'For certain they'll come looking for me,' said Arthur. An ominous wind was churning outside, thrashing branches and limbs against the windows of the dining car. 'Or they could already be on their way–the Sheriff's silver arrow found me here.' He gestured to King Arthur's crown on the table before him. 'I should take this and leave Robin's Wood. It's only fair. It's because of me that all of you and this forest are in danger.'

'No,' came Esme with a wave of agreement from the other Children of the Forest, who were listening with utmost regard. 'We will help you. You were brought to Robin's Wood for a reason. Morgana and the Sheriff would still have appeared if you hadn't come. We still would be in danger.'

'But I'm the reason they'll stay. Stay until they get what they want.'

'Maybe you, Esme,' said Little Johnny, 'and everyone else should leave Robin's Wood.'

'No chance,' thundered a chorus. 'This is our home. We'll never leave.'

'Well, that settles it,' said Merlynna, nodding as Fury licked his wings on her shoulders. 'We're all staying.'

'That means Morgana and the Sheriff will come here to the train in the trees,' said Arthur.

'We'll have to defend it then,' Esme replied.

'But how? I barely escaped them. And who knows how many more fairies, Sheriff's Men and monsters have come through the portal since yesterday. If we're going to defend ourselves, we'll need help.'

'So that's what we'll get. There is still much good in this forest, creatures that will come to our side, especially now. I'm sure of it.'

This sent a wave of enthusiastic nodding all around.

'The pixies will help,' came someone. 'The unicorns, too.'

'There are unicorns in Robin's Wood?' sputtered Arthur in surprise.

'Oh, yes.' Esme smiled. 'And they're friends with the phoenixes. So if we get the unicorns, they will surely come to our aid as well.'

'Ooh, I've always wanted to see a phoenix,' said Merlynna, 'I once collected their feathers when I was younger, ones I found in the grounds of the orphanage.'

'What about Nessie?' a young girl said. 'She'd be a great help, I'm sure.'

'We could definitely ask,' said Esme.

'Who's Nessie?' wondered Little Johnny.

Esme looked at him. 'You know, the Nessie, as in the Loch Ness Monster.'

'WHAT?' Arthur, Little Johnny and Merlynna snapped with shock.

'The Loch Ness Monster lives in Robin's Wood?' Arthur added.

'She has for quite some time,' said Esme. 'She came here because she just couldn't get any peace at her old home. Too many people trying to find her.'

'I don't know how she's going to help defend us here,' said a boy. 'She's quite the big creature and we have no water here except for the well.'

'Maybe she can help us some other way,' said Esme. 'Speaking of water and the well, we should go look for the mermaids.' This made Merlynna hang her head in sadness. 'If they're still alive, they'll help.'

'Apart from getting help, we should set up more traps around here,' said another boy. 'Set up lookouts, too.'

'That's a great idea,' replied Esme.

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'Shame about Maid Marian and the other ghosts,' said Little Johnny.

Arthur looked over at Esme, who had started to fumble with Robin's horn. 'Maybe you should try to call them again.'

'It's no use,' Esme answered. 'Whatever happened to them, they're not answering.'

'You should keep trying, though.'

'I will.'

'Well, I guess it's time to find us some allies.'

Many got to their feet and set out with haste and urgency.

'I hope we can find Nixie and the other mermaids,' Merlynna said to Arthur and Little Johnny a short time later.

'I'm sure we will,' replied Little Johnny. 'Fury will find them.'

The flying cat was fluttering in front of them, following the smell of water on the wind.

'We'll check every lake and river in this forest if we have to,' said Arthur.

And for hours, that's what they did despite the threat of running into the leviathan again. Even the spine-tingling roars and growls from monsters that they heard echoing through the forest didn't stop them.

But that soon changed while they were clambering through a field of giant mushrooms. It was Fury who picked up the scent first and flew off with great speed in its direction.

'Is that smoke?' Arthur snapped, raising his nose and taking a long whiff.

'It sure smells like it,' Little Johnny replied, and the three looked at each other with absolute horror.

'Come on,' said Merlynna, 'let's see what it is.'

Out from the mushrooms they burst, through a tight crevice with walls of slimy moss they squeezed and over a rocky ridge they padded until they saw a smoldering pile of brush.

'Hmm, I wonder who made that?' asked Arthur.

'Or what made that?' added Little Johnny.

With caution, the children drew closer. And as they peered down into the cinders, they saw a gut-wrenching sight. Staring up at them was the charred face of Bredbebble, his eyes now embering acorns.

'We need water!' Merlynna shouted.

'I think it's too late for that,' Little Johnny cried.

'We need water!' Merlynna repeated.

'Over there,' Arthur snapped and he pointed to a creek not too far away. 'But we don't have a bucket.'

'We don't need one.' Merlynna then yelled, flicking her wrist at the creek, 'Dwar!'

In a rush, water arched up, roared through the air before crashing down on the smoldering pile, extinguishing it with a tremendous sizzle. Smoke and steam burst everywhere, but once everything cleared, Arthur, Little Johnny and Merlynna found themselves staring down into a sludgy mess of ash and charcoal.

Now with a tear running down each of their faces, the children stood in silence until faint rumblings fouled their minds.

At that moment, Merlynna took off after the menacing noise, anger quick to replace her sadness. And Arthur and Little Johnny were quick to her side.

Through the forest they burst again before they were standing on top of a small cliff, looking far off in the distance at as many fairies, Sheriff's Men and beasts as there were trees.

The Shadow was coming as Arthur had feared.

'They're heading right this way, right for the train in the trees,' breathed Little Johnny as trolls and ogres could be seen smashing through the forest. 'We need to get back.'

Looking like she was ready to pounce, Merlynna grumbled, 'No, we need to make a stand.'

'But we'd fail,' Arthur replied. 'We need to find the mermaids. To find Nixie. That is our goal here.'

'We may not have time,' said Little Johnny.

'We need to try. We need all the help we can get if we are going to have a shot at defeating the Shadow.'

Just then, a glimmer sent Arthur snatching Fury out of the air, and yanking Little Johnny and Merlynna behind a boulder. It was just in time too, for a split second later, the Sheriff's silver arrow appeared. Then looking a little sluggish, surely the result of Arthur hitting it with the Sword in the Stone back at the druid stones, it began bolting around as if on the hunt.

'Does it know I'm here?' whispered Arthur.

'It seems so,' Little Johnny replied softly.

'I can hit it,' said Merlynna. She raised her hand, magic on the tip of her fingers. 'Finish it off.'

'Are you sure?' asked Arthur. 'Because if you miss, we'll be found out.'

Merlynna didn't answer. She wasn't sure. But she knew she could at least try to fool it, having quite the experience from her escapades back at the Home for Enchanted Girls.

With a snap, she muttered, 'Madad.'

Her spell flashed into the air. And as the ball of magic transformed into the likes of Fury, the silver arrow's attention was quick to it. Merlynna then waved her hand. Her flying feline's double shot off into the sky and was immediately pursued.

'That was amazing,' said Arthur, watching the silver arrow disappear after its prey.

'Now, let's get looking for the mermaids,' said Merlynna.

'Maybe we should warn the Children of the Forest back at the train in the trees first about you-know-who coming,' said Little Johnny, pointing off towards the Shadow.

'Fury can do it,' Merlynna replied 'The real one.' At this, her winged companion purred. She then magicked over some papery bark from a nearby tree and wrote a message with a spark from a finger. 'All done.'

Fury wriggled out of Arthur's grasp, snatched the message in his mouth and took off like a bat towards the train.

After watching him flap away, the children were about to set off, but before they did, Robin's feathers suddenly zipped out of Arthur's pockets as if jealous of all the flying that was happening and zoomed off too.

'Wait!' Arthur yelled and chased after them.