17 The King of Hearts

"Do you remember still when we first met? It was so long ago, but the memory is so vivid to me."

"I remember."

"You were so powerful, but so naive. You were so fearless and as a result equally careless."

"I'm different now."

"I noticed. You've continually educated yourself. You've changed. You're no longer careless, you're callously calculating."

"I learned to be afraid."

"And you let that fear define you?"

"I didn't 'let' anything define me. All I've ever done is survive, and learn from my mistakes so I can continue surviving. At some point you have to adapt to your environment when you fail to change it."

"You're still trying to change it."

"It's natural to want to change something you don't like. That might be the only natural part of me."

"Why did you leave me here?"

"I forgot, but I'm trying to remember."

A vision of a young couple standing in front of the mirror gate wafted through Zion's mind like a mist. Holding hands, the couple tried to imagine their future together and stepped through the mirror gate. As the couple stepped forward the mirror shattered and they were separated unaware of what they lost at the gate.

"Oberon, I think I made a mistake, but I've been trying to fix it. That's why. I have some very complex feelings for you, but I promise when I've figured everything out I'll come back. I'll come back and I'll help you."

"Zion, Zion" Cerberus's voice could be heard in the distance.

"Oby, listen to me. I know I'm going to forget again as soon as I leave this place, but I'll find my way back to you. I have to go now." Zion said as they started to fade out of the mirror.

Oberon reached towards Zion grabbing their hand that wasn't covered by the metal glove. Their bare fingers traced along his until just their fingertips were touching and then finally just the mirror.

Zion stood there transfixed still touching the mirror when the shade behind them still in the magical circle asked "What are you looking at?"

Zion blinked for a few seconds and then said bewildered "I don't know."

Cerberus's voice could be heard coming out of the mirror. Zion looked at him puzzled and said "Cerberus, how on earth, or any of the other dimensions, did you manage to get yourself stuck in a mirror gate?"

"I don't know. I woke up here. I tried to summon you, but I couldn't seem to." Cerberus explained.

"You can't summon me fully from the mirror gate the magic inherent in it interferes with the summoning. Somehow you managed to call me through the mirror though. You're only here as an astral body, so if you look for your cord you can easily find your way back." Zion answered.

Cerberus looked around himself and was finally able to see his cord. He grabbed it and tugged on it and felt it pull him back to his body.

Seeing him safely return home Zion found themself staring at their reflection again in the mirror gate. The shade behind them, still trapped by magic, let out a shrill cry. The vocalization, piercing like a banshee sent shockwaves that would have shattered the mirror, but Zion stopped it by raising their gloved hand. "You need to stop screaming like a child so we can talk like grown ups." Zion said calmly.

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Lucky woke up in her chipmunk form with a vague recollection of herself before she passed out. She wondered if she had shifted or if it wasn't all some magical illusion. Though, the house had clearly been damaged.

Corvis, noticing she was awake hopped over to her. "Hey, how are you feeling? I'm Corvin Dallas, but everyone calls me Corvis for short."

Lucky chirped.

"You don't remember? You looked at your reflection in the glacier and you looked like you were going to pass out, but instead your eyes started glowing and you grabbed me and shook me until I threw up all the magical items I ate. You searched through the pile for a white, round object, but when you found it you shifted back and fell to the ground unconscious." Corvis answered. "I woke up when you forced me to throw up all those items."

Lucky was immediately suspicious of this story and chirped again.

"No I can't see when I'm unconscious, but I do have intermittent clairvoyance. It's a side effect of the magical items I've been eating." Corvis replied.

Lucky remained skeptical but didn't say anything in protest. 'Intermittent' was a decent alibi for an untestable ability. If he was lying he'd left himself an out, if he wasn't lying he was still unreliable. Surveying her surroundings she noticed the pile of magical items and a white, round one sitting on the top under her paw. Picking it up with her paws she stuffed it in her cheek pouch and hopped off to hide it when Cerberus stumbled into the room. "Lucky, what are you doing with that thing in your mouth."

She chirped at him with the object in her mouth. Then she scuttled quickly into one of her tunnels.

Corvis looked at Cerberus with a guilty expression. "I have pica, I can't help it. It's a disorder, ok?"

Cerberus looked at Corvis annoyed. "I still don't understand why, of all the creatures Zion could have chosen, they made you their familiar."

Corvis ruffled his feathers and preened. "In the short, 6 lifetimes that you've known them have they ever told you how we met?"

Cerberus stared at Corvis furious.

"Don't get mad at me. I'm just saying there's a lot of things you don't know about both me and Zion, so how could you possibly understand?" Corvis flew off as Cerberus turned into a wolf and snapped at him. "You should be more careful with that temper, look at how you just shifted."

Cerberus barked and growled at Corvis perched up on one of the broken rafters. The two were fairly engaged in their repartee when they heard the sound of thunder as lightning struck and Zion materialized.

Before Zion could say a word Contessa approached them all covered in dirt with a shovel. She threw the shovel on the ground and shouted "ZION! You need to do something about your crazy ex-boyfriend."