The Journal of a Connecticut Yankee Ch. 12

"Hey got the cereal..." Vicky trailed off as she caught the tail end of my new stalker making her exit.

"Uh, what the fuck was that?"

I relaxed and straightened from my fighters stance.

"Evil, power crazed goat-girl that's probably gonna try to kidnap me for some diabolical purpose."

"For reals?"

"I guess." I said, shrugging.

"Shits never easy with you, is it?" She asked as she chucked the brown and white box depicting a scantily clad Vampire into the cart.

Couldn't agree more.

••••••••••••••••••••

The second night.

I met Quartus in a familiar looking room aboard a particular Starship that I knew quite well.

"Dr. Crusher on vacay?" I asked, looking around. I wanted to ask him if he knew about Belphegor and what she was talking about, but I figured it could wait until later. We had a year after all.

"Yes, in a sense, due to are alone. I choose this environment because I must determine your innate magical ability before planning a proper regimen," he replied while pulling various instruments from the cabinets and placing them on a metal tray, "please take a seat on the biobed."

I hopped on the futuristic medical table and grinned at him,

"Turn my head and cough, Doc?"

"It is not that kind of exam," he said giving a pained expression while pointing a familiar looking cylinder-like device at me, "now, hold still as I scan you."

I swore I seen that thing before but from where? A small transparent screen appeared in front of him as strange looking characters filled it.

It was from a tv show I think. Wasn't Star Trek or Star Wars... Maybe something on BBC... Then it hit me.

"Is that what I think it is?" I mumbled suspiciously, not wanting to shift my body too much. That damn screwdriver could do just about anything.

He paused and looked down at the tool in his hand.

"This? I copied it from an interesting doctor Primus encountered some time ago. He regularly employed such a device and it was shown to be extremely useful, although I have made some improvements upon it."

Son of a bitch, I had the inkling I knew which "Doctor" he was talking about, but I had to be sure.

"Who is the doctors name?"

"Yes, do you know of him?" he nodded absently while inadvertently answering my question with his own.

Well that just opened up a whole new line of questions that I probably would never get any answers to. I vaguely wondered if there was some way I could hitch a ride in the TARDUS.

"Kinda. Ya see, I-"

"This cannot be correct." Quartus interrupted with a deep frown. A quick swipe of his hand erased the information on the screen and he begin anew.

"Something wrong?"

"We shall see."

I watched as he peered intently at the screen as it filled again with alien letters. After a few moments, his face scrunched in disbelief.

"Primus! I must confer with you!" He called aloud.

"Yes, Quartus?" Arawn asked, appearing besides him to his right.

"Look."

Arawn glanced at the screen as I felt myself growing more and more concerned. I saw a frown forming on his face to match his not- brother's.

"Hey guys, what's goin on? The sorting hat says I'm not getting into House Gryffindor or what?" I joked nervously.

"You double checked the results?" He asked.

"Yes," Quartus nodded, "they are correct."

"That does not make any sense..." He mumbled

Shiiiiiiit, I hoped he didn't find cancer or something like that. With all the fucking demonic energy I've been around, plus getting kicked back and forth between planets, dimensions or whatever, and all the other bullshit, I was betting it was the big C. Fuck me. Chemo... Losing my hair. Drugs that cost like a billion dollars a pill. Fuck. I started to sweat profusely while watching as the pair consulted the screen.

Looking up, Arawn raised an eyebrow as he spared a quick glance down to the screen then back to me.

"It would appear that the very phenomenon that renders you immune to magic also prevents you from retaining it. Donnie you posses no mana save for the trace amount that is apparent in all living things, that is."

Oh, thank god, what a relief! Dodged that bullet... Wait, what?

"That's bad?"

"It... is surprising for a variety of reasons and it complicates our initial plans, yes."

"Well that's the story of my life buddy." I quipped while cracking a wry grin at him, fully relieved that being thrown into a microwave wasn't in my future.

"Indeed. How would you suggest we circumnavigate this... problem, Quartus?"

Arawn's not- brother thought for a moment, then spoke slowly,

"While it is true Donnie does not have enough mana to properly energize the stones on his own, Earth does have an abundance of Leylines... In theory, he could utilize them as a substitute power source. Directly channel the energy to them as a sort of living conduit."

A living conduit? Now that definitely sounds like it's OSHA approved.

Arawn nodded at the idea and said, "I concur. While not ideal, it is the only logical resolution until a more permanent solution can be found."

"And how is a landline going to help me? I'm not checking my Facebook out there."

"Leylines are invisible conduits of magical power that flow through the earth and air. You would be able to make use of these lines in order to perform the various magics we will be teaching you."

"And if I'm not near one of these lines?"

"The ability to perform magic is based upon the stored mana of the person. In this case, you have none and objects such as the stones, both focus and give form to it. Which is why Sorcerers, for example, prize them so much. Even Merlin was know to employe a verity of different objects to aid in his magics."

"Well good for that old man but he was king of the whole bipity bopity boop thing and you're saying I can't do magic for shit?"

"There is a certain irony in your words that you may appreciate at a later time, but to answer your question; Without a link to a leyline, to a source of power, you would not be able to fully utilize them."

"But the marble Ilias gave me worked. It seems to warn me when there's a dangerous Mamono around. Do you think it was because I was near one of those lines?"

"Perhaps. The stones can store a limited amount of magical power and do possess unique attributes of their own. The one she gave you is unknown and alerting of hostile opponents could be one of its inherent traits. However, if you were to try to use them for any advanced magic, it would deplete their stored power until you reenergize them."

"Well that sucks."

"Agreed, but it will have to suffice for the current time."

"Primus, a thought just occurred to me," Quartus mumbled, placing the screwdriver down, "due to Donnie's... uniqueness, he is both immune and does not have a preset disposition towards Chaotic or Lawful magics. He could wield them both safely."

"We do not have an object that allows for Chaotic magic." Arawn frowned.

"True. But we do know of a very powerful one. And of where to find it..."

We both looked at him, puzzled until Arawn suddenly exclaimed, "No Quartus, it is far too dangerous! Even with his immunity, we do not know the consequences nor the toll it would take on his body."

"What the hell are you guys talking about?"

"The shard of the Philosophers stone that you retrieved for Druella." Quartus answered. Arawn shot his not brother a reprimanding look as he said that. They began to argue as I stared down hard at the floor in personal reflection.

If Arawn was right about people coming after me, Belphegor might just be the beginning. I honestly didn't want the power they were talking about. I truly believed in the old saying that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Look at the Maou for example. If I was just left alone. If Faith, the Maou, Druella, Goat-chick, and everyone fucking else would have just left me the hell alone, than none of this would have ever been needed. None of it necessary. But I guess things don't go the way we want them to.

They never do. A damning question formed in my mind. Would I have to become corrupt in order to save those I love from the corrupted?

"Let's do it." I said aloud, interrupting them.

"Donnie-" Arawn began.

"You were right. People are coming after me. Today I was grocery shopping with Vicky and some Bamph named Belphegor tried to start some shit with me. Said she knew you, that she was the one that sent those three ogres after us the night we met."

I watched both my friends stiffen as I said that.

"Now that you're gone, I'm pretty sure she's coming after me. She wanted your power, she said. I guess I'm the consolation prize. She might try to hurt Deanna or Didi or even Vicky to get to me. If what you said was true, than I need every advantage Arawn. Every leg up, every edge, every resource. Everything."

Arawn and Quartus looked to each other in apprehensive silence. Perhaps they could still communicate telepathically, who knows. I heard Arawn mutter aloud, "Her appearance was not in any of the likely realities we foresaw."

"It is conceivable that those possibilities have changed with our interference, despite the short amount of time." Quartus answered back.

"She has become desperate to achieve her goals with the passing of time. More dangerous." Arawn said seemingly more to himself.

"And substantially more powerful," Quartus added as a nearby screen suddenly came to life. The entire scene between her and I played out on it. It had to have come from my memory, and I wondered suspiciously if the fact that all this was happening inside my head, gave everyone access to my consciousness.

"Even from just a visual inspection, she has grown stronger compared to our last encounter. The residual thaumaturgy on Donnie does confirm this."

So they did know her. And by their reaction, she was a major threat. If you are still reading this, you might think that I was afraid. You're absolutely right, I was scared. Scared for my newly found family, sacred for myself. Scared for a lot of things. But there were other emotions in there as well.

Anger.

Frustration.

Desperation.

A fuck ton lot of desperation actually.

I tuned out their back and forth as a cold and outright insane realization came to me. I was never a fan of the whole idea of a nuclear deterrent but maybe it did have its merit. Something so powerful and scary that nobody wanted to fuck with you. I had something, was something that people wanted and as a human, Mamono naturally considered me weak, easy to dick around with. As utterly crazy as it sounded, maybe I needed me a nuke. No... Not a nuke like Big Boy... Maybe, I needed to become the nuke. But to do that, I needed more...

"I don't want a war," they stopped their conversation to listen to my words, "I just wanted to be left alone to reassemble whatever was left of my life. But I guess we seldom get the things we want. You were right, things have changed. Guys, I'm tired of losing and I'll tell you all this much. I'm done. I'm not going to lose anymore. I'll go get that damn shard and I'll end whatever they start." I finished passionately.

I watched the face of old buddy and the surprising myriad of emotions cycling through his face. Slowly he nodded while licking his dried lips and said softly,

"If it is to be an onslaught, than it shall be one we will ensure you to victorious in. The nanny goat has appeared and we must not waste a single moment."

It was all hands on deck after that. Everyone showed up. There was something else I needed to ask. I grabbed Quintus and pulled him aside privately.

"Question. Is it possible that you can you give us more than a year in my dream?" I asked him.

"It is possible, yes, but you would risk damaging your cerebral cortex. I judged a year to be safely within perimeters for you."

"But it is possible. You could give us more? Like 2 years, maybe?" I pushed.

"What you are proposing would give you brain damage and thus make our efforts futile!" He retorted angrily.

"What are the chances?"

"What do you mean?"

"What are the chances I'd get brain damage from a 2 year run?" I asked.

"This is insanity! I will not consider what you are proposing!"

"Quintus... What. Are. The. Chances?"

The Psy-Mage seethed and fumed at my dogged questioning. I knew he was trying to look out for me. To protect me. But we no longer had the time to spare nor the luxury of being careful. I had a bad feeling about what was to come, I needed to be ready for it and soon.

After much bristling, he paused a moment then spoke "Approximately 50 percent. Perhaps less if I can make adjustments quickly enough."

50/50 odds. Hell that was better than what I could get at Vegas, if I ever decided to go. I knew it was dangerous, I knew it was stupid, but did I have much of a choice? Did I want to be half prepared when shit started to hit the fan? It was a risk, maybe a stupid one, but I had to chance it. Besides, taking stupid, head strong risks were kinda my thing anyway.

"Let's make it happen." I nodded.

"I will not!"

"You gave me 50/50 odds Quintus, now what are my chances when some big baller like your goat friend decides that to show up?"

He crossed his arms defiantly and said, "And I refuse to be an accomplice to your suicidal intent."

It was my turn to fume. I needed more time!

"Fine! What about 10 months more? 9? 8? 6? God damn it, Quintus! Something! Give me something... Please," I sighed in frustration then said quietly, "back in the day, it was easy. Didn't have a family. Just me and Rudolf. Then Romie came along but she had her Super Sayan alter ego, so I didn't have to worry. But now Quintus, I have 2 daughters and a granddaughter. They don't have any way to guard themselves from the shit that's going on around me. I have to be the one to protect them. Please."

My begging seemed to reach him. He softened for a moment then, as if angry at himself, exclaimed,

"7 months more! Perhaps 8 at the most! Ziom help me, but I will have to get permission from Primus! If something were to happen to you, I will not endure his wrath over this- this- madness!"

"Fair enough, and thank you." I smiled, relieved that I had more time to get stronger.

"Is there something amiss my friends? We heard raised voices." Arawn asked as he approached us.

"No, we're good."

"I must request permission, Primus." Quintus stated crossly.

"For?" Arawn raised an eyebrow to his not-brother.

Quintus glanced over to me before answering,

"Donnie wishes to extend the dream sequence. I informed him that in doing so, it greatly increases the risk of damage to his cerebral cortex. He still wishes to proceed."

"And you just said that adding another 7 to 8 more months wouldn't be too bad." I shot back pointedly.

Arawn looked to him then to me.

"Donnie, he is correct. Extending the dream would pose a significant risk to you."

"I know, I know. But I just can't help thinking something bad is going to happen soon. That goat lady was just the first. That we don't have a lot of time left. That my family is in danger," I flopped my arms out in defeat.

He took in my words, giving them his full attention. I could see his kind working. Weighing the options, weighing the odds. Finally he nodded, almost to himself, and spoke again,

"We shall proceed with the utmost of caution. Quintus shall monitor you and, if indeed it seems that there will be increased damage to you, the dream shall end immediately. Are we in acquiesce? Donnie? Quintus?"

"Yes." I agreed.

Quintus huffed peevishly, but eventually nodded.

Arawn took the lead and the three of us walked back to the rest of the group. Sickbay faded around us until the five of us stood in guest room I was sleeping in. I looked over to see my sleeping form in bed. Walking over, I bent down to look at myself snoozing away.

"Yeah, this isn't creepy or anything." I said aloud while straightening.

"We will stay for only a few moments. In the first segment of your training, you will need to learn how to draw magical energy from a leyline." Quartus explained.

A faint green glow appeared from the hand that held the stone Arawn gave me.

"I am activating the to allow you some small use of magic. This will allow you to see the lines that are otherwise invisible to the naked eye. Now do you see that faint glowing line in the sky, some ways away?" Quartus asked.

I nodded.

"That is a leyline. Although it is some distance, you can still tap into it and siphon its energy. Keep in mind however the distance also effects the amount you can draw upon but for our lessons, it should be enough. Now concentrate on that line."

It reminded me of an infinitely long fiber optic. Bright and bending, it trailed across the sky. The thing was kinda pretty in an odd way.

"Imagine yourself pulling from it, gathering it's strands, it's energy, letting it flow to you."

His words brought a bit of skepticism to me. How the hell was I supposed to pull from something that looked to be miles away, up in the sky? Still, I figured I'd give it the old college try. Closing my eyes I reached out a hand, thinking about grabbing ahold of the magical live wire. Totally not expecting to be electrocuted or anything.

My pessimistic suspicions proved me incorrect when I "grabbed" it.

Nothing. No pain. No electrocution.

"I think it's broken." I muttered with my eyes still shut.

"It is not," said Quartus, "open your eyes."

When I did, I saw that a bright green light had flooded the room as it shone from the gem held by my sleeping form.

"The stone is now fully energized, however you will need to continually practice this process in order to hasten the time it takes you to do this. During combat, the seconds you spend, may mean your life."

The scene around us changed again and we found ourselves in a baseball diamond. It was about mid afternoon as the sun shone down upon us and I looked around trying to figure why I was having the damnest case of deja vu. A faded image of a black panther graced the chipping paint of a wooden fence and I finally figured out why. We were at my old high school!

"I shall temporarily leave him in your tutelage, Primus." Quartus said to Arawn with a gesture of his hand as he went to join Tertius and Quintus who were already sitting on the bleachers.

We started with the basics. Fireballs, ice spears, water blasts and the like.

I sucked at each and every one. Multiple times I had to "recharge the batteries" but at least I was getting better at doing that.

"Try again." He said patiently after what had must have been the millionth time of what was suppose to be a smoldering flame in my hand. It ended up going out in a sad wisp of smoke.

"It is conceivable that elemental magics may not be his forte, Primus." Quartus called as he set down something that suspiciously looked like a Gameboy DS on the metal bench.

"I fear you could be correct." Arawn called back with a frown.

"Donnie did show an interest in the Blast-Punch, perhaps our own type of combat magics would be more appealing for him to learn." Added Tertius.

I pointed an index finger over at the karate kid and gave him a thumbs up. Now we were talking. Fuck zippos, ice cubes and super soakers, let's get down to the good stuff! Arawn looked over to me with an even deeper frown and a raise of his eyebrow.

Things did a solid 180 after that. Good old Tertius was right. I had always liked Arawn's signature moves, and now I actually had the chance to not only learn them but to use them as well!

"Focus the energy into your hand but do not allow it to escape. Bubble it, build upon it."

My fist took on a bright glow then a pure white globe began to grow from it.

"It's getting kinda heavy," I grunted while concentrating on the orb.