It was dark, damp, and cold. The combination which Gingitsune loved least of all conditions. There was no light, no spark of warmth from an errant sunbeam. Just pure darkness, where the damp was from she could not tell, unless she was in some sort of cave. Her head buzzed strangely, it was as if she was no longer in her body. It seemed so far away, and as she tried to move her arm and legs slightly, it felt as if they were made of leeks and could only wobble miserably.
"What happened?" she asked herself, the words echoing in her mind but never leaving her lips, which we uncomfortably sore and numb. She opened her eyes, forcing her eyelashes to separate, but they were covered in something and she did not know what. Finally they opened, her violet eyes, glazed and distant, blinked into the darkness. There wasn't anything to see.
"Jocasta?" she mouthed, pawing around on the 'ground' which was as flat and smooth and empty as a pane of glass. The Sphinx was nowhere to be seen, nor was any other living (or dead) soul.
"Did we all die?" the question floated in her mind, this wasn't how she expected death, even if it was all emptiness she had atleast figured that there would be no consciousness to it, but now she was there, in the empty place. A shiver tore through her body, and she let out a small sound, as if she had not spoken in a millenium, the sound echoed in the empty plain. Finally her hand hit Cybele, her wand, usually growing radiantly in shades of beautiful light, but now as black as the surroudings. Still, the wand, dead as it seemed, was a comfort to Gingitsune. She had always felt that there was a guiding spirit in her wand, something shapeless and voiceless but sentient which gave Cybele its power. A mere rod of metal could not house such possibilities, such wondrous capabilities. There had to be something alive... or had to have been something alive... to give Cybele it's warmth.
"Please," she whispered, "Please be there. Please help me, I don't want to be here anymore. There's nothing here, and it frightens me."
"Why are you frightened by nothingness?" asked a clear voice, to her left... no her right... above her, or below? The voice was everywhere at once, melodious and charming and full of hope.
Gingitsune tested her own voice, and found that it was as cold and bleak as a stormy day. "I don't know. A primal fear, isn't it? Nothingness is just so oppressive, it feels like it's sucking the life out of me, if I am not dead already I fear I will die here, and no one shall know until I am merely a part of this infinite darkness.
"Do you know where you are?" asked the voice kindly, it was neither male nor female, but comforting and penetrating.
"No. I cannot even begin to guess, why would such a vile place exist?"
"It is vile because it is empty. All of its light and happiness is hidden away deep inside."
"Deep inside what?"
"Why, you of course. This is you, this bleak and empty place is the recesses of your mind. It is dark because you hate, doubt and fear. It is cold because you cannot see the warmth of your situation. It is damp because you are so afraid that you will die here, and that your true body will be lost that you cannot overcome your sadness."
"And, who are you?"
"Cybele. You asked me to help, didn't you? You invoked my name, and in doing so you've brought me here. I cannot die, I am merely a spirit, when you lose all hope I disappear because there is no room in here for me, it becomes overcrowded with hatred and horrible thoughts. That is when Cybele's power turns dark and destructive. You have not learned to yield your wand yet, when you do I shall be able to reveal some of its true powers to you. Light is not all about destruction and death, it is about hope and happiness. You see how you feel in this dark place? You feel as if you would die, but a beam of light would be hope, would it not? Yes, light is powerful, but light is not death, light is life. Light has the power to give and take life, and without light there is not life. This is something you now realize. How can you help your comrades if you do not believe in what you are doing with your whole heart?"
Gingitsune looked down at her hands, didn't she believe in them? She wanted to, she always had the appearance to, but in this place deep inside of her she was afraid of what might happen to all of them. Taimudan had exploded, he had incinerated all of her bodies, although Gingitsune had not been conscious she felt the memories flooding her, her power had run out. Had it run out because...
"Yes. Your light comes in part from your thoughts and dreams, if you do not believe your power becomes weakened and runs out. Cybele has gone dead now, but a single thought can awaken her." Gingitsune smiled, and Cybele began to glow again, weakly.
"Would you like to see something more?" Asked the spirit. Gingitsune nodded in assent.
Suddenly the entire dark, damp space became as bright as the sun. The smooth glass surface bubbled and rose in terrible fire and magma. Explosions occurred, and the rumbling of the place was almost as frightening as the darkness. It was like hell, and Gingitsune felt her eyes would burn at any second as she shielded herself from the light.
"You are safe, it will not hurt you. It is the sun, the source of your power, and in time, perhaps your innermost thoughts will burn with this kind of intensity. You have sparked Cybele, you have started the process in your mind, but it will take courage and conviction to make it so. It may seem frightening to you now, but is it not more comforting than the darkness in which all of your fears are rooted in yourself? You fear here, but you fear for natural and logical reasons. You fear that you will burn, or slip into the magma (though I assure you, you will not), instead of fearing that you are letting people down, or are inadequate, or do not have the courage or leadership to go on. You see?" Gingitsune nodded slowly. This spirit was rather bizarre, and Gingitsune never again wanted to see the surface of the sun from such a proximity.
"So..." she began slowly, "am I here, forever?"
"No, you are all revived, all of you, and I'm afraid that in a few seconds this will seem nothing but a paltry dream with no true significance." said the spirit, sighing rather loudly, "but do remember, that like Jocasta I will always be on your side, and when you need me I will not fail you."
"Than..."
But the image was already fading and a few seconds later Gingitsune opened her bleary eyes. Back in the hideout.
Cybele was in her right hand, the long wand's tip touching the floor, and glowing a soft, encouraging pink.
(I'll finish this later, gotta go to class XD gym, woot)
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