Part Six - Evil vs. Evil

A bad side lies inside of every of us. For some, it stays hidden forever, but for others…it takes control when you least attended to. It controls your every words, your every moves. And all you can is watch. Watch and wait. Wait for something to happen. Waiting for it to go away. But will it ever go away? Is there really a way to turn everything back to normal?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

There is two I. One good. One evil. One that's dying. The other is living. Despite everything else, we are scarred. We form one. We shall form one again.

~*~*~

Silence.

Sinbad, lying on the bed, couldn't hear a single sound. Perfect. The complete castle was asleep. Now was the best time. He slowly got up, taking his sword in his hand and walked as quietly as possible to the door. He opened it and went where Bryn showed him sooner Doubar, Rongar and Firouz. He couldn't let them here. He needed them to help Maeve and Lea. He knew they would be able to do it.

The door was unlocked when he arrived. Strange…Sinbad didn't like that. There was probably a trap of some kind. He carefully opened the door. His brother, Firouz and Rongar seemed to be asleep. He made a step in the room. Nothing happened. He came closer to the cell where his friends were locked up.

Doubar opened one eye. When he saw his brother, he jumped on his feet. "Sinbad!" he whispered happily. "Are you okay?"

Sinbad nodded. "I'm fine."

"What happened? I was so sure you were dead! Bryn didn't kill you?" Doubar asked.

The noises woke Firouz up. He had the same reaction when he saw Sinbad than Doubar. "Ah, Sinbad! I am so glad to see you!"

"Me too. Listen, I'm gonna get you out of here. I'll explain everything else later." He took a glance around the room. The key was on a table, in the corner of the room. Sinbad walked carefully to it and grabbed it quickly. "I never thought it would be so easy," he announced as he managed to unlock the cell's door.

His brother was the first one out. Firouz was trying to wake Rongar up. "Rongar! Rongar, wake up, my friend." He was about to slap him, when Rongar finally opened his eyes. "Geez, it was about time! I never thought you could sleep so hard!"

Rongar simply sighed. He smiled at Sinbad and got out of the cell, pulling a confused Firouz with him.

"You have to get out of here without anyone noticing it. I want you to go in Basra to see Caipra and ask her about a woman named Shanna. I don't have the time to explain more."

Doubar looked at his brother, puzzled. "I don't understand any of what you are saying, little brother. Why aren't you coming with us?"

"I-I need to stay here. I'm going to try to bring back Bryn to the right side." He showed his friends the stairway leading to the first floor, where they would be able to leave the castle. "Take the Nomad and go to Basra. Don't worry about me, I will be fine."

Doubar was about to protest when Firouz cut him off. "It doesn't sound like a good idea to me, but we will go to see Caipra and ask her about Shanna…And, what are we going to ask her about Shanna?"

"Just if she knows where to find her. I-I don't have the time to explain more. You have to hurry before someone notices you're gone!"

Firouz and Rongar started to walk away. Doubar suddenly hugged his brother. "I wish you would come with us, but I understand. Just be careful…" He turned away quickly, afraid he'd never be able to leave if he'd stay longer. Before disappearing, he gave his brother a smile. "We'll come back for you and Bryn."

"I know," was Sinbad answered that only him could hear. He tried to hold back the tears as he watched his big brother disappeared. He started to walk back to his room when he came across the room where he and Bryn had talked earlier. He entered and looked around. His eyes caught on the ground the ripped black ribbon. Hypnotized, he couldn't stop glancing at it. He kneeled on the floor and placed on his palm.

Shaking his head, he rapidly hid it his pant's pocket. And he froze when he heard the sound of footsteps.

~*~*~

Lost in his thoughts, Sinbad wasn't listening to what Bryn was saying. It wasn't probably something very nice. When she found out he freed Firouz, Doubar and Rongar, she got so angry that she ended up destroying the entire cell room. Luckily, she hadn't destroy * him*. Not yet.

Taking a breath, Bryn was about to go on when she noticed Sinbad wasn't listening anymore. She formed a black energy ball and threw it at his feet. Surprised, Sinbad jumped and looked at her, puzzled. "The least you could do is listen when I'm talking." She crossed her arms on her chest. "You cannot be trusted."

Sinbad sighed. "Look, I don't see why you made such a big deal about it. It's not like they were a necessity…"

Breath in. Breath out. Breath in. Breath out. Bryn tried her best to stay calm. She felt this sudden urge to kick him in the face and to hurt him. She frowned. No way she was getting soften by the sailor! "Guards! She called out.

Impatiently, she cursed them when no one came. "Very well. I'll handle this by myself, it seems," she angrily whispered. "Follow me. And don't try anything stupid!"

Shrugging, Sinbad followed her. She stopped in front of his room. Before he could make a single move, she pushed him in. "Hey!"

"Sorry, but it's the only way I'm sure you won't do trouble." By waving her hand, the door closed itself and Sinbad heard the sound of a locked. "Don't even try to escape. You'd be just wasting your energy."

"What are you going to do?" Sinbad asked, louder enough for her to hear him, despite the closed door between them.

Bryn leaned a moment on the closed door. She taped her lips with her black nailed finger and smiled. "I have some business to take care of." Her smile disappeared when the face of a certain person formed in her head. "So until I'm back, you'll have to stay here." Without any other word, she vanished.

"Who? Where?" Sinbad asked. "Bryn? Bryn?" He sighed when he understood she was already gone and kicked the door. "Damn!"

~*~*~

Sitting against a tree, Maeve looked up at the dark and starless sky. Lea, next to her, was sleeping. Her regular breathing was the only sound that could be heard in the silent night. No moon, no sun. Maeve wished she could see the sun just one last time…It wasn't too much to ask, was it?

Seems to be.

Life around here was so boring. No one else to speak to…except Lea. But Lea was now feeling sick. Her time will probably be over soon. Not fair. "Please Sinbad. Help us…"

She closed her eyes, imagining a forest of trees, a blue sky with the shinning sun, birds singing, children playing…Silently, she prayed.

~*~*~

"Set sails!" Doubar commended to the crew of the Nomad. He was at the tiller, with Rongar at his side. "Direction: Basra."

Rongar silently looked at the not so peaceful sea. He still wasn't sure leaving Sinbad behind was a good idea. He was their captain. Rongar didn't know what the new Bryn was capable of. He wanted to be sure that even if she was evil now, Bryn could never hurt Sinbad. But how to know?

Reading his thoughts, Doubar placed an encouraging hand on the moor's shoulder. "Don't worry about Sinbad. Bryn would *never * hurt him. Never."

"How can you be sure?" Firouz asked as he joined them. "I mean, she was going to kill him before. Next time, she may not stop."

Doubar shook his head. "Nah. There will always be something that will stop her. Bryn is good and I believe that my little brother can help her, but we have to help him by doing what he asked and not worry about him," Doubar declared.

The three men fell into silence, watching at the cloudy sky. They all hoped Doubar was right. Doubar included.

~*~*~

Black clouds covered the sky, making the day looked almost like night. The streets of the little town were desert, except for Bryn. But suddenly, she wasn't alone anymore. She quickly turned around and gasped.

"Well, hello Bryn dearie!"

"Scratch," Bryn acknowledged. "What an…unpleasant surprise."

An evil laugh came from Scratch's mouth. "I can see that you're back to your old self again. How delightful! Traveling with Sinbad…I almost had an *heart* attack when I saw that!" He started to laugh uncontrollably.

Bryn stared at him a moment before a smile curved on her lips. "Always the joker, Scratch. You haven't change a bit." She replaced a lock of her hair that fell in her eyes. "So, what do you want?"

"Want? Oh, I want a lot of things. I just happen to have a list!" He smiled as a parchment appeared in his hand. "I want: Non-peace in the world, no more goody-goody people, no more good magic, no more love, no more happiness, no more smiles…and I want Sinbad."

Bryn stayed silent for a moment. "Good for you to know what you want, but why did you came here to tell *me* about your so precious list?"

Scratch shook his head. "Bryn, my dear. I think being good for awhile destroyed a part of your brains."

Bryn's eyes began to glow black. "Don't insult me, Scratch, or you'll regret it."

Scratch jumped away, laughing. "Oh, sorrry! My, can't you take a little joke?" He jumped back to his position. "I guess not. Heh, didn't mean to insult the lady. I'd never do that!"

Bryn took a deep breath. "Scratch, I am warning you. Say what you have to say or I may begin to loose my temper."

Shrugging, Scratch continued to smile. "Fine. I came to make you a proposition." He paused. "You and I should become allies. We could conquer and rule!"

"I work alone. You should know that by now. Karpan tried the same thing and look where he is now."

"Karpan was a fool and, a disgrace to us, evil ones! But you and I…We'd be an unstoppable team!"

"My team is already unstoppable.

Scratch frowned. "You're team?"

"Yeah. Me and myself. That's the perfect team."

Scratch tightened his fists furiously. "You're turning my proposition down? This is not a wise move to make dear."

"On the contrary. It's the wisest move I could make." Bryn shrugged and smiled. "I'm planning to do things my way and my way doesn't include you. You are not going to use me. If you want to rule the world, do it by yourself."

Scratch grinned. "I thought you'd wanted to rule the world and destroy all goodness. At least, that's what the real evil Bryn wanted. I don't think you're fully back to your old self."

A wicked smile appeared on Bryn's lips. "Oh. Really?" She quickly formed a black ball of energy and propelled it towards Scratch. It touched him in the chest and he backed away in a cry of pain. She laughed. "Did I hurt you? I am so sorry!" She crossed her arms on her chest, satisfied. "You always annoyed me, Scratch."

"Bitch!" Scratch shouted, his eyes furiously glancing at her. He suddenly advanced closer to her. "I heard you were holding Sinbad prisoner. Maybe he brainwashed you. Or maybe he didn't need to brainwash you…" He smiled. "Women are all the same. When there's a cute guy around, you forgot everything else!"

Bryn dreamed of wiping that smile off his ugly face. But she controlled herself. For now. "You dare compare me to the other women? You shouldn't have do that." She licked her lips. "And Sinbad did not brainwash me. I simply know what I have to do. What I should have done sooner."

~*~*~

Lea was staring at the death fire, trying to warm up herself. She didn't remember the place being so cold before. The place was desert, but it had always been warm until now. She sighed. She had woke up half and hour before, finding Maeve sleeping and the fire burn out.

"You're shivering."

Maeve's voice startled her as she thought the woman was still sleeping. She was looking at her, concern in her eyes. Lea was silently happy not to be alone anymore. "Aren't you cold? It's freezing!"

Maeve sighed and sat up next to her. She touched Lea's forehead with he back of her hand. "No fever."

Lea frowned. "Do dead people can have fever? I never thought so."

Maeve closed her eyes. "I forgot. I-sometimes I almost feel like we're alive." She opened them up and saw the sadness in Lea's eyes. "I'm sorry."

Lea shook her head. "Nah. It's okay." She paused a moment. "Do-do you think Sinbad will succeed to bring back Bryn to the good side?"

"Honestly…I don't know. I hope so. Sinbad always succeed in what he's doing." She smiled a small smile. "You know what they say: Love conquers all." Maeve then frowned. It had been two times already she said the same words, words she would never thought saying before. 'Being in this place for so long must have done something to my brains,' she thought ironically.

Lea smiled back at her. "Yeah." Her smile then faded away. "Do you…How can you know? I mean…Is it really love? Because sometimes, it looks like love, but it isn't."

Maeve slowly nodded, memories filling her head. "I know," she whispered. "But I believe this is real," she added firmly. "Of course I could be wrong…Time will tell us the answer."

~*~*~

For the hundred times, Sinbad kicked the door, in hope to break it down. After trying to break the window with a chair without any positive results, he decided to try with the door. He didn't have any luck. Discouraged, he sat against the damn door and silently cursed it for being so solid. What an irony.

No. He cursed himself for being locked up in a room, unguarded, and also for not being able to get out. "Damn you, Bryn!" he muttered.

He got up and started to walk in circles around the room. "Where the hell are you?" he asked, wishing he could have the answer so he would stop worrying. Because he was worry. The feeling of fear in his stomach didn't want to leave. Fear that something is going to happen to her. And he couldn't do anything to stop it. "Because you are locked up and don't seem to be able to get out," he mumbled aloud.

He stopped walking a moment. "Where could she went?" He scratched his head. "Think Sinbad. Think and find the answer." She probably didn't go very far. The island wasn't that big. But each second counted. "That's why I have to hurry and find a way out!" Something *will * happen, he knew it now. He glanced at his rainbow bracelet. "Can't you help me?" He sighed and leant against the wall near his bed. And suddenly, he fell backwards…

~*~*~

Scratch started to laugh hysterically. His eyes smiled wickedly at Bryn. "You want ta kill me? And how do you think you're going to do that? You may be a powerful witch, but I am Scratch, the demon of darkness. I know how you work, what's in your mind." He walked closer to her. "I didn't want to do that, but I guess I'm gonna have ta kill ya." He shrugged. "Too bad."

Without letting any emotions shown on her face, Bryn took several steps back, ready to attack. "Then let's fight and see who wins!" Pointing her arms towards Scratch, she concentrated on accessing her powers. From her fingers, dark blue lightning began crashing towards Scratch. Her eyes became all black as she let the darkness come to her.

Scratch formed a shield of fire in front of himself, which absorbed Bryn's lightning. In the hand behind his back, he began to form a large fireball. He smiled. Bryn wouldn't realize what's happening until it would be too late for her to defend herself. Quickly, he threw the huge fireball in Bryn's direction with a laugh.

Bryn's eyes widened at the view of the fireball. She rapidly stopped forming lightning and a demi-dome appeared in front of her, just in time to stop the fireball from hitting her. She let a sigh of relief. She had to be more careful now.

Scratch eyed her angrily. The bitch! She was stronger then he thought. 'Well, I'm much stronger and I will win'. "Meteors!" he suddenly screamed in the silent evening. A rain of meteors started to fall around Bryn, coming from every direction, obliging her to form a complete dome. Scratch smiled, satisfied. She was too concentrated on keeping her dome still. In his left hand, he formed a very long sword of fire. It would be strong enough to pass through the dome and once it hit her, she would explode. "And no more Bryn," Scratch whispered.

He quickly walked to her, his sword in front. Bryn suddenly noticed it and he saw in her eyes the fear. She knew that she couldn't do anything. "Goodbye, my sweet Bryn," he shouted as the sword was about to cross the dome.

Pain. He suddenly felt a terrible pain. Scratch looked up. The sword. It was on the ground. How? He turned around and gasped. Sinbad. Anger. And still the pain. In his arm. His left arm. He examined it. His hand…"Bastard! You cut my hand!" He yelled at the realization.

Sinbad simply stared at him, his bloody sword in hand. He arrived just in time. He then turned his look on Bryn. Her dome had disappeared and she was staring at Scratch's hand on the ground, still holding the sword. Disgusting. The sword suddenly exploded silently.

Scratch stepped away, looking at the two of them. "You will pay. You will pay." He then disappeared, his words echoing in the silence.

~*~*~

A figure stood in the shadows, watching. A smile appeared on her lips. She touched with a finger the necklace she was wearing. She laughed softly. "You are back, sister." Her smile then disappeared. "And Sinbad." Her eyes darkened. With a gracious wave of the hand, she vanished in a twister of smoke.