Hi everyone!!  SK here.

The chapter title may or may not be referring to my current addiction to the show Glee.  Specifically to the ship Klaine- wait what am I doing, that's the wrong fandom!  POKEMON, SYLKIE, POKEMON.

*cough* Ahem, sorry.

So as you might have guessed, Valerie's life got cut short- and you now know that she's almost as old as August and Verity.  Let's see what happens next, shall we?  I hope you enjoy this chapter!

!!!WARNINGS: Graphic Violence (kinda), Bad Language

Valerie

There are lots of times in my life that I thought I'd be dead.

Asking for someone's name, then immediately forgetting it and saying it wrong?  Dead.  But apparently I (unfortunately) lived through that.

Getting hit by that man?  I thought I wouldn't wake up the next day, but that clearly happened.  It happened again and again, over and over.

Getting chased into the forest by him with a gun?  I definitely thought I'd be dead, but here I am.

I just really did think that I would've died when I was shot multiple times, but I guess I'm not?

Well, floating in the middle of a black void doesn't really tell me much about my current dead-or-alive status, but the fact that I can hear voices and cries from around me tells me that I must be unconscious.

Open your eyes.

No.  I don't want to yet.

I want... no.  I need to figure out how I'm still alive.

Wracking my brain, I try to recall today's previous events.  That man shot me.  I remember bleeding out, then suddenly feeling Nombles' Pokeball beneath my hand even though I forgot to bring her to school today.  I can barely recall the fairy-winged Pokemon who-

Wait, hold up.

It was green... had blue eyes... also had fairy wings... there's no doubt about it.  I was saved by the Mythical Pokemon Celebi.  There's no mistaking it- no other Pokemon has all of those features.  

There's only one question that remains.  Why would Celebi save my life?  I can only assume that it brought me to the fairies, it's only logical.

Open your eyes.

It's just why exactly would Celebi bring me back to the Colony to become Initiated?  I remember something that one of the fairies- can't remember who- said about being an Elemental.  It gives someone the potential to become a fairy.  The potential, that's it.  Celebi could have very easily left me.

Open your eyes. 

I don't think I'm that special.  Why would

Open your eyes.

anyone

Open your eyes.

save

Open your eyes.

me?

~~~~~~~~~~

I slowly blink open my eyes then immediately regret that decision when a harsh white light infects my vision.  Squinting, I slowly sit up expecting to feel pain and feeling surprised when there is none.  I almost have to facepalm myself.  Fairies, Valerie.  They have magic.

"Valerie.  Thank Zagan."

Turning, I see Verity sitting next to me with a serious look on her usually laid-back face.  Her expression remains relatively unreadable, but her eyes radiate a sense of relief.

I look back at her, swinging my legs over the bed that I'm in.  It's not really a bed you'd see in bedrooms, as its built more like a bed you'd typically see in a hospital.  "Where am I?" I ask.

"The Medical Lounge," Verity replies, her voice sounding far away.  "It seems a Pokemon brought you here, and some of the patrolling fairies found you laying there bloodying the flowers.  They brought you back here and healed you with magic- wait, how do you feel?"

"Like I wasn't shot at least five times," I force out.  "Which is weird."

My attempt at a dark-humoured joke falls flat, understandably so.  "Sorry about the flowers," I add quickly.

Verity rolls her eyes at me.  "Valerie, are you seriously apologizing about flowers when you almost died!?" 

I remain silent.  

She stares at me.  "The fairies who were working here had to force my brother and both of the Ministers out of this room because they were so upset.  I was the only one who could stay in here because I can keep my emotions in check."  Her eyes go all wobbly.  "Valerie, you-"  She stops.  "Valerie?"

I reach out to her, starting to cry.  She takes hold of me and we hold each other close, never letting go.  I've only know Verity for the grand total of about twenty-four hours but I already feel so close to her.  "I thought I was dead," I whimper, sobbing into her shoulder.

"I know," she says gently, trying to get me to calm down.  "I know.  But you're safe now.  You're safe in the Colony.  He can't find you here."

"My life is over- I thought I'd get my two years," I sob.  "I want to go back.  I w-want to..." my voice breaks as Verity hugs me harder.  

"I know," Verity coos, rubbing my back with her right hand.  We stay like that for a few more minutes, the Dark fairy holding me while I cry, neither of us letting go.  I think she needs the hug as much as I do- she said she keeps her emotions in check.  That doesn't mean she doesn't have them.

Eventually we break apart, and I hastily try to clear my face of tears.  "Sorry about that," I mumble.

"Don't apologize," she tells me sternly.  "You're my friend and I'm here to help you feel better."  She pauses.  "I can call you my friend, right?"

Happiness wells up in me despite everything.   "I thought that was already established."  We trade smiles, and then I ask something else.  "What happens now?"

"Well Heliux has probably realized that you woke up, so you'll probably want to go talk to them and calm them down when- if- you're ready," she tells me.  "You don't have to go if you're not comfortable, Valerie... I just think it would help them."

I sigh.  "You're right."  Even if I don't know who they are to me yet, it's my fault that they- from what I can gather from Verity's previous statements- fell apart.  I have to fix my wrongdoings.  "And after?"

"You'll probably be Initiated.  One of the Leaders and one of the Ministers will go down with you to the Initiation Space, and it'll be quick and painless, promise.  They usually have an Advisor with them as well to tell you what Elements you have.  You'll get a fairy outfit and wings- you can fly!  Isn't that exciting?"  

When she doesn't get a satisfying reaction from me, she sighs.  "I know this is hard," she says gently, "but you're going to have to face this one way or another."

"I suppose," I tell her hesitantly.  Standing up, I do a small stretch, marveling at how my body feels perfectly normal when I almost died some time ago.  Wait... some time ago?

"What time is it!?" I shout frantically at her.

Verity, looking a little startled, answers.  "Almost dinner.  You were out for a couple hours."

When I put on a blank expression again, she slowly takes my hand, pulling me toward the door.  "Come on, let's go.  You'll get Initiated, then we'll have dinner, and then we'll get you situated into your new room."

I toss her a puzzled look as she slowly opens the door.  "New room?"  I hope she isn't referring to this one.

"Fairies are divided by Elements," she explains.  "Depending on what yours are, you'll be staying in different buildings."

I won't be close to you or August anymore... oh well.  I need to find more friends than just those two.

"Oh," I reply absently, just so she knows I heard her.  We travel down the hallway, our hands leaving the other's grip as we travel down the flights of stairs.  "Where is everyone?" I ask when we reach what appears to be the main lobby of this place; it's quiet, and notably lacking two Ministers and a fairy that I have a crush on.

"Mom told me to bring you directly to the Initiation Space when you were ready," she tells me, then quickly realizes that she didn't quite think things through.  "Argh, I'm sorry.  Are you ready to become a fairy?"

I smile weakly at her.  "Well, nothing's going to change, so I might as well be ready."

The Dark fairy gives me a reassuring pat on the shoulder.  "That's the spirit," she tells me encouragingly.  "You'll be the best fairy in the whole of space," she adds in an almost childish tone.  "The best one of all time too!"

"Stop it," I groan, playfully shoving her, but she just laughs and shoves me back.  Verity has definitely calmed my prickly cactus nerves, that's for sure.  Well, for now at least.

The two of us walk on the marble stone paths of the Colony, following the spiral shape that they seem to have.  It's pretty warm outside, the sun's summer evening light shining down upon the Colony.  It is June after all, even I'm not dumb enough to miss out on these warm summer nights while they last.  Numerous fairies are about, probably taking some time to relax after a hard day's work.

It feels really weird walking here now, knowing that I can never go home.  Well, at least to my now-old home.  The Colony is supposed to be my home now, because I'm a fairy.  That sentence both scares and excites me so much.  I'm a fairy.

Verity and I round a corner and I spot some familiar faces crowded a fair bit away.  August spots us and immediately runs up to greet us.  Both Ministers hang back, probably waiting for me to approach them.  I have to say, I respect the careful boundaries that they're upholding.

"Valerie!" he exclaims, engulfing me in a tight hug.  I instinctively feel my face heat up, but I quickly notice his poor attempt at covering his tear-stained face.  I should know better than anyone- tears always leave remnants, even if you wipe them off.  He squeezes me harder as I tentatively wrap my arms around him.  "I was so scared for you," he whispers earnestly.  "I knew you were going to wake up, I just... some part of me thought you wouldn't, and that's the part that I listened to."

"Well, I'm here," I offer, trying to calm him down while also trying not to have a freakout because my crush is hugging me and was crying over me.  

August lets me go.  "Yes, you are, and I'm glad that you are," he tells me as his eyes light up.  "I just wish that this moment were happening two years in the future."

I deflate a little.  "Me too."

He takes notice of my sadness and clasps my hands in his own.  "I know the circumstances aren't ideal," he begins, "but this is an exciting time for you.  It must seem like you've tripped and fallen into an endless pit- but just remember, you're going to become a fairy.  You'll be able to fly out, alright?"

I give him a small smile; August has such a way with words.  "I guess you're right."

Verity steps in front of us.  "Come on, the more time we spend talking to each other is more time wasted."

She grabs my right hand while August grabs my left, and together the three of us walk down to greet the elder fairies, and to greet my new life.

Ash, Serena, Heliux, Layra, Clemont, and Gary wait for us.  An aura of worry seems to surround them; they all look tense.

"Hello," I say, trying and failing not to sound awkward.  Before any of them can ask the obvious, I foresee the future and answer.  "I feel really good, I'll have to thank the fairies that healed me.  I'm ready to-"

"What happened to you?" Layra asks me in a sorrowful voice.  It sounds raw, like a sugar cane before it got turned into granulated sugar.  "What did he do?"

I'm not going to lie, not about this.  "He somehow figured out that I would be at school, tracked me down, pinned me down, and shot at me multiple times."  Somehow I'm able to keep the tremor out of my voice when I say that.

Layra swears and Heliux clenches his fists.  "I'm fine though," I tell them, even though everyone here knows that that's not true.  "I'm sorry for causing you any worry."

The Ministers toss a look to each other, then toss one back at me.  "You do not have to apologize for that," Heliux points out.  "You are our daughter and even if we are not meant to be there for you, we will always worry about you."

"SHE'S YOUR WHAT!?" Gary shouts, his voice causing a ringing noise in my ears from its sheer volume.

Heliux groans while Layra chuckles slightly.  "Yes, Gary, you heard him.  You and Clemont were going to find out anyway after the Initiation when you check her Elements.  Besides, didn't both of you figure it out already?"

"I did-"

"WELL I DIDN'T!" Gary exclaims, clearly being overdramatic as he interrupts the other Advisor.  He clutches his head like he's having a migraine.  "How did I not figure it out!?"

Serena slowly pushes the Dark Advisor aside and steps up.  "Ignoring Gary for now," she says, beginning with a humorous undertone, "if you're ready, we should go get you Initiated, Valerie.  Who do you want to be Initiating you?"

I'm a bit confused.  "What do you mean?"

"She meant to ask which one of us Leaders and which one of the Ministers you want to Initiate you," explains Ash.  "You know, because only one of each are needed."

"Oh," I say absently.  I think for a moment, then reply.  "Could you two do it?" I ask, gazing at Serena and Layra.  Serena I trust because her general personality is very kind and almost motherly, and Layra... I feel a lot closer to her than Heliux, if I'm being perfectly honest.

Both of them nod.  "Of course!" replies Serena, while Layra simply gives me a thumbs-up.  The Light Leader gestures to a door that I'm just noticing, one that probably to the Initiation Space that Verity previously mentioned.  I take a deep breath and step through the door once Layra opens it.  The three of us file through, and the Dark Minister gently closes the door behind us.  

The room is pretty empty, save for a few shelves.  There's a large circular emblem printed on the ground, and I'm smart enough to realize that I need to stand in its centre.  Serena goes to one of the shelves and grabs what I can grasp to be a bracelet, then hands it to me.  

"This makes it painless for you," she explains, and after hearing this I slip it on tightly around my wrist as quickly as possible.

The two girl fairies step back, and hold our their hands.  "Are you ready?" asks Layra, and I nod.  I squeeze my eyes tight, not knowing what's coming.  After a moment passes with nothing, I begin to relax-

Out of nowhere my senses are overloaded, colours, sounds, words floating across the backdrop of my eyelids.  For a few seconds I am rendered completely immobile, a dull sensation wafting its way through me.  It's hard to describe... it almost feels as if something is being pulled out of me, something hidden in the dark that suddenly needs the light.  I don't dare open my eyes.  I'm too afraid to.

After those few seconds, everything fades, and I hear a voice tell me to open my eyes.  I do, slowly of course, and the first thing I notice is my new clothes.  The white dress I was previously wearing is gone, replaced by a very complicated one.  It has a silver bodice with a two-layered skirt, each layer increasing in darkness.  The left side of the dress has a silver piece of fabric, same colour of the bodice of course, draped over the skirt to cover half of it- I'm grateful for it because the skirt is kind of short.  The dress has this purple off-shoulder sleeve thing, its purple the same shade as the ribbon tied around my waist.  Attached to the off-shoulder sleeves are draping black sleeves that reach my elbows.  I'm also wearing purple and yellow sandals.  There are three pins attached to my bodice- a yellow clock, and two black pins with white images printed onto them- and one on my waist- a bigger clock with nine black, blank discs attached to it.

The second thing I notice are the shocked looks on Layra's and Serena's faces.  Well, not really shock, more like a mixture of shock and wonder.

Layra seems like she can't get any words out.  "I'm going to get Ash, Heliux, and the Advisors," she says rather quickly.  "They're going to need to see this."  She goes and fumbles with the door handle.

My mouth is dry.  "See what?"

The door bursts open and in come Ash, Heliux, and the two Advisors.  Part of me wishes that August and Verity could come in too, to ease my current state of panic.  What is it?  Is something wrong with me?

Heliux takes one look at me and his stone-faced expression cracks and breaks.  Ash and both Advisors wear similar expressions as well.

I'm fed up with this.  "Can somebody please tell me what's going on?"

Serena quickly musters up some magic and conjures me a mirror.  For the first time I can look at my outfit without looking down- 

Wait.

There's something I notice in the mirror- it's my wings.  Ever since I first came here, I'd secretly wondered if I'd be a Dark or Light fairy.

Well, my top pair of wings is a radiant, light golden yellow with purple streaks.

My bottom pair is a shadowy black, dark as night with just barely-noticeable violet stripes.

One pair of Light wings, one pair of Dark wings.

My stomach drops.

This isn't normal.

"What does it mean?" I whisper.

"It means that you are neither a Light or a Dark fairy," Heliux explains slowly, clearly recovering from his shock.  "There is only one fairy who fits those qualifications."

"It's Her Majesty," Layra tells me before I have the chance to ask.  "The Queen."

"Your Elements prove it," Clemont says quietly.  "I can see them now- three of them.  You have three Elements, Valerie."

"Space and Spirits of course," Gary tells me, his voice full of wonder, "but you also have Time.  Time is an Element that only Queens and Kings have."

Serena looks at me directly and just says it.

"Valerie, it looks like you're our next Queen."

~~~~~~~~~~

Layra

It's almost two in the morning.  Heliux and I set to work hours ago, when the fairies went to bed.

I still can't believe my daughter is going to be crowned Queen.  I'm extremely happy, but for the wrong reasons.  I'm selfish.  I'm just happy that our time together will be spread out for eons longer.  I'm not thinking of the burden that she will have to carry on her shoulders, the sacrifices she'll have to make to reach her destiny.  That's IF she survives the first test, I remind myself with a shiver.

After she recovered from her initial shock, she tried to act normal.  She talked with the twins, who looked awed by her new appearance.  They ate dinner, and then we got her situated in her new room.  Since she is going to be crowned shortly, she gets to use the special room in the main building, the building that the Leaders, Advisors, and of course the one that Heliux and I sleep in.

That was hours ago.

I need to get that out of my head and focus.

Around midnight, the two of us crafted a spell that would lure that horrid scum of a person out into the forest.  Using a combination of other spells and hexes, we put that original spell into place.  Now, Heliux and I are heading out right now with one mission.

Kill him.  Kill him in entirety, both body and soul.  He does not deserve to live, nor does he deserve to have a mere second of happiness in his afterlife.

I'm almost positive that Valerie has had bad experiences in her past lives.  The difference is that we weren't around then to witness it.  We are now.

We're doing something about it.

"Nervous?" I ask Heliux.  It's been a while since we've done anything like this.

He shakes his head in his angry way.  He has three headshakes- one he does when he's frustrated, one he does when he's sad, and one he does when he's genuinely enraged.  He's doing that third one now.  "Absolutely not.  That man needs to die.  We're simply acting as a catalyst to speed up that process."

His cruel twist at a metaphor makes me smile, especially on a night like this.

I feel my inner assassin instincts surge within me.  I used to be one- an assassin that is.  In my human life.  I was a really good one too.  And even though Heliux's royalty position prevented him from doing a lot of things, as a human he did learn how to kill.

"Let's hide up here," I tell him, pointing to a nearby tree branch.  He nods and we both perch on it, awaiting our prey.  I lean my head onto his shoulder, clasping his hand in mine.  I smile, truly smile.  Tonight is going to be fun.

It doesn't take long for our that corrupted human to show up, wobbling around like he's drunk.  He probably is drunk, I think disgustedly.  Before he can come to his senses I aim my magic at him to shrink him to fairy size.  We're about to play, and we're playing on our playing field, not his.

Heliux and I fly down, and as soon as our feet touch the ground Heliux holds out his right hand.  He sends a golden burst of magic toward the man, pinning him against the tree while gleaming golden chains keep him in place.  I can see them coiling around him, coiling like a snake, getting tighter and tighter as the seconds pass by.

The man starts to look genuinely terrified.  Good.

"Who are you!?" he demands.  

Heliux steps up close to him, the light emanating from his wings being the only light in this forest.  He shoves his hand on the guy's chest as the chains continue to grow tighter and tighter.  "People who should've taken you out long ago," he hisses, that same hand lighting up with a black-coloured aura.  "You will pay for what you have done."  The magic seeps into his chest, and a few seconds later, he starts to scream in agony.

My beloved walks back to me, and putting my hand in his, we watch the show together.  The man struggles against the chains, and from the force inside him pulling him apart.

"What-" he sputters, coughing out a glorious ruby colour.  "What did you-"

"Do?" Heliux asks, finishing his sentence for him.  "Why, I simply put something inside of you that will slowly tear you apart from your core.  It will slowly eat away at you from the inside, causing you endless amounts of agony until it has finally finished with you."  He smiles, a wicked, cruel, sly smile.  "I believe it's called a black hole."  Or, at least a magically-altered one that does its job very, very slowly.

I watch as this man slowly gets pulled apart.  It takes a long while, a long glorious while, and after about an hour passes, the black hole finally eats him all up.  Before it can cause anymore damage, Heliux snuffs it out.  He looks to me.  "Your turn, Dear."

"Of course, Love."

Using my magic, I form a knife in my hand, a knife that radiates with the colour of northern ice.  Formed by my hand, this knife can kill spirits.  I hear a rustling in the bushes, something only I can hear, and see the man's spirit form desperately trying to escape.  I want to laugh at his pitiful attempt.  His spirit gets pinned to a tree when I toss the knife at him, his shoulder beginning to bleed out.  He stares at me, his eyes quivering from fear.

This is the man that harmed my daughter.  He does not deserve mercy.

I create another knife and walk up to him, holding up his chin with two fingers.  I stare deep into his eyes, the eyes of the creature that hurt my baby.

"Take this message," I tell him, no emotion in my voice.  Heliux watches from behind me, ready to act if anything is to go wrong.  I look at this monster's face as it contorts, plunging the knife deep into his throat.  Blood pours out of the wound as his form begins to fade from existence.

"No one hurts my baby and gets away with it."

Heliux approaches me, wanting to give his own final message to the spirit.  Unfortunately, he cannot see the crimson that drips down this monster, but that doesn't stop him.  His golden eyes gleam in the dark of night as he speaks.  "You will never hurt our daughter ever again."

The monster's spirit finally fades, and with that, the slaughter has reached its glorious completion.  I look up, letting out a sigh.  Blinking lights fill the tree canopy, which is slightly strange because tonight's sky is covered in clouds; we shouldn't be able to see stars.

"Let's go home," I tell Heliux, clasping his hand in mine.  Spirit blood does not stain clothes, but it does stain the conscious, and we need to clean up for Valerie's magic training this morning.

He smiles at me, and forms the portal with his other hand.  "Yes, let's."

So Valerie's adoptive father is dead I hope you're all happy.

That was it for this chapter- I hope you enjoyed it.  Definitely lots to process in here, that's for sure. XD

Before I forget, here is Valerie's new fairy outfit:

XD You can tell that I really wanted to avoid drawing hands with this one.

Stay tuned for chapter 16, coming out next week!! :)