Before we begin, I just want to apologize for not updating this story in what feels like forever. Long story short; after I wrote and released the last chapter (both here and on Wattpad and AO3, my dad got really sick out of the blue and he passed away not long after. This was in November. It was such a shock that, until the beginning of February, I found myself unable to focus on anything, let alone trying to write something I dearly loved. However, the ideas never stopped flowing, and I can successfully say that I have not only this chapter, but 9/10ths of the book finished and ready to update, so refasten your seatbelts, because I am back with a vengeance and the real adventure is about to begin!
The following morning, the fairies parted ways, silently branching off into their predetermined parties and, after a heartfelt farewell to Tink (whom Scarab insisted should remain in the Haven for her own protection), the first group headed in the direction of Spring.
Silvermist took the lead on this venture, nimbly darting on ahead of Rosetta. The garden-talent, however, carried the clue, riddled and scratched on a small leaflet for the girls to uncover.
"I can't tell you where the bracelets lie," the older Protector had explained when confronted about her cryptic choice of aid. "Queen Starlight made me swear under oath that I would never tell another fairy the location to any of them. Here," she'd added, handing them the note. "Use this clue. Solve it and it will reveal itself to you."
"Wow, how very cryptic and not-at-all helpful of you," Vidia snarked. "Why are we not even slightly surprised?"
"I warned you that it would not be easy," Scarab replied, not at all fazed by her sharp tongue. "You are not the first to seek something that has no business being in the hands of a group of non-talented. I gave them all the same challenge, but they could not live up to their oaths. Do you think you can do better?"
"We will," Rosetta answered, giving Bobble a meaningful look. "We have to."
"And you're sure you'll be okay here?" Dessa asked, glancing back to Tink as the blond watched her friends prepare to leave.
"I'll be fine," she promised. "Go get 'em, you guys."
"I'll protect her," Terence promised, sitting down next to her and squaring his shoulders confidently.
"You'll protect me?" Tink scoffed. "You're delusional. I'm going to be the one protecting you."
"Ugh, lovebirds," Vidia groaned, rolling her eyes and snatching the riddled clue from Scarab's outstretched hand. "I'll see you all later. Last one back with their bracelet is a rotten egg." And with that, she shot off through the door and disappeared into the forest beyond.
"Hey, that's not fair!" Sil protested. "She can fly faster than us!"
"Well, we'd better get moving then too," Fawn exclaimed, slinging one of the group's spare backpacks over her shoulders and grabbing her walking stick. "We've got a lot of ground to cover and it's gonna be nightfall soon."
"Oh, goodie," Rosetta sighed, trudging after her. "Nighttime. My favorite time of the day."
Fawn, not one to miss an opportunity to send back a strong retort, snickered. "Oh, good! So, you'll have no objection to looking all night, then?"
The garden-talent sighed, taking her clue from the Protector as well and starting toward the door. "Come on, guys, no more messing around. We've got a spring bracelet to find."
Sil and Clank quickly followed her and the others filed out shortly after.
Silvermist quickly took the lead over her group, zipping back across the uncharted forests and into Springtime Square. Nothing seemed out of place to her, and she should know, having spent a good portion of her time either training with the other water-talents or exploring alongside the riverbeds. The Babbling Brook gurgled as they passed and multiple tadpoles glanced their way, large eyes brimming with curiosity, but there was no time for her to stop and talk with them now. They were on a mission. This was serious.
"So, where do you think this weapon of mass destruction could be hidden?" Rosetta called above the whistling of the wind in the trees.
"No idea!" Clank shouted back, "but we need to find it soon!"
"Well, what does the clue say?" Sil asked, doubling back to hover alongside Rosetta and peering over her friend's shoulder to read the note.
"I don't know," Rosetta admitted, squinting at the paper. "It all seems like a bunch of jibber-jabber to me. I mean, come on, what's a 'heart made of stone' anyway?"
"A what?" Clank and Sil exclaimed together.
"I really don't get it!" the girl reiterated. "Look at this!" she added, holding the clue aloft and letting them read it too.
"When the world is lost and alone, search for the place with a heart of stone," Sil recited. "I don't know what that means, though..."
"Well, that's because it's a riddle," Rosetta pointed out. "I don't think you are supposed to know and-"
"It's Tinker's Nook!" Clank blurted.
"It's what?!" Rosetta and Silvermist gasped.
"Clank, are you sure?" Silvermist asked gently. "I mean, there's a lot of places that have rocks in the Hollow."
"Yes, I'm sure!" he argued. "We tinkers always know the best way to use the environment around us! When the Hollow was just beginning, we made everything by hand, stone, wood, and whatever else was available. Some of the other guilds thought tinkers to be the strongest o' all the guilds, the ones with the 'hearts of stone'."
"Huh, I never knew that!" Rosetta remarked.
"But that would make sense," Sil added, "the Hollow would have needed a lot of imagination to come up with what they did. Of course, the tinker guild would have been important for that!"
"But of all places to hide a large chunk of metal, was it really the best idea to put it somewhere where a bunch of fairies would have access to it?"
"No, actually, that's genius!" Sil laughed, clapping her hands once and startling the other two.
"Uh, and why's that?"
"Because if there was a giant piece of metal just lying around in the middle of nowhere, wouldn't that mean someone must have found it?"
"And if someone found it, and didn't know what it was..." Rosetta finished, her expression growing more and more surprised as she too pieced together what the water-talent was trying to say.
"They probably would 'ave gave it to someone in charge," Clank gasped. "To keep it safe and all that."
"And since no one would have claimed it as theirs, it's likely that the guild-head would have passed it on to their predecessor and them on to theirs...all the way down to-"
"Fairy Mary!" they all said together.
"Do you really think she has the bracelet?" Sil asked.
"Well, there's only one way to find out!" Rosetta exclaimed, putting on a new burst of speed and barreling ahead. "Come on guys! Let's move!"
The trees to her left and to her right blew back at the force of her gales, but she paid them no mind as she pelted between the multi-toned leaves. Her eyes quickly switched from the woodland around her to the clue fluttering in the stirred winds beside her.
The world revolves from night to day, to find your desire; a realm of joy and play.
What in Neverland did that mean?
Why did the weird Protector...animal-talent (fairy? At this point, Vidia wasn't even sure Scarab wasn't some kind of body-snatching alien)...have to make an already impossible hunt even more insane? It didn't make any sense, especially not when her protege was literally fighting to keep a grip on his flight and perhaps even his life. Time was of the essence and Scarab instead decided to play mind-games.
Vidia would never admit that she was actually worried about him. He was just one of the dumb tinkers, one of Tink's weird friends. He meant nothing to her...or at least, that's what she told herself. He had always been the odd one of the group, the only sparrowman her insistent posse of friends had ever personally taken under their wings in an effort to make him feel wanted and accepted. Clank had been different, once he'd come along. He had fallen naturally in with the others, not at all as fidgety and fearful and terrified of everything as Phineas had been, so it clearly wasn't just a male thing. There was more to it, a deeper underlying fear of rejection, of them hating him. For what, she couldn't even begin to imagine. Sure, he was...weird, to say the least...and way too powerful for his own good, but he wasn't a bad guy and she would actually care if something happened to him.
Meaning she needed to find the Autumn bracelet before this madness could get any worse.
But where was the riddle leading her?
It wasn't the Autumn Woods or the Leafside Meadow, so she could easily check those two off the list. And it wasn't somewhere vague like a random statue of rocks or briar bush. It was somewhere intentional. Somewhere that no one would be able to find it.
Perhaps that was the idea. Perhaps it was never meant to be found.
That wouldn't have made sense, though. Scarab had told them that the clues would lead them to the bracelets...that they had everything they needed to find their locations...so why did she have the feeling that, underneath all of the cloak and dagger...there was something...more...the Protector wasn't telling them?
Not too much further now, she told herself, pushing herself into another burst of speed and taking off deeper into the woods. Keep going. I have to find it. There's no other option.
They had been flying all day before the rain really began to drizzle a second time and Scarab suggested they land and find shelter for the evening before the rain decided to take them down by force.
Bobble had eagerly agreed, the ache in his wings becoming nearly unbearable and the faint shimmer of fire still evident against the fading moonlight.
"Down there," Scarab called over the wind, pointing to a small overhang in the side of a minimal cliff. "That looks like a good place. We can make a fire and pick up again at dawn once this storm lets up. Come on. Stay close to me. There's going to be some updrafts coming off these cliffs."
"All right," he agreed. "I'm right behind ye."
She nodded, pulling her cloak closer and diving for the ledge, leaving the tinker scrambling to keep up. A sharp bolt of lightning lit up her expression for a brief moment and she wiped her bangs from her eyes as she landed first and immediately swept off to linger in the shadows. Even from where he stood, landing awkwardly behind, he could see the way she was shivering, even worse than he.
Cautiously, he pulled his jacket from his bag and yanked it back on, shielding his wings from the environment. It was a terrible feeling and he was acutely aware of the diminishing glow as he shuffled up behind Scarab as she wrapped her cloak more tightly around herself and gazed out at the storm. The Hollow was far away now, so far that he could just barely see the outline against the fading daylight. Scarab had told him about their destination-about Torth Mountain...and more accurately, about what resided there.
Kyto, the vengeful beast of fire and chaos, and the sworn enemy of Pixie Hollow.
"According to the legends," Scarab spoke suddenly, noticing the direction he was looking. She came up behind him to follow his gaze. "When the Hollow was young and just finding its roots, a ferocious colony of clawed beasts decided to claim the land around us as their own, forcing the fairies from their homes and leaving them vulnerable on the shore near Pirate's Cove. In an effort to reclaim their kingdom, the fairies rose up in rebellion and drove the dragons from the Hollow. Kyto was the only survivor of the war. And to make sure that he would never come back and enact his revenge, he was chained within the mountain with bonds unbreakable by anyone..."
"Anyone?" Bobble echoed, shivering...but not from the cold. He didn't look behind him, but he knew she was there anyway.
"The only thing strong enough to break them would be a heat entirely impossible for any living being to maintain," she assured him. "Not even Shade could be that powerful." She chuckled ruefully. "Believe me, he tried."
"So," the tinker breathed slowly. "Why exactly are we goin' to see him then?"
"Because even though Kyto is securely locked away, there could be no safer place to hide something you didn't want anyone to steal. He has the fifth bracelet, a security measure put in place to keep fairies like Shade from getting far. Although," she sighed. "I suppose we should have brought something to bargain. Dragons are insanely selfish beasts like you wouldn't believe. Oh well, too late now. Come on," she went on, gently taking his shoulders and turning him back away from the rain. "I've started a fire. It's getting late and you look ready to fall asleep on your feet."
He nodded, unsure what else to say to that, and turned to follow her. She was right. He must have zoned out for longer than he'd thought. In the empty space just under the ledge and away from the storm, she'd already built a small fire and lit the wood. He could feel the heat dancing off of the flames and he exhaled softly, hurrying over to sit down across the ring from her. She gave him an odd look for this but then merely shrugged and drew off her satchel to begin digging for something inside.
They sat there in silence for a good minute, listening to the thunder rumbling overhead, Scarab still fishing through her things and Bobble quietly attempting to pinpoint the source of his discomfort. It had been unusually quiet since his powers had gone off the rails. In fact, he thought, he hadn't heard a single word from Scorpion in over forty-eight hours. Nothing. Not even a peep.
Something's wrong.
Scorpion? he tried, closing his eyes and reaching out with his powers. Are you there?
A bolt of lightning tore across the heavens and both fairies looked up quickly at the crash of thunder that followed, but there was no reply from the disembodied voice.
Scorpion? he tried again, desperately searching for any familiarities...for anything that could tell him why the Protector was not answering. Can you hear me? Where are you? I'm going to face a dragon and I could really use your help.
"Wow, you look like something's either really bothering you," Scarab remarked, "or you're about to be very sick in which case tell me so I can leave and pretend like I had some kind of good reasoning."
"No, I just..." he stammered, pulling his knees into his chest and looking down at his shoes, refusing to meet her gaze. "Yer right," he sighed. "Somethin' is botherin' me and...I don't know how to begin but...Tink knew about it and that's why she tried to stop me, to warn me that it was too dangerous..."
Scarab frowned, setting aside her project and giving the redhead her undivided attention. "I'm not sure I follow you, Phin."
"It's just..." he tried again, swallowing back the lump of fear in his throat. This was exactly what he'd told Tink and the others and then he'd promptly turned on them and hurt them. He was terrified that he might do it again.
"Bobble," Scarab said calmly, her eyes fixed on him, the stern and yet concerned feeling evident in her voice. "It's okay. Take your time. You're safe here."
"Aye," he mumbled, inhaling and exhaling once...twice...and then he was ready. "Scarab, ye've been a Protector for a lon' time."
"For decades, yes," she agreed. She smiled. "Is this your way of calling me old, Phineas?"
He flushed scarlet. "Er...no, I wasn't...do ye...what I mean is...what do ye remember about a Protector named Scorpion?"
Scarab's face instantly darkened and her posture went rigid. It reminded Bobble of whenever Clank or he misspoke and Fairy Mary overheard them and how irritated the guild-head would become at their antics. "Scorpion?" she repeated. "I haven't heard his name in years. Why do you want to know?"
"But ye do remember him?"
Oh, he'd stirred something up. Tread carefully, he reminded himself. Take it slow. Don't open a hornet's nest this early in the conversation.
"Of course, I remember him," she groaned. "I remember all of them. I trained him for the Hollow's sake!"
"Ye did?"
"Of course I did!" Scarab huffed. "Since I am literally the head of the guild! Who else did you expect was going to be qualified enough to train massively irresponsible new arrivals with two dozen equally irresponsible powers before they burned something to the ground and invoked mass chaos?"
"And did he?" Bobble quired. "Cause mass chaos, I mean?"
"Look," the Protector sighed, running a hand down her face and leaning in closer to the fire. "I don't know why you want to know this, or how you even came across Scorpion's name, but I want you to understand something for me, Phineas; our guild, our job, is to protect the Hollow. But, we, just like all of the other talents, are susceptible to deceit and lies. We all want to believe we are doing the right thing...even if that 'right thing' costs us lives."
"Somethin'...did somethin' happen?" he gasped, realizing what she was trying to tell him. "With Scorpion? Did he do somethin' wrong? He told me that he was scared of his powers, especially after Asha disappeared, but I didn't think that meant-"
"Wait," Scarab's head shot back up. "Hold on, what do you mean, 'he told you'? You've spoken to him? That's impossible! Phineas, Scorpion is dead!"
"W-what?" the tinker gasped, staring at her, wide-eyed. "Wait...h-how can that b-be? I...I heard him! I...spoke to him! He has to be alive!" I can't talk to the dead, right? That's definitely not a talent! No, that was just plain horrifying and completely impossible.
"Phineas, look at me," Scarab ordered, standing up so that she towered over him. The scowl on her face was deeper than anything he had ever seen from any fairy-even from Mary when she was moments away from grounding him for a week-and he didn't dare disobey. "I don't know what or how Scorpion has found you-or frankly, how that lunatic is even alive-but whatever he has told you is a lie. That's what he does, the deceitful pixie. Even when he was my student, he had an aptitude for lying and tricking those around him into believing whatever he wanted them to. Did he tell you that I had something to do with Asha's disappearance? I'm sure he did. He still blames me for that, even though it was his own selfish tendencies that pushed her away. He lives up to his namesake. A scorpion...a predator that hunts down its prey and lures it into a false sense of security before it strikes. There has never been a more perfectly suited title for any fairy I have ever met."
He gulped.
"Bobble," she went on seriously. "He can't get inside your head, not so long as you're with me. His powers are weakened from being so distant from the Hollow for all this time. I can protect you, but eventually, he is going to find a way to reach you again, but whatever he tells you is a lie and he cannot be trusted."