The fire raged across the hillside, devouring everything in its path and kicking ashes high into the heavens. The meadow burned to ruin on all sides of him. It was scarcely recognizable as Summer through the smoke and withering to chards. The sky was redder than blood and trees of all sizes and colors vanished beneath the ocean of flames, blowing high and circling the field tauntingly.
He'd been here before.
He recognized this dream. He'd seen it before.
But this shouldn't have been possible! He had the bracelets now! Shade couldn't destroy the Hollow without them! This was only a nightmare! That was all it could be! Shade didn't have the power to do all of this! It was impossible!
But Shade isn't the only one with power over fire, an unrecognizable sneer drifted over the shrieks and pleas of fairies he could not see. Everyonecan be convinced to use their powers for evil—even you.
No! he cried, struggling away from the voice and spinning on his heels to flee in the opposite direction. The fog was circling him now, forcing him further and further into his dream, relentlessly pressing him into the unknown. This isn't me! I can't do this!
Someone screamed and he recoiled, aware of the fire building in his hands. He yelped, desperately fighting to shake it out, only to send more sparks skittering amongst the ruin and setting even more of the meadow ablaze.
No, no, no! Stop!
You can't stop it, Phineas. The voice now sounded...familiar...but not Scarab's or even Scorpion's. Someone else's. Someone whom he had forgotten. You were never the hero of this story. You are here for...something else.
What are you talking about? he cried, ducking back as the fire lurched for him, and nearly ending up on his back. He realized at that moment that his jacket was gone, his wings fully exposed to the heat. I'm the Protector! I'm supposed to save the Hollow!
It was never about you, Bobble. You are only a part of the real plan. You were necessary to progress the tale and you have done very well, but now it is time to let the real hero step into the light.
I...I don't understand! There...there's someone else? Another Protector? Who? He knew that couldn't be right! He had both Life and Death! He'd been the anomaly, the first Protector in history to be alone. Scarab and Shade, Scorpion and Asha, Willow and Falcon, Clarion and Spurn...but he'd been alone. The only one without a counter-Protector (as Vidia liked to call them).
So, what had changed?
Who had been chosen in his place? Why was he being replaced right now, like this? Wasn't he good enough? Had he truly failed so miserably that there was no coming back from this? Was it because of Scarab? It had to be because of Scarab. He hadn't been good enough to save her and that mistake was going to cost him everything.
There was always going to be someone else, came the cool reply. You just weren't ready to know who. Besides, weren't you the one who said you weren't sure you wanted to be a hero?
He stubbornly chose not to answer the condescending question.
Well, the voice went on dryly. This is the chance you've been waiting for, then.
The fire circled behind him, the heat enveloped his wings, and then the world faded to black.
"YARGH!" he screamed, sitting up so quickly that any ordinary fairy would have thought all the forces of the heavens had just descended and struck him dead-on. The solid stone of the cave floor grounded him and he drew a few sharp breaths, rooting himself in the loud huffs of the dragon sound asleep behind him and the gentle flicker of the campfire dancing across the stormy night.
It's okay. I'm okay. It was just a dream. The Hollow is fine. Everyone is fine.
And, actually, this had been one of the tamer nightmares. No Scorpion. None of his friends were burning in the flames. The Pixie dust tree wasn't incinerated.
But that voice...he was sure he had heard it before.
He exhaled sharply, sitting up, running his hand against Kyto's snaking tail to regain his balance as he started to stand. The drake was not disturbed by his actions, snoring contentedly away in the darkest corner he could find. Outside the cave where they had taken shelter at sundown, thunder rumbled and lightning seeped through the treetops. It was storming yet again. It had rained for as long as he could remember. He really missed the sunlight.
And Spring.
And the Nook.
He missed the Hollow.
But most importantly, he missed his friends.
They had always been the ones to know what to do when things didn't work out the way they were supposed to. Why, even after all this time, had none of that rubbed off on him? Why couldn't he come up with plans at the drop of a hat or rush fearlessly into danger? Why instead did he choose to cower behind them, essentially nothing more than their shadow, too afraid of the world to face it?
Too cowardly.
Too afraid of being different.
Well, he was done being in the background. It didn't matter what the creepy voices in his head told him, he was the Protector and if what he saw in his dreams had even the slimmest chance of coming to culmination, then he had to find a way to stop it.
The bracelets rattled as he readjusted their bag and his hand absentmindedly slid back inside, fingering their cold surfaces, the encased power shooting through his limbs.
According to Kyto, just beyond the next range of mountains lay the secret base of the third generation of Protectors. It had been long abandoned, so it was the perfect place for Shade to go; someplace forgotten by time and age, a place so full of magic that only someone willing to risk everything would dare to set foot inside.
"Fairies go inside," the dragon had rumbled. "But they don't ever come back out. No one knows what happens within. Even I do not dare go too close. This is likely where your enemy has taken your friend. He will expect you to come after her. It is guaranteed to be a trap."
Of course, it was a trap. He'd expect nothing less.
But it didn't make a difference.
It was his turn to be the hero.
And this time, with the aid of the bracelets; not even Shade would be powerful enough to get in his way.
"Tink!" Terrence yelled. "Tink, wait up! Slow down!"
She ignored him, putting on another burst of speed and tearing through the treetops, leaving both her boyfriend and Asha (who was wondrously stopping to take in everything that they passed, from the edges of the Summer Meadow to the distant sight of Springtime Square). She didn't understand why they weren't just as panicked as she was. Bobble was in trouble! She knew it! Asha had said it herself! It had been a mistake to let him go alone.
No, not alone, she reminded herself firmly. Scarab went with him.
So, what had happened to Scarab? She had promised to keep him safe, so something must have gone very wrong when they met Kyto. Was the dragon as uncooperative as Scarab had feared? Were they both there, injured or worse? Did Kyto like the taste of fairy? Had a hawk gotten them on the way?
What was going on?
The mountain was still so far off...it would be hours before they could reach it.
Why couldn't she fly any faster?
Couldn't Neverland see that something was very wrong?
Why, for once in its entire existence, did the entire island want to keep her from reaching her friends? Was it trying to keep her away?
"Tinker Bell!" Asha cut in, her voice sounding distant. "Wait for us! You can't help anyone on your own!"
I can heal injuries, she'd told the two younger fairies after learning what had happened with the bracelets and Shade and everything in between. I have healing-talent. It was...a later accumulation, something that wouldn't have been in Scarab's book. If you can get me to Torth Mountain, I can help.
It didn't register with Tink until much later that they'd talked about the Bracelets, but they had never mentioned Torth Mountain.
So, how did Asha know where Scarab had hidden the fifth?
Unless she had been in on it from the beginning.
"Someone has been messing with the balance," Scarab had warned them when they first came to the Haven, seeking sanctuary from Shade's maniacal tyranny. At that time, Tink, along with the others, had assumed she had been referring to Shade, but now that didn't make sense. Shade was dead and things were still going haywire. Bobble's powers were supposed to be gone. There was no reason any of this should have still been happening...
...unless Shade wasn't the only threat to the Hollow's safety.
And the one fairy who had known too much...
...was Asha.
She hit the brakes so quickly that the other two immediately panicked, thinking she had spotted something, and Terrence went for the quill spear he had tucked into his belt, ready to fight at a moment's notice.
"What?" he hissed. "Tink, what's wrong?"
"We've...been looking at this whole thing completely wrong!" Tink exclaimed, feeling the anger bubbling up inside of her. This fairy had put the Hollow in danger, she had risked the lives of everyone who called Neverland their home, maybe killed one of her oldest friends...and for what? Revenge? What was Asha's motive? Why would she do this? Was it Scorpion? The disembodied voice in Bobble's head? Was he part of it too?
How many times had they been played? How many times had they walked right into Asha's plan without ever realizing it?
"Uh, what are you talking about?" Terrence asked, sharing a look with Asha. "Aren't we trying to get to Torth Mountain? Wasn't that, like, super urgent?"
"I think she's confused," Asha remarked. She sighed, fluttering up beside her and gazing past her to the looming grey clouds in the distance. It was going to rain again soon. They needed to keep going. They were running out of time. "Tinker Bell, whatever is bothering you, we can talk about it later. But there's no time right now. If your friend manages to merge the five bracelets, he will-"
"No!" Tink snapped, wheeling on her. "No, this charade is over, Asha! I know why you've been hiding from the Hollow for all these years and I know why you're here now! It's because of the bracelets, isn't it? That's what it's always been about! You wanted Bobble to go to Torth Mountain, and by doing so, you forced Scarab's hand. She had to reveal the other bracelets before you could get to them! You're the one who helped Shade take over the Hollow! You're the one behind all of this!"
"Tink, what are you talking about?" Terrence demanded, zipping back from Asha and coming to hover beside the tinker.
"No time to explain!" Tink retorted. "I'll tell you later, but first, I want to know the truth. Right now."
"The truth is much more complicated than you think," Asha fired back. "For a tinker, you really are daft. A pity, for you had so much potential. You can't see the whole picture. You have no idea what is really going on!"
"Tell us, then!" came the retort.
"The Duality Spell!" Asha snapped. "It's always been about the spell! You think you're safe, just because your friend risked his life to bring you back? No! He did something that only one other Protector has ever been powerful enough to do! He surrendered his talents to save the one he loved! Don't you get it? Love! That is the most powerful of all magic! A Duality Spell can only be completed by one who is willing to sacrifice everything to save another! It is, in essence, the same as splitting one's soul in half to give their heart to the one they treasure the most! It can only be done once and the side-effects are...unimaginable!"
"Wait, wait, wait, can you back that part up?" Terrence interjected.
"What are you talking about?" Tink demanded. The anger was boiling over, threatening to spill everywhere if she didn't find a way to contain it.
"You still don't get it, do you?" Asha exclaimed. "The whole reason I am here is to protect you! When the Protector saved you after Shade's stupid rampage, he gave you what no one else could!A second chance, something that even the healing-talents would be incapable of performing. He sacrificed his chance to save the Hollow for you.You have his powers!"
She smiled weakly as Terrence and Tink both stared on in horror. "Tinker Bell, you are the Protector of Life."