Chapter 297: Doppelganger

The Dust quickly settled as Harvard casts a potion to heal them from the explosion, trying to be careful in walking around, in fear of touching any broken glass. As the two recovered, however, they would notice that they were on somewhere else entirely, a reflective surface, one that looked out to the hall itself. As soon as they look up, they'd be met with a collage of soft colors, a miasma-like sky that flows across the horizon and beyond. It's as if the northern lights enveloped the day, a swirl of blues and greens that slowly bended themselves whenever. On their sides was a set of mirrors, each one reflective of a different world. One in which they were taller, another where they were shorter. One which had no faces, and another which was made up of snacks and sodas. It felt uneasy, seeing such parallels, until the two got up and saw from atop a mirror their reflections, now outside of their respective, reflective windows, staring down at the two with such ire.

"Okaaaaaaaaaaay....This is a new one.." Harvard mumbled to himself, steeling his nerves once he got back on his feet again, spell in hand. "HEY! YOU TWO! THE HECK'S WRONG WITH YOU!? WHERE ARE WE?!"

His mirror, the one with such bizarre eyes, was quick on stepping down and meeting at the same ground level, his own card in tow, one which bore the same art style but in a different pallet. "Thought it should be obvious by now as to who we are. As for where....Well...Try to piece it together yourself. What do you think it is? What do you think it could be?"

Stolas would follow along afterwards, stars quickly fluttering across his body, Aquarius taking effect. "Hey, pal? Let's not do riddles here. Just answer with a straight explanation before stuff starts breaking." The avian threatened, yet as if on cue, the crow would fly down and match his tenacity.

"But that's BORING though....Aren't you boys at least a little curious? Don't you want to at least play along for a bit before we give you those answers?" She would ask, her tone being just as mysterious, but also just as spontaneous, quickly forming a planet around her talons, holding a mass of grey and blue, an atmosphere of frost and gases.

Harvard and Stolas were growing such concerns more and more the longer they stood. The Card Magician steps up to answer back. "Hell no! Not in a place like this! Answers! NOW!" He'd demand, prompting a laugh from the two.

"Told yah he was going to be picky.." The Crow teased.

"Seems so, indeed. What a primitive thought process, threatening for an answer. Very well, I suppose. If you're not going to play along, we might as well give a few crumbs to lead you along our path." The heterochromatic boy taunted. Harvard couldn't believe his mirror was acting in such a manner. He'd grit his teeth and nearly balled up a fist to try and throw a punch on him, but controlled himself once the mirror pointed at himself. "You may call me Griffos. The other is named Beaux. We can tell who you two are...Siblings in Bonds. Siblings in Soul. We....are Siblings by Blood." The boy and Beaux both would get within a stance, one that felt just as synonymous as each other, inseparable from one another.

"Siblings, eh?" Stolas would comment, cracking his talons, approaching further. "Let's see how much you really are us, then! What do you think a Man should do in this situation?!"

"Probably sitting back and reading some papers like a lazy sack." Beaux would answer, ticking off the Stellar Sorcerer.

"OH ITS ON NOW, YAH COWARD!" He would wind up a strong hook and tried to flood a sea of stars straight towards the crow, only for Beaux to weave out of the attack, laughing in such a wicked manner, appearing behind the demon and using the planet on her side to box the two in.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Hearing that commotion you two boys were talking about had me preparing that response to see how you'd react! I didn't expect you to actually take offense to that!"

"Gee, I wonder why..." Stolas was a bit annoyed towards his counterpart, but at least calmed himself once he heard her reasoning, allowing the two to be ensnared by the planet's crust, leaving Harvard and Griffos to be alone with each other.

"She's going to be quite a handful. In our time with fighting such beasts and brutes, she's not one to let herself pull any punches. I wonder if you would do the same..." Griffos was quick on casting his spell, a set of arms, coated in different elements, all of them coming in a massive wave to try and overwhelm the Card Magician. The boy merely casted a spell on himself to separate into a black gas, the attacks phasing straight through him, allowing him to run up and invade the doppelganger's mouth. Seeing the response, Griffos was quick on casting another spell, a vaccine that strengthens his body, his legs strengthened enough to lunge away from the noxious fumes, an absurd height that lands him on top of the planet his sister has made. Harvard was quick on de-spelling his form, sprouting his wings from his own bones in order to catch up, yet Griffos was quick on setting a third spell, a larger set of arms, made up from the reflective surface itself, swatting the boy skyward, watching him barrel straight off in the distance, before seeing the small speck quickly charge forward. He'd move this gargantuan arm to keep swatting at the boy, forcing Harvard to bob and weave around the appendage in efforts of closing the gap between the two.

He was an actual user of his own deck, a mirror match that would most likely test his patience the longer he played keep away.