The fusion

They bust through the double doors carrying a huge amount of different herbs, Lucia comes down the hall to greet them taking them gently, "Welcome back Steel."

Mars stands in the hall feeling miserable, Clarence is the last to come through the door holding tightly to Alex, Chara guides him where to go with quickness.

"You knew this was going to happen didn't you grandmum?" Mars chides her.

She only smirks walking away with Steel and Carol, "You needed it..."

"This is why I didn't want to learn magick! Because of this!"

"You will be given no choice soon enough," Lucia replies, her sharp eyes were like daggers boring into his soul.

He knew she was right unable to shake this horrible sense of dread, an action that would completely throw him into the world magick, one that not for long would let him live in an ignorant world of peace amongst his fellow humans.

Following his grandmother to the room where she is using a mortar pestle grinding down the herbs down, a plethora of tools are laid out on the nightstand.

A small lamp is turned on glowing dimly, "Come watch your grandmother..."

Doing as he is told he plants himself beside Lucia observing her do her work with care, "Why do you care so much to help them?"

"How shameless you are...we are healers, we are warriors and we live on this earth together, yin and yang are real Mars."

She holds a sludge concoction in her hands, "No one truly cares for each other." Mars disputes watching her lift Christian's head.

His eyes open weakly gawking up at her, "I feel paralyzed..."

"I know...bear with me a little more please."

"What happened to him anyway?"

"He is cursed Mars...he is forced to take another personality."

"How horrible..."

"Christian, can you hear me?"

"I have one question for you."

Christian nods, "Yes Lucia..."

"Are you prepared to die and let the Devil take over fully?"

"If it is fated...I will surrender..."

"Thank you for your honesty, I will try my best to help you."

She would grab his hand the rest of the night chanting softly around Three o'clock in the morning he is holding his chest in pain covered in sweat, somehow able to sit up, "You must decide right now what you want."

"Decide? Decide what?"

"Will you fade or will you triumph..."

A void is cast, a vast black space swallows them whole receiving them into the endless emptiness, "This medicine is taking effect I see." Lucia explains.

Stars zoom past them, tears line his eyes as the spectacle unfolds in front of him.

"I am not ready to die..." He admits to himself, "I didn't ask for this fate."

"What matters is if you accept what fate has dished out for you Christian."

"Please let me live...but..."

"But?"

"The Devil, I kinda mean trick on him..."

"You take pity on the one meant to replace you?"

"What if we could fuse?"

Lucia thinks a moment, "Do you know what it will do to your consciousness?"

"I guess I will share my feelings with him right?"

"You both will live in the same body, but as one Christian."

"I see...then please fuse me and the Devil!"

Lucia places her hands together before fiercely smacking them together, the Devil makes his entrance landing on his knees.

Getting up he faces Christian directly, they shake upon meeting each other; his red pupils astound him, "So you decided to not kill me..."

Christian folds his arms looking away adverting his eyes, "I just want to be on your level."

"You just feel bad still don't you?" The Devil nudges, "Why did you call me anyway?"

"Devil, do you agree to be fused?"

"Fused?" The Devil turns to Christian, "Do you truly agree to fuse?"

"Only if you agree..."

"Fine, you know after what happened I almost didn't even want to be here."

"So you both agree to fuse then?" Lucia asks bringing out a pendant from her pocket cracking it open to hand them both a small crystal.

"What do we do with them?" Christian asks observing the Devil chew it up, he audibly could hear him swallow it.

"Your turn..."The Devil chimes in licking the residue off his fingers, Christian places it on his tongue grinding it up with his teeth ingesting it.

He sticks his tongue in return, "That was horrible."

Lucia closes her eyes, "Please join hands." she adds, "Quickly, quickly!"

Doing as they told, they lock their fingers together, "Why though?" Christian questions, the Witch tosses her fan at him.

"Shhh..." Lucia says hushing him, "Concentrate on building your bond!"

Shutting his eyes he meditates on the Devil, the Witches incantation starts to get louder and louder; her wrinkled fingers getting higher her chant lingers in the air.

Her words felt like they penetrating their very being, morphing, bending, and stretching their bones vertically and horizontally.

Christian starts to panic the second their fingers begin to blend together one into the other, their fingers, faces, bodies dissolving into one another.

the fusion was complete, he stood there settling this new feeling coursing throughout his veins, "I feel like me..."

"Give it a day or so you will start to notice the new you."

"New me..."

"Are you not pleased with the fusion Christian?"

Almost immediately he acknowledges his body's heaviness reaching deep inside of him, falling to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

Within seconds they are back in Christian's room, the blankets were strewn across the bed, "Christian? Christian?" The Witch asks.

The door flings open, "Revered grandmother, is everything okay in here?"

Clarence tumbles in almost tripping over Christian planted on the floor, "Lucia?"

"He just fused Steel, he is feeling the heaviness of his new heart..."

"W-wait he did what?" She squawks, "He agreed to fuse?"

Gathering Christian from the ground, pushing him back on the bed covering him.

"We have some guest rooms for you to rest in tonight." Steel confirms.

"If you need help getting back to the mountains we can help," Clarence replies.

The witch gives Clarence a scowl, "You still haven't gotten over that have you?"

Clarence reddens, "Revered grandmother what are you talking about?"

"Have you met the doctor again?"

His hands tremble to hear any mention of the doctor, "Not since I left..."

"I hope you are ready one day to face that head-on."

"Revered grandmother...please let me just do my job!" He begs.

She shrugs, "I will see you in the morning, I hope you like to climb..."

"I am more than ready to help you get home!" He shouts energetically, Chara snoops in signaling for Clarence's attention.

"Clarence, I need your help please!"

He follows her out to Alex's room to find Shimon holding out a pen needle high in the air, "I swear my idea is still ten times better than whatever you had planned."

"You seriously carry that around Shimon?" Chara asks.

"What happened so bad?" Clarence questions.

"He is hallucinating Alice..."

"His sword..." Clarence replies sadly, "She was really lovely."

"What happened when he was out Clarence?"

"I am not sure Shimon, I wasn't there!"

"Then who was!"

"You can grill Doctor Carol later!"

Shimon gets up shoving Clarence and Chara out of the way slamming the door behind him, "Why does Master Alex have to have the weird master?"

"Even I am puzzled..."

"Perhaps it's a side effect?" Chara speculates, "We need someone who knows."

"But who would know Chara?"

"Since this is Edwin's fault, I will use my tracking magick later."

Gazing at Alex sleeping peacefully Clarence decides to sit with him removing the damp towel from behind his head gingerly laying his head against the pillow.

"Don't do anything too risky since Alex is not in his right mind..."

"Understood Clarence." She replies with a big smile.