Puzzling

Summary: During a trip to see Greylock and his family, as well as to discuss plans to confront the recently discovered enemy, Cedric, Sofia, and several others find themselves ensnared in a strange trap, where they have to solve perplexing clues to escape. In the process, they encounter two new enemies.

Disclaimer: I only own Angel and Zinnia, and the two Elementals called Zemeo and Aerlo. Tanya and Nana belong to MarionetteJ2X. Everyone and everything else belong to Craig Gerber.

A/N: Here's the second chapter! 😊 We have riddles, traps, and some interesting surprises/circumstances in here. One of the surprises (not a positive one) will be revealed closer to the end, and you will see this particular thing show up again. It is connected to the Oblivo Realm (AKA: the realm where the Elementals are from). 😉

Chapter 2: Ah-Maze-Ing

The trapped group stayed close together as the two Elementals leered at them menacingly. This place, wherever it was, was the Earth and Air Wielders' own little playground, as it were. They had a leg up in this situation, because they knew the layout and whatever was planted (of course). That alone was terrifying. Not knowing the two wielders' ultimate intentions or methods was honestly worse.

"Welcome to our labyrinth," Aerlo jeered, gesturing grandly toward the stretch of a corridor that practically appeared never-ending. "Here's the situation. You pests, especially you, Princess Sofia…"

Sofia frowned at the blue-haired man, watching him carefully.

"…have been causing nothing but grief for my fellow Elementals. We have a goal in mind, and we can't achieve it if you keep getting in our way. So, here's our proposition." He folded his arms, smirking. "Solve our labyrinth, and we'll let you go, though we will continue opposing you as necessary. If you don't manage to solve it, well…"

"Not our problem, and you will die in here," Zemeo concluded, his eyes narrowed especially toward Zinnia, who (instead of shying away) glared back at him, to his mild surprise. "Be warned that there are many traps in here and riddles to solve. Each clue you find after solving a riddle will be essential for your success. Anything you touch is at your own discretion and risk. Your goal is to make it to the final location: the Helix Crypt."

"Lovely name," Greylock muttered sarcastically.

"Only if you make it there can you discover the key to your freedom." Zemeo held his hand out, producing an hourglass with magical sand in the middle. He turned it upside down, allowing the magical sands to begin falling. "This hourglass is actually a two-hourglass. Therefore, you have two hours to make your way to the Helix Crypt. If you fail to do so, an automatic dark magic blast will destroy everyone left in the maze: men, women…and children." He smirked.

"You're sick!" Cedric snapped, prepared to lunge at the man until Sofia and Tanya held him back. "You'd risk our children's lives too? Have you no compassion?!"

"Spare us the 'save the children' speech," Aerlo cackled. "If you only knew how many we've already obliterated, you'd probably faint from shock." He turned to Zemeo. "Let's go."

Zemeo winked at the group. "Remember. Two hours." With that, he vanished, followed by Aerlo.

"Those idiots better be glad I'm not massively pregnant," Ivy complained, leaning a bit against both Greylock and Miss Nettle for support.

"Agreed," Greylock remarked. "They would have been the ones in danger." He yelped when his wife smacked him on the arm a little too hard. "Just kidding, love. Calm down."

"We do not have time to waste," Angel informed them. "We must go now. Time is our enemy as long as we stand still."

"I agree," Sofia added. "Let's go then."

The group moved along through the first part of the labyrinth, which at first just appeared to be a long (and seemingly endless) hallway. There were fake doors painted every few feet apart on the right side of the hallway, much to their annoyance.

Miss Nettle huffed as she watched Greylock attempting to feel along the wall, which proved to be a rather pointless feat. "I wouldn't bother, Greylock," she advised him. "It's quite clear that this wall is literally just that: a wall. There's probably no easy way through it. We've already seen that all those doors were just murals."

"If we don't try, we might miss something," Calista reminded her. "With things like this, it could probably be the tiniest thing that leads to something."

"Perhaps we could just blast through these walls," Cedric suggested as he withdrew his wand. "But stand back. I don't want anyone getting hurt if this doesn't work."

The other nine moved back a few feet, Tanya standing next to Sofia while Nana remained holding onto her Mama's head, and Zinnia hiding behind Greylock and Ivy. The others huddled near one another.

"Confractus Murum!" The Enchancian sorcerer groaned in aggravation as the wall didn't break. Rather, it absorbed his power and continued standing. "Merlin's Mushrooms…"

"It is possible this place is not affected by our magic," Tanya hypothesized as she walked over to Cedric. "It could be set up to where only certain methods can be applied."

"So… We're at the labyrinth's mercy," Miss Nettle surmised, folding her arms as the group began walking again. "That's just wonderful…"

"Those guys did say that this place is filled with riddles," Sofia declared. "Riddles aren't that hard if you look at them carefully."

"They also said this place is filled with traps," Calista countered. "And that could be anything: in the walls, on the floor, in the air…"

"We'll just have to keep an eye out then," Ivy concluded.

As they moved forward, they noticed that there were now several feet of the wall that had ivy swaying back and forth over it, covering up several sections, including the painted doors. They kept walking until they finally saw the hallway curve to the right, greeting them with a…

"Dead end," Calista sighed, running her hand down the side of her face. "I feel like we've been walking forever… How long has it been?"

"Maybe fifteen minutes," Greylock informed her. As he observed the dead-end wall, he noticed that it, unlike the rest of the grainy beige walls they'd seen on either side of them before, was a burgundy color instead. Upon further inspection, he noticed something else. "Is it just me, or are there letters etched into the wall?"

Cedric nodded, stepping up and tracing his hands along the charcoal letters. "It says, 'Keen eyes would have seen the door behind the green.'" He turned to the others. "The ivy… There's a real door behind it somewhere…"

"Oh, good," Ivy sighed tiredly. "Now we just have to go back down the hallway and get frisky with the wall to see if it has any secrets."

Calista smiled, clearly amused. "That's one way of looking at it." She blinked as Angel leaned over to whisper something to her.

"What does 'frisky' mean?"

The young sorceress grinned at her boyfriend. "Allow me to demonstrate." She pushed him gently up against the wall and kissed him, her hands on either side of his face as his settled on her waist. She broke the kiss, smirking at his reddened features. "Does that answer your question?"

"Um…"

"Calista," Cedric scolded, rolling his eyes as the teens both blushed. "If your mother were here, she'd… Well, actually, she'd probably be cheering you on." He shook his head. "But stay focused on the task at hand, please."

Calista giggled, pulling an embarrassed Angel along with her. "Yes, Uncle Ceddy."

They moved back down the corridor, feeling the wall for any give-away or mechanism that could potentially open the wall. Soon enough, Miss Nettle shouted in glee as she pushed forward on the wall, and it rattled a bit.

"Found it!" she announced to the others, pushing against the apparent door and opening it, revealing more of the labyrinth, though this time there were several walls going in many directions before them.

"Anyone else missing the straight shot of the other hallway?" Ivy asked as they entered the next section. "I mean… How do we even choose which way to go?"

"We just have to test them out," Sofia told her, passing off Nana to Calista and getting a bit ahead of the others. "It can't be that ba-aad!" She screamed as the floor beneath her feet literally vanished, and she began to fall. "AHHH!"

Cedric, thinking fast, rushed forward and fell to his stomach, grabbing Sofia's arm before she could plummet to what appeared to be an endless abyss below. "Sofia, hold on!" He strained to keep her in his grip as she screamed in terror, clinging to his arms for dear life.

The others stood back, watching in shock as Cedric, with some burst of adrenaline, pulled Sofia back onto the firm ground and into his arms.

Sofia, shaking, wrapped her arms around her partner's neck and whispered, "Thank you, Cedric! Thank you…"

"You always said you'd never let me fall," he murmured softly to where only she could hear. He smiled as she looked at him, still shaking and still breathing hard, for obvious reasons. "It's about time I return the favor…"

She smiled as she calmed down and kissed his cheek, giggling softly as he blushed a bit. "My sweet Cedric…"

"That's cheating," Greylock complained as he gestured toward the floor, which looked rather solid. "It's deceptive! How could we know there's some evil holographic floor there? And how are we supposed to get around it?"

"The wicked men said there were traps," Tanya stated. "I do not think they care about our safety, though, quite clearly. We must outsmart them. Mama." She turned to Sofia, who was now standing to her feet with Cedric's help. "What about your Which-Way Bow? Could it detect a safe way around the hole in the floor?"

The princess shrugged. "It's worth a try." She activated her Enchantlet's bow and called out, "Show us a safe way around this trap!" She pulled back on the string and loosened the arrow, watching as it veered to the left against the wall, before taking a sharp left into what appeared to be a room. "That way… Stay close to the wall though."

Cedric held his hands out to Nana, who climbed from Calista's hold into his. She scurried to sit on his shoulder, and he gently patted her head. "Hold on tight to me, all right?"

Nana nodded and did as he asked.

The group moved along slowly but surely, holding onto the wall as they maneuvered around the increasingly obvious hole in the floor. In fact, upon closer inspection, and without the angle to deceive, it was very evident that they had maybe a foot or so of floor space to work with before they could potentially fall into nothingness. After a painstaking three minutes of simply traversing the side of the floor, they soon made it to the room where the arrow had darted.

Ivy leaned against the solid wall in the room as the others gathered. She was panting and had one hand on her heart.

Greylock, who had carried Zinnia along the pathway, placed her on the floor and walked over to check on his wife.

"Wow," Calista said, looking around the circular room. "Not much for decorations, are they?"

The floor was a checkerboard pattern with the same type of color scheme as Ivy's preference: black and white. There was nothing in this room except a podium with an open book.

"So, what now?" Miss Nettle asked. "We read?"

"Perhaps one of their clues is in the book." Angel walked over to the podium and stood, peering down at the text. He frowned. "I am afraid I do not understand this language…"

Cedric stepped over and looked at the book. "It's in the ancient lost magic language of Wizolda. A forbidden language…" He frowned, trailing his hands over the text. "For a very good reason."

"Can you translate it?" Sofia asked curiously as she watched Nana cling to his head, attempting to 'read' the contents of the book. She smiled.

"I believe so…"

"And why can you translate a forbidden and lost language, Uncle Ceddy?" Calista wondered curiously.

Cedric exchanged glances with Greylock, who shook his head. "Long story, Calista… But let me have a go at this." He turned back to the text and slowly but surely translated it. "Solve the riddle, if you can. Using the quill, write the answer on the line below. Any language is accepted." He then read the riddle aloud.

Riddle 1: Every fire, every idea, every romance, every explosion, every motivation…begins with this.

"The word 'every?'" Ivy guessed, folding her arms.

"But how would that help?" Miss Nettle shook her head. "You can't very well 'every' something. That doesn't make sense."

"Focus on the secondary words," Tanya informed her. "Fire. Idea. Romance. Explosion. Motivation… They are very different things or concepts, but they must have something in common…"

"I've got it," Calista laughed. "Fire and explosions both begin with the simplest thing: a spark. And they say that a spark of the imagination or idea or motivation can intrigue people. And romance, well…" She smiled playfully toward Angel, who blushed. "I think that goes without saying."

Sofia nodded. "I agree. I think that's right. Nothing else makes much sense."

Cedric shrugged, picking up the quill from above the book. "Very well. Let's see what happens." He penned in the answer, and the book glowed, transforming into what appeared to be a jagged puzzle piece. It was rather hefty, a grayish-white color, and had four straight horizontal lines etched into the center. On the bottom right hand side of the piece, there appeared to be a random haphazard line that didn't seem to have any reason being there. The sorcerer picked it up, observing it curiously. "Interesting…"

Angel frowned. "What else did they say? Each clue we find after solving any riddle will be important. I am guessing this is our first clue."

"What is the significance of four lines?" Greylock took the piece from Cedric and observed it curiously. "Probably some symbol that we will find as we carry on?"

Cedric shrugged before taking the piece back. "We will figure that out later, I suppose." He pocketed the piece. "Let's move on."

After exiting the room and moving a bit away from the missing floor, they noticed another pathway directly across from their current room. Granted, there were several places they could go, but the only way to determine if a location was plausible or not was to try.

"No matter what, we stay together," Sofia urged them. "This is not the time to split up and get lost. We all have to solve this labyrinth if we want to get out of here alive."

"And those creeps did say that a magic blast would kill anyone left at the end," Calista sighed. "I'm with Sofia. We stay together."

They didn't have to walk too long before reaching the end of the winding hallway, only to discover that it was another dead end. However, unlike the last one, this didn't have any clues. It simply ended.

"I'm tired, Daddy," Zinnia told Greylock, rubbing her eyes as she walked along beside him.

"I know, sweetheart. Come here." He leaned down and picked her up, shuffling her to his back. "How's that?"

She giggled, resting her head on his shoulder. "Better!"

Once they reached the end of the short hallway, they stopped to weigh their options. Left was out, because they'd come from that direction. To the right, they saw a curved wall, and two pathways around it.

"The left served us well the last time," Angel reasoned. "Perhaps we should continue that way…"

The others agreed and chose the left path. As they walked, they noticed that not only did the pathway continue around a curve, but there was also a lit corridor to the immediate left that appeared to head into another circular room.

"I wonder what's in there," Calista murmured as she peered inside, only able to see a few flames flickering in the distance. "There may be another riddle in there."

"Let's find out," Miss Nettle insisted, pressing forward and taking the lead for once.

"Be careful," Tanya warned them. "There is something different about this room…"

They reached the end of the short hallway and piled into the small room. There wasn't much to it: a singular bookcase next to the curved wall, a sign hanging on the wall, and an antique chandelier hanging above their heads.

Sofia walked toward the bookcase and attempted to take one of the books, but she found that she couldn't. "The books aren't real…"

"None of them have titles either," Greylock pointed out. "They're just different colors."

"There is a warning, I think," Angel told them as he approached the sign hanging on the wall. He frowned as he read the information to the others: "Beware the emerald eyes. Only shock relieves their lies." He reached up to trace a sketch of the curious eyes and yelped as he felt a shock. "Ah!" He looked down, noticing that he now had a burn mark on his hand.

Calista hurried toward him and cradled his hand, her fingers gently hovering over the burn as he winced. "Angel…"

Nana climbed down from Cedric's shoulder to his arm, hopping over to Angel's shoulder and sliding down to sit on his hand. She held her tiny hands over his injury and focused, soon healing the wound. Since it wasn't as big of an injury as it could have been, she didn't feel tired afterward.

Angel smiled down at the girl, gently patting her head. "Thank you, Nana." He chuckled as she nodded before passing her back to Cedric, who kissed her forehead and let her sit on his shoulder once more. "Emerald eyes…"

"Maybe that's another trap then," Cedric reasoned. "Perhaps a painting or statue?"

"Whatever it is, don't look at it," Ivy pointed out. "The last thing we need is anyone falling into another trap." She began to walk back toward the exit, but she yelled out as some random ivy on the wall snagged her and ensnared her in its grip. "Ugh, really?!"

Calista withdrew her wand, aiming it at the ivy stalks. "Ustilo!" She nodded in satisfaction as the ivy burned away to ashes, releasing the princess.

"You were saying?" Greylock teased, grinning at his flustered wife.

"Not funny." She then nodded toward the young sorceress. "Thanks, Calista."

"You're welcome."

As they left the room and continued the curved path around the corridor, they were soon met with yet another area that veered off to the left.

"I think…we should continue the curve first," Miss Nettle suggested. "I'd rather not end up in another double-trap room like we just had."

"It was your idea to go into that last room," Cedric reminded her with a roll of his eyes. "Are you sure we should be listening to your suggestions right now?"

"We'll come back to it anyway," Sofia acquiesced. "And it's not Miss Nettle's fault that room had traps in it. We don't know where any of them are…"

"Thank you, Princess Sofia." The fairy grinned at the sorcerer, who scoffed. "Even your princess agrees with me."

He scoffed. "Fine. Let's go then."

As they trailed along the path, they soon noticed that the curved portion of the wall to their right opened into another circular room. Inside this room, there was nothing but a crystal ball situated in the center of a round table, both of which were placed on top of a black and red circular rug.

Nana pointed toward the crystal ball, which had begun glowing upon their entrance.

"I see, Nana," Cedric told her, passing the little girl over to Angel this time, who gladly held her after she'd healed him. He walked up to the table and hesitantly reached out, tapping the crystal ball once. As it activated, he stood back and noticed a glowing message above the object.

Greylock set Zinnia down again and walked up to stand next to his friend. "Another lost language… Majeric, isn't it?" This language, unlike the last, was coded in more glowing symbols.

"Yes. You're better at that one than I am." Cedric yawned once, placing his hand over his mouth. "Not sure…why I'm so tired all of a sudden."

"We've been walking a lot," Calista suggested. "It would make anyone tired."

Greylock shook his head once before translating. "This riddle is to be solved vocally. Place your hand on the crystal ball and speak the answer."

Riddle 2: I can work with you or against you. You will never see me, but you will often feel me. I'm nominally a different sound of the verb, and when you are weary, you may lose me.

"Work with or against," Angel repeated, looking down at Nana for any inspiration. Seeing her shrug, he smiled. "You will not see it, but you can feel it…"

"You can lose it if you're weary or tired," Sofia added. "And what was that other part? 'Nominally a different sound of the verb.' What does that even mean?"

"'Nominally' just means it's a noun," Cedric informed her, yawning again. "Meaning…a word has multiple meanings—in this case, a noun or a verb—and…sounds different."

They felt a sudden soft breeze enter the room, causing them to shiver a bit before it faded into the empty space.

"I have it," Angel told them. "It is the wind. You cannot see the wind, but you can feel it, as we just did."

Calista nodded, grinning as she latched onto his train of thought. "It can work with you and push you forward or against you and hold you back. Wind and wind are the same word but pronounced differently and with different meanings: the wind you feel or to wind something up…"

"And if you're weary, you can lose it," Ivy finished. "Like me earlier. I was tired, and pretty much winded…"

"That's it, Cedric," Sofia told him.

He nodded sleepily and reached toward the crystal ball, placing his hand over it. "Wind."

The crystal ball vanished and was replaced with another clue piece. This one was light blue and had four horizontal squiggly lines this time. Just like the other piece, it was jagged and heavier than expected.

Cedric pulled the other piece out of his robe pocket and, with a little difficulty from his yawning, placed them together. They fit. "Th-There seem to be…two other pieces missing." His movements were growing even more sluggish as he continued.

"Two more riddles then," Greylock surmised as Cedric pocketed both pieces. He also yawned, leaning against the table.

"What is wrong with you guys?" Ivy asked curiously. "Why are you so tired all of a sudden?"

Sofia happened to glance down at the floor, noticing that the rug was glowing, and a bit of peculiar energy was radiating from the sorcerers' feet. She frowned. "I think the rug is absorbing their energy." She reached out to take their hands and pull them away, but she noticed that the moment she did, she felt some of her own energy starting to drain. She quickly retracted her hands, opting for another option. She activated her Enchantlet, forming a lasso, and wrapped it around both sorcerers, pulling them off the rug and onto the regular floor once more.

Almost immediately, they started regaining their energy, and Sofia loosened and retrieved her lasso.

"That…was weird," Greylock told them as he shook his head. "A weird trap, and a weird feeling to be just…stuck and tired."

"Let us go," Angel told them as Nana moved up to his head to sit this time, her hands playing with his ponytailed hair, causing him to smile. "If there are two more riddles, then we do not have too far to go, hopefully. But we are running out of time."

Tanya grasped Cedric's robe as he still seemed to be a little light on his feet. She looked up at him in concern. "Papa, are you all right?"

He smiled and knelt to her, kissing her forehead and causing her to smile. "I'm fine, Tanya." He stood again, holding his hand out to her. "Come on then."

She nodded and took his hand.

Sofia smiled and followed them out of the room.

They followed the curve around until they saw the way they came in moving to the right, and a dark hallway to the left.

"I suppose…we should try this way," Greylock told them as he withdrew his wand. "Everyone, light your wands, if you have one."

Those who possessed wands did as the sorcerer suggested and lit the ends to see better. As they ventured farther into the darkness, they noticed that a single torch was burning on the left side of the corridor, just above a floating scroll. They doused their wands for now as Cedric reached out and took the scroll, peering at it via the firelight.

"Another lost language," he deduced. "Piqualzo."

"All yours," Greylock laughed. "I don't know that language…"

"Very well… This one is read backwards, I believe…" He frowned as he slowly translated the content. "When you solve the riddle, burn the scroll while saying the answer."

Riddle 3: Harmless and dangerous. Gentle and painful. Familiar and different. Audible and visual. The base of any spell; the content one can tell; the things you know so well; easy to defend and hard to dispel.

"A long riddle," Tanya admitted, holding a hand to her head.

"Sounds like whatever it is can be good or bad," Ivy spoke. "And audible or visual: heard or seen?"

"The base of any spell," Sofia murmured. "What's the base of a spell?"

"Knowledge?" Angel wondered. "But… Knowledge is not something one can see or hear. It just…is."

"It must be something more concrete then," Miss Nettle advised them. "What's something good and bad and used in spells? Something you can see or hear, well-known, and-?"

"Words," Cedric answered, looking at them. "Words: harmless sometimes and dangerous at other times. Dark magic curses, for example. Gentle and painful. I think that speaks for itself…"

Tanya nodded. "Familiar words are in a language you know. Different words, like these, could be from a different language."

"Audible and visual," Calista continued. "Makes sense now. And all spells have words, being the base of them. And the content you can tell… Spoken words."

"That's it," Greylock laughed, clapping Cedric on the shoulder. "Go for it."

Cedric breathed in once and lifted the scroll toward the fire.

Miss Nettle sighed as she looked to the right, noticing the darkened pathway that seemed to continue. She frowned as she saw something strange glistening in the darkness, like two tiny pinpricks of light. "Hmm." Curious, she lit her wand and walked forward. Almost immediately, her irises began changing color…

"Words," Cedric said, the scroll falling from his hand and burning, the ashes forming the next clue piece: a red one this time. It had four vertical squiggly lines and even more jagged edges. To verify, he withdrew the other pieces from his pocket and held them all up, piecing them together.

The first piece was on the top left, the second on the top right, and the current one was now on the bottom left.

"One more to go," Zinnia cheered as she held Ivy's hand.

"We should go back," Angel told them. "I feel something dark down here."

"Wait, where's Nettle?" Ivy asked, looking around. She noticed the fairy toward the end of the dark hallway, as barely illuminated by her wand. "Nettle, what are you doing down there? We've gotta go!"

"Light your wands again," Cedric told them, placing the new piece in another pocket. "Like Angel said, something's not right here…"

They all lit their wands and pressed forward, soon stopping as they saw the light-haired woman standing stiffly, her wand raised.

"Miss Nettle?" Calista asked, reaching out to touch the woman's arm. "She's freezing."

Cedric turned her around and saw that her entire face was frozen. Her eyes were wide and…emerald? "Uh-oh…"

"Cedric, look." Sofia pointed at a large tapestry hanging from the wall, where two giant eye-shaped holes seemed to be visible. Glancing back at the fairy, she blinked. "The emerald warning… I bet she fell into the trap." She looked toward Angel. "What did the warning say again?"

He subconsciously rubbed his hand, remembering the burn he'd incurred before Nana healed him. "Um… I think it said… 'Beware the emerald eyes. Only shock relieves their lies.'"

"So, we need to electrocute her?" Ivy wondered, making a face. "I'll never hear the end of it if we zap her and nothing happens… She can probably hear and see everything that's going on anyway."

"I wonder what 'lies' she's been told then." Sofia folded her arms.

Greylock tapped his chin before glancing toward Cedric. "Do you think it can be any sort of shock? Like…shocking someone into alertness?"

Cedric shrugged. "Possibly. Why?" He narrowed his eyes at his friend. "What are you planning?"

The other sorcerer sighed before turning to Ivy, placing his hands on her face. "Before I do this, I love you." He kissed her once, making her blink at him.

Zinnia cooed from her spot near her mother. "Aww…"

"And what I'm about to do is only to save Miss Nettle." With that said, Greylock released the princess's face before inhaling once and turning to the fairy, who stared at him with unblinking emerald eyes, rather than her usual cyan orbs. He gulped before placing his hands on her shoulders. "Now, Nettle, don't kill me for this later…" Without another word, he leaned down and kissed her directly on the lips.

Cedric winced. "Yes, better you than me…"

Sofia nodded. "I'll say…"

Greylock yelped as he felt a little spark zap him, causing him to break away from the fairy. He grinned nervously as he noticed that her eyes had faded from the emerald green back to her normal blue. "Heh… Now, I have a very good reason for…what just happened."

Miss Nettle, who had garnered her ability to blink and move again, smirked up at him. "Oh, I know. I heard every word…" She winked toward Angel and Calista. "That, Angel and Calista, is also how you get frisky."

The couple blushed darkly at her suggestive tone.

The fairy grinned at the grayscale princess. "Meanwhile, Ivy, your husband has some very soft lips."

For once, the former royal sorcerer blushed heavily and had the decency to appear highly embarrassed as the others laughed.

"Ew, ew, ew," Ivy repeated, shaking her head. "Don't tell me that… That's just too weird."

"But it was to save Miss Nettle," Cedric reminded the appalled princess. He smirked toward his friend. "Isn't that right, Hot Lips?"

"Shut up, Cedric."

Before they could proceed, they heard a voice from the darkness call out, "You have one hour remaining… Tick-tock. Tick-tock…" It then faded into the empty air.

"Let's hurry," Sofia informed them. "We don't know how much of this labyrinth is left, and even with only one more riddle, potentially, who knows where it is?"

"Right," Calista agreed.

They pressed on until they reached the end of the corridor, veering to the right and circling back to the open hallway that they'd neglected earlier. The hallway itself was pretty well lit, with floating torches guiding their way.

After a few minutes of walking, they were faced with a decision: go to the right or continue down the same path, which appeared to curve left ahead.

"I think we should check out what's down there first and then come back to this hallway," Greylock informed them.

"Yes, well, we know how well your ideas work out," Ivy muttered, rolling her eyes and folding her arms. Seeing her husband smiling sheepishly, she smirked. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"None of the areas will be free of trials," Tanya told them, sighing. "I think the final area, whatever that is, will likely be the worst anyway…"

"Let's see what's down there then." Cedric took Tanya's hand and walked forward, the others following them. "Hopefully it's another dead end, and we can turn back."

As they proceeded, they noticed that this hallway seemed to be growing wider. When they reached the end of it, there was a large door with a locking wheel in the center. All over the wall, there were several eyeballs painted, and they seemed to be watching the group, even as they moved.

"Yeah, that's not creepy at all," Ivy mumbled, rubbing her arms.

"Maybe that's the way out," Calista suggested as she stepped forward, turning the wheel.

Sofia looked down as her amulet pulsated a few times. She gripped it before turning back to see that Calista had succeeded in unlocking and opening the door. "Calista, wait!"

It was too late. The door was open. Before them, they could see a large expanse of ocean, and in the water was a huge one-eyed sea monster, glaring at them all. Its large mouth opened, revealing sharp teeth, some encrusted with what appeared to be remains of former animals and probably blood.

The monster unexpectedly began quickly maneuvering up the slope of land toward the door.

"Shut the door, shut the door, shut the door!" Zinnia screamed, crying.

Before she could succeed, Calista screamed as the one-eyed sea monster, similar to a spider-squid hybrid, reached out with a tentacle and captured her, roaring at her and lifting her to some very sharp teeth. "Help! He's going to eat me!"

"Calista!" Angel called out, trying to reach for her, but he was knocked backwards as the monster smacked him in the chest. He grunted as he landed against the wall. "Ugh…"

In the process, Nana had fallen from the Native boy's head and onto his stomach, so she scurried over to stand behind Cedric, worriedly watching as Calista thrashed about, still screaming.

Cedric, feeling extremely uneasy about the scenario, both for personal past reasons and for the fact that his niece was now in trouble, felt a bit lightheaded. "C-Calista! Hold on!" He knew he should have retrieved his wand and helped her, but he was frozen. He could hardly function. What was wrong with him?

"I'll get her," Sofia assured him, using her wand to stun the beast (successfully, one might note) and then using her Enchantlet to lasso the girl back into the maze. "Greylock, seal it!"

Greylock pointed his wand at the door. "Claude Ostium!" He grimaced as the door slammed on the monster's tentacle, causing it to splatter some strange green substance onto his robe. "How lovely…" He quickly issued a cleaning spell to rid himself of the residue. He looked toward Calista, who was slowly getting her breathing back to normal as Sofia held her. "Are you all right?"

She nodded, calming down. "I think so…" She slid from Sofia's hold and crawled over to Angel, helping him up and tending to his minor injuries.

Sofia turned to Cedric, who seemed a bit shaken. "Cedric… Are you okay?"

"I, um…" He looked down, feeling a tug at his robe, and leaned down to pick up Nana, allowing her to crawl to his head. "It's… It's nothing, my dear. I'm just…" He couldn't even finish his explanation, because he wasn't entirely sure how to explain what he was feeling.

She frowned curiously as Nana patted his cheek from where she was sitting. "Nothing…" She then smiled as he eyed her nervously. "Okay, Cedric…" She reached up and ran her hand through his hair. "Just checking… But let me know if there's anything I can do to help, okay?"

He reached up with his free hand, which was still slightly shaking, grasped her hand, and pressed a soft kiss to his partner's fingers. He smiled as she blushed softly. "Thank you, my…my dear…"

"Are you all right, Angel?" Calista asked gently as she massaged her boyfriend's head, where she could tell he now had a small bump from hitting the wall.

He groaned softly before nodding slowly. "I am all right, Chante… Thank you."

They continued their trek back down the hallway, not stopping even as they heard the next warning: "You have thirty minutes remaining…"

The only other location they hadn't tried yet was the hallway they'd bypassed earlier. Hurrying into it, they came face to face with a vine-covered door. On the door was a padlock with the numbers one through nine in the forms of buttons on the lock, and to the side on the wall were, yet again, instructions written in a different language.

Cedric frowned as he observed the words. "I…don't know this language. Greylock?"

Greylock moved over next to his friend, lowering his monocle and sighing. "Neither do I…"

Tanya frowned from where she was, her eyes narrowing. "Papa, lift me up." As Cedric gathered her into his arms and lifted her to the instructions, she smirked. "Nice try, Elementals… It is in Ancient Never Realmean. Victor taught me the language."

Sofia sighed in relief. "What does it say, Tanya?"

"To unlock the door, a single-digit number is needed. You will receive only one chance. If you fail, you will be locked out forever. Adhere to the riddle."

Riddle 4: Every so oft'n, I do a hex. – A hex, indeed…"

"That's it?" Miss Nettle asked, scratching her head. "All the other riddles were unnecessarily long, and this one is so…short."

"Focus, guys," Ivy urged them. "We're losing time. What was the riddle again?"

"Every so oft'n, I do a hex. – A hex, indeed…" Greylock hummed. "It's curious… Why is 'often' written that way? And why do I feel like this is a play on words?"

Sofia grinned. "Because it is…" She pointed out the words. "I can't read this, but I can tell there are the same number of letters to a word that there would be to a normal word. Look at the letters emphasized… And what could hex be short for?"

"Hex…pectations?" the brown-haired man guessed, grinning as the princess offered him a deadpanned expression.

"Hexagon, you dolt," Cedric corrected. "Hex—six!"

"That seems far too easy, compared with some of the others," Angel said, a look of uncertainty passing over his features.

"It's right, Angel, I promise." Sofia pointed out the letters. "Even here, you can see the letter equivalents highlighted: S-I-X. Every so oft'n, I do a hex. That's every sixth letter… 'Often' broke the pattern, so it was abbreviated to 'oft'n' to fit. And then to follow up with, A hex, indeed… It is a play on words, and the answer has to be six."

He nodded. "I believe you, Sofia…"

Cedric placed Tanya to the floor again before pushing the number six button on the padlock.

The lock unlatched and floated up, shapeshifting into the final clue piece. This one was just like the others, except it was a light green shade with four zig-zag shaped lines stacked on top of one another, and a small arrow pointing down from the top left corner.

Cedric withdrew all the other pieces and clicked them into place. This time, they stayed intact and couldn't be broken apart. "This is it… All the clues together. We have to show this to get our freedom."

"What are we waiting for?" Calista asked, pushing the door open. "Let's go."

After entering through the door, they noticed that the left side was walled off, so the right was their only option. However, it was blocked by several boulders.

Sofia pulled out her wand, aiming it at the huge rocks. "Perdere!"

The boulders disintegrated upon the magic's impact, allowing the group to proceed fairly easily. Behind the rubble was another sign in their own language.

Power to power combat encouraged. Beware the ORS.

"What is the ORS?" Ivy asked as they traversed the hall.

"It's probably short for something, like an abbreviation," Miss Nettle answered.

"We'll figure it out later." Cedric followed along behind Sofia, bumping into her when she stopped. "What is it, Sofia?"

She pointed ahead. "Look…"

They'd reached the end of the corridor, and before them now was a huge room with many symbols etched into the walls. The symbols seemed to be from many different languages, and some were even inverted or modified somehow. The largest symbol, however, stood out among the others and took up probably fifteen feet both horizontally and vertically in the center of the main wall.

This symbol was as such: a large black circle held within it a smaller purple triangle, and on each point of the triangle was a dark blue crescent moon. Inside the triangle was another black circle, through which was a red plus sign. In the dead center of the plus sign was a gold star. The entire symbol itself seemed to be glowing.

"You have ten minutes remaining…"

The voice this time didn't sound like it was coming from above the labyrinth. This time, it sounded like it was…close by.

The ten friends had just entered the large room when the wall sealed off behind them. Zinnia fell backwards in surprise, and Tanya hurried over to check on her, helping her sit up.

"Welcome to the Helix Crypt," Aerlo's voice cackled, causing the others to look around.

"I'm impressed they made it this far," Zemeo's voice taunted as he and Aerlo appeared in front of the group. "But you haven't succeeded in your quest yet. You were told to solve the riddles and retrieve the clues."

"We did," Cedric countered, holding up the completed puzzle. "Now let us go!"

"Where's the fun in that?" Zemeo cracked his whip, creating an earth-bound cage for everyone except Sofia, Zinnia, and Tanya. He smirked as he saw Sofia immediately drop into a defensive stance, her hair billowing out around her as she wielded her wand. "What are you going to do with that little stick, Princess? Hit me with it?" He grinned as he made his whip into a lasso, similar to what she'd been doing a lot recently, and pulled her toward him. He sneered down at her as she fought against him, pushing at him to get away, the thorns digging into her skin like they'd done to Zinnia earlier and causing her to cry out. "Now, now, Princess… Pay attention…"

Aerlo smirked as he watched his partner work, placing Sofia into some sort of trance as he spoke to her in their own Elemental language. He growled as he heard a shuffling nearby, and he narrowed his eyes toward Tanya and Zinnia. "Hey! They're supposed to be trapped with the others!"

"Run, Zinnia!" Ivy called.

"Tanya, be careful!" Cedric echoed. He looked toward Zemeo, who had placed his hand over Sofia's eyes. "Let her go!"

Zemeo snickered as he released Sofia, watching her hover midair before them, her eyes blank. "I seem to recall hearing those exact words not too long ago… Is it my fault the princess is so easily captured?"

Everyone witnessed as Sofia's eyes faded from their usual blue to completely black, the symbol that was on the wall behind them now in her own irises.

"What have you done to her?" Calista demanded.

"She's under the effects of the ORS now," Aerlo explained with a cackle as he used his air powers to cause both Tanya and Zinnia to hover near him. "The Oblivo Realm Symbol. It represents the Big Three, or the Triad of Evil, if you will. You've heard of Malum In Se… No doubt you also know of Master Extorio as well. And the third-"

"—will come in time," the other man interrupted, glaring at Aerlo. "And this symbol? A nicely antiquated but still relevant form of mind control, if you will. With Princess Sofia under our control, she will do our bidding. Won't that bode well for the so-called Protector of the Ever Realm?" He reached behind her, gently caressing her neck a few times, before snarling as he pressed his fingers into her flesh, a distinct searing sound heard, garnering a scream from her.

"Sofia!" Cedric called out, aiming his wand at the wooden cage. "Perdere!" Nothing. "Obliterate!" Still nothing… None of his spells would break the Earth Wielder's cage, and he was forced to listen to his partner's continued pained screams.

"Mama!" Tanya cried out, anger filling her. Her eyes darted to Aerlo, who was still holding her and Zinnia in their own little 'air captivity.' Her eyes darkened, growing far more sinister than usual. "Release us, or I will kill you."

Aerlo was taken aback by the serious tone the girl had taken on. She almost sounded…much older than she appeared to be. He smirked. "I'd like to see you try."

A sneer appeared on her face. "Very well." She held out her hands, allowing her Deathbringer to activate. She focused on his face before catching sight of a glimmer coming from the necklace around his neck. It appeared to have… "Ah."

Aerlo glanced down before cursing under his breath as Tanya smirked at him.

"You are finished." She reached out and grabbed his necklace, using her powers to incinerate it. As he grew weaker and his powers drained from him, she felt herself and Zinnia lowering to the ground. She turned to the younger girl, grabbing her hand. "Let us go. We have a job to finish."

Zinnia, a bit afraid of what she'd just seen Tanya do, simply nodded as she hurried off with her.

Zemeo tossed Sofia aside, watching as her weary body crumpled to the floor. He noticed how still she was, and her amulet was pulsing a bit, possibly trying to revive her if possible. "Now then… Who's next? We have five minutes left, after all."

Zinnia's eyes caught sight of her parents locked in the cage with all the people she cared about. She saw Nana, crying, as she reached out through the wooden bars toward her fallen mother. She trailed her eyes to Sofia, who wasn't moving. Her eyes were now closed. What if she was…? She scowled, turning her attention toward the cackling Earth Wielder. "You're gonna pay for what you did to my friends!"

He stopped laughing long enough to smirk down at the little girl. "Really now? And what are you going to do about it?"

She fearlessly reached out, grabbing his thorny whip, and smirked at him.

Zemeo gasped. "Let go of that!"

Zinnia concentrated, allowing a new type of power to flow through her veins for the first time. She was the daughter of Greylock the Grand and Princess Ivy, both powerful in their own rights. Both strong. Both with a dark history that had become lighter as time had gone on. And she…now had access to what they both possessed.

The whip began sizzling as a new power flowed from the little girl's hands and into the weapon. Moths even appeared from her magic and began eating away at the whip. As the whip lost its powers, so did Zemeo, who grew weak and fell to his knees.

The loss of powers on his part also meant that the cage ceased to exist, freeing the other seven group members.

Cedric immediately rushed to Sofia, scooping her unmoving body into his arms. "Sofia… Sofia, wake up…"

She didn't say anything and barely moved, but she was breathing faintly, which was enough to settle a few of his worries.

"Your time is up, Elementals," Tanya warned as she began to power up her Deathbringer, but she stopped when she felt the ground beneath them starting to shake. "Wh-What is going on?"

"We're out of time," Calista guessed, panicking a bit. "Uncle Ceddy, what do we do?"

Cedric hesitated for a moment before unlatching Sofia's amulet and snapping it into place around his neck, one arm still secure around Sofia and his other hand holding onto the precious jewel. "Please… On behalf of Sofia, please, I beg you… I wish for my friends and family to be transported out of here and back to Ivy's Island Castle!"

"Th-That's never gonna work," Aerlo challenged from his position on the ground. He laughed hoarsely. "Y-You're not the real owner of the Amulet of Avalor!"

The amulet did react to Cedric's voice, warming up against his chest. He smiled triumphantly. "Maybe not… But perhaps the connection between us is all I needed…"

Within seconds, the ten family members and friends had vanished, leaving Aerlo and Zemeo behind in the quaking rubble.

"Ugh, this is how we're going to die?!" Zemeo growled. "I hate them!"

"Good," called a dark voice, the sneer evident in his tone. "Keep that same anger for when you meet them again."

"Master!" Aerlo called. "We failed!"

"I know… You get one more chance, Aerlo and Zemeo… And after that, if you fail again, I'll obliterate you myself."

The partners disappeared just as the labyrinth caved in on itself, imploding with a flash of light.

Cedric opened his eyes and saw that they were all back in Ivy's castle. He looked down at Sofia, noticing that her eyes had begun to flutter. "Sofia… Come on, my dear… Open your eyes…" He traced his hand along her cheek, smiling as she slowly opened her eyes. He was relieved to see the blue of her orbs back rather than the ORS.

She coughed a few times, sitting up and shaking her head. "Wh-What happened?"

"Mama!" Tanya dived into Sofia's arms, sobbing in relief, joined soon by Nana. She rarely allowed herself to show many emotions, but seeing the princess suffer the way she had… It had snapped something inside of her earlier.

Sofia smiled tiredly and wrapped her arms around both girls, kissing the crowns of their heads. "My girls… I'm okay…" She turned to Cedric, noticing the amulet around his neck. She couldn't help the small smirk that came to her lips. "Finally got the amulet, huh?"

He blushed and withdrew the necklace from his neck, snapping it back into place around hers. "O-Only to save you, Sofia…" He frowned. "I honestly thought we were going to lose you…"

"Yeah, Sofia," Ivy agreed. "That Zemeo guy had you under mind control, and he said something about you doing his bidding, but then he… I don't know what he did, but I swear it looked like he was trying to kill you."

"And then Zinnia and Tanya totally saved our lives," Calista gushed. "Tanya took down Aerlo, and Zinnia went after Zemeo! Probably as revenge for how he'd hurt her earlier."

"And 'cause he was mean to my family and friends," the little girl corrected.

"You're going to have to see about these new powers of hers too," Miss Nettle informed them. "I can honestly say that Nana Nettle wasn't expecting that…" She smirked at Greylock, who blanched. "Speaking of things I wasn't expecting… While I appreciate the method for rescuing me, let's not have a repeat of that again, if you don't mind."

He cleared his throat, scratching the back of his head as Ivy glowered at him. "N-No problem! Heh…"

Calista hugged Angel, who returned the sentiment. "I'm just glad it's over…"

"I am too, Chante…"

Cedric reached out to Sofia, brushing her loosened hair to the side, his eyes narrowing as he saw a small mark on her neck. Clearly, Zemeo had been working on something with that ORS… But what? "I'm…not willing to believe it's completely over yet."

Sofia turned to look at him, her expression solemn. "I know it's not…"

The sorcerer embraced her from behind, running his fingers through her hair in a soothing way. "I promise you, Sofia… We'll stop this evil. And I won't let them hurt you again. You have my word…"

She smiled, reaching up to cup his cheek, kissing his other cheek. "Thank you, Cedric."

"But what was that puzzle or clue piece or whatever it's called for anyway?" Ivy wondered. "We did all that, and it meant nothing?"

Cedric released Sofia and reached into his pocket, observing the completed piece. The symbols on each corner, the strange arrow on the bottom right piece, and the jagged design… "It must mean something… We'll just have to work on figuring it out."

"Fools!"

Zemeo and Aerlo winced as they heard that word harshly aimed their way. They were still weak, their powers gone, and their source of powers destroyed. And before them was a shadowy being, nothing else visible except those terrifying green eyes.

"You couldn't even complete one task… I don't know why your master even continues giving you second chances. If you worked for me, I would have done away with you already."

"Milady…"

The Air and Earth Wielders turned to see the cloaked figure next to them. It was their master… Master Extorio.

"They did initiate the ORS… The princess is now linked."

"Hmm." The female figure seemed to ponder this news. "Well, then… Maybe they were good for something after all." She chuckled. "But we won't know for quite some time… And trust me… When it's my turn to deal with this princess… I don't make mistakes, and only one of us will come out alive."

The end

(The mysterious woman at the end will not reappear until season 4 of my stories. And boy, will she return with a vengeance… Keep the ORS mark in mind, because this is not the last time that you'll hear of it. 😉)