When Arkayna entered the stronghold, she was surprised to see not only her mom and stepdad sitting in the living room, but Gawayne as well. Gawayne was sitting off to the side, an unreadable expression on his face. She decided to ignore her stepbrother's presence for now. She had more pressing issues to attend to. Luckily, Aunt Yaga was in the living room as well, and offered to take the berries to the study.
"Tazma heard what happened to Zarya," Arkayna said as she gave the berries to Aunt Yaga. "She may be coming here."
"I'll guard the door," King Darius said, standing up. He looked at his son. "Gawayne, you're with me."
"But dad..." Gawayne said, his voice with the same whine Arkayna heard many times before.
"No buts," King Darius said firmly. "You're coming with me." With that, King Darius went to the front of the door in order to keep watch, Gawayne following shortly behind.
With that issue out of the way, Arkayna sat down beside her mom and cried. Seeing her sister's worsening condition, Arkayna put her head in her hands and cried.
"This is all my fault," Arkayna said. "If I was a better leader, this wouldn't have happened."
Queen Goodfey put a hand on Arkayna's shoulder. "This isn't your fault. Being a Mysticon is dangerous."
Arkayna heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and when she quickly looked up, she saw that it was Aunt Yaga. Arkayna assumed that she was tasked with bringing the ingredients to Proxima, but whether or not it was to help deliver the ingredients quickly or to allow those who went on the quests to see Zarya, Arkayna didn't know, and didn't really care.
Arkayna was so deep im thought that she didn't notice her mom slowly moving her hand off of her felt so helpless sitting beside Zarya. She knew that her twin's condition was very bad. Even if they manage to make the potion in time, Zarya would likely need to be conscious in order to drink it. As much as she hated to admit it, it was possible that they had already ran out of time.
The thought of losing her sister made Arkayna cry even more. They were separated for most of their lives, thanks to Nova Terron. Now, she had to think about the possibility of losing her.
She looked at her mom, and felt even worse for her. After all, Arkayna did have some bonding time with Zarya, both as her sister, and as a best friend before that. Queen Goodfey had less time to get to know her other daughter.
Em came into the stronghold next, and after she gave the moss to Aunt Yaga, went to the living room. "No," she said once she saw Zarya. Em sat down beside Arkayna, and put her hand on her friend's other shoulder. Arkayna looked at the dwarf, and noticed that tears were forming in her eyes as well.
"We will save her," Em said. "I'm sure the others are already on their way back from their quests."
Arkayna wanted to snap at Em, saying that they didn't know whether or not everything will be alright. But one look at Em told Arkayna that she was trying to convince herself that Zarya will be fine as well. And knowing how sensitive the dwarf normally was, Arkayna guessed that Em was trying to be strong for her. Arkayna pulled Em into a tight hug, and she felt a wet spot forming on her jacket as the tears from Em's eyes began falling down.
"Z...Zarya?" A voice behind them asked.
Arkayna and Em turned around, and saw Piper standing beside the couch, her green eyes wide.
"Piper," Arkayna said.
"There has to be something we can do," Piper said as she looked around the room. Her eyes fell on the books that were haphazardly piled in the corner of the living room. "We didn't finish reading the book we got at the library. There has to be something there." By the time the elf stopped talking, she was almost speaking too fast for the others to understand.
Before anyone in the room could say anything, Piper hurried to the pile of books, pulled out the book that they got at the library, and began reading it. Em stood up and headed to the pile, helping Piper find something in the book to help Zarya. Arkayna soon went to help as well, going through some of the old books they had to see if they had missed anything previously.
"Who are you?" Arkayna heard King Darius ask.
Arkayna stood up and hurried to the door, preparing her staff in case it was Tazma. When she got to the front door, she saw Kitty and Kasey, with King Darius standing in the doorway.
"I think they're the Mysticons' friends," Gawayne said. "I remember them being around sometimes."
"They are," Arkayna said.
King Darius turned to Kitty and Kasey, "Sorry about that," he said, stepping out of the way so the sky pirates can get in. "We believe that someone may break in for an attack."
Kitty and Kasey joined Arkayna, "Who is he talking about?" Kasey asked.
"Tazma," Arkayna answered. "She heard that Zarya's sick, and may take advantage of it."
"How is she doing anyway?" Kitty asked.
"She's been better," Arkayna answered. "Come on, I'll take you to her."
With that, Arkayna led Kitty and Kasey to the couch, where Zarya was lying down. Upon seeing their former crew mate, Kasey clutched the back of the couch, tears falling down his face, while Kitty's eyes grew wide as she covered her mouth with one of her hands, the other one resting on the back of the couch. Queen Goodfey glanced at the newcomers before turning back to Zarya, trusting that, since Arkayna was with them, they meant no harm.
Nova Terron, Doug, and Malvaron came next. As Nova Terron ran the Julas root to Aunt Yaga, Doug and Malvaron checked on Zarya. Malvaron grabbed his spellpad and began helping research, while Doug where King Darius was previously sitting and cried.
Arkayna didn't know how long the tense, quiet atmosphere lasted before a blast was heard from the front door, followed by King Darius's and Gawayne's screams as they were blasted away from the front door and further into the stronghold. Tazma appeared in the stronghold right after, followed by a few shadow creatures.
"What are you doing here, Tazma?" Malvaron said, his normally friendly voice almost menacing.
Tazma shrugged. "I heard your Ranger was sick, and I thought I'd drop by."