Bright light filled the room, overtaking the light of the flames. The shadow of the captain of the Sinbad Pirates stretched long until the tip of the shadow's head connected to Alix's own shadow. The glass and water within Mo's fishbowl reflected shining against the mist in the air as he sat staring stunned at the one that emitted the light.
"Keep your freakish claws off my brother!" The radiant fish yelled! Her voice rebounded through the hall with rage! The captain was shocked, Mo was stunned, and Alix was still trying to register that Mo was okay. Meanwhile, a small inexplicable smile wormed it's way onto the Amalgamate Mystic's face.
"The bond between a brother and sister..." They spoke, their voice shaking with fascination. "What a truly wonderful bond to possess! I apologize for my attack. It was meant as a test for your dear captain here." The mystic bowed deeply to the shining fish. "I see now that this has caused you some grief and I apologize for that."
The sudden change in the Mystic's attitude surprised everyone in the room. The shining fish didn't buy into the sudden apologetic tone, however. She was far too upset to be so easily quelled. "Bullshit!" She shouted. "You just tried to kill my brother! And on my name, Viola, I will not let you get away with such malicious intent toward my family!"
Alix was pulled out of her mind as the fish introduced herself. "Viola..." The name hung off the girl's tongue. Her gaze slowly moved from Mo to the shining fish that looked just like him except, more white than black? While Mo's scales had edges that were black Viola clearly had these bright, white edges on each of her scales. Mo's scales also had more texture than Viola's surprisingly smooth looking scales.
Mo was more round, while Viola was closer to slender. Alix just kept noticing slight differences proving that this fish was in fact someone else. From the way they're eyes were shaped to their vast differences in personalities that she remember from her dream. Yet it was Viola's glistening sliver eyes that drew the most of Alix's attention. They were focused, yet caring and showed that the fish was ready to do anything to protect her brother!
A strange feeling pulse through her body. One that she'd felt before yet not in this same context. She instinctively went to reach out but the mist tendrils kept her securely held in place, unable to move her arms or legs. 'Viola...she's just like...' Alix couldn't finish the thought, not from a lack of trying but from an inability to finish the connection in her mind. Viola reminded her of someone but she couldn't remember who?
Meanwhile, the captain was the most shocked person in the room. "Viola? What're ya-How are ya-" The captain stammered over his words. His mind was in a state of disarray and no one could blame him for his reaction. He looked back down at Mo, he was okay but shaken by the attempt on his life. The captain noticed this and nodded in acknowledgement.
"I'm not very sure what's happening here? Viola's showed up outta nowhere glowin' then the mystic apologized to her for attackin' her brother, and that was apparently a test for me for some reason? I don't know, it's a lot to digest all at once. But none of that matters right now..."
The captain tossed his hat to the side revealing a, surprisingly well kept, head of curly black hair, with bangs long enough to cover one of his eyes. The tricorn hat flew slightly before perching atop Mo's fishbowl slightly tilted.
The captain squinted, his uncovered eye glowing with a pale, light that reflected into a gentle but fearsome blue. "...because you scared an important member of my crew! And I can't let that one slide, matey!" The captain's voice became deep and threatening. His lip gently quivered as he snarled at the mystic, standing side by side with Viola.
The Mystic turned to face the captain. The being's smile widened into a grin that seemed grotesque on the childlike body that they were currently taking the form of. "Wonderful..." The mystic announced in a youthful male voice. "Truly resplendent! You two have thoroughly impressed me! Things have gone far better than I ever could've imagined!" The mystic's eyes shifted over to Mo where they soften for an reason known only to them.
"You are truly a being to behold young fish!" Amalgamate's gaze then locked onto Alix. Their soft eyes instantly vanished upon focusing on her. Returning to their indifferent indifferent and wise stare. "Your test is next young one. I hope seeing this memory has given you some insight. Now...begone!" The Mystic's arm slowly raised toward the girl.
"Huh?" Alix grunted in confusion. The stale fog around her came to life, swirling around her feet. It started low and gentle as it gathered but she could tell that it was steadily building up speed. Her hair carried in the breeze that was picking up and she shivered from the impossible coldness of the mist itself. The swirling mist climbed, first it was below her knees then it rose up to her waist, then her neck until it was almost at eye level!
Alix, with her last moments of visibility, quickly turned to look at Mo. It was an unconscious choice but one that she did not fight.
When her eyes landed on him she was shaken by what she saw on her friend's face. Mo was staring at the captain, entranced by the man's bold energy. The fish was fully focused on the captain and the captain alone. A fact that made Alix feel... uncomfortable.
She went through her memories but couldn't find a moment where Mo looked that entranced by anything she did! She'd seen care, worry, and even moments of brief annoyance but...never this sort of thing. This fascination and reverence that he'd apparently had for the captain?
That realization left a dull pain within the girl's heart...
The mist blocked her vision completely and pulled her into a rising spiral storm. A hurricane!
Her eyes remained locked on the spot where she'd seen Mo. He looked different than she remembered?
No, did she really remember him? She'd long lost track of time due to how this place worked. When did she last see Mo and when he was there...with her...was he happy? She'd lost the ability to talk to him but she felt confident that she could read his thoughts without needing to hear him. She used to do it all the time at the...lake...
"I never knew what Mo was thinking... I even had his voice wrong in my head. I'd always treated him like a small, cute fish but he was really an energetic, rough, and lost one." Alix ruminated on her realization within the eye of this wild storm. This storm was rather remiscent of her current emotions, a wild rising turmoil!
Mo being around was the only thing that managed to help her calm down during these moments. Without him she was a mess, but what about him?
"What is Mo without me?" Alix's head began to hurt. Thunder rumbled loudly throughout the storm, loud enough to make her ears bleed. She tried to cover them but, she cou-
"Wait." Alix let go of her ears and really listened to the thunder. It was both near and far. She looked around rapidly.
There was no lightning within the clouds. That made no sense, the thunder was too consistent for there to be no lightning at all?
A weak smirk crawled its way onto her face. "Of course! That bastard said that this was all a test!" Alix slowly picked herself up from the ground. She flicked her wrists and raised them in front of her. The air cracked as she immediately traced her fingers across it and aggressively yanked her hands back to pull the runes off!
She gritted her teeth, enraged that she had let herself be fooled by something so simple. Something that she'd literally just experienced before walking into Sosech Temple!
It was all so obvious, the Sinbad Pirates, her suddenly being outside, the way the town looked like it aged centuries during her fleeting moments inside the temple!
She was obviously caught inside of a Mystisicm spell! And not just anyone's Mysticism spell, but the Amalgamate Mystic's spell! A spell so powerful that she didn't even realize that she had been caught!
The runes spun rapidly around her hands. She snapped her fingers, the sound bounced around the spinning mist shaking it, but not breaking it!
Alix bared her teeth in frustration! "I'm not done yet!" She snapped the fingers on her other hand, the storm shook more from the second attack. Alix watched the dark clouds sway and dance like they were fighting against her magic!
"You think you can just test me because you want to!"
*Snap!*
"You think you can take my fish away and I won't fight back?!"
*Snap!*
"And you had the audacity to try to fight back against my magic? MY MAGIC!!"
*Snap! Snap!*
Alix's skin would be glistening from the sweat that covered her had there been any light in this storm. Still, her exhaustion was evident based on the way her shoulders rose and fell aggressively. The wild mist around her finally wavered, while she huffed in the center of it. Her long pink hair stuck to her face and neck but she didn't care.
She was gonna beat this storm! She was gonna break this spell!
Her eyes shook from the intensity of the entire situation! She punched the air, cracking it like glass! Her nails dug into the broken space and scraped across it with an ear-shattering screech!
The runes that she carved would've blinded others with their powerful, candescent glow! Alix slammed both of her hands through the already cracked air!
The air shattered! Each shard of broken space held a different rune of the spell! She clenched her hands with authority and force! The rune shards shook before zipping toward her arm! They press down on the girl's skin burning and scratching her!
She gritted her teeth,
She slowly lifted her shaking, scarred arm. Her finger and thumb pressed together with all of the strength and rage that she had left!
"Di-Omnious: Opressing Dissonance!"
*SNAP!!*
Alix snapped her fingers one final time. The force of the snap sent out a sound that was loud enough to be confused with a banshee's cry! Powerful waves of energy dominated the surrounding storm! In a instant, the clouds that held Alix were forced away! The spell that had trapped her was dispelled.
Alix succeeded!
She huffed and dry heaved from the sheer amount of stamina that she'd used. She was completely worn out. Blood dripped out of her nose and ran down her cheeks like tears dripping out of her eyes.
The world was blurry and unfocused...
...but it was quiet. Not a sound was being made.
Alix fell to her knees. She had lost the ability to feel her legs. In fact, she'd lost feeling in her entire body.
She couldn't see herself but Alix could tell from her condition that she looked like a wreck.
"Mo and Nuka are gonna be so pissed..." She said, barely conscious. She couldn't tell but at some point she'd completely fallen onto the ground. Her body was limp and her breathing was shallow now.
'Is this what it feels like to die?' Alix questioned in her mind. She couldn't see, hear, or feel anything. She was conscious but couldn't tell what was going on. She was breathing but felt like she was suffocating. It was all horrible.
It was like she was dying...
As she lay in this state between life and death her mind wandered.
Not to Mo.
Not to Nuka.
Not even to the loud-mouthed and lazy children that had attached to her.
It wandered to her magic. The spell that she'd just cast. It was powerful, beautiful! It was everything that she knew magic could be! A small, weak smirk creeped into her cheeks.
"I love magic..." Alix mumbled as the world fully went dark. The silence and lack of feeling carrying her to sleep.
She'd been so out of it that hadn't noticed that she was within the entry room of the temple again, just before the hall of the mystic. She was laying on the cold, hard limestone floor next to a giant orb that crackled and snapped with electricity. The orb had a large crack where the lighting leaked into the room.
It was like a small storm was contained within the orb. Similar to the one that she's just been in. And within that storm...
...was a tiny, white-furred, wild cat. The cat's eyes slowly opened revealing pupils of pure gold and viciousness!