36 Find Me

"Will!" Bianca heard Leo call out as she raced down the stairs. It was unnaturally cold within the manor as she made her way to the entry.

"Find me." She heard Will say as his form completely disappeared within the dark miasma. She could do nothing but watch as the darkness faded into nothing. She looked at the dumbfounded Leo as the room went back to normal temperature.

"He's gone." Leo whimpered as he looked at the place Will was just standing, his hands still trying to grasp nothing. Michael was laying next to Leo, unconscious and barely breathing.

"Leo we need to get Michael somewhere comfortable." she said as she saw the haunting expression on her friends face. The first thing they needed to do was ensure Michael recovered. That was the only thing that she could focus on, the only thing to keep her from thinking about her boyfriend being abducted by darkness.

She picked up one of Michael's arms and draped it over her shoulder. "Leo I need you to concentrate." She said as she looked down at the quivering figure. "Think of the last thing he said, would he have said the same thing to me?" Trying to pull him out of his shock at seeing his best friend disappear right in front of him. "You have always been able to find him, what makes this any different?"

Leo looked up at Bianca, his eyes barely able to see her. He had always been able to find Will, no matter how difficult the process. He knew his best friend as he knew himself. Will would be fighting to get out of whatever mess he landed himself in, no matter the difficulty. If there were a way to escape, he would find it.

Grabbing the other arm, Leo hoisted Michael onto his shoulder. Bianca could see that he was starting to come out of it. "We need to get to Crystallia." He said as they brought Michael down one of the halls. "We need to start doing what Will was planning in the beginning, we need his army ready for him when he finds us."

Bianca looked Leo in the eye. He looked determined, though he said something that went against what her boyfriend last said. "Aren't we supposed to find him?" She said, a little confused with the plan.

Leo looked at her for a moment before his expression turned to a fierce gaze. "Will is not one to be tied down for long. Whatever hole they put him in, he has the strength to crawl out of. We need to continue on with the plan. With him already in Crystallia, the clock has started ticking. He needs an army. We need to prepare for the attack on Ebonhart. That doesn't mean we won't travel to all four kingdoms to search for him on the way, but the people come first, don't you agree?" There was a fire in Leo's eyes, though not one of silver. It seemed as if Leo was only going to move forward with the plan, not stand by and cry for his brother.

In some ways it made sense. They were going to Crystallia to gain strength in numbers. If they were only to go there to look for Will, even if they found him there wouldn't be enough strength to wrench him away from the corrupted. They needed strength and they needed an army.

Bianca thought of all the possible outcomes, it seemed Leo's plan was the one with the most benefit. She knew he was only thinking of the best possible way to get Will back. As they reached a door to a guest room, Bianca shifted her weight slightly so she could turn the door handle and let them in. They laid Michael on the bed and put the blanket over him.

Of course a blanket wouldn't heal everything so Leo used the phone next to the bed to call one of the maids to care for him. After the call was made and one of the servants was on her way, Leo and Bianca made their way to the armory.

Going to the table at the double stairwell, Leo found the panel he was looking for and pressed a flame covered hand to it. He heard the entrance open and the two headed into the keep.

Bianca had only been there once before, When Will showed them the huge stairwell leading down into a long drawn out hallway. She remembered the decent as well as the twists and turns within the maze that was the corridor. Will had ensured both of them knew exactly where to go, just in case he wasn't around. 'Funny he should think of a situation like this before it even happened.' Bianca smiled absentmindedly at the thought. It seemed that Will was prepared for almost any scenario, it helped keep her calm even after what she had just seen.

Bianca didn't want to think about what just happened to Will, so instead she thought of everything he did to prepare them. He had shown them the passageway, he had trained them well enough to keep up with him in a fight. The only difference in what they were setting out to do was the fact that he wasn't going to be accompanying them.

Reaching the correct area within the wall, Leo presented his flame to yet another panel. Bianca heard shifting rock as a passageway came into view. As they walked in, she could smell only dust and rock. The room was completely dark until she lit her crimson flame within her hand. A glow of red lit the room and she saw the familiar shelf full of rings and crosses. The unused lineage weapons lay collecting dust within the small room. She could only think of the day in which the entire cabinet would be clear of all the jewelry and the gift restored to the kingdom. That was the plan after all.

There was a table in the center of the room with three packs lining the length of it. The three of them went shopping for the time that they finally traveled to the other world. Leo and Bianca grabbed their own bag, and Leo grabbed the other one and put it in his own. "Lets at least thank Michael for enchanting the bags when we get back." He said as he put his own bag on his back.

Bianca smiled at her friend as she turned her flame to the obsidian door to the right of the room. The crimson flame danced in the reflection of the polished black door. She saw the panel to the right of it and placed her hand upon it. Within moments, the door opened up and she saw the dark abyss that laid within. She turned to Leo with a mixed expression of worry and exhilaration.

"Ready?" She breathed as her eyes met Leo's. He could only nod as he took her hand and they walked into the darkness. The door shut behind them as the world turned to nothing.

As Leo and Bianca made their way to the new world, Will was shrouded in his own darkness. It wasn't the darkness of travel that he was used to at this point. It instead reminded him of the darkness he was enveloped in when he was traveling with Maya so long ago. The cold and fear that held him in place while the wraiths dragged him away from Maya's still form.

Will involuntarily shuddered as he remembered the death blow they landed on Maya, leaving her on the ground when they got what they wanted. The smile she wore all the way to her death still haunted him every time he closed his eyes.

The dreams that haunted him every night of his first friend of the other land shrouded him. He saw the dark clothes and plain iron sword that was planted in her abdomen held in her hand as the blood ran free from her wound. He remembered having to stab her in order to set her free. As he was in the darkness, it seemed she was all he could see.

Slowly the darkness receded, yet the form of Maya in her dark clothes stayed. Yet instead of the dark leather he always saw her in, she now had a silky black dress. The dress did little to conceal her body. He could see how pale she had gotten, the black standing out against her almost white skin. The dress dragged on the floor almost giving the appearance of darkness surrounding her, giving Maya a ghostly appearance.

"It's good to see you again Will." Maya whispered in an almost inaudible tone. "You knew this day would come, when you would have to put things right." She said with a smile. "I told you," her and brushing the bleeding wound on her abdomen. "You are the only one to end my torture."

Will eyed her wound with wide eyes, he knew what he had dreamed. He knew what he had to do. With the sword still in his hand, he lunged for Maya. It seemed as though he was going to make good on his promise until his hand stopped mid way to her wound. He shook his head slowly as he attached the sword back to the chain. "There has to be another way." He said as the blade shrunk back to normal size.

Maya let out a haunting laugh. He knew it was impossible to end her pain. Her death was still fresh in his mind. The haunting death smile which she had that day still showed in the dimly lit in the glow of candlelight. "I believe you've been here before Will. Maya said with her half smile. "This is the place you were able to save Bianca in a way you couldn't save me." She said with a sad smile. "Why couldn't you have accessed that power in the beginning? Were you not powerful enough?"

Will cast his eyes down in shame. If he knew what he had learned with Michael back then, there would have been no contest. He would have been able to save her without much difficulty. The idea came to Will not as comfort, but as a smack to his face.

"In order to leave this place, you know what you have to do." Maya said as she found a rock within the dungeon and sat. "Until then, you will stay with me. I have a lot to catch up on and all the time in the world to do so." Will looked around the dungeon. It was true that he'd been there before. He saw the small platform in which Bianca was chained to as well as blood stains showing where the wraiths had fallen during the battle.

"Couldn't you just come with me?" Will asked Maya with a hopeful glance. "What about the time I spent with you? Or our travels before all of this? Don't you remember any of it?" He tried to get through to her. Maya only laughed and raised her plain iron broadsword.

"It's not as if I don't remember anything Will, it's just that I want this pain to end. The darkness of her corrupted flame swirled around her sword, as if the grim reaper itself had been the one to make the weapon.

With a look of torture, Will released his sword once more. He knew he wasn't going to leave the dungeon without a fight. Though he wouldn't know where to go after he fought off Maya, he knew he had to get outside. He knew he couldn't kill Maya, but the most he could do is knock her unconscious.

Maya began with an advance to Will, his sword already burning in his hand. He could do nothing but dodge and parry her blows. Swing after swing, they began a dance around the dungeon. He ducked, parried, jumped and stabbed his sword towards her. Not once did she try to dodge a blow, almost as if she wanted him to win.

When Maya noticed he was not going for a killing blow, she went forward with her assault. She left no openings any longer as her sword turned into a dark flurry of attacks. Will had to rely on his aura in order to parry each blow. He figured he had around an hour before his aura gave in and he would be at her mercy.

"If you don't attack, I will." She said in a haunting voice. "Do us both a favor and end it Will, I'll let you kill me so you can leave." Maya almost looked tearful as she muttered the last words.

"What if I could help cleanse the darkness?" Will said as he sidestepped one of her blows, just barely avoiding a slash to his face. "There has to be a way Maya, just give me some time." He saw hesitation fill her features, her blows became slower."

"Don't torture me like that Will, if there were any way to get rid of this darkness, don't you think I would have done it by now?" Her sword had come so close to his face that he felt a few strands of hair fall free of his head.

Maya's attacks became more desperate, as if her life depended on ending his. As he parried each blow, he felt his stamina drop significantly more than if he were just sparring with Leo and Bianca. Her hand had become less visible as her attacks became almost a fluid motion.

"Give me a month Maya, I promise I can come up with something." He pleaded as he ducked from another strike to the face, following with a swipe to the legs. He used his aura to jump backwards a number of feet, trying to gain some distance from Maya. "All I have to do is stay here if I don't kill you right?" He said, trying to reason with her. "I will stay as long as it takes, I promise I won't abandon you again." His eyes pleading. He didn't want to kill her, he didn't even know if he had the strength to deal the blow.

Maya stared at Will for a moment, thoughts swirling behind her dark eyes. "One month, and then we finish this." She thrust her sword into the earth and sat back on her rock. "If you can't save me, I promise I'll make your death quick."

Not knowing what else to do, Will found a rock of his own and sat. "You don't seem all that different," he said as he allowed his sword to return to pendant size around his neck. "I mean besides all the black and the new attitude." Maya smiled at the last comment.

"The attitude comes from all of the torture they put me through to break me," her smile faded as she stared out at nothing. "And what they have made me do." Will felt chills, what could have made the Maya he knew turn into what was in front of him?

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked with a concerned look. "I always thought the corrupted flame took over someone's personality, I didn't know you retained who you originally were." Will thought back to Jake. Did that mean he was always like that? He thought back to the day he sparred with his friend, the first appearance of the corrupt flame, was it his desire to advance that far?

"It would have been easier if it had taken my personality." she said with a haunted expression. "The things he made me do." she drew herself into the darkness of her mind.

"You mean Jake?" Will couldn't help himself, the words were spoken before he could hold them back. "What did he do Maya, how can I help?"

Maya's face went blank for a moment. In the faintly lit dungeon it was hard to be sure, but Will could have sworn her eyes went completely black for a moment.

For only a few minutes, Maya sat there without motion, her eyes never leaving Will.

"That's for you to decide, but you have a month to figure it out." Maya finally said as she grabbed her sword. "Until then, I have chores to do." Taking a moment to think, she looked at Will skeptically. "You're coming with me, don't forget our deal. You will not leave my side for a month."

Will's mouth twitched. It was one thing to put him in a dungeon, it was another thing to give him a key and tell him to be a good boy. "And what happens if I leave?"

"If you leave my side at any time, they will kill me." She said with a sad smile as she grabbed Will by his coat. "So do me a favor and stay close." With that, they were swallowed by darkness leaving the dungeon behind.