Episode 1
A SHADOW IN HIS SOUL
Written by
ADAM PARKIN
They stare into the glowing red eyes of the shadow king Corakinus. Only, it isn't him. "Why is everyone looking at me like that?" comes the voice of the deceased April through the black lips of Corakinus. Ran Singh slowly lowers Miss quill's gun he is holding in his hand and looks in confusion at April's lifeless body and Corakinus's sitting next to it. When he becomes too impatient to process what's happened, he turns to face the expert Charlie who is more dumbfounded than he is. "Charlie, how could this have happened?" Ram asks, his voice all choked up and croaky. "Well?" he demmands as Charlie stutters, struggling to respond, you were the one who used the cabinet, you were the one who killed April." "I don't know," Charlie finally says. Miss Quill tilts her head at Charlie, that normal sarcastic look on her scarred face. "Obviously something to do with the cabinet," she taunts, "you must know." "But if April was sharing a heart with Corakinus because of your gun, then I don't understand it myself." "Well I don't understand the cabinet, so it looks like we're even, prince." As the head of Corakinus turns to look at the corpse of April, Ram uncontrollably flinches and raises the gun again, struggling to process the situation. The glowing red irises of Corakinus widen as they look upon the pale face of April. "Charlie," comes the voice of April through the lips of Corakinus again, once again making Ram flinch, "is that my corpse laying there?" as Corakinus points at April's corpse with her black finger and her rock armour plated arm, Ram crawls towards the body, grabs it and drags it away from Corakinus, pointing the gun at Corakinus. "What are you doing, Ram?" comes the voice again, finally breaking Ram to pieces. "Shut up!" he yells, "don't use that voice, whatever you are!" "It's me," comes the voice of April again, "it's me. April. Why can't you see that?" Miss quill eyes the shadow king and raises her eyebrows. "I see the king of the race who murdered both mine and Charles's race," she thoughtlessly says. Corakinus looks down at his body and gasps in shock and discuss. "How did this happen?" "SHUT UP!" Ram yells as loud as he can. To this, Corakinus looks up at Ram, a look on his face that looks ready to cry. "Don't say anything, I don't want to hear that voice!" Ram turns and points the gun at Charlie, then Miss quill then back at Charlie repeatedly. "As for you two," he says, "you owe us an explaination, what the hell is going on?!" "Careful with that thing," Miss Quill says, before pointing bith of her index fingers at her bump. "Pregnant, remember?" Matteusz slowly crawls towards Ram. "Ram, put the gun down," he softly says, not even thinking about the genocidal act he feared that his boyfriend would commit, only thinking of his safety. "Charlie, you first," Ram demands, pointing the gun back at Charlie. "I said I don't know," he cries. Ram then points the gun back at Miss Quill to tell her that it's her turn to talk. "If he doesn't know, then I don't know either, I just said." Charlie turns to look at the cabinet sitting on the stage, still open, revealing the dark empty landscape within it. He remembers something; not long after using the cabinet of souls on the shadow kin, he was about to let the last soul distinguish the shadow in his heart, therefore killing him, but Quill saved him, pushed him out of the way and the soul launched itself at April. "The soul," he says. "You said you thought the souls would be reborn," Tanya says. "Are you suggesting that the soul might have brought April back to life?" "And the connection " Miss Quill adds. "Be quiet, all of you!" Charlie exclaims, putting almost everyone in the room in shock, "I need to process this. Quill, we must speak of this among ourselves." As Charlie and Miss Quill work this situation out among themselves, ram looks back at Corakinus and lowers the gun. He can't think of anything to say. He just stares. Finally, a teardrop falls from the glowing red eyes. Ram notices this. Could that be April, or is it just crocodile tears? Deciding not to let this effect him, Ram looks away, closes his eyes and clings onto the corpse of his beloved. Tanya glances at Corakinus, then turns to Ram. She opens her mouth to say something to Ram, but she stops herself, not wanting to agrovate him any further. But Ram noticed it at the corner of his eye. "What?" he asks Tanya. "Nothing," Tanya quickly responds. "What were you going to say?" Ram asks, pitting a gap between each word to make it clear to Tanya that he wants an answer, "just tell me." Realising that Ram is begging for a response, she tells him, not wanting him to pull a gun on her for an answer. "What if that IS April over there?" she asks, "what if Corakinus isn't there anymore?" Ram glances at the image Corakinus that might be April's new body, but then looks away, shaking his head in denial. "What I am looking at whenever I turn my head is the mass murdering alien who killed Rachel, shared a heart with April. Actually, I don't know whether to see that in charlie, or that. Consider that." Charlie and Miss Quill finish talking. Instantly, Ram raises his gun at them, that theatening look back on his face. What have you figured out?" "The soul restored April to life in Corakinus's body," Charlie begins, only to be interrupted by Ram. "We get that already," he says through his teeth, "how did it happen?" "Well the stories have it that the souls can be reborn within the body of the soul it kills. If those stories are true, then the soul tried to take April's body, but her connection to Corakinus only allowed April's soul to be restored to life." "Why is she in the wrong body?" Ram asks. "Dispite being dead, April is still linked to Corakinus. The soul must've restored life to April's soul, kept it in her heart and kicked her heart out of her own body." "And now, the Rhodian soul is laying dead in April's empty body," Miss quill adds. "But why not Corakinus?" Ram asks. "Because the soul chose April," Charlie says. "April is alive, Corakinus is dead." "Wait," Matteusz interupts as a thought suddenly strikes him, "if your stories are true as you have said, then what about all those shadow kin all those souls killed?" Suddenly, a bright light flashes. The whole group look towards the stage where a tear has ripped in the air, a bright light at the other side. "It's another tear," Tanya exclaims, standing up. "Oh crap," Miss Quill moans, "here we go again." Corakinus Charlie and Miss Quill stand up to stare at the rip. Charlie notices at dark figures head for the tear from the other side. Charlie's face lights up with fear when the intruders step tneough the tear from their world, to here. "Oh no," he cries. "It's the shadow kin," the voice of April exclaims through Corakinus's lips. "They're alive!" Miss Quill grabs charlie and pushes him towards the hall doors. "Don't just stand there, run!" Miss Quill turns and follows Charlie out of the hall. "Ram, carry April's body, we can't lose it if we're going to fix this." With that, Ram picks up April's lightened body and follows Quill and Charlie, closely followed by Tanya and Matteusz. After the group exit the great hall, they rush towards the frint enterence, leading out to the street. "Why is it dark outside?" Ram asks, noticing the unusually dark sky, "it's only like four in the afternoon, is it the shadow kin?" "The shadow kin don't fill the skies with shadow. Secondly, it's early december, so wipe that off your alien list." Quill tries the door, only to find that it has been locked. Miss Quill groans with annoyance. "Aside that, it's four in the afternoon, it's the Christmas holidays and Coal Hill is shut." Miss Quill looks around, then spots the staircase by the memorial board. "Follow me up the corridor before the shadow kin come out of the hall," she demmands, leading the group back to the corridor. "Why couldn't you just smash the windows with your fists or your feet?" Ram asks. "Don't you think this baby has taken enough combat for one day?" Miss Quill groans. Tanya glances back at the door of the main hall, still running as fast as she can up the corridor among the others. "How can they be alive?" Tanya asks, unable to process this. "The same way April's alive, idiot," Miss Quill pants, umable to keep up with the herd, "would you all slow down?!" She clutches her bump to keep it still. Ram realises something. "April, if that really IS you in there, could you at least convince them that you're the shadow king and tell them to go back?" "I can't," comes the voice of April. Miss Quill groans in annoyance. "What do you mean you can't?" she grumbles, "you're in the king's body for god's sake." "The shadow kin are mentally linked," April's voice says, "but these shadow kin, I can't sense them." "Does that mean that they are a different sort of shadow kin?" Matteusz asks. Miss Quill is starting to get the picture. "They can't be, there is no such thing as a different sort of shadow kin," Charlie objects. Miss Quill growls. "You're not getting the picture," but them, Miss Quill stops running and holds onto the lockers for support as she pants in both exhaustion and agony. Charlie notices this. As he rushes up to Quill to help her, the whole group turn to look. "Quill, what's the matter?" Charlie asks. Suddenly, Quill's trousers become wet. It is clear to everyone that her water has broke. "Oh man, that's just gross," Ram groans. "Does that mean - " Matteusz stammers due to the stress. "Do I have to spell it out to you?" Miss Quill growns, her voice louder due to the pain, "yes, it means I'm ready to give birth." "What are we going to do?" Matteusz asks, "we can't get out so we can't get Miss quill to a hospital." "We have to get her to the medical room," April's voice says. Charlie gasps as the doors to the great hall burst open and the shadow kin emerge, spotting the group instantly. "Matteusz, grab Quill's legs," Charlie says, grabbing Quill from under the arms. Matteusz grabs her by her wet legs and supports them on his shoulders. As the group begin running again, the shadow kin start yelling things like "prince charlie," "he has betrayed the blood of his species," and, "the prince must die." "Why are they saying this?" "Charles used the cabinet on them, is it really any wonder that they're pissed off at him?" Miss Quill pants. "They shouldn't even be alive!" Charlie says. "Well duh," Miss Quill says, but then, it strikes Charlie. "Wait," he says. The group stop running to look at him. "April, the cabinet." "Finally, he understands," Miss Quill exclaims. "They're not shadow kin inside." He turns to look at the approching shadow kin. "They're Rhodians. They're my people, their souls trapped in the bodies of the shadow kin." "And they're going to kill us if we don't get out if here," Tanya exclaims. Corakinus looks at the gun still in Ram's hand. "Give me the gun," April's voice says. "Please, just stop speaking," Ram cries, struggling to ignore April's voice, still claiming in his head that it isn't April. it can't be. "Ram," April's voice snaps, the sternness xatxhing Ram's attention, "give me the gun." Ram thinks about this. He looks at April's corpse in his arms, then at Corakinus, a glare of suspicion on his face. "Why should I?" he asks, "how do I know that that's April in there and not Corakinus? How do I know you're not going to kill us after I give you the gun?" "Because I'm not Corakinus," April's voice proclaims, "if I was, I'd have killed you all the moment I woke up." Miss Quill screams as she takes a breath. "There's no alternative," she screaches, "you've got to trust her, Ram." Ram glares at Miss Quill. "How can you say that when Corakinus killed your race?" "Because I know Corakinus, idiot, and that is not Corakinus. Look into it's eyes. Look into it's soul." Ram looks into the glowing red irisis. "What do you see? The mass murdering alien who killed mine and Charles's race and you're girlfriend, or do you see April Maclaine?" Ram looks deeper than he's ever looked into anyone's eyes before and there IS something. Not quite trusting the creature, but giving this a chance, Ram gives the gun to Corakinus. "Take it," he just says. Corakinus takes the gun from Ram's hand. "I'll buy you some time so you can find somewhere to hide," April's voice says. Miss Quill interupts her with a loud sigh of pain and annoyance. "Get on with it!" she yells. With that, the rest of the group continue up the corridor as Corakinus stays behind. She aims the gun at the advancing shadow kin, then rabidly shoots at them, sucessfully knocking a few out. Further up the corridor, Matteusz glances back at where the group came from. "How long do you think she can hold them off for?" he asks. "Long enough," Charlie says, "I hope." "Where are we going to hide?" Tanya asks. "The medical room. We need an appropriate place to assist Quill with her birth." "Not you," Miss Quill moans, "anyway, I'll be dead before I give birth. I'm surprised I'm still alive at all right now." "What about the doctor?" Charlie asks. "As if the doctor would put aside saving the universe from deadly yet boring daleks to help me give birth and be by my side as I die." "You have to let me help you," Charlie says. "Who cares?" Miss Quill moans, but there is the slightest bit of sadness in her voice. "Just leave me to give birth. I'll be consumed and the baby comes out, simple as. I should've been dead the moment the arn was removed. It's only fair. No stopping it this time." "I'm surprised you aren't trying to kill it right now," Ram says. "That would kill me too. Anyway, I'm surprised that this little beast is still alive after the afternoon it's had." "Quill," Charlie says, authority in his voice, "you are not going to die. We are going to save you and your child." The group have to stop running when Dorathea steps in the way. "Quill, I am here to assist you," she says with a strange voice. "You're the headteacher," Miss Quill exclaims, "you're hardly a midwife." "Trust me." Miss Quill looks into Dorathea's eyes for a moment and there is something different about her, but this difference somehow convinces Miss Quill to trust her. "Fine," she exclaims. "Follow me," Dorathea says, taking charge, "there is an appropriate facility for this circumstance and it is not far from here." With that, the group follows Dorathea up the corridor. Finally, they enter the medical room. Charlie and Matteusz lay Miss Quill down on the bed and Ram sits April's corpse down on a chair. "Remove Miss Quill's trousers and underwear," Dorathea says Charlie. "I'm not having him take my underwear off," Miss Quill says, making Charlie scoff. "It's no fun to me either, Quill," Charlie says, removing Miss Quill's trousers. "You grab a towel," Dorathea tells Matteusz. After arranging everything for Miss Quill's birth, Dorathea sits by Miss Quill's side. "Don't worry, Quill," she says, "I have a plan that will ensure your survival of this birth." Meanwhile, Charlie is standing by the door, peeking into the corridor, watching out for April, if it really is April. Matteusz approches him. "What is it, Charlie?" he asks. "April hasn't come back yet." "She's holding the shadow kin off," Matteusz says. "The rhodians," Charlie corrects. "I'm sorry," Matteusz says, "it's confusing." Charlie opens the door slightly to listen, but Miss Quill's screaming makes it difficult. "Quill, be quiet for a second," he says. "Oh yeah," Miss Quill scoffs, "like I'm going to be quiet when my baby is ripping me open." "I said BE QUIET!" Charlie yells, demmand present in his voice and a red glow in his irisis. The shadow kin soul within him. As the glow disapates, Charlie turns and walks into the corridor. Nothing but silence. No shooting, no footsteps and no demmands, just the silence. "Stay here," Charlie says. "Charles," Miss Quill says, sincear curiosity in her voice, "why are you helping me, after everything?" Charlie inhales, then looks Miss Quill in the eyes. "I'm returning the favour. But why did you save me anyway? After all the dark times we've been through?" "Well, it's not like I didn't ask you to wipe our out enemies," Miss Quill says, "Like, at every second that cabinet was still full." "I didn't want to lose my people," Charlie says. "But look at this, everyone's happy. The shadow kin are gone, happy with that, you've got your people back, you should feel more greatful than I." "At what cost?" Charlie asks, "for them to manifest the shadow kin and hunt me down like an enemie?" "Perhapse you could come to an understanding with them. You're their prince and their legendary hero." "I will try, but first, we have to help you. Now, I'm going to find April." "If it really IS April," Ram scoffs, "admit it. You feel the same way about the shadow kin being your people as I do with April." "I don't deny that," Charlie says, then turns and heads down the corridor. As Charlie cautiously walks through the empty corridors, he unbarably hears the sound of Miss Quill's screams of agony. Charlie arrives at the door leading into the corridor where April last was, the corridor leading back to the main hall and to the hallway. Charlie slowly opens the door to find that April and his people in the bodies of the shadow kin are gone. "April," Charlie quietly calls as he creeps down the corridor, looking through every door he passes. "April?" Charlie doesn't realise it, but behind him, shadows flow into his. Charlie arrives at the main hall then cautiously opens the doors. Charlie looks around the great hall, quietly entering. When he looks at the stage, he fi ds that the empty cabinet has gone and that the tear is still open. Charlie looks closely through the gear and there is something at the other side that causes him to have an emotional meltdown. Charlie slowly and carefully steps through it and he finds himself standing by a cliff edge in a forest of pink trees. Quite some distance away, snrouded by the setting sun in the pink sky is Charlie's city on Rhodia. That is where he is. The planet Rhodia. Back at Coal Hill, Miss Quill is still screaching in agone as the baby ever so slowly makes it's way out of her second womb. "HURRY UP AND CRAWL OUT OF ME," Miss Quill screams at her bump. "That is not how the procedure will work," Dorathea says, "thankfully, this baby has given me enough time to gather the equipment I need to extract the baby from your stomach." "WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?!" Miss Quill demmands. "It is a common procedure, but I am going to open your belly, reach for the baby, pull it out and seal you back up. It is very simple." Miss Quill notices something. "What happened to your neck?" she asks, gesturing to the wide bruise on Dorathea's neck. "It is of no matter," she quickly responds, "now, you will need an injection to prevent any pain." As Dorathea heads for the cupboard, Matteusz looks at the closed door. "When do you think Charlie and April will be back?" "Hey, what about ME?!" Miss Quill yells. "Why would you care?" Ram asks Matteusz, "He's used the cabinet, how are you going to spend the rest of your life afraid of him? What will you say at the weddung? 'Charlie, I have always been afraid of you, but I've always loved you.' That's quite a romance you share." "What about you and April?" Matteusz asks, "how can you say this to me when you yourself are afraid of what April's become?" "Don't fight, boys," Dorathea asks. "You're more petty than all of Jeremy Kyle's guests," Miss Quill says. "I'm concerned," Matteusz says to Dorathea, "what if the shadow kin have taken them?" "Then we can't risk losing you two," Dorathea says, "after the birth, we shall search for them." Miss Quill's pain suddenly drops and she hasn't even had the injection yet. "I think there is something wrong," Miss Quill says. On Rhodia, after scaling the cliff ,passing through the forest and then crossing the bridge over the river, Charlie finally arrives at the main enterence of the city. He enters the great hall of the city to see the place as it was when he and Miss Quill left. The place in ruins and the ashes of those the shadow kin killed. After walking slowly through the city, Charlie arrives at the throne room he shared with his mother. Charlie slowly approches the thrones and places a hand on both thrones. He closes his eyes as he tries to bare the pain of remembering the invasion of the shadow kin and the murder of his own mother that he was forced to witness. With Charlie's back still turned, smoke begins to rise from his shadow. As the smoke sseparates into induvidual balls of smoke, Charlie's ears perk to the sound of April calling in the far distance. "April," he exclaims as he turns, only to see three shadow kin standing before him. The rest of them emerge from the corridor beyond the throne room. "Rhodians, my people, what is this?" Back at the school, Dorathea is still attending to Miss Quill. "How does it feel?" Dorathea asks. "The pain's gone for starters and other than that, I can't feel it moving." "I beleive the baby is in danger. We have to hurry." Charlie is shoved into the dungeon. As the doors slam shut, Charlie turns to see another shadow kin in the room with him, but it id actually April. "Charlie, what's going on?" she asks. "I don't know," Charlie says, "if they really are my people, then why have they turned against me?" "Charlie, I must warn you," the voice of April says, "the shadow kin... your people, they want to execute you." "This is ridicules," Charlie says. "The trial is soon. Charlie, I think this is a battle we must lose. I think this is our end." "This isn't our end," Charlie says, "we will win this battle. They're me people. I have confidence that I will make peace with them. And I have confidence that they will find a way to fix you." "Why would they practice their methods on me when they themselves have no point for the method?" the voice of April asks, "there are no bodies here. Just piles of ashes. Charlie, there is no way." "If they won't," Charlie says, "then WE will. April, this was all our fault. Quill's and mine." "It was the shadow kins' fault," the voice of April corrects. "It was our fault we lured them to earth," Charlie argues. "Well, if you hadn't, then you may not have wiped them our from the face of the universe." "There areworse things in the universe than the shadow kin. And this is one of them. This is what wiping out the shadow kin has lead to? The death of a friend, that friend sharing Corakinus's body, my people becoming the shadow kin, this isthe worse thing in the universe to face." Corakinus's eyes widen. "How can you say that this is the worse thing ever?" the voice of April asks, "look at this. The lost souls have found a home, like my song said. They are not the lost anymore. They are the found. This shouldn't be the worse thing in the universe. It should in face be the best." Charlie nods his head, but then approches the barred door. "I will believe that when I make peace with my people." Up in the throne room, a shadow kin warrior approches another shadow kin sitting on the throne of Charlie's mother. "The others known to the prince are not accounted for," the warrior tells the seated shadow kin. "Where are they?" comes a female voice theough the lips of the shadow kin seated at the queen's throne. "They are still in the academy." "They must be brought," the shadow kin sat at the throne says, "they must witness the execution of the prince, the air of the shadow kin." "I shall see to it that our warriors lure them out of the academy, but I will make a clear order that they are not to be harmed." Back at the school, Ram and Matteusz remove Miss Quill's dress from over her belly and stay by her sides as Dorathea injects Miss Quill with the painkiller. Quickly after the injection, Dorathea grabs a scalpel from the table. "Do not worry, Quill," Dorathea says, looking into Miss Quill's eyes, "everything is going accorded to plan." As Dorathea slices down Miss Quill's belly with the knife, Ram sees something moving at the corner of his eye. He looks down at his shadow to get a slight glimpse at a shadow enters Ram's shadow like smoke. He looks around suspiciously, then yells at the moment smoke begins to rise from his shadow and not just his, from every shadow in this room. As Ram alarts everyone, they all turn to look. "We're in the middle of something here," Miss Quill groans. "The procedure will have to be delayed," Dorathea says, "but right now, we have to run." Dorathea grabs the knife, the sewing equipment to seal Miss Quill's belly with and grabs a pair of scissors for the umbilical cord then put them all in her pockets. "You two," Dorathea says to Ram and Matteusz, "carry Miss Quill, make sure her belly is upwards and don't let her drop that towel." "What about April?" Ram asks. "Never mind her," Dorathea says. "No," Ram says, "I'm not leaving her, not when there is a chance of saving her. You carry Miss Quill with Matteusz, I'll carry April. End of story. It's either that or the shadow kin can kill you, I don't care. My one and only priority right now is April." "Fine," Dorathea says, "we'll play it your way. You," she points at Tanya, "you carry Quill with the boy." With that, the entire group exit the medical room and proceed as fast as they can up the corridors, the shadows around them following them like smoke. "Where are we going?" Matteusz asks, trying not to drop Quill's legs. "Anywhere," Dorathea says, "we need somewhere safe to continue the procedure." "I bet the shadow kin will have infultrated the whole school." As the group try every corner, they find themselves being blocked off by shadow kin rising from the darkness. This leads them up the corridor, all the way to the great hall. "They've surrounded us," Dorathea says as they enter the great hall. "What about the tear?" Tanya asks, noding at the tear that is still open over the stage. "That's where they came from," Ram says. "It would not be wise," Dorathea says, but at that moment, three shadow kin burst through the door and enter the main hall. "You have no choice," the leading shadow kin says to the group. With they, the shadow kin lead the group through the tear and then through the route Charlie took to get to the Rhodian city. After arriving, the shadow kin leads the group to the dungeon where theh are imprisoned and reunited with Charlie and April, if it is April. The group greet each other with hugs and affection, but Ram doesn't hug Corakinus, still not trusting that it is April. "What has happened to Quill?" Charlie asks, noticing the large cut on Quill's belly." "Something has gone wrong with the baby's birth. This is the safest backup plan there is. You two," she points at Tanya and Matteusz who are still carrying Miss Quill, "lay Quill on that bed." Tanya and Matteusz quickly carry Miss Quill to the bed and they lay her down on it. "I'm scared," Miss Quill says. Charlie laughs. "Quill, scared?" "For my baby, not myself." Dorathea returns to Miss Quill's side. "Quill, I have every confidence that this baby will be safe. Now that we are undisturbed, we can proceed." "Wait," Miss Quill says, then lays still to try and feel for the baby, but what she feels almost breaks her heart. "The baby, it isn't moving at all!" "We have to hurry," Dorathea exclaims. Instantly, she adjusts her plastic gloves, then reaches into Miss Quill's belly, then gently grabs at the babh inside of her. Instantly and quickly, she pulls the baby out. Dorathea instantly grabs Miss Quill's towel and wraps it around the baby then holds it in her arms to examine it. It isn't doing anything. It isn't crying, it isn't moving and it isn't breathing. Dorathea sighs, knowing what this means. "What?" Miss Quill stutters. "I'm sorry, Quill," Dorathea says, a teardrop forming in her left eye, "but your child didn't survive the birth." Instantly, Miss Quill covers her eyes and screams in grief. Charlie, April, Ram, Tanya and Matteusz all look aimlessly around the room as they too feel sorrow to the death of Quill's baby. "I'm sorry, Quill," Charlie dares to say, only to be oushed away by Miss Quill. "I don't want that from YOU," she screams. "We should leave her alone," the voice of April softly suggests to the other teenagers. Instantly, they all find separate spaces within the room to give Quill some space in and to let their thoughts wander. As Dorathea seals Miss Quill's belly up, Miss Quill holds her dead baby in her arms, still crying, tears dropping onto the towel wrapped around the baby. Charlie and Matteusz constantly glance at each other, not saying anything, Ram and April do the same, Tanya thinks about the dearh of her mother and Ram thinks about the death of his father. Is this really what the doctor wanted to lead them to? "When all this is over, I'm gone," Tanya says, "it's all of what we've been through that has lead us to this." "Me too," Ram says. "Why can't anyone appreciate the fact that I'm alive?" the voice of April asks, "why can't anyone appreceate the miracle that has happened?" "Some miracle," Tanya says. "Yeah," Ram says, "what about my dad, what about Tanya's mum?" "Oh, right," the voice of April says, soundkng ashamed. "now look at you," Miss Quill says to Charlie, "you've got everyone back. You should be cheering right now." "How can I when they are living in the bodies of our enemies?" Charlie asks, "and how can I when this has not effected my friends?" "Friends," Ram scoffs. At that moment, the dungeon door opens. "All of you will come," the shadow kin at the other side orders. With that, everyone stands and follows the shadow kin out of the dungeon, their heads hung low. After the entire group arrive at the throne room, Charlie stares at the shadow kin sitting on his mother's throne, then realises who it is. "Mother," he says. "You are all here to witness the execution of our prince who betrayed the very soul of our race." "I merely killed the shadow kin," Charlie objects, "the very core of all this." "But you failed to kill yourself," the queen says, "the shadow within you." "I saved your prince," Miss Quill says. "Noted," the queen says, "but do you realise that Charlie is the very heir of the shadow kin? The shadow inside of him. It is a contagion. His majesty Corakinus of the shadow kin knew that the shadow kin would die and he knew Charlie would survive and if Charlie isn't disposed of, we will become the shadow kin and our souls will drown in shadow, never to make it to heaven." "The cabinet of souls," Charlie says, "where did you put it?" "It stands where it should have stayed," the queen says. "I don't understand, if you knew I posess the factor of the shadow kin, then why did you obey me?" "We did not suspect anything," the queen says, "until the final soul sensed the shadow within you. Where is it?" "It's here," Charlie says, taking April's corpse from Ram. "No, get off her," Ram screams at Charlie, trying to get April back, but is seized by two of the shadow kin. "The soul tried to menifest this girl's s, soul," Charlie explains, "instead, due to an accidental connection April shared with the king of the shadow kin, April's soul was restored to life by the life of the Rhodian soul and was pushed out of April's body, forced to live in Corakinus's body, leaving the Rhodian soul dead within the body of April." "Due to the Quill terrorist's gun, yes?" the queen asks. "Yes," Charlie says. "With respect, mother..." "You will address me as the queen of Rhodia," the queen snaps, her voice beaming with every flow of authority she has, "I will not be adressed that way by the heir of the shadow kin." Ram glances at April, finding the Queen's reaction familiar. "I don't see how this is right," Charlie continues, "I am the prince of Rhodia, my soul belongs to the very core of Rhodia." "This is difficult for us too," the queen admits, "but how can we cope with this evolutoiin when we are in the brink of becoming what we appear to be because of our prince?" "I have fought at every moment this shadow has possessed my body," Charlie says. "Then what was that back in the medical room?" Miss Quill asks, "the anger was clear in your eyes that turned red with the glow of the eyes of the shadow kin." Charlie is fonding Miss Quill's taunts infuriating. He becomes so angry inside, his eyes glow. "See? There it is." "This isn't helping," the voice of April says. "Silence, shadow kin scum," the queen says. "You hypocrite," the voice of April says with a chuckle, "You appear to be the shadow kin and you can't see that Charlie is at war with himself." "It isn't like we WANTED to be cursed to live with the appearence of the shadow kin," the queen says, standing up. "Me neither," the voice of April says, looking at her corpse. "This all started because the prince and the Quill terrorist were saved by that man. Perhapse if they hadn't have just let the shadow kin kill them, we would all live in peace in the cabinet for the rest of eternity. Nobody would use the cabinet and we'd all be at peace. Well, not all." The queen gives Miss Quill a look. "But what about the shadow kin?" the voice of April asks, "They would have still been alive if it wasn't for Charlie." "They are alive, in him," the queen says, pointing at Charlie, "the sooner we execute him, the sooner we can end all this. The prince is of no importance anyway. We have a queen." "How can you say that about your own son?" Charlie asks, but then, he starts to feel light headed. As he falls, Matteusz grabs him and tries to steady him. "Charlie, what's wrong?" he asks, but then, Charlie's eyes glow with a brighter red glow. "I've lost." With that, Charlie's face begins to fill with anger. "It has started," the queen says, "We have to execute him right now." With that, the queen pulls out her sword. "No!" Matteusz screams, then as everyone begins to argue, April approches Miss Quill and gives her her gun. Miss Quill grabs it and using one hand to carry her deceased baby and the other to hold the gun, she shoots Charlie. As the energy beam hits Charlie's chest, he cries out in pain, then looks at Miss Quill who smiles at him. Knowing what Miss Quill means, Charlie returns the smile, then dies. "It is done," the queen says, lowering her sword. "It isn't," Miss Quill says. Suddenly, Charlie stands up and roars, his eyes glowing brighter, his face filled with anger and his arms spread out. As he continues to scream, smoke pours out from him. The smoke of the shadow kin. "The shadow kin will rise again," Charlie exclaims, his voice deeper than usual, "for I am Corakinus!" "You did this!" the queen hisses at Miss Quill. "Yeah, I did," she says, before shooting the queen, then all of the shadow kin in the room. "What have you done?" Dorathea asks. "Follow me," Miss Quill says. "Where are we going?" Tanya asks. "Back to where this all started," Miss Quill says. With that, the group apart from Charlie make their way from the throne room, through the corridors then finally to the room where Charlie and Miss Quill were rescued by the doctor. Miss Quill looks around the room for the cabinet, then detects it standing where it stood before Charlie took it. "There it is," Miss Quill says, already approching the cabinet, closely followed by the rest of the group, but at that moment, Miss Quill realises something. "Crap!" Miss Quill exclaims, "Charles is the only possible person who knows how to use the cabinet and he's in there and it's hardly like he can operate it from inside." "Isn't it?" comes the voice of Charlie. The group look around to try and trace the muffled voice. "I'm the prince and I'm among my people." The group finally traces the voice to the doors of the cabinet of souls that suddenly burst open. The group quickly step out of the way to let the small amount of souls fly past and into the corridor. The group follow far behind. After a small journey through the corridors, they finally reach the throne room where Charlie and the shadow kin are talking with each other, smiles on their faces. Charlie then turns to look at the rest of the group, that look of evil gone. The group instantly realise that Charlie is back. Matteusz is the first to step forward. He hugs Charlie who hugs him back. April is the next person to step forward and hug Charlie, but nobody else after that. "So, you worked things out with your people, prince?" Miss Quill asks. "There was nothing to work out," Charlie says, "the shadow soul within me was what this was all about. And now that it is gone, now that we have eliminated it, it is all over." Matteusz's thoughts wander at that. Charlie's shadow soul may have made him use the cabinet and to kill April, but he himself committed genocide by killing the shadow kin. It may be for the good of the universe, but that is not the Charlie Matteusz fell in love with. "So what of you now?" Matteusz asks Charlie, "you're the prince, you have your people back, will you stay here on Rhodia?" "Maybe, some day," Charlie says, "but for now, myself and Quill must stay. We must find a way to put April back inside her body." "Will you find a way?" the voice of April asks. "Me and Quill will," Charlie says, "I promise." "You promised me you'd get my heart back," the voice of April argues. "And you have," Charlie says, "you're heart was in Corakinus's body and there you are. you're halfway home. I promise you, April, we will find a way to put you back in your body." With that, the group say their farewells to the shadow kin, no, the Rhodians. They make their way out of the city, back accross the bridge, back through the forest, up the hill and back to the Coal Hill great hall through the tear that closes behind them. "So, where do we go from here?" Charlie asks the rest of the group. "We're gone for starters," Ram says. "I agree," Tanya says. "You can go if you want to, Tanya, but if YOU leave, then how do you expect to put everything right?" Miss Quill says, gesturing her arm at Corakinus and April's corpse, "because if you take her and that out of our hands, then we might as well just drop out, but then you won't get your April back the way you want her." Ram thinks about this, then nods her head. "Fine," Ram says, "but don't drag me into any of your alien busting. All I want is April back." "I'm here," the voice of April says. "You're just a ghost," Ram says. "What will I do?" April asks, "I can't go out in public like this." "You'll have to hide in Ram's shadow until we can fix this." "And my corpse?" Charlie comes up with an idea. "I have an idea," he says. With that, April jumps into Ram's shadow. Dorathea lets the group out of the school to head off home. Tanya and Ram head off home as do Charlie, Matteusz and Miss Quill. Charlie carries the cabinet, Matteusz carries April's corpse and Miss Quill carries her baby and her gun. Luckily, there is nobody out this late at night, so they get through the streets without being seen with the corpse of April and being accused of murder or rape. When they arrive home, Charlie places tephe cabinet back on his bedroom table and he, Miss Quill and Matteusz put thick coats on and they crawl into the dark desert within the cabinet. As Charlie lays April down on a picnic blanket layed on the sand, Miss Quill burries her baby in front of where she burried Ballon, weeping as she does so. After Charlie and Matteusz cover April with water so the freezing cold can freeze April to prevent her body from aging, especially in this place where time passes quickly, they approch Miss Quill who has finished burying her baby daughter. "I'm sorry for your loss, Quill," Charlie says. "Thank you, prince," Miss Quill says in between sobs. "Did you have a name for your daughter?" "Yes," Miss Quill, "go." With that, Charlie and Matteusz turn and head for the enterence to the cabinet where they came from. After a minjte of sitting over her daughter's grave, Miss Quill stands and takes one last look at it, before saying, "goodbye, Rose Quill," to the grave, then turning to follow Charlie and Matteusz out of the cabinet. After exiting the cabinet and crawling back into Charlie's bedroom, she turns and closes the cabinet. When the doors are closed, she doesn't notice that a single soul heads for Rose's grave. Later in the evening, Charlie and Matteusz are in bed. Miss Quill is sitting alone in the living room, not doing anything. Just grieving the loss of her daughter. Suddenly, the front door knocks. Miss Quill groans, then stands up, heads for the front door then when she opens it, she finds Dorathea at the other side. "What do you want, headmistress?" she asks. "Quill, are we alone?" Dorathea asks. "Alone as we can be," Miss Quill says, "Charles and Matteusz are asleep upstairs." "I share your grief," Dorathea says. "How can you?" Miss Quill asks. "Because it was my daughter too." Miss Quill stares in confusion at Dorathea, then sighs angrily. "Leave," she weeps, struggling to contain her anger, "this is inappropriate." "It is true," Dorathea says, "maybe I'm not making myself clear." "It is clear to me that you want to see me grieve worse than I already am," Miss Quill says starting to break down, "is this not enough to satisfy you? First, I lose my people and now, then I lose Ballon and now, I have lost my child." "Quill," Dorathea says, "I am not Dorathea. Dorathea was murdered by the hands of the soulless angel. That is why her neck is bruised." "This is blasphemous," Miss Quill cried. "I am actually Ballon, the father of your child." At this, Miss Quill stares into Dorathea's eyes and she sees it. The soul of Ballon, the man she fell in love with, but like Ram, she denies it. "Leave," she softly demmands. "You are right, Quill," Dorathea says, "maybe this is an inappropriate time. I will pose as the headmistress on her behalf and in the mean time, I will try to retrieve information from the governors. See tou at Coal Hill at the dawn of next term." With that, Dorathea walks away amd Miss Quill slams the door shut. She rests her forehead on the door and weeps. Instantly, the weeps become cries of sorrow. Charlie and Matteusz arrive at the top of the stairs to see Miss Quill screaming. Thinking that this is her letting the grief of her daughter out, they go back to bed and leave her to it. Back at Coal Hill, Dorathea enters the school and heads for the door leading into everupwardreach. She unlocks it with the special keys, then opens it to enter the cloisters where the governors work. She steps down the stairs and stands in front of the relief displaying the arrival. The chairman steps forward from the upper level and looks down at Dorathea. "Is everything in place?" the chairman asks. "I have told Quill of my true self. I have told her that Dorathea was killed at the hands of the angel, but not of your involvement or the arrival." "Excellent," the chairman says, smiling, "what of the baby?" "Dead," Dorathea says. The chairman thinks then smiles. "Perhaps the plan is falling into place after all," he says.
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