An Oath To Fulfill

Mattholomule Skarn could be called many things, and not all of them good. Crass, grumpy, cocky, introspective, cunning, it all applied. Particularly that last one as he watched Hunter and Amity prepare to rush off to help their friends. He and all of the other students listened carefully to the quick order to keep protecting everyone dying from the Merging Spell, with Viney left nominally in charge.

Matt glanced toward Boscha, who was curled over Jasper's cooling body and weeping bitterly. Damn, the queen bee of Hexside had grown attached to that guy. A guy who had sacrificed his life to protect Willow from Belos, losing something very familiar from within himself as he did.

After everything he'd been through, Matt would recognize a galdorstone anywhere.

Matt could feel the weight of the pouch at his belt. A piece from the collection at the Looking-Glass Graveyard that he had essentially begged from Stewardt the Keeper to use during this very battle. Stewart had agreed to that under the condition that Matt return the galdorstone to the graveyard as soon as possible after everything settled, one way or another. He'd required an Everlasting Oath, sealing Matt's fate.

Matt looked down at Steve as Hunter and Amity flew away, his heart freezing with fear for his brother. He brushed Steve's hair before rising and slowly moving toward Boscha and Jasper.

"Go away," Boscha snarled through tears.

"Even though I can help him?" Matt rebutted gently.

"You-?" Boscha looked up at him with three wide eyes, which then narrowed with suspicion. "You're lying."

Matt looked around before opening his belt pouch and removing the galdorstone he'd brought, about the size of a heart. "Maybe, maybe not. But I'm the only one who can try."

Boscha looked with desperation at the crystalline orb before giving a small nod and scooting away, though her body remained tense and ready to intervene.

Matt licked his lips nervously and fell to his knees, thinking about how he might go about this. He knew next to nothing about grimwalkers, and so decided to go the most obvious route. He eased the galdorstone into the hole in Jasper's chest, making a face at the wet, squishy sensation. He stopped pushing when it seemed to be halfway through and pulled his hand out to wait.

After a few moments, Boscha looked at him with ire. "What was that?" she asked dangerously, gesturing at Jasper. "It didn't do anything!"

"We need a closer expert," Matt said. "Viney! Get over here!"

"What?" Viney said with stress as she approached, her staff armed and ready. She blinked at Jasper's body and the gemstone inside. "Is that-?"

"He had his galdorstone core knocked out," Matt explained. "I had another one, but pushing it back in didn't help. You're a healer, though. Got any advice?"

"Guys, listen!" All of them turned to see Celine sitting with her aunt, Head Witch Cernunnas. "My aunt says he needs a triple-dose of Vim Franken to return."

"Oh Titan," Viney said, suddenly paler.

"Vim wha?" Matt asked.

"Vim Franken," Viney said, her coloring greener than before. "It's a crazy difficult Healing spell that was once used to bring Abominations to life. Rumor has it that it can bring the recently dead back to life, too."

"Can you do it?" Boscha asked.

"Not by myself. It takes a circle of at least three experienced witches to generate the raw magic for it."

"What about our staffs?" Matt asked. "Would they work to provide the magic for it?" He blinked and slapped his forehead with his palm. "Plus, he's got a freaking galdorstone in his chest! That'll definitely help."

"Maybe," she admitted. "But, guys, if this doesn't work it'll fry him to charcoal."

"He's already dead," Boscha said.

Viney considered and nodded, then jogged to Celine and Cernunnas, the large woman whispering to Viney for several long moments. Viney nodded and returned, holding her staff in one hand. "I'll need another staff," she said.

Matt prepared to hand his over, but Boscha was faster.

Viney took Maya and nodded. She stood and held the two staffs over Jasper's body before twirling them both to form pale-blue spell circles. She swept the heads of the staffs to bring the circles together, merging them into one that began to flicker with tongues of sparking energy.

"Please work," Viney said. She channeled more power into the spell circle, which began to grow and turned to center over Jasper. Both Boscha and Matt backed away, eyes wide as they watched.

"Clear!" Viney called, and the circles broke town into bolts of blue light that surged into Jasper's galdorstone with a deafening booming noise. Viney fell to her knees, sweat pouring down her face as she heaved in deep breaths. Ctesias and Maya both reverted to their true shapes, the manticore nuzzling against Viney while the crab scuttled sluggishly toward Boscha who swept her up into her arms to hold her gently.

"It didn't work," Boscha whispered, holding Maya close.

Then the galdorstone started glowing with faint light … and Jasper's back arched with a drawn-out, breathless scream, flesh slowly growing over the hole in his chest until the galdorstone was covered once more, leaving a raw, puckered scar in its place. Jasper heaved breaths even more haggard than Viney's, gagging and gasping throughout. Then he relaxed and stiffly sat up, looking around at everyone.

"What'd I miss?" he asked blearily.

Boscha slapped him and then grabbed his collar, face red with anger. "You noble dumbass," she snarled in his face, and then planted a searing kiss on his lips.

"Titan, that is messed up," Matt groused. He got up and returned to Steve and the BATs, holding onto his older half-brother as the magic continued to drain from him.

"Guys," Viney said tiredly, turning to look at every witch and demon being drained on the dias — and trying to ignore the shining lights below that represented tens of thousands of others being sapped for their strength — "if you're gonna do something … Do it now."

Then Viney ducked and covered herself with her arms as something grew from the Titan's Skull, the blood-red hue of the sky making everything ominous. She peeked up and saw … were those arms made of pure magic? That reached out and gripped the moon to jerk it to one side!

"C'mon, where is it? Where is it?"

Matt was scrambling along the walls of the arena, searching desperately for the galdorstone that had popped out of Jasper. Yes, he had used his own to help bring Jasper back to life, but his oath remained.

Matt had sworn to return the galdorstone to the Looking-Glass Graveyard, and he could not — literally, could not — rest until the oath was fulfilled. He'd been at it for hours, ever since the moment the crowds had finished dispersing, and was on the verge of weeping from accumulated stress and exhaustion.

"Please," Matt begged, falling to his knees. "Please, Titan, help me."

"Matty?!"

Matt's ears perked at the welcome sound of his brother's voice. He turned to find Steve running toward him, panic overbearing his usually calm demeanor. "There you are!" Steve shouted, coming to a halt and clapping his hands on Matt's shoulders. "What are you still doing here? It'll be dark soon!"

"I gotta find a galdorstone," Matt explained, tearing himself away from Steve to keep searching. "I promised the Keeper I'd return it, but I put it in Jasper to bring him back to life. So if I find the one lost first, I can get it back to the Keeper and my everlasting oath will be kept."

"Everlasting oath?" Steve asked in shock. "Wha-? Matty!" He blinked. "Wait, a galdorstone? Is that what was in the pouch at your belt during the battle?"

"Why else would I borrow one?" Matt demanded, still searching.

Steve ran his hands up through his hair to focus and thought for a moment before summoning his staff. He traced a wide spell circle above his head and clapped the butt of his staff to the ground, sending the magic out as a curtain of mist rolling along the smooth stone.

"C'mon," he said, leading the way. "That illusion will reflect off anything magical. It'll help us find the galdorstone."

"Cool," Matt mused as he ran to catch up.

They made it several yards around the interior of the arena before they found the galdorstone. Or, at least … what was left of it. Three large, glassy fragments lay scattered near the dais. Matt rushed to collect them and piece them together … and found that one large section was still missing.

"Is that bad?" Steve asked with a wince.

"The Keeper knows how to fix them," Matt said despondently. "But this isn't the whole thing." He whined and sunk to his knees. "Each piece keeps a little of its power, but they only work right when they're all together. Sum greater than its parts, and all that." He sighed and slipped the pieces back into his pouch, clutching at his stomach.

"But it doesn't matter. It's not the whole thing. Now I've gotta search the Isles for the one stupid jerk or curious kid that took a piece home."

Steve took a seat next to Matt and offered an open arm. Matt sniffled and hugged his big brother, and Steve pretended that he didn't feel the faint, growing wetness on his shoulder. As Steve did his brotherly duty, he couldn't help but think over what Matt had said earlier. Would bringing a second galdorstone even fulfill the terms of the oath? If not, he'd have to bring the first one back anyway. But that was in-

Steve's eyes widened as an idea came to mind.

"Matty, it's gonna be okay," he said warmly.

Matt sniffled and pulled away from Steve's shoulder, something in his brother's tone telling him that this was not just something to make him feel better.

"I'm getting really concerned by now," Jasper said grumpily.

"Just trust us," Gus said, glaring at Matt as they led Jasper through Forearm Forest, the grimwalker's eyes covered by a blindfold. Aside from that, he now wore a dress shirt of umber orange, dark slacks, and hiking boots along with leather gloves. The Banshees had apparently had a blast shopping for him before the Day of Unity.

It was only a day since, with Matt having contacted Stewardt about his oath and discussing it. The coven heads and Steve would be putting out feelers for the final shard of the broken galdorstone to make sure it wouldn't be abused. As for the oath, Stewardt was adamant that it be fulfilled.

Given that, they had decided to follow Steve's suggestion and approached Jasper, asked him to trust them, and blindfolded him before flying him on Matt's staff to within half a mile of the graveyard. Well, the blindfold thing wasn't Steve's idea, but both boys were determined to keep the graveyard secure.

"Here we go," Gus assured as they finally emerged from the treeline to the front gate of the Looking-Glass Graveyard. Carefully maneuvering Jasper between the myriad of traps they'd set up, they got him through the gates and into the center of the courtyard before pulling off his blindfold.

"Where-?" Jasper cut himself off and looked around with his scarlet eyes, mouth agape. "Is this … the Looking-Glass Graveyard?"

"Yep," Gus said. "We need your help with something."

"My help with-?" Jasper's inquiry was cut off by fog emerging from the ground and gathering in a swirling cloud that flickered with lightning. The fog dropped to reveal the terrifying guardian of the graveyard that roared at them all. Jasper braced his stance and drew a knife from somewhere on his person.

"Run!" he shouted over the wind. "I'll hold it off!"

"It's fine," Matt said blaisely, flicking a hand in an incredibly casual motion. Jasper looked at him like he was insane … until the guardian began to fade into more mist that dispersed to reveal an old man with a wild fringe of bone-white hair that matched his skin, blue eyes, and drooping ears. He wore a teal and white robe with the crest of the Illusion Coven on his chest.

"Welcome back, boys," Stewardt said jovially.

"Hey, Stewardt," Gus greeted with a bright wave.

"Hey," Matt said, his voice tight as he scratched at his wrist. His everlasting oath was prodding him to finish his end now that he was so close.

"Honored Keeper," Jasper said with a low bow.

"So you're the grimwalker that Mattholomule told me about," Stewardt said, taking Jasper's face in his hands to turn this way and that in examination. "Hmm. I've heard of grimwalkers, of course, but I had thought the recipe lost to time. I suppose Belos wanted to be the only one who remembered."

"Uh, Stewartdt?" Gus said with a faint grimace.

"Hmm?" The old man looked at Gus, who flicked his eyes at Jasper. Stewardt looked back and found his own fingers opening Jasper's mouth to examine his teeth. "Ah, yes," he said with a strained, toothy smile, pulling away from Jasper. "My apologies, young man."

"S'fine, I guess," Jasper grunted, massaging his jaw.

"Now, if you'll permit me," Stewardt said, tracing a spell circle and pressing it to Jasper's chest. A thumping sound similar to a heartbeat filled the graveyard and Jasper's chest glowed with ruddy light.

"There it is," Stewardt said, taking his hand away to end the spell. He grabbed Matt's wrist and traced another circle, their joined hands glowing. "The oath is unbound and fulfilled," Stewardt declared. "However," he added with an arched eyebrow, "I would like those fragments for safekeeping."

"I've got 'em here," Matt said, pulling a pouch from his belt and handing it over.

Stewardt took the pouch with care and opened it to find the three fragments, just as Matt had described them. He chuckled and closed the bag. "Any leads on the last piece? I can only fix it if they are all here."

"We've got people working on that," Matt replied.

"Hard to believe one of them broke," Gus said, rubbing the back of his head. "The way you describe them, they sounded practically indestructible."

"Anything can break, boys," Stewardt said sagely. "With enough stress and pressure, anything can break."

"It's hard to believe."

Everyone looked over at Jasper, who had wandered off to observe the gravemarkers of the cemetery. As he looked around, they all noted not a trace of greed or ambition on his face, only curiosity.

"The Emperor's Coven was ordered to find this place. I can only imagine Belos wanted more galdorstones to create more grimwalkers. But try as they might, the scouts could never get past the so-called guardian." He smiled wryly. "It turns out it was all an illusion." The smile turned into a grin and he placed a hand against one of the statues. "I guess that could serve as a lesson about underestimating people who use their brains before their bile sacs."

Everyone was silent at that declaration for a while.

"I like this boy," Stewardt said brightly. "He's wise for his age."

"He's, like, a few months old," Matt said. That's what everyone had surmised from what he and Hunter had explained to them before the Day of Unity.

"Even more impressive for it," Stewardt said as he brushed a hand through his beard. "If he weren't without magic, I might offer him a job." His eyes brightened. "Which reminds me, Mattholomule. Did you ever join the Illusion track?"

"Yeah, I did," Matt said proudly, hands on his hips. "And I can already swap my appearance with other people."

"How'd you learn that?" Gus asked, arms folded and an eyebrow arched with a grin.

"From you," Matt sighed, deflating from his prepared boating.

As Gus and Stewardt laughed at their friend's antics, Jasper listened in on it all. Hearing about how happy they were in school, knowing that his ortet, Hunter, was thriving there, he wondered …

What would it be like to be a part of Hexside School?

Unbeknownst to all, Gus was watching Jasper out of the corner of his eye. He may not be Hunter, but his mannerisms and body language were close enough that Gus could guess his feelings. And he started working through the steps in a plan to get Jasper into Hexside.

Another tale only three days later? WITCHCRAFT, I say! This is one I've been ready to churn out for quite some time; hope you like it!

*The first section of this tale takes place from the end of Chapter 26 of "Strength" to the midpoint of Chapter 28. It was originally meant for the main story, but slipped through the cracks and was only alluded to by Jasper's return. ^The last paragraph of the first section is pulled straight from the story.^ The rest happens after the trip to the human realm.

*Boscha's comment: "What was that? It didn't do anything!" comes from Peridot in "Steven Universe."

*Vim is a term for energy or enthusiasm, most often heard paired with the word vigor - vim and vigor. The word Franken is German for "of the Franks," but in this case is derived from "Frankenstein" - which any nerd recognizes. What else would you use to name a lightning-like spell that brings things back to life?

As always, I hope you liked this! Leave a review if you like! And may your own works be fun to read and to write!