Chapter 18: Let it Grow
The first thing they had done after getting to the boat was having Nabu seal the white ring up again, now that there was once again legitimate reason to fear how it could be used against them. Then they had gone home, following pretty much the exact same route they had used to get to Ireland in the first place.
It was mostly a silent journey. There were awkward attempts at small talk, but for the most part, the group was quiet unless necessary, all of them slowly contemplating the situation.
Finally, as they sat in the back end of a mostly empty airplane heading for America, Roxy spoke up and addressed the elephant in the room. "We were stupid, weren't we?"
The uncomfortable silence that hung in the air was thick enough that it could have been cut with a knife.
"We were deceived, that much is true," Flora finally stated. "But I do believe it could have been worse."
"Really? Worse than unleashing an army of megalomaniacal fairies on an unsuspecting populace?" Riven asked, a hint of bitter anger under his voice. "I can't see how the fuck we could have done much worse."
"We could have let them have Roxy. We could have failed to notice what they were up to," the Limphean noble replied.
"Yeah. If you and Sky hadn't caught on to that..." Bloom shuddered. "Don't even want to imagine it. So thanks for that."
The magenta-haired soldier paused. "No problem," he mumbled. "It's what we do."
"But you wish you had figured out something was wrong earlier, don't you?" Musa softly asked.
An almost feral grumbling could be heard from Riven's throat. "I knew something was up," he finally said. "Nothing about this made sense. We were fucking fumbling around in the dark and instead of asking the important questions, we just jumped in with both legs."
"We had our reasons and we acted upon them. We made a mistake," Brandon said firmly. "We can't change that. No use beating ourselves up over it."
"Yeah, gotta agree with Prince. Rather than crying over a fuck-up, we should act," Techna insisted. "I say we contact the realms. I bet this little revelation will get their asses in gear."
"And cause some revision of our history books," Stella commented. "Boy, like, even Faragonda was in the dark in that regard."
"It's not so strange when you think about it," Timmy stated. "If their control was as absolute as they indicated, they could easily edit anything to fit their opinion."
"Right. So we get home, we contact everyone and then... What?" Musa asked.
"Isn't that ever the question," Brandon mumbled. "Most likely, they will send in groups to handle the White Circle. Get in contact with local governments, set up meetings. We'll probably be replaced with a more dedicated bodyguard team and finally be sent home."
"At least that would be nice," Mirta mumbled.
"What about the Black Circle then?" Roxy asked. "They are still out there, somewhere."
"I imagine the realms will take care of both circles once and for all," Sky said. "I mean, they might as well now that they are here."
"Will it really be that easy though?" Helia asked. "We go home, pick up the phone, the realms roll in, happy ending?"
"Doubt it," Brandon admitted. "Nothing is ever as simple as it looks on paper." His brows creased. "In fact, this could get really ugly. The White Circle isn't up to date technology wise, but I do not doubt they've got plenty of powerful magic. The Black Circle seems low on numbers, but they also seem good at staying down and striking precisely. Guerrilla warfare, if you will. Unless there's a complete surrender, we could still end up seeing years of warfare. And this is even presuming the nations of Earth will allow the realms to help. That's not guaranteed either."
Roxy groaned and buried her face in her hands. "Great. That's nice to know I contributed to that."
"You just tried to do what was right," Bloom inisted. "It's not your fault the White Circle is a... Well... You know..."
"A bunch of fucking psychos?" Techna suggested.
"I suppose that will do."
"You suppose? Seriously, did you hear that one chick? Does the criminal agree to the axe or something like that," the scarred girl paraphrased.
"They were all like that. Those, what were they, officers or something?" Sky said. "Each one nuttier than the last."
"Indeed. I think we might get a lot of trouble out of those," Nabu noted. "Each could easily be centuries old and they are probably very powerful."
"And each one is dead-set on restoring the old ways," Aisha agreed.
"Though it does seem weird," Sky continued. "That Queen Morgana. Did you guys notice how it was those commander fairies that did most of the talking and she just kinda nodded and agreed with them?"
"When you've got a weak leader, you can be sure it's the second in command that runs the show," Riven stated. "Or rather, second in commands."
"At least she convinced them to let us go," Mirta said. "That was nice of her. I seriously thought we'd have to fight them right then and there."
"We would have been mowed down had that been the case. No doubt about it," Musa said. "Not afraid to admit that."
"I suppose in that regard, we were lucky too," Bloom sighed. "Let's just go home. I'll call Faragonda as soon as we're there."
...
The train came to a halt with a prolonged whine, before letting the passengers out.
"Nice to see the repairs are coming along nicely," Sky mentioned.
"Yeah. That sucked," Roxy admitted, reminiscing for a moment. "So, back to the apartment?"
"Yeah. I mean, I get that you'd probably want to get back to your father as soon as possible," Bloom said. "But it's probably for the best if you..." A loud cracking sound interrupted them.
Everyone in the group turned their gaze to the station pavement. A small green plant had pushed its way up through it, widening a crack. With a grinding sound, it pushed up a little further.
"Flora," Brandon slowly began. "What's going on?"
"Give me a moment," the Limphean noble replied and paused to concentrate. Her eyed suddenly widened in shock. "Oh f..." Her assertion of displeasure at the current situation was interrupted, as several more plants exploded up through the pavement. As the group began to dodge the rapidly rising foliage, they could hear screams around them, as bushes, trees and roots began breaking up through walls and buildings. In the distance, they could hear the thunderous noise of plants punching up through the entire town, accompanied by the horrifying sound of traffic accidents and collapsing structures.
Above the unfolding pandemonium, plastered upon the skies like the worst advertisement in history, the image of the green clad fairy general appeared. "Peasants of Earth," she began. "I am Diana. Once one of your rulerr, I have been away for a long time. Far too long. You have covered the earth with this disgusting asphalt, polluted the air with your factories and fouled the water with your vehicles. In the absence of us, the White Circle, you have scarred the planet we safeguarded. But now, the planet will rise up and tear down your hollow hives of glass and metal, that you may learn your place."
"SHE'S TEARING THE FUCKING CITY APART!" Techna yelled, as the group ducked for cover for the collapsing station building. "I'M GONNA SNAP THAT BITCH IN HALF!"
"GET IN LINE!" Riven yelled back, a scowl on his face as he eyed the image of Diana. "WHO THE FUCK DOES SHE THINK SHE IS?!"
"Everyone, listen," Brandon ordered. "The White Circle has just assaulted the entire city. We need to act now. There's no way the police or fire department are ready to handle this. Any suggestions?"
"I can feel a centralised power guiding it all," Flora said. "I do not think it is Diana herself. Probably a commander under her handling things on the ground while she is somewhere else. It will probably halt the growth if they were taken care off." She touched one of the rapidly growing plants and focused. "The park," she said with certainty. "They must be at the park."
Bloom paused. "Look, I know this is selfish, but..."
"You wanna check on your parents, right?" Sky asked. The redhead nodded.
"Me too," Roxy said. "My father must be terrified."
"My parents' house is on the way. We can go together," the Dominian princess added.
"Let us split into two groups then," Brandon continued. "That way, we should both be reasonably safe. Girls, you check on the families. Help anyone you come across on the way. Civies need all the assist they can get. Meanwhile, we will head as quickly as we can for the park and try to take this commander out. Sounds good?"
"Sounds like a plan," Stella agreed. "Good luck out there, Brandon."
"Likewise. Stay safe," the team captain said, as the group split up.
...
The girls had hurried to Bloom's parents' home as quickly as they could without leaving civilians in danger. There were no efforts to disguise who they were or what they could do. There simply wasn't time or room for superhero antics and Bloom just begged they could handle the fallout of openly displaying magical powers, such as cutting a car open with fire and laser, or reshaping a plant to support an unstable building.
Finally, they made it to the street on which Mike and Vanessa lived.
"This is horrible," Mirta muttered, eyeing several of the houses that had been pierced and gored by the sudden onslaught of plants. "Hope everyone is okay."
"There is unfortunately only so much we can do right now," Flora said, as they approached the house. "We can only hope that the city's own can help alleviate as much as possible while we do what we can."
Bloom swallowed nervously as she eyed the house. It hadn't been outright torn apart like some other buildings, but creepers were growing along the side and digging into the bricks, cracking them in several places. A sudden tree had smashed a branch right through the window and into the room she had once called her own. It was sobering. Fearing the worst, she quickly knocked on the door.
It slowly swung open, just enough to allow Mike to peek out. "Bloom," he said relieved as he opened the door completely. "Thank God you're safe. We were worried."
"Likewise," Bloom said, as she embraced her father in a hug.
"I suggest you and you wife come with us," Flora said. "There are many others who need help and Roxy also wants to check on her father. So we cannot stay here."
"Yes, yes, that's probably for the best. We expected as much. We've even packed all the essentials," the blond said, pointing at a couple of suitcases with his thumb. "Fortunately, insurance should cover this, but still..."
"Bloom? Bloom," Vanessa said, as she rushed out and embraced her daughter. "I'm so glad to see you're safe."
Mike took a moment to scan the skyline. "The entire city?" he asked.
"Yep. It's like this everywhere," Musa said. "It's the White Circle. Bunch of assholes is what they are."
"It gets worse. We managed to get the radio on," Vanessa explained. "More or less the entire west coast is under assault. All larger cities have been attacked. It's complete chaos everywhere."
"The entire west coast?" Bloom asked in shock. "That's insane."
"They really didn't waste any time with that whole waging war on the world business," Techna growled. "Didn't even go for the military, no, they got right on with making life miserable for the civvies."
"Speaking of that, I'll need to get down to the station. Hopefully the other guys can make it. We'll need all hands on deck to manage this," Mike said.
"Why haven't you already gone there?" Stella inquired. "I mean, like, it's just plants."
Mike blinked and realisation became visible on his face. "Oh. That probably means you didn't take care of that."
"Take care of what?" Aisha asked.
A loud thump resounded from behind them and the girls turned around. A massive spider, its main body the size of a van, had landed on the road, its black eyes shining with hunger.
"Oh. That's why you stayed inside," Bloom mumbled.
The oversized arachnid charged forward, trying to bum-rush the group. Flora pushed Mirta to one side before lunging for the other, as the spider tried to seize them with its mandibles. As she got out of its reach, she summoned her machete and swung it at the nearest leg. The magically sharpened blade dug into the armour-like exoskeleton, releasing a faint trickle of bluish fluids.
The spider jerked its leg back, just as Bloom and Stella opened fire on it, in the former's case quite literally.
The enraged arachnid charged forward with a sudden burst of speed, knocking the redhead over and attempting to bite into her. The Dominian princess managed to grab the piercing tips of the spider's poisonous fangs, trying to push them away from her flesh as the spider's remorseless and hungry gaze bore into her.
With a movement of her hands, Aisha used a pool of water to launc Techna into the air. The scarred girl landed on top of the spider's head, drew her pistol and pressed against the predator, before firing several times in quick succession. The massive arachnid shivered, before collapsing, the bullets having torn directly through its brain.
Pale as a sheet, Bloom pulled away from the spider's twitching corpse. "Where... Where the Hell did that come from?" she gasped.
"We have no idea. We actually tried to get out earlier, but went back inside after seeing that barrelling down the street," Mike replied. "Figured you'd have to take it out before getting to us. Guess not."
"This is even worse than I thought," Flora said. "I have no reason to believe that was the only one of its kind now stalking this city. The citizens must be in even greater danger than we initially would have guessed."
"Then I am needed at my department now more than ever," Mike said. He kissed his wife goodbye, tussled his daughter's hair and ran off.
Vanessa and Bloom followed his vanishing form with their eyes, before turning around to get on their way.
...
Helia had to stop. He just had to. As he gazed across the skyline, it was as if the reality of the situation just hit him. As if the true scope of the attack hit an on-switch in his brain. He had to stop and take a deep breath, as the realization of the damage, the harm, the sheer amount of death that surrounded them hit him full force. He felt a hand on his shoulder.
"You okay?" Nabu asked concerned.
"No," the painter admitted. "No, I am not okay. It's all... It's all so horrible. We constantly stop up to give a hand, yet how many are we actually saving?"
"More than if we did nothing," Brandon said. "And we will save even more once we stop the leader of the attack. And that's why we have to keep moving."
Helia paused. "You're right, of course."
The group started moving again, setting course for the park.
In the distance, dust exploded into the air and a deep rumble rung across the city as an office building finally gave up the fight and collapsed into rubble. Sirens from police, ambulances and firefighter trucks howled across the neighbourhood, as emergency services were pressed to the breaking point. Chaos reigned almost without opposition.
"Damn it," Riven grumbled. "Damn it all. I'm gonna rip Diana's throat open if I ever get my hands on her."
"I suspect there are many who will share that sentiment," Timmy admitted. "The realms will have to react to this. An all-out total war against a civilian populace breaks so many rules established by the realms. The Roccalucian Order could actually invade without waiting for authorisation based on these events."
"Then we better get a message out as soon as we're done here," Brandon stated, as they neared the park. "For now, let's work on mitigating this disaster."
They entered the park, the once nicely kept lawns and flower beds having been turned into tangled groves of wild plants. It looked more like a jungle than a place people would go to have a picnic.
In a glade in the middle of the verdant area stood a man. He wore a green uniform, which looked much like Diana's, if less decorated. His dark hair was tied in a knot and much like his superior, his skin was darkened from many days spent outside. He opened his eyes and turned around, as he sensed the group approaching, his gaze instantly fixed on Nabu. "I was warned that we risked interlopers like yourself showing up."
"Well, I'd hate to disappoint my audience," the bird mage replied with a jovial grin. "Now, would you kindly stop engaging in this atrocity? It seems to bother the good people of this city."
"Atrocity? Look around you," the man said, gesturing to the city. "This entire place is an atrocity. The wild nature buried under garbage and rusting metal, the earth torn open to make room for noisy machines and what is left has been divided up into small, controlled squares so the people won't be offended by the natural world. That is a true atrocity."
"Look, I'm not saying they couldn't have done a better job. Maybe some more trees would have helped," Nabu said with a shrug. "But they've also got a national park not far from here. Now there's some wild nature. So it's not like they do nothing to preserve it. How about instead of going crazy like this, we could teach people about the wonders of nature? Far less blood on our hands that way."
The commander seemed to pause, before his face hardened. "No, these people had their chance. I will not let you get in the way of the White Circle." He stomped his foot and the earth shook.
A massive hand formed from vines and leaves shot out of the crust, dragging a hulking body up. Wood and roots formed into a roughly humanoid shape, its head a circle of fanged petals surrounding a dark hole into its hollow body. Dust and pebbles exploded into the air, as two more of these arboreal giants dragged themselves up.
"Right. Giant plant monsters. I bet they're completely natural too," Riven sarcastically commented.
"These dendroids are nature's rage given form," the commander said. "They'll easily deal with rabble like you." He seemed to go back to focusing on the magic assaulting the city, as the three botanical titans advanced.
Timmy immediately called upon his rifle, raised it and fired, the bullet tearing straight through the torso of the foremost dendroid, barely causing it to slow its stride.
"Alright, anyone got any ideas?" Sky asked, as the group pulled back from the advancing monsters.
"They're plants. Probably no organs or anything like that," Brandon said, as he called forth his two-handed sword. "We'll just have to cut them down to size."
"Wish I brought a rocket launcher for this," Timmy commented, as the others advanced. "Heck, I'd settle for a grenade launcher."
The first dendroid brought its hand down like a hammer, forcing Riven to twirl to the side. As he did, he called forth his scimitar, using the momentum to slice up the plant monster's arm, clear liquid bursting from the parted vines.
Another of the dendroids assaulted Sky, swinging its massive hands back and forth trying to smash the blond prince. Sky for his part kept skipping backwards, trying to stay out of reach. The plant had little to no proper intelligence, seemingly driven by pure rage. And that was something he could use.
As the plant advanced forward, it also stepped away from the two others, leaving itself open in its single-minded focus on the Eraklian prince. Suddenly, a large blade cleaved through its leg, severing the limb. The plant monster stumbled forward and fell, giving Brandon further opportunity to attack, rushing atop the botanical monster to start hacking apart its body. The green giant tried to push itself up, but Sky advanced, his blade slicing into its limbs, preventing it from getting up. The monster could do nothing but writhe as it was chopped apart.
Not far from them, Timmy ducked behind a tree to avoid a charging dendroid. It smashed into the plant, snapping branches and sending down a shower of leaves. Seeing that it was momentarily stunned from the impact, Timmy dashed out of cover, throwing a grenade at the hulk as he passed by. The plant monster turned to face him, but the explosive went off in front of it, a cloud of shrapnel tearing into its green flesh, forcing it to stumble back. It took a moment to orient itself, before charging after the running sharpshooter.
A tangle of wires interrupted its stride, sending it crashing to the ground. Timmy halted his retreat and turned. As the monster tried to get up, he sent his last grenade flying with an underhanded throw. The explosive sailed through the air and into the dark pit that served the monster as a mouth. A muted boom could be heard and the monster deflated, its insides having been thoroughly shredded..
Riven continued to dance around his opponent, sidestepping and ducking under its attacks, before retaliating with a swing of his scimitar. His continued counter-attacks had shredded the furious plant's arms, liquid running freely from the ruined limbs. By now, it was less hammering with them as much as it was throwing its entire body around in an effort to keep swinging, but Riven had especially trained to deal with such clumsy tactics. The monster couldn't lay a finger on him. Finally, its wounds became too much to bear and the monster collapsed on the ground.
"I believe I've picked up a rather poignant phrase that fits here," Nabu mused and laid a hand on the fallen monster. "Dust to dust, my green adversary." The plant shivered as it blackened and withered, before crumpling.
The magenta-haired warrior observed the ash. "You know, gotta admit, you can be quite scary."
"Many thanks," the bird mage replied, bowing theatrically. "Though I admit, this spell is unsuitable for combat. Takes too long to do more than passing damage, unless they just stand there and let me finish."
"Right. Speaking of finish," Riven continued and eyed the commander. "You go and talk with that asshole. He seems to think you're the leader. Probably 'cus you're a magi"
"Yes, he was rather fixated on me in particular. How did you notice?"
"I've become rather good at noticing when people think I'm not worthy of attention," Riven muttered.
"Ah, my condolences. If it helps, I've never felt you were wasting my attention."
"Hitting on me too now?" Riven asked annoyed, though the edges of his mouth had creased upwards. "Just go get his attention. I'll take him out."
"I so wish we could end these things peacefully," the dark-skinned noble sighed and walked towards to the White Circle commander, accompanied by Sky, Brandon, Helia and Timmy. "My good sir, we have defeated your goons. Care to pay attention to us again?"
"Really? I must say that surprises me," the commander said and opened his eyes again. "You and your followers must be more skilled than I presumed."
"It happens to the best of us," Nabu said with a shrug. "Now, how about we cease hostilities and talk about this? I mean, you say that mankind has spoiled nature, but there are just as many who fight to help and aid it. And this whole plant thing does not discriminate."
"Even if that is the case, their efforts have been wasted and they have failed, " the commander retorted. "That much is obvious from the world around us. It is in pain."
"You sure of that?" Nabu asked. "Because, as I said, national parks. Real nice wild places. You sure this isn't just about getting back in control?"
"This is for the planet," the commander insisted. "Your doubt does you no credit. You have been gifted with insight into the world and power to enforce your will. You are duty-bound to help the forces of nature, yet you instead defend these wallowing peasants."
"Ah, yes," Nabu sighed and scratched his neck. "Kinda a sore subject, I admit. Back home, there's a lot of attitudes like that. Not magi specifically, but nobles. You know, blue bloods. Thinks that gives them some special insight or right to rule. But there's something I've learned. Wisdom can come from all places. Strength can show up in the least expected ways. We can all contribute in some way, but not if a building has just collapsed on us. So please, stop this before we have to harm you. I genuinely prefer to go about these things peacefully."
"I respect your opinion, but peace cannot reign until these humans have been brought to heel," the commander insisted. "If you wish to stand in our way, then you must be trod underfoot."
"I see," Nabu said, sounding a bit disheartened. "Very well then."
The commander raised an eyebrow.
Then he heard a click just behind his head.
His brain just managed to register a loud bang before everything went dark.
Nabu sighed and Helia looked away in discomfort, as the commander's body collapsed. Riven had snuck up behind him and pressed a gun against the back of his head, taking the unprepared fairy out with a single shot.
"There. We're done here," Riven said. "Nabu, is the assault lessening?"
"Let me check," the dark-skinned mage muttered and touched the ground. "The spell is... Well, it isn't exactly disrupted, but it is no longer being actively directed. It's gone into a sort of passive state. But all that it had done remains. The plants and such will have to be removed either manually or with a large-scale ritual."
"Then there's still work to do," Brandon said, as the group turned around. "Come on. We gotta give a hand to everyone still in danger."
Suddenly, they heard a loud cracking sound behind them. They turned around.
Diana herself had appeared, having shot out of the ground much like one of the massive plants. She eyed the dead fairy with sadness in her eyes, before she turned her attention to the group, fury etched into her features. And around them, all the plants of the park started to writhe and twist, the entire area animated by her rage.
"Oh fiddlesticks," Helia mumbled, as the entire park began attacking them.
...
One suspicion they had held had quickly become frighteningly clear as the girls made their way towards Roxy's home. The White Circle had not just released a giant spider among the populace. While the city was far from overrun, the girls had already had to tussle with two giant ants and a very oversized beetle. It made Bloom concerned. How were people out there faring?
Suddenly, the sounds of a gunshot echoed through the air, along with yells.
"Sounds like someone else needs help," Flora commented.
"We should go check and, like, see if there's anything we can do," Stella added.
The rest of the girls nodded in silent agreement and hurried down the ruined road, the pavement splintering from the sudden growth of plants.
They turned around a corner, just in time to witness a giant centipede get its head engulfed in flames.
"THAT ONE'S ON THE HOUSE!" Jason yelled, as he prepared another cocktail. Not far from him, Darma was unsteadily holding a rifle. As the massive arthropod writhed around in blind agony, she fired, her entire upper body jerking back from the force. She stumbled and fell to the ground, as the centipede crumpled.
"Jason?" Bloom asked as she approached.
"Bloom?" the Suits leader asked.
"Bloom?" came another voice, and the group turned to see Mitzi and Macy make their way out from cover from behind a car.
"Mitzi?" Bloom said, sounding both surprised and relieved.
"Stella," Techna enthusiastically blurted out.
"What are you doing?" Musa asked, eyebrow raised.
"Well, I just thought we were yelling out names at random."
"Heh, good to see you haven't all lost your spirit," Darma stated approvingly.
"What are you all doing out here on the streets?" Vanessa asked.
"Trying to get off them again, mostly," Jason said. "Got a call from Mitzi, asking us to come over and pick her and her sister up. Thought the rocky roads were bad enough, but then these crazy bug monsters started showing up."
"Good thing one of the cocktails Jason can mix is the Molotov kind," the other Suits member commented. "Picked up this here from a collapsed building. Nobody was home. Figured stealing is okay during an emergency." She winced and rubbed her shoulder. "Plus, I'm paying for it pretty badly. Damn, this thing has a kick."
"Well, at least it worked," Aisha noted, eyeing the corpse of the massive centipede.
"It would. I think that's actually somebody's elephant gun she pilfered," Mitzi stated. "Anyway, I guess I should elaborate. Mom left yesterday, saying something had come up, that she had to go and we should lock the doors and stay inside. Because, you know, that didn't seem really suspicious or anything. So there we were, watching cartoons on the television when suddenly the entire back half of the house caves in because of all these plants growing up. And I can just hear how the entire city is falling apart, so I called Darma of course."
"The Dance Hall also got hit," Jason added. "One shot up in the middle of the dance floor. Gonna look real festive come Christmas time."
"Anyway, she was at the Dance Hall and said she and Jason would come by and pick us up. No car of course, since the roads have been pretty much ruined at this point and emergency services are using those that got through it all unscathed. So we pack some essentials, go out, and then one of those bug things showed up. We seek shelter, find the gun and Jason mixed up something to blow them up with. And here we are."
"So what's your story?" Jason asked. "How did you all get here?"
"Well, you know, city got attacked, so we went back to get my parents," Bloom began.
"Had to fight off a giant spider," Techna added. "A really big, mean one."
"How did you manage that?" Darma inquired.
The scarred girl held up her gun proudly. "Turns out, it was weak to being shot in the head."
"I believe you will find that most things have trouble surviving that," Flora commented.
"So now we're heading towards the coast, because we're going to pick up Roxy's father," Bloom continued. "And then... Did... Did we have a plan after that?"
"I think meet up with the boys was the plan," Stella suggested. "They're out helping people."
"That's real nice of them," the Suits lead stated approvingly. "How about we make the Dance Hall a temporary headquarter? It has weathered the whole plant thing real nice, we got some supplies stored up and plenty of space. You can call your friends up, have them meet us there and then we can, you know, coordinate and help people out."
"That is actually not a bad idea," Flora mused. "We would do a lot more good if we synergize our available resources."
"I still need to go check up on Dad first," Roxy insisted. "He must be out of his wits with everything going on."
"Sure. Go pick up your old man," Jason said. "He's welcome to come along too. Wish we could join y'all, but, well..."
"Gotta get the li'l one to safety," Darma finished.
"I'm not little," Mazy pouted.
"Heh. Sure, sounds like a plan," Musa agreed. "We get Roxy's father, then drop by."
"Mom, maybe you should go with them," Bloom suggested. "Might be safer."
"Perhaps, but I'm not letting you run around out here all alone," Vanessa insisted. "Don't worry, I'll manage. I'm not that old."
A serious of loud crashes, mixed in with the whine of metal and the cracking of glass, exploded behind the group. They slowly turned around. A car had been hurled close by them, having flipped several times in the process. Then they turned to see where it had come from.
A garbage truck sized beetle with massive mandibles was thundering down the street, intent on turning the group into the next ex-humans.
Techna and Darma reacted first, pointing and firing their respective weapons. But this time, Darma's shot went wide as she stumbled into a bush and Techna's bullet barely managed to pierce the thick frontal armour of the giant insect, before it was upon then. It swung its head around, sweeping the group away with its mandibles, forcing them to evade or hurling them aside.
One blow caught Bloom in the chest and sent her flying into a car, crashing head first through the wind shield. As chunks of glass rained down on her, she felt her head ring like a gong, as she tried to make sense of everything. Her stomach felt like one big bruise and blood trickled from her scalp as she forced herself up.
And then she saw it.
Having scattered the group, the beetle had now picked a target. Mitzi stood terrified, pressed up against a wall, holding Mazy and, from the look of her darting eyes, she was desperately looking for a way around the oversized bug. The arthropod predator prepared to shear them in half.
And suddenly, Bloom jumped in between it and its targets.
The dragonflame blazing inside her, she poured as much power as she could into her hands. A lance of white-hot flame shot out, burning its way through the beetle's head before detonating inside it, incinerating its organs in an explosion of heat. The beetle collapsed, dead in an instant.
Bloom took a couple of seconds to breathe, her body shaking from the experience. And then her brain decided to remind her of a couple of facts of reality that was probably relevant. Slowly, Bloom turned her head to look at Mitzi and Macy.
Both were very much wide-eyed, with the former having surrendered her jaw to the forces of gravity.
"Ubhuh..." Bloom tried. "Ehm... Eh... Well... I've... Ahm... You... I ehm... See..."
"Hold on," Mitzi interrupted her, closing her eyes. "One moment. Just... Just give me a moment." She took a deep breath. "Okay... So, everyone just saw that, right? That was not just some sudden hallucination of mine or trick of the light?"
"If it was, it was a pretty epic one," Jason said, as he inspected the roasted beetle. "Because this thing is as dead as the dinosaurs."
"Right. Okay then." The bespectacled girl took another deep breath. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?"
The sudden reaction made Bloom jump back a couple of steps.
"God. I mean, she was right, wasn't she?" the black-haired girl continued, as she put Mazy down. "Selina, I mean. It was you. You and your friends, all the weird non-statements, your disappearance. She was right all along. You guys are those weird costumed people who've been running around all over town. You've been involved in all this weirdness from the start, haven't you?"
Bloom began twiddling her fingers, looking very uncomfortable. "I ehm... Eyahm... See now... What happened... I uhm... Well... Eheh... Uhm..."
"Use adult words, Bloom," Mitzi dryly ordered her.
"Spirits," Musa groaned, as she helped a rather disoriented Vanessa out of a pile of rubble. "Yes, she's been involved the entire time alright. Yes, it is us. No, it wasn't my idea and I actually thought it was kinda stupid."
"I have so many questions," Mitzi mumbled, as she pinched her nose. "Alright then, when exactly did you join the Powerpuff Girls, Bloom? Was that back when your house first exploded or even earlier?"
"Well, that was when it happened, yes," the redhead slowly tried. "It's a bit more complicated than that though."
"I bet," Darma chuckled.
"Alright. And why didn't you tell me you had officially become a power ranger?" Mitzi continued. "Because, you know, it seems like the kinda thing you'd mention to your friend. I mean, maybe that's just my opinion, but it seems worth mentioning."
Bloom winced, as if her friend's choice of words had cut her to the bone. "I... I really wanted to," the redhead insisted. "But I was trying to avoid getting swarmed by journalists again. And then there was the Black Circle. And it... It has all been a big mess, really."
The bespectacled girl blinked. "What?"
"So, what, you all got crazy powers like that?" Jason asked, looking at the others. "Because that's all kinds of awesome. Raises a lot of questions, but awesome."
"Yes, and we will be more than happy to elaborate on it all. But what we said before about Roxy's father still holds true," Flora said. "When we meet up at the dance hall, then we can answer all of your questions."
Mitzi mulled it over. "Alright, fair enough. Don't want to risk ending up as bug food. But you better be ready to cough up some answers about all of this, because I'm quite certain you must know what is going on."
"I do," Bloom sighed. "And you're probably going to want to punch me once all is said and done."
"What's new about that?"
"Oh, hardy hah."
...
Fortunately, finding Klaus had been easy after that. The bar owner had hidden in his house and been really worried when he had realised that Roxy had forgotten her phone in her room, preventing him from contacting her. They gave him the most cursory overview of the situation, figuring the rest could be explained when they arrived at the Gardenia Dance Hall. But as the group made their way towards that place, Aisha's phone began ringing.
"Excuse me a moment," she politely said, as she took the call. "Hello? Hey, Nabu. It's so good to... Wait what?" Her eyes widened. "She what? Oh no."
"What? What?" Stella asked.
"Yeah, don't leave us hanging," Techna added.
"It's Diana," Aisha relayed. "She's taken everyone but Nabu hostage."
"What?" Bloom exclaimed, growing pale.
"Oh my gosh," Mirta whispered.
Flora's mouth became a thin line. "Tell him we are going to the Gardenia Dance Hall," she said, with a notable hint of sharpness to her words. "Tell him we will need his help to figure out where Diana is."
...
After arriving at the Dance Hall, most of the girls immediately went to work. Flora began using her powers to inspect the place for any dangerous or undiscovered plant growths, Techna borrowed a computer to see if she could get a connection to Faragonda, Aisha and Mirta helped hand out supplies to people who needed it across the bar desk, and Bloom quickly found herself cornered by Mitzi, Darma, Jason and Andy.
"Right, I think we've been patient waiting for you all to show up," the bespectacled girl started. "I've taken the liberty of informing Andy that you can apparently shoot fire out of your hands, so that's covered. Now, what is going on?"
"Alright, alright," Bloom sighed. "Three years ago, Stella accidentally crash landed here in Gardenia while fleeing an ogre. I discovered my magic, again accidentally, when I intervened and tried to help her. Brought her back to my parents' house, but the ogre followed us and attacked us there."
Jason tapped his chin. "That would be when a flash mob of teens wrecked your house, if I remember right."
"Yeah. Except it wasn't a flash mob. It was me, Stella and my parents fending off an ogre until the guys showed up."
"And then you came up with a cover story because nobody would believe in an ogre?" Darma inquired.
"I actually had very little to do with that," the Dominion princess admitted. "See, afterwards Stella brought me and my parents to Alfea, where we had a chat with Faragonda. And she told us about the Black Circle, an ancient group of magi who had wiped out the White Circle ages ago. And that we risked them tracking us down if we weren't careful. Gathered from my parents that one of them showed up not long after they came back to investigate things, so that's where the cover story came into the picture."
"Let me guess. The reason you never told any of us anything was to protect us, right?" Mitzi asked. "Good grief, Bloom, did that really seem that necessary?"
"At the time, yeah. Now..." The redhead sighed. "Now I'm not sure. I honestly tried to do my best. Anyway, that's when I began my education as a fairy."
"You serious?" Jason asked, as Mitzi broke into a fit of laughter.
"Yes, it's a serious path a magi can take," the redhead explained. "There are others, primarily as witch or sorcerer. The distinction is how, okay, would you stop laughing already?"
"Sorry," Mitzi giggled. "I mean, you always were a bit fruity, but I didn't expect you to end up as a full-blown fairy. Did they give you a nice shimmering dress you could twirl around in while you dance among the flowers?"
"That's not how it works," Bloom pouted, as her friend began laughing again. "Anyway, I occasionally returned home, but... Well, every time something would happen."
"Oh," Darma said. "Wait, wasn't that one of the things Selina mentioned? You know, when she was making the rounds with her scrapbook thing?"
"It was," Mitzi said, sounding a bit winded. "It was why she suspected Bloom. Whenever she came home, weird stuff happened."
"She suspected me?" the redhead said, sounding shocked. She paused for a moment. "I guess it was kinda obvious, looking back at it. Anyway, every time one of those incidents happened, the Black Circle would show up not long after. And two years ago, we decided it was getting too dangerous. So that's why I didn't come back for over a year."
"Yeah, that sucked immensely," Jason agreed. "Wait... Two years ago?"
The redhead winced as the subject steered uncomfortably close to something she'd rather not talk about.
"The weird incident two years ago... That was..." It was obvious from the look in Mitzi's eyes that the gears of her mind was spinning. "Wait... That was that Halloween party. Hold on, you were involved with that?"
"I'm sorry," Bloom quickly said, folding her hands as if she was begging. "I didn't mean too and I really thought you were a ghost when that happened, because things like that do happen and I was a bit MIMI, and that made me overeager and I didn't think about it and I really..."
"Bloom, breathe, BREATHE!" Andy yelled, as the Dominion princess began turning a slight shade of blue.
"I only caught half of what you just said," Mitzi grumbled. "But I think that was the important half I got."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm really, really sorry," the redhead continued desperately, after getting some oxygen back in her lungs. "I've wanted to say that I'm sorry for so long, but the Black Circle really noticed something was wrong and I could barely contact anyone and..."
As Bloom took another break to breathe, Mitzi took the chance to get a word in edgewise. "Look, it's... Well, it's not okay, you did kinda blow me up and put a stop to the party. But I didn't get hurt, you're forgiven, just stop ranting. You're giving me a migraine." She paused as the redhead visibly calmed down. "Besides, if you genuinely thought I was a ghost, I must have done something right. You can throw around fireballs like you're frickin' Mario and I still managed to scare you."
"Scared me? No, you didn't," Bloom insisted. "I just wanted to protect everyone else."
"You were probably about to soil yourself, quivering in a bush."
"As if? You know, I should have realised something was up when the ghosts looked like every Japanese horror movie cliché."
"Do you two need a private room or something?" Darma asked. "You know, to get all of that worked out of the system." Her comment caused Andy to notably blush and start looking at the ceiling.
"No, no, I'm good," Bloom said, visibly calming down. "Anyway, I should probably get back to what I was saying. So, this school year, we find out that a magi has suddenly started coming into her own here on Earth. That would be Roxy over there. Which meant the Black Circle would most likely come after her. But the politicians all just argued with each other and did nothing. So me and my friends decided to come here and keep her safe. And we've been tussling with the Black Circle on and off again ever since."
"Thus the recent incidents?" Jason inquired.
"Got that right. The parking lot, industrial quarter, all of it. Very unfortunate." Bloom twirled a lock of her hair as she got closer to recent events. "We found out that the White Circle was still alive, but imprisoned. So figuring that they would help us, we went to set them free." She sighed. "Turns out, we had severely misunderstood everything. The White Circle was imprisoned for a good reason. They are the ones raising all this chaos in the city and who knows what else they're planning. But hopefully, we can get the realms to act and come help out."
"Goddammit Bloom. Should have known you'd be the one to unleash the Apocalypse," Mitzi mumbled. "Did you also read aloud from the Book of the Dead and keep the One Ring on hand?"
"No, but a dangerous ring was involved and we still have it," Bloom said. "I'm dead serious. No dangerous books so far, so we're good on that."
"Boy, Selina's going to love this," Darma commented. "Anyone seen her, by the way?"
"Nope. I'll admit I'm worried," Mitzi replied. "Just gotta hope for the best. Well, it sounds like you've had a couple of interesting years. Anything else we should know?"
"Well, turns out I'm the lost princessof an ancient kingdom I've helped restore, my, ehm, my boyfriend is the crown prince of a nation and I've helped save the world four times over by now," Bloom listed. "Oh, and I have the dragonflame, which is this crazy primordial source of extra power."
"That's quite the resume," Jason noted.
Mitzi rubbed her forehead. "Did you also become the youngest Starfleet officer, go off to bang Legolas and save Narnia while you were at it?"
"It's on my to-do list," Bloom replied. "Seriously though, it's been a lot less glamorous than I make it sound. I've spent Dragon knows how many hours in therapy. And that MIMI thing I mentioned? Genuine magic related mental disorder I've suffered from. And can still risk slipping into if I'm not careful."
"Yikes," Mitzi winced. "Sorry to hear that. Explains why you were so down occasionally when you returned home."
"Yo, Jason," Thomas called from the bar desk. "Got the radio working. News are coming in."
"Well, this should be good," the Suits leader mumbled, as the group walked over to listen.
"...has declared a state of emergency, in the face of the ongoing crisis," the broadcaster reported. "Most larger cities along the American west coast has been targeted by these attacks. Reports coming in from Canada and Mexico indicate that they have suffered similar attacks. Military forces are being mobilized to assist local emergency services and there are talks of calling in the national guard. A spokesman from the White House has stated that declaring martial law is not yet off the table, especially if this attack escalates. The loss of life and amount of damage is not yet measurable, but expected to be astronomical. Reporting live from..."
"Jesus," Bloom mumbled.
"That's totally bad," Stella commented. "Wonder if there's, like, anything similar going on anywhere else?"
"Wouldn't be surprised." The Dominian princess looked up and noticed Techna and Musa approaching. "How's it going?"
"Bad news," the scarred girl reported, shaking her head.
"As if we've been getting anything else recently," Musa commented.
"Oh no," the redhead sighed.
"See, I managed to set up everything. A challenge as usual, but nothing I can't handle. But, you see, it didn't work," Techna explained. "At all. So I did some checks, and, well, turns out that somebody, most likely the White Circle, has set up a planet wide forbiddance effect."
"A what now?" Roxy asked as she walked over, joining an equally confused looking Bloom.
"Forbiddance effect. Powerful ritual magic designed to block off the crossing of dimensions," Musa explained. "Basically, no one's coming in or going out until it's dispelled. And that's probably not going to be easy."
"But... But..." the Dominian redhead stammered. "How... How do we get help then?"
"Well... See, we don't," Techna bluntly replied. "Not unless they're prepared to warp in to space. Possible, of course, but the forbiddance effect can stretch quite far from the planet, depending on its strength. And of course they would still be required to know that we need help. Might take a while before they notice that all communication has disintegrated."
"Well, looks like it's up to us. Again," Nabu hoarsely said, as he limped over to them.
"Nabu," Aisha erupted, a mix of worry and relief in her voice as she jumped over the counter. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"Well, we took care of the fairy commanding the assault on the city. Trouble was, Diana figured out what we had done in a couple of seconds and showed up. Turned the entire park on us. Left me behind to warn you that if we interfere with her work any more, well, she'll make plant fertilizer out of all of them."
"Wait, Diana immediately noticed," Techna repeated. "That could mean... And if they are coordinating... Then..." Her eyes lit up, as an idea manifested. "'Scuse me a moment. HEY, FLOWERGIRL! MIND GIVING ME A HAND!"
"Wonder what that was all about," Thomas said.
"We'll know soon enough if I know her right," Musa commented.
Bloom took the opportunity to look around. As people had been gathered in the hall, it was looking less and less like a club and more like a refugee camp. Lots of volunteers were doing everything they could to keep things moving, with both police and medical personal showing up now and then to check on things, do interviews and whatnot. As she glanced around, she spotted her mother, helping a very tired and haggard looking firefighter towards the desk. A haggard firefighter Bloom quickly recognised as her dad. She hurried over to the two with a worried: "Is he okay?"
"Don't worry. Your father is as tough as they come," Vanessa replied. "Still human though."
"We've been all over town," Mike gasped, as his wife helped him into a chair. "Collapses and crashes sparked a couple of fires and all the tinder suddenly laying around sure ain't helping. Had to take a long trip to help Jonathan get his wife and kids to safety. Not easy getting around in a wheelchair right now."
"The chauffeur we met three years ago," Vanessa clarified.
"It's a complete warzone out there," Mike continued. "I'm heading out as soon as I've gotten hydrated. More of those bug monsters. We had to plough the truck into one to get it away from a family looking for shelter. At least there seems to be fewer of those around now."
Bloom let her glance fall to the floor. Nobody would blame them, but she still felt it was all their fault. All her fault.
She was shaken out of her dark thoughts when Techna rushed over with a: "Firetop. Come, we figured something out."
"What is it?" the redhead asked, as she was dragged away.
"I had Flora help me do some fancy stuff with the computer," the scarred girl replied, as she led her over to a corner where the rest of the girls had assembled. "See, all these plants growing up? They're connected. To Diana, specifically. She has commanders coordinating locally, but she is maintaining the ritual in a massive, magical network. That's how she immediately knew her commander was dead. Now, me and Flowergirl combined our magic to create a sort of meta magical virus, which we snuck into the spell. Turns out, the plants here are still connected. And that allowed us to map out the flow of the magic. Combining that with this here fancy world map, we can see where the ritual is being cast." She pointed excitedly at the screen, where green lines of energy snaked up along the western coast, all of them originating in...
"The Amazon jungle?" Bloom said surprised.
"Indeed. A quick glance through the internet reveals it to be a lush rainforest, geographically close to here. Relatively speaking," Flora explained. "Perfect place for someone like Diana to set up her base of operations."
"And that is most likely where the boys will be," Aisha agreed.
Roxy scanned the screen. "That's a lot of stuff going on. Wasn't Earth supposed to be low on magic?"
"Indeed. But it seems that the White Circle has put a lot of effort into stimulating the surrounding magic, increasing its yield if you will," Flora explained. "Probably helps they have plenty of veteran fairies on their side."
"Magic returns to Earth and first thing they do is ravage it," Musa growled.
"Then we know what we must do," Roxy said affirmatively. "We must go there. We have to stop the White Circle."
"Wait, wait, I don't think, uhm, that's a good idea," Klaus said, as he hurried over to the group. "Don't you think that's really dangerous? Your trip to Tir Nan Og already didn't go as planned. Maybe we should, ehn, should just let the government handle this."
"Look, I'm not trying to insult Brazil, but I doubt they're ready to handle this," the Earth fairy stated.
"Plus, like, I don't doubt it's a question of time before Diana shifts her target to somewhere else," Stella said. "She'll totally bust up another city soon."
"So we have to stop her before that," Musa affirmed.
"Well, okay, I guess you are all veterans of a sort," Klaus tried, though he still didn't sound like he favoured the idea. "But Roxy, you really shouldn't go along them."
"Sorry, Dad," the pink-haired girl sighed. "But I'm part of this. This is our responsibility to deal with."
Klaus looked decidedly uncomfortable with that statement.
"So, how do we get there?" Musa asked. "Because last I checked, Techna didn't have enough wingpacks for all of us to fly there."
"Walking or driving would take too long," Flora said. "Plus, I doubt customs would appreciate us barging through."
Techna tapped her finger on the keyboard, before turning to Stella and Flora. "Girls," she said with a smile. "I have a plan. And I need you two to help me."
