Rising Force
Summary: The Conjuror's Board has called in Cedric and Sofia to inform them about an evil version of themselves, who are not only wreaking havoc across other dimensions, but who have also destroyed several of their counterparts. They must team up with their other alternate counterparts to take down the evil duo before they become the next victims on the list. (Collab with Mr. Shortman92)
Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story. The Abstruce Realm and its inhabitants (especially Ceddy, Fia, and Little Berry/Nana), Nana, and Tanya belong to MarionetteJ2X. The Absentia Realm (including AR Cedric and Sofia, as well as Fayette), the Malverus Realm (including Raverian and Sophitia), and the Veretis Realm (including Red and Ced), AND this idea all belong to Mr. Shortman92. [Phew! Lol]
A/N: All righty! Here's the last part of the story, with a bit of a surprise ending… You'll see! 😊 Hope you've enjoyed! Shortman, thanks for all your help!
Chapter 4: Beaten Path
Waiting for death was so surreal to the Malverus duo. Sure, they'd surrounded themselves with death (in the form of murdering others, of course), but to actually potentially be on the receiving end? It was strange. In a way, they'd never really imagined that they would be killed, let alone by the very counterparts they had once had every intention of destroying.
Yet they waited, feeling the eerie grip of demise wrapping around them, suffocating them. At least in death, their snapped wrists wouldn't hurt anymore. They wouldn't have to live a life of refuge and uncertainty, forever massive disappointments to their families. They wouldn't have to—
"You can open your eyes now," Red murmured, folding her arms as Raverian and Sophitia blinked, staring up at the group in surprise. "We're not going to kill you or anything."
"Y-You're not?" the younger Sofia asked, startled. "Why not? I mean…"
"After all the lives you've taken, death is a luxury you don't deserve," Sofia answered sternly, surprising her partner and a few others as well. She sounded so angry, though given the situation, it wasn't hard to imagine why. "Besides, we're not like you. We don't go around killing people just to make our lives easier."
"It wasn't just that," Raverian insisted, trying his hardest to defend their actions, though he knew it was futile. "It was…a way to be something greater than we were… To get power beyond comprehension and—"
"And take innocent lives in the process," Ceddy finished for his counterpart, who ducked his head in shame. "Those whose lives you've taken cannot be restored. No amount of magic will bring back those who have fallen."
Cedric picked up from there. "Have you any idea what sort of anguish and heartbreak you've caused their families and friends throughout those realms? Some were just children. Some were about to have children."
"What we did was terrible, and we're sorry," Sophitia told them quietly.
"'Sorry' isn't going to bring them back!" Fia snapped, pointing her spear toward the younger girl, who flinched. "So help me, if you'd ever tried to hurt my Cedric, I would have killed you in the slowest, harshest, most painful way possible—"
"Fia," Ceddy began, reaching out to place his hand over hers, slowly helping her lower the weapon. "Enough. No more violence."
Sofie then walked up beside Fia and began rubbing her arm and back in a soothing motion. "He's right. We all want to just 'magic' these two out of existence right now, but we can't. Because we're better than that."
Fia was surprised to hear those words coming out of her most childish counterpart. Honestly, everyone was surprised, even CeCe.
Raverian looked pleadingly toward the others as he held Sophitia in his arms. "Look, I've been running for half my life now, and Sophitia–er, Sofia…has been by my side since she was fourteen. I'm the reason she's like this. I'll accept any punishment you give me; just go easy on her…please." He was shocked when his Sofia pulled away from him and looked him straight in the eyes.
"What are you talking about?! You didn't make me do anything. I wanted excitement, and I got it. It was my decision to go with you, and I'm sticking by it. No matter what, we're in this together." She smiled at him as he returned the gesture.
Suddenly Sofia stepped up to them, interrupting their moment as she told them, "Good. Because I just contacted my friends, the Protectors, and they said the Conjuror's Board found a special place for you two. It's called the Incero Realm, and basically the entire world is a big prison, so you two can still be together. The Protectors will be here soon, but first, Red is going to collect any magical devices you have on you, just so we can be sure that all that outrageous power you had is gone." She gestured to Red as she approached the couple, who willing handed over any items they hadn't lost during the fight. "Glad to see you're being cooperative."
As Red gathered the last item into her hands, it began to glow, prompting her to drop them all on the ground in fear. "Guys, what's happening?! Is this normal?!" Even though the others looked as surprised as she did, she still had to ask, because she knew nothing about magic. Her eyes widened as she saw the light from the object begin to float up from the ground, morphing into a very familiar shape. Red turned to Sofia. "You didn't tell me there was a ghost Sofia too! A little warning next time!"
The ghostly apparition giggled at the other young woman's reaction. "I wasn't always a ghost, Red." Suddenly she became serious as she explained, "I was recently murdered by those two." She pointed at Raverian and Sophitia. "When they killed me, they also killed my Cedric's and my unborn child."
Sofia gasped as she realized this was the same Sofia whom she and Cedric had seen earlier through the crystal ball. It brought tears to her eyes, thinking about how this young mother before her didn't even get to meet her baby. "I'm so sorry for your loss."
The ghost smiled. "Thank you. I feel better knowing that her spirit will live on through all of your children one day. In fact, I wanted to leave a little gift for your daughter, Red. After all, we all need a little magic in our lives." With that cryptic statement, and a mischievous smile, she leaned down and placed her hand over Red's stomach, closing her eyes as she soon faded away.
Red clutched at her stomach with both hands, trying to somehow undo whatever had just happened. "What did she do?! Will my baby be okay?!"
Ceddy placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled calmly as she stared into his eyes, seeking answers. "I'm sure your baby is fine. This is just a theory, but I think she passed her power and magic to your child."
It was now Ced's turn to freak out. "Magic?! In our baby? No, no, no, no, no! We can't have that. Red and I know nothing about magic. How are we supposed to raise a magical child?!" He was pulling on his hair in frustration by the time he finished his ranting.
"Uh," Sophitia began as she and Raverian cautiously approached the others, "we may be able to help a little. Raverian?"
Raverian nodded at her. "We were just thinking… They're probably going to extract our magic anyway, so what if we just gave it to you two?"
"They can do that?!" Red and Ced exclaimed in unison.
"They can," Cedric responded calmly, smiling at the Veretis duo. "Of course, it's up to you."
Red was a bit unsure. "I don't know… We still wouldn't know the first thing about using magic."
"We can teach you," CeCe said, receiving nods from the others.
"Well…"
A little while later, the Protectors came to collect Raverian and Sophitia. A now magic-less Raverian and Sophitia…
After things were settled, Cedric opened up the Dimension Door three separate times: once for the Absentia duo, once for the Abstruce duo, and finally for the Veretis duo. While the other two couples had already returned to their homelands, Red and Ced lingered just a bit longer.
"So, I guess this is it for now, huh?" Sofia asked as Red smiled and took her hands, squeezing them gently. She returned the smile. "Maybe now, you guys can get back to normal and have a quiet life, especially since there's a baby on the way…"
"I don't know about 'quiet,'" Ced chuckled as the girls parted, "and the new 'normal' will take some getting used to, but we'll definitely take care of the baby. Our little one will learn to fight like us and be a great warrior someday. Or the first royal sorcerer in the Veretis Realm."
"Er, at least give the child a few years to develop some bone density and stand a chance of being able to defend against a possible enemy," Cedric suggested, the mental image of a tiny version of Red and/or Ced running around with armor and a too-heavy sword both amusing yet unnerving. Sure, Nana and Tanya had fought evil in their young lives, but they had magic to help them… Well, although…the baby now had a form of magic as well… It would be interesting to see how things played out.
"Don't worry, Cedric," Red insisted, winking at her husband's counterpart. She gently patted her stomach, a motherly glow about her as a calm smile appeared on her lips. "We'll protect this child with our lives. Naturally…" She sighed. "Though, I suppose that means we should cut back on the training."
Sofia brightened up as an idea occurred to her. "You could always lead your people in a less violent way? You're pretty smart. I'm sure you'll think of a way to lead your people that doesn't involve putting yourselves in danger all the time."
Red smirked. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sure I'll think of something."
The quartet exchanged goodbyes before Red and Ced entered into the Dimension Door, echoed Cedric's instructed words, and returned to their own realm unscathed.
Cedric shut the door before sealing it into the Galactica Spellbook, just as he felt a pair of arms wrap around him from behind. He chuckled and set the book aside before gently taking Sofia's hands, kissing each one, and then turning around to hug her properly. "Perhaps now, we can get a few days of peace and quiet at least," he mumbled before she looked up at him with a small, amused smile. "Or is that asking too much?"
"I honestly never know… The strangest things always happen to us at the most random times, so… Who knows?" She gently pushed him back onto the bench that was seated in front of his desk, and she sat down on his lap, her hands reaching behind his neck to play with his hair. She giggled as he sighed in delight. "You know what I want now though?"
He blushed modestly as she leaned down and kissed his cheek and then his jaw once, before smiling warmly at him. "Um, I can… I can guess…"
She giggled before kissing him on the lips and then responding, "I kind of want to spend some time with you…and the girls…" She grinned as he paused before chuckling. "With everything that's gone on, we really haven't had time to do anything with them."
"Right you are. And, um… P-Perhaps you and I can…have some time of our own later?"
Sofia smiled before nodding. "You, me, and the stars tonight? We haven't stargazed in a while."
"That's because all the light I need is in my arms right now, my love…" He returned her smile as she blushed at his words. "But I think that sounds lovely, and I look forward to it."
A few months later, Cedric and Sofia received an update on the Veretis Realm: Ced and Red had been granted new roles in their land. For the longest time, they'd been fighting for a kingdom that didn't exist anymore and had been abandoned after a big war. In fact, they'd only been fighting to keep the land that their ancestors once called their own; therefore, no one had actually claimed it…
"They were named the king and queen of their land, and have managed to strengthen ties with Wei-Ling and Friezenburg," Cedric told Sofia as he skimmed over an updated report from the Conjuror's Board (Malango, especially, who'd been monitoring the realms closely just in case). "They're apparently doing surprisingly well in their magic studies with CeCe and Sofie. And…Red had the baby." He smiled toward his partner, who blinked at this information. "A girl, named Edwyna."
"Aw, that's kind of cute."
"'The child in question has her mother's hair and father's eyes, and she has indeed inherited some powers of her own, from our survey,'" he read, practically hearing Malango's voice as he did. "'Having not inherited her magic the natural way, her powers will take a bit longer to bloom, but when they do, she will get proper training, with help from the Conjuror's Board.'"
"Huh, well, I guess it's for the best," Sofia admitted, folding her arms as she leaned back against Cedric's pillows. It was actually nighttime, and they hadn't seen each other all day since she'd been with Vivian and Amber, along with the little girls, just spending a 'girls' day' together. Cedric had caught her after she'd already tucked Nana and Tanya into bed and beckoned her away to share this interesting news. "I'm kind of glad he did check in with them. Unlike Ceddy and Fia, or CeCe and Sofie, we can't just magically communicate with them. Not yet, at least..."
"Oh, but there's more," he hinted, grinning. "There's also an interesting update from our evil counterparts… They have settled into the Incero Realm nicely, and evidently, your wicked twin is also pregnant…" He blushed a little bit as he added, "With, um… With my evil twin's child…"
Sofia blinked. "Wait… They're in prison, and she's pregnant? I knew the Incero Realm wasn't a normal prison, but wow." Seeing him nod, she bit her lip. "I…wonder how that will pan out… Do they have a shared cell? Will they let them keep the baby? Will the other prisoners hurt the baby?"
"Sofia, I don't know, my darling," Cedric laughed. "I'm sure Malango will update us on their status later, when we have more information…" He set the letter aside and pulled her closer to him, chuckling as she snuggled into his embrace. "Perhaps having a child will soften them and make them better people in the end, despite their horrid records…"
She smiled, tracing her finger down his nose, giggling as he blushed again. "It definitely made us softer… Better…" She moved closer to him, leaning forward to kiss him. After a few moments, she broke the kiss and asked quietly, "Do you think…we will have…?"
He blinked at her question before responding nervously, "O-Oh, um… L-Like ch-children of our own?" Seeing her nod, he smiled warmly. "I… I would love that, Sofia… I love Nana and Tanya already, and to have a child with you, who is biologically ours, and to expand our little family… That would mean the world to me…"
Sofia giggled as she rested her head against his chest, listening to his slightly elevated heartbeat. She smiled. "I'm glad to hear that, Cedric… Really glad…"
They lay there mostly silently for an hour, although every now and then they did spend time talking lowly about anything and everything, before Cedric finally drifted off to sleep. Sofia noticed his even breathing and smiled, kissing him softly, before quietly sliding from his bed to the floor and preparing to leave. She watched him thoughtfully for a few more moments before glancing down, curiously placing a hand over her stomach, trying to imagine their child growing there eventually. She blushed, a warm feeling filling her, before lowering her hand and sighing with a smile.
"Someday," she whispered to herself before moving back to Cedric, kissing his forehead, and silently slipping out of his bedroom and back to her own.
Someday… Someday soon…
The end