Minako stared at the girl in front of her-as though she were looking in a mirror. At first, the features were easily recognizable-Minako in her school uniform surrounded by her friends and artemis on her holders. But one by one, the images of her friends melted away like ink in the rain-and artemis was the last to go. Her classic red hair bow vanished as well-as did her school uniform. What replaced the school uniform was an entirely different outfit-garnished with expensive threads and silks. There was suddenly a microphone in her hand, and she was screaming into it. Later on, this reflection was seen refusing autographs, yelling at her coworkers on what seemed to be a movie set-and demanding her limo driver push through traffic-narrowly missing an all-too-familiar white cat on the street. 

What was this? What was happening? Was this some kind of sick prank?

Hotaru looked on as a crowd headed towards the huge purple tent, shortly after the clock chimed. She feared walking right into a trap, but she couldn't let all those people fall prey to any evil either if she could somehow stop it. She joined them in the back of the line, stepping on the nerve grating dry leaves.

Inside, after she took her seat, she saw the older woman come in amidst the black cloths, the room growing darker after she said her alluring line. She tried hard to keep her eyes on the mysterious woman, with every reason to suspect she was more than she seemed, only to see a faint figure emerging from the darkness a few feet away from her, the line of sitting people in front of her gone.

- Hello Hotaru, it's been a long time, hasn't it?

The voice was familiar, if hoarse. The figure wore a strange circus dress, with big light purple ruffles around her neck, a big red bow tied around her waist and slashed dark stockings under her skirt. Her face was dark, scattered instances of light here and there.

- I've waited, and waited, and waited... Now you've finally come to me. You didn't really thought you had ridden yourself of me, did you? I'm part of you, and always will be. I own you!


Hotaru's face twitched in terror, now having a clue as to whom she was seeing before her...

Usagi followed the others into the room and found her seat. She gazed at the beautiful crystal ball and noticed a picture start to form. She was looking at a picture of herself, but the Usagi she was looking at looked quite different. Usagi had black hair with pink streaks, she wore thick make-up and tight fitting clothes. She was with a group of people she didn't know making fun of some of the school "nerds" such as Ami-chan. She saw an image she didn't like, one that was worsened when Mamoru rode up on his motorcycle and embraced her from behind before he kissed her in front of everyone.


Usagi shut her eyes to try to push this image away, she didn't like seeing this version of herself, and she especially didn't like that she was making fun of one of her closest friends and that Mamoru appeared to like this new, darker version of herself.

Well, this reading didn't sound too bad. As Ves took her seat, she peered into the crystal ball. Since she was not spiritually inclined at all (except perhaps with animals), she not expect to see anything.

Ohh, but she did.

It was the image of a child, lips stretched wide in an eternal laugh. The child wore a very revealing circus outfit, and her blood-red hair was styled in a very ornate fashion...a very familiar ornate fashion. She
Pranced around, laughing gleefully as shadows danced around her like flames, consuming every screaming soul they came across. And still the child leapt and spun like an acrobat, twirling a whip in her hand as she did so. Then she turned to Ves, her scarlet eyes glittering with malicious glee.

"Remember when life was like this? Fun? Carefree? No grownups to boss you around?"

Ves paled. No...this could not be happening! She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

The redheaded child laughed again. "Don't give me that! I, after all, am the real you. Growing up was your nightmare, isn't it? But don't worry; we can make things right again."

Ves found her voice again. "No! That's not me!" She couldn't hide the tremors in her hands, nor her terrified expression. The Senshi of the Hearth rarely, if ever, felt fear. But this was an exception...

"Dream, Beast Tamer, dream! Dreams die as dreams grow, but children can dream for an eternity and never wake up...!"

(If you have yet to post your previous task, you can still do so....just make a before & after post  )

Yumi was suddenly aware that the she was still in the room, with her friends around the table, and the strange gypsy woman. She looked around, her friends looking back at her, all of them stunned. Had they all had the same type of nightmarish image pass their mind?


"What gives?" Yumi stood up, staring at the unnamed woman. "What did you do?"


The woman chuckled. "Welcome to my Hall of Mirrors." The black drapes fell off of the walls and the girls were surrounded my tons of mirrors. Suddenly the room seemed bigger. Who was real, and what was a reflection? The dimly lit room wasn't helping with the problem either. Yumi looked to her left and when she reached her hand out, instead of touching one of her friends, it was simply glass. Where had they gone?!

Task:
Post your reactions to being lost in the mirrors. (Do not see your other selves yet.)

Sailor Nocturnus

Pamina trembled, having jumped up from her own seat when the gypsy revealed the mirrors from behind the long black drapes. She took a hesitant step sideways, hoping to edge closer to the neighbor she sat next to for the ceremony. The young girl yelped softly when her shoulder bumped into something cold and slick. Glass... a mirror! She glanced into the reflection, confused to see that it showed something other than herself. What was this?

She could see the room, but she couldn't interact with it. The child clutched her long hair to her chest, trying to remain calm.

"Panic won't help," she tried to tell herself, eyes wide with fear. "You're a sailor soldier! Act like one!"

"what the-!?"

Minako-once out of the daze-was just about to go off on the woman for the odd vision she had received when she was suddenly surrounded by mirrors-and nobody else was in sight. This was bad. Not only were the other senshi trapped in it, but all the other civilians were as well! 

"Hey! Is anyone there? Can you hear me?" Minako began pounding on the glass. It quickly became obvious that pounding wasn't going to do anything. Kicked into her fighting mode she grabbed at her communicator to contact the others only to realize that it wouldn't open no matter how hard she tried. 

"Shoot!" Minako silently cursed to herself. Guess she was on her own. She'd have to act fast-but she couldn't transform yet, what if she ran into one of the innocent bystanders? That would blow her identity! Mentally taking note to only transform when something more serious appeared, she started feeling around the glass to navigate.

Bump

Barely had Hotaru time to recompose herself, her nemesis was gone as fast as she had appeared and she was thrust into what seemed another waking dream.

Mirrors lined up everywhere, sometimes widely scattered, sometimes forming corridors. Hotaru couldn't tell for sure when she stepped out of a mirror room into another, her sense of direction twisted and in a daze. She tried looking at her hands, an old practice she learned when dream walking, to try and gain some orientation. She did not want to be anywhere near the mirrors, dreading what might be in them; her old self the most. At times she thought she could make out reflections of her father, Chibiusa, her friend, and at one single, short time even her late mother, dreading these images who messed with her mind very much.

Seeing that trying to find her way out seemed pointless, she stopped in the middle of a roll of mirrors that encircled her, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. When she opened them again she felt a tinge of fear when she thought that they were closer to her somehow. Her heart accelerated when one of the mirrors to her side budged, making a nightmarish screeching sound, and then silence again. A silence that didn't last long as all the mirrors seemed to shake and move in her direction in their own time, a deafening sound again as they motioned slowly, then rushed at her all at once to crush her in their enclosure. The last thing Hotaru saw was her own image everywhere just before she hid her face under her raised arms.

"Augh!" Ves roared as the vision changed. The Beast Tamer was gone, but the mirrors seemed to multiply. They surrounded her, seemingly forming a labyrinth within. None of the other Senshi--or civilians, for that matter--were around.

This was really creepy. "Hey, at least if I ever wanted to find myself, I could just look to my left, am I right? Haha," she joked weakly, trying to use humor to diffuse the situation. When that didn't work, she balled her hands into fists again, resuming a battle-ready position.

"Well, come on then! Put 'em up!" she roared, swiveling around in the labyrinth of mirrors in case something snuck up behind her. But all that she saw was her own reflection.

"FIGHT ME!" she yelled, even though at this point Ves knew full well that she was alone.

Amber ran after Yumi to catch up with her on her way to the tent. She had been distracted by a cool light display by one of the rides. When she caught up with her friend they both headed into the tent. Once they sat down the room was dark and purple. Something about the room made her feel uneasy. The woman sat down and spoke to them. Suddenly in her mind she saw an image. 

The image was of a girl, she looked similar to Amber, but something was different about her. Her hair seemed darker and her clothes were darker. Something seemed so off about her in her own mind. It was oddly terrifying. This girl wasn't her, but was her... She snapped out of it and then saw her friends in the room again as if nothing had happened. 

Suddenly the woman moved the drapes and they were in a hall of mirrors. She turned around to find Yumi and was scared when she could no longer find her friend. She tried calling for her, but it felt like her sound just bounced right back. Where was Yumi, and what was going on?

Usagi was so caught up in the image of her alter self that she did not realize that she was now trapped in the mirrors. She saw glass all around her and beat with all her might against the glass, hoping someone would hear her and come to her rescue. She felt a bit scared, but kept a hold on her brooch as she felt a sense of fear, and hoped she would not have to transform.

Yumi placed her free hand on her wrist that housed the Gem of Aqua in her body. Everywhere she looked was just mirrors, and reflections of her. Finally Yumi saw a hallway appear, but when she turned to walk down it, she realized it was another illusion. Had she just walked through the mirror? She was seriously confused and getting frustrated. Suddenly, she heard a giggle, a giggle all too familiar with her own. It was her exact laugh. 


"Where are you?!" Yumi yelled, her voice echoing around her, the mirrors mimicking her. 


Yumi spun again, and when she turned, all of her reflections were now facing away from her, and they were all in her Sailor Fuku. Yumi looked down at herself and realized she was now Sailor Splash. When did she transform? Did these mirrors really see her real hidden self?


"Real hidden self? Lets see now." An voiced echoed around her. Did the mirrors just read her mind? What was this joke?!


Before Sailor Splash knew it, the reflection facing away from her turned and giggled. "Why didn't you join the Second Moon? Your powers would have made you the supreme ruler. Look at everything I have, I am so much better than you."


The reflection stepped out and shot an energy attack at Sailor Splash. She crashed into a mirror, glass shattering around her.

Task: 
Fight your other self. You can run into one another while running through the mirror maze. You have until Sunday to finish and destroy yourselves. Try to get at least 3 posts in.


When you are about to do your finishing blow, whatever would destroy your other self and make you victor, please highlight in red the sentence that does so. (I want to use these in the last part of the event closing on Sunday)

Alter Ego Rules:
Equally as powerful as you, if not stronger
Your attacks only work on your alter self. Ex. Alter Ego Amber's attacks will not hurt Alter Ego Sailor Splash

Sailor Nocturnus

As she tried to calm her breathing, Pamina reached up to place her hands on her chest. She heard a soft jingle, like the sound of the charms on her sailor soldier uniform. She glanced down at herself and was surprised to see that she had become Sailor Nocturnus.

"W-what...?" the young girl asked, confused eyes darting from the trick mirrors to her outfit and back again.

When she looked up again, she found herself face to face with.... herself. The one from that vision before. The older one who wore Sarastro's insignia. Nocturnus felt a scream rising in her chest, but it caught somewhere in her throat, unable to escape. She choked on it, eyes wide with terror.

The mirror Nocturnus stepped closer, smiling sweetly and beckoning for Nocturnus. The smile didn't reach her eyes. Sailor Nocturnus tried to back up, but found her back pressed against one of the countless mirrors, trapping her.

"Why do you fear me?" asked the voice that was her voice and somehow wasn't her voice, that smile still painted serenely on the copy of her face.

The teenager took a confident step forward, and the light glinted from the intersecting V's on the orange stars of the opposite's uniform. Nocturnus trembled, eyes focused on those symbols. Unbidden, the memories of the wars and the conflicts flashed through her mind. She remembered those times of threat and fear, punctuated with the heroics of her mother, always the one to save the day. She could not recall the faces of any attackers and destroyers, but she knew that symbol, the one they wore proudly: Sarastro's emblem.

The other Nocturnus traced the path of the younger girl's sight. She raised a delicate hand to touch the central star on her front bow, laughing softly. The mirrored one shook her head slightly, still chuckling, and smiled at the cowering Sailor Nocturnus with pity in her dark eyes.

"If only you knew, little one. He is not your enemy. You have been blinded by your awful mother's lies and deception. But someday, you will be enlightened, as I am. You will understand the greatness of Sarastro's truth."

Shaking, the smaller sailor soldier-in-training raised her right arm, fingertip sparking with golden energy. She traced it around herself. Her reflected self watched with mild amusement, the smile still plastered on her face.

"Ecliptic Rotation!"

Her opposite self swatted away the shooting stars as though they were flies. The shockwave passed by her without any harm, only providing a gentle breeze that fluttered her sailor collar and long hair. The older faux Nocturnus shook her head, tossing the long navy locks away from her face. When her black eyes met those of Sailor Nocturnus, the younger girl shuddered at the hardness and fierceness reflected there.

"You don't even understand your skills."

The double presented her arms grandly before her, and Nocturnus saw for the first time that the teenager held aloft a long and thin item. Something familiar. Her vision cleared and she saw it fully, eyes wide with fear. Her mother's treasure: Die Zauberflöte!

"Behold your future greatness!" the mirrored sailor soldier announced, holding the flute to her deep pink lips.

Sailor Nocturnus screamed.

It only took a few seconds until Kiyoko saw this picture in front of her – and it only took a few seconds until it disappeared again. “W-What was that?” She hadn’t the time to think about it, the next mystery just appeared under her nose. Mirrors upon mirrors were suddenly around her. She looked for the gypsy woman who invited them. “What…did you do?!,” she said, her voice slowly getting louder. “Do you want us to be trapped in here? To make us feel lost?! That’s no Crystal Ball Reading anymore!” Maybe she should have reacted in a different way but she was unable to stand this; don’t seeing the entrance wasn’t good for her claustrophobia. “Stop that! Immediately!”
 
Kiyoko turned around and slowly noticed how her head began to spin. “What are you doing to me?!,” she muttered. Suddenly she got weak at the knees and almost fell to the ground. Okay, keep calm! After a while she bobbed up, her left hand reached for her head to keep the balance. Should she try to get out? She would get lost but on the other hand she didn’t want to stay there either. Step by step she eventually moved towards the maze of mirrors.
 
It didn’t take long until she got frustrated. Kiyoko only saw herself in all different angles – the others as well as the gypsy lady were gone. I have to think clearly. She stopped, closed her eyes and took three deep breaths. “Yeah, this could work,” she quietly mumbled when she opened her eyes again. “Hey Vulpix!,” she said a bit louder now while looking up to her guardian. “Foxes have sharpened senses, right? Can you smell the fresh air coming from the outside? Or do you hear some noises from the other stalls?”
 
The little white fox nodded, stood up and jumped down to the ground. For quite a while he was moving - from the left to the right, back and forth with a pretty strained expression on his face until he finally looked back to Kiyoko. “Just go straight forward. Maybe you should go a bit more to the left but other than that the entrance seems to be just in front of you.”
 
Kiyoko nodded and started to run along the track Vulpix told her to. She felt odd seeing her own face wherever she set her eyes on. Even the smuggest person in the world would get tired of his own appearance here, she thought. Kiyoko froze when she looked into one of the mirrors and suddenly saw herself in her Fuku. “Wh- What?!?! What is going on here?,” she said surprised. When she looked at herself, she realized it was no illusion - she really wore her Fuku. “How is that possible?”
 
Suddenly she heard a laugh. It was familiar somehow. “Excuse me? Who is there?,” she said in a polite way, hiding her actual feelings. After getting no response she kept going – everything in the tent gave her the creeps. Panacea startled and jumped aside when her reflection started talking. “Don’t be afraid. I am you,” the woman in front of her said with a smile on her face.

“You are not,” Panacea said without emotions. “You are not even a real reflection. Reflections don’t talk.”
 
Her second self perked her eyebrows up. “Don’t be so rude! I have feelings too!” She crossed her arms and looked sulkily away. “You know what? This is the reason why you don’t have any friends. And why you will never have any. You have no feelings, you aren’t a bit of sensitive and the only person you care about is yourself!” She paused. “I think you should be in this mirror instead of me!”
 
Panacea looked to the ground and clenched her fists. One tear was running down her face. “You have no idea!,” she screamed and broke the mirror with all her strength. Some shards of the broken mirror cut her skin but the pain she felt mentally hurt way more than the physical pain. She started crying.
 
“You don’t think you can blow me off that easily, do you?,” the voice suddenly appeared again but this time it was coming from behind. Panacea turned around and saw the same person again.

“You know, I’m right.”

Minako had been wandering around for what seemed like hours-her voice was the only voice she could hear bouncing around the mirrored walls as she called out for her friends. Each passing second made her unease grow greater. Suddenly, she saw a dart of yellow hair rush past the corner of her eye!

"Hey! Wait!" Minako swirled around to see the figure dart behind a mirrored wall. "Usagi, is that you? Kiyoko?" She could hear nothing, other then some sniffling and wheezing-it sounding very much like someone holding back tears. 

Oh, this was a civillian. Minako was both relieved and frightened. Relieved that she wasn't alone anymore, but now she had the burden of not being able to transform. She bent down so she was balancing on her ankles, and put her purse to the side. 

"Hey, it's okay." Minako gently called out to the trembling figure. "I know this is scary, but we can't give up yet! I'm just glad to see another friendly face! Aren't you? We're not alone in here anymore! Let's work together to find a way out of here, okay? My name's Minako Aino, what's yours?"

The figure paused, and she could see it begin to stand up, clutching its sides and its trembling increased. Before Minako could tell what was happening, it threw it's head back and loud guffaws echoed throughout the maze.

The figure wasn't holding back tears-it was stifling laughter.


Minako stood up quickly as the figure emerged. Suddenly, it became clear that it wasn't hiding behind anything-stupid Minako! You can't hide behind clear walls! The figure, laughing it up, emerged from the mirror-leaving water like ripples in its wake. 

"Scared?" The figure-the girl from Minako's earlier vision-mocked. "Alone?" She chuckled some more. "Friendly? Minako, my dear,  I think you've got the wrong idea."

 Minako gritted her teeth and grabbed for her transformation wand. "Who are you?"

The girl blinked-her thick black mascara twinkled slightly due to the reflecting glass. "Me? I'm you. Well, the better you." She reached into the pocket of her leather jacket and grabbed out a transformation pen-an exact replica of Minako's own. 

"So that earlier vision was-"

"Minako" nodded, grinning. "Isn't it great! Fame! Fortune! Men all over the world at your backing call!" She wrapped her arms around herself and sighed blissfully. "It's all you ever dreamed of! Of course, this fashion isn't particularly my favorite, but what do you expect?" She winked cutely. "Gotta keep up with the trends, ya dig?"

Minako raised her crystal power stick into the air. "Dig this! Venus crystal power, makeup!"

Hotaru dared a peek over her arms; she was still alive and healthy, the mirrors somehow gone. She was, however, in a new room: dark, stretching endlessly throughout the darkness, fogs rising from the ground and gliding over it. She looked around in confusion, apreehensive as to what was about to happen now.

- Welcome, Hotaru. - She heard a cynical voice from behind her and quickly turned around to see a red throne over a flight of stairs, teddy bears and other dools all around it. And in it's center the vision of herself she had saw earlier.

She wasted no time in transforming into Sailor Saturn, shouting "Saturn Planet Power, Make up" and soon holding her powerful glaive in her hands and wearing her fuku.

For her part, her doppelganger slowly raised from her throne and just as slowly descended the flight of stairs, Sailor Saturn staring firmly at her. When she reached the end of it, she spoke:

- How do you like my collection of toys? This one is my favourite. -She produced a Sailor Saturn plushie, complete with its own Silence Glaive, and nudged her nose at it.

- The gypsy woman has failed; you were never a reflection of myself, you were just a parasite that latched on to me! - Saturn said.

Her doppelganger roared out heartily.

- Oh, Hotaru, can't you see? The reason I chose you was precisely because you had so much of me in you. Your sleeping destructive self was being hampered by your petty human life, and I only had to come over and work on what was already there and give it it's own voice. - She paused a moment to reflect, and with a smile on her lips she said: - Maybe, in the end, you were the one parasiting it.

Sailor Saturn had enough of this affront; who was she to say who she was or wasn't? She raised her glaive, not wasting any time.

- Death Rebo... - She had stiffened up holding her gliave mid-air, her entire body slightly shaking in frustration and sweating as it couldn't move. She noticed her other self had magically produced an operating cross with strings attached to it and the plushie, hanging it over mid air.

- Like I said, Hotaru - her other self said patiently, much amused - your destructive side is much stronger than you. You can't use it against itself.

She tossed the plushie away back into the pile of stuffed toys, and Sailor Saturn herself was thrust back harshly into the ground, her glaive staying behind and falling  on the ground.

Sailor Saturn tried to recompose herself, her body scratched. If this was a dream the pain felt very real. She saw her other self grab her glaive and leisurely walk up to her with it in her right hand. Sailor Saturn tried moving away by crawling with her back to the floor and at the last minute she turned around to get up, only to have her back stepped on back into the ground by her other self's foot. She felt her hair being pulled up, and she was  staring face to face at her own eyes wildly blinking a strange purple hue.

- And let me tell you, Hotaru: it wants to come out!

Her doppelganger eased her grip on Saturn's hair just enough so it could look straight ahead into the mirror that suddenly appeared. Sailor Saturn noticed her fuku was gone, and was now wearing her double's strange circus outfit, who in turn used her sharp, dangerous glaive to move away the hair in front of her despaired face.

- No one to save you this time, Hotaru. Why don't you be a good girl and just surrender to your destiny like you always have? - She said, looking at her own reflection with a flirtatious face.

Just what the hell was going on?

It seemed like mere minutes ago that Jasper was intoducing himself by name to Ami. Shortly after he gave his name to the young girl, the time for the old woman's reading had come. Like the other ladies, Jasper found himself drawn to the tent where the wisened gypsy performed her craft.

"Let's experience yourselves," indeed. Whatever sorcery was at work, Jasper had soon found himself seeing the image of a taller, masculine individual with a long, flowing cape that was dark enough to be woven out of a starless night sky. The man's skin was infused with a shade of indigo; it reminded him of the late Queen Beryl, who had experienced a similar physical change from her exposure to darkness. The woman had gone from a few inches below his own impressive height to nearly an entire foot over his own. Judging from the outward appearance, this vision of the dark-skinned man also shared Beryl's sense of modesty - or lack thereof. The figure wore no shirt beneath his cape. Thankfully, the would-be overlord was wearing a pair of slacks that were held in place with a sturdy brown belt.

"That's not exactly fair, comparing me to that old wench."

Jasper blinked. The image had spoken directly to him, and the voice was eerily similar to his own. Why did they sound so familiar? As soon as he recovered from the unwarranted sense of déjà vu, the young man then found himself standing in the "Hall of Mirrors" while clenching his teeth in restrained furor. Nobody in the Dark Kingdom ever attempted to trap him like a rat - at least, not without suffering the consequences. Once he found the way out of this maze, he'd give that old lady a piece of his mind.

At least, that had been the plan. Jasper had spent at least ten minutes searching for an exit. Distorted reflections of his body surrounded him at every turn, all except for one - the shirtless, dark-skinned regent.

"Where are you going? We've only just met!"

Jasper turned around to face the reflection that had spoken to him before. Was he stuck in a mirror world, now? That old crone had a lot of explaining to do. His twisted half seemed to pick up on the involuntary body language, throwing his shoulders back and laughing deeply.

"You look like you've figured it out, my boy! I'm everything you never allowed yourself to be."

Jasper scowled, turning his back on the reflection to continue his search for an exit. "All you look like to me is an overbearing muscle-bound wizard with unwarranted self importance. Why don't you go cast a magic missile at the darkness and leave me alone?"

His cape-wearing doppleganger shrugged his shoulders, taking up a strangely apologetic tone. "I'm afraid I don't know how to cast that spell, boss. But I do know one you'd like.." When Jasper turned around to look back at the self-styled emperor, his curiosity was rewarded with a punch between the eyes that sent him crashing to the floor.

"It's called 'Fist!'"

Fight me fight me fight me fight me


Ves' yell echoed off the walls and down the halls. As her gaze darted around, she noticed that her reflection was wearing a sailor fuku. Confused, Ves looked down at herself, she had indeed transformed...somehow. "Perfect, I don't need to do it," she muttered. But how had she...?

Before she could think this through, another figure appeared in the mirror. Petite and childlike, she looked upon Sailor Vesta with an odd mixture of contempt and pity.

"Wow. Look at you," the twisted circus performer mused. "Living your worst nightmare. All grown up, wearing the fuku of responsibility...sheesh, what happened to you?"

"I'm where I should be," Vesta replied firmly. "That whole Dead Moon deal was a sham, and you know it!"

'VesVes' shook her head. "No. This is the sham. You used to have it all--eternal childhood, endless fun, no responsibilities, and all the time to dream and make dreams come true!"

"You hurt and killed innocent people!" Vesta snarled, summoning her whip.

The doppelganger shrugged, wearing the same cocky smirk that often appeared on Vesta's own face. "So what? It was fun!"

Vesta's eyes boggled. "Fun? You call that FUN?!?!"

The imposter laughed at Vesta's reaction. "There was once a time when you would have agreed with me. That's not how it should be! We're the same person! We--"

"SEARING WHIPLASH!" Vesta roared, striking the now flaming whip like a snake at her mirror self. 'VesVes' screamed as the lash burned a scar across her cheek, though jumped away just in time to dodge the brunt of the attack. Her playful grin was gone, replaced with a snarl to match Vesta's own.

"If that's how you want to play, fine! ORB OF STEEL!" With that, several knives materialized out of thin air and hurled themselves like missiles towards Vesta, whose circus-borne reflexes allowed her to jump out of the way just in time. The Senshi steeled herself, preparing another attack.

OOC:

“You have not the slightest idea!,” she screamed. Her face was drowned in tears, her power has gone. Slowly she broke down and eventually landed on her knees. While she looked to the ground, you could hear her sobbing.
 
“I am you. So who could know you better than me?” Panacea’s doppelganger paused. “Face it…you are your own worst enemy – you are the reason why you are all alone!”
 
“Be quiet for once!,” she shouted at her reflection. “What did I do to you, gypsy lady?! Why do you want me to suffer that much? I didn’t do anything wrong!” All her life – since she lost her friends and family on her home planet – she was said to be emotionless and cold. But the unblemished truth her reflection told her hit. It hit hard.
 
Suddenly Panacea felt a fluffy paw poking her on the shoulder. “Hey. Don’t let it get you down.” When she looked up, she looked in the dark eyes of her companion. “She is not right. And you know it…deep down.” She snuffled and looked still doubtfully at him. “You have me, right? And I’ll be by your side until we die.” Vulpix paused for a few seconds. “And when you really are such a bad person as she says…why did these girls invite you to join them?”
 
She brushed her tears away. He is right. These girls invited me. Even though I acted so cold. “Kiyoko, you are a friendly, kindhearted young lady,” he continued. “And you said it yourself: You want to protect everyone from any kind of suffering and sadness – this is not a bit of selfish! So don’t let her control you!”

Her reflection clenched her fists and started to get mad. “Be quiet, your liar!” She turned back to Panacea. “You know, he is lying! These girls invited you because they wanted to be polite! And this fox is only by your side because he has to! No one actually wants to be with you!”

Sailor Nocturnus

As a younger child, Pamina dreamed of someday playing her mother's magical flute. She loved to hear the sweet music that Queen Sternflammende could coax from the shining golden instrument. Of course, it did more than just play pretty melodies. With Die Zauberflöte, magic could be conjured for both protection and aggression. Pamina had seen it in action so many times against the brilliant warriors of Sarastro. They tried, but they could never overcome it.

Now, as that serenade wrapped around her, Sailor Nocturnus could not feel excited or awed--as she had felt watching her mother. This horrified her. The flute belonged in the capable, strong hands of her sovereign mother. To see it and hear it used by this traitor was a serious offense.

The music itself was no longer friendly to Nocturnus. As her mirrored self continued to play, she could feel the notes and bars winding around her, like a python preparing to constrict prey. A negative influence sought to smother her. She could hear faint whispers of voices, telling her lies about Sarastro and his honesty--his goodness. This man, who had sent agents to harm her on more than one occasion, could never someone she considered "good."

"Join us, sweet child," the woman beckoned, stepping forward. She loomed over the huddled, shaking form of the dark-haired girl. Nocturnus glared up at the opposite self, anger reflected in her tear-filled eyes.

The impostor knelt down, smiling that empty smile at the younger version of herself.

"I remember being just as confused and upset as you are now," she said. "Women, such as that headstrong queen, are not to be trusted. You will learn, as I did, that we must be guided by a man. A strong and just man like our great priest is exactly what your life needs. Sarastro will make this all clear. He can illustrate to you the treachery of the Queen of the Night. She will not be a part of your new and better life."

A life... without her mother? The same mother who provided gentle encouragement whenever Pamina tried something new? The one who wrapped her in safe and loving arms when she was sad or upset? The one who taught her that she was limited only by her own fears? The mother who helped her when she was down, but showed her that she possessed the skills she needed to help herself? The mother who had sacrificed so much to keep Pamina safe? The one she was fighting so hard to find and aid?

Sailor Nocturnus scowled at this mirror imposter.

"No!" she shouted, jumping to her feet and rushing towards her double. "I will never be like you! That flute... belongs to my mother!"

The young sailor soldier-in-training threw her small body at her double, crashing into the unprepared teenager. The two slammed through a nearby mirror, a tangle of dark hair and limbs. Sailor Nocturnus reached desperately to knock Die Zauberflöte from the pretender Nocturnus's hands, while the phony fought back, too distracted by the physical conflict to summon any sailor attacks.

If there wasn't a piece of sharp steel just inches away from Hotaru's face, she would've shaken her head furiously; she would never surrender to her faith again, not after many struggled and fought to rescue her from it once.

She quickly tried to hold on to the glaive's handle with both hands, to pull it down hoping that her nemesis' grip over it would be feeble as she was also holding her hair with her other hand. As expected, her other self tried pulling the glaive back to slash Hotaru's cheek, but in the end Hotaru threw her weight over the handle and triumphed, striking her other self's chest with the tip of the handle and thus pushing her back.

And she was surprised for a moment, just keeping her balance a few paces away, but she quickly stood erect and chuckled under her breath as Hotaru stood up as well, aided by her Glaive.

- It's useless, young girl! - she stretched her open hand in front of her, the palm upwards - Remember when you had a condition because of me? I can't torture you like that anymore, but I can... do something close to it. - She clenched her hand and twisted it sideways, chuckling.

Hotaru's circus outfit began to tighten, her ruffles choking her, and she quickly kneeled to the ground in pain. But out of desperation she used the tip of her glaive's steel to rip it to shreds, starting with the suffocating ruffles. When her outfit lied in pieces, she stood up again, panting.

- I won't let you try any more tricks! - she quickly rose her glaive - - Silence Wall...

Hotaru was once again thwarted as her glaive flew out of her grip and into her other self's hand. She could only stare in shock.

- Since you're so eager to end things, let's stop playing games, shall we?

Her doppelganger outfit shredded into oblivion, revealing the Sailor Saturn fuku under it. She looked exactly like Sailor Saturn now, except for the glowing red eyes. She raised the glaive and yelled:

- Death Reborn Revolution!

A sudden gust of wind blew in, seemingly coming from all directions; in the once dark background, images of galaxies and stars manifested and whirled around.

- You... You can't do this! If you kill me you'll die as well! - Hotaru yelled.

- No... You will die; and I will live on! - And her other self laughed.

Usagi clutched her moon stick tighter when she saw the figure move closer to her. She was looking at herself, but her other self looked so different, like someone who was a very evil person. The figure laughed as they stepped out of the shadows.

"Usagi always so cute and innocent, but what will you do against me, after all I am a version of you, how could you possibly attack yourself?" She said with an evil laugh.

Usagi felt her heart stop for a moment, how would she attack this girl she thought as she put a hand to her head. 

Usagi's alter ego saw this as a moment of opportunity and attacked her with a warning blast.

The blast was enough to send Usagi flying across the vast space causing her to land on her back with a hard thud. Usagi sat up slowly watching the world spin around her. She was still clutching her moon stick, and quickly she transformed into Sailor Moon.

"I will not allow you to play mind games with me, in the name of the moon I shall punish you." She said as she grabbed her tiara and shouted, 

"Moon Tiara Boomerang"

She watched as the attack barely phased her alter self....and stood stunned for a minute, trying to figure out what to do next.

Usagi's alter ego laughed as she spoke

"Is that all the great and powerful Sailor Moon has got" she asked as she charged a more powerful attack at Sailor Moon.

Sailor Venus finished her transformation. Hands on her hips and knees bent, ready to fight, she faced her opponent only to see that her opponent has transformed as well. Venus was aghast. If this was an alternate her, how did she transform?

"Oh phhhhsssh. You really need an answer to this?" As though reading her mind, the other Sailor Venus waved a carbon copy of her crystal rod above her head. "Duh!"

"I-I don't understand..." Venus took a step back. "In that vision, you were a jerk. You almost ran over Artemis!"

"Tisk Tisk, Minako." Her opponent wagged a finger at her. "You assumed I wasn't a senshi because I almost ran over the stupid cat? Puh-leeze." She walked over to Sailor Venus an jabbed her nose. "Just how do you think it is that I got my fame?"

Sailor Venus' eyes winded. Of course, in the past she had thought of it; but she was young and naive! She hadn't even met Usagi yet, let alone the others; and hadn't known a thing about her mission and the importance of their past lives. It was a passing whim of her 13 year old self. So that couldn't be...

"...You used your Sailor V glory to cheat your way to the top?" Venus was stunned. How did that happen? She would have been a minor! 

Her alternate self giggled and nodded, her bow bobbing up and down excitedly. "It was far too easy! The cops almost had me arrested on the spot, but I was a star, baby! My fans instantly came to my aid! Before I knew it, I had more contracts then Celion Dion!" 

Sailor Venus shook her head. "But your fuku-you're not Sailor V."

He double rolled her eyes. "Waaaay to be observant. You didn't think Artemis would let me get out of my "senshi" contract that easy, didja?" She threw her fingers up in fake quotes, emphasizing childishly as she spoke. "And you know what? I was fine with it-at first."

Sailor Venus felt her heart stop. At first? What did she mean by that? Ignoring Sailor Venus' obvious distress,her double continued, walking past a few mirrors and gazed lovingly at her reflection.

"I mean, being a senshi was what got me to my dream in the first place. Why give up the title of heroine like that? Stuuuupid!" She stuck her tongue out and watched her reflection, and smiled and started playing with her hair, stroking it longingly as though one would pet a newborn kitten. 

"You see this? It easily takes 15000 yen to keep this mane clean and tangle-free! My hair is one of my better features, don't you think!" She swirled around and winked in Sailor Venus direction. 

Sailor Venus was not amused. Her double stuck her lip out and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Oh boo, you're no fun at all! You just want to hear the story about this gaudy fuku change, right? Geez, no sense of tact." Her double walked back over to the mirror and touched her reflection, caressing her cheek. She sighed blissfully. 

"I mean, it was nice playing the lone wolf, and it was interesting, to say the least, to meet the others. But COME ON! A crybaby who can't walk two feet without falling all over herself? A nerd who can hardly talk to others and just buries her face in a book? A priestess who's got such a temper, she chases children away? And a gargantuan woman who could snap someone in two just by looking at them funny?" She shook her head and heaved a heavy sigh. "Hardly teammate material."

Sailor Venus felt a hot burning sensation deep within her chest. She unclenched her fists-noting the pain as she did so. Her jaw hurt from keeping it shut, and her shoulders and knees ached from standing in one spot, watching this clone pace back and forth, in anticipation for an attack. This was all part of the mind-games-Venus thought-it always is. It's all to get you riled up and angry, you can't fall for it. Venus swallowed her anger and maintained her fighting position-ready to counter whenever this clone would stop flapping her gums. 

"But yeah, I stuck with them for a bit. Left the set early to talk about the enemy movement and protecting this "princess." Then I learned about our past lives and all that jazz." It was at this point that her alter-ego began to bleat with laughter . 

"Some romeo and juliet armies are getting knock off and romeo goes and kicks the bucket, so the princess just went and offed herself! It was the stupidest thing I have ever heard!" She was leaning against the glass, pounding it with her fist and clutching her sides, coughing and wheezing with laughter. "So get this-the poor bleeding heart mother decides to give everyone a second chance-and we STILL get nailed with the jerks that made romeo and juliet do the dying thing! Everyone got really mad that I laughed."

Sailor Venus saw red. Almost without her full control, she whispered and a small yet flaring heart appeared in her palm. She arched her arm back as far as she could-as though she were throwing a softball. 

"And the BEST part!" Her clone's eyes bobbed open with amusement. "Is that this crybaby coward was the princess the whole time! I couldn't take it! It was too funny! So I hopped in my limo, threw Artemis out the window and I-"

"-LOVE AND BEAUTY SHOCK!" Sailor Venus let her rage spill forth. Like an army of vengeful angels chasing thousands of demons back into hell, doses of golden energy concentrated in the shapes of hearts rained down on her opponent.

"-LEFT!' Her clone grinned and leaped out of the way. The hearts barreled their way through multiple layers of glass. Sailor Venus lost count. But then again, Sailor Venus didn't give a damn about the glass. Her eyes were on her opponent, giggling like a madman and clearly very amused at her anger. 

"Oh-ho. Feisty, are we? Quick tempers does not a cute girl make."

"IN THE NAME OF THE PLANET LOVE, VENUS! BEGONE!" Sailor Venus screamed as her love chain strung out of her hand. She began waving it around like a flail, it began breaking some of the surrounding mirrors. Her opponent turned a bit pale as the whip latched onto her ankle like a hungry snake. She tried to shoot a crescent beam at it to break loose, but Venus was too quick. Within seconds, Venus had her opponent smashing into whatever mirror that wasn't already broken. 

The only sound that met Sailor Venus pounding head was the sound of breaking glass and the maddening laughter of the monster that dared to take her form.

Sailor Venus let go of the chain-and it dissipated from her fingers. Hands on her knees her forehead was dripping with sweat. 

"You dropped your guard, v-babe!"
 
Sailor Venus felt an intense burning sensation as her opponents attack directly hit her in the stomach. She cried out in pain as she smacked against the glass. An all too familiar whip started snaking its way around her wrists and ankles, bounding her to the mirror. Her clone, fuku torn and bruised, lowered her fingers-her laughter having diminished to a small, re-occurring chuckle. 

"Well, well, well. " She mused as she approached Venus. She circled the mirror, examining the defeated senshi. "Touched a sore spot, didn't I?"

"How dare you mock the fall of the Silver Millennium!" Venus spat, her arms and legs writhing in an attempt to break free of the chain-her love chain. "How dare you insult my friends! How dare you harm my cat! How dare you take my form!" Tears of frustration and anger brimmed at the corners of her eyes. 

"Awwww, don't be like that!" Her clone walked up to her and gently wiped Venus tears away with her thumb. "You know tears hardly benefit a pretty face."

"Shut up!" Venus screamed as she struggled harder. Why did this happen? What had possessed her to come to this god-forsaken place? What happened to the others? Venus eyes widened with horror-she forgot about the others! The other senshi-the civilians! They had to be going through something similar that she was! She had to get out of this to help them!

Her clone noticed the change in Sailor Venus' complexion. No longer was she brimming with hate, but was consumed with anxiety. She smiled and aimed a finger-her fingertip touching the cool metal of her tiara. 

"You're really worried about them? The nerd? The crybaby? The two traitors?"

"They're not traitors!" Venus spat. "It's not their fault that they had evil awaken within them first! They're still good senshi!"

Her clone lowered her finger-obviously the finishing blow-and put a hand to her chin, seemingly deep in thought. 

"One worked for a circus. The other was the harbinger of death. Good senshi? I think not!"

"You're wrong!" Venus struggled again and again, the beads digging deeper into her skin with each movement. She could feel the cold sting all over her legs and arms-but continued regardless. 

"How am I wrong? You condemn me for leaving my duties-yet here you are, allied with those who once wouldn't hesitate to have you killed."

"It wasn't them!" Venus cried desperately. "That's never who they were!"

Her clone grinned and leaned in close, lifting up Sailor Venus' chin so they were looking right into each others eyes. Venus could see deep into hers-a deep translucent blue. She could see herself, beaten and bloodied, reflected in those glass-like eyes. 

"Admit it. Being a Sailor Senshi is the worst thing to ever happen to you. You're doomed to repeat the same tragedies over and over again-even though you were reborn, you'll never escape the pain, the suffering, the death."

"NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Venus tried to turn her head away from those glassy eyes, but her chin was held firmly in place. 

"That bleeding heart queen failed. If she really wanted you guys to have a happy life, she would have used her powers to finish everything off before sending us off."

"No!"

"Don't close your eyes to the truth, Venus!" The clone slapped her across the face, then touched her forehead to hers-making her gaze inescapable. "No matter what happens, death will follow the princess. Why die again? It won't make a difference!"

Venus shut her eyes-she was crying now. She opened her mouth for a response, but only choked sobs that had been shut in her throat came out. She couldn't find the words or the anger to go back at this enemy now. The clone must have noticed this, because she hugged her head and began stroking her hair. 

"Shhhhh....There there. Everything will be fine. We can still live our dreams-we won't need to die again. All you have to do-is turn in your pen."

Suddenly, with all her strength, Venus wiped her head back and slammed it into her clone. A cracking noise was heard, followed by shrieks of pain and terror. Her clone covered her eyes with her hands, cracks slowly etching out from underneath her palms. The love chain was significantly weakened, and Venus had no trouble breaking herself free this time. He clone began stumbling around blindly, smacking into mirrors and slipping on broken shards as she fell, the cracks on her face growing longer. Venus picked herself up, and pointed a finger at her opponent. 

"What did you say before? Don't let your guard down? You fell for it!" Venus wiped her tears away with the back of a torn gloved hand. Slowly and full of purpose, the tip of her finger began to glow. 

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!? MY FACE! MY FAME!" The clone howled, then removed her hands from her eyes. Two solid and cracked mirrors were where her eyes used to be. "You idiot! You'll never be able to peruse your dream shackled to the senshi! You'll never be free!"

"Even if the battle is long, even if there is more death; even if I'm afraid. I will stand by them. I will stand by my fellow senshi, my friends-" Venus fingertip glowed even brighter. "And I will stand by my princess. I may have been reborn from tragedy, but this is my life, and this is my choice. You should have chosen better then to try to steer me away from that."

With a cry, Sailor Venus let loose her crescent beam. It hit her opponent-her howling screech turning into nothing more then echoes bouncing off the walls as the clone shattered into nothing more then a broken mirror.

To be honest, Vesta was surprised that the Hall of Mirrors wasn't burning down thanks to the amount of fire that was being flung around, mostly on her own part. Apparently her imposter was stuck with the powers she had during Nehellenia's rule. And thank god for that, she thought as she somersaulted, just narrowly avoiding a volley of knives. The last thing she needed was a flaming whip being used against her.

Despite this, her other part was still skilled with a whip, flames or no. She brought it cracking down on the Senshi, who leapt out of the way just in time to avoid a fatal blow. Vesta responded with a searing whiplash of her own. Much to her irritation, the counterpart avoided this as well. Why did she possess enough abilities to be an equal match?

The circus girl apparently shared this sentiment. "Not bad," she mused, "Even for a Senshi. They must've worked you really hard."

"Nothing I couldn't handle," Vesta responded stubbornly. "Besides, I needed redemption, and I got it."

Her mirror self scoffed. "Well, that's not how they see it. They still think you're a delinquent prone to violent outbursts and a traitor who will turn against them at the slightest provocation. It's not as if their accusations are unfounded, though, are they...?"

"Liar! That's not true!" Vesta shouted, her anger spiking again.

The other raised her eyebrows. "Oh really? Well, we'll see about that." Suddenly, she produced a very familiar cue. Vesta's eyes widened as she realized what her other self was about to do, but had no time to react before the words were said.

"COLLIDING BALL!"


The sound of the ball ricocheting across the mirrors was enough ear-splitting pain to begin with, but it was nothing compared to what followed. Vesta let out a scream of anguish as pain like nothing she's ever felt rippled through her, like she was being stabbed with a thousand knives or crushed under a giant boulder, or perhaps both, as she felt something being ripped from inside her. Unable to take any more, she collapsed on the ground.

The other hummed derisively as Sailor Vesta's dream mirror shimmered in front of them both. "I'm surprised it's not withered and decaying," she mused. "It would make a nice meal for a Lemure."

On the ground, Vesta clenched her fists, but it was all she could do as a newfound horror set in. She'd assumed that the process was painful to the victim, but having experiencing it firsthand was nothing like she'd ever imagined. And she'd willingly set it onto multiple people, and she had laughed. It took every scrap of energy not to let tears fall.

Meanwhile, the other cracked her whip as her shadow on the ground grew larger.

"MireMire! Dinnertime!" the circus girl chirped.

„This ploy doesn’t work twice,” Panacea said and stood up. “If you would be me, you should have known that.”
 
Staggered by her answer, the doppelganger didn’t know what else to say.
 
“I’m finished with you,” Panacea said back in her cool state. Vulpix knew what was going to happen, so quickly he stood up and jumped to the ground. “I will free this mirror of this troublesome curse now.” She paused for a few seconds until she eventually focused her energy in her hands. “Bane…Crasher!” A bright beam came out of her hands and flew towards her doppelganger. Even though Panacea was primarily known for her healing powers, she also had one offensive attack – and she was glad she had at least this one. “Finally,” she sighed. “Let’s get out of here now. I can’t be here any longer – or I will get a severe attack from this straitening tent.”
 
When Vulpix nodded, Panacea eventually continued with her walk out of the mirror maze. I never thought someone could attack me only by mean words. Once again, she became aware of the fact that she only was an ordinary 18 year old girl that was still vulnerable. “When we get out of here, I have to continue with the training,” she said. “Right, Vulpix?” When she turned around, she saw that no one was around except herself. “Vulpix?”
 
Vulpix stopped after a few steps when a white fox started staring at him. “Hey, don’t ignore me!,” it suddenly said. “You are as impolite as your mistress.” Vulpix turned around and searched for the source until he finally spotted the moving reflection.
 
“She is not my mistress – she is my friend and my companion,” he said and moved along.
 
“You really think so?,” his reflection said. “I think she is more of a mistress for you. Think about it! She only orders you to do something for her. The last time was just a few minutes ago when she wanted you to find the exit.”
 
“She only wanted to leave this place for her and my sake,” Vulpix said disinterestedly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I want to go now.”
 
“Fine. Then go. But you know, it’s the truth. And on top of that, she didn’t even say ‘thank you’, did she?” A slight smile covered the doppelganger’s face. “You helped her to find the exit…you helped her to defeat her evil self. And she didn’t thank you a bit. I think, you deserve a better friend than her. Someone who really appreciates your help. And who also helps you.”
 
“Are you such an idiot or do you just act like one?,” Vulpix said, a bit bugged. “I stood next to Kiyoko when this thing attacked her. Do you really think I fall for the same trick? You are doing exactly the same as your friend. I might be a fox but I’m not that stupid.” Stubbornly the little fox started to move on. Before he disappeared behind the mirrors he bid goodbye with an annoyed, “And now, get out of my sight, please.”
 
Suddenly the doppelganger appeared in another mirror. “Okay. Then we do it the hard way,” he said and jumped out of the mirror. He opened his mouth and bared his teeth, ready to bite
„This ploy doesn’t work twice,” Panacea said and stood up. “If you would be me, you should have known that.”
 
Staggered by her answer, the doppelganger didn’t know what to say.
 
“I’m finished with you,” she said back in her cool state. Vulpix knew what was going to happen, so quickly he stood up and jumped to the ground. “I will free this mirror of this troublesome curse now.” She paused for a few seconds until she eventually focused her energy in her hands. “Bane…Crasher!” A bright beam came out of her hands and flew towards her doppelganger. Even though Panacea was primarily known for her healing powers, she also had one offensive attack – and she was glad she had at least this one. “Finally,” she sighed. “Let’s get out of here. I can’t be here any longer – or I will get a severe attack from this straitening tent.”
 
When Vulpix nodded, Panacea eventually continued with her walk out of the mirror maze. I never thought someone could attack me only by mean words. Once again, she became aware of the fact that she only was an ordinary 18 year old girl that was still vulnerable. “When we get out of here, I have to continue with the training,” she said. “Right, Vulpix?” When she turned around, she saw that no one was around except her. “Vulpix?”
 
Vulpix stopped after a few steps when a white fox started staring at him. “Hey, don’t ignore me!,” it said. “You are as impolite as your mistress.” He turned around and searched for the source until he finally spotted the moving reflection.
 
“She is not my mistress – she is my friend and companion,” he said and moved along.
 
“You really think so?,” his reflection said. “I think she is more of a mistress for you. Think about it! She only orders you to do something for her. The last time was just a few minutes ago when she wanted you to find the exit.”
 
“She only wanted to leave this place for her and my sake,” Vulpix said disinterestedly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I want to go now.”
 
“Fine. Then go. But you know, it’s the truth. And on top of that, she didn’t even say ‘thank you’, did she?” A slight smile covered the doppelganger’s face. “You helped her to find the exit…you helped her to defeat her evil self. And she didn’t thank you a bit. I think, you deserve a better friend than her. Someone who really appreciates your help. And who also helps you.”
 
“Are you such an idiot or do you just act like one?,” Vulpix said, a bit bugged. “I stood next to Kiyoko when this thing attacked her. Do you really think I fall for the same trick? You are doing exactly the same as your friend. I might be a fox but I’m not that stupid.” Stubbornly the little fox started to move on. Before he disappeared behind the mirrors he bid goodbye with an annoyed, “And now, get out of my sight, please.”
 
Suddenly the doppelganger appeared in another mirror. “Okay. Then we do it the hard way,” he said and jumped out of the mirror. His second self opened his mouth and bared his teeth, ready to bite Vulpix.
 
Only a few inches away from Vulpix, the doppelganger was suddenly hit by a hard item. “Ouch!,” he shouted. When he looked up he saw that he was pelted with a stone that was coming from the fox’s mistress. “Stop it, you monster,” the young lady shouted at him. “It was already enough when you attacked me…but attacking my friend is beneath contempt!”
 
“What are you doing here?!,” Vulpix’s alter ego said dismissively. “Go jump in a lake!”
 
“Wow, you are as rude as your friend from earlier,” she said. “Bane…Crasher!” Once more the bright energy field emerged in her hands until she finally shot the beam towards his direction. Exhausted from the huge effort she just made, Panacea got weak in her knees and fell to the ground. Vulpix ran towards his friend to rescue her – though he knew he wasn’t a great help. “Are you alright?”, he said worried.
 
Panacea looked up and smiled. “I’m fine. And thank you. For everything,” she said friendly. “He was right…at least at this point. I never thanked you for anything. And I’m sorry. I hope you know that –”
 
“Shh,” she was interrupted by Vulpix. “It’s alright. I know you are not that kind of person who shows their feelings to the outside.” He took a few steps back and looked her in the eyes. “Let’s go back home now. I’m sure, you need to rest” Without saying anything else, she smiled and stood up.
 
“I think the others are already outside. How should I explain the delay?!,” Panacea answered, a bit worried. “Hey. Sorry for the delay, our reflection suddenly attacked us!,” she said ironically.
 
Her friend smiled and together they walked towards the exit. “I’m glad to have you,” Panacea said just before they got out of the tent.