Chapter 6: Runaway Magic
BlueTiger321: All right! It's now time for probably the most well-known scene from this movie! I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about! So, on with the story.
Danny groaned as he sat on a staircase after enduring another training session with Aerrow. He took off his catcher's mask and placed it next to him on the step. Becoming the Prime Merlinean was tiring work for the young man, both physically and mentally. Danny did not know if he could really take any more of this.
"Okay," said the boy, "so, how will I know when I'm it? The Prime Merlinean?"
Aerrow was sitting at the desk reading after giving his lesson. "The Prime Merlinean will become so powerful within," he replied, "he no longer needs his ring to cast magic." He then turned to face his apprentice. "When you can do that, you're ready to take on Cyclonis."
Danny nodded when he understood. He then heard a sound and looked up to see his dog Cujo licking the cables that were connected into an assortment of outlets. The boy was surprised to see his pet was here, but was even more concerned for the dog's safety.
"Cujo!" cried Danny. "What is he doing here, anyway?" The only response he got was Aerrow fingering him to come over to the desk. So Danny got up and walked over to the man. "This should be good," he said.
"Schematic for a fusion spell," said Aerrow. It was then revealed that he was researching the scroll he retrieved from his bag. "The merging of two souls into one physical body. I've only ever seen one sorcerer successfully pull off human fusion."
Danny didn't understand what this had to do with his pet. "And Cujo is here for...?"
"Practice."
"Are you trying to tell me you're trying to possess Cujo?"
Aerrow looked at the dog along with Danny. He could see that may not be a wise decision as the dog was licking the cables. The man could also hear a slight toot coming from the dog's rear.
"Yeah," Aerrow said, having second thoughts. "I'm not so sure it's the best idea, either."
"No," agreed Danny.
The sorcerer got up from his chair to try thinking of another plan. Danny walked off and stared at the clock from the wall. The current time was 7:45 p.m., which meant that June would be arriving any minute.
"Oh, man," said Danny. He turned to Aerrow, hoping to have some time off. "June's coming now, and I'm standing in a puddle of pop." Looking down, he saw a spilled soda can under his shoes. "I need to stop and clean."
"We're not done training," said Aerrow.
The young man exhaled his breath. "Aerrow, I've been waiting for ten years to see this girl again. Do you have any idea what it's like?"
Aerrow paused. He did know what it was like to be with the one he cared about, but he also knew that he couldn't let his personal feelings cloud his vision from seeing his responsibilities. Still, he decided to give his apprentice the benefit of the doubt and let him live his dream, but only for this one time.
"When I come back, you better be focused," said the sorcerer, and then walked away.
Danny felt grateful for his master giving him some time off, and so he ran off to the cleaning cabinet to pick up a broom, a mop, a push broom and a jug of floor cleaner. He then tried his best to juggle the objects in his arms.
"Ow," the boy said as the push broom smacked the side of his head.
Danny went over to the soda puddle, picking up the can and dabbing it with the mop. "This is really sticky," he whined. The young man jabbed the floor with the mop and then turned to the clock to see it was already 7:50 p.m. "I'm doomed."
The boy looked around his lab to see computer equipment cluttered over the surface of a desk and a pizza box with one slice remaining on the floor. "This..." he said. If June saw this, he thought, she was going to think he was a slob. Danny was even more flustered when he saw Cujo lift up his leg and urinate over the cables.
"Thank you, thank you," the young man said sarcastically to his pet as he gave an a-okay sign with his hand.
Danny felt like he was in real trouble now. There wasn't enough time to clean up his lab and to get himself prepared. Then he looked at his Encantus and suddenly had an idea. With his sorcery skills, maybe he could get the cleaning to do itself.
The book was opened and Danny looked at the page while he stood in the Merlin Circle with a crimson flame burning around one of the outer circles. Danny shifted his head around while preparing himself. Concentrating hard, he lifted his hand and made a mop stand up on its own.
The young man then swung his finger around like a conductor leading an orchestra that made the mop clean the floor.
Danny then directed the magic over to a broom. The cleaning object soon kicked the push broom with its bristles that made it come to life as well. All three of them were now cleaning the floors, just like Danny ordered them to do.
Danny wasn't finished yet. He commanded another mop to spin around and clean the spot where Cujo urinated. The dog groaned and looked to see the mop clean up his stain.
Still using his magic, Danny turned on the faucet and commanded two sponges to clean up a stack of dirty dishes. After seeing his spell working, the young man stepped out of the Merlin Circle and headed for the bathroom to get himself ready for his date.
What Danny didn't realize was that the magic was now starting to grow, thinking it was supposed to continue its work. The spell went over to the cleaning cabinet where every other mop and broom was brought to life. Each object then marched out and was ordered to clean as instructed by the sorcerer's spell.
A mop went even so far as to scrub Cujo with a sponge and toothbrush. The dog only groaned and did nothing as it lied on the floor while being given a bath.
Eventually, a pair of mops held up buckets with their strings and dumped water onto more buckets that were carried out by more mops. The cleaning was going to get done, and they would not stop until the sorcerer commanded it was enough.
All the sponges from the sink then hopped off to begin their cleaning regimen as the water was now having soap added to it. The water from the sink was so full that it started dripping from the edges and onto the floor.
Meanwhile, Danny was in the shower, washing his hair and body to prepare for June. After he was all clean and dry, he changed into a fresh set of clothes and then went to brush his teeth. The young man walked out of the bathroom, expecting to find his lab clean.
What Danny saw upon stepping out made him feel like his heart sank into his chest. Dozens of mops and brooms were now cleaning the lab along with his Tesla coil equipment, and the entire floor was now flooded with water. The young man couldn't believe that he let his magic get out of control like this, and he had to do something before the whole station was underwater, or worse.
Holding out his ring, Danny said, "I command you to stop!"
Every object that was cleaning stopped and then turned to Danny. The boy smiled when he saw his plan had worked, but then Danny cringed as a squirt bottle sprayed window cleaner in his face. The boy almost stumbled backwards and saw that everything resumed cleaning.
"Oh, no, man!" cried the young man. If he couldn't make everything stop with magic, then he would have to do it manually.
Rushing onto the floor, Danny grabbed one mop but it slipped out of his grasp. Grabbing another mop, Danny lifted it high off the floor and threw it to his left only to watch it get back to cleaning.
Somewhere else, the magic spread to some power outlets that made them all open their holes like eyes and mouths. The water was getting close to them and they would not be able to control themselves once they were wet.
Danny rushed over to the sink to see it overflowing with water. He turned the knobs to shut off the faucet. Much to his chagrin, nothing happened as the water kept flowing.
The outlets cried out as they were now drenched with water and gave off small sparks.
Danny tried to control the water by holding a bucket over the faucet but then felt something wet slapping him on his back. He turned around to see it was a mop. The boy grabbed the mop's handle and decided to take care of this once and for all. Danny turned to find one thing to finally stop the mops: a fire axe.
Grabbing the axe from the wall, Danny held it high above his head to chop up the mop on a table but saw the mop spread out its strings to prevent the sharp edge from cutting it.
Danny continued his chopping when a knock came at the door. He turned his head and opened his eyes wide when he knew it was June. If she came in and saw what was happening, he knew he'd be in serious trouble.
"June," he said worriedly.
Danny rushed over to the door and opened it.
"Hi," said June.
"Hi," the young man said. "You're on time."
"You forgot?"
"No, no, no." As the two of them were talking, two mops crawled their way up the stairs towards Danny. The young man felt the strings of the mops tug on him as he said, "I didn't... Ahhh... forget."
"Is everything okay?" asked June, not seeing a mop string inch its way behind Danny's head.
"What, me?" replied Danny. "How are you doing?" He once again said, "Ahhh!" as the mops tugged on his legs.
"I'm good, I'm good."
Danny batted away a string with his head as it tugged on his ear. "Would you please stop that?" he said to the mop. "Will you—" The boy paused as a mop jammed its way up his rear, making him open his mouth and grunt.
June thought that it was directed towards her. She gave Danny an odd look.
The young man knew that he had to get this problem under control and he could not let June see it. Looking down he said, "It's probably best for you to leave." He then realized what he said to her. "What am I saying?"
June could see that she came at a bad time. "Okay," she replied. "Okay, I will go."
"Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm having issues." The boy then closed the door in front of the girl, and June was left wondering what made Danny act like this.
Danny only put his hands to his face and shake his head in frustration. He had just blown off the woman he cared for and he thought she would take it as a bad sign. The mops then mimicked Danny's actions with their strings.
The young man rushed back down to his lab to get everything under control. He made a big splash when his feet touched down in the water while his Encantus drifted by him. His eyes were now open with fright as the mops were cleaning the Tesla coils and making them give off sparks.
"My coils!" shouted Danny. He knew that water conducts electricity, and it would spread throughout the lab with this much water.
The boy climbed onto the Tesla coil to protect it, but the mops kept on cleaning it. Other mops eventually climbed onto the cage and made it tip. The result was Danny's computer electrocuting the water. Now Danny was in trouble. He was on the safety of the platform but one step into the water and he would be dead.
The base of the Tesla coil then ripped apart from Danny's weight pulling against it, and the young man screamed as he feared he would now plunge into the electrified water. Luckily, part of his shirt was stuck on the coil and kept him from falling but he was dangerously close to the water.
In that moment, Aerrow returned to the lab and was shocked to see all the chaos before him. He spread out his hands and shouted, "Disperse!"
The sorcerer cast a spell that made every object brought to life drop to the floor. He then waved around his hands to make the electrified water disappear.
Danny looked up and gave a sheepish smile to his master. He knew he would have to explain for everything and it was going to get ugly. The boy watched as Aerrow shot out his fingers and made Danny drop to the floor hard when it was safe, making him grunt in pain.
Aerrow was now furious with his apprentice. After watching Danny neglect his own spell, he didn't think this boy was worthy of being called a sorcerer, let alone to be called the Prime Merlinean. He was going to tell off this boy for his incompetence.
"You have abused the sacred art, and you have abused the Merlin Circle," Aerrow said scornfully.
Danny stood up after his master was just beginning to discipline him.
"Magic isn't a game. No shortcuts!" said the sorcerer. "Falling in that water and getting electrocuted, that's how a sorcerer loses his power!"
"What rule is that?" Danny asked angrily. "Fourteen? Twenty-seven? I can't even remember!"
Aerrow said nothing and only walked down the steps.
"What difference does it make if I can't even control a few mops?" The young man was now sick of remembering all these rules of becoming a sorcerer and now he no longer wanted to be a part of it.
"The stronger the man, the stronger the sorcerer," replied Aerrow.
Danny slapped his hands to his forehead. "Thank you," he said. "Thank you for another useless motto!"
"I have another one for you: You will not control your magic if you will not control yourself. You need to stop your worrying and start believing in yourself."
"Is that what you do?"
Aerrow got in his apprentice's face and said, "What I do isn't the point."
"I think it is," Danny retorted. "I'm convinced you exist purely to make my life a living hell."
The sorcerer gave the young man a mean look. He's went through so much torment of finding and training this boy that he felt he had no authority to lecture him about that.
"You don't know anything about a living hell," said Aerrow.
Danny looked away from the man. That response really infuriated him and he wasn't going to put up with this kind of abuse any longer.
The sorcerer then said, "You're making progress."
"No, I'm not making progress," Danny responded negatively. The boy walked off and took off his sorcerer's ring in front of Aerrow to prove his point.
"No ring, right?" Danny shot out his hand toward a chair, clearing his mind and trying to make it move, but the chair remained stationary. "No magic. I can't move the chairs. I can't do it."
The young man put the ring in his pocket and headed for the desk and took out his tennis shoes. "It's not me, Aerrow," he said. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry. I'm not it. I'm not a hero. I'm not the Prime Merlinean." He then took off the shoes given to him by the sorcerer. "I'm just a physics nerd who looks really, really stupid in these shoes."
Danny then put his tennis shoes back on and left the lab, leaving Aerrow alone to see his apprentice give up on fulfilling the prophecy.
BlueTiger321: Oh no! Danny's given up on sorcery!
Danny: Sorry, but this is my own decision.
Aerrow: Oh yeah? Well, my friends here seem to disagree. *makes the mops come back to life* Get him!
Danny: Oh, man! *runs away screaming as the mops chase after him*
BlueTiger321: O_OU Okay. Well folks, stay tuned for another exciting chapter. Until next time...
Aerrow: Read and review!
Danny: Help me!
