Chapter Seven

Raging Storm of Body and Soul

I turned to walk back into the house with the Void lingering around me covering anything that was in hand's reach of me. A hole in reality with me as the eye of the gentle storm. Walking at this point is stretch at this point, drifting I guess would be more accurate. My body was half hidden by the Void. I got a good look from Glitterlamp's eyes and I look awesome! What I could see was never in sight for more than a good second or two before a wave of shadow washed over it. Even my glowing tendril wings couldn't pierce this darkness. The only creepy thing is that from time to time another face and shape could be seen within. A red eye with a scaly toothy smile, a golden eyed stoic helm, a gray smoked bandaged face and then me looking content. We also didn't look in the same direction either, but none were trying to escape or resist.

By the time I reached the door the Void returned to my mind and I appeared normal, well as normal as I can be. Inside was very warm and quiet which suited me just fine. I felt a little disjointed with my thoughts running around like crazy. A black mirror formed in my hand as I looked myself over and heaved a great sigh of relief when my face bore no injury.

"Holy crap, son! Where were you when I was in Nam?" Jim said loudly but joking as he slapped my back, hard but he probably couldn't help it.

"You never were in the military dad," Icecube said rolling his eyes. "Can I have my beads back?" He asked looking very hopeful.

"Still! I thought Richard was some pretty hot shit when he pulled this blizzard off and then here you come in!" Jim rubbed the back of his neatly cropped hair. "Might not have been in the military but I work out with the best of them!"

"But my beads?" Icecube insisted.

"Still grounded." Was the quick, frank answer.

"But!" Icecube had a very pained look on his face.

"No butts. Want to extend the grounding?" Jim looked sternly down, but his tone sounded like he wouldn't really do it. Then he turned to me with an air of amazement, "Can I offer you dinner? It's not everyday that ya change the weather!" Jim said with a huge stupid smile on his face. I smiled at him feeling tired but well from using my power.

"Sure." Was the most I could coax my tongue to say.

"Actually, this would be his second time." Glitterlamp remarked and Jim looked even more amazed, if it was possible.

Glitterlamp helped me back into the guest room where I first woke up and helped me out of all my layers. My skin felt numb, better numb not panic numb, but when Glitterlamp's lip curled into a frown I knew I was probably in trouble.


"You got that weird magic on your skin again, like when you had that serious sunburn." Glitterlamp said when she stripped my long sleeve shirt off. Gray scars drifted amongst the flickering black and gold haze above my actual skin and my flesh had a red color, probably just cold. The Alicorn amulet glowed softly as the gray lines grew smaller and smaller. The more she worked her magic the colder I grew until the shoddy healing magic eased up and I sat there in the room shivering like a fool. "I'll see about starting a warm bath, seemed to work last time."

"I remember the sudden shock fracking my system." I retorted still shivering cringing at the memory.

"But you got better." Glitterlamp pointed out dragging her finger experimentally across the haze.

"I guess, but how about we start with hot cocoa?" I suggested hopefully, not really wanting to do damage to my nerves. I don't really know if it damages my nerves but it hurts and I don't like the shock.

"Be right back." She said ruffling my hair. "Try to get warm."

I wrapped myself in the blankets and focused on just getting warmer. My mind felt as numb and sluggish as me. I don't even remember putting my head on the pillow but I found myself back in Courage's armory. The arms and armor looked a little more maintained, not pristine but they all looked like they have seen use.

"I really enjoyed that." Courage's text rang like bells to get my attention. He was honing a swords edge against a grind stone with glee in his eyes. "To test one's mettle on an old challenge to see one's progress, satisfying."

"Am I asleep again?" I asked shaking my head.

"How am I supposed to know?" Courage nodded. "Still, job well done."

"Why am I so tired after each stupid spell!" I slammed my shadowy fist into the table next to me.

"Have you forgotten the trip you made falling UP-hill?" Courage questioned me. "Your body needs rest. Time to heal. That's a basic rule, as we already know." He then plucked some armor off of a stand. "Besides that little point, you need your own armor. It's fine that you borrow mine so often but I think you should have one to call your own, since this is mine. If anything for sentimental value." He added almost apologetically.

The armor was plain iron with no significant detail whatsoever. The gauntlet was thrown down, metaphorically not literally, the challenge was raised, a dare displayed out in the open, and I wasn't sure if I should be daunted or delighted. I just stared at the metallic sheets of metal grooved to fit my body drawing only a blank.

I just couldn't be creative right now! The pain, since it was mentioned, jumped to the forefront of my mind was really distracting, places of me felt cold as ice while other parts felt like I was rubbing powered glass into my open wounds. It was intolerable! Every muscle burned when I moved, individual tendons cried out for relief.

In a fit of blind need, my body, what was left of it physically, was reduced into nothing but loosely held together smokey sand. I could think clearly again, it wasn't that hard of a trick. Pain is the only true illusion, hehe a true lie, a false truth, so many ways to say it but I could think again and that was important now. If only I could taste the pain in little amounts instead of taking it all on at once, if not to temper my will further to withstand such agony. These moments of panic and hesitation would be fatal if I wasn't already safe.

I drifted through the mortar between the bricks into my domain: The space between these defined areas. I floated there staring into the undefinable darkness as I let my mind bleed into the close distance to get a better look at things.

That was the last action I remember taking before I felt something warm touch me.

I woke with a start causing me to be very aware of every swollen bruise, each careless cut, the deafening brass drum playing on my head. I looked to see Glitterlamp let go of my shoulder and place an empty, cold cup into my hands. Icecube sat at the edge of my bed with excited wide eyes.

"Can he really do that?" Icecube asked.

"Would I have told you if it wasn't true?" Glitterlamp asked.

"Well, there was this one time I-" I began to say thinking back of our house in Appaloosa where she mind fooled somepony for nice furniture.

"Shush you!" Glitterlamp lightly slapped my leg but it was enough to make me jump and squeak a little from the pins and needles sensation. "Sorry, here." She deposited some pills into my hand. "Jim said it was good for muscle pains." The nameless white capsules seemed like white bugs in my hand.

"What am I supposed to drink?" I asked tipping the cup over to emphasize my point.

"I saw you once make cocoa out of nothing before." She explained. "I don't have what I need to make my herbal drink, so I thought you could make some." I remember that moment of confusion and submission to my odd power. It hasn't been that terribly long, but yet, it seems like a distant dream.

I sat there lost in thought for a few moments just looking at Glitterlamp. Her skin was discolored by the bruises and a few bandages covered open cuts, I felt a pang of failure as it was more fit of unthinking panic mixed with reaction that got us in this mess in the first place.

Waving my hand over my cup I remembered what cocoa tasted like, liquid chocolate that was rich but didn't overpower the tongue. Soon my cup was full of the steaming dark delicious mixture. I repeated this while Icecube held his breath and tried to see how I did it.

"That's way to cool." Icecube breathed out and took a sip from his cup and wrinkled his nose a little but kept on drinking. "Wow, this is different." He said a little confused. "It's not bad, just weird." I took a sip from mine and I guess during the conjuring I added mint into it as well. I liked it. Mint is refreshing to me.

"I haven't had any like this before." Glitterlamp nodded.

"When is dinner going to be ready?" I asked feeling a little hungry now. Even though I had a hamburger earlier I felt like I had room for more. I twisted my neck releasing dozens of cracking snaps that made Icecube flinch and Glitterlamp look at me with a 'really?' look. I just shrugged and cranked my neck the other way getting a similar effect, my neck didn't feel nearly as stiff after words.

"Um, I could get you when it's ready." Icecube offered before politely dashing out of the door.

"Cracking your neck is kinda gross," Glitterlamp pointed out. "Could you at least not do it in front of company."

"Sorry," I nodded my head before taking another drink. "Habit of mine. This is a pretty crappy set back, found the source of this blizzard so that's a plus." I said ticking off points on my hand. "But we got the day lights beaten right our of us,"

"You look worse, I'm feeling pretty good about my coat right now." Glitterlamp interjected. "Go on,"

"This recovery will delay our- Wait. What? I thought the mirror turned you into a normal person? Or at least normal looking." I said wide eyed. "You don't just say something like that and not expect to derail my train of thought!" I tapped her head and through our connection I disrupted her usual pathway for illusions. Like flipping a switch her body was briefly engulfed in green fire to reveal her true face.

Honestly it wasn't that weird. Okay coming from a guy who traveled to a world of talking animals little takes me by surprise these days. Her hair kept the same lank, metallic, yet mossy green trait but her 'skin' could not be mistaken as just 'dark skin' it had a dull sheen like before. Fangs poked out from her lips, well, she looked like a changeling had been squished and stretched to take on a human shape. The only thing that was missing was the horn and wings!

"Huh." I said still having my finger on her forehead. "Why didn't you look like this when you met my family?" I asked with a pretty good idea what the answer was.

"Just a habit of mine." Glitterlamp said imitating my voice with a hint of regret. "It just works out that way." She said sitting down next to me. "Anyway, unless you're well enough to fly that's the only way to get out of here. I stretched my back and it popped several times with the slightest bit of movement. The only thing that made it different from every other time was that it hurt like a severe burn. I couldn't even draw breath for a moment as my eyes shot wide open as I became stiff as a board and toppled onto my back. If I was standing I don't know what would have happened.

Glitterlamp's magic was on me in a heart beat but it did nothing to dull the pain. Ever fiber of my back felt like it was being torn. It wasn't like a sore muscle ache it was more of a. . .


I found myself staring into the void, shaking off my trance I looked around. Vast expanses of space? Check. Streams of color bending and flowing through the 'air'? Check. Stars that kinda shift around when you look at them? Check. The entire Inner Council kinda looking at each other awkwardly? Yeah, that's new.

"OK," Vengeance spoke even through he didn't shout his voice carries really well, even from within that cage in a cave he called home. "Now that you're present we can begin. What just happened? Should we try to understand what happened?"

"I'm not too sure how it happened. We are in uncharted territory! I, for one, am and will continue to be fascinated as this situation develops."

"Would understanding help us? Would figuring out what happened even matter?" Pain sounded on edge. "The fact remains that something happened, now what should we do about it?"

"Don't start bickering now, this is kinda important!" I declared wanting to be involved. "We need to wake up and return to the real world!" The words came from all around and yet all eyes settled upon me.

"Reality? Where do you think you are? Dreaming?" Pain sneered at me.

"Peace," Courage held up his hand towards the bandaged form. "He just woke up and is still confused."

"That is a foul thing to say to us. Don't say that again." Vengeance's words were still a loud rumble but it hurt nonetheless. "Last I recall," he continued regardless of my comment,"there was an intense pain around my shoulders spiking around the shoulder blades." I shrank since I rebuked and thought it over.

This place was the most familiar place I've known and yet I hardly recognize it anymore. This council space was vast but contained; a fort tower loomed majestically behind Courage reflecting in his shape, a fierce mountain with a yawning mouth made of stone stood stoically behind Vengeance, Pain had a black marble throne lines with silver laced with chain and hooks, all faced inward towards a large font of black water. It suddenly occurred to me that I dwell within the font as I could see everyone's faces just fine.

"Hardly much to go on." Pain mused.

"I say we are over thinking things. I say the connection to this other realm was disrupted by the Shadow's exhaustion and we worry over nothing."

"Hold a friggen second! I'm Michael! Not this 'Shadow'!" I boomed in protest.

"Calm yourself! It is a title, nothing more." Vengeance said stamping his tail for emphasis. "If exhaustion is the cause of all this I will try to relay this to Glitterlamp since she is concerned for our safety. All of ours."

"I think I can safely say that this meeting is adjourned, I bid thee all good night." Pain said calmly as his throne drifted backwards and out of sight. The other two domains drifted apart until they were all but distant islands from my font. I looked down into it's waters and I could vaguely see the 'other world' as they called it. My body, wait. . . YES! It IS my body! There can be no doubt about it! Can there? No! Stop this train of thought! My shirt was off yet my chest was covered in bandages, no the sterile white but a mixture of white gauze and gray bandages.

"What in the Hell?!" I whispered to myself as I lowered myself closer to the water as I tried to get a better look. My body was face down so I could see some odd lumps around my shoulders. I wanted to wake up but I couldn't no matter hard I grinded my teeth, no matter how hard I pinch myself, not even drawing blood was enough to get me out of this eerie darkness. In a fit of hopeless disgust I pushed myself from the black font and wandered to at least get re-familiar with my surroundings.

I am asleep, or unconscious at least, I know this much. I crafted this domain ever since I was but a small child barely able to keep one thought let alone two inside my head. Even now, I created a cobblestone path where ever I drifted. I had no legs but just a controlled column of black smoke for legs, my arms were very muscular but they didn't really look human, the hands definitely didn't look human because they are larger than what I remembered and ended in clawed talons perfect for ripping and crushing.

I couldn't fathom what my face even looked like now, hopefully it's just smooth and featureless so I don't have to look at some indescribable horror.

"Oh by Luna's starry cloak!" I cried out since my thoughts and words were one and the same. "Don't let Glitterlamp see me now! I'm not sure how I would describe this to her!" Driven by new purpose I tried to dive deeper and deeper into myself until I could wake up and forget this horrid nightmare! A blue light shot across what passed as a sky here and nailed me square in the chest knocking me off my cobblestone path and I now fell freely. The wind roared in my ear, my stomach threaten to empty itself, my blood knew that the fall shall stop and when it does, the thought didn't need to finish itself. "Wait, what gravity?" I eventually asked myself when my moment of panic from falling subsided. Once more I knew not how long I fell, for all I knew I didn't even fall but stumbled.

The small blue light was a sapphire about the size of baseball shined brilliantly within my large claws. Just looking into the gem chased away all other memory but it didn't call any forth either. The sort of empty meditation left me confused on what this thing wanted. It was foreign, that much was certain, but it wanted something from me. The gem itself was smooth and hypnotic, a vague notion was present but I couldn't understand what it was, or if it even wanted anything more than to be held.

"What are you?" I asked turning the gem over and over in my hand.

"Loyalty." Not a word but a feeling. A swelling in my chest as I pictured Glitterlamp, the feeling of never letting her down.

"How are you in my head, no, how DARE you invade my head!" I asked with curiosity which turned to anger. Couldn't anyone or anything at least ask permission first!

"I want you to help me find them, my friends." Loyalty murmured/felt inside my head. The images of several glass jars with multicolored flakes surrounded me. "Your reward, great."

Now this wouldn't be so bad, in fact it was great! The only thing that was bad was that I couldn't think around it! I wanted to find these Elements now, more than just a lark. I felt incomplete, I must have always been incomplete without these elements. I gotta find more of them, if nothing else to quiet Loyalty's soft crying and incessant petition! What are my petty wounds to Loyalty's desire to be reunited? This was my purpose now, and I had to perform it excellently.

I could see the other Elements clearly through Loyalty, nothing else existed in my view. The others now dwell in other human's hands, locked in brief cases lined with lead to avoid suspicion, another in a cave buried in gold, I felt eyes upon me as I viewed the last batch. I had no names for these Elements other than the friends I must find. The man was in a suit with a red tie looking down at me with a mildly surprised look about him.

"Should've known Merlin would have contracted a demon to seek these out," he said to himself, "tell me thy name, demon, and why thou seeks these artifacts." He said with an air of authority. I merely blinked, or at least I think I did at least, and continued to stare at him. "I command you, by the authority of the Council of twenty-nine I will it!"

"Should that title mean anything to me, tiny mortal?" I mocked him. The man glared down at me and the connection was cut.

"Wait! I didn't get a good look at the bastard! Where is the element!" I raged at the gem which was now was almost completely pressed against my brow. "WHERE!" I demanded but no one answered. "I want to wake up NOW!" I yelled needing to find these Elements, once I find them everything will go back to normal! No more of these dangerous adventures! No more confusing situations! No more of this insanity! I'll wake up once I've found them! I'll still be a college student, I won't have any white scars on my body, there won't be a oversized lens stuck in my chest, my eyes will be normal,

"What inane babble is this?" Vengeance chuckled right behind me. "You wish all of this to go away? After all the pain you've endured, blood you've spilled, friends you've made, your magic? You want it all to go away? Why!?"

"How the hell am I fine!? I want my old life back!" I yelled without thinking I assaulted the very void itself in efforts to wake myself up. I began to draw energy into myself to will myself to wake up.

"All of this over a misspoken title? Get a grip! You only fool yourself!" Vengeance snarled from his cave and I could feel him crawl out of cave. Once he is out I won't have control of my body. "Mistress? No, I meant nothing by it. I only meant to contain this strange outburst. No, I meant no harm. Yes. Yes. I'll go back until I am needed." He began to withdraw and I felt more in control and I could feel myself wake up.

A green mist fell down on me and my mind cleared itself of any previous thoughts. Something fell from my claws but I no longer cared. I needed to find the elements, they are the key. Everything faded from my vision. I enjoyed the feeling as what little form I had slowly faded back into nothingness.


"C`mon, Dreamer, wake up. You were having a bad dream." My shoulder was being massaged into the waking world. I felt anxious for some reason, tense, a little fearful but most of all I was ready to lash out at a moments notice. I met her green eyes and all I could see was tendered confusion. I broke. I had apparently repressed my stress through euphoric sense of adventure. I ached all over but I didn't care I reached out slowly until Glitterlamp held me in her arms and wept silently shuddering.

"What's wrong?" Glitterlamp said rubbing my head. I was now aware that I was cleaner now, my chest felt tight and not from the emotions that ran freely. "Things will get better, let it all out, I think I've said something about bottling these things up."

"Even if you didn't," I whispered holding onto her. "I'll take your word for it." I let one hand let her go to touch my back but she caught my hand.

"Don't touch it, the bandages might itch but don't scratch." Glitterlamp warned me. "You cried out in your sleep for me what's wrong?" I tried to recall what had brought to me to this point.

"I remember meet Icecube," I began ticking off my fingers. "I stopped a magical snow storm."

"So far so good." Glitterlamp nodded her head easing me out of her embrace.

"Things are a little fuzzy after that." I admitted sadly shrugging. "What happened to me?"

"You had a tinder box made of plastic in your left breast pocket and a first aid kit in your right breast pocket also made of plastic." Glitterlamp slowly explained. "When we hit that mountain both of them broke and cut you up pretty bad. No one noticed until we tried to get you out of your blanket. That fake healing magic staved the damage off for a long time but when you passed out it stopped."

"Really?" I laughed then gasped at the sudden pain.

"That's what our hosts think, I think it was a lot of little things that add up." Glitterlamp smiled and ruffled my hair. "We got you cleaned up but your hair is all tangled up."

"I don't know why I have long hair." I said feeling the strange length, definitely passed my shoulders.

"I think it looks good on you," she said giving me a quick kiss on my cheek. "It's also my favorite color."

"I'm kinda balding," I chuckled sweeping my hair back to see the male pattern baldness set in. "It started early for me, ever since ninth grade, that's why my hair is so light and fluffy."

"What!? No, that's a waste of a rare color!" Glitterlamp said surprised and now looked at me. "Oh well, I'll keep you anyway."

"Are you sure you can't remember, you made a bit of noise before I came up here." Glitterlamp asked again. "You had me worried." Loyalty flashed a bright blue on the dresser not far from me then everything came back to me. I raised one injured arm to point at the Element.

"That bastard invaded my dreams and," I said then the flash was gone. "I don't recall what but I need to find the rest of the set. Loyalty kept crying to me to find the rest and it was driving me crazy." I reached to feel my chest again but I was stopped again.

"Don't. I can still see you." Glitterlamp said but threw a look towards the small jar now. "It can reach to you like that?" She asked.

"Yeah, messed with me a little. I suppose Courage went and got you." I said becoming now aware of a slight tingle around my ribs. The tingle then became an itch then it was unbearable. "I also think I saw where the rest of the Elements are now. There's maybe only one that isn't in someone's hands. A wizard mistook me for a demon, that's a plus, but he was aware of me looking for them, that's a minus."

"Hey we are a lot closer than what we were yesterday." Glitterlamp said smiled encouragingly. "That's gotta be a plus. Oh!" She exclaimed then fumbled out the new smart phone I got before all of this. "Your family has been asking for you, but I told them that you were fine."

"Well, that will be true in time. But I'm not sure when I was last Okay." I answered wryly. "Don't answer that, you were right. But it's probably be best if I talked to them soon." I looked down to my body and saw that it really wasn't bandages but white shirts ripped up into strips and large gauze pads pressed down tightly. "Think I'll need stitches?" I asked Glitterlamp.

"Let's hope not. I'll try to do what I can with my magic." Glitterlamp promised. "Anyway, can you walk? Dinner was delayed but it's done now."

"Well, even if I can't walk, I'll figure something out." I said wishing I could smell, I personally smelled really clean, so clean it'll kill your nose cell's clean.


Author's note's.

Oh gods, all of them, I don't care anymore. College is kicking my ass but so far I have good grades, I expect to graduate come May but a lot of things can go wrong in that amount of time.

Enough of that, most won't care anyhow, SO to get down to the point: I have no idea how many of these chapters I'm going to be able to pump out. I'm aiming Quality over quantity so this stuff might take a while.

I might be on a hiatus, a cruel word I know but it's taking a lot longer than I anticipated. However I will respond to all of your comments, questions, rage, social calls, whatever.

Zemez, I will get to your stories soon. Really, I will.

Other crap I've been doing: Defeated pychonauts, had a lot of grand ideas from those crazy bastards :) having fun with Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms. Getting my ass kicked on Valkyrie Chronicles, playing How to Survive with my little bro. My little sis is even writing a homestuck thing called Two sides of one coin. Pretty good stuff considering that she is like what? Not even in highschool yet. Writes better than what I could at that age.

Speaking of ages! Should I even add Glitterlamp's age and the Dreamer's age? I thought it would be distracting personally, tell me what you guys think!

My class for my Major are a bunch of raging jerks. But they leave me alone, for the most part. REALLY THOUGH, besides my family, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL!

Share and comment, rate, that sorta thing.

P.S. I swear this document looks better on Open office. I have no idea how to make this crap look more appealing, system format and crap. Any advice is welcome.

Love all of you,

Silver Top Hat.