Oh, man, things are really getting suspenseful... better brace yourself for THIS chapter! (takes out duct-tape) Seriously.
Reviewer Thanks
Frog Disease: Dead crickets don't chirp, so we're good! XD
starspring: Yay, I'm glad you like this so much ^-^
After the cabin burned to the ground, it was official that there was no safe place for us to hide... not that we were hiding, but we needed a place to lay low and make a plan. Pin told us there was one place we could stay, which was the most private location left. Traveling through the swamp, now that Pin slayed Morlog and everyone was free to take a stroll through the marsh, we followed Pin until we arrived at a tall tower.
"What's this place?" Tanya asked.
Pin didn't reply. Instead, he called up, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!"
What the Brother's Grimm?! Was pretty much what everyone was thinking.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Sarah muttered. ...I was just about to say that!
"Are you a prince?" A feminine voice called from above.
"No. It is us, the 12 Huntswomen, and our allies." Odette, the oldest Huntress I believe, called up to her.
A 4-story long, golden, braided length of hair was thrown down to us, and we-- of course-- climbed up to the tower-- Pin had to carry Wolf over his shoulder (which I found hilarious)-- and we arrived to the top, seeing a lovely woman with jade-green eyes and rose-colored lips sat there, wearing a violet-red spandex jumpsuit with a utility belt.
"I thought we were seeing Rapunzel, not Cat-Woman," Red scoffed. One of the other Huntresses nudged her to shut up.
"Rapunzel, we've come seeking refuge for the day," Pin said.
"Sure, as long as none of you are a prince in disguise," Rapunzel replied, arching an eyebrow at us.
Okay, so if you're wondering why Rapunzel seems skeptic about a prince coming to her tower, let me explain-- the TRUE tale of the long-haired princess: Rapunzel is the most beautiful chick in all of Fairytale land, so beautiful that every single prince wants to marry her. Some were even desperate to kidnap her-- but ended up getting their heads cut off (that's the penalty in Fairytale Land). Anyway, she finally got fed up and seeked help from her grandmother, Donna the Witch, who told her she could come to this tower and stay here as long as she'd like.
Unfortunately, some prince found out where she was hiding and kept coming over, and Rapunzel had Donna make the door disappear so he would never enter. So, years went by and her hair grew, and Donna used it to climb up to her... why she couldn't poof herself up there herself, I have no idea... and they used the whole "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair" as a code to... well, you know.
Sadly, the prince heard the witch yell this one day, so he gave it a shot, and I guess he did a killer impression of Donna 'cause she just sent her hair down. He climbed up and tried to force her to marry him... but he ended up being tossed off the balcony by the princess-- she took some self-defense classes, as you can tell from her spy-girl outfit.
Anyway, so she decided to remain up here until some other beautiful girl came to town, and Donna would always go into town to check, but there were never any results, so Rap stayed in the tower for years... only coming out once in a while to get her hair trimmed a few yards when it got too long.
And now here we stood, in her presence as she showed us around the tower. "I cannot assure you that you will be safe," Rapunzel told us. "I have many stalkers after me..."
"Why do you think we came here, for a slumber-party?" I scoffed.
Rapunzel turned to me, studying me. "Hmm... I do not recognize you. You are not a Huntress, nor a princess, I can tell... what fairytale do you come from?"
"I have none," But I was cut out of others, I thought bitterly.
"...And yet, you seem familiar," Rapunzel guided me back up the stairs to her balcony, where only a few stars shown before the day arrived. She kept turning me at different angles, going, "Mm-hmm, mm, mm, hmmmmm,"
I was getting pretty annoyed. "What exactly are you doing?"
"Hold it!" She gasped, keeping me standing straight, with my arms out. She stared at me in awe. "I must call Grandma!" She took out her cell phone and dialed. "Donna, it's me. You won't believe this! I've found one! Come back, quick!" And she hung up.
"Found what?" Wolf asked, walking onto the balcony.
In a puff of smoke, a woman with gray hair, horn-bill glasses, wearing a purple skirt with a black sweater, appeared-- Donna, no doubt. "Alright, lets have a look-see," She said, walking over to me. She circled me once, looking at me up-and-down. "Yep, she's a beauty, alright."
"Even more beautiful than I??" Rapunzel asked.
"Not even," Wolf muttered quietly, but I still heard him.
"Huh?" I said, responding to all three of them.
"Yes... but there is something special about this one, I sense," Donna said, then turned to me. "Do you know who your mother is, my dear?"
I looked away, grief filling my soul. "What would it matter? She's dead..." I sighed, but answered her question. "Her name was Lucinda Hood."
"What was her maiden name?"
I shrugged. "She said she never had one--"
"A-HA!!!" Donna's exclamation made us all jump back, and the others came up here. "I knew it! I knew my friend would never die without passing on her power!"
"What are you talking about?" Goldi asked, arching an eyebrow.
"What power?" Pin asked.
"You knew my mom?" I asked, surprised.
Donna rolled her eyes. "Hon, everyone knew your mom!" she said. "Have you any idea who she was, what her occupation used to be?"
I shook my head. "No... what the Grimm are you talking about?"
Donna let out a sweet chuckle, resting her arms on my shoulders. "Just repeat after me-- 'I accept thy gift, oh Queen of thy Wishing Star',"
"What--"
"Just do it!"
"Alright!" I sighed, rolling my eyes, then repeated what she said. Nothing happened.
"You must mean it, my dear."
"Woman, I have no idea what's going on! How could I---"
Pin stepped up, putting a hand on Donna's shoulder. "Let me tell her, ma'am." he said, obviously as annoyed as I was. He then walked toward me, and had me face the horizon. "See that star, the one that shines brighter than the others?"
"Yeah..."
"That's the same star my father made a wish on-- and the same star your mother had." He faced me, looking me right in the eyes. "Blu, your mother is the Blue Fairy."
I was NOT expecting that.
"You knew??" Donna asked, stunned.
"I've always known." Pin said. "I knew it for many years, ever since that night I helped her run away..."
"YOU helped HER run away?!?!?!" Red and Goldi yelled, shocked.
"Hey, I helped, too!" Wolf scoffed. "It was basically MY idea."
"But... why didn't you tell me before?" I asked Pin, ignoring the others.
"I thought you knew," Pin replied. "Besides, what was I supposed to say, 'Hi, Blu! You're mother's the Blue Fairy!'?"
"Alright, alright, never mind... I just can't believe this..."
"You'd better believe it." Donna said. "It's the first step into accepting her power."
"What if I don't want her power?"
"You must accept it, otherwise it will go to your relative," She saw Red and Goldi grin happily. "And I don't mean your primpy cousins." They frowned and let out a whine. "I mean, your relative, the Red Fairy. She's the darkest fairy of them all, and if you decline inherting your mother's power, she'll know about it... and we'll be doomed, to put it bluntly."
"Fine, I'll accept it! ...But, I don't think I'm ready---"
"Take your time, and when you are ready, it shall come to you." With that, Donna poofed away.
Rapunzel had packed her stuff and walked out the door-- after cutting off a mile of her hair, so that it now came up to her shoulders. "I won't be needing it that long, anymore!" she exclaimed, throwing her bags into the back of her car, which just suddenly appeared, along with a door at the bottom of the stairs. Donna's spell broke, probably. She then drove off into the sunrise.
We stayed in the tower, waving Rapunzel goodbye... well, except me. All that morning, I sat on her bed, staring into space. I couldn't believe that my mom was the Blue Fairy-- the same Blue Fairy who turned Pin into a real boy, after bringing the former-puppet to life.
That's why he wants to help you, because he owes it to your mother. A voice said inside my head.
Shut up. I told it.
Sarah came by, sitting next to me. "You okay, kiddo?" she asked, placing a hand on my back.
"Yeah, a homicidal wolf hired a cat to kill me, I've seen a family get killed, a good friend of mine slaughtered a man who tried to rape me, my other friend erased the memory of some kid, my two bitchy cousins now possess weapons, your cabin burned down because of me, Rapunzel decided to make me her beauty-replacement, and now it turns out I'm supposed to possess my mother's power or else some other fairy will take it and put Fairytale Land through damnation! I'm just DANDY!" I replied coldly, pulling away from her hand. "Look, just leave me alone, okay?"
"Okay, Miss Attitude! Just trying to help," And she got up and left.
Lila, another Huntress, came into the room, said something to Sarah as she was leaving, and turned to me. "The Huntresses are going to scout the area." she told me.
"Have fun," I replied, bitterly. She walked out the door and down the stairs to meet with her sisters.
I lied down on the bed, curling up into a ball. I reached into my backpack and pulled out the teddy-bear Pin gave to me. After all I've been through last night, I almost forgot I had it. I looked around the room, and my eyes fell on a calendar, which Rapunzel must have forgotten. I looked at today's date, and bit down on my bottom lip as tears fell from my eyes.
Today was the anniversary of my parent's death.
I closed my eyes tight, sobbing as I held the teddy-bear closer to me, the memory of my house burning... my parents screams... my screams...
I fell asleep to the harsh memories, and they replayed in my dreams, as always.
Puss' POV
I stood at the large pit, my hat being held in my hands in respect. Woe filled my heart as I recalled that day my arrow missed my target, hitting that light-socket and making the house burst into flames. Guilt, after all these years, had finally found me.
I had saved that girl from the flames after she jumped out the window, and now I was paid to kill her... and I had killed an innocent family to draw her out to do so. I felt a hurt in my soul, and a tear fell from my eye. What kind of monster had I become?
You can still change... I heard an angelic voice tell me... the same angelic voice I heard before I was thrown off that roof. You must help my daughter, and stop the real Big Bad Wolf.
"But how?" I cried up to the heavens. "She shall take one look at me and kill me! ...I deserve it. I deserve to die eight more times..."
Oh, stop with the pity-party and just go! T'is better to get killed with remorse than it is to die with guilt in thy soul. Now, hop to it, buster!
"Alright, I'll do it! Sheesh!" I began heading toward the woods, then I stopped. Reaching into my hat, I pulled out the sack of coins The Big Bad Wolf had given to me. I was saving it for a rainy day... but now, I had to save something else.
I tossed the money into the pit where the house used to be, and ran off to pay off my debt, praying that Bluskyrobinaquamarine would forgive me--- and not kill me!
Blu's POV
When I woke up, it was two in the afternoon. As usual, I dreamt of my house-- and parents-- burning, engulfed by flames... the usual thing. I sat up, noticing Wolf was sleeping at my feet. I shook my head, smiling. It was hard to believe Wolf killed a guy and had an inner craving for flesh and blood.
"Hey, furball, wake up." I said, nudging him with my foot.
In response, his head jerked in my direction and he snarled, nearly snapping my foot off. I pulled my legs away, shocked. He was still growling, his eyes shut tight, his claws digging into the blankets as his ears twitched. Was he dreaming?
I picked up a pillow and chucked it at him, hitting him in the head. "Hey, knucklehead, wake up!!" I yelled, and he jolted awake-- though he was already awake when I hit him with my pillow.
"Huh? What??" Wolf gasped, looking around. Calming down, he yawned and stretched. "Aw, how come you had to wake me, Blu? I was having a good dream..."
"Couldn't be good if you tried to eat my foot!"
His eyes widened. "Tried to...? Oh, Blu, I'm sorry! I-I can't help it. These cravings are driving me nuts! They're hardest to control while I sleep."
"You seem to control them quite well."
"Yeah, but that was AFTER I found you. Before then, I was chasing after almost anyone or anything, thirsting for blood... becoming my brother..."
I hit Wolf with another pillow. "Don't EVER say that! You're NOTHING like your brother, even Goldi could see that! You may be craving raw meat, you may have killed ONE guy, but that doesn't automatically mark you as a beast! You have one thing Biggy could never have."
"What's that?"
I rolled my eyes. "A heart, duh! Must I explain everything to you?"
Even though I was saying all this with my cynical attitude, Wolf stared at me with his puppy-dog eyes and smiled, as if I just told him a touching story from 'Bambi'. "Thanks, Blu," he came up to me and nuzzled the side of my cheek, resting his muzzle on my shoulder.
I stroked his back, then pushed him away. "Alright, knock it off, before you make me turn all sappy again."
Right then, Red burst through the door, squealing. "Guys, come quick!" she exclaimed. "We've got a plan on how to stop Biggy, and someone knows where he is!"
We followed her downstairs, where we saw a shaggy-blonde-haired teenage boy wearing a black, lime-green billed baseball cap, green T-shirt and tight, burgundy pants and knee-high boots, made for climbing. I rolled my eyes-- he was hansom, pretty muscular... of COURSE Red would be happy to see this guy.
On the bill of his cap was a boy no bigger than a thumb, with brown hair, wearing a small white shirt and blue jeans, and tiny little black sneakers.
"Hello, Jack. Hello, Tom." I said to the two Fairytale characters.
A/N: And there's more shocks to come! Read and review, but don't flame or I'll send the 12 Huntresses after you!