"When are my stepsisters coming back?" Gawayne groaned. He was on all fours and was being ridden by the Baby Beasts.
After seeing Piper so dismayed over her failure to protect her egg, the other 3 Mysticons left their Beasts in the care of their family, friends, and the Astromancers while they consoled their friend.
The Baby Beasts didn't mind. They were upset they lost one of their own too. Gawayne managed to cheer them up by letting them ride on his back, even though he wasn't liking it one bit.
"And aren't you already a unicorn?" He asked Gemstone.
In retaliation, the unicorn zapped him, forcing him to keep up with the act.
"I still don't understand." Nova Terron mused, remembering how Piper lost the egg, "This may seem exaggerated, but if I were Alpha Galaga,"
"Fortunately you're not." Nessira interrupted.
"I would have recklessly announced my triumph for all to hear." Nova finished.
"True." Malvaron agreed, "And yet he didn't."
"Maybe he was smart enough not to do it." Doug advised, making everyone nod in agreement.
Still; How did the Alphamancers managed to steal the phoenix egg from right under the Striker's nose? She would have noticed them even through the smoke.
Then again; Alpha Galaga did managed to corrupt one of his talented students without anyone suspecting him for a thousand years.
Kitty noticed Howlette sneaking towards a cotton candy cart and grabbed her before she could go any further, "Oh no. We're still healing from the last sugar rush."
"I want to be a gummy-goyle next time." Gandobi said, earning confused looks from the others, "Last time I was turned into a fire-mint. No one likes fire-mints."
Runeford and Gemstone jumped off Gawayne and ran off, Howlette joined them moments later.
Not wanting to feel the wrath of their mommies, Gawayne, Halite and Ferrus chased after them. The others soon follow.
They followed them throughout the entire circus; The Merry-Go-Round, Hovering Bumper Carts, the Petting Zoo, and even the Haunted Roller Coaster.
Never again shall they ride the Roller Coaster.
When the Roller Coaster stopped, the Baby Beasts happily jumped off the ride while their uncles got off with traumatized faces and their hairs up in frazzles.
Just as the Baby Beasts could get into the circus tent, they were grabbed by Malachite, Goldius, and Queen Goodfey.
"Okay. You three need a time out." Queen Goodfey scolded.
"We have to give it back."
"But dad said she'll get hurt."
Queen Goodfey stopped. That sounded like Piper's siblings.
"We shouldn't have took it away from her. It's just so wrong."
Took? The queen knows it was wrong for her to spy, but it almost sounded like they were hiding something from their sister.
Peering through a small gap of the tent, she found all four of Piper's siblings in a silent conversation. She was soon joined by her family and the rest of the group as they listened in on the conversation.
Piper's eldest sister, Harmonia, opened her backpack... and brought out the phoenix egg.
The Baby Beasts growled but were silenced by giving them baby bottles to suck on.
The group couldn't believe their eyes; The Alphamancers didn't take Piper's egg. Her FAMILY did.
Okay that's just being OVER-overprotective.
"You guys saw what she did back there." Harmonia reminded.
"Yeah. But," Reed argued.
"She was so brave out there." Soprano interjected, "None of them even stood a chance against her. Plus you guys saw how sad she was."
Fluentia looked down with guilt, "She didn't even say 'hi' to the tiger-foxes."
Nova Terron nodded. They know what they have to do.
Harmonia turned around, only to find her parents standing before her.
"Harmonia hide that thing before your sister sees it." Wistermina whispered frantically to her daughter.
"Mom! This has to stop." Harmonia protested, "Watching Pipes' back was one thing. But stealing from her?"
"You saw how dangerous those things were." Alcove reminded before turning to the phoenix egg, "If that hatches, it could eat your sister!"
"Dad, you're over-reacting." Fluentia tried to reason, "Pipes saved us from those evil mages. She saved a lot of people."
"And ends up hurting herself!" Alcove exclaimed, "Why did she have to be a Mysticon?!"
"You're saying like its a bad thing." Reed protested, "Just like the time you didn't let her join the circus just because she tripped."
"We did it to protect her." Wistermina emphasized, "She was, fine with that."
"And what makes you think she'll stay after she failed protecting this egg?" Harmonia asked sharply, "Just look at her."
"And you think it's better if she took care of that beast?!" Alcove snapped rather sharply, "I know what's good for my daughter, just as I know what's good for my family! She'll forget why she bothered with that thing and stay safe like the good elf we want her to be!"
Everyone remained shocked and silent at Alcove's outburst.
What kind of father would plan that kind of life for his children?
Soprano looked away from his father in disgust. He remembered how happy Piper was when she swung on the trapeze in disguise, and tamed the tiger-foxes, and fought the evil mages. The thrill made her happy.
Not like the many times she was forced to stay away from the circus for her own "safety".
And now she's heartbroken. All because they took the one thing that she swore to take care of. The one thing that would make her happy.
Soprano looked his siblings in the eyes and wordlessly agreed.
"We're taking her back to our sister." Harmonia spoke coldly.
Before their parents could protest, the phoenix egg began to glow...
"One day, you'll find someone who will love you will all their heart."
Why couldn't she? Why did she have to leave her all alone?
So many dreams, what could have been happy moments, shattered. All because they were those who doubt her abilities.
How long has she lived, alone, in the darkness?
Is this her fate?
...
Wait. She senses a familiar presence.
Could it be...? Has she came back?
"Lucifire..."
Lucifire?
Was she, talking to her? Did she call her "Lucifire"? Was that going to be her new name?
She loves it!
She loves her!
She sounds different. Maybe this was a different being.
What does it matter? She's finally going to have a mommy!
She can tell that mommy is going to love her. She can feel it.
All that love... is setting her FREE!
The dark shell that hid Lucifire away finally broke, freeing her into the world of light.
Six pairs of eyes stared at her in complete shock.
But where was her mommy?
"Keep that thing away from your sister."
What?
The 6 creatures were arguing with each other. They want to take her away from her mommy.
Lucifire flew away. She needed to find her mommy!
She flapped her wings, but they were so weak, they could only take her a few feet before she crashed on the ground, in front of towering creatures.
"Your highnesses!" Alcove franticly bowed before the royal family, "We... found the phoenix."
"Excellent." Nessira picked Lucifire up, "We can give her back to Piper."
"That's not necessary. We...!" Wistermina tried to take Lucifire away from the Astromancer, but the phoenix flapped her wings and screeched at the elf in defiance before jumping on Gemstone's back.
The four Beasts disappeared into the crowd, determined to find their mommies and show them the good news.
The Elvanestri couple chased after them, but were stopped by Nova Terron who trapped them and levitated them in a golden energy field.
"I know you were just trying to protect your daughter, but you have gone too far!" Nova scolded, "And I should know."
"Piper will understand." Wistermina shot back, "She always will!"
Yeah, she didn't take it well.
When Piper found out her own family captured her phoenix, she finally let out her frustrations on them, before suddenly transforming into a half-elf, half-phoenix hybrid!
The Mysticons had no choice but to fight their friend. Which, unfortunately... led to this...
"When we said they should get along, we don't mean this!" Darius protested.
Piper trapped everyone, except the Alphamancers, in a giant pink bubble. The other two who weren't trap inside were Gawayne and Arkayna.
Unfortunately for everyone, Piper sprayed them both with Love's Breath.
"Gawayne, whatever you're thinking, I object!" Zarya was trapped inside a separate bubble with Em. And she is not liking the way Gawayne was leading her sister in the waltz.
If only they could break free from the bubbles, but they could only be popped from the outside.
Runeford called for his mommy once again since he was trapped inside the bubble, but the Dragon Mage just smiled and waved at him before resuming her dance with Gawayne.
Having failed once again, Runeford wept miserably, crying out for his mommy.
"It's okay, Runey." Malvaron petted the dragon in order to calm him down, "Mommy's just..."
Malvaron joined Runeford's misery as they wept upon witnessing the proposal in front of them.
"I object, I object, I object!" Goldius slammed his head repeatedly against the bubble, "You two hate each other. You even wrote a book on why you hate each other!"
To prove his point, he brought out a book titled "Royal Pains". Sure enough, it was written by Arkayna and Gawayne.
Kitty looked up from reading her copy, "It's a best-seller."
"Why?" Fluentia faced her parents with sadness and disappointment in her eyes, "Why couldn't you just let her be happy? Why couldn't you let her have fun like the rest of us? Why?!"
Before either Alcove or Wistermina could reply, Reed asked, "Why couldn't you guys just let go of that one accident? After that, Pipes was fine. She did many amazing things and saved us many times. Even if she did get hurt, she always smiled the pain away. She'd even make a great mother. But you guys had to be so negative! Why?!"
Alcove and Wistermina were speechless. Their children never spoke to them like this before.
All they wanted was to protect Piper. They didn't meant to... hurt her, resulting her to get mutated.
Wait. It's not their fault. The phoenix was the one who turned her into a monster.
"We were just trying to protect your sister!" Alcove defended.
"Oh well congratulations!" Nova Terron remarked sarcastically, "Thanks to your 'reason', and 'understanding', your daughter is now running wild and being hunted down by the Alphamancers. You know what? You were right; If she had just listened to you, she probably wouldn't have ended up heartbroken. Who cares what the child thinks? The parents are always right. Even after they turn one of their own into a creature of pure destruction!"
Everyone backed away from Nova's outburst.
After a moment of heavy breathing, the Astromancer managed to calm down, "The last thing you want, was to be the one who break them."
Alcove and Wistermina found themselves remembering Piper's sad face; Whenever she was forbidden from the circus tent, whenever she was told not to touch any animal, whenever she was being told what she wasn't suppose to eat, whenever... they, keep telling her to stay, safe...
She never smiled. When they were trying to show her that they care...
Everyone turned to the Elvanestris that they didn't notice Choko and the flying monkeys breaking them free from the bubbles.
"We understand what you're going through." Citrine empathized, "When I found out Emerald was a Mysticon, the first thing I wanted to do was take her home and lock her up in her room until she reached adulthood."
"Mom!" Em protested.
However, she didn't have time to complain further because she and Zarya were finally freed from their bubble and rushed off to stop Arkayna from making the biggest mistake of her life.
"But then I realized;" Citrine went on, unaware of the battle behind her, "Em isn't as helpless as I thought she was. She helped a lot of people. Even us. And I was so proud of what my little dwarf turned into."
Proud. The Elvanestris were proud of Piper too when she made those amazing feats.
Still...
"For as long as I remembered," Queen Goodfey joined in, "I've been telling Arkayna stories about the Mysticons in order to prepare her for the day she becomes queen. I never thought I'd witnessed the day she would become the new Dragon Mage. And in addition to that, I found out I had another daughter. Who was taken away from me by the orders of a deranged madman!"
Nova bowed his head in shame at the glare of the queen while Nessira patted him on the back.
She managed to regain her composure and continued, while shielding herself from a wayward attack, "And she became the new Ranger. I was so proud for both of them."
"But... Aren't you worried that they'll get hurt?" Wistermina asked, "Or worse?"
"Of course we do. We always... Don't go easy on them!" Darius briefly turns to Zarya before turning back to the Elvanestris, "Worry."
"But we should also know when not to worry." Malachite added, ducking to avoid another attack.
This confused the Elvanestris. How can they not worry?
"Yes. Our daughters can get themselves into danger," Darius emphasized, while pushing Doug away from being hit by a lightning arrow, "and there are times we want to stop them."
Malachite pushed him down to avoid another attack before pulling him back up, "But how would that help anyone else? Who would save the realm?"
"And yes there are others who could do their job." Citrine continued, "But if there's no one else left and they're the only ones who could do it, should we stop them from doing what's right, and let others get harmed?"
The Elvanestris didn't know how to react to that. Would stopping Piper from doing her dangerous job just to keep her safe lead to many lives getting hurt?
Goldius stepped in, "As parents, it is our duty to watch over our children, even if they have matured. In some ways. It is also our duty to respect their boundaries. Sometimes we have to worry, and sometimes we have to let them have their own freedom."
He places his hand on Queen Goodfey's shoulder, "And sometimes, whether they need or don't need us the most, we have to aide them in their battles."
The queen smiled at her father.
"Mom!"
The queen frowns, "Just like now."
With their mighty battle cries, the parents, including Goldius, charged to aid their children in battle. And to stop the worst wedding of the century.
That left Piper's parents to ponder on their words.
"If it makes you better Mr. and Mrs. Elvanestri," Doug offered, "Piper's really good in helping people. She even helped bring the royal family back together."
That was all he could say, as Malvaron pulled him away to help the parents.
Miss Paisley approached the Elvanestris and stopped at a safe distance in front of them. She was holding a book in her beak which she gave to Truffle, who in return, gave it to Alcove.
As it turns out, the book was actually a scrapbook which Piper lovingly dedicated to her phoenix, Lucifire.
The elf siblings approached their parents just as Alcove flipped through the scrapbook, revealing detailed plans like how to care for the phoenix, what the phoenix can and can't eat, how to groom the phoenix, etc.
There was even a chapter on what to name the phoenix.
It was so... planned out. So serious.
They didn't think Piper was this serious.
They flipped through more pages until they stopped at one that really caught their attention.
It was a drawing of them. Of the whole family.
Including the phoenix.
She wanted her to be a part of the family.
Nova sadly approached the Elvanestris, "The Original Striker couldn't take care of her... Because we took away someone dear to her. And all because of our pride, and selfishness."
Alcove and Wistermina looked at the drawing one more time.
All these times... All their daughter ever wanted...
What have they done...?
Alcove and Wistermina looked up with determination in their eyes.
"Let's go get your sister back."
When was the last time they rode a griffin?
Alcove and Wistermina screamed as Miss Paisley flew them around Gardenavia in search of their daughter.
They're starting to regret the times they deny Piper of riding an animal.
They finally found her, burning everything in sight. The Mysticons tried to snap her out of it, but she managed to beat everyone of them with brute, fiery force.
"Piper? Sweetie?" Wistermina called to her daughter in an attempt to reach out to her, "Aren't you worried you might catch a burn?"
Piper responded by trying to incinerate them.
Lucky for them, Miss Paisley flew out of the way.
Truffle, who was riding on Archer, approached them, "Try not to sound too, parently. You know..."
"We're trying!" Alcove complained as they dodged another fire blast.
Piper stopped attacking them. But that was because she had to deal with the Alphamancers who were trying to take Lucifire away from her.
At first, she managed to gain the upper hand with her newly-acquired fiery abilities.
But then Alpha Galaga attacked her from behind...
Lucifire found herself separated from her mommy due to a powerful force. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in Wistermina's hands, and glared at her mommy's so-called "loving family".
Alcove and Wistermina tensed when they found themselves surrounded by the Alphamancers.
"Hand over the phoenix." Alpha Galaga demanded. When the Elvanestris hesitated, "It's better this way. That elf was unworthy to bear such a powerful creature. She was weak."
...?!
Something inside the Elvanestris snapped...
Alcove glared at the Alphamancer, "Our daughter... Is the greatest, fearless, and most talented Mysticon in the whole Realm!"
"And she's going to raise this little one with the greatest love she could ever give!" Wistermina added, holding Lucifire tightly in her arms.
Something felt different with her mommy's parents.
They suddenly feel so... warm.
The last thing Piper remembered before she blacked out was her parents. Her ungrateful, heartless parents.
They were so unfair! How could they just take Lucifire away from her just because they think she was dangerous?
When she opened her eyes, she was high up in the air and was being restrained by two Alphamancers.
She managed to push them off using her wings...
Wings?! And she's still flying?!
Sure enough, two large red wings with plumage of orange, yellow and gold emerged from her back. In addition, her hair was combed up and were highlighted with yellow streaks on the tips, making it resemble flames. She was also wearing orange-feathered gloves with retractable daggers on the back.
"Pyperia!"
She looked down, only to catch Lucifire in her arms and her parents giving her hand signals. Encouraging hand signals.
She was so overwhelmed by her parents' encouragement that she allowed an Alphamancer to strike her from behind, causing her to plummet to the ground.
Luckily...
"Soprano?" Piper was surprised to find herself being caught by her siblings.
"Go get them, Sis." Soprano grinned before launching her back to the sky.
Piper was moved to tears. Never has she felt so much support, and love from her family before.
It just makes her want to...!
"Fly Lucifire, FLY!"
Lucifire flew inside the phoenix-shaped magical energy.
Moments later, the magical energy exploded into sparkles, revealing a large, radiant phoenix in the sky.
Axis smirked while everyone else marveled at the sight before them, "Show off."
"Bring down that Mysticon and bring me that phoenix!" Alpha Galaga demanded.
The Alphamancers sent a barrage of magical nets at the Striker. Though it may look like they were about to capture her and the phoenix, Piper threw multiple fiery daggers, slicing the nets, and pinning some of the Alphamancers everywhere.
"Pipes!" Alcove called, "You can do better than that!"
Great griffins that felt good!
In the end, the Alphamancers couldn't handle the combined powers of the Mysticons and all 4 Mystical Beasts. But one day...
"Who's my Lucifire? You are!" Piper nuzzled her phoenix' beak with her nose.
"I'm sorry we got too over-protective, Pipes." Alcove apologized.
"I'm just happy Lucifire is finally part of the family!" Piper beamed, "Feeding Time!"
The Elvanestris had to contain their stomachs as they watched Piper mouth-feeding Lucifire with... you-know-what.
"How long did yours last?" Alcove whispered to Darius and Malachite.
"They're still on it." Malachite whispered back.
To prove his point, Emerald was eating grass with Gemstone. In addition, Arkayna and Zarya were grooming Runeford and Howlette with their tongues.
"At least no one was traumatized by this experience." Nova pointed out.
Blue light flashed, and everyone finds the Mysticons sans Piper frozen in place while the Baby Beasts hugged their respective mommies by their legs.
"Mine!" Runeford hissed.
"Aw. His first word." Arkayna gushed in her frozen state.
"Come on guys." Piper bent down to face the Baby Beasts, "No one's taking you away."
Yeah. She shouldn't have said that.
In flashes of green, blue, and pink, Runeford, Howlette, and Gemstone disappeared with their mommies.
"It's a good thing we chipped her." Malachite remarked, bringing out a tracking device.
Oh yeah. Forget to mention;
After the Astromancers proved they were pure of heart, they were all bestowed with the powers of the Mystical Beasts, giving them brand new robes, and turned their magical auras from purple to gold.
