"And that's the last of it!" Terence announced proudly, handing the last of the baskets down to Tink who carefully set them into the mouse-drawn cart and wiped the excess Pixie dust from her hands. Each of the baskets was heavily filled with as much dust as could be fit, designated to go toward the festival and the fireworks-Clank and Bobble's specialty by this point.

"Thanks for doing this, Tink," the dust-keeper went on. "I know you're really busy but I'm glad you were able to come over and take these." He gestured to the basket. "I'm not sure I could have done it myself."

"No problem!" Tink replied, dropping the last container and wiping her brow, stepping back to admire her work. "It was a team effort! You did a big share of the work too!"

Terence hummed something as he carefully maneuvered his way to the ground beside her. "Hey, Tink?" he asked carefully. "Where are the guys? Weren't they supposed to be helping you with these?"

"Nah," Tink answered quickly, not meeting his gaze as she continued to stare pointedly at their creation. "I told 'em I had this one. Besides, I'm sure they're busy getting the fireworks launcher ready for the festival. You know those two love to mess around. Actually, I'd be surprised if the Nook is still in once piece upon my return."

I know how the boys are, Terence thought, trying to ward off the frown creeping onto his face. But I also know how stubborn you can be, Tink. And how you have an even harder time apologizing when you know you've been in the wrong. He knew she was trying to avoid them, Bobble most likely, and he knew why. But he wasn't there to judge her. That wasn't what a boyfriend was for. He was there to comfort her and occasionally give advice as needed.

"All right," he said slowly, setting down his gloves and taking a seat on an old tree stump. "Why don't we take a break for a bit? You've been working really hard and I have a fresh pitcher of lemonade straight from the baking-talents with me. Come, sit down and breathe for a minute."

"Okay, just a minute," Tink requested, already kneeling down to fiddle with something outside of Terence's line of sight. "I just have to get this piece here in just right and-"

"Tink." Sighing and realizing what she was trying to do, he moved on impulse, quickly taking her by the hand and drawing her attention away from the baskets. "Could you...could you stop for one second and look at me?"

"What is it, Terence?" Tink asked, not sharply, exactly, but definitely hovering on the edge of irritated. She blew another bunch of bangs from her eyes as she peered back at him, her mind clearly still on whatever imperfection she had found with the baskets.

"Tink, I..." Terence paused, trying to figure out how to voice what he was feeling in a way that wouldn't send her off the deep end like she was so prone to doing. "You know I care about you, don't you? That I want you to be safe no matter what?"

She blinked, actually halting her work at these words. "Yes...?" she said carefully. "Terence, what's wrong?"

He chuckled. "That's funny. That's actually what I was going to ask you."

She frowned, fluttering over to take a cautious seat next to him. "I don't think I understand."

"Listen," Terence went on before she could question his actions too much. "I don't want this to come across wrong, but...I've been noticing...well, not frustration exactly, but something. You've not been yourself and it's...well, I think we all know why."

She made a face. "If this is going where I think it's going, it's okay. You can spare me the pep talk because Fawn already gave it to me. In no uncertain terms, she made it quite clear that I've been acting a little out of sorts lately. And," she took a deep breath, focusing on her shoes and not the dust-talent creeping ever-so-closer, looking ready to hug her. "I'm sorry."

A grin spread across his face. Tink saw it immediately and groaned even as the blond cupped a hand to his ear, feigning deafness. "I'm sorry, I couldn't quite catch that. Could you repeat it?"

"I said...I'M SORRY!" Tink screamed into his face, sending him falling backwards over the end of the log, cackling. The tinker sat there for a moment, arms crossed in a huff as the boy struggled to collect himself, watching as he leaped back to his feet and scooped his cap from the leafy dirt beside him.

"I...I just...wow, gotta check that one off the bucket list! 'Get Tink to apologize for her actions'. Done and done!" He signed a checkmark in an invisible leaflet.

"Oh, you are unbelievable!"

His grin died away as he sensed his girlfriend's irritation and he carefully sat back down beside her. "Tink," he went on gently. "I get that all of this has been hard on you, but it's been hard on the rest of us too. We thought we'd lost you that day. I was terrified of losing you. And it didn't matter that I was some mind-wiped slave zombie at the time, I knew the moment you were in danger and I wasn't there to protect you like I should have been."

"I think I need that lemonade now," Tink mumbled, her cheeks flushed red. She carefully reached for the pitcher and a cup and Terence waited patiently for her to finish, looking like he hadn't a care in the world. Tink eyed him carefully as she downed a glass, fully hoping his attention, much like the conversation, would trickle away so she could continue on with her work in peace without the constant reminder that she, like everyone else, had flaws.

"So...?" Terence said slowly once Tink had slumped back into her seat to gaze at the baskets of dust and ponder.

"'So'?" she echoed.

"So, have you decided what you're going to do yet?" Terence prodded. "All these secrets. You need to confide in someone or you'll never be able to face up to what you're afraid of the most."

"And what do you think that is?"

He shrugged. "I don't know," he answered truthfully. "I think that is something you are going to have to figure out on your own."

She wrinkled her nose. "How do you remember this stuff, anyway? Didn't everyone affected by Shade's power lose their memories of that fight? Wouldn't that include you as well?"

"The others told me," Terence replied without a shred of hesitation. "Since I was kind of the one who pushed you to find the truth in the first place, they thought it was only fair that I know what happened to end it all. So, perhaps I should be the one apologizing to you for dragging you into this whole mess to begin with."

"You didn't drag me anywhere," Tink retorted. "I went of my own free will. You don't need to apologize to me for anything."

"I disagree."

"That is beside the point."

"Tink, I just want to make sure you're okay. Because I care about you."

"I know. And I appreciate it. But I'm okay now. I promise."

He smiled. "So, are you going to talk to him?"

Tink gave an exaggerated sigh. "Well, I have to now, since I've been ganged upon by both you and Fawn," she exclaimed. "So, thanks so much for that!"

Terence hesitated, trying to read her expression. After a moment, realizing she wasn't mad and about to throw something at him, his smile grew wider as he carefully stood and clapped. "Glad I could help! Now! I think we should get back to work! These baskets won't deliver themselves!"

"You took the words right out of my mouth!" Tink agreed, darting over to scoop up the first three quicker than Terence's eyes could follow.

"Whoa! Slow down there!" he laughed, walking up behind her to grab the other baskets. "Who are you and what have you done with Tink?" He unrolled his list and began scanning for their first stop. "And, hey, what do you know? Our first stop is Tinker's Nook!"

Tink glared at him. "You did that on purpose!" she accused.

The only response she received was his cackling laughter as he took off like a shot and she was forced to chase after him. Pixie dust rained from the heavens as the two sped through the trees, both laughing and spinning between the leaves, Tink throwing every bit of leftover material she could get ahold of at the dust-talent.

"Don't you run away from me, Terence! Get back here so I can throw this at you!"

"Catch me if you can, Tink!"

"Oh, challenge so accepted!"

"Thank you, Ministers. That concludes our meeting. I appreciate all of your input and I hope to further meet your requests and expectations. That is all." Queen Clarion smiled at the fairies gathered around the table as she slowly stood and they moved to follow.

"It is us who should be thanking you, Your Majesty," Redleaf said, earning a bored look from his counterparts as he went on with a tad too much dramatics. "After that...ah...unfortunate incident last year, I speak for all of us when I say that we must congratulate you for your calm response and quick actions. Though none of us can remember what happened exactly, we do know we were in quite a bind the likes of we had never seen. And your skill at keeping it at a down low to avoid a full-blown panic demands an award!"

"And you're sure you don't know what caused the sudden onslaught to suddenly halt?" Snowflake inquired, her eyebrow arched as though she did not fully believe the story the Queen had told them.

"I'm afraid not," Clarion went on without missing a beat, without flinching. "We have concluded that Shade simply overexerted his power. Such magic is not natural and cannot be tapped and contained. In the end, it was far too much for him to control."

"And let that be a lesson to all," Hyacinth huffed. "That fairies are given their talents for a reason and that becoming greedy and messing with the balance can have serious consequences."

"Here, here!" Redleaf agreed heartily, as cynical as ever.

Clarion held a placid expression as the Ministers slowly began their farewells, filtering out of the tree and separating to their designated seasons. She sighed, remaining standing, and leaned against the table, running a hand across its delicate surface. A shadow moved from behind the constant waterfall of dust and Clarion barely even reacted as her best friend fluttered over.

"Mary," she said tonelessly. "I thought you might be listening."

"Clarion," Fairy Mary replied gently. "You knew I would. You were discussing my charge after all."

The queen chuckled. Phineas wasn't really her charge. Not officially. However, she had disguised him as a tinker, knowing Mary to be a trustworthy and dependable ally, so she decided she owed her as much. "What can I do for you tonight?"

The head of the guild shrugged. "Oh, I'm not here to ask for anything, Clarion. I'm here as your moral support. I heard what the Ministers said and they're right, you know. The balance is a delicate, delicate thing. I'm just afraid of...truely, I'm not sure what I'm afraid of. I do worry about you, however. When you told me you were once a Protector and I realized that I'd never noticed, even after all these years of knowing you, I felt terrible. As your best friend, I felt I should have seen the truth long before you were forced to tell me. I do apologize for that, but..." She trailed off, resting a hand on the queen's shoulders.

"But you're worried about him," Clarion guessed with a grim smile.

Mary nodded. "Oh, I am probably just prodding a dead thistle, but I just want to be entirely sure that...well, not to sound fretful, but, I fear it would be unsafe for Bobble to continue going around suppressing his talents. I know he and Zarina worked out some kind of arrangement, but Pixie dust can only do so much before it fades. We saw that in the brief time with the pirates and I am afraid of what will happen once the 'solution' is no longer effective."

"If it does ever come to that point, I'm sure he and the others will figure it out," Clarion tried to assure her. "They are a very resourceful bunch. The talent-dust idea was ingenious after all."

"It was, wasn't it?" Mary still didn't seem entirely convinced, but she only frowned as the queen turned to face her. "But, Clarion, what if something goes wrong?"

At these words, Clarion winced slightly, immediately picturing Shade before he was evil, trying so hard to be normal. To be loved. "Then we will deal with it just as we always have," she answered. "But let's not cross that bridge until we come to it," she suggested, seeing the concern in Fairy Mary's eyes. "You came for my advice, yes? The best thing for everyone is to let him try and fit in. He wants to be a tinker, so for now, let him. He's a bright sparrowman. I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Shade.

Shade.

SHADE.

She inhaled deeply, turning her gaze sharply away from Mary to gather her circling thoughts and whisk them away like pollen in the breeze of a sunny summer afternoon. This fear she felt was nonsense. Shade had been an evil fairy from the very start. He'd chosen the path of evil. So, yes, perhaps his abilities helped steer him in a direction of hate and vengeance, but it had been his own decisions that had cost him everything.

"You're thinking about something else, aren't you?" Fairy Mary asked. "Something that you aren't telling me."

Clarion shook her head. "It's nothing, Mary. Nothing important. I was just...remembering something. From a long time ago."

"About you and Milori?" Mary teased and Clarion had to laugh at that.

"You always did want us to get together, didn't you?"

"Your Majesty, I was your biggest supporter!"

"I think you were our only supporter."

"I'm pretty sure that still makes me your biggest one"

Clarion rolled her eyes, grateful that none of her subjects were around to see her behavior. "Very well. I suppose you may have that title."

"Perfect. I shall have the banner prepared and hung by noon."

Clarion couldn't tell if she was being serious or not. She grinned as she started to turn back to face her friend, ready to shoot another sarcastic remark, when she suddenly paused, hearing the sound of frantic wingbeats coming her way. And fast.

"What in the Hollow?" she questioned, spinning around just as two fairies touched down-but not the two she had been anticipating. Fairy Mary blinked in confusion as Scribble nervously touched down first, characteristically carrying an armload of books three times his size. He anxiously adjusted his glasses and took a long breath-only to let it all out in a squawk as he was shoved roughly forward by Nyx who stood behind, arms folded in boredom.

"Scribble? Nyx," Clarion greeted them. "Good afternoon. Is something the matter?"

"Y-your majesty!" Scribble began, trying to bow politely but losing a handful of papers in the process. "I...I think you s-should see this immediately! I...I've found something alarming!"

Nyx grunted. "And I'm here against my will, just so you know. There should be a law against kidnapping a fairy halfway through her patrol just to dig through dusty papers and heaps of junk." She shot the librarian a dark look. Scribble wasn't deterred however, as he continued shuffling through his papers frantically. After a moment, he found the one he was looking for and clumsily held it up for them to see.

"Scribble, dear, what am I looking at?" Clarion inquired, well accustomed to the sparrowman's tendencies to go on a tangent when he was concerned. And he was always concerned about something.

"It's the moon's phases for the past twelve months," Nyx interrupted tiredly. "Scribble here thinks something's off with them even though I've repeatedly told him that nothing is wrong."

"B-but something is wrong!" Scribble argued. "Look!" he added, pointing to a relatively full moon as he grabbed another sheet of paper and held it behind. There were two sets of moons that did not line up quite perfectly. "These are the coordinates of the moon's cycle at this time last year! And these are this year's! Now, I'm not a superstitious fairy-"

Nyx snorted.

"-but I think something's wrong! I-I mean, even with the Neverbeast, the moon did not change direction. Not even once! What I don't u-understand is why this year would be any different than the last!"

And that was a great question and a truly curious one to anyone who did not understand magic the way that she did. And what the librarian was proposing floored her and a fresh wave of fear rooted her in place. For she knew what the sudden change meant. It had happened once to her as well.

The moon was what gave a Protector their powers.

A change in the cycle meant a change in the balance and that could only mean one thing;

Phineas was losing his powers...

...And someone else was getting them.