The MAGAX Chronicles: Part Three

Part 3: Redemption

"You still seek redemption for your past?" Nox said, his form all but lost in the storm clouds. "Don't you know there is no forgiveness for you, Magax? The Faeries will never forgive the crimes you committed against them."

     "Perhaps," Magax said, readying his weapon. "But, I have to try."

      Magax followed a terrified Water Faerie who had been ordered by the Faerie Queen to lead him to her chambers. She was afraid of him, no doubt about it. She kept turning around and glancing at his Battleaxe, as if she thought he might use it on her at any given moment. She had good reason to be afraid, but still… She led him through door after door, corridor after corridor, sometimes through a wall that wasn't really a wall but a door. It was getting rather tiresome.

      "So," Magax said, trying to break the ice, and watching amusedly as the Faerie squeaked and ducked. "Fyora still the Queen around here?"

      "Y-yes," said the Water Faerie, trying to sound more irritated than scared. "And you are to address her as Queen Fyora at all times." Magax attempted a smile, deciding not to say anything else. He didn't have good social skills anyways.

      The Water Faerie, who had a nametag that said 'Hello, My Name Is Dehlia,' finally stopped at a huge ornate wooden door. She knocked. "Your highness? Magax is here. He- he requested permission to see you, remember?"

      "I remember," said a crisp voice inside. "Show him in." The Water Faerie opened the door for Magax, making a face as she did so. "You may leave, Dehlia," said the crisp voice. Dehlia turned to go.

      Magax felt his heart chill as he walked into the Queen's "chambers." It was more like a house. A huge house, with beautiful grand furnishings completely polished and swept. Yet however beautiful they were, there was an air of detachedness, as it sometimes feels in a huge place where only one person lives, without any friends or children around.

      Fyora was sitting in a high-backed chair in the middle of what Magax supposed was the living room. Fyora was much larger than regular faeries, indeed; much larger than most humans. Magax had been surprised that Fyora had asked for him to come to her private chambers and speak to her one on one, he had assumed he would be led to some dark room where an associate would carry on his message to the queen. But now Magax realized why Fyora had asked him here: to intimidate him.

      "Take a seat," said Fyora coldly, motioning stiffly towards a furry chair. "Unless you'd rather float around the ceiling all day." Magax humbly sat and waited, never feeling so conspicuous in his very long life. Fyora looked him up and down icily, taking in his bandaged ear, his slashed eye, and the two separate battleaxes in his belt. Magax stared past her, not daring to look in her eyes.

      "So you didn't even bother to get properly dressed to see the Queen, did you," said Fyora. "I see you haven't changed much, even if you are trying."

      "But you have noticed I've been trying," said Magax, still staring past her.

      "Look me in the face when you speak to me, Wocky," snapped Fyora. Magax raised his eyes. "Now what is it you want? I hope you're not here to apologize, because I'm not buying it."

      "No," said Magax sadly, but not letting his emotions show. "Hubrid Nox has…

      "Oh, so that's what you're here about! You wanted to make sure we didn't think it was your fault all those ghosts were let loose." She said this triumphantly, proud that she thought she had figured Magax out so easily.

      "Well, actually," said Magax, "I came because I need your help. I can battle the ghosts with my Darklight axe, but there are so many… and now they are loose… and since it's partly my fault, I took it upon myself to destroy them. If there was just some way to at least get them back into my graveyard…"

      "Magax," said Fyora, speaking in a slightly gentler tone. "It's already been done. The faeries used a simple spell to make them go back to where they came from."

      "You mean back in the ground?" asked Magax glumly, knowing the answer.

      Fyora smiled in a sarcastic sort of way. "You think we'd help you that much after all you did to us? Putting us in cages and selling us for money? Although, it is better than bottles…" Magax didn't know what she was talking about, he had never heard of Balthazar. He said nothing, however. Meanwhile, Fyora was ticking off his offenses.

      "Well, thank you," said Magax, interrupting the Queen. "I must leave, ghosts to destroy you know…"

      "Wait," said Fyora. "We did do one last thing for you. If you get hurt, there are some healing potions that we made float around your graveyard for you. We made them… special," she said, grinning in a slightly twisted way. She waved her hand in the air and a potion bottle shot towards her from across the room. Magax saw that it had a skull in the middle of it, and Magax knew that it was a not-so-subtle dig at the way he used to display his victims once he had killed them. "Now you may leave."

      Magax was too bewildered to say anything else as he floated out the door. As the door slammed magically behind him, however, he saw a small light faerie listening with her ear against the wall. She looked very young for a faerie; of course, that could mean she was anywhere from two hundred years old to four hundred.

      "Oh!" she cried, obviously embarrassed at being caught by him. "I- I'm sorry," she said.

      "It's alright," smiled Magax, delighted that she didn't seem particularly afraid of him.

      "I didn't mean to, I'm a maid, I was just passing by when I heard voices. Don't worry about what the Queen says, she doesn't like you but I know she respects you. Actually, I wasn't just passing by, I wanted to meet you and give you something. My name is Fayla, by the way." She said this all very fast. Magax stared, and she grew red in the face. "Oh, I'm sorry! I must sound like a complete idiot…"

      "You said you wanted to give me something?" asked Magax.

      "Oh, yes! But you'll have to follow me, because I can't carry it. I'm too small." She suddenly zipped down the hallway, calling after Magax to hurry up. She flew into a side door, halting abruptly as Magax came up behind her.

      They were in a huge room full of what looked like expensive objects from the Hidden Tower. But they were -

      "Broken," said Fayla triumphantly, pointing to a rectangular metal object lying on the floor. It was small for Magax, which was about the same size as Fayla. At the top, in embossed letters, it said: "Ghost Tracker."

      "A pet owner invented it years ago," said Fayla. "The Queen sells these for 800K in her tower. But no one will buy this one."

      "Well, thank you," said Magax, "but if it's broken…"

      "Oh, it's not completely broken!" said Fayla, laughing. "That wouldn't be any good, now, would it? No, this one shows you where the ghosts are… after they've been there. It's still useful… but just not as great." She looked at Magax hopefully.

      "It's wonderful," said Magax, "But Fyora won't get angry…?"

      "Oh, no," said the bubbly Light Faerie, "the Queen tells all the workers we can have whatever we want in here."

      "I'll take it," he said, smiling again.

      "Great!" Fayla squealed. "I wish you didn't have to go so soon. I don't care what the others say about you, Magax, I like you lots! I think it's great how you try and help pets and people now, instead of killing them." Magax laughed… for the first time in his life.

      "Tell you what, Fayla," said Magax, "once I get this ghost thing sorted out, I'll come visit you again." Fayla was ecstatic.

      As Magax left for the Haunted Woods, he decided to make one last stop. He floated down towards a familiar wooden house to look in the window one last time. He knew it was strange, that if he was caught he wouldn't just be labeled a murderer, but also a Peeping Tom; but he had to see the Cybunny one last time. He would never come back again.

      As he peered into the repaired window, the scene was much like before. The entire family was gathered around the television set, only this time he could not hear it. He could tell that the Lupe and the Chia were arguing again. The baby Cybunny was in her owners' lap as well, and just like before, looked over towards Magax. This time, however, she slowly crawled off her owner without disturbing anyone and toddled over to the window. She put her paw up against the window. You're forgiven, she seemed to say. Magax put his paw to the window as well, and for just a second it seemed as if they were actually next to each other. "Thank you," he whispered to her. Then he floated off towards the sky. He only looked back once, and when he did, she was still there, watching him with her blue eyes.

      Magax slept in a tree that night outside of the cemetery. For the first time in hundreds of years, he had a dreamless sleep. He woke up the next morning and turned on his Ghost Tracker. The instrument showed that there was something awfully close… in fact, just a couple of feet from the perimeter of the cemetery. He heard a belching noise, and this time he ducked as a slime ball flew past his head. He smiled grimly and shouldered his Darklight Axe. He would earn his redemption.

THE END