SO APPARENTLY MY BROTHER GOT ONTO MY YOUTUBE ACCOUNT SOMEHOW
AND HE POSTED LIKE SIX VIDEOS OF HIMSELF AND HIS COUSIN DOING WEIRD CRAP!?!!?! XD
HE POSTED A PRIVATE VIDEO AS WELL
AND HES ALL LIKE "SMACK THAT LIKE BUTTON! CRACK IT INTO PIECES! OW, I FELL OVER! DO YOU WANNA SEE MY BIG FAT BUTT?"
I
WHAT
XD
Addict
Ch 5: "Careless"
"So where's the next base?" Brice asks, bouncing around excitedly as we walk back under the wide arch.
"You're the scout. You tell me."
"O-Oh. Um, well, I guess if we just keep heading past this base, there has to be another one soon, right?"
"Let's find out," I say, shrugging as I cast another swiftness spell.
☼☼☼
"Haha, see? I was totally right!" Brice laughs upon seeing the Dark Mage base in the distance. We're, say, ten minutes from reaching the place-
I freeze as unwanted visions assault my mind.
"Seto..?"
"We're going back!" I yell, whirling around and starting toward my house again, casting a very powerful speed spell on Brice and myself as I go.
"Wait- What!?" He races along beside me, expression one of confusion. "B-But the next base is right there-"
"No, I've something to take care of."
"And you couldn't have taken care of it back when you got your new cloak?"
"It wasn't a problem then," I growl, speeding up even more. "Celerito! Celerito! Celerito!"
"T-Too fast, Seto!" Brice shouts as we dart across the plains.
"Not fast enough!" I respond. "Celerito!"
"S-Seto- Oh, Jeb-" he complains as we enter my forest and he runs into several pieces of nature.
"HALT!" I boom, and Brice and I skid to a stop in the clearing.
He exhales slowly and then glances around. "W-We did all that for some random kid?"
"What's the matter, friend?" I ask gently, crouching down in front of a crying Danielle.
"I-I- I, Um- I-"
"Yes?"
She lets out a sob. "T-There are scary magic people like you coming in through the b-back of the City, exc-cept they aren't secretly nice l-like you are!"
"I'm not secretly nice," I say out of habit before returning to the subject at hand. "Why are you here?"
"B-Because- Because t-they're taking over, a-and I- The Light Mages won't help because they're t-too busy fighting somewhere else, a-and the scary not-nice people took over my house and they locked Jenny in her room and I-I escaped b-but I, I didn't know where else to go b-because no one else in the City likes me much and plus they're all trapped anyways, but then I re- re- I 'membered you a-and so I ran to the forest but I got lost and-" She bites her tiny lip and then lurches forward so that her face is buried in my cloak, and my eyes go wide.
"Hug her!" Brice mouths sharply, so I slowly wrap my arms around the crying girl.
"Hey, shh, it's all right, dear. What say I go get rid of all the scary people?" I ask softly, rubbing circles into her back.
She mumbles something that must be affirmative as she nods into my cloak.
"Well. Apologies for the slight detour, Brice, but Danielle here seems to need my help."
"Our help."
I smile a tiny bit. "Yeah."
Danielle sniffles, so I lift her up into my arms and carry her towards my house.
"How did you even know she needed help?"
"I enchanted the forest so that when someone enters it, I am notified," I respond, and Brice shrugs.
"Wait, I thought we were going to the City?" Brice shouts, jogging to catch up with me.
"Well, of course! But, first, the house. I don't intend to let Danielle sit defenseless in the middle of a battleground."
"Who's gonna watch her?"
"I'll sort it out," I say as I weave around a tree and finally open the door to my house. "Sorry, Danielle, but I'll have to set you down for a moment," I apologize, lowering her gently onto the couch. She sniffles, rubs her eyes, and nods, and I frown as I open up the basement. "Up we go!" I say, lifting her up into the air again. "Look here, Danielle, look how exciting this place is!"
"Woah," Brice breathes, taking in the room's new appearance.
I've last-minute child-proofed the place and cast a spell so that it will cater to Danielle's wants and needs, and so when we take our last step down the spiral staircase, we look up to see the whole room covered in light blue wallpaper and neon orange carpeting. Well. There are also piles of stuffed animals scattered about, and a collection of videogames next to a TV and console in the corner. (The room appears considerably smaller, now, so as not to frighten Danielle with its daunting size.)
"Bathroom to your left, mini-fridge to your right-" I pause as I set her down on a pile of pillows and stuffed toys. "Do you have any allergies?"
She shakes her head.
"Lovely! Now, you just go on ahead and make yourself at home, and Brice and I will be back in, say, an hour or so? Yes. Don't be alarmed if the staircase disappears when I leave; it will reappear if you need it again."
"Y-You're leaving?" she asks, her lip trembling, and I crouch down in front of her once more.
"Only for a bit, friend," I assure her, smiling as warmly as I can manage. "You'll be safe here while Brice and I take care of the scary people."
"Okay, but make sure you don't forget about me!" Danielle says, waggling her finger at me, and I try not to laugh. "And make sure you r- r- Make sure you 'member to help Jenny out of her room!"
"Yes, ma'am, right away," I promise her, but she still looks unsure.
"Pinky promise?" Danielle asks hopefully, looking up at me.
"Absolutely," I reply coolly, holding out a hand and intertwining my smallest finger with hers. Notch, kids are adorable.
This will obliterate my reputation.
Unfortunately, I pinky promised.
☼☼☼
"What if she chokes?"
"I enchanted the house."
"Oh. What if we don't come back?"
"We will."
"How do you know?"
"Trust me. I don't lose."
"I do! Maybe I should've stayed back, I'm going to hold you down."
"You imply that your disablement would slow me. I assure you, I will not risk the City's safety, nor my own, simply because you have fallen."
"O-Oh."
"On the other hand, I won't allow you to fall in the first place."
Brice glances over at me and looks me up and down appraisingly. "Thank you, Seto."
I avert my eyes. "Don't mention it."
We're both silent as I ninja us through the City walls, but Brice gasps when he sees the damage. There are houses burning with dark auras, there are people cowering in the streets with nowhere else to go. It's a total mess.
"D-Don't hurt me!" a citizen begs as I approach, and I raise an eyebrow.
"I'm not one of your attackers."
"Then who are you?" he asks in confusion.
"I am the Dark Sorcerer."
"Oh no," he groans.
"As a favor for a friend, I have come to restore the City."
His eyes widen. "W-Well- Thank you! But the City is so large, and there are so many Dark Mages-"
"And I shall have no trouble besting them all," I reply.
"That sounded so bamf," Brice whispers, giggling slightly, and I roll my eyes.
"Do you know a family with two children named Jenny and Danielle?"
"Uh..."
"My apologies," I snarl, "Jenny and Danny."
"O-Oh! Yeah, um, they live around the corner, that way."
"Thank you. Goodbye."
I spin around and walk calmly in the direction he specified, and Brice scrambles after me. "Hold on, are we just gonna rush in?"
"Yes. Objections?"
"Uh, no, I guess."
"Calm down. I'll protect you."
"I-I wasn't-"
"Yes, you were. Speed up, friend, I do believe this is the house we want."
I ease open the door as quietly as possible as I cast a quick cloaking spell on Brice and myself. Then I sneak inside and press against the wall, silently shushing Brice as I go.
"How long will we stay here?" asks an impatient male voice.
"'Till the boss gets here," answers another male, this one from somewhere in the house's upstairs area.
"Follow me," I mouth to Brice (he can see me since he's invisible, too). Then I dash into the next room, holding my cloak close to my body so it won't swish around and make noise.
"Well, I think this is dumb," the impatient Mage huffs as my eyes lock on him in the middle of the living room.
"Whatever. Is the kid still in there?"
"Yeah, obviously. How would she ever escape?"
So Jenny is somewhere on this floor, likely in a room that leads off of this one. Mentally, I cast a mimicking spell, and then I yell, "Good! Now get up here and help me with this!" in the second Mage's voice.
The first Mage grumbles and stomps upstairs, and I begin to walk around to all the doors, jiggling each doorknob as I go. Finally, I find one that's locked, and so I cast a lock-picking spell and barge in.
"L-Leave me alone!" Jenny whimpers, huddled in the corner of the room next to a bed with pink covers. But then I call off the invisibility spell, and her eyes widen when she recognizes me. Then she furrows her eyebrows angrily.
"Jenny..?" I ask quietly.
"You're with them!" she cries, standing up and glaring at me. "Danielle trusted you, but you're with them!"
"I- Hush, Jenny. I'm not with the people who attacked your house; rather, I am here to get you out."
Her eyes go even wider. "Then you- Danielle actually found you!? And you- you came?"
"Indeed. And I brought assistance, as well," I add, gesturing to Brice. "I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all! Thank you thank you thank you, mister!"
"Call me 'Seto,'" I say quietly as she wraps her tiny arms around my waist.
"Oh my Jeb. Literally, like, that was so cute," Brice breathes, staring at me. I raise an eyebrow, and he blushes and looks away. Uh, right. Okay, then. His problem, not mine.
"Is that your boyfriend?" Jenny whispers, and Brice blushes even more.
"No, he's just an accomplice," I reply, shrugging it off as I take Jenny's small hand in mine. "Hurry, now, we ought to be leaving before-"
Brice squeaks fearfully, and I drop Jenny's hand and spin around.
"And who have we here?" asks a Dark Mage, presumably the one who was originally upstairs, since I don't recognize him.
"Someone who will finally put up a fight," I reply, glancing over at Brice in concern. The Mage has got his elbow hooked around Brice's neck, and said Mage is smirking as though he has already won. "I won't risk losing simply to keep him safe," I tell the Mage as I nod toward Brice.
"Oh?" the Mage asks, raising his hand to cast a spell.
"Oh, dear," I sigh. "You've called my bluff. Now you'll just have to die." I raise my hands, mocking the Mage. "Cover your eyes, Jenny, dear!
"Mortem, et mors ultra!" I chant, and my dark purple magic shoots out of my hands and towards the Mage. Once reaching him, the magic wraps around him like a rope, and then it squeezes, squeezes.
And the Mage is dead.
Brice wiggles away from the corpse and then scrambles across the room to stand by me, and he's practically clinging to me, clenching his hand around the sleeve of my cloak, when he finally gets enough air to speak.
"I-I- I didn't expect you to save me," he breathes, closing his eyes.
I scoff. "Of course I saved you, moron."
"Just an accomplice, huh?" asks a smirking little girl.
"Hush, Jenny. Time to go, now, before the other Mage shows up," I say, trying to change the topic. Let's not talk about my apparent weakness when it comes to Brice.
Let's not talk about how silently afraid I was, hearing his scared shriek.
"Too late!" yells the other Mage, and I huff and fire an instant death spell at him. Clean spell, won't leave much of a mess.
"Oh," Jenny squeaks, and I laugh nervously.
"Ah, sorry, dear. On the bright side, there isn't any blood."
"I don't think you're really helping," Brice says, strangely giddy.
"What's up with you?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. Brice chuckles nervously, and as I turn away, I hear bits of a whispered conversation.
"Totally into you," Jenny whispers.
"Totally?" Brice asks in surprise. "You really think so?"
"Totally."
"Kids these days," I mumble as I stroll out of the room. "Jenny! Where's the rest of your family, dear?"
"Um..." She frowns. "I don't know!"
"All right, that's fine! We'll find them. Brice, you're in charge of protecting Jenny."
"M-Me?" he squeaks.
"Yes, you. Meanwhile, I'll be on the roof." Jenny tilts her head in confusion. "Better line of sight for spell casting, you see."
"Oh! Okay, be careful!" Jenny beams.
"I will."
Brice hugs me quickly before running outside, and I roll my eyes because it's not like I'm in any danger. Then I walk up the stairs, teleport through the roof, and spend point two seconds getting my balance on the shingled roof. I watch as Brice and Jenny run around a corner, hopefully looking for Jenny's parents.
Then I cast the spell.
It doesn't have to be too complicated, just something that will dispel the Dark Mages from the City grounds or punish the Dark Mages fiercely while also protecting the normal citizens. So, a target lock spell, then...
"Tantum nocere magis tenebras. 'Dark Mages.' Tricesimo gradum in dolore. 'Admonitio.'"
After a moment, a charged dome of magic extends out from around me, and the whole city sparkles purple. Several screams are heard from every direction.
And then I realize my mistake.
Dark Magic does not care for capital letters. It does not even notice such things.
And I am a dark mage.