To tell the truth, I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting to see once we teleported. I’d had no idea what sort of place I should imagine for where they would be keeping Gaia locked up. Maybe a sort of dark, scary castle somewhere in a remote jungle or forest? Yes, yes, I should’ve known better by this point, but still. I was picturing something pretty dramatic, even if it wasn’t, say, a fortress lair in the middle of an island volcano. Though admittedly, that last one (and all the rest of the island-based scenarios I imagined) mostly came to mind because I thought it’d be cool to be able to deploy all my sharks into the water around them. Someday, guys, someday soon.

  But no, it wasn’t a castle in a jungle, a fortress on a volcano island, or anything else nicely theatrical like that. Instead, the moment we appeared, the first thing I saw was… an Arby’s. And next door to that, even more imposingly… a 7-Eleven. Both were on the far side of the parking lot we were suddenly standing in. There were even a few cars in view, and the smells reminded me that I hadn’t eaten in awhile. Which was all just… so disconcerting when we’d been ready for a fight.

  The others seemed taken aback by all of that too. Well, except for Dad and Percy. Both of them moved immediately, setting up and triggering a few already-prepared spells. The ones my dad was setting off would (hopefully) block anyone around here from teleporting away. Meanwhile, the ones from Percy would block them from calling for help. Puriel had helped give both sets of spells a little extra oomph as well, which would, with any luck, at least mean the guards here couldn’t immediately counter them and either get help or leave. Still, we needed to move quickly.

  And yet, I found myself giving that Arby’s and 7-Eleven another glance reflexively. Wait, was it--

  “Home.” That was Dad, his voice cutting into my thoughts. “We’re in Laramie Falls. They put Gaia’s prison right in our hometown.” Oh yeah, he definitely sounded pretty angry about that. And I was right there with him. Here? They’d made one of Gaia’s prison stops be right in Laramie Falls? What the fuck was that-- okay, now I really wanted to beat these people up.

  He was absolutely right though, as proven when I double-checked with my distance power. We were inside Laramie Falls, god damn it. No wonder this area looked so familiar. But I shook that off and focused immediately, looking around to see where this prison actually was. Not that it was hard to find, considering the spell we’d used to locate it was making the place in question give off a bright blue glow, just to make it absolutely apparent where we were supposed to go.

  And what was the place that the Crossroads elite security prison team had selected as the best location to hold Gaia prisoner? A twenty-four hour racquetball, tennis, and fitness club. It was right in front of us, a large, two-story building taking up this entire section of the stripmall area of this lot. I actually remembered going by this place plenty of times, back when it was actually open. Now, there were ‘available’ and ‘for lease’ signs all over the building, bars and bits of wood over the windows, and so on. It’d obviously been up for sale for a long time. But given what it was actually being used for right now, I doubted there was actually any way to rent it.

  Sure, Mountebank put in quickly, but you’ve gotta admit, that would have been a pretty damn fun way of beating these guys and getting Gaia back. Just buy the property and evict them.

  Yeah! That was Tabbris, agreeing with a giggle. Just like Jacob evicted them from the island!

  I couldn’t argue with that. What I could do was my actual job. Namely, checking the surrounding area for more reinforcements or traps. My eyes closed as I began summoning as many ghosts as I could, sending the whole rapidly-forming army out in every direction. They would scour the whole neighborhood, looking for anything that stood out, any spells, any secret tunnels or other methods of escape out of this building (or ways of bringing reinforcements in), anything at all in the area around this parking lot. That was my part of this next step. Laein, meanwhile, would be using her own ghosts to check the exterior of the building itself. And the others all had their own jobs too. We weren’t just rushing into this willy-nilly and half-cocked. Everyone had their parts. Just being surprised by where this prison actually was wouldn’t be enough to make us forget that. Not when this was about something as important as saving Gaia. I would take the time to absorb the fact that this was all in Laramie Falls, and what that meant, after she finally was safe.

  Speaking of other people having their parts, Avalon was, ahem, getting ready to knock. Which, in this case, meant she stood right in front of the doors into that place and started gathering some of that Phoenix-based power she had now. It would apparently take some time for her to grow into the full potential of that. She was basically a baby-Phoenix-bonded (or Phoenix-baby-bonded?). But, baby or not, she absolutely wasn’t lacking in power. Which was becoming more and more apparent with every passing second, as the bright orange and red Phoenix wings appeared on her back and spread out. I could feel the energy coming off them. Hell, I was pretty sure a totally ordinary Bystander Human would have been able to feel the sort of power they were giving off.

  At the same time, Miranda and a few of her duplicates, Shiori, and Marian were all using spells provided by my dad to disable all the automatic security around the building that Laein’s ghosts were pointing out to them. And Aylen was setting off an illusion spell of our own around the outskirts of this area. The illusion was one that would, with any luck, trick any reinforcements that managed to get here anyway into fighting a bunch of fake enemies out here in the parking lot. Sure, we were doing plenty to stop the call for help from ever going out, but if it did anyway, those illusions would be right there to slow them down.

  Those were our first jobs. Dad was stopping the people inside from teleporting away, Percy was stopping them from calling for help, I was checking the whole surrounding neighborhood for any reinforcements that were near enough to immediately intervene, Laein was checking the actual exterior of the building for security, which Miranda, Shiori, and Marian were actually disabling, and Aylen was setting up a series of illusionary enemies to keep any reinforcements who actually did make their way into town occupied. And as for Asenath, she was helping Cerberus and Laein’s giant armored tiger watch over all of us while we were distracted, just in case things went sideways.

  My ghosts didn’t exactly take a long time to find the first set of reinforcements out there. It turned out these prison guards wanted to have plenty of friends backing them up, for some reason. They had at least three places outside the building for reinforcements to wait and watch for any problems. Like, for example, us. There were three guards (two men and a woman) in a secret basement room under the 7-Eleven building, who looked like they had been playing cards until the second we arrived and their alarms started going off. Now they were all grabbing their weapons and checking a security monitor that was showing them the very parking lot we were standing in.

  The second spot for reinforcement guards was a small house across the street. There were two Boschers there, who appeared to be posing as husband and wife (or maybe they really were married, how would I know). They’d gotten the alarm as well, and were reacting. The guy was grabbing a phone near the table where he’d been watching television, and the woman was going for a prepared spell on the wall that would send an emergency alert to the Committee.

  Then there was the third spot. That was a mobile one. There was a package delivery truck, which must’ve had some sort of spell on it to make Bystanders ignore the fact that it kept circling the block over and over again. It stayed in the same general area constantly, just driving around in circles. There was one Boscher playing driver in front, and two in what looked like a very comfortable back that had been made up like its own miniature apartment. Including a working kitchenette and separate bathroom with shower. Yeah, it was definitely bigger on the inside. As soon as they got the alarm, their first reaction was to start heading away from this place. Clearly, they’d been ready for any intruders to cut off teleportation and magic communication, so their job was to drive far enough away to summon help despite that. Gods damn competent guards.

  Well, clearly I couldn’t let any of that happen. We were here to save Gaia, not get caught up in fighting the loyalist Committee people and whatever army of sycophants they would bring with them as soon as they got word about what was happening. They wouldn’t be getting those messages out right now. Not until we grabbed our old headmistress and got the hell out of here.

  The first indication the people in the secret basement of that 7-Eleven would have that we knew where they were was Seth’s ghost self popping up out of the floor to grab one of their ankles so he could yank him off his feet, just as the guy was lunging toward the fancy-looking axe resting against the nearby wall. A second later, his mouth opened as Mountebank channeled our resin spit power through Seth’s ghost in order to hit the guy’s wrists. For now, his hands were pinned to the floor. He was an adult Boscher, so no way would that last, but every last second counted.

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  The second guard had just pivoted to look at that first one as he hit the floor, when Grover dropped out of the ceiling and drove a knife right into his shoulder while he was distracted. The knife wasn't ordinary either. As soon as it was buried in that second Boscher, Tabbris triggered the spell on the blade that would send enough electricity through the guy to put down a large dinosaur. Which was followed immediately by another spell that would encase him in ice.

  As for that third guard, the woman, she had already managed to grab what looked like a heavy shotgun with some sort of chain launcher attachment from its place next to her chair. She was on her feet, using one finger to flick a control button near the trigger as she raised the weapon to point at Seth while he was still hovering over that first guy’s prone form. But before she could actually pull the trigger, a swarm of half a dozen other ghosts came into view, and launched themselves at her. They took the woman to the ground, but she did get one shot off on the way down, which filled the air with ghost-fire and managed to burn two of them badly enough they were immediately dissipated. They would reform later, but it still made me flinch. I really hated seeing my ghosts get hurt. After all, the only reason they were even doing this was to help me.

  But my guilt would have to wait. I would visit the ones who were hurt later and make it up to them. Not to mention thank them for putting themselves in that sort of danger to begin with. Right now, however, we had to keep going. Fortunately, there were plenty more where those guys came from. The four who were left were immediately joined by another four, and they managed to tear the gun out of that woman’s hand. And, since they were ghosts, the security measures that were supposed to hurt any non-Boscher who held our weapons didn’t matter.

  That was when the woman on the ground snapped a command word to activate a spell on her bracelet, summoning another wave of ghost-fire that she sent right into the swarm trying to hold her down. Fortunately, Tabbris was on top of things. She’d already summoned one of our prepared spell coins into my right hand, and was in the midst of using my power to transport items between ghosts to send it to one of those guys. It appeared in that ghost’s hand just as the Boscher woman sent that ghost-fireball into the midst of them, and Tabbris set the thing off instantly. It was a protection spell. Specifically, a shield against ghost-fire. It didn’t quite activate in time to completely negate the ghost-fire, but only one of our people took the full hit. She was instantly disintegrated, adding to the list of ghosts I would be apologizing to and thanking later.

  But the others held on, damaged yet intact thanks to the shield bubble that appeared around them. It wouldn’t exactly last forever, though, so this woman really needed to be dealt with. As did her companions.

  Speaking of whom, that first guard had already teleported right out of the resin that was supposed to be keeping him pinned to the ground. He pivoted toward Seth, his fist transforming into a silver blade that was glowing with ghost-fire energy. These people were prepared. It was almost as though they had been warned that one of the threats who might come try to free Gaia was a Necromancer or something.

  But Seth hadn't been the Tiebreaker for Wonderland back when he was a vampire because he bribed someone. He was one of the best hand-to-hand fighters I’d seen, and even as a ghost, he kept all those skills. When the Boscher swung that glowing blade hand at him, Seth easily leaned out of the way before calling on enough power to make himself solid so he could deck the guy right in the throat. Obviously, any person the Committee put in this position wouldn't exactly be a weak link. A single punch to the throat by anyone with normal strength wouldn't accomplish anything. Except Seth didn't have normal strength right then. He pulled up enough power from the reserves I'd given him to actually do some damage.

  We could see the way the Boscher guard’s eyes bulged when that tight fist collided with his throat. It was enough to make him stagger backward a step. And, more importantly, meant he wouldn't be able to activate any verbal spells for a moment or two.

  But, again, that was just the first group. There was also that husband and wife pair in the nice suburban house. Actually, come to think of it, I was pretty sure I'd sold chocolate to the family that used to live there at one point. Which was a thought I was already shaking off as Doctor Manakel and his own detachment of fellow ghosts manifested in that place before swarming that pair. Once again, they were prepared to be attacked that way, but not prepared enough to completely negate it. It was like they knew there was a chance of being hit by a Necromancer, but were woefully unprepared for just how hard they were being hit. Before those two knew what was happening, their little house was full of at least fifty ghosts, who just kept coming. They destroyed a couple dozen, yet that didn't actually help that much. They were being overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

  I had given Doctor Manakel control of the entire contingent of ghosts, along with the energy he needed to utilize them properly. After all, he had plenty of experience. I trusted him to deal with that.

  Then there was that third group, the truck that had been driving in circles. No sooner had they started to drive away from this place, than they were interrupted quite dramatically. Yes, it was Penny Dreadful’s coffin. The thing came flying down out of the sky to slam hard right into the front hood of the truck. It hit with enough force to actually flip the truck up and over, making it spin three times in the air before coming down hard on its roof and skidding along the road.

  Penny herself popped out of the remains, and immediately lunged toward the front of the truck. The door had fallen off, and she grabbed that off the ground before spinning to slam it into the face of the Boscher who had just begun climbing out. Unfortunately, he turned intangible, so the door didn't do anything, which was disappointing to Penny. I knew she really wanted to see what it would look like if she could bend the whole door around him. But, she shook that off easily enough and just sat back on her hunches to look at him. He, in turn, gave an arrogant smirk and started to raise his hand. But just as he did so, Penny smiled back at him. That was enough to make him pause for just a second. Which was when Mountebank triggered the lightning spells we had placed on her clothing. Instantly, the man was hit by four separate bolts. Intangible or not, he was still vulnerable to electricity, and it was enough to stagger him, a grunt of fury and pain escaping the guy.

  Meanwhile, the guards that had been relaxing in the back of the truck came pouring out of it. They were just in time to run into Penny Dreadful’s new roommates. Because it wasn't just her in that coffin anymore. Not since I had borrowed some of those armored skeletons that Laein had. They had been stored as simple single bones inside the coffin itself. But now they had all reformed into about twenty skeleton soldiers. I didn't know too much about them yet, that was going to have to wait until Laein could teach me how they worked, but I did know that they had various enhancement spells carved into their primary bones. The enhancements, among other things, made them very strong and durable.

  So, just like that, those guards were set on by the skeletons. Yet another thing that would keep those guys busy while we focused on this rescue. None of this was about winning these fights, not really. We just had to delay them so they couldn't call in help.

  And speaking of what we were actually here for, I heard Aylen call out that the exterior security was down. My eyes opened, just in time to see Avalon with her wings at full extension. They stretched almost across the full width of this building, a solid fifty foot span in each direction. That was how much power she was pouring into them. That was how much rage she had built up from the fact that these people had been keeping her mother prisoner for so long.

  As I looked at her, Valley met my gaze long enough to give me a short nod and a smirk. Then she extended her hand, fist clenched, toward the building in front of us. I could see the glowing shield around it, an emergency measure meant to keep us out. It wouldn't be enough, not nearly. In the next second, Avalon grunted out two words. Well, the same word twice. “Knock, knock.”

  Then she unleashed all that power she had called up. The flames erupted forward out of her, taking the form of a full Phoenix that slammed into the shield. Instantly, that shield crumbled. And it wasn't alone. The actual wall of the building, the entire front of the structure, was absolutely and immediately vaporized. It was just there one second and gone the next. They'd reinforced that building with dozens of protection spells from the inside, enough to stand up against an artillery barrage. But against one angry Avalon, it might as well have been tissue paper.

  With that front wall down, the Seosten Empire people must have decided it was time to step in, because dozens of portals suddenly began opening all around us, with a mixed group of Seosten and other Alter soldiers pouring out of them. They had absolutely no intention of allowing us the chance to get Gaia out of there. Truce or not, they didn't want her involved in things. Probably because they were afraid she had something to do with bringing Arthur back.

  Given the time constraints we were working under, being ambushed by a bunch of Seosten and their troops would've been a real problem. Would have been, if we weren't prepared for it. But we had an answer to that. Namely, Avalon.

  No, not that one. What we had was Avalon the organization, the remnants of Camelot led by Guinevere. Just as the Seosten people appeared from those portals, Gwen and the rest of the Avalon people revealed themselves, uncloaking all around us before immediately engaging those people. They had been tracking us by a spell on my dad’s belt, and teleported over while staying completely invisible. We’d had a feeling the Seosten would try to intervene, and wanted some insurance against that. And now? Now we had a whole Camelot army here, engaging the Seosten forces.

  “Go!” Gwen shouted at us, producing two swords as she cut down an armored troll that was lunging at her. “Get her out of there, now!”

  Well, we weren't going to get a better invitation than that. While more of my ghosts and other creatures kept the surrounding guards busy, and Gwen’s people went to war with the Seosten troops who had tried to ambush us, our small group exchanged glances and nods.

  Then we walked right through the vaporized front wall of that building, and into Gaia’s prison.

  Joke Tags: At This Point Flick Is Just A Mobile Command Center With A Ponytail