The Sorcerer Wars
Cherish Your Heart
Karen sat anxiously in a chair made of ice, shivering slightly. She was trapped in a large igloo, deep in the arctic circle, being guarded by dangerous heartless and within the power of the most powerful evil sorcerer in the world. To make matters worse, she had just been playing a trick on this sorcerer for the past few months that involved him being forced to love her. Her future didn't look particularly bright.
The arrival of the evil sorcerer, Nick, was obvious when he appeared in a burst of flame and darkness. He simply smiled at Karen, however, it was not a warm smile, and nor was it a gleeful smile. It was a smile that resembled a hungry tiger that had come across some ignorant deer.
"Leave us," said Nick shortly.
The heartless disappeared in several small flashes of dark energy.
"Amazing creatures, heartless," said Nick. "They are born of hearts, are destroyed only at the hands of another heart and release a heart upon their defeat. It really makes you appreciate the damage a heart can do, and the damage you can do to a heart if you… mess with it."
Karen shivered uncomfortably, but not because of the cold.
"Are you going to kill me?" asked Karen shakily.
"No," said Nick, "I am going to use you in experiments of the heart."
With these words, one heartless appeared beside Nick. It was about 2 feet tall, human shaped and completely black except for two little, yellow dots for eyes. Its fingers were sharp claws.
"See, I am curious," said Nick, "What would happen if a heartless, a being infused with the powers of a heart, could be controlled and then boosted with the power of these:"
Nick held out his hand. In a small burst of flame, the artefact bracelets, necklace and belt appeared, floating above Nick's hands.
"But what does that have to do with me?" whimpered Karen in a high pitched voice.
"Slow, aren't you?" sneered Nick, "Karen, yours will be the heartless that I will mix with the artefacts."
Nick clicked his fingers. The heartless leapt at Karen. Karen's scream was cut short as her heart was extracted. Her heart floated over and transformed into a heartless, just a common shadow heartless like the one that had removed this heart. Karen's body disappeared. Before Karen's heartless could disappear to the world of the heartless, Nick clicked his fingers. Karen's heartless snapped to attention, whilst the other heartless disappeared in a flash of darkness. Nick began to advance on Karen's heartless with the artefacts still floating in front of him.
…
Sam, Brandon and Ashlee ran into the clearing, defiant looks on their faces and staffs poised ready to attack.
"Time's up, Lachlan!" cried Brandon.
Lachlan stared at the three friends for many moments. Finally he grunted and his staff flashed with grey energy. In an instant, the edges of the clearing were blocked off by a swirling mass of impassable grey energy, revolving rapidly around the clearing. It was impossible to see in or out of this barrier. The only evidence of where they were was the blues sky above and the grass beneath their feet.
Sam, Brandon and Ashlee looked around for any sign of a break or hole in the energy, but none could be found. They looked back at Lachlan to see that he had his eyes closed. When he opened them again, a swirling vortex of dark energy appeared on the ground. Out of it leapt a miniature tornado, approximately human height. It had two yellow eyes near the top of it and had the symbol of the heartless on its middle composed of the swirling energy. The dark vortex closed over after the heartless was out.
After the heartless had appeared, Lachlan slowly rose into the air. When he was about 10 feet in the air he stopped, and gestured at the heartless. The heartless suddenly sprang at Lachlan and covered his body. Lachlan was now a human shaped mass of swirling grey energy, with his head the only visible part of his body. He still held his staff in a swirling grey hand. On his chest were the heartless' two yellow eyes and the symbol of the heartless could be seen on his abdomen.
Sam launched a torrent of water at Lachlan, but it bounced harmlessly off his swirling shield. Ashlee launched several vines at Lachlan, but they were shredded by the energy. Brandon blasted Lachlan with lightning, but had to jump out of the way as the lightning joined the vortex then leapt back at him. Lachlan raised his free arm. It stretched down towards Sam and flicked him backwards, into the energy field, off which he bounced and landed heavily on the grass. Ashlee turned towards Sam, but Sam was already on his feet.
Sam glared at the heartless/Lachlan. He pointed his staff at them. The heartless glowed with blue energy, and suddenly exploded, releasing a heart, and causing Lachlan to fall 10 feet to the ground. Lachlan slowly got to his feet. He pointed his staff at Sam, ready to strike; however, his arm shook violently. Instead of attacking Sam, Lachlan lowered his arm and sighed loudly.
"I can't do it!" cried Lachlan, "You and Nick were such good friends, and now he wants me to kill you? I just can't do it!"
Brandon walked over to Lachlan and put a hand on his shoulder.
"You've made the right choice Lachlan. You should be very proud of yourself," said Brandon, "I understand that your life is in danger if you don't decide to kill us, but you decided not to anyway. It was a hard choice for you."
"But what am I going to do?" said Lachlan shakily, "Nick will kill me when he finds out that I didn't do as he instructed."
"We can help you with that," said Sam, "I will claim to have killed you, while you just go into hiding. You'll have to live without magic; Otherwise Nick will be able to find you."
"I understand," sniffed Lachlan, "Thank you. Sam. Brandon. Ashlee."
Lachlan disappeared in a flash of grey energy. When he had disappeared, the swirling energy barrier that had trapped Sam, Brandon and Ashlee slowly subsided, leaving their exit clear.
…
"I'm afraid the experiment with the artefacts did not work," said Nick, "The heartless I used was destroyed and the artefacts disappeared."
"That is unfortunate," said a voice that echoed though the room did not have acoustics that caused echoes, "Did you find the keyhole?"
"I have an idea that I'm pretty sure is right."
"Well, I hope it is," said the voice, "I love your citadel. I didn't realise you were the sort of person that lived in a castle."
"I'll admit, I didn't have a permanent dwelling for a while after Sam's last raid," said Nick, "However, I have reoccupied my citadel in order to make myself less detectable. My citadel will not be easily breached by those whom I do not welcome. My forces are very strong when defending these walls, but back on topic. Rest assured, Maleficent, I will soon find the keyhole, and this world will be ours!"
The person, who sat opposite Nick at the table in his large dining room in his citadel, was indeed Maleficent. Maleficent was a witch of extreme power. Her skin was of a pale green hue. She wore a long black robe that had pink and purple lining towards the lower part of the robe. She carried a thin wooden staff with a translucent green ball sitting on the very top of it.
"Come with me, Nick," said Maleficent, "I have something to show you."
A portal or green and black energy appeared before Nick and Maleficent. Maleficent walked in not waiting for Nick to follow. Nick obliged, walking unflinching into the portal.
…
Sam was walking through the corridors of the Law Enforcement Squad HQ. He was whistling contently, but as he passed Brandon's office, he heard Brandon's voice drifting out. He silently stood leaning against the wall next to the slightly ajar door. He could clearly hear Brandon's voice, talking animatedly:
"And then, I blasted him with a bolt of lightning. Even Sam couldn't have stopped this guy, oh no. That Lachlan was a tough one. Sam was lucky I was there to save his skin."
Sam peaked into Brandon's office. Sure enough, there were three, rather attractive, junior female officers sitting before Brandon on the other side of his desk, listening to Brandon intently. Sam chuckled, before walking into the office.
"Oh, Captain Brandon! Were you telling these lovely officers about how you nearly got hit with your own lightning bolt?"
The three female officers quickly left Brandon's office.
"I hate it how you always do that," said Brandon, "I haven't got a chance of getting a girlfriend with you around, do I?"
"Probably not," said Sam indifferently, "Any leads on Nick's whereabouts?"
"No," sighed Brandon, "It seems that he has disappeared off the face of the planet, or more likely gone to another world."
"Damn it!" cried Sam exasperatedly, "All these evil things he keeps bringing into our world just keep getting worse every time. I'd hate to think what he's bringing next."
"Well, I'll keep a watch out for his return," said Brandon, "maybe you should try and figure out a way to follow Nick to other worlds."
"No, I don't think we should do that. Not under those sort of circumstances anyway. We should stay in our own world until this trouble is over. We belong here, and shouldn't interfere elsewhere if there is even the slightest chance that our arrival will bring trouble. Anyway, for some reason, I have this feeling inside me that help is on the way…"
And on that note Sam left the office. As he walked out of the doorway, he bumped into Ashlee. Ashlee smiled, then Sam went red, then Ashlee went red. Both hurried off in opposite directions.
…
The following is co-written by sorcerer-nick and articunomew as part of their crossover.
"Do you see, young Sorcerer? In any dimension, you will find your enemy is still as powerful as he is in your own dimension. But here he contains the most power of all, the power of one of the ten Universal Crests." Turning, her hand on her staff, Maleficent looked at the young boy next to her. For all purposes, he looked no older than sixteen, which would make any innocent onlooker wonder why the powerful Maleficent had deigned to speak to the boy.
"I have contained that idiot Sam within my own dimension countless times. No matter how powerful he is here, it's his heart that will always stop him. His love for his friends has resulted in my escaping his clutches more than once." The response came quickly and sharply.
"Yes, but here he is surrounded by his own friends, including your own counterpart, who is on the side of the Heart. And that is not taking into account the amount of natural talent and ability he has, even without the help of the Crest of Friendship. I do not know who these other people are, but I would most likely be correct in assuming they are his fellow Crest Holders, and I would also assume that they are talented in their own ways."
"Yeah, like I care? No matter how good they are, they can't stand up to Sorcerer Nick, or the Heartless. Especially not when we're both combined." Sorcerer Nick looked up at Maleficent, fire in his eyes and around his hands. "Or perhaps you need a demonstration Maleficent? I'm not the stupid child you think I am."
Maleficent looked down at the Sorcerer, plainly unimpressed. "You believe you are a match for them? Things in this world are not what you are accustomed to. These are people who are equal, or surpassing, your own power level. And that's just normally. With the power of their Crests at full power, they would be able to destroy you without a thought."
"Because their powers are rooted in the good of people, blah, blah, blah. I heard the speech before. From the Sam in my world, nonetheless. It was very seductive. Once."
Maleficent's nostrils flared, the first sign Nick had seen that she was beginning to get angry. "Fine, you impertinent child, I will show you first hand. And just remember, I was the one who brought you here, and as such, I am many levels over your own power level."
"Yeah, yeah." Rolling his eyes, Nick waved his hands in a dismissal. Turning on her heel, Maleficent spread her arms, and with a flash of green flames, appeared in front of the temple.
Looking at this strange woman, a feeling of insecurity instantly formed in the pit of Sam's stomach. Summoning Nirvana into his hands, he eyed this new person warily. Settling into a defensive position, he held Nirvana at a horizontal level, slightly away from his body.
Behind him, his Pokemon formed a defensive triangle at his back, showing that they would back him up in the case of attack. Their own instincts were screaming at them, and while they didn't have ties to the people behind them, they'd protect Sam at any cost.
Standing with her hands on her hips, Yuna remained wary as well, keeping her muscles loose just in case she needed to draw her guns quickly. The double-sound of steel in the air was Tidus and Link drawing their swords.
A crackle of energy split the air suddenly. Risking a small look out of the corner of his eye, Sam saw blue energy build around Zelda's hands. He was glad he wasn't the only one who had felt the need to be prepared.
Looking at them each in turn, Maleficent weighed them equally. The Sam of this dimension looked the most able to fight, seeming to have connected with his Crest already. The two blonde children had high magical levels, while the two adults looked like they would be able to use a proper strategy.
Casting out her hand, Maleficent summoned a small group of Heartless. She didn't feel pressed to challenge them too greatly, just provide enough of an example for the young fool up on high.
The chilling silence only added to the feeling, but Sam knew a Heartless when he saw one. Telekinetically turning the power on his TWT up, he gave himself a psychic boost as he vaulted into the air, landing in the midst of the Heartless. The ornament tip of his staff glowed blue for a moment, before he spun in a circle, destroying the low-level Heartless. As the hearts released by the Heartless floated upwards into nowhere, Sam faced Maleficent once more. The rest of the group had snapped into action as well. Yuna, now in a stable crouching position had drawn her guns, a wise move as more Heartless appeared on the narrow ice ledge that was becoming thinner as the years went by.
Jumping back over to his Pokemon, Sam crouched down in front of them, sending his own elemental attacks at the Heartless. Gunshots split the air as Yuna fired speeding bullets into the purple 'flesh' of the Heartless, while Tidus and Link went for close-range combat. Within seconds, the Heartless group was decimated once more.
Maleficent grimaced, as Sam, Yuna, Tidus, Link and Zelda rounded on her. The Sorcerer observing high above stirred slightly. Sam established a telepathic link with his companions, and as he was about to suggest a group attack, Zelda's voice echoed into his mind, "On three, everyone. One, two, three!"
Sam unleashed a water spell with every ounce of energy he had, while Yuna shot several rapid gunshots at Maleficent. Tidus leapt at Maleficent, sword drawn, Link let loose a bolt of energy from the tip of his master sword and Zelda fired a wave of blue energy at the witch. Maleficent, taken by surprise, was unable to react to her impending destruction. As the volley of diverse attacks was bearing down upon Maleficent, a blur of billowing black and red material indicated the entrance of the other sorcerer into the fray. He glared defiantly at the Crest Holders and tapped his metallic staff on the ground. A huge wall of flame sprang up from the ground. All of the ranged attacks hit this wall and faded away to nothing, whilst Tidus bounced away, scorched. The only thing that penetrated the wall was Tidus' sword, Caladbolg, which flew out of Tidus' hand and clattered to the ground at the mysterious sorcerer's feet. The wall of flame faded away, its job done. The sorcerer picked up the sword, admiring it in his hand. He smirked at the crest holders.
"So, these are the guys who can destroy me at a normal level without thinking, eh Maleficent?" he said sceptically, "I like your sword, do you mind if I have it?"
The sorcerer laughed as he and Maleficent disappeared in a burst of hot red flames.
End of co-written section.
If you desire to catch up with Articunomew's characters, plots, etc read his story "Worlds Apart" on do you see? I am more powerful than you give me credit for, Maleficent," cried Nick, "And before you ask, yes I knew that the sword I obtained would not remain with me. I am familiar with essence spells."
The sorcerer and the witch stood in the entrance hall of Nick's Citadel, staring each other down with a venom that filled the large room.
"You arrogant boy! Your arrogance will be your downfall," cried Maleficent, aggressively.
Nick quaked with fury. He defiantly pointed his staff at Maleficent and unleashed a large mass of hot, red, fire. Maleficent hastily disappeared in a burst of green flames, and reappeared in the same fashion behind Nick. Maleficent launched a similar attack at Nick's back, the difference being that her flames were a terrible bright green. But Nick was already out of the way. In about 2 seconds, Nick had leapt 10 metres into the air, turning as he rose, pointed his staff at Maleficent, and unloaded a few well aimed bolts of concentrated dark energy at her. Caught off guard, Maleficent received the full punishment of the attack, and was thrown into a pillar towards the side of the hall.
Sitting slumped against the pillar, Maleficent looked up into the eyes of the young sorcerer who was slowly walking towards her. As Nick drew nearer, a rough ring of black and red energy appeared around Maleficent's neck, raising her up against the pillar so that she floated just off the ground.
"Let me make myself VERY clear," hissed Nick, "You will NEVER disrespect me. I know you're used to being in control, being the mastermind behind each plan, and this attitude has caused you to overlook my power. I have now proved that I am more skilled and more powerful than you. If you ever disrespect me again, I will destroy you. Do you understand?"
Maleficent slowly nodded. As Nick was speaking, Maleficent had discreetly summoned a Knight Heartless. As Maleficent nodded, the Heartless charged at Nick from behind. As the Heartless came within a metre of him, Nick spun on his heel and easily disposed of the heartless with a slash of his staff.
The ring of energy around Maleficent's neck subsided, causing her to slide down to her feet. Turning, Nick spoke to Maleficent: "You have 5 seconds to get out of this world and let me calm down. 1…"
Maleficent did not need telling twice. Before Nick could say "2", Maleficent had disappeared in her usual flash of green flames, right out of The World of Sorcerers.
Nick looked up at the ceiling and smiled.
"Soon," said Nick quietly to no one in particular. Turning on his heel, Nick walked down the hall and up the broad, majestic, red-carpeted staircase, with the intention of getting some sleep.
To Be Continued…