Meanwhile, in the woods behind the Manor...
With his hands and feet still bound, Rory lay on the rim of the large fountain, continuing to have his (at times) eerily civil conversation with his captor: Shane's dark twin from the Shadow World.
Finishing up his explanation of just how he'd been able to tell his captor's true identity, Rory said, "If there's one thing I know about my brother, it's that he's absolutely incapable of being anything other than exactly who and what he is at any given moment." There was a clear wistfulness in Rory's deep, soft eyes as he spoke, and the fondness for his younger brother, ever-present in his voice, inspired a dizzying confusion in the mind of Shane's shadowy likeness.
"Don't get me wrong," Rory continued, "it's one of my favorite things about him, but it's probably his least favorite thing about himself." It was a strange experience for Rory: having someone else's life flash before his eyes.
"Well, idn't that just the sweetest thing!" mocked Shane's wicked twin. "Tugs right at the ol' heart strings."
"It's okay," said Rory, a weak smile on his face. "It tugs at mine, if no one else's."
The villain rolled his evil eyes. "Well o-kay then, I guess you sure told me!" It was an evil variant of our Shane's (yours and mine) 'Oh yeah?' reply. "Thing is, the Rory from my own world would never be such a damned idiot."
Huh, that seems to be a popular name for me tonight.
"A 'curse' in your world is a 'blessing' in mine, and we don't care too much for blessings," said Shane's dark twin. "Just le'me take it outta you and put'n it in our Rory and the whole damn thing goes away."
"I know that you're lying to me." Never had an accusation sounded so blameless. "The curse exists beyond time and space, so it's evil in your world too." ... "If you took it away from me, you'd have the ultimate weapon: two curses to strengthen your magic."
The kidnapper grabbed Rory's hair and pulled until the two men were nose-to-nose. "And just how the hell do you know s-"
"...and if you want it so badly, then evil must not be doing so great in your world."
"Well then, hotshot, if that's true, then it's all the more reason for y-"
"Our fathers destroyed the mirror," Rory interrupted. "We don't have to reflect your world anymore."
"Listen hard, Rory," the villain growled. "I'm gonna ask you this one last time." He tugged hard on Rory's hair, causing the wounded witch to wince. "Where... is... the THIRD?"
"You won't ever find him," Rory gravely answered. He waited to see if the villain would strike him again. It didn't happen. "I've spent two years making sure you never wi-"
Shane slammed Rory's head against the fountain rim. Not hard enough to knock him out, but hard enough to shut him up.
"What the (censored) is the matter with you?" Shane's dark twin snarled. He breathed heavily as he fumed with anger. But then, as he looked at Rory's tired eyes, his rage simmered somewhat, and a foreign sense of reason settled upon him. He knew he'd get nothing out of Rory. "Have it your way then."
He picked up a large, heavy chain, and, gripping and twisting his captive as needed, he wrapped it around Rory's chest. It was more than enough to keep Rory under five feet of water.
Before lowering him down, Shane asked one last thing. "Why do you even bother, huh?" ... "I mean, your whole gorram life is one long, slow, drawn out stretch o' misery ... What, do you just enjoy bein' miserable all the time?"
Rory thought for a moment, wanting to give an honest answer. "Have you ever seen a painting, or a statue, or a work of art that was breathtakingly beautiful, but at the same time, something about it made you feel heavy and mournful... but because it was so beautiful, you didn't wanna walk away from it?"
The stranger's eyes answered for him.
"I guess, for me, life's a lot like that painting... Every moment I spend with it hurts, but it's still beautiful," said Rory, his eyes drifting away. "It's beautiful enough to keep me alive, anyway."
Rory reflected on his own words for a moment. "What's your Rory like?" he asked, with a slight grin. "Is he as sappy and gushy as I am?"
The stranger smiled, forgetting himself for a moment, but didn't answer; he wanted to get his job over with as soon as possible... before that haunting voice grabbed a hold of him. "Rider!" he called, summoning a (nearly) perfect likeness of Rory's nephew. "Here, help me flip him over."
Rory almost smiled; he was so astounded to see this young man emerge from the surrounding trees. As he came closer to the fountain, Rory noticed a silver band with a rich, blue stone, on the center finger of his left hand. As the boy noticed Rory gazing at the ring, a hint of a smile lifted the corners of his mouth.
"Careful now, he's hurt," said Shane's twin, inspiring a most-surprised look from the blue-green eyes of the younger witch.
"What did you say?"
"Look, just shut up and help me flip him over."
"Fine!" said the younger man. "Don't get your black leather panties in a twist!"
There was a surprising amount of care that went into this process of turning Rory over, which ended with (evil) Shane holding Rory's body atop the water's surface, as though he were floating. "Don't be scared; it won't take long," he said, more confused than anyone by his own behavior. "The chains should keep you weighed down."
Rory offered a subtle nod in return.
"For what it's worth... I am sorry."
Then, the familiar-looking bearded stranger released Rory down into the water. As promised, he sank immediately to the bottom, where the heavy chains held him completely still.
As he watched his own small spheres of air rise up to the surface, Rory thought of his twin, wondering if he'd see him soon. He thought of his brothers, hoping he'd done right by them. And he thought of his nephews... I hope it was enough.
Rory closed his eyes and let go. Without his breath to stir them, the waters stilled. Rory was gone... His job was done.