Sealing Death (21 page)

The Curse Of Fire And Ice

      “I told you we should have subdued her powers first!” Saxton yelled at the others. “A lot of good it did you!” Mr. Angla shot back, “We should have sent my brothers to peck out their eyes before that overgrown flying salamander!”

      “It would take me only five seconds to swallow you whole, Birdie.” Jason snarled, leaning in close, “I bet you taste just like an overgrown chicken.”

      “Stop arguing, you fools!” Reflectra ordered, “I gathered you all because I thought you could handle this task!”

      “Enough!” Electra snapped, “You were all too busy bickering to realize that the enemy is
right behind us!
” The six villains whirled around and saw Cassie and Stella, smiling.

      Without speaking, the two exchanged a glance and cast their arms towards Reflectra. Stella’s ice and Cassie’s fire combined together, forming a blue stream of light, hitting Reflectra in the chest. “What are you doing?!” she screamed, looking at the beam, “Help me! I can’t move! Help!” Reflectra looked down and saw she was vanishing. "HELP!!!” she wailed as she began to turn into dust. The wind blew, and Reflectra was whisked away in the form of fine blue crystals that drifted up into the sky. The crystals exploded in the air, and when Stella and Cassie looked down, Everything, and everyone, was covered in a thick layer of blueish ice and frozen solid.

      “We did it! Oh yeah! We did it!” Stella boasted, “You bet your MAMA that we did it!” Stella began firing icicles into the air as she twirled around the icy plain until Cassie set her hand on her shoulder. “Death is still open.” she reminded, “So we didn’t do it yet. Now we have to go pick up the others and close the gates before our friends thaw out.” Cassie waved her hand, transporting her and Stella back to the castle-tower room.

      “Did it work?” Charlie asked when they appeared. “The window is frosted over, Char-Char.” Stella sassed, “What do you think?” Cassie smirked and waved her hands. “I’m going to send us as close to the gates as I can.” Cassie revealed as they transformed into smoke and blew out into the sky, drifting through the air and to the gates. The group materialized several yards away from the target.

      “Whoa!” Charlie yelped, falling to the ground, “You couldn’t leave a few ice-free spots!” Charlie stood up and Cassie walked over. “We wouldn’t have had to do this curse in the first place if it wasn’t for you promising Electra I would destroy the contract!” she snapped, “Next time, think before you act! Ugh!”

      Will walked over to the exit and looked around. The seven locks rested on the ground, dirt thrown about, and a blue sliver cracking out from underneath one. The only question now was how they were going to get seven gigantic locks back on the Gates of Death.

Kingdom Plantae Part Two

      Betty, Riley, King Albert, and Miss Teacher raced through the still-growing jungle, trying to figure out where the portal was. “WAIT!” Riley shouted, “Do I smell strudel?”

      Sure enough, a purple mist set in, smelling strongly of the German pastry. When it cleared, Susan, the twins, and an unconscious James were with them. “Susan?” Betty questioned, squinting her eyes, “How? Why are you here?”

      “Cassie sent us!” Vanessa chirped, “Bad guys were at the Death Realm, so she poofed us away!” Susan nodded and ran to her husband. “We need to find a doctor!” she cried, looking around, “Where the heck are we?!”

      “New York City, probably around your apartment somewhere.” Betty summed up, “Long story short, plants are back alive, so is Mother Nature. She wants to use the Silver Shadow here to destroy us all. Her son, the mayor, Charlie’s parents, my husband, and Charlotte’s husband are trying to slow her down so we can get this dagger as far away as possible. We are in danger as long as we are on this planet, so we need to get this knife out of the realm A.S.A.P.!” Betty took a breath; she usually didn’t talk that much.

      Susan’s mouth hung wide open, distracting her long enough for a tree to sprout under James and lift him up into the sky. “JAMES!!” she howled, but it was too late. He was out of sight.

      “Susan!” Betty called, “You have to hope Cassie can seal Death and send everyone, and everything back. We have to keep moving!”

      Susan reluctantly took Vander and Vanessa and ran in the way they thought the portal should be, vowing she’d be back for James.

      The group hurried through the forest, until they heard a sound similar to that of a vacuum cleaner. “The portal!!!” Susan shouted, “Vander, Vanessa? Can you clear a path?”

      The twins looked in the direction of where the noise was coming from, but didn’t do anything. They didn’t have too. The wind picked up, and the trees were uprooted and sucked in the crack. A great big, blue cyclone now whirled where the portal had been.

      “All of the returning souls must have destabilized the portal, turning it into a blue hole!” King Albert yelled.

      In reality, that was only half the case. The other part was that the Scarrcedenhogg recently paid a visit to the next realm through the crack, and swallowed it whole. The blue hole now was leading straight into the digestive track of the giant beast, and would continue feeding it until it returns to Death.

      Mother Nature regained her consciousness and began to get up. “What?!” she screeched, struggling against the tight vines, “Who did this?!” “I did, mother.” Arcane confessed, walking out of the brush, “I can’t let you try this again.”

      “Why do you care about these humans so much?” Arcanala asked, still trying to free herself. “Because it is the right thing to do, and whether or not you like it, I am going to want to marry someone someday, and you can bet my future wife will not be something that can’t talk!”

      Arcane flew back as a tree slammed into him. “I can enchant a deer so she can talk if you want!” Arcanala offered, standing up, “I’m disappointed that you thought you could beat me again, Arcane. Now give me the Silver Shadow!”

      Arcane smiled as his mother was hit over the head with a tire iron. “Good job Mayor.” Arcane congratulated as she fell to the ground. He waved his hands and more plants encircled her. “Now what?” Paul asked, coming out from where he was hiding.

      “Now we wait until she wakes up.” Arcane sighed, sitting on a rock, “And hope your Cassie friend hurries up and sends my mother back to the Death Realm.”

      Susan and Betty had the others back up from the cyclone-portal. “We don’t need to get to another realm, we just need to get the Silver Shadow out of this one!” Riley presumed, smiling. “So if we throw the Silver Shadow in, Mother Nature won’t be able to get it!” Betty cheered. “And even if she does get it, it’s a one-way trip!” Susan added, “Which should definitely keep her occupied until Cassie seals Death!”

      Arcane watched as his mother stirred, beginning to regain her consciousness. “You all should get away while you still have a chance.” Arcane suggested, worried about his mother’s temper, “She was knocked-out twice and probably furi-“

      Arcane was cut off as a thorn bush branch wrapped tightly around his neck, cutting into his soft throat. “Help!” he choked as the branch continued to dig into his skin.

      “You cannot beat the hand that created you, Arcane!” Mother Nature snarled, breaking free from the vines holding her down, “You know what they say; desperate times call for desperate measures!!!” Arcanala Pandemoni held out her hand, summoning a wall of thorn plants. As she whisked around in a full circle, more barbed plants shot up from the ground, tightening around the mayor, Mr. Spencer, and the Myers trio. Mother Nature looked around at her bleeding prisoners and repeated the question of the day, “Now, once again, where is the Silver Shadow!”

      Betty Myers gave the dagger to King Albert, as he was probably the best shot at getting the knife out of our realm. “Throw that-“ Susan began as thorns choked her out.

      “Albert Rindenton.” Mother Nature stated, “Hand over the knife, or else.” “Or else what!” Albert shot back, sounding very childish. “Or else I won’t be the only one here returning to Death!” Arcanala threatened, “Everyone your son and his friends care about will join me! Perhaps I’ll start with the twins of a tear of joy!” Arcanala took a breath, and blew out a stream of pink flowery air at the two four-year-olds. The air came in contact with the soil, and four small honey locust trees sprouted up, about three feet in the air. The branches entwined together and spikes grew inwards. “One snap,” she whispered, “and the twins die.”   

Charlie Dies

      The beast slithered through nothing. A huge stomach growled signaling feeding time. Heads sprawled out in every direction, the Virtual Realm was ripped to shreds, the Blumdif Realm was swallowed whole, and the Water Realm was drunk and crushed. Billions of creatures died, but stayed alive, floating along the debris in the nothingness.

      In the Realm of the Retold, the King of the United States watched in horror as a giant tooth split his continent in half. The planet broke in two and the Scarrcedenhogg finished wrecking the Ricky Way Galaxy. Four realms completely gone in under a minute, and nobody could stop it.

      The group walked out onto the ledge of the Scarrcedenhogg’s escape. The beast paddled back towards where it came, stalking down the group threatening to take it down. Cassie watched the beast; the Scarrcedenhogg’s eyes caught her glare. They stared right into her very essence, just as if she was going to be its next meal. "Charlie," Cassie began, "I'm scared."

      Charlie had never thought he'd hear Cassie say that. The Cassie who stood up to her evil birthmother, the Cassie who killed a potential threat to her friends. Charlie didn't know what to do or say, so he just walked over close, held her hand and whispered, "Me too."

      Will continued studying the situation. He was nervous. Cassie hardly ever got scared, and she was scared now. Everyone was on edge, Chrissy, Stella, even himself. What could they do? They were surrounded by seven, 200-ton locks and giant gates embedded into the ground. They were doomed! Evil has won!

      “It’s coming.” Braddock whispered, eyeing the giant hole in the shell of Death, “The Scarrcedenhogg wants to pay us a visit.”

      Charlie had it. This big iguana was hurting billions of people, and now it had made Reality’s only chance lose all hope! He was furious! Charlie wanted to teach the Scarrcedenhogg a lesson. He wanted to scream. He wanted to yell. And now was his chance.

      The Scarrcedenhogg leapt into Death and roared. "Shut up!" Charlie yelled at the thing. The beast was confused, and then with one swift movement, smashed the kid far into the Death Realm, killing him. "Charlie!" Cassie cried, receiving no answer. "Charlie!" she yelled again, still no luck.

      Cassie transported herself to Charlie's side. Well, part of it. Cassie looked at her crushed ex-boyfriend. "Charlie." she wept, "No." Cassie continued to mourn the death of her love. "Charles Myers, I love you." Cassie wailed, "Why did you have to leave me?"

      Although no one should have been able to die, somehow, Charlie did. And Cassie no longer cared about the overgrown lizard. She just sat by Charlie, hoping he'd come back.

      Cassie laid by Charlie, still crying. "I love you." she whispered, "You are my one and only true love, and I shall never love another."

      Cassie stood up and a golden tear trickled down her cheek, and dropped on Charlie's chest.

      "Cassie!" Will yelled, "The locks are moving!" Cassie whipped around and saw the death locks float upwards. She looked back at Charlie, hoping for a miracle. Nothing.

      "Wait," Cassie said, looking closer, "is that tear moving?" Just as Cassie had hoped, the tear giggled and sparkled, and glowed brightly. "The diamond of reality, the most precious thing that exists." a voice thundered, "True love." The tear shined brighter and brighter, shooting sparkles everywhere.

      Cassie covered her eyes and wished that this was going where she hoped. The ground moved her and Charlie outside of the Death Realm and the gates began to close.

Sealing Death

      Arcanala held out her awaiting hand rather impatiently. “I’m waiting, Albert.” Mother Nature snipped, clenching her resting hand into a fist, “With every second of hesitation comes the loss of a second of the twins’ lives!”

      King Albert reluctantly held out the Silver Shadow. “That’s better.” Arcanala smirked, snatching for the dagger. While the witch was distracted, Albert quickly plunged the knife into her chest.

      “OW!” she screeched, yanking the knife out, “Even though that hurt, all it accomplished was making me want to do this more!”

      Arcanala waved her hand, and thorny vines climbed up the king, digging into his flesh. With one swift movement, the nascikinesis practitioner stabbed the king in the heart with the Silver Shadow, looking on as he fell backwards. King Albert clung to his chest as he bled out, eventually losing consciousness, closing his eyes for the final time, and letting Death take him away.

      “I don’t understand!” Arcanala cried out as the man died, “How did he die?!”

      A roar echoed throughout Reality as the Scarrcedenhogg lurched this way and that, liquefying back into its amorphous soul form and returned to the Death Realm. The creature solidified back in its chains and its howls turned into meek puppy cries.

      Arcanala looked down. Her weed dress bubbled and fizzled, melting down, “NO!” she shouted, her torso churning and twisted, “NOT AGAIN!!”

      Mother Nature wailed her last and final wail as her entire body mocked the Scarrcedenhogg’s, just as every dead soul in Reality, and shot in a boiling stream back to Death. Paul, Amy, Greg, Braddock, and every other returned being was plucked from their spot in existence and sent back into the Death Realm. Death was sealed.

      “Good-bye Betty!” echoed in Betty’s mind even after Paul was gone. It was for the best anyhow. Betty looked up and saw the portal was gone. The trees were gone. The dinosaurs were gone. The dead were gone. The Silver Shadow was also gone.

      “JAMES!” Susan called, running over to her husband once she caught her breath, “We still need to get a doctor!” Susan felt her neck, then took her husband’s pulse. “We all need some medical-“ Susan stuttered, “medic-medic-med-cal.”

      Susan fell forward and went limp. Betty ran over. Will’s father died. Cassie’s parents can’t.

      “CASSIE! CHARLIE! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME SCREAM, WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!” Betty called out as loud as she could. It was all that she could do.

      Cassie helped Charlie up. “We did it.” she whispered, “We sealed death up tight.” Charlie looked around and smirked, “We did?” Cassie smiled, but not for long. Charlie’s eyes rolled back up into his head as he fell to the ground. “CHARLIE!!!” Cassie cried, “We need a doctor.” Cassie took Stella’s spell book and flipped through the pages.

Running around, through the realms,

Send us back from where we came,

Flying back, through the realms,

We must go back home to end this game!

      Cassie finished the spell, and a white fog settled all around her, Charlie, Chrissy, Will, Mac, and Stella. The fog rose up and into the nothingness between realms. The fog drifted all the way back to the Realm of the Foretold, seeping into the cracks of the realm’s outer shell and traveling down to Earth.

      Betty walked out into the road. Susan and James were in the rubble of Braddock’s old house, and King Albert laid on the ground nearby. Vander and Vanessa were sitting on the ground, not completely sure of what was happening.

      Betty looked into the sky as a white cyclone circled down from above. The fog drifted to the ground, dissipating, revealing Cassie, Will, Stella, Mac, and Charlie.

      “Don’t just stand there!” Betty yelped, “Help your parents! Wait, Charlie?!” Betty ran over, but was froze in place by Cassie. “Mom! Dad!” Cassie yelled, running to their side, “Don’t worry!” She checked over her mom, and saw her bleeding neck. Her mother was bleeding out! But not for long.

      Cassie placed her hand over the wounds and healed them. Placing her mom to the side, Cassie whisked her hand around her dad, and he regained his consciousness. “Cassie?” he mumbled as she shoved him to the side. Charlie’s turn.

      Cassie reopened the book, ignoring everyone around her. She flipped to the final page in the coincidental literature. It read:

When the end is near and one’s love is at stake,

A spell is needed to stop the progression,

Fighting the calls of Death is truly a feat,

Help is in the direst of needs.

Not a single being can leave a battle untarnished.

Love is the answer.

      “Please wake up.” Cassie begged, “Please Charlie, I don’t know what else to do.” Cassie stayed on the ground next to him when Will saw his father.

      “Dad!” Will cried, running over to his father’s corpse, “No, no, no, no! It can’t be!” Will knelt down next to his father with tears in his eyes. “How did this happen?!” Will demanded to know, “Who did this?!”

      “Mother Nature did it.” Mrs. Spencer cooed, “Your father died stopping her from killing the twins.”

      Will scowled. “I want to go back home.” he snarled, “I want to go back to Everlanon now.” Cassie stood up. “You don’t want to visit?” she asked, concerned, “At least until you have some time to… comprehend what just happened.”

      “I comprehend what just happened just fine.” Will snipped, “All I want is to return to my kingdom. Now.” Will marched over to Cassie and ripped the spell book out of her hand. Flipping it open, Will read the first spell he saw.

Ego in hoc ponut merlin malediction!

      With a bright flash of light, nothing happened. “What did you DO!” Charlie yelled, standing up from where he had been laying. He felt strange, but didn’t know why.

      “CHARLIE!” Cassie screamed, running over and hugging him, “I’m so sorry! I was so stubborn! Please forgive me!” Charlie shrugged his shoulders, and returned the hug, beaming. “I forgive you as long as you forgive me.” he whispered, grinning. Cassie nodded and let go. Turning around, she stopped dead in her tracks.

      “Will,” she began, “Your father is gone.”

      Will turned around, and sure enough, his dead father was nowhere to be seen. “What did I do?” he gasped, dropping the book. Stella’s stolen book fell open on the ground, with the words
‘
The forgotten story is useless. Time to go home
.
’

      The book began to glow purple and spin. It spun faster and faster until a small portal took form. Will looked up and grinned. “Good-bye!” he yipped, jumping inside.

      “WILL!” Chrissy howled, but it was too late. As fast as it came, the portal went, taking Will with it. The spell book snapped shut, leaving only one word visible: A.C.A.S.A.