Caleb gasped again. "I-I-It's you," he stuttered.

"Correct, Caleb Delling," said the mysterious figure.

Caleb held his breath when stepping out from the shadows with his arms crossed was a young, ninja-like fairy—Tracey, Merlin's apprentice.

"It's been a while, Caleb. I haven't seen you since the day I rescued your sister from splattering on the ground after she fell from the observation deck."

"Holy smokes," Caleb said with his eyes wide open. "It's you! You were the one who rescued her!"

"Surprised?" Tracey asked in a calm voice.

He had grown into a very handsome teenager. His black hair, which had grown longer, went down to the top of his spine. Hair was pulled behind his left ear but not his right. His right ear was hidden. He wore a green, ninja-style, tunic-like shirt that was green on the outside but purple on the inside, a brown belt, long brown pants, wristbands, and black boots. Over the years, along with him, his wings had also grown. They were still light green with purple mixed in with them, and they still had purple borders and glittered with green and purple fairy dust.

Clearing his throat, the teenage fairy approached Caleb. "Sorry about the inconvenience, Caleb. I didn't mean to attack you with my stars. I just needed to get you alone and still."

"Oh no," Caleb said, still amazed, "you're fine."

"Thank you," Tracey politely said. "Now, Caleb"—he creased his brows—"I don't mean to do this to you, but Master Merlin said that this is the only way to have your sister come to him. I apologize, but I must use you as bait."

"Gulp," Caleb said. "Bait?"

"Only for today," said Tracey. "Remember the message I gave you when I rescued Makenna? I told you that you must help her become a Crystal Metamorphic Fairy so we can at least try to help Sensei Merlin."

Caleb nodded. "Right. I remember." He recalled the day Makenna fell from the observation deck and was rescued. He remembered the mysterious figure flying away.

As it flew, Caleb heard it say telepathically, "Young, Caleb Delling, my name is Tracey. I am Merlin's apprentice, and I must ask for your assistance. You will be the only one who will still believe in fairies when Makenna comes of age. I must ask you to help me help her become a Crystal Metamorphic Fairy."

Earlier that day, when Caleb explained to Makenna that he met the ninja-like fairy in her dream, he meant it. Just thinking about it, Caleb could feel himself smiling. He focused his attention on young Tracey,

"Caleb, will you help me?" he asked politely.

"Will I help you?" Caleb grinned. "Heck yeah! I always knew fairies were real, and I've always wanted to help one out!"

"Really?" Tracey said with a small smile. "Thank you, Caleb. This means a lot to Master Merlin and me. All right." He turned on his heel and began to march away from Caleb toward the Gator Pond. "Let's go then!"

"Wait, Tracey!" Caleb called after him, for he was still pinned to the garage door.

Tracey stopped and turned to him, gasping. "Oh no! Caleb, I'm so sorry! I forgot you were pinned to the uh, well..." He gestured at the garage door. "... that strange moving piece of technology."

"It's called a garage door," Caleb told him.

"Garage door!" said Tracey. He blushed. "Of course! I knew that!"

"Sure, you did," Caleb said. "Sigh." He shook his head.

From where Tracey stood, he flapped his enormous wings and picked himself up. Then he flew to Caleb and started to hover before him. Bringing his index finger to his chin, he tapped it and asked, "Okay, how do I do this again?" With his free hand, he scratched his head for a few moments. Then he said, "Ah, here we go," and pulled out the stars at the same time.

Caleb yelped and fell to the ground, landing on his face. "Ow!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Caleb!" Tracey said, peering down at the stars he held. "Maybe I should've done one star at a time?"

Caleb lifted his head and glanced up at him. "You don't say?"

Tracey slipped the stars into his back pocket and hid his embarrassment behind a weak smile. He flew to Caleb and hovered before him, immediately becoming serious again.

Caleb stood and brushed himself down. He then picked up the picnic basket and showed it to Tracey. "But, Tracey, what will I do about the picnic basket?"

"Just leave it on the front step," Tracey told him. "We'll only be gone until dusk tomorrow. I shall take you to Merlin's Island. Sensei otta be proud. Do you trust me?" He held his hand out to Caleb.

After putting the basket down, he examined it. After a bit, he grasped Tracey by the wristband and shook it. "I do, Tracey."

"Then hold on tight," Tracey said. He closed his eyes.

After a bit, Caleb saw that he was outlined by green magic. He gasped and chuckled as he slowly lifted into the sky, still holding onto Tracey's wrist.

Merlin's apprentice soon flapped his wings and lifted into the sky. "Make sure you don't let go, Caleb. Winds are strong today. A storm may be coming, so we must hurry."

"Don't worry, Tracey," Caleb said, "I'm holding on for dear life."

Both his hands wrapped tightly around Tracey's wrist, but he cringed. "You don't have to hold on that tightly, Caleb."

"Oh," Caleb said. He loosened his grip. "Sorry, Trace."

Nodding, Tracey flew forward and dragged Caleb along, officially kidnapping him, but it was for a good purpose. All that was left behind was the picnic basket, which rested comfortably on the front step.

***

Makenna hummed and hugged her surfboard the entire ride to Seabrook Island's North Beach. When she reached North Beach's parking lot, she dismounted her bike and locked it in the bike rack. Then, she propped her surfboard against the bike and removed her beach clothes. Afterward, she left it and her surfboard and rushed into North Beach's pool house to change.

Now, there she was. Makenna stood at the end of North Beach's boardwalk in her surfing clothes, surfboard under her arm. She peered out to the beach and the warm Atlantic Ocean.

Many people, including children, were running around and having a delightful time on the beach. Makenna was ready to get into the water.

Smiling out at the ocean, she sighed and pulled off her beach dress, plopping it down on the boardwalk's railing. Makenna sprinted onto the beach and headed toward the ocean. When she reached it, she threw her surfboard onto the water's surface and started to steer it out. The wind blew out there. It felt wonderful.

When Makenna reached knee height in the water, she plopped onto her surfboard and paddled. She paddled out toward the ocean, beyond the waves, and when she reached an area she thought was an ideal swimming location, she slid off her surfboard and plopped into the sea with a small splash.

Underwater, she smiled, and her fingernails changed from blue to yellow. Makenna circled her surfboard a couple of times. When she returned to the surface, she sighed and crawled onto her surfboard, starting to float. She peered forward at the ocean's horizon and gasped when she saw a buildup of dark clouds.

At the sight of the clouds, Makenna said, "Oh snap," and climbed onto her surfboard. She paddled toward shore, but halfway to it, a large wave snuck up on her from behind.

Turning her head, Makenna gasped at the sight of it and smiled. "Yes! Perfect!" She paddled faster, and the wave caught her. Right when it did, she jumped up on her surfboard and grinned as she started her run. She steered her surfboard to the left and jumped off the wave's crest, doing an Air Reverse. Then she landed back on the wave and continued her run. However, Makenna was unaware that her necklace pendant was starting to glow again; that time, it shone as brightly as it did when she first got it. Her high ponytail blew back and forth as she continued her run due to the wind. When her run ended, she jogged out of the ocean, chuckling, and her surfboard was back under her arm. Her necklace pendant also stopped glowing.

Makenna plopped her surfboard down on the beach's sand and turned her head, glancing at the horizon's storm clouds. She nodded, and her nails changed back to blue. Makenna still had time to wander down to the end of the beach. She didn't consider a trip to North Beach complete until she had seen the end. She walked down to the end every time she traveled to North Beach. It was considered a little "tradition" of hers. Makenna wasn't going to break that tradition all because of a little storm approaching the island.

Peering back out to the clouds, Makenna stood straight and said to the approaching storm, "Forget it, storm! You're not scaring me! You won't stop me from wandering down to the end of North Beach!" She stomped her foot and closed her eyes, turning. Then she sprinted down the beach, opening her eyes, and said as she ran, "If that storm doesn't change its course, then I have to make this quick!"

As she ran, her necklace pendant began glowing again. She passed dogs, adults, and kids starting to leave the beach because of the storm but kept running. She refused to break her tradition. Wind gushed through her hair as she ran on a now-empty beach. The clouds crept closer, and she heard a clap of thunder coming from them.

Makenna tripped and almost fell but caught herself.

She neared the end of the beach and smiled. "Yes!" However, she peered down and gasped when she saw her necklace pendant glowing.

"What the—?" the young Metamorphic Fairy asked. "What's going on?"

As she ran, she reached for her necklace pendant, but again, it shocked her.

Makenna yelled. Fighting the pain, she closed her eyes, stopped, and pulled as hard as possible. The harder she pulled, the larger the blue lightning bolts became. Now, a bunch of blue lightning bolts flashed in Makenna's face, but she kept pulling.

As she pulled, the thunder grew louder, the clouds came closer, winds blew about forty mph, and sand, picked up by the wind, blew onto the backs of Makenna's legs.

Seagulls flew as fast as they could toward Bird Island, a small island across Seabrook Island's Club.

Bottlenose dolphins in the ocean leaped out of it and swam toward safety.

Makenna's eyes were closed the entire time she pulled on her necklace pendant. "Oh, I'm so sick and tired of you, necklace pendant!" And she was. She was so tired of never being able to pull off the necklace pendant for seven long years. She kept on pulling, and there was a loud clap of thunder.

Like the necklace, Makenna's entire body glowed a bright blue, and she lifted into the sky. Then, with one more tug, she did it! Makenna ripped off the necklace, and it floated away from her.

Yelling, the young fairy clenched her fists and shouted, "Somebody help!" into the stormy atmosphere. She bent her knees and hugged them, starting to spin around slowly.

The necklace, still glowing, returned to the young fairy and circled her.

The familiar sound of cracking iron invaded her head, and suddenly, Makenna's hair was taken out of the high ponytail, waving back and forth. Right after it was taken out, the magic left her head, so now, Makenna's body, only from shoulders down, was covered in magic. She still hugged her knees and tried screaming for help but failed. Light pink lipstick appeared over her lips, and blue eye shadow that matched the color of her eyes appeared on her upper eyelids.

With eyes still closed, Makenna let go of her knees and held her arms out to her sides.

From ankles up, the necklace circled her some more.

Makenna held her arms over her head and spun on one foot.

The necklace next circled her upper body and hips and sucked the blue magic away from them. When it did, Makenna's outfit had changed. Instead of a bikini, she wore a short, silky, light blue dress with transparent, off-the-shoulder sleeves.

She stopped twirling and did a midair backflip. In the process, light blue ballet slippers decorated her feet. When she landed, she turned her back to the camera, and the necklace circled it. Then, just like that, she popped tiny, sky-blue fairy wings. Blue diamonds hung from each wingtip, and purple outlined the wings.

A blast of wind blew across the beach, and another thunderclap sounded.

In a blast of blue fairy dust, Makenna was taken slowly to the ground, unconscious. She landed gently on her back, her head tilted left, groaning.

The necklace, no longer glowing, landed beside her. The approaching storm had stopped and now hovered over the ocean.

After a couple of minutes, Makenna squirmed. Lifting her hand, she reached for her head and rubbed it. "Oh man, what happened?" Turning her head, she dropped her hand and opened her eyes, which landed on the necklace beside her. "What the—?" Makenna asked. "It actually came off?"

Turning onto her side, she reached for the necklace but froze at the sight of her off-the-shoulder sleeve. "What in the name of—?" asked Makenna. She jumped to her feet and studied her new outfit up and down.

Shaking her head, bewildered Makenna reached for the necklace again and said, "I think I hit my head. Where did this outfit come from? What happened to my surfing clothes?" She gasped, "Oh no," as Caleb's rumors about her becoming a full-fledged fairy soon reentered her brain. She refused to check her back. No, Makenna didn't have wings—she just had a strange change in attire.

She picked up her necklace and put it back on, deciding it was time to go home. Too many weird things were happening to her, and she was now afraid of being out in public.

Makenna turned on her heel, sighed, and said, "It's time to go home." With that, she started down the beach, but after four steps, her small wings flapped, and Makenna was thrown into the sky.

"Help!" she screamed as the wind blew her everywhere. She looked like a kite caught in a hurricane. Makenna continued to scream and tried to zoom back down to the beach, but the wind and her wings blew her toward Kiawah Island, Seabrook Island's next-door neighbor, instead. "Help! Somebody wake me up! I'm having a nightmare!"

Her wings next threw her to the left, out toward the sea, and Makenna yelled as she splashed into the rough water. Coming to the surface, she coughed and shouted as a powerful wave crashed down on her and pulled her underwater.

Makenna spun all over the place with her eyes closed and yelled for help.

Her wings took her back to the surface and lifted her out of the water, but a second powerful wave crashed down on her.

Hurrying to the surface, Makenna coughed and shouted, "Help!" but a third wave crashed on her and pulled her under. Every time she tried returning to the surface, she was pulled under. Finally, Makenna gave up, knowing that her life was over.

She stopped struggling and let herself sink. Due to lack of oxygen, Makenna started to lose consciousness, but just before she could drown, a hand came from out of nowhere and grabbed her wrist. Whoever caught her started pulling her toward the surface, but Makenna was already unconscious, so she couldn't see the face of her rescuer.

Above the waves, the storm raged on. Rain poured down like hail, and the wind blew like crazy.

***

Back at Jenkins Point on Seabrook Island, Mrs. Delling was dressed in a raincoat before Makenna's house and yelling for her children. "Makenna! Caleb! Where are you?"

Mr. Delling held Caleb's picnic basket and shouted, "Michelle, they couldn't have gone far! They should be back!"

"But they're not!" Mrs. Delling observed. "Makenna! Caleb!" She had trouble fighting against the mighty wind. A blast of it blew a tree limb off a tree, and it fell straight toward Mrs. Delling.

At the sight of it, she gasped and froze.

Behind, Mr. Delling yelled, "Michelle!" He threw down the picnic basket and sprinted to his wife, grabbing her. He pulled her out of the way before the branch hit her. Together, they fell to the ground on their sides, and the fallen tree limb smashed into the road where Mrs. Delling used to be.

She and Mr. Delling sat. At the thought of her children out in the storm, Mrs. Delling started to cry.

Mr. Delling peered into her face. "Michelle, we'll look for Makenna and Caleb after the storm. Right now, it's too dangerous to be out. We have to go inside." He grabbed Mrs. Delling and helped her up.

Once standing, they hurried to their house, climbed the stairs, and disappeared inside. Mr. Delling locked the door, but Mrs. Delling was having a panic attack.

Her hand was pressed against her heart, and she said in a choked voice, "Andy, our-our chi-children! They're all a-alone out there!" She reached for her head. "I can't take it!" She turned, trying to run outside, but Mr. Delling pulled her away from the door.

"Michelle, no! We can't go out! Don't worry, I'm sure Makenna and Caleb are fine."

"No!" Mrs. Delling shouted. "Andy, no! They're our children! We have to find them!"

"We will, Michelle," said Andy. "I promise we will. Let's make some hot tea and wait for the storm to pass for now. We'll look for Makenna and Caleb as soon as it's over. Deal?" He held his hand out to his wife, and she examined it.

Then she gulped and took Mr. Delling's hand. "Okay, Andy."

"All right," Andy said. He pulled his wife into a hug, and they shared a kiss.