This is Dusty's 4th adventure.

I remember stories of Doppelgängers from when I was at school and they captured my imagination - much like the fairies and their changelings did.

I wrote this story with the more sinister aspects of the creatures in mind.

![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcRqxhCbf9rXqhDiQbeBtGzA54fGNCVR3QUjEL37XCwVP/image.png)

[Part 1](https://steemit.com/writing/@michelle.gent/building-up-to-christmas-with-dusty-the-demon-hunter-a-blast-from-the-past-doppelgaenger-part-1)
[Part 2](https://steemit.com/writing/@michelle.gent/building-up-to-christmas-with-dusty-the-demon-hunter-a-blast-from-the-past-doppelgaenger-part-2)
[Part 3](https://steemit.com/writing/@michelle.gent/building-up-to-christmas-with-dusty-the-demon-hunter-a-blast-from-the-past-doppelgaenger-part-3)
[Part 4](https://steemit.com/writing/@michelle.gent/building-up-to-christmas-with-dusty-the-demon-hunter-a-blast-from-the-past-doppelgaenger-part-4)
[Part 5](https://steemit.com/writing/@michelle.gent/building-up-to-christmas-with-dusty-the-demon-hunter-a-blast-from-the-past-doppelgaenger-part-5)


*Pictures from Google free to use search*

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**Doppelgänger**

“The symptoms of the Doppelganger that you are suffering are exactly as written here. The utter lethargy of the host person increases as the Doppelganger becomes stronger. It cannot exist in solid form whilst you are awake and so follows to perfect its mimicry. As it grows stronger, so the host becomes weaker and eventually slips into a sort of coma and just gives up on living and at last, dies. Sometimes it can be seen by others, but as Hunter found, it leaves no footprints or traces of its presence because it is not fully resident in this world and cannot be until the host is dead.”

Dusty frowned. “Why has it latched onto me?”

“I don’t know. They don’t usually go for the more powerful beings such as hybrids like yourself; it must have believed that you were human,” Hunter’s father said.

Hunter was puzzled. “But the first time I saw it, it was dressed in red, not black. Dusty always wears black. Although, the first time that I saw her, she was wearing red because she needed to be camouflaged in the desert on the way to the Wraith Mountains.”

Hunter’s father frowned. “It would seem then, that the Doppelganger has raided your memories in order to get the image of Dusty,” he said. “I know from seeing it yesterday that it has altered since it realised that it was wrong in the colour choice. It was wearing black then.”

“So stealing my image is just a by-product of its intentions?” Dusty said. She slumped in a chair with a blanket wrapped around her. She seemed to be struggling to stay awake, but for the moment, she was winning that fight.

“It would appear so,” Hunter’s father said. 

He appraised Dusty in a less hostile manner, then he looked away from her to stare out of the window. 

When he turned his head back, his expression had softened and he sighed. 

“It would also appear that I have jumped to the wrong conclusions and I owe you all an apology. I am sorry that I assumed that Dusty was to blame for the misbehaviour and theft. I also apologise for my harsh appraisal of her upbringing. My name is Osborn and I hope that you can forgive me my mistakes where your granddaughter is concerned.” 

Then he looked at Dusty and waited until she raised her lethargic gaze. “Dusty, if you will allow me to help you defeat this faerie, I would be honoured.”

“How do I get rid of it?” She sounded as though she was almost asleep; her words were slurring, and Osborn realised that she must not fall asleep.

![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQ1kFN5YWSTDPQyFcyWWg7ghJd7fyfnvy5BDVmDVAGfKK/image.png)

“Wake up Dusty! You mustn’t go to sleep!” Osborn jumped from his chair and shook Dusty. Her head was thrown back and forth and her grandparents were alarmed at the extreme violence of his actions. 

They went forward as one to try to stop him, but he explained his actions. 

“If she falls asleep, the Doppelganger awakes and can not only cause more chaos, but will become stronger yet. It will be only a matter of time before Dusty succumbs to the lethargy and slips into a coma. Wake up!” 

He pulled on Dusty’s arms and jerked her out of the chair. Then, to everyone’s surprise, he hefted her onto his shoulder and carried her across to the kitchen door. 

He opened it and took her outside in only her pyjamas. 

Then he lowered her down into the snow on the lawn. 

As the frozen crust broke under her weight and the snow slipped into her pyjamas, Dusty shrieked in alarm and leaped up. 

Her bare feet were covered by the depth of the snow and she jumped from one foot to the other, even as she was trying to get the snow off the skin of her bare back. 

“What the hell are you doing?” she screamed at Osborn. “Are you crazy? I’m not even dressed!”

Dusty took only a few leaps to get back into the kitchen, where her grandmother wrapped the blanket around her again so that she wouldn’t catch a chill.

“Go and get dressed, Dusty. There is no time to waste,” Osborn said.

Perhaps because she feared another dunking in the snow, Dusty didn’t argue. 

She went up to her room and returned in minutes, dressed, washed and teeth brushed. 

She was still shivering, but at some point she had realised that Osborn had done her a huge favour. The lethargy had gone and so had her headache. 

“What do we need to do?” She sounded more alert than she had in almost a week, and her grandparents then realised just how close they had come to losing their granddaughter to the evil of the Doppelganger.

Dusty kissed her grandparents as she left with Hunter and Osborn. She didn’t usually kiss them goodbye and that act gave them yet more cause for concern. 

Dusty realised the danger she was in, but as well as her usual paraphernalia, she also had her Unicorn rope and new sword with her, and they could do nothing more than to hope that she would be safe and victorious.

Hunter and Dusty walked through the field close to his house. 

Osborn had gone on ahead; he wanted a few minutes to explain to his wife and sons what he had discovered about Dusty, and he didn’t think it fair that she should have to face strangers when they had already had a chance to make a first impression of her actions, despite the fact that they weren’t her actions.

Dusty was nervous, but she didn’t say anything. She felt ashamed that Hunter’s family were upset with her and she began walking slower as they came into view of the house. 

![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQrSM1c3jsUGEfAQ5avmSK7wo5L5JEZxe7KtSmWxbWUYj/image.png)

The sight of it would probably have made her feel nervous even if she had not got cause to worry about the family’s reaction to her visit. 

It was a large and brooding property, the kind of house that would have got the reputation of being haunted in any neighbourhood. 

There were four gables facing to the four points of the compass, four chimneys, and many windows on three floors. There were also two dormer windows in the roof, suggesting that there was a large attic space too. 

The property was massive and Dusty was in awe.