"No way!" Scarab yelled, seizing Bobble's arm and yanking him back behind her once again. His heart was thumping furiously in his chest as he let the older Protector take the lead. "That is not a fair trade, Kyto! You can't just take a fairy like that, like some kind of treasure!"

"Hmmm," Kyto huffed again. He was unusually calm and collected for a dragon who was supposed to be deadly when he didn't get his way, and it seemed like Scarab had also picked up on this. The drake rose once more to his full height, his wings becoming visible as he unfolded and resettled them against his sides, his talons appearing even bigger now that he was upright and bearing down on them. "I see. I can't say that I am not...disappointed. However, I suppose I should have expected nothing less. Fairies are nothing if not loyal things. Loyal and trusting, sometimes too much so. So, tell me, little Protector," His eyes swived back to Bobble, "if you were to have this power, and if what all you have told me about this tiny ring is true, what would you desire to do with such strength? Ravage and destroy? Perhaps burn a few worlds to ashes? You could do that, you know. With your power, there would be no one who could stop you. You could even be king. Do fairies have kings? They should. Now that's something that could be interesting to see."

"I...I don't want to be a king," Bobble spluttered, Scarab's grip on his arm growing tighter as she braced for the looming attack. "I...I have the power to rule the world, but I don't want it. I just want to protect my friends and I can't do that if I burn somethin' every time I get scared or angry. I...I just can't." All he could see were the stories from old, of the human's tales of war and death, all in the effort for someone to take the power that another so rightfully owned for themselves. To be king, he'd have to confront Queen Clarion, the fairy who trained him, the fairy who truly cared about him, the one who had given him his name. It would be wrong.

It's something that Shade would have done.

"We are still willing to make a deal with you," Scarab interjected, "but not at the cost of ourselves or of anyone else who lives at the Hollow. We do not bargain with lives, Kyto."

"Pffft," the dragon snorted, heaving a plume of smoke that nearly bowled over both Protectors. "Quite an odd statement, coming from a fairy like you. I seem to recall you having a very different opinion of things a long time ago, when the world was much younger and exciting."

Scarab's hands clenched. "But it was exactly that, a long time ago. I'm not the same brash fairy that I was when I first met you. I've grown up since then. I..." she glanced in Bobble's direction. "I've learned the value of friendship and kindness. Those were things that I did not possess before, not after Shade. I...I didn't think I would ever be capable of caring about another and I was scared."

She was no longer speaking to the dragon. She turned to face her younger counterpart, regret fully evident in her eyes as she did so. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice dropping to faintly more than a whisper. "Sorry for everything. Sorry for being a jerk to you when you asked for my help, sorry that I was too afraid to face Shade, sorry that I left you to defend the Hollow on your own when you had no idea what you were up against. I'm sorry that I pushed you to feel like you had to be the hero all on your own. You weren't trained and I sent you onto the battlefield with no kind of protection whatsoever. You could have died and that would have been on me. I am the head of the guild. It is my duty to prepare you for the dangers that come with the job. I didn't do that and I don't think I could ever apologize enough for my mistake."

"Oh great, she's getting sappy," Kyto groaned, rolling his eyes and drawing back into the shadows. "Wake me when the insufferable heartfelt stuff is over, why don't you?" Then, he growled something that sounded suspiciously like, "I'm a dragon. At least I don't get emotional with my friends. Oh, that's right, I don't have any."

They ignored him. Scarab reached out to put a hand on Bobble's shoulder. "I know I'm a terrible guild-head and I would deserve it if you didn't trust me. I lost the love of my life and everyone blamed me for what happened and when the others left me, I felt... inadequate...to teach you. Just knowing that Shade was still alive and that you were the one forced to go up against him, I didn't want to be the one to cause you to fail again. Not when there was so much at stake. I just couldn't risk that again."

Bobble blinked, overwhelmed by this sudden onslaught of apologies and niceness. He had been right though, underneath her tough surface and prickly demeanor was a fairy who only wanted to protect the ones she cared about. Ha! Take that, Vidia! he telepathed, even though he knew the fast-flyer would never be able to hear his boasts. I can read other fairies after all, and I didn't need any of your cynical pessimistic-ness to do it either! He couldn't be mad at Scarab. Of course not. He understood what she was talking about. He'd been terrified of not being able to control his powers too, that was why he had never told the others, not even Tink and Clank. Because if something had gone terribly wrong and someone had gotten hurt, he knew that would have been his fault for not protecting them better because he wasn't brave enough or strong enough.

How could he be angry with Scarab for feeling exactly the same way that he did?

"No!" he exclaimed, shaking his head in protest. "No, Scarab, yer not! Yer one of the bravest fairies I've ever met! Ye understand more of this than anyone else! I trust ye, I promise! I just..." he paused to glance back at Kyto as the dragon continued to glower at them from the darkness. "I...how are we goin' to get the bracelet from him now? We don't have anythin' to give him and he's not just goin' to hand it over because we ask!"

"Hmmm," Scarab said, tapping her foot thoughtfully. "Actually, he just might."

"Uh, what?"

"He might," she repeated, beginning to smile. It was a mischievous smile, one that reminded him far too much of Tink when she had just come up with a really stupid plan that was bound to go bad in under a minute. "If you ask him."

"What?!" He blanched.

"He likes you, Phineas! That's a courtesy he does not grant most fairies! Especially not me! I think it has to be you!"

Kyto growled again, sounding much more impatient this time. There was no telling how much longer he would tolerate the two intruders in his cave before he decided crispy fairy was on the menu. It was now or never. The time to step up and be a hero had come.

He swallowed hard. "O-okay. Uh..." He carefully turned back to face the massive creature. "Kyto, I know ye don't want to be here and I can't blame ye! What happened to ye was wron'!" He ignored Scarab's confounded stare. "And I wish I could help ye, and maybe I could talk to the Queen about that, but I can't do anythin' like that if the Hollow is destroyed! So, I have a bargain to make with ye; if ye give me the bracelet, I'll talk to Queen Clarion about settin' ye free."

"What?" Scarab exclaimed. Clearly, that wasn't what she had meant by 'ask him'. "Phineas, what are you doing?! You can't just..."

But Kyto interrupted her protest with another plume of hot smoke. "Do you mean that, fairy?" he demanded, rising back to his full height once again. "You really believe you have the power to set me free?"

No, came the traitorous part of his brain. He wasn't sure at all, but it was better than nothing, and there was no mistaking the desperate, hopeful glint in the dragon's eyes. Kyto wanted to be free and he was willing to sacrifice just about anything to do it. But I don't have anything else to bargain and it's true. If I go back without the bracelet, no one would be safe. I'll destroy the Hollow.

If I don't get it, I can never go home...

His heart stopped at that last dreaded thought, the consequences of failing finally setting in.

Scarab noticed this. "Phin?" she hissed, leaning over to wave a hand in front of his face. "Uh, you all right?" No reply. "Bobble? Hey, what happened? You...uh...oh, that's not good. It's Scorpion again, isn't it? Of course, it is, that incorrigible idiot. He doesn't learn when to quit. Ignore him, Phin! The bracelet! Focus on getting the bracelet and saving the Hollow! He's going to try and stop you! Don't let him in!"

Okay, okay, focus. You're here to get the bracelet so that way you can make sure that that never happens. Give Kyto what he wants and this will all be over and then you will never have to think about it again.

"I...I promise," he stammered to the dragon. "If ye give me the bracelet, I'll talk to the fairies about gettin' ye out of here. D-do we have a deal?"

Kyto stared at him for a long moment, as though deciding whether or not to believe him. His tongue flickered in and out once again, though not as fiercely as the previous times. "You are telling the truth, cursed one. I can sense it. You will keep your end of the bargain. However, I cannot accept your proposal."

Bobble's heart sank. "What do ye mean?" he cried. "Why not?" I thought he wanted to be free! I thought that this would work! Had he blatantly misread the situation?

"When the fairies banished me to this forsaken mountain and forced me to become the guardian for the...powerful...items that they did not want anyone to get their hands on, they made me swear never to give anything...but particularly this bracelet...to any fairy who deemed themself unworthy." Kyto chuckled. "And you, boy, may be honorable, but you are not worthy."

"What are you talking about?" Scarab demanded. "I'm the one who gave you that rule! Phineas is more than worthy of the fifth's power! Who could be more worthy than someone trying to save the world?"

"You seek the bracelet for selfish purposes," Kyto retorted. "It is to better your own fate, your initial plan having nothing to do with defending the world at all."

"How is trying to protect one's friends selfish?" she exclaimed. "Doesn't that show extreme self-restraint and responsibility? He could have said he was coming to take the bracelet so that way he could take over the Hollow, but he didn't! I revoke your oath, Kyto, and I command you to give me back the bracelet!"

Kyto rumbled, the laugh echoing in the back of his throat. "I hardly think you are in the position to make threats, Scarab. In case you've forgotten, I hold all of the cards as I believe your petty expression goes." He held up the bracelet again, grinning at the two fairies, fangs glinting dangerously. "Now," he growled, "I think you should both leave before I change my mind and decide fairy sounds like a great lunch option."

"You can't do that!" Scarab snapped. "That is my bracelet and I demand you give it back right this instant!"

Kyto growled and Bobble instantly retreated behind his guildmate, though how he expected she was going to be able to shield him from the dragon's angry fire, he had no idea. "Scarab," he whispered. "Be careful."

"I know what I'm doing," the girl retorted, paying no attention to who she was speaking to. At the same time, she took a step back and reached a hand into her bag, giving him no idea of what she was digging for. Kyto finally began to move toward them, emitting one final warning growl.

They needed to go. They needed to go now. He was going to kill them if they didn't. The dragon's tolerance had finally reached its max and Bobble was more than ready to high-tail it to the other side of the island as fast as fairy-ly possible.

But why was Scarab not moving?

"Scar-" he began to hiss again.

"Phineas, get back now," she interrupted with a snap, yanking something from her satchel and clutching it like a baseball, simultaneously shoving him away with her free arm and sending him collapsing backward into the wall at the force of her impact. "Cover your face!" she shouted...

...and then she chucked a pouchful of sleeping powder straight into the dragon's face.

Kyto howled, recoiling back as the pink and gold dust exploded against his snout, and Scarab jumped back, covering her nose and mouth with her arm and averting her gaze as the drake swerved in the attempt to dodge the majority of the attack.

Bobble yelped. "What was that?" he cried, staring at Scarab in shock. She had been carrying sleeping powder with her all this time? Where did she get that and even more importantly, why did she have that?

"He wasn't going to give us the bracelet!" she tried to justify. Kyto swayed uncontrollably, growling furiously but seeming disoriented, his golden gaze glossing over as he attempted to pinpoint the two fairies and rake a claw at them. He missed by almost half the cave's length. "I had a backup plan!"

"This is yer backup plan?"

"Hey, at least I had one!" she shot back. "What was yours? Sweet-talking him into surrender?"

The dragon moaned, toppling forward, unbalanced.

"Oh, never mind! Look out!" the Protector cried, grabbing Bobble's arm and pulling him away as the beast crashed to the ground, the force of his impact enough to rupture the cavern. Several boulders near the entrance teetered before crumbling to the earth.

"Ow..." Bobble groaned, sitting up and rubbing his head, sore from where he had collided with the stone wall. Beside him, Scarab did the same, hissing as she grabbed her wrist, poorly hiding the blood seeping through her fingers. "Are...are ye all right?" he gasped, seeing this.

"Yes, I'm fine," Scarab replied breathlessly. Without any more warning, she then heaved herself to her feet, glaring firmly at the dragon's unmoving form. "Now's our chance. He'll wake up soon enough and we really don't want to be here when he does. Do you see the bracelet anywhere?"

"Uh..." He hastily scanned the cave, particularly around Kyto's talons. "No, I can't see it."

And then a faint glint reflected out of the corner of his goggles and he twisted around to face the area of the cavern behind Scarab.

There, lying in the darkness, having been knocked clear during the attack, was the bracelet.

"Wait, I've got it!" he called, scrambling up and running for it, wary of Kyto's faint growls as he maneuvered his way around the dragon's snout and went for the jewelry. "Scarab, it's over here!"

He reached the end of the cavern far before his counterpart and he wasted no time scooping up the bracelet and clutching it close to his chest. Immediately, swells of power ricocheted through his body. Immense power, so much stronger than he had ever felt before. Heat blistered across his hands, the fire leaping and curling in his veins as it struggled to escape from the metallic cage. "Whoa..." he breathed.

"Phineas! Did you get it? Yes! You got it! Well done!" Scarab laughed, zipping up behind him and clapping him on the back. She beamed proudly. "That's one down and four to go and then we can save you and the Hollow!"

We did it. The return smile was there before he knew what was happening. For the first time in...longer than he could remember, he actually felt certain of himself. The uncontrollable powers were leaving him, fizzling out to make way for the serenity of what the already-known. For the first time in his life, he was in control, and it was a beautiful feeling.

"Come on," Scarab went on, throwing her arm around him and giving him a friendly side hug. "Let's go home and call it a day, yeah?"

"Sounds great," he replied, the stress and exhaustion finally crawling to the surface. He staggered slightly and Scarab chuckled, catching and righting him before he could go down and take her with him.

"Whoa, steady there, Phin! We still have to get back to the Hollow and I certainly have no intent to carry you all the way there."

"Sorry..." he murmured. "...just really tired all of a sudden..."

Scarab snorted. "Sparrowmen." She shifted to sling his arm over her shoulders and balance his weight into hers. "All right, come on, then. Help me out here, Phineas. I can't hold us both and try to fly."

"Oh, don't you worry, you don't have anywhere to fly to. Not anymore."

The voice was so sudden, so unexpected, that at first, Bobble was sure he was hallucinating. He was seconds away from collapsing and sleeping for a century after all. Voices weren't all that uncommon when one was half-asleep, but then Scarab gasped and instantly backpedaled and he was jerked forcibly from his dazed stupor.

Blearily, he lifted his gaze to meet the blurry, mismatched form of the one fairy he knew absolutely, positively could not be standing there. There was no way. It was impossible. He was dead. They had both seen it happen.

"Shade?" Scarab choked.