Chapter 9- Hunting

"This is the remains of one of Eilian's temples. It was built by some early inhabitants of the realm of Magix. Centuries ago, people actually believed she was a goddess and worshipped her because of her powers. Of course the pagan religion fell apart after only half a century." Tecna said, reading off the information on her PDA.

Flora carefully walked among the ruins of the temple. It was very similar to the design of the classic Grecian temples of Earth she'd studied for Mythological Magics at Alfea. The roof of the building had caved in many years ago, leaving the top open to the skies above. The pillars had fallen due to centuries of elemental wear and the marble floors were scuffed with dirt and grime. She could almost imagine people gathering here praying to the Eternal Fairy of Time. "And it's always been here on Magix? They never talked about it at Alfea. And it's so close." Flora walked over to some vines that had taken to reclaiming the land the marble temple stood on.

"I 'spose not. Remember how it's myth not reality?" Layla pointed out.

"They didn't even talk about it in the myth classes." Flora stated. "I took all those."

"The readings here match the readings at Palace Sparks! They're actually stronger here. We're getting somewhere!" Tecna said excitedly, looking up from her PDA at the rest of the group.

"I feel like we're those crazy guys on that TV show "Myth Hunters"." Riven grumbled. "Only fanatics search for mythological beings."

"You got any better ideas Riven? We'd love for you to share." Brandon said.

"Why can't there be mythological beings?" Roxy asked Riven. "On Earth there was no such thing as fairies, witches, dragons, pixies, leprechauns, elves, unicorns, and stuff like that. And now they're all real! Why can't your guys' myths be real too?"

"There's no such thing as unicorns, but Roxy's right Riven." Musa walked up to Riven. "Our myths might be real too, we just haven't come across the right evidence yet. And I like that show "Myth Hunters". Those two guys are hilarious!"

"And we have no right to say what's real and what's not to people. We don't know what they think and we especially don't know why they think it. These people chose to believe in this myth, probably because it gave them hope in those early times of Magix. They needed something greater than them to explain how things worked and why. Perhaps they are real. Perhaps they really did see Eilian." Flora looked at Riven. "They might have been fanatics Riven, but they had reason to be so."

Riven grunted and crossed his arms indignantly. "Fine. But what do we do now. We're here at a temple, so what? I don't see any evidence and Tecna's beeping computer isn't convincing me."

Flora ignored Riven's complaining and carefully cupped one of the leaves of the vines. She focused on the life force within the leaf and allowed her powers to flow as one with the force. She merged minds with the mind of the vine. 'Hello there beautiful vine. I'm Flora, the Guardian Fairy of Nature and I'd like to ask you a couple of questions alright?'

The life force shivered and Flora felt herself smile. 'Thank-you. Have you seen the mythological being Eilian?'

The plant's life force shivered again. 'So Eilian really does exist. And she was here. When did she come here?'

The force became warm and Flora frowned. 'She was here just last night? And she wasn't alone? Who was with her?'

The force instantly became cool. 'Her sister? She has a sister?'

Flora felt a hand on her shoulder. "Flora? What does the plant have to say?" Stella asked.

Flora pulled away from the life force of the plant and tenderly stroked the leaf. "Eilian exists. She was here just last night."

"Really?" Layla looked over the temple ruins. "Where is she now then?"

Flora sighed and shook her head. "I don't know. But she wasn't here alone last night. The vine told me someone was with her. Her sister." Flora turned to Tecna. "Does the world-wide web say anything about Eilian having a sister? Last night she was referred to by her companion as a sister."

"Well, myths report that Eilian was one of a few fairies gifted by the gods with powers over certain elements in order to keep the harmony of the universe. The fairies were known as Eternal Fairies after this because their powers were rumored to have come from divine entities. Only four fairies have ever been recorded, but none were said to have been related to one another. Perhaps her companion was one of them?" Tecna suggested.

"Whoah, whoah. These fairies are out to keep the universe in balance?" Musa looked confused. "Why would they attack Bloom then? Bloom's main reason in life these days is to keep the balance between good and evil."

Flora frowned. That didn't make any sense. "You're right. The myths state that they work to protect the harmony of the elements of the universe. They shouldn't be attacking Bloom then."

Riven crossed his arms. "Recall that we're referring to myths here. You said it yourself Flora. We don't know what these people are thinking or why they're thinking it. Maybe the people who wrote up the myths of the Eternal Fairies didn't know what they were talking about."

"Or…" Tecna closed her eyes tightly. "…maybe Bloom was causing disharmony in the universe. Perhaps they were taking care of the problem."

The group fell silent as the thought settled in. Bloom was powerful. She often swayed the balance of good and evil. Flora thought about all the times good has triumphed over evil because of Bloom. She remembered when Bloom had turned evil and how close the universe had come to total chaos. Bloom was powerful enough to disrupt the delicate balance between good and evil. She was more than likely powerful enough to cause disharmony between the elements.

"But…Bloom would never…" Sky clenched his fists. "She wouldn't! Don't they know that?"

Flora gave Sky a sad look. "They're doing what they think is right."

"Then they don't know what is right or what is wrong!" Stella shouted. Flora looked toward Stella. Stella had tears in her eyes as she spoke. "Bloom would never. Sky's right. And if these damn Eternal Fairies think that then they need a reality check! We need to find them and make them give Bloom back!"

"But they could be anywhere in the universe by now!" Helia said. "How will we track them down?"

"If I can hack into one of the systems of a satellite I can have my computer scan the universe for readings similar to the one's here and on Sparks. It appears as if everywhere Eilian goes, she leaves a kind of magic trail behind her. I can use this to track her down." Tecna's eyes glittered. "But I need a satellite first."

"You can hack into the Red Fountain satellite system. I used that to send out the signal I used to find you when you were trapped in the Omega Dimension." Timmy stated.

"Yes. That should work. The Red Fountain satellite is powerful enough." Tecna said quietly. Flora could see that her mind was already racing.

"Then it's settled. We're now hunting mythological creatures." Riven said. " At least let me be the better looking of the two guys on Myth Hunters."

"Our sisters have betrayed their vows."

Meira glanced at Kerrin. "I don't believe they'd do so without just cause."

Kerrin just tossed her curled raven hair back out of her face, an angry look glittering in her stormy violet eyes. "When the gods gave us our powers, Aetheria and Eilian both promised to keep the aspects safe. Now they're just pulling the aspects out of the fabric of space and the thread of time as though there will be no repercussions! We need to intervene, Meira!"

Meira just said nothing and stared into the vision before her. In the vision, she watched as Aetheria fled from the Space Tower, carrying the aspect away from its rightful place. Aetheria's golden blonde hair shone bright against the dim twilight of her sacred realm. Her blue eyes held a quiet uncertainty that few could ever read, including Meira herself. Meira always wondered why such a radiant beauty like Aetheria would take on the challenges of an Eternal Fairy. She always stood out in comparison with the others with her brighter looks. She was also the most delicate of the fairies as well as the youngest.

Meira then glanced at Kerrin. The Fairy of the Shadowy Darkness was quick to anger and easily the most violent when provoked. Kerrin always took her vows very seriously, and took offense when any of the others would step out of line. As Aetheria and Eilian were doing now.

Eilian was just as serious as Kerrin, but would do anything to get a job done, even if it meant breaking the rules. She had a strange intuition about her that often unnerved Kerrin, causing the two to clash. This intuition had earned her the right to care for the aspects of time.

Meira remembered when Kerrin and Eilian had first met. The two were made Eternal Fairies at the exact same time. Immediately, the two personalities clashed with one another. They never saw eye-to-eye, and this often caused the two to quarrel whenever the fairies had to work together to deal with a serious issue.

"Well? Are we going to stop them before they ruin the order of the universe?" Kerrin asked impatiently.

"We didn't see Eilian remove the time aspect." Meira said quietly.

"But we saw Aetheria take the space aspect and we know the two have met up. They could only be plotting against the gods." Kerrin said, trying to persuade Meira of Aetheria and Eilian's treachery.

But Meira wouldn't believe it. She knew her sisters well and they respected the gods too much to want to overthrow them. They didn't seek power. "We'll go to them, but not to apprehend them. Merely to talk. I want to understand why before we go blaming them for treachery they probably didn't commit."

Kerrin didn't become angry at this, and this surprised Meira. Instead she looked at Meira. "Perhaps you're right. But if they are working against us, we need to act. You can't protect them from the wrath of the gods Meira. That would be a terrible mistake on your part."

Meira didn't reply to this. She just stared at the vision of Aetheria and wondered quietly to herself why.

Author's note- And the other Eternal fairies have become involved. Baltor and Diaspro have caused quite a bit of trouble for Eilian and Bloom both. What do you think?