The days turned into weeks, and gradually, L regained her former strength. She'd also managed not to destroy Cerys and Anna's house in the process. Robbie was feeling much better, and Cerys had said she'd take him to get the cast removed in the next week.
"Once it's off we're going, right?" Robbie asked eagerly.
He was tired of being stuck inside all the time. L had even caught him watching Dragon movies and staring longingly.
She smiled at him, "Yes, if the doctor says your arm is healed and only then."
L made a mental note to ask Cerys what the doctor said instead of Robbie. She had a feeling he'd say anything to get back to flying.
"Are you coming to the library?" L asked Robbie, hopping down off the bed.
They'd started spending a lot of time at the library lately, agreeing that there might be something in the human history or mythology books that could help with Andrei. Cerys and Anna's library was filled with all kinds of books on the Supernatural world; L had some interesting times comparing it to the true knowledge in her head. Some of it was pretty accurate but the rest was so very wrong. It was still worth looking in case her knowledge overlooked something.
She was in the library when Robbie returned from his doctor's appointment the week after. He came running in, almost hopping with excitement. He practically shoved his bare arm in her face and beamed.
"All healed. Let's go."
L raised her brow and peered around him to see Cerys walking in and gave her a questioning look.
"It's true." Cerys confirmed. "The doctor said it's healed very nicely. She was a little surprised at how fast it was actually, but we downplayed it and told her he's always been a strong lad."
"Thank you for taking me." Robbie spoke over his shoulder before looking back at L.
"You're welcome." Cerys smiled and headed off back through the library.
"So, we're going today?"
L nodded at Robbie and replaced the book she'd been scanning.
"Yes, let's claim our home back."
L never thought she'd say that and mean it, but she'd been so angry about the attack on Lymasia, and she'd finally figured out why. It was her home, and she was going to get rid of every Demon who'd taken it.
L let Cerys and Anna know they'd be leaving today, both of whom insisted on providing whatever they needed. L tried to refuse, but neither would listen, and before they knew it, they were packed with supplies.
"You've done more for us than you'll ever know." L told them, stepping out of the front door.
They smiled sadly, "We hate to see you go already."
"Good luck with whatever lies ahead."
L thanked them and watched Robbie say his goodbyes when something occurred to her.
"If there's ever a way to repay you, please let me know. Any of the Supernatural beings you encounter can get the message to me."
"Actually..." Cerys started, but Anna stopped her with a shake of her head.
"What is it?" L pushed.
Cerys peered at Anna, who sighed and turned a little red.
"Would you be willing to let Anna paint a portrait of you some time in the future? When you're not too busy, of course."
L's eyes widened, "I never thought I would be asked that question. Erm, yeah, sure. Of course you can. Robbie and I will come back sometime and visit, if that's okay?"
Both their faces lit up.
"Yes, yes! Please do."
"Okay then. We should get going now, though. Thank you again for everything."
They waved away her thanks and said their goodbyes.
L and Robbie walked towards the nearby fields and quickly took off. Robbie was so happy to be flying again; he did a few loops around the town before they left.
"It might sound weird, but I'm gonna miss them." Robbie said with an internal smile.
"Me too, but we'll come back to visit eventually."
They made an agreement to keep their word and turned their attention to Lymasia. L directed Robbie where to go, and they discussed the plan they'd been working on. It didn't take too long to get there, and landing just on the outskirts was enough to see the damage that had been done. Everything was visible to the outside world now, though it was almost unrecognisable. It looked like an abandoned ghost town; everything was either burned or broken, and L hated to think what their house would look like.
Robbie stayed in his Dragon form, and they made their way in.
"I can smell so many Demons, it's making me feel sick."
L could smell them too, and there were so many different types, but it was unusual for them all to be living together. Is that why everything was such a mess? Had they been fighting over the spoils? L embraced her anger, let it flow through her, and they plunged on. They walked down the trails, and it wasn't long before they ran into their first Demons. They were a lower level and easily dispatched.
Despite planning to get rid of every Demon, L was also looking for something in particular. She knew one would be around here somewhere. They turned onto the next trail crossing, and several Demons blocked their path. They took one look at Robbie and rushed at them. L summoned her magic and dove into the centre, blasting any Demon within reach. It was barely a few minutes this time, and L was feeling hungry for more.
They rushed on, and it wasn't until they reached the trail that led to their house that she found what she was looking for. Two hybrid Demons were fighting with an enormous mass of a Demon. They were scrapping violently, and L draped herself against Robbie's foreleg, with his permission, of course.
"Wow, how pitiful. Demons fighting among themselves when their real enemy is out there."
L shook her head dramatically when they all turned to glare at her. Even the mass Demon, a Ysirif, was facing her now.
"Who the hell are you?" One of the hybrids spat.
L was a little taken aback, and she let out a curt laugh. "I'm positively offended. How could you not recognise me? Is it the hair?" She gestured dramatically. "I mean, your kind has been hunting me and mine for years."
L pulled down her lower eyelid and stuck her tongue out at them. She knew it would show her birthmark, and she bounced fire around her other hand. Realisation dawned on their ugly faces, and they hissed or cursed at her.
"Keeper! We heard you were dead."
"What a shame you're not."
L rolled her eyes, "Obviously you heard wrong, but you're pretty good at believing whatever you hear. You're all so, so stupid."
The hybrids rushed toward her in anger when suddenly, more Demons started appearing around them. Demons of all levels, shapes, and sizes were coming to join in, and L smirked, glad to have a bigger audience. She blasted the ground between them with lightning while Robbie's nostrils smoked and the rumbling in his chest shook the trees.
The Demons stopped for a moment, and L took the opportunity.
"You really should hear what I have to say before I destroy you all."
Demons weren't the best listeners, and they all rushed to get her at the same time. She jumped out of the way and watched many of them fight it out to get to her first. She landed on a broken branch several feet up and watched Robbie burn a number of Demons to dust.
"That prophecy you all heard about. The one about receiving my power if you kill me? It's all fake. A big fat lie made up by a coward."
She dodged the long tendrils of the Ysirif and jumped down to fight beside Robbie. They fought off the Demons, but the sheer amount was immense. L jumped over the lead Demons, splitting them between her and Robbie to create more space to fight.
"Andrei, the Warlock some of you are working for, he lied!" L shouted and shot blast after blast of magic.
"You're lying to save your own neck." One of the hybrids sneered.
L snorted, "If that were true, I'd have tried it on you morons ages ago. Andrei told me himself. Ask him if you don't believe me, ask him which Seer he got the information from. He's full of it."
L dodged a tendril and slashed it from its owners body.
The Demons had stopped arguing now and just proceeded to attack relentlessly.
"Did it work?" Robbie asked, excited to be fighting again.
L scanned their surroundings, and just when she thought she'd chosen the wrong time and place, she caught sight of the tiny brown body scuttling away. L smirked to herself and returned to the fighting with more vigour.
"Yeah, it did. That little Creeper will tell every Demon it meets about what it heard and saw here. Let's hope this screws up Andrei's plans."
Now, it was just a matter of liberating Lymasia. L and Robbie worked together to dispose of the rest of the Demons. Some went down easily, while others were much harder to get rid of. And just when they thought they'd reached the last few, more Demons appeared from nowhere.
"Keeper! So the rumours are true."
L scowled when she saw more hybrids.
"It was nice of you to care about my well-being." L's voice dripped with sarcasm, and she blasted her way towards the oncoming Demons.
"L, be careful." Robbie called out. "Don't get caught up with this."
L wasn't listening, though. She wanted to kill each and every one of them. She shot magic, slashed with Werewolf claws, and kicked out with Ogre strength. She used any and all abilities, getting more creative as she went.
"You're crazy now, huh?" A short, round hybrid called out when she dismembered it.
L shrugged, "Apparently."
She didn't stay to watch it turn to sludge or dust, moving swiftly onto the next.
The fight felt like it was going on for days, but L didn't tire; she was using this to vent out her pent-up feelings, and it felt good.
"It's 'cause of that Elf what died. She lost her marbles."
L stopped in her tracks and turned to face the owner of the voice. A tall, hulking hybrid dressed in a lime green suit was staring maliciously at her, rubbing its hands together.
"What did you just say?" L's voice was barely more than a whisper, but it somehow reverberated around them.
The hybrid laughed loudly, while all other Demon activities stopped.
"I said, the Elf you went 'round with is dead, and that's why you lost the plot. Did he get killed 'cause of you? Stupid Keeper can't protect anything. Wait 'til we kill the Dragon and eat him for dinner. You'll be the last and all alone."
L's blood ran cold, she couldn't see or hear anything else, everything was suddenly a violent shade of red. She felt something bubbling up from the inside, something monstrous that she'd felt growing for weeks and had kept ignoring. She didn't care anymore. She embraced the dark and felt it fill her body. She took a step towards the Demon, then another, and soon she was on top of it.
Her magic spilt out of every pore. Before she knew it, she'd melted the Demon until it was a dirty green puddle. She didn't know what happened next, but it was as if she'd lost control of her body. Suddenly, there was fire and lightning, venom, and crashing rocks. She couldn't sense anything but the release of her power and the emotions she'd been holding onto and trying not to feel.
Her body was exploding but L was barely registering it. She closed her eyes and let her body take over, instinctually managing to avoid hurting Robbie. Her grief over her parents and Bryce, her anger and hurt, her disappointment in herself, her pain for things that will never be, all came forth.
L didn't know how much time had passed; she didn't even know where she was at first, but she opened her eyes and saw the stars twinkling above. She was a little drowsy, but she felt as if a weight had been lifted from her mind and body. She sat up slowly to find she'd been wrapped in Robbie's tail, and they were still in the middle of Lymasia. It was in worse condition than before, the trees, houses, everything nearby had been destroyed.
"L?" Robbie started and turned his large head to look at her.
L could sense the concern in him, and she smiled through a yawn.
"I'm okay. Don't worry."
But Robbie didn't shift.
"Are you though?"
L frowned and tried to stand up, but her feet were wobbly, and she crashed back down with a thud.
"I guess I'm a bit weak."
Robbie shook his head, "That's not what I meant."
L raised a brow and was about to ask what he meant when an image started playing from Robbie's point of view. A shadow, ringed by blue fire and white lightning, advanced on the Demons and began taking them out at speed. It was her, though she didn't recognise herself in that moment. She was just a blur of magic and darkness.
Robbie conveyed his fear and concern over her at the time. He didn't need to fight while she zipped around, killing every Demon and showing absolutely no mercy despite many of them begging. L didn't remember most of it, but she didn't see any reason to worry. She kept watching, and when the last Demon fell, so did she. Robbie rushed over to cover her, and then he guarded her while she slept.
"Now tell me, are you okay?" He asked.
L tilted her head, checking herself internally. "I feel fine, better than I have in a while, actually."
Robbie didn't seem convinced, but just as he was about to argue, they were interrupted.
"We found the rest of the Demons and gave them a just end." Someone spoke up, and L knew that voice.
She looked over Robbie's tail to see Emilia sheathing her sword, dressed in her battle robes. She brushed her hair back and smiled at L.
"It's good to see you're awake." She said, and her voice was warm and full of relief.
L couldn't explain it, but she felt guilty just seeing Emilia and simply nodded her head in response.
"Blasted Demon got ash in my beard!" Another voice cursed.
L smiled when Folen appeared behind Emilia. He was joined by Gart and Lort, who were wiping their clubs absentmindedly. A flickering briefly obscured L's view, and Hallie came to sit on L's knee and waved meekly at L. Was she worried about L's reaction after the incident with the other Fairies?
But Hallie had nothing to do with that, and L would make it clear later. For now, L looked between them all fondly.
"What are you doing here?"
"We came to back you up, of course." Hallie chimed.
"Want to help L." Gart said with a swing of his club.
"We've had someone keeping an eye on Lymasia. We thought you might come here and we wanted to be here for you."
L sighed, looking down at her hands. "You didn't need to do that, I've caused enough trouble."
A hand reached out to hold her shoulder, and L looked up into Emilia's face. Her expression was sad but sympathetic.
"L, what happened to Bryce wasn't your fault. Do you understand? I know it's likely you'd rather not talk about it, but you need to. We all do."
L stared around at everyone present, and they each gave her a soft smile. They were Bryce's friends, her friends, and they all cared that much to come help even when they didn't have to.
She blew out a sigh, "Thank you for coming for me."
They nodded in response.
"Of course we came. What would Bryce have said if he knew we let you do something dangerous alone. Mother Earth, he'd have chewed us up."
L smiled despite the sadness she felt. It did feel good to talk about him again, even through the pain.
"Remember the time..."
The group began sharing stories about Bryce, and L found herself engrossed, the sadness getting just that little bit easier to manage. Robbie transformed after a while and told them more of the stories from their journey to Paguea. Emilia became particularly angry when they spoke of what happened in the Elf kingdom.
"I would kick that brother of mine if he were here now." She said, and a tear rolled down her cheek.
L consoled her by explaining how she'd made him pay for it for a while after.
"You should have seen L's dad when he met him," Robbie laughed and proceeded to tell the story with a little exaggeration.
L smiled and laughed along with them, although she didn't really feel up to it. She was glad it didn't hurt like before, and whether she truly believed Bryce was gone or not, she would still search for Andrei and make him pay.
"Tell us about your parents, L." Hallie squeaked.
L was pulled back to the conversation, and she smiled as she told them everything. She left nothing out with this group, feeling satisfied that they were interested with no other agenda than to simply know her parents.
It started to get dark, and Emilia was the first to stand up.
"We should head back, Illiana will be waiting for me." She turned to L and Robbie, lowering her head. "What would you like to do?"
L peered at Robbie, and she knew from the look on his face that he'd go with what she wanted. She wasn't keen on the idea of going back to the floating house, but now that she'd 'exploded', maybe everyone would get off her case. She wanted to help the community for a while, and she needed eyes and ears out for Andrei.
"Let's go back." She said to Robbie.
He nodded, "If you're okay with it, then let's go."
L gestured for Emilia to lead the way.
"It will be good to have you back." She started walking, speaking over her shoulder. "Edra has been in a foul mood since you left. It's as if a rain cloud had descended upon the house."
L was surprised Edra had reacted at all; she'd spoken so harshly to her before they'd left. L wasn't looking forward to that reunion if that was how things were.
"Oh aye, but then she found out we were sneaking out to get you and suddenly cheered up." Folen looked thoroughly confused.
Emilia chuckled, "She is even making her famous banana bread for your return. It's her favourite and one of the most delicious desserts you'll ever eat."
L nodded, sidetracked by the thought of the awkward conversation she'd have to have with Edra when they got back.
Robbie suddenly stopped and turned to L, his face a picture of horrified amusement.
"L, banana bread? Edra?"
L stared in confusion. "What?"
"The smell of bananas? Who do we know who constantly smelled of that for no reason?"
L's eyes grew wide, and she let out a peal of genuine laughter.
"Oh, wow. Emrik, he..." L's face crinkled when she met his eyes and they both let out more laughter.
The others turned to them questioningly, but L waved it aside.
"You don't want to know. I don't think I do."
She and Robbie shared a grin as they followed the others. L tried to get the ideas out of her head, but it wasn't working. And despite everything that had occurred recently, she found a strange amount of comfort in the thought of some hidden relationship between those two ancient beings.
Life worked in peculiar ways, but it always went on, even in spite of the terrible things that occurred, the world kept moving, and so should they. There would be time to avenge her parents and Bryce, and she would learn everything she needed to in the meantime. There was a dark cloud lurking on the horizon, but until it arrived, she would watch and ready herself. And when the time came, she would be sure to destroy that ever looming blotch on her life once and for all.