｡･:*:･ﾟ★,"Please tell me I didn't give a drug addict another fix."｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,"Don't worry, dear brother."｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Beatrix

I turn away from the door, unable to bear the sight of Stella and Brandon kissing. My thoughts race with all the information I've suddenly gathered. Part of me wishes I had never followed Stella in the first place but this- this changes things. This changes everything.

Well, not exactly. Tavi and I always knew she was obsessed with bringing back the old ways. Ocatvia's shadows are proof that at least one of her experiments works but her next goal? The shape shifters, the Dumaris. It's obvious she wants to use Irene's power, or blood or something or other to allow the Dumaris to shift once more.

And the fact I was in Asterdell with Bloom. She must have stolen me from my parents, unless they were the ones experimenting on me. But that could mean- no. fuck no. Rosalind is not getting out to do that. To do that to me or Octavia and her mates.

I storm through the halls, allowing the silence to echo my thoughts until I reach the pure chaos of the courtyard. Oh Helios. It's so much busier than before. I don't hesitate to get to work, having passed on the orders for every spare person to help out before I followed Stella.

I can see Irene at the far end of the hall, giving out orders as she tends to the less severely wounded. I don't like this. I don't like having her so exposed to so many people when we're undefended and vulnerable. It's not safe. Not when someone could take her at any moment.

Who did she manage to trick anyways? If she didn't get in Bloom's head then she must have gotten to someone else. I need to find them before things get out of hand. But if Bloom is right and Rosalind was experimenting on people, lots of people. How many babies had she taken? How many people had gone missing? Soldiers that would follow her orders without question thanks to those little mind tricks of hers.

If I can't get those families' answers from Rosalind the least I can get them is justice and the knowledge that she can never hurt another child again. A familiar mop of Blonde hair has me freezing in place. Sky. I'm by my brother's side in seconds, taking in his injured side.

"What happened, I demand." As I help the healers shift him onto a table. "Burned One?"

"Rogue cave goblin." He hisses.

The wound's deep. Bad deep. I can already see infection has set in, flakes of rust from the blade have peeled off as well. Of course Goblins don't bother to clean and care for their weapons. I grab a medic kit from underneath the table.

"What's it like out there?" I question as I begin cleaning the area around the wound in broad swipes to get rid of the blood caked there. "All of our Omada still standing?"

"Riven took an arrow to the shoulder but it was an easy fix, didn't pierce through his armour but he's going to have one hell of a bruise tomorrow." He grinds out through clenched teeth as I used antiseptic on his wound. "We've got maybe 3 Burned Ones left in this raid until the next wave if your lab results combined with Lykos' intel is correct."

"The Solarians arrived yet?"

"30 minutes ago." Sky gasps in pain as I begin tweezing out the small chunks of rust. "Lykos said something about hunting down the source of the Cave Goblins, their mercenaries so someone must have paid them to take advantage of the Burned Ones' carnage."

"I assume if he's willing to leave the fight then they've got it under control?" I state, nearly half way clear of rust and grit. "The next wave wont wipe us out."

"So long as it was only two waves as predicted from the numbers we'll be fine." Sky's face scrunches up in pain, teeth clamped together as he fights down a scream. The strong salve is a bitch going on but I can already see the soothing effects taking place. "Wha-what's.. O-our next steps."

I glance around hesitantly, making sure no one's nearby as I slide a solid shield of air around us, trapping in our voices so we can't be overheard.

"I got the device." I smirk, unable to keep the smugness from my voice. "It wasn't exactly well guarded, or hidden in the first place. Like taking candy from a babe."

Sky rolls his eyes so I put a sharp burst of pressure on his wound, only apologising to his grunt of pain with a 'oops'.

"It's ancient, enchanted hundreds of years ago as a trapping device. It can unlock and create any cage, spell, trap or stasis." I can see my sadistic glee mirrored in my brother's eyes. "It's essentially the most powerful key in the world."

"Well this is going to be good." Sky smirks. "I assume it's not going to be easy setting up traps?"

"Taking them down is a job of seconds but putting them up?" I trail off, annoyance flaring at the thought. "Is a lot more complicated. It requires time we don't have and materials we also don't have but it can't set up a few barriers to slow things down with a fairies direction."

"What do you need me to do?" Always the good little soldier my brother. He sits up quietly as I pretend to focus on the bandages as I explain.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Stella

"Terra." I hiss, jerking my head for her to follow me once I have her attention. "We need your help."

"With what." terra frowns looking back out to the courtyard. "We're both needed here Stella."

"I know but-" I curse silently, glancing around to make sure no one is near us and that Irene is occupied with berating- Apollo above. Sky is here. Fuck. Octavia must be so worried but he's on his feet so it mustn't be bad. "Bloom wasn't the one who knocked you out. You were both attacked. Someone is plotting with Rosalind."

"Rosalind? My dad's old commander?" Terra's brows furrowed in confusion and I cursed myself for her being out of the loop.

"We've had a complete information overload today so I'm going to summarise." I state. "Rosalind has been screwing with Bloom's head, telling her truth and lies so that she can manipulate her. Rosalind was a torturer and experimented on people for who knows how long. Dowling, Silva and your dad imprisoned her below the school. She's trying to escape and we believe she has someone in the school helping her. A student or a teacher."

"Right. Okay. yeah, that- makes sense." I think I've broken Terra. "Lots of information but you're essentially saying Rosalind is an evil person who we need to keep trapped."

"Yeah pretty much."

"Okay then, I'm needed here with the medic and so are you but we can find an adult-"

"They're busy fighting a war."

"We cannot abandon our posts Stella." She hisses eyes pleading. "This is how wars are won. Not by individual, dramatic acts of heroism but by everyone working together to keep each other alive. Everyone does their part and we all live to see another day."

"Someone needs to take care of Rosalind."

"Is she an immediate threat-"

"Yes!" I snap. "She's sent some kind of vial to Beatrix and probably Octavia. A signal of some sort to mark her impending arrival."

"Vial? Of what- poison?" Terra demands and I can see the worry hiding her anger. "Nevermind, what was your plan anyways? Maybe we can put some of it into action as we go."

"Tavi was telling me about Dowling's security systems before we came to Alfea, she likes to be prepared. Apparently there are catacombs hidden beneath the school - not to mention the ridiculous amount of shortcuts, hidden doors and tunnels in this place. It's like freaking Hogwarts. I think someone has been using the tunnels to get through the school unseen."

"You think they could be using the tunnels now to get through the school." I nod in answer to her statement.

"And you're an earth fairy, can't you like- sense them underground or something. Feel their footsteps."

"I mean I can give it a go but how exactly are we going to stop them?" Terra questions and understanding flickers across her face at my silence. That's the part I'm struggling with, sort of- more like how to tell Terra. I raise my hand, twisting it slightly to drop the illusion hiding Bloom, Musa, Aisha and Brandon.

"That's where we come in." Musa states with forced cheer and I glare at Brandon when he rolls his eyes.

"Sweet Helios." Terra exclaims, clutching at her chest in shock. "You nearly killed me."

"The four of us are going to trap whoever is working for Rosalind in the cages we were imprisoned in." Aisha states. "Between Brandon's strength and our magic we should be able to subdue them."

"That's- actually not a half bad plan. It's shit of course but it's much better than what I was expecting." Terra grumbles as she glances back into the courtyard with worry.

"You grew up here Ter." Bloom states and there's a different note in her voice as she looks at the earth fairy. "Do you know of a way we can access the catacombs?"

Terra pauses, scrunching up her face as she thinks.

"Dowling's assistant is not just employed as an assistant." Terra confesses and I can see a plan begin to form in her head. "They're there to guard and defend the main entrance to the catacombs - which is hidden beneath their desk. It leads to the hidden library. It holds most of the history books and only very, very rarely are students allowed down there."

"I assume it will be covered in traps and wards." Musa grumbles but the others are already on the move. "Text us if you find - feel - anything."

"Thank you, terra." I say as I turn to give the girl a quick hug, ignoring the way she freezes in surprise in favour of pulling back to wave Brandon off, ignoring the look he shoots at me that clearly screams 'keep out of trouble'.

"Stel." terra calls, catching my attention once more. "Callum's gone on holiday, Dowling's assistant, he left with his family after the carnival. You don't think that has something to do with-"

"You think someone paid him off?" I question as we slowly walk back towards the courtyard. "For him to get out of the way so they can get to the catacombs."

"I don't know what to think."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

The injuries people are coming in with are mercifully less severe than the start and I pray to Helios that this is the last of the Burned One injuries. I make my way to Sky, waiting for Irene to stop glaring at the sheepish specialist before approaching. I share a smile with the shapeshifter. We were close when Sky and I were dating but she never bothered to get to know me. I guess she knew my relationship was doomed before I did.

"Shall heal up the last of your wound?" I ask Sky as Irene gives him a quick hug before being pulled away to treat someone else.

"Shouldn't you save your magic for the more severely wounded?" Sky comments with a raised brow but lifts his shirt anyway.

"I should, but you're a quick fix and we need you back out there as soon as possible." I state with a smile and something flickers across Sky's eyes. "If you need a break from fighting there's no shame in that. I can leave it for a few hours-"

"It's- it's not that." Sky hastily reassures me and I see him glance to where Beatrix and Irene converse over a patient. "I just don't want to leave them undefended."

From Rosalind.

He knows about her, Tavi must have sent him back to guard Irene from her wrath.

"That's understandable." I murmur, resting my glowing hands over his wound. "She's your mother."

"And there's a whole village out there I should protect as well." Sky murmurs but his gaze hasn't drifted from the females in his family. "How have you been, Stel?"

The question is so sudden and sincere that I blink.

"Shit honestly." I confess. "I knew it was going to be bad, listening to their screams, seeing the injuries but Helios its-"

I break off, fighting the tears that well in my eyes at the thought of all those patients I couldn't save. A hand gripping mine brings my attention back to Sky. he gives me an understanding smile, no judgement, no words of support, just understanding because sometimes that's all there is to give.

"All done." I declare and he squeezes my hand one last time before slowly rising to his feet. I wait for him to do a couple of stretches, checking that everything has healed properly as well as we can tell before giving me a murmured thanks. I lunge forward to wrap him in a tight hug, he hesitates for a moment before gripping me back as I ignore the thoughts of consequences and death he's going back out to face. "Keep yourself safe, yeah?"

"I will. You do the same Stel." he whispers into my hair, holding onto me until we hear a healer call my name for an assist. "Go, I'm going to say my goodbyes to Irene and Beatrix."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Sky

The hallways are quiet and silent, interrupted only by the broken sobs of a family member seeking solitude to grieve. The grief is palpable in the air, the darkened corners filled with broken souls and lost loves as the exhaustion of the day begins to weigh people down. I offer what comforts I can as I pass, handing out food packets, water bottles, blankets and tea lights. There's nothing else to give, no words are going to bring those they love back.

"Sky?" I turn around at Terra's whispered voice. "Where are you going?"

I look around, realising that I have passed all of those resting on the floor and reached the hallway filled with those trying to sleep. Terra's confusion is clear on her face and I'm not sure I have an answer for her.

"We've run out of Tea lights, blankets and food packets." I whisper back, stepping closer to her so that I don't have to raise my voice. "Silva keeps spares in his office, I'm going to get them."

"I thought you were heading back to the front?"

"I am, Irene asked me to get them since I know the code to Silva's office." Believe me. For Apollo's sake just accept the lie Terra and move on, this is no concern of yours.

"Okay, stay safe." She murmurs, giving me a smile before carrying the linen and supply bandages back to the main courtyard.

That was both a really good lie. Belial begins and I roll my eyes as I speed walk through the corridors. And horribly shit. I have no clue how you got away with that.

Yeah, yeah. I huff and thumb the small circular artefact in my pocket. You do know how to use this thing right?

Of course, Beatrix gave us a crash course and it's not exactly rocket science. Belial huffs. I could have just done it myself but it needs a drop of Dumaris blood to activate itself.

I think that's as good as I'll get. I hastily jogged up the step to Dowling's office, quietly scanning both the assistant's room and her office before pulling out the chair at the assistant's desk and peeling back the rug. The hatch has been used recently, no doubt Calum's doing when he was snooping around looking for Rosalind and the stasis key.

The trapdoor opens easily and I scan the pretty bronze ladder below. Of course the hidden library would be full of grandeur and money.

Don't get your hopes up. The rest of the Catacombs are just tunnels dug underground.

Can you sense anyone below.

I can't leave your side, Sky. Belial huffs in annoyance. I am merely a relay communications device. The only reason I can be this far away from my Mistress is because you are her mate.

Alright, don't get your panties in a twist. I mock. Now how do I seal off these Catacombs?

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

"Did you do it?" Beatrix demands as she joins me in the shadows of one of the columns. "And the vial?"

"You should have more faith in me, little sister." I tease but hold out my hands, the purple vial resting in one and the artefact in the other. "You have no idea how many locks Belial had to pick to get this vial, what's in them anyways? Tavi got one as well and it scared her shitless."

She gives me a look and I drop the fake happy tone, knowing there's no way to trick Beatrix into giving away more information than she wants to.

"It's a reminder of what drugs and magic she used to pump our bodies full of." Beatrix begins, eyeing the vial in a different light and I swear I can see her veins flicker darker under her skin. "They offer us power, should we survive the pain and consequences. It's also horrifically addictive at times. Rosalind probably crafted this one to be so but fortunately for us, that means it has the correct components we need."

"Please tell me I didn't give a drug addict another fix." I snarl, ready to lunge forward and rip the vial from her hands but her flippant eyeroll and glare has me halting.

"I'm not addicted to this specific poison - that would be the blue one - I'm going to take this to the lab, see if I can isolate the different compounds and elements required." Beatrix states and then glances down the hallway as she pockets the objects. "Is everything set up for Rosalind's distraction?"

"I still don't like it but I can't see any other way to buy Irene and Andreas some time to escape." I eye my sister up and down as we begin a slow walk back to the front of the school where I should be shipped back off to the front lines. "Are you sure you shouldn't go with them? Tavi can't exactly hide with the whole princess status but you did betray Rosalind."

"Don't worry, dear brother." She taunts with that signature smirk. "I have a plan to get back in her good graces. She won't exactly trust me after what I did but it should be enough to stay her hand."

We reach the side door and I go to step out towards the shed but-

"Dane is getting on my nerves here. Octavia sent him back when she had a moment of 'how the fuck did a first year sneak out here'. Anyways, he was apparently put to use as a driver and then snuck out."

"And I care because?" I trail off in question, turning around so I can walk backwards and watch as Beatrix rolls her eyes at me.

"I think it's time we get Irene out of here, he can drive the getaway car." 

A/N: We'll be back to Octavia's POV in the next few chapters, lots of fighting scenes and Dowling drama