Lizzy walked up the stairs and arrived at the top floor with her newly fixed robot companion. She glared over Blue and the others at the sight of the ground that had fallen.
"You guys owe me a lot of money," she said, "And it doesn't just grow on trees, you know."
"Um, actually, there's the mystical money tree in Forest of Bravery that grows gold," Emile corrected in a snarky tone.
"I'm aware of that," Lizzy clarified, "Anyway, who's that boy over there that's nearly about to pass out?" Percy got up and looked at Lizzy.
"I'm terribly sorry for destroying part of your factory," he told her, "My gravity magic can get a bit out of hand."
"It's fine," Lizzy said, "This factory should probably get shut down anyway. There is much danger behind producing artificial Star Fairies." It took Lizzy a second to realize that she was talking to someone from the Praetorium.
"Wait!" she said with shock, "You're from the Praetorium. Forgive me for acting so rude to you." Percy smiled warmly as Lizzy started to bow down to him.
"It's quite alright, there's no need for that," Percy said, "Now, for my message." He looked around the room and took a deep breath before he spoke.
"I come from the Kindness Clouds Praetorium with a message for the princess," he began, "Our royal leader would like to meet with the princess of this home planet for..." he hesitated for a moment and looked at his hand which had notes written on it.
"For business concerning Dark mom's attack," he said, "Wait, Dark mom? Oh, wait, I meant Darkmoon. So if you will all follow me, we will escort you to the Kindness Clouds on flying Pegasi and carriage. Man it's hard to read my own handwriting sometimes." He looked up and started blushing.
"I'm sorry, that looked really bad, didn't it," he said.
"I thought it was cute," Blue said sweetly.
"It wasn't supposed to be," Percy replied as he started blushing more, "I'm the king's assistant. I can't be seen looking like this. I'm royalty. I'm supposed to be professional."
"Anyways," Henry interrupted, "I don't think we should go." Blue turned to Henry with confusion.
"Why not?" she asked, "If another royal wants to meet me, I would expect you to encourage me."
"As your guardian and protector, I suggest that you don't go," Henry said, "It's a terrible place. You're not going." He crossed his arms and turned away from her.
"Henry, you're being a bit unreasonable," Rosie said, "If you can't think of a good reason not to go, then there's no reason why she can't go."
"Listen, if she goes and you're not there, something bad might happen to her," Emile said in attempt to change Henry's mind.
"I guess you're right," Henry said, "Let's go then, but don't let them know about me." Blue shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm not sure how that will work, but okay," she responded.
"I'll come too," Lizzy stepped up, "My intellect might come to some good use. Besides, Rainbow will stay here and protect the city when I'm gone."
"That would be great," Blue replied, "We could use someone like you on our team."
"I suppose we should get going now," Layla said.
"Right," Blue replied. Percy led them out of the factory and to the carriage. The quality of the carriage was very high with its golden lining around the edges. The green color it had was at just the right tone so that it wasn't too shiny and wasn't too gross looking. The Pegasi were whiter than snow and shined in the sunlight. Percy opened the carriage door and let Blue and the others get in. After he closed the door, he hopped up onto the front of the carriage and grabbed the leads for the Pegasi. Within a few seconds, they started flying into the sky.
"So, what do you have against the Kindness Clouds?" Willow asked Henry, "They seem like they'd be nice people."
"They are," Henry said, "But they can be too nice, if you know what I mean."
"I don't think we do," Layla said.
"The Kindness Star Fairies have always been the healers in battle, so I have good relations with them," Rosie added.
"My SOUL is sensing that you're keeping something from us," Layla told him, "Integrity's special ability is being able to detect when someone is lying."
"Would that make Deception's ability to be able to detect if someone is telling the truth?" Emile asked.
"No, it doesn't work like that," Lizzy answered, "The negative SOULs have a different set of powers than the positive ones. Just because I can use my own SOUL doesn't mean that Corrupt can. He uses his power to corrupt the minds of others, whereas I cannot."
"Speaking of Corrupt," Blue said, "Did anyone else noticed the black matter on his eye? I don't know what it is."
"Did you say black matter?" Lizzy asked, "If so, then it was probably HATE."
"What's HATE?" Blue asked.
"It's a substance created by Darkmoon himself," Willow answered, "He uses it to infect others. Once they are infected by it, they have permanent scars on their body. Corrupt must have upset Darkmoon and got HATE on his eye."
"No, somehow I don't think that's it," Henry said, "He's the SOUL of Corrupt. He might have gotten it from overusing his power or something."
"Whatever it is, it means that he is one dangerous being," Rosie said, "We must stay on our guard when we see him." The carriage came to a stop.
"We're here!" Percy shouted, "Please watch your step when you get out." Blue and the others got out and stepped into some fluffy clouds. Despite wearing durable shoes, Blue could feel the fluffiness on her feet as it seeped into her footwear. She looked ahead and saw several fancy buildings, all floating on the clouds and not waying them down one bit.
"How are they able to get such architect?" Blue asked, "It's amazing how these buildings are able to be built on these clouds."
"They say that the power of Kindness is what keeps the building in place," Rosie stated, "But I still can't believe it one bit." Emile looked up and saw some flying Star Fairies in the sky.
"Look!" he shouted with excitement, "Kindness Star Fairies!" Everyone looked up and saw the green Star Fairies in the sky flying in a synchronized formation. Blue looked forward and saw two Star Fairies that looked about 4-5 in appearance.
"And look, here are some little ones too," Blue added, "I remember being around that age. It's 5 months old, right?"
"I believe that's it," Percy answered, "Us Star Fairies become fully grown over the span of 1 year." The two little kids walked up to Blue.
"Are you the princess?" the little girl asked, "This is for you." She handed a golden flower to Blue.
"Aww, thank you," Blue said with a smile. The child's kindness warmed her heart, "Do you know where the praetorium is?"
"It's up there," the girl responded as she pointed to a large palace, "I'm not very old, but it's the least I can do."
"Thanks," Blue said, "I suppose we will head there now." She and the others started walking while Henry tried to keep a low profile. It was difficult due to his large wings giving away the fact that he was Kindness as well, but he avoided making any eye contact with the other Star Fairies.
"Um, Blue," he said quietly as he walked up to her, "Is it too late to turn back? I don't like the vibes here."
"Henry, I don't get what the big idea is," she said, "This is where you grew up. These are other Star Fairies with your same SOUL trait and abilities. And everyone here is super nice."
"Well, yeah, but..." Henry began as his mind went blank, "Let's walk a bit faster." Blue raised an eyebrow.
"If you say so," she responded. Something about Henry seemed a bit off to Blue. Henry was usually supportive about going to new places but was being oddly dismissive about there.
"The walk to the castle should be no less than 5 minutes," Percy explained, "But I would recommend watching your step because it's a long way down."
"Won't be a problem for me or Henry though," Layla said, "We can use our wings to fly back."
"Um, yeah," Henry replied nervously. It had been a while since he last used his wings, so he was unsure if he would be able to save anyone if they fell.
"I have a question," Emile asked Percy as they started walking, "Do you know if there's a bathroom in the praetorium?"
"Emile, you didn't drink anything," Rosie reminded him, "You'll be fine."
"Okay," Emile replied, "Nevermind. I forget things quite a bit."
After a bit of walking, the group finally arrived at the front entrance. Percy knocked on the large silver doors.
"We have returned with the princess," he said through the doors. Then, the big doors swung open, granting them access to inside. Blue walked inside with caution as she felt something bad was going to happen.
"Rosie," she called quietly, "Can I talk to you?" Rosie walked over to her.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I'm getting the feeling that something bad is going to happen," she said, "So, can I ask you not to draw your weapon or use any elemental magic?"
"Well, if it's what your vision says, I'll do it," she told Blue.
"Thanks," Blue replied, "I have a feeling that Percy has no clue about any of it."
"This is the entrance to the throne room," Percy said, "Our king can't wait to meet you." He placed his hands on the door and pushed it open. As soon as he did, several soldiers with Perseverance SOULs ran out armed with axes, knocking Percy over. He was shocked to see them act like this as he stood up slowly.
"Nobody move!" one of them shouted, "You guys are going to be taken to the dungeon."
"Not on my watch!" Emile shouted back as he summoned a spear. As he was about to throw it, one of the soldiers used dark magic to limit his power and made his body feel heavy. Layla attempted to throw a water attack, but was met with the same fate. Lizzy and Willow also attempted to attack, but failed and had their powers limited as a result.
"What's going on?!" Percy shouted at the soldiers, "I thought we were friends!"
"Don't fight back Percy," a female soldier told him, "Or else you'll meet the same fate. We've been given new orders." Percy frowned with slight anger.
"I guess you leave me no choice," he said, "Black Abyss!" As he was about to use his attack, he was shot in the back of the head with a lightning bolt, knocking him out temporarily.
"That's quite enough," Corey said as he walked out. Blue gasped when he saw him.
"Corey?!" she said, "What are you doing here?"
"I had visions that I would see you here again," he answered, "I am the ruler of this kingdom, so that's King Corey to you."
"Why are you attacking my friends?" she asked, "What did they ever do to you?"
"I've received terrible visions of the lavender one, and these other 'friends' just so happened to come with it," Corey explained, "Now, I must speak to you and Henry while your friends spend their time in the dungeon." He looked ahead at his soldiers.
"My soldiers, take the rest of them to the dungeon," he commanded, "But leave Percy with me. I must have a word with these three." The guards turned away, taking Blue's friends with them.
"You two, follow me," Corey said as he picked up Percy, "Let's talk somewhere a bit more private."