[hr][hr][hr] [center][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/b3RmLjEwNi5jNGNlMGMuVkdobElFaHZiR3h2ZHcsLC4w/apayah-loe.regular.webp[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/oioHH5Q.png[/img][/center] [hr][hr][hr] Malik watched in horror as his friend was consumed by the monster. It did not even struggle to do it, as if it was all too easy for it to end a life like that. Malik raised his pistol to fire but he could not get a line on the monster. As well, he was worried his magic bullets would only piss it off. He knew that if you were faced with a grizzly bear and all you had was a pistol, it might be better to turn the weapon on yourself. Still, he kept his weapon trained on the target and waited for an opening. The relentless assault of the Doppleganger continued for several seconds more before it snarled towards the innocent girl. How could it miss so many attacks in quick succession? A small smirk crossed its face as a realization sat in. This apparition was different. It was protecting her from him. The smirk grew even wider as the girl asked her questions. How naive. While it had absorbed much about the man, David was truly gone. Yet he could humor the girl in the moment. Maybe if the physical attacks won’t work, maybe a physiological attack would. “Please don’t hurt me,” the Doppleganger spoke as if it was David, “I…I was in the dark, but I pushed my way back to the light. It…it is so strong I don’t know if I can-” It was interrupted by Vin as it slammed into it’s back. It roared in pain as the claws sunk deep and it’s appendages were pulled back. The face of the doppleganger may have shown the innocent girl the sheer pain it was in, but it did not reveal the sheer joy it felt that Vin was making this fight a bit more easy. It shot backwards away from Paloma with a massive display of strength, flying across the hallway with ease before Vin lead the way through the wall of a neighboring apartment. Inside, three men were sitting on the couch and a thick smoke lingered in the air. There was a sweet but skunky smell that permeated the room, and as soon as the dust from the drywall was no longer in the air the smoke began to flow outwards through the broken wall. The men jolted from their seat slightly. Each one looked at the two monsters as if they saw something straight out of a horror movie. One turned his head to look at a half-smoked joint in their hand while another looked at the dab rig that he had just hit. The two looked at each other, back to the monster, before they shrugged and continued smoking. “I think this shit is laced with something,” one of the men said to the others. “All the shit down here is laced with something,” the second man added. “Must be some potent shit if we’re all seeing the same thing,” the third finished. The monster dug its hand deep into the wood of the floor before shooting forward towards the door, once again using Vin as the leading edge as they cut through to the hallway once more. “Please, please girl make her stop,” the doppleganger pleaded as it reached out with a free appendage. “I think I can fight this. I can come back.” Malik watched with eyes wide as the monsters thrashed about. He raised his gun, trying to get a shot, but the two were moving too fast and too erratically . He did not want to leave Vin alone, and he did not trust that the stranger wouldn’t get themself killed, but he knew that they needed help. He motioned for Paloma to come towards him. “Girl, we need to get the fuck out of here right now. We are not going to be able to help. Let’s go, let’s go,” Malik shouted as he lowered his gun, and took several steps away from the chaos. He pulled out his phone and began to dial for the cavalry. [hr][hr][hr] [center][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/b3RmLjEwNi4xOWRkZDkuUld4aGNtRWdWM0psYmcuMA/half-awake-trial.regular.webp[/img][img]https://i.imgur.com/IDMmues.png[/img][/center] [hr][hr][hr] The Doppleganger struggled as it was forced out of time. Whatever spell Varnan used proved to be effective against the creature yet Varnan would soon notice the cracks along the edges of this containment. A limb would move faster than the rest of the body, a flicker of speed that pushed against the walls of this enclosure, and a slow spreading smile across the face. The group would only have a few moments before the monster would break free. Elara looked at Varnan and nodded her head. Physically she was hurt but she knew she was hurt. The question of what they do now lingered on the front of her mind. Thus far lightning was not working, the monster seemed to shrug off Bryn’s attacks, and the strange man could only slow him down. They needed a heavy hitter, or more friends to help. She pulled out her phone and dialed Adam. [color=00FFFF]“We need help at the tattoo shop,”[/color] Elara paused as she looked towards Bryn. A muffled voice erupted from the speaker, asking questions about what was wrong. [color=00FFFF]“Apparition killed Bill, we’re trying to kill it. Who can you…okay okay…two minutes? I,”[/color] Elara paused as she looked towards the monster. It was moving more, and more, and more as if the more it was exposed to the magic the weaker the magic became against it. [color=00FFFF] “I doubt we’ll have two minutes of peace.,”[/color]. Elara hung up the phone call and looked towards Varnan and then Bryn. [color=00FFFF]“Help is on the way. We just gotta hold out for a minute or two. Think we can manage,”[/color] Elara chuckled nervously as she notched an ice arrow and aimed it at the monster. A second later it broke free from its prison, ice arrow impacting its chest as it did, before it launched itself out into the open to face the three unfortunate souls who dared to interfere. [hr][hr][hr] [center][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/b3RmLjEwNi5iNzE5ZGQuUm5KbGVXRWdRMjlzYkdsdWN3LCwuMA,,/cavatine-demo.regular.webp[/img][img]https://i.imgur.com/Ch1u8vW.png[/img][/center] [hr][hr][hr] Freya was pulled from the conversation as a kid started to cry. She turned her head and sighed as she realized James must’ve done something to make them upset as the kid was looking at him, and the kids mother was yelling at him. Freya looked to her customer and smiled. [color=9370D8]“Give me a minute,”[/color] Freya paused as she moved from behind the counter and towards the commotion. Just what she needed today. As she walked over she thought of the ways she’d make the mother and child feel better afterwards. Maybe a free meal would be sufficient to ensure that this bad experience didn’t define their time in her bakery? Or maybe she’d need to sit down and talk to the two for a few minutes to calm them down? These options were explored in the brief moment before she arrived and she placed her hands on her hip as she looked at James. [color=9370D8]“James, get out of here. I don’t know what-,”[/color] Freya gasped as his head twisted to the side with a sickening pop. The smile that crossed his face grew even larger, much larger than any smile should be able to grow. His fingers popped and cracked as they elongated into knife-like shapes. And the white of his eyes were flooded with an oily black color that soon filled it completely except for the blue irises in the center. “Freya, Freya, Freya, I was having a nice polite conversation with these two. Don’t you know it’s so rude to interrupt a private chat,” as the doppelganger finished a clicking sound filled the air. [color=9370D8]“Oh is making a kid cry polite,”[/color] Freya said softly as she gulped. What the fuck was this monster? Why the fuck was this monster in her shop? What would this mean for her bottom line? “It was not my intention to make the little one upset,” the doppleganger chuckled as it ran a finger across the neon ‘open’ sign before it found its way to the power cord and sliced clean through it. The blinds all began to shake violently before they fell from their place at the top of the windows, casting the room into darkness. Freya regretted buying the really nice black out blinds that truly prevented most light from coming through. A moment later the automatic lights turned on but James was nowhere to be seen. It was as if the creature disappeared into the shadows themself. Freya looked around frantically as a soft chuckle filled the air. Her eyes were suddenly pulled to the front door as the mechanical lock was engaged. “Don’t worry,” a voice echoed from everywhere but nowhere in particular, “what is to come will not be painful. But I promise you it will be much better than this chaos you call life.” As the words echoed off the walls of the bakery the doppleganger rose from the shadows behind the counter. “Two butter croissants, is that right Elijah,” it asked as it raised its claws up high and brought them down aimed at the man.