Almost two weeks pass. Sadde still has work, even if school's out, but they and Theo hang out a bit more. No new cards appear, and Kero seems to not think that strange, so Sadde themself doesn't care. And one day Theo gets a text in the morning: Happy birthday!
Okay, that is worrying.
Time to try the stereotypical thing?
"Sadde?" he says, hoping that it'll trigger a change. "Sadde!" he repeats, continuing to back away; if it doesn't work, he doesn't want to be sliced, thank you very much.
"Baby? Let go of the sword," she tries. She spots a likely looking stick over there, maybe...
Maybe, but Theo's not focusing on the potentially helpful stick right now.
"Sadde?" he tries again, slowing down so he can focus a bit more. He pulls out Jump just in case.
Okay, so trying to appeal to the side of this thing that might still be Sadde is probably a lost cause.
Theo uses Jump and flings himself away from Sadde, looking around for a weapon. How about that stick?
Theo gets another, shorter stick. It might not be as good, but it's better than nothing.
He looks back over at the fighting, notes the situation, and decides to just jump right in. Literally. He propels himself forwards and kicks Sadde in the chest.
Sadde's thrown away, but he rolls with it, getting back to his feet very quickly and skipping from one foot to the other. He stops, assessing the situation, and then charges again, and now he's not just quick, he's supernaturally quick, getting much more impulse from kicking the ground than he should have.
Well that's okay, Theo can also do supernatural speed.
... Sometimes. And apparently now is not one of those times.
He shouts for Windy to try harassing Sadde, buffeting him with wind, and then repeats the move he did with Jump, since it seems like his best option for now. He kicks Sadde again, then manages to right himself and runs over with his stick, trying to hit Sadde's sword arm.
Haha no, the same trick won't work twice. Sadde braced himself for the kick and didn't actually stumble, using the momentum from the kick to twirl around and go after Laura, slapping the stick out of her hand. The Sword is a rapier, so no cuts happen, but Sadde is strong enough (or maybe the card is) that it'll definitely leave a mark. His movements are fluid, and he dodges Windy's attacks like they're not there, dancing between tendrils of wind and slicing at them to parry.
He jumps back from Laura and Theo after she's dropped her stick, not actually looking between either of them, and starting to hop from one foot to the other once more.
Well, damn.
He has another idea. He hasn't used the Shadow since capturing it, even though it's been nearly a week – blame the crying – but it might be able to help here. He holds the card out and summons it, saying "Shadow".
Okay. Stupid, malicious magic. He glances at Sadde's mum quickly, sees she's out of the fight, and turns to look at Sadde, a menacing look on his face.
"Shadow, help Windy and grab him."
It does, but it uses its comparative advantage. The hooded form melts into the shadows of the trees projected by the lamps. As Windy continues trying to hamper Sadde's movements, the shadows on the ground move, followed by an equivalent movement of the trees themselves. And even though they don't actually touch Sadde, their shadows touch his, limiting his movement in invisible and unpredictable ways, causing him to stumble and lose his balance.
With that distraction, Windy manages to encircle Sadde's arms and legs, her tendrils holding him in place.
Well, that's useful. He knows it's not going to be as easy as this, but still, he runs at Sadde and starts the capture mantra, aiming to hit the sword with his staff.
Sadde expertly twirls the sword in his hand so it's actually pointing down and drives it towards himself—
Okay, that is not cool.
He studies the situation for inspiration, his eyes taking on a more calculating look. He should've done this much earlier, but apparently he was too busy rushing into things. Sadde's mum is over there, on the floor, wounded, possibly dying. Sadde is possessed by the Sword, and doesn't seem to have any ability to stop it. The Shadow can affect the movement of other objects by grabbing ahold of their shadows. He has the Jump available if he needs to quickly get away, and Windy is usually pretty all-around great for capturing cards, but pretty ineffective by herself here.
The Sword seems to have made Sadde into a really good swordsman. It can cut through Windy's tendrils, it's at least somewhat intelligent because it can combat repeated moves, and it can threaten to kill Sadde as a means of getting what it wants.
... And the Shadow almost worked to hold them still. It seems like it can inhabit shadows, so maybe it can inhabit his shadow, and help his attacks be more effective. "Shadow, help me get some more reach! Windy, come back here."