A Decision Made
"What is he doing?!" Stan shouted as Darreon flew off with his twin. He looked at Gelvin; the Maester was staring in shock at the Green Mage flying towards Mek-Death. Stan walked over to Gelvin and grabbed the latter's shoulders. "What's that maniac going to do with my brother?!"
Gelvin did not look at Stan. He was still staring at Darreon as he zoomed off to face Mek-Death. "Darreon, no…"
"Stanley, Maester Gelvin, we must move!" Erwan shouted in panic. "The Guardian is heading our way!"
Above them, they heard more booms. They looked up and spotted more of the triangular crafts speeding for the Guardian. More of the ships flew out in different directions, heading for the different parts of Rothezar.
The Maester shook out of his trance. "We need to help them," Gelvin announced, pulling out his Hover Disc. "Take to the skies!"
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"What the hell are you doing?!" Ford shouted as they sped towards the Guardian. He heard more sonic booms; the invaders are arriving en masse. He had to grudgingly admit, his captor's strength was commendable. Darreon's hold on him didn't shift as they sped towards the circle of light where Maegella was.
"I will not hurt you, much as I do not like you," Darreon gritted out as he leaned forward to get the Hover Disc to move faster. "I am trying to—AAAH!"
Ford yelled as well as Darreon dived sideways to avoid the Guardian's raised sword. They heard something explode as the sword sliced through an enemy ship. Ford heard Darreon mutter something that sounded like a curse as they began to descend to the ground. The moment they landed on the grass, Darreon let Ford go. Ford landed lightly on his feet and quickly turned to face his captor, raising his fists.
"I was trying to help you, Stanford!" Darreon shouted, jumping off the Disc; above them, the Guardian was slicing through the enemy ships with the broadsword and blocking the missiles with the oblong shield.
"The hell you are!" Ford snapped. "You stopped us from helping her, you knucklehead!"
Darreon looked exasperated. "There is no time for this!" he snarled before throwing down his staff between them and raising his hands in the air. "There! I am unarmed! Now will you listen to me?!"
Ford frowned at him and lowered his fists just a bit. "Fine. But make it quick; we're trying to save her before she…"
"Before she is lost forever, I know that!" Darreon cut in. "I heard what had happened after I revived from your brother's blow. I hid behind the pillars and heard everything, even your plan to use the Teaga stones! I then went out to find her; from the time I spent spying on the Deceiver, I knew where the Guardian was hidden. By the time I reached the shore, she sank—she sank into the water near the rocks…"
Darreon's angry façade melted into one of grief; he started wringing his hands. "I know my history," he said in a cracked voice. "My beloved Maegella does not deserve that! You have to believe me! We have the same goal! "
Ford looked at him and put his hands down to his sides.
"Then we're on the same page," he said quietly. "But you didn't have to snatch me up back there; Gelvin and I already agreed on a plan."
Darreon put his hands down and stared at Ford. "I offer another alternative…"
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"Do you see them?" Erwan shouted.
"No!" Gelvin shouted back. "Look out!"
Erwan and Gelvin split up as a ship zipped past them, shooting silver missiles at Mek-Death. They flew out to a safe distance to the side, watching the Guardian block the missiles with the shield and following it with a swing of the broadsword at the enemy ships.
The Maester could feel Stan's hands digging into his shoulders. "Stanley, I'm an old man…" he gritted out.
The grip on his shoulders eased. "Whoops!" said Stan. He tried to move the Maester aside to look at the fight below. "Where are they? If that bastard hurt my brother…"
"With the amount of Teaga stones on Stanford's hands? I doubt it," said Gelvin.
"Look!" Erwan shouted. "By the legs of the Guardian! Do you see them?"
Stan peered at Mek-Death's feet. "Kind of hard to see with all the explosions and bits of broken ships, pal!"
"I see them!" Gelvin yelled back. "They are approaching the circle from the bottom up!"
Gelvin threw his head back and sighed. He came to a decision.
The Maester turned to Erwan. "Go back to the Last Chambers! Bring as many Mages as you can back here!"
Erwan looked horrified. "I cannot leave you and Stanley here!"
"Do not question me about this! We must give them time!" Gelvin shouted. He leaned forward and shot towards the melee.
"Give them time?" Stan repeated; he tightened his hold on the Maester as they zigzagged through the flying horde. As they got closer, he finally spotted them flying up past the thighs of the colossus: his brother was in front of Darreon, who held on to Ford's shoulder with one hand and brandished his staff with the other to clear their path from flying debris and shots from the enemy ships. "Wait, aren't you supposed to…?"
"I know," Gelvin replied heavily. "We need to give them time!"
And they headed into the warzone.
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"We're almost there!" Ford shouted. "Look out!"
Darreon twisted to the left to avoid the falling debris. Above them, they could see the circle of light. From their point of view and the light emanating from the chest, Ford observed the semi-transparent film that jutted out from the chest of the colossus: the field that Gelvin mentioned earlier.
"Remember: you must activate the Teaga stones when we are close enough, otherwise, we will both fall to our deaths!" Darreon yelled.
"I know, I know!" Ford yelled back. He raised his hands above him.
"Almost there…"
They zigzagged across the Guardian's torso as it twisted around to fight off the invaders.
"Just a little bit more…"
The Guardian leaned forward, trying to stab a ship with its sword. They shifted to avoid getting too close; sparks flew from the Hover Disc as it grazed over the giant's chest.
"NOW!"
Darreon takes his hand off Ford's shoulders as the latter quickly clapped the back of his hands, activating the Teaga stones, before raising them up. The field he spotted seemed to open up in front of them just as the Hover Board began to shudder under them. Neither of them discussed what could happen when Ford activated the gloves while they were flying, as the Discs required magic to work. Before they flew out, Ford told Darreon to increase the speed going up, hoping that the momentum would be enough to get them through.
They yelled as they break through the field. The Hover Disc fell to the ground...
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Up in the skies, Stan witnessed their entry and shouted in triumph.
"They got in!" he informed loudly to Gelvin.
"Do not celebrate yet!" Gelvin yelled as he fired a spell at an incoming craft. They turned to avoid the ship as the hex destroyed part of the wing, making the ship spin out of control. "We have to deal with these trespassers while the Guardian is out!"
"Oh boy," Stan muttered as Mek-Death suddenly stopped fighting and slowly went down to kneel on one knee. It raised its shield arm to cover its torso and laid down its sword on the ground, though it still kept a good grip on it. The otherworld crafts surrounded the Guardian and started firing at it.
"They don't seem to be putting a dent on it with their missiles!" said Stan.
"Even with Stanford's gloves, it still has the protection of the Sigils," said Gelvin. They swerved sharply to avoid a ship that decided to attack them.
"Gelvin, there's too many of these guys!" Stan said, gripping the Maester's shoulders tightly again. "We can't take them all on. I can't even help you!"
"I still have some fight left in me, son!" Gelvin growled, slashing his staff through the air to release a spell at an incoming ship. Stan gulped as the man in front of him let out a surprisingly chilling war cry.
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It was quiet in here.
Ford blinked and looked around. He and Darreon were floating in some kind of vacuum in a bubble that was at least three times the size of the prison droid that trapped him when the UFO's security sensors were tripped off. The light surrounding them was bright, but not blinding, and in the middle of it was Maegella. Ford swallowed as he noticed that her glowing eyes were fixed on him. He also noticed that she wasn't floating like he and Darreon were; she was fixed to the chest of the Guardian. Was it a trick of the light, or did it look like she was…sinking into the light?
"Maegella," Darreon whispered beside him.
THIS IS FOOLISHNESS, she said, narrowing her gleaming eyes at them. SHE MADE HER CHOICE. YOU SHOULD RESPECT HER DECISION.
"That's not what I heard," Ford snapped. "Soos told us how you manipulated Maegella into sacrificing herself. There was already a willing volunteer…"
THAT IS MOOT, STANFORD PINES. IT IS DONE. I ONLY PRESENTED THE FACTS TO MAEGELLA TO HELP HER DECIDE, NOTHING MORE.
Ford balled his hands into fists. "You really lost your sense of humanity, haven't you?"
If the Disgraced One had a face, he would have pummeled it right now.
AND YOU HAVE LOST YOUR OBJECTIVITY. WHILE WE ARGUE HERE, THE ENEMY HAS SPREAD OUT ACROSS THE LAND. THE PEOPLE SUFFER WHILE YOU WASTE OUR TIME, HER SACRIFICE FOR ROTHEZAR! YOU CANNOT UNDO THIS CONTRACT!
"That is where we beg to differ," Darreon growled. Maegella turned to look at him; he had moved to her left side. "What we are about to do still applies to the Rule of the First Act."
The entity's eyes grow wide as she turned her head to look at Ford, who moved close enough to grab her shoulder and arm. In the infinitesimal moment where he reached out, she saw his gloves and her glowing eyes became wide with alarm.
NO!
Ford gritted his teeth as he tried to ignore the heat that radiated in his gloves and the unearthly screams of his captive.
It's not her, Ford thought, wincing at the rising temperature he felt in his hands. You're not hurting HER, you're trying to SAVE her!
LET ME GO! the entity screamed, trying to shake away from Ford's grip, but her motions were limited as she was still magically stuck to the chest of the Guardian while her other hand was restrained by Darreon. The circle of light behind her began to shrink. YOU FOOL! WE CANNOT BE SEPARATED! I—WE—WE NEED A VESSEL! ROTHEZAR MUST BE PROTECTED! THE GUARDIAN MUST NOT FALL!
"No it will not," Darreon said firmly. He grabbed the back of Maegella's head to press his forehead against the Pendulum branded on her hot forehead. "Amin mela lle, Maegella…" he whispered, closing his eyes.
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Meanwhile, Gelvin and Stan landed near the edge of the forest. Stan helped the Maester get off the Hover Disc and led him to a nearby tree. The older man was breathing heavily, and Stan wondered if Gelvin might be having a heart attack. He wasn't sure he could pound Gelvin's chest if it came to it. He'd probably crack the older man's ribs.
"Ya overdid it, pal," Stan murmured as he helped Gelvin lean on a tree. He looked around and spotted a handful of Mages (including Erwan) take to the skies and meet the invaders head-on. "That was some intense magic-fu you did up there; also, I never want to experience that again."
Gelvin huffed in amusement. "Give me a moment to catch my breath, Stanley," he wheezed as he withdrew a flask from his robes and took a swig before handing it to Stan. "I just warmed up!"
Stan snorted before taking a cautious sip from the flask. He figured that—like most things in this crazy world—magic kept the sweet-tasting beverage ice cold. The liquid went smoothly down his throat, then the coolness spread across his chest. He immediately felt invigorated.
"This is some good stuff!" Stan said appreciatively. "I feel tingly all over, right down to my feet…" He paused as he realized that it wasn't his feet that were tingling. "Wait a minute..."
The two men looked up: the Guardian was moving. Amidst the fighting going on around it, it let go of the sword in order to place a hand under the shield covering its torso. When it moved its shield arm away, they saw that the hand was cupping the circle of light on its chest. It moved its hand from its chest and leaned down to place something on the grass a few feet away from the sword.
Stan and Gelvin ran towards the area as the giant retracted its hand. Lying on the grass were two people. The man in blue robes rolled over to bend over the red-haired figure in the silvery robes.
"Ford!"
"Maegella!"
Stan and Gelvin reached them as Mek-Death bent over to pick up the broadsword, swiping it up to take out the two ships that were heading towards the group on the ground. It stood up and started swinging at the enemy. The Mages in the air decided that it was a good time to get back on the ground.
"Holy Moses," Stan muttered, looking up at the behemoth and at Maegella lying on the ground. "They did it. They got that crazy green guy to switch places with Maegella." He turned to look at Gelvin. "Did you see this was gonna happen?"
The Maester closed his eyes and nodded. "The moment I touched him, I saw both his past and this future. Darreon loved Maegella, enough to give himself up to save her," he said, looking sadly at the Guardian. He then turned to Maegella and frowned. "Maegella?" he said, reaching over to shake her shoulder gently.
Stan moved to kneel beside Ford; his brother was holding his hands close to his chest, just as Wendy had done earlier after she tried to grab Maegella. He could smell something burning. "Ford, you're hurt!"
"Never mind me," Ford said curtly, his eyes never leaving Maegella's face. "We forced the Disgraced One and the Sigil off from her. She was screaming, but it wasn't her…"
Ford's voice trailed off. Stan frowned and turned to look at what shocked his brother.
On the ground, Maegella whimpered in distress, turning her head sideways as though she was in the grip of a nightmare. Her eyes were partially opened, showing a sliver of brightness.
Stan and Ford flinched.
"I thought you got rid of that—that thing!" Stan hissed.
"We did!" Ford said, looking stricken. "We forced it to move from Maegella to Darreon, make it gain a new host! Darreon has the Sigil on his forehead before he attached himself on Mek-Death and set us down here!"
Gelvin frowned as he moved some of the red hair from Maegella's face. Her forehead had the faint, non-glowing outline of the Pendulum on it, looking similar to the faded mark on Dipper's forehead. His eyes became wide, his expression a mixture of fear and wonder.
"Stanford is correct," said the Maester. "Maegella is free from the Sigil, but she is suffering from the effects of the eviction. We must bring her to the Springs now."
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Author's Note:
"Amin mela lle" – "I love you"