"Not much farther now," Briar said, gingerly stepping over a large tree root.

The gang could see why the good fairies had raised Aurora here. This part of the enchanted forest was so dense, so full of creatures that it would have been easy to overlook one peasant girl. Soon the cottage came into view. A little rough around the edges but no doubt loved by Queen Aurora. The family was known to vacation here during the summer. Now, however, the cottage appeared to be empty but looks could be deceiving. The door opened easily with a creaking moan.

"Mom's been meaning to have that fixed," Briar explained, "Come inside,"

Inside was in much the same condition the family had left it. Sparkling clean the simple cookware ready stored in the cupboard ready for use. Comfortable quilts adorn the living room furniture, and the fireplace mantle decorated in pictures with a vase of dried roses at the center. The only thing askew in the entire cottage were the chairs that had been knocked away from the table, most likely in an angry fit. Still, Fred and Daphne poked around carefully downstairs while Velma inspected the upstairs bedrooms.

"I don't think there's anything here," the bespectacled teen declared defeated upon her return downstairs.

Tha-thunk.

"What was that?" Daphne startled.

"It came from the closet," Fred observed.

Moving as one unit the gang apprehensively neared the closet door. Fred reached out a shaking arm and pulled the door open to discover Sparrow Hood rocking back and forth, arms crossed over his leg, his back hitting the wall was responsible for the noise.

"Sparrow?" Briar gasped, "What are you doing here?"

"Duchess got mad at me and locked me in here." Sparrow stood with a back-cracking stretch, looking around, "Where is she?"

"Relax, she isn't here"

"I'm worried for her, where did she go?"

"Um..."

"Where, Briar?" Sparrow gripped the princess's shoulders frantically, "Where?"

"Ever After High," Briar relented, "She's making her final stand there"

"Take me to her"

"I'm not sure-"

"Please"

"Let's go"

...

"Is everyone clear on the plan?" Duncan asked the group as they neared the school.

"We have a plan?" Sam looked up from the spell book she was leafing through.

"The plan," Raven quietly explained, "Is for you guys to go in first, weaken Duchess, get as many of our spelled friends away as possible while Christy and I gather our magic for our fight with Duchess, once we move in Duncan and Dirk switch to protecting the renaming students and teachers"

"We don't want anyone getting hurt," Melinda added.

"I'm not sure I can do this," Christina bit the inside of her cheek nervously.

"You'll do great, Christy," Clawdeen reassured.

"Whatever you say, Clawdeen," Christina gulped as the towers of Ever After High came into view.

"Everyone ready?" Duncan asked, extending his wings.

"As we'll ever be"

Duncan flew ahead of the others, breathing a jet of flame to grab Duchess's attention while Sam and Melinda crept in from behind wands firing beams of magic. Duchess was at first, surprised but quickly recovered herself, erecting a magical shield in hopes of repelling the flames only for the heat to splinter and crack it before it shattered completely. With that plan out the window she engaged in a battle with Melinda, firing beam after beam of crackling magic but Melinda, who had trained in magic alongside Christina at an early age, had no trouble.

Duchess was getting aggravated. Between Melinda, Sam, and Faybelle working together she wasn't sure where to aim her increasingly weaker attacks. So distracted by the trio she didn't notice Duncan and the other guys move all of the sleeping and stone students to safety, steadily clearing the lawn, making it harder and harder for her to hide.

Finally, on the edge of pulling her hair out, Melinda grabbed the scepter with both hands, shrieking like a banshee she let the magic explode, slamming into her three attackers so hard they tore up the lawn as they flew backward landing in a tangled heap among the dirt and rocks.

"Are you ghouls okay?" Clawdeen rushed over.

"Owww," they collectively groaned.

"Duncan, Dirk, Shaggy, get them out of here!" Clawdeen ordered frantically.

"SAM!" Danny had already stopped his aerial assault to scoop Sam from the ground bringing her to a spot out of the way, followed by Dirk and Duncan who carried Melinda and Faybelle.

"Ready?" Christina looked at Raven.

"If you are"

"Hey, Duchess!" Christina sent a stream of flames at their advisory.

"How about going a few rounds with us?" Raven added, tossing her own fireballs into the mix.

"Gladly," Duchess turned her attention to the two girls, desperate to get back at Raven for breaking her spell.

Knowing that Raven was Duchess's primary target, Christina stepped partially in front of her, scepter at the ready. The magical object was far larger than the wand she was used to handling. The three girls exchanged wild beams of magic as Christina and Raven fought to get close enough to Duchess to rip the queen's scepter away. It was a slow, tedious task that was steadily wearing on everyone's nerves. Fed up, Christina started to sing under her breath.

"You and I walk a fragile line

I have known it all this time

But I never thought I'd live to see it break

It's getting dark and it's all so quiet

And I can't trust anything now

And it's coming over you like it's all a big mistake

Oh, holding my breath

Won't lose you again

Something's made your eyes go cold

Come on, come on, don't leave me like this

I thought I had you figured out

Something's gone terribly wrong

You're all I wanted

Come on, come on, don't leave me like this

I thought I had you figured out

Can't breathe whenever you're gone

Can't turn back now, I'm haunted

The ground under Duchess's feet began to quake, only the ground under her feet, shaking, rising falling, throwing her off balance so badly that her sole focus became staying upright. Christina poured all her willpower into her spell, using the song to contort the ground in time with the melody. On and on until the scepter in her hands crackled and exploded, the magic yanking the hybrid from the ground in a burst of flame that knocked Raven into Duchess.

"CHRISTINA!" Clawdeen grabbed onto Shaggy to keep him from rushing the column of purple and black flame.

When it cleared a great purple dragon roared above their heads.

Scared, Duchess scrambled back, and seeing her chance Raven ripped the scepter from her, "This is MINE THANK YOU!"

Like Christina Raven was also overcome by a sudden blast of magic but this was pitch black, thrumming with the energy of hurt and pain exploding from Raven to warp the sky into a lighting storm while the teen cackled with laughter too dark and distorted to be her own.

"ALL OF EVER AFTER WILL BE MINE!" she cackled, her eyes glowing red, she lifted the scepter to the sky, the magic arcing across it to strike the others who watched with mouths agape.

Christina smacked it away with her tail so that it burnt a tree instead of vaporizing her friends.

"Why you..." Raven turned on Christina firing at her instead but the dragon was quicker, beating her wings She raced into the clouds, undaunted by the storm where she sent down a stream of flame. But, Raven jumped out of the way, firing at Christina again. This time she made contact, the magic tearing a hole into the dragon's wing.

Christina hit the ground, transforming back as she groaned with pain.

"RAVEN!" Arthur screamed over the storm, rushing towards his love, "THIS ISN'T YOU!"

"COME BACK TO US, SIS, YOU CAN DO IT," Dirk added.

"We believe in you!"

Raven started to shake so violently that they feared she'd tear herself in two.

"I...AM...NOT...EVIL!"

The thundering black magic turned a blinding white, exploding over the landscape to undo all of Duchess's spells as the gang and Briar arrived with Sparrow. When the light died down Raven crumpled to the ground with exhaustion.

"I knew you could do it," Arthur kissed her passionately, cradling her close.

Meanwhile, Shaggy raced past, landing on his knees beside Christina who he stared at in shock. Her hair had darkened from a chocolate brown to an almost black with purple overtaking it halfway down her back, her wings had tripled in size, more closely resembling her mothers though they were crossed with some sort of bat and sweeping back from her head were a pair of horns everyone knew well. She still clutched Maleficent's scepter which glowed a dull purple.

"Did..did we win?" she slurred out, shakily sitting up, "What?"

"Christina..."

"What?"

"You..."

"DUCHESS" Sparrow raced past drawing their attention to the limp prima ballerina a few feet away. With a care he wasn't known for Sparrow lifted Duchess from the ground, "She needs help!"

"Let's go back to my house before everyone really wakes up," Christina stood from the ground.

...

"Well done!" Alissa praised them happily only to gasp when she saw her daughter.

"What?" Christina was scared, her friends had been giving her strange looks but said nothing as they rushed Duchess to the manor.

"Butterfly," Gently taking Christina by the arm she brought her to the mirror.

The hybrid let out a strangled squeak, her mother tightening her grip to help Christina stay upright.

"This is a good thing, Christina," Maleficent joined them at the mirror, "It means you've unlocked your full power"

"I'm not sure how I feel about this"

"And that is okay"

Christina sat heavily in her father's favorite arm chair watching Sparrow lay Duchess on the couch.

"You have to help her!" he pleaded to the two elder fae, "Please? She's barely breathing!"

Alissa and Maleficent carefully examined Duchess their faces growing dark with worry.

"She's slipping away, the scepter was too much for her," Maleficent declared somberly.

"But, but, you can help her right? Right?" Sparrow grabbed desperately onto Alissa's arm. "Please, please"

"We can't but perhaps you can"

"Me?"

"You clearly love her, don't you?"

"Yes," Sparrow breathlessly admitted much to the shock of the others.

"Then you should know what to do"

Sparrow fell to his knees beside Duchess, taking her increasingly colder hands in his own. She certainly didn't look the part of someone who, only hours earlier had been relishing in the joy of cursing others left and right. No, Duchess was back in her original dress now torn and soiled with dirt, her elaborate hairstyle gone the white black streaked hair falling across her face in tangled locks, makeup smeared and skin growing pale. One hand still holding hers he traced the outline of her face with his fingers, tears welling in his eyes.

"Duchess," his voice was a hoarse whisper, "I should have acted sooner. I-I love you" Tears spilling he kissed her softly and sweetly, hoping that however far away she may have been she could feel his love calling out to her to come home.

He wept when he pulled away. There was no change. Duchess was still limp. Then...

"Sparrow?"

"Duchess!" he hugged her close, "You're okay!"

"What happened? What am I doing here?"

"It's a long story"

"It can wait," Maleficent spoke, startling Duchess, "Miss Swan still needs her rest"

"We'll show them to a guest room," Duncan stepped up.

"Thank you, Duncan"

While everyone was focused on Duchess, Faybelle tried to slip away.

"Leaving so soon?" Christina followed her outside.

"I need to return this," Faybelle looked at her dad's wand, "And...check on Mom"

"Okay"

"I can't believe you get the scepter, I hate you"

"I love you too, Bye, Faybelle," Christina stepped back into the manor, watching her cousin fly away.

Shutting the door, Christina went to her grandmother who sat beside one of the front windows watching newly awakened songbirds flutter through the air.

"I believe this belongs to you, Grandmother"

"No, Dear, it belongs to you now, it was supposed to go to your mother but she wouldn't hear of it so now it belongs to you"

"But..."

"I will be quite alright, see," Maleficent drew another scepter from her robes, this one was smaller and didn't pulse with magic, a regular wand refashioned into a staff mostly to help Maleficent keep balance as there were rumors she had never completely adjusted to the loss of her wings.

"I..."

"You aren't going to talk me out of it," Maleficent stood, "Come I believe we both need some fresh air"

...

(MN) Little did our heroes realize their adventures were far from over.

(FN) Indeed, another more pressing one lurked just around the corner.

(TP) After all, Secrets don't stay secret forever.

(BP) Oh, I can't wait!