Chapter Ten
"What?" said Will, confused to be pulled back to the forge fire room in such a jarring manner. "Was that Elyon!?" She looked at her hand to see the sword missing. The white bone staff disappeared from Phobos' grip as well. "Was that really her? Or… just a trick?"
Phobos was frowning, bright eyes focused on her and standing close. Really close. Way too close.
"With how quickly we returned, I believe that was her," he acknowledged. "Your companions may be on the verge of freeing us, as this task is taking longer than one would have thought."
Still disoriented, she could only shuffle back against the smooth wall as Phobos stalked even closer towards her, eyes flashing in the growing forge fire.
"What's with you?" she demanded, feeling a strange nervousness settle in her gut as he stood before her, only to reach out and press his hands to either side of her, trapping her.
"Tell me, Keeper, what was that pitiful performance? Do you hold no value for your own life?" he demanded, angry, voice a low rumble in his chest.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Will snapped, trying to block out the sweet, alluring smell of roses that now tickled her nose.
Why did he seem so tall? So much bigger, like he was taking up all the surrounding space, leaving her with nothing. He was flooding all her senses as she could almost taste his breath with how close his mouth was to hers. Feel the heat radiating off his lips to hers….
She licked her own, suddenly dry, lips and she almost didn't catch his eyes drop down to her mouth. Watching engrossed as her tongue swept across her own lips.
He licked his own in anticipation.
Ah… what was… this?
"I have decided to survive this with you, Keeper, so I expect you to act in the same manner. You hold more value to me than that creature," he growled, annoyed, eyes flashing.
Will could only stare, unable to think of a response to… whatever that was an admission of.
Finally, the absurdity of her situation hit and she couldn't help but laugh as she smirked up at him and asked, "Are you saying you finally give a shit about me? Like I'm not gonna be stabbed in my back? Oh, this is a big deal."
While she didn't expect him to find her joke humorous, she didn't expect for him to grow more agitated.
"The only reason you are alive is by me using a power I had no clue I possessed," he said, reaching out to firmly grab her hand and turned it palm up.
Her wounds were healed.
Phobos didn't stop her as she reached out and pulled his hand to her, seeing his cut gone as well.
"You can heal?" she stated in genuine shock, tracing the lines of his palm. She stopped once his hand twitched and she notice he was watching her, expression vastly different from any before. Dropping his hand, she tried to back away, only to realize she was still against the wall. "That seems like the last power you would get, to be honest."
"Agreed," he acknowledged, blue eyes deep. "It is a power that serves others. Before today, it would have been… useless."
"You know, you are probably the only person who can learn they have god level healing powers and make it sound bad," she dryly pointed out, trying to figure out why she wasn't shoving him the hell away from her after all this time. And why her heart was pounding so hard in her chest. It was just Phobos. No reason to get so worked up.
"Like I said, it would have been useless." Then he dipped his head to her ear, breath hot as he whispered. "Yet, now I have a vested interest in you, beyond the forge. Making sure you survive long enough to experience it shall be rewarding for both of us, understood?" he purred, mouth brushing her cheek like the soft caress of butterfly wings as he pulled away. Leaving her pressed back against the wall, knees weak, brain in a haze as she processed his words.
"Oh."
Stepping back, Phobos wondered if he should have eased into his… offer slower, as the Keeper could not even look at him. Stealing glances at him and unable to stay still until she finally came to some inner decision.
"It's this place," she said, almost to herself. "You don't mean that. It's this place messing with you. With us."
Phobos wasn't surprised she was denying any changes in her, as she didn't understand the type of influence the forge had over them. The forge could give them effortless tasks. Could have them frolic in a field and just dote on each other if it just wanted to foster a closeness. But they needed to see each other for who they were and, unfortunately, he liked what he saw in her. And, given her comments, she was feeling the same as well.
"Us?" he questioned with a dark drawl that made her blush.
She glanced away, trying hard to not look at him, but her eyes still peeked at him from the corners.
"It's not like we get along outside of here," she mumbled, sounding upset at that admission. "This is all pointless. Once we leave, won't it just be like before?"
Phobos didn't answer, and it didn't take long for the forge to take them to their next task. And given how the Keeper was denying the validity of what she was feeling, the task wasn't that surprising.
The two in the pool stood in a vast, empty white void with a stone tablet on a short pillar.
Will and Phobos approached.
"'Good Memory'?" Will said, and Phobos nodded in agreement. "What does that mean?"
"I am not sure," he confessed, not sounding too concerned.
Given the end of the last task, the occupants were distracted for once from watching the trapped pair. Deimos was a strange addition to the group, with Elyon bonding with the demi god as they both shared, in her words, 'a not so nice brother'. Deimos, while not able, or willing, to speak, understood there was no reason to keep up his mission, as only the chosen one of Xin Jing was his target, not the four elemental guardians or the queen.
Julian had taken his leave, bothered by Nerissa's endless games and madness. Caleb stayed, having no fondness for his mother, so the events fit his narrative of her and only fueled his bitterness for her.
Galgheita tried to stay on task, as her presence felt useless at that point, since it was just a waiting game now. She grabbed everyone's attention and pointed at the pool. "I think they figured something out."
The two in the pool were, unsurprisingly, bickering.
"That's just stupid," Will said, sounding defeated. "We don't have any. It's just this place. It's messing with our heads."
Phobos pressed his fingers to his temple. "Obviously, we have some, or this would not be a trial."
"Oh, yes!" Will snapped. "Now I remember! I have a bunch! Do you remember that time you kidnapped me and tossed me down a pit with Caleb? Or the other time you tossed me in a cell? Or the time you cheap shot me with lightning and gave me a concussion? Or when you were dressed as Matt and just kept pissing me off for your own fun? Or breaking your vow to me after we worked together for weeks to stop Nerissa? Ah, such 'good memories' indeed," she ranted, running out of breath, cheeks flushed red..
"I see I left an impression," he mocked, shrugging his shoulders. "But it said 'memory'. There must be one."
Will walked in a small circle. "I don't know. There are hundreds of bad ones. If you somehow managed to not be an asshole for two damn seconds, I don't remember. What about you? Won't you 'remember' this memory too?" she countered.
"You left impressions," he admitted. "Some acts of yours I approved of, like using your powers to win in your water competition."
"Will cheated?!" Irma yelled, leaning closer. "What? I didn't know that!" she gasped as she looked at her friends, all surprised as well.
"That was one stupid decision," she defended.
"How is using your natural talents to achieve victory a 'stupid decision'?"
"Because a victory at any cost isn't a victory."
"So bizarre," he said, sounding puzzled. "I remember you having a drive for success, yet you always stifled it."
"No, it's called having self-control. You at least pretended to have that back on Earth, planning against Nerissa. Like," she stopped, brows coming together. "Like when," she stopped again, frowning. "I guess you weren't the worse, when we had to wait in the bookshop. I just thought you were playing me… but…"
Phobos was frowning as well as he answered, "That trap? It was a ruse. What else are you referring to? I…" he stopped, looking thoughtful. "I see."
There was a buzz, the electric hum of florescent lights as they flickered on. Suddenly, the two were standing in a bookstore, Cedric walking in as the bell on the door chimed. The two backed away as the room filled, Taranee and Cornelia coming in next, glancing around the room, and then Miranda. Will walked in with Phobos trailing after. The prince looked interested in the room full of Earth made books. Hay-Lin came in carrying Napoleon, with Matt and Caleb bringing up the rear.
It wasn't too crowded, but the bookshop was messy, causing people to walk carefully over the stacks of old books and scattered boxes. Since the girls were in Guardian forms, Hay-Lin simply floated over everything, still holding the frightened, quivering cat.
Irma gasped. "Is this when you guys made me take the little monsters trick-or-treating?" She grinned. "I get to see a recap?"
"This is when we were defending Napoleon on Halloween," Taranee confirmed. "What could possibly be a good memory here for either of them here? It's still like two hours from midnight. Phobos won't win until later."
"Yes," Caleb agreed. "I can't understand what would be good for Will there?"
"What's this?" the current Phobos questioned, watching his twin enter.
"It's Halloween night, in the bookshop," Will said, walking over to the large table in the center, trying her best to avoid the past versions of people in her life.
Everyone moved apart. Cedric and Miranda moved farthest in, with Cedric picking up some books and showing them to a very disinterested Miranda. Matt, with Mr. Huggles on his shoulder, walked with Caleb, both looking distrustfully at the three pardoned occupants. Taranee and Cornelia leaned on the center wood table over packed with books, with Taranee comforting her friend over the strip of pink nail polish in her hair. Hay-Lin settled by herself in the air, holding Napoleon, trying to keep him calm as they waited.
Past Will and, oddly, past Phobos walked to a far window. The young prince leaned against the wall, arms folded, one leg casually crossed over the other, as he stared down at her. Will was unbothered, wiping dust off the window ledge to grab the handles.
"I am surprised," the young prince said, watching her. "That you would risk the Heart of Earth with such shocking ease."
Will smirked, opening the window, letting a breeze in that ruffled her short red hair. "Risk? What risk is there? Why aren't you here? You are taking the seal, right?" she lightly challenged, voice both playful and firm.
"Of course," he smiled, eyes friendly, still leaning over her. "I am essential to so many of your plans right now. It would pain me to let you down."
She dusted her hands. "Good to know," she answered, flashing him a smile of her own.
Current Will groaned, shaking her head in embarrassment. "God, we are both so fucking fake right now. I think I prefer the yelling over this."
"Why," Taranee asked, watching the younger Will walk away from the prince and explain her plan to the group. "Is he looking at Will like that?"
The young Phobos had watched Will walk away and his smile changed to something calmer, body language open as he trailed her with his eyes.
"I do not know," Miranda spoke up, sliding closer. "No one is watching him. This seems unnecessary on his part."
Unnoticed by the others, Irma and Cedric exchanged a knowing look.
Current Will noticed too as she pointed and yelled, "Dude! What's with that look? It's giving me the creeps!"
Current Phobos tensed, looking displeased at his former self, but didn't answer. The sound of multiple transformations drew their attention as the four shape shifters took on their fighting forms.
"Look! He moved closer to Will. I mean the past Will. And the past Phobos," Hay-Lin said weakly, also leaning forward, trying to make it clear which version she was talking about.
"What the hell!" Current Will called, walking over and trying to shove the young prince away. Only her hand passed through him. "And why are you crowding me?"
Young Cornelia expressed her concern that they would stand out too much and young Phobos took the chance to glamour them as bookshelves. Except for Will and himself, who remained human looking, just vastly aged.
"And why did you make us an old couple?" Current Will added to her list of questions.
"You are just now aware of what you were glamoured as," he asked, deflecting.
"I knew! I just didn't realize you were purposely staying near me! Why?"
"You had the Heart, Keeper, the only one able to fend off Nerissa at any moment. My life was already at risk when left in the care of the others. You were the only useful one."
"Uh-huh, Cedric and Miranda are right there. They were still loyal at that point. They would have protected you."
"And died. As useful as those two once were, they could not challenge Nerissa like you did."
"So I was just a meat shield?"
"I cannot disagree there."
"Phobos," young Will whispered, slipping back among the real bookshelves, and the prince followed.
The rest of the store faded, leaving just the two hunched towards each other.
"Ah, I know this look, scheming again already, Guardian? Don't you have enough plans in the works at the moment?" he joked, amusement genuine.
"They aren't schemes. You scheme. I create ideas."
He lightly chuckled. "I see. And what have you created now?"
"Well, how strong is your glamour? Without a power source, how long can you hold it and can it hold up against touch?"
"Glamour is simple," he said, reaching out and taking her old hand in his gnarled ones. "Do these hands not feel as they look?"
Will nodded, taking her hand away, looking unbothered.
"I have an idea."
"I am on the edge of my seat."
"You glamour as Napoleon and let Nerissa catch you."
Phobos was caught off guard and hesitated to answer, collecting his thoughts. "Do all of your plans place people you are supposed to protect in front of the thing you are protecting them from?" he asked, bothered. "This seems not worth the risk to myself. She will aim to kill the cat."
"Like she is aiming to kill you?"
"She simply wishes to keep me at bay. She ran from me last time. Her fleeing isn't an option now."
"That's the point! She is going to be panicked! It's her one chance at Earth. She won't notice if we switch you and Napoleon mid-chase."
Phobos folded his arms, thinking. "Your blatant disregard for the safety of your charges and a willingness to use them to fulfill plans you decide on your own, consulting no one else, is admirable."
"Hey! I'm going to tell the girls if you agree! And I'm right here to protect you both."
"You have a lot of faith in your ideas."
"I'm not here to lose."
Phobos mulled over it. "Again, I dislike this idea. I am not in the best light with the other guardians and I doubt they will prioritize my safety."
"Hey, I don't exactly think that highly of you either," she playfully pointed out.
"But you are different. You have repeatedly proven to place aside your own petty grudges for the overall interest of your cause. You freed me, with a full pardon, with no hesitation. Something the others have made clear they don't support."
"We need you to take the seal," she argued, sounding defensive.
"That is my point. You can do what needs to be done to achieve your goal. I see why you lead and they follow. It is beyond you just holding the Heart, it is your nature. You were a wise choice on Xin Jing's part," he said that with sincere approval. "But I will not be dangled like bait. I refuse this."
"Wait," she said, reaching out and grabbing his arm, keeping him from turning away. "I think you know better than anyone how my plans work out," she pointed out, slightly teasing. "Just trust me, okay?" she pressed, tone more pleading, vulnerable. "I know this will work. Just… trust me? Please?"
He looked at her, glancing at her hand on his arm before saying, "Very well, Guardian. I will do as you ask."
"Did Phobos do Will a favor?" Taranee asked, confused. "Like they got along… before the forge?"
"It makes sense," Galgheita said, clearing her throat. "The whole point of the forge is to improve on natural bonds. If they were incapable of being kind to each other, then there would be nothing for the forge to work with."
"I guess," Taranee mumbled.
The two in the pool were quiet for a while, as the room was back to the white void.
"So… what's the task?" Will questioned, looking around at nothingness. "We saw us not being dicks to each other years ago. What are we supposed to do with that info?"
Phobos stayed quiet, looking into the white void, before answering. "I had forgotten the details of my time on Earth. It seemed useless. Given how events unfolded." He looked at Will. "Yet, it seems I shall always grow impressed by you, Keeper."
He moved before Will, making the red-head tense as he towered over her.
"Always drawn to you."
"What the fuck did he just say?" Cornelia demanded, appalled.
"Damn, is it about to happen?" Irma said, looking at Cedric.
"It… appears so," he answered, uncomfortable knowing what they were about to witness.
"What?" Elyon called, concerned. "What is about to happen?"
Irma smirked. "Cover your eyes, queenie. You ain't gonna like this."
"Like what?" Elyon asked, looking back at the pool.
Will swallowed loudly , breathing noticeably harder, but didn't move back as Phobos closed the distance between them.
"This… this isn't fair," she said, eyes watering. "Why you? Why would anything be real with you? Then or… now?" She reached out, hands balling at his chest, bunching his robe.
It was rare, seeing Phobos so serious. He thought they were alone, with no one able to see his moment of what he would deem weakness.
"I think this task is for you. To accept what is real," he said, voice low, hands gently touching her neck.
Will gasped at the sensation, face flushing, eyes hooded. She leaned into his touch as his hands moved, one at the nape of her neck, the other cupping her cheek.
"Phobos," she muttered, body leaning closer to his. "This is bad. So, so bad. Please. We can't… we just can't."
"Oh?" he said with a dark chuckle. "Then I guess this shall be impossible?" he asked, mouth dropping to hers.
In the viewing chamber, several people screamed.
