A/N: Thanks for the great reviews everyone! I mean it – this is my first
fanfic, so I really am glad you like it. It's also a great self-esteem
builder. However, I wouldn't mind some constructive criticism. I'm not
complaining, but I want to make my writing better.
PS.: Sorry that my last chapter came as one long block. I promise I'll
edit next time.
Sabrina and her aunts, with Salem at their heels, ran up the stairs to their linen closet. Not only did it store towels and sheets, it also served as a portal to the Other Realm. The came to a halt in front of it.
"Uh, guys? What if Drell didn't hide the Witch's Council in the Other Realm, what if they're in a whole other universe?" Sabrina wondered out loud.
Zelda opened the door, "That might be true, but it couldn't hurt to look around for clues." She went into the linen closet. Hilda went in next, followed by Sabrina, who went to close the door.
"Wait for me!" Salem shouted.
Hilda glanced down at the cat. "Salem, why would you want to help us? Wouldn't you be happy Drell is trying to take over the mortal world?"
Salem retorted, "Are you kidding? In case you forgot, Drell's the one who turned me into a cat. I couldn't stand it if he wound up controlling both worlds instead of one. Besides, if anyone's taking over the mortal world, it's going to be me!" With that, he ran into the closet. Smiling at Salem's bluntness, Hilda shut the door behind them.
Lightning flashed. Thunder boomed, and not even five seconds later the witches and cat were at the Witch's Council headquarters. All were shocked to see the sight that greeted them when they opened the door. They had been expecting to find a deserted mess. What they saw was the total opposite. In, fact, it looked like everything was completely normal. There was a long, wooden table, and each member of the Council was sitting around it. There appeared to be a meeting going on, but they weren't talking about Drell, whose chair was unsurprisingly vacant.
One witch said, "So, I've been thinking about updating to a new flying vehicle. Vacuums are so out-of-date – I've heard enchanted flying carpets are the newest things among youngsters. However, I think we should come up with something better..." The others nodded in agreement.
"Hello?" Sabrina shouted, causing every person to stop talking and look at her. "What's going on here? Don't you realize we're in the middle of a crisis??"
The witch who was speaking glanced at her, "I do not know of any crisis. Last time I checked, everything was fine. You should know that I am Kayla Harding, second-in-command. There isn't anything regarding witches that I don't know." With that, she turned back to her notes.
:"That's ridiculous. Drell, the HEAD of the council, mind you, told us he was vacationing in the mortal realm. I am inclined to believe him."
"Well, Ms. Harding, you should check again because Drell, one of your own, is destroying the mortal realm as we speak!" Hilda exclaimed, clearly ticked off by the Councilwoman's attitude.
Zelda stepped forward, "Well, unless his idea of a vacation is demolishing every major mortal city, then, yeah, I guess he is on vacation. You have to believe us! In fact, I bet if you tune into the mortal news right now you'll see Drell. Oh, and by the way, he cast a Cover-Up spell on his army to look like you Council members, so that the witches living in the mortal realm won't turn to you for help."
"Alright then, let's see." With a wave of her hand, Ms. Harding made a screen appear. On it was the Channel 11 news, and, of course, yet another report of the attacks. This time, it was showing Drell and his followers in Tokyo.
It did not take long for Ms. Harding to realize she was wrong. Fifteen minutes later, she waved her hand, and the screen disappeared. "I've seen enough. Council, shift to Military Mode. We must plan a course of action. As for you three," she said, turning to Hilda, Zelda, and Sabrina, "thank you for bringing this to our attention. Good day."
"What?" Sabrina exclaimed. "WE want to help!"
"Excuse me? What do you think you can do?"
"Hey, I tried to take over the mortal realm once. Don't you think I know what all of Drell's major moves would be?" Salem said.
Ms. Harding looked down at him. "Why, if it isn't Salem Saberhagen. Now why would you want to help us?"
"Oh, I don't want to help you – as I already stated, I want to stop Drell. Besides, I figured if I helped I might get a few years off my sentence." Salem looked at her hopefully.
"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt if you 'helped' us. As for your sentence, we shall see. Now, off to the Strategy Room." She flicked her hand, and the Council, plus Sabrina, Hilda, Zelda, and Salem, were whisked away.
The Strategy Room looked almost exactly like headquarters. There was a long, black round table in the center. On the wall was what looked like a medium-sized display case with a sliding glass door. "Take a seat" Ms. Harding said as she sat down at the head of the table. Everyone else sat in the other hard, modern-style chairs. After about a half hour of debating and getting nothing accomplished, a file folder appeared in mid- air on the table. "Ah, that must be our investigator's reports." Ms. Harding grabbed the folder and began to scan the pieces of paper inside. She picked out one sheet, closed the folder, and read aloud:
Drell and his army has invaded most major cities in the Mortal
Realm, including but not limited to Tokyo (Japan), Manhattan
(New York, USA), Hollywood (California, USA), Toronto (Canada),
Mexico City (Mexico), London (England), and Paris (France). I
have noticed that Drell was not present in every attack. Also,
upon closer inspection, I discovered that Drell's army isn't
actually an army at all. His "soldiers" are all Manipulates.
Ms. Harding stopped reading, put the sheet down, and smiled. "Well, this makes things a lot easier."
Sabrina was puzzled by the witch's remark. "How? And what are 'Manipulates'?"
"Manipulates aren't really people. They're beings made from an earthly substance and given 'life' by a witch or warlock. A Manipulate is like a hand puppet – it does whatever its creator tells it to do. Now it's a hundred times easier to defeat Drell. If we destroy, or somehow conquer, Drell, all the Manipulates will be turned back into the substances they were created from. So instead of having to fight a whole army, we just have to battle one warlock." Zelda explained.
Hilda looked as if a major problem was solved. "Oh! That explains how he could gather followers – I knew he wasn't that popular!" When everyone else looked at her, she shrugged, "What? I dated him; I know how unattractive he can be."
So, anyone have an idea on how to defeat Drell? Email me – my writer's block is coming back.
Sabrina and her aunts, with Salem at their heels, ran up the stairs to their linen closet. Not only did it store towels and sheets, it also served as a portal to the Other Realm. The came to a halt in front of it.
"Uh, guys? What if Drell didn't hide the Witch's Council in the Other Realm, what if they're in a whole other universe?" Sabrina wondered out loud.
Zelda opened the door, "That might be true, but it couldn't hurt to look around for clues." She went into the linen closet. Hilda went in next, followed by Sabrina, who went to close the door.
"Wait for me!" Salem shouted.
Hilda glanced down at the cat. "Salem, why would you want to help us? Wouldn't you be happy Drell is trying to take over the mortal world?"
Salem retorted, "Are you kidding? In case you forgot, Drell's the one who turned me into a cat. I couldn't stand it if he wound up controlling both worlds instead of one. Besides, if anyone's taking over the mortal world, it's going to be me!" With that, he ran into the closet. Smiling at Salem's bluntness, Hilda shut the door behind them.
Lightning flashed. Thunder boomed, and not even five seconds later the witches and cat were at the Witch's Council headquarters. All were shocked to see the sight that greeted them when they opened the door. They had been expecting to find a deserted mess. What they saw was the total opposite. In, fact, it looked like everything was completely normal. There was a long, wooden table, and each member of the Council was sitting around it. There appeared to be a meeting going on, but they weren't talking about Drell, whose chair was unsurprisingly vacant.
One witch said, "So, I've been thinking about updating to a new flying vehicle. Vacuums are so out-of-date – I've heard enchanted flying carpets are the newest things among youngsters. However, I think we should come up with something better..." The others nodded in agreement.
"Hello?" Sabrina shouted, causing every person to stop talking and look at her. "What's going on here? Don't you realize we're in the middle of a crisis??"
The witch who was speaking glanced at her, "I do not know of any crisis. Last time I checked, everything was fine. You should know that I am Kayla Harding, second-in-command. There isn't anything regarding witches that I don't know." With that, she turned back to her notes.
:"That's ridiculous. Drell, the HEAD of the council, mind you, told us he was vacationing in the mortal realm. I am inclined to believe him."
"Well, Ms. Harding, you should check again because Drell, one of your own, is destroying the mortal realm as we speak!" Hilda exclaimed, clearly ticked off by the Councilwoman's attitude.
Zelda stepped forward, "Well, unless his idea of a vacation is demolishing every major mortal city, then, yeah, I guess he is on vacation. You have to believe us! In fact, I bet if you tune into the mortal news right now you'll see Drell. Oh, and by the way, he cast a Cover-Up spell on his army to look like you Council members, so that the witches living in the mortal realm won't turn to you for help."
"Alright then, let's see." With a wave of her hand, Ms. Harding made a screen appear. On it was the Channel 11 news, and, of course, yet another report of the attacks. This time, it was showing Drell and his followers in Tokyo.
It did not take long for Ms. Harding to realize she was wrong. Fifteen minutes later, she waved her hand, and the screen disappeared. "I've seen enough. Council, shift to Military Mode. We must plan a course of action. As for you three," she said, turning to Hilda, Zelda, and Sabrina, "thank you for bringing this to our attention. Good day."
"What?" Sabrina exclaimed. "WE want to help!"
"Excuse me? What do you think you can do?"
"Hey, I tried to take over the mortal realm once. Don't you think I know what all of Drell's major moves would be?" Salem said.
Ms. Harding looked down at him. "Why, if it isn't Salem Saberhagen. Now why would you want to help us?"
"Oh, I don't want to help you – as I already stated, I want to stop Drell. Besides, I figured if I helped I might get a few years off my sentence." Salem looked at her hopefully.
"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt if you 'helped' us. As for your sentence, we shall see. Now, off to the Strategy Room." She flicked her hand, and the Council, plus Sabrina, Hilda, Zelda, and Salem, were whisked away.
The Strategy Room looked almost exactly like headquarters. There was a long, black round table in the center. On the wall was what looked like a medium-sized display case with a sliding glass door. "Take a seat" Ms. Harding said as she sat down at the head of the table. Everyone else sat in the other hard, modern-style chairs. After about a half hour of debating and getting nothing accomplished, a file folder appeared in mid- air on the table. "Ah, that must be our investigator's reports." Ms. Harding grabbed the folder and began to scan the pieces of paper inside. She picked out one sheet, closed the folder, and read aloud:
Drell and his army has invaded most major cities in the Mortal
Realm, including but not limited to Tokyo (Japan), Manhattan
(New York, USA), Hollywood (California, USA), Toronto (Canada),
Mexico City (Mexico), London (England), and Paris (France). I
have noticed that Drell was not present in every attack. Also,
upon closer inspection, I discovered that Drell's army isn't
actually an army at all. His "soldiers" are all Manipulates.
Ms. Harding stopped reading, put the sheet down, and smiled. "Well, this makes things a lot easier."
Sabrina was puzzled by the witch's remark. "How? And what are 'Manipulates'?"
"Manipulates aren't really people. They're beings made from an earthly substance and given 'life' by a witch or warlock. A Manipulate is like a hand puppet – it does whatever its creator tells it to do. Now it's a hundred times easier to defeat Drell. If we destroy, or somehow conquer, Drell, all the Manipulates will be turned back into the substances they were created from. So instead of having to fight a whole army, we just have to battle one warlock." Zelda explained.
Hilda looked as if a major problem was solved. "Oh! That explains how he could gather followers – I knew he wasn't that popular!" When everyone else looked at her, she shrugged, "What? I dated him; I know how unattractive he can be."
So, anyone have an idea on how to defeat Drell? Email me – my writer's block is coming back.