Chapter 34: True Nature
Everybody stared in awe at the blue unicorn that stood before them. It was such a huge contrast to the nightmare that had been in that same spot only moments ago. The unicorn had azure fur, complemented with a mane and tail which both consisted of lime green hair.
"R-R-Ronodin?" asked Seth, uncertain as to what exactly had just happened. He couldn't tell whether something had truly changed, or if the nightmare was just pulling some sort of facade.
"This is too weird," said Kendra.
"Careful," said Bracken. "We don't know what he's capable of."
"Fairies, be ready," said Brillia, as she held out her hands. The rest of the fairy angels all followed Brillia's lead and held their hands forward as well.
Ronodin's pearly-white horn started to glow blue.
"Ronodin..." said Seth.
At that moment a white cloth, small enough to be held in one hand, materialized in midair in front of Ronodin's face. It then began to wave itself back and forth, no doubt under Ronodin's power.
"At ease," said Brillia, prompting all the other fairy angels to lower their hands, as she did so herself.
"What's going on?" asked Ingrid. "Has Ronodin really changed?"
Ronodin telekinetically lowered his cloth to the ground and nodded. "Yes," he said, speaking in a much calmer voice for once. "My corrupted horns have been destroyed. Thank you, Seth. I feared that I was about to be completely consumed by them. I don't know what I would have done."
"I think you have a bit of explaining to do," said Raxtus, as everyone else nodded in approval.
"I know," said Ronodin, as tears began to flow out down from his eyes. "I'm... I'm sorry."
"A unicorn can only cry tears of sincerity," said Brook. "But what you've done... I don't even know where to begin..."
"You killed Victor!" said Seth, as he knelt down by the fallen superbulb.
"That was an accident," said Ronodin. "I never intended to do Victor, or any of you, any harm."
"Never intended to do any harm?" asked Warren. "From the moment we first met you, you've been nothing but trouble! It's like the floodgates of trouble suddenly opened up, releasing an endless flow of... well... trouble, upon us!"
"I admit that this was my fault. But it was never my true intention. The darkness within my horns was too powerful. Over the years, they overwhelmed me. My single third unicorn horn just didn't have the strength to compete with my two corrupted ones."
"What where you even trying to accomplish?" asked Clover.
"I wanted to purge the world of all demons. They nearly drove my kind to extinction. But along the way, I allowed my first two horns to be corrupted. I thought I could control them. I thought I could use them to take influence over any demons I came across. But it wasn't what I had intended. Instead, the powers of the horns took influence over me."
"One cannot just go around, committing genocide like this," said Bravia.
"I'm sorry," said Ronodin. "I never intended for this whole thing to spiral out of control the way it did. It was my horns that drove me to this point."
"It wouldn't have ended with the demons," said Bracken. "Even if you had succeeding in destroying every last one, you likely would've developed delusions of grandeur. That you should be exalted as some sort of self-appointed unicorn king. And you still would've had your corrupted horns."
"I realize that. Deep down I would've regretted it. But my horns wouldn't have let me stop there. I'd become something I never wanted to be. In fact, by corrupting my horns and falling victim to them, I already turned myself into what I truly despised, even though I wanted to stop the demons all along in the first place."
"I don't mean to change the subject," said Skyfrost, "but what's the deal with Maelstrom?"
"And that fairy you were with?" noted Firesquall.
"I'm right here," hummed Melody, as she flew up towards the center of the crowd. In her diminutive form, her voice was tiny, and she had to stop to gasp for breath.
"Melody is a lyrabelle," said Ronodin. "A superbulb of one, technically. And my first successful superbulb at that."
"Please, there's something I must say!" exclaimed Melody in her tiny voice.
"Here," said Seth, as he allowed his wings to exert their golden glow. In a flash of light, Melody shot up to her full-body human size.
"How could you allow Victor to die, Ronodin?"
"It was an accident," stated Ronodin. "I never wanted to harm him. I never wanted to hurt anyone. It's why I transported you all out of the preserve when I did. I needed you out of my way. Demons may have been my enemy, but I never wanted to harm others. Even with my corrupted horns, my inner self meant no harm to anyone."
"You still allowed a superbulb to perish. Are we inferior to original beings? Do you see us as nothing but mere tools?"
"Of course not. It was Victor's predisposition to respect me. And I respected him back, even if I could not prevent what my nightmare form did to him. I'm truly devastated at what happened. I can't bring him back. Not even if I wanted to. I only ever managed to develop but two superbulbs. One grew into you, Melody. The other became Victor."
"I understand. But I am not happy."
"Neither am I," said Ronodin. "You'd think I would be, now that I am finally a proper unicorn once again, and that my corrupted horns are gone. But I cannot enjoy this moment, knowing that my own greed and recklessness led to an innocent being, one whom I had developed feelings towards, to lose his life."
"Are you going to be okay, Melody?" asked Opal.
"I'm just upset," sang the lyrabelle. "But there's something I need to say. Something concerning Maelstrom."
Everyone looked over at Maelstrom, who was still confined within Kendra's energy chains.
"Maelstrom, it's me," said Ronodin. "Can someone remove those chains from her?"
"I'll do it," said Kendra. "But she has to promise not to attack us."
Still able to move her neck, Maelstrom nodded.
Kendra held Vasilis forward, aiming it towards the coppery wyvern. The chain that had been wrapped around Maelstrom's snout suddenly became unraveled, allowing her to open her mouth once again.
"Thank you," said Melody. "Now, there's something that I have deduced, and it concerns you, Maelstrom. Seth, you stated that your wyvern allies came from Cloud Canyon, yes?"
"We do..." said Skyfrost, sounding intrigued.
"Is he actually speaking English?" asked Ronodin, who looked stunned. "How?"
"Please listen!" blurted Melody. "Wyverns, does the name Thundertorch mean anything to you?"
"Thundertorch?" gasped Firesquall. "That was our mom's name."
Melody, Ronodin and Maelstrom all appeared to be startled.
"How do you know her?" asked Skyfrost.
"According to Maelstrom, Thundertorch was one of the few surviving wyverns who remained at Cloud Canyon, even after Revlogg started either killing or driving away most of the inhabitants."
"How do you know about our mom?" asked Firesquall.
"Thundertorch was Maelstrom's sister," replied Melody. "If you're her sons, then that means that Maelstrom here is your aunt."
"Maelstrom," said Skyfrost. "Is this true?"
Maelstrom let out a soft growl and nodded.
"No way..." said Seth.
"She's really related to them?" asked Ingrid. "I mean, no offense or anything, but Maelstrom isn't exactly the kindest character we've come across."
"Maelstrom is an adult wyvern," replied Geminus. "And a female at that. Skyfrost and Firesquall are kind largely in part because they've been tamed at a young age."
"There's one thing I don't get," said Clover. "Can someone ask Maelstrom why she allied herself with Ronodin?"
"Okay," said Skyfrost, as he turned to face Maelstrom. "They want to know why you allied yourself with Ronodin."
Maelstrom let out several grumbles, which Kendra assumed had to have been Draconian tongue.
"She says that she didn't feel safe after leaving Cloud Canyon, and that she would fall prey to the evils of the outside world."
Maelstrom continued to mutter several more unintelligible grumbles.
"When Ronodin discovered her one day, he vowed that he was vying to one day destroy all demons living in this world," said Firesquall. "Also, she was impressed with Ronodin's power."
"So they joined forces, because they found that they shared the same goal," said Bracken.
"That's exactly it," said Ronodin. "I admit that I was impressed with Maelstrom's power as well."
"And what about Melody?" asked Kendra. "I know now that she's an enhanced stingbulb. But how did she come to be?"
"I felt that I was in need of assistance. I wanted a fairy that could aid me. One who could do so in a way that I could not. I needed fairy who would be loyal to me. But no fairy would trust a dark unicorn. I eventually learned about stingbulbs, and managed to procure a few. But their limitations left me unsatisfied. So I developed my own enhancements to them. I made them capable of living full lives, and retaining the abilities of the original beings whom they copied."
"So Melody..."
"Was duplicated from a lyrabelle belonging to a fairy trader." answered Ronodin. "Correct. But without my enhancements to a superbulb, she wouldn't have had the powers of a lyrabelle, or any fairy for that matter. When the superbulb experiment proved to be a success, I then granted Melody more power. A normal lyrabelle is nowhere near this powerful."
"What's going to happen to Melody?" asked Kendra. "And Maelstrom? And Ronodin, for that matter?"
"That's... a good question," replied Warren. "This seems a tad out of my league, even as a lieutenant of the Knights of the Dawn. Brillia, do you have any suggestions?"
"I'll speak with Mother about this," answered Brillia. "For now, I propose that you transport Ronodin and Melody to the dungeon at Fablehaven, just for the time being."
"Are you imprisoning us?" hummed Melody, who sounded legitimately worried.
"Temporarily. Until we figure out what to do with you. You've caused a tremendous amount of trouble for all of us."
"I know," said Ronodin. "And I'm sorry. You may imprison me for my actions. I deserve it."
"And Melody, as a superbulb, you were inclined to follow Ronodin's orders, regardless of the fact that you may have defected from him at some point. However, it still doesn't mean we entirely trust you. You will also need to be locked for the moment."
Melody winced. "I understand."
"What about Maelstrom?" asked Raxtus, looking over at the wrangled wyvern.
"She was loyal to me, but she was not your enemy," replied Ronodin. "She attacked not with the intention to hurt, but to stop you. I take full blame for her actions."
"I don't know what we should do with her," said Brook.
"If you don't mind, Firesquall and I have a suggestion," said Skyfrost.
"What's that?" asked Seth.
"Maelstrom is our aunt," said Firesquall. "Maybe she could come and live with us at Fablehaven."
"Yeah!" chimed in Skyfrost. "We were hostile at first ourselves, but..."
Warren shook his head, as did several other. "No way. Absolutely not."
"Fablehaven is no place for an adult wyvern like Maelstrom," said Bracken. "And that's without even so much as factoring in her recent actions."
"She needs a home?" asked Ingrid. "Why not Wyrmroost? Or one of the other dragon sanctuaries?"
"Of course!" said Skyfrost. "Maelstrom, what would you say to living in a dragon sanctuary? You'd be with your own kind and everything."
Maelstrom let out several more grumbles in response. The other dragons remained speechless after she finished.
"What did she say?" asked Seth.
"Maelstrom refuses to live within the confines of a dragon sanctuary," replied Raxtus. "She wishes to remain a free being."
"So what are we supposed to do, then?" asked Kendra.
"I don't know if there's much we can do," said Brillia. "Wyverns are very powerful creatures, and they don't exactly fall within our... jurisdiction."
"What if she agrees not to harm anyone?" asked Firesquall. "If we leave her alone, that is."
"I'm not too enthralled about that idea," said Bright. "We hardly even know about her intentions, let alone anything to do with her as an individual."
"Okay," said Skyfrost, turning to face Maelstrom. "We've agreed to let you go, so long as you promise to not harm any innocent beings."
Maelstrom gave a brief response.
"She agrees," said Firesquall. "But Maelstrom, must you leave us? We're family, and we don't even know each other."
"We're your nephews!" exclaimed Skyfrost. "Come on!"
Maelstrom gave another response, which went on a fair bit longer than her previous one. Once she finished, Skyfrost and Firesquall remained silent. Both of them appeared to be glum.
"What'd she say?" asked Ingrid.
Raxtus sighed. "Maelstrom feels that while they may be relatives, Skyfrost and Firesquall are not her responsibility. She resents them for choosing to live at Fablehaven, and believes that they will not be raised properly. That they will grow up too soft."
"But she's your aunt!" said Seth. "She's your mother's sister."
"She doesn't care that they're Thundertorch's sons," said Geminus. "I don't believe that there's any reasoning with her. We should probably just let her go."
"She's not our enemy," said Raxtus. "But at the same time, she's not our ally either."
"Okay," said Kendra. "I'll release her. But she has to promise not to attack us."
"She won't," said Ronodin. "You may release her."
Kendra pointed Vasilis towards Maelstrom, making sure to aim its tip directly at the energy chains that it had previously conjured up and wrapped around her. Focusing on the chains, Kendra clenched the hilt of Vasilis firmly in her hands.
Suddenly, the chains that Maelstrom had been ensnared in began to unravel. Once the wyvern was completely free, the energy-based chains went flying back towards Vasilis, shrinking in size as they neared the blade, then phasing back into the sword from whence they came.
Now free, Maelstrom stood up on her feet and extended her wings. She raised her head upwards and let out another growl.
"What's she doing?" asked Seth.
Maelstrom flapped her wings, then let out another intimidating roar. She then leapt up into the air, and began to fly off.
"No, come back!" exclaimed Skyfrost, as he and Firesquall both took off after Maelstrom.
"Come back!" shouted Warren.
"Her last word was farewell," said Geminus.
As Skyfrost and Firesquall caught up with Maelstrom, their aunt retaliated by exhaling a massive cloud of green gas at the two of them. The twins veered out of the cloud that had engulfed them, and soared back down towards the island.
"What was that?" asked Kendra, once Skyfrost and Firesquall had landed. Both of them appeared to look somewhat queasy.
"I dunno," groaned Skyfrost.
"I feel sick..." sighed Firesquall.
"You guys okay?" asked Warren, as he rubbed his hands upon the wyvern's snouts. They both responded by shaking their heads.
"They'll be fine," said Geminus, as she exerted a pink mist from her mouth, which quickly encompassed Skyfrost and Firesquall. "I can heal their ailments. But not their broken hearts."
"Poor guys," said Kendra. "I know how they must feel. I can feel it myself. But to be them and experience it..."
"Let's try to look forwards," said Brillia. "Knights of the Dawn, I ask that you transport Ronodin and Melody back to Fablehaven for the moment, while I inquire about the situation to Mother."
"Understood," said Warren. "We'll transport everyone back to Fablehaven, then."
"Hold on a moment," said Ingrid. "What about this yard that's just floating up in the sky? And the whole World's End preserve, for that matter?"
"One thing at a time," said Bracken. "Let's just get everyone back to Fablehaven for now. "We should be able to return the land we are standing upon back to World's End once we regain our strength, so it's nothing to be too concerned about. As for the preserve of World's End as a whole..."
"I'll speak to Stan about it," said Warren, as he removed the Translocator from his bag "He'll know what to do."
"What about Victor?" asked Seth, looking down at the fallen superbulb.
"He's coming too," said Ronodin. "Even if it's too late to help him."
Warren then wound up the Translocator and held it out. At that point, most of the fairies made themselves disappear, while the others all made contact with the mystical artifact.
"Do we just place our hand upon it?" asked Melody.
"Yeah," said Kendra. "Ronodin, could you assume your human form again?"
"Understood," said Ronodin, as he transformed back into a human. Even though he was no longer a nightmare, his human form still looked like it normally did.
"Here goes," said Seth, as he held up Victor's hand and pressed it against the Translocator.
"Let's do this," said Warren. Once everyone was touching the Translocator, he twisted it.
In a blur, the floating yard of World's End had been replaced with the yard from Fablehaven. They did it. They were home.
"Come with us," said Bracken, once he and the other fairies all reappeared.
Bracken, Bright and Clover all escorted Ronodin and Melody up towards the house, prompting Kendra, Ingrid and Warren to follow them.
"I wanna stay here," said Seth. "With Victor."
"I understand," said Kendra, as she and the others walked onto the porch and entered through the front door.
"You're back?" came Grandma's voice from another room.
"Oh my god," said Grandpa, as he and the other adults stepped into the entry hall. "Is that... Ronodin?"
"And that fairy he was with?" asked Mrs. Sorenson.
"They've surrendered," said Kendra. "They've promised not to harm us."
"Why'd you bring them here?" blurted Grandma.
"We needed a place to hold them," said Bright.
"Permission to place the prisoners in the dungeon?" asked Warren.
Grandpa sighed. "Granted. But, how long are they going to be here?"
"Bracken, my sisters and I are going to head back to speak with Mother after all this," said Bright. "It shouldn't be for very long."
"Come on," said Dale. "Let's get these two downstairs."