So I'm posting this a bit early because today (June 12) is my Birthday so I'm doing a Birthday special were I'm posting a bunch of stuff (including a new story, check it out.)

This is also an old chapter and I haven't changed that much of it. After this though, most chapters will be new or edited so much it will probably be unrecognizable.

Still don't own Magi...

Chapter 9 Edited: Darkness

It was rather difficult explaining what had happened. First off, telling them Judal made contact with her made her sound suspicious, which wouldn't help her already strange existence here. She was kinda surprised they just let her walk around on her own. What if she was some kind of spy?

Secondly, she couldn't explain that Yunan had brought her here from another world to stop something bad; she didn't even know what she was supposed to stop. The Medium maybe? But they defeated it in the manga. Unless it was coming again, and stronger than before.

And third, she didn't want to be trapped here forever. She had already told them far more than she probably should have. If they knew she was there to stop something big, would it affect her way back home? Sure the Magi world was amazing, any fan's dream. But it was dangerous, and here she was with no way of defending herself, not even magic.

Which brought her to her worries about Serpentes. He hadn't appeared yet, not once. Even when she asked him to come out nicely. Eleanor rubbed the snake earring in worry. Please be okay...

Yamraiha was looking at her skeptically from across the dining table. "So you're saying it was just a bad dream? That doesn't explain the magic I felt." All the other general, plus Sinbad, Aladdin, and Alibaba sat around the table watching her.

She made eye contact with a Alibaba, who looked concerned for his friend. "I don't think she would lie…" she spoke, thought it was very quiet. "Unless she has a good reason," he added when Sinbad looked at him.

Eleanor frowned. "Well, um, I guess maybe someone was sending me a bad dream?" Does magic work like that? I'm sure it could possibly. Maybe…

Aladdin spoke up. "What happened in your dream? Maybe that can help us figure out what the magic was."

With a gulp, Eleanor tried to think of a good half truth. "It was mostly too dark to see. And Serpentes appeared in order to protect me." She frowned as if in concentration. "But I forget what he was protecting me from… There was ice… and Serpentes got injured. I saw red… and freaked out."

"Freaked out?" Sharrkan asked, curious.

Before Eleanor could explain, she felt something inside her twist in unexplained fear. For a moment, it felt like something was calling her. All of her muscles tensed, which may have been the only thing that saved her, for everyone saw her reaction and readied themselves before anything even occurred.

The shadows beneath her began to spread and swirl violently. With wide eyes, Eleanor screamed bloody murder at the top of her lungs as she felt her support- the chair beneath her- begin to sink. Before anyone could grab her, she had followed the chair.

Everything was eerily quiet; even her own screams were nowhere to be heard, though she knew she was screaming. She stared down into the never ending darkness of the shadows, watching as her chair got engulfed far below. But she wasn't falling. At least not yet. Looking up, Eleanor noticed the red strings that clung onto her, dangling her in the abyss as Jafar held onto the other end. As she looked up at her savior, she furrowed her eyebrows. Her vision was distorted, uneven and twisted. It looked like she was under murky water. Even though the strings were pulling on her tightly, they looked as if they were dancing around loosely. Above, a large man with red hair appeared by Jafar's side and began helping in pulling her back up. While Eleanor could recognize Masrur anywhere, he looked odd through the veil that separated her from them. If she thought about it, shouldn't she feel the strings holding her? Shouldn't she feel the tug as she was pulled up? Everything was strangely numb, as if she wasn't actually there.

As she drew closer to the top, a hand reached out to her, discolored in the blackness around her, braving the distorted shadowy hole. Eleanor felt like she was being ripped in two as the hand pulled her upwards, while the hole seemed to be sucking her in. One last powerful tug and she came flying out. The sounds of the world bombarded her ears, as well as a strange ringing noise that made her dizzy. I can't pass out now… she told herself. When she opened her eyes, her vision swam into some sort of abstract artwork she would find at the museum. She couldn't tell which way was up or down. Not daring to confuse her brain any further, she closed her eyes and simply tried to listen, concentrating on the sounds until she made out words

"What is that thing?" she could hear Yamraiha shouting.

"I think it's some sort of magic," Aladdin announced, not sounding 100% sure of himself.

"It's disappearing!" Drakon exclaimed. Somewhere in the background, the sound of wind blowing threw a smaller and smaller area could be heard before it completely stopped.

"What should we do about her, Sinbad?" Jafar was asking from far away. She couldn't hear Sinbad's response from all the shouting.

Each exclamation pounded her head like a mallet. If this is what a hangover feels like, I'm never drinking even when it's legal. She moved her shaky hand to her temples. "God, why is everyone screaming? Are you trying to wake the dead?"

Someone chuckled behind her. Or was it in front of her? To the left? Right? "If you can complain like that, that means you're alive and well," Sharrkan snickered, a sigh of relief leaving him. Something shifted under Eleanor; was she lying down? She still felt like she was floating.

"I don't know if 'well' is the right word. I feel like crap," she murmured.

"So do I," Sharrkan told her as she felt something warm against her head; a hand? The warmth made her realize just how cold she felt. "I was afraid you were going to rip my arm off. And when I finally pulled you out, you fell right on top of me, so I hit my head on the ground." The hand ran through her hair. "But at least you didn't hit your head." Bu-dump.

"You're the one that pulled me out?" Eleanor asked, shivering a little. "Your hand is warm," she added, leaning into its warmth and opening her eyes. Thankfully, the blurred vision was not as bad, allowing her to make out Sharrkan's worried expression.

"And you're really cold," he chuckled dryly but it sounded strained. "Do you know what that was or are you as clueless as the rest of us?" he asked, seeming to ignore her question.

She shrugged, only to wince as she felt all her muscles protest. "I'm not sure. I kind of know but it was different from before." Her thoughts went back to when she first came to the Magi world… No. This had been different; far scarier than even a free-fall to her possible death.

"Are you alright, Eleanor?"

Eleanor blinked, catching sight of purple drawing closer.

Sinbad kneeled down beside her and Sharrkan. Yamraiha followed behind, quickly came over to Eleanor's other side to examine her. At her call, Aladdin appeared beside Sharrkan.

Sharrkan helped Eleanor sit up, supporting her back with a still-warm hand. His other hand stayed at his side the whole time, unmoving, making Eleanor worry. He may not have been fully in that thing, but his hand could have been affected. Her eyes flicked over to Sinbad, who was still waiting for a response. What had he asked? "Well I don't know if I'm alright. But I'm definitely alive."

"Good to hear." Sinbad glanced at Yamraiha.

"Her skin is cold, but I think it will pass soon." Yamraiha observed. "She doesn't appear hurt."

Aladdin was examining Sharrkan's arm. "Your skin is cold too. Do you feel any pain or anything wrong?" he asked him.

Sharrkan shook his head. "Just a bit numb, but the feeling's coming back." He flexed his hand and moved his fingers to show his recovery.

Sinbad nodded. "You two should go rest. We can figure this out after you have recovered."

Sharrkan helped Eleanor to her feet before turning to Sinbad. "Shouldn't someone keep watch over her in case this happens again?"

Sinbad looked around.

The obvious choice is Jafar with his strings, but being an advisor, he's indispensable at the moment, Eleanor thought. "Sharrkan would always do that," she suggested, feeling her heart rate increase at her own suggestion.

Sinbad thought for a moment before nodding. "Masrur will accompany you as well."

At the sound of his name, Masrur came over and nodded at the instructions he was given.

Sharrkan grinned at her. "Come on Ele. Let's get you to your room."

Next chapter, Eleanor will start to try learning how to fight as well. Shes slowly growing out of her "run away" stage...

Hades' Neko: The snake powers will kinda be introduced in the next chapter but it won't be all of them as Neither Eleanor nor Serpentes actually know what powers Eleanor has.

ddmahan922: Rather than Sinbad, Sharrkan would be the one to jump into a fight first. Sinbad doesn't trust Eleanor too much yet.

Yuka Tsukino: I believe you may be the first one to call me "Author-chan" it sounds so cute~

Jemstone6259: Yes, that chapter had been one of my more forced chapters because I wasn't sure where I was going with it at the time. I like it a lot more now. Judal can indeed be rather scary, but I think I have a thing for the scary type. Rather than screaming in terror at his evil grins and glares, I giggle like a lunatic fangirl...