"That's an interesting proposition, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline on your offer." Cole said confronting the dream demon, "How about a counter offer? You give up Sheila and Terri and I may just let you live." Despite his brave front, the mentalist couldn't hide his concern for the dream demon's newest prisoner, Terri and Iris whom he still hadn't heard from since he arrived in the Dreamtime. Now Sheila was going to pay for Cole's inability to rescue the dreamer. Turning back to could see Sheila struggling to free herself from the floor prison the Treabor trapped her in, when he saw the look of terror in her green eyes, that was the last straw. Cole realized, from the moment he first entered the dream deamon's domain, that he was fully conscious. Therefore, he was able to make conscious decisions, more importantly he could access his imagination. "That's it! No more Mr. Nice Guy!" With that, Cole seemingly tapped into the powers of his 'mind gem' causing a huge tremor throughout the pale lord's domain. "You may be able to stop one mentalist," Cole warned his adversary "but let's see you..." "...stop two." said a second Cole who appeared seemingly out of nowhere. This one opted to take the fight to the Treabor while the first one went to rescue Sheila. "What manner of trickery is this?" the dream demon questioned as he dodged a flurry of punches and lighning fast kicks. The first Cole shot over to Sheila's location, punding on the floor above her with his fist but to no avail. Then he summoned his 'mind gem,' or at least a reasonable facsimile of his weapon of power, into the Dreamtime. Concentrating, he was able to create cracks in the floor, ultimately shattering it, and then pulling the Thief out of the hole. "C'mon we have to get you out of here" he said taking Sheila by the hand and teleporting out of the Treabor's throne room. The dream demon was quick to take notice of what his opponent's double had done, but what had really captured his interest was the weapon the man in black used. "You wield the Stone of Zarpathos in the waking world?" The demon demanded of the remaining Cole, "ANSWER ME!" "The 'Mind Gem?'" the mentalist answered as their struggle continued, "Heck, call it whatever you want to, pal, I'm still gonna waste you!" For a second the Dream Demon seemed weary of his opponent as he seemed to possess great power in the Dreamtime despite being a mere mortal, much like another mentalist he battled centuries ago. Tatriana Zarpathos was one of the few who ever drove the Treabor from a host, afterward she almost succeeded in destroying him in his corporeal form. Meanwhile, Cole and Sheila manifested in what appeared to be a bedroom within the castle at Yarfell. "Is this..." Cole began to wonder. "My room. You brought us back." Sheila immediately noticed her would-be beau was missing "Where's Hank? He was here just before I fell asleep?" "That's because you're still asleep, Sheila." Cole informed her while fidgeting with his 'mind gem,' "Don't worry, though. I'll have you back there in no time." "What are you doing?" She asked, wondering why the stone seemed to preoccupy the young man in black. "I'm trying to 'program' the gem to wake you up." Cole responded. "If it works you won't remember any of this nightmare. There. I hope this works." He then handed the Theif the re-programmed 'mind gem.' Sheila gasped. "What about Terri, she's still trapped by that awful monster. We can't leave her." "I'll bring her back to you," Cole assured her, "but now it's time for you to be going Miss...Thief." "And the other you, if he gets killed will you..." She asked, somewhat worried about the Cole who right now was engaged in battle with the Treabor. "Oh him, don't worry about him, he's just a decoy!" Cole explained. "When you wake up, you can expect to see Terri alive and well any minute afterward." "Thank You, Cole, is it?" She said, uncertain if it was that, Tommy, or Garret. "Cole." he answered. Well, at least she knew my name, the mentalist thought as Sheila began to fade. "Good Luck!" the fading Theif said, leaning closer to the mentalist as if to give him a kiss on the cheek for good luck, only to disappear before Cole would ever know. "Crap!" the mentalist then realized that his double was beginning to get his butt kicked by the dream demon. "I expected more of a fight from you, Zarpathos-scion!" the pale lord said as he tossed Pseudo-Cole roughly fifty feet. "Stop calling me that!" the faux-mentalist replied as he picked himself off of the ground. "Hold! The Thief is lost to me! She was to me my new host." The Treabor roared "Now you shall pay dearly for denying me, Zarp-" "Zarpathos-scion? Yeah, I know!" the Pseudo-Cole remarked "Let's get on with it already, geez!" "Very well," the Treabor agreed, instantaneously returning to his throne "You shall prove to be a most fitting sport for my pets!" "Let's Rock!" Pseudo-Cole shouted. And then they appeared, over two dozen denizens of the dark dream, shaped from the stuff of nightmares. All of them stood eager to rend the faux-mentalist to ribbons. "Any last words, little man?" the dream demon asked of his pets' new chew toy. "Just three," the Pseudo-Cole responded, "BRING IT ON!!!"
