Deep through the woods, accompanied by lamps, the soldiers were marching in their stiff and fearless tracks until they reached the border covered with thorned roses and vines. The end of the soldiers' line was followed by a wagon of electronics discarded from their enemy lairs and battlefield. Weapons were piled; range from bladed ones to firearms. Stopped by the stone walls covered with thorn bushes, one soldier approached before unlocking the entrance by pulling several vines with their hands. Once the gate was opened, the soldiers entered without a word.
Their eyes light up as neon as they are greeted by darkness. A hidden passage of their sanctuary as they were stopped by the gatekeeper of a tall and built figure with a dark cloak, holding a spear intimidatingly surrounded with electricity.
"Brutus." One soldier saluted.
Brutus, the gatekeeper of the secret community grunted in response before opening another gate for them.
"Where's the captain…" the other soldier asked.
"He's with Nicodemus and that old man Ages…" Brutus replied dryly.
"For what…?"
"... it's about NIMH…," Brutus hissed at the word, "their influence remains in neighboring countries."
The soldiers' gazes widened a bit, but soon replaced with cold distaste and disgust.
"With the tyrants gone, they're in their pathetic attempts to crawl back into good graces," Brutus sighed, "under the mask of "peaceful institutes for greater good" as they discussed…"
"The council won't be able to postpone the Plan." One of the tall soldiers pointed out, dragging the wagon.
"Especially, Jenner Winford…" Brutus stated.
There were no other words exchanged as the secret passage to their community remained unknown.
And must keep it that way.
Hours flew by and the morning came early. But there is no sound of birds chirping, nor any presence of animals nearby the Brisby manor. Ominous feelings overwhelmed the Brisby widow as she peeked from the bedroom window, wearing a red shawl around her shoulders.
"...what is that sound…" Elizabeth glanced up.
Her heart dropped once again as she spotted a couple of airplanes flying through. None of them had the flag of her country.
And then…
an explosion took place not far from the territory of the Fitzgibbons, alerting people in process. She could hear Cynthia crying from the nursery as Teresa was calming her little sister. Martin demanded to know where the explosion came from. Jeremy rushed out of his guest room, looking up at the airships.
"They're discarding the bombs." he glared.
"Insensitive monsters." Auntie Shrew growled.
Out of instinct, Elizabeth rushed out of her bedroom and went to Timothy's to check on her second son. Another roar of explosion, but it wasn't close to her house. Timothy was long awake, but too afraid to move from his bed, whimpering.
"It's okay, sweetie…" Elizabeth embraced her son.
Witnessing them, Jeremy's usually calm eyes hardened before rushing downstairs to the living room where Teresa, Martin and Cynthia were gathering.
"Mr. Crows…?" Teresa looked at him.
"Kids…, would you all wanna see magic?" He grinned, a glint in his eyes evident.
The three children tilted their heads in confusion.
"Let Mr. Crows chase away those mean airships…" Jeremy rolled up his sleeves in preparation before taking out his several colors of strings.
His eyes focused on the strings that were on his palms and surrounded his shoulders. After several seconds, his hair flared as the colorful strings glowed while floating.
"Wow…!" Martin's eyes widened in astonishment.
Strings soon extended and spread all over the rooms and hallways around the manor, surprising both Auntie Shrew and Elizabeth as they noticed red, green, yellow, blue, purple, and other shades of strings touching the doors. Jeremy remained still by the fireplace, trinkets around his waist sparkling.
"Lord mercy…, he's a sorcerer!" Elizabeth's aunt exclaimed.
"Actually, ma'am…" The black haired man smiled in a goofy manner.
Just as the airship released another discarded bomb that was to be landed a foot far from the Brisby Mansion, Jeremy's eyes glowed, yet his hair ceased lighting up.
With brief sparks surrounding the mansion in the form of a sphere as the fireplace was flaring, the bomb was repelled and exploded in an instant. Not a single destruction, nor an injured one in Brisby house. The Brisby children glanced at their guest with amazement.
"...I'm a spirit," Jeremy saluted with a huge grin on his face before tripping on his own strings, "a spirit of crow and fire."
Despite the awareness of their world with magic and technologies coexisting, they had never seen magic in person. Not even non-human beings. Like, spirits. The one who stood in front of them was a crow spirit of fire. And, he is a late friend of Jonathan Brisby.
"Wait here, Eliza," Sue grabbed her coat, "I will complain to the capital about this! This is an outrage! How dare they discard the bombs like that?!"
Auntie Shrew angrily stormed out of the living room as soon as the mess of explosion was over, despite Elizabeth's plea not to go. Though, the middle aged woman stopped the moment she and her niece were greeted by the flyers.
Carefully, Elizabeth picked one up from the dirt and glanced at the message.
"Rehabilitation for the lost and abandoned, National Institute of Mystic Health is there for you."
Feeling an unknown nausea reading them, Elizabeth tore it into pieces.
"Eliza…?" Auntie Shrew looked at her, worried.
Mrs. Brisby covered her face before storming back in her house and slammed her back on a wall, sliding down until her knees touched her chest before weeping. For the first time in a year without her husband, Elizabeth felt weak.
"Eliza, are you alright…?" Her aunt approached.
"I'm scared, auntie…," Elizabeth sniffed her tears, "I wish Jonathan was here…"
With a heavy sigh, Auntie Shrew led her upstairs to her bedroom as the children watched with Jeremy.
"Is mama okay…?" Cynthia asked the crow spirit.
"She'll be…, she's just stressed, I guess." Jeremy patted her head.
Teresa heard a pained, raspy moan from Timothy's bedroom. Worried, she walked to her little brother as Martin went up to Jeremy.
"You gotta show us some of your magic tricks, Jeremy! That was really cool~!" Martin smiles widely.
Jeremy laughed good-naturedly. Sensing the unwelcomed trespassers approaching the house of Brisby family, he grinned mischievously.
"Well, I guess I could show one more magic trick now."
Apparently, Jeremy's stunts with forming a protective forcefield that repelled the bomb grabbed some attention.
"Is this the house of the late Jonathan Brisby?" the sheriff asked Drago.
"Ay, it is, sheriff." Drago nodded.
The town sheriff glanced back at the manor of the Brisby family. Although he wished no disrespect towards the family of the deceased town hero and a soldier, the unusual "spell" around the house couldn't be overlooked. Couple of police officers accompanied him as one of them pushed the doorbell.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT!" Auntie Shrew's frustrated voice was heard from upstairs' balcony, surprising them.
"Forgive our intrusion, but is this a house of Jonathan Brisby?" the Sheriff asked.
"THIS HOUSE was given to my NIECE by him!" she replied.
As soon as she calmed herself, Elizabeth decided to walk downstairs and opened the door.
"Hello…, I'm Mrs. Brisby…, Jonathan's wife." she meekly greeted them.
Encountering the Brisby Widow for the first time, the sheriff took off his hat politely as several police officers either blushed or let out a whistle, internally impressed with the beauty of Elizabeth.
"We received a report that there was an unusual phenomenon in the midst of a bomb explosion, around your house." Sheriff bowed while giving his officers a scolding glare, stopping them from ogling at her.
"Oh…well, I know… nothing of that sort…," Elizabeth fidgeted nervously, "I was too scared to look outside when the explosion began."
Oblivious to her, Jeremy gave her children a playful smirk before glancing at the Fitzgibbons and Drago who were a couple of feet behind the police and their sheriff. A fiery spark was formed around the crow spirit's index finger. Noticing the purpose of the impending prank they were planning, Auntie Shrew facepalmed but walked out to fetch something from the attic to assist them.
"May we at least take a look in your house…?" The sheriff asked.
"Umm…., I don't know," Elizabeth frowned a bit, "I have to tend to my children now."
"Elizabeth, come on now," the nosy wife of Farmer Fitzgibbons called out, "It is rude to not invite good police in the house when what they want is our safety!"
Mrs. Brisby grew even more anxious and uncomfortable as a couple of police officers approached to get inside as one even grabbed her by her shoulder to push her aside. Before the sheriff could stop them, a huge spark fired from the balcony, aimed right at between the officers and Elizabeth, surprising both sides.
"What was that?!" Robert 'Billy' Fitzgibbons looked around for the source, visibly scared.
Drago was about to grab his rifle until another fired his firearm.
This time, it was a gunshot.
Glancing up, they saw Auntie Shrew aiming a long-barreled firearm at him. Her wrathful glare on the officers and the Fitzgibbons.
"HANDS. OFF. MY. NIECE." Her low tone of voice warned them.
Without hesitation, the police officers took a couple of steps away from Elizabeth and the house.
"Auntie…!" Elizabeth gasped, recognized the rifle.
"I'm making a promise to Jonathan, girlie. Get back in the house," Auntie Shrew gestured her back in, "stay with Timmy."
After giving the sheriff an apologetic look, Elizabeth rushed back inside and went to her children.
"Oh, and Fitzgibbons! We ain't no longer paying rent for you," Auntie Shrew sneered at them, "because we are leaving soon!"
"Excuse me…?" the patriarch of a wealthy farming family blinked.
Sue Bates roughly tossed a bag of money at them.
"Take those and get lost, scoundrels! You all are not welcomed here!" She yelled.
Feeling the situation would grow worse if not leaving, the sheriff gestured to officers to leave at once. Drago growled at Elizabeth's aunt.
"YOU BIT—!"
Another gunshot.
Inch away from his feet.
"I dare you to finish that DAMNED sentence, pussycat." Auntie Shrew hissed, the smoke released from the hole of the firearm.
Already, the Fitzgibbons have grabbed the bag of rent and escaped the spot. Realizing only he was left, the town's gatekeeper scowled bitterly before turning his heel and walked away from the Brisby manor. Auntie Shrew huffed, sprung her middle finger at him before blowing the smoke off of the rifle and went back in before giving Jeremy a nod of approval with a curl of her lips.
"She's a tough, hardcore aunt I never had," Jeremy turned to Elizabeth, giggling, "I like her."
Little did anyone know, the entire situation was witnessed in a deep heart of hidden community by three men. One, a bitter old man with a stocky figure. The second, a young man with built physique and military attire fitting as a guard. The last was a wise man with a pair of glowing golden eyes in dark robes.
"Yeesh, that lady," Mr. Ages rolled his eyes, "so unpredictable."
"Yes…, but a protective one. Hence, it is why Jonathan entrusted her with the firearm…," the old wise man smiled, "her niece, Elizabeth…she is in desperate need of help."
"NIMH is slowly getting people to go against us," the young captain of the guard said solemnly, "they'd also go after Jonathan's family."
"Possibly. But, I believe that her visiting my old friend in the old Cathedral of Goetia will be profitable." the old man's pair of glowing eyes warmly glinted.
"Ah, yes… the "Great Owl"...I'll be on my way back home, then…," Mr. Ages turned to him, "as much as it is troublesome, I need to check up on her son anyway. Good day, Nicodemus."
Mr. Ages silently gestured to the captain to follow. The young man gazed back at the large crystal ball reflecting the vulnerable widow one last time before obediently walked after the grumpy doctor.
"Go, Elizabeth…," Nicodemus smiled generously, waving his hand with a swift of light, "go and seek wisdom from my friend, Stolas."