Hello again! Are you ready for the finale of Black Annie? I hope so! Here it is! :D

Olivia's P.O.V.

It didn't take very long before we arrived at Annie's creepy cabin. Unfortunately, the door was locked.

"How are we gonna get i-?" I was interrupted by Christina kicking the door open. "I guess that works…"

Fearfully, we all poured into her lair, shrouded in darkness. The only source of light we had was a strange, terrifying green glow of ectoplasm, which seemed to be slithering in a chilling fashion around the large room.

Standing behind her cauldron, smirking evilly at us, she greeted us, but with that dreary tone in her voice. It was anything but welcoming.

"Knights of the Silver Rose...Welcome!

Together we'll have oh such fun!" she let out a sickening cackle before continuing.

"Though my riddles you've solved, my codes, you've cracked

You can never win; you must face that fact!"

I shuddered; for some reason, the fact that she spoke in rhyme just made everything creepier.

"Charge!" Cassandra cried. I think that's her official war cry now... I rolled my eyes.

We all charged towards Annie who simply sat calmly behind her cauldron, smirking evilly at us.

Destiny definitely got her being insane part right, I noted. I mean, there's a bunch of us knights against one of her! She's outnumbered! I thought, puzzled. The odds are definitely for us.

Or so I thought.

We bumped into something, making us all tumble back. She rolled on the floor, laughing at us.

"She must have cast some magical barrier!" I despaired.

Once she got over it, she motioned some circling gestures with her ugly hands. The green, bubbling goo from her cauldron suddenly made a long green arm, heading straight towards us!

She started an incantation.

"To the Knights of the Silver Rose

My greatest curse on your leader, I pose!"

A glowing green goo arm from her cauldron grabbed Christina, who struggled to escape its grip. It dragged her through the protective bubble, and straight towards Annie!

"Slowly tangled in the rose's thorns;

Broken apart, and utterly torn."

We got ourselves together, and charged towards Annie all at once, but to no avail.

Destiny recovered the soonest and stood strong while we were still dazed.

She angrily shot back Annie's glare before Annie turned her back against Destiny in ignorance.

"What is your deepest fear, my child?" she hissed towards Christina.

"No!" Christina yelled, running towards the barrier. She simply bounced off of it, falling to the ground.

She didn't move again; she was completely frozen!

"I see…"

"Stop!" Justin yelled. "Stop it!"

But Black Annie payed him no heed.

"Don't you dare curse Christina!" Destiny bravely ordered, standing tall.

She determinedly charged towards Annie once more.

Somehow, ran through the protective ward on her own! And she was unharmed!

How did she do that?! I wondered in disbelief.

She continued on-wards, eyes focused on Annie. Her sword's sharp tip getting closer and closer to Annie's back. The petals of the dandelion connected to her sword swayed with the current of the wind.

Annie abruptly turned around and was shocked to see Destiny coming to stab her from behind.

"You meddlesome child! How dare you?!

I might as well turn you into stew!"

She kept her right arm raised, while she spun her left. Another arm of green goo came out of the pot and held back Destiny!

"Her true identity will be erased;

She'll be the deer in the hunt who is chased!"

We looked at our fearless founders helplessly.

Black Annie continued:

"The leader's magic item will be the last found!

The other's legacy forgotten into the ground!"

She cackled crazily.

"NOOOO!" Destiny wailed, trying to push the sticky goo back with her hands. She was cornered.

Then, the oddest thing happened.

A blinding green-yellow light filled the room. Once it left the room back into darkness, all the magic at work just... stopped!

The ward shattered into a million pieces like glass, and the gooey arms simply collapsed! All of Annie's furniture was knocked over after that incredible blast, including her cauldron.

Destiny took a knee and held her head with her hand for support. She looked so pale I worried she might faint again. She must have gotten real tired from fighting that gooey mess, I reasoned anxiously.

We ran towards our spent friends.

Annie rose from her seat.

"Hmm… Blinding light… Impressive…Same strong signature moves as her parents…too bad she'll die before ever learning more..." Annie whispered wickedly.

She was ready to cast another spell. This time, on all of us.

"What do we do?" I desperately asked.

"Do you really need orders?! Get Annie by any means necessary!" shouted Destiny with all the strength she had left.

I nodded. Battle was one of the things I did best. Clutching my father's Obsidian sword in my hand, I charged into battle.

Cassandra soared through the air, trying to catch Annie. But the old witch was much too quick. With a crazed laugh, she spun her staff through the air, and said,

"Flutter, flutter,
Fly away!

Out of the sky,

And into the fray!"

And then Cassandra's wings went crazy.

"What?!" she exclaimed, trying to take control. But the wings refused to be tamed. They drove her straight into the ceiling and wouldn't let her get down.

Oh great… I thought. One knight down, already!

Fiona, looking up at her friend, became furious. Bearing her trusted Grizzleheim weapon, she rammed straight towards Black Annie.

"No one hurts my friends!" she yelled, pointing her weapon at Black Annie.

"Brave is brave,

and dumb is dumb!
You shall dig your own grave,

with a flick of my thumb!" Annie screeched.

All of a sudden, Fiona's hands took control over her weapon, and started digging into the dirt floor of Annie's cabin. "Huh?!"

Two, already?! How are we going to win this thing?! I despaired.

Justin started running towards Annie. "This is ridiculous!" he exclaimed. "Just die, already!"

Annie hissed.

"Stableboy, stableboy, look at you!

Though now, a fancy knight,

You're fit to kiss my shoe!"

Justin lost control of himself, and marched up to Black Annie. "No!" he cried, before his lips were smothered with the witch's stinky shoe.

I frowned and regretted seeing what I just saw. That was just gross!

But, I had to get my head back into reality. "Savannah!" I whispered urgently. The red haired girl looked back at me. I motioned me and her surrounding Annie, and she nodded.

Evelyn saw what we were planning, and joined in.

Savannah, Evelyn and I surrounded her from three corners of Annie, ready to charge from every direction. We did so in unison, until she pushed her arms out from either side of her, creating another barrier.

I glanced at Christina, still frozen from bumping into Black Annie's previous barrier. Her face was still stuck in a horrified expression. I became even more determined to get through and avenge what Annie has done on Christina and all my friends.

Savannah and Evelyn got bumped back by the force-field and fell, stunned. Me, on the other hand, got through thanks to my father's weapon.

It pierced through the magical forcefield. I continued to charge and ended stabbing Annie in the chest with one blow!

"NOOOOOOO!" she screeched with agony and pain.

She started melting into the ground, and seeped through the wooden cracks.

Now that is just disgusting, I thought, revolted, her remaining melting body dripping off the tip of my sword.

So this is how it feels to kill a monster, I discovered. Looks like I've followed my father's footsteps. I grinned at myself, proud of what I accomplished. I was going to follow my father's legacy after all.

Destiny headed straight for the window and vomited outside it.

"I take it you don't take a killing very well Destiny," remarked Evelyn, getting up.

"It's not something I'd like to see everyday," Destiny admitted once she got over it.

Christina stood up, now unfrozen. She rubbed her sinuses. "I don't think any of us do," she revealed.

It seemed like all the spells Annie had fired at us during the battle were dissolved as everyone else gained enough strength to congratulate me.

Cassandra stretched her wings, and fluttered them, coming down from the ceiling. She shivered. "That was terrifying…"

Justin stood up. "Yuck! Does anyone have mouthwash?!" He was disgusted after Destiny threw up outside the window, and possibly from kissing Annie's shoe.

"I think I have some mint leaves in my pocket," Destiny mumbled, somewhat offended.

I guess she was too weak to look up and see what Annie forced Justin to do, I realized. Lucky her.

She took some out of her tiny pouch underneath her armor and chewed some in her mouth.

Savannah beamed, now unfrozen as well. "Can I have one?"

Destiny passed some to Savannah generously.

Finally, after everyone took a mint leaf, we came back to investigating.

"Guys! Over here!" Christina cried.

We all gathered around where Annie's magic pot was knocked over by that mysterious, magical explosion.

"Woah…" we murmured, staring at a glowing purple words appeared from the dirty, dark, wooden floor.

"What does it say?" wondered Fiona, now cured from digging her grave.

"Maybe a hint on what to do next? The answer to one of Black Annie's darkest secrets?" I inquired.

"Maybe it's both!" exclaimed Christina with excitement.

"Hold on a second," Savannah halted. "I think it's a riddle of some sort!"

"Ooh… I love riddles and rhymes!" Destiny blurted out, before she could stop herself.

We all looked at her.

"What do you do as a hobby? Write poetry?" Evelyn joked.

"Actually, I do," replied Destiny honestly. "And that knowledge might come in handy in a situation like this."

How is that helpful at a time like this?! I was perplexed, as the others did seem.

Destiny sighed patiently.

"I might be able to interpret the true meaning of the text here is if someone would care to read it," she offered.

How does Destiny know so much?! I thought. She seems to have such a wide range of interests and talents. It just seems inhuman for her to know so much when she's only our age...

"I'll read it," I offered.

The writing was written in illegible cursive, but I was able to understand it like this:

"Two cures, only, to heal the cursed,

When the Knights of the Silver Rose are at their worst.

The first, the object of a simple name,

Though it has received quite some fame.

The second may never, ever be found,

But only when the others are not around..."

Destiny's P.O.V.

"Hmm…" I reflected for a moment.

I knew I have become one of the two main cursed the minute Black Annie caught me. But I did not have as much importance as Christina did.

Best I keep myself out of it, I considered. Christina is the leader and therefore top priority. The last thing I want is my friends worrying about me again. I'm not significant nor do I have special status like Christina… I thought solemnly.

"Well, what does is mean?" queried Savannah, interrupting my deliberation. "Even I'm stumped on this one."

"Okay. There are two possible cures to heal Christina from that rose thorn curse of Annie's," I commenced.

"Um, no offense Destiny, but I think we all understood that first part," affirmed Evelyn.

"Well, what do you all not understand?" I asked Evelyn, trying my best to control my rising irritation.

"The last four lines would be nice," she clarified.

I frowned. Even with my knack for poetry, this one was hard. "It has to be something quite famous."

Cassandra nodded. "Zeus SkyFather? Maybe he is the cure!"

Olivia shook her head. "It'd probably be something related to Avalon, or Christina herself."

I nodded. "True..."

Fiona closed her eyes in thought. "Um, if you say 'related'...Maybe Christina's family? Where is Queen Gwendolyn, anyway?"

Christina let out a half-laugh. "I doubt it. And my mom is doing some royal business in Wizard City. Something about the Council of Light? Saviors of the Spiral? I don't know…"

I remember reading about the Council of Light and the Saviors of the Spiral. They were famed as the most powerful wizards ever!

Wish I could get the chance to see them one day… I hoped. Then again, meeting a humble mind-reader like me wouldn't be that special, significant, or important. If they encounter magical beings everyday, I'm definitely nothing out of the ordinary...

"Okay, so we don't know…But what about the last two lines?" wondered Christina, interrupting my dreams.

"Oh! Um, I don't know..." I tried to act uncertain when I knew exactly what they meant.

Best not to share. I brooded. They'll find out I'm involved in this magical mess if I explain to them… It's a good thing no one heard or suspects Annie cursing me...

I took my sword out of my scabbard. I used the blade as a knife to finely cut around the last four lines in the splintering, old, wooden plank. I picked up the small square piece I carefully carved out. It surprisingly didn't crumple into wood dust and stayed as a whole.

"I'm keeping this," I professed. "To remind me to crack this last two stanzas of the riddle as soon as possible."

I knew that was only partially true.

Hope I sounded convincing enough, I aspired. Last thing I want is for others to find me suspicious even though I'm friends with them…