Chapter 10: Corporate Raiders
The group walked through the hallway and made their way to the glass front doors of the Crossroad Pass Medical Building. Warren pressed against the handles, but they were shut tight.
"Bracken, do your thing," said Warren.
Bracken used his magic to unlock the door. They then pushed the doors outwards and made their way onto the sidewalk. They were now on a street somewhere in Crossroad Pass.
"How are we getting to New York?" asked Seth.
"Not with this thing," said Warren, placing the Translocator back into his bag. "If we're having trouble with the Translocator, it might be wise to go home and rethink this whole thing further."
The group then walked down the sidewalk, where Warren led them all into an alleyway.
"Warren," said Kendra, "you recognized all the places the Translocator sent us, right?"
Warren nodded. "At least it's doing one thing right. It's clearly picking places I've been to, instead of letting me decide. And I've been all over."
"Well this accomplished a lot," said Seth sarcastically. "Let's just call Dad and ask him for a lift home."
"Why?" asked Bracken. "I can get us there faster." He then allowed himself to shape-shift into his unicorn form. "Hop on."
Although it was a tight fit, Kendra, Seth and Warren all climbed up onto Bracken's back. If there had been a fourth rider, it might have been too much. Kendra, who was sitting in the front, held onto Bracken's crest, while Seth held her shoulders and Warren held Seth's.
Bracken then leapt up into the air and began flying into the sky, soaring over Crossroad Pass. Although he lacked wings, Bracken was capable of flying by using magic. Kendra didn't understand why, but for some reason, Bracken appeared to be galloping as he flew through the air in the direction of Fablehaven.
As Bracken could fly relatively quickly, they arrived back at Fablehaven within a short amount of time. Once he landed, Kendra, Seth and Warren dismounted and Bracken resumed his human form.
What do you mean the Translocator isn't working?" asked Grandpa. He was sitting at the desk in his study, examining the artifact in his hands.
"It does work," said Warren, who was sitting in one of the armchairs. "Just not properly. I was trying to use it to get to New York, but instead it just kept sending me to arbitrary places I'd been to in the past. I wasn't thinking about them at all."
Warren told Grandpa of the places the Translocator had sent them to, with Kendra and Seth adding their own little remarks.
"That could've been extremely dangerous," said Grandpa. "You should've stopped sooner. You got lucky ending up at the dentist."
"We theorized that whatever Oblivion did to interfere with the Oculus is also causing problems for the Translocator," said Bracken.
"I'll call Trask and see if he can look into what's making the artifacts act up. For now, we should avoid using them altogether."
"What about Dynabridge?" asked Kendra.
"It's only getting later and later," said Grandpa. "And if it comes down it, you won't be able to escape using the Translocator. Besides, a lot of people working there would have gone home by the time you get there. I think you should wait until tomorrow before heading out. Maybe have Bright and Raxtus join you this time. But I'd rather Clover remain here. With all this commotion, it would be unwise to let both of Fablehaven's fairy angels leave this place."
"Understood," said Seth, as the others nodded in agreement.
Bracken had spent the night at Fablehaven in the guest bedroom. The next morning, everyone had gotten up early for breakfast. Everybody was in the midst eating at the table when the phone rang.
"I hate it when people call during a meal," said Mrs. Sorenson.
"It might be Trask," said Grandpa, as he got up and went into the kitchen to answer the ringing phone. It's best I get this." He proceeded to pick up the phone "Hello?"
There was a brief pause as Grandpa listened to the person on the other line.
"Yes, this is Stanley Sorenson. What? No! Of course not! I've owned this property for decades! It's been in my extended family for generations! Yes, I have legal documents! You what? You've got to be kidding me! Tomorrow? Fine!"
Although he was in the other room, everyone else could hear Grandpa slamming the handset against the base of the phone, as he entered the dining room with a scowl on his face.
"I don't believe this!" blared Grandpa, anger radiating through his voice. "Bunch of idiots!"
"Stan, what's the matter?" asked Grandma, placing a hand around her husband's shoulder.
"So Dynabridge wants to buy Fablehaven. I rejected their offer. But guess what? Dynabridge did some investigating with the Connecticut government. Apparently, I don't own this land! Nobody does!"
Everyone's jaws dropped in shock.
"That's preposterous!" said Grandma. "We've owned this land for ages! We pay our taxes! We have all the legal documents!"
"Well, according to the land records office, the land that Fablehaven is on is unowned."
Seth shook his head. "They're just being dumb! You're not the owner of this land? Throw your deeds at them and see what they think."
"They might overrule that argument if they're unable to come up with government records over ownership of this land."
"What's going to happen?" asked Kendra nervously.
"They're taking me to court. And I'll do whatever it takes, pay whatever they want, to save Fablehaven."
"What if you don't win the case?" asked Seth.
"Well, they'll probably seize the land and force us all to leave."
"But, Fablehaven is protected! They can't force us to leave if they can't get on the property. Even if they try."
"We'd still be in serious trouble with the government. And that's something I just can't afford to deal with. If we surrender the land, not only could I be arrested, but all the creatures living here will have no place to go. It'll be chaos."
"I find it pretty odd that the government would suddenly come down on you like this," said Grandma. "It'd be safe to assume that this is also due to Oblivion's meddling."
"Lord knows where she is," said Warren. "Our only option now is to just start searching."
"Start at Dynabridge," said Grandpa. "She must still have some influence over there if she got them interested in buying this land for so much money. Even if you don't find her, you might still find some clues. In the interim, I'll send for some other knights to look into the land registration for Fablehaven. Meanwhile, Trask and I will try to examine the artifacts and see if we can determine what's wrong with them."
"We better get going," said Warren. "If Oblivion's causing all this trouble now, things may only get worse if we don't stop her."
After finishing breakfast, Kendra, Seth, Warren and Bracken all washed up and got ready to depart. They then met up with Bright, Clover, Raxtus and Geminus in the yard, and explained the situation to them.
"They what?" asked Bright angrily. "They can't seize Fablehaven!"
"What's this government thing about anyway?" asked Raxtus. "They don't sound so tough. If they give us trouble, I'll recruit some other dragons and we'll show them who's boss."
"No," said Warren sternly. "Problems like this aren't solved that way."
"Then how do you solve them?" asked Geminus, who was holding Vanessa in her arms. "Fablehaven's in danger, and you're intending to perhaps maybe find Oblivion?"
"I don't think you understand just how big and powerful the government is," said Kendra. "A lot bigger than the Evening Star ever was, I can say that."
"Look, if we stop Oblivion, we should be able to remedy everything that's gone wrong," said Bracken. "Bright, Raxtus, let's go!"
"Good luck, everybody," said Clover, giving Warren a kiss.
"Please succeed," said Geminus, giving Raxtus a hug.
Bracken then transformed into a unicorn, prompting Kendra and Bright to mount him, while Warren and Seth climbed onto Raxtus. Raxtus and Bracken both made a running start and simultaneously leapt up into the sky.
Less than half an hour had gone by once they arrived in New York City. High above the rooftops, everyone looked down at the concrete jungle that lay beneath them. Warren then directed Bracken and Raxtus to Central Park, landing in an area covered in dense trees.
"Why'd we have to land here?" asked Seth, leaping off of Raxtus' back. The density of the trees didn't give anyone a lot of room to stand.
"This area's full of trees," said Warren. "For a busy place like New York, there aren't too many people who are going to wander into this neck of the woods."
Kendra and Bright then got off of Bracken, who resumed his human form.
"We're going to be on foot for a while," said Warren. "Raxtus, turn invisible and follow us."
"Got it," said Raxtus, as he suddenly vanished from sight.
The group made their way through the trees and into a clearing where they discovered a path. As they walked down the path, they passed by many different people, none of whom had any idea as to what they were actually up to. However, anytime they passed someone with a dog, the dog would sometimes stop to sniff around, almost as though it could sense Raxtus' presence.
Before long, the group had made it through the park and out onto Fifth Avenue. From there, they entered a taxi and were brought directly to the Dynabridge building within a few minutes.
As Kendra got out of the taxi and stepped onto the sidewalk, she looked up at the tower. Dark glass windows covered the entire side of the building, which looked to be a good fifty stories high.
"What about Raxtus?" asked Seth, as they walked across the sidewalk towards the front entrance to the building. "Where is he"?
"Right here," said a tiny voice, as something landed poked Seth's leg. "I'm in my human form, and invisible."
Seth lowered his backpack "You can ride in here," he said, lifting the bag up once he could sense Raxtus climbing inside of it. He then placed it back on his back and passed through the front door into the towering structure.
The lobby was a vast room that was at least five stories high, adorned with marble columns, slanted skylights, archways, an indoor fountain, small gardens and several statues.
There were a few other groups of people, all dressed in business suits, who were talking among each other, and and paid no real attention to the knights as they walked towards the far wall, where a large directory had been posted.
"Thaddeus Stafford's office is on the penthouse," said Warren, who was gazing at all the names on the directory. "We may not find Oblivion, but we can at least make an effort."
They walked over towards the elevators and boarded one, which brought them up quite a distance before letting them off at the penthouse. When they got off, they found themselves in a large office. The nearest fixture was a reception desk, where a woman was sitting.
"Can I help you with anything?" asked the woman, who displayed a look of arrogance on her face. Kendra could only assume that the woman didn't take kindly to riff-raff, or anyone who wasn't formally dressed, entering the office. Kendra then noticed that a nameplate, embossed with the name Susan Dellman, was on the desk.
"We'd like to meet with Mr. Stafford," said Warren.
"Do you have an appointment?" asked Susan, typing away on her keyboard and gazing at the monitor.
"Technically no. But this is extremely urgent. It's regarding a very big transaction."
"Mr. Stafford is quite busy today. If you want to request an appointment, maybe I can try to set up something, but it wouldn't be until the new year at the earliest."
"I guess we'll have to leave. Sorry to bother you, ma'am."
Kendra and Seth looked at each other, as Warren signaled for everyone to walk back towards the elevators.
"Bright," said Warren softly. "Put that woman to sleep."
Bright pointed at Susan and shot a bit of energy at her. Susan then yawned, closed her eyes, placed her head between her arms and fell asleep on the desk.
"That takes care of her," said Seth, as the group proceeded to walk past Susan's desk.
They walked down a hallway and entered a corridor, lined with closed doors. Behind the doors, Kendra pictured office suites and boardrooms in her mind. At the end of the hallway was a set of large, wooden doors. There was a engraved golden sign on one of the doors which read:
Thaddeus Stafford IV,
CEO
Warren twisted one of the ornate door levers, but it wouldn't budge. The other one was also locked.
"This guy's playing hard to get," said Bracken, placing his hand over the door handles and snapping his fingers, prompting the doors to unlock. He then twisted a handle and opened one of the doors.
The group entered Mr. Stafford's office. It was a large room containing a window that took up an entire wall, a wooden desk, several chairs, couches, tables with flowers and candies, bookshelves and even an aquarium. The only person in the room was a petite cleaning lady with a vacuum cleaner.
"Can I help you?" asked the cleaning lady. "You're not supposed to be here."
"Where can we find Mr. Stafford?" asked Seth. "Tell us and we'll leave."
"I don't know. He doesn't tell me. Now leave."
"Guys," said Bright in a whisper. "I can sense you-know-who. She's gotta be in the building, but I don't know where."
The cleaning lady gave the group an annoyed look.
"We'll be going, miss," said Bracken, as they walked back towards the door.
The cleaning lady suddenly roared, causing the door to slam shut and lock itself. She then dropped the hose of her cylinder vacuum cleaner as she transformed into a large, burgundy, horned serpent. She was covered in spines, much like how quills covered a porcupine, and had massive, curled horns protruding from her head. She hissed out a glob of clear, mucus-like fluid which landed on an armchair, causing it to start melting upon contact.
The serpent, who took up nearly half the room, spat more acid at the knights, but they managed to dodge it. Bracken wasted no time transforming into a unicorn, while Raxtus, now visible, popped out of Seth's bag and grew into his dragon form.
Bracken charged directly into the serpent's unprotected underside, stabbing into her with his horn. She hissed in pain and spewed more acid, this time aiming at Warren's face. Warren had blocked the acid with his arms, and was screaming in pain as the acid burned through his skin and flesh.
"It's too fast!" gasped Warren.
Bracken removed his horn and stabbed the serpent again. Raxtus grasped the serpent by her throat, but not before she shot Bright with acid, which seared the front of her face. The serpent roared furiously as Bracken and Raxtus continued to fight with her.
"No!" shrieked Kendra, looking at Warren and Bright.
"Seth!" cried Warren, trying to cope with the pain he was experiencing. "Open the back left pouch of my bag!"
Warren remained still as Seth looked through his pouch. Sure enough, the Sands of Sanctity was in it. Seth pulled it out.
"What if doesn't work, like the other instruments?" asked Seth, hesitant to pour it on Warren.
"Just use it! It's about to burn through my bones!"
Seth poured the Sands of Sanctity onto Warren's arms. Although his sleeves were ruined, his arms healed perfectly. Seth then poured some sand onto Bright's gnarled face, restoring it to normal. At least the Sands of Sanctity was working properly.
"Thank god," said Warren.
"No. Thank Seth."
With the serpent distracted, Bright unleashed a rainbow from her hands at it, nearly immobilizing her. Bracken then pulled his blood-soaked horn out from the serpent and shot a rainbow from it at her as well.
"My stabs in her healed quickly!" exclaimed Bracken. "I don't know how long our power can hold her back!"
Seth tried to focus on possibly controlling the creature, since it reacted to light energy, but couldn't manage to do so. "If only we had Vasilis!"
"We'd better get out of here!" said Bright."
"The doors!" said Kendra.
Raxtus let go of the serpent and bolted back towards the doors. He rammed into them, breaking through the lock and crashing out into the hallway.
"This thing's too powerful!" said Bright, still assaulting the serpent with a rainbow, along with her brother.
"It must be a volgor!" said Warren. "Oblivion planted it here as a trap! She knew we'd be coming!"
"Then what are we still doing here?" asked Seth.
"Our power isn't enough!" cried Bracken. We need to get out of here!"
The volgor shot another blast of acid towards Warren, who managed to block it in time with an energy shield, as Bright and Bracken ceased to emit their rainbows. Bracken turned back into a human, while Raxtus turned invisible, and the group dashed out the doorway.
The group sprinted down the hallway. Looking back, Kendra could see the volgor barreling down the hallway in pursuit, its wide body almost too large to fit between the walls. They made it to the reception area, where Susan was still asleep at her desk.
"Should we take the elevator?" asked Seth, gazing at the row of elevator doors that were arranged before him.
"We might get stuck!" yelled Warren. "And we haven't found Oblivion! This way!"
Warren barged through an exit door, which the others followed him through. They trampled their way down a stairwell, passing by several floors.
"You think she followed us?" asked Seth, once the group stopped after running down roughly ten stories.
From above, the group could hear a pair of feet trotting down the stairs. No doubt it was the volgor in her human form.
"Great," moaned Kendra.
"Think we can take her on as a human?" asked Seth.
"It's only an avatar," said Warren. "She's still very powerful."
At that moment, about ten men dressed as security guards had marched up the stairs from the one of the lower floors. They stopped at the first landing below the floor the group was standing on.
"Halt!" said the lead guard. "You are under arrest for trespassing!"
All of the guards had handguns aimed directly at the group. Additionally, the cleaning lady had reached and was standing on the first landing above the group. The only way out was the door behind them. But there wasn't enough time to escape through it without getting shot at.
"I think we're trapped," said Seth wearily.