Entry 144: Merlin's Power -Nick-

"How could you have someone check my background?!" Yeah, I guess I was yelling, but I felt betrayed.

"I don't trust you!", Crystal stood up and pointed to the door.

"Everything that's happened since I was a zombie has somehow had something to do with you. You threatened me, brought me back to life, and killed a man in cold blood. You don't explain to us why. You just do!"

Will raised his hand in the air, "Okay, maybe it's because I'm new to this; but in the realm of sanity it's impossible to bring someone back from the dead, and it's often well accepted that being a zombie is permanent."

"This is of no concern to y-", I felt something hit my chest and I was lifted off my feet. The world around me grew dark and a very old man was standing there looking down at me. Pulling myself to my feet I looked around for Crystal and Will, only to find no one except me and this old man.

"It's been quite a long time, and you haven't aged a bit my friend." The old man bowed his head.

"Who are you? What did you do to the people I was with?", I pulled myself to my feet.

The old man looked confused for a moment and then smiled wildly, "You unbelievable child! You did it. You really did it!"

He walked over to me and began squinting at me and tilting his head to angles that would normally be impossible.

"Did what? What are you going on about?", I stepped away from him.

"Right, you wouldn't know. Maybe I can explain it to you, because it's rather simple. See, I am a very old man and I am also a powerful wizard much like yourself."

"I wouldn't say powerful."

He rapped me on the head with more force than would be expected from someone so frail. "Don't put your magic down, not many people can battle me and survive. Now, while I am very powerful, my magic has been slowly degrading over time. I used to be able to change the Earth’s rotation around the sun, and now all I can do is rotate the Earth on its own axis."

It slowly dawned on me that I was on a completely different level of power than this old man; moving planets through space was something I hadn't even conceived yet. "That's not what I would call losing power."

The old man smiled, "You used to think so. You promised me that one day, you'd find a way to live long with out losing power and you've done it. You've found a way to bring yourself back to when you were at your peak."

"I am not following you."

"I don't have anymore time to explain except to say that you are one of the most unique wizards I'd ever met, so I have decided to give you a gift. I am going to transfer my magical energy to you. Maybe you can find a better use for it."

"Why would you do that?"

"A young girl has murdered me, though I admit she was very bad at it. Anyway, it gave me an excuse to go and do some exploring in other realms. While I'm gone, I need someone to hold on to my abilities and you are as good a candidate as any."

"Umm . . . if she murdered yo-", I was shut up by another smack across the head.

"You know as well as I do that death can be a difficult achievement even for a wizard with very little knowledge. I need you to listen, I don't have much more time. My magic is going to conflict with yours, so you may find yourself having memories that were supposed to be erased."

The space around me began to brighten.

"Wait, who are you?"

"Merlin, of course. Kids these days!" He raised his hands above his head and I was laying on the floor, looking at the faces of Will and Crystal.

Bits and pieces of long forgotten memory came flying back at me, but only one small part stood out from among the rest.

I sat straight up, "We have to go help Ben!"

Christmas Special: Future -Ben-

(Well, I haven't posted anything in a while but I was busy with a few other things. Until a couple of days ago when I realized what day was fast approaching. So, in honor of Christmas I am going to give everyone a little sneak peek into the future of all the characters in the blog. So I present what could happen . . . if . . .)

"I miss John."

Crystal looked out from my porch at the snow covered lawn. Nick stood behind her, his arms protecting her from the cold. Nick smiled gently and kissed the back of her head.

"I do too. He was a great man. He gave a lot for us all. So did Ben."

Crystal smiled and turned, "You did too. I'm just glad you weren't taken away from me like they were."

She leaned in and just as they were about to kiss, a light flashed over them. Turning, Crystal and Nick looked out at the approaching car.

"Patrick is here!"

Crystal slipped out of Nick’s arms and smiled widely as she bounded down the steps.

"Patrick! You made it!"

The car slowly came to a stop. Nick turned to the door and called in, "Johnathon! Benjamin! Patrick is here!"

Down the steps the children leaped, running out to the car and in to the arms of Patrick as he got out of the car. Behind them came Saba, who stopped in the door and smiled at Nick, "You interrupted our game of Soul Caliber. I was winning."

"I guess you'll have to win another time.", Patrick said as he carried the two boys over his shoulders in to the house. In all the time that had past Patrick hadn't aged, not at all. He still had this presence about him, except it had long since become more benevolent.

Patrick set the children down and looked at Nick, "Are you ready?"

Crystal walked up to Nick and grasped his hand, "Do you have to? You go every Christmas."

Nick smiled and leaned in to kiss her, "I have to. One day he'll come out of it. I just know it."

Crystal returned the kiss and then pulled away, "Patrick, have you heard from Carl or Vincent?"

"They said they would be here for dinner, so I'd expect them to be here very soon."

"And Will?"

"What about me?" Through the door he walked, a large smile on his face and two massive presents under his arms. He set the presents down and hugged both Saba and Crystal.

"Boy, do I have tales for you guys."

That was Will, always telling tales and catching every one’s attention. He and Patrick had decided to bury the hatchet, especially after he found out the truth.

Will turned to Patrick and shook his hand, "Have a good drive. Give him my regards."

And with that, Patrick and Nick slipped in to the car and drove off.

A few hours had passed when they finally pulled in to the driveway of The Bernauw Mental Institution. Nick and Patrick walked up to the doors, waving at an orderly as they passed. The two didn't talk much, this was very hard for both of them. No one enjoyed seeing John like this.

Possessed, only his will holding it inside. Protecting us all.

They could hear John's rants as they approached the door. The door they never opened, just listened through.

After seven years, the rants hadn't changed.

"They tell me things, then I eat them. O' Dorothy, Dorothy!"

"Merry Christmas, John.", Nick whispered.

I looked through the window at him and wished I'd taken his place. He'd have been better dead. Like me.

Flashback Entry 143: Booze -Will-

Each pound on the apartment door brought a new wave of stinging headache.

"Would'ja just hold on a minute?!", I rubbed my face and then closed my eyes again.

Every time I opened them the world started spinning anew. Every time I closed them I saw their faces. It was an inescapable torture; even the booze failed to rid me of it. Booze? When did I start calling it booze? God, I've really hit rock bottom.

I was jarred awake again by several more earsplitting knocks on the door.

"Hey! Wake up!"

"Go away Chris."

He came by a lot lately. Probably felt that he had to check up on me, or maybe he was just annoyed at how stupid I'd been acting. I don't blame him, I had been acting stupid. Truth is, I didn't care. Everything I'd had was swept out from under me, and there was nothing left for me save what sat in the bottom of the bottle that lay on my chest.

"Get up, Will!"

I closed my eyes again and there they were. Smiling as they got in the car to go home; smiling as they road to death. I'd been too busy investigating OCS industries that I never realized how deep I'd gotten myself. My one mistake; a mistake I don't make often. They'd been waiting at home for them, and me if I'd been with them. I had OCS on its knees. Crippling evidence that would have ruined the company. It would have led to the arrest of the CEO, Patrick Bernauw.

"If you don't get up . . . ", I snapped awake at his voice.

"I was a damn good reporter!"

"I know."

"I had those bastards. Was gonna nail them to their own cross."

"Get up, Will. I'll be waiting in the car."

"What do I have to get up for?! They didn't do anything and they had to die. Just to shut me up. Why didn't they just kill me?"

I listened to the glass shatter as I threw the bottle to the floor and sat up.

I was going to miss them. Forever.

142: Lies, Lies, Lies -Crystal-

I watched him as he sat on the Hotel bed eating and watching television. This was a disaster and I didn't have to be Ben to see that.

"Why'd you tell him he could go with us?", Ben was not happy.

This seemed to be something constant with me. Going to the wrong person for help and getting everyone in more trouble. First it was Saba, and now Will.

"It was payment. I told him he could go with us if he did me a favor."

Nick looked at me, "What favor?"

"Nick, right?", Will suddenly spoke, "She wanted me to look you up. Dig in to your past to figure out how dangerous you are."

I suddenly wished I'd found a reporter with a bit more tact, or at least some restraint. I felt everyone's eyes on me as I sat there.

I was about to try to explain when Will spoke again, "Fact is, she's right. You are a very dangerous man, Nick. Seventeen years ago you decimated an entire village of 100 people, and based on the eye-witness accounts, it only took you 13 minutes to do it. On top of that, you were committed in an old folks home at the same time this happened. You also were reported dead a few weeks ago."

Ben glanced at Nick and then me, "How is this possible?"

"Oh that's easy.", Will shut off the television and pointed at Nick, "He is a fake, a sham, a liar, and judging by his lack of skill in covering it up he's also a noob."

Nick put his hand in front of him, "Whoa now, just hold on a secon-"

"Now I don't know why he would use the alias of an obviously dangerous man, maybe he's just dumb, but I couldn't find any record of him except for footage of him walking out of the home that the real Nick Brown had been admitted to."

Nick sounded exasperated, "I woke up there. I-"

"See, she was right to call me and have me check up on him. If she hadn't, he'd have been still learning all there was to learn about all of your secrets."

Ben frowned at Will, "Just like what you're going to be doing."

"At least I'm honest about it. Tell me, has Nick done anything that sticks out, something so glaringly wrong that it's the first thing that you think of when you talk to him?"

I watched Ben's face and knew he was thinking about the man that had been murdered on the plane. Nick had just burned him to a crisp, with out even flinching. We should have at least attempted to rid him of the possession.

"Fine, seeing as there are many secrets going on between the three of you, all of you will stay here while Carl and I examine this case."

"That wasn't the deal."

"Your deal was with her, and she's staying here."

I should have told Ben my suspicions before I acted on them. Now I'm going to be stuck in the Hotel room with an angry warlock, and an annoying reporter.

Tomorrow was going to be interesting.

Flashback Entry 141: News Worthy -Crystal-

"I'm supposed to believe these far fetched stories? Do you know what happened to me the last time I went on a wild goose chase after something this bizarre?"

My mind was still reeling after Nick showed up at the door. Something about Nick made me uneasy, which led to this phone call.

"I know. I read all about it. You tried to take on OCS industries over that mass murder that happened a few years back. You claimed to the world you had the evidence to expose them, and then when the day came you backed down, saying it was a lie. Before the incident you were famous for your exuberant attitude; your unafraid, and unrelenting search for the next big thing. From what I read you always had a joke to say, but afterward . . . afterward you pulled back, got quiet and kept your head down."

The silence on the other end of the phone lasted for a while.

"I lost everything because of that. My job, my family, all of my friends; all gone because I didn't know when to back down."

This wasn't why I'd called. The only reason I cared about his past was because I knew it could get him to do what I needed. I don't usually do things that are so underhanded, but my friends were at stake. Nick Brown was dangerous.

"What if I could get you proof of something bigger than that story? If I could give you a story like no one has ever seen, would you do some digging on someone?"

"I'm not a reporter anymore. Call the tabloids."

"My friends could be in danger. I need someone who would actually be able to help."

"I'm sorry."

I had only one more option. "Fine, we're going to be in your area tomorrow. If you want, you can tag along on the case we're working on. Once you see the things we get tangled in, then you might change your mind."

"If this is a wild goose chase then I'm going to charge you for my time. What's that guy’s name that you want me to check out?"

"Nick Brown."

Flashback Entry 140: Truth -Will-

"I could get in trouble for letting you in here, so don't do anything stupid." Paying the cop off didn't exactly get what I'd wanted. I wanted to be in here alone.

"I wouldn't worry, I'm just here to look. It's not everyday that twenty people are murdered by one man. What's his name?", I ducked under the police tape and stepped in to the room.

"Smith. It was horrible, not only did he kill his family, but he fed his friend with their remains."

"Tasty." We traveled down the blood spattered halls slowly. I wanted to take in everything. Beneath our feet glass crunched in a rhythm. I found myself concentrating on it to forget the smell that assaulted us.

"That's not just it. While his friend was chewing, this Smith guy skewered him. It was some of the most gruesome things I'd ever seen. Here's his room, the family killer."

I turned to a small bedroom, and the first thing I noticed was how clean it was. No blood. A single bed with a small nightstand sat in the corner, on top of which sat a bible. The room was almost completely bare, besides a small picture sitting on the bed.

"I don't think he did it."

"What killed these people? He was found with the murder weapon. He wrote a confession."

"He could have killed his family and friend, but I'm positive that he didn't kill the rest of the twenty people. First, the bed is semi-made; like someone had been sleeping but quickly got up. Also, there are no slippers or shoes."

"So?"

"Do you walk around late at night with shoes on? I certainly don't. He must have woken up and felt the need to wear his shoes."

I walked over the to the door and looked at the outside and then the inside. "There is blood all over the outside of this door, but only one on the inside. On top of that, the spatter was made when it was open, because it stretches across the door and on the ceiling."

"Meaning that something was going on when this door was opened.", the cop seemed genuinely surprised, "I was the first cop on the scene, that door was open when I got here."

"Do you see a broken window? Or other glass objects?" I knelt down and carefully lift a piece of glass with a small yellow sticker.

"Let me see.", he took the piece from me and stared at the sticker, "I know where this is from. I seen it- OW!" He dropped the glass and stuck his finger in his mouth, "Damn it."

I stared at him for a few moments, and when he didn't finish I turned back to the floor. "Something went on here and I don't think the police have all the facts."

I heard a very distinct clicking and turned to see the cop aiming his gun at me and smiling.

"Hey, whoa! Let's not get carried away."

"The sticker came from a company not far from here. OCS Industries, I think it's called."

"In what way does that make it reasonable for you to point your gun at me?"

"Guns don't kill people. People kill people."

"Shit!" I dived in to the bedroom as he fired. I slammed the door shut behind me and glanced around the room, looking for some kind of weapon.

What had I gotten myself into?

139: Punchline -Nick-

Okay, so maybe Carl doesn't die. You have to admit, I had you totally fooled. The rest of the trip was pretty dull and mundane. Crystal got us all on the ground safely, and immediately the plane was swarmed with emergency vehicles, S.W.A.T., and news vans.

We had a difficult time explaining where the terrorist was, but somehow Ben got it across to them. We tried to deny our involvement but since many people on the plane knew what we did, it was difficult to keep a lid on it.

We were interviewed hundreds of times and met with city officials who commended us on our bravery. We were hailed as heroes, though I didn't feel much like one. I had taken that man’s life with out working a way to remove the malevolent presence. What I did was right, I know that. He would have kept fighting until one of us died, and we didn't have the supplies needed to be any help to him.

We'd just gotten back to our rooms that had been completely paid for by the city and Ben immediately began to rip in to me.

"What the hell was that?!", Ben sounded angry. Carl and Crystal ducked away to another room to open their bags.

"What do you mean what the hell was that?" Somehow I knew what he was talking about, maybe the decision weighed down on my conciseness.

"You killed someone up there, and your lucky I didn't just have you turned in."

"What was I supposed to do? He was going to kill one of us; all of us. You wanted me to just sit there and let him do that? It was us or him." I stared him in the eyes and honestly, Carl and Crystal avoid my gaze, but Ben has always looked fearlessly straight in to it. It was kind of frightening, and while I didn't understand the reaction of the others, I had expected the same from Ben.

"You don't have the right to deci-"

That's when several things happened at once. A loud crashing sound was heard coming from Carl's room. The closet door swung open spilling out a young man, and a small bear burst in the bedroom door, running as fast as he could.

"You rotten little bear! I'm gonna kill you!", Carl's voice could be heard through the walls. In moments he ran in to the room his entire upper torso soaked with black ink.

The man on the floor stood up fast and held out his hand toward Ben, eyeing the animated bear as it dodged Carl's attempts at capture.

"Hello, my name is William Melahn. I'm a reporter from IWTG News." He looked at Ben's confused face with a look of mischief.

"You were in my closet." Ben didn't shake his hand.

"When you got off that plane claiming to have dispatched the terrorist, I was skeptical. Just the fact that there was no body made me wonder what your real motive was. So I hid in your closet, waiting for any kind of information."

"And?"

"And I think that the News tomorrow is going to be very interesting."

There was a smile on Will's face as though he'd just won a game.

138: I Return -Saba- (written by Crystal Ferguson)

(I liked Crystal's last post so much that I had her write another. AND here it is!)

Taking a quick glance, I realized we were in Merlin’s shop. It was far better than being stuck in that Soulscape. I sat up and looked up at Merlin.

Politely I feigned a smile, “Well, it’s good to see I have made it back, yes?”

The look on his face told me otherwise. In fact, he looked more angry than relieved to see me. What did I do wrong?

“What made you think you were even capable of going there to begin with young lady?!”, he pointed at me, “I thought I had made it very clear that you were not to go alone!”

I stood up, annoyed with him. “What’s your point?”

“Your ignorance is most surprising, Saba. Do you not realize the danger you even placed yourself in?! Most people who cross over to the Soulscape don’t stand a chance of coming back when they release their ties from this world. You were downright foolish to do it on your own.”

He held a stern look to his face to let me know he meant every word. With a small huff, he turned to a shelf; a shaky hand reaching for it, his other gently scratching at the wrinkled skin of his face. A sense of rage filled me.

A small glass object flew up, hitting Merlin in the back of the head. His hand grabbed at the unexpected pain as he caught his footing. He turned to face me, a look of pure shock now on his aged face. “What do you think you’re-” Another similar piece soared toward him, this time hitting him in the face. He made a cry of pain as the shards pierced his flesh. He closed his eyes, his hand now covering his freshly made wounds.

I stepped toward him, the air about me filling with pens, paperclips and other small items. “YOU THINK YOU HAD THE RIGHT TO GIVE UP ON ME? HA! I’LL SHOW YOU WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LEAVE ME BEHIND!”

I was going to make sure he paid for leaving me in that void; for giving up on me.

A smile crept across my features as I let the objects attack him with no mercy. Pointed objects flew at him like bullets, glass exploded against his ancient body; blunt objects hit him with a mighty force. He made cries of pain and heightened anxiety, blood flowing out from each new wound formed.

He collapsed to the floor, arms up in a defensive position. “Stop at once!”

I laughed at the old man, throwing my head back. I knelt down, now face-to-face with him. For a moment, I let the flying of objects cease. “Why don’t you fight back, old man?”

Despite how beat up he was, he looked me straight in the eye. A serious look took over his features.

“I…I have no power. I had given that up to one who is far more worthy. I have been powerless for ages now.”

A small chuckle escaped my lips, “Pathetic; truly pathetic.”

I got back on my feet, “That makes for a bit less fun. Guess I’ll have to draw it out even longer.”

“You‘ll regret this, Saba Zahid!”, he pointed an ancient finger at me, “I promise you young lady, that you’ll regret this; for fate will make sure of it.”

I ignored him, the objects lifting in to the air for another round. They relentlessly attacked him, landing near vital organs as they pierced his body. He backed up toward the shelves. I watched on, satisfied with my work so far. Just as I was just really getting started, the distraught Merlin backed in to his shelves. There was a loud thudding noise as the shelves slowly began to descend down upon him. He screamed while his eyes widened as the shelves buried him alive. Muffled weeping sounds met my ears as it all settled.

I walked over, stepping on to the shelves. I peered downward, catching a glimpse of his worn out face. With a sigh, I jumped up and stomped as I landed. A moan was heard, along with the cracking of bones. His breathing was now raspy. I stomped down again.

“Still breathing? How annoying.”

One more for good measure; with more force behind it.

SNAP!

This time the obnoxious sound had come to a halt. A small gust of wind and a flash of light passed by; a window breaking nearby. I shrugged it off. Perhaps it was his soul running away.

I successfully ended him. Made him pay the best way I knew how, but rage still lingered in me; the need to kill remained.

I hopped off from his new grave, walking out of the shop and on to the sidewalk. The rage washed away with the smell of the outside world. I blinked, glancing back and forth; sighing. I felt lost and confused. If anything, I wished Ben was here with me.

I then looked down at my clothes. Blood spatters made a design across my shirt. A hand to my cheek told me blood even painted my face.

I began to panic, looking back to the shop to see the shelves down and no old man.

There was no ignoring it. I had killed Merlin.

137: Heroes and Villians And Those Inbetween -Saba-

"A long time ago you told me that sometimes I can't choose. You said that I might find myself on the wrong side for the right reasons! Is this what you meant?! The only way to save so many people is by doing this?! You're insane!", my teenage voice sounded distressed and angry.

"Right now it's out there Saba, building power to overthrow the balance that has been forever. We need to have the strength to face the mistakes of our parents, and if that means that we need to do things unmentionable; then we do it. We do it for people who won't have a chance. We do it for people who haven't lived their lives. We make this thing fear for its life and then we kill it with out mercy." Patrick almost sounded like he cared for people.

"I can't! I just can't. I see them looking up to me with their pleas, those scared eyes and I can't. My hands start shaking and the air grows cold. I know it's out there, but my hands won't listen to me. I know it's the right thi-"

"No!" Patrick’s voice became louder as everything around me came in to focus.

Patrick stood in front of my teenage self holding her shoulders. They stand in front of those double doors again, a knife laying on the floor at their feet.

"It's never the right thing. What we're doing is horrible, but we do it because it's the only way. The last resort."

"I CAN'T!"

A silence fell over the hallway and as he stared into the younger-me's face, I swore his face blinked away again, revealing the horribly twisted visage beneath.

"I can help you kill our parents." Patrick spoke calmly and silent. A tear rolled down his cheek and splashed on the floor. "If you want to do the right thing, I can help you."

"Please help me."

I felt a burning sensation in the pit of my stomach as the scene in front of me faded away, leaving me and my younger self looking at each other.

"You came. I knew you'd come." Younger me smiled.

“Yes, it's good to see you again." A voice behind me spoke.

The child version of myself, the one that had brutally murdered my parents stood behind me. Her clothing drenched in blood.

"Patrick knew I couldn't do it, so he brought out the side of me that could. I went to sleep . . . "

". . . while I did the dirty deeds." Darker-me continued.

"But why? How?" I cried.

"We aren't sure. The door remains locked and hidden in your Soulscape. It's something horribly bad. Something involving Ben, John, Crystal, and all of the others. They can survive, but they need you."

"But I've just met them and you're saying that we're all connected. How does that make sense?"

“We're not saying it.", the evil me smiled and stepped up to the nicer me. She reached out and grasped her hand, "You are."

I felt my body get torn apart as everything went dark.

"Wake up, you fool girl! Wake up!"

It was Merlin. I was back. I wish Ben was here.

136: 'Birth' -Saba-

The world swirled away as flashes of past and present flooded together, becoming an amalgam of indecipherable images. Covering my eyes, I turned away from the lights and colorful flashes.

When I opened my eyes I was standing on a beach.

"Did he ask you out yet?" Another recognizable voice that I couldn't seem to place.

I turned to see a young red-head sitting next to a teenage me.

"No, he's not the guy I want anyway." Teen me tossed a rock out in the sea.

"What? Are you crazy? He's popular, gorgeous and has money falling out of his pockets.", the red-head gushed as she spoke, "Also, I happen to know that he has a crazy crush on you."

Teen-Saba looked at the sky, "I had a dream of a guy. He seemed important and was really cute. I'm going to go out and find him one day."

"You mean that Ben guy you keep going on about? Girl, he's a dream. He isn't real."

"You're a dream."

"You aren't real."

The voices started to come from everywhere, flooding my ears with a drone of constant words. The red-head pulled a knife from behind her and swung it around, stabbing it in to teenage me's belly. That younger version just smiled as the blood spread from the wound, turning her blouse a dark red.

"You are just wasted parts, things that need to be discarded. Unfit to live and made to die. Your own body wants you gone. Everything you are will be lost forever when they reassert their authority."

"SHUT UP!" Everything disappeared as I yelled.

I found myself standing on a dark street. Ahead of me, the street ran zigzagged as far as I could see. Houses lined the streets but the numbers were replaced by words. 'First grade', 'Middle school', 'First Kiss'; they went on and on. A sign in front of me had the words, 'This way to The Void' and had a smiley face drawn on it with purple crayon.

I began my journey down the road, glancing at the windows of the houses, catching glimpses of my pasts. Child me here, teenage me there; almost all happy.

I stopped when I came to a black house labeled 'Birth'. I wanted to know more about myself, and the darkness that I would be allowing back in. Now was not the time for that though. I had something to do that was more important. I couldn't just stop and look at parts of my past.

So I opened the door and stepped through.

135: Well-Oiled Teamwork -Ben-

The man stared at Carl with a murderous look, "You still remember that after all this time? Quite the soldier."

Nick pulled himself to his feet and slowly walked toward the man’s back, a look of concentration on his face. I signaled him to wait and he stopped moving closer.

"Melissa, you are just one man and we are a team." Carl glared at the man intently.

"Carl, you're on the wrong side. I'm doing what's right and you are standing in my way." The man lifted his hand and swung it down. Carl lifted from the ground and flew backwards in to the cockpit. The plane tilted forward as a loud thump was heard.

"Carl! What are you doing? Bring it somewhere else!" The plane slowly leveled out as the man went toward the cockpit.

Despite the fact that I had no idea what was going on, I couldn't let more people get added to my body count. I signaled to Nick who ran toward the man’s back.

The man spun quickly, pushing forward with his palms toward Nick; who was thrown backwards in to the passenger cabin again. The man smiled as he stared at Nick.

"The warlock wants to tussle, huh?"

I yelled to Crystal, "Tell the passengers to go as far back in the plane as they can! This is getting ugly!"

"Is that all yo-", the man fell forward to his knees by Carl's swing to the back of his head. Carl's foot connected with the seat of his pants, sending him sprawling forward in to the emptying passenger cabin. Nick went to run up.

"Nick! Distance! Let Carl do the close work."

Nick stopped as Melissa pulled himself to his feet, "You guys are just so cute! I'd really hate to make your bodies go all splitty-splatty."

Nick swung his fingers toward Melissa, and he lifted off the ground. Melissa's body was jerked in to the wall, and then in to Carl's foot as he swung it in to Melissa’s side. The sound of cracking ribs could be heard as he fell to the ground. Carl stepped back and nodded at Nick.

"Warlocks are cheating.", Melissa pulled himself to his feet, "Humans aren't supposed to be so powerful. You should be drooling in caves."

"Still in control?", I yelled back to Crystal.

"I got this.", she sounded confident.

Nick’s fingers moved but he was too slow.

"No Cheating!" With a sweep of Melissa's hand, Nick went stiff and fell to the ground. Then Melissa turned to Carl who was making a move, sweeping his hand up and to the left. Carl flew to the left and slammed in to the door to the plane. Melissa wasn't done yet.

Melissa slammed him in to the door again, "You can't stop me, Carl. As long as my real body doesn't hear, my name has no effect. So I can just keep smacking you in to this door until one of two things happen. The door can open, or you can die."

"Crystal, go right!", I felt the plane turn as I yelled. The sharp tilt of the plane caused Melissa to lose his balance; and his control. Nick jumped up and grasped the man by the arm.

He swung his hand toward Melissa's back, connecting with a thump. Melissa looked up at him and laughed, "Is that it? Your leader-person was right, you should have kept a distance."

Nick smiled at him with a surprisingly friendly smile, "This was fun."

Flames erupted from the man’s chest as Nick released his magic. I watched as the man’s body burned away from the inside.

"Carl, don't come after me! If you do, I'll kill all your little friends!" He yelled as his flaming body fell away to ash.

134: Sweet Love -Saba-

I felt my back hit the ground as the darkness faded away around me; replaced by warm sunlight. Images of what I'd just seen seemed frozen in place just behind my eyes, but a good shake of my head caused them to fade as well.

"Brother?", it was younger me again.

"Yes, Saba?" Panic filled my chest as I heard Patrick's voice.

I turned around to see them, despite my mind screaming at me to curl up and pretend they weren't there. The smaller me sat on the ground in front of Patrick looking curiously at the dirt. Patrick looked much younger and wore a small baseball cap.

"We all become dirt eventually."

I watched with a stunned look as Patrick's face became sad, "Yes, you do."

"I don't like that. One day, I'm going to stop that. I don't want all my friends to die. I don't want Mommy and Daddy to die."

I watched as Patrick's face fill with even more sorrow. I could have sworn I saw his eyes water up as he crouched down to look at my younger self.

"Saba, you can't always get what you want. Sometimes the things you want most are taken away from you. Sometimes you're meant for something completely different from what you want, and you find yourself on the wrong side for the right reasons."

I got the feeling that he wasn't talking about the younger me. He seemed to be talking about himself.

"I don't care. You can't tell me what to do. Mommy can't tell me what to do and neither can Daddy. No one is my master and if I want to fight on the right side, then I will."

A happy smile came to his face as he shook his head, "Saba, how is it that you came to be my sister?"

"Your only sister.", little me corrected

"My favorite sister."

This time, there was no evil laughter.

133: Concrete Horror -Saba-

I was floating in the dark, listening to the continuously grating sound of that horrible laughter. Any attempts to move proved ineffective and only made it harder to do so.

"Where are you going?" My blood ran cold as I recognized the voice, though I couldn't put a face to it.

Slowly my surroundings flooded in to focus. An elegant hall of hardwood lined with many paintings and photos. A smaller me stood a few feet away from a much taller man. The laughter faded away.

"Saba, where are you going?"

The smaller me started to cry, "I can't do it."

I watched as the man knelt down and looked in to my face, a look of caring in his eyes, "Life is never going to be easy, Saba. It's going to be hard, and sometimes the only thing you can do to get by is try as hard as you can to do what you need to do."

My fear subsided as little me ran to the taller man and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. Just as I thought that this scene wasn't so scary, I heard that low laughter again and the fear returned.

"Thanks, Patrick."

The man stood and reached his hand out to little me, "Anything for my little sister."

A smile found my face for a few moments before the laughter came again. The smaller me took his hand as we walked toward large, oaken doors.

The man put his hand on the door, "Now Saba, you go in there and make sure they're all dead."

He pushed the door open and screams flooded out. Screams of help and horror that filled my ears and saturated my mind with a deepening horror. The scene that seemed so pleasant before changed shape, instantly becoming something of a deeper evil. My breath caught in my chest, I tried to close my eyes and forget I was there. It was like a tootsie pop with a razor in the middle; sweet on the outside, but it just hides the horror beneath.

"Can we have ice cream after?", the smaller me smiled up to Patrick.

"Sure."

Through the door I could see deep red splatters on the floor and hear the clinking of chains.

The littler me stepped through and turned toward where the sounds were coming from.

"Saba! Please, God no!" They were begging for their life. Begging me to let them go, "Saba, your brother is crazy. Please honey, just let us go! You can't do this to us."

As Patrick slowly closed the door I watched as my smaller counterpart smiled sweetly, with all the caring of a child and said, "Daddy, life is never going to be easy . . ."

Her voice was cut off as the door shut completely. The laughter returned and this time I welcomed it, something known in a world of concrete horror. The laughter grew in intensity as I hung there in darkness, watching Patrick looking away from me at the closed door.

"That's not me."

"Yes, it is you." The laughter had spoken.

"No, I wouldn't do something like that." I was lying. I knew I was lying, I just didn't want it to be the truth.

"Not only did you kill your family, but you did more than that.", the laughter came again, "You killed a person every day for two years after."

In my head, I saw flashes of blood soaked bodies and glinting knives. In my head I heard their screams for help and mercy. The more I watched, the more I felt the innocence I'd witnessed before slowly fade away. I desperately clung to any piece of that innocence that I could.

"All for power."

I knew what he was meaning. I felt it in my bones now, maybe I'd always knew that my hands were unclean. A person isn't born a spirit persuader, they're grown. So many lives had been ended by me, so many people never got to live their lives because of my blade. All in the pursuit of power over spirits.

"It's too late for you.", Patrick had turned and was staring directly at me, "There's no way to clean your hands. You are a monster, and you'll always be a monster."

Every time he said monster I saw something odd flash beneath the illusion I knew to be his face. A darker and more evil face, something not human and older than the world. Patrick started walking closer and the scene behind him faded away.

"You killed so many.", Patrick's face blinked away for an instant and the horror of the face beneath made me catch my breath, "You are more of a monster than I am."

His face was inches from mine and he smiled, his mouth full of sharp pointy teeth with a smile that was all too wide. "Not only did you kill them . . ."

As I felt myself yanked backwards into the darkness, I knew what he was going to say; not only did I kill them . . .

But I loved it.

132: Pleasantly Abstract -Saba- (Written by Crystal Ferguson)

(I promised you people a guest writer and here she is. This post was written by a good friend, Crystal Ferguson. Enjoy and be sure to comment so that she knows how well it is. I personally liked it a lot.)

The Soulscape proved to be beyond weird. My eyes gazed upon numerous things surrounding me. For some reason the images appearing seemed familiar. It must deal with one of my souls, but which one?

Sounds of joyful laughter filled my ears as images of a child-sized version of me ran by. A little boy followed after her, as well as some other unrecognizable children. Remnants of toys were scattered about my feet as the children ran by. The sun that shone above beamed down, the heat becoming intense. A playground was the background of the entire scene, along with homes along the road. As this went on, confusion filled my mind; as well as a sense of sorrow. Such a world of happiness never existed in my mind- especially not like this.

I stood watching for a minute or so then took a few steps forward. A look of discontent was marked on my face. How were they all so cheerful? Why didn't I remember this? It seemed entirely unfair. I huffed out a sigh, practically envying the smaller me.

More images began to form and danced out their re-enactments of childhood days. They played games, some looking to involve puzzles even. This whole world itself was puzzling enough. Sadness seeped its way into my brain even more so. I crossed my arms and held myself, closing my eyes in the process. The next thing I knew, my body was spinning. I kept my eyes shut out of fear and uncertainty.

Coming to a stop I cautiously opened my eyes. Strings of color swirled about me, the child like laughter filling the air. The scene from before had morphed in to an abstract painting. A feeling of panic swelled up inside me, causing me to shake my head a bit.

"What's going on? This doesn't even make sense!"

Perhaps it was a mistake to make an outburst. A low chuckle replaced the child like laughter. It began to rise, a full maniacal laughter taking over. With a pounding heart and a swimming head, I looked around in hopes of finding a way to escape what ever it was that mocked me. Of course it wasn't that simple.

The rainbow colored strings began to twist and hiss, the strings blackening as they drew in closer. A scream managed to escape my lungs as the hissing threads wrapped about my body. Grunting and struggling, the abstract world now oozed with pure darkness.

The tingling and sinking feeling from my bottom half told me I was being sucked down. I should have just kept my thoughts to myself. The thought of darkness engulfing me was very unpleasant.

This trip to find my souls was proving to not only be weird, but down right disturbing as well. Before the darkness completely engulfed me I managed to let out one last scream of panic.

Realizing that no one was coming to my rescue, the truth sunk in. The remainder of my body slipped into the oozing blackness and the laughter made my ears ring.

I was on my own.

131: Ignored -Ben-

The convenience of Crystal’s new talent was not lost on any of us, and it made me more than suspicious. Then again, it was just what we needed at the moment, and I know better than to bite the hand that feeds.

"You sure you can do this?"

"Ben, I don't even know how I know this. Just a few weeks ago I was a zombie with minimal intelligence, and now I'm flying a plane. It's kind of startling."

"So we can tell the passengers that everything is going to be okay?"

"No.", Carl tapped my shoulder and I turned around to see the man we'd knocked out, standing.

While nothing about him had changed, something was different; feminine. He was staring intently at Carl and smiling like someone who knew too much. The man knelt and went for his gun.

Carl moved quickly, reaching for the man’s shoulder and arm. Before he could get close enough, the man swung his arm up; smacking Carl in the face. Carl fell back on the ground holding his jaw.

"Be a good boy and stay still.", he looked at Carl and laughed.

He stood up with the gun and slipped it in to the holster, "What a coincidence that the one plane I decided to use was the one you'd be on. A sad coincidence. I told you not to interfere, I told you so long ago."

Carl looked more angry than usual, "Merczel."

I glanced at Carl, "You know him?"

It's very unusual to see a grown man jump up and down clapping his hands with a giddy smile on his face, "You remember! Aw, so sweet."

The man known as Merczel began waving his hands around, "Carl, Carl, Carl. You could have just backed out of this, but of course your crew has to interfere. Like a righteous storm, you descend upon the undeserving and smite them for their sins."

Crystal glances back, "Is there any chance that this could be taken somewhere else? It's getting really cramped in here. All this tension and violence is making it a little difficult to concentrate on keeping all these people ALIVE."

Merczel laughed, "Little girl, these people aren't going to survive. Best you go join the others in the passenger cabin."

I looked at Crystal, "Keep flying, we'll take it somewhere else."

The man had a small fit, "NO! Why does no one ever listen to me?! I said to go with the others! Who the Hell are you to go against my word?!"

Carl leaped up, grasping the guy around his middle and tossing him through the cockpit door. The man rolled on the floor and then leaped to his feet in time to knee Carl in the face. Nick jumped back in surprise, letting a small stream of fire from his hands toward Merczel. Merczel yelped in pain and turned toward Nick in anger.

"WARLOCK!", the man swung his arm swiftly and Nick flew in to the passenger cabin like a discarded toy, "I hate warlocks."

I moved to the passageway between the cockpit and the passenger cabin, "Carl, who is he?"

Merczel pointed toward Carl, "Conversing with warlocks now? Strange things are just attracted to you, huh? Who are these people you're with now? I admit, the girl didn't show any signs of usefulness. Quite a surprise when she coincidentally can fly this type of plane. And whose this idiot?", he pointed to me, "What is he? The boss? What a joke."

Carl stood, wiping blood on his shirt, "Merczel, these people here aren't going to die. My friend in there is going to land this plane and you will have failed. Give up."

Why didn't anyone listen to me? "Carl, who is he?!"

The man stopped smiling, he just stared at Carl. After a few moments he spoke, "You intend to stall my plans?"

Carl looked at Ben and laughed a bit. Then he turned to the man and smiled, "Melissa, I plan on stopping them."

My mind did a quick backtrack. Melissa? What?!

130: Uncertain Knowledge -Crystal-

My job was to stop Nick from casting the spell as soon as they had the cockpit, but I couldn't. To be honest the guy scared me. Here was the guy who fought the Snake Goddess' control of me when I was a zombie and had brought me back to life. He could do things no other human could, and being in the same room with him left me with a sick feeling. I had no idea what he would do next.

Somehow, this one was different; less menacing and certainly not as mean. If this was the same man, then something very serious happened to him. This new him was filled with a sort of youth and really didn't exhibit any of the abilities the one I'd met had.

As I reached to shake his shoulder I decided to give him another chance. See if he turned out to have the same ruthless style.

He lifted his head and looked at me, "Oh, hey Crystal. Are they done?"

"It seems so.", I was scared but I forced a smile through.

Nick tipped his head sideways and looked at me, "You look scared. Don't worry, we'll get through. I'm sure."

I had trouble deciding whether he knew it'd be okay, or he if was just reassuring me.

Nick stood and walked toward the cockpit. I watched him leave and slowly stood. I took a quick look around and followed.

As I stepped in to the cockpit it seemed oddly familiar. On a whim I sat down and began checking all the gauges and fuel. My finger flicked the plane off auto-pilot and I turned it to the left slightly, keeping it level with the horizon.

"This isn't so hard."

I glanced back to see everyone there staring at me in surprise. Slowly it dawned on me. I wasn't supposed to know this. For a few seconds I almost lost control, but I forced the large vehicle on to the right track.

"Crystal?" It was Ben.

"Yeah?"

"How are you doing this?"

"I'm not sure. Truthfully, I'm kinda scared. I've never done this before. What if I let it down too hard? What if I miss the landing? What if I misread the altimeter and lower the wing flaps too late?"

"Crystal, I don't even know what wing flaps are used for."

There was no denying it.

I could fly a plane.

129: A Sign Of The Past -Carl-

"Shit!", the voice on the other side of the cockpit door was full of panic, "It's not supposed to happen yet."

Nick sat on the floor nearby, his eyes closed, full concentration on the spell he was working on. On the other side of that door, two dead bodies and a very scared man felt the plane tip downward. Now all we had to do was wait for the man to come outside.

A voice came over the loudspeaker instead, "Well, I'm sorry to tell you but we are going to be landing long before schedule. Your deaths were supposed to be for something important, they were supposed to save the lives of millions. With out the pilots I can't figure out how to keep this plane in the air, so while we spend our last moments together, I'll tell you why I'm here.”

"I used to push papers for a living and I had a beautiful family. Then we had a visitor, a man with a small faerie doll. The doll was made with expert craftsmanship, and my daughter fell in love with it instantly. So we bought it for her from the man who sold it to us for a very small price. I will never forget coming home from work that day."

I felt my body stiffen as I realized what I was hearing. There was no way it was them; no way.

"From down the street I could see the lights of the police and medical vehicles. The police say there was an accidental gas leak and the house exploded, but I know otherwise.”

"I was put up in a hotel and that night I got a phone call. It was the man that stopped by my house. What he said was that he hoped I'd learned my lesson. He said that maybe the next time I'd pay more attention to my children. He said neglecting to give them attention had made me homeless and with out family. Then he hung up."

I felt a sinking feeling in my gut. The Fae Merczel and Josh were still out there, and by the sounds of it they were still doing things the same way.

"So I searched, and after 2 years I'd found them. They live in a building in New York. The same building that this plane was headed for, but as you by now have realized, this plane is going down now."

The cockpit door opened and I swung my foot out, catching the man in the chin. He fell in to a crumpled heap on top of the bodies of the pilots. I stepped inside and felt the world tip downward. Nick was still working his magic because he didn't know it was over.

"Hey, Ben?"

Ben looked around the corner, "Yeah?"

"So, we make the guy come out. Right?"

"Yeah."

"Then, I knock him out, disarm him, and take the cockpit?"

"Sounds about right."

"Okay, then what?"

"Well, then we land it . . .", Ben's face went pale-white, "Oh."

Flashback 128: Washington & Merczel -Carl-

The branches bit against my cheek as I ran through the bramble behind my home, but in my anger I didn't notice. She shouldn't have done this. It had to have been her, it was no accident that the fridge fell on our Father. Not that I cared about my Father, but she wasn't supposed to do anything for me anymore. She promised.

Bursting in to a small clearing, I came face to face with the most probable cause of my Father’s death. The Fae, Merczel.

Her long ears perked up and she turned. Her body was the darkest black with a hint of purple and her wings were bigger than her body, and shined a deep blue. She moved with much less grace than you'd expect from a faerie, and she gave me a scrunched face as I approached.

"Smile you big meanie-head. You're ruining the mood.", she floated up in to the air and stared at me.

"I told you to stay out of our lives when we first moved here!" I admit, I wasn't very nice.

She laughed a little and flew over to sit on a leaf. Her lightweight body barely made the leaf move as she landed.

"It's not like you needed him around anyway, all he did was beat you."

"That's not the point! You killed someone! This is just like last time, when you gave our Father a gimp leg for a month; he couldn't work so he beat us for weeks! You just have to take it too far and now someone’s dead!"

She was very silent and didn't have a smile on her face.

"It was an accident. I was just supposed to hurt him."

"You weren't supposed to be there!"

To my surprise she looked at me and smiled, "I had no choice.", she giggled, "My newest charge told me a friend of his needed help. He told me to do something about it, so I did. Seeing that he's gone I think I did well."

"You did very, very well." The voice came from the bushes ahead and out of them stepped someone who I'd only seen a couple of times in school. Joshua Washington. Being two years younger than me, he was shorter. He had a mulatto complexion and looked to be average weight.

"Josh. You told her to kill my Dad?"

"No. I told her to stop your Dad from hurting you." Josh glanced at Fae, who flew over and landed on his shoulder. She leaned over and gave him a peck on his cheek.

"Josh, you don't know what she's capable of. She's dangerous. Just tell her to go away before she does worse."

Out of sight of Josh, The Fae Merczel looked at me and bared her tiny sharp teeth at me.

"I can control her. She won't do that again.", he glanced at the Fae and she quickly smiled and nodded, "I can control her."

"So, you know her first name then?"

Josh gave her a sheepish smile and then looked back at me, "Soon she'll tell me."

"You won't control her until you know her first name. Faes are controlled by their first name and nothing else. I'm willing to bet she killed him on purpose."

Josh scoffed at me, "Why can't you just be happy that you won't be beaten anymore?"

"Because she's killed someone.", I took a step toward him.

"She didn't mean to. She won't do that again."

"No you need to listen to me, her name is Mel-"

I woke up two hours later alone in the small clearing. On the ground was a small note in small writing that read:

"Don't worry. We won't be coming back here to bother you. We’re going to explore the world and see amazing things together! I'm sorry I had to knock you out, but I can't have him knowing my name; he's very important in my plans. I'm sure we'll run in to each other again. If you ever need my help, you know how to get it.

Sincerely, the Fae Merczel.

P.S. If you screw up my plans, I'll kill you dead."

I haven't seen them since.

Flashback 127: Stone Cold Dead -Carl-

"Push harder, boy! I didn't raise a weakling!"

I was a ten year old trying to carry a fridge up the stairs; two flights of stairs. John was off hiding somewhere like he always did; trying to keep himself away from our Father’s wrath. John knew that if I let the refrigerator fall down the stairs that Dad wouldn't check for broken bones. He'd just start beating on me until he got scared of killing me.

He was like that, a rough man with too much anger to hold in. So when things didn't go right, or he had a bad day, or the rain got too loud for him to tolerate; he'd turn to John and I as an outlet. I got the most of it mainly because I talked back and got in his face. Anything to keep him from beating on John.

Mom never tried to stop him, because she was busy watching soaps on the television and complaining about how many bills needed to be paid. She used to be beautiful but since we could understand what she was saying, all we heard was how if she hadn't had us then she'd be thin and beautiful. Bitch.

Bitch: I'd just learned that word the other day at school. Overheard Joshua Washington say that about one of the teachers and thought that it suited my Mother well.

As the fridge slid over the last step, I fell to the floor exhausted. I could barely feel my arms and what I did feel didn't feel good.

"Why are you laying down on the job? That's gotta go in the kitchen, you lazy brat! Where's that brother of yours? We could just let him do it. How old is he? Six? Seven?"

My brother was four and certainly couldn't handle a fridge like this.

"No, that's all right. I've got it."

I got to my feet and began pushing the large refrigerator toward the kitchen. As my Father walked away, I spotted John looking around the corner of our bedroom door.

Three weeks later, our Father was dead. The fridge fell on him, crushing his throat. The police said that it was misaligned and off balance. They said that he must have laid there unable to breathe for his last moments. That was my first run-in with death and taught me exactly what it was. I would never see my Father again.

I didn't know if I cared.

Entry 126: The Soulscape -Saba-

I didn't need him. I could do it myself. Just one last try and that's it.

I sat down in front of the brick wall that was once Merlin's store and closed my eyes. I relaxed my entire body and pushed the world out of my mind. Slowly, I felt the pain build up and in my mind I could see the ties of this world and of the Soulscape; both trying to pull me into their world. What I had to do now was slowly release myself from my worldly bonds and allow myself to be pulled in to the Soulscape.

The more ties I undid the more the pain increased, until I could barely think to release the other ones. I couldn't do it. It was too much. The pain of losing this world filled my mind, screaming warnings and telling me to go back. I had slowly began to give up when the image of Crystal filled my mind. There I was being beaten, laying on the ground not wanting to get up, too scared to move. Crystal was tougher though. Crystal didn't give up. She pulled herself to her feet and ran at the danger; she even made her point known with the palm of her hand. Even Jay, the fallen one, had not given up and when a close friend was going to die, he did the extraordinary and risked his life to save him. Everyone that I'd come across since as far back as I could remember had forced themselves past their capacity, and in to greatness. They not only took the risks needed, but they never fell back and never gave in.

I wanted to be with them, to be like them. I would be like them. I could barely move to untie the rest but it was time for me to make a sacrifice. Time for me to enter in to greatness just as all of them had. With a sweep of my hand I cut all the connections to the world at once. Cut; not untied.

Pain flooded my mind as I was yanked into the Soulscape and thrown like a rag doll in a hurricane. I swore I felt actual physical pain but it was muted, because I no longer had a connection to the world. Finally the movement stopped and I felt solid ground under me. I pushed myself to my feet and looked around.

I had entered the Soulscape.

Entry 125: Give Up, or Go On? -Saba-

"I can't.", my mind felt like it was being torn apart and thrown to opposite sides of the world.

"Well, then stop." Merlin's small voice was hard to hear over my ears ringing.

I relaxed and felt the world slowly pull back together and come in to focus.

"I'm sorry. I guess I'll just live out the rest of my days in peace." I pulled myself to my feet.

"You tried, I guess that counts for something, even if you didn't finish.", Merlin was extra distant and sharper with his words than usual, "Still, if you aren't going to try anymore then get out. I won't teach quitters and I can't stand your whining."

I glanced at the clock, "Master, it's almost two in the morning and I have no idea where I am. You can't make me go out there."

"How can a person who doesn't care about themselves expect others to care about them? You want to give up on life then so be it, I'm not going to have a corpse rotting up my home."

I felt the anger build up, "What do you mean I don't care? I'm here and I gave it my best shot! I'm not good enough!"

Merlin swooped toward me faster than a decrepit, old man should be able to move. His eyes filled with anger and his face hard and cold, "You don't care! If you cared even a little more than you would, sit down and endure the pain! 'I can't.' 'I won't.' These are words that shouldn't even enter your mind, because if you leave this house with out learning to do this, then you will DIE!"

"MAYBE I'M MEANT TO!", and with that I turned and walked out the door.

I stood there in the street, thinking about what Merlin had said. He was right, I was giving up. I didn't want to die, but the pain of entering the Soulscape was excruciating.

The Soulscape was the place within a person where their soul resides; somewhere between memory and reality. If one wanted to get rid of their soul, or find souls that were lost in The Void, they had to go there. Only a few people could. Merlin had said that only Warlocks and Spirit Persuaders could enter, and that warlocks needed powerful and ancient magic to make the journey. Magic that he didn't even have access to. The Soulscape is directly linked to The Void, or Limbo, and all I had to do to save myself was get all the souls that had made their home in my body in one place. Then expel the useless one.

I turned to go back in to the store and give it one more try, only to find a brick wall where the store had been. I ran to it and pounded with all my might, but it was very real and very solid brick. Merlin had left me. The guys had left me. My souls had left me. I was alone, completely alone.

And I was going to die.

124: Too Much, Too Little; Just Enough. -Ben-

"Ben . . . what do we do?", Crystal could barely speak.

"Shit. Shit. Shit.", Nick was pacing up and down the aisles while the passengers whimpered loudly.

"Ben, just let me bust in and I'll show him exactly how I feel about what he just did." Carl growled, his eyes on the loudspeaker.

I couldn't think. I just kept running the situation over and over in my head, trying to see what I could have done differently to keep those innocent people from dieing. Instead, I kept rehearing that evil man’s voice and the sudden claps as Bob and Jim's lives were taken right out from underneath them. Too many noises filled my thought. People were crying, my own team was unsure of where to go next. Thoughts in my head betrayed me by assaulting me non-stop with; “What-ifs?” and, “How could yous?” If only I'd stopped Carl from boasting. If we'd just taken a different flight. If only I'd never found that book.

"Hey."

At the sound of that voice my mind cleared. I turned to look and found a kind looking, middle-aged man smiling at me. A young girl lay in his lap contently, sleeping as though the horrors around us weren't happening.

"My name is Gilfred Odephius Doorstop, and you seem to be the only person who can get us out of this mess."

"I just killed two people. I believe your faith may just be a little mistaken. You should probably start praying now."

The man chuckled as if enjoying a joke that only he understood, "I'm not mistaken, you're just distracted. So many people around you needing your help, and all you can think of is your mistakes."

I could feel the anger welling up, "Thank you for revealing my shortcomings."

"Shortcomings? No, no, knowing your mistakes is important. Letting them control you is not."

"This isn't helping at all and I know that's all you're trying to do, but you're rooting for the wrong team."

"Ben . . . you didn't kill those men. That evil bastard in the cockpit did. There was nothing you could do, they were going to die either way. Save these people, I know you can do it."

The world suddenly flooded back, the voices, the crying and my thoughts. I forced the thoughts of failure aside and looked at Nick.

"Nick, I need your magic."

"Why?"

"We're going to crash the plane."

123: Bob -Ben-

A plan falling in to place is so exhilarating that sometimes it takes the opposing force to do just the thing that reveals the true depth of the situation, and humbles you in seconds. After Carl's big display on the radio, I could tell that who ever was on the other line was pissed. I knew he would retaliate but I guess I didn't understand in what way. I should have realized.

The loud speaker made a beep, "I apologize passengers, but someone made a huge mistake and has decided that he was going to kill a very large amount of innocent people. I'm willing to give you all another chance, but I first must STAMP out these rebels so that it doesn't happen again. So, I'd like you to meet someone."

A shuffling over the loudspeaker and a different voice came on the line, "H-Hello?"

"Tell them who you are."

"Hi, my name is Bob Koontz and I'm your captain."

"Not just that Bob, tell them more. Any kids, Bob?'

Bob's voice stuttered, "I have 4 children, all of them under twelve. I have 3 girls and a boy."

"COME ON BOB! You need to tell them more. I WANT THEM TO KNOW YOU!"

"Just last week my youngest was born. I haven't even seen her yet. This flight was a homeward flight so that I could see her for the fir-"

A loud bang flooded the plane causing everyone to jump. Several people started crying and Carl went completely pale.

"Do you understand yet? I'm a very serious man, and while I don't like to ruin my shoes, I'm willing to do what ever it takes to ensure that my mission is carried out. I hope the rebels understand and stop their useless actions, but in case they didn't get the picture the first time . . ."

More shuffling, and the sound of sobbing came over the speaker.

"Tell them who you are . . ."

No sound except louder sobbing.

"I SAID TELL THEM WHO YOU ARE!"

A voice quaking with fear and barely keeping itself together through sobs came over the line.

"Hello. My name is Jim Salec and I'm your co-pil-"

BANG!

122: Merlin -Saba-

Lizz dropped me off in front of a small shop. One of those shops that sell unusual items. The ones you look in the windows of, but never enter. She leaned out her window with a smile and pointed at the door.

"It's not locked. Just walk in and go all the way to the back. He's waiting for you back there. I'll be waiting for you outside."

I turned, "Who? Who is waiting?", but she'd all ready rolled up her window.

The shop was poorly lit and upon entering a pungent smell hit my nose. The store was very messy, with items hanging off the shelves and on the floor. Several times I had to stop myself from crushing in to important looking trinkets.

"Don't take so long. A wizard can't wait forever. OH! Do you happen to see a rusted Pink Hippo? I can't find it anywhere back here. Stupid thing walked off while I was sleeping."

Stepping in to the back room, I spotted a small old man laying in a bed completely covered with blankets, so that only his eyes and long pointed nose were visible.

"Saba Zahid . . . Wow, is it an honor to meet you."

He held out his hand as if waiting for me to give him something.

"Uhmm . . . I'm not sure what you mean . . . "

"Honor as in, it takes an important person to be in your presence, or if you are referring to my hand; I'll take that Pink Hippo now."

"But I don't have a Pink Hippo, I didn't even see one coming in."

His eyes seemed to smile, "Ah good . . . then you are still sane. Tell me Saba, do you know what happens when a body loses its soul?"

"Does it die?"

"No, of course not, if that happened then no one would ever go into a coma. Instead they'd just die. No, no, it's more beautiful then that. The body creates an entirely new soul, using the one it lost as a template. Quite fascinating if you ask me."

"Yes, yes. I guess it is. Umm . . . I was brought here by Lizz. She said you could help me? I need you to save me please. No one else can."

"She said that? Well, I'm sorry child, but I can't help you. I'm so sorry."

"Oh, I guess I'll leave then.", I slowly make my way to the door.

"Do you know who I am?"

I look back at the old man, "I have no idea."

"Even better! Dear, my name is Merlin. I have lived for quite some time and I've noticed one thing about the world. One truth that has survived all the tests of time, tests that even I have failed."

"What's that?"

"I can't save you. No other person in the world could save you. Searching for help is futile and stupid. You'd be quite a ninny- ninny; I love that word, "ninny". Any way, where was I? Oh yes, quite a ninny to think that it would work."

"Thanks for nothing then.", I left the room and began to leave.

"I'M NOT DONE TALKING, YOUNG LADY!", his words seemed to echo from every direction, and from that small room in the back an unimaginable power seeped. I found my feet turning me around and marching me back in to that room.

"I can not help you, but I can do something else. SIT DOWN."

I sat.

"Like I said before, the body creates a new soul. How ever, your body had two souls within it. Souls that are now resting in the dark and empty void. So when your body tried to create a new soul, it meshed the two souls together."

"That's why I've been feeling like I was normal."

"Indeed, but this "meshing" of two souls is dangerous. If the two souls are incompatible, lets say; a raving psychotic and a very clingy but loving young lady, then the body becomes sick as it tries to deal with the errors in its design. It's kind of like running a diesel engine on water."

"So how does this help me?"

"It doesn't. I told you that I can't help you."

"THEN WHY AM I SITTING HERE?"

"You'd be smart to mind your tongue."

I tried to yell more but the words wouldn't leave my throat.

"I am going to show you how to pull your souls back in to your body."

The feeling of hope filled me.

"Saba Zahid, Spirit Persuader . . . I am going to show you how to help yourself."

121: Define Wrong -Carl-

The people through out the plane had calmed down. They'd given in to their fate believing it to be a certainty. So many lives would be snuffed out if we failed. Then again, it's like that a lot lately.

Ever since I met Ben it's been one thing after another. Weird seemed to cling to him. I can't complain though. It's been crazy fun. Now that he'd taken to being leader, the group seemed to flow better. Several quick instructions and everything just fell in to place. Like how he wanted us to help these people.

Crystal and Nick took out the cameras quickly with a couple of Nick’s socks. They just covered them and then I waited. The terrorists would come soon, needing to know what had taken out the cameras.

The first one fell quick, one jab to the face. Then I grabbed his arm and used his weight to knock the one behind off balance. I felt that exhilarating rush as my fist made sure he wouldn't wake up for a few hours. The third guy was surprised enough; making any kind of movement to stop me. His weapon was in my hands and the butt of it in his face before he realized that the sad, pathetic people they'd destined to death weren't going down easy.

Fourth guy had experience, and swiftly brought his weapon up to block my fist. I swung my face forward taking him off guard with a head-butt. I felt his fist in my gut and his knee smash the bottom of my chin, telling me my head-butt had failed. I fell to the ground as his weapon came down, narrowly missing the back of my head. A quick scissor of my legs and down he fell. From there, it only took two swift elbows to the temple and he was down.

I pulled myself to my feet and wiped the blood from my mouth. The radio the man was wearing began to cackle.

"Davey? Hey! Davey? We're getting close to our destination, we can't have anything go wrong now."

I quickly scooped up the radio and laughed into it.

"Define . . . wrong."

120: The Build Up -Nick-

I'd love to say that we all got off that plane alive. I'd love to tell you a fairy tale and make his memory go on forever; to keep fabricating lies of valiant adventures with him at our side.

I was yelling to him to come with me, to get off while he could. I can still remember the face he gave me. He knew. He knew that the people wouldn't survive if he came with us. I had to leave him, leave him to be consumed by the flames.

If only I had a bit more experience behind me, then I could have helped him. What kind of person does that? What kind of person gives everything to help a few people?

By now you are wondering who did this act of heroism. Who helped us all survive unscathed? You're running the names of the only people it could be, using the clues that I've littered through out my words.

But he's a hero. He will never be forgotten. He fought to save the world from Gods, only to die at the hands of man. Who am I speaking about? It's useless to hide it.

This is the final tale of Carl Miller.

119: Tears and Relations -Crystal-

"Hello, Mom?"

A person nearby was talking in to a cell.

"Mom, I love you, okay?" His voice broke.

"No, no, I'm okay. I'm just calling to tell you that I never meant to upset you and I'm sorry. I'll never forget all that you taught me." He went silent, tears along his cheeks.

"Could you tell Dad that I miss him? Tell him that I know he was rough, but I understand that he was just looking out for me. No, I'm fine. Just . . . tell him I love him too. Please put some flowers on Charlene's grave for me?"

Sounds of crying and panic had flooded across the passengers quickly and I'll admit, I was scared too. This isn't something that happens to you every day. This couldn't be happening. My life had been too short, and the only people I could call were either here or . . .

My Dad. I could call him. He wouldn't recognize me, but I wanted to tell him I loved him. Tell him that I've never forgotten him. Say goodbye.

I sat there staring at my cell phone trying to get the nerve to call when I felt a tug on my sleeve. Glancing down I saw a young boy. He looked to be about 5 and his eyes were filled with tears.

"Lady?"

I kept silent and stared at the kid, seeing him put me on the verge of tears. Such a small child close to my age, losing his life so early.

"Lady? My Dad won't hear me! He's not listening!"

"Where is your daddy?"

The young boy pointed at a man who was embroiled in the panic, yelling about revolting against their captors. There was no way to get that guy listening.

"What did you need?"

"The bad men. They took the plane and I'm not gonna see my Mommy again.", he started crying loudly and fell to his knees, "I WANT MY MOMMY!"

Tears streamed down my face as I watched this child cry. A couple of seats away I heard people talking.

They were saying goodbye to their children. They could barely speak.

Slowly anger filled me, something I'm not accustomed to. I knelt down in front of the boy and patted his head.

"It's gonna be all right. Do you know your phone number?", I smiled.

"835-555-4930!", he said proudly.

I dialed the number and handed my phone to him. My Father would have to wait.

"Here, you tell your mother how much you love her, okay? Don't worry, I have a couple of friends who may be able to help."

"I'm sure we can come up with something."

I turned to see Ben walking up the aisle toward me, followed by Carl and Nick.

"So, what's the plan, boss?", I looked up at Ben.

"First, you stop calling me boss. Then we save these people."

118: Something Arises -Ben-

The trouble with being a leader is that everything falls on your head. Someone has trouble being a team-player? Go to the leader. Found a case? Go to the leader. Realize that the flight we got on is scheduled to have an explosive finish? Go to the leader.

Sometimes you just want to close your eyes and pretend someone else is in charge.

"I know what I saw.", Carl was looking at me with a stern face, "I saw a passenger with a parachute in his bag."

"So, because you saw a parachute, you think the plane is going to blow up? That's hardly enough. You're just panicking."

Maybe I was hoping it wasn't true, maybe I wanted to ignore the facts, or maybe I just wanted to get out of this bathroom before my reputation for being a straight male took a nose dive. Besides, it was really cramped in there.

"Not just that, when I was in the back chatting up this attendant, a big guy came in and asked me to leave. Normally I wouldn't have listened, but the attendant didn't want a problem so I left. Not before I saw the gun underneath his jacket though."

All I wanted to do was go take care of this case with out some kind of disaster happening that put us all in harms way. What do I get? Terrorists. It's a good day to be alive.

I put my hand on the door handle, "Listen, it could have been an Air Marshal or something. We'll keep an eye out but we won't make any moves till we figure out if it's really a group of terrorists.”

Being a leader means being patient, and willing to hear every crazy idea that your colleagues come up with. You have to be able to tell them that their suspicions are probably just that and then push it out of your mind.

The walk back to our seats was accompanied by many stares from our fellow passengers. I guess two guys coming out of a one person bathroom at 30,000 feet is enough to make people wonder.

I sighed heavily as I slumped in my seat, and no sooner had I closed my eyes when a gruff voice came over the com.

"Hello passengers. I do hope you've had a nice flight. Sadly, this will be your last. If you need to make any calls please do so, and don't forget to say your I love yous and goodbyes, because you will not be seeing them ever again.”

"I hate to be so harsh but this is a very delicate operation, so if you'd please not cause any problems then we won't miss our target. Why do you want us to hit our target? Because if we do only a couple hundred people will die, including you. If we miss, we'll be hitting a very full and very public place, which would probably increase that number ten-fold. Thank you for flying with us and have a nice day."

Then panic ensued.

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117: A Connection -Vincent-

I had my head inside Carl’s boxers, and the smell was tremendous. Why did I have to be put inside the suitcase? Crystal could have carried me, I would have been good. Maybe Carl was punishing me for the crap I pulled on the way to rescue Crystal. After all, me being here was his idea.

All I had to do was find a way to get him back.

Foraging through his things I came across a bag of pens, a knife, some zip-lock bags, a lighter, and some heavy duty rubber bands. Looking at the pens, I smiled at the words, "Permanent Ink."

Now I had an idea. I grabbed the knife the best I could and slowly cut the pens, emptying the ink into the zip-lock bags.

So he thinks since I’m small and fuzzy that I can't do anything? I can't wait to see his face after this. I took the lighter and sealed the bags shut. I had three bags in all, each filled to the brim with permanent ink. I grabbed the rubber bands and tied each end to the locking mechanisms on either side of the suitcase, making a make-shift slingshot. I tied the third rubber band to the middle of the first and pulled it back, wedging it between the lips of the suitcase in such a way that when its opened, it would release what ever the slingshot was holding at Carl. I put one ink packet in the slingshot and the other two I stuffed in his shoes.

I sat down in a corner and leaned back. I was thinking of trying to sleep, but lately the dreams kept getting worse. I was always tied and Andrew always had the machete. If there was a God, he had a sick sense of humor by bringing me back.

This Door of Death had me spooked. Something about it stirred a memory, and not a good one. Something I couldn't quite place but it made the dreams so much worse. Now I was seeing Crystal having her head smashed in.

What was it that I remembered?

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116: Staying Behind -Saba-

"You're welcome to come with us still if you want.", Carl had been insisting I join them the whole time we rode to the airport.

"No, I don't think I'll be of any help. What if I suddenly stop working in the middle of something important? No. I'm safer here, you all are safer with me here."

"Then what are you going to do?"

I'm going to figure out what's wrong with me.

"I'm gonna go home and read, or something."

"All right, but you give a call if you need us."

Then they were gone and I was stuck alone again, worrying that I'd never find my solution in time. I hailed a taxi and slipped inside.

"Where to, miss?"

How was I supposed to know where to go? Nothing at the house could help, especially since Patrick has the book now. Patrick. He's the only one who would know anything besides Nick, and it's all ready obvious that Nick has no memory of anything important.

As I sat there thinking of what I could say, another person slipped in to the car and loudly announced, "I'm going to the train station, please."

"I hope you don't mind taking a ride miss, maybe then you'll know where you want to go." He was directing that towards me.

"No, no. It's all right. I don't mind." I didn't want to upset anyone so I didn't say anything about how rude that new passenger was.

The passenger was a tall, dark haired woman who had a very creative style in clothes. She was looking out the window for a few minutes and then turned to me.

"Saba, I understand you have a problem. My name is Elizabeth Dumont and my brother told me you might need help. How about you come with me and we'll see if we can't get rid of this issue?"

"Whose your brother?"

"A friend of John’s, he told my brother what was up and he sent me. So you wanna go?"

She seemed less rude now, and I actually found myself liking her a bit. I nodded and she told the taxi what was going on. I guess I was going with her to figure out how to solve this problem.

If I'd had a Mother, she would have taught me not to talk to strangers.

Flashback Entry 115: Father -Nick-

"Friend to many, Father to one. He will be missed."

The coffin slipped silently in to the ground and my Mother started crying next to me. I would have stood to comfort her, but my legs had been rendered useless by my run in with the Bernauws.

So many people had shown up. People I didn't know, people my father didn't even like, and even my closest friends. My Father’s influence had stretched through out anyone that knew him, and they respected him for his intelligence, strength of will, and stubborn beliefs.

Out of all my family and friends, he was the only person I ever told about my abilities; my magic. He stood behind my path and even when I'd lost my legs he was there to help me cope. He found the realm of magic to be amazing and something to be utilized to its fullest. He found me most of the books I needed to continue my learning; I'd found the list on his desk the day after he'd past.

The doctors said that it was his heart, but I knew different. There were traces of magic everywhere when I found him, magic I'd felt before. The Bernauws knew I was alive, and had killed my Father as a message, "Don't stop us or more people will die."

They don't know what they just did.

Flashback Entry 114: Oldest, Youngest -Vincent-

"We can't tell which of them is infected, Vincent! We can't wait for one of them to just get behind us and stab us in the back! No, I say we kill them now, before they wake up." Andrew was right, but I just couldn't. It was my family.

At the time I couldn't tell that he was infected. If only I had.

"No.", I emphasized my point with a glare, "We do it the usual way. We wait to see if they try anything."

Andrew looked upset but put the cleaver on the butcher table, "Fine, but don't come crying to me if this all turns out bad."

It took me 3 hours to fall asleep. I don't know how long I was like that.

"Wake up."

I heard crying and when I opened my eyes I saw Andrew’s grinning face.

"Nice of you to join us, silly. I was beginning to think we'd have to start with out your sorry mug." Andrew's own special brand of slang, a mixture of old and new; laced with hidden meaning.

A glance at myself revealed that I was tied down. A glance around the room revealed that everyone was awake and tied down, except for Andrew.

"Andrew, what are you doing?"

He had the cleaver in his hand.

"I'm doing what you couldn't. I'm ridding us of the trash in order to survive."

"Andrew, they're awake. They are infected."

"Vincent, Vincent. How do we know? They are sitting there crying and afraid, but how do we really know?"

Andrew's eyes had a tint of gold; he was infected. He was free to do what ever he wanted, which probably consisted of killing my family and then me. I fought against my captor; innocent looking duct tape was the only thing that kept me from helping my family.

"Who should go first? Oldest . . . or youngest?"

"Oldest!", my Mother yelled out looking at my dad.

"Youngest!", my Dad yelled out looking at my sister.

"Andrew, we can work this out. We'll test them."

"Too late for that. I'm already curious."

"Andrew, please."

"You didn't ask me why I was curious. That's no fun at all.", his voice was seething with barely controlled lust as he looked at my Mother.

"STOP! ANDREW, PLEASE DON'T!"

"I wonder what their blood looks like."

He raised the cleaver above his head.

113: Door of the Dead -Ben-

So many things had happened during the past few weeks. I found out I was adopted, I got a team of people working with me, and I was attacked by zombie children under the control of an evil Snake Goddess. It only got worse when I realized that almost everything had been orchestrated by some unknown thing. Something that had my mother's spirit so scared that she did its bidding to keep me safe.

Alex Kayser was a name that kept popping up lately. John, Carl, Jay, and even my Mother’s spirit has heard of him. Now I'm expected to find him. Oh, and he's also dead.

"Crystal?"

Crystal looked up from her spot on my bed and smiled, "Yes?"

I had been up all night for the past two days looking for a job, and Crystal had stayed up with me to keep me company. She's friendly like that.

"Would you mind letting the others know to meet me in the living room? I think I have our next job."

She hopped off the bed and walked out, calling for the others while she walked. Crystal had this distinctly child-like quality to her, probably because just a few weeks ago she was one. Nick, our resident Warlock in training, had brought her back to life as her soul would have liked; an 18 year-old girl.

The Door of the Dead: an old Egyptian decoration said to allow people to converse with the dead, has earned its first casualty. A security guard had been found disemboweled near the exhibit at the museum. This normally would be scratched off as another homicide, except that his blood was all over the door. Some of his entrails were found fused to the front of the decoration. I mean, it was no longer flesh, it was flesh-rock.

It was enough to get my curiosity, and so we were headed to the Museum of Natural History to check this out; if I could get the other guys to go.

Crystal came running back in and winked, "They're all waiting, boss!"

Maybe it was the things that happened in the last few weeks. Maybe I have a sixth sense for these things. What ever the reason, something told me this wouldn't be easy.