Mateo had spent the night in his workshop testing out his newly inherited powers. He wanted to make sure he had full control before facing off against the spirit army. At some point he had given in to exhaustion and fallen asleep curled up in front of his books and hugging his tamborita. When he finally woke up it was day 4 since they had defeated Shuriki and won back their kingdom. If they had all been right, the spirit army would be approaching Avalor at any moment.
Mateo felt ready and after he rushed to find Elena, the pair raced outside to find Skylar, Luna and Migs waiting for them. Elena jumped on Skylar and Mateo on Luna but just as they were about to take off, Isa came running after them, carrying a mirror and some sort of large contraption.
"WAIT!" She called out to her sister and royal wizard. "I'm coming with you guys!"
"Isa! What are you doing? We have to get going!" Elena exclaimed. "What is all that stuff?"
"It's an invention I've been working on!" She explained. "See? It's an amplifier. I turned my old Magnaphone into it. But instead of amplifying sound, it can now amplify Mateo's spell! Meaning that we can hit MORE of the dark army spirits with just one shot!"
"Really?! That's a great idea Isa!" Mateo praised. "What is the mirror for?"
"Well if my calculations are correct, I can angle it towards the army and if you hit it just right then the mirror can deflect your spell and hit even MORE of the spirits!" Isa explained, nearly jumping up and down with excitement.
Elena sighed heavily, not really wanting her little sister to come on such a dangerous mission but finally, she agreed, knowing that she couldn't shelter Isa forever and that they could really use her. Her invention would be a huge help in ridding the land of the spirits. "Alright!" Elena told her and Isa handed the amplifier to Elena before hopping on the back of Migs with the mirror in hand and off they went, prepared to take on the darkest of armies.
The trip was quiet as they flew north towards Cariza, all not knowing what to expect, all filled to the brim with anxiety and all eager to finally put an end to threats of annihilation.
"There they are!" Elena shouted as she pointed to the dark army approaching the Avaloran border. It was her and Isa's first time seeing the spirits and the sight of human undead with their dark ragged clothing and gray colored bodies was frightening. Shock and fear took over and their expression and body language couldn't hide it. The sheer size of the army was more than Elena, Isa and even Mateo had ever imagined as well. They marched hundreds of yards wide and continued at least a mile in length.
"They've multiplied by the thousands since last I saw them!" Mateo said, his confidence slightly fading.
"Thousands against just one man...Can you do this Mateo?" Elena asked.
"Yeah" Mateo confirmed. "I can do this! After all, I AM the chosen one!"
Elena and Isabel beamed at each other, proud to see how far Mateo had come. When they had met him he was awkward in nature and completely unsure of his skills. Elena had always seen something special in him though and in that present moment she knew that she had been right all along. After going over their plan one last time Mateo flew down (Happy to have the advantage of being in the air) and approached the army. Elena was by his side, holding the amplifier in front of the tamborita's aim, Isa flew out across the field of spirit soldiers and analyzed where Mateo's ray of magic was going to come from and angled the mirror accordingly. She nodded to Mateo that she was ready as the spirit army began to charge at the three jaquins and their riders. They were gathering just below them and clawing towards the sky like a herd of hungry wolves. One slip from any of the jaquin riders and they would be finished , recruited into the spirit army and gone forever. Isa glanced down at them but then told herself to be brave. She held her head up high, steadied herself on the back of Migs and tightly gripped the mirror.
"a la munda espirita fatisima!" Mateo shouted, beating his tamborita, sending his magic through the amplifier and hitting the army in masses. It shot through the crowd of spirits, bounced off Isa's mirror and back into the army. Isa's invention was brilliant!
The friends all cheered as they watched the effected spirits lift from the ground and vanish into the air, making their journey back to the spirit world. Again, Mateo shouted his spell, cutting down the number of spirits that marched forward. And then again. Still though, with the exception of those that were focused on the jaquins and their riders, they marched forward.
"Even with Isa's invention, this is taking too long!" Elena said with panic as she watch the army enter the kingdom of Avalor. "Gervaso evacuated as much of the north as he could but what if they get too close before we're able to send them all back to the spirit world?"
"We just have to keep going!" Mateo said, knowing they had no other choice. Suddenly he turned quickly as he heard screams from the road behind them. There he saw a family of three standing just outside the tree line. The two women and their male child ran back into the woods where they had come from. The spirit army of course took notice as well and immediately charged towards them.
"NOOOOO!" Mateo shouted as he lifted his non tamborita wielding arm and swung it in their direction. A hurricane force flew from his extended fingers and sent trees crashing down in all directions, blocking the spirit army and allowing the family to distance themselves a bit.
"Whoa!" What was that!?" Isa asked as she came flying back from her previous position.
"Oh yeah...forgot to mention" Mateo shrugged coyly, "when I found enlightenment I sort of gained some new magical abilities. No big deal right?"
"Ummm Mateo! That is the BIGGEST deal!" Elena squealed "That was amazing!"
"Uhh yeah.. But... LOOK!" Mateo shouted as he pointed towards the mass of uprooted trees. The army was making their way around the destruction and again charging the family. Mateo had merely delayed the attack.
"We have to help them!" Elena declared as she and Skylar were already on route towards the family. Mateo and Isabel followed. The army was too fast though. Skylar pushed as hard as he could to get to the family first but the spirit army reached them at the same time. Elena watched in horror as they took one of the women. The other held her child up towards Elena. Elena reached down low to grab the child's hand but she was still holding the amplifier as well. She was thrown off balance and screamed as she slipped from atop Skylar's back. Thinking fast, she dropped her sisters invention, grabbed the wing of her jaquin and dangled momentarily over the undead who were drooling for another victim.
"Hang on princessa!" Skylar urged as he increased his altitude, getting her out of the reach of the army. Luna and Mateo flew to them and together, hoisted Elena back on top of Skylar. They all hung their heads in horror and defeat as they caught a glimpse of the army devouring the poor family that just wasn't quick enough. The spirits tore the clothes off their backs and the flesh from their bones until finally the family turned cold and gray, rose from their death and began to March along side their killers.
"I thought the villages were evacuated?" Isa said, exasperated.
"We can only do so much Isa" Elena said helplessly. "We can warn them of what's coming but we can't make them leave"
"So what do we do now? If there are more families that didn't leave the army is going to rip through Avalor much more quickly than we expected!" Mateo stated, growing concerned.
"We can't let them get to the city!" Elena agreed but had no plan so slow their pace. She pondered it a moment but it was Isa who spoke up first.
"The wand!" Isa shouted!
What?!" Elena and Mateo asked together, unsure of what she was getting at.
"The waaaand!" Isa said again "Shuriki's wand! They follow the wand right?! And we have the wand right?!"
"Yes!" Elena shouted with excitement. "She's right! The army follows the wand! That's the whole reason they were headed to Avalor in the first place! So if we get the wand, we can lead them away from Avalor, buying Mateo enough time to use his spell to send them back!"
"Isa! You're brilliant!" Mateo shouted.
"Alright then!" Elena stated, getting into full on leadership mode "Mateo, you stay here and keep using your spell to take them out little by little. Isa, I'm sorry about your invention but even without it, you can still use the mirror to hit more of the army. I'm going to head back to the palace and get the wand. I'll be back in a flash! Stay safe!" And with that, she was already on her way.
"You too!" Isa and Mateo shouted in unison. They then positioned themselves and got right back to work.
"I hate just sitting here... I want to be out there helping them fight that army!" Gabe told Naomi as they sat anxiously in Elena's sitting room, dying to hear any sort of news on the progress Mateo, Isa and Elena were making. It was Gabe's first day up and out of bed and he was itching to so something, anything. .
"Seriously!" Naomi agreed. "I want to be there with them so bad! Instead I'm here taking care of YOU!"
"Hey!" Gabe snapped at her, already feeling helpless enough without Naomi making him feel like an actual burden. "Who said I needed someone to take care of me anyway?! I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself"
"Oh yeah?" Naomi asked, crossing her arms, prepared to challenge her friend. "Isn't it about time for your pain meds? Why don't you go pour yourself a glass of water so you can take them?"
Gabe snarled at Naomi a moment, glanced down at his arm pinned closely to his chest in a sling, thought about it and then decided to accept the challenge. He stood up from the couch, walked over to the bedside table that had a full water pitcher and glass on it. He picked up the pitcher with his left hand but as he began to tilt it over the glass, he began to shake. Not only was it his non dominant hand but his shoulder injury had caused him to have muscle weakness and limited movement throughout both arms. He glanced over his shoulder at Naomi who was wearing a smug grin. He wasn't going to let her win though. He bent over and grabbed the glass with his injured arm. Then contortioning his tall body down to the level of the items and keeping both glass and pitcher on the table he then tilted both towards each other (with the thought that he wouldn't have to do any lifting) and began to pour, not taking into account that his right hand had near to little grip strength. As the glass began to filled, it was too much for him to hold and it toppled over, spilling water down the front of his night shirt and pants. The shock of the cold water soaking through his clothes caused him to jolt back into an upright position. "GAHH!" He yelled in frustration as he dropped the water pitched and watched it crash down to the floor. Embarrassed And now standing in a pool of water, Gabe slowly turned himself to face Naomi, grimacing at the thought of her gloating grin.
Naomi was trying her best to keep her laughter in but when Gabe turned around to face her, she just couldn't do it.
"Haaaaaa!" She burst out, wrapping her arms around her stomache, hunching over and laughing uncontrollably.
Gabe rolled his eyes, wrung out the water from his shirt and impatiently let out a sigh as he waited for her to finish. He had nothing to say. She was right, he needed help.
"By the way... "Naomi started as she slowly ragained composure, "It was Elena who said you needed looking after. She told me not to let you do anything stupid and to make sure you got plenty of rest"
"Of course she did..." Gabe laughed and shook his head slightly at the thought of Elena preparing to save the world but still taking the time to make sure that he was well cared for.
Just then the doors from the balcony flew open and a blur of the Avaloran princess ran past Naomi and into the dressing area.
"Elena?!" Gabe called out.
"Yup! Just me!" Called the princess as she scrambled to find the artifact she had come for. "Sorry can't chat! Just need the wand!" She rambled quickly as she appeared from behind the curtains, holding up Shuriki's wand. "Ok got to go! Wish me luck!"
"Good luck...?" Naomi said trailing off a bit with confusion. She looked towards Gabe who wore the same shocked and dumbfounded expression that she imagined she was wearing. They both just shrugged at each other. Knowing Elena, she probably had things mostly under control and if not, they had confidence enough in her that she would figure it all out. For now, they'd just have to continue to wait.
When Elena had arrived back at the battle front, Mateo and Isabel looked distraught. The army had gained more ground into the kingdom.
"I just can't vanquish them quick enough!" Mateo told Elena.
"Let's hope this works then!" Elena prayed. She then took out the wand and raised it high. The army's attention was immediately drawn to the object.
"Fly north Elena!" Isa shouted with urgency.
Elena obliged the request and slowly the spirits began to turn around and head towards the wand.
"It's working!" Isa cheered!
Elena was grinning from ear to ear as she looked towards her royal wizard who was also sporting a victorious look. They both knew that they had control of the army. Now all they had to do was send them back to the spirit world.
"Mateo!" Elena said, "Go ahead and Work your magic!"