Chapter 21 – Complications
Kendra and Seth watched as the sky that had been surrounding them seemingly dissolved into the front yard at Fablehaven. Raxtus, who had previously been floating in the air, placed his feet on the ground and landed softly, then folded in his wings.
"Oh my god," gasped Kendra.. "That was too close. At least we're still okay."
"That was not good," said Warren, climbing down from Raxtus' backside.
"What do you mean?" asked Seth. " We got away, didn't we?"
"Yeah, but now Ashley's getting away, too" muttered Warren. "And now that she's taken down the plane, who knows where she'll meet up with Oblivion."
"How do you figure that?" asked Kendra.
"Well, when Oblivion goes to the airport to meet up with Ashley, he'll learn about what happened with the plane, and will no doubt expect a change in plans. Sooner or later, Ashley will arrive on the mainland, contact Oblivion, and no doubt meet up with him somewhere."
"What about the plane?" asked Kendra. "I mean, it just plummeted down into the Pacific ocean! All those people..."
"There wouldn't be much we could do to help," said Bright. "What's done, is done."
"The people on the plane shouldn't be in too much danger," added Warren. "The plane no doubt has life rafts, and I'm sure a rescue team will come out for them soon. Still hardly a desirable experience, though."
"What about our stuff?" asked Seth. "All our luggage."
"We'll just have to replace it," said Warren. "Fortunately, we gave all our important stuff to Clover and Bright."
"Should we go back?" asked Seth. "Maybe we can spy on Ashley and follow her before she gets away."
"I'll go," said Raxtus. "If I'm not back in one minute, assume that I'm still following her."
"Or you've been incinerated," added Warren. "But seriously, drink this first."
Warren handed an uncorked healing potion vial to Raxtus, who then chugged it down. He then used the Translocator that was in his claws, no doubt to return himself to the area in the sky where Ashley had been.
"Good luck," said Kendra, as Raxtus faded away.
"Now what?" asked Seth.
"I guess we'll just have to wait," replied Warren. "It's better that we all didn't go, since it's easier for Raxtus to follow behind while staying invisible the whole time."
"I guess this ruins our plan," said Kendra.
"I almost had her," moaned Warren. "If those stupid flight attendants hadn't interfered, I could've killed Ashley right then and there while she was in her seat, still a human. Then at least Oblivion would never be able to use Ashley in his plan."
"What about Jake?" asked Kendra. "Not that I'm too upset over losing him, mind you."
Warren rubbed his forehead. "Well, when they go to rescue all the animals that were on the plane, they'll just assume he was a dog belonging to us. Or rather, the false names I bought our tickets under. When the airline is unable to locate us, they'll probably donate Jake to a shelter or something."
"So if someone actually adopts him?" asked Seth.
"He'll escape," said Warren. "Assuming that we succeed in stopping Oblivion altogether. "Otherwise, Jake may never have a chance at getting adopted."
"He's not the only one," said Lance, who walked up to the group.
"Good morning," said Kendra, who wasn't sounding too enthusiastic. "Are you wondering what we're doing here?"
"I kinda overheard you guys when you arrived," said Lance. "We read your note from last night. What happened now?"
"Our plan to defeat Ashley backfired," replied Warren.
Lance winced. "What happened?"
"She turned into a dragon and tore the tail off the plane, sending it down into the Pacific Ocean," replied Kendra.
"A dragon?" gasped Lance. "Ho-ly. But... I thought Ashley couldn't turn into any magical creatures."
"That's changed now that Oblivion lent her some of my power," explained Kendra.
"But she really did that?" asked Lance.
"Unfortunately," answered Warren. "I bet that if we check the news, they'll be covering the incident any moment now."
Everyone headed back inside, where they were greeted by Grandma.
"Good morning, all. We've read your note. Is everything... okay?"
"We need to check the news," said Seth, as he led everyone in the house up to his bedroom. Once he entered, Seth grabbed the TV remote from off of his night table, switched the TV on, and changed the channel to CNN.
"What's going on?" asked Grandma, as Grandpa and Seth's parents all entered his bedroom behind the others. On the TV, a reporter was sitting at a desk.
"...only minutes ago," said the reporter. "We've just been told that a Boeing headed for Japan had crashed into the Pacific Ocean at around 8:01 this morning. The plane had taken severe damage due to an unknown cause, which led to it ultimately crashing. Right now, details on the incident are scarce, but we hope to have more details on this story as it develops. Stay tuned for more details."
"Your plane..." said Grandpa. "The Society did this?"
Warren nodded, then proceeded to explain the story to the adults in the room.
"This is horrible," said Mrs. Sorenson, as she proceeded to hug Kendra. "I'm so glad you all are all right."
"What about Ashley?" asked Lance.
"Well, Raxtus is in the middle of following her to Japan," answered Warren. "However, we don't know where exactly Ashley intends to go now that she took down her own flight. Once Raxtus reaches Ashley's destination, he'll come back here through the Translocator and bring us back to Japan with it."
"I...," began Lance. "I want to come."
Everyone in the room gasped. "You?" asked Grandpa. "You want to join them?"
"Please?" asked Lance. "I won't get in anyone's way and I promise to..."
"Absolutely not," said Grandma. "For one thing, you have no field experience at all. If anything happens to you, you could get killed!"
"But I want to stop the Society!" exclaimed Lance.
"I know you mean well," said Grandpa, placing a hand upon Lance's shoulder. "But, well, you're not exactly qualified for this sort of..."
"I get it," said Lance. "I'm not wanted anywhere. Even those fairies you told me to play with are getting boring."
"We don't mean it like that," said Seth. "It's just that this situation is something..."
"What do you mean the fairies are getting boring?" asked Kendra.
Lance groaned. "Lately, they've just been laying around the garden all day. Not that I don't blame them, since everyone else is too busy to pay them any..."
"They what?," gasped Kendra. "I hope they're all right!"
Kendra made her way downstairs, out the front door and dashed into the garden. Sure enough, fairies were sprawled out across pieces of furniture and the pathways.
"Are you fairies all right?" asked Kendra.
The fairy nearest Kendra, who sported bright red hair and bat-like wings, shook her head. "We're exhausted. I feel like I never want to have to move ever again!"
"What's going on?" asked Grandma, as the rest of the group followed. Kendra relayed to them what the fairy had just told her.
"Oh no," said Grandpa. "I feared this would happen."
"Feared what would happened?" asked Seth. "The fairies are having a siesta?"
"This isn't the time for wisecracks," said Grandpa. "You see, fairies draw their life force from the Fairy Kingdom, which is why they typically live near shrines, where this energy is strongest. However, with the barrier between our world and the Fairy Kingdom completely blocked off, it's impossible for the life force to pass between worlds and sustain the fairies here. While fairy angels are powerful enough to not depend on this energy, eventually, all these lesser fairies will die."
"No," said Kendra, shuddering. "Just no!"
"Couldn't we just give them healing potions?" asked Seth.
Grandpa shook his head. "They wouldn't do the trick, I'm afraid."
"How did the fairies survive after Zzyzx, when there were no intact fairy shrines in our world?" asked Kendra.
"The barrier wasn't blocked like it is now," replied Bright. "A small amount of energy always seeps through under normal circumstances, without the need of any shrines."
"If the fairies draw their power from the Fairy Kingdom, why not just send them there with the Translocator?" asked Lance.
"Because that would never..." began Grandpa. "Wait a minute. That's brilliant! It's better they stay there where they can thrive, than in our world."
"Except Raxtus has the Translocator right now," said Bright. "In the meantime, Clover and I will try to round up all the fairies on the preserve so we can transport them back to the Fairy Kingdom once he gets back."
"Good idea," said Grandma. "Now that we're all waiting to hear from Clover, we'll just have to stick it out until then."
"Will the fairies be okay until then?" asked Kendra.
"Let's hope so," said Dale. "Unfortunately, we don't have much of a choice at the moment. Fairies elsewhere in this world don't have much longer, either."
While Bright and Clover proceeded to fly around the garden to seek out every last fairy that they could, the rest of the group headed towards the house.
"Lance," said Seth. "That was actually a pretty smart idea."
"Thanks," said Lance. "At least someone appreciates me."
"Look, I know the Society's been horrible, but you know they're not exactly normal people, right?"
"I hardly know what constitutes as normal," said Lance. "My actual mother passed away when I was two and my father lost his job not long after. He had to get a lower-paying back-breaking job to sustain us. The stress made him succumb to alcohol and he ultimately died due to liver poisoning earlier this year. The group home I got sent to was no fun. The Society only picked me because I was the smallest, weakest-looking boy that was there. Thought I'd be easier to boss around, and wouldn't look all that intimidating. And you know what that led to."
"Yikes," said Seth. "I'm... I'm sorry."
"Look, I can't change what's done," said Lance. "But I just want the Society to be stopped, and to live in a normal home. As much as I've grown to like Fablehaven..."
"Lance," said Seth. "Are you okay?"
Seth then noticed tears were pouring from Lance's eyes, as the boy dashed away from Seth and headed into the house.
While everyone at Fablehaven waited for Raxtus to return, they spent much of their time parked in front of the television, picking up more information about the plane crash. Over the following hour, a rescue boat had reached the plane. Two people were reported to have died in the crash, while seven were severely injured. However, they were still unable to determine what could have caused the tail of the plane to be torn off.
"What would happen if they discovered dragon DNA on the plane?" asked Seth.
"The Knights have done tests on that sort of thing," replied Grandma."Without drinking the magical milk, the DNA of mystical animals will remain incomprehensible to anyone who tries to observe it. This whole ordeal with probably remain a mystery to the authorities forever."
"Where's Lance?" asked Kendra, looking around the room.
"In the guest room," replied Mrs. Sorenson.
Kendra nodded, then headed upstairs into the bedroom that Lance was staying in. Although the door was open, Kendra knocked, glancing at Lance, who was lying down on the bed.
"Come in," he said, looking at Kendra.
"Are you feeling better?" asked Kendra, as she sat down in a chair across from Lance.
"A little. I'm just really mad at the Society right now."
Kendra grimaced. "Believe me, we all are."
"I really want to help you in stopping them, though. But, I know that you don't want me to come along."
"It's nothing personal," said Kendra. "But you have absolutely zero experience when it comes to fighting. And this mission could get very dangerous. There's a good chance we could die, and even then, Oblivion's plan would likely succeed and he'll take over the world."
"How do you think I feel?" asked Lance. "But, I understand your point. I just wish there was more for me to do than sit around here and root for you guys."
Kendra cocked her head down for a moment. "Look, if we somehow manage to stop Oblivion, you can..."
"Can what?"
"I don't know. It's unlikely you'll keep living here. You've expressed a desire for a normal life. And as much as I admire Fablehaven, it's anything but normal."
"But I want to be able to help at some point. If not now, then maybe in the future. I owe you guys for saving me. And if I go off to live a normal life somewhere, I may never get a chance to interact with you guys again."
"We'll think of something," said Kendra. "I'm just not sure what. Maybe we can arrange visits or something."
"It wouldn't be the same," said Lance.
"I know what you mean," said Kendra. "After the first time Seth and I came to stay here, we had to wait eleven months before any we had any further interactions with the magical world."
"Really?" asked Lance.
"I can tell you more," said Kendra, who then proceeded to tell Lance more about her experiences with the magical world.
Sometime after lunch, Raxtus returned to Fablehaven. When everyone ran outside to meet him, they could see that he was exhausted.
"That... flight took forever!" he gasped. "I've never flown so fast for so long in my life!"
"What happened?" asked Warren. "Where's Ashley?"
"Well, I followed her all the way across the ocean to Tokyo. From there, I followed her all the way to a hotel where I believe Oblivion is staying. But, even with my invisibility, I'd rather not run around inside a hotel, especially if Oblivion might be inside."
"Good work, Raxtus," said Clover. "But first, Bright and I need to escort the fairies to the Fairy Kingdom with the Translocator. Long story short, they can't stay here much longer."
"Is this gonna take long?" asked Warren. "No offense, but the less time we spend with the Society out of our sights, the better."
"How about I take Warren to the hotel with the Translocator?" asked Raxtus. "Then, I'll stay behind, while he returns with it, and you fairies can use it to reach the Fairy Kingdom."
"That works," said Bright.
"Let's do this, then," said Raxtus, as he wound up the Translocator, then allowed Warren to grab one end of it. In an instant, the two of them vanished. Several seconds later, Warren reappeared with the Translocator, but without Raxtus.
"All right," said Warren, handing the Translocator to Clover. "You fairies get your friends together so you can get them back to the Fairy Kingdom, then get back here."
"Got it," said Clover, as the group all followed her and Bright over to the garden, where close to a hundred dreary fairies of different colors had gathered around in a crowd.
"I'll have to shrink down to fit into the vent," said Bright, as she proceeded to reduce her size to that of the other fairies.
"I wound it up for you," said Clover, placing the Translocator on the ground in front of Bright.
"Okay," said Bright. "I want as many of you fairies as possible to place a hand anywhere on the Translocator. "I'll then use it to send you back to the Fairy Kingdom for the time being. Don't push, we'll do as many trips as this takes."
Bright placed a tiny hand upon center of the Translocator, while around twenty other fairies did the same in other places. Bright then closed her eyes and transported every fairy that had been touching the Translocator elsewhere. Roughly fifteen seconds later, Bright returned alone.
"Okay, the first group is back in the Fairy Kingdom," she said, as Clover bent down and wound up the Translocator again.
After four more trips, every last fairy that was there had been transported back to the Fairy Kingdom.
"That's it. They should all be back in the Fairy Kingdom now. Hopefully, they'll get better in due time."
"Just be glad that the Fairy Queen upgraded the Translocator for us," said Warren. "She could have not done anything, and you'd have had to make like fifty trips."
"You know, that's my mother you're talking about," noted Bright, as she enlarged herself back to her full size.
"Sorry," said Warren.
"I wonder," said Kendra. "If the Fairy Kingdom really is a safe place for all those fairies. I mean, we saw what Oblivion did to the keepers and their instruments. If he has a way of getting through to the Fairy Kingdom, what's there to stop him, especially if he's awoken Tritanoss by that point?"
"It's better the fairies head back there to restore themselves, then wither around here till they drop dead. Besides, with more healthy fairies thriving in the Fairy Kingdom, there might be a chance that all of them can unite their power and stop Oblvion."
"What about Tritanoss?" asked Seth. "Will the fairies have the strength they'll need to vanquish Tritanoss, or possibly Ashley, if he or she, or whatever, is there too?"
"Hard to say," said Grandpa. "If most of the more powerful fairies are unavailable when that occurs, all of their combined power might not be enough. Most fairies really aren't all that powerful when it comes down to it, sorry to say. But if that's the case, and the Fairy Queen and Bracken aren't enough to stop them, I hate to imagine what would happen if Oblivion does trounce them all. No doubt he'll get his hands on all five instruments of eternal power. And if he ever forms the Omega Star, it'll all be over."