AN: It's finally here! A non-filler chapter after my extended break! I hope you all enjoyed that holiday special, but now it's time to take a step back and see some actual plot progression! Here we go!

FLIGHT OF THE GENIE I: ALL YOU COULD WISH FOR...

The chilly January air seemed to sink into Sapphire's bones like an icy fist, even through two layers of winter sweaters, her favorite coat and a thick woolen hat. Why did it have to be so cold this time of year? She could deal with the faint breezes and fluffy snowflakes of December, but the start of the year felt just as appealing as a slap to the face.

Steeling her nerves, she waited in annoyance until the bus finally rounded the corner. The students around her shoved forward like a wave crashing against an ocean cliff, each wanting to get out of the bitter air as badly as she did. Eventually each of them managed to squeeze through the narrow doorway into the heated sanctuary.

"You look like you're about to turn into a popsicle," Wally joked as Sapphire found a seat beside him.

"I'm not a huge fan of the cold," the brunette grunted through clenched teeth. "How can you only be wearing that?"

Wally looked down at his grey uniform jacket with a shrug. "I spend enough time feeling sick and cold that I guess I've gotten used to it."

Sapphire felt a bit guilty at that. Wally's immune system was about as strong as tissue paper. Combined with his asthma, the dry winter air was probably even tougher on him than her.

"Enough moping though," the green-haired boy shook his head, "I'm just glad you're around again. It was a pretty boring month without you in school."

"More boring than sitting in a hospital bed at all hours of the day for that long?" Sapphire teased.

Wally considered the question. "I suppose not. And I can say that on good authority."

Sapphire chuckled faintly at that. "So what happened while I was gone? Anything interesting?"

"There was a fight in the lunch room a few weeks back. Some kid decided to trip the guy in front of him in line," Wally smiled. "He didn't realize it was the captain of the wrestling team."

"Sounds like a dangerous move," Sapphire noted. "What about everyone we know? You expect me to believe there was no drama for an entire month?"

"Honestly, it's been pretty quiet. Everyone spent most of their time trying to get their grades up for the end of semester. You've probably got some catching up to do."

"Nah, Crystal made it her mission to keep track of all the assignments and notes that I missed and send them to me," Sapphire shook her head. "She was very...in-depth about it?"

"How bad?" Wally asked, knowing just a little about Crystal's academic habits.

"Every section was color-coded, alphabetized and lettered according to importance," Sapphire sighed. "And apparently that was after she condensed it."

"At least that means you won't fall behind," Wally shuddered as a window near the front of the bus was opened. "Brr, I wish it could just be summer all the time, don't you?"

"If I weren't so cold I would argue with that," Sapphire gritted her teeth, balling her hands up inside her mittens.

"Those are nice," Wally noticed the action. "They look homemade. Did you do that?"

His friend glanced down at said mittens, her gaze resting on the stylized SB stitched into both of them. "Nah, I wasn't quite that desperate for something to do. A friend made these for me."

"That's nice," Wally smiled as the bus pulled up to the school. "Oh hey, we should all meet up at lunch for a sort of welcome-back celebration. Emerald, Ruby and I usually eat together, so how about it?"

Sapphire hesitated as everyone around her stood. "Well...maybe..."

"It'll be great," the green-haired boy smiled. "I'll see you then, okay?"

He joined the line making their way off the vehicle, leaving Sapphire to sit there with her thoughts. More than anything, she wanted to go to Ruby and tell him she forgave him, but something held her back. A vague memory of those moments after the boy had revealed his secret on that roof still gripped her heart. As long as that was there, Sapphire knew that there was no way she would be sitting at that table today.

-X-

The end of winter break had come like a large heavy blanket, seeming to smother the majority of the school's enthusiasm. To Yellow, even the teachers seemed bored and distracted. She watched as Roxanne struggled to lay out a math equation on the board, her thoughts clearly elsewhere.

"And that is the basic format for solving matrices," the young teacher finally informed the class, ignoring the fact that the day's lesson was about imaginary numbers. She continued on airily until the bell rang, dismissing the students quickly.

"I...have no idea what I just learned," she heard Emerald comment as he and Sapphire stepped out of the classroom behind her.

"Me neither," the brunette shook her head dizzily. "Everyone seems really out of it lately."

"It's probably just the whiplash of coming back to school," Emerald speculated. "Well, at least we have lunch now to let it all soak in. Wally, Ruby and I were planning to sit together. Want to join us?"

Sapphire was quiet for a moment, which wasn't like her at all. "You know, I would," the girl quickened her pace and threw an arm around Yellow's shoulder, "but I promised to sit with Yellow and her friends today so we could catch up."

"You di-oof!" Yellow started to question the statement before getting her foot stepped on. "Er, yeah, that's right."

"Alright then," Emerald nodded, "but don't forget about the rest of us. We'll be around." With that, he wandered off.

"What was that about?" Yellow asked as they broke apart. "Are you feeling alright, Sapphire?"

The girl's response was to sigh. "I'm just...not sure I'm ready to face Ruby yet."

"I can't say I'm surprised," Yellow said, remembering back to that night when she had carried a bloodied Sapphire down from the roof. "You know he feels terrible about it though, right?"

"Yeah, it's just..." Sapphire sighed, "every time I think about it, part of me feels as if he's going to do something like that again. I know it's stupid, and that he wouldn't, but it's taking some time to work past that feeling."

Yellow leaned in close. "Can I share a secret with you?"

Her friend nodded. "Of course you can."

"Well you know that Red bit me, which is why that charm Ruby was using didn't work on me," Yellow began, "but what you don't know is that even though doing it saved my life, I was terrified of Red for a long time afterward."

"You were?" Sapphire asked incredulously. "But the two of you are such good friends!"

"You're right, we are, and we were still friends after it happened," Yellow explained, "which Is why I feel like you and Ruby can still be friends as well. We're kinda in the same boat here."

"I never thought about it like that," Sapphire admitted, looking down at her boots. "Hey, this might sound a bit weird, but what did it feel like when he bit you?"

"What did it feel like?" Yellow was sure a tinge of red entered her cheeks. "Well, to be honest, it actually felt really good. Red says that's like a defense mechanism for vampires-their saliva has properties that trick your nerves, so instead of the pain you should be feeling, being bitten is actually a pleasurable experience." Now it was the older girl's turn to take an interest in her shoes, "I can't believe I just said that."

Sapphire laughed at her friend's embarrassment. "Well you're not wrong about it. Almost made it worth being hospitalized over. Almost."

The two reached the lunchroom and split off for a moment so that Sapphire could grab a tray. Yellow made her way over to her usual table and found her friends already there.

"I'm just saying, two weeks seems awfully short for a vacation," Gold was saying through a mouthful of hamburger. "They could have at least given us all of December."

"So your brain would have more time to empty out what little it holds on to?" Crystal jabbed playfully.

"I can remember stuff!" Gold defended. "Name one important thing I've forgotten about."

"You forgot your best friend's birthday because you were too busy building a giant snowman," Crystal rebuffed.

"I...what? I did?" Gold looked confused. "Who are you talking about?"

Silver suddenly became very interested in the ingredient list on his milk carton.

"Sounds like you guys are as chipper as usual," Yellow grinned, sitting down beside Red.

"Trying to be," Blue nodded from a few chairs over, still wearing her large winter coat.

"I don't get why you guys dislike the cold so much," Red nodded to said coat. "It's not even as bad as it was a little while ago."

"Tell that to the girl who just spent a month in a hospital gown," Sapphire chimed in as she returned.

"Welcome back, Sapphire," Blue smiled, patting the seat next to her. "Where's Emerald? Don't you guys usually eat together?"

Sapphire shot an awkward glance at Yellow before shaking her head. "No idea. I haven't seen him."

"Well we're glad to have you here," Crystal said, turning away from her argument with Gold. "Were you able to look through the notes I brought you? I tried to condense things as much as possible without losing important information."

"That twenty page packet you brought me?" Sapphire sweatdropped. "Y-yeah, I read through it all..."

"Excellent!" Crystal nodded. "Then you shouldn't have any trouble, especially since most of your classes are brand-new now."

The group continued to chat like that, asking Sapphire how she had been and comparing their new schedules. Soon enough, Yellow was feeling relaxed, as though things had gone right back to the way they were before the most recent craziness had started.

"Sapphire."

The voice sent ice shooting through Yellow's veins, causing her to shiver violently. She turned slowly, not surprised to find Ruby standing behind her friend. Sapphire, on the other hand, seemed to be frozen stiff.

"Hello Ruby," Blue answered for her. "What are you doing here?"

The beanie-wearing boy shrugged. "I just...wanted to see if she was doing better. Is there something wrong with that?"

"There is when you're the one who messed her up in the first place," Green pointed out. "Along with half the girls in the school."

Yellow didn't want to get involved, but a part of her still felt bad. Ruby had spent the last month trying to right the wrongs he had caused in those first damaging weeks, and slowly people had begun to truly accept him. Unfortunately, some of Sapphire's friends weren't part of that group, most notably Green and Blue.

"I know that I've done some terrible things in the past, but those days are over now. You know that," Ruby said quietly. "I just...hoped I could make things better."

Blue seemed about to respond, but was cut off by Sapphire. "Ruby, I know you're trying to make up for what you did, and I really do appreciate that. You're definitely not that same arrogant guy who first came here, I know that." It took her a few seconds to continue, her voice noticeably choked up now. "But I can't forgive you for the things you did. Not yet. So until then, please stay away from me."

Ruby's expression was that of someone who had just had their hopes totally crushed. He nodded quietly. "Yeah, okay. I understand..."

No further words were exchanged; he simply walked off dejectedly back to the table where Emerald was sitting.

"That couldn't have been an easy thing to say," Blue consoled her friend. "Don't worry though, I'm sure you two will be able to work things out eventually."

"So until then what? Are we going to keep treating the kid like dirt?" Red frowned.

"You should know better than anyone it isn't that easy," Green said. "You fought the guy after all."

"What I fought was a scared kid who didn't want people to think he was a freak," the dark-haired boy shook his head. "He doesn't deserve to have everyone hate him. Take it from someone who knows."

With that, Red too stood up and left.

"I don't get how he can defend that guy so easily," Green huffed. "Yellow, you were there when the two of them fought. You get where we're coming from, right?"

The blonde looked down, shaken by the things her friends had said.

"I don't know," She replied. "I guess that-"

"What in the world is going on out there?" Gold cut in before she could finish. "Guys, check it out."

The group's attention was called to the window where a small crowd had gathered. Through the narrow cracks between bodies, Yellow noticed something which appeared to defy all reasoning.

"That...makes no sense," Crystal marveled. "It was overcast and snowing five minutes ago."

"And now there isn't a flake in sight," Blue finished for her. "Not even on the ground. It's all melted."

Baffled, the group of friends continued to gaze outside, not knowing that this was only the beginning.

-X-

Word of what was happening spread so quickly that it reached Red before the lunch bell even rang. Somehow, inexplicably, the entire city was now as warm and dry as a summer day. There was no sign of the gloomy weather which had bogged Darkwing down for weeks, nor the frigid winds that cut right through any layers of protection one happened to be wearing. If he strained, Red could almost swear there were birds chirping in the distance.

"This isn't normal," he came to the conclusion quickly, sweeping through the hallway.

"What's not?" A faint voice to the side asked. The vampire boy looked over to see a younger man with green hair curled up in an alcove near the window.

"Wally?" Red asked, remembering the boy's name from times Sapphire had mentioned him. "What are you doing down there?"

Wally shrugged, standing up. "I was pretty tired today, so I figured I would sleep through the lunch period. Plus, a couple of kids stole the lunch I made, so there wasn't much point in doing anything else."

Red sighed. He felt bad for Wally, who always seemed to be sick in some way, not to mention a bit of a target for bullies. He didn't have the physique or temperament to fight back, and as such seemed to end up as a personal doormat with alarming regularity.

"So what's all this commotion about then?" Wally asked once more. "Something about things not being normal?"

"You could say that, yeah," Red nodded, gesturing out the window at the scene beyond. "What do you make of that?"

Wally took in the clear sky and green grass in confusion for a moment. "Some sort of adverse effect of climate change, maybe? No, that's stupid." He shrugged. "Well in any case, I'm not complaining. It's nice to see the grass for a change."

"I suppose that's true," Red frowned. "That doesn't make it any less strange. Something unusual is going on here, I can feel it."

"Well good luck figuring it out," Wally yawned as the bell rang. "It seems like weird things always pop up when you're around, Red, so you're the best person to solve whatever...this is."

Red sighed as the boy left. It was true, he had been involved with many of the odd goings-on since his arrival in the city, but was it really that noticeable? Maybe Wally paid more attention to things than he gave him credit for.

The school was buzzing for the rest of the day, with rumors going around like wildfire. If some accounts were to be believed, not only the city, but everything for miles around was totally snow-free. A quiet glance at any Pokegear or the like told a story of baffled meteorologists and terrified newscasters. Against all reasoning, a large portion of the region seemed to be experiencing summer in the middle of winter.

"This stinks of someone using magic," Blue declared as she stood with Red, Green and Yellow in the newly-visible grass outside the campus. "The signs are all over the place; I just can't figure out where they came from."

"So someone magically summoned some good weather?" Green asked. "Honestly, I can't blame them. The last little while hasn't exactly been the most pleasant."

"That's not an excuse," Blue frowned. "There are rules against using magic to manipulate the fundamental aspects of nature. Why do you think you don't see things like this happening more often? It upsets the balance of life for every living thing involved."

"So this is a pretty big deal then?" Yellow clarified.

"Magic communities crack down hard on it," the older girl nodded. "It's a serious offense, even for minors. Whoever is doing this either isn't aware of the consequences or isn't afraid of them. Either way, that makes them dangerous."

"So why is it our concern?" Red asked. "If it's so major wouldn't it be better to leave this to the authorities for once?"

"It's someone in the school, Red," Yellow said quietly. "It has to be. The academy is in the exact center of all of this."

"Precisely," Blue nodded. "You don't really want to see a student or teacher being turned in to the police, do you? What if it's someone we know doing it?"

"In that case, I don't suppose you have some kind of magic spell to find whoever is doing this, do you?" Green asked. "That would definitely make this easier."

Blue shook her head sadly. "That's beyond my skill level without some kind of spellbook, and none of the ones my family owns have anything like that."

"Are you sure?" Yellow asked. "How many of them have you read?"

"All of them."

Red shrugged. "If we're really doing this, I guess we'll just have to wait until something else happens then, huh?"

"Assuming they do anything else," Green agreed. "Blue, if this is someone using magic, how can we catch them? Are there any signs to look for?"

"A spell on this level isn't something you can just snap your fingers to perform. There will be signs-charms or glyphs set up nearby to keep the spell going. Finding those is the first step to finding the person responsible for all of this."

"That shouldn't take long," Red declared. "I can do a quick once-over of the campus tonight."

"I'll help out too," Green said, glancing at his friend. "Together we can get this done in no time."

"I'll do some more digging on the specifics of how they could have pulled this off," Blue decided. "Yellow, would you like to help me with that?"

"Well it's not like I can do much else, so sure," the blonde agreed. "But Blue, what happens if we figure out who's doing all of this? What do we do then?"

"The witch's answer was as icy as the frown she wore. "We stop them. That's what we do."

-X-

"Well this is terrible," Sapphire grumbled as the bus pulled away from the school. "Wearing a coat, only to have it shoot up to eighty degrees. I'm probably going to melt away before we reach the first stop."

"Try not to do it on me then, okay?" Wally chuckled. "If the coat's such a big problem, why not take it off?"

"Because it's too bulky to just carry around," Sapphire replied. "I'd probably drop it in a puddle of mud or something, and then papa would get mad at me for ruining a perfectly good coat."

"That seems a little...extreme, don't you think?" Wally sweatdropped. "Besides, where would you find a mud puddle? In this heat I'm sure they've all dried up by now."

"That's another thing that's bugging me," Sapphire jumped on the comment. "What is up with this heat wave? It seems like it came out of nowhere."

"So earlier you were complaining about it being too cold, and now the tables are turned, huh?" Wally pointed out. "Well it's better than everything being cold all the time. I'm definitely not missing the coughing fits."

"That's cheating," Sapphire muttered with a slight smile. "Using health problems to make me feel bad about griping. Shame on you."

"Hey, can I help it?" Wally laughed. "I wish I wasn't sick all the time; that I was strong like everyone else, but it sure is useful for winning an argument."

Sapphire pretended to pout for a bit, but it was impossible to stay mad at Wally forever. "Sorry I didn't sit with you guys at lunch today, by the way."

"You didn't?" Wally asked. "Well as a matter of fact, I wasn't there either. Guess I was just really tired, so I took a nap instead of eating."

Sapphire was surprised. "Wally, have you eaten anything today?"

"Er..." the boy hesitated. "Well I had a banana this morning..."

"Unbelievable," his friend tsked. "You'd better head straight home and eat something. I'm surprised you haven't keeled over yet!"

"Alright, alright," Wally nodded as the bus rolled to a standstill. "Can't ignore a prescription from Doctor Birch, now can I?"

"You'd better believe it," Sapphire nodded smugly. "Get a move on then."

She watched Wally leave with a sigh. After the drama from that morning, she didn't want to run the risk of putting herself at odds with anyone else. Friends were something she definitely needed right now.

-X-

"We searched the entire campus and the blocks in the surrounding area," Green's voice crackled over the phone. "No signs of any kind of charms or symbols anywhere."

"That makes no sense," Blue frowned in confusion. "You're absolutely sure you checked everywhere?"

"We were as thorough as we could be," Green replied, "and trust me, we both have very good eyes. However your mystery magician is doing this, I don't think it's something we can find lying around."

"Well thanks for trying," Blue said glumly. "We'll let you know if anything comes up on this end." With that, she hung up before turning to Yellow. "Anything?"

The blonde looked up from Blue's computer bleary-eyed. "There are a couple of references to spirits who can alter the weather, but nothing on this scale. Whoever is doing this, they're in a league of their own."

"Tell me about it," Blue moved aside a heavy tome titled "Advanced Aeromancy" which she had borrowed from her father's library. "The more research we do, the more unlikely it seems that a student could be responsible for this."

Yellow hesitated to speak, but she felt there was something she needed to say. "Blue, I know you feel like it's your responsibility to figure this out, but maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to just let the police handle this. They've got a lot more resources than we do, and they're actually trained for this type of thing."

Her friend sighed. "I know, and I'm sure they could do it perfectly well. It's just that...something about this makes me feel like I'm supposed to be involved somehow. Does that make any sense?"

"Not especially," Yellow yawned. "Look, it's been a long night. Maybe we just need a bit of sleep to clear our heads. We can figure this out in the morning, okay?"

"Yeah, alright," Blue sighed dejectedly. "Thanks for your help, in any case."

"That's what friends are for, right?" Yellow smiled, tossing her bag over her shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Right," Blue nodded, watching the girl go. She waited for a few seconds after Yellow was out the door.

Then she turned back and went back to her research."

-X-

For the first time in quite a while, Wally woke up feeling good.

He wasn't sure what it was, but somehow he felt full of energy whereas most mornings saw him feeling drowsy and weak. Maybe it was due to following Sapphire's advice from the night before.

Whatever the case, Wally got up that morning as close to "normal" as he had ever felt. He got ready quickly, making sure to eat something first. If it really was the proper meal from the night before that had him feeling so good, he wasn't going to let it get away. As he prepared to leave, he happened to glance at his inhaler still sitting on his nightstand. Briefly, he considered grabbing it. If something did manage to go wrong today, it could be crucial to have around.

Wally stood there for a few seconds, indecisive. Then slowly, he turned away and walked out the door.

-X-

You're certainly in a good mood today, huh?" Ruby noted as Wally sat down for lunch. The younger boy's tray was laden with a little of everything the cafeteria had to offer, even things he didn't normally like.

"What can I say?" Wally shrugged, biting into a pear, "I just feel like today is meant to be a good one."

"Well no complaints there," Emerald replied to the side, watching his friend go. "Are you sure you can even eat that much though? You might make yourself sick."

"It's alright," Wally gave an odd wink to him, "something tells me I won't be getting sick anytime soon."

Ruby wondered briefly what could have come over his friend, but was interrupted when he noticed a familiar face approaching. Sauntering over with a scowl on his face, Green definitely didn't seem to be in the best of moods.

"Excuse me for a moment," the beanie-wearing boy apologized, standing to meet his senior a short distance away. "I take it there's something you need?"

"You know, you're a crafty one," Green began, his expression icy enough to freeze a Magmortar, "we spent the whole night searching the city, but couldn't find a trace of whatever trick you used to pull this off."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ruby's tone remained level.

"Don't play dumb with me," Green clenched his teeth. "I know you've got access to some magic mojo. Well all of this stuff started right after Sapphire blew you off yesterday. Did you really think I wouldn't notice that little coincidence."

"You think I did all of this?" Ruby asked, gesturing out the window at the clear sky. "First of all, that's so far out of my league it's laughable, and second, what would I have to gain from it?"

"Well if it wasn't you, that's fine," Green said, "but just know that I'm looking into this thing, and if I trace it back to you, the trouble you'll land in is..."

"Leave him alone, will you?" A new voice demanded. Green turned in surprise to find Wally standing there defiantly.

"Kid, this has nothing to do with you," the werewolf boy warned. "Just go sit back down."

"I won't," Wally shook his head. "I'm sick and tired of you guys picking on Ruby without even saying why. You're all just a group of bullies."

In the next few seconds, Green wasn't entirely sure what happened. He took a step to the side and put a hand on Wally's shoulder, prepared to give him a nudge back toward the table. Instead, he felt a hand on his chest briefly before finding himself on the ground twenty feet away.

"What the...?" Ruby seemed just as surprised as he looked at his friend. "Wally, what did you do?"

"I won't stand around and watch it anymore," Wally informed Green. "I wish...I wish all the guys who have ever been mean to Ruby would just disappear!"

Green, to his credit, didn't try to resume the fight. He simply stood up silently and walked away.

Ruby was still trying to process what he'd just witnessed. By all accounts, it seemed as if Wally had just shoved a much larger, heavier boy with enough force to send him across the room. But that was crazy, right?

"Come on Ruby," Wally waved him back toward the table. "And don't worry, none of these people are going to look down on you anymore. I'll make sure of it."

And with that, he turned and went back to the table.

-X-

"So you're trying to tell me that Wally has some kind of super strength?" Red asked incredulously. "We...we're both talking about the same guy, right?"

"I don't understand it either," Green replied over the phone. "All I know is that the kid who could probably be knocked over with a tissue tossed me around like a rag doll with just a touch."

"And you think this is somehow related to whoever is screwing with the weather," Red asked, glancing at the clock. It was getting late, and he had a lot to do for tomorrow. He smiled quickly as his mother wandered in, looking for something.

"I don't know, but did you hear the guy? Wishing someone would just disappear is pretty hostile, even for Wally," Green sounded even more frustrated than he had been moments before. "If I didn't know any better, I would say someone was working magic on him."

"So then we can just talk to him, right?" Red suggested. "I mean, if you're right then he's bound to know who's doing all of this. We get to them through him and make it stop. Simple."

"That's the plan," Green said. "It should be as easy as..." his voice trailed off for a few seconds. "...What in the world?"

Red didn't respond, primarily because he had felt the same thing as his friend; a cold chill which traveled along his entire spine.

"What's going-" Red started to ask, though he never managed to finish. Without so much as a flash, he vanished, letting the phone drop to the ground.

"Red?!" His mother jumped, suddenly frantic. She looked around the room before sweeping up the phone, pressing it to her ear. "Hello? Green? What just happened?"

There was no reply on the other end. It was as though both boys had simply...disappeared.

FIN

Oh man, that was a fun one. It feels good to be writing again for real, and I promise I'll try to get back on a semi-normal schedule with posting. In the meantime, please feel free to review, and drop a few questions while you're at it. I'm sure you've picked up on what's going on, but I hope the true answers will surprise you.

Preview: When people around the city vanish all at once, Blue starts to have her suspicions. With an unlikely ally at her side, she decides to get to the bottom of this mystery once and for all!