Chapter 14 – Homecoming
Warren nestled himself atop a small platform within the compartment of the plane's landing gear, and remained stationary as the plane taxied around the airport. Situated on Warren's back, Kendra peered down the open compartment of the landing gear and could see the tarmac drifting by beneath them.
Although it initially didn't appear to be going very fast, the speed of the plane kept increasing. Kendra watched as the landing gear began to rise above the runway, along with the rest of the plane, which had ultimately taken off and was ascending into the air. Looking downwards, Kendra and Warren gazed at the view of the land below shrinking into the distance, until the landing gear automatically retreated back into its compartment and the hatch closed.
From where they were perched, Warren and Kendra were safe from being squashed by the landing gear as it folded up within the compartment. Warren looked confused, turning his head back and forth while squawking.
"Warren," asked Kendra, "what's… Oh, right, it's too dark for you!"
Kendra reached into Warren's bag and withdrew an electric lantern, which was switched on, illuminating their area of the landing gear compartment. With the area lit up, Warren let out a relieved caw.
No matter how they looked at it, the ride back to the United States was going to be incredibly long and boring. Problem was, there was no real way for them to pass the time. They were trapped inside a small compartment on an airplane that was not designed for any passengers.
Kendra couldn't talk to Warren as long as he was a falcon, giving them little to do in order to pass the time. Taking a nap would at least pass some time, but the plane made a loud humming noise that was impossible to ignore, so neither of them would have an easy time falling asleep.
Fresh out of ideas, Kendra called for Bright and Clover to appear.
"WHERE ARE WE?" asked Bright, trying to blank out the noise of the airplane from her talking.
"On a plane to the States!" replied Kendra. "We're inside the landing gear compartment! We've gotta endure this trip!"
"NOT VERY PLEASANT!" noted Clover. "WANT US TO PUT YOU TO SLEEP? JUST TELL US HOW LONG!"
"Um," said Kendra. "I'm not sure! Maybe until that hatch down there opens up!" She pointed down to the hatch at the bottom of the compartment. "I know that you want to conserve magic, Warren, but this is worth it!"
Warren nodded in agreement.
"WE'D PREFER IF YOU'D TELL US IN HOURS, BUT THIS'LL WORK TOO!" exclaimed Bright, as she waved her hands at the hatch, releasing rainbow-colored sparkles into the air. Likewise, Clover enchanted Kendra and Warren with her green sparkles, which suddenly made them feel drowsy.
"I'm so sleepy now," said Kendra, whose eyelids felt like they were made of iron.
"See you later," said Bright, as she and Clover disappeared. Within mere seconds, both Kendra and Warren had fallen fast asleep.
Sometime later, Kendra woke up, feeling very refreshed. She looked over at Warren, who was also waking up as well. Kendra stood up and walked over to the edge of the platform, staring down at the now-open hatch beneath her.
"Whoa!" gasped Kendra. "Warren, we're almost there!"
Warren stood next to Kendra and looked down the hatch as well. Together, they could see the ground getting closer and closer, until the plane finally hit the runway. Tires screeched along the runway with immense force, causing Kendra and Warren to shake around uncontrollably, until the plane slowed down and eventually came to a complete stop.
"Well," said Kendra. "This is it."
Warren nodded and bent down, allowing Kendra to climb onto his back. He then stood up, stretched his wings, and hopped down onto the landing gear proper. From atop the tire, Warren flew out from underneath the enormous aircraft, and up into the air, to where they could see most of the airport.
"Warren!" exclaimed Kendra. "This is JFK Airport! I recognize those buildings!"
Warren nodded in agreement.
"We're in New York! You know the way back to Fablehaven from here?"
Warren nodded a second time, and began to soar off in a northbound direction.
Kendra was truly relieved. She had lost track of time, but at long last, they were finally going to get back home. She and Warren had lost contact with the others, and would've alerted them sooner, but they still managed to make it back in one piece.
Darkness fell once more, but within less than two hours, Warren and Kendra had finally reached the perimeter of Fablehaven. Warren flew across the preserve, giving Kendra a rarely-seen bird's eye view of the place. Soon the yard came into view, where the lights in the mansion were on in just about every room. Warren swooped down from the air and fluttered by the front door. He rang the doorbell with his beak before landing on the doormat.
Kendra and Warren waited a moment, looking up at the motionless door. "Why aren't they answering? I mean, it's no secret that someone's home now."
Warren shrugged.
"Maybe you should ring the doorbell again. In case they didn't notice us."
Before Warren could oblige, the front door creaked open, and Dale emerged, grasping a shotgun in his hands. Kendra and Warren's jaws both dropped at the sight, as Dale looked down at them.
"It's a… bird," said Dale confusedly.
"DALE!" yelled Kendra at the top of her lungs, flailing her arms around.
"KENDRA?" gasped Dale, dropping his shotgun to the ground.
"Kendra?" called several adult voices from the other room.
"It IS Kendra!" exclaimed Dale, taking a closer look at her.
The rest of Kendra's friends and family poured out of the front door and crowded around her and Warren, surprised to see them alive.
"Kendra," asked Mrs. Sorenson nervously, tears dripping from her eyes, "are you all right?"
"Where's Warren?" asked Dale.
The falcon responded by lifting up his wings.
"That reminds me," said Kendra. "Bright! Clover! Turn Warren back to normal!"
The two fairies both appeared and unleashed their magical powers onto Warren, restoring him back into a human.
"They're back!" cheered Grandma. "They're both back safe and sound!"
"Nice to see you, little brother," chuckled Dale.
"Is this how you greet people?" asked Warren, examining his own human body in relief. "Just kidding. It's great to see you again, bro!"
"Tell us everything," said Grandpa, as he lowered his hands for Kendra and Warren to climb onto and lifted them up, as everyone returned to the house.
"You're never going to believe our story," said Kendra.
"Could we get something to eat first?" asked Warren. "We're starved!"
"Absolutely," said Mrs. Sorenson. "After what you went through, you deserve to have anything you want. We don't have much food ready for you at the moment, but we'll be glad to cook something up."
Grandpa placed Kendra and Warren down on the coffee table in the living room, while everyone else sat either in chairs or on a sofa. Mr. and Mrs. Sorenson placed their hands out and both gave Kendra gentle pats on her tiny head.
"Don't go to too much trouble with dinner," said Warren. "We can't eat very much."
"This is very confusing," said Tanu. "We tried to see if Ikkim had crushed you back in Frozen Fortress, but we found no traces of you."
"It's a long story," said Warren. "But we escaped by hiding in Raze's sack with the Sizeshifter, after accidentally shrinking ourselves."
"And you got away?" asked Vanessa. "How?"
"We waited until they were asleep," said Kendra. "Then with the help of our fairies, we took the Sizeshifter and made a break for it."
Grandpa nearly spilled his coffee all over his lap upon listening to Kendra. "You GOT the Sizeshifter?" he squealed.
"Yeah," said Warren. "For real!"
"Then tell us this much," said Elise. "Where is it now, and why on Earth didn't you ever enlarge yourselves?"
"We couldn't figure out how the stupid thing worked," noted Warren. "We shrunk ourselves when I tried to shrink Ikkim. The last thing we needed was an accidental repeat of that."
"But where's the Sizeshifter?" asked Grandma.
"Oh, right," said Warren. "Clover, we need the Sizeshifter."
Clover then appeared by Warren's side, looking fairly exhausted. "Not now, Warren," wheezed the fairy. "I'm too pooped from turning you back into a human."
"Opal," said Vanessa. "Transfer some of your power over to Clover."
As soon as Vanessa made her demand, Opal appeared next to Clover. Without saying anything, she held Clover's hands in her own and unleashed a flow of purple sparkles onto Clover's body.
"Thanks, Opal," said Clover with a smile.
"Oh, you're welcome," said Opal with a smile as she disappeared.
Feeling revitalized, Clover began to shine with a bright, green glow, then disappeared. A moment later, she reappeared, along with the Sizeshifter.
Everyone but Kendra and Warren froze, gasping at the presence of the Sizeshifter.
"They did it," cried Grandpa. "They really did it!"
Grandma placed a small plate of reheated rigatoni down in front of Kendra and Warren, which they were to share. However, it was far too large for both of them to finish.
After feasting on a small but filling portion of pasta with utensils from their travelling gear, Kendra and Warren relayed their entire misadventure with the Sizeshifter to the others.
"This is great news!" said Grandpa. "Not only have we secured one of the instruments as our own, but you've foiled Navarog's plan to obtain it. Once we figure out how it works, we can use it to try and recover the Drakesoul."
"What did you guys do once we went missing?" asked Warren.
"We panicked," said Tanu. "And cried. We searched the area for you extensively, but couldn't find anything. We eventually gave up and declared that you were lost in battle. We tried contacting you on your cell phones, but got no answer. Your reduced sizes must've messed with the frequency."
"We overheard Raze and Jark talking about how Navarog might already have the Essence of Immunity," said Kendra. "Do you think it's possible he'd really have it?"
"We'll find out," said Grandpa. "First we'll arrange with Agad to have you use the Oculus and learn about what's been happening with Navarog. If he does have the Essence of Immunity, along with the Drakesoul, it may be possible to swipe both of them in one fell swoop."
"Navarog sent a few minions to Frozen Fortress to retrieve the Sizeshifter," said Warren. "And it's likely that he went to Torrential Tunnels himself to get a hold of the Essence of Immunity. You think maybe he sent more minions to the other two vaults?"
"I can't see him sending minions to wherever the Accelerizer is," said Grandpa. "At least not without doing extensive research first. But I'd wager that he could've sent a strike force to recover the Disapirit in Pileus Palace at the very least."
"These vaults have very powerful distractor spells," said Kendra. "How're these monsters all getting past the spells so easily?"
"Jark," said Vanessa. "Slorggs are immune to all forms of magic. I don't know about the other vaults, but he was definitely the one who helped the team that went to Frozen Fortress."
"Then couldn't Jark, or any slorgg, get to Fablehaven?" asked Kendra.
"Perhaps," said Grandpa. "However, slorggs are very rare, and the creatures of this preserve have the capacity to deal with them should one cross the boundary."
"But for now, how're we going to figure out how this Sizeshifter works?" asked Warren. "Otherwise Kendra and I might be permanently stuck at this size!"
"I'll look into it tonight," said Tanu. "Hopefully I can come to a conclusion. We know for a fact that it supposedly enlarges things. We just need to know how, exactly."
After dinner, Mrs. Sorenson carried Kendra up to her bedroom, where she changed into some spare clothes that had been shrunken while they were in her bag. When Kendra had changed, Mrs. Sorenson brought her to the bathroom, and helped her with brushing her teeth, before transporting her back up to the attic.
"Goodnight, Kendra," said Mrs. Sorenson, as she placed her daughter atop her bed and patted her head. "We're so relieved to know that you and Warren are all right. If you need anything, send for help with your fairy."
"Goodnight, Mom," said Kendra, as she slipped under the covers of her bed. At her present size, Kendra could use her own bed as a football field if she could round up enough players. It was extremely cozy, and quite fun to be in a bed so large. Still exhausted from her trip, Kendra fell asleep with very little difficulty.
In the morning, Kendra was woken up by her father, who had pushed down on her bed to get her attention. "Wake up, Kendra!" he cried. "Tanu has the answer!"
"What answer?" groaned Kendra groggily.
"He figured out how that Sizeshifter thing actually works!"
Kendra's eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Apparently."
"Then what's he waiting for?" asked Kendra. "I want to be my true size already!"
"He wants to do a demonstration. I'll take you to the bathroom to wash up, then Tanu will make you big again."
Kendra couldn't wait as her father scooped her out of bed and cautiously carried her to the bathroom, where she was able to freshen up for the morning. Afterwards, Mr. Sorenson brought Kendra out to the yard, where everyone else was gathering. Warren had positioned himself on Dale's shoulder.
"Is everyone here?" asked Tanu, who was holding the Sizeshifter in his hands. Everyone else either answered positively or nodded.
"Great. Now, as we are all aware, the Sizeshifter was designed for shrinking and enlargement purposes. However, the procedures for these two capabilities are quite the opposite, but very easy to remember."
"Hey, what's going on 'ere?" asked Newell, as he and Doren walked over to the small gathering of people.
"Allow me to demonstrate," said Tanu, aiming the Sizeshifter at Newell. "You merely focus your thoughts, and… voila!"
A beam of orange energy shot out of the Sizeshifter and hit Newell. In a bright flash of orange light, Newell shrunk down until he was about the same scale as Kendra and Warren. He was suddenly greeted with gasps from everyone.
"Thanks fo cuttin' 'im down to size!" laughed Doren, as he loomed over his fellow satyr. "As if we satyrs couldn't get any smaller!"
"And now the key to enlargement," said Tanu, as he fumbled with the Sizeshifter and again fired it at Newell. Before anyone could react, Newell had grown back to his proper size.
"Okay, so he reversed it for ya," muttered Doren. "Big whoop."
Tanu shot Newell a third time, Newell began to grow very rapidly, until he was roughly twenty feet tall, towering over even Hugo and Mendigo.
"You were sayin'?" Newell asked Doren.
"Big whoop," said Doren nervously. "Real big whoop."
Tanu then shot Newell again, shrinking him back down to his proper height once more.
"I'm grateful that you figured out how the Sizeshifter works," said Warren. "But what are you doing that's so special to enlarge things?"
"You'll notice that when I shrink something, I point the narrow crystal end of the Sizeshifter at the desired target," replied Tanu. "However, when I enlarge something, I point the larger, golden end at the target. Get down in front of me and I'll show you."
Dale placed Warren down in front of where Tanu was standing and backed off. Holding the golden end of the Sizeshifter at Warren, Tanu shot him with an orange beam, restoring him to his proper size, and he was greeted with many cheers from the others.
"Now it's Kendra's turn," said Tanu, as Kendra was placed down where Warren had been. Tanu used the Sizeshifter on her as well, shooting her back up to her normal size as well. Mr. and Mrs. Sorenson both immediately wrapped their arms around Kendra and gave her a hug.
"Thanks a million," said Kendra. "So, where do we go from here?"
"Hard to say," said Grandpa. "We've got one instrument, the Sizeshifter. Navarog has the Drakesoul , and possibly the Essence of Immunity as well. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch if he also got the Disapirit. However, I doubt that he has the Accelerizer."
"How are we ever going to get the Accelerizer?" asked Kendra.
"Trask is in the UK right now trying to find the true whereabouts of the Accelerizer," replied Grandpa. "However, we'll make arrangements with Agad for you to use the Oculus."
"Me?" asked Kendra.
"You're the safest choice," said Grandma. "You're the only one of us who has experience, and the rest of us could get hurt from using it. If it weren't so risky, we'd have used it to search for you and Warren."
"Exactly," said Grandpa. "If you use the Oculus, you can find out where Navarog is, as well as the rest of the instruments. Maybe even the Accelerizer. If Trask can't even find where the Accelerizer could be located, having you use the Oculus may be our only hope."