Heart Break Anniversary

----Ned's POV----

"AAAGHHH!!" A sharp piercing pain rings through my body as I spring up from the ground. Without looking around first and assessing my situation, my fists aimed for the nearest threat. POW! "Ooouuch." Instead of hitting someone else I'm the one getting hurt as a hand knocks away my wrist and another fist landing on my face. "Ned, calm down. It's over now." A familiar aged and raspy voice enters my ears as I shift my eyes towards the direction of the fist and voice. "Master? Master! Is that really you? Where am I?" I look around my surroundings only to find myself back home in Kamar-Taj. In fact I think I'm in the infirmary of the school. A place I had only visited once or twice when I first started training with my master.

"Yes child you are home. You're safe now. Akshay made it back to Kamar-Taj and the masters were able to eliminate the foul necromancer…" Master Kaecilius pulls a chair next to my bed before sitting down next to me. I…I don't know what to say. Why am I still here? I was going to use myself as a sacrifice and and. Wait! "Master, please tell me brother James made it too." I reach out and grab on to him only for his eyes to avert mine. "....so it wasn't a dream…." He remains silent for a moment as my eyes begin to get watery once more. "Tell me…did we recover their bodies? We can't leave them their with that thing and the the"

"Ned, it's alright. The witch has been dealt with. And as for her companion. The Ancient One had personally killed the demon. They can no longer hurt you anymore." Master Kaecilius rests his hand on my shoulder as he tries to comfort me. "But I do have to ask you Ned. Just what happened on this mission? It was supposed to be a scouting mission and nothing more. Why were the two of you in the cave fighting the witch and how did you summon the 'Bolt of Balthakk'?"

I frown my eyebrows and pull my head back a little bit in confusion. " Master, what do you mean I summoned the 'Bolt of Balthakk'? I can't even charge my 'Ink of Innovation' without needing to hotwire a battery to the relic, much less call forth my favorite spell." I rub the tears from my eyes away as I try my best to remain calm and clear headed.

"Hmm well if you say that you still can't use magic then there's not much I can do about that. However I did see with my own two eyes that you were engulfed in an aura of lightning while the spell was active. But nevermind that. Ned, do you mind telling me everything that happened during the mission? As many details as you can please. This mission was never supposed to turn out like this."

I take a moment to settle my breathing before nodding my head. I don't know how long I've been in the infirmary for or how long it took for me to recap my story up until the moment that we got attacked but when I got to the point of my story all I could do was swallow the guilt that was stuck in my throat before resuming. "On the second night when we had already set up camp in Laos we were attacked by the very thing we had been searching for. We tried to summon a portal back to Kamar-Taj because we were only on a scouting mission and our team was not meant to engage with any mystic hostiles. However…we just couldn't. There were too many undead rushing at us that we could not summon a portal in time and so our only option was to fight until we could. With Nicolas and I being the weakest link of the team, the two of us were taken out first. I saw Nicolas get ripped to shreds by those corpse puppets while all they did was bind me up. Once my hands were bound and I was pulled away from our campfire, the necromancer finally came out of the woods and into view. She promised to not hurt me if James and the others put down their spells and obied her demands. I wanted to keep on fighting and tried to struggle out of the cold hands that were gripping my wrists. Ultimately I got knocked unconscious and the next thing I knew we were in a cage somewhere." I rub my hand over the area of my wrists that were bound. I can still feel the pain and powerlessness I felt during the struggle.

"What happened when you had woken up Ned?"

Sigh. "When I woke up, all of us were locked up together in a cage made of bones and sticks. With our hands tied together by some sort of dried jungle vines. I asked….I asked James what had happened and all he did was told me to be quiet as all that we could do was wait for the sweet embrace of death. I don't know how the necromancer did it but no one could use their magic because of these strange symbols on the walls of the cave. The first to go was Rachel. Sh-she was taken to the center of the cave to be slaughtered in front of us as the demon and the witch drained her blood into a giant cauldron…" I shake my head to try and get rid of the simmering emotions that are slowly rising up from my chest once more. "The demon. For some reason it was able to speak English and went into an almost villainous monologue about it's plans as it tried to break our wills one at a time. The demon was in the body of the witch's dead kid and in order for the child's body to remain functional and not decompose it requires fresh blood and life force. Children were the best source to keep the corpse going but eventually when the villages ran out of children, they started going after the adults. The demon wanted to save me for last because it said that my body was special. It didn't just want blood but to take over my body entirely. I-I I don't know why the witch kept on working with the demon if she already knew that she was being used as a pawn but because I learned of my special place for the demon I had to use it to my advantage. I was able to cut myself and the remaining team members loose by using my pen and I told them about my plan. The runes…"

I paused for a moment as I'm not sure how to explain this since I had not read about it in Kamar-Taj before, I had only seen them in my previous life during the finale of WandaVision and the Coven of Chaos. "They appeared to be an important factor in the malfunctioning of our magic. So I told James and Akshay of my intentions to destroy one of those symbols in hopes of one of them being able to regain their magic to allow us to escape. I knew that I needed to remain as bait and as a distraction since I am the one least likely to be harmed. However we also needed to get out of the cage first before I could try and disrupt the symbols. Since I am still a child I decided to try and act like one. I begged and called for the witch to release me so I could use the restroom or else I could soiled the precious body that the demon desired so much. Somehow the demon agreed and spoke to the witch to let me out so I could answer nature's call. Once I got close enough to a wall with the symbols I asked for the witch and her child to close their eyes as I was too scared and nervous to release anything. Using the few precious seconds of time I had, I cut into the stone wall with my pen to destroy the symbol. This was the signal I had told James and Akshay about as they both broke through the cage in an attempt to run away. I did the same and ran towards Akshay as he needed to be the one to create the portal while James defended using magic and I intervened using my body…." I look towards my master's eyes as I try to lighten my own mood by mocking myself like always. "I know saying this out loud does not make a lot of sense but it seems to have worked out and here we are…just me and Akshay…"

"What happened to James? When we finally arrived at the center of the cave, there was only you and the dark magic users. James must have passed away in between when you all fought back and when we arrived to help."

I nod my head before continuing. "James took on as much undead as he could so as to not let any get past him and fought to the bitter end trying to protect Akshay and I. We tried to run as far away as we could but the tunnel just seemed to keep on stretching forever in the dark. Eventually I turned around to run back towards James as we weren't encountering any other undead in our ways… Upon arriving back to the main room all I could smell was the burning of flesh as James had used some fire spells to burn away the undead."

"Hmm well that explains how Akshay was able to make it to us and the stench of burnt flesh. Now what do you remember about James' last couple of moments with us?"

"I-I don't know. When I saw him again he had a smile on his face…. James was smiling even when he had been thrown against the wall and impaled on to a sharp rock…I-I so sorry I could not save him Master. I'm so sorry for being such a useless student!" My vision starts to haze once more as the scenes of seeing my friend and brother die in front of me flashes through my brain. If only I could had used magic. If only I could have been stronger to not let anymore of my loved ones die. If only I weren't so powerless to save the- "Ned it's alright child. You did the best you could and there was nothing else you could have done. Now do you remember what happened after losing your brother?"

I try to wipe away my tears once more as I suck in the snot that's leaking out of my nostrils. "I-I remember feeling angry. More angry than anything else in my life. Once again I lost a member of my family and there I was as useless as ever. Then. And then I'm not sure. I think I ran towards the demon to try and fight it with just my hands but I was knocked away by their magic like a doll. And the next thing I knew I was here. I-I think I remember feeling like I was back in the 'Fields of Morpheus'. Everything felt like a dream yet it had never felt so real at the same time. I could see the demon and her witch in my 'Fields of Morpheus' as I called forth the 'Bolt of Balthakk' to the strongest level my mind could conjure and my heart could provide as I dreamt of inflicting the pain I had in my soul back to them…" I feel my master rest his hands on my shoulder once more as the Ancient One and the master of the infirmary enter the building. Their eyes locked on to me as if they were trying to pierce my soul. Which would make sense since I just told my master that I could have been body swapped with the demon and they probably wouldn't even know it.

"Master Kaecilius, how has our young student been doing? I hope he has recovered well and can share his side of the story?" The Ancient One puts on an air worthy of the Sorcerer Supreme as she tries to speak with authority and wisdom in her voice. My master quickly bows down to greet her before straightening back up. "Disciple Ned, seems to be back to his normal self once more. Even after a close dance with death and being in a coma for the last few days, he had never seen so full of life." He puts on a simple smile as I start to blush a little. The Ancient One returns a smile back to my master before turning her attention towards me. "Young man I apologize for not being here when you first recited your story but if you could, can you please explain to me what happened. I wish to finally hear it from you directly since you were able to injure the demon and the witch the most before we got there."

I let out a deep sigh before flopping back down onto my pillow. "With no disrespect to Master Kaecilius, Master Po, and The Ancient One but can I please have a glass of water and use the restroom before I retell my story? Master Kaecilius should've had a recorder going or something because this is taking forever and I need to clean myself up after the long trip." A smirk slowly rises on my master's face as well as the face of The Ancient One as they look at each other. "It looks like your Ned is back safe and sound." The Ancient One spoke to my master before turning to me once more. "I will allow you 15 minutes to get yourself ready but I expect even more details than what you had told your master before I arrived." I can only smile as I spring myself off the bed and onto the floor. Once I was done with my business I came back as soon as I could to retell my story once more. When I finished it was probably already late at night and I could feel the claws of sleep trying to pull me back into the dream world even though I had been asleep for the last couple of days apparently. After finishing my story, Master Po checked on my conditions once more before determining that I was stable enough to be sent back to my room and that I could resume my classes the next day.

With the news that I could go back to being a student and not dance on the edge of life and death for a little while, I sprinted towards the door and was able to smash through the wood before stopping myself. I turn to look back at the trio of masters. "Before I go, can I ask when the funeral is?" The trio remained quiet for a moment before the Ancient One finally spoke up. "Ned my child, I am sorry but the funeral was held two days ago. I am sorry you were not able to say your final goodbyes." Once again a sound of silence rang through my ears as I tried to comprehend the words of the Sorcerer Supreme. I slowly nod my head as I try my best to not have a look of sadness and disappointment on my face. "I see…well then uh can I ask what day it is today?" Once more all I can hear is the ringing echoes of silence as I soon found myself back in my room. I don't know what to do anymore since the fatigue of sleep is no longer trying to drag me back into bed but it's also almost midnight now and there's nothing I can do…

Sigh. I guess tonight is going to be a little bit of a restless night since I've had my fill of sleep for the past week and my mind is racing too much. Mother…why did life have to be this way? First I lost you when I was too weak and cowardly to protect the family. Now after a year of fighting for power I thought I had grown enough to protect my new friends and loved ones. I guess sometimes change just takes longer than expected and I was just expecting too much out of your dumb useless son.

I wash myself and change into a new set of robes before stepping out into the darkness of the night. With everyone either fast asleep or soon falling asleep, there is not a single source of like light in the entire compound. With my only source of light being from the moon I slowly make my way towards the courtyard to try and finally mourn over causing my mother's death. It's funny. I'm such a bastard son that I cried over the loss of outsiders before my own mother. She gave her life to defend our family while all I did was run away at the first chance I had during the chaos in my household. I am truly unworthy of being a Xu and the second prince of the ten rings empire.

"Mother. If you're watching me I hope you don't hold a grudge against me and may you rest in peace. I won't allow myself to return home until I can ensure that our family will be safe from threats even my father can't defend. I promise I will never let anyone else in our family fall into harm anymore." I spoke in a soft whisper as I slowly exhaled to empty out my lungs. I spread my legs apart just slightly as I get my body into a stance. I try to recall the memories of my mother teaching me her martial arts as I mimic the breathing technique she had bestowed to me. Soon my body moved and flow according to the muscle memory I had neglected for so long. Ever since I started my education at Kamar-Taj I had left out my daily practice of martial arts from Ta Lo. In just a couple minutes of going through the routine I can sense the faint energy I once felt when I was younger…only this time the feeling is not so faint. I wonder if this was how-CRRAKK!

'BOLT OF BALTHAKK!'