GUYS GUYS I FINISHED WRITING THIS BOOK!!!!!! :D
IT HAS LIKE 37000 WORDS, FIFTEEN CHAPTERS IN ALL
ALSO I FINISHED REMEMBER ME, AND ILL BE POSTING HTE LAST CHAPTER OF THAT IN JUST A FEW MOMENTS!
BUT SINCE IM NOW OUT OF BOOKS TO WRITE (shushes the people waiting for TWO, Feel, and Abibliophobia [but i act=ually might start working on those again]) ILL BE STARTING A NEW BOOK! THIS NEW BOOK IS ABOUT A SUPERHERO AND A SUPERVILLAIN WHO LIVE TOGETHER IN A FLAT ADN ARE BEST FRIENDS BUT DONT REALIZE IT BECAUSE OF SECRET IDENTITES AND CRAP AND THE HERO IS IN LOVE WITH THE VILLAIN AND TROUBLE HAPPENS AND ITS JUST REALLY COOL OK
BUT
I NEED YOUR HELP, GUYS
WHAT SHIP SHOULD I USE!??! IM THINKING NOT SETOSOLACe, SINCE IVE JUST FINISHED THIS BOOK
AND NOT SKYLOX, CUZ RRM
BUT MAYBE MUNCHINGUNIVERSE, OR PHAN, OR MEROME
OPINIONS, SUGGESTIONS?
Addict
Ch 6: "Fearsome"
I cry out as I collapse to my knees, digging my fingernails into my scalp and gritting my teeth as hard as I can.
"This is your warning," my own voice speaks in my head, and I scream as another wave of pain hits and I tumble down the slanted roof.
A couple of shingles fall with me to the ground, and I yell again as I hit the concrete sidewalk. The pain continues, and my head feels like it's going to explode, my skin feels like it's on fire, it feels like I'm being stabbed everywhere all at once and I can't think long enough to force it away with a counter-spell.
"Seto!" yells a familiar voice, though I can't put my finger on exactly whose it is. "Seto, oh, Jeb!"
The person skids to a stop beside me and drops to their knees, and I groan and tug harshly on my hair. "Seto, are you okay? Say something, please!"
"I'm- f-fine-!" I gasp out, and the person shakes his head frantically and wraps his arms around me, trying to pull me to my feet. "N-No, stop, I'm- Agh!"
"Seto, Seto, I'm so sorry, how can I help!?"
"Can we do anything at all!?" asks a smaller, female voice.
"J-Just- let it- pass-" I gasp out, grinding my teeth together as I try to focus on the voices. Male and female. Brice and Jenny, yes!
"I-Is it over?" Brice asks nervously as he pulls away from me a little bit.
"N-No, that couldn't possibly be thirt-" I cut myself off with an agonizing shriek as the pain returns with twice the force. "B-Brice," I sob, reaching out my arms and making grabby hands, and Brice pulls me in close and hugs me tightly and rubs circles on my back and twirls my hair around his fingers and whispers tiny reassurances in my ear until it ends.
"I'm never casting a level thirty again," I mumble, my face still buried in Brice's chest. Suddenly realizing what I'm doing, I blush terribly as I jump away from Brice and nervously rub the back of my neck. "Ah, my apologies, Brice. I... handled that rather poorly."
Brice bites his lip for a moment and then gives me a sad half-smile.
"However, regardless..." I sigh. "Thank you, friend. You were... very helpful."
Brice smiles properly, and Jenny coos.
"So, what even was that?" Jenny asks after a few awkward moments.
"Well, I, ah, I cast a spell to punish all Dark Mages in the area and I wound up punishing myself as well. A silly mistake, my apologies."
"Ha! If everyone else felt what you did just then, then you must've totally just solved the City's entire problem!" Brice says excitedly, grinning at me. I smile back and hold out a hand to help him to his feet, and then I turn to Jenny.
"I do try. Jenny, did you locate your parents?"
She frowns. "Um, actually, no. I don't have any idea where they went!"
"Well, that's no trouble. What are their names, dear?"
"Um, Steve and Melissa Jenkins."
"So your name is Jenny Jenkins?" Brice asks, giggling slightly.
Jenny sighs. "Yeah."
"Best name, tenouttaten, would name again," Brice snorts, and I roll my eyes.
"Investigo Steve Jenkins, investigo Melissa Jenkins, search centum passuum radii," I chant, pointedly ignoring Brice's nonsense. "Dirige nos."
A wispy purple trail appears in front of us, and I stride forward to find Jenny's parents. After a few shocked seconds, Jenny and Brice surge forward, as well, running at first in an attempt to catch up to me. "You are so cool!" Brice laughs, and I try not to glow. "Oh my Jeb, you're glowing." Well. "Are you okay?"
"Yes It's, ah... it's repairing my body."
"Looks like a magical blush to me," Jenny mutters, so I gently stomp on her foot, and she huffs and pretends to zip her mouth. "Whatever. Where are we going?"
"You know, you seemed a lot cuter when you were huddling in a corner," I huff.
"Whelp, now I actually feel safe, with you around, so you'll have to deal with the real me."
"Shame. How does your sister put up with you?"
"I'm the only one in our house that respects her pronouns and stuff."
"Seriously, what happened to the little girl who thought 'crap' was a bad word? It's like you've grown a couple years in a mere few weeks."
"I'm different around Danielle. It scares her when I don't speak in kinda high-pitched, gentle voices, and I kind of just baby her a lot because our parents don't."
"Ah. What is the deal with your parents?" I ask, raising an eyebrow as I glance over at her.
"They're just really old-fashioned, I guess? And Danielle is too young to understand why they won't stop buying her blue race car toys and things like that."
"The nerve of some people," I grumble, waving my hand at a Dark Mage as we pass him and killing him on the spot.
"It's fine, we're... working on them."
"Well, best of luck, dear. Perhaps I can be of some assistance?"
"Threats won't help."
"I have other methods of persuasion, you know."
"Please don't, like, mind-control my parents."
"That isn't what I meant."
Brice is a spluttering mess of laughter by the time we arrive at the end of the trail, because apparently our conversations are rather amusing to him. "Hush, now, Brice, we're here," I scold him as I look up at the large building before us. I've no idea what it's used for, so it must've been built sometime after I left the City.
"One of the storage buildings?" Jenny asks, tilting her head. "Why would they be here?"
I shrug. "If it can store supplies, then it can store people, too."
Jenny and Brice shiver, and I roll my eyes and ease open the door.
It's empty at first glance, and very quiet, so the three of us find ourselves tip-toeing out of habit. We follow the magic trail up a set of stairs and eventually come across a large, open room with boxes scattered everywhere. There are a few unconscious Mages on the floor, which gives me a good laugh, and when my laughter rings throughout the room, several citizens peek up from behind boxes.
Most of them wince when they see me, but Jenny's parents' eyes go wide, and they hop out from behind the boxes and run to embrace their daughter. "Jenny! Oh, sweetheart," her mother cries, hugging her tightly.
"Yes, Jenny is quite smart, helping us find you. You must be very proud," I say, looking down at the parents.
"Y-Yes, she's- she's very clever," the father replies, nodding nervously.
"Mm. Your other daughter - Danielle, was it? She's awfully brave. The small girl ventured into my terrible forest just to seek me out, and even then there was no guarantee that I would assist. Very brave, indeed. She is an admirable young girl."
The father swallows uncomfortably.
"That is brave," says the mother, in total awe, seemingly not even noticing the pronouns. "My little baby - I'm so proud!"
"As you should be," I respond, trying to hide my smile.
"Wh-Where is..." The father swallows. "... my child?"
"Safe and sound, I assure you. My friend and I will leave and come back in a few minutes - with Danielle."
"Accomplice," Jenny scoffs, under her breath.
"So- Melissa, you know these men?" asks a woman who was brave enough to creep out from behind her shield of boxes.
"Yes," Melissa says, smiling up at me and Brice. "I do."
My eyes go wide. "Hold up, now, I'm not your friend!" I insist, taking a nervous step back. "I'm bad! I'm the Dark Sorcerer! F-Fear me!"
A few families chuckle, and a little boy squeals, runs out of his hiding place, and wraps his arms around my waist. "Funny!" he shouts.
I groan.
"So scary," Brice teases me, nudging my shoulder with his own, and I glare at him.
"I- Fine. I don't care. I will retrieve Danielle; meanwhile, Brice, you should actually stay here and find out why the Nether all these citizens were trapped here."
Before Brice can say a word, I teleport back to my house.
"Danielle!" I call out, running down the spiral staircase. "Jenny and your parents are just fine!"
When I catch sight of her, she's fast asleep in a pile of stuffed kangaroos, so I immediately shut up as I tiptoe over to her. "Ah, well." The little girl lets out a quiet snore, and I coo since there's no one around to tell me not to. When I'm alone, there is no one to shut me down when I try to be a good person.
Well.
No one except myself.
I sigh as I lift the girl into my arms and begin carrying her up the stairs. Since she refuses to let go of a certain kangaroo plushie, I figure her parents won't mind all that much if she keeps it.
As soon as I've exited the house, I teleport back to the storage building.
"Ahahahahahahaha!" laughs a gravelly female voice.
"Shut up," I reply, rolling my eyes as I look up at her. She's a Dark Mage, no doubt, apparently too stupid to adhere to my warning.
The Mage laughs again and steps to the side, revealing Brice and Jenny bound by magic against the wall. "You came in with these two, right? You care about them?" the Mage asks loudly.
"Shut up!" I hiss quietly, lightly stomping my foot.
"Unless you surrender this City back to its rightful owners - the Dark Mages - I will kill your companions."
"Oh, for Jeb's sake!" I shout, seeing Danielle yawn and rub her eyes. "I said, 'shut up!' Now you've woken this poor child."
The Mage raises an eyebrow, likely wondering exactly where my priorities lie.
I sigh in exasperation as I set Danielle down on the floor. Holding the kangaroo's leg with one hand and my hand with the other, she furrows her eyebrows and glares at the Dark Mage. "How come you tied up my friends?"
The Mage smirks. "I'm going to kill them unless your oldest friend will surrender."
"I'm older than him," Brice whines. I ignore him.
"I will not surrender. This City does not belong to you," I say firmly, looking straight into her eyes.
Her smile widens as she raises her hand. "Well, this should be fun."
I raise my hand in sync with hers, and Danielle cocks an eyebrow curiously and then drops her kangaroo and copies our actions. Adorable.
"Be smart about this," I advise the Mage. "I could end you in mere moments."
"Could you?"
"Indeed."
"Then do it." She turns her hand so that the palm of it is facing Jenny and Brice.
"My ple-"
"Oh," Danielle laughs as the Dark Mage collapses to the floor.
"Ah," I say nervously. "I, I didn't do that."
Jenny stares at Danielle in awe. "Seto, you're lying."
"I am not."
"You are, too!"
Brice shakes his head excitedly as the Mage's magic wears off, freeing him and Jenny. "No, he's totally not! He couldn't possibly have cast that spell, 'cause he hadn't finished his pretentious end-line yet!"
I raise an eyebrow. "What?"
"You were gonna say 'my pleasure,'" Brice laughs, standing up. "You can't end a battle without, like, a cool one-liner or something."
"I do not use 'cool one-liners,'" I scoff.
"Hold up, so- Danielle did that!?" Jenny asks, eyes wide.
"I did that?" Danielle asks, pointing at herself and then bending down to pick up her plushie again.
"Yes, I believe you did," I confirm, crouching down next to her. "You're a sorcerer. Did you know?"
She shakes her head, grinning happily. "No, I just pointed my hand like you and I thought 'be not alive please' and the mean lady fell down!"
My eyes go wide. "Oh, dear. Well, perhaps you ought to learn some proper sign language spells from the Light Mages."
She frowns. "How come?"
"Well, the 'just think about it' spells are quite dangerous, dear. They tend to use, ah... Dark magic. Not something you want yourself involved with."
Danielle bounces around. "Can you teach me?"
"I don't cast Light anymore. I'm sorry."
"But you use actual spells all the time," Brice says, confused.
"I add 'actual spells' to Dark Magic in an effort to make it more powerful. Many Dark Mages do this, as well."
"You're a sorcerer!?" Danielle's father exclaims, seeming to come out of some shocked state. "And a Dark one, too!?"
"She is not a Dark sorcerer," I growl at him. "Never tell her she is a Dark sorcerer. She is not."
"But she just cast-"
"No one is Dark until they are told they are Dark," I say threateningly. "Your daughter is not Dark. She is Light, unless she decides otherwise."
"Yay!" Danielle giggles, and I smile down at her.
"This is so neat!" Danielle's mother cheers. "I'm sure you'll be a real Light Mage in no time at all, sweetie." Danielle glows under the praise.
"Well!" I say as a way of wrapping things up, and I'll admit that my smile is a tad strained, though I am happy for Danielle.
"Wait! Before you go..." Many of the citizens stand up, with one man acting as a spokesperson for the group. "Thank you. You saved our City when the Light Mages wouldn't, and we won't soon forget that."
I try to hide my blush. "W-Well- ah, good for you. Brice and I really must be going now, things to do, you see. Goodbye, Jenny, Danielle!"
"Bye, Seto!" Jenny calls, and then she drops to her knees and begs her little sister to share some of her magic with her.
"Bye bye!" Danielle echoes as I grab Brice's hand and drag him toward the exit. "Thanks!"
"But didn't you want to know why they were all trapped in there-"
"You can tell me as we walk."
"But-"
"Just tell me," I sigh, pulling Brice toward the City Gates.
"The Dark Mages were holding most of the adults - uh, and some of the children - captive so no one could warn the Light Mages."
I frown. "I thought they wanted the Light Mages to know? So they'd be distracted from the actual war."
Brice shrugs. "Maybe the war is the distraction."
"Maybe so," I mumble, furrowing my eyebrows as I begin to zone out. Of course, the Dark Mages would want control of the City - but why, exactly? For more room? I thought they were doing fine, space-wise. The Burg is huge, after all. No, it couldn't be for lack of space that they're attacking.
The Mages at the first base I found seemed to whole-heartedly believe that they were fighting for the right to use Dark magic outside of the Burg. And, while that seems likely, it doesn't provide any reason for the Dark Mages to be attacking the City as anything other than blackmail or a distraction.
Well - Blackmail, then. But even then, they would want the Light Mages to know, correct?
The Mages in Jenny's house seemed to think they were either threatening or distracting, but, obviously, neither is a very fitting solution to this tiny mystery.
I freeze.
"What's wrong?" Brice asks, furrowing his eyebrows in concern.
"Someone is in my forest."
"Again?"
My eyebrows shoot up. "Many someones are in my forest."
Brice tilts his head in confusion. "Uh... What?"
"We may have our answer marching toward us this very minute," I mutter.
"Wha-" Brice begins, and then I grab his hand and race us to the forest.