Things Lost and Found (a Waglington and Mianite fanfiction)

Chapter 31

Welp, we've officially hit over 9,000 views! :D To celebrate this momentous occassion, I present another chapter! Thank you all for the suggestions and ideas on the last not-chapter; some of them will come into play next chapter (and some in chapters further on).

The song for this chapter is "Bring Me To Life" by Evanescence.

*Martha's POV*

"Martha!" Donella said as she ran over carrying the limp cat in her arms. I couldn't see him breathing. "You're James's goddess, right?" I nodded numbly. This can't be happening. "Do whatever you have to to keep his spirit from leaving." Donella handed the cat off to me, grabbing my arm. She pulled me with her down the street as we ran to where "Wag" had been caged. I focused on the cat in my arms and could just barely feel him there, my Waggles. I closed my eyes—trusting Donella to guide me—and focused on that faint spirit, seeing it in my mind's eye as a wisp of red light weakly flickering in darkness, a candle flame about to go out. I reached out to him, noting that in this place, I shone a bright purple. There, I have you, Waggles, I thought as I cupped my hands around the wisp. I focused my energy on him, trying to make his light brighter. As long as I held onto him he wasn't flickering anymore, but his light wasn't growing.

I distantly heard a door open, and split my attention between Wag and my surroundings. We'd entered one of the houses. Wag's brothers had already brought his body in and laid it on a bed in the back room. "Martha, you've got a hold on him?" Donella asked quickly.

"Yes, I've got him, but he is incredibly weak."

Donella nodded. "Good. You focus on holding his spirit together. We'll work on straightening him out. Just don't let him go; it may get worse before it gets better." Donella moved me to a chair by the head of the bed and had me lay the cat on the comforter next to Wag. Now that they were both somewhere still, I could just see their chests rising and falling. That gave me a little hope. I closed my eyes again and focused entirely on my wizard.

For a while his light remained steady and small. When I felt something in his spirit shift, his wisp of light became fitful and nearly went out. Panic spiked through my heart. No, you're not going anywhere, I thought to Wag, though I doubted he could hear me. I tightened my grip on him, careful not to squeeze too tightly; I could hurt him myself if I didn't pay attention. The longer I held onto him, the more I noticed my energy didn't seem to be enough to keep him here. His light was slowly dimming and fragmenting despite my efforts.

I opened my eyes to see Matt, Phil, and Tom intensely concentrating on some white magic that enveloped Wag's body. Sweat was beginning to bead on Phil and Tom's foreheads, and steam rose off of Matt. Donella appeared to be in-between spells and noticed me as she wiped some sweat from her own forehead, panting. "Martha, what is it?"

"He's fading again. I'm doing the best that I can, but I can't hold him here much longer." Tears started to well in my eyes as I noticed doubt flit across Donella's face, but that doubt was swiftly replaced by grim determination.

"This is taking longer than we thought. We ran into some complications, but those are resolved now," The wizard assured me as she started to unbutton her coat. She must be starting to overheat with the amount of magic she's using. That's happened to Wag once or twice. Donella looked at Wag's unconscious form sadly. "We'll keep going. Try to make him want to stay. Remind him what he's leaving. We can do so much, but he has to fight too." She pulled her coat off and tossed it to one side. Her hands and eyes started glowing red as she went back to work, speaking softly in a language I didn't recognize. I briefly noted the myriad of scars decorating her skin before returning to my own task, wondering what that woman had been through.