By the Almighty, this chapter is a beast. It's almost double the length of the last chapter, but I couldn't find a good place to break it.

This chapter has everything. Action. Drama. Humor. Hellos. Goodbyes. Touching moments. Annoying moments. You name it.

It probably would have been finished sooner, but this wonderful class called IB Physics SL decided to give me a 99 page practice test for homework, and it took me forever to finish it.

At this point, I've gotten some helpful reviews, so I've decided to do what I've seen some other authors do, and reply to each of them before I start the story.

Reviews

princessdaisy01: Thanks for your encouragement. I'm happy that my story has you so enthralled.

Casamora: Thanks for the compliment. I am really trying to keep this as close to the game as possible. I know the type of stories that you are talking about, and I kind of feel the same way about them.

Luckenhaft: I'm happy that my story makes you laugh. Thanks for the heads up on the typo, and don't worry about my update schedule. It should never be too long between each chapter. Also, 'Jings' is a Scottish slang used to express surprise. Basically, 'Oh my God' or 'Holy shit!'


Act 1 - Part 2: Inncredible Inncidences

"See you later, Michael," Erinn said as I left her house the next morning. "Don't push yourself too hard, will you?"

I smiled inwardly as I replied, "Don't worry, Erinn. I won't do anything stupid."

After stopping by the village store and stocking up on supplies, I quickly headed out of the village, turning down a second path that led towards the ruins. It was a fairly warm day, but when I stepped into the clearing of the Hexagon, the temperature suddenly dropped to a more chilling temperature.

The Hexagon, no doubt at one time a magnificent piece of architecture, lay in complete disrepair. The once-standing archways before the entrance had all fallen into dangerous pools of poison, and whole sections of the building had collapsed into itself. Needless to say, I was very careful as I gingerly stepped into the stone structure.

I walked straight through the first room until I reached a door that had a large slab of stone blocking it. As I moved forward to inspect the stone, I noticed that it had something written on it: 'Path ahead sealed due to beast-related fatalities.' As I finished reading, I felt something's presence behind me.

Slowly turning around, I saw a ghost – A ghost I knew well: Edwinn, Erinn's father. He turned and walked away, saying nothing. I followed after him, sure he was trying to show me something. We entered into a side passage which I had ignored earlier, and he walked up to an odd statue that stood at the end. Then a deeply depressed sound reached my ears. "On the…back of…this statue…" Then Edwinn simply disappeared, leaving me alone with the statue, which I quickly examined. On the back of the statue's neck, I found a button, which I pressed without hesitation. Everything suddenly started shaking as the sound of stone scraping against stone was heard back in the main passage. I hurried back, avoiding newly fallen stone, and discovered that the large stone slab had slid away from the door.

In the next chamber there were two staircases that led downwards. The left one came to a dead-end, so I went back and took the right staircase. As I moved through the next few passages, I defeated a few monsters that got in my way, including a few Mecha-mynahs, Firespirits, Spirits, and even a rare Bag o' laughs. I also found a leather shield, which I really needed, because the monsters I was encountering were getting stronger.

I eventually reached a large chamber filled with piles of fallen rubble. As I approached the center of the room, I came found a young woman struggling to escape a pile of rocks that had fallen on her leg. I quickly ran over to her to help.

"Oh, my – I never expected to bump into anyone all the way down here!" she said. "Hey, sweetie, you couldn't be a hero and shift some of this rubble for me, could ya? I'm not badly hurt or anything, but I'm kinda stuck here, ya know? And I don't fancy being around when that beast comes back."

As I was carefully trying to remove the rubble, I paused for a moment and asked, "Wait. What beast…?"

Before the woman could answer me, though, I felt the entire ruins tremble and I heard something heavy land nearby where I was standing. Looking around, I saw a large, dark shape standing in a cloud of dust. "Oh, bother!" the woman said. "It's back!"

As the dust cleared, it revealed the shape of a large, pink-hided, four-legged creature with green fur and large horns. "What is this thing?" I asked, struggling to stay calm.

"It's a Hexagoon," she told me. "I got trapped trying to run away from this guy and not looking where I was going. Watch your head, sweetie!" I suddenly realized why this whole building was crumbling so quickly: This thing was knocking it down.

Swallowing my fear, I stepped away from the rubble, holding my sword and shield before me. It was my duty to keep this woman safe – No matter the risks.

For a moment, we just stared at each other: It was just me and the Hexagoon. Then I charged at him, slicing it all the way along its side. Rather than roar in pain, as I had expected, though, the Hexagoon snarled in anger and quickly charged at me. I barely managed to get out of the way, but one of his horns still managed to cut my arm, causing a sharp pain.

I quickly used a healing spell, then jumped out and slashed at the beast's face, causing a deep gash across its nose. Of course, that really pissed it off, so, instead of charging me again as I had expected, it reared up on its two hind legs and smashed the floor with its humongous feet. The resulting tremors were nothing like what I had experienced before. The shockwave hit me like a wagon and turned my legs to jelly, making it increasingly difficult to dodge the heavy avalanche of debris that plummeted out of the ceiling. Needless to say, it really hurt, and I had to use another healing spell before I could continue.

After what seemed like an eternity filled with cuts, bruises, and healing, I finally managed to strike a critical blow against the Hexagoon's neck. Finally, it roared in pain instead of anger, stumbled backwards, and fell over with one final crash.

Feeling more than a little relieved and proud of myself, I stood before the fallen beast and taunted, "That's what you get for having a stupid name like Hexagoon. Who came up with that, anyway?" Evidently, Ivor's personality was rubbing off on me. I better be careful.

I turned back towards where the woman was, but she was gone. A quick search found her standing straight and tall by the stairs. She clearly had managed to free herself and neglected to tell me while I was fighting for her safety. "You're tougher than you look," she complimented. I was beginning to like this concept of praise.

"Thanks," I managed to reply tiredly.

The woman smiled at me. "Thanks for saving my hide there. You're a doll. Ya know, I managed to shake myself free in all the chaos. So, let's get outta here, huh? Being attacked by monsters is such a drag!"

'You have no idea,' I thought to myself.

We quickly made our way out of the ruins. I really wasn't looking forward to fighting through all the monsters again; but apparently news of my recent defeat of the Hexagoon had spread quickly, as everything we met ran from us like we were death itself, which, from their perspective, I suppose I was.

When we finally emerged from the decrepit structure, the woman turned to me. "Phew!" she said. "We're safe now, I guess. Ya know, I'm just not a dark ruins type of gal! I'm Patty, by the way. I run the inn over in Stornway. And you are?"

"I'm Michael," I told her. "I'm the gua- a wandering minstrel who's staying in Angel Falls for a little while."

Thankfully, Patty didn't notice my mistake, but I think that was because as soon as I mentioned Angel Falls, her eyes suddenly lit up. "Ah! That reminds me," she said. "I've got to get to Angel Falls right away. See ya, sweetie! And thanks a bunch for your help!"

As she headed down the path towards Angel Falls, I took one last look at this terrible excuse of a building. Then I also began heading back towards the village, looking forward to a nice rest when I got back.

When I finally returned to the village half an hour later, I decided to stop by the inn to see if Erinn and Patty were talking with each other. Also, I wanted to know what was so important that it prompted Patty to go through Hexa-Penta-Quadra-Screw it. It barely passes as a triangle at this point.

When I entered, Patty was standing before the front desk, arms crossed before, looking around. "Uh-huh, this is Edwinn's place, alright!" she exclaimed. "No one else knew how to do it quite like he did. The original host with the most!"

"Did you know my father, then?" asked Erinn, who was standing behind the counter, watching the strange woman before her. Her eyes suddenly lit up in understanding. "Oh! You must be Patty! I was so worried about you. I heard that someone called Patty had gone missing on their way here."

"Yup, that's me, honey!" Patty said, smiling brightly. "You were worried, huh? That's sweet. And I can't believe you remembered my name. You were so tiny. So…where's old Edwinn hiding, huh?" She was looking around the inn, as though expecting him to jump out from behind something. Erinn was right: Patty didn't know of Edwinn's fate.

Erinn looked down with an expression that caused part of me to die inside. "Ah," she murmured. "I thought you were probably coming to see him. I'm afraid that he's no longer with us… It was two years ago now…" I could see that she was struggling to not start crying on the spot as she spoke.

To say that it shocked Patty would have been a gross understatement. "Huh? No longer with us…? You mean he's passed away?"

Erinn nodded. "Sadly, yes."

"Wow," Patty said. "I, I can't believe it…so the Inncredible…that's…gee, what does that mean for my old inn, then?" She seemed to have lost her train of thought for a moment. Then I saw something new flash across her eyes. "I guess if Edwinn's gone, that means you're running this place all on your own, huh?"

"Um, well, yes," Erinn said, now becoming confused.

Patty turned away, scanning the room. "It's not the biggest inn in the world, but it's so quaint. I bet the guests feel more welcome here than they do in their own homes!"

Erinn smiled at the compliment, but still remained rather confused. "That's very kind of you. I try to do my best to honor my father's memory by keeping the place running smoothly."

Without turning, Patty continued, "Hey, I wouldn't expect anything else from the daughter of the Inncredible Inntertainer, honey!"

This is when the conversation officially lost me. Erinn seemed equally confused. "Um," she began cautiously, "about this 'Inncredible' thing…"

Not seeming to hear, Patty finally turned back towards Erinn. "Hey, I don't suppose you'd wanna give running an inn in Stornway a shot, do ya?"

Two jaws hit the floor, and Patty's wasn't one of them.

"Um…I beg your pardon!" cried Erinn, still completely lost in the conversation.

"Follow me, honey," Patty ordered, heading into the sole bedroom of the inn. "I've got some stuff to tell you." Noticing me as she walked past, she added "You come along too, Michael." Not really having much of a choice, Erinn and I followed after her.

We gathered around the small table and Erinn asked, "So when Dad was in Stornway, people used to call him the 'Inncredible Inntertainer'?"

"You better believe it, honey!" confirmed Patty. "He was the best of the best! He was only a young guy back then, but he set up his own inn from scratch and totally put his rivals out of business!"

"Goodness!" Erinn said, shocked. "I can't imagine him being like that." I almost nodded in agreement, but stopped myself at the last second: It would have been hard to explain how a strange wandering minstrel knew Erinn's father. Erinn continued: "He always seemed so unadventurous to me, and he said he was happy to run even the smallest of inns as long as we were together."

"Yeah, that's the funny thing…" Patty said. "Why would a guy like Edwinn choose to ship out to a hick town like this?" Erinn and I both remained silent; Erinn had absolutely no idea, and the fact that Patty thought my village was a hick town insulted me. "Well, I guess that's water under the bridge," Patty finally decided. "The thing is, his old place in Stornway is in real trouble right now. We were all kinda hoping that the Inncredible Inntertainer would make a comeback and get things back on track again…" She sighed. "I just can't believe I didn't know he died two whole years ago. I mean, gee! I'm so sorry honey," she added, looking softly at Erinn.

Erinn shook away the excessive sympathy. "Not at all. I'm just sorry that you came all this way for nothing."

"Hey, no apology needed," Patty said, waving it off. "I mean, I got to meet you instead, right? You're coming back with me to Stornway."

As she said that, I noticed Erinn suddenly became incredibly tense. "Um… I don't think that's possible. I have my hands full with this place as it is. And I just find it hard to believe that Dad was some kind of legendary innkeeper."

"Hard to believe?" Patty asked, almost sounding offended. "You can't argue with the facts, honey. And I can see you're a chip off the old block, too. I've got a knack for seeing people's strengths, ya know."

It seemed that this conversation was starting to make Erinn really distressed. She kept looking around as if trying to find a way out. "Oh, dear," she said, having found one. "It's getting late and I really need to get started on supper. Excuse me." She flew out of her seat and sprinted to the door, but as she reached it, she turned back and yelled back, "And I can't go to Stornway with you, so stop trying to persuade me!" With that, she dashed out of the inn and slammed the door so hard behind her that the building shook in response.

Patty, rather unperturbed by recent events, walked to the doorway and leaned against it. "A stubborn one, huh?" she said to herself. "Don't worry, sweetie, you'll see sense before long!" Then she turned back to me. "Hey…" she said, smiling. "Yeah, I thought I recognized you. You're the guy who helped me out back at the ruins, right?" I honestly found it hard to believe that this woman was so daft that she had forgotten that I was the one who had saved her not three hours ago, but I still nodded in approval. "You know, while you're in the helping mood, honey, you couldn't try to twist Erinn's arm, could you? I can't let that kind of talent go to waste. It'd be good for her too, you know?"

"I'll see what I can do," I said, not really wanting to twist anyone's arms except for Patty's. Ivor's too, I guess. As I left the inn, I felt that Erinn really did want to go to Stornway. However, I could tell how scared Erinn was about taking such a large move into the unknown.

Stepping off of the bridge near Erinn's house, I found the ghost of Edwinn, facing away from me, blocking the door. "Excuse me, sir," I said to him, causing him to jump in fright.

"Waaah!" he screamed, turning towards me. "You g-gave me a fright! D-don't do that again, will you?

"I won't, sorry," I apologized, trying to hide the pleasure I felt from scaring a ghost of all things. Then I counted down from four. Three… Two… One…

"Wait a minute! You can see me?" Edwinn screamed, again.

"Yup."

"But I'm dead."

"Correct again."

After processing this new information, Edwinn seemed to calm down a little and began looking at me rather curiously. "I had a feeling that you could see me back at the Hexagon, too. That's quite a strange talent you've got there. Sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet, have I? I'm Erinn's father, Edwinn. I fell ill two years ago and died suddenly. But as you can see, I still haven't managed to leave this mortal realm entirely. And you are?"

"Michael," I responded, much to Edwinn's astonishment.

Edwinn glanced towards the guardian statue, back at me, back at the statue, back at me, back… I think you get the idea. "…Really? R-really?" he stuttered. "B-but…Michael…isn't that…? Aren't you the village Guardian?"

I barely managed to nod in confirmation when we heard a feminine voice yelling from our right. "HEY! HANG ON A MINUTE!" I turned towards the voice to meet a flash of pink and blonde that hit me in the face, knocking me down, dazed.

When my vision cleared back up again, I saw a blonde faerie hovering over me. She had a large pink flower in her hair, an orange ruffled dress, pink wings, and black leggings. And a really upset look on her face. "Um…Ow?" was all I could say. Edwinn seemed equally surprised.

"Oi, watch where you're flapping standing!" the faerie scolded me. "I may be skinny as a rake, but I still need a bit of room for maneuvers! Never mind, I forgive you. Now, old man! What was that rubbish you were just sprouting?"

I hadn't even fully stood up yet when the faerie finished saying this, so it wasn't too surprising that Edwinn was at a loss for words at the sudden interrogation. "I, er…I'm not sure what you mean."

"You were on about Celestrians, right? I wondered the same thing at first, but this mess of a minstrel hardly foots the bill! I don't see a halo, do you? And I don't see any wings, either. Bit odd for a Celestrian, that, wouldn't you say?" I would've protested at this, but, by all lines of reasoning, she had a point.

"I suppose you're right," Edwinn agreed. "Though, while we're on the subject of odd, who and what are you?"

"Ha! Wouldn't you like to know," said the faerie. She looked at the two of us for a moment, and for the first time in a long time, I gave someone the Look. I can't describe what the look looks like. I can only say that it always works. Like now. "…Yes, I suppose you would," the faerie decided. "Then I'd better introduce myself. Wait for it…I am the supreme, stupendous Stella, stunning skipper of the sky-soaring Starflight Express! Ta daa!"

'So humble,' I thought 'Wait…' "YOU'RE the captain of the Starflight Express!?"

"Yes. Do try to keep up," she replied. At this point, Edwinn pretty much just quit the conversation as things had gotten too confusing for him. Even I was having trouble comprehending what was going on. Turning to me, Stella began grilling me for information. "Right then, your turn," she said. "Time to fly your true colors and tell us who you really are. You look like a regular mortal to me, so how come you can see the Starflight Express and ghosts like this old bloke?"

I took a deep breath and explained everything that had happened over the past few days. I talked about the Observatory and Fyggbloom and the energy beams and falling and the mountain pass and the Hexagon and Patty and some annoying faerie that flew into my face. If someone had written everything I had said, I bet it would have taken at least two-and-a-half chapters to get it all down.

"Sounds like a bit of a tall yarn, if you ask me," Stella said when I'd finished. "If you lost your wings and halo, how is it that you can still see ghosts and the like? Bit neither here nor there, isn't it?" I was about to object, but she continued speaking. "I know! If you're a Celestrian, then prove it. Send someone's spirit up to the heavens. You've got nothing to lose, and this old bloke here just happens to be in need of a shove in the righteous direction."

"Wait!" Edwinn said, trying to rejoin the conversation. "Are you talking about me? I'm not exactly happy as I am, but…" He trailed off, unable to fully gather his thoughts.

"Let me guess, you're only a ghost because you've got some unfinished business to put to sleep, right?" Stella asked. Edwinn only nodded. Turning to me, she continued. "Alright then, help this spook here to tie up his loose ends and then send him on his way. Then I'll believe you're a Celestrian, and I might even give you a ride back up to the Observatory on the old Starflight Express. Can't say faerier than that, right?"

I felt a burst of excitement at her words. Finally, a way back to the Observatory! Maybe, if I was lucky, Apus Major would know how to give me back my wings and halo. That, and I could discover what had happened to the rest of the Celestrians, especially Aquila. I happily agreed to Stella's proposition.

"So I'll tag along with you for a while until the job's done," Stella said. "While we're at it, I should probably warn you that I'll be keeping tags on you while I'm tagging along." I agreed and we both turned towards Edwinn, who was once again at a complete loss.

"Well, this is all rather strange," he said.

"Yeah, sorry about that," I replied.

He laughed once. "Still, I appreciate your willingness to help." He looked off into the distance for a moment, and I could see how much his daughter resembled him as he did. "Hmm…" he thought out loud. "I wonder what unfinished business is stopping me from going up to the heavens. I don't suppose…I wonder if it's something to do with that thing I buried behind the inn."

Edwinn became completely lost in thought at this point, so I turned to Stella and asked, "Do you want to go check the back of the inn?"

"Sounds good," Stella agreed. "Let's go!"

When I walked around the inn, I found that the area between the back of the inn and the face of the cliff was much too small for anyone to hide anything. Abandoning that direction, I began inspecting the grassy ledge that hung over the lake. Beneath a large bush, I found a small bump in the ground. Digging with my hands, I found something golden under the dirt. A few more minutes of digging and using my sword as leverage, and I managed to pull up a large golden trophy. Brushing some dirt of the base, I found an inscription, which I read for Stella. "Awarded to Edwinn by HRH King Schott of Stornway for Inncredible achievements in Inntertainment."

"This must be it!" cheered Stella. Putting the trophy in my bag – the inside was bigger than the outside – I quickly ran back to where Edwinn was waiting.

"That's it!" Edwinn exclaimed when I pulled out the trophy. "That's my Inny! Goodness, that takes me back a bit." He smiled, but it slowly faded away as he continued speaking. "The truth is, I hid it away when I came to Angel Falls. I didn't want Erinn to know. And I didn't want to spend my whole time being reminded about Stornway…" He sighed. "Erinn was very weak as a child," he explained. "I came back to live in Angel Falls for her sake. It was what my late wife wanted – what Erinn's mother wanted. So I brought the poor thing here just after her mother passed away, and I hid the trophy where no one could find it. I wonder how she'll react when she sees it." He sighed once more and turned away from us, clearly done telling his tell.

With Inny in hand, Stella and I entered Erinn's house. After a few minutes of searching, we found her up in her bedroom, pacing back and forth. She looked up as Stella and I entered, though she could only see me. "What's up, Michael? She asked. "What's that trophy you've got there?" I just walked up to her and handed her the Inny. I watched as she read the inscription, mouthing the words. "An award for being an Inncredible Inntertainer…from the King of Stornway? To my father? I don't believe it! Patty's story was all true!" Putting the Inny down, she continued. "I don't understand, though. Why would Dad have given up all that to come here to sleep Angel Falls? What in the world was he thinking of?"

"I may be able to shed a little light on that," came a voice behind us. All three of us turned to see Flinn standing in the doorway.

"Grandpa?" Erinn asked, clearly surprised.

Flinn walked up to her and began explaining. "Edwinn made me promise not to say anything, so I've kept it a secret all these years, but I don't see that it matters now." He sighed. Clearly, sighing was a very common practice in this family. "Dear Erinn, you must remember how sickly you were as a child. Your poor mother was the same. In the normal course of things, you would have become sicker and sicker as you got older. Eventually, you would have died. We lost your mother at a young age to the same fate."

"But I'm perfectly healthy," Erinn protested. "I hardly even remember being sick anymore."

"That's because you were brought up on water from the falls here in the village," Flinn replied. "Angel Falls' water is famous for making people healthy and curing their ills."

Erinn put her head down as understanding washed over her. "So…what you're saying is that Dad gave up his inn in Stornway and came back here for my sake?"

"That's right," Flinn said. "Saving his daughter was far more important to him than his own ambitions."

Erinn looked back up with a sad look on her face. "But that's terrible!" she cried. "I stood in the way of my father and his dreams."

"He knew you'd feel that way," Flinn said. "That's why he didn't want you to know. But you're mature enough now to be told the truth."

Erinn nodded with her eyes focused on a distant point. "You know, I always wondered why he sometimes had that faraway look on his face," she said quietly. "Now I know…he did all that for me…" She quickly came back to her current setting and turned to me. "Um, Michael," she said. "It looks like I'm going to be leaving for Stornway. I don't know if I can be of any help to Patty, but I have to at least give it a try!" With her signature smile back on her face, she left the room, with Flinn following right behind her. Stella and I left a moment later and found Edwinn standing in the hall.

"You there, granddad?" Stella asked.

"I'm here," Edwinn replied. "I heard everything. I can't believe Erinn is going to follow my ambition in my place. She really has grown up. Now I have no regrets. I know that she'll succeed. She doesn't need me watching over her shoulder." His phantasmal form began to glow softly. "It looks like I'm ready to leave," he said, beginning to rise of the ground. "Thank you so much, my honored Guardian." He closed his eyes, and tilted his head back with a look of pure joy across his face. The glow from his being became unbearably bright and I had to close his eyes. When the glow had faded and I reopened my eyes, Edwinn was gone. He had gone to the heavens.

"He's gone!" Stella exclaimed.

"Really? I couldn't tell from the fact that he was no longer standing there," I replied sarcastically.

She turned to me, gave me a look that only made me smile, and continued talking. "You did it! So you are a Celestrian, after all. Well, a promise is a promise. I'll give you a lift back to the Observatory like we agreed, so say thanks to your lucky stars." She fluttered over to where the being formally known as Edwinn had stood. "Hang on to your horses a minute – shouldn't you be picking up that Benevolessence?"

My heart skipped a beat. "What…Benevolessence?" There was nothing but an empty floor under where Stella was flying.

"You can flapping see it, can't you?" Stella asked, almost pleading. "Don't tell me you can't see Benevolessence anymore!"

"I told you already: I don't see anything over there." Stella put her hand on her forehead and sighed. "Now I'm starting to wonder again…are you really a Celestrian, or are you pulling my chain?" She picked something off the ground, and handed it to me. I could feel the crystal in my hands, but I could not see it, which gave me a small headache.

Putting it into my bag and out of mind, I simply replied, "It doesn't matter. I need to sleep." With that, I went into my room, fell onto my bed, and fell asleep, leaving Stella by herself to find a place to sleep.


A few days later, the soldiers from Stornway had finished clearing the mountain pass. Erinn, Patty, Flinn, Stella, and I were all standing outside of Erinn's house. Ivor was off to the side, pacing back and forth with an angry expression of his face.

"I'll miss you, Grandpa," Erinn said. "You take care of yourself, won't you?"

Flinn smiled. "You, too. It'll be hard work making a living in a new town. Make sure you don't go working yourself sick."

Patty smiled and put her hand on Erinn's shoulder reassuringly. "I know you're worried about your little girl, but I'm gonna be around to help her out, so you just relax, okay?"

Flinn nodded. "That's good to know, Patty. You've helped to set an old man's mind at ease."

Erinn now turned towards Ivor, who was still fuming in the distance. "Ivor! Can I have a word?" she called.

Ivor turned towards us. "What do you want to talk to me for?" he nearly hissed. "You're leaving, so you obviously don't care." Poor kid was terribly heartbroken.

For a moment, it looked like Erinn came to the same conclusion, but it quickly passed. "I was wondering if you might take over the inn here for me. I don't have the heart to close it down, you see. You'll do it, won't you? I know I can count on you!"

I could see Ivor's anger melt away in an instant, but he tried to stay upset when he gave his answer. "I suppose I'll do it, but only to get Dad off my back with his nagging about me finding a job. I'm not doing it for you! Anyway, I bet I'll be so good at innkeeping that I'll soon trump your place over in Stornway!"

Erinn smiled. "And I wish you luck with it. Not that I'll let you get the better of me, of course!"

"Oh, yeah?" Ivor asked. "Sounds like we've got a competition on our hands!"

Erinn laughed and then turned to me. "Michael, I can't thank you enough for what you've done. It's amazing how you managed to find Dad's hidden trophy like that. You really are a mystery. I wouldn't be surprised if you turned out to be our Guardian after all…" She shook her head. "Ha ha! Listen to me and my wild imagination! I suppose you'll be heading off to your hometown now, won't you? If your journey brings you through Stornway, make sure you come and stay at my new inn, won't you?"

"Of course, Erinn," I agreed, smiling. "I can't wait to see how successful you'll become."

Erinn smiled back. "I'd better get going, then. Goodbye, everyone. And thank you for everything!" She looked to Patty, and they turned to leave the village. I smiled when I saw that Patty's hand was still resting on Erinn's shoulder. I knew Erinn would be successful. As I stood there watching them leave, Flinn went back inside, and Ivor headed off to tell his father about his new job.

"Time for us to make some tracks, too," Stella suddenly said. I looked at her. "You remember where the Starflight Express is, presumably?"

I nodded. "Of course I do," I said.

"No need to look so flapping pleased with yourself! I hardly expected you to forget. Come on, let's head for the pass!" said Stella. "Let's go!" And with that, she flew off towards the mountain pass at a high-speed.

"Oh, come on. That's not fair. I can't fly," I complained before running after her along the path.

I reached the pass in a fraction of the time it took me to reach it the other day. As I limped over to where Stella was waiting for me, I was panting and grabbing my side. "Please don't do that again," I pleaded.

"I thought you Celestrians were really strong."

"Strong? I just ran five miles non-stop in sandals carrying a bag. Don't talk to me about strength."

"Whatever. Anyway, here we are," she said. "All aboard!" Stella flew over to the door and opened it. Curious to see what the inside of the Starflight looked like, I followed her inside. As I had expected, there was a lot of yellow. A lot. And at the front was the control panel, covered with hundreds of different buttons. I really didn't envy anyone who had to learn what they all did. "So here we are on the Starflight," Stella announced as if giving a tour. "What do you reckon? Pretty swish, isn't she?" She turned towards the console. "I'd like to jazz her up a bit more, actually. It's still a bit on the plain side, wouldn't you say? I'm thinking pink rhinestones with gold around them. That'd really make the place look stellar, don't you think?"

"No."

She looked back at me and frowned. "…What? Not bothered about my amazing interior design ideas, eh? I suppose you just want to get going, do you?" I simply stared at her. "Fine, fine. No more hanging about. I'm pretty keen to get back to the Observatory and see how everything is, myself." She flew over to the console. "Here we go, then Iiiiit's TAKE-OFF TIME!" She slapped a button on the console. The Starflight groaned, rumbled, and went silent. "…Oh, flap. We have a problem. I thought it would fly if there was a Celestrian on board. I wonder what's wrong…" She sighed, then turned to me. "Hey, you couldn't see that Benevolessence before, could you, even though you reckon you're a Celestrian? That must be the problem!" She put her hands upon her hips. "I mean, it's a bit much to expect me to believe that Celestrians can just lose their halos and wings, isn't it?"

"Well, I guess you have a point," I agreed.

"Ha! Talk about being too honest for your own good!" She turned away. "Anyway, we don't have time for this. The Almighty won't be pleased if we hang around here while there's big stuff going on. Ooooiiii, Almighty, matey! You listening? We're in a right old gherkin here. Why don't you give us a flapping hand?"

I raised an eyebrow when I heard how Stella was speaking to the Almighty, though I chose not to comment about it. I still needed a ride home, and I decided I've been pressing my luck already.

However, Stella seemed to sense that something was wrong. "That's weird…" she mused. "He's probably too busy to notice us or something…" She turned back to me. "Alright, then, Michael, here's what we'll do: we'll follow the road to this Stornway place. When we get there, we'll help lots of people and get loads of Benevolessence. That should make that Almighty oaf prick his eyes up!"

I nearly choked when I heard how Stella talked about the Almighty this time around. But, I did think that her plan did make sense. As I stepped out of the Express, I felt somewhat relieved that I didn't have to leave the Protectorate yet. I rather enjoyed being down here, and I was happy that I will be able to explore more of it.

The sight of Stella zooming over my head snapped me out of my reverie. "Hey, wait up!" I yelled uselessly. "Great…" I murmured. "Time to start running again."


So, yeah. That was a lot at once. Based on how things go, the lengths of the chapters from this point on should be somewhere between this chapter and the last.

Next chapter, Michael reaches Stornway, which he discovers has a very serious problem. Also, a new main character should be revealed next chapter.

If you find a typo, please don't hesitate to let me know so that I can fix it. I am only human, so I may make mistakes.

If you like what you read, please favorite, follow, and review. It means a lot.

D~F