“Jake, please, I’m begging you, hypnotize me!” Mina pleaded of Jake. They were both in his room, and Jake was playing video games.
As soon as she finished her request, Jake threw his controller down and glared angrily at the ceiling. “All right, ring already, damn you!!” he exclaimed.
Mina eyed him quizzically. “Jake, what are you doing?”
“This is a dream,” he said.
“Uh, no it isn’t.”
“Oh, yes it is! Every time a girl begs me to hypnotize her, my alarm goes off and wakes me up before things get good, and I end up with my face on the floor!” He gazed even more intensely at the ceiling. “So stop teasing me and just ring!”
Annoyed, Mina walked over to Jake and pinched his cheek, hard.
“Ow! What was that for?!”
“To prove you’re not dreaming, stupid!”
“What?” Jake pinched himself, and indeed, he was not dreaming. “Wow, you’re right.”
“Yes, I am. Now will you please hypnotize me?”
“Um, okay,” Jake said, reaching for his pendant. “So, is it just going to be you and me, or should I invite some of the others...?”
“Wait, let me finish!” Mina covered her eyes. “Put that thing away!” Once Jake assured her that he had, she lowered her hands and spoke seriously to him. “Jake, I need you to hypnotize me to be better at my spell casting.”
Disappointed, but interested, Jake asked, “Why don’t you start from the beginning?”
Mina took a deep breath. “Like I told you the day we met, I’m in the magic girl program at school. That’s where I learned how to use magic. But the program is a course like any other, and the students get graded. There’s an exam coming up in a few days. All of the magical boys and girls have to display their magical prowess in a manner of their choosing in front of a professor. My instructors say that I have a lot of power and potential, but that I just keep messing up. Given how my spells keep backfiring, my grades are so shaky that if I don’t ace this exam, I’ll drop out of the course!”
“I’ve heard about this exam. It’s done in front of the entire school in the auditorium, right?” Mina nodded. “And how do I factor into this?”
“I want you to hypnotize me to make me be better at my magic. I have horrible stage fright. If I get in front of an audience, I’ll probably cover everyone in thorns instead of rose petals like I plan. I know I’ll do better if you give me a subconscious suggestion to do so. So, please, hypnotize me!”
Jake thought about it seriously for a few moments, then shook his head. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”
*Mina gets wide eyed in shock, then falls into a black abyss.* “What!?”
“Mina, listen to me. You’re probably right that I could make you do better. Let’s say you pass because of my help. Let’s say you give an excellent performance, and then go to a higher level of the course. Any subconscious suggestions I give you aren’t guaranteed to last forever. What happens when your next exam comes along? You’re going to ask for my help again. And again. And again. What happens if I move away after that? A level of excellence will be expected of you from everyone else, but you won’t be able to live up to those expectations. Your skills will decline, and you won’t be good enough to do what you’re expected to. It would be unfair of me to start you down that road, and so, no, I will not hypnotize you. You’ll have to use your own talents. I’m sorry.”
Mina understood what he was saying, but she was so desperate that she didn’t care. She clasped her hands together and got down to her knees in front of him. “Please, Jake, just this once!”
Jake shook his head no.
Mina got to her feet, clearly frustrated. “Fine, then I’ll just ask Dawn, or Fawn, or go and visit Yuta, or Mato.”
Jake eyed her. “Dawn would probably have you help her commit crimes, then drain you; Fawn has the same outlook on cheating that I do; Yuta would probably have you play ‘games’ with her; and do you really want to submit yourself to Mato’s control?”
Images of herself in a test tube flashed through Mina’s head. She pouted. “When did you start being such a goodie two shoes?” she grumbled.
“About the time that I realized that if I didn’t set some boundaries for myself, I would end up like Mato,” Jake replied.
Mina shuddered. “Alright, I forgive you.”
*********
The next day, Mina was in a wide, grassy field by herself. She was trying to improve her skills, but she couldn’t shake off her nervousness.
“Concentrate, concentrate,” she told herself. She then pointed her wooden staff at the ground in front of her. Her blue eyes glowed, her blue necklace glowed. Her magical aura started lifting her pink hair upwards. A giant rock jutted out of the ground.
Mina was disappointed. “You were supposed to be a tree!” she yelled at the rock.
“Sorry,” the rock replied.
Mina screamed and pointed at the rock with her finger. The rock exploded. “No! I didn’t mean to destroy it! I just wanted to send it back underground!”
She tried something else. She walked over to a pond, determined to freeze it. She pointed her staff at it, concentrated, her eyes and necklace glowed again, and a giant hand of water emerged from the pond, picked her up, and threw her a dozen meters away.
“Okay, let’s try something else,” she said after she picked herself up. “What about invisibility?” She concentrated and cast her spell. She looked at her hand. She could still see it.
She was about to try again when she noticed she was feeling cold. She looked down and discovered that she was completely naked. She screamed. “Not another wardrobe malfunction!”
*********
“So you see, Lucia, all you have to do is aim and pull the trigger,” Jessica was saying.
It was the next day, and Lucia and Jessica were in the living room. Jessica was trying to teach the angel how to fire a rifle at a target set up on the wall. They were using a special kind of bullet designed by Mato that wouldn’t pierce living tissue. Several of the other girls were watching.
“Like this?” Lucia fired. Her shot went wide and broke an electronic clock.
Jen flinched. “Are you sure firing a gun in a house is a good idea?”
Jessica waved her off. “Hey, Mato’s out of town with Dawn at his conference. Besides, he owes me for not reporting about his development of weapons capable of mass destruction. Try again, Lucia.”
Lucia fired again. This time, the bullet lodged itself in the thick book Katia was reading, entitled 1001 Ways Elves Are Better than Everyone Else..
“Do you mind?” she asked, lowering her book. By now, the entire remaining household except for Sarah had gathered.
“Sorry.” She tried again, the bullet hit the TV switch, and a Star Katana movie came on. But before the girls had time to start enjoying it, Lucia’s next shot broke the TV.
“Maybe we should stop,” Jake suggested.
“Wait, just give her one more chance,” Jessica asked. “Concentrate this time.”
Lucia took a deep breath and aimed straight at the center of the target and pulled the trigger. Unfortunately, at that moment, Sarah had entered the room and walked right in front of the target. The bullet grazed her right mechanical cyborg ear. She grabbed at it in pain.
Lucia dropped the rifle and started walking over to her friend. “Oh, Sarah, I’m so sorry!”
The damaged ear blade started sparking. “Stay back!” Sarah yelled. She touched her left ear, and a statistics screen displayed over her eyes. Her eyes widened in fear. She crouched and turned so her damaged ear was facing the entrance door to the house. “Everyone, cover your eyes!”
Everyone did as she said. The sparking got worse and worse.
Then the door opened, and in walked Mina. “Hi, everyone, I-“
An incredibly bright flash emanated from Sarah’s damaged ear. Mina caught a full blast of it and fell unconscious.
*********
Mina was in the school auditorium, and was performing for her magic exam. Everyone was staring at her. She was sweating. She tried to cast a spell for a beautiful light show.
However, instead of lights appearing, her clothes disappeared. She screamed and tried to cover herself.
Everyone was pointing at her and laughing. A judge held up a score card with a giant F on it. Two women came onto the stage and walked over to her. They took away her oaken staff and her necklace.
Mina fell to her knees and started crying.
*********
“..na? Mina? Can you hear me?”
Mina awoke from her nightmare. She heard Sarah’s voice and felt someone shaking her shoulder. One of Mato’s experiments must have gone wrong. All I can see is black.
“Yeah, I hear you,” she moaned. She had a headache. She sat up. “What happened? How long was I out? It’s nighttime. And why are the lights off?”
There was silence, then Jake said, “Mina, you were only out for a few minutes. It’s mid afternoon, and the lights are on.”
Mina started to get scared. She rubbed her eyes and held her hands before her face, but she could still only see black.
“Oh god, I’m blind! I’m blind! Oh god! Ahhh! Ahhh!” Mina was panicking, and she was flailing about in her terror.
Someone was holding her down, and Sarah was yelling, “Mina! Mina! Calm down! Listen to me!” But Mina was so scared that she wouldn’t stop. “Someone help me!” Sarah yelled.
Mina started to hear singing; a woman singing. It was so beautiful The voice was telling her to calm down. So she did. She kept relaxing and relaxing until she stopped flailing about.
*********
“Thanks, Fawn,” Sarah said. Jen had called Diana over, and everyone was gathered around Mina. Sarah placed her hands on Mina’s shoulders in a comforting manner. “Mina, are you listening?” Mina nodded. “You are not blind. Your loss of vision is just temporary.”
Mina sighed in relief. Now that she was calm, Sarah used a medical kit and taped two pads over Mina’s eyes. “What happened?” Mina asked.
Glaring at Jessica and Lucia, but especially at Jessica, Sarah told Mina about the hollow bullet that had hit her ear. “You see, my right ear blade can act as a one use per charge flash weapon. When it was damaged, it activated on its own. You caught a full blast of it on overload, but I promise, you’ll soon recover your total sight.”
Mina was relieved, but then she remembered something and started to fret. “Oh, why now?! Why did this have to happen now?!”
“What’s wrong?” Jessica asked. She was feeling horrible over what had happened.
“Yes, what?” Lucia inquired. She had been told it was Jessica’s fault, not hers, so she had stopped feeling as guilty. But she did still feel bad.
“Tomorrow is her magic exam,” Diana answered. She was holding Mina’s hand.
“Why not just take it later?” Fawn suggested.
“You don’t understand,” Mina moaned. “The evaluating professor is visiting the school for just one day. It’s tomorrow or never.”
Sarah thought for a little bit, then asked, “When is your exam?”
“Middle of the school day.”
“I don’t think you have to worry,” Sarah told her. “When you take off the pads tomorrow morning, you should have blurry vision. Your sight will definitely be back by the end of the school day tomorrow. Can you get this professor to wait that long?”
Mina thought it over. “Maybe. I’d feel a lot better if I had an adult to back me up, and my parent’s are out of town.”
Sarah shook her head. “I’d go, but I can’t. I have to go get maintenance done on my ear right now and I’ll be gone until tomorrow night. It’s a good thing Mato hypnotized Dawn into helping him with his experiments at his science conference. At least I won’t have to worry about her.”
Jessica knelt down besides Mina. “Don’t worry, Mina. I’ll go with you and talk to the teacher. Then I’ll stay and watch your performance.”
Lucia clapped her hands together in delight. “Yes! Yes! I shall go as well and offer my support.”
Everyone else agreed, and it seemed that everyone except Sarah would be going to Mina’s exam. That worried Mina a little, but she knew her friends meant well. “Thanks, everyone.”
Sarah headed out the door. “Do you want to stay here tonight?” Jake asked.
“Thanks, but if it’s alright with Diana, I’d rather spend the night at her place,” Mina said.
“Of course you can,” Diana said, smiling. She helped her best friend to her feet. “Don’t worry; I’ll be there for you until your vision returns.” She guided Mina to her house.
“Well, I’d better go pick out what to wear tomorrow,” Fawn said, heading to her room.
“What do you mean?” Jake asked.
“I’m a popstar, remember? If I’m going to a high school, I’ll need a disguise.”
“Oh, right.” Images started going through Jake’s head. “Uh, maybe I should watch you change so you can know you won’t be recognized?”
WHAM! Katia floored Jake with a blow to the head from her book.
*********
Diana’s family was very understanding of Mina’s condition, and they did everything they could to accommodate her. Diana’s mother, Kitty, ordered a pizza instead of cooking so that Mina would have an easier time eating. A sleeping bag was brought to Diana’s room and Diana’s sheets were changed so that Mina could have the bed. The two best friends spent the night having girl’s time. There was a heavy rain falling outside, and Mina found the noise very calming. She was still very nervous about her test.
“Hey,” Diana said. She was rubbing Mina’s shoulders after getting her some hot cocoa. “You shouldn’t be so nervous about the test tomorrow.”
“I can’t help it, Diana. I love magic so much. But I can never seem to get it right. I am a klutz.”
“You’re right. You are.”
“Hey!”
“Let me finish. Yes, your spells go haywire. I do think you’re going to pass tomorrow. But, on the outside, let’s say you don’t. If that happens, you take a year off of school magic and get some practice on your own. You’ll improve and then tackle the program again next year and be better for it.”
“I guess you’re right. Thanks.” Mina squeezed her friend’s hand. “You’re a good friend.”
“I try.”
*********
That evening, in another part of Yoto, someone was up to magic tricks of their own. Someone was standing in front of a small wooden box, holding a spell book and speaking a chant. When they finished, the box glowed blue, then dimmed. The figure laughed. “Tomorrow’s magic show will be one worth remembering. Too bad I’m the only one who will be remembering it.”
*********
The next morning, Diana woke Mina up and took off the pads on her eyes. Mina slowly opened her eyes and blinked, trying to clear them.
“Can you see?” Diana asked.
“Not really,” Mina replied. “All I see is a big white blur.”
“Well, that’s better than nothing. Hm, your eyes look a bit weird. You might want to wear a pair of sunglasses. Hold on, I’ve got a pair. There you go.”
After breakfast, which consisted of pizza from the previous night, Mina, Diana, Jake, Katia, and the rest of the girls headed for Yoto High. Fawn had put on some makeup, a baseball cap, and a coat in order to hide her appearance, and Jen had been convinced to wear something a little less revealing.
The first thing the gang did upon arriving was go to see the principal. They explained about Mina’s condition. The principal understood and gave Mina the day off from classes. Then the visiting magic professor was called in. She was like something out of Harry Potter. Black robes, pointy hat, and a lofty attitude. She was told about Mina’s request for an exam later than planned. The professor was upset, but begrudgingly permitted it. “Given this girl’s reputation,” she said as she left the office, “I doubt it will take long to grade her.” Mina got even more worried.
“She wasn’t nice,” Lucia pointed out.
“Just forget about her, Mina,” Jen said, trying to help.
Jake, Katia, and Diana went off to their classes. Since there were only a few hours before the other students exams, Mina asked if the non-student girls could hang out with her in the auditorium until those exams started. They all agreed. The magic girls and boys and their guests and friends were seated in the front row, so that’s where Mina and the others sat. To help Mina feel better, Jen conjured an audio version of Mina’s favorite book, and the girls spent the time until the first exams listening to it.
Mina’s vision had largely recovered by the time the auditorium started filling. She could make out colors and large patterns, but her vision was still very blurry.
When the whole school had filed into the auditorium, the students were being assigned the order of their presentations. Katia and Diana were sitting in Mina’s row. Jake had arrived late, and since Mina’s row was now filled, he had to sit further back.
Lucia noticed something and nudged Diana to get her attention. “Hey, who’s he?” she asked, pointing at the opposite row.
The man she was referring to was about Jake’s age and a few inches taller. He had short yet bushy brown hair, fair complexion, average build, carried an oaken staff, had a jeweled ring; attractive. What got Lucia’s attention was that he had a big fanbase. A whole bunch of school girls were trying to talk to him.
“Oh, him?” Diana said. “He’s Keith. He’s a popular student here. He’s considered the premier magic boy in his age group. Most girls go crazy over him. His parents are often away, so he often lives by himself. Everyone’s looking forward to what he’s going to do for his exam.”
As the first student walked on stage, Mina was glad she couldn’t see very well. She would have hated to see what she would be compared against.
*********
All in all, Jake was very impressed with what he saw. The magic students were really something. Some conjured fire and made it dance and shape itself to their whim. Others created ice sculptures out of thin air, then melted the sculptures. Then they shaped the melted water into new sculptures and froze them again. A whole array of abilities were shown. Light shows like fireworks. Creating illusions. Making items literally disappear and then reappear.
Of course, there were mishaps as well. One student set himself on fire, and the grading professor had to put it out before he got hurt. One girl tried to make a tomato on a table grow to enormous proportions, but she ended up shrinking her oaken staff. And then there was the spaghetti incident, which was to bizarre to try and describe.
At last, the end of the exams was approaching, and Keith was the last one up. As he stepped on stage, a few people noticed he had a creepy smiled on his face.
Keith pulled out a small wooden box and placed it on the table in front of him. Closing his eyes in concentration, he pointed his staff at it and started chanting. His ring and the box glowed blue.
As he was chanting, the box opened itself, and a baseball sized sphere hovered out of it. The audience stayed silent, unsure of what was happening. Soon, the sphere hovered higher and higher into the air then stopped. It started growing. It expanded in size until it was as big as a wrecking ball.
Keith stopped chanting and smiled wickedly. “Surprise.”
Hundreds and hundreds of string thick lasers started shooting out from the sphere. The magical lights sought out the audience and struck everyone in their eyes. All gasped, except for Jake.
The beams faded in a second, and Jake just rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his head. “That’s it?” he disappointedly asked the girl next to him.
The girl didn’t respond. Concerned, Jake nudged her. Still no response. He looked more closely and saw that she was slumped in her chair, her pupils a fraction of what they should be.
Jake started to get scared. “Hey, I need some help here!” Then he noticed that the entire auditorium, except for him and Keith, were just like the girl.
Keith noticed that Jake was unaffected by his spell and became annoyed. “Hey, you!” he yelled. “Why aren’t you hypnotized!?”
Not again, Jake thought. He started to get to his feet, but then Keith pointed his staff at Jake, and Jake became strapped to his chair by unseen restraints. He struggled against them, but it was futile.
Keith surveyed his handiwork over the audience and laughed. “It’s great to have power and control. Hey, you!” He pointed at one of Jake’s least favorite teachers. “Say you’re an ugly skank.”
“I am an ugly skank,” the teacher said.
Keith laughed some more. “Now you, redhead with the knockers,” he pointed at Jessica, “take off your shirt, come up here, and give me a kiss.” Jessica wordlessly did as he said. Keith was taking delight in his control over the audience. It was like a drug to him.
“Stop this!” Jake yelled at Keith.
Smirking, Keith walked up to Jake and studied his face. “It’s Jake Mato, isn’t it? I’m surprised anyone was able to resist that ancient spell. I’ll have to come back and deal with you later. But right now, I’ve got a timetable to keep.”
“What are you talking about? Why are you doing this? What’s going on?”
“I’ve got a delivery to make. But I think I’d like to sample some of the merchandise first.”
He raised his voice. “All the female students of this school and all the single women who aren’t instructors, follow me!”
Everyone who matched his criteria, including Jake’s friends, got out of their seats and mindlessly followed Keith out of the auditorium and through the school halls. Jake kept yelling, trying to get anyone to respond to him, but no one did. Soon they were all gone.
A minute later, Jake was still trying to get loose of the magic forces that bound him but he couldn’t get free.
“Need some help?” someone asked.
Jake looked up to see Mina standing beside him, her sunglasses off, smiling. He smiled back. “Please.”
Mina tapped Jake’s arms with her staff, and he was free.
“What the hell just happened?” Jake asked. He tried to rouse some of the audience that remained, but he couldn’t. He and Mina stepped into the school hallways.
Mina shook her head. “I don’t know. Keith did that sphere of light thing, than lasers shot from it and hit everybody in the eyes, trancing them You and I seem to be the only ones not affected.”
“I can understand why I didn’t get put under, but what about you? All the magic girls fell under.”
“It was probably because of my vision problem. I guess the sunglasses and my blurry vision somehow blocked out the hypnotic effects. It also somehow cleared my vision. I can see perfectly now. I noticed what was happening between you and Keith, so I decided to play possum until an opportunity presented itself.”
“Now that we’re past that, let’s think. Why did Keith hypnotize the entire audience?”
“It seems like he’s gone power hungry or something. I can’t believe it. He’s always been such a good guy. Do you know why he took all the women?”
Jake thought back over what Keith had said. “He said something about making a delivery.” Realization struck Jake like a ton of bricks. “Oh, no; I think he’s going to sell everyone he took as mindless slaves!”
Mina gasped. “We have to get help!” She started to run, but Jake grabbed her arm and stopped her.
“There’s no time,” he said. “Besides, everyone we know who could help us is out of town. It’s up to us.”
Mina was about to protest, but then she thought of poor Diana and their other friends. “You’re right. We have to save them. But how do we find them?”
Jake pointed further down the hall. There was a trail of discarded school uniforms and other clothes. “Let’s just follow the bread crumbs.”
*********
They followed the trail of discarded garments until they found themselves in front of the closed gymnasium doors. There were weird, unidentifiable noises coming from the other side.
“Okay, before we go in there, do we have a plan?” Jake asked Mina.
“I do,” Mina said. She looked Jake right in the eyes. “Hypnotize me.”
Jake blinked. “What?”
Mina assumed an attitude more serious than any she had ever had before in her life. “Do what I asked you to do earlier. Hypnotize me and make me as strong as I can be.”
“Mina-“
“Jake, listen! This isn’t about some stupid test anymore. Our friends and many other people are at stake here. I’ve seen Keith work magic before; I know what he can do. We’re probably going to have to fight him. If we’re to beat him, I’m going to need all the power I have at my disposal. So. Please. Hypnotize me.”
She’s right. We will need her doing her best. Jake took a deep breath. “Alright. Close your eyes.” Mina complied. Jake laid his hands on his shoulders, and they started to glow. “When I count to three, you will fall asleep. One, two three.”
*********
“Don’t worry,” Jake said. “You won’t lose.”
Mina believed him. She felt confident. More confidence than she had ever felt before. And with her friends on the line, her confidence and determination grew.
“Let’s do this,” she said.
The two of them burst through the gymnasium doors...
And stepped onto a beach.
Puzzled, the two of them looked around. Instead of in a gym, they were standing on a small tropical island. There appeared to be a dormant volcano close by. There was a warm sun overhead, and the ocean was lapping at the beach. The two looked behind them, and they saw a door-sized shape image of the hallway they just left. They stepped through the image, and they were back in the hallway. They passed through the doors again, and they were back on the island.
Jake was holding his head in frustration. “This day is just too weird. What’s going on?”
“I think I know,” Mina said. “I believe this is a magical pocket dimension. Basically, it’s like an environment that you can create within an enclosed space-“
Jake held up his hand and she stopped. “I think I’ve seen enough fantasy and sci fi to get the idea. Basically, we’re on an island, but we’re also still in the school, right?” Mina nodded. “Alright, let’s find Keith and get things back to normal.”
It wasn’t hard to figure out where to go. There were many, many pairs of footprints to follow. Before too long, they found what they were looking for.
The women who had been taken from the auditorium were standing in a line, one in front of the other, facing forward. And all they were wearing were down to their under garments. Usually, Jake would be drooling by now, but the seriousness of the situation overrode his normal impulses. He tried to wake them, but he couldn’t. And he realized that his hypnotic powers weren’t working.
Following the line, they saw twelve of the magic girls at the front of the line. They were holding hands and standing in a wide circle, chanting. In the center of their circle was a black circle of light. As time passed, it kept getting larger, but very slowly.
“And what’s that?” Jake asked.
“Let me think,” Mina said. “That chant sounds familiar... I’ve got it! They’re trying to create a stable portal to another destination.”
Jake groaned. “So, if they finish, the girls in line just step through it into a life of servitude. Can we stop them?”
“I wouldn’t try disrupting this spell,” Mina warned. “It might explode.”
They continued walking a little further, and they found their ultimate target.
Keith was underneath a shady palm tree with all of their friends. Keith was the only one fully clothed Like all of the other women they had seen, their friends were scantily clad. But unlike the others, their friends were doing something.
Katia and Jessica were on their hands and knees, side by side. Keith was sitting on their butts, like it was some kind of perverted throne. Diana was curled at Keith’s feet, rubbing her cheek against his legs, purring. Lucia was sitting in his lap, making out with him. And not far from them, Fawn and Jen were dancing sexily, Fawn lightly singing. Keith was the very image of sloth and greed.
“Let go of them, you bastard/pervert!” Jake and Mina yelled. They were both incensed.
Keith stopped kissing Lucia and eyed them. “Hm, so I missed one,” he said nonchalantly. He snapped his fingers. Lucia got off of him, he got up, and then the girls left to join the other women. Jake tried to stop them, but Keith snapped his fingers and a flame burned Jake’s hand. “No touching,” he warned. He gazed up and down Mina’s body. He snapped his fingers again, and a gust of wind blew Mina’s skirt up. Mina was too angry to be embarrassed. “Hm, very pretty. Too bad hypnosis powers don’t work in this realm, or I’d put on my little light show again, just for you.”
“Keith, why are you doing this?!” Mina screamed.
Keith scowled. “Don’t call me that.”
“What?” Jake was confused.
“Don’t call me by that weakling’s name.”
“What are you talking about?” Mina asked. “You are Keith.”
Their opponent laughed. “This might be his body, but Keith is not the one speaking to you. I am the one who has possessed him. Call me Tsavan.”
“Possessed?! Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on!?” Jake yelled.
“Tsavan,” Mina murmured. “That name sounds familiar.”
Tsavan sighed, then glanced at his watch. “The girls won’t be done with that portal for a while, so I might as well fill you in before I destroy you. I am an ancient spirit that is possessing this boy’s body, as well as his powers and skills. Thousands of years ago, when magic was much more widespread and powerful than it is today, I was a warlord. I held dominion over a vast realm. My armies were unstoppable, my conquests boundless. I plundered. I abducted. I killed.”
Mina’s eyes widened in recognition and fear. “It can’t be! Tsavan, the Avatar of Cruelty!?”
Tsavan laughed wickedly. “Yes, that was what I used to be called. I enjoyed all the pleasures life had to offer. Power, control, food, wine, women. All of it. I saw what I wanted, and I took it.” An evil aura emanated from him while he told his story, and the clouds overhead became black, and the air cold. “Unfortunately, I pissed off one too many of the wrong people. Wizards overthrew me. They decreed that death was too kind a sentence for my crimes, so they sought an eternal punishment. My soul was ripped from my body, and sealed within the pages of a book of forbidden arts. There I was to remain for all eternity.”
“Keith, why are you lying to us!?” Mina shouted. “That book was lost centuries ago. Why are you creating these pitiful excuses for your crimes?”
The body that was Keith’s smiled. Then, what appeared to be a large, demonic shaped ghost flew out from Keith’s chest and stopped right in front of Mina. The creature was too horrible to describe.
“DO YOU BELIEVE ME NOW, LITTLE GIRL?” it yelled in a deep, horrible, cruel voice.
Jake screamed in fear, but Mina held her ground, refusing to back down. But on the inside, her heart went cold from sheer terror.
The specter retreated back to Keith’s body. “Yes, the book was lost,” Tsavan continued. “Until a few months ago. It was found, and through magic, the one who found it communicated with me and made a deal with me. I do not know who this person was, or if it was a man or woman. I think it was a man. The deal was this. The book itself contained many spells the world decreed inhumane, including spells for mind control. But I was the only one who could possibly read the book. If I used those spells to provide this man with many mindless, willing young servants, I would be provided with a human body again. That portal those girls are creating lead straight to our agreed upon delivery point. And those women are just the first wave to be delivered. Though, I do think I’ll keep those last six to join my personal harem.”
“Those are our friends, you bastard! Now what about Keith; how does he factor into all this?” Jake asked, angry as he had ever been.
Tsavan smiled. “I desired a young, magically able male body to possess. Keith seemed the perfect match. Once my spirit was given the ability to possess others, the book was shipped to Keith. He opened it, I flew into his body, and now, this vessel is mine.” Keith held out his hand, and his oaken staff flew into his grip. “But story time is over.” He pointed the staff at them. “Now, die.”
A fireball erupted from the staff and headed straight for Jake and Mina. Instead of running, Mina stepped right in front of Jake. Her staff magically materialized in her hands. She swung it into the fireball, and its path veered into the ocean.
Tsavan widened his eyes a little in surprise. “Not bad,” he commented.
“We will save our friends and stop you,” Mina declared bravely.
Tsavan laughed. “Go ahead and try to save them. They’ll only awaken to a trigger word, and only I and the one who freed me know it.”
“Then tell us what it is!” Mina demanded.
“In exchange for what?”
Mina thought for a moment. “How about this? We engage in a wizards contest.”
Tsavan seemed to think that over.
“What’s a wizards contest?” Jake asked.
“It’s an ancient and powerful tradition,” Mina replied. “When two magic users engage in this contest, an unbreakable pact is made. Both put up something as a wager, and then they engage in a battle of skills. The one that is defeated is then mystically obligated to fulfill their pledge.”
Jake wasn’t going along with this. “Mina, listen. I don’t pretend to understand half of this wizard crap and ancient ghost stuff, but this guy is dangerous. I’m not letting you put yourself in this kind of danger.”
“Jake, this is the only way to save everyone. I’m doing this.” She smiled. “Besides, without your hypno powers, how will you stop me?”
“I am intrigued,” Tsavan cut into their discussion. “What do you desire if you win?”
“The trigger word so we can release your victims, and you to leave Keith’s body and never bother anyone ever again.”
“That’s two wagers,” Tsavan pointed out.
“Very well,” Mina said. “Then what two things do you desire if you win?”
Tsavan was quick in responding. “Your body, and your soul.”
“What?” Mina was horrified.
Tsavan looked over her body, licking his lips. “I enjoy controlling these women, and I enjoy what they can offer me. But I want something more than just mindless slaves. I want a women with her own mind. I want a woman who can hate me, yet be powerless to deny what I command. I want you to be mine, willingly, for all eternity.”
Mina shivered. Jake shouted out, “Forget it, you soulless-“
“If I agree, you will enter the contest?” Mina asked.
Jake turned to her. “Mina!”
“Yes, on the condition that he stays out of this,” Tsavan said, pointing at Jake.
“Done,” Mina said.
“Done,” Tsavan agreed.
“Mina, stop this!”
She shook her head. “It’s too late, Jake. The contest must now happen.” She faced him and looked him square in the eyes. “Now get out of here. And no matter what, do not interfere. I promise you, I will win.”
Jake saw a fire in Mina’s eyes, a determination and strength he had never seen before. It was so powerful that he felt compelled to do as she said. He gave her a quick hug and said, “I know you will.” Then he ran off to the sidelines.
Mina and Tsavan approached one another, staffs at the ready.
I wish I could be there with her. Still, maybe there’s something I can do to help later. Jake pulled out a pair of sunglasses, put them on, and pressed a tiny button on the side of the left shade. He then prepared to watch the fight that would determine the fate of his friends. Two high schoolers, in their uniforms, male and female, engaging one another in a contest of mystical arts. It’s just like the magic school girl animes.
*********
Right now, Mina was a mass of contradictions. She was brave but terrified. Standing her ground yet intimidated. Confident yet sure of defeat. All I can do is give it my all. But what if my all isn’t good enough?
While she was going over these thoughts, Keith struck. He pointed his staff at her and started chanting. His eyes and ring glowed.
Mina yelped in terror as her feet became encased in ice. She couldn’t move. Then the ice started spreading upwards, covering her legs, then her thighs. It was cold, oh so cold.
Mina tried to think of something, but she was too frightened. She was so panicked she couldn’t cast spells. And the ice was still spreading. It covered her arms, and soon, her neck.
Tsavan was guffawing. “Oh, how I will enjoy you and your friends!”
Righteous anger filled Mina’s heart. The anger gave her focus, made her stronger. She channeled that anger into her magic. Her necklace and eyes glowed, but not blue. They glowed with the color of fire. The ice encasing her started melting, and within seconds was gone. Tsavan was taken aback at this display of power.
Taking advantage of his surprise, Mina swung her staff in his direction. Magical wind propelled Tsavan into the palm tree in whose shade he had been just fifteen minutes ago.
His surprise turned to anger. He gestured upwards with his hand, and a circle of fire engulfed Mina.
The fire was intensely hot, and the circle was shrinking on her. She tried to blow out the fire with more wind, but it didn’t work. She was choking on smoke. Then she remembered about her magical attempts in the grassy field two days earlier. She pointed her finger towards the beach. Water from the nearby ocean rose in the form of a column. She then curled her finger. The water was beckoned to her. It landed on and doused the fires, leaving a fog of steam.
When Mina could finally see again, the first thing she saw was Tsavan swinging his staff directly into her face. The impact forced her to the ground and nearly knocked her out. Tsavan stood over her and swung his staff down at her prone body.
Mina held her staff horizontally above her and blocked the blow. Focusing her magic, her eyes and necklace glowed blue again. A shaft of rock shot up from the ground between her legs and struck Tsavan in the stomach, hard, knocking the wind out of him. Mina then got up and socked him one in the face with a powerful right hook, knocking him to the ground.
She was about to press her attack when he disappeared. Mina recognized an invisibility spell when she saw one. She also knew good counters. Instead of using magic, Mina just watched the sand closely. She saw his foot steps backing away from her.
She started preparing another spell when Tsavan appeared behind her. He lowered his staff over the front of Mina’s face and pulled it towards him, choking her.
“How?” Mina gasped.
“Illusions, stupid girl,” Tsavan sneered.
Mina was starting to black out, so she did something desperate. She rammed the back of her head into the front of his face. He howled in pain, and Mina broke free.
On and on their struggle went. On one side was an ancient, malicious spirit, possessing the body, knowledge, and talents of a magic prodigy, who cared only for himself and his own desires. On the other side was a woman, a true friend, someone who was feeling more secure about herself than she ever had before, and was willing to do anything for those she cared for.
They both employed every trick they knew, and came up with new ones on the spot. Mina summoned rock golems from the ground to attack her foe. Tsavan countered by conjuring a dragon. The battle between the magical beasts ended in a draw, both having vanished from their titanic conflict.
Anyone who knew Mina would not believe that she was the one fighting this foe. She fought with skills and accuracy that were beyond her years. For Tsavan’s attacks, she had counters. For his counters, she had better counters.
Tsavan directed another, even stronger fireball at Mina. She retaliated by holding her staff before her and twirling it rapidly, like a cheerleader with her baton. The fireball hit the spinning staff and was rebounded back at Tsavan. Tsavan barely avoided the fireball, but got caught in the explosive shock wave.
But despite Mina’s best efforts, the battle seemed to be in favor of Tsavan. Each and every one of Mina’s moves cost her more and more of her stamina and strength, and she was growing tired. But Tsavan seemed less exhausted than she. The power behind both of their attacks was diminishing, but hers faster than his.
Tsavan threw another, much weaker fireball attack at Mina. Mina tried to block it, but she was too weak. It exploded, and threw her to the ground.
Sensing victory, the heaving Tsavan lurched towards his foe, intent on finishing this contest with his own hands. Mina had gotten back to her feet, using her staff as a crutch. She looked as if she had no more fight left in her.
Tsavan stood right in front of her, smiling. “Game over, little girl.” He swung his staff at her.
In a last burst of strength, Mina ducked under his swing and slammed the tip of her staff into his stomach. He lurched forward in pain, and Mina rammed the tip of her staff into his jaw, knocking him onto his back.
She kicked his dropped staff away and stood over her fallen foe. “You lose.”
Putting aside her own staff, she grabbed Tsavan by the collar of his uniform and dragged him to his feet. “I’ve won,” she declared. “We had a wizard’s wager. Now pay up.”
Tsavan’s eyes were closed, but he was still conscious. “You’re right, we did have a wizard’s agreement,” he muttered. Then his eyes shot open and he stared at her with a wicked, evil grin on his face. “But I’m not a wizard.”
The demon like spirit that had showed itself to Mina and Jake earlier shot out of Keith’s chest once again. But this time, it flew into Mina’s body.
Mina screamed in pain. She dropped Keith and fell to her knees, clutching at her stomach as this foul thing invaded her body.
*********
Jake had seen the end of the battle and took off his sunglasses. He had started approaching Mina after she had won. So he saw the spirit fly into her body.
“MINA!!!” he screamed, running to her as fast as he could.
When he reached her, he got to his knees and grabbed her shoulders. He tried to get her to look at him. “Mina, are you alright?!?”
Mina looked up at him. Her eyes were devoid of kindness, of caring. They were cold, unfeeling.
“She’s here,” she said in a hollow, empty voice. “But I’m the one in charge.”
“MINA!” Jake shook her, desperate not to let Tsavan win. “FIGHT HIM!”
Her eyes seemed to return to normal, and when she spoke, it was in her voice, though weak. “Jake... Jake... please... help me...”
Her eyes became cold again. “Give it up, girl. I control you.”
“LEAVE HER! LEAVE HER YOU MONSTER!” All Jake could think about was helping Mina.
“Why should I? She has even more power than that boy Keith.”
There was only one thing Jake could think of. “Take me instead!”
Mina retook control of her body. “No... Jake...”
Tsavan regained his foothold. “Shut up! Now, boy, what do you offer that she doesn’t? You have no magic.”
“Maybe not,” Jake said. “But I have power. I have mind control powers. I can hypnotize anyone, make them do what I want. You want women? You can have women! You want money? You can have money! With my powers, you can have anything! Besides, you’re a man, right? Do you really want a girl's body?”
Tsavan seemed to think it over. “This girl’s memories confirm what you say. Very well. You shall be my new vessel!”
The spirit flew out of Mina and into Jake. Mina collapsed.
Jake and the spirit were now in a mental realm, facing one another, surrounded by darkness.
“You are a fool, boy. Now that I have a fresh body, I can continue with my plan. I will send those women to the one who freed me, and keep your friends for myself.”
“I’ll fight you!”
“Ha ha ha ha ha. You cannot fight- What!? What’s happening!?!?”
Before Jake’s sight, the spectral form started vanishing from the bottom up.
“This is impossible! What are you doing!?” No!!! NO!!!!!!!” And it disappeared completely.
*********
Mina had recovered some of her strength and was now cradling Jake’s head in her lap. “Jake! Jake! Please wake up!”
Jake’s eyes fluttered open. “Not so loud, please.”
Mina was relieved. “It is you, right?”
Jake started to get up. “Yeah, it’s me. Good ol’ Jake Mato. Seems that for some reason, my body didn’t agree with Tsavan. I think he’s gone for good.”
Mina smiled. “That’s wonderful.”
“Yeah, but now how are we going to free all of his victims?”
“I think I can help with that,” a voice from behind them said. They turned to see Keith, battered and bruised after Tsavan’s fight with Mina, standing behind them. He held out his hands and helped them both to their feet.
They both shook his hands. “Keith, good to have you back,” Jake said.
“Good to be back,” Keith replied. He was smiling. “Thank you two so much. I couldn’t bear the things he made my body do. I can’t believe he was ever human.”
They made their way to Tsavan’s hypnotized victims. “You said you could help us?” Mina asked.
“Yes. I was aware of everything he was doing, but I couldn’t influence him at all. It was like, like watching the world through a movie theater screen being strapped to a chair. You hear and see everything, but there’s nothing you can do to change what’s going on.”
They had now reached the women. The portal was now nearly complete, so Keith told the magic girls to stop. The portal disappeared.
“So that mean’s you know the trigger word to wake them up?” Jake asked.
Keith nodded. “Yes, it was in the incantation he used the night before to prepare the spell. The word is...”
He was cut off as both Mina and Jake clamped their hands over his mouth.
“Maybe you should refrain from saying it out loud until we get the girls dressed, back to the auditorium, and come up with a good cover story,” Jake said. “I don’t think any of them could deal with this.”
Keith nodded. “Good point.” He instructed the girls to return to the auditorium, gather and put back on their respective clothes, and sit in their original seats with no recollection of what had happened.
As they reentered the hallway, Keith dispelled the pocket dimension.
“By the way,” Jake said as they headed to the auditorium, “what is the trigger word?”
Keith glanced around, then whispered in Jake’s ear.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Also, Keith, who sent you that book that Tsavan was in, and what are you going to do with it?” Mina asked.
“I’m going to destroy it. As for who sent it, I don’t know. All I do know is that the box had a symbol on it that looked like a big S.”
*********
Everyone was now in the auditorium, dressed and in their appropriate seats. Jake, Mina, and Keith were on stage. They had prepared a convincing cover story. It was now nearing the end of the school day.
Keith was about to wake them all up when Mina gasped. “Oh no! Our exams!”
“What about them?” Keith asked.
“We’re both too exhausted now to perform for our exams! We’re doomed!” Keith looked scared.
“Hey, pals, don’t worry,” Jake said. “I think I’ve got you covered. Just follow my lead. Keith, if you would please?”
Keith decided to trust Jake and moved to awaken Tsavan’s victims. “BOOBIES!” The audience awoke.
There was much confusion, but Jake, Mina and Keith delivered their cover story. They said that a shady dealer had sold Keith some questionable ingredients for his spell, resulting in everyone except for the three of them being knocked unconscious. They had been given hypnotic suggestions to accept this story, as well as the passage of time.
The exams over, the audience started to file out and go home. Jake stopped the evaluating magic professor. “Excuse me, ma’am, but could I please see you in the classroom down the hall with these two? I promise this is worth your time.” The professor obliged him.
“You see,” Jake was telling her when all four of them had gathered in the otherwise empty room, “Mina and Keith decided to have their own exam while everyone was unconscious, so Keith created a pocket dimension and the two of them battled each other in it to the best of their magic abilities.”
“Uh, Jake...” Mina started to say.
The professor shook her head. “I’m sorry, young man, but it doesn’t matter if I believe you or not. I have to see their skills with my own eyes.”
Jake smiled. “I think I can help you with that.” He pulled out his sunglasses and started fiddling with the TV in the room. “These sunglasses are an invention of my grandfather, Professor Mato.”
“I’ve heard of him.”
“Apparently everyone has. These sunglasses function as a video recorder without sound. I got their entire battle on them.” Mina and Keith were speechless.
The professor watched intently as the recording was displayed on the monitor. The time and date were shown as well. The entire battle was shown from beginning to end, with close-ups and everything. Including one close-up of Mina’s skirt being blown upwards, causing Mina to blush.
The recording ended. The professor just stared at the screen for a few moments. The three students were breathless with anticipation.
Then she faced them and smiled. “That was wonderful! The best I've ever seen! You two didn’t hold anything back, did you!? That was great! Too many instructors are pussyfooting these days, saying students shouldn’t engage in tests where they could get hurt! But not me! And apparently not you! That was magic at its best! You both ace the exam!”
Mina and Keith gave out cheers of joy. The professor shook all three students hands and left. Keith thanked Mina and Jake and left as well. Mina and Jake walked out into the hallway.
“But Jake, you said cheating was wrong,” Mina was saying. “You hypnotized me into being that good.”
“No I didn’t.”
“Huh?”
“No, I didn’t. Yes, I did hypnotize you, but I didn’t give you any suggestions. I just woke you up right away so you would think I gave you those suggestions.”
Mina was shocked. “You did?”
“Yes.”
“But, why? The situation was desperate.”
“Because real strength,” Jake tapped her heart in a non offensive manner, “comes from one’s own heart.”
Mina smiled. “Thank you. Jake, if Tsavan had succeeded in possessing you, he could have done horrible things. So, why did you insist he leave me?”
Jake placed his hands on her shoulders. “I wasn’t thinking. But it wouldn’t have mattered if I was. You are my friend, and you were in trouble. How could I do anything but help you?” He hugged her. “You did a helluva job today, Mina. Congratulations.” He walked off down the hall.
Mina stared after him. That Jake Mato, he’s such a wonderful guy. He’s so kind, so caring, so supportive, so... so...
*Close-up on Mina’s face. The background is pink. She watches Jake leave with extreme adoration in her eyes.* So perfect boyfriend material.
*WHAM!* Mina has a big lump of flesh standing out among her pink hair. She turns to see Katia holding out her fist. “What was that for!?”
“I know that look, Mina, and you can forget it! He’s mine!”
“Oh, yeah!?!” Mina cast a spell to encase Katia in ice, but instead froze herself. “Oh, no, I’m back to normal,” she moaned.
*********
Later that evening, at the lab, Jake was explaining about what had happened that day to Mato and Dawn, who had returned. They listened intently.
“What I don’t understand is what happened to Tsavan when he possessed me,” Jake said.
Mato and Dawn talked it over for a few minutes. “I think we know,” Mato said.
“It’s because you’re from another dimension,” Dawn continued.
Jake turned to Mato in a panic. “She’s not supposed to know about that!”
“Oh, right. Sleepy time, Dawn.” Dawn entered a trance. After wiping that bit about Jake from her memory, they woke her up and sent her back upstairs.
“Sorry, I let that slip out while we were gone. She took it well. Anyway,” Mato continued. “It’s probably because you’re not from this dimension. Your body is different from ours. Maybe only very slightly, but enough. Tsavan couldn’t support his existence within you, so he ceased to be.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Jake said “Any other theories?”
“Only that you’re so full of yourself already that maybe there wasn’t room for him.”
“HEY!”
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