Back? # **Chapter Six: We’ll Be Home?** *Orlando, 8:15 AM* --- Song(s): **Christmas Without You - Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers** **Carry Me Home - Hey Rosetta!** --- After an eternity of waiting in line after line, the travellers finally settled in at their gate to await their plane's arrival. Clara and Mercury read novels they had brought, taking advantage of the lounge’s peace and quiet. Nuro and Astral were duelling in an online card game, careful not to let their friendly taunts disturb the other passengers around them. Pyx scrolled through her social media feed and Sydney listened to music while watching the flight information board, as they both tried to take their mind off what lay ahead. As a faerie who’d lost her wings after a nasty fall and a creature belonging to the depths of the sea, the thought of being trapped in a sky-bound metal tube for five hours didn’t exactly excite them. Since she was monitoring the board, Sydney saw precisely when everything went wrong. The listing for NorthPlane flight 1224, with service to Mistvale, changed from its cheery green ‘On Time’ to an unforgiving scarlet ‘CANCELLED.’ A series of pings and beeps sounded from the passengers’ phones, including the travellers’, as a notification popped onto their screens. Pyx was the first to see it, as it rudely blocked the cat video she had been watching. “ATTENTION: NorthPlane flight 1224 from Orlando (MCO) to Mistvale (YYT) on Tuesday, December 24th, 2019 at 9:00 AM has been cancelled. We're working to rebook your trip and will send you an update soon. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.” “Cancelled? The hell you mean, cancelled?!” Astral exclaimed, earning a few sideways glances from other guests. Mercury put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure there’s an excellent explanation for this, and it’ll all be sorted out promptly.” But even Mercury’s brows were furrowed with confusion and concern, a clear sign that not even he fully believed his reassurances. “Yikes,” Sydney muttered under her breath, turning her phone to the rest of the travellers. “You guys might wanna look at this -- we’re not getting home anytime soon.” The Mistvale airport’s webcam feed was on the screen. The travellers waited for it to load before realizing it already had. The entirely white screen wasn’t a technical issue. It was a blizzard. “Oh, come on!” Pyx groaned, voicing the sentiment of every other passenger at the gate. Since getting home was out of the question for the time being, the travelling party reclaimed their luggage as Nuro rented them another car to serve as a temporary base of operations. After all, they needed a place to discuss some confidential matters. Once they had found a parking spot in the crowded cellphone lot, their impromptu meeting began. “Okay, we all agree that that blizzard isn’t natural, right? There’s something dark-magicky going on,” Pyx started. Sydney sighed. “Yep. And I’d bet you anything it’s got OLYMPUS written all over it. Merry Christmas to you too, Maryah,” she muttered, referring to one of the Organization’s leaders -- her estranged mother. Astral groaned. “Wonderful. That’s just peachy, isn’t it. I guess this is what we get for being stupid enough to travel on Christmas Eve. Those stupid OLYMPUS creeps stranding us a million miles away, wasting away in a truck while god-knows-what happens at home. This sucks.” “While I’ll agree with you on the ‘sucking’ part, sweetpea, we don’t just have to ‘waste away.’ I’m sure we can help, even from here.” Mercury nodded, squeezing his girlfriend’s hand. “Clara’s right, Astral. While we can’t be on the ground in Mistvale, we can still try to figure out what’s going on and help put things back on track. Like a ‘mission control’ of sorts, if you will.” “Damn straight, Merc,” Nuro chimed in with his agreement. “I’m gonna start calling some people. If we want to get home by tonight, there’s no time to waste.” As soon as he took his phone off airplane mode to connect it to the car, he was met with a series of texts from ‘Asshole 💖.’ Each was written as briefly and bluntly as possible, entirely in lowercase. Even through text, Taron didn’t waste his words. (As for the rude contact name, it went both ways: in Taron’s phone, Nuro was ‘Dumbass 💖.’ The two had been best friends for so long that politeness had gone out the window.) “portals to earth shut down. your flight delayed too. tf is going on?” “IDK,” Nuro answered. “Gonna call Fi now. Let you know what I find out?” “you better.” “I pity whoever’s near him at the ITT,” Pyx laughed after reading the messages. “Dude’s going stir-crazy.” Switching from Taron’s contact to Fileran’s, Nuro called his brother. The call went straight to voicemail, not even a hint of a connection. Nuro rolled his eyes. “His phone’s probably dead. I’ll call Burgh.” The phone rang once, twice, three times…nothing. Just the cold, robotic timbre of his girlfriend’s prerecorded message. Mercury raised an eyebrow. “That’s odd. Miranda always answers her phone.” Burgundy allowed very few people to know her real name, let alone use it, but Mercury had earned the privilege. “Oh well, who’s next?” “Try Spencer,” Astral suggested. “He usually picks up, and if anyone knows what’s going on with OLYMPUS, it’s him.” Nuro tried Spencer’s number, but much like what had happened with Fileran, the connection ended before it even began. “This is getting ridiculous…any other suggestions?” “I asked the chat what’s going on at home,” Sydney interjected, scrolling through messages from her friends’ group text. “Beyond a storm and a blackout, they don’t know any more than we do. Though there’s whispers of something happening at the festival grounds.” “Which isn’t reassuring,” Clara added, concerned. “Nope,” Astral concurred. “Now, we all know Willow doesn’t answer her phone on a good day, and Taron’s clearly in the dark as much as we are. So, that leaves Mirina.” “Here goes nothing, I guess.” Nuro half-heartedly dialled Mirina’s number, leaving it to ring. “...Hello?” Her voice was barely audible, broken by weariness and choppy winds. “Hey, Miri,” Pyx answered since the phone was on speaker. “What the hell is going on?! Our flight is cancelled because of a freak storm, the portals shut down, and you’re the first person we’ve been able to get a hold of!” Mirina sucked in a ragged breath. “Yeah, about that…A billion different bad things happened in fifteen minutes. Willow showed up possessed by the Lord of Frost and Despair; his snowstorm utterly obliterated the Festival grounds, knocked the power out, and is actively ransacking Mistvale…oh, yeah, and Fileran’s an ICE STATUE!” Mirina’s quivering voice cracked with panic, giving way to terrified sobs. “Gods, Miri, that’s…that’s a lot,” Pyx struggled for words to console her cousin while she held Nuro’s trembling hand. Anything Nuro wanted to say died in his throat, choked by panic and shame. He wanted nothing more than to hop on a plane, get home, and deal with that damn demon himself. After all, he was partially to blame for this mess, wasn’t he? If he hadn’t been so nervous about the concert, hadn’t wished to delay the inevitable, and wasn’t such a selfish, spineless coward, none of this would have happened. He didn’t notice the tears spilling down his cheeks until Pyx passed him a tissue. She squeezed his hand tightly, a silent reassurance. He’ll be okay. “A lot. A lot -- yeah, you’re telling me!” Mirina took a few shallow gasps, gathering her thoughts. “I think Burgundy’s mostly fine, but she slipped and fell trying to fight the demon. She’s just sitting there in silence. She nodded when I asked her if she was okay, though. I’m just…I’m at a bit -- okay, a lot -- of a loss for what I’m supposed to do here. I’m in way over my head. Without Burgundy, Fileran, and you guys…I think we might have to cancel the Festival.” “Oh, Miri, I really wish I could be there for you right now,” Pyx whispered sadly. “Me too,” Mirina murmured. “That’s quite the predicament,” Mercury spoke up. “But I don’t think it’s necessary to go that far just yet.” “Y-you don’t?” “Not at the moment, at least. We’ve still got time and options, and we’ll help you figure out how to move forward, alright?” His voice radiated warmth and kindness, channelling every ounce of princely charm and wisdom he could. A hint of a smile crept into Mirina’s tone. “I need all the help I can get. Thank you.” “No problem at all, my dear. We’re family; it’s what we’re here for. Now, I believe your first order of business should be to track down Spencer. We couldn’t contact him, but he should have some insight into Willow’s current situation.” “Essentially, find Spencer and find out what’s happening?” “Precisely.” “See, I would go do that, but if we have any hope of fixing this in time for tonight, there’s no time to waste around here. Burgundy’s in no condition to help me, and Fileran…oh gods, poor Fileran. Stop looking over there, Mirina, you’ll just fall apart…” “Mirina?” Sydney asked. “Have you asked anyone else to help you? I mean, if there’s one thing I know about the magical community, it’s that they’re more than willing to lend a hand, especially at times like this.” “I considered that, yes, but it is Christmas Eve. I’m sure most people have their plans already. I wouldn’t want to intrude.” “Dear, I don’t think it would be an ‘intrusion’ if you asked for volunteers to lend a hand,” Clara replied. “Most of the Magispace’s residents would be planning to attend the Festival tonight anyway, so it’s not too much to ask them to put up a few decorations or clear some snow.” “Auntie C’s right, Mirina,” Astral added, backing her aunt. “And if you don’t want to bother strangers, ask the Peacekeepers. They asked us to help us with this in the first place. If they didn’t pitch in, I’d have to give ‘em a piece of my mind.” “Oh! You’re right -- I was so tied up with everything, I hadn’t even considered that…” Mirina answered sheepishly. “Thanks, Astral. And everyone else. I…I think I got this.” “Glad to hear it,” Nuro beamed. “Also, don’t worry too much about us. Worst-case scenario, the show goes on without us. It's not like we’d have any lack of talent with who will be there. Now, get goin’! Feel free to reach out if you need us; we’ll talk to you later. You’ve got this, kiddo.” “Thanks. I…I sure hope so.”