Cynder had to be cuffed and locked in a cell to keep her under control. Maleficent was chained with magical cords of metal provided by the Dark One, just until they could get this mess resolved. Cora and Regina were still unconscious. While Lily, Gold and Emma tried to come up with an antidote, Henry and Tia went looking for Kalise, and Diaval and Ruby watched the little dragonlings. The problem was, they were getting hungry after 2 days and only their blonde mothers could nurse them. Diaval was designated to stay at the house while Ruby moved the kids to her old apartment. She tried to find them something to sustain them. She went and bought them every kind of milk in the store to see which they'd drink, and every kind of meat. They wouldn't drink any of the milk and refused to eat any of the meat, raw, cooked or otherwise. All six were huddled in a whimpering ball on her bed when Lily came to check on them.
"Shit. They won't eat anything?" Lily asked, going to pet the colorful pile of tiny dragons.
"No. They have to eat, Lily. Can't you get your mom to change into a dragon and calm down for a few minutes?"
"If she changes into a dragon, she's gonna get free and beat the shit out of Emma's parents." Lily said. "Cynder thinks you're Kagan, can't you just command her to feed them?"
Ruby scowled. "I already want to forget about his fucked up hold on her, not play a role in it, Lily."
"Could we... milk them?"
"You want to try it, go ahead."
Lily sighed and stood up. "Gold's working on a cure but we don't how long it'll take."
"They need to eat." Ruby whimpered, looking at her babies. "What about that weird grass that Cynder and Mal ate when they were pregnant. It's not much but it's something. I'll go get it. You stay here with the kids." Ruby headed out to the meadow immediately. The grass she needed was a lush dark green and sweet. It was easy to find thankfully. She started picking it and collecting a little pile.
"Did you really think you could escape me, Kagan?" Ruby's head snapped up to find Cynder sitting not 10 feet away. The cuff was shredded and hanging from her arm. The wolf smelled the blood from her fingers and nails where she'd clawed her way free. "Did you really think this would stop me?"
"For the last fucking time, I am not that abusive prick!" Ruby roared. Cynder suddenly speared her to the ground, tearing up the earth. She shoved the blonde off and tried to get back up, but Cynder conjured her staff and hit her as hard as she could in the chest, sending the wolf flying. Ruby bounced against the ground several times, rolling and crashing into any and everything in the way. It was a miracle she didn't die or blackout right then. The only thing that stopped her was seeing her heart scale, her most prized possession flying off her neck. "No!" She struggled to crawl around to find it, even shifting forms to see if she could sniff it out better. She was struck with a terrible fear of never finding it, a sign of Cynder's love and affection, the ultimate sign of trust for a dragon...and she'd lost it. Cynder walked towards her, staff held at the ready to probably bash it over the side of her head. She whined and tried to stand but neither of her hind legs would support her.
"Changing into a dog isn't going to change your fate, Kagan." Her mate said, circling her, taunting her.
Ruby whimpered and crawled away from her. Then she saw it. Her heart scale. She quickly snapped it up, holding it gently and lovingly with her teeth just as Cynder pressed her foot to the back of her neck, forcing her head against the ground, slowly increasing the pressure. Her jaw started to ache from holding the scale, but she refused to let it go. Cynder raised her foot and slammed it back down. The heart scale cracked and the next thing she knew there was an explosion of magic. White light passed over the entire town. Ruby blacked out then.
/
Regina's eyes snapped open, glowing purple as her magic settled. The pain was gone. She was back in her bedroom. "Regina!" Her mother limped into the room and collapsed into her arms. "You're alright."
"I am. But where are the kids? Where's Mal?" She tried to sit up but she was completely exhausted.
"Mom!" Tia, Lily and Henry came racing into the room, followed by Diaval. They quickly crowded around their mother and grandmother, practically jumping all over them. "You guys are okay! We had no idea how to wake you guys up."
"Then how did we wake up?" Cora asked. "And how long have we been out?"
"Where is Mal and the kids?' Regina demanded.
"You've been out for a few days." Lily answered. "There was some kind of magical explosion that i guess woke you guys up and Mom is currently locked up. The kids are asleep at Ruby's."
Regina forced herself to sit up. "Get Mal. They need to be fed. Is Cynder okay?"
"She's cuffed. She should be good."
"Lily, she is going to get out of the cuff." Cora said matter of factly. "Goddess, remember?"
"Shit!" Lily teleported away for a moment before returning in record time. "Yeah, she's out. I have to go find Ruby. Mom is at the station chained up." She vanished again and Regina struggled to her feet. Diaval quickly came to her assistance and helped her downstairs but she was unable to go any farther before collapsing onto the couch.
"I will go get Mistress." He said, quickly tearing out of the room.
"We'll get the babies." Tia and Henry volunteered.
Regina sighed, sitting back in the chair feeling fatigue wash over her. Zelena, that bitch! She was going to kill her sister the next time she saw her. First things first, Mal needed to be freed and reassured that everything was fine. Then she needed to take care of her children. As soon as possible the babies needed to be fed. They were probably starving by now. Her mother took her by the hand and gave it a squeeze. At least nothing worse had happened.
/
"Cynder!" Lily and Emma sprinted across the field to where the goddess was in dragon form, her head bowed over a dark body in the grass. "No." Lily whispered. "No!" She roared and shifted, ramming into her grandmother and knocking her onto her side. She turned to Ruby. "No, Ruby. Get up. Please be okay." The wolf was covered in some kind of white glow that was slowly diminishing, revealing that Ruby had a new form. Still a wolf, but now as big as Lily herself, with a long serpentine tail and a pair of wings on her back, broad and matching her chocolate brown fur with wing claws on the tips. Not only that, but she had a silver diamond collar around her neck. "Ruby?" Lily shifted back down to touch the wolf's head. Cynder picked herself up and tried to approach but Lily held her at bay with a protection spell. That only enraged the goddess. She threw herself against the shield. Emma added her strength to Lily's to hold it while Lily tried to wake her friend. Cynder roared at her. "Grandma, are you awake?!" Lily screamed. "Do you remember?"
"Yes." Cynder growled. "Is she okay?"
"I don't know but right now your kids need to eat. So go fucking feed them. I'll take care of Ruby."
Cynder's eyes glowed, her jaw falling open slightly at her granddaughter's gall to command her. Ultimately she seemed to understand that her dragonlings needed her and Ruby was in good hands. She looked longingly at her mate before taking flight, heading back to the mansion. Lily turned back to Ruby. The glow was gone and the werewolf was starting to stir.
"Rubes? You okay?"
Ruby sat up quickly and looked around. She rubbed her head with a paw. "What happened?"
"I don't know. Something happened to you though. You okay?" Lily asked with concern. She'd never seen such a transformation before. Ruby got to her feet slowly. Lily conjured a mirror so she could see what she looked like now. The wolf went stock still. "Do you remember anything?"
Ruby backed up and yelped when she stepped on her new tail. She tried to turn around, fanning her wings and nearly decapitating Emma. "Sorry, Emma. This is just too weird. It must've happened when I broke Cynder's heart scale."
"How the hell did you do that?"
"Her standing on the back of my head." The wolf deadpanned. She was soon distracted, chasing this new longer tail. Then she froze. "Is Cynder okay?" She demanded. "The kids?"
"She's fine. She went to nurse them right now."
"I have to go to her. She's probably upset."
"She's upset?" Emma said incredulously. "She almost killed you."
"She didn't mean it. She wasn't herself." Ruby defended. "And besides everyone tries to kill someone else in this family at least once. It's how we communicate half the time."
"Be careful." Emma cautioned her.
"She's my mate." Ruby shifted back down, finding the collar taking the form of a diamond bracelet on her wrist. She ran off, leaving Lily and Emma alone in the field. They teleported back home to find both dragon mothers curled up in the backyard nursing their little ones. Regina had made it outside to sit next to Mal's paw. Mal kept nuzzling and licking her mate as gently as she could, glad to be back together again. Lily quickly went to her mothers and sat with them.
Ruby returned a few minutes later and approached Cynder, but the white dragon turned her back to her, folding her wings around herself like a shade. Ruby frowned and tickled her tail. The dragon started making a snickering sound as she struggled not to laugh. Her wing flapped a little and the wolf slipped inside. Draco, Ember and Luke were suckling away. Every few moments or so, Cynder used her foot to push them away so they wouldn't get sick from eating too much too fast. "Cynder. You okay?"
"No." Came the answer. "I tire of having Kagan as a weakness constantly being used against me. I almost killed you. Our children haven't eaten in days."
"None of that is your fault. You defeated Kagan. You didn't kill me, and the kids are stuffing themselves right now."
Cynder snorted. "Wasn't it? You should probably find a mate who won't turn into an uncontrolled beast or isn't broken. Lily and Emma were right to keep me away from you."
"Don't ever say that again." Ruby commanded. "Don't ever doubt us again. Please." Cynder grunted in reply, laying her head down between her paws. "I broke your heart scale." Ruby said softly. "That's what woke you up. It did something to me." Cynder didn't reply. Ruby growled and shifted into her new wolf form and grabbed Cynder by the back of her neck. The dragon roared and shook her off.
"What?!"
"Don't ignore me, that's what." Ruby stretched herself to her full height, forcing Cynder to lower her head and meet her eyes. "The world will always remember Kagan. It will never forget what he did to you and it will always try to use him against you. Do you know how strong you have to be to endure all this years with that bastard? Whether you loved him or not. Now, do you love me?"
"Of course."
"Do you love our kids?"
"Absolutely."
"Then stop whining and get ready to have sex." Ruby frowned firmly and stroked the dragon's paw with her own. "Tell me how sexy I look like this." Cynder let out an uncontrollable snort of amusement. "Come on, how do I look? Like my collar? It's like your girdle, isn't it?" She bounced up and down, demanding an answer. Cynder!
Fine! You look very sexy and I would like very much to do very naughty things to you and your new form, but I am currently feeding our children.
Ruby growled contently as she curled up next to her mate's head. Cynder gave a little lick with the tip of her tongue. I love you.
I love you too.
Cynder looked up as Tia approached. "Can you do me a favor, Grandma?"
/
Tia found Kalise sitting on the rocks near the edge of the cove, letting her tail dangle in the water. "Who are you?" She said, walking forward, conjuring her staff just in case. Kalise turned around and smiled.
"Tia. Is everything okay?"
"Zelena said Aldric didn't have an apprentice." She said.
"She's the Wicked Witch. Why would she tell you the truth?" Kalise turned her tail into her legs and stood up, walking to Tia. "What's going on?"
Tia took a deep breath. "Locking you up served no purpose...unless you were in her way. Now why would the Wicked Witch need to lock away a simple apprentice, and considering that you are a mermaid and you were in water when you were tied up, why couldn't you break free?"
"Because I was already weak from fighting her monkeys. Tia, don't do this. We're friends." Kalise insisted. "You know I would never lie to you."
"See that's the thing. I asked Grandma to talk to Aldric. He hasn't sent the apprentice yet. So, I'll ask again. Who are you?"
Kalise sighed. "Alright, I'll tell you-" She suddenly tackled Tia to the ground, knocking her staff out of her hand. She landed a hard punch to Tia's face and got up to kick her hard in the ribs, forcing the air out of the lungs. "Regina killed my mother." Kalise hissed, kicking her in the back. Tia rolled over, spitting out a mouthful of blood. She tried to draw a breath but another kick to her stomach forced it right back out. "Remember that trip to Neverland? Where she turned a mermaid to stone like it was nothing. Like she didn't matter!" She kicked Tia again. "Huh? I had to make sure you were her daughter and wait for the right moment to take out your bitch of a mother. That stupid witch found me and locked me up so I couldn't kill Regina before she could have her revenge. Then you came along and set me free. Thank you for that. Guess I have to kill both mother and daughter now." Tia scowled and dove forward, clipping Kalise's legs and knocking her to the ground. She wrapped a hand around the mermaid's neck and raised her fist.
"I'm sorry for what happened to your mother, but you're not going to hurt mine." She punched the other woman as hard as she could, enraged at the thought of anyone hurting her mother. A column of water sprang out of the nearby ocean to knock Tia across the sand.
"We both know who's going to win this fight. I've practiced my entire life to defeat your mother." Kalise said. "You have barely learned anything."
"I don't need to." Tia stood up and rolled her shoulders. She opened her hand and her staff appeared in it again. "You're a fish. I'm a fucking dragon. Who's going to win that fight?" She stabbed the ground with the butt of her staff sending a shockwave through the earth, splintering and cracking it and drawing up hot fresh water from the deepest reserves of the earth. It clashed with Kalise's ocean water in the air like two battering rams. But Tia knew this was a battle she was unlikely to win, but she was going to win. She shifted and dove forward, powering through the wall of water and tackled Kalise. They rolled right into the one of the cracks she'd created and landed in the boiling hot water. It hardly affected her but Kalise screamed and attempted to get away, switching to her tail form. Tia grabbed it and shredded the fin with her teeth. She coiled her webbed paw into a fist and decked the mermaid in the back, shattering her spine. She could hear the bone snap through the water. With her incapacitated, Tia dragged Kalise out of the water and tossed her onto the beach. She shifted back into a human and returned the earlier kicks.
"You won't kill me." Kalise growled, attempting to drag her limp lower half back to the ocean. "You're different than they are. You don't have it in you. You're not a killer."
Tia smirked and grabbed her tail, easily dragging her back across the sand. She flipped her onto her back and stomped hard on her sternum. "You're right, I am a little different. But if you fuck with my family, the outcome is the same. You...die." She rammed her hand into the mermaid's chest and yanked out her heart. She grinned. "First time I've ever done that." It was the same type of heart she was used to seeing, except it had a faint blue glow to it. "It's kinda cool."
"Fuck you." Kalise spat at her.
"Now now, fishy, you brought this on yourself and quite frankly, I was hoping for a better fight."
"Your mother is a murderer!"
Tia shook her head. "I already know that, dear. They both are. And both of my grandmothers. Maybe my big sister. I don't know if Lily has ever killed anyone before." She squeezed the heart and Kalise cried out in pain. "I'll ask her when I get home." she said absently. A glance at Kalise made her smile. "You're not having fun?"
"Fuck you."
Tia smirked as she slid the heart into her pocket and went to retrieve her staff. She twisted it and pulled out the hidden blade that Mal had put in it. With dogged determination and no concern whatsoever for her victim, she proceeded to skin the mermaid's broken tail for the precious scales. Kalise tried desperately to fight her off, but thanks to the stolen heart she was forced to obey when Tia commanded her to be still. Once she was done, Tia wrapped up he scales, fixed the site of the earthquake and crushed the heart without a second thought, tossing the ashes over her shoulder. She limped home to find her family getting ready for dinner. They were all at the table, chattering and passing around plates, except her mothers who were standing next to the sink on the phone, probably trying to call her.
"So, we are going to go find and kill Zelena and Kassandra once and for all for this, right?" Lily asked.
"Of course." Diaval agreed. "No one hurts my mistress."
"Do you know how to make a portal?" Lily asked Cynder. The goddess blinked at her, still a little peeved at her keeping her away from her mate. Ruby touched her shoulder and she simply shook her head. "So how do we get to the Dragon Isles?"
"How many scales does a mermaid have?" Tia asked, standing in the doorway. Everyone looked up and Mal and Regina ran around the table to fuss over her, demanding to know what had happened and where she had been and why she was bleeding and dirty. They cleaned her up and healed her. Mal took her staff and threw into a closet. "How many scales does a mermaid have?" She asked again, ignoring their worrying.
"About 900. Why?" Mal said.
"Because we now have about 900 ways to cross the worlds." She said, holding up the mermaid skin and scales. "Give or take a few."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Read and Review!