Mystery Noir

Gates and Trials Part 4

The two of them stood there, poised but silent.

Everything was happening so quickly. I knew I was going to be furious with them later; I was angry already, but for the moment I had turned on the cold, calculating part of my brain. I was still in a little bit of shock and knew I didn't have the time to process everything and make a decision.

"Move." I growled, bracing my stance for a fight, though if I had to, I don't know what I could have done against two armoured and armed supernatural whatever they were.

Both Ver and Enzo moved out of the way before their expressions told me that they had processed my words consciously. I was already striding over and lifting Penny to her feet, half draping her upper body over my shoulders and mostly carrying her by the time they responded.

"Nina... wha..." Enzo sounded like he was about to start peddling his bullshit a little more, so I shook my head.

Now that I was facing where I had been, I could see that I had been standing in front of a portal of some sort. It had the same look as the gate I had stepped into, to get into this room.

"First off. If you think I'm just going to trust that, you'll benevolently just send my friend back and she'll be ok to get somewhere safe, you don't know me at all." I stalked back toward the portal as best I could, half carrying Penny. Though she was waking up slowly and had taken some of her own weight.

"Secondly, even if I didn't know a single person who was trying to fight that Nareyan, I could never leave Earth behind and hoped someone cleaned up the mess. I don't know if it is my fault, nor do I think I've got half a dime bag full of magic in my entire body, but I will do everything in my power to keep people safe. Besides, even without the Nareyan, there's an entire town of people that believed in you two, who I might be able to help." I paused and turned back to look at them.

I had braced myself to see a look of smug satisfaction on Ver's face and was surprised to see that he looked as pained as Enzo did.

"Third. My mother would never ask me to give up a part of who I am, in order to please other people. If she taught me nothing else, it was to embrace every single part of me. If she is here, she'd be disappointed to see me. And if I can keep Earth safe from the Nareyan, I'm also going to keep this place safe, and her safe. Because if she is here, there's gotta people worth salvaging here too. Staying here would serve no one but myself, and I don't even think I would be happy here." I turned and stepped through the portal before I could continue, because now that I was putting my thoughts into words, I was starting to find inspiration for voicing my anger.

We were surrounded by fog for a moment, and then we were left standing in the circular chamber which was only glowing with the light of the sconces.

The ceiling had returned to looking like solid stone.

The room was still and the smell of that other world wafted around us as Penny finally stood completely of her own accord and took a step away from me. I felt a rushing sensation in my mind, knowing that as my adrenaline started crashing, I would hit a tidal wave of emotional turmoil. I had just turned away from a chance to reunite with my mother, possibly meet my father. I had returned willingly to a world filled with people that did not like me, and possibly a creature that wanted to kill me.

I could have reclined in paradise.

The coolness of the subterranean chamber washed over me, as if to remind me that I had returned to cold, drab reality. I had made the logical and morally right decision in my mind, but it had not been as easy as I made it seem.

I sighed and rubbed my forehead, before glancing over to Penny, who was watching me cautiously. "Are you ok?"

Penny blinked, then offered a nod. "They... had to magically slow my body processes, as humans get physically attached to that world after a long while in it... The magic is wearing off. You... you chose Earth."