Identity Crisis, part nine
Okay, let's review the facts. You discovered a duplicate of yourself who's neither a clone, alt, magical construct, shape-shifter, or anything else. You discovered that touching each other causes your thoughts to blend together. And finally, after getting the world's most powerful babysitter to perform a deeper scan, you're attacked in your own home by what looks like Christopher Lee and the incredible Hulk's cousin.
...And this still makes more sense than half the stuff going on around you.
The man with the goatee regarded Puck with a combination of disappointment and amusement. "I never believed I would find you in service of another, Ariel. Not after you were so eager to leave your service to me."
The only other time Elisa could remember seeing Puck look frightened was during the battle with Oberon. He looked around, uncertainly. Alexander was thus far unaffected by what was going on, but that couldn't last for much longer, not with the man and his hulking sidekick in the castle. Fortunately, though his powers were now bound by specific stipulations, they were that he could only use his powers in instruction of Alex, or in defense of him. And with those two around, defense was a high priority.
He didn't even bother with any spells, instead he simply made a quick gesture with his hands and hurled a sphere of energy at the man. Just before it reached him, the man held up a hand Elisa could see him whispering something quietly. The ball stopped in mid-air, still sizzling with energy, before it popped like a soap bubble.
"That did not work the first time you tried it either, if you will recall."
Elisa briefly looked away. Like her, Salli was on the ground, recovering from the mental barrage the scrying spell back put them through, while Goliath and Lexington were elsewhere in the room. Even without Puck, they outnumbered the bad guys here two to one, though the larger of the two was nearly as big as Goliath.
Goliath moved and placed himself between Puck and the villains. "I do not know why you are here," he said, "but you have violated our home and attempted to harm one of our allies. Leave now or we will be forced to deal with you harshly."
The man again seemed amused by this and even his large companion got a chuckle out of it. "Caliban," he said, "deal with this Gargoyle."
The big creature grunted and swung a fist. Goliath caught it in his hand and struggled against the force of the blow, so much so that he was forced backward. Caliban brought his other fist around, catching Goliath by surprise and striking him in the midsection. Goliath doubled over, but returned with a blow of his own. It was a powerful hit, knocking Caliban across the room and crashing into a table, shattering it and the very old looking vase sitting on it. With a roar, Lex pressed the attack, landing on Caliban's shoulders and pounding on him with both fists. The monster-man groaned, but stood up, even while Lex continued pounding, and simply reached up and plucked Lex from his shoulders, tossing him into the nearest wall. Lex gave a small moan and sank down into unconsciousness. "Insect," Calivan growled, before returning to grapple with Goliath.
While this had been going on, the man had pressed his attack on Puck. Distracted, concerned for the safety of her Clan, Elisa hadn't been paying nearly enough attention to the fight that was the real reason behind the other attack. The man had magiced up iron chains, which were now wrapped tightly around Puck, nearly strangling the poor pointy-eared immortal.
"Now, now, Prospero," Puck said nervously, "we can talk about this. Really. Reach a compromise. Renegotiate."
"All right. You will return to my service and I will spare your miserable life. How does that sound?"
"Yeah... you see, the thing is, I'm already under contract. Big Daddy Oberon's garnishing my wages, community service, house arrest. I'm not exactly looking for a new job right now."
Elisa exchanged a glance with Salli, keeping her voice barely above a whisper. "We've gotta do something. He's nice and distracted. You hit him low, I'll hit him high."
Even though Elisa now recognized that it was Prospero's voice she'd heard in her head during the scan, even though it seemed to promise Salli as an instrument of revenge, the expression of shock and horror on her face were too genuine to have been faked. Whatever her part in this, Elisa knew that Salli was just as much an innocent dupe in all of this as anyone else. Salli nodded her understanding.
Elisa leapt and though her instincts prompted her to release a growl, she ignored them, spreading her wings and extending her fists while Salli charged low, shoulder out for a body slam. Neither attempt was successful. The both of them rebounded off an invisible force field, landing hard on the castle floor. On the other hand, it did have the effect of gaining Prospero's attention.
"Ah yes, the false Gargoyle and her other. I'd almost forgotten about you."
His attention fully on them now, horror crossed over Salli's face. "I... I remember you! You were there! You were the one holding me!"
Prospero's smile was a cruel one. "Ah yes. The one who made this all possible. Possibly one of the greatest workings on magic I've ever done."
...And this still makes more sense than half the stuff going on around you.
The man with the goatee regarded Puck with a combination of disappointment and amusement. "I never believed I would find you in service of another, Ariel. Not after you were so eager to leave your service to me."
The only other time Elisa could remember seeing Puck look frightened was during the battle with Oberon. He looked around, uncertainly. Alexander was thus far unaffected by what was going on, but that couldn't last for much longer, not with the man and his hulking sidekick in the castle. Fortunately, though his powers were now bound by specific stipulations, they were that he could only use his powers in instruction of Alex, or in defense of him. And with those two around, defense was a high priority.
He didn't even bother with any spells, instead he simply made a quick gesture with his hands and hurled a sphere of energy at the man. Just before it reached him, the man held up a hand Elisa could see him whispering something quietly. The ball stopped in mid-air, still sizzling with energy, before it popped like a soap bubble.
"That did not work the first time you tried it either, if you will recall."
Elisa briefly looked away. Like her, Salli was on the ground, recovering from the mental barrage the scrying spell back put them through, while Goliath and Lexington were elsewhere in the room. Even without Puck, they outnumbered the bad guys here two to one, though the larger of the two was nearly as big as Goliath.
Goliath moved and placed himself between Puck and the villains. "I do not know why you are here," he said, "but you have violated our home and attempted to harm one of our allies. Leave now or we will be forced to deal with you harshly."
The man again seemed amused by this and even his large companion got a chuckle out of it. "Caliban," he said, "deal with this Gargoyle."
The big creature grunted and swung a fist. Goliath caught it in his hand and struggled against the force of the blow, so much so that he was forced backward. Caliban brought his other fist around, catching Goliath by surprise and striking him in the midsection. Goliath doubled over, but returned with a blow of his own. It was a powerful hit, knocking Caliban across the room and crashing into a table, shattering it and the very old looking vase sitting on it. With a roar, Lex pressed the attack, landing on Caliban's shoulders and pounding on him with both fists. The monster-man groaned, but stood up, even while Lex continued pounding, and simply reached up and plucked Lex from his shoulders, tossing him into the nearest wall. Lex gave a small moan and sank down into unconsciousness. "Insect," Calivan growled, before returning to grapple with Goliath.
While this had been going on, the man had pressed his attack on Puck. Distracted, concerned for the safety of her Clan, Elisa hadn't been paying nearly enough attention to the fight that was the real reason behind the other attack. The man had magiced up iron chains, which were now wrapped tightly around Puck, nearly strangling the poor pointy-eared immortal.
"Now, now, Prospero," Puck said nervously, "we can talk about this. Really. Reach a compromise. Renegotiate."
"All right. You will return to my service and I will spare your miserable life. How does that sound?"
"Yeah... you see, the thing is, I'm already under contract. Big Daddy Oberon's garnishing my wages, community service, house arrest. I'm not exactly looking for a new job right now."
Elisa exchanged a glance with Salli, keeping her voice barely above a whisper. "We've gotta do something. He's nice and distracted. You hit him low, I'll hit him high."
Even though Elisa now recognized that it was Prospero's voice she'd heard in her head during the scan, even though it seemed to promise Salli as an instrument of revenge, the expression of shock and horror on her face were too genuine to have been faked. Whatever her part in this, Elisa knew that Salli was just as much an innocent dupe in all of this as anyone else. Salli nodded her understanding.
Elisa leapt and though her instincts prompted her to release a growl, she ignored them, spreading her wings and extending her fists while Salli charged low, shoulder out for a body slam. Neither attempt was successful. The both of them rebounded off an invisible force field, landing hard on the castle floor. On the other hand, it did have the effect of gaining Prospero's attention.
"Ah yes, the false Gargoyle and her other. I'd almost forgotten about you."
His attention fully on them now, horror crossed over Salli's face. "I... I remember you! You were there! You were the one holding me!"
Prospero's smile was a cruel one. "Ah yes. The one who made this all possible. Possibly one of the greatest workings on magic I've ever done."