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Chapter 45-The Three Intense Kidnappers:
As Alice led the group farther into the tunnel she kept her hold on her little brother's arm. Rapunzel and Eugene stayed a few feet away from her just in case something happened, both of them not really sure how to calm her down. Varian looked at his sister, then down at the tight grip she had on his arm and knew that he had to say something to calm her down.
"Ummmm, Alice….I know you told me to stay close, but could you maybe…. Let me go ?"Varian asked.
Alice was mumbling to herself and she didn't seem to hear her brother. Varian merely looked back at Eugene and Rapunzel, his eyes pleading them to say something as his eyes darted to them and back to his sister. Eugene took a deep breath and quickened his pace soon catching up to Alice.
"Hey Angel, how's your day ?"he asked in a joking manner.
"Oh I don't know. Just trying to get some information regarding a demon who's completely destroyed my home and ruined our last chance to get Cass back. It's like they don't even know what's happening. All they're doing is hiding! That's not the way my master taught us, I never thought he would turn into SUCH A COWARD !"Alice yelled, clenching both her hands tightly, which in turn caused her already tight grip on Varian to get even tighter.
"ALICE STOP PLEASE !"Varian yelled out in pain.
Alice turned towards her little brother sharply, fire filling her eye. However, her gaze softened ever so slightly when she saw the pained expression on his face. Varian looked up at his sister, then back down at his arm. Alice looked as well and just noticed her tight hold on him.
"P-please Alice…..please let me go, you're hurting me ,"Varian begged her.
Just like that, Alice's rage vanished and her grip on Varian was gone. She took a deep breath as Varian cautiously moved his arm away from Alice, rubbing it gently.
"Varian….I…...I didn't mean….Are you okay ?"Alice asked, reaching out from his arm before retracting her hands, afraid to hurt him even more.
Varian cautiously removed his glove and rolled up his sleeve, revealing a nasty black and blue bruise. Alice and Rapunzel gasped as they saw it, Eugene cringing at the sight. Alice looked down at her hands, horrified that she had done something like this to her little brother. Again.
"Oh Vary…..I'm so…...I didn't mean too…...maybe if I just….,"Alice rambled her hands flickering from green to normal as she spoke.
"Could….could you use your powers on my arm ?"Varian asked, holding it out to her.
Alice slightly reached out for her little brother, before retracting her hands again, looking down at them in fear. It was clear that she was terrified of somehow making this situation worse, even though she was the only one who could help heal her brother.
"Al…..It's just a bruise, It's okay, I know you didn't mean too ,"Varian told her.
"How is this okay? I hurt you Varian, I actually hurt you !"Alice exclaimed, taking a step away from her little brother.
"It's alright, you're frustrated, I get it, you didn't mean to hurt me ,"Varian told her.
"I honestly don't know what came over me…..I've haven't felt that type of power and strength since …..I thought I was getting better at controlling this….I thought…..,"Alice stuttered.
Varian reached out and grabbed Alice's hand, causing her to flinch and look up at him in surprise. Varian was looking at her with such love and compassion and she couldn't help but wonder just how he couldn't hate her. Especially after everything she had put him through.
"I'm not mad sis. Coming back here after so long, you just expected something else, right ?"Varian asked.
Alice looked at her brother then back at his arm before nodding sadly. The green glow coming back to her hands. Varian wasted no time and placed her hand on his bruise, the magic working instantly. The magic flickered on and off at first, before beginning to heal the bruise more efficiently.
"It's no excuse for what I did….and I'm truly sorry Vary…..I never meant to hurt you ,"Alice told him, taking her hands away once the job was done.
"Alice, we know you want to help, and I honestly don't blame you for being angry with those guards. I mean, you would think in a time of crisis that they would protect the innocent instead of worrying about keeping themselves safe ,"Eugene said.
"Yeah…..that's kinda what made me so upset. We keyblade wielders, in fact everyone in this school, has the ability to fight against Zhan Tiri and even Cass for that matter. They can help us, and yet they do nothing but keep their magic hidden. It kills me that after so long, this is what my old school has become. A hiding place for cowards ,"Alice said, shaking her head.
"Hey, we don't know that for sure. Who knows, maybe they don't even know what's happening. Let's just try to find this information and then we'll worry about these guys later ,"Rapunzel offered.
"I don't know…..maybe you all should head back….I don't want to hurt any of you again ,"Alice said.
"No Alice, we're doing this together. Besides, if some of those scrolls and books include Demanitus' cipher then you'll need me to translate them and we can help you carry what we need ,"Varian told her.
"Varian, how can you still trust me, after I hurt you like that ?"Alice asked, turning away from him and hugging herself.
"Because I knew it wasn't you. Just because you bruise me a little, it would never get rid of how much I love you sis. We're doing this together, you wouldn't leave me in darkness so why would I leave you ?"Varian asked, quoting her words from when she comforted him in the storage room.
Tears came to Alice's eyes, and she quickly turned around and wrapped her arms around Varian, he was just as quick to hug her back.
"I don't deserve your kindness Vary….I really don't ,"she said softly.
"And I don't deserve your's, but that's exactly why both of us deserve it, because we feel like we don't ,"Varian told her.
"When did you get to be so smart ?"Alice asked, wiping away her tears.
"Probably around the time he got captured by Aurora ,"Eugene said, causing the others to glare at him.
"Okay, not the time, got it ,"Eugene said nervously, but stopped when Alice released a chuckle.
"I suppose you're right Eugene. You truly have grown up and I know I can say for both me and our parents that you turned out to be an amazing person ,"Alice said, cupping Varian's face in her right hand.
"So have you…..you helped me along the way after all ,"Varian told her.
"And so have you…...Awkward sibling hug ?"Alice asked, holding her arms out.
"Awkward sibling hug ,"Varian agreed and both siblings hugged each other.
"Pat pat ,"they both said, as they patted each other on the back, before releasing a series of giggles.
"Feeling better Alice ?"Rapunzel asked and she nodded.
"Yeah, alright when we get inside the school; feel free to wander around, but stay where I can see you okay ,"Alice said, looking at her brother.
"As long as you don't grab me like that again ,"Varian joked and Alice laughed a little.
"Deal. Now come on, the entrance inside of the main foyer is this way ,"Alice said, leading the way further into the cavern.
A few minutes later the group stood before a large wooden door, complete with it's own giant keyhole. This was it, the entrance to the school that had taught Alice everything she knew about magic. The group could practically feel the aura of magic radiating from the doorway.
"Alright here we are. Now, if they didn't completely change everything, there should be a keyblade around here somewhere ,"Alice said, looking around.
Everyone spread out and searched for the keyblade, Varian noticed the designs in the doorframe and saw that it had imprints of keyblades inside of it. An idea overtook him and he stepped towards the frame. Varian felt around a bit before sliding out a wooden keyblade.
"Sis I found it ,"Varian exclaimed.
"Way to go kid ,"Eugene said, as Varian handed the keyblade to Alice.
"Thanks Vary, now just gotta unlock the door and we're free to go ,"Alice said, standing away from the door.
"Ummm sis, don't you need to slide the key into the lock ?"Varian asked.
But Alice merely took a deep breath and pointed the wooden key towards the door. Suddenly, a beam of light shot out of the end of the keyblade and flew into the keyhole. They all heard the sound of the door unlocking and it opened just a crack. Alice smiled and place the keyblade back in the door frame, acting like this was all normal.
"How'd you do that ?"Rapunzel asked.
"Keyblades work in ways that even I don't understand, but what I do know is that all keyblades can unlock any lock ,"Alice said, opening the door.
"So you can unlock anything if you use your keyblade ?"Varian asked.
"Basically yes ,"Alice said, holding out her hand and summoning her keyblade, the magic actually working now that they were in the school.
"Looks like this is it. It feels so good to have my key back ,"Alice said, holding it in her hand.
Rapunzel, Eugene and Varian looked around the school and they were amazed at what they saw. The entire room was made out of cut marble, all white and shiny. There was a giant waterfall near the back of the room, flowing down into a giant pond where water lilies and lily pads floated, shiny stone on the floor of the water, gold outlining the pond. There were staircases leading behind the waterfall and giant hallways leading left and right of the foyer. The ceiling was high and there was a beautiful skylight above them, letting a lot of light into the room. Behind the staircases were a few dark corridors and beautiful paintings lined the walls of the school. Many pieces of pottery were placed on pedestals but besides that, the room was bare.
"Hang on one second ,"Alice said, rushing towards one of the walls.
"Alice's what are you doing ?"Eugene asked, but Alice ignored him and faced the wall.
"I need a shelf for my face, face face, face face ,"Alice singsonged and as if by magic, a shelf was created for her face.
"Wow, I think I need one too ,"Varian said, joining his sister.
Another shelf appeared and Varian looked inside of the walls. What he saw surprised him, a bunch of tiny little people were running around building things (1). When they noticed the two people watching them however, they scampered away in fear. Going down little tunnels in the wall.
"Sorry ,"Varian said.
"It's fine Vary, thank you !"Alice called to the little people, causing them all to stop and turned to look at her.
"Thank you ?"one of them asked.
Suddenly more little people came towards the siblings. Alice gently pulled Varian away from the wall so the little people could take their place on the shelves. They looked up at Alice in awe, studying her features as if trying to place her within a memory long forgotten.
"Is it really ?"One of them asked, looking down at Alice's keyblade.
"It is her !"another one of them shrieked and Alice giggled slightly as she held out her hands for them to jump onto, which they did gladly.
"Our diamond, she's back, Green, Green !"one of them exclaimed.
"I thought I told you that you could call me Alice ,"she told them, as one of them climbed on top of her head to play with her dark, raven colored, locks.
"How many times have I said, not to play with my hair ?"Alice asked and the little person giggled, jumping down from her head and back into her hands.
"Awwww, who are these cute little guys ?"Rapunzel asked, as she held a few of them.
"Very funny miss, knowing our diamond I bet she asked you to make that joke ,"one of the little people said.
"Always playing games Alice, pretending she didn't tell you about us Pebbles,"one of the Pebbles said, giggling happily.
"Pebbles huh ?"Varian asked, watching as a few of them jumped on top of his head.
"Yeah, they were created by diamond keyblade wielders thousands of years ago, even before the Sundrop and Moonstone fell. They've always been here and they basically run this school. Building things that students need, helping them study, helping to clean up the place. They keep this school running like a well oiled machine ,"Alice explained.
"Occasionally we also help students make pretty outfits, but Alice was always our favorite. She treated us Pebbles so kindly, just like the creators did, the creators of our ancestors ,"one of the Pebbles told him.
"I really missed you all. How has the school been since I left ?"Alice asked.
"Everyone was so scared when you disappeared, miss. They increased security, more guards, more patrol, no evil is ever gonna get in here now ,"one of the Pebbles told her.
"Does anyone in the school know what's going on, on the outside ?"Rapunzel asked.
"No…..most of the masters are afraid to let their students leave. They started boarding the students here when Alice never returned from Arendelle ,"a male Pebble told them.
"Boarding, you mean the students live here ?"Eugene asked.
"Yes sir. For the past eight years, students have stayed at the school for their own safety. They go home if there's an emergency, and they also go home for the summer and also for Easter and Christmas ,"the male Pebble told them.
"If that's the case, then they have no idea that she's back. That's why they're all here and not out there fighting !"Alice exclaimed.
"What's been going on Alice ?"A Pebble asked and Alice started to explain what happened to her and to Corona.
Varian gently placed the Pebbles in his hands back on the shelf before heading towards the pond. He wanted to check out the area more, but he knew he couldn't go too far without Alice, so he settled on checking out the flora and aquatic features of the room.
"Hey kid !"A masculine voice called.
Varian looked around, unsure if he heard correctly or not.
"Kid with the goggles, over here !"the voice called again and Varian turned toward one of the dark corridors to see a figure standing there. Varian pointed to himself, unsure if he was talking to him or not.
"Yeah you, come hither ,"the voice commander and Varian took a step back.
"Don't worry, I just want you to come here for a moment ,"the voice told him.
"I'm not really supposed to go too far away from my-,"Varian started.
"It will only take a moment ,"the voice promised.
"O-okay ,"Varian said, approaching the figure.
Upon coming closer, he saw a young man wearing a black, sleeveless shirt and brown slacks with a yellow apron and black boots. He had pale skin, curly black hair, and black eyes. The man was also very slender but he was muscular as well and it looked like he had a six pack. (2)
"Come, into the shadows ,"the man told him, stepping back to allow Varian entrance.
"I…..don't know…..I'm not supposed to go out of my sister's sight ,"Varian told him, turning to leave.
"Come on, I just want to talk for a few moments ,"the man told him, gently grabbing his arm and turning the boy back around.
"I'm sorry, but no ,"Varian said, pulling his arm away, and once again turning to leave.
"Hmmm, well looks like we're doing this the hard way ,"the man said.
Just as Varian was about to question what he meant, he felt a strong hand close around his mouth, another around his wrists, both of them pulling him into the darkness. The arms took him deep into the corridor, way too far away for the others to hear him if he called for help.
"You should have come quietly kid, we were actually willing to spare you after we had our little talk. After all, we know non-magic wielders when we see one. You and your sister must be very clever to find our school. But now, since you've decided to be difficult, neither of you will live to tell the tale. Boys, tie him up ,"the man ordered.
Varian felt the hands around him push him against the wall, darkness all around him. He then felt his abductors move away from him and he took this time to run, not caring that he didn't know where he was, just trying to get away from the men. Varian then felt something wrapped around his waist and he fell forward with a startled yelp. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he turned around to see what had caught hold of him and it turned out to be a rope.
"Nice lassoing Jeremy ,"the man's voice said, as Varian saw the men approaching him, the man holding the rope tightly.
"Thank you ,"Jeremy said.
"Now let's get our little friend prepared for his punishment, don't you agree Sammy ,"the third man asked. He was holding a long, thin pole, just a few feet taller than Varian.
"Yes, let's ,"Sammy said, smiling maliciously.
Varian immediately panicked as the men came closer. He tried to untie the knot on the rope around his waist but it was too tight. Within seconds they grabbed him, Jeremy turned him onto his stomach holding him down to the floor as Varian struggled. He felt the third man place the pole against his back and he struggled even harder and the men began to tie him to it.
"HELP! SOMEBODY, PLEASE HELP !"Varian cried out.
Suddenly there was a sharp pain on the back of his head. He didn't even realize it until a few seconds later that the third man had slammed his head into the ground, not hard enough to make him pass out, but still hard enough to get him to fall silent.
"Victor, let me handle this ,"Sammy said, covering Varian's mouth with his hand.
"Alright fine, let me just finish these last knots then we're good to go ,"Victor told him, turning his attention back to tying up the alchemist.
Sammy looked down at Varian, the boy's eyes were cleansed and he tried with all his might to struggle against the binds, to free himself from his fate. Sammy merely laughed, turning Varian's head in his direction so the two could have eye contact.
"You listen here boy, one more peep out of your mouth until we get you to your punishment and your sister's fate will be even worse than yours, GOT IT ?!"Sammy yelled and Varian nodded, tears filling his eyes as Sammy removed his hand.
"You boys done yet ?"Sammy asked, not paying attention to their victim crying on the ground.
"Yep all done, just got to get him to the fire pit and we are good to go ,"Victor said and Varian's eyes widened in terror
"Alright them, let's move out ,"Sammy said.
Now that Varian was tied to the pole, it had about twelve inches of space on both ends, so Jeremy and Victor took each end and hosted it onto their shoulders, not being very careful as Varian's head lobbed around. Being kidnapped more times than he cared to admit, Varian did not like the sound of this punishment that they were speaking of.
"Wh-what are you going to do to me ?"Varian asked, his voice shaking in fear as he looked up at Sammy.
"What did I just say ?"Sammy asked and Varian looked down at the ground in shame, not daring to look around and anger the man farther.
"That's what I thought. Now come on boys, we have enough to do without intruders coming in ,"Sammy said and they all headed deeper into the darkness, Varian struggling all the while.
Now before all of you yell at me about how Varian's been kidnapped again and that it's getting old in the story. Let me just say that things are going to end a little differently this time. However, Alice is a slightly bad sister here considering that she doesn't even notice that her brother has gone missing. I wonder how she will react?
; )
(1): Yes I brought in the pebbles from Steven Universe, they play a very minor role in this fanfiction, but their moment in the spotlight and true purpose for being here will be reveled in a couple of chapters.
(2): I think who Sammy is based off of. Especially if you're a BATIM fan. Let's just say he's ready to bring his sheep to the slaughter. ; )
Either way I hope you all have a good day, stay healthy, stay safe and I'll see you next week. Don't forget to like if you enjoy and follow if you want to be kept up to date on when I upload next. Also leave a comment down below to share your thoughts I honestly love hearing what you guys think.