A woman stepped forth from the shadows. X's avatar gasped. She had skin of a slightly blueish tint, black hair, and looked so similar to him she could have been his sister. Which was, of course, impossible, as he'd been conjured into being directly by Narrator X. Nonetheless, the resemblance was undeniable. Who was she? And how had she stopped him from manipulating the wind?

He tried again to conjure a storm, but the woman made a quick slashing motion with one of her hands. His control abruptly vanished once again. She was smiling slightly, as if she knew something funny that he didn't.

"Who are you?" he asked, keeping the uneasiness he felt out of his voice. "Why are you here?"

The woman's grin widened into a predatory smile. "You can call me Y," she answered. "And I'm here to kill you, of course."

With that, she launched herself at him. Twin blades flared into life in her hand, wickedly sharp knives carved out of what appeared to be solid shadow. X's avatar stumbled back in surprise, barely dodging her first attack. Instinctively, he called the wind, but once again Y cut him off with a wave of her hand. With her other hand, she sliced him across the chest with one of her knives.

The pain was indescribable. It felt like his skin was burning, a cold flame that somehow brought with it a feeling of loss. He gasped, falling to the ground. Y seized her opportunity and lunged forward, dagger pointed directly at his heart-

And then Nameless burst through the cave opening and tackled her.