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Chapter 7: Puppets on Strings

"CJ?" A voice whispered in the darkness.

"Hmm?" CJ abruptly sat upright in her bed and instinctively reached for her sword.

"Shh!" The voice shushed her.

CJ blinked, and recognized Royce. It was almost completely dark in the spare bedroom of Beast Castle that CJ and her group of friends had picked out to spend the night in. Looking around, she saw that the others were still sleeping. Celia and Chloe were huddled closely together. Carlos's detached prosthetic stood at the foot of his bed. Chad was snoring loudly. Judging from the faint light that shone underneath the thick curtains, she guessed that it was very early in the morning.

"What is it?" She asked Royce as she climbed out of her bed and attached her scabbard to her belt.

"Just come with me for a sec…" Royce urged her, and CJ did not feel the need to disobey.

She joined him as they headed towards the front entrance. CJ looked through the tall windows and saw a gloomy and overcast sky, very similar to the day before. Birds were already chirping in the early morning light, ironically adding a peaceful note to their desperate situation.

"Look… Up in the sky…" Royce pointed a finger as he and CJ stood next to each other in front of one of the windows.

CJ gazed upwards. At first, she had no idea what Royce was getting at, but then she spotted it. Trails of green-ish smoke decorated the otherwise grey, cloud-covered sky, crisscrossing one another as if someone had dragged a paintbrush through the air.

"What do you think it is?" CJ asked.

"Well… Yesterday, you said that Levi told Nera to fly over Auradon and look for us, right? I was thinking that smoke could be, like, some sort of residue or something… Like, a trail that she leaves behind as she flies over our heads…" Royce offered.

CJ examined the trails once more. She could very easily imagine Nera soaring through the air like a cackling witch in one of the old fairytale stories. Come to think of it, when Maleficent had escaped the Isle during Ben's coronation, she had also left behind a trail of green smoke.

"I think you're right…" She eventually sighed. "That's quite a bummer…"

"It'll make it easier for them to spot us." Royce muttered. "We'll have to keep an eye out and stay under cover as much as possible."

CJ nodded. "Should we wake the others up?"

Royce shook his head. "Nah. It's still extremely early. They've all been through a lot. Let's give them a little while…"

CJ began preparing some breakfast while the others slept. She was no star in the kitchen, but even she was able to put together simple sandwiches and cereal. Earlier than she had expected, she was joined by the others. No one really talked and they all carried identical somber expressions, which CJ could hardly blame them for.

"Eat." She urged everyone. "If we do have to head out again unexpectedly, it's best to do so on a full stomach."

No one answered, but they did dutifully eat the food she had prepared.

It all saddened CJ so much to see these people, her friends, some of whom were among the kindest and most spirited souls she knew, look so dejected.

"Royce and I discussed some things…" CJ began, and everyone looked up at her. "We decided to stay here, at least for today. It's comfortable here, and we can do some more planning. Carlos and Dillon, you two start reading those books I brought along, okay? See if you can find something that might help us break this spell. Royce and I will start thinking about where to head to next. The rest of you can just, I don't know, try to relax…"

"Is there something we could do to help?" Chloe inquired.

"Well, it would probably be handy to switch lookouts from time to time. Chloe, Celia and Chad, you can talk to Royce to figure out a schedule of some kind. Just remember to not make too much noise. Also, no lights and no smoke… Just don't draw any attention, got it?" CJ pointed a finger.

Everyone just nodded.

Not that much happened the rest of the morning. Royce had been joined by Chad, the two of them keeping watch near the front of the castle. The others had taken refuge in former queen Belle's enormous personal library. Carlos had, not unwisely, suggested that there might be even more books containing useful information regarding the magical relics their enemies wielded, or how to keep them from freeing Chernabog.

And so, CJ reluctantly joined Carlos, Dillon, Chloe and Celia and pouring over many old and leatherbound tomes. She had never been much of a reader, and the exhaustion from the previous day occasionally caught up to her, causing her to almost fall asleep right where she sat.

Their labors did bear fruit relatively quickly. Chloe discovered a book detailing the rise and fall of Maleficent, complete with an in-depth chapter regarding her scepter and its magic.

"It says that only Maleficent's scepter can undo the curses and spells that it cast in the first place…" Chloe read out loud, sighing. "It says something about a magic lock, which means that other artifacts and magical individuals can't infringe on it…"

"But, back when Maleficent cast that spell on Sleeping Beauty, they did not use the scepter to wake everyone up, did they?" CJ asked, somewhat confused.

"No, they didn't…" Chloe mumbled as she hastily turned some more pages. "Ahh, here we go… So, the sleeping spell inherently had a failsafe imbued in the magic… True love's kiss… But, if this is not the case with the freezing spell, then only Maleficent's scepter can undo it… Wait… Oh, apparently one can also undo curses and spells cast by the scepter by, ehm, incapacitating the individual who wielded it while said curse or spell was cast…"

"Incapacitating?" CJ raised her eyebrows.

"She means killing." Celia looked over Chloe's shoulder. "Chloe doesn't like saying things like 'killing' or 'murder' or 'death and mayhem'…"

"Who does!?" Chloe squeaked, looking in between CJ and Celia.

"But, okay… So, now we can figure out more of a detailed plan…" Carlos jumped in. "We know we need to somehow get Maleficent's scepter back…"

"Or kill Nera." CJ shrugged.

The others looked at her somewhat accusingly.

"What? Don't tell me you lot wouldn't consider it… I for one think it's a fair trade to get rid of that rotten little witch in order to get everyone else back…" CJ explained her position.

"This is Auradon." Carlos reminded her. "Killing, well… It's a last resort… Like, far and away last… If there's any chance of making things right without having to end anyone's lives, then we should try to take it."

CJ let out a slight scoff, but did not try to debate Carlos, mostly because she knew everyone else in the room was on his side.

With nothing else to do, the group continued to skim through more of Belle's books. Carlos and Dillon were taking notes from the books CJ had brought. They soon managed to find the exact spell that Nera had used to freeze everyone, which was indeed a modified version of the one Maleficent had used during Ben's coronation. In order to amplify its reach and effectiveness, the villains had apparently combined the freezing spell with a weather-based curse, most likely the work of Levi wielding Zeus's lightning bolt. While this was all admittedly interesting, it did not aid their efforts all that much.

CJ, needing the occasional break from reading, started wandering around from time to time. She would sometimes join up with Royce and Chad and peer out the tall windows. Nothing was happening outside of Beast Castle, aside from the occasional bird or squirrel hopping by. They had seen Nera fly overhead two times, leaving a trail of green smoke on both occasions, but she had been far away and did not approach their location, meaning they had not sounded the alarm.

Celia, who was also not used to spending so much time bent over books, occasionally joined her. She was more quiet and withheld than CJ had ever seen her. As some sort of apparent coping mechanism, Celia would dig through Ben and Mal's stuff.

"Why are you taking those things?" CJ did eventually ask, after Celia had gone through a basket filled with keys, keycards and remotes right by the entrance.

"Those others are the readers." Celia had answered. She did not blush. "I am a stealer. If I want to make myself useful, I can go through Ben and Mal's stuff to see if there's anything that can help us…"

CJ did not have the heart to reprimand her, even when she caught her pocketing more shiny valuables. Everyone dealt with their trauma in their own way, right? It was dreadfully infuriating and draining to keep spending time with people who were so tense and short-spoken, and so CJ soon started wandering through the castle by herself. She found a large open room where she practiced her sword strikes for a while. She was still getting used to how fluent and well-balanced the sword that Archer had given her was. Aside from her regular routine, she also could not help but try to perform even the slightest bit of magic with the blade.

Archer had told her that he could conjure up Excalibur out of thin air, so she purposefully placed the sword in a different room and tried to somehow make it appear in her hand. She was glad that no one could see her stand there with her eyes closed and her hand reaching out in vain. Nothing.

Excalibur could apparently also perform magic blasts, so CJ began to randomly thrust the blade forward, not sure what to expect. She kept imagining pushing back enemies with shock waves or something, but the blade, while still extraordinary, did not show any signs of magic.

Disappointed, CJ eventually rejoined the people in the library, who were all gathered around Carlos and seemed somewhat enthusiastic.

"What's going on?" CJ inquired.

"Carlos found something!" Celia replied, eyes wide and a smile on her face.

"What?" CJ hastily joined the group at their side.

"Look here…" Carlos pointed to a page in encyclopedia-like book on dark magic that CJ had brought along. The left side of the page contained a long lap of text that CJ didn't bother to read, but the right side displayed a series of images with short descriptions. "A list of the most powerful magical artifacts… Maleficent's scepter is on there, as well as Zeus's lightning bolt, Triton's trident, the black cauldron, Fairy Godmother's wand and Excalibur…"

"Okay?" CJ muttered. "And?"

"Well, this text explains the magical properties of each artifact…" Carlos went on. "And, apparently, one of their common traits is that they can shield their users or holders from curses and spells."

"Great." CJ sighed. "If we had known that before everyone got frozen…"

"Actually…" Carlos interrupted her. "The book does not clarify that these artifacts need to be held before the curse or spell is cast. In fact, it sort of implies that the artifacts can function as cures or remedies afterwards as well."

"And?" CJ impatiently asked. Her heart was beating a little fast. If Carlos was insinuating what she thought he was insinuating, then this was big news.

"If conditions are met, we might be able to use one or more of these magical artifacts to unfreeze people, without the need for going after Levi, Nera or Maleficent's scepter…" Carlos's eyes sparkled.

"Holy shit!" CJ snapped as she yanked the book away from Carlos and began looking over the list of artifacts. "We can give these things to anyone, and they will wake up?"

Carlos bit his lip and cast his eyes down. "I don't think so… These artifacts are powerful, but they do require a strong connection to the person holding them in order to bypass dark magic like this freezing spell…"

"Think of it as the artifact allowing the holder to channel enough of the power they already possess in order to resist the curse or expel it completely." Dillon added. "It's basically as simple as using one powerful form of magic to combat another powerful form of magic. But, again, this only works if the holder can put up any resistance of their own to begin with…"

"Can you explain it to me like I'm Chad?" CJ groaned. Her head hurt and she did not possess the necessary brain power at the moment to process all of this.

"We can't wake everyone up." Chloe immediately said, paying CJ's jab at her brother no mind. "But we might be able to wake some people up without having to go after the villains…"

"The people with certain ties to the artifacts." Celia added. "Like children or other family members of the heroes and villains who originally created or used them."

"The artifacts that this book mentions, well, there's a few problems. Number one is that a few are either destroyed, like Excalibur or the black cauldron, unavailable to us, like Zeus's lightning bolt or Maleficent's scepter, missing or too entrenched in dark magic. That means our choices already become very limited. Another danger is that most of these artifacts are displayed in the Museum of Cultural History, which is where Levi and his cronies already broke in…" Carlos listed off. "I don't know for sure, but how big would you say the odds are that they're still keeping an eye on the museum?"

"Honestly, pretty big…" CJ raked her fingers through her hair. "I mean, they should know that whatever relics and such remain there might pose a problem with us still on the loose… If I were them, I would either move or outright destroy every item that could threaten them…"

"That's what I considered as well." Carlos nodded. "Still, would it be too bad of an idea to check it out? I mean, Fairy Godmother's wand is stored in the museum… If we can grab it, we might be able to cure Fairy Godmother herself, and Jane as well…" His eyes sparkled hopefully.

"That would certainly give us more of a fighting chance." CJ acknowledged. "Let's talk it over with Royce and Chad…"

Once the group was complete, Carlos explained their findings and ideas to Royce and Chad in detail. The two were understandably bummed out about either having to steal Maleficent's scepter back or having to kill Nera. Opposed to that, they were very intrigued about the situation surrounding the magical artifacts.

"So, if we manage to take some of the artifacts from the museum and hand them to frozen people with close ties to these artifacts, they will wake up?" Royce inquired, just to make things clear.

"In theory, yes." Carlos replied.

"Hmm." Royce stroked his chin. "Honestly, if that is true, then it's an opportunity we can't ignore. The museum isn't that far. If we leave now, we can get what we need and be back before sundown."

Everyone's eyes widened.

"Ehm, but what if the villains are keeping an eye on the museum?" Celia looked apprehensive.

"I'd say it's worth it just to check it out." Royce countered. "If they are not there, we can get what we need. If they are there, I say we take our loss and retreat. Either way, we don't come out of it in any worse shape than we are now…"

Everyone agreed.

A plan was hastily thrown together. CJ, Royce and Carlos would head to the museum of cultural history to scope things out. If the coast was clear, they would try to retrieve as many useful magical artifacts as possible. If the villains were somehow keeping an eye on the museum, they would simply go back the way they came while trying not to attract any unwanted attention. The journey to and from the museum would take them a few hours, but should not prove too troublesome.

"Be careful." Celia told CJ, hugging her tightly right before she and the other two were set to leave.

"You too. Ceel, I'm counting on you to hold things together here, okay?"

Celia nodded, her red curls bouncing around. CJ affectionately ruffled her hair a little before joining up with Carlos and Royce.

As with their journey from Auradon Prep to Beast Castle, they put extra effort into staying away from the main roads. They largely crept through the thick forests surrounding Auradon City, with the trees providing ample cover from any villains that could possibly be flying overhead.

It took a little longer to move around with Carlos holding up the rear, along with his complaints that his prosthetic leg was not necessarily designed for long hikes through uneven forest terrain.

Nevertheless, they made good time and did not encounter anything even remotely villainous. It was only when they finally reached the museum itself that they finally halted. They were forced to leave the forest, since the museum stood at the very edge of Auradon City and was enclosed by other buildings. They stuck to the walls, carefully looking around and staying low to the ground. It reminded CJ of some of the video games that Carlos had sometimes invited her to play back at Auradon Prep, where you had to sneak around and evade obstacles in order to retrieve some treasure and eventually defeat the big, bad evil villain. Huh, she guessed that sometimes life did imitate art.

Numerous frozen people littered the streets, from postmen and construction workers to joggers and playing children. CJ's stomach twisted uncomfortably as she saw all these people. Levi really hadn't exaggerated when he had bragged about freezing everyone. The city seemed unnaturally quiet and eerie without the sounds of walking, chattering and laughing people.

"Carlos, which artifacts are we after again?" Royce was the first to speak after a long period of silence.

"First and foremost, Fairy Godmother's wand, so we can cure Jane and Fairy Godmother. There are some other powerful and useful objects as well. We could maybe use King Triton's trident to awaken Arabella, or even Triton himself. Then there's Yen Sid's hat, Jafar's staff, the Genie's lamp and a bunch of others… A lot of the artifacts will probably be too big or heavy to carry along, so we gotta be smart about this…"

In her mind, CJ already pictured herself wielding all these powerful objects and going after Levi herself. She couldn't help but chuckle as she imagined the shock and disbelief on his face.

"There it is…" Royce whispered, softly enough that only CJ and Carlos could hear him.

The three of them peered around one of Auradon City's many pristine houses. There, at the end of the road, stood the museum of cultural history, an impressive building with large columns and heavy wooden doors.

"I don't see any of the villains…" Royce hissed, turning his head back and forth like some paranoid ostrich.

"They could be hiding. Waiting in ambush." CJ replied, trying to spot any nooks and crannies that would service as proper hiding spots.

Carlos looked upward, examining the roofs. "It looks safe, for now… Let's get closer, but stay vigilant…"

He had barely finished that sentence, when CJ saw something move from the corner of her eye. "Wait! Get down!"

They all took cover, but kept looking out over the street. There, right near the museum, something moved. CJ squinted. From this distance, it almost looked like a person. It was walking upright on two legs and had two long arms that swung back and forth with every step. That was were the similarities ended, because the figure was much larger than a person at around ten feet tall, did not have an identifiable head and seemed to be made of a dark, rock-like material.

"What the hell?" Royce mumbled as he took out a small binocular and held it to his eye.

CJ kept an eye on the figure. As she was looking, two more of those things stumbled onto the scene from around the corner, seemingly patrolling around the museum. Right in between their shoulders, these figures sported round crystal-like orbs, and it appeared as though they could see through these. They had to keep bending and turning in order to look around, since they did not have adjustable necks. The figures did not come any closer to where CJ and her associates were hiding, instead keeping a tight perimeter around the museum.

"What do you guys think?" Royce handed the binocular to Carlos.

"They are patrolling like guards…" CJ said. "They must have been posted there by the villains, right?"

"Very likely." Royce bit his lip. "Which means they're probably quite troublesome. Though, I guess we could probably sneak around them if we're careful… And, if push comes to shove, we can take them…"

"There's gotta be more of those things inside though, right?" CJ sighed. It appeared as though the villains had accurately predicted their plans and had taken appropriate measures. "Dammit…"

"Hmm… They look sorta familiar…" Carlos muttered, the binocular still pressed to his eye. He kneeled down and started rummaging through his backpack, taking out the dark magic book CJ had given him. He skipped through the pages, seemingly looking for a specific passage. "Look!" He eventually snapped, holding up the book.

CJ examined the page. The title read 'Eyes and Ears Everywhere'. A few illustrations decorated the page – a number of birds and other black figures, all with shining orbs in their foreheads.

"Those orb-thingies…" CJ muttered, looking between the page and the dark figures over near the museum.

"What do those things do?" Royce inquired.

"They're eyes! They're literal eyes!" Carlos hissed. "Villains can enchant figures or beasts to service as their eyes. Maleficent used ravens. Ursula used eels. They could see through them!"

"Shit!" Royce's gaze shifted back to the figures, who still had not come any closer to them. "You think Nera enchanted those things? You think she can see through them?"

Carlos nodded. "That means if those things see us, the villains will know exactly where we are…"

"Smart…" Royce groaned. "That means we can't even take them on… That will bring them right to us… So, what options do we have?"

"At the moment, I'd say retreat." Carlos offered. "Royce, we are not equipped to deal with the villains yet, especially not just the three of us."

"But if we fight our way past those things, we can retrieve more artifacts!" Royce argued. "I'm looking at the bigger picture here! It's up to us to bring everyone back, right? And this is how we can do that!"

CJ and Carlos exchanged a look.

"Royce, there's no shame in going back." CJ cautioned him. "We agreed to this beforehand, right? If the villains were keeping an eye on the museum, we would turn back and think of another plan…"

"But we're already here…" Royce gritted his teeth. "We're so close…"

"Royce, please." Carlos pleaded. "Just listen to reason. There's only three of us here, and who knows how many of those things back there…" He pointed towards the museum. "And if we do engage, then the villains will be here in moments… We are hopelessly outgunned and outmanned here… Please… We have to get back to the others… It's the safer option… Hell, it's the only option!"

Royce finally appeared to be swayed. He sighed deeply. "Fine… Those rotten villains… I just… I want to bring everyone back… As quickly as possible…"

"Hey. We're right here with you, buddy." Carlos patted him on the shoulder. "But we have to be smart about this, okay?"

And so, they started tracking back towards Beast Castle. Not a word was said, and CJ could tell from the grim looks on her friends' faces that they too were feeling somewhat down in the dumps at seeing their plan fail spectacularly.

CJ was already busy trying to come up with a way to fix things, based on what they had learned during their trip. So, the villains were indeed still watching the museum and the magical artifacts stored there. This meant that they considered CJ and her group a legitimate threat, which she could not help but feel somewhat satisfied about. What other actions had the villains undertaken? Were there other locations they had sent those strange stone figures to? Could they make those things actually start actively hunting them?

All these questions and more kept plaguing CJ as they neared Beast Castle once more. It was already late in the afternoon, and the sun was getting low. She was just starting to consider if they could somehow distract those stone figures enough so that they could slip past them when Royce suddenly halted and put up his hand, signaling that they had to be quiet.

"What?" CJ whispered, as quietly as she could.

Royce did not answer right away. He took a hesitant step forward and knocked an arrow onto his bow. "Voices…" He pointed a finger in the direction of the main road.

CJ pricked up her ears and placed a hand on the hilt of her sword. Above the noise of the wind blowing through the trees and the occasional tweeting bird, she could indeed hear the faint sound of two loudly squabbling voices.

Royce made two sharp movements with his fingers, indicating that the others should follow him, but stay quiet. CJ tried her best to not step on any branches or twigs, but could not keep the occasional leaf from crunching underneath her high-heeled boots. Carlos had even more trouble, with his prosthetic making occasional creaking noises. Nevertheless, CJ had faith that they were quiet enough that no one could pick up their movements over the natural sounds of the forest.

"They can friggin' fly! They can fly, and still they make us go to the trouble of actually walkin' around, lookin' for those darn nitwits!" A high-pitched voice called out.

CJ peered around a tree that bordered on one of the main roads right beside Beast Castle. Her breath got caught in he throat as she spotted the red-and-lilac-haired Mabel, twirling the White Rabbit's pocket watch around, alongside the oafish Johnny, with the Huntsman's axe slung over his shoulder. The two villains were lazily strolling, heading directly for Beast Castle!

"Well, we have to do something useful sometimes, right?" Johnny shrugged as he casually took some bites from a bunch of grapes while walking. "And Levi gave us an order. We can't refuse, can we?"

"Somethin' useful…" Mabel spat. "Just because us two and Gordon can't soar through the air or create an army of stone servants, they treat us like dirt… Well, for the two o' you that won't change any time soon, but I got a little somethin' in me pocket now… Literally…" Her large eyes shone mischievously.

Before CJ knew what was happening, Mabel had suddenly vanished in a brightly-colored flash.

"Hey!" Johnny angrily called out as the bunch of grapes he had been holding was abruptly yanked away from his hand.

Mabel emerged once more, slipping and skidding along for several feet along the road before coming to a halt. "Oof… Still gotta work on stickin' the landin'…" She had a bit of trouble regaining her balance, but was smiling broadly nonetheless as she held up what had formerly been Johnny's grapes.

"Stop doing that!" Johnny whined as he clogged towards her and held out a large hand. "Come on… I'm still hungry…"

"Finder's keepers…" Mabel giggled as she teasingly picked an individual grape from the bunch and plopped it into her mouth. She nevertheless gave an exasperated sigh as she handed the rest of the grapes back to Johnny before the two of them walked on.

"Shit." Royce muttered. "Guess she figured out how to work the pocket watch after all…"

"Superspeed. That could be a game changer." Carlos nodded. "But more pressingly, they are walking straight to Beast Castle! We gotta warn the others!"

"At least one of them should be on watch…" Royce argued. "They should see them coming and get to safety…"

"But what if they get spotted?" CJ hissed. "And if those two do investigate, they should find evidence that we have been there… And that freaking Mabel now has superspeed, so she could catch up with us in minutes if we do run!"

Royce bit his lip. "You're suggesting we take them out?"

"Temporarily." CJ shrugged. "Long enough for us to get away without being followed."

"Where?" Royce inquired.

CJ was happy that he apparently accepted her suggestion without more backtalk. "If we don't want to endanger the others, we should do it here… They don't know how many of us are out here… Carlos, can your magic gun-thingy incapacitate them?"

"It should." Carlos nodded. He sounded at least semi-confident, which was enough for CJ.

"Alright. Royce, you and I confront them. Carlos, stay hidden and jump in when you think you should, okay?" CJ quickly told her associates.

They nodded and got to work. Carlos stayed crouched down and kept moving along the forest edge, while CJ and Royce stepped out in the open. She carefully breathed in and out as she unsheathed her sword, while Royce kept an arrow knocked on his bow.

Mabel and Johnny had walked a lot further in the meantime, and were not even looking back or sufficiently checking their surroundings. It irked CJ that she and her friends were actually forced on the run by people like this, who apparently had no real idea what they were doing.

CJ and Royce exchanged one more look and nodded. Royce then raised his bow and fired an arrow.

The sound of the bowstring snapping alerted Mabel and Johnny, but they were too slow in turning around. The arrow buried itself in Johnny's calf, and he immediately started shrieking in pain.

Mabel, shocked and startled jumped nearly a foot in the air from fright as she whirled her head around to look for whoever had fired that arrow. CJ now advanced, her sword raised, and Mabel's eyes grew even larger than they already were. "No… No… No…" She stammered as she raised the pocket watch and disappeared in a flash.

"Ow! Royce! You shot me!" Johnny whined as he went to one knee and cradled his wounded leg.

"We're sort of at war, you idiot!" Royce spat as he joined up with CJ. "Now, where'd that other weirdo go?"

He had barely finished that sentence when a colorful blur crashed into them and knocked them both off their feet. CJ, with her cat-like reflexes, managed to do a twirl in mid-air and land on her feet, but Royce fell onto his back, his bow flying from his grasp.

Mabel herself had also lost her balance, slipping along the road before doing some weird somersault and eventually ending up on her back. "Ow… Ow… Ow… Darn trinket…" She muttered as she climbed back to her feet. She was still holding the pocket watch in one hand, and a small club in the other.

CJ was genuinely startled by just how fast Mabel was able to move. She had barely even seen her coming, and the force with which she had been able to hit them was substantial. It was a small blessing that their enemy had not yet fully gotten the hang of combat at that speed yet, or else she and Royce would have been in a lot more trouble.

"Still struggling to operate that thing, aren't ya?" CJ sneered, trying to mask her unease as she raised her sword once more.

"Whatever! I've got friggin' superspeed and you don't!" Mabel stuck out her tongue.

Before CJ could react, Mabel had once again become a colorful blur. A second later, CJ felt a terrible pain in her lower abdomen, as if she had been hit by a cannonball. This blew her off her feet, and she landed on the road with a painful smack. Behind her, Mabel had once again spun out of control and collided face-first with the nearest tree. CJ quickly scrambled back upright, breathing somewhat difficultly, while Mabel slowly slid down the tree trunk as numerous small leaves and twigs rained down from above around her. It seemed as though that Mabel was doing as much damage to herself as to her opponents at the moment.

"CJ! Look out!" Royce yelled.

CJ was just about able to look back and see a dark metallic flash. She immediately threw herself to the side, and not a moment too soon. The Huntsman's axe hit the road at the exact place she had been just now. Johnny, who was still stumbling on his painful leg, was red-faced from anger. "Don't hurt my friends!" He shouted.

"You idiot! Levi said no killing blows!" Mabel snapped, stumbling back onto the road with blood pouring from her nose and mouth. That collision with the tree seemed to have done a real number on her.

Royce fired another arrow, but Johnny was able to parry it with the massive blades from his axe.

CJ joined up with Royce, and the two sets of fighters faced off right against one another. With a loud yell, CJ stormed at the two. Johnny met her head-on, and her sword clashed with the Huntsman's axe, with neither weapon showing any sign of denting. Royce fired an arrow aimed for Johnny's shoulders, but Mabel flashed by and snatched the arrow out of mid-air. This did cause her to spin out of control once more and skid along the road until she fell flat on her ass.

CJ again lashed out with her sword, but Johnny again blocked her strike with the axe. She was unwillingly impressed with his combat skills. Royce fired another arrow, and Johnny let out a yelp as he held out his axe, parrying it. This gave CJ just enough time to get in closer and slash at his side – her pristine sword slicing through his tunic like a hot knife through butter.

"Aaahhh!" Johnny shouted as he pressed a hand to his side and retreated.

CJ wanted to pounce, but was knocked down by another faster-than-light charge from Mabel. She felt her club smash into her shoulder, knocking her back down once again. Royce had also been blown off his feet, and he started coughing as he clutched his midsection. Mabel, as usual, was unable to halt her momentum and again harshly faceplanted onto the road.

This was getting troublesome. Johnny got back up again, his slight injuries appearing to barely slow him down. Mabel too climbed back onto unsteady feet, blood smeared across her features.

"CJ…" Royce spoke up from behind her as he knocked another arrow. "Can you get Johnny to strike your sword with his axe and then hold him still for a few seconds?"

CJ had no idea what he was planning, but decided to just go along with it. With renewed determination, she squared up to Johnny, who roared in anger as he swung his axe at her from above. As per Royce's request, CJ blocked the blow with her sword and did her best to hold him still. Johnny pushed her back slowly, and CJ grunted as she tried to hold her ground.

Right at that moment, an arrow whizzed past her head at such a close range that it caused her hair to flutter. The tip of the arrow hit the blade of the axe exactly through the middle and split into two. The two arrow-halves buried themselves in both of Johnny's shoulders, causing him to rear backwards with an agonizing scream of pain.

CJ only had a moment to be impressed by Royce's impeccable aim, before another blur flashed past her eyes and she felt something strike the side of her face with tremendous force. Her eyes rolled in their sockets for a second as she crashed helplessly to the ground, letting out a vague groan.

"CJ!" Royce wanted to run at her, before he too received a hit to the face that practically lifted him off his feet.

"You torrid, bird-brained weaklings!" Mabel panted as she just about managed to keep from once again skidding out of control. She straightened up and twirled her club. Johnny had fallen to the ground, whimpering as he caressed his shoulders.

CJ and Royce both got to their feet, but Mabel zoomed past them and once again lashed out with her club, sending them right back down. As she hit the ground once more, CJ's sword flew from her grasp. She crawled towards it, but Mabel whooshed past her and kicked the sword even further away.

"Not much without your weapons, are you?" Mabel sneered as she loomed over CJ and threateningly raised her club.

"Hey!" A desperate-sounding voice shouted from behind Mabel, who turned around.

Carlos stood further back with his magic gun pointed at Mabel. He looked a little panicked, but his hands did not tremble.

Mabel's eyes widened and she clutched the pocket watch tightly. She took off instantly, once again becoming a vague blur, right as Carlos pulled the trigger. A blue-ish blast shot out of the rifle, shooting tiny bolts of lightning in every direction. The blast collided with the blur that was Mabel, and she instantly became visible once more as she was sent flying dozens of feet through the air, screaming loudly. Carlos himself had also been pushed back by the impact, his legs giving out before he landed on his back.

Both Mabel and the blast sailed past CJ, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up straight. Royce and Johnny had also taken cover, and did not look back up until the blast had fizzled out far behind them. Mabel roughly smacked against the ground once more, but this time she did not get back up.

"Blimey…" Royce muttered as he hastily grabbed his bow and got to his feet.

CJ had also retrieved her sword and looked around, thinking about what to do. Johnny was quite heavily injured and Mabel similarly did not appear to be able to fight on. She first checked up on Carlos, who looked like he had stood right beside an explosion. "Carlos, are you okay?"

"Never better." Carlos coughed as CJ helped him up. "Boy… I guess it works…" He mumbled as he held up the still smoking gun.

CJ breathed a sigh of relief as she sheathed her weapon. Royce also joined up with them, rubbing his side with a pained expression. "You hurt?" She asked him.

"Just a couple of bruises…" Royce snarled as he looked back at Johnny, who had crawled over to Mabel. "What do we do with them?"

"We could hold them captive?" Carlos suggested, though he sounded far from confident.

"I'm not sure we-" CJ began, before her eyes widened in panic.

Johnny had reached into his pocket and took out a flare. He pointed it up towards the sky and let it loose. A red spark shot up into the air, leaving a bright trail of red smoke in its wake, before it exploded like a firework with a resounding 'boom'.

"Shit." Royce grumbled. "And now they know where we are… We gotta go! Immediately!"

"Right behind ya." CJ said, and the three of them started running straight for Beast Castle.

They had barely entered the grounds, when they were greeted by a shout.

"Guys! What the hell!?" Chad yelled as he ran up to them, with Celia, Chloe and Dillon in tow.

"What was that flare!?" Celia squealed.

"No time! Does everyone have all their things!?" CJ snapped, her eyes wide with panic.

Everyone nodded.

"Then let's go! No looking back! Straight into the forest! Go! Go!" She urged everyone, and they thankfully obeyed right away.

Even though she hated running from a fight, and even though her body was tired and sore from an entire day of walking and the beatdown she had just received, CJ knew there was no other choice. She and her friends hurried back into the forest, away from the horrors that would soon be right on their tail.