Mad Madam Mim
I find delight in the gruesome and grim
'Cause I'm the magnificent, marvelous, mad Madam Mim
"Come out, Ziva," Ari called. "You wanted this, so let us take this war to its inevitable conclusion. No more games."
Ziva stepped out of the shop, Tony's hand in hers until they reached the street. Then, very reluctantly, he took a step back and let her hand drop away. He took up the open position to her right, crouching behind a carriage for cover.
On the roof above, Gibbs held a bow drawn and ready to fire. Kate stood on the rooftop on the opposite side of the street. She held no bow, but it was clear she didn't need one. She held her hands in imitation of tiger claws, her fingertips glowing ominously and an ethereal wind blowing through her hair. Abby was at her side, crouching behind a rusty tower shield as tall as she was. McGee, like Tony, had taken up a position on street level behind a carriage—and, like Gibbs, held a bow at the ready.
"This is a family matter," Ari continued. "Tell your teammates to stand down, and I promise no harm will come to them."
"Just me and you," Ziva agreed. She nodded to Gibbs.
He stepped back, easing the tension in his bow. McGee did the same. Kate, however, was not as quick to follow orders. She glanced between Ari, Ziva, and Tony, then back again. Ultimately, she stood down. The glow faded from her fingertips and she took a seat beside Abby on the roof.
Tony swallowed. Closing his eyes, he summoned up whatever energy he had and willed Ziva to have it. Give her strength. Give her my will. Take whatever you need of me and give it to her.
Her eyes began to glow. The light became so fierce it turned the eyes white. Scales rippled across her skin. Her body changed in shape and size. Wings snapped open. Emerald fire dripped from her enormous fangs.
Ziva became a dragon, resplendent with black scales. She gave a roaring, victorious laugh the likes of which would have given even a demon like Ari nightmares of his own.
Or so Tony would have thought. Ari's shape dissolved into a cloud of black smoke, growing large enough to dwarf Ziva's dragon form. His own wings unfurled and he emerged as the terrible beast Chernabog. Like a bull-horned gargoyle, he cast his long shadow over the streets and raised his arms triumphantly above his head.
"Behold," Ari said, his voice huge and booming. It echoed like two voices together, intertwined, almost as if the power he was using was not quite his own. "I am the master of dreams. Of life. Of death."
A huge fist came crashing down. With a hiss, Ziva dodged to one side. She opened her wings and shot into the sky.
"Ari, you cheating bastard!" Kate yelled. "You're using Ragnarok!"
"I said nothing of borrowed magic," Ari said, grinning. "Ziva is drawing on something else herself."
Tony felt the fire in his throat a second before he saw it spill from Ziva's jaws. The heat of the blast was incredible, nearly burning his face though the battle raged thousands of feet above him. She kept the fire flowing until it descended Ari's entire body like a waterfall of burning lava. He shrieked in surprise. Smoke curled off his body as he swiped at her again.
With a barrel roll, she slipped out of range and blasted him again. This time, her fire struck his ear and blazed through to the other side. The light in Ari's eyes flickered, and a rush of something fled his gaping mouth.
"That's it!" Kate cheered.
"I said just you and me," Ziva growled. "And I meant it, Brother. One on one. No magic. No backing down."
"Kate! What is she doing?" Tony yelled above the dragon's final roar.
"Freeing Limbo from them both," Kate said.
There was one last flash of fire. The dreamscape shook as the remaining anchors dissolved and Ari's illusion shattered into a billion shards of colored glass.