Gourry did his best to reign in his anxiety as he stood very still and stayed alert as his mother charged at him with his sword. His brain scrambled to find a way to fight a rage filled ghost wielding an absurdly powerful weapon. Particularly while weaponless and unarmed. He managed to stand still until the point of the sword was an inch away from him and then he dodged to the left. Guloisa continued to charge as though he was still standing there, and the sword penetrated the stone wall instead. She screamed as she tried to pull it out but it wouldn't budge.
Thus neutralized, Gourry decided his best option was to run to find a magic user. He bolted for the door, but before he could get far he felt something tug at his hair. He froze and leaned his head back in the direction of the pull to give his hair some slack, and then he grabbed it with his hand and pulled. If it had been a flesh and blood person on the other end he would have sent them crashing to the floor, but as it was a ghost she just let go. Gourry continued to the door, but suddenly his hair was wrapped tightly around his face and he was pulled to the floor.
Blinded and breathing through a mass of wet hair, at first Gourry scrambled to find something to hit. It felt grossly unfair that his enemy could land blows that he could not return! Then he started to claw at his face to get the wet hair off of it as he was pulled backwards again. With a dawning sense of panic he noticed that rather than the wooden floors of the bedroom he felt the cold tile floors of the bathroom beneath him. He went slack again, but it did little good as he was slammed against the bathtub.
"You really want me to haunt this place with you?" he asked, though his voice sounded so muffled he doubted she could even understand him. Regardless of whether or not she could, with superhuman strength she lifted him up, and his hands scrambled for something to get onto that wasn't smooth marble. Then he plunged into the water, and he cursed himself for not taking the time to pull the plug after he'd gotten out as he felt a hand press on his head to hold him under.
He swatted uselessly as he tried to break free of the grip as he thought hopeless about how it couldn't end this way! There was still so much he wanted to do and see! He was going to be a father! He couldn't just watch his child grow up from the other side of the veil. But the world was growing black…
"Bram Blazer!" Lina cast, as beside her Leia released a similar spell. Han made good use of the sole spell that he knew, the Elmekia Lance that Lina had been so thrilled to teach him when she was little. They pulverized the skeletons around them, sending dust and debris into the air, obscuring their vision. Lina released another spell at a remaining skeleton, and as she did she noted the drop in temperature. The skeleton disintegrated right before it reached her, and right behind it was a ghostly child with green glowing eyes!
Lina didn't have time to cast another spell! She dodged to the ground as she chanted furiously while Leia cried, "Lina!"
Prasutagus swept over her, and Lina felt gooseflesh form. "I want a second chance at life!" He hissed as his voice echoed through the room.
"Hell Blast!" Lina said in response, but he disappeared before the spell hit.
Han reached a hand out to help her up, and Lina took it as she got to her feet. And then a cold wave of anxiety hit her as she felt her heart tighten. "What is it?" he asked.
"Gourry," Lina gasped, "He's in trouble."
She ran to the door, but her instincts told her to stop. Somehow she managed to as Prasutagus, looking at her expectantly. Then he charged at her as Lina chanted swiftly and hoped she could cast her spell in time.
"The idiots haven't even noticed," Mara Jade muttered as her feet hit the ground before she yelled, "We're under attack!"
There were gasps of surprise as people stopped playing their game and looked out to the ground to see the horde that was descending upon them.
"Assha Dist!" Danielle called as she released the spell at a zombie that was advancing on Cuchulain, and then she thanked her lucky stars that at least there was still plenty of light to see by thanks to the light spells that had been cast! "You and the others who can't cast magic better get back into the manor!"
"Those of you who can use magic, get in formation!" Mara Jade yelled.
The magic users started to form a line as Cuchulain looked at Danielle and said, "No way! Look, we've got sticks!"
"This is going to end badly." Mara Jade said after she'd released a Van Rehl spell, tangling many of the undead in an icy web that they couldn't escape.
"Smart one! I'm going to try that!" Peter said as Cuchulain charged at a zombie with a stick. Fortunately, Ripley, Gomez and Jackie fell back.
"Me too!" Pippi chimed in as she started to chant, meanwhile Jean-Luc, Indy, Ace and the others cast shorter spells that could only target one zombie at a time to keep them off the ones chanting longer spell. Behind the line. Adam and Adora started chanting a very long, complex spell.
"Peter!" Jean-Luc exclaimed suddenly, "Your shadow!"
"Huh?" Peter said, and then his eyes widened as his shadow morphed like it would with a Disfang spell. Only it wasn't changing into a dragon. Instead it seemed to detach from his body as it charged at one of the creatures and savagely tore its shadow apart. The creature screeched wretchedly as it fell to the ground and didn't move.
"How did you do that?" Jean-Luc asked.
"I have no idea!" Peter said, befuddlement permeating his voice as his shadow went and attack another one of the undead's shadows. "But that's pretty cool!"
Cuchulain swung the bat at one of the zombie's heads, knocking it to the ground. He was a bit miffed when another zombie promptly grabbed the head and gave it back to the original one, but he swung at that one too and sent his head flying. It was only then that it dawned on him that he had a problem. He couldn't kill them, and they were working together to thwart him! Fear settled into his stomach as he took the time to steal a glance at the manor and found that the way back was blocked with zombies! He was trapped!
He yelled a battle cry and swung the stick as he attempted to turn to go back to the manor. But he encountered a mass of bodies so thick that his momentum was slowed And then one of the zombies grabbed his stick as the others started advancing on him!
Meanwhile, Mara Jade looked at Danielle and sighed, "What is it about the boys and making our lives harder?"
Danielle shrugged, "Come on, I guess we'd better save him from his folly."
"And make sure he never forgets!"
Amelia's ears were ringing, but Zelgadis had jumped in front of her and taken the brunt of the blast. She glanced at him and saw that he had some minor burns but would be fine. She looked over to the kids. Maeve was on the floor, and even from a distance in the darkened room Amelia could see that she was covered in burns. Kara was beside her, chanting a spell, while Susan cast, "Assha Dist!" at the Sad Lady.
She fizzled, and then materialized again, the power of the portal keeping her there. Marcus threw a knife at her, and at first Amelia was not sure what he'd hope to accomplish until she realized that he had trapped her with a shadow snap! Amelia was about to compliment them when her back itched and her senses told her to duck.
She dove to the ground, and Zelgadis cried, "Bram Blazer!" at Iceni as she charged at Amelia.
The force sent Iceni stumbling back as the Sad Lady started to shriek and wail, the sound piercing Amelia's ears. She resisted the urge to cover them and focused on chanting her next spell as Zelgadis continued lobbing spells at Iceni as she attempted to advance on Amelia as Marcus joined him.
Amelia moved closer to Susan, Maeve and Kara to see how they were doing. Thankfully Maeve was stirring. Susan knelt down beside Maeve and said, "You have to talk with her!"
"What do you mean?" Maeve asked weakly.
"The Sad Lady," Susan said, "Chieftess Boadicea. You need to address her as a princess of Zeferia."
Maeve looked confused, but regarded the ghost currently pinned to the floor. "I am Princess Maeve of Zeferia, direct descendant of Queen Carliena. What is it you want me to know?"
"Amelia!" Zelgadis cried, and Amelia turned to see that Iceni had somehow managed to slip both Zelgadis and Marcus. Behind her Maeve gasped, but Amelia couldn't see what was happening as she dodged, but Iceni seemed to read the direction she was planning to move in.
And then Iceni froze, and Amelia saw Susan breath a sigh of relief as well as a knife through Iceni's shadow. Iceni started wailing, "I deserve the chance I was robbed of!"
"You were robbed!" Amelia said, "But you have no right to rob my baby as well! It wouldn't be just!"
"You shouldn't stand yet!" Kara protested, and Amelia turned to see Maeve was up and looking at the Sad Lady with tears in her eyes.
"I never realized…I'm so sorry. Please, accept my sincere apology on behalf of the Kingdom of Zeferia for what was done to you and your children."
The room seemed to warm as the Sad Lady considered her, "How do I know that these aren't empty words?"
"Just tell me how I can make it up, I mean, I know I can't make it right. I can't bring back the dead, but tell me how I can make it better, and I will. I will stake the honor of my kingdom on it."
A bright light filled the room, blinding everyone momentarily. At first Amelia was stunned, but then she worried about Iceni being freed and started to chant a spell to protect herself, just in case. But the energy in the room was different. It was changing. It was becoming warm. The sadness was being drained away, and a sense of peace was starting to prevail.
"Susan! Now!" Amelia said.
Susan started chanting a Holy Bless spell as the light faded and the portal closed. And as the spell radiated from Susan, cleansing the room of its otherworldly inhabitants, a calm fell upon the room that it had not seen in a long time. Everyone looked at each other for a moment, and then Kara asked, "What happened?"
"I saw her life." Maeve explained, "I saw who her people were. How they weren't the people I was told they were. All this time, all this anger, she just wanted to be heard and to have her grievances acknowledged."
"Are you alright?" Amelia asked as she looked her over.
"I'll be fine. I just need some rest." Maeve replied.
"But she never said what you can do to make it right." Marcus said.
"She did." Susan replied.
Maeve nodded. "She did. Tomorrow, I have some things to do. But for now I need to rest."
Amelia clapped her hands together chipperly, "And that, class, is how you close a portal!"
"Don't make it sound so easy!" Zelgadis snapped.
"Come on," Amelia said as she grabbed his arm and kissed his cheek, "Let's tend to your wounds."
Gourry's eyes shot open as he started coughing up water. He was lying on the floor of the bathroom, cold and shivering. The ghost of his mother hovered overhead as she stared at him icily. Once he caught his breath he asked, "Why didn't you finish it?"
"I want you to suffer some more." She replied as she grabbed his shoulders, and he felt his stomach sink as he realized she was going to hold him under again.
"Do you even care that I wasn't the one who killed you?" he spat.
She laughed, the sound rebounding through the room. "My life was brutally cut short! All that I could have accomplish will remain undone. And now I wander, unloved, unmourned, and my own children celebrate being free of me! No, all that matters now is taking as many people with me as I can!"
"I mourn." Gourry said quietly.
"You lie!" she screamed as she lifted him into the air.
"Those times growing up, when you would make those festival meals? And we'd stay up all night eating and dancing and telling stories?" he said, and then he started to cough more water from his lungs as his legs struggled to find some solid ground. He took a breath and continued, "We'd have so much fun I would wonder why it couldn't be that way all the time. Why you couldn't be that mother all the time. And part of me always hoped that one day you would stop pursing greed, and just be that mother, the one that I did love. But now, that won't ever happen. There won't ever be that happy ending! And I grieve that, every day!"
Tears started falling down his face, and the room seemed to warm a little as she sat him back on the ground. Slowly she reached a translucent hand out to his face. He braced himself, unsure of what to expect, but right before she was to touch him, she vanished.
The undead crowded around Cuchulain. One of the magic users hit one with a spell, but there were plenty more to take his place! Just as they surged, Mara Jade hit several close to him with a Blast Ash, clearing the path for Danielle to levitate in beside him. She grabbed his stick, and then lit the tip with a fire spell and handed it back to him.
"Thanks!" he said as the undead drew back. Meanwhile Mara Jade also levitated in and she and Danielle quickly worked on lobbing Assha Dists and Bram Blazers at the undead.
"Holy Bless!" Adora cried, followed by Adam, "Holy Bless!"
Suddenly the undead vanished, and the group started cheering. Danielle and Mara Jade smiled as they gave each other a high five. "You two were great." Cuchulain said.
"You were an idiot." Mara Jade said bluntly.
"I guess I am starting to see what Sir Gourry means when he talks about the importance of falling back at times."
"Good. Because we might not be around to save your ass next time." Danielle said.
"Hey look!" Peter exclaimed as he pointed at the ground, "My shadow came back!"
"You'd better tell Lady Lina about this." Jean-Luc said. "Speaking of which, where are the adults?"
"Maybe they need help?" Pippi asked eagerly, "Come on, let's go find them!"
"Bram Blazer!" Leia yelled, and Lina thanked her lucky stars that her mother had the spell ready because Lina wouldn't have been able to cast it in time!
Prasutagus disintegrated, and as he did, Lina noticed a change in the air. "Do you feel that?" Leia asked.
"I think they finally closed that damn portal!" Lina snarled, and then she took off through the hallways and towards her room. Lina turned just to yell at her parents, "Check on my students!"
She opened the door to her room and felt her stomach leap into her throat as she saw the Blast Sword embedded into the wall. "Gourry!" she cried, and then she noticed the bathroom door was open. She ran into it and then slid on the water that covered it in her race to get to him. She cried out, and somehow he made it to his feet to grab her and steady her.
"Gourry!" she said as she wrapped her arms around him and noted that his robe was soaked! "What happened?"
He held her tightly, as though she were life itself, and it took her a moment to realize he was crying, though he didn't say anything. She reached a hand out to stroke his hair as she started to calm down. As long as he was okay she didn't need to know the details of what had happened. "It's fine now. The energy of the house is different. I think they finally got that damned portal closed. Whatever happened, we got through it, and we're fine."
AN: Happy Halloween! This Wednesday I will be escorting Wreck-It Ralph and President Vanellope von Schweetz through the neighborhood!
Also, a rare public service announcement, chances are there are kids in your neighborhood who are autistic. I'm pretty sure everyone reading this is awesome and understanding, and I want to spread awareness on how to help. Last year the day after Halloween one mother told me, in tears, about how someone wouldn't give her autistic daughter candy because she wasn't wearing a costume after giving her neurotypical children candy. Please remember, you can't tell if a child is autistic or not just by looking at them. And just because they can't talk doesn't mean that they don't understand when they are being excluded. Textures that are fine for us can be painful for autistic children and because of that wearing a costume, which tend to have itchy tulles and fabrics, can be torture. You also don't know how hard a kid is working to participate in and be a part of this world until you've walked in their shoes, so please don't make it harder. Please be kind. An autistic kid may have difficulty wearing a costume, may not be able to speak to say "Trick-or-Treat" or "thank you", may take a long time choosing candy and get overwhelmed when you ask them to take more (I appreciate the generosity, and I find it easiest when people just scoop however much they want to give into the bags themselves). Let's look for ways to include kids who are different and keep this holiday fun for everyone rather than find reasons to exclude kids!