Chapter 12: Roxy is Missing

The TV zapped from channel to channel, snippets of sound emanating into the room from the many conversations featured.

"...clearly angels sent by God to..."

"...no doubt made deals with the djinn..."

"...so therefore, they must be some sort of secret FBI..."

"...traditions we know that actual fairies would..."

"...will be using this as an excuse to take away our guns when..."

"...not saying they are aliens, but there's reason to suspect that they are aliens. Clearly, last week's bad weather down by Nevada was them contacting..."

With a sigh, Bloom turned off the TV.

"Wow. You're getting really popular," Roxy commented. "People are talking about you."
"Yeah. But, like, only one out of ten believes us when we say we're fairies," Stella commented. "Tots hoped it would be more."

The Earth fairy glanced at them, before shifting her attention to Bloom. "Are you really that surprised? I think you've been away from Earth for too long. Flat Earthers still exist and you think waving your spandex clad butts around and calling yourself fairies will cause some sort of major revelation?"

"I guess I had hoped," the redhead muttered. "If this doesn't change soon, we just might have to make some sort of press conference." She groaned, scratching her head. "And then I will be hounded by journalists again."
"Seriously, what happened to you in that other world?"

"Well, first of all, Firetop is the princess of a long-lost kingdom," Techna said.

"Long-lost? It was only out of commission for a decade," Flora corrected her.

"But it sounds better."

"Moving on, the royal family was thought dead, so her showing up changed things a lot," Musa interrupted. "Of course, stopping the Usurpers, three over-ambitious witches, probably also helped."

"Then there was the whole Dakar thing. That's when I got possessed," Bloom clarified. "But I got better and helping defeat the Shadow Phoenix got us a lot of attention."

"And then Bloom's brother, like, broke out of prison and started stealing magical powers from people," Stella continued. "It was totally crazy. But now he's good again. And then we kicked the Ancestral Witches' collective butts, restoring Bloom's kingdom in the process."
"All of which happened in the span of three years. You can probably imagine the reaction that got from the general public. Only our staff's resolute willpower prevented the school from turning into a TV show," Flora noted. "So you can probably understand why some of us were very eager to avoid gaining that sort of attention again."
Roxy slowly blinked, surprise evident on her face. "Sheesh. I know you guys are magical and all, but even I have a hard time believing it. Sounds like it isn't just Hogwarts that has problems with securing a safe school year."

"Believe me, my sympathy for Harry has only grown ever since I got to experience what it feels like to be hurled into crazy adventures every year," the redhead muttered. "At least my foster family wasn't a bunch of douche-bags."

"Ehm, can we come back into the conversation?" Musa asked. "What are you talking about?"

"They are referring to a series of books about a wizard named Harry Potter. I have recently begun reading them," Mirta said. "They're kinda good, actually. Just don't expect the magic in it to be realistic."

"So, what's next? More superheroine action?" Roxy asked.

"Well, we'll have to wait for the next band of hoodlums with a silly gimmick," Musa snarked. "Until then, we'll lay low."
"Speaking of laying low, how are you feeling, Roxy?" Bloom inquired. "You've have had to keep all of this bottled up inside most of the time, only able to talk with us. Are you doing okay?"

The pink-haired teen paused. "I admit, it's been kinda rough."
"Maybe you should tell your Dad," Techna suggested. "It can only help that he knows. I mean, he must have been noticing something."
"He has," Roxy muttered. "It didn't go by his notice that I've very suddenly started hanging with you guys. He actually wanted to know if I was dating one if you."

"Saucy," Techna chuckled.

"Anyway, if he knows, he might be able to help," Musa stated. "Having some more people on board will only be to our benefit. If nothing else, you'd have him to talk with."

"Well, yeah. But if I just said: 'Hey Dad, I've got magical powers now', he'd think I had lost my mind," the Earth fairy countered. "Especially since my powers seem to translate to being good with animals. You said it yourself. It's very subtle."
"Maybe. But we aren't," Stella said with a smile and held a shining finger up. "Why don't we come by after work tomorrow and show him what we can do?"

Roxy paused, rubbing her chin. "You know what. That would probably work. Let's hope he doesn't freak and try to keep us separate. He can be a bit protective at times." She mulled it over. "How am I even going to tell him? 'Hey, Dad, those girls I've been seeing a lot are coming over. We have something very important to tell you about me'".

"He's just going to think that you're coming out of the closet," Techna commented.

"Yeah, you're right. Give me a moment."

"While she does that, I actually have interesting news," Mirta said. "Helia and I have found a new spell. A sort of tracking spell to be precise. It can be used to read the environment for clues in auras."

"Good to hear that you're still digging through that big book o' spells. Was afraid it would be too... You know, awkward to continue that project," Techna said.

"It is kinda awkward," Mirta mumbled, blushing slightly.

"But as you said, the important part is being mature about it," Flora stated.

Bloom blinked. "No, seriously, what did I miss."

"Firetop, let me tell you about some very special feelings some people get," Techna started, trying to sound professional. "See, when a person grows up, they might feel tingly in their nether parts and..."
"Techna, I swear by God, if you go all birds and bees after school special on me, I will have a fireball with your name on it ready."

The next day, Roxy sighed as she opened the garden gate and walked up the short tiled path to the front door. They didn't live at the Frutti Music Bar, as some people suspected, but close enough that she could see the place from the garden with a little bit of effort. She opened the front door, loudly declared: "I'm home" and turned a corner to walk into the living room.

Then she stopped.

"Excellent. How was school?" Dumon conversationally asked from his position on their couch.

Ogron said in a large puffy chair, reading the day's newspaper.

The pink-haired fairy blinked, not entirely convinced she wasn't dreaming, before turning around to flee.

However, despite his large size, Gantlos had managed to silently place himself between her and the door. The blond glared at her and shook his head, a clear indicator that she was not to run away. He stared intensely into Roxy's eyes, before turning to the two others with a: "She is herself."

"Good. Then the possession truly was ended," Ogron noted, as he put the papers down. "How curious. This does support your observations, Dumon."

The Earth fairy glared at them. "So, you've finally tracked down where I live."
"Ehm, Roxy. We've known that for quite a while now, you know," Dumon said. "You're not exactly subtle about going back here after school or work."

"Oh. I see." There was a brief pause. "Well, what do you want then?" Roxy warily asked the three Black Circle members.

"As I have stated multiple times, I am interested in the continued safety of Earth's citizens," the redhead replied, as he got up. "Unlike your new acquaintances."

"What do you know?" Roxy challengingly asked.

Ogron paused, as if considering just how much he could tell without dragging things out. "Well, their newest idea of vigilante justice does show a great amount of contempt for societal norms, for one thing."

"Isn't that just a bit hypocritical of you?" the Earth fairy inquired. "Or do you have a badge somewhere inside those goth clothes of yours?"

"An excellent point, I suppose. But do consider this, Roxy, that our operations pre-dates much of the modern world," Ogron replied. "But enough talk. Your friends are currently busy maintaining their covers, but I have no intent to hang around until they have the time to come here. I'm afraid I will have to take you with us so we can deal with this situation once and for all. Know that we have no intentions of harming you, though we would like to evaluate your skills and judge your competence with them. Standard procedure."

"Aha," Roxy said sceptically. "And what if I don't want to run off with three strange men who've broken into my house?"
The Black Circle leader sighed. "In that case, I would like to inform you that we have already picked up you father and is holding him at our destination. Surely, you're interested in ensuring his health and well-being?"
Roxy froze, before venomously hissing: "That's so low."

"Trust me, Roxy, I take no pleasure in forcing you to cooperate like this, but your friends have decided to escalate things," Ogron replied. "Their attempt at portraying fairies as heroes who are above the law and their experimentation with the White Circle means that I have to move fast to secure the well-being of the common folk of Earth. I had hoped not to make an enemy of you, but so be it. I have had to step on a lot of toes to secure the planet and I doubt you will be the last to be left with a less than fond memory of me."

Roxy blinked. "Portraying... You think they are running some sort of PR campaign? Bloom and the others are just trying to introduce people to fairies."

"Why aren't they just calling in a press conference then?" Dumon asked. "I mean, seriously, just go down to the local newspaper and do some magic. They could even score some money off James Randi that way."

"Well, they just don't want to be swarmed by journalists," Roxy tried.

Ogron blinked, as if the reply caused his entire train of thoughts to brake hard. "So what you're saying is that they are trying to convince the people of Earth that magic is real and fairies are here, but without actually being known for it. And that they plan on doing so by playing superheroines, complete with ludicrous costumes."
"Makes no sense," Gantlos grumbled.

"I agree," Dumon commented.

Roxy seemed to deflate a bit. "Yeah, it does sound kinda stupid when you put it like that."
"Indeed," Ogron stated under his breath. "Anyway, enough talk. We have already been chatting the time away for too long." He looked around. "Now, no doubt your friends will be here soon enough and I intend to liberate them of that accursed instrument. Do you have a pen around here?"

"The cup on the counter."
"Thank you."

A couple of hours later, the girls paused outside the garden gate at Roxy's house.

"Right then. Just, like, let me do the talking," Stella said. "I know just how to handle this."
"As long as you handle it better than your clothes, we'll be okay," Musa noted.

"You know, I am keeping mental track of how much you're mocking me. I'm not getting you a different uniform until you, like, improve your attitude."

The black-haired musician blew a raspberry in the blonde's direction.

"Can we drop the childish arguments and enter," Flora asked exasperated. "Spirits, I have to wonder how Brandon handles dealing with this every day."
"The death threats are probably very cathartic," Techna suggested.

They walked up to the front door and Stella attempted to knock. But by the first hit, it swung open with a creaking sound.

"Welp... That's eerie," Bloom noted.

"HELLO!" Stella called, as she stuck her head inside. "ANYONE HOME?!"

The girls slowly entered, warily checking the area.

"This is weird. I'd suspect she forgot, but with the door having been left open and unlocked, I doubt that is the case," Aisha said.

Suddenly, they heard scratching and whimpering from upstairs.

"I'll take a look at that," Musa stated and ran up the stairs. She opened the door to Roxy's room. "Oh, hey Artu. I'm happy to see you too."
"She trapped her dog in her room?" Stella questioned, as the rest of the group filtered into the living room. "That doesn't seem like something Roxy would do."
"Ehm... Maybe we could use that spell Helia and me found," Mirta suggested. "Something could have happened."

"An excellent idea, Mirta," Flora approved and concentrated. After a few moments, she said in a strained voice: "I sense... Something. Roxy was definitely here, but so were others."
"I think I found out who," Musa said, as she removed a piece of paper from the sofa. "Those others happen to be Ogron and his cronies."
"Oh no," Bloom gasped. "They have Roxy?"
"Of course they do. And her father too." Musa read the rest of the note, eyebrows furrowed. "In return for handing them over, they want the White Circle and a promise that we will leave Earth. The White Circle is to be delivered at the Frutti Music Bar tonight."

"Again with that blasted ring," Techna mumbled.

"They sure are totally eager to get it," Stella commented. "Like, what do we do now? If it's as dangerous and powerful as they seem to indicate, we tots can't hand it over to them."

"But we have to save Roxy," Bloom insisted. "Goddammit. We should have considered they'd figure out where Roxy lived sooner or later."

"Odds are they have known for some time," Flora brought up. "It is likely that they felt threatened by our recent actions, as we suspected might happen. Even disguised, they would easily recognise us." She rubbed her chin. "We have the tracking spell. It should allow us to find Roxy. But I doubt that alone will resolve this. I have an idea, but I will need to talk with Brandon and the others about it." She pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Let's hope they can get here fast."

Mitzi walked into the burger bar and looked around. People were milling back and forth with an assortment of fastfood, as a gaggle of teenagers yelled back and forth in the kitchen. It was very typical in that regard.

Scouting through the throng, the black-haired girl eyed a familiar hairdo and walked over to Selina, who stared at a cup of soda she was mindlessly swishing about, obviously lost in thought.

"You said you wanted to talk," Mitzi stated, causing a jolt to go through the blond. "Or has the soda replaced me?"

"Ah, no, just thinking." She took a moment to compose herself. "Please, sit down." She paused as the black-haired girl took a seat. "Right... Well, I just kinda wanted to talk. Without being called crazy, that is."

"But I call you crazy," Mitzi replied.

"Yes, yes, but not the same way most would," Selina replied. "I'd normally talk with Bloom 'bout stuff like this, but..." She sighed.

"She's been a busy little bee. I know."
"Maybe. Anyway, it's about all that craziness that has happened lately," Selina said. "Explosions, weird plants and now these fairies."

"I figured that would have your interest," Mitzi replied. "Honestly, I'm not entirely convinced we're not on some sort of Truman Show rip-off."
"What a twist," Selina joked. "But seriously, if we're honest, this is not the first time these things have happened, now is it? You party incident, for example. I remember how it was noted that despite the fireworks being used, there was actually no traces of powder."

"You think it's connected?"
"Maybe."
"Alright, I'm game. So let's play conspiracy theorist for a moment," Mitzi said. "What connects all of these things then?"

The blonde bit her lip, as if considering things very carefully. "It's Bloom."

"Pardon?"
"I'm serious," Selina quickly added. "Think about it. First, we have those incidents at her house, right? Flash mobs, walls torn down and so on. Then Bloom disappears off to a boarding school somewhere and I'll be damned if I can find anything about it. It's more like she disappears in and out of thin air. And when does she come back? Roughly when weird stuff starts happening. Her first homecoming resulted in her parents' house getting wrecked again. She was at your party. And now that she has moved back into town with those new friends of hers, we've seen an almost non-stop parade of oddities 'round town. It just seems like it can't be a coincidence."

Mitzi paused, as her mind began working hard. Finally, she sighed and said: "Okay. I admit, that's actually true. But I know one reason why it makes no sense."
"Please tell me," Selina almost begged.

"Because if something was wrong, Bloom would tell us," Mitzi concluded. "We're pals and she trusts us. So no more suspecting our friends are going behind our back, mkay?"

The blonde paused. "You're right, of course. She wouldn't. It was just... I couldn't stop thinking that. It seemed like too much of a coincidence, but... You're right. Bloom wouldn't keep something like this a secret." She leaned back, taking a big slurp from her soda. "I guess everything that has happened recently, on top of school soon starting again, is just starting to get to me."

"Hey, it happens. Evening news have gotten all kinds of freaky lately," Mitzi said. "We got magical fairies, explosions, monsters. I feel like I've accidentally stumbled onto the set of some sort of action movie. Starring as the beautiful bystander, with my friend, the crazy conspiracy theorist that will help save the day in the last act with her weird knowledge."

"I'd like that," Selina chuckled, smiling again. "Thanks, I needed to hear that." She got up from her table. "I think I'll go by Eldora's house on the way home, see if she has baked more of her cookies."

"Say hi to her from me," Mitzi said, as the other girl left the burger joint.

The skies above Gardenia took on a burning orange hue, as the sun began setting. It reflected in the waves of the ocean, seemingly igniting the waters of the waterfronts. It would have been a nice day to enjoy a drink at the Frutti Music Bar, but sadly it was not to be so.

"Closed for the night," a teenage boy read aloud from the sign on the door. "Man, this sucks." He and his friends turned around and left. As they passed a group of people, he turned to them and said: "Man, don't even bother. Klaus has closed down tonight for some reason."
"Oh. Thanks for informing us," Aisha replied. She paused as she watched the group leave, before turning to her comrades.

Her, Stella, Nabu, Brandon, Sky, Techna and Musa had been chosen to go talk with the Black Circle. Though talk was a bit of a misnomer. They were actually to keep the Circle members occupied for as long as possible, while the others tracked down Roxy and hopefully freed her and her father.

After making sure that nobody was around, the princess of Tides walked up to the door and knocked. The door slowly opened, allowing access to the darkened interior of the bar.

"Spooky," Techna commented, as the group headed inside.

"Hello, Circle guys," Stella called as they walked in, the door closing behind them. "We're here."

"Excellent. I'm glad to see you're able to follow instructions," Ogron said, as he stepped out of the dark. "For once."

The Solarian princess rolled her eyes.

"Now then, hand over the ring and I will reveal to you the location of your missing friend," Ogron said, holding out his hands.

Stella reached into her pocket with an annoyed expression, but Brandon suddenly held a hand in front of her, causing her to pause.

Ogron raised an eyebrow.

"Before we do this, why do you want it? " the squire asked. "What can that thing do for you, that you would put so much effort into recovering it?"
"How much do you know?" Ogron inquired.

"Less than I'd like."
The redhead briefly paused. "The less you know, the better."

"Better for who?"
"Everyone."

Suddenly, there was a blur, as Anagan appeared besides the Black Circle leader. "Just checked outside. They're certainly not anywhere near here."
"Intriguing." Ogron turned his attention to the group. "We noted that a couple of you were missing. Where are your friends?"
"It seemed tots unwise to, like, send everyone, in case this was a trap or something," Stella explained.

"Because after what you did with Roxy, it's quite clear there's no limit to the shit you'll all try to pull," Musa added with a hint of venom.

"And on that note, I do have a couple of questions too," Aisha said, as she unpacked a list from her pocket. "As princess of Tides I have to make sure this won't negatively impact my country."

There was a slight twitch in Ogron's eye as he noted the size of the thing. "Go on."
The dark-skinned princess unfolded the paper, letting the bottom gently bump the floor. "First of all, since you cannot give disclosure on the artefacts specific or general properties, can you guarantee that the effects of said device will not negatively impact Tides, allies of Tides, loose affiliates of Tides, trade contacts of Tides, potential trade contacts of Tides, planned trade contacts of Tides, nations ruled by far off family member whom Tides may want to contact within..."

Ogron's eye twitched again.

"This could take a while," Dumon mumbled with a hint of despair.

"I'll go check if there's some juice in the back," Anagan said and vanished in a blur.

"This is unbelievable," Klaus grumbled, as he paced the small room he and his daughter had been locked in. "They can't keep us detained forever like this. We have our rights." he knocked on the locked door. "Hello! I'd like to call my lawyer! Can I get my phone back!?"

"I doubt they're actually going to let you call anyone for a while," Roxy mumbled, as she sat in one of the two chairs they had been provided.

"Simply unbelievable," Klaus muttered again, before turning to his daughter. "And you have no idea why they are doing this?"
"Ehm... No," Roxy tried, though she didn't feel like she was sounding convincing. "Maybe it's related to... You know... All that crazy stuff that has been happening lately."
Klaus glanced at her for a moment, eyebrow raised, before beginning to pace again.

"Alright, here is the plan," Flora said to the others. "Me, Helia, Mirta and Riven will go in first and try to get Roxy and her father out without being noticed. If things go wrong, I trust the two of you to serve as heavy-hitting backup."

"Understood," Timmy said.

"Gotcha," Bloom confirmed.

"Alright. Let us begin." Flora moved up to the wall that surrounded the dockside warehouse complex they had tracked Roxy to. Further scouting had confirmed that she was indeed there, along with at least one Black Circle member. She concentrated, large plants growing out of the sparse soil, forming a ladder.

Mirta focused and slowly, an illusionary sheen that almost made them look transparent obscured the four of them, as the boys quickly ascended the ladder and landed inside the courtyard. Quickly ascertaining that there was no immediate danger, Riven hoisted himself up so he could peak back out and whispered: "The coast is clear."

Flora and Mirta nodded and proceeded to cross the wall.

"Good luck," Bloom whispered anxiously, as her camouflaged friends vaulted over the top of the wall.

"Alright, Mirta, how far can you maintain the illusion?" Helia asked.

"Well, I couldn't give you an exact distance, but a fairly middle distance," the redhead replied.

"Good. We'll go ahead to those containers over there." The poet pointed for reference. "Once we give the signal, you two move over. Then we will leave you there to keep you some distance away from the action while we move over to the warehouse. Would that work?"
Mirta squinted and tried to judge the distance. "I think," she replied. "But not for long. I can already feel my energy fading and distance won't help."
"We don't intend to be slowpokes anyway," Riven noted, before he and Helia dashed off.

They quickly crossed the distance and used the shadows of the containers to make themselves even better hidden. The last rosa glow of the sun was fading and the stars were starting to pop out.

Scouting around and finding no danger to be seen, Riven signalled the two girls, who quickly and quietly made their way over.

"Alright, step one complete," Riven noted. "Mirta, keep us covered as long as possible."

"Will do," the ex-witch said, sounding a bit strained.

The three scouted the area, before hurrying over to the warehouse. There, they took a short moment to see if they had been spotted, before Flora concentrated again. Another series of growths and creepers grew up the side of the warehouse to a window far above. Quickly, she and Riven scampered up, while Helia remained behind to secure the exit. Up top, they opened the window and used the still growing plants to gently lower themselves to the floor.

The interior of the warehouse was dark, with boxes of various things stashed in large piles.

"Alright, where did her energy seem to be?" Riven asked Flora.

"Over there," the Limphean brunette quietly said and pointed.

The two of them dashed over, Riven putting an ear to the door to get a feeling for what was going on inside.

"We've been here for hours. They could at least serve us some dinner," Klaus stated. "I mean, those sandwiches were great, but it's been hours."
"I'm sure they'll take your order as soon as they're done trampling our rights," Roxy mumbled.

Riven nodded to Flora, before procuring a lockpick. With trained movements, he jammed it into the lock and, after a few seconds of work, undid the lock with a click and opened the door.

"Finally. I'd..." Klaus began, before noting the transparent humanoid shapes. "Hubuh?"
"Do not worry. We are here to help," Limphean noble said.

"Flora?" Roxy asked. "Is that you?"
"Yes. Now come on. We cannot keep this up for much longer."
"I do have a couple of questions, but I suppose that can wait," Klaus commented, as the two left. "Now, where to?"
"Up the ladder," Flora said, and pointed at the interwoven creepers that formed a way out the upper window.

"You guys must have some good fertilizer," the bar owner commented, before crawling up with some effort, followed by Roxy.

The two landed outside, shortly before being followed by Riven and Flora.

"Alright. Now we..." Riven began, but suddenly he faded back into full view. "Ah, crap. There goes that advantage."
"Mirta must have run out," Helia noted. "We better book it." They turned to hurry away, but paused.

Mirta squirmed and wriggled fearfully, as Gantlos carried her out from the hiding spot by the containers, his massive hand wrapped around her neck. "Bad move," he drawled. "Now go back inside." He paused, before emphasising: "All of you."

"Figures they left the living motion detector as a guard," Riven mumbled annoyed. "That camouflage never did anything to fool you, did it?"

Gantlos just glowered at the group. It was quite clear he wasn't in the mood to banter.

Suddenly, a faraway bang rang out and a bullet flattened itself against the back of Gantlos' head, causing him to stumble forward. Momentarily distracted as his Stetson almost covered his face, he didn't have time to react before a precise jet of fire hit his right arm. As the black fabric vaporised and pain bloomed in the exposed skin underneath, Gantlos automatically let Mirta go and retracted the arm with a throaty growl.

As the redhead landed unsteadily on the surface, Riven leapt forward, sabre manifesting in his hand. It didn't surprise him when the blond blocked the blade with his other arm, but that did give Mirta time to scamper away. Gantlos retaliated with his other hand, hitting the magenta-haired warrior with a punch to the solar plexus that sent him flying breathless across the asphalt. Then the Stetson-wearing blond had to dodge behind one of the containers, as Bloom fired another lance of flame at him. He concentrated his magic into both of his arms and pushed forwards against the iron box.

Timmy lowered his rifle and watched with a mixture of shock and awe as the container came flying towards him and Bloom. "Oh, fiddlesticks." He leapt to the side, as the wall splintered into many pieces, the sound echoing through the night.

That distraction taken care of, Gantlos turned towards the others.

From behind a nearby corner of the warehouse, Klaus peaked forth from where Roxy dragged him to safety. "Oh my. This seems bad. What is going on?"
"Okay, here's the short of it," Roxy quickly began, as Flora failed to stop an advancing Gantlos with a collection of vines. "I have magic powers for some reason and these people are from another world. Or, well, some of them are. Others are from Earth. And they don't like each other. Because of a war that happened over a century ago. Got it?"
"Oh. Okay," Klaus replied.
The Earth fairy blinked. "Wait, what? You believe me?"

"Well, that explanation does make a lot of sense, even if it's kinda incomplete," the juice bar owner replied, as Helia flew past them with a panicked yell.

"...and furthermore, can you then also guarantee that out agreement to this trade does not hurt the affiliates of our allies' acquaintances' connections in a way that in any direct or indirect way implicates the royal house of Tides as being guilty. By the royal house of Tides, it is to be understood that I mean the royal house, the kingdom, allies, affiliates, trade partners, potential trade partners, allies of potential trade partners..." Aisha continued, as she neared the middle of the list.

Ogron, who was still paying attention, wore a frozen expression of dull horror, as Aisha kept finding more and more convoluted things to ask about.

At a nearby table, Dumon, Techna and Sky passed time by playing poker, which the shapechanger had agreed to teach them.

Anagan stood by the bar, juggling six different fruits, while Musa, Stella and Brandon sat around a table, reading newspapers.

"Your lady friend is gonna filibuster my boss to death at this rate," Dumon remarked, as he passed out some cards.

"Eh, I'm sure he'll manage," Sky said, as he took the cards. "So, pairs were good, right?"
"Well, it's always better than not having anything. 'Course, a good player can win even on a bad hand. It's all in how you use them," Dumon replied.

"I can get behind that," Techna said enthusiastically. "So, people play this for money?"
"Yeah. Also clothes, occasionally," the mohawked man remarked.

The scarred girl paused, before saying in an intrigued voice: "Do tell me more."

"Look at those two. How can they just sit down and play cards with him?" Musa asked, gesturing to the three. "You'd think they were casual acquaintances the way they act."
"Well, neither Sky nor Techna are really the grudging types," Brandon remarked, before taking a sip from a juice he had made. "They know it can't last, but they see no reason to let that ruin the moment."

Stella sighed. "It's, like, a shame. You could almost forget they're the enemy the way things are going."
"They are the enemy, true. But I doubt they consider themselves the bad guys," Brandon continued. "They probably really do think they are doing what is best for Earth."

"And what do you think?" Musa asked, almost as a challenge.

"Me. I think the citizens of Earth have a right to choose and that the Black Circle is hurting their ability to do so," the squire said. "But I do agree with them that magic is dangerous. I just disagree how they handle it." he shrugged. "Still, they're people. People do what they do because they think it is right. Nobody does something because it's evil."

"What about Darkar?" Stella asked.
"Darkar was a barely sentient being made out of raw magic who constructed its personality out of fragments of its host's," Brandon replied. "I wouldn't call Darkar a representation of your ordinary person's view on morality."
Everyone paused as something on Ogron beeped. He took a deep breath and pulled a pager out of his pocket. "Well then, it seems you have managed to eat up all the time we had."
"But I am only reaching the fourth part of the..." Aisha started, before the redhead cut her off with a dry: "I am painfully aware of that fact, yes. But we are busy people. I will send you all a message soon so we can continue this meeting. And if you want us to release your friend anytime soon, I'd suggest you abbreviate that monstrosity." He turned around and walked out, signalling the two others to follow him.

As they exited through the back door, Anagan asked. "Do you think they bought it?"
"I doubt it," Ogron replied. "We better hurry."
Inside, the others paused briefly.

"What was all that about?" Stella asked. "You'd think they'd be ready to be here all night."
"They were," Aisha remarked. "I think that was an alarm. That could mean they're off to prevent the others from making off with Roxy."
"Then we better move," Sky remarked, as he got up.

Timmy ducked behind the building to give himself a moment to recover. Gantlos was severely outnumbered, but there were only so many things they could do to him, which evened the odds considerably. Already, Riven, Helia and Flora had gotten an considerable amount of bruises and wounds due to being thrown around. He himself had lost his glasses when he had dodged the container, which was somewhat annoying, but considering the possible damages, there was really nothing to complain about. He took a deep breath and paused, as he heard Gantlos strike out again with a concentrated shockwave. Then he popped out of cover again and threw a grenade he had pulled from his belt.

Gantlos noticed the sound of the object landing near him and turned to blow it away, only to be blinded as the flashbang went off. While he was somewhat protected from the sound, his vibration focused magic was less effective against light.

Seeing an opportunity, Bloom got out of her cover and prepared another lance of fire to strike the Stetson-wearing man. She barely noticed the blur to the side. Next thing she noticed was how the world was suddenly sideways, before she crashed against the asphalt, the hard substance rubbing her raw on her shoulder.

"You okay?" Anagan asked, as he suddenly appeared by Gantlos' side. "We got the alarm."
"Thanks," the blond responded, as he slowly regained his sight. "The others?"
"Are right here," Ogron announced, as he and Dumon entered the lot. "So, you all thought you could make a diversion. Fortunately, Gantlos here has much experience dealing with the likes of you. I'm disappointed you thought it would be that easy."

"Easy? I'll have you know writing a list like that took considerable effort," Aisha declared, as she and the others made their entrance from the other end.

Both groups paused, as members took the chance to back off towards their respective allies.

Ogron scanned the group. "You are out where you can't swim. The incident with the White Ring should have shown you as much. Hand it over before you get hurt."

There was a pause as the soldiers and fairies exchanged glances. Then as one, they drew their weapons.

"You want it? Come and take it," Sky stated.

It was as if the world itself held its breath.

And then, battle was joined.