Simulacrum Ritual

"Paul's not here yet??...that's odd he's normally the first one here....." Ashley said looking slightly confused.

"He doesn't care what other people think of him, but you are one of the only few that he does...." Scarlet explained to me ignoring Ashley's entrance.

"I'm sorry.... all this was crazy overwhelming and I was just shocked..." I explained myself to Scarlet.

"I know that.... but it's not me you should be apologising to....." she said to me.

"Wassup...." Ashley said jumping on the sofa beside Scarlet.

"I'll go apologise to him..." I said getting up hurriedly rush into the kitchen.

Knocking on the door twice before entering slowly opened the door, I hated situations like these.... very serious heart to heats….

"Paul???..." I asked hoping for a reply.

"I'm sorry...." he said quietly turning to me unable to look at me staring at the floor.

"..... ummm no... I'm sorry for reacting the way I did...." I replied to him

".... You know I'm not a monster right..... I would never abuse my powers…." he asked extremely quietly as if ashamed to look at me.

"I know I'm sorry.....it's been a while." I apologised to him.

"So do you want to go on with the clone plan?? There's some other things I could do.... but this one is honestly probably the best and least intrusive....." he asked.

"I trust you let's go along with what you believe is the best way...." I replied faking a smile.

".....okay... please trust me... I only trying to help....." He pleaded for understanding still unable to look me in the eye.

"I know....." I lied..... A part still slightly scared unable to tell if he was the same person he was before we broke up.

"Okay let's get started .... I don't want everyone to be up all night..." he said walking past me entering back into the main living room.

"Hey there you are!!! We doing this?..." Ashley asked Paul.

"Yup did you get the stuff??..." Paul asked Ashley.

"Sure did bro." he said pulling out his briefcase.

"Scarlet pull out some heavy warm coats... for you, Ashley and Emilia. Where we are going is gonna be extremely cold. Paul ordered her pointing at the cabinet.

"Sure!" she replied pulling out three thick heavy looking fur coats.

"let's go." he said opening up a portal, instantaneously a chilling breeze came blasting through with light snowfall sending shivers up my spine.

Scarlet noticing my shivering body and folded arms tossed Ashley a coat and motioning her head towards me, "Here" Ashley said with a smile handing it to me.

With a flick of his hands Paul's trench coat floated towards him levitating open for him to put on, and boldly walked through his portal.

Scarlet quickly putting on her coat turn back to give me a smile before walking through.

"After you." Ashley smiled, putting on the coat and buttoning it up I stepped through the portal.

Bracing myself I stepped through the portal into an empty barren landscape filled with deep soft snow, my shoes sinking a few centimetres before finding purchase. In the distance one side a vast mountain range, the other a dense forest covered in snow. Paul and Scarlet already a few meters in front of me.

"Let's go!" Ashley gave me a gently pay on the back walking towards them.

"Ashley setup a perimeter." Paul shouted out to him.

"Sure!" he shouted back opening his briefcase revealing several metal rods, pulling one out and stabbing it into the ground and began configuring it. "Go ahead and meet up with Paul he's gonna need you over there." Ashley informed me.

"Okay..." I hesitantly replied, clutching the coat tightly to myself the cold wind finding its way through any opening chilling me to the bone, 'a scarf would have been nice….' .

Eventually arriving near Paul and Scarlet, he looked at me straight in the eyes..... "Sure you wanna do this???.." he asked.

His eyes piercing my hesitation and unease like a needle, filling me with a sense of calm and complete trust. "Yes" I replied with a smile.

"Okay..... Let's begin." he said smiling back at me, sending a warm nostalgic feeling radiating through my body.

"Scarlet make sure nothing sneaks up on us.. " he informed her.

"No worries" she replied with a smile and began walking off.

"Okay.... once Ashley has the Arcanum dampeners and cloaking devices activated we should be ready to start." he informed me.

"What and why???.." I asked feeling curious.

"We are a long way from Atlantis..... and using a wish spell will expel a huge amount of Arcanum. So creatures or anyone else who had the ability to sense and track Arcanum will come and investigate..." he began to explain and began making a small mound of snow.

"Okay...." I replied.

"So..... We need dampeners and cloaking device to cover us while we finish the spell." he caused on explain.

"But why???.." I asked.

"The Rivalry between the schools is a power struggle. So if we are discovered we might have a fight on our hands and with me being out the picture we would only have Ashley and Scarlet to rely on. So I picked an extremely remote locations but with remote locations also comes the threat of extremely dangerous creatures." Paul explained to me.

"Are we gonna be okay??.." I asked.

"Ohhh of course." he said with a smile reassuring me.

"Take a seat." he said looking out in the distance for Ashley's progress. "Sorry about all this....." he apologised to me still keeping an eye on Ashley.

"Sorry for what??.." I asked.

"Sorry for everything....." he replied still refusing to look at me, as if he was trying to apologise for our breakup.

"There's nothing to be sorry about...." I replied to him trying to forget the past.

"Hello???....I'm all set up Activating in 5 seconds." Ashley's voice appeared in my head.

"Okay thanks Ashley, go meet up with Scarlet in case anything happens." Paul ordered him using his communicator.

"Sure no problems…." Ashley replied.

"Okay." Paul replies to him, turning to me with a giant smile. "let's begin." he said taking off his trench coat and tossing it on top of the mound of snow he created earlier, and began walking towards me rolling up his sleeves revealing some six tattoos three on each side of his outer arm between his shoulders and elbow, each very similar but with very minor difference between all of them. "Come" he said holding his hand out to me to help me up.

Taking his hand a strange warmth radiated from it gentle but quickly warming me up making me forget the cold, instinctively following his request without hesitation.

Leading me back closer to the mound of snow one of the tattoos on his should glowed a gently blue hue before fading away into the air. In that instant I felt a glimpse of the immeasurable energy Paul expelled, it felt almost other worldly far exceeding the Teachers I met at the induction test, unlike Scarlet's unbridled fiery rage and power, his felt warm..... Caring..... Safe..... Before as quickly as it appeared it vanished into nothingness.

He took a seat near the mound pulling my hand down issuing me to sit beside him. "We're gonna need to keep our hands held for the duration of the ritual." he informed me and began to gently hold my hand firmly as if never wanting to let go.

"Okay...." I replied his firm grip making me smile happily to him.

"All you need to do is close your eyes and think of yourself..... And I'll do the rest." he explained with one quick deep look into my eyes before looking forward and closing his.

Closing my eyes I began thinking about myself, how I looked how I felt, my friends and family. After a few moments I felt his hands clutch me a little tighter, like how he'd always pulled me closer holding me a little tighter when we slept. I began thinking about us, and how everything was so perfect. Missing the way he looked longingly into my eyes, the way he always missed at me at the briefest moments of being apart, the complete and utter trust I had in him. I even missed the touch if his smooth skin, the smell of his body, his hair, his fingers, his kiss, our long discussions, our laughs and jokes..... Every part of me missed him dearly...