Samara "I'm not gonna drink your stupid wine," Samara said, folding her arms and refusing to be moved, no matter how much fun the fairies seemed to be having. "This is exactly what I'm talking about. All that power and what do you do: play all day. Does the Darkness mean nothing to you people? And you..." she glared at Tyran. "You're not getting off the hook that easy. Before the night is done, I wanna see your head on this floor, or so help me God I'm going to --NO NORA, DON'T DRINK THE-- aww, dammit." Too late. Their teacher, their beacon of wisdom and reason, drank the juice and floated off to dance the night away. Samara's shoulders sank as all the tension fell from her and her armor vanished. "Why do I even bother?" she said, the words coming out in a long sigh. She could use her link spell to try to reel Nora back in, but... screw it. "Whatever. You guys deal with it," she said to no one in particular, before turning to Tyran. "You wouldn't happen to know a guy named 'Fenn,' would you? Help us find him... or her... or 'it' and I won't tell your king how much of a jerk you were back there."
Drake "Ah well, if you say so. Well, I guess I should take all of you to the Seelie Court now." Robin started doing stretches like he was about to exercise. "I haven't done a mass teleportation spell in quite a while. Actually, I haven't ever done one. This should be fun!" Nora started to stop him, but Robin was faster: he clapped his hands over his head and yelled, in his squeaky little voice, "Telly-port!" There was a sound like a thunderclap and they were surrounded by thick red smoke.When it cleared, they were all standing in the middle of a raging party. Mass teleportation?! Drake looked at the sprite in awe as he managed to take the entire group into the dimention between and out again into a lively party. He gorgot all about his petrifying fear, the strangeness of the entire situation. All he thought about was how that was possible. He was about to take a drink, when Samara and Andreas's voices rang loud, reminding him of Nora's warnings. The 'don't do anything' kind. He sighed. Maybe it was time to test out his fridge. He sat cross legged on the ground and began chanting. As he did, he reached out with his hand to the realm between realms. Like when he was teleporting, or stopping time. Around him the party froze, he had reached the zone out of time. That suited him well. He moved his hand between realms, until he found one that hurt from how cold it was. He smiled. Slowly he took pieces of the realm and shaped them wile taking in pieces from his own dimention, and wrapping it all up with the Vita ex Machina. By the time the hour was up, his Fantom Fridge was created. Now let's try it. He reached out into the air, and his hand disappeared. He grasped a small glass bottle. "Bingo," he whispered. In his hand was a cold bottle of coke. He went over to Robin. He was really in learning mood. "Oi, Robin, where's your Batman," he shouted. Yeah it was lame. And he didn't care. "If you teach me the mass teleportation thing, I'll give you my coca cola."
Trisana Trisana silently thanked Nora for not letting Robin turn her into a bird. I mean, nothing against the little feathered creatures, but if I'm gonna be an animal I would rather be something epic, like a tiger or a whale. Actually, a bird wouldn't be so bad if I could be a peacock. Their tails are the absolute most. She was distracted by the rush of magic that Robin channeled through Joe into her and she instantly felt better. "Geez, you're awesome, Robin!" Trisana exclaimed. She pattered herself down, amazed at her sudden recovery, and propelled herself to her feet by kicking her legs up and lifting with her hands. Then she started laughing and did a cartwheel to celebrate. Some of the others might judge her, but she decided not to care anymore. Life was too short not to do a cartwheel. "Telly-port!" "Huh?" Trisana said. She hadn't been paying attention and she shrieked in surprise when there was a thunderclap and red smoke filled the air. "Aaaaaahhhhhh!" she screamed, but she stopped when the vapor cleared and she saw the dancing fairies all around them. "Oh, wow. This is insane. I've never been to a party before." She instantly started dancing to the enchanting music, but then she stopped herself. Nora had told them not to dance with the sprites. But how could she just stand there like a statue while this gorgeous melody was playing!?!? Trisana turned to ask their teacher if it was okay to dance near the sprites and not with them, when she saw Nora drink a goblet of sunshine wine and go dancing with a good-looking fairy dude wearing a cloud. Andreas of all people was the voice of reason, but Trisana could barely pay attention to him. The music was just so infectious. Maybe it just wasn't in Trisana's nature not to dance when music was on. And all these strange fairies, they were so rad! For once in her life, Trisana felt like she was surrounded by like-minded people...er, creatures? Beings? Whatever they were, Trisana felt right at home and she couldn't help but sway to the beat. The next thing she knew, she was twirling and leaping and had left all of her classmates behind. She walked right up to a cute fairy and started dancing with him, laughing all the time. Now this is living! she thought ecstatically.
Andreas's shouts of protest were interrupted by a pretty purple-haired fairy in a revealing dress made of purple daisies. She shimmied in front of him and winked one of her large purple eyes. "Dance with me, human boy!" she said, grabbing his hands and pulling him into the thrashing crowd. She was surprising strong and he couldn't pull himself out of her iron-strong grip. His body started moving against his will, doing cool dance moves that he had never done before. "I'm Noonie, what's your name?" the fairy girl told him. "You wouldn't happen to know a guy named 'Fenn,' would you? Help us find him... or her... or 'it' and I won't tell your king how much of a jerk you were back there." Tyran, who had started to walk away as soon as they arrived, stopped and looked down at Samara with undisguised revulsion. "Fenn? The Green God?" he asked. "What business do you have with him? Is that who you're here to assassinate?" He placed his hand on his sword hilt and his eyes flashed white. "Tell me now, or I'll smite you where you stand, consequences be damned." "Oi, Robin, where's your Batman. If you teach me the mass teleportation thing, I'll give you my coca cola." Robin didn't understand the Batman reference, so he just assumed it was a human thing and ignored it. "Mass teleportation, eh?" Robin asked while he continued to dance like a pint-sized John Travolta. "That takes a lot of power, young lad. Are you sure that's not too advanced for you?" The party intensified as Trisana joined the revelers. The flying angel-like fairies strummed their instruments harder and faster and the fairies responded, dancing fiercer than before. Some of them moved so quickly that they became colorful blurs. Alex tried to walk over to Samara, but a flailing dancer bumped into him and he was thrown to the ground. "Ugh!" He lay there clasping his abdomen and rocking back and forth, gasping painfully. "Be...careful...guys," he called to his classmates. The fairies were so strong that they could seriously injure them on accident. Nora was oblivious to the peril as she danced with the cloud fairy. He wooed her with his charming smile and sensuous moves. Snowflakes materialized under Nora and fell on the dancers below as the cloud fairy rained on them. And then, in the blink of an eye, a crystal castle appeared around everyone as if it had always been there. Everything was see-through (the walls, the columns, the soaring ceiling and the giant crystal chandelier) and they could still see the forest and the sky outside. The sun had fully risen now and its golden rays penetrated the castle, making the scene even more magical. On the other side of the spacious ballroom, two crystal thrones sat on a raised dais, tall and imperious. They were empty, but fairies wearing aprons were hurriedly throwing rose petals over them and placing a heavy platter of fruit and wine goblets on a crystal table between the thrones. "Oh, goody!" said the giant fairy-woman with a cloak of oak leaves. "The king and queen are coming!" Everyone started cheering and dancing even wilder.
Samara "Fenn? The Green God?" Tyran asked. "What business do you have with him? Is that who you're here to assassinate?" He placed his hand on his sword hilt and his eyes flashed white. "Tell me now, or I'll smite you where you stand, consequences be damned." Geez, this guy's head is so far up his ass, Samara thought. "Assassin? Do I look like an assassin?" she said, genuinely offended. "I just told you what I am, when your dopey friend asked me about being a knight. I'm. Here. To. Fight. The. Dark. Ness," she enunciated each word, so his tiny brain could process it all. "She has business with Fenn." Samara pointed skyward, where she assumed Nora was still twirling like a drunk helicopter. "Apparently, they're old friends or something. I don't know. The sooner she sees him, the sooner we can get out of this... this... whatever this madhouse is. You people are nuts. Everybody's too damn happy, it's creepy... except for you." She studied Tyran for a moment. "What's with you, anyway? You're the one fairy who doesn't dance. I mean, I guess somebody has to keep these loons in line. Somebody has to be 'the serious one,'" she said with air quotes. After a pause, she shrugged. "I can relate." Ew, she was starting to see herself in this asshat. The thought was almost vomit-inducing. Fortunately, she was saved from further musings on that subject by the sounds of celebration. The king and queen were coming.
Drake "Massteleportation, eh?" Robin asked while he continued to dance like a pint-sized John Travolta. "That takes a lot of power, young lad. Are you sure that's not too advanced for you?" "Umm," Drake thought for a second. "Well it wouldn't hurt to try." A castle materialised around them. Drake barely seemed to notice. "C'mon, Robin. Please?"
Trisana Trisana lost herself in the dance and the music. She allowed the fairy spell to completely possess her, filling her with wild, ecstatic energy. She needed this. She deserved this. They had been through so much hardship, so much suffering, and now it was time to relax and go a little crazy. She spun in faster and faster circles, her long hair whipping around her, and her fairy partner kept pace without any trouble. He really was a good dancer, and not bad-looking either. He had one blue eye and one green, spiky hair and a lip piercing. Trisana had a strong urge to know what it felt like to kiss someone with a lip piercing. His mouth looked absolutely sumptuous. Suddenly, it was all she could look at and she was dancing closer and closer to him, her entire body burning with desire... Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Drake talking to that little Robin guy. She immediately felt a greasy black ball of guilt form in her stomach. Wait...what exactly do you have to feel guilty about? Her eyes narrowed to angry slits as she glared at Drake. I mean, look at him! It's a party, the biggest party ever, and does Drake ask you to dance? Nope. Does he even care that you're dancing with a handsome fairy dude? Double nope. Why doesn't Drake talk to me instead of that giggly sprite? Does he even like her? And if he does, then why doesn't he show it!? What's wrong with him!?!? In response to Trisana's rising anger, the Shiny Sword appeared in her right hand and the Silver Staff in her left. She gripped them tightly and they glowed intense silver-blue, brighter than ever before. The air around them rippled with extreme power. She was spitting mad and it was all directed at one person: Drake-motherfucking-Goldman. Yeah, that's right. I just gave him a new middle name. The jerk deserves it. "Pretty toys," the fairy boy commented. He wasn't scared in the least, just curious. "What are they for?" "For hurting bad guys," Trisana growled in response. Her eyes never left Drake as she spoke. "Ooooh." The fairy boy looked from Trisana to Drake and a mischievous grin split his face. "Is someone in trouble?" "They're about to be." With that, Trisana took off in Drake's direction, her face a grim mask of rage. She looked like a warrior princess, which was fitting, because she was about to go to war.
Tyran lowered his sword and his mouth actually twitched in a smile. For once, he didn't look like he was about to chop somebody to pieces. "Elves tend to be more serious than most fairies," Tyran told Samara. "Our attitudes and our magical talents make us the perfect guardians of fairydom." He looked around at the reveling fairies as they danced and twirled with abandon. "Just look at them: the Darkness is back, but they chose to dance like there's no tomorrow. Elves don't have that luxury. We have to be on alert at all times; their safety is our responsibility. And with the Darkness back, well, you can imagine why I'm so uptight." He seemed to remember who he was talking to and his face turned hard again. "And I don't trust humans," he spat out. On the dance floor, Robin stared at Drake for a moment and then shrugged. "Oh, alright." So he showed Robin how to do a mass teleportation spell. "It will take a lot out of you," he warned Drake, wagging a finger at him. "Make sure you teleport somewhere comfy, because you'll probably pass out when you get there." As Trisana marched toward Drake, a large pair of double-doors opened and in walked the Fairy King and the Fairy Queen. Oberon was tall and broad-shouldered with a trim waist, dressed in simple blue-gray clothes with silver filigree around the high collar and the ends of his sleeves. A sword with a clear crystal blade hung from his brown leather belt, his right hand resting lightly on the hilt. Oberon's face was strikingly handsome, but very severe, with sharp cheekbones and piercing grey eyes. His silver-blond hair was pulled back into a tight braid that fell to his waist, woven through with a silver wire. Titania was dressed more elaborately in a flowing gown that was embroidered with thousands of tiny sparkling crystals. Her cape was made of an incredibly thin grey material that was transparent and blew out in the slightest breeze. A tall, spiked crown sat on her head, glittering with diamonds, and her thick ebony hair spilled freely over her shoulders in a luxurious curtain. Titania's face was exquisite as she stared out at her subjects, mysterious and alluring at once. The irises of her eyes were soft pastel-pink. Everyone cheered and made way as the king and queen strode through the riotous crowd. Behind them came fourteen elves, each one dressed similarly to Tyran, their sharp eyes scanning the ballroom for any threats. When Oberon and Titania took their seats on the throne, another change came over the castle: it changed from see-through crystal to silver and gold. The chandeliers turned gold, the columns turned silver, the walls turned gold, the ceiling turned silver, and the tiles on the floor made a checkered pattern of silver and gold squares. Everyone quieted as Oberon raised one hand in the air. Then he nodded to the queen, who gave him a small smile before addressing the crowd: "Today is Lightmas, our most holy day," Titania began in a voice that rang out like a crystal bell. "We celebrate the Light for everything it has done and continues to do for us. Now more than ever, it is important to continue the old traditions. To dance and be happy together. For if we stop living and succumb to fear and hate, then the Darkness will have already won." She paused for a second to let that sink in, and then she went on. "Now I order you to drink and be merry," she finished with a playful grin. "You heard the queen," Oberon chimed in with a big smile. "Sylphs! Play harder!" The angel-fairies nodded and obeyed with gusto. "We need to get Nora down," Alex said as he picked himself up from the floor. He ran over to Samara. "Maybe you could reel her in? And I could splash her in the face with...this." He yanked a bucket of ice from a passing bush fairy that had probably been used to hold a wine bottle.
Andreas His head still felt a little odd. Maybe he should have let Joe complete the healing after all. He panicked when his limbs started moving against his will. But then he thought, what's the point? So he danced. His body danced away while his mind wandered. His first thought (what WAS that move I just did? Damn!) was that these people (and nobody even saw it!) were nuts. In a fun kind of way. Actually there was something very trippy about it. What would you have to take on the outside to get your party to do this? He looked down at his flailing legs, quite alien from him, and something in his knocked-about brain clunked. A thought that was utterly irresistible. I have to get away. Something was telling him that it had to be done. He didn't understand it, but it was there, urgent like an ambulance siren. Whether there was some higher power speaking to him or whether he was just running away from the scary fairies, he had no idea. He looked around for the others. He couldn't see Nora. Drake and Alex were fine, obviously. Alex was dealing with his parents thing, and well. Drake was Drake. Samara was turning into the cop gone wrong, but that wasn't his problem. The others could pick that up. Joe was on the upwards curve when it came to his confidence, good stuff. It would help if he had one less person to keep healing every five seconds. Finally he looked at Tris, and then Nyx, but at that moment the King and Queen were announced and everyone went mad - including his own body. He was getting pretty tired. He decided to get to the end of the train of thought - Nyx could do better, Tris would certainly benefit from his departure. There she was now, marching over to sort herself out some Drake. He resisted a strong urge to look at Nyx several more times. Strength and will! No more tagging around and nearly dying and letting people down and having his body dance for him. Clunk. You know what? Fuck it. He was going to survive. Then his moment came. The Queen began to speak and everyone went still and quiet. He got control of his body back. He slipped away immediately. He knew exactly where he was headed - but he knew he'd get lost in the Fairy Woods. And if that Tyron or another one of those Elven shitsniffers found him alone, he'd be over. So he quietly moved next to Robin and Drake watching the Queen giving her speech. He didn't know what the outcome of his request would be, but he was resigned to it. As a parting move, he stared at the back of Samara's head, focused a little, and said, "Levity." Then he focused really, really hard on Drake, working his Neurovoyance as hard as it would go. "Pretty close call you had with Vetala, eh Drake?" And he got an image. It was a little faint, but it was there. A cave. "Don't mind me. Sorry." Then he slipped between a couple of fairies and worked his way around to Robin. "Hey," he whispered, "Robin. Maybe you're not in the mood, but I'm thinking of a place. Can you take me there?"
Joe It was like they'd been choking on smog, and then a cool breeze had blown through them and they could breathe again. Their shoulders relaxed their tensed hunch, and their spine straightened. It suddenly felt a lot easier to stand. Distantly they could still hear the voice of their anxieties - this is wrong, you didn't earn this, something's going to go wrong and you need to be PAYING ATTENTION - but they just wanted this minute, one minute, without feeling super f*cked up. So they ignored it. They drifted behind the others, taking in the party but not really registering it. The others seemed relaxed for the most part...which seemed off, somehow. Samara wasn't doing so well, though. Her expression was stormy as she questioned Tyran about Fenn. Fenn, who was the last hope for the Moss Women. Joe was about to head her way when Samara spoke again. "Help us find him... or her... or 'it'-". There it was. That little sting in the heart and gut. The little reminder that Joe wasn't 'normal' to these people; that they were a deviation, an 'other'. They didn't stick around to hear the rest. Just like that, the magical relaxation and comfort within them was gone, and the anxiety and depression were back. ...And anxiety was screaming at them about several of their party members. WHAT THE SCREAMING F*CK WERE THEY DOING? At the speed the fairies were dancing, getting caught by their movements would resemble getting hit by a car. And the fairies didn't seem too concerned about watching their steps. Andreas, Trisana, and Miss Wintersmith, seriously? She was the one who'd warned them about- GAH! They needed to get them out of there. Joe scanned the crowd for Drake, who'd been talking to Robin... It was no good. When the castle had formed around them, Joe lost him in the spectacle. And now Andreas had vanished as well- No, wait, there he was. He was out of the dance, thank goodness, and headed for Drake. He wasn't the only one. Trisana had her weapons out, and something looked very wrong. She was looking at Drake with murder in her eyes. You see what happens when you stop paying attention!? They had to do something before blood hit the floor. But there were so many thronging fey between them and their classmates- Phase spell, nimrod. ...Right. They knew that. As the queen finished speaking, the entire gathering cheered and the music picked up speed. Joe thanked the universe for their phantom spell over and over again as they ran through the dancers, causing an occasional surprised utterance or laugh from the fairies who actually noticed. The feverish movement passed through them harmlessly, but was incredibly disorienting. They came out on the wrong side of the group, too far from Trisana to do anything to stop her. Make this quick, then. "Drake!" they hissed, "Miss Wintersmith needs to get out of there! Can you...Can you be ready to grab her and get out? If something happens..." Like if a dancing sprite spins too fast and she loses a limb. Oh god, why was their only idea terrible? Tris was almost there. "Um. Uh...excuse me-!" They pushed their way in front of Drake and solidified. "Trisana, what's going on? Are...are you okay?" One hand extended out towards her in what was hopefully a calming gesture, the other reached behind their back and grasped the edge of Drake's clothing. If Tris was really going to attack, Joe could at least make Drake intangible...even if they couldn't do themselves at the same time. Please don't kill me please don't kill me please don't kill me.
Drake Drake listened intently as Robin explained the mass-teleportation technique to him. The more he understood about it, the more incredible it sounded that the little sprite was just dancing away as if it was nothing. He was far more powerful than Drake gave him credit for. Then the king and queen entered the room, and the party became even wilder. He found himself appreciating what Tiania said about celebrating at a time of darkness. Maybe he should join the celebration. Just a bit. And even get the courage to ask Trisana to dance. He looked around looking for her. Oh there she was. About ten meters away. Moving towards him. With a mourderous look in her eyes. Holding a sword?! His heart suddenly began beating really fast. Thoughts ran across his mind. Was it something he said, did? Did she actually mean to use that sword? Wait was she even looking at him, or someone else? And why did parts of his brain suddenly sound like Andreas? Stop thinking about that cave, damn! "Drake!" they hissed, "Miss Wintersmith needs to get out of there! Can you...Can you be ready to grab her and get out? If something happens..." Drake turned suddenly around. It was Joe. That kid sure knew how to give someone a fright. "Umm wow, yeah I think so." He gave another look to Trisana, then quickly teleported to Nora and again out of the party.
Trisana Trisana had almost reached Drake when he looked at her...and teleported away. "Coward!!!!" she screeched at the top of her lungs. Then she saw him pop back up, above the crowd of writhing fairies, and grab Nora before teleporting again. Trisana started taking deep meditative breaths to calm her beating heart, which felt like it was about to explode out of her chest. She backed away from Joe too, because she didn't want to hurt him, but she was so emotional that she didn't know what she was capable of. So she gave him a warning look, hoping he would understand. Okay, maybe he wasn't trying to get away from me, her rational side told her. Maybe he was really just trying to help Nora. Who cares if he's trying to fucking help Nora!? her crazy side intoned. Nora's a grown woman! She can handle herself! Are you sure about that? She didn't look like she was handling herself at all. Pause. Okay, maybe she wasn't completely in control, but I DON'T CARE!!! Drake is avoiding me and I'm done chasing after him! DONE-ZO! And so Trisana sank to the ground, the Shiny Sword and the Silver Staff disappearing, and started crying. She felt like an idiot, a complete fool. Why did she put so much importance on a silly crush? Why did she think someone cool like Drake could like her the same way she liked him? She was just a weirdo with no friends and...and...forget this! She wiped away her tears and picked herself up. I refuse to fall to pieces over a stupid teenage boy! With that, Trisana lunged for the nearest fairy waiter and grabbed a goblet of summer wine. She downed it and felt a rush of happiness that spread from her chest out to her tips of her hair and the ends of her toes. "Wooooo!" Trisana yelled as she ran into the dancing crowd. She started dancing wilder than ever, shooting rainbows into the air and whipping her hair everywhere. Fuck being sad, I'm going to dance the pain away!
Samara "Elves tend to be more serious than most fairies," Tyran said with a creepy smile. "Our attitudes and our magical talents make us the perfect guardians of fairydom. Just look at them: the Darkness is back, but they chose to dance like there's no tomorrow. Elves don't have that luxury. We have to be on alert at all times; their safety is our responsibility. And with the Darkness back, well, you can imagine why I'm so uptight." He seemed to remember who he was talking to and his face turned hard again. "And I don't trust humans," he spat out. “All the more reason to tell me where Fenn is, so we can be on our way,” Samara said. “I don’t wanna be here any more than you do, so let’s just-” She was interrupted by the arrival of the king and queen. She hoped they would be regal and stern and lend some gravity to the festivities… but the exact opposite happened. After a brief calm, the party ramped up to eleven. Samara slowly shook her head in disappointment and turned to Tyran, just as Alex ran up to her. "We need to get Nora down," Alex said. "Maybe you could reel her in? And I could splash her in the face with...this." “Not ‘til this pointy-eared jackass tells us where to find Fenn,” Samara said, pointing at Tyran. She was about to give him a piece of her mind when she felt a warm, fuzzy feeling wash over her. She felt… happy… content… at peace. She began to smile as she looked at Tyran and felt a strong urge to take his hand, pull him into a loving embrace and maybe even… Andreas, you son of a bitch! Where are you, you little shit!? She thought and whipped around, looking for the soon-to-be dead man who’d cast that feel good mojo on her. On the outside, she looked as calm as ever, but inside… “Sorry, I don’t dance. Excuse me,” Samara said to Tyran, giving him a quick pat on the shoulder before she turned away. “And your ears look fabulous, by the way.” Samara grabbed Alex by the shoulders and shook him. “Tyran’s useless. We gotta get our people outta here and find Fenn ourselves. I’ll pull Nora down and-” She looked up. Nora was gone. “Umm… okay… You find Nora, I’ll grab Tris before she dances to death. Deal? And if I see Andreas along the way, ohhhhh, he better have Joe with him.”
Once they were outside, it took Nora a moment to figure out they weren't inside the fairy castle anymore. "Huh? Where are we?" She looked at Drake and blinked and suddenly came back to her sense. "Oh no! I drank the wine, didn't I? Stupid, Nora! Stupid, stupid, stupid!" She walked over to a tree and leaned against it, her snow-white hair sticking to her face, which was covered in a sheen of perspiration. "I...I guess I've been so stressed out...I needed to be happy, to just let go and be wild for a moment. First Mortimer died, my sweet, sweet Mo, at the hands of that vile vampire. Then Dionne, who I was never friends with, but I didn't want her to die, ya know? And how could I ever forget about Will, who was killed on my watch?" She sighed and shook her head. "I seriously under-estimated the lure of the fairy enchantment." "More like you underestimated the lure of the fairy wine," a voice spoke from somewhere nearby. "Who is it? Who's there?" Nora raised her glowing blue hands in defense, but there wasn't an enemy in sight. "I am here, there, everywhere. I am Nature itself. Some might say I'm au natural." He cackled at his own joke. "Okay, sorry, that was uncalled for. I'm just in my ethereal form right now. Let me create a body to make this less awkward." Leaves started falling all around them, then they swirled together into a tight ball and exploded apart, leaving a short half-goat, half-human standing in the clearing. He had tiny little horns sticking out of his head, yellow-green eyes, a pointy goatee, sun-browned skin and the bottom half of a goat. "Nora's number one weakness has always been wine," the satyr told Drake. "She can't resist it. It's her Kryptonite." "Oh, shutup, Fenn!" Nora snapped, then she started giggling. But her laughter quickly turned to tears and she sank to the ground, covering her face. "Darling, dearest, sweetie pie!" Fenn fretted as he scampered over to Nora. "What's the matter? You were just happy to see me!" "Mortimer's dead, killed by Darkness Incarnate," Nora said between sobs. "Whoa. That's some heavy stuff. He was your first love. Your only love, as far as I know." Fenn seemed at a loss for a moment, then he pulled out a small bag of berries. "Would some hallucinogenic berries make you feel better? They're the best in Fairywood. That's why I'm late to the party, I was looking for them everrrywhere." "No, I don't want to get high!" Nora shouted, jumping to her feet. "Why is that always your solution to everything? We have to stay sober, Fenn. Darkness is only getting stronger and we're the only ones who can stop it." Fenn blinked. "I should probably tell you right now, then...I already ate five berries. Okay, six, I ate six berries. Fine, I ate twelve! Are you happy now?" Nora just glared at him in icy silence. “Umm… okay… You find Nora, I’ll grab Tris before she dances to death. Deal? And if I see Andreas along the way, ohhhhh, he better have Joe with him.” Alex nodded and took off, running straight outside...and skidded to a halt when he saw the satyr with Nora and Drake. "The Green God is a goat-man?!" Alex exclaimed. "I'll have you know I can take many forms, young lad!" Fenn shot back. "This is just my preferred one. There's a difference." Inside the castle, something was going terribly wrong. A horrible scraping sound had filled the ballroom that overpowered the music. The king and queen jumped to their feet and the Elfguard took out their weapons. "What in the Green God's name is that noise!?" King Oberon boomed. Queen Titania touched his arm and pointed to the ceiling. The noise was coming from the roof. Robin looked at Andreas curiously. "I mean, sure...I can take you there. But only for a moment, okay?" Then he took Andreas's hand, but got distracted by the horrible scraping sound. "What the heck is that?" he screamed.
Drake Drake decided right away that he liked this Fenn guy. Who knew that the incarnation of nature could be a junkie. Then again, that actually made perfect sense. He didn't know what to do with Nora though. She seemed so distraught, so broken. It seemed wierd to hug her, or even pat her shoulder. She was his teacher after all. "So..." he said awkwardly to Nora, hoping to distract her. "What do we do now? I don't think it's safe for the rest to be in there either."
Andreas Andreas was ready to leave. They weren't his problem any more. He was ready to get back alive. Right at the moment he was about to depart came a horrible scraping sound and he found himself staying exactly where he was. Shit! What was he going to do now? Avoid Samara was the first thing. Even better, why not just go back to his original plan? Robin and Drake surely weren't the only ones around who could teleport. He wasn't going to wait for something to kill him. After that forced dance, he decided he was never going to be out of control again. And so while everyone was looking around in fear for the next big thing to go down, Andreas put his original plan into action. He walked for the door.
Samara Alex darted off to find Nora and Samara went the opposite direction. Tris shouldn't be hard to track down. She always seemed to draw attention to herself, probably because she was so... pretty? Yeah, but that didn't quite explain it. Outgoing? Closer, but not quite. Let's face it, we know the real reason everyone stares at Tris, Samara thought. The girl's got a few screws loose. That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it. She only moved a few steps before an awful screeching sound brought the celebrations to a halt. Good thing, too, because trying to maneuver through a room full of maniacal fairies was no easy task. While they stood staring at teh ceiling, waiting for the sky to fall, Samara finally had a clear picture of who was where in the room. Tris stood out, clear as day. She also spotted Joe near her, but no sign of Nora or Drake. And Andreas, headed for the door. "Oh, no you don't," Samara hissed under her breath as she reached out her hand and began channeling her link spell. Once the spell was locked on, she began trying to reel him in slowly, as if they were drawn together by gravity. Joe could handle Tris. They were good at that sort of thing, right?
Nora took a break from glaring daggers at Fenn to look at Drake. "Well, first we have to gather the others," she said with a weary sigh. "And, um, I'm sorry Drake and Alex. About drinking the wine and, you know, breaking down crying. I should be the strongest one, but it's...it's hard." "No one can blame you, Nory," Fenn said. "You're only human." "Only human, huh?!" And just like that, Nora was blazing mad again. "What about you? You're a god and you act just like us mere mortals!" "You don't understand," Fenn said, rolling his eyes. "What don't I understand?" Nora snapped. "Please, regale us with your godly reasons for drugging yourself every hour of the day!" "It's because the earth is sick!" Fenn roared. "Alright? That's why. As a god of nature, I feel everything the earth feels, and she is in pain. Humans are destroying her. If I don't take drugs, well, I would be in agony all of the time. Is that what you want?" He crossed his arms and turned away from Nora. "Of course not, Fenn." Nora knelt by him and touched his shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry. Truly. You never told me that was the reason." Fenn turned back around and a dopey smile split his face. "What?" Nora asked, confused. "The berries just kicked in," he replied gleefully. Inside the castle, the ripping sound grew louder and louder until a section of the roof collapsed...directly on top of the Hamadryad. Oak leaves exploded into the air and spiraled down on everyone. The fairies gasped in shock and horror. Then a huge black shape dropped through the jagged opening in the roof: a raven as big as a school bus with glossy black feathers and shockingly long talons. As everyone watched, the crow landed, folded its massive wings and drew itself up to a towering height, surveying the ballroom with cold black eyes. Before anyone could react, it snapped its powerful beak and transformed into a woman wearing a flowing black gown with feathers sticking out of the collar and the sleeves. Her raven hair was cropped short and slicked back from her gaunt face. Large black eyes dominated her features and her lips were as black as the night. When her gaze settled on the king and queen, she smiled a joyless smile and stepped down from the pile of rubble. Where her foot touched the floor, a dark stain spread out and rapidly covered the entire castle in a flaky black crust. "Are you not going to welcome me?" the raven-fairy rasped in a voice that was reminiscent of a crow's harsh cry. "No, because you are not welcome here, Dark Queen," King Oberon growled. "If you value your life, I suggest you return to the Unseelie Court...or else." He brandished his crystal sword, which was now glowing so fiercely that it was hard to look at. "Ahaha!" the Dark Queen cackled. She turned to Queen Titania. "And what say you, my pretty poppet?" "I am in total agreement with my husband, Lucretia," Titania replied coolly. "If you do not remove your person, I will shoot you faster than Oberon could impale you." In a flash, an elegant bow appeared in her grasp and a long-stemmed rose appeared in her other hand. She notched the rose and pointed the sharpened end of the stem directly at Lucretia's heart. "You should not have come alone." This came from Tyran, who was now standing with the rest of the Elfguard. They had formed a semi-circle around Titania and Oberon and their weapons were held at the ready. Lucretia smirked. "What makes you think I'm alone?" As if on cue, multiple holes exploded in the roof and dozens of black-clothed fairies dropped into the ballroom, surrounding the Dark Queen. Unlike the light fairies, these creatures were twisted and ugly, with horns and spikes and claws and bat-like wings. It was a fierce stand-off, with no one making a move. And then Titania loosed her arrow. Lucretia caught it in her mouth with a vicious smile; it withered away to gritty black particles that rained to the floor. "Attack!" she screeched. And so the battle began.
Andreas There was the door. It wasn't getting any closer. Something was pulling him away from it - why was he always trapped? He looked around - Samara. He was dragging him back. Oh, no, I don't think so. He wasn't going to let that psychotic control freak threaten his free will. He was going to rip himself away like ripping something out the hands of a child. What would it take? Water up the nose? More levity? Or something more forceful? They were both distracted by the crumbling roof and the arrival of the Dark Queen. But despite the fact that Samara was looking up, the link spell didn't stop. He was still being dragged, inch by inch, in her direction. Out of control again. Could he really attack Samara? Maybe it'd do her some good. Joe could patch her up afterwards. As the threat grew around them, the last straw was watching his exit route being blocked by the incoming black fairies. Yet again, he was trapped and in danger of being killed, and it was Samara's fault. No more pissing about. He targeted her kneecap. "Attack!" screamed the Dark Queen. "Sorry Joe," he muttered. Grind
Joe As they heard the strange sound, Joe's eyes went to the ceiling, then widened in panic as it cracked and fell apart. "P-Phase!" The gasped spell was uttered on reflex. Stone and crystal chunks fell through them and splintered on the floor. From all around came the cries of fey who hadn't been able to escape the rubble so easily. Joe cried out as the hamadryad was crushed. The Dark Queen had the attention of the court, but for them she was simply becoming background noise. She wanted attention. She wanted you to think she was stronger than you. Just like their f*cking dad. But she wasn't important - the person who needed help was. "Invisibility", they whispered, and they tore across the floor. The hamadryad's branches splayed out from underneath the collapsed ceiling, seemingly lifeless. If she were human, she would definitely be dead, but trees (and fey) had to be stronger than that. Right? There had to be a chance she could be saved. Joe was so f*cking sick of people dying. They positioned themself behind a large slab where they were mostly hidden from the court, and took one of the branches in their hands. "Heal." They sent healing energy down through the limb, willing it to reach the hamadryad buried beneath the stone. The next several moments were lost to the trance of healing. Was it working? The wood of the branch was so different from human flesh. Their magic seemed like it should be working, but they just couldn't tell. "Attack!" The Dark Queen's scream shattered the trance, and they awakened to a court erupting in chaos. "Sh*t!" They released the branch. "I'm sorry," they whispered, "I'm so sorry, I promise I'll come back!" They dug in their bag in a panic. After a moment they came up with the small knife and the chisel. They were old-fashioned and rough, but pretty sharp still. More importantly, they were almost definitely made of iron. Fey hated iron, right? Please please please let that one bit of folklore turn out to be true. "Shadow clone." Another Joe assembled in a cloud of thing grey smoke, holding an identical pair of tools. (Were they still "iron"? There was no time to experiment and find out.) "Invisibility." They flicked out of view, leaving their clone standing seemingly alone. Inflict small wounds and keep moving, they told it. Hit as many dark fey as possible. Cause some chaos. The clone darted out into the fray without a second's hesitation. After a moment of gut-churning panic, Joe forced themselves to do the same. The sharp edges of their improvised weapons bit into the side of a twisted dark fairy. The creature shrieked with a sound like a window breaking and dark thick blood oozed from the cut. Joe forced themselves to keep moving, keep stabbing. But every time their iron met flesh their bile rose. Detach, detach, detach. Your job is causing distress and confusion. These little wounds won't kill anybody. They better not f*cking kill anybody. All they had to do was get through the crowd, get to the King and Queen. They were the main targets, most at risk. Someone needed to be on hand if one of them got wounded... But something was wrong, in the back of Joe's mind. For every wave of nausea brought on by the wounds they inflicted, there was another feeling that was almost wholly alien. Every cut they inflicted, no matter how small, brought on a feeling of...satisfaction. The smell of blood flooded their nostrils, filled the inside of their head. Their jaw ached and their bones groaned. They felt sick. And they were angry, so angry. That was when something sharp pierced them from behind.
Samara The cracking of the ceiling distracted Samara for an instant, causing her natural instincts to kick in. Her crystal armor appeared around her as she dropped to the floor and curled into a tight ball to protect herself from the falling debris. A millisecond later, a terrifying thought lanced through her subconscious. "Andreas!" she said, afraid he, or god knows who else, might have been crushed. The dust hadn't even settled yet and she was already fearing the worse. When she unfurled herself, she saw he was still there, unscathed, framed against the throng of dark fairies streaming through the door behind him, and still being dragged toward her by the link spell. His predicament might almost appear comical, if not for the look of terror and confusion on his face. A pang of guilt stabbed at her, but was quickly overcome by an urge to defend him from the nightmarish creatures that had made him feel such helplessness and- "Argh!" Samara's scream of agony cut through the sounds of battle. She grabbed her leg, where her left knee appeared to have turned to jelly. The crystal armor and the link spell fell away instantly. All the years of training and meditation and focus don't mean shit when it feels like a herd of elephants has trampled your bones to paste A lesser person might have passed out instantly, but Samara just glared at Andreas through eyes blurred by tears and rage, the kind of searing, seething, rage that only the deepest betrayal can create, a knife in the back, delivered by the hands of a (former) friend. The levity spell had been a well-intentioned mistake. But this... this... She cursed him in tongues she hadn't spoken since childhood, spitting Arabic at him as visions of her two-year old self crying in the streets of Yemen, mourning dead parents whose faces she couldn't even remember. Holy shit... that little fucker just made my life flash before my eyes. Nevermind the fact I may never walk again. That's reason enough to murder him ten times over. And she would... when she wakes up. For now, she just stared with eyes wide open, as consciousness finally slipped from her grasp and she succumbed to shock, both physical and emotional. The lights were on, but no one was home.
Andreas Samara squealed and fell to the ground. The link spell broken, Andreas broke into a run. He wasn't going to stick around to fight Samara, there was - Samara wasn't fighting anyone. She was just laying there. He glanced away when he saw the look on her face. An internal battle tried to break out within him, but he locked the door on it. He had stepped over the edge, the bridge was burnt. There was only one way forward. He ran. Not at the door, no. There was too much between him and the door now. He ran at the Dark Queen. She was busy with the battle, but she was also aware of him. He could feel it. He was sure that she had seen what he'd done. He weaved this way and that. Several dark fairies tried to stop him and even one light fairy. How many other people had seen his act? He found himself unable to use his grind spell, but he distracted his opponents easily enough with his water powers. Joe was busy stabbing away. Except when he tried to read them he found that it wasn't Joe, it was the clone. So where were they? He felt suddenly very vulnerable. Would he find a chisel in his kidney? As it happened, his kidney remained unpierced. Joe must be lost in the fray somewhere. He neared the Dark Queen and performed neurovoyance. A familiar evil filled his mind. "You," he said. The one person who refused to die. That was a valuable thing. "We attract you like a magnet, don't we?" he continued. "Well I have decided to survive. What would I have to give for you to take me to the Gate?"
Drake He felt a twinge of pity as Fenn spoke. Itmust be truly painful, if his only way of coping with the pain, was getting high. "Umm, sorry dude," he said uncertainly. "I'll,... try to recycle." Then he saw as part of the roof of the party building caved in, and hundreds of black shapes entered the ballroom. He took a deep breath and groaned in despair. Why did this just keep on happening to him. He grabbed onto Nora and teleported into thebuilding. He had a good feeling that a doped god wouldn't be much in a fight, and if he was, then he probably had the power to teleport himself in. The scene of the battle was terrifying, and for a long moment all Drake could do was stare around in shock. His heart began beating fast, and he looked around frantically, searching for his mates. Trisana was probably around, slicing through creatures like butter, Samara was kicking ass, no, no she wasn't. He stared in horror at the bulletproof excalibur wielder lying on the ground, unconcious. He was about to teleport to her when he saw Andreas, moving towards a really scary looking faerie, who seemed to be a leader. And where the fuck was Nyx?! Taking a deep breath, he teleported to Samara. He grabbed hold of her just as a mean looking beastly creature was about to smash her head in, and returned to Nora. They needed to be together. And he needed Joe. Then Drake saw Joe, being peirced by something from behind. Everything in Drake's mind stopped, and for a moment the entire arena froze. Literally froze. Without intending to, he stopped time. Arrows and blood drops hung in the air, in a scene that was both beutiful and revolting. Creatures everywhere, fair and vile, were frozen with expressions twisted pain and ferocity, that would have been hilarious any other time. He could feel his heart, as he had many times before, trying to break out of his chest. His body shook uncontrolably, and covered with sweat. He waited, but it didn't pass, just got worst, as his skinny legs treatened to buckle beneath him. He remembered reading once, about fight or flight. How adrenaline gets punped through the body, and allows for that split second decision. But the body can go into a third option, freeze, when it cannot decide. It might not be what was happening to him, but it had a nice symbolism to it. Maybe that's what he needed to decide. All this time he was stuck between the two options, always afraid, always wanting to run away. Maybe this was the moment to decide what he was going to choose. His heartbeat slowed, and body relaxed. Soon the din of the battle returned full on, and while it still frightened the shit out of him, Drake realised that he could act. He grabbed a miniature spear from the ground, shouted "Teleport," and appeared behind Joe's assailant, driving his weapon forward with a scream.
The battle was in full swing. Screams and howls filled the air. Every time a light fairy died, there was a dazzling flash of color. Every time a dark fairy died, they exploded in a pillar of gritty ashes. The Fairy King and Fairy Queen had left their thrones; they advanced steadily toward the Dark Queen with the Elfguard surrounding them. The elves struck down any dark fairy that dared approach them with a combination of weapons and magical attacks. Tyran was the fiercest of the elves, striking with unmatched strength and ferocity. When a large dark fairy with curling ram horns charged at him, Tyran held up his sword and yelled, "Fly!" The sword glowed white and flew straight through the big fairy, reducing him to ashes. Then the sword returned to Tyran's grip and he continued fighting. Whenever a dark fairy slipped through the elves, he was almost instantly slain by the king or the queen. Oberon sliced an enemy in half with his blazing crystal sword; Titania wacked one in the head with her bow and obliterated another one with a blast of pink energy. The Hamadryad was revived by Joe's healing spell. She gasped as she started breathing again and her large gold eyes fluttered open, but she was still trapped under the debris. Joe and his shadow clone stabbed several dark fairies with their iron weapons. The fairies shrieked in pain and waved their weapons around wildly, but could not see him. While they were distracted, they were struck down by the light fairies that were fighting back. When Joe was hurt, Drake came to his rescue and slew his attacker. Then they were surrounded by dark fairies with swords extended. Someone else came to their rescue: the cloud fairy that had been dancing with Nora. He swooped down and grabbed both of them by their collars, then swooped back up again. "Need a lift?" he said with a dashing smile. The Dark Queen was standing her ground. She simply waited for light fairies to attack her and easily defeated them with a long black spear she had summoned. The spear had a deadly blade on each end and she twirled it expertly, cutting down anyone who came too close. A grim smile split her face when she saw Titania, Oberon and the Elfguard coming closer. She did not call for back up or flee in terror. Lucretia simply threw back her head and cried, "Darkness! Come to me! I am your humble servant! Fill me! Use me!" Dark tendrils slithered out of the shadows like snakes and were quickly absorbed into Lucretia's body. She grew taller and her huge raven wings sprouted from her back. Her feathered grown also transformed into a sleeveless black tunic, leather tights and tall black heels. It was now apparent why the Dark Queen was so unafraid: the Darkness was making her stronger. "You mistake me for another," Lucretia rasped to Andreas when he approached her. "But if you help me, human boy, then I will take you to my mistress, the one who taught me how to channel Darkness...Vetala herself." That said, Lucretia placed her hand on Andreas's head and a surge of dark magic flowed through him. Then she turned to face Titania and Oberon, who had halted five feet away. "This is your last chance to stand down," Oberon boomed, sword raised. Lucretia merely laughed and slashed her spear at the nearest elf. He raised his sword to block, but her spear shattered the sword blade on contact. The elf's head rolled across the floor...and it belonged to Tyran. The cloud fairy, still holding Joe and Drake, put them down next to Samara's unconscious body. He wished them luck and flew away again, throwing lightning bolts in every direction at the dark fairies. He didn't make it far before he was impaled by a throwing spear. His face twisted in pain before he vanished in a white flash and a powerful wind ripped through the ballroom. Nora soared over to them riding an arctic gale, freezing anyone who stood in her way. Fenn and Alex ran into the ballroom just as Nora reached them. Fenn immediately raised his hands and shouted, "Grow! Grow!" Thick vines shot up from between the cracks in the tiles and wrapped dark fairies in green cocoons. As Fenn did his thing, Alex joined Nora and the others. Nora waved her hands elegantly and a dome of hardened ice materialized around them. "Joe, heal Samara and then heal yourself," Nora panted breathlessly. "I know you're tired, but this is life or death. When you're all ready, I will teach you some new spells." Nora listened to each of them and taught them whatever they wanted to learn. When she was done, the ice dome was shattered by dark fairies that had been mercilessly bashing it with swords and spears and maces. "For all that is good!" Nora screamed as she charged, conjuring an ice-sword in each hand. "For all that is good!" Alex mimicked. He conjured a scythe that was twice as tall as he was and the long curved blade swirled with dark crimson energy. When he swung it, a wave of fire issued forth and incinerated a handful of enemies.
