A.N.T

•Chapter Two- No Strings left•

CHAPTER TWO: FAMILY REUNION

A feint teal aura could be spotted in the near distance. The atmosphere grew colder the closer Alex and her group got towards the aura. The quietness was no longer a concern as the sound of Ledian charging his magic energy created a loud static sound.

“We’re almost there…” Tony gritted his teeth and ran his fingers through his hair, nervous about the upcoming fight.

“Shut your mouth Tony! If he hears us we’re all dead for good!” Sushi snarled.

“Would you two stop it!? You’re acting like children!”
Alex pushed them both aside and hissed.

“Alex! Ouch!” Tony winced.

“Grow up, boy…” Alex rolled her eyes.
Tony decided to shut up and just keep walking for once.
A loud boom shattered their eardrums and knocked them all to the ground.

A dark figure wearing all white emerged from the darkness, surrounded by waves of electricity.
“We’re in trouble now…” Tony shivered.

“Brother… We can make this easy. You can still join me! Become a wizard with me… You can be the prince of my kingdom! Make the right choice, brother.” Ledian reached his hand out at Tony.

“Ledian, I’d rather die than join you and your corrupt wizard community.” Tony snarled.

“Tony…It may be a good idea. Just for now. To stay safe. Me and Sushi will fight this one out.” Alex sighed.

“You’re not serious are you? I’ve been with you for like, seven years! You’re not getting rid of me that easily!”

“Dare I say it the girls are right, brother. Join me, Tony… I missed you.” Ledian bribed.

“It's to survive, Tony.” Alex smiled at Tony sadly, worried about what Ledian would do.
The room grew colder and the silence was deathly.
“I’M NOT LEAVING YOU ALEX! I LOVE YOU!” Tony ran into Alex and hugged her, shocking Alex beyond recognition.

Sushi's eyes turned a crimson shade of red and her body glowed light orange.

“I…don’t believe it.” Sushi snarled and cracked her knuckles, preparing for a fight.
Alex looked around herself, finally deciding what to do.

“Fine then. We're doing this the Lochester way. ” Alex struck Ledian with a cascading spiral of shadow magic.
Angered and shocked, Ledian slammed his primary staff to the ground, unleashing a deadly wave of electricity, whilst causing the artificial dimension's floor to shake.

“Hold on!” Sushi held Alex and Tony close, protecting them with a fire barrier.

“Where is this coming from…” Alex thought to herself. Sushi hated being close to others.

“He’s COMING with ME!” Ledian charged at them, breaking Sushi’s shield.
He fell on top of Alex, injuring her arm.

“You know us mages have toothbrushes,” Ledian smirked.

“Oh hell no!” Sushi pulled a pristine-condition dagger out of her pocked and forced it into Ledian’s neck, piercing his windpipe.

“Y-you… monster…” Ledian exhaled, his voice growing dusty. His body was being absorbed into the code sceptre, pixel by pixel.

The air grew warm again, and the vast emptiness filled with light. The shadows disappeared, leaving the three to clearly see Ledian’s sceptre.

“One of us… has to cast the spell. But which one of us..?” Sushi whimpered.

“The strongest one.” Tony nodded.
Alex stepped forward and reached out to the sceptre, only to get struck back by a barrier that was protecting the sceptre.

“But… We killed Ledian. Why isn’t it letting us through?” Sushi gasped.
Tony rushed over to Alex, checking that she was okay.

“I… my magic is useless against  a barrier with that amount of magic energy surrounding it. ” Alex sighed as she laid on the ground.                       

“I think It’s obvious what needs to be done here.” Sushi approached the sceptre and charged at it with all her strength.
The barrier, once again, slammed her back onto the ground. Sushi could feel judgment, almost like the sceptre was laughing at her suffering.

“Argh..! What the hell?” Sushi hissed.

“Do something, Tony! Get us out of here!” Alex cried in pain.

“That’s- that’s stupid! How is he gonna break the barrier? He’s weak as a stick! A skinny stick!” Sushi growled.

“A lot happened when you were away, Sushi… Tony has two magics now. Afterall, he does have lightning magic… Plus, he possesses the same bloodline as Ledian, being his brother…It makes sense…” Alex sighed.
Sushi slumped down, finally realising that she had been wrong about Tony. Maybe he was good enough for Alex?

“Alright, Alex. I’ll- I’ll do it. Pray for me, okay?” Tony chuckled.
Carefully walking towards the sceptre, he gently slid his hand through the barrier and gripped a hold of the sceptre. Tony went invisible, lightning strikes in Tony’s outline were all that was visible.

“TONY!” Alex rushed towards Tony, but fell back onto the ground because of her injury.
Tony eventually became visible again, but his eyes were illuminated bright blue. The power of the sceptre was taking over, consuming Tony as its new owner.

“Fight the power, Tony! It’s trying to consume you! Fight through it! Come on!” Alex begged.

“Tony, I was wrong! You are powerful! I was wrong about you and I’m sorry! Please, fight through this! If you can't do it for yourself, do it for Alex!” Sushi tackled Tony, freeing him from the power of the sceptre. Sushi was fully consumed by the power, due to her not being strong enough.

“Thankyou!” Tony gasped.

As the sceptre’s spell was broken, the three began to teleport back to the Arcane world.
Sushi, however, was dying.
She didn’t teleport. The pixels she was composed of slowly disapeared and her firey aura now surrounded the damaged sceptre.

Alex and Tony were back.
But the fourth wall kept expanding.