Together

  ( Winterwish )

  Deathly chill stirred Winterwish's core as she watched Sunshine soar.

  No! Come back!

  Cutiehorn wasted no time. "Cherrychomp, summon a Muncher. Bubblebun, Splishsplash, jump on and give chase!"

  The little red fairy nodded and tossed a berry from her belt. A second later it was both ravenous and ready.

  Winterwish watched nervously, her mind racing as their most capable combatants hurried to depart. "...W-wait!" she called.

  "What is it?" asked Cutiehorn. "We haven't the time to hesitate. The forestfolk need us!"

  Winterwish raised her hand, as if begging for a second of silence amongst the impatient.

  Something's off. Something's wrong. But what?

  She tried to recall what little they knew of their enemy, and the tactics they'd employed thus far.

  That's it!

  "Don't send all our best!" she begged. "There's a chance that -"

  She couldn't even finish her sentence before the second flare launched from a different location. Then a third. Then a fourth. Just as she'd feared, the initial eruption wasn't alone, merely the first to trigger. A quartet of distant villages were all under attack at the same time.

  Panic spread through the gathered defenders. Even Splishsplash clenched at Loyalty tighter than usual.

  "This... is bad." Winterwish looked to her Mentor. "What do we do?"

  "Stay calm.” Merrymint steadied her spectacles with shaky fingers. “Give our leader a chance to think. Cutiehorn knows our strengths and weaknesses."

  The knight mumbled inaudibly as silver eyes darted between the dissipating sky signals and those under her command. "Splishsplash, can you handle Mirrorpond alone?"

  "Done." The merprincess leapt aboard Cherrychomp's Muncher and made a single demand. "Up." The seeded steed shot high, giving Splishsplash the elevation she needed to leap off and glide on large, fishy fins toward her assigned village.

  "Bubblebun and Puddingpuff take Songflower," ordered Cutiehorn. "Wait, where the hel is -"

  "I'm here!" gasped Puddingpuff, stumbling and panting down the palace steps.

  "Songflower, now!" barked Cutiehorn. "Don't put yourselves at risk. Be prepared to cut losses if you can't handle things!"

  Bubblebun crouched down. Thighs tensed, muscle definition like chiselled stone. She looked at Puddingpuff. "Get on."

  "I beg your pardon?" asked Puddingpuff.

  "We both know you can't match my pace for long," snapped Bubblebun. "You're already out of breath. Swallow your stupid sensibilities and get on before I smack you!"

  Puddingpuff snapped her parasol to a close with fluster and frustration. Powdered cheeks tinted red as she reluctantly boarded Bubblebun's back. Just a few bounding leaps later and the pair vanished into the thicket.

  Cutiehorn waited for the Muncher to finish its return descent, then clambered aboard. "Cherrychomp, we're taking Plumpberry."

  "Eyes 'n' eyes, Cap'in!"

  "Wait!" Winterwish rushed over. The memory of Cherrychomp racing off in pursuit of their enemy remained hauntingly fresh. Imprinted images of the little red fairy limp and lifeless spread tingling terror through her skin. "Don't rush off, Cherrychomp. Stay with Cutiehorn, and do exactly as you're told, ok?" She presented a hooked pinkie.

  Merrymint joined their side and presented a pinkie of her own. "Be good, Cherry'! Be safe!"

  The little red fairy looked to each of them, before embracing both minor digits. "Promises!"

  "Don't worry," said Cutiehorn. "I'll look after her. No matter what."

  Winterwish and Merrymint gave each other a nod of reassurance. As worried as they were, they both knew Cherrychomp couldn't have a more selfless defender.

  "What about Sunshine?" asked Winterwish. "She's all alone out there!"

  "Don't even think about it!" said Cutiehorn. "You two are to stay here with Dollymop!"

  Winterwish tried to argue. “But -”

  "No!" said Cutiehorn. "Have faith in her, Winterwish. She doesn't always get things right, but she's as tough as a shroomhide! I need you here. Retreat inside if things get bad. All the way up to the Nursery, if you have to. Nothing but the cocoons is worth risking your lives for."

  They watched with trepidation as Cutiehorn, Cherrychomp and the Muncher became little more than a shrinking dot in the distant sky. Winterwish took Merrymint's extended hand and squeezed.

  "Retreat inside?" asked Dollymop. "Well, you're screwed if it comes to that."

  Mister Bear peered down at the palace entrance he had no hope of fitting through and let out a dejected groan.

  "Don't worry, Mister B'! Me and Winter' are stronger than we look. We can -" Merrymint paused, eyes widening and lips agape. A pink glimmer reflected upon each spectacle lens.

  Winterwish turned in time to see the flare explode for herself. The other four had all launched from eastern villages. This one had come from the west. Even if the other teams were fast, they'd never reach the fifth call for help. Not before its people had suffered massive casualties.

  Winterwish gulped. She looked back to the fearful thespian. "...We can't just let it happen."

  "Stay here. I'll go," said Merrymint.

  "Alone?" asked Winterwish. "Don't be ridiculous! We can handle it if it's just a single eruption! It'll be just like Candy Town!"

  "That's exactly what I'm worried about!" cried Merrymint. “There won't always be someone around to save the day!”

  “That's us, Merrymint!” said Winterwish. “Right now people are in trouble and they're depending on our help! We're strong together. You know that! We can do this!”

  Merrymint whispered with uncertainty. “We can... do this?”

  Winterwish grabbed her Mentor's shoulders. “Yes! You know we can! We've got our magic, we've got faefire, and we make the best team! We're Fairy Princesses! I don't have to tell you what that means, right?”

  Quivering emeralds switched between Winterwish and the fading butterfly. “To be a Fairy Princess...” muttered Merrymint. “...Protectors of the queendom... Defenders of peace...”

  “To inspire courage and fill hearts with joy!” Winterwish added, nodding fervently.

  “...We can do this,” whispered Merrymint once more. “Golly gosh, we can do this!”

  “Yes!” cheered Winterwish. “Dollymop, Mister Bear, can you two hold the palace?”

  “Not if it gives you two permission to do something stupid,” said Dollymop.

  Winterwish looked back across the forest. The distress signal had already fizzled out. “Please! Every second we waste -”

  “You think I don't know that?” snapped Dollymop. “You damn fairies are all the same... Go, if you have to, but don't you dare throw your lives away! ...I didn't work my ass off on those outfits for nothing.”

  Winterwish and Merrymint surged through the Enchanted Forest. They sprang from branches and skidded around trunks.

  In the short time Winterwish had been a Fairy Princess, she'd learned much about her body. She'd unlocked the incredible power her metamorphosed muscles were capable of, and could now keep up with her Mentor even at top speed.

  "Could you tell which village it was?" she asked.

  Merrymint gripped the rim of her hat as they darted through the trees. "No. I normally find it pretty easy to tell, but... this time I'm not so sure it was launched from a village at all."

  Winterwish squinted in an attempt to glean something from the dense foliage, believing they were close. "Then... where?"

  "Travellers, maybe, traders or hunters. If we're lucky it'll just be some stray beast with nothing to do with the other attacks. A pack of wickerwolves or a bearzerker. It happens from time to time."

  Winterwish's gut ran cold. The eastern attacks were clearly calculated and purposefully timed. Orchestrated strikes that divided the sisterhood. The fifth flare being nothing more than an unrelated coincidence seemed incredibly unlikely. "We can't let our guards down..."

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  They broke from the thicket into a clearing. A flossy meadow of fluffy white orbs. Knee-high dandelions spread into the distance, occasionally losing soft seeds to the whispering breeze. It should've been a beautiful sight. A place of tranquility. But the pair had no time to appreciate nature's flocculent bounty, for at the centre of the meadow stood a single tent.

  "There! That's gotta be it, right?" asked Winterwish.

  Merrymint frowned. "Yeah, but... I don't see anyone."

  They raced forward, driving up drifting clouds, until they reached the camp. The dandelions surrounding the tent had been disturbed. Many stalks were entirely barren. Others had been splattered with sticky red, or crushed beneath corpses.

  "We were too late..." Unlike the last time Winterwish had witnessed death, there came no buckling of knees nor rush of vomit, only blunted lamentation. Even that felt disrespectfully muted compared to the rising demands of her analyticism.

  There were six bodies in total, all displaying similar damage. Faces had been flayed, throats torn and skulls split. Jaws were either ripped apart or wholly removed.

  These are physical wounds, not corrupted...

  Mechanical methods aside, the kills had been anything but clean. It was not blade, bite nor blunt force that'd slain the individuals. The flesh and cartilage had blossomed, as if it'd suffered some kind of internal explosion.

  What could've caused such a reaction, if not ichor? ...Magic?

  Winterwish tread carefully around the fallen, trying to avoid stepping in any mess. "...What do you think happened here?"

  "I...” Merrymint stood shaking. “I'm sorry. Maybe if I hadn't tried to argue..."

  Winterwish crouched down, tugged off a glove and pressed her fingertips to the nearest of the deceased. "No. It wouldn't have made any difference. They're already cold."

  Merrymint squinted. "What? That doesn't make any sense."

  It didn't take Winterwish long to catch on. "...If they're all long dead, then who launched the flare?"

  In cautious unison, they both turned towards the tent. As if in response to their gaze, a quiet sobbing sounded from within.

  A hint of hope flickered across Merrymint's troubled expression. “...Ahoy-hoy? Who's there? Do you need help? We're from the palace." She tip-toed around the fallen, edging closer to the tent.

  "Help~" echoed a wet voice from within. The tone was unstable and pronunciation a little off, even for one who was crying. It was almost as if they were slurping their words.

  Winterwish clenched chilled fists.

  I don't like this. What have I overlooked?

  Merrymint inched closer. Fingers reached for the entry flap. Within, a shadow stirred.

  Winterwish looked back to the victims. They all had one thing in common.

  Cherrychomp said the Fairy Princess she'd engaged threw white stones...

  Each and every mangled jaw was devoid of teeth.

  The shadow lurched.

  "Merrymint, wall!" screamed Winterwish.

  She threw forth her hands and projected her glacial magic. A rush of leafy wind shaped it into a frosted barrier, just in time for a bloodied hand to slam against it. A hand that would've otherwise connected with Merrymint's face.

  The emerald fairy stumbled back as the palm squelched along translucent ice, smearing red.

  "You two plus me~ Makes Fairy Princesses three~" Now the bawling sounded more like maniacal giggling. "Tell me, sisters~ Are you strong?~"

  Side by side, they watched as a blurry figure slunk from the tent. Its movements were unnatural. The form rolled and twisted like some kind of slippery rag doll, as if its joints were capable of flipping and flopping in any direction.

  Jagged leaves twirled through Merrymint's splayed digits. "Name yourself!"

  "It's her." Winterwish could feel her outfit crinkling to life. Reactive fabrics warmed as her core chilled. "The enemy fairy." The next thought she kept to herself, for she couldn't risk Merrymint's composure.

  In all likelihood, Candy Dandy's killer...

  "Darnit," said Merrymint. "We should fall back. Even two on one this is too risky."

  Winterwish spared the surrounding slaughter another glance. Innocent lives ended prematurely. The very people Fairy Princesses were sworn to protect. "If we let her go and she kills again, it'll be our fault!"

  We need to take her down!

  Gore-soaked fingers wrapped around the edge of the ice. "But you said you'd help me~ You have to help me~"

  "Then come out slowly!" called Merrymint. "We can talk, but you've got to keep your distance!"

  They watched aghast as the mutated fairy shambled into view.

  Aside from a pair of milky eyes, the girl's entire body was gummy and slimy. Even her drooling dress was disturbingly organic. Its frills and ruffles were wet and rubbery, like the inside of one's lips. All over, from between her toes, along every limb, and even amongst her salivating hair, sprouted countless teeth. She almost resembled some manner of fleshy, forgotten shipwreck overrun with pearly barnacles. Multiple sets clashed both inside and outside of her cavernous maw, forcing one another to awkward angles as if vying for dominance. Even her long, lashing tongue was embedded with disorderly molars and chaotic incisors.

  "Help~" she gurgled.

  Winterwish's icy heart ached from the strain of crystallising blood. Intense emotions made it all the more difficult to control her magic, and caused suppressing seams to steam.

  "How?" called Merrymint. "What do you need from us?"

  "Don't trust her!" cried Winterwish.

  "She's asking for help," cried Merrymint. "We can't just turn her away! What if we can develop a cure? What if we can fix this!?"

  "Yes!~ Fix me~" The fluctuating pitch made it impossible to tell whether the thing was laughing, crying, or permanently mewling a blend of both. "I want to be pretty again!~" All over her enzyme-oozing body, cluttered canines chittered and chattered. Buckling knees and awkward ankles shuffled forward. A drooping head rocked atop swaying shoulders, contorted vertebrae clicking and popping with each step.

  "She just tried to grab you, Merrymint!" yelled Winterwish. "Look around! She's a killer!"

  "J-just stay where you are!" begged Merrymint. "Don't move!"

  And just like that, she stopped. Limp limbs lolled, like those of a dangling puppet. The dripping, toothy tongue ceased to writhe. Even the dental percussion calmed.

  Winterwish's mind raced. If Titania or Splishsplash were there, she was certain they'd deem the afflicted fairy beyond saving. As dishonourable as it may be, their best option was executing the infected while her guard was low. Any other choice put those she cared about in danger.

  She thought to the bottled faefire fluttering within her pocket. It was the perfect weapon for striking at slower moving targets like ichorous eruptions, but hitting a fairy was another matter. Reaching, grabbing and throwing it were obvious actions that would give the target a chance to react. She had a much better chance of landing a surprise attack with her own magic.

  If I put an icicle through her heart right now, would Merrymint ever forgive me?

  Merrymint's hands hovered in place, as if by remaining still she could prevent the situation from escalating. "We'll help... Just tell us, how?"

  For a moment, nothing.

  Then, starting with subtle trembles, movement returned to the girl. Slathered fingers threshed. Seeping eyes shuddered. The toothed tongue coiled. "...Smile for me~..." Hysterical dribble turned to crazed shrieks. The hostile lunged, closing the gap in an instant.

  No words were exchanged between Winterwish and Merrymint, for none were needed. A boreal cyclone howled from their joined hands. A vortex of combined power that blasted the charging enemy back along with a swirl of freezing seeds.

  Their adversary's freakish flexibility and erratic movements made her difficult to track. One moment she sprang like a frog, with toothed tongue trailing. The next she sunk into the dandelions and slid through the meadow like a prowling lizard, all with extreme speed.

  Razor leaves slashed, severing stalks and shredding the tent, yet failed to find their mark. Rows of rimed spikes burst up from between the flowers, but the villain slipped through with grotesque grace.

  She would soon be upon them.

  "Wall!" called Winterwish again.

  Just like before, the pair worked together to form a thick block of ice, though this time their opponent whipped a limb. Loose teeth flew from her flesh and clattered against the bulwark. A series of explosions shattered it like the thinnest of windows. Ice shards shot through the roiling haze of puffy seeds.

  Only then did Winterwish realise how utterly outmatched they were. Merrymint had wanted to flee, and Winterwish should've listened. Now a slick, slippery hand clamped her Mentor's mouth.

  "Smile for me~"

  Terrified emeralds looked to Winterwish.

  Merrymint's teeth exploded.

  Red mist. Warm rain.

  Glinting spectacle splinters.

  Winterwish blinked in disbelief, but nothing changed. The fatal crack lingered in the air.

  A moment ago her best friend and closest sister had been beside her. She'd been alive. Now she was just another corpse. A twitching body that collapsed to its knees, then slumped beneath the dandelions.

  There'd been no emotional goodbye. No scream. Nothing but a single instant. A brief, irreversible moment that'd transformed life to death. Merrymint would never brighten anyone's day again. Her support, her encouragement, her love and her smile were gone forever.

  She's dead.

  Merrymint's dead.

  Flesh-caked fingers flicked, flinging off scraps of face, as if disgusted. "Weak~" The slurp was laced with disappointment. With disdain. The killer's head flopped back, hanging behind shoulders so milky eyes could spy Winterwish without turning around. "You~... You'll smile next~"

  I should have killed her...

  Frigid mist crept across the meadow. Fluffy flowers turned to glassy globes. The ground frosted. Fractured. Quaked. Even distant trees surrendered crisping leaves to the coming storm.

  I should have killed her!

  Cold took Winterwish's heart. A deep, dark, deathly cold like no other. Cold she wouldn't stop, and couldn't even if she wanted to.

  Nullseams split. Scorchthread and magmasilk roared aflame.