บท 15: Chapter 15: Damnit! [Updated]
<Ethan's POV - Cathy's Corner | Right where we left him>
"Ahh!" Taylor's scream was all I heard when a bright light suddenly appeared, which seemed like it came from her.
'That's bright' I thought as I tried to cover my face from the light and had to squint. "Taylor! Calm down," I urged her as I tried to rub her back to make her feel safe and hopefully, stop that light from growing brighter.
Taylor looked at me, a bit of fear in her eyes. "What's happening to me, Ethan?" her voice shaky, scared that I might see her differently.
"I'm not sure 'though I might have an idea'," I told her.
"You're not scared of me, are you?" she whispered, and the light flared brighter as if responding to her fear.
'Oh no!' "I'm not scared, okay?" I pulled her into a hug. "But you need to calm down, or else the light might become a beacon for people to find us right now," I added, trying to lighten up the mood.
"You can still joke in a time like this, huh?" Taylor huffed, but with a small smile breaking through her panic, the light dimming down.
"Can you blame me? I wanted to see you smile," which made her blush as the light died down completely.
"You big flirt! And here I thought you're completely innocent"
That just made me smile. She then looked at me seriously.
"Do you think I'm... like the mutants that were said to be involved in the Cuban missile crisis?"
Her words made me freeze for a moment.
'Wait, Mutants are already public knowledge, or is it just rumours?' I thought with a quizzical look on my face.
Taylor sighed, her shoulders slumping as the adrenaline faded. "Uhm, Ethan, I think we should head back now. I think I'd need a long rest after this." Taylor said, and she then looked at me with pleading eyes. "You won't tell anyone about what happened, would you?"
I nodded, "I won't say a word."
"Thank you," she said before giving me a big hug. We then started getting ready to head back to the bike rental to return the bikes.
It didn't take us long to get back, and when we did, we quickly got back to Phil to drive back to Taylor's hotel.
Phil was eating a burrito when we got back.
"Oh, you guys are here already? Did you get the good view that you wanted?" Phil asked while chewing.
Taylor and I exchanged a look, both still processing what had happened—the surprise and the kiss. We nodded in unison.
"Well, where are we going now?" Phil asked.
"We're dropping Taylor off at her hotel. We're both too tired to go anywhere else," I told Phil, which just made Taylor agree.
"Well then, let's hit the road!" Phil declared, downing the remaining burrito in seconds.
As Phil drove us back, Taylor dozed off on my shoulder. She looked adorable, her breathing soft and steady. I smiled, feeling a sense of peace, but then caught Phil's eyes in the rearview mirror. He was grinning at me knowingly. I just gave him a sheepish smile in return.
We arrived at Taylor's hotel in no time. I gently nudged her awake, and she stirred, blinking groggily. "Are we there already?" she asked in a cute, sleepy voice.
"Yeah, we're here. Do you want me to walk you up to your room?" I asked, trying to be considerate.
Her face flushed immediately, and she shook her head quickly. "No, no! If my manager sees you, she'll probably tear my ear off with all her nagging. Especially since I kinda... snuck out. I can just say I went to grab food if she spots me alone."
"Got it. Well, if you're sure." We stepped out of the car, and I hugged her goodbye, watching as she disappeared into the lobby. Once I was sure she was inside, I headed back to the front seat of Phil's car.
"Wow, what a day. Thanks for the help, Vitamin P," I said with a grin, leaning back into the seat.
"You're welcome, Vitamin E! But don't forget our deal, okay?" Phil replied with a chuckle.
"I haven't forgotten. Lightsaber #2 will be in your hands soon enough." I laughed, and Phil joined in, the two of us still buzzing from the day's events.
The drive back was quick, and when we got to Phil's place, I quietly made my way back to my house. Everyone else seemed to be fast asleep at Phil's already, and there was no point going there.
As soon as I opened my front door, though, I found Aunt Fay sitting on the sofa, waiting for me. I groaned.
"Damnit! Seriously, Aunt Fay? This soon?" I sighed, feeling the fatigue of the day catch up to me.
"What? You promised to start learning from me after the concert," she said with a raised eyebrow. "You're not backing out, are you?"
Before I could answer, she continued, "Besides, what else do you plan on doing for the rest of your vacation? Don't tell me you'd rather spend it with that blonde girl you were cozying up to earlier."
I blinked in surprise. "You saw that?"
She shrugged as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You weren't home when I got here, so I had to check in on you." She gestured to the mirror in the living room, and I saw Taylor, still settling into her hotel room. "To be honest, she's a natural with light magic. That x-gene makes it so."
"So, she really is a mutant?" I asked, feeling both excited and a little shocked.
Aunt Fay nodded. "Yep. The girl's got potential. The x-gene sure comes in handy for things like this."
'Wait… does that mean she could be this universe's Dazzler?' I wondered, my thoughts racing.
Aunt Fay's eyes narrowed, her expression turning more serious. "But if you want any sort of future with her, you'd better stick to our agreement first."
There was no point in arguing with her. Aunt Fay wasn't someone you could easily sway, and honestly, learning from her was probably in my best interest. I nodded reluctantly. "Fine."
Aunt Fay's smile returned, smug and satisfied. "Good choice! If you're a quick learner, you might finish my lessons quicker than you think."
An idea struck me. Could Aunt Fay get into The Dreaming? If she could teach me there, with the time dilation, I'd get way more training done in a single day. The question was... should I tell her about it?
"Uhm, Aunt, I have a suggestion about my training," I said, trying to sound casual.
Aunt Fay looked at me sceptically, "What is it?"
"Well... can you stay up tonight? I'm not sure if I can access my dimension while I'm awake"
"Your dimension?" Aunt Fay asked, her eyebrows raised and her voice filled with curiosity. She was definitely more interested in this than I expected.
'Damn, this might be a bad idea, but it would be better than spending months away from home' I thought, steeling myself.
"Just... try to find where my soul is when I fall asleep, okay?" I told her.
Without waiting for a response, I headed to my room, grabbed the Dreamstone, and went back to the sofa to lie down. Almost as soon as my head hit the cushion, I drifted off, and when I opened my eyes, I was already in The Dreaming.
Stan was there, grinning at me like he always does. "Hey! So, you're taking your first steps, huh?" He said.
"Uh, yeah. Why did you have to make me Morgan Le Fay's nephew?" I groaned, with a hint of joking in my tone. "Now, I need to learn magic from her, and I just know it won't be sun and rainbows."
That just earned a hearty laugh from Stan.
"Who wouldn't want an ultra-powerful sorceress for a relative?" He told me.
"Well, for one, she's not exactly the Lawful Good type of character." I shot back, crossing my arms.
"That might be so," he admitted with a sly smile, "but right now, you're her only kin, so she'll make sure that you're safe. Everything she'll do to you from this point on will be for your good."
"You say that with utmost confidence, huh?" I gave him a doubtful look.
"Omniscient, remember?" Stan tapped his temple. "Anyway, I've got to go. Your aunt's probably going to try to wake you soon since she couldn't find you because of me. Once I leave, she'll be able to locate this dimension."
I nodded, then got curious, "Is your protection of my dimension over, then?"
Stan then looked at me and smiled warmly, "No, kid. I told you that I'll stop once you can handle yourself." He paused, "Maybe after your training," he winked.
And with that, he disappeared in a blink of an eye.
Right on cue, a green portal opened behind me and Aunt Fay stepped through.
"There you are! I couldn't find you for quite some time." She then looked around probably sensing that a powerful being was just here moments ago. "Was someone else here?"
I looked at her sheepishly, "Uh, yeah!... It was a friend that came here."
Aunt Fay's gaze narrowed at me, but she didn't press any further.
I noticed that the portal is still not closing. "Uhm, are you not going to close the portal, Aunt?"
Aunt Fay then looked at me with her eyebrows raised. "You won't be able to train properly in that form." With a wave of her hand, my physical body flew through the portal, smacking right into me. My soul and body merged with a painful thud, and I tumbled across the floor.
"Ow! What did you do that for?" I told her, rubbing my ass since most of the impact went there.
"That's for keeping this place a secret." Aunt Fay crossed her arms, looking unimpressed. "If you hadn't, I could've trained you ages ago, and you'd already be at Merlin's level of power."
I then muttered under my breath, "You haven't even reached Merlin's level, so how would I?"
"What was that, Ethan?" Aunt Fay looked at me with a scowl on her face.
"Nothing, Aunt Fay," I said meekly.
She turned her attention to the shelves in the main hall, spotting a section filled with ancient magical texts. Her expression shifted from mild annoyance to shock.
"What in the world are these?" Her power flared around her as she inspected the books, some of which looked ancient and lost to history. "You had all of this knowledge stored away, and you didn't tell me?"
'Oh no! I that toss with my body earlier might be the tamest thing she does to me today.'
"I-I didn't know they were there, Aunt!" I stammered. "When I made the place, I just willed it so that every book in human history would be available here. I didn't expect it to include magical tomes. I barely even stay here, so I didn't notice," I explained as she got closer and closer to me.
Aunt Fay's eyes narrowed as she moved closer, her magic holding me in place. "I was planning to take it easy on you, dear nephew. But now... I think I need to discipline you properly."
She conjured a chair out of thin air, more like a throne really, and summoned a table with a mountain of books, all containing introductions to spells, enchantments, and ancient languages.
"Now," she said with her eyes gleaming. "you're going to read every single one of these. After that, we'll have a little magical duel. If you survive, you pass. If not..." She smirked. "I'll just resurrect you until you can."
I stared at the pile of books, already regretting ever mentioning The Dreaming, while Aunt Fay was just busy reading the lost tomes that she always wanted to read.
*to be continued*
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YooJaeHyun
YooJaeHyun Hey guys! I updated the chapter to be longer. I'm feeling a little better and can write a bit, so I thought, I'd properly start Ethan's training in this chapter as well.
As I said before, I'll be taking a week or two of breaks from posting to stock up on chapters first. See you soon! And if I felt like it, sooner than you might think.
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