Gamer To Farmer

Chapter 21: The Goddess and Witch Fight!

A/N: It's been a long time since I told anyone about how well Mage is doing. Monday we were scheduled to move into our first home together. Our parents and friends chipped in to pay for rent until we are done school. Unfortunately, these plans got scrapped yesterday. Mage had to go back to the hospital because it hurt when she moved her one leg. Apparently, the cancer in that part of her body decided to wreck her leg. Now, she's stuck on crutches and can't climb the stairs in our house. So, that cancels that plan. A second curse of the cancer is that she lost her hair earlier in the week. To top everything off, we both lost grandparents to cancer on Monday and Thursday. I'm considering it payback for killing off Epona, so that is why I am clearing up that incident. I've already included your prayers and well wishes with what I've been doing, so I've got you guys covered.

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"How did you miss?" I heard someone ask in disbelief. The trail ends of the gunshot's echo still vibrated through the town square. I had my back to the incident and had no idea what happened. I looked up to Neil to see a complete look of surprise across his face.

"I don't know! I aimed right at her head so that it would be quick and relatively painless; but the bullet curved wildly!" The owner of the gun replied.

I had to take a look to see what had happened. Elli had covered the eyes and ears of the children, trying to keep the little ones from being corrupted by death at such a tender young age. Slowly I turned my head to look at the still suffering Epona. Sure enough, she was still breathing. Near her head was a smoking bullet embedded into the cobblestone.

"Maybe it's a sign from somewhere higher up." Pastor Carter suggested. The others looked at him in mock disbelief. But, then again, what could explain it?

It was then that I realized what had happened. I looked over towards where I had seen the Witch before the race. Sure enough, she was still there. She had ripped away the bandages from her face and was thrashing them about in a crazed manner. Suddenly she stopped, a look of horror crossing her face as she caught a glimpse of something behind me.

I looked back over my shoulder to see what it was that had the Witch so frightened. The other villagers had all stopped what they were doing and were looking in the same direction. A bright white light enshrouded the person as she entered the square. The Harvest Goddess was making a rare public appearance.

The Goddess looked directly at me, shaking her head. "You should have known better. I've been protecting you from all of my sister's antics and what do you try doing? You gave up and almost let her succeed in murdering something dear to you. Did you not think that my protection included your family and farm animals? I could easily heal a broken leg, but not a life snapped short."

The villagers quickly backed away from Epona as the Harvest Goddess knelt beside the horse. Epona had been putting up a struggle as soon as she had heard the gun fire. Now, the Goddess place a reassuring hand on Epona's forehead, instantly calming the beast.

"Not so fast, sister!" A voice called from the opposite side of the square. I looked over to see the Witch making her way through the crowd. The two were on the verge of a public confrontation of epic proportions.

The crowd had backed away a fair distance from the two supernatural beings. The Harvest Goddess took one look at her sister and shook her head. "I knew that you were behind this. I've had enough of you. I will ask you kindly. Get out of my village!" With this threat, the Goddess got up to her feet, passing a hand over Epona's leg as she did so. Nearly instantaneously, Epona climbed to her feet. I quickly stepped in and led Epona to the bewildered villagers.

The Witch was fuming. Healing Epona had probably added another mark to the dreaded chalkboard. Sure enough, the mere thought of the tally board seemed to spark a debate. A puff of smoke appeared between the two divinities, clearing to reveal the chalkboard of fate. A piece of chalk floated in the air, marking another score for the Goddess. The board had barely an empty space visible among the sea of white scratches.

The Witch and Goddess leaned in and began counting up their own tallies. It would have been an amusing scene to witness if the circumstances had been different. As it was, I was certain that this was going to be the final count. The victor would certainly banish the loser from the village. The Witch had finished her count and stated, triumphantly, "Seven hundred twenty-one thousand eight hundred and fifty marks. I believe that makes this town mine."

A gasp escaped the crowd. I guess that they had figured that the Witch was an evil version of the Harvest Goddess who they had been praying to their entire lives. You could imagine their surprise when the Harvest Goddess began chuckling. "What's so funny?" The Witch demanded.

"I've got seven hundred twenty-one thousand eight hundred and fifty marks as well." The Goddess stated. I didn't want to know what other deeds that they had been doing that had gotten the score up so high. They probably sat in the forest, killing and resurrecting flowers in endless cycles of a battle of wits. Poor flowers.

"So, it's a tie. Next one to get a mark wins. Now, who should I kill?" The Witch pondered as she overlooked the crowd. Her wandering eyes stopped first on Barley, then on Doug, then Thomas, Jack, little Jack, and Stu. She finally stopped, a smirk crossing her black lips as she stopped at me. "The source of my troubles. You're going to be the first to die in my rein of terror."

I looked around nervously. The Harvest Goddess had gone around the crowd handing out candy. She was completely oblivious to the black magical sphere that the Witch had created and was now aiming at me. I think that she belonged in that mental asylum that my mother had tried placing me in. I noticed that someone had broken away from the crowd and was approaching the Witch.

Elli had handed the children off to the two other family members and was making her way up to the Witch. She placed one hand on the unsuspecting shoulder of the red headed deity. The Witch turned her head to see who was interrupting her, only to receive one of the meanest slaps that I've ever seen. "You're the one who's been causing all of these problems. Everything! Tint's mother, his shoulder injury, even Tim. Nobody messes with my family and gets away with it!"

The Witch held one hand up to her cheek, trying to stop the sting. In her other hand she still clutched the black sphere. With one swift movement, the Witch launched the death ball at the unprotected Elli.

Everything seemed to turn to slow motion. Elli looked down into the black mass that embodied her incoming demise. She then looked over at me, mouthing the words, "I love you." I was sure that this was going to be the end.

A lightning fast dart of white light caught the black sphere mere fractions of any unit of measurement away from Elli's stomach. The two opposing forces waged their own tiny battle as the sphere was knocked harmlessly aside. "What the…" The Witch exclaimed as she watched her magic be overpowered.

The Harvest Goddess stood beside the blackboard, her one finger glowing white as it pointed at the Witch. "I saved Elli. That counts as a point." The Harvest Goddess exclaimed as she picked up the piece of chalk.

"NO!!!" The Witch screamed as the Harvest Goddess placed the chalk against the board, purposefully sliding the white solid down across her side.

"I've won. Now, this will be the last time I tell you this before I have to carry out this order in a physical manner. Leave my village and never come back." The Goddess demanded.

"You have no proof of the score." The Witch lied.

The Harvest Goddess merely pointed at the chalkboard. The Witch shrugged her shoulders carelessly. Then, in a surprising move, the Witch launched another black sphere, this one completely destroying the chalkboard. "I see your point." The Harvest Goddess commented sarcastically.

The crowd was still watching in awe at the mere sight of the two guardian forces of Mineral Town. I had joined them, pulling Elli with me. "I have a feeling that this is going to become very violent soon." I told the crowd as the Goddess and Witch eyed each other.

"I agree with you. I think that everyone should go find a safe place until this thing comes to a conclusion." Thomas suggested. The crowd readily agreed, with a vast majority of them silently making their way towards the Inn. The only ones who were left in the square were myself, Neil, Jack, Rick, and Thomas. "Good luck boys. Don't interfere unless the Goddess is losing." The mayor told us as he ran off to join the others.

The four of us looked at each other in understanding. We were going to be the last line between Mineral Town and the evil Witch. "Why are you still here?" Jack asked Rick, obviously thinking that the poultry raiser wouldn't be of much use.

"I've got family that I've got to protect. Tint's been getting all the glory, so I figured that I could take a small chunk of it this time. What about you?" Rick honestly replied.

Jack scratched the stubble of a beard that he was growing. "We don't get this quality of entertainment back in Forget-Me-Not Valley." His confession caused us all to laugh.

Meanwhile, the Witch and Goddess continued their stare down match. One of them had taken the race track and tossed it aside. The rain was still pouring, forming an unrelenting torrent of pressure. Large puddles of water and mud dotted the square, turning the normally tranquil setting into a battlefield awaiting the combatants.

The Witch made the first move, launching a black sphere that was easily knocked out of the air by a light dart. After a few more of the ineffective black spheres were incapacitated, the Witch charged in for a physical attack. Her rash decision caught the Harvest Goddess by surprise, allowing her to land two healthy slaps across the face.

The Harvest Goddess stumbled back a few steps. The Witch saw this as an opening and charged in for another round of bare palmed beatings. The good side of the battling duo had been waiting for this. She easily stepped aside, grabbing a huge handful of red hair as the Witch stumbled past. The Witch let out a painful scream as her sister gave a violent tug at the hair.

"I don't know if I should be watching this, but I can't take my eyes away from it. I feel like I owe them money for this. Maybe I could get my girlfriends to reenact this later." Neil was having a philosophical conversation with himself as he watched the two female guardians degrade themselves into a catfight for the control of Mineral Town. Jack had been right; this was some high quality entertainment.

The Witch had managed to knock the Harvest Goddess to the ground. She then placed one foot against the Goddesses' neck, holding her down. The evil supernatural being prepped a new dark sphere of death and aimed it at the Goddess who was pinned amongst the mud. "Say goodbye sister." The Witch ordered as an evil smile crossed her face.

The four of us guys looked at each other. It looked like it was our turn to step in. We spread out and rushed in to the Goddesses' rescue. The Witch looked up in surprise to find herself surrounded. Neil was closest, preparing to put his football skills to full use. The Witch obviously considered him to be the biggest threat, so she launched her magic at my brother.

Neil twisted to one side, just barely evading the death ball. I didn't want to see what one of those things could do to someone. The momentary distraction gave the Harvest Goddess enough free time to push away the Witch's foot. The two divinities launched their spells at each other again only to result in the two negating each other again.

Jack had caught the Witch off-guard, tackling her off her feet and driving her into the ground. Neil joined in on the pile, happy to get the chance to cause some hurting. By the time Rick and I got close enough to do anything, the other two had hauled the Witch up to her feet, presenting her to the Harvest Goddess. The Witch was struggling wildly, but the wind had been knocked out her by one of the two's tackles. She soon gave up on the useless battle to free herself.

The Harvest Goddess stooped to look into the face of her sister. "Once again, I win. Looks like the older sister is still the better." The Goddess commented with a smirk.

"Go ahead and kill me. I don't care." The Witch spat out at the Harvest Goddess.

The green haired protector of Mineral Town shook her head. "I have something much better than that planned. I'm calling Mom and Dad."

The look of horror in the Witch's face was priceless. "No, no, no! Anything but that! Come on, I'm begging you! I'll do anything! I'll do your chores! I'll take the blame for crashing the car! I'll hook you up with that cute gothic guy that you like!"

Neil and I looked at each other in amusement. We had had these kinds of conversations many times before. Bribing a sibling was always the first step in any bargaining plea. But, cute and gothic???
The Goddess was obviously thinking over the offer. "All of those things plus, I want your poster of Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp." The Goddess suggested.

The Witch fell to her knees, begging. "Not Orlando and Johnny!"

The Harvest Goddess shook her head, producing a cell phone. "Too bad. Look's like Mom and Dad are going to hear about this." The Goddess began dialing a number.

"Alright! Take it! You win." The Witch admitted, clearly accepting defeat.

"Much better." The good half of the sister duo announced, closing her phone. The Goddess approached the Witch and took hold of her arms. "Thanks for your help, guys." She commented as the two females vanished from the square.

The four of us looked at each other. We all seemed to have the same question on our minds. "She's into gothic guys?" I asked, not believing what I had heard.

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A/N: There we go! Much better. I fixed my mistake and I made what appeared to be a serious fight turn into nothing more than a sisterly battle for possession of things. I must state at this time that I do not own the actors Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. Putting them in was Mage's idea, so that could technically make this chapter a joint piece of work. That does it. I hope I cheered you guys up after that depressing author's note at the start. Thanks for reading and keep us in your prayers. This is Tint and Mage signing out on Chapter 21 of Gamer to Farmer.