It has been too long since my last Wizards vs Aliens story – two years, in fact! The story you are about to read always was intended as the follow-up to "Hope For The Nekross", however, I struggled to finish it…until now! I am so glad to be back with another WVA fanfiction. It's one of my favourite shows and biggest inspirations. I only hope I can do it justice with my stories!

Chapter One:

If You Go Down To The Woods Today...

Tom Clarke's legs shot across the moist forest floor, leaping over broken branches and muddy puddles, his feet still occasionally landing in slushing marshes, leaving dark brown stains on his boots and trouser legs.

Not far behind him hurried his Gran, Ursula Crowe, equally filthy and perhaps even more terrified.

"We must stop him, Thomas, at all costs!" she puffed, "If that bogle treads one foot outside this forest both the worlds of the enchanted and un-enchanted will never be safe again!"

A few metres ahead of the two wizards charged a giant black shaggy beast, pounding on all fours, letting out several aggressive throaty growls akin to coarse breathing. He was but one of many Neverside creatures that had escaped over the line of Twilight to England in the past few weeks and perhaps the most dangerous so far. Fortunately, the tear had appeared in an almost deserted woodland, surrounded only by trees and bushes, but human civilisation was nearer than the bare branches and scruffy undergrowth suggested.

"You distract him!" called Ursula, "I'll see if I can move the tear in the line of Twilight!" She held up her enchanted staff, ready to use it when the time came.

"You're going to move the tear?!" responded Tom in disbelief, "Has anyone even done that before?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to have to try!"

Suddenly, the bogle stopped, raised its nose in the air and gave a deep sniff. Slowly, it turned around, allowing Tom and Ursula to get a good look at its face, which was similar to that of a Grazlax, with enormous fangs, a horn jutting out of its forehead and deep, angry brown eyes.

"Gran?" said a panicked Tom, "Don't you think he looks a little…hungry?"

"We must work quickly!" cried Granny, "There is no time to lose!"

How I am possibly going to distract him without getting myself mortally wounded? thought Tom worriedly.

"Um, over here, you burly beast!" yelled Tom, trying to come up with an effective plan on the spot, "Bet you can't catch me!"

It didn't seem to be working. The bogle hadn't taken much notice of Tom and was pacing toward a petrified Mrs Crowe, streams of saliva trickling from its jaws.

I've got to do something! Tom thought. What could he possibly do to divert the creature's attention? Was there anything that bogles were drawn to? Was there anything that bogles were afraid of? He tried to remember the lesson Randal Moon had taught him six months ago on Neverside pests, but his memories were very hazy.

Gran took several steps back, visibly shivering. The monster pawed forward, its beady eyes fixed on its prey, ready to strike at any moment. There would be no escape from its clutches if it chased after her – bogles could outrun all but the speediest of humans. Ursula was starting to conclude she was as good as dead…

"Yun-shey-dah!" shouted Tom all of a sudden. SNAP! went his fingers.

The bogle's head slowly lifted upward and a look of horror as the poignant as the one Granny had a moment earlier sprang upon his face. Confused, Mrs Crowe swivelled round cautiously, only to behold a sight that alarmed her beyond measure. A few metres behind her stood a magnificent dragon, three times as large as the bogle. The towering orange-scaled monster opened its massive jaws and did a roar that gave a horribly real meaning to the word 'deafening'.

The bogle turned on its heels and bolted. Ursula leapt out of the dragon's path as the snarling reptile chased the furry menace, landing sideways in a muddy puddle. Tom rushed over to her aid, only to be shoved in the opposite direction by a grimy hand.

"You mustn't let them out of the forest!"

Tom turned and raced after the speeding monsters through the undergrowth for ages, but it was no use. If the two beasts made it to a human settlement, there was nothing he could do to stop them. He felt a tinge of regret for conjuring up the deadly dragon which had now tripled the level of threat humanity was facing, but when he remembered that he had done it to save his Gran, all his guilt washed away. He'd saved his Gran many times before, as well as his Dad and Benny and Moon and his fellow wizards and sometimes even the entire planet. He was certain he could save the day yet again…but how?

"STOP THOMAS!" bellowed a deep male voice.

Without hesitating, questioning or even really thinking, Tom abruptly ground to a halt.

"Sheek-tan-WAYN-ZAH-DAH!"

A few metres ahead, the bogle and the dragon continued to stampede through the woodland when suddenly a stream of orange and purple magic sprang into their path, turning into a giant glittering portal – none other than the now-moved tear in the line of Twilight. Before the creatures had a chance to blink, they'd both charged straight through.

"Sheek-tan-KEESH-ZAH-DAH!"

The gateway disappeared in an instant. Tom spent several seconds trying to work out what had just happened before he turned to where the voice had come from and caught sight of a familiar face.

"Grandad?!"

"I told you not to come!" called a mud-splattered Granny, hurrying towards them.

"Aah, Ursula!" said Simeon Swann, "Even the mud of a forest mire could never disguise your lovely features."

"Don't try to flatter me," responded Gran sharply, "I'm not in the mood. I told you to stay in the Chamber."

"Did you expect me to sit and watch from the safety of the Chamber as my wife and grandson were attacked by the some of the most fearsome creatures of the Neverside?"

Prior to his unexpected arrival, Mr Swann had been monitoring them on the scrying mirror.

"Look, could you two just stop please?" interrupted Tom, sensing an argument could be at hand. He had witnessed several disagreements between his grandparents over the past couple of days, more than he had ever seen before, which was only to be expected as Grandad had been stuck on the Neverside for the past three decades, making it awfully difficult for him to have a dispute with his wife during that time. However, something that was completely indisputable was the fact that most, if not all, of these current arguments spawned from something to do with his thirty-year absence.

"I am just glad you're safe, Ursula," said Simeon gently, wrapping his arms around her in a sweet embrace. He held her tenderly for a few seconds before abruptly Mrs Crowe realised something was missing.

"My staff!"

What?! Tom's eyes sprang to his Granny's hands. Sure enough, her trusty cane was nowhere to be seen.

Ursula wriggled free of her husband's grasp and the three wizards desperately began scouring the bed of rotting leaves for anything that looked remotely like a stick.

"I must have dropped it when I landed in that puddle," the Mistress Crowe concluded, "Goodness knows what could have happened to it with that disgusting bogle running about…"

"Gran?" called Tom.

Mrs Crowe turned to see him kneeling in front of a muddy pool, out of which jutted her staff…or, at least, part of it. The other half lay nearby on a small marsh, almost buried in sludge, but uncovered enough to allow Ursula to see the jagged splinters where the bogle had broken it in two.

WIZARDS VS ALIENS

THE BLOODLINE OF CROWE

Upon the main wooden table in the mystical cave known as the Chamber of Crowe lay Granny's damaged cane, now thoroughly scrubbed of any lingering forest mire, as were the intrepid bogle pursuers. Tom, Ursula, Michael, Simeon and Moon were gathered around the worktop, all simultaneously pondering how they could possibly repair such a precious item.

"Randal Moon will have always been knowing that bogles will be bringing nothing but mischief upon the line of Crowe!" said the Chamber's hobgoblin guardian, Randal Moon, "Caractacus Crowe will have been nearly mauled to death once by the likes of such a repulsive beast! It will come as no shock to behold what one will have been doing to your precious cane, Great Mistress!"

Michael Clarke placed a hand over his face and made an expression akin to wincing. "This is one break that duct tape isn't going to fix. I suppose I could use some superglue instead."

"Oh no, Michael!" protested Granny, "This isn't any old staff we are talking about – this is an heirloom passed on through the line of Crowe for centuries. We must give it more respect."

"How?" replied Dad, gesturing to the broken cane, "I don't think leaving it like this is giving any reverence to your ancestors!"

"You're Unenchanted – you wouldn't understand," responded Simeon, "A distinguished wizard staff cannot be properly fixed by duck tape or whatever that stuff was. It needs to be sealed by the binding powers of a magical healing gateway."

"And I don't suppose you have one of those on you?"

"Healing gateway are only found in certain locations, not that you would be aware of that, Michael of the Un-"

"Are you still able to use your magic, Gran?" interrupted Tom, not wanting an argument to break out between not just his Granny and Grandad but now his father and possibly Moon as well.

"I'm not certain," replied Ursula, "I have always been able to cast spells without my staff, but I have been using it for so long that it is possible my powers may have become connected to it. I fear that now it is broken I may have had my source of magic cut off." She formed her left hand into a finger-snapping position and hesitated for a few seconds before whispering, "Maash-floro-dah."

Snap! went her fingers. Her audience waited, but nothing happened.

"Then it is true," concluded Ursula solemnly, "Until my staff is mended, I will be unable to do any magic." She suddenly darted over to where the Wisdom Of Crowe was resting on the table and began flicking through it. "Which is why we need to find one of those healing gateways as soon as possible. There must be a list of them in here somewhere…"

The others gathered behind her.

"What exactly do these 'healing gateways' do anyway?" enquired Tom.

"Healing gateways will be powerful places of magic," explained Moon, "There will be few upon the face of the whole world – and the face of the world will indeed be a face. Randal Moon will not be a-fooled by those astronauticals and their scientrickery, trying to prove that our Earth is as a ball! Pah!"

Granny leaned over to Tom's ear and whispered, "I never have been able to convince him that the world isn't flat."

"There may be a healing gateway located somewhere in the country of Engla land, but mark Randal Moon's words – it will be guarded by the most dreadful creature in the whole of the Neverside!"

"And…what is that?" asked Tom apprehensively, wondering how he was going to prepare himself for another battle against one of the monsters of the enchanted world.

"Faeries! It will be pesky faeries!"

Phew! thought Tom. It looked like he would be able to save his strength for another day.

"Oh come along Moon – they're nothing more than harmless nuisances!" responded Ursula.

"You will not have been seeing the mischief that has befallen poor Randal Moon at their hands!"

"So, you're saying this healing gateway is hidden somewhere in England, guarded by faeries?" interjected Tom, "And all we have to do is work out where it is to take the staff there?"

"That will be accurate, young master."

"And we won't have to make a magical sacrifice or fight off wraith lords to get to it?"

"Not if Randal Moon's memory will be serving him correctly."

Tom turned to Ursula. "And once we find the gateway, all we'll need to do is use its binding power and your staff will be back to normal – along with your magic!"

"Precisely, Thomas!" She continued to flick through her spell book. "Which is why I need to hurry before we have another encounter with those dastardly Nekross! I cannot bear the thought of fighting those magic-guzzling monsters without the aid of my magic."

Simeon and Michael had been stood behind the others watching. "This could take some time," remarked Simeon.

…

Meanwhile, the starship Zarantulus was hovering somewhere near the moon, blue light glowing from the cluster of windows. It was just typical that on this night the King Regent Varg – a yellow and black humanoid reptile with a tentacle on each side of his face – was busy plotting a new strategy in the flight deck. This had been primarily his sister Lexi's job for some time, but now she was no longer at his side, Varg had to attempt to fill her shoes. This was rather a challenging task, but tonight Varg had finally come up with a scheme that he thought would land his name in the history books. He had spotted a blindingly obvious method of locating wizards, and now his wife, the Lady Lyzera – a Nekross with light pink skin and purple tendrils protruding from her head - was being enlightened on his unbelievable ingenuity.

"For centuries, wizards have passed down their magical abilities through various bloodlines." He brought up a picture of a family tree on the flight deck's view screen, with several familiar faces at the bottom. "For example, the line of Crowe has survived for many generations." He zoomed out of the image. The tree grew larger, showing how the bloodline had been distributed to many individuals, most of which he didn't have a name for. "I have created this descendency chart via a human website known as Family Search. The humans are able to store information on their ancestry through a primitive interconnected network system known as the internet."

"Are you suggesting that we use this internet to gather details on wizards?"

"Indeed, my Lady." Varg pressed a few keys on the computer panel. The picture on the screen changed to a blue webpage with lots of writing and pictures. "This is a website entitled Facebook. The humans use it for 'social networking' - instant written communication through the internet." He tapped a few more buttons. A page came up displaying an image of a Chinese girl in her early twenties, wearing a pair of glasses similar to Benny's distinctive "geek" specs. "My research has revealed that every one of these wizard bloodlines have been named after birds. This female wizard has the surname Peacock; a colourful, ornamental bird often found in the gardens of aristocrats. It is estimated more than two billion humans are members of this website, including most of the wizard population."

Lyzera's eyes lit up. "If we were to search for the names of wizard bloodlines, there will be nothing to obstruct us from finding boundless information on their locations." She had caught sight of a section of Miss Peacock's profile that said she went to a university in London.

"...and then the Nekross shall finally feast upon Earth's rich supply of magic." Varg breathed in deeply. "Aaaaah...!"

"You are indeed clever, dear husband," fawned Lyzera, stroking one of his tentacles fondly, "This strategy will ensure that the name of Varg the Valiant and Victorious is sung with the heroes of old in the ballads of the Vosper Zarkiel scrolls."

Varg chuckled. "...but not without mention of you, my Lady. A king regent is nothing without his queen." He took hold of her arms. "Our marriage has formed a union between the royal house of Nekron and the ringed moons surrounding our home world. Perhaps someday this union will be greatly strengthened by the presence of-"

"King Regent Varg!" interrupted a voice.

The two monarchs paused, and slowly turned to face the view screen. The Facebook page that had been there a moment ago had vanished, only to be replaced by a picture of a female Nekross with lilac skin and deep purple tendrils extending from her tentacles, clad in a rich violet gown made from crushed velvet, seated upon a throne.

"Duchess Chani!" exclaimed Varg, surprised to hear from one of his allies so unexpectedly, "For what purpose do you contact the royal house of Nekron?"

"I hasten to warn you of an impending danger," replied Chani, "Since the old King was discovered to have been depriving his people of magic, multiple secret combinations have supposedly been formed to cause your downfall. Chancellor Kooth did not work alone - there are many others that supported her, and it is thought an assassin may well have been placed directly aboard the Zarantulus before you departed for Earth."

"What?! An assassin - aboard the Zarantulus?"

"It is a miracle you have survived this long - be on guard for attempts on your lives. This traitor may strike at any moment, using any method possible. You must be prepared for their attack." She drew her face nearer. "Good luck, O king."

The message cut off dramatically, leaving Varg and Lyzera in silent horror.

They let go of each other's hands. Varg could see his wife's tentacles trembling.

"Do not fear, my Lady," he consoled, "I will not let a finger of our enemies be placed upon your delicate fuchsia skin..."

Lyzera said nothing, and walked over to her domesticated bird, the vulture-like Eelix.

"Must you feed that creature while we are under threat from an unknown assassin?" said Varg disapprovingly, "There are more important matters at stake."

Lyzera's attention was drawn to her pet. "Are you hungry, my baby? Would you like a beetroo bug? Ooh…yes you would..." Suddenly, she gave a blood-curdling scream and recoiled.

"My Lady!" cried Varg, dashing over to see what the matter was.

Lyzera's gloved hand was clamped over her mouth, her eyes wider than a black hole. She pointed to Eelix's food dispenser. Varg peered inside and nearly gasped with terror. There, nestled in amongst the red insects, was a giant black butcher beetle, raising its poisoned horns to show it was ready to sink them into Nekross flesh. If Lyzera hadn't spotted it so quickly, then the last sentence she had uttered would have been her final words.

Varg aimed his firearm at the deadly creature.

"Be careful, husband!" called the Lady, aware that her precious Eelix was not far away.

She shielded her eyes as the king regent blasted the tub into oblivion.

Eelix became drenched in an explosion of beetroo bug juice, laced with the butcher beetle's poison, which luckily was only lethal to reptiles.

"The beetle has been obliterated," Varg reported, tucking away his weapon.

Lyzera moved away her hand to examine the destruction, trying to catch her breath back.

"The traitor has already tried to take my life," she realised, "We are not safe anymore, dear husband!"