Holiday Crisis
Chapter 19: Not So Empty Handed
* * * *
"Rettahs." Holding his hands out in front of him in a controlled manor, Chris watched in fascination as the shards of broken mirror hopped back into place and melted together. "Shatter." Again, they fell apart. He smiled. "Rettahs." Pop, they snapped together. "I think I have the hang of this now."
"I agree. You're a natural, Chris." Marnie rested her chin on his shoulder. "I say we move on to something a bit more complicated next. Like time travel."
He looked at her in the mirror. "You really think I'm ready for time travel?"
She shrugged. "Sure, why not? I mean, you're already a master at alchemy, and that's considered one of the hardest magical practices to get the hang of. People spend their whole lives trying to perfect their skills and they come nowhere near your abilities. And that reminds me..." She reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out the golden vial. "Kal said you made this for me?"
Chris blushed slightly and ducked his head into his collar. "Yeah, I hope it works as well as you wish. I've never tested it on anyone before, so I have no idea how it will work."
"I'll find out now, I guess." Before he could protest, she downed the contents of the vial in one gulp. Gagging, she made a face. "Wow, that's bitter." A moment passed, then her visage seemed to shimmer and ripple from head to toe in a warm golden glow. When it passed, she stood in front of the mirror and smiled with deep satisfaction. She now looked no more than a day over twenty. She touched her hair, now absolutely free of stray strands of silver, feeling strangely reminiscent of the days before Kal had captured her. But the nostalgic feeling passed with ease, and she turned to the teenager behind her and flashed him a sincere smile. "Nice job, Chris. You are officially my new favorite person." The comment made him turn an amusing shade of pink. Then a thought struck her. "I'm going to go tell Kal, I'll be right back. Okay?"
"Sure..." She rushed from the room, not really caring if he responded or not. Kal would be so excited, now that she wasn't looking old enough to be his mother. Being half mortal was a drag, considering it made her age like a full fledged mortal. And while she still didn't love Kal like THAT (ick, besides she WAS married, even if it felt like that was a part of another lifetime) she still highly valued his opinion. Although he didn't feel that way, she thought of him as an older brother now.
She reached the doorway to his room and stopped upon seeing it slightly ajar. Kal's subdued voice drifted out of the crack, hushed and thick with emotion. Quietly, she hid herself to where she could see him but he couldn't see her in turn, and watched him. Something about the tone of his voice gave her the impression that this was important, but she couldn't shake the feeling she'd become voyeur. She wasn't supposed to see this. But at the same time it was vital that she did.
Kal lit a candle, and stared into the flame. He tilted his head, as though listening to a voice Marnie could not hear. Then he lowered his eyes and spoke to the flame. "But I recruited the boy, just as you wished. He seemed a bit reluctant, but in the end... We had to trick him into taking the amulet, but he-" Kal grabbed the side of his head, and fell over as though he'd been pushed. "I KNOW that, but I could tell the good in him would turn me down eventually. It was the only choice." A beat. "Just like with Marnie. But that went fine, so I know this will be no different."
Marnie flinched at the sound of her name, but refused to move from the spot until she'd seen this through. The complete wrongness of the situation became more and more apparent the more she listened.
"I will try interrogating Agatha one more time, but I fear she won't tell me anything. She's a stubborn old bat, as you know. No, Father, I will not fail." Agatha? Father? This had gone from excitement, to a sneaking feeling, to blood-chilling dread. Needing to hear no more, and fearing what would happen if he caught her, Marnie turned and silently fled back to the Main Chamber.
"What's wrong?"
Marnie skidded to a stop and took a moment to catch her breath, resting her hands on her knees. "This is bad, Chris. Really bad."
Chris' eyebrows knit together in concern. "How? What happened?"
She lowered her voice. "I just heard Kal talking to someone he called his father."
"So?"
She snorted. "Kalabar is dead. He has been for over thirty years, almost forty now. And considering I couldn't see him..." She shuddered. "He's not a ghost. I'm pretty good friends with a lot of ghosts from Halloweentown, so I know what they look like. That seemed more like he was... As crazy as it sounds, I think he's INSIDE Kal."
"You mean he's possessed?"
She nodded, and chewed distractedly on her bottom lip. "And he said Agatha's here. And yet, he never told me that. I wonder where he's keeping her." She pulled on her necklace like she wanted to rip it off. "I gotta go help her."
A strange feeling bubbled up inside him. Empathy. Suddenly, he too wanted to rip off his necklace, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Vaguely, he knew it was holding him back, keeping him from being more of a help. At the same time he wanted to start a man-hunt, he also didn't give a lick. He squeezed the side of his head in frustration. "I don't know what to do."
"Me neither, but we should do something."
There was a moment of silence in which the whole incident seemed to evaporate from their minds. Their eyes glowed yellow for a moment, then faded. They shook their heads confusedly, as though they'd both completely lost their train of thought.
Finally, Marnie scratched her head and shrugged. "Want to get back to work?"
"Sure."
* * * *
Destiny and Merope followed Garz and Zarg out of a door, obscured by a tapestry depicting monsters running amok in a human village. "We're in!"
"Finally," Merope added with a frown. She turned to Garz and Zarg. "Thanks guys. Now I suggest you make yourself scarce. This is gonna get ugly."
Zarg shook his head, causing his floppy ears to bounce around. "No way. We've come this far, we won't abandon you now."
"That's right," Garz added. "And there's no sense in trying to talk us out of it either. We've got your back."
"Oh for cracked candy corn," Merope rolled her eyes, but secretly was grateful for all their help. "Well, come along then. Let's get this over with already."
They moved stealthily through the darkened corridors, thankful to not run into any of the many seedy creatures that inhabited the castle. The dim hallways might have been good for mood and atmosphere, but they did nothing for security. The two girls constantly had their hands on their weapons. (Merope had the golden sword, and Destiny had her father's thinner, lighter weight candy cane sword.) They came to a four-way intersection.
"Well, shall we split up?" Destiny whispered into Merope's ear.
"No," the taller girl said, looking down at her partner. "We need to stick together. Divided we fall, remember?"
Destiny nodded, and bit her lip. Her eyes never stopped scanning the area for uninvited visitors. Then she called behind her. "Do you guys know where we'd find any kind of prison or dungeon?"
"No," Garz squeaked. He was relieved he didn't know the dungeons. "But we do know where the Throne Room is. Would that be of any help?"
She exhaled loudly. "I guess."
They didn't need to travel far, as they were practically on top of the throne room as it was. Garz and Zarg trotted in front of the doors and stopped. "Here it is."
Garz's tiny hand extended into a real arm and he reached up to grasp the handle. "Now we're going to uh... Get bigger, so don't be alarmed." Both girls threw them questionable looks, but before either could ask for clarification, there was a soft pop and the creatures grew about ten feet. And Garz sprouted more legs and eyes, and both grew horns (Zarg's horns replaced his ears, btw). They weren't cute any more, now they looked dangerous.
Zarg grinned at them, showing off a mouth full of sharp, yellowed teeth. "Just in case." Then they pulled the doors open.
Marnie and Chris immediately stopped what they were doing and stared at them. Likewise, the girls also stared in disbelief. Finally, after a few tense seconds, Merope and Chris yelled "YOU!" And basically charged at the two silent ones. Marnie reacted to Merope's attack much quicker than Destiny did to Chris', throwing up a shield before she could actually think about it. Chris, fueled with rage and the rather irrational idea that Destiny had turned his parents against him (a thought that had been planted by Kal, no doubt), tackled his sister and closed his fingers around her neck. He didn't squeeze hard enough to do any harm, but simply pen her down and frighten her very much. "Well, if it isn't Ms. Precious. Did Mummy and Daddy really let you risk your neck like this, or did you actually go against their wishes for once. Wait, no, heaven forbid that!" He shook her, causing her to admit a terrified gurgle. Merope would have come to her aid had she been trying to hack her way through Marnie's shield with her sword and muttering curses not fit for a Disney based fan fic.
"You always were the favorite, MERRY," He spat her real name like it was a cuss word and shook her harder, this time actually applying pressure her throat. His eyes were glowing yellow. "Maybe if I got rid of you, then I could be the favorite! Then they would forget all about you!"
"Okay, that's enough, little man! Leave my friend alone!" Two strong hands yanked Chris away from his sister who gasped for air and coughed loud enough to gain Marnie's attention.
"Zarg? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be guarding the entrance from these people, not helping them!"
In that moment of distraction, her shield weakened and Merope broke through. She shoved Marnie into a wall and put the broad side of her sword to her neck, effectively pinning her there. "All this time, Mother, I though you were being held against your will. But now I understand. Now-" She noticed the strange eye necklace and her eyes narrowed. "What's this?" She yanked it off. Marnie screamed in pain, her eyes rolling back into her head. Her body went limp, and for fear of accidentally removing her mother's head, Merope withdrew her blade. Marnie dropped to the floor. Merope turned to Destiny. "Remove his necklace!"
Not needing to be told twice, Destiny unsheathed her sword, slid it under the chain, and pulled hard. The chain snapped, sending the eye flying at her. She caught it with a gloved hand and stuck it in her pocket. Chris didn't scream, but his thrashing stopped and he similarly went limp. Only then did the girls begin to breath.
However their moment of relief didn't last long. "What is going on here?" They turned to see Kal standing in the doorway, looking extremely annoyed. He looked from the girls, to his unconscious allies, to Garz and Zarg. As he realized what happened, his annoyance turned to anger. He held out his hands and mumbled something in Latin. Lightning surrounded the four humanoids and in a flash, they were gone. He turned to the monsters, a murderous tone in his voice. "You traitors! Do you have any idea what you have done?"
Zarg and Garz deflated immediately and held onto each other for dear life. The last thing they saw was Kal's dark aura, and then everything went black.
* * * *
The Portal regurgitated four figures. The girls landed on their feet, but the unconscious bodies landed unceremoniously in a heap. Immediately, Curtis and Maigri (the 'future' Maigri, not the one we've come to know and love) came running. "What happened?"
The explanation came in a confusing rush. Maigri held up his hand. "Come on, why don't you explain it to the council."
"You might want to send security to watch over these two," Merope stated as calmly as she could. "I don't know what they'll do when they wake up."
He nodded briskly. "I'll have a team down here immediately. In the meantime, Curtis, could you watch them?"
"Sure thing, bro."
And they disappeared around the corner before he could say anything else. But he understood that it was an emergency and they had no time to chat. He threw a weary glance at the two and frowned. Chris had been reported missing by his mother only two hours ago, but Marnie had been missing for considerably longer. He could only wonder where'd they'd been, and why Marnie didn't look a day older than the age she'd been when she disappeared.
* * * *
"Quinton!" Kal roared indignantly. "Get in here NOW!"
"Yes sir?" The former head of Research and Development now clad in leather and sporting a red Mohawk, ran into the room as fast as his legs could carry him.
"I want the labyrinth changed right now."
"But sir, it will take at least twelve hours-"
"It'll be five or it'll be your head, elf. Understand me? UNDERSTAND?" He towered over the elf, making him gulp. No one wanted to face the wrath of Kalabar Jr. Quinton knew that he wasn't kidding about having his head. He knew some good friends who'd met their end on a chopping block.
"Yes, sir," he squeaked. "Five it is. I'll get my team on it immediately." He turned to flee, but Kal stopped him. His tone was considerably quieter.
"Oh, and please take these two out to the garden. I'm sure they'll make wonderful additions to the collection." Kal motioned to the frozen forms of Garz and Zarg.
The elf nodded, a half smile creeping onto his face. "Indeed they will."
* * * *
A/N: Cliffy! Mwa-hahahahah! Review? *Shiny anime eyes* You know, there's only three chapters left. (Not including extras and stuff.) I can't believe it, I really can't. This will be the first story I've ever finished, and I swear I'll do it before summers over. Mark my words.
Chapter 19: Not So Empty Handed
* * * *
"Rettahs." Holding his hands out in front of him in a controlled manor, Chris watched in fascination as the shards of broken mirror hopped back into place and melted together. "Shatter." Again, they fell apart. He smiled. "Rettahs." Pop, they snapped together. "I think I have the hang of this now."
"I agree. You're a natural, Chris." Marnie rested her chin on his shoulder. "I say we move on to something a bit more complicated next. Like time travel."
He looked at her in the mirror. "You really think I'm ready for time travel?"
She shrugged. "Sure, why not? I mean, you're already a master at alchemy, and that's considered one of the hardest magical practices to get the hang of. People spend their whole lives trying to perfect their skills and they come nowhere near your abilities. And that reminds me..." She reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out the golden vial. "Kal said you made this for me?"
Chris blushed slightly and ducked his head into his collar. "Yeah, I hope it works as well as you wish. I've never tested it on anyone before, so I have no idea how it will work."
"I'll find out now, I guess." Before he could protest, she downed the contents of the vial in one gulp. Gagging, she made a face. "Wow, that's bitter." A moment passed, then her visage seemed to shimmer and ripple from head to toe in a warm golden glow. When it passed, she stood in front of the mirror and smiled with deep satisfaction. She now looked no more than a day over twenty. She touched her hair, now absolutely free of stray strands of silver, feeling strangely reminiscent of the days before Kal had captured her. But the nostalgic feeling passed with ease, and she turned to the teenager behind her and flashed him a sincere smile. "Nice job, Chris. You are officially my new favorite person." The comment made him turn an amusing shade of pink. Then a thought struck her. "I'm going to go tell Kal, I'll be right back. Okay?"
"Sure..." She rushed from the room, not really caring if he responded or not. Kal would be so excited, now that she wasn't looking old enough to be his mother. Being half mortal was a drag, considering it made her age like a full fledged mortal. And while she still didn't love Kal like THAT (ick, besides she WAS married, even if it felt like that was a part of another lifetime) she still highly valued his opinion. Although he didn't feel that way, she thought of him as an older brother now.
She reached the doorway to his room and stopped upon seeing it slightly ajar. Kal's subdued voice drifted out of the crack, hushed and thick with emotion. Quietly, she hid herself to where she could see him but he couldn't see her in turn, and watched him. Something about the tone of his voice gave her the impression that this was important, but she couldn't shake the feeling she'd become voyeur. She wasn't supposed to see this. But at the same time it was vital that she did.
Kal lit a candle, and stared into the flame. He tilted his head, as though listening to a voice Marnie could not hear. Then he lowered his eyes and spoke to the flame. "But I recruited the boy, just as you wished. He seemed a bit reluctant, but in the end... We had to trick him into taking the amulet, but he-" Kal grabbed the side of his head, and fell over as though he'd been pushed. "I KNOW that, but I could tell the good in him would turn me down eventually. It was the only choice." A beat. "Just like with Marnie. But that went fine, so I know this will be no different."
Marnie flinched at the sound of her name, but refused to move from the spot until she'd seen this through. The complete wrongness of the situation became more and more apparent the more she listened.
"I will try interrogating Agatha one more time, but I fear she won't tell me anything. She's a stubborn old bat, as you know. No, Father, I will not fail." Agatha? Father? This had gone from excitement, to a sneaking feeling, to blood-chilling dread. Needing to hear no more, and fearing what would happen if he caught her, Marnie turned and silently fled back to the Main Chamber.
"What's wrong?"
Marnie skidded to a stop and took a moment to catch her breath, resting her hands on her knees. "This is bad, Chris. Really bad."
Chris' eyebrows knit together in concern. "How? What happened?"
She lowered her voice. "I just heard Kal talking to someone he called his father."
"So?"
She snorted. "Kalabar is dead. He has been for over thirty years, almost forty now. And considering I couldn't see him..." She shuddered. "He's not a ghost. I'm pretty good friends with a lot of ghosts from Halloweentown, so I know what they look like. That seemed more like he was... As crazy as it sounds, I think he's INSIDE Kal."
"You mean he's possessed?"
She nodded, and chewed distractedly on her bottom lip. "And he said Agatha's here. And yet, he never told me that. I wonder where he's keeping her." She pulled on her necklace like she wanted to rip it off. "I gotta go help her."
A strange feeling bubbled up inside him. Empathy. Suddenly, he too wanted to rip off his necklace, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Vaguely, he knew it was holding him back, keeping him from being more of a help. At the same time he wanted to start a man-hunt, he also didn't give a lick. He squeezed the side of his head in frustration. "I don't know what to do."
"Me neither, but we should do something."
There was a moment of silence in which the whole incident seemed to evaporate from their minds. Their eyes glowed yellow for a moment, then faded. They shook their heads confusedly, as though they'd both completely lost their train of thought.
Finally, Marnie scratched her head and shrugged. "Want to get back to work?"
"Sure."
* * * *
Destiny and Merope followed Garz and Zarg out of a door, obscured by a tapestry depicting monsters running amok in a human village. "We're in!"
"Finally," Merope added with a frown. She turned to Garz and Zarg. "Thanks guys. Now I suggest you make yourself scarce. This is gonna get ugly."
Zarg shook his head, causing his floppy ears to bounce around. "No way. We've come this far, we won't abandon you now."
"That's right," Garz added. "And there's no sense in trying to talk us out of it either. We've got your back."
"Oh for cracked candy corn," Merope rolled her eyes, but secretly was grateful for all their help. "Well, come along then. Let's get this over with already."
They moved stealthily through the darkened corridors, thankful to not run into any of the many seedy creatures that inhabited the castle. The dim hallways might have been good for mood and atmosphere, but they did nothing for security. The two girls constantly had their hands on their weapons. (Merope had the golden sword, and Destiny had her father's thinner, lighter weight candy cane sword.) They came to a four-way intersection.
"Well, shall we split up?" Destiny whispered into Merope's ear.
"No," the taller girl said, looking down at her partner. "We need to stick together. Divided we fall, remember?"
Destiny nodded, and bit her lip. Her eyes never stopped scanning the area for uninvited visitors. Then she called behind her. "Do you guys know where we'd find any kind of prison or dungeon?"
"No," Garz squeaked. He was relieved he didn't know the dungeons. "But we do know where the Throne Room is. Would that be of any help?"
She exhaled loudly. "I guess."
They didn't need to travel far, as they were practically on top of the throne room as it was. Garz and Zarg trotted in front of the doors and stopped. "Here it is."
Garz's tiny hand extended into a real arm and he reached up to grasp the handle. "Now we're going to uh... Get bigger, so don't be alarmed." Both girls threw them questionable looks, but before either could ask for clarification, there was a soft pop and the creatures grew about ten feet. And Garz sprouted more legs and eyes, and both grew horns (Zarg's horns replaced his ears, btw). They weren't cute any more, now they looked dangerous.
Zarg grinned at them, showing off a mouth full of sharp, yellowed teeth. "Just in case." Then they pulled the doors open.
Marnie and Chris immediately stopped what they were doing and stared at them. Likewise, the girls also stared in disbelief. Finally, after a few tense seconds, Merope and Chris yelled "YOU!" And basically charged at the two silent ones. Marnie reacted to Merope's attack much quicker than Destiny did to Chris', throwing up a shield before she could actually think about it. Chris, fueled with rage and the rather irrational idea that Destiny had turned his parents against him (a thought that had been planted by Kal, no doubt), tackled his sister and closed his fingers around her neck. He didn't squeeze hard enough to do any harm, but simply pen her down and frighten her very much. "Well, if it isn't Ms. Precious. Did Mummy and Daddy really let you risk your neck like this, or did you actually go against their wishes for once. Wait, no, heaven forbid that!" He shook her, causing her to admit a terrified gurgle. Merope would have come to her aid had she been trying to hack her way through Marnie's shield with her sword and muttering curses not fit for a Disney based fan fic.
"You always were the favorite, MERRY," He spat her real name like it was a cuss word and shook her harder, this time actually applying pressure her throat. His eyes were glowing yellow. "Maybe if I got rid of you, then I could be the favorite! Then they would forget all about you!"
"Okay, that's enough, little man! Leave my friend alone!" Two strong hands yanked Chris away from his sister who gasped for air and coughed loud enough to gain Marnie's attention.
"Zarg? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be guarding the entrance from these people, not helping them!"
In that moment of distraction, her shield weakened and Merope broke through. She shoved Marnie into a wall and put the broad side of her sword to her neck, effectively pinning her there. "All this time, Mother, I though you were being held against your will. But now I understand. Now-" She noticed the strange eye necklace and her eyes narrowed. "What's this?" She yanked it off. Marnie screamed in pain, her eyes rolling back into her head. Her body went limp, and for fear of accidentally removing her mother's head, Merope withdrew her blade. Marnie dropped to the floor. Merope turned to Destiny. "Remove his necklace!"
Not needing to be told twice, Destiny unsheathed her sword, slid it under the chain, and pulled hard. The chain snapped, sending the eye flying at her. She caught it with a gloved hand and stuck it in her pocket. Chris didn't scream, but his thrashing stopped and he similarly went limp. Only then did the girls begin to breath.
However their moment of relief didn't last long. "What is going on here?" They turned to see Kal standing in the doorway, looking extremely annoyed. He looked from the girls, to his unconscious allies, to Garz and Zarg. As he realized what happened, his annoyance turned to anger. He held out his hands and mumbled something in Latin. Lightning surrounded the four humanoids and in a flash, they were gone. He turned to the monsters, a murderous tone in his voice. "You traitors! Do you have any idea what you have done?"
Zarg and Garz deflated immediately and held onto each other for dear life. The last thing they saw was Kal's dark aura, and then everything went black.
* * * *
The Portal regurgitated four figures. The girls landed on their feet, but the unconscious bodies landed unceremoniously in a heap. Immediately, Curtis and Maigri (the 'future' Maigri, not the one we've come to know and love) came running. "What happened?"
The explanation came in a confusing rush. Maigri held up his hand. "Come on, why don't you explain it to the council."
"You might want to send security to watch over these two," Merope stated as calmly as she could. "I don't know what they'll do when they wake up."
He nodded briskly. "I'll have a team down here immediately. In the meantime, Curtis, could you watch them?"
"Sure thing, bro."
And they disappeared around the corner before he could say anything else. But he understood that it was an emergency and they had no time to chat. He threw a weary glance at the two and frowned. Chris had been reported missing by his mother only two hours ago, but Marnie had been missing for considerably longer. He could only wonder where'd they'd been, and why Marnie didn't look a day older than the age she'd been when she disappeared.
* * * *
"Quinton!" Kal roared indignantly. "Get in here NOW!"
"Yes sir?" The former head of Research and Development now clad in leather and sporting a red Mohawk, ran into the room as fast as his legs could carry him.
"I want the labyrinth changed right now."
"But sir, it will take at least twelve hours-"
"It'll be five or it'll be your head, elf. Understand me? UNDERSTAND?" He towered over the elf, making him gulp. No one wanted to face the wrath of Kalabar Jr. Quinton knew that he wasn't kidding about having his head. He knew some good friends who'd met their end on a chopping block.
"Yes, sir," he squeaked. "Five it is. I'll get my team on it immediately." He turned to flee, but Kal stopped him. His tone was considerably quieter.
"Oh, and please take these two out to the garden. I'm sure they'll make wonderful additions to the collection." Kal motioned to the frozen forms of Garz and Zarg.
The elf nodded, a half smile creeping onto his face. "Indeed they will."
* * * *
A/N: Cliffy! Mwa-hahahahah! Review? *Shiny anime eyes* You know, there's only three chapters left. (Not including extras and stuff.) I can't believe it, I really can't. This will be the first story I've ever finished, and I swear I'll do it before summers over. Mark my words.
