So Tired…

When everyone gets back to town, most of the large group incredibly grateful to be back in town and with the totem that houses the Silver Spear in tow, they find the rest of the town is peeking out of windows and doorways half-curious, half-afraid, and with a dash of hope somewhere in the mix as well - no surprise there, this night must've been the culmination of all their fears. Once everyone realizes the werewolf curse is broken - or they're being protected from it now - they all come running out of their homes and businesses cheering and all decide to throw a massive party right then and there.

There's a bunch of celebrating, from everyone - and no small amount of Bloom-crushing on Sky's part due to the massive embrace he immediately wraps her in on sight - but Bloom somehow doesn't seem like she's in the mood to celebrate. She's leaning against a nearby building, rolling the Legendarium key between her fingers, not paying attention to Flora, Musa, and Aisha trying to hit three colored orbs while blindfolded - the magical version of a Piñata, courtesy of Stella - and is staring up at the stars like they hold the answers to whatever question she's wrestling with.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Bloom lets out a small sigh, staring up at the starry night sky for another minute, then says "Everything. We're dealing with problem after problem. And even if we manage to lock the Legendarium, the Trix will likely throw some temper tantrum in the meantime. Who knows what they'll pull out of that thing before long? And then there's Thanos. The guy that's been pulling the strings of every adventure I've been on that didn't originate in Magix or with the Wizards. Except for New Mexico, he didn't have a hand in that." Bloom sighs once again, even as Sky moves closer and wraps his arm around her to pull her closer. "We're in over our heads, Sky. Have been for a while and just didn't know it. The Infinity Stones are scattered everywhere, two here on Earth, one on Asgard, one on some alien planet I've never been to and don't know the name or location of, and the last remaining one is who-knows-where. Given the fact that I destroyed the Reality Stone, well, Thanos' plans of instantly murdering half of all life are finished anyway. Though he could well just collect all five remaining stones and simply travel from one planet to the next, being unstoppable with five as it is."

Sky looks around, then asks "You sure we don't have an audience or anything?"

"We don't. And even if we did, I don't care at the moment. The Trix are in no way my biggest concern right now. They're annoying, they're petty, and they're spoiled. But they aren't a psychotic titan intent on killing half of everything there is with six stones on the level of the Dragon Flame in terms of power - one of which is currently residing on my childhood home, putting all of Asgard in danger by the fact." She suddenly starts crying, making him remember how she could go from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other and back again in the space of a single conversation the last time she got like this.

After a few minutes of her crying into his shirt, he asks "What's wrong? Let me help, Bloom."

"I don't think anybody can help. Maybe ever could, at least after Loki fell into the void underneath the Bifrost. It's…It's Loki. He got the Mind Stone from Thanos, must have - who else would have it? But…it came at a cost. Loki was to go to Earth, retrieve the Tesseract, and return back with both stones. Instead, he failed to bring it back and lost the Mind Stone. And that…from what I saw in my dream-visions, Thanos is a very unforgiving being. Not one exactly known for his mercy. The Trix, Valtor, Tritannus, they're all downright merciful, compassionate beings compared to him from what little I've seen of him in my dreams. Sky, it didn't take Loki a year to get to Earth, it took Thanos a year to break him. Break his will. Make him willing to serve him instead of just using the Mind Stone on him like Loki used it on Selvig and the others he controlled. I've had these puzzle pieces ever since we met, since I came to Alfea, since I started getting dream-visions - but back then I didn't know or didn't want to believe that what I was seeing was actually happening. And I was so relieved that Loki was actually alive, along with dumbfounded and incredibly hurt that he didn't even try to contact me somehow, that I didn't even think to question if what I'd seen him go through was real or if he really was just that cruel to everyone and I simply hadn't seen it before."

"Bloom, you said you spent nearly all your time with him, why wouldn't you have seen it if it was there?"

"I don't know, but I didn't see that there was far more to the story than anybody but Loki knew! And Thor says he didn't say anything about being controlled, and he did in fact ask. And if he'd truly been loyal to Thanos, then two things would have been very different. He would have immediately said yes, and he would have grabbed the Tesseract and just gone. And if Loki's afraid of him…" She shakes her head and doesn't finish the sentence, and Sky doesn't push the issue. Bloom's one of the bravest people he's ever met - her self-sacrificing tendencies aside - and she seems really worried about this.

Sky whispers "You look up to him, don't you?"

"I always have. Thor to, but he never really cared much. Loki, well, you know we got close. Really close. He could always make a bad situation better - right up until Thor's coronation. Loki tried to talk him down, but he wasn't having any of it. If I hadn't told that guard what was happening, we'd have died. So Thor got banished, and everything just kept getting worse and worse. But, hey, I'd never have come to Magix if it all hadn't happened. So there's that." She shrugs, looking away, and mumbles "The myths don't really tell an accurate story. He's far more than people a thousand years ago ever learned or imagined. And at this point, I'm going to say we all learned how to keep secrets from Allfather - he is arguably the best at it. Or was, anyway. Kept Hela a massive secret, told Thor he was the Firstborn and rightful heir to the throne, told Loki he was Agardian-born, told me the same." She sighs and mutters "My life is so screwed up. I don't remember the last time it actually made sense. I think it was the day before Thor's coronation though." She suddenly starts crying once again, and Sky pulls her back to him and starts calming her down gently.

When she quiets down, he asks "Bloom, just out of curiosity, how long does this last?"

"How long does what last?"

"You remember how you were all moody and hormonal like this two years ago?"

"Mm-hm."

"When did it stop? Just curious, that's all."

"Remember how long it took between freeing the Earth Fairies and getting that trial?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Add another week onto that."

"Oh. Good to know." All he has to do then is keep Bloom from going entirely nuts for the next three weeks then. After everything is over, he won't even think twice - but at some point during their time spent trying to get Loki's spear back she made him promise to keep anything from happening until after their lives all settle down and she isn't just going from one enemy to the next.

Which may never actually happen, based on their track record for not getting attacked as soon as they deal with the latest.

And that promise is something Daphne also made him make, and she was incredibly relieved to hear about it - because the last thing they need is for Daphne to become an aunt in the middle of everything that's going on.

Sky pulls himself out of his thoughts, whispering "Bloom, we'll figure this out. We'll stop the Trix, then we'll stop this purple guy. And if Loki is afraid of him, it's probably because of a reason that'll make you furious. Furious in the way that nobody survives. We'll figure everything out. Not to be cocky, but everything always seems to work out in the end somehow. Tritannus is dead, Diaspro is currently in prison, the Trix are once again on the loose but what's new there, and the Wizards retired. We deal with Selina and the Trix, then we'll figure out what to do next. And 'what to do' very likely includes finding this purple, genocidal weirdo and making him stop the killing one way or another. Very likely by killing him, as he won't just stop when someone asks nicely."

Bloom nods her head, and whispers "I'm so tired, Sky. Of everything, the fighting, the endless enemies, all of it. I've saved two universes multiple times, and I'm tired. People say I make it look easy, but I'm so tired of being the person everyone goes to when they're in trouble. Selfish and whiny though it may be, I'm exhausted. I could use a year on Pyros instead of just a month, I really could."

Sky kisses her forehead, saying "After we stop this Thanos guy, you can sleep for a year if you want."

She chuckles and says "I'll take you up on that offer."

AN: Alright, next chapter is up! Kind of a filler in between enemies - Icy didn't take Helia into the Legendarium World and freeze him solid, so I had to think up something and this is it! And before anybody sends me an angry/disbelieving message about this, they've been going from enemy to enemy for years now. Yeah, I made year three in Alfea quiet, as I couldn't just have the school burn down and that's sort of the point Bloom was at if she got attacked then, but they get back from ending the Earth Fairies' vengeance campaign, go to New York to find Loki's spear, then go to Gardenia to find the Lilo and Season five starts. Then, after that's done, Bloom almost immediately has to go off to Asgard and find Odin, then gets thrown out of the Bifrost beam by Hela. And then, all of this is happening. I think that qualifies her for being a little tired of the constant fighting. Anyway, enjoy the story, more updates coming soon!

PS. guest, Bloom isn't part-dragon from the Dragon Flame, she's part dragon because of her time on Pyros and mixing her magical essence with that of Pyros. I figure it's like the Magical Dimension's way of describing DNA, with magic mixed in, so she's mixing her DNA with that of a planet of dragons.