"Zach should be here soon," Adriane said, checking her watch.

The three girls and their new apprentices sat in a circle in the glade, waiting for their friends from Aldenmor to arrive. The atmosphere was tense from the incident at lunch that day. Sensing this, Ozzie had baled and decided to ask questions later, when the mages weren't so high strung.

"Good," Kara sighed, "But until then, we have a matter to discuss."

"I'm really sorry," Lindsay muttered and lowered her head.

"Look, I get that Molly can be a royal pain sometimes," Kara explained, "But you can't go off on people like that. You might have been kicked out of our school. Then where would you be? Plus, now she's all upset with me for try to convince her not to tell the office."

"I'm sorry," Lindsay said again.

"Did she go to the office?" Adriane asked.

"Luckily, I convinced her that it wouldn't make a difference," Kara reassured them all; "She decided it would just be even more embarrassing for her."

Lindsay sighed in relief. "I thought I was done for. And I really am sorry. I lost control."

Emily patted Lindsay on the shoulder. "Don't stress about it. It will blow over. But speaking of losing control, I didn't realize just how powerful you are until you lost it."

"Yeah," Adriane agreed, "I saw the tree move."

"She also burned holes in the table," Emily informed them, "I had to try and patch them up before anyone saw."

Gabby elbowed Lindsay and smiled. "You're pretty strong. I hope I'm as strong as you."

Lindsay grinned, reassured. "I hope so too. It's no fun to be strong all alone."

"The only thing I'm worried about is if Hunter saw the burns," Emily groaned, "He was sitting right next to them, but I'm still not sure what he saw."

"That kid makes me a bit edgy," Adriane admitted, "He seems sort of suspicious."

Kara laughed. "Really? I thought he was cute."

Gabby shudders. "There's something weird about him. When be bumped into me, his hat came off, and I thought I saw cat ears on his head. Then, as soon as he started talking to us, I forgot about them until he left. And I forgot when I saw him again at lunch too."

Lindsay shrugged. "He hasn't really talked to me."

"Are you sure you saw cat ears?" Adriane asked, "That's really weird."

"Well, people were talking about him never taking his hat off and having an excuse out of gym," Emily pointed out, "I think we better keep an eye on him. He seems suspicious."

The subject was closed as the portal opened, and Zach stepped through with Lorren and Tasha in tow. Tasha held a small device that was going crazy in her hand, beeping and squealing. Lorren and Zach were carrying a bunch of different swords in bundles. They all smiled in greeting and the girls helped the boys with their load and laid the swords out in the grass.

Lorren took Kara's hand, kissed it, and hugged her. "Pleasure to see you again, Princess."

Kara blushed. "Nice to see you too, Lorren."

Lindsay and Gabby circled the goblins and studied them. Tasha and Lorren shifted uncomfortably under their speculation. Lindsay poked Lorren's arm as if to see if it was real.

"What?" Tasha asked, confused.

Lindsay tilted her head and tapped her chin, thinking. "You aren't as green as I imagined you."

The older kids burst out laughing. Lorren leaned down and messed up Lindsay's hair. "Sorry to disappoint you," he chuckled, "You seem to know us. What is your name?"

Lindsay smirked. "Yeah, we know you. You're Lorren and that's Tasha. I'm Lindsay. I'm going to be a warrior like Adriane."

"Oh?" Lorren smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. "And who is this?" he asked, gesturing to Gabby.

Gabby beamed at him. "I'm Gabby. I'm going to be a healer!"

Lorren chuckled as Kara moaned next to him. "Do you see my dilemma?" she exclaimed, "I'm without a follower!"

"Zach told us," Tasha explained, "That's why I brought my Fairy Finder."

Everyone stared at her blankly.

"Do explain," Adriane said.

"Well, the name explains it." Tasha shrugged. "It finds fairies. Anyone of with fairy blood in them will make it go off. The meter on it shows how much of them is fairy."

"I'm still not seeing how this has to do with me not having an apprentice," Kara said.

Tasha sighed, "If they have fairy in them, it might mean they have some Blazing Star qualities."

"Oh," Kara perked up, "Then, let's try it."

Tasha started with Lindsay slowly scanning her from head to toe. Lindsay could hardly stay still under the speculation. The device beeped and the little meter on the screen filled up a little bit.

"What's it say?" Lindsay asked.

Tasha stared at it a bit and pushed a few more buttons. Finally, she said, "You're about ten percent fairy. Somewhere, you have a distant relative that was a fairy."

"Huh, that's cool." Lindsay smiled, pleased with this new find. "Now, try Gabby."

Tasha scanned Gabby, pushed a few more buttons, and said, "You're thirty percent. That's higher, but not quite Blazing Star material. Sorry, Kara, you're out of luck."

Kara moaned, "Dang, so close."

"Are you sure, though?" Emily asked, "Because I think it sort of explains how they bonded with a unicorn and a D-fly."

"Wow," Tasha exclaimed, "That would explain why. And those are some pretty strong bonds for such little kids."

"Well, let's get down to business," Zach said, "Each of you choose a sword."

"Cool!" Lindsay and Gabby squealed and dove for the pile of swords.

Lorren surveyed them in confusion. "I've never seen two little girls get so excited about swords."

The girls rummaged through sword after sword, swinging them to try each out. Lindsay pulled out the biggest one she could find and attempted to swing it, nearly taking out Zach's leg. He yelped and made her put it back, insisting she would never be able to use it if it was twice the size of her. She moaned and tried out a different one. Gabby was much more realistic with what she could use and found a long, double edged sword with a basket guard on it. She waved it around as a test and smirked, satisfied with the feel of it. Everyone waited on Lindsay, as she had difficulty choosing a sword.

"Start small," Lorren recommended.

Finally, Lindsay found two single edged swords, both nearly dagger-sized. They were slightly curved and had no guard. Holding one in each hand, she whirled around with them. Gabby backed away, not wanting to get hit by her twirling friend.

"These are cool," Lindsay giggled, finally staying still.

"Alright, but don't get too excited," Zach warned, "We need to get you guys geared up before you point that at anyone."

A few minutes later, the little girls were covered from head to toe in soft leather padding. Lorren and Zach geared up as well and grabbed their swords. The other three girls backed to the edge of the clearing to watch.

"First, let's see how you two do against each other," Lorren instructed, "And remember, no aiming for the head."

Lindsay attacked first, aiming for Gabby's legs. Angling her sword down, Gabby blocked her attack and flipped Lindsay's hand in the air. Gabby aimed a blow to Lindsay's side, taking advantage of her guard being down. Lindsay took the blow hard and hit the ground. Popping up right away, Lindsay came back ferociously. She aimed for Gabby's legs once again, but this time, when Gabby blocked, she used her speed and second sword to land a blow to Gabby's side. Gabby stumbled backwards but quickly regained her footing.

Gabby made her move, a well aimed blow to the legs. Lindsay fell to ground once again. This time, as she used her speed to aim a double blow to Gabby's shoulders and side, a shadow raced out of the bushes towards them.

Thunder, don't! Caramel exclaimed from the edge of the clearing.

Just as Lindsay was about to land the blow on Gabby's side, Thunder jumped in the way. He went down with a yelp, bleeding from his flank. The girls dropped their weapons and knelt down with him, crying frantically for Emily's help.

I'm sorry, Thunder whimpered, I was trying to help you win.

"Hush, Thunder," Lindsay commanded, "Emily can heal you. Can't you, Emily."

Now, everyone was huddled around the young mistwolf, trying to reassure him that he'd be alright. Emily inspected him, running her hands over the wound. She explained that the wound wasn't too deep and should be simple to heal.

"This is a perfect opportunity to teach you how to heal, Gabby," Emily said.

Gabby hesitated. "I'll watch you do it first."

"No, just put your hands under mine," Emily insisted, "I'll do for you what Phel did for me. I'll channel the magic through you."

"I guess," Gabby agreed.

Gabby put her hands over Thunder's cut, and Emily put her hands over Gabby's. Emily closed her eyes and looked for Thunder's heart beat. A few moments later, her expression shifted to confusion and she opened her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Lindsay asked anxiously.

"I can't lock onto his heart beat," Emily explained, "It's not there. I mean, I can feel it when I put my hand on his chest, but it's not there when I look for it with my magic."

"Can you find it, Gabby?" Lindsay demanded.

Gabby fidgeted uncomfortably under Lindsay's panicked pressure. "I'll try."

Gabby put her hands over Thunder's wound once again and closed her eyes. A minute later, she smiled and the others watched as the gash slowly closed up and disappeared. Thunder got up, shook himself off, and licked Gabby's face.

Thank you, thank you! Thunder yipped, I'll never get in the way again!

Emily gaped at Gabby. "I don't understand. His heart beat wasn't there. I was like I was imagining it until I was looking for it."

Gabby tilted her head. "I found it easily. It was really loud."

Emily shook her head in disbelief and put her hands back on Thunder. "Nothing! There's nothing there!"

"Are you sure, Emily?" Adriane asked anxiously, "You didn't just miss it?"

"No," Emily insisted, "No matter how hard I look, it isn't there. I feel it on my hand, but my magic can't find it. It's almost like the heartbeat is fake."

I'm definitely not fake, Thunder argued, poking Emily with his paw to demonstrate.

Emily vigorously shook her head, confused beyond reason. "I know that. Ugh, we need Tweek here."

"I saw him in the Garden," Zach reassured her, "He said he was coming back today."

"Well, until then, we should investigate by ourselves," Lorren decided, "We can't always turn to others for answers. Sometimes we have to look for our own answers."

Kara said, "What really has me confused is how none of them know where they are from."

"Yeah," Adriane agreed, "Storm didn't know where she was from either but she remembered things from before she met me."

Thunder shook his head. This first thing I remember is finding Gabby and Lindsay talking in the backyard. I didn't even know my name; Lindsay named me.

"Wait, you didn't know your name?" Emily gasped, "Were all of you like that?"

"None of them remembered their name," Gabby explained, "We named them."

Emily furrowed her eye brows, deep in thought. "I have an idea. Would you call Cooper, Lindsay?"

"Sure." Lindsay shrugged. "Cooper!"

Pop!

Cooper tackled Lindsay's head in a hug. Lelee!

Emily called Cooper over and put her hand on his stomach. Closing her eyes, she concentrated, attempting to find his heartbeat. She grumbled in frustration and let him go.

"Alright, it's as I thought," Emily sighed, "I can't find his heartbeat either. But he's a fairy creature, right? Tasha, would you scan him?"

"But it would come up one hundred percent," Tasha pointed out in confusion.

Emily nodded in agreement. "It should, but I want to see."

Tasha instructed Cooper to stay as still as possible and slowly passed the scanner in front of him. The little machine beeped, and Tasha pressed a few buttons to bring up the results. Gaping, Tasha showed the meter to Emily.

"He's only ten percent fairy," Tasha explained in astonishment, "I don't understand. Dragon-flies are pure fairy creatures."

Kara realized something. "Hey, wasn't Lindsay's percentage also ten?"

Tasha nodded.

Emily was still thinking. "Scan Thunder."

"But mistwolves aren't fairy creatures," Tasha objected.

"I know, but I have a weird feeling," Emily said.

Tasha scanned Thunder and fiddled with her contraption until the meter popped up on the screen. She shook her head in disbelief and scanned him again. Checking that the machine still worked, she scanned Kara and came up with the correct results.

"Well," Emily prompted.

"Thunder came up with ten percent fairy too," Tasha said.

Adriane gasped, "But mistwolves aren't fairy creatures. Are you sure that thing is working?"

"Yes!" Tasha defended her technology, "I tested it on Princess Kara to make sure!"

"So what does this mean?" Lorren asked.

"I don't know," Emily admitted, "But I think Thunder and Cooper might be part of Lindsay."

Kara groaned in frustration, "We aren't getting anywhere fast with this. We need Tweek."

"I could send Cooper to go get him," Lindsay offered.

I go get pile of twigs! Cooper chirped and popped away.

"I hope he knows what pile of twigs we are talking about," Zach said.

Adriane giggled, "I think he's been hanging out with Ozzie."

Pop!

He coming! Cooper announced proudly.

As Cooper said, the portal opened a moment later, and Tweek stumbled out. His quarts eyes surveyed the scene and he came over to inspect Cooper. Cooper buzzed around him with curiosity before settling on Lindsay's shoulder.

"Another one, Kara?" Tweek asked.

Kara shook her head. "No, he's Lindsay's."

"Oh my twig, I forgot about the new mages!" Tweek fretted, "I don't understand how the Fairimentals expect you to train young mages when you haven't even been trained yourselves!"

"You're as annoying as Ozzie says," Lindsay grumbled.

"Be polite," Gabby scolded her in a whisper, "He wasn't annoying in the books."

The older mages calmed Tweek down and explained the issue of the animals not having heartbeats and sharing the same percentage of fairy in them as Lindsay. Tweek instructed them to scan Gabby's two bondeds, and they came up with the same percentage as Gabby. The animals explained once again that they had no memory before meeting Gabby and Lindsay. Tweek pulled out his newly updated HORARFF and scanned through it.

"Ah, here we go," Tweek said, "There's been a new kind of magic released on Earth due to the reweaving of the web."

"Well, what is it?" Emily demanded.

"Technically, it has existed on Earth for ages, but it's become even stronger now," Tweek explained, "They call it Imagination."

Lindsay giggled, "You sound like one of those posters in the classroom."

"Yeah," Gabby agreed, "There's one in my classroom just like that. It says: 'Imagination is magic!'"

"No," Tweek grumbled, "This is real magic, not just creativity. And you two use it yourselves."

Lindsay and Gabby exchanged glances. "What do you mean?" Gabby asked.

"From the sound of it, your bonded animals were created by your imaginations," Tweek elaborated, "So, they are extensions of yourselves. There isn't much information about it here, but the Fairimentals believe that the animals were originally just figments of your imaginations."

I'm not a fake! Thunder grumbled.

Carmel nodded in agreement. But we aren't exactly like Gabby. In fact, we are pretty different.

Yeah, and everyone can see us, Mystic added.

"I said originally," Tweak continued, "Overtime, you developed your own personalities and magic."

"So why can't I heal them?" Emily asked, "Because they aren't technically real?"

"I suppose because you don't use that magic," Tweek mused, "Perhaps, only those who have strong imaginary magic can bond with and heal them."

Lindsay nudged Gabby. "Did you hear that? We're special!"

The older mages laughed at her proclamation, and the apprentices beamed.

Zach messed up their hair. "Oh, you're special alright," he chuckled.

What was that? You want to review? Good.