Everything was going well. They had found the Elements of Pride and they were all returned to normal. Their enemy thought nothing of it, only yawned on his gold and green throne as Vahl powered up her spell. Light illuminated the six humans as they were lifted into the air. It was the same as when they had defeated Harley Quinn, until more light shot from their gloves.

"What's this?" Loki said in wonder.

Madisyn had sworn to close her eyes, but opened one for a moment. Even through the bright light, she could clearly see the Frost Giant's face. She recognized it as pure fear.

"No," he uttered.

The marcher couldn't stand it anymore and shut her eye again, as Vahl opened hers, revealing them to be white. As a star N shot from their bodies, Madisyn heard the God's horrifying scream. She tried to block it out, but it was useless. That scream would forever haunt her.

When the blast was over, the friends gently floated to the ground. Newark was back in order, but there was something that wasn't right. Cwryen was the first to notice.

"Hey, where's Loki?"

Nichole Price rolled her eyes. "Don't you know, Cwryen? We turned him to ice."

"I know that, but where's his statue?"

The others looked around.

"She's right," Alyssa said. "Where is he?"

"I don't understand," Vahl lamented. "That spell should have turned him to stone!"

Madisyn gasped. "We didn't kill him, did we?!"

"I don't think so. He'd still be here."

"Unless we vaporized him!"Cwryen Caster shrieked. "Or turned him to grass!"

Tatum yelped and stood on her tip toes. "You mean we may be walking on him?!"

Nichole and Madisyn jumped into a tree in horror.

"Guys, we didn't kill him!" Alyssa assured them, but then turned nervously to the Dark Elf. "Right, Vahl?"

"We shouldn't have," Vahl replied. "The Elements of Pride cannot destroy. They may work in mysterious ways, but they cannot destroy. Whatever they did to Loki, they at least returned everything to normal."

"So what do we do now?" Madisyn asked.

"We must inform Prince Auer about this." 

A few hours later in Columbus, the six humans told the prince all that had happened. After hearing this, Auer demanded to speak with Vahl in private.

"We didn't kill him, did we?" she asked once they were alone.

Auer shook his head. "It is not in the Elements' power to do such a deed."

"Prince, what do they do exactly? I mean they banished Harley Quinn to the moon, but then later changed her back to good. Why did they turn Loki into ice?"

"The Elements' job is to restore balance in the land. It is complicated, but basically what they do is turn something into what it is on the inside. The first time they were used on Harleen, she had darkness in her heart and that's what banished her to the moon. The second time, there was something good inside her that wanted to get out and that's what turned her back into my little sister. Loki, however..." He trailed off and looked at said God's picture in the stained glass. "His heart is as cold as ice."

"Does he even have one?" Vahl inquired.

"Every creature has a heart, though some of them refuse to show it."

"So what did the elements do to him now?"

He paused. "Nothing."

The elf's eyes widened. "What?"

"Nothing. He escaped before the spell hit him."

Vahl was astonished. "But...but...I restored everyone's memories! Newark, it's fine now! The Elements should have worked!"

"They did, and Loki saw that. He saw that he could not break apart your friendship with the others, so he chose to be a coward and fled."

"How...how do you know that's what happened?"

"I know Loki. He's smart enough to know when to flee."

"So he's still out there? We have to find him! Ohio's not safe as long as he's free!"

"No, he knows not to make another attempt to takeover, not without time to contemplate his next move. When he does, that's when we take action."

"But what if...?"

"Vahl Dragonborn, we do not know where Loki is. The only thing we can do is to wait for him to come out of hiding. When he does, I want you and your friends to be ready. Do you understand?"

She opened her mouth to protest, but then sighed and nodded.

"Good. Now, I will leave the Elements with you, so you will be ready when the time comes. But first, I will cast a spell protecting them, so Loki cannot take them again."

Vahl nodded again. "I understand, Prince."

So the six humans went back home and waited for Loki's return. They each wore their Elements at all times for precaution. For weeks, they waited in agitation for their enemy to make his attack. They told nobody else that the God of Mischief had escaped, for Auer did not want his subjects to panic. It was because of this that the friends went about their daily routines as if there was nothing to worry about, but they each slept with one eye open, all except Madisyn, who slept with two.

Soon the days turned into weeks, then months, until after a year, the humans assumed Loki had left Ohio for good. They began feeling more at ease, with a few exceptions. Vahl became more and more worried each day and studied divination, in hopes of finding their enemy's location. So far, she had had no such luck.

Madisyn spent nights waking up with a scream, after experiencing a nightmare where the monster had her in his clutches. Of all the frightening creatures she had encountered in her lifetime, she had never been as afraid as she was of Loki. Even though she had not seen him in a while, he still haunted her. Everywhere she turned his blue eyes were there, staring into her soul. Sometimes he would appear as three one's, or as his stained glass image. Whatever form he took, it felt like he was always there, watching her.

She told her friends of this, but they said it was purely her imagination. This did not take any of the nightmares away.

Then Vahl became a princess, which turned every body's life around. While Vahl was still living in Newark, she spent most of her time in Columbus or elsewhere performing royal duties. As for her other five friends, they were all famous after saving Ohio numerous times and being friends of a princess.

Tatum's designs became more popular than ever. She had so many orders to keep up with, that she had to hire help. Her sister Snow White had little talent in sewing, but did what she could to organize everything. Her friend Regina Mills proved to have a greater knowledge of design and Tatum was so impressed that she made the young filly her apprentice. Even Lydia Nord provided assistance, by making deliveries with her sword.

Nichole Price's dream finally came true and was recruited by the Pride of Newark. With them, she traveled all over Ohio, performing her tricks and earning the praise she adored. She still made time for her friends and offered them tickets whenever they were in town. Cwryen Caster attended all the shows and OMEA's and was Nichole's biggest fan.

While keeping her job at Sugar Cube Corner, Cwryen Caster kept a party planning service in Columbus. Whenever there was a special event, the royals called her. Not only did she always throw the best of parties, but she did it for free. She did not care for money, only fun!

When making visits to Vahl in Columbus, Alyssa would take the opportunity to sell her apples. They were much more appreciated once everybody heard they were grown in the princess's hometown. As a result, Alyssa earned a lot of money and not only managed to buy a tractor for Andrew Spence and fix Liberty Iler's broken hip, but added a new floor to the barn, so whenever her relatives visited, they could stay the night. Whatever money was left was donated to the Columbus Orphanage. Because of this, the orphans looked up to her. She also became a fan favorite at the rodeo competitions, whether she won a blue ribbon or not. Her athleticism was much admired and cowboy attire was made fashionable, thanks to Tatum.

In their new glamorous and comfortable lifestyles, the humans slowly forgot about Loki altogether. Everybody was happy, except one.

Once the six were known to the public, many men began taking interest in Madisyn, who had turned out to be a great beauty. She received a lot of gentlemen callers now, but she refused all of them. Although she was of marriageable age now, the marcher was not ready for such a thing, let alone dating. She had gained more confidence over the years, but the idea of romance terrified her. Having a boyfriend meant spending time with a single man that might be the one or might not. She knew he would be doing most of the talking, and asking, and touching, etc. She was not prepared for that.

She continued having the nightmares. The evil face of the God would not leave her mind. She knew he was still out there, and he would come back to turn her nasty again. Despite the good fortune of her friends, she could not move on. She attended social events for their sake, but wallowed in fear when alone.

Meanwhile, Vahl Dragonborn was studying and learning more about magic and being a princess each day. She took pleasure in it, but sometimes, she would look out the window and wonder about her enemy in hiding. It had been almost three years since he had vanished without a trace. Where was he? What had he been doing all this time? When was he going to strike?

Nobody knew.