Shadows of Schala – Chapter Eleven
"Let us try this mad thing!" Magus declared. He looked down, floated and focused the full power of his Black Hole attack on the stricken Orion.
The mingled blue and gold sparkles of Prime's Cure Beam and Alpha's strongest Cure spell collided in Magus' Black Hole spell and writhed around Orion. Their full magical energy spent, all three stared down at the still form on the ground, then glanced over to where Elora sat leaning weakly against one of the shadow trees.
"It should work. Logically, Magus' Black Hole spell can't send Orion anywhere since he is already in a Shadow Dimension, so it should have made him susceptible to the combined healing spell..." Elora's explanation petered out as her own injuries sapped her strength.
"Wha, what did you guys do to me?" Orion demanded weakly struggling to sit up. "I'm beginning to think that dying and being restored by the Chrono Trigger was easier on me than this whole adventure has been!"
"Joking? Obviously you are fine," Magus flicked his cloak mock-disdainfully out of the way as he turned from Orion to kneel next to Elora. He was worried about her too, though Prime's lasers hadn't injured her as much as the Seeker's spell had hurt Orion.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just getting just the tiniest bit weary of waking up to see all your worried faces staring down at me," Orion explained.
"'Tis better than the alternative!" Alpha pointed out, reaching down to help Orion to his feet.
"The best alternative would be to not get so injured in the first place!" Orion retorted.
"True, but some things are unavoidable," Prime suggested. "Not like my attack on Elora..."
"Oh, save me from the remorseful robot!" Magus griped. "Get over here, bucket of bolts!"
"Hey!" Orion complained.
"No, do not worry. It is merely Magus' weak attempt at affection," Prime replied. "What do you require?"
"Elora's injuries aren't as severe as Orion's were, but I believe the same sort of combined spell would help her. So, be ready to use your Cure Beam on her," Magus commanded.
"I can assist..." Alpha began.
"No, I'm certain Prime wants to be the one to cure her," Magus told him.
"Indeed. If she trusts me after what I did to her, that is."
"Of course I trust you, Prime! It's just..." Elora stopped, her eyes going wide behind her thick lenses. "Does it have to be...that Shadow attack?"
"You still don't trust me, is that it?" Magus realized. It stung him a little that Elora distrusted him. He was fairly certain that the reservations that Prime and Orion had once held for him had been relieved, if not completely, than mostly so during the course of this shared adventure. He rather thought that even Alpha trusted him more or less too. It was only Elora who still looked at him with fearful eyes. More than anything in the world right now he wanted to take that fear away for her.
He reached for her hand, took a deep breath and resolved to be as sincere as he knew how to erase that fear.
"You, yourself, discovered this healing application for my Shadow magic here. It is your understanding that led us to realize that my Black Hole spell, which normally banishes a target to a Shadow Realm works differently in a Shadow Realm. And because of that, we were able to heal Orion, right? So why would it not work in the same way to help heal you?"
"Not fair to try to use logic on me," Elora grumbled. "But it's not my mind that has reservations, Magus. It's my heart. I don't trust you."
Trust Elora to state it so bluntly. It hurt, a little, to hear it out loud, but Magus admitted to himself that her honesty about it was better than trying to hide it. The truth had been such an elusive thing while he was growing up under Ozzie's "care" that Magus had never really known where he stood. At least with Elora he knew.
"Aw, come on, Elora. Don't be such a baby! I'm just fine, you will be too!" Orion chided.
Magus surprised himself when he realized that he could figure out what Elora was going through by watching her eyes. She didn't want to seem like "a baby" in front of her friends, or Magus either, but she was scared.
"Although, it was pretty bold of her to admit that she is frightened and not trusting of me in the first place. This has been really hard on her. Her friend is missing, she's stuck here with all of us..." Magus blinked and looked around at everyone else. Orion, Alpha, Prime, himself...
"It's been hard on you being the only girl in this group, hasn't it?" he finally asked aloud. "No one to talk to about your feelings, no one to share observations with..." he realized softly.
Elora's eyes went wide behind her eyeglass lenses. Her lips thinned as she pressed them together and turned her head away.
"Go... away..." she whispered harshly.
"What?" Magus questioned.
"Go AWAY!" Elora shouted. "Just go, get away from me!"
"Come," Alpha touched Magus' shoulder in a gesture that insistently urged him to stand. "Elora needeth some space."
"I don't understand, what's the problem?" Magus demanded as he followed Alpha through the shadow trees. Absently he noticed that Orion followed.
"Prime will stay with her," Orion told him. "I think you hit the nail on the head with realizing that. It's obvious that Elora still doesn't trust you, so it's upsetting her that you, of all of us, are the one to realize how alone she's been. I've known her longer than any of you. I should have realized..."
"Dost not blame thyself. Thou hast known her longer, and for that reason, thou wouldn't notice her distress. She canst hide such things from thee more easily," Alpha suggested.
"But why hide it at all?" Magus wondered.
"Who knows? Who can understand the female mind except another female?" Orion offered.
"Oh, bother!" Alpha exclaimed. "Doom-glows! Shall we discharge some of our frustration in mayhem upon these evil shadow-creatures?"
"Works for me! It'll give Prime a bit more time to help Elora calm down too," Orion grinned as he drew his sword.
"Somehow I think she would kick you in the shins if she heard you put it that way," Magus noted as he too readied his weapon.
"Yeah, probably. But then I'd know she was back to her old self!" Orion laughed. "Hey! Watch it!" he complained as the monster bits from Alpha's first attack sailed toward him in a bloody mess. "You almost hit me with that goop!"
"Less talk. More fight," Alpha directed shortly.
-----
"Elora! Does this make sense to you? My lightning spells are all at full strength now," Orion asked as they walked up to where they had left Elora and Prime. She wasn't leaning against the tree anymore. Prime had seated himself and she was leaning up against the robot's side.
"We have been here for a while. The gurus said our spells would strengthen the longer we stayed," Elora suggested.
"Right, but why would mine be at full strength when Alpha's aren't? We've been here the same amount of time!"
"Hmmm..." She pondered, looking up at Orion. Suddenly, her eyes widened behind her glasses.
"Oh, no!"
"What? What's wrong?" Orion demanded.
"No, no – that can't be it..." Elora nearly moaned. "But, it is the only variable..."
"Elora..."
"What ail'eth you?" Alpha asked, kneeling next to Elora. "The effect does not last long, but I have the mystical strength to heal thee."
The expression Elora turned into the frog knight's face was distressed.
"Fear isn't something you can heal," she remarked sadly.
"All of us have been here for the same amount of time. Magus' magic is untouched, or even perhaps made stronger, since he uses Shadow, correct? And now Orion's magic is functioning at full strength. All of us have had the same experiences here, fighting the monsters, breathing the air, even slowly absorbing some of the Shadow all around us. But only Orion can use his magic properly, with the exception of Magus," Elora stated slowly.
"Aye, that is correct. 'Tis a mystery," Alpha agreed.
"No, it's no mystery." Elora shook her head. "Orion has had one experience we haven't shared."
"But thou wert injured in this Shadow Realm, too!" Alpha countered.
"True. But I wasn't 'healed' by Magus' Shadow Magic. Magus used Black Hole which banishes one to the Shadow Realm on Orion!" Elora explained.
"I see!" Prime suddenly chimed in. "It couldn't banish Orion since he was already here, but it did bring him into alignment with the Shadow Realm. So now his magic functions perfectly."
Elora's eyes were miserable. "Exactly."
"Well, then. Thou must test it on me," Alpha declared, standing up and dusting his breeches off. "Let us see if Black Hole brings my magic into alignment with this wretched realm!"
"Are you certain about this?" Magus muttered. "What's to say I won't banish you to a different Shadow Realm?"
"Uhm... 'cause he's closest to this one?" Orion hazarded.
Elora nodded. "That makes sense. Even magic would follow the laws of conservation."
"All right, then," Magus muttered, hoping he wasn't about to make a huge mistake listening to them.
The twisting mass of energy of his Black Hole spell slithered around Alpha obscuring him from view. Everyone's breath was held as the energy cleared, hoping that Alpha would be unhurt. Hoping that Alpha would still be there.
He was. He looked no different, apparently unharmed by the spell.
"Did'st it work?" he muttered.
"Let's find out!" Orion grinned, dropping his hand to his sword and nodding his head toward the shadow forest. "I'm sure we can find a few 'volunteers' to be targets for your Water attacks! Wanna come along, Magus?"
-----
"Well?" Elora asked tensely as Orion, Magus and Alpha returned.
"Full power!" Alpha confirmed. "It feel'eth good to not be so handicapped anymore."
"Orion, would you take my place here supporting Elora?" Prime asked. "I will go next."
Orion nodded. "Sure."
"It'll be okay, Elora," Orion offered, letting his friend lean on him. She didn't have any apparent injuries, but still hadn't recovered her strength from Prime's accidental laser beam attack. "Alpha said it didn't hurt at all!"
Both watched as Magus concentrated his Black Hole attack on Prime under Alpha's curious gaze.
"I know, Orion, but still..." Elora stopped. "I just don't trust him. What if he tries to hurt me? I've been... well... I've been kind of mean to him..."
"Oh, is that what this is all about?"
"Partly. Mostly... well, he just scares me! He's all dark and evil..."
"Once, sure. And he's still dark and his fashion sense leaves a lot to be desired, but, well, I don't think he's evil any more. He might even be trying to be good!" Orion declared as Magus, Prime and Alpha approached.
Magus glared at Orion, overhearing the last comment.
"At the least I am not trying to harm any of you. Isn't that good enough, Elora?" he asked.
Everyone could read the doubt and reservation in Elora's eyes. She finally sighed and squared her shoulders. "We are here to rescue Ariel and Schala. I guess... I can't help much without being able to use magic. I guess... I have no choice." She reached up to Orion's shoulder as if to use him as a ladder to climb to her feet.
"No, you still feel weak. Don't try to stand," Magus told her.
"But..." Elora protested faintly, craning her head back to look up at Magus' face. She wasn't the tallest (though not as short as Alpha) but when Magus stood over her like this, seated as she was, it made her feel like an insignificant bug about to be squashed.
Magus thrust the haft of his scythe toward Alpha. "Make yourself useful and hold this a minute!"
He knelt next to Elora.
"How about I cast it down here so you don't have to get up?" he asked in a much more gentle tone. "Hopefully you'll be able to throw off the weakness from the laser hits too," he finished as he removed his glove. "Orion's right here, so why don't you close your eyes while I cast it? That way, it may not bother you as much," Magus suggested.
"But..."
"Just a suggestion. It's okay if you'd rather watch."
Magus was acutely aware that all eyes were on him as he reached out and stroked Elora's cheek. Her eyes widened behind her glasses. She pulled her head back in alarm, but could only pull away as far as Orion's chest.
"Don't worry, Elora. I'm right here. If you go anywhere, I'll be going with you!" Orion laughed to ease her tension as he wrapped his friend in a hug.
Magus stroked along Elora's cheek again, invoking his Black Hole magic but containing it, shaping it to a much smaller area than he'd ever tried before.
"This will be easier on her if there's nothing scary for her to see. Still, I have to make certain to use enough Shadow Magic to align her magic properly..." he thought to himself, letting more of the spell free to momentarily fill the girl under his hand with Shadow Magic.
"That should do it," Magus decided, pulling the rest of the spell into himself. He pulled back his hand and looked down while he put on and adjusted his glove.
"How do you feel?" Orion asked.
Elora blinked a few times, then struggled to get to her feet. Four sets of hands offered to assist her. Unsurprisingly, she chose the metal ones.
"I feel...better!" Elora declared. "I don't feel so weak anymore!"
"Wanna toast a shadow monster just to make sure you can?" Orion asked. "We should make certain your spells work before we go off to find the big baddy that's out there waitin' for us..."
-----
"You have got to be kidding me!" Orion shouted.
"You? You are the one who kidnapped my sister?" Magus demanded.
Swirling his cloak about himself dramatically, Dalton laughed. "None other! Who else but me is worthy to become the King of Shadows and Time?"
"Oh, bother. If we wait long enough, one of his ridiculous Golem monsters will blunder in and finish him off for us," Elora grumbled, pushing her glasses up her nose.
"Still, he did manage to kidnap Lady Schala and our friend Ariel," Prime pointed out.
"'Ware," Alpha warned. "His visage grows purple as his wrath doth grow! Mayhap we should take a care that even he could hath found power such that could be a danger to us."
"You have no idea, stupid frog!" Dalton screamed, clutching a pendant he wore around his neck. "The Mammon Machine is gone, but the sublime distillation of that power is mine to command!"
"He, he has my sister's pendant!" Magus roared. "How dare you put your filthy paws on that? Give it back to me, NOW!" Magus charged ahead in a berserk rage.
"Uh-oh! He's lost it! C'mon guys, we have to help him out. Dalton seems pretty darn sure of himself and he does have that pendant."
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Author's notes:
Finally, a chapter that's not so completely awful I'm too ashamed to post it.
Reviews, comments and constructive criticisms are always welcome! Please feel free to email me also if you see something awkward that needs to be clarified or fixed. I need all the help I can get!
stargarde (at) stargarde (dot) com