AN: Hello and welcome back to ROTLON! From the reviews, you guys seem to like the idea of a second Gormiti Love so I will start working on that in the future.

Without further ado, let's carry on with the fic! :-)

I sit on my bed, holding a small box in my hands. I open it up and look at the object inside. This, without a doubt, has to be the best present I've ever gotten for Mom!

Mom and Dad are out at a restaurant while Nick and I get the house ready for Mom's thirty-seventh birthday party. It's a surprise party obviously.

I start to wonder what Nick will think of my present. After all, it's a definite improvement on my previous gifts. I get up from my bed and leave the room, heading down the hall to Nick's room before pushing the door open.

"Check it out!" I exclaim happily as I hold up a pair of toenail clippers. "Is this the most awesome birthday present for Mom or what?"

From the blank look on Nick's face, I'm not sure he agrees. "You're giving Mom toenail clippers?" he asks incredulously.

I look down at them. The way he says it makes it sound like that's a bad thing but toenail clippers can be useful...right? "Not just toenail clippers!" I say as I try to explain why they're so great. "They're silver-plated toenail clippers!"

Nick raises an eyebrow and says in an I should have realized tone, "Oh, they're silver-plated? Why didn't you say so?"

I watch, letting out a small "But-" in protest, as he walks over to his cupboard and opens the doors. I walk over to see him pick up a small black box.

He turns around to face me and declares, "Here's what I got Mom!" as he opens the box and puĺls out a flower-shaped pendant with a golden chain - the petals are amethyst and the center of the flower is a blue pearl.

I gasp in awe. "Oh, wow!" I say, not really knowing what else to say.

"You know how much she loves pearls and flowers," Nick says casually.

"So you got her a pearl flower!" I say before groaning. My present is beginning to seem really lame now. "You always get Mom the best presents," I complain. "And mine always suck!" I think of the presents I've given Mom in the past which include a kitten, a goldfish and - I'm not joking here - an old sock.

I let out another groan as I realize just how bad my present is going to look compared to Nick's. "Toby," Nick says as he puts his hand on my shoulder, "have you ever heard of the Internet?" I give him an unimpressed look and he continues while putting the pendant in its little box before putting it back in the cupboard, "Then I suggest you get on it and start searching for a new present!" I frown, wondering just what I'm supposed to look for. "I'd help ya but somebody has to set up for Mom's party!" he points out. "Dad can only stall her for so long!"

Before I can even say anything in response, he dashes out of the room and I can hear his footsteps as he heads downstairs. I figure I may as well take his advice and I walk back into my bedroom before sitting down and logging onto my computer.

I open up a new tab on the Internet browser and type in the web address for the online shopping site I had used to buy the toenail clippers.

However none of the items that show up catch my interest as I click the left button on the mouse to change the page. As I go to click the arrow that will take me to the sixth page, something catches my eye. "Hello, what's this?" I exclaim, sitting up in my seat. I double-click on the image. "Gold-plated toenail clippers!"

I click on the image again and a button with dollar bills appears below it. I am sorely tempted to buy them but I can just imagine the look on Nick's face. Heck, I can even imagine what he'd say! "You call that a better present?"

"No, wait," I say, moving the cursor away from the button and slumping down in my chair. "That's not good."

Deciding that right now searching for a new present hasn't really yielded anything that will make up for my past presents, I log off and turn the computer off before going downstairs with the intention of getting something to drink.

As I reach the kitchen, the doorbell suddenly rings. "Hey, Toby!" Nick calls from the living room. "Can you get the door?"

"What? You couldn't get it?" I say as I poke my head around the living room door and see Nick struggling with a banner.

I walk to the front door and open it to find Lucas and Jessica standing on the porch. Without even so much as a hello, they dash past me into the living room.

"What's with the crazy black sky?" Jessica asks.

As I walk into the room, Lucas adds, "Think it has something to do with-"

"The Gorm? Of course, it does!"

The four of us scream as Razzle once again appears out of nowhere.

Razzle lets out a scream of his own before sighing and saying, "Not used to my spontaneous yet strategically planned surprise visits yet?"

Do I really need to answer that one?

"No!" we all yell.

"Never mind that!" Razzle says, undeterred by our annoyed tones. "We've got trouble in the Gorm!"

"No surprise there!" Jessica says, folding her arms.

"Quick!" I exclaim, pointing in the direction of the kitchen. "To the cramped cupboard!"

We head into the kitchen and walk into the pantry, closing the doors behind us. As usual, we slide our hands across the panel to gain access to the Primal Pad and I lead the way down the steps.

Once we reach the Primal Pad, we gather around the control panel which shows Lavion and Bombos...

Wait, Lavion and Bombos? How did they get free? Did somebody read that portal spell again? Is there another tree that was once a Gormiti hanging around Gorm now? I have no idea.

"Lavion has reignited a sleeping volcano in the Old Forest and is feeding trees into its fire!" Razzle informs us as we watch Lavion uproot a tree before Bombos sets the trunk ablaze and it gets tossed into the volcano. "The fire is creating a plume of black smoke that will eventually consume all of Gorm!"

"So that explains the smoky skies in Venture Falls!" Nick exclaims.

Razzle looks grave as he adds, "Once plunged into total darkness, Lavion and Bombos will attack under the cover of the eternal night!"

"Not good!" I say, though even I know that it's an understatement.

We run to stand around the Gorm Gate and cry out, "Elementals!"

"Earth!" Nick begins.

"Air!" Jessica yells.

"Water!" I shout.

"Forest!" Lucas finishes.

The chair begins to spin around as we chant, "Reveal to us the Keeper and give to them your chair!"

"And the Keeper is..." Razzle announces as the chair slows to a stop, showing a light-blue icon with the Air symbol, "...Air!" He jumps onto Jessica's shoulder, asking, "Ready?" only to groan as she dashes off, leaving him with nothing to hold on to as he crashes to the ground.

Jessica leaps into the chair and starts to manipulate the crystals to open the Gorm Gate. "Ah, yes, very disco!" she exclaims as the crystals swirl around.

I jump into the Gorm Gate followed by Lucas. Nick is nowhere to be seen for a few seconds until I look up and see him falling above us.

"Okay, guys," Jessica says as we land. "Travel Tome says you're halfway between the Forest capital and the volcano. That puts you in...the heart of the Old Forest!"

We gasp as we look around. Where there should be grass and plant-life growing, instead we see lava bubbling, having leaked from the nearby volcano. We stand up and I say, "More like the ex-forest!"

"And I don't like it!" Lucas says anxiously. "We're completely exposed out here!"

I turn around to face him and grin as I say casually, "I doubt Lavion will attack us. He's too busy-" I let out a whimper as I hear a loud thud as a tree trunk gets thrown at us.

"Not attacking us?" Nick exclaims. "Think again!"

We all let out fearful cries as a second tree trunk is hurled in our direction and, without hesitation, we start running in the opposite direction.

As we run, I can hear thud after thud as more tree trunks are thrown at us. One of them causes Nick to lose his footing but he quickly scrambles back to his feet and catches up with Lucas and I. "We need to power up a.s.a.p!" he exclaims.

"Sooner than a.s.a.p!" Lucas points out.

"Jessica!" I yell, only to get no response. That's weird - shouldn't she be there? I try again. "Jessica?" Still, nothing. Why isn't she in the Primal Pad? Maybe the third time will be the charm. "Jessica!"

We continue running. Jessica is apparently unavailable and I'm not sure about the others but I'm not sure how long we'll be able to avoid staying unscathed without our powers.

"We need to power up!" Lucas says as we head back into the forest. "Where's Jessica? Why isn't she there?"

Nick glances at me and I notice that he looks a little shifty. "Okay, little bro, spill!" I say, starting to get a little out of breath.

"Well, I think I know why she isn't there," he says, looking sheepish. "You see, I kinda told her to answer the door for the deliveries for Mom's party!"

Lucas lets out a frustrated sigh. "So you're telling me that our Keeper is going to be unavailable precisely when we need her, most likely?"

Nick attempts to smile as he says, "Yes, pretty much!" Lucas and I both frown at him and he says, "Sorry!"

"Let's take cover over there!" Lucas says, changing the subject. We run as fast as we can into a part of the forest that hasn't yet been burnt up by lava or uprooted by Lavion.

Eventually we stop, our breathing heavy, as we can't run any further and we seem to have put enough distance between us and the attack of the falling tree-trunks. That sounds like an interesting movie!

We pant as we try to get our breath back. "We'll be safe in here!" Lucas says.

Yeah, I'm not so sure about that one!

I watch as the treetrunk Lucas had been leaning against suddenly springs to life. "Or...not!" I exclaim, pointing at whatever or whoever it is.

Nick and Lucas let out cries of shock as they turn their heads to see the Gormiti who raises its thin, green arms before letting out a fierce roar. They back away slightly when suddenly the Gormiti speaks.

"Greetings, younglings!" he says, sounding considerably less threatening. "I hope my anomalous physiognomy does not offend your orbs!"

"Oh, it's a friendly Gormiti!" Nick says with relief.

"I am Cannon Trunk!" The Gormiti introduces himself. "Friend to thou and foe to the destroyers of this most ancient wood!"

This guy has such a weird way of talking but at least he hasn't attacked us or mistaken us for the bad guys! I find myself letting out a questioning noise, however, and Lucas elaborates with, "He means he's on our side!"

Oh, well, that's more like it! "Good!" I exclaim. "Because we're here to stop those guys!" I point behind me to indicate that I mean Lavion and Bombos.

"Ooh, excellent news!" Cannon Trunk says eagerly before he frowns and adds with a hint of concern in his tone, "I fear however you may not possess the fortitude to achieve said goal!"

As though she had timed it to perfection, Jessica finally projects her image beside us. "I'm back, guys! Sorry!" she says apologetically. "Ready to rock?"

The three of us grin at each other as Lucas exclaims, "Always!" Jessica's image disappears and Lucas addresses our new friend. "Give us a sec, Cannon Trunk, and we'll be ready!"

Cannon Trunk gives us a quizzical look in response.

"Let's do it!" Jessica says, indicating that we are ready to go.

"Elemental powers flow!" The three of us call out together.

"Powers of the Sea!" I yell as I transform.

Once we've all transformed, Cannon Trunk exclaims, "Most impressive, young masters!" He then gestures to Lucas as he adds, "And you, sir, really are the new Lord of the Forest!" Lucas bows slightly in response. "Let us now deliver defeat to our adversaries!" he declares, raising a fist.

The four of us start running back towards the volcano in order to confront Lavion and Bombos.

As we get closer, a tree trunk gets thrown at us but Lucas shoots his bark-like fist at it, causing the trunk to shatter.

We continue running when suddenly a second tree trunk is thrown. Nick fires several small yet sharp rocks out of his hand and destroys the trunk, breaking it apart.

Apparently, Lavion has decided that tree trunks aren't working because the next thing that gets thrown at us is a...rock!

Nick once again fires rocks out of his hand to destroy it. I let out a startled cry as the chunks from the destroyed rock start to fall towards us. I transform my left hand into a claw and hit the rock chunks back towards Lavion.

This continues on for some time. Lavion and Bombos throw tree trunks at us and we take it in turns to destroy them.

As Lavion prepares to throw another tree trunk at us, I notice Cannon Trunk scooping up some rocks before putting them in the hole on top of his head. I watch in awe as he fires them out of the hole just like a cannon. Guess that's how he got his name! The rocks travel so fast through the air, they actually catch fire and disintegrate the tree trunk Lavion had thrown.

"Dude, did you see that?" I exclaim to Lucas, all of us having come to a temporary stop, as the remnants of the tree trunk rain down on us. "Totally awesome!"

"Whoa!" Nick suddenly yells. "Jessica, we need a fix on any weak points in Lavion's attack!"

"Guys, somebody's at the door again!" Jessica says. "Hang 'til I get back!"

Lavion throws another rock at us, causing us all to let out cries of shock as we step back to avoid being squashed. "I hope we're still here when she gets back!" I yell to the others as I look down at the rock.

We have no time to rest, though, as Lavion and Bombos are not letting up. After Lucas destroys yet another tree trunk, he says impatiently, "What's taking Jessica so long?"

"Okay, guys!" Jessica says a few seconds later. "I'm back!"

"Just in time!" Lucas says before Jessica gasps and lets out a frustrated groan.

"What now? A piñata?" she asks, annoyed.

After a while, it becomes clear that Jessica's probably not going to be available anytime soon. We cry out as another rock gets hurled at us.

"We need a new game plan!" Lucas says. "One that doesn't involve the Keeper's help!"

Nick steps forward. "I think I have one," he informs us, "but it'll take all four of us to pull it off!"

He goes over his plan briefly. Once we all understand what our roles are, we get to work.

Cannon Trunk fires rocks out of the hole on his head, the rocks being put in by Lucas and I. Lavion counters by throwing a rock but the blast of rocks easily destroys it. Bombos attempts to stop our second attack by throwing a tree trunk but, just like before, the rocks completely disintegrate the bark.

We continue this for some time. Suddenly I hear Nick let out a roar in the distance, having run further up the path to the volcano, and a huge thud as he slams his fists into the ground. A huge fissure forms and Lavion cries out, "Noooo!" as he and Bombos fall into the zig-zag shaped crack.

Nick runs back down the path and Lucas stamps his foot onto the ground. I watch as strong brown vines burst from the ground before wrapping around the top of the volcano, squeezing it tightly. Cannon Trunk fires some rocks directly into the crater, blocking the continuous flow of black smoke. He laughs eagerly and seems very cheerful as Lucas removes his vines from around the volcano.

We look up at the sky and see the black smoke from the volcano disappearing almost instantly. The three of us chuckle and cheer as we exchange high and low fives.

"Well done, young masters!" Cannon Trunk praises us as he approaches.

Lucas holds his hand out. "Gimme bark!" he says. Canon Trunk raises an eyebrow in confusion but slaps his hand against Lucas' rather hard. I see Lucas flinch and judging by the loud thud, that had to have hurt! "Ow!" he exclaims, wincing slightly, as Nick and I laugh.

Cannon Trunk raises his hand to us before saying, "Fare ye well!" and leaving for the forest, I guess.

"He packs quite a wallop!" Lucas exclaims, looking down at his hand. "I'm sure glad he's on our side!" He turns his head to look at us before adding, "Come on, let's scoot! Jessica, you there?"

As we probably should have expected, there is no response from her. Nick and I look at each other before saying together, "Another delivery!"

Lucas shrugs and starts to walk off. "Well, nothing to do except kick it until she gets back!" he says.

I start to follow them when something I can see within my peripheral vision catches my attention, causing me to stop in my tracks. I turn my head to see a flower with a pink center and white petals.

At first, it doesn't seem all that remarkable. However, as I approach it and gently touch the flower, the dark pink center opens up to reveal pale pink petals. "Wow!" I exclaim as the flower seems to glow. It's the prettiest flower I've ever seen. Wait a minute. Mom likes flowers, right? "Toby, am I thinking what I'm thinking?"

I look behind me to check that nobody is around. Once I know I'm alone, I use my claw to gently cut the stem of the flower and hold it in my hands. "Lame presents are no more!" I declare.

Hiding the flower behind my back, I run to find Nick and Lucas. When I see them, Nick is leaning against a rock and Lucas is tapping his feet against the ground impatiently. "Jessica still not there?" I ask and they both shake their heads.

Eventually, after what seems like forever, Jessica finally projects her image beside us. "Sorry, guys!" she says apologetically. "I think that's the last of the deliveries!" She pauses to let out a relieved sigh before adding, "Give me a second and I'll bring you guys back!"

The three of us stand in a circle and I ask Nick, "Seriously, bro, how many orders did you make?"

"A fair few," he replies, "considering that we needed decorations and other party equipment."

We look up as the portal forms above our heads and we start to rise up into it, coming out of the Gorm Gate into the Primal Pad, back in human form.

"Can I just say," Jessica says as we run over to her, "that, first of all, I will be so happy if I never see another delivery person again! Second, if there are any more deliveries, one of you can get the door this time!" She shakes her head. "My hand feels numb after signing for so many parcels!"

We start to walk up the stairs back into the kitchen. "Let's check what we've got and we can finish getting everything ready before the guests arrive!" Nick suggests.

"Good idea, bro!" I say. "You guys get started with that - I've got something I need to do!"

Before any of them can say anything, I dash off to the garden. None of them seem to notice the flower I am hiding. I open the shed door and step inside, scanning the shelves until I find an empty plant pot. I fill it up with soil and carefully place the flower inside.

"Well, that's that taken care of!" I mutter to myself before running back inside to help the others finish getting the party ready. I mentally remind myself to remember to get the flower before Mom and Dad get back.

It takes us a couple of hours for everything to be ready. The food is set out on the counter, the decorations are up and we have been answering the door to the guests for the party. The room is soon filled with people, chatting in a lively tone.

Everybody is standing in the living room, waiting patiently. Nick's phone beeps and he pulls it out of his pocket to read the message. "That was Dad!" he says when he's finished. "He says they're on their way back now!"

"I'll be back in a minute!" I say, remembering that I need to get my present. I head back to the shed and grab the plant pot before running back inside the house.

Barely a few moments later, the front door handle jiggles and, as Dad opens the door, we all yell, "Surprise!"

Mom lets out a happy exclamation when she turns her head and sees everybody. "Oh, you didn't have to!" she says.

"The credit belongs to these thoughtful kids right here!" Dad tells her, gesturing to the four of us. "They planned the whole thing!"

Mom walks forward and hugs Jessica who is the only one of us not holding a gift. I guess she must have put hers on the table with the pile of presents from the guests.

"At least this time I got the right gift!" I say to myself, looking down at the plant pot.

However, I should really learn to think before I speak!

I let out a horrified cry as several creepers start bursting out of the soil and run outside as they start waving around. I head around to the front of the house and open the bin before throwing the plant pot inside and putting the lid back on. "I knew it was too good to be true!" I say before I go back inside.

When I enter the room, I see that the party is already in full swing. The guests are chatting animatedly and music is playing. "Oh, Toby, there you are!" Mom calls me over. "I cut you a slice of cake!"

"Thanks, Mom!" I say, taking the plate she offers me with a slice of chocolate cake on it before I walk over to the others.

"Way to go, guys!" I say. "I don't remember ever seeing Mom this happy!"

"Me neither!" Nick agrees, after swallowing a mouthful of cake. "It's nice to do something for your parents once in a while - after all, they do everything for us!"

Lucas nods, smiling, and Jessica says, "It sure is!"

She sounds happy enough when she says it but I'm sure I hear a wistful undertone in her voice, though I'm the only one who does.

I decide to walk over to the window and, as I pass her, I ask, "What are you thinking about?"

She looks up at me and replies cheerfully, "Oh, nothing much! Just thinking about what it would be like if this were a surprise party for my mom."

"How would she react?" I question, genuinely curious.

Though her voice sounds cheerful when she speaks, I notice her expression drop slightly. "She wouldn't like it," she tells me. "She doesn't like m- anything that's had anything to do with me..."

She mutters this last part so quietly that it's a miracle I even manage to hear it at all and I get the feeling I wasn't supposed to. "She doesn't like the attention," she adds at normal volume before holding up her plate. "This cake is delicious!"

"I'll agree to that!" I exclaim as I recognize that she is changing the subject. I don't know if she knows that I heard what she didn't want me to hear but I figure I should probably give her some space for now, just in case. If I want to find out what's going on with her and her mom, the last thing I should do is make it obvious that I know something's up too soon.

I wander over to the window and take another bite of cake. As I look out of the window, I swallow hard and blink as the house seems to be getting higher for some reason.

"Did - did you see-" I ask, my voice slightly higher than normal, as I turn around to face Nick and Lucas while pointing at the window.

Nick looks up. "Yeah!" he exclaims. "It's doing that funky day-into-night thing again!"

"That, and we're sort of off the ground too!" I point out.

I watch Nick and Lucas walk over to the window and look out, seeing their expressions of shock. "Sort of?" Nick cries out. "We're way off the ground! This is definitely not good! How did it happen?"

"Uh, I...have no idea!" I say nervously, crossing my fingers behind my back.

They both look at me, frowning. "Tell me you didn't bring a plant back with you!" Lucas says.

I figure I may as well come clean now. "Uh, any plant in particular?" I ask.

"Toby!" they say together, exasperatedly.

I look at them, wondering what the big deal is. "Aw, come on!" I exclaim. "It's just a little plant!"

Lucas gives me an oh, really? look as he says, "Really? Well, it's not little anymore!"

"Toby, you know the rule on not bringing Gorm stuff back through the gate!" Nick lectures me.

"There's a rule?" I ask, confused. I'm pretty sure I don't remember ever being told that we aren't supposed to bring stuff from Gorm back to Earth. "Are you sure it's not more of a guideline?"

"It's a rule!" They say together firmly, looking unimpressed.

"Sheesh, now you tell me!" I exclaim.

The three of us make our way into the kitchen and head back to the Primal Pad. Jessica is already there, standing with Razzle perched on her shoulder.

We run to join her and look up at the screen which shows an image of the volcano with lava flowing out of the crater once again. "Lavion's back!" I exclaim, figuring that it's the only explanation.

"We know!" Razzle says before he and Jessica start frowning. "And it looks like someone introduced a Gorm plant into your world!"

I can feel Nick and Lucas' gaze on me and I lower my head before admitting, "Um, that would be me."

Jessica lets out a surprised gasp before Nick says, "Lucas and I will deal with Lavion! Jessica, you take the Keeper's chair! Toby, you stay here and keep an eye on the party!" I lower my head again and frown, letting out a gasp, as he puts his hand on my shoulder and adds, "And your flower!"

"After you defeat Lavion, you'll need to find the taproot to Toby's flower and destroy it!" Razzle informs them.

"Check and check!" Nick and Lucas say in unison, grinning before they run to the Gorm Gate and jump in.

I let out a sigh as I watch them go before I head back up the stairs. For now, I have a party to keep an eye on.

I walk back into the living room and make my way over to the window. Nobody says anything, much to my relief. As I look out of the window, I find myself letting out a nervous whimper as I see how high the house has been lifted.

A creeper rises up to the window and I hastily turn around, laugh nervously and block it from the view of a party-guest who is walking past. Once they've gone, I rub my hand across my forehead and sigh with relief.

I have no time to be relieved, however, as Dad approaches the window. "I wonder what's causing this wacky weather?" he asks as he gets closer.

Letting out a nervous cry, I hastily pull the curtains shut, exclaiming, "It's probably just fog...or smog...or smoggy fog!" Dad gives me a weird look as I grin at him before he walks away.

Once again, I breathe a sigh of relief. I get the feeling that this is going to be a long day!

Things are pretty uneventful for a while until one of the creepers starts tapping at the window. I hit the window before hastily sliding the curtains shut again before anybody notices it.

As I turn my back to the window, I lament, "First lame-o toenail clippers and now this! Why didn't I just get her a box of chocolates? They're sweet and they don't force your house into the stratosphere!"

"Great party but I think we'd better get going!"

"See you later!"

Oh no!

I look up and let out a nervous cry as I see the guests walking towards the front door, oblivious to the danger of leaving the house at this time. This is not good! I have to stop them! Dashing between the guests, I race to the front door and hold my hand up, causing them all to gasp. "You can't go now!" I insist. "It's too stormy out!" I place one of my hands firmly on the door for good measure to hold it shut.

Dad looks confused as he says, "It may be dark but I haven't heard any thunder!"

"It's silent thunder!" I try to explain. "Much more dangerous! I think you'd better stay inside!"

Mom laughs disbelievingly. "Silent thunder? Nonsense!" she says and I find myself whimpering as she approaches the front door and opens it. "There is nothing to be afraid of!"

I hastily shut the door with my palm. "No one can leave!" I say firmly, holding the door shut tight.

"Toby, I'm sure everyone will be alright!" Mom says, sounding confused. "A little rain never hurt anyone!"

I hold my hands up as I blurt out, "It's not the rain that'll hurt - it's the fall!"

"What?" Mom questions, raising an eyebrow. Oops!

Realizing that I need to change my strategy before anyone gets suspicious, I say nervously, "I mean it's time to..." My gaze lands on the table of still-wrapped presents. This causes everybody else to look in that direction too.

"Open my presents!" Mom exclaims eagerly, smiling at me. She starts walking over to the table and, to my relief, the guests follow. Crisis averted...for now. I find myself sighing with relief yet again.

I don't exactly know how long I've been keeping an eye on things up here but I'm kinda getting bored. There's no harm in checking how the others are doing, right?

While everybody is distracted by Mom opening her presents, I seize my opportunity and sneak off into the kitchen before heading back down into the Primal Pad.

"How's it going?" I ask as I run over to the control panel.

"I don't know," Jessica replies, looking at the screen before turning her head to face me. "How would you term trapped up in a tree by rising lava?"

"Bad?" I say, raising an eyebrow.

"Then it's going bad!" she tells me before looking back at the screen.

When I had come down here, I had wanted to go back to the Gorm but, after hearing that things aren't going so well for the others, I know I need to go. "You've gotta send me to Gorm to help!" I insist.

She raises a couple of crystals and states, "Thought you were watching the party!"

Yeah, do you know how bored I was being stuck in one place for so long?

"I was!" I exclaim exasperatedly. "But Nick and Lucas need my help! You'll have to watch the party!"

Jessica turns her head to face me so quickly that I'm momentarily worried she might have given herself whiplash. She gives me an are you serious right now? look as she says incredulously, "So you expect me to watch the party and monitor you guys in Gorm...all at the same time!" She points at me as she speaks and I can tell she's trying to work out if I'm actually being serious.

I realize it's a lot to handle for one person but, hey, I wouldn't have asked if I didn't think she could manage it! I shrug before responding, "I knew you could do it, Jess!" I throw in a wink for good measure.

It seems to convince her as she sighs and says, "Fine, you're good to glow!" After this go-ahead, I start running towards the Gorm Gate. "And hurry up!" she tells me. "If we don't stop Lavion, this smoke is going to cover our entire planet!"

As I jump into the Gorm Gate, I make a mental note to remember that I owe her big time. "Powers of the Sea!" I yell as I transform once again.

I land on the ground close to a tree that is sinking slowly into the lava from the volcano. Looking up, I can see three very familiar faces sticking out amongst the leaves and branches.

"Need some help?" I call to them and they turn their heads, looking very surprised to see me.

"If you're not busy!" Nick responds once he gets over the shock of seeing me.

I look around for something that can help and my gaze falls on a tree close to where I'm standing. "Hang on!" I tell them. I walk over to the tree and push against with all my strength. It takes some effort but I manage to push it over so that it forms a bridge from the tree to safety.

They run across the makeshift bridge immediately but I can tell that I am going to get questioned on why I'm here. Sure enough, Nick asks, "Aren't you supposed to be watching Mom's party?"

"I got bored!" I tell him honestly.

Nick's eyes go wide as he asks, "What about-"

"Jessica has it covered!" I reply. They both look at me and I grin sheepishly. Hey, I can't help getting bored!

We look across at the other side where Lavion and Bombos are. As usual, Lavion starts bragging, "The skies will soon be dark and then, in the eternal night, the great Lavion will conquer all of Gorm!" He hits his fist against his chest for emphasis.

Yeesh, can't he talk about anything other than himself and how great he is? "It's always lava with these guys!" I exclaim.

"We've gotta put out this fire before it burns the whole forest!" Nick says as we watch the trees burning.

Cannon Trunk suddenly speaks up and I almost jump when I hear his voice. "A gentle rain always cools the forest. Perhaps it can also cool the molten stone!" he suggests.

"Of course!" Nick realizes. "And harden it into a rock dam! But where would we get that much water?"

Um, hello, your brother, Lord of Water, here! I step forward, saying, "Water? Did somebody mention water? I've got you covered!"

I walk out to the edge of the ledge and raise my right arm in the air as I cry out, "The power of the sea!" I take control of a stream of water that rises up and I let out a cry as it swirls around. As I clench my fist tightly, it rushes towards the fire before I quickly open my fist and it rains down on the fire and lava, causing yellow steam to form.

"No!" I hear Lavion yell as he is bombarded by the steam.

"No!" This time I hear the yells of Lavion and Bombos as I clench my fist again and they start coughing as the yellow steam washes over them, leaving them trapped in hardened rock.

The plume of yellow steam disappears and the skies are clear of black smoke. Pretty good, if I do say so myself! "Stopping lava - piece of cake!" I exclaim.

Wait a minute!

"Cake!" I yell frantically, turning to face the others. "We've gotta find the taproot to that flower before Mom's party goes into outer space!"

The others gasp as though they had forgotten about the other thing they had been asked to do.

"Let's not waste time, then," Nick says decisively. "Toby, do you remember where the flower was?"

"Uh..." To be honest, I couldn't remember precisely. I had been so eager to have finally found a gift worth giving Mom that I hadn't really made a note of the location. "I don't know - close to where we were when we were gated back, I think."

"That doesn't narrow it down much," Lucas mutters before he gets an I've had a great idea! look in his eyes and he turns to Cannon Trunk. "Excuse me, Cannon Trunk," he says. "I'm sorry to be a bother but do you think you could ask some of the Forest Gormiti here to help us look for the taproot to a flower?"

"But of course!" Cannon Trunk says. "It is the least I can do after you helped save our forest!"

"Thank you very much!" Lucas calls after him as the Forest Gormiti disappears into the forest.

"Good thinking, Lucas!" Nick says. "The more people we have looking, the better chance we'll have of finding that taproot sooner rather than later!"

After a few moments, Cannon Trunk returns with two other Gormiti I recognize. One of them is Mimic, the Forest Gormiti we had helped out before, back when Lavion first returned to Gorm after being stuck in a portal. The other - whose name I don't yet know - was the Forest Gormiti we saw competing in the secret tournament that was discovered and gatecrashed by Lavor and Magmion.

Cannon Trunk appears to be explaining the situation to them and, after he finishes, they start walking around, presumably looking for the taproot.

We watch them in silence until Nick asks curiously, "So what was with the flower anyhow?"

"I was just tired of always having a lamer gift than you," I admit before adding wistfully, "and Mom really loves flowers!"

"Taking a Gorm plant back into our world is what's lame!" he admonishes me, though he doesn't sound too mad.

"Yeah, I know that...now!" I say.

"Methinks I have found something!" Cannon Trunk exclaims suddenly and the three of us run over to see him pointing at a taproot. "Is this the taproot ye seek?"

I look closely at it and see that it looks like it is. "That's the one," I say, stepping forward and tugging it out of the ground. "Sweet!"

The Forest Gormiti leave after we thank them for their help. "Well," Lucas says. "Guess we just have to wait for Jessica to gate us back!"

As it turns out, we don't have to wait long. "You guys would not believe how close that was!" Jessica exclaims as she projects her image beside us.

"Everything okay?" Nick asks her.

"Yeah, but if you guys had taken any longer finding that taproot, it might have been a whole different story!" she replies. "The guests were leaving and I didn't know how to stop them. Oh, and your parents now probably think I'm weird!"

"I wouldn't worry," I tell her. "They probably think I'm weird too!" Hey, we can be weird buddies!

"Well, weirdness aside," Lucas interrupts, amused. "Could you gate us back now, Jess?"

"Oh, yeah, sure!" comes her hasty reply. The portal soon forms above our heads and we rise up, coming out of the Gorm Gate into the Primal Pad.

Jessica jumps down from the chair as we run over to her. She points at me as I approach and says firmly, "You owe me big time, mister!" I look up at her in surprise and see a glint of mirth in her eyes - I know then she's only joking.

Still, I don't want to seem like I don't appreciate what she did - when I really do- so I say sincerely, "Thanks for helping out, Jess! I know I shouldn't have made you abandon your Keeper duties just because I wanted to go back to the Gorm but-"

"To be fair," Lucas interjects, "if you hadn't shown up when you did, not only would Nick and I still be stuck in that burning tree with Cannon Trunk but if we had gotten out, we still would have had trouble stopping Lavion!"

I find myself not really paying attention to him, however, as I am too busy looking at Jessica who looks momentarily surprised at what I had said before smiling gratefully at me, seeming glad that I was thankful for her help.

For some reason, this causes my stomach to feel all...flippy - not again! - before I remember something that brings me back down to earth.

I look down at the taproot in my hands. "Guess I'd better get rid of this, huh?" I say, looking at the others.

"That's...probably for the best," Nick says, Lucas and Jessica nodding in agreement.

I lead the way up the stairs and once we're in the kitchen, the others head into the living room while I head outside to the bin.

"Guess it's back to lame gifts again!" I say gloomily as I open the lid and throw the taproot inside before closing it again.

"Toby?" Mom calls from inside the house. "Where are you? We're opening your present!"

My shoulders slump as I mutter, "Time to face the music!" and head back inside, hoping that Mom won't be too disappointed with the toenail clippers.

I walk into the living room and stand in front of Mom who is holding the box in her hands. She opens it and I brace myself for the that's lovely, dear, but... speech she ends up giving me every year.

Instead what I hear is a surprised and happy sounding gasp as Mom takes out the toenail clippers and exclaims, "Oh, how did you know? It's just what I wanted!"

Wait...huh? I find myself blinking at her. Am I dreaming or something?

"This will be perfect to trim your father's gnarly toenails!" Mom explains as she glances at Dad - who looks mildly embarrassed. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I didn't need to know that, Mom!

I can hear Nick and Jessica laughing at Dad's expense as Mom hugs me. I hug her back and see Nick wink at me. "I...had a hunch," I say as I wink back at him.

I still can't believe that, of all the things Mom could have wanted for her birthday, she wanted toenail clippers!

Guess my lame gift wasn't so lame after all!

AN: Thank you so much for being so patient with me, guys! I know I take forever to write these but I want to make sure I don't rush and make lots of silly errors :-)

Hope you enjoyed reading and I'll see you all next time! Andi, out!