Chapter Two

"Well Ah-mah? How does it look?" June asked as she hovered around her grandmother. She was starting to worry for Johnny. He had been in a magic induced slumber for longer than what was normal.

As soon as Johnny was unconscious, June took him to Ah-mah's house for a short term memory wipe. It was supposed to be a simple thing. A sprinkle of a premade powdered mix over his eyes and a puff of pink smoke from his face would indicate that any knowledge of magic had been wiped from his entire mind. But for some reason, that hadn't happened. There had been absolutely no reaction at all. Frowning, Ah-mah tried more complex and powerful mind eraser spells but they hadn't had much of an impact either. She was now performing the most powerful one she was willing to try on a human child, the Draconian Mind Swipe.

Jasmine Lee didn't answer as she waited for the dark green paste she had slathered over the boy's forehead to sink into his skin, dissolving his memories of magic with it. But it didn't.

Jasmine frowned. "I'm sorry June. Nothing seems to work on him."

"But Ah-mah, this isn't like what happened with Dennis." June said. "I've never used magic on him before. How is it possible that he has an immunity?"

Ah-mah had a thoughtful look on her face. "It's not that he has an immunity. It's that he is not allowed to be wiped."

June was confused. "Ah-mah, what do you-"

"Wake him up June." Ah-mah said. "I'll be right back."

She went off into the direction of the library. June watched her leave, confused.

"I hope Ah-mah knows what she's doing." She mumbled to herself.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small pouch. She took a pinch of the white powder inside and blew it into his face.

Johnny's nose scrunched up and for a second June thought he was going to sneeze all over her but his eyes flew open instead. He looked at her in confusion.

"June? What are you doing in my room?" he asked.

June crossed her arms over her chest. "We're not in your room Porkers. Look around."

Johnny sat up and took in the scene of chaos around him. His eyes widened in realization and June braced herself.

"What was that!? Back in the forest! What were those things? How come you beat them up so easily?" he asked.

June cringed. He had shouted a lot louder that she thought he would. His light blue eyes were filled with curiosity and excitement.

June didn't know where to start.

"Well…"

"Hey June! Bring your friend over here!" Ah-mah shouted from the library.

"C'mon Porkers. Follow me." June said.

"I wish you wouldn't call me that." Johnny grumbled as he followed her. His hand moved to his forehead and touched a green paste that smelled awful. "What is this stuff? And why does it smell like unicorn toe jam?"

"Because it is." June answered simply.

Johnny was about to say more but fell silent when they entered the library. An old woman was sitting at a table, a giant dusty book right in front of her. June took a seat next to the woman and Johnny next to June.

"Ah-mah. Johnny. Jonny. Ah-mah." June introduced.

June's grandmother looked at Johnny for a long time and smiled softly. "You're a special child Johnny." She said.

If she only knew.

"Alright Ah-mah." June said. "What's going on? Why can't Johnny's mind be wiped? Why can he see magic without an amulet?"

Ah-mah said nothing but opened the heavy tome. It was full of faintly illustrated pictures and words in a language Johnny didn't understand, depicting a story.

"Many centuries ago, in the years of the tenth Te Xuan Ze, a great evil was unleashed." Ah-mah started in a grave voice. "The Te Xuan Ze destroyed the evil but he was gravely injured, and nearly died. The elders decided that there were some foes the Te Xuan Ze, in all his power, could not face alone. So they made a decision that every Te Xuan Ze would have…an assistant of sorts. Another human who they would bestow with the powers of the Te Xuan Ze to help in the event of a great evil. They were called Sighters. Which, I guess, is what you are Johnny."

She slammed the tome shut, evolving a puff of smoke that made all of them cough.

"Question." Johnny asked when he finished. "What's a Te Xuan Ze?" he asked.

"The Te Xuan Ze is the human in charge of balancing the magical and non-magical realms." June explained. "Right now it's my job, but it used to be Ah-mah's."

"Let me see if I got this straight." Johnny said. He pointed at June. "So it's your job to balance magic and non-magic and you have supercool powers because of that."

June nodded.

"And I get to help?"

June nodded again.

"This is so awesome!" Johnny exclaimed jumping out of his chair and pumping a fist into the air. "I knew there was something about this town!"

"Wow." June said, mildly surprised. "Not exactly the reaction I expected."

"What I don't understand is why the elders would choose you, Johnny." Ah-mah said.

"Well, back in Porkbelly-"

He was caught off by a laugh from Ah-mah. June glared at her. Ah-mah coughed and waved at Johnny to continue.

"As I was saying, up until two years ago I would save the town from some kind of trouble like super villains or aliens, using some new gadget or genetic mutation they gave me. Dukey would help every time."

"Who's Dukey?" June asked.

"My talking dog." Johnny clarified.

"Well, that'll do it." Ah-mah said.

"Oh man!" June exclaimed looking at the time. "I should have been home an hour ago. Mom and Dad are going to kill me!" She grabbed Johnny's arm and pulled him out the door. "Bye Ah-mah!" she shouted as she left.

….

"This is the single greatest day of my entire life." Johnny said as the two walked briskly home. "Wait till I tell-"

June grabbed him by the front of his jacket, effectively cutting him off. "No one. You can't tell anyone. It'll mess with the balance.

"Okay. Fine." Johnny said after June let him go. "It's not like it's going to be the first secret I've kept from them." He said as they continued walking.

They walked in silence for a while until June broke it.

"Why were you following me?"

"W-What are you talking about?" Johnny stuttered.

"You were in the clearing when I was fighting the ogres. That means you had followed me the entire night." She narrowed her eyes at him. "You weren't spying on me, were you?"

"No! Well, kind of." Johnny said. "Earlier today, after school, your bracelet was chiming and flashing and no one else seemed to notice. Then you just rushed off. I knew something was up, I wanted to find out what." He grinned. "And I totally did."

"Congrats." June said sarcastically and stopped walking. They were on the road in front of her house. "Where do you live?" she asked.

Johnny pointed to the house across the street.

June's eyes widened. "That's your house?!"

"Yeah. Why?"

"It was just an empty lot last night!"

"My sisters left behind a few gadgets before they went to college." He said as if that explained everything.

June sighed. "Whatever. I'll come over tomorrow after school with my brother's and Monroe."

"Who's Monroe?"

June smirked. "He's my talking dog."

Johnny scoffed.

"He has a Scottish accent."

Johnny raised an eyebrow.

"Anyway, we'll be coming to teach you magic and help you get a better scope of the whole situation." June said.

"Fine by me." Johnny said with a nod. "See you tomorrow." He said as he turned to his house.

"See you later Porkers."

"Don't call me that!"

/

Dear fans,

I know this is long overdue. I've been so busy with other stories and life in general. I'm glad to inform you that I'll be returning to finish all my old fics, Generator Titan and Siren's Song. All I need is patience.

Your author,

The Psyche of Azarath.

PS: How's my writing? Has it improved? If not, how can I make it better?