's hands lunged, and both combatants choked at each other. This was only broken when both monsters kneed each other in the groin.

Not for the first time did the Copycat regret copying a reproductive system.

Once both fighters had staggered away and caught their respective breaths, they stared each other down. Simultaneously, they turned and spat. And then both rushed in and began punching. This time, every blow found their mark, but neither monster could feel it, both emptying their pent-up anger into each other.

Finally, they delivered twin right crosses into each other's faces, and both Witty Phantoms, real and mimic, fell to the ground.

As they rose, the Copycat started to giggle. The giggles melted into chuckles, which turned into full-bodied laughs. It threw down its hands and laughed, its glee echoing off the walls of the tunnel.

And then it stomped one foot down, hitting a concealed floor switch.

0000000

Tilde and Raelvion had taken up positions on either side of the barricade as soon as it sprang up, focusing their magic on melting a circle into it and causing a plug to fall out, leaving a hole. This plan was scuttled when a thin sheet of metalsilver appeared in the center. After that occurance, the three spellcasters had sat behind the barricade, fretting.

And then there was a click, and the barricade sank into the floor. There was a pause of exactly one second, as Tessia cocked the Sparks gun, and then the group took off running, the lights turning on as they moved.

They screeched to a halt, however, when they reached the end of the lighted area. In the center of the hallway, two Witty Phantoms had clinched up, holding onto each other's shoulders and struggling to throw the other down. Both of them had exactly the same aura, that of D-15A.

Even as Tessia stepped forward, gun at the ready, both of the Fifteens saw her and turned, raising their hands and crying, "Don't shoot!"

"Oh, you must be joking me," Raelvion groaned, holding his head in his hands. Tilde's jaw dropped, and she dropped her staff, staring at the scene before her.

Tessia's hands shook, as she moved the gun from one Witty Phantom to another. "I only have one shot," she said to herself, "and without even their hats to go by, I have only one option." She then shouted to the Fifteens, "Say something only you know about me!"

"The first thing I said when we met was, 'Name? You have a name?'!" one Fifteen yelled.

"Back in the old apartment, you used to keep your savings behind a copy of Love Among the Graves!" the other Fifteen yelled over the first.

Tessia turned red, even as Tilde giggled. "I like that kind of book!" she hissed over her shoulder, and then she returned to pointing the gun. "What name did the owner of the Missing Number take?" she asked the Fifteens.

Simultaneously, both yelled, "Cordner!"

Damn... the Magician of Faith thought. And then the perfect question came to mind, and she called out, "What's my number?"

One Fifteen dropped his hands and shouted, "How should I know?"

The other said simply, "MRD-36D."

That settled it. Aiming the gun at the Fifteen who didn't know, Tessia fired the one shot she had at his head.

As soon as she fired, the targeted Witty Phantom gulped and grabbed the one she'd tried to save, holding him by the throat as he struggled. The Sparks shot hit him square in the forehead.

The gun slipped from Tessia's hands, and she sank to her knees, tears spilling unbidden from her eyes. A sob wracked her body... but before she could sink completely into sorrow, something odd happened.

Slowly, the mortally wounded Witty Phantom convulsed in the other one's grip. His purple clothing turned into an odd, motley pattern, and the gloves on his hands developed bulbous, pendulum-like fingers. One hand involuntarily reached up to his chin, and then his head widened, becoming a mirror...

A mirror which cracked where the bullet had hit it, and then shattered in a rain of glass.

Never once letting go of the mirror before its face, the Copycat slipped from Fifteen's grasp and hit the ground, shattering into a thousand shards. Once it was over, Fifteen drew up his leg and swept the shards from his pants.

And then he asked, "Mind telling me when I could have learned your number in the first place, Tessia? You never told it to me."

"Now, hold on! I swear I..." Tessia stopped, and thought back through all of her memories of her time with Fifteen. And then she turned beet-red, and muttered, "Oops."

The Witty Phantom sighed and concluded, "Exactly. Just a moment..." Sliding up to his discarded hat and jacket, Fifteen picked them up and put them back on. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he took out the magic cube and flicked it on, returning the Sword of Deep-Seated to his hands. A glance down told him that what was left of the Copycat's mirror sat next to his foot. With one swing of the sword, he turned it into splinters.

Stepping forward, Raelvion looked over the melting shards of the late Copycat and asked, "So, that was the shapeshifter who killed in your name?"

"Yes," Fifteen said. "Because of him, I've spent the last week and a half running for my life. Pity." He shrugged. "I wanted to do more to him."

But the conversation was interrupted by Tessia, in a most interesting fashion. Rising to her feet, she all but pushed Raelvion aside, grabbed Fifteen's face, and kissed him. To the Witty Phantom's credit, he returned it with some degree of skill.

Perhaps a minute passed before the two separated, and they just looked at each other for a moment more, both blushing deeply (which, given Fifteen's orange skin, had a very interesting color effect on him). Finally, Tilde picked up her staff, tapped it on the ground, and said, "Shall we get going again? If there are any guards left in this place, they must have heard that gunshot."

"Right as always, Tilde," Raelvion said.

And after one more exchange of glances between the fiend and the Magician of Faith, the four headed out again.

0000000

Breaker had managed to steal a Fengsheng Mirror before he had grabbed Naomi, and he and his current employer watched as the battle between Fifteen and the Copycat came to a shattering conclusion. Staring at the mirror a moment further, Breaker finally said, "I thought you said fate would see to D-15A's death."

[I miscalculated how much of a fiend he truly was,] the kneeling figure replied. [Using his enemy for a shield was an unexpected bit of darkness. Perhaps this Witty Phantom isn't as spineless as I had thought... It does not matter. My plan will still come to frutition, even without the Copycat. It had served its purpose by that moment, besides.] Rising to its feet, the figure floated to the control panel again.

"So, what now?" Breaker said, testing his blade's sharpness in the room's light.

Even as its hand swept over the control panel, the machine (for that was its type, as Raelvion had deduced) replied mentally, [We shall throw another stumbling block before them soon enough. Be ready, for you may have to deal with them yourself in due time.]

A cocky grin crossed Breaker's face as he licked the back of his sword. "Ah, yes!" he exclaimed. "I've wanted to kill a Council member for years!"

[You may well get your chance.] The floor space opened, and the machine raised its hands, mentally uttering, [Arise, my weapon...]

Slowly, the mold emerged from the floor, clouds of steam rising from its chilled exterior.