Ch.44: A Shadow of the Past! Blood Feud of the Ravenfields Pt.2!
In the late hours of the Grandmasters Magic Academy, one must expect a party to brew through the dorms, from the casual to the drunken messes. Nothing but fun and merriment for all partygoers. It was the pinnacle of college life, some would say.
The same rang true for Wes, Krystal, and Cosette as they sat around in the living room of the girls' room and goofed around over pizza and sweets while dressed in their sleepwear. Those who knew Cosette would be flabbergasted to see the Cinccino actually loosening up and enjoying herself for a change. She still had the dry sense of humor and barely cracked anything beyond a smirk, but there was a change to the atmosphere around her.
Wes nibbled on a slice of pizza before continuing with his story. "…So, after Flint, Ella, and I got of the tomb, we had to charge through all the traps we avoided earlier until we were jettisoned out the exit by the explosion. We had burns for days, but we never felt better!" Wes then pouted. "All of that, and my local pawn shop wouldn't take the darn relic for more than ten bits. Can you believe it?!"
Cosette shook her head. "You are a walking disaster, Wes."
"Hey, that's mean!"
Cosette chuckled. "Yes, yes it is." She picked up her tea and sipped it.
Krystal chugged back a soda, then belched, much to Cosette's disgust. "You and your pals went on some crazy adventures, Wes," Krystal said. She flashed a big grin. "Reminds me of the trouble my team got into when we first started up. We were so high on adventure after saving a city that we couldn't rest without some action! We had to seek adventure wherever we went, and it was glorious!"
Wes snickered. "I wish we met each other sooner. We could've had all sorts of crazy adventures together."
"Totally!" Krystal and Wes bumped their wing and paw together.
Cosette rolled her eyes and smiled dryly at her tea. "Lucky you. Both of you."
Wes frowned. "Err, sorry, Cosette."
Cosette waved it off. "It's fine. My childhood wasn't exactly stellar, but I'm not jealous." She breathed a sigh, then looked off to the side. "I just hope my sister liked my letter."
"Didn't get any mail yet?" Krystal asked.
"Mail service might be stalled due to interference." Cosette shrugged. "The fact they even delivered the letter in the first place still astounds me. I am forever grateful to the idiots who insist on carrying out their postman duties in this chaos."
"A toast to the Mysto Postal Service!" Wes exclaimed, raising his soda.
"Here, here!" Krystal joined in.
Cosette rolled her eyes, smirked, and raised her mug a bit. She sipped her tea, then drummed her fingers against it. "I still can't believe my sister is engaged."
"Are you happy for her?" Krystal asked.
"Well, of course, by all means. I spent a long time rereading all my sister's old letters. I never threw them out. I feel…reconnected with her after reading them. Totally worth the lack of sleep I got from it." Cosette held her mug to her lips and glared. "Though…I did promise to help her pick out a wedding dress, and I'm not exactly versed in the art of fashion."
Wes laughed. "Tell you what? When everything finally settles down, I'll have my friend Ella tag along with you two. She knows a lot about fashion and clothes and stuff."
Cosette smiled behind her mug. "I…wouldn't be opposed to the help. I'll think about it." She swirled her tea around. "I'm curious as to how your magic studies are coming along, Wes. I'd hope my rival was doing everything he can to improve his skills."
Wes snickered. "We're rivals, eh?" He shook his head, then reached for his bag around the couch. "I've been writing notes on my progress, and I'm trying to master a few other spells that might come in handy. There's this one my dad told me about a long time ago that…" Wes paused, staring into the void of his bag, then plunged his paws through. "Huh?"
Krystal put her soda down. "What's wrong?"
Wes rummaged through his bag for a moment, then pulled away with a grimace. "Crap, I must've left my notebook in the library."
"That's a shame," Cosette said, sipping her tea. "Doors are locked, too, so no one would be around to let you in. Guess you'll have to wait until tomorrow."
Wes shook his head. "No, I don't want it to be taken by accident. Plus, I really want to show my progress to you two." He pulled his Amulet of Umbra from the bag, dropped the bag down, and jumped over the couch.
"Wes?" Krystal called out.
Wes smiled over his shoulder. "I'll be quick. I'll just use this to pass through the cracks, grab my notebook, and come back here. No problem."
Cosette frowned. "I'm not covering for you if you get caught past curfew."
"Duly noted. I'll be back soon." Wes darted out the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
Cosette shook her head, then glanced at Krystal. "Well, guess it's you and me for the time being."
Krystal nodded. "Appears so."
Cosette drummed her fingers against her mug. "Ssssoooo, uh…what do you want to talk about?"
Krystal smirked. "Well, with all the talk about love and weddings earlier, any cute guys catch your fancy?"
Cosette frowned and sunk deep into the armchair cushions. Please don't take too long, Wes…
Wes sprinted through the dark courtyard of the campus like lightning, zipping behind columns and tumbling into combat rolls. He evaded detection, even if there was no one outside to evade detection from. There was probably campus security around, but for all Wes knew, it didn't register him as a threat since he was in the system. Still, it didn't stop him from doing what he did best: unnecessary dodging.
His tumbling eventually brought him to the library doors, which were locked up as Cosette predicted. Wes gave them a pull just in case before pulling out his amulet. He tapped his paw against it, then felt his body melt into darkness. His unstable form sunk to the floor and slithered beneath the thin gap of the door. He reformed on the other side, then waltzed into the library.
Wes illuminated the library with his ring markings, casting everything in a dim yellow light. His eyes quickly scanned the tables for his notebook, recalling where he was sitting during his earlier research. It didn't take him long to spot the book laying on the end of a far table.
Wes grinned and skipped over to his notebook. "Hah. Easy peasy." He scooped the notebook off the table and tucked it under his nightshirt. Wes paused a moment to yawn, then turned back the way he came. Wes chuckled to himself. "And Cosette was worried about me getting in trouble. What a laugh—"
It was common knowledge that those born with magic typically had a defensive aura that can be strengthened over time. This aura can protect the user from all matter of lethal harm. However, when not in combat, the aura will relax as not to overtax the body unnecessarily. This is why mundane things can still harm a magic user, from being whacked on the head to bumping into something.
For a current time example, accidentally slamming your paw into the table leg.
"YOW!" Wes recoiled onto his hindlegs and grabbed his left paw. He lost his balance since he wasn't accustomed to walking on his hindlegs and staggered backward before hitting his head against a bookshelf. A couple books jostled out of place and landed on his head.
Wes took a moment to compose himself, then rubbed his aching paw. "I can fight off monsters and baddies like it's second nature, but I am nearly thwarted for my lack of spatial awareness with furniture. I fear the day the Shadow King sends a killer sofa to be the end of me."
Wes picked himself up, then gathered the books that fell off the shelf. He placed them back in their rightful spots, then proceeded to walk away when he noticed one book sticking out from the shelf. It balanced on one corner with no books pressed against it to maintain stability. It was like it was frozen in place.
Wes frowned, then reached for the book. "Strange." He pulled on the book, but found it wasn't budging free. He gave it a couple more tugs, but the book refused to come loose. Wes pouted. "What is this? A secret lever?" He pushed the book back into place.
Wes nearly jumped out his skin when a purple glow exploded out from inside the bookshelf. A line sliced down the middle of the shelf, then separated both halves to reveal a shallow chamber tucked away in the back. A cold blast of air hit the stunned Umbreon.
"Oh my Arceus, it was a secret lever." Wes looked around to make sure he was still alone, then grinned. "Well, who am I to deny a peek?" He walked inside the chamber.
It was probably the size of a walk-in closet, but completely spacious save for a small bookshelf tucked away in the back. Candles on the walls burst to life with green flames as Wes advanced through.
As he got closer, he found a collection of leather-bound journals that looked like they were thrown around through the ocean. The surface of the books were ragged and withered with age. By Wes' guess, they were well over a hundred years old. A hundred years seemed too generous, though. The books looked like they could be much, much older.
Wes scratched his head as he examined the chamber. "Okay, I know I'm in a magic school, so hidden chambers really shouldn't surprise me. Still, why is this here? And how has no one accidentally found this place already?"
Wes' curious brain took the pilot seat as he sat down and reached for the book marked with a golden 'I'. The rugged feel against his paws confirmed his suspicions that the book were centuries old. How far back, Wes couldn't make an accurate guess. If Flint were around, he could give an accurate prediction to their age.
"Maybe it's a fancy spell book," Wes said to himself as he turned the book around. "Old stuff tends to have the best spells, right?"
When Wes turned the book to read the front cover, his eyes widened in shock. There was a name printed on the cover in gold letters. The print itself seemed much more recent compared to the book, so it seemed like a later addition. That alone wasn't the cause for concern. Rather, the name on the front was shockingly familiar.
"The Journals of…Dougal Ravenfield?"
That name. Dougal Ravenfield. The man who turned magic into a dark art and caused turmoil to the mortal world for reasons beyond Wes' understanding. His own ancestor, the villain of a thousand or so year old legend. The sworn enemy of the shadow creature trying to erase his family bloodline.
Why was a journal about Dougal even in the library?
Wes considered putting the book away and pretending he never saw anything. However, he never got over the fact his family had a dark history. Wes liked to believe he was a good person, and no bad ancestor would change that. It was difficult to ignore the fact the success of his bloodline might have caused strife for others in the past, though.
Morgan told Team Ravenfield a lot about the context behind the Idol of Origin's legend, but all they knew was that Dougal Ravenfield was the dark warlock that sought pokemanity's destruction.
What changed? What sparked such an ideal?
Wes had to know.
Wes planted himself against the wall and got comfortable. He opened the journal and flipped through pages, quickly scanning through the ancient handwriting to find some mention of magic, or magus as it was once called.
Most of the journal merely brought up magus, but nothing more than a fascinated discussion about it. Wes found mentions of Apollo the deeper he went into the journal.
He stopped on a page. Wes narrowed his eyes and placed his digit on the text. "The fruits of my labor came at last, ready to be harvested for everything they're worth. All my research led to this once-in-a-lifetime discovery, where I, Dougal Hepburn, have uncovered the greatest secret known to…"
Wes paused and looked up in shock. "Wait, our family name is Hepburn?!" He blinked twice. "Wes Hepburn. Flint Hepburn." He chewed the inside of his cheek, which turned a tinge of red. "Ella Hepburn. Ella Ravenfield. Y-Yeah, Ravenfield sounds better."
Wes shook off the name and continued reading. "I, Dougal Hepburn, have uncovered the greatest secret known to Pokémon kind: The existence of magus."
Dougal gushed over the reservoir, beating his wings in pure joy as he tried to contain the utter excitement brimming at the seams of his heart. The discovery of a lifetime he sought for countless days, pleading to any god in the sky that he'll have his chance to uncover the lost history of the world's creation. His hard work and dedication finally paid off.
Apollo, still clinging to the reservoir bank, remained mostly silent during Dougal's gushing aside from the occasional, unintelligible mumble. His eyes remained fixated on the amethyst pool with the occasional twitch from his lower eyelid.
Dougal flew down and pressed his face against Apollo's, beaming proudly. "Isn't this amazing, Apollo? Are you surprised? Totally worth coming here, right?"
"Uh…" Apollo blinked a couple times and shook from his daze. "It's…definitely surprising, yes."
Dougal snickered and pulled away. "I knew you would be excited." He landed on Apollo's head and gestured out to the pool. "I discovered this by complete accident, but I still can't believe my eyes! I knew magus had to exist somewhere in the world, but I never imagined I'd get to see it in my lifetime. This is my life's work finally coming to light. All those jerks who mocked me for studying the occult won't be laughing anymore."
Apollo frowned, then picked Dougal off his head. "H-Hold on, Dougal. Let's think rationally for a moment." He gulped and looked down at the pool. "How do we know this stuff isn't dangerous? You found a glowing pit of mist, and this definitely doesn't look like the work of Fairy-Types."
Dougal tilted his head. "What's your point?"
"How do you know this is magus? For all we know, it's…just sparkling mist."
Dougal grinned. "I figured you would say that." Dougal wrestled out of Apollo's hands and fluttered down to the edge of the pool.
He scooped his wings down and picked up a clump of mist. It retained its shape inside his wings like he was holding an airy pastry. He carefully closed his wings around it and rubbed them together. A purple glow shined from inside his wings. Apollo stepped closer to get a better look.
Dougal lifted his wings, then took a deep breath. He blew into the gap inside his wings and expelled purple flame into the air. Apollo gasped and tripped backward on his heels. He watched the flames rise to the top of the cave's ceiling, dissipating on contact.
Dougal spun around and beamed at the shocked Monferno. "See? I was fooling around with it when I accidentally did that. This pretty much confirms we're looking at magus. What do you think?"
Apollo blinked at the Murkrow in disbelief. "I…well, it's hard to deny, but…" He clenched his teeth. "Dougal, we really shouldn't be messing with this stuff."
"What? Why not?"
"Just…Dougal, you breathed fire like ten seconds ago!" Apollo exclaimed. "I can do that, but you shouldn't be able to. A-A-And I can't even get into the fact that THIS even exists. If this is actually magus, we shouldn't be playing around with it. We should tell an adult or something—"
"No!" Dougal shouted, seizing Apollo's shoulders and shaking him. "If we tell anyone about this, they'll just seal it away, or destroy it. This is a grand discovery unlike anything Pokémon have ever witnessed. You really want those occult-hating idiots to undo a sacred part of our history?"
Apollo grimaced. "Dougal, I get where you're coming from, but think about this logically. If anyone else finds this, it could spell disaster. And we still have no idea what this stuff is capable of. If you can breathe fire with it, who knows what else it can do? It's took risky."
Dougal pouted. "That's exactly why I want to study it. I've been preparing for this moment my whole life, and I'm not going to let a little thing like 'risk' slow me down."
Apollo pulled Dougal's wings off and grabbed his shoulders. "Listen to yourself. What if this stuff is volatile? If anything happened to you, who would know?"
"Who would CARE, you mean," Dougal grumbled.
"I…" Apollo looked away. "I…I'm sure someone would care—"
"I wanted to study the occult because I was interested. I became actively invested when I realized the kind of scum my parents were," Dougal growled. "I rebelled because they're too busy sticking their noses into the air to see what's down below us. I wanted to learn the origins of our creation beyond the gods' wills. I wanted to know how Arceus shaped the world. I wanted to know the history behind our land's creation. I wanted to find out if magus was real, and why it was left here for us to discover."
Apollo frowned. "Dougal…"
"I'm tired of people pushing me down just for liking something they can't understand. Well, I'm going to learn and understand it, then they'll never have an excuse to give again." Dougal turned to the poo and smiled. "If I can master magus, I can perform miracles that can improve our lives. Save people. We could all become modern gods. We can shape the world in a way never imagined."
Apollo rubbed his arm worriedly. "That doesn't seem like a good idea."
Dougal took Apollo's hands into his wings. "Trust me. I want to understand this for everyone's sake. And as my friend, I hope you have my back."
"Dougal, I'm not your…" Apollo sighed through his teeth, then pulled his hands away. "Alright, look. As long as it doesn't get me into trouble, I…suppose I could keep an eye on you. Maybe help you take notes or something. At least with me here, I can keep you from doing something stupid."
Dougal's grin stretched wide. "You mean it?"
"I guess—OOF!" Dougal threw himself into Apollo and hugged his waist. Apollo sighed, then gently patted the Murkrow's head. "Why do I feel like I just made a deal with the devil?"
Dougal pulled away and snickered. "Trust me, Apollo. This'll all be worth it. You have my word."
Dougal wasn't the type of bird to let caution or risk stop him from pursuing knowledge. If he was going to get to the root of magus, he needed to put everything cell of his brilliant mind into overdrive. Soon, the world will know of his genius and contributions toward the future with the power of magus.
The first few days were spent in relative ease, mostly to transport containers of magus from the reservoir to a secluded location. Apollo was kind enough to lend him a wagon to transport numerous containers at once. The secluded location was closer to the village, but far enough so that the duo wouldn't be disturbed during their experiments. They dug out an underground cellar to hold their magus jars and keep them safe from unexpected weather.
Apollo was still apprehensive about getting involved with Dougal's experiments, but stuck to his word to help the ambitious Murkrow keep track of his progress.
"Alright!" Dougal pulled out their first jar and set it on a flat rock acting as a table. "Are you ready, Apollo?"
Apollo gave the thumbs-up behind the safety of a large boulder. "Yes, I am. I have my will written out and everything."
Dougal rolled his eyes and laughed. "Don't be dramatic. This is perfectly safe." He popped the lid off and scooped a feather into the magus. "We know we can create fire with this stuff, but why does it turn into fire? I figure there is some way to alter the state of the magus through our interactions with it. Perhaps like giving it commands to change its properties. Almost like it has a form of sentience."
Apollo poked his head out from behind his cover and glared. "Are you seriously suggesting the mist has sentience?"
Dougal shrugged. "Would it be the strangest theory?"
"Yes, yes it would."
Dougal snickered. "You worry too much, Apollo. Anyway, get your quill and parchment ready, because we're making history."
Dougal squished the magic between his wings and rubbed it together just as he did for his demonstration for Apollo. Dougal turned and faced a mock setup of dummies made with stacked rocks. The perfect targets to test unstable magus on.
"Take this!" Dougal swiped his wings and sent the magus scattering.
POOF!
As in it literally scattered from his wings. Dougal stared at the falling cloud of magus with a frozen smile, watching it litter the ground at his talons. Apollo poked his head out from his safety spot upon realizing there was no explosion.
"Uh, Dougal? Where's the sparks? The magus?" Apollo asked, waving his quill around impatiently.
Dougal's beak finally dropped into a frown, then he reached down to scoop as much of the magus as he could up. "Strange. I could create fire just fine. I wonder what happened."
"Maybe you really did find volatile dust," Apollo grumbled.
"Oh, be quiet." Dougal looked at his wings and glared at the dust coating his feathers. "So strange. If I can turn this stuff into flame, then why peter out this time? Maybe I have to blow on it? But that's just the way I've been making fire."
Apollo stepped out of hiding and leaned against the rock. "Time to give up?"
"Give up? HA! We just started." Dougal rubbed his wings together, then blew into the dust, releasing it into the air as flame. "I just need to figure out the magus' behavioral patterns."
"You're actually going with the sentient dust theory," Apollo said with a facepalm.
Dougal scooped out another wingful and examined it. "Perhaps it took on the properties of fire from me rubbing my wings together and breathing on it. Perhaps combustion is the most basic property it can achieve. Fire is said to be the progenitor of life, so why not apply the same logic to magus?"
"Even if that is the case, how does that help you use it?" Apollo asked. "It's not like you can ask it how to manipulate its bizarre properties."
Dougal grinned. "Maybe not, but if I apply the same logic…" He rubbed his wings together again, but this time added a firm pat to coat his feathers completely in the stuff.
Apollo raised a brow. "What are you doing?"
"Applying physical trauma to the magus," Dougal explained. "Maybe it can react to nature or action from outside sources. When it turned into fire, it was because I heated it up through friction. Maybe if I try this…" He nodded to himself, then marched toward the rock dummy. "Apollo, get ready to take notes!"
Apollo rolled his eyes, but pulled out the quill and parchment.
Dougal took a deep breath, then stared down his target. "Please work, please work, please work…" He reared his wings back, then thrusted them into the rock.
A crackling flash burst from the surface of his wings, obliterating the rock to the pieces with a simple shove. Dougal staggered forward when he felt the rock blow away and flapped his wings to get his balance under control.
Apollo's jaw dropped. The quill snapped inside his grip. "What the hell?"
Dougal blinked at the rubble, then stared at his wings to see the dust had burned off from his feathers. Once he had a moment to let it sink in, a wide grin grew across his face. "Apollo, this is amazing! My crackpot idea might actually be true!"
"It…seems so," Apollo said, still in awe at the sight. "I can't believe it. I've never seen a Murkrow emit such force in my entire life."
"I know, right?!" Dougal skipped around excitedly, clicking his talons together. "I'm on the brink of something. My theory since the beginning was that magus was the leftover power of the gods from shaping the world. Maybe magus does respond to nature. It needs some sort of trigger to activate."
Apollo walked up to the destroyed mound and gave it a cautious kick. It felt lukewarm, likely from the heat of the impact. "Seems pretty unreliable if it requires that much set up. Pokémon can just will their elemental energy into any form they desire."
Dougal rubbed his chin. "Good point. If I want to crack the limits of magus, I would need to do more than expose it to certain actions. I wonder if there's some way to crack the cipher of its power."
Apollo shrugged. "Hard to say. Maybe this stuff does have a mind of its own."
"Hmm, mind of its own…" Dougal hummed to himself as the gears turned in his head. "I wonder if…" He hesitated to finish his thought before shaking it off. "Oh, it doesn't matter. Right now, we at least have a way to manipulate its properties. We may need more supplies. So many different ways, and this is only the first step. We can't discover everything in one day, right?"
"I suppose not."
Dougal nodded. "Alright, let's run a few more tests on the physical trauma experiment, then let's call it a day."
"Sounds good, I guess." Apollo quickly shuffled back to the safety of his rock.
Dougal picked up another jar of magus and rubbed the mist into his wings while unable to suppress the excited grin on his beak. "This is going to take years of long and arduous research, but I'll crack the secrets of magus and turn it into something that'll make the world a better place. Just you wait, everyone. Just you wait."
"Yeesh," Wes mumbled as he set the journal down for a moment. "Guess there's more to Dougal than we thought. He was actually…pretty freakin' nerdy." Wes snickered. "Heh, in another life, he would've gotten along with Flint."
Wes closed the journal and exchanged it for another. He did a quick skim through the pages until he landed on a later date.
"Just how long have you been studying magic, Dougal? And what changed to make Apollo despise it so much? From the looks of it, he seemed only hesitant about researching the stuff."
Wes sighed, then paused a moment to slap his cheeks. Sleep was starting to kick in, but he resisted the temptation and focused on the journal. He needed answers, and some god twisted events for the Umbreon to slam his paw into the pathway of knowledge. He will use this opportunity with great vigor and slight irritation.
Wes exhaled through his nose, then picked up the journal. "Today, Apollo and I started to learn the unique ways magus interacted through formations. By lining out the magus into specific patterns, it changed the properties of how it interacted with our elemental tests."
Wes smiled. "Hey, this is the precursor to spell modifiers, isn't it? Sweet!"
"Experiment 23: Levitation!"
Dougal drew a symbol on the ground with the magus with a rock sitting in the center. Through trial and error, countless hours of research and botched experiments, Dougal was starting to grasp the potential capacity for magus and its various effects. Certain pathways of magus interacted with each other to create new outcomes, and he was on the brink of one such discovery.
Apollo stood by, still keeping his distance but now out in the open. He drew the symbol onto his parchment, which was filled with crossed out variations of the same symbol that didn't quite get the results Dougal wanted.
Dougal finished drawing the circle, then grinned. "Alright, let's give this baby a whirl! BAM!" He slapped his wings down on the circle, causing a flash of purple to burst out.
The magus instantly vaporized and blasted out in a wave that hit Dougal. He coughed and waved the smoke from his face, then stared at the results of his test.
A joyous grin burst onto Dougal's face when the rock in the center started to defy the hold of gravity and rise off the ground. It only hovered a few feet, but it was an amazing show of his efforts.
"Apollo, did you see that? We finally got the levitation spell figured out!" Dougal cheered.
Dougal jumped for joy, but didn't feel his talons fall back to the ground. He looked down and saw he was also levitating, not of his own volition either. "Oops." Dougal laughed and flapped his wings a couple times to reorient his balance. "Guess some of the levitation effect hit me, too. Good thing I can fly, ri—"
"Get me down from here, you crazy pigeon!"
Dougal looked up and saw Apollo swiping at the air as he floated away from the ground. His quill and parchment spun through the air like leaves in the wind.
"AH! Apollo!" Dougal darted after his friend. "Hold still, I'll get you down!"
"I wasn't made to fly! Oh Arceus, I think I'm getting sick!"
"Don't throw up on me, then!"
"Experiment 57: Flash Freezing!"
Dougal and Apollo pushed a block of ice onto their testing grounds. They got the ice from a local Beartic who, thankfully, didn't ask too many questions about why they needed the ice. Dougal found it has been a lot easier to communicate with the villagers with Apollo vouching for him, even if the village was none the wiser to their secret friendship.
Though, Apollo continued to deny it at every opportunity.
Dougal wasn't convinced.
"Okay, ice is in place," Apollo said as he stepped back. "Now what?"
Dougal pulled out a small piece of parchment that had magus drawn onto the front. He licked the back of the paper, then slapped it across the ice. "We'll use the amplification spell as a test run before we discover the right magus combination for ice making. With this ice block as a medium, we should be able to coat the ground in ice."
Apollo glared. "How would that even be possible? Ice is frozen water, and we're on super dry land. Where's the excess water coming from—" Dougal shoved his index feather against Apollo's lips and shushed him.
"Magus, my friend. Magus." Dougal grinned. "Besides, you have no room to question logic when you should be asking a handful of Water-Types that same question."
Apollo grimaced, but ultimately rolled his eyes in defeat. "Proceed," he said before backing away to a safer distance.
Dougal nodded, then reared his wing back. "Alright, amplification spell! Use this ice to create even more ice!" He slapped the magus symbol, crackling it in a flash of light.
The magus crackled across the ice block and started to glow bright. Dougal grinned with anticipation, but frowned as the light glowed brighter.
"Huh. Hey Apollo, do you think I should be this close for—"
Right as Dougal asked, a blast of cold air exploded from the ice block and instantly flash froze the ground and everything around it. Apollo covered himself as the cold air slapped across his body, coating his fur and clothes in a thin layer of ice.
Apollo shook off the frost, then squinted through the thick mist. His eyes widened when he spotted Dougal, then he snorted as he tried to hold back his laughter. "Uh, yeah, I'm going to guess you should've put a little distance from this test, you moron."
Dougal, with feathers frozen stiff and a thick sheet of frost coating his body, rolled his eyes. "Oh hush up and give me some heat."
"Experiment 178: Transmutation!"
With a wide array of knowledge now under their belt, the seventeen-year-old Honchkrow and Infernape were now in the process of their advanced experiments. Having conquered the elements and the various, bizarre effects from standard practice, they were on the precipice of greatness with their next big achievement.
Dougal set a piece of lead down on their alter, then shuffled away to review his shared notes with Apollo. "The principles of alchemy and everything we know have always been held back by the simple conundrum of turning something into something else. Today, we become the first to turn lead into gold!"
Apollo scratched his chin. "And if this works, you don't mind at all if I take it for myself?"
Dougal shook his head. "I have no need for wealth when I have all this knowledge at my disposal. Besides, you and your family would benefit from the money. It's a victory for both of us."
Apollo shrugged. "Well, if you don't mind, then I'm in."
Dougal reached inside his cloak and pulled out a vial filled with sparkling purple liquid. A recent experiment conducted by him and Apollo, turning the magus into a more reliable form. They learned that magus could retain the commands they've written into it even after being converted into a liquid. It was truly incredible the kind of memory and conditioning magus was capable of.
Dougal popped the cork off and spilled the potion onto the lead, almost nearly coating the whole thing. Dougal nodded, then took a step back. "Now, we wait for the magus to take effect."
Apollo crossed his arms and sighed. "A shame it takes so long to make the spells. With all the set up just to get one spell, I have to admire your determination to study this stuff, Dougal."
Dougal frowned. "And yet, I feel like I barely scratched the surface." He looked at the potion vial. "There should be more to it I have yet to crack, but what else is there? It has its uses, but what if we could broaden beyond practical application? What if we could harness magus like the mages told in legends, actually harnessing their power through our own wills?"
Apollo chuckled dryly. "A worthy theory to the crackpot Cursed Raven, but the only way to do that is carry premade spells on you at all times. I imagine that would be super practical itself."
Dougal sighed. "You have a point." Dougal stared at his vial for a moment longer, then squinted as the cogs began turning in his head. The spark of an idea from long ago igniting in his mind. "I've always been super cautious with how I used magus, but…"
"But?" Apollo asked.
"I'm willing to take risks to get to the truth of magus. So, what if there was a way to—"
His thoughts were abruptly cut short when an explosion sounded right in front of the two. They shook their heads, waving the purple smoke out of their faces, then turned to the alter with hopeful smiles.
Their smiles fell into befuddled frowns when they saw, not a chunk of gold, but a spiky ball of colorless crystal that had fused itself with the alter post-transformation. Some of the alter was caught up in the blast and also transmuted into crystal.
"Darn it!" Dougal yelled.
Apollo sighed, then dragged himself toward the altar. "Well, maybe it's not a total loss. Maybe they'd go for a good price."
Dougal shook his head, then grinned tiredly. "You could say they're healing crystals that promise fortune and good health."
Apollo rolled his eyes. "Please, no sane Pokémon is stupid enough to believe that."
"Heh, yeah."
Dougal watched Apollo as he chipped away at the crystal. The Honchkrow frowned, then stared back at his potion vial. Apollo's statements on their current limitations had been bothering Dougal for some time, and Dougal would do anything to break the limit of his knowledge.
After all, what point was there in discovery without taking a risk?
Apollo took some time off over the next few weeks since he had to help out on the farm, which Dougal didn't mind. It gave him time to concoct a surprise for the Infernape once he came by today. Dougal couldn't stop fussing over the limiting factor in their research, the one thing that held them back from cracking the true potential of magus.
Through their experiments and resources, they've concluded that the limited sentience of magus hindered progress without fully comprehending the experience. In other words, how does one understand such an all-encompassing element when they themselves were lesser beings compared to its power?
But then Dougal had a thought. Apollo said it once before that magus, despite it's blessed properties, was hardly distinguishable than the things a regular Pokémon was capable of. Dougal brushed it off at the time, but he gradually accepted the truth of Apollo's claim. For everything magus could do, there was at least one Pokémon that could replicate the effects. Magus was basically an all-purpose element, but very limited when it came to setting it up.
Dougal, however, had an epiphany. If Pokémon could harness the elements, what's stopping them from harnessing magus?
Today may boast the answers he sought.
"Hey Dougal." The Honchkrow smiled over his shoulder as Apollo walked to their usual meetup spot, carrying a basket of lunch with him. "Sorry I'm late. Farm work was brutal today. Plowed the fields, picked the trees, and I had to make lunch for my siblings while Ma's in town."
Dougal shook his head. "No apologies necessary. I have been taking up your time over the last few years with my experiments. Like I told you, providing for your family is your ultimate goal, and I won't strip that from you."
Apollo raised a half-smile. "Sometimes even I wonder why the villagers insist on calling you the Cursed Raven." He set the basket down, then reached into his bag for new parchment and quills. "So, are we continuing with the transmutation experiment? I've been looking over the modifiers we've been using, and I think one might get us closer to gold—"
"We can worry about that later. Check this out!" Dougal spun around and presented a dark purple potion in a round-bottomed flask. "My latest concoction for the ultimate in magus experimentation."
Apollo leaned forward and squinted at the bubbly potion. He tapped the glass and watched bubbles bounce off the inner walls. "Huh, I see. What does this one do? Turn objects volatile? Transmute instantly into vapor? Please don't tell me this stuff petrifies."
Dougal snickered. "Nope! This is the key to pushing the boundaries of magus, my friend! What you see before you is a potion that will transmute the spirit itself!"
Apollo's eyes widened in confusion. "W-Wait, transmute the spirit? What does that mean?"
"I took inspiration by your concerns and decided to cut out the middle man." Dougal tapped the side of his head, beaming wide. "Think, Apollo. We're stuck on our experiments because we have to go through trial and error to find the right combination in our limited supplies. But we don't have that exact problem when we use our elemental energy. It replenishes over time. We are the conduits of the elements."
Apollo frowned worriedly. "Where are you going with this?"
"Once I drink this potion, I'll become one with the magus itself! I'll be able to wield it just like how we do the elements!" Dougal grabbed Apollo's shoulders and stared into his eyes. "Don't you see? We can use the power of the mind to bend magus to our will!"
Apollo gasped. "You're going to give yourself magus?!"
"Exactly!" Dougal popped the cork off the flask and lifted it to his beak. "We're going to make history!"
Before Dougal could drink the potion, Apollo swiped it out of his wing and placed the cork back on. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Time out!"
"Hey!" Dougal snapped. "Don't be selfish, I was going to give you the other half of it."
"No, no, that's not—" Apollo paused and took a deep breath. He set the potion down, then pointed at Dougal. "Dougal, I was willing to let the other crazy stuff slide, but this? Have you even tested this potion?"
Dougal shrugged. "I mean, not a lot of things TO test it on. It's either I give it to some lowlife who probably shouldn't have access to magus or some sap on death's door."
"You're even admitting this stuff could kill you!"
"No one ever got anything done being safe and cautious." Dougal pointed at the flask. "And I did run a few tests with my elemental energy. If it works, it'll merge with my energy and grant me the powers of magus. After that, I won't need to perform set up with modifiers. If I think it, I can mentally project the magus combinations in an instant. It'll make tests go way faster. And the possibilities of a Pokémon's mind conjuring the abilities of magus—"
Apollo gripped Dougal's beak and pulled him forward, scowling at the crow. "No. Absolutely not. Dougal, we've spent three years researching this stuff. This stuff can make you sick, or turn you into a tree, or…blow you up! What's the point of researching magus if you die in the process?"
Dougal frowned and pushed Apollo's hand off. "I'm not going to get further by taking the safe route, and this would allow us to become like the mages of legend. We can harness the power of the gods by taking it the power they left behind so many years ago."
Apollo pinched between his eyes and breathed in deeply. "But I don't want you to die. I may not show it, or like admitting it, but I do care about you. No one in the village will shed a tear at your funeral, and I'll be burning up inside having to hold that kind of turmoil in."
Dougal narrowed his eyes. "Is crying for my death really that much of a burden?"
"I don't want to be seen as the successor to the local crackpot, but I don't want to lose…" Apollo looked off to the side with reluctance, then sighed. "I don't want to lose my friend."
Dougal's eyes widened. "R…Really?"
"I don't like this magus stuff, but you've given me a new appreciation for it. I'd hate for your research to go to waste. It wouldn't be right to continue your research myself without you."
Dougal blinked softly, then looked down at his potion. He had a moment to clear his mind and think about what he was after. Willing to risk his life for the answer to a question. He didn't want to admit to Apollo that he was willing to test the odds because his death was meaningless to the people around him. It was the ultimate turning point in his research. Either it succeeded or failed, and he would've lived with the fact his research died with him.
But to hear that Apollo would be depressed by his passing, Dougal's ambition waned to a calm tempo.
Dougal sighed, then smiled at Apollo. "Alright."
Apollo blinked in confusion. "Alright?"
Dougal picked up the flask and stashed it back inside his cloak. "I won't drink the potion. I'll try to run more and more tests on it until I'm one hundred percent certain it won't go wrong. And even if I'm sure, I'll only drink it if it's okay with you."
Apollo stared at Dougal in awe before smiling softly. "I can live with that."
Dougal chuckled, then gestured to the lunch basket. "How about we have some lunch first before we get started?"
Apollo nodded. "Sounds perfect." Apollo picked up the basket and carried it to a smoother part of the area.
Dougal lingered in place as Apollo set up their lunch, then looked back into his cloak where the potion sat nestled in the inner pocket. He reached at it hesitantly, but pulled his wing away and sighed. "No, he's right. I shouldn't be so reckless." Dougal breathed in, then trotted up to Apollo so they could enjoy a quiet lunch before work.
Days Later…
"Where do you think you're going, young man?"
Dougal stopped as he reached out for the door handle, then groaned. "What do you want, you shitty old man?" Dougal turned and glared at the male Toucannon and female Honchkrow staring at him across the hall. "I have things to do, and it's not like you want me in the house anyway."
Toucannon glared. "I won't ask again. Where are you going, Dougal?"
Dougal rolled his eyes. "Does it really matter? You're either going to complain about something nonsensical, or you're going to give me the old man speech. Can we skip this sequence so I can get on with my life away from you two migraines?"
"Dougal Gabriel Hepburn, you will not use that kind of language in this house!" the adult Honchkrow, his mother, shouted.
"Clip your wings and jump off a cliff, you old hag," Dougal said before opening the door. Toucannon flew across the hall with a burst of speed and slammed the door shut with his talons. Dougal didn't flinch. He just stared at the door. "You trying to scare me? You've broken practically every bone in my body. I'm numb to your discipline, old man."
Toucannon narrowed his glare down on Dougal. "It'd be unwise to continue in the dark arts you fester in, boy, lest you become the very corruption of our world."
Dougal waggled his index feather mockingly. "Wow, such profound wisdom from an old fart who read an even older book. Truly, you are a marvel of the current age, old man."
"Your mother and I know where you've been sneaking off to for the last few years."
Dougal glared at the door, biting back the anger bellowing deep in his chest. "Wonderful for you. What's your point? You going to call the local mob on me? Please, I'd bail of out of town before you simpletons could figure out how to light a torch."
"You know the rules of committing heresy under the name of Arceus."
Dougal turned and jabbed his feather against the toucan's chest. "Maybe if you didn't take life advice from a book some hobo wrote while high off shrooms, you'd know what I'm studying is the true history of Arceus. If you really know what I've been doing, you'd know that I was right. There is magus in the world, and I'm going to harness its potential."
Toucannon scoffed. "Listen to you, a delusional boy pretending to be a god. There is no place for a foolish mortal like yourself to call himself such in high regards. What you say is not only blasphemous, but the makings of divine punishment for your hubris—"
"Blah, blah, blah," Dougal muttered. "Hear that? That's the sound of an old man in desperate need of his medicine." Dougal flicked his father's forehead, then turned to the door. "Go ahead, call the mob! I'll be long gone before they know it! And I'll be laughing in your face when, once again, I've proven you have nothing on me."
Toucannon snorted. "To dare speak with such brazen attitude. You and young Apollo are a disappointment to this village."
"Shove your opinions up your rear and die in a…" Dougal stopped as he grabbed the door handle, then slowly looked over his shoulder with wide eyes. "Wait. What was that about Apollo?"
Dougal's mother joined her husband's side. "We are well-aware of Apollo's activity with you. He has been helping you conduct this…witchcraft, hasn't he?"
"I expected better from that boy, but it seems you've corrupted his mind," Toucannon said.
Dougal turned and snarled at them. "Okay, say what you will about me, but leave Apollo out of this. He was just helping me as a favor."
"This village has laws against practicing the depraved arts, boy," Toucannon said. "You knew this, yet you dragged down an innocent soul to your level. Is there no end to your depravity?"
"There's nothing depraved about studying magus!" Dougal snapped. "And Apollo's the only one with a brain in this hick village to see there's something to magus other than your old wives' tales. I'm trying to study a power that can revolutionize the world, and all you can do is say—"
"Again, you speak with madness," Toucannon interrupted. "The mad talk you deliver is that of a delusional boy playing god. You would give more to the world spreading the good word of Arceus, not fooling around in the muck and playing with the occult."
Dougal growled, pulling at his hat-shaped crest. "You're the only fool around here! What's so bad about studying magus, huh? I'm going to save people!"
"No mortal can handle that kind of power," Toucannon said. "Only a god is capable of wielding such amazing feats of strength, and you speak like you are their equal. Preposterous."
"You got something to say?" Dougal growled.
"Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Any longer you play around with this god complex of yours, you will fall into depravity and become a devil on this land. There is no room for power that can change the natural world. You are nothing but an impudent brat who can't comprehend his own ego—"
"Break your neck, you withered old sack of shit!" Dougal yelled. "I know what I'm doing! I can save people, and I won't let a delusional fool like you stand in my way!"
Toucannon glared darkly. "If you will not learn by example, then young Apollo will have to pay for his crimes."
Dougal's eyes widened. "What?"
"By tomorrow, I shall rally the town of your misdeeds and be sure Apollo pays for his crimes. A disappointment on his family. To have taught the boy so much, only to see him fall into evil. His family should be ashamed for allowing their own to fall to darkness. For that, Apollo must pay."
"No!" Dougal cried. "If you do that, his family will be shunned from the village! Their farm will lose business! They'll lose everything!"
Toucannon shook his head. "Apollo should've known better, then."
"Blame me all you want, fine, but Apollo has nothing to do with this! He's innocent!" Dougal pleaded, tears welling up his eyes. "Please, don't do this! You'll ruin him and his family!"
Toucannon scowled. "Whether the mastermind or the accomplice, all who study in the wicked arts must be punished thoroughly. If you will not man up to your mistakes, then Apollo will fall into the cleansing pyre and pay for his own."
"You…You…" Dougal breathed heavily, eyes flickering wildly around in a heated panic.
Honchkrow approached her son and patted his shoulder. "His soul will be purified in the next life. Honor that he will be clean of all imperfection for his—"
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Dougal pushed her off. "I hate you! I hate both of you!"
Toucannon glared. "No son of mine under the Hepburn name shall speak to me like that. It's inevitable, Dougal. Apollo and you must pay."
"…" Dougal bared his teeth. "How many?"
"Hmm? How many what?"
"Who else knows about Apollo and me? About our experiments? Everything?"
Toucannon closed his eyes and huffed. "Your mother and I, along with my associates at the church. We were actually discussing a suitable punishment for you boys before you came home."
"…Good." Dougal threw his cloak off, then glared furiously at his parents. "Because I won't let you hurt Apollo or his family. Idiots. All of you. I'm surrounded by freakin' idiots."
Honchkrow felt a chill run up her spine. "Dougal?"
Toucannon glared. "Young man, you will not—"
"You said no son of Hepburn shall speak to you that way, right?" Dougal unfurled his wing, showing the potion tucked inside. "I reject the name Hepburn, and I reject your bloodline."
Sorry, Apollo. I couldn't keep my promise.
Dougal popped the cork off with his beak, then guzzled back the entire potion in one go. He wiped his beak, then smashed the flask across the wall.
"Dougal!" his mother cried.
Toucannon raised a protective wing in front of his wife. "Dougal Gabriel Hepburn, what do you think you're doing?! You will stop this foolishness—"
"I'm not your son anymore. And I will not let you do anything to hurt Apollo. As for what I'm doing? You people just love calling me the Cursed Raven, right?"
Dougal opened his eyes. A flash of purple energy burst from his eyes, blazing like a smokeless flame.
"This raven will shower these lands in a field of red."