Viridian Wind

Chapter Five

Stella and Renee made their way to the inn that they had checked in earlier. The door opened and Florian slowly poked his head out and whispered.

"Renee? Orchis? Oh, it's really you two! Come in!"

The girls walk in and Florian quickly closes the door behind them. Jasper seems to be taking a nap or something. He gets up when he sees the girls.

"Oh! We're glad you're here! Just to let you know! Florian and I escaped the jail on our own. Aren't you two proud of us?"

Renee scoffs. "Tsk! It was your guys' own fault for getting caught by the police. What were you guys thinking?"

"We have an idea as to where Zoe might be," Stella said. "But first, let's hear why you guys did something so dumb and pretended to fight each other."

Jasper laughs nervously and explains everything to the girls. During the explanation, Stella and Renee both just shook their heads.

Following this, Stella in turn explained everything that happened with her and Renee.

"So," she said. "We know that Zoe should be at the courthouse around ten in the morning. In that case, we should be at the courthouse around nine-thirty."

Jasper raises his hand. "Do we know what she looks like?"

Renee slaps his hand down. "No need to raise your hand! No, we don't know what she looks like. What does a judge look like? They wear judge clothes. And Zoe is a girl, so a girl in a judge's clothes."

"Exactly," Stella continued. "We'll find Zoe and make her give us her benefactor. I'm assuming this benefactor is the same person that helped Andrew and Damianos."

"Sounds easy enough." Jasper said. "Are you guys hungry? We have time to kill before tomorrow."

Stella shakes her head. "No, you guys are wanted. That Arsenio will be looking for you guys. It's best if you guys stay here for now."

"Wait, what? You mean Florian and I will be here hungry?"

Renee sighs. "That's what you're worried about? Not whether or not Orchis and I would need your help?"

"We know you two can handle yourselves. So, what about food?"

Stella sighs. "We'll get you guys food, but stay in your room. After Renee and I are done with Zoe, we'll come back here and then leave before Arsenio can find you."

In the morning, Stella and Renee woke up at around seven or eight. They went for breakfast and then went to another cafe to pick up food for the boys. When it was nine, the girls went to the courthouse and stood watch for a girl in a judge's clothing.

After thirty minutes of waiting at a cafe in front of the courthouse, Stella notices that only one girl entered the courthouse. She's about early thirties, blue jeans, a white top with a green jacket, and white shoes.

"Let's go and see if that's Zoe." Stella said. "We'll just call her Zoe and see how she reacts."

Renee stands up and follows Stella to the courthouse. The girl in the green jacket opens the door and walks in. Upon entry, there were no guards.

"Hi, Zoe?" Stella asked the girl in the green jacket.

The girl stops and slowly turns half way around. "She must be the Scythe Lady." She fully turns around and swings a Hammer at Stella. The Hammer was coated in viridian-colored Wind Midrash. This attack is called Wind Smash.

Stella couldn't react in time, so the Hammer was able to hit her on the left shoulder. Renee locks the door and charges at the girl who should be Zoe.

Renee transforms into a Phoenix and charges at Zoe with Ashen Wing. Zoe tries to counter with an upgraded form of Wind Smash called Aero Smash, but instead, Zoe accidentally lets go of the Hammer. Renee follows up with an Ashen Spellbomb.

Stella sees Zoe running towards the Hammer, so she quickly kicks the Hammer out of range. Zoe gives a nasty glare in response.

With her left arm hanging, Stella gathers Dark Midrash energy around her left palm. With enough energy, she throws a Shadow Spellbomb at her opponent. Zoe is knocked out. The battle is now over.

Zoe was breathing hard when Stella and Renee walked over to her.

"I'm assuming you're Zoe?" Stella asked.

"Tsk!" Zoe scoffed. "And you're the Scythe Lady. What do you want?"

"Your benefactor. Can you give us their name?"

"And why would I give you that?"

Stella sighs. "We'll leave you alone and you won't hear from us again."

"Hmph! As if! Whatever! I won't give you the benefactor's name, but I'll give you Galen instead. There's a town north of here. You can find him there."

Hearing several knocks on the door, Jasper goes to open it. Standing out the door are Arsenio and Nestor.

"Yesterday," Arsenio said, angrily. "It was two on one. Now, it'll be two on two!"

"Actually," Nestor said. "I have to go make sure that Zoe is safe."

"What?! Why didn't you tell me this earlier?!"

Nestor shrugs. "I found them for you. Zoe is the priority, not you." He smirks at Florian and Jasper, looks at Arsenio and walks away.

Arsenio immediately runs after this, but not before threatening the boys that he would come back for them.

"They're going after the girls," Jasper said quickly. "Let's follow them!"

The boys ran after Nestor and Arsenio to the courthouse. Florian was the first to see the girls walk out of the courthouse. "Renee! Orchis! These two are here for you guys." He nods towards Arsenio and Nestor as they approach.

"Oh, really?" Stella asked. "The four of us versus the two of them?"

"What?" Nestor said out loud. "Is Zoe in there?"

"Go in and find out." Nestor runs everyone and heads straight for the door.

"Hey!" Arsenio shouted out. "Don't leave me here by myself!" He looks around and sees that he's surrounded by Stella and Renee in the front and Florian and Jasper in the back. "Tsk! I'll be back with backup!" He runs to the police station.

"Zoe gave us the name Galen," Stella said. "Let's leave this town before he comes back with more goons."

With that said, Stella and her friends make their way to the northern exit for their departure. This marks the end of this arc!

Meanwhile, Arsenio returns to the courthouse with six police officers. He goes inside the courthouse and sees a man in black uniform along with six soldiers in black uniform. The man turns to Arsenio and smiles. "Well, no need to be surprised. You'll join your friends Zoe and Nestor soon!"