Sapphire was calling him, he heard her voice from the neighboring room. He got up and tried to reach her, but Silver suddenly appeared on the threshold, blocking the way out. He was holding a shiny oblong object on the palm of his hand. When Steel looked more closely, he could see that it was a bullet. Silver said: "Sorry, old boy, that's private."

Steel, confused, heard himself asking: "What is?"

"My relationship with Sapphire."

"You have no relationship whatsoever with her."

"I'm terribly sorry to disappoint you, Steel, but you see, Sapphire doesn't want to have anything to do with you anymore. She is leaving with me. You stay here and keep the darkness company."

As soon as Silver made a step backwards, the door swung closed and locked. Steel tried frantically to open it, but he couldn't. He tried to call out to Sapphire, but all the answer he got was her laughter resonating inside his head.

"Sapphire! You can't leave me alone. I need you!"

A cool hand brushed away a lock of damp hair and gently rested on his forehead, and her voice, now close by and soothing, was speaking softly. "I know. I'm not leaving you, Steel. My place is at your side. It always will be." The hand was replaced by something softer and warmer, that Steel recognized as Sapphire's lips, which deposited a feathery kiss on his forehead.

He slowly opened his eyes. The light was offending, but Sapphire's beautiful face was a welcome sight.

He was laying on the same bed where Sapphire had rested before. How long before, he didn't know. He felt spent, as if all his energy had been drained from him. The super-fast healing process of his elemental body was taking its toll. When he tried to lift his back from the bed, he felt a stabbing ache between his ribs, which immediately reminded him of what happened. He slowly lay down again, hissing with pain.

"You should not try to get up. You could reopen the wound. I did a wonderful stitching up job, and I would hate to see you spoil it."

That was Silver's voice. The real Silver?

He looked in the direction of that voice, and saw that the elemental was smiling a reassuring smile, without any trace of the previous madness.

"Before you ask, I'm the original, and my clone is downstairs. Look, Steel, I'm really sorry for what he has done to you. I didn't realize that the resentment I injected into him was so strong. I would never have expected him to try and kill you."

Steel felt too weak to talk, so he just spoke mentally: [We have some talking to do, but later].

He looked back at Sapphire, who took his hand and said: "You're still too tired. Get some rest."

He complied gratefully. As soon as he closed his eyes, he easily surrendered to sleep.

OoO

When he opened his eyes again, Sapphire was sitting on a chair beside the bed, but her eyes were pitch black again. Steel was confused. Was it another dream? But then Sapphire said: "Thank you, Steel. Your little dispute with Silver was very gratifying. I will be fed for quite some time. I'm here to tell you that I'm satisfied with our bargain. You can leave, now."

Steel decided this was for real, and tried to procrastinate. "I cannot. In case you haven't noticed, the dispute that you found so gratifying almost killed me, and I'm in no conditions to move. I need time to heal."

"Very well. I'm in no hurry. On the contrary, I have all the time in the world. Who knows, you might even decide to stay and keep fighting with Silver until the end of time. I would love that, you know?" Its laughter resonating in his ears, he watched as the entity left Sapphire's body. He could not help her when she collapsed to the floor.

"Sapphire? Are you all right? Sapphire!"

Silver appeared out of the blue, and hurried at Sapphire's side, helping her back on the chair. "Sorry I'm late, my dear, but I couldn't let the darkness realize that there are two Silvers wandering about in this house."

Sapphire was still too tired to answer, so Silver turned to Steel. "Looks like your little trick is working: the darkness believes that my copy's resentment is really feeding it. Talk about the power of autosuggestion!"

But Steel wasn't easily sidetracked. He needed to straighten something out with him.

"Tell me what went wrong, Silver."

The technician sat on Steel's bed, looking embarrassed.

"Well, you wanted my clone to feel resentment and hatred, didn't you? So I convinced him that you were taking Sapphire from him."

"Why Sapphire?"

"Because she's my soft spot. You see, I really wanted her to be my partner, but when she was assigned to you, I realized that it was best for her. I mean, you are a very experienced operator, and her potential was outstanding. She needed you to become the fine operator that she is now. But I felt very disappointed when the authority took that decision. I must confess that I even detested you for a little while. But I swear that's all in the past."

"Not for the other Silver."

The technician looked mortified. "No. Honestly, Steel, I didn't mean to inject so much hatred in him. I heard your mental call before you lost consciousness, you know. I don't hate you, Steel, believe me. I do think that you're a little too callous with Sapphire, and sometimes I don't approve of your methods, but I don't hate you, and I most certainly wouldn't want to kill you."

Steel felt relieved: despite what Sapphire thought, he told her the truth: he didn't dislike Silver, whom he considered as a very experienced technician, although sometimes he was a real pain in the back.

"Well, I'm glad we've straighten that up, but now the problem of my clone is still to be resolved." Silver said. "He's momentarily resting in the library, waiting for Sapphire. He's convinced you will soon die and she will reach him and leave this house with him."

Steel pondered. "We cannot destroy him, I still need him to feed the darkness, but I'm in no conditions to oppose him now, should he decide to come and see what is going on. What do you suggest?"

Silver thought that Steel had to be really out of shape to ask for his opinion, but then he realized that his question was for Sapphire. Some things never change, he mused.

Sapphire looked at him and smiled, as if she read his mind. Then she answered Steel. "I think I should go downstairs and just play along. I will tell him that you are dead, but that I cannot leave this house while it's still haunted by the darkness."

Steel objected: "I don't want you to be alone with that maniac."

"But I won't be alone: Silver will be close by, and you will soon heal. There's no other way."

Silver interjected: "For what it's worth, I agree with Sapphire. My clone is so eager to stay with her, he will believe anything she tells him. In the meantime, Sapphire will fuel his hatred by constantly praising Steel."

Steel looked intensely at his partner. "It's a very dangerous plan, Sapphire."

She smiled at him. "I know. Your plans usually are, so you can't complain if I learned from you."

Steel realized that she was not going to change her mind, so he just took her hand and slowly, deliberately kissed her palm. "Be careful."

He then looked at Silver, who could not interpret the expression on his somber face.

Sapphire went downstairs and entered the library. Silver's copy was sitting on the armchair, playing with his gun. When he saw her, he put the weapon down on the reading table and stood, smiling. "About time, my dear. Is Steel dead, at last?"

Sapphire feigned despair. She managed a quivering voice and even a few tears. It wasn't difficult if she thought how close Steel went to really dying. "Yes, he's dead. I miss him already."

Silver's smile faded. "Oh, come now, you were just used to have him around. Now I am your new partner and I can guarantee that I will treat you right. Shall we go now?"

"We cannot leave this place while the darkness is still around. We must either wait for it to go or find a way to defeat it."

"Well, I was supposed to be Steel's winning weapon, so now that I'm in control of the situation, I guess we cannot defeat it anymore. Do you think it will just leave?"

Silver's clone was definitely thinking irrationally. He also conveniently forgot that the darkness threatened to take her instead. So she gave him leeway: "Possibly. We should hang around for a while and see if it gets tired of waiting."

Silver's clone agreed: "That sounds like a very sensible plan. Shall we have a cup of tea while we wait?"

Sapphire almost laughed at the surrealistic situation: now he was playing the March Hare!

They moved to the kitchen which, strange enough, was supplied with pots and pans and a brand new fridge, filled with many different kinds of food. Of course, Sapphire thought, the darkness wanted Silver to be well fed, in order to live as long as possible.

While Silver was moving around in the kitchen, looking for cups, teaspoons and tea bags, she sat at the table and decided it was time she carried on with her plan.

As soon as the tea was ready and they began sipping it, she made a musing expression, sighed and said, in a gloomy face: "Steel used to make tea when I was tired. He was always so thoughtful. And he did fix a perfect tea."

Silver's face darkened. "Even though he made a good tea, I seriously doubt he was thoughtful. Face it, Sapphire, he wasn't kind with you. All he could do was to exploit you to accomplish his own goals. He was insensitive."

"You're wrong. Oh, he sure had his bad moments, but he was always nice with me. And he cared about me." Sapphire decided to up the stakes. "And he was so handsome. He had the most beautiful eyes. And his hair? Oh, how I loved to stroke that blond, silky hair."

Silver slammed his tea cup on the table, almost breaking it, and spilling most of its content.

"I wish you'd stop talking about him in such praising terms, Sapphire. After all, I'm your partner, now, and you should forget him."

"Forget him? Oh, Silver, don't you see? I cannot forget him. I loved him."

Without realizing it, Silver had raised his voice. "Loved him? How could you love such a selfish and self-centered person?"

Sapphire noticed that a corner of the kitchen was getting darker, as if an invisible hand was spraying black paint over the objects. The darkness was enjoying Silver's rancor.

She tried to push Silver more toward the edge.

"I disagree with your assessment. He wasn't selfish. On the contrary, he always worried about me, and sometimes even about the humans. Do you remember that time we were trapped by the transient beings? He wanted to save that woman, before we found out she was on their side."

"He was probably just trying to impress you. Don't let your mind be blinded by your hormones, Sapphire, it's not like you."

"It's not a question of hormones, it's a question of feelings."

"Enough!" Silver slammed his fist on the table, startling Sapphire. "You are beginning to disappoint me, Sapphire. I thought you were much more sensible than that. I'm really fed up with all this talking about Steel." He stood and left the kitchen.

Sapphire followed him. "Where are you going?"

"Where I can be alone and not forced to listen to all this junk. Please leave me alone, Sapphire, I need to think." He went into the library and closed the door. Sapphire heard the lock being engaged.

She knew she had a few minutes, so she decided to check on Steel. She quickly climbed the stairs to the bedroom, opened the door and silently approached him. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing slowly and regularly. He was sleeping. Good, that meant that he was healing: Steel didn't sleep for any other reasons. She was about to leave the room, when she heard his voice softly calling her name. She turned, but he was still asleep. She smiled: his subconscious probably sensed her presence. That thought strongly moved her. Their link was deeper that she thought. She lightly caressed his cheek and murmured his name, then she left.

When she went downstairs, she went straight to the library and knocked. She got no answer, so she tried the door. Unexpectedly, it was unlocked, so she got into the room. Silver was sitting in the corner armchair, and his eyes were closed. She called him softly: "Silver? Are you all right?"

He opened his eyes, and looked at her with a haggard expression. He spoke hesitantly. "I just had the weirdest dream. I was talking to a mirror, but it wasn't reflecting my image. It was all black. Like looking straight into the void. And the mirror answered me, and told me it was hungry, that I wasn't feeding it enough."

Sapphire shivered, but she forced herself to smile and said: "It was just a dream. Nothing to worry about. I didn't know you used to sleep."

"What do you mean? Of course I sleep, why shouldn't I?"

"Oh, I was just wondering, because Steel never slept, so I thought that perhaps you were like him."

"I wish you didn't not compare me to your former partner. We are quite different, and for that I'm very thankful."

"You're quite right: you're very different, but I'm not sure that's for the best."

Silver looked at her suspiciously. "I beg your pardon?"

Sapphire sat on a chair at looked disdainfully at the technician. She wanted to push him over the edge.

"My dear Silver, I'm afraid you are not an adequate replacement for Steel. You are much weaker, less experienced, less dedicated, and not even remotely as brave as he was. You even sleep and let yourself be scared by a dream. No, Silver, you must accept the fact that you are not of his same standing."

Silver's face reddened, more out of anger than shame, and he raised his voice again.

"So you think I'm not at his level, eh? And what about you, my dear? I'm sure you believe that I'm not at your level either, right? I misjudged you, Sapphire. I thought you were better than Steel, but you're just like him: insufferably self-centered and arrogant. Now I understand why you two went along so well: you're as bad as he was."

Sapphire noticed that once again the darkness was witnessing to Silver's tirade, hiding in a corner of the room. She was distracted by the darkness' presence, so she didn't immediately realize that Silver had got up and was approaching her threateningly. As soon as she looked back at him, she noticed that he had the same delirious look he had when he shot Steel. He was unarmed now, but she knew that he could still hurt her physically. She quickly stood and ran to the door, although she half-expected it to be locked. Strange enough, it wasn't, so she got out and ran to one of the other rooms. Silver followed suit, a murderous look in his eyes. "I might not be at your same level, but you're still scared of me, aren't you? And you have a very good reason to be. You see, Sapphire, I'm feeling this funny drive to hurt you, make you suffer, even kill you. Yes, I wouldn't mind killing you, my dear, but not too painlessly. I know your powers aren't working, so you can't really do much about it, can you?"

"She can't, but I can."

The voice, coming from behind them, startled Silver and made Sapphire sigh with relief.

Steel, coming out from a darkened corner of the room, slowly approached Silver, his grey eyes colder than ever. The technician gaped at him, flabbergasted, not missing the huge red stain on his shirt. "It can't be! You're dead. I shot you."

"Yes, you shot me, but don't you remember that the darkness loves to call back the dead who have a score to settle? Just like me: I want revenge. You killed me and now you are trying to kill my partner. You don't deserve to live."

Silver shouted: "NO! I'm the only one here who does! You? You are but two self-conscious, detestable… wait, what's going on?"

Silver noticed that a dark shadow was rapidly spreading in the room, swallowing every object. He had never actually seen the darkness' physical appearance before, and it scared the living daylights out of him. He ran to the door, but it was locked, and no amount of blows would open it. So he swiftly moved behind Sapphire, and used her as a shield, grabbing her shoulders. The darkness was rapidly moving toward them, and Sapphire stiffened.

Steel said: "Don't let it take you again, Sapphire. Fight it. You can do it."

She concentrated hard, and felt the darkness trying to get her mind's control. She did as Steel said, and fought it will all her might. Her eyes were showing the inner battle she was going through: first they got completely black, then turned blue again.

While she was struggling against the entity, Steel got hold of Silver, abruptly breaking his hold on Sapphire. The elemental was too scared to react quickly, and Steel unceremoniously pushed him against the black pool that had now swallowed most of the room. Silver screamed and disappeared in the black void. Sapphire immediately felt the darkness leaving her mind, with what sounded like a hungry shriek. Her eyes blue again, she sagged against Steel, who grabbed her and dragged her to the door, hoping that the entity – in its famished fury - wasn't controlling the lock anymore.

Steel took a moment to realize that they were outside the room. He hastily closed the door, not bearing to see all that head-spinning void. He leaned Sapphire against the wall to check her conditions. Her eyes were now closed, and she was unresponsive. She looked suspiciously like the first time they met the darkness, when her subconscious separated from her physical body and there were two Sapphires around. If that was the case, Steel had no choice: he had to come back into the room to search for her subconscious, and possibly follow Silver's fate.

It was one of the hardest things he had to do in his long career of time agent: willingly let himself be swallowed by the darkness. He sat Sapphire on a chair, lightly stroked her cheek, then he squared his shoulders and opened the door again, stepping into the void.