The Medallion

Halo: Steven Possessed

Will, Banta, and I rushed into the room. Steven stood next to my bed with his head held down.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Steven isn't who he claims to be," said Nilla. "Jace is inside of him."

Will grabbed Steven and pinned one of his arms behind his back. Steven didn't resist.

"It was my desire for you that let him in," said Steven. "I'm sorry I couldn't stop him sooner. I'm not sure I can hold him off much longer."

"How is he doing this?" I asked. "I thought he needed the medallion."

"He has never needed it." A blonde woman who smelled of mermaid entered from the hallway. Her two servants were with her.

"Azalea," said Nilla. "What are you guys doing here? How did you even get in?"

"We have our ways," Azalea smiled. "Dolphins have a very highly developed brain. Not only are they incredibly intelligent but they are telepathic as well. He can transmit whatever thoughts he wishes onto whomever he wishes."

"So what was he doing with the medallion?" Nilla asked.

"He took it to make it easier for him escape from me," said Azalea. "He was sentenced to death for his crimes."

"My crimes!" Jace's voice emerged from Steven once again. "I never committed a crime against you, Princess, nor your family. I am being punished for simply existing so close to your realm. You would rather believe the dolphins controlled others and made them commit a crime rather than blame the one who actually did it. I will not allow you to persecute us any longer."

"You were given a fair hearing."

"Fair to whom? To you? It was certainly not fair to me or my kind."

"Do you deny controlling the heiress, my sister, into doing favors for you?"

He smirked. "No more than she wanted to be controlled."

Azalea's face turned red. "Do you deny poisoning her mind to your evil ways?"

"A belief is not something to be considered evil, it is merely a belief, a simple way of thinking."

"You turned her from her good duties to your blatant disregard of all that is right and good in this world, and for that, she committed suicide to remove herself from it. She saw the error of her ways and died in repentance of it."

"I convinced her of nothing! She died attempting to rescue me from those sharks you sent after me. You wanted me dead and she refused to allow that to happen. If you want to blame anyone for your sister's death, blame yourself. It was your intolerance that led to this."

Azalea slapped Steven's face. I hoped it didn't hurt Steven in the process.

"You corrupted my sister! Admit it!"

"I loved your sister! And you took her away from me. I had no intentions of taking that medallion for the reasons you think. I wanted a memento of hers. It belonged to her. Besides, I was quite certain you would use it improperly."

Azalea was silent. She glared at Jace.

"Wait," Nilla said. "I'm having problems understanding all of this. What was Jace's crime?"

"Loving outside of my species," said Jace.

"Corruption of the royal family," snapped Azalea.

"Well," Nilla said, "sounds to me like he had a different way of thinking than what you would've preferred."

"He has corrupted you as well," said Azalea. "You must be cleansed, poor, simple-minded human."

Nilla glanced at me.

"She won't lay a hand on you," I assured her. "She has no jurisdiction here."

Azalea huffed. "Tessa, Vidal, get the vial. We must trap the dolphin's mind in it for our return."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"We use this vial to remove the mind so we can return him home for punishment."

"I meant about Steven. What happens to him?"

"Unfortunately, if the minds are not separate, we will take them both."

"But you'll return Steven, right?"

"That cannot be guaranteed."

Nilla stepped between them and Steven. "I won't let you harm Steven. He's a dear friend to me and hasn't done anything wrong."

"His mind has been compromised by the dolphin."

"He's still in there somewhere! If he wasn't, he wouldn't have stopped hurting me and we might be off somewhere waiting for the gestation period of our magical little baby."

"It's ok, Nilla," said Steven. "I can hold onto him for them. I don't want to risk him getting away again to hurt you. I don't mind really."

"Steven, you don't know what they're going to do to you. You could die."

Nilla studied Steven's smile.

"Will," Nilla said. "Let him go. Jace isn't in there anymore."

"Quit making excuses, Nilla," said Banta. "You're still under his control."

"No, Banta, I'm serious. I don't see Jace in there. Steven's eyes changed." She looked into Steven's eyes again. "These are your eyes, Steven. Do you feel any different than before?"

He thought for a second. "I feel more like myself, but wouldn't it be better to take me just in case he's still in there? I don't want to take the chance that he could hurt you."

"No, it is not!" Nilla screamed. "I won't let them take you. Who would protect me while you're dead?"

He chuckled. "My guess would be your best friend and the wolves."

"Uh, well then who would help me locate your sister? Who's looking out for her? Don't you worry about her? Don't you want to help her?"

He let out a heavy sigh.

"Please don't let them take you, Steven. I couldn't bear it if I had to lose you."

The corner of his lips turned up in a sly smile. "Why don't you want to lose me?"

"Because you're my friend."

"And...."

"Because I'm used to you and couldn't imagine her life without you now."

"Because...."

Nilla rolled her eyes. "You want me to tell you that I love you, don't you."

"You do what now?"

She shook her head. Yep, this was Steven all right. "I love you, Steven."

"Ha! Well, it only took a crazy undersea creature trying to abduct you but you finally realized it." Will released his arms and Steven placed a gentle hand on her cheek. "Let's go help my sister."

"That creature has confused you both," said Azalea.

"This person is all human," said Will.

Banta looked out the window. "Then wherever Jace is, he's back in his original body."