Rayla wakes up, gasping for air. She stood up looking around her surroundings and saw that she was in a forest of some kind. She looked to her right and saw Callum waking up. She looks to her left and saw Callum's aunt and Kazi waking up too, as everyone felt their heads rattling.
"Where are we?" Callum asked.
"Don't know, looks like a forest of some kind," Rayla answered.
"Is everyone okay?" Amaya asked.
"Other than my head killing me, I am fine," Kazi said.
"We need to find a village, see if we can get in contact with Queen Janai," Rayla said.
Everyone nodded, as they slowly got up. Callum held Bait, while Stella was in Rayla's bag. The group was walking through the forest, going through bushes, leaves, and branches. They made it to a road they were not familiar with. Amaya was examining the road, feeling the texture of it. The texture was rough, but unique.
The group continued their journey, following the road towards what they thought was a town. But the buildings were so huge that they felt small in comparison. As they were walking, the group was looking around in awe and confusion, as they never seen anything like this.
"Hey Callum, I don't think we are in Xadia anymore," Rayla said.
As the group continued walking, they notice the inhabitants of the town wearing weird clothing. Some were wearing masks with different characters on them. Some were wearing unique clothing that the group never saw before. Rayla saw a young child with her parents dressed up as a princess.
The group was stop by a young couple, who clearly looked like they had a lot fun.
"I love your guys' costumes. Especially the knight there. But you know there were no lady knights," the man said, slurring his words.
"Are those real?" the lady said, pulling at Rayla's antlers.
Rayla yelped, as she shouted, "Of course they are real you doofuses, what's going on?"
"You forgot what today is?" the man asked.
"What's important about today?" Callum asked.
"It's Halloween!" the man said.
"Happy Halloween!" the woman said drunkenly.
"Halloween?" everyone asked.
"Yeah, we get to dress up as different people and party. We were leaving from one at Barnett College," the man said.
"Where is this college?" Kazi asked.
"Down the street there. The party is at the dorms, but no kids are allowed," the man said, as he tries to pick up his girl, who fell on the sidewalk.
"Thanks," Rayla said.
The couple left, leaving the elves and humans by themselves. "We are definitely not in Xadia and anywhere nearby," Callum said, "So what is the plan?"
"If there is an academia here, then what's where we should start searching for answers. This world is very different than ours and so we should know more about it," Kazi said.
"I agree with Kazi, we are strangers here and we do not know the customs of these humans. It's better knowing where we are so we could find a way back to Xadia," Rayla said.
Everyone nodded as they made their way to the college. They pass through streets and cottages, filled with what seems to be statues of skeletons. Rayla and Callum watched as a mask man was scaring some kids, causing the human and elf to reach for their weapons. But they saw a few of the kids chuckle at being scared.
One of the masked men jumped out, trying to scare Callum and Rayla. Rayla punches the man, causing him to fall back on his back, cursing.
"Ow, you broke my nose lady!" the man shouted.
The group ignored the man as they continue walking towards the college. They finally made it to this college, as the group observed the school. The school was big, with the classrooms in darkness. All except one.
Indiana was examining Aphrodite's Mirror, as he was looking through the inscriptions. He was still stumped at the inscription, as he did feel something was off about the magic. Probably it's just a regular old mirror that some bloke tried to create a legend of. Perhaps the people of Athens really did believe in the magic this mirror can deliver.
Whatever it is, it's probably some old piece of junk that the Nazis were trying to get. Indy placed the mirror onto his desk, as he opened his drawer and took out a glass and a bottle of age scotch. He poured the scotch into the glass and then raised it to the air.
"Happy Halloween," Indy cheered, as he took a drink.
The scotch burned Indy's throat, as it went down his throat with ease. Indy looked towards the stacks of books and took one from the top stack. He placed it on the table and began reading it. The book was on multiple worlds and the Yggdrasil. The tree of life. Supposedly, this tree connects all of the nine realms of Norse mythology.
Indy glanced back at the mirror and thought to himself.
"It is true that some vikings did end up in Ancient Greece, so what if this mirror is brought by one," he thought, "What if this mirror is connected to the Yggdrasil?"
As he was thinking, Indy heard some noise outside of his window. Indy got up from his chair, grabbing a pistol from his drawer, and walked towards the window. He looked down and saw a boy trying to jump to reach the window. Indy chuckles at the boy's attempt as he opens the window wide.
"Hey kid, what are you doing?" Indy asked.
"I am trying to access the library," the boy said.
"The school's closed for Halloween," Indy said.
"But I need to find a book," the boy said.
"What book?" Indy asked, getting tired of the boy's games.
"Umm," the boy said, as he was trying to think of something.
"Just go on home kid, your parents must be worried," Indy said, closing the window.
Indy walked back to his desk to see the mirror and a few of his books gone. He ran back to the window, seeing the kid gone, running with a group of women, in very detailed ancient clothing.
"Son of a bitch," Indy said, grabbing his whip, as he ran out of his classroom and out of the school.
He was running to catch up to the group, as they were dodging through the crowd. Indy was having a hard time following them, as they were faster than him, especially the pale skin girl. He decided to take a short cut, as he turned a block and decided to cut them off at the next avenue.
Callum turned around and saw they lost the man. "Hey guys, I think we lost him," he said.
Before anyone can say anything, Rayla bumped into the man they stole from. She fell backwards, as the man looked tired.
"Give it back," Indy said, putting his hand out.
"Give what back?" Rayla asked.
"You know what," Indy said.
"I do not know what you are talking about, human," Rayla said.
"It's cute you getting into character, but I am not playing. Unless you want to talk to the police, then give the mirror and the books back," Indy said.
A crowd was forming, making Kazi a bit nervous.
"Look, how about we talk this out," Callum said.
"Sure, we can, when the police get here," Indy said.
"Look, we will give you your stuff back, but can we go somewhere private, please?" Rayla pleaded.
Indy thought for a moment and said, "Sure, but you better not do anything funny."
Indy, Rayla, Kazi, Amaya, and Callum sat down at a restaurant of some kind. The group of elves and humans stared in confusion as Indy was ordering. They were suspicious of this strange human and this world, but it seems that he is able to be talk to, so Xadia residents have to take the risk.
"Now, tell me why would kids like you two try to steal something from the college? And why would their parents allow that?" Indy asked, eyeing the group.
None of them answered, as they looked at each other waiting for the first person to speak. Indy notice the silence and said, "Look, if you don't say anything I would have to get the police involved and we would not like that."
The group continued looking at each other, not knowing what to say. Then Rayla spoked up, trying to find the right words.
"Well, you see, it's a long story," Rayla said.
"I have time, kid, spill it," Indy said.
"Well, where do I begin. Um, well, we are not from here. We don't even know where here is. We are from a land called Xadia. The last thing we all remembered was that we were at this library, looking for a book to defeat Araavos," Rayla begin, "But then this huge tempest came upon us. The next thing we know is that we ended up waking up in a forest here. We were trying to find research on this world, but while I was looking for books, I saw that mirror of yours and I honestly don't even know why, but I figure there is something important about that mirror."
Rayla looked at the human, who just laughed at what he heard. "That's a cute story kid, but really, why did you guys steal the mirror?" Indy asked, not believing the elf.
"I am telling the truth, human," Rayla said.
"Look, kid, there is no such thing as elves or magic, so why not tell me the truth," Indy said.
"Wait, there are no elves?" Kazi asked.
"Or magic?" Callum asked.
"What, are all of you into some weird type of role playing?" Indy asked.
"Tell me human, where are we?" Rayla asked.
"You are in New York," Indy said, confused.
"New York?" Kazi asked herself.
Indy furrowed his brow, as he realized these people were not joking. "Listen, if what you say is true, then answer me this. Why is the mirror important to you?" he asked.
"That I do not know. Like I said, I felt like I was connected to it for some reason," Rayla said.
Indy took out the mirror and placed it onto the table. "Story goes that Aphrodite uses this mirror to communicate with other realms. The Ocean ruled by her cousin Poseidon, the Sky by Zeus, and the Underworld by Hades. But then, after the conquest of Greece and its unification, the mirror was lost in time. Until now, where I discovered it in a cave off of Athens," Indy explained, "If you look on the edges, you will notice an engraving. It says, 'Between space and time, there are many realms out there. To whoever reads this unleashes the magic from this mirror, using it to communicate with the other realms. I did not know what it meant, but if you are telling the truth about coming from a world different from this, then that means that the tale is true."
"But you say there is no such thing as magic, so how does that happen?" Callum asked.
"Don't know. There have always been unexplained phenomenons in the world, so this might be one of them," Indy said.
The group looked down at the mirror and saw it clearing it up, focusing on a place of some kind. Indy saw this, as lights were flickering on and off, with some of the bulbs breaking. Then in a moment, Callum began to shake, as he fell on the floor.
Indy jumped from his chair, grabbing the kid, and placing him on the floor carefully.
"What's going on?" Rayla asked.
"Your friend here is having a seizure, quick, get me some salt water," Indy said, as he was trying to get the kid to relax.
Kazi and Amaya were looking at the mirror as they saw an elf, with a blueish, grayish skin, staring at the outside world with curiosity. Callum's eyes rolled back, as his pupil became pitch black.
Callum stands up, looking at his surroundings. Indy with caution, as he stepped back to where the elves and the human were. "Is this normal for your friend?" he asked the girl.
"No, not really, the only other time this happened was…when Arravos possessed him," Rayla answered.
"This is new," Callum said, as his voice changed. The possessed Callum looks around at his surroundings, smiling.
"Kid?" Indy asked, as he felt something was off.
Callum looks at Indy, as he picks up the mirror. Indy looked at the mirror and saw an elf-like creature staring at him back. Indy had a knot in his stomach as he felt an uneasy feeling growing inside of him.
"If it isn't my favorite moonshadow elf and her boyfriend. And let me see, the general who couldn't protect her older sister and the bookworm who never saw death. But, the only person who I can't place my finger on is you, human," Callum said.
Indy watched as the elf used his palm and tried to read his mind. "Ahh, an adventurer who values protecting history. A scholar of many things, with a big interest in the occult, and an obtainer of rare antiquites" Callum list off, "How interesting. I can't wait till I play with you and this realm."
"Who are you?" Indy asked, finding his strength to speak.
"I am a scholar like you and a messenger. But you may call me Araavos, these creatures do," the elf spoke.
"What do you want with us?" Rayla asked.
"Oh, nothing yet, my young moonshadow elf, all will be explained in good time. I just wanted to see my new playground," Callum spoked, "Oh but before I go, Dr. Jones, I presume, there are old friends who want to say hi to you."
Indy was confused at that statement, as he watched the Elf push his palm up, as if releasing something. He watched as Callum fell on the floor, with Rayla catching him. As Indy walked towards the mirror, he looked down and saw the elf chuckling as the glass breaks, shattering it.
"What the hell was that?" Indy asked.
"That was Araavos, the Star Touch Elf and the being we were sent to find a way to defeat" Rayla said, as she touched Callum's hair.
"What does Arravos mean about old friends who want to say hi?" Kazi asked.
Before Indy could answer the question, he heard a few cars pull up. Walking towards the window, Indy saw some men in really nice suits stepping out. They look professionally dress, but something was off. Indy looked towards the car and the shark insignia on it.
Wide-eyed Indy shouted, "Everyone on the floor!"
The group was confused, with Indy running and tackling Amaya and Kazi onto the floor. A hail of bullets flew through the windows, as glass shards flew everywhere. Amaya, Kazi, and Rayla covered their ears, not expecting the loud gunfire. Indy crawled towards the window. The gunfire stopped as one of the men shouted towards the restaurant.
"Dr. Jones, this is a message from Shark Head Malone, give us Da Vinci's Notebook or die," the man said.
"It belongs in a museum!" Indy shouted.
"So do you! Light'em up boys," the man said.
The men pointed their guns at the restaurant again, firing their weapons. After a few minutes, they stopped, as the gangsters reloaded their weapons. They slowly made their way into the restaurant. As they walked inside, the last man was met by a chair breaking against his back, causing the man to fall on the floor. The rest of the men turned around, as they saw Indy holding a broken chair leg in one hand.
The men backed up as they got into position. They felt a strong gust of wind flying past them, as a white hair girl was staring at them back with scythes in her hand.
"Get out of the way kid, we are here for Dr. Jones," one of the gangsters said.
"You have to get through me first," Rayla said.
"Your funeral, kid," another gangster said as he pointed his gun at the Elf.
The elf did not flinch, though she doesn't know why she needed to. She was confuse as to why the human was standing in front of her.
"Listen Paulie or Tony or whatever the hell your name is, these people are not a part of this, so let's just talk like civil men," Indy said, trying to negotiate.
"It's past that Dr. Jones, now give me the book or this kid dies," the gangster said.
Before Indy could say anything, the young elf moved as fast as lightning, disarming a few of the men and knocking them unconscious. Rayla moved as fast as lightning, as some of the gangsters were trying to get a shot in, but they failed. Indy tackles one of the gangsters down, with Amaya attacking another one.
A brawl happened in the restaurant, as the gangsters were using their fists to fight off the strange band of people. One of the gangsters tries to punch Amaya's armor, not realizing it was real metal, therefore breaking his hand in the process.
"You broke my hand, you bitch," the gangster growled.
Amaya smiled a bit, reading the man's lip, though she did not understand the word bitch. Either way, she got into a fighting stance, as she was able to dodge the punches easily. Using her sword and shield, Amaya manages to kill the gangster with ease, stabbing him in the gut.
While the human knight was able to hold her own, Rayla and Indy were having more of a difficult time taking care of them. Indy throws a mean left hook, as the gangster dodges it. The man grabs a hold of Indy and throws him towards a bar. Indy grabs onto a bottle of whiskey, as he jumps up, smashing it against the gangsters' head.
The gangster went down, as Indy turned his direction to the young elf, who was moving around the restaurant with grace, as the last gangster was shooting at her. Rayla was trying to find an opening, as she had her scythes out, ready to attack. As she runs towards the gangster, the gangster manages to land a shot on the young elf, hitting her on the leg.
Rayla yelped in pain as she fell onto the floor.. The gangster pointed his gun at the young elf, as he said, "You should've listened to me, kid."
Rayla was staring down the barrel of the Thompson Submachine gun, with fear in her eyes. "Whatever that thing is, it can kill me," Rayla thought.
As the man pulled the trigger, the elf closed her eyes and heard a loud bang. She waited for a minute but nothing happened. As Rayla opened her eyes, she saw her attacker bleeding from his mouth and chest. The outfit the gangster wore was wet with blood as the man fell on the floor dead.
Rayla looked forward and saw that strange human with a smaller looking object that her attacker had drawn out, smoking from the barrel and the object up to the man's face. Blue and red colors were shining behind them, as the man put the object into his pants.
"You alright kid?" Indy asked, as he walked towards Rayla.
Rayla backs away in fear, as she is afraid that the human might use that loud object to kill her too. Kazi run up to Rayla, helping her up. Amaya walks towards her nephew and makes sure he is alright. She picks him up and puts Callum over her shoulder. They were about to walk out, but Indy blocked them from leaving. Indy saw blood coming out of the elf's leg.
"Move away, human or else," Rayla said, as she gritted her teeth in pain.
"You are in pain, kid, and it looks like one of Malone's men got a shot on you," Indy said, "You need medical attention."
"I say move away, human," Rayla said, as she was about to punch Indy but fell forward.
Indy steps forward to catch Rayla, who tries to fight back. "Look kid, you are wounded, why not sit down and let's get a doctor here to take care of you," he said.
"I can take care of myself," Rayla argued.
"Clearly not, kid," Indy said.
Rayla thought for a moment and decided to let Indy help her sit down. Indy guided her to a chair, as the elf hopped on a leg. As she sat down, a few humans who dressed similarly but also in some weird outfit came inside the restaurant with weapons drawn. Rayla was about to get up, but Indy placed his hand on her shoulder letting her know it will be alright. He walks toward them, smiling and talking to them.
"What happened here?" one of the humans asked.
"My family and I were having dinner until some of Malone's men came and shoot up the place," Indy lied, refusing to tell the police of what he saw.
"Your family huh, Dr. Jones?" another of the humans asked, in disbelief.
"They are from out of town, they are here visiting me for Halloween," Indy continued, "Look, this was in self defense, as these men tried to kill us."
"Of course, well, there is nothing we can do. You and your family are free to go. Just be careful," the human said.
"Thank you, officer," Indy said, as he walked over to Rayla and picked her up.
Indy signaled Amaya and Kazi to follow him, as they walked out of the door.
"Why did you lie to them about us?" Kazi asked.
"If I tell them what you have told me, then they will not take me seriously. Besides, it is less trouble for us to deal with. Now let's go, we still need to get the bullet out of you kid," Indy said.
Everyone followed the strange human, as they walked back to the college.
Amaya, Kazi, and Rayla looked in awe as they stared at the vehicle. Indy and other humans call it the automobile, an invention that replaced horses and carriages. It's supposed to be safer and faster than a horse and travels longer. Amaya was at the front seat, with Rayla, Callum, and Kazi in the back. Indy was driving back to his house so that he could patch the elf back up.
Arriving at Indy's house, the archeologist picked up the elf and brought her in, laying her on his couch. Amaya placed her nephew on a chair nearby, as she and Kazi watched the human go to a room. Indy came back with a medical kit, as he sat next to the kid.
"Kid, I am going to need you to bite down on this rag," Indy said, giving the rag to Rayla, "I am going to be very blunt about this and will tell you that this is going to be painful."
Rayla did as she was told as she took the rag and bite it down. Indy grabbed a pair of tweezers and his lighter, which amazed everyone in the room as soon as he lit it, and started to burn the tweezers. He then rolled up the elf's pant leg and put the tweezers into the wound. This caused Rayla to yelp in pain, as she bit the rag hard. Tears rolled down Rayla's face as she never felt this amount of pain before.
Indy was fishing for the bullet until he was able to grab a hold of it. He pulled the tweezers out of the wound and placed the bullet into a bowl. Indy then grabbed a thread and needle and sewed the wound up. Watching the human wiped the blood off of the wound, Rayla felt a bit more comfortable.
Indy stood up as he went into the kitchen to wash the blood off of his hands. As he was in the kitchen, Kazi and Amaya were examining the room they were in and saw the many books the human had.
"So who were those humans that tried to kill you?" Kazi asked.
"Those are Shark Tooth Malone's men. A famous mob boss here you don't want to cross," Indy said.
"And why were they trying to kill you?" Rayla asked, calming her breath a bit.
"To make a long story short, they stole the Diary of Leonardo Da Vinci and so I stole it back and gave it to a museum in Italy," Indy said, as he came back with three glasses and a bottle of scotch.
He placed it on the table, and poured the content into the glasses. He gave two of the glasses to Kazi and Amaya. He then walked back and grabbed a bottle of root beer. Opening it, Indy gave it to Rayla. He then grabbed his glass of scotch and gave a cheers.
Kazi and Amaya just stared at each other as they watched the human drink his glass. "Um what's this strange liquid?" Kazi asked.
"Scotch, don't tell me you guys never heard of it," Indy said, as he felt the burn in his throat.
"Sure we have," Amaya signed, as she drank all of the contents from the glass. This caused her to cough and felt the nasty burning sensation in her throat.
Indy was taken by surprise and chuckled a bit as he poured some more into the glass. "You have to be careful with this drink, lady. If you drink it like how you did, you won't like the effects of it," Indy said.
"And what is this?" Rayla asked, looking at her drink.
"It's root beer. Soda pretty much. Helps with the stomach and filled with sugar and syrup," Indy said, as he took another sip of his drink.
Rayla examined the contents and decided to try it. She put the bottle in her mouth and proceeded to drink it. It was a sugary drink for sure, but Rayla did enjoy it. She loved the bubbles in the drink as it pushed some gas out of her mouth. She ended up letting out a huge burp.
She felt embarrassed as she never had that happen to her. Indy smiled and said, "Don't be embarrassed, it's completely normal."
Indy then walked to his library and grabbed a couple of books. "Now to the matter at hand, can you explain everything to me," he said.
"Well, we are from a different world as it seems. The land is called Xadia, but the humans live in different kingdoms. Callum and his aunt here are from a kingdom called Katolis," Rayla explains, "Kazi here is a Sunfire Elf and I am a Moonshadow Elf."
"And this Arravos guy is what?" Indy asked.
"He is a Startouch elf," Kazi answered.
"He seems to have an interest in you guys," Indy said.
"Arravos is someone who is very dangerous and should not be taken lightly. We had tried to find his prison to destroy him, but it was no use," Rayla said.
"And yet he is able to use your friend like a marionette," Indy said, as he looked at the sleeping boy.
"Yeah," Rayla said, "So do you now believe us when we say we are not from this world?"
"It is still hard to believe. And look, I have seen some crazy stuff, but different worlds, that is a first. And it is not like you guys are lying cause I just saw an elf looking creature in a mirror, which isn't normal in any standards," Indy explained.
"So, would you be able to help us, Mr.?" Amaya signed.
"Jones. But you can call me Indy or Indiana," Indy said, "Look, it is difficult to find a way back to this world of yours. Hell, I do not have a clear idea where to start. The only leads I have are that the Mirror of Aphrodite is connected in some way to the magical tree, Yggdrasil, of Nordic folklore. But that is merely legends told to entertain children."
"What is this legend of Yggdrasil?" Kazi asked.
"Well, legend has it that the Yggdrasil is this enormous ash tree that was used to connect the nine realms of Norse mythology. There was Niflheim, which is the Mist World, Midgard, which was the earth, Asgard, which was the realm of gods, Svartalfheim, which is the realm of the Dwarfs, which was a race of blacksmiths and craftsmen, Alfheim, which is the realm of elves, Jotunheimr, realm of the Giants, Vanaheim, which is the realm of gods that was usually associated with fertility, wisdom, and premonition, Muspelheim, which is the realm of fire, and Hel, which is the underworld or the land of the dead. The tree is usually known to be associated with life and death as it was here where the All Father Odin hung himself so that he can gain knowledge. This was going to be the source of new life when Ragnarok was going to happen," Indy explains, "Oh so the legend goes. But again these are all legends that were told to kids to prevent them from being naughty."
"What if the legend is real?" Rayla asked, "What if this Yggdrasil is a real tree that is able to connect to other worlds?"
"Even still, there is no real map to it. You see, there is another story that tells that a viking named Kirik the Great once found the fable tree and wrote down a map leading to it. However he did not want any of his enemies to find out about the tree, nor did he want it to be corrupted by evil. Hence, he broke the map into four portions, along with keys. He entrusted these pieces to his most trusted warriors. One viking hid it in a desert somewhere along Tunisia. Another one hid it off the coast of Italy, somewhere in the Ionian sea. The third one hid it inside a cave somewhere in Iceland, and the last one never got to hide his as he died somewhere in the jungles of South America," Indy explains, "In order to find the Yggdrasil, we need to find the pieces to the maps and the keys that goes along with it."
"So we find the keys and the maps, we find the tree," Kazi said, "Sounds easy enough."
"Well, that is the first part. There are dangers lurking in every corner. And mind you, I was not the only one looking for that mirror. The Nazis were trying to find the secrets of it too," Indy explains.
"Nazi?" Amaya signed.
"Who are they?" Rayla asked.
"A bunch of goose stomping blond blue-eyed people who worship their fuhrer and will do anything to take over the world," Indy said with disgust, "If they are in search of the mirror of Aphrodite, then they might know its connections to the tree."
"Well that won't stop us," Rayla said.
"Of course it won't. Listen kid, unlike your world, these Nazis do not really give any mercy. If you don't fit into their ideal race, then you will be dead," Indy said, "And plus, you see the weapons Malone's men had. The Nazis have that, plus more. If we are to do this, we have to think through it thoroughly."
Indy looked towards the grandfather clock and saw it was getting late. Finishing his glass, Indy got up and started to walk. He turned around and said, "Look, how about everyone rest up tonight. I think you guys deserve some sleep. Tomorrow, I have a class to teach and then I will talk to a buddy of mine who owns a museum and see if he can help us."