Chapter 4: The Mirror of Truth
The whole ship shook again as the massive beast tried to tear it apart.
"GET OFF!" Sky yelled as he struggled with the controls, attempting to throw the massive beast off. "WE'RE A GIANT BALL OF METAL HURTLING THROUGH THE AIR! WHAT PART OF THAT SAYS LUNCH TO YOU!?"
"Maybe it thinks we're a lunchbox," Techna suggested, as the ship shook again.
"Riven, is there any way to shoot it?" Brandon asked.
"Well, I could launch a missile and aim it at ourselves, but I'm pretty sure that will end badly," the magenta-haired soldier answered. "If you want me to shoot it down, you'll have to get it off the owl first".
"Trying, but this thing is stubborn," Sky said through gritted teeth, as the griffin continued its attempt to pry the vessel open. The owl wavered through the air as the crew desperately tried to avoid crashing into the mountainsides.
"The griffin has damaged some of the inner systems, but nothing vital as of yet," Timmy reported. "The propulsion engines are being recalibrated to take the extra weight into account".
"Can you guys handle more bad news?" Riven asked as he studied the radar.
"What now?" Brandon groaned.
"Three more griffins are approaching us," the magenta-haired soldier informed him. "Man, fuck these birds, am I right?"
The ship shook again and Bloom said: "You know, I kinda imagined the worst part about this trip would be the cold".
"It's never that simple when we go anywhere these days," Musa remarked dryly.
"ALRIGHT, HOLD ON!" Sky yelled. "I'M GOING TO TRY SOMETHING CRAZY!"
Brandon immediately jumped into his seat and fastened the seatbelt.
The blond pilot flew up a bit and jerked the steering wheel. The owl began spinning and the centrifugal force ripped the griffin off, leaving a long rift in the side of the vessel.
The fierce animal shook its head as it recuperated, before it emitted a shrill roar as its three pack mates joined up with it.
"Alright, birdy, let's see how you handle this," Riven said as he pushed the trigger. The main gun blazed as it fired at the approaching predators. The griffins scattered to avoid the projectiles, but the griffin that had attacked the ship first was still somewhat dizzy from being hurled off and couldn't evade properly. Bullets tore through hide and muscles, ripping it apart and sending it crashing into the rocky cliffs below.
"It seems such a shame to kill them," Bloom muttered as she heard the griffin's cry being silenced.
"Perhaps, but they give us little choice in the matter," Flora noted. "Do not worry. Griffins are not endangered and the local scavengers will be nourished by their demise".
"I guess that is one way to look at it," the redhead admitted.
"They're attacking again," Brandon noted as the griffins attempted to surround the vessel.
"Crafty ones," Riven mumbled as he pulled the trigger again. "They're good flyers, I'll have to give them that much". Bullets tore through the sky as the enraged predators charged through the air.
"I... I think... I'm going... To be sick..." Musa said weakly as she held her stomach.
"Don't worry. I think I saw some paper bags in the cabinet," Stella said as she unfastened herself and hurried towards said nearby cabinet.
"Stella, that is not a good idea!" Brandon warned her.
One of the griffins dive-bombed the rear of the ship, denting the back end with its massive bulk.
"Dragon's Flame, not again," Sky hissed as he fought to shake the great predator off. He steered the owl around a mountainside, sharply turning in order to fling the griffin off. The force of the turn hurled Stella screaming through the ship. With the sound of tearing metal, the griffin was flung of, still clutching the back hatch of the ship. It crashed into the snowy mountainside and lay still, either dead or knocked out from the impact.
Stella clung to the doorframe that separated the cockpit from the hold, cold air blasting her as she tried to crawl in again.
"HOLD ON!" Brandon yelled as he unfastened his own seatbelt.
As he hurried to assist the Solarian princess, another griffin rammed down into the top of the ship. Cracks formed in the front glass as the griffon's weight dented the owl's hull. The force of the impact knocked Stella's grip loose and she tumbled screaming out of the ship.
Brandon, who had tried to get to her, was first knocked into the ceiling and then smashed into the ship's floor. Several of his teeth fragmented from the impact, four of his ribs were bent out of shape and his jawbone was cracked from the collision.
"DAMMIT!" Sky yelled. "TIMMY, SECURE BRANDON BEFORE HE ALSO FALLS OUT! RIVEN, PUMP THOSE BIRDS FULL OF LEAD!"
As the bespectacled soldier rushed to secure the team captain, the griffin above tore into the ship and the front glass became even more cracked as the metal hull was warped out of shape by the predator's assault.
"WHAT ABOUT STELLA!?" Musa yelled.
"WE CAN'T DO SHIT ABOUT THAT UNTIL THESE BIRDS ARE DONE FOR!" Riven yelled back.
"BRANDON HAS BEEN SECURED!" Timmy loudly reported as he jumped back into his chair.
"RIVEN, GET READY TO SHOOT THE SECOND GRIFFIN!" Sky ordered, before gripping the controls tightly. He turned the ship on the side and flew into the mountainside. The griffin on top of the vessel was caught between the rocks and the hard hull of the ship. It shrieked pitifully as it was torn apart, its wings, skin and bone ground away by the mountain surface. At the same time, Riven aimed the main gun at the other griffin and fired, the bullets piercing its beaked head and ripping it to shreds. Sky jerked the owl away from the mountainside, a mixture of liquefied griffin and melted snow slowly running across the broken glass.
The grotesque sight caused Musa to lose the fight with her stomach and she promptly puked on the ship's floor.
"Okay... That was not awesome. Let's try to not do this again," Techna said as she eyed the gruesome scene with a queasy expression.
"I say we turn back and find Stella as quickly as possible," Flora stated.
"You got it," Sky said quietly as he turned the ship.
...
Fortunately for the transformed blonde, the ship had been rather close to the mountain when she had fallen out. Sure, the fall had still caused her numerous cuts and bruises, not to mention her arm had broken, but she was still alive, if rather cold. After the fall, she had just laid still in the pile of snow that she had tumbled into, the frozen substance soothing her pain while she worked on making her head stop spinning. She slowly forced herself out of the pile, cradling her now useless arm. Her clothes had been torn by the experience and her amphibian skin did little to protect her from the freezing temperatures of the mountain. She found herself unsure of what to do. Surely, the others would come for her. Well, once they were done with the griffins. The Solarian princess really hoped they could handle it.
In the distance, she could hear gunfire and the cry of a griffin was suddenly cut short.
She was very certain that her friends could handle it. She forced herself through the snow, hoping to find some reasonably high spot to stand on before she got frostbite. Hopefully, that would make it easier for her friends to relocate her.
She was shaken out of her thoughts by a growling sound. Slowly, the transformed blonde turned towards the noise.
A griffin was staring at her.
Its wings were broken and bent out of shape from being hurled off the ship and blood trickled from the wounds it had sustained from impacting against the mountainside. But it was not out of commission and its muscles tensed as it eyed a potential meal in Stella.
"Now... Now..." Stella nervously croaked as she backed away. "Let us... Not do something I'm going to regret. I'm sure that... That if you'll behave and... And be a... Be a good griffin, then... Then I could..."
The griffin roared and charged. Stella turned and bolted down the snow-covered mountainside, screaming in panic.
As she tried to put distance between herself and the enraged predator, she tripped over a rock hidden by the snow and began tumbling down the mountainside. She could feel her bones buckle from the impacts and the pain in her arm flared up as she landed on it multiple times. The wind was knocked out of her as she landed on her stomach and began sliding backwards down. She clawed into the earth with her one functional arm, desperately trying to stop her uncontrolled descent. She looked over her shoulder and saw that she was getting closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. In front of her, the griffin, whose clawed feet made it a lot more sure-footed, continued to pursue the princess. Screaming in panic, Stella dug her fingers into the soil, her delicate skin torn by the hard ground. Just as she slid over the edge, she managed to grab a rock and now dangled halfway over the edge. Her eyes widened as the griffin continued its charge.
And then several bullets whizzed through the air, penetrating the griffin's hindquarters and shattered its bones and organs. The animal stumbled and a combination of speed and harm robbed it of all control. It bounced by Stella, snapping at her with its beak as it passed, and fell shrieking down the cliff. It impacted against the rocks at the bottom head first, its skull shattering and its spine splintering as it folded like a harmonica. It was dead seconds after impact.
Stella stared at the broken corpse of the predator, before looking up to see the owl floating closer. It turned in the air and in the broken hole that used to be the hatch stood Riven and Flora ready to assist her.
"Are you okay?" Flora asked as the ship got as close as possible.
"Okay? OKAY!?" Stella yelled. "I WAS ALMOST A GRIFFIN'S LUNCH, I'VE ALMOST FALLEN OF A MOUNTAIN AND I'M STILL A GIANT FROG! GET ME INSIDE THAT SHIP NOW!"
"Well, nice to see that the experience has done nothing to dampen her spirit," Riven dryly commented.
...
Stella winced as Riven and Flora put her arm in a sling, her torn clothes replaced with something that would actually keep her warm. "Is there really, like, no one here who can do healing magic?" she asked the others pleadingly.
"Sorry. I'm still going through the theoretical parts of it," Bloom said apologetically. "If I try to fix you, I will most likely do more harm than good".
"And I'm still too weak to extend my magic to others. So no healing from me either," Riven said with a shrug.
"Oh," Stella said sadly. She turned her head and looked at Brandon, who was lying on a cot attached to the wall. "Is he going to be okay?"
"I think so. His ribs didn't rip anything apart and the jaw thing can be fixed once we get home," Sky said. "He just won't be able to speak for a while".
Brandon gave them all a reassuring thumbs up.
"Alright, we're approaching the coordinates," Timmy reported as he returned to his station. "We'll arrive in about three minutes".
The owl rounded the mountain the artefact site was supposed to be located in and landed on a wide, snow-covered plateau in front of an enormous cave opening. The group left the damaged vehicle through the open back end, with Sky supporting Brandon. As they approached the cave, Musa threw a look back at the ship and shivered at the sight of the lumpy, brown mass that still clung to its dented roof.
The cave was dark and cold, with great stalactites of ice hanging from the roof.
"Be very quiet," Flora whispered. "Too much noise and we risk having those things drop on us".
"Indeed. Let us try to avoid any more bodily harm," Riven agreed.
As the group walked deeper into the dark caves, their way lit up with flashlights, the snow on the floor thinned out, as did the ice above, leaving only rough, rocky floors and walls.
"So, any idea what this mirror thingy looks like?" Techna asked as she looked around.
"The description in the book was of a frozen lake," Timmy replied. "So keep an eye on the floor".
Stella looked around, hoping to find the site as quickly as possible and saw something weird down a little side-tunnel. For just a brief second, she could have sworn she saw her own reflection. That is, a reflection of how she looked before her transformation. Curious, she stepped into the tunnel, trying to see where it led. "Hey, I think I..." Stella said as she turned around to tell the others. "Found... Something..."
Instead of the opening into the main cave, there was now only a smooth surface of ice.
"What the... That wasn't here before," Stella muttered as she touched the cold surface and tried to push it away. The intense cold of the frozen object convinced her that it wasn't merely an illusion.
"HEY! CAN YOU HEAR ME!" she yelled at the icy surface, hoping her friends would respond. She pressed her head against it, trying to hear if there was any sound from the other side . But none came.
The transformed princess sighed sadly, as she pulled her head away from the frozen wall and trudged down the corridor, hoping to find some sort of exit. As she walked, she noticed what seemed like light at the end of the tunnel. She hurried on, hoping that maybe it was a way out. Even if it would be quite cold, she could hopefully walk around the outside of the mountain and meet up with the others again.
But at the end of the hallway lay not an exit, but a room. The light came from a frozen lake in the centre of the floor.
"Could... Could that be it?" Stella asked herself, her voice echoing through the frozen chamber. She hurried to the surface and knelt before it. Though shimmering with light, she could see her reflection quite clearly in its crystalline surface. She remained there, on all fours, staring intensely at the frozen pool of water. "Alright. What now?" she asked as she sat down. "I think I've found it, but how do I get it to work?" She considered it for a moment, before she knocked on the smooth surface, calling: "Hello! Anybody there?! I'd like to, like, become normal again, if it isn't too much to ask for!"
The shimmering ice gave no response.
"COME ON!" Stella yelled in frustration. "HAVEN'T I BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH ALREADY!? WASN'T FLEEING FROM MY OWN HOME ENOUGH!? WASN'T MY DAD TRYING TO ARREST ME ENOUGH!? THE SPIDERS, THE WATER, THE COLD, THE GRIFFINS! WHAT MORE COULD YOU POSSIBLY WANT FROM ME?!"
The only thing that answered her was her own echo.
"FINE!" she yelled at the lake as she jumped up, fists clenched in frustrated anger. "THEN DON'T TRANSFORM ME BACK! SEE IF I CARE! WIZGIZ WILL CHANGE ME BACK IN A FEW MONTHS! YOU'LL SEE!"
If the lake that Stella assumed was the Mirror of Truth had an opinion on the subject, it elected not to share it with her.
Stella just stood there, breathing heavily as she slowly began calming down again. "He'll... He'll transform me back. He will," she said, though she was starting to sound less certain. "I mean, this is not forever right? There's no such thing as an eternal curse". She looked around, as if hoping someone would agree with her. "Right?"
There was no comfort to find in the cold, unchanging walls of the cave.
"Okay... There's Domino," the transformed princess slowly admitted. "But that's just... You know, there's always exceptions". She forced herself to nervously swallow. "But-but I'm not the exception, right?" she asked. "I mean... Who am I even talking to?" She sighed and dumped down on the cold, stone floor. "I... I can't be stuck like this," she said quietly and sadly. "Not as a... As a big, dumb, non-magical frog-person thing. Who would even hang out with something like me? I'm even more useless than I was before. I can't even do any magic in this form and I certainly don't look good anymore. Maybe to an ogre, but even that would be pushing it".
She didn't know how long she sat there in silence, staring at the shimmering lights of the lake.
Then she crawled to the edge of the frozen lake and stared into it. "Please," she begged. "I don't know what you want, but name it. My Dad has already more or less banished me. I don't need to lose my friends too. I don't want to lose them. Or Brandon. So please, just tell me what you want. I mean... I mean, I'm, like, a princess, right? Name your price. Anything. Just... Just don't leave me like this". She felt an intense desire to cry, but her new body was not equipped to do so. "Stupid frog body," she mumbled.
As she continued to stare into the shimmering depths, she thought she saw something. Something in the hues that shimmered around her image. For just the briefest of moments, it looked like blurry images of her friends and boyfriend surrounded her.
"Are you trying to tell me something?" she asked the mirror annoyed. "That people will keep hanging out with me while I'm looking like this. Why? I've lost all my good qualities. I'm no longer royal, pretty or magical. Who would..." She paused for a moment. "Well... I guess I would," she admitted. "I did, with those kids back in Solaria. When I snuck out. But they had other good qualities that I liked". She paused as her initial fear and panic started to fade. "Maybe I do too," she speculated. "But what are they? I'm so used to hearing about how pretty I am and how powerful my magic and family is. What other good qualities do I have?"
The shimmering surface was unresponsive.
"I mean, Bloom said that I was a loyal friend and Techna said I was funny, but still..." she paused. "Okay, so those are good qualities. And Musa did say that I was generous, so... Well..." She paused, furrowing the closest thing she had to brows. "And Flora told me that I was passionate and that she admired that. And Brandon said he liked how I was willing to admit my mistakes". She stared into the surface and sighed: "I guess I am a bit of an idiot though. Thinking my friends and loved ones will abandon me. I guess... I guess after what happened with my father, I got scared. But maybe I shouldn't be. You know what? I don't need you to change me back. And if Wizgiz can't change me back, then I guess that's okay. I'll have to leave Alfea, can't be a fairy without magic, but I'll still be me. I'll still have my friends and my good qualities. Would still like to look like me again, but I guess... I guess those things don't define me". She sighed and stared into the surface again. She chuckled humourlessly as the mirror now reflected how she had looked before the transformation. "Very funny. Yes, I know how I looked. But that's not important. What's important is that my friends and loved ones like me for who I am, not for what I look like. And that's what, like, matters". She felt tears trickle down her cheeks. Her eyes widened. Slowly, she raised a hand, wiped one of the tears off and held it in front of her. The clear fluid hung suspended from the smooth and silky skin of her finger. As she shifted, she could feel her body being dragged down by the clothes that were now way too large for her.
"STELLA!" she could hear Sky call, and she turned to see the others hurry into the frozen chamber, Brandon ready with his sword in one arm and his prince supporting the other. There was a pause as the group eyed Stella and realisation set in.
"I'm... I'm me again," the now once again human Stella said with tears of joy flowing freely from her eyes.
Brandon gave her as happy a smile his broken face would allow.
...
The trip home was filled with cheer and happiness, even if it was done in an almost broken ship that was constantly vented due to the gaping hole in its cargo hold, though it did at least help mask the scent of dead griffin. Due to how late it had become, they ended up landing in a clearing and staying there overnight, before arriving back at Alfea shortly before noon.
"I'm back. And I'm tots normal again," Stella declared as she marched out of the owl, followed by the others.
Faragonda had arrived to greet them, alongside Griselda and Wizgiz. But though the headmistress would normally be overjoyed by Stella's return to human form, her eyes were drawn to the mangled ship, her mouth nothing but a thin line as she stared at it. Finally, she found her voice and asked: "While I am glad you were successful in your endeavour, would you kindly tell me what happened to the ship?"
"Eh, the usual. Some bad weather, some bad animals and a couple of near death experiences," Riven replied.
"Sad thing is, that is actually becoming the usual," Musa commented.
"Deep breaths," Wizgiz advised Faragonda. "They're back, nobody's dead and everyone should be happy".
"I'm going to have to ask SeFogelia to make me some tea," Faragonda finally sighed. "Very well, congratulations are in order. Can I assume you girls will be staying here for the next couple of days until the new school year starts?"
"I think that would be a good idea. Otherwise, at least one of us would get kidnapped before we even manage to get off-world," Techna joked.
"Two years ago, that joke would probably have struck me as hilarious," Bloom commented. "These days, it's more gallows humour than anything else".
...
Less than a week later, a new school year started. Which meant that the hallways were once again suddenly filled with new students who had to be shown the ropes and constantly managed to get lost on their way to the cafeteria. As was quite usual, the new student body was a very mixed group, with people coming in from all corners of the multiverse and all layers of society. Girls and boys of various sapient species mingled as they began interacting with each other.
Stella was making her way through the throng of students, occasionally stopping to give some directions or advice, when she suddenly heard: "Stella? Stella, is that you?"
"Huh?" the blonde emitted as she turned to face the person that had addressed her. Her face lit up in a smile as she joyfully exclaimed: "Nova! How's it going?"
Nova, a friend Stella had first met when she started sneaking out to party, smiled as she recognised her friend. The female elf adjusted a lock of her very light-orange hair as she said: "Well, I got accepted into Alfea, so I'd say things are going well". She cleared her throat and said: "By the way, sorry I couldn't go to your Princess Ball. Family, you know".
"Yeah, I tots know," Stella sighed. "But trust me, like, you were better off not going. I'm almost regretting showing up and it was my Princess Ball".
"Wait, you were there?" Nova asked surprised.
"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Stella asked, also surprised.
"When was the last time you heard something new from Solaria?" Nova asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Ugh, I've been meaning to call my father, but I'm unsure what to say about what happened at the ball," the Solarian blonde replied annoyed. "Why?"
"You better check this out then," her friend said and pulled a Solarian newspaper out of her bag. "Here, it's the front page story".
"Alright, let's see," Stella said as she scanned the page. A picture of her father, who was accompanied by a very tired looking Cassandra and a very joyous Chimera, graced the front page, causing the princess to snort derisively. Then she read aloud: "The internal investigation of the event that transpired at Princess Stella Guildenstern's Princess Ball has finally come to a close and the royal house of Solaria has made an official statement. According to the investigation, a shape-changing infiltrator of unknown species and nationality had misled the princess into thinking the date of the ball had had to be moved and then took her place at the Princess Ball. The powerful surge of magic that was registered was caused by a royal magi, who had managed to see through the ruse, who used a powerful metamagical spell to undo the spell that cloaked the impostor and fooled the king into thinking it was his daughter. Several other agents, disguised as the princess' friends, aided in the impostors getaway. The Solarian police and military are now looking for clues of their whereabouts". Stella took a deep breath and continued reading with ire in her voice. "Countess Cassandra Pollon has expressed her deepest sympathy for the princess, who was very shocked to hear of these events. She has even revealed that the shock of the events have been so hard on the royal heir that they seriously considered sending her into therapy at Sunny Soul on the planet Harmony, though nothing is set in stone yet". It took all of Stella's willpower to just hand the newspaper back and not burn it to ash. "What a nice way to say, 'Stay away or we'll have you committed'," she grumbled. "What is going on back home?"
"You seem to disagree with the official story," Nova noted.
"Yes. Because as I said, I was tots there. I was transformed in the middle of the ball and, like, I'm pretty sure somebody hijacked my father's brain," Stella replied. "I had to go through so much trouble to go back to my old self. None of this makes sense".
"So... Who did it then?" the orange-haired girl asked.
Stella eyed the smug grin of Chimera on the front of the newspaper. "I have my suspicions," she commented. She looked through the crowd of arriving students and noticed a familiar face. "Anyway, let's meet up again later, Nova. I totally look forward to catching up on what's been happening," Stella said as she left.
"Likewise," her friend replied.
Stella made her way through the crowd and called: "Hey, Aisha! Aisha!"
"Huh. What?" the brunette asked as she was ripped out of her thoughts. "Oh, it's you Stella".
"Hey, I haven't seen or heard from you since we met up with Bloom back on Harmony," Stella said as she walked up to the princess of Tides. "How have things been going?"
"Well, not good. Not good at all," Aisha admitted. "But first I'd like to apologise for not attending your Princess Ball and for not properly cancelling my participation".
"Trust me, it wouldn't have been, like, worth the trip," Stella remarked. "But what's been happening? You look tots drained".
"Well, I am rather tired. I was lucky I was even able to attend this year," the brunette replied. "Have you heard what's been happening on Andros lately?"
"I'm starting to feel like I'm falling behind on the news," the blonde commented. "But to answer your question, no. Recent events have caused me to fall, like, a bit out of the loop".
"Look, I gotta go get my things to my room, but..." Aisha began. "I'd like to talk with you and the others. Later, that is. I think that would be good".
...
"Everyone, please quiet down," Faragonda said, motioning with her hands. The chatter that had filled the hall with noise slowly died down. "Now, I'd like to welcome all of you to the Alfea Institute of Fairy Magic. I hope all of you will have many a pleasant year to come. To ensure this, there's a couple of rules..."
"Yep. Same thing as last year," Musa quietly whispered to Bloom as the headmistress gave her usual speech.
"I hear Saladin tots does this a lot too," Stella quietly commented. "You know, like, uses the same speech over and over".
"Well, it's not a bad speech," Bloom argued. "I mean, don't fix what isn't broken".
"I would agree, except I have to hear her say the same speech every year until I graduate," Musa pointed out.
"According to Flora, Griffin always opens up with a bit of a comedy routine. And she changes it every year," Stella said. "It has done wonders to make sure returning students attend".
"I can imagine," the black-haired musician stated.
"So, what was it you wanted to talk with us about?" Bloom asked. "Besides you criticism of Faragonda's speech".
"First off, I ran into an old friend of mine from Solaria," the blonde princess explained. "And she told me that my father has declared that an impostor showed up to my Princess Ball and that I've been at Alfea all this time".
"Strange. I assume he never asked you what happened," Musa said.
"No he didn't," Stella replied. "And there was also a very subtle hint in that statement that they would, like, throw me in a straitjacket if I come home".
"Well, that's rather extreme," Bloom commented with a raised eyebrow.
"I also ran into Aisha," the blonde princess continued. "Apparently, there's been loads of trouble on her homeworld as well. Didn't feel like sharing at the moment, but she said that she wanted to talk with us later".
"Spirits above and below, what's been going on lately?" Musa muttered. "Who flipped the let's go crazy switch?"
"...concludes the introductions. I am sure you will get better acquainted in the coming year. Dismissed," the headmistress finished, and the flock of students immediately dissolved into a noisy mass of chatting teens.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Bloom admitted as they left the room. "Isn't this how it usually starts? With weird events that seem strange and inexplicable?"
"Let's not get paranoid," Musa advised. "These may just be small and unrelated incidents".
"I guess we'll find out once we gather the others," Stella said.
...
"So, you wanted to talk with us," Bloom said, after she and the rest of her clustermates had gathered in the common room.
"Yes," Aisha, who was sitting in one of the big chairs, replied. "I think... I think you all deserve to know what happened. Tides and many other countries more or less shut down as we went into a state of emergency. My parents were seriously considering holding me back a year just so that I could remain safe at the castle".
"Okay. So what could warrant such a reaction?" Musa asked.
"For many days, I didn't know. It was kept between my father and the highest ranking people of the country," the brunette explained. "But a couple of days ago, they could confirm the situation. A prisoner had escaped Omega".
Techna whistled and said: "Must have taken some serious skills. One does not simply walk out of Omega. How did he or she do it?"
"We're still not sure about that part," Aisha admitted. "But given where he appeared, it would seem he managed to force the gateway between Andros and Omega open. Which would mean he's a very skilled magi".
"So who is this criminal and why does his escape warrant such measures?" Flora asked. "I assume that it is not just a question of recapturing him?"
"Indeed. I did get a name though and when I looked up info on him, I understood why," Aisha replied gravely. "That prisoner is none other than Valtor".
Stella, Flora and Musa exchanged shocked glances.
"Should that name mean anything to me?" Bloom asked.
"Beats me. Does the guy have a last name?" Techna asked.
"Valtor is one of the most notorious criminals of the last couple of decades, forever sentenced to Omega," Flora explained. "A powerful magi who allied himself with the Ancestral Witches".
"Pshaw, lots of people did that," Techna said dismissively. "Come on, what did he do that was bad enough for people to decide that eternity was the best sentence?"
The other girls exchanged glances, then looked at Bloom.
The redhead lifted an eyebrow and asked: "Should I feel nervous now?"
"The thing is..." Musa began. "Valtor was a noble of Domino. Until he... Well, until he betrayed the country".
"He, like, sold out your kingdom and it's his fault that it's tots a barren freezer now," Stella added. "Some even say that he, like, helped design the curse that keeps Domino like this".
"Okay... That's bad," Bloom agreed. "And he's loose?"
"More than just loose," Aisha said while shaking her head. "He's been using his powers to brainwash several merfolk into serving him. They now follow his every command. By now he has gained a small army. Even worse, he responded to the latest attempt at recapturing him by kidnapping the queen of Jezero. He let some of his controlled minions go to warn us that if we attempted to stop him, we would suffer the consequences".
"Stop him from what, exactly?" Flora asked.
"Nobody's sure yet," the princess of Tides admitted. "So far, he has made no demands but to be left alone".
"Well, what did the guy want when he joined up with the big bad AW?" Techna asked.
"Nobody knows. He revealed nothing in court. He just warned people that he would eventually get out," Musa said. "Seems like he was right".
"That's it? No artefacts, no world domination?" Techna asked. "He just wants to be left alone? Kind of a step down from what we've been seeing these last couple of years".
"Please don't remind me," Bloom requested.
"Well, he wants to be left alone for now at least," Flora stated. "But unless all he truly wants is to be away from Omega, it is likely that he intends to do something. And his previous actions could easily lead one to suspect that what he intends to do will not be legal. It is, of course, hard to say with so little known of the man's motives".
"Well, I suppose as long as Alfea doesn't have anything he wants, we should be safe," Stella said.
"Yeah. I'd prefer... Not to... Get..." Bloom said, suddenly feeling dizzy.
"Hey, are you okay, Firetop?" Techna asked, her voice sounding distorted and far away to the redhead.
"Yeah, I... Just need... To sit for..." the redhead groggily mumbled as she dumped down into the sofa.
Everything became dark for a second.
Then a bright light exploded before the Dominian princess.
Bloom raised a hand to protect herself, before she realised whom the shiny figure in front of her was. "Daphne? Is that you?"
"Yes, Bloom," came the melodious sound of her undead older sister. "I have an important request to make of you, Bloom. I need you and your friends to go to Lake Roccaluce as quickly as possible. I will meet you there".
And then Bloom awoke again.
"She is waking up," Flora, who had apparently been measuring her pulse, stated. "Bloom, have you been getting enough sleep and water lately?"
"Yes, I was... I was just contacted by Daphne," Bloom said as she righted herself. "She wants to see me. Right now. At Lake Roccaluce".
"Strange. I mean, couldn't she just have said whatever she wanted to say while she was hijacking your brainwaves?" Techna asked.
"Apparently not," the redhead sighed as she got up. "And she wants me to bring all of you too. I'll be taking the next bus, so if you want to come along, you better get your shoes on".
...
It was but a couple of hours later that the girls reached the great Lake Roccaluce. The sun was slowly setting and the sky was becoming a fiery orange.
The fairies exchanged glances. Bloom took a deep breath and stepped out into the waters. "DAPHNE!" she called. "I'M HERE!"
A shimmering light manifested beneath the surface of the lake and seconds later, Daphne's shiny ghost rose above the waters. "Bloom," she started. "My apologies for the abrupt interruption. But I had to reach you as soon as possible".
"It's okay. Though it was rather sudden," the redhead replied. "It's been a while".
"Indeed. Sadly, my many attempts to communicate with you in your first year left me quite drained," Daphne replied. "I haven't spent as much time with you as I should have, but such matters are out of my hands". Her expression became one of sadness as she said: "Bloom. I have a very important thing to ask of you. And I am afraid it is not going to be without risk or danger".
"Okay," Bloom said slowly. "What is it?"
Daphne led her gaze wander from Bloom to each of her friends. "What I ask of you, I do not ask lightly," she continued. "And I will accept if you choose to refuse. I will understand". She looked Bloom dead in the eye. "I need you to assist me in stopping Valtor".
"What?" the redhead asked flatly.
"By Valtor, you do mean that recently escaped traitor who've managed to help deep freeze an entire kingdom and escaped a prison planet, right?" Musa asked. "Because I hope you realise that stopping him will be a rather tall order".
"Indeed. At this point, all nearby realms have invested large amounts of resources in containing and recapturing him. What do we have to offer in comparison?" Flora asked.
"There's... A lot I can't tell you. Not yet," Daphne said with a crestfallen expression. "It's still too fresh for me. And there are other reasons and circumstances that I must keep in mind. But I would not expect you to go if I did not believe you could stop him. Because he must be stopped. And what you have that all the other realms don't have is Bloom".
"Me?" Bloom asked surprised. "Okay, no, what? Why am I so special?"
"You can bring him this," Daphne said and lifted her hand. The water bubbled and a shiny, golden butterfly mask broke through the surface and floated over to Bloom. "This is my very own mask," the ghostly nymph explained. "It was placed in the lake after my death in honour of my memory. Like the lake and our castle in Domino, it has a deep connection to me. Bring this mask to Valtor and I will be able to manifest through it".
"So we're going to be the delivery service. And, like, nothing more?" Stella asked.
"If everything goes well, all that will be needed to stop him will be to bring him this," Daphne confirmed. "If you refuse, I will try to find another way. But I have precious few to turn to who has your qualities, Bloom".
"I... I accept," Bloom sighed while running her fingers through her hair. "It's not going to be easy. Faragonda will have me locked up if I suggest going off on a mission like that".
"Many thanks. In that case, I will leave the rest to you. Best of luck, little sister," Daphne said as she sunk beneath the waters again.
Bloom waded back to the lakeside and looked at the others.
"I would just like to start off by saying that this is crazy," Flora commented. "And I am not comfortable doing something like this while your sister is being so vague. There are a lot of details she left out that I think we should know".
"Yeah. I realise that," the redhead sighed.
"Well, you went with me to the Mirror, so I guess it would only be fair if I helped you out with this," Stella said.
"And I need to protect my kingdom. If your sister has the means to do so, it is my duty to assist," Aisha offered.
"And I think that if we can put an end to all of this craziness before the school year properly kicks in, that would be nice," Musa said. "So yeah, I'll help".
"I will repeat that I feel we are less informed than we should be, but I doubt Daphne has lied to us in regards to what information she did choose to reveal. If this mask can indeed stop Valtor, I think it is worth a shot," Flora said. "Though I do question why she felt she could only trust us with it. I hope we will eventually get an explanation for that".
Everyone turned to look at Techna.
"Do I even need a reason to come along?" she asked with a smile. "So, looks like we got ourselves another quest. Go to Andros, deliver mask and save the day".
"Somehow, I doubt it will be that simple," Bloom commented as she eyed the mask. Despite having spent years beneath the surface, it still looked new. Somehow, that made the redhead feel a bit hopeful.