Chapter 31: Fablehell
Sitting alone on the porch swing, Kendra allowed herself to gently sway back and forth. Looking up into the clear blue sky, Kendra could see the clouds drifting above her, resembling giant hills made of cotton. In spite of the current situation, the day was actually quite beautiful. Regrettably, there was too much commotion taking place for Kendra to appreciate it.
"Hey," said Bracken, as he approached the swing. "Mind if I take a seat?"
"Go ahead," said Kendra. Normally, she would've been more than delighted to hang out with Bracken. However, at this point, Kendra was simply too distraught to show any affection towards the unicorn.
"Kendra," said Bracken, as he sat down on the swing next to Kendra. "What's been going on... It's been hard for everybody."
"I know. But it's not just what's happened so far that has me worried. It's what could happen from this point on that I'm really concerned about. If what we've heard about that elixir is true, then we've already lost Seth. It's over. He's done for."
Bracken took a deep breath. "I understand. Seth means a lot to me, too. Shadow charmer or not, I always liked him."
"What are we supposed to do? Besides waiting."
"I don't have an answer for that," replied Bracken, placing his arm around Kendra's shoulder in an effort to comfort her. Kendra didn't know what it was, but the contact made by Bracken's arm felt exceptionally soothing, more-so than a normal human's arm ever could have done.
"Oh, Bracken. I'm still upset over what's happened. But, somehow you're still making me feel cozy."
"I'm sorry. Is that bad?"
"Well, kind of. I really shouldn't be trying to relax. We need to be ready for Murdred."
"I understand," said Bracken, opting to keep his arm around Kendra's shoulders.
Kendra then looked at the front lawn that lay before her. Underneath the sunny sky, she could see the leaves on the trees and bushes swaying softly in the wind, along with countless blades of grass. Coupled with Bracken's comforting arm, Kendra slowly started to lose track of what she had been so tense about in the first place.
Suddenly, Kendra could see waves of smoke rising up through the trees in the distance.
"Oh my gosh," said Bracken. "Is that a forest fire?"
"No," said Kendra, "it can't be."
Kendra watched as the trees and foliage that surrounded the smoke turned pitch black in color.
"It's Murdred!" shouted Bracken, as he stood up and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Everybody to the front of the house! Now!"
Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod flew up to where Kendra and Bracken were. Kendra then noticed that the darkness that had afflicted the trees was now spreading throughout the forest.
"Fairies!" exclaimed Bracken. "I wouldn't normally do this, but this is an emergency!"
Bracken bent over and planted a kiss on Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod. At that instant, each of the three fairies grew to human proportions.
"Wow," said Larissa, gazing at her surroundings. "We're enormous!"
"Are we... fairy angels?" asked Passion.
"Not exactly," replied Bracken, "this effect is only temporary, I'm afraid."
"I feel so... powerful," said Goldenrod.
"Right now, we need powerful," said the Fairy Queen, as she and the rest of the fairy angels all showed up in front of the house. By this point, the rest of the family had arrived as well.
"He's here!" exclaimed Warren, pointing towards the center of the spreading darkness.
Kendra looked at where Warren was pointing. Standing at the edge of the trees was Murdred, accompanied by Demoric, Helwic... and Seth.
"Seth!" shrieked Mrs. Sorenson. Her son did not respond to her shocked call at all.
Murdred laughed violently, walking up towards the house surrounded by his three allies. As they approached, the surrounding grass that they walked across turned black, just like the trees had before it.
"Keepers," said the Fairy Queen. "Assemble the Omega Star. Maybe it will work on Murdred in this world."
Wasting no time, the five keepers each connected the instruments together at their bases, forming them into the Omega Star, which the Fairy Queen then accepted from them.
"I wish that Murdred would leave us alone," said the Fairy Queen. The Omega Star did not respond in any way. "I wish that Seth would revert to normal."
"Mother," could you hurry this up, please?" exclaimed Bright, once Murdred and his crew were now only several yards away from the group.
"It's not working," said the Fairy Queen.
"Enough of this," said Kendra. "It's time to go fairyprime."
In a matter of seconds, Kendra watched as Bracken, Bright, Clover, Warren, Raxtus, Geminus, Brilla, Bravia, Brook, Tiara, Opal, Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod all transformed into glowing balls of light, which then shot into her body. Brimming with power, fairy wings sprouted out from Kendra's shoulder blades, while her hair became rainbow-colored.
"I'll stay back with the Omega Star," said the Fairy Queen, standing alongside the rest of Kendra's family on the porch.
"You reek of light energy," huffed Murdred, stopping no more than fifteen feet in front of where Kendra was standing.
Kendra could indeed feel the light energy that was flowing through her body. As she looked over at the unresponsive Seth, the feeling of despair that came from looking at him made her feel weak. Still, perhaps her energy was just what Kendra needed to overwhelm Murdred.
"Murdred," said Kendra, "I won't let you come any further. Now, return my brother to me and leave this place, or I will be forced to deal with you."
"I'd like to see you try," said Murdred, standing perfectly still, arms crossed.
"Kendra," said the Fairy Queen. "Be careful. In this state, your power may inflict harm upon your brother."
"If Seth is already doomed," said Kendra, "then this may be for the greater cause."
Kendra held her hands out in front of her and focused on directing all the energy within her into them. At this point, a large, vibrant rainbow shot out of her hands, beaming through the air towards Murdred. However, it did not make contact with the Demon God or his accomplices; instead it just stopped short of them, fading in midair.
"I detest rainbows," grumbled Murdred. "They are the embodiment of light and symbolize hope. And right now, with a shadow charmer by my side, there is no hope for any of you. I knew your power against me would be in vain, which is why I was generous enough to let you have the first strike."
"You can't win!" exclaimed Kendra. "I won't let you!"
Kendra then aimed another rainbow towards Murdred, but alas, just like the first one, it had no effect on him.
"It's time to end this charade," said Murdred, as he proceeded to close his eyes. He then opened his third, evil eye, and it proceeded to glow vibrantly.
Kendra watched in horror as the greenery surrounding the yard suddenly faded away, leaving a rugged, rocky terrain in its place. The sky suddenly turned from blue to red, while the white clouds turned to a smoky grey.
"What's happening?" exclaimed Mrs. Sorenson, as the world around her transformed into one that better resembled the Demon Domain.
"More!" blared Murdred, triggering his evil eye a second time. Looking back, Kendra watched as the house disappeared, only to be replaced by a wide, bland-looking spire jutting out of the ground. Additionally, crevasses began to form in various nearby spots, and geysers of lava came spurting out of them.
"Stop this!" exclaimed Kendra, attempting to stop Murdred with a third rainbow. Unlike the previous ones, this third rainbow didn't even get as far as the previous two.
"My power is growing!" laughed Murdred, as his evil eye glowed once more. Kendra looked back at her family, and watch as her parents, grandparents and Dale all transformed into grotesque monsters that didn't resemble their human bodies at all.
"No!" gasped Kendra, trying to discern which family member had become what as they ran off in different directions.
"Yes!" roared Murdred, as he fired a beam of white energy from his eye directly at Kendra. Upon impact, Kendra could feel herself downgrading from her fairyprime form. Everyone who had joined together to help Kendra become fairyprime was now back outside of her body, standing nearby.
"This can't be happening," said Bracken placing a hand to his forehead.
"The family!" gasped Warren, looking back at the other adults. "How come we're still ourselves?"
"Your fairy prowess shields you from Murdred's power," said Demoric. "But don't worry. Every minute, Murdred's power only increases. Before long, Murdred will overwhelm you, and you'll be just like the others. You'll never stop us."
"And it's all because of Seth that we're here," said Murdred, setting his monstrous hand down upon Seth's shoulder. "By forcing him to turn evil, our power has increased, and we've been able to invade this world. Thanks to Seth, this is all possible."
"No," said Kendra, as fear struck her body upon gazing over towards Murdred,."You can't do this! Seth! Fight Murdred! I know there's good in you!"
"Go on," said Murdred. "Just try to get Seth back. I'll even give you a free shot!"
Murdred then gestured for Kendra to walk towards him.
"Don't do it, Kendra!" exclaimed Bracken. "It's a trick!"
"Very well," said Murdred. "I'll send him over to you. Seth, go over to your sister."
"As you command, Lord Murdred," said Seth, now speaking in a monotonous voice.
Seth then walked over towards where Kendra and the others were all standing. As he got near, a feeling of weariness overwhelmed Kendra.
"Seth!" cried Kendra, as she squinted her eyes shut. "What are you doing? Don't let Murdred take control of you!"
"Murdred is my master, now," said Seth. "I am a demonic entity. Murdred is the Demon God. Therefore, it is my duty to obey him."
"Seth," said Warren. "Don't do this! You're family! Think about us! About things that make you happy!"
"I care not for such menial junk. I serve Murdred now."
"Enough!" cried Bracken, as he shot a beam of rainbow-colored energy from his hands towards Seth. However, just like the rainbows that Kendra had directed at Murdred, the beam dissipated before it could get near Seth.
"Return, Seth," said Murdred, prompting Seth to turn around and run back towards Murdred. "We're wasting time. Time to end this!"
"Time indeed," said Warren. "I've got an idea."
Kendra followed Warren back towards the large boulder where the house once stood. Standing there was the Fairy Queen,
"Give it up," said Murdred, attempting to blast Kendra and Warren with his eye beam, only for them to dodge it. "You're powerless against me."
"Your majesty," said Warren. "I understand that the Omega Star isn't granting your wishes. But, perhaps the individual instruments still work. Please, let me use the Accelerizer."
"Normally, I'd be against this," said the Fairy Queen, removing the blue instrument from the others that it was attached to. "But right now I'll do anything to save Fablehaven."
"Let's hope this works," said Warren, accepting the Accelerizer from the Fairy Queen. Kendra, place your hand on this."
As Kendra placed her hand upon the Accelerizer, it flashed brilliantly.
"I think it worked," said Warren, looking around at his surroundings. "We're moving super fast right now. Don't let go of the Accelerizer, or you'll slip back into normal time."
Kendra looked over at the Fairy Queen, who appeared to be as motionless as a mannequin. Looking onto the lawn before them, none of the fairies, in addition to Murdred or his allies, were moving at all. A magical shield that the fairies had erected around them was blocking one of Murdred's frozen eye beams.
"You did it," said Kendra. "But, how are we supposed to kill Murdred? He's immortal!"
"I don't know. But right now, we need to get Seth and the negafae as far away from him as possible. Without them, there's not a whole lot that Murdred actually can do."
Keeping one hand on the Accelerizer, Kendra and Warren walked directly past the squad of immobile fairies, and around the barrier that was blocking the white eye beam that was shooting out from Murdred's forehead.
This is going to be easy, thought Kendra, as she and Warren made their way towards Murdred, Seth and the negafae.
Once they got close to Murdred and the negafae, the sapphire within the Accelerizer started to flicker, only for it to fade completely. As it did, the flow of time suddenly returned to normal, as the world around Kendra and Warren began to move again.
"Where'd you come from?" roared Murdred. Standing only a few feet away from the two knights, the Demon God, his two negafae and Seth glared in their direction. The looks on each their faces from this proximity chilled Kendra to her bones.
"Get away from there!" cried Bracken, as a strange force hit Kendra from behind. Suddenly, she found herself and Warren being pulled backwards, away from Murdred, just as a beam that shot out of his eye would've otherwise hit them had they not moved.
"What was that?" asked Kendra, as she and Warren stopped moving once they reached the spot where the fairies had all gathered behind their shield.
"It was me," relied Bracken. "Looks like the enemies' darkness negated the power of the Accelerizer."
"Hurry!" gasped Opal, holding out the palms of her hands towards the barrier. "We can't hold this thing up much longer!"
"Give it up," said Murdred. "With every passing minute, I grow stronger, while you all simply get weaker."
"I'm afraid that Murdred has a point," said Brook. "I can feel the force of his darkness getting stronger from the other side of our barrier. See? It's already starting to crack."
Kendra looked up at the glowing barrier that was shielding the fairies from Murdred, and could see that several small cracks had indeed begun forming in various areas.
"You can't fix those?" asked Warren.
"We're trying," said Clover, "But there's nothing we can do. Not even the instruments of eternal power are doing anything."
"The Accelerizer didn't work," said Kendra. "What about the others?"
"They all consist of fairy qualities," said Brilla.
"And if the other instruments are the same way," said Warren, "we still won't be able to confront Murdred with any of them. We lost our speed advantage using the Accelerizer. If we try the Drakesoul, the transformation would presumably regress. The Essence of Immunity and Disapirit would also fail to work."
"What about the Sizeshifter?" asked Kendra. "It can make things bigger, without having to remain in contact with them."
"Yeah," said Bright. "Murdred's darkness can't cancel out something that's already been altered."
"We might as well try it," said Warren. "Raxtus, you're the most durable out of all of us. Would you mind it if we enlarged you so you could intimidate Murdred?"
"I'm up for it," replied the fairy dragon.
"Come on, then," said Kendra, as she ran back towards the house, carrying the Accelerizer. Raxtus and Warren followed close behind.
"It didn't work," said the Fairy Queen, accepting the Accelerizer back from Kendra.
"We'd like to try using the Sizeshifter," said Warren. "Since if we enlarge Raxtus with it, he won't need to remain in contact with the instrument."
"I hope your theory works," said the Fairy Queen, as she presented the orange Sizeshifter over to Kendra. "Please, be careful with this."
"Raxtus, stand over there," said Warren, pointing over to a nearby open section of the lawn. The fairy dragon ran over to it and remained on the spot.
"Okay, Kendra," said Warren, "make him big."
Kendra aimed the Sizeshifter at Raxtus. An orange beam of energy shot out of the instrument and hit Raxtus, prompting him to magically increase in size. Almost immediately, Raxtus had shot up to the point where he was roughly one-hundred feet tall while standing on his hind legs.
"Nice," said Raxtus, in a deep, booming voice. "Those fiends will pay for what they've done!"
Just then, Kendra watched as black bolts shot out of Demoric's hands and hit Raxtus on his chest, zapping him with a continuous flow of dark energy. Likewise, Helwic unleashed a steady stream of fire towards another spot on Raxtus' chest.
"Oww!" roared Raxtus, as he tried to block the electric and fire blasts from hurting him, but was unsuccessful in doing so.
"Raxtus!" cried Geminus.
"Oh no," said Opal. "Raxtus is too big for our shield! We can't protect them."
"Don't let them win, Raxtus!" exclaimed Kendra. "Fight it!"
"Their power..." moaned Raxtus, cowering in pain, "is too... powerful!"
"You're a huge dragon now!"
"But the negafae have grown stronger as well," said Bravia. "And this transformed landscape is only enriching their power."
"Help!" screamed Raxtus, trying his best to ward off Demoric and Helwic's attacks.
"Kendra," said Warren. "Please help Raxtus."
"Okay..." said Kendra sadly. She didn't want to give up already, but could tell that her friend was in danger. Holding the Sizeshifter the other way around, Kendra aimed the instrument at Raxtus, shrinking the fairy dragon back down to his proper size. Once he had become small enough, Raxtus' body had gone below the top of the barrier, and he was no longer being attacked by the two negafae.
"Raxtus," said Geminus. "Are you okay?"
Raxtus took in several heavy breaths. "They singed me," said Raxtus, rubbing his stomach with his claw.
"Let me help you," said Geminus, as she expelled a white mist onto Raxtus' stomach.
"That feels nice," said the male fairy dragon in a soothed voice.
"Oh no!" exclaimed Tiara. "The barrier is about to shatter!"
Kendra looked over at the barrier again, and could see that the cracks in it had grown significantly. Right now, the barrier resembled a giant sheet of cracked glass, which looked as though it was ready to shatter at any moment now.
"No," gasped Kendra. "Nothing we've tried has worked! We're... doomed."