The next morning, Madison and Vida arrived at the Viner Street Bakery to find it locked and closed.
"Hm…why's Xander not here yet?" Madison said.
"Yeah, he's never late to anything, let alone as late as we are." Vida replied. "Nick's over at his house, I'll call him."
Vida took out her wand. "Parle Parfait."
"Hello?" Nick's voice rang out.
"Hey, is Xander there?" Vida asked.
"I haven't heard him come downstairs, and I've been up since four this morning. He was slamming about last night in there, but then he finally crashed around midnight…literally."
"Literally?" Madison asked. Xander was very personal with the things he owned, especially the things in his room. The news that he broke anything belonging to him sounded unusual.
"Yeah. Something sounded like it broke apart up there…maybe a chair or something larger."
"I hope he's okay…" Vida replied.
"I'll go check on him now, if that makes you two feel better."
"Maybe we should come over, too."
"No, I got it all under control." Nick replied. "Russell, signing out."
"You gotta love that." Vida replied, sliding her wand pack into her apron's pocket.
"So…we go home?" Madison asked.
"Let's go check up on Clare. She's probably strangled Mr. Mysterian and his overgrown Chocobo by now."
"Vi…" Madison scolded.
"Maddie…" Vida replied in the same tone.
"C'mon, sis, let's go." Vida said, marching into the forest.
"Can't you two just…pretend…to be nice? You know, for the sake of being part of a team?" Madison began asking as she followed her unusually angry sister to Rootcore.
Nick walked up the staircase that led to Xander's room after his third try at a staircase. Xander's house looked small from the outside, but it almost seemed like it was, at the very least, three times larger on the inside.
"Xander…?" Nick called out. No response. He then spotted a small girl standing outside his door like a sentry.
"Who are you?" Nick asked.
"Master Xander requests that I guard the door to his chambers." Acantha said.
"I just came to see if he's okay. Is he?"
"He said something about a mold…or was it a cold? I'm not sure…he was mumbling through the door."
"So he's sick?"
"He is not in peak physical health, I assume. He said he was going to rest…he's trudging around heavily, as well…dragging his feet around quite loudly."
"I see. Well, thanks…I didn't catch your name."
"I am called Acantha, Red Magician."
"How'd you…?" He then realized he was wearing his red trimmed cloak. "Oh, heh. Okay then. Thanks, Acantha."
"Anything for a friend of my master's."
"…Yeah." Nick walked downstairs as he pulled his wand out of his cloak pocket.
Madison and Vida arrived at Rootcore to find Chip outside with a cloak and civilian clothes on, running with his arms spread out.
"C'mon, Tsubasa! Keep it up!" He shouted at the sky.
"Teaching the chicken to fly, eh?" Vida commented. Chip flashed her a menacing look.
"I'm teaching it to catch things mid-flight next. Care to help with the stationary targets?"
"Alright you two…" Madison said, pushing Vida inside.
"Hey you two!" Clare said happily as the Rocca girls walked in.
"Can you keep Vida inside?" Madison asked.
"Why? Are you going out to make kissy faces with Bird Boy?" Vida snapped back.
"Vida, grow up." Madison replied.
"I'm taking that as a yes!" Vida replied as Clare grabbed Vida by the shoulders and sat her down in her chair.
Madison walked out to greet Chip. "Hey."
"Hey Maddie. How're you feeling today?"
"I'm okay. Woke up slowly today, took appreciation in waking up."
"I know the feeling for once." Chip joked. Tsubasa descended from the sky and landed next to Madison. For a newborn, he already came up to her knee.
"They grow so fast…"
"If he weren't so coddled in a sheltering environment, he'd have to fend on his own by now. If he hadn't learned any good skills, he'd be left to die…" Chip replied, sounding like he was reciting his words. "It's just how life is in the wild for everything. Survive, or disappear."
"I see…"
"But he's got a loving family here…"
"Yeah."
They both smiled lightly, and Tsubasa lightly squawked.
"Madison?" Nick called out from Madison's wand.
"Yeah?" Madison asked as she pulled her wand out.
"I went upstairs…Xander apparently has a doorgirl, now…"
"I'm not surprised." Madison joked. "So, what's the situation?"
"Xander's got a mold, cold, anemia, or something along those lines. He's supposedly not feeling well, and is sleeping to the best of my knowledge."
"That is unfortunate." Chip replied. "Should I mix him up a potion?"
"Hey Chip, and no, I don't think so. I don't think he wants to be bothered."
"Xander's never sick…it kind of explains why he's upset."
"Maybe he's delirious with fever." Nick commented.
"Well, he could be upset that he got sick. I mean, we were down in Infershia…who knows what's down there for us to get sick from?"
"The only thing I could imagine anybody getting from Infershia is a headache." Chip joked. Madison frowned, and Nick failed to respond. "…Sorry about that."
"Well, I'll stay here and watch the house for you guys. I'll immediately inform you of anything that happens."
"Okay then. Take care, Nick."
"You too, Maddie. Russell, out."
"Vida's right, that's kinda catchy." Madison said as she slipped her wand back into her pocket.
"Have we nothing to do, Nai-chan?" Mae griped as she sat on Xander's roof next to her other half. They had been waiting to see Xander again, to see another outburst.
"Shush! This was your idea." Nai replied.
"My idea?"
"Your idea."
Nai and Mae sighed; Xander hadn't moved at all. They couldn't even smell his blood anymore.
"Do you think he's…dead?" Mae asked.
"No, I feel life in his room…it's his life force, alright."
"Is it strong?" Mae asked.
"Stronger than normal…" Nai replied. "It wasn't this strong last night…"
"Maybe he's gotten too strong?"
Nai pondered this for a moment while making a thinking sound. "Hmm. Well, if he's too strong, then maybe rest wouldn't be the best thing for him…I mean, rest only makes humans stronger."
"Maybe it's not physical strength…maybe he conjured up a bit too much magic…humans do have a limit on how much magic they can use before they can burn out…"
"Maybe…" Nai found this whole predicament to be perplexing; if he were too tired from magic overuse, then he wouldn't have had enough strength to saunter out onto the balcony, let alone enough power to toss things around, however, if he was too strong, then how would laying down and not depleting the excess magic make him better? Nai frowned; nothing seemed to be right.
"Oh, I hear movement!" Mae said, crouching down.
"Master Xander, you are not well! Please lay down!" Acantha shouted as Xander trudged his way across the balcony. He was still wearing the heavy black cloak, and this time he was carrying his broom.
"Master…?" Mae blinked.
"Master…" Nai snorted at the thought that a Magician of any color had any sort of servant.
"Acantha, I'll be fine. I just need some air." Xander replied. "Levia." He dropped the broom and it stopped moving in mid-air. He climbed on it, letting it nearly hit the ground before adjusted to Xander's sudden drop on top of it. "Movrum." The broom slowly took off and flew towards the forest.
"Should we follow?" Mae asked.
"We follow." Nai said.
"Follow, follow!" Mae replied as the two formed Vankyuria and flew off in pursuit.
Xander found himself flying out towards the forest, but away from Rootcore. He didn't feel like being around anybody, not now at least.
"Somehow, I'll be fine…" He softly reassured himself as he flew towards a remote section of the forest.
"Why's he out there…?" Vankyuria mused aloud as she continued flying.
Vida sighed; she was being forced to stay inside because Chip and Madison were outside.
"How come they get to run the show around here?" Vida complained as Clare walked by.
"Well, for now, Rootcore belongs to Charlie since he is the closest living relative to Udonna. I am but a maid, so I don't really have any say other than enforcing whatever rules he sets."
"So you just take his crap?"
"He's not very bossy; he mostly spends his time practicing potion making or reading books. He's intent on being a good Magician, like he's always been."
"…Always?" Vida blinked.
"Yeah, Charlie and I go way back to when we were kids." Clare blushed as she began dusting off the dais. "Udonna took me in when I was little; I was an orphan, and I guess Udonna saw potential in me. Not like I understand what she ever saw in me, I mean…I'm not as smart or capable as she ever made me out to be."
"You're smart and capable!" Vida replied.
"You think?" Clare blushed.
"I mean, you knew Nick was the Red Magician, right?"
"Well, yeah…" Clare smiled.
"And you're very useful to us…we wouldn't have anybody to tell us about our new spells without you!"
"I guess you're right…"
"So ha, you're wrong. You're very useful."
"I can't outsmart you, Vida." Clare replied sarcastically.
"So, what's this about Chip being related to Udonna?" Vida said, placing her hands on her hips.
"Well, they're not of any blood relation, really."
"Oh?"
"The Thorns are old friends of Udonna's, so when Charlie was born, they wanted Udonna to be his godmother, and she was more than happy to accept. At least, that's the story I heard from his older sister."
"Oh."
"But yeah, Udonna's treated Charlie sort of like a son whenever he visited Rootcore…I can imagine that she'd want him to take over the place since…well, she doesn't have any blood relatives to take care of the place…" Clare hesitated from prying further.
"Did Udonna never get married or anything?"
"…I'd rather not-"
"Clare, c'mon, yes or no?"
"That's not my pla-"
"I'll take it as a yes, then."
"I never said yes!"
"Then tell me otherwise."
"…I don't have to tell you anything."
"Ha! She was married." Vida laughed. Clare sighed and slammed down the feather duster.
"Fine, you want me to be a rude person? Yes, she was married, and she even had a son. Her husband died and her son disappeared. There, are you happy?" Clare teared up and stormed up to her room.
"Udonna…was a widow…?" Vida commented softly. She stood there for a moment, then sighed. "I can see why it's hard to talk about it…" Vida then grabbed her broom and walked out.
"Hey Vida, whe-" Madison began.
"I'm going for a ride. Don't mother me." She snapped back before wordlessly levitating her broom, leaping on, and taking off.
"Boy, she treats everybody with kindness, doesn't she?" Chip asked.
"Something's bothering her. She's nice to me most of the time…" Madison replied.
Xander found himself slowly flying down towards the jagged mountains that made up the true barrier between Mysteria and the mortal realm, slowly contemplating taking up refuge there for a while. Suddenly, a quick movement caught his eye, and he stopped the broom.
"Huh?" Xander said as he looked down. More movements, faster, almost like…"Is there a swarm…?" Xander said as he quickly dropped down to touch the treetops.
Dozens of axetips and spears could be seen, and one led them all: Morrigan.
"That little bitch…" He looked towards his wand, but then swallowed hard. "…No. I'll do this without them. There's not that many…" He decided not to count the small sea beneath him.
He zoomed out in front of the group and waited in an open clearing, ditching his broom to protect it. He pulled his cloak close to him, pulled his hood farther over. He was going to fight anonymously…as anonymously as he could.
Morrigan seemed shocked to see a lone Magician waiting for her. "Oh, what do we have here…?" She mockingly called out, letting roughly two dozen Hideacs step in front of her.
"I won't let you pass." Xander replied.
"Aren't you a brave little Magician…?" Morrigan taunted.
"Faith and Bravery are all I need." Xander grinned. His brace grew warm; it was the first bit of warmth he had felt in a while.
"I'll let it be your funeral then." Morrigan cackled. "GET HIM!" With a wave of her arm, the two dozen Hideacs charged.
Vankyuria stopped and began watching the scene from afar. She split into Nai and Mae for the occasion.
"Did we tell our servant to attack like this…?" Nai asked.
"No attacks…" Mae replied.
"What does she think she's doing?" Nai commented.
"Mido-kun's going to fight alone!" Mae started to cry.
"Don't cry!" Nai said, letting Mae cry on her shoulder.
"Alone, alone, alone!" Mae repeated.
"If he can pull a few fast ones on us, then I think he will win and show our stupid servant." Nai replied.
"Yeah! Go Mido-kun!" Mae shouted. "I won't cheer that again…that felt weird."
"Please don't say that again." Nai replied.
"Don't plan on it."
Xander transmuted his wand into an axe similar to his MagiStaff Axe and began hacking away at the first few Hideacs that came close.
"Is that all you've got?" Xander taunted. He hadn't ever imagined that he'd be good with a double-sided axes, but he had experience with hatchets and this wasn't that much different; all that was needed in change was a bit of extra muscle behind the swing.
A Hideac slid behind him in the second wave and slammed his rock spear into Xander's back; and although it didn't dive into his body like it should, it still jolted Xander forwards.
"Ow!" Xander cried, turning around and driving the axe into the Hideac's face. "How'd ya like that?"
"That blow should have severed his spine…why didn't it?" Morrigan asked a Hideac next to her. The Hideac shrugged. "I have a better plan…send the rest out at once." The Hideac looked at her questioningly while grunting. "You heard me! If we can't crush him, we'll wear him down and knock him out!"
The crowd behind Morrigan rushed forwards, surprising Xander. He didn't know so many had been out there.
"If I knew there were…so many…" Xander replied. Four Hideacs all slammed their blades into Xander, knocking him backwards.
"Look at all the Hideacs…" Nai said.
"Did she make Wolzard help her…?" Mae replied.
"Using our pets and our ally? That little wench!" Nai complained.
"This fight is unfair!" Mae complained.
Several Hideacs charged with their blades poised for a kill, and Xander attempted to dodge their blades, only to have them sink the blades hard into his cloak and running him into a large tree.
"Oh no…" Xander said unhappily, trying to wiggle himself and the cloak free. "If I wasn't wearing this stupid thing, I could just zip on through this tree…ugh…"
"Ah, a dart board!" Morrigan replied. "Thank you, my faithful minions!"
"Hey, those're our faithful minions…" Nai whimpered.
"Aren't the other Magicians going to help him…?" Mae replied, crying on Nai's sleeve.
Two cloaked figures walked up from the distance, both holding lion head staffs, both wearing pointed hats. They walked past the tree where Nai and Mae were and stood at the back of the field, yet still out of sight from everybody but the Vampire Queen. They caught Nai's attention, and she gasped.
"Those sticks…" Nai murmured, catching Mae's attention.
"Those ribbons…" Mae replied, referring to the green and pink ribbons on their hats.
"Why are they standing there…?" Nai asked Mae.
"Mido-kun is a fellow Magician…why don't they help him?" Mae began to sniffle. "Are they going to make him fight alone…?"
Xander braced himself as Morrigan screeched and fired off a Hawk's Eye, tossing it into Xander's chest. The force broke the tree behind Xander, causing the tree to fall forwards on the blades. The force of gravity yanked him out of his cloak, and Xander panicked.
"Hiding, are we? Not for long!" Morrigan threw a Hawk's Eye vertically, splitting the tree in half and making it fall to the sides. She gasped. "What is this…?"
Xander panicked, trying to hide himself. Unfortunately, he couldn't.
"He looks like a big black rock!" Morrigan laughed. Xander whimpered and tried to hide once again.
"You mock me?" Xander shouted. The Green Rose on his Nature Brace glowed brighter.
"No, I pity you! You're so dumb, that you screw up simple spells!"
"Augh! Damn you!" Xander screamed. "I've had enough of you and this fight!" The Green Rose shined brightly as he slammed his fist on the ground, and a shockwave pulsed from the impact. His rocky shell shattered as Earth Magic surged through him and into the ground.
The ground beneath the Hideacs shook violently, and giant hunks of jagged bedrock shot up out of the ground, impaling scores of them. The Hideacs who survived that began to fall into sinkholes with no hope of getting out. The few who escaped the sinkholes and the bedrock spears fell victim to the thorn whips that shot up like living razor wire, pulling down its victims and tearing them to shreds. The razor thorn whips then tore through the trapped and mangled corpses, heading straight for Morrigan.
Xander felt the drag of the Green Rose's power, and he struggled to stay awake. One last surge of energy was forced out of him by the Green Rose to power the chasing razor thorn whips, and he crashed to the ground and started to shake a bit.
"Do we help him now?" The Pink Magician asked.
"No." The Green Magician replied.
"Why does he let a fellow Magician suffer…?" Mae asked through hitched breaths.
"He's as heartless as Branken-sama…" Nai replied in a shocked tone.
Morrigan cackled as she flew up into the air, opening a Dark Circle and shooting through just before the razor thorn vines had a chance to catch her. The vines collapsed to the ground, driving some of the thorns into the grass below.
"Can we go now?" Pink Magician squealed, tugging on Green Magician's sleeve.
"I intend to." Green Magician walked out onto the scarred battlefield, followed by Pink Magician.
Xander shook mildly in the ball he had curled up into. The Green Magician sighed, then smiled. "Lujuna Majiine." He aimed his wand at Xander, and a softly flowing silver light enveloped him. "Let us go for now."
"That's it…?" Pink Magician asked. "We're just going to leave him here…?"
"Where would we bring him…?"
"Back home!"
"What's the use?" Green Magician said as he walked off.
"His friends! He has them, you know!"
"It's not worth it." Green Magician replied.
"Damn you!" Pink Magician shouted following Green Magician out of the battle scene.
Xander slowly opened his eyes to see an old familiar face smiling at him. "Mama…Mama Rocca?"
The woman smiled, her long black hair falling down nearly in his face. "Rest, Little Xander." Her warm smile reminded Xander so much of Madison's smile.
"Am I…dreaming…?" Xander asked weakly.
"Close your eyes and you can dream peacefully. You're safe and sound…" Mama Rocca replied, gently running a hand over Xander's head. Xander sighed happily and closed his eyes, falling into a deep sleep.
Nai and Mae waited for a few moments after everybody else had left before they slowly moved down to the field. They slowly bent over and looked at Xander. The Green Rose had fallen back into emptiness once more.
Nai lightly poked Xander in the back of his ribs. "Eh. Nothing."
Mae started crying into her sleeves. "Oh, don't cry, Mae-chan!"
"He was all alone! We should have helped him punish our stupid servant!" Mae shouted. "It wasn't fair!"
Nai looked down at Xander and turned him on his back. After a few moments, she smiled and turned to face Mae. "We can still help him punish our servant."
"No we can't! He's all gone!" Mae cried. "He left all alone, and now we can't help him punish our servant!"
"Yes we can, Mae." Nai said with a smile.
Mae stopped crying. "You don't mean…"
"What better punishment than to make her do what took her an army to do over again?"
"But…but…we'd be helping those horrible Mahoutsukai!"
"We can't fight every battle for the Master. Sometimes we must give up a victory or two."
Mae looked down, then smiled softly. "Yes, yes, very true. We have to let our enemies win sometimes if we want our victories to be sweeter."
"So, what do you say? Just for today, to spite our backstabbing servant, we give the Mahoutsukai a victory?"
"To spite." Mai replied.
They both dug into their pockets for their respective lip glosses; purple for Mae, and vein blue for Nai.
"I feel dirty." Mae said.
"We're not helping him, remember, we're punishing our servant." Nai replied.
"Punish, spite, help the Light." Mae joked.
"…You're right, it sounds bad, doesn't it?" Nai replied with an evil grin.
"We wouldn't be the Queen Vampire if we weren't causing trouble for somebody!" Mae replied.
"Morrigan deserves a good prank." Nai replied.
They then put on their lip glosses, puckered quickly, and bent over Xander's face. "Queen Vampire no Kissu!" They shouted, grabbing Xander's shoulders and pressing their lips hard against Xander's cheeks, leaving all of their lip gloss on his cheeks.
The lip gloss sank into his skin, dissipating into his bloodstream and slowly revitalizing him. After a minute or so, Xander groaned a bit as he slowly woke up. He looked up and saw a woman sitting over him wearing a long, modest grey dress. Her face was covered in a veil that hung from a black bonnet, and her long straight black hair hung in two loose ponytails that were tied at the bottom of her hairline.
"…Who…who are you…?"
"Take your time getting up." The woman said. Her voice was sharp, authoritative, and somewhat deeper than the average female voice. Despite all that, there was a hint of sincerity to it.
Xander smiled. "Whatever you say…" He replied, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
Vankyuria sighed as she got up. "That was too close…" She muttered, grabbing Xander's broom and lying it beside him as soon as she was sure that he was back asleep. She got up, then frowned. "No, no, this won't do…" Vankyuria replied. She deeply sighed. "Oh, the things I do to amuse myself. Douza Mejira." A Dark Circle opened up beneath them, and they quickly zipped off back to Briarwood.
Vida continued on her ride away from Rootcore, unsure of how to feel. She had made poor Clare cry, and the news she got out of her was unsettling.
Udonna had a husband and a son, but neither were around anymore.
Vida suddenly thought of her own mother, and how hard it was for her and Madison to watch their mother die. She could only imagine how hard it would be to lose both a husband and a son.
"Maybe I shouldn't have been so prying…" Vida said to herself sadly. She swooped down and flew over the treetops as she headed towards an area of clearing dust. "Wonder what happened over there. It looks like some sort of explosion…"
She pulled her broom upwards, soaring up higher as she continued forwards. She saw the mangled carnage wrapped within the earthen binds as she got within three hundred feet of the scene. "Holy shit…what happened down there…?" She commented to herself, her eyes widening in shock. "I should check for survivors…"
She landed in the empty field to find no remains of life amongst the myriad bodies amongst the chaotic debris. "Who did all of this…?" Vida asked aloud, awestruck by the sheer destruction of the landscape.
"Why hello there, Magician of the Wind!" A voice cackled from afar. Vida couldn't see who was calling her out.
"Who's there?" Vida shouted.
"Perhaps you could see if there wasn't so much garbage between us!" The voice shouted. Moments later, a wide pink arc of light sawed through the rubble, allowing Vida to see that Morrigan was on the other side.
"You!" Vida shouted.
"What, were you expecting anybody else?" Morrigan replied. She fired off another Hawk's Eye to split Vida in half, but Vida had other plans.
She levitated her broom just high enough to give her leverage, then she did a spinning leap into the air holding her wand point-upwards at the sky. "Maagi Magi Majiiro!" A pink Magic Circle opened up above Vida, which transformed her into her Pink Mystic Armor as she spun through it. She descended just as the Hawk's Eye beam flew over the bristled part of her broom.
"Jii Jijiru! MagiStaff Battle Mode!" Her MagiStaff magically extended, and four rotating prongs shot up to protect her Fairy Crystal.
"The little witch has got herself a big wand…" Morrigan cackled. "But does it got what mine has?" Morrigan pulled out her wand; it appeared to be made of ebony wood. "Let's see how you like this! Aero Corona!" Several blasts of intensely powerful wind shot out of Morrigan's wand, slamming into Vida and knocking her into a tree.
"Fine, you wanna play rough? Let's go! Jii Maji Majika! Tornado Javelin!" Vida shouted, spinning the rotating prongs and summoning the narrow spiral of wind she needed to blast Morrigan back.
"Aero Corona!" The wind this time was even more intense. The various wind tunnel making up the Corona seemed to swallow the Tornado Javelin whole.
"Augh, no!" Vida shouted, spinning the prongs once more. "I can't let you beat me…"
One last spin of the prongs, and the Corona proved itself to be too much, even for three Tornado Javelins attempting to pierce it. It smashed the javelins to bits and slammed into Vida, tearing at her armor and weapon and sending her flying into the tree once again. Her transformation was forced away in a gale of wind.
"I'm still the best Wind Magician the Master knows!" Morrigan cheered. "Funny, since I hate using it. But alas, I had to know if the mighty Wind Magician who replaced the Wind Scout was really all I hoped they would be…" Morrigan walked over and picked Vida up by the throat. Vida responded by scowling, flailing, and attempting to pull Morrigan's hands off of her. "I have to say…you're no better than he is."
"I'll be happy when you burn in Hell." Vida taunted. "I'll be happy when we put you out of your misery."
"I'd like to see you all try. You're supposed to be the strong one, aren't you?"
"We're all strong."
"I killed your stupid friend, despite the mess he made…" Morrigan waved her free hand about, signifying what she meant.
"Xander? You killed Xander? You bitch!"
"Oh, he put up a good fight. I can't claim to strike the final blow, but I will admit to doing most of the damage myself." Morrigan laughed.
Vida's Pink Squall gem on her anklet began to glow, and it caught Morrigan's eye. Again…? Maybe I could do the same thing twice… "So, Wind Magician, what do you plan to do to keep from sharing his fate?"
"This!" Vida squarely planted her left foot on the ground as the Pink Squall charm glowed intensely. She then pushed off with her right foot and began to spin as she tightly grabbed Morrigan's wrists. The spinning of the Pink Squall charm created an instant tornado around Vida as she spun. After a few turns, Vida was lifted off the ground along with Morrigan. As they reached a height roughly above the trees at high speeds, Vida let go of Morrigan and sent her flying down into the ground.
"Ugh!" Morrigan grunted as she tried to push herself up. "What was that…?"
Vida slowly descended, still spinning until she softly touched the ground. "Whoa…" Vida said in an awed tone. "All that spinning, and I'm not even dizzy!"
"That power…" Morrigan mused as she once against reached for her wand. "She seems so unfazed…so vivacious…this can't be!"
"Not this time! Maaji Maji Majiiro!" Vida quickly transformed back into her Pink Mystic Armor. "Have I got a trick for you!"
She took out her wand and crossed her arms over her chest, wand gripped firmly in her right hand. "Fairy Change! Maagi Majiiro!" A wave of pink fairy dust surrounded her body, seemingly emanating from the Mystic Armor itself. It glittered and glowed as it fully surrounded Vida, and finally it collected around her back and exploded in flashes of pink light. Two full-sized pink fairy wings shot out from her back and began flapping heavily, sending a toxic fairy dust, along with a heavy gust, flying at Morrigan.
The toxic fairy dust slowly choked Morrigan as the wind gusts tossed her about. "How about that for an unfair blow?" Vida said with a laugh. "Ah! Get it, 'unfair BLOW'? It's a pun!"
Morrigan snarled, and tossed a Hawk's Eye at Vida, which she halted her attack to avoid. This gave Morrigan enough time to counter with a few more Hawk's Eyes. Vida remained afloat in the air by fluttering her fairy wings.
"Ugh, I've had enough! Jii Jii Jijiru!" Vida donned the Mystic Fighting Gloves, and as soon as she slammed her fists together, she began to do a spinning dive, right arm outstretched. "Tornado Corkscrew!" She shouted, coming down so fast that Morrigan didn't have time to move.
Vida smashed her fist into Morrigan's face so hard, that it shattered the bottom left corner of the face off, revealing Morrigan's nearly-translucent complexion and part of her lips, which had been bloodied up by the impact. Morrigan screeched as she grabbed at the exposed part of her face. "My mask! My Mistress's visage!"
"You'll be lucky to leave here with a face at all, you coward!" Vida shouted. "Jii Jinga Majika Majuna! Butterfly Flurry!" Vida's wings fluttered at a hummingbird's speed, and she lightly lifted her left leg before flying off, shifting her positioning to the right. As she got close to Morrigan, she unleashed a supersonic barrage of right jabs, causing severe damage on every hit. She grinned, since she had taken a particular aim between the lower face to the upper chest, and she shattered most of what remained of the bottom half of Morrigan's mask and the cowl that surrounded it. One blast in particular shattered part of the gold chain around her neck, causing the necklace Morrigan had stolen to fall to the ground. One final blow sent Morrigan flying far back into the forest. Morrigan hastily retreated, wishing for no more of the abuse she had just taken.
"Yeah, run away, you little coward!" Vida taunted. She powered down and looked down at the ground, spotting the gold necklace, picking it up and smiling. "So, you left me a victory gift? Thanks, you coward!" Vida said, slipping it into her cloak pocket along with her wand. "You know what? I feel better about myself! This flight really worked the way it was supposed to!" Vida cheerfully said to herself. She hopped up onto her broom and headed back towards Rootcore.
Xander slowly woke up to find himself tucked up in bed, his broom sitting up against the headboard. He slowly sat up and spotted the woman he had seen before standing out on his balcony.
"She wasn't a dream…" Xander softly muttered to himself. He climbed out of bed ever-so-quietly, so as to not disturb her. He set a silencing spell on his shoes to prevent any sound from coming from them as he slid across the marble floor. As he went to grab her shoulder, her arm shot back and grabbed his wrist.
"You should be resting." Vankyuria said, tossing his hand aside.
"I thought I dreamt you…" Xander replied. "I had to make sure I wasn't still dreaming."
"I am not a dream, but rather a nightmare. I promise you that we will never meet like this again."
"If you're such an evil thing…why are you standing here on my balcony?" Xander asked slyly.
"I am admiring the view." Vankyuria replied. "Briarwood has become so lovely…and it's even more lovely from this balcony."
"I assure you that you won't get a better view of the town anywhere else." Xander said, slowly picking up on Vankyuria's vibe. "My balcony's always available to you if you'd like to visit."
"I have better things to do than to be here."
"Then wouldn't you be out doing them now?" Xander said, gantly nudging her side with his elbow.
"I stayed to make sure you were alive. I stayed to see the town. Now that I'm done with both, I'm leaving." She then leapt from the balcony, leaving Xander to panic.
"Hey!" Xander shouted as he looked down, but all he saw was the dress and the hat fluttering to the ground. "She's running around town naked…" Xander grinned. "I knew I still had it in me."
Vida arrived in Rootcore right as a late lunch of beef stew and freshly harvested salad was being placed out to dine. She saw Xander's place at the table and sighed heavily. Nick arrived shortly after and walked over to Madison.
After a moment or so, Madison noticed Vida moping around Xander's seat.
"What's up, sis?" Madison asked. "You've been weird all day."
"I miss him so much…" Vida said, tearing up.
"Xander…? He's at home, sleeping soundly." Nick replied. "He went out for a ride earlier, and I left right after he came home…"
Vida laughed painfully. "No, he's not sleeping, stupid. He's dead." Chip, Clare, Madison, and Nick all took a step back, stunned by the line. "I fought Morrigan…she said he was dead…"
"But that's not right…how long ago did you fight her…?"
"I just got back from kicking her ass…"
"He just got home…"
"Nick, Xander's not home, he's dead!"
"And what Xander is this? When did we get another Xander?" Vida turned her head to see Xander standing in the doorway. Her eyes lit up as she dropped her broom and jumphugged Xander. "Wow, what did I miss?" Xander asked the rest of the group, giving a slightly confused look.
"You're alive!" Vida shouted, giving him a bearhug.
"Hey, hey…careful, Vi. You could pop out an organ!"
"Morrigan said you were dead!" Vida stopped crying, and suddenly scowled. "Don't you ever do that to me again!" She said, punching him in the side.
"What have I missed?" Xander cried out as the rest of the group laughed.
Vankyuria snarled as she backhanded Morrigan.
"What a miserable defeat! Look at you, you're a mess!" Vankyuria said.
"Please Mistress! Please forgive me! I didn't expect her move!"
"You should have! If you're such a good Wind Magician, picking up your enemy's movements should be a breeze!" After a silent moment, Vankyuria added, "Pun intended."
"Mistress, please! Give me another chance!" Morrigan begged.
"I want you out of my sight until you've come up with a plan to crush those little Magicians!" Vankyuria screamed, pointing towards the archway into her lair. Morrigan stood up. "I'll let Wolzard know that your services are available if he needs somebody to watch his prisoners…or if he needs somebody to fill an open cell."
"Yes, Mistress…" Morrigan replied, disheartened.
"You're pathetic, even now…you let a weak little Magician break you down to nothing…I guess you're not the greatest Wind Magician in the land anymore…" Vankyuria replied with a grin. Morrigan nearly ran out as she began to cry. After her sobs could be heard no longer, Vankyuria flung herself over the arm of her throne and began taking a sip from her obsidian goblet. "There, that aught to keep her out of my hair for a while."
Meanwhile, in the Master's Den, Wolzard and Branken were having yet another argument.
"Bring me to the surface!" Branken shouted. "Bring me now!"
"Branken, your impatience grows tiresome." Wolzard replied. "I do have good news to tell you, but I am hesitant to do so with your temper as it is."
"Tell me, you insolent Madoushi!" Branken shouted, steam shooting out of his mechanical horn as he swung his Hellfang around wildly.
"I know the location of the Lunar Key." Wolzard replied.
"Lunar Key!" Branken replied, astonished. "How did you find it?"
"I have my ways." Wolzard replied coldly.
"Well then, go get it!" Branken shouted.
"I go by my Master's wishes…" Wolzard replied mindlessly, as if speaking through another channel.
"You obey my orders, Madoushi! I am the Supreme General of Infershia's Army! I am in command! You shall do as I say!"
"The Master wishes for me to retrieve the Key, and I shall."
"Bring that Key to me!" Branken ordered.
"I do as the Master orders." Wolzard replied as he wordlessly opened up a Dark Circle and teleported out.
"Master, Master, Master! He never listens to me!" Branken shouted as he stomped on the ground. "I am in charge around here, and nobody listens to me!"
