"Avi!" Safeyah exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I just told you! I'm rescuing you and messing stuff up!" Avi said the words too cheerfully to be even vaguely threatening. She shook out her dark, curly hair and grinned. "Which one of these ladies do I need to punch first?"

"Avi, it isn't what you think," Saf protested, but she couldn't help but laugh. "How did you find me here, anyway?"

Avi's cheeks puffed out indignantly. "Well, I thought about how you said you got some of your weird British cookies. And I mean. I really like those cookies. So I drove to your house as soon as I was done with my shift at the shop, and I saw you getting into a car with these weird women. 'Okay,' I thought, 'I'll go ask your dad for some cookies and wait for her.' But then he said you'd been arrested! You think I'd believe that? So I got right back in the car and followed you, cause like, I saw your kidnappers, and they were definitely not policepeople." Avi looked Lysis and Roxy up and down. "They don't look hard to beat up."

"We must have been a few miles away though… how'd you know what road to take?" asked Saf.

"It was obvious," Avi said with a frown.

The comment was a little odd to Roxy, but she let it pass. "We're not kidnapping her. We've just got some questions."

"That you couldn't ask her at home? Yeah, sure."

"They aren't lying," Saf defended. "Some weird stuff happened and…"

"Well then!" interrupted the dark-haired teen, "I'll come with you just to make sure everything is good, and then I'll drive you home."

Lysis frowned, and for a moment, Roxy thought she was going to argue. However, she sighed. "That sounds like a good idea, provided that Safeyah is willing to trust this young woman… who is…"

"Avalon Masterson, but call me Avalon and I'll hit you," said Avi cheerfully. "Just shorten it any old way. Avi's the popular one."

Saf nodded to Lysis. "I trust her. She's my best friend. She only wants to protect me."

"Very well. Follow me."

Leaving the two cars, the group of five walked towards the front of the ancient castle. The gates opened for them as easily as an automatic door might, and Safeyah wasn't sure if that was magic, technology, or an unseen guard.

The castle gates led into a large courtyard. Obviously waiting for them there was a woman in her twenties, with red hair pulled into a messy ponytail, a NASA tee shirt, and faded blue jeans. She held her phone out in a way that seemed to say "look at it!" "Roxy, Lysis," she greeted the two fairies. "You could have told me someone was going to call me under the impression that I was a police chief."

"We could have," said Roxy, "but it was funnier that we didn't. What did you tell Mr. Hafeij?"

"I tried not to get him too riled up, but some of the truth you two refuse to tell came out. Magic isn't a matter to mess with, you two know that. You shouldn't have omitted it from your explanation."

"So you told him that his daughter had a dangerous artifact, and that she suddenly had magic powers?"

Avi looked to Saf. Saf looked away and blushed, wondering how to explain. She concentrated intensely on the redheaded woman, hoping Avi wouldn't pry for a little bit.

The woman frowned. "No," she admitted. "I told him she was still in processing, and her bail would be rather high. He asked if she needed a lawyer, too, so I told him we were getting one for her and that nobody actually believed she did it and we're going to take good care of her and please do not suck me into these lies next time."

Roxy smirked, then grew solemn. "Bloom, you're a mess."

The redhead… Bloom… turned sour. "Most of my clothes were in Magix. I'm left with my high school wardrobe. It's either that, or I walk around in my Believix all day, and my wings knocked over a couple computers last time I did that."

"I actually like the look on you. I was more referring to the run on sentences and hint of desperation."

Bloom sighed. "It's been a long day."

"Anyway, to business," Lysis interrupted. "This is Saf Hafeij and her friend Avi Masterson. Saf previously possessed the Gem of Arcelia, which she claims to have inherited. She also exhibited powerful fairy magic. Avi, on the other hand, just… showed up."

Bloom nodded greeting to them. "Nice to meet you guys. I've got some tests set up in my lab for you, Saf; nothing too big, for now, just a couple little things. Follow me."

She walked them across the courtyard to a large tower. As she held the door open, they were faced with what seemed to be a metal detector. "Please be absolutely silent until I tell you otherwise and go through one at a time with a ten-second space between each person," Bloom requested.

Avi frowned. "Why?"

"You'll see," Bloom said with a smile. "Just don't say anything more for a little."

Roxy went through first. The machine beeped loudly. Bloom nodded approval.

Then went Lysis. As she entered, the machine beeped as well, but the noise was not quite as loud or as long.

"Saf? Would you like to go through?" Bloom asked.

Saf gulped and started through. It didn't seem to be a metal detector after all; nobody was frantically searching Lysis and Roxy, trying to find out what they were hiding. What the machine was, then, she didn't know.

As she passed through it, the machine let out a quiet, but definite, beeping sound. Roxy and Lysis looked at each other, and Bloom seemed thoughtful.

"My turn!" Avi decided, forgetting about being silent. She walked through the machine, and Saf heard another little "beep" as she did, though nobody else seemed to be paying much attention.

Only Bloom was left on the other side. She smiled grimly. "I suggest everyone cover their ears," she said.

Roxy and Lysis did so without hesitation. Saf followed, and Avi did so as well, if a bit halfheartedly.

Bloom walked through.

Even through her hands, Saf could hear the loudest, most obnoxious noise she'd heard in a long, long time. It took almost the full ten seconds to fade. As it became quieter, the group uncovered their ears miserably.

Avi glared. "How much metal do you have with you?"

Bloom led the group into her living room. Though they'd go to the lab later, for now it seemed too loud, too impersonal. Finding out about magic was easy for Bloom, who had always been open to the possibility, who had spent years studying mythology and legend. For Roxy, it had been significantly harder. Bloom didn't know Saf, but it seemed more likely that this would be a difficult conversation than an easy one.

She quickly made some tea and coffee and brought out some muffins she had baked the night before; bless Madame Greta from her old college job for teaching her how to bake. She distributed them among the girls, then sat in the last empty space on the couch, between Roxy and Lysis. "Okay, Saf," she said. "Tell me everything."

Saf thought, looking down at her tea. "I was born in Egypt and lived there for a while. After… things happened, my family moved to England. We lived there for seven years before coming here, to the US, last year."

"I think she meant about magic," Lysis said.

"No, Saf should have told me all that," Bloom said firmly. "Saf. Do you know for sure that you were born into your family?"

The girl nodded, still staring at her tea. "There are pictures of my mother holding me in the hospital. I know for sure I wasn't adopted, if that's what you're saying."

"Is it possible that her mother could be a fairy?" asked Roxy. "Maybe that's why she had the Gem of Arcelia, and why we never knew there was another fairy. The Wizards of the Black Circle didn't know about me until I was about sixteen, right? Because I'm only half fairy, technically. Isn't it my human side that hid me?"

Lysis frowned. "There's no such thing as a half-fairy; you either are magical, or you aren't. That said, it isn't too far off to believe that the Wizards could have found you as a child and assumed that since your father is human, you would be too, and they didn't rethink it until you activated your powers. Fairies marrying humans isn't exactly common, after all. There isn't a precedent for you, Princess, remember that. With that logic in mind, Saf could definitely be in the same situation."

"Saf?" Bloom asked gently. "Do you know if your mother is a fairy?"

"Was," Saf said quietly, her voice muffled. Her hands were on her face, obscuring it from the view of the others. "And no. She was not."

Avi jumped up, spilling coffee on Bloom's couch as she did. "Look! Now you've upset her!" She turned to her friend. "Don't listen to these jerks, they didn't know, and even if they could have been more sensitive, they're probably just trying to help."

Saf looked up. Her eyes were wet. "Yes, you're right," she agreed softly.

"What about the Gem?" Lysis asked, not bothering to make sure that Saf was ready to continue. "You said it was your mother's?"

"Yes."

"And how are you so sure that your mother wasn't a fairy?"

Saf opened her mouth, but Avi was the one who cut in. "You heard the girl. Her mama died. Do you think that her mama would've died if she was as magical as you assume?"

Bloom, Roxy, and Lysis looked at each other. Bloom sighed. "Yes. Magical beings can die. I've seen it happen on multiple occasions."

"In addition, the last fifty years or so have seen more magical deaths on Earth than any other period in time. We were being terrorized. Many of us were captured, but some refused to go alive. Those fairies paid the ultimate price for their freedom," Lysis said. She bowed her head in reverence.

There was silence for a moment. "Perhaps my mother was a fairy, then," Saf said. "She never told me."

Roxy smiled. "I went through the same thing, you know, Saf. My father told me my mother was dead. That isn't too uncommon, a dead human mother. When I discovered my powers, I learned that she was a fairy, and an alive fairy at that. She's here in this very castle right now."

"Don't get too hopeful your mother is alive, as well," Lysis warned. "You'll only let yourself down if you're wrong."

"I…I know," Saf said.

Bloom cleared her throat. "Anyway, we know that Saf has magic; there's no question about that, is there?"

Avi finally sat back down. "So magic like the fairies on television. Like you guys."

"Yes, exactly. That machine downstairs is a kind of detector. It can tell your general power level, which depends on training, natural strength, and how fully you believe. As you can tell, Lysis and Roxy are well trained and extremely gifted, respectively. Neither is supremely powerful, but there is no doubt there is some amazing magic at work between them. Saf, on the other hand, has power, but it's extremely weak right now. She'll need confidence and training to be like us."

"Does she even want to?" Avi blurted.

Saf paused. She had been about to mention that if that machine was a magic detector… the beeping she had heard when Avi went through must mean that Avi was a fairy as well. From the way Avi looked, though, with her eyebrows knit with determination and her fists clenched, and the words she yelled, it seemed that maybe she wouldn't want magic.

Saf refused to out her like that.

"What do you want, Saf?" Bloom said gently. "As much as we would love a new fairy around, as far as we can tell you are in no immediate danger. After a few more tests, you can go home."

Lysis frowned. "Queen Nebula would never allow that. A fairy she doesn't know about, living with humans? Unaware of how to control her magic? Unlikely."

Bloom stood, and Saf swore that she could see fire in the woman's eyes, dancing dangerously. "Nebula is my gracious host and a dear ally, but I won't see another girl's normal life destroyed. Roxy may love magic now, but she was scared when she was brought in. Her life was threatened. Saf's life is not. Should Nebula or you try to ruin that life when she does not give her permission, I will make clear my position not as her advisor, but as Crown Princess of Domino and the vessel of the Great Dragon, and I will remind the fairies of Tir Nan Og that I was among those who defeated them not even a few months ago. Is that clear, Lysis Ashman?"

Silence reigned in the room. After a moment, Lysis dropped her head. "Yes, Bloom Peters," she muttered through her teeth.

Saf didn't know any of the women well, but from what she knew of Lysis and what Bloom had just said, she could gather that by ignoring Bloom's apparent title of "crown princess," she was being incredibly and uncharacteristically disrespectful. Bloom, for her part, ignored that graciously. "Saf, I give my word that if you don't want to be involved, you probably won't have to after one thing is settled."

"What is that one thing?" Saf asked. Her voice sounded tiny and scared, even to her.

"I suppose it's time to tell you about the barrier…"

Saf somehow had managed to transform into a fairy when her father was in danger. She managed to transform back after Lysis threatened her with all manner of scary things. She was starting to believe that it required something very, very frightening before she could switch forms at all.

When she vocalized her thoughts, Roxy laughed. "Transforming isn't like the hiccups. You just have to believe."

Standing a few feet away, eyes narrowed, Avi said, "That is the sappiest sap to ever be said."

Saf laughed, but she closed her eyes and tried hard to visualize herself again transforming, her body enveloped in a flash of light, wings springing from her back.

Then, she felt a sharp pang near her shoulders and opened her eyes to find herself hovering off the ground. "Oh my," she said quietly.

She surveyed the area. Above her was seemingly unbroken sky, the sun setting quickly behind the line of trees and the large castle. Around her stood Avi, Epunine, and the fairies. Bloom and Roxy were smiling. Lysis seemed as serious as ever, though the pixie resting on her head broke the appearance a little. Avi's expression was unreadable, even for someone who knew her very well.

"What now?" asked Saf.

Bloom looked up at the sky, turning darker by the minute. "Now, we're going to fly up to the barrier and see if you can break it."

"With fighting magic?" said Saf. Bloom nodded. "But how do I do that?"

"More visualization," Roxy suggested. "Yell out what you want the spell to do. A couple words is fine, as long as you understand it. Then you aim and fire."

Saf nodded. "I can do that."

"Great!" Bloom enthused. "So let's go!"

The three remaining fairies vanished into their own lights, one teal, one green, one blue and pink. As they emerged, they were smiling. "Ready?" asked Bloom.

"Wait!" Avi stood a little away, frowning. "What about me? If you're all gonna just fly up to this barrier, how do I get there?"

"Humans stay on the ground," Lysis snapped, then she took off, her wings carrying her further and further upwards.

Bloom wore an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Avi. There's not really a way for you to get up there unless one of us carries you, and we'll all need our hands. It'll only take a minute, I promise." Then she followed Lysis.

"Do you want me to stay down here?" Saf asked her friend.

Avi shook her head. "The sooner you beat up that barrier, the sooner we'll be done. Just… go. I'll wait like a good little human."

She didn't sound happy, but neither girl could deny the logic was unsound. Safeyah began to flap her wings, letting them take her higher and higher. Roxy followed.

From the ground, Avalon Masterson couldn't see the fairies. Clouds blocked them, for the most part, and it was continuing to grow ever darker. She didn't like it. In fact, she would have done anything to avoid the dark, really.

She sat down in the grass and dug around in the pocket of her racing jacket, putting things on the ground as she pulled them out. First, a Swiss Army Knife… then a multitool disguised as a hairclip. After that was a pack of chewing gum, a miniature spiral notebook and pen… finally, she found her lighter.

Carefully, she flicked it on, feeling the heat and the light warm her face and heart. After a few seconds, she let the flame die down, wishing she had something to burn. She dug around in her other pocket for a candle… sometimes she carried those, but not today. With a sigh, she hugged herself, hoping the fairies wouldn't take too long.

Abruptly, it became even darker, as though a shadow was falling on her. "Well, well, well," said a low, good-humored voice.

Avi looked up into the face of a young man. His wild Mohawk hairstyle and the red tattoos all over his skin, just as black as hers, made him seem wild and unpredictable. Avi's logical impression was that she could like this guy; her heart, however, screamed at her that he was not to be trusted. "Who are you?" she said dumbly, not sure which part of herself to trust.

The man grinned, and threw back his head as he laughed a deep and genuine laugh. "That's hardly what I think you'd ask me first, and besides, I'd rather know who you are. How did a human make her way into Tir Nan Og?"

Avi frowned, wondering whether to tell this strange man the whirlwind story. What harm, though, could it have? "I followed my best friend here," she said.

"And where is she?"

She pointed upwards. "Trying to break this weird invisible barrier, because she's a Very Special Fairy or something."

"A Very Special Fairy?" the man repeated with a hint of a smile.

"Yeah. But enough about that. Really, who are you?"

"My name is Trudric Cross."

"Well, how did you make your way into Tir Nan Og? You don't seem to be a fairy either."

"Why not? Because I'm a man?" Avi nodded. "That's a little sexist, don't you think?"

Avi felt blood rise to her face. "Um, I mean…"

Trudric laughed. "You're correct. I'm a wizard."

"Like the kind that made this barrier?"

The laughter stopped. "You know a lot, don't you?"

Avi hadn't thought anything of Trudric's sudden appearance after the initial shock of seeing him. Suddenly, however, clues seemed to fall into place. He was vaguely menacing. A wizard. He was asking too many questions. None of that seemed to bode well. "In fact," she chanced, "I think… I know… that you're one of the wizards who did this! What do you want? Why are you here?"

Trudric smirked. Frustrated, Avi reached for her Swiss Army Knife, determined that she would at least have a way to defend herself should he try to attack her… even if she wasn't magical, and oh, how she wished she was, a pocket knife could still cut.

It was gone. In fact, everything was gone. Her beloved tools. The soft grass beneath her, the blue sky above her. In a black void, all she could see was herself and the wizard, though how she could even see that when it was so dark, she didn't know.

"I don't like it when girls try to fight," Trudric said in an amiable tone. "It isn't really very ladylike."

"I'm not very ladylike," Avi whispered as she shut her eyes. If it was going to be dark, it was going to be a dark she had chosen, not one forced upon her.

"What was that? I didn't hear," said the wizard.

Avi clenched her hands into fists. Whatever situation I find myself in, it will be one I choose. I refuse to let anyone force me into any situation I don't want to be in. Nobody else has power over me… there's no one else in this world that's in charge of Avi Masterson!

She opened her eyes, surprised to find out that it was a little brighter, as if her decisions were a magic spell and not just comfort words. "I said," she yelled, "I'm not very ladylike!"

Her left hand, still a fist, seemed to move towards the wizards on its own, with almost no thought from Avi herself. As it rushed towards Trudric's face, she was surprised to find that it was glowing silver.

She looked at Trudric right before her fist hit its mark.

The satisfied smirk on his face was the last thing she saw before being completely enveloped in a silver glow.

AN: Wow, an actual quick update. Who knew those existed?

Obviously, this chapter was mostly explanation about things and backstory and stuff, but I hoped I balanced it out with enough humor and action to still be fun.

Thanks for reading! :D