Madeline's theme is Riches to Ruins Movement I from Homestuck.
Chapter Twelve: The Quest
We were all tense when the scouts came; I mean, how could we not? They would be representatives from Ravenwood, the center of the Spiral, and the first step in getting to Merle Ambrose. Of course, we needed to play our cards right; if I slipped up in the slightest, say anything not to their liking, then I'd be shut out of the conversation faster than I could say-
"Will! WILL! It's me!" Well, not that, but… wait, what?
Their leader was waving like a madwoman, as if Will was an old friend she hadn't seen in years. Will seemed to recognize her, too.
"Madeline?!" he said, before she tackle-hugged him to the ground. Almost immediately, she popped back up with Will in tow, enveloping him in a back-breaking hug. "It is so good to see you again!" she said, punctuating each word with a squeeze.
"Good- nggg- to see- hrrk- you too, Madhnngeline," Will choked out, tapping her arm in submission. Realizing that she was crushing him, the girl let go, letting him catch his breath.
I nudged Chrome to get her attention, whispering, "What do you think's going on here?" The girl, Madeline, was officially the oldest Wizard I've seen so far at maybe eighteen, though by no means the strongest. A lot stronger than Will, though, the Myth energy bubbling like champagne at the sight of her… friend? Boyfriend?
Chrome only gave a little shrug, impassive. "They obviously know each other. More than that, we can only hope they get into here." We turned back to Madeline, just as she noticed us.
"Oh, hi you two! I'm Madeline Goldforge!" she said with a wave. "Will, are they yours?"
"Well, no," he said, visibly relieved that some of the attention was off of him, though a bit embarrassed on our behalf at her choice of words. "The one on the left is Chrome-" she gave a little wave "-and that one's Nicole-" I nodded at her. "They were just helping me deal with something here. So, who're your friends?"
"Oh, right, I nearly forgot about them." She turned and called out to the three Wizards behind her, "Are you guys just gonna stand there, or are you going to introduce yourselves like you weren't raised in a barn?" The three approached automatically, if awkwardly. The first, a green-eyed brunette of about thirteen in a lilac top hat, white and orange Marleybone dress, and brown Mary-Janes (weird choice for a storm trooper, but who am I to judge) gave Will a small smile and said, "Hello, I am Serafina Angelshield of Avalon. I am currently acting as Magus Goldforge's second-in-command." And with that, she shifted to the side, giving the next one the floor. It was brief, but she seemed nice enough; certainly more than I could say for the next guy: "My name's Keith Bandit, and I don't see why we have to go along with this ridiculous facade!"
He looked as much an ass as he sounded: his dirty-blonde hair was in a ponytail held back by a blue-and-green bandanna, about the only thing that matched his sunglasses. He wore his sleeveless leather jacket over a red muscle shirt. Camo pants and steel-toed boots completed this ensemble, encapsulating the true essence of…
"Douchebag," Chrome supplied under her breath, getting a chuckle out of me. The Wizard, a Pyromancer by the feel of his energy, flashed us a sour look over his shades before turning back to Will with a sneer.
"Well, well, it looks like your owners are finally piping up," he continued, looking down at the much smaller Wizard dismissively. "Good thing for you, because you're gonna need all the help you can get when we drag your sorry carcass in front of the Heads. What with Unicorn Way in shambles, the moon destroyed, and evidence pointing to only you and a few native-born Monsters expending any real amount of mana, it's a safe bet that you're just another cut-and-dry case of a Sorcerer going loony and wrecking the place." In the background, a distant boom rang, died out, and was summarily ignored by everyone present.
Will opened his mouth to defend himself, but the third Wizard, an albino girl in a black coat whose power I couldn't quite identify said in a quiet, proper voice, "How about you calm down, Keith?"
"How about you shut up, freak!" he snapped, whirling to face his impassive comrade; beside me, Chrome winced, and she seemed to avoid meeting my gaze when I looked at her. "All you've done since you've got to Ravenwood was throw flyers for your stupid cult at everyone you met!"
The girl's expression barely changed, only displaying a slight frown. "I didn't expect someone as base as you to understand, so allow me to inform you once more that my Church is no mere cult, as you erroneously labeled it."
"If you think what you have is a real religion, then you're nearly as cracked as the statue you throw yourself at, lady."
Her eye twitched slightly, but she only said, "I will refrain from stooping to your level, if only because I would rather not ruin my clothes." She turned to Will and bowed slightly, only saying, "I am , on loan from Chrysalis to aid this advance team." Wait, what? Call it what you will, my hearing cutting out for a second, my mind playing tricks, but for whatever reason, I didn't hear her name. I looked around, but didn't see any sign that anyone else had that problem. She continued, "You likely will not be blamed for this. The same cannot be said for the other Wizard that was here."
Will paled slightly, but kept his expression neutral. "The… other Wizard? What do you mean?"
"Please don't make this investigation any more difficult than it needs to be, Mr.…"
"Starspear, William Starspear, and I think you may just be misreading Nicole here, ma'am."
She leveled an exceedingly dry look at him, as Keith snickered meanly and Madeline explained (while hiding a small grin), "Sorry Will, but senses are pretty refined; if HE says there was another Wizard, I gotta go with him on that." The "he" threw me, though it probably shouldn't have at this point; all these darn beautiful men were quickly becoming half the people I knew.
If it threw Will, though, he didn't show it. "Well whoever it was, sir, I didn't notice them. What I did notice, however, might surprise you: I know what's behind the attacks on Wizard City."
A beat, and then: "And this is why we don't give these idiots time to talk; they'll always waste your time." Keith made to grab him, but Madeline stuck her hand out, catching him in the chest and stopping him. Even so, she gave him an odd look and said, "Will, you really should come with us now. We're not the ones you should be telling this to."
"What, you think I did this?" When she didn't answer, his face took on the same mask-like quality as before. "Well in that case, you don't have to bother bringing me in; I'm going to Ambrose myself." He began to push past them, only for Keith to grab his shoulder and push him back.
"What's the hurry? Why the rush?" the Pyromancer asked with an ugly sneer I was beginning to think was his default expression, but Will only met it with an unreadable gaze and said, "Get out of my way."
"What happens if I don't?"
Okay, I've had just about enough of this. "Then I move you!" I said, flitting between them; Will not getting angry was fine by me, 'cause I was angry enough for the both of us!
Keith scowled when he realized who I was. "Out of the way, bug, I got a criminal to collar."
Bug? Did he just call me a bug? Not wasting anymore time talking, I conjured a fireball in each hand. "I'm gonna burn some manners into you, prick."
He bared his teeth in a feral grin. "At least someone here has a spine." Flames began to lick up and down his arm. Orange eyes peeked over his shades as he said, "Too bad it won't do ya much good, bug."
"Keith, please calm down," the other girl, Serafina, said. "There's no point to this." We both snorted; if we didn't have a reason, then we wouldn't be fighting, now would we? Before either of us could start, though, everyone picked up a whistling noise coming from above. We looked up and to the west…
"What… is that?" Serafina asked, with Chrome looking similarly confused. Everyone else present instantly recognized the still far off object's distinct design. Will was the one who answered: "MISSILE!"
And indeed it was: an honest-to-God cruise missile rocketing toward us. "Scatter!" I yelled, grabbing Chrome and flying to what I really hoped was out of its blast radius. Behind me I heard Keith say, "To hell with this, I'm out!" As if in answer to that, a pulse of energy came in from the west, washing over everyone. The effects were instant, and terrifying: I fell to the ground, the magic keeping me aloft vanishing, only the small, wavering kernel of my magical coreremaining present yet unreachable. From the shouts of shock and dismay behind me, I could tell that the Wizards had the same problem. The two of us got up, and I looked up at the rapidly approaching projectile. "It's getting closer!" I shouted at them. "Just run for cover!" They complied, running back toward the street entrance. Chrome tugged me along, getting me to run with her toward the Hedge Maze, and managing to clear the corner before the missile struck the area we were in with a massive DOOM!
Hedge Maze
"And that's about it," Chrome said, finishing up her report to Lady Oriel, who stayed silent for a time. Finally, she looked at us and said, "First, before anything else, I and everyone else here would like to thank you both." Fairies and Sprites began cheering and waving happily, though understandably subdued: Marcas and co. were still out there, and were a lot better equipped than anyone thought possible here. "You gave your all to turn aside the Fir- Marcas and his agents. There is no way to truly thank you. Still…" Her smile faded, and her face took on a more troubled expression. "I am pondering… the true Fir Darrig.
"Certain laws beyond those of the material world bind my tongue on many subjects, but I am able to relate to you two the initial design of life, and how its myriad forms were meant to be bound:
"The first were Angels, formed of light and Fire, who were made with power enough to shake planets to their core, but, with only the greatest of us being the exception, lacked agency, true sapience.
"Next was Man, beings of matter and Earth, truly sapient beings. Of course, this agency was balanced, at least at first, by a lack of power.
"After were the Jinn, the Spirits and Elementals, born of ether and Air, who possessed both, making them immensely superior. They were originally bound to their own Worlds, and lived amongst themselves, to prevent abuse of that power over the other beings.
"The fourth were Demons, who lived in darkness and thrived in water, who, again with only a few exceptions, lacked either.
"It was in this way the four races lived for eons, until, due to the actions of a few, the balance was overthrown, and the many adapted until they rested on the balance we have now. Rattlebones' creations have the potential to upset the current way of the world once more, and I fear the state it will find itself in when the dust settles. So, I have a task for you: you both are to uncover which World each of the Fir Darrig inhabit-" She closed her eyes, feeling the weight of her decision "-and destroy them." She made a gesture, and a pair of Sprites flew into the maze.
Chrome looked shocked at the revelation of her leader's quest, and she wasn't the only one. Oh God, we're going on a killing spree. Though, if Marcas was any indicator, the other six true Fir Darrig were probably mass murdering monsters set on carving up whatever World they set their eye on in whatever way they liked. I didn't know if any were as strong or even stronger than the red-clad warlord, but it wasn't his strength that made him the threat he was, but rather the forces he raised, the army he led. Even then, I didn't even know if they would do the same…
"Lady Oriel, if I may?!" Chrome asked, almost in a panic. "If you believe that sending me away on a quest will be the best use of my abilities, then I will go without question. But don't you think killing them is a bit…" she fumbled for a word, "drastic?"
Oriel leveled somewhat of a glare at her, but Chrome, showing a surprising amount of spine, met her gaze unflinchingly until, with a dismayed sigh, Oriel only answered, "No."
The Sprites returned holding a small chest between them. Snapping her fingers, the Seraph shattered the lock, allowing her to reach in and pull out a pair of ivory bracelets. Handing them to the two of us, she said, "These bracelets will allow each of you to keep track of the other's location." She met Chrome's piercing gaze again, only this time her eyes displayed her calm and understanding. "I have been alive for a very long time, young one. Long enough to see the First World be rent apart by its inhabitants and protectors, and to see the damage that has yet to heal from the Renegade's madness. Judging from the plans, power, and skills Marcas has exhibited this past day, I can only assume that the rest of the Fir Darrig follow a similar philosophy, if not quite the same strategy. If they are not stopped, they will conquer the Spiral, or, if they do not get their way, destroy it. They are simply too dangerous to be allowed to run rampant."
A heavy sigh, and "I understand, my Lady."
"Good." Her expression was sad now. "This quest, this trial I ask of the two of you… if there was a price to pay, no matter how extravagant or cruel, I would pay it gladly to place this burden upon my own shoulders. To leave the Hedge Maze, my beloved fairies, and root out the Fir Darrig from every World in the Spiral they hoped to infest, and exterminate them utterly." Her voice and face were still even, but the long, low whine of slowly crushed metal from her sword hand told me she was half-ready to go for it. I didn't know how long she could remain here without the circle, but the force of will she was showing now could probably last her until she reached Krokotopia. She eased her grip and released a breath she was holding. "But there is no price, no trick or loophole to exploit. There is only you, and whatever allies you may come across in your journey. Once again, I can only point the way forward, never to walk that dire path with those I send down it. I am sorry, Chrome. Now, please help Nicole put on her bracelet."
"What do you- for the love of…"
At that moment, I was doing the best I could to keep the thing from clamping down on my neck. "I don't even know how this happened! Just help me!"