Chapter 10: Valtor's Stratagem
"Adaptive transformations are a difficult thing to do," Wizgiz began his lecture. "Do not feel ashamed if ye never get it right. Most magi will not. But learning about it is important. Now, which of ye have an idea of what exactly adaptive transformations are? Yes, Jonas?"
"Well, I guess it's when you transform to adapt to something," the freckled boy guessed.
"Well, yes. I suppose the name is slightly non-indicative," the leprechaun admitted. "See, any magi worth his or her salt can transform into a form adapted to a certain challenge. What we call adaptive transformations are when magi adopt a new form, adjusting their body the moment they become exposed to harmful environments. It is the difference between giving yerself gills because ye will be going swimming and giving yerself gills while drowning. Do ye now see why few magi can pull it off? Yes, Miranda?"
"Because transformations takes a lot of concentration," the glasses bearing girl suggested.
"Very good. Yes, usually transformations take a long time," Keefe explained. "But if yer transformation powers are great enough, you can develop such an intimate understanding of yer body that ye can change it on the fly. I myself am capable of this, but I have a knack fer it, so I suppose that helps a lot". He adjusted his clothes for a moment. "The greater a magi's capability for adaptive transformations are, the tougher they become. They become capable of fixing wounds as they occur, adapt to extremes of hot and cold, and become immune to infections, toxins and poison. A true master of adaptive transformations can seem almost immortal, until he or she runs out of energy that is. It is an intensely draining technique and thus best used sparingly, even when you have mastered it".
In her seat, Stella barely paid attention to the subject as she kept checking her phone, hoping she would get a text message or something that would indicate that Valtor had kept his word. But all she had gotten was silence. Part of her feared the worst, while another figured that Valtor intentionally had kept Brandon away from any means of communication. She sighed. Her father, her home, her ring and now her boyfriend. Valtor had slowly deprived her of everything. She only had her friends and her school left, the former which had been threatened by Valtor and the latter which everyone was certain would be at some point.
When class finally ended, she morosely marched out of the room. As if everything else hadn't been bad enough, the threat of being punished for the excursion to Eraklyon still hung over their heads. Griselda had just yet to come up with something. She had been furious. Furious that they had run off again, furious that they had risked creating a major incident in an already politically unstable situation and furious that they had tampered with the shield. The blonde felt that the latter was completely unfair. Techna had pulled that stunt rather spontaneously.
"Hello there, Stella," the blonde heard a tired Bloom say and she looked up to see the redhead approaching. "How's it going?"
"I'm worried about Brandon," Stella replied. "I feel... I feel really bad about leaving him behind".
"So do I," the redhead said. "Could barely get a moment of sleep. I feel like we abandoned him".
"Yeah, that's exactly how I feel," Stella agreed. "But I know it's silly. If he had been conscious, I know he would have told us to go. But by now, Valtor has probably branded him, so even if I were able to contact him I doubt I could even trust a word he says".
"Yeah. It's the same with Sky," Bloom said. "It was so uncomfortable seeing him like that. Trapped between being himself and somebody's puppet. And what Valtor did to him..." The Dominian princess shuddered. "I never want to see anything like that ever again".
"If we do what Flora has suggested and, like, stay away from Valtor, that should be feasible," Stella commented.
"Speaking of Flora, that was why I came here to find you," Bloom said as she remembered something. "Flora has invited us over for tea. Said that she thought we could use a calm moment of relaxation after everything we've been through".
"Oh. Are the others coming?" Stella inquired.
"Well, Flora is going to invite them," Bloom replied. "More than that, I cannot say. You'll just have to show up and see".
Stella considered it for a moment, before saying: "You know what? Let's have a tea party. I agree with Flora. I could totally use some good ol' RnR after everything I've been through these last couple of days".
...
The feeling of the warm and soothing liquid settling in her stomach made Bloom feel better in seconds. "Now I understand why Faragonda likes it so much," she sighed happily, as she put the cup down.
"Especially with us giving her more headaches with our crazy adventures," Techna added. "Would have made her entire mane grey if it hadn't been so from the get go".
"I do feel a bit guilty about that," Stella admitted as she poured herself another cup. "But we couldn't just let Sky remain Valtor's puppet". She paused for a bit. "Although now it really seems like we did nothing but make it worse".
"What we will be getting is nothing compared to what Timmy and Riven will face," Flora said. "Unauthorized use of military resources that also end up involving civilians is serious business". She paused for a moment, drinking her tea speculatively. "Although they might consider the fact that Sky was a team-mate a mitigating circumstance. The rules of Red Fountain clearly states that you are never to leave a team-mate behind unless it is absolutely necessary".
"So what now?" Aisha asked.
"I guess Valtor is going to pull something else one of these days," Musa answered. "You heard him. He said he had projects going on. I doubt that was just a bluff".
"Yeah, Mr. Fancy-Pants ain't exactly the bluffing type," Techna agreed.
"Fancy-Pants?" Stella asked.
"Well, I would normally go with Creepy-Pants, but it feels kinda wrong to rob that title from Amentia," the scarred girl responded. "She sacrificed herself and deserves to keep her title".
"I'm sure she would be honoured," Musa commented dryly while putting some sugar in her tea.
"Generally, Valtor seems to use two types of strategies," Flora said. "Manipulative or direct strategies. Either he uses himself and his forces for brutal but precise attacks, or he manipulates people into doing things for him. Depending on his goal, he might use either or both".
"So what you are saying is that we know jack shit?" Techna asked.
"In regards to what his next move will be, yes," Flora replied. "We do not know nearly enough of him to give educated guesses for either his target nor for how he will get to said target. As we saw with Sky, Valtor is also very much capable of hiding trump cards until required by circumstance to use them, so that is also a thing to keep in mind".
"Damn," Bloom mumbled. "But how about Sky? He's already talking about how little a threat Valtor is. What will that do?"
"Most likely, he and Radius will both dismiss Valtor as a threat, which will steer public opinion away from a unified effort at capturing him," Musa said. "Both are rather well-liked. You can already see in the polls how their opinions are changing minds".
"Doesn't help that Sky claims that the dragons were there to scare Androsian nobles," Stella continued.
"And with King Radius in agreement, that basically means that neither Solaria nor Eraklyon are allowing notable people from Andros in due to the so-called danger their presence poses," Aisha reported.
"But Valtor attacked Espero. How are people just ignoring that?" Techna asked incredulously.
"Because Valtor merely defeated a couple of guards. It is easy to blame lax security," Flora explained. "And they have rebuffed fears of a repeat of Domino by claiming that Valtor only could pull that off thanks to the Ancestral Witches. No evidence of that, of course, but people want to hear that. They want to believe that Valtor is only a threat because some military idiots are not doing their jobs".
"That's annoying," Musa commented. "But I can't be too angry. I can understand just wanting this problem to go away. But Valtor won't be weakened by people thinking happy thoughts at him really hard".
"Indeed. And we know the Paladin Order and the Roccalucian Order are both assisting in his recapture," Flora added. "But although both are powerful organizations in their own right, they still require aid from supportive countries. If Radius and Sky can convince other countries to pull their support, it will become that much harder to stop Valtor".
"At least we know where he is," Aisha offered. "His fortress is quite noticeable, so it will only be a question of time before they get him".
...
Darcy walked through the fortress they were occupying, making her way to Valtor's private chamber. She sported a quite noticeable black eye, a souvenir from Icy she got during training. She had to admit, the two of them were getting good. Not quite her level, but certainly learning fast enough to take her by surprise. She felt a slight tinge of pride at the thought and began wishing she had pushed for the two of them to develop those skills earlier, rather than trying to plan around it. Maybe things would have looked much different if those two could have handled a punch or two. She shook her head as she ascended some stairs. Speculating in hypothetical outcomes of past events was pointless. She could do nothing about her past failures but learn from them.
As she approached Valtor's chamber, she heard his muffled voice behind the door say: "...course I am. Would have preferred to keep an eye on things myself, but things did not go as planned. But even so, I will not allow..." Darcy knocked on the door and Valtor went silent inside. Seconds later, he opened it with a: "Ah, hello Darcy. I assume you and the others are done packing your stuff".
"What little we had, yes," the dirty-blonde replied. She looked past Valtor into his now mostly empty bedroom, the stuff he wanted to keep packed into boxes. "Who were you talking to?"
"An old acquaintance of mine that I've gotten into contact with recently," the dandy magi replied. "I should probably introduce you all at some point. But not now, we have things to do". The two of them descended the stairs and met up with Icy and Stormy in the great hall that had served as dining room for the four of them.
"So, where are we going?" Stormy asked.
"I have a few destinations in mind," Valtor said as he sat down by the table. "Many of them being places that contain the artefacts that I seek. Locations on Horus, Magicalis, Harmony and even a few on Limphea".
"Let's not go to Limphea. One of my uncles died there," Stormy said. "Along with twenty-seven other people".
"How did that occur?" Darcy asked.
"They forgot to close a window, apparently," Stormy replied. "Other than that, no clue. The coroner didn't have enough to work with".
"What about Harmony or Magicalis? Both of those are rather nice planets," Icy suggested.
"Fair enough. Not all targets are possibly bases of operations for us, of course," Valtor said. "I have specifically chosen those that I felt we would be able to hold onto for a while". With a wave of his hands, several illusions of different buildings popped up on the table.
"A lot to choose from," Stormy commented. "Wait, is that...?"
"Cloud Tower," Icy said as she eyed it. "Yes, let's go there".
"Come on, really?" the wild-haired witch asked. "Haven't we fucked that place up enough?"
"But it is an easily defendable location," Darcy argued. "If we can wrest control of it".
"Oh, do not worry. I have ideas for how we can accomplish that," Valtor said. "You went to school there, correct? What can you tell me?"
"Well, most students and teachers are nice enough," Stormy said. "But no, seriously, let's go somewhere else. Griffin will kill us if we try to pull another stunt at her school".
"Griffin?" Valtor inquired, eyebrow raised.
"Yes. Headmistress Guinevere Griffin," Darcy elaborated. "A well-educated and powerful witch. Well-respected by many. Clever and not to be underestimated".
Valtor's eyebrows had almost reached his hairline. "Now that," he started. "That is interesting". He smirked. "We are most definitely going to Cloud Tower".
"Great. Because taking over Cloud Tower hasn't resulted in enough bruises yet," Stormy groaned. "No, sir. We're going to take it over a third time, because Dragon knows we just can't get enough of being beaten up. We're all fucking masochistic let me tell you. I so look forward to getting hurled down a fucking staircase again. Or maybe I can get somebody to almost crush me with a bookshelf. That's always fun".
"Well, she'll be going on for a while," Darcy commented wryly.
"Yes, I notice that I may have hit a rather... Sore spot," Valtor mused.
"So why the interest in Griffin?" the dirty-blonde inquired.
"It's a long story and I'd rather get going," Valtor replied. "Remind me to tell you about it when we sit by a roaring fire in Cloud Tower. Those are always good for stories".
...
Cloud Tower had, like the other schools, improved their defences considerably, ever since Griffin had deemed that the school could become a target of Valtor. A dome of dark energy now separated the school from the outside world, operated by the living building itself. Though other than making entering and leaving a much more complicated process, Valtor's reappearance had done little to affect the daily lives of the witches that studied there. One afternoon, one of the witch students was walking by one of the windows when she saw a quite peculiar sight. The dark dome was transparent enough that the outside world could be seen, which was necessary in order to allow some light to slip through. And through the dome, the witch could see a cerynitis, a golden, deer-esque animal that lived in the woods of Magicalis, panicking scraping at the dome. The witch hurried down the stairs and opened the front door, hoping to find out what had the animal so spooked. Then she saw them. Three vicious looking wargs stalking out of the forest.
"Welp, that thing is dinner," a male student commented.
"We can't just let them eat it," the female witch argued.
"Why not? That's just nature," another witch stated.
"Oh come on, that's just cruel," a fourth witch protested.
As the students that had quickly gathered to see what was going on began discussing the finer points of morality versus nature, the female student who had first seen the animal made a decision and pressed the button to open the shield temporarily. Due to its rather sparse staff, Griffin had decided that the students should at least be able to leave on their own now that there wouldn't always be a teacher around to let them out. Though they had been warned to not abuse it to let everybody they wanted in.
The cerynitis stumbled through the barrier the moment the hole opened. The three wargs ran up to the barrier, but found themselves stymied by the barrier. The barred their teeth and growled angrily at their escaped prey.
Though free from the predators, the woodland animal still looked rather nervous at the sight of the students.
"It's okay. We won't hurt you," the witch who had let it in gently said as she approached. She carefully petted in and the critter visibly relaxed. "It's okay. You're safe here," she cooed as the other students approached.
"Wow, it's almost completely tame," the male witch remarked as he petted it on the head.
"We should probably look for wounds. The wargs may still have managed to bite it," one witch murmured as she began inspecting it. She touched its side, only to jerk her hand back with a: "Ouch. What the..." And then her mind shut down. The students stared blankly at the cerynitis as stylish V's appeared on their hands. The animals suddenly changed, flesh and bones shifting, as Valtor re-assumed his human form. He took a second to stretch himself, before summoning his clothes.
Outside the barrier, the illusions faded and the three wargs became the three usurpers.
"Wow. You're... Buff," Stormy noted.
"Benefit of my magic," Valtor noted proudly. "I am always in peak physical condition".
Far above them, Griffin was going through the financial reports as well as going through the tax code. This was one of the parts the witch headmistress could say that she truly despised about her job. She hated the paperwork, she hated going through complicated lists of numbers and she hated having to read tomes of nothing but obfuscating legalese texts designed to keep people as uninformed as possible. She was truly jealous of Faragonda for having an assistant like Griselda that actually enjoyed going through this kind of stuff. In Cloud Tower, they usually held card game tournaments to decide who got the less than pleasant jobs. And this year, it had ended up being Griffin's turn. There was a knock on her door and she said: "Come in". There was a slight pause. "Come in". Nothing. She sighed. Probably one of the new students that was trying to make fun of her. That always happened. She usually played along a couple of times and then ordered Cloud Tower to pull them through the door the next time they tried. Their faces were usually good for a laugh. Though she did wish they would have waited until she was done calculating income and expenses. She knew she would need a good laugh then. Plus a drink.
She sighed and opened the door, making a show of look around confused. Then she closed it and was about to return to her desk, only to be truly surprised.
"Hello again, Guinevere," Valtor said, lounging in her chair. "It's been a while".
"Valtor," Griffin said, acknowledging his presence. "I figured you'd find your way through the barrier sooner or later. Though I'd vastly preferred it would have been later".
"Really now, is that a way to greet an old acquaintance?" the dandy magi asked. "Telling me you rather that I didn't come visiting".
"Well, I am in the middle of doing taxes," Griffin noted. "So your visit is rather inconvenient".
Valtor paused for a moment, before glancing at the papers on the desk. "Looks complicated," he noted. "Never took you for one who would one day sit down and fiddle with taxes".
"Yes, well, that's life," Griffin sighed.
"It doesn't need to be," Valtor said. "We had fun once. Did things our way. We could go back to how things were, Guinevere. I can forgive and forget if you can. I could use somebody with your skills and talents".
"I'm flattered," Griffin said with a slight smile. She chuckled and stated: "Really, I am. And part of me is really intrigued by your offer". She sighed. "But I saw how it ended last time and I will have to say no to your offer, Valtor. As you have no doubt noted, I have grown up since those days. I have responsibilities and people I care for. And I've put too much of my hate behind me to even want to take up my old lifestyle". She smiled and asked: "Tell me, how often does that 'appear in room mysteriously and offer solutions to everything' routine work?"
"Surprisingly often," Valtor admitted with a smirk. "People will always be willing to ignore such strange things if they see a great prize in it happening".
"Indeed. You always did have a knack for manipulating people," Griffin agreed. She paused for a bit, before adding: "In more ways than one I suppose. So, I take it you're here for the school's artefacts".
"Well, yes, there's that," Valtor admitted. "Though I was planning on staying here for a while. I've got business in the area and this is conveniently close to much of it".
"I figured," Guinevere sighed. "As headmistress of Cloud Tower, I must inform you that that is not acceptable".
Valtor was silent for a moment, lost in thoughts. "What happened?" he finally asked. "We used to be a team. Working with the Ancestral Witches, running through the multiverse, having fun and establishing our own path in life. And then you suddenly betrayed us. I spent seventeen years in stasis on Omega thanks to you". He sounded genuinely sad at the memory. "What went wrong?"
"Valtor, I was young and stupid," Griffin replied. "I was laughed out of every social circle in Popularis. I joined up with the Ancestral Witches because their philosophy of the superiority of witches appealed to me. I hated the world that had rejected me and I wanted to stomp on it". She paused. "Cannot deny I went a bit mimi back then. But I only wanted to stomp on the people that made my suffering possible, not just whomever was conveniently nearby".
"Indeed. We were pretty restrained compared to some of the other Coven members," Valtor admitted. "Remember Mandragora? Terrible woman".
"A complete psycho," Griffin agreed. "But the thing is, what you wanted to do, that was unacceptable. That was going too far. I knew I would never be able to look at myself in the mirror again if I just let it happen. That is why I joined with the Company of Light". She paused. "Though I never meant for you to get banished to Omega".
"What, because of Domino?" Valtor asked. "As if I couldn't have fixed that".
"That's not what I was talking about and you know it," Griffin said sharply, looking Valtor straight in the eyes. "Don't forget that I know you. And that I long ago figured out what motivates you".
"Well, if it makes you happy I can tell you that I dropped that plan after the fall of the Ancestral Witches," Valtor replied. "I must admit, I'm glad you told me how you felt. It was really bothering me, especially since it feels like it has only been months since we worked together. I find it rather funny how, despite all we've done together, in the end you've been rewarded with this sweet headmistress position and I have been erased from my country's history, doomed to be an inter-dimensional bogeyman. But hey," he said, folding his hands with a smirk. "I make for a pretty good bogeyman. And fact is that I can't have you trying to stop me again. It's nothing personal of course".
"Don't underestimate me, Valtor," Griffin said, wind twirling around her form. "I've had years to train and study. I am far stronger than I was back then".
"Indeed. But fact is, that's not enough to beat me," Valtor said and suddenly clenched his hands.
Griffin stiffened as burning pain exploded in her back. She fell on her knees as it felt like somebody showed a heated knife into her spine. She gasped and groaned in pain, tears welling in her eyes as she tried to focus through the haze. She lost control of her legs and her mind was clouded with a fog of thick agony.
"That would be the nerves in your thoracic spine I'm clenching right now," Valtor explained. "Circa sixth to eleventh vertebrae. You see, I don't need the fine control my mark affords me to pluck your nerves like a violin".
Griffin clenched her teeth, fighting to even think with the pain hammering her skull. She weakly raised a hand, ready to direct her magic towards Valtor. She suddenly felt a glowed hand grasp hers.
"Goodnight, Guinevere," Valtor offered, before the headmistress collapsed.
The door to the office opened and the Usurpers stepped in.
"I take it she refused your offer," Darcy noted as she eyed the headmistress.
"Indeed. Not surprising, but she deserved the offer at least," Valtor said. The floor under the unconscious headmistress undulated and she was sucked through. "So, everything under control out there?"
"Surprisingly, yes. Everything appears to be in order," Stormy reported genuinely surprised. "Your plan worked without a hitch". She paused for a moment. "Well, without any hitch I can think off at the moment".
"Then we just need to take care of one thing," the well-dressed sorcerer said. "I have found out that Griffin placed the Blade of Blackfire in the vaults beneath the school. That is what originally made me interested me in this school. We should take it for ourselves".
"Well then, let's get going," Icy said and the group left the office. "By the way, I am curious," the white-haired witch continued. "What about your soldiers on Andros?"
"I have no use of them anymore, so I removed my control," Valtor said. "They are now free again".
"Isn't that a waste of resources?" Darcy asked. "You could always have held them hostage".
"Maintaining control at this stage would be a waste of my energy. Besides, what do we need merfolk for when we have our new army?" the dandy sorcerer asked as the four of them passed by rows upon rows of mind-controlled witches, all of them waiting for commands.
And outside, the mark of Valtor shined grimly, emblazoned on the side of Cloud Tower.
...
At Alfea, the day was going pretty much as normal. Students were lounging in the courtyard in the break between classes, enjoying the many colours of fall. There was talking, eating and games being played.
But then one of the students looked up to gaze at the beautiful multicoloured forest that surrounded Alfea and noticed something. A boy marched out of the woods. His eyes seemed dead to the world, gazing into nothingness, yet he marched with purpose. And then a girl marched out of the woods too. And one more. And another. Dozens upon dozens of people, most of them late teenagers and early adults, marched out of the woods and stopped by the barriers edge, gazing soullessly at the faeries. Most of them had Valtor's mark visible on their skin.
"Miss Griselda! Miss Griselda!" one of the faeries called as he ran up to the front entrance. "You gotta see this, now!"
"Yes, I'm coming. What is..." the witch asked as she stepped out. "Going... on...?" She blinked rapidly at the sight of the horde that had surrounded her school.
Then the controlled students parted and allowed Valtor to march up to the barrier. "Good evening everybody!" he happily greeted them all. "I am Valtor and I have come for the Shield of Morgause, which I know you have. And which I imagine powers this thing," he noted, knocking on the shield with his knuckles.
"Go warn the other teachers, now," Griselda ordered to the student, before marching into the courtyard as the assembled students pulled back from the gate. She glared at Valtor.
"Ah, Griselda. Good to see you again," Valtor said as he recognised the deputy. "Tell me, is every single member of the Company of Light employed at these schools?"
"That is none of your concern," Griselda replied sharply. "What have you done to these kids?"
"I took control of Cloud Tower some hours ago," Valtor replied with a shrug. "So if you think you can keep me out, I will have to disappoint you. It's not going to work. Why not make this easier for everybody involved? Just give me the shield and I'll be on my way again".
"I will not be intimidated by the likes of you," Griselda warned him.
"Again with the bravado," the dandy magi sighed. "Really now, is that shield worth so much you would risk your students?"
"It is not about the shield," the deputy said, her voice a low warning. "It's about you".
"Fine, I see how it is," Valtor said. "We do this the hard way. Fair enough, I figured as much". He rubbed his chin. "Tell me, who was it that ripped a hole in this barrier".
Griselda stiffened for a moment.
"Because I can see the fracture," Valtor noted as he pulled his fist back. "Weak and faint, but it's... Right... HERE!" he yelled as he punched, focusing a large part of his magic into his hand. The shield wobbled and waved, ripples spreading across the surface like it was made of water. And then the shield began falling apart, a spider web of cracks spreading from the impact of Valtor's fist. He adjusted his coat as the entire shield collapsed into a rain of glimmers and sparkles, a victorious smirk on his face. He faintly nodded and the mind-controlled witches stormed forward.
Griselda gritted her teeth and raised her hands, a wall of earth smashing its way through the cobblestones, blocking entry. Even as that halted one charge, she could hear the sounds of combat in other places. Valtor had the school surrounded and now all of the students of Cloud Tower were attacking. The faeries began fighting back, but were limited in what they could do. Their enemies were not some faceless horrors summoned by a ritual to act as cannon fodder. These were real people, who were merely forced to fight for Valtor's cause. Many faeries did what they could to disable the witches, a gesture that was returned by the attacking witches. Soon, chaos spread through the entire school.
In one of the hallways, Palladium and Avalon had been running to join up with Griselda when several witches broke through the windows and immediately began flinging spells in their general direction.
As he blocked the projectiles with his golden shield, Avalon turned to his co-worker and asked: "Is there any way to cure them?"
Palladium, who had tried to focus on his magic, replied: "Not immediately. The meta-magical properties of the mark's bindings are incredibly complicated. I would need a lot more times". He paused to duck a fireball. "And not be fired upon".
"Very well then. If we cannot cure their affliction, we can prevent them from harming others while under Valtor's influence," Avalon said while focusing his own magic. Shining bubbles formed around several of the witches and hoisted them into the air.
In the dining hall, tables and chairs had been raised as barricades to keep the witches back, fairies firing what spells they could to hold the witches back.
"We need more chairs," Ophelia called as she put shoulder to one of the barricades, using all her strength to prevent the witches from breaking through.
"My soufflé is ruined, my kitchen is ruined, my break is ruined," SeFogelia complained as he hauled more inventory to the improvised frontline. "Zis 'ave not been a good day so far".
In another hallway, an attempt by the witches to advance had been halted by the pixies. Between Piff yelling in their ears, Livy biting their skin, Amore blasting them with bursts of perfume, Tune jabbing them with a miniature stun prod and Glim blinding them, the witches' advance had been brought to a complete stop as Valtor's minions tried to swat the diminutive beings.
In another hallway, three witches were suddenly encased in sticky foam, gluing them to the walls and floor.
"How'd you like that!?" Techna yelled as she prepared another grenade.
"I doubt they're even capable of opinions at this juncture," Musa remarked as she stopped another witch with a migraine inducing tone.
"Shame. I need feedback," the scarred girl commented as she prepared another grenade.
In a classroom not far from them, Aisha's head suddenly jerked up as she said: "Right doorway".
Two witches burst in through said door, only to be greeted by a blinding flash of light from Stella.
"There we go," the blonde said satisfied. "You're getting really good at that whole, like, sensing thing".
"Thanks. Though I wish I could do more," the princess of Tides admitted.
"Boy, do I know that feeling," Stella commented.
"At least you can actually fight back," Bloom, who was bandaging a classmate, said. "I'm afraid what my fire will do to them".
"Left doorway," Aisha said as more witches came after them. "I guess I could rip some water from the sprinklers, but I'd rather not damage the school if it can be avoided".
"Why don't you just, like, carry some water on you?" Stella asked. "Would be tots more convenient than always hoping there will water nearby".
"Yeah. I mean, both Techna and Flora carry stuff around for their magic," Bloom added.
Aisha looked speculative as Stella fired more blinding flashes.
Close to their cluster, three witches struggled as strong vines tied them up. Flora took a deep breath as she relaxed for a moment.
"Thanks," Mirta said gratefully. "Are you hurt?"
"A minor wound. Nothing to be concerned over," Flora reassured her girlfriend as she eyed a small scrape on her shoulder. "And do not thank me. I was more than happy to help. Plus, I am sure I would have suffered greater injury without your illusions".
"Well, you know, just looking out for you," Mirta commented with a smile and a blush while looking at her feet. "So, what do we do with them?"
Flora eyed the witches, commenting: "Hopefully we will have the chance to hand them over to the staff. Maybe they can find a cure".
"I hope so," Mirta answered sadly. "I saw Lucy among those who attacked the school".
The Limphean noble put a hand on her lover's shoulder and said empathetically: "My condolences. But I will do everything I can to help her. As well as the rest of the witches".
Outside, Griselda took another step back as Valtor ripped another barrier apart.
"Earth may be your knack, Griselda," he commented dusting dust of his gloves. "But I have mastered the element as well. Do not think you can actually fight me and win".
"Even so, I will defend this school to the end," Griselda said defiantly, steadying herself for another attack.
Valtor took a step forward as he prepared to take Griselda out of the fight, but was stopped when an immense force began pushing him down. He instinctively hardened his body to prevent himself from breaking under the strain, but even so, the stones beneath his feet cracked and splintered as he slowly began sinking into the ground. Straining, he lifted his head and eyed his new opponent. "Hello, Faragonda," he said with a small amount of effort. "It's been a while. Though you've grown very old".
"I have," Faragonda admitted as she stepped forward. "Griselda, the eastern end of the school is more or less overrun. I need you to assist".
"At once, headmistress," Griselda said before storming off.
"So, come to lock me up again?" Valtor questioned.
"I have come to defend my school," Faragonda replied. "I will not allow you to harm my students".
"To be fair, the easiest way would have been to just give me the artefact," the dandy magi countered. "I did give you the offer, after all".
"You may be used to having people bend and bow to you will, but we will not live in fear of you nor your ilk again," Faragonda said as she stepped forward, increasing the gravity that was pushing down on Valtor. "Nor will we readily hand over the tools of our own oppression".
"Please, do dispense with the drama," Valtor sighed.
"You're one to talk," Faragonda replied.
"Touché. That aside, is your plan to keep trying to crush me into the ground?" Valtor asked, now knee-deep in the courtyard. "Because as you might have noticed, it is not exactly having much of an effect besides scuffing my shoes".
"I didn't imagine it would have," Faragonda muttered, before suddenly shifting the gravitational force in another direction. A rather surprised Valtor was ripped from the ground and was launched with the speed of a bullet out of Alfea and into the forest, smashing through several trees in the process. The fairy headmistress pushed away several witches as she hurried after her adversary, not noticing three not so possessed individuals sneaking in during the confusion.
Faragonda shifted gravity around her, leaping into the air and sailing across the forest in order to find Valtor. Noticing a rather sizeable line of torn up dirt, she landed to inspect the damage. Much to her dismay, though not her surprise, Valtor was not laying stunned in the suddenly created ditch.
The ground behind her exploded and Valtor launched himself out of it, before hurling several boulders at the headmistress.
Faragonda countered, smashing the boulders out of the air or just crushing them. She focused, reversing the gravity beneath Valtor and forced him into the air, holding so that he could not touch the ground.
"It's over," Faragonda said as she kept the struggling magi away from the ground. "I know those spells. You need to remain in contact with the earth in order to use them".
Valtor struggled to move and Faragonda could feel the slight tingle as he tried to use his magic directly on her, but she countered by spinning him around, throwing off his aim and focus. "You campaign ends here," she declared.
And then Valtor faded, much to the headmistress' shock. It had been an illusion.
A gloved hand grasped her shoulder, accompanied by the words: "Oh, I wouldn't say that. But nice try".
...
Back at Alfea, the battle raged on. With efforts focused on detaining the invading witches, it became hard to actually put a dent in the invading force. While individual witches could be stopped, it was but temporarily as their equally possessed comrades could easily free them if given even the slightest amount of time. Truth was that the only reason that the situation had not become a complete bloodbath was that Valtor's troops seemed just as unwilling to kill, though hurting and slightly maiming were all on the table.
Musa found herself pondering why Valtor refrained from killing. Maybe he saw it as a challenge. Maybe he saw killing as a waste of potential resources. Or maybe he just believed that not killing people made him a good person, even though he would happily brainwash, manipulate and cripple if it meant accomplishing his goals. Not that it mattered to the black-haired musician. It was nothing but idle speculation as she tried to find a way to rejoin her friends. The witches had attacked through a wall, causing one of the corridors to collapse, separating her from her classmates. While she would normally have no trouble finding her way around the school, the hallways were filled with rubble, junk and patrols of witches that would gladly put an end to her resistance. Not permanently, of course, but Musa did not particularly enjoy being frozen to the spot, trapped in rocks, paralysed by poison or whatever else the witches could do. Even worse, if she was trapped there was a significant risk of her being hauled off to become another slave under Valtor's control. The thought made her shudder. She very much wanted to keep being in control of her mind and body.
Her eyes caught a sudden change of light outside and she stopped by a window. A curtain of energy began descending over the school. The shield had recharged.
Musa was unsure how much good it would do, but maybe it would keep at least some of the witches out. She turned, prepared to continue to look for a way around the school, when she noticed that she was not alone.
"Hello, Musa," Icy said, eyeing the black-haired girl with a predatory look, idly rolling a staff longer than she was between her fingers.
The black-haired musician immediately reacted, pulling her fans out.
"I would suggest you don't try anything," Darcy said, who was blocking the other way alongside Stormy. "It would not end well. For you, that is".
Musa bit her lip as she tried to figure out how to get out of their pincer attack. While she did not have much respect for the three, she did acknowledge that they were dangerous and that she could not take on all three of them at once without some significant advantage. And being surrounded was definitely not an advantage. But she could break free and get help. Spotting the weak link, she broke into a sudden spring, aiming to knock Icy out long enough to make her escape. She threw her fist, aiming for the white-haired witch's midsection. If Icy tried to dodge, it would be easier to adjust for than if she was attempting to hit her head. Musa tried to keep as many scenarios in mind as she could in an attempt to be prepared. She was prepared for the two others to pursue her or try to shoot her. She was prepared for Icy trying to freeze her or raise a barrier.
But she did not imagine Icy would catch her punch.
Shocked by a combination of the sudden halting of momentum and the realization that Icy had managed to stop her, Musa hesitated for a second. A second Icy used to plant her knee in the black-haired girl's stomach. Musa stumbled back breathlessly, clutching her pained stomach, before having her feet swept away by a swing of Icy's staff. Stunned from the impact, she barely had time to react before Icy pointed the wooden weapon at her throat, a sharp point of ice growing from it.
"Just give me an excuse," Icy said with a vicious smile.
"Now then, with that out of the way, perhaps we can continue on to more productive endeavours," Darcy commented. "The last student we interrogated said that he had heard that the artefact that powers the shield is in the restricted library, but he had no knowledge of where that is. We want you to take us there. And don't play stupid. I know for a fact that you saw the restricted library while fighting Bloom last year. So even if you've never gotten instructions for how to get in, you know the localization, which is more than enough".
"And if I refuse?" Musa asked.
"Then I get to practise all kinds of new techniques I've learned on you," Icy commented.
"Could we... Could we, you know, not do that?" Stormy asked with a shudder, causing the white-haired witch to roll her eyes with a heavy sigh.
Musa took the moment to consider things, before saying: "Okay then. I'll show you".
"Good. And you better not try to pull anything," Icy warned her as she let the black-haired musician get back on her feet. "Otherwise, we'll have an improvised exploration of fairy anatomy".
"Why was it that you taught her to use a weapon?" Stormy asked Darcy as they began following the black-haired fairy.
"Because if I hadn't, Musa would have gotten away," the dirty-blonde replied. "Adding another way for Icy to express her sadistic tendencies will not be a problem as long as she is channelling them towards a productive goal".
"What I'm hearing you say is that we're going to have a problem very soon," the wild-haired witch muttered.
"You know, I'm not deaf," Icy, who was walking just behind Musa, commented.
The fairy musician kept directing them through Alfea's halls. She briefly considered trying to lead them astray, but dropped the idea. While she didn't doubt she could pull that on Stormy or Icy, Darcy was most likely keeping mental notes of where they were going. Taking any unusual directions would have to be explained and Musa figured she could only come up with so many excuses. So she had to come up with a different plan even while leading them to their destination.
Minutes passed as they walked through the halls, occasionally passing by a patrol of witches or some captured students.
Finally, they arrived at the secret door. "It's right through here," Musa said, indicating with her thumb.
"I see. An illusion. Clever," Darcy mumbled as she let her fingers glide across the wall. Finding the handle, she pressed it down and opened the door. Behind it lay the restricted library, dozens upon dozens of tomes and books of dangerous magic arranged inside the tower. Musa immediately noticed something that hadn't been there when she had helped arranging the new books. A pillar has been raised in the middle of the room, a shield inside a strange device on top of it sending a ray of magic up through the ceiling, likely powering the shield. Most likely it hadn't been there last time, because the teachers would occasionally move it to make it less likely to be found.
"Hello and welcome to the library. How may I...?" the seahorse asked as he floated down. He stared at the group, before calling: "Concorda, we're being invaded. Again".
"Oh dear," Concorda muttered as she flew down. "Ah, you three. I remember hearing of you".
"Yes, we do have quite the reputation," Darcy agreed. "Now, we want the shield. In exchange for not making this difficult, we will hand over Musa here. Does that seem fair?"
"I suppose you'll give me little room to negotiate," Concorda commented. "Very well. We'll stand aside".
"Good," Darcy said. She assumed her shadow form and snaked her way up the pillar.
Icy and Stormy both eyed their friend as she manifested on top of the pillar and began dismantling the machine.
This turned out to be the wrong direction to look. The moment she wasn't being watched, Musa suddenly let her power loose and exploded in a shock-wave of sound, knocking Icy and Stormy away from her. The wild-haired witch was knocked into a bookcase. Concorda snapped her fingers and several shelves worth of books jumped from their shelves and buried Maria.
"I do so wish we could refrain from using the books as weaponry," the seahorse commented.
Icy groaned, having hit her head against the edge of a book case and saw Musa run for the door. She lashed out with her staff, a frozen chain growing from the end and wrapping itself around the black-haired girl's foot. She tripped with a yelp and crashed to the floor again.
Icy jumped back on her feet and pulled her staff back, an axe blade of ice growing on one end. "Goodbye," she hissed as she swung it towards Musa's head.
Before her attack could hit, a ball of water hit her in the chest and launched her back. She crashed into the pillar in the middle of the room, a look between confusion and rage on her face.
"Get away from our friend," Aisha warned the white-haired witch, surrounded by Bloom, Stella, Flora and Techna.
"Well, that's a surprise," Stormy mumbled as she got out of the book pile. "So, how did you find us this time?"
"Musa was using her powers to transmit us a message," Bloom said. "Warning us that you were going to the restricted library. So we hurried here and, well, now we're going to beat you up again".
"Could you two handle this? Still kinda busy," Darcy said as she continued to fiddle with the machine.
"Well, I'm glad you showed up," Icy said as she got back up on her legs. "Gives me a chance to smear you across the floor personally".
Bloom literally opened fire, sending a ray of flames towards the white-haired witch, who countered by raising a shield of ice. As Stella began assisting Bloom in pelting the shield and Flora helped Musa, Aisha and Techna charged Stormy. The wild-haired witch responded by sending several books flying through the air with a gust of wind, a particular heavy tome smashing Aisha in the face and knocking her off her feet. Techna weathered the assault and lifted her pipe over her head, ready to smash Stormy's head. Stormy countered by pulling something from under her jacked. With a metalling clang, the pipe smashed against the solid iron of Stormy's mace.
"Oh. That's new," Techna commented.
Stormy growled and raised her weapon, swinging it toward the scarred girl. Techna blocked the attack, but her knees buckled under the impact and her pipe was deformed from the force. Stormy pulled back for an overhead swing and Techna found herself on the defensive as her weapon was smashed again, the electronics inside crushed by the bending metal. Seeing that her opponent was temporarily stunned from the blow, Stormy jabbed her hand into the scarred girl's chest and let loose a torrent of electricity. Techna screamed as she lost control of her muscles and fell to the floor.
Aisha forced herself up, her eyebrow bleeding from the impact of the book, just as Stormy charged her. The princess of Tides recalled the water she had used to hit Icy as used it to try to block Stormy's powerful swings.
Meanwhile, Icy dodged behind a bookcase as Stella tried to hit her with another beam of light. Growling, the white-haired witch ran down one of the smaller corridors, hoping to catch her opponents
She acknowledged that that plan wouldn't work when Bloom also stepped into the same hallway, unleashing a wave of fire in the white-haired witch's direction. Icy immediately raised a wall of ice between the bookshelves, blocking the flames. She doubled back and slipped in between two shelves, looking for a way around her opponents.
Suddenly, vines burst through the shelves, knocking several books away and Icy was forced to fall back towards the centre of the room. As she did, she was almost immediately blasted at by Stella and Musa.
"Don't give her time to recover," Musa warned her friend. "She's learned some new tricks since we last fought them".
"And now it's time for my newest one. Shoving this entire thing straight up your..." Icy began angrily, before being cut off by a weird sound.
"And there we go," Darcy said as she pulled out the shield. "The Shield of Morgause. Quite the artefact". She leapt off the pillar, breaking her fall by melting into the floor before popping out again. "Now then, it's been an... Well, an experience. But we have to leave. Valtor is waiting for his prize".
"And what makes you think we'll just let you go?" Bloom asked, already charging her flames again.
"I don't. However, you won't have a choice. Isabella and Maria are not the only ones with new tricks," Darcy replied with a smile. "Valtor saw fit to grant me... This". Black flames ignited on her body and leapt in all directions, quickly engulfing several books. "The cursed black flames," Darcy remarked as the inferno spread with fearsome speed. "Good luck with that".
"Bloom, fire's, like, your thing," Stella remarked.
"I'm trying. But it's not responding to me," Bloom said as she stepped back, the black inferno quickly eating its way through the shelves.
"Black fire is not a regular form of fire," Flora warned them. "It is more akin to a curse that assumes the form of fire, consuming anything nearby".
The faeries distracted, the three witches hurried up one of the ramps, Darcy spreading more black flames as they went.
"Is it really necessary to completely fuck up the place?" Stormy asked as they reached the upper floor.
"Maybe not, but I'd rather be safe than sorry," Darcy replied. "Isabella. A stairway, please".
Icy concentrated and a staircase of frost shot up through the ceiling window, allowing the witches to escape.
Beneath them, the shelves cracked and fell apart, the black flames consuming everything.
"My water is not working either," Aisha lamented as she tried to put out the flames.
"Then we have tried everything we can," Concorda said. "We must abandon the library".
The girls hurried out of the inferno ravaged library, making sure to close the door behind them.
"And here we've just gotten everything enchanted gain," the seahorse commented. "How vexing".
"At least we're still alive," Concorda pointed out. "That is always something to appreciate".
"There you are," Griselda said as she entered the corridor. "We found a student who said that the Usurpers where in the school, looking for the restricted library".
"And they've just left again," Techna commented. "Mind getting Light Knight or Slender up here? There's a rather vicious curse nomming up all the books".
"I'm afraid it's true," the guardian pixie confirmed. "The Usurpers stole the Shield of Morgause and Darcy now possesses the ability to create black fire".
"I figured that somebody had the shield," Griselda replied. "The witches fell back after the barrier went down again, so I assumed somebody had gotten what they all came here for". She sighed. "I'm afraid I've also got very bad news. While it may be too early to state anything definite, there can be no doubt about one thing". She looked the girls straight in the eyes as she said: "Faragonda is missing".