Chapter 21

"So your real name is Nabu and you're a prince on Tides, but you ran away and went by the name Ophir to meet the girl your royal parents were going to force you to marry?"

The guy previously known as Ophir nodded. "Pretty much."

"What kind of clichéd bullshit is that?" Musa asked, annoyed.

"It worked, didn't it?"

Flora shook her head, defeated. "I think that girl can find anyone to argue with."

I was barely paying attention. I was focused on other things.

The closer we got to Tides, the tighter my stomach knotted. I didn't know what was going to happen once we arrived, but I knew it wasn't going to be good.

Helia had said that Baltor was willing to make a trade –the boys for me. As long as he was under the Ancestresses' control though, there was no guarantee of that. Once he was done with me, the Ancestresses' bloodlust wouldn't stop. If they still had their link to the outside worlds, they'd use it, no matter what deal they made.

Baltor would be stuck playing the part of their eternal puppet.

Looking out the window, I stared at the dead sea of Tides. Layla had said that despite Baltor leaving the realm, nothing had gotten better. The mermaids were still monsters, the water was lifeless, the sea life was nonexistent. And now, seeing wrinkled, monster-life mer-people leaping out of the water, I could see she was right. His rule was still evident.

I didn't have a plan. I didn't know what I was going to do once I was face to face with Baltor. Obviously, a fight was non-negotiable, but I had no strategy. However, there couldn't truly be a strategy for me to use when I couldn't gauge the events.

All I could think about was the last time he went into demon mode. He was practically unstoppable. I didn't stand a chance. He was going to tear me apart at the slightest opportunity. There wasn't going to be anyone there to stop him this time.

But I was stronger now. With my Enchantix, I could at least put up a decent fight. Possibly. Or at least, I could distract him to try and come up with a solution. Coming up with a solution was pointless though; either way it was going to end badly.

After the others had found Flora and me, we all went back to Alfea. Luckily Ophir (who we found out was actually Prince Nabu a.k.a. the guy that Layla was going to be arranged with to marry) already had a hovercraft ready to leave as soon as we got there. Flora practically had to drag me onto the ship. I was worried for the guys, I really was. I just couldn't stop thinking about what was happening with Baltor.

I didn't think it could get worse than it already was.

We'd spent a good hour of our trip trying to decipher where Baltor would be hiding on Tides. The realm's army had never found his old hideout, and I was the only one who knew where it had been. I'd wanted to stay silent during the trip, but when Flora turned and asked me where he might be, I couldn't remain mute.

"Underground." I'd muttered. "He'll want to be at the greatest source of power, so he'll be somewhere underground close to the Omega Portal." There was no point in stalling the inevitable. I'd only be risking the boys' safety.

"We're approaching the Omega Portal," Nabu announced, guiding the ship down.

For the life of me, I didn't want to get out of my chair. I didn't want to get off the ship. And I didn't want to be on Tides.

My thoughts shot to one particular moment between Baltor and me. I was walking out of our first real meeting in his pocket realm, and he'd said something that had been haunting me since he'd turned.

"If you end up deciding that you want to kill me, I think twenty-six is a fair episode number to act on."

I suppose this was episode twenty-six.

Layla led us all underground after we reached the Omega Portal. She said that when she was younger she used to go there to hide from her parents and dance. There had been a secret door on the staircase that surrounded the portal, and we each took our turn delving into the caverns.

Parts of the caverns had collapsed on itself, whether from natural wear or tear or from something darker. The light that used to be everywhere was darkened drastically, giving the reflections of water an eerie air. The cavern split off into four different openings –one in front, one on either side, and one behind us. We didn't have time for all of us to explore each one together; we didn't, the boys didn't, and Baltor didn't.

"Okay," I sighed, turning to face everyone. "Um, so, we should split up to cover more ground."

Tecna nodded. "With the size of the area, splitting up would be a logical choice. I suggest pairing up in teams of two, then covering each of the separate tunnels." she plotted. "From there, whichever team finds the prison first will use a contact spell to reach the others to let them know."

"And what happens if one of said groups runs into Baltor?" Layla asked, brow furrowed, angrily. "He surely isn't going to be too far from the guys, and with how much we're going to be divided, there's a greater chance that'll happen."

"It'll be the same plan." Tecna told her. "Use a quick contact spell to call for the other groups so we can take care of Baltor once and for all."

I felt sick.

"Alright, let's make the teams then," she continued. "Flora, I assume you'll be with Helia; same with Layla and Nabu; I'll go with Musa; and Stella you'll be with Bloom."

Musa conjured a small dark blue box from the air, handing it to me. "You're the only one who can really use them. You should have them while we're down here."

I didn't have to ask to know it was the Water Stars.

"All that's left to do is decide which tunnel we'll take."

Taking a moment to tune out the group, I attempted to find Baltor's Dragon Fire. I'd been trying to sense it since I left him at the hideout, but I'd never found anything. To my dismay, I still couldn't sense him. Something inside me though was calling to me, drawing me to the tunnel on the right. There wasn't an explanation as to why, it just felt right (Pun not intended).

"We'll go right!" I interrupted, quickly claiming it.

Tecna's eyebrows knitted together slightly in confusion. "Alright, then, if you're that persistent, go ahead."

"Hey!" Stella drawled, following me towards the tunnel entrance. "The cool kids are partying in the right tunnel!"

"You are not cool!" Musa shouted.

She opened her mouth to snip back at her, but I pulled her away just in time.

The voices from the group gradually became quiet as we walked further into the tunnel. Eventually, we found out that it wasn't just one tunnel; it was a series of them. I mainly relied on my instincts to try and figure out where we going.

We walked side by side, Stella holding up a ball of sunlight to guide us. In the section of the underground that we were in, we were submerged in complete darkness. There was no source of light anywhere once we were in far enough. It was a little off-putting to not be able to see everything except for what Stella's beam touched.

"We're not trying to find the boys, are we?"

Briefly, I considered not replying. "No," I replied.

Her frown appeared worse with the jagged shadows falling on her face.

Fifteen minutes passed between us in total silence. I'd fully expected an interrogation from her, but she was oddly quiet about it. She kept her eyes forward, yet I could see how her eyes were shining.

A large cave suddenly opened in front of us, plunging into darkness that even Stella's light couldn't illuminate.

"That doesn't look very fun," she said, making the ball of light bigger. "It looks like somewhere Baltor would be."

"I'm going in alone." I told her as she started towards the darkness.

Stella whirled towards me, bewildered. "You did not just say that."

"This is how it has to be, Stella." I stared into the black abyss of the cave opening. "It's me and him."

"Not literally!" she exclaimed. "I'm not letting you go in there by yourself! What if the witches are there to ambush you?"

"They won't." I assured her. Granted, I couldn't definitely guarantee that. I never knew what the witches had up their sleeves; but, with the reaction that Darcy had had in the woods, it was reasonable to say that they wouldn't be trying anything slick.

Stella shifted, still uncomfortable with my choice. "There has to be another way."

"This is the only way!" I didn't mean to shout it. "Catch up with the others," I instructed, my voice began to take a dangerously calm tone. "Go find the guys and alert the authorities –in that order. Just whatever you do, don't come looking for me without the majority of Tides's army."

She shook her head. "Don't make me do this."

"Don't make me have to make you do this."

Lifting her head, my heart tightly clenched to see her eyes welling with tears. "I already almost lost you once." she whispered, her voice full of emotion. "Don't make me actually lose you this time."

I forced myself to put on a brave face despite my trembling lower lip. "You're never going to lose me." I wasn't positive just how much of a lie that was.

Suddenly, she yanked me into a hug, squeezing me so tightly I thought I'd surely burst. I hugged her back, trying to get some feeling back into my extremities.

"You're my best friend, Bloom."

I quickly shut my eyes, knowing what was to come. "Stella –"

"You're the sister I never had," she went on. "And as your designated sister, I'm telling you that you're not allowed to die today. You're not allowed to die today, tomorrow, or any other day." Her words started to crack. "I need you here. You have to graduate with us, be my future Maid of Honor, and an aunt to my kids. You have too much left to do here. Promise me that you won't leave."

I broke a small smile. "Do you think I can make that kind of promise with my track record?"

She tearfully laughed. "You can try –huge emphasis on the trying part."

I nodded, but I didn't promise anything.

Taking a step back, she took a breath. "Good luck," she said before taking off in the other direction. The ball of light followed her, temporarily leaving me blind in the darkness. I threw up my own flame to lead me the rest of the way, briefly being reminded of when Baltor had done it on our way to see the Ancestresses.

My chest ached, and I restarted the trek.

The cave turned out to just be another wider, colder tunnel. It was endless; not even a pinpoint of light could be seen. Yet what was worse was that it gave me a horrific amount of time to reminisce.

Stella's speech hovered over my head, refusing to let me forget. I hated to be as harsh as I was with her, but I had to get her out. I didn't know just how everything was going to go down, and I didn't want Stella or anyone to see that. If I had a choice, I wouldn't want to see it. Fate was cruel, though, and I was destined to suffer.

I tried to not think about Baltor. The more I thought about Baltor, the more I was bound to leave and make the situation ten times worse. If I left he would remain under the Ancestresses' hold that much longer. I couldn't let him endure that anymore. And if something were to happen to me during that process, I'd be content with it.

I was jarred from my thoughts when yelling echoed through the tunnel. Defensively, I transformed into my Enchantix and prepared for whatever was about to head my way.

"I told you we should have left days ago!"

"He was fine! How was I supposed to know that that was going to happen again?"

"Can we just get out of here before we all get torn apart?"

The witches.

Icy, Darcy, and Stormy came to a sudden halt when they saw me. The three seemed to be out of breath, and there were visible scratches on all of them. They seemed genuinely shocked to see me there, but Icy's expression melted into one of pure fury not a moment later.

"What are you doing here?" Stormy shouted.

"I could ask you the same thing." I bravely replied. I could see Darcy shoot me a warning glance.

"Who cares?" Icy snapped. "Let's just get rid of this pixie!"

I barely had a second's reaction time as Icy shot a brilliant blue beam of pure ice at me. I erected a fire shield right before it slammed into me, blocking the oncoming stream of energy with every ounce of power I had.

"I'm going to enjoy wiping the floor with you!" she threatened, putting more power into her attack.

I could feel myself start to slip some, flashes of Shadow Haunt appearing in my mind. Struggling a little to refocus, I put some more power into my shield as well.

"Icy, we don't have time for this brat!" Stormy shouted, rapidly glancing over her shoulder. "Let's go!"

How close was he?

"I'd hate to pass up on a chance to witch her up," Darcy remarked. "However, I'd also hate to be dead."

Icy's eye was twitching from the restraint. The longer she glared at me, I could begin to see small snowflakes flurrying around her. Her energy beam was becoming stronger with each passing moment. She spared no expense in making sure I knew that she wanted me in a puddle of blood on the floor.

"Besides, Baltor will take care of her."

The ice witch's eyes widened in realization, and the snowflakes dissipated. A twisted grin stretched across her face. "That's right." she happily hissed. Her beam of energy vanished, allowing me to remove my shield. "As much as I'd love to see you get torn apart piece by piece by a raging demon, I'd rather not get caught in the crossfire." Her grin morphed into a taunting smirk. "Your blood's hard to get out of my clothes."

Motioning for her sisters, she brushed past me and kept going. Stormy tailed after her immediately, glaring at me from the side. I didn't care. My attention was on Darcy, who was falling far behind Icy and Stormy. The aforementioned two had disappeared far into the darkness while the hypnotic witch stayed behind.

"Is he okay?" I asked under my breath.

She sighed, most likely trying to understand why she was still here. "No," she hastily muttered. "He morphed back to his human form the day after he turned, but he went insane. I've never seen him like that. He destroyed everything in the hideout." She paused. "But he kept talking about you and how he was going to kill you."

My heartache worsened.

"I've heard some twisted stuff," she said. "Nothing compared to what he said, though."

"Darcy!" Icy's voice shrieked through the air. I flinched.

"I need to leave," she quickly murmured. "Just whatever you do, don't let him get behind you."

I furrowed my brow. "Why?"

She shook her head. "Just don't."

I knew better than to ask any more questions.

Without another word, Darcy darted away from me, going to join her sisters. I blindly stood there until the echoing sound of her high heels clicking against the stone drifted off into silence. It was then, in that endless black void of dead air, that I became utterly terrified.

I've had my powers ripped from my body. I've been ripped open with an icicle. I've had my heart painfully changed from light to dark. And I'd gladly go through each and every one of those experiences again if it meant that I didn't have to keep walking. I didn't want to face what was at the end of the tunnel. If I saw what was there, there was no guarantee I could keep it together. If I couldn't keep it together, I was sure to lose the battle.

But I didn't want to win. Hell, I didn't want to lose. I didn't want to fight Baltor at all. I wanted to get back on the hovercraft, curl up in a ball, and cry for a week. And at the end of that week, I wanted to walk off the hovercraft and see Baltor standing there, alright, with no trace of the Ancestresses' curse.

I wanted everything to be over.

It never would be.

No matter how hard I hoped, or how much I tried to avoid a fight, it would never be over. The only way it would end was with one of us dead.

The question that remained was which one of us it would be.

Although my heart screamed no, I slowly continued down the tunnel.

It felt like hours before I reached the end. Upon my first look, the enormous cavern appeared empty; a few stone columns scattered around to keep from a cave in. Not a single sound was heard around me.

Briefly, I wondered how close we were to the original hideout. It'd been relatively in the same area. The closer I inspected it, though, the more I wondered if it was the original hideout. Baltor had had it filled with spell books the last time I'd been there. With how empty it was now, there was a chance that it was the same hideout except I couldn't recognize it.

Stepping out of the tunnel into the light, I felt the temperature quickly plummet. My senses went on high alert and my eyes scanned the room.

I wasn't alone.

My heart skipped a beat when a distant shadow moved at the other end of the cavern. I couldn't discern any details aside from the thing's huge size. I locked my gaze on it as it trudged out of the darkness.

In that moment, the dimension came to a halt. Time itself was nonexistent. The world was so silent that not even our breaths could be heard.

He stood over eight feet tall, looming ominously above everything in the cavern. Nothing about him resembled human features. If I hadn't seen the leathery arm clawing its way out of the hideout in the forest, I wouldn't have believed it to be Baltor. But when I saw that the leathery arm had a body, horns, and wings to match, there was no denying it.

This was what he had warned me about so many times before. This was what he'd tried to spare me from witnessing –the demon.

No, he wasn't a demon. He was Baltor, which was exactly the side of him I needed to appeal to. If I could somehow grab the attention of his human side, there was a chance that we could both come out of this with no damage done.

It was a long shot, but I was willing to try it.

Refusing to break eye contact, I slowly walked towards him, taking the tiniest steps I could. His blood red eyes bore into mine, protruded from under his skin the closer I got, pulsating with adrenaline. He was ready to pounce the moment I made a move. It didn't make sense for him not to attack me, though. Baltor said that he had been conditioned to kill me on sight whilst in his demonic form. He should've been trying to kill me, but he was only studying me.

What was he waiting for?

His hesitation aroused my deeply buried hope. If he wasn't attacking me that meant that something was holding him back. He was either fighting back against the curse, or the Ancestresses were in control and were constructing a plan for how he should destroy me. I was praying for the first.

If he was fighting back, that meant I had the chance to reach out to him. There was a possibility that he could actually hear me.

Taking a silent, steadying breath, I quietly called out: "Baltor?"

He growled.

"Shit."

Baltor lunged towards me, his clawed arm brought back to swing at me. Feeling my own adrenaline rush, I leapt into the air, high above his head. However, instead of him colliding into the stone like I thought he would, his own wings spread, and he dove right after me. Before I could fly out of his way, his large hand locked around my ankle and he flung me across the cavern.

With the size of my wings, I easily was able to stabilize myself before I crashed into the wall. Seeing him come at me again, I formed a heat blast and threw it in his direction. It hit him straight in the chest, surprisingly affecting him.

I was stunned, but continued to repel his attacks and throw some of my own.

I couldn't help but wonder why this was a somewhat evenly matched fight. During our first battle, Baltor had had the ability to control my powers and I'd lost almost instantaneously. The only difference between then and now was my Enchantix. But why would that change anything?

Wracking my mind for an answer, I leapt to the side and put up a wall of fire. It wasn't much, but hopefully it was enough to stall Baltor long enough for me to figure out how to stop him. Although, when I saw him fearlessly begin to approach it, I knew that time span was an incredibly short one.

Panic overwhelmed me as he reached out to break the barrier. I only had seconds left and I'd thought of nothing. Nervously, I began tugging on the chain around my neck, attempting not to focus on what was bound to happen. There had to be an answer.

A terrible monstrous roar suddenly split through my ears.

Returning my attention to Baltor, I saw him cradling his arm to his chest, like he'd been burned. The fire wall was still intact, glowing brighter than before. I could see the Fairy Dust sparkling blindingly with pent up Light energy.

Fairy Dust.

A conversation I'd had with Tecna came to mind. She'd been explaining to me about the intense healing properties of the Fairy Dust that came with the Enchantix transformation. According to what the professors had told her, Fairy Dust was composed strictly from Light energy from the farthest stars in the Magic Dimension, and with that energy it could erase any dark magic. With that energy, it could even erase a dark curse.

That was painfully simple. Almost too simple.

There was no way I could get close to Baltor to use my Fairy Dust on him. If I got that close to him, I'd be dead in two seconds flat. The only other way I could use it on him would be if I infused it in an attack.

There more I thought about it, the more I realized it wasn't just an option. It was my only option.

The chances of it actually working were slim. True, the amount of Fairy Dust in the attack could eliminate the curse, but the blast itself had the potential to wipe out everything else. He would be set free from the Ancestresses' hold and the rest would be destroyed I would be destroyed.

Whether or not I enacted the spell, I was staring death in the face. I would either die by my own hand or by Baltor's. I wasn't sure if I was prepared to die; although, I couldn't bear the thought of forcing the guilt of murdering me on Baltor. I was more than willing to spare him from that.

Flora was right. It was going to come down to me or him.

And it was going to be me.

I wasn't going to have much time to do it. Once I dissipated the fire wall, I had to be ready. I had to have the blast ready I had to be ready to die.

Looking at Baltor, I could barely see his eyes through the wall. The red was gone. In its place was the familiar grey I'd always known; the grey I . . . loved.

"I'm sorry."

Tearing the Fairy Dust pendant off, I crushed it in my hand till there was nothing but a pile of shimmering particles. Taking a final, long breath, the fire wall vanished.

Baltor charged.

With barely a split second to react, I quickly focused all of my Dragon Fire into one ball of energy. Then I launched it.

Light erupted.

Heat blasted me.

And I graciously accepted my fate as I was blown into oblivion.

I apologize for nothing. And if you ask me what Darcy meant by "Don't let him get behind you," I will not tell you. Unless there is a high demand for the answer, I will leave that for the imagination.

This was supposed to have gone up yesterday, but my life has been a little hectic as of late. I got a new, full-time job that's going to take up the majority of my time now amongst other things, hopefully. But, I promise that the epilogue will be up later this week, most likely on Halloween.

Yes, there is only one more chapter left –the epilogue. It doesn't feel real that there's only one chapter left. I feel like I still have so much more to go. Technically I do, since there will be two sequels to this story. Broken Pieces is just my precious baby that I don't want to let go of.

This was an emotional roller coaster for me to write, honestly –mainly the ending, and the part with Stella. Like I said, though, I don't regret any of my decisions for this chapter. I like to be very strategic about things like this, and I'm not disappointed. I'm content with the madness I've created.

I'm not going to get all sappy and shit until the end of the epilogue because, obviously, that's THE END. So, I won't do that, but, like, always, I appreciate every single one of you who have supported me over this past year. I will go back over this for errors another time since I have to go work a graveyard shift in like 3 hours. Also, if you liked the chapter don't be afraid to leave a review telling me what you liked!

~Bloom