'So, this may sting a bit'

'I'm sure I can - Ow!'

'Sorry, sorry!'

Preston hissed as the fire resistance potion splashed against his skin once more. He absolutely hated it, but according to Marina Power it would get the stone off, so he was willing to give it a shot 'Alright, the last bit's nearly off... This one's going to hurt pretty badly because it's a large piece, so you might want to brace yourself'

'If it's worse than the others, then-' He paused to bite back a scream, tiny lava tears pricking at his eyes as the midnight-purple solid was peeled from his body 'Almost over, you're doing really well... And it's off!'

Cautiously opening his eyes, the Texan met the warm gaze of Lachlan's Mother who smiled and kicked the almost black stone behind her 'Does it feel better?' She asked as he slipped his black t-shirt back on. He nodded slightly, moving his arm to regain feeling in the limb as Rob poked his head around the door 'Everything okay in here?'

'I've managed to get all of the stone off, but the spots are going to be tender for a few days - Don't do anything you normally do, alright? That means no exploring new caves, no fighting, no wrestling on top of hills' Rob looked down in embarrassment, while Preston's lava pattern brightened in his version of a blush 'Oh... You heard about that?'

'It's how you two found at that Preston couldn't burn people, Lachlan told me earlier' She stood from her kneeling position, carefully pulling the lava hybrid with her before dusting off her skirt and smiling 'Well if you two need any more help just call for me, okay? Oh, and Preston; I'm not going to tell Kira where you are, I'm going to try and find out why she did it... See you later boys!'

+++

'Everything's alright now?' Jerome asked as the three stood under Choco's massive treehouse. It had been about an hour since Lachlan's Mum left, but Brandon had left early to help his Dad out with something.

'Yes Jerome, I'm fine' The young hybrid laughed, leaning against Rob's side as they talked. The Sun was just brushing along the skyline, but there seemed to be a tense atmosphere 'Hey, guys, does anyone else feel-'

'Off? Yeah. I'm nervous about something, but I don't know exactly what' The bacca sighed, crossing his arms and glancing around their surroundings. There didn't seem to be anything that could be a threat, but before he could speak again a red and blue blur dashed past them 'W-What the Nether?!'

Moments after the blur had run into the forest, a rather exhausted looking chocobo jogged into the clearing and groaned loudly, dragging a hand down his face as he looked around 'For...For fudge's sakes' He breathed, taking deep breaths of air as his three friends sent him concerned looks 'Choco, you alright?'

'Did Mitch come through here?' Choco asked as two more figures came from the bushes - Kenny and Vik 'Well there was somebody running through here a few moments ago, but they were going pretty fast so I didn't see their face. Why, what's happened?'

'He ran off after he found out who his Mum was, and knowing Mitch he's going to run off a cliff without even realizing he was near one' Vik choked out, doubling over to try and get air back in his lungs while Kenny ran a hand through his bond hair, not bothering to say anything and instead focusing on getting his breath back.

'Uh... What's going on?' An Australian voice asked tiredly, and the group turned to see Lachlan stroll into the clearing closely followed by his dragon. Upon seeing the reptile, Preston and Choco took a few cautious steps back while Kenny and Vik gasped, and Jerome and Rob simply groaned 'I knew I could smell dragon...' The Canadian muttered quietly, before looking back up at his young friend 'Bro, where've you been?'

The blond shrugged slightly, before yawning and pulling his jacket sleeves over his hands 'I went home because I was hungry. I told you, but I'm guessing none of you heard. Then I spent about an hour trying to figure out what this lil' guy's name is, but then I got bored halfway through and fell asleep. Then, I had this tiny voice in the back of my head yelling for somebody to slow down, so that was fun'

'...You're hearing voices in your head? Also - When the fudge did you get a dragon?' Preston questioned warily, eyeing the creature as if it would try and attack him at any second 'When my Mum came around earlier, that "package" she had was actually a dragon, so that was fun - And yes I'm hearing voices' Lachlan conceded, wincing as his dragon dug it's claws into his back before settling on his shoulder as he looked around 'Now, what's going on here?'

'Turns out Mitch's Mom was actually part of Notch's Army, and he completely flipped out'

'She was?! What name did she go by?'

'Uh... I think Harvey's Mom called her "The Lady of Time" or something' Kenny explained, finally having gotten his breath back while Vik was still having trouble with it. All of the hybrids froze in shock, jaws dropping as they heard the title before the blond looked up once more 'You guys alright?'

'Di-Did you just say "Lady of Time"?' Jerome stammered, charcoal-black eyes wide as Kenny nodded quickly 'Yeah, why?'

'If it's who I think it is, then Mitch's Mom was Fern Hughes - She was one of the eight main leaders of the War!' Rob exclaimed, his tail waving with excitement at the discovery while Choco raised an eyebrow (Yet again, he's a bird - How can he do such things?) 'Am I the only one who has literally no idea as to what the fudge is going on?'

Vik - Who finally managed to get some air back into his lungs - shrugged and shook his head, attempting to fix his ruffled hair and observing the confused expressions of the hybrids 'They've completely lost me, mate' He admitted, mentally shooing the voice away.

'Hold on, this is completely out of context but I need to ask something - Lachlan, where are your wings?' The golden bird asked, and the Australian rubbed his arms awkwardly '...This isn't the time to talk about it. So, are we going to get Mitch back, or are we going to let him run off of a cliff?'

'That's what I said he would do!'

'Exactly'