Starving isn't so bad anymore (Don't Starve Together Fanfiction)

Chapter 26: Charlie

I could do nothing except gawk in fear at the figure before me. Charlie was no longer the nice and timid woman who'd sat on that throne, instead she was some kind of monster that'd been purely corrupted by the throne.

"What's the matter, scientist? Do I look a bit different than you remember?" Charlie cooed with a chuckle at the end.

"W-What the hell?" was all I could mutter out and that was just above a whisper.

"Aw, is that all you have to say? No 'Welcome back Charlie'? No 'Nice to see you Charlie'? I suppose my new look has something to do with that huh?" she said as she twirled, the black flames dancing along the already scorched rock beneath her.

"What... What are you doing here?" I stammered out, my grip on my ax so hard that my knuckles were white.

"She's not here." Maxwell said with a shaky but still monotone voice.

"What do you mean?"

"That. Is. Not. Charlie." Maxwell slowly stated, black marks spreading out from his eyes with each word.

"Oh, so the magician might be as clever as the throne says." Charlie purred.

"Maxwell, explain. Now" I ordered without taking my eyes off of the creature before me.

"It's not Charlie. It's a duplicate the throne made to wander and control the world." Maxwell said as a genuinely scary shadow sword materialized in his hand. A jagged yet sharp long sword.

"Takes one to know one." the duplicate Charlie said with a flash of beast like fangs.

"What do you want?" I yelled with a little of my confidence returned to me.

"It's not about what I want, dear scientist, it's about what the real me wants." she said as she maneuvered through the air, her torso and up only with her lower half extending while it sat where it was. "She doesn't want anyone coming to the Shadow Realm for fear of your safety. I personally don't give a rat's ass if you die or not but she does pull quite a lot of sway over me."

"That's exponentially better than what I thought you were going to do."

"Let me finish, dear scientist." she purred as she brushed her hand along my chin, a cold pain trailing after it. "You see, she only said to keep you from getting to the Shadow Realm. She did not however say how I was to do that." she finished as a giant grin spread across her face.

"Oh no..."

"OH YES!" she yelled before sending a giant tendril of black fire towards me. 

I was certain this was it. That is until Maxwell jumped in front of me and used his sword to block the fire. The fire hit the sword and spread around it, almost as it it didn't want to touch the blade.

"Get the portal piece! I'll handle this bitch!" Maxwell yelled as the black marks around his eyes began spreading further.

I took the opportunity to signal the others to spread out and look for the portal piece while I myself ran around the two battling duplicates, narrowly dodging a spurt of fire that'd been deflected by Maxwell's sword.

There wasn't very much to search for considering this entire area is sand, stone, and lava pits. I did, however, see the glint of sunlight reflecting off of something metallic in the distance. I wasn't sure if it was the portal piece or not but I ran like hell to reach it.