Very long chap this time! Hope you all like it!
Chap: What was needed…..
"Yes. The boy Cedric needs your help."
"Boy?" Taranee asked. "We're talking about Cedric, right? I thought he was in his twenties."
"At least," Cornelia said. "He did own a bookshop in Heatherfeild, you know."
The mage nodded in acknowledgement. "Though his human form appears older, he is actually a boy, no more than seventeen years old."
Cornelia couldn't help the next words out of her mouth. "If his human form is this hot as twenty, he's bound to be a total babe younger."
The other four guardians, even Hay Lin, turned around and stared at the earth guardian.
"What? I'm just saying…."Cornelia muttered, blushing in embarrassment.
"Sorry for the interruption from Miss Boy-Obsessed," Irma said, rolling her eyes.
The Mage smiled, her mind going back to the former guardians. They had been much like this long ago. Brash and brave, without much regard for ancient magics due to unfamiliarity. She refocused on the task at hand. "I read his thoughts to discern where the magic I have been sensing from him originated and found out what had been done. Cedric was the son of a merchant in Meridian"—
"Wait, wait. Hold on, here. I don't mean to be rude, but what? Cedric's human?" Will asked incredulously.
"But, he transforms," Taranee said dazedly.
"Into a huge, scaly, snake thing," Hay Lin said.
"He was not always a changeling," the Mage replied. "He was born human, but was very sickly for most of his life. His father kept him in the shop, only allowing him to work the ledgers."
"That's the accounts, blondie," Irma whispered.
Cornelia just seethed, not wanting to admit that she hadn't known what that meant.
"But he longed to go out and be like other young men his age. If nothing else, he wanted to be of greater use to his father. So when the call came for workers in the castle, he was eager for the job."
"And ran into Phobos," Will said grimly.
"Indeed. The prince offered to give Cedric a chance to be completely normal. To finally help his father and impress his peers. And Phobos took advantage of the boy's hope. He was bewitched with a terrible spell that will require your help to break."
"So all this time, Cedric's not really a villain? He's just a victim of Phobos'?" Hay Lin asked. The Mage nodded. "Oh, that poor boy," she said, sounding heartbroken.
"Just what sort of spell are we talking about?" Will asked. She lifted the pendant from her chest to hold in her palm, "This kind of spell, or the serious mojo stuff?"
"This kind of spell is really a charm. A wicked charm that was placed into Cedric by Phobos in such a way that only another magic user can get it out."
"Which is where we come in. But why? Can't you do it yourself? You're powerful, right?" Cornelia asked.
"Uh, Cornelia, I think if she could have, she wouldn't have called us," Taranee replied.
"There is a part of the spell that I cannot do on my own, so I have summoned you to help me," the Mage answered. "Are you willing?"
"Sure," Will shrugged.
The Mage lowered her hood, staring intently at the girls as the light reflected off her pale skin. "Do not walk into this lightly. What I'm about to tell you is a terrible part of Meridian's past, and it will require a sacrifice on your part to accomplish."
The girls looked nervously at each other, contemplating this new bit of info. "Um, lets hear the history part first and then decide," Taranee said.
The sorceress nodded. "The charm is known as the Athix Charm, a powerful magical item that can make anyone into a changeling. It was forged by Lord Patheld, a dark magician of the ancient court of Meridian. He used his work to terrorize the nobility of the time, to try to create fear and paranoia and start a rebellion against the kingdom. He nearly succeeded before the first Guardians managed to divine his plot and stop him in time. They burned down his tower and all the items within it, and it was thought that the Athix Charm was among the melted parts of the rubble. Its plain to see that this was not the case.
"So it came somehow to Phobos. The charm can also be used to control the one under its influence, granting the caster complete sway over the victim. Phobos used it on Cedric in a way I had never seen before.
"Normally, the charm is used for simple purposes, because those in magical trances never do as well as someone in control of their own faculties. You saw this during the incident with the Horn of Hypnos. But Phobos found a way to have the controlling effects while leaving enough consciousness to perform well and have ideas of their own. Or rather, his own."
"What do you mean, his own?"
"Phobos forced a piece of his essence into Cedric, making him completely loyal and capable to do anything his master bid him. The ultimate form of brain-washing. Cedric the boy no longer truly existed. There was only Phobos and the monster he chose to make Cedric into." She let the girls absorb that fact for a moment before she continued. "This is where I require your help. Phobos forced his essence on Cedric by an unspeakable act."
Will stared at the Mage, very afraid of what the woman was about to say. "What act?"
"He raped him."
It took a minute for the full impact to be comprehended. But when it really sank in, the girls gasped in shock.
Taranee felt her jaw drop. "He did what?"
"Oh," Irma breathed, "terrible mental image."
"Can't you show some sensitivity for once in your life?" Cornelia snapped at the water guardian. She looked away, horrified. "I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy."
"I didn't mean it like that!" Irma exclaimed. "I mean, I'm not heartless. But I just can't imagine that happening to anyone. To do that to someone is lower than scum."
"So how do we get the essence out of him?" Will asked, quieting the girls.
"This is where a sacrifice will be required. I can remove the charm, so that he cannot change form again, but if I attempt to remove the essence from him, it would kill him in a matter of days. Phobos wanted Cedric as a backup plan so that if he was captured, the changeling would be compelled to come rescue him, no matter what the circumstances."
Taranee scowled, fire briefly flaring from her fingertips. "Rotten, lousy, son-of-a"—
"To remove it without harming him, another's essence must take its place."
Will's eyes went wide. "Um…….how exactly would we do that?"
"In the same manner that Phobos used. One of you must give your own piece to him, in effect, becoming his new 'master.'"
"But-but that's slavery!" Taranee shouted, outraged. "I'm not just going to stand by and let that happen!"
"You would not be in control of him," the mage replied. "This would be a temporary dosage until his spirit is repaired enough to force it out. But it must be done."
Irma raised her hand. "So how exactly do we get our essence in him?"
The woman swallowed a bit, knowing that this was not going to be easy on anyone. "Whether done knowingly or not, essence is exchanged whenever sex occurs."
"Sex?" Taranee squeaked.
She nodded. "One of you must lay with him."
Instantly, Cornelia shouted, "I'm out!"
"I've got a boyfriend!" Will shouted out.
"I-I've got Timmy," Irma jumped in. "Yeah, Timmy, that's it….."
"Oh, no! I'm not doing this!" Taranee cried. "I have a hard enough time just getting a date, let alone having—having"—she blushed to the roots of her hair. "No way, Jose!
Hay Lin shrugged. "I'll do it."
"Now there has to be some other way to do thi---what?" Will said, breaking off her sentence. She whirled to face her friend. "What did you say?"
"I'll do it," the air guardian said, louder this time. "After all, I'm a Pisces."
The girls stared at her. "What's that got to do with anything?" Cornelia asked.
"What, you don't know? Pisces are all love machines!" The girl replied.
"Maybe you need to think about this some more," Will said slowly. "I mean, are you sure you want to do this?"
"Well," she sighed, "I know that I'm flighty, and not very coordinated. I know that I'm not exactly the most responsible of the group."
Cornelia nodded her head in agreement. Irma saw and jabbed her elbow in the girl's side.
"But I—I guess that if it means saving someone from a horrible spell, then its for a good cause, right?"
The girls had no real answer for that. "Are you sure?" Irma asked. She came over to her friend's side, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Are you really sure about this, birdie-girl?"
The air guardian smiled at her, a little shakily. "As sure as I'll ever be." She turned to the Mage. "So, what do I need to do to get ready? Or should I just show up in a teddy or something?"
The mage lifted her hand and touched Hay Lin's shoulder. "You are very brave to do this. I cannot think of many willing to be so compassionate."
The girl fidgeted under so much attention. "Um, can we do this soon? Before I loose my nerve."
"Very well. I shall make the preparations."
"Hold on, now," Will interjected. "Cedric is currently still a villain, as he is. He'll tear Hay Lin to shreds."
"Do not worry. I shall remove the charm from him before Hay Lin goes in. It will take most of the essence with it, so his real personality should be dominate. He will be very drained and disoriented, so you must be careful not to hurt him."
"You know, I get the distinct feeling that this is not what a young girl normally hears for her first time pep talk," Irma commented, giving Hay Lin's arm a squeeze. "Can't we have a little time to get ready?"
"How about getting a second opinion?" Cornelia asked.
"I have consulted many books and tomes to find an alternate solution, but this is the only way that will leave Cedric alive after a week," the Mage replied.
"Its okay, girls, I'm fine. We can go on ahead and do this. Oh, can somebody make up some story for my parents for why I'm not home? I've used the whole study group thing way too many times." The girl shifted nervously.
"Alright, when Hay Lin is the only one thinking straight, we've got a problem," Will said numbly.
"Don't worry, we'll take care of things on our side," Taranee promised. "You just worry about yourself."
"Believe me, I'm worrying enough as it is," she muttered.
Irma touched her arm. "You don't have to do this. We can find some other way, I'm sure of it."
"No, its fine. Besides, I want to meet the real Cedric," Hay Lin blushed.
Cornelia shook her head, bemusedly. "So you did have a crush on him after all."
"Ew," Taranee couldn't help saying.
Hay Lin blushed furiously. "No, I"—
"No, you idiot, not on the snake thing! Jeez, use that cranium you're famous for. She liked his human form before we found out what he was," the earth guardian explained.
"Oh," the fire guardian blushed. "Sorry, birdie."
"No problem," Hay Lin fidgeted. "Um, can we hurry up with this?"
"I am almost done with the preparations," the Mage replied. She held her hands in front of her, palms facing each other, a glowing ball of energy forming between them. Suddenly, a brilliant flash of light made everyone cover their eyes. When they could see over all the flash spots in their eyes, the girls gasped.
A small twisted mass of red metal had appeared in her hands, and what looked like dark green smoke obscuring it from sight. The Mage frowned in concentration, and light began to burn the smoke away. When the last of the smoke had cleared, she looked back to them all. "This is the Athix charm," the sorceress said, strained. She looked even paler from the efforts of her magic. "I will use all my power to destroy it once and for all." She looked over to the young air guardian. "Now it is up to you."
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