S2-Ep. 4.15 (R) - There's Always a Way

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Previously on "The Otherworlders": Ava and Inez are forced to hide an unconscious guard after Ava knocks him out while Fiona incapacitates another guard so they can sneak into the chapel at the Enchanted Chancellor's palace and look for the sacred artifact (and, honestly, for the guard's inappropriate comment.)

Once done, the girls explore the austere chapel, perplexed by how an incredibly valuable tablet could be hidden in there. They're stumped until Inez deduces that because the chapel was built by Traditionalist Enchanteds, it must be a facade, a gateway to the hidden, family chapel, where most of their valuable artifacts would be kept.

By tapping a specific pattern she senses on the panes of the stained-glass mosaic, hanging behind the alter, Inez is able to reveal a corridor leading to a heavily locked door of the family chapel. Unable to open it, they must find another way in, which means they have to get into the chapel from outside of the tower where they suspect the family chapel is hidden.

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The girls stand at the base of the tower looking up at it as if it were Mount Everest. Ava schools her features into a mask of determination.

"I can get up there," she declares confidently. "I know I can do it!"

"You can?" Inez asks with a hint of trepidation.

"Absolutely!" Ava replies confidently.

She hikes her dress up, just above her knees and slips off a garter belt, less sexy and more functional, worn by the girls to carry essential tools for their mission. .

She checks her phone. It's dead, so she turns to Inez. "Can I borrow your phone?" Ava asks.

"Of course," Inez replies with a smile, reaching out to hand over her phone when Ava stops her. "Hold on a moment."

Ava steps back and closes her eyes. Holding out her arms at her sides, she begins waving them gracefully in a slow undulating motion, rippling the night air as streaks of white light swirl around her.

Then in the blink of an eye, her dress drops to the ground, and with wings spread wide, Ava soars above the heads of her friends.

Fiona and Inez gaze up at her in awe.

Covered in a vibrant mix of red, orange, and gold feathers; a long, elegant neck like a swan's; a small crest of feathers on her head, and a long flowing tail as elegant as a peacock's, Ava is glorious in avian form.

Wings still flapping, she swoops down, and with her talons, snatches the phone from Inez's grasp, then races to the top of the tower.

Ava contemplates her next move. The problem is that she can't open the window with her talons without dropping the phone, and she can't transform back into her human form mid-air without plummeting to the ground.

To make matters worse, the window ledge of the tower is far too narrow to even try to make the switch there.

Ava circles the tower a few more times, looking for a different way in, but when she can't find one, she gives up and heads back down to the ground.

Landing behind a hedge, Ava shifts and then pops her head up over a bush.

"Inez! Inez!" She whispers fiercely, pointing to her dress lying in a heap on the ground.

Inez scoops it up and tosses it over the hedge to her.

Once Ava is dressed, she emerges from the hedges, adjusting her gown and tucking loose tendrils of hair back into her elegant bun. She sighs. "Well, that was a bust!" Her lips quirk down in disappointment. "I suppose I should have considered the logistics before attempting that maneuver."

Fiona studies the top of the tower, gauging its height and the difficulty of the climb. "You know what? I think I can get to the top." She removes her shoes, then glances at her dress, "Just not in this."

She looks down at it again, and then apologetically at Inez. "I'm so sorry, 'Nezzie. While I appreciate your sister lending me the dress, I'm going to have to—"

"No worries." Inez dismisses her concern with a casual wave of her hand. "Consider it yours and do what you gotta do."

"Awesome!" and with that, Fiona bends over and grabs the skirt with both of her hands, and with one swift motion, rips the poufy, silvery fabric from the bodice, leaving only the narrow but far more pliable built-in slip still intact.

"Much better!" Fiona sighs. She turns to Ava and Inez. "Okay," she says, "here's the plan. I'm going to climb the wall and--"

"You're gonna what?!" Ava raises a brow. "You're gonna climb up a fifty-foot wall? Bare-handed? Without any equipment?!"

"Yep," Fiona confirms with a nod.

Ava's eyebrows furrow in confusion. "Is this a vampire thing?" she asks.

Fiona nods. "Yep!"

"I thought so," Ava acknowledges. "I noticed how easily you guys scaled the walls of the obstacle course during training, like you were climbing a set of stairs or something!"

Fiona smiles. "I promise I'll teach you all about my Vampyr abilities on the train ride home, but for now..." she looks at Inez, "...can I borrow the phone?"

Inez hands Fiona her cellphone and Fiona slips it into her garter belt. Then, she turns back to face the tower wall. "Well," she lets out a slow breath. "Here goes nothing!"

And with that, Fiona wedges her fingers in between the crevices of the worn granite stones and heaves herself up off the ground.

She looks up at the top of the tower, psyching herself up to make the climb.

She can do this. Yep! She can do this! She reassures herself, then sucks in a breath and begins her ascent.

With the swift movements and calculated efficiency of an expert mountain climber, Fiona scales the tower wall in a matter of minutes.

At the top of the tower, she heaves herself up before one of the windows and props her foot in the corner while she manages to pry open the old, warped window and slip inside.

Brushing the dirt from her dress, Fiona scans the contents of the room, and just as Inez had predicted, it's full of eye-popping treasures.

There are expensive-looking oil paintings; a gilded, four-foot statue of what looks to be a wizard in an ancient ceremonial garb; an open chest full of jewel-encrusted religious objects; and in the far corner of the room, a tablet fragment with an ancient style of writing Fiona recognizes from her lessons with Master Achebe.

Bingo!

Fiona clears the items away and reaches for the tablet fragment. She pulls out Inez's phone and snaps several pictures, taking care to get a lot of close-ups so Master Achebe can get a crystal clear view of the inscription.

Once she's done, Fiona tucks the phone back into her garter belt, climbs back out the window, and shimmies down the tower wall, following roughly the same path she took to get up there.

With a light thud to the ground, Fiona pulls the phone out to inspect her work while Inez and Ava crowd around her.

"Nice job! Those look awesome!" Ava says, giving Fiona a high-five.

"Thanks!" Fiona says as her hand meets Ava's in a resounding clap. Then, she sends the photos off to Master Achebe via text before returning the phone to Inez.

"I need to freshen up before we head back inside," Fiona says. "We could go back the way we came, but we might run into the guards."

"Follow me," Inez says. "I think I know another way."

As the girls turn to leave, they are startled to see a figure lurking in the shadows. Fiona smiles. "Gabriel! You startled us! What are you doing out here?"

When Gabriel doesn't respond, Fiona arches a brow. "Are you still looking for an escape from the Marriage Mart?" she asks playfully.

Gabriel still doesn't respond and cautiously, Fiona approaches; but before she reaches him, Gabriel steps out of the shadows and into the light.

His wavy brown hair is frazzled and wild and his tuxedo is completely shredded.

The girls gasp in shock.

"Gabriel?" Fiona asks cautiously, "What happened to you?"

Gabriel blinks, takes a step forward, and his eyes flash red.

Baring his fangs, he lunges forward, causing Fiona to instinctively step back and raise her arms up to shield Ava and Inez like a mother protecting her child at an abrupt traffic light.

"Gods! Is he possessed?" Ava asks.

Fiona's voice cracks as she replies, "Judging by the fangs and glowing red eyes, I'd say that's a Yes!"

As Gabriel advances, the girls continue to retreat...

"So what do we do?!" Inez asks in a panic.

"Um... Nezzie," Fiona suggests, "you know that mind trick thing you did before? Maybe you should give it another go?"

"Well... I think I just got lucky the last time I did that," Inez confesses.

"Inez, you've got to try something!" Fiona replies anxiously.

"Okay, okay!" Inez says, stepping out in front of the girls, clenching her fists at her sides.

Concentrating intently, Inez lowers her voice to the dulcet tone necessary for the Mind Whispering spell and sets her gaze squarely on Gabriel.

"Gabriel?" she coos. "Listen to me. You really don't want to hurt us, now do you, Gabriel?"

She takes a step closer. "That's because you're tired. And you're not just tired, you're getting sleepy. Very, very sleepy."

Gabriel looks at her and murmurs, "Sleepy..."

"That's right," Inez says. "Just like that." She takes another step closer. "So, why don't you just go ahead and lie down now, hmm? Just go to sleep."

Gabriel's eyelids begin to droop as his pace towards them slows, his hands falling limply at his sides.

"That's right..." Inez encourages him. "Sleep... sleep..."

And just as it looks like Inez's spell is going to work, Gabriel comes to an abrupt stop.

His head lilts forward as if he has every intention of going to sleep, right there, on the spot, when...

Suddenly, his head whips up and he growls!

Inez steps back and slaps her hands over her ears, falling to her knees.

Being a Seer, with a very sensitive sensibility, to her, the growl is unnaturally loud, deafening even, and it sounds like it's coming from inside her head!

Gabriel leans in. "I don't need sleep! I need SOULS!"

With that, he lunges at Inez, grabbing her by the neck and lifting her up off the ground. He races forward and slams her up against the wall.

"Oooof!" Inez bellows.

A whoosh of air leaves her chest as her body hits the stone.

Within seconds, Fiona is on Gabriel's back. She has her arm hooked around his throat and using all of her weight, she leans back and manages to wrestle him to the ground, freeing up Inez who, holding her neck and coughing for breath, crawls away to safety.

Fiona flips Gabriel over and straddles him. She shakes his shoulders violently, trying desperately to force him out of his demonic trance.

"Gabriel! It's me, Fiona! Gabriel, listen to me!"

And for a split second, there seems to be a hint of recognition in Gabriel's eyes. But then his eyes glow a deeper red and his face contorts. He reaches up and swipes his claws at Fiona. She bobs and weaves to avoid the attack while Inez tries to get to her feet, but can't because she's still feeling woozy.

As Fiona looks around for Ava, Gabriel takes advantage of her inattention and pushes her off of him, throwing her backwards onto the ground.

He gets to his feet and stares down at Fiona and Inez, now both on the ground, incapacitated.

He snarls, then smiles. He's got them right where he wants them.

Baring his claws, he's about to attack when a loud cry comes from behind.

Gabriel whips around to see Ava, in avian form, hurtling towards him. She swoops in for the attack.

Gabriel lunges off the ground, clawing at her, trying to catch her in his grip, but Ava's too quick for him. She flutters backwards, just out of Gabriel's reach.

Still hovering above him, Ava beats her wings together... once... twice... three times in quick succession — the action causing her feathers to burst into flames. And within seconds, her entire form, her entire being is on fire.

Ava is a Phoenix!

She flies backwards, flames shooting from her wings like laser beams. Gabriel dives to the ground and rolls towards the fountain to get out of the way. Fiona and Inez hide beneath the bushes, staying clear of the line of fire.

Gabriel scrambles to his feet and jumps into the fountain. Splashing around, he heads straight into the powerful stream of water emanating from the giant winged lion sitting at the fountain's center — the water spraying around him protecting him from Ava's fiery wrath.

Fiona emerges from behind the bushes and approaches, hands held before her in supplication.

She implores softly, "Gabriel...Gabriel, please, listen to me. We can help you."

Inez is quickly by Fiona's side as Ava circles above.

She whispers to Fiona, "We have to find a way to take him out."

Fiona whispers back, "I know! I know! But we have to knock out just the demon part of him and not hurt him in the process." She shakes her head. "Maybe you can try your mind whispering thing again?"

After that weird feedback loop she experienced the last time she tried to enter Gabriel's mind, Inez looks at Fiona doubtfully. But they don't have much choice.

So, Inez steps forward, and as she prepares to induce the Mind Whispering spell, Gabriel begins to back away.

And he keeps backing up until his body is flush against the stone lion in the fountain.

With his hands splayed against the lion, he sneers and then places his hands even more firmly on the statue's body, letting loose a low, satisfied growl.

Suddenly the ground beneath the fountain begins to shake fiercely, the lion's wings breaking free of their stony confines, spewing rock and ash all around.

And as the statue continues to crumble away, what emerges from the remains is a full-blown, live and angry Manticore: a beast with the body of a lion, the wings of a bat, and the deadly tail of a scorpion.

As an Animatronic Mage, Gabriel has brought the statue to life!

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A/N - 😱

See you all next week!  😄

~ Paula ❤️