The Curse of Taloncrest Manor

Chapter 35: Retribution

The alternate dimension's rooftop fell into chaos. The heroes fought through the swaths of phantasms summoned by the treacherous butler, with the triplets in their hydra form providing aerial support. They were desperate to reach Thomas and subdue him before the situation got worse. In addition to the shadow wraiths, Abdiel summoned more clones of himself to bolster their forces, but Melody blasted them down with electricity almost as soon as they popped up. 

Just as Ricardo was about to reach Thomas's position, the mind-controlled Rose landed nearby and began throwing blow after blow at him, with Ricardo having no choice but to use Dischord's rapier to defend himself. When Thomas looked over at Ricardo's current situation, he attempted to end their skirmish swiftly with a direct hit from an energy beam, even though Rose was still in the way. Seeing the projectile incoming, Ricardo quickly switched places with her and took the hit, getting launched across the rooftop and becoming unresponsive. 

Seeing this selfless act was enough to make Rose's old memories come flooding back. After a few brief moments of motionless, she managed to break Abdiel's spell herself, the supernatural golden hue fading from her eyes. 

While Jane, Melody, and Dischord dealt with Abdiel's clones, Cooper, James, and Elijah cut themselves a path through the shadow phantoms to reach Ricardo's position once they saw what had happened to him. When they approached, however, he managed to pick himself off the ground. "Don't worry," he assured. "We're not gonna give in until this is over!" "Like Bart, I, too, must apologize," Rose added. "I didn't have any say in my actions. This disgusting butler is behind everything!" 

"Finish them! Finish them!" Abdiel exclaimed, getting anxious. Jane pulled out the gem and used it to disperse all of Abdiel's clones just like she did before. Irate, the demon's thoughts quickly turned to revenge. He darted up to Melody in the blink of an eye. "You took from me what is rightfully mine! You're coming with me!" he declared as he forcibly teleported himself and her away from the battlefield, much to everyone's confusion. 

"Grand Magistrix!" Dischord cried in disbelief. 

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The two of them re-appeared in an area that strikingly resembled the Conservatory from the original mansion, except it too had also been subject to the same grayscale color palette as the rooftop had. 

"Where are we?!" Melody asked, irritated. 

"Somewhere we can handle this personally, without any distractions," Abdiel replied. "I allowed Thomas to grant you a fraction of my power because I genuinely believed you would be a vital asset to our plan. I never, for a second, thought you would eventually turn against us. However....that's basically my fault, isn't it?" 

"Your 'employee' murdered me," Melody said. "You knew I'd find out sooner or later. You were a fool to think I would not want revenge." 

"It's time I take back what belongs to me," Abdiel resolved. "Once I defeat you and fully restore my essence, I will be at full power once again. Then I shall head back to the rooftop and finish off the rest of your friends for good." 

The Magistrix laughed. "I wouldn't be so sure about that." 

Her hands flared with electricity as Abdiel also materialized a flaming, red-hot sword in his hands. After a few seconds, they clashed. 

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Back at the rooftop, the shadow wraiths were almost completely gone, and Thomas was getting tired as a result of his magic overuse, soon becoming unable to summon more. Once Jane, Dischord, and the rest of the boys finished off the last of the phantasms, Ricardo fiercely tackled Thomas, who quickly pulled out a saber to counter his opponent's rapier. The two of them collided blades on multiple occasions, with the other three boys jumping in to assist after Ricardo had managed to land a clean hit on Thomas's eye.