Episode 4: Wings of Destiny

My boyfriend is on a plane and on his way home right now so I'm staying up writing this chapter bc I can't get to sleep until I know he's back on land :')))

Penn, Boone, and Sashi had an important midterm exam in Home Economics, and Verge's strict code was to not be at school whenever they had any important projects or tests. So she chose to spend the morning at Fairy World.

It was only for a quick while. Verge wanted a tour of the whole World, and she realized she could make time if she was already at the Odyssey when work would begin. Phyllis could just easily zap her back when her other three friends would arrive.

Verge made it to Fairy World with a slingbag made of leaves. When her parents saw her, they greeted her with open arms and an announcement that their princess has come to visit. The fairy princess ended up spending an entire day meeting her subjects, learning different names and different fairy talents. When it was almost time for work, the royal family returned to their palace, and Verge turned to the King and Queen apologetically

"Sorry Mom and Dad, I really need to get back. It's almost time for my next mission!"

"Oh dear, we're sorry," Queen Lareon sighed. "We promised a tour, but the other fairies were really excited to meet you."

"I'm actually surprised," Verge admitted. "I figured they would think I'm too…overpowered?"

"The Fairy Kingdom loves you!" King Lauqui insisted. "And as their princess, it's your duty to know each and every one of them!"

Verge scratched the back of her head. "Yeah well…I can't remember them all but I'll try!" The brunette fairy hesitated. "Before I go, I've been meaning to ask…aren't there other dimensions that have fairies of other forms? Fairies that don't really come here? My friends and I were able to zap to their worlds. How come ours is so secured?"

Queen Lareon placed a hand on her shoulder and made Verge turn to the palace window. There, she had a wide-range view of the Fairy World. The different areas for each seasons could almost be see. "It is because we are the only fairies that have the job of going to the human worlds and bringing forth the seasons. It is our duty to ensure all dimensions get their seasons, for we keep the balance of nature's work."

"That's pretty much the gist but we'll explain more when you come back again," King Lauqui gave his daughter a quick hug. "We'll give you your tour then. We may also be able to start your princess duties!'

Verge smiled sheepishly. Ever since she discovered she was princess of this world, that was one thing she had been dreading.

Verge's mother hugged her as well and placed a kiss on her forehead. "See you soon, my Divergent."

"Oh, if you run into the fairy dimension that focuses on boxing, give a punch to the Godmothers for me!"

The brunette fairy chuckled and flapped her wings. "See you Mom, see you Dad."

As if on cue, she was zapped back to Middleburg.

Verge came out of the MUT in her fairy size and was back in the Odyssey right on time. She smiled as she landed on the theatre floor but frowned when she saw her friends enter through the doors. Penn and Sashi had annoyed, furious looks on their faces and Boone seemed rather worried. "Phyllis! Verge! We have a major problem!"

Verge returned to human size and moved out of Penn and Sashi's way as the heroes stepped on the zap platform. "Uh, what's going on?"

"Penn and Sashi aren't talking to each other. Watch." The Wiseman turned to the other two. "Guys? You know how you bet me I'd never be able to do a tongue push-up? Well…" Boone put his hands behind his back, flopped onto the floor and did just that.

Penn and Sashi kept their angry faces and Verge blinked. She slowly started clapping and looked around awkwardly to see if anyone would join her.

Penn rolled his eyes. "Greeeeat."

Sashi didn't even stare. "You showed us."

Boone stood up, exchanging a worried look with Verge. "Penn? Aren't you gonna make some drawl observation?"

"Well, I guess I could make a cutting remark about doing that on a filthy theatre floor, like some animal. Then I'd have to do everything around you."

Sashi glared at him. "Everything? How about nothing?"

"Oh, boy," Verge's wings fluttered worriedly.

Boone rushed towards Phyllis and grabbed her shoulder. "Phyllis! Make them stop!"

"There is no time," the mechanic insisted. "You must fix in world, or it will cause problem in mission."

"But Penn and Sashi are the most stubborn people I've ever met!" Verge cried.

"Hey!"

"You guys know it's true!"

"And I live by a strict code," Boone said. He brought out a pendant that hung around a chain on his neck. He read it aloud. "Don't get involved in stuff and things."

"Boone, since when have you had that code?"

"Let's just establish that, I too, don't tell you everything."

Phyllis looked annoyed. "Phyllis code is shut mouth and get to work!" She easily picked Boone up and threw him back on the zap platform. Verge helped him up and flew above him, but Phyllis pointed a finger at her as well. "You! Shrink."

The fairy guide didn't question it and went smaller, just before Phyllis zapped them to a new world.

Once they were zapped, Verge noticed how Penn was flying beside her. She was quite shocked to notice the pairs of wings that were behind him and Boone. For a moment, Verge wondered if she was back in Fairy World, but she knew Penn and Boone didn't have colored skin and hair in Fairy World, so this must've been one of the other fairy dimensions she hasn't visited yet.

Boone marveled at the world. "Whoa! We're in a magical, delicate, Renaissance Faire fairy world full of fancy and wonder!"

Penn looked confused as he turned. "And bone-crushing wrestling?"

Sure enough, there were signs that pointed to, a few meters ahead, a wrestling ring was in the center of what looked like an arena. A wrestling match between two fairies was currently ongoing, and the crowd around them was going wild. Verge frowned at the sight. "Fairies don't act like that."

Penn smirked and crossed his arms. "Apparently, they do in this world. Get ready to start lifting weights."

"Haha, no. This is one of the other fairy dimensions my dad told me about! What a coincidence we ended up here."

The three went closer and Boone grinned. "Cool!" Then he remembered something. "Hey, where's Sashi?

"I'm right here."

Boone and Verge looked to their right and were surprised to see Sashi was way taller than the other three. She was also incredibly ripped, buff, and intimidating.

"Whoa!" Boone and Verge exclaimed.

"Nice form, Sash!" Verge piped.

"You're humongous!" Boone added.

Penn, who was on the ground now, had his arms crossed as he looked annoyed. "I think you mean she's humongous in her annoyingness." When the other three stared at him, he just added, "Meaning, she's so annoying you would describe that quality as humongous!"

Sashi didn't look insulted. "Um, if you have to explain a put-down, you probably screwed it up."

Penn just glared. "Oh boy," Verge said defeatedly.

Boone nudged Penn. "Don't you have something to ask Sashi?"

"Nope!"

"Nothing about checking her Specs? Eh?"

"Don't worry, Boone," Sashi said, her arms crossed. "I'll check 'em because I do my job."

Penn looked ready to argue as he raised a finger. "Oh, oho ho—"

"Zero, don't."

"Alright! We are fairies who live in Wing Wood forest. Every thousand years, a tag team wrestling tournament is held. The winners get an enchanted gem, giving them the power to rule the forest! Penn and I are a 'team' and we must win the tournament so the forest doesn't fall into evil hands."

Penn huffed. "Can't Verge be my teammate instead? I mean, she's a fairy too."

"You know that can't work, Zero," Verge frowned. "I'm not actually filling in for anyone. It has to be you and Sashi."

Suddenly, an announcer's voice rang out and colored lights flashed around. "Welcome to Fairy Mania IV!" The crowd went cheered loudly. "And now! Collateral Damage! And his partner, the Hooded Pixie!"

"Your boos nourish my soul!"

"That's Rippen and some other fairy!" Verge pointed out. She looked at Penn and Sashi. "Your team looks like it's gonna be after this one. You guys better put your differences aside and win this thing!"

Sashi started walking. "Don't worry, Verge. I know I'll come through for this mission."

Penn glared at flew after her. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Uh-oh," Boone said worriedly. "I have a bad feeling about today."

Verge sighed. "Can't you try to sort things out between them? What even happened today?"

"Even I'm not so sure…"

"Not sure? Or you forgot."

"Uhh…both?"

Verge rolled her eyes and gazed up at the wrestling match. For some reason, Rippen was a chair and his partner was using him to cheat and swat at the other team. Verge didn't know anything about wrestling, but it seemed that Rippen and his partner won. Now, it was time for Penn and Sashi.

"They look pretty tough," Boone said, frowning. "You guys are gonna have to be really in sync to beat them!"

Penn continued to glare at Sashi though. "Oh, I'm a hundred percent in sync! Sashi's the one who's not in sync!"

Sashi glared back. "Oh, I'm more in sync than you could ever dream of being!"

The blue-haired fairy laughed. "Well I've got news for you sister! This ain't no dream, this is reality! And there's no sync for you here!"

"The only thing you're in sync with is…stink!" She jabbed a finger at his chest angrily.

Penn only laughed mockingly again. "Excellent rhyme! You hear that silence? That's the sound of your in-sync joke falling on its face!"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!"

The continued to get at it and Verge groaned. Boone gripped his walking stick. "Good talk."

Hearing enough of them, Verge flapped her wings angrily and flew in between them, pushing them apart and putting hands on their mouths. "Guys! Focus! You hawkheads better win this round!" She looked up at the team map and saw a fairy moved a leaf labeled "The Unfairies" to the next round. "Please try to keep your eyes on the prize."

Penn sighed. "Sure. Okay. Fine."

But Verge could tell they were still angry as they walked to the wrestlers' entrance.

The announcer's voice boomed out again. "And now, led by their manager, Stewart Stylish, and accompanied by the Princess of the Seasons' Fairy World Dimension!"

"They knew I was here?" Verge gasped a bit.

Boone was busy posing for the audience as he walked down to the side of the ring. "I guess all fairies are aware of each other's' presence?"

"Please welcome Wings of Destiny!"

The spotlights were now on Penn and Sashi, but the two seemed to be physically arguing on their way to the center of the ring. Verge felt like biting her nails. "Ohhh boy."

"And their opponent, the first ladies of unwanted advice, the Godmothers!"

"Ooh!" Verge watched as two old lady fairies stepped out of a carriage pulled by two bunny rabbits. The fairy princess couldn't help but fly over, and as the two fairies stepped out of their carriage, she punched them both in their arms. They both fell to the floor with a thud.

The crowd gasped for a split moment but continued to cheer. The thin old lady sat up and chuckled first. "Send our hellos back to your father!"

Verge flew back to her seat with a grin. Boone stared at her.

The smaller Godmother approached Penn daintily. "Well, in my day, a man always wore a tie made of dandelions and moss!"

Penn just seemed bored. "Look, old lady—"

He didn't get a chance to continue. The woman punched him right in the face, and sent Penn flying back. He crashed into the vines that surrounded the ring and was flying back, only to get hit in the head by the woman's foot.

Verge watched, horrified, as her best friend got beat up. "Oh no, Zero!"

"Sashi!" Boone cried. "Penn needs your help!"

But the bigger fairy only leaned on the vines. "Nah, he's doing fine on his own." She continued to ignore Penn's screams.

"No, he's not! Tell her you need her help Penn!"

"Zero, grab her legs!"

Penn looked both serious and in pain as he said, "I'm fine, okay? No need to force Sashi to get her precious wings dirty!" He continued to scream in agony.

"Argh!" Verge looked frustrated and hurriedly pushed Sashi forward. Her hand touched Penn's, and a bell dinged out.

"Ooh! Right in the nick of time!" the voice announced. "Wings of Destiny tags their partner! Good move!"

Verge hurriedly helped Penn back to a seat and let him rest. "I could've handled it!" he groaned.

"And let you lose and/or die?" The brunette fairy huffed. "Not on my watch."

"Oh, you would be perfect for my nephew," the other Godmother said to Sashi. "I'll set up a dealer-

"Not interested, old lady!" Sashi grabbed the woman by the neck and started beating her up. She leaped up and pinned the woman down by sitting on her.

The referee came up and counted. "1, 2, 3!"

The bell dinged, the crowd cheered, Sashi stood up happily. "Yeah!"

"Way to go, Sash!" Verge cheered as well. The girls high-fived each other.

The part-time sidekick now looked at Penn. "And that's how you win. Try it sometime."

Penn rolled his eyes.

"No blaming anyone for anything," Verge scolded. "Let's focus on the next rounds."

The team got out of the way and let the next round begin. Penn and Sashi refused to speak to each other for the rest of the rest time they had.

Boone and Verge watched as the Hooded Pixie used some special pink dust to cause Rippen to change form. He was a lemon now and was complaining when his partner and the opponent stepped on him.

"So that's how they fight," Boone observed.

"It's so dirty," Verge said in disgust.

"Well, I suppose, with all the sweat and blood that could be spilled—"

"No I mean, the way the Hooded Pixie uses Rippen to cheat! Penn and Sashi are too blinded by their anger for each other to see that though…"

Boone frowned again. "What are we gonna do?"

"Not sure…they need help after the next round."

"Good! You do that!"

Verge glared. "Boone! I need you too!"

"But. my code!"

"But, your friends!"

The bell dinged, and Rippen and the Hooded Pixie won again.

In the fight against the Hairy Fairy, Penn leapt from the corner pole of the ring and was about to attack his opponent. The long-haired fairy swiped his long hair at Penn, causing him to mess up his attack. "Aim for his hair!" Verge yelled.

Sashi, who was too focused on lifting a weight, could care less about Penn's situation right now. Boone tried to pull her into helping, but she wouldn't give in.

The Hairy Fairy accidentally got his hair stuck in Boone, Verge, and Sashi, and before they knew it, all five of them got tangled up in the long strands of blonde hair. They found themselves caught in a ball that bounced across the vine ropes of the ring, and all of them were screaming. They seemed to be hurt. However, even if they were in pain, Sashi and Penn were still blaming and arguing with each other.

The bell dinged and the referee approached them. "Hairy Fairy, you're out. Wings of Destiny, you guys better untangle. The championship match starts in fifteen minutes!"

A fairy with a camera was live-streaming the whole thing and recorded the heroes in the hair ball and the Hooded Pixie walking up to them. "You are going down! Yeah!" He smiled at the camera wickedly. "What are you gonna do when the Hooded Pixie cheats all over you?!"

"Hope you guys are happy," Boone and Verge grumbled together.

"We have fifteen minutes to set this straight!" Verge huffed. "Boone?"

The part-time Wiseman rolled his eyes. "Despite being well-aware of my code, you've left me no choice but to get involved with your stuff and your things!"

"Yes!" Verge grinned wickedly. "I was hoping for this." She retreated back into the hair ball, fumbled around a bit, and the Hairy Fairy's hair came apart and released the heroes. Verge flew out immediately and gestured to their rest area.

She somehow managed to already gather therapy beds made out of leaves and two counselors' seats for her and Boone. Penn and Sashi still looked frustrated with each other but both sat down in their respective beds. Boone sat near Sashi and looked comfortable.

"Nice one. How did you know I'd give in?"

Verge smirked and sat in the seat near Penn. "It was bound to happen."

Boone cleared his throat and pressed his fingertips together. "This is a safe place, okay? All emotions are valid!"

"I don't know what went wrong while you guys were at school," Verge added. "But maybe if we all let our frustrations out and figure out what's getting the way of you guys acting as a team again, all will be well!"

Penn scoffed at that. But, Sashi chose to be the bigger person and start the story. She sighed and crossed her arms. "We were partners for our Home Ec midterm."

"Okay, good…Zero?"

Penn looked at the brunette fairy, whose blue eyes were staring at him pleadingly. The part-time hero softened, and continued. "Our assignment was to work together to prepare a vegetable soup."

"I seasoned the broth with a fury of a thousand hurricanes!"

"And I was in charge of evenly chopping the vegetables! You know my middle name is Albert, but in this case, it should've been Perfection."

"I know your middle name is Albert," Verge frowned. "What was the point?"

"The point is, when it was time for our soup to be judged, the Coach apparently had a bad reaction to it because he was immediately sent to the hospital! On top of that, we both got Fs!"

At the same time, both Penn and Sashi got out of their therapy beds and pointed at each other accusingly. "It was your fault!"

"Wait a second," Verge pinched her eyelids. "Let me get this straight, you guys are both mad at each other because you think one of you messed up a soup?"

"Duh!"

"Oof, you guys are made for each other."

"What?!"

Boone held his hands out. "Hold on! What if I were to tell you that neither of you were at fault? You were so focused on your job, you didn't notice that I accidentally dumped salt, vinegar, hot sauce, molasses, sardines, probably some other stuff into your soup."

"Boone, just…" Verge stared blankly. "What?"

Penn and Sashi didn't even stare. They just squinted their eyes at the part-time Wiseman.

"Well, ah…that's all the time we have…" He looked away as he began to fly upwards, his legs still crossed. "Next session, ah, we can work on your threatening looks."

Verge cupped her hands over her mouth. "You do realize you have to tell your teacher!"

The looks on Penn and Sashi's faces when they looked at each other finally softened.

The brunette fairy stood from her seat. "Look, you guys are both very hard-headed—" They glared again. "—but today, you should've known better. You're both perfectionists, you should've known it couldn't have been either of you that did something wrong? Maybe someone sabotaged your soup or something. And even if it was your fault, you're going to let it get in the way of your friendship? It's alright to get mad, but hold a grudge?"

And so, Penn and Sashi stared at the floor guiltily.

Penn was the first to speak after he sighed. "Verge is right…and Boone was, sort of right. I trust you with my life, I should probably trust you with seasoning."

"Yeah, this whole thing's pretty stupid," Sashi agreed. "Hearing it from Verge is letting me realize that."

"You're welcome!"

The big fairy rolled her eyes playfully and smiled at Penn. "I'll never doubt you again."

"Awww," Verge gushed, pulling them both for a hug. "I love you guys!"

Penn laughed lightly. "Sorry for this, Vergie. Things can be hard without your guidance."

Sashi nodded and smiled, a glint in his grin. "Ready to win this thing?"

"You bet."

They approached the ring, where the referee and the Unfairies waited. The crowd was cheering even more loudly than before.

"Welcome to the championship match! Winner takes all!"

Sashi and Penn were now beaming proudly and posing in front of the audience. Verge hooted for them and Boone smiled as he gripped the vine ropes.

Rippen was the first opponent and then approached the team, looking rather smugly. "With you and your enormous partner not speaking to each other, you don't stand a chance against—"

He didn't get to finish his sentence when Penn instantly tackled him with his feet first kicking the villain in the face and off the ring.

"Yes!" Verge and Boone cheered.

At the corner of her eye, Verge saw Larry run away with the referee. As gay as that sounded in her head, she knew that this was their other method of cheating. With the referee distracted, there was no way for him to realize the Unfairies were playing dirty. So she prayed in her heart that Penn and Sashi could win fairly.

The Hooded Pixie now turned Rippen into a bomb. "Yeah! Bomb's away!"

"Use your wings!" Verge shouted, just as the Hooded Pixie threw Rippen. But Penn and Sashi learned from their time in Fairy World, and flapped their wings as fast as they could. The Hooded Pixie tried running off. "I'm so proud right now."

Penn gave her a fist bump.

"Table this!"

The large pink fairy turned Rippen into a table and tried smacking Penn with him. He placed Rippen on top of Penn and banged his fists on his partner. "Ow!" Rippen shouted. "Cut that out!"

Penn also was in pain, but he pushed the table off him, making the Hooded Pixie fall on his back. This then gave Sashi the opportunity to body slam him, lift him up, spin him around, and throw him back over Rippen.

"Nice one, Zero!" Verge yelled, pounding her fist against her palm. "Go Sashi! Make your enemies beg for mercy!"

Boone frowned, shaking his head slowly as he pulled out a bag of chips. "I have always been afraid of you."

Sashi proceeded helping to hoist Penn up. "Finish him off, partner."

"Oops."

Boone apparently opened his bag of chips at the wrong time because Sashi stepped on them, slipped, and cried out before she and Penn passed out.

"Oh no!" Verge gasped, gripping the vine ropes. "Boone!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Zero, get up!"

Rippen laughed maniacally and body-slammed Penn. "So much for a fairy tale ending!"

"Get up, Penn!"

Rippen began to count down.

"A 1!"

"Get up!"

"A 2!"

"Get up!"

"A—"

The Hooded Pixie, with all of a sudden, forced Rippen off the blue fairy, and made him fall to the ground. The crowd began to cheer, but Verge and Boone were confused. "Huh?"

"What are you doing?!" Rippen demanded furiously. "I have to win so I can rule the forest!"

"Sorry, partner," the Hooded Pixie said, walking towards the fairy with the video camera. "Ever since I was a young fairy, I dreamed of cheating my way to the championship and pull off the ultimate cheat, and switch teams at the end!"

The crowd that once hated the Hooded Pixie now seemed to look at him sympathetically, as if the tone of his sentences was actually making it seem like he was a decent person. "Is anyone buying this," Verge deadpanned. Boone was also staring in confusion.

The Hooded Pixie sobbed and wiped the tears away. "I only wish my dad, the Bespectacle Pixie were here to see me cheat my way to not victory."

"I'm here, son!" A voice called out from afar, and Verge and Boone could see a wrestler-looking fairy wave towards the ring. "I snuck in!"

"Oh, daddy?!" The Hooded Pixie looked much more motivated now. "This is for you!"

As Rippen tried to crawl away, the Hooded Pixie gave a final leap and body-slammed Rippen with all his might. The crowd cheered as the villain was now passed out, and the Hooded Pixie casually placed Penn on top of him. The referee came and began to count down quickly. "Onetwothree!" He held Penn up by the wrist and the bell dinged.

"Yes, we have it! The winners and new rulers of the forest, Wings of Destiny!"

Sashi, who recovered from her fall, stood beside Penn and the two shrugged at each other. They pumped their fists and just cheered for themselves.

Boone and Verge also cheered in the sidelines. "Nice one, guys!" the manager hooted.

"I have no idea what happened!" Verge said cheerfully.

"We did it yeah!" the Hooded Pixie hooted. "Woohoo! We made it, we won! We took 'em down! Now this is what I call an un-fairy tale ending!" The Hooded Pixie knocked the fairy-cam down, ending the live-stream, and he just continued cheering for himself violently.

The four heroes blinked at the pixie and just shrugged at each other.

"How you acted today was—"

"Save your breath, Verge," Penn stuck his tongue out at his fairy friend as he buttoned his pajama top. He sat down on his bed and pulled the covers up. "I get what I did was wrong. Hey, Sashi was wrong too!"

"Don't start," Verge teased, taking her boots off. "You're the one I'm talking to right now, not Sashi." Penn rolled his eyes playfully. "I'm convincing Boone to talk to Coach. Hopefully he's merciful on your grade."

"We still have to cover his hospital bill, though."

"Sorry, can't help with that."

"Neither can I! Even though we work everyday, we never get paid!"

"Is it legal to start a strike on a part-time hero business?"

The two laughed together.

Penn sat at the edge of his bed. "So, what did you do today?"

"I learned all the names of my subjects in one afternoon."

"Aaand do you remember any of them?"

"Nope!"

The redhead laughed. "What a waste of time." He then hesitated. "Are you gonna go back there often?"

The brunette shrugged. "I have to. My parents expect me to start fulfilling my 'fairy princess duties'. I don't want to let them down."

Penn looked sad as he rubbed his arm. "I understand."

Verge leaned forward as she sat at the edge of the desk. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing…it's just…what if one day you decide you want to stay forever? I mean, you've always been there to help sort my temper out, sort my feelings out…you were there when no one else was. What am I going to do, without you?" He intertwined his fingers and stared down at them.

The brunette fairy blinked multiple times. She stood from the desk, grew to human size, and sat down beside Penn. He raised his head and his cyan eyes gazed into her blue eyes. He was starting to feel awkward at how long and hard she was staring at him…

Suddenly, the fairy raised her hand and smacked his cheek. "You sound silly," she said blankly.

"Um, ow?"

"Zero, you remember what I said before…right?"

The part-time hero rubbed his cheek. "Yeah…"

He was even more surprised when the part-time fairy wrapped her arms around his waist. "I still mean it. Do you doubt me, still?"

Slowly, his arms also wrapped around her neck and rubbed her back, careful not to hurt her wings. "Alright…I'm sorry…I trust you. You know that, right?"

The brunette smiled lightly. "I know."

23+ more episodes to go! I also only have 3 special episodes planned for this fanfic, so I hope that's all right :') Please remember to leave a favorite and a review, I really appreciate it! Thanks ya'll!