I still consider this first scene a bit of a comedy break from all the suspense. But in the end, it goes straight back into the edge-of-your-seat anticipation.
Chapter Eleven: Plans Gone Awry
Stella guided Timmy into the centre of her room as Brandon moved to control the stereo in her entertainment system. She had set everything up before Timmy had come, and with the exception of the scattered magazines, the room had just enough space for them to practice. Timmy was extremely nervous; he hadn't danced in his entire life. Not even in high school, and he was too busy studying in college to bother going to any social function. But now he had Tecna, who he would do anything for, absolutely anything. He tried not to let his hands sweat, he knew Stella would be disgusted by the thought, and wouldn't want him to touch her afterwards. He wiped his hands on his jeans and looked up anxiously at the Solarian princess.
"Now, I'm going to guide you on where to place your hands," Stella instructed, "Put your right hand on my shoulder like this." She took his hand and gently placed it on her right shoulder as she spoke.
"Then, put your left hand around my waist, but not too close to my butt, okay." Stella continued, teasing Timmy to ease his tension as she moved his hand to where it needed to be. Timmy gazed up at Brandon for assurance that this was okay. Brandon wouldn't let him do this if it weren't.
"It's okay, buddy. You're doing fine." Brandon reassured Timmy, giving him a thumbs up from where he stood by the stereo. Timmy smiled weakly in response and returned his gaze to Stella. He was so close to her that their eyes met, and he gulped a third time since being in her presence. Something about the blonde beauty was intimidating, in a 'don't piss me off' kind of way. She was nice enough, and Timmy did nothing to make her angry. Though it was also clear that she had a temper. One wrong move and he thought he'd be on the receiving end of a nasty sunburn.
"I can't do it, it's not the same." He admitted, parting from her and sitting down on the couch, discouraged.
"I know how you feel." Stella told him, and he looked up at her, "Believe me, I had to dance with quite a few suitors so that I could one day wed and take Daddy's place on the throne. But no matter what, I just didn't fall for any of them. I fell in love with Brandon because we developed chemistry, and so have you with Tecna. And don't try to deny that you aren't in love with her, Brandon has told me about the look in your eyes when you think of her. It's the same look Brandon gets when he thinks of me."
"You're right Stella, I'm totally in love with her." Timmy confessed with a deep, wistful sigh, "But Tecna deserves her freedom, she deserves the choice to follow whatever dreams she pursues. So I have to set her free."
"Listen, Timmy," Brandon interjected as he walked towards them and stood by his beloved princess, "Tecna trusts you above anyone else in the world, and after this magical night, she will fall head over heels for you."
"Tecna has never experienced love before," Stella added, "she might already have fallen for you, but doesn't know how to put her confused emotions together. Love is not logical, by any stretch, so Tecna is probably scared of these new feelings." Timmy mulled this over in his mind for a few minutes, he didn't want Tecna to be afraid of her emotions. He wanted to chase all her fears away.
"And I know," Stella continued, snapping Timmy from his thoughts, "that you wouldn't dream of dancing with another girl, even for practice."
"So what can I do?" Timmy asked her, still very discouraged. He couldn't imagine dancing with Stella while he thought about Tecna the whole time.
"I think I have an idea." The Solarian princess left the room for a moment and returned with her own small container of powder, "This magic spell is pretty potent, so I have to get it right. Do you have a picture of Tecna?"
"Of course." Timmy handed her his cellphone once he opened it to the gallery, where numerous pictures were taken when he and Tecna spent the afternoon taking selfies. Stella studied the pictures thoroughly, looking at every detail of Tecna from head to toe, and then she closed her eyes and sprinkled the powder above her head. A bright light flashed as the sparkles surrounded her, and once they died down, Stella had shape-shifted into a perfect Tecna like-alike.
"Will this help?" She asked Timmy, and he couldn't get past it. The magic was outstanding, and it was as if Tecna was standing right in front of him. He barely spoke a word as his gaze was transfixed on her.
"I think you broke him, Sunshine." Brandon said as he snapped his fingers in front of Timmy's face to try to get his attention. Then, he gently led the ginger haired man back to the centre of the room. "Come on buddy, easy does it." Stella followed the two guys to the open room, and guided Timmy's hands to their positions once more. She thought it best not to speak in this form, so as not to fry Timmy's brain even more.
"Now, I'm going to turn the music on, and when I do, just let Ste- Tec- Stella, well you know, move you through the steps. Watch what she does." Brandon instructed to Timmy. He knew that Stella's only intention was to make Timmy more comfortable with his lesson. Though, Brandon had no idea who to address her as at the moment. Stella looked so flawless that part of Timmy's brain had stopped functioning, but somewhere deep inside there, he still knew it was Stella.
"One two three, one two three." Brandon counted as Stella moved Timmy slowly in small circles. As Brandon counted, Timmy mis-stepped and caused Stella to make a pained facial expression. Even if Timmy knew it was Stella, the fact that he saw the expression on Tecna's face made his heart feel like it had broken right down the middle. Never could he see the day when he would cause Tecna even the slightest bit of pain, it would be too much for him to take. Timmy broke his gaze from Stella's shape-shifted appearance to realize that he had stepped on her foot.
"I'm so sorry.' He pleaded, partially trying to remind himself that this wasn't Tecna he had accidentally hurt. Logically, he knew that, but his heart couldn't bare the possibility.
"It's… fine." Stella assured him with a smile, and they continued dancing. Little by little, Timmy improved, even with a few more steps on Stella's foot. She forgave him because it was all part of the learning process. Timmy only had an hour to practice, and once it was over, he thanked Stella and Brandon for their help.
"Now, I hope you know how to turn yourself back." Brandon remarked to Stella in a teasing manner.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't use this without the counter-spell." She assured him, leaving the room only to return as herself.
"Good," Brandon said in a laugh, "I don't think Timmy could handle the thought of stepping on Tecna's foot."
"Actually," Timmy cut in, "I got used to it after a while. I just pictured what it would be like to master the steps enough to dance with the real Tecna in a few weeks."
"I'm glad I didn't break you completely, Timmy." Stella giggled playfully, "Same time tomorrow?"
"You got it, guys!" Timmy called out as he was about to leave the suite to go for dinner, "You coming, Brandon?"
"I'm just going to finish up here." Brandon called back as his friend finally left.
When Timmy returned to Tecna's suite, he had finally formulated his plan to find Mr. Err. He had already shared with Tecna his plan to use Mr. Err's IP address to find the location of his hideout, but now Timmy had a better idea of how to go about it. He had his own laptop with him as he entered the suite, and Tecna was sitting there waiting for him.
"Are you ready to do this?" He asked hesitantly, "because I'm not going to pressure you if you're not."
"No," Tecna said, "If you are confident that you can find Mr. Err this way, then at least when we do, it'll be easier to prove that I'm not making him up."
"I'm sure Mrs. Faragonda doesn't think you're lying," Timmy said, "I think it's just a matter of whether or not Mr. Err can be found. I know he can be, and you know it too." Then, the look on Tecna's face began to get weary, and he knew how frightened she must be on the inside.
"Trust me Tecna, he is not going to touch you anymore." He reassured her, "I will personally make sure of that, by any means necessary." In some way, she knew this to be true. She had already entrusted him with this dark, torturous secret and ever since, he had been devoting every waking minute to her liberation. He had made it his sole mission to set her free. With that reassurance, she gave him a weak smile as they sat down on her couch, and Timmy placed his laptop on her coffee table. He opened it and booted it up before turning back to Tecna again.
"Okay, do you remember anything from your days working on Mr. Err's program?" He asked her, this was the most integral part to his plan.
"Yes," Tecna said, "I have a photographic memory. I've remembered every detail of those endless hours. No sleep, not even a five-minute break." Before she could continue, Timmy grasped her hand to bring her focus back to him.
"No no, don't think about that." He urged her, "Can you use your photographic memory to think of the IP address for the computer you used?"
"I did have to troubleshoot some network connectivity." She recalled, closing her eyes in order to bring up the events of the day in her mind, to retrieve that important piece of information. After moments of silence, Tecna was still, unresponsive. Her eyes were still deeply shut, so Timmy assumed she was still concentrating on the memory. However, it was a few minutes later that he started to panic.
"Tecna, Tecna, can you hear me?" He asked, slightly shaking her to get her to come back to the present moment, "Tecna, snap out of it!" Not a second later, the technology fairy's eyes shot open, and her breathing was heavy.
"No…, no." That was all that could register as her eyes began to blur with tears, and she began to tremble again. Timmy had absolutely no words as he instantly wrapped his arms around her and rocked her back and forth to try to get her to fully come out of her flashback.
"It's okay, you're safe." He reassured her, "I'm right here, you'll never go back there again, I promise." With his soothing, comforting voice whispering in her ear, she was able to slowly drift back into the present. Once his face came into view, she impulsively clasped onto his shirt and didn't stop shaking. It took about fifteen more minutes for Tecna to fully compose herself and look up at him.
"I'm… I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."
"I've been with your through a lot worse." He told her with a chuckle, compared to other things that had happened over the past month or so, this was minor. With that realization, she gave him a small smile, he was definitely right, "Did you get it?"
"Yes I did," She said, "but I got so caught up in the memory that I forgot that I wasn't there anymore. I was paralyzed and it wasn't until you called to me that I was brought to my senses."
"It's okay now." Timmy repeated his reassurances from earlier, "Maybe we should continue with my plan another day… or maybe it's too much for you. I don't want to put you in any more trauma than you've already endured. I want to take it away, all of it."
"No Timmy," Tecna reassured him as she wrote down the IP address on a note pad, "I can see the confidence you have that this will work. I trust you, even if I'm petrified that Mr. Err could find us first. I don't know what this is, but I trust that you will do everything you possibly can to keep me safe, and so I'm less afraid."
"Are you absolutely sure?" Timmy pressed, "If you feel at all uncomfortable with this, please tell me." Tecna shook her head in response and turned to face his laptop.
"I'm ready, Timmy." She told him before taking in a deep breath and placing her palms on the laptop on either side of the trackpad. Then she closed her eyes again, and a terminal popped up on the screen. Then, with her mind, Tecna entered in the IP address she had gathered from her memory. Seconds later, she had contact, but before she could get the physical location of the computer that the IP address belonged to, electricity began to surround her hands from the laptop.
"Tecna?" Timmy began to panic again. He didn't know if this was normal for her powers but got his answer when he heard Tecna begin to scream in agony. Then, there was a bright burst of electricity as the laptop and Tecna flew to opposite ends of the room. Timmy's laptop was left completely ignored as it smashed into the wall, while Timmy himself raced straight for Tecna.
"Tecna!" He cried out as he gathered her in his arms. He could barely feel her heartbeat as he tried desperately to get her to respond, "Tecna, say something. Speak to me please!" It was at that very second that Timmy let everything out. A flood of unstoppable tears spilled from his eyes as he held the injured technology fairy close to him, hoping that he hadn't lost her. And if he had, it would be all his fault.