Swamped

You shake him, wave a hand in front of his face, and even kick him in the shin, but you don't get any response. You do notice he's holding a bell in his hand, with a string tied to it. Is it the same one you heard a moment ago?

You try ringing it experimentally, but Sunflower remains still. In desperation, you check him for ether. And you're even more confused once you do.

"The hell are you doing?" Black asks. You turn, and realize you're seeing him for the first time.

He's a lot shorter than you expected. Was he standing on something when he grabbed you? It might explain why he tried to stay out of sight.

"I think he's been paralyzed. With magic. It seems to be a light-based spell, so a melodic sound like the bell should snap him out of it..."

Black groans.

"He's deaf. Can't hear that bell at all."

You blink.

"He's what?"

"Deaf as a stone. But very good at lip-reading, and with those eyes of his he can do it from quite a ways off. Even learned how to read that lizard's lips, if you can believe it. Comes to him so naturally he just calls it hearing."

You're not sure that makes any sense.

"But you were making calls to each other earlier..."

Black sighs deeply, as if he was expecting this.

"I made sure he'd be able to see me and he read my lips. Made the noise to be sure I didn't accidentally say something and confuse him. Look, never mind all that, how we worked with it doesn't matter right now. What matters is, have you got another way to break the damn spell?"