Ultimate Fairy: Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Ben 10 was created by Man of Action and is owned by The Cartoon Network, Inc. (Warner Bros. Discovery). Fairy Tail was created by Hiro Mashima and is published by Kodansha. I do not own any characters, settings, or other copyrighted material from either series. This is a nonprofit fan work created for entertainment purposes only.

…

Ultimate Fairy

Chapter 5: Dreaming Big

…

Morning in Marigold Hollow arrived with the low clang of bells and the distant whistle of a train pulling through the station across town.

Ben stepped out of the inn with his hands tucked into his jacket pockets and the pack of supplies on his back. He paused on the wooden stoop for a moment, properly taking the place in.

Marigold Hollow had the bones of an old frontier town, though not quite. Pale stone buildings lined the roads, their roofs pitched and tiled like something from a much older age. Iron brackets held hanging signs over storefronts, window boxes spilled late-blooming flowers from second-story windows, and here and there smokestacks and metal piping threaded through the older brickwork.

"What are you looking at?" Carla asked, hovering effortlessly near his left shoulder.

"Just judging the town's architecture," he replied.

Wendy came out last, adjusting the ribbon in her hair. She wore a simple sleeveless dress in soft white and sky blue. The bodice was white with a modest blue trim at the neckline, fitted neatly before giving way to a light blue skirt that fell just above her knees. A narrow sash tied at her waist in a deeper blue, and the fabric moved softly around her legs when she stepped onto the stoop.

"Based on the towns from your world?"

Ben nodded as he started down the street. "It's got that whole old-timey, medieval meets industrial thing going on. Very dramatic. Seven out of ten. Could use more ramps, though."

Carla gave him a flat look. "What an insightful critique."

Wendy giggled and fell into step beside him. She looked much more rested than she had the night before. "So where are we going first?"

Ben glanced sideways at her. "You tell me. What did you want to visit in the last town before we got distracted?"

She blinked once, then her eyes brightened. "The library."

"Called it," he chuckled. "We need more details on this whole Sun Village thing, so the library's a good place to start."

"How sound," Carla remarked.

Ben smirked. "I have my moments."

The trio walked into the town square where Marigold Hollow had begun to fully wake. Townspeople gave the trio the occasional curious glance, though Wendy's presence seemed to soften some of it. She looked young enough and harmless enough that people weren't immediately alarmed by Carla being a cat with angel wings.

The library stood off the north side of the square, a narrow three-story stone building with tall arched windows and a green copper roof gone dull with age. A carved sign above the door read: Marigold Hollow Public Archive and Reading House.

Ben lifted a brow. "This sounds like the sort of place that would fine you for breathing too loudly."

Carla flicked an ear. "Then do try to spare them your usual level of disruption."

He shrugged. "No promises."

Wendy was already heading inside. "Come on."

The air within smelled of paper, dust, leather, and wood polished a thousand times over. Tall shelves stretched in neat rows beneath dark ceiling beams, while brass lacrima-lamps cast a warm glow over the aisles. After a quick word at the front, the trio was pointed toward the local history and folklore section.

A few minutes later, they had claimed a table near the window with a small stack of books between them. Wendy opened a thick green volume titled Legends and Lost Settlements of Fiore, while Ben took a slimmer brown book filled with frontier accounts and travel records. Carla landed lightly on the edge of the table and looked over the pile.

"Let's hope one of those contains something actually useful," she said.

Wendy had already opened the green book. Her brown eyes moved quickly across the page, then widened the moment she found what she was looking for.

"Ben, listen to this."

He dropped down beside her and leaned in as she read.

"'In southern Fiore, beyond the dry ridges and sun-scorched valleys, there are tales of a hidden settlement known as the Village of the Sun. Some accounts claim it is inhabited by Giants, ancient people of enormous stature, who dwell among the rocks and worship an everlasting flame as their guardian deity.'"

"Huh. Okay, that's actually pretty cool."

She kept reading, her voice growing more animated.

"'The flame is said to burn without fuel and without end, visible from afar like a second sun caught upon the earth. Travelers who seek the village rarely find it, and those who do are often dismissed as storytellers, drunkards, or both.'"

Carla's brow lifted. "An unfortunate standard for legends."

Ben opened the brown travel journal and flipped ahead a few pages. "Hold on. I found something." He cleared his throat and read with exaggerated importance. "'Third day through the southern stone barrens. Locals warned us not to press east toward the mountain basin. Spoke again of Giant folk and a holy flame. Found no village, but from a ridge at dusk did witness a strange golden blaze far in the distance where no settlement was marked on our maps.'"

Wendy leaned closer, eyes shining. "That sounds real."

"Or at least real enough that somebody definitely saw something."

Carla drifted nearer, peering at the page. "Read the next line."

Ben scanned lower. "'My guide refused to continue, claiming the fire watches strangers as men do with wolves.'" He paused, then glanced up. "Okay, yeah. If it's some kind of guardian flame, that tracks."

Wendy was still absorbed in the green book. "It says here some people believed the Giants worshipped the flame because it protected them from terrible winters and enemies a long time ago."

For the next few minutes, the only sounds were turning pages and the occasional quiet comment between them. Then Wendy found a rough regional map spread across two pages. It showed the southern stretches of Fiore fading from settled roads into desert and mountain symbols.

"There," Wendy said quickly, pointing.

An annotation in the margin beside one of the ranges read: old tales place the Sun Village somewhere beyond the southern desert ridges.

Ben squinted at it. "That is not even a little specific."

"It's more specific than nothing," Wendy argued at once.

"She's right," Carla said. "At least we know the general direction. South, then into the desert mountains. That is considerably better than wandering around and hoping a village of Giants appears by accident."

Ben shut the journal with a soft thump and stood, energy already returning to him. "Alright then. That's our next stop."

Wendy looked up at him, her eyes practically glowing. "Really?"

Ben grinned. "A hidden mountain village full of Giants with an eternal flame in the middle? Yeah, I'm not passing that up."

"Yes!" Wendy cheered, hugging the book to her chest.

Carla crossed her arms. "So we're basing our travel plans entirely on an old legend."

Ben looked at her sideways, smirking. "Don't even start. You're interested too."

Carla looked away with practiced dignity. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Wendy giggled. "She is."

"I heard that, child."

Wendy straightened immediately, though her smile stayed put. "So… are we leaving now?"

Carla let out a small sigh, but there was no real irritation behind it. "Not immediately. We should restock our supplies before we leave town. The trip to southern Fiore will take at least two days, likely longer if the terrain becomes difficult."

"Two days?" Ben repeated, and then a knowing grin spread across his face. "Actually… I might have a faster option."

…

Terraspin flew high above the land, his broad shell cutting through the open sky while his fan blade-like arms spun like a helicopter. Wind rushed over his shell in strong, chilly currents.

Wendy lay flat against the curve of his shell, bundled in her yellow-and-blue jacket with both hands clinging to the front edge while her blue hair, tied into a ponytail, whipped behind her. Carla, wearing her own small pink jacket against the cold, was braced just beside her.

"Carla," Wendy called over the wind, "you don't have to hold me quite so tight!"

"Yes, I do!" One paw kept a firm hold on Wendy, while the other clutched a brass compass.

"But Carla even if you slipped off, you can just fly."

Carla's ears twitched. "I am well aware, child. I'm not holding onto you for my sake. If you lose your grip, I am not letting you plummet to your death."

"Wow. Good to know the trust is really strong up there," Terraspin said dryly.

"This has nothing to do with trust," Carla replied. "It has everything to do with Wendy's dreadful habit of forgetting basic caution the moment she gets excited."

"I do not forget basic caution!"

Terraspin chuckled. "Sure."

"Ben!" Wendy huffed.

"Hey, I'm just saying, Carla's not exactly inventing this out of nowhere." His tone turned lighter. "Anyway, am I still going the right way?"

Carla glanced down at the compass again. "Yes. Keep heading southwest."

"Can do."

Below them, the land rolled by in long, fading bands of color. The greener countryside had already thinned into scrub and dusty plains. Brown grass gave way to cracked earth, scattered brush, and occasional outcroppings of stone jutting from the ground. Farther ahead, the terrain grew harsher still. Long, narrow rock formations speared up toward the sky in clustered rows.

Wendy looked down in wonder. "It's so different from up here."

"Everything's different from up here," Terraspin replied. Even without turning his head, the grin in his voice was obvious. "That's kind of the point."

Wendy smiled despite herself. "It still feels amazing."

Carla muttered, "The word I would use is 'unnecessary.'"

"That's because you hate fun," Terraspin said.

"I do not hate fun."

The turtle-alien snorted. "You hate my kind of fun."

"There is a difference."

Wendy giggled.

Terraspin continued flying, his spinning appendages maintaining their rhythm. There was little sign of life on the ground apart from the occasional lizard-like movement darting between stones and the distant shadow of some bird circling far below.

Wendy's expression then changed as her nose twitched.

She lifted her head a little, frowning. "Ben… slow down."

Terraspin's fans eased just enough to lower their speed without losing altitude. "What's wrong?"

Wendy inhaled again, more carefully this time. The dry desert air rushed into her nostrils, carrying dust, sunbaked earth, and... something else.

"It's strange," she murmured. "It smells… kind of human."

Carla blinked. "Human? Out here in the desert?"

Wendy nodded, eyes narrowing. "Not exactly. It's similar, just… different."

Terraspin followed the direction of Wendy's gaze and adjusted course without hesitation.

Below, southern Fiore's desert opened into a rocky expanse broken by towering, elongated stone formations that speared upward toward the sky. Some were tall and slender like weathered pillars, while smaller rocks lay scattered all throughout the sun-scorched terrain.

And there, rising from within it, was the village.

Pale stone buildings stood at different heights where the ground naturally lifted and dipped, the settlement shaped around the terrain instead of forcing it flat. Some structures resembled enormous houses with steep pitched roofs made of squared tiles, while others rose like angular towers of brick and stone.

On the far side of the village, between large rocky spires, rose a great golden blaze.

Wendy's breath caught. "There…" she whispered. "That has to be it."

Even Carla went quiet for a moment. "The Eternal Flame…"

Terraspin angled his head, staring at the towering fire. "Yeah… That's definitely not a normal campfire."

(A/N: Only image of Sun Village where it wasn't frozen that I could find)

The Geochelone Aerios banked lower after that, descending toward a worn dirt road that stretched from the village gate in a straight line through the stone-studded terrain. It ended at a massive gate set between thick, pale walls, making the place look less like a village and more like a fortress.

Terraspin touched down in a swirl of dust, his blade-like arms spinning slower and slower until they finally eased to a stop. He settled onto the ground, and the third blade beneath him split and reformed into legs as his head popped out from under the rim of his shell.

As Wendy and Carla climbed off, Terraspin said, "Thank you for flying Air Terraspin, please check to make sure you have all personal belongings before exiting, especially dignity."

Wendy blinked while Carla only stared at him.

Pushing himself upright, Terraspin looked between them. "It was an airline joke. Get it?"

"An airline?" Wendy asked, tilting her head.

"Oh. Right." He mentally winced. "You guys don't have those here."

Wendy gave a small, sheepish smile. "I figured it was supposed to be funny."

"That is a very generous interpretation," Carla said dryly.

Terraspin put a flipper to his chest. "Wow. Tough crowd."

The three of them then turned their attention to the enormous gate looming in the distance.

The tortoise-like alien let out a low hum. "Guess we go over there and knock, huh?"

Carla glanced at him. "How long do you intend to remain in that form?"

Terraspin gave the closest thing his broad, shelled body could manage to a shrug. "What can I say? I've been liking how it feels being Terraspin lately."

"Really? How come?" Wendy asked, clearly interested. "I mean, Terraspin is really cool, so I won't complain."

"There may be some bias there," Terraspin teased. "But I dunno. Couldn't really tell you. Still, it doesn't hurt to stay as an alien until we know for sure these Giants aren't going to swat us on sight."

"They may attack us because of how you look alone," Carla pointed out.

"Wow. Good to know my human form may be the diplomatic option."

They made their way up the broad road together, and the nearer they drew, the more overwhelming the scale became. The rough stone walls cast long shadows across the road, making the entrance feel even more imposing.

Then two figures stepped into view.

Wendy stopped short.

The guards were Giants, just as the legends claimed.

They stood at the entrance like living towers, tens of times taller than any human Wendy had ever seen, and broader than any building she'd ever seen. Their bodies were powerfully built and rough in form. One carried a massive axe slung over his shoulder, its blade broad and heavy enough to split a building in half. The other gripped a thick spear in one huge hand, the dull metal tip catching the sun in a muted flash.

Even Terraspin had to tip his head back. "Yeah," he said dryly. "They're big."

Wendy leaned in just a little, eyes wide. "They're even taller up close."

Carla's tail twitched. "Try not to offend them immediately."

Terraspin smiled. "No promises."

One of the guards noticed them and slammed the butt of his spear into the ground hard enough to make the dirt jump beneath their feet and the ground to momentarily tremble. "Halt!" the Giant barked, his voice deep enough to rattle in Wendy's chest. "Outsiders are not welcome in Sun Village."

The second guard narrowed his eyes. "Especially humans." His gaze shifted to Terraspin, lingering there for a beat. "…And whatever you're supposed to be."

Terraspin snorted, feigning offense. "Wow. Rude. You guys never seen a Geochelone Aerio before?"

"A what?"

Wendy elbowed the side of his shell. "Ben," she whispered sharply, "no sarcasm."

"Sorry. Force of habit."

Suppressing a sigh, Wendy straightened and stepped forward carefully, trying to look respectful without seeming timid. "We mean no harm," she called up to them. "We only came to see your Eternal Flame."

That was, apparently, exactly the wrong thing to say. Both guards stiffened at once.

The one with the axe stepped forward, his expression turning harder. "The Eternal Flame is not for outsiders to gawk at. It's sacred to our village!"

The spear-bearing guard lowered his weapon toward them. "Leave," he warned. "Now."

Where's Gwen's negotiation skills when you need 'em? Terraspin thought.

He opened his mouth to try and salvage the situation with something halfway diplomatic, but before he could speak, the Omnitrix dial on his chest began chirping and flashing yellow.

A synthesized, feminine voice rang out from the dial. "UNCATALOGUED DNA DETECTED."

The Giants frowned in confusion and, before they could question it, a bar of yellow light suddenly shot from the Omnitrix and swept over the nearest guard from head to toe before disappearing.

"UNCATALOGUED DNA SAMPLE ACQUIRED. GIANT DNA NOW ACCESSIBLE IN ACTIVE PLAYLIST."

The dial flashed back to green.

A beat of silence followed.

Wendy blinked. "Ben? What was—"

"That is exactly what your watch did when it scanned me," Carla recalled.

Her eyes widened in realization. Hold on, does that mean he can change into a Giant now?

"Right…" Terraspin muttered under his breath. "Forgot Giants would count as a new sapient species."

The Giant who had been scanned stared down at himself, then at Terraspin. "What did you do, creature?"

His companion bared his teeth. "If that was an attack, your spell did nothing!"

"No, wait, guys!" Terraspin lifted both flippered hands. "That wasn't an attack. It was—"

The spear-wielding guard did not let him finish. "Enough of this! Attack!"

With that, both guards charged forward.

"Well," the Geochelone Aerio sighed, shifting his stance between Wendy and Carla and the charging Giants, "guess I should've seen that coming."

As the guards came in, Terraspin shouted, "Both of you, get back!"

Wendy and Carla immediately did as he said.

The ground shook beneath their charge and their large stride allowed them to cover considerable difference. Their footfalls pounded through the road and up into Wendy's legs, each stride kicking up dirt and sending little stones skittering. The axe guard reached him first, hauling the weapon overhead with both hands before bringing it down in a savage vertical chop.

Terraspin ducked and twisted aside just as the axe struck.

BOOM.

The blade smashed into the packed earth with enough force to split the road open. Dirt burst upward in a spray and a crack raced through the ground where the edge bit deep. The second guard followed instantly, thrusting his spear forward with both arms behind it like he meant to skewer Terraspin clean through.

Wendy flinched. "They're really attacking!"

"They think Ben's watch did something to them!" Carla snapped. "Which, to be fair, from their perspective, it did!"

Terraspin hopped backward as the axe guard ripped his weapon free and swung again, this time in a murderous horizontal sweep. The sheer size of it made the air groan. "I said it wasn't an attack!"

"That may be difficult to explain while being flattened!" Carla yelled.

The spear guard lunged again, driving forward with enough force that the tip punched a divot into the road where Terraspin had just been standing. Terraspin shot upward, levitating into the air as his limbs folded into fan mode. They began spinning rapidly, faster and faster, until the air around him howled. A powerful gust blasted outward and slammed into the spear-bearing Giant. The warrior grunted and braced, heels gouging trenches through the dirt as the wind hit him full-on. He staggered back two steps, broad frame straining against the force, but he stayed upright.

"Okay, let's kick it up a notch!"

The whirlwind intensified. Dense, hammering waves of compressed air rolled off him and crashed into the Giant's chest. This time the guard lost his footing completely. His eyes widened as his balance gave way, and then his massive body toppled backward and hit the ground with a thunderous impact that shook the road. Seeing his comrade dropped, the axe-wielding Giant roared and charged. He came in like a mountain with a weapon.

Terraspin flew to the side just as the axe tore through the space where he had been. The blade missed him by inches and slammed instead into one of the tall stone spires that ringed the road.

The sound that followed was sharp and ugly.

CRACK.

Everyone looked up to see a long section near the top of the formation had split loose. Stone groaned against stone as the upper mass tilted outward, then broke free completely and began to fall. Straight toward the spear guard on the ground.

His head snapped up, eyes widening.

"Look out!" Wendy cried.

She ran forward a step, planted her feet, and drew in a deep breath. Wind gathered around her at once, tugging at her hair and clothes.

"Sky Dragon's Roar!" A spiraling torrent of wind exploded from her mouth and struck the falling stone head-on.

The massive chunk shuddered in midair.

For half a second it seemed too heavy, too large, too unstoppable, but Wendy pushed harder, the gale screaming louder as it forced the slab off its path. The spire crashed into the ground beside the Giant instead of on top of him, exploding into dust and broken stone that rattled violently across the road.

A moment of silence passed.

The Giant that Wendy had just saved lay frozen for a moment, staring at the shattered remains beside him. Slowly, he turned his head and looked at her.

Wendy lowered her hands, breathing hard. "I… I didn't want it to hit you…"

Terraspin took the opening. He dropped back to the ground, resumed his bipedal form, and slapped the Omnitrix dial. Green light flashed, and a second later Ben stood there in human form with both hands raised, empty and open.

"We're not your enemies," he said quickly. "Look, I'm just human. Not a threat."

If the Giants were surprised by the transformation, they hid it well. But they did not attack again immediately. Instead, the two guards looked at each other, their grip still tight on their weapons.

Ben took another careful step forward. "Seriously. We came here because we were curious. We're travelers. We don't want to hurt anybody."

Wendy nodded. "It's true! We only wanted to see the village and the flame."

Carla floated a little higher, still tense. "And if we had wished you harm, the child would not have just saved one of your guards from being crushed."

"If you wish for us to leave," Wendy added, "then we'll do that."

Before either gate guard could answer, heavy footsteps thundered from beyond the walls.

Several more Giants appeared.

Warriors, armed and broad-shouldered, spilling out through the gate with clubs, axes, and spears in hand. Each had a Viking-like look, with large prominent noses and weathered faces beneath long, thick hair and full beards that fell over leather and fur garments fitted to their enormous frames. Their expressions were grim, and from the way they spread out, it was obvious they were preparing to surround the trio.

Wendy and Carla tensed at the sight.

Ben readied himself to mentally trigger the Omnitrix if things went south.

Then the guard Wendy had saved moved, stepping in front of them and throwing one massive arm out to halt the others.

He barked something to them in a loud, rough voice, gesturing first toward Wendy, then toward the shattered stone slab lying beside the road. His tone was sharp and insistent. Even without understanding every word, the meaning came through well enough. The newly arrived warriors slowed, exchanging glances. A few still looked ready for a fight, but none pushed past the guard standing between them and the trio.

Ben let out a breath he had been holding. "Good sign?"

"Possibly," Carla said. "Do not ruin it."

The guard Wendy had saved turned back toward them, his stern face still unreadable, though the hostility in it had eased by a fraction.

"You are not like the other humans," he said slowly.

That made Ben pause. "The other humans?" he repeated.

Wendy blinked. "More people came here before us?"

The Giant nodded, his expression darkening. "They brought trouble."

That explains the hostility, Ben thought.

The axe-bearing guard still looked less convinced, but he no longer had his weapon aimed at them. After a tense pause, he grunted something toward the others. One of the warriors nodded and stepped back toward the gate.

The guard who had spoken finally looked down at the trio again.

"You will come," he said. "The chief will hear your purpose and decide whether you may remain."

Wendy straightened. "O-Okay."

Ben nodded once. "Fair enough."

…

The Giant escorted Ben, Wendy, and Carla through the gate at a careful pace. The warriors kept a loose ring around the trio, but they also watched every single step they took so they would not accidentally step on them. It made for an odd kind of capture. The Giants were clearly suspicious, clearly prepared to stop them from wandering off, and yet just as clearly making an effort not to hurt them unless they had to.

The moment they passed fully into Sun Village, all three of them slowed despite themselves.

The village opened around them in tiers, rising and dipping with the shape of the rocky ground. A broad dirt road led inward between immense brick-and-stone buildings whose scale made the trio feel as if they had been shrunk.

Houses and tower-like structures of pale stone and fitted brick stood at different heights along the terrain, some built partly into the jutting rock formations themselves. A few walls even bore carved decorative patterns worked into the masonry. Pitched roofs of squared tiles angled sharply overhead, while simple arched windows, skillfully cut straight into the walls and left empty of glass, broke up the broad surfaces of stone. Thick wooden beams framed upper sections and supported jutting structures, and bits of straw showed beneath some of the smaller eaves. Ropes stretched high between buildings, with strips of pale cloth tied here and there, fluttering lazily in the desert breeze like banners or washing hung out to dry.

Ben let out a low whistle. "Okay. Yeah. This place is definitely made by Giants for Giants."

Wendy tilted her head back, eyes wide as she took in the huge architecture. "Everything's so big…"

Carla's ears flattened. "An astute observation."

Wendy looked at Ben and lowered her voice. "Ben… do you have any aliens as big as them?"

"Let's see… Two come to mind."

She blinked. "Really?"

Carla stared at him and then sighed. "Of course you do."

"Yeah." His mouth twitched a little. "One can grow his body to around these Giants' size. The other one is…" He trailed off, grin turning sly. "Way bigger."

The villagers noticed them quickly.

Giants moved between the buildings in heavy leather and fur garments with rough Viking styling, broad belts and layered wraps hanging from massive frames. The men wore thick beards and long hair, some braided, some loose and wind-tossed, with axes, hammers, spears, or swords slung casually over shoulders as if carrying tree trunks was an everyday thing.

The women were just as large, dressed in fitted hides, fur-lined shawls, heavy skirts, and layered tunics fastened with bone or metal clasps. Some paused in the middle of chores to stare openly. Others drew younger children back behind them with protective hands.

Ben caught sight of one Giant child peeking around his mother's leg, his eyes huge as he stared at Wendy. Another stood on a higher stone landing with a wooden toy axe in hand, mouth hanging open at the sight of three tiny outsiders being marched through the village.

Then something large bounded across a side path ahead of them.

Wendy gasped.

A dog the size of a small wagon trotted by with a shaggy tan-and-cream coat. Its ears perked toward the newcomers, nose twitching, before a Giant woman called out sharply and the enormous animal padded back to her side.

Ben watched it go. "Okay. That's definitely the biggest dog I've ever seen that wasn't mutated, alien, or trying to eat me."

"Give it time," Carla muttered.

The deeper they went into the village, the more obvious the mood became. No one shouted at them. No one threw anything. But the looks were guarded, tense, and sharpened by fear rather than simple curiosity. Warriors stood posted at corners and beside stairways cut into the rock. A few rooftops even had sentries on them, silhouettes against the sun-washed sky with giant spears or bows in hand. The village was on alert.

Wendy noticed it as well. Her earlier wonder dimmed into concern as she looked from face to face.

High above the main road, set on a raised shelf of stone that overlooked much of the village, stood a larger building that looked to be some kind of communal hall or place of gathering. It was broader and more imposing than the surrounding homes, with pale stone walls, heavy wooden beams, and a sturdier, more deliberate construction that gave it an almost fortified air. Two carved pillars framed the approach, and a broad bell hung off one side beneath a timber support.

Must be their city hall, Ben guessed.

As they were led toward the raised hall, another set of eyes found them.

Half-hidden behind the corner of a building stood a human girl.

She was around Wendy’s age, maybe a little older, with pale skin and long red hair tied into twin braids that fell past her waist. She wore a practical, Viking-inspired outfit: a long cream tunic under a sleeveless red overdress trimmed with pale fur at the collar, hem, and split front panels. A wide brown leather belt with a round metal clasp cinched her waist, with an additional strap and small side pouch hanging at her hip, while leather bracers guarded her forearms and fur-lined lace-up boots rose to her calves. The mark of the Sun Village was stitched in white on the upper left side of her chest.

Her face, however, was what caught Wendy first. Not fear nor suspicion, but rather pure, disbelieving shock.

The girl stared at Ben, then at Wendy, then at Carla hovering near her shoulder. Beneath the fall of her red bangs, her striking red eyes looked almost unnaturally bright, wide with astonishment. Her lips parted slightly.

Wendy smiled and gave a tentative little wave.

The red-haired girl jolted as though she had been caught doing something terribly improper. Color rushed into her cheeks. She ducked back behind the corner at once, though not before peeking out one more time, eyes still wide with fascination.

Ben saw it too. "Huh," he murmured.

"What?" Wendy asked softly.

"Nothing," he said, though his eyes lingered where the girl had vanished. "Just… didn't expect to see a human girl here."

"It is certainly odd," Carla commented. "Then again, coming from this group, that may be the pot calling kettle black."

Ben snorted. "You're not wrong."

Wendy giggled at that.

The guards led them up the final rise and into the broad stone hall.

Inside, the ceiling stretched high above massive support beams blackened slightly by age and smoke. The chamber was cooler than outside and the stone floor was worn smooth. More cloth hangings draped sections of the walls, and carved motifs worked into the brick and pillars showed stylized flames curling around the outlines of flame motifs and a Dragon-shaped being. Nearby, giant warriors were carved with their weapons raised in reverence.

At the far end of the room at a large stone desk sat the village's chief.

He was older than the guards by some years, his beard long and graying, braided with strips of leather and bronze rings. A furred mantle rested over one shoulder atop heavy garments of hide and woven cloth, and though he remained seated, there was no mistaking the solidity of him. He looked less like a figure from a story and more like the kind of man who had spent his entire life making certain his people endured.

Several other Giant elders and warriors stood nearby.

The guard Wendy had saved stepped forward first. He spoke to the chief in a low, rough voice, gesturing once toward the trio, then toward the doorway behind them as if recounting what had happened at the gate. The chief listened without interrupting, his heavy gaze moving from the guard to Wendy, then to Carla, and finally to Ben.

When the Giant finished, the chief rested both hands on the arms of his stone seat and studied them for another moment before speaking.

"You stand before Hrothar, chief of Sun Village," he said, his voice deep and steady enough to seem to vibrate faintly through the hall itself. "Give your names. Tell me why you have come here."

Ben glanced once at Wendy and Carla, then stepped half a pace forward with his hands open and visible.

"My name is Ben Tennyson," he said. He gestured toward the others. "This is Wendy Marvell, and that's Carla. We're travelers. We heard stories about this village and the Eternal Flame, and we came to see if the stories were real."

Wendy nodded quickly. "We didn't mean to cause trouble. We were just curious."

Carla folded her paws neatly in front of herself. "Your guards attacked first, but given the circumstances, caution was understandable."

That earned her a few hard looks from the warriors lining the hall, but Chief Hrothar himself only continued studying them.

His gaze lingered on Ben as though testing him for any twitch of deceit, then shifted to Wendy with a longer, quieter scrutiny, and finally to Carla, perhaps still deciding what sort of creature she was. The hall had gone completely still around them.

Ben had been stared down before. By Plumbers, by villains, by people trying to decide whether he was reckless, dangerous, or lying through his teeth. He met Hrothar's gaze evenly and did not fidget.

After a time, the old Giant exhaled through his nose.

"You do not smell of deception," Hrothar said.

Ben blinked. "That is… not the weirdest thing anyone's ever said to me, but it's close."

Carla's ears twitched. "For Giants, I suspect that was meant as reassurance."

A few of the warriors looked faintly offended that Ben had made light of it, but Hrothar simply went on.

"Our village is uneasy," he said. "Yesterday, other humans came here."

Ben's expression sharpened at once. "The ones the guard mentioned."

Hrothar gave a single nod.

"They were what your kind call 'dark wizards'," he said. "Three of them. They came demanding that Sun Village surrender the Eternal Flame to them."

Wendy's eyes widened. "They wanted the Flame?"

At the title, Hrothar's face hardened, reverence and anger mixing together in equal measure. "When we refused," he continued, "they said they would return. And next time, they would have proper leverage."

Carla's eyes narrowed. "A threat."

"Yes." Hrothar leaned back slightly. "At first, my people did not fear them. Sun Village has stood against various beasts, raiders, and time itself. Three human wizards were not enough to make us bow."

Ben frowned, already sensing the setup.

Hrothar's voice dropped lower. "But during the night, several of our children vanished."

Wendy and Carla both gasped, eyes widening in alarm.

Ben's expression hardened, clenching his fists. "They kidnapped your village's children?" His tone was low and serious.

"There were no signs of battle," Hrothar said. "No broken walls. No slain guards. The children were simply… gone."

One of the nearby warriors tightened his grip on his spear so hard the wood gave a low creak in protest.

Wendy frowned solemnly. "That's awful…"

At some point during the telling, the red-haired human girl from outside had slipped quietly into the back of the hall. Small enough among the Giants to avoid notice unless someone was looking for her, she stood near one of the carved pillars now, fingers twisted in the fabric at her waist, her face tight with fear and grief.

Hrothar continued. "We believe these three men took them. They mean to return and trade the children's lives for the Eternal Flame."

Ben did not even let the thought finish settling before he stepped forward. "Then we'll help."

Every eye in the hall snapped to him.

Wendy turned toward him at once, not surprised so much as instantly with him. "Of course we will!"

Ben went on. "You've got kidnapped kids, dark wizards making demands, and some sacred flame they want for whatever shady reason. That's not even a debate."

Carla looked at him flatly. "You made that decision very quickly."

Ben gave her a look like the answer was obvious. "Carla, if someone took Wendy, I'd tear apart the kingdom finding out who did it."

Wendy blinked, and a quick flush touched her cheeks before determination took over again. She stepped forward too, hands clenched at her sides. "And I want to help find them," she said firmly, lifting her face to Chief Hrothar despite the size difference. "Giants or not, they're still children."

The old chief watched them both in silence.

Wendy swallowed, but she did not shrink back.

"We can fight," she went on. "And heal. And maybe track something if there's anything left to follow. So please… let us help."

The chamber remained quiet for another long moment.

Ben could feel the weight of the Giants on them, every stare measuring courage against size and sincerity against species.

Hrothar spoke again, slower this time. "Perhaps, the Flame has sent you in our time of need."

Ben glanced toward Wendy and she looked back at him.

Carla shut her eyes for a second and sighed. "Please do not let that go to your head."

Ben put a hand to his chest. "What? Me? Never." He then let his hand fall from his chest, the humor fading quickly. "Alright, then start from the beginning. What exactly happened last night?" He looked between Hrothar and the warriors gathered nearby. "Because three guys stealing Giant kids without a fight doesn't exactly sound easy."

One of the warriors near the front gave a low grunt of agreement, though his expression remained dark.

Ben went on, more serious now. "How did they even get close enough? Didn't the guards on watch see anything?"

Hrothar's gaze shifted toward a pair of Giants standing along the right side of the hall. Both looked grim and deeply ashamed.

"They saw nothing," the chief said.

A murmur rippled faintly through the chamber.

"One moment," Hrothar continued, "the night watch stood alert at their posts. The next, a great drowsiness came over them. They remember no struggle, no cry of alarm, nothing." His mouth hardened. "When they woke, it was morning. The children were gone."

Ben frowned. "So they just… blacked out?"

One of the guards stepped forward, clearly bristling even through his shame. "We did not fail through laziness, little man," he growled. "Those assigned to night watch rest beforehand. We do not sleep at our posts."

Another guard struck the butt of his spear against the stone floor once in support. "Something was done to us."

Ben lifted both hands. "Hey, I didn't say you were slacking. I'm just trying to figure out what kind of trick these guys pulled."

Wendy's brows knit with sympathy, looking toward the guards. "If you all fell asleep at once like that… it really does sound strange."

Carla's tail flicked. "It sounds deliberate." She looked up at Hrothar. "Magic would explain it neatly. A sleep spell, perhaps. Or some form of enchantment meant to dull the senses before forcing unconsciousness."

Several of the Giants muttered among themselves at that.

Ben snapped his fingers. "Right. Magic. Okay, that actually helps."

Carla glanced at him. "You sound as though you have thought of something."

A grin tugged briefly at the corner of Ben's mouth, more focused than playful. "I did." He looked back up at the chief. "Chief Hrothar, could one of you take us to one of the houses where a child was taken?"

The hall fell quiet again, though this time the silence felt different. Less suspicious. More thoughtful.

Hrothar studied him for a long moment, then gave a single, heavy nod.

"I will take you myself," the giant chief said.

A small murmur moved through the gathered villagers.

Hrothar turned, already preparing to lead the way, then stopped. His gaze shifted toward the back of the hall, landing on the red-haired girl half-hidden near the corner.

"Flare," he said. "You will come as well."

The girl startled so hard she let out a tiny yelp and ducked back behind the edge of the wall, like she could somehow disappear into the stone. Only part of her bright red hair remained visible for a second before she cautiously peeked out again.

Ben blinked. Wendy's expression softened at once. Carla remained still, watching.

Flare clutched at the cloth at her waist and looked between the three outsiders with open apprehension.

"M-me?" she asked.

Hrothar's expression did not change. "Yes, child. Come."

Flare swallowed and gave a tiny nod.

…

Chief Hrothar led the way out of the hall and back into the village, his strides so long that even at a restrained pace, each one ate up tens of meters of ground. Ben, Wendy, and Carla had to move at a brisk clip to keep up, while Flare stayed a little ahead of them, tucked close to the chief's shadow.

The Sun Village had grown quieter.

Giants still moved through the broad streets and between the towering stone houses, but their attention lingered. Heads turned. Conversations softened. More than a few pairs of eyes followed the three outsiders as they passed.

Wendy glanced toward Flare just as the red-haired girl noticed and quickly looked away.

Wanting to be gentle, Wendy hurried a little to close the distance, though she made sure to stay a few steps back. "Um… hi. I'm Wendy." Her voice was soft, careful.

Flare looked over her shoulder and blinked, seeming startled that Wendy had spoken to her at all. After a moment, she gave a tiny nod. "F-Flare," she said. Then, after a brief pause, "Flare Corona."

Ben kept his eyes forward, careful not to crowd her with his attention. "Ben Tennyson."

Carla hovered near Wendy's shoulder. "Carla."

Flare gave another small, nervous nod. "O-okay."

Chief Hrothar kept walking, but his deep voice rolled back toward them.

"Flare."

The girl straightened at once. "Y-yes, Chief?"

Without looking back, Hrothar asked, "How do you feel, meeting humans like yourself for the first time?"

That pulled Ben and Wendy's full attention to her.

Wendy blinked. "Wait… for the first time?"

Flare's shoulders drew inward. Her gaze flicked from Ben to Wendy, then dropped away again. "I…" She swallowed. "I thought I would be happy."

Her hands tightened together in front of her. "But I'm…really nervous."

The honesty of Flare’s words made Wendy's chest ache.

Hrothar gave a slow nod. "After what happened last night, I understand. The ones from yesterday gave you poor reason to trust your own kind."

Ben's mouth flattened. "Yeah," he muttered. "Some random dudes showing up to kidnap children will do that."

Flare risked another glance at him, then looked down just as quickly.

Wendy watched her with quiet sympathy. A human girl, maybe a couple years older than her, living all the way out here among Giants in a hidden village. Questions began piling up in Wendy's mind before she could stop them. Where had Flare come from? What had happened to her real family? Had she been left here? Lost here? Had she been alone before the Giants found her?

A familiar ache stirred in Wendy's chest.

"Do you live here, Flare?" Wendy asked gently.

Flare nodded. "I… I live with Chief Hrothar's family," she said softly.

That explained part of it, at least.

They rounded a broad stone path that curved upward along one of the village's higher tiers. The house they approached was enormous even compared to the others nearby, built partly into the rocky slope itself. Pale stone walls rose in sturdy sections, trimmed with dark wooden beams and decorated with carved patterns near the arched windows. A broad wooden door sat beneath a pitched tiled roof, and beside it hung strips of cloth in faded reds and golds that stirred lightly in the wind.

Hrothar stepped up to the door and, from his perspective, knocked gently.

To the humans below, it boomed.

A moment later, the door opened.

A Giant woman stood on the other side. She was broad and strong like the others, but there was a softness to her face even through the grief drawn across it. Her long hair had been braided back from weathered features, and she wore layered garments of leather, fur, and woven cloth, but no helmet. Her eyes were damp, and it looked as though she had not stopped crying for long.

The trio understood at once.

One of the missing children had to be hers.

Ben straightened a little. Wendy's face fell. Carla's ears lowered.

Hrothar's voice gentled by a fraction. "Yrsa."

"Have you found them yet?" Yrsa asked immediately.

Hrothar shook his head. "No. There are still no signs."

Before the disappointment could fully break across her face, her gaze shifted to the outsiders, and then to the small white cat with wings hovering beside them. Wary, but not openly hostile, she asked, "Who are they?"

"These humans," Hrothar said, gesturing with one large hand toward Ben and Wendy, then flicking a glance toward Carla, "and the feline may be able to help us find Sola and the others."

So that was her name. Sola.

Yrsa's eyes lingered on Wendy for a moment, then Ben, then Carla. At last, she stepped aside from the doorway.

"Then come in," she said, her voice rough with grief. "If there is even a chance… come in."

The inside of the home was enormous, built for bodies and hands many times larger than human ones. Thick wooden furniture filled the main room like carved structures in a public hall. Shelves, chests, and a broad stone hearth all rose to giant scale. Hides were spread across the floor, and a heavy table stood off to one side with bowls and cups the size of basins left half-touched.

Even so, the place did not feel harsh. Woven cloth in warm colors softened the stone and timber. Bone and carved-rock ornaments rested on shelves. Small charms hung near the hearth, swaying faintly whenever someone moved past.

"Wow…" Wendy looked around, then up at Flare. "You live here?"

Flare nodded shyly. "Mm-hm."

Ben swept another glance around the cavernous room, then looked back at her. "Okay, serious question. How does that work exactly? Because everything in here is, y'know…" He lifted a hand and gestured around. "Giant."

Flare hesitated, but Hrothar and Yrsa remained calm, and that seemed to steady her.

"There's a smaller room built into one of the inner walls," she explained softly. "And smaller things too. A bed, a table, shelves… things made for me."

Ben blinked. "Oh." He glanced around again, then nodded. "Okay, that's actually really nice."

Yrsa looked back at Flare, and for a moment some of the strain in her face eased. "You are our daughter too, Flare."

Flare's eyes widened just a little. She lowered her gaze at once, her cheeks turning pink.

Yrsa turned and motioned for them to follow. "This way."

They moved deeper into the house, passing a side chamber that Ben guessed belonged to Flare from the smaller doorway built into the inner wall. At last they reached another room, and Yrsa carefully pushed the door open.

Sola's room was large by human standards and modest by giant ones. A broad bed stood near the far wall beneath a window opening. Animal-fur blankets had been folded back neatly, as though someone had climbed out in the middle of the night and simply never returned. Wooden toys rested near one corner: carved animals, a ball made of wrapped hide, and what looked like a doll stitched from cloth and yarn. A half-finished braid of colored cord lay beside the bed.

Wendy stepped in first, closing her eyes and drawing in a slow breath through her nose.

Ben glanced at her. "You smelling the room?"

She nodded and inhaled again, more carefully this time. After a few seconds, Wendy opened her eyes. "I don't smell any unfamiliar humans in here." Her gaze moved across the room. "Only us and Flare."

Carla's tail flicked once. "So the kidnappers never came inside."

Wendy nodded. "I don't think so. If they had, I'm pretty sure I would've picked up their scent."

Ben looked toward the window, his expression sharpening. "Which means whoever took the kids got them out without entering through the house."

Yrsa's face tightened with fresh distress at that. Beside her, Hrothar's massive hands curled into fists.

"Okay," Ben said, lifting both hands a little. "I think I've got a way to figure out that part. But before I do, nobody panic, and definitely nobody attack me, alright? I'm about to use my… magic."

Flare, Hrothar, and Yrsa all looked at him.

Hrothar's brow furrowed. "The guards at the gate said your body changed in a flash of green."

Flare shrank a little closer to Hrothar's leg. "Wait," she said quietly. "You three are wizards? Like the ones who took Sola?"

Ben winced. "No, no. Not like them." He rubbed the back of his neck. "We're more the helping-people-and-not-kidnapping-kids kind."

Carla let out a dry sigh. "A clumsy explanation, but essentially correct."

With a thought, Ben activated the Omnitrix, and emerald light engulfed his body.

Hrothar, Yrsa, and Flare threw up their hands to shield their eyes, while Wendy and Carla simply closed theirs. By now, they were used to the bright flare of Ben's transformations.

When the light faded, a large copper-plated robot stood where Ben had been. Its body was round and bulky with stubby legs, its head small and set directly atop its torso without a neck or mouth. A metal winding key rose from the top of its head like the key of an old clock, and behind the glassy panel of its chest, gear-like mechanisms turned with the Omnitrix symbol positioned in the center.

"Clockwork!"

Flare squeaked and darted behind Hrothar's foot so quickly it might have been funny if she had not looked so genuinely frightened.

Yrsa stiffened. Even Hrothar's eyes widened.

"You really do transform…" Hrothar murmured.

Clockwork lifted both mechanical hands. "Do not panic, my Giant friends," he said in his German accent. "Zis form is for investigation, not combat."

Wendy leaned forward, brown eyes shining with curiosity. "What kind of Take-Over is this, Ben?"

Clockwork turned toward her. "Ze kind zat lets me be fashionably late… or extremely early." Somehow, the smugness still came through even on his simple digital face.

Carla deadpanned, "He still finds a way to be irritating even transformed."

Clockwork ignored her and reached up to grasp the key on his head. "Now zen," he said. "Let us see what happened last night."

Using both hands, he turned the key several times. When he finished, the gears in his chest began to spin faster, and a deep metallic hum rolled through the room.

Green light spread outward, washing over the walls, the floor, the bed, and the open window until the entire room was tinted emerald. The people inside remained untouched, standing in their normal colors while the rest of the space shimmered with projected time.

Then a green-tinted holographic figure appeared on the bed.

Yrsa gasped, covering her mouth. "Sola?"

Flare's hand tightened around the edge of Hrothar's sandal.

Wendy leaned in for a closer look. Sola looked around her age, perhaps a little younger.

Hrothar blinked, his expression shifting as he stared at the image of his daughter. "What magic is this?"

Clockwork answered without looking away. "Zis is a glimpse of what occurred last night. Keep watching."

Everyone fell silent again as the projection continued. Sola lay curled beneath her blankets, fast asleep.

Then, without warning, the sound of a horn drifted through the room. It was low, strange, and distant, as though it was being played somewhere beyond the village walls.

Sola stirred. Her eyes opened halfway, but they were unfocused and empty.

Wendy's face fell. "She doesn't look awake…"

The projected Sola sat up, climbed from the bed, and moved toward the window with slow, unnatural steps.

"It is almost like she is in a trance," Carla observed.

Clockwork moved closer to the window, and the others followed.

Outside, more green-tinted figures appeared along the village road below. Giant children. One after another, they emerged from different homes and stepped into the street in their nightclothes, all with the same blank, half-lidded expressions.

Sola joined them.

Together, the children walked through the village beneath the distant call of the horn.

Clockwork stopped the key and the projections vanished, and the room returned to normal.

He tapped the Omnitrix dial and, in a burst of green light, transformed back to human.

Yrsa spoke first, her voice low and shaken. "So Sola… left on her own?"

"Not exactly on her own," Carla said. "There was a horn before she rose. That sound was almost certainly the cause of the trance."

Wendy looked toward the window, still troubled. "So the children weren't dragged off. They were lured away…"

Ben nodded grimly. "Looks that way. Some kind of magic instrument, maybe mind control, maybe sleepwalking magic or whatever. Either way, whoever did this wanted the kids to leave quietly."

Hrothar's expression hardened into stone. "Cowards."

Ben looked back at him. "How many children are still here in the village?"

"At least twelve."

Ben's jaw tightened. "Then there's a good chance those wizards come back tonight to try again. If they're taking kids in groups, they probably won't stop with the ones they already got." He glanced toward the door. "I want to stand watch with the guards at the front gate. If they return, I'd rather be there before they can start that creepy Pied Piper routine again."

Hrothar studied him for a moment, then gave a single nod. "Very well."

His gaze lowered to the red-haired girl at his feet. "Flare."

She looked up slowly.

"You will accompany them as well."

Flare's eyes widened. "W-what?"

Her gaze flew at once to Ben, then to Wendy and Carla, her unease plain on her face. Even after everything she had seen, the thought clearly unsettled her.

Hrothar's expression softened by only the smallest degree. "No harm will come to you."

Flare still looked uncertain.

Hrothar lowered himself to one knee so that his voice did not have to carry so far. "You must learn this, daughter. As with Giants, there are good people and bad people among humans alike. Last night showed you one truth. These three may show you another."

Flare swallowed. Her eyes moved to Wendy first, then Carla, and only after a pause to Ben.

At last, she gave a small, nervous nod. "O-okay, Chief," she murmured.

Ben rubbed the back of his neck. "For the record, I'm fine with being judged after you know me better. That's fair."

Carla folded her arms. "An unexpectedly sensible statement."

Wendy smiled at Flare, gentle and warm, careful not to crowd her. "We'll be nice, I promise."

Flare looked away quickly, but not before Wendy caught the faintest easing of tension in her face.

…

Later that evening, the four of them made their patrol along the outer edge of Sun Village beneath a sky washed in deep violet and gold.

Ben walked with his hands tucked into his jacket pockets, eyes moving over the roads, the rooftops, the allies, and the long stretch of open rocky terrain outside the gate. Wendy walked near him while Carla hovered close to her shoulder with her wings out. Flare kept a few paces off to the side, close enough to follow and answer if needed, but still far enough to make it obvious she had not fully relaxed around them.

Wendy slowed for a moment and closed her eyes. She inhaled slowly through her nose, then again, concentrating harder.

Ben glanced at her. "Are you picking anything up, Wendy?"

The breeze pushed a few strands of her blue hair across her cheek as she stood, sorting through the scents moving through the air. She opened her eyes and gave a small shake of her head. "No. I can smell the village and a lot of Giants, but… nothing human. Not anyone unfamiliar, anyway."

Carla folded her front paws, walking beside Wendy. "If those wizards have any sense at all, they are staying well away until they are ready to move."

Ben let out a quiet breath. "Worth a shot."

Flare glanced at Wendy, then quickly away again. She still had her arms folded close to herself, having been silent for most of the patrol.

Ben noticed it and, because he was Ben, opened his mouth before thinking too hard about it. "You know we don't bite or anything. Right, Flare?"

Flare became startled. "Uh? Oh, s-sorry!" She looked at him with wide eyes.

Wendy frowned at him. "Ben."

"What?" he asked, holding up a hand. "I was being friendly."

"You're teasing her."

"I was trying to make her less nervous."

Carla's tail flicked. "You have a remarkable talent for doing the opposite."

Ben looked mildly offended. "Wow. Harsh."

Wendy gave him a small, reproachful look before turning her attention back to Flare. Her voice softened immediately. "You don't have to talk if you don't want to," she said. "We just want to help."

Flare hesitated, then gave a tiny nod. The group continued walking.

The road curved around one of the outer terraces of the village where the ground sloped down between giant stone houses built into the rock itself. Farther off, near one of the pens, a giant dog raised its head and watched them go by before settling back down.

Wendy glanced over at Flare again. "Sola is your friend, right?"

Flare's expression tightened, but this time she answered. "Yes."

"What's she like?"

That made the red-haired girl blink, as though she had not expected the question.

"She's…" Flare looked down for a moment, then a small reluctant smile touched her mouth. "She's loud. And nosy. And she laughs at things even when no one else does." Her smile faded into something thinner. "She talks a lot too."

Ben looked over. "That sounded suspiciously affectionate."

Flare's cheeks colored faintly. "It was not."

Wendy smiled a little. "It kind of was."

Flare huffed under her breath, but it was weak and lacked any real force. "She still is all of those things."

Wendy's smile softened. "She sounds nice."

"She is," Flare admitted quietly.

"Chief Hrothar and Yrsa seem really kind too," Wendy said.

Flare's gaze lifted toward the deeper parts of the village, where the taller structures clustered around the distant glow of the Eternal Flame. "They are."

Her answer came so quickly and with such certainty that Ben glanced at her.

Wendy heard it too. "You care about them a lot."

"They took me in."

"Took you in?"

Flare gave a small nod, still not looking directly at them. "I was alone before I came here."

Ben's expression shifted, the teasing easing out of it.

Flare continued. "I don't know where I was born and I don't remember my parents. I was very small when I ended up by myself." She swallowed. "I wandered for a while. Stole food sometimes. Hid from people. Slept wherever I could."

Wendy's face fell.

Flare looked toward the path ahead. "Then one day I came near the village. I was hungry and I thought maybe if I was careful, I could take something and leave."

Ben gave a faint wince. "Lemme guess. Didn't go according to plan."

Flare shook her head. "Chief Hrothar found me."

Wendy blinked. "He did?"

Flare nodded. "I thought he would throw me out. Or step on me."

Ben made a face. "Reasonable concern."

"Ben," Wendy said under her breath.

"What? It was."

Flare glanced at him, then away again, but there was the faintest flicker in her expression. "He didn't hurt me. He brought me food, and then he brought me here." Her voice softened. "Yrsa scolded him because he carried me in one hand like I was a lost puppy."

Carla snorted in amusement.

Flare continued, "They let me stay. The village did too. No one had to…but they did."

Wendy looked at her with understanding. "So until now… you've never met other humans?"

Flare shook her head. "No."

"That…makes sense," Wendy said softly. "Why you'd feel unsure, I mean."

Flare peeked at her. "It does?"

Wendy nodded, folding her hands in front of her as she walked. For a few steps, she looked down at the giant-sized road beneath her feet.

"My foster mother disappeared one day," Wendy said softly.

Ben glanced at her.

The bluenette kept her eyes forward. "I was little when it happened. She was just… gone. And I was alone for a while too."

Flare's gaze was fixed on her now.

"Then a boy found me," she went on. "He was a few years older. He helped me, and I traveled with him for a little while. Later, he brought me to my guild Cait Shelter." A small smile touched her face, warm and a little shy. "They aren't my family by blood, but they're still my family. All of them."

Flare was quiet for a few moments after that.

Wendy rubbed one arm lightly with her hand. "So… I think I can understand a little. Why you might still feel out of place sometimes." She looked up at the giant buildings around them and gave a sheepish little laugh. "I mean… being human in a village full of Giants probably makes that harder."

Flare paused.

Ben spoke up to give his two cents. "For what it's worth, the Giants don't seem to care that you're human." He shrugged. "They seem to care that you're Flare."

The red-haired girl turned toward him, surprised.

He went on. "From what I've seen, they're protective, not resentful. Big difference."

Flare's expression softened into the first real smile he had seen from her. "They're great people," she said quietly.

Her smile then faded as her eyes dropped. "That's why I hate this."

Wendy nodded. "Those dark wizards…"

Flare's hands curled into fists. "They kidnapped Sola… My friends. To them this village is just…" She looked away sharply. "Just something to use."

The breeze shifted again.

Wendy frowned, turning to Ben. "If that's true… Why are we waiting for them instead of trying to find them right now?"

Ben answered immediately. "Because odds are they're coming back anyway."

Wendy looked at him, curious.

He lifted a hand, ticking off points on his fingers. "Think about it. They're either coming back to take more kids or use the ones they have as leverage. Either way, if they're after the Eternal Flame, they've got a reason to make contact again." His expression hardened a little. "And if I'm right, I'd rather be here when they show up than halfway across the desert chasing footprints that might already be gone."

Carla hummed, nodding in understanding.

Ben went on, "Now, if they don't come back, then tomorrow we switch tactics and go searching for them."

"Okay," Wendy nodded. "That makes sense."

Carla's tail flicked. "Though it still leaves a rather important question."

Ben glanced at her. "Yeah. Like, why do these guys want the Eternal Flame in the first place."

Flare looked in the distance where the flame burned bright against the evening sky, its glow rising above rooftops and rock like a captured sun. "The Eternal Flame is sacred. It protects the village. It has for as long as anyone here remembers." Her voice dropped lower. "It is not just fire to us."

Ben followed her gaze to the Eternal Flame. "Then either those wizards think it's some kind of treasure, or they think they can use whatever power it has for something nasty."

Flare hugged her arms around herself. "What if they can?"

Ben stopped walking and the others slowed with him. He turned to face her fully, and when he spoke, his voice lost its teasing edge. "Then we stop them."

Flare's red eyes lifted to look in his green ones.

"We're getting Sola back," Ben declared. "And the other kids too."

Wendy nodded instantly. "We will."

Carla's expression remained serious. "Those wizards have already made the mistake of returning once. Making it twice would be foolish."

Flare looked between the three of them.

Ben with his easy confidence that somehow did not sound empty. Wendy with her quiet warmth and complete sincerity. Carla with her blunt certainty and sharp watchfulness.

Some of the fear in Flare's face eased, replaced by something smaller and more fragile.

Hope.

…

Night settled fully over Sun Village, and the glow of the Eternal Flame stood out.

Ben sat with his back against the village's stone wall near the front gate, one knee raised and his arms loosely folded over it. The two Giant guards stood a short distance away with their weapons in hand.

Or at least, that was how they had looked an hour ago. Now the entire village felt quieter. Too quiet.

Wendy had eventually curled up on the ground to Ben's right with his green-and-white jacket pulled over herself like a blanket. Flare had sat down a little farther away at first, but sometime during the long stretch of waiting she had drifted closer, her small frame tucked near Wendy's side. Carla lay beside Wendy, her ears twitching now and then even in sleep.

Ben had told himself he would stay awake.

That lasted right up until the heaviness started.

At first, it felt like simple exhaustion, his eyelids dragging and his thoughts turning sluggish. He blinked once, then harder, trying to shake it off. Across from him, one of the Giant guards shifted his stance and yawned wide enough to show a row of blunt, square teeth. The other rubbed at one eye, his spear dipping for a second before he caught himself.

Ben frowned. This isn't good.

He straightened a little against the wall. "Hey," he muttered toward the nearest guard. "You guys feeling… weird?"

The Giant opened his mouth to answer but instead swayed where he stood.

A second later, both guards dropped almost at once, collapsing where they stood with heavy thuds that shook the ground beneath Ben. Their weapons slipped from suddenly limp hands.

Ben's eyes widened. "Oh, come on…"

His own head then dipped forward. Drowsiness hit him harder this time, like something was reaching into his skull and flipping a switch.

This… must be that sleeping spell Carla mentioned, he thought. Gotta do something…

Just before sleep could drag him under, Ben sent a mental command to the Omnitrix and green light swallowed him.

When the emerald flash faded, Ben was replaced by a short, fairy-like alien with light blue skin and purple wings that buzzed softly in the night air. Blue hair stuck straight up from its head, and a green dress-like outfit with black zigzags hung over its small frame. White gloves covered its three-fingered hands, pink markings stood out on its cheeks and chin, and the Omnitrix symbol was positioned on its chest.

He blinked blearily, then opened his eyes all the way and looked down at himself.

"Pesky Dust? Thanks for the assist, Omnitrix," he murmured in a high, airy voice.

With a light flutter of his little wings, Pesky Dust lifted effortlessly several feet off the ground.

He glanced around and quickly took in the scene. The Giant guards were out cold, while Wendy, Carla, and Flare lay asleep beside the wall. Tilting his head, the tiny fairy-like alien smiled with quiet delight.

"Well," he said lightly, drifting a little higher, "this is interesting. Prr…"

He floated closer to the sleeping trio, his wings humming softly. Wendy's face was calm in sleep, Carla's paws twitched faintly now and then, and Flare's brow remained pinched even now, as though her worries had followed her straight into her dreams.

Should he have been focusing on the cause of the unnatural sleep that had overtaken all of them? Yes, absolutely.

But as a Nemuina, was he really supposed to ignore the irresistible urge to peek into a few dreams when three sleeping minds were right there in front of him?

No. No, he was not.

Pesky Dust grinned frivolously. "Oh, I just can't help myself. Prr…"

He extended his right hand and a sparkling greenish-white dust streamed from his palm and drifted over Wendy, Carla, and Flare's faces. All three stirred slightly but did not wake.

Pesky Dust's smile brightened a bit before he flew up and dove towards Carla. His body becoming a green energy-like dust as he dove headfirst into her sleeping mind. A tunnel of light passed through his sight as he made his way into the dreamworld of the feline.

Ben couldn't deny he was perhaps most curious about what the aloof cat dreamed of out of all.

…

When Pesky Dust felt himself settle inside Carla's mind, he opened his eyes and looked around.

Moonlight spilled over the Cait Shelter guild, too bright in some places and too dim in others. The edges of everything blurred and wavered. Pesky Dust hovered soundlessly beneath the eaves of the guild hall, his tiny wings humming.

Below him, Carla stood in the square.

She was smaller than she was now. Younger somehow. Her fur looked softer, her eyes wider, though they still held that same proud, guarded sharpness. Wendy was there too, even smaller, her blue hair stirring in the night breeze as she gazed up at the stars with quiet wonder.

But the dream would not stay still.

The square smeared into another memory. Carla was no longer outside. Now she was inside the guild hall, half-hidden behind a doorway while voices drifted around her in broken pieces.

"…Dragon Slayer…"

"…must not forget…"

"…your purpose…"

The words came fractured and distant.

Pesky Dust tilted his head. Were those voices from past memories?

In the dream, Carla pressed her paws tighter together. Her ears were pinned low. She looked frightened, though she was trying very hard not to show it.

The memory shifted again. Now the sky had turned blood red.

Carla stood on a high ledge she did not recognize, staring into a distance swallowed by cloud and firelight. Other feline beings like her moved around in flashes, white wings, shouting mouths, panic, urgency, but none of it remained long enough to fully make sense.

Then a woman's voice rose above the chaos, regal and firm, yet aching underneath it all.

"Go to Earth Land…"

"Save…"

"Mission…"

Carla stumbled through darkness, younger still, clutching at one thought so tightly it had become jagged in her mind.

"I have a mission. I was sent for a reason. I have to protect Wendy. Right? Was that… my mission?"

Mission? What mission? Pesky Dust lifted a hand, wondering if he could use his magic to help Carla remember more.

Then the dream warped violently.

For one heartbeat, Pesky Dust caught the image of Wendy asleep beneath a blanket in Cait Shelter. Carla stood beside her, staring down with wide eyes and trembling ears.

"That… is my mission, right? To protect? Or… something else…"

Carla sounded horrified by the second possibility.

Pesky Dust's smile vanished. Before he could drift closer, the dream cracked apart like glass struck from within. The terrible certainty shattered first. In its place came confusion, guilt, fear, and something deeper still, buried beneath all the rest.

Love.

Carla threw herself in front of Wendy in one memory. Argued with her in another. Hovered over her while she slept in a third. The emotions tangled together until even Pesky Dust could no longer tell where the mission ended and devotion began.

The dream began to collapse. The Nemuina blinked as the pieces scattered into glittering fragments. Then, just before he slipped away, Pesky Dust gently waved one hand. The drifting fragments caught the motion and softened, gathering themselves into one last memory.

It was simple.

Warm afternoon light spilled across the grass outside Cait Shelter. Wendy sat laughing as Carla hovered just above her shoulder, scolding her in that fussy little way of hers while secretly refusing to leave her side. A small picnic blanket lay spread beneath them, crumbs and cups and a half-finished lunch forgotten in the moment. Wendy reached up without even looking, and Carla let herself be pulled into her lap with all the offended dignity she could manage.

"I am not a doll, Wendy," dream-Carla huffed.

Wendy only smiled and hugged her tighter. "I know…but I just love you so much, Carla."

The sound of her laughter rang clear and bright through the dream, and this time Carla did not pull away.

Pesky Dust watched the memory settle into place, warm and golden and safe.

"There's definitely a story here," he murmured to himself. "Guess it'll have to wait for another day."

Satisfied, he turned and exited Carla's mind.

…

In the outside world, a content smile formed on Carla's face.

Pesky Dust's greenish-white gas trail then departed from Carla and shifted over to the next girl in Flare. His consciousness slipped into the red-haired girl's mind.

The Nemunia found himself standing in a broad, dim stretch of road beneath Sun Village's towering buildings. Everything was too quiet. The lanterns hanging from ropes above swayed in a wind he could not feel, and the Eternal Flame burned in the distance, its golden light somehow unable to reach where Flare stood.

She was smaller, younger, and thinner, having clearly missed many meals. Her red hair was shorter and messier, her black dress was simple and worn, and her bare feet were dusty. She stood near the village gate clutching her arms around herself.

Around her moved the shadows of Giants.

Their voices were muffled and indistinct, their words blending into a low rumble that Flare clearly could not follow. One Giant passed close by, and dream-Flare flinched hard enough to stumble back against a wall. Another laughed somewhere overhead, and she ducked her head as if expecting ridicule. She looked terribly small in a place built for people a dozen times her size.

Loneliness pressed against the dream from every side.

The scene suddenly shifted.

Flare sat alone on a giant windowsill in Hrothar's home, knees drawn to her chest, watching through the open arch as the village bustled below. The Giants moved around one another with easy familiarity. They spoke, worked, carried, laughed. She was inside the home, but not part of the rhythm.

The memory shifted again.

Hrothar appeared, crouching near her with exaggerated care so as not to startle her. In one massive hand sat a wooden bowl big enough to bathe in, though inside was a smaller portion clearly meant for her. He set it down slowly, his expression stern as ever, but patient.

The dream moved again.

Yrsa's hands, enormous yet careful, draped a stitched blanket around Flare's shoulders while muttering something that sounded suspiciously scolding. But the blanket was warm…and so were Yrsa's eyes.

Once more the dream shifted.

Sola, who was over twelve feet taller, passed by Flare from the side, laughing, nearly knocking her over with a flower crown woven from blooms too small for Giants and just right for her. Flare tried to look offended. Failed. Smiled.

Pesky Dust's own smile softened.

He lifted one tiny hand and gave a lazy, glittering wave.

At once, the lonely edges of the dream melted away. The distant Giants in the square sharpened into friendly faces. A giant woman offered Flare a strip of dried fruit. A pair of children waved her over to come play. Hrothar's heavy shadow fell over her, not looming now but sheltering. Yrsa adjusted Flare's clothes with brisk, motherly fussing. Sola Gently picked Flare up and headed toward the square laughing.

She was no longer alone…and never truly unwanted.

Satisfied, Pesky Dust twirled once and fluttered out of Flare's mind.

…

Back in the waking world, a peaceful smile formed on Flare's face as she snuggled closer to Wendy's side. Pesky Dust's greenish-white trail drifted away from Flare and finally shifted toward Wendy.

The Nemuina slipped into the bluenette's mind.

When Pesky Dust opened his eyes, he found himself beneath a vast sky washed in pale blue and white. Below him stretched a sunlit field at the edge of a forest, and at its center stood a Dragon.

The Dragon was enormous and graceful. Its body was white, its hide covered in soft, feather-like tissue that caught the sunlight with a gentle sheen. It stood on four legs ending in birdlike talons, and its long neck curved with effortless elegance. Fur framed its broad, somewhat flat head and flowed down along its neck to the upper chest, giving the creature an almost gentle, downy majesty.

Pesky Dust blinked twice in amazement. So that's what a Dragon in this world looks like.

It had to be Grandeeney.

Curled against one massive foreleg was a much younger Wendy, no more than a little girl, asleep in the grass with one hand fisted in the Dragon's feathers. Grandeeney lowered her head and breathed warm air across Wendy's hair, so tenderly that the whole dream seemed to quiet around the motion.

Pesky Dust smiled faintly.

The memory then shifted as the bright sky dimmed to gray, and the field vanished.

Now Wendy stood alone in the rain, far smaller than she ever should have been, her blue hair plastered to her face as she turned in frightened circles.

"Grandeeney?" she called. "Grandeeney, where are you?!"

There was no answer. Only rain, and the ache of absence.

Wendy fell to her knees and cried hard.

Pesky Dust's wings slowed. This must be when Grandeeney left, he thought as a sympathetic frown crossed his face.

Another memory rose in its place.

A figure emerged through the storm, blue hair damp beneath a hood, his face hidden by bandages and shadow. He knelt in front of the crying child without fear, without hesitation.

Pesky Dust narrowed his eyes. Is that the boy who found her? It has to be, right?

The blue-haired boy did not speak. He only held out his hand.

Little Wendy hesitated, then took it.

The dream changed again.

Cait Shelter stood beneath moonlight, its windows glowing warm gold against the dark. Wendy stood before it, tiny beside its doors, staring up as though she had found something too good to trust. Then the doors opened, and light spilled out. Figures moved inside. Voices. A home. Not the one she had lost, but a home all the same.

The memories began to flow faster after that.

Wendy laughing shyly over dinner. Finding Carla's egg. Sleeping beneath a real roof. Training. Reading. Walking with Carla at her shoulder. Belonging, little by little, in ways she had once thought impossible.

And then, at last, Pesky Dust found Wendy as she was now.

Not the little girl in the rain. Not the lonely child at Cait Shelter's gate.

This Wendy stood in a wide-open space full of wind and light, steadier now. Around her flickered the shapes of all the people she loved: Grandeeney, Carla, the unnamed blue-haired boy, the Cait Shelter guild, and even a newer face.

Ben.

Pesky Dust smiled softly at that.

Wendy looked peaceful.

He began to drift back, content to leave her in such a dream…until Grandeeney suddenly moved.

The Dragon, who should have been nothing more than a memory, slowly lifted her head and turned her gaze directly toward him.

Pesky Dust froze in midair. Hey, what's going on?

Grandeeney's eyes were calm.

"Please," she said softly, her voice like wind over open sky. "Continue watching over Wendy. I am truly grateful for what you have done for her."

For the first time since entering the dreams, Pesky Dust's smile slipped in surprise.

Dreams were not supposed to do that. Dream people were not supposed to see him. They were mere manifestations of the mind stuck in their own reality that he could observe as an unseen and unnoticeable bystander. Not that dissimilar from when he projected past events with Clockwork.

Grandeeney held his gaze for one moment longer, then lowered her head beside Wendy once more.

Pesky Dust blinked.

Still bewildered, he gave a tiny nod anyway, then quietly released his connection to Wendy's mind, leaving the dream undisturbed.

…

In the waking world, the last of the green mist around Wendy's head thinned and vanished into the night air as Pesky Dust emerged from her looking perplexed by what had just happened.

Pesky Dust blinked hard and shook his head a few times as full awareness returned. For a second, he simply hovered there beside the stone wall. The night was quiet except for the soft chorus of insects, the distant hoot of an owl, and the steady breathing of the three girls below.

Wendy slept with her back against the wall, Flare's head resting lightly against Wendy's. Both girls wore small, contented smiles. Carla lay close at Wendy's side, and even her expression had softened, no longer tight with worry.

Pesky Dust smiled. "Much better," he murmured to himself.

His smile then faded into a small, thoughtful frown.

Carla's dream had been strange. That whole thing about a mission, about being sent for a reason, had not felt like ordinary dream-muddle. And Wendy's… Pesky Dust's green eyes narrowed as he remembered the Dragon lifting her head and speaking directly to him.

That had definitely not been normal.

"Okay," he whispered, folding his arms. "That was weird. Cute, but weird. Prr…"

He looked from Carla to Wendy again, then gave a small, decisive nod. "I should probably look into both of those later."

For now, though, there was a more immediate problem. His attention shifted to the two guards who had suddenly fallen asleep. There was no way it was natural, not with how abruptly it had happened. He turned in the air, ready to fly off and investigate when—

A low, mournful note drifted over the village.

Pesky Dust stopped midair.

The sound of a horn rolled through the night from somewhere beyond the village, out where the sparse forest gave way to stone and desert.

A horn?

Recognition hit him. It was the same sound heard earlier when he used Clockwork to look into the past in Sola's room.

Pesky Dust froze. "Oh no."

The horn sounded again.

Below him, Wendy's eyes opened. He could tell at once that she was not truly awake.

Her gaze was half-lidded and empty, all warmth and awareness stripped away. Beside her, Carla's eyes opened too, then Flare's. None of them spoke, and none of them blinked like people rising naturally from sleep.

Wendy was the first to push herself away from the wall. Carla rose beside her in the same eerie silence, with Flare following a second later.

And it was not just them.

Heavier footsteps soon followed as more than a dozen Giant children emerged from the direction of the front gate, moving in single file with the same blank, trance-like expressions. There were no adults among them.

Pesky Dust drifted lower. "That horn… prr… whatever magic it's using, it's only affecting children."

Wendy, Carla, and Flare were no exception. Without a word, the three girls slipped into line beside the Giant children and continued forward. Part of Ben wondered why Carla would be affected until he recalled that, despite her maturity, she was still technically younger than Wendy.

Shaking that thought aside, the Nemuina darted in front of Wendy's face, waving both arms. "Wendy! Hey! Friendly dream alien here! Snap out of it!"

He scattered a quick burst of green sparkling dust across her forehead. Normally, that would have shifted a dream, broken a mental hold, or stirred someone from sleep. This time, however, the dust only shimmered faintly and dissolved into nothing.

Pesky Dust blinked twice in confusion. That's never happened before.

He tried again with Carla, then Flare.

Same result.

Whatever spell held them was resisting his power completely.

Planting his hands on his hips, Pesky Dust puffed out his cheeks in frustration. "Oh, that is just rude," he muttered.

The three girls kept walking.

For one wild second, he considered darting back to wake the Giant guards at the gate instead. But then another long note from the horn rolled through the night, and the children continued moving toward the forest without slowing.

Pesky Dust frowned. "Even if I woke them, we still couldn't stop this fast enough… prr… this trance is strong."

Fine. If he could not break the spell, then he would follow it to its source. He zipped after Wendy as she fell into formation with the other Giant children, heading down a trail that led into the forest beyond the rocky basin. Pesky Dust tapped the Omnitrix symbol on his chest, and emerald light flashed over him.

When it faded, Pesky Dust was gone. In his place hovered a tiny humanoid barely an inch tall, with grey technorganic skin marked by glowing green circuit-like patterns, translucent insect-like wings, a single large cyclopean eye, and the Omnitrix dial set into his chest.

"Nanomech." He announced in a small, squeaky voice. "Time for the sneaky approach."

Nanomech shrank himself even further until he was smaller than a fingernail. Then he darted through the air and disappeared into Wendy's blue hair near the back of her head, nestling himself between the strands where no one would notice him.

…

Half an hour passed as Nanomech watched the children move through the sparse forest. Branches scraped against their skin, and roots occasionally caught at their feet. The younger ones stumbled often, and when they did, they neither cried nor complained. They simply hit the ground, scraping knees, palms, and elbows against stone and dirt, then rose again with those same deadened expressions and kept walking.

One Giant boy fell hard enough to split the skin on his shin against a jagged rock. Blood ran down his leg, yet he did not even glance at it. He just kept moving.

A smaller girl tripped into a thorn bush and came out with scratches across one arm, but she continued on without so much as a flinch.

Nanomech's tiny hands tightened around a strand of Wendy's hair.

Every instinct in him screamed to act. But if he startled them now, if he broke their balance while they were already stumbling through dark terrain in a trance, they could hurt themselves even worse. They could fall down a slope, slam into stone, or wander off in a panic without truly waking.

So, for now, he stayed hidden and let the children lead him straight to whoever was responsible for the trance. After all, he did have to find the children they had already taken.

By the time the enchanted march finally began to slow, the sparse forest had thinned into bare stone and broken earth.

The line of children shuffled out between jagged rock formations and into a broad basin carved deep into the land. The trees were mostly gone, replaced by dirt and sand, scattered boulders, and long stone ridges rising crookedly from the ground like the ribs of something enormous buried beneath the earth. Moonlight spilled into the basin in uneven patches, silvering the rock and leaving the hollows in black shadow.

Ahead, a cave mouth yawned open at the base of the basin wall. The sound of the horn drifted from somewhere just beyond the entrance now, low and eerie, louder than before. Even Nanomech felt something crawl unpleasantly across his techno-organic skin at the sound.

The opening was large enough for Giants to pass through, but the ceiling dipped low almost immediately. The children at the front of the line had to bend, then drop to all fours as they made their way inside.

That was when Nanomech spotted the one playing the horn.

He was a broad-shouldered man standing around six feet tall. He wore a gray business suit without a tie, his collar turned up just enough to look deliberate rather than careless. Long, spiky black hair streaked with red spilled from beneath a black fedora, and though his expression remained composed, a smug little smirk tugged at his mouth in a way that made Nanomech dislike him on sight. His black eyes were sharp and cold, half-lidded with effortless superiority as he raised the horn to his lips once more.

The instant he blew into it, a purple magical circle flared to life in front of the instrument. The note rolled over the children, and not one of them hesitated.

The man lowered the horn slightly and smiled to himself. "There we are," he murmured. "Prompt as ever."

Nanomech's eye narrowed. "Evil wizard number one," he muttered, his voice far too small to be noticed.

Until he learned the man's name, Fedora was what Nanomech called him in his head.

As the children filed into the cave, Nanomech clung tighter and kept perfectly still.

Inside, the air turned colder. The tunnel sloped downward, cramped and uneven, then opened several minutes later into a much larger chamber lit by lanterns and lacrima lamps. The cave widened enough for even the Giant children to stand upright again, though they only did so to continue their blank, obedient march forward.

Waiting deeper inside were the others.

Standing closest to the center of the chamber was a man shorter than the one at the entrance. He wore a bright red coat with orange trim over black pants and black leather boots. His face was narrow and sharp, and the red-tipped bangs of his black hair visible beneath his ebony tricorne only made his expression look meaner.

"Evil wizard number two," Nanomech noted, immediately labeling him Tricorne in his mind.

Off to one side stood a man taller than both Fedora and Tricorne. He was easily six foot three, with a broad, well-built frame that made him look like he belonged in a quarry. His clothes were plain by comparison, a white shirt, brown leather vest, brown jeans with pouches at the knees, and sandals, but the simplicity somehow made him more imposing, not less. His rectangular face was blunt and solid, and his brown eyes held the look of a man who was already tired of the people he worked with.

"And evil wizard number three," Nanomech whispered, identifying him as Boulder.

Scattered around the chamber were a handful of men armed with simple weapons, watchful and tense. Just grunts, by the look of them. Hired muscle for the big three.

Nanomech then noticed the cages lining one side of the cavern floor. Though they were not made of metal, but rather stone.

Each one was large enough to hold several Giant children, with thick intersecting bars shaped from solid rock. Inside the cages near the wall, the children taken the day before lay asleep in huddled groups, breathing slow and even.

Nanomech's single eye narrowed. At least the other kids are okay.

As the new children entered the chamber, Boulder stepped forward, pressed one hand to the ground, and muttered, "Granite-Make: Cages."

A yellowish-gray magical seal flashed into existence before him, and a fresh row of giant-sized granite cages burst from the cavern floor, their bars shaping themselves in seconds.

Tricorne let out a low whistle. "I ever tell you how useful you are, Gordon. No speeches. No posing. You just get the job done."

"Hmph," Gordon snorted. "Someone has to, Joe."

Fedora stepped into the chamber behind the last of the children, horn still in hand. "You say that as though refinement is a flaw, little brother."

Tricorne, or Joe, glanced over his shoulder. "No, John. I say it because you keep acting like we're on a stage."

Nanomech looked between Joe and John. So Fedora and Tricorne are brothers, huh? And Tricorne's the younger one. Yeah, that tracks. They've got the same smug, punchable face thing going on.

"We are on a stage," John replied, brushing a fleck of dust from one sleeve. "The difference is that I appear to be the only one here who understands presentation."

"The Magtartus brothers at it again." Gordon cracked his neck once. "Can both of you save this until after the kids are locked up?"

Joe ignored him, his gaze catching on the back of the line. "Hold on." His red eyes narrowed. "There are humans in there."

Nanomech resisted the urge to tense as Joe stepped closer, peering at Wendy, Flare, and Carla with ugly delight.

"Well, that's interesting. A little blue-haired girl, a redhead, and…" He squinted at Carla. "What is that, a cat?"

John stepped forward, glancing at Carla with cool amusement. "She's white. Would that count as lucky?"

Gordon gave the trio a single look. "Why are they here? Sun Village only has Giants."

With the horn tucked beneath one arm, John regarded Wendy, Flare, and Carla with mild curiosity. "Well, anyone below the age of fifteen is affected by the horn's hypnotic spell," he said. "They must have been wandering nearby when the sound reached them."

Joe's grin widened. "So they got scooped up by accident?"

His brother gave a light shrug. "An unexpected bonus is still a bonus."

Gordon folded his arms. "Meaning?"

John's smirk sharpened. "Meaning they can be used as leverage too."

That seemed to satisfy Joe, who laughed under his breath and stepped back.

Under the lingering influence of the horn, Wendy, Flare, Carla, and the rest of the children shuffled into the new cages without resistance. Granite bars closed around them one by one, sealing tightly. None of them looked down, cried, or resisted.

Nanomech stayed tucked deep in Wendy's hair, unnoticed.

Joe let out an irritated sigh and turned away from the cages with a scowl. "How long until we get the Eternal Flame? All this standing around is killing me."

John arched a brow. "Patience is not fatal, brother. You should try it sometime."

Joe whipped back toward him. "Easy for you to say when you get to stand there looking all cool with the fancy horn while the rest of us deal with these giant freakin' kids."

The older Magtartus brother adjusted his fedora slightly. "Elegant is simply what happens when one has standards."

The tricorne-wearing wizard pulled a mocking face. "Ugh. Hear that, Gordon? 'Standards.' He talks like a nobleman who got lost on the way to his own funeral."

Gordon did not look at either of them. "I hear both of you, unfortunately."

Joe clicked his tongue and jerked a thumb toward the cages. "We've got enough leverage now. Let's tell those Giants to hand over the flame or their not-so-little brats get a one-way trip to Giant heaven."

Nanomech's eye narrowed, his tiny grip tightening around a strand of Wendy's hair. Was this guy seriously talking about killing these kids that casually?

John's expression cooled by a fraction. "Do not be so hasty, brother. Our plans should not end with us being pulped by a village of magic-resistant Giants."

That silenced Joe for all of two seconds. "Magic-resistant, not magic-proof," he shot back. "And it's not like we're exactly weak."

"No," John said dryly. "Just reckless."

Joe's grin turned sharp. "Funny. I was about to say the same thing about your ego."

Gordon exhaled through his nose. "Here's a thought. Maybe Master Hades gave us the sleeping spells because he didn't want us starting a war with a tribe of Giants who are resistant to magic and live in a stone basin with one exit."

That brought both brothers up short.

Master Hades? Nanomech filed the name away instantly.

John inclined his head. "Precisely. We were fortunate that he entrusted us with two sleeping spells powerful enough to affect even Giants. Magic of that caliber is not easily obtained."

Joe folded his arms, still sulking. "Yeah, yeah. Because fighting them head-on would've been annoying."

John gave him a flat look. "Fighting them head-on would have been idiotic."

Gordon crossed his arms. "Their size, strength, and durability would've made it costly."

Joe muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like, "Costly for who?"

John ignored him and lifted the horn slightly. "And then, of course, there's this little marvel. Master Hades truly outdid himself. A magical trumpet modeled after Zoldeo's magic. Crude in concept, perhaps, but undeniably effective."

The younger Magtartus brother snorted. "Crude? It plays one creepy note and kids walk themselves into cages. I'd call that inspired."

"It is inspired," John said, visibly offended by the implication that Joe had somehow improved his wording. "In my phrasing."

Gordon looked from the horn to the cages. "Now that we've got leverage, what's next?"

John's eyes shifted toward the mouth of the cave, and a cold smile touched his face. "Now," he said, "we open negotiations."

Joe cracked his knuckles, grinning meanly. "About time."

John adjusted the brim of his fedora with one gloved hand. "We'll head back to Sun Village by dawn. The sleeping spell affecting the Giants should wear off by then. Which means by then they'll be awake, angry, and desperate."

Joe's grin widened. "Good. Makes the bargaining more fun."

Gordon gave him a flat look. "It also means we're on a clock."

John nodded once. "Exactly. We speak to their chief before they have time to organize a proper response."

He turned his gaze toward the cluster of grunts lingering near the back of the cavern. "You lot will remain behind and keep watch. No mistakes and no wandering off."

A few of the men straightened at once.

Joe snorted. "Hear that? Don't be idiots."

Gordon folded his arms. "And if one of them wakes up fully, put them back down. Quietly."

Nanomech kept listening. "So that's it," he murmured.

These wizards had used a powerful sleeping spell to knock out the Giant adults, then used the magic horn to hypnotize the children. The abducted kids were hostages, and the plan was to trade them for the Eternal Flame.

Nanomech's gaze swept across the cages and his tiny jaw tightened.

The Giant children had already begun to sag where they sat or stood, their heads drooping. Wendy was slumped against the bars with Carla curled near her side, both of them drifting back toward sleep. Flare sat beside Wendy with her back against the stone, red hair fallen partly over her face as her eyelids grew heavier by the second.

For one brief moment, Nanomech considered changing forms right then and there. Something that could hit hard before the three creeps and their goons even realized what was happening.

But he stopped himself.

His thoughts flashed back to the collapsed mine two days earlier with Princess Hisui. He could not risk something like that happening again, especially not with so many children in the danger zone. On top of that, the children were still under the sleeping spell. Until it wore off and they were fully awake, he would not be able to get them all out safely anyway.

The impatient part of him wanted to strike now. But the more mature part won out and reminded him that patience was the smarter move.

"Just hang on, kids," Nanomech said determinedly. "I'll save you."

…

A/N: Hope all of you enjoyed this chapter! Apologies for the cliffhanger, but this chapter was getting very long, and I felt I needed to split it into a two-parter.

Big shout out to Masamune X23 for his help in editing, beta-reading, and consulting through the writing process.

Major credit to BálintM for his ideas of this chapter's skeleton.

For those wondering, John Magtartus, Joe Magtartus, and Gordon Slate were OCs I used in the original Ultimate Fairy. I've revised their personalities a bit, but they're honestly pretty close to what they were in the original story.

The next chapter will feature Ben and the gang fighting back against the three dark wizards. It should be released in the next two or three days.

Special shout outs for my Goin' Ultimate members. Thank you so much for your support!

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ToonBro

TuneMate2607

Wonder-of-Chaos

flonan Mcgee

Jacob Coleman

New chapters can be viewed two weeks before they're publicly available on my fan-fiction accounts. If you're interested, feel free to support me. If you can't, that's fine too. New chapters that are canon will always be released publicly.

I will be posting my stories on Fanfiction, Archive of our Own, and Wattpad simultaneously. Wattpad will have images inserted on the story because it's easier to do it there than on AO3.

Feel free to leave any comments and critique in the review box. Thank you for your support!#

Discord: Ultimate10#4472

Discord Server: https://discord.gg/mWZSxfPsZJ