Author's Note:
- So. Three years after releasing this I've spent the past few days going over every chapter. I split them up into smaller chunks (thus 12 instead of 6 chapters), corrected spelling mistakes, bad wording and some logic errors. If you happen to run across another, just let me know chapter and problem and I'll see to it that the time vortex stops convulsing. As for the why; movie.
Disclaimer
(just so Disney refrains from turning me into a pig that just lo~oves physics):
- Sorcerer's Apprentice and all characters involved in this fanfiction belong to their rightful creators. I don't earn money from writing this.
Chapter 01
It was over. Finally.
Morgana had been beaten. Not just defeated in some kind of exciting battle and released to better herself, but destroyed in her very existence. Even the colorful dust of her disintegrating body vanished with the wind and left no trace of the Morganian ex-leader.
Balthazar and Veronica were finally reunited. So were his apprentice, Dave Stutler, and Becky Barnes, the girlfriend of said one. The two younger ones were just flying out of sight, riding on a steel eagle, brought to life originally by Balthazar himself, now under new management by his apprentice. Since the boy had turned out to be the prime Merlinean after all in this epic battle against Morgana the old sorcerer had decided to give the young one a little off-time. Dave'd earned his holidays, but so had his master, especially now, when he had his long lost love back in his arms, he was finally able to take a breath. One and a quarter millenium had passed since he could be with Veronica the last time, who looked up at him now, questioning, why he still stared in the direction Dave and Becky had flown off, obviously caught up in his own thoughts' spiderwebs.
"Balthazar?", she asked in a whispering tone, catching his attention, diverting it from travelling any further. He looked in her eyes, gently letting go of her shoulders and gave her a half-crazed smile.
"Let's go home..", he said and she nodded, even though she had no clue where 'home' would be. It hadn't come yet to her mind that her beloved one had actually lived through the time her soul had spent in suspense, locked up in the Grimhold, and that he had assimilated quite well into this, for her, strange new world. As they turned to go, she started a bit, as he winced with a barely audible gasp.
"Are you hurt, my love?", she asked, her hand touching his shoulders gently in concern, but he shook his head, again proving what she knew for so long, as his eyes betrayed the lie, speaking of something that could easily match a living hell and was proving how bad of a liar he actually was. She didn't know he'd broken a few ribs while confronting their once-been-ally and friend, Hovarth (who had vanished in the heat of the battle, taking his cane and the rings attached to it with him, save the dragon ring, that had just flewn off with flapping wings when Morgana died). Neither could she know that every touch of hers sent nerve-splitting pain through her loved one which nearly made said one cry out on agony. Nearly. But not as long he could prevent it by clenching his teeth and thinking of nice things. Such as... as... ...
The sorceress watched with worry how her husband walked slowly onwards, one hand pressed to his torso and somewhat bent gait, away from the fountain and in the direction of some sanguine colored thing with four round wheels, two front, two at the back side. The word car wasn't known to her yet, so she decided it to be just some kind of vehicle as she guessed the round things attached to it had the same function as the wheels of a carriage. Maybe that was it all about? As Balthazar looked back, she snapped out of it, blocked out her thoughts of this place and especially the strange vehicle and started walking closer to him. Balthazar waited patiently, as she strode down the steps gracefully and rejoined his side. She could not not notice how he shivered. As she took his hand, it was cold. On closer view, he looked a little flushed, too. A fever then, maybe? How could she have overseen it all the while?
"Balthazar?", she asked hesistatingly, but he just shook his head again.
"I'm okay.. Let's get going.."
She nodded, but slung his arm over her shoulders, just in case. He looked ready to collapse and breathed flat, with a rattling sound too. Whatever okay meant to him, if you asked her, he was not! Luckily, they somehow reached the Phantom, as Balthazar called his car.
"They use it instead of horses today...these things are called 'car' or 'automobile'...", Balthazar explained, as Veronica touched the cool metal, fascinated by it's shiny surface.
"But this one is enchanted...", he continued, watching with interest how the younger woman seemed to even take in the smell of the machine.
"I can tell.. a spell against thievery... and a control spell...? What's this, feels like the love-spell of a witch.. " She practically asked the last thing as she looked up at him again with an almost scolding, doubtful glance (which was incredibly cute on her face), waiting for either confirmation or correction, wanting to tune into the enviroment as fast as he had and sucking in information like a sponge.
"I will explain this later to you, beloved. We need to disappear from here, this city isn't known for being silent like this.. If the police finds us, they'll ask troublesome questions..", he replied with a tired voice, planning on enlighten her about the police later, and led the confused sorceress to the co-driver's door, which opened on its own for her, letting her in and closing smoothly when she sat comfortable. Frowning she watched Balthazar walking to the other side again, slipping in with a pained wince and closing the door softly behind him.
As he turned to the wheel and concentrated just a moment, the car came to life with a deep humming and purred as the engine warmed up, greeting its owner like a happy cat - or a tame dragon.
"Take us home, baby", the elder sorcerer whispered to the dashboard, before he, much to Veronica's scare, leaned back into the seat with a sigh and fell unconscious.
As it turned out, the car knew exactly where home was. As if led by an invisible horse, it cruised through the busy streets, avoiding collisions, taking abrupt turns, even stopping in front of strange red lights, which turned yellow and green shortly after, just to make the car speed up once again.
Luckily, there wasn't much occasion to hold, so they made progress quite fast.
When the Phantom finally stopped for good – the purring sounds quietened down and the doors opened, once again, by themselves – she took a deep breath, having experienced the first car ride in her life and feeling dizzy from the extreme speed. Then she glanced at this home the car brought them to. A huge wall with a pretty small iron fence door, a sign above it, reading "Off limits – Only permitted personal may enter", presented itself to her. Unknown to her, this was the turnaround, where Balthazar's apprentice had his lab. A shifting sound got her out of her stupor and drew her attention back to her beloved one. His glazed over but open eyes had a distant look in them, making Veronica's skin crawl and run over to him, being at his side within just a few heartbeats.
"It's alright, Veronica.. We're allowed in there..and save...", he said, afterwards further explaining who owned the place, misunderstanding the sorrowful look in her eyes. Veronica always had been the one to point out rules and follow them too strictly for her own good, so thinking she might've misread the sign the man had thought explaining might help. It didn't though. When he tried sitting up, the darkblond regretted it the second he did, as blinding-white pain shot through his chest, forcing him back into the seat, jaws clenched with a hiss to block out the sensation. Damn that Hovarth!, the sorcerer cursed mentally when his sight finally returned. He waited a moment before he made the next attempt, feeling his heart beating hard against the chest from the effort before. When he moved, Veronica helped him stand, supporting and leading him to the door, half-way carrying him. The door shut automatically with loud bang, making her jump. Before the sorceress could give a glance backwards, the Phantom was already gone without a trace, true to it's name, leaving nothing but a distant humming in the air as it left to get some well deserved rest.
The lab's door was locked. Not just deadbolt'd but furthermore enchanted, a spell going by the name ward. Usually used to lock out strangers or to give shelter to the user and some allies; it couldn't be overridden or broken by just anyone. The intruder had to be as strong or stronger than the one who used the spell. A pretty effective lock indeed! Looking for help Veronica made eye-contact with Balthazar, who just gave it a sigh and pulled the handle down using his free hand. It was probably his spell to begin with, as the door opened without further trouble, giving way to its master and glancing suspiciously at the woman beside him. A glancing lock..
The only real problem posed a semi-endless stair that wound like a snake and led downwards, starting just one big step from the exit. Veronica solved it by casting a levitation spell on the slightly stupored (and half-heartedly protesting) Balthazar, gently carrying him and setting him down on the stair's last step. He was, in fact, amazed about her powers. He'd thought she'd be weakened after her long sleep, not able to cast something difficult and challenging as this particular magic. But as always, his love surprised him by proving him wrong. Even if she looked a little short of breath right now, maybe a bit strained by using her just reawakening powers. But she wasn't about to give up now, nor would she admit her current weakness. For both their sakes she couldn't.
"So that's how the prime Merlinean lives..?", she asked, looking around and unable to oversee the Merlin's Circle burned into the ground. Curiously she went closer and looked at it. It had Balthazar's signature, which was just a small and insignifant flaw in the outer circle where the line wasn't completely even, giving the circle a barely visible edge, but it probably wasn't bad enough to disturb the current. She smiled.
Again walking around in the lab, the sorceress kept looking for something that could be used as a bed, maybe a sheet too. When she finally gave up on searching for something that obviously wasn't there, she returned to Balthazar, who still sat on the stairs, leaned against the railing, watchung her graceful movements as she walked about. When she stood in front of him, he looked up at her, a kinda distorted smiling on his just slightly lined face, as she sat beside him.
"You said, this is this.. Dave's... lab... but where do you live? Why did your... car was it?... bring us here instead of your home?", she asked with a confused look on her face.
"This is my current home, dear. I haven't had much time to rent an apartment", was the reply, which left her more confused than before.
"But where do you..?"
"Sleep? Over there..", he said, reading her intentions, then motioning to the small couch across the lab. She unfemininely gasped at him, not believing he lived like a vagabond.
"You're not serious, my love... are you?"
He looked at her for a long moment, then nodded his head slowly, confirming her fears, which left her paling in shock.
"I couldn't afford to settle down while searching for the prime merlinean... and when I found him, his training became my priority...", he explained, making her fume. She would have to have some words with this boy who forced her beloved to neglect himself just so he'd train him. She didn't care if he was Merlin in persona! With that on her personal checklist, she replied.
"No. This won't do. You're injured, I won't let you sleep there", she said decisively before she turned around, her petite hands making a few small gestures, forming a pile of anything mobile around the couch, the material contained mostly books and a few of the broken looking chairs, and merged with the couch into a fully functional and pretty comfortable looking bed. She must've re-ordered some air-molecules too, the watching male sorcerer concluded, as the final product had a lot more volume than the original mass. She really hadn't lost her touch after all these years! Balthazar felt proud of his mate.
As he watched her work, he knew well how Dave would react when the top-student found out that his school books turned into a sleeping camp, but decided his apprentice wouldn't need either history or mathematics anyway, as history itself wasn't that remarkable and mathematics just added unneeded burdens to his apprentice's much too often absent mind and focus. He wasn't quite sure about english, but he guessed that this wasn't something someone needed to study at all. After all, Dave spoke it fluently which was more than enough to know about a language. How Merlin would've beaten him for saying that aloud! The old master had always tried to get as many tongues as possible in his apprentices' heads to prepare them for life. You'd meed a lot of people from different countries, speaking their own languages and it'd be very advantageous being able to communicate easily. Today you wouldn't need to know something exotic like Dwelmer. Most everyone knew more or less English, so why study?
For biology and phyics, Dave sure as hell was living both of them daily. One for the cold sweat, the other for the plasma bolts shot at him.
Of course he knew just how important it was for Dave to graduate and wasn't about to boycot him (as his master, that wouldn't do), but once Veronica had made up her mind, even Merlin would've failed to talk her out of it. Balthazar decided to keep the plan of buying a new stack of books for Dave to himself for now and discuss it with the boy later.
Veronica nodded approval to her work, then supported her beloved to and on it. As he collapsed on top with a exaspered sigh, she took the sheet, threw it over him and slid under it, snuggling up to him. Balthazar suddenly lacked the general interest in thinking anything, but found the strenght to roll on his side, folding both arms around the woman he loved. Before he drowsed away though, he took the time to enjoy Veronica's sweet smell and the smoothness of her skin for the first time in over a thousand years. Genuinely smiling he felt sleep approach and his eyelids closed on their own.
"My gosh, get a room, will ya?"
It was the voice of his valued apprentice, which woke him the next morning. Balthazar bit back a growl at the sudden noise that invaded his ears and nurtured an already blooming headache.
"In case you didn't notice, Dave", he nearly snarled the youth's name, taking the latter aback, "We did get a room", he resumed in an annoyingly calm matter.
"You know exactly what I mean!"
"Of course I know. I'm your master. And since this room is yours, it's mine as well."
"What kind of logic is that!"
"What are you doing here anyway? I thought you and Rebecca were on a little sight-seeing tour through France? Done already?"
"Well... you know ..."
"Oh, I get it. You had some weird fantasy and came to make it reality."
"Eh.. n-no! That's not..! Wait, wha-...?"
"No? So you had a fight with the fair lady and now you're back to have me shock this experience out of you."
"Come on!"
"Go on, I'm listening."
"I was worried, Balthazar!"
"Where does that come from?"
"You've been dead, for heaven's sake! Everyone else would've needed something trivial like a three day stationary stay in the nearby hospital, or, I don't know!"
"You know very well we can't just go to any ordinary doctor, Dave", Balthazar retorted cooly.
"And that's why again? Rule 37 or something?"
"No, common sense. What can they do what we can't? Beside finding unusual brain activities and abnormal electrical current? Been through it, Dave, thank you."
The elder sorcerer kept his voice low, while his apprentice seemed to get more agitated by every word he said. This throbbing headache wasn't about to improve his mood and to top everything, they'd woken up Veronica, who now mixed into the 'conversation'.
"Why do you guys have to shout about it!?", Veronica, by nature a long-sleeper, sat up with an annoyed look to her face and yawned.
"Look, who woke up... Good morning, Cinderella" Balthazar grinned, nudging her neck playfully, effectively killing her wake-up mood. The frown was replaced with a sheepish smile and a fast kiss, making Dave sigh in annoyance, which got stuck in his throat when he felt his masters gaze upon him once again.
"You didn't answer my question"
"Yes I did! I was worried! About you!" Did he already forget?, Dave wondered silently. Must be distraction number one. Love.
"There's no reason to be.."
"No reason..? This is the freaking first time I ever find you sleeping in a bed instead of trying to toast me! Isn't that reason enough?! Where does that thing come from anyway?"
A sly grin rushed over Balthazars face and crawled under Dave's skin to lay eggs and produce even more uncomfortable pre-munitions. The young apprentice gulped hard. Now that he thought about it, hadn't he come to gather his books..? Just where were they?
"Would you prefer to see us love each other on the cold floor? A bit more common sense, Dave", the master then said, enjoying the deep red blush the youth tried to hide with a facepalm and some unaudible murmuring. Unsuccessfully, that is. Veronica just stared at her beloved one, mouth half open in utter disbelieve at what she'd just heard.
"Thank you very much for this image, Balthazar", Dave said sourly.
"You're welcome" came the innocent reply.
Dave growled, hands massaging his temples in an effort to ward off the assaults of his imaginative mind. Again, to no avail. He'd have to deal with it later. Without crying out loud. He decided to change the topic. Right now.
"Have you seen my stuff somewhere? I think I left the books here...", Dave asked, looking around, as midterms where close and he wanted to use his free-time to study for a change. Not physics of course, he'd get through it easily, but since maths had the ugly tendency to make mush of his brain, he'd have to work on that if he wasn't about to botch the finals. As he looked back to Balthazar, expecting a reply, he swore he could see the answer in his innocently smiling eyes. It finally clicked.
"Don't tell me.."
"Oh don't worry, I won't."
"You really just exist to make my life a living hell, right? RIGHT?"
"You don't know anything about a living hell" Was that amusement in his words? It probably was, for he grinned before he spoke on. "Oh, wait, maybe you do... Now."
"Guys, would you stop bickering for once?", it was Veronica who intervened. "Dave, what did you need those books for?"
"Eh, learning I guess?"
"Learn what?"
"English and maths.. for the exams I guess.."
"I'll help you with that", she stated, peeled off the sheet and slid from the self-crafted bed, not without telling her husband to 'stay down, don't move and especially don't get up', before she turned to David again.
"Let's go over there", she said, motioning to the stairs, as the turnaround didn't include that many chairs anymore. They walked over and sat down on the actually pretty uncomfortable steps, while Dave explained to Veronica what he'd have to exercise in detail – though afterwards, he already felt like he didn't have to study anymore at all, as he had to update Veronica's knowledge to modern standards before she was even able to help him without downgrading his spoken english to ancient levels. Math wasn't so bad, as the woman turned out to be quite educated on the matter, even complicated formulas weren't a problem to her and as Dave taught her, he even understood some more stuff than he knew beforehand. She gave him a few problems – based on calculations for Alchemy, which in turn taught him a bit of that too – and he solved them easily.
After a few hours, he felt like he could mix the potion for eternal youth himself, while writing a novel in perfect english about it. While making enchanted brooms clean the floor. He already had forgotten why he'd been angry in the first place. It was only later that he let out a curse, realizing that he'd have to run to the bookstore right now to order a new set, since he'd be in trouble if he showed up without any. Luckily he was out of earshot, as he cursed in the brightest colors he could muster and would've earned a double plasma bolt for it. Probably.
Veronica watched him leave and returned to her husband just when she heard the door close and the ward-spell returning to it's low-pitched humming. Balthazar gave her a wicked grin.
"Ain't I supposed to be his master?", he asked playfully, earning a scowl from her.
"Then you should teach him next time. I just paid my dues", she said, acting insulted and raising her head to the max, but Balthazar knew her better and puffed her lightly to the side once she'd returned to the bed.
"Oh, I will. As soon as I'm allowed to get up", he said.
"Ehm... okay then I guess...", she broke her act with a sigh, the newest addition to her vocabulary still rolling in her head, then the sorceress continued "Now, let me take a look at your wounds. I'll see if I can heal them."
"It's not so bad, dear.." - she smiled at that. Playing the hero again...
"Says the one driving this strange carriage in his near comatose sleep."
"It's car, dear.."
He felt the defeat and finally submitted to her by getting rid of the trenchcoat – and wasn't exactly sure why he hadn't removed it before going to bed in the first place, must be the distraction -, forced himself out of the pure cotton vest and let both sink onto the matress. It bothered him that even such a minor thing as undressing posed such a problem so he avoided Veronica's eyes for now by laying down on his unharmed side. Her eyes were busy anyway, looking with horror at the blue-turning skin above the third and fourth rib, scanning for other injuries but she luckily found just some more bruises. But maybe she could take care of those too..
"Hold very still, my love", she whispered and laid both hands carefully on the damaged skin, feeling every muscle below them tense, but Balthazar gave no sound. Then she started the healing spell, murmuring an old latin formula, as her ring began to glow in a light green hue, which extended to her hands, wandered on, surrounded the damaged area and slowly but surely reduced the blue color until nothing remained of it. The bones below moved together with a sickening, loud crunching sound which even managed to override the painful gasp of the man below her. When it was done, her ring's glow died down and she sank into the pillows, right next to her beloved one. She knew she would have to repeat the spell a few times, as bones healed far slower than simple flesh wounds, even with magic, but for now it would do.
"Are you better, my love?", she asked, when she felt herself settle down from the exhausting spell, pulling her beloved one into a tight embrace.
"Yes.. Thank you..", he whispered, but she shook her head smiling.
"I'd do everything for you...", she whispered back, knowing and seeing he was out cold again, well, not quite cold maybe, as she noticed the smile on his lips. A genuine one. Smiling happy herself she snuggled up to him, knowing that nothing could part them anymore.
One week later.
Dave came crashing into the lab, gasping for air, as he'd been running all the way here. Damn that Balthazar, he though grimly, Why'd he have to tell him telepathically, in the midst of the chemistry course, just one freaking day before today 'he should appear tomorrow and be on time or he'd learn a thing about being swift like lightning'?
Firstly, why'd his mentor – no, master, he corrected himself - even bother to? Dave would come by anyway... but at least, he could prepare mentally. Obviously (and much to to Dave's relief), the elder sorcerer had recovered from his near-death experience relatively well and even felt alive enough to become himself again. As happy about the one fact David was, as little did he look forward to the training. Today, it would involve force fields, as he had failed badly when confronting Morgana. It held alright, but lost power with each attack. Balthazar had remarked that he'd want to help out with that, so the darkhaired knew exactly what was coming. And, so he concluded, he really didn't look forward to it.
When he entered the turnaround, all he heard was abolute silence. The lights were turned off too. Not a single soul seemed to be down here. Warily – and on guard – the apprentice stepped down the stairs, looking around in the darkness of the underground area. Not even the circle was giving off it's usual emerald glow, signaling that it's creator in fact wasn't anywhere near.. or dead. But since David could put that into the 'impossible things'-category, he concluded the couple had moved out to do some sight-seeing or something. Maybe they went to rent a room for a change.
Yesterday he'd received his books back, as he watched Veronica reversing the bed to it's original materials, thanking Dave for borrowing them for so long. He'd accepted the books with a forced smile, as he'd just purchased a new set and wasn't so sure he'd need two of each book. But he didn't want to look ungrateful so he decided to put those ones on eBay or something. Let's just hope they're all back to normal now..
That didn't change the fact that the old man and his wife weren't here. Neither of them. He found this strange, since it was usually Balthazar who just waited for him to come through the damn door, just itching to help improve his magical reflexes as he called it. Which involved shooting flames or plasma bolts at him when he wasn't looking. Or make his own Tesla Coils act up against the young student. To his credit, Dave had learned to build up a force field only through the permanent caution and would've been pulverized by Morgana if it hadn't been for his master's brute training methods. Looking for the light-switch he nearly fell over his own feet, as he didn't even see his hands if he held them up, avoided tripping over his tesla coils' cables by sheer luck, then finally found the switch..
As the overhead lights went sizzling on, they allowed his eyes to confirm what his mind had concluded already. Nobody home! Creative chaos everyhwere, but no trace of a deadly duel between ancient arch enemies. The ward had been in place too, leaving him in though, as he was tuned in to his master enough to be allowed by the spell. He went back to the stairs, having rounded the area one time without finding anything, and sat down, looking on his digital watch.
He'd been here for five minutes, and it was already later than the appointed time. Nothing wrong if it was anyone else... but not Balthazar, the embodiment of punctuality. He never was late. Strange enough for someone who once had nearly unlimited time on hand. The boy couldn't help but feel sick to the stomach. Something was wrong.. either that or they were having an awesome time together and forgot the time. Maybe reasonable after more than a thousand years of being seperated... His mind drifted off to thoughts of Becky, who he missed dearly right now.
Ten minutes, still no sign of them. Dave decided the old man would need a mobile phone when he finally came back. Especially for such occasions. And let it be that Dave didn't have to worry enough to flare up an old bad habit like biting his nails in nervousness anymore. When he realized that he already did it again, he put both hands on his lap immediately, angry with himself.
Fifteen minutes started to make him anxious. Now he knew that something was wrong. But what could he do? He didn't know where they'd run off to, neither did he know the enemy, his tactics or goals, which was a danger to itself, as he was prone to run into enemy traps the moment they were set. Just his luck!
When half an hour was over and there still was no sign of either of the two sorcerers he raised from the stairs, ready to go into another epic battle to the death, nearly flew up the steps, even reached the top, was just about to rip open the door and storm outside.. when it suddenly opened on it's own accord, revealing the ones he was about to sacrifice his life for. While Veronica looked curious about why he was in such a haste, his master, carrying a small but heavy looking box, gave him one hell of a wicked grin.
The next moment Dave found himself flying through the air, pushed by a sphere made from pure energy. He prepared for crashing into the wall, but before that happened, he was caught just an inch from it and then set down gently on the stairs, Balthazars Ring still glowing on his outstretched hand.
"Where to, Dave? You have training today", the older stated, adding quite much to Dave's confusion. When he got back his composing, he growled back
"Well, I'm not the one half an hour late and making people sick with worry!"
"I already told you; there's no need to be worried, Dave. I'm fine."
"What about your injuries?"
"I told you; It's fine. Come, we got a lot of work to do today", Balthazar ended the discussion and passed the astounded Dave, brushing him. Though the boy felt his mentor's hand pat his shoulder in the process, which took quite some weight of the young sorcerer and quenched the worries for now. Relieved he followed the Merlinean downstairs, finding him in the midst of the Merlin Circle, calling up its flames as usual. They were brighter and more lively than ever. Obviously, the sorcerer was in top shape... or not bad enough to show it. Dave came closer and stepped into the circle, just where he was directed to. The elemental sphere. It started glowing even brighter when the young apprentice entered. Veronica, who was watching them, sat on the steps and kept a sharp eye on her beloved one. The box he'd carried had been placed just a few steps beside her on the ground and started to unfold itself in the meanwhile, starting to take the form of some kind of furniture.
There were days when this Dave clung to her to-be husband just a bit too much for her taste. Granted, he was his student, his apprentice, in a sense his servant, but sometimes you could think this boy had deeper feelings for Balthazar. Feelings, she as his future wife had reserved for herself and him. But she kept those thoughts out of her face for the time being. For now, she watched as her beloved one shot a straight series of bolts at the boy who desperately tried to keep up this pitiful excuse for a shield. She could've broken it in seconds and grilled the boy in the process. Balthazar didn't even seem to be concentrating. He glanced over to her every once in a while.. with a knowing look on his face. Could he really tell what she was thinking about?
Back in their days with Merlin, he'd joked about it, claiming he could read minds and then failing completely at guessing that evening's dinner, losing the bet he'd made with Hovarth, robbing his dessert for the following two weeks. She chuckled as the memory played in her head, before the sorceress got serious again. But between them had always been a strong bond. Could he...?
Her thoughts were interrupted by this Dave's scream, as he was thrown off into the air once again to be caught by his master. Veronica heard him speak in a harsh, scolding tone which made Dave cringe and herself smile a little.
"Where's your head, Dave? You'll have to do better than that if you want to use the shield in battle", Balthazar spoke and stepped closer to his apprentice while setting him on the floor to stand on his own legs.
"What's the use anyway?", the frustrated youth exclaimed and lowered the gaze.
"The use? We won't be there forever to protect you. Some day you'll have to be able to defend yourself. And without a working shield, this won't work. Got it?"
"Yeah, sure, why not.. but.."
"But?"
"You know.. we've been training for hours now.."
"Minutes, Dave. Merely a few of them."
"Okay, whatever! I'm meeting Becky later so I'd like to go home to get cleaned and.."
"So that's where you left it...", his master interrupted with a knowing smile which gave Dave goosebumbs. "You will stay right here, until your shield lasts at least one hour. Concentrate. When we're done you may go and visit Becky."
"Aw man..!"
"Any complains? No? Then let's go on.."
Back to the routine, Veronica smiled. No mercy, not even on his apprentice. Though, Merlin had been not much of a gentle master either, in contrary to the popular sayings. He'd been wise, kind, gentle too, in general, but when it came to training and lessons, he'd made his apprentices learn their lessons the hard way. It was the best one to raise a student. And entertaining, to both, the master and possible spectators. In Balthazars case, mostly him. Lost in her thoughts she watched as the merciless training went on.
When they finished, the boy looked pretty much trashed. His t-shirt had some serious cuts and holes, the jeans' legs were in shreds, and if you looked closely enough, you'd find bruises on the youth's body. But he'd managed to master the shield by now. For a little longer than an hour he'd managed to keep it up, even under the constant attacks of his master, who looked equally tired, but it showed less. Not at all, if you asked David though.
"You're making progress", Balthazar's voice broke the silence, making Dave's exhausted head snap up. "Progress? Really?", he asked, having expected another series of attacks instead of something like a compliment, even if it was a shallow one. The older sorcerer nodded in approval and added "If you want, you can go now."
"ALRIGHT!", the youth called with a triumphant grin, making his master raise one eye-brow in sceptism, as he watched him storm outside, leaving them alone again and nearly running over Veronica in the process, while she avoided the young appentice with grace. Her husband left the circle and sat down beside her, suddenly looking a lot older than he biologically was. Which was a lot.
"You look tired, my love...", the blackhaired sorceress said, not sure if he even took notice of it, but after a few seconds of catching his breath, he looked up to her, which encouraged her to continue.
"Why do you keep on training him? Morgana La Fey is dead, my love."
"Even if she is, he's still my apprentice. We made an oath, Veronica. And I'm not about to break it. When the day comes and he doesn't need me anymore, then it'll be so. Until this day I'll teach him what I can."
"But to this extend? Even if your wounds are healed, you're still recovering, my dear. Please don't overdo it.."
She noticed the thoughtful look in his eyes. His silence was answer enough, but he gave another, after a few more moments. "... what was it about earlier? I felt hatred... coming from you ...", he asked, less of an answer and more of a statement than a question. "Who was it directed at?"
Veronica's brown eyes were cast down, avoiding his storm blue ones. Instead of answering directly, she avoided. "He's wearing you down... eventuelly he'll be getting between us... Maybe he has already?", she finally said, feeling ashamed of herself for such thoughts. She knew how much her husband liked this boy. But until she was sure of her feelings, she wasn't about to admit them. Not yet.
"Do you really think that?", he asked in a calm voice that shook her inside.
"Am I wrong?"
"Yes, beloved, you are. Don't you trust me?"
"Of course I trust you... Just.. don't forget me.. over him."
"Forget you? Veronica, where's this coming from?"
She looked up at him again, but Balthazar remained thoughtful, somewhat disappointing to her.
".. say, would you abandon him..? For me?"
At that he flinched, which not went unnoticed by her. His silence made her angry. She wanted to hear him tell her that he loved her deeply and, if possible, that he'd drop the whole thing for her. He didn't say that though. "Would you?", she repeated, still waiting for an answer. When she got none, she sighed. No answer was the best answer after all... "I see... nevermind then..."
With that, she stood and walked over to the bed, which had replaced the box by now, slipped under the satin cover und didn't say another word. Balthazar watched this, felt confused and followed her after a while, slipping under the sheet, but when he tried to embrace her, she just shrugged him off. The revenge of a woman, the master sorcerer grimly thought and kept a sigh inside, turned his back to her, submitting himself to sleep once more, feeling like the old man he was for once.
"Get away from me!", Veronica screamed all of a sudden, sitting straight up in bed, sweat-bathed and pale as if she'd seen a ghost, Balthazar next to her, shocked about her sudden outbreak and trying to calm her by holding her freezing cold hand. It couldn't have been much past midnight by now.
"It's alright, my love, you're save", he said in a soothing tone, but it didn't seem to work. If anything, she started crying so hard now so he had to pull her close to him, just so she wouldn't start to hyperventilate. And she was close to it, judged by the frantic sobs and her tears dampening his shirt. "Shh, a deep breath, dear! Yes, that's right..", he cooed, when she finally calmed down, snuggling close into his arms, listening to the semi-steady beat of his heart. That dream had scared her, and it still did. She'd seen the man dead, again. And Morgana had been laughing. And worse.. she'd been telling her something and Veronica couldn't remember...
"I'm sorry, my dear.. did I wake you?", she whispered, still sobbing a bit and pressing back the dark thoughts plagueing her mind.
"A bad dream?", her beloved one asked, stroking her head with one hand and her back with the other, she nodded silently. "Morgana?", another guess, another nod. Fathomable, the last millenium left a trauma in her. He knew nobody who would withstand one thousand years locked up into a puppet with someone as evil as Morgana La Fey. Not even without her to be true. By now, Balthazar would've guessed his love more insane than himself and was more than surprised she'd gotten out unscathed. But thinking back, she might've not. She'd never been the type to get jealous easily to begin with. Their talk earlier had opened his eyes. He would have to be especially careful if he was to prevent a disaster between the two people he held dear.
He'd take care of it later. For now, the elder was glad his partner had settled down and seemed to fall asleep again, even if sniffing every now and then. When she was out, he gently laid her back into the pillows and pulled the sheet over her in a loving gesture. No way he could sleep now. When he'd made sure of her sleeping tightly he glided from unter the sheet, threw over his trenchcoat, put on his hat, slipped into his old man-shoes – as Dave had claimed sourly once – before he silently tip-toed up the stairs and vanished into the night. He'd need this night walk.
In the morning Veronica woke up, well rested, as no more nightmares had disturbed her sleep. She stretched long and then looked forward to give her beloved one a good-morning kiss.. but when the sorceress touched the air beside her, her hand didn't find anything. Irritated she opened her eyes, even sat up, but still, the empty space remained. No Balthazar, it wasn't even warm anymore. He must have left for long.., she thought, feeling sad all of a sudden, and peeled out of the sheet, got up and started to walk around like a caged tiger. Just where could he have gone and why wasn't he back by now?
She barely noticed the arriving apprentice and started sharply, when that one touched her shoulder. "Good morning", he said simultanous to her shocked squiek and just narrowly avoided a wave of ice crystals, aimed at the possible ambassor, hitting the next wall which froze over instantly.
"Hey, it's me!", Dave protested the second he caught his breath and she finally realized that he wasn't about to kill her.
"D-don't do that ever again!", she barked, making the youth flinch. "Have you seen Balthazar?!"
"Wait.. what do you mean, have you seen him, I thought he was with you!"
"He was, but he's gone, where is he?!"
"Calm down, he can look after himself!"
"What do you know! He sick! The cold could kill him!"
"Sick? He seemed alright yesterday.."
"Are you blind?", she barked, irritated at the youth's seeming ignorance, then turned her back to the consternated Dave to start pacing once again.
"This is all your fault...", she sniffed, further adding to his confusion. "If you just were gone.."
"What did I do to you?", Dave shouted at her, more out of panic than real anger, stepping back.
"If you're so concerned about him, why're you still here instead of looking for Balthazar!?"
No answer, just her silent sobs.
"Fine. Stay here and cry your eyes out. I'm gonna search for him."
With that, he was ran up the stairs and with the metallic clank of the exit door he was gone.
As Dave hurried through New York's streets, he scanned every corner. He passed the battery park, even checked the fountain, and finally visited the now abandoned pent-house of the late show-magician Drake Stone. Checking on the crysler-building, he found the steel eagle where it belonged. Still no trace of his master. Had he been kidnapped? Or was he really that sick like Veronica had suggested? Maybe he'd gone to a doctor after all? He shook his head, looking down from the balcony of the pent-house and taking a deep breath, clearing both head and mind and started thinking.
"Where are you, buddy?", he whispered and suddenly an image reflected in front of his mind's eye.
A huge mobile phone store, with a door sign that kept showing 'closed', whichever way it was turned by it's frantic owners. Beside the store's steps, he saw Balthazar, sitting on a low wall, calmly slurfing instant noodles from a cup he'd probably gotten from the nearby chinese restaurant. The master looked up, as if he'd heard something. When he shot a look straight at his apprentice's mind's eye's direction, the vision ended abruptly, bringing the shocked Dave back to reality. That had been quite an unexpected experience.. But he got all the information he needed. In New York were a lot of mobile phone stores these days, but only one was in that particular street in a building that was so stand-offish from the others that he couldn't have missed it if he tried. Ten years ago, it had been the antique store of the same man he was looking for. Dave frowned as it dawned on him what Balthazar was doing there. Shaking his head the youth tried to think. The store was at the other end of the city, impossible to reach before sunset. His eyes met the steel gargoyle. He sighed. "Again with the planes..."
The eagle landed in front of the mobile phone store, but to Dave's horror there was no sign of the older sorcerer. All he found was the empty noodle cup, sitting lonely on the socket, and a 'closed' sign in the mobile phone store's door, the owners seemingly discussing something in the back. Dave couldn't hear them but he could tell what they were talking about by the hasty gestures at the door and he felt sorry for any trainee of them. He or she would lose their job. Some passengers looked strangely at the weird boy staring at the store, but didn't seem to have noticed the unnatural creature beside him, which sat there without a motion, waiting for further commands, resembling a statue. When it felt a known pat to it's wings though, it gave it a screech and flew up, leaving back a consternated and shocked apprentice, who called and cursed after the bird, attracting further strange looks of the people around him, as they hurried on, scared of the obviously insane boy. It was as if they hadn't even seen that massive collection of steel just fly away.. or chose not to do so.
Dave cursed a few more times, but got silent when the bird was out of sight. Lowering his fist he sighed for the maybe 200th time this week, just now feeling the glance staring down his neck. When he finally turned around, he jumped from the fact to see someone standing there, looking at him with sceptism.
"What are you doing here, Dave? I thought you had to study for your exams?", asked a familiar voice, belonging to nobody else than his master, who seemed to have come out of nowhere and nearly had given Dave a heart-attack.
"What am I..? What about you, man? Veronica is completely hysterical and you.. you just sit here and eat noodles like nothing was wrong!", Dave barked, out of his stupor and ready to jump at his counterpart, who just stayed cool as a cucumber. Further he added, pointing at the shop's sign – still saying 'closed' – "And what is this?"
"I am reclaiming my store, what do you think?"
"Reclaiming is what you do at the city hall, not in front of the store!"
"They refused to sell."
"So you cursed their sign to flip over on it's own?"
"There are no curses in this world, Dave. You would know that, if you'd read your Encantus just a little more frequently. I just changed the content by moving the ink's molecules a bit.", he replied, using the 'a little bit' gesture, usually used to describe his mental state, while the sign changed to "See?", before returning to its previous content. Dave stared at the sign for a second, mouth hanging slightly open as his mind processed what the eyes saw, then turned his attention back to the culprit.
"That's the same, damnit!"
"It's just a pun."
"Since when-..."
"While we're at it.. when did I allow you to spy on me, Dave?"
"Spy? How-..."
"I'd prefer if you didn't use that on me."
"It was an emergency, for god's sake!"
"Privacy, Dave, is something that should not be disturbed, not even if a person is on their death-bed."
"That's exactly what I was afraid of..."
"Do I look dying to you?"
"No. Nevermind."
"Good."
With that, the older one walked on, leaving an, again, consternated apprentice behind and just waiting for a moment, so that one could catch up. "Are you coming? I need to figure out this thing."
It was now that Dave noticed the little box in his master's hands, which looked suspiciously like a mobile phone's ...
The sun was setting when they finally got back to the turnaround. Dave had used the time – and it had been quite a while to walk this distance instead of flying – to introduce Balthazar to his newly acquired piece of technology, which turned out to be a Nokia 3210, and he'd been quite unsuccessful at finding out why the Merlinean hadn't bought one earlier (he didn't even ask why it had to be a phone that was outdated ten years ago).
No matter how he asked, Balthazar gave him either no or no helpful answer so the darkblond let the topic drop. Out of worthwhile topics, Dave had been silent on the rest of the way, very much to his masters liking, who actually was too busy with himself to answer some irrelevant questions.
When they came home they were expected already. Veronica stood outside waiting, not crying anymore, but obvious traces on her cheeks proved she hadn't really calmed down after Dave had left her, which in turn made him feel bad for doing so in the first place.
"What have you guys been up to?", she greeted them from afar, making Dave wince and want to hide, even though she had said it in a fake cheery manner. Balthazar didn't seem influenced by it, he just smiled back.
"Shopping", he called in a likewise cheer which gave off some dreaded vibes.
"Ahh, I see, good for you!", Veronica replied, the inevitable crash imminent, as they'd gotten closer to each other all the time. But it never happened. They both stopped one large step from each other, the air thick enough to cut into slabs and put it on a bread. Dave decided he'd be better off leaving, but when he made a move to turn and sneak off, he heard his master calling
"Where off to, Dave?"
"H-home?", the younger one meekily offered, but knew that he was found.
"Ah. Go then.", came the unexpected reply, which made the youth wonder at first, then run, before the elder Merlinean could change his mind. It slightly bothered Dave, that he'd been out all day long searching and wasting valuable study time just to be shoo-ed off like this, but he'd rather lose some time than to disturb the imminent discussion. Veronica looked after him, then she turned to Balthazar.
"You don't have to do that."
"Do what, my dear?"
"You sent him home to prove something, didn't you?"
"I don't know what you mean. We're both tired and he can't sleep with us."
"Are you sure that's the only reason?"
Balthazar looked at her, head slightly tilted to the side, before a smile plastered his face which puzzled Veronica visibly.
"What?", she demanded.
"Nothing.", he replied, laying one hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off, the look in her eyes fierce. She didn't want to know, she demanded an answer. He indeed had sent Dave home early, but not to prove anything.. he just had offered it as a token of peace since the fair lady seemed somehow upset with him. Balthazar looked for words, but what he truly lacked was time, as Veronica lost her patience, turned on the heels and left him standing, the door to the subway slamming shut behind her. Particular sounds came from the door, then hasty and echoing steps, before silence claimed the evening air once again. He stepped closer to the entry door, only to find it had been locked. Even the ward had been changed, an impressive feat for the fact that Veronica was his match in powers.
"Veronica?", Balthazar called, but went unheard The master knocked a few times, calling her name a second time, until some far away neighboor shouted something like "Shut the f*** up down there!" and "Any more and I'll call the police!", forcing the elder to submit. She didn't want him there tonight, more than obvious. He tried it one last time, mental level this time. /Veronica? I will take a walk. Please unlock the door before I come back..\\, he willed his thoughts to reach her but couldn't tell if she'd listened at all, as there wasn't a reply. So the defeated master sorcerer strode off again into the young night.
Dave had had one hell of a night.
Not only that his school life suffered from his dual-studies, no, he didn't even sleep tonight to begin with. First of all, Bennett had decided to invite his girlfriend so they'd played lovers all night long. Tank's idea of a peaceful night included abdominal bloatings, even worse ones than usual. That further damaged his sleep-rhytmn though, as his lungs demanded for fresh air every few minutes, denying to work with the methan infiltrated gas, so Dave had to open the window, which lowered the room temperature by like twenty degrees. Even rolling into the bed sheets didn't fully fend off the incoming cold, so he was kept awake pretty much the whole night.
Then there were the thoughts. That kind of thoughts which can keep you awake if you decide to follow them. They wandered around aimlessly, but their core were always the same. Veronica and Balthazar. He had wanted his master to become happy after that night in Battery Park. Not to acquire a woman who, for some reason, hated him of all. Dave couldn't find a reason for it, not at all. But her venomous glares she shot at him all the time... Then their fight just yesterday. She had been upset alright, but anger had the tendency to show people's true thoughts. So she really didn't want him there? It was his lab to begin with though. He'd need it to graduate. They couldn't keep him from it! At least the youth hoped so, as he rolled to his side with a low yawn. Why couldn't his life be like anyone else's? Good thing today was Sunday, so he at least he could stay in bed a bit longer. Maybe he'd find some sleep...
It was around 7 am when he heard a trashcan crash somewhere outside on the streets. Dave, who'd been fast asleep for not even half an hour sat straight as a pole in bed, awake in seconds and cursing the cat which must've knocked the thing over. Tank looked up at him, licking his broad mouth and yawning a high-pitched sound before returning to sleep. Lucky one. Dave murmured something while he left the bed, grabbed a few casual clothes and got himself a nice hot shower, took a snack for breakfast – not without noticing Bennett, who sat alone on the table and greeted him with a cheery smile – and his jacked before he vanished through the door without a word, leaving an unknowing roommate behind.
Outside the appartment Dave took a deep breath first. There was a cool breeze, making him shiver slightly, as expected on a day in mid-September. The sun, barely risen over the horizon, did her best to warm up the world but failed miserably. Dave could even see his own breath as it took the form of a little cloud and dissolved into cold air. He rubbed his hands, forcing some circulation in them, when he, out of the border of his sight, noticed something black on the bench on the other side of the street. No doubt a person, pretty much looking like a homeless man with newspapers as blanket, the hat covering his face for privacy while sleeping on the bench, the bejeweled hands locked in each other for warmth, bedded on the cloak of his raw hide trenchcoat...
Wait, what?
The student snapped out of his stupor and crossed the street, even without looking beforehand. Not much traffic anyway and he wanted to know. Now. He stood before the person and nearly felt at loss for words. Save one. "Balthazar!", he half barked, whereupon the man stirred, rolled to face Dave and nearly crashed off the bench, being able to catch himself though by sheer reflex, only to sit up grumbling and look up to the one who'd waken him.
"Dave?", he yawned, being indeed the elder sorcerer. "What're you doing here so early?"
"That's what I want to know", the younger replied, mustering his friend who stretched now with crackling joints and didn't seem to fully have taken in the situation. The reply wasn't quite what he'd expected. Then he looked around and it finally clicked.
"What am I doing here..?", Balthazar half asked the air around him, half it went to Dave who just shrugged, confusion written all over his face. Slowly the master's memory caught up, replaying the events of yesterdays night. His hand wandered to his nose's bridge, pressing on it slightly as if to ward off some serious headache. "Nevermind...", he said without waiting for Dave's answer and moved to get up but lost balance on half the way, just to find himself caught by his counterpart.
"You okay?", Dave asked like an overly worried mother and helped the older man stand, even if somewhat shaky, getting a confirming nod.
"Nothing to worry about. Warming-spells tend to take a lot energy. Just a little shaky. I need to go, Veronica will be waiting already.."
"Wait, what happened?"
"Nothing."
"You sleep out here in the cold for nothing?"
"Yes."
"You could catch the flu!"
"Warming-Spell, Dave. I'm perfectly fine."
The youth resisted the urge to hit the elder for his monotone answers. He felt seriously worried about his friends welfare and that one just pretended for it to be normal to sleep on a bench in the probably coldest night of the year! The apprentice forced himself to calm down, but noticed his master had walked on already, leaving him to his own thoughts. Dave decided he'd follow him anyway, even if at a distance.
A little while later Dave found him in front of the subway turnaround's door. Waiting for something, staring at the door, too concentrated on something invisible to take notice of him. The youth stepped closer carefully, not wanting to disturb his friend whatever he was doing. When that one started speaking, Dave flinched and could hold back a shriek – it would be too embarrassing to do that again.
"It's locked.", Balthazar stated the obvious and Dave looked at the door, shrugging.
"Of course it is, you did it-"
"It's not my magic."
"Then maybe Veron-..."
"No. And before you ask, Hovarth wasn't here either."
"Then who-..."
"Can't you sense it?", the older asked in a serious tone, still mustering the door, before a realization hit him and he threw Dave a smirk, telling the apprentice the next training lesson's topic and making him shiver with all kinds of possible images in his head.
"We got to work on that", he said on top of it.
"I get it, okay? So who's about to assault us this time?"
"... you really don't feel it?"
"No!"
"You've fought this aura just about a week ago...", Balthazar stated furthermore and watched the color leave Dave's face in an alarming pace.
"This can't be...!", he replied, stepping back a little. "Morgana is dead!"
"Dead doesn't always mean gone.."
"But... she perished!"
"Maybe I'm wrong – unlikely but possible -, let's check it out.. Veronica is still in there..."
"Nutcase..", was the only reply to that, mumbled by Dave.
"Come again?"
"Nevermind!"
"Good. We need to break this ward first. Stretch out your arm, yes, that's it", Balthazar praised as his student did so, looking at his master expectantly.
"You're looking in the wrong direction, Dave. The ward is over here... remember what I told you about making fire?"
"Seeing the molecules?", Dave recited and Balthazar nodded.
"Exactly. Burn the ward."
"That's ridicolous, even you couldn't do it.. how am I supposed to..."
There was a calm patience in his voice, as the master replied. "Just do what I say, Dave. Trust me."
Dave tried. And tried hard. Something resisted against his efforts, he even seemed to hear Morgana laugh and saw her taunting face in front of his mental eye. The ward didn't even buldge and somehow it felt like it wasn't only Morgana's power working here. "She's pulling from Veronica's magic", Balthazar spoke, invading Dave's thoughts and making him nearly lose his focus. But this made sense; Is this what he was supposed to feel? Another feeling mixed into it and as Dave looked just a little to the side he saw that his master had stretched out his arm too, again focusing on the door as before.
"Don't look at me", he said with an evened voice. "Focus!"
The younger sorcerer did. And the second they both did simultanously, the ward finally broke under their combined powers. The door didn't snap open, it burst into little metallic particles with a loud crash, making Dave flinch once again, wasting a short thought for the bill he'd get for replacing this one. But there was no time for that. He ran after his master who didn't take the time to hesistate, the space between them growing in seconds until he was out of sight, while Dave was just beginning to descend the stairs.
The apprentice found his master at the bottom of the stairs, standing staring at something. He came to stand beside him, followed his look and found the Merlin Circle half eraded, the stone below dug out in a huge pit, lit by only the weak flames the leftover circle part gave off to greet it's creator. The overhead lights had been destroyed, sparks jumping from it from time to time, but it gave the underground area a pretty bad lighting altogether. It was too dark to see any further than a few meters and summoning a flame might've given off their location to the potential enemy.
Tension had filled the air the moment they'd entered. Just when Dave thought he'd lose his mind, he heard, or better felt, his companion speak lowly /Calm down.\\, mostly to his mind, which snapped him out of it and made him face the elder incertainly for a moment before looking around once again. That's when he saw it. Wasn't there something in the shadows? He concentrated again, thinking /Balthazar, over there..\\, getting a /Yes, I've seen it. Be careful\\ as reply, whereupon both started to sneak towards the alien object.
As it turned out it was a broom which's shade deceptively looked like a person's. Though it had been enchanted, confusing both their senses, but when Balthazar figured that out it was too late. He felt the spell before he saw the plasma bolt fly towards Dave and shoved him aside just in time, throwing the surprised youth to the ground and dooming the broom. The energy ball hit the straw and enflamed it easily, finally easing the darkness and giving off enough light to reveal another figure, the face still in shadows though, standing at the stairs now and forming another deadly bolt. But this time, both were prepared and avoided with a jump as the ball flew towards them. A shrill laughter filled the room, echoing from the stone walls.
"Is that all you fools can do? Run away?", the distorted voice asked rethorically, the spell hitting the bed, turning it into a giant torch, further illuminating the room and revealing the final features of the enemy, which made Balthazar gasp in shock, as it was Veronica standing there, loading another plasma bolt, bigger this time, but waiting for something. She was playing with them, kinda like a cat playing with its prey before eating.
"Dave.. It's not Veronica... She's posessed!", Balthazar whispered to Dave who stared at him disbelieving. Was he real? Sharply Dave turned back to the woman when she began to chant. This unholy glance in her eyes, it couldn't be her, even if she was angry at them for some reason, this was too much. And if Morgana really was inside her, there was only one way to prevent a disaster..
The next attack unfolded a blazing inferno, setting aflame everything in the room within seconds. Dave lost eye-contact to his master and called for him, but he was alright. The flames turned to ice in seconds, frozen in place and then shattered, but before the shards hit the floor, they were being sent to the attacking sorceress. The master's spell hit home and the woman was pierced by countless little particles and sweeped off her feet by the power of the attack. Darkness reclaimed the room once again, making it hard to decide wether she was alive or not. Balthazar took the chance and levitated the Grimhold from it's hideout in the shadows to himself, running over to the fallen woman. He didn't want to have to do this.. he really didn't. He'd fought for over thousand years to get her out...
When he finally knelt by her side his confidence had lessened far enough for him to hesitate. His brain sent the signals for the muscles, but he couldn't move. Clenching his teeth he tried to force his arms to move and open the Grimhold, but this persistent little voice in the back of his head blocked his plans with ease. Struggling with himself he overheard the warning of his apprentice. When he snapped out of it, it was too late to react.
The possessed wasn't dead, not at all, just angry. And the master felt her wrath, as her pressure wave threw him against the next tesla coil, knocking the breath out of his lungs. It came worse yet. As he fell to the ground he wasn't fully conscious and unable to prevent the coil from tilting. Dave tried to catch the copper spool by levitation, leaving Morgana out of sight for a second, which gave the witch the opening she'd looked for, so she sent a plasma bolt right into the youth's side, knocking him to the wall. When gravity reclaimed him, he fell to the ground and stayed down, trying to regain focus. Then there was a sound; the creak of the falling tesla coil. Just a few heartbeats later a loud crash, accompanied by a sickening crack and a short but sharp outcry followed, then eerie silence. Dave, hearing his own pulse and feeling sick from panic, desperately tried to get his master to react by thought transmission, but he didn't even feel him over there, much less did he get a reply.
"Balthazar?!", he called out loud this time, still no answer. The youth felt weak and lightheaded as he struggeled to his legs and staggered over to where he suspected his friend, but was thrown to the ground by another plasma bolt, this time too tired and hurt to rise again. By the smell of old leather and a hint of sulfur he could tell he'd fallen close to his unresponsive master and crawled over, until his hands felt the raw hide under them. It was where he passed out.