The Enchantress's Dreamweaver

Chapter 3: A Wonderlandiful Problem

The Immortals look to Quinn, inspired. He looks down at the map, trying to make sense of the complicated rivers and valleys.

"Ok, I believe if we make our way down the mountain, we'll end up near a river. From there we can just follow the path and, well, we'll see." Quinn had a hint of distaste in his voice. He didn't like not knowing the odds, especially when his team's life was at stake. The Immortals nodded and they headed down the mountain.

Willow and Irina position themselves at the front of the group. The two walk ahead in silence for a while before Willow breaks it.

"Do you think we're going to get out of here?" She asks, meekly. Irina huffs out a laugh and puts an arm around Willow's shoulder.

"Don't worry kid. You've seen what the Immortals can do when they work together!" Willow looks up, surprised.

"Was that Nightleaf being sentimental I heard?" She said teasingly. Irina grins and the team continues to troop down the mountain.

"Ok, I think we can take a right here. We should end up in a maze like..." Quinn trails off.

"Oh, wow!" Chris breathes. The others look around, stunned at the beautiful sight before them.

Doors of all shapes and sizes form a beautiful maze. Golden archways, and Ivy-covered walls stretch out into the horizon.

"So, uh, where do we go from here?" Adrian asks timidly. Hlyne, who had borrowed the map from Quinn, traces a path with his finger.

"I believe we should be heading down this path and then we take a left." He announces. The team proceed to follow his directions. As they make their way down the path, the heroes marvel at the beauty of the area.

A rustling makes Hadwin fling around wildly.

"Uh, g-guys?" He stammers. The Immortals stop and follow his gaze. A woman is standing outside an open door. She's flickering, fading in and out in a haze.

"What the-." Willow mutters. Quinn moves forward slowly, his hand raising up. Trembling, he reaches out to touch the girl. A million things happen in the next few seconds.

The girl flips Quinn around, wrapping her arm around his neck. The Immortals are already in a fighting stance, Willow conjuring guns for Irina and ninja stars for Chris.

"Leave the Captain alone, little girl." Adrian warns, raising his repulsor.

"Of course, everyone is little to you, right Adams?" She sneers.

"Alright, that's it." Chris raises his gun and fires at the girl's head. She phases, dropping the Captain on the floor.

Reappearing behind Chris, she grabs his arm and twists it. Irina growls and launches at her, only to be grabbed and pulled into a chokehold.

"Hlyne! Ice!" Thor pulls his hand down, firing a stream of ice at the Ghost Girl. She phased again but mistimed it, catching the last bit and falling limp.

"We need to go!" Willow says, pulling Irina up. Quinn opens the map, searching the enchanted object for an escape.

"Up. Up that road." He points toward a thin path leading out of the maze. The Immortals glance at the Ghost Girl, sighing when they see her still unconscious.

The Immortals panted up the road, running for what seemed like forever. Finally, after quite a long time, they reached a beautiful green field, expanding over acres and acres of land.

The Immortals shared a smile as Hadwin whooped and started running across the field. His laughter was contagious, and so was his happiness it seemed, as all the Immortals were soon making their way across the field in flips and leaps.

"This is awesome!" Irina yelled, doing a back-handspring and successfully landing on her feet. For the first time in a long time, the Immortals were completely care-free.

Unfortunately, just as their worries flew away, they came back.

A thumping filled the air as the ground shook violently.

"What's happening?!" Willow screamed, searching the air for some purchase, but failing and falling flat on her back. The rest of the Immortals were soon knocked onto their backs.

The banging soon reached a point where the heroes felt as if their heads were being split open. Then it stopped...

"I-is it over?" Adrian asked quietly, shakily standing up. The team paused, before the silence confirmed they were alone.

Within five minutes, they were on their feet. The happiness that seemed to flow through the field was quickly diminished, and a sad, melancholy greyness had taken its place. The trek through the field suddenly felt like an arduous task, that required all their willpower to complete.

"Uh, guys, it's getting very dark." Chris finally muttered. Looking around, his teammates realised he was right.

"But we couldn't have been walking for more than an hour," Adrian wondered, glancing at the watch which had miraculously appeared on his hand.

"Time flies when you're having fun," Willow commented drily. Quinn scowled at her before looking ahead.

As he stepped onto the large stone bridge ahead of them, everything changed. The sky darkened considerably and lighting flashed. A downpour of rain forced the Immortals across the bridge and into the only shelter they could find.

The heroes dashed into a large castle, the only building around for miles. Prying open the large doors, they looked around in wonder at the beautiful art that adorned the walls. The piece de resistance was the remarkable mural that covered the ceiling. Rolling hills and crystal clear lakes embellished the pale blue walls. It took the Immortals a minute before they realised they were looking at a brilliant map of the Enchantress's world.

"This is beautiful." Irina gasped, lost for words. The Immortals made their way through the winding halls of the castle, finally settling in a nice, seemingly unoccupied room.

"We should probably look around and try and figure out who's in the castle," Hlyne wisely suggested. Being restless and the first to volunteer, Irina and Chris were out the door within minutes.

The remaining Immortals decided they would be in charge of setting up the room for the night.

That's when they heard the scream. 

End of Chapter 3