Chapter 6: Glass & Glamour

"Velveteen," Regina murmured, a touch of pride in her voice. The nearby ornate mirror shimmered, and within its depth, a translucent, ethereal entity emerged, shimmering like disturbed water. "Mine's Looking Glass," Brenda stated, her voice flat, her Image now a silent, elegant, utterly focused contrast against the casino's reflections.

Velveteen moved first, a blur of motion. From her hand, a flurry of razor-sharp playing cards materialized as if from nowhere, erupting and aimed at Brenda. The cards whistled, steel-edged projectiles.

Brenda didn't stand still. Her instincts screamed, and she immediately spun away, dashing behind a gleaming chrome pillar as the first volley of cards embedded themselves with sharp thuds into the wall where she'd just been. She moved constantly, observing Velveteen's movements from behind the partial cover, analyzing the impossible appearance and disappearance of the cards. The theatricality of it all, the sheer misdirection...

"You're a Thalia Muser, Heart," Brenda stated, her voice flat, the conclusion settling as she continued to evade. "Illusions, misdirection, the playful deceit of reality itself."

Regina paused, a genuine flicker of surprise crossing her face, quickly replaced by a wide, amused grin. She actually clapped, a slow, theatrical clap, the sound sharp in the tension. "Bravo, Glass! Full marks. Not many get that on the first try."

Brenda ignored the praise, her green eyes narrowed, calculating her next move. No time for applause. Just for winning. She had to find a weakness in a Muser who literally warped perception. She glanced around the semi-private area—the large ornate mirror, the chrome pillars, the gleaming display cases, and the polished floor. Light. Regina relied on visual misdirection.

Brenda's eyes narrowed further, connecting the impossible appearance and disappearance of the cards. "And you're pulling them from a localized pocket dimension, aren't you?" she stated, her voice flat, cutting through the whirring of the cards.

Regina's amused grin widened. "Sharp, Glass. Very sharp. My personal little vault of infinite projectiles. I call it Pocket Deck." She gestured with a flourish towards Velveteen, who twitched her bunny ears in a gesture of playful readiness. "But can you withstand Velveteen's signature technique? I call it... Royal Flush!"

With a graceful pirouette, Velveteen began to spin, not just for showmanship, but to gather incredible momentum. As she turned, a torrent of razor-sharp cards erupted from her, not just from her hands, but seemingly manifesting mid-air as she twisted. The sheer volume was designed to overwhelm, each card propelled with the force of her rotation.

Brenda remained highly mobile, dashing from one chrome pillar to another, using the narrow spaces between display cases as temporary cover. The air around her hissed with the passage of the cards. She knew she couldn't outrun the barrage forever. She needed a bigger play.

She noted her proximity to the large, ornate mirror. With a calculated move, Brenda intentionally slowed her dodge, making herself a tempting target just in front of the mirror's surface. As Velveteen launched another dense wave of cards, her aim true, Brenda then darted swiftly to the side, clearing her position in front of the glass. The cards, now committed, slammed into the ornate mirror instead of hitting her.

With a powerful mental command, Brenda channeled Looking Glass, distorting the very fabric of the reflection within the mirror. The surface rippled like disturbed water, and the incoming cards, instead of hitting the glass and shattering, violently veered. Their trajectories were warped and altered by the manipulated reflection, sending them sharply back towards Regina.

Regina's eyes widened in surprise as her own projectiles flew back at her. Her hand snapped up, and with a focused thought, the redirected cards shimmered and dissolved back into Velveteen's Pocket Deck, vanishing just inches from her face.

Brenda didn't wait. Her gaze was locked onto Regina's face. She used that split-second tactical advantage, knowing Regina's concentration was on her Image. Brenda subtly reached down to her right thigh, her fingers closing around the grip of her holstered pellet handgun. With a swift, almost imperceptible motion, she angled the compact mirror, catching a direct beam of light from the recessed ceiling and aiming it precisely at Regina's face.

The sudden, intense flash of reflected light hit Regina, forcing her to instinctively shield her eyes with a hand, blinking rapidly. "Blast it, Glass! Dirty trick!" The Royal Flush faltered, Velveteen's fluid movements becoming jerky, her connection to the stream of cards momentarily broken as Regina's focus shattered.

"You said 'game,' Heart!" Brenda's voice cut through the air, sharp and challenging. "But you never stated the rules! Where's the rulebook for this game?"

In that instant of disorientation, Brenda moved. Regina was momentarily unsighted, Velveteen's attacks faltering as their connection wavered.

Then, Regina gasped, her hand dropping from her eyes, not to re-engage, but to stare. At the large, ornate glass wall beside her, the one that had been reflecting the dim corner of the casino. Now, within its surface, a ghostly, silent tableau was playing out. It was a replay of moments ago: Brenda and Regina, their argument about Reginald Heart, Brenda's accusatory finger, Regina's scoff. The past, perfectly re-enacted, shimmering on the glass as if caught in a time loop.

"This is the power of a Clio Muser," Brenda's voice echoed, cold and clear, from behind Regina. Brenda had used the blinding light to create the distraction, then phased through the very glass wall now showing the replay, repositioning herself. "To use the past as a weapon."

Regina spun, her eyes wide with shock and a dawning understanding. As Regina spun, Brenda flicked the right side of her trench coat, revealing the leather drop-leg holster on her thigh, and drew her pellet handgun. She stood there, the weapon now aimed steadily at Regina's chest.

Regina’s playful grin slowly returned, tinged with a grudging admiration. She raised her hands in a dramatic shrug. "Alright, Glass. You got me. Well played." Velveteen, still disoriented by the visual trickery, slowly faded and disappeared.

Brenda didn't lower the gun. "Now, about Reginald Heart. And the truth."

Regina sighed, a theatrical gesture, her eyes still holding a spark of the mischievous, but now also a deep, almost mournful weariness. The casino hummed around them, a distant, uncaring backdrop to the intensely personal drama unfolding.

"Fine, Glass," Regina said, her voice dropping, losing some of its previous theatricality, "The truth. You're about to get more than you bargained for when it comes to Reginald Heart." Her gaze flickered to the shimmering remnant of the replay on the mirror, then back to Brenda's unwavering stare. "It's not a pretty story. And it's not what you think."