Bad Romance

When Bash has woken up the next day, he had forgotten about the note entirely. He had jumped out of bed without noticing the wrinkled piece of paper on his nightstand, and he had taken off without another thought.

Once he entered the mess hall, he took a bowl of his breakfast and searched for the first empty spot available, which was right next to Camo. He rushed over to the empty spot. 'Morning.' He said 'Is this seat taken?'

When Camo shook his head, Bash crawled into the seat with his bowl of raw meat and ate it up. The two are in silence for a while, before Bash struck up a conversation. 'Do you have any missions today?' He asked in between bites.

'Oh, yeah. I'm assigned to go and clear out the chompy pods in the Falling Forest. I'm gonna need to go ask some guys for assistance though. You have any missions today?' Said Camo, his mouth still full of fruit salad.

'Not yet. I'm okay with helping you clear out chompy pods though.' He said. Camo smiled at Bash.

'Awesome!' He said, finishing the last of his fruit. 'You'll go clear it with Master Eon right? Cause right now I need to use the bathroom.'

'Sure thing.' Said Bash with a nod.

'Great.' Said Camo. He swallowed up his salad, grabbed his empty plate, and went to clean it. 'Meet you outside the Academy afterwards, alright?'

'Okay.' Agreed Bash. Camo nodded back at him and walked away.

Bash quickly finished up his meat and cleared away his bowl. It was time again for another mission, and he needed to notify Master Eon of any plans he had. It felt good doing this again. The dates with Flashwing were fun and all, but after those dates, it felt good to be back on the job.

But as he left the mess hall, he didn't notice Flashwing looking across the room. Her big grey eyes pierced at him longingly, as if she wanted to call out to him but couldn't. When he walked out without so much as an acknowledgment, a flash of jealousy filled those eyes.

OoOoOoOoOo

Pop Fizz sat beside Flashwing that day, and as he ate his own breakfast, he caught the whiff of a strange series of smells. In the air, there were the faintest of smells, but his experienced alchemist nose caught the scent of alcohol, strawberries, roses, and chocolate. It smelled as if it were oozing from something, diffusing into the air slowly from someone's skin. He sniffed the air for a while until he identified the source of the fragrance.

He looked over at Flashwing, who was still watching Bash leave the mess hall. With a tap on her shoulder, he drew her attention away from Bash, and she turned around sharply to face him. 'Yes?' She said, voice sharp as a knife.

'Morning Flashwing,' Replied Pop Fizz, oblivious to her tone. 'You wearing new perfume today? Smells good.'

Flashwing raised a brow. 'What are you talking about? I'm not wearing any perfume today.'

'Oh.' Pop Fizz fiddled with his thumbs. 'Well, you smell pretty good today.' He smiled.

Flashwing gave him an unamused look. 'Sure, thanks.' She grabbed her plate, still filled with half-eaten waffles, and walked away from Pop Fizz. With a hasty flick of her tail, she pushed in her chair and sashayed off to clear her plate.

Pop Fizz scratched his head in confusion. Was it something he said? If it was, he didn't know for sure what it was.

OoOoOoOoOo

Once he notified Master Eon, Bash walked outside to meet Camo, who had also convinced Zap and Torch to come along. Together, they flew in a hot-air-balloon, towards their destination. On the way there, they all struck up a small, friendly conversation.

'So, it's true. You and Flashwing are a couple now.' Said Torch. She sat crossed legged on the basket floor and placed her flamethrower carefully between her legs.

'Yup.' Bash nodded. He, like the other dragons in the basket, lay sprawled on the floor.

'Huh,' Said Torch. 'Never thought it would end up like this.'

'What?' Asked Bash.

'I mean I thought she would be the one who ends up admitting her feelings to you. I thought you were the one who was constantly pining for her affections.' She raised an eyebrow. To Bash, it looked like she had several unanswered questions within her.

'Yeah, well, she said something about reading my note, and that's how we're together now.' Answered Bash. 'Strange how it all works out, huh?'

'Well, it's about time you two got together.' Said Camo. 'After all that time we've spent prepping you to talk to Flashwing, and it finally paid off.'

'I never thought it would end up like this…' Said Torch, as she tapped on her flamethrower. 'But heck, I'm happy for the two of you. If you're both happy, then that's great.'

OoOoOoOoOo

They worked at the chompy pods for hours, but for a menial task, those hours spent together weren't half-bad. They made the most of their time by engaging in a time-honored Skylander tradition: Friendly (if reckless) competition.

'Watch your head, Bash!' Yelled Zap, as he shot a stream of white lightning at the pod behind Bash. The lightning hit the pod with a satisfying szzzap, and after mere seconds it crumbled into dust.

'Hoo, that was great Zap.' Bash smiles competitively at Zap. 'But now it's my turn.' He cocked his head towards Camo and called out towards his. 'Hey, Camo!'

Camo turned towards him, surrounded by a patch of explosive watermelons. 'Yeah?'

'Toss me a melon!' His eyes twinkled with anticipation. He rose his spiky tail and waved it like a baseball bat.

Camo smirked when he realized what he wanted to do. 'Okay, one melon coming right up!'

He flipped a watermelon into the air and tossed it at Bash. When Bash caught it, he threw it into the air, jumped, caught it, and rolled with it tucked underneath himself. He tumbled through chompy pod after chompy pod, tearing at the thick green flesh, until he jumped and threw the melon. Using his tail, he launched it straight at the nearest chompy pod, where a chompy had just popped out. The melon hit the chompy square in the face, which triggered an explosion which destroyed both the chompy and the top half of the pod. 'Boom!' Went the melon, as sticky watermelon flesh splattered around the surrounding pods, gunking up the entrance for new chompies. Behind Bash was also a long trail of damaged chompy pods, all scratched and torn by his rough hide.

Claps were heard from behind them, and Torch walked up to the three. 'Not bad boys. Not bad.' She grinned. Then she pulled her flamethrower out and her congratulatory smile turned into a mischievous smirk. 'Now try this on for size! Clear out!'

They did and ran behind Torch. With the area now clear of Skylanders, Torch got her flamethrower ready, and yelled out 'Fire it up!' Before she unleashed a large barrage of red-hot flames onto the remaining chompy pods. The flames roasted them all to the core, and all three dragons watched in awe at the fire-power of the weapon.

Once she was done, the field once full of bulging, slimy chompy pods was now full of their ashes. As if on cue, a gust of wind blew and scattered those ashes into the wind. Torch turned towards the others, a smirk of satisfaction on her face.

'Well, I guess we're done for the day.' Smiled Camo.

'Good thing too.' Said Torch, looking at the sky, which was full of dark grey clouds. 'It's getting chilly, and I don't want to be caught in any rain or snow or…' she shuddered. 'Sleet.'

The four of them left the burned chompy pods behind and returned to the path. But even with the threat of rain, it didn't stop Zap from feeding his curiosity. 'So, Torch, how did you do that?'

'Eh, I didn't really do much to it. I let Sprocket fiddle around with it, and she found a way to use gasoline to enhance the attacks.'

'Huh,' Zap nodded his head and smiled back. 'I wonder if I could do something like that.' He smirked.

Torch shrugged. 'I'm not gonna stop you, just don't get yourself killed.'

When they reached Flynn's balloon, they didn't stop the banter. They carried on with their laughter and banter until they arrived back at the Academy. There, Bash waved goodbye to them and headed back to his room again. He stretched; that was a tiring mission, even if it had been short. He planned to take a short nap before going to Buzz. His exhaustion was a sign he needed to train more.

But when he got to his bed, he found yet another pink slip of paper on his bed. This time, it was folded into a large heart shape, and it was scented heavily with rose.

Bash picked up the note and opened it up. Through the wrinkled paper, he made out another message written in small pink cursive. 'Dearest Bashie,' It began. Bash read on.

'Dearest Bashie, we need to talk. Meet me in the dining hall at dinner. It's a date. XOXO, Flashwing.'

Bash turned to glance at his alarm clock. One more hour until dinner. He placed the note on his bedside table, next to the note he received last night. The nap was going to have to wait, he had a date to prepare for.

OoOoOoOoOo

Bash walked into the dining hall all washed up and ready. He had arrived early, and as such the room was fairly empty. He had been glad to avoid the dinner rush, and even happier when he saw Flashwing up ahead.

She sat alone at a small table, her head resting daintily on one claw. The other claw drummed the table in a way both inpatient and graceful. The look on her face reflected the same mood. Bash walked over to her and called out to get her attention. 'Hey, Flashwing!'

Flashwing looked up, and her expression immediately brightened when she saw Bash. She waved him over and pulled out a chair for him to sit on. 'Hi, Bash!'

Bash slipped into the chair next to Flashwing and was greeted with a peck on the cheek. 'I've missed you so much, Bashie! Why didn't you come over this morning?'

Bash rubbed his head embarrassed. 'Well, I actually kinda forgot about the note. Sorry…' he said bashfully.

Flashwing's lips thinned and she nodded in understanding. 'Mmm… I see.' She then turned towards the queue for food, which was beginning to grow rather long. 'So, you want me to get some food for you?'

'Oh, yeah that'll be great.' Bash nodded. Flashwing smiled at Bash, then sauntered over to the queue.

She returned with, much to Bash's surprise, one giant bowl of raw meat, along with two small plates and one giant spoon. She placed it gently right in between them, then slipped into her seat excited. 'So what happened today Bash? Tell me more about it!'

Bash eyed the giant bowl of meat, confused. 'Is this bowl for you or me?'

'It's for both of us actually. I thought we could share a meal this evening.' She smiled at him.

Bash raised his left brow. 'Erm, okay. I didn't think you meant it literally though.'

'Well, I did. Isn't it romantic?' Flashwing's voice bubbled with elation, and Bash couldn't help but agree with her.

'Well, dig in!' She said. Flashwing passed Bash a small plate and began to pile meat onto his plate. Once she filled his plate, she then placed the remaining strips on meat on hers and began eating.

Bash looked at the pile of meat on his plate and turned towards Flashwing with a polite smile. 'Heh, uh, thanks Flashwing. But I could have taken it myself.'

'Nah, it's alright Bash. I'm alright with doing this type of stuff for you. You don't have worry about anything once I'm with you.' She then steepled her hands and rested her head on the arc made. 'So tell me what happened today.'

Bash did so. As he told his story, Flashwing absorbed every word he said like a sponge. Her large grey eyes attentive and her head nodding like a bobble-head. 'Oh, I see Bash. You sounded like you had so much fun today.' She sighed sadly. 'I wish I could have gone with you though. My mission just felt so stressful today. Hardly anything went right, it was just really difficult.'

Bash felt a tug at his heartstrings. 'Oh, I didn't mean to do that Flashwing. I'm sorry.' He stared at his plate of meat and took a short moment to think. Was there something he could do to make up for it? He hated to see his girlfriend so upset.

Bash chewed up his meat and swallowed. He wanted to apologize again, but he didn't want to come off as too desperate. He looked over at Flashwing, who sat in silence chewing her food, and his heart sank. He knew Flashwing forgave relatively easily, but she never forgets easily, and he didn't want to mess things up. But before he apologized, a thought struck him. He lit up instantly; he knew how to cheer her up. 'Say, Flashwing, how about we go on a mission tomorrow?' He smiled sweetly at her.

Flashwing looked up from her meal, her expression unsure, but curious. 'Really? You really mean it Bashie?'

'Of course, I mean it. Cross my heart!' He crossed his heart to show what he meant.

Flashwing noted his effort, and she smiled back at him. 'Well, if you really mean it, meet me here tomorrow morning and let's go on a mission. Is that alright?'

'That sounds great.' Nodded Bash. He then turned his attention towards his meal, before he looked up at Flashwing, his mouth stuffed full of raw meat. 'So, what did you do today?' He asked.

'Oh, it was super boring Bashie. I was sent to stop a couple of Witch Pitchers from wrecking Boom Town with Ember and Fiesta, but without you, the whole thing was such a drag.' She leaned on his shoulder alluringly. 'I'm glad all that is over. Now I can spend time with you.'

OoOoOoOoOo

The next morning, Bash got out of bed early to prepare. He washed up quickly and then headed over to the dining hall again. Once he arrived, he found Flashwing sat at the exact same place she sat the previous night. She had already gotten two bowls of breakfast for the two of them and waved at Bash cheerfully from the table.

'Bashie dear! Come over!' She called, and Bash did. He walked over quickly, then slipped into his chair again, and pulled a bowl of breakfast towards him.

'Morning Flashwing!' He cheered and dipped his head to eat his breakfast. Flashwing smiled brightly.

'Good morning to you too, Bash!' She cheered. She too took her bowl of meat, but unlike Bash did not start eating. 'So,' she began, smiling sweetly. 'Here we are. You ready for this mission now?' She asked.

Bash nodded and swallowed his bacon. 'Oh, yeah. Definitely. Do you have a mission that needs to be done?'

Flashwing nodded. 'Yeah. We need to deliver a potion to this small town on the edge of the woods. According to the report, the people there had been turned to sloths, and we need to change them back.'

Bash sighed. 'I wonder what these weirdos get out of doing these things to random civilians.'

Flashwing shrugged and swallowed her meat. 'Dunno. Maybe it's just for fun or something.'

'That's a messed up way to have fun if you ask me.' Commented Bash. He chewed up another piece of meat and swallowed as quickly. 'So, you ready?'

Flashwing smiled, then ate up the little bits of meat still left in her bowl. 'I'm ready.'

OoOoOoOoOo

'So, you two doing good back there?' Asked their balloonist.

'Yeah, we're doing great ma'am. Thanks for asking.' Replied Flashwing. She fiddled around with a small leather bag which hung around her neck.

The mabu woman nodded, but then she realized the little bag. 'Hey, so what's that you have there?' She asked.

'Oh, it's nothing at all. It's just a potion needed for the mission. Nothing to it.' Replied Flashwing.

'Really?' Went the woman. Her brown eyes filled with cautious suspicion. 'Let me see.'

'Why?' Asked Flashwing. She clutched her bag tightly.

'I'm just curious. Now give me the bag.' She waved a hand out at them.

Bash walked out between the two of them. 'We don't want you to check our bag lady. Can you please go back to piloting this thing?' His stern tone meant business.

For the briefest of moments, a confused look appeared on the woman's face, before immediately being replaced with an observant gaze. Bash found her staring right at him and prepared himself for anything she might do. He had heard stories of people being thrown of hot-air-balloons by psychos, and he didn't want to go down like that.

To his surprise though, nothing happened. The woman batted her brown eyes and went back to piloting the balloon. 'Sorry about that.' She said in a monotone. 'I can be a little obsessive.'

Bash nodded and looked back at Flashwing. She had a wing up, almost as if she were ready to shoot a gem shard at the woman. But when she saw Bash looking at her, she folded it in and sat herself down, an unassuming look on her face.

OoOoOoOoOo

They arrived at the tiny island later in the morning, when the sun had already risen. Although it was still technically winter, there were already signs the seasons were changing. That day was one of the first warm days of the year, something Bash greatly appreciated. The heat was always welcomed near him.

He stretched himself and walked out onto the island. But before he could take his first step forward, Flashwing rushed forward and spread her wings out protectively.

'Uh, Flashwing?' Went Bash, confused. 'What are you doing?'

Flashwing passed Bash the small leather bag. 'Protecting you, of course.' She then strutted ahead, alert and attentive.

Bash walked behind her, the leather bag now hanging on his neck. 'You don't have to Flashwing. It's just a quick mission. And I can defend myself.'

Flashwing continued her crawl forwards. 'I know Bash. But I don't want you to worry about anything. There could be weirdos here that want to turn us into sloths too.'

Bash walked behind her. 'But I can defend myself, Flashwing. Relax.'

At his command, Flashwing listened and obeyed him. But her wings and body remained slinky and alert, like a spy on enemy territory. Bash sighed. At least she was taking this seriously. But Flashwing didn't seem to be like herself today. Come to think about it, she hadn't been like herself recently at all.

'Flashwing, are you feeling alright?' He asked. Flashwing turned around to face him, a confused look spread on her features.

'Of course, I am. Why wouldn't I be?' She carried on slinking ahead, ready for anyone who would dare to ambush them. Bash walked calmly behind her, the potion hung around his neck.

OoOoOoOoOo

Flashwing shot several shards of crystals at the drow witch rapidly. Once the witch was brought down, she performed a shimmering spin and collided with two other witches. She brought down the witches like flies, violently shooting them down and spinning around.

Bash rolled forward, the potion tucked under him. When he stopped, he swatted a witch away with his tail and dodged a projectile. He turned towards Flashwing, who had viciously reduced the witches into fallen bodies laying on the ground. 'Flashwing!' He said. 'I think we can leave them alone now.'

Flashwing cocked her head away from a cowering drow witch, allowing him and the rest of his cohorts to escape. 'Why?' She asked. 'They attacked you when we arrived! I can't let my boyfriend be attacked by anyone!'

Bash walked ahead, carefully stepping over the knocked-out witches. 'That's nice of you and all, but first off, I can defend myself. Second, you really are going a little overboard. I don't think I've ever seen you fight like this.'

He had always admired Flashwing's style of fighting. The way she was able to be incredibly graceful, while also being extremely deadly. When he saw her fight today, she was vicious and deadly, but her fighting had lost a lot of its grace. It was... raw. Like she was fighting desperately for her life. Even though what they had fought could be considered a skirmish at best.

He walked over to Flashwing, who turned towards him calmly. 'I know you can look after yourself Bashie. And you did great back there. But I want to protect you too. You mean the world to me. Ever since you gave me those cookies and the note, I've felt like I couldn't live without you. I would hate to have anything bad happen to you.' She reasoned. 'Now come on,' She said, as she turned towards the small village. 'Let's turns these guys back to normal.'

She dipped her hand into the leather bag and pulled out a small purple flask. 'Let's do this.' She said, and the two of them proceeded to turn all the villagers back from sloths to their original forms.

OoOoOoOoOo

The ride home had been considerably stranger. For starters, the lady in the balloon had a bowl of candy she wanted Bash to try.

'Come on, it's my special taffy recipe. Don't you like taffy young man?' She asked, her brown eyes peering over her shoulder at Bash.

'Not really, no.' Bash shook his head at the woman. He had the pink bowl of candy shoved into his claws the moment he entered the balloon. Once she did, the driver constantly insisted he take at least one bite of it.

'Come on, a nibble wouldn't hurt. I know you Skylanders are well-known for your heroics and all, but surely a little candy every once in a while is fine?'

'Yeah, it's just that I don't like taffy that much.' Said Bash.

'Can I have some?' Asked Flashwing, claw already hovering over the bowl.

The woman thinned her lips. 'Alright fine. Go ahead.' She turned her attention towards steering the balloon for the rest of the trip, without even looking at him or Flashwing.

OoOoOoOoOo

'So, Bash, how was the mission to you?' Asked Flashwing, in a tone a little too cheerful.

Bash turned around to face her and took a deep breath. 'It was fine.'

'Great!' Smiled Flashwing, before she noticed Bash's body language, and she felt a tinge of guilt. 'Erm, you aren't too mad at me taking out all those witches, are you?'

Bash thought carefully about his answer. He wasn't upset, he was just… disappointed, to say the least. He wanted to be able to fight alongside Flashwing like they did when they were still just friends. 'No, I'm not too upset.' He said, after some deliberation. Pacifying her only came naturally. Especially since he felt emotionally drained. It was getting tiring to be around Flashwing all the time.

Flashwing smiled. 'Alright, great. Do you think we can go on another mission tomorrow then?' Her grey eyes grew so large Bash could have sworn he saw the little bit of blue in them glow.

He sighed. 'I guess we can. We'll have to see though.'

Flashwing grinned. 'Alright, I'll see you tomorrow, Bashie!' She pecked him on the cheek, then skipped off towards her room.

Bash walked towards his room too. Once he walked in, he jumped into his bed and sat on his behind. His tail moved slowly from side to side and his claw rubbed his chin.

He sighed. In the beginning, he had wanted to spend as much time with her as possible, but it was because he had fallen in love with Flashwing. Self-assured, beautiful, graceful Flashwing. Now, when she loved him back, he wasn't sure what happened to her. It was like she did a complete one-eighty overnight. But it didn't only change the way she felt about him, it also changed a piece of herself. And now he wasn't sure whether or not he liked the changed Flashwing as much. She was fine for a few days, but to him, it would be torture to spend every single day with a lovesick shell of a dragon. The way she would always baby him was getting grating, and he hoped that it wouldn't be permanent.

He sighed and lay back. Staring at the ceiling, he asked himself what he was going to do now.

OoOoOoOoOo

Terrafin found himself rudely awakened by someone shaking him. He opened one eye and flicked on his lamp. To his bemusement, there stood Bash, eyes desperate and claws nervously pinching the sheets. 'Bash?'

'Hey, Terrafin.' Said Bash. 'Do you have any missions today?'

Terrafin shot him a blank look. 'It's three in the morning Bash. Why do you need to know that now?'

'Well, you see, I told Flashwing that I would go on a mission with her if I didn't have any.'

'So? Thought you'd like to spend more time with your girlfriend.' He mumbled, pulling the covers up.

'Well, I do, but, well…' He hummed while he thought carefully about his reply. 'I dunno. She seems a little possessive lately. I don't want to see how she'd react if I broke a promise.'

Terrafin pushed himself up slowly and patted the space beside him. Bash came up and sat there. 'Couldn't this wait until morning, though?' Asked Terrafin. Despite his tired tone, Bash could sense the attempt to pay attention and care about his problems. He made a mental note; he owed Terrafin one now.

'Knowing what Flashwing would do now, she'd probably wake up as early as she could and get a mission first thing in the morning. Now I have to beat her at her own game.' Sighed Bash.

'Well, you don't have to beat her. You could just talk to her and tell her how you actually feel about the situation.'

'I'm not sure if I want to, though.' Replied Bash. 'She just seems so… in need of me. I know she doesn't act like the Flashwing I fell in love with, but she's still Flashwing. I don't want to break her heart.'

Terrafin nodded. 'Well, I may not know much about girls, but I know they don't like it when you promise something and don't fulfill it.' He shooed Bash off his bed and crawled back under the covers. 'I have a patrol today. Through the Desert of Columns. You can come along.' He then turned around and fell back asleep.

Bash smiled. 'Thanks, buddy.' He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. 'I'll buy you a working lock to pay you back.'

OoOoOoOoOo

As Bash had expected, he found Flashwing camping outside his room in the morning. And also like he expected, she had a mission with her. 'So, can you come today, Bashie?'

Bash shook his head. 'No, sorry. Yesterday Terrafin asked me to come on a mission with him. I can't come back on this one with you.'

'Oh…' Went Flashwing, her lower lip and wings drooping. 'Okay, but I thought we promised to go on a mission together today.'

'Yeah, but only if I don't have anything else. I have something on now.' Said Bash. 'Sorry.'

Flashwing nodded slowly. 'I see. Okay, I'll see you soon then.'

Bash nodded back. 'Great. Thanks for understanding Flashwing. I'll see you later.' He walked off towards the Academy entrance, leaving Flashwing alone in the halls.

OoOoOoOoOo

In the evening, when Bash and Terrafin had returned from their patrol, the wind was cool and mild. Their balloonist had been worried about not making it on time before any crazy weather happened. Luckily, they did make it back, but though they managed to avoid a possible physical storm, another one was about to hit them.

Flashwing stood at the Academy entrance, looking morose and impatient. When she saw Bash walk up ahead, she peeled up, and ran towards him, like a puppy would to his master. 'Bashie!' She called out. 'I've waited all afternoon for you to return!'

Bash felt a strange mix of annoyance and exhaustion when he heard the word "Bashie". He had hoped that after a long, tiring day of patrolling Skylands, he could head back to his room and rest. But now that Flashwing was here, he either had to bear with her or find a way to escape her without hurting her feelings.

'Hey, Flashwing.' Said Bash. 'Have you really been waiting all afternoon?'

Flashwing nodded. 'Yup. As soon as I got back from my mission today. It took you forever to come back.' She sighed. 'The mission today was super tough too.'

Bash raised an eyebrow. Last time she said a mission had been tough, he ended up on the receiving end of a fifteen-minute rant. 'Really? What happened this time.' He tried his best not to sound annoyed, but it was difficult when he felt both physically and emotionally tired.

Flashwing sighed and walked him into the Academy. 'Where do I begin…'

OoOoOoOoOo

Whirlwind poured some apple juice into Barbella's glass. With a nod to show thanks, Barbella picked up the drink and gulped it all down in one go. 'Thanks, Whirlwind.' Said Barbella, wiping her mouth.

'No problem. Always happy to help a friend.' Said Whirlwind. She poured more apple juice into both Barbella's glass and her own and took a sip. 'So, what else happened.'

Barbella downed her drink in one go again. 'She was a little distant throughout the entire thing. You know, wasn't one-hundred percent focused on the mission. Was dazed and daydreamed a lot.' She set her glass down and rested her head on her palm. 'Fortunately, no one got hurt, and Sprocket and I did manage to repair the dam. But hot dang, was it difficult with Flashwing being distracted.'

Whirlwind nodded. 'Do you think it has something to do with her starting a relationship with Bash?'

'Probably.' Shrugged Barbella. 'Although to be honest, this relationship seemed to come out of nowhere. Flashwing would always talk to me and Head Rush about how she's not interested in Bash.'

'She wasn't?' Asked Whirlwind, a quizzical look on her face.

Barbella shook her head. 'She always said that Bash was nice and all, but she saw him as a friend. She liked the attention, but she always felt guilty leading him on like that.'

'Mm…' Nodded Whirlwind. 'I thought that she was on the fence about that. Like, she could date Bash if he were more open about it.'

'She wasn't.' Said Barbella. She grabbed the jug of juice and poured some more into her now empty glass. 'She really didn't want to date Bash, she was just worried about upsetting him. She wanted to remain just friends and was worried about their friendship being affected.'

'Oh.' Said Whirlwind. She took another sip from her glass.

'I wonder if either me or Head Rush should have told Bash about it. If they had cleared up their problem earlier, I think they would have saved a lot of emotional stress.'

She took another sip of her drink and set it on the table. 'I'm not the only one who feels this way too. I talk with Terrafin about it all the time. He says that he feels like Bash just transforms into a different person around Flashwing. And not in a good way.'

'What else did he say?' Asked Whirlwind.

'Nothing, he immediately changed the topic.' She snickered softly. 'You know how he is.'

'Mmm…' Whirlwind picked up her glass and poured the final drops down her throat. 'I can tell that he's concerned though. But I don't blame him. After hearing the insider stories, I'm worried too.'

OoOoOoOoOo

Pop Fizz walked along the halls, whistling while he did so. It had been a low-key day for him, without much drama or difficulty. He went on patrol earlier, then headed back and fooled around with his alchemy set. He headed back to his room, now armed with a new stash of freshly-brewed potions.

But as he walked through the hallways, a strange but familiar smell hit him again. It was the smell of alcohol, strawberries, roses, and chocolate. He looked closer and saw two silhouettes ahead. One was clearly Bash's, and the other he recognized as Flashwing. Muffled small talk came from the two of them, and Pop Fizz could barely make it out.

'So, that's how today went.' Said Flashwing. Pop Fizz felt the smell grow more concentrated with every step forward. It started to grow more familiar as he did, like he had smelled it somewhere before, but he wasn't sure where.

'Wow,' Said Bash half-heartedly. 'I had no idea so much could happen in one mission.' He sounded like he did know, but was too tired to think of any other comments.

'Yeah, it's really awful without you. You really do bring light into my life.' Said Flashwing.

Pop Fizz searched his memories. That smell, it smelled familiar. He knew that he smelled it near Flashwing before, and he thought it was some sort of perfume then. But now that he smelled it again, stronger and more saturated, he began to recognize it as a whole more than its parts.

'Let's see,' He thought. 'Which was it again? Was it in that class in Newspark City? Or was it that shaman in the Radiant Isles?' He racked his brain, trying to figure out where in Skylands he had smelled that smell before.

OoOoOoOoOo

Whirlwind sat beside Pop Fizz the next morning. Across them sat Flashwing and Bash, with Flashwing hovering over Bash like a little girl would her dolls. Whirlwind sighed. 'You know Pop, it's beginning to get kinda bad for the two of them, don't you think?'

'Shhh…' Said Pop Fizz. 'I'm trying to think about where I've smelled that smell before.'

Whirlwind shot him a puzzled look. 'What smell?'

'Oh, right.' Said Pop Fizz. 'I forgot you don't have an alchemist's nose. Since a couple days ago, I keep smelling this strange smell around Flashwing. It was kinda faint, but I could still smell it.' He tapped his claws against the tabletop. 'She said it wasn't perfume or anything, so I thought it was some sort of soap. But the more I smell it, the more it smells like a potion.'

Whirlwind raised a brow. 'What sort of potion?'

Pop Fizz shrugged. 'There are only a few potions I know of that give off scents. One is a perfume potion, but all of the others are emotional poisons.'

'Emotional poisons?'

'Yeah, drinks that affect the emotions. There's a depression potion, an anger potion, a paranoia potion, stuff like that.' He chugged down a flask of soda. 'They usually give off a smell over time if someone drank them without drinking a reversal potion.'

'Oh, I see.' Said Whirlwind, nodding her head. 'What type of smells?'

'Usually what the potion is made of. A depression potion would give off the smell of cheap wine and frozen foods. Anger potion would smell like chili and whiskey. So on.' Said Pop Fizz.

'Oh,' Went Whirlwind. 'So, what do you smell when you're around Flashwing?' She picked up her glass of orange juice and sipped it.

'Mainly strawberries, chocolate, champagne, all that.' Said Pop Fizz. 'I think it might be a love potion, but I'm not sure how she would even get hold of an emotion poison. Let alone drink one.'

Whirlwind stopped drinking her orange juice the moment he said that, having almost choked on it. Love potion? It can't possibly be the answer. Yet it seemed so likely. 'Erm, so, what happens when someone drinks a potion?'

Pop Fizz cleared his throat, making Whirlwind oddly uncomfortable. 'Well, in the beginning, someone would be able to function pretty well under it. But after a while, the full influence of the potion would affect someone, and if someone is left without drinking a reversal potion, they'll be reduced to a shell of what they used to be. Left to feel the only emotion they drank. Love potions can have the effects sped up if they are left without their object of affection.'

Whirlwind looked towards Bash and Flashwing, a sinking feeling crawling up her body. 'Can someone eat an emotion poison?'

'Oh, sure you can if you cook it into some sort of food.' Said Pop Fizz. 'I dunno why someone would want to though. It's a pretty sick thing to do to someone.'

Whirlwind coughed. 'So Pop Fizz, can you test for potions like that?'

'Sure, you just need a sample of the potion. If it's cooked into something, a bit of the food would be fine.'

Whirlwind jumped out of her chair, leaving her breakfast half-finished. 'Where are you going?' Asked Pop Fizz.

'I'm gonna help you get to the bottom of this. And hopefully, fix a mess that we all got ourselves into.'

OoOoOoOoOo

'Hey, Bash? Can I borrow Flashwing for a while?' Asked Whirlwind.

Bash and Flashwing turned around and saw Whirlwind stood there, beaming away. 'Uh, sure thing.' Said Bash, before Flashwing could respond. 'I need to use the bathroom Flashwing. Be right back.' Bash walked off, leaving Flashwing alone with Whirlwind in the halls.

'So, Whirlwind, what do you need me for?' Asked Flashwing, in an icy tone Whirlwind had not heard come out of her in a long time.

'Well, I need to get back the box Bash gave you. You know, the one with the cookies?' Asked Whirlwind. She batted her eyes and smiled sweetly. Intentionally charming others had never been her strong suit, but it was worth a try. Even if the dragon she was charming was a master of the very craft. She crossed her fingers.

Flashwing raised an eyebrow. 'Why?'

'Erm… Well, I…' Her mind buzzed with multiple incomprehensible excuses. Which one could she use? She needed to think of something fast too; Flashwing's confused stare pierced her like a spear, and it was almost as uncomfortable.

'You see… this girl scout that sold me the cookies says that I can get a refill for free, but you have to present the box to get them. I know you love sugar cookies, so can you give me your box for a while?' Asked Whirlwind. She gave Flashwing her most charismatic grin, hoping inside that the excuse worked.

Flashwing nodded and smiled. 'Sure thing. Just follow me.' She turned around and gestured Whirlwind to follow her.

Whirlwind smiled, and although she appeared calm on the outside, she felt like a small weight had been lifted off her heart. The feeling of guilt she once felt was now replaced with a feeling of determination.

OoOoOoOoOo

Flashwing had convinced Bash to spend another day with her doing a mission. Thankfully, because it was a patrol, she didn't have to step in and try to protect him from everything. It didn't stop her from trying. ('Flashwing, it's just a chompy.')

He walked back to his room, emotionally drained. Love was a mess. If it were anyone else, he would have called them out on their nonsense by now, and he knew it. But because it was Flashwing, he couldn't help but bear the pain. But even he had his limits, and before Flashwing could suggest spending another day with each other, he left.

Suddenly, an arm popped out of a storage cupboard and grabbed him. He tried to jerk away, but the owner of the arm was strong. It was an even battle between the two of them, one that the arm's owner won quickly with one quick jerk.

Bash was dragged into the cupboard and landed on the floor face first. When he looked up, he met the faces of Pop Fizz, Whirlwind, and Terrafin. All had worried looks on their faces. Terrafin's brows were furrowed and his overall demeanor indicated stressed. Whirlwind had a more anxious look, full of concern and worry. Even Pop Fizz had a rare serious look on his face, as opposed to his usual goofy look. 'Guys? What's wrong? Why did you bring me here?'

'Bash,' Said Whirlwind. 'We need to talk about you and Flashwing.'

OoOoOoOoOo

Just so you know, I don't have a problem with ships. This is simply playing out a headcanon.

-Tabbyluna