A/N: You're going to kill me for the upcoming cliffhanger, but I'll take the risk. Enjoy! XD

Chapter 34: Flesh and blood, part II

I turned around and froze when I came eye to eye with Crow's evil past self. I had tried to push those memories to the back of my mind, telling myself he wasn't like that anymore and I no longer needed to be worried. But now… everything came back to me, and I was completely paralyzed with fear. I recovered only a split second before he raised his blade and took a vicious swing at my neck, which I barely managed to block.

I was afraid he'd kill me if I lost this fight, but was even more afraid that I couldn't kill him if I somehow won. The logical part of me argued that this wasn't the Crow I loved: this was just a demon who looked like him. That I had to fight back and finish him off, or else all hope would be lost. That this was simply something that had to be done.

Unfortunately, my emotional side didn't buy it.

"You are going to have to try harder, if you hope to best me," he said, his blade clashing with mine.

"I'm working on it!" I squeaked, nervously eyeing his sword. Oh man, what was I going to do?! I had to kill him… but how could I possibly do that?! Breathe, Alex, breathe… you can do this… you can do this!

I so couldn't do this…

No! I had to snap out of it and fight back! It was the only way to lift the curse of the Mask and change the Timeline! It was the only way to save us all!!!

With a loud cry, I pushed him back and took a swing with my own rusty weapon, sending him staggering backwards. He was startled by my sudden assault and wide open for a devastating blow to the chest. However, I failed to follow through and use the element of surprise. I tried, I really did, but when our eyes met again, I hesitated and missed the brief window of opportunity that had presented itself to me.

With a furious scowl, he blocked my half-hearted attack and launched one of his own. A silvery flash zoomed through the air and it took me a good few seconds to realize he had struck my arm. The cut was only superficial, the brunt of the damage taken by the thick strokes of fabric that covered my skin, but it made my blood run cold no less. This was serious: if I didn't get my act together fast, he'd kill me without a second thought. There was no room for doubt or half-assing around. I was currently fighting two battles at the same time: one on the outside and one within. My concentration kept lapsing, and I knew that if I didn't focus my energy soon, I would lose them both.

I looked at the avian demon, and silently made a decision. He looked like Crow, sounded like Crow and fought like Crow, but he wasn't him. This demon, this shadow of the past, would die no matter what. Either I could kill him, or I could let him kill me, only for the Dahaka to show up and finish what I had started. If I failed now, everyone, friend or foe, would perish at that monster's hands. But if I succeeded, the Timeline would be changed for the better. Not just in my favor, but in his as well. The mask would finally come off, the vicious cycle would be broken, and his death would never even have taken place.

I would change our fate… and the Crow Master sure as hell wasn't going to stand in our way!

"I find this display of weakness surprising," he mocked, but I bared my teeth at him, determined to show him just how 'weak' I was.

"Bite me!" I snapped, and charged at him with breakneck speed… only to be grabbed by my wrist and flung into a wall. Oh man… not this again!

I got up as fast as I could and ducked under his weapon, the blade missing my head by little more than a hair. I wasn't afraid though, oh no… I was pissed! And my anger was growing every passing second. Hadn't I been through enough?! Hadn't I earned my happy ending by now?!

I let out a furious roar and blindly slashed at the demon. Maybe I hit him, maybe I didn't, but I no longer cared. My vision turned red and I was taken over by sheer rage. My already intense emotions were being amplified even more by this strange world, and when I saw nothing in his eyes but a desire to kill, something inside me snapped. I forgot that this was just a past version of Crow. That the present version was no longer loyal to the Empress, and patiently waiting at the entrance for my return. I could only feel raw, white-hot anger when my hazy mind reached the conclusion that he had apparently betrayed me, that not even after sunset he would stay by my side. That I had been stupid to believe a creature like him could love…

I vaguely realized that I hadn't bothered to defend myself, pouring all of my energy in a relentless offense. I was covered in deep cuts and leaking sand with every move, but adrenaline kept me going without even feeling a hint of pain. Unfortunately, I was so blinded with fury that I couldn't properly focus my energy. My strikes were vicious, but imprecise and easily dodged. My punches and kicks were fast, but poorly executed and lacked the power to do any serious harm. When I did manage to get a lucky shot in, it was often just aimed at a random point on his body, rather than a vulnerable spot where it could do the most damage.

I stayed in berserk mode for a good 15 minutes, but eventually the adrenaline rush wore off. The clouds in my mind began to dissipate and when I slowly came back to my senses, my muscles suddenly gave out.

"I… hate… this dimension… so friggin' much…" I breathed heavily, holding onto a pillar for support. Now that I could finally think clearly again, I realized why I had lost it. I had not been mad at the avian demon, but had projected my own amped up feelings of insecurity and doubt at him. To be honest, I felt much better now and incredibly relieved… that is, until I realized that Crow was barely scathed, while I couldn't even feel my legs.

This would not end well…

"A valiant effort," he commended, "but I am not impressed."

"Oh, y-you just w-wait and s-see!" I retorted weakly, trying to raise my sword and failing. "A-all f-f-five of y-you!"

I tried to stay focused, but my vision was bleary, the world was spinning and my muscles stubbornly refused to obey my brain's commands. My energy had been completely drained and I was fighting a losing battle to stay on my feet, let alone defend myself. I just wanted to sleep…

I gritted my teeth, determined not to give up. I had already lowered the bar from 'kick butt' to 'try not to suck' to 'stay somewhat alive until Prince finds me'. If I wanted to achieve any of those goals though, I still had to at least try to put up a fight. Come on, limbs! Move!

The avian demon watched me with mild curiosity as I struggled to keep my balance and slowly made my way to a small vase near the edge of the platform. His eyes widened when he suddenly realized what I was about to do, but it was already too late. I raised my sword and smashed the object to pieces, absorbing the sands it had held within. It wasn't much, but it was enough to heal the most serious of my injuries.

"Back to square one, eh?" I grinned sheepishly at him.

"Witty banter will not save you, intruder," he glared at me, menacingly brandishing his blade. "You are only putting off the inevitable."

"Well, it was worth a shot," I sighed, getting into a defensive stance. Witty banter… my thoughts returned to our previous fights and what they had eventually turned into. A memory of our kiss in the Portal Room resurfaced in my mind and my face turned bright red. No, Alex! Bad girl! Now is not the time for that!

"Let us continue this," Crow ordered. "I am not finished yet."

"Ur... eh…yeah… right, where were we again?" I stammered stupidly, hoping he couldn't see me blushing underneath these mummy-like wrappings. Doubt began to creep up on me again and my hands were trembling so much that I almost dropped my blade. But I couldn't hesitate now… could I?

I tried to ignore my emotions and focus on the task ahead, when the ground suddenly began to shake underneath our feet. The environment lost its color and before he could even utter a sound, Crow was seized by a jagged black tendril as the Dahaka crashed through the wall. I was flung back by the sheer force of the explosion, and crashed into a rock formation, rubble covering my fallen form. I heard an unearthly shriek, a satisfied growl and heavy footsteps moving away while I lied hidden under the debris in shock.

It had happened so fast… he never even saw it coming. Neither did I, for that matter. A warm glow surrounded me as the dusty grey ribbons dissolved and I slowly transformed back into my true form. Prince had managed to take off the Mask, meaning that Crow had indeed perished.

I began to shake, realization dawning on me. He was dead. The Dahaka had killed him. I had killed him… I had… I had…

My eyes widened and my pupils turned to pinpricks, tears running over my face. A small part of me knew that, technically, he hadn't died, since the Timeline had now been changed for the better. But I had seen the look of fear on his face. I had heard his death cry. And I had just let it happen…

Something overwhelmed me. It was a mix of grief, anger… everything. Something clawed at the back of my mind, a darkness that began to eat away at my consciousness, fighting to free itself from the prison that was my body. The gash on my abdomen began to glow with a blinding light, followed by searing pain that felt like I was being ripped in two. I knew I had to stop whatever horrible being was forming out of the dark wisps of smoke that seeped from every pore of my body, but whatever it was, it had simply grown too powerful to control.

I pushed the rubble off of me, slowly getting back to my feet and staring at the dark cloud in front of me, which was starting to take shape. Feathers were flying everywhere and the wind howled in a way that made my skin crawl with dread. I knew… I knew what was happening… but I couldn't believe my own eyes.

"Hello, Alex," the figure spoke, a menacing grin on her face. "So nice to be able to finally see you eye to eye. It was getting rather cramped in that scrawny body of yours."

"Isra…" I stammered, frozen on the spot. "But you… you didn't… I thought… how?!"

I was too dazed and bewildered to move, let alone form a coherent sentence, the line: 'this isn't happening!' repeating over and over again in my head.

"You thought I was gone, didn't you?" she suddenly snapped, grabbing me by the front of my sweater.

Wait a minute… sweater?!

I had no time to dwell on the strange 'wardrobe glitch', because she yanked me towards her, her nose almost touching mine.

"Well, yeah…kinda…?" I stuttered, my mind still trying to wrap itself around the fact that I was standing face to face with my evil other self. If my eyes had bulged out of my head any further, they would've fallen out of their sockets.

"Well, think again, hon," she smirked at me, flashing a pair of razor-sharp canines.

"How did you escape?" I finally managed to ask, my head still reeling.

"I almost didn't," Isra growled, roughly throwing me on the ground where I landed flat on my butt.

"You still don't get it, do you? I am the darkness to your light! What makes you weaker, makes me stronger! Every fight you barely survived, every grain of self-doubt that gnawed at your spirit, every time you felt sadness, anger, pain! They drained you of your energy, but only fueled me even more! I thrived on your failures, fed on your fears! I was SO close to finally gathering enough strength to sustain a physical form of my own! But then HE had to interfere, didn't he?"

Her eyes blazed with sheer hatred, and if looks could kill, I would've ended up as little more than a pile of ash.

"Love… if something makes me sick to my stomach, it's love! Compassion! Friendship! Loyalty!" she spat the words as if talking about something repulsive and vile. "He comforted you! Protected you! Poisoned your mind with false hope! Poisoned me!!! I had to sleep nearly all day, conserving what little energy I had left, while your newfound positive energy continued to sap my strength away with every passing minute! But at the very last moment, when oblivion was about to claim me for good, you began to doubt him… oh, how good that negativity felt! And seeing your precious boyfriend," she rolled her eyes sarcastically at those words, "die before your very eyes, was just enough to give me the final little push I needed to break free of that embarrassingly weak shell you call your body! I shall no longer dance to the tunes you play! I am finally free, and I guarantee you, that wretched Crow Master shall be the first to perish! Oh, he'll rue the day he returned that kiss and…"

"YOU STAY AWAY FROM HIM, YOU BITCH!!!" I exploded in anger, dashing forward and punching her straight in the kisser. But the minute my fist made contact with her skin, a searing pain shot through my nose and I could feel it begin to bleed.

"Nice try," she grinned smugly, "but we are still two halves of one being. Whatever harm comes to me, will come to you, so I suggest you keep your temper in check until I become whole. Then I shall dispose of you as well."

"Over my dead body!" I yelled defiantly, then mentally smacked myself for that rather stupid choice of words. Did I want to give her any ideas?!

"Oh, I intend to," Isra laughed darkly."Don't you see? I am stronger! Faster! Better! I am everything you could have been, had it not been for your foolish ethics! I shall take great joy in ridding myself of you, the last tangible trace of my weakness, but doing so now would be suicide. We are yin and yang, darkness and light. We can't survive without the other, until I find a second dark half and complete our separation. Then the world shall be mine to rule!"

"Like hell it will!" I hissed, balling my fist and blinking in surprise when I discovered that my skin felt surprisingly soft.

I looked down at my hand and froze at the spot. My skin was no longer a sickly brownish grey, but a healthy pink instead. Rather than Blade Dancer pants and an improvised top made out of Crow's costume, I was now wearing simple blue jeans, a worn down grey sweater and a pair of red sneakers covered in old mud stains I had been too lazy to clean off. My hair was no longer long, straight and jet-black, but murky blond, messy and barely reached past my chin. I didn't have a mirror on hand, but if I had, I would've been staring into a pair of blue eyes, rather than yellow ones.

I was no longer a sand creature…

"Ah, I see you discovered the side effects of our little break-up," Isra chirped almost happily. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but I needed those sands of yours to form a body of my own. I'll make sure to put their qualities to much better use."

I looked at Isra…

Then at my hand…

Back at Isra again…

And fainted.