Sorry for the wait, I had some trouble in school and work. plus I finished season 2 of my Korra story. Now Chapter 11.
Chapter 11
One Half Moon Lie, Other Half Moon Trust
The Moon Nexus
We left off with Allen protecting Rayla with Gligar from Soren and Claudia. "Come on Allen you don't have to do this?" Claudia asked Allen. "You were about to attack my friend after you put her to sleep." Allen said to Claudia. "But she's a Moonshadow elf. And she kidnapped you and the princes." Claudia said to Allen. "You know she did not kidnap anyone." Allen said to Claudia, pointing his staff at her.
"Okay I'm confused, but he has a point. Attacking some asleep doesn't seem… sporting." Soren said to everyone. "You want me to wake her?" Claudia asked Soren. Soren nodded yes. "And how long do you need her to be awake for it to be sporting? Ten seconds? Five?" Claudia asked Soren. "One second." Soren said to Claudia. "One second. How sporting of you." Allen said to Soren, sarcastically. "Thanks." Soren said to Allen. "I was being sarcastic. Look I won't let you hurt her or Kali." Allen said to Claudia and Soren.
"That's sweet Allen." Rayla said, before jumping over Allen with the rose in her hand, and kicking Soren in the chest, knocking him to the ground. "Glad to see your awake Rayla." Allen said to Rayla. "But how did you resist the sleep spell?" Claudia asked Rayla. "Oh, I used this lovely rose to help me stay awake. Hard to sleep with a thorn poking at you." Rayla said to Claudia, pulling her thumb out of a thorn on the rose. Rayla then threw down the rose, and pulled out her weapons.
Soren then did a few finance twirls with his sword. "Are we gonna fight, or is this a talent show?" Rayla asked Soren. "Oh if it's a talent show, me next. I do a pretty good magic act. Watch as I make Soren disappear. Flamethrower." Allen said, as he pointed his staff at Soren, before firing a stream of fire at Soren. "Whooo." Soren said, as he rolled out of the way of the fire.
"You and Gligar handle Soren. I'll take care of Claudia." Allen said to Rayla. Rayla and Gligar nodded yes, and charged at Soren. Soon the two of them started to move into the forest clashing swords, with Gligar using Metal Claw. Claudia then looked at Allen, before running after Soren, Rayla, and Gligar. "Hey, get back here." Allen said as he went after Claudia.
Meanwhile with Rayla, Gligar and Soren, they were moving through the trees, when one of Soren's attacks got his sword stuck in a tree. Rayla and Gligar then tried a jump attack, but Soren counterattacked, by kicking Rayla, making her crash into Gligar. This made Rayla and Gligar crash into the ground. Soren then got his sword unstuck and did a jump attack as well. But Rayla and Gligar rolled out of the way of Soren's attack.
Then Rayla threw one of her blades at Soren, as she and Gligar charged at Soren. Soren blocked it and sent it flying back to Rayla. Rayla grabbed her blade and jumped into the air, with Gligar following her using Poison tail. Soren used his sword to block their attacks and made them jump behind him. Rayla then charged at Soren again, and turned her blades into their hook from. Soren blocked one attack, and then used his sword to send Gligar flying. So Rayla tried to hook Soren's feet, but Soren shortly jumped up a little and landed right on top of the blades.
"I keep telling people, "Sweep the leg, is not a thing is sword fighting"!" Soren said to Rayla. Rayla then pulled her swords back, and made Soren fall to the ground. "Oh, any more sword fighting lessons? I'm eager to learn." Rayla said to Soren, pointing one of her blades at Soren, at the same time Gligar came back and pointed some Metal Claws at Soren. "Soren!" Claudia said, getting Rayla and Gligar's attention.
Soren took this chance, slammed into Rayla and Gligar, and moved them back a bit, before tossing them into a pile of mud. Then Claudia was about to throw a potion on Rayla's weapons, but Allen came out of nowhere and tackled her into the mud, making her drop and break her potion. Rayla noticed Allen and Claudia rolling around in the mud, then she noticed Soren's sword pointed at her. "Any last words, elf?" Soren asked Rayla, as he got ready to finish her. "Does "mud" count as a word?" Rayla asked Soren. "What do you mean?" Soren asked Rayla, before Rayla kicked a splash of mud into Soren's face, getting some in his mouth. This made Soren mad.
"Stop!" A voice said to everyone. Making them stop in their tracks, and turn their heads to see mCallum and Callum alone running towards them. "Callum?" Claudia asked Callum. "What are you doing here?" Allen asked Callum, as he and Claudia got up and got next to Rayla and Soren. "Don't fight each other! You're not enemies." Callum said to everyone, as he got in the middle of everyone.
"Your friends tried to kill me!" Rayla said to Callum. "She kidnapped you!" Claudia said to Callum. "She uses Dark Magic on Rayla." Allen said to Callum. "Threw mud in my face, and some got in my mouth!" Soren said to Callum, spitting out some mud. Callum took that all in at once. "Okay! Okay! Knock it off a second. Just let me explain. First of all, Claudia and Soren, I don't know what you're doing here, but I'm really glad to see you." Callum said to Soren and Claudia.
"Are you kidding? They attacked us. How can you be glad-" Rayla asked Callum, but Callum interrupted her. "Buh-buh-buh-buhp-buhp-buhp. Yeah, they're two of my oldest friends, and I am glad to see them." Callum said to Rayla. "But not glad to see you trying to muder my new friend, Rayla, or fight with our mutual friend Allen. And I know Rayla happens to be-." Callum said to Soren and Claudia, but Soren interrupted him.
"She's an elf!" Soren said to Callum. "But a good elf." Callum said to Soren. "What do you mean, "But a good elf"?" Rayla asked Callum. "She kidnapped you, the twins, Prince Ezran, and your Pokemon. How can she be good?" Claudia asked Callum. "There was no kidnapping. We went with her by choice. Listen. It's late. Let's all just get some rest and cool off. If, in the morning, I can't convince you that we're all on the same side here, you can fight each other then. Agreed?" Callum asked everyone, as he helped everyone out of the mud, and everyone put their weapons away
"Fine." Rayla said to Callum. "Fine." Claudia said to Callum. "Gligar." Gligar said to Callum, nodding her head yes. "Fine." Allen said to Callum. "Whatever." Soren said to Callum. "Guess we'll kill you in the morning." Soren said to Rayla. "That's more like it! Come on. I'll show you where you can stay tonight." Callum said to Soren, as he led the way for everyone, with Rayla and Allen in the back, on guard.
"That was very confident, Callum." Claudia said to Callum. "H, yeah? Uh… I guess." Callum said to Claudia, making her chuckle a little. "Even though your hair's a little messy." Claudia said to Callum, clean up his hair. "Ugh!" Everyone else said, not that they liked it.
The Castle In Katolis
Meanwhile at Castle, as the sun started to rise, Viren made his way to the dungeon, where he left the mirror. As he walked he passed Gren and Chatot. "Good morning. I… I assume. Comeo to think of it, I have no idea what time of day it is. Good whatever-time-it-is." Gren said to Viren.
Ignoring him, Viren walked into the room with the mirror, and lit some candles. "Today is a special day, mystery mirror. It is the day you reveal your secrets to me." Viren said to the mirror.
The Moon Nexus
Back The Moon Nexus. Callum was making himself look good, in a blow of water. "I can't believe they found us. I hope Claudia's not mad. Last time we saw her, you chained her to a wall." Ezran said to Callum. "I still can't believe you lead them here. Need I remind you we can't trust her." Drake said to Callum. "Plus, you stole her Primal Stone. Then you broke her Primal Stone." Ezran said to Callum.
"Yeah, yeah. But how does my hair look?" Callum said to Drake and Ezran, making Drake groan in annoyance. "Hmm… Well, it could be more up. Who are you trying to impress, anyway? Claudia?" Ezran asked Callum. "Wha! What? Wha… Trying to impress… Does this look more up?" Callum asked Ezran, acting wired, and messing with his hair. "Oh for the love of Arceus. Is that why you risk our chance at peace, for a girl that doesn't even know you exist?" Drake asked Callum. "She knows I exist." Callum said to Drake. "That's not the point." Drake said to Callum.
Meanwhile Soren and Claudia were chatting in their room. "I figured out what's going on, why the princes and the twins have gotten so chummy with the elves." Soren said to Claudia, as he passed back and forth, and Claudia poured some coffee. "Don't talk to me until I've had my hot morning coffee." Claudia said to Soren, before taking a drink of her coffee. "Okay. Go on." Claudia said to Soren.
"She or that other elf must have bitten them, and now they all have Moonshadow Madness, or Sunfire Craziness!" Soren said to Claudia. "What?" Claudia asked Soren. "It's a thing." Soren said to Claudia. "Where did you hear about those?" Claudia asked Soren. "Camp." Soren said to Claudia, making Claudia laugh at Soren. "Well, we need to do something. Dad gave us a mission." Soren said to Claudia. "To bring the prince's home." Claudia said to Soren. "Right. Unless the twins make a terrible accident occurs. Accidentally." Soren said quietly.
"What?" Claudia asked Soren. "Nothing. My point is…" Soren said to Claudia, but stopped to think. Then he noticed a bag on the floor. We should stuff them in sacks!" Soren said to Claudia. "Soren! They're our friends. At least Ezran and Callum. We should try persuasion first. Use our words, not our muscles. Or did you want Allen, Drake, and the Pokemon to attack us?" Claudia asked Soren. "No. so you're saying… we need to butter them up?" Soren asked Claudia. This gave Claudia some ideas, but it just made Soren confused.
Some time later while everyone was gathered at the table, Claudia made pancakes for everyone. "Pancakes!" Claudia said to everyone. "Yeah!" Everyone, but the twins, Rayla, Kali, and the Pokemon, cheered. Then Claudia started to pass around the pancakes. Rayla looked at it for a few seconds, and sniffed it, before eating it. "Mmm. I have to admit, these are good." Rayla said to Claudia. Then Kali tried some. "Yeah it's great." Kali said to Claudia, enjoying her pancakes.
"Impossibly fluffy, right?" Claudia said to Rayla and Kali. "Mmm. How do you get them so light?" Ellis asked Claudia. "The secret is separating the eggs, and beating the whites into a stiff meringue. And just a hint of Dark Magic." Claudia said to Ellis, making them stop eating, and making Kali spit out pancakes in her mouth. "And that's why we haven't taken a bite." Allen said to everyone, as everyone pushed their pancakes away from themselves.
"So.. Now that we know you're not kidnapped, you guys should come back home. With the egg, of course." Claudia said to Ezran and Callum, putting Rayla, Kali, Drake, and Allen on edge. "Egg? Eggs would go great with these pancakes." Soren said to Claudia as he was still at his pancakes. "Actually, there is no egg." Callum said to Claudia, surprising her. "What? What happened to the egg?" Claudia asked Callum, as Ezran left the table. "You'll understand in a second…" Callum said to Claudia, before they heard a whimpering sound.
They turned their heads to see Ezran walking to them with Zym in his arms. This made Claudia gaps with excitement. "It's so cute!" Claudia said, before she ran to Zym, to hug him. "Oh! It's a baby dwagon! Hey you-." Claudia said to Zym, but she stopped talking and moving when Rayla and Kali stood in front of Zym, Drake and Allen moved to her side and pointed their glowing staffs at her head, and the Pokemon surrounding Zym to protect him and growling at Claudia.
"Don't move a mussel." Drake said to Claudia. "Yeah, what happened to, "It's not an egg. It's a powerful weapon"?" Rayla asked Claudia. "Still true. Someday, it could bring death and destruction raining down on all of us. But right now, he's so widdle!" Claudia said to Rayla, as she tried to pet Zym, but Allen grabbed her arm. "Lay a finger on him, and it will be the last thing you ever do." Allen said to Claudia. "He's right. You're only allowed to look, not touch." Kali said to Claudia, as Allen let her go.
"We're heading back to Xadia to return him to his mother." Rayla said to Claudia. "Rayla's right. We can't go home yet. The mission is too important." Callum said to Claudia, as he walked to Rayla, and as Drake and Allen lowered their staffs.
Then Soren thought about what he and Claudia talked about earlier. 'We need to butter them up… butter them up… butter them up… butter them up… butter them up… butter them up…' Soren thought. "You all need to come home…" Soren said to everyone, getting their attention, but lost his thought. "Because the king, your dad, really misses you." Soren said to everyone, before he ate some butter.
This made Callum and Ezran happy, confused Drake and the Pokemon, and made Claudia, Rayla, Kali, and Allen angry. Claudia then pulled Soren away from everyone, and back to their room.
"Whoa. Did you catch that intense look I got from the elves? I think they're both into me." Soren said to Claudia, as they entered their room, and Claudia closed the door behind them. "Ugh! They're not into you. They're onto you! And so is Allen. Soren, their dad is dead, and you lied about it. And they're our friends. It's wrong." Claudia said to Soren, making him scoff. "You squash innocent creatures to make magic pancakes." Soren said to Claudia. She just shrugged her shoulders.
"Look, I tried it your way, "using words." Maybe it's time for my way, punching and stuff." Soren said to Claudia, taking a seat, and propping up his legs. "No! Give me one more day to convince Callum to leave with us. I'm sure he can convince the others to leave with us. And I'm going to rely on something that's even stronger than muscles." Claudia said to Soren. "Some kind of magic muscles?" Soren asked Claudia. "Trust." Claudia said to Soren.
Meanwhile Callum, Rayla, Drake, and Allen were in their room talking, with Callum sitting on the bed, and the other three standing around the room. "We can't trust them!" Rayla said to everyone. "I wholeheartedly agree with Rayla." Allen said to everyone. "Look, I get it. You don't like Claudia. She tried to kill you multiple times, and you don't trust her. But remember, until today, she thought Rayla and Kali were trying to hurt me and Ezran." Callum said to Rayla and Allen. "And, need I remind you that she knew about her father's kidnapping of Zym." Allen said to Callum, as Rayla sat on the bed.
"And it's not just that, Callum. I know they're lying. I know, because… Well, because.." Rayla said to Callum, but stopped when Claudia interrupted her. "Knock-knock." Claudia said to everyone, getting their attention, and making Callum happy and anyong Rayla, Drake and Allen. "You know saying knock-knock isn't as polite as actually knocking." Drake said to Claudia, before Callum got up and left with Claudia.
"Sometimes I wonder if he has his head on straight." Drake said to everyone. "I'm going with no." Rayla said to everyone. "In any case. Drake, can you keep an eye on Ezran and Zym?" Allen asked Drake. "You got it bro." Drake said to Allen, before leaving. "I'll follow Callum. And you, do what you have to." Allen said to Rayla, before going after Callum and Claudia, confusing Rayla a little.
Back with Callum and Claudia, they were walking, with Allen following them but staying out of sight. "So are you and that elf, like… Did I interrupt something? Between you and..." Claudia asked Callum. "What? Me and Rayla? No! She and the twins were just giving me an earful. Besides, I don't think of her that way. I think of her more as… an assassin. An, uh… An Assassin friend. "Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah. No, I have friends like that." Claudia said to Callum.
"So, uh, you wanted to talk?" Callum asked Caudia. "Yes. I need to tell you about things that happened back at home. You know, good things, bad things…" Claudia said to Callum, but Callum interrupted her. "Mmm-hmm. I broke your Primal Stone." Callum said to Caludia. "What?" Claudia asked Callum, as they stopped moving. "Sorry. I just had to get it off my chest." Callum said to Claudia. "But how did you-." Claudia asked Callum, but Callum interrupted her again. "I smashed it. Yup." Callum said to Claudia.
"Hmm. Well, accidents happen." Claudia said to Callum. "On purpose." Callum said to Claudia. "I'm sure you had a good reason." Claudia said to Callum. "I did! I really did. Oh! You're the best, Claudia." Callum said to Caludia, as he tried to hug her. But he stopped himself. Not that Claudia noticed this. "I know this doesn't exactly make up for it, but I thought maybe you would let me show you around all the magic Moon places and stuff?" Callum asked Claudia. "I would let you." Claudia said to Callum, making him smile. Allen saw and heard all of this. 'I guess Callum is a fool, when he's in love.' Allen thought, as Callum led Claudia away, and he followed them.
Back with Drake, he was watching from the shadows, as Ezran, Ellis, Ava, and Kali were playing with Zym, with the Pokemon standing around them, in a protective formation, and Bait laying nearby. Soren was watching them from atop some stairs, staying away from the Pokmeon.
"Ah! You can't hurt a kid, Soren. He's just a kid. On the other hand, if there's an accident becuase he's doing something dangerous and stupid, well… that's on him." Soren said to himself, before he walked to Ezran and everyone with him. But he didn't realise that Drake was watching him, but didn't hear him. 'I don't know what he said, but I know a bad idea when I see one.' Drake thought, as he got mad, and followed Soren.
Meanwhile, Ava and Zym were playing a game of tug of war with a stick, with Ezran holding Zym up, and helping Zym. Then Ava let go of the stick, causing Zym and Ezran to fall to the ground, making them all laugh. That's when Soren walked to them, with the Pokemon looking at him with mean looks. "Hey, friends! Ez. Dragon. Wolf-girl. Worl. Fire Elf. Pokemon. And my main guy right here, Bait! What's happening, little toad man?" Soren asked everyone. Bait just groaned and left Soren.
"What do you want?" Kali asked Soren. "I have an idea for something super fun, but also incredibly dangerous in which some potential accidents may occur. But so fun! Who's in?" Soren asked everyone. "What is it?" Ezran asked. "I'm in!" Ellis said to Soren, earring a lok from Kali. "I mean… What is it?" Ellis asked Soren.
Meanwhile, back with Claudia and Callum, Callum led Claudia to the temple at the nexus, and that's where Lujanne and Vale meet them in front of the main door. "Oh. Uh, Claudia, this is Lujanne, she's a Moon mage, and her Zoroark, Vale. They're illusionists." Callum said to Claudia. "Wow! Are you and your Pokemon an illusion yourself?" Claudia asked Lujanne. "Well, no, we're-." Lujanne said to Claudia, but Claudia interrupted her, by pulling their checks. "But you feel so real!" Claudia said to them. "Zoro." Vale said, as she slapped Claudia's hand on her and Lujanne.
"We are real." Lujanne said to Claudia. "Huh, that's exactly what an illusion would say. But it did feel real when Vale slapped my hands." Claudia said to Lujanne. "Zoroark." Vale said in annoyance before she and Lujanne left. "And just like that, they disappear." Claudia said to Callum, before they talked to the door. Allen heard this, and slapped a hand into his face.
Then Callum and Claudia went inside the temple. Claudia was then distracted by the walls of Moon runes, the decoration, the moon moths, and the plant life overgrowing in the temple. And Callum was distracted by Claudia. This allowed Allen to enter the temple unnoticed.
"This place is amazing!" Claudia said to Callum, before moving to a wall with runes. "Yeah. I wonder what all these runes do." Callum said to Claudia. "They're probably incredible spells." Claudia said to Callum. "It's just too bad humans can't do magic without a Primal Stone." Callum said to Claudia. "What? Yeah, we can." Claudia said to Callum, putting her hands on her wip and being prideful. "No, I meant Primal Magic. Not, you know your kind of magic." Callum said to Claudia. "Oh? My kind of magic?" Claudia asked Callum.
"Dark Magic." Callum whispered to Claudia. "Do you always whisper when you're being judgemental?" Claudia asked Callum, while whispering. "Sorry, I didn't mean it that way. I just… I loved learning magic, and I feel sad now that I can't." Callum said to Claudia. "But you can. If you want to." Claudia said to Callum, pulling out a black book from her bag. The book had all six magic symbols on it surrounding a large symbol that looked like a crystal in between two snakes that were wrapped together.
"I want to learn Primal Magic. But you have to be born with that magic inside you." Callum said to Claudia, making her chuckle a little. "That's the great thing about Dark Magic. You just take creatures that are born with magic inside and squeeze it out of them. I sometimes wonder what would happen if we used Pokemon. It would be some really powerful magic. Don't you agree?" Claudia asked Callum, acting like it was the cuties and nicing thing to do. But Callum just made a disgusted face from her words.
What… You're doing it again, Prince Judgy-face! Look. Here's how I think about it. Humans weren't born with magic. We were born with nothing. But we still found a way to do amazing things. That's what Dark Magic is really all about." Claudia said to Callum. "I'm sorry. It's just not for me." Callum said to Claudia. "Hmm." Claudia said to Callum, before they started to leave. Allen overheard everything. 'I've known Claudia for almost a month, so how did I not notice she wasn't right in the head. No wait, I did. I just don't know how messed up she is.' Allen thought, before going after Callum and Claudia.
Back with the others. They were on the high point of the Nexus, with Soren using his sword to hammer in a peg for a long rope that went a mile down. And on the rope was Ezran and Zym in a hand made swing. All with Kali, Rockruff, Swanna, and Braviary watching them. "So you just zip across this line?" Ezran asked Soren, after Soren finished hammering in the nail. "Exactly. I call it the Slidey-Sling Go-Fast Rope!" Soren said to Ezran. "That is a good name." Ezran said to Soren and Zym.
"Not to be mean here, but? Are you sure this is safe?" Kali asked Soren, as she looked at the peg. "Yeah, are you sure it's going to hold? Kali and Zym are nervous." Ezran asked Soren. "I'm not nervous, I'm worried! After all you two are the Crown Princes." Kali said to Ezran. "Relax. I'll show you. It's fine." Soren said to Kali, as he jumped onto rope, and used his sword to ride it. As he rode down it, he went over a chasm, and landed by a tree where Ellis, Ava, and Bait were waiting. "That was the best!" Soren yelled.
"I still don't like this." Kali said to everyone. "Okay, Zym, this is your chance to see what flying feels like." Ezran said to Zym. "Yeah!" Ezran said, as they started to move. Swanna and Braviary went after them. After having a blast for a few seconds, Ezran, Zym, Swanna, and Braviary landed at the end of the rope, with Soren catching them. "Zym, you didn't open your wings. That was the whole point." Ezran said to Zym, making Zym whimper. "You could go again. But what if, this time, you go first?" Soren asked Ezran.
Back with Callum and Claudia, he led the two of them to some rune stones, with Allen behind him. "There's not much to see here, but I thought I'd show you-." Callum said to Claudia, but Claudia interrupted him. "Runes! I love ancient ruins." Claudia said, getting excited. "Really? Me, too." Callum said to Claudia, as they went to explore it. 'Just when I thought he couldn't get any worse.' Allen thought, before following them.
Then as Claudia spun around the runes, Allen moved behind a rock, right before Claudia stopped fishend spinning. "If you close your eyes, you can imagine what it was like. Everything so magical back then. It's beautiful." Claudia said to Callum, while she spined, and had her eyes closed. But that wasn't what Callum was focusing on. He was in a going gagaga for Claudia. "Yeah, beautiful." Callum said to Claudia. Caludia then opened her eyes.
"Hey. Your eyes aren't closed." Claudia said to Callum, not noticing the love stare he had on his face. Insead she thought they were having a game, and made a funny face. This made both of them laugh. "You think this is great? Wait until you see the Moon Nexus." Callum said to Claudia, before he started leading them, but stopped. "Actually, hold on. We could come back tonight, after the moon rises." Callum said to Claudia. "Great. It's a date." Claudia said to Callum, before leaving. "It's a date!" Callum said, getting excited.
Allen overheard them, and slapped a hand into his face. 'How more foolish can this boy be? He's so entranced by the pretty wrapper, he can't see the rotten insides. I mean it's not like Kali, who's pretty both inside and outside, but has a fiery temper, which only makes her glow a little. Wait! Why am I thinking about this! Focus Allen you have to stop Callum from going on that date.' Allen thought, hitting himself in the head, before going after Callum.
Back with Soren, he was helping Ezran and Zym into the swing, with Swanna and Braviary near the swing and everyone at the bottom of the rope. And Soren aslos noticed the peg coming loose a little. "Whenever you're ready." Soren said to Ezran. Ezran then took off with Swanna and Braviary following them.
Then Soren turned round to see Drake right in his face, with a mean look. "Aaah!" Soren said, backing up a little. "What are you doing?" Drake asked Soren, as Rayla and Gligar showed up. "You heard him? What are you thinkin' about?" Rayla asked Soren. "Nothing! What are you thinkin' about?" Soren said to everyone, while flirting with Rayla.
Then Drake and Rayla looked at the peg, then each other. "I'm thinkin'... you should go next." Rayla said to Soren, pointing her blade, in hook form, at Soren. "You heard her. Off you go." Drake said to Soren, pointing his staff at Soren. "Unless you think it's not safe for some reason?" Rayla asked Soren. "No. It's perfectly safe. Let me just double-check this peg." Soren said to Rayla, before moving to the peg.
Soren then hammered the peg in a little more, with Drake and Rayla giving him a mean look. And after worriedly baging in the peg, he walked back to Rayla and Drake. "Ah, yeah, it's safe. So safe." Soren said to them, before hopping on the rope and going down. As he went down, Rayla and Drake pulled the rope a little, making Soren exclaim, and the peg creak. This made Drake mad, and Rayla suspicious of Soren.
Back with Callum, he was looking at his drawing of the Moon Nexus, thinking about his date. That's when Allen entered the room. "Callum, you're not going on that Date with Claudia." Allen said to Callum, surprising Callum. "What, how did you know… Have you been following us?" Callum asked Allen. "Of course I am. Because you cearly can't see how dangerous Claudia is." Allen said to Callum. "She's not dangerous." Callum said to Allen.
"Callum, she immediately thought that all the runes in the temple were a powerful spell, instead of thinking it could be something, like a record of Moonshadow elf history. And she thinks it's okay to end the lives of other living things to do magic." Allen said to Callum. "It's not her fault we're born with nothing." Callum said to Allen. "And that's another thing, her negative view of nothing." Allen said to Callum, getting Callum's attention.
"What do you mean "negative view of nothing"?" Callum asked Allen. "Callum. There's always two ways to view something. A positive view or a negative view. In the way of nothing. In a negative view, nothing is black, pitch black, you can do anything, and all of your effort is worthless. But a positive view is one where it can be anything, where you see nothing, you can see a home, a garden, or a shop. Take your drawings for example. You turn pages of nothing into art work, if it was Claudia, it'll probably be blank or a mess. So you see, the positive view is a view of what it can be, while the negative view is one where everything is hopeless." Allen said to Callum.
"Well that's for the lecture, but I'm sure you're overreacting." Callum said to Allen, as Rayla and Drake entered the room. "We can't trust Soren and Claudia." Rayla said to everyone. "They're planning to stab us in the back." Drake asid to everyone. "See I'm not the only one telling you their bad news." Allen said to Callum. "I thought we talked about this." Callum said to everyone.
"But we have proof now. Soren built a Zippy line…" Rayla said to Callum, but Drake interrupted her. "Zip line." Drake said to Rayla. "For Ezran, but it was a trap. He wanted there to be an accident." Rayla said to Callum. "Wait. How do you know that?" Callum asked Rayla. "The peg was kind of loose." Rayla said to Callum. "Kind of?" Callum asked Rayla. "It was definitely loose." Rayla said to Callum. "And it went over a deep chasm." Drake said to Callum. "Which is why Soren tightened it before he went down." Rayla said to Callum.
"So, it was loose, but then he tightened it?" Callum asked Rayla. "Callum, I know I'm not explaining it well, but you just have to look me in the eyes and trust me." Rayla said to Callum. Then Callum locked eyes with Rayla. "I can see you believe it. But I've known Soren and Claudia for years. You and I don't have that yet." Callum said to Rayla, making her sad and leaving.
This made Allen mad and slapped Callum in the face. "Ooooh! What was that for?" Callum asked Allen. "One you upset Rayla, and two and the main reason. TO GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE CLOUDS!" Allen yelled at Callum, making Callum fall into a chair. "Callum, Soren and Claudia may have been your friends and you may have a crush on Claudia. But you need to look past it. Need I remind you that Claudia knew about her father's crime, or all the time Soren made fun of you. And if that doesn't convince you. Then let me ask you? Do you think Soren and Claudia will betray everything they know and love to help you, like Rayla did the night we met her?" Allen asked Callum, before leaving
"You know he has a point. And when or if Ezran gets hurt, know that it was because you refused to see Claudia and Soren, for what they have become. Our enemies!" Drake said to Callum before leaving him.
Back with Claudia and Soren, they were in their room, as Claudia got ready, but putting a flower in her hair. "Hey, are you doing something different with your hair? Some kind of a… braid-bag flower-dealy?" Soren asked Claudia. "Yeah, it's cute. So what?" Claudia asked Soren. "We need to stay focused on getting the princes to leave with us. I have the feeling Drake's on the edge of zapping us. I just want to make sure you're still on mission, not just… having fun." Soren asked Claudia. "Uh, you built a zip line today." Claudia said to Soren. "I took no joy in that." Soren said to Claudia.
Back with Rayla, she made her way to the temple, and inside, Rayla met with Lujanne, who was trying to meditate with Vale. "Lujanne, I need your help." Rayla said to Lujanne, as she walked to Lujanne. "If wisdom is what you seek, I shall do my best to fake it." Lujanne said to Rayla, before laughing a little. "Zoroark." Vale said not thinking it's funny. "That's an old illusionist joke." Lujanne said to Rayla, as she turned to face Rayla.
"Right. Um… I need my friend to trust me, but he doesn't and I think it's my fault. I've been keeping a secret from him, hiding the truth." Rayla said to Lujanne. "Rayla, look at the moon." Lujanne said to Rayla, pointing to the moon, from a carving in the wall. "Light only falls on half its face right now, but that doesn't mean the other half isn't there. And it is the same with you. There are parts you keep hidden." Lujanne said to Rayla.
"If I want him to trust me, don't I have to stop hiding the truth?" Rayla asked Lujanne. "Real trust is about accepting even the dark parts we will never know." Lujanne said to Rayla. "No. no, I don't think that's right. Lying and hiding the truth aren't that different. Strong relationships need honesty, the full truth." Rayla said to Lujanne, making her laugh a little. "Oh! Now you sound like my first three husbands." Lujanne said to Rayla. "I'm afraid of hurting him, but I owe him the truth. I can't leave Callum in the dark any longer. I have to tell him what happened to his dad." Rayla said to Lujanne.
"I was wondering when you would get around to that?" A voice asked, making Rayla, Lujanne, and Vale turn their heads, to see Allen standing nearby. "Allen! How long have you been standing there?" Rayla asked Allen. "Long enough to know the king is dead. Long enough to hear that it's eating away at you. And long enough to hear Lujanne's wisdom." Allen said to Rayla, as he walked to them.
"You knew?! For how long?" Rayla asked Allen. "I knew something was up the night we left on our journey. When this came off." Allen said to Rayla, pulling out the red arm band and showing it to Rayla. "Then at the lake, you told us that it was an assassin's binding, and that it would only come off when the target was killed. I remember what you said. You have two targets that night. So I put two and two together, and I figured it out." Allen said to Rayla, as he put the armband away.
"But why haven't you told anyone?" Rayla asked Allen. "Because it was not my truth to tell. And we had bigger problems at the time." Allen said to Rayla. "What do you mean "my truth to tell"?" Rayla asked Allen. "Rayla, truth is like a hammer, it can be used to reforge something, or smash it to pieces. I knew if I told Callum and Ezran the truth, it would have made things worse, maybe even make them give up on Zym and peace. I knew you or Kali needed to be the ones to tell them." Allen said to Rayla. "Does Drake know too?" Rayla asked Allen. "No. But I'll probably tell him soon." Drake said to Rayla.
"Allen, do you trust me?" Rayla asked Allen. "Of course." Allen said to Rayla, without a hint of doubt in his voice. "Why?" Rayla asked Allen. "It's like what Lujanne said. Real trust is about accepting even the dark parts. And for me, that means accepting the fact that you tried to kill me, when we meet. But you've fought by my side to protect all the princes, and even when Callum thinks you're crazy, you still look out for him. For that you have earned my trust." Allen said to Rayla.
"Thanks, but I don't know how Callum's going to react." Rayla said to Allen. "I can guess how, but the only way to know is to tell him." Allen said to Rayla. "But what if I can't?" Rayla asked Allen. "Rayla, sooner or later the truth will come out. It's best to do it on your own terms, rather than when they get home to find out the hard way." Allen said to Rayla. "You're right. I need to tell him the truth." Rayla said to Allen.
"Hmm. I'm glad my wisdom helped." Lujanne said to everyone. "It didn't. It was wrong." Rayla said to Lujanne, before leaving. "Was it? Or was it just differently true?" Lujanne asked Rayla, making her stop. "I get it, you were doing reverse psychology." Allen said to Lujanne, before Rayla shook her head with a smile on her face and got back to leaving. Allen then left. Leaving Lujanne and Vale to get back to their medication.
The Castle In Katolis
Back at the castle Viren was in the room with the mirror, performing Dark Magic on the mirror. "This true-sight serum will strip away all illusions, and allow me to see you for what you really are." Viren said to the mirror, as he held up a small veil with a black liquid in it. Viren then started a Dark Magic chant, and poured a drop into his eyes, making them burn for a few seconds, causing him to scream in pain.
Then when Viren opened his eyes, he saw everything was black and purple, but nothing was different from how he saw it, with his regular eyes. "Nothing? Nothing. Nothing! Oh, you're powerless, useless. I thought you were going to be something special, something important!" Viren said angrily to the mirror, as his eyes turned back to normal.
Then Viren realised he was talking about himself and not the mirror. This made him mad, and he started to tear apart the room in a fit of rage. Doing this causes everything to burst into flames. But Viren just held out an arm, and absorbed the fire, turning the room black.
But then something happened that Viren wasn't expecting, the mirror started to glow. The sight of this made Viren gasp. Then an image of a study appeared in the mirror. "What is this place?" Viren asked himself.
The Moon Nexus
Back with Callum, he was walking to the spot he and Claudia stopped their tour earlier in the day. And when he got there he noticed Claudia in her new hairdo, and got excited as he walked to her, fixing his hair as he walked. "Hi." Claudia to Callum, as she noticed him. Callum then walked to her right side. "The moon's so bright tonight. You can see our shadows." Callum said to Claudia, as they looked at their shadows. While looking at the shadows, Callum moved his hand making it look like the shadows were holding hands.
But when Claudia looked at him, he stopped. "Hey. Did you just have your hand-shadow hold my hand-shadow?" Claudia asked Callum. "Did I?" Callum asked Claudia. "Come on! Take me to see the Nexus." Claudia said to Callum, taking both of his hands, and pulling him. This made Callum happy. Then Claudia let go of one of Calum's hands, and they ran to the Nexus.
Once they got there, they saw the beautiful sight of the lake shining like the moon itself. "It's like the moon, but more… here." Claudia said to Callum, as they let go of each other's hands, and took in the sights. "So, Claudia…" Callum said to Claudia. "Yeah?" Claudia asked Callum. "Uh. I've known you for so long." Callum said to Claudia. "Yeah. Me, too." Claudia said to Callum. "Well, sure. You've known yourself your whole life." Callum said to Claudia, before slapping his hand in his face, cause he said something stupid. But Claudia just laughed at this.
"Callum, you always make me laugh." Claudia said to Callum. "You make me laugh, too. And you make… see the world a whole different way." Callum said to Claudia, before looking at with happy faces. "Wow. I, uh… I suddenly don't have any more words." Callum said to Claudia, before she chucked a little. "That's okay. We can just be here… without words." Claudia said to Callum.
And with that, the mode was set, and they held each other's hands. Then they went in for a kiss. But Claudia stopped them. "Wait. Callum, I need to tell you something." Claudia said to Callum.
Back with Allen and Rayla, they were walking to the Nexus. "So you know what you're going to say to Callum?" Allen asked Rayla. "Yes, but I'm nervous." Rayla said to Allen. "Wait? Who's that?" Allen asked Rayla, as he made his staff glow, making it a torch. That's when they noticed Callum. "Callum?" Rayla asked. "What's he doing here?" Allen asked. "Oh, I'm so glad you're here. We need to talk." Rayla said to Callum, before they noticed Callum was crying.
"Callum what's wrong?" Allen asked Callum. "I know what happened. He's gone." Callum said to Allen. "Oh, no." Rayla and Allen said, realising that Callum knew the truth.
Hello everyone, I hope you like this chapter. Please follow or review if you like this story.