An actress in our midst!

The trio of shadows scuttled through the cave, following the map drawn by their scouts.

“In here?” “You sure?” “Yes.”

The cavern twisted and turned, sprawling in many directions. Without the map, the trio might have been stuck wandering the place for days or even weeks.

It was also pitch black. No light penetrated this deep inside. The shadows didn’t care though. Even if they couldn’t see well, they could still sense their surroundings to an extent.

“This way?” “Go left.” “Over there.”

Sensing magic proved to be the key to finding what they had been looking for. Just up ahead stood a large device fixed to the ground in an unassuming corner of the cave where nobody would ever look. They had finally reached their destination.

“This it?” “Found it?” “Found it.”

The trio of shadows crawled closer to the device, waiting for their moment to sneak through. They bickered and writhed but stayed out of sight. The darkness of the cave provided the perfect hiding spot.

“Where are they?” “Soon.” “Quiet.”

They waited for a good few hours before it finally happened. The portal frame lit up and filled with swirling magic. They’d heard about it but had never seen it with their own eyes. The technology to travel to another world. Astounding.

“It’s real?” “We going?” “Not yet.”

They stayed in the shade for the moment. That proved to be the right decision, as the swirling ball of magic warped and spat out a person. It was a young human boy masquerading as a demon. The shadows held in their sneers, although barely.

The human stumbled, straightened himself, and shook his head, before turning to the portal, doing something the shadows couldn’t see, and deactivating the portal. He then walked away into the cave.

“We failed?” “He closed it.” “Wait for the next one.”

The shadows waited some more. This time, only a few minutes passed by before the portal reactivated.

Another fake demon fell through. A girl this time. She grunted and muttered something under her breath before turning to the portal and taking a step away. A moment later, the third imposter emerged from the device.

“Ack! Dammit, this won’t stop feeling weird,” the newcomer cursed. “Are you sure we can’t make it more comfortable? Like the one in the castle?”

“I mean, we could. But that’s too much work and we have bigger things to worry about right now.”

The boy groaned. “Yeah, yeah. The fifth weapon, Salem attack, trial… Sheesh. It’s starting to feel like an actual part-time job.”

“C’mon. Stop complaining,” the girl replied, before turning to the portal and shutting it down. The two demon imposters then walked away, leaving the shadows to bicker some more.

“Again?” “Follow them?” “Follow them.”

The trio followed, eventually reaching the other end of the cave. They stayed hidden inside as they listened in on the three demons talking outside.

“-- crazy! What if the same thing happens?” the boy who had entered with the girl muttered.

“I’ll be careful. I won’t try setting it off or anything. I just want to figure it out,” she replied.

“Max… back me up here. Tell her that trying to recreate the fifth weapon is crazy!”

“I…” the other human began, unsure.

“It’s fine! We knew it was dangerous before and I’ve been trying to make it all this time and none of you ever complained!” the girl kept arguing.

“Yeah, but we didn’t know it was world-destroyingly dangerous!”

The girl groaned.

“Look… Look at it this way. If we can figure it out, create it, and contain it, or maybe even stabilize it completely, we would have taken care of the danger forever!” she argued. “These weapons are one of a kind, so if I make the real deal, nobody will be able to make another one and threaten world destruction!”

“That does make sense…” the quiet member of the fake demons began.

“Oh, come on! You too, Max?”

“... assuming we don’t mess up and set it off ourselves, at least,” this so-called ‘Max’ finished.

“Ughhh, fine! I’ll put it off for now,” the girl finally relented. “I need to prepare for the attack and then the trial right now anyway.”

With whatever that argument was done, the fake demons then proceeded to spar. The timid one unexpectedly turned out to be stronger than both of the others combined. The shadows made a note for themselves to be wary of that one in the future.

“Strong?” “Attunement?” “Traitor’s fragment.”

After the spar, the fakes went back to conversing. Talking about an upcoming charade with the fake king’s right-hand woman, as well as the tainting of the holy trials. The girl made sure to insult the great ancestors as much as possible.

“Kill her?” “Kill her.” “No.”

“Why?” “Why?” “Mission.”

“Later?” “Yes.” “Yes.”

The shadows stayed their hand. As much as they would like to kill the insolent heathens right then on the spot, they couldn’t risk revealing themselves at the moment. They had to prioritize. Their mission took precedence.

The trio of insolent other-worlders eventually finished their infuriating conversation and seemed to be heading back into the cave. The shadows reacted immediately by backing off into the darkness in the direction of the portal. They hid behind a stalagmite nearby and waited for the imposters to reactivate their device.

“Well, I’m gonna go to the castle now. You two coming?” the girl asked.

“Yeah.”

“Eeh… I still need to go pick up meds for my grandma and whatnot. I think I’m gonna chill here for a little bit before going.”

“What, right here? In the desolate wastelands?”

“Yeah? it’s a nice peaceful place.”

The girl snorted in response.

“Sure, if you don’t mind the ash and lava I guess.” A beat. “You’re weird, Cody. Well, whatever. See ya later then!”

The girl and the quiet one touched the portal and were absorbed. The last imposter let out a sigh and muttered something to himself after the others were gone. Then, he reached out into the air and his face scrunched up. Almost a full minute later, a stylized bow materialized in his hands.

Then, he turned around and returned outside… while leaving the portal active.

“Chance?” “Go?” “Go.”

The shadows leaped at the chance as soon as the fake demon turned the corner, jumping into the disorienting whirlpool. A moment of vertigo later, they found themselves on the other side.

The other world.

“Success?” “At last.” “Other world.”

“What now?” “Find vessels?” “Yes.”

The shadows slithered out of the shipping container the other side of the portal was on and split up, searching for suitable hosts.

Nobody noticed them.

BottledChaos Next time: "Hold still!" or "The magical girls vs. Jessica and Salem."