Well, here's the newest chapter of this fic! I'm working on trying to get alot of my fics updated as this one especially needs to catch up with my friend, MistyLilyValley (check out her side if you havent already. It's fantastic!). I hope you guys like this chapter!
Chapter 17: A Helping Hand
I watched as Dusty flew her copter, a thoughtful look on her face. "Hey, Dust, what's on your mind?" I asked.
Dusty shrugged. "Nothing much… I guess I'm still worried about this whole mess."
"We wouldn't be in this mess if we had just stopped Angel like we were supposed to last time…" Saige snapped.
"Saige, that's enough…" Cloud said calmly. I, on the other hand, was getting a bit irritated.
"Oh, you think you stand a chance against her alone? I'd love to see you try!." I snapped.
"Says the girl who tricked Dusty into flying her all across the tundra just to risk her own limb!" Saige snapped back.
"Girls, stop fighting!" Luna shouted. "We've got more important things to worry about right now."
"Like getting Terra taken care of, I completely agree with you, Luna, but Snow is being so…" Saige's voice trailed off.
"So what?" I snapped.
"Stubborn, hard headed, lacking of judgment… Feel free to stop me anytime."
"Hey!" Dusty shouted as she swerved into a hover just above the clouds, the Northern Lights slightly emanating over our heads and across the wintry sky. Turning to us, she said softly. "To answer your question, Snow, I'm just still worried about this whole situation with Angel and the effect it's having on our parents. It's got me a bit stressed out."
"A little?" Cloud said, putting a hand on her younger sister's shoulder.
"Alright, a lot." Dusty admitted. "I just don't want to let Mom and Dad down."
I looked at her curiously, crossing my arms as best I could with my cast. "Speaking of moms, what aren't you all telling me about mine?"
"What? How did we get to that topic?" Saige asked, though I could see she was hiding a smirk.
"We just did. Now, spill!" I interjected.
"Calm down, Snow." Terra said as she slowly sat up to grab my arm and make me sit back down. "You'll know soon enough. I'm sure your mother and father want to tell you all about it themselves, don't you think?"
Deciding to give up for now, I sighed and smiled as the wintry air whipped my bangs out of my face. Dusty took control of her copter again as we passed under the Northern Lights.
The skies soon began to rumble and Dusty materialized a protective barrier around us. She flew higher to see if we could track our way home using what was left of the now fading Northern Lights. But as we got closer, they vanished completely. "Okay, if no one else is going to say it, I will." Saige said, looking over to the side. "We're lost!"
"Calm down, Sai." Luna said from her spot next to her mother, who was holding a cold compress to her head.
"We don't even know what direction we came from." Saige continued to rant as she turned to where Dusty was driving. "I thought you said you knew where to go!" Now how are we supposed to get back?" Dusty didn't seem to hear her as she continued to watch the sky, but I could see that Cloud did, just as I had. I could see tears running down Dusty's cheeks, so I knew that she had heard Saige as well. Why she was crying could've been from multiple things: Saige's words, my arm in a cast, or just the copter traveling in circles for the last thirty minutes.
I think, deep down, we were all a little over stressed as well as tired. Angel had given all of us a rather hard blow and that wasn't just because she had attacked Terra's home. We all knew it. There was more to this then just Angel hindering us at any turn. There was a reason to her methods, though what exactly was anyone's guess. Cloud turned back to all of us. "We need to land this copter." I looked over at Saige, who was stifling a yawn.
"So, you admit that we're lost?" she said. Cloud shook her head with annoyance.
"No, I just think we should try and rest for the night. It's getting too dark to see and we could all use some sleep."
"It's been a trying day, but I agree with Cloud. You kids all need to rest up." Terra said, leaning forward to sit a hand on my arm. As if she could read my mind, she smiled warmly at me. "And Snow, we'll get you to your parents."
"I'm not worried." I said, pulling my hood over my eyes. "I just want to know what they're hiding from me." That, of course, wasn't all I was worried about, but I didn't need to say anything more.
"Where do you suppose we wait out the night?" Saige said with a frown. "It's too dark to see anything." These words earned her a look from Terra as she sat Saige back down.
"What about down there?" A voice said as Dusty turned the plane to land in front of a small cave that was pointed out to her.
"Who said that?" I wondered aloud as I looked over Dusty's shoulder as we both looked over the side to see Castor hanging on the edge of the copter as it touched down. "You!?" I exclaimed as I gripped my staff in hand and jumped off the copter and into the soft snow.
With a nod he just pulled back his hood as he turned to listen when Cloud asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I thought you might need some help." He said, earning a small thankful smile from Cloud.
"Well, we don't need it…" I started to say as Dusty stopped me.
"Let him help." She said weakly as she tried to step down from the copter. However, before she could, she collapsed in a heap from exhaustion as Castor rushed forward to catch her.
Handing her to Cloud, he said, "Get her inside. I'll get some firewood." As he phased through it, the sands just dissipated back into the air as Cloud cradled Dusty in her arms. Luna and Saige helped Terra inside and I walked over to Cloud as we watched Dusty lay there in her arms. Placing my free hand on top of Dusty's, I looked up at Cloud as I lowered my head in quiet thought.
"Snow," Cloud said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Let's get inside."
I looked back up at her in confusion. "Why would he help us?" I asked.
"I don't know," Cloud said gently. "But it's always good to accept help in earnest."
"We don't know anything about him though." I attempted to argue.
"No we don't." Cloud said as I watched Castor walk away. "However, maybe this could be a start. Remember, Luna said that he was North's son. Maybe there's a little bit of North in him."
I was still skeptical, but I finally followed Cloud into the cave as we made Dusty comfortable. After a while, everyone started to feel warmer thanks to Castor's fire, though I kept closer to the mouth of the cave as I preferred the cold, like my dad, Luna sitting next to me. As Castor kept watch, Terra and Saige dozed while Luna and I talked and Cloud sat with Dusty asleep on her side as she wrapped a wing around her little sister to keep her warm. She soon began to sing. Slowly, bit by bit, she caught the attention of all of us as we listened.
General POV
Meanwhile, back at the Pole, North sat quietly in his study. The door opened to reveal Tooth as she flew in to see the necklace he had in his hand. "You miss her, don't you?" she asked him quietly. Her wings hardly fluttered as she came over to where he looked out the window.
"I've tried to hide it, for her sake and mine." North said, revealing shining tear filled eyes. Tooth didn't say anything as she laid her head on his shoulder. A pair of heavy footsteps pounded down the hall as Bunny called up to them.
"North, some of the kids are back!" Even before they made it downstairs, the two knew something wasn't right.
"Aurora! Thank goodness! What happened?" Narain asked her daughter.
"Solar, where are your sisters?" Song asked.
"Where'd you get that sword?" Jack asked Blaze, who told him where he had gotten it.
"Where's Terra?" Bunny asked, seeing that even Taylor was silent.
"The girls aren't back yet?" Solar asked them, which made Song gasp. Tears sprung to Casey's eyes as she began worrying about her daughter, crying out as Jack wrapped his arms around her. As the sky went dark, Sandy and Jack both looked up to see that Manny was gone as was Nightlight as the latter streaked out the door. Picking up his staff, Jack nodded to Sandy as they ran out the door. Taking flight, Jack summoned his depleted powers and took off, feeling two hands helping him fly higher. Looking up, he saw Blaze holding his hoodie as Solar scooped down to pick up Sandy as they followed Nightlight's star streaked path of light to find their kids and bring them home.
So, what'd you guys think? I hope you enjoyed. I try to stay in Snow's POV the whole time, but there are parts where i have to switch to general POV. Thanks for reading and I'd appreciate any positive reviews or creative criticism that you guys could give me!