AN: I am back with one more chapter! Okay so this is definitely one of those, going very slowly but going, projects. I really do like the idea so it will hopefully continue to happen. Read, enjoy and please review!
#6. Miracle's Wake
"No!" The little girl answered fiercely, "He was trying to stop me, and the murderers are getting away!"
Machine parts clicked and turned as Yusei released his duel disk from the duel runner and strapped it to his left wrist, the contraption unfolding and readying for battle.
"You will release him now," Yusei said, "Or face me in a duel. Your choice, Chiharu."
"If that is what it takes for you to get out of my way, then fine, let's duel!" The little girl shouted in the heat of moment, but it was obvious she quickly regretted her impulse. She took yet another step back and muttered, "No, I don't mean it like that, I…Please don't make me duel, papa, I need to do other things right now. Look, I will let him go!"
She waved her hand and the every unnatural thing around them disappeared. Billy dropped to the ground with a thud and did not move at first. Seeing her father's expression become even more severe, Chiharu hastened to explain, "I did not hurt him, I swear! We stacked a long chain of spells and traps and counter traps; I think he just wore himself out...I…"
"I, I am fine, really, Doctor Fudo," Billy spoke as he climbed up shakily. He was still in pain, but seeing little Chiharu so afraid and anxious and close to tears he felt rather sorry for the child, and it felt almost obligatory to placate the girl's livid father.
Yusei Fudo turned and looked at Billy, silently measuring the state of his health. Then the doctor gave him a slight nod. The next moment Yusei turned back to his young daughter and slotted his deck into the duel disk.
He said in a dangerously flat voice, "No, Chiharu, this time you do not get a free pass. Ever since your mother passed away I let discipline slide. I told you again and again you cannot abuse your power yet never did I enforce it in earnest. I accepted all of your apologies—too many of them. No more! Today you will learn your limits. Today you will learn the consequence of abusing your power: utter and crushing defeat."
"Please, papa, not right now," Chiharu muttered, tears now flowing freely, "I know I shouldn't have gotten so angry; but let me try to help Ivy. I think she is dead, but I can help her; I have to…"
"Enough!" Yusei said, "I will not let you manipulate me like this again. Chiharu Fudo, I challenge you…"
"Noooooo!" Chiharu cut off her father with a long wail, then she screamed, "Spell activate, Miracle Fertilizer—bring Poison Ivy back to me!"
The world was utterly still for a few seconds.
"No, Chiharu, you cannot..." Yusei began, but his voice died mid-sentence.
He had reacted instinctively, shocked by Chiharu's attempt, yet he stopped himself. For Yusei Fudo there was no higher call than preserving lives, so he could not bring himself to hinder an attempt to do exactly that, even if it was something as incredulous as magical resurrection. Should one ever hinder an attempt to save a life? Yusei hesitated.
At first Billy could not be sure just exactly what he heard, and then he had to process the mind-boggling information. Miracle Fertilizer—"target one plant-type monster in your Graveyard: special summon that target"—targeting Poison Ivy, who was more plant than human—to bring her to life—to life from death?! Was Poison Ivy truly dead? And more terrifyingly, was she about to return to life?
Poison Ivy still lay unmoving on the forest floor, but magic raged like a ferocious storm. Chiharu stood at the center of the storm, eyes wide open but unseeing. Her entire form was glowing with a fell light, and her eyes flashed white. She was weaving the spell with her very essence. But it was not working. It did not take a gifted magician to see it was simply not working and dangerously close to spiraling out of control, for they saw blood trickling down form the corner of Chiharu's mouth, and Poison Ivy was still as stone.
"Chiharu, you have to stop! You will kill yourself; stop!" Yusei stepped towards his daughter, but before he could get close the storm of magic tossed him aside and flung him into a tree.
Without really thinking about it, Billy leapt towards the little girl. The swirling magic around the child was like a condensed hurricane, but Billy knew his way around magic. Getting past magical barriers was daily fare for Captain Marvel, and even if he was not the Mightiest Mortal on Earth right now, he still remembered Captain Marvel's tricks. He let loose a small bolt of electricity, blasting away at the forces pushing him back, and followed the forward momentum of his own magical energy into fray, dashing through the small opening and only stopping when he was standing right beside the girl child.
Chiharu turned towards him, eyes glowing, blood marring her marble-white face.
There was no convincing her to stop now, or perhaps there was simply no stopping. Magic easily escapes the control of the wielder, even for someone as powerful as Chiharu.
"Let me help you!" Billy cried out and grasped the young girl's hand.
Miracle Fertizlier—Poison Ivy—bring her to life! The youth willed with every fiber of his being.
A silent roar rose into the air. The storm of raging magic now manifested itself as tangible winds and lightning flashes, wreaking physical havoc inside the small forest glade. Billy clenched his teeth hard. It felt as if something was draining his very life, turning his bones and sinew to water and then sucking it dry. Only seconds later he sank to his knees, unable to stay standing. But he refused to let go of Chiharu's hand. There was no way he would let a ten-year old little girl endure this all alone.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion shook the glade, and the wind and the light down finally died down. The spell was complete. Billy found himself lying on the forest floor, staring up at the starry night sky. He was beyond pain and weariness, beyond thinking too, only vaguely aware that he was still holding Chiharu's hand. Billy would have happily lain there forever, but only a moment later he felt the little girl stir and then attempt to rise beside him.
"Ivy, Ivy!" The little girl shouted.
Concern for the girl made Billy stand up despite his utter exhaustion, and found himself face to face with Poison Ivy. She stood right in front of them, eyes wide and staring at them.
Poison Ivy, still alive.
Billy blinked, and then took a deep breath.
Why shouldn't Poison Ivy be alive? She was probably just passed out from the attack, and now she has awaken. He did not just bring back the dead with a bloody card game. Billy repeated his wishful thinking a hundred times, praying it to be true, but he knew deep in his heart that he had just done the unthinkable. Indeed, he and Chiharu just resurrected Poison Ivy; his certainly of the fact was as weighty as his exhaustion.
"Ivy, please talk to me," Chiharu whispered to the plant woman, "Say you are alright."
"I am alright," Poison Ivy's reply came too fast and she sounded half strangled, "I am talking to you. What do you want me to say?"
Chiharu stared back at the plant woman, mouth hanging agape. She did not know what to think of that response. Something was terrifyingly wrong; they all sensed it. A moment of deathly silence, and then Poison Ivy spoke again.
"What have you done to me?!" She ground out between her teeth.
"I, I wanted to save you; I can't let you die, Ivy," Chiharu whispered and took a couple steps towards Poison Ivy, reaching out a small hand, "Ivy, please…"
"You little monster, what did you do! I will kill you!" Poison screamed.
Billy grabbed Chiharu's hand once more and pulled her back, placing himself between the crazed plant woman and the little girl. "Poison Ivy, stop this," He cried out, "Let's talk about this, alright? Stop attacking!"
Everything stilled immediately, including Poison Ivy herself. Her arm was half-raised, frozen in mid-motion. Her eyes were wide as saucers and unblinking.
"Poison Ivy?" Billy murmured, "What is going on with you, Poison Ivy?"
"I can't move… I can't even turn my head; I can't move!" Poison Ivy screamed, "You brats, what did the two of you do to me! Let me go, or I swear I will…"
Billy answered breathlessly, "We did not do anything to you, or we did not mean to. If that spell has any effect at all it is just to bring you back to life!"
"Bring me to life… just bring me back to life?!" Poison Ivy stared back at the two youngsters speechlessly for a long time, before letting loose a feral growl of frustration, "You have no idea what you are doing, have you? You stupid kids, you stay away from me, do you hear? Now release me! Let me move!"
"You can move if you want," Billy answered, voice trembling.
Before the sentence was complete Poison Ivy was already bolting away, disappearing into the trees. Billy stood there rooted, but Chiharu thrust his hand aside and raced after Poison Ivy.
"Ivy, please!" The little girl shouted, "Stay for a moment, we have to figure this out. Ivy!"
And Poison Ivy stopped, frozen in a forward lurch. A moment of silence, and then a desperate and furious wail rose pierced the sky.
"Ivy! Listen to me, Ivy," Chiharu shouted at the plant woman, "Please don't…"
She never finished her sentence. Billy had caught up with the little girl, he hugged the child close and covered her mouth with a firm hand.
"Go, Ivy, leave," Billy commanded while restraining Chiharu, "Leave this place, leave Gotham City; make sure you are far away from both of us. I promise you I will do everything in my power to figure this out and fix it, but for now you have to stay away."
Poison Ivy did not need to be commanded twice and disappeared into the trees.
Billy stood still as a statue for a moment, arms still wrapped around Chiharu. He had been running on nothing but adrenalin; now that Poison Ivy disappeared from view and the crisis at least suspended, he had nothing left except an empty shell of a spent body. He thought vaguely that perhaps he should let say something to the little girl, but before he could reach any coherent conclusion his knees buckled and he fell back unconscious.
Billy woke to find himself in a Greco-Roman dream in white marble, falling water, and most tastefully placed greeneries. The sky was the perfect shade of cerulean, broken by puffs of soft clouds, and even what should have been most ordinary sunlight seemed a dreamy shade of soft gold here. Billy clambered up and looked around wonderingly. He did not know where he was, but this kind of scenery looked vaguely familiar.
"You are awake!" A familiar sweet voice called.
Billy whirled around and found himself staring at a beaming face, coppery hair bound by shining gold, and a pair of eyes blue like the sky above. A snowy owl hooted and landed on the young girl's shoulder.
"Min?" Billy was confused, "I don't remember summoning you."
"You didn't," Minerva, Lightsworn Maiden laughed at him, "Welcome to my world, champion."
Billy did a double take of the classic architectural perfection around him, and finally the familiarity clicked. He exclaimed, "Realm of Light! Wow… Where am I exactly, Minerva? How did this happen? I have never seen a field spell manifested before. To give life to an entire realm, can you imagine how much magic that would take?"
"You should try it sometime," Minerva said glibly.
Billy eyed the otherworldly girl with ample confusion and even a sliver of suspicion.
"I mean well, Billy," Minerva laughed, "You have a powerful soul, more powerful than that of any duelist I have personally met over the years. In my estimation you should be able to manifest a field spell just fine with some practice. But we digress from your original question. Welcome, young master, to the spirit world, where soul creatures and all their magic dwell. How does this world look in your eyes, Billy?"
Billy paled, and the youth murmured, "I thought, I thought you said coming into the spirit world is a one-way ride, and only, only through death can…"
"Don't worry, you are not dead. Our world is indeed open to a few select living mortals, those with a certain quality that allow them to be here yet live, and we can bring them in if we so desire. You happen to one with such a quality. So after your battle, sensing your acute magical exhaustion, Michael brought you here."
"Acute magical exhaustion?" Billy had to snicker at that, just a little.
"'Tis no laughing matter, young master. Magic is always the derivative of life itself. Tap your magic too much and too fast, death is a sure consequence," For such heavy words, Minerva was sounding entirely too lighthearted, "By and by, if you are ever faced with a battle so grave that your life is surely forfeit, I do encourage you to consider turning the remnants of your soul into a creature of this realm so you can become an eternal guardian, just like countless heroes have done so before you. Surely a soul as powerful as yours can be put to better use than simple inexistence."
"Er, thanks for the advice, I guess?"
Billy shivered ever so slightly. It was indeed disturbing how Minerva can recount something as terrifying as an eternal existence as a magical creature in such a mundane manner. In time like this the inhumanity of forces he has so happily dabbled in pressed home extra hard. Minerva is, after all, an undead creature who had perhaps never lived, a shard of a goddess, who is a higher order of existence than mere mortals.
He took a deep breath to cast away such uneasy thoughts, and looked around once more. The scene was as beautiful as ever, and he felt himself perk up, just a little, at the glorious scene. He turned around and asked Minerva, "Since I am here already, will you show me around and introduce me to everyone? I have only ever met you and Michael."
"That was indeed my plan, and we should start with a proper introduction," Minerva laughed, but then she made a graceful little curtsey, before rising with a serious expression, "Well met, Champion of Magic, chosen by the Hand of Wisdom. I am called Minerva, Maiden of the Lightsworn, but my true name is Glaukokis, for I am the Little Bright One, an incarnation of the goddess Pallas Athena herself. Hold my name, as you would hold my loyalty and love. Now tell me your name, Champion, as a token of your good faith."
Billy blinked very slowly. After a long silence he whispered, "Glaukokis."
The name rolled off his tongue with a tingling sensation; he could taste the quivering power in that single word alone. When he casually said introductions, he was certainly not expecting to receive Minerva's true name. He has lived with Solomon's wisdom long enough to know just how potent a true name can be, especially for a magical creature like Minerva. Her knowledge would be his knowledge, her power would be his power, and she would be his to command. This was a promise not easily granted.
"Give me your true name, if you trust me so, say all of it with no truth unsaid," Minerva said gently, "You are well versed in magic, so I am sure you know how a true name can bind or empower, and to bestow upon another the knowledge of a true name is an act of the ultimate pledge."
Billy nodded with a solemn face and murmured, "You know I trust you, Min, especially after what you offered me. Please hear: my name is William Joseph Batson Wayne, also called Eaglet, and I am also Captain Marvel, chosen by the Great Wizard upon the Rock of Eternity and the Goddess of Wisdom. Keep my name in good faith, as I would yours."
He extended a hand towards the small coppery-haired girl, who gladly took his hand with a smile.
"And there is the still the rest of the clan," Minerva said with a soft smile, just as the sound of beating wings filled the air.
An enormous shadow fell over them as the great winged creature descended. Michael, the Arch-Lightsworn climbed down from the dragon's back, and he slowly knelt down in front of the overawed Billy, like a knight paying homage to his liege lord, or a protective elder offering tenderness to a child.
"I am glad to see you again, young William," So spoke the leader of the Lightsworn clan in his glorious shining armor, "I am Michael, the Arch-Lightsworn, and my true name is Archistrategos, the Supreme Commander. So I gift my name to you, William, and hope to receive yours."
"Of course," Billy shook the armored hand, and repeated the same oath.
The same process continued with every member of the Lightsworn clan, even including the pair of little hound and cat, the great wolf, and even the great Judgment Dragon, who spoke not a single word but somehow made himself perfectly understood. Billy did not quite understand why this, why now, but he could hardly refuse to reciprocate when this clan of magical creatures offered him the weightiest of pledges. It was only after he received all the names of the Lightsworn clan did he find the opportunity to ask carefully, "Everyone, I am just wondering, do you need my help in something? Is that why you brought me here and all pledged me your true names?"
There was a long, heavy silence, so Billy hastened to add, "It's okay, everyone, I am glad to help you guys with whatever you need; I would do that even if you guys did not give me your true names."
"There is nothing we need from you now," So spoke Michael, "Rather, we desire an unbreakable alliance with you because what is coming. A sinister force from your world is stirring our realm, William, and we fear left unchecked this force will bring forth a great doom, to both of our worlds."
"What? So what is happening in your world? What have you noticed? Tell me what is wrong, I will do whatever I can to help!"
Seeing the intensity on his face Michael nodded with a small smile and said, "Thank you, William, we were indeed right to place our confidence in you. It is this: an unknown psychic duelist of uncommon power who should not exist has suddenly appeared."
"A psychic duelist of uncommon power?"
Billy paused. The first thing that jumped to his mind upon hearing this was none other than Chiharu Fudo. Is she the sinister force? Chiharu, that powerful but unstable little girl so full of hidden grief? Would he have to fight her again, somehow?
"Psychic duelists are rare, and powerful ones even rarer," Not quite sensing his hesitance, Minerva explained, "Their power manifests at a young age and they are known to us. Even you, though you did not know about us until the age of twelve, we have always known you. I sensed your power and your connection to us long ago, and I visited you once. You might not remember now; you were so small then! We thought it is better to let you discover the game and in turn us by yourself, so we waited rather patiently all these years."
Billy stared at her open-mouthed with shock. Eventually he exclaimed, "That is why you seemed familiar the first time I saw your image in the card game! It wasn't just Ms. Glaukos, I actually saw you before as a little kid?"
Minerva gave him a bright but brief smile and continued in a serious voice, "All psychic duelists are known, at least to certain members among us, and those truly powerful ones are known to all of us. The entire realm heeds the call of the Black Rose Witch and her daughter, and the Princess of the Ancient Forest is beloved by all. And you, Billy, you will be surprised how many among us will come when you command it, for someone as powerful and earnest as you is inevitably known to all the realm, and loved by most. But now an unknown power has suddenly appeared, commanding the creatures and the magic of our realm, yet we do not know this power. No clan has claimed this newcomer as champion, no creature has seen him grow, no one can even connect this power to or name or a face. We only know him as a force that uses us. Do you see why we are uneasy?"
Billy nodded very slowly, "Alright, I see now. That does sound very problematic, but what should I do to help?"
"Be vigilant, look for strange happenings in your world," said Michael, "Trust your instinctive judgment; if something seems to you impossibly powerful, then it is—it is most likely connected to this strange impossibility that haunts us."
Billy pondered a few seconds whether his almost facetious observation is appropriate for the moment, but in the end decided to go for it, for this question dearly needed answers. He said, "To be honest, the most impossible thing I have seen yet is what Chiharu Fudo and I did together, the very act that gave me this acute magical exhaustion."
"Miracle Fertilizer," Minerva paused a moment, before speaking in a somber voice, "You are not wrong in thinking that the art of resurrection is impossibly powerful. If you see it, be wary, be very wary. And I hope you have also learned through your last escapade, don't ever do it again."
"I am sorry, I am! But what about that side effect, how does that work exactly? What's wrong with Poison Ivy? There has to be some way to get rid of whatever Poison Ivy is experiencing…"
"There is not," Michael interrupted with a short, flat phrase.
Seeing Billy's devastated look Minerva added with a soft sigh, "What he means is that no one knows, Billy. We have not seen it before, when a resurrection spell works and those who cast the spell are yet living themselves. We can only theorize."
"So how can we figure this out?" Billy asked hurriedly, his handsome face scrunched up in concentration.
"Perhaps, Billy, but you have been here long enough and your soul is well rested, so you should return," Minerva reminded him, "Time runs differently in our realm and yours; you may not think you have been here long but your loved ones will no doubt fear your current state. Listen!"
Billy paused and listened, and then he heard it, the familiar sharp and biting voice of his brother, whispering from all around him or perhaps from somewhere deep within him.
"Come home, you fool, wherever you need to be and whatever you need to do, you had four whole days now. You keep this up and I will go dig back whatever magic I need in order to drag you back here personally…"
Billy nearly jumped out of his skin.
"Four days?" He exclaimed, "It has been four days?! Did I just disappear for four whole days? Damian will kill me, and father… I have to get back now!"
Those words barely left his mouth when everything around him vanished. He blinked a few times, and finally realized he was lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV unit and a menagerie of monitoring gadgets. He turned his head and saw Damian was indeed sitting by the bed and staring at him with a murderous look.
"Sorry," Billy offered a timid smile, "I totally didn't know how long that took."
"I will kill you," Damian hissed.