Chapter 10

Blackhope, Part 2

Ambrose, Gil, Tina, Valon, Gritt, Luna, and Gwen stood on what used to be Unicorn Way in complete shock. They looked upon the decrepit street. Every inch of grass was yellow and brown. The water was green as if toxic waste was dumped into it.

"I don't believe it…who would do such a thing…?"

"Come on, Merle. We both know the answer to that." A voice behind them said. Ambrose's staff appeared in his hand and he pointed it behind them at the source of the voice. It was a ghost.

"Rose…I should have recognized your voice." The skies filled with darkness and lightning struck as soon as Ambrose said that.

"I told you never to call me that!" The six young Wizards looked around fearfully. Ambrose held his ground.

"Kids, this is Rose Whelmer, one of the brightest Wizards who ever attended this school. Of course when she was around, I was just a student. These days, however, she goes by a different name. Lady Blackhope."

"I thought a better name was in order. Being the most powerful ghost Wizard entails a name that screams, 'The Most Powerful Ghost Wizard.' But enough about me, I'd like to get to know your new friends." She waved her hand and a cage appeared around Ambrose. A chain came from the sky and attached itself to the cage. Just then a hole in the ground opened up underneath the cage. The young Wizards looked into the hole and what did they see?

"Lava…" Said Gritt. "Lava! Why is it always lava?"

"Technically it's still in the earth so it's magma." Said Gil.

"Seriously? You're worried about technical terms when our headmaster is seconds away from plunging to his death?"

"Let him go right now, Blackhope!" Said Valon as he jumped to the head of the group.

"Quiet, mutt! One more word, and Headmaster Barbeque is going to be on tomorrow's lunch list" She responded.

"Y'know, if the Headmaster plunges into magma, he would kinda melt. Making BBQ impossible." Said Gil.

Blackhope waved her arm and Gil glided backwards. He came to the edge of the pit of magma and nearly fell. He was waving his arms all over the place in an attempt to keep on his feet.

"Anyone know a levitation spell?" Gil tipped back and fell. He felt like he was falling in slow motion. He knew it was coming, but he didn't know when. The temperature rose as he fell. He heard his friends above screaming. Filled with anxiety, Gil flipped over and watched as the magma came closer and closer. He closed his eyes and felt the temperature drop dramatically. Then, he hit the ground. He slowly opened his eyes and saw that he was lying on a rocky surface. He looked around and the pit was covered in ice. "I gotta remember to thank Tina one of these days." He said to himself.

Valon looked into the pit to make sure Gil was safe. When he saw Gil was fine, he turned back around to face Blackhope.

"Alright, Blackhope, you had your laughs, now it's my turn. Let's duel!"

"I'm in, too." Said Gritt.

"And me!" said Gwen. Everyone looked at Luna and Tina.

"Eh, what the heck." Said Luna. "I'm in."

"I guess I'll help Gil." Said Tina as she pulled out her wand.

The battlefield formed around Blackhope and the four young Wizards.

"Hey, now," Blackhope said, "Four on one isn't-"

"Isn't very fair. I heard this from Rattlebones. Summon your stupid minions and let's get going." Valon interrupted.

"Y'know, kid it's not very nice to interrupt a villain's speech. Come to me, my minions!" three Skeletal Pirates joined Blackhope on the battlefield. "Challengers have the first move."

"Bad idea." Valon said. "Part Htaed!" Valon threw his card at Blackhope and it formed into a shield that circled her.

"Hey, guys, I think Valon's got Blackhope under control. Let's focus on the pirates." Said Gritt. He grabbed a card and threw it into the air. "Ekans Rednuht!" The card turned to light and shot down to the ground as lightning. And from the lightning emerged the Thunder Snake. A blast of lightning from its tail was all it took to destroy one of the skeletal pirates.

"Pmi." Said Luna as she threw a card. The Imp's sour notes caused the Skeletal Pirate to lose sixty five of its health points, leaving it with thirty.

"Baracs." Said Gwen. The battlefield turned to a sandy desert-like scene. A scarab appeared and tackled the Skeletal Pirate, destroying it.

"Good help is so hard to find these days." Said Blackhope. "Doolb Tab" A Blood Bat appeared and attacked Valon causing his health to drop by 110, leaving him with 389. Valon responded by casting a Dark Sprite at Lady Blackhope. It would have done 105 damage, but thanks to the boost he got from the Death Trap, she lost 136 health points. Gritt used his second Thunder Snake to destroy the last Skeletal Pirate. Luna used her second Imp and Gwen used her second Scarab to destroy Blackhope.

Blackhope's health reduced to zero and the battlefield disappeared, but Blackhope didn't disappear.

"Hey, man what gives?" Valon asked. "She looks down, but she's still here. Shouldn't se, like, go away, or something?"

"What did you do to Unicorn Way?" Luna asked forcefully to Blackhope. Blackhope slowly got up and rose into the air again as if she was as good as new. She quickly pulled out her wand and pointed it at Valon.

"NO!" Grit screamed. A large cloud formed over Blackhope.

"You little nuisance." She said to Gritt. "You're the heir, aren't you?" A bolt of lightning shot down from the cloud and struck Blackhope. Once the light had cleared, she was gone.

The area where she was floating began to glow. The glow stretched further and further across Unicorn Way, completely replenishing it. The light eventually died down and Unicorn Way looked just as it did before. The grass was green, the blue water sparkled, the fairies roamed freely, and there wasn't an undead creature in sight.

"Do you think it's over?" Gwen asked.

"Well, it's over on Unicorn Way." Said Gil. Everyone looked over to see the hole in the ground was gone and Tina was in the middle of freezing Ambrose's cage. Once she was done, she gave Gil a thumbs up. The two of them lifted the cage in the air and then dropped it. The cage shattered and Ambrose was freed.

"Thank you, two. You saved me. And as for you four," Ambrose said as he turned to Gritt, Gwen, Luna and Valon. "You showed an amazing amount of bravery today. You have replenished one of our streets to its former glory. I'm very proud."

"No sweat, Headmaster," Said Gritt. "By the way, do you know what 'the heir' is supposed to mean?"

"Well, if I told you, you wouldn't get to experience the fun of figuring it out on your own, would you, Gritt?" Ambrose responded, before walking away.

"…WHAT?"