I got a pretty decent response to this, so here you guys go! Hope you like it!
Chap 3: Answering the call
Later that evening……..
"Oh great," Irma drawled as she walked over to the bridge's support post. She flipped her now long red hair away from her face. "Snake boy's loose. Just what we needed right now."
"Well, at least he can't cross over to Heatherfeild without Phobos to make the portal somehow," Taranee said. She paused to adjust her glasses, thinking. She too had allowed her hair to grow out, letting it tease out naturally into a soft afro. "Um, she didn't say anything about Phobos being loose, did she?"
"No, nothing like that," Hay Lin replied, pulling her light sweater tighter around her body. Autumn had come early that year, and the nights were becoming chilly. "In fact, she didn't really say much of anything. Just to get back to Meridian, make portal here, blah, blah, blah, and hurry."
"So it may not be a crisis at all," Cornelia said.
"No way," Caleb interjected. "The Mage doesn't send out calls like that for no reason. If she wants us for something, than its important."
"Right little ray of sunshine, aren't you, hon?" Irma said dryly.
"He sure is cheery," Matt said under his breath. Will giggled slightly. "Four years of peace on Meridian and he still hasn't lightened up. Bet he gets grey hair before he's thrity.
"No doubt," Will replied, smiling at her boyfriend. "Well, lets go ahead and get this over with." She raised the Heart of Kandrikar up. "Guardians unite!" Instantly the five girls were transformed into the Guardians of the Veil.
"I never get tired of watching this," Caleb muttered.
"Neither do I," Matt said. He frowned at the appreciative look the former rebel was giving Will and punched him in the arm. Caleb winced but shrugged, as if to say, 'can you blame me?'
With a wave of her hand, Will summoned the portal to appear. She looked back over to the boys, rolling her eyes at their antics. "You two guys stay over here, okay?"
"What! Hey now!" Both boys interjected.
"No buts! You guys have to guard the portal. If Cedric is loose, you guys might end up being the last defense to stop him from coming through to Heatherfeild," Will said. "Why do you think we had you two bring fire extinguishers?"
"Cedric's mostly a snake, or some kind of reptilian life form," Taranee chimed in, "so he hates the cold. CO2 is sub temperature in those canisters, so it should slow him down enough for us to catch back up to him."
"Well, don't take too long getting back here if he does make it over," Caleb shot back. "Me and the rookie aren't really a match for him as we are."
"Who're you calling a rookie?" Matt said indignantly.
Caleb cocked an eyebrow at him. "You ever fought an evil army of trolls with just a sword and some flying pixies?"
Taranee let her flames form an aura around her body, giving the dark girl a distinctly frightening appearance. "Pixies?"
"Pretty, gorgeous pixies?" Hay Lin asked, smirking at the look on the boy's face.
"Did I say pixies? I meant warriors, mighty warriors, the powerful Guardians of the Veil, and yes, you are gorgeous," Caleb said, smiling nervously.
"Hmph. You better mean it that way," Cornelia huffed. "I'd hate to mess up such a pretty face."
"What, would he no longer match your wardrobe?" Irma asked. Cornelia shot her a glare as the girls flew into the portal.
"Good luck, Will," Matt said softly. He turned to face the former rebel leader. "Now what was that about a rookie?"
The dim light of the Infinite City glowed from its emerald walls, giving just enough light for the girls to make their way to the Mage's sanctum. "Is it me, or does this place really put you in mind of the Wizard of Oz?" Cornelia asked.
"Oh, I love that movie!" Hay Lin exclaimed. She immediately broke into song, "'We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz-'"
Irma couldn't resist and did her best Judy Garland. "'We hear he is a wiz of a wiz if ever a wiz there was! The wonderful thing about him's because'"—
"Will you two stop it?" Taranee whispered nervously. "If Cedric is loose down here, I don't think we should be advertising the fact that we're around and on the menu."
"Oh. Good point," Irma nodded.
Hay Lin pouted just a bit. It was one of her favorite songs, after all. Four years had not dimmed the sixteen-year-old's zest for life.
Will motioned to the others to halt and they hovered in the air. "Hay Lin, scope out the landscape a bit. See if you can hear anything we need to know about."
The Asian girl nodded, cupping her ear to help her concentrate the magic as she gathered the winds from all around that she could reach. She cocked her head, straining, but there was—"Nothing. Just the sound of the waterfall. We're getting close."
"Good," Will replied. "This place always did give me the creeps."
"You know, if it weren't for the fact that it's inhabited by a creepy witch lady, I'd think this place was actually kind of stylin'," Cornelia said, considering. "A few more lights, some strip malls, god knows they've got the room for it down here, and it might just be like home."
"Only you, Corny," Irma muttered.
Finally reaching the waterfall, the girls landed around the fountain-like basin that held the waters. Taranee smiled at the sight of it. "I love this kind of architecture," she said happily. "They say that listening to the sound of water helps improve your mood and get along better with others."
"Then how do they explain pirates? They're out on the ocean for months and they're downright testy." Hay Lin asked.
Taranee seemed struck by the question. "You know, I don't think they considered that when they did this research."
"Who are 'them' anyway?" Irma asked.
The fire guardian tilted her head in thought. "Um, Princeton graduates, if I'm not mistaken"—
"Welcome, Guardians."
Cornelia jumped at the sound, nearly going airborne in fright. "See," she muttered, "very creepy witch lady."
"Cool it, Cornelia," Will said. She walked forward, nodding politely to the sorceress's silhouette in the waterfall. "We've come as you asked, um, Lady Mage. What can we do for you?"
"It is more a question of what you are willing to do for another."
"You're loaning us out?" Irma asked, bemusedly.
"Well, I'll bet we're in great demand in the landscaping business," Hay Lin said blithely.
"Shut up, Hay Lin," Will muttered. She cleared her throat. "You mentioned something about Cedric."