So sorry this chapter is late, guys! Busy, busy holidays.
THE FAERIES' RUIN…chapter 17
Setting: The ruins of Faerieland, same as last chapter. Except this time, Brynn is angsting over Hanso's now stone form.
Brynn: Oh, Hanso…what have you done?
Hanso: *silence*
Brynn: Oh, well I guess it was kinda stupid of me to ask a statue.
(Altador, Jazan, and those other dudes walk through the ruins)
Altador: Brynn? Where are you?
Jazan: There… *points to Brynn kneeling beside Hanso*
Altador: Oh noes. :(
Old Ogrin Dude: Oh noes! :(
Guard #1: *picks nose* :(
Jazan: Curse this eyeliner, it makes me look sexy even when I'm trying to look sad and sorry.
Fangirls: JAZAN IS BACK AKLJDFSKLAJH—*explode*
Altador: *puts a hand on Brynn's shoulder* What happened here?
Brynn: Are you referring to the freaking CRASHED Faerieland, the sun shining and lack of dark ominous clouds, the total lack of any more shadow creatures, or the stone statues I'm cutting my wrists beside?
Queen Fyora: How about all of them?
Everyone: OH SHIT QUEEN FYORA! IN A PLOT. TALKING TO US. OMG.
Altador: *ahem* Your Majesty, it's good to see you're well.
Fyora: I am now…for the most part. Who do I have to thank for that?
Brynn: *sniffs* Well, this would be the part where Hanso would jump in, give you a cheesy grin, and say "None other than me, queenie!" in his endearingly egotistical manner, but now he's…he's… ;o;
Fyora: Stone, yes, I see. How did they become this way?
(Long, boring retelling of the entire previous chapters that TNT thankfully spares you from)
Brynn: …and then they both just…turned to stone. The end!
Guard #1: Boo! That was a terrible bedtime story!
Fyora: *shakes head* Oh, Xandra, I feared this day would come…
Jazan: The day she lost her glasses?
Fyora: No—
Old Ogrin Dude: The day she got all butthurt over not being able to afford a Blue Paint Brush?
Fyora: No…
Jazan: The day she realized she didn't have any friends and thus destroyed Faerieland out of sheer anger over her empty Neofriends list?
Fyora: *rubs temples* Oi…no. I mean the day she would retaliate against us.
Everyone: Ooooh.
Altador: So you do know her?
Jazan: Did know her. Ha…that bitch is stoned.
Fyora: Thank you for your input, Jazan. -_-
Jazan: That's King Jazan.
Fyora: Don't start that with me.
Altador: It appears Xandra was a very powerful sorceress.
Jazan: Once again, stating the obvious, King Altador.
Fyora: She was powerful indeed, but even the best of us can go astray at times…
Brynn: And even a thief can do the right thing at times. He sacrificed himself to stop Xandra by destroying the artifact. He reversed the spell, and now he's gone…
Guard #1: Gone? But…he's sitting right there in front of us…
Guard #2: …*smacks him with his helmet*
Fyora: Hmm…then I owe him a debt. I'm rather weakened at the moment, but perhaps I have enough strength to free him from this form.
Jazan: Of course you do. This plot's totally predictable ending wouldn't be possible without it.
TNT: Hey, Fyora freeing Hanso was TOTALLY NOT PREDICTABLE FROM THE BEGINNING OF CHAPTER 16, OKAY?
Jazan: Yeah, whatever. Get back to coding the prize shop!
Fyora: *places a glowing hand on Hanso*
Hanso: GYYAHAHHHHHHH…what'd I miss? :3
Brynn: =O!
Altador: I think we all underestimated your bravery, Hanso. Well done.
Old Ogrin Dude: Old people wisdom old people wisdom old people wisdom. :D
Jazan: Yes, well done, Ixi. Lacked a bit of finesse, but effective all the same.
Fyora: My faerie sisters and I thank you for your selflessness and heroism, Hanso. You showed a courage that few Neopets possess.
Hanso: Does this mean I get the girl and ride off into the sunset now? :D
Fyora: No, I have more talking to do.
Hanso: Aww. :c
Fyora: Xandra, too, possessed great strength, but she was mistaken in her belief that we faeries do nothing—it is our magic that holds those dark creatures at bay and keeps Neopia safe from harm.
Hanso: Great strength? She possessed great insanity, that's what she possessed.
Brynn: *punches him in the arm*
Fyora: Perhaps she wasn't entirely mistaken…but that's something we will have to confront later. For now, we must attend to more pressing matters. There are many wounded to heal, and much damage to repair.
Hanso: Yeah, like your entire freakin' land. It made a really nice crater, by the way.
Fyora: I'm sure it did…Hanso, please come see me once you have fully recovered. Farewell! *poofs*
Jazan: Doesn't waste any time, does she?
Altador: She has much work to do, as do we all…King Jazan.
Jazan: So Hanso, I must know. How did you get the upper hand?
Hanso: I had the book for quite a while, you know, while Brynn had me LOCKED UP IN A DUNGEON CELL.
Brynn: Are you still mad about that?
Hanso: ANYWAY…I snuck a peek here and there. The book said the artifact could absorb a certain amount of power, but if it got too full, it'd become unstable.
Brynn: So you deliberately annoyed Xandra, hoping she would blast you with enough magic to overload the artifact and break the spell?
Hanso: No, I was just annoying her to annoy her. It's what I do best. *thumbs up* :D
Brynn: How did you know Fyora would be able to free you?
Hanso: I didn't. Lucky break, I guess. Told ya you wouldn't like my plan.
Brynn: I didn't.
Jazan: I did. You turned to stone meant no more of your incessant talking.
Hanso: I feel the love, Jazan, really. You know, it's ironic. Xandra was undone by the same artifact that started it all. *reaches down to grab it*
Brynn: Careful! It might be dangerous.
Hanso: But I have to get my knife! :(
Brynn: Hanso…
Hanso: Relax, sweetheart. It's just a piece of old junk now.
Brynn: Well…if you say so—
Hanso: ARRRRRGGGGGH!
Brynn: HANSO! O_O
Hanso: Lol, j/k.
Brynn: You jerk! You scared me half to death!
Hanso: Hey now, I just saved Neopia!
Gorix and Cylara: Yeah, so did we.
Space Faerie: From Sloth.
Tormund: And we saved it from the Darkest Faerie!
Roberta: Yeah, so get in line.
Hanso: This is MY plot! Get out!
Brynn: Hanso, shut up—*tackles and kisses him*
Jazan: Ahem, if you two are done…there's something I need from you, thief.
Hanso: Oh, did you want a kiss too? :D
Jazan: Ha…very funny. Nabile always likes it when I bring her a gift, and Fyora clearly meant for us to keep that jewelry you stole as a reward for our fearless deeds, so…
Altador: Ha. Fearless Deeds. I see what you did there.
Hanso: Ah…so it's time to trust the scoundrel, eh? Let's talk prices…
Brynn: What now, King Altador?
Altador: You should take Hanso to see Queen Fyora, when you two are ready. I must return to my kingdom. Hopefully the destruction did not reach that far.
Hanso: I doubt it did. Nobody cares about the land of Altador.
Altador: …it's true. *manly sob* ;_;
(The whole gang starts to walk away from the ruins)
Hanso: The worst part is, after all this, stealing anything smaller than Kreludor won't be much of an adventure…
Brynn: You try stealing the moon and I will kick you in the face.
Hanso: I love you too, sweet cheeks. ;D
And the reason for the Old Ogrin Dude being in this plot still goes unexplained. What purpose did he serve? Why was he with Xandra in the library? …why was he in Faerieland at all? Meh…who cares.
Thank you for reading, everybody!
Chapter 17