Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: Taking a break from dream world and getting back to reality here we learn a little more about the sorceral portion of Ella's anatomy. If anyone has questions please feel free to ask. There are no stupid questions. There are no stupid people. As long as you are not flat out mean in your reviews I will reply nicely even if just to say thank you for reviewing. :D Oh and the term Draconian is not meant in the same reference as having anything to do with the Athenian legislator Draco or his laws. This is something I made up.

Ch10. The Sorceral Cortex

Jareth slowly opened his eyes. The familiar scent of his own room graced his nose. As usual the scented candles he had special ordered from his Draconian neighbors to the south were lit, filling the air with the scent of peaches and raspberries. It was no secret that he loved peaches but few in the underground knew that raspberries had been Sarah's favorite fruit. She had told him the night they conceived Ella as they laid on her bed for hours just talking.

"Ella," he croaked trying to sit up.

"Jareth you're awake," he heard Toby's voice and looked to his left to see the boy rushing towards him from where he'd just been sitting by the fireplace.

"I take it by your reaction I've been asleep for a while," he forced himself to speak though his throat felt like a barren desert.

Toby shrugged, "Two days doesn't seem like a long time to sleep anymore."

He nodded in understanding, "How is Ella doing?"

The teen suddenly looked uncomfortable, "Well, she's doing better but there's just one little uh…I don't know if I want to say complication."

Jareth tried to sit up on his elbows then noticed the IV in his arm and settled for scooting back and leaning on his pillow, "What is it?"

The boy sighed, "Her body is rejecting the martrine solution. We had to stop giving it to her."

The king shook his head, "That's impossible. Her powers should have been bound by those herbs."

"Ezmerilda said that she's sensing strong activity in the part of Ella's brain that controls her magic…"

"Her sorceral cortex," Jareth interrupted.

"Yes, that thing," Toby continued, "But she can't figure out what's happening. The magic is blocking her ability to see the sorceral cortex or the other part of the brain that it covers…"

"Visual cortex," he corrected the boy again.

"Thank you. On the brighter side of things the virus has all but disappeared," Toby finished.

"That's not a good thing Toby. For all we know the virus could be in the hidden area of her brain. If it is, her life is in grave danger," he shook his head sadly.

Toby narrowed his eyes, "That's not possible. Once a virus effects the body it spreads everywhere. This is the flu not cancer."

Jareth looked away from him and finally noticed Ella lying unconscious beside him, "It mutated in the Underground. Even an untraceable amount of dark magic lingering nearby could effect the result. It's not just the flu anymore," he took Ella's hand and concentrated, trying to learn through the link of teacher and student anything his sister may have missed.

"What is it," Toby asked anxiously when the man's eyes widened in shock and he released his daughter's hand looking like he had just seen a ghost.

The king turned his horrified gaze to the boy, "That's not just a flu anymore," Toby gave him a prompting look and he continued, "To put it in Aboveground terms it's like a carefully designed computer virus. Not only does it attack the system but it knows which part of the system to attack to bring it all down."

The teen let that sink in before responding, "I take it the sorceral cortex is an important part of her system."

The man took a deep breath to control his temper, after all Toby was still just learning this stuff, "Important is a bit of an understatement. Try more vital than her heart. If any damage is done to it she could die."

He was confused, "So we can't damage it but we feel perfectly safe blocking it off from the rest of her body with herbs."

Jareth rolled his eyes, "Putting that part of her brain to sleep and damaging it are two different things. Think of the sorceral cortex as a pregnant Mother in a way. Though Ella can never be separated from it like a baby is removed from a womb it still a similar concept. Even though it may be put to sleep by herbs it still nourishes her at all times. On the other hand if anything goes wrong and the Mother is injured or killed it has a negative effect on the baby."

Toby's eyes teared up, "And the virus is attacking it."

He reached over and stroked his child's hair, "It's trying. She's fighting back. She has a bypass shield passing the virus to her visual cortex and a containment shield keeping it there. I just don't know how long she can maintain them."

"I don't understand. How does she know to do that," the boy looked at Ella in amazed shock.

The man raised his eyebrows, "She doesn't. She's figured out how to ask the Spirit of the Underground for help. The Spirit is controlling her magic for her and determining the best way to protect her," he sighed, "I feel so conflicted."

Toby pulled up a nearby chair and sat down, "What is causing you to feel like that?"

"Well, on the one hand I'm proud of her for how well she's handling this and on the other hand I'm scared for her life," now the Father's eyes were tearing up.

Toby's eyes lit up a little as an idea formed, "So these shields are holding the virus in her visual cortex. Is that all they work on?"

"The shields are targeting the virus. Everything else in her bloodstream is flowing normal as it should," a tear slipped down his too thin face.

"If they were properly manipulated could they target two things at once," Toby continued.

Jareth, realizing Toby was coming up with a plan, gave him an interested look, "Yes, why?"

"Well, I was just thinking that if her white blood cells were trapped with the virus she'd have a better chance," Toby's face fell as it dawned on him that he had no idea how to do that, "but she can't hear us to know to do that."

The king's eyes lit up as he thought about this, " I may not be strong enough right now to help her maintain her shields but I can manipulate them," he reached over and touched Ella's forehead, very carefully altering the shields to include her white blood cells as a target, "As far as I can tell she must have made a deal with him to protect her from the virus. That doesn't include destroying it which is why the shields didn't already target both virus and white blood cells. I only hope the sacrifice won't be too much to deal with."

Toby was confused again, "Sacrifice?"

"The Spirit makes deals of give and take. He helps with one thing but in the process removes another. As far as I know he has never taken something that a sorcerer can't live without but it's still annoying not knowing what he took," Jareth explained. Several minutes passed and when Jareth was finally satisfied that the shields were working he laid back down. In his condition even that small use of magic was exhausting.

Toby watched contently as the weak man went back to sleep, choosing not to worry about a sacrifice as long as Ella could survive without it. He sighed. His future was determined the day Sarah wished him away and now he had to get used to it. The idea of being king scared him but according to the books in the library on goblin realm government, second in line was to be royal advisor. More of a comfortable role to play but still it scared him.

TBC…

AN: So what did you guys think? Any questions, concerns, comments?