Part Thirty-Nine

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After much discussion, it was decided that the decision would be made another time. The CBers had talked about it for some time around their nonexistent fire, but they couldn’t reach a conclusion. Some of the group wanted to seek Sylvia out, while others thought they should delay the confrontation as long as possible.

It was Goldie who suggested taking a break, to prevent the discussion from turning into an argument. The CBers all agreed and went their separate ways around the small camp.

Over the course of the morning, the weather had cleared up quite nicely. The sun was shining brightly, and a warm breeze blew. It was almost enough to alleviate the impending sense of doom.

Dusk wandered over to the shore of the pond, gazing down into the sparkling waters. Sitting down and slipping off her shoes, she dipped her toes into the cool water. She giggled as a fish brushed her ankle, then leaned back, tilting her face up to soak in the sunshine. The sounds of her companions faded into the background, along with all of her worries. Sylvia, the murderer, the future- it could all wait. For the first time in what seemed like forever, she was at peace.

That is, until she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders, pushing her forward and into the pond.

She hit the water with a splash, and after a moment came up for air, coughing and spluttering. She looked around wildly for the culprit and spotted Jubilee, doubled over with laughter.

“Jubi!” she exclaimed.

“You- you should see your face!” they said, holding their sides.

“Why would you do that?” Dusk demanded, and Jubi shrugged.

“It was funny!”

“Not to me,” Dusk muttered. She moved to get out of the water, but before she got a chance, she was doused by another wave as Jubilee jumped in beside her.

Jubi grinned. “See? Funny!” Dusk couldn’t help but smile in return.

Drawn by the commotion, the other CBers made their way to the pond’s edge and stared at their two friends.

“Why are you in the pond?” Holly asked curiously.

“And why in your clothes?” Bluebell added.

Dusk shook her head in mock exasperation, though she was quickly finding the situation more humorous. “Well, someone decided to push me into the pond.”

“That was me!” Jubi supplied.

Agent Winter let out a cheery laugh. “Sounds like fun!” She took a few steps back, then took a running leap, flying over Dusk and Jubi’s heads and landing with a splash in the pond. She shook out her short hair, sending droplets of water flying.

Bluebell and Gracia looked at each other, shrugged, and jumped in as well. Holly hesitated for a moment, but after a chorus of encouragement from the others, followed.

They all swam out to the middle of the pond, where the water was deeper, and treaded water as they talked.

“Remember the first time we were here?” Jubi asked. “We had that cannonball contest! Does anyone remember who won?”

Bluebell smiled sadly. “Strawberri, I think.”

"That’s right,” Dusk said, nodding. “I tried to get Alice to participate, but she changed her mind halfway up the tree.” Her voice caught on her AE’s name.

Win shot her an encouraging smile, then asked, “Anyone up for a rematch?”

Bluebell, Dusk, and Jubilee agreed readily. Gracia and Hollyshock elected to sit out, swimming back over to the shallows.

“How’s your arm?” Holly asked as the other CBers lined up by the willow. She had noticed Gracia favoring it as she swam.

Gracia shrugged, stretching the injured arm. “It’s fine. A little stiff and sore, but manageable.”

The two sat back to watch as their friends jumped from the branches of the willow one after another, creating fairly impressive splashes. They chatted about insignificant things, then stroked back out to meet their friends after the contest was over.

“I’m pretty sure I won,” Jubi said.

Win snorted. “In your dreams!”

“Care to be an impartial judge?” Bluebell asked Holly and Gracia, but they both shook their heads.

“I think we’ll stay out of this one,” Gracia said with a smile.

The matter was soon dropped, and the atmosphere became more relaxed. The CBers floated around on their backs, staring up at the cloudless blue sky.

“This is nice,” Dusk said dreamily. Bluebell sighed in agreement.

“Not to bring the mood down,” Gracia said, “but we should really talk about our plan of action.” Gracia had been on the fence about whether or not to seek out Sylvia.

Win groaned and splashed some water her way. “Oh, come on, can’t we take a break from all that? The sun is shining, we’re having a good time-”

“This is life or death,” Gracia said firmly. “The sooner we sort things out the better.”

“It can be life or death tomorrow,” Win grumbled in response. In truth, she agreed with Gracia, but she wasn’t quite ready to return to the harsh reality of their situation. It would be easier to just float along and forget the world for a while.

“Gracia’s right,” Bluebell said. “We need to talk.”

“What about Goldie?” Holly asked. By this point they were all upright and treading water again. “Shouldn’t she be part of the discussion?”

“We already know what Goldie wants to do,” Dusk pointed out. The Palace Keeper had adamantly stated that she thought they should hide and wait it out. Dusk, Bluebell, and Holly agreed with her, while Win and Jubi thought they should go after the rogue AE.

“Why would we wait for Sylvia to find us?” Jubi asked, shaking their head frustratedly. “We’re sitting ducks here! If we go to her, we could have the element of surprise.”

“Surprise can only get us so far,” Holly said. “What would we do after that? She can cause earthquakes, remember?”

“She might be able to do a lot more than that,” Bluebell added. “There are too many unknowns.”

Win frowned. “But what else is there to do? Hide in the forest forever?”

“That’s always an option,” Holly said under her breath.

Gracia shook her head. “We’re going to have to face her at some point.”

“And wouldn’t it be better to do it on our own terms?” Win demanded.

“It’s too risky!” Dusk exclaimed, but Gracia was nodding thoughtfully.

“I’m inclined to agree with Win. I think we should take time to plan and think things over, but eventually it’ll be best to seek her out.” She leveled her gaze at the other CBers, and there were mumbles of reluctant agreement. What she was saying made sense, but they didn’t have to be happy about it.

A little while later, after more fun was had, the CBers left the pond. They returned to their small campsite, soaking wet but all smiling.

Goldie greeted them enthusiastically. “Looks like you guys had a good time!” The CBers all nodded. “Why don’t you all go change into dry clothes?”

“Good idea,” Bluebell said with a shiver. Although the sun was out and the day was relatively warm, the breeze felt much colder after getting out of the water.

The CBers went to their respective tents, locating and changing into dry clothes. They all found low branches on which to hang their wet clothes, then returned to the center of the camp, where Goldie had managed to light a fire.

Dusk crouched near the flames and put her hands out to warm them. “Ooh, that feels good.”

Win nodded in agreement, then asked, “What’s for lunch? I’m starving.”

Gracia, who was rummaging through one of the supply bags, looked up with a wry smile. “Would you like a granola bar or a granola bar?”

“Very funny,” Win replied, rolling her eyes. “I think I’ll take a granola bar.” She caught the bar Gracia tossed her way.

“So,” Goldie began, drawing the CBers’ attention. “I think we should go back to our discussion from this morning.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, Goldie,” Bluebell said. “We talked it over and figured out what we want to do. If it’s alright with you, of course.” She explained their decision, and when she finished, Goldie nodded thoughtfully.

“I guess that’s the best we can do for now. I have to say, I don’t like how much we don’t know. Maybe we should start doing reconnaissance?”

Jubi nodded. “Good idea! We can be spies.” They started humming the Mission Impossible theme, making the others laugh.

Goldie grinned. “Exactly! So I’m thinking groups of three, and we can-” Her words were cut off, however, by the low rumbling that signaled the start of an earthquake. The CBers braced themselves as the ground shook violently, waiting for the earthquake to slowly taper off.

Only this time it didn’t. This time, it stopped all at once, leaving everything too still and too quiet. From the unnatural silence came a voice, a voice that was smooth and familiar and terrifying.

“Found you.”

~~~

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Part Forty

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All eyes turned to the figure on the other side of the pond. Sylvia was staring at the group with a strange mixture of satisfaction and rage.

“I was beginning to wonder where you’d gone,” she said. She took a step forward, so that she was nearly at the water’s edge. “But you had to have known it was only a matter of time.”

Goldie nodded. “That’s right, which is why we’re prepared.” Of course, they hadn’t actually done anything to prepare for an attack, but Sylvia didn’t need to know that.

The AE’s lip curled. “I doubt that. Whatever you’ve done will be futile, and I will kill you all.” Her hand raised to point directly at the Palace Keeper. “Starting with you.”

“You’ll have to get through us first!” Holly shouted, surprising even herself.

Jubilee’s eyes widened, then they moved to stand next to her. “That’s right!”

The other CBers echoed the sentiment, forming a line in front of Goldie, who looked surprised and grateful.

Sylvia laughed. “You protect her? After she lied to you all? Tell me, has she told you the truth even now?”

“Yes, she has!” Agent Winter said. “She told us about her past, and what you did!”

It was Sylvia’s turn to look surprised, but she quickly regained control. “That’s all well and good, but it doesn’t matter now. The truth can’t save you any more than Goldie could save dear Noble.”

A cry of anger was torn from Goldie’s lips. “How dare you! You- you-” She stalled for words, and Gracia took over.

“You can try all you want, but we’re not going down without a fight.”

Sylvia smirked. “We’ll see about that.” She closed her eyes and slowly raised both arms, her face expressionless.

“What’s she-” Dusk began, but stopped when she was what was happening to the AE.

The silver glow surrounding her intensified, growing brighter, and the ground started to tremble again. Expecting another earthquake, the CBers and Goldie were shocked when Sylvia began to grow, slowly but steadily. They watched with mounting horror as her height increased, until she was taller than the trees surrounding them.

Jubilee raised their eyebrows. “I… did not see that coming.”

Sylvia opened her eyes. She took another step forward into the water, her foot sending up a splash and shaking the ground. She smiled coldly. “Do you still want your fight?”

Goldie, for once, was the first to regain her senses. “Run!”

The CBers needed no further urging. They knew they had no plan, no idea how to defeat their enemy- especially not with the curveball she had just thrown. So they ran, trying desperately to get away from the towering girl.

Bluebell ducked behind a tree, heart pounding. She peered around the trunk, searching wildly for her friends. She saw Agent Winter disappearing into the trees on the other side of the clearing, but there was no sign of anyone else. She decided to take this as a good sign, hoping that they had all managed to get away. With a glance back at the pond, she determined that Sylvia was making her way closer and closer to the camp, moving slowly through the water.

She backed up through the trees, trying to make her movements as quiet as possible. Meanwhile, her mind was racing. What do we do? How do we stop her? Can we stop her?

She was so preoccupied that she didn’t notice Dusk until the other CBer whispered, “Bluebell! Are you okay?”

“Wha- whoa!” Startled, Bluebell stumbled back a pace and her heel caught on a tree root. She pitched backwards, arms flailing, and hit the ground hard on her back.

Dusk winced. “Sorry! That must have hurt.” She reached out to help Bluebell up, then froze, eyes fixed on the tree behind her.

“What’s wrong?” Bluebell asked, turning to look over her shoulder.

“No! Don’t move! There’s that plant, the poisonous one. Come towards me, slowly.”

Following Dusk’s directions, Bluebell inched away from the calamum vesperum. She stood, dusting off her hands, then inspected the bright vine. “Thanks, that was a close one.” She shuddered, picturing the rashes they’d found on Evergreen’s body. “A poisonous plant is the last thing we need right now.”

Dusk stared at the tree, then slowly shook her head. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

Bluebell looked at her curiously. “What do you mean?”

“I think I have a plan.”

“To stop Sylvia?”

“That’s right. If we could use the calamum vesperum against her somehow…”

Bluebell nodded, eyes shining. “That’s a great idea! But what would we do with it? And how would we carry it? If we touch it, we’ll almost definitely die.”

“I hadn’t thought that far ahead,” Dusk admitted. “I’m open to suggestions.”

The two stood in silence for a moment, thinking. From the clearing, they could hear Sylvia’s thundering footsteps as she searched for the CBers and the Palace Keeper.

What if she finds us? Bluebell thought. Our plan would come crashing down. Her head jerked up, and she spun to face Dusk. “That’s it!” she cried, then quickly lowered her voice. “Crashing down!”

“What are you talking about?” Dusk asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“We can use the vines to trip Sylvia! She’ll fall, and the poison will hurt her. I don’t know if it’ll be enough to finish her off, but it should work for now.”

Dusk beamed. “Brilliant! But how do we carry it?” She let her gaze wander, and grinned when her eyes alighted on a certain tree. It was by the edge of the clearing, and its low branches were adorned with drying cloth.

Bluebell followed her gaze and nodded. “Perfect.”

A few minutes later, they were in position. Bluebell was standing behind a wide-trunked tree, and Dusk was crouched behind some dense shrubbery. Each CBer was holding an item of clothing, which they were using to carry the ends of a long calamum vesperum vine. They were both keeping a close eye on Sylvia, who was pacing around the clearing.

It was clear the AE was beginning to grow frustrated. She had so far been unsuccessful in her search, and had caused a few minor earthquakes in her anger. As Bluebell watched, she stalked over to the trees on the other side of the clearing and wrapped her hands around one. She leaned her weight against it, sending it toppling over. It landed in the woods with a crash, but there was no other sound.

Dusk looked at Bluebell questioningly, but Bluebell shook her head. Not yet.

Sylvia walked a little further, then did the same to another tree, this time methodically rather than in a fit of rage. She was met with the same result and moved on. She repeated the action, and this time, after the tree fell, a shrill cry could be heard, cut off quickly- but not quickly enough.

With a triumphant smile, Sylvia bent down and reached into the trees. She emerged holding a struggling figure whom Bluebell and Dusk immediately recognized as Hollyshock.

“Let me go!” Holly shouted, attempting to squirm out of the giant AE’s grasp. Sylvia, in response, lifted her higher into the air. Holly stopped moving and instead clutched tighter to the giant hand.

“Goldie!” Sylvia called. “I have one of your precious CBers. They all offered to die protecting you. Will this one be the first?” She raised the hand holding Holly above her head. Holly screamed.

Bluebell and Dusk exchanged panicked looks, but before they could do anything, another voice spoke.

“Put her down!” It was Jubilee, glaring defiantly at the giant.

“Jubi, no!” Bluebell whispered.

Sylvia looked down and frowned. “Another one? It seems as though the Palace Keeper doesn’t care about her guests. As I suspected.” Slowly, she raised one large foot, casting a dark shadow onto the ground where Jubilee stood. Their face paled as they realized what was about to happen.

Before Sylvia could bring her foot down, however, another figure came running out of the woods. It was Goldie.

“Stop!” she yelled, skidding to a halt in front of Jubi.

Sylvia paused, then let her foot fall to the ground with a thud, a safe distance away from the CBer and the Palace Keeper. “I see you’ve decided to join us after all.”

Goldie nodded cautiously. “Yes. Just put her down, then we can talk.”

Crouching, Sylvia deposited Hollyshock on the ground. She ran, stumbling, over to Jubilee. With a sweep of her hand, Sylvia grabbed Goldie and stood, bringing the smaller figure up to eye level. Goldie didn’t struggle, instead meeting her AE’s gaze.

Bluebell and Dusk glanced at each other. This time, Bluebell nodded. “Now!”

They both stood and, holding their respective ends of the vine, sprinted into the clearing towards Sylvia. The giant AE looked down at them first with disinterest, then with surprise and panic as she saw what they were carrying. She tried to retreat, but she was too slow.

Bluebell reached her first, running to the right around Sylvia’s ankles. Dusk went the other way. As the calamum vesperum touched skin, Bluebell saw angry red rashes erupt. She heard Sylvia’s cry of pain and kept going, passing Dusk as she ran.

They looped the vine around her legs once, twice, three times, then pulled with all their might in opposite directions. Sylvia tried and failed to keep her balance, toppling backwards and hitting the ground with a resounding thud.

Just before the hand holding her reached the ground, Goldie managed to twist out of Sylvia’s grasp. She righted herself the best she could as she fell, and rolled to reduce her impact with the forest floor. The breath was still knocked out of her lungs, however, and she lay still, attempting to recover.

With a pained hiss, Sylvia reached down to her ankles, where the rash was burning. As she touched the vines to remove them, it spread to her hands, and she pulled back with a cry. She looked around the clearing, her eyes glazed with pain, then gritted her teeth and began to shrink. As she did so, the ground began to shake again, this time continuing into a violent earthquake.

As she stumbled and tried to stay upright, Bluebell watched Sylvia return to her normal size. She was able to slip out of the restraining vines and, with a final contemptuous look at the CBers, run off into the woods. Once she was gone, the earthquake lessened gradually until it was no more.

Dusk slowly walked over to her friend and put a hand on her shoulder. “It worked,” she said, relief evident in her voice.

Bluebell had no words to respond. Instead, she simply nodded, then sank onto the ground, overcome with exhaustion.

~~~

Thank you for topping! This part was difficult to write, so it took much longer than planned.