A/N: I'm very sorry for the long wait. Now that I've got my updating schedule planned out, I should be able to keep on track. Unfortunately, however, this story is not my top priority at the moment, so it will only be updated once a month, at least for a while. To those of you who reviewed, here are the answers to your questions:

DeathySophia: Her name was originally Luna, but I changed it while rewriting The Destiny of Fire's Song.

Scarletfireblaze: Thanks for pointing out those errors! I made sure to edit those and I reposted the chapter. To clarify, Sadie was saying that she would keep the flower Heather gave to her if Heather kept the flower that Sadie gave her. (Yeah, I can see how that's confusing … O_O It sounded a lot better in my head.)

Thankfully, Nolan had gotten Heather's whisper and was waiting just outside the Girls' Dorm Tower, leaning up against the side of the tall stone structure with his hands in his pockets. He looked over when Heather stepped outside, and he grinned, waving to her. She gave him a small wave in return.

"What's up? You said you needed to talk?" Nolan asked.

"Yeah … Nolan, I'm going on a quest with Alexandra." He frowned.

"Does this have to do with the accident a few days ago?" The older Conjurer wanted to know. Heather nodded.

"Some g-girl named M-Moira was working with M-Malistiare, and she's causing a lot of t-t-trouble for Alex. I have to help her s-sort it out; I p-promised I would."

"So … what's it got to do with me? Do you want me to come along?"

"Actually … I n-need you to stay here and t-take care of S-Sadie. I have n-no idea how long we'll b-be gone. It could b-be weeks, it could be m-months. The little th-thing Moira's d-done might be part of a much b-bigger plot, one that could th-threaten all of the S-Spiral if we don't put a stop to it. Can you help Sadie out while I'm g-gone? P-please?" Nolan hesitated, and he finally nodded.

"If you need me to stay here, I'll stay here. Trust me; nothing will happen to Sadie as long as I'm taking care of her." Heather smiled.

"Th-thank you so m-much, Nolan. You have n-no idea how much this m-means to m-me." He grinned, but the grin quickly faded to a look of concern. He hugged her tightly.

"Keep yourself safe, okay?"

"I'll do my b-best," the girl Conjurer laughed nervously. "Bye, Nolan." She mounted her chestnut pony and galloped away to the Commons, where Alexandra and the others would be waiting.

-V-

Iris galloped through the Commons, her hooves clattering on the stone pathway as she ran. Heather called warnings to anyone in the way, and they quickly backed out of her path. Holly poked her head out of her owner's backpack, howling loud enough to be heard over the sound of Iris's hoof beats.

"Holly, hush!" The Conjurer scolded, turning just slightly in her saddle to frown at the orthrus. She pulled hard on her pony's reins as she reached the Rainbow Bridge, where Alexandra was waiting under a tree. The Necromancer's arms were crossed, and she'd pulled the brim of her hat low over her eyes. Her cutlass hung at her waist, her athame sheath was strapped to her forearm, and she carried a black and red backpack.

"I heard you coming," Alexandra informed her.

"Sorry about th-that; I'm n-not sure why Holly w-was howling." The Conjurer shrugged apologetically. "Are the others on their way?"

"Yeah. Brooke and Donna just sent me a whisper; they're leaving their dorm now. Destiny had to stop by the Life School first, Erica's coming from Colossus Boulevard and Evan is-"

"Here," the Pyromancer interrupted, riding up behind them on his nightflame pegasus.

"Ashley said that she has some work to finish first, but she'll meet us on Unicorn Way." After that, Alexandra didn't say another word until Brooke and Donna arrived.

"We're here!" Donna sang, still attempting to cheer everyone up. Brooke glanced at Evan and gave him a faint smile, and then waved to Alexandra.

"Where are we going first?" She asked.

"Unicorn Way."

The street was nearly deserted when the group arrived. The place was beautiful, warm and inviting as usual, but there was something funny about it on that particular day, and Heather couldn't quite put her finger on it. As they rode silently past the field of flowers, Heather stared down at the patch she and Sadie had sat in just the day before, wondering what had happened to that peace. Sadie was still safe in Ravenwood, at least, and Nolan was going to take care of her. The young Conjurer knew, though, that there was a chance that she would never come home, and even if she did, things would be drastically different- especially if this quest was going to go as far as she thought it might. Just then, it clicked; the reason Unicorn Way felt so strange was the lack of birdsong; they were all absolutely silent.

A shrill scream pierced the silent air. "It came from that tower," Alex hissed, pointing just across the street. We rode towards the tower, and the Necromancer dismounted before Bat had even come to a stop. She drew her cutlass and raced inside. Heather clutched her staff tightly, tried to calm down her racing heartbeat, and followed her friend inside.

A young girl dressed in scarlet and black was standing with her back to a wall, staring at the glowing apparition in front of her with terrified eyes.

"Blackhope! Get over here, now," Alex shouted, clenching her free fist. The blue ghost turned her head all the way around to stare at us, and then she smirked.

"You are not he who gives me orders," she hissed softly, floating back and forth in front of the girl. "What do you want?"

"Blackhope, I believe I told you to leave that girl alone," the Necromancer snapped. Her eyes flashed when the ghost began to laugh.

"You have no power over me any longer, girl! It is Lady Blackhope that you look upon, the ruler of Unicorn Way! You have threatened me, and now you will not leave this tower alive!"

Alexandra, Donna, Destiny and Ashley entered the dueling circle opposite Blackhope and a skeletal pirate. Immediately, the ghost cast a centaur on her former owner.

"You've learned to cheat, I see; that's a tactic used by cowards with no self-confidence," Alex taunted, practically spitting the words at Blackhope, who only grinned wider.

"It is also used by those who are strong, and wish to make use of their power," she laughed. Unfortunately for the ghost, four Legendary wizards were more than a match for a ghost and a pirate. They fell in a single round, and Alexandra stared blankly at the lump of dust that had once been her pet.

"She was completely against me," the Necromancer said incredulously. "She was ready to kill me!"

"Well, duh, that's all that Undead do," the girl we'd rescued said, as though it was obvious. "Necromancers, too, but thanks, I guess." She sounded reluctant to be speaking to Alexandra, and was inching towards the door as she spoke.

"You're welcome … I guess," Ashley retorted sarcastically. "We'll try to be a bit more careful who we choose to fight next time we're saving your life."

"There won't be a 'next time.' I'm going back to Ravenwood, and I'm not leaving until it's safe to come out again." She sniffed and disappeared in a cloud of sparks. Brooke glanced at Heather, who simply shrugged.

"So, back to our search, then?"