The next morning, Fintan awoke to the sound of a whimper. He opened his eyes and found himself sleeping alone, save for Garra lying where Udonna should have been. Garra lied her muzzle down on the pillow and sighed. Fintan sat up and pet Garra softly. "Good morning to you too." He got up, and Garra followed him.
He walked out, and to his close left, Sorin stood in his civilian outfit, wearing significantly fewer bandages.
"Good morning, Sir." Sorin said, bowing slightly.
"You're looking better." Fintan commented.
"Kiran's excellent at healing burns, Sir." Sorin replied. "He said that I could even manage a fight by the end of the day."
"Good. Go relax then. Who knows what today will bring…" Fintan sighed. "They might try to manipulate our current fall in numbers…we'll need you if that turns out to be the case."
"Yes, Sir." Sorin bowed slightly and walked back into his room.
He walked past Raigel's door; the door had been bolted shut ever since Madison tried to desecrate the inside last night before once again collapsing in a puddle of tears. Garra growled at the door as she passed.
Fintan and Garra walked downstairs; the round table was empty, Xander and Vida's chairs pulled out a bit, and Madison's knocked across the room. Xander and Vida walked in from outside as he approached the table. They appeared to not have gotten any sleep.
"Good morning." They both mumbled.
"Good morning." Fintan replied.
"Any good news?" Clare asked as she swept the floor.
"She's finally asleep." Vida replied.
"Yeah, now we can sleep until she starts in again." Xander added.
"I guess that's good news." Clare replied.
"At least his bed'll still get use…" Vida sadly remarked as she walked upstairs.
Fintan looked over to the fireplace, where Udonna stood, stirring the contents of a small cauldron. He walked over and sighed, making her look up. Udonna weakly smiled.
"I'm…sorry for last night." Udonna said.
"Don't be sorry. I am just glad you're still talking to me." Fintan said, trying to laugh.
"Well, I'm making a little breakfast for whomever's here and awake, so…if you want some…"
"Of course. I miss your cooking almost as much as I miss you."
"I missed you so much too…" Udonna began to cry. "I'm so sorry…I should've been happier…" Udonna hugged him tightly.
Fintan hugged her back. "I wasn't expecting a warm welcome anyways. I was hoping, though, that everything that happened wasn't so fast…Conall's just upset at me…"
"Conall…?" Udonna then realized. "Where's Conall?"
Nick gasped for air and stopped for the tenth time since he had started running. He stood outside Rothwood's wall that the Silver Guardians had built, partially marveling at it, partially happy to finally see it. He grabbed his side and walked in slowly.
"Hey, who're you?" A guard as he passed under the archway. The guard stepped out from his post and walked up to Nick.
"Hey, I'm a citizen." Nick said. "I know I don't look it, but…hold on." He pulled out his wallet from his jean pocket and flashed off his driver's license. The guard lowered his shades and pointed his rifle down as he checked Nick's ID.
"This hasn't been renewed in almost a year." The guard said, sternly gazing at Nick. He pushed his shades back up and stood back at attention. "You should get it renewed."
"You got it."
"You're free to go in, by the way." The guard then smiled in a forced sort of cheery way. "Welcome to Tech City."
Nick gave him an odd look as he passed by. "…Thanks."
Nick knew exactly where he was going; the lights in the window up on the third floor of the apartment complex in question were lit and sparkling. He was home.
Nick pressed the buzzer on the side of the apartment complex's main door. The speaker turned on.
"Hello?"
"Let me in." Nick asked. The door buzzed and let him in.
Toby stood at the top of the third story stairwell, looking down at Nick. He was wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt and grey thermal pants. "Hey Nick!" Nick looked up to him and frowned. "Hey, what's got ya down?"
"Can we talk inside?"
"Of course! C'mon in!" Toby smiled. "Don't mind the cold, though…the heater's broken."
"Something in this place's always broken…" Nick shook his head as he walked into Toby's apartment.
Toby's apartment was freezing cold as he walked in; he really had to get his heater fixed. The smell of a roast filled the air as Toby walked into the small kitchen. "Sit down, relax. Ya look tired."
"I ran here from the forest." Nick replied, sitting on the couch. Remnants of the heat that once filled the room whisked around Nick, teasing him. Nick shivered as Toby turned the sink on.
"Need a drink?" Toby asked.
"Please." Nick replied.
Toby walked out and handed Nick a beer. "Chill out, okay? Mind telling me what's going on?"
Nick took the beer and popped the top, then began to talk as Toby stood in front of the Christmas tree. "You remember that guy in the purple armor?"
"Big, tall guy, wolves on the shoulders and whatnot?"
"Yeah."
"Yeah, what about him?"
Nick took a drink from the can. "Turns out…" Nick sighed. "He's…he's my father."
"You don't say…" Toby replied in a curious tone, giving Nick an odd look and placing his hands on his hips. "How'd you find this out?"
"…From my mom…"
"That's…that just sucks, man. Worst Christmas present ever." Toby shook his head. "I can see why you're so upset…" Toby walked into the kitchen.
Nick followed Toby into the kitchen. He took another sip of the beer and winced a bit. "I think this stuff's stale…"
"Wouldn't be surprised. It was on sale." Toby replied as he began washing something in the sink. "Sorry about that."
"Don't be…" Nick replied, taking another sip.
"So…you came here to hang out because of all the crap back over at the Big Treehouse, eh?" Toby asked.
"Basically, yeah." Nick took another sip. "You make it sound horrid, but that's pretty much it." Nick looked at the can. "Well, at least your fridge's working. This beer's nice and cold." Nick smiled. "Thanks." He took another sip.
"Well, glad I could be here for ya. That's what friends are fo-" Toby swung his arm back and accidentally let go of the blade he had been washing. Nick quickly side strafed and avoided the blade to the face, and the tip of the blade drove into the wall. Toby turned around. "Whoa, sorry! Sorry…"
Nick stared at the blade; it had no handle, and was pointed at both ends…it seemed almost impractical for people to hold it normally. "Weird…knife…thing."
Toby walked over and pulled the knife out of the wall with ease. "Yeah, mom got me this thing for Christmas…wanted me to carve the roast with it. Weirdest damn thing I've seen in my life."
"Yeah…" Nick sat down at the small table in the kitchen and set his beer next to an oiled rag. The oil was slightly caked on. "Been working on that metal death trap lately?" Nick asked.
"Wha?" Toby asked, turning around. Nick pointed to the rag. "Oh! Yes, working away at it. Can't get the damn thing to run…" Toby laughed loudly.
"How's the roast coming?"
"Coming along fine. Why don't you go out into the living room and watch some TV? Hard to move around here with the two of us."
"Yeah, sure…" Nick left for the living room. Nick continued drinking the beer and sighed. After a minute or so, Toby walked out and sat next to Nick on the couch.
"How're ya feeling?"
"Not any better." Nick replied, finishing off the can and slamming it on the coffee table.
Toby wrapped his arm around Nick's shoulders. "Ya know, I've known you for a long time…and I know that you're always so upbeat and ready to fight with these magic people you hang out with…but lately…" Toby sighed. "You've been bummed out."
"First I found out that my mother sold us out…then my dad's the guy who not only killed my sister, but tried to whack me, too…"
"That's harsh." Toby said. He rocked Nick a bit and smiled. "Ya know what? I really don't wanna impede on your life or anything, but…" He sighed. "You were a lot happier when your parents were dead."
Nick laughed. "You can say that again. I mean…I was better off believing that my dad was a war hero and my mom died of cancer."
"Yeah…in fact…you were a lot happier before you went off to find the crazy tree people out in Briarwood, I think."
"Ya think?" Nick asked, looking over at Toby, who replied with a simple nod. "Yeah, I was. I mean, I had a nice, stable job, a good apartment, and a lot of friends. Now I'm living in a tree with no pay, one of my friends just died, and my parents are just a pair of downright shitty failures." Nick held out his hands and let his face land into them.
"Need another drink?" Toby asked.
"Please." Nick replied. As Toby got up, Nick fell onto the rest of the couch. "Wait, nevermind…I'm feeling sick…I think that shit was stale…" He shivered and clenched his stomach.
"Yeah, I thought so too…I just checked the date, it's pretty fresh." Toby replied. "You're probably having nerve problems…either that, or running all the way from Briarwood's made you sick." Toby popped the top for Nick and set it in front of him. "The drink'll make you feel better."
Nick thought for a moment and contemplated turning it down, but a little nagging voice in the back of his head disagreed. "Yeah, yeah…" Nick sat up and grabbed the can.
"You'll be fine…just hang out here with me…" Toby smiled widely like a Cheshire cat. "Relax…"
"Whatever you say." Nick mindlessly said as he took a sip of the booze.
As he drank the second can, he went numb and grew colder, making him shiver. He couldn't, however, figure out why he was sweating. As he finished off the second can, he felt nauseous. "Toby…"
"Yeah?" Toby asked.
"Gotta puke…can't…get up…"
"Here…" Toby helped him up. "You can puke in the sink…"
"I was…thinking…in a toilet but…"
Toby panicked. "The pipes're on the fritz! Bad idea."
"In…just the bathroom?"
"Yeah!"
"In the bedroom one, too?"
"…Didn't think of that one." Toby replied, laughing loudly. "to the other bathroom we go!" Toby pointed for the back room.
As they passed the main bathroom, the smell of the roast suddenly spiked, and Nick noticed a reddish-brown substance stained in the carpet. "Is that-" Nick began pointing at it.
"Rust? Yeah…the pipes're busted, like I said." Toby smiled.
Right outside Toby's bedroom door sat the main thermostat. In an instant Nick noticed another sort of oddity. "It says it's 90 in here…"
"See? Told ya it's broken!" Toby laughed loudly. He walked Nick into the bedroom's bathroom. "Puke away!" He tossed Nick onto the toilet, stepped out, and locked the door behind him. "I'll give him ten-" Nick shouted from behind the door. "Five minutes…" Toby grinned and walked out. "Should probably clean up that mess…"
Fintan set the table back at Rootcore, feeling guilty. Yuri had just arrived back from a meeting of her 'children' over in her home castle in the east, and she brought good news for the denizens of Rootcore that she was going to share with them over breakfast. Sorin, who was now devoid of any visible bandages, walked downstairs to join in. Vida smelled breakfast and slowly made her way down, as well. Kiran, who rarely ate breakfast, thought it would only be proper to join Fintan at the table. Yuri woke Xander up as well; he had fallen asleep at the round table at his seat. Clare was the last person to decide to join the meal, and she sat down in Madison's seat. Udonna served up the meal she had been making, then sat down next to Fintan to enjoy it.
"It's good to see that we may not all be here, but we can still enjoy a good meal together." Fintan said softly. The group nodded.
"It's good for everybody to sort of…get to talking." Sorin replied.
"I agree." Fintan replied.
Vida chimed up. "Um…Mr. Bragel…" She blushed as she meekly spoke.
"Please…no need for formalities. Just call me Fintan."
"Okay…Mr. Fintan…" She weakly replied. She then cleared her voice and continued. "I know…this might be a bad time to ask, but…"
"I know what you're going to ask, and it's okay. I should explain what happened…"
Fintan ran through the field, Taranis not far behind. Taranis swung his tail about, smashing through the Hideac waves. Bragel sent a wave of energy surging through, dividing the ranks straight down the middle. It began to rain and thunder, and Taranis glared. "I think I saw a small unit running towards the forest…" He shouted to Fintan.
"Udonna can handle them!" Fintan responded.
"No, they looked heavily armored. They might overwhelm her!"
"Sorin and Crystal should still be with her!"
"We can't take our chances, now, can we?" Taranis sounded convincing. "Besides, if they're both guarding the peasant girl, who is watching over your children?" Taranis grinned evilly, but Fintan couldn't see it.
"Fine! But come back with Clarin!"
"You got it." Taranis high-tailed it for the forest.
"That's when he got back here…he was right…I was holding down the fort…" Sorin replied.
Taranis burst through Rootcore's main entrance, where Sorin stood guard.
"Aren't you supposed to be with Bragel?" Sorin asked.
"He's doomed anyways…it doesn't matter…" Taranis replied. He pointed his sword at Udonna, causing Crystal, Clarin, and Sorin to jump.
"Hey! Watch it!" Sorin ordered, pointing his sword back.
"We should take this outside…wouldn't want the kiddies to have to watch!" A Saint Circle opened up underneath the two teleporting them into the archery range.
"Raigel…stop this!" Sorin shouted.
"You and your heroism…this war has raged for centuries! We are few, and they are many!" Taranis grinned. "We have all the power we're allowed to have…and they just have power lying around like rubbish."
"What are you saying?" Sorin asked.
"I'm saying that we have no chance, so I'm making your deaths easier." Taranis shook his head. "A wise man once said, "It is better to die by the hands of a caring and familiar friend than to die by the hands of an cruel and unknown executioner". I guess this makes me your supposedly caring and familiar friend." Taranis laughed as he lunged at Sorin.
"Raigel! Stop!" Sorin put up a guard and blocked Taranis's attack.
"So we fought for hours, and I pulled him away from Rootcore. I managed to teleport us to a far away desert where I knew nothing would hinder our fight and that it would only be the two of us." Sorin nodded. "I cast a spell on him to make him fall into a permanent sleep, and it worked, but I drained a great deal of my energy. It was there that Kiran and I met, and he helped me into the temple which we had both spent the last 20 or so years." Sorin placed his hand on Kiran's shoulder. "See, Kiran here is a historian and a scholar when he's not a genie, and he's spent all of his time documenting our trials and tribulations." Kiran smiled.
"All I have learned from the last two generations of warriors is astonishing, to be honest. Never have any of these fights become so personal and so dividing in ranks until twenty years ago." Kiran replied. "I doubt, with Raigel in a high position of power in Infershia, and a massive plan in tow, that things will be any less personal or violent in the coming times."
"Mmm. Especially not while I am still alive…" Fintan replied. "I must say, Sorin, you did a very good job while I was out."
"Thank you, Sir."
"Unfortunately, I was not as fortunate…"
Fintan ran through the Gates of Infershia, the tall doors shutting behind him as he continued down into the throne room of Infershia. He found little resistance as he ran down; it was if he were being greeted in with how every door down was either open or unlocked. He entered the throne room and found it empty, and in an instant, all around him was darkness. He couldn't see anything in front of him until a sudden burst of red light illuminated just enough to see a silhouette of something in front of him."I feel the Light within you, visitor…" A whispering voice called out. "I feel it surrounding you…"
"We finally meet, Enma." Fintan called out, grinning.
"This is the first time and the last time, young Saint of Bravery."
"I can agree with that." Fintan nodded.
"You are the highest of your army…I take great pleasure in welcoming you to my chambers. Only you are worthy to meet me face-to-face…"
"The pleasure's all yours, demon." Fintan replied.
"That light…your light…" Long vine-like tentacles shot out around Enma from his back. "I must have it…must devour it whole…"
"You won't-" A thick blade sunk into the back of his shoulder and pulled upwards, severing the chain of the Lightfire Amulet and causing it to slide down and drop to the floor.
Branken laughed as Fintan dropped to his knees. "I won't what?" Enma asked. Fintan grabbed the Amulet as the tentacles wrapped around him tightly and pulled him in.
"My dear…unleash me…" Enma called out. Morrigan grinned and released the restraints on Enma's face, unleashing a mouth filled with tentacles.
"Die, stupid Saint." Morrigan said, giggling. As small as she was, she still found delight in the situation. Vankyuria pulled her back to avoid Enma's attacks.
Enma started to squeeze the life out of Fintan as he pulled him closer, wrapping more and more tentacles around him. "Tell me, dear Saint, did you ever imagine that you would die like this? Have the very life sucked and squeezed out of you like a little lobster?"
"Don't…count me out yet!" Fintan shouted. He watched as countless Madoushi and Hideacs crowded into the rafters to watch the event. Branken, Vankyuria, and Morrigan joined their ranks as well. Fintan brandished his sword and knocked his helmet's mask up a bit so that the masses could see his face as he grinned. "Hope you enjoy the show!" He shouted as he drove his blade into several tentacles and cut them off.
"That barely hurt, puny Saint." Enma replied, squeezing harder and drawing him closer. Enma then began to inhale, drawing Fintan's power away from him. "Ah, this light…"
Fintan winced as the Lightfire Amulet began to glow. He felt slightly woozy, but he focused on the task at hand. He focused all of the power that remained to his sword. The tentacles shifted towards Enma's left just slightly, and Fintan grinned. "Do you really need four eyes?" Fintan queried, driving his blade directly above Enma's upper left eye. He then cut it completely out, causing it to crystallize. Enma screamed from his vocal chords this time, and the noise was unbearable; it was a cacophony of dying crustaceans and screeching bats, howling demons crying out in agony, with a bit of a gurgle as if he had a large clump of sea water in his throat. He closed his remaining three eyes and panicked.
"See? I warned you!" Fintan gloated.
"Minions, leave!" Enma shouted. The crowd dispersed, and they all ran for shelter.
"Afraid to lose in front of your adoring children?" Fintan taunted. Enma did not answer, but merely continued devouring Fintan's energy.
The Lightfire Amulet grew warmer, drawing its own strength from Fintan while supplying him with enough energy to carry on.
Fintan sighed and closed his eyes. "Majiel, give me strength…" He pointed his blade tip at the floor. "Luuma Golu Lujuna!"
A Saint Pentagram opened up beneath two of them, locking them in place.
"You…sentence yourself to death?" Enma asked, confused.
"I won't allow anyone to ever suffer your tyranny again…even if I can't live in that world, I can't allow you to live in it either!" Fintan growled. "Maaji Golu Jii Majika!" The shield on his back transmuted into another sword; instead of the fiery wide blade in his right hand, this one was narrower and shaped much more like a longsword with a golden and black hilt.
Fintan grabbed the longsword and, with both blades charged with energy, sliced away the bond holding him to Enma; he tore through every single tentacle attached to him, causing blood to splatter everywhere.
Fintan's armor was drenched, his red fur cape, purple and red fur underarmor, and red fur epaulets became matted down in the demon god's blood. Enma stumbled towards the center of the floor, the Pentagram not allowing him to move any farther.
"You fool!" Enma shouted, the limits of his mental voice being pushed. "You think cutting away my tentacles will stop me?" More tentacles shot out from his fingers and back towards Fintan. Enma was less interested in gathering up his power now, so he stopped devouring. All he wanted was to kill him. "I'll toss your shattered remains into the crowd of your children, and watch as your little ones cry in agony!"
Fintan growled and changed the longsword back into his shield. "I'll make it so my children will think of you as nothing more than a bad dream!" He tossed the Amulet and the shield aside and gripped his sword tightly with both hands. The sword glowed a bright crimson as Fintan growled louder. "Maaji Golu Majika!"
He swung the sword, releasing the energy in a brilliantly shining arc and sliced through every tentacle in its path and eventually dividing the great demon in half. Enma screamed in agony as his body began to fall apart. In one final effort, Enma regurgitated the energy it had devoured from Fintan and fired it back, lacing it with his own energy. The blast was unblockable, and Fintan was smashed against his own barrier with it. His own energy burned at his weakened body, while the dark energy bored beneath the surface and began to eat away at whatever was left of Fintan's energy.
Enma fell to pieces, leaving his ethereal self to hover slightly over the remains. As the last of Enma's attack tore at Fintan, he closed his eyes and focused what was left of him inwards, sealing it away to prevent the dark magic from destroying it.
The seal focused on the ethereal form and the remains of Enma, then drew them downwards, down beneath the ground. Enma's ethereal self pointed at Fintan's body. "A sacrifice you have made yourself, and a shame it would be to waste your body…" A Madou Circle opened up beneath Fintan's body. "Ugaro Uu Zanga Zazare!"
Dark magic tentacles shot up and wrapped Fintan's body up, then began pumping his body full of Madou energy. From a short distance away, the Lightfire Amulet glowed brightly, trying in vain to save its owner…
"And that's all I can remember…" Fintan sighed and placed his hand over the Amulet. "Last night, I took the time to think about just why everything had happened as such…" He smiled. "I've come to the conclusion that the Amulet, knowing that my very soul was in danger of being devoured, tried to seal it up within itself."
"How does that work?" Xander asked. "Crystals aren't sentient…"
"Crystals imbued with the magic of Saints have a sort of…protection…that it passes onto the wearers. It provides a great deal of power in a crisis, but it also requires a part of the wearer to tap into this power." Vida replied.
"Exactly, Miss…"
"Vida. Vida Rocca."
"Miss Vida." Fintan smiled. "So, as I was trying to think of a reason as to why, without the Amulet, I came to my senses slowly…I had realized that the Amulet hadn't retained all of me, but merely a piece of me. Once I had let it go, it couldn't save me any longer, and that is why I had to seal the rest of myself away in my own body…which was why as soon as I ran into Udonna, I began to come to my senses." He looked over to Udonna, and they both shared a warm smile.
"Well, how did Snowjiel get a hold of the Amulet if it was with you?" Clare asked.
"Yes, I would like to know also…" Sorin added.
Udonna smiled. "Well, when Fintan, who had become Wolzard at that point, returned, he came with a message and a box…"
Udonna, Crystal, and Clarin stood on the field in front of a large Madou Circle. In front of them stood the purple-armored Madoushi, Wolzard, bearing a long and thin box.
"Who are you?" Clarin asked, pointing her Lunar Rod at him.
"I am Infershia's champion. My name…is Wolzard, the Wolf Knight of the Madoushi." He replied.
"If you are a Madoushi, why do you not fight?" Crystal replied, guarding Udonna with her Glacier Rod. Udonna glared at him.
"The war is over. My master…is no more." Wolzard sighed and looked down.
"Are you surrendering, then?" Udonna asked.
"No…merely delivering a parcel to those who are alive…as a memento from my master." Wolzard tossed the box at them, and Udonna caught it. She slowly opened it, then quickly closed it, collapsing to the ground and crying. Crystal and Clarin turned around and kneeled down to comfort her.
"What is it?" Clarin asked.
"It's Fintan's…" She cried heavier and dropped the box. Crystal picked it up and opened it.
"It's his Amulet…" Crystal said to Clarin as she looked up. A look of terror took shape in her features.
"You murderer!" Udonna shouted, attempting to lunge at him.
"We all believed Fintan was dead…" Udonna replied. "We were wrong, though. I'm glad we were wrong." Udonna smiled and leaned her head on Fintan's shoulder. Sorin smiled.
They began to finally dig in to Udonna's breakfast for them, and Yuri began to talk about how her 'children' would be willing to assist Mahoutsukai in their areas so long as it was at night and they were overwhelmed. It was a step in the right direction for the vampires, even with the heavy restrictions. The group seemed to agree on that fact unanimously.
After everybody had finished eating, Vida sighed. Sorin looked at her. "What is wrong, Miss Vida?" He asked.
"What…what are we going to do with Chip…?"
"We give him what he deserves…a hero's funeral." Fintan replied. "For his valiant efforts, he deserves no less." The group nodded in agreement.
"Where're we gonna bury him?" Xander asked.
"We should bring him home." A voice called out from behind them. They turned around and saw Madison clutching onto one of the pillows from his bed. Tsubasa was sitting beside her. "I think he'd want to be buried in the open plains so that he can run forever." Madison smiled weakly and brushed away the tears that came.
Nick stood in the living room of the apartment, staring straight through Toby as he spoke, absorbing every word that came out of his mouth.
"Now, I've told you the best course of action…do you think you can handle it?" Nick stood still, merely staring. Toby smiled. "Good. Everything'll be just fine when you're done, okay? Don't worry about it." He patted Nick on top of his head. "I'll be there later to check up on you, okay?" Still no sort of response. "Good! Good. Now get going."
Nick left the apartment silently, leaving Toby to sigh and relax. "Ah, today's going to be great!" Toby said, plopping himself on the couch next to the giant black trash bag. "Don't you think so, there, mate?" He poked the bag with his oddly-shaped knife, making it rock slightly. "Wanna watch some of this…nonsense?" He asked. He got no response. "Great!"
He spun the knife in the air and it landed as an open fan, which he used to shock the TV into turning on. A little flick of the wrist caused the channels to flip around, and he eventually landed on a game show of sorts. "Ah! This looks mildly entertaining!" Toby said, nudging the bag. "Can you see in there?" He asked. He got no response. "Ah, of course you can't! I covered your eyes! Hold on a moment…"
He opened the bag slightly and pulled the bag down around the body's neck, revealing the head and its severely frizzed and staticy hair to slump forwards a bit. "Aw! You should watch this! It's funny!" He pulled the head back and held it in place. "See? Isn't it funny?" Toby laughed, but the body just stared out through its cold, dead eyes. "I know!"
Madison, Vida, Xander, Clare, Udonna, and Yuri all flew towards Mysteria, all holding a handle on Chip's casket. They looked for the place where Crystal and Clarin had prepared the spot for Chip to be buried.
Xander leaned forwards and whispered into Yuri's ear. "…Love?"
"Yes?"
"I…I don't mean to be rude, but…why couldn't you just…bring him back? I mean, it'd save us a lot of heartache…"
"Well, there's no soul. I can't put somebody back together if there's only a body."
"…Oh."
As they flew over the Mysterian plains, they spotted an enclosed garden with the two Saints inside, along with Oliver. They waved the group down and they began to land.
Oliver left with a bow after they set the casket in the barren patch. All around the casket, ivy latched itself to the handles in preparation for the end burial. Blue lotus and patches of wild pink roses of varying tones lined the outer ring of the fenced in area. Cypress trees were planted at the north end of the fence. The sun was high in the air as everybody began preparing for the ceremony. The Magicians all wore white hooded robes with the Mahou Circle stitched over the left breast, trimmed in their branch colors, while the Saints wore their normal attire. Yuri wore a long black dress with a brimmed hat and a lace face cover to hide her tears.
Crystal placed a few nasturtiums on top of his coffin and sighed. "We're dropping like flies…" She said. She then quickly pulled Clare aside.
"I heard that Udonna passed down her wand to you…" Crystal smiled lightly. "I know…it's not the time to be happy over such little things, but…I wanted to give you a little congratulations present." She took off her barrettes and softly slid them into Clare's hair. They were pearl barrettes adorned with little quartz snowflakes. "You look so nice with them in your hair."
"…Thanks." Clare sniffled.
"I'll stay with all of you for the ceremony…" Crystal smiled. "I miss him already."
Clare and Crystal rejoined the ceremony as Clarin began to speak. "Let us place upon the coffin our gifts to the departed, so that they will feel our veneration in the next life…"
Xander stepped up first, placing a small wreath of oak leaves on top. Vida then stepped forwards, placing seven yellow zinnias, two fennel flowers, and a few eucalyptus leaves on top. Yuri placed several black roses strung together with string and decorated with acorns on top. Udonna placed fifteen small dark crimson roses on top, tied with a yellow string. Clare placed several lily of the valleys on top which were tied in a daisy chain. Clarin softly laid a few globe amaranths on top. Madison sighed and put her bouquet on top. It was a large bouquet; sunflowers and long-stemmed red and white roses made up the majority of the bulk, lilacs and heliotropes filled in the larger spaces, wallflowers, primroses, and little blue periwinkles filled it out entirely underneath the baby blue silk ribbon. She kissed the single pink carnation and cried as she took a step back.
Back at Rootcore, Sorin and Fintan sat at the round table, sipping tea.
"I wish things had been better…I think he would've been better off under your care."
"His methods, I remember, reminded me of a younger me. A bit more fearless, perhaps. I wouldn't have hesitated to put some of it back in him, though." Fintan grinned. "A man without fear is a kamikaze…and one should not be that way every waking moment of their life." He took a sip of his tea. "I speak from experience, unfortunately."
"Well, Conall is very methodical, from what I've heard and seen."
"Well then, you have my blessing…and my condolences." Fintan smiled and Sorin chuckled.
"He's got his father's temper, that's for sure."
"His mother's stubbornness, too."
"Ah, she was tenacious in those days…she's mellowed out, from the looks of it."
"Worn thin from stress…" Fintan sighed.
"It's not your fault." Sorin replied.
"I still feel like I should've done things differently…" He laughed. "I know I'll sound soft, but I'd like to have done something to get the approval of Conall."
"Well, we're not all perfect. Charlie was a good kid, but he was far from unblemished. Conall's judging you for things beyond your control…things will blow over and he'll be just fine…"
The front door blew open, blasting cold air from outside in. Sorin and Fintan looked to see who was coming.
Nick stepped in slowly, his eyes fixated on Fintan.
"Nick!" Fintan said cheerily. "Welcome home!"
"Nick! You look a little down. You feeling alright?" Sorin asked.
"Want some tea?" Fintan asked. Nick silently approached the table and sat in his seat. "Not in a mood to speak, eh?"
"You're looking a little chilled…you've still got snow on your shoulders…" Sorin said, brushing the snow off. Nick swiftly grabbed Sorin's arm and held it away from his shoulder, then flashed a look of anger at him for a moment before tossing his arm aside. Sorin stood up and gave a mildly scared look back. "I'm going to…do a little archery…ya know, knock the snow off the board." Sorin smiled and quickly made his way for the back door.
Fintan slid a cup of tea over to Nick. "Here, you look parched."
Nick looked at the cup for a moment, grasping the cup tightly. The steam billowed a bit heavier as he held it.
"…Are you going to attend Charlie's funeral…?" Fintan asked. Nick silently continued to stare at his cup as it began to boil. "I hope you're not planning to drink it that hot…"
Nick looked up, a sinister look in his eyes. "Nope." He tossed the tea at Fintan as he stood up. The hot tea scorched Fintan's skin, causing him to fall out of his seat to try and avoid the rest of it. He looked up at Nick who had somehow silently walked over to hover over him.
"Nick…" Fintan said, wiping the tea away from his face. "What possessed you to do such a thing?"
"I've given up so much…and I've gotten nothing back…" Nick's voice sounded quieter, yet strained.
"Nick…" Fintan stared at him in wonder; he could almost see where this was going.
Nick slowly slid his wand out of his pocket. "And he was right…" His Cheshire grin lasted a mere second before his face dropped back to a look mixed with anger and joy. "I was better off when you were dead."
Within milliseconds his wand transmuted into a sword, and any other person would've literally lost their head. However, Fintan had enough sense to roll to the side, and all that he lost was the tip of his long ponytail. Fintan panicked; he was unarmed, and Nick wasn't. If the fight were the other way, he'd have a 50-50 chance of winning, but he had absolutely no chance of surviving now.
Sorin continued firing arrows into the target, missing horridly. He heard a door creak open, so he looked to the door on the main floor. The door was closed, and Nick and Fintan were apparently talking. "Well, there's a nice sight." Sorin smiled weakly. "Now…what door…?" He looked up and spotted the door and the person who opened it. His eyes widened. "Midhat…?"
"Good day, Sungel!" Midhat shouted. Sorin pulled his sword out of the ground where he had sat it, and Midhat held his fan up. "Oh, I'm just here for the show."
"…Show?"
"Oh, it hasn't started yet? I'm early? Fine." Midhat summoned a chair on his balcony and sat down on it.
"What are you going on about?"
"Oh, there's going to be a lovely show that will start any time now…I wanted good seats." Midhat smiled. Sorin panicked and looked downstairs; Nick was chasing Fintan as he dashed out the main doors. Fintan ran to Sorin's side, and Nick stopped twenty or so feet away.
"Ah, the show is about to begin!" Midhat cheered. He summoned up a small bowl of popcorn and slouched back in his chair.
Sorin looked at Nick, then at Midhat. "You planned this, didn't you?"
"Oh, he merely is a poor boy with many problems…I found him in his time of need, and merely gave him a solution to his problems. Nobody else seemed to care about him…it was always what everybody else wanted, you see…can't the boy want something as well?" Midhat stood up. "Tell them, dear boy…"
"I had a beautiful life, and a bright future…I had friends and family…my sister and I were happy…" He began to tear up. "I was happy in the lie that my family was so wonderful…I was living a successful life in ignorant bliss…I had all that I ever wanted…" Nick glared at Sorin and Fintan. "It's all gone, now…my friends, my sister, my beautiful dreams…you're all to blame…"
"See? Doesn't anybody around here care about you and your feelings?"
"No. They only care about their little war."
"Exactly!"
"Nick, stop this!" Fintan shouted. "I know that I'm not a role model of any kind…but this isn't the way to solve this!"
"If you were upset, you could have come to me!" Sorin added.
"Nick, I do believe that you should show them that little ace up your sleeve…" Midhat shouted happily. Nick turned around. "I think it would get this done and over with faster, don't you?"
"It would…" Nick replied, turning back around.
He drove the tip of his sword into the ground, creating a red Mahou Circle underneath his feet. A blaze of fire surrounded Nick for a few seconds, then exploded outwards, revealing the transformation underneath.
Nick now wore a red suit of armor, designed to resemble a phoenix. His chestplate was streamlined and had an engraved phoenix symbol in the center. His epaulets were talons, and the arms were guarded by thick scale mail. His gauntlets and greaves resembled Sorin's, except that they were flexible and were jointed in a way to prevent skin exposure. The fauld hung down to a bit past his waist, and it was fashioned to look like phoenix feathers. His helmet was shaped to look like a phoenix's head, and it came complete with a plain faceguard.
As Nick pulled his sword out of the ground, a ring of fire surrounded it and transformed it into a long blade shaped like a phoenix tail with the hilt in the shape of the phoenix symbol. Nick glared at Sorin and Fintan, who were only staring back in wonder.
"He has…Saint Armor…?" Sorin asked Fintan.
"That's one mighty 'ace'…" Fintan said, avoiding the question. "It's built like a fortress…"
"Goolu Golu Goludiiro!" Sorin said, taking out his wand and transforming. He gave his sword to Fintan and summoned his Mystic Lamp. "Here."
Fintan grabbed the sword and took a defensive stance. "I really do not wish to fight you, son…but if I must…"
"What kind of warrior are you if you can't fight me?" Nick asked. "Are you afraid that you will lose?"
"No, I fear that I will never have you back." Fintan replied. "To further lose my family…it is my greatest fear."
"You lost me the moment you left." Nick coldly retorted.
"You were too young to think of those things." Fintan replied, continuing his bracing.
"I'm through with talking." Nick jumped into the air, a pair of red metallic wings shooting out from his back. He glided through the air, sword poised to come crashing down.
"Nick! Stop!" Sorin said, firing off a few blasts of energy. They ricocheted off and crashed around the field, melting the snow.
Fintan put up a guard and Nick smashed into it, knocking the sword from Fintan's hand and kicking him to the ground.
"Do you regret your stupidity now?" Nick taunted as he pulled the sword above his head and pointed the blade tip downward in preparation to impale the Saint below him.
As he swung down, Fintan grabbed his wrists and tried to reposition the blade. "Nick…please…I know I made mistakes…but it was to save you from suffering like this! I wanted you to live in a world without suffering! Without Infershia! Even if it would mean it was without me!" Nick's eyes flashed a look of sorrow for a few milliseconds before shifting back. "Please stop this…Sorin and I understand that all of your personal sacrifices have begun to bother you…we can help you…"
"I don't want your help…you've helped enough." Nick gruffly replied.
Midhat watched from his seat at the balcony, and Sorin glared. "How could you do this to him?" He asked, pointing to Nick.
"Like I said before, I gave him a wonderful solution to his myriad problems."
"By killing us? What, you're not man enough to kill us yourself?"
Midhat went to jump but the wound in his side shocked him a bit. He held the wound gingerly, letting the tiny beads of blood seep out again. "I had a long day yesterday, what, with killing that little pest. I didn't get anything out of it except for a tiny bit of amusement…that little ginger was quite the comedian. Pity he wasn't smart."
Sorin growled and teleported up to Midhat's balcony. Sorin watched as Midhat bled a bit. "So the stupid ginger left you a gift, I see." Sorin smirked.
Midhat winced which contorted into a glare. "It's nothing compared to what that boy's going to do to you."
"Well the grand question now is, what do you plan to do to me?" Sorin asked, setting the Mystic Lamp's blaster tip to Midhat's forehead. "You know how itchy my trigger finger is when I'm excited."
Midhat waved his fan and a gust of wind sent Sorin flying through the air. He fired off several rounds of solar magic bolts, and Midhat blocked them with ease.
"Not so fast, Raigel." Sorin charged the Mystic Lamp up to full power, and auto-targeted his shot. "Golu Jiruma Gojika! Prominence Burst!" He pulled the trigger, sending him rocketing into the ground from the recoil, and a dozen beams of white-hot solar energy shot upwards like missiles out of a fantastical rocket launcher.
"Mejira." Midhat put up a shield to block the shots, but they shattered through the shield, breaking it into a beautiful rain of black glass and smashed into Midhat, burning him intensely and causing him to fall to his knees. "I admit, that was a lovely move…" Midhat whimpered.
Fintan couldn't hold the blade back much longer. Nick grunted as he pushed one last time, and Fintan knew that he would give. He closed his eyes and waited for the blade to slide through him…
Only it didn't come. He opened his eyes and saw the world around him frozen, his son's eyes glaring menacingly at him. He looked backwards and saw the hem of a long grey skirt.
"Hello, Terpsichore." He said.
"You do not address me by first name, boy." Chronojiel replied.
"Mind humoring me as to why you are saving me?"
"Don't sound grateful now…" She replied with a grin. "First off, I lament the loss of the Kiiro no Mahoutsukai. I didn't like him, but I'm sure you would've done the same in the same situation." She bent down next to Fintan's head. "I'm not sure many people know this, but these wars have taken a toll on me…having to watch my sister's children fall time after time…she replaces them, but it's not the same. And now they're going against my rules and bringing back those who were long dead and corrupting those who are not. You are my sister's strongest boy…it would be a shame if you died weaponless." He pulled down his right hand and put in his hand a trigger wand, similar to Sorin's. "My sister told you to use something a long time ago with this, but you refused. Don't have the same mistake twice." She stood up and Fintan smirked. "I'll give you five seconds by the time I leave. Hurry." She disappeared.
"Goolu Golu Golu Goludiiro!" He pulled the trigger, and a dark crimson light surrounded him.
Time restored, and the force of the light knocked Nick back and away. Sorin slowly got out of the hole in the ground, and Midhat looked out from the balcony.
Fintan's Saint Armor flashed upon him for a moment, then it all faded to tight black Mystic Armor. Then dark crimson greaves, a fauld, chestplate, gauntlets, and boots, all trimmed with silver and gold appeared. Around his head formed a black helmet with a dark crimson faceplate, and his epaulets appeared in the form of silver wolves. Upon the top of his chestplate, a gold 'W' shaped out, and his helmet followed suit by carving out a black 'W' for his visor. The trigger wand transformed into his Saint sword and shield, then transformed again into a familiar sword and shield pair.
Midhat gasped. "NO! IT CAN'T BE!" He stood up, holding his side. "I had him…right under my nose the entire time! THE ENTIRE TIME!" He stamped and growled.
Sorin grinned. "Amazing…"
Fintan stood up, marveling at his improved Knight Armor. "So this is where it came from…" His shield began to spark. "Oh…" He opened up the top of his shield, revealing the shattered eye. "I have something for your master, Raigel…" He used his sword to flick out the shattered eye, which fell out dripping with goo from the inside. "Tell him he can have his shoddy eye back!"
Midhat gasped in horror. "How…HOW DARE YOU TREAT ANYTHING BELONGING TO THE GREAT ENMA WITH SUCH DISRESPECT!" He teleported down and grabbed the eye, then turned to Nick. "Finish what you came here to do…show no mercy to these careless heathens!"
"You don't have to ask." Nick replied as Midhat teleported away. Nick drew up his sword and sneered. "Nice to see that you wore that armor again…I was waiting to see when you'd wear it again…nice color this time. Less effeminate." He then glared. "But red's not your color. It's mine."
Nick charged at Fintan, screaming loudly…
And hundreds of miles away, the ground shook ever so slightly beneath Xander's feet in warning, the pounding of feet charging in anger, and he turned around, looking south. The wind blew through Vida's hair, a wave of anger in it, the sounds of screaming and swords clashing, and she turned and looked to the south. The tears streaming down Madison's face stung like cut wounds, the feeling of fire within the deep wounds, and she looked away from the coffin and looked to the south. Clare got a chill up her spine that felt like fire and the fear within it, the fear of fighting and the fear of more bloodshed, and she looked to the south to see if it was as near to her as it felt.
Clarin and Crystal looked at them, realizing what was going on. "We'll hold the ceremony. Go do what you must…and hurry." Crystal said. "You all know something's wrong…go fix it." The quartet nodded, then left.
Fintan spun his sword around, removing the eye goo from the blade, then pointed at Nick. "I honestly do not wish to harm you. You are my son, and the damage I have done is irreparable, but we can start over with a clean slate and everything will be fine."
"We can't just restart everything! You killed Sylvie! We can't just pretend that you didn't kill her! We can't just pretend that everything is okay!"
"Sylvie is safe and sound, Nick. She is with Majiel and Snowjiel now, and that is the safest place for her to be."
"It doesn't change what you did!" Nick jumped up and growled as he once again attempted to impale Fintan.
Fintan let the blade tip sink into the hole left by Enma's Eye, then flung the blow away, opening Nick up. Fintan slashed at the weakest armored part of him, his mid-section, then swung. The blade danced across the armor that was there, sending tiny embers up. Nick laughed evilly, then roundhoused Fintan on his back. "Oh please. You can't get through this armor."
"Nick! Stop it!" Sorin shouted. "You're going to do something you regret if you don't!"
"To hell with you!" Nick turned around and swung his blade in an arc, sending a wave of fire at Sorin and tossing him back into Rootcore and forcing him out of transformation.
Four brooms raced above the forest, looking down. "I hate this feeling that something is wrong…" Madison said. "I don't want to leave Charlie's funeral…but…this feeling…"
"We understand. We all have that gut instinct." Xander replied.
"Guys…down at Rootcore…" Clare pointed out. "What…what is that…?"
"Is that…Wolzard?" Vida asked.
"It's that armor…only…it's red…" Xander said. "and what is that fighting it…?"
"Is…that…Nick?" Madison said, looking mortified. "What's going on?"
"There's no time for questions." Xander said, pulling into a nosedive.
"Let's go!" Vida replied, following Xander.
"Ugh, those two…" Madison added, following her sister.
"…Isn't the Green Magician supposed to go last?" Clare said to herself. She shrugged, then followed Madison.
Xander landed and approached the field. He watched at Fintan and Nick fought, and the earth shook violently beneath his feet as a warning. "This is the problem…" Xander muttered to himself. The others arrived and watched the scene with Xander. "I wish I knew what the problem was…" Xander replied.
Nick spotted the group and laughed. "Oh good…I don't have to look for any of you later."
Xander looked to the group. "Stay here."
"What?" Vida asked.
"I'm going to try…a little plan." Xander grinned.
"You're not going to…"
"Watch Plan Xander in effect." Xander said, grinning widely.
Xander walked forwards. "Nick! Is that you under there?"
Nick gave him an odd look, then growled. "Whoa now, easy there, Nick. I don't wanna fight you…"
"Well then you can stand there and die."
"Whoa, whoa!" Xander put up his hands in a defensive sort of stance. "What's this about dying? I don't even know what's going on!"
"Once I'm rid of all of you, I can go back to my own life…I'm sick of fighting your stupid war!"
"Nick…" Xander gave him a surprised look. "You…you hate fighting with us?" Xander looked as if he had just been punched in the stomach. "But…you were always the one to get us moving during the hard days…you loved what you did…you told us how happy you were…"
"Lying to you is so easy, isn't it, Xander?" Nick replied with a grin. "You're so naïve."
"I think you're just brainwashed, Nick."
"You? Thinking? Don't hurt yourself." Nick laughed.
Xander sighed. "Nick, please…listen to me…" Xander walked towards Nick. "You have never been unhappy. I should know…before Yuri, I was jealous of your happiness. I wanted to be excited to wake up in the morning like you did. Every day, I heard you moving about, ready to start the day…Nick, I know that you miss the life you had, but you've never been unhappy about it until now. We were there for you when Sylvie died, and we were sad for you, but you pulled yourself up. Please Nick…fighting us won't give you anything." Xander finally stood face to face with Nick, his eyes misted over from old thoughts.
"You can't possibly understand what it's like to lose your entire life to some stupid fight you didn't even ask to be in!"
"My sister, my father, they fell to Infershia, too! My cousins, my aunt, several of my friends…my whole world was torn apart! I know how you feel, and then some!" Xander began to tear up. "We all gave something up for this…we're not trying to off each other over it!" He swallowed hard. "Chip gave his life for this 'stupid war'. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"
"He was dead already, he said it himself."
"No, he wasn't. He felt like I did…but all this…we both recovered from that…we found things to fight for…" Xander wiped his eyes. "You have something to fight for, too. If you don't fight, they'll follow you to the ends of the earth and kill you. You can't escape it, Nick. None of us can. This is our destiny. We were chosen to save this planet from the demons of Infershia, and we've done a good job of that." Xander smiled. "So…what do you say?"
Nick pushed forwards, and Xander gasped. "Nice try."
From the back, the blade forced blood through, staining the white robe. Madison gasped, and Vida's rage grew. "You bastard!" She shouted as Nick kicked Xander off his blade. Xander winced and grabbed his stomach, rolling on his back in pain. Nick smiled and raised his sword then drove it down, and Xander went limp.
Madison held Vida back. "What do you think you're doing?" Vida shouted.
"We can't help." Madison replied, crying. "There's nothing we can do."
"To hell with this!" Vida charged forwards, transforming and summoning her Battle Staff. "Xander, I'm coming!" Vida shouted.
She summoned up a gust of wind to blow Nick back a bit, and it gave her enough time to run to Xander's side. "Xander?" She shook him. "Xander, get up!" He didn't move. Vida stopped, then looked up. "You son of a BITCH!" She stood up. "The next funeral's yours! No more games!" Vida shouted as Nick began to recover from the blast.
The sky had grown black as a storm rolled in. A roll of thunder pierced the air as the freezing rain began to fall. Vida spun the top of her staff, sending out a wind gust filled with the freezing rain.
It slowly splashed off his armor but pushed him back, all of it turning into a giant cloud of smoke. Nick winced, but it didn't faze him all that much.
"There has to be a way…" Vida muttered. "…Oh!" She dropped out of transformation, then held her wand close. "Transit Lepido!"
A puff of pink smoke enveloped her, and Nick charged at her. A tiny wind picked up around her and Nick went straight through her. The pink smoke and wind funnel disappeared, leaving what looked like nothing left.
"Vida!" Madison shouted.
Nick looked around, confused. "Where…where did she go?" He looked around.
"Maddie…what's that behind Nick…?" Clare whispered in Madison's ear. Madison looked, then smiled.
Vida fluttered about behind Nick, happy that he couldn't see her. This suit can't be completely solid, she thought to herself as she flew around his neck. The rain made it hard for her to maneuver, but she continued on. She fluttered on down and she happily found what she was looking for. Good…now for a surprise…
She fluttered over towards Fintan while Nick continued to look around. He finally looked towards Fintan and spotted an anomaly. "A…butterfly…?" He muttered to himself. It then hit him. "A butterfly!" He growled and swung his sword, once again summoning up an arc of flame, and fired it off towards Vida.
Fintan got up quickly and prepared to attack. "Maaji Golu Majika!" He shouted, swinging his sword. A gust of super-heated crimson wind charged forwards, and Vida deftly dodged it. The wind smashed into the arc of fire and spun it about, both of them finally dissipating.
"Stay out of this, old man!" Nick shouted.
"Not as long as I can fight!" Fintan replied. Vida transformed back to normal, then whispered against Fintan's helmet. "Good news." He replied. Vida transformed back into her Mystic Armor and summoned her Battle Staff.
Vida fired off a burst of wind, splashing the freezing rainwater all over Nick. He flinched, and by the time he looked back, they had both disappeared. "Hm…" He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He felt a wave of energy behind him, so he swung his sword to attack. He knocked Fintan off-guard and sent him flying back. The wind picked up behind Nick, and he turned around to see the giant tornado flying towards him. He didn't have the time to dodge, but then he felt a ripple of energy passing by him. "Hmph." He slammed his sword down at his side, and the tornado stopped mere inches in front of him.
Madison gasped as the pink cloud surrounded his sword, reforming the little pink butterfly back into Vida. Vida gasped and struggled to pull the sword out of her chest, but the effort was fruitless. She kicked about for a few seconds, then finally gave up and collapsed, her arms falling limply at her sides. Madison began to cry as Nick pulled the blade out, the blood rushing fast into Vida's white robe.
"Vida!" Fintan shouted as he slowly got up. "Oh Majiel…"
Nick felt a sudden blow to the back of his knee, the only weak part to his armor, and he spun about and crashed to the ground. Sorin, transformed once more. "I don't care anymore…you hurt my students, I hurt you." Sorin slammed his sword into the ground just an inch or so away from Nick's groin. "All aboard!" He shouted.
The sun shined down, laying down two thin rails of light right below Nick, parallel to Sorin's feet. He ran forwards, connecting with Nick's fauld, then ran across the rails.
The solar energy sparked up from the solar rails, burning at Nick's face and getting under the little exposed parts in his armor. Fintan slowly stood up and watched the scene, and Madison and Clare moved over to the trees.
A third rail appeared in the direct middle of the two other rails, and was indented. Sorin's sword slid into the indent, and he rocketed forwards, shooting up more sparks. The rails carried him forwards, and he skated forwards. The end of the rails curved up and over, aiming back to where they started. "Enjoying your ride on the Solar Express?" Sorin asked cruelly.
"I thought I was supposed to be the bad guy." Nick laughed.
"I didn't want to go here, but this is your final stop!" The third rail ended before the curve, and as soon as it let go, Sorin's arms shot up, pushing Nick up the curved track at severely fast speeds. Little solar energy brakes stopped Sorin, and he turned around to watch Nick get launched.
Nick was fired at the ground, and he bounced and rolled, stopping a few feet from Rootcore's back door. He strained to stand back up, but his body seized and he collapsed again. "It's…getting warm…" He muttered as he tried to once again get up.
"I didn't think I hit him that hard…" Sorin said to Fintan as he approached.
"It's not that…" Fintan replied. "Can't you feel it? The aura around him?"
"I can…that's why I'm not hesitating." Sorin replied.
"We can't afford to let him continue like this."
"Right."
"We'll help." Madison said, wiping her eyes as she approached Sorin. Clare held her free hand with both of her hands, trying to comfort poor Madison.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course. Nick or not, if he wants a fight, we fight."
"Sadly, it's the truth." Clare added. "Whatever is wrong with him…we want to help…even if we have to fight him to do it."
"Then let us continue." Fintan replied, drawing up his sword. "By the way…Sorin, how did you know about his knees?"
"I watched Vida flutter around the back of his kneecaps…I knew there had to be something about that."
"Are we going to charge him now?" Madison asked, transformed and spinning her trident around in her hands.
"We should." Fintan replied. "Hurry up, circle around…I have a plan."
Just as Nick got to his feet, Fintan broke the circle. "Now!" He shouted.
"Jijiru Gojika!" Madison shouted. The tips of her trident extended and the outer two prongs began to spin, as Vida's weapon was able to. "Jiruma Jinga Jijiru Majika! Hydra Spire!" The Mermaid crystal glowed and sent a several spirals of water up into her trident.
"Gojika Goludo! Ensnaring Aurora!" Clare shouted, and the light that shined through her Snow Crystal broke up and separated into seven beams of light which spiraled outwards, collecting the freezing rainwater and freezing it as it dragged along. The beams raced forward and wrapped around Nick, trapping him in a bind of ice and light. The ice began to steam a bit on his armor, and Nick struggled to get free.
"Maddie, any time now!" Clare shouted, struggling to keep Nick steady.
"Got it!" She swung her trident once it was completely engulfed in the rain, then pointed it forwards, causing the tridents to reverse the spin and fire the water spire outwards. "Take this!" Madison shouted as the individual spirals began to change into water drake sprites.
Nick summoned his sword, and used it to slice a few water drake sprites. The water drake sprites split in half and reformed. He slashed at a few more and the process repeated.
"I'm not sure how it works in your little human town, but here, you can't cut water." Madison taunted, firing off another round of water drake sprites.
Nick gave up and used his wide blade to block the rest that approached.
"Goludiiro Lujuna!" Both Sorin and Fintan said, and with a snap of their fingers a wide Saint Pentagram opened up and transported them away.
"Cowards. They don't deserve their magic…" Nick said. His left arm suddenly seized, and he dropped his sword and winced, allowing the rest of the water drake sprites to smash into him and create a huge cloud of steam.
Nick looked around, desperately trying to figure out what was going on, and he suddenly became short of breath. He coughed furiously, and it was interrupted by Sorin tackling him in the back of his knees. He fell forwards, and he was smacked viciously with Fintan's shield. He flipped over Sorin and landed on his stomach, and he coughed harder until his throat went dry. He rolled onto his back to guard the back of his knees.
"Is he…okay…?" Madison asked.
"He looks kinda bad…" Clare added.
"Ladies…" Fintan replied.
Nick began to cry silently from the pain as he clutched his chest. Madison walked over silently, and Clare followed her. "I think we've done enough…" Madison said to Sorin and Fintan.
"He's in a lot of pain…we should at least show him some sort of humanity." Clare replied.
Clare removed her helmet and knelt down beside Nick. "Nick…" She softly grabbed his hand, and Madison stood, waiting to assist her. "Nick…what's wrong? What hurts?"
"I'll…I'll be fine…" He winced.
"Nick, don't lie. I was nursing you back to health for two months…I know when you're ill and when you're not…" She brushed away his tears and smiled. The visor guarding his face shot back.
"I can't…feel a thing…"
Clare could feel his hand tightening around hers. "This is worse than before…this…isn't about what is around you…but what is within…"
"Everything is cold…"
"Nick, we can help you…we really can. I know that you're upset with us, and that everything is all welled up inside and it hurts…but we can help. It's still not too late. We can make everything warm and happy…just give us a chance…"
Nick tossed her hand away. "Give me back everything I lost…"
"Nick, things don't happen like that…"
"Chip did it! He got what he wanted! Why can't I?"
"Because you're not supposed to have those things! Why do you think you're dying?" Nick fell silent. "Sorry…that's not what I meant…"
"No, no…I get it…I'm being selfish…" Nick laughed.
"I didn't mean it like that…"
"No…I know what you meant…" Nick grinned.
"So…will you join us again?" Clare asked.
"Of course." Nick smiled widely. Clare smiled and hugged Nick tightly. "I'll give them the good news! You're going to be okay!"
Nick grinned widely and sat up as Clare ran over to Madison. Nick stood up and slowly slid a plate out of his fauld as Clare hugged Madison and cheered. Madison looked over at Nick and her eyes widened. Clare stared at Madison as she flailed.
"No!" Madison shouted, turning herself and Clare around and letting go to protect her chest from the oncoming projectile with her arms. The bladed fauld piece had been tossed with such force, that it shot through Madison's stomach, flew out her back, pierced Clare and continued on through her as well. The two fell on their backs, their faces contorted in agony.
Nick grinned. "Sure I'll join you all…in hell." He laughed as the two fell out of transformation and hit the ground.
Fintan and Sorin didn't have time to respond; the whole event happened in less than a few seconds, and all they could do was stare in horror as Nick laughed maliciously.
Nick began to cough as he laughed, but he continued on until the coughing completely stopped him from any sort of merriment. He grabbed his throat as it began to burn from the hoarse coughing.
"I'm going for it." Sorin said as he charged forwards. He suddenly leaped in the air as he came within ten feet of Nick. He extended his leg and jumpkicked Nick upside the head, sending him flying into Rootcore's wall. Nick bounced off and collapsed.
Nick tried to get up as he coughed harder, but his body just gave up trying to lift himself and his heavy armor. Nick howled as his insides began to flare with a burning pain. The Saint Armor began to practically melt away into little embers, the snow around him melting as he dropped to the ground.
"No, no no no no no…" Fintan shook his head as he ran towards Nick. His armor slowly faded away as he ran across the field.
"Nick, can you breathe?" Sorin asked, turning Nick onto his back as he slowly stopped coughing.
"Get…your hands…off of me…"
"No, I won't. You're still my student, my confused, crazed, and ailing student. I won't let anyone hurt any of my students again…even if that student is you." Sorin replied.
Nick began to softly cry. "I can't…I can't believe you…"
"Believe!" Sorin shouted in an upbeat tone. "We all care about you. Sometimes, like you, we can't quite show how we feel."
"I want to believe you…"
Sorin dropped out of transformation and smiled. "Break that pane of glass keeping you from us. There are no trick mirrors, only illusions in your mind making you think there's a barrier there. Please Nick…if we didn't care, would we worry about your condition?"
Fintan kneeled next to Nick. His Amulet began to warm up around his neck. "Nick…" Fintan frowned. "Please Nick, please…fighting us is only hurting you…I can take this pain away if you let me."
"…So many things could happen…" Nick said with a weak laugh and smile. Fintan smiled back.
"You don't know how much happier that made me feel." Fintan said. "Will you give me your hand?"
"Just go gentle…my insides are cooking…I think."
Fintan slowly let his right hand slide over towards Nick's hand, then quickly grasped it. Nick jolted and began to scream as the Amulet glowed brightly.
"It'll be okay, Nick…" Fintan said, pulling Nick closer to himself. "Just close your eyes…" He hugged Nick warmly as Nick began to calm down. "I know it hurts…I know it burns…but you'll feel better."
A pair of warm tears dripped onto Fintan's shoulder, followed by Nick's head. "I feel…better…" Nick closed his eyes and smiled, and then exhaled deeply.
Then no breaths followed. "Nick…?" Fintan asked, lightly patting Nick's back. He got no response. He let Nick go and his body snapped back. The little fire crystal around his neck sparkled ever so softly in the center, but then it faded. "Nick…?" Fintan panicked.
"Sir…?" Sorin asked as Fintan lied Nick down on the ground.
"I was wrong to think he…" Fintan sighed. "he…" He hung his head and began to cry. "He was too tired…I should have waited…"
Sorin stood up and nodded, knowing what he meant. He looked back at the carnage that had taken little less than a half hour to unfold. At the very end stood Udonna, white as the snow beneath her feet, covering her mouth in shock. Sorin walked over to her and sighed. The day couldn't have become any longer for him.
Midhat cackled as he watched the scene unfolding from the new mirror in his fan. "How fortunate I am! They're all gone! Every last one of those pesky Mahoutsukai! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" He then looked down to the crystals and gasped. "NO! NONONONONONO! That can't be!" He face took on a look of horror. "This beautiful symphony of bloodshed was all for naught?!" If he had any water left in his body, he would've cried at that very moment. "But…" He slowly turned back to the mirror in his fan. "it wasn't all for naught, now was it, Master…?" The pit glowed red. "Yes…yes…" He laughed, and a moment later a shockwave shot up his side. "Augh! Ah!" He dropped to his knees. "I will endure this…I must…"
Hastily put together before dusk, the other five coffins were set up near Chip's coffin in the Mysterian plains, all lined up in the appropriate Mahou Circle points; Madison and Nick to his sides, Xander and Vida across from him, and Clare in the middle.
"We are gathered here today, in the darkest hours of the darkest of lifetimes…" Lunajiel spoke solemnly from the center, in front of Clare's grave, facing Nick's. Snowjiel walked around, adorning the caskets with wreaths, icicles running from her eyes down to her cheeks, dripping and adorning the ground with tear-shaped icedrops.
Udonna stood at the top of the circle, in front of Nick's coffin. She pulled Sorin and Fintan closer and continued to cry, face pointed at the ground. Sorin and Fintan wrapped their arms over her shoulders, trying so desperately to comfort her.
"We'll need a miracle to fix all of this…" Sorin spoke.
"Terpsichore won't help any of us. She saved my life, but she won't save theirs." Fintan weakly smiled and looked away. "I always was her favorite nephew. Heh." His smile faded, then he looked back over at Sorin.
"Mother, then?" Sorin asked, turning his head to face Fintan.
Fintan looked over at him. "She forbids it, even in our case."
Sorin looked out to the circle of graves. "I see…" He looked down as Snowjiel passed, as did Fintan. Neither of them wanted to think of where they were, nor of the events of the day.
"…May they pass on and find peace in another life, in a world much like the places they dreamed to be…" Lunajiel finished. She looked out to the rising moon. "May we soon have peace, with or without them…"
Sorin and Fintan walked Udonna over to Sorin's carpet slowly, and Udonna looked up to the moon peaking over the horizon. She smiled weakly, then went back to crying.