Chapter 28: Barbas the Lion
Yay~! Onto the next chapter! Thanks to all of those who reviewed.
Game Start
And then Prince was stabbed by a beam of water.
"No way," Harry breathed.
"Poseidon," Prince choked out.
"No!" When the Dictator tried to interfere he was frozen and chains came to life trapping him to the ground. "Prince!" It was the first time Harry had seen the red haired boss cry. He hoped it would be the only time.
"Wh-why?"
Harry stumbled back against the throne. He needed to get out. He was a threat to Long Dian and the wizard knew he would be the next to die if he stayed. He couldn't die… not with the three souls he was harbouring, it would most likely be detrimental to them. It couldn't be allowed to happen. Shifting, he worked his way to a nearby pillar and hid behind it. This would have to do until he could find a way out safely in his weak state.
He heard everyone yelling for Prince and Harry closed his eyes. He could do nothing… Then came a clattering sound all over the throne room. It sounded like weapons were being thrown down. What?
Caelus mournfully asked, "Poseidon, why did you hurt Prince? Didn't you side with the humans?"
"Because the one who wants to control the Dictator of Life is me."
Harry's breath hitched. Intellectually he already knew that, but hearing it made it so much worse.
"How could it be you," Prince asked weakly. "You've saved me so many times before."
"Hah! I can't wait to kill you. Why would I save you? In the beginning the Dictator sent Caelus to protect you because of his ties with that meddlesome little brat… I might have been able to defeat Caelus but I wasn't so sure about winning against an entire city of people. That's why I left you alone in Infinite City. But then the Dictator had to send Zephyr and Inferno to bring you here. Too bad I could only hamper them from bringing you to Flower City and give you wrong directions along the way. I never thought that you would ignore my words, bypass Flower Mountain, and go straight to Flower City instead!"
"Why exactly do you want to control the Dictator of Life? What do you get from it," Prince growled.
Harry shifted again and glanced around. He knew there were side exits in here; he just needed to find one…
"What do I get? Hahahaha! Plenty… Controlling the Dictator of Life means controlling the world! Don't underestimate the Dictator of Life. He is my creation with the greatest artificial intelligence. Not to mention that he gained self-awareness. He was able to learn and improve of his own volition. The Dictator of Life can hack into any defense system of any country."
Wait? What? Was the man actually talking about controlling the real world? Harry knew he was dying but why would he want to control the world!?
"He can even launch missiles at will. It is equivalent to having the world under his control. Hahaha…"
"Father, you said you wouldn't hurt him! Did you lie to me!?"
"You're… Long Dian?"
"Long Dian Gege?"
Harry really needed to get out… But how dammit! He couldn't see any of those secret passages!
"Very clever, Prince. No wonder you're the one the Dictator of Life can't stop thinking about. You and that brat caused all of this! If you two weren't around the Dictator of Life wouldn't resist me, his Creator!"
"Let go of him, Father! Let go, I'll come with you!"
Oh, the tears that Harry could hear in the Dictator's voice… Wait…
Harry glanced at the corner of the room again. There! Someone was standing there… Was… it was Lolicat! She was staring transfixed at Poseidon and the whole scene in the room. She must have been in one of the passageways! There was his way out… now how to…
A light bulb blinked on the elf's head and he pulled Dolor from his cloak. Then he sent his pet to let Lolicat know he needed to escape. He really hoped it worked.
"Why bother? If I kill him you won't have anyone to miss."
"Stop, Father! Stop!"
And then Lolicat was looking at him. He could escape. Harry took the chance and ran as quickly and silently as he could with his fatigued body. Harry barely heard Prince's parting words before he slipped into the passageway.
"Dictator of Life… don't give up… don't let him… control you…
"Lolicat, how are you still alive?"
She glanced at him and then stopped and sighed.
"I ran… I was a coward… I left my team to die while I escaped into the palace. This place had always interested me so I spent quite a bit of time looking at the designs. I'm sure the Dictator of Life knew I was here but I didn't make any threatening moves against him or the NPC so he left me alone… At least I think that's what happened. Anyway, we can log out now… I'm sure you want to help in the real world right?"
"Yes."
"Here's the Headquarters address. There's no doubt Jiejie will gather everyone there to help fight Long Dian Gege… I was never… expecting him to… to…"
Harry sighed and wrapped his arms around the girl's avatar. It was easier knowing she was only twelve in real life. The elf immediately felt when the tears started soaking into his bandages.
"I can feel the air shifting… I have some work to do before I'll be able to meet up with all of you but tell Lolidragon that I'll be there eventually."
Lolicat sniffed before pulling away and nodding. Then she was gone.
Harry sighed and logged out himself. He had a lot of work to do before Long Dian changed Second Life and made the NPC inaccessible…
Harry was pissed! It had only been three hours and he had only successfully saved one hundred eighty three souls before Long Dian had blocked his access. It would have been sooner if he hadn't pulled the art of hacking from Gui's mind and dug a little wormhole for himself to enter and exit.
Of course, the work had been exhausting considering he pulled three souls at a time but Harry was strong and once Death and Life had seen what he was doing they both lent him their own energies to keep going for longer.
Now all the souls were put into golem bodies but were under a sleeping spell…
But the worst part was that Caelus was not among the ones he had successfully removed from the game. In fact, Caelus had insisted he start with all the others first. Now his husband was trapped and he had no way to get to him!
Long Dian. He had the way in to Second Life. Looks like he was going to Second Life game headquarters. Doll had already left an hour ago… So should he apparate or should he ride his bike…? Muggle or magical? Screw it, he had already broken the Statute a few times… why not a few more?
When Harry apparated to his destination there was so much commotion going on that nobody noticed his arrival… Damn that means they had already left! Harry looked around until he spotted a man staring through a broken window dabbing at his teary eyes. Well he would have to do…
"Mister! Hey, mister!"
"Huh?"
"Where's Lolidragon?"
"Shui Han? You just missed her. Here! I gave this tracking device to another girl who had just missed them. See this green dot? That's where they are~"
"Thanks."
Then Harry was running out the door. He clutched the obsidian coin necklace close as he gazed down at the tracker. As long as they were moving it would be too dangerous for now. He took an abrupt right into an empty alleyway and slid down against the wall. He would just have to wait until they were stationary.
The ritual still weighed on Harry's mind, though. He didn't know what exactly he was going to lose to President Barbas and that made it terrifying. But Long Dian was dying and he was precious to some of his friends. Was he really worth the risk of completely losing his magic?
Harry shot up into a standing position. What was he thinking? Of course the man was worth it! Any human life was worth it…
The Master of Death glanced down at the tracker and smiled. They weren't moving. Time to get going. It would be dangerous to apparate to an area he had never been before but well, when had he never done stupid, idiotic Gryffindor things when people were in danger?
So, Harry took one last look at the tracker and where the green dot was before twisting and apparating. And he happened to land on a very hard metal… something. It hurt!
"Ow! Holy merlin's left tit! Ouch!"
The wizard stumbled from the… robot's? back and into someone…
"Wang Fei?"
"Ow… Lan Lan?"
"Gege!"
"Gah!"
Harry winced again as he was full on body tackled by Doll. He righted himself and pushed off the floor with Doll still hanging off his neck.
"Sorry I'm late everyone…"
"Savior, look out," Lolidragon screamed.
Before he could even turn around a bullet whizzed past his face, followed by thrown projectiles from a very angry female. Considering she was yelling about Sunshine, he assumed it was Fairsky. When the robot finally went down Fairsky glomped Feng Lan demanding they save Sunshine.
"Prince you… you… You're a girl!?"
"Stupid Sis, aren't you going to explain yourself?"
"Ah, it's Miss Feng just as I thought," Zhen Tien mumbled.
"Wolf, is she really Prince," Yulian asked hesitantly.
"Your Highness, I missed you so much," Gui sang as he launched himself toward Feng Lan.
The only reward he got was a boot to the face.
"How many times have I told you? Don't call me 'Your Highness'," she roared.
Everyone gazed on with deadpan faces. That definitely proved she was Prince. Harry smirked. Good old Lan Lan, always the same. Then he turned his attention to Doll, prying her off of his neck. Ignoring the lovers' scene happening in front of him, Harry turned back to the robot. If that thing was here, Long Dian wasn't far behind, right? This was his chance…
Looking around, the wizard spotted a suspicious shadow in one of the abandoned building's window. Nudging the person next to him, who happened to be Zhuo Bin (and man he was steaming mad at the scene between Xiao Lan and Gui), he pointed out the shadow.
"What?"
"It looks like a person, doesn't it?"
"Hmmm, I gue-"
The shadow abruptly moved as if throwing something.
"Careful, Xiao Lan!"
Zhuo Bin successfully shot the projectile before it reached Xiao Lan. Harry couldn't help but admire the accuracy of that shot. Harry, was actually pretty crap at sharpshooting but he always wished to get better… Maybe he could ask to be taught… No time for these thoughts!
Everyone gazed up at the window and Long Dian stepped into the light.
"Long Dian Gege!"
"Long time no see, Shui Han."
The old man had said that name as well. It must be Lolidragon's real name.
"Lolidragon… is he the Dictator of Life," Xiao Lan asked with a touch of confusion in her voice.
"He is Long Dian… Not the Dictator of Life… Gege, why has your black hair turned white?"
"It can't be helped," the man replied with a sardonic smirk on his face. "There's just so much to worry about… They all turned white."
"Gege, I have no idea why you are in this state, but I beg you, stop continuing down this path… Dian, please… Stop hurting everybody."
"Who will keep fate from making a fool out of me," Dian snarled.
Then he bent over coughing. Harry gritted his teeth. This is what he was here for. When Long Dian righted himself and blood covered his chinned hand, Harry decided to step in.
"I can help you, Long Dian. I know that you are sick and I know what can cure you."
"What? Gege! Why didn't you tell anyone!?"
"Who are you to say you have a cure when nothing I have found helps," Dian asked, ignoring Lolidragon.
"You know me under the screen name Savior," Harry replied cautiously.
Dian's lips twitched, but Harry could not tell why. "My problems are none of your business," the man rumbled. "Anything and everything about me, is none of your business," he said directing the last bit to Lolodragon. "Long Shui Han. I suggest you stop getting in my way. Otherwise next time, I will show you no mercy!"
"Who cares," she shouted back. "I will definitely catch you and bring you before father."
"Leave… or die."
Then he turned away. This is not how Harry wanted things to go. Looks like he would have to force the man, then. Clutching his obsidian coin again, he charged forward, ignoring the others yelling at him. The wizard barely avoided getting squashed by, what he assumed, was another robot, but he made it passed and kept running. Now that he was in the building he could use his wand (he still wondered why the others hadn't said anything about the way he arrived… maybe there was too much commotion to think about it) to track Long Dian. Pulling out the Elder wand, he used the Point Me spell and took off running towards the stairs.
Jumping over rubble, Harry rushed up the stairs as fast as he could. There was a whooshing noise up ahead followed by a cloud of dust the made Harry cough. He gritted his teeth (he was doing that a lot lately…) and pushed through the dust cloud… A loud explosion outside rocked the building but Harry was used to unstable ground and only kept moving forward.
In front of him was a small hovercraft, but the pilot seat was empty… Was the Dictator controlling the hovercraft? Then he had to get there!
Distributing some of his magic to his limbs, Harry sprang forward, launching himself from the window. With a thump he landed upon the shell of the hovercraft, destabilizing it and stopping what might have been a take-off. The wizard grunted using his feet as leverage to hang on. Then he brought his arm back, powering it with magic and punched right through the bullet-proof glass.
"You're not getting away," Harry growled.
Long Dian turned in surprise and tried to unhook Harry's grip on the broken glass. It was futile considering how weak the man had become.
"Dictator!"
"Understood, Father," a voice replied and suddenly the small ship was spinning and turning in midair trying to knock Harry off.
Harry let out a yelp as the whole vessel flipped upside down. It was only his newfound grip on Long Dian's shirt that he kept from falling. He glared up at the man that was only still in his seat from the belt over his legs.
"Why will you not accept my cure?"
"There is no cure," The white haired man hissed.
"Obviously you're still trying to live so you can't believe that. Just let me help you!"
Long Dian only tried to wrench Harry's hand away in response. Fine. If that's how he wanted to do it! The Master of Death sent out a large magical pulse (making sure to only hit the engine, not the main computer that held the Dictator of Life) completely short circuiting the hovercraft. It let out a few whirs before it sputtered and the engine completely stopped.
Then the downward spiral began. No matter what the Dictator did he could not restart the engine, much to Long Dian's surprise and utter terror. Harry only gave a feral grin, frightening the man even more.
Tightening his grip on the game designer's shirt, Harry rebraced his feet against the hovercraft and grabbed the Elder wand with his other hand. The closer to the ground they became, the more frantic Dian became and the larger Harry's grin became.
"Arresto Momentum!"
And then everything was frozen. Harry glanced down and saw he was parallel to the ground along with the bottom of the ship. He released the magic and the vessel crashed jarringly, Harry deeply slicing his upper arm, and Long Dian wheezed in relief.
"Now… get out here," Harry said yanking the sick male out through the small hole. "You've caused my friends quite a bit of problems…"
Harry dropped the man and looked around. They were in between two large buildings that blocked most of the surrounding view. It was a very deserted area, same as it had been before with the robot battle. It was actually perfect for what he needed to do.
"Sorry about this, but maybe you'll understand later what I'm giving up for you. What I'm giving up for the happiness of my friends…"
With his bloody hand, Harry ripped the obsidian coin off of his neck and smacked it upon Long Dian's forehead. A blinding light lit up from the contact and Harry yelled out, "President Barbas, Great President of Hell! I summon thee! Come forth and heal the sick in exchange for my magic!"
An ear piercing roar rang out in the small space they were in that echoed upon the walls of the buildings.
"Who dares speak my name and summon me!"
"My name is Wang Fei, Prince of China, and Harry Potter, Saviour of Wizarding Britain. I summon you to heal this man's sickness," Harry proclaimed.
The large lion that appeared gazed at him judgingly. "And what would you sacrifice in exchange for healing this disease?"
"Anything you'd like."
"Hah! Paimon told me I might get summoned soon but I hardly believed it. Very well. In return for curing this man I shall devour your core."
"What? You will not take the Death magic?"
"I cannot take what has been gifted by a Deity. No, your normal magic will suffice."
"So I will never cast spells again," Harry asked shakily.
It didn't seem so bad in theory but when actually faced with the prospect of never again using his magic… It was very daunting.
"Never again shall you cast a Wizarding spell, child. There is much you shall discover about Death magic. It is not singular in its use, just as earth magic is not singular, nor is air or fire, or Wizarding magic."
Harry let out a shaky breath and glanced down at Long Dian. He could do this. He had lived eleven of his years without magic before Hogwarts and then barely any after the war while on the run. It was possible! And it's not like there would be nothing left at all. Barbas was right… There was still Death magic which was unexplored…
"So do you agree wizard and Master of Death?"
"So mote it be, President Barbas."
"SO MOTE IT BE!"
And Harry felt as if his insides were being ripped from him. He screamed and screamed until there was no voice left in him to do so. And then he writhed and twisted but his hand never left the obsidian coin.
Finally, what felt like hours later, Harry lay panting upon the ground with Dian gazing at him with wide eyes. Then the man looked up and seemed about to scream himself. The lion stood nose to nose with the white haired game designer. The lion opened its golden muzzle opened and black breath spewed from its mouth, invading the other's own mouth and nose. After a few seconds, Long Dian began to choke and he crumpled over (Harry's hand still attached to his brow) expelling roiling purple fog from his body that dissipated upon contact with the dirt.
The coin fell from its position, taking Harry's palm with it, leaving a retching man upon the floor. With blurry eyes, Harry watched as black began to seep into the white hair until all that was left was a head of ebony locks.
"Still say there's no cure," Harry panted with a smirk. Then he turned to the lion and whispered hoarsely, "I release thee."
AN: Okay! This was a bit rushed but the end all happens within a very short period of time…
I think one more chapter! And maybe and epilogue with the kids or something~! Review please! I love to know what you guys are thinking~~ And sorry for any and all mistakes. I only proofread this once.
