Back at the training camp, Tanya was finally getting a chance to show off.

It was evening again, and things were winding down from another (very similar) day of training. Everyone had gathered once again around the campfire, and Tanya was flexing her new muscles. Magical muscles, of course. Flexing actual muscles kind of wasn't her thing.

No, she was flexing her new...brain...muscles. Alright it wasn't a fully formed thought, but she was proud of it all the same. Her training with Goldie had shown her what she was lacking. Creativity. Experimentation. She had been reproducing spells almost perfectly...but that's all she'd been doing with them, making copies. Doing the spell in a textbook way. But a textbook is only supposed to be a guide. She needed to mix things up, try something new.

So she was trying something new, and it was enormous.

She sat on a throne of flower petals in the middle of an enormous bouquet she had sprouted from the ground. Every flower wasn't just a different color, it was a different pattern. There were plaid flowers and paisley flowers and argyle flowers. It was actually hideous, but that wasn't the point. She was finding ways to tweak her spells.

She hadn't just messed with the size and color though, she'd played around with the pollen. Each flower gave off a different smell. She'd decided to go with baked goods, so the bouquet smelled like an entire bakery, like cakes and pies and even that soft burnt smell that comes with a well used kitchen. That one was actually the argyle flower. If the colors were a psychotic mishmash, the smell was where she'd really let her artistry show through.

“Alright I gotta admit,” Evan said. “That's impressive.”

“I thought you would be making some comment about flowers being vaginal symbolism,” Betty said.

“Nah not this time,” Evan shook his head. “I'm too impressed.”

“Then allow me to make a comment on the subject of a vaginal symbol smelling of warm cookies...”

“Babe,” Trevor said, putting an arm around her shoulder. “Maybe not.”

“But as we discussed when Jenny and Kyle were absent, the loss of a vocal tone within the group can cause confusion...”

“I think it's okay,” Trevor said.

“Very well,” Betty said. “But I will have a great deal to say about vaginal symbolism later.”

All of her friends appreciated it, but what Tanya was really focused on was her father. There was no way to call the smile on his face anything but proud. And that was...good. It was really good. She didn't have the common problem she'd heard about, where parents don't treat their kids like adults. Even when she was now legally an adult. No, she had the opposite problem. Her father seemed to act like she was a sixty year old woman with her own career, and no need for encouragement whatsoever. So finally having her father just look proud was...nice.

Her eyes were still focused on Dr. Myrden's face when is eyes went wide, and a spray of blood shot from his mouth. It took her a moment to realize what had happened. A long vine with a fanged mouth at the end had shot out from her bouquet and but down on her father's side like a shark. Goldie screamed in shock, and the other scrambled in confusion, but Tanya's mind had gone oddly still.

Someone hijacked my spell.

The bouquet exploded into flower petals beneath her and she fell to the ground at the feet of a woman with green hair, wearing leather clothes. Her smile was a little too wide, and green energy flickered in her eyes.

“Well isn't this adorable!” The woman said. “I get it, having fun, family vacay. Tell you what, hand over the genie and I'll just go away! Won't that be amazing? You're not going to do it though, we never do.”

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“Who the hell are you?” Trevor demanded, running in front of the group and dropping into a fighting stance. It was good tactical sense, he was the one who could take hits the best out of any of them there, but it was also just his nature.

“She's Slyvanandra,” Dr. Myrden said, climbing to his feet. Blood was still trickling out of the side of his mouth, but he glared at the newly arrived woman all the same. “The Forest Shadow. She's a terrorist.”

“Well technically they call me Lol'Thendmyr'niandalar,” Sylvanandra sighed. “Which literally translates to “the shadows in the darkest part of the forest where it is most dangerous.” But yeah everybody else just shortens it to Forest Shadow.”

“I'd heard you were an elf,” Dr. Myrden said.

“I am! Of course I am, I....oooohhhh nooooo!” She flicked her ears, and the human looking ears shot out into long pointed ones. “No, dammit! I did that so I could get on the plane without the Uzbedis finding me...are you telling me I've had my ears the wrong shape for days!? The whole time I was fighting that government bitch? Nooooo! I am so embarrassed. Not embarrassed enough to miss you all surrounding me and getting ready to fight, but pretty damn embarrassed.”

Tanya had scrabbled away from the woman's feet and joined the others, surrounding the deranged elf woman and calling on their powers. Sylvanandra turned to look at each of them, a small smile on her face.

“Trevor,” Kyle said.

“Yeah I know,” Trevor nodded. “You, me, and Evan keep her busy. Everyone else gets out of here with the doc.”

“Why me!?” Evan said.

“It's us three because we have the strongest physical enhancements,” Kyle said.

“I mean I'm more of a plan guy...”

“Evan!”

“Alright alright,” Evan sighed.

“Just remember Goldie is watching,” Trevor suggested.

“Hey that's an idea!” Evan perked up. “Maybe she'll take Goldie instead! Hey, crazy elf lady, do you want a blonde chick who's way to full of herself...”

“I will rip your pubic hair out by the roots!” Goldie snarled.

“Okay okay, I'm kidding,” Evan said. “Geeze, way to push the sale price down...”

“You're all adorable,” the elf woman laughed. “And that's a pretty good plan. But the problem is that I'm way, waystronger. Than all of you. Put together. On your best day. On steroids. With...oh, another item to make the length of this list funnier. Whatever I'm bored now!”

Vines erupted from around her feet and grabbed them all before any of them had a chance to move. Dr. Myrden coughed up more blood as he was squeezed, but the only one she had eyes for was Jenny. The vine lowered the genie down until she was face to face with the elf, struggling in the vine's grip.

“Look at you!” Sylvanandra said. “The last genie. And you're gorgeous. Been having fun on your little forest retreat? Hmm, of course if you're out of the lamp someone around here is your master. And we need you not to have a master or we can't make a wish. I mean that's really the whole point of you, right? So are you gonna tell me which one it is? I bet it's one of these nice handsome guys. Oh, please tell me it's not that little reedy one, that would break my heart.”

“Hey!” Evan shouted. Right at the same instant as Goldie yelled “He's not that bad!”

“Aww,” Evan said. “You care!”

“If we survive I'm going to kill you,” Goldie snapped.

“I'm not telling!” Jenny said.

“Oh good!” Sylvanandra clapped her hands. “Loyalty! That means he must be good and kind and all that crap. Which makes this whole thing a lot easier.”

The elf put her hand up to the side of Jenny's face and thorny vines grew from her fingernails, wrapping themselves around Jenny's head, sliding into her nose and mouth, forcing her lips open, digging into her pinkish purple skin. Jenny screamed.

“Hey!” Kyle roared, lunging in her direction. “Let her go!”

“Bingo!” Sylvanandra said. “Oh, honey, good choice! I bet you two have been having all kinds of fun since you got out of the lamp! I'd love to leave you to it, and maybe watch, but he's gotta die so...hmm. That's an unexpected complication. He shouldn't be able to do that.”

Kyle was breaking free of the vines. Not quickly, but they were starting to snap as he strained against them. The elf directed more vines to encase him, but he started breaking through those too. There was a pop from another of the hanging vines, and Trevor started breaking through his bonds as well.

“Okay fair enough stronger than I expected,” she said. “But it's still nit bridging the gap.”

And, struggling in vines of her own, Tanya knew she was right. The elf was more powerful than all of them put together, even her father. But she was distracted, wasn't she? And besides, Tanya had just learned how to ruin a nature mage's day. Sylvanandra had taught her.

Think creatively, Tanya thought, sending her power into the vines that held her hostage. She let her power seep into them, mix with them. She tried to take control of the spell.

“Hey!” The elf snapped. “What are you doing!? Stop that!”

Sylvanandra tried to counter with more power of her own, but as soon as she was distracted Kyle and Trevor started breaking their bonds faster. So she poured in more power, and more, but with every distraction Tanya gained control of more of the spell.

There was a moment of tension, of inheld breath, as the various forces found themselves in a stalemate.

And then the vines, filled with more magical power than any living plant should ever be, attempting to follow two conflicting sets of instructions from two different masters, exploded.