Alright, people! This story, and this season, is coming to a close very soon! I'm so excited, but sad as well. Well, I guess it's not like there won't be more stories, just…not for a little while. But let's not dwell on that…
chyp: Everybody seems to be getting new powers, but I guess that's gonna happen when fifteen years just fly by, you know. Thanx for the review.
Raya X: I'm glad you got so emotional! I cried as I was typing it. It never crossed my mind that it was so close to the whole Chris dying thing. Dare I say I forgot about that?
Quillsandbolts: 'Nothing short of literal' could mean just about anything, when you think about it. But, in this story there's only one meaning…just look below. It's not terribly original; I've seen it before…
Instead of freezing his brothers again, he froze them…solid! Slowly, ice formed from their feet up to their heads, encasing them completely in ice. Wesley fell to the floor, landing on his feet. He walked to his frozen brothers. The ice was extremely thick. It would take a while for even them to fight their way out of it.
"Now that's a freezing power with kick," he commented to himself, slightly upset that no one was around to hear it. He picked up the Book, which Matthew had dropped, and finished reading the spell.
"Back to the place I hold in mind,
Turn back clock and time unwind.
Let this pattern be erased;
Weave again the cloth of Fate."
In a swirl of white light, he was gone from the mansion.
Miles quickly dashed away, leaving his enemies to follow. As he ran, he reached inside his pocket and threw a handful of marbles behind him, which all three brothers slipped on. They all fell on top of each other, more annoyed than upset.
"We've been against a lot worse demons than this," Wesley commented, "but I just straight hate this guy! Wait, I've said that before! I'm back!"
"Stop talking to yourself," James said, jumping up. "Let's go! He's running into Branham. We can't let him get too far."
Miles had built up quite a lead, making it that much harder for the brothers to catch up to him. As they stormed through the lobby of the residence hall, they ignored all of the stares they were getting from the students who were watching television or playing pool or just hanging around. They stopped in the middle of the lobby, having no idea where Miles could have gone. Then Matthew heard a door slam.
"That way," he pointed to the entrance of the Branham residence halls.
"Let's go!" James called out as he and his brothers continued their chase.
Miles had made it to the first floor of the Branham residence halls, the same floor on which James, Matthew, and Wesley lived. He bolted down the long hall as the brothers made their way inside. They saw him just as he was about to take to the stairs. Once he was out of sight, he would be impossible to find. The stairs led upstairs as well as outside. It was practically a labyrinth. Just as Miles put his hand on the doorknob, Wesley quickly and frantically waved his hands while running. Miles froze instantly.
"That was close," Wesley said, then added to himself, "of course it was close, it was like that the first time."
"Good job, little bro," James congratulated.
"Agreed," Matthew said, digging into his pocket to remove a slip of paper. "Now let's finish this."
"Yeah," Wesley said, "but let's do it right this time."
Wesley quickly spun around and froze the gathering mass of curious students that had gathered behind them. They wanted to know what was going on and why the three brothers were chasing some unknown guy. Thankfully, though, Wesley had just made sure that they would never know.
James and Matthew both exchanged confused expressions. They had completely forgotten about the possibility of a crowd forming. They breathed a sigh of relief. They also had not missed the words "this time," as Wesley had said before. They didn't know what it all meant, but there would be a time for asking questions later. Matthew held out the paper for them to all read.
"Abracadabra! Alakazam!
This Trickster's schemes are all a scam.
Hocus pocus, one two three,
We call upon the power of the Complete
To send this evil entity
To Hell for all eternity!"
As the brothers finished the spell, a breeze slowly formed and rushed through the hall. A vortex of energy surrounded the warlock, who was still frozen, swirling around him. The breeze grew stronger as the vortex became more and more powerful. Then, the force of the vortex tore Miles apart and he exploded in a shower of confetti.
"Now that's a vanquish!" Wesley said, beating James to the punch.
"I can't believe that we were that close to being exposed," James said.
"Me neither," Matthew agreed. "Who knows what could've happened?"
"I'm just glad it's over and done with," Wesley added. "I'm tired. I'm going to bed."
Wesley left James' dorm room and returned to his own across the hall. He was exhausted, but he had no idea why. He felt like something had happened to him besides vanquishing Miles, but whatever it was stayed just outside of his grasp. Eventually he dismissed the notion and plopped down onto his bed, falling asleep instantly.
"He was acting weird," Matthew said to James after Wesley left. "He sounded like this had all happened before."
"I think it's all the stuff going on with us lately," James said. "I'm leaving, Lina's become crazy, all the attacks, everything. I think this Miles thing probably pushed him over the edge."
"Maybe you're right," Matthew sighed. "I think, though, that we need to deal with some other issues before we go to sleep."
Issues? What issues? Oh well…and poor Wesley; I mean, he just found his father and everything and now he doesn't seem to have a clue about him. He's back where he started! At least he got to save the world, so to speak.
