Chapter 10 – Puck

"I'm telling you guys, I can beat that forest!" Rhino said as he tried to defend his pride. "And I'm telling you it's nuts! You have next to no experience using those powers and refuse to listen to any sort of teachings. Then you go ahead and insult everyone who's trying to help. And now you can't even tell that you're heading into one of the most dangerous situations you've ever faced, what happens if you set one of those trees on fire because you couldn't aim your laser eyes, huh?" Mittens ranted as she circled the hamster, "Besides, you can't even get to the ground without help!"

"Yah I can!" Rhino argued, "I'm invulnerable to damage!"

"Actually, you just have bulletproof fur!" Bolt corrected, "The impact on the ground would still kill you." Rhino turned to the dog, and glared angrily. "They're my powers!" Bolt calmly reminded him. "Tch!" Rhino scoffed, and the four inside the room heard and felt the massive EMP that erupted from the forest, sweeping across the field and sky. The Levestone shook as the energy hit it, and dropped several feet before finding itself again. "What was that, such a power to fell the Levestones even for a second?" Icarus asked. "That was Chase's EMP burst!" Bolt called out, and turned to Mittens, her eyes shined with yellow light as the power inside if her worked over time. "Electromagnetism!" she said, "It's so clear to me now!"

"MITTENS!" he shouted, quickly snapping his wife out of the power's grip, "Huh?" she asked as her eyes faded back to green. "Chase is down there!" Bolt told her, "He's the only one who could cause such a powerful burst!"

"Accompanied with that sonic boom, I'd have to say you were right!" she told him, "We have to get down there!" Mittens turned to Icarus, "Would you mind taking us back to the surface?" she asked. "If that is one of your children, then I would be delighted!" the winged man said. "Yes!" Rhino whispered to himself, "I can finally show my awesomeness!"

The smoke cleared up as Chase sat there, breathing heavily as he tried to catch his breath. "KID!" Rumplestiltzkin called out from behind him. "Rumple?" the kit asked, and turned around, finding the goblin running up to him. "Where…?" he asked. "One of Puck's tricks!" the goblin told him, and pointed behind the kit, there lay the elf, face down in the mud as the dirt rained down on him. "I'm not sure how you did that, but somehow, canceled all of the spells that Puck cast to make this forest spread!" Rumplestiltzkin told him, "I can feel it! Even Puck's magic has vanished, at least for now!"

"What about your magic?" Chase asked. "Eh, I wouldn't worry about that!" his friend said, "I kind of ducked under a rock when we were separated, heard the voices of the other magicians as they tried to hunt me down in Puck's illusion!"

"I don't understand!" Chase said. "You don't need to, just remember that if you need anything, just call out my name!" Rumple told him, "I'll be there as quickly as I can!" The two stood there a little, just long enough to watch as the little lights appeared, floating back into the forest from everywhere. "Fireflies?" the kit asked. "Better!" the goblin said, "The fairies of this forest are returning!" They watched a little longer as a few more floated in, filling the trees and bushes with all sorts of lights. "The fairies were forced out of the forest when the Hobgoblins invaded. Puck leading them as he cast spell after spell!" Rumplestiltzkin said as he picked up the offending elf, "But now that his power has faded, they can return home!" Suddenly, a small blue light landed on Chase's nose, and kissed it before tucking itself under his cloak. "Huh?" he asked. "That one likes you, and when a fairy like's you, she will stick with you for life!" Rumple explained, "But be careful, these little ladies come with big tempers!"

"Eheh!" Chase laughed nervously, "I'll keep that in mind!" He then began to run, trying to keep his bearings. "Where are you going?" Rumple asked. "I still have so much to atone for, I need to keep going until I can be forgiven!" he said. "Well, if that's the case, the nearest village is that way! Glows like a lantern, you can't miss it!" Rumple told him as he pointed to the east. Chase simply smiled, and turned, running through the forest. "Heh!" the goblin said happily, "That is one strong kid!"

"Weren't you going to ask his name?" A smooth man's voice asked from behind him. Rumple turned around, spying a short elf like man with large transparent blue butterfly wings, a large white robe and what looked like elk antlers sticking out of the sides of his head before curling around the back like a crown. He stood only two and a half feet tall, though the beauty of his face showed both wisdom, and youth. "Hey there Oberon!" Rumple said and looked back to the sky, a sky the forest hadn't seen in years, "The kid knew my name without me telling him, so the least I can do is return the favor!" Turning back to Oberon, he nodded, "I'll figure out his name! Then we'll be even!"

Bolt, Mittens and Rhino finally made it to the ground, the winged men that brought them gently setting Bolt and Mittens down to the ground, while Icarus stood tall, and dropped the hamster. "Gerrr!" Rhino growled. Icarus smiled mischievously as the ball rolled into the forest. "HA!" Rhino cried as he entered the forest. "Uh! Rhino!" Bolt called out, "I don't feel the enchantment anymore!" Rhino turned back to the dog, "What?" he asked in shock, "AWWWW!" Mittens lifted her paw to her mouth, and chuckled. "But Chase is in there!" Bolt said, "So we're going!" The four of them traveled into the trees, Icarus gazing about in both wonder and fear, until they saw the fairies. His fear disappeared into amazement as they flittered around, almost as if they were repairing their homes. "I don't believe it!" Icarus said, "The Fairies have returned, that could only mean…"

"The forest has returned to its former rulers." they heard from behind them. Icarus turned, and immediately dropped to one knee, bowing his head as Oberon approached them. "King of fairies!" the winged man said. Bolt and Mittens instantly bowed their respects, but Rhino scoffed and turned his head. Icarus, Bolt and Mittens all turned to him in distain, "Forgive him your majesty!" Bolt said, "He means no disrespect!"

"All is forgiven!" Oberon said as he lifted his hand and turned to Icarus, "I see you have brought the parents of our hero!"

"So Chase is here?!" Bolt asked and almost literally jumped to his paws. "No, I am afraid he has moved from out forest, continuing his own path."

"Figures he'd keep running!" Rhino whispered. "What does that mean?" Bolt asked as he turned angrily to his friend. "You've seen him, it's all he does! Run!" Rhino retorted. "You know Rhino? Ever since you figured out that you had my powers, you've been nothing but a jerk!" Bolt nearly growled. "Jerk?" Rhino asked, "How am I a jerk if what I say I say is the truth?"

"My son is not a coward!" Bolt said. "Tch!" Rhino scoffed, "Yah he is! But with good reason, he's not as awesome as Rhino!" Bolt let his anger flare as he watched his hamster friend flex his muscles, trying to look as strong as a hamster could, "You're not as tough as you think you are!" Bolt said angrily, his eyes flashing red a few times. "Yah I am!" Rhino said, "I don't care if these are your powers, I can take them to a level of awesome you never even thought possible!"

"I don't care about being awesome! I just want my family back so we can go home!" Bolt told him. "That's your problem Bolt!" Rhino told him, "You can't see just amazing these powers are! The only thing you've done with them since Nightmare, is play fetch and scratch yourself behind the ear! Well, I'm going to show you how power is really supposed to be used!" With that, Rhino turned attempting to leave, but instead, a large stone pillar rose up, blocking his way, "That's not going to happen Rhino!" Bolt said, getting his hamster friend to turn around. "You wanna get in my way?" Rhino asked. "I'll be in your way until we can fix what happened and get back home!" the dog announced. "I don't want to fix what happened!" Rhino admitted, "Admit it, you're jealous! I've got power now, and you don't!"

"You couldn't even handle Perfect Hero!" Bolt reminded him. "So what?" Rhino said, "I don't need Perfect Hero to beat someone like you!"

"Then let's see you do it!" Bolt said, his eyes changing to red, and staying that way.

End of Chapter 10