Will took Caleb to the ground and detransformed while the poor boy sighed, blushing when Taranee and Irma grabbed either side of him; hugging him close as they squealed, "What do the mother slugs eat?"

"Fresh fruit?" Will slid the heart under the zipper of her coat, unable to acheive even an uneasy laugh at Irma's poor quip. "Or maybe a nice salad?"

Caleb scratched his head; obviously unsure of how to deal with the girls' comfort-seeking hug. She knew she'd hae to call in 'Gaea' eventually, and soaked in the precious moments until then. "Um.. She's more of a people-person.."

"WILL! WE NEED CORNELIA!" So much for precious moments.. Caleb's admittance was hardly a memory forever, but she only glared at Hay Lin and snatched the phone out of the Chinese girl's waving hand, fully aware of everyone watching as she punched into the saved numbers.

...

"Her mom says she hasn't seen her." It was getting dark now, and Cornelia was yet to be found as she'd evidently turned off her mobile, and hadn't been home. Will handed Hay Lin back the phone and Caleb watched the shadows, wondering if there was any possibility of Cornelia having also been attacked.. Without anyone to save her.

Hay Lin slipped the phone into her pocket and shivered, before Caleb found himself smiling at the mystically disappearing breeze. "What if those sluggy things have found her!"

Caleb sighed, shuffling his feet slightly at the prospect of revealing to Hay Lin how big a possibility it was. He knew it was selfish, but he found himself looking down at the road when Will's eyes searched his for answers, "Hay Lin, I'm sure she's just-"

"Not at the juice-bar. Not at the mall." Caleb kept his head bowed as he looked to Will, who's entire form slumped. Hay Lin had told him how she'd 'freaked' last time they'd thought they'd lost Cornelia, and he knew that if Cornelia Hale was missing, the 'Browns' would be noticed far more quickly.. They couldn't afford to lose her.

The ground quivered and Caleb frowned at the slight unsettling of dirt and water displacement in puddles.. It was coming. "Um.. Will.. We may not have found Cornelia.. But I think we found momma.."

The ground's rattling increased, and Caleb's eyes flashed over the scene of four transfixed girls, as one by one the streetlamps flickered off. He pushed Taranee back and took limber steps to the others as the ground cracked, pulling and practically throwing Irma in the opposing direction of the road's growing hill-shape, grabbing the wrists of Hay Lin, who instantly looked at him and Will, who almost seemed to refuse his pull - her legs fixed squarely on the curb's edge as her big brown eyes grew larger.. "Will!"

Hay Lin's voice seemed to awaken her from her trance, and Caleb yanked the smaller of the girls away from the green, orange-speckled, slimy skin that he presumed to be the mother mudslug. He doubted Cornelia would've had a chance untransformed..

...

Cornelia Hale watched the clouds slowly creep across a royal blue sky, with her own baby-blues. A soft melody snaked it's way into her ears as she hugged the knees closer against the chill of the early-spring night. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that she was here, and it wasn't fair that she had to fight evil, and it wasn't fair that she never even really got a choice. It wasn't fair for any of them, but Cornelia swore she'd rather be worried sick about her missing friend, with no idea of the worlds of magic, than stuck here with Alchemy's tabby occasionally patting it's paws on her skirt as a request for stroking, and a hole in her heart as guilt eroded her: consuming all her wants and aspirations to make room for fear and despair. Will didn't know. Will wasn't even Elyon's friend, so she couldn't possibly understand. As much as Cornelia knew it wasn't Will's fault, it remained that Will didn't understand.