Trapped between a snarling, roaring crowd of creatures, and a sharp drop to their likely deaths, the fairies, pixies, and heroes tried their best to stand united.
"By my count," Tecna said, the slightest waver in her voice giving away her fear. "We'll have to take on ten monsters apiece."
"Ten's not so bad," Bloom gritted out, balling her hands into fists.
A hand touched hers, uncurling her fingers gently, and she looked around to find that Sky had appeared next to her, watching her with unreadable emotion. Torn between wanting to pull away from whatever that emotion was in his eyes, and wanting to lean in, Bloom let him take her hand in his and squeeze. He watched her for another long moment, before he looked away, eyes searching the skies for something.
"Pixies, you should fly out of here and save yourselves," Flora said, looking imploringly at them.
But they weren't having it.
"No way," Chatta growled, hands forming tiny fists.
"We go down together," Tune added while the other pixies nodded furiously in agreement.
"What do you reckon, Ace?" Riven was saying to Sky, eyeing the creatures. "Back through the traps?"
The creatures could clearly sense something was off with that part of the forest for they were keeping well clear of it, leaving a narrow gap through which they might be able to escape.
"It's the only way," Sky said, before clapping a hand on Riven's shoulder. "You can do this!"
Riven's expression didn't change at Sky's words, but his shoulders squared and his chin lifted slightly, a steely look of determination entering his eyes.
"We're going to need a distraction," he said.
"I've got this," Musa broke in, and in a flash of light her Charmix pendant had appeared on her arm. "Lockette, can you make sure it's a direct hit?"
"You got it," the pixie squeaked, swinging her key-shaped sceptre.
Thrusting out a hand, a sonic attack burst from Musa, making even her own friends wince a little at the strength of it. But the creatures certainly bore the brunt as Lockette used her own magic to make sure it hit the mark.
Chaos erupted, the volume of the creatures' roars increased ten-fold and they lunged forward and stumbled into one another as they tried to escape the sonic waves.
"Now!" Sky yelled and Riven took off, the others hot on his heels.
Completely disoriented by Musa's attacks, the creatures thrashed their heads from side to side and stomped their feet, making them almost as likely to hit one of the fairies, heroes, or pixies by mistake. Forced to scatter in the chaos it was almost impossible to keep track of one another, and all they could do was focus on Riven and make sure they were following him through the traps.
Whatever sense had kept the creatures from following them through the traps the first time had clearly been disturbed by Musa's sonic attack because this time they stampeded through after them.
Chancing a look behind her, Bloom blew out a sigh of relief when she saw the first few creatures that followed them through the traps set them off, nets appearing out of nowhere to snag them up. Musa's sonic attack must have been wearing off though because some of them were wise enough to jump out of the way while still more continued to thunder on through.
The chaos was so immense that it was all too easy for Layla to fall behind unnoticed when a lupine jumped out from behind a tree and landed in front of her, cutting her off from her friends.
"Uh, guys?" she called, but her voice was lost under the roaring of the creatures.
Left with no choice and mind scrambling, Layla spun on her heel to run back the way she'd come, deftly dodging traps and other creatures.
Her legs burned as she sprinted away from the lupine who's pursuit was so relentless that she could actually feel its hot breath on the back of her neck. Breaths coming short and fast both from having to run but also the fear and panic that was starting to creep in, Layla barely realised what was happening as the trees stopped abruptly and she hurtled towards the cliff edge.
"If only I had my Charmix-" Layla panted out before breaking off with a scream as she skidded to a halt just in time to avoid going over the edge. The earth beneath her was soft and crumbly and she scrambled backwards as a few rocks broke off beneath her feet and skittered down into the valley.
She spun around to find the lupine still bearing down on her, maw pulled back to show its ferocious teeth. As her brain scrambled for an escape route time ran out and the lupine launched itself at her. She twisted and fell with a yelp as the lupine's massive paws hit her shoulders, claws cutting into her skin. They slammed against the earth and Layla wriggled as she felt more of it start to break away and she did her best to keep them both on solid ground. The lupine roared in her face and she cringed back, pressing herself more firmly against the soft earth beneath her. She shoved desperately at the lupine's heavy body and head, trying to push the creature off her.
"No, no," she gasped, as the earth became less and less firm beneath her.
The lupine seemed oblivious, snarling and snapping at her.
"No, no, no, no."
She gave one last desperate twist beneath the lupine, almost freeing herself, then the earth came away completely from the cliff, and both she and the lupine went weightless as they fell through the air.
Watching the fairies, heroes, and pixies get away yet again, Icy clenched a fist around her necklace, felt the irritation pulsating from it, and nearly wrenched it from around her neck.
"Every. Single. Time," she hissed. "How do they do this every single time?"
She and her coven sisters looked over their carefully laid traps, nearly vibrating with rage. A third of the creatures they'd carefully spelled were caught up in those very traps, another third were wandering around in confusion, while the final third were still half-heartedly pursuing their prey. They flew down from their perch and Darcy set about releasing the trapped creatures with a sigh.
"These beasts are worthless," Stormy complained. "They can't even finish off a bunch of little pests."
"Stormy's right, Darcy. Your beasts got outwitted by a bunch of magic-less fairies and their brainless boyfriends."
Darcy glowered at her coven-sisters. "I didn't see either of you two coming up with any ideas."
"We need something better to control," Stormy spat, looking at the disoriented creatures with disgust. "Something we can ride into battle on to snatch Bloom ourselves." A gleam entered her eyes. "Hey, aren't dragodons native to this planet?"
Icy tilted her head, slowly releasing her necklace. "Now there's an idea," she purred.
A creature somewhere between a dinosaur and dragons, dragodons were large four-legged creatures, with thick, armoured skin. They didn't have wings, but made up for it with their height and muscled limbs which could carry them far and fast. They were mostly peaceful, when left alone, but would turn vicious when trifled with. Perfectly befitting to be a witch's stead.
"No more games," she said to her coven-sisters, voice growing hard. "We get the dragodons and then we finish this once and for all."
Sky only allowed himself to stop running and slow to a stop, gesturing for the others to do the same once he was completely sure they'd left the creatures behind.
Only Bloom didn't seem to want to stop, even as she struggled to regain her breath after running for so long. "We can't stop, the creatures will still be coming. And if not them, then the Trix themselves."
"We can take a quick break," Sky said evenly, looking over the group and missing the way Bloom's jaw clenched in response. He could see the exhaustion and worry in his friend's faces and knew they needed a moment to stop, regroup, and come up with a new plan.
"Where's Helia?" Flora asked fretfully, worrying at her wrist. "He never showed up to help Stella and Layla."
A murmur of worry went through the group as they looked around and realised his absence. But Sky quickly broke in, "It's okay, I sent him to get the ship. I figured we'd need it."
"So we can get out of here?" Lockette asked hopefully.
Sky nodded. "That's the idea. But he might be a while. He had to get back to town on foot."
"What's the plan?" Bloom asked impatiently, crossing her arms. Before anyone could answer, she continued, "I don't think we should wait around for the Trix to come after us like we always do. We should go find them."
Her friends stared at her.
"We don't have any magic, B," Musa said pointedly.
She shrugged moodily and looked away.
Timmy cleared his throat awkwardly. "I do think Bloom is right, in that we can't keep running away. I think it would be a better tactical move if we find a defensible location and set some traps of our own. Then we can wait there for Helia to-"
"Wait," Stella said suddenly. "Where's Layla?"
The group went quiet and then around at each other, as if she were going to suddenly appear in their midst.
Flora's hands went over her mouth as she looked around in horror. "I don't- she must have gotten separated when we ran back through the traps."
"We have to go back for her!" Musa exclaimed, and looked about ready to do just that when Digit spoke up.
"What's that?" she asked, pointing at something zooming through the air towards them.
The group braced but as the speck got closer they quickly realised that it was just Piff, her expression worried. A torn piece of fabric was clutched in her hand.
"Piff!" Flora called, and reached for her. "Are you alright? Have you seen Layla?"
Piff landed on Flora's palm and sniffed as Chatta patted her on the shoulder. "She fell," she said between sniffs. "I was sleeping in her hood and then all of a sudden we were falling. I tried to catch her but…" she trailed off and held up the piece of torn fabric.
"Where did she fall?" Stella asked. "Into the valley?"
Piff sniffed and nodded before yawning. She rubbed her eyes furiously but her natural sleepiness was already overtaking her once more.
"We have to go back for her," Musa said firmly, looking between Riven and Sky.
The two guys exchanged looks before nodding.
"Of course," Sky said. "But we have to be smart about this."
Layla heard a desperate cry of her name, felt little hands tugging at her hair and clothes, then nothing as she and the lupine fell through the air, her stomach flying along with it, until finally they slammed into the ground at the base of the cliff, Layla landing on top of the lupine. Her breath left her in a single gasp with the force of the collision and she could do nothing but lay gasping for breath on top of its soft fur for a moment as she waited for it to return. The lupine didn't stir beneath her but Layla didn't give herself more than a minute to recover before she was scrambling up and off it's body, practically tripping over her feet to get away.
She eyed the lupine in fear, waiting for it to get up and attack her once more, but it still didn't move. Swallowing nervously, Layla shuffled closer and peered at it, but as her heart sank, she realised it wasn't even breathing anymore. It had died on impact.
"Oh no," Layla whispered sadly, before a flash of anger overcame her. But not anger towards the lupine, but at the witches for forcing it to act against its nature and lead to this.
"Layla!" a voice cried, and she looked away from the sad fate of the lupine to look up from where the voice had come.
Relief surged through her as she looked up at the worried face of Piff hovering above her. The last she could remember, Piff had been napping in her hood like normal, but she must have woken up and come free in the fall. Better that than getting squished, Layla thought with a grimace.
"Piff! I'm okay! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. But how are you going to get out?!"
Layla hurried over to the base of the cliff and touched her hand to the wall, feeling the combination of rock and soft earth it was made up of. The earth itself almost instantly crumbled away in her hand, explaining why it had collapsed so easily at the top of the cliff. It was way too soft to even attempt to climb, even if it wasn't completely sheer with no footholds.
"I don't know. You might need to go find the others and see if they can help." The words stuck a little in her throat, but Layla forced them out regardless; this was what having friends was all about after all.
"I'll go find them," Piff vowed.
"Okay, I'll-" Layla broke off as she heard a growl off somewhere to her left. "I think I need to get out of this area, it's too exposed." She had no idea if the creatures down here were also affected by the witches' magic, or if they were even friendly to begin with. With no magic, and no way of defending herself, her only option was to find somewhere safe to hide out until help came.
"Okay, but don't go too far."
"I'll try not to," Layla said, even as she started to head for the trees and think that she might not have much choice.
"We fell somewhere over there," Piff said, gesturing off to the right, as they all assembled on the edge of the cliff.
Deciding that it wouldn't be safe to stay in the area, the group had looped around in a big circle to approach the cliff's edge further along to see what they could find. They could just, in the distance, see the unmoving body of the lupine and the debris from the collapse, but there was no sign of Layla.
"She felt too exposed waiting there so she went to find somewhere safer," Piff said worriedly. "But I don't know how far she got or even what direction she went in. We should have made a better plan, I should have-"
It was the most worked up any of them had ever seen Piff who was usually the most placid of all the pixies. But it seemed that changed when her bonded fairy was in danger.
"Hey," Sky broke in, his voice gentle. "It's okay, you did good. We'll find her." Piff sniffed and nodded, flying over to settle on his shoulder. Meanwhile, Sky had glanced at Timmy. "What do you think?"
Timmy did a quick inspection of the state of the cliff's edge. "It's very soft," he said. "Not ideal for climbing. We should send down as few people as possible to avoid any further collapses."
"I can use my sceptre and the piece of Layla's hoodie to track what direction she went in," Lockette supplied helpfully.
"And all of us pixies can fly down to avoid putting weight on the cliff," Digit added.
"Perfect. I think all of us guys are too heavy to even try and climb down safely, only Musa and Stella have their Charmix, so we'll need them with us to set up defences against the witches, so maybe Bloom can go down with the pixies."
Sky shifted and folded his arms across his chest, but didn't object when Timmy glanced at him.
Bloom frowned. "I'd rather be there to confront the witches. Flora or Tecna could go down."
"I need Tecna with me to plan our defences, and you're smaller than Flora, less weight on the cliff."
Bloom sighed sharply. "Fine," she said, throwing up her hands.
Sky cleared his throat. "Brandon, Riven, start rigging up a simple harness so we can lower Bloom down, there should be enough rope in my pack for that. Digit, you know runic magic, right?"
"Sure do. What were you thinking?"
He gestured for Bloom to sit down on the ground, and sat himself with Digit balanced on his knee. He sketched out a couple of runes into the soft dirt for her to copy.
"Most of our gear is reinforced with runic magic," he explained to Bloom, while Digit got to work, inking them into the soles of her shoes. "These will help with balance, steadiness, even a bit of luck keeping the earth solid beneath you."
"Thanks," Bloom said, her voice quiet. "You're always looking out for me."
He touched her ankle, stroking it lightly. "You're my girl," he said simply.
"All done," Digit announced, and the moment was broken.
Sky stood then reached down to help Bloom to her feet. Riven and Brandon brought over the harness they'd rigged up, and everyone watched as she climbed into it, tightening it as much as possible.
"It won't be the most comfortable, we didn't have time for anything better," Brandon said apologetically. "And we'll have to lower her in by hand."
"It's fine," Bloom assured him. "Let's do this."
The guys picked up the rope attached to her harness, and Sky pecked a quick kiss of Bloom's cheek for luck, before she started back towards the edge of the cliff. Her friends watched on nervously, and the pixies hovered in the air around her, ready to leap in with their magic if needed.
"Be careful," Sky murmured to her as she set her first foot over the edge.
Her trip down the side of the cliff was slow going, but went better than any of them expected, given the state of the soft earth. A couple times her foot slipped and she had to reposition, but the guy's grip on the rope was sure and steady, and she made it to the bottom safe and sound.
She climbed out of the harness and waved a hand to her friends as the guys pulled the rope back up. She touched a hand to the device Sky had clipped to the belt loop of her shorts, which would allow her to communicate with its twin that Sky had when she found Layla and was ready to be brought back up.
"Layla's this way, Bloom," Lockette said quietly, coming to rest on her shoulder. Piff was already on the other, eyelids drooping.
"Okay," she said, and together with the pixies, she headed for the tree line in the direction Lockette's sceptre was pointing.
She looked back only once to find her friends waving and moving off to get started on their own part of the plan. The only figure who remained stationary was Sky and somehow Bloom knew he wouldn't move until she was out of sight. A small smile pulled at the corners of her mouth and she turned back around and kept going.
Leading the witches away from the cliff's edge to keep them from going after Bloom and Layla, and then finding a place that would be defensible was the group's biggest priority as they walked away from the cliff. So they travelled deep into the forest, following along a stream until it opened out into a large field, clear except for a couple of trees and the stream cutting through. It looked like the space might be used to hold events as there were logs arranged like seating but at the moment it was totally deserted.
Timmy and Sky glanced at each other.
"Here?" Sky asked.
Timmy's mind was already spinning with ideas. "Yeah, here's good."
"You plan on defending this?" Riven asked.
"I plan on building some traps," Timmy said with a grin.
He quickly set them all to work. The Requestrians might not be happy about it, but Timmy didn't really care as he instructed the other three guys to start cutting notches into as many log seats as they could and assembling them into a rudimentary hut-like structure. Meanwhile, Stella and Musa had conjured their Charmix pendants and were using their magic to shift large stones into a dam and cut off the water midway down the stream.
Brandon, Sky, and Riven were quickly sweating as they hauled logs to and fro, but the structure swiftly came together, even if Sky did have questions about its integrity.
"Timmy, are you sure we should cut notches in the middle of every single log?"
"Positive!" he called back, inspecting their handiwork. "Just two more to go and we'll be set."
Riven made a face at Sky, clearly having spotted the same problem but they just shrugged at each other and kept working; Timmy had topped the entire grade in their Strategy and Tactics class, they were sure he knew what he was doing.
"And hey, Riven," Timmy continued, oblivious to their silent conversation. "Don't forget to set up the net behind that rock to the east."
"Tecna and Flora are working on it now."
Nearby, Stella and Musa could feel the strain as they pushed their Charmix magic to its absolute limit. It had lasted longer than before because they weren't attempting one big attack, but every rock they lifted felt like a boulder.
"I don't think I can keep this up much longer," Stella gritted out through clenched teeth. "My Charmix power is running out."
"Mine's almost out too."
Luckily, the next rock they shifted blocked off the final trickle of water, and Stella conjured up one final sunbeam to dry up the empty riverbed. Her Charmix pendant disappeared, and Musa's wasn't far behind, as they sank onto the riverbank with identical groans.
"Good job, you guys," Timmy called, and they used the last of their waning strength to give him a thumbs up. His attention went to the guys. "Keep chopping, we want this structure to be totally collapsible."
In another section of the field, Flora and Tecna were slowly weaving together a net of vines, but it was slow going.
"I wish I had my Charmix already, or even my normal powers," Flora was lamenting as she twisted pieces of vine together. "I could usually do this in a jiffy-jiff."
"We'll get it when it's time," Tecna said serenely, sounding most unlike herself.
"Yeah, I guess. Even having Helia here would be helpful, I noticed he was really good with knots when we were trying to get out of that cable- what?!" she asked, breaking off with a cry when she spotted Tecna's smirk.
"Yeah, I bet you noticed. You seem to notice a lot about Helia."
"Oh, what, like you don't notice everything about Timmy. You were just talking about how good his traps are."
"Because they are! The best part about them is they're relatively simple functionally, it's that they play to the witches' patterns of behaviour ensuring that they work exactly as- whatever…" she broke off into a mumble at Flora's knowing smile.
"You should tell him that. I bet he'd like to hear it from you."
"I'm sure he knows," Tecna said, squinting at the net like it was the most interesting thing in the world at that moment.
"That's not the same as you telling him," Flora said gently, but Tecna didn't respond.
"Hey girls, we need you over here," Timmy suddenly called to them, and they both jumped.
"Coming," Flora called, and she put the final touch on the net before hurrying over.
The others were all standing around a pile of berries they'd gathered.
"So, we're planning on enchanting this fruit so we can feed it to the creatures and hopefully remove whatever spell the witches used on them."
"Except it's not exactly mine or Stella's area of expertise," Musa said.
They all glanced at Flora, who, without Bloom there, was easily the next best at healing spells. "It's a simple magic removal spell," she said calmly. "You guys have got this."
Stella grimaced so Musa sighed and recalled her Charmix pendant. She brushed a hand over the gem and the vibrations inside seemed muted, as if it hadn't fully recharged from before. She only needed it long enough to do one spell however, so she quickly recited the incantation and watched as a cloud of red magic engulfed the berries before fading.
"Looked good to me," Flora said, when Musa looked at her questioningly.
Timmy nodded in approval. "Alright, everyone load up."
"The spell is pretty potent," Flora explained to the group as they each grabbed a handful and carefully stored the fruit in their pockets. "You won't need to feed each creature much to remove the spell."
"You heard, Flora," Timmy said, glancing around at them all. "Let's stretch these as far as we can."
Stella noticed Sky fiddling with the device on his hip. "Anything from Bloom?" she asked hopefully.
"Nothing yet," he said. His voice was neutral, purposefully calm, but they could all hear the slight note of tension beneath it. The group shifted uneasily but no one commented on it.
Musa searched for a way to change the subject. "So, what now?"
Riven flashed a grin at her. "Now we go and do some recon."
Layla walked along a cleared path she'd found cutting through the trees, hoping that it meant that the valley was used somewhat regularly by the Requestrians. Still, even with that hope, she was careful to remain alert; she couldn't rely on the hope that any creatures would be friendly or that they hadn't been affected by the witches' magic.
Still, no creatures crossed her path, and she didn't even hear anymore growling like she'd heard before.
Layla slowed and looked around at the trees surrounding her, thinking that finding a nice fork to sit in while waiting for the others to come back for her might not be a bad idea. She picked out one with plenty of sturdy looking branches and began to climb; the movements felt sure and familiar as she pushed herself from branch to branch, having used trees as a child to climb out of the palace grounds.
Once she was near the top, she slowed to a stop and balanced on a branch, looking out across the canopy and the valley that stretched out before her.
"Wow, this place is huge," she breathed.
At first there didn't seem any obvious ways out of the valley, but then her eyes caught on something, a split in the cliff way, as if it had been cracked open.
"Is that a cave?"
Layla knew there was no guarantee that the cave would lead to anything other than a dead end, let alone back to somewhere anywhere near her friends. She also knew that her friends would come for her, and that it was probably smarter to just sit tight and wait to be rescued.
"Except I never was very good at being the damsel in distress," Layla murmured to herself with a slight smile. Then she started to climb down and headed in the direction of the cave.
Musa and Riven crept through the forest towards the witches, where they sat astride a trio of dragodons, discussing their plans.
"Stop here," Riven breathed, pulling her behind a tree.
They were close enough that they could just hear the witches' voices carrying towards them as they peered around the tree, but it was an effort for Musa to concentrate on what they were saying and not on the warmth of Riven's body pressed against her back.
"-Stella's mine," Darcy was hissing. "I want to snuff out that light once and for all."
"Okay, fine," Stormy retorted. "But I call Musa. I'm going to trample her beneath my dragodon's feet!"
Riven stiffened and made a low noise in the base of his throat. Musa was glad he was behind her and didn't see the smile that it brought to her face.
Icy's voice snapped through the forest. "I don't care who takes out who! Stay focused on our main objective: capturing Bloom and taking her back to Lord Darkar."
The smile slipped from Musa's face. Hearing that Darcy and Stormy wanted to take them out was one thing, it was almost expected to hear from the witches. But the way Icy spoke about Bloom, the harshness as she spoke about taking her back to Shadowhaunt, that was something different.
She must have stirred because Riven's hand found her waist, squeezing warningly.
"Now, let's go!" Icy ordered the other two, and the entire coven moved out, riding their dragodons in the direction of the field.
"We need to go," Musa said as soon as they were out of earshot, turning to look up at Riven. "We need to warn the others, and then we need to find Bloom!"
He nodded seriously. "We'll deal with the witches and then we'll find her."
And feeling reassured by the surety in his voice, Musa nodded, and grabbed his hand, hurrying them both back to the field.
Back at the field, the others were putting the final touches on their traps, making sure everything was just so.
"Okay, you guys, I think that should do it," Timmy called, nodding in approval.
But something was troubling Tecna. "I still don't understand what the witches are doing here. They need the final piece of the codex, and that's at the pixie's village. Why are they bothering to mess with us? They have to be after something."
Stella shrugged. "Maybe they're just trying to pass the time until they come up with a plan to get the codex. They don't have to be after something."
"But they are!" a breathless voice called, and the group looked around to find Musa and Riven running towards them.
"Are the witches-" Timmy began.
"They're coming," Musa confirmed, her face grave. "But there's something else. They are here for a reason, they want Bloom."
Sky's head snapped up. He'd been staring into the distance, seemingly lost in thought, but that had gotten his attention.
"They want Bloom?" he demanded.
Musa nodded.
"We heard them say it, Ace," Riven confirmed. "We don't know why but they want Bloom and they want to take her back to Shadowhaunt."
Sky's jaw clenched.
"Sky-" Brandon began.
"We don't have time to change the plan," he said firmly. "As long as the witches are on their way to us, they're not going after Bloom. We'll handle them until help arrives and then we'll go find Bloom, Layla, and the pixies."
Something appeared at the tree-line bordering the field, drawing Stella's attention. "Incoming!" she warned.
"Everyone in positions!" Timmy yelled. "Tecna, you're with me." He grabbed her hand and led her towards the hut, only dropping it so he could climb up.
"Thanks," she said breathlessly, when he leaned down to offer her a hand up.
"Don't worry about it," he said and adjusted his glasses.
From the vantage point lying on the hut's flat roof, they could see perfectly as the witches led their army out onto the field. They rode atop three enormous dragodons and were backed up by a horde of lupines, diplosauruses, and winged beasts. They could see Brandon and Sky in position behind the few trees that dotted the field, while Stella and Flora ran the other way to hide. Musa was supposed to be following them but Riven darted out a hand to grab her wrist and pull her to hide with him under a large rock ledge jutting out from the ground.
They seemed to be pressed awfully close together from Tecna's viewpoint and the development shouldn't have been distracting and yet it still took root in the back of her mind. If she were to guess, she would think that one of them had finally plucked up the courage to finally tell the other how they felt. She swallowed roughly and glanced at Timmy beside her.
He was already looking at her. "Ready, Tec?"
She nodded, forcibly pushing whatever was going on between Musa and Riven from her mind. "Ready."
"Okay, time for Plan A!"
Oblivious to what they were riding into, the witches lead their dragodons down into the dry riverbed, aiming for the freshly built hut beside it.
"I bet they're all hiding in that little log cabin," Stormy screeched, and cackled with laughter.
Musa and Riven watched them ride past, holding their breath.
"Alright," Riven said. "They're waiting for you, Musa. You better get in position."
Musa glanced at him, amused. "And you pulled me down to hide with you, why exactly?" she teased.
"Go," was all he said in return, but he was smiling.
She laughed softly and ducked out from beneath the ledge, running towards her friends.
"Now, Musa!" Timmy yelled, right as Stella and Flora came out of their hiding spot to meet her.
Musa's Charmix pendant appeared in a flash of light. She sent a sonic wave attack through the damned up water, stirring it until it surged as a big wave up and over the rock wall. Flora picked up a strong stick they'd left strategically on the river bank and started to dislodge the rocks to help the water along, while Stella quickly summoned her own Charmix to add a little magical aid.
The water surged down the dried out riverbed quicker than the witches or the beasts could react. The water swept the witches right off their mounts and they fell with a scream into the water while the creatures struggled to stay on their feet in the quick-moving water.
Coughing and spluttering, Icy, Darcy, and Stormy dragged themselves out of the water, while the creatures did the same, wandering off in scattered directions to get away from the water.
"Oh no you don't," Darcy growled, scraping her wet hair out of her face. Her eye makeup was smeared from the water but she seemed unbothered as she held up a hand, curling her fingers as purple magic flowed from her palm.
The creatures slowly came to a stop and turned back in the direction of the witches.
"Come. Back. Here." Darcy's voice was a growl and the dragodons complied with her order, ambling back towards the witches while the rest of the creatures stayed still, waiting for new orders.
The fairies and heroes watched it all go down eagerly, quietly reveling as their plan worked perfectly. The witches weren't defeated, nowhere near it, but they were on the back foot, scrambling to get their creatures back under control, which meant they could go ahead with the next part of their plan.
"Layla!" Bloom called out as she and the pixies trekked through the valley looking for their friend. She winced as her voice echoed through the trees and she just hoped that she didn't attract anything unfriendly.
"Layla!" the pixies squeaked.
"Where would she go?" Bloom asked Piff for the umpteenth time.
The pixie, who was doing her best not to nod off on Bloom's shoulder, startled. "She said she was looking for somewhere safer to hide."
"We're still on the right track though, right, Lockette?"
"My sceptre says she went this way."
"But how far did she get?"
"Distance is harder to determine than direction," Lockette said apologetically.
Bloom sighed. "Okay, let's spread out, see if we can find any sign of her."
Piff and Lockette obediently rose from her shoulders and flew off in opposite directions, while the rest of the pixies followed suit, drifting further off into the trees.
"Layla!" Bloom yelled before wincing as a jolt of pain went through her forehead.
"Layla!" she could hear the pixies calling as they flew further and further away, looking for their friend.
Bloom's pace slowed as she shut her eyes and rubbed at her forehead. She'd almost started to feel better being on Requies, the headaches had eased, there had been no mirrors for golden eyes to stare at her from, and aside from a few odd moments, she'd actually been feeling like herself again. And that voice, that awful voice at the back of her mind, had finally been quiet.
Bloom stopped completely and pressed her hands firmly over her face, willing the ache to go away.
"Please," she whispered and the word seemed to hang in the quiet air.
Quiet because she could no longer hear the voices of the pixies calling out to Layla.
Bloom froze; she didn't dare pull her hands away from her face, didn't dare move at all. Because although she couldn't hear the pixies anymore, she had this awful sense that she wasn't alone.
"Look…" a voice hissed and a violent tremble passed through Bloom.
But she couldn't keep her face covered, it wasn't in her nature to hide, so swallowing roughly, she slowly pulled her hands away from her face. Her breath shuddered out of her. The forest had grown dark around her as if the sun had hidden behind a cloud and the trees had grown closer around her, shutting out the world. And there, in front of her, stepping out of the shadows…
"By the Dragon," she breathed.
She'd never seen the phantom anywhere other than her dreams and locked away inside the mirror, but Bloom instinctively knew she was real as she lifted a soot stained hand to her mouth and giggled.
That laugh, she knew it for it was hers. That face, she knew it for it was hers. The only thing that wasn't her were those unearthly golden eyes that danced with wicked amusement.
She was her and yet she wasn't.
"Oh, Bloom," the phantom crooned. "I am you. And you are me."
Bloom's voice was gone.
The phantom stalked towards her.
"I know your mind for it is mine. I know your thoughts, I know your fears, and I know your secrets, for they are mine."
Bloom couldn't move.
"I know you are terrified that your mind is damaged, that I am a sickness that you cannot escape, and so you lie, and you hide, but you are wrong, Bloom."
Bloom's breath was strangled in her throat. She couldn't breathe.
"I am not something to run from. I am not something that you can run from. I am and will forever be a part of you."
The phantom's mouth parted into a feral smile and she launched herself forward, nails extended, and Bloom's voice returned to her only long enough for her to let out a single, earth-shattering scream.
The scream ripped apart the quiet forest and the pixies stopped dead in the air, horrified faces turning to one another.
"Was that-?"
"Bloom!" Lockette cried and without another word went pelting through the air in the direction she'd last seen her bonded fairy.
The other pixies were hot on her heels, and within moments found Bloom standing perfectly still in the middle of a cluster of trees. There was no sign of anything that could have caused such an awful scream to have come from her.
Approaching from behind, Lockette couldn't see Bloom's face, and for reasons she couldn't quite name, her pace slowed as she rounded Bloom's shoulder. As if something was warning her not to look the fairy straight on.
Lockette braced herself and came face to face with the perfectly blank face of her bonded fairy.
"Bloom?" she whispered without quite meaning to. "Are you alright?"
She asked because red lines, scratches, had appeared all over Bloom's arms, as if something had raked sharp talons down from her shoulder to wrist on both sides.
Slowly, so slowly, Bloom's head moved to look at Lockette, and it took everything the pixies had not to back away in the air. For a moment, just for a moment, there was no familiarity, no kindness, in Bloom's eyes as she beheld the pixie.
"I'm fine," she said faintly, and Lockette shuddered.
"Your- your arms."
Bloom looked down as if she hadn't noticed the scratches, didn't even feel them. A minute tremor passed through Bloom.
"Oh. A tree scratched me."
Chatta opened her mouth but Tune seized her wrist, squeezing tightly, so tightly that most unusually the pixie of gossip fell silent.
"Okay," Lockette said, trying to contain the waver in her voice. "As long as you're alright."
Bloom blinked, and something more of herself returned to her eyes. She passed a hand over some of the scratches, wincing slightly.
"I don't- I-" She looked at Lockette and tried to smile but a tremble passed through her bottom lip. "I'm alright, the branches are very sharp. Let's keep looking, but just watch out, okay?"
Lockette forced herself to nod, and holding up her sceptre, silently led Bloom and the rest of the pixies onwards.
Standing at the mouth of the cave, Layla tamped down a wave of unease as she peered into its shadowed depths and tried to convince herself to take the first step inside. She'd had a thing about confined spaces ever since she was a child, something about being trapped on the palace grounds so much of the time made her long for wide open spaces, and it had only gotten worse since escaping Shadowhaunt.
"Okay," she breathed, ignoring the tremor in her voice, and finally ventured inside.
Light from the valley lit her way for so long but even so Layla stretched out her arms on either side of her so she could keep track of where the walls were. She was glad she did for the further she ventured into the cave the less the light reached and the gloomier it got. And then, when it began to twist and turn, she lost the light completely.
All of a sudden Layla's breathing seemed a lot louder in her ears and her eyes were straining fruitlessly, trying to see in the darkness. Her pace slowed so she wouldn't bump into anything and her fingers stretched desperately trying to keep contact with the walls that definitely weren't closing in on her.
"There's plenty of space," she whispered to herself, and winced, hearing how breathless she sounded. "There's plenty of space, I'm going to get out of here, and find my friends. I'm going to get out."
But she didn't believe the words coming out of her mouth and she knew it. Her breath strangled in her throat, and in the darkness, the wall seemed to curve in on itself.
"No," she whispered, sliding her hands along the rocky wall. "No, no, no, no, no."
She searched the walls frantically for a way onwards, probably ripping her hands to shreds but she didn't care, she just needed a way out.
"Let me out, let me out, let me out," she whimpered, and turned around, and then around again.
It was the worst thing she could have done for whatever sense of direction she'd had vanished completely. She found a tiny bit of space and, not knowing if it was forward or backwards, lunged into it, scraping her elbow on a wall as she did.
But whatever the space was, it wasn't the way she had come. Instead it was a tight passageway that she squeezed through even as it felt like it was cutting off her breathing. But she forced herself onwards because that was light shining up ahead, and light meant daylight, it meant getting out.
She stumbled towards it, breathing too fast and too hard, and realising too late that it wasn't daylight that she was seeing. She slowed, and somehow her breathing eased, as her brain comprehended what she was looking at.
Tucked away through the passageway was an underground lake, its crystal blue water shining incandescently. Layla moved towards it and sank to her knees on its rocky bank, dragging her hands through its water and sighing at the feeling of it playing on her skin, calming her instantly.
She could still feel the walls pressing in on her, but her heart was slowing down and her breathing was coming easier. She closed her eyes and focused only on the water.
"I need help," she finally admitted to herself, the words sticking in her throat a little. "I need… I need help. I can't do this by myself."
The words almost hurt to say aloud; Layla had always prided herself on being fiercely independent. It was part of the reason why being trapped in her palace all the time, waited on and watched constantly, had been such a sore point for her. She didn't like to be rescued, didn't want to be rescued.
But maybe, she found herself thinking, as she swirled her hands through the water, there was a strength in vulnerability, in admitting she couldn't do everything all by herself, on relying on her friends and trusting them to not think of her differently.
"I need to be rescued and it does not make me weak," she whispered, willing herself to believe the words.
And maybe she finally, truly did, because light flared from her chest, and there, appearing on her hip, was a Charmix pendant. It was shaped as a seashell in a beautiful, bright gold, with an aqua gem nestled in the centre. She brushed her thumb over its centre and swore she could feel the ocean stirring in its depths.
"I need help," she whispered again and this time the words settled warm in her chest.
"I guess it's a good thing that help has arrived then," a voice spoke up from behind her.
Layla's heart leapt and she twisted around to find the pixies flying through the air towards her, Piff in the lead with a determined look on her face that Layla had never seen before. Behind them, Bloom hung back a little, face shadowed and making her almost unrecognisable for a moment.
Then she moved forward into the light and offered Layla a hand up.
"You guys came to find me?" Layla said around Piff, who'd thrown herself into her chest. The rest of the pixies quickly crowded around her as well.
"Of course we did," Bloom said, and pulled her to her feet. "That's what friends are for."
"Yeah," Layla said with a smile. "I'm still learning that."
Bloom's answering smile was faint and Layla couldn't help but notice how drawn she looked. "Should we get out of here?"
"Yes, please."
Bloom turned to lead them out but paused, glancing back. Something in her eyes lightened a bit and she said, "Hey, you got your Charmix. Congrats." Then she offered her hand for Layla to hold as they headed back through the cave.
It was still almost as nerve-wracking going back through, and Layla knew the others could hear the way her breathing got faster and louder. But with the familiar comfortable weight of Piff on her shoulder, her little hand pressed to her neck for balance, and Bloom's hand in hers, squeezing comfortingly, she made it through, breathing a sigh of relief when they made it out.
"I, uh, don't do very well in tight spaces," she felt compelled to explain to Bloom and the pixies when they stepped out into the sunlight.
Bloom looked at her and nodded, no judgement in her eyes.
"I spent so much of my childhood locked up in my castle, not even allowed out onto the grounds some days, I guess I have this fear of being trapped.
"I think that's how I got my Charmix. Admitting I was stuck and couldn't get myself out of it. Giving myself permission to be vulnerable and admit that I needed help. I've never had a group of friends I could trust like that, to allow myself to just sit and let them help me."
Bloom smiled again but didn't speak, but she didn't need to. Layla just needed to know someone had heard her.
"Alright," she said. "Now, let's see what this Charmix can do about getting us out of this valley."
Unaffected by the water, the fairies and heroes in the field still had to contend with the flying creatures, who were criss-crossing overhead, threatening to swoop. Finally the threats became reality as one dove at Stella, clawed legs extended and snatched her up.
"Put me down," Stella screeched as she was carried into the air.
The whole thing had happened so fast, that she had forgotten she could fight back with her Charmix power, if there was anything left after using it to set up the traps.
"Put me down!" she screamed again, before glancing down to see how high they had flown. "Or maybe not. Don't you dare drop me!"
Clearly responding to Darcy's magic, the other creatures started to charge at the fairies and heroes, who ran to meet them. The heroes did their best with their weapons, trying to keep the creatures occupied while Musa and Flora darted too and fro feeding them the de-spelling berries. Timmy and Tecna remained on the log cabin roof, Timmy shooting at the feet of the creatures to disrupt them, while Tecna yelled battle instructions.
Only Brandon wasn't concentrating on the fight; he was more focused on what had happened to Stella, watching, with jaw clenched as she was carried off, mind already spinning with ideas. He clicked his blade away and shoved the hilt into his belt, right as another flying creature swooped at him. But rather than allow it to grab him, he spun out of the way and swung himself onto its back as it soared back up into the air. He grabbed a hold of its antennae and directed it in Stella's direction.
"Hold on, Princess!" he yelled, as his creature flew alongside the one holding Stella. "I'm coming!"
"Hurry, Brandon!"
Getting his feet under him, Brandon made a reckless leap from the back of one creature to the other, seizing a hold of its antennae like he had done with the first. But unlike the first, this creature was putting up more of a fight and he was struggling to get it to fly back towards the ground.
"Make it fly lower!"
Timmy noticed their dilemma. "Brandon, the fruit!" he yelled.
"Right!"
The flying beast opened its mouth to roar, so, using his quick reflexes, Brandon yanked a berry out of his pocket and tossed it down its throat. Its eyes immediately cleared and it shook its head in confusion, giving Brandon the opportunity to direct it lower.
"Alright, Princess, get ready for a rough landing!"
Stella braced as the ground came rising up to meet them. Brandon kicked the creature in the side and it released Stella with a jerk. Her knees barked at the impact as she slammed back to earth, and she took a few running steps but managed to keep her feet underneath her. Brandon jumped off the creatures back, landing beside Stella, and together they watched in satisfaction as it flew off into the distance.
"One down…" Brandon murmured.
Stella pecked him on the cheek. "Thanks for the save, babe."
Brandon winked at her. "Anytime, Princess."
Together they ran back into the fray.
Elsewhere in the field, the Trix had gotten their dragodons back under control and were riding them amongst the other creatures in the direction of the log structure.
"Bloom has to be in there," Icy hissed, still dripping wet. "She has to be."
"Alright, next phase," Timmy murmured to Tecna who nodded. He got to his feet and climbed down from the roof.
"Hey!" he yelled, waving his arms to get their attention.
Their eyes zeroed in on him, and Stormy even hissed a little, as if incensed by the mere sight of him. The confrontation from the Veritas Chamber flashed in Timmy's mind and his shoulders involuntarily squared; he wasn't letting anything like that happen again. He started to make his move the way they'd planned, edging away from the log structure.
"Focus on tearing that play fort apart," Icy snapped, even as she watched Timmy with hateful eyes.
"But we can't pass up a nerd run," Stormy whined.
"No, we can't," Darcy snarled, and she urged her dragodon after Timmy, who had broken into a jog across the field.
Icy looked torn for only a moment longer, before she too turned her dragodon away from the log cabin.
"Nerd run! Nerd run!" Stormy screeched with screams of laughter as all three of them forced their dragodons to run after Timmy who was forced into a flat out sprint just to stay ahead.
Tecna watching it all go down from the roof, found herself on her knees, hands over her mouth in horror. And the scream that came from her as she watched them bear down on him was wrenched completely involuntarily from her throat: "Timmy!"
The forest was completely still and quiet as Bloom, Layla, and the pixies hurried through it on their way back to the field.
"This is so spooky," Lockette fretted.
"Yeah," Layla said, glancing around. They were in a part of the forest they hadn't walked through before. "I guess the witches have called all the creatures to help them fight."
"We'd better hurry then," Amore said, zooming off ahead.
"Careful," Tune called, flying after her. "What are those strange flowers?"
Bloom and Layla slowed warily, knowing from the experience of living with Flora that strange flowers never boded well.
"Careful, you two," Layla echoed, watching as the pair darted down for a closer look. The rest of the pixies followed, even Piff in a rare moment of wakefulness, flew over to check it out.
The flowers were a pretty coral colour and grew in large clusters.
"They look very fun and poofy," Chatta remarked, bouncing on one experimentally before breaking into laughter as it launched her into the air.
"Come on," Bloom said shortly. "We need to get back to the others."
"I know these," Digit said, either not hearing or not listening to Bloom. "They're-"
But whatever they were was cut off as a cloud of yellow spores shot from the cluster of flowers the pixies were inspecting, engulfing them in a split second.
"Oh for fuck's sake," Bloom hissed and yanked the neckline of her tshirt up over her mouth and nose, Layla following suit.
The spores quickly cleared and the two fairies raced in to scoop up the pixies who were left confused and disoriented on the forest floor. Piff seemed to have fallen back asleep and was snoring quietly.
"Oh no," Amore said weakly from Bloom's arms. "I don't feel so-" she broke off with a loud sneeze.
A sneeze that was quickly echoed by Lockette, and then Chatta, and then Piff who startled herself awake. Soon all of the pixies had descended into sneezing fits.
"I think I need a maga-histamine," Chatta complained while Tune shook her head.
"I- I tried- I tried to warn-" But Tune couldn't even get out her 'I told you so' before she dissolved back into sneezing.
Bloom and Layla let out identical sighs before glancing at each other and hurrying on. One problem at a time.
Timmy bared his teeth in something like a determined smile as he darted through the field. Physical exertion wasn't exactly his strong suit but they'd been drilled on it enough at Red Fountain that he was holding his own and staying ahead of the dragodons who could move faster than their bulk would suggest.
He risked a look over his shoulder. "Come and get me!" he taunted, needing the witches to stay focused on him and only him.
He just hoped that Sky had de-spelled enough creatures to be able to break away from the fight and loop around into his spot for the next phase of the plan. He raced past Sky's proposed hiding spot but didn't dare look over in case he gave him away. There was a horrible moment where nothing seemed to happen then Timmy heard a scream of outrage and chanced another look back just in time to see Sky swing himself out of the tree he was hiding in and land on Stormy's dragodon, sword already at the ready.
"Back off," Stormy screeched and her dragodon veered off course in confusion.
She hurled a handful of lightning at him but Sky deflected it with his sword.
"Get him, Stormy!" Icy yelled, looking torn between circling back to help and keeping on Timmy's heels.
"I'm trying!" she snarled, throwing more lightning that Sky ducked to avoid.
Moving fast, and angling his sword precisely, Sky thrust the blade into the muscle of the dragodons shoulder, sending it collapsing into the ground. They'd picked their attack spots carefully so as to temporarily render the dragodons useless to the witches without being fatal. The massive beast crashed into the ground with such a force that Stormy was thrown from its back while Sky jumped free.
Stormy righted herself in mid air and used her powers to fly over to Darcy's dragodon, settling on its back behind her coven-sister. Sky, his part of the plan over, fed the injured dragodon some of the de-spelling berries and rubbed its shoulder comfortingly.
Exhilarated with the success so far of their plan, Timmy kept running from the two remaining dragodons.
"Come on, what's wrong with you witches?! You can't catch one little hero like me?"
The next part of the plan came up fast as Icy's dragodon pulled ahead. Starting to tire, and bearing double the weight, the other dragodon was slowing down, which made it possible for Riven to pull a rope taut across its path. Dragodons were strong and deceptively fast, but they were not agile, and there was no way forward for the dragodon except to go tripping over the rope, sending the two witches flying from its back.
Musa swooped in with the berries for the dragodons, while Riven turned in one smooth movement to cut free the net they'd constructed earlier. It fell heavily over the witches, knocking them down.
"That's two," Musa crowed, grinning at Riven.
"I've got this," Darcy growled, and destroyed the net with a single blast of magic.
"Well, kind of," Riven sighed, watching as Stormy and Darcy flew into the air.
"Faster," Icy was screaming at her dragodon as she still relentlessly pursued Timmy. She had practically forgotten that they were supposed to be looking for Bloom, and had only vengeance in her heart after she'd seen her two coven-sisters felled.
Timmy looped back around and headed towards the log cabin. Realising what phase of the plan they were up to, Tecna grimaced and quickly scrambled from the roof, getting out of the way and meeting up with Flora.
Timmy made it to the log structure a heartbeat before Icy's dragodon and quickly scrambled atop it, running nimbly across its roof. Snarling and urging her beast on, Icy's dragodon clumsily climbed up behind him and the reason for the notches in the log beams immediately became clear. While Timmy and Tecna's weight hadn't been too much for the compromised structure, it immediately began to buckle under the massive creature.
"No!" Icy screamed as they started to fall, remembering too late that Bloom was supposed to be in the log structure.
"Timmy!" Tecna screamed, just as he leapt free.
But the structure completely collapsed a moment later, the dragodon falling with a roar of pain, and Timmy was buried under a mountain of wooden debris.
"No! Timmy!"
Tecna sprinted for the spot she'd last seen him, with Flora right behind him, but he emerged just before they reached him, looking a little banged up but otherwise unharmed.
"Timmy," Tecna cried, and threw her arms around him.
"I'm okay, Tec," he said, before setting her gently to the side when Icy climbed, practically spitting with rage, out of the destroyed log structure.
"Where is she?" she screeched, stomping up to Timmy. Sky appeared at his side, sword out and face hard.
"Not here, and not anywhere you'll get your hands on her," he said harshly. "What do you want with her?"
"That's for Lord Darkar to know, and you to find out," Icy hissed. "Now hand her over."
Stormy and Darcy flew down to land beside their coven-sister, while Tecna, Flora, Riven, Brandon, Stella, and Musa assembled behind Timmy and Sky. They had managed to de-spell all of the creatures who had ambled off so it was just the two sides facing off. Stella and Musa summoned their Charmix pendants in two flashes of light, but they weren't convinced that it would be enough against the witches at full strength.
"There's another phase to this plan, right?" Musa muttered.
Timmy shifted but it was Sky who answered. "Yep, and it's about to arrive right on time."
A shadow fell over them all and they glanced up to find the Red Fountain ship flying in right overhead, Helia visible at the helm.
"Helia!" Flora cried in relief.
"One wrong move and this will be over once and for all," Riven warned them, voice dark.
The witches snarled at them, but it was clear they weren't going to get their hands on Bloom, and even at full strength they couldn't withstand a blast from the guns on a Red Fountain ship.
"It's over when we say it's over," Icy promised, before all three witches disappeared in a flash of light.
Helia brought the ship down and lowered the ramp so he could come out to meet them.
"Hey everyone," he said cheerfully. "I hope I wasn't too late."
Sky clapped him on the shoulder. "Perfect timing."
"And nice flying on your first time solo," Riven added.
"We've got to go find Bloom," Sky said quickly.
"And Layla and the pixies," Stella added pointedly.
"I don't think we need to worry about that," Brandon said, nodding to the tree-line.
Sky followed his gaze and relief broke out across his face and then he was running off to reunite with his girlfriend.
The others followed a tad slower, with Helia falling into step beside Flora.
"Head's up, Flo," Musa whispered with a wink before melting away.
"Are you okay, Flora," Helia asked, touching her arm lightly.
She'd made it through the battle with the creatures mostly unscathed but she bore a few cuts and bruises.
"I'll be alright," she said, trying to ignore the blush she could feel coming to her cheeks.
"Dragons, B, what happened to you?" Musa asked, when they reached them, where Sky was already inspecting the scrapes. "You have an argument with a tree or something?"
"Or something," Bloom said with faint amusement. "I'm fine, Sky." Sky didn't look completely comforted but relented nevertheless.
"They don't look like they came from a tree-" Flora started, frowning a little.
"We have bigger problems," Bloom said, cutting across her dismissively. "The pixies have come down with something."
Right on cue, Chatta let out a loud sneeze, so loud it made them all wince.
"Sorry," she sniffled.
"That's not our only problem," Helia said somberly. "There was a message from Headmistress Faragonda waiting for us at the ship. We need to return to Magix immediately; Darkar found the location of the pixie's village, he has the last piece of the codex."
Any good mood amongst the group immediately died, as they looked around at each other in horror. A murmur of distress went around the sick pixies.
"Is the village okay?" Lockette fretted before coughing.
"I'm sorry, I don't know. The message didn't have many details."
"We'll go straight there," Layla said decisively. "The pixies need tea from the Flower of Life to get better anyway."
"I'll go prepare the ship for take-off," Timmy said quickly, and hurried away.
Sky caught sight of something on the other side of the field. "Some of the Requestrians have arrived," he said, nodding at them. "We'd better explain what's happened."
Bloom stirred as if she'd been lost in her thoughts but nodded.
"Yeah, we need to explain what happened with the creatures," Flora said, gazing sadly at the injured dragodons.
As a group they headed off to meet them, but no one noticed that Tecna slipped off and ducked into the ship after Timmy.
She found him sitting in the pilot's seat, fiddling with the controls, bringing the ship to life beneath them.
"Timmy," Tecna breathed, but as he twisted in the seat to look at her, she realised she had no idea what she wanted to say.
Seeing Timmy plan out those traps, watching him carry them out with such confidence, and then seeing him face them at the end, unwavering… Tecna had never seen anything so brave. And all her feelings for him had just come rushing back.
"I- I know I probably disappointed you," Timmy said as he stood up. He took off his glasses and started polishing them on his shirt. "Letting the witches get away like that again. I'm sorry, Tecna."
For a moment Tecna couldn't find her voice. "Timmy," she finally said in amazement. "How could I be disappointed? You were brilliant out there."
Timmy shrugged and put his glasses back on. "It was just a bunch of tactical decisions based on proven battle strategies and the witches' past behaviour. It was the least I could do after last time."
Tecna shook her head. "Last time? What do you mean?"
Timmy's expression was pained. "In the Veritas Chamber, when we lost Red Fountain's piece of codex. I think all the time about how I just let the witches leave with it."
It took her longer to find her voice this time. "Timmy," she said in disbelief. "I- I never blamed you for that. You saw what they did to Sky, for all you knew they would have done the same to you, and I- I-" She shook her head again. "You made the right call," she said finally.
Timmy took a few steps closer, his demeanour growing in intensity. "Then what changed, Tec? Things haven't been the same between us since that day."
The moment had finally arrived, the moment to finally tell Timmy what she had been feeling all these months, the realisation she'd been holding in since that day. But she didn't want to hold it in anymore.
Still she looked around helplessly, not sure she could look him in the eye as she admitted what was inside her. She forced herself to meet his eyes, and the tension in her body loosened at the kindness and patience she beheld in their brown depths.
"Things changed, Timmy, because that was the day I realised how much I liked you. I was facing losing you the way Bloom thought she was going to lose Sky, and I knew my feelings went so much deeper than friendship. And I have spent every day since terrified that telling you would mean ruining the friendship that we do have."
Tecna hadn't realised that tears had started to slip down her cheeks, or how close Timmy had gotten until he reached out and tenderly brushed away her tears with his thumb.
"Why would telling me about your feelings ruin anything?" Timmy asked quietly.
"Because I thought you wouldn't feel the same," she whispered.
It was Timmy's turn to speak in disbelief, "Why?"
Tecna choked on a laugh. "Pick a reason. Because I'm not brave like Bloom, or tough like Layla, or cool like Musa, or beautiful like Stella, or kind like Flora."
"No," Timmy said softly. "You're just perfect like Tecna."
Her heart constricted in her chest.
"You don't mean that."
Timmy's smile was small. "I kind of do. But why now? What's changed?"
Tecna took a deep breath. "I could have lost you again today. And I realised the fear of rejection was nothing compared to the fear that I would lose you without ever getting the chance to tell you how I felt."
She looked deep into his eyes.
"I like you Timmy, and I want to be with you, if that's something you would want." Her nerves suddenly returned. "I- is it?"
Timmy cupped her face, thumb stroking along her jaw. "Tecna, you're my best friend, and I adore you, and I don't know when it happened, maybe I've always felt this way, but I like you as well. Of course I want to be with you."
A laugh of disbelief escaped her, and just as they both leaned in, a light appeared on Tecna's chest, shining between them.
"Tec," Timmy breathed. "Is that-"
"My Charmix," she finished.
They both looked down in time to see a Charmix pendant appear on her left thigh. It looked like a copper computer chip, but its rectangular centre was made of a gem in a brilliantly bright green. Tecna reached down to touch it and felt the thrum of electricity hum through it.
Timmy shook his head in awe. "You're amazing," he breathed, and shifted closer so he could finally press his lips to hers.
The kiss was sweet, and tender, and over much too soon as the sound of footsteps thundering up the ramp reached them. They pulled away slightly but Timmy grabbed her hand instead, squeezing it.
"We gotta get out of here, the pixies are really sick," Sky called to them, hurrying past on his way to the pilot's chair. But he slowed when he saw how close the pair were standing, and clapped Timmy on the shoulder as he passed.
The others followed with the pixies in their arms.
"Oh, why is the ship spinning," Amore said weakly, languishing in Stella's arms.
"I wish I could try a healing spell," Flora said, gazing down at Chatta fretfully.
"It wouldn't do any good," Layla said sadly. "Nothing cures a pixie like tea from the Flower of Life they were born from."
Riven's face screwed up in confusion. "I have questions," he said and Brandon shoved him playfully.
"We don't have time for biology lessons."
"Everyone in your seats," Sky called, and they all quickly strapped themselves in while he brought up the ramp.
Helia found himself sitting next to Flora, and they both watched as Chatta fell into a fitful doze in her arms.
"I'm sure she'll be okay, Flora," he said comfortingly.
Flora tried to smile. "I hope so. We've only been bonded a little while but I already don't know what I'd do without her." Trying to take her mind off the possibility that she wouldn't be, she asked, "Did you enjoy the vacation?"
"I did," Helia said, before clearing his throat. "Although I will admit I'm disappointed we didn't get to go for a proper hike together."
Flora's cheeks went scarlet. "Oh," she said, heart soaring in her chest. "Maybe we can do it another time instead."
"Another time," Helia agreed with a soft smile.
And then they were in the air and flying in the direction of home.
Oh, oh hey, it's me, posting in half the time I usually take? Ooop you are welcome.
Oh my goodness the resort realm arc is coming to a close but you know what that means? We're getting so close to the end. I can't fkn believe there's only four chapters to go. That is insaneeeee.
I hope you enjoyed the dark bloom appearance, you know I love traumatising Bloom like that lmao.
Tecna and Layla got their Charmix! Yay! And Drops has done more beautiful art! I am obsessed with these two, OBSESSED. I unfortunately can't insert the art on this site but you can check it out either on ao3 or on my tumblr at gins-potter!
And Tecna and Timmy FINALLY talked, these two were actually killing me but I had this scene planned out for so long so I couldn't end our misery any sooner.
I think that's all I have to say tbh. Please let me know what you thought, please come chat with me at gins-potter on tumblr while I write the next chapter, I love talking to you guys x