The Pixie Chronicles

by PlatinumDragon

The tales of Pixie and Big Blue's own journey northward after their defeat at North Town

2. Episode 2: Ties to the Past

The Pixie Chronicles: Ties to the Past

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Monster Rancher, nor do I want credit for their creation, only those that I personally created and used in this story. Please don't sue me; I have no money in any case.

Please direct comments, quips, insults, flames, and/or death threats to Platinum_Dragon@usinternet.com

Author's Note: This fiction takes place directly after Bonds of Trust.

*****

Pixie laughed, as she dove just over Big Blue's shoulder, startling him as she flashed by. Spreading her wings again, she caught a bit of a thermal, and let herself float lazily above his shoulder, smiling and enjoying the feel of the sun across her wings and back. He glanced up at her, as he plodded along at his usual, steady pace. "You seem in high spirits, Master Pixie," he observed. She smirked.

"You've never had to wait a month and a half on wings to heal, much less live without the ability to fly. Wouldn't you be in a good mood when you got it back?" she asked him dryly. Big Blue gave her a doubtful look.

"If you say so, Master Pixie," he replied, "but with respect, I believe that I will remain satisfied with my feet." She laughed again, and dropped low enough to lightly touch his shoulder.

"Poor Big Blue. Too big to fly, too heavy to swim. You just don't have any luck, do you?" she said, smiling at him fondly. He made a non-committal sound, and kept walking. It had been a quiet two weeks, since Big Blue and she had split off from Genki and his friends. She stretched out with her mind, concentrating; Genki was north and to the west of her, and seemingly in high spirits. After a moment, she felt a alight surge in his sense; he'd noticed that she was seeking him out. She sent back a brief, answering surge, and smiled in spite of herself. Two weeks, since she and Genki had bonded one another after she, Tiger, and Big Blue had been resurrected by the Magic Stone. Genki and the others had continued northward, while she and Big Blue went east, hearing that there might be some more human families in that direction. They were planning to send them south, to the free continent, and then catch up with Genki and the others.

Somedays, she still found herself wondering why she had agreed to bond with him. Rebond, to be precise; the bond had formed itself when they'd been trying to escape the Scaled Jells, but had been broken when the doppelganger had turned Big Blue, Tiger, and herself into Lost Disks. And then Genki and the Stone brought us back to life, she thought to herself. She'd been given... a second chance, as Genki had said. Pixie smiled slightly. She didn't think that she would ever understand her choice, but maybe... Maybe she didn't have to. Maybe it was enough that she had made it, and knew that it had been the right one.

"Little twerp," she said softly. Big Blue glanced up at her.

"Pardon, Master Pixie?" he asked in curiosity, as she lightly landed on his shoulder, and let her wings fold up.

"Nothing, Blue. I was debating on if we should start to swing to the north, or keep moving to the east. We aren't too far from the coast now, I don't think, and if there were any other families out here, I think that they must have already moved on," she told him. He nodded.

"Perhaps," he agreed. "Another day in this direction, and then north?" he suggested. Pixie nodded.

"That's what I'd been thinking. So, we'll see if we find anybody today, make a camp tonight, and then start out fresh in the morning to the northwest," she decided. Big Blue nodded, plodding along. Things were almost painfully quiet; a few birds chirped from the sparse trees, and now and then the wind would bluster through the low hills. Aside from that, nothing made a sound, save for Big Blue's heavy footsteps. She sighed, and looked around in boredom. The low-laying hills that they'd been moving through for the past few days had been hopelessly barren, even for a region controlled by Moo. She'd been trying to remember what monsters patrolled here, though to no avail. She'd never really wanted to know much about this area, when she'd been one of the Big Bad Four. It was too close to her home village, and she'd done her best to forget about it. Besides, her domain had been leagues south of it; even flying it was a good week and a half trip. Now she found it to have been a bad choice.

Only one more in a long line of them, she thought to herself, before shaking her head slightly. No, that had been a different life, and she'd been reborn... She'd been given a second chance, a chance to make things right, and she refused to waste it with self-pity over past mistakes. Besides, she thought to herself, I've got more important things to worry about. Like if I'm going to sleep on my back or my side tonight, the way things are going. She chuckled, and Big Blue glanced at her, raising a questioning eyebrow. Pixie grinned.

"Important decisions, Blue. Just making important decisions," she said, in answer to his unspoken question. They continued on their way eastward, the sun reaching its high point and then start starting a slow slide back down. Pixie caught herself starting to nod off a few times, things were so quiet, and lashed her tail in irritation. She hadn't really been expecting to find any humans out here, but even so, this area was beyond deserted! By now they should have at least run into a patrol. Almost, she hoped that they would, if for nothing more than a bit of excitement! Glancing back at the sun, and guessing the time to be about six, she finally shook her head, and pointed ahead to a copse of trees that they were heading toward.

"Let's call it a night, Blue. I might fall off your shoulder if we go any farther. There's nobody out here," she told him. Big Blue nodded, and angled for the trees. She stood, stretching, and then hopped down from his shoulder to walk the rest of the way herself, stifling a jaw-cracking yawn in the process. She shook her head, and rubbed her neck idly. Two weeks of traveling, for no results. Oh well; it was better then sitting around for a month and a half, waiting for her wings to heal had been. She'd been cooped up in that cave for so long that she had been one big sunburn from head to toe after their first day of traveling. Big Blue hadn't been sure which was redder, her skin or her hair. At least that had evened out into a nice, bronze-colored tan, she thought wryly.

They reached the small copse and set out their camp; Big Blue collecting wood for a fire and Pixie setting out her bedroll. "Looks like it'll be another quiet night. I'm almost tempted to not even bother with guard duty tonight, but..." she began, and then trailed off as they heard an explosion from not far away. They looked at each other, blinking in surprise, and then they both stood up. "Wasn't I just saying it would be a quiet night? I'll fly ahead and check it out; keep low and don't show yourself unless you have to. No need for them to know that I'm not alone," she told him, as she spread her wings. He nodded, and she took off, turning in the air to head toward the flashes that were lighting the darkening eastern sky from behind a hill.

Gliding high, Pixie reached that hill quickly, mentally preparing for a battle, but when she arrived, she still found herself staring in disbelief. At the base of the hillock, a human woman clutched tightly to a small bundle as she struggled to keep moving forward. Circling lazily above her, two pixie were laughing, one raising her hand almost contemptuously. In the glow that began to form, Pixie saw that her hair and clothing were black, while the other's was a light blue. The black-haired one aimed, and Pixie desperately folded in her wings and plunged downward at her. She was a split-second too late, though; the ball lightning flashed away as she slammed into the black-haired pixie with her shoulder. They fell toward the ground, her opponent caught too off guard to do anything as Pixie snapped her wings back open and glided back upward to a safe height while she slammed into the ground.

"Laurel!" exclaimed the blue-hair, as she launched a salvo of lightning blasts at Pixie. She wove and rolled, bobbed and weaved through the attack, and then launched her own set back at her. One of the blasts caught the upper edge of the pixie's wing, and she tumbled from the skies to land in a heap not far from her companion. Looking around quickly to see if she could see Big Blue, Pixie landed between them and the still form of the human woman, the words of another attack spell ready in the back of her mind. The blue-haired one got up unsteadily, and then scowled at her as she slowly backed toward her fallen comrade.

"Who do you think you are? The Queen won't be happy when she hears about this!" she shouted, as she knelt and lightly touched the other's shoulder - Laurel, Pixie had heard her call her, when she'd first hit her. Pixie put on her best devil-may-care smirk, and summoned up every ounce of menace she'd ever had under Moo's command.

"Now ask me if I care," she replied coldly. "Tell your 'Queen' that Pixie said her fun is over." The blue-hair looked like she was ready to fight again, having shaken off the effects of her sudden drop from the skies, but Laurel shook her head weakly, touching her shoulder lightly.

"Forget it Leana - the human is dead, and I'm hurt bad. You know you can't heal a bruise; I need to get to the aide house," she told her weakly. Leana frowned, her eyes flickering to the unmoving form of the human, and then nodded, before scowling at Pixie.

"Next time you're mine," she spat, before spreading her wings and carrying Laurel away. Pixie watched them fly off, frowning, and then hurried over to the woman's side once they'd disappeared in the distance, gently rolling her over. With a grimace, she quickly turned her back to her previous position; the woman's face was split open like a frankfurter, the skin red and torn, in some places even scoured away to the white bone below. The blast must have hit her almost square in the face, Pixie thought to herself sadly, as she fought to hold the bile rising in her throat down. Big Blue suddenly crested the hill, and then came down a bit slower, as he realized that the battle was already over.

"Too late Blue," she said, as she slowly rose. "I got here just in time to miss stopping the blast that killed her." He nodded quietly, as she looked around. Not far away was the bundle that the woman had been clutching so tightly. Curious, she stepped over to it, and then blinked as it suddenly began to move about. A high-pitched, crying sound began to issue from within it. Slowly, Pixie reached down, and pulled back the top flap, and then felt the blood drain from her face as she looked up at Big Blue.

The bundle was a baby human girl.

"Well, now we know that there are indeed humans here," said Big Blue dryly, as Pixie did her best to cradle the fussing child. She gave him a flat look, and then jumped as the baby got a good grip on one of her fingers, pulled it to her mouth, and begin to suck on it. Pixie sighed, and then smiled in spite of herself.

"I get the hint," she said. Big Blue gave her a curious look.

"What, Master Pixie?" he asked. Pixie shifted slightly, and grinned at him wryly as the baby kept suckling on her finger.

"She's trying to say that she'd hungry," she told him, before frowning in thought. "Didn't we pass some goats about an hour before we stopped here?" He nodded.

"Yes, but can't you...?" He trailed off uncertainly. It took her a moment to understand what he was suggesting, and when she did, she scowled at him.

"I'm a pixie Blue, not a milk dispensary!" she exclaimed; the baby stopped suckling and gave her a surprised look at her outburst. She shook her head. "Just see if you can find one, they were heading this way."

"What if those other pixie return?" he asked. She raised her free hand and let a few crackles of energy spark to life; the baby giggled in delight.

"What if they do? We'll be fine, and besides, I have the feeling that they wouldn't try again so quickly. The two that were sent out were just after the woman, I think; I doubt that they'll worry about a lone pixie. They probably think that I've already left the area, since they never saw you," she said. He frowned a moment, but then nodded, and then plodded off. Pixie watched him go, and then sighed, turning her attention back to the squirming, giggling baby girl and frowning slightly. "So, this area is controlled by Pixie. I'm not surprised that Moo never told me. I wonder who this Queen is; she must think quite a bit of herself to chance Moo's wraith by naming herself a ruler." The baby just looked at her, a curious expression in her light green eyes. Pixie grinned in spite of herself.

"I suppose that you probably don't know, do you?" she said, lightly tapping her nose with a finger. A long time ago, while she had been a slave, one of her masters had made her the head nursemaid. It had been her job to take care of his children, and she'd learned that well enough, practically raising three of them herself; he'd never had any real interest in them until they were older. Of course, for as little as he liked children, he'd also had a particular affinity for trying to make them, as she had found out one evening, called into his study. With a scowl, Pixie ripped her mind away from the memory and banished it away once again; that had not, to say the least, been a very pleasant experience.

"Looks like we're going to be together for awhile kid. At least until I find some of your own kind to leave you with," she said, mentally groaning. That meant slower travel, finding a constant supply of milk, not to mention the rest of the aggravations that a baby came hand in hand with. Pixie sighed again, and shook her head slightly.

The baby cooed, and then impatiently pressed at her breast with a tiny hand. Pixie gently pulled the child's hand away, smiling slightly. "I'm sorry, but I can't feed you," she said quietly. "You'll just have to be patient until Big Blue gets back." She made an unhappy sound, but seemed to give up the notion of getting a meal from Pixie, at least for the moment. "I'm sorry little one... I'm not your mother," she said sadly. No... thought Pixie, your mother is dead because I was too slow.

The child merely watched her, giggling now and then as if she knew a joke. Pixie sighed, and wished that she knew what it was. Maybe then she could laugh about something too. They waited, as darkness slowly fell over the camp, and the stars began to come out. She found herself leaning back with the fussing child, and watching. "You know, I remember doing this with my grandmother," she said quietly, rocking the child back and forth. "It was my favorite thing to do, just sit and watch the stars coming out." The baby cooed, and then started sucking her thumb. Pixie laughed in spite of herself.

"I suppose that we need something better then just 'the baby' to call you. Any suggestions?" asked Pixie. The child gave her a wide, toothless smile, and suddenly an idea came to her. "Cheerful little thing, aren't you? A lot like my little sister; always grinning, always laughing," she said sadly, smiling. "Her name was Toril. I think I'll call you Tori, after her. How does that sound?" The infant cooed a moment, and then pressed at Pixie's breast again.

"You've got a one track mind, kid," she laughed, before glancing up as she heard the plodding sound of Big Blue drawing near. "Maybe that's dinner coming now." As it turned out, she was right; one bleating goat was held in each of his huge hands. Rooting thought her satchel provided some rope to tie them with; a more thorough search produced a cup and a clean cloth that could absorb the milk and Tori could suckle on. Pixie shifted her around a little, and then milked a cup full from one of the goats.

"All right," she said, dipping the cloth and letting it soak up some of the milk, "I know that this isn't what you're used to, but it's the best that I can do on short notice." Tori gurgled, and then began to contentedly suckle on the cloth once Pixie placed it to her mouth. Pixie grinned at Big Blue. "See? I told you that she was hungry." He nodded uncertainly.

"Speaking of the evening meal, Master Pixie, I should prepare yours," he rumbled. She smiled, pausing to dip the cloth again for Tori.

"Something light, Blue; I'm not particularly hungry," she told him. He nodded, and began to sort through their gear. Tori drank another two soakings of milk, and then seemed to get her fill, so Pixie turned her to burp her. As she started to lightly pat her back, she felt something odd through the blanket covering her. Blinking, Pixie unwrapped the tot's blanket, and then gasped in shock.

A pair of small wings sprouted from her back, as well as a tail. "Blue... this child is half-pixie!" she breathed. The golem blinked, and looked at her in surprise.

"I was not aware that was possible," he said slowly. Pixie shook her head.

"No - it's rare - that is, not as common as a full human child, or a full pixie child would be - but it happens. My grandmother always said that it was because of all the monsters, pixie are the most like humans," she replied slowly. "There were a few in my village; one of my best friends was one, but when the Slave Masters came they were all killed on the spot for being 'abominations.'" Tori fussed, and with a start Pixie remembered that she'd been burping her. Gently, being careful not to damage the wings, she started patting her back again.

"But in these times?" he asked curiously. She nodded.

"Granted, but a better question would be who - half-breeds can only be birthed by female pixie; males are infertile with humans," she said, frowning. "That woman couldn't have been her mother... which means that Tori was the real target; they must have thought that she was already dead, after that blast that killed the woman." They looked at each other, frowning in thought. "I don't know about you, but now I really want to meet this 'Queen.'"

Leana knelt, as the guardswoman leading her stopped, and announced her. "Huntress Leana, returning from her assignment, your Majesty," she intoned.

There was a brief pause, and then Leana heard the dulcet tones of her Queen. "Rise. I seem to recall that you left with Huntress Laurel. Where is she?" she asked. Leana rose uncertainly, but kept her eyes glued to her feet.

"Recovering, Majesty. We found the human, and she was about to kill her when another pixie appeared. Laurel was badly injured, but the human is dead; she got the shot off, and it hit her in the face," she replied slowly, keeping her eyes downcast. The Queen paused a moment.

"Another pixie? Not of our clan? Describe her," she ordered finally.

"She appeared to be a little under two hundred and fifty, Majesty; red hair cut short, red fur; she bore Moo's medallion on her tunic. She named herself Pixie, my Queen," she told her.

There was another pause, this the longest, and somehow, the most stifling yet, and then, softly, her voice neutral, the Queen asked, "She named herself... Pixie? And her hair and fur were red?"

"Yes, Majesty. She... told me to tell you that the fun was over," replied Leana slowly. The Queen laughed, shattering the deathly stillness that had settled on the room.

"A single pixie, bearing only the mark of Moo... Somehow, I doubt it, Huntress Leana. Should she be found, she is to be brought here, to me. What of the child?" she asked.

"I can not be certain, my Queen. The interloper landed between us and her; and Laurel was badly hurt. I did not want to leave her unprotected," she replied guiltily. "I submit myself for punishment."

"Bah. You did correctly; no half breed's life is worth one of ours. In any case, she is dealt with. You may return to your duties, Huntress Leana," said the Queen. Leana bowed again, and let the guardswoman lead her out. She was nearly to the chamber door, when suddenly the Queen called, "Oh, Huntress Leana... Her eyes - what color were they?" She stopped, and looked at the Queen, blinking. She was watching Leana intently, gray eyes unreadable under a shock of bright red hair.

"Her... eyes?" she asked uncertainly. The Queen nodded.

"Yes. What color were they?" she repeated.

"They were... like yours, I think. Gray, like storm clouds on the horizon. I didn't get a very good look though; the light was behind her and it was hard to tell," she said uncertainly. The Queen nodded, face growing thoughtful as she waved her away.

"That will be all," she said. Leana nodded, and left the room quickly. Once outside of the Royal house, she spread her wings and flew over to the hospice that she'd dropped Laurel off at. Inside, the dark-haired pixie was just having the last of her wounds treated by the magic of the healers.

"That was a quick audience Leana," she said, smiling as she saw her friend.

"The Queen was in a very lenient mood today," she replied. "She seemed very interested in that rogue pixie," she added after a moment. Laurel shrugged, standing and rubbing her neck as the last of the healers moved away from her.

"Who can know the minds of men and queens?" she asked, before grinning. "And speaking of men, the new duty roster was posted while we were out; I managed to convince one of the nurses to bring me a copy while they were healing me. We've been assigned to the same hunting party as Tasurus and Arowyn this cycle." Leana raised her eyebrow, trying to fight down the upward twitch at the corners of her mouth.

"Is that so?" she murmured. Laurel smirked at her.

"Give it up Leana, I saw you sneaking looks at Tasurus all through role call this morning..."

Pixie secured her pack between her wings, and then handed Big Blue the medallion that had once marked her as one of Moo's troops. She still wore it, of course; it was a reminder for her, a reminder of what waited her if she chose the wrong path again. The golem was holding Tori in one huge hand with a perplexed expression on his face. "You do understand what I want you to do, right?" she asked. He nodded.

"Yes, if not why, Master Pixie. I am to carry her south, and wait for one week for you at the lake we passed. If you don't return by the end of that time, I am to carry her to Centaur and make my way back toward Northtown with her," he replied. Pixie nodded.

"This way she'll be safe, and I can investigate," she said, plucking at the light green tunic she'd replaced her usual red one with. She had dyed out her hair and fur as well; where before it had been flame red, now it was a shiny black.

"I do not like the idea of you going in alone," he rumbled. She smiled, and flew up to touch his cheek.

"You never like it when we split up, Blue," she said wryly.

"And look what happens when we do," he replied evenly, though a faint smile had begun to form on his lips. "You get injured, use up all your energy, get bonded..." Pixie laughed in spite of herself.

"Oh, so that's it, you're jealous because you have to share me with a human," she said teasingly. "Don't worry, I promise that I won't forget you - what was your name again?" she asked, giving him a devilish smile. "Relax Blue. Even Genki wouldn't recognize me now, bond to show him where I am or not; those two certainly won't. I'll be in and out, I promise." Big Blue just sighed, and shook his head.

"I will see you in a week, Master Pixie," he replied dryly, before turning and plodding off with Tori and the goat.

"Be careful, old friend," she said quietly, smiling again, before turning and spreading her wings, flying in the direction that the two pixie had gone. It was a nice enough day for a flight; there was a bit of a head wind, but nothing substantial. Frowning, she looked for any signs of an encampment, or strip mine such as she had been placed in charge of at Northtown; all she saw was an unblemished green field. The low hills fettered out; tall, waving grasses replaced them, making the ground look much like a sea in its own right.

She flew on, and after three hours, started to catch a touch of salt in the air; a touch of the sea that she dimly remembered from decades before, when one of her Masters had decided to move to the ocean side. It was a scent that one always remembered; a tang that was in some ways quite unpleasant, and yet, surprisingly enjoyable. Listening carefully, she thought that she could even hear the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. Not long after, the grasslands started giving way to trees, until she was flying above a thick forest. Pixie looked down, smiling faintly as she caught the occasional glimpse of a deer or snuffling bear; through one small break she thought she caught a glimpse of a tiger, wolfishly lean body disappearing under cover even as she saw its purple fur.

Shaking her head and reminding herself that this wasn't a sightseeing tour, Pixie looked around for any evidence of a village or town. She found it in the form of two pixie that abruptly dropped in beside her, each holding a spear tipped with wicked foot and a half long blades. One of those spears was tilted until its tip lay lightly against her side; Pixie schooled her face to one of proper surprise and fear.

"Name yourself; state your business; we do not recognize you girl," said the one on her left, the one holding the spear to her. Her hair was cut very short; a light golden that blended well with the white and gold uniform both she and her companion wore. The one on her right had a greenish blue mane that flowed down her back, and became her tail. Pixie swallowed hard, and let herself flinch away from the spear slightly.

"My... my name? My business? I... I don't even know... know where I am... I was caught up by a storm, and wasn't able to fight f-free until just recently," she said; for her trouble the spear was pressed a little tighter up against her side.

"You are in the territory of the pixie, girl; now tell us your name, or you'll never see your homeland again," growled the one on the left. Pixie swallowed again, and let her eyes quiver just slightly, as if she was about to start crying.

"I-I-I... My n-name is H-Holly," she said. "R-really, I didn't mean to be here, b-but that storm, and the wind, and... and..." She trailed off, sniffling. The two pixie looked at each other for a few moments, while they forced Pixie into a slow circle in the air between them. They had been well trained, Pixie had to give them that; but there was something that was bothering her, something that seemed familiar, especially about those uniforms. "T-those are r-r-really pretty uniforms," she ventured. The one on the right looked at her for a moment, and then her gaze softened slightly.

"They are our Queen's own design; the uniform of the Tularian Guardswomen," she replied. "She told us that they were the uniforms of the guards from the village she was born in, before the slavers came, before we escaped, and she united us," she told her. "Ease up Jana; this one is little threat. We have heard that there were those on the south lands that escaped the slavers and Moo; perhaps she is from that far south. In that case, mayhaps we can learn of our sisters and brothers in that land before she leaves." The pixie on her left frowned a moment, but then slowly lifted her spear from Pixie's side; she forced herself not to reflexively rub her side to see if her skin had been pierced. Escaped the slavers and Moo?

"I... I've heard of s-somebody named M-Moo at home... T-they say that he's a thousand feet tall and s-so thin that when he turns sideways he disappears," she said, trying to ply for information. Jana laughed ruefully, shaking her head; the one on her right smirked slightly.

"A good thing that the rumors aren't true; the real beast is bad enough. He is a tyrant, and rules over most of this land with an iron fist. Many of the Guardswomen have died in fending off the attacks of his henchmen on Tularia; many Huntresses have vanished completely while on the Hunt," she replied; mentally Pixie nodded in agreement. He was bad enough in real life without adding on the rumors that had grown around him. But what she was more interested in was the fact that she seemed to be saying this Tularia wasn't ruled by Moo; quite the opposite, they had fought off more then one of his attacks.

"H-he's real t-then?" she stammered; forcing herself not to grimace at her own act. The green-maned pixie nodded grimly.

"All too real, unfortunately," she said gravely. "And by the way; she is Jana, and I am called Eve," she added after a moment. Pixie nodded, smiling gratefully, as she filed away that information.

"Y-your Queen must be a g-great leader, to have kept you free of such a monster," she said slowly. Now she was fishing for information, and she very well knew it, but there wasn't much else that she could do right now. Eve nodded deeply, smiling broadly.

"She fought her way free of the slavers that had captured most of the First Generation; those that founded Tularia; she fought her way free and then forged the First Generation together, brought them to Tularia. It was she that kept them together, when Moo first arose; she that walked out alone to face down the army he sent to destroy them," she said reverently.

"First G-Generation?" asked Pixie slowly.

"The first thirty pixie that settled Tularia; the ones who, using the human slavers as the slavers had once used them, built the Forest Wall. Jana and I are of the eighth generation, you see; the First Generation set the mold; we have now lived here for almost two hundred years," she explained. This time Pixie didn't have to pretend to let her eyes go wide; EIGHTH generation?? Even starting without only thirty pixie, that figured out to be at least four to five hundred pixie in this Tularia. And all free, beyond this Queen.

"Human slaves?" she asked. "W-where I come f-from, we live in peace." Jana snorted.

"Humans, peaceful," she muttered; Pixie blinked; she'd been starting to think that she was a mute. Eve reached past Pixie to lightly touch her shoulder.

"Be at ease, Jana; even our Queen sometimes speaks of a time when she and her family lived in peace with the humans, even if we can not imagine such a time. Perhaps, as they have not heard of Moo in the south, the slavers did not rise as they did here," she admonished her. Pixie turned her eyes downward, wary of them betraying her at a crucial moment; the two pixie seemed not to notice.

"S-so where are you taking m-me?" she asked after a moment, once she was sure that she was in full control of herself again. Eve nodded ahead.

"There, to Tularia," she replied; Pixie looked forward and then stared in disbelief. Ahead of them, the forest suddenly dropped off to reveal a city that seemed to have grown cleanly out of it; behind the city, the sea crashed against a great wall that arched out from the edge of the land. At the far edge, the beginnings of a palace could be seen, though it definitely had a long, long way to go. Eve and Jana started directing her into a downward spiral, toward a lodge that was in roughly the middle of the city. Hundreds of pixie milled through the streets; they started passing quite a few of them in the air. One dropped in above Pixie.

"Who's this, Guardswoman Eve?" she called.

"Holly, from the south lands; a storm caught her up and brought her here, Captain Ariala. We were bringing her in to see the Queen; find some temporary quarters for her until she is able to leave," she said. "Unless you think otherwise?" Captain Ariala frowned a moment, and then shook her head.

"No, proceed. Just see to it that she isn't left alone until we're sure that rogue pixie has left the area," she ordered. Eve nodded.

"Of course, Captain," she replied, smiling. The Captain flew off.

"Rogue?" asked Pixie, sublimating a smile. Jana shook her head.

"Yesterday a hunting party was sent after an escaped human. When they returned, Laurel, one of the Huntresses, had been badly hurt by a rogue pixie bearing Moo's medallion. Her description has been circulated, and we were told to be on the lookout for her," she said.

"It is the reason we were so rough with you," said Eve. "We wished to be certain that you were not her." Pixie shook her head vehemently.

"Oh no, not me! I pass out when I see blood, I can't fight..." she said, grinning weakly. Jana smirked, shaking her head; Eve smiled.

"You need not worry while you are here; the forest has always kept us safe; never have Moo's troops traced us to our home," she said. They drifted down, and then finally landed before the stone lodge. "Present yourself with dignity, and remember well that you are speaking to royalty, Holly," advised Eve. Pixie nodded, letting her eyes go a little wide, as though she was some little girl that had never been off her mother's apron strings before. There was something to be said for this queen, if she had been ruling for nearly two hundred years and the public trusted her, but none the less, she probably wasn't much more than a village girl that had been thrust into the situation, and had accepted because she hadn't thought she had a choice. Given ten minutes alone with her, Pixie was willing to bet that she could eat her alive.

The two Guardswomen led her inside, after first checking their odd spears at the doorway. Pixie automatically noted out the various places where other guards might have hidden themselves; places where she could duck behind if a fight broke out. There were, she had to admit, an impressive amount of guards. Eve and Jana kept leading her forward, to a pair of heavy double doors, carved with a relief of the entrance to the Great Forest, where it was said that pixie who had led just lives dwelled after their death. Eve stepped aside slightly, and pulled on a braided, red and golden rope; a bell tolled three times. After a moment, the doors were pulled open from inside.

Inside, a blue carpet with thread-of-gold and silver embroidery along the edges ran ahead, and up a short set of steps to a raised dais in the center of the room. There, on a central chair, around which four guards wearing a crimson sash over the same white and gold uniforms as Jana and Eve, and bearing swords at their waists, sat who Pixie presumed was the Queen. She looked to be not much younger than Pixie; only a year at most. She had a shock of red hair that was nearly as brilliant red as Pixie's was, and eyes much the same color gray. She could almost be my twin, Pixie thought to herself in surprise. The pixie looked up slightly, and suddenly Pixie's breath caught in her throat, as she saw the line of a deep crack on the underside of her left horn.

"Well... First a rogue pixie, and now someone from the south lands... This is turning out to be quite the unusual few days," she said suddenly, as Eve and Jana stopped. It took Pixie a moment to find her voice again.

"I... I... Yes, y-your majes... majesty... I... I was caught in a s-storm..." she said slowly, trying vainly to slow her spinning mind. Pixie knew where the 'Queen' had gotten that crack on the underside of her horn, because she had been there the day that her sister had fallen and broken it against the table side.

"Probably the one that blew through here a few days ago; it was a bad one, I agree. Well child; name yourself, unless you prefer that I refer to you as child until you go?" she said. Pixie started.

"H-Holly, your highness," she said. It was Toril... When she'd last seen her, she'd only been eight, and Toril only seven... But that crack was too distinctive, and how else could she look so much like her? And those uniforms - it was the red sashes that had finally given it over to Pixie, they were almost exact duplicates of the guard uniform that their own mother had worn. It was her sister... Her sister, that had ordered the death of that woman and of Tori. For a long moment, she struggled with a strong notion to give her true identity, but slowly decided against it. No... She didn't know her; it had been almost two hundred and fifty years since they'd last seen each other. Better to hold her tongue, and do what she had come to do.

"Holly... An interesting name. It has been many decades since we heard from the south lands; I look forward to hearing what has gone on there, if you have time before you go. Guardswoman Eve, see to it that she is welcomed and properly provided for," she said. Eve nodded.

"Yes, my Queen," she said; Toril looked at Pixie for a moment.

"Feel free to look about while you are here, Holly of the south lands, but be wary of leaving the city without an escort; some of the animals in the forest are quite vicious," she said. Pixie nodded.

"Y-yes, your h-highness... I... err... Th-thank you..."

Toril frowned slightly, as the dark-haired pixie was led from the royal chamber. For a moment, as she'd been looking at her, she'd thought... But no, that wasn't possible, she reminded herself. It had been so long ago, and her memory of that time was so fragmented... Yet those eyes, so much like her own, even as she had seemed so confused and frightened... Toril shook her head.

"Something the matter, Queen?" asked Leona, one of her four elite guards. She was also one of her oldest friends and advisors.

"Nothing, old friend. It's just that, for a moment, that Holly girl made me think of somebody I haven't seen for a very, very long time," she said. "A very... very long time..."

Pixie frowned slightly, as Eve led her to a large inn not far away from the royal hall of the town. "We don't often get visitors out here, but now and then they do come by. Often enough, at least, that this old place hasn't gone out of business yet. You can stay here until you decide to leave; should you need anything, ask one of the Tularian Guard for Jana or myself, and they will get us for you," she said.

"Ok," replied Pixie absentmindedly. Toril, alive, and queen of this Tularia...

"Are you well, Holly of the south lands?" asked Eve suddenly. Pixie blinked, and looked at her.

"Pardon?"

"You seemed troubled," replied Eve.

"Oh... It's just that it's finally starting to sink in just how far from home I am now," she said slowly. "What, with meeting your queen and all... I guess that before now, I hadn't really believed I could be so far away..." Eve smiled comfortingly.

"I imagine that it must be rather a bit unsettling. Do not worry, things will be fine, I'm sure," she said, as they landed before the inn. Eve opened the door, and then waved over the owner, a plump, elderly pixie who looked like she'd had experience in settling more than a few rowdy patrons.

"Hello Guardswoman Eve; who's this? I don't think that I've seen her around town before, have I?" she said, as she reached them. The smile she wore nearly split her face in two; the deep lines of her wrinkled face did.

"Her name is Holly, and she is from the south lands Lucia; that bad storm that passed through here a few days ago caught her up and pulled her here. The queen has asked that we make her as comfortable as we can, until she is ready to go home," replied Eve, smiling. The innkeep laughed in delight.

"The south lands! I was there once, a very long time ago, before the slavers came through here. It was such a beautiful place, why, I met my first bondmate there!" she exclaimed. Pixie nodded; out of the corner of her eye she saw Eve's cheeks flush suddenly. "Ah, but I do miss that time, even for what the slavers did to us; poor Eve here has never known what it's like to share one's life with another. Are you bonded, child?" she asked. Pixie shook her head, and affected a curious look.

"Bonded?" she asked. Lucia sighed.

"You mean that you don't know about the Bond? What a pity..." she said, losing some of her smile. Eve cleared her throat.

"Ah... I need to get back to my patrol, Lucia; would you please see that Holly gets properly settled?" she asked. The innkeep nodded.

"Certainly child, certainly. Say hello to Jana for me, will you? The two of you never visit anymore! It gets so lonely here..." she said, smiling again. Eve nodded.

"Yes, of course Lucia. Thank you," she said, bowing. Lucia waved as she ducked back out the doorway, and then turned to Pixie.

"Now then child, come along, let's get you settled in nice and comfy shall we?" she said, placing a motherly hand on Pixie's shoulder. "I'm sure that you must be hungry for a good meal after such a frightening trip, why, I just put a new batch of mutton stew on to cook," she said, smiling broadly. Pixie let herself be led up the stairwell by the older woman, but as they started up the stairs, she caught a glimpse of a hunched over form slipping into a doorway that Pixie hadn't seen as she'd come in the door; a hunched over form that didn't have horns, wings or tail. That form seemed to run into the edge of that door with its knee, and Lucia winced slightly, reaching down to rub her knee.

"Did you hurt yourself?" she asked. Lucia grinned.

"No child; tis simply old age, I suppose. Can't do much of anything anymore, with these stiff joints of mine, without feeling the occasional twinge. I envy you young ones, that can move about so easily, why, I can hardly fly anymore, my wings are so stiff." Pixie nodded and smiled sympathetically, mentally filing away the surprising revelation. Lucia was bonded; it was too much of a coincidence that that human had bumped its knee and at the same time she'd felt a twinge of some sort. So, things weren't as clear-cut here as she'd first assumed.

"Sometimes my grandma talks about stuff like that too; I sure hope I can get back to her soon, she's probably worried sick about me," said Pixie. Lucia smiled, and gave her shoulder a light squeeze.

"Everything will be aright, child, don't you worry yourself none," she told her, before stopping before a doorway. "Here's the room you'll be using while you're here, and there are baths down below if you want to freshen up. Now, dinner is at seven sharp other nights, but for tonight just call down as soon as you're ready and I'll have it sent up to you dearie. And if you need anything, just ask one of the girls to get me, all right?" Pixie nodded, and smiled at her, for once not just because it suited the image that she was trying to project.

"Oh, thank you," she said. Lucia smiled back, and gave her shoulder another squeeze, before heading down the stairs. Pixie waited until the sound of her footsteps had faded, and then opened up the door that the elderly woman had indicated. It swung open to reveal a room that was plain, yet comfortable in its own right. There was a small fire burning in the hearth; above on the mantle there were a half-dozen books. There was a small bed that looked like it might be reasonably comfortable - then again, after two weeks of sleeping on the bare earth, a bed of needles should be comfortable, Pixie thought to herself. Loosening the straps on her pack, Pixie set it down, and rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, 'Holly,' what have we got so far? Your sister is alive and well, and is the queen of, for lack of a better word, pixie nation, and your innkeep is bonded to a human, which you're fairly certain is somewhat against the law..."

Where to start her investigation, she wondered dryly. I've certainly got my choices. Her stomach growled slightly, reminding her that she hadn't eaten breakfast and hadn't had much for dinner the night before. "I think the common room will do well enough for a start," she decided, with a slight grin. Pausing a moment, Pixie ran through a mental checklist of things in her bag; nothing incriminating that she should hide in there. Nodding, she stepped out the door and went back down the stairs. Lucia appeared almost before her foot had landed on the last step, smiling and ushering her toward a table.

"You're just in time; the stew is just now ready," she said. Pixie nodded, smiling, and covertly looking about the common room. There were few patrons; it was still fairly early in the evening. Half a dozen pixie - including one male - sat about one table, drinking and laughing about something or other; a scattered few dotted the other tables, frowning at papers or idly poking at the food before them. Two or three serving girls rested idly against the far wall, keeping an eye on the few patrons just in case they needed anything. Another male stood behind the bar, looking for all the world like he'd rather be somewhere else; the row of stools before the counter were completely empty. Pixie glanced aside, as a slight movement caught her eye; in the far corner sat a solitary pixie with large, sad green eyes, and looking as though she'd just recovered from something. Her skin was a little pale; now and then she would touch her stomach as though it was bothering her.

"Who's that?" she asked without thinking. Lucia glanced over.

"Oh, that's Tara. She was pregnant, you see, but she lost the child only a few days before it would have been born," she replied, her voice just slightly tight. Pixie nodded slowly, and wondered if her luck could possibly be this good. "It hit her a little hard; the healers all thought that she couldn't bear children at all, so she was really overjoyed when she found out that she was with child."

"Oh... How sad... My sister back home had a miscarriage recently... I wonder if maybe she'd like to talk a little. That's what my mom says I'm good at, you know, talking," said Pixie. Lucia leveled a measuring gaze at her, frowning slightly; Pixie let herself blush a little under the scrutiny, and after a moment, Lucia slowly nodded.

"Perhaps she would, child, perhaps she would. Do you know, you have a most remarkable resemblance to our queen, now that I think on it... Why, if your hair and fur were red, instead of black... But enough of my prattling. Come along, I'll introduce you," she said slowly; Pixie breathed a slight sigh of relief. That had been a touch too close. She followed the elderly innkeeper over; Tara looked up as they arrived, brushing at her eyes slightly, as though she'd just been crying. "Tara? How are you feeling, child?" asked Lucia, smiling; playing her part up, Pixie smiled at her shyly. Up close, Tara looked to be about a hundred at most, about the same as Eve and Jana had been.

"Oh, Mrs. Lucia... I... Um, that is... I'm doing... better. Better than I was, I mean. I guess... I guess it's finally starting to... um... sink in, I guess," she replied haltingly. "Um... Who... who's this, Mrs. Lucia?"

"This is Holly, from the south lands. She was caught up in that storm and blown up here. I thought that you might like to show her around the city a bit... You know, help get your mind off the accident," she replied, smiling again. Tara slowly nodded.

"Oh, um... Sure, I... ah, guess. Your name is H-Holly?" she asked. Pixie smiled again, nodding.

"Yes, that's right. The queen was generous enough to put me up here until I'm ready to try flying back home," she explained, "And Mrs. Lucia thought that it might do me some good to see around town. I... my sister just... well, you know. If you wanted to talk... well..." Tara slowly nodded, and smiled just slightly, sniffling.

"Yeah... I think that... I'd like that..."

Pixie smiled as she and Tara moved past a large group of pixie in the market square that Tara had led them to the next morning. Lucia had suggested that they start bright and early, rather then as late in the evening as it had been the day before. It had been a very long time since she had last been among so many of her own kind; she had to admit that if felt... good to be around them again. Still, she admonished herself, she did have to keep in mind that she was here on business, not pleasure. And speaking of which, she thought to herself with a touch of chagrin, now might not be such a bad time to get to that business. "My sister was really sad... you know, when she lost the baby," she said; Pixie had been very slowly leading their conversation in this direction, wary of pulling her along too quickly. Tara blinked, but then nodded, looking down.

"Yes... It was quite... quite a blow when I found out that I was with child in the first place; the healers had told me that I wasn't able to have them, because of the terrible sicknesses I'd had when I was only a child. There are a lot of the pixie around here my age that can't, because of that. When I was only ten, we had a very bad bout of a sickness that caused horribly high fevers, and unbearable pains in the stomach. Many of my generation died because of it..." she explained. "Then, when Lucia told me that she thought I was..." For a moment, Tara brightened, losing some of the sadness that seemed to be clinging to her, even now. "I... I was very happy, but very surprised." Then the sadness came back. "Then, just a few days ago, I, ah... Well, I was injured, and... when the healers... finished, they... they said..." Tara trailed off, closing her eyes. Pixie smiled sympathetically, and gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"I understand. That's a lot like what happened to my sister; she was making a midday meal, and had a fainting spell. When she woke up, she thought that something was wrong; a few days later, she found out that she'd lost the baby," she said. "Isn't your husband here to help?" asked Pixie curiously. Tara started, and then gave a rueful, but nervous laugh.

"Oh, you don't understand something about our culture here. Maybe it's different in the south lands, but here there is about one male to every fifty females, so... Oh, how to put this delicately... We... um... share. Quite... Quite freely," she said; Pixie blushed in spite of herself. They shared? There had always been more female pixie in her village then male, but not by that much of a difference. Suddenly that group that Pixie had seen at Lucia's inn gained a whole new meaning. Tara pointed up ahead, to a tall, shield shaped building. "There, in places like that; females can go if they wish to have a child; there are males there that have been selected for their strengths," she explained. "There are a few about the city. The queen, of course, does have her own consort, but only in the sense that she can refuse to, erm, let him... join with another female," finished Tara, blushing a little herself. Pixie cleared her throat, and grinned weakly, nodding slightly, as she looked back toward the building.

It was lucky for her that she did, because if she hadn't, she wouldn't have spotted Leana and Laurel stepping out of it. Wincing, Pixie tugged Tara's arm lightly, toward a stand where a large number of baubles and necklaces had been set out. "Hey, look over here! They're so lovely!" she exclaimed, watching the two pixie from out of the corner of her eye. Dyed hair and fur or not, she didn't feel like taking any chances with those two. "I've never seen designs like this back home," she said, grinning. Tara frowned at them for a moment.

"Oh, those are some pieces made by pixie from the east. They do have a sort of charm, don't they?" she said, smiling slightly. "I've personally always been more partial to pieces from northern pixie; they're more delicate, but some of the patterns are truly beautiful." Pixie gave her a sideways look - and took the chance to watch as Leana and Laurel moved by.

"Do you know much about jewelry?" she asked; the two pixie disappeared behind a swirl of the crowd. Tara smiled.

"Oh, no - well, yes... well... I guess you might say that it's sort of a hobby for me. Nothing very big, I mean, but just... well, sort of a hobby," she said, before grinning weakly. "I used to have quite the collection, when I was younger..." Pixie smiled, with one last quick glance in the direction that the two pixie had gone to be sure that they were out of sight.

"My mother used to hate it when she caught me going through her jewelry box; she always said that I got it out of order. I could never understand-"

"Just what order it was supposed to be in?" finished Tara, laughing softly. Pixie smiled again, and nodded, laughing herself.

"Exactly," she replied. Tara nodded.

"You know, I'm glad that Lucia suggested this... I haven't been out since finding out a few days ago... And, strange as it sounds, that felt like the first time I've laughed in years," she said. Pixie nodded.

"I'm glad that I could help. I know what it feels like... to lose somebody very important," she said, mentally wincing at the slight pause. Tara looked at her a moment, and then smiled again, nodding.

"Thanks," she said, smiling. "So, ah, was there anything else that you wanted to see?" she asked. Now was her chance, decided Pixie.

"Well, actually... Look, is... there somewhere private that we could talk for a moment?" she asked her. Tara nodded.

"Well, sure, back at the inn-" she started. Pixie shook her head.

"No, somewhere where nobody might see us; there is... something that I'd like to talk to you about," she said quietly. Tara blinked, but then slowly nodded.

"Yeah, I guess we could go to my place..." she said. Pixie nodded, as Tara uncertainly spread her wings. "Can you keep up with me?" Pixie gave her a dry grin.

"You might be surprised," she replied. Tara nodded, and took off the ground; Pixie followed behind her. Tara flew a lazy loop around the city, and then turned in toward the inn. Before they quite reached it, they turned out to the right and dropped down to the ground before a small, homey little cottage. It was back from what looked to be the main road; the next nearest cottage was a good ten feet away from them. Tara stepped up to the doorway, and pushed it open, waving Pixie in behind her.

"So... what did you want to talk about?" she asked slowly, once the door was closed. Pixie smiled slightly.

"Well, you might want to sit down," she suggested. Tara blinked, but lowered herself into a nearby chair, indicating another one nearby for Pixie. "You know, I was just thinking of something, earlier today. Just... wondering, if you understand me?" she said. Tara slowly nodded.

"Just... wondering..." she agreed.

"Just wondering, that's right. I was wondering... What if, just once, a... female pixie, just... happened to become friends with a human. Only, they became more than just friends," started Pixie. Immediately Tara's eyes started going wide, and she started to pale. "Now," she continued, not wanting to give her a chance to respond, "what if they just happened to... make something more together, and that something more had to be sneaked out of the city that... sincerely frowned upon such something mores. Only, that something more and its carrier didn't make it out as unnoticed as they'd hoped, and two Huntresses were sent after them."

Tara was staring at her now, mouth hanging slightly open; she looked like she was about to start crying again. Pixie sighed inwardly; so she had been right, after all. "Now... just for this little what if, let's say that... somebody... Say, a rogue pixie, who doesn't share the beliefs of those that rule, happened along?" she added, emphasizing it somewhat. Tara started, and then blinked at her several times. "Let's say that this... rogue pixie just happened to be there, not in enough time to save the carrier, but in time to keep that... something more from being harmed. Let's say that... rogue pixie, after helping that... something more, sent that... something more south with a golem friend of hers, while she decided to head toward where she'd seen those Huntresses go to investigate." Tara was frozen in her seat; Pixie decided that it was time for the last little push. "And let's say that that... something more's eyes were green, and that she smiled and laughed at the smallest things?" With a shudder, Tara suddenly began to sob.

"We didn't know... Mrs. Lucia has been teaching us... about the Bond, and such... There's a tunnel from... from the inn to the section of the city where the humans are... kept. At... at first, I... wasn't sure about it, because... of the law, and the... histories... but then, I... I really started getting... to know one of them. It... It kinda surprised me, especially at first, but... he was nice. Nicer then I would have expected, you... know?" she said slowly. Pixie smiled slightly, and tapped her forehead.

"I know. Believe me, I know, more than you might think," she replied. Tara's eyes widened.

"You mean you...? Who are you, really... You're not from the south land, I'm sure of it. I don't know why, but... you remind me of the Queen..." she said slowly. Pixie smiled sadly.

"The Queen... I remember when she cracked her horn on the table. My name is Pixie, and your 'Queen' is my younger sister... and I think that maybe it's time that she found out who I really am," she said quietly. If Tara's eyes had been wide before, now they were threatening to pop clean out of her head.

"Y... You... You're the Queen... Queen's..." she stammered. Suddenly she took a deep breath, and her eyes started to roll back in her head; wincing, Pixie reached forward and lightly slapped her cheeks to keep her from fainting.

"Come on now Tara, don't go fainting on me, I'm going to need some help," she said. Tara teetered on the edge for a moment, and then shook her head.

"I... all right... I... Is she really safe? I... I had to try sending her with poor Martha; if she'd been discovered here in town, she would have been killed outright, and I... I would have been imprisoned. Mrs. Lucia and the others would have been found," she said slowly. Pixie smiled, and gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"Yes, Tara, she's safe. I sent her with Big Blue; he won't let her be hurt. He's been my closest companion for more than a hundred years; he's going to wait for me to return for a week. Well, six days, now," she said, smiling. "I didn't know her name, so I've been calling her Tori." Tara blinked, and then smiled at her broadly.

"That's all right... Until now, I hadn't thought of a name for her," she said. Pixie laughed in spite of herself, and smiled again.

"All right... I take it that Lucia is a sort of leader for your group? I noticed earlier that she was bonded. Who else is in it?" she asked. Tara blinked.

"Gee... I'm not entirely sure... Let's see, at the last meeting, there were so many of us. There were almost three hundred, last time, and... well, we never all meet at once," she said. Pixie started.

"Almost three hundred? And here I was thinking that this was just a small group..." she muttered. "All right... Are Eve and Jana part of it?" she asked. Tara nodded.

"Yes, they're the ones that introduced me to it," she said. Pixie nodded.

"All right... first things first, then; let's go back to the inn."

"Well, so how did you like seeing the city, Holly?" asked Lucia, as they touched down outside the doorway of the inn. Pixie smiled at her slightly.

"Oh, it was just wonderful... and Tara and I had a long, long talk about babies, and what ifs, and humans... if you follow me?" she said softly. Lucia started and looked to Tara, paling slightly; Tara gave her a broad smile.

"It's ok... I trust her," she replied to the unspoken question. "She said... that she's safe." Lucia frowned, blinking, and then slowly nodded.

"Yes, I believe that I do follow you, Holly... Maybe we should go inside; there are better places to talk then here, no?" she suggested. Pixie smiled at her.

"That's just what I was thinking; I wonder if we could add Eve and Jana to this little conversation," she replied. Lucia nodded, and hustled them all inside, and around the corner of the bar. She paused before the serving girl that was standing there.

"Lena, will you see to it that we aren't disturbed? And send one of the girls to get Eve and Jana, please," she directed. The girl nodded, and Lucia stepped by her. Pausing a moment, and looking about to be sure that nobody was watching, the elderly woman thumbed a small catch, and a section of the wall popped open. She waved Pixie and Tara ahead of her, and then closed it again after slipping through herself. Pixie looked around curiously. They'd entered a corridor, lined with a torch every twenty feet or so, providing ample light for any pixie, or a bonded human. Lucia started leading them down it, even as she started speaking fast. "Who are you really? And what did Tara mean by 'she's safe?' I want some answers; you're not from the south lands, and that I know for a fact; there were no pixie there."

"My real name is Pixie, and I come from a village west of here. The same village as your queen, which is rather convenient, since she's my younger sister. The last time I saw her was when she was seven, on the day that the slavers came for us. Until more recently, I served Moo, as one of his generals; I controlled the area farthest to the south. Then a few months ago, a group of freedom fighters, led by a human boy named Genki came through, and Big Blue and I were defeated," she said, before pausing, and shaking her head, smiling slightly. "I suppose that you could say that I let him win... But the truth of it is that I was tired... Of everything. Tired of life." Then she shook her head again. "Of course, the little twerp somehow got it in his head that, never mind a few minutes before I'd been trying to kill him, it was his job to save me from the building I was trying to bring down on my head," she said, glancing at Lucia. The elderly pixie grinned slightly.

"Go on child; I must admit I'm interested in hearing this now," she said. Pixie nodded.

"It was Big Blue that actually kept us alive - he has been my friend and companion for many, many years - but it was... surprising, to say the least, when I woke up to see Genki above me, after the ruins collapsed. To make a long story short, Big Blue and I left Moo; started working our way northward, at times shadowing Genki's group. One day Holly - a human girl of about seventeen - was taken by Moo; I still haven't figured out what he wanted her for. Genki and his friends attacked Moo's floating castle; somewhere along the line I decided to fly up too; don't ask me why," she said dryly. "When I got there they'd found Holly, but were trapped by Moo and his minions; I got them out; Moo, as you can guess, wasn't all that happy with seeing me again after I'd abandoned him, much less attacked him; he blasted me out of the castle. When I woke up, I found myself held by Genki once again; he and Falcon had caught me as I fell.

"Next time we met up was about two weeks later; Genki and his friends were attacked by a group of Scaled Jells; they knocked him off a cliff. I went after him; when we landed my wings were damaged badly, and I twisted my ankle. Much to my displeasure, Genki once again got it in his head that it was his job to keep me safe," she said, smiling a little wryly. Lucia gave her a puzzled look.

"I'm starting to sense that this boy isn't a normal human," she said. Pixie nodded.

"He's not; he comes from another universe. He was pulled here when Holly unlocked a Mystery Disk, and has been journeying with her and their other friends to find the Phoenix, and stop Moo. As I was saying, he got it in his head that it was his job to keep me safe; and I have to give the kid credit; once he decides to do something, a horde of rampaging golem couldn't stop him, so, naturally, I didn't have a chance," she said, smiling again. "Anyway, the Jells did finally catch up with us, and... " She paused, trailing off. "I remember starting to cast the shield spell, and feeling something very different about it as I did. The shield was far more powerful then it should have been - when the Jell's super beam hit it, I didn't even sense the impact. Then, when I counter attacked, I suddenly realized that I shouldn't have been able to cast the spell I was using..."

"Because it was one of the bond-spells..." breathed Lucia, her eyes going wide. "You have access to the bond-spells?" Pixie nodded.

"It wasn't until a month and a half later that we started to realize what had happened. Genki had a dream about me and set off with Tiger of the Wind to find me. Big Blue and I had taken refuge in a cave that was within sight of my village while my injuries healed, but they were taking forever. Then one day - the same day, I learned later, that Genki had his dream - I woke up, thinking that I'd heard somebody calling my name, and I could feel a presence coming toward me. I didn't figure it out until Blue reminded me about the bond-spell the next day, didn't put it all together until then; how long I was taking to heal, how tired I'd been... Genki and I had bonded without the words during the Jell attack, but I... I'd blocked it out until it was too late to sever it." Lucia slowly nodded.

"But then where is this boy? He should be with you," she said. Pixie shook her head.

"That wasn't quite the end of the story. You see, while Genki and Tiger were looking for me, Holly and the others had been tricked by a doppelganger. After capturing them, their captain came looking for us," she said, before pausing. "The doppelganger was losing, until it copied me. Then it hit us all with that same spell. I managed to push Genki off the ledge we were on before it hit. I didn't understand it, when I woke up."

"You survived the spell? But... that's not possible!" exclaimed Lucia. Pixie shook her head.

"No, I didn't, and neither did Tiger or Big Blue. But Genki... I don't know how to explain it, exactly. All that I know is that somehow, he brought us back from being Lost Disks, though the bond had been severed," she said. "After, we freed Holly and the others in the village. It... was the first time I'd set foot in my village since I'd been taken; I went to see a statue of my grandmother. Genki managed to find me... Well, shall we just say that he lived up to his usual... protective self," she finished, smiling slightly, and tapping her head lightly. "So, I heard that there might be some humans out this way from a family that the doppelgangers had been holding with Holly and the others; Big Blue and I split off to look this way. Last night, we'd just made camp when we heard sounds of a battle; I got there in time to see the Huntresses kill the woman, but was able to save Tara's daughter. I sent Big Blue south with her, while I came this way to investigate. And I was, to say the least, surprised when I realized that I'd found a half-pixie child." Lucia nodded, sighing.

"Poor Martha; she volunteered to make the run with her, but one of the guardswomen caught wind of it. It's a miracle that you were there," she said, and Tara nodded in agreement. Before Pixie could respond, they came to the end of the corridor; Lucia stepped ahead a bit and thumbed another catch in the wall. "We can speak freely here; it's a sort of meeting house under the actual grounds of the human section of town. We allow them free-reign there; but the entire section is blocked and bordered. Myself and a few of the other First Generation, the oldest of them, those of us that lived with humans for many years before the Slavers came, built this. There... is something that you don't know. With each generation of pixie, our powers have grown weaker and weaker. Poor Eve and Jana honestly need those spears that they carry; their lightning and shield magic is simply too weak to do more than stun, anymore. We... I believe that it is because the Bond is outlawed here; I think that it gives us not only access to the bond-spells, but strengthens those powers which are inherent. We... We need the human component... I assume you've noticed the incredible disparity between males and females here?" Pixie nodded.

"Tara said that it was about fifty to one, yes," she said. "I'd been wondering about that myself; there was a difference in the village as well, but not that much. At most it was three to one." Lucia nodded.

"Did you know that a union between a half-human male and a full pixie almost always produces a full blooded male?" she asked. Pixie raised her eyebrow at that.

"Now, that I didn't know," she replied. Lucia sighed.

"It's something that we researched in the city that I came from. Nine times out of ten, when a half-breed male mated with a full pixie female, a male, fully pixie child was born. We... thought, at the time, that it was just because a full pixie and a full pixie are most likely to give birth to a girl, but... Having seen the population here, I began to wonder if that was all there was to it. And every year, the disparity gets worse. I started to realize... that part of the reason was because there were no longer any half-breed males in the mix. They... were a balance," she finished quietly. Pixie frowned, nodding. It did, in a way, make sense; thinking back, she remembered that most of the boys in her villages had been either half-breeds or fully human; there weren't that many full pixie males.

"So all this time... You've been culling yourselves out," she said. Lucia nodded.

"That's what I'm afraid of. We need that human factor; both for our abilities, and for our survival," she said. Pixie nodded again.

"Right. I take it that Laurel and Leana are from an earlier generation, then?" she asked. "It was Laurel's lightning blast that killed Martha." Lucia thought for a moment.

"Leana... is from the fifth generation, I think; Laurel is second," she replied. Pixie frowned.

"Great..." she muttered. Behind them, Eve and Jana stepped into the room, and then blinked as they saw Pixie.

"Holly, how did you - Mrs. Lucia, why didn't you say it was something so urgent in your message?" asked Eve. Lucia waved them off.

"It's all right you two. Her real name is Pixie, and she's the 'rogue' that attacked Laurel and Leana. According to her Tara's daughter is safe," she said. "And that the Queen is her younger sister." Eve started, and stared at her, but then slowly nodded.

"She.. does resemble her... In the eyes."

"I dyed out my hair and fur," said Pixie impatiently. "Look, I need some help from you two. Can you get all of your group together? All of them, the humans included?" she asked. Lucia, Tara, Eve and Jana looked at each other, and slowly nodded.

"Yes, that shouldn't be too much of a problem, but it will take at least until noon tomorrow," said Lucia. "What for?" she asked.

"First, I'm going to take a bath, and get this dye out of my hair. After that, I'll explain," she said. "Oh, there was one other question I had, something that I should have asked as soon as I thought of it. Are there any tigers in your forest?" Eve shook her head.

"No, we take special care to hunt them down, and keep them out of it. There is too much of a chance that they might be one of Gray Wolf's pack," she replied. Pixie frowned.

"I was afraid that you were going to say that," she muttered. "All right, go on; I don't think that we have much time," she said. Eve and Jana looked to Lucia; she nodded, and they hurried off again. Lucia looked at her.

"Tigers?" she asked, curiously. Pixie scowled.

"I wasn't thinking, when I was flying over your forest. I saw a purple-furred tiger, one of Gray Wolf's. And he was heading away from Tularia. He darted under cover as soon as he saw me," she explained. Tara blinked.

"So?"

" You don't know Gray Wolf like I do, and you don't know Gray Wolf's brother either. I do, and they're both very, very insistent on one thing: You don't come back until you've accomplished your mission. That tiger wouldn't have been leaving the forest unless he'd found what - where he'd been looking for. And what's the only thing in this forest for him to find?" she said flatly. Lucia and Tara looked at each other, paling.

"Tularia."

Pixie toweled the last of the moisture off of her skin, and grinned slightly, glad to be back to her red headed, and red furred self. She didn't mind dying out her hair now and then, when she needed to go unrecognized, but it was always a relief when she went back to those flame red locks. Maybe they did tend to mark her out on a battlefield, but she knew that she really wouldn't have it any other way. Shaking her head, and spraying droplets of water from her still wet hair, she smiled again, though more sadly. Lucia had told her that all but two of their members had assembled. It hadn't escaped her that she might be about to attack, perhaps even end the life of the only remaining blood relation she had. Granted, she hadn't seen her for more than two centuries, but... Pixie sighed, and closed her eyes, as she started drying out her hair.

No, the simple fact was that she would do what she had to do, and she knew it. Family or no, she had a job to do, and she could not... would not let her emotions get into the way. That was a simple truth that she had long ago had burned into her... quite literally. "No. I'm too far into this to back out now," she muttered, though in truth she knew that she'd been in too far the second she'd got between Laurel and Leana and Tori.

Finishing with her hair, she tossed the towel aside and walked over to where she'd left her bag. Frowning a moment, she pulled out her usual red tunic and bottoms. As she started pulling them on, carefully threading her wings through their holes, she thought again of Tori. If she knew Big Blue, right about now he'd be trying to decide if he should come after her despite her telling him not to or stay there. That, and, she thought with a sudden, wry grin, doing his best to take care of the tiny baby. For a moment, she was sorely tempted to put off her plan for a day, while she sent Tara south to retrieve the child, but decided against it. She wouldn't be doing either of them any favors, if she'd been right about that tiger that she'd seen.

Bah! She wouldn't be doing any of them any favors if she didn't get her mind on the here and now. At first, she'd been debating a rather more violent solution to the task at hand, that of fighting their way into the palace, but now she wasn't so sure that that was necessary. Beyond the obvious exception of their defense force, the city seemed in general fairly peaceful. On the other hand, she reminded herself, under that seemingly peaceful surface she'd managed to find a rather sizable faction of dissenters.

As she finished hooking the last clasp of her tunic together, she caught a slight glitter out of the corner of her eye; something that had managed to work its way to the top of her pack despite the fact that she had specifically placed it on the bottom. Frowning, Pixie, reached down, and withdrew the small, thin box. She knew what was inside, of course; it was a small, silver chain, long enough to be worn about her neck, but meant to rest on her forehead, so that the shell supported by the delicate links sat between and just above her eyes. Slowly, she opened the box, remembering. Toril and she had been at the beach; they'd been little more than toddlers, and had found a strange pair of shells. They were small; small enough that even their tiny hands could fully close about them without crushing them. But the strange part about them was that they fit together in such a way that the pastel colors formed a bright rainbow.

They'd shown the shells to their grandmother, who'd seemed quite surprised and pleased. She had asked if she could have them for a little while, and the next time they saw them, on the winter equinox, their grandmother had placed them on a chain; silver for Pixie, and gold for Toril. She'd given the necklaces to them, and said that they were a reminder that, even apart, she and Toril were still together.

Pixie had somehow managed to keep it hidden from her long string of masters; sometimes she'd find herself looking at it, and wondering if she would ever see her sister again, or any of her family. Well, she thought to herself sadly, I did see her again, but not under the circumstances I'd hoped for. Still, after a moment, she carefully withdrew it from the slender case, and gently settled it over her head. At first, the slight jostling of the shell proved to be a touch distracting, but after a moment, she hardly noticed it any more. Closing the case, and tucking it away, Pixie turned to the mirror.

Looking back at her was a young, beautiful pixie with gray eyes that had seen too much, and hands that, to her eyes, had just a touch of a crimson stain to them. An old, small shell hung suspended from a thin silver chain at the point of her flame red bangs... And somehow, it seemed to Pixie that she was looking at the real her for the first time in a long, long time. Yes, those gray eyes had seen too much, and yes, to those same eyes her hands were stained a red far different from the crimson of her hair, but... Just off to the side, she thought that she could see the faint image of a young boy, beaming a smile that was too big for his twelve year old face. Somehow, that managed to wash away that stain on her hands, and that look of too much in her eyes. Almost, she could feel that boy's hand on her shoulder... Pixie shook her head, and the vision disappeared, as she smiled slightly wryly.

"I am not going to let that twerp be the only reason I keep going," she muttered. After a moment, she found herself adding a silent, 'Thanks Genki,' to the comment, and sighed in spite of herself. "All right, enough dilly-dallying, Pixie. Time to get things going." Straightening, Pixie pushed open the door. Lucia, who had been waiting on the other side, gasped as she saw her.

"Great Forest... You could be the Queen's twin!" she breathed. Pixie shook her head.

"Just her sister, Lucia. Just her sister. Is everybody together?" she asked. Lucia nodded.

"Yes, including the humans," she replied. Pixie nodded.

"Good," she said, before pausing. "You do realize that no matter what happens today, things around here are going to change forever," she said quietly. Lucia nodded at her, smiling sadly.

"She's not a bad queen, or an evil one, child... Just hurt deeply by what the slavers did. Those of us that are older... We still remember the kinder years, when we did live in peace... It is our shame that we did not speak out sooner. We should have," she said quietly. Pixie nodded.

"I know. What can I say? It took being beaten, and then 'saved' by a human kid to get it through my head. Toril... I don't think that she had that same chance here. In exchange, though, she didn't have to cause the pain and injustice that I did at Moo's orders," she replied. "But wrong is wrong. I was wrong, and she is wrong in this." Then she shook her head. "In any case, it's too late to step back now. If the timing is right, then that attack force that tiger is going to bring back will end up helping us, but only if we get moving now." Lucia nodded again, and they headed down the hall, toward the secret entrance to the tunnel.

Now, Pixie had always found that usually, just as she thought that she was in the clear with a plan, something always happened to mess things up. When she was a kid, she'd gotten sick the day before one of her closest friend's birthday parties. Many things like that had happened, and it was almost always at the worst possible time. And, as usual, something did. Just as she and Lucia started to cross the common room, the door swung open and Laurel, followed closely by Leana. Groaning, Pixie shoved Lucia back, and leapt forward just as Laurel's gaze fell on her.

"You!" she exclaimed, raising her hands. Pixie sighed, wondering how exactly she'd been born with the wonderful luck that she had, and got ready for a brawl.

"Wait, wait!!" shouted Lucia, quickly scrambling in between them. "Wait, Laurel! Wait, Pixie! Do not fight!" she exclaimed, putting one hand out toward both of them. "Be at ease Laurel. Be at ease, Leana. Please!" Frowning, Pixie slowly straightened, but kept her spell ready, as she was sure the other two were. Lucia turned to her. "I'm sorry Pixie, I wasn't thinking; they are part of our group as well; it completely escaped me that what happened would cause a problem.

"Lucia, what's going on here? That's the rogue that hurt Laurel so badly! How did she get in here!" growled Leana. Lucia turned back to them, making soothing gestures.

"Please, it wasn't what you think. Come, come, to the meeting; I'll explain to all three of you," she said, smiling weakly. Frowning, Laurel and Leana slowly approached her.

"I can't wait to hear this one," muttered Leana, giving Pixie an icy glare. She returned the look evenly, having had too much practice with sniveling, bumbling subordinates as Moo's general. Lucia smiled again, and then opened the doorway. Laurel looked Pixie up and down, and then frowned, stepping ahead of her. Leana stubbornly waited for Pixie to step ahead, until Lucia cuffed her lightly on the arm, and gave her an admonishing look.

"Don't be rude child, I told you that what happened was a miss-understanding. Come on, we don't have time for such childishness," she said. To Pixie's surprise, the younger pixie bowed her head, blushing, and nodded in embarrassment. Lucia sighed, and then looked to Pixie. "You see, these two were sent after Martha purposely; from time to time, the queen has been known to send one of the Elite Guard to shadow the Huntresses when such an 'escape' happens, and it is their duty to make things look as real as possible, just in case."

"If you hadn't have hit me, my shot would have gone wide, like I'd intended; Martha had been expecting it to go to the left, as we'd planned before hand," said Laurel softly. "And by the way, you throw one heck of a dive bomb." Pixie winced in spite of herself; Lucia gave her shoulder a squeeze before she had the chance to speak.

"It was not your fault Pixie; you couldn't have known what it was," she said, before grinning comfortingly. "Perhaps you even did a little good; I doubt poor Laurel will forget to keep an eye on the sky above again," she added. Pixie started in spite of herself, and gave her an incredulous look; Laurel missed a step as well and looked at Lucia dryly. For herself, the elderly woman smiled in satisfaction. "I do apologize; in my old age, I find that things slip my mind at the worst possible times." Pixie sighed, shaking her head.

"Will surprises never cease?" she muttered.

"I don't trust her, Lucia," said Leana, favoring Pixie with another dark look.

"You won't be the first not to trust me," replied Pixie, before Lucia had the chance to speak. "But use your head. I came across two pixie attacking a human woman who was carrying a new born. That's all I knew. I acted to try to stop you. I didn't know the full of the situation, and I'm sorry for attacking you, but for the information I had, I acted well within the rules of battle - don't give me that look kid. You can't tell me that you don't know the rules of battle. Considering that Toril seems to have imported a lot from our village, I'll bet I probably know them a good deal better than you, since they're the rules that our mother taught us as bed time stories!" she snapped, finally letting a little bit of her temper show through. Laurel and Leana both started back, coming to an at attention stance before they realized what they were doing. Lucia laughed softly.

"If the family resemblance wasn't enough, I'd recognize that temper anywhere," she said quietly. Pixie gave her a dry look.

"Family trait," she replied.

"Whoa, whoa, hang on a second..." said Laurel, giving her a surprised look. "When you say Toril, you don't mean..."

"Your queen. My younger sister," she answered. Leana and Laurel looked at each other, Leana swallowing hard, as Laurel slowly nodded.

"That's why I kept thinking that I knew your face," she said quietly. "I only got a quick look at it when we first... bumped into each other, but I knew that it looked familiar." Pixie nodded.

"I haven't seen her since the slavers came to our village," she replied. "Look, this is beside the point. As long as you're here, you can do me a favor. I saw a tiger the other day, on my way here. By now, he's probably on his way back, and he won't be alone. I need you two to get the rest of the guard mobilized - don't tell them what for, just say that the queen decided to have a surprise drill or something, but have them ready!" Leana opened her mouth, but Laurel beat her to it.

"Yes; WE will see to it, won't we Leana?" she said, giving her companion a flat look. Leana scowled, but nodded. "We'll go to that now," she added, before looking at her. "Perhaps we'll have time for a more proper sparring, after this is over Pixie, if you're interested; until then, good luck." Pixie nodded to her.

"Good luck to you too," she said quietly. Laurel nodded, and then pulled Leana along with her. Pixie shook her head. "I still can't decide if they're just friends or sisters," she muttered.

"Mother and daughter," replied Lucia absently. Pixie blinked in spite of herself, and then shook her head again, as they reached the doorway into the meeting room.

"Here we go," she said, summoning up every last shred of command she'd learned during her tenure as Moo's general.

Of all the things Pixie had pictured herself doing a year before, walking at the head of a column of pixie and humans, through the streets of a city built by and for pixie wasn't one of them. Perhaps leading one of Moo's armies to victory over the southern continent, or maybe squashing an internal insurrection, but definitely... Most definitely not leading a column of pixie and humans in what amounted to an rebellion against her own sister. Her sister the queen, she added dryly. Lucia, walking beside her, looked around a little nervously; they were starting to gather quite the crowd.

"When I said that, as long as they have an escort, humans are allowed out of their section, this isn't quite what I'd had in mind..." she said quietly. Pixie gave her a sidelong look.

"Consider the alternative... We could be fighting our way into the capital. There are too many spectators this way; the Guard won't outright attack us with all of them watching," she replied. The elderly woman nodded slowly. "If I can, I'm going to avoid bloodshed today, and I'll do whatever I can to prevent it," she added, after a moment. If it is possible, she thought. It might not be; if she was scarred as deeply as me. Not now, after so many years of being 'queen.'

"We can hope," said Lucia quietly. Pixie nodded, as they continued their walk through the streets. Up above a few Guardswomen started circling lazily about; Pixie thought that she recognized Eve's greenish-blue mane of hair, and Jana's much shorter blond; two others seemed to ignore the group completely, heading east, toward the sea.

"Looks like we've started to attract some imperial attention," she said quietly. Lucia nodded.

"Friends of Eve and Jana; if fighting does break out they said they were sure they'd side with us," she replied. Pixie nodded, impressed; she'd underestimated the two younger pixie. She wouldn't have expected them to think that far ahead for the simple fact that the didn't have experience in this sort of thing. More and more pixie gathered, staring at the strange column in curiosity, as they turned on to the road which led to the royal lodge. Ahead of them, a line of Guardswomen stood, one of the elite guards standing before them. Pixie raised her eyebrow.

"And there would be our welcoming committee," she said dryly. She continued to lead the march forward, until there was about twenty feet between them and the guards. Waving the others to a stop, Pixie walked forward; the elite guard doing the same. They met roughly between the two groups. Her opposite was tall, for a pixie; topping her out by a hand and a half. She had blond, almost white hair that ended sharply just above her shoulders, and almost lavender colored eyes.

"Should I presume that I'm speaking to the Pixie that roughed up Huntress Laurel?" she asked. Pixie nodded, frowning at her slightly. She looked... familiar.

"I've seen you before, but not here... How long have you known Toril?" she replied softly. The guardswoman smiled slightly

"Nearly as long as I knew you. About a year less, Pixie," she replied. Suddenly it dawned on her who she was.

"Leona! But I saw them cut you down!" she said slowly. Leona had baby sat both her and her sister many times; she'd been a close friend, once. But when the slavers had taken their village, Pixie had seen one of the slaver's soldiers just as he ran her through on his sword. Leona shook her head.

"Your grandmother found me before it was too late and healed me; I passed out during the healing and when I woke up I'd been taken too," she replied quietly. Pixie nodded; there wasn't anymore that needed to be said. They both understood. "What about you? The last I heard, you were one of Moo's generals, controlling to the south; I was tracking a few of Moo's henchmen and overheard a conversation about one of his most fierce and... most temperamental new commanders," she said, smiling a little dryly. Pixie grinned in spite of herself.

"I was, but somebody woke me up," she said. "Or should I say, dragged me kicking and screaming back to the good side," she added after a moment, shaking her head. "That's beside the point right now, though. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you still haven't told her that it's me; she certainly didn't recognize me." Leona shook her head.

"No, I haven't," she replied quietly. "In fact, she doesn't know that I'm out here now, or that you're on your way. I came out to try and stop you; this is the way that we've lived for almost two and a half centuries now. Maybe it isn't perfect, but we are at peace." Pixie shook her head quietly.

"You may be at peace, but it's too fragile like this. I know from experience. You're fooling yourself if you think that it can last forever like this," she said. "I thought that I could never be defeated by a twelve year old boy and his friends, and look where I am now. The fact that he was right, and that I was wrong wasn't lost on me." She shook her head. "Believe me, I know what you and the others went through." Leona nodded, sighing.

"Yes, I imagine you would, and for far longer. But I can't let you go any farther," she replied. "I will not let Tularia be torn apart, as our village was." Pixie smiled slightly.

"Don't you see, Leona? It's going to be torn apart, one way or the other. What do you think will happen if all those watchers see you attack us? There are more than seven hundred in that group, both pixie and humans. If you attack them, what will the people think? Let us pass without trouble... at least my way, there is a chance this can be settled peacefully," she replied softly. Leona frowned back at the column Pixie had led there, and then shook her head, giving her a rueful smile.

"You always did have a knack for out maneuvering people, Pixie; that's why I could never beat you at chess," she told her, before shaking her head. "Heed my warning; you will not have an easy time of changing Toril's mind. I hope you are ready..." Pixie nodded quietly.

"As ready as I have to be," she replied; Leona's eyes turned sad. Then she stepped back, and waved off the line of guardswomen. Pixie nodded to her, as she signaled the others up. "Maybe, once this is over, we'll get a chance to talk again, if you still want to." Leona nodded.

"Yeah. Maybe," she said. After a moment, she offered her hand to Pixie; Pixie smiled, and shook it. "Good luck, Pixie." She nodded, and then walked past her, as the rest of the column caught up to her. Lucia gave her a curious look.

"I thought for sure that we were in for a fight there; how did you convince her to let us by?" she asked. Pixie shook her head.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you if we get through this alive," she told her. "I'm going to go into the royal hall alone. Wait for me outside." Lucia opened her mouth to protest, but Pixie looked at her. After a moment, Lucia looked away, nodding.

"Yes... I imagine that might be best..." she said quietly. Pixie nodded.

"Thank you," she said softly. They led the group down the street, the royal hall drawing closer with every step, until finally it loomed before them. Pixie paused a moment, looking up at it, and then took a deep breath. Slowly, she started up the steps, leaving the others behind her as she approached the doorway. Two hundred and forty years, from the time that she'd been taken by the slavers; only two days since she'd realized that her sister was alive and in front of her, and now, she was going forward to do something that might result in one of their deaths... No, she thought to herself. Perhaps in the bath, she could pretend that it wouldn't effect her if it came to that, but the simple truth was that it would. She would do it if she had to, but she wanted to avoid it at all costs. Unconsciously grasping at the dim sensation of the bond in the back of her mind, Pixie pushed open the door, and stepped in.

Six guardswomen immediately popped out from the hiding places that she'd marked out the day before, spears whirling into place; they'd barely taken two steps toward her when her chain lightning spell slashed through them. The guards dropped to the ground, two of them spasming randomly. Pixie shook her head ruefully; that hadn't even been a full power blast, and it had still knocked them flat. Pausing for a split second to check that they would recover, Pixie then moved forward to the great double doors. Reaching over, Pixie pulled the toll cord that she had seen Eve pull the other day; once again, the doors swung open from inside. The 'queen' didn't even look up, as Pixie stepped in, until abruptly one of the red-sashed elite guardswomen saw the out cold guards behind her and gasped, reaching for her sword. Forgetting her for the moment, Pixie spun, raising her hands and flinging blasts of lightning at both of the guards behind the doorway before they could react; still moving, Pixie dove forward just fast enough to feel a sword swipe across just short of taking her tail off. Rolling, she came back up, already flinging another lightning bolt; it caught the guard hard in her midsection and threw her across the room. As she reached her feet, the last two guards finally started catching up, drawing their blades and starting toward her; Pixie switched spells and froze the floor just as they stepped onto it. Caught off guard, they went tumbling down; two more lightning jolts put them out of commission. She paused to straighten her shirt slightly, and then looked at Toril.

She was just starting to stand up and out of her throne. Pixie almost smirked; if she had been an assassin, the 'Queen' would have already been dead. But she wasn't an assassin, and her goal wasn't death. Lucky for Toril. "What is the meaning of this! How dare you-" she began, as she straightened. Then she suddenly got a good look at Pixie, and froze, paling. For a long moment, they stared at each other. Pixie was sure that she could imagine what was going through her mind; after all, they'd been going through her's for the past two days. "You... You can't... You can't be you..." she slowly breathed, even as she slowly touched her fingertips to her forehead, where the shell chain rested on Pixie's forehead. Pixie waited, while she fought through her disbelief. "You... That shell... But..." Slowly, she sank back down into the throne; Pixie waited until she'd fully settled into it to speak.

"When you were three, you tripped over a fold in the rug, and hit your horn on the table. You had a headache for three days, and every year, the crack that you'd gotten when it hit grew a little longer. Grandmother tried every trick in the book to get it to stop, but it never failed to keep growing. She used to joke that you'd never have to look for a place to tuck a pencil away in," said Pixie quietly; Toril's face became paler with every word. "When I was seven, and you were six, we found a pair of shells that fit together; Grandmother collected them from us, and then gave them back to us, one on a golden chain, one on a silver chain, on the winter solstice." She shook her head slightly. "We didn't get to see the next winter solstice, because before it came the Slave Masters came." Toril's mouth worked a few times, no sound coming out; she paused, swallowing hard, and then tried again.

"But... how..." she started, before swallowing hard again. "You can't be who you say you are. My sister died more than two hundred years ago," she whispered hoarsely. Pixie restrained an urge to walk over and shake her.

"Wake up Toril," she growled, emphasizing the name; she unconsciously drew herself up, having spent over two hundred years of being called queen, or your majesty, or highness. "Should I tell you what happened the night they came for us? The last time I saw you? How they killed our grandmother?" she snapped; Toril jerked with every example. "Maybe you'd prefer something a little more lighthearted? How about the day you accidentally knocked over mother's favorite vase, and I told her that I'd done it so you didn't get in trouble?"

"I... only knocked it over... because you tripped and stumbled... into me," she murmured softly. Pixie shook her head, smiling slightly.

"And I only tripped because you stopped so suddenly in front of me," she replied. "Do you believe that it's really me now?" she asked her quietly. "Or should we continue this?" Toril slowly shook her head.

"No... How.. how did you get here, Pixie?" she asked after a moment.

"Me? Oh, I was in the area, and ran across a pair of pixie sent to kill a child. I stopped them, and then decided to investigate. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the 'Queen' they spoke of was my own sister - and that she didn't recognize me, disguise or no," said Pixie quietly. Toril started, and a low flicker of anger flashed in her eyes.

"I thought 'Holly' reminded me of you, but I didn't want to believe. And child? Perhaps you mean that half-breed that I sent Huntresses Laurel and Leana after? Such an abomination doesn't deserve to exist, much less here," she growled, slipping finally back into the Queen guise.

"Abomination??" snarled Pixie, startling herself and Toril. "A living, breathing child, who I, still thinking you were long ago dead, named after you. Don't you dare give me any lines about what the humans did to us, because believe me, I've seen it all. For that matter, I've done it all right back, when the situation was reversed."

"Don't stand there and tell me you can forgive them," snapped Toril. "For thirty years, I-"

"For two hundred years, I slaved away for them," roared Pixie, silencing Toril in midsentence; her younger sister stared agape. "Thirty years, Toril? Don't make me laugh. That's barely even enough for me to notice! That's nothing compared to what I went through! And you know what? I do hate humans, more than you could possibly imagine, so don't you dare tell me that I don't understand," she growled at her, crossing the distance between them and poking her hard in the chest. "You want to know what I did after I was finally free? Moo found me. I'm sure you know who he is, don't you? He certainly decided I had some worth; he made me one of his generals, and put me in charge of the southern expanse of his domain," she told her, in a low voice that was far more menacing than her earlier shout. Straightening, Pixie turned and walked away from her, to give her a second to recompose.

"So you gave your soul to the devil," muttered Toril. Pixie spun, scowling at her, and Toril jumped again.

"Your right, I did. For forty years, I did exactly to them what they'd done to us. I forced them to slave away mining Mystery Disks for Moo's empire. I beat them, I killed them with my own hands. I tortured them just because I could. If I... wanted one of them, they didn't have much say in the matter. Does any of this sound familiar to you, Toril? Forty years, that's how I lived, causing them as much pain as I possibly could... For a time, I even thought that it helped," she finished quietly, looking away and pausing for a moment. When she turned back to Toril, she knew that her eyes were a touch watery. "Why don't you go ahead and ask how I ended up out here, when I had such a perfect existence there," she told her quietly.

"Why... why did you come here?" she asked slowly.

"I was beaten. By a twelve year old human boy," she told her. Toril's eyes narrowed, but Pixie didn't give her the chance to speak. "After he'd won, I tried bringing the ruins that I was in down on my head. Moo certainly wouldn't have forgiven me, and I was tired. Tired of the humans, tired of the monsters, and tired of myself. I figured that several tons of ruins should be just enough to end it all. Want to know the funny part about it? As the rest of his friends ran to get out of the ruins before they fell, he turned back and tried to shield me with his own body." Toril started, seemingly caught off guard by that; Pixie pressed on. "Oh, naturally, that wasn't what saved me; if he'd have been the only one there then all he would have accomplished would have been being crushed right along with me; the one that really saved us was Big Blue." She shook her head.

"We've bumped into each other a few times now; he and his friends - Tiger of the Wind, Hare, Golem, Suezo and Moochi, and Holly, who's name I borrowed, have been trying to stop Moo. I was just the first of his generals that they met. Right about now, they should be meeting Gray Wolf - did I mention? Gray Wolf is Tiger's brother. Genki is the one that keeps them going," she said. Pixie shook her head. "About a month and a half ago, they were attacked by some scaled jells; he went over a cliff, and I went after him. At the time, I wasn't sure why... After all, I hated humans, didn't I?" she asked. "Hated them for what they'd done to me, and still, I found myself trying to save him, as he'd tried... and succeed to save me from what I'd become. I paid for it; twisted my ankle, and shredded my wings. I'll bet you can't guess what that, 'worthless, untrustable' human did next."

"I'm sure he left you to die," snarled Toril. Pixie shook her head.

"No. I tried to make him leave. Oh, believe me, I tried everything short of blasting him away. He absolutely refused to, no matter what I did, and I ended up letting him help me get away from the Jells. Of course, in the end they did catch up with us, but by then, something had happened, something that I would never have expected. Something I didn't let myself think about until it was too late to change it, as I found out about a month and a half later. That child, that human that I 'hated' so much, the one who defeated me, and I, who swore that I'd never trust a human, had Bonded." Toril was on her feet in an instant, flinging her hand out at her.

"Blasphemer! How dare you speak of such filth in-"

"SIT DOWN!" shouted Pixie over her, flinging a very lightly powered bolt at her. It caught Toril in the shoulder, forcing her back into the seat; she gave Pixie an incredulous look, as she rubbed her shoulder.

"You attacked me..." she whispered. Pixie scowled at her.

"This is going to end my way, one way or the other, Toril," she replied softly. "One way, or the other," she repeated, letting her eyes go hard so that Toril wouldn't mistake her meaning; her sister paled, and slowly nodded. "You know, after that, Big Blue and I went to that cave you and I found, so long ago; we stayed there, while I healed. I couldn't believe it, when one day, after this strange, odd feeling had been sticking with me for about a day, when Big Blue suggested the impossible, but it turned out to be true. I'm sure you remember what Grandmother told us, about it forming on its own. That's what had happened, only I had blocked it out until it was too late to change it."

"His fault; It must have been his fault somehow," said Toril weakly, but Pixie knew that she knew that couldn't be. Both the human and the pixie had to agree to the bonding for it to form.

"No, it wasn't," said Pixie gently. "It took me a long time to understand that, but he pointed it out to me. The Bond couldn't have formed unless I wanted it to, however subconsciously it was. And the simple truth is that I know, deep down, I did. I'd decided the second he tried to throw himself over me to 'save' me from the falling ruins. No Toril, he didn't do it to me. If anything, I did it to him. Not just once, but twice." She shook her head. "I honestly wish that he was here, so I could show you the truth of it, but he has his own battles for the moment, as I mentioned." She shook her head again.

"In any case, that's not why I'm here, but it does bring me to my point. Do you have any idea just how sick I felt, when I realized, not only were those two hunting a baby, but a half-pixie? How sick I felt, the next day, when I was escorted in here, and realized that the 'queen' that had ordered her death was you? No, Toril... I was wrong, when I tried to take my vengeance on the humans Moo put me in charge of, but what you did wasn't just wrong, it was evil. Don't you know that all you're doing is helping Moo, when it comes down to it? He feeds on hate! Maybe I served him, but you are feeding him just as much as I ever did," she told her.

"You know nothing of this place. Yes, such half-breeds are outlawed, but there is a purpose!" retorted Toril. Pixie raised her eyebrow.

"Oh, there is? Tell me something, 'Queen' Toril. If there is such a great purpose in it, then how did I find an entire underground of your 'subjects' that are going back to the old ways, forgetting the hate?" she asked. Toril snarled at her.

"Liar! My people would not let themselves join with such filth!" she snapped.

"Then how is it that I came across two pixie, who, at your command, were sent to kill a half-pixie child?" she countered. The question stopped Toril cold, and Pixie decided it was time for the final strike. "Come here, Toril. There's something you should see." Toril gave her a defiant look, but it slowly melted away, as Pixie stared at her. Finally, she slowly rose, and walked down the dais. Pixie waited until they had come up even, and then walked toward the door with her. When they reached the outer door, Pixie reached out, and then paused. "Keep in mind what I said about which one of us truly chose to Bond, Toril," she told her, before pushing open the door.

Toril staggered visibly, as it swung open to show the paired pixie and humans, even old Lucia, and her equally old bondmate, jerking with every new face that was revealed, until finally she saw Laurel and Leana. Slowly, Toril sank to her knees.

"You have destroyed us," she whispered softly. Pixie squatted down beside her, shaking her head.

"No. I've woken you up. This group has been here far longer than me. All that I did was pull it out from hiding," she said softly. "I woke you up, just as I was woken up, no matter how much I wanted to stay asleep. Times change, Toril; don't you think it's time for you to follow. You say you are the leader of these people... then prove it, and let go. What the humans did to us was wrong... but that was two hundred and forty years ago, and only thirty of you even remember it. And even of them, there are some who see that it's time to start again." Pixie touched her shoulder lightly, and Toril looked at her in surprise. "Genki said it best, when he said, ' Even if we beat Moo, will we truly have won, if humans and monsters still don't trust each other?' Moo can't be defeated, until somebody takes that step, and lets go."

Toril didn't get the chance to answer, as somebody shouted, "Moo's troops! They've found the Forest Wall, and are heading this way!!" Toril jerked upward, looking around in surprise; mentally Pixie cursed. It was too soon! Thinking fast, Pixie looked at her sister.

"You have a chance to turn this to a rout; there are just over three hundred and fifty bonded pixie and humans here. But they'll only fight if you let go of the past," she told her. Toril looked at her for a long moment, eyes racing.

"I..."

"You don't have time to think about it! Yes, or no. Tie yourself to the past, or look toward the future?" she snapped. Toril looked at her a moment more, and then bowed her head.

"Let them have their way, and be it on their heads what happens," she whispered. Pixie looked up at Lucia, and smiled, as she squeezed Toril's shoulder.

"Grandmother would have been proud of you, Toril," she told her quietly. Toril jerked, but let Pixie pull her up. "You're still their queen, Toril; they are waiting for you," she added, before stepping aside. Toril gave her another, shorter look, and then shook her head, looking at the assembled onlookers.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Tularia is under attack! To the Forest Wall, all of you!"

Lucia dropped in beside her, as Pixie slowly circled above the incoming force of monsters. She'd seen what looked like Moo's standard troops; a few squads of jells, naga, and weeds, along with a peppering of the stronger creatures; golem, and a half dozen black dinos. And tigers... Many, many tigers, including the one leading the strike force; Pixie had been only half disappointed to see that it wasn't Gray Wolf. It really would be a rout; this force just couldn't take down a city the size of Tularia, and Pixie knew it; the monsters simply weren't strong enough to handle an army of pixies' innate powers. She sighed, and signaled Lucia up higher with her. No, Gray Wolf might not be there, but she just knew that he had a trick up his proverbial sleeve. He was too cunning to send such an obviously weak force without one.

"You seem worried, Pixie," observed Lucia.

"I am. That's not nearly enough to take down Tularia; I know it, and I'm sure that Gray Wolf knows it. He's too careful for something like this," she said.

"Maybe he just made a mistake; underestimated the city's size," she suggested. Pixie shook her head.

"No. Gray Wolf doesn't make mistakes. He thinks about a battle from ten different directions before he even considers getting into it, and when he's the one attacking, he attacks with a force at least three times the size he actually needs. Tiger of the Wind is like that too, when he can; when he can't, he intimidates his enemy to defeat," she told her. Lucia gave her a curious look.

"Tiger of the Wind?" she asked.

"Gray Wolf's older brother; one of Genki's friends. Gray Wolf is the commander that he is because Tiger taught him. He taught him very, very well," she replied. "No... I know that he's planning something, because that force just can't handle it." Lucia frowned; Pixie shook her head. But what... I know that I'm missing something here. It's got to be something simple, something so glaringly obvious I can't help but overlook..." Suddenly, she trailed off, and slapped her forehead.

"What? What is it?" asked Lucia.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid... Gray Wolf, if Genki and the others don't kill you, I will!" she growled, diving fast toward the approaching army. Raising her hands, Pixie flung a peppering of lightning bolts at them; the blasts passed right through the monsters as though they weren't even there, and of course, they weren't. "Illusions! I knew it!" she muttered, climbing back up to an agape Lucia. "Come on, there's not much time!"

"How did you..." she started.

"Mirages! I knew that Gray Wolf wouldn't make such an obvious mistake. Somewhere in that mess are a few monol, projecting that illusion, to distract you while the real force comes in from behind!" exclaimed Pixie, flying back toward the wall as fast as she could. "Those two guardswomen... Blast it all!" Swooping low, Pixie took a deep breath as she approached the waiting guards. "Forget them, they're illusions! Moo's attack is coming from the sea! Come quickly, there isn't much time!" she shouted. The Guardswomen looked at each other in confusion; Pixie swung back around and repeated the shout, at the same time an explosion sounded from the other side of the city. "Great Forest I hate it when I'm right!" she muttered, as they finally started moving. Toril caught up to her after a moment.

"How did you know?" she asked.

"I was one of Moo's commanders, remember? I know Gray Wolf, and his brother both! They're too smart to have sent such a pathetic attack force against an army of pixie!" she replied. "But you wouldn't have known that. I'm willing to give odds that half of the 'attacks' that he sent here were to lull you into a false sense of security. That's the way his mind works! He plays mind games with you and then

goes in for the kill."

"You sound like you respect him," sneered Toril.

"I do. Baddie or not, he's saved my life a few times and I saved his," replied Pixie. "You can't defeat somebody if you can't respect them; otherwise you will underestimate them. That's the 'mistake' I made with Genki, but it was one of the best mistakes I ever made." Toril frowned over that one, as Lucia dropped in on her other side.

"Now might be a good time to mention, Pixie; only a few of us know how to use the bond spells; it's not as though they've been very easy to practice out here," she said. Pixie groaned, and shook her head.

"To tell you the honest truth, Lucia, somehow that doesn't really surprise me. That's about the way my luck usually goes. Look, do you think that they'd pick it up if they had a demonstration or two?" she replied. Lucia nodded, and then started.

"But you can't! Your bondmate isn't near enough!" she exclaimed. Pixie shook her head.

"It's a chance that I'll have to take," she replied, as the partly built palace and sea wall came into view. Pixie pointed ahead, at the gaping hole that had been blasted into it; barges laden with monsters were sailing in through it. Three of them had already reached the shoreline and were unloading their cargoes; Pixie counted another six already inside the wall and heading for the beach. "You see what I meant? They would have had free run of the city while you were still trying to take down those mirages." Toril looked back.

"First and second wings, keep any more of those barges from getting in through that hole! Third and forth wings, take down as many of the ones that haven't landed yet as you can! The rest of you come with us; we'll take them hand to hand in the palace construction," she shouted. About a hundred pixie split off from their main group and started heading toward the hole, while the rest began to descend toward the beach. Pixie raised her hands.

"Those of you who are bonded, pay close attention to this spell. I'll only be able to cast it once, maybe twice at most," she shouted, before glancing at her sister and Lucia. "You might want to get back a bit," she told them. Toril frowned, but Lucia pulled her back, nodding. Pixie grasped at the bond for one quick moment, and then took a deep breath. Slowly, she started drawing forth the power, drinking it in from the bond and from deep within herself. She pulled on it, letting it pool until she thought that she would burst from holding it in. Between her hands, the energy began to gather, its silver-blue light washing away even the sunlight, yet still she pulled more and more into it. The orb of energy grew, until it was a sphere bigger then her head. Pixie head gasps and awed sounds from behind her; still she strained a little more. Then suddenly, she knew, just as she had known when she'd cast the spell against the scaled jells, that the time was right. Time seemed to slow down, and she turned slightly, aiming the sphere at the third ship, just as it landed on the beach. Then she let it go.

The sphere flashed away from her; a few of the monsters that were just getting off the barge looked up in surprise, one dino pointing just before it slammed into him, and detonated. With a snap, time jerked back into motion, and light blasted out from the explosion, too bright to see past. An incredible roar filled the air, shaking her down to her very core; somehow the light kept getting brighter. Then finally it started to dwindle away, at the same time the exhaustion of casting it slammed into her; Pixie felt herself drop a little before suddenly Eve and Jana were on either side of her, giving her a little support. Shaking her head, and taking a few deep breaths, she nodded to them, and then looked ahead. The sea was slowly spilling into a deep crater that marked where the barge had been only a moment before; not far away, the other monsters of Moo's strike force were standing, frozen. Taking a few more breaths, Pixie pulled away from them, and glanced back at Toril and the others.

"That, students, is what is called a bond-spell. Any questions?" she asked. As one collective group, they shook their heads. "Then why are we still flying up here, instead of down there, cleaning up that mess?" With a start, Toril shook her head, and then put on a determined scowl.

"Guardswomen of Tularia! Charge!!" she shouted. Lucia came up beside her as the others flashed by.

"Will you be all right?" she asked. Pixie nodded.

"I'm going to sleep like the dead tonight, but I've still got fight left in me today," she replied grimly, before diving toward the battle. Toril fell in beside her, and Pixie raised her eyebrow at her.

"I didn't become Queen by standing by while others did my fighting for me, Pixie," she said. "And I'll be damned if I'm going to let you out of my sight before I get the chance to talk to you about home, whether or not you've torn my people apart," she added. Pixie smirked.

"Oh, is that so?" she asked. Toril gave her a dry look.

"That is so, by order of the Queen," she replied. Pixie shook her head.

"And here I thought I was supposed to be the bossy one of us," she muttered, as they dropped to a landing in the middle of the battle. A pair of jells flowed up, hands already forming into weapons. Almost as one, Toril and she flung blasts of lightning at them; the spells crashed through them and the jells were blown apart. Pixie shook her head. "Slimeballs."

Despite Pixie's annihilation of that third barge, there had still been about four hundred monsters between the other two ships, and they were crack troops, as Pixie had known Gray Wolf would send. The battle started to stretch on, blurring into a mess of pain and heat, death and screams. Pixie ducked back to dodge one blast, and felt another attack flash by just over her ear; a split second later she saw a pixie jerk, and clutch at her back as a black worm's poison stinger buried itself there. She slowly sank toward the ground; Pixie twisted and threw an ice blast at the black worm, freezing it solid. Beside her, Toril flung a lightning bolt at a tiger, as he slipped around two pixie that were grappling with a golem; the tiger was thrown back with a yelp of pain.

Barely before he had fallen away, two more leapt up in his place. Pixie barely had time to get off her lightning spell before they slammed into her and Toril; for a moment she had her breath knocked away as the full weight of the tiger pressed down on her. Then suddenly the weight vanished; Pixie opened her eyes to see the tiger vanishing into a Lost Disk; more than that, Gray Wolf's other troops were running back toward the barges. Shaking her head to clear it from the blow, Pixie stood, turning toward Toril to see if she needed any help. She was just in time to see another Lost Disk forming, and Toril staring at her in surprise, hand slowly touching the bloody mess that her neck had become. Pixie stood, frozen, as other monsters flashed by. Slowly, Toril reached out toward her, her fingertips stained red. Then she made a gurgling sound, and tipped forward, skin already beginning to glow. Too late, Pixie tried to cast a healing spell on her, but Toril's form faded away too fast; by the time she'd finished the spell, Toril was already a Lost Disk.

"The Queen!" gasped a bruised and bleeding Lucia, as she stumbled up beside her. Pixie slowly looked at her, as she felt something snap deep inside her. Lucia's eyes suddenly widened, as if she'd felt it. "No child! You might have survived one, but you can not do that twice, not without your bondmate here! NO!" she exclaimed, grabbing at Pixie's arm. Pixie pulled away from her, as she spread her wings and leapt into the air. Somewhere in her mind, a voice screamed that it was over, and that there was no need for this, but... Looking down, Pixie saw that most of Gray Wolf's troops had already reboarded the barges. Dimly she was aware of Lucia shouting something to her, but blocked it out, as she started drawing out the energy for her most powerful spell again. She saw a few of the monsters pointing up at her, as the sphere of power began to form again; some of them leapt overboard. Pixie scowled grimly, even as she felt herself teetering on the edge of consciousness.

She honestly didn't care, anymore, and as the orb flashed away, and she felt herself falling, she actually found herself laughing.

"...very weak, my large friend. I do not know when she'll wake up, but she is still alive..." came a voice. Pixie slowly opened her eyes, swallowing a few times.

"Define... alive..." she groaned softly, turning her head a little. She blinked a few times, as she saw Big Blue's head, stuck in through the large window on the side of the room; Lucia, who was standing beside him, gave her an astounded look.

"Pixie! You're awake!" she gasped. "You truly survived..." Pixie winced, as she slowly pushed herself up on her elbows.

"Again, define survived," she groaned. "I thought I told you to wait at the lake, Blue..."

"It's been a week and a half, Master Pixie," he told her dryly. Pixie blinked, and looked at Lucia.

"I sent Tara south the minute the battle ended; it's taken them this long to get back," she explained. "You've been out since the battle." Pixie shook her head, trying to clear away a little of the haze.

"I can barely remember," she replied, before sighing, as an image of Toril's last expression flashed before her eyes. "But I remember enough." Lucia gave her a sympathetic look, before growing more serious.

"Pixie... Great Forest, I know that I should let you rest, but... The others of the First Generation and I met a few days ago. We... decided among ourselves that we wanted you to stay, if you would. With Toril gone... well, by now, all of the younger pixie know that it was you that kept them from catching us off guard, and that you are... were her sister," she said quietly. Pixie looked at her for a long moment, and then shook her head.

"No," she replied quietly. Lucia started.

"No? But..."

"No, Lucia. To be frank, I don't want the job... I can't be tied down here. I made Genki a promise, once, that Big Blue and I would join him and his friends," she said quietly. "When it comes down to it, I don't belong here," she finished. Lucia opened her mouth to protest again, but then paused, and shook her head.

"No... I suppose that I can't say that your answer really surprises me, Pixie. To tell you the truth, I suppose that I was half expecting it," she said quietly. "I don't know what we'll do, but... We'll go on. If nothing else, we will go on at that." Pixie nodded.

"She's not gone, just yet," she told her quietly. "If Genki and the others do succeed..." Lucia nodded.

"I know the Legend of the Phoenix, child. I know," she told her, before shaking her head. "You need sleep, child. Sleep." For a moment, Pixie thought about refusing, but then just shook her head, and lay back on the bed.

"Just... for a few hours," she said softly, before dozing off again.

"Thank you, for your help, Pixie," said Eve. Pixie paused in tightening the straps of her pack, and looked at the younger woman.

"I did what I had to do, Eve; that's all," she replied, smiling a little to take the bite out of it. "In the end... I honestly can't say if I've helped more than I've hurt yet or not yet. Who knows... maybe, after everything is over, I'll come back to see what happened." Big Blue lightly touched her shoulder, and handed her Moo's Medallion. She looked at it for a moment; Leana frowned.

"Why do you still wear that, if you no longer serve that tyrant?" she asked. Pixie shook her head.

"It's not a matter of serving him, Leana. It's a reminder. A reminder of what I was... what I might end up being again, if I turn wrong. And... I suppose that part of it is pride. For a long time, I was this person," she said, tilting the medallion a little. "But somehow, I managed to pull free. I needed help, but I did," she finished, as she settled it back onto her tunic. Then she shook her head, and looked at Tara, who was holding a fussing Tori, and smiled slightly, as she withdrew the long, thin case that contained the shell chain. "You know, my sister and I found these shells almost two hundred and forty years ago; our grandmother set them on chains, and gave one back to each of us, so that we'd never forget our link," she told her, before shaking her head. "Somehow, I managed to keep a hold of mine all that time... but I think now is the time I finally passed it along. This was my link to my sister... my ties to the past. Tori, though, might just be the first of the future... but if she doesn't remember the past, she's doomed to repeat it." Slowly, she handed the case to Tara. "Will you see that she gets it, when she's old enough to understand?" Tara slowly nodded.

"Yes... Thank you, Pixie," she replied. Pixie nodded, and turned to Lucia. The elderly woman smiled at her.

"I know that you'll say no again, but I have to ask, if for nothing more than a clear conscience... Will you stay, and at least help guide us while we rebuild... and reforge our world?" she asked. Pixie smiled in spite of herself, and squeezed the older woman's shoulder.

"As I said, I can't... I made a promise to Genki that we'd join them," she said, before smiling. "The least that I owe him, after his gift, is to not break that promise." Lucia nodded.

"I had to ask, Pixie. I wish you luck... Tularia will always be open to you," she told her. Pixie nodded, and then, on impulse, embraced the elderly woman.

"Thank you... for reminding me that I'm not the only one that can make mistakes," she told her quietly. Lucia nodded slowly, as Pixie backed up a bit, and then jumped up to Big Blue's shoulder. "Blue... North." He nodded, and started plodding away from the city. "You know," she said softly, "I think Golem was right about us, Blue." Her companion gave her a sidelong look, raising his eyebrow.

"About?" he asked placidly.

"We really don't know... how to wave good bye," she told him softly. Big Blue frowned for a moment.

"Perhaps," he rumbled slowly, as he continued walking, "it is not that we don't know how... but only that we do not wish to say farewell, for that would be an ending." Pixie raised an eyebrow at him, and then smiled in spite of herself.

"I think you've been spending too much time around Golem."