When Stella opened her eyes, at first, she thought her death had condemned her to darkness as a punishment. Being the light had taken her life, while her corpse was doomed to darkness. She winced as she touched her aching leg muscles. She didn't need to see; it wasn't hard to guess her feet were bruised and bandaged as her fingers traced the lines. Her shoulders ached as if they had carried tons of weight, and her fingers trembled without staying still. What happened to me? She gave herself a moment, though her brain resisted remembering, Stella pushed herself harder, and then she saw it. As if seeing the past, she jolted and burst into sobs, unable to stop the tears streaming down her face. What happened to Brandon? Had she acted quickly enough? As her eyes shut in pain and her body shook with sobs, she didn't even hear the door open amid her cries. The body stolen by Darkar, Aaron, faced her with his empty eye sockets, allowing her inner light to permeate Aaron's body. She had no idea if she had saved herself, but the bed she lay on seemed excessively comfortable. Brandon... Her sobs intensified as the pain within her grew unbearable. She had teleported him, but to where? Was he safe? Was he alive?

"Stella! Don't worry, you're fine, you're fine, sweetheart, calm down, I'm here." As arms wrapped around her body, Stella allowed the person, whose identity she didn't yet grasp, to hold her. She was burning inside, thinking about the friends she couldn't save, the ones she had lost touch with, and the man she loved.

"Shh, it's okay, shh, please calm down, breathe Stella, breathe!"

She was now certain she was having a panic attack. As her body convulsed, the arms around her loosened, and she jumped as water splashed on her face. Holding her breath to avoid inhaling the water that clung to her face, her eyes were wide open. Had someone dunked her face in water? How was the water not flowing as she sat upright? Realizing she needed to pull her head back, she exhaled and, knowing the only person who could do this was her friend, she searched for Aisha. It was dark, but the faint light streaming in from the door Aisha had left ajar slightly illuminated the room.

"Aisha..." Even though she couldn't see the fear and concern in Aisha's eyes, she knew it was there. When Stella had teleported to the palace garden, Aisha, recognizing her teleportation light anywhere, had rushed to her side and had a minor heart attack upon seeing her state. She was covered in bruises and blood. Despite having fallen off a huge cliff, Aisha herself hadn't sustained as much damage as Stella. She was both afraid and impatient to hear what had happened to her and the others.

"Finally, girl! You scared me so much, Stella, I found you in such a terrible state..." She didn't bother wiping away the tears that filled her eyes, letting them flow down her cheeks. "What happened to you?" Stella waited for her sobs to subside, then suddenly pulled Aisha into her arms, hugging her as tightly as she could. Though their silent embrace didn't last long, both knew they needed it. Despite the sniffles and sighs continuing, Stella slowly pulled back and drank the water Aisha offered as if her throat was burning, then handed the empty glass back to her friend. Aisha gently tucked Stella's hair behind her ear and then stood up to help her tie her hair into a ponytail.

For a while, neither of them could say anything, only crying in silence. It wasn't the long duration of the mission that was the issue. They had no news of their friends, they were in immense pain, and Stella had no idea if there was a way out of wherever they were. She raised her palm, testing her power. As the sun's warmth enveloped her, she felt oddly as if her power hadn't been depleted at all. Her ring was still on her finger, too. At least this comforted her a little. Stella snapped her fingers to fully illuminate the room, but since the lighting wasn't electronic, only gas lamps lit up. "Where are we?"

Aisha, examining Stella's healing wounds, looked up. "In the giant's kingdom." Stella turned to Aisha with a speed that caused her pain, her eyes wide as she tried to process her friend's words. "What kingdom did you say?" Sighing, Aisha looked around and then climbed into bed next to Stella, leaning against the headboard. "Oh Stella, if only you knew..." Closing her eyes, she waited a moment, while Stella watched her with expectation and worry.

Finally, gathering her courage and strength, Aisha turned to Stella and took her hand, trying to draw some strength from her. "Nabu," she swallowed, feeling stuck even at the start. "Creatures attacked us; I stopped them just as they were about to attack him from behind, but..." As Stella watched her intently, Aisha couldn't stop her lip from trembling; thinking about the horror and fear she had felt shook her deeply. "I couldn't secure myself. I fell, Stella, all that way we climbed, the path we walked, that cliff, I fell from there." Stella wrapped her arm around her and looked at her with obvious dread, she felt her heart clench with pain. Scanning Aisha quickly, she saw no visible injuries.

"How, how did you survive?" She couldn't believe it, of course; back at time when she teleported to Earth, Stella guessed her ring had saved her. As the giants pursued her, she had barely escaped the last-minute attack by trying to teleport, and the ring had transported her to the safest planet possible. "I had already transformed, but my wings weren't strong enough to carry me, so I put some weight on them at the last moment and at least slowed my fall. When they found me, I was unconscious; I still don't remember everything."

"Who found you?" Frustrated at skipping the most crucial part, Aisha sighed and looked at Stella to give a clearer explanation. "The giants found me. And," licking her lips, she smiled. "Faragonda."

Stella couldn't understand her smile; they were both so angry at Faragonda that Aisha's smile seemed absurd. Especially Aisha, who was perhaps even angrier at their headmistress than she was. "What's she doing here? Did she come after us to cover up her stupidity?"

Aisha shook her head quickly, still looking at the open door. Though no one was in sight, she swung her hand to shut the door just in case. "No Stella, she wasn't the one who sent us on the mission! Faragonda has been here among the giants for three months trying to find a way to destroy Darkar. The giants, aware of the chaos happening under their mountains, sought help from Faragonda and Griselda. The ones who sent us on the mission were either Darcy or Stormy, as you know only those two can shapeshift. One disguised as Griselda and the other as Faragonda."

Okay, thought Stella. How hard did I hit my head? How could everything she was hearing be real? She was too tired to handle the anger, too overwhelmed to stay calm. As she stared at Aisha, she felt the bubbling of anger within. Her friend had fallen off a cliff, the whereabouts and well-being of the others were unknown, she didn't know what had happened to the man she loved, and she felt too weak to distinguish herself from a dead person, but she couldn't comprehend a headmistress disappearing without entrusting her students to anyone! Her respect and affection for Faragonda were diminishing, while Aisha, understanding her feelings, patted her arm. "I was just as angry as you, believe me. If you had heard what I said to Faragonda! And the people she left to look after us..." Avoiding eye contact, Aisha began to think about how to tell Stella what she was going to say next. She had no doubt her friend would completely lose it this time.

"Griffin!" Stella paused for a moment. It couldn't be said that she was very angry; it was most likely because her nerves were thoroughly frayed, but the rebellious girl inside her revealed herself briefly as she closed her eyes. "I guess my time at Alfea is over. I don't think I can take it anymore." Even though she was always loving and caring person, Faragonda never hesitated to send the girls in very dangerous missions without a second thought. This time she may not be the reason of this mission but it's her fault that she left the school trusting her witch friend would take care of her students. She could barely take care of her witches! Aisha nodded in agreement, her eyes returning to Stella with renewed concern. "You? What happened to you?"

Leaning back, Stella thought she should ask herself that question. As she licked her lips, she wished herself good luck, knowing her friend would jump and scream at the very beginning of the story.

"I killed Darkar."

"Brandon, the girls are exhausted. Please, let's rest for a bit." Helia, worried about Flora, felt uneasy while Brandon, as he had been for the last few hours, continued walking as if in a daze. He couldn't feel his feet, legs, or himself. The grief inside him was greater than he had anticipated, growing larger and larger. He had to face everything he hadn't shown Stella and everything he had avoided acknowledging. He was deeply troubled, and the presence of the fairies behind him made his distress even worse. "They don't have to come with us, Helia. The mission is complete. Everyone can go their own way."

Helia shook his head, even though he wasn't surprised by his friend's reaction. After all that had happened, it was hard to believe he was still this rigid. "Brandon…"

"Helia." When he stopped abruptly, everyone else paused in confusion. The girls leaned against the wall; they were exhausted not so much from the journey but from dealing with the pain of losing their friends. The tears in their eyes hadn't dried, and the ache inside them hadn't eased even a little. Tecna stared at Brandon and Nabu with suspicion, thinking it seemed more like a scheme than an accident had befallen Stella and Aisha.

"Right now, I don't care about these girls at all. If you care so much, you lead the group. But I'm not stopping for anyone anymore. I've stayed in these damned caves long enough."

Helia knew he should have been upset, but he could see that something had changed in Brandon. It was clear: Stella's death had shaken him. He didn't know why, but it was evident. Nabu wasn't much different. When Brandon spoke, Nabu turned his dull gaze to them and, even though everyone had stopped, he continued walking as if in a trance. As Brandon cast one last glance at the girls and continued on his way, they, showing no sign of offense, started walking behind Brandon and Nabu. Helia sighed and approached Flora, but she seemed oblivious to the tall specialist beside her. "Flora?" Slowly turning her swollen eyes to Helia, her unresponsiveness worried him. "Flora, are you okay?"

Her lips were about to part to release her pain when someone chuckled, "Okay? Are you kidding? Are you all insane? You've been fixated on some fairy hatred, and because of your stupid hate, our friends are dead!" Brandon and Nabu turned furiously to the music fairy, who was shouting, while the cave fell into a tense silence. Musa glared angrily at Helia while Riven grumbled, grabbing her arm to push her forward. Tecna didn't ignore this, delivering a sharp kick that sent Riven into the wall, growling at him with electrified hair, "Touch her again, and I'll bury you in this cave."

While Musa glanced briefly at Riven and tried to hold Tecna back, Nabu and Brandon still looked at Musa with anger. Musa, not yet fully expelling her disgust, continued. "I have no idea what you're accusing us of, but Stella and Aisha didn't deserve to die!" Brandon, triggered once again, realized his patience was breaking, but before he could do anything, Nabu stepped forward, pushing Tecna aside as he approached Musa. "If you use that term about her again, I'll destroy you, fairy, do you hear me?"

Bloom covered her eyes with her hands, trying not to cry while Sky glanced at her briefly, frowning. He didn't like her trembling, but not knowing what to do, he just continued looking at all the tense faces around. Riven tried to confront Tecna while Timmy did his best to calm him down. Musa snarled at Nabu as Flora and Helia stared blankly around. Flora was actually dazed, and Helia seemed more tired. But the most noticeable was Brandon. He was trying hard to restrain himself, his fists clenched, his gaze fixed on the ground. Sky had never seen him so angry or lost before. Could he really have been upset about that fairy? It was definitely not something Brandon would do, but what was this then?

Shaking his head, Sky tried to make sense of it, but everything had become so complicated and strange. It seemed they were being tested severely by the fact that Stella and Aisha were dead. Even if it wasn't true for himself, it seemed like the girls and, strangely, Brandon and Nabu were caught up in this situation.

"Excuse me?! Don't act like you care. Since the mission started, you've been nagging us! Your hatred led to our friends..."

"Shut up!" Brandon's roar silenced and startled everyone, only Nabu seemed unaffected because Brandon had reacted before him. Brandon glared at Musa with an unprecedented fury, and Riven felt the need to protect her. Just a minute ago he was the one trying to shut Musa up and ready to push her until she walks but now, noticing the anger on his friends' face, he felt alarmed for the music fairy. "You know nothing!"

Brandon found himself drifting as he remembered Stella saying the same exact sentence at the very beginning of the mission. Struggling not to close his eyes, he fought to stay present.

"Next time you think of attacking me, remember this, princess: You are a worthless little fairy girl. Bright wings and beautiful clothes are your masks. We know just how ugly your soul truly is. You can never hide that." Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, not just light this time. "You don't know shit!"

Brandon knew how blinded he was when it came to fairies, but the guilt of having directed this only at Stella was overwhelming. It was impossible not to love Stella, but despite his love, he couldn't hide his hatred. He was so filled with anger toward fairies. Since his mother had been killed by fairies just because she had dark powers. Brandon had spent his life dealing with his father's grief, growing up hearing so many things about fairies that over time, he felt the same hatred spread within him. Maybe it was due to psychological pressure or just because he wanted to; he didn't know, but fairies had never been tolerable to him. Brandon still hated them with all his being. And no matter how much love he felt for Stella, he couldn't overlook the fact that she was a fairy. It was like an internal war within him! But now, none of it mattered anymore because Stella was gone.

When the ground shook, and no one had yet reacted, Sky objected violently, "Did all of you lose your minds?! It's an earthquake! Cover yourselves!" Brandon glared at him, clearly annoyed that Sky had interrupted his self-talk. "It's not an earthquake," Timmy said, stepping forward and looking up, sighing at the light above. "Our ride has come to get us."