The sky was very gloomy with grey clouds. It didn't seen like rain would fall, but that lightning could strike. In that weather everyone would be inside, waiting for the storm to come. But one person wasn't. It as Valkyrian, and it appeared that she was tying a wooden key onto a tree branch. "Kyri, what are you doing out here?" A certain red head young man asked as he walked into the back yard.
"I'm sending a key to my ancestors." She replied.
"But aren't they… dead." Neku didn't like to bring up this subject. He didn't like talking about it at all, since he was the one that killed them.
"Yes, and that is why I'm doing this. In Hex, there's a holiday known as Day of Mourning. How it's celebrated is similar to the original Halloween, Samhain. We carve a key out of wood and tie it to a tree. This key is something we think will help them pass over. We then burn the key so it can be given to the dead."
"I see what you mean by it being similar to Halloween."
"All this time I never did this because I thought I had no reason. I can't believe how stupid I was. Now I'm finally giving them the key they've been waiting for."
"Can I help? I know I shouldn't be asking but-"
"Yes, I'd like that."
"Ah… Okay, what do I do?"
"What we do now is the final part." Valkyrian summons her wand. "We set the key on fire, so it will make it through to the dead."
"I see…" Neku then summoned his wand as well. The two then point their wands to the wood key.
"Ignis!" The wiccan and sorcerer chant. Two blast of fire went to the key and burned it away in a matter of minutes.
"Hey, love birds!" Astred yelled from the back door. "I don't know what you're doing, but you got to come in here."
They come inside and see that everyone is gathered around the TV screen. "What's going on?" Valkyrian asked. "Don't tell me Ryu flyed off while I was sleeping and caused some trouble."
"No," Egotist answered. "The chain we have him on is strong. he won't be able to go outside the barrier with it. He's fine."
"Then what is this about?"
"Just watch." Nazina said as she pointed at the TV.
"Many people around the world have been taken down by a mystery illness. The cause is unknown, and it appears miraculous. Doctors are unable to figure out what it is. None of the people affected had any symptoms before falling into their coma like state. Everyone is now getting weaker as each day passes. Nothing related to each person on how they got the illness can be found. Until the answers are found out. Everyone is asked to stay cautious."
"What does this illness have to do with anything?" Neku asked.
"Everyone, follow me to the kitchen." They did and as Egotist changed into her enchanted gear. Her cauldron appeared in it's usual spot. "I think all these people are linked to each other. And not just by this illness."
"How are you gonna figure that out?" Astred asked.
"My cauldron shows me everything."
"It's a witch's glass." Nazina said.
"A witch's glass?" Neku said confused.
"A witch's glass can be many things." Valkyrian says. "From a magic mirror to a crystal. It's something that is used to see through many things in the present. This cauldron is one of them."
"Now my cauldron. Show me the information I want." A big puff of smoke came up and it made all the teenagers cough their lungs out.
"Does it always do that?" Astred said through her coughs.
"Was all the smoke really necessary?" Nazina asked.
"I was right!" Egotist yelled. "All the people under this illness are Anubis's descendants."
"His descendants?" Nazina asked, getting scared.
"But what does this mean?" Valkyrian asked.
"It means this is his final move." Neku told the girls. "Opening the portal to Hex takes a lot of energy. Something that he doesn't have, so he's taking it from all the people he can."
"According to the news report, the number of people under this is thousands." Astred said. "The amount of energy he would have is insane."
"That is why we must stop him now. Before he can use that energy to take over both worlds."
"But how are we gonna do that?" Nazina asked as everyone followed her to the backyard. "He's a level higher than a master. Do you really think one master and three learnings will be enough to take him down? He also knows our moves, so just our normal magic won't work."
"We're not totally out of luck here." Egotist said. "We just need to come up with new moves. Ones that are from your magic talents."
"Magic talents?" Valkyrian asked.
"Every magic user has a magic talent. Although, most people don't even realize this until many years after they become masters. When you discover this talent, those spells upon it become stronger by five. For example, my magic talent is nature. If I use any nature spells they are five times stronger than if Nazina would use it."
"That maybe helpful, but how do we discover what our magic talent is?"
"Most learn through time and experience. But I do know a little trick."
"What is it?" Nazina asked.
"Eamque libro!" Egotist summoned her spell book and staff. Her book was light yellow with a silver mouse symbol. "Valkyrian, Nazina, Neku. Step forward, I'm going to use this trick on the three of you." The three went up. "Excitare!" Egotist's spell went straight for them. It made them feel pain for a moment. But it was gone within a second. "Now, open your spell books."
"Eamque libro!" The three learning called, for their spell books to appear. Nazina's spell book was black with light green jewels on the corner and a silver term with a fox symbol. Neku's spell book was bright red with a black wolf symbol.
"When you look inside, find any spells that are written in gold and tell me what type of spell it is."
"Illusions and curses." Neku replied.
"Wind and sand." Said Nazina.
"Fire and time." Said Valkyrian.
"Those are your magic talents." Said Egotist.
"So we just have to use the spells that are in the category of our magic talent." Said Neku.
"That's right."
"Well… Good luck to all of you." Said Astred. "You'll all be off fighting this great evil. While I stay here and feed these weird crystal like fruits to the dragon." She said as she held up a crystal then threw it to Ryu, which he ate it right away.
"Who said you'd be staying here?" Nazina asked.
"We're gonna need all the help we can get." Neku said.
"But… I can't use magic like all of you."
"True… But there is something you can do." Nazina said.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You mean you don't remember what Egotist told you?" Valkyrian asked. "You're one of the few humans who can use magical weapons."
"And we're gonna be making you one." Said Egotist.
"Are you serious?!" Astred asked.
"Of course."
"So, you're gonna make me any magic weapon I want."
"Pretty much."
"Are you any good with weapons?" Neku asked.
"Well… I was once the fencing junior champion."
"Then we will make you a magic sword." Said Egotist.
"To the cauldron!" Nazina yelled. Everyone was back inside. They were all in the living again. Egotist moved the cauldron in there, and next to it were many strange things.
"Eamque libro!" Egotist summoned her spell book again as she approached her cauldron. "I think I have a spell in my book for the perfect magic sword you can use. I have most of the items needed. There are just three things I don't have."
"And what are they?" Neku asked.
"The burn of the shining fire, the blood of the weapon's wielder, and a crystal transform pendant."
"For the burn of the shining fire. You can use my pocky box." Astred said as she held up her pocky that was destroyed by Ryu.
"Why do you still have that?"
"I didn't want its death to be in vain."
There was an awkward silence for a good minute before Nazina said, "You're weird."
"I know that." She said as she handed the pocky to Egotist. Egotist put it in the cauldron, along with all the magic things she already put in.
"That's one of the missing three." Said Egotist. "Now for the other two."
"The other two remaining are blood of the… Wait! You're gonna need my blood? I didn't think cutting would be needed. Can't we just use some type of sub-" As Astred was talking, Neku grabbed one of the kitchen knifes and cut Astred's wrist. "Ow! Hey, why did you do that?" Neku then took Astred's arm, and had it hover over the cauldron. So the blood from the wound would drop inside.
"There, now we just have one thing left." Neku said.
"I can't believe you just cut me!"
"We need your blood for your sword. So what are you crying about?"
"What I'm crying about is the fact that I'm bleeding!"
"Relax, it can be healed and look as if it never happened."
"Yeah, if I don't die from blood lost first."
Egotist let out a sigh as she called for the ginger. "Nazina…"
"I got it." She replied. "Curare!" With that single spell, Astred's cut was gone.
"See? There was nothing to worry about." Neku said.
"Neku, as punishment for hurting Astred. You will have to clean up the extra blood that was shed." Egotist told him.
"Okay, fine." He said pulling out his wand.
"Without magic."
"Dang it!"
"You are unbelieveable!" Nazina yelled as Neku scrubbed the blood away. "You just do your own thing, don't you. Kyri, how do you bring yourself to da-" When Nazina looked, Valkyrian was not where she was standing. She had left the room during the awkward silence between everyone. "Where's Kyri?"
"I'm right here." She said as she came in through the back door.
"Where did you go?" Neku asking, still cleaning the blood.
"I just went back to the backyard to get this." Valkyrian held up to dragon pendant Ryu would wear.
"Why did you get that?" Astred asked.
"For your sword."
"Huh?"
"The last item is a crystal transformed pendant. And that is what this is."
"But… It's your's Kyri."
"You need it more than I do. So just take it already."
"Kay." Astred took the pendant and handed it to Egotist. She then placed it into the cauldron.
"Okay, now everyone close your eyes." Egotist ordered.
"Why?" Astred asked as everyone but her closed their eyes. Then for a quick second, a blinding light went across the room with a big boom. "Wow, that… was… Awesome!" She screamed as her hair was standing up by the impact.
"I told you to close your eyes."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know why. But that was still awesome."
"Does she say that about everything?" Neku asked as he and everyone else opened their eyes again.
"Pretty much." Nazina answered.
"Ash, fix your hair. You look like Frankenstein's wife." Valkyrian said.
"Oh!" Astred noticed. "Okay."
"Astred, come over here." Egotist said once Astred fixed her hair. She walked up and was now side-by-side with Egotist in front of the cauldron. "All you need to do now is just reach into the cauldron."
"Alright…" She puts her hand inside and feels the substance boiling within. "Ew… It's so sticky. Wait, I got something." Astred pulled out what she grabbed and saw that it was a purple and golden sword.
"That sword is called Violet Tear. With this sword you can cast elemental spells." Said Egotist when Astred pulled out the sword.
"Elemental spells… Like fire, water, earth, and air?" Astred asked as her eyes studied her violet tear.
"Another thing about this sword is that when it's not being used in battle It can transform into a pendent. So that way it can be easily carried. Just say retractat to put it away. And to pull it out again, say apparent."
"Retractat." At saying that word, the sword retracted and become a shiny purple pendant.
"Now that you are a warrior for the magical people. Your name will be given a meaning. The meaning, your name will be divine strength. Because that is what you are."
"Divine strength… I like it. Now we need a group name for ourselves."
"Okay!" Nazina yelled. "How about the witches of hex."
"Huh?" Neku said confused.
"Hm…" Valkyrian said thinking. "That's perfect, just what people think of us."
"Now what do we do next?" Nazina asked.
"We go in and take Anubis by storm, of course!" Astred said.
"How do we do that?" Neku asked.
"What do you mean how? We go through that shortcut of yours to catch him by surprised."
"There are many things Anubis is, but surprised isn't one of them. And we can't use that shortcut."
"Why not?" Nazina answered.
"Because it is, closed off. I checked it out yesterday."
"So there is no way to get to his hideout. And we don't know where his location is either." Egotist said as she was trying to think about what to do.
"Actually, I do know where he is."
"Where?"
"Where else would he be, other than Egypt."
"Egypt, of course!" Astred yelled.
"We can get there easily on brooms and you can on Ryu's back. Right, Kyri?" Nazina said, but Valkyrian did not say a word as she walked into her room. "Kyri?"
"Can we really do this?" Valkyrian said as everyone else followed.
"Huh? What's wrong with you? We have to do this for the world."
"Yeah, but my curse is showing me us all falling if we go."
"We'll all fall if we don't!"
"But-" Slap! The sound echoed through the room. Egotist, Neku, and Astred stared at the wiccans with wide eyes. For Nazina just slapped Valkyrian.
"I know taking risks is not your thing, but we need you. You're the smartest girl in Young Mage Academy. And you got me outta Anubis's control. You can do anything you set your mind to."
"Do you really think I can live up to those expectations?"
"Yes… And it's not just that, we need you. You're my best friend, Kyri. I can't do this without you."
"Either can I. You're the reason why I'm even on this side." Said Neku.
"Please, Kyri…" Astred begged.
Valkyrian was quiet for a moment until she straightened her glasses and faced them all. "Alright, let's go!"
They were now flying high over the desert. Valkyrian and Astred were riding on Ryu's back. While Nazina, Egotist, and Neku rode on broomsticks. "So… What is our strategy again?" Astred asked. Everyone's heads turned straight to face Astred. "What?"
"You can't be serious if you're saying you forgot already!"
"So what if I am?"
"Someone tell again why we're bringing her." Neku said rather rudely.
"It's very simple, Ash." Said Valkyrian.
"Allow me to explain it" Said Egotist. "Egyptian tombs usually have a secret entrance. Neku will lead us to it. Once inside, he will use an invisibility spell on everyone except myself. I'll be the decoy. While I'm distracting him, you all will be casting spells at him from the shadows. Once he's at his breaking point, you, Astred will finish him off."
"So I'll be delivering the final blow?" Astred asked.
"Yeah…"
"Cool!"
"Do you really think this will work?" Nazina asked. "It seems a bit too simple to me."
"One would hope it does." Egotist said.
"Even though I'm okay with this plan, I still think it won't work." Neku said.
"Come on, Nekky. Don't be so depressed." Nazina said.
"Don't call me Nekky."
"Hey, is that it over there?" Valkyrian asked as she was pointing down. Down below was an upside down pyramid that appeared to be covered in shadows.
"Good eye, now let's drop." All of them go down to land.
Once they met the ground, all the magic users transform into their enchanted gear, as Astred summoned her sword. Each one saying their name meaning as each one finished. "Inner Dream Remembrance!" "Brave!" "Silent Darkness!" "Divine Strength!" "Chooser of the Story!"
"We are the witches of Hex!" They all yelled.
Suddenly, dark shadows came from below. The silhouettes of what appeared to be people climbing out of their graves. "What are those things?" Astred asked as she turned to the defensive.
"They're shadows." Egotist answered.
"They're the dead of people that cared blood of Anubis over the years." Neku explained.
"I can see it." Valkyrian said as she blinked revealing her curse eyes. "All the pain they've been through in life because of this."
"I'm guessing they're not friendly in the afterlife." Nazina said.
"Captionem!" Egotist called. She turned around and brought her staff into the ground as she fell to her knees. A yellow transparent field surround the desert, trapping them inside. "Those shadows will harm others if we don't stop them. This will buy us some time." She said as she stood back up. "Astred and I will fight them off, along with Ryu. While you three go in after Anubis."
"But there's no way we can get pass all these things."
"Yes, there is." Valkyrian said. "Zi, Neku, grab hold of my arms. And whatever you do, don't let go unless I say so." The green wiccan and red sorcerer took Valkyrian's arm. Nazina the left, Neku the right. The pink wiccan had her wand ready to go. "Frigidus in tempare!" The world around the three stopped, while they were able to move.
"Kyri… You froze time!"
"We need to hurry. This spell does not last long, even if it's my talent."
The three ran pass the frozen shadows. Once they were safely through and inside by the secret entrance did Valkyrian release the spell. When she did, Egotist and Astred saw that they were all alone. "Do you they think can handle Anubis on their own?" Astred asked.
"If not, let's hope they can stall long enough until we get there." Egotist answered. "Now, let's kick some shadow butt!"
"Right!"
Back to the three magical teens. They were running through the many hallways that made up the lair. "The throne room is this way." Said Neku as he was leading the way.
"Hey!" Valkyrian called out. "What do we do now that Astred and Egotist aren't here?"
"We take him out in one blow! No way he's going to continue living with us around." Nazina said with a lot of energy. "Right, Yami boy?" Neku stopped right in his tracks and just stood there in silence.
"Neku, is something wrong?"
"Hey, red riding hood! Why'd you stop? We don't have the time to be standing around!"
Neku was still quiet for another moment before he finally spoke. "I'm sorry…"
"Huh?" Both wiccans said confused.
"Captionem foraminis!" Neku yelled the spell. It made contact with the floor and made the ground Nazina and Valkyrian standing on vanish. They screamed out as they fell into the hole. "I don't want you to take part of this. I'll do this alone." He then went back to running toward the throne room.
Neku enters the throne room to see that Anubis had been watching everything through his dark hole. "Everything is going just as I hoped. My army of shadows will finally get rid of that enchantress." Anubis said. "But I must say I did not expect you to abandon those wiccans." He then turns to face Neku.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I only did that because they'd be in the way of our fight. Conversus in lupum!" As that spell was cast, his red magic circled around him. Transforming him into a red and black furred wolf.
Back to outside, Egotist and Astred were still fighting the shadows. "Vinea flagella!" Egotist yelled. Then many vines grew out of the ground and came after the shadows like a million whips.
As Astred was using her sword to cut the shadows through, one shadow grabbed her foot from below. This made her fall down to the ground. She was quick to slice off the arm, but the very moment she looked back up, a shadow was coming right at her. Before it could get to her, Ryu blasted his shining fire breath. Destroying the shadow in seconds. "Thanks Ryu, I owe you one." Astred said to the dragon. Ryu kept fighting the shadows along with the girls. With his shining fire breath for the ones in the front, and his tail for the ones behind him.
"Never mess with a dragon. Or his friends."
Back to the wiccans, they had separated and both were in a dark room surrounded by mirrors. They were being shown what was madness to them. Nazina fell for this quickly. As she stared at the glass, it showed her herself in her mage form with Anubis behind her. "You were quite easy to control." The Anubis in the mirror said. "It was because you were weak."
"No! I'm never weak. I have always been strong." Nazina yelled at the mirror.
"But you came to me looking for power. Why would you do that unless you were weak."
"Stop this…"
"You're weak. The only time you had strength was when you were my puppet."
"I said stop!"
For Valkyrian, she was something different. And her reaction was not the same. What the mirror showed her was her parents. "Valkyrian, why didn't you save us. Why did you leave us to die." Her mirror mother asked of her.
"You are my daughter!" Her mirror father yelled. "Why didn't you kill that boy and avenge your tribe!"
"Nice try…" Valkyrian simply said. "But there's no way I'm gonna be fooled by a false looking glass. Ignis revelare!" She fired off many pink fire balls at the mirror and destroying it. With it gone, Valkyrian saw Nazina kneeled down with her hands covering her ears, "Zi!"
"Kyri…"
A laugh echoed throughout the room. It sounded like it was Nazina laughing. This laugh was coming from the mage form of Nazina in one of the other mirrors. "You can't get pass me, you little witches." The mirror Nazina said.
"I'm not a little witch… And you are not me! Ventum!" The mirror Nazina let out a terrible cry as the green wind magic cut the glass into many shards. Behind this wall was a staircase leading up.
"Stairs?" Valkyrian said, not expecting it.
"Let's go!" The wiccans ran up the stairs, but what they found at the top made them freeze where they stand. The staircase lead right into the throne room. Where they saw Neku laying on the ground covered in blood.
"Neku!" Valkyrian screamed as she ran up to him. She tried her best to heal him, but nothing was working.
"There's no use trying to save him." Anubis said with a laugh. "I've infected him with my dark magic. It will eat him away inside until he is no more."
"Why… Why do you keep doing this?!"
"Don't even bother asking, Kyri." Nazina said, stepping closer. "After all these years of living for power in the darkness, he's lost his very soul. He's not human anymore. He's a creature of pure shadows. Stay with Neku, Kyri. I'll take care of him."
"You want to be a hero?" Anubis asked. "That's fine by me. Neku tried the same thing, and he's now on deaths door. It doesn't matter what you do. You all will share the same fate. Sphaera tenebris!" He shoots a dark sphere at Nazina.
"Scutum turbinis vasti!" a green tornado of magic surrounds her. This shields her and stopped the attack. "Ex aere tropaeis funebribus!" More blasts of magical wind went for him. But he dodged each sharp cut of air.
"You really think those simple spells will do you any-" His sentence was stopped by Nazina's roundhouse kick to his face, breaking his nose. He tried to strike her back with his staff, yet she blocked it with her own wand. He used his strength to toss her into the air.
"Aura volantem!" She arranged the wind to form at her feet, catching her safely and making her fly.
"You gonna pay for that cheap trick!"
"Prepare yourself, because I have more up my sleeve."
"Funny," he said with a chuckle. "So do I." He charged up his magic into his staff. 'Whatever he has coming for me. I'm sure I can take it.' Nazina thought. "Sonum mortis!"
Nazina was expecting the big power ray. But what caught her off guard was it was not for her. It was heading for Valkyrian and Neku. Valkyrian closed her eyes and buried her head into Neku's chest as she held him close. "Kyri!" Nazina screamed as she went for her. This made Valkyrian lift up her head, only to see her best friend jumping in front of the attack. The spell hit the Xion instead of the couple behind her. She cried out a voice of true pain as she felt it. And she fell down to the ground as it pass.
"Zi!" Valkyrian screamed.
Anubis burst out laughing as hard and loud as if he were a hyena. "I knew she would do something like that without even thinking."
"Shut up, you! Zi, are you alright?"
"To be honest, I don't think so." She answered.
"You're going to be okay. You and Neku, you just have to hang in there."
"Neku, yes. Me… no."
"What are you saying?"
"Finish him. Have me be the only one to die, not the first one." After saying that, Nazina faded into green magic dust.
Egotist noticed this and stopped fighting the shadows for a moment. "Nazina…" She said as she looked at the pyramid.
Valkyrian just kneeled there and stared at the magic dust that was once her best friend. Tears came down her face. 'I-I… I couldn't save her, from dying.' She thought. Many emotions were going through her. Sorrow, hatred, defeat, and even hopelessness. But one emotion broke out from all the negative feelings. This feeling made her grow a bright pink from her magical power. "Hey, Anubis…" She said. "It's time for me to finish what Zi started."
"Just give up wiccan." Anubis said to Valkyrian. "You've seen what will happen. Are you going to deny it? All you see is the forever going darkness. Me!"
"It's true that you are darkness. However, you are not immortal. You can be defeated. And I do not only see the negative. Because when there is darkness, there will always be light!" Once she said that, she opened her eyes. One had changed, from silver to a shining gold. It wasn't just that which has changed. When she revealed her new eyes, Valkyrian transformed. Her glasses shattered, her hair grew long. Her outfit became another and her wand turned into a staff. Valkyrian had become a mage. "With the power of all magical people, I will dethrone you, bastard! Perii!"
With the cast of the spell it hit Anubis like the speed of light. His staff was destroyed as he became dust, not even his bones remained. The only thing left was the book he stole. Once it all calmed down, Neku immediately sat up from where he lied. "What happened?! Is it over?" He asked fully alert.
"Yes… It's finally over." She said in her peaceful voice again as her clock eyes went back to normal hazel pink.
"Kyri!" Astred yelled as she and Egotist ran into the room. "We came the very moment all the shadows disappeared. Is Anubis gone?"
"Yep, he won't bother anyone ever again. I used an undoing spell to stop the enchantment Nephthys cast on his. And without that he had no power and time caught up to him in a flash."
"That's amazing! And you look so-"
"Beautiful." Neku interrupted. "And you're now the youngest mage in history."
"Where's Nazina." Egotist said, killing the moment. Her face showed concern and seriousness.
Valkyrian lowered her head as she looked at the pile of green magic dust. "She's gone." Astred gasped.
"No…"
"She stepped in front of one of his attacks to save me and Neku." Wind came into the room through the many cracks in the wall, blowing the magic dust away. "She died nobly."
"She did always wanted adventure, right? I bet she's happy about how she died." Astred said.
"But she still had a lot to look forward to in life." Neku said. "Such a waste."
"There's no point crying over spilled milk. Nazina will be missed." Egotist said as she walked to pick up the stolen book. "Now that earth is safe again. Let's open up the portal… To have humans and magic users live together again."
"Yes, I see a bright future ahead." Said Valkyrian. "And it's all thanks to you, Zi."
The End
