Many thanks to BeaconHill and GlassGirlCeci for betareading.

"Dragon, sweep the area," I ordered aloud, knowing Dragon would hear it through the radio. "That may have been a short-range teleport, and we need to find anyone Noelle already attacked. Find anything that needs our attention."

"On it," Dragon replied.

"I'll tell you what needs attention," Amy said sharply. "Where the fuck is Shaper? What's she doing?"

"She didn't seem hostile," Armsmaster said. "She's not really—"

"She's not your fucking power," Amy hissed, glaring at him. Then she turned to me. "I'm going after her."

It, I mentally corrected. "Be careful," I said. "Those things are dangerous. I've fought one, and they're much more than just the abilities they give people."

"Clearly," growled Amy. "I want to know just how much."

I nodded. "Good luck. Call for help if you need it."

"Shouldn't we stay focused on Echidna?" Miss Militia asked me. "If we split our focus now—"

"My focus is pretty fucking split." Amy rounded on her. "I'm going. I'm not asking."

"Go," I agreed. "Be careful, and don't get in over your head. If things go south here, we may not be able to help you."

"Sure, yeah," said Amy, already walking away. The spider limbs which had sprouted from her back had not fully retracted, and the small appendages swayed behind her where they sprouted seamlessly from her bare back.

I watched her leave for a moment before turning to the others. Vista was sitting on the ground, and Clockblocker was kneeling beside her, one arm around her shoulders. On thr ground in front of them was the dead clone of Dean. She shook her head at something Clockblocker said and looked over at me.

"He's alive," she said. Her eyes were red, and she seemed to spit out the words. "Gallant's still alive. She's keeping him alive."

The Dusk would know if the Dawn had died. In spite of everything that had come between them, in spite of Vicky, of Cauldron, of Amy, and of my own mistakes, that bond remained unbroken.

"We'll save him," I told Vista. "We won't let her hurt him."

She nodded, but did not seem comforted.

"If Gallant is alive, Eidolon may be as well," Armsmaster said. "Recovering them is a priority. We can only hope Dragon finds—"

He was interrupted by the sound of crumbling masonry. I turned to see a building several blocks away crumbling, the higher floors falling apart into fragmented masonry. It fell open, dust and debris spreading out as it fell.

"I think we found them," said Sophia.

"Think again," Dragon said over the radio. "That's the Eidolon clone. I'm still looking for Echidna."

"Even so, we can't ignore it," Armsmaster said. "Annatar, you should go after Echidna if and when she's located. She may be able to create more clones, which makes her much more dangerous, and you're the most powerful cape we have."

I nodded. "All right. And you'll go after the clone. Who do you need?"

"Clockblocker, Aegis, Vista, and Assault," he said immediately. I could practically hear his brain whirring as he put a plan together. "We'll take one of the PRT vans. Clockblocker can disable the clone if Vista or Aegis can get him in range."

No one moved for a moment. Everyone looked at me. I was struck with an instinct to shrink under their gaze, but I repressed it. "It's a good plan," I agreed. "Go. Good luck."

As they jogged off, Miss Militia approached me. "Are you sure it's a good idea to give Armsmaster command?" she asked. "Whether or not you think he was justified, he hasn't worked with the Wards in weeks."

"Aegis won't let him make any serious mistakes," I replied, glancing at her. "And, to answer the real question—yes, I trust him." Far more than I trust myself, right now.

"Found Echidna." Dragon's voice cut in. "North of your current position. Several blocks."

"And the other Travelers?" I asked.

"She just ate Trickster," said Dragon, a hint of disgust coloring her words. "I didn't see the others."

"What's she doing?"

"Rampaging," said Dragon grimly. "Hurry."

I threw open the doors of the van as soon as it came to a halt. "Dragon," I greeted as she dropped to the ground beside me. "Tell me this isn't what it looks like."

"Sorry," she said.

The doors of the Endbringer shelter had been ripped open. The path down had been torn apart my claws, teeth, and gripping, flailing limbs. Noelle had gone down to find the civilians.

"We have to go after her," I said. "But that's going to be a terrible battlefield. Too many opportunities for collateral damage."

Dragon shrugged. "Not much of a choice."

"Exactly," said Sophia on my other side, loading her crossbows. "We'll manage. We have to. We can't let her do… whatever she's going to do to all those people."

"Doesn't mean I have to be happy about it," I sighed, extending Iphannis. "Stay behind me," I ordered, and led the way down into the shelter.

The escalator had been destroyed. Not only did it not work, it barely even resembled stairs. We picked our way down carefully, and then began our way down the corridor below. Noelle had broken most of the fluorescent lights as she passed. The few which still glowed were barely enough to reflect off of Sophia's mask, or cast Dragon's golden armor in a pale, ghostly blue.

We didn't have to go far before I heard Noelle's voice, unnaturally loud in the underground corridor. "—Don't move around so much," she was saying. "And get that baby to stop crying! It's not making this easier!"

We crept closer. The door into the first shelter dome had been left in no better condition than the first door into the complex. The room inside, however, was still illuminated. In one corner cowered a pile of civilians, packed together in a terrified knot. Towering over them was Noelle, her face twisted in a rictus of rage. Around her were four naked forms I could only assume were Trickster clones. Around her head floated an Eidolon clone.

For the moment, Noelle seemed docile. Her many noses appeared to be sniffing the air as she crept towards the crowd. She wasn't close enough that I was worried about a sudden attack, but we didn't have much time.

I leaned in towards Dragon. "Tell Miss Militia to target the Eidolon clone," I said quietly. "I want it dead before we start."

Dragon nodded, but Sophia's head turned to me. "We don't know whether they're people," she pointed out.

"We can't afford a protracted fight against Eidolon," I countered. "We need to prioritize."

"Prioritize, yes," Sophia agreed, and her voice was gentle. "But you're talking about compromise."

I grimaced and looked away.

"Don't be an idiot, Shadow Stalker," Dragon growled. "The risk is—"

"I can smell capes," Noelle growled. "At least two, here among you. If those two step forward, I'll leave the rest of you be. I don't need to hurt you—I don't want to hurt you—but I need those capes. So step forward now, or I'll just go through all of you."

We were out of time. She was mere feet away from the crowd. And yet I was paralyzed. Was this really the same as what I'd done to Nilbog's creations? The same as what I'd done to Heartbreaker's victims?

"You have five seconds," said Noelle.

I made my decision. I turned to Miss Militia and gave her a small nod, then stood up and dove out into the light. The blast of the rifle was immeasurably loud in the close quarters, but as I watched, the clone seemed to preempt the attack, ducking out of the way an instant before the shot was fired.

Noelle whirled. Her eyes widened and flashed red. "You," she hissed.

I slammed the haft of Iphannis into the ground. "Step away from the civilians," I ordered.

"Fuck no!" she growled, and turned, making to dive into the crowd.

Dragon got there first, blasting her with lasers which pushed her back, and I joined her, stepping between Noelle and the civilians.

She hissed, a sound like a furious cat, and suddenly I was somewhere else. One of the Tricksters, I realized immediately, but by then it was too late. The Eidolon clone reached out a hand, eyes lit with an arcane light, and I was blown back by a wall of force. I was blown back, ricocheting off of Noelle's bulk and landing with a clatter of armor on concrete.

I rolled myself over with a groan and came face to face with a pair of wide blue eyes, framed by red hair.

I stared for a moment, and Emma stared back.

"Well?" I asked. "Are you running or not?"

I sat up, turned away, and faced Noelle. I'd somehow kept my grip on Iphannis, and I turned it and brought it to bear. "Get out of here!" I called over my shoulder to the civilians. "We'll hold her!"

That opened the floodgates. The screams and stampede were deafening, but I didn't allow myself to focus on anything but Noelle. I couldn't help but notice the way Emma stared at my back for almost ten seconds before being pulled into the crowd by a friend, but I resisted the urge to turn and look at her.

Noelle just stood there, surrounded by the unconscious and dead bodies of Trickster clones. Sophia and Miss Militia had been busy. The Eidolon clone, however, still hovered around her head. I noticed suddenly that its jaw was misshapen. I wondered if it could even speak.

Noelle stared over at me, her eyes rimmed in red, her teeth bared. She seemed content to let the crowd leave. "I don't need them," she said she the tumult faded. "I only need to touch someone to clone them, you know?"

All three of her lower began to cough. Out of the tide of pus and gore which emerged came three bodies.

The first thing I noticed was that they were all different. The second thing I noticed was that they were all mine. The third was that they were all dead.

A masculine form was first, almost eight feet tall and blessed with grace, with long, golden hair and pointed ears. His blue eyes stared sightlessly over at me and Sophia.

The second was broader, his dark hair cut close over sculpted, hard features. His seven feet or more of height were less imposing now that he lay dead in a heap at Noelle's feet.

The third was a monster. Eight and a half feet of scarred, twisted, wrinkled flesh curled on the ground. Red, bloodshot eyes glared at me accusingly.

Mairon, Annatar, Sauron.

"Dammit!" Noelle screeched. "What is it with you people and not getting cloned properly!?"

I staggered back, staring at the bodies, staring at… myself. My selves. Sophia caught my shoulder, staring from me to the bodies. "Taylor?" she whispered.

"Damn it all," Noelle said, her lips twisting as she glared at me. I barely noticed. "Eidolon? Get us out of here."

The Eidolon clone nodded and raised his hands up. There was a sound like nails on a chalkboard, magnified a thousandfold, and the earth above us split open like a fissure. Debris fell down on us from above, but the Eidolon clone created a forcefield bubble around himself and Noelle, and the two of them began to rise.

"If I can't clone you," Noelle called down to me, "I'll clone whoever else I can, instead!"

"What do you want?" Sophia called up after her. "What do you even want from us? We tried to help you!"

"What do I want?" Noelle shrieked. "Let's start with Dragon's head on a platter!"

Then she was gone, sailing away.

"I'll go after them," Dragon said immediately, turning to me. Then she stopped. "Annatar?"

I tore my eyes away from my corpses. "What?"

"Are you all right?" she asked, genuine concern thick in her voice.

"Fine," I said shortly. "Keep track of her. We can't afford to lose track of her. The rest of us will find our own way out of here."

Dragon hesitated, but only for a moment before nodding and soaring out of the pit.

Sophia's hand on my shoulder snaked around my neck until she was pulling me close. "Hey," she murmured. "What's wrong?"

I swallowed, staring down at my own corpses. My eyes met Sauron's. I remembered the first time I'd failed to create a form that wasn't twisted and broken, after the fall of Númenor. I remembered the horror, the fear, the fury.

What was wrong? How to even begin? How to condense thousands of years of malice into a moment's explanation?

"I'll tell you later," I said quietly. "There's no time now." I snapped my fingers, and the three bodies burst into flame. "We have to get out of here. Come on."