Hi! So, I'm starting another story. I had this idea a while ago, and totally fell in love with it. I should probably let you know that, despite this being a Lolirock/Winx Club crossover, the Winx will not feature in it. But we will see plenty of Roxy. If you like this story, please leave a review! Now, without further ado: Crystal Wings!

'I'm starting to get the feeling that this is actually a terrible plan,' Talia groaned, rubbing her ears after yet another tune-deaf earthling had vocally dragged nails down a chalkboard as an audition to their 'band'.

'Oh, c'mon, Talia,' Auriana chirped brightly, ever the positive princess. 'Their singing wasn't that bad.' Talia raised an eyebrow.

'Then why is Amaru hiding in your bag?' She pointed down at where their friend was cowering in Auriana's duffel bag, whimpering and covering his ears. Auriana winced.

'Okay, so maybe they weren't great. But I'm sure she's got other talents!' Talia rolled her eyes.

'Unless one of those talents is being the princess of Ephedia, I really don't care if she can train sharks to play the bongos.' Auriana gasped.

'What's a shark?' Talia shrugged.

'Some kind of Earth fish.'

'And can they really play the bongos? Also, what are bongos?' Talia pinched the bridge of her nose with frustration.

'It doesn't matter, Auriana! We've been trying this plan for months, and so far all we've got are sore ears. We're never going to find the princess like this, magical voice or no.'

'Do we have any other plan?' Auriana asked quietly, and Talia slumped.

'No…' She hated having to admit it, but randomly wandering around America holding band auditions - as time-consuming and frankly ridiculous as it was - was the best plan they had. Sure, they could try using magic to track the princess, but that could alert Gramorr and his forces to her location before they could get there, and then they were all doomed.

She groaned and rubbed her temples; this was so frustrating! They were supposed to be finding the princess and all they'd found were teenage girls deluding themselves that they could sing! And unless they planned to deafen Gramorr, that wasn't going to help!

'Does it help if I tell you that's everyone?' Auriana asked awkwardly, and Talia nodded tiredly.

'Yes.' She got to her feet, grabbing her bag and heading for the door, full of relief. 'So long, Masonville.'

'Hello, Sunny Bay!' Auriana chirped, jumping to her feet. 'That's the next town on the list. I've got a good feeling about this one, Talia!' Talia rolled her eyes.

'You've said that about every town we've been to, Auriana. I'm starting to get the feeling that your 'good feelings' are pretty unreliable.' Auriana jogged to catch up to Talia, her beaming grin unfettered by Talia's evident pessimism.

'But this one's an extra-good feeling! Like when we found that diner and discovered double-chocolate brownies!' Talia shook her head.

'We're looking for something a little more important than brownies, Auriana.'

'Double-chocolate brownies,' Auriana corrected. She put her hand on Talia's shoulder, smiling brightly. 'Don't worry, Talia. We'll check out of the hotel tonight and head to Sunny Bay. And this time, my good feeling will be spot on. I just know it!' Talia smiled weakly. She wished she had her friend's optimism, but the fact of the matter was that, if Sunny Bay didn't work out, she was afraid that they might have to face the facts: they might not be able to find the princess.

'Okay, nap time.' Iris smiled down at the little girl she'd just tucked into bed, her eyes drifting closed. She loved babysitting! It was such a cute job!

'Do you want a story?' she asked, reaching over and stroking the spines of the storybooks on the shelves across from the bed thoughtfully.

'No…' the girl murmured. 'Song…' Iris froze.

'Are…are you sure you wouldn't like a story?' she tried, skimming the titles of the books. 'Red Riding Hood…Goldilocks and the Three Bears? Billy Bookcase Assembly?' Oops, that was the instructions for assembling the bookcase.

'No! No story! Song!' Iris winced as the girl sat up, looking at her with all the determination a three-year-old could muster. 'Lullaby!' Iris swallowed. Sure. Sure, she could sing. Sure, weird stuff happened when she did, but those were coincidences. Very strange coincidences, but unless she has superpowers (which she didn't, she'd never been near a meteor or radioactive singer) then they were just coincidences.

'Okay then.' She closed her eyes and began to sing. 'Twinkle twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are…up above the world so high…like a diamond in the sky…' The girl laughed and clapped.

'More! More!' Huh. Looked like she was popular.

'Twinkle twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are…' The front door opened, startling her out of the dreamlike state she always found herself in whenever she started singing.

She opened her eyes and her stomach dropped. What the hell?! The room was littered with toys and books, a sea of possessions in an inexplicable carpet of madness. How the hell had this happened?!

She looked to the door and saw a woman who appeared to be thinking the same thing standing in the doorway, hands on hips, exuding a very clear air of 'I won't be requiring your services again'.

She raised a hand in an awkward wave.

'…Hi, Mrs Samuels…'

'Aw, cheer up, Iris. Losing a babysitting gig isn't the end of the world.' Iris groaned into the counter at her best friend's attempt at a pep talk.

'That's easy for you to say, Nate. That's the third job I've been fired from this month!'

'Here, this'll help.' Iris's other best friend, Roxy, slid a glass filled with pink liquid down the counter. 'Raspberry and banana smoothie. Your favourite!' Iris played with the straw miserably.

'Can it call Mrs Samuels and assure her that I'm not a vandal?' Roxy shook her head.

'No. It just tastes good. And it has potassium!' Iris groaned and slammed her head back onto the counter.

'Potassium isn't going to fix this.'

'Come on, Iris.' Nathaniel leaned against the counter and lifted her chin, looking deep into her eyes. 'It's all gonna be okay.' Iris sighed deeply and took a sip of the smoothie.

'It's not just that. Every time I open my mouth to sing, something weird happens!' It had happened ever since she was small, when she'd be humming songs from her favourite shows in the bath, and the next thing she'd know, all the water would be on the floor!

Nathaniel laughed softly.

'Remember that day last summer when that freak storm froze the lake?' Iris sighed and played with her hair, while Roxy shot Nathaniel a glare.

'It wasn't so fun for the poor ducks, Nate.'

'I think they were fine once you went and found Iris's aunt's hairdryer and every extension cord in America to thaw the lake,' Nathaniel replied, washing out a blender.

'Well I couldn't just leave them!' Roxy protested.

Iris picked at raspberry on the rim of her glass, trying to figure out how on Earth that room had got so messy. She knew it couldn't be her singing. That was insane. But then what? What?!

Nathaniel looked over at her miserable expression and reached under the counter.

'Hey, I have something that might cheer you up.' Iris raised an eyebrow and popped the rather massacred raspberry into her mouth. Nathaniel slid a flyer across the counter, and Iris couldn't help looking at it curiously. 'Saw this on the notice board today!'

'Lead singer wanted for girl band, Lolirock. Auditions today.' She bit her lip. 'I do love singing…'

'It's perfect!' Roxy enthused, leaning across the counter to catch a glimpse of the flyer. 'You're the best singer I know!'

'I don't know…' Iris shook her head, sliding the flyer back across to Nathaniel. 'Sorry, Nate. I just can't.'

'Can't what?' Roxy's dad, Klaus, walked behind the bar, inexplicably balancing a leaning tower of smoothie glasses that Iris's high-school psychics told her should have been in a pile of glass shards about twenty minutes ago.

Roxy held up the flyer, and Klaus squinted.

'Lead singer wanted for girl band. You know what I want?' He dumped the glasses in the sink and began washing them out.

'…An understanding of Twitter so you don't have to keep asking me how to use it to promote the club?' Roxy guessed teasingly, and Klaus rolled his eyes.

'A band. Since Andy and the guys went on tour, it's been a never-ending stream of greasy-haired college dudes trying to get up on my stage to sing songs that'd mean I'd need to put an age limit on the door. Seriously, how hard is it to find a house band?' Roxy shrugged.

'I liked that last band. What were they called? Keg Party? Or was that just where they'd just come from?' She grinned mischievously at Klaus, who huffed.

'Hey, Iris.' He turned to Iris, his eyes glinting with an idea. 'You're a great singer. You ever think about doing a few gigs? I pay, and tips are good.' Iris shook her head.

'No, thanks, Mr Wilde.'

'We're trying to convince Iris to try out for this Lolirock group,' Nathaniel explained, pointing to the flyer. 'But she's proving tricky to convince.' Klaus raised an eyebrow.

'Why? I've known you since you three were running around at knee-height, helping Roxy hide squirrels in her room, and I've never seen you happier than when you're singing. A girl band sounds right up your alley.'

'Right?!' Roxy exclaimed. 'Iris, even my dad thinks it's a good idea.' She slid the flyer back across to Iris. 'Try out. What've you got to lose?' Iris's hand hovered over the flyer, and Roxy capitalised on the opportunity, pushing the paper into her outstretched hand. 'Do it! C'mon! Auditions are in an hour!'

'Yeah!' Nathaniel chimed in. 'Do it before you chicken out!' Roxy put her hands on her hips, affronted.

'Um, excuse you, that's actually very offensive to chickens.' Iris snorted at her friend's indignation, and inexplicably found herself nodding.

'…Okay.'

'Yay!' Roxy punched the air in celebration. 'Victory!' She did a small celebratory breakdance, and Iris stifled a laugh.

'Okay, okay.' Roxy turned to her dad.

'Dad, I'm gonna take the afternoon off. Is that cool?' Klaus raised an eyebrow.

'You don't really get how work works, do you, Butterfly?' Roxy gave him puppy eyes, and he smiled. 'Okay, take the afternoon. Good luck, Iris!' He ruffled Iris's hair, and Roxy groaned.

'Da-ad! Don't mess up my friends' hair!' Klaus nodded thoughtfully.

'Of course. I should mess up your hair!' Roxy shrieked and ducked away as her dad ruffled her hair.

'Dad!' Klaus laughed and kissed Roxy on the forehead.

'Love you, Butterfly.' Roxy laughed and waved, walking out from behind the bar.

'See you later, Dad!'

'What? How come I'm not going?' Nathaniel asked. 'This was my idea.' Klaus patted him on the back.

'Sorry, Nate. I need you here.'

'But then how come Roxy's leaving?'

'She asked first.' Roxy smirked at Nathaniel, and Nathaniel fake-pouted, before breaking out into a smile.

'Good luck, Iris. Knock 'em dead!' Iris smiled nervously.

'Hopefully not literally,' she mumbled under her breath, still unable to shake the feeling that all that weird stuff that happened when she sang, happened because of her.

'Wow…' Roxy winced. 'I have heard some bad singing at my dad's auditions, but this…' She winced again as another volley of shrieks that seemed to be trying to disguise themselves as music echoed from the theatre door. 'This is a whole new level of bad.' She nudged Iris. 'This may be easier than we thought.'

'We didn't think this would be easy,' Iris objected. 'You thought it'd be easy. I thought it'd be terrifying. What if something goes horribly wrong?' Roxy rolled her eyes.

'You'll be fine.' Iris bit her lip.

'I still don't know about this…' There was sharp bark from her feet, and she looked down to see Roxy's dog Artù giving her a very stern look, as though telling her to just do it already.

'See?' Roxy knelt and scratched Artù behind the ears. 'Artù believes in you. Trust his judgement.' Iris sighed.

'Okay. So I'm trusting the judgment of my incredibly biased best friend and her dog. I've got this audition in the bag.'

'You sure do!' Roxy stood and started up the theatre steps.

'That was sarcasm.'

'I chose to ignore that.' Iris swallowed and followed Roxy up to the back of the line of chattering girls. Wow, there were a lot of them. Why would she think she could sing better than all of them? She was going to crash and burn.

'Stop that,' Roxy said firmly. 'I can see it on your face; you're dragging yourself down with a million reasons why this won't work. Well, that's why I'm here. To stop you doing that. Iris, you got this! You're the best singer I know!' Iris found herself smiling despite herself. 'Now you go in there, and you give 'em hell!' Roxy punched the air, her speech punctuated by an enthusiastic bark from Artù.

Iris laughed.

'Okay. I'll give 'em hell. In about fifteen minutes, when we're at the front of the line.' Roxy looked at the line and blushed.

'Oh. Yeah.'

Iris slipped through the backstage door, swallowing back a wave of nerves as she stared out at the spotlight.

'Hey…' Roxy put her hand on her shoulder. 'You got this.' She took Iris's purse and gave her a quick, reassuring hug. Iris smiled weakly and tucked her hair behind her ear, walking out onto stage, clutching the page of song lyrics she'd been given at the stage door.

'Um, hello?' She waved awkwardly to the two girls sitting in the audience. They seemed to be arguing, but they both stopped to stare at her. 'I'm…here for the audition?'

'Great!' The redheaded girl on the right shoved the brunette next to her back down into her seat. 'Go ahead. Oh, and use that microphone right there.' Iris stared at the microphone on the stand. Wow. It looked…fancy. And expensive. What if she broke it? What if she broke something else? What if she just spontaneously combusted from nerves and sucking?! Okay, maybe that last one was an overreaction.

She snuck a glance into the wings to see Roxy giving her an enthusiastic thumbs-up and grinning encouragingly. Roxy believed in her. From the way he was wagging his tail, Artù believed in her. Was it really so hard to believe in herself?

Pushing down her nerves, she took a deep breath and lifted the microphone from the stand.

'Ahem.' She cleared her throat. She could do this. Sure, the brunette had her fingers poised to cover her ears, but that probably didn't mean anything.

She started to sing, and everything melted away. All her nerves, all her worries, all her self-doubt. All of it. God, how could she ever deny how much she loved to sing? It was incredible! She felt like she was floating. She wanted this. She wanted to sing. She wanted to be in this band. She wanted to-

There was a loud crash, and suddenly her lungs were filling with dust instead of air. Coughing, she opened her eyes and stared in horror at the scene before her. The theatre was ruined! It was like an explosion had gone off! An explosion named Iris. She didn't know how, but she knew. This was her. Somehow, this was her.

'Are you okay?' she exclaimed, looking out at the girls in the audience. They were staring in shock, and she snapped.

The microphone fell to the floor, and the sound of her boots on the stage echoed around the destroyed hall as she pelted past a dumbfounded Roxy, sobbing.

'Iris!' She heard Roxy and Artù as she tripped down the stairs, but she didn't turn. What the heck was wrong with her? How had she done that?

'Iris!' Roxy's call only made her run faster. Roxy shouldn't follow her. What if she was dangerous? What if she hurt her?

She ran through town, tripping and stumbling her way around pedestrians, barely checking both ways through her panic.

Exhausted and emotionally wrought, she collapsed against a lamppost, chest heaving, eyes overflowing with fearful tears.

She stared up at the sky, vision blurred, hearing Roxy's rapidly-approaching calls. Suddenly her friend's voice was overtaken by a terrifying creaking from above her. She whipped around to see a shard of some kind of green crystal slice through the lamppost, the glass lamp and two feet of metal crashing towards her.

Adrenalin flooding her veins, she threw herself to the side just as the lamp shattered on the sidewalk.

'Iris!' She heard Roxy's shrill scream, but her attention was drawn to the two people that seemed to be…floating…above her.

One, the boy, had his hand thrust out and a hard, irritated expression on his face.

'Ugh, you missed!' snapped the girl next to him. They looked so alike…twins, maybe?

'Iris!' Roxy ran to her side, Artù barking furiously at the people. 'What the heck is going on?!' That question would have to be answered later, as the girl thrust out her hand and wickedly sharp red crystal burst from the tarmac at their feet.

'Run!' Iris cried, grabbing Roxy's hand and pelting down the street, ducking down an alley in a desperate attempt to dodge the volley of deadly crystals shooting towards them.

She pulled her down behind a car, helping her restrain Artù, who apparently believed he stood a chance against crazy crystal lunatics.

Both girls gasped as the car flipped over their heads, hurled into the air by green crystal that had inexplicably sprouted from under it.

The boy snickered.

'I like this place. So much stuff to smash!'

'Great,' Roxy gasped, dragging Iris down the street. 'We're being chased by the Crystal Hulk.' Iris felt herself get yanked to the side and she barely jumped in time to clear the fence Roxy was pulling her over as Artù ducked through a hole in the wood.

'Aaaah!' The fence behind them splintered into a thousand pieces as a hunk of red crystal burst through it, sending Iris and Roxy slamming into a wall at the end of the alley.

'This is way easier than I thought it would be,' laughed the boy as Iris groaned and struggled to her feet.

'Really?' The girl smirked. 'I was expecting it to be simple. She's completely untrained.' She lifted her hand and some kind of glowing sigil appeared above it. Even Artù seemed to have caught onto the fact that they were completely outmatched, whimpering and backing away, though still putting himself between Roxy and danger.

The people raised their hands and a deadly hunk of crystal materialised, shooting towards the girls.

'Sing if you want to live!'

'What?' Iris whipped her head up to stare in absolute shock at some kind of flying horse casting an implausible shadow over the alley, two girls perched in its back.

'What the heck?' Roxy muttered, squinting up. 'Is that the girl from the theatre?'

'Trust us!' It did look like the brunette from the theatre, but she was now sporting ice-blue hair instead. Of course, two crazy people were shooting deadly crystal at her and her best friend, so hair colour was not her main concern. And, dumb as it sounded to sing when she was about to be skewered, she didn't really have any other options except just stand there and get skewered, so she opened her mouth, took a deep breath, and sung a flawless high note.

'Oh my god…' Roxy muttered, and Iris stared in shock to see pink light pouring from her in waves, shattering the crystal and sending the crystal lunatics stumbling backwards, shrieking furiously. A pillar of blue crystal shot from the ground, sending them flying into the air.

'Oh my god…oh my god…oh my god…' Roxy muttered over and over, staring agog at the destroyed alley.

The strange horse…cat? It looked a bit like a cat. The whatever-the-heck-it-was landed in front of Iris and Roxy, and the girl from the auditions (it was definitely her, just with a new look), held out her hand.

'Both of you, get on! Now!' Iris glanced at Roxy, then at where the crystal people had been thrown into the fence at the other end of the alley. Crazy horse people beat crazy crystal people trying to kill them.

Trying to keep from just having a freak-out right there in the alley, Iris reached up and grabbed the girl's hand, letting out a shriek of surprise as she was pulled rapidly up into the air, landing on the horse with an uncomfortable thud. The girl held out her hand for Roxy, too, but Roxy was already scrambling up, a far more experienced rider than Iris, Artù clutched in her arms.

Iris let out another scream, this time joined by Roxy, as the horse shot up into the air, zipping over the rooftops of Sunny Bay, her hair whipping into her face in an impenetrable fog of strawberry-scented blonde.

'Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!' A chunk of hair blew into her mouth and she coughed and spluttered, spitting it out and deciding that maybe she should keep her mouth shut while flying on some kind of winged horse thing.

'Are you okay, Iris?' The second girl on the horse, who Iris was pretty sure was the redhead from the audition, craned her neck around.

'Yeah, I'm fine…' Iris tucked her hair behind her ear. '…How do you know my name?' The girl (who now had orange hair - what the heck was up with this hair change), smiled.

'Oh, we've been searching for you for a long time.' Iris stared at her in confusion. Huh?

'Also, it was on the call list for the audition,' remarked the blue-haired girl. 'Hold on.' Iris felt Roxy's grip around her waist tighten as they shot away from Sunny Bay and over the ocean, eventually gliding in to land in the mouth of a sea cave on a small island.

The two girls vaulted effortlessly down from the horse, followed by Roxy, who'd been riding since she was about four. Iris, who'd been riding since about ten minutes ago, simply found herself sliding off the horse and landing unceremoniously on the ground.

'You okay?' Roxy knelt down next to Iris, helping her to her feet. Iris took a deep breath, dusted herself off, and rounded on the strange girls.

'Okay, what is going on?! Who were those people attacking us?! And why did my singing do…whatever it did?' The horse thing trotted behind the girls, glowed purple and turned into some kind of purple cat. Great. Just another unexplainable thing to add to the list. 'And what is that?!'

The orange-haired girl scooped the…cat? up into her arms, squeezing it in a loving hug.

'This is Amaru!' Iris blinked.

'Well, that's one question answered…sort of.'

'We brought you here to answer all of your questions,' said the blue girl.

'Oh, really?' snapped Roxy, glaring suspiciously at the girls. 'Well, start answering! Because this is insane!'

'This may be difficult for you to believe, Iris, but you have-'

'Actually, I was thinking maybe we start with who the heck you people are!' Roxy yelled, her cheeks colouring with incredulous fury.

'Oh, did we not introduce ourselves?' The orange girl gasped. 'I'm so sorry! I'm Auriana of Volta, and this is Talia of Xeris. And, as I said, this is Amaru.' Roxy blinked.

'Volta and Xeris?'

'Oh, those are our kingdoms,' Auriana explained. 'On Ephedia!'

'Okay, these girls are definitely on drugs,' Roxy muttered to Iris. Auriana shook her head.

'No, we're on Earth. I don't know where this 'Drugs' place is, but I've never been there. What's it like?' Roxy shrugged.

'Oh, y'know…high. Like you clearly are.'

'I don't know, Roxy,' Iris murmured. 'After everything that's happened today…maybe we should let them give their explanation.'

'Unless their explanation is that we fell down the stairs at the theatre and are in the hospital with matching concussions, I don't think I believe them.'

'Let's give them a chance.' Iris gave Talia her best friendly smile (which wasn't much, since she was terrified and sorta convinced Roxy was right and they were both concussed). Talia nodded.

'Iris, you have a very great destiny. You must prepare yourself for-' Auriana held up a hand.

'Oh, enough with the blah-blah-blah.' Iris gasped as a wand appeared above her hand. 'Let's just show her!' Iris and Roxy stepped back in surprise as a red light spilled from the wand, filling the cave and melting away to reveal a breathtaking image of a towering palace.

'Whoa…' Iris breathed, stepping forwards and staring around in wonder. 'Where are we?'

'This is a vision of events that have already happened,' Talia explained. Roxy folded her arms.

'She asked where, not when. Where are we?' Talia sighed.

'This is Ephedia, a planet rich in magic. This is where you were born, Iris.' Iris whipped around in shock.

'Wait, what? You're joking.'

'If she is, then she may want to stay outta stand-up, because it's so not funny.' Roxy glowered at Talia. 'What do you mean, where she was born? Iris was born on Earth.' Talia shook her head.

'No. Though Iris was raised on Earth, this,' she waved a hand at the scene surrounding them, 'is her home world.' Iris took a deep breath. She wasn't from Earth? She wasn't…human?

The scene changed to show two ethereally beautiful people sitting regally on thrones. Auriana waved her wand in their direction.

'That's where the king and queen of Ephedia sat. Or at least, they were king and queen. Before Gramorr showed up.' Iris jumped back in surprise as the image shifted to show an imposing man in a mask that covered his entire face; even though it was only an image, Iris could feel the malice coming off him in waves, and, going off his sudden barking, Artù could too.

'Calm down, boy, it's just a…whatever this is,' Roxy muttered, bending down and stroking Artù soothingly, watching the image with trepidation.

'Gramorr betrayed the rulers and took the throne for himself.' Iris winced at the bitterness in Talia's voice as the scene changed yet again to show Gramorr walking to the throne, the queen on her knees, defeated at his feet. 'Nobody knows what happened to the king, but when Gramorr tried to take the queen's crown, he found it was magically protected. The queen's crown was possessed of great power, stored in magical jewels called Oracle Gems. It would have been disastrous if Gramorr had been able to use them for his evil purposes. These Oracle Gems were scattered, and sent to Earth to be kept safe from Gramorr. But they were not the only thing sent away to be kept safe…' Iris's breath caught in her throat as the scene changed to show the queen holding a baby in her arms. A blonde baby, who she saw every day in a photograph on her upstairs landing.

'Oh my god…'

'Iris…' Iris held back tears as the queen began to speak. 'My adorable baby. It breaks my heart that you'll grow up and I won't see it.' Iris reached out a hand towards the image. 'But it must be done for your safety.' The scene fell away, returning to the warm stone of the cave, and Iris's hand dropped to her side. She wasn't sure at what point she'd ended up on her knees, or when Roxy had put her arms around her, or when she'd started crying into Artú's fur, but all she could think was: I'm not from Earth.

'I'm not from Earth…' she murmured, getting slowly to her feet. 'I'm a princess. I'm a princess from a magical planet. My birth parents were a king and a queen. I'm…I'm alien royalty?' Talia nodded.

'You were sent here to keep you safe from Gramorr until you were old enough and strong enough to defeat him.'

'We were sent to train you to use your powers to defeat him,' Auriana chipped in.

'Train me…' Iris murmured. 'Train me to defeat that guy?! The guy that took over an entire kingdom? Are you crazy?!'

'I think we've established that,' Roxy muttered. 'Look, I don't know who you two are-'

'Auriana of Volta and Talia of Xeris,' Auriana repeated. Roxy rolled her eyes.

'Yeah, that means nothing to me. For all I know, Xeris could be a neighbourhood in New York.' Talia narrowed her eyes.

'It's a kingdom on Ephedia.' Roxy nodded.

'Yes. Ephedia. The magical kingdom Iris is from. That you expect her to free. With what? The throw she learned that time we did a self-defence class? Her voice?'

'What was with my voice?' Iris asked, jumping in. 'How did it destroy that crystal? You mentioned my powers - is that it? My voice?'

'That is just one aspect of your powers,' Talia explained. 'The first to manifest. You need to learn how to control it properly.'

'Yeah,' Auriana chipped in. 'And we figured out that on Earth, the easiest way to find you would be to set up auditions for a band. I thought it would be super fun!'

'And ridiculous,' Roxy muttered under her breath. 'What if your legendary princess had had stage fright?' Iris bit her lip. Roxy actually had a point there. She almost hadn't gone to the audition. And she wasn't sure if she regretted going or not.

'The Oracle Gems that were sent to Earth will allow us to return to Ephedia and defeat Gramorr,' Talia explained. 'When the queen used her magic to send them to Earth, she enchanted them so that they would only reveal themselves when a good and pure deed was performed. From everything we've been told, you're the key. They'll be drawn to Ephedian magic, but your goodness and sense of justice will help us find them.'

'So you want Iris to help you with some kind of deadly scavenger hunt?!' Roxy exclaimed. 'I'm sorry, we'd just love to help you, but we're booked solid. We've got a leprechaun wedding, and we're heading to a unicorn birthday party right after. Now, if you wouldn't mind flying us home…'

'What happened to them?' Iris asked quietly, interrupting Roxy. 'My parents. What happened to them?' Talia and Auriana exchanged a glance, before Talia sighed deeply.

'Nobody knows.'

'And…Ephedia?'

'Everyone is trapped under that tyrant Gramorr's oppressive rule,' Talia spat furiously. Iris bit her lip.

'And I…I can free them?' Roxy gawked at her.

'Um, Iris? You don't seriously believe them, do you?' Iris turned to Roxy.

'I know it sounds insane…'

'It is insane!'

'…but if people are in danger, and I can help them…I can't just sit around and do nothing. I know you understand that, Rox. How many injured animals have you put yourself in danger to help?' Roxy bit her lip, and Iris knew she had her.

'…Okay, if I bought any of this, I'd agree with you. But what are you going to tell your Aunt Ellen?'

'Nothing!' Talia burst out. 'You two can't tell anyone about this!'

'What?' Roxy scoffed. 'What about our parents? We can't tell them?' Talia shook her head.

'Not if you want to keep them safe. Getting involved in this is dangerous.'

'But Roxy's involved,' Iris argued.

'Yes,' Talia rebuffed. 'And that could put her in a lot of danger. In fact…Roxy, was it?' Roxy nodded. 'Roxy, you should just stay out of this.'

'Oh no.' Roxy shook her head. 'I may think this is absolute lunacy, and I'm still not convinced you two aren't totally high, but if my best friend is throwing herself into danger with you two, you better believe I am throwing myself right after her.'

'Well okay then!' Auriana chirped. 'Welcome aboard, Roxy!' Iris stifled a giggle as Auriana threw her arms around Roxy in a very enthusiastic hug. Auriana pulled away, grinning. 'And who's this?' She knelt down in front of Artù. 'Hi there!' Artù sniffed her curiously, before apparently deciding that this girl, despite being strange and orange, was acceptable, and licking her face. 'Eee!' Auriana squealed with delight. 'I like your...whatever this is!' Roxy's lips twitched into a smile. If there was one thing Iris's best friend loved, it was animals. And if Artù liked someone, Roxy would usually follow suit.

'Thank you. I like your…Amaru?' Auriana grinned.

'He's a sweetie, isn't he?' Roxy knelt down to greet Amaru, and Iris smiled to see the expression of wonder and enchantment on her face. As crazy as Roxy might think this all was, she couldn't resist an animal.

Amaru stared up at her for a second, before leaping into her arms and nuzzling her lovingly.

'Wow…' Talia muttered. 'Amaru's friendly, but…' Iris stifled a laugh.

'Animals love Roxy. Always have.' She turned to Talia. 'So. I'm a magical princess from another planet who has to free aforementioned planet from a crazy evil guy.' Talia nodded. 'What now?'

'Aunt Ellen!' Iris dashed across her front yard and threw herself into her aunt's arms, sighing with relief at the feeling of security she so desperately needed.

'Iris! Hi, honey!' Aunt Ellen pulled Roxy into the hug as well. 'Hi, Roxy.' Artù yapped at her feet, demanding equal attention, and she knelt to scratch his ears. 'Hi, Artù.' She looked up at Iris. 'Klaus called and said you were trying out for a band! How'd it go?' Iris grinned.

'Fantastic! I blew them away.' Literally.

'Oh, wonderful!'

'Um…Aunt Ellen?' Iris wasn't sure how to start, so she just went right in with the not-quite-a-lie they'd agreed on. 'This is Talia Raine and Auriana Jasper.' Roxy had come up with some fake surnames on the flight back to Sunny Bay. 'They're my new bandmates, and they're new to Sunny Bay and they were going to check into a hotel, but since we have plenty of room, I was wondering…if they could stay with us?' She crossed her fingers. They hadn't been sure about having Talia and Auriana living at her house, but, as Roxy had pointed out, 'Whether or not she can stop Gramorr, right now Iris would be totally helpless against those crystal crazies. The least you two can do is be there for if they show up again.' So, it had been agreed that Iris would try to convince her aunt to let her new friends stay. Fortunately, Aunt Ellen was endlessly friendly and hospitable, and she nodded right away.

'Oh, of course they can stay! You made it into the band? That's fantastic!' She gave Iris a huge hug. 'You girls just go make yourselves at home.' Auriana grinned.

'Thank you so much, Iris's aunt Ellen!' She gave Aunt Ellen a hug, and she laughed.

'Oh my! Well, aren't you lovely.' Talia bowed stiffly.

'You have our deepest gratitude, Ellen Rose of Florida.' Aunt Ellen smiled.

'Oh, it's nothing. You girls go on in. Iris can show you around.' She returned to her flowerbed, while Roxy shepherded Talia inside.

'Um, little advice,' she muttered. 'On Earth, we tend to just say 'thanks'.' Talia nodded.

'I see. Thank you; this is useful information.' Iris jogged up the stairs.

'C'mon! Let's go to my room. We can talk in there.'

'Wow!' Auriana squealed, flopping down onto Iris's bed. 'Your room is so lovely!' Iris smiled, closing the door.

'Thanks.' Talia sat down on Iris's desk chair, while Roxy just plopped down onto the floor, scratching Artù's ears and stroking Amaru as he nuzzled her lovingly. Iris shook her head in wonder. How every creature seemed to instantly fall in love with Roxy, she'd never know.

'Okay. So, if you're here to train me, then what do I learn first?' Iris asked. 'How to make crystal? How to break stuff with my voice? That cool spell you did to show me the past?'

'Learn to activate your pendant,' Talia replied.

'Do what with my huh?' Iris stared down at her pendant in surprise. 'Activate my pendant?'

'Seriously?' Roxy raised an eyebrow. 'You've got an oppressed planet to save, and your first lesson is about jewellery?' Talia nodded.

'Iris's pendant is magical. Ephedian princesses all have magical jewels that allow them to transform into their magical dress. It allows them to use more magic, and drastically increases their endurance and ability to take damage. We were wearing ours when we came to find you in the alley.' Iris's eyes sparkled as she recalled the gorgeous dresses Talia and Auriana had been wearing.

'I have one of those dresses?' Talia nodded. 'How do I activate it?'

'Just call out your name and your realm,' Talia explained. Okay. Okay, she could do that. She cleared her throat.

'Hi, my name is Iris and I come from a very nice place called Ephendria.' Talia just stared at her, while Amaru facepalmed from his spot on Roxy's shoulder.

'Um, okay, good start,' Auriana said, switching into a sitting position. 'A couple of notes. One, make it shorter, just 'Iris, Princess of Ephedia', and two, say it like you're about to kick someone's butt!' She punched the air, and Iris nodded. Okay. Say it like a badass warrior princess. She threw out her arm dramatically.

'Iris! Princess of Ependria!' She looked down at herself. No magical dress.

'It's Ephedia,' Auriana corrected. 'But you're doing great!'

'Oh.' Iris blushed. 'Okay. Take two.'

'Take two what?' Auriana asked curiously. Roxy sighed.

'It's an expression.'

'Iris! Princess of Ephedia!' She closed her eyes and lifted her arm above her head. She opened her eyes. Still nothing. 'Maybe there's something wrong with this thing,' she remarked, looking down at her pendant.

'Yeah, I don't think magical alien pendants need to have their batteries changed,' Roxy remarked. Talia sighed.

'There's nothing wrong with it. You need to learn how to activate it.'

'But what if I can't?' Iris bit her lip. 'What if I'm not really the princess of Ephetta?'

'Ephedia,' Talia corrected her.

'See?' Iris replied frustratedly. 'I can't even pronounce it.' She sighed deeply and flopped down into a chair. 'Maybe you made a mistake.' Before anyone could say anything, a piercing scream tore through the room. Iris bolted to her feet.

'That sounded like Aunt Ellen!' She barrelled out of the door and shot downstairs, Roxy, Artù, Talia and Auriana hot on her heels.

The group burst outside and Iris froze in horror. Five feet away, frozen mid-scream, was Aunt Ellen! Iris ran forwards, staring in horrified shock at the terribly familiar red crystal encasing her aunt.

'Aunt Ellen!' She pounded on the crystal, but garnered no response.

'Oh my god…' Roxy muttered. 'Iris…' Iris looked up to see everyone on her street trapped in the same crystal. She gasped and staggered backwards in shock.

'What happened?' she cried. Artù started barking madly, and she whipped around to see those crystal lunatics from earlier. 'You! What have you done? If you've hurt my aunt, I swear…' The girl laughed.

'Aw, look, Mephisto! The untrained weakling princess is trying to threaten us! It's adorable!' The boy laughed.

'Hilarious, Praxina!' Mephisto and Praxina. Looked like she was working with names now.

Mephisto and Praxina raised their hands, and the girls barely dived out of the way as two wickedly-sharp crystals burst from the ground.

'Seriously?' Roxy muttered, pushing herself to her feet. 'This is getting old!' She held out a hand and pulled Iris up, too.

'Uh-oh!' Iris cried as Praxina created a terrifyingly huge orb of crystal.

'Say goodbye, princess.'

'Hey! How come you get to destroy the princess?' Mephisto complained. Praxina rolled her eyes.

'Because I'm older, Mephisto.' Mephisto folded his arms.

'By ten minutes.' Praxina scoffed.

'So? I'm still older. And I'm about to get all the glory.'

'What you're about to get is a beat down!' Talia yelled, making the twins (Iris assumed they were twins, going off what they'd said) whip around in surprise. Talia and Auriana had got to their feet and were glaring determinedly at the twins.

'Talia! Princess of Xeris!' Talia yelled.

'Auriana! Princess of Volta!' Auriana matched Talia's battle-cry, and the two of them were enveloped in light that fell away revealing them in the forms Iris had seen them in earlier.

'Huh. Auriana was right,' Roxy remarked. 'They totally said that like they were gonna kick someone's butt. Now get down!' She dove behind Aunt Ellen's car, dragging Iris after her.

'Crystal Ventrosus!' Talia and Auriana cried in unison, a glowing sigil appearing between them right before a thick blue wall of crystal shot up between the twins and Iris and Roxy's hiding place.

'Talia of Xeris.' Praxina smirked. 'I'd heard you escaped, but I thought they were joking! And who's your little sidekick?'

'Auriana, Princess of Volta!' Praxina snickered.

'Never heard of you! Though, then again, doesn't Volta have thirty-three princesses? They're a dime a dozen in that kingdom, so you're nothing special.' Roxy hissed through her teeth.

'Oh, I hate her already.' Amaru growled, confirming that he felt similarly about Praxina.

Talia rolled her eyes at Praxina.

'You talk too much.' Praxina cried out as a pillar of blue crystal burst from the ground under her feet, sending her flying into the air. But she quickly recovered, landing behind Talia with that same mean little smirk on her face.

'Should I laugh at you instead?' Dark magic shot from her hands and Talia gasped as her feet were encased in red crystal, sending her tumbling to her knees. Praxina laughed spitefully, and Mephisto quickly joined her.

'Good one, Prax!'

'Ataruina!' Iris had no idea what ataruina meant, but judging by the way Praxina was aiming at Talia and the expression on Auriana's face, it wasn't good. Red magic shot from Praxina's hand, matched by green from Mephisto's, both bolts headed straight for Talia.

'Crystarmum!' Auriana leapt between the bolts, two orange crystal shields appearing at her hands, barely managing to hold back the magic as sinister green and red crystals grew on her own.

Watching, terrified, from behind the car, Iris gasped. The twins were going to kill them!

'Talia! Auriana!' She turned to Roxy, desperate and panicked. 'What do we do?!' Roxy looked just as terrified. 'We have to help them! But what can we do?'

'We can't do anything. But maybe…maybe you can help them.' Iris gaped at her.

'Are you crazy now? What can I do?'

'As insane as this is, I don't really have a choice but to believe all this now. Which means…if all this is real…then you're the princess of Ephedia. You have magical powers. So maybe…maybe you can stop those two.' Iris stared at Praxina and Mephisto.

'I'm a princess,' she murmured. 'I'm a princess. I have magical powers.' She felt Roxy's hand on her shoulder.

'I believe in you, Iris.' Iris took a deep breath.

'I'm a princess. I have a realm to save! Iris! Princess of Ephedia!' This time, trying to transform, everything felt different. She felt an unexplainable energy wash over her, filling her with light and warmth.

When the rush faded, she looked down at herself in awe. She was now wearing a dress like Talia and Auriana's, except in pink. She touched her hair tentatively, staring at its new colour, candy pink.

'Whoa…' Roxy breathed as Artù stared in surprise and Amaru clapped excitedly.

'You can say that again…' Iris turned to the twins. 'Here goes nothing!' She ran out from behind the car, ducking around the crystal wall. 'Hey! Leave them alone!' Mephisto turned and burst out laughing.

'Ha! That's funny! You haven't been trained in magic! What are you going to use?' The smirk quickly dropped from his face as Iris kicked him hard in the back of the knee.

'Whatever I've got!'

'Ugh! You idiot!' Praxina snapped. 'You let her distract you! She doesn't even know any magic yet!'

'Ow…' Mephisto moaned. 'That really hurt!' Iris grinned and gave Talia and Auriana a thumbs-up. Auriana grinned back and switched the full force of her magic to defend against Praxina, while Talia freed her feet and stood, creating a crystal shield just like Auriana's.

'Crystal Collidum!' A blue sheet of crystal appeared, destroying Praxina's attack and sending her flying into the air, where she swiftly had to dodge dozens of blasts from Talia and Auriana, taking shelter behind the peak of Iris's roof, sending her own magic into the battle.

'Ugh! Mephisto! Help me!' In response, Mephisto grabbed Iris's ankle and pulled, sending her tumbling to the ground as he got to his feet and aimed at Talia and Auriana. No! Acting on instinct, Iris lifted her hand and a tiny, inexplicable crystal dart fired out of it and right into Mephisto, who cried out and jumped around in a frankly amusing panic. However, it became far less amusing when he spun around, furious as Iris got unsteadily to her feet.

'Rrgh! You're gonna pay for that!' He flung out his hand and Iris hit the ground, squeezing her eyes shut. But instead of getting obliterated, she heard a cry of panic. 'Aah! Get off me, you…whatever you are!' Iris opened her eyes to see a very determined Artù growling and biting at Mephisto's cape. 'Aah! Praxina! They've set some kind of war beast on me!' He snarled at Artù. 'Okay, you want some Mephisto?' He prepared to cast a spell, but was quickly sidetracked as Iris threw her aunt's watering can at his head, making a very satisfying clanging sound.

'Hey! Mephisto! Remember me?' Her attempt to keep Artù safe suddenly seemed a lot less heroic and a lot more stupid as Mephisto summoned a menacing green sigil to his hand. She cried out as a bolt of crystal hit her, sending her tumbling back down onto the grass.

'Iris!' Talia and Auriana whipped around, about to run to her, but they were both knocked down by Praxina.

'Iris!' Roxy cried, standing frozen by the edge of the battle, restraining Artù to keep him from throwing himself into mortal peril.

'Ha! Finally.' Praxina flew over Iris next to Mephisto. 'Ataruina!' Iris's eyes widened and she tried to scramble away, but she was too winded from Mephisto's hit. She froze with panic as the twins' lethal blast barrelled towards her, throwing up her arm in a futile attempt to protect herself.

Her entire body turned to ice as Roxy threw herself between her and the attack.

'Roxy!' she screamed. 'No!' The light from the magic became too bright, and she was forced to turn her head away as Roxy threw her arms up to protect her. 'Roxy!' There was the sound of impact, and the ground shook. She opened her eyes, tears streaming down her face. Roxy! No! She looked up, terrified of what she'd see, but her mouth dropped open as she saw Roxy standing in front of her, completely unharmed, protected by some kind of green energy shield.

'What in the-?!' Praxina exclaimed. 'What is this?!' Iris stared uncomprehendingly at Roxy.

'Roxy?' Not only was her friend unharmed, but she had…changed. Her t-shirt, jeans and sneakers had transformed into a sparkly green crop-top, miniskirt and ankle boots, and a pair of translucent green butterfly wings fluttered at her back.

'Roxy?' She got unsteadily to her feet and Roxy turned around, her confusion plain on her face.

'What…what's happened to me?' she murmured, craning her neck to see her wings.

'Well, I can't answer that, but I can tell you what's about to happen to you!' Praxina laughed, shattering the energy shield with crystal. 'I don't know what kind of cheap trick you're pulling here, but nothing is going to stop us destroying Iris!' At her words, Roxy's eyes burned with fury.

'Oh, I beg to differ!' Praxina summoned another of those sigils, and Roxy flung her arm up in defence, gasping with shock as a stream of green energy shot forth from it, knocking Praxina out of the sky.

'What the heck?!' Roxy exclaimed, staring down at her hands. 'How'd I do that?'

'I don't know, but if you felt like doing it again, that'd be pretty helpful!' Iris cried as Mephisto shot crystal at them. She dove to the side, and heard Roxy cry out.

'Roxy!' She whipped around to see Roxy unsteadily hovering a few feet above the ground, her wings fluttering madly as her arms and legs flailed.

'How do you work these things?!'

'I don't know what you are, but this is the funniest thing I've seen in a while,' Mephisto snickered. 'You're all like, 'Whoa! Aah! I'm so uncoordinated!''

'Keep laughing, Mephisto,' Talia snapped, staggering to her feet. 'Things are about to get a lot less amusing! Wand of Xeris!' She held her hand out and a blue sceptre appeared in a flash of light. She leapt into the air and whipped the weapon around, hitting Mephisto hard in the back, sending him crashing into the ground.

'Iris! Roxy!' Auriana cried, dashing over. 'Are you okay?!'

'What just happened?' Talia asked, staring at Roxy in shock.

'Wish I knew!' Roxy replied, holding the hem of her skirt gingerly. 'I dove to save Iris, next thing I know, I've got wings!' She flailed madly as her wings apparently decided she should fly up a few feet. 'Tricky wings! Somebody want to get me down?!' Talia grabbed her ankle and pulled back down to Earth, staring in bewilderment. 'Phew! Thanks.'

'Rrgh! What the heck is going on here?!' Praxina snarled, finally having managed to get out of the hedge Roxy had blasted her into. 'Who are you?!' Roxy folded her arms.

'Roxy Wilde. And, while I may not understand what just happened, there is now way I'm letting you hurt Iris!' Praxina glared furiously at the three princesses and Roxy.

'Ow…Prax, I think we gotta get outta here,' Mephisto groaned, staggering to his feet. Praxina shot the girls one final venomous scowl, before the twins vanished in flashes of their respective colours.

There were a few moments of silence, before all four girls dropped to their knees, exhausted.

'Let's not do that again for a while…' Iris muttered, and Roxy nodded.

'I second that.' She stared down at herself. 'Seriously, what is going on here?' Talia frowned, taking in Roxy's wings.

'I…don't know. I've never seen or heard of anything like this. Whatever this magic is, I don't think it's Ephedian.' Iris reached out and stroked Roxy's wing thoughtfully.

'Hey!' Roxy's wing twitched at Iris's touch. 'That tickles!' Iris frowned.

'You've got wings…like…like…'

'Like what?' Auriana asked. 'Like what? The suspense is killing me!'

'Like…a fairy.' Auriana gasped.

'A fairy?! …What's a fairy?'

'A mythological being from Earth legends,' Roxy explained. 'But they don't dress like this!' She got to her feet, gesturing at her outfit. 'How do I turn back to normal? Or am I stuck?' All the blood drained from her face. 'Oh my god, what if I'm stuck like this?' Talia frowned.

'I doubt you're stuck.' She got to her feet too, followed by Auriana and Iris. 'Just turn back. Watch, Auriana and I will do it, and then you try.' She and Auriana were both enveloped in light, and when it vanished they were back in their human appearances. 'Now you two. Just focus on your human appearance, and you should change back no problem.' Iris focused, picturing her blonde hair and pink dress, opening her eyes with a gasp to see herself turn back to normal. To her immense relief, there was a burst of sparkles and Roxy's wings vanished, her clothes turning back to normal.

'Oh thank God,' Roxy muttered. 'Not sure I could live the rest of my life with wings.'

As Roxy double-checked she was all back to normal, Iris wandered hazily over to her aunt Ellen, still frozen in crystal. She lifted her hand, stroking the cool, hard surface.

'Is she okay?' she asked, whipping around to Talia and Auriana. Talia nodded.

'She's fine. She'll be a little confused, but fine.' Talia knelt in front of the crystal, a glowing blue sigil appearing on the ground below her, her hair blowing in a non-existent breeze as a bright light spread across the whole street.

'Crystal Sylvenda!' The light shattered the crystals, and confused people stumbled forwards, looking around in bewilderment. Fortunately, the spell had destroyed all the crystals, so they all just shrugged and went about their day.

'Aunt Ellen!' Iris flung her arms around her aunt as she stumbled blearily out of the blue light.

'Oh…' Her aunt hugged her back, confusion painted across her expression. 'Oh my…are you girls okay? I heard loud noises!'

'Oh, yeah, we're fine,' Iris reassured her. We were just practising. Y'know, for our band. …Lolirock.' Aunt Ellen nodded.

'Okay. Huh, I felt so strange. Like I took a sudden nap.' Iris held her breath, but her aunt just shook her head and laughed. 'I need to start going to bed earlier! Oh, have you shown Talia and Auriana the Frutti Music Bar yet? You and Roxy practically live there, after all, and you should tell Nathaniel and Klaus how the audition went. From what Klaus said, they were really pushing you to go.' Auriana's eyes lit up.

'What's the Frutti Music Bar? And can we go there right now?' Roxy nodded.

'Yeah. Ellen's right; we should tell Nate and my dad how the audition went. And just generally let them know we're alive; they'll have been expecting us a while ago.'

'Let them know you're alive?' Aunt Ellen laughed. 'My, isn't that a little hyperbolic?' Roxy grimaced.

'Not so much. C'mon, Artù!' She whistled and Artù fell into step beside her, Amaru perched on his back, Artù apparently satisfied with being an alien cat's ride.

'Bye, Aunt Ellen!' Iris waved, jogging after Roxy, who was already being asked a million questions by Auriana about where they were going, and what it was, and why she'd grown wings, and what exactly was Artù?

'Y'know, I might actually not be so bad at this whole magical princess thing,' she remarked, falling into step next to Talia. Talia frowned.

'Well, you still have a lot to learn. And we still have no clue what happened with Roxy. And the twins ran away this time, but next time we won't have the element of surprise…'

'Oh, pssh.' Iris put a hand on Talia's shoulder. 'We can handle them if they show back up. Focus on the positives here! You found me! And now we're gonna go get celebratory smoothies!'

'Hooray!' Auriana whooped, jumping with celebration. 'Quick question: what's a smoothie?'

'This is the greatest place I've ever seen!' Auriana exclaimed, walking into the Frutti Music Bar. 'Look! Talia! The tables are like fruit! The counter is like fruit! They serve fruit! It's like the whole place is-'

'Fruit-themed?' Roxy finished. 'Yeah, that's the idea.'

'Butterfly!' Auriana's head whipped around.

'Butterfly? Where?' Roxy laughed.

'That'd be me. Hey, Dad.' Klaus waved from behind the counter and the group made their way over to the bar, taking seats on the stools, Auriana delighting in the seat's spinning capabilities.

'Hey, girls!' Nathaniel walked behind the bar. 'How'd the audition go?' Iris grinned.

'Nathaniel, Klaus, meet my new bandmates: Talia and Auriana!' Nathaniel's face lit up.

'You made it! Oh, Iris, I'm so happy for you!' He dashed around the bar and scooped her up into a huge hug. 'Congratulations!' Klaus grinned.

'That's fantastic, Iris. And, Talia, Auriana, nice to meet you. I'm Klaus, Roxy's father, and this is Nathaniel. How about a round of smoothies, on the house, to celebrate your new band?'

'Yay! Thanks, Klaus Roxy's father!' Auriana chirped. 'Roxy was just telling me all about these smoothie things, and I think they are a great idea! Drinking fruit! Who came up with that?' Klaus looked a little thrown.

'Uh…not sure, actually. I already know Roxy and Iris's drinks of choice; what would you girls like?'

'Everything!' Auriana beamed. 'All the fruit!' Roxy laughed awkwardly.

'Oh, Auriana. Auriana will have mango, pineapple and passion fruit, and Talia will have blueberry and dark chocolate. Thanks, Dad.'

'Coming right up!' Klaus whipped up the smoothies and slid them across the counter. 'So…girls… This band of yours…'

'Lolirock,' Auriana filled in. 'Isn't it a great name? I came up with it.' She took a sip of her smoothie. 'Sweet Volta! This is amazing! Talia! Talia! Have you tried this?' Talia ignored Auriana's antics, though Iris noticed a small smile on her lips when she sipped her drink.

'Lolirock, right,' Klaus continued. 'Well, I was wondering: do you have any gigs lined up?' Talia shook her head.

'Nope. Why?'

'Well, my house band went on tour about a month ago, and I've been looking for a new act to play here. Would you girls be interested?'

'Yes!' Auriana squealed.

'You haven't even heard us play,' Talia pointed out, but Klaus just smiled.

'If you feature Iris, I've got faith. She's the best singer I've ever heard.' Iris blushed. 'So? Interested?' Auriana nodded so enthusiastically Iris was a little surprised she didn't hurt her neck.

'Squee! We'd love a gig here! I already love this place! Do we get discounts on smoothies?' Klaus laughed.

'You'd get free smoothies.' Auriana looked like she might burst with joy.

'When do we start?'

'Well, if you could rehearse some songs for this Saturday, I'd love to see you perform.'

'And we'd love to perform! Talia! Iris! We're gonna have a gig! We're a band!' Iris laughed.

'Thanks, Klaus. We can totally get something together by Saturday. If Talia's happy with that?' All eyes swivelled to Talia, who sipped her smoothie thoughtfully.

'…Alright.' She was immediately tackled in a hug by a squealing Auriana, and Iris and Roxy stifled laughs. 'Okay, okay! Auriana! Enough!'

Roxy leaned against the counter as Talia fought Auriana off her, covering her mouth to hide a smirk.

'This…is not how I thought today would end.' Iris shook her head.

'Nope.'

'I blame Nate, for finding that flyer.'

'…Me too, a little bit.' The girls looked at each other and giggled.

'Well, for better or worse, we're along on this ride now,' Roxy said quietly. 'Crystals, wings and all.' Iris nodded.

'Crystals, wings and all.'

Ogron groaned, shutting the hundredth magical tome he'd read that day and slamming his head frustratedly into his desk. Nothing. He'd been trying for years to find the last Earth Fairy, and all he had to show for it were illegibly-scrawled theories and an almost perpetual stress migraine. It was almost at the point where he might consider giving up, but if they didn't capture that fairy, then their centuries of hard work capturing the others could be undone in a matter of days. And he couldn't allow that to happen. Even if he'd had to take to jabbing himself with a pencil to keep himself awake as he trawled through the books he'd read a thousand times, desperately deluding himself that he'd see something new that would lead him to his target.

'Ogron?' There was a slightly hesitant knock on the door. 'Ogron, you've been in there for hours…I'm starting to get a little worried…' Ogron looked over at the next book and sighed.

'I'm fine, Anagan. Come in.' The door opened and Anagan walked into his room, looking at the absolute carnage of books, notepads, pens, charts, mystical artefacts and random sheets of paper covered in ever more illegible scrawlings. He raised an eyebrow.

'This seems…healthy.' Ogron rolled his eyes.

'My personal health is irrelevant by this point. If we don't capture the last fairy, she could free the others, and then…' He trailed off, really not wanting to think about what would happen if the fairies were freed.

'Still…' Anagan moved a pile of books to the side and sat on Ogron's bed. 'You should take a break.' Ogron shook his head, opening the next book.

'No, Anagan. We have to find this fairy. And it's not like the answer is just going to fall out of the sky or something.' As though the universe had been waiting for the moment of maximum impact, Ogron and Anagan both suddenly gasped and clutched their heads, feeling a very familiar magic. The very same magic Ogron had been trying to find.

The pain in their heads abating, both wizards lifted their gazes, their eyes meeting with shock. Neither of them spoke.

'Did you guys feel that?!' The stunned silence was broken as Duman came crashing into the room, slipping on the sea of papers littering the floor, quickly scrambling back to his feet, too occupied with what they'd all just felt to ask why you couldn't see the floor. 'Was it…was it…?' Ogron nodded blankly, still staring at Anagan.

'So.' The room's occupants turned to see Gantlos leaning against the door, looking at them, one eyebrow raised in question. 'To Florida?' Ogron nodded, a smile slowly making it onto his lips. Finally.

'Let's go.'