"Oh!" Noble felt the mirror change in her hands.
Catching the reflection of the Dragon, it began to grow. Though she should have known, she had not expected this turn of events.
The mirror had been built by Mirage. Why wouldn't it be able to change size just like its Master? Indeed, to be effective for the terrifying being, it would need to adjust to her image, no matter the size.
And just now, the mirror was changing to accommodate a colossal reptilian monarch. The looking glass grew larger than the span of Noble's arms, forcing her to release it. It floated in front of her like a shield as a terrifying transformation took place.
The glass rippled, looking more like water than a solid pane. Through it, a long and glistening talon pushed into the moonlight. The attached claw pressed through next, seeming like it would shatter the delicate frame of the mirror.
It was bigger than the enormous relic, yet somehow the space didn't matter. The looking glass held.
Two smoking nostrils pushed into the night air, followed by two mismatched eyes, one was milky and blinded, while the other was clear and shrewd. A mysterious crown of horns adorned the creature's regal head.
At the end of a serpentine neck, a torso was attached with two marred wings as everything came into existence from the Realm beyond the glass.
At last, a tail, mighty and strong, brought up the rear.
The action seemed to take an eternity, but it was really only a matter of moments. The copy slipped from the looking glass and into true Bastion with a mighty roar.
Aether looked over his shoulder before freezing in shock. Like Helie and Roan, he had not known the plan.
What in two worlds was he seeing?! He blinked. No, it was really happening.
His cohort member was releasing a reflection of the exact monster they had been fruitlessly trying to vanquish. And worse than that, it was an Other!
Did Noble even realize what she had just done?! She seemed in a daze.
"Get back!" he screamed at the floating Master.
The tail flicked unexpectedly to one side, knocking the mirror and Noble from their perch in the sky. Aether turned on his heels to go after the foolhardy blonde, but she recovered before hitting the ground.
Seeing him, Noble gave the same urgent instructions she had before. "Go!"
But instead of waiting for him to respond, she hoisted her companion up bodily by his arm and fled from the scene.
Noble felt the copy's anger, and she wanted no part of what was about to transpire.
The Other Dragon barely gave them a cursory glance before completely ignoring the humans.
Instead, he looked at the Remnant with deadly intent. There could only be one Dragon Prince left behind by the Doom War, and it would be him!
For his part, the True Prince was disturbed by the turn of events. He was indignant that anything would try to take his prize from him—the hill he had conquered at the cost of his wing and eye!
And this imposter had the gall to look like him? That offense could not stand! Whatever the interloper hoped to gain by being here, he would leave empty-handed.
The two dragons clashed, shaking the earth with the force of their collision.
The top of the hill, which was still partially molten, split open wide and shimmered in the moonlight.
Noble and Aether returned to the rest of the group, who had retreated down the hillside. The Floating Master set down her companion before taking her place and turning to watch the mayhem.
The two dragons grappled, rolling over until one was indiscernible from the other. The five watched in awe, rendered speechless for a moment.
"You did it." Noble glanced a Syrce.
"We did it..." The Saint was deathly pale. She had used the last bit of her energy to call forth a duplicate of the Remnant. She leaned lightly on Helie, watching the scene with a wistful smile.
Tooth, nail, and claw ripped at scales, necks, and tails. The two enormous beasts were locked in a fight to the death. The world around them cracked and rumbled under the pressure.
Roan gave a small sigh of relief. "That was quite a risk! How did you know they would attack each other and not us?"
"One is prideful and the other is possessive. Peace was never an option." Noble nodded firmly.
"In other words, you prayed to the dead gods and hoped it would work," Roan eyed her carefully.
Noble wrinkled her nose, "There was no prayer involved, but the rest…yeah."
The floating Master had some faith that it would work based on what she had seen both from the Remnant and the Others, but there was still a huge amount of uncertainty.
"Do we just wait and let them fight it out? Eventually, one will come out on top." Helie furrowed her brow.
"Eventually, yes, but whichever one does should be much easier to defeat. In the meantime, we rest and plan." Noble smiled.
No one among them objected to an opportunity to breathe. Those who could dropped to the quaking ground in exhaustion, ignoring the seeping lava and the intermittent quakes.
"You don't seem like you are resting very well." Roan smiled at Noble. "You are going to retrieve the mirror, aren't you?"
The floating Master nodded. "I don't think the Dragons can break it, but I am concerned about the others gaining control of it again."
Who knew? Even now, beings from the Mirror Realm could be exiting the looking glass. And with such a large surface, many of them could escape.
Noble frowned at that thought.
"I'll be right back." Noble clasped Mirage's cloak around her neck.
Lifting into the air, Noble headed toward the cataclysmic clash. She didn't think the dragons would care that she was there, but she summoned her trusty bracelets just in case.
'Hmmm...'
Glancing at the cracks in the ground momentarily, Noble contemplated making a move while the Remant and his copy were still battling.
She shook her head. It was too risky, even for her.
'Finish battling and kill each other, already!' Noble's flippant remark was answered by her mossy-haired friend.
'So eager to get back in the fray?'
'I'm impatient, yes.'
Only a little stood between Noble and her goal, and she yearned for the end that was in sight.
First, she needed to retrieve the mirror. The large piece of glass was not hard to find. It lay partially covered in ruins, reflecting the broken moon.
Thankfully, nothing seemed to have left it in her absence.
Noble unclasped the cloak and prepared to cover the massive looking glass. She wasn't sure how to return it to its former size, so she would take the mirror as it was.
Grasping the cloak in both hands, Noble imagined it spreading over the glass surface. The cloth obliged, stretching out across the sky like a flag.
But before the cape could reclaim its captive, the earth shook more violently than it ever had before.
The Prince, having caught the copy turning toward the unfurling cloth, slammed his opponent into the ground with prejudice.
Earth flew in every direction, changing the hillside's landscape once again. The half-buried relic shifted with it, suddenly tilting in Noble's direction.
She gasped.
Instead of her visage in the glass, another face appeared.
And he was smiling.