Lily woke up to a feeling like she was being bombarded by unseen enemies. The room she was in shook so much that the lamp in her room fell to the floor and shattered, the light going out. Now the room was dark and shaking like an earthquake was going on. Lily screamed and ducked to the floor before the heavy bookcase across from her bed could fall and crush her. When the shaking stopped, she was gasping and trembling. Her headache from her slow transformation wasn't helping things. "Toby!" she cried. "Toby!"
The boy entered the room after a few moments, helping her up off of the floor. She was rather traumatized. She'd never experienced anything like this before. "Toby, what was that?" The blond boy wore nothing but boxers and socks. As she watched, he slipped on a shirt. Lily would've been blushing, had she not been so terrified. "An earthquake, I guess." "Do you normally have those here?" "No." Toby had gotten his plaid shirt on, and was now slipping on brown boots. "You should really stay in bed. It'll be painful to move too much." Lily ignored this. "No! If I'm going to die soon, then I don't want to spend my last couple of days stuck in a bed!" She darted out of the room to prove she was just fine. "See? I can still move!" Just then short burst of pain shot through her legs and arms. Lily crumpled to the floor, gasping. "Ah, ow, ow, owww-" "See, you can't. Your muscles are reforming. After today, you can get up and move all you want, but for now, stay put." Toby sat her back down in the bed. Lily pouted and crossed her arms. "This is stupid. I can't stay here after an earthquake happened! What if it happens again?" Toby shook his head. "It won't. They're not common here." When Lily continued to sulk, the fairy smirked. "Fine. You can come with me, just...try to walk slowly." Lily beamed and shot up out of the bed like a speeding bullet. Unfortunately, this was the wrong thing to do. Her aching arms and legs made her go down on the floor again. Toby pulled her up gently, his shoulders shaking from laughter. Lily frowned, trying to fix her frazzled hair. "It's not funny! Let's just go already."

Shade's head emerged from the rubble first. He tried to move the broken bits of the roof that pinned him down, but could only get his arms free. His torso and legs were buried far beneath the mess of shingles and wood. He still held his knife, but hacking at the debris didn't help, either. The boy took a deep breath to calm himself down. Once I get out of here,
he thought, I'll find those demise beasts and strangle them. Shade looked around at his demolished home. Reena and his mom were nowhere in sight. They had to be buried still. The boy coughed, trying to muster some fire to burn away the pieces of the roof. He got some to come up, and made sure to be careful about where he aimed the stream of flames. As he was freeing his legs, he nearly lost a toe to the fire once or twice. As he stood up shakily, he looked himself over for wounds.
Thankfully none of the roof had stabbed into his body. Relieved but still worried, he got up and found Reena. She had freed herself too, somehow, and went to him, burying her face in his shoulder. "Oh my god," she breathed. "You're alive. W-Where's Mom?"
Shade stroked his sister's hair gently, working out some of the black tangles.
He looked around the room, but when he didn't see their mother, he took in a breath to steady himself before he spoke.
"I don't see her. She must still be under the rubble." Reena nodded. She let him go, her lip trembling as she fought back tears.
Shade's sister wasn't the type to cry often, but when a situation was this serious and it had to do with her family, well...she couldn't help but break down. Shade searched the ravaged place they had called home for his mom.
At first he called her what he always had, but soon out of desperation he was yelling her actual name. Reena was sniffling beside him. She was quiet for a while, and didn't say anything until she stumbled upon who they'd been looking for. Her green eyes were wide and glossy with fresh tears. "Mom," she rasped. Shade followed her gaze and had to bite the inside of his mouth to keep from screaming. Their mother was there, close to where their front door had once been, but something was wrong. Pieces of wood and other debris had somehow lodged itself through her right shoulder. When her children came close, she moved, but only to wince. Blood trickled down from her arm, a line of violet against her tanned skin. Shade reached for her first, grabbing her arms and pulling hard. Reena joined in, but when their mom's face twisted with pain, they released her. "It hurts," she said softly. "My legs...something's got them stuck down there.." Reena made a noise that was a cross between a wail and a sob. She put a hand over her mouth, her shoulders shaking. Shade felt numb. This was a nightmare. He'd had so many while he was in his cell before. However, he couldn't deny what he was seeing happen. He had blood on his fingers from a scrape on his leg, and the dust from the fallen roof made it hard to take in air. This was real. Someone was going to die for this. He'd make sure of it. "Mom," he said. "Mom, please. There has to be a way to get you out of there. You can't just...you can't-" Melanie stopped him as she put one hand up. Her faint smile made him want to throw himself down in that pit so he would never have to see a world without her. "Shade, it's okay. You two are responsible kids. You can live with Aunt Felicia. She'll take care of you both." Reena shook her head. She was bitter now, bitterly angry. "No...no, that won't happen. You're staying with us. April needs you, and so do we. You can't go." "But I have to." Melanie reached out for her daughter's hand, and she took it, holding it as tightly as she could in her current state. "I know this will be hard, but the Fern family can overcome any hardship. I'm sure of it." She smiled again, but it was fainter than before. "Find April, for..my sake. Don't have too much fun without me." Reena was shaking, but she was able to smile back at her mom. "We won't." Melanie leaned forward to kiss her forehead. That was all she could do before her eyes closed, and her hand became loose and limp. Reena sniffled, then let out a wail that would've made anyone within earshot feel sorrow too. Shade didn't cry, but he saw his mother lying dead amongst the ruins of their house and thought of only one thing, vengeance. Those demise beasts will die for this, he thought. I'll make sure of it.

Kara hurried after Peony in the woods. Her breath was labored. The purple haired fairy in front of her led her through the forest at a pace that made the girl trip and stumble. She showed no sign of slowing down anytime soon. "What...do you mean?" Kara gasped. "It's...unfair for the Council to do that." Peony was perfectly fine, her words unhindered by fatigue. "It is. I'm glad you see that. Most fairies here would agree with the Council's choice." The Gifted fairy skidded to a halt when she noticed Kara's exhaustion. "You'd better rest. We've both got a long way to go before we're safe."
Kara collapsed to the ground, a hand to her chest. The sky behind the cover of the trees was dark and frightening. She remembered Sylvan's expression as she'd been taken away. What did the demise beasts want with her, anyway?