Last time, while the Ramblers were destroying the dementors once and for all, Harry and co. were searching for the fifth horcruxes. After a brief encounter with golems, Ravenclaw's bracelet was found, and the soul fragment removed. But the day's victories were lessened when Jill collapsed. And now, on with the show!
Chapter 34: Jill's Demise
"This calls for a victory party." Said Jill who was rubbing her arm again. "Yes, we must have a proper victory celiā¦" But her words were cut off as Jill fell to the ground. "Jill!" shouted Max as she ran to her side. "What happened? Are you alright?" "First," said Jill who was sounding scared, "I don't know. And second, I can't move my legs."
"We need to get her inside!" remarked Will. Yet Max had other ideas. "Jill, let me see your arm." "What are you talking about?" asked Jill, "My arm isn't the problem, it's my legs that I can't move!" "Even so," said Max, "Humor me." "There's nothing wrong with my arm! I had it looked at this morning before we left for the Ministry of Magic!" "Don't make me order you," Said Max, "As your friend, please show me your arm."
"Fine then!" exclaimed Jill as she rolled up her sleeve, "But I'm telling you there's nothing wrong with... Well, that's interesting!" "Bloody Hell!" exclaimed Ron. The area on Jill's arm where Stormy scratched her was colored in various shades of red, yellow and purple. Red lines of infection had spread up her arm, over her shoulder and around her back to the middle of her spine.
Max pulled out his cell phone. "Emergency Medical transport! Code X-99!" Both Max and Jill transported away. "What just happened?" asked Stella. "A few days ago," said Bloom, "We fought Icy Stormy and Darcy." "They're here?" exclaimed Sky. "They followed me, and they have a new power source." So Bloom informed the Specialists and the rest of the Winx Club on what had happened since she had arrived in Harry's dimension.
"I don't get it!" said D.P, "I looked at her arm this morning. It was fine." "How do you know?" asked Ron. "I should know, I'm the team medic." "I'm guessing," said Hermione, "That Jill was poisoned when Stormy scratched her." "Why didn't is show up before now?" asked Flora. "Probably a slow acting poison." Answered Tecna. "This is really bad." Said Laura. "First Ken Somerset got blasted with the killing curse, then 'Cajun Man' got bitten by a zombie, now this." "I just hope Boss Lady is alright." Said Skeater. "Zarnald Edward Quigly, if you call Jill Boss Lady one more time, I'm going to carve Jill's name onto your back with af#ck$ng ice pick!" yelled Fay.
Two hours passed before Max returned. "Well?" asked Harry, "What happened?" Max sat down before answering. "Jill was infected with a rare, but treatable toxin. The poison was a slow acting agent, designed to attack the nervous system. What made it activate now was all the work we did today, destroying all the dementors. If we didn't catch it today, the poison would have probably killed her." "But Jill's alive?" asked Fay anxiously. "Yes, she's alive." Replied Max.
"There's something else, isn't there." Said Will, more stating than asking. "There was serious damage to her spine." Said Max. "I'm afraid Jill's paralyzed below the waist." There was a stunned silence. Suddenly, Virgil had typed something into his cell phone, and teleported. "Where's he going?" asked Steve. Moments later, Steve was answered. Virgil had returned with several boxes full of bottles. "What's that?" asked Musa. "This is every ounce of alcohol in our base in orbit." Replied Virgil. "I'm going to smash it all. "Why?" asked Matt. "It'll make me feel better." Replied Virgil. He threw a beer bottle in the air, and blasted it with his eyes.
"Let me shoot one of those." Said Max. Virgil tossed a Vodka bottle, and Max blew it away. "My turn!" exclaimed D.P. as he shouldered his rifle. Virgil prepared to throw, but was stopped by Steve. "What?" asked Virgil who was annoyed that Steve stopped him. "Are you crazy?" asked Steve, "That's eight year old Scotch!" "So?" asked Virgil. "So it's my eight year old Scotch." Replied Steve. Virgil stared at Steve for a few seconds, before throwing the bottle. D.P. shot twice at it before making contact. "Took you two shots!" exclaimed Skeater as he readied his weapon. "No! Not the Kentucky Bourbon!" exclaimed Steve.
The Ramblers spent the rest of the afternoon destroying alcohol. Meanwhile, Fay was planning revenge. "The next time those warlocks show up," said Fay, "I'm going to personally kill Stormy." "Look, I know you're upset," said Bloom, "but-" "You're wondering why I'm this pissed off." Finished Fay. "Well, yes." Replied Bloom. "Jill saved my life more than once." Said Fay. "More than that, she saved me from myself."
"What does that mean?" asked Harry. "I'm ashamed to admit it, but there was a time when I was totally out of control." Said Fay. "Jill brought me back from the brink of madness. So this isn't a matter of revenge, it's about honor." "You realize," said Sky, "That Stormy will never let you near enough to fight." "I anticipated this." Said Fay. "So enlighten me on how to make her fight me."
"There's always the Amtal Rule." Said Brandon. "What's that?" asked Harry. "It's a challenge," said Riven, "A challenge to the death." "Tell me more, Riven," said Fay enthusiastically, "Tell me more!" "Since this is a matter of honor, you can issue a challenge. When the Amtal Rule is in invoked, nobody can interfere. It'll be just the two of you." "Stormy won't fall for it." Stated Stella. "She'll have to," said Brandon, "For to refuse a challenge when the Amtal Rule is invoked, is to be marked as a coward for life."
Just then, there was one final shot. "That's it!" exclaimed Virgil, "Every last drop of booze!" "I can't believe you threw the moonshine!" said Steve. "I don't care about that anymore." Said Virgil, "I'm starting over. No more alcohol for me." "Are you going to tell that girl you found on-line about your new resolve?" asked Steve slyly. "You leave her out of this!" exclaimed Virgil. "Why do you hate each other so much?" asked Flora. "It's a long story." Said Virgil.
"I'll tell them." Said Steve. "We were on a mission in the Texas desert to stop a demon incursion. I found a map that led to a lot of gold that was buried during the Civil War. The amount of gold we found was worth about $200,000 in 1864. Now, it's worth over $150,000,000." "Wow!" exclaimed Irma. "What happened?" asked Brandon. "We found and dug up the treasure. I thought it would be an even split. You know what Virgil did?" "Here we go with the same old bull sh$t again." Said Virgil. "He pulled a gun on me, grabbed the gold, and left me in the middle of the f#ck$ng desert!" exclaimed Steve. "That's a lie and you know it!" yelled Virgil, "He tried to kill me first!" "No I didn't! You did!" yelled Steve.
"Shut the f#ck up!" shouted Max. "I don't give a damn who tried to kill who first! What's done is done. You want to kill each other, do it on your own f#ck$ng time!" "What happened to the gold?" asked Harry. "Where do you think the money for our space station came from?" asked Fay.
The end of chapter 34. Next chapter, the real reason why the Ramblers are here is reveled. Please read and review. See you next time!
