Weakened Link
Summary: A powerful enemy has its sights set on separating Cedric and Sofia, whom it considers too powerful due to their bond. It plans to infiltrate the past and eliminate the princess, but what it doesn't count on is the powerful ties between the alternate realms, and the partners' sheer will to protect each other at all costs. (Collab with MarionetteJ2X)
Disclaimer: I don't own the show. Nana, Tanya, and the Abstruce Realm and its inhabitants all belong to MarionetteJ2X. The Absentia Realm and its inhabitants belong to Mr. Shortman92. Any other OCs you see, including Angel, Corbin and Alamea, belong to me.
A/N: Time for the Ever Realm preview and seeing what's really been going on with Sofia this whole time. It's been a long time that it's been manifesting, and it's all going to come to light here and throughout this story. Here we go!
PS: For the sake of this story (particularly this chapter), the silly ending where all three counterpart duos met up in "One Step from Paradise" didn't happen. That was more a bonus what-if situation. This is everyone's first official meeting. I just wanted to clarify.
Chapter 3: Weak in the Knees (Ever Realm)
It all started off a perfectly normal day. The sun was shining. The wind was moderate. And Cedric, Sofia, and the girls were at a local festival, enjoying the food and music that the traveling merchants and musicians had to offer.
Nana and Tanya were happily munching on some candied apples while Sofia playfully tugged Cedric along to each booth, pointing out all the jewelry that reminded her of something meaningful.
"—And that one looks like the original Amulet of Avalor," she told him, gesturing between her amulet and the ruby pendant. "Well, sort of. Though I'm sure it hasn't been hosting a princess for forty-one years or anything."
"Did you get extra sleep, eat lots of sugar, or both?" Cedric joked, smiling as she glanced at him with a playful smirk. "I don't think I've seen you this hyper in quite some time."
"I'm happy, Cedric." She laced her arm through his, smiling up at him. "I love these festivals: the people, the music, the goods they're selling… It's a nice distraction from reality." Her smile turned a bit mischievous as she reached up, teasingly tracing her finger slowly down the bridge of his nose before tapping the tip. "And so are you."
Cedric flushed a bit, flustered with her coquettish words, and cleared his throat, turning to look around. "A-Anyway, where did the girls go?"
Sofia nodded ahead of them, where Nana and Tanya were dancing to the music of a lute. "There they are. Looks like they're having fun too." She giggled before looking back at one of the booths, her eyes drawn toward a sparkling gem amid several others. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that it was actually a white gold ring with twin opal hearts in the center. "Ohh, that's really pretty. Can you imagine how much prettier it would be if the gems were purple and pink though?"
The sorcerer hummed thoughtfully. "Would you like another ring, my dear?"
She smiled, shyly glancing at him. "Only if it's special…" She absently ran her right hand over her left one, her fingers grazing over her left ring finger, though Cedric didn't notice (he was previewing some of the jewelry himself, seeming rather focused on his task). She sighed, shrugging. "I think I've got enough for now. The GuardoRing and BerryBand are great."
Cedric turned from looking over the items on the booth to Sofia. He wasn't entirely sure, but he had a feeling he'd just missed something. He didn't have time to ponder it though as his partner suddenly yelled out in pain, doubling over and collapsing to the ground. "S-Sofia!" He dropped next to her, a mortified expression on his face as welts, bruises, and scratches began forming all over her skin. "Merlin's Mushrooms…"
"Papa, what is wrong?" Tanya asked worriedly as she held Nana's hand, hurrying over to their parents. "What happened to Mama?"
Sofia was having difficulty forming sentences, and she could barely even catch her breath. The pain was so intense that she felt she was going to pass out. She was seeing double as she heard the worried murmurs of villagers around her, and the last thing she saw before she fainted was Cedric's alarmed expression.
An hour later, Cedric, the girls, and Sofia's family, along with Cordelia, were gathered in the princess's bedroom, the clearly weakened girl bedridden for the time being. She was awake again, though it was clear that she was miserable. She didn't really remember much except looking at the jewelry with Cedric, but after that, nothing.
Cedric himself was feeling a bit lightheaded as he stared helplessly at his partner, still baffled by her current state. After the incident at the festival, he'd rushed her back to the castle, his lungs burning and his limbs like jelly, before James finally met him at the door and took over from there.
Again, that was an hour ago. During that time, Cedric had attempted to transfer a great deal of his own energy and magic to Sofia to heal her somehow, but it wasn't working. Even poor Nana was drained, having attempted her magical healing powers herself, though she was also unsuccessful. The welts, cuts, and bruises still appeared every now and then, causing the princess to wince and whimper, tears springing to her eyes. Really, passing out again would likely be more favorable than being awake to endure this pain…
Corban was crying fitfully at seeing his older sister so weak, and Amber had to gather him into her arms from Miranda to calm him down, giving the queen a break to just hold onto her husband as they huddled together, both baffled as to what was wrong with their daughter. Desmond stood near Amber, Alamea cradled in his arms as he whispered words of encouragement (to Amber, to Corban, to Alamea, or to anyone else, he wasn't sure).
Sofia's mysterious ailment confounded them all. Her breathing was shallow and slow. Bruises and scratches continued to appear on her body, splotchy dark red and purple areas contrasting with her normally fair complexion. Before long, she did succumb to unconsciousness again.
"Is she cursed or something, Cedric?" Roland finally asked, breaking the shaky silence among the group. "I… I remember reading something in my earlier years about how curses can take the form of physical injuries."
"I'm not sure, Your Majesty," the sorcerer answered so softly that Roland almost didn't hear him. "I just don't know…"
Tanya sat on the bed next to Sofia, gently comforting her distraught and weary little sister. Tanya wasn't gifted in healing like Nana was, though that hadn't exactly helped their mother. Nana was so small though. Maybe her powers weren't enough. She trailed her eyes from the top of Nana's head to her own hands, noting with disdain how they would never be sources of healing. She was only good at destroying things, and that had always been the case. Perhaps she could eradicate an enemy, but she couldn't comfort the ailing princess in her time of need, and that alone caused the white-haired girl to despair. It just wasn't fair…
Cedric reached out and hesitantly yet gently grasped Sofia's pale hand in his, frowning as he saw scratches and bruises beginning to appear on it as well. Those blemishes looked so ugly against such a pure canvas. He knew it was fruitless, but he once more attempted to use a bit of his own magic to eliminate the offending injuries, but he only succeeded in making himself grow weaker.
"Cedric, stop it," Amber warned him, frowning as she patted Corban's back. "It's not working, and we don't need you dying while trying to heal her. We'll figure something out."
He smiled wryly at the future queen's words and whispered so quietly that those around him almost missed it, "I wish I knew what was going on, Sofia… I wish I knew how to save my best friend…"
"I wish I knew that as well…"
Everyone in the room gasped at the sound of an apparently disembodied voice echoing in the room, bouncing off the walls. Suddenly, a huge swirling portal appeared in the middle of the room, startling the crowd of gathered people. They all took several steps back as a tall, shadowy figure emerged from the portal, a soft pink glow around the figure's neck slowly dimming upon entry into Sofia's room.
Cedric stood up quickly, immediately alert as he narrowed his eyes at the person before him. "You?"
Cedric from the Abstruce Realm (or Ceddy, as he was affectionately called by his own Sofia) merely offered Cedric a reassuring smile, disarming the other sorcerer. The portal behind him disappeared and the amulet around his neck stopped glowing.
"Why are you here?" Cedric asked, fearing the worst. Had something happened in his counterpart's realm? Was there another war? Had anyone…perished? What was really alarming was that he was alone, no Fia in sight.
"Cedric, I—"
"AHHH!"
Everyone in the room looked around, hearing the distant screaming of yet another voice. Yet again, a portal opened beyond the two Cedric counterparts, and the screaming grew louder and louder. Finally, someone gracelessly plummeted to the ground, faceplanting on the floor, a muffled groan rumbling from his chest.
"Ow…" Cedric from the Absentia Realm, or CeCe, as he was often called, slowly pulled himself to his feet, though he felt a bit wobbly. "W-Where am I?"
The other two Cedrics immediately dropped into attack stances, each wielding a wand. They didn't know this Cedric (only Sofia had ever met him). It was very possible that he could be from an evil realm. Given their past experiences, it wouldn't be entirely unbelievable.
CeCe whined as he massaged his face, his own amulet now stagnant instead of glowing. He froze in his spot as he realized exactly where he was. So familiar… The room, those faces… Well, most of those faces. He didn't recognize all the children, but everyone else— His eyes widened as he squeaked, pointing toward his other two counterparts. "W-Why do you look like that?! Isn't this a bad omen? Seeing your own doppelganger? I am not getting cursed today!"
Cedric and Ceddy exchanged glances before relaxing their stances. Clearly, there was no malicious aura around their third counterpart. If anything, it was probably the exact opposite.
"Where am I? I mean, I know where I am! It looks like my bedroom, except a lot more girly and with way more people. And I need to get back to Sofia! She needs me!"
Cordelia stepped over to her brother's clearly more frantic counterpart and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Cedric, calm down."
CeCe paused before breathing in sharply, his eyes widening. "C-Cordelia? What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in…a long time."
She smiled calmly as he seemed to relax a bit. "I'm not your sister, but I'm pretty close, I suppose. Now, just relax. Let's talk things through as calmly as we can, all right?"
He nodded, seeming to relinquish some of his nervousness. "A-All right…" He breathed in deeply before glancing toward his own counterparts. "What's going on?"
"Sofia has been experiencing a lot of strange fainting spells or lapses in energy lately," Cedric finally admitted, much to Sofia's family members' surprise. They usually weren't around to see her fatigue or spells, so they weren't aware of such things. "They happened at random times the last few months, and I was never really sure what was causing them, nor was she. And today, the spells returned worse than ever, and all these bruises and scratches began appearing on her body from nowhere, which is…highly unorthodox. And worrying…"
CeCe's mouth dropped open as he stared at the princess before him. He immediately recalled having met her a while ago, when she travelled to his own realm to help unite him with his own Sofia, which was odd to think about. And what had Cedric said about…? "I-I, um… Sofie—er, m-my Sofia—she…" He cleared his throat before sighing. "The same thing was happening to her too. Over the last several days, she would arrive later and later to meet me for lessons. And today, when I went to find her at her home, her family and I noticed these injuries we couldn't explain; they just showed up out of nowhere. I was—still am —scared for her. A-And then, before I knew it, some weird vortex pulled me in, and…here I am."
"Almost the same for me," Ceddy remarked. "Fia seemed fine at first, but then the injuries appeared. I don't think she had any prior issues, or at least, she didn't tell me of any. The same vortex appeared for me, and Fia gave me her amulet before I followed the vortex's path. She was still conscious when I left, though…" He shrugged, a hand lifting to his chin. "I'm not entirely sure if that's still the case. She's strong, but even this Sofia is weakened and unconscious. So it must be something rather debilitating."
"An illness?" CeCe wondered both curiously and nervously.
"I don't even think I'd go that route, honestly… I'd say dark magic, but I can't fully explain that. For injuries of that nature to appear, it would almost seem like…" He shook his head. "I don't know. Perhaps a…tampering? Vortexes like the ones we encountered often lead to other dimensions and realms, but they're not limited to that. Time travel, for instance…"
As CeCe and Ceddy had been talking, Cedric had listened attentively to the other sorcerers' words. And then, Ceddy mentioned time travel. The past… It reminded him of a past event that now seemed like a lifetime ago…
A youth potion. Younger Sofia. A swing beneath a willow tree. A younger Sylvester the Steadfast, his wicked ways on full display during that time…
Cedric's posture stiffened as he finally recognized the symptoms. "Someone's definitely attacking her," he informed the others as he looked up at the royal family, who stared at him curiously. "In the past."
"That's…a rather unexpected explanation, Cedric," Roland acknowledged with a heavy frown. "How do you figure it's that rather than some sort of-?"
"Roland, I know it sounds outrageous."
"'Roland?'" Ceddy muttered under his breath. "First-name basis… Didn't see that coming…"
Cedric continued, his hands moving as he emphasized his points, "But think about it… Random fainting spells. Headaches she can't explain. Weakness. Oh, and I didn't even mention how her amulet has been acting strangely too…" He sighed. "And now these…seemingly magically induced injuries she's suffering from… Sofia is powerful as she is currently, and she's a force to be reckoned with. However, if she's weakened in the past as a child… The enemy will have a much better chance of defeating her, and any other Sofia in any other realm."
"Like ours," CeCe concluded with a grimace. "S-So… That's why the amulet led me here?"
"And why Fia's did the same for me," Ceddy added as he gripped the princess's amulet. "Maybe it was trying to guide all of us together: to help save our Sofias… All of them. And then we can destroy whatever force is trying to harm them."
"Seems a bit far-fetched," Miranda told them as she remained holding onto Roland's arm. "Are you sure that's what's going on?"
"Queen Miranda, I know it sounds outlandish, but I can feel in my heart that I am right," Cedric assured her. "Or perhaps it's a gut feeling, but I know I'm right about this: we need to go to the past."
As if on cue, all three amulets began glowing a heavy pink hue, each one levitating from their wearers' necks. Sofia's amulet unlatched itself and floated over to Cedric instead, fastening in place around his neck now.
"I-I guess your theory was right, Cedric," Roland managed, glancing from his daughter to his friend. "If her amulet is reacting, then…"
Everyone was frozen in their places as a huge portal formed in the center of the room, though Cedric and his counterparts could feel the amulets tugging against their necks and toward the large portal.
"Of course," Ceddy couldn't help but chuckle in a mix of awe and bitterness. "Of course, the Amulet of Avalor has some connection…"
"So, maybe if we go into that thing, we can save our Sofias?" CeCe suggested, though the weary look on his face indicated his anxiety from actually following through with such a thing. Still, he would do anything to protect her. They'd known each other the least amount of time out of all their counterparts, but the closeness of their relationship would suggest otherwise.
"Papa."
Cedric turned as he watched Tanya slide down from Sofia's bed and approach him and his counterparts. "Tanya…"
The other two sorcerers blinked in surprise, not having realized that she was even in the room or on Sofia's bed. Also, had she called him 'Papa?'
CeCe shivered a bit, feeling a little nervous, as the young girl approached them. He noticed her intense purple eyes, which made him squirm. Who was this girl? He felt so uneasy…
Ceddy, on the other hand, only fisted his hands as his body stiffened at the sight of the girl. He thought she looked like one of those creatures he'd once battled during the magic wars in his realm, along with the deceased Arcadios. Could she be a descendent? Yet her aura and obvious radiating power were both overwhelming though a bit lighter, which was something that Arcadios had never possessed. Tearing his eyes from the white-haired girl, he glanced in confusion toward Cedric, who only knelt before the girl, surprising both CeCe and Ceddy.
Tanya stood firm as she declared, "I am coming with you."
Cedric blinked before shaking his head. "No. No, Tanya. I need you to stay and keep an eye on Sofia."
"No, Papa," she countered, her hands resting on her hips. Her brow furrowed as she grew more serious. "I want to battle the one who is making Mama suffer. I will avenge her."
Ceddy and CeCe exchanged surprised glances. They never would have guessed that Tanya was part of the royal family—Sofia's child, to be precise, and Cedric's as well, considering their titles… Now, how exactly did she fit into the story? Was she adopted, or…? Of course, they didn't exactly have a 'Tanya' in their own realms, unlike Nana, this girl was a shock to them.
Cedric stared at Tanya for a few moments, noticing how her eyes were glazed over with determination: a desire to protect those who were near and dear to her, and to take down any enemy who harmed her loved ones. Feeling his resolve fade, he sighed and nodded, realizing that he would never be able to dissuade her from wanting to help. "Very well, Tanya… You can help." He smiled softly as she leaned forward and hugged him, and he returned the hug.
Ceddy frowned as he stepped toward the hugging duo. "Cedric… Are you sure it's wise to bring a child with us?" Sure, he was a bit intimidated by the amount of power the young girl clearly possessed, since it was radiating off her in waves, but he was still concerned for her well-being. She was a child, who shouldn't have to worry about facing mortal danger.
Tanya stood up straight and glanced at Ceddy, offering him a small smile. "Do not worry," she told him, the intensity of her eyes growing, and her voice altering to her adult vocal pattern. "I can take care of myself, and I will battle anyone who harms my family." Within seconds, her child form was gone, replaced with the older Tanya, her unwavering determination even stronger, her long nails piercing her skin as she fisted her hands.
A bit taken aback by her transformation and her intense expression and stance, CeCe gulped and quickly hid behind Ceddy, who merely nodded nervously at the adult Tanya, who now stood before him.
Despite the situation, Cedric and some of the others chuckled. If people weren't used to Tanya, her switch could definitely alarm or confuse anyone. So, of course, their reactions were not out of the ordinary.
"I don't know, you guys," Amber spoke up, seeming a bit perplexed. "Cedric, I want nothing more than to get my sister back to herself, but if anything happens to you, she'll never forgive us."
"Yeah, Ceddy!" Corban sniffled, reaching out to the sorcerer, who was a bit astonished by his reaction. "Don't go!"
Cedric made no response except to slowly and quietly walk toward Sofia's bed, withdrawing his wand. Wordlessly, he slowly began casting a spell, and while everyone believed it was a protection spell for her, the stream of magic actually discreetly flowed around the crowd and caused a knocking sound at Sofia's bedroom door. With the others turning toward the sound, and a few walking toward the door to answer it, Cedric took advantage of the distraction to quickly kiss Nana's forehead and his slumbering princess's cheek before making his way back toward his counterparts and Tanya.
Ceddy, impressed by the magic trick, smirked toward the other sorcerer. "Smooth," he whispered, though it was hard to tell if he was talking about the distraction or kissing Sofia's cheek. Either way, he managed to make his counterpart blush.
Cedric only managed to sputter before shushing Ceddy, though he couldn't stop Tanya from giggling softly. "Honestly…"
When the others realized that no one was at the door, they confusedly looked back toward Cedric, who merely shrugged, though his blush was still prominent on his cheeks. Clearly, they'd missed his moment of privacy with Sofia, which settled his nerves a bit. At least he'd managed to do that right.
"We will return," Cedric announced to the royal family confidently. "And we will figure out what is going on and help Sofia. I promise you." He looked toward Cordelia. "Look after them, Cordy, especially Sofia and Nana."
She nodded. "I will, Cedric. Don't worry."
Tanya smiled at Nana, who was peering over Sofia's sleeping form at her big sister. "Protect Mama, Nana."
The little girl stood up straight from the bed, a cute yet serious expression on her face as she nodded in response. She held her hands to her heart and then extended them out toward Tanya and Cedric.
"I love you too, my darling," Cedric returned warmly. "Stay safe, and we'll be back soon."
With nothing else to say, the four entered the portal, which instantly sealed up behind them.
To be continued…
Next Chapter: Heart Attack