A/N: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm slacking. I know. Ultimate Frisbee has been ... EXHAUSTINGPAINFULTIMECONSUMING. (I figured that it needed it's own word to describe how exhausting, painful and time consuming it has been ... O_o) I might be back on my "one update a week" schedule, but only if I don't come home from practice/games feeling like someone shot me. O_O

Review Responses ...

NightSkyWolves: Yeahh ... yuck. xP Thankfully, I have my lovely Archmage Pyromancer brother to help me ... xD

BuBuWinter: Loopy is good x) Completely sleep-deprived-sugar-high-INSANE is so much more fun, however ... XD /midnight

DarkShadowQueen: Ohhhh ... now I get it XD

Thanks very much to my magnificent beta reader, Rebecca Ripple! :D

I began packing for the trip the night before we were going to leave. I set my normal school backpack aside and pulled a much larger bag from my closet. It was a little dusty, and I could still see the scorch marks from when it had been hauled through Dragonspyre, but it was intact and would carry what I needed.

Aside from my Death armor, I packed clothing to be worn in both freezing cold and boiling hot weather, which included my Dragonspyre mask- the one I hadn't touched since my return to Wizard City. As I folded my black hooded cloak, I ran my hand over a slightly darker stain near the middle. It was a bloodstain from when I had touched Brooke's destroyed body after Malistaire had skewered her with his staff. I shivered and set the cloak aside. I decided to bring my other one.

I tossed my notebook and my school work into the backpack as well. If I got a spare moment, it only made sense that I continued to study. The stronger my group and I were, the better off we'd be if Morganthe decided to strike against us. As an afterthought, I also added my spare deck of cards; my favorite deck could easily be damaged, so a spare deck could very possibly save my life.

I paused when I glanced over at the picture of the captives, which was pinned to my bulletin board. I'd asked the Headmaster if I could keep it, and every time I looked at it- Sadie, crying as she sat in a corner, Evan's poor little sister, who had been imprisoned since she was four- a fresh wave of anger surged through my veins. Morganthe was a sick, demented devil; taking young girls, someone's mother and an old man prisoner was not going to help her cause any. She just wanted to cause us all pain. Well, it was working, but not in her favor. The imprisonment of the four only made me want to blow the Umbra Queen into tiny little pieces, not surrender to her.

Next to the photo from Morganthe's fortress was a picture that made me want to cry. It had been taken a few months ago at Sabrina's 18th birthday party. She stood between her two cousins. Chris' arm was thrown over her shoulder, and the Theurgist had her arm around Tyler's waist. All three were laughing. One of them was gone now, and the other two would never be the same. I'd found Sabrina in the Commons the day before, staring down at the same picture- but she'd torn a hole through Chris' face, and splashed white out over Tyler's arm. The Theurgist had been crying. Sabrina was literally falling apart; I was hoping that she'd be okay to go on the quest, but she hadn't looked any better at Chris' funeral, which had been earlier in the day.

I thought of Ceren Nightchant, who was very possibly dying in a hospital bed. I thought of Michelle Spellstone, who had barely survived her surgery, was under 24 hour supervision and needed an oxygen tank to breathe. I thought of Arthas, who still hadn't woken up, and how the curse had affected Moira. The albino had woken the entire house with her screams in the night, and she'd later admitted (albeit extremely reluctantly) that she had horrific nightmares, which Arthas had always kept away. (She refused to say how.) I thought of my mother and remembered the terror, the anguish, the deep, biting pain that had come from the knowledge of her death. I picked up an athame from the table and drove it through Morganthe's face in the picture from her fortress.

"We're going to make her pay. You know that as well as any of us," came a voice from behind me. I turned to look at Luke, who'd been over just about all day.

"Yeah. I know," I sighed. "I'm just- if this is what she's done to our little group-" I waved a hand at the photographs- "... then what has she done to other people? How much destruction has Morganthe caused in Celestia? How much pain did she cause to the people of Avalon when she and her brother turned the king into a monster?" I ran a hand through my hair. "I'm almost afraid to find out, Luke." He came closer, standing beside me and looking at the pictures on the bulletin board.

"So am I, Alex." We were both silent for a moment before he continued. "So, what are we doing once we get to Celestia tomorrow?" I thought carefully.

"We've gotta find the wizards that are still working there. The sooner we meet up with them, the sooner we can start working against Morganthe. The Headmaster says that they were stationed in the Grotto, but after what happened to the four Archmages, they fled. No one knows where they've gone now, and so we'll have to ask around." Luke nodded.

"That sounds good, for a start. Once we find them, we can see what they know about Morganthe's plans, and we can figure out a way to stop her and repair the damage she's done."

"I guess." I zipped my backpack shut and tossed my clothing for the next day onto my chair. "So, I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Bright and early," my boyfriend replied, giving me a wry grin. He kissed me goodnight and teleported back to his house.

-V-

As it turned out, I didn't even need my alarm. I was awake twenty minutes before it went off, and I was dressed and ready to go by 6:25. I grabbed my backpack and cutlass from the floor and called Shadow, my new pet black cat. She had chosen her panther form that morning, and her footsteps echoed loudly throughout the house as she ran down the stairs. I looked around my room one last time before following my pet downstairs.

I wasn't hungry that morning (neither was anyone else, really) but Kestrel forced me to eat a few bites of my bagel.

"If you leave without eating anything, you'll be not only hungry, but also tired within fifteen minutes," she insisted.

As it turned out, it was a good thing I ate breakfast when I did. The other quest members began to show up a few minutes later, and within ten minutes, they were all standing in my entrance hallway- even Luke, who was surprisingly on time (although he looked like he was asleep on his feet.)

Tyler looked as angry as ever, and he had a large backpack slung over his left shoulder, which he balanced precariously by hunching the shoulder upwards. His grip was tight on a glowing gold sword that hung around his waist.

Lionel and Cassie were also there. Evan's younger brother looked no less serious than a few days before, and in contrast, Brooke's sister seemed just as cheerful as she'd been. The surprise addition to the quest group was Ashley's little sister, Tiffany Spellblade. She stood back a few feet from Lionel and Cassie, tightly clutching a small bag and carefully inspecting my floor.

"Are you sure that the three of you are up for this?" I asked, stepping closer to them. "Celestia's dangerous, guys- a lot more dangerous than you think."

"We know," Cassie Swiftriver spoke up. "We know that it's dangerous, Alex, and we know that we might not make it back. Sadie's our friend, though. We've got to help her." The three younger wizards seemed determined to help, so I nodded reluctantly.

"All right, as long as you know the risks and are willing to come of your own free will. What level are you?" My question was mainly out of curiosity, but it would also help determine who they should be working with later on.

"I'm level 46, and I'm a Sorcerer," Lionel informed me.

"I just reached Grandmaster rank last week," Cassie declared proudly, "...and I'm guessing you know what School I am." She giggled and indicated her blanket.

"Level 39 Thaumaturge," Tiffany whispered, glancing up at me for a second before quickly gluing her gaze to the dusty carpet again. I cringed slightly when she said her level. 39? I was allowing a Magus to come into Celestia ... A Magus and a Master. I wasn't so worried about Cassie; after all, Tristan and Chelsea were both Grandmasters, and I was fairly certain that they'd be able to take care of themselves well enough. A Magus and a Master, though ... they'd have to be well protected. I made a mental note to keep the two of them with the strongest wizards in the group.

"Got it. Thanks. So, are we ready to go?" I looked around at my quest group. They all voiced their agreement in one way or another, and so I pushed open the door and stepped outside into the cool air. The sky was getting lighter, but the sun hadn't quite appeared at the horizon yet. We had timed our departure perfectly.

Moira stood by a large black drake in my front yard.

"He's safe in the hospital," she told me in a low voice as I approached. "They promised to take care of him until he wakes up or until we get back." I nodded.

"That's good. You're coming with us, right?"

"Well, duh. I said I was, didn't I?" She gave me a halfhearted eye roll. "Get with the program, Firesong. Let's get out of here."