Dimple rode Bessie into the stables, and right on time too. Jenny was just closing up.

"Hey," the dryad said, locking one of the half doors.

All the gigantopods were either fast asleep or on their way to it, and the whole room filled with their soft mewing snores. With so few fireflies around, it was only barely bright enough to light the room, but the Greenkin were both used to that—the stables never had that much to see by at night. "It's about time you got back here. I've had to handle everything down here all by myself, you know."

Sighing, the minotaur fell down the saddle and took Bessie's reins, leading the snail to the sole open half door left. His soaked fur squished with each step. "Sorry," he mumbled. "It's been a long day..."

Jenny went over to help him take down Bessie's cargo bed, noticing the luggage still in it. "Sure seems like it," she said, grunting as they slid the bed down Bessie's back. Sticky as that back was, it did take some effort, but they could use enough Spirit to manage it. "So, how'd it go? With that human, I mean. I heard they caught someone sneaking around and figured that was you guys, but since you're here..."

"That was us," Dimple said, lacking all energy. "Didn't get in trouble though."

"Oh. Well, good."

They put the cargo bed down in the space between all the stables. Technically it should get piled along with all the other attachments out back, but it was raining and late, so what better excuse to procrastinate a little?

Jenny walked to the exit and leaned against the wall. She reached up to play with her veiny hair, staring out beyond the filter of rain at the World Tree entrance. Dark as it was, the hole at the base of the Tree seemed like a muted beacon.

"It's weird," she said softly. "That Red guy sneaks in, and we haven't seen any of the Scouts since this morning. I guess the Council's just talking it over with them." She turned her head and looking over at Dimple, who sat on one of the stools. "There's a feeling in the air, don't you think? Like something big's going on."

Dimple looked back at her, and in his eyes Jenny saw not the same nervous discomfort as usual, but instead some more subtle sadness. She didn't think she'd ever seen him so tired. He opened his mouth, about to say something...

Then, to the shock of both, something rumbled. At first Jenny thought it must be thunder—plenty of that the past hour or so—but it came again, and again, and then an altogether louder sort of pop rang out from the World Tree entrance.

Jenny flinched, walking back away from the stable exit, holding onto the wall. "W-What was that?!"

Dimple didn't know how to answer at first, but his surprise soon drained back into exhaustion. "What you were saying... It's way more than just a feeling in the air."

- - - — MKII — - - -

Alexander clapped his hands, and Malcolm dived out of the way for what felt like the twentieth time. It was hard enough fighting in such a crowded space—every square inch seemed to contain at least one Scout and three guards going at each other—so it really didn't help that Malcolm had to play the matador right in the middle of it.

Still, Alexander seemed completely uninterested in anyone but him, so Malcolm just had to deal with the giant minotaur's repeated charges. Sometimes that meant bumping into someone hard enough to hurt both of them, but it was much better than getting skewered by one of those curved horns.

At least Alexander seemed to be having as much trouble as him staying out of everyone else's way. Every charge so far had him ram into as many of the his own guard allies as they did Scouts. Some had merely stumbled back, but a few of those allies had even been completely blown away, splatting against the wall and dropping unconscious.

Another charge, another dive. Malcolm landed on a roll, looked up right in time to see one of the spearbearers taking a stab at him, grabbed the weapon by the shaft, pulled, and punched the guard in the neck. The blue-clad beastman stumbled back, gurgling and holding his throat as Malcolm glanced around at the state of things.

Arrows, spears, sparks of lightning, globs of sap, blue orbs made of some strange light, buzzing firefly clumps, white translucent thorns, jet streams of cutting water, and a whole assortment of other materials flew overhead. Malcolm saw the ones throwing it all, some notching on actual bows, others simply forming the stuff with some Trick or another.

Most of the Scouts seemed capable—a girl bent her back unnaturally to avoid a coming spear while the young man next to her was grabbing guards by the face and seemingly making them go blind. Even the few Scouts who couldn't cast a Trick could at least use their Spirit to strengthen their bodies, and Malcolm saw plenty leap high into the air to flank their opponents or even punch right through them.

It was an encouraging sight, but Malcolm grimaced at the Changelings, who marched through without much difficulty. Their massive bodies were powerful enough to toss around practically anyone in their way, and their claws, fangs, and talons were particularly dangerous. Already there were a disquieting number of Scouts with gnarly wounds, their blood spilling on the floor.

Lila scuttled between them, hands glowing white, closing up cuts and healing bruises as fast as she could. Nearby, a couple of the guards take note of this and advanced toward her.

They couldn't lose their healer. Malcolm went to help the girl, but then he saw Alexander charging again and had to dodge.

The minotaur ran by with a frustrated roar, and by now people on both sides had started paying enough attention to try and open up a path as he came through. Still, one Scout and two guards ended up in the air, spinning wildly from the sudden tackle.

Now Malcolm found himself bumping into Clover. Some other Scouts stood around her, defending the girl while she did her best to incapacitate their foes. She tossed seeds left and right, clapping her hands and ensnaring a guard or two in a tangle of vines each time. Effective, but one of the Changelings or some other guard would make sure to cut their fellows free as soon as possible.

"How're you holding up?" he asked her, rising to meet one of the spearbearers.

"I'll run out of ammo soon at this rate," she said, tossing a few more seeds.

Malcolm stepped into the spearbearer's range, kicked him in the stomach, and shoved him away. "We have to start thinking about pushing our way out."

"Yeah, tell that to them." She turned to look at Malcolm, and her eyes widened at something behind him. "Look out!"

Malcolm didn't bother asking why, and they both leaped aside as Alexander came charging in with a monstrous tackle. This time the minotaur held his arms out wide, trying a lariat, so everyone who noticed made sure to duck as much as they sidestepped.

"I have no idea what I did to piss that guy off this much," Malcolm said, catching his breath.

"It's the fire," Clover said, pressing her back to his. They stood and looked at the guards making to surround them, one clapping his hands and the other digging into her pocket. "Your kind of Trick doesn't have a great history around here."

"My kind of Trick?"

"I'll explain later! Right now, you need to—" A Changeling came right for her, and Clover threw her hands up to defend, but then the floor under the beastman wiggled. When the Changeling tripped, Clover tossed three seeds at it and clapped her hands, burying him under a fairly thick bundle of plantlife.

She and Malcolm looked over at Sam, who gave them a thumbs up before getting ganged up on by five other guards. Thankfully, another Scout took notice and went to help, leaving Clover to sigh in relief. She turned back to Malcolm.

"Look, you need to stay on Jahdiel. That's the elf over there." She pointed, and Malcolm saw said elf engaged with Daphne.

Mostly the two fought at close quarters, but Jahdiel occasionally clapped his hands and made balls of sap rise from the ground or seep out from the walls and stick to one of the Scouts nearby. The sap hardened as soon as it landed, and while the victim could usually fight on with the uncomfortable lump of amber hanging from their shirt, it sometimes landed on a foot or an arm and stuck them to the floor, leaving them vulnerable to any guard.

"Your Trick is the only one we have that can deal with his," Clover said. "Mom's doing her best, but it's a bad matchup. Handle him for her, and she can help us retreat!"

Seemed like as good a plan as any to Malcolm. "Alright, but what about the minotaur? He keeps coming after me."

Clover looked over at Alexander, who seemed ready for another charge. The bull-man looked crazed with rage, but she knew better—had he lost it completely, he wouldn't have been going slow enough with his Trick to avoid severely hurting any of his own people. The crowd helped them more than it helped him; in an open enough space, he wouldn't have needed to hold back so much.

"I'll hold him off," she decided. "Just get that creep off my mom!"

Malcolm nodded and went off, wading through the fighting crowd. As he went, he clapped his hand, breathing in deeply.

- - - — MKII — - - -

Red stood before the guards and the pair of Councilmembers atop the World Tree. The spearbearers pointed their weapons at him, and Silviamon stepped up alongside them, eyes narrowed in irritation.

"How unsightly," he said, putting one pair of hands together. "One second, Harmony. I'll deal with this brat and then we can get back to more important matters."

At once, Red felt something press against him, like he'd suddenly put on clothes that were far too tight. He glanced down at himself with his eyes, finding nothing. Whatever it was, the invisible force seemed to freeze him in place. Even as he tried to talk, his lips refused to move, and all he could manage was a sort of half-gurgle.

"I have him," Silviamon said, voice suddenly strained and a bead of sweat trickling down from his forehead. "Now, you lousy fools!"

The guards rushed at Red, all half-dozen of them. Their footsteps splashed against the damp floor, their spears stabbed forward, and Red fought against the magic straightjacket keeping him in their path.

His instincts screamed at the rest of his unmoving body more and more, skin tingling with effort until something seemed to stretch, pull, give. Something bright grew within him, peeking through some plug, and just as the spears were set to stab into him his mouth snapped shut, teeth grinding against one another, and Red shoved himself away.

Just in time too, for at that moment the first spearbearer stabbed at the space he'd just left behind. Not expecting Red to dodge, the guard stumbled forward, suddenly off-balance, and the boy took advantage by grabbing the spear with one hand and punching a very available face with the other.

The guard flew back with a sharp cry, head snapped back and eyes immediately glazed over. The rest paused ever so slightly, suddenly hesitant at seeing their fellow spearbearer got blown away, but they were all too committed by then, and too close. Red was very much within range.

A complete slaughter followed. Red swung his stolen spear around like a bat, sweeping at the guards in wide arcs, taking them down one by one in short order. Silviamon watched it happen, openly gaping at the sight, heaving with shocking exhaustion. A headache seemed set to fracture his skull, and he grabbed at it with one of his upper hands as he brought the bottom set together a second time.

"He broke out of it," he said, huffing. "That... Hold on, let me try again..."

A pale hand on his shoulder stopped him. Turning, the forest demon saw Harmony shake their head, yellow eyes on the Ranger still busy beating down their guards nearby.

"Save your energy," the fairy said. "If this boy is here, that likely means the other humans have escaped as well. Use what strength you have left to go down and help Alexander contain them. Leave this one to me."

"Leave you here alone? Harmony, think—"

The fairly's voice rung sternly. "His Spirit is clearly too strong to tame with your Art, and if your Art has no use here, neither do you. This enemy will need to be dealt with the hard way." Looking at Silviamon now, Harmony's expressionless eyes communicated something like insistence. "Trust me to surmount this final trial."

Silviamon held their gaze for another moment before eventually giving a single sharp nod. Wordlessly, he walked toward some of the downed guards. Three groaned, bordering on unconsciousness, and the fourth was knocked flat out, but Silviamon bent down and picked them all up with a strenuous heave, one held under each arm like big drums.

Red noticed the forest demon's effort, holding the last resisting guard with one hand and about to pound him in the face with the other. Humming, he let the guard drop, looking down at bruised and battered satyr and gesturing with his head. "Beat it."

Eyes fearful, the guard scrambled to his hooves and went to Silviamon, swallowing a whimper. The forest demon grunted and unceremoniously handed one of the unconscious guards to him with a gruff "Take this one."

The guard, struggling with the weight of another full body, shrunk back from Red as they passed, but Silviamon met the boy's eyes with a black scowl. "I'll see you later, human. If there's anything left to see."

Red didn't bother to resist his smirk. "I'll save a punch just for you."

Harmony stood with hands behind their back, red robe billowing in the humid breeze that funneled through the wide platform space. Under a canopy of leaves, thick branches twisting and gnarling all over and around them, Silviamon's departure left them in a sort of disconnected arena, rain falling in sheets just beyond but barely trickling within.

"I admit, when you challenged me before I thought I sensed some fanciful bravado," the fairy said. "I at least thought it would take you longer than a few minutes to come for me. Lorcana would be disappointed to know she achieved so little." Their yellow eyes shifted slightly. "I see you did not come entirely unscathed, however."

Red reached over to feel the bite mark on his shoulder—deep holes barely caked over with dried blood—and shrugged. A gnarly wound for sure, but nothing he couldn't handle. "I ran into a few of your pets."

"And you got past them in such little time."

"Well, you just looked so full of yourself before, I couldn't wait to come up here and ruin your big evil plan."

"Evil? Is that what you've all decided?"

Red cocked his head, walking around to Harmony's flank. As soon as he did, he saw the fairy started doing the same, strolling in an opposing circle, eyeing him for openings. "I'll admit I'm iffy on the details, but I remember something about millions of people dying. Sounds pretty evil to me."

Harmony stepped slowly. "I founded the ELD to reverse the damage humans were causing to this world. Then, I thought it would only take words. Cooperation. Submission." They shook their head, yellow hair bouncing. "But I was naive. Living beings follow one core rule: strength is what matters. Might is right. It is not pleasant or just, but our pretty feelings all crumble before the reality that one must defeat others to stay alive. You humans are the ones who taught me that. If you call it evil, that just means you are all evil in turn."

Harmony stopped, and Red mirrored them, standing some dozen feet away with a small frown. They'd reversed positions, and now Red stood before the entrance to their hut, though he didn't dare look back at it. The fairy had remained too alert to make a move. Red could feel the pressure of their undivided attention like a repellant magnet pressing minutely against his skin.

"I do not hate humans, you know," Harmony continued. "I even have some respect for your kind. You have cunning, ambition, ruthlessness... All the qualities of an apex predator. But you are also selfish and stupid. Your way of winning works, but it is unsustainable, and it will result in the death of the whole world."

This was a lot of talk, but Red figured it took at least this much to justify what amounted to genocide. "So your solution is, what, just wipe us out?"

"No, that would be impossible, and also wasteful. Humans are like rats or locusts; interesting and useful, but dangerous in large numbers. One does not exterminate all vermin. One merely culls their population when the time calls for it. Reduce their number so that they cannot continue destroying everything they touch, keeping a few on hand for their unique talents." Yellow eyes narrowed. "Humans may live as long as they do not win nature's game."

Harmony brought a hand up, and Red flinched back, but the fairy only reached for the clasp of their robe. "And once humans are displaced from their position at the top, we must have another winner. One strong enough to hold dominion over others, but wise enough to use that dominion for the benefit of those who are dominated. A referee."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

All the standing around was starting to leave a bad taste in Red's mouth. "A referee. And you're somehow perfect for the job, huh?"

Harmony unclipped their cloak, pulled the whole thing off, and threw the red fabric aside in one fluid, serene motion. It fell heavy on the floor, dampening at once against the wet wood. Now naked, the fairy rolled their shoulders and spread their arms, showing off the full picture.

An animate statue stood before Red, chest stretched smooth like a flat, ivory plane. The same could be said of the area between their legs, a completely blank space. An inhuman figure, perfect in its lacking proportions, except that the snow-white skin was marred with thick, splotchy black stripes all around, hugging the torso and spreading from there like a tattooed monochromatic explosion.

"I am not perfect," Harmony said, words heavy. "But there is no more time to wait for some flawless arbiter. The Ranger Corps has failed at that. They claim their work serves us Greenkin, serves the whole Mystic World by dulling our fangs and keeping us safe from human retribution. They claim they keep us all from destroying each other. But we are already facing destruction, and the Corps doesn't care. It is a human institution, and so in the end they will always side with humans."

A pale hand rose, upturned. "I will create a new order, and it will be a better one than what humans have given us. My goal is not cruelty, but stability. Balance." Fingers curled once, twice, saying come on. "Should anyone else think they'd do better in the role, I welcome them to try and displace me. All I have to do is be strong enough to win."

Now that was more like it. Red grinned, punched his palm, and cracked his knuckles. "On that, we can agree," he said, settling into a loose stance. "Let's get—"

Suddenly, Harmony was right there in front of him, and on pure instinct, Red flashed out with a fist. The punch met dead air, a hollow whip extending just short enough of Harmony's face before the fairy mechanically slammed an open palm up into his chin.

It didn't hurt much, but Red's head snapped back all the same, unprepared as he'd been for the blow. Craning back forward, the boy stepped in and threw another punch at Harmony's lithe belly.

They dodged, but now Red got a good view of how, which only led to more questions. Where anyone else might have turned or stepped out of the way, Harmony seemed to somehow slide sideways without moving their body.

Teeth grit, Red let himself fall with the pull of his attack and, twisting around, lashed out with a sloppy reverse heel kick. Harmony had to block that one, raising a hand as if to grab his foot. But instead, palm open, the fairy let the kick meet their hand and then seemed to push off the attack and slide away.

Planting his foot back down, Red slowly brought his hands up, protecting his face as he looked past his fists at Harmony, who stopped sliding in an instant and stood calmly a few yards away. Lorcana's lance had been one thing, but Harmony clearly had one of those Tricks like Stretch or Malcolm. Red took a second to think on it; some kind of slipping thing? "Hey, wanna just tell me what your power does?"

Harmony blinked, then raised their hand, ready to strike him again. "No."

Well, it had been worth a try. At least next time Harmony motionlessly skated at him, Red more or less knew enough to expect it.

- - - — MKII — - - -

Jahdiel couldn't help the savage smile on his face. Though he hadn't realized it, he'd been waiting for something like this all his life. Each thrust of his amber spear aimed for Daphne's liver, her throat, or her heart. Harmony had promised them a chance to fight, and god, they were finally fighting.

Some of the other guards weren't quite as enthusiastic. Jahdiel could see how they used their spears more like clubs or hesitated whenever a Scout was at their mercy and seemed relieved once that Scout got rescued. Weaklings. Bordering on treason, really. What had they thought they were signing up for?

"You look too happy about this," Daphne said, slapping one of his spear thrusts away. "I knew you were a freak, Jahdiel, but I didn't take you for a killer!"

The elf almost laughed. "If you want a killer, look in the mirror," he said, stabbing again. "You Scouts were only ever a stopgap. No, you were worse! You only ever helped hide how bad things were getting out there! I'm glad you all decided to run. Harmony was taking it too easy on you!"

With that, he dissolved his spear and clapped his hand. Daphne clicked her tongue, darting back as a wave of sap swept over where she'd stood. It followed her, a miniature tide of orange liquid washing over the space between them, getting closer and closer.

Until Malcolm stepped in, body already steaming. Settling into a wide stance before Daphne, he held out his arms like a diver and split the sap wave in a rush of burning smoke.

Daphne huffed, watching the boy heave with effort. She could feel the warmth radiating off him even from where she stood, and could only wonder at the discipline it must've taken to willingly heat up his own body to such an extent. "Thank you. Clover, is she—"

"She's fine," Malcolm said, breath ragged. In front of him, Jahdiel frowned, holding a hand out and crafting another amber spear out of the ground. "She said you could get us out of here, so don't worry about this guy. I've got it!"

The Head Scout hesitated, not feeling comfortable passing things off to a child, but he had a point. "Just give me a minute," she said, putting her hands together.

Malcolm nodded without turning to look at her. The pressure Jahdiel exerted was too thick to look at anything else. Malcolm watched the elf approach, spear dragging along the ground and leaving a shallow groove.

"You're a nice surprise, human," Jahdiel said, smile coming back into place. "Another fire wielder, now of all times. The perfect opportunity for revenge."

Said fire wielder didn't respond. It took all his effort to keep his body as hot as it was, and it wasn't really his style to talk while fighting anyway.

"Nothing to say?" Jahdiel chuckled. "Very well. Just stay right there and let me kill you!"

- - - — MKII — - - -

Red couldn't get a solid hit in. Harmony dodged almost everything, either sliding out of the way or stopping on a dime right as Red swung at them, often avoiding his attacks by mere centimeters. Even when he did make contact, the fairy seemed to have planned it, either blocking the blow or allowing Red to strike them and in both cases sliding off with the inertia it created.

And inertia was key here. Red realized it after enough missed or useless blows. There was some initial movement every time Harmony slid in some direction, bare feet making shallow wake as they skated over a platform full of small ponds. It was always slight—barely a twitch of a toe or finger—and sometimes Red couldn't notice it as it happened, but the movement seemed like some kind of push off the ground or a pulling flick.

Somehow, Harmony could use those slight pushes and pulls and to carry their whole body. Each nudge of the foot was the equivalent of a full-throttle dash, each wave of the hand an unbalanced swing. The speed any given move would create for Harmony had nothing to do with how much force that move had.

When Harmony blocked his attacks, it always felt like what contact was made had barely touched their skin before they were off, like the slight bit of push they got from any hit was transferred immediately into a slide. Even the sliding itself was strange, as if the contact of Harmony's feet with the ground had no bearing on anything, no friction.

It hurt Red's head to think about, but Harmony could control their own inertia. Which also meant that while all his attacks struck limply on them, all their attacks struck him just fine.

Palm strike after palm strike met either his face or his open shoulder wound. Red preferred getting it in the former at first, since all things considered Harmony didn't hit that hard, but then the fairy had started specifically targeting his eyes. It was all Red could do to keep his hands up and practically blind himself, which ended up being the wrong thing to against someone trying to kill him. Harmony took advantage by sliding up to him, making to strike at the eyes, then going for the shoulder instead when he instinctively covered his face in defense.

"Urk!" Red spun around, fists swinging wildly. Harmony easily avoided it, but all he wanted to do was get some space to think.

All his moves had been invalidated so far. For all Red knew, there wasn't anything he could do to actually hurt the fairy—each punch he threw would just be absorbed, their force erased by the lack of resistance they met with. But he couldn't give up; there had to be some trick to it. All Red had to do was find out what it was.

He breathed deeply, calming himself as Harmony came back in. The fairy slipped over with a kick, and when he threw a forearm up to block it they slid back at once before he could even bother trying to punch in retaliation.

It was a problem of mobility. Red wouldn't have thought himself a slowpoke by any means, but Harmony had him beat in speed. More than that, they could move so freely, advancing or retreating without having to bother changing positions, kicking and then sliding back on one foot where anyone else would've at least had to push off the ground first. It was a wide platform too, so they had all the room they wanted to slide around. Red looked down at Harmony's feet as they skated back over, noting the ease with which they passed over the planks.

Wait.

Red's grin widened even as he flinched at yet another palm strike to his shoulder. The whole arm was kind of starting to numb, but Red was too excited to worry much about it. He had an idea, and now he just needed to wait for the right moment to put it into action.

A wild punch was enough to make Harmony skate back, and here was the moment of truth. Red watched them come around again, sliding towards him, legs shifting to throw another kick as if standing still, and just before the fairy came in range he raised a foot and slammed it right through the floor.

When he pulled his leg back up from the hole he'd made, Red did it with as wide a sweep as he could, cutting through the wood in an eruption of splinters and broken planks. Harmony lost their balance, sliding right into the newly made trench and tripping over it, eyes widening ever so slightly.

A chance if Red had ever seen one. Hand already balled, he stepped in and sent a hooking uppercut at Harmony's face.

At the last second, Harmony raised both hands and caught the punch with one cupped over the other. Still, Red felt something he'd been missing since the fight began: resistance. Following through, Red pushed against Harmony's hands and sent the fairy flying into the air.

Harmony spun uncontrollably for a good five dozen yards before suddenly stopping dead in the air, all their momentum gone in a moment. They fell in place, gravity taking over.

Red watched them fall back down, feeling the weight of Harmony's gaze but, more than that, feeling the pleasurable warmth of his knuckles. His pleasure only increased once Harmony landed and he noticed that one of their hands fell limply from what he could only assume was a broken wrist.

He could hit Harmony and make it hurt. Their Trick wasn't automatic or constant. All Red had to do was catch them off guard and strike before they turned the power on.

Harmony seemed to have come to the same conclusion, because while their expression didn't change a bit, Red could still make out a strange shift in the atmosphere. The air felt heavier, and their silence hung more thickly against the patter of rain. He'd been a cute little thing before, more an annoyance than anything, but a broken hand would change anyone's mind.

"I suppose... I have wasted enough time with you now," Harmony said. "Anything more would just be indulgent."

"Oh, c'mon," Red said, not bothering to hide his smugness. "You take one good hit and suddenly it's not fun anymore? Talk about a sore loser."

Slowly, Harmony bent down and settled into a runner's stance, broken hand cradled against their stomach and healthy one sitting lightly on the ground. The air—the pressure—doubled in weight.

Still, Red grinned against the shiver of his skin.He had a plan now, no matter what the fairy tried. Stay on the defense, interrupt their approach, catch them by—

Harmony disappeared.

Red blinked. Eyes searched. Nothing.

Then, a rapid series of drumbeats popped and Red felt screaming at the back of his neck. He twisted and tried to bring his hands up, but an instant before he could something slammed against his face.

Blinking rapidly, Red swung a fist, hitting nothing as another few drumbeats clunked through the air and then his back bent against what felt like a kick.

Letting himself fall, Red rolled to a knee and raised his arms, one over his face and another over his torso, eyes darting back and forth around the platform, hearing another series of drumbeats. The sound came from above. He raised his head before another blow rammed down on his skull, driving him into the floor hard enough to break right through it.

Red pulled his head back out and, hardly giving himself time to think, rolled around in a hurry before another hole got blasted into the ground right beside him. He raised his eyes again, and now that he knew to look for it, he could just barely see what was going on.

Harmony bounced from one giant branch to another overhead, each leap as instant as the next. It was fast enough that Red could only tell by the shadow, the vague outline of her black and white form darting around like a caffeinated pinball.

All at once the pinball came to him, and Red felt his shoulder spark up in agony. Yelping, he held the inflamed spot, hand slicking with sweat and blood, but before he could process the pain another blow came to his side. Heaving now, Red looked back up, trying his best to keep track of the manic fairy, thoughts steaming incomprehensibly, all satisfaction from his one successful attack withered dead.

Alright... Now what?

- - - — MKII — - - -

Clover breathed hard, hands intertwined before her chest. A whole array of Scouts surrounded her, fighting off the guards and Changelings while she focused on the one enemy that made it all worth it.

In front of her, Alexander struggled to escape the thick tree trunk she'd made grow around him. It extended from the floor to the ceiling, encompassing the minotaur's whole body, branches splitting off and digging up into the wooden walls of the passage.

Veins popped all over Alexander's neck as he pulled, whole body straining, the sole free arm he had pounding against the organic entrapment and managing to chip slowly away at the wood. It was all Clover could do to pour more Spirit in and have the bark grow over whatever he damaged, but even then the wood cracked.

"He's covered by the thing!" Sam said, kicking at one of the guards. "How is it not working?!"

"It is working!" Clover said. Sweat poured down her face, and her hands shook. "This is it working!"

Maybe she was just trying to make herself believe it, but as soon as she said that, another huge crack grew on Alexander's tree. The minotaur shouted, skin a deep red hue of pure exertion.

"This twig can't stop me!" he screamed. "Nothing can stop me from wringing that little bastard's neck!"

A last, loud crack and Clover felt something snap in her head. She fell to her knees, barely conscious, and Alexander immediately ripped through the tree that held him, exploding out in a shower of bark.

The guards roared their approval, and the minotaur glared at the now dread-filled Scouts. He huffed and looked over them at Daphne standing with her hands clasped some distance away. Alexander's glare deepened when he saw the fire wielder right there by her, fighting Jahdiel, and he clapped his own hands, Spirit surging.

But now a buzz filled the air.

"More damn fireflies?" Alexander grumbled, looking up at the ones clustered by the ceiling. Some of the guards yelped, pointing, and the minotaur followed their gaze to see a veritable wall of the glowing insects coming toward them through the hall. They took up the entire width of the passage, completely covering everything that might be behind them, and seeing this Alexander took a step back, horrified. "More damn fireflies!"

Sam bent to pick Clover off the ground, heaving her arm over his shoulder. She rolled her head to look up at him, blinking slowly. "Get ready!" he said, looking around at the others. "This is it! Get ready to run!"

The wall of fireflies reached them shortly after.

- - - — MKII — - - -

Dimple and Jenny watched, absolutely gobsmacked, as a whole stream of fireflies flew up out of the World Tree's entrance and out into the rain. Plenty of them blinked out immediately, crashing into the falling drops, but plenty more flew right back inside or up to hide under the outdoor platform above.

The real shock, though, came from the people who ran out along with them.

"The Scouts!" Jenny said, and Dimple leaned forward to see.

It was the Scouts. He could tell by all the different colors; where the guards all wore blue and the Greenkin mostly wore plainer clothes made of bark or animal skin, the humans practically ran out as a rainbow in the night. A haggard and limping rainbow, but a rainbow nonetheless.

The two stablehands watched silently as the Scouts ran out into the clearing and headed for the treeline. The humans struggled through the rain, some carrying others. Dimple could even see Daphne leading them, her bright orange shirt stark against the dark.

"They actually made it..."

The words came unbidden, and Dimple colored when he noticed Jenny glance his way. "They're running," he said. "It's a long story, but they're running."

"I can see that," Jenny said. "But running from wha— oh?"

Dimple looked back at the Scouts, and frowned when he saw they'd all just... stopped. It wasn't even a matter of stopping to rest or slowing down; they'd just stopped, completely frozen. "What the..."

High above, standing on the platform with a mass of fireflies righting him from below, Silviamon smiled. Both pairs of hands held together one atop the other before him, he could imagine the disappointment, the despair of the escapees as they slowly realized that all that effort had been for nothing. It had been quite the run down the Tree, and he was plenty winded, but moments like this made all his toils worth it.

Holding so many people at once wasn't easy, and even now Silviamon could feel himself shaking at the effort, but it wouldn't be long before Alexander or Jahdiel or someone came out and caught up to the Scouts.

"Nice try, you lot," he said, keeping his eyes open wide as he looked down at the ant-like Scouts outside. "Very nice try."

- - - — MKII — - - -

For the first time in five minutes, Harmony landed on solid ground. They closed their eyes, allowing themselves to settle down. Their broken hand had numbed, but it wasn't anything they couldn't fix soon enough.

Opening their eyes, Harmony looked at the bundle of bruises that was Red. Both eyes purple, cheeks puffed, body riddled with bunches of purple and crimson.

The boy shook as he raised a rolling neck up to see the yellow gaze bearing down on him. Teeth clenched, Red tried to pull any of his limbs up from the limp kneel he'd been beaten into. He grunted, huffed, let out a gargling shout, but nothing happened. His body had stopped following orders.

"How does it feel?" Harmony asked, walking towards him. "To be this powerless? This hurt?"

Bending over, the fairy grabbed Red by the neck and dragged him along the platform floor. The boy shook, heaving to stop, but none of it worked, and Harmony easily reached the edge. They raised Red up over it, dangling him right over the dark fall below.

"I wanted to keep you alive," Harmony said. "The Scouts deserve to live, of course, because out of all you humans they are the only ones we've worked closely with, the only ones who could possibly come to understand our cause. But with that mark of yours... I thought you might be an interesting one to examine. I still think so." They sighed, a brief show of disappointment soon buried under the same cold expressionless mask. "But this is too important, and you are too dangerous."

By some miracle, Red managed to raise a hand. It fell on Harmony's arm, fingers trying to grip onto it, but the fairy didn't even have to activate their power to keep that from happening, weak as it was.

"You tried to survive," Harmony said. "That is all any of us can do. Find some comfort in that fact. Goodbye."

They let go of him. Red felt himself fall, looking up at Harmony's rapidly shrinking form, the grooves of the World Tree speeding by, the platform levels flashing one after another, the rain falling barely fast enough to keep up with him, the pitch black clouds hanging over the sky. It all disappeared moments after.