[Author's Note: 2/9/16]: I can't believe how close to the end we finally are! I say we because if it wasn't for how many viewers I've gotten and congratulations on the story as well as being a part of the "Best Wizard101 Stories" community, I would never have finished this story! Thank you all for such an amazing ride, and this has been my favorite story I've written, and I'm sad to see it so close to the end. Yet, I'm really proud of it! And without further ado, the next chapter! (Yes, there will be more after this… probably two and an epilogue.)

Chapter Fourteen: The Letter

In my eyes, it felt like the world was set on fire.

After the battle, Ravenwood and The Commons were in ruins. In the midst of the battle, spells and creatures had destroyed what was once the place I called home.

Bartleby was dying. He had sustained so much damage from the fight that all of the Life students along with Moolinda had to take on the giant task of healing the ancient tree.

As for the rest of the students that were left, the first few days after the battle were devoted to putting the fallen to rest. A funeral pyre was made in the cave behind the Golem Tower, and most all of the students came.

At the funeral, Nicole and I had met up with Samantha, Cole, and Ryan again. We were all silent when we came face to face again after so long of being apart, but we hugged and knew we were all still there for each other.

I was in charge of the Death students. It wasn't the most admired task, but we had the job of cleaning up the monsters while the others fixed up the buildings. In order to make the cleanup go faster, it took a lot of reanimation and spells – that once made those same monsters attack the school – to help out. There were more than a few wary looks directed our way, but others were just glad they didn't have to do the job themselves.

What made it easier was Nicole. More often than not, on her breaks from helping out with the wreckage, she would come to where the Death students were keeping busy and bring us some lava lilies and snacks to cheer us up. On the breaks she wasn't with us, she was keeping up the spirits of the Life students that were struggling to help Bartleby.

When I had my breaks, I would go back to my mom to check on how she was doing. She had sustained some serious injuries, but Greyrose was taking good care of her.

Aside from all of that, students would occasionally come up to me and thank me for stopping the battle. While they knew that I was the reason it ended, they didn't understand that those same powers – that came from my father – were what created the problem in the first place. It left a gaping hole in my stomach where my happiness for the end of the fight should have been; all I could feel there was guilt eating me alive.

Weeks had passed at this point, and Cole and I were on break from helping out. Cole had become a major force during the fight, commanding students to really help keep things under control.

"So what have Sam and Ryan been up to?" I asked dismissively, taking a sip of my coffee.

Cole set his mug down and ran a hand through his hair. "To be honest, it's been hard to keep in touch with them after this whole mess went down. Samantha was my right-hand-man during the battle, and Ryan had helped the defenses protect the Headmaster's office. Aside from that, I haven't seen them all that much… except for Nicole, of course."

I scoffed and set my drink down. "That's Nicole for you. Taking care of everybody else first. She told me a bit about how they're doing, but it's hard to find them sometimes, even for her."

"I would imagine so," he replied. He looked off to the sky in thought. I stirred my coffee a bit, pretending not to notice and give him a minute to think. After a pause, he asked me, "So… what happened when you guys left?"

"I was afraid you'd ask that," I said, putting my chin in my hand.

Before I could say anything else on the matter, Cole quickly added, "Hey, if you don't want to-"

I dismissed him with a wave of my hand. "No… it's alright, man." I sighed and sat back in my chair. "A lot's happened… a lot's changed."

"I know," he replied. "To be honest with you, I probed the Headmaster a bit about where you guys were…. I knew we couldn't visit, but between Samantha, Ryan, and I, we were really worried. We'd known Nicole for a long time, and you've come to become a good friend," he added at the end. I looked up at him and he smirked slightly.

I paused before answering. "So then you know…." He raised an eyebrow at me, so I sighed and said, "What happened in MooShu…."

Cole's smirk slid clean off his face. He grimaced slightly and coughed. "I don't know the details, but the Headmaster told me Nicole rescued you alone."

I rolled my eyes and laughed darkly. Cole eyed me, and I just scoffed. "Trust me, I would've been better off dead."

Cole sighed and tightened his grip on his mug. "Malorn, you know that's ridiculous."

"Is it?" I snapped back. He blinked at me before I said quietly, "Sorry."

He held up a hand. "If you need to get something out man, do it," he said with a shrug.

I sighed, figuring that just complying would be better than an argument. "The Headmaster knows what happened. He spared you the details." When Cole was still eyeing me curiously, I continued. "Malistare," I said, spitting out the name, "controlled me. More than that though, he convinced me to let him in." Cole was staring at me wide-eyed. "I told you I would've been better off."

"No, no, that's not it," he said quickly. "I'm worried about you. Whatever he did to you… it must have been horrible to have gotten you to that point." I looked back at him again. "Look, you and I both know that you're not exactly the favorite teacher at this school. But everyone here knows that one thing is true, and it's that you're a good guy… you'd never let something happen to the other teachers or your students… especially not your students."

I swallowed and looked down, staring into the bottom of the empty mug. "You're right and wrong, I guess. Nicole tried to convince me that I was good too…. And I would do anything to protect my students…. But… I also did hurt them…. I hurt everyone to at least some extent when I ended the battle."

That much was true, and we both knew it. When I had unleashed the energy to stop the monsters, Nicole had felt it the worst because she was closest, but at least she was prepared for how it felt. She was used-to the draining feeling from it after she was kidnapped by Malistare's minions the first time.

As for the rest of the students fighting though, none of them were prepared. As if the Life students didn't already hate myself and my school enough, the Life students that weren't strong enough to help Bartleby were tasked with helping students damaged by the monsters… and my Death magic.

"Malorn, you saved them. It was either everyone gets a little beat up, or everyone dies."

I slammed my fist on the table. "What if my magic did kill some of them?! You know that a lot of kids were on the brink of death when that happened."

"And that's not your fault!" Cole yelled back. I clenched my eyes shut with my fists shaking. I couldn't look at him and could barely listen to what he was saying. "If you didn't do that, so many more people would have died. You know that," he said, sternly.

Finally I took a deep breath and sat back down, shakily. I put my face in my hands. I mumbled, "I'm sorry…. I just don't want to hurt anyone…. And I already have…."

I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw Cole giving me a sad but sincere smile. "If it wasn't for you, so many more people would have been hurt. You helped us win. We couldn't have done it without you."

I gave him back a small smile. "Thanks," I said quickly. It wasn't insincere, but I was still unsure of exactly what to feel.

"No problem, man," he said retracting his arm with a nod.

Just then, Nicole appeared in a burst of flames. She was panting and hit the ground on her hands and knees.

"Nicole!" we both shouted and ran to her side. I sat down next to her as we pulled her to her feet. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"A vision…" she mumbled through panting for air, "I had a vision…. I know where… I know where Malistare is hiding."

My eyes widened and Cole and I exchanged glances. I looked back to Nicole and my expression hardened. "Come on, let's get her to Ambrose."

Cole helped her hold onto me. "You two get to the Headmaster. I'll get Samantha and Ryan."

I nodded and we left in a burst of black ash and skulls.

A few minutes later, the others met us in the Headmaster's office. He pulled up his chair for Nicole.

"According to Nicole's explanation, it was a place flowing with lava and overrun with dragons," Ambrose explained briefly.

"Dragonspyre…" Ryan said.

"Precisely," he replied. He sighed as he took off his spectacles and wiped them on his cloak. He put them back on, and sighed. "I am entrusting the five of you with a special mission. You must travel to Dragonspyre together and find where Malistare is hiding. Once you do, you must report back to Ravenwood to receive further instruction. While the five of you are gone, we will be preparing for a full-scale invasion of Malistare's forces. Do I make myself clear, young Wizards?"

All of us turned to looked at each other if only for a brief moment, and then we nodded to him.

"Very well, very well…." He shook his head, and as he coughed, he suddenly felt much older than he had just those few weeks ago. I felt my chest tighten at the thought. "You will make preparations to go tonight."

"Yes, sir," Cole said for all of us.

Nicole looked up from her chair, eyes narrowed. She pushed herself up slowly from the chair with some effort as Samantha helped her to her feet. "We can have a meeting at my place. Let's go." And with that, she teleported away in a burst of flames.

The others followed suit one at a time: Samantha in a burst of snowflakes, Cole in leaves, and Ryan in flames as well, but I hesitated. I turned to Ambrose who was leaning over his desk with his face in one hand.

"Sir…?" I asked walking over.

He turned to look at me, slightly startled. "Sorry my boy, I hadn't realized you were still here…." He shook his thought and then asked, "Why haven't you followed your friends?"

"I… I'm scared." I admitted. He cocked an eyebrow at me with an obvious look of confusion. I continued, "I don't want anything to happen to any of them. Isn't this my fight?"

Then he put a hand on my shoulder. And I wouldn't forget the words he said to me then. "It's alright to ask for help from friends, Malorn. Sometimes… it's for the best."

I bit my lip but nodded anyway.

"Now, be on your way. They need you as much as you need them."

"Thank you, Headmaster." As I teleported away, I saw him smile… then grimace.

Back at Nicole's house, everyone was sitting around her table as she took out some parchment and set it down. She waved her wand over it and a map of the world of Dragonspyre appeared in front of everyone. As she spoke, I walked over and sat down across from where she was standing. "Alright. How many of us have actually been here?"

Cole, Ryan and Samantha all raised their hands. "We were sent there awhile back to do some scouting," Ryan explained. "We came across some spirits that were killed in the first Wizarding War…" he trailed off, eyeing me slightly. I nodded, understanding his hesitance. "Anyway, the place is crawling with his minions. After the summoning of the Dragon Titan, the world is mostly made up of Draconians, some deceased he raised from the dead…. But you have to be careful here because a lot of the place is in ruins and lava flows everywhere."

"I'm not the biggest fan," Sam piped up. "Luckily I have some extra damage to deal, but it's pretty hot there on top of it all."

"Anyone know a place we can set up a basecamp?" she asked.

Cole said, "There's a few places in the Dragonspyre School of Magic that's still intact. I think the School of Fire is still good."

Nicole scanned the map and drew a red circle around it with her wand, leaving a glowing marker on the spot. "Okay… where do we enter the world?"

"Here," Sam said, circling the Spiral Gate with her wand, leaving a glowing blue indicator.

"Where haven't you guys explored?"

"Here, here, and here," Cole said, circling the places called the Dragon's Roost, The Great Spyre, and The Crown of Fire. The areas were lit up with a glowing green marker.

Nicole scanned the map one last time before clearing her throat and turning to me. "Do you have any idea where he might be hiding?"

I looked down at the map and looked over each place circled in green. I stared at it for a few seconds before finally shaking my head.

"Okay, then it's settled. We'll visit each of these places one at a time. Depending on how long it takes us, we might be able to cover one per day. The first day, we'll enter at the Spiral Gate and set up base at the School of Fire," she said, tracing the spots with her wand, connecting the dots in orange, glowing lines. "Then we'll hit the Dragon's Roost, The Great Spyre, and then the Crown of Fire." She took a deep breath and withdrew her wand from the map. "Any questions?"

She scanned the table, and most everyone was shaking their heads but me. She stopped on me as I hung my head. She didn't let up though, and finally, I looked back up at her with pleading eyes. "I don't want you guys to do this."

Nicole sighed and shut her eyes. Cole took over from there. "Malorn, we've been through this. It's the Headmaster's orders, and-"

"What if he's wrong?!" I yelled suddenly. I stood up and slammed my fists on the table making Nicole tense and Sam yelp in surprise. "What if something goes wrong, and none of you are prepared for this?"

Now it was Ryan's turn to get loud. "Malorn, no offense, but Cole, Samantha, and I have been working our asses off to get this intel. Number one, we're not going to let you take this info and run off with it," he said, holding up a finger, "and number two, you need our help. You said yourself that you can't fight Malistare alone."

"But I don't want-"

"Any of us to get hurt," Cole said calmly. "We know."

"If you know, then why are you still insisting on coming?"

"Because we're not letting you do this," Nicole said sternly. She finally picked up her head and glared at me. "Alone, we get hurt. If our journey has proved one thing, it's that. We're going with you, and that's final." She put her hand on the center of the map and it rolled up instantly and then flew into her hand.

I sighed, knowing I had lost the fight. Sam looked to me and gave me a half-reassuring smile. I smirked back at her in an attempt to make peace with the group, but my stomach was still twisted into a knot by the end of it.

Later that night, we ate dinner together at the table, joking around about how none of us could really cook all that well, as we ate our burnt food. It was a good night overall, and the topic of what we had to do the following day hadn't come up since the meeting.

After dinner, we played fetch with Sir Chester and Kalohae in the yard outside of Nicole's house and watched the stars on a bench. A unicorn appeared a few times in the woods around her house, and we joked about it maybe actually looking out for us. Maybe Nicole's dad was watching out for us somehow.

When we all decided on what time to get up the following morning, we finally went to bed. Nicole and I curled up in her bed, and the others shared the couches in the living room.

Sometime during the night, I heard a tapping on the window of Nicole's room. Startled, I snapped my eyes open and looked around. I rubbed my eyes awake and saw claws on the window and a Draconian flapping its wings.

I was about to grab Nicole, but the Draconian put a claw to its mouth and dropped an envelope on the windowsill before flying off.

I rushed over to the window and threw open the glass only to watch the Draconian fly off and out of sight. I looked down at the envelope. It was sealed with a red wax stamp, and nothing was written on it. I picked it up and shut the window.

Looking over to Nicole, I saw that she was still asleep, and peeking over the balcony told me the others were still out too. I sat on the window seat and carefully broke the wax seal.

Inside was a letter and a small pouch filled with a black dusty-looking material. My eyes narrowed at it, but I set it aside and unfolded the letter.

"Malorn,

I know of your predicament. And I have a deal to make with you. I know what they mean to you, and I know that you would never put them in harm's way.

That being said, I may have a solution to your problem.

Instead of leaving with them tomorrow, you will do something yourself tonight. Take the potion I have made for you – and don't worry, it won't have any lasting effects – and blow a little portion of the powder onto each of your friends. The potion will keep them asleep until tomorrow afternoon, giving you enough time to leave and to travel.

From there, you will go to Dragonspyre. Your friends are smart, indeed. You will follow the path from the Dragonspyre Academy to the Dragon's Roost, then the Great Spyre and to the Crown of Fire. That is where I will be waiting for you.

Come alone and face your fate.

Your father."

I dropped the letter to the floor and put my face in my hands.

He was right, and I had fallen right into his trap. I was sure of it.

I clenched my eyes shut when I felt the tears well up in my eyes. I balled my hands into fists to keep from sobbing. When I stood, I shakily bent down to the letter, folded it into a small square and pocketed it. Then I looked behind me to the bag of black dust.

Biting my lip, I snatched it off the bench and carefully made my way downstairs. As predicted, Sam was curled up with Cole on one couch and Ryan was snoring away, sprawled out on the one opposite them. I sighed before I took out a handful of powder and blew some of it out onto Cole and Sam. Their forms didn't change much other than the drooping of their arms further and a twitch or two telling me they weren't waking up any time soon. I did the same to Ryan and his snoring just got slightly louder.

As I walked past Kalohae, I blew a bit of dust onto him to make sure he wouldn't wake up either. "I'm sorry, buddy," I whispered.

When I went back upstairs to Nicole, I hesitated. I knew I didn't trust Malistare, but the very last thing I could ever want was for him to hurt her or the others. So if this was what prevented a final showdown between him and her, then so be it.

I took out a smaller handful of powder and gently blew it over Nicole and Sir Chester. For a moment, I tensed; she turned over in her sleep to lay on her side, facing me. But she was sound asleep.

I breathed a shaky sigh of relief and walked over to her, bending down at the bedside. I didn't know if this could be the last time I would ever see her, so at first, I didn't know what to say or do. There was so much that I wanted for her and for us…. But I knew it was too late now. I knew that a happy ending was never in the cards for us.

I leaned over and kissed her on the forehead as a tear fell onto her face. I sucked in a breath of air to keep my voice steady, but it broke anyway when I said, "I love you…. I-… I'm sorry."

Then I stood up and turned away from her – the bag of powder in my hand – and I teleported away in a burst of skulls and black dust.