Her aim was as true as ever, but no enemies were in sight. Her staff spun as swiftly, but no one in arm's reach was deserved of the wrath.

When Boukey mentioned that they all rest for the evening, everyone in the tiny kitchen agreed. Gaia and Luna hurried to the loft to prepare him a fresh bed. Mandy followed behind him, up the tired old ladder, into the loft. The glossy pine boughs made him a soft bed, and Mandy pulled the blanket up tight around him. He brushed the cheek of her tear-stained face, and in the instant their eyes met, the dam broke inside the tiny woman.

She reached the bottom of the ladder, and hiking her skirts up to her thighs, ran for the door. She bolted from the Elder's porch in a flash of skin. Her feet pounded furiously the ground of Tern, and she ran.

She reached the clearing they had all once gathered in, and fell to her knees in the twilight. The twin moons hung impatient, not waiting for the Neezian moon to set before making their appearance. She fell, throwing her head back, and the clearing was filled with the howls of a wounded animal.

Mandy gathered her sobbing form, climbing a tree for solace. The branches folded around her, causing a small fluctuation in the power of the Root Directory. Tuni and Rosetta looked up from their work for a second, but resumed when there was no apparent danger.

She remained in the tree, until a hand gently shook her ankle. It was the Terran. She dropped to the ground in instant attack.
"Why did you bring us here?" she cried. "You knew all along the danger you were putting us in, even that night in the tavern, and you never said!!"

He held her arms and answered her calmly, "You know that the people aboard the Enterprise were Tern's only hope. I had to protect my family and the secrecy of this mission. But I came out here to bring you news, Tuni and Rosetta have found a way to scatter the seeds. It seems they met with Gladys and the Daisies in your nursery, and have developed a way for the plants to carry song with them. The only thing that is required now is for all of us to remain together, I can't imagine Cruella will let this one go without retaliation..."

Mandy looked to the sky just as the first of the tiny vessels exploded across the sky. She sighed, and encircled the Terran's neck in her hands, bringing his forehead to hers in mutual apology and forgiveness.

The two were returning along the forest path when they heard the first explosion. They ran along the trail to the horror waiting for them in the clearing. The small greasy spot on the grass that was Dopey, and the quickly melting remains of Farkin, dangling above the ground.

The Terran moved to cut the rope, when a dwarf appeared out of the underbrush. Lucky for the Terran, it was Sleepy. The tall man was able to boot the dwarf, in mid-yawn, back into the bushes. Mandy finally had a worthy enemy in arm's reach, grabbing Sneezy by the shirtcollar and trousers, flinging him into the ragweed. The rest of the dwarves danced around them.
"We got what we came for! Keep the soggy thing if you want!" The dwarves congratulated each other and scampered off into the brush where unbeknownst to them, rested the trio of Lt.Mbo, Monterrey, and Horsecollar. The Terran barked,"Let's get him back to the house! C'mon girl, MOVE!"

Farkin's hollow eyes stared up at them from within his bonds. The Terran and the girl dragged him through the forest to the home of the Elder. Behind them, glistening in the light of the twin moons, ran the river that was her friend.

On the Elder's porch once again, her feet beat a steady tattoo; 8 paces, pause, turn, 8 paces, pause, turn. Her eyes held the blank stare of a caged animal. Gaia, Luna and the Terran watched the bizarre ritual before them.
"He took me home to meet his family once." Mandy said. "His wife and his son..he kept their pictures in his belt pouch...Oh, it was so cold....I had to bundle up in furs, he said I looked like an inflated gerbil...I never should have let him go back to the ship alone...what was I thinking??.."

The four remained on the porch, wating, while sparks of songs raced across the night sky.