Dark Astra vs Faerie Astra

But she knew that under these circumstances she could not let her concentration slip. Her kingdom was depending on her, she reminded herself. Her kingdom and everyone she knew-- her mother, her sisters, her beloved friend Aephix, all of them. She would be a coward if she turned back now.

The light grew in strength around her as she saw her destination take shape from the whirlpool of possibilities. By now, she could walk into the light without flinching from its brightness. She took this as a sign of her growing strength--or perhaps that was just what she wanted to think.

As the light died down, Astra saw that she was in yet another version of the caves that were so familiar to her now, the hated Lair of the DreadMage. She was in a library crowded with musty books that stank with black magic. She also heard a faint buzzing, like that of a hummingbird. In the room with her was yet another version of Frederigo, the knight who accompanied her in so many worlds, gaping like a fool. But her own other self did not seem to be there.

"Are ye friend, or foe?" said Frederigo, quickly recovering.

"I am not here for you," said Astra. She drew her sword with inhuman speed. "But if you seek to stop me, you will die." The buzzing seemed to grow nearer now, and Astra saw a flash of blue out of the corner of her eye. The blue had been mixed with bright red, and the gleam of steel armor. Perhaps...

Astra swiftly turned her head to where the buzzing was, and was transfixed. This small blue thing that hovered in midair was her. She had seen many versions of her which had been transformed, which had been werewolves and High Elves and even a Dragon, but none as strange as this. It seemed to be a sort of fairy, but not any kind she had ever heard of. Still, Astra knew what she had to do. SHe knew very well. Without hesitation, she clapped her hands together, as if she were killing an insect...

Astra--no, not Astra anymore. Since drinking that blue potion, she had changed in her deepest nature. And so much as it saddened her, she knew that she could no longer use her old name. Faerie Astra would do, for now, however clunky it sounded. Faerie Astra had known that this other being was a threat the moment she had appeared. She was a being who was ruled by destruction, who represented everything that was abhorrent to what Faerie Astra was now. Yet Faerie Astra could still see the good in her, as she did for all other things, which made this hooded woman even more frightening. And from everything Faerie Astra could see, this was somehow another her. She had refused to acknowledge this until the moment she saw the hooded woman's face. That face was exactly like hers had been when she had been human. She had stood stock still in midair for a moment, feeling as if she was outside herself, in some kind of dream. Then the other her clapped her hands in midair with a speed far faster than Astra would have been able to as a human, and Faerie Astra's reflexes took over. She zipped off into the air, marvelling at how swiftly she had adjusted to what she now was. She flew out of the reach of her other self's arms.

The other Astra lowered her sword, just as Fred, now knowing that this woman was a foe, swung his own sword at her. She punched him, slamming him into the wall. Her eyes fixed on Faerie Astra's floating form. "Well," said the other Astra. "We seem to have reached an impasse."

"What, you're too weak to fight a mere faerie?" Much to her annoyance, Faerie Astra found herself on the verge of giggling.

"I do not know what else you are," said the other Astra, "but I know that you are me." She placed the edge of her sword on Fred's neck. "If you do not face me, I will kill Frederigo."

"This battle is between us," said Faerie Astra, disgusted. "Why would you stoop to killing someone who's not involved, you coward!"

"You wouldn't condemn me so quickly if you knew what I have had to face," said the other Astra. "If you had faced the choices I have, perhaps you would have turned out like me."

"Never," said Astra, glad to know that even as a Blue Faerie she could still summon up some hate.

"That will be little comfort to you when I kill your friend," said the other Astra. She raised her sword for one final stroke. "One, two..."

Faerie Astra knew she had to do something, and quickly. This other woman was infinitely stronger than she had been as a human, and certainly stronger than she was now. But she was a Blue Faerie, and had powers far greater than physical strength to draw on. The Blue Faeries were the most powerful of all the Faeries. They wielded a form of magic called the Blue, which even the mages did not understand. It had creative and destructive potential greater than any other form of magic. Part of the reason that they were pacifists was that their magic was dangerous even to them. They dared not use it offensively. But they could weild it in self-defense, and in the defense of those they loved. She had only used the Blue once before, to forge her new armor. Would she be able to adjust to it as quickly as she had adjusted to flight? She could only hope.

Just as the dark Astra's sword was about to slice off Fred's head, Faerie Astra closed her eyes and hummed an odd, ethereal tune. The dark Astra's sword began to glow with an eerie blue light. Then, there was a pop, and where the sword had been there now floated blue flowers which gave off a heavy fragrance.

1. As Dark Astra smell the fragrance, she falls to the floor in a faint.
2. Faerie Astra's magic backfires on her.

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