Thanks to DinoWriter23 with helping me with this chapter!
"Us? Learn magic...?" Dylan repeated with surprise.
Merlin nodded. "Namely those of you who can use those Keyblades." he said as he headed over to one of his desks. "Magic can be quite useful in sticky situations. If used correctly, it can be very effective against certain enemies."
"But... what about Dylan and I? We don't have those key-thingies." Chase pointed out.
"Having a Keyblade isn't fun and games." Merlin said. "It carries a tremendous responsibility. You must be willing to put the needs of others ahead of your own, even if it costs you your life."
Anne gulped. "Please tell me that was a joke."
"This is no laughing matter." Merlin said.
"Well, how do Chase and I fight, then?" Dylan asked. "If they are really that bad, then won't he and I get pummeled out there?"
Merlin stroked his beard for a moment. "Hmm... you're right about that, my boy. You two, come with me." he told the Enheart brothers as he clapped his hands and the cots the brothers were sitting on vanished. Dylan got off his in time, but Chase didn't and landed on his back when his cot disappeared. Chase groaned while Dylan hid a snicker as they were led over to a chest lying in the corner. Merlin opened it and pulled out two odd items. One was a sword with a lightning bolt pattern on the sides of the blade and the other was a glowing blue orb.
"Whoa, what's that?" Chase asked.
"These are something special that I've been keeping for quite some time until someone could use them. Dylan, this sword is special. It can shoot lightning at your enemies. Use it wisely." Merlin advised as he handed the teen the curved sword with its sheath. Dylan's eyes widened before he gently took it and strapped it to his back. Merlin was about to open his mouth when the orb suddenly floated out of his hand and entered Chase, making him glow for a moment before it died down. Chase's eyes widened as he felt something different about him. "Whoa... what just happened? Why did I light up like a light bulb?!" he asked.
"Interesting... it appears that this power chose you." Merlin said.
"Power? What power?"
"The power of speed." the sorcerer answered, smiling a bit when he saw Chase's wide eyed expression. "Why don't you test it out?"
Chase stepped back and then took off running, but much to his brother, Anne, Jason, and Clair's shock, as well as his, he was running at super speeds, looking like a blur. "No... way..." Dylan gasped.
"THIS IS AWESOME!" Chase whooped as he ran around his brother in circles at high speeds, kicking up a lot of dust in the process. He never ran so fast before in his life! This was incredible!
Merlin then sighed and managed to grab the teen by the back of his jacket, stopping him immediately. "Alright, that's enough." he said. Chase pouted slightly, but stayed still. "Now, before anything... you three will need appropriate clothes. You can't go around looking like that." Merlin pointed out. Anne looked down at her torn clothes and realized what he meant. They'd look like they just got out of a jungle if they traveled in their torn clothes.
Merlin got his wand ready and muttered an incantation as he waved it in the air. Anne, Chase, and Dylan were surrounded by a glow before the glow illuminated the room and blocking them from the others' view. When the light died down, Clair's eyes widened seeing that they were in brand new clothing. Anne's eyes widened as she looked down at her new clothes.
She now wore a zipped up short sleeved gray and black jacket with a black high collar over a black shirt. The jacket's short sleeves were black and trimmed with red at the edge, as well as near the bottom of her jacket. With it, she wore black fingerless gloves, as well as baggy blue jeans with simple black boots. However, the most prominent feature of her new clothes was the symbol of a lion roaring on the back of her new short sleeved jacket.
Chase now wore a dark green short sleeved jacket over a lighter green long sleeved shirt with blue patches at the elbows. His jacket had a zipper on each sleeve and the pockets were trimmed with a lighter green color. He also wore dark blue pants with a pouch on the right leg with brown boots.
Dylan now wore a red t shirt underneath a gray vest that had a hood attached to it with golden zippers at the pockets. Along with it, the teenager now wore black pants that ended above his ankles with silver zippers on the sides with a pouch strapped to his belt and black shoes. His new sword was still strapped to his back.
"Whoa, check out the new duds!" Chase gasped as he looked down at himself. "Wow, thanks!" Dylan told Merlin gratefully as he looked at his new clothing. Anne's eyes widened as she looked at her headphones, which were still around her neck. They looked good as new! All signs of scratches had vanished.
"Don't worry about it." Merlin replied. "Now, shall we begin?"
Merlin led the five to a large room. Inside the room was an assortment of chairs, tables, cabinets, and other types of furniture. Anne was amazed that all that furniture could fit into this tiny room.
The sorcerer tapped the wall with his rod. To everyone's surprise the furniture began flying off the ground and came towards them. The five of them ducked to avoid being hit by chairs. "I thought you were supposed to be training us!" Dylan said to Merlin.
"I am." Merlin said casually. "Block the furniture with your magic."
A cabinet began chasing Chase around. Although he was much faster, the cabinet was persistent. "All I can do is run, and you expect me to survive your little home horror film?! Attack of the Killer Furniture?!"
"How do we use magic?!" Clair questioned. She nearly had her head taken off by a table. "Whoa!"
Anne blocked a chair with her Keyblade. The force of the impact forced her back, causing her to lose her balance and fall over. She growled at the furniture, which seemed to have minds of their own. "Is he trying to kill us?!" Dylan asked frantically as he dove down and covered his head as a lamp flew over his head.
"I can't believe I'm fighting furniture!" Jason growled.
Anne thought as she struggled to avoid the furniture. In most stories she remembered fire was an element associated with passion and anger. Maybe there was a key in that, but didn't stories also make anger out to be a bad thing? Anne decided to focus on the things she was passionate about. She thought about her favorite songs, her favorite shows, her favorite books, and many other things. She concentrated and pointed her Keyblade at an incoming chair, imagining a fireball materializing at the tip. "Fire!" A ball of fire shot out from the end of her weapon and hit the chair, setting it on fire. Her green eyes widened in surprise at this.
The Enheart brothers' jaws dropped at the display.
"Well done!" Merlin praised from where he stood.
"How did you...?" Jason asked.
The teenager slowly lowered her Keyblade, shocked at what she just did. "I... I just thought about my favorite things." Anne explained.
Clair face palmed herself. "Duh! Fire is passion!" She pointed her Keyblade at a cabinet and shouted, "Fire!" The fireball shot out and hit the cabinet. "Fire!" Jason exclaimed, but nothing happened. "Fire!" Nothing. Jason growled in frustration and began shaking his Keyblade. "Come on, you stupid chunk of metal. Work! Fire!" A big fireball came out of his Keyblade, knocking him back into the wall. The fire started spread out uncontrollably. "Uh oh." he paled, realizing he messed up big time.
"Alakazam!" Merlin cried out, putting out the fire and causing the furniture to stop moving around. Chase sighed with relief. "Watch your emotions. Magic is tied to them. The less control you have over them, the less controllable your magic will be."
"Got it." Anne nodded. "What's next?"
"We'll try the Blizzard spell." Merlin said as he reactivated the furniture. Again they had to duck to avoid getting hit. Jason wasn't as quick and got knocked off his feet.
Blizzard. Ice. Cold. Firm. Unmoving. Had she ever felt like that? Anne couldn't remember a time. She thought about Josh. She hated him and how he always acted like the universe revolved around him. He used to make her feel like dirt, and..."Blizzard." Ice flew from her keyblade and froze a table. "Yes!"
"Awesome!" Chase said as he ran around. However he stepped on some of the ice that Anne created, and slipped and fell. "Wipeout..." he groaned as he held his back.
Clair laughed at that. "How did you do that?"
"I tried to feel as cold as possible." Anne shrugged.
"I think I'll try something else." Clair said. Pointing her keyblade, she said, "Blizzard." A ball of ice shot out and froze a chair.
"So what were you thinking?" Anne inquired.
Clair smiled. "Having fun in winter."
A cry came from Jason. They turned to see he had frozen his face. It took a few seconds, but everyone started laughing at the sight. Chase ended up having to lean against Dylan so he wouldn't fall over laughing. "Y-You should see your face!"
Merlin thawed Jason's face. "Now try the Thunder spell."
"Finally. I can learn how to use this thing." Dylan smiled as he unsheathed his sword. He pointed it at the furniture, but no lightning came from it. He looked at it and shook it. "Okay, why isn't it shooting the lightning?"
"Try concentrating." Chase suggested as he touched it. The sword suddenly activated and bolts of lightning hit Chase, sending him into a chair. Both Chase and the chair crashed into the floor. Chase sat up with his hair sticking up and steam coming off him. "What happened?"
Anne burst into laughter at the look on her friend's face.
Dylan chuckled. "I think I'm going to love this thing." he smiled as he looked at the sword in his hand.
"So how do we activate the Thunder-whoa!" Lightning shot out of Anne's keyblade and hit the nearest table. She looked at her Keyblade with shock. "That's the fastest I've gotten a spell to work. I didn't even have to concentrate."
"Wow..." Clair said. "That's awesome."
"Big deal. Just point, say Thunder and..." Nothing came out of Jason's Keyblade. "What the? Come on, work!"
"Maybe try feeling it, Jason." Clair suggested. Jason just glared at her as he continued to try and get the keyblade to work. Still nothing happened. Clair pointed her keyblade at a chair. "Thunder." Lightning shot out and shocked a chair. "Oh, come on!" Jason complained. Finally, Jason got the Thunder spell to work. Unfortunately it was too powerful. Bolts flew across the room and shocked everyone except Merlin. "YEEEOW!" Anne and Chase exclaimed.
The result was everyone collapsed on the ground, groaning in pain.
Clair looked at her cousin from where she was laying. "Maybe magic isn't your style." she winced. "Ya think?" Anne asked. It was a good thing she didn't have a mirror handy because her hair was a frightful mess, and not in the way she liked it.
Merlin looked over them. "Perhaps now we should go over the wind spell."
"I think I'm good." Clair said.
"This spell is important. It uses the wind to block enemy attacks." Merlin explained.
Anne sat up at this. "Okay, let's learn it."
Merlin twirled his wand around him. "Aero." he spoke calmly. Clair couldn't see anything, except Merlin's beard being blown by the wind. "Now try to hit me with a spell." the sorcerer instructed them. Dylan pointed his sword at Merlin and shot lightning at him. However the wind spell deflected it and the lightning collided harmlessly with the wall. Anne was impressed with that magic.
"You'll find this spell also protects you from melee attacks, and may save your life." Merlin told them. "Now practice with each other."
Anne closed her eyes and concentrated, thinking of wind. "Aero!" Anne cast the spell around herself. The breeze around her tickled a bit. Dylan shot his lightning at her. She felt it, but it wasn't as intense as before. This spell really could protect her.
Chase ran around them with his new super speed. "Tag-ow!" He held his hand. "That hurt!"
Anne smiled. "Now we know it'll keep us safe."
Clair cast Aero around her with ease. Jason tried, but failed. Angry, he swung his keyblade around and nearly hit his cousin. Thankfully her wind spell kept her from getting hurt. She still wasn't pleased. "Whoops." Jason cringed. "Sorry..."
"Maybe you shouldn't lose control like that." Chase suggested.
Dylan looked at his brother. "Like you haven't lost your cool." he smirked.
"Hey!" Chase whined. Everyone laughed at that.
"Try again, Jace." Clair told him.
Jason glared at her. "Don't call me that." He tried again with Aero, but didn't get anything. He yelled in frustration and threw his keyblade to the ground. It reappeared in his hand just as a cabinet knocked him down.
"Jason, come on. Focus." Clair encouraged. Jason got up growling, but a chair knocked him back.
"Aero. Aero. Aero!" Jason tried again, and finally got a breeze around him. "Yes!" Chase was still able to tap him on the shoulder, though.
Merlin waved his wand and the furniture stopped moving. "There we go. You have the basic spells down, but you will learn more as you progress."
"Alright. Sounds like a plan." Chase clapped his hands together. No sooner did he do so than lightning flew between his hands. Chase made comical sounds as the electricity ran through his body. Everyone looked as they saw him fall over. When he sat up his hair was smoking and static was racing through it. "Whoa..." was all Dylan could say at the display.
"I didn't know I could do that." Chase coughed.
"Hm, it appears you can, my boy. But you must learn how to control it. Try shooting lightning at me." Merlin instructed.
The eldest Enheart brother concentrated as he tried to summon that lightning from earlier. Much to his surprise, the lightning appeared in his hands. He chucked it at Merlin, but he blocked it with ease with a flick of his wand. "Well done, well done!" Merlin praised. Chase whooped as he jumped up in excitement and ran around in a green and blue blur, kicking up dust, but unknowingly using the Aero spell as it surrounded him. Dylan then grabbed him by his jacket, causing him to stop immediately.
"All of you, you must be careful of which spells you use when facing an opponent. They may be resistant to a certain spell or the spell may help them, so if you choose the right spell, it'll affect them greatly." Merlin explained to them from where he stood. Clair then piped up. "Wait a minute. If we're going to be fighting a lot, shouldn't we learn a spell to heal ourselves? That does exist, doesn't it?"
"Of course it does." Merlin confirmed in a matter-of-fact tone. "Healing is a fundamental part of magic."
"So how do we learn to heal?" Anne inquired. "Healing is an act of kindness, of generosity, compassion." Merlin explained. "When using this spell you must want to help your friends, even if you are the one who is hurt."
Anne raised an eyebrow. "Why do you need to want to help someone if you're the one who's hurt?"
"Because if your friend is unable to fight, they won't be able to help you." he told her. "If you tire yourself out, who would heal you?"
The teenagers made sure to make a mental note of this. If they needed help, they'd make sure to turn to each other. Clair nodded. "Makes sense." She pointed her Keyblade at Jason and focused. "Cure!" Green leaves floated around him as his bruises and cuts he gained from the furniture fight disappeared. Jason looked down at himself. "Okay, now that is cool."
"Cure!" Anne cast the spell on Dylan. The green leaves appeared around him and made his cuts vanish. "Now this is a nice spell." Dylan commented as he looked at his healed arms. Clair then looked at Chase and focused, imagining that he was healed as she casted the healing spell on him. "Cure!" she called as the damage Chase received from the lightning vanished and his hair went back down to normal. "That was easy." Clair commented.
"Cure." Jason tried, but nothing happened. "Cure!" Nothing. "Dang it."
"Another spell to use is Magnet." Merlin continued, ignoring Jason's rather humorous attempts to cast the healing spell. "It will allow you to bring your enemies to you."
Chase looked at him and rose an eyebrow. "Why would we want that?"
"It can give you the advantage in battle. Using this spell confuses your foes and gives you time to gain the upper hand." Merlin explained. Chase then resumed running at super speed. "I think that my speed will be enough to confuse those creeps!" he bragged. Dylan rolled his eyes at his brother's antics, then got an idea. He smirked and focused as he prepared to cast the spell.
"Magnet!" Dylan called. Chase suddenly found himself floating around in the air. "Wha- Hey!" he protested while Anne and Dylan smiled and laughed at his predicament. "Now that is funny!" Anne laughed as she held her sides. "Nice one, Dyl!"
"Lemme down!" Chase exclaimed. "Come on, guys, this isn't funny!"
"I think it is." Anne smirked. Chase groaned and hung his head. Even Jason smiled at the situation.
Dylan looked at Merlin. "Quick question, how long until the spell wears-"
The spell ended, causing Chase to fall and land on his face. Dylan cringed. "-off?" he finished. "Right about now." Merlin simply chuckled. Chase got up, then quickly scooted away from Dylan and Anne. "Please don't use me for your magical pranks." he pleaded.
"We won't." Anne smiled. "But I gotta say, this is going to be so much fun."
"As I said, you must use these spells wisely when facing enemies. One wrong move and they will overwhelm you." Merlin warned. "So you must stay focused. Now, you should go back upstairs. I'm sure Yuffie and Leon, if he's back, will be willing to train you in combat."
As the five began to go back upstairs, Merlin stopped Clair. During the magic training, Merlin had been observing them carefully and noticed that Clair managed to cast spells with no problem. This intrigued him.
"Yes?" Clair asked. "You seem to have a gift for magic." Merlin observed.
The teenager blinked. "I do?"
Merlin nodded. "I have lived a long time, and I can see you have great potential."
Clair gasped. "I-! always read about people who could use magic, but I didn't think I could ever use it." she told him. Merlin nodded once again. "Well, I've seen you master those spells with ease. More ease than anyone I've taught."
"I don't see how." Clair said. "I'm just a teenage girl from the city. How could I be so skilled at magic?"
"There are many things we don't understand." Merlin explained. "Yet, I would like to teach you."
Clair nodded. "Y-yes. Of course." she stammered. She was shocked that she could use magic, but now a sorcerer would teach her more? She didn't know what to think! However, she was pulled out of her thoughts as Merlin pulled out a suitcase and opened it. "Watch this." he told her.
"What does this spell do?" Clair asked.
"It'll allow you to carry all your stuff in one bag." Merlin grabbed a stool and stood on it. Tapping the side, Merlin began the spell. "Higitus Figitus zumbabazing. I want your attention everything!" he called. To Clair's surprise everything in the room turned and looked at Merlin. "What the?!" she gasped.
"This is very useful for packing." Merlin said, then continued his chant.
"Hockety pockety wockety wack
Abracabra dabra nack
Shrink in size very small
We've got to save enough room for all
Higitus Figitus migitus mum
Pres-ti-dig-i-ton-i-um!"
Clair kept moving out of the way of flying furniture. She watched as they shrunk and vanished into the bag. 'This spell would really come in handy for traveling.' she thought to herself as she ducked as a pot sailed over her head.
"Ali-i-ca-fez bal-a-ca-zez
Malacamez meripides
Hockety pockety wockety wack
Odds and ends and bric a brac."
A chair suddenly swooped up Clair, making her yelp in surprise. She quickly got off it, but everything was shrinking quickly. Merlin seemed to be finishing up.
"Higitus Figitus migitus mum,
Pres-ti-dig-i-ton-i-um.
Higitus Figitus migitus mum,
Pres-ti-dig-i-ton-i-um!" he finished. Merlin slipped off the stool as it shrunk and went into the bag, which closed on its own. Clair opened it and was surprised to see everything fit into the suitcase with no problem. She looked at Merlin with wonder in her eyes. "That was... amazing!" she managed to get out.
"Just don't get the idea that magic will solve all your problems because it won't." Merlin told her.
Clair nodded. "I've read it comes with a price."
"Some, but not all." he said. Clair looked at him. "I'm a little scared." she admitted. "Don't be." Merlin assured her. "The true magic exists in education."
Clair paused and thought about it. "Well, I do like learning."
"Then you will be a mage in no time." Merlin said.
"Mage?" Clair asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "I thought the term was sorceress."
"Oh, no, no, no." Merlin insisted. "Mage is the correct term." he corrected. "Now first, you will need to learn how to read certain languages, such as Latin."
This received a blank stare from Clair. "I... haven't studied that before." she admitted. "Oh, no worries. With my help, you'll be able to learn it in no time, then move on to spells!" Merlin told her as he got a book out. "This won't take too long, will it? With what's going on out there?" Clair asked as she took the book.
"Of course it won't. With how fast you could perform those spells, I'm sure you can do this before Sora arrives." he assured her. Clair was hesitant at first, but sat down and began to read the book, memorizing the content of it as Merlin observed.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Yuffie was pacing back and forth in front of Anne, Jason, Chase, and Dylan as if she were a commanding officer. "Alright, newbies! You're gonna be facing really powerful enemies soon, so you're gonna have to know how to fight!"
"I already know how to, so-" Jason began casually, but was silenced when Yuffie pointed at him. "You don't know how to use a Keyblade in combat! Luckily for you, I've been in combat against Heartless before, so I hope you're ready! Cause I don't go easy!" Yuffie said as she got out her fuma shuriken. "Okay, so Anne! Come at me!"
Anne held her Keyblade in her right hand as she charged at Yuffie, but the ninja jumped over her and kicked her in the back, sending her flat on her face. "Always be on your guard." Yuffie smirked at her back. The teenager groaned and held her nose as she pushed herself back up to her feet.
Jason swung at her with his Keyblade, but she easily blocked with her large shuriken and shoved him back. Dylan took a swing at her with his sword, but the ninja blocked him as well. Chase used his speed and appeared behind her. "Surprise!" he exclaimed as he kicked her legs from behind, knocking her onto her back. "Oof!" she groaned. "Okay, you pass. But you three still have to fight!" she exclaimed as she hopped back up.
Anne swung at her and managed to land a hit on her, making her stumble towards Jason, who slashed at her with his Keyblade. Yuffie was hit twice by it and she fell forward. However, the ninja quickly recovered and did a spin kick on the floor, sweeping Dylan's feet out from under him. She then threw her fuma shuriken at Anne, who reacted quickly and blocked it with her Keyblade. The shuriken spun in the air as it returned to Yuffie's hand. Dylan focused as he aimed his sword at Yuffie and shouted, "Thunder!"
Lightning shot out of it and almost hit Yuffie, but she dodged it thankfully. "Whoa!" she exclaimed in surprise. Jason then got an idea as he ran at her and swung his Keyblade at her feet, sweeping her off her feet and onto her back for the second time. "Ouch." Yuffie winced as she got up. "Okay, you asked for it!"
She charged at Anne and Jason and swung at them with her fuma shuriken at a fast pace, hitting them a few times in the process before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Anne winced as she looked around, wondering where she went. Suddenly, she sensed a presence behind her and quickly whirled around and blocked the blow in time with her Keyblade. Her eyes widened with surprise at that. "Nice one." Yuffie smirked, then suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke.
"What the-" Jason began, but was cut off by Yuffie suddenly appearing behind him. "Never let your guard down during battle!" Yuffie smirked as she slashed at him, but her shuriken was blocked by Jason's Keyblade. He managed to push her back and got ready just in case she were to attack again. Yuffie then relaxed and stood casually. "Okay, I think that's enough. Any more and I'm sure Cid will blow a gasket." she chuckled.
"I heard that!" Cid called from the computer.
The four teens sighed with relief as they relaxed. Anne focused and casted Cure, healing Jason, then herself. "Hey, why didn't Clair come up?" Chase finally pointed out.
"Hmm... well, knowing Merlin, he's probably talking to her about magic." Yuffie shrugged.
Back downstairs, Clair was reading from the book. She was enthralled by it. By the look of it she was already halfway through reading it. "I'm impressed with how you've breezed through that book." Merlin commented from where he stood.
Clair looked up. "Oh, I've always been a fast reader. Especially when I really like what I'm reading. It always helped in school."
"A useful skill to have." Merlin said. "We'll make a mage of you yet."
"When will I know when I'm ready to try some of this out?" Clair asked Merlin.
"Knowledge will come with time." Was the answer. "Well according to this, reciting the words for the spell helps one to focus on what they're doing." Clair read.
Merlin nodded. "It does. That's why I still rely on it. Some choose to move on to merely thinking the spell, but it's more dangerous."
The girl looked at him and rose an eyebrow. "Dangerous? How?"
Merlin pointed to the page. Clair read on before looking up. "It requires a great deal of concentration, and if you lose it the spell could go horribly wrong."
"Which is why new students are taught words and incantations. To help them focus." Merlin explained. "So, what shall we try first?" The sorcerer thought about it for a moment, then got an idea. "One of the basic tools for defending yourself would be the Plasma Bolt." Muttering to himself, Merlin caused a little ball of electricity to fire. It hit the wall, causing Clair to jump. "Now you try."
Clair repeated the words that Merlin said and saw the ball of electricity form in her hands. She fired it, but it ricochet off the walls and went upstairs. There was a cry as it hit someone, which happened to be Anne. "YEOW!"
Clair cringed a bit. "Oops. Sorry!"
"Very good." Merlin said. "Most take two dozen tries to get the plasma bolt."
Clair tried again. This time it hit the wall without bouncing off. "I got it!" she smiled.
"Excellent." Merlin nodded. "Now we can move on to catching opponents spells before they hit you."
Merlin held his hands together. "Cast a spell at me."
"I'm not going to-" she protested.
"Cast a spell." he insisted. The teenager sighed, but reluctantly complied.
"Fire!" A fireball came from Clair's keyblade and raced towards Merlin. However the old wizard caught it in the empty space between his hands. Clair gasped. "Whoa. Incredible..." she whispered.
Merlin made the fireball vanish. "Now you try." With that he threw a fireball at Clair. She screamed and held her hands in front of her to shield herself. However she didn't get burned. When she looked she saw that she had caught the fireball in a vacuum between her hands. She looked at it with awe. "This... this is amazing." Clair whispered, unable to think of anything else to describe this event.
Merlin nodded and stroked his beard. "You're learning magic faster than anyone I've seen." he told her. "You truly have a gift."
Clair thought about it. "Could that be a reason why the Keyblade chose me?"
"It could." Merlin shrugged. It was then Anne, Chase, Dylan, and Jason came back down the stairs. Anne looked as if she had been hit by a meteorite. Clair cringed at the sight and whistled, trying to look innocent. Merlin simply casted Cure and Anne was healed.
"Have you been in here learning magic tricks?" Dylan asked.
Clair nodded. "Yep."
"Can you pull a rabbit out of a hat?" Chase joked. This earned him a whack on the head from Merlin's wand. "What I'm teaching Clair is far more important than stage magic. What she's learning is the art and responsibility of the mystical."
"Sounds awesome." Anne commented. "It is." Clair smiled softly. "I'm loving it."
"But how are you going to keep learning when we're traveling?" Jason pointed out. "Unless you're staying here."
"Oh, that's an easy fix." Merlin simply replied. He said something that none of them caught, and a light came from a book. Clair opened the book and there was a blank page, yet it was clear as glass.
Clair looked at her new mentor. "What is this?"
"Use this page to contact me so I may continue to instruct you on your journey." Merlin instructed. "Just speak my name and the magic will work."
Anne looked at the page with interest. "Nice." she commented. "This is beautiful." Clair agreed with her.
Merlin smiled. "Magic can be a beautiful thing, but never as beautiful as knowledge and wisdom."
"So can we go kick some monster butt and save everything?" Chase asked.
Jason looked at him. "One problem; we have no idea how to find them." he pointed out.
"I'm afraid that some of the Heartless are in Radiant Garden. Leon is searching for them as we speak, but it appears that you will put your skills to the test sooner than we thought." Merlin told the five teenagers. "Now, you must learn combat-"
"Yuffie was way ahead of ya on that. She was knocking us onto our faces up there." Dylan told him. "But we managed okay."
Merlin looked at them. "But are you ready for facing the Heartless? They will not go easy on you."
Before the wizard could say anymore, Leon suddenly came down the stairs with a serious expression. "Merlin, Heartless are definitely in the town. I've had the residents stay inside so they'll be safe."
The five teenagers looked at him with surprise. "Y-You mean those monsters that attacked our home a-are here?" Dylan asked. Leon's nod confirmed it. "We'll need your guys' help. Are you ready for this?"
Anne, Dylan, Clair, Jason, and Chase all exchanged looks of uncertainty. They were just learning how to fight and use magic, but did they have what it takes to fight the Heartless?