Wizards Aeterna

The Battle for Everything

Chapter Seven: Darkest Hour

The unknown distance to the Great Beyond

Stares back at my grieving frame.

Her body still weak from the assault, Alexandria rested her back against the wall of The Lair, her long hair streamed downward behind her head, trying to put her racing mind to rest. Justin had isolated himself in the corner as soon as his strength, though fleeting, returned. Locked into a fetal position, the eldest of the Russo siblings kept his head buried behind his knees and hands, not daring to look into the light of the world that slowly evaded him.

To cast my shadow by the holy sun,

Despite a minor healing spell from his sister's frail mana, Max felt a slight sting as Theresa cleaned and dressed the claw marks upon his face. Jerry looked over the shards of shattered glass that were once an insight into the world, unable to speak or show emotion.

My spirit moans with a sacred pain.

Her flesh slowly healing, Juliet sat still, staring at her suffering lover, though she struggled to see him as the same person. Harper stared at the floor, feeling powerless and soaked in what felt like survivor's guilt. Outside, the sun showed little sign of ever rising. That didn't seem to matter, though. All the attacks had stopped, leaving only shattered memories and broken lives in their wake.

It's quiet now…

Clenching her left hand, Alex felt a haze coating her mind. She had failed all those people. Thousands had died, and the only ones who could protect them were hopeless. Her body aching down to her muscles, the young wizard sat still like a sick child void of sleep. Her soul was weighed down as her reality grew darker.

Trapped in the unbearable numbness that confined him like an iron body cast, Justin felt his mind race, forcing him to endure all the vicious memories of his losses, all he'd fought and trained for, the part of him he always held the most dear that was stolen from him: no part of him survived the attack.

The universe is standing still.

Max looked at his siblings in their pain and doubt, trying to let their pain as well as the stitches take his mind off his own failure; having stood on the front-line and made no difference. In the end, he was beaten down like a powerless child.

Juliet dug her nails into her arms, remembering the animal inside that overpowered her. The brutality forced from her own flesh and blood was agonizing to think about. Above all, she lost herself and couldn't save her loved ones.

There's nothing I can say.

There's nothing we can do now.

There's nothing I can say.

There's nothing we can do now…

As children, Alex, Justin, and Max ran alongside their parents through Central Park, laughing and playing under the trees. Everything was simple then. Every story had a happy ending.

And all that stands between the soul's release…

Is temporary flesh and bone.

Know that it's over now.

Suddenly, Alexandria felt a comforting hand touch her shoulder, urging her to wipe away her cold, stale tears and look up. "Hey," Harper said, her voice little more than a whisper. "Mind is I sit down next to you?"

Trying so hard not to show her pain, the Latina snuffed back and whispered, "Yeah," while nodding her head up and down. Slowly and carefully, Harper sat down beside her best friend, kindly putting her arm around her shoulders. "Harper," Alexandria sobbed, her red, swollen, eyes shrouded by a natural shadow, her face blood-red in hue, and her mouth lined with streams of saliva that nearly gagged her. "I am so sorry…for all of this. I never meant to hurt any of you…I never wanted to hide anything from you…but I've felt so horrible about myself. I felt like…I don't know. Like…you deserved someone better. All of you. So, I thought about running…taking all your pain away. But I couldn't do that…" Taking in a deep, trembling breath, the young woman turned her glance towards the floor. "I couldn't let you go…so I tried to be a better person. I tried to…to get away from the memories. I couldn't save Mason, I did those things with Riley…I let everybody down. I thought if I gave up all the vices, maybe I could be a worthwhile person again. I didn't do this to hurt any of you. I just wanted to hurt myself."

Wiping a tear from her eye, Theresa tried to control her desire to break down crying. Her little girl was suffering: she'd lost faith in everything. "Mi-hija," the woman finally said, fighting to see through her burning tears. "You could never be anything other than our little angel. You have always been worthwhile. You've always been loved, and we'll love you forever."

"We know you've been unhappy," Jerry added. "But you can't give up."

"Yeah, Alex," Max said, walking towards his big sister. "That call wasn't ours to make. I don't think any less of you, sis. And I don't think anyone else does, either."

"I know you've been hurt alot," Harper told her closest friend. "But there are still good people in the world…and you're still a good person, Alex. One mistake won't change that…But it doesn't matter what we say: You have to be the one to forgive yourself. You've forgiven all of us…now's the time to redeem who you are."

"You've always been a true friend, Alex," Juliet added, sitting beside her two spiritual sisters. "Don't forget that." As Alexandria stared at the ground, her heart beating with relief for the first time in so long, all the other eyes turned to Justin.

His face frozen in agony, the eldest of the Russo children stared back at his family and friends through hot, tear-filled eyes. Mustering all of his diminished strength, the young man limped to the side of his sister and warmly embraced her. "We all love you, Alex," he gently declared. "And so did you. You were always the best of us because you believed in what you did and who you were. You always knew how to make things okay for Max and me."

Silence filled the ruins of The Lair as Alex struggled to find herself among the stars once again. Her eyes closed, the young woman took in a deep breath through her nose. "…It's my call," she realized. "On who I am…Mason's never coming back, and Riley couldn't care about anything but himself…" Holding the barrel of the pistol to her forehead, a younger Alex gave her confession as her hands trembled. Sleeping in an unmade bed with a torn photograph under the pillow, Alex remembered looking up and seeing the stars. Sitting on the couch in The Lair with Juliet to her far right, Justin standing between the two, Max under her arm to the left, Mason behind the younger Russo children, Theresa and Jerry behind their sons and daughter, and Harper knelt down by Alex's side, the camera flashed an image to be cherished from now to eternity. "Juliet, I'm sorry for the pain you went through…Justin…I am so, so sorry for what you lost." Her last word becoming a choking sob, the young woman placed her hand on her brother's shoulder, trying to bring him solace. "Max…I'm sorry I forgot who we were. Mom and Dad…I forgive you for what happened, and I'm sorry I chose that instead of my family. That's a choice I won't exploit again. And Harper…" The redheaded young woman looked deeply at her friend. "Thank you…for always being my friend. For always taking the pain away. For always remembering who I really was. I love you all…and I swear I'm going to make this right."

"It's not too late to stop them," Justin declared, holding his wand and staring into a solid, lifeless crystal at its tip. "The Elders said that this is where we make our own destiny."

"But we don't even know what their plan is," Max replied, secretly begging for an answer.

"…I do," Alexandria realized, her true mind returning to her physical and spiritual self. "I can't feel her anymore, but my other self knew. She was going to stand beside him as…"

"As what?" Theresa asked.

"…As they brought hell to earth," the young woman answered, deeply troubled. "That's what they needed the portal for. But why would he come here? How would he even know about us?"

"Maybe it has to do with that 'chosen one' comment the demon mentioned," Juliet coined, recalling each painful moment she had to endure. "Maybe there's something bigger going on that we don't know about."

"Why would they keep that from us, though?" Max replied.

"I don't know," Alexandria answered. "But I don't think we have time to find that out. Look outside…I can feel the sky bleeding over." Using a transparency spell, the young woman revealed the blood-red morning sky to her family. The sun was blocked by clouds as its light became corrupted.

"Oh, god," Justin whispered in shock.

"Where are they?" Juliet asked, her heart pounding. Fear and desperation filled the air as everything fell to Alex.

"…I don't know," the young wizard confessed. "I can't feel my other side at all…she's too far gone. Dad, can we use the crystal ball to pinpoint them?"

"They all shattered," Jerry remorsefully answered. "We're flying blind."

"Then it's all over?" Justin declared. "Our secret's out, we're severed from the Magical Realm, and everything we've gone through is nothing. Where do we go from here?"

"Justin," Juliet exclaimed, her lover's image finally shattered in her eyes. "What the hell's happened to you? This isn't the boy I fell in love with."

"Maybe he died when everything else did," the young man snapped, his anger overwhelming him. "…Maybe he took too many losses."

"Enough!" Theresa broke down, slapping her eldest son for the first time in her life. For a moment, everything fell silent. "I didn't raise you like this, Justin. And if there's anything I'm damn tired of, it's my children acting like magic runs their lives. There's more to you than that…there's more to all of you."

"You're right," Alexandria replied, glancing at her older brother. "You're not broken, Justin. We will find a way to give you your powers back…but you have to remember who you really are. If they take that from you, the bad guys really have won."

Looking towards Max, Justin found himself confronted by a firm nod of agreement. "…Okay," the young man finally accepted. "Juliet, I'm sorry. Please…don't let me go."

"I wouldn't be much of a friend if I did, Justin," the vampiress answered, kissing her boyfriend on his forehead. However, each of them could tell something was missing between them.

Now I'm the one who has to snap out of all this, Alex told herself, trying to gather energy from the world around her. "It's getting darker," she declared. "But I think I can find her…It can't be too late. The mana in the air is dying…I'm gonna need help from all of you." Beginning with Max and Harper, each member of the extended family linked hands with Alex. Justin was the last, but his grasp was firm. Each one of them was willing to give everything they had left for one final try: One final act of hope. Fearfully closing her eyes, Alexandria reached deep inside herself, encompassing the person she now was before recalling her true self. The connection was slowly fading, and there was so much pain. However, for the sake of everyone, Alex once again passed through the darkness: Mason's bestial transformation and the blood he shed, Riley as his embrace became sexual, the inability to look her parents in the eyes for so long, and all the love and happiness that was slipping from her heart. Wincing in pain, the young woman forced herself to remain strong, knowing she was her family's only hope. Diving into the twisted shadows and delusions, Alexandria found her dark side's brutality and wicked dreams. Clenching her fists until blood was drawn, the young wizard felt herself experience forced Empathy with her dark side. Their eyes merging into a single entity, Alex became whole for a moment before everything shattered, sending her into a screaming fit. The family falling apart, Alexandria opened her eyes to find herself divided once more. "I know where they are," she declared, knowing she would never be able to share sight with the other part of herself ever again. Harper took her friend's hand once more, sharing her pain. "They're in Pisa," Alexandria declared, her voice grave. "That's where it began… And that's where it's going to end." She's not me anymore.