For your listening pleasure, I recommend Battle at the Underwater Temple, from the Steven Universe soundtrack. Also, let it be known that Rose's Room is basically Oriel's theme from here on out.

Chapter Three: Some Unwelcome Guests

For nearly a minute, we all stood there, completely motionless. I stood somewhat apart from either group, so I used the moment to gauge everyone's reactions. The Fairies were completely stunned, with the exception of the oddly named Chrome, who was glaring fiercely at the intruders, though she looked ready to faint. She seemed to be gearing herself to fight the invaders, making me reevaluate my initial impression of her. I caught her eye and jerked my head towards Lady Oriel, signaling Chrome to get behind her. As for Oriel, her shock at the Fir Darrig's entrance was quickly giving way to anger. Waves of force rolled off of her, nearly flattening everyone close. The fairies, sensing the danger, flew into the Maze again, except for Chrome, who ducked behind me for some reason. Pushing my annoyance and worry back, I focused on the Fir Darrig. All I knew about them was that they were a type of Fairy, and really, only their leader seemed to fit the bill. The other members were a Leprechaun, a Scarecrow without a crow, a Fire Elf, a Ghoul, and, of all things, a jittery looking Bunny in fatigues. They all seemed like pretty typical monsters, too (well, except for the Bunny); the only things that popped out at me were the red scarves they all had around their upper arm, and the aura of supreme confidence they exuded (again, except for the Bunny).

I looked at Oriel again and instantly regretted it, as she let loose a flare of magical energy directly at the Fir Darrig. The explosion blew me into Chrome, knocking us down. After a few seconds, we got up and dusted ourselves off. Rubbing the spots out of my eyes, I said, "Surprisingly easy to deal with if they come to- um… er… well, hell." Chrome peered into the smoke in confusion. "What do you mean-" The smoke cleared fully, revealing a completely unharmed, and infuriatingly smug, Fir Darrig. She managed a small Oh and looked back at me. "Did Lady Oriel miss?"

I shook my head. "It was a point blank shot," I whispered. "These guys must have something that cancels out her attacks. And, seeing as Oriel's the first, last, and only line of defense here, this means that we would all be in a heap of shit, and that's putting it lightly."

"Language. Also, what do mean, "would"? We're in a heap of, um, poop... no matter how you slice it."

"As in, you all would be in a heap of, ahem, poop, if I weren't here. I'll clear 'em out, no problem. Just back me up if things get hairy."

By the look on her face, I could tell she thought this was a terrible idea, but I didn't really care. I focused on the leader of the pack, the guy in red. He grinned up at Oriel, keeping out of reach of her sword, which was still lethal. "I am Marcas," he began, "the Fir Darrig, and these are my merry men." The Scarecrow made a sound of indignation. "And women," he amended, rolling his eyes. "In order, they are: Dean the Leprechaun, my second in command; Carbuncle the Fire Elf, my scout; Anathema the Scarecrow, my enforcer, along with Cracker-" he paused as a crow flew in through the hole the doors used to be. Circling above us for a few seconds, it gently swooped down, perched on Anathema's post, and cawed. Marcas continued, "Along with Cracker, her crow. Abraxus the Ghoul deals with communications," here, Abraxus tipped his hat and made a mocking bow, "and bringing up the rear is… is… hold on, did anyone get his name?" A chorus of "No's" and a choking growl from Abraxus was his answer. Chrome and I shared an incredulous look as Marcas turned his full attention onto the Bunny, who was a step below hyperventilating. "Okay," he said cordially, "we appear to be in the middle of an embarrassing oversight, so to clear things up quickly so we can return to the matter at hand: who the hell are you?"

The bunny gulped and said, "M-my name's Phil, um, I'm from Wysteria, and uh, I-I didn't sign up for this! N-no one told me that we were gonna, uh, gonna get in a giant cannonball and get thrown into some building an-an-and take it over! I mean, why? Why're we even doin' this? What does this even do for us? I-I don't even-"

"Okay, so Phil, the new guy," Marcas cut in, leaving Phil stammering lamely. "He does, I don't know, repairs or whatever. We're the Fir Darrig, and you're unable to stop us from A) breaking in, and B) taking over. Same goes to you, kid," he said, turning to me. "So beat it, and take the rest of the fairies with you."

At this, Oriel unleashed a flurry of slashes with her sword, punctuated with beams of energy. Marcas wasn't close enough for the swings to connect, but all the blasts hit their mark… only for said mark to snicker when they dissipated upon impact.

"Come on, seriously? All that did was kick up some dust." He took a moment to straighten his coat, and continued, "But I gotta say, that's gonna get old really fast. So-" he turned to his team, "-Annie, Dean, wreck the circle."

Ah, Hell. The two were got into position on opposite sides of Lady Oriel, only to be blown back into the maze by a furious pump of her wings. Her face was an expressionless mask, she raised her wings high, creating a whirlwind with her vast store of power. Everyone fought to keep their footing, with varying amounts of success; Marcas and I were pushed back "only" several feet, while the Ghoul, Abraxus, was barely hanging on, having dug his claws into the ground, and Phil was nearly blown right back outside. Chrome was simultaneously hanging onto my waist to prevent getting flung away by the whirlwind, and trying to pull me away from Oriel. Fighting to make herself heard over the wind, she screamed, "Don't get close! You can't help right now! You're going to get yourself killed!"

Oriel saw this, and winced; she had lost control in her anger. Closing her eyes for a moment, she reigned in her rage, and her power, killing the storm. She opened her eyes to address me. "Little one," she started, "I cannot expunge my Maze of these intruders. I fear I must ask you for your aid in getting rid of them. We can continue our discussion afterward." She turned toward Marcas, who flinched under her gaze. Her voice had an undercurrent of steel as she said, "For you, Intruder, there are two choices. The first is that you collect your followers, retrieve your vehicle, and leave this place immediately. Do this, and I promise you that no retribution will be sought by any affiliated with me for the damage you have already caused."

Marcas snorted in derision. "All the work we did to get this far, for the privilege of being turned away at the door? No thank you. What's your other offer?" Without missing a beat, Oriel continued.

"The second choice is that you continue your conquest of the Hedge Maze. In the process, you shall banish me, and expel the Fae that call this place home, making them easy prey for Rattlebones, your creator. Do this, and I will ensure that you will regret that decision forever."

Marcas just looked annoyed at this. He took in a huge breath of air, held it for a few seconds, and let it out. He repeated this several times: breathe in, hold, breathe out. What the crap is this, now? What's his game? Is there even a point to this? Why isn't he doing anythi—

"Fine then."

Oriel blinked. "What?"

What?

"Fine then," Marcas repeated. "We'll leave. For now, anyways. HEY, GUYS!" The Scarecrow and the Leprechaun came out of the maze immediately, and the Ghoul and the Bunny picked themselves up. "FORM UP!" The Fir Darrig gathered behind him in a loose mob, whispering to each other until he shot an odd look at them.

He turned back to Oriel, arms akimbo. "Okay then, Debbie Downer, we're going. Don't try anything funny." Something's up! I knew I was right when his eyes flashed. "Like this!"

A small, red-topped metal dart flew from a nearby hedge into the ground the circle was carved in. The topper began to blink, signaling its imminent detonation. The Fire Elf bounded out of the hedge with a cackle, leaping over Oriel's sword swing and tossing a tube to Anathema. The dart let out a shrill whirr; Oriel moved to grab it, only for Dean to pull out a small device from his pocket and press the big red button. The dart emitted several pulses of energy, pumping wave after wave of electricity through Oriel, using her sword as a makeshift lightning rod. The smell of burning feathers filled the air, as her rigid form twisted in agony, A few seconds later, the pulses died out, and Oriel crumpled to the ground, letting loose her smoking sword. More than anything, I wanted to make sure she was okay, but the dart, still blinking, was the biggest issue. I flew forward, snapped the topper off, and threw it into the air. The explosion, while not huge, sent a wave of force to slam everyone to the ground again. Being the closest, I got the worst of it; I could feel my ears bleeding, and nearly a minute had passed before my vision straightened enough to make anything out.

I felt like someone drove a pick into my skull, and the rest of my body didn't fare much better. My ribs were most likely broken, and so was one of my arms. I rolled over onto my back, nearly blacking out in the process. Gulping down air, my attention was drawn to Marcas as he got up.

Noticing me staring at him, he swore and said, "You! I was willing to let you go, kid, but you had to go and play the hero!" He picked up his sword and pointed it at me. "This time," he continued, "you're gonna be put down for a nap before the grownups continue their talk!" He took a step back, and leapt upwards, clearing the dozen feet between us with ease. When he was directly above me, he began to fall, his sword set to skewer my prone, broken form. I tried to get up, only to collapse with a strangled cry of pain; my entire body was on fire. I could only lie there and watch as my death plummeted toward me… only to be caught by Oriel with not even a foot to go.

Her skin had a gray cast to it, and her hair was limp and dark with sweat. Smoke rose from her sword hand, and she was taking deep, shuddering breaths. However, her eyes were clear, and filled with a rage so intense that Marcas started to quake in terror, and redoubled his efforts to wriggle out of her grasp. Slowly, she lifted him so their eyes were level with each other, and began to chant something. Neither I or Marcas knew what she said, but a foreboding rumble in the back of my mind told me something big happened. Marcas's struggling became weaker and weaker as she spoke, cluing me in that this wasn't just a stern talking-to.

Finished, she threw him away from her and fell again, even more drained than before. Chrome darted up to her silently. Huh, I thought absently, I thought there'd be more screaming coming from her. No, that's… that's mean… I shouldn't say... that… Everything was getting oddly fuzzy… I felt like my head was stuffed with cotton, and I was comfortably warm… the pain was drifting away; it was still there, but I was somewhat removed from it… so sleepy all of a sudden… I can close my eyes for a few seconds, right? Right…

I felt myself drifting away ever so slowly… as if I was on floating on air… vaguely, I could register someone's voice calling my name… it soon faded entirely, allowing me to continue floating, though now my serenity was tinged with some regret. But for what? There was no time to ponder it anyway; I was going… going… going... go

Affable: I changed a lot of stuff this chapter, removing whole messes of bad translations that don't even matter and generally just fixing obvious mistakes.