The lightning storm of the century was occurring as the forces of Hell descended upon Briarwood. The warriors of evil had finally broke part of the seal that prevented their travel into the mortal realm, and they set their sights on the town of Briarwood. The ringleaders, a pair of lovely lady vampires, cackled at their luck; nobody had been sent to stop their advance on the town.
"This town will belong to us by tomorrow!" The older of the two shouted.
"Tomorrow, tomorrow! We'll have it, tomorrow! It's only a day away!" The younger of the two sang.
"Enough! Send out our pets!" The older one shouted.
"Yes, yes! Out they go!" The younger one shouted, cracking a whip.
Dozens of winged, scaly beasts shot up into the air as a lightning bolt shot through the air. Then, flying out of the pit of Hell like a flurry of bats, a few flying beasts that were smaller than the 'pets' shot into the sky, crying out in joy.
"Our captives!" The vampires called out. "How did they escape?" They turned around to face their guard, a purple-armored wizard-knight. It was thanks to him, after all, that they had escaped; they had to give him a high rank to repay him, despite the fact that he used magic and was, therefore, an enemy.
"My ladies, we should not focus on those we can capture tomorrow. Let us raze this human town first, then capture all the creatures lat-"
Suddenly, the smaller beasts were struck by a bolt of lightning, forcing them to spiral out of the sky and into a section of the forest.
"See? Nothing to worry about now; they're all dead." The knight said.
"Good grief!" The vampires replied cheerily.
"Look! Our pets!" The older vampire cried as she pointed to the sky; the aerial demons were attempting to attack a shield around the city.
"Curse those mahoutsukai!" The younger vampire cried out. "Always thwarting our plans!"
"Curse them all!" The older shouted in a reply.
The demons prepared a ramming attack, but several bolts of lightning sliced through the scaly beasts, sending them crashing into the shield and disintegrating.
"Tomorrow…tomorrow…we'll kill them all…our pets will be avenged!" The vampires shouted as they retreated back to Hell.
The morning sunlight shone over the horizon, shining upon the two witches that stood on top of the clock tower in the center of town. They were worn thin by their efforts to repel the attackers.
"There're too many of them, Vi." The blue magician said through breaths as she dropped the shield she had created. "I almost didn't make it." She said, slipping her oak wand into her green cloak's pocket.
"Me neither, Maddie." Vi replied as she adjusted the yellow ribbon on her witch's cap to keep it out of her eyes. "If I had to conjure any more lightning bolts, I would've passed out!"
"We should go lie down for a few hours…our boss'll understand if we're late today…" Maddie said as she started to descend the tower. Vi followed her down, sighing all the way.
Hundreds of miles to the south of Briarwood, the town of Rothwood had taken massive damage from a strange explosion early in the night. The fireman took their time looking for survivors in the abandoned warehouse, yet they managed to find a giant mystical laboratory inside, and a woman holding a trimmed-up maple branch amongst the ruins. The woman was brought down for questioning in the morning after she was treated for minor bruises. The entire hospital was surprised that the young blonde woman had survived. A rookie officer had been assigned to the case, as nobody else in the precinct wanted to question her. The officer walked in slowly, examining the young woman as he walked into the interrogation room. Her hair was ratty, her clothes were dirty, and she was clenching onto the maple branch that she had been found with.
"Good morning, miss." He said with a calm tone in his voice. She looked up into his golden-shaded eyes. She grasped the maple branch tightly.
"Good morning, Officer Russell." She replied in a shaky voice. He looked down to see that he had neglected to wear his nametag when he walked in.
"How did you kn-"
"I saw you in my crystal ball last night before the demons came to steal from me." The woman replied. "You told your name was Officer Russell."
"Listen, I'm not all up for your magic deal, I just want some answers." Officer Russell calmly said as he took a seat in the chair opposite of hers. "Now listen, what's your name, hun?"
"My name is Clare."
"No last name?"
"No."
"Do you have a job?"
"I'm a sorceress-in-training."
"And what exactly do you do?"
"I practice magic, Officer Russell. I know you don't believe in mag-"
"So you're gonna tell me that the lab we found in your hideaway wasn't, by chance, a meth lab?" Officer Russell asked harshly.
"I would never make illegal drugs!" Clare shouted.
"Where're you from, Clare? We ran fingerprints on you, and we can't find you in our database." Officer Russell was slowly losing his patience with the woman.
"I'm from Briarwood."
"Briarwood doesn't exist. That's a fairytale place. Now tell me where you're really from."
"I'm really from Briarwood! I have a map to prove it exists!" Clare said, setting her stick down and reaching into her cloak pocket. She revealed an old-looking piece of parchment, showing the location of both Briarwood and Rothwood. "This's the map I used to get here. You can use the map to take you to Briarwood. Although I warn against it at the current time."
"Why's that?" Officer Russell asked as he examined the map closely. This map was genuinely old, though its authenticity and accuracy were yet to be determined.
"The demons took the Xenotome from me…they used it to reopen the gates of Hell…"
"Sure they did…" Officer Russell tried not to laugh. "Well, regardless of the demons breaking into your squat, stealing a book, and coming in from the underworld to invade earth and whatnot, you're still going to be detained for destruction of private property."
"I miscast a spell and it caused an explosion! I'm sorry!"
"Well, tell that to the building's owners. I'm sure they'll love to hear about Briarwood, demons, and you making their building explode." He grabbed his handcuffs and cuffed her. He walked out and handed her off to a fellow officer before stopping to look at the map he took from her.
"Briarwood…what a joke." A sergeant laughed. The entire interrogation wing was trying not to laugh as Clare was hauled out to her cell.
"Well, this map looks real…" Officer Russell said.
"Nick, you okay? You just said the map's real." An officer behind a desk asked Officer Russell.
"Yeah, I'm fine…it's just that I think I should check this out. I mean, even if there's no town, there's gotta be something there…there might be a huge meth lab there, or some thief's guild or something like that…ya never know…" Nick replied. "Permission to check this out, sir?"
"Well, if you really have the urge to go, then go." The sergeant said. "But remember, you're not getting paid vacation time for this."
"Not a problem, sir." Nick replied with a smile.
The sunny morning gave way to a bright afternoon, and the Rise and Shine Bakery in Briarwood was going surprisingly slow, which made its owner and head baker Xander Bly quite happy. Well, he would've been happy if he didn't have such a hard order to fill.
"Ugh, gotta use a pizza crust for a tart…doesn't that old coot realize that it's going to be gross?" Xander griped. "I didn't become a baker to be an experimental chef…and where in the Hell are Madison and Vida? They may be out saving the world, but they should be here baking in the morning!" He sighed, then looked up. "Alright, they should be here by at least noon." A shimmering light from Xander's right caught his eye, and he looked over. His crystal ball was summoning him.
"Oh, what is it now?" He griped as he walked over, wiping his flour-covered hands on his apron. He sat in the chair sitting in front of the crystal ball and began to stare into the ball. He started to see a clock appear, set to two p.m., which was ten minutes ahead in time. Then he saw the opening of his shop, and Vida and Madison walking through the door. He then saw a clock again, an hour ahead in time, then a strange looking individual walking into the store, wearing strange clothes.
"Hm…a stranger…is he good or bad?" Xander mused as he stared. He looked deeper, and saw the person flash a silver badge, which was usually a symbol of good intentions from his crystal ball. "So I guess he'll be fine…but why are you showing me this besides the fact that he looks odd?"
The ball then darkened and revealed an area in the forest with a small lake that was known to be incredibly deep, and an image of a person walking across the top of the water. "Wow, how odd!" Xander said. A small bit of text came in after the second fading, Aquae Movrum. "Is that a spoken spell?" Xander asked. He grabbed a pen and wrote the phrase on his right arm, making a mental note to look up the spell's affects later. The ball then reverted to its normal state, giving Xander the head's up that he should get back to work.
He continued on with the awkward tart until he heard the cookoo clock go off above him. Two p.m., and the front door opened as foreseen.
"Hello girls. Better late than never." Xander said without looking up.
"Hi Xander…" Vida and Madison griped. Their robes had become transmuted into baker's uniforms, their hats into chef's hats, and Vida was slowly pouring a warm blue liquid into a small glass as she walked in the back.
"Maddie, I got you some alertness potion…" Vida said, sitting the glass down next to Madison's left arm as Madison sat down in the crystal ball reader's chair.
"Thanks, sis."
"C'mon girls, in fourty minutes, we're gonna have a strange customer, and I have an odd order to fill. Get to work, you two! Drink that potion quick!" Xander began to bark. The Rocca sisters were notorious for being lazy right out the gate, and Xander despised laziness, especially when he was left to do what the lazy people could not force themselves to.
Forty minutes later, and the Rocca Sisters managed to make up enough pretzels, cookies, and cupcakes to feed a small army. As Xander walked out with his finished tart, the trio was set into a panicked state by a strange sound approaching the store. Vida and Madison whipped out their wands, prepared to attack. A strange vehicle stopped outside the shop, its rider took off his helmet and walked inside. As soon as the girls realized that the rider wasn't a threat, they pocketed their wands.
Nick ruffled his hair and smiled at Xander, who made an effort to greet him.
"Hi! I'm Xander!" Xander cheerily greeted. "How can I help you, sir?" Xander noted that the man was dressed in a black leather coat and a dark pair of jeans, which was fairly uncommon in Briarwood.
"Hey, can I get myself a plain doughnut?" Nick asked.
"A dough-knot?" Xander asked. He looked at Vida and Madison, thinking it was another prank the girls were playing on him. "A dough-knot…" Xander muttered, bending down and scooping out what the girls had put in the display case. He spotted a pretzel, grabbed one, then came back up with it. "Is this what you want?"
"No…" Nick replied with a deep sigh. He looked down and pinched the upper half of the bridge of his nose. "Just…just gimme a fucking muffin so I can leave." Vida quickly grabbed an oat muffin and set it on top of the display case. Nick snatched it up and walked over to the cash register.
"Hi." Madison said with a smile. "I hope you enjoy your muffin, I grew all of the ingredients myself at my house."
"That's nice. What's the cost of this muffin? Do I have to pay you in shillings here or something?"
"Fifty cents'll do, sir." Madison said as she rang up the muffin.
"You're kidding, right?"
"Nope. Fifty cents. It's an organically grown specialty muffin. I know, price's high, but still."
"Briarwood is a fucking head trip, I swear…" Nick muttered as he slid two quarters over to Madison. "Nobody has doughnuts, and muffins are super cheap…"
"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, do you happen to have a badge of some sort?" Xander asked. Nick responded by flashing his police badge. "As I suspected. I foresaw you coming."
"Foresaw?" Nick asked. "Like psychic stuff?"
"I saw you in my crystal ball. A strange man with a silver badge. Your arrival in Briarwood is oddly timed, sir."
"Yeah, the crazy broad told me all about the demons and the book…" Nick said, biting into the muffin.
"Crazy broad?" Vida asked. "I'm sorry, but you're the only crazy person I see."
"Vida! Mind yourself with the customer." Xander said, setting his hand on her shoulder.
"No, it's unfair for him to call somebody from here crazy!" Vida said, shaking Xander's hand off. She pointed straight at Nick, who decided to eat the muffin while being yelled at by Vida. He was used to domestic disputes aimed at him; most drunken loons in Rothwood loved to antagonize him just to see if his rocky exterior would drop. They never won. "You rode into town on a noisy, disgusting machine, then you come in asking us for something we've never heard of…you're the crazy one to us!"
"Vida! Break time for you!" Xander said, pointing towards the door.
"No, she can stay. I might as well ask while I'm here…" Nick said, setting his muffin down on one of the wooden tables. Vida turned around. "Do any of you happen to know a woman by the name of Clare?"
"Clare's alive?" Vida shouted.
"She had a warehouse dropped on her, but she's fine. I take it you're friends with her…"
"Is she the one you're talking about?" Madison asked.
"Sadly, yeah. So I guess I should phone this in…do you guys have a phone here?"
"A what?" Xander asked. "Your town has a lot of odd-sounding things in it…"
Nick sighed. "I knew I was pushing my luck…" Nick looked at the three of them. "Well, what can you tell me about Clare? Is she an addict of any sort?"
"Addict of what?" Madison asked.
"Any illegal drugs, maybe? You know, maybe some grass, maybe some angel dust, maybe some meth…" Nick asked.
"Drugs? I don't know what your town's like, but we make everything here legally, and the only time anybody eats grass is if they accidentally transmute themselves into a goat or a sheep or something along those lines. Angel dust isn't ingestible, and I have no clue what meth is…Maddie?"
"Meth? Never heard of it. I'm guessing it's bad, though."
Nick sighed deeply, then retreated back to his muffin.
A bell started to ring in the back room, which caused Xander to run back and grab his crystal ball and carry it out to the dining area. He sat down, while Vida, Madison, and Nick crowded around him.
"Sit down, all of you! I can't scry with people looking over my shoulders!" Xander shouted. The trio sat down in the other three chairs; Nick also went back to eating his muffin.
"Okay, I see a cloaked figure…and the four of us…in the forest…and there's a black cloud following us…maybe a demon? I can't make it out…but the four of us have to go to the forest, I think, to meet up with this hooded figure."
"Is it the Great Udonna?" Madison asked, sounding like the name was of great reverence.
"Udonna is a folk tale, sis. She's not real. She's a story told to young witches to get them to aspire to be good witches."
"Who's Udonna?" Nick asked.
"Udonna is said to be the greatest sorceress of all time. She helped save Briarwood during the first war against the demons…" Madison said in a state of enchantment. She was really into the story. "Legend has it that the Five Great Magicians fought in the war alongside her…and although the Five Great Magicians did not survive, Udonna did. She and a brave wizard who stepped up in the Five Great Magicians' last moments helped seal the forces of Hell behind a massive gate. The spell to unlock the first part of the gate was sealed in the Xenotome."
"Hey, Clare mentioned having that book stolen from her!" Nick said as he finished off his muffin.
"Then we must go get it back, at any cost!" Vida said, slamming her fists on the table. "Clare was the Keeper of the Xenotome, and we must help her get it back!"
"Who is in this 'we' group, Vi?" Xander asked without looking up from his crystal ball. "I don't use spells, and I doubt he even believes in magic, let alone knows even a basic spell from any of the five branches." He chuckled.
"Five branches?" Nick asked. "Enlighten me with your magic jargon."
"There are five branches of basic magic, divided into five different colors. The Five Great Magicians each used one of the five basic magicks, therefore making them the most popular. Red magicians work with fire and alchemy. Yellow magicians work with thunder and potions, like me. Green magicians, like my sis here, work with the power of nature, and are therefore inclined to be experts in herbology. Blue magicians, like Xander, are gifted in water magic and fortune telling of all types. Pink magicians are proficient in shape-shifting and wind magic." Vida happily explained.
Madison started to explain the next part. "Being a good magician takes years of practice and devotion, but just about anybody can begin using rudimentary magic at any time in their lives by simply proclaiming their belief in magic. Some people choose to change magic branches during their life, but it is both difficult and tiring to do so, especially if somebody who has been using the same kind of magic for years suddenly changes their mind."
"I'm not too great at using water magic, but I'm excellent with a crystal ball. Vida is wonderful at spells, but she isn't about to go make any super complicated potion in the near future. Madison is good in both fields of her color's magic. It just depends on the user, really. And must I mention that not everybody who believes in magic practices magic? Most of my family believes in magic, but only my mother chooses to use her water magic on a regular basis." Xander added in. "Just saying you believe in magic doesn't mean you'll be shooting off spells all over the place; it just means that you acknowledge the existence of the magical spirits."
"What a religious cult you people are…" Nick mumbled.
"Well, I know where we're going, girls, and strange guy. If we're all supposed to be somewhere, we should be there." Xander wrapped up his crystal ball and began to walk outside. Vida and Madison got up to follow him, causing Nick to stand up.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute here, wait a minute!" Nick said, waving his arms in a 'stop and let me talk' fashion. "Just because you saw in that little ball that the four of us should go to the forest…you're going to go to the forest?"
"Why not? The spirits have spoken to me. They say that there is someone waiting for us there that we must meet. Why would the spirits lie to me? They've never let me down before!"
"Just seems a little weird to me, okay? My instincts are telling me that there is some crazy cult crap that's going to happen out there, and I want no part of it."
"Well, you can watch us to make sure we don't do anything illegal." Madison said in a soft tone. Nick thought about it for a while, then grinned.
"You've got a point." Nick said. "I'll come with you."
"You're leaving that infernal machine here, though." Xander said. "I don't care where you're from, but here in Briarwood, we walk everywhere." Nick fumed a bit; his bike was his pride and joy, and he wasn't one to take orders from legal subordinates well, but he knew that he had to swallow his pride for the moment. "Fine."
Nick followed Vida, Madison, and Xander into the forest. Within moments of their arrival, the sky began to become overcast.
"See, I knew something was gonna happen, and I didn't even need a crystal ball for that!" Nick said. Xander flashed him a dirty look.
"This must be the 'dark clouds' I foresaw…huh…" Xander frowned. "I should learn to read my crystal ball better…"
Vida then stopped. "We forgot!" She exclaimed, taking out her wand.
"Oh! Yeah!" Madison replied, taking out her wand. Nick stared at them.
"Oh great, more sticks."
"Regalia Magi!" Vida and Madison said in unison, waving their wands. Their baker's uniforms turned into witch hats and cloaks. They then pointed their wands at Xander and Nick, changing their attire to cloaks and witch hats as well. Nick's hat and cloak were trimmed with red ribbons, and Xander's was trimmed in blue.
"Ah, red!" Vida said. "Lucky you! I knew you'd be a red magician, with your fiery temper and all…"
Nick ignored her comments, as he was too busy looking at his cloak and panicking. "What did you do to my clothes?" He shouted, looking at Vida and Madison.
"It's a simple grey spell. Anybody can learn it, and it will wear off once the castors reverse it. Your normal clothes are fine."
"Fix it! Now!" Nick demanded.
"Oh stop it. You're in our town, you follow our rules." Xander said. "I'm quite tired of your temper and demanding. Just because you're important in your town doesn't mean that you're any more special than we are."
"Exactly!" Vida replied.
"Fine! Let's just find this hooded guy or whatever, then we can leave." Nick griped. "I don't have the time…"
They walked far into the forest until they couldn't see the sun anymore. What the overcast weather wasn't blocking, the treetops absorbed.
"I'll fix this! Luma Lumiere!" Vida waved her wand and a ball of light engulfed the tip of her wand. "Electric light." Vida said, showing it off.
"I can one-up ya, sis!" Madison said. "Silva Lumiere!" She said, pointing at the ground. The ground lit up below her, as did the trees. Nick, Xander, and Vida all stared in wonder. "Sprite light." Madison replied with a smile. Vida smirked and dispelled her wand's light. "Showoff."
As the light extended, Madison spotted something horrible up ahead. Dozens of hideous monsters were less than a hundred yards away. The eyeless beasts were humanoid in shape and wielded large blades. As soon as the creatures spotted the group, they emitted a terrifying howl, causing the magical foursome to quiver in fear.
"Demons!" Madison shrieked. "Oh no…"
"If only I had my pistol…" Nick muttered.
"That's alright! I can do much more damage than any mere machine!" Vida said. She waved her wand and shouted, "Ramuh rabia!" A burst of electric light shot out of her wand and bounced around the demon group. The demons cried out in anguish.
"Silva Sceld!" Madison said, touching the ground with the tip of her wand. As she drew the wand upwards, vines shot out of the ground, forming a wall in front of the group. The demons recovered quickly, and started to charge the vine wall. "Everybody, make a break for it!"
The foursome ran for it, splitting up in the process. Madison and Xander went east, Vida and Nick headed west. Without Madison's support, the shield fell, and the demons started to chase the two groups.
Vida re-summoned her light and Nick made sure to keep his eye on it. "I never got your name, but I suggest you either run for it or help me fight these demons!" Vida shouted as she leaped over a fallen log in her path.
"The name's Nick, and I doubt I'll be much help." Nick replied.
"Well then, run faster and stay out of my way!" Vida fired off another lightning blast, taking out the demons that had followed them.
"Um, Vida…" Nick said, stopping in his tracks. She turned around and spotted a giant stone golem coming their way.
"Oh shit…" Vida dropped to her knees and held her wand up to the sky. "Please, O Heavenly Saints, please don't let us die…forgive Nick for he doesn't understand…forgive me for not devoting myself enough to your greatness…"
"You're praying for forgiveness?" Nick shouted, kneeling next to her. The golem was coming closer.
"It's the only thing I can think of doing…" Vida said. "I know I'm not experienced enough to defeat this golem…"
Just as soon as the golem came within ten feet of them, Vida and Nick shielded themselves with their arms, preparing for the worst. The air then turned cold, then warm again, causing a mild confusion to wash over the pair. They looked up at the golem and found that it had suddenly become frozen solid. Vida and Nick stared in awe.
"Ice magic…" Vida said in a trance-like voice.
Madison and Xander ran as fast as they could, but they found that the demons were slowly catching up. The sprite lights guided them through the forest, and suddenly Xander spotted a familiar landmark.
"Maddie, I got an idea!" Xander said, stopping. "You put up your shield, and I'll lure them away from you."
"But you don't know any magic!" Madison replied.
"I got a spell up my sleeve…literally." Xander replied, rolling up his sleeve to reveal the spell from the crystal ball. Madison threw up another shield, giving Xander the reassurance that she was going to be fine. He then ran for the small lake.
"Aquae Movrum!" Xander called out as he approached the lake's edge. He looked behind, waiting for some sort of effect, but all he got was a lightheaded feeling. "Well, that was a waste." He muttered.
He looked down and gasped; he noticed that he was standing on top of the water in the middle of the lake. "Well, okay, maybe I did something…" He looked to see how deep the lake went, and he suddenly saw why the crystal ball picked out the location. "Perfect…" He grinned. "Hey! Big ugly demons! Come and get me!" He screamed, waving at the pack.
Madison continued to hold back the demons, but she had difficulty. Without any attacking power, she couldn't hold them off much longer. The demons that hadn't followed Xander were breaking through her shield. She panicked as one of the demon's swords shot through her shield and narrowly missed her face. She braced herself, waiting for the worst, as a voice behind her cried out, "Kaze Adala!" Gusts of wind shot past her, drilling into the demons and tearing them apart. The wind spirals that hit the ground broke apart, becoming mini tornadoes and flinging the demons everywhere. Madison looked up to see a hooded figure floating downwards using a steadying levitation spell. The hooded figure landed besides Madison.
"I take it you're here with three other magicians?" The hooded figure asked. The male voice was warm and cheerful, yet authoritative and serious.
"I was…but now I'm pretty much alone…"
"Well, we have to find them then!" The hooded figure said. "Which way did they go?"
"Xander went left…" The hooded figure began to run left. "Wait for me!" Madison began to catch up to him.
"Hahaha! How's the weather down there?" Xander laughed as he stood on top of the middle of the lake, watching the demons sink to the bottom of the lake. The hooded figure and Madison spotted him, and Madison smiled.
"Ah Xander, I see you're using water magic!" Madison cheerily commented as she walked forward to greet him.
"I saw it in my crystal ball, Maddie. How righteous is that?" Xander said, running over the pond's surface to greet her. Xander noticed that the hooded figure was standing behind Madison. "Oh…the hooded figure…"
"C'mon you two, we gotta find your friends!" He began to run back through the forest.
"Why won't you wait for us?" Madison asked as she and Xander began to chase after him.
Vida and Nick stood up, shaking. They spotted a white-armored figure with a large magical staff adorned with a snowflake-shaped crystal.
"Ah, two out of the five magicians…where are your friends?" The armored figure asked. Her voice was stern and strong.
"Are you…Udonna?" Vida asked.
"There's no time for talk. Separated, you are vulnerable. We must find them immediately." The armored woman said, walking over and grabbing Nick and Vida by their hands. "Now, off we go!" The trio ran back the way that Nick and Vida had come.
As the hooded figure stopped to take a break, Madison and Xander finally caught up to him. Xander saw an opportunity to give and introduction as the hooded figure grabbed his side and breathed heavily.
"Hi, I'm Xander." Xander said cheerily.
"Can't you see…that I'm out…of breath…?" The hooded figure replied. "I haven't run…as far or…as fast…as I am…right now…in a long time…" He used his free hand to toss off his hood.
The forest sprites' greenish lights illuminated the hooded figure's burnt amber hair and made it look like a gentle fire. He was a shade paler than Madison, and his eyes were lit with the same intensity and shade as his hair. As he slowly caught his breath, Madison meekly walked up to his side.
"Are you okay?" She nervously asked. She could only hope that he wouldn't snap at her like he did Xander. "Are you going to be sick?"
"I'll be fine, but thank you for asking." He replied with a weak smile. "I always bounce back just fine!" He then shot up from his sitting position and brushed himself off. "See? I'm o-" He then winced and grabbed his side once more. "Ow, cramp…" He stayed bent over for a moment, then slowly stood up. "Okay, I'm fine again."
"Alright!" Xander said. He then stuck his hand out for a shake. "Hi, I-"
"Yeah, heard ya the first time."
"May we ask your name?" Madison asked.
"The name's Charlie, but you can just call me Chip." Chip curtseyed to Madison, then to Xander. "May I ask your name, miss?"
"My name is Madison."
"Well, it's nice to meet you both, but we must go find your fellow magicians. We don't have any time; we're on a mighty quest!" Chip shouted, pointing forwards.
Five minutes later, Chip, Madison, and Xander ran into Nick, Vida, and the white armored woman.
"Ah, I was worried that you would never get here." The white armored woman said to Chip.
"I was too! But, luckily I found Madison and Xander, and we avoided a certain doom." His calm demeanor scared Nick and Vida.
"Let us get to the Rootcore then." The white armored woman said.
"The Rootcore?" Madison asked. "Isn't that the legendary lair of the Great Udonna?"
"What else would it be?" Chip asked excitedly. "Let's go!" He began to run north, and everybody raced to catch up to him.
Chip finally stopped in front of a tree, and the white armored woman stepped in front of him.
"Galwit Nermax Mysto!" She said, waving her wand. The tree trunk opened wide, stopping when the hole was wide enough to let people file in two by two.
"Ladies first." Chip said, stepping out of the way. Madison, Vida, and the white armored woman walked in first, followed by Xander and Chip. After a moment, Xander noticed that Nick hadn't followed them, so he walked back.
"You shouldn't stand in the forest alone." Xander warned.
"This is all a dream!" Nick replied, crossing his arms. "I'm dreaming all of this, and since it's my dream, I don't have to do anything!"
"C'mon, before a bunch of demons come and kill you."
Nick sighed. If it was a dream, and his subconscious self though this fictional person was telling him to follow the character, then he really had no choice. Besides, dying in dreams wasn't exactly something he wanted to do. "Fine…"
As Nick entered the tree trunk, he felt himself pulled forwards until he fell face flat onto a wooden floor, knocking his hat off his head.
"Welcome, Nicholas." The white armored woman said as she walked to the dais that sat on a stairway that oversaw the wide area that made up most of the area.
"How'd you know my name?" He asked the woman.
The woman did not answer, so Nick took to looking around the room. In the wide open space in front of him, there was a wide circular table adorned with a design that he could only think of coming from a Wiccan book, featuring five colored circles with designs inside them.
Vida had become intent on studying them and speaking out their meanings. "Red Phoenix…Blue Mermaid…Yellow Garuda…Pink Fairy…Green Minotaur…the Mystic Titans of ancient lore…amazing…"
Around the chair sat five chairs, all adorned in the same colored symbols as the table. There were vine banisters adorning the sides of simple wooden steps and holding the stained glass windows in place. In the middle of the largest window, a symbol that appeared to be a curved golden 'M' sat powerfully, craving authority.
The woman dropped her armor, revealing a middle-aged woman wearing a tan-shaded dress with her long, curly hair up in a half-ponytail. Madison and Vida's jaws dropped as they dropped to the floor in a genuflex.
"Great Udonna, I knew it was you!" Vida said. "Madison and I are in your great service!" Xander and Chip followed slowly. Nick stared at them, once again considering the whole situation insane.
"Rise, magicians. No need to bow." The four rose to their feet. "Nick, Vida, Xander, Madison, Charlie…you have all been summoned here by the Heavenly Saints to save the world."
"Charlie…Charlie Thorn?" Madison muttered quizzically, looking at Chip. Her gazing caused the rest to stare. Vida's eyes widened as she gasped.
"I thought I recognized you!" Vida added as soon as the name clicked. She pointed straight at him, mouth open wide in shock. "You're the 'Wind Scout of the North'! I heard you were captured, drained by vampires, disembodied, turned to dust, and that your ashes were scattered throughout the underworld!"
Chip blushed. "Well, that's the weirdest theory I've heard. I've heard that I was killed a few different ways, but that one is the most grotesque by far…and also the coolest. But yeah, I'm the Wind Scout, Charlie Thorn."
"It's an honor to work with you!" Vida said.
"You shouldn't worship me like a Heavenly Saint, Miss Vida, lest you lose favor with them." Vida shut up and looked back at Udonna.
"Children, here me out. Now is not the time for side chatter." Udonna said. "I am indeed the Great Udonna, and this planet needs you five warriors to protect it and drive the demons back to Hell and destroy them."
"I'm here on an investigation; I'm not here to save the world." Nick said, waving his hands.
"Why do you think your investigation led here during this time of crisis?" Udonna asked. Nick pondered the question for a moment; it did seem highly unusual for his boss to allow anybody to go on a crazy lead, and the fact that the first people he ran into in Briarwood would happen to be a fortune teller and two witches, and then to find that he was affiliated with the color red, which would complete this crazy 'five branches' thing…
"I suppose not all of it can be coincidence…" Nick replied. "Okay, so I'm here. How do I help you guys out to get what I need?"
"You first gotta believe in magic." Vida said, walking over to him. "You don't believe in magic, and here, that's all you have."
"You've seen magic in action, and you still don't believe?" Chip asked.
"No, he thinks it's all part of some crazy cult run by illegal activities and that we're creating illusions of demons or something like that." Xander replied.
"What a world you live in…you're so cynical and blind to the truth…" Udonna commented.
"Open your eyes, Nick. Those demons in the forest were real. Xander foresaw you coming to Briarwood. He saw you, Vida, Chip, himself, and me all together. This is meant to be. The only way you can help is to join us." Madison said. "We're not a cult. We're not an illegal group. We're supposed to be a team to help the world. Why else would the demons be after us?"
Nick sighed as Vida grabbed his hands. "Nick, you have to believe in us. You have to believe that this world is lost without you. Do you believe that?"
"I guess…"
"You have to believe it wholeheartedly!" Vida said, clenching his hands. "Now tell me, do you believe in us?"
"There's nothing saying I shouldn't."
Vida smiled. "Do you believe in our cause?"
"Well, it's a great cause. It's why I became a cop, to make the world safe."
"One last question: do you believe in magic?"