Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast (5 page)

The girls’ eyes widened.

“I know! Crazy, right?” Fawn said, but it was clear the girls believed Nyx.

Gruff landed, and Vidia began to back away. “Well, early day tomorrow.”

“Oooh, am I tired!” Iridessa was leaving, too.

“Really? I’m wide-awake!” Silvermist missed the point.

Rosetta grabbed her, saying, “Bye-bye now.”

Fawn shook her head at them. “C’mon, guys! You don’t really think any of that stuff is true?”

But they did.

“It’s just, I know he’s not what they say he is,” Fawn said.

“Even if you’re right, it’s not safe for him here,” Tink said.

Fawn thought about Tink’s words.

Nearby, Gruff was finishing building the tower in the Summer Forest. He put the last rock on and walked to his cave.

Fawn went along. She sat with the beast, staring up at the starry sky.

“Hey, big guy. Done for the day?”

He grunted.

She said, “Rest up, because first thing tomorrow, we’re gonna find someplace great for you. Just until things settle down.” Fawn leaned back, looking up at the sky.
“Gruff, you see those stars over there? If you connect them, they make a monkey. See his tail?”

Gruff grunted.

“But if you turn it upside down, it’s a swan. See?”

The beast watched as she traced patterns in the sky.

“That one’s a squirrel. Oh, and over there, with the spikes? Hedgehog.” She looked at him. “See it?”

Gruff grunted again.

“I knew you’d get it. You just have to know how to look.” She flew up and sat down on his nose. “Imagine—you a monster. Of all the ridiculous ideas. I know
they’re wrong about you.”

The NeverBeast snorted softly.

“They don’t see what I see.” Fawn closed her eyes and fell asleep.

A shooting star streaked across the sky. It was very peaceful. But, a moment later, green clouds began to gather in the distance.

Gruff opened his eyes and watched the sky.

At dawn, Fawn woke up, sensing that something was wrong. She was lying on her back in the dirt.

“Gruff? Gruff?” She looked around.

The beast was gone.

At scout headquarters, the team was getting ready. They put on armor, gloves, and wrist guards. They gathered bows and arrows, nightshade packs, and porcupine quills. They were
ready for action.

Nyx flew to the balcony and the scouts followed. She paused and looked out at the green sky and declared, “It’s starting.”

All through Pixie Hollow, fairies were waking up to the strange glowing sky.

“What is that?” one said.

“It’s so green,” another replied.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” a third fairy remarked.

Tink noticed the crowd gathering to watch the sky. She looked up and discovered Nyx and the scouts crossing the green sky, carrying a large net with them.

She gasped. She had to warn Fawn.

“Gruff? Gruff? C’mon, Gruff. It’s Chase the Fairy, not Run Away from Her.” Fawn was busy searching for the NeverBeast.

“Fawn?” Tink shouted her name with urgency.

Fawn came out, and Tink quickly reported. “The scouts—they were geared up and moving fast. Please tell me you took him away already.”

Fawn paused. “About that…I sort of…temporarily…misplaced him.”

“You lost him?” Tink was stunned.

Fawn was still confident. “I got this. I just have to find him before the scouts do.” She thought about it and realized where he’d gone. “Ah! He’s gonna build two
more towers. One in autumn, one in winter.”

“I thought you said the legend wasn’t real.” Tink lowered her eyes.

“Technically, I said he’s not what they think,” Fawn clarified.

“But everything Nyx warned us about—it’s happening. Just look at the green clouds, Fawn.” Tink pointed up.

“Ehhhh…seafoam at best,” Fawn replied with a laugh. Then she became serious. “Look, it doesn’t matter what Nyx’s legend says. All I know is, Gruff would
never hurt us. Please, Tink, trust me.”

Tink gave in. “I’ll take winter.” She started off.

Fawn stopped her. “Hey, Tink!” Tinker Bell turned. “Thanks.”

F
awn raced through the Autumn Forest, bursting into a clearing—and screeched to a halt.

The tower there was done, but Gruff was gone.

The scouts arrived at the tower to find no one there.

Nyx studied the structure. “Just like the other two. Just like the drawing.”

Fury kneeled at the edge of the woods and discovered a broken branch. Fresh sap remained on the raw break. She pointed to a trail of more snapped twigs.

“It’s headed toward summer,” Chase told the others.

The scouts took off, following the beast’s trail.

The scouts continued to fly through the forest. From behind a tree, Fawn watched them fly toward the Summer Forest, then she took off in the opposite direction.

Nyx didn’t go with the others. She stood by the rock tower, looking at a map of Pixie Hollow. She’d already drawn
X
s for towers one and two in spring and summer. She made an
X
for tower three in autumn. She knew the next one had to be in winter.

On the other side of Pixie Hollow, Tink flew low over the Winter Woods snow.

“Gruff?” she called.

The green sky was all around her. Lightning sparks bounced off the rocks of a new tower.

“Gruff! There you are! We’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Tink said.

The NeverBeast rose from behind a snowbank, but there was something different about him now. He was more intense. His nostrils flared.

He took a step toward Tink. She took a step back, saying, “Gruff, it’s me, Tink. Fawn’s friend. The scouts are coming for you! You have to hide.”

It didn’t seem like he recognized her.

Another strike of lightning zigzagged across the sky, followed by a huge crash of thunder. Tink was afraid.

She saw a bolt of lightning reflected in Gruff’s eyes. Suddenly, he lunged at Tink, swatting her hard with his tail. Tinker Bell tumbled through the air. She hit the ground hard and
crumpled into a heap.

Fawn arrived in the Winter Woods to find Tinker Bell unmoving on the ground. She rushed quickly to her. “Tink! Tink?” She turned to Gruff. “What did you do?”

Gruff growled.

A lightning bolt crackled in the sky. Right before Fawn’s eyes, Gruff transformed. Horns grew out of his head. A hump formed on his back. He was now exactly like the image from Nyx’s
parchment.

Fawn was horrified. “No!” Gruff was a monster.

She threw herself protectively over Tink until the thunder died down. When she glanced back up, Gruff was gone again.

A
t the Fairy Urgent Care Medical Center, Iridessa, Vidia, Silvermist, and Rosetta huddled around Tink’s bed.

Fawn stood in the doorway, feeling guilty, like this was all her fault.

“Is she going to be okay?” Iridessa asked.

“She needs to rest,” a healing fairy answered. “Stay off her wings for a few days. She’ll be all right.”

Rosetta said, “Oh, thank goodness.”

Silvermist exclaimed, “That’s a relief.”

“Great news.” Vidia was glad.

When Rosetta turned to say, “See, Fawn, she’s gonna be…”

Fawn wasn’t there.

Fawn found the beast and moved in cautiously. “Gruff?”

He turned around at the sound of her voice.

Fawn said, “Come down. I need to see you.” She reached out. “Gruff…”

Suddenly, a cuddlevine net launched through the air and landed on Gruff.

Fawn looked terrified, but without warning, the scouts leapt out from the bushes. It was an ambush. Fawn moved out of the way and let the scout fairies do their work.

Gruff bucked and kicked as the net dropped over him. The cuddlevine cinched tight, dragging him down to the ground.

“Stand firm!” Nyx told her troops.

The fairies tossed nightshade powder over the beast.

Gruff made eye contact with Fawn and tried to pull toward her. He stared at her with a look of heartbreak and betrayal.

“Let’s move out!” called Nyx. They poured pixie dust over Gruff so they could fly him out of the woods.

“You did the right thing,” Nyx whispered to Fawn.

Fawn didn’t think so. She walked away, sat down on a rock, and cried.

The fairies took Gruff to scout headquarters and tied him up.

“Whatever this is, it should have stopped by now,” Fury said.