Blackness.

Blackness, blackness everywhere.

And what was with this hangover? Did I get into my mom's liquor refrigerator again? Seriously, it felt like someone with Hulk strength was whamming my noggin with a sledgehammer. West, my second-oldest brother, probably found me passed out somewhere and put me in bed. Damn, I hope Mom didn't find out yet. But just in case, I was already preparing myself for her famous "you shouldn't be drinking" lecture.

"Can you hear me? Hello?! Can you hear me?"

That didn't sound like my mom. And now that I thought about it, I didn't feel my plush One Direction comforter (another lame-ass gift from my aunt) under my body either. Was I even in my room?

Then it hit me like a wrecking ball (cultural reference intended).

I wasn't passed out in my room! And I hadn't gotten into my mom's alcohol. Come to think of it, I wasn't at my house or even in my universe!

"Please, if you can hear me, say something! Please!"

Just then, I felt someone take my shoulders. Next thing I knew, they were shaking me. I wanted to slap the fuck out of them, but I couldn't wake up.

What the fudge was happening here?

"Acadia, Fairy of the Wind."

Three white silhouettes with wings appeared in the distance. I didn't try running to them just in case this was one of those fucked-up dreams when the dreamer couldn't move or speak.

"Destiny has chosen you to wield the powers of the air and wind. With these, you'll be able to rewrite history and discover your destiny in Magix."

Right before my eyes, the silhouettes glowed with pure energy and filled in to reveal the Ethereal Fairies. Though they looked odd with their cone-shaped hair and heads, I wasn't afraid. I gasped. Were they the ones who brought me to Magix and gave me my powers?

"In order to complete your mission, you'll need guidance and wisdom in order to control your powers," said the blue Ethereal Fairy. "Come forth."

My body began to automatically float over to them. Without being able to speak, I bowed my head. The blue Ethereal Fairy put two fingers on both of my temples, and my whole body hummed.

"You are a new fairy and have a lot to learn. But for now, take this as a gift from us. You'll need it as your adventure progresses."

And just like that, all three of them began to fade away.

"Please, please, please wake up!"

My eyes suddenly popped open to see a pale girl with strawberry-blond hair hovering over me. "Who are you?" I demanded as my vision slowly unblurred. I immediately recognized her as the hostage girl Blue and her partner had captured.

Wait. What?

I instantly sat up and looked around. The two of us were in some kind of old, dusty, moldy, abandoned warehouse. Though I didn't know how we got here, I knew it was probably because I fucked up somewhere along the line.

"Where's Stella?" I asked, my voice echoing all around me.

The girl shrugged. "I dunno—I've been here for a while now. The snake man threw you in here around n hour ago. You were unconscious up until now."

Shit. Blue probably knocked me out and got her partner to capture me while she continued to fight Stella. Yeah, that's right. I used common sense and pieced it together. Sort of. "Well, we gotta get out of here. I have work in the morning, and I don't feel like hearing Veraminta cuss me out," I grumbled, rising to my feet. Surprisingly, I was still in my fairy form.

"I don't know what you have planned, but please me careful! That man—the one with the snakes—he's lurking somewhere around here. There's no way he would just leave us alone." Strawberry sighed. "They won't let us go until our parents pay the ransom. And if the authorities get involved…"

They would kill us. I've watched enough cop shows and local news to know that. "I'm not afraid of some snake-ish circus freak," I assured Strawberry, starting for the large exit. "We're getting out of here no matter whose ass we need to kick." I stopped in the center of the room. "Who are you anyways?" I asked, eyeing her.

"I'm Faye but you can call me Strawberry like the rest of my friends." Strawberry fiddled with the ribbon around her waist nervously. "I was out walking when those fiends attacked me. Somehow, they knew I didn't have magic and that I'm the senator's daughter."

What? Being magic-less in this universe was possible? "Well, I'm getting us out of here," I declared, walking over to the rusty door. I grabbed the iron handle and pulled on them with all my might. Unfortunately, the door didn't budge. Dang it. I should've known it'd be locked considering we were hostages and all. Well, it was time to use some magic.

I took a few steps back, put my hands together, and pointed them at the doors. "Wondrous Wind!" I shouted as I emitted a whispery blue spell at the doors. I startled as the spell blew the doors out of their frame and chucked them across the room. I did that? But how? I didn't know any spells? I then remembered what the Ethereal Fairies told me.

"You are a new fairy and have a lot to learn. But for now, take this as a gift from us. You'll need it as your adventure progresses."

They were behind this; they must've given me a little bit of knowledge. And now since I was a little bit smarter and stronger, I could help Stella and save Strawberry. "Let's go!" I said to Strawberry lowly, stepping into the dank hall.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" fidgeted Strawberry quietly as I lead her through the window hall. "What if we run into that snake guy?"

"We won't," I promised, stopping. "Because we're not going to escape through the front door." I pointed up at the frosted skylight above. So far, it was the only window I'd seen. I put my hands in the same position I did last time and pointed them up at the skylight. "Wondrous Wind!" I expected the spell to do the same thing it had done to the doors but instead of shattering the glass, the skylight somehow deflected the spell back down at me.

"Oof!" I squeaked as my own spell knocked me down to the floor. Fairy forms must've given super endurability because any regular person would've been out knocked out cold from such an impact.

"They must've put a reflection spell on the skylight," frowned Strawberry, helping me up. "It'll be impossible to break unless your magic is stronger than theirs."

"Don't worry. I'll just find another way," I said like it was no big deal, continuing down the hall.

"But every other exit's probably just like the skylight," pointed out Strawberry, catching up with me. "Our only chance will probably be to fight or surrender. Surrendering-"

Hisssss.

"Shut up," I snapped, freezing in my tracks.

"Hey! I'm just trying to-"

"Shh!" I hissed.

Hissssss.

"Do you hear that?" I whispered.

Hisssssss.

Strawberry turned the color of her name. "It sounds like a snake," she managed, suddenly trembling with fear. "I hate snakes."

Who didn't? "Stay here," I ordered, slowly tiptoeing forward. When I reached the end of the hall, I slowly peaked around the corner. My eyes bulged out of my head the second I laid eyes on the dozens of snakes piling up on each other in the other corridor.

Shit. Because I knew snakes could feel vibrations, I flew back over to Strawberry with my new flittering pair of wings. "We gotta go," I hissed, taking her hand.

"Why? What is it?" Fear was written all over the senator's daughter's face.

"Just c'mon unless you wanna be snake food!" I yanked her forward as we backtracked.

"I knew it! The snake guy infested this place with his snakes so we can't escape!" panicked Strawberry in a sharp, hurried whisper. "And they're all no doubt poisonous! What are we supposed to do now? It's not like we can –HOLY-"

I cupped my hand over her mouth and bit my lip to prevent myself from screaming. At the end of the hall, a GIANT-ass snake was slithering by. Its green middle section was flowing through the other corridor like water, most likely searching for its prey.

Strawberry and I waited until we saw the rest of its body pass to act. "We're gonna die!" sobbed Strawberry lightly, burying her face in her hands. "We can't get past that thing."

Fuck. "In here," I ordered, opening a convenient metal door to our right. The door lead into a room completely identical to the one I'd woke up in. "Alright, so we need to change the plan," I announced, silently closing the door behind us. I pressed myself against it just in case something or someone tried to open it from the other side.

Strawberry sat down against a wall and started to weep. "I'll never get to see my dad or brothers again," she sobbed quietly.

There had to be another way. I looked up at the ceiling. More skylights were installed and were probably enchanted with the same reflection spell as the other one. While Strawberry sobbed, I flew up to the skylights and tried punching them with my fists. Much to my relief, I managed to put a crack in one of them. "Strawberry! I think we can get out of here!" I exclaimed, punching the glass again.

Strawberry looked up with tear-stained cheeks. "R-really?"

"Yeah! All it should take it another-"

I was cut off as something suddenly flew through the ceiling, causing the whole building to shake. "You can't escape me," said a voice as Strawberry and I choked from all the dust polluting the air.

When it all cleared, I gasped to see Snake Guy standing atop a pile of rubble. All he wore was a pair of shorts, revealing his scaly, pale chest. Two snakes were coiled around his heck, hissing at us.

"We're screwed," I muttered as Strawberry jumped behind me.

"Miss told me not to let you escape," said Snake Guy unmotivatedly, slowly lifting a finger to pint at us.

"Come over here and fight me!" I yelled at him, shaking a fist. "I'm not afraid of snakes!" That was a lie in its purest state. Thankfully, snakes couldn't sense fear. I think.

"Poison's Sting." Apparently, Snake Guy took me literally because he chucked a smoky green spell at me.

Oh shit! Panicking, I fanned the air and gusts of air blew the foggy spell away. "Ha! Missed me, jackass!" I taunted though I knew I shouldn't. "Now it's my turn!" I kicked in his direction and an air formation fired off my foot at Snake Guy.

"Poisonous Protection." Snake Guy crossed his arms in front of his face and a shield appeared in front of him, protecting him from my air.

This guy obviously had poison magic. "I won't let you get away with the senator's daughter!" I yelled at him, "such injustice won't be tolerated! Wondrous Wield!" I threw the spell at him multiple times, all in different directions to throw him off.

"You're inexperienced," observed Snake Guy dully, "Miss was right about you." Unlike Blue, he didn't sound arrogant. In fact, his voice was toneless. Almost like he was some kind of drone. "It'll be easy winning against you. Intoxicating Aura." He held out his hands and his body began to produce green gasses. It didn't take a genius to know they were poisonous.

"Quick! Protect your nose!" squeaked Strawberry, using both hands to cover her nose.

I had one even better. Using both hands, I reached for the sky. "Protection of the Winds!" On my command, a sphere of air encircled me and Strawberry as the floating green masses drifted around the room. My guess was the sphere trapped the good air inside it along with us, thus the reason we weren't suffocating from Snake Guy's gas.

I snapped my fingers and the air sphere exploded. The air that was used to make the sphere cleansed the rest of the air as it returned to the atmosphere, terminating Snake Guy's poison. "You're no match against my powers of the wind!" I declared, pointing at Snake Guy. "Prepare to be blown away by the gusts of justice!" I felt like striking a Sailor Moon pose but resisted.

Snake Guy hissed and suddenly changed at us with snake speed. OH SHIT! Just as I was pushing Strawberry out of the way, Snake Guy began to punch me all over. WHAT THE FUCK?! I didn't know magical villains used physical combat in battles! That wasn't fair!

"Back off!" I yelled as a wind suddenly picked me up, separating me from him.

"You okay?" asked Strawberry, hurrying back over to my side.

"Yeah," I spat as the wind lightly set me on the ground. "He just caught me off guard." With that, I spat a mouthful of blood on the floor. I was totally loosing this thing. How was I even supposed to win? This motherfucker was too damn fast! I didn't think I had an attack strong enough to-

"You have been given a small fragment of Ethereal Magic. Use it to vanquish your enemies ONLY in the most desperate of times," all of the Ethereal Fairies' voices suddenly rang in my head. "It is our gift to you. Use it wisely."

Suddenly, a power I'd never felt before began to course through my veins. It was so refreshing, it sent electric currents down my spine. "What's happening to you?" asked Strawberry in alarm as my body started to glow with blue magic.

So this was the power of the Ethereal Fairies. It felt so warm. So loving and gentle, yet so powerful.

And it was at that moment, I knew what I had to do. I raised my hands up over my head like I was Goku readying to make a Spirit Bomb. "O power of the Ethereal Fairies! Grant me your wisdom and power!" I shouted as hard, harsh winds began to rage around the room. I was suddenly picked up in a spout of air, bringing me high above Snake Guy and Strawberry. The rubble and remains of the broken ceiling were then picked up in my wind currents.

"Calm down!" pleaded Strawberry, who was struggling to stay on the ground as my winds grew out of control. Snake Guy attempted to attack, but my strong currents prevented him from even moving.

A giant whispery-blue spell started to form a few centimeters above my positioned palms. And for a second, I lost feeling in my entire body but at the same time felt in control. "In the name of Destiny and Prophecy, I'll erase your evils from this world!" I shouted. Though I could hear my voice, I also spoke with the voices of the Three Ethereal Fairies like their spirits were within my body alongside my own.

"Winds of Time and Space!" I/the Ethereal Fairies shouted, throwing my/our GIANT blue spell at Snake Guy. Even with his life in stake, Snake Guy appeared emotionless as the spell hit him dead-on. I remained where I was on top of the air spout as I watched Snake Guy's body disintegrate inside the spell. The spell didn't stop there. After finishing Snake Guy, it sailed through the wall and moonlight from outside flooded into the warehouse through the hole.

After seeing the enemy was destroyed, my winds died down by themselves and my spout disappeared from under my feet. "You did it! You actually destroyed him!" cried out Strawberry with effortlessly landed on the ground. She gave me a tiny hug. "How did you get so powerful all of a sudden?" she asked, glowing. "And your appearance! It changed!"

"Huh?" I looked over my shoulder at my wings, which were now bigger and the same shape and design as the Ethereal Fairies'. I then looked down at my outfit to see I was wearing a long flowing cape to go along with my fairy-form outfit."Oh cool." I didn't have time to admire my new wings. Instead, I needed to go ahead and use them while they were still there. "C'mon! Let's go find Stella!" I remembered, taking Strawberry's wrist.

I levitated off the ground readying to fly, but Strawberry stopped me. "I don't have magic, remember? I can't fly," she reminded, sounding somewhat disappointed.

I smiled. "Don't worry about it. I got this." At my gentle touch, sparkles passed through my fingers and into her wrist.

"Wh-what's happening?" she asked, awestruck as the sparkles created an aura around her body. The girl then slowly levitated off the ground to my level. "How…am I flying?"

"It's Ethereal Magic," I explained, "now c'mon. Stella could be in danger."

And with that, the air embraced us and carried us off into the starry night sky.


"There she is!" exclaimed Strawberry, pointing downwards at a rooftop. The two of us were flying above Magix City in the moonlight in search of Stella. Thanks to the Ethereal Magic I passed on to her, she was able to fly alongside me. And since my new wings were just like the Ethereal Fairies', they were giving me increased speed.

I looked down in the direction she was pointing. Though high in the sky, I could make out an orange and blue blur atop one of the buildings. That was them no doubt. "I see them." The two of us stopped in midair. "The magic I gave you won't last long, so I need you to go to the authorities," I told her, "I'll handle Blue."

Strawberry nodded. "I know where the station is. I won't be long," she promised. And with blue glitter trailing behind her, she took off in the opposite direction.

I didn't waste time either. Setting my sights of a battling Blue and Stella, I used my new wings to zoom downward in their direction. "Stella! Are you okay?" I asked, landing beside her.

"Huh? Acadia, is that you?" Stella looked me up and down. She was gripping her specter with bloody hands, a sign that battle had gotten intense. "Your wings! You-"

"It won't last long," I said knowingly, "let's just take out Blue."

"Ha! There's no way you two can defeat me! I am the all-powerful wielder of the waters! No witch, fairy, or wizard with the power of water can compare to me!" boasted Blue, "and I'll prove it." She then started to muster blue energy in her palms.

"Stella, this is going to be her most powerful attack," I said calmly, "we'll need to merge our magics."

"Convergence?" Stella raised an eyebrow. "We learned about that at Alfea but-"

But she didn't know how to use it because she didn't pay attention in class last year, thus the reason she got held back. "Don't worry. I know what we need to do," I told her as Blue continued to create her attack. It was like the Ethereal Fairies' knowledge was flowing through me. "Can I?" I asked, reaching out for her scepter.

Stella handed it over to me, no objections. "Fine, but just don't break it. That's an heirloom of the royal family, ya know," she boasted.

Whatever.

Holding the scepter, I got down on a knee and started to chant. "O power of the Ethereal Fairies! Give me your power! Merge the powers of the sun, moon, and winds to vanquish all evil and restore balance to Magix!" So much magic was flowing within the scepter, it made my fingers tingle. "Stella, on my mark!"

"What are you doing? That isn't going to work on me!" yelled Blue, throwing her attack at us.

Just as that was happening, Stella took hold of the scepter. I could feel some of my magic and knowledge flowing into her. Together, we raised it high. "Wondrous Winds of the Shining Sun and Majestic Moon!" we yelled together. Immediately, a pure white spell shot out of the top of the scepter, flying straight through Blue's attack at her.

"NOO!" she yelled at the top of her lungs like a witch, shielding her face. Unfortunately for her, that wasn't enough. She disappeared inside the large wide beam, her body crumbling into nothingness within it.

"Ha! Your fashion choices were so last year anyway," taunted Stella at the spot Blue once stood.

I looked up at the moon, the wind blowing through my hair. The three Ethereal Fairies appeared inside it, smiling at me. I smiled back, knowing I wielded my gift of destiny well.


"I'm so grateful; you fairies saved my life," enthused Strawberry, taking my hands and smiling controllably. The three of us were standing in the illuminated street in front of the warehouse Snake Guy had been using as a hideout. Oddly, all the snakes had disappeared (most likely a result of their master being destroyed). The authorities were already on the scene both at the warehouse and bar to investigate. "How can I ever repay you?"

Stella looked at her orange nails. "I'm already a princess, so there's really nothing that I don't already have," she boasted.

Shut the hell up, Stella. Luckily, Strawberry wasn't paying attention to her anyway. "Well, there is one thing but I think it's too much trouble," I fidgeted, a little nervous to ask my question.

Strawberry smiled. "I'm the senator's daughter, remember?" she teased, "besides, I owe you my life."

I allowed myself to smile. "You see, there's this magic school I've been inching to get into…"