Claxton

Chapter Forty: A Crystal Metamorphic Fairy

Song: "You're the One" - Elisa Rosselli

        The ambulance took Tracey all the way to the North Beach parking lot on Seabrook Island. On the way there, the paramedics gave him an IV and wrapped his wings.
They were very busy in the back of the ambulance, and Dr. Johnson kept on telling Tracey, "Stay with us, kid. You're going to be taken to a fairy hospital."
He tossed another blanket over Tracey, and one of his partners dabbed his face down with a wet towel. "He's got a pretty high fever," she told Dr. Johnson, "We've got to bring it down." While they were working, Tracey still dreamed about his parents, and it got better and better. He dreamt he gave them a tour of Merlin's Island, and he showed them all the places he took Makenna to; Merlindial Falls, Coveline Cliff, and Rainbow Waters. In his dream, his wings weren't broken. He was able to fly. It reminded Merlin's young apprentice how beautiful his wings once were. After giving his parents a tour of the island, Tracey took both of them to the cliff that connected to his room, and they together sat on it and stared out to the sparkling, blue Atlantic Ocean. Tracey smiled, and his parents each rested a hand on each of his shoulders. Outside the dream, in his sleep, he lifted his hand and extended it. He was asking for someone to take it and comfort him. Dr. Johnson was the one who did.
He took Tracey's young hand, rubbed it, and said, "You're doing great, Tracey. Just hang on. We're almost there. I promise. I promise we're not going to let those wings give you any more pain. You can count on it." In his sleep, Tracey thanked him. He actually cracked a feeble smile.
While he smiled, he next thanked Makenna in his head. "Thank you, Makenna," he said in his sweet voice, "Thank you for helping me realize that not all humans are bad. Thank you for helping me understand that suicide isn't the best mountain to climb. I promise we'll see each other again. I just have to let these wings heal. Until we do, I'll keep waiting for my parents to return to me. At last. You've become a good friend, Makenna. You're the fairy friend I never had, and I appreciate it. Until next time, my friend, goodbye."

Makenna followed him and the ambulance from above.
While she flew, she suddenly got a call from Merlin the Great in her head! "Makenna!" he yelled.
Makenna gasped. "Merlin!" she yelled back through telepathy, "Merlin it's you! You're able to talk to me again through telepathy!"
"And it's all thanks to you." Merlin said back, "Thank you. Thanks to you, I'm able to call myself Merlin the Great again. When you transformed into a Crystal Metamorphic Fairy, admitting your mistakes, apologizing, and helping Tracey regain his confidence gave me my magic back. You deserve your new transformation, Makenna. You may not think you do, but you do. Selene even told me that she's never met another fairy as exceptional as you aside from Tracey."
"Thank you, Merlin." Makenna said back. She noticed that Caleb was smiling at her. He knew. He knew she was communicating with Merlin through telepathy.

Merlin continued the telepathic conversation. "But enough about me," he spoke, "Let's turn to Tracey. Are the human paramedics driving him to North Beach?"
Makenna nodded, "Yes," and she reached for her temple, "How do you know though, Merlin?"
"Your friend Raeven told me." Merlin said.
"Raeven?" asked Makenna. She literally felt like she was skyping with Merlin through telepathy. She could literally see his face in her mind.
She saw Merlin nod, and next, Raeven appeared in the image in Makenna's mind, and he waved, saying, "Hi, Makenna!"
Makenna feebly chuckled, "Hi, Raeven."
Raeven hung upside-down in the image, "This is my thanks to you for saving my life. I flew back to Merlin's Island and told him what had happened to Tracey at your school."
"You did?" Makenna asked. She couldn't believe it. Merlin's Island was where Raeven had gone!

In the image, Merlin pushed the bat aside and said to the Metamorphic Fairy,
"He did, Makenna. I must say, your friend Raeven is quite the character. He gave me all the details about what happened. I called the fairy paramedics, and we're waiting with them at the North Beach parking lot."
"Fairy paramedics?" Makenna asked, "You mean, they're such things as fairy paramedics too?"
"There are. Don't worry though, the human paramedics know about them. I called the dispatcher and told her to tell them."
"You're amazing, Merlin." Makenna admitted, "Thank you. Do you by any chance want me to come to the Coutarine Fairy Hospital with you?"
"That's your choice," said Merlin, "Raeven and I can handle Tracey from here, but if you feel that getting yourself and Caleb home may be best so you won't worry your parents, you can. I know you've had a really rough day, Makenna, and I know both you and Caleb are tired."
"Yeah." Makenna said. She glanced at Caleb who was falling asleep, "We are. We're exhausted." She sighed and made up her mind, "All right. I think I may stay behind, Merlin. Something tells me I'll go to Coutarine Island one of these days. Just promise me you won't let Tracey die."
"Are you kidding?" asked Merlin, "I would never do that! He's seventeen years old! He's my apprentice, and he'll stay my apprentice for as long as I live! You'll see him again, Makenna. I promise. You just need to let him recover. The wings are going to come off though. It's just for the sake of making sure he's not in pain for the rest of his life."
"I know." Makenna said, "I don't want to get in the way. Tracey's back where he belongs – that's the most important thing, and he doesn't have to worry about Peter Nelson bothering me anymore, nor bullying him. Well, thank you, Merlin. Raeven?"
"Yes?"
Raeven flew in front of Merlin, and the image's camera focused in on him. "Please come visit me sometime." Makenna begged, "I'm sorry I was such a jerk to you when we first met."
"That's all right," said Raeven, "It's not everyday someone meets a talking bat. Especially a bat as handsome as me. Mwah." He shook his fur and groomed it.
Makenna chuckled. "Thank you for helping me earn my third transformation," she said, "If it wasn't for you, Raeven, I don't think I ever would've had the guts to go to the dance in the first place. All that's left now is saving Tracey and defeating the Octopus Man so he can be freed from his spell."
"We'll focus on the Octopus Man some other time." Merlin told her. The image's camera next zoomed in on him, "For now, we just need to let Tracey take it easy for a while. When he's strong enough again, you two will work together to defeat the Octopus Man and learn the secrets behind your long-lost family member."
"My long-lost family member." Makenna said.