Hey guys! I felt I owe it to you guys since I didn't really do a new year's update so I've written a kind of lengthy chapter! I know it's kind of late but have an awesome 2014 guys!

Enjoy!

Chapter 20: The Demon Within

"Give it up Jaque! We've got you surrounded! Put your paws up and come out slowly!" One of the police hounds yelled. Inside was a gray cat with a top hat, a monocle, and a cape with a daring look in his eye and a civilized looking mustache. "It's no use, he isn't coming out. We'll have to send someone in there." The police dog said. A few minutes after Sherlock and the team finally arrive at the tower he's hiding in and catch up to speed on what's happening. "And so, we need to send in a team of people to get him out. He's a slippery fellow who has many tricks up his sleeve so we have to be careful." The wizards volunteer to go in and after a bit of preparation, they went inside the tower.

When they got in, Jaque was nowhere to be seen and the lights had shut off. He cut the power and now everyone was on their toes. Jaque was just watching them from the ceiling of the room with twin daggers out in his paws. After a moment of just analyzing each of them he knew who to strike first. 'Start from the strong, end with the weak.' He had thought in his mind. He moved silently around the room trying to get a good angle on Destiny. They never let their guards down. They kept on looking around the room, listening for anything, seeing anything at all. When Jaque was in position he threw his dagger at Destiny's forehead but the slight noise of the knife being thrown was enough for all of them to dodge. "Why are you here? What could you possibly get out of this?" They heard his voice from all directions.

"So that Marleybone can be a safer place for everyone who lives in this city. We're here to stop evil from spreading anymore than it has." Seth said with a fierce stare. The virus had started to affect him but he took back control.

"So they do spread lies at that little academy of yours. You're here to stop evil even though the city you come from is like the foundation for all of this evil."

"And what do you mean by that?" Jack asked.

"I've said too much to you already, you must die now." The lights had turned back on and he was standing in the middle of the room. Neither side moved for a minute and nothing happened. Gabriel suddenly realized that nothing was happening. What happened to the wind? Without it he can't tell what kind of power they truly have. At that moment he realized why, they can hide their powers easily. He seemed to be an easy one to bring in but until he feels his real power, he cannot let his guard down. "Before I do kill you though, let me ask you one thing." Everyone paid attention to his question. "How do you know that headmaster of yours is telling the truth?" They all gave him a stare except Seth who looked a bit surprised. "You know he's lying to you about many things. He even lied about Malistare being in Marleybone! I haven't seen a trace of him, have you?" The others knew this was a trick but Seth looked a bit disturbed. He started to question himself if he was really doing the right thing. He started to think 'What if I'm on the wrong side?' in his head. Jaque saw this opportunity to strike Seth but subconsciously he blocked it! His body moved completely on its own as if it had a mind of its own! Seth snapped out of his trance and began to get serious.

"What is this?" Jaque questioned as he saw black energy start to come out of Seth. He knew he had to be dealt with quickly. Without a second thought he used his signature card. His daggers were turned into golden dagger that was frozen solid. He lunged at Seth but missed. Seth looked at the knife and the area around it had started to become frozen. The others had tried to interrupt the attack but Jaque had quickly put up an ice wall.

"How the hell did you do that?" Seth yelled baffled such a thing can even happen.

"Magic can be used however I please! If you still don't know how magic is fully utilized then you are a fool!" Jaque came at Seth with all he had.

"Damn it! We have to break this wall before it's too late!" Gabriel yelled as he punched the wall.

"Get out of the way!" Jack yelled as he came running at the wall with his hand on fire. He punched it with everything he had but barley made a crack in it. They all tried their best at it but it wouldn't break. Seth was having trouble avoiding Jaque as his speed was increased when his weapons had become one. Finally Seth couldn't keep up with Jaque anymore and he stabbed his arm. As this happened the others were out of breath still trying to destroy the wall. "Gabriel, I'm sure Seth is fine for now. He can handle his own for a while so let's think on how we can destroy this stupid wall." Jack said as he sat up against it.

"That's the thing Jack, we don't have time to think. If I saw correctly the dagger Jaque is using can freeze anything it stabs."

"Yeah, so?"

"If that's the case then he just became a huge threat. If that thing stabs Seth, not only will it freeze him on the outside, it will freeze him from the inside out! His body heat will literally be sapped away by the cold blade and that will kill him!" Their eyes were now wide open. They couldn't wait any longer if that was the case; they had to break through now.

The blade had cut Seth's arm deeply and it started to freeze. He looked at his arm then back at Jaque. He had simply just stood there. With Seth stabbed there was no way to free him from the frosty doom that would be soon. Inside of his body however, the virus had sensed something wrong with its host's body. It quickly made its way to his arm and gave off a huge source of negative energy. On the outside his right arm was now starting to glow black and he could feel his arm again! He charged his hand with both his power and the power the virus had to offer him to fight back Jaque. He had turned around only to see Seth smiling and his arm glowing black. Seth charged at him and Jaque got his dagger back out and swiped him. They both stood still before Jaque had suddenly collapsed on the ground. The impact of the punch was too much even for an experienced ice criminal. A little after a minute the floor right in front of the ice wall had busted open and the others had come out of it.

"Holy crap Seth, are you alright?" Sabrina asks looking at the wound.

"I'm fine. I don't know how but I think the virus actually helped me when I was stabbed. It's like it just numbed the pain and took over my arm." Seth says in amazement. The others relax and smile knowing that their friend is ok.

Meanwhile, in Big Ben, Malistare is arguing with the Incinerator about something.

"You will not disobey me child! You will get your chance when the time comes! Do you understand me?!" He yelled in anger

"You're not seeing the whole picture lord Malistare! That boy might be able to turn our own weapon against us! I've been reviewing your magic book and a few other books to confirm this. That thing literally has the power to amplify his strength x3 of what it is right now!"

"And you clearly do not have faith in me you wretched girl! I told you that everything is going according to plan! Do you not see that I want him to get stronger? I want him to become an excellent fighter for a reason!"

"And what reason is that?"

"So that when he switches to our side, we can rule the spiral and become kings!"

"What if he never switches? What then Malistare!" There was a silence for a moment.

"Very well then, you've proven your point. If he hasn't completely turned evil by the end of their business in Marleybone, then I want you to get the Sword of Souls. I assume I don't have to tell you what to do next." He glances back at her still kneeling before him.

"Thank you Lord Malistare. I just want to make sure that we have a backup plan in case anything goes wrong." She says with an irritated face and vanishes in a puff of smoke.

Malistare looks back at the night sky with a look in his eye. "This isn't good. Savannah is starting to think of me as an unreliable person. She's bound to betray me one day or another. I just need her to obey me for just a little bit longer, just until the plan is complete. Any longer than that and she might become either an obstacle or a mistrusted ally. Either way, she will no longer have my trust and must be dealt with quickly." The Incinerator had been hiding just above Malistare on the short hand of Big Ben listening to everything.

"So you plan to betray me because you're afraid of me huh" she whispers to herself. "Well then Malistare I'll do this one last mission for you and when I finish, you should beware, because I'm coming after you next." She says to herself then quietly vanishes.

Back to our team, they were discussing with Sherlock and how Seth was able to win against Jaque. "I see. So then the virus did prove to be of use. That's good to hear. But heed my warning before it's too late. I want you to get proper training with that thing Seth, it's not a play toy, it is a weapon of destruction." Sherlock says as he blows a puff of smoke out from his pipe. "I have a friend who can help in this type of thing. He's the balance teacher at Ravenwood. Go to him first thing in the morning, but for now get some well deserved rest." They all walk back towards the spiral door and go back to their dorms. Once in their beds, they were fast asleep.

The next day Seth gets up very early and readies up for the day ahead of him. He walks out of the dorms to meet up with the balance professor and starts talking about the virus with him. "Lucky for you I know just what to do! Our training will begin as soon as possible; I hope that doesn't bother you too much."

"Not at all, it's the very reason why I woke up to this ungodly hour." Seth responded with a grin.

"This process will take only a few hours as it is only temporary. Once you've finished your business in Marleybone, then we will use a more permanent solution with the balance tree in Krokotopia. Are you ready Seth?" The professor asked in all seriousness. Seth agreed and they began their lesson. They started with a meditating pose. The pose was a cross legged position with fingers locked and thumbs positioned into a circular figure. "This pose will let you communicate with the virus, beware though. It will hurt you internally if provoked." Seth focused hard and tried to speak with the virus in his head. He visualized being inside of his own mind. The landscape was nothing but a layer of water. The skies were black and a storm was coming. Lighting cracked the sky and rain started to fall down, a familiar scene Seth thought but he put it aside. He looked back down in front of him and saw the virus.

"…" It spoke nothing. It only stood there looking at Seth, waiting for him to speak. But Seth didn't know what to say. He stood there thinking of what he could say but all of it sounded as if he didn't want the virus. That's when it occurred to him that somewhere in the back of his mind; he did want the virus and its power. He shook the thought off and looked back at the virus; it was now in the shape of a person. Seth was surprised to see it change so quickly. There were no details on it, just a figure of another person. He was sure it could only communicate through motions. "You want my power don't you?" It spoke, once again surprising Seth. "I know you want it. The way it made you feel when you beat Jaque, that's how you want to feel every time you fight isn't it?" the virus had a twisted smile.

"No. I want to be in control! I don't want to be controlled! I know you have powers that I couldn't possibly have but I need you to know that I don't want to be consumed by you!" Seth yelled back at it. It just stood there smiling with an evil grin.

"Don't want to be consumed huh…" it started as it put its head down. "I've got news for you Seth. I'm already apart of you!" It lifted its head up and half of him was an exact look alike of Seth! Instead of having blue eyes and black hair, he had blood red eyes and hair as white as a cloud. His clothes were gray with a few black trimmings. Seth was shocked at the sight of this and was at a loss of words. "You and I are one! We're already bonded, already fused! I've been consuming you since the beginning! I hope you're ready to live in fear Seth, because once I've become powerful enough, you're mind and body will be completely taken over by me." They stood still after that. Neither moved nor spoke for the silent moment.

"You're wrong. You will not use my body for your own personal game! I won't let you!" Just then the skies above started to roar with thunder as lighting hit the surface. The virus seemed to just stand there unfazed by the harsh reactions of the elements. "As long as I am still alive, I will never give up my body to you!" His voice echoed past the virus standing there. It smirked as it turned around. It started to giggle and then began to laugh.

"You don't understand Seth, I've been in your body since birth." This shocked Seth. There is no way that he could've been with him since his birth on Earth! It was absolutely impossible! "I've been here the entire time. I've been learning who you are, who you trust, what you're definition of evil and good are. I know almost everything about you." He paused as he looked up at the sky blanketed in black clouds. "But you know nothing about me." When he looked back down at Seth, he had a death stare at this creature.

"You know nothing about me! You lie about knowing me and my past! If you did know you would know a few more than what you do now! Like the fact that I was-"

"Born on Earth and having no way of me ever being in your body because that world didn't have magic? That's only the beginning Seth. I've been sealed in your family for countless years. I know who your first grade teacher was! I know who was at your tenth birthday! I know many many things about you Seth. I was after all, imprisoned into it.

"Stop lying! You aren't even a reality yet! You don't deserve to say anything about anything while you're in my body! I don't need you telling me what to do! Especially since you're trying to turn me against everything and everyone I care for! You aren't real!" He shouted the last remark. He was out of breath after the whole conversation with this dark entity.

"You'll come around, I know you will. In the mean time, I'll let you use my powers until that day, you know, get a feel for that intense strength. I know you Seth, you will let me take over, one way or another." After that the virus started walking away and started to disappear. Before he completely disappeared though, he spoke 3 words that sent chills down his spine. "I'll be waiting." Seth opened his eyes from his meditation only to find the professor leaning against Bartleby waiting for him. It had seemed like the day never progressed when in reality, he had been in his mind for about 14 hours!

"So how'd it go? Well I'm assuming since you're back."

"It said it would back down … for now anyways. Thank you professor, at least now I have it under control for the time being." He shakes hands with the professor and runs off to Ambrose to tell him the news.

"That's wonderful to hear! I wish you the best of luck in finding a permanent solution." He had only told Ambrose about having it under control, not about the conversation he had with it. He had gone back to the dorms to tell his friends the good news. The rest of the day had gone by and everyone had gone to bed. A few hours after everyone had gone to bed, Gabriel had woken up in a frenzy shouting Seth's name.

"That dream again. It seems to be more and more occurring this week. What the hell can it possibly mean?!" He realized how loud he had gotten and calmed down. "Or maybe I'm just going insane. If this keeps up I'm going to go talk to the librarian. He knows more about dreams than anybody in the city." He relaxed and lied back down on his bed and went back to sleep.

The next morning they decided to take the day off. With Seth's condition still a bit shaky and Gabriel's nightmare, everyone seemed to think that it was a good idea. Jack had gone to the arena for some strategies on fighting, even though this was Jack's day off, he still loved to learn about strategies and fighting. There across from him he saw a familiar face talking with someone. He realized it was Brianna with someone who had looked like they were annoying her. "Hey Brianna!" Jack shouted as he waved his arm. She looked up and seemed glad that she saw someone who wasn't as annoying.

"Come on over here Jack! Let's catch up!" He walked to the other side of the arena while still watching the battle. He was thinking about how he had just fought here about a few days ago. "What's up Jack? How ya been?" She asked enthusiastically.

"I've been fine. How about you?" Before she can respond another girl cut's into the conversation.

"Hi I'm Sarai Ash! What's your name?" The girl had dark brown hair that reached down to her center back area. She had freckles and under her bangs were a pair of hot pink glasses. She wore some battle armor that was colored dark red with light blue trimmings. She wore no hat but on her side, she kept a golden war hammer the size of an arm! Brianna pushed her aside for a moment.

"Sorry, she really loves attention and also annoying the shit out of me!" That last part Jack could tell was emphasized for her. "Anyways what are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be in Marleybone helping out Sherlock."

"I was but with Seth still recovering from the virus and Gabriel insisting on at least one day off, we decided it was for the best anyways."

"Hello? I asked you your name. Don't be rude!" Sarai said puffing her cheeks.

"Oh sorry, my name is Jack DarkRiver. I'm a fi-" he was cut off by Sarai rudely interrupting.

"I'm the most popular girl in Ravenwood! So there's no need to be formal Jack, I maybe more popular than everyone but I am your buddy!" She says with a smile. Jack gave a questioning look at her and then at Brianna who had her palm on her face with an irritated look.

"Sorry Jack, she thinks she's the most popular girl in Ravenwood. Remember Jack, just a little bit of popularity and you might be as annoying as her."

"Oh come on Brianna! We both know you won't be able to live without me! I'm as fun as a roller coaster!"

"Then by that logic, some people are afraid of you." Brianna countered with a frustrated tone in her voice. As they countered each other's statements Jack sat there thinking 'This is going to be a while.'

Meanwhile, Seth and Sabrina are walking down from the Commons to the Shopping District to get some gear and a window shop for a little bit. On their way they saw 2 familiar faces. Connor and Christina we're walking straight to Olde Town discussing something about a report for Professor Greyrose. "Hey guys!" Sabrina yelled waving her arm. "Wait up guys!" She yelled again and she and Seth ran towards the two. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Just heading toward the Bazaar, see if they have any good items in stock. What about you guys? Aren't you guys supposed to be in Marleybone?" Christina asks with a questioning look.

"Well our team could use a little brake. It's been hell on us lately because of all of the recent happenings on our group, so we decided to take these past two days off." Seth said as they all started to walk through the tunnel. On their way there they met up with someone Seth and Sabrina hadn't met before but looked a bit familiar.

"Oh hey Jacqueline, what's up?"

"Nothing much guys, I'm on my way to go give bread to a few of the orphans in the Commons. You guys wanna come with?"

"We'll meet you there; right now we just wanna see what they have at the Bazaar." Christina says with a smile on her face. The girl quickly left after the conversation. They turned around and watched as she ran to the Commons. "She's such a nice girl. It always makes me wonder how long she would last if she's ever in a fight. I don't want her to get hurt, she's a pretty nice person and the orphans love her."

"I know what you mean Christina, but she can handle herself." Connor said as they turned back around to get back on track. They headed toward the Bazaar discussing who she was to Seth and Sabrina.

Destiny and Jocelyn had gone to the Library with Gabriel to do a bit of research. Destiny and Jocelyn had gone to the sickness section to see if they could find anything for Seth's current condition while Gabriel had discussed with Harold the librarian about his recent dreams. "Harold, it's been a reoccurring nightmare. I'm always on this beach and then I see 'her' and I always watch as I just stand there and Seth get's hit, it's driving me mad! Do you have any ideas on what this dream could mean?"

"This nightmare could mean one of a few things. According to your story it boils down to one of two things. Either your paranoia has gotten worse since you saw the virus enter Seth, or, your dream is trying to send you a subliminal message. Of course I don't know what that message could mean, it's always different, but one thing's for sure. You better figure this out before you begin your journey in Mooshu or something might happen, good or bad." Gabriel nodded and went to go get Jocelyn and Destiny.

"Did you guys have any luck on finding anything?"

"No, it's like it's a whole new virus! There are no records of it ever being used, not even in ancient times!" That's when Jocelyn had a sudden realization. "I have an idea!" She ran straight towards a section called 'unfinished discoveries'. She looked for a book containing some information on raw magic and the others helped. "It's a bit of a long shot but if this is a new virus, then raw magic must have got to do something with it! If there hasn't been a new virus ever since a few hundred years ago and one new one just so happens to pop up right as we get to Marleybone, that can't be a coincidence!" She was right this had to be Malistare's doing if that was the case. They looked through the only book containing information on raw magic but only found a few things they hadn't already known. They also found a page ripped out explaining possibly one weakness of this intense magic. Their research of this had ended in a dead end. Nothing more to learn about this magic unless they speak with the Incinerator. As they were about to close the book a girl came by to see what all of the commotion was about. She had bright yellow eyes with long brown hair. She wore a dark purple hat and a flower on the side of it. She wore what looked like a black shirt with dark purple trimmings, rolled up sleeves, a dark purple mini cape that only reached down to her waist, wore a black and dark purple skirt with black leggings, and dark purple boots striped twice with yellow.

"Hi there, name's Rose Stormblood! You guys have been a bit loud in here, so you should quiet down a bit. Anyways is there anything I can help you guys with?" she suppressed her voice due to being in a library.

"Oh sorry about the noise, it's just that we've been trying to find out more about this 'raw magic' and how we might be able to help our friend with it."

"Well then you've come to the right place! I can tell you more information about raw magic than that old book can, it's out of date anyways." She motioned them to follow her back to the main area of the library and upstairs where she opened a door. This room was pitch black but as soon as she turned the lights on, the room blasted brightly with light. Once their eyes had adjusted they saw it was just a simple room with just a few chairs and a table. "Go ahead! This room is able to suppress our voices to a lower volume than we're talking at right now so we can speak normally in there." They all walked in and took a seat. Rose took her own seat and began speaking in a completely different tone. "Sorry guys, I have orders from the top to keep a fake name. My real name is Iridian Soulhunter. I have orders to keep an eye on you guys ever since Seth's been cut and infected. These past two days I've been watching you guys from a distant and I just so happened to hear you talking about the very virus that infected Seth. You guys can't go around trying to do research in public, Ambrose may have a few of us upper wizards here who secretly watch over the city but so does Malistare. They act like normal people, sometimes like poorly skilled wizards to throw them off of their trails. Just look at Chris Dragonflame, he acts as if he's a wizard who's just trying to progress but he's just as powerful as Brianna Ashblade. You have to be careful out there, because they will try to stop you at all costs." She then took out an ancient looking book that had a brown cover on it with the words 'DARK RESEARCH' on it. "This contains the information you want to know but not the known cure for the virus. We still don't have any information on it because the only way to really get anything from it is if we get a sample of Seth's DNA and even then it isn't guaranteed. It seems to only respond when Seth really needs help. This thing has more magic power than you guys do, so magic might not even be enough to get rid of this thing. Basically all magic will only end up hurting Seth or even killing him." Destiny interrupted before she could say anything else.

"Isn't there anything we can do? How could such a tiny virus have so much control that it doesn't flow through his body? If it can't even go through cell division then is it really even a virus?" This caused Iridian to grit her teeth and clench her fists. They did have one theory left.

"We have one last idea of what this thing really is." The three of them leaned in and listened very carefully. "We've thought of the same questions you raised and a few more at that. In conclusion to a few of these questions we think that this 'thing' is only meant to affect Seth. It's because of that, that we came to the final conclusion of it not being a virus at all. It's just dark magic enhancer. When Professor Arthur had him meditate, the symbol he made was the same symbol for looking in someone's dream. This spell has only been limited to us wizards who Ambrose trusts. I only listened into the conversation he had with it but that was enough evidence to confirm our theory." The three were on the edge of their seats listening as close as they could. "Our theory, is that Seth is the reincarnation of the demon wizard: Deth."

PLOT TWIST

Yep bet ya didn't see that one coming. If you did, then you're a freaking psychic and or a magician and I advise you to contact me immediately. Anyways this has been in the works for 3 weeks now but it's finally out! Expect the unexpected from now on until the end! Or not it's your choice. Until next chapter guys!

Cya later!

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