The Shard
By NotReallyHere

     NotReallyHere, sometime Interdimensional Assassin and current AAA Head of Arena
Security, stood in an aisle of the Knothole Dome, current host of the Author Avatar Association. His
entire staff and even some of the brawnier technicians were herding the panicky audience out the
doors, in case spells started flying. In fact, NRH had given the evacuation order the moment he saw
the Audience Protection Field fizzle and die, when Shinji went down to ringside.
     As a result, the stragglers were being well attended to and NRH was free to observe events
at ringside (while phased out, of course). Tears threatened in the corners of his eyes when the AAA's
beloved Power That Was, Lynxara, returned from the grave by the power of Brisby's amulet. He held
them back, however, conditioned by his former, darker career. He prepared several times to phase
back in and intervene, but each time, the momentary danger was dealt with by those in the ring.
Finally, there came a time he had to act.
     Kintobor was screaming that he didn't need his Author, he didn't need *anyone.* From his
vantage point outside the dimension, NRH could see that might shortly be true. The power of the
Dark Emerald was already beginning to flow to him, beyond the sight of even Shinji and Lynxara-
Powers, after all, of the AAA, not the surrounding dimensions.
     NRH phased back into reality and summoned his long-dormant ki aura. Most who could
command the powers of such an aura channeled them into broad, powerful, damaging attacks. Not
he. His aura had been adapted to one end only: death. His limited repertoire of offensive spells all
resulted in instant death for his target, unless they were already undead or possessed abnormally
powerful protection. Even those who had such benefits had fallen to him; vampires by holy water
poured in their seemingly-impregnable crypts and heroes and villains alike, slain when they lowered
their protections for even a moment.
     Kintobor did not yet have the abnormally powerful protection of the Dark Emerald, which
had saved Dark Sonic's life every single night since he had killed Lynxara. NRH allowed the black
power of his aura to surround him. An imposing sight, had any chosen to look: a tall, 6'5" man, very
thin and pale, with light blond hair and goatee, with icy blue eyes, vanishing beneath the folds of
his own power.
     Cloaked within the darkness, shielded from discovery by the all-concealing shadows
covering the audience area while the ring lights were on, he raised his hands to the heavens, slowly.
With a shocking suddenness, he snapped them down to point at Kintobor, who was held firmly in
the re-awakened assassin's mind. Everything else seemed to fade out for him, until only Kintobor
was left. Even Kintobor's body melted away, leaving only his pure, shining life-essence. NRH
*released* and shouted out, "ULTIMATE ASSASSINATION!" The ki aura vanished and his normal
sight returned. Kintobor stood, jumped into the air...
     ...and disintegrated into a fine red mist that quickly dissipated. NRH, breathing heavily,
watched events unfold in the ring area. Already, Lord Thinker was nodding, as serious as anyone
could remember ever seeing the good-natured Avatar. Thinker leaped into the air, brandishing the
massive Delete Key and trailing a beautful white ki trail. With a single stroke, Lord Thinker
annihilated the Dark Emerald.
     Well.... not quite annihilated. A single fragment of the crystal survived and flew directly to
one not of its power, for those whom it had held in its sway had failed to protect it. It goes without
saying that the person in the Arena who was closest to the Dark Side was the one who had just
unleashed a horrible, unstoppable death on an unsuspecting victim.
     The chip flew straight at NRH's head, with all the speed Lord Thinker's awesome blow had
imparted to it. Existence seemed to blink.
     He looked down at himself. The black bodysuit was gone, replaced by a spotless white one
with a long, flowing cape. The Infinite Improbability Generator, aka the Plot Device, was absent.
The Dark Shard filled the place where it had been.
     NotReallyHere looked warily at the continuing events in the ring. Shinji and Lynxara were
there, obviously not at their full strength, but the Dark Shard was extremely weakened from losing
most of its mass. It also hadn't had time to fully integrate itself into NRH, which meant that he
wouldn't be able to use most of what power it had left. Accordingly, NRH phased out and left the
main Arena.
     He remained outside the AAA proper for almost a full day, letting the Dark Shard regain its
terrible abilities. When it was ready, he set into motion his plan to ensure that he would never face
the comeuppance Dark Sonic had been struck with.
     His first target was the only one powerful enough, good enough, and goofy enough to destroy
the last remnant of the Dark Emerald: Lord Thinker. The plan for him was simple; lacking any way
of knowing that NRH was there, he would be unable to protect himself from any of the powerful
new attacks the Dark Shard had created. This was going to be a piece of cake...
     It was. Lord Thinker never even woke up before a simple Assassin's Deathstrike terminated
him. The Deathstrike, one of the mid-level blows available to master-class assassins, had been
invented by the highly esteemed Garoth, the High Elven assassin from Thorongoliir. It was quiet,
efficient, and left no mark as it severed the victim's upper spinal cord from the base of the brain.
They were almost always diagnosed as heart failures in the autopsy.
     NRH moved immediately to face his next opponent, Wolf. The commando rodent had shown
himself to be surprisingly capable in his fight with Kefkain, and he would be trouble if he had time
to put his guard up. Wolf had left the Arena immediately after Lynxara's return, but he had come
back this morning with an unidentified female furry. Too bad for her if she was still there.
     Slipping into Wolf's apartment was as simple as it had been to enter Lord Thinker's. Inside,
there were obvious signs that a bachelor lived there. Well-maintained guns were carefully placed
on gun racks and hangers, while beer bottles and dirty laundry covered a large chunk of the floor
space. Pizza boxes and various sorts of take-out containers took up much of the rest. There were
three other rooms.
     Entering the first, NRH found out what Wolf's kitchen looked like. It was almost bare.
Evidently Wolf shared Austin's ideas on cooking. There was, however, a very large complement of
knives.
     The second room revealed Wolf, sleeping quietly in his king-size bed (normal equipage for
all the apartments, since it was easier for the Powers to standardize than to personalize each person's
room). The spare pillow beside his head was dented, indicating that his companion was going to be
staying for a while.  This was going to be a rather more difficult task than it had been to kill the
Incomprehensible One. Wolf's healing factor would repair most physical damage. That meant that
the only way would be magic.
     The newly-renamed White Assassin placed his hands just slightly off of Wolf's head. Wolf
didn't stir. NRH let the power of the Dark Shard flow through Wolf's synapses. Catastrophic brain
death came instantly. The noise, though not loud, was definitely noticeable. Noticeable enough, at
least, that Wolf's new companion came in from the room NRH hadn't checked. Rubbing her eyes
and blinking, Lynxara walked in.
     NRH was shocked. Why in all the worlds would she resume her anthropomorphic body?
Then it struck him. She wouldn't. Lynxara wouldn't throw the entire burden of the AAA back on
Shinji while he was still recovering. Therefore, this was not Lynxara-the-Power, but
Lynxara-the-Avatar. That meant that she was vulnerable.
     Lynxara looked at Wolf's body on the bed and began to inhale, preparing to scream. NRH
phased back in, unstoppered a small vial, and threw the contents into her mouth. Lynxara stumbled
back, choking on the dusty substance, and stared at NRH as her eyes glazed over from the poison.
"Who..." was all she managed to get out before her body failed her entirely. Having existed for less
than a day, this Lynxara was already dead.
     NRH left the apartment, a bad taste in his mouth as well. If she had managed to scream,
Lynxara might have ruined his entire plan. Not checking the last room before killing Wolf had been
entirely unprofessional of him. He resolved not to make the same mistake again.
     NotReallyHere had three targets left for the night. The first possessed a reality-warping blast
that could defeat his plans. The other two had a most alarming knack for slaughtering foes who, by
all rights, should have been invulnerable to them. Tuxedo Chris, Nav, and Bane.
     Tux-boy came first. Murmuring sweet nothings into his pillow while he slept, he was
laughably easy to eliminate. Nav and Bane were quite a bit tougher. First of all, their intrinsic
paranoia had led them to install dimensional wards around their room, which blocked teleports in
and out... and anyone who wasn't in their reality. The only way in was to walk through the front
door, like anyone else.
     Scowling, NRH came to the front door and knocked. This would be difficult: one of them
would have to open the door, and both would probably be awake. He had to take them both down
before either could give the alarm. Letting his victim see his face beforehand stuck in his craw, as
well. Bane came to the door and looked through the peephole.
     Bane saw NotReallyHere standing outside the door. The two had never met in person, but
Bane knew who NRH was. He figured that if the Head of Security wanted to come in, it was
probably something important. Something very important. Maybe all those Moonies had tried to
stage a coup. Maybe the Powers were closet anti-Moonies. Maybe he and Nav would get to kill more
Senshi! Grinning in anticipation, Bane opened the door.
     He was dead before the door was halfway open. NRH whipped out a poisoned dagger and
drew it across Bane's forearm as soon as it came into range. The door swung open and the evil
assassin stepped in. Inside the dimensional wards, his powers were once again useful. He phased
out and moved undetectably towards Nav, just walking to the front room, M-16 at the ready.
     Nav saw his friend and partner lying dead on the floor and immediately kicked into battle
mode (not a far cry from his normal state, but still...). He spun around, scanning the room for the
intruder. Seeing nothing, he ran to the phone to call Security and alert them that a murderer was on
the loose. As soon as his back was turned, NRH buried the same poisoned dagger that had felled
Bane into the back of Nav's neck.
     A noise made NRH spin around. There, on the other side of the room, stood.... himself! The
real NRH had indeed phased out fast enough to avoid the powerful Shard, and the fragment of the
Dark Emerald only took an image of him. Dressed in his normal black jumpsuit, NRH looked ready
to kill. Dark NRH cursed and launched his most powerful death spell at his opponent.
     Nothing happened. The Black Assassin still faced the White Assassin with a very angry look
on his face. The wall behind him looked somewhat the worse for wear. The real NRH said to his
doppleganger, "You know that won't work."
     Dark NRH nodded, slowly. "You phase out, of course. Then why can I still see you?"
     The true Avatar moved forward, opening his mouth. Dark NRH arched an eyebrow and
threw the contents of another vial at him. Again, there was no result, save that this time, the vial was
now visible on the floor. NRH began to explain.
     "We're linked now, you and I. Any time I phase, so do you. And vice-versa. Your powers are
useless." With that, NRH launched himself at his opponent. Dark NRH, automatically expecting to
phase out and still digesting the real NRH's words, stood still. As a result, NRH was able to strike
his evil twin.
     A very interesting phenomenon occurred when he did. Dark NRH automatically phased out
when NRH's fist came too close to his body. That moved him, and the real NRH along with him, to
a dimension infinitesimally apart from the AAA. NRH's fist was still too close to Dark NRH's body,
so he shifted again. And again. And again.
     Moving infinitesimally further away from the AAA with each infinitesimally short span of
time meant that by the time NRH had completed his blow, the two were in a completely different
universe. One infinitieth times infinity equals one [barring other factors, to those of you who took
calculus].
     Mr. Chekov yelped and fell backwards in his chair as two figures, one dressed in white and
one in black, appeared between him and the viewscreen. The one in white grimaced as the one in
black's attack found its target, severely damaging Dark NRH's innards. Dark NRH struck back.
     Again, the two Interdimensional Assassins shifted. Here they materialized on top of a small
ant played by Woody Allen as Dark NRH groaned from that last punch.
     Here they blinked into view aboard a large steamship. Kate Winslet screamed and fell
forward as her beloved (and startled) Jack let go of her while she was claiming to fly. The real NRH
winced as he only partially blocked with his forearm a powerful strike by Dark NRH.
     Here they appeared between LaLa and Tinky-Winky. Both NRHs looked around, screamed,
and began doing a very good impression of Nav. The sunbabygod was laughing out loud as they
shifted out again.
     So it went, the two usually-invulnerable killers warping from dimension to dimension, each
trying to brutally slaughter the other. NRH's first strike was beginning to tell, though, and the Dark
Shard could not help Dark NRH enough to turn the tide. After what seemed an eternity, Dark NRH
collapsed on the ground, spent. The real and victorius NRH knelt down and quietly slit his throat,
then carved the Dark Shard out of him. He couldn't touch the powerful object safely, and with Lord
Thinker dead, he didn't know of anyone else who could. NRH looked around. It seemed like a safe
enough place to leave the Shard, so long as he isolated the dimension from the rest of the multiverse
when he left. NRH stood up and blinked out of existence again.
     From just over a hill, a little boy came walking along holding his favorite stuffed toy. He saw
the shiny green stone on the ground, picked it up, and tucked it inside his favorite playmate. The
little boy then screamed as his doll grew to about 6 feet tall and began to sing. "I love you..."
     Back in the AAA, there was an awful situation. Several prominent Avatars had been found
dead in their rooms this morning, and there was no sign of forced entry. A dagger had been found,
but its hilt bore no fingerprints. Several of the victims showed signs of poison. Everyone from
audience members to authors to the Powers That Be were trying to find the Head of Arena Security
to demand an investigation. When NotReallyHere phased back in, the PTBs were immediately all
over him.
     "NRH!" called Shinji and Lynxara, furious at his absence in this time of crisis. Shinji
continued, "Where were you? Lord Thinker, Wolf, Lynxara, Tuxedo Chris, Nav, and Bane all died
last night!"
     NRH looked dumbly at Lynxara. She shook her head. "The other Lynxara, the Avatar one.
She only started existing yesterday..." she trailed off quietly. NRH began to explain what had
happened. By this time, several others had found them and were demanding answers. Shinji shushed
them and let NRH speak.
     When he was done, everyone was silent. His dark double had ruined the festive mood the
AAA had been in after the defeat of Dark Sonic, and now it seemed that Interslam would begin with
eulogies instead of excitement. NRH whispered something to Lynxara. She nodded.
     The two PTBs and NRH appeared in Lord Thinker's room. There was no sign of foul play,
but Lord Thinker had never shown any signs of heart trouble. His death raised many suspicions.
NotReallyHere confirmed them. He then raised his battle aura, to the great surprise of Lynxara and
Shinji. NRH whispered quietly, "What we take away...
     ...is ours to return." Lord Thinker sat up as the black aura turned to a pure white and flowed
over him. A deep, ragged breath sounded, and then Lord Thinker shook his head. He pulled on his
translation crystal, then said, "How long have you been standing there? I was dead asleep."
NotReallyHere tried very carefully to keep from groaning, since there was still more work to do.
     Returning Tuxedo Chris and Wolf was relatively simple; NRH did the same to both of them
as he had done to Lord Thinker. Neither of them realized that they had been killed.
     Reviving Lynxara, Bane, and Nav was much trickier. All of them had been awake and aware
when they died, and the death-shock might damage their minds if NRH tried to bring them back
knowing of their deaths. PTBs Lynxara and Shinji were unwilling to meddle in those minds, on the
chance that they might destroy them forever, so it was up to NRH to restore them. He took a great
leap of faith (all the greater since his debacle saving Jolt) and turned on the Infinite Improbability
Generator.
     The IIG worked, as it always did when NRH's author was feeling kind. Nav, Lynxara, and
Bane returned to life believing that nothing had ever happened. It was decided not to enlighten them,
in case the telling might cause a relapse. (NRH had seen it happen: a fellow named Westly...)
     In the weeks remaining before Interslam, NRH spent a great deal of time improving Arena
security. All the walls were equipped with Dimensional Alerts, which reported directly to the main
Security office. Dr. Tofu was given a lengthy tome detailing the results of the various strikes known
to NRH's Guild (to be opened only in the event of a suspected murder). And that dimension where
NRH had left the Shard was forever closed to the rest of the multiverse.
     The power of the Shard continued to manifest itself throughout the multiverse, however. The
chilling song of the Purple Demon rang out in many worlds, and once, and only once, the AAA itself
fell prey to that terrible Siren song. But that is a tale for another time...
     Besides, it's been done.