Tinker Bell and the War of Talents (2015 edition--OLD)

Chapter 3: The Game Is Afoot

It was about noon by the time everyone arrived and the discussion could begin. As they all gathered around a large mushroom table, chatting excitedly amongst themselves, Tink spread out a whole mound of papers and diagrams before them. The faint drizzle of rain could still be heard in the leaves above their heads but their attention was not on the storm, but on the conversation that was beginning to unfold.

"So we're sure going to the storm-talents is the best solution?" Vidia questioned once Tink explained her plan, already pulling her cynical you-know-this-is-a-bad-idea face, which the tinker greatly did not appreciate. "They aren't always the most...forthcoming...of all the talents. Just going to point that out now."

"True," Rosetta responded before Tink could. "But then again, not all fast-flying talents are either, are they?"

"Touche."

"As unlikely as it seems," Tink went on. "I still think they are our best option at this point. And even if one of them didn't do it, maybe they know something that can help us find out who did." She lifted a paper up to the light, searching, hoping, praying for something, anything, to give them a clue as to what they were up against.

"And you're sure this wasn't just some storm?" Fawn questioned. "You know how Neverland works. You can never tell what the weather is going to be from one minute to the next. Remember what happened when we tried to bring Peri here?"

"Yes," Tink sighed, "and I thought we agreed never to speak of that again. Look," she laid the paper down in front of her so they could all see it. "I was up all night, thinking this through and I think I found the storm's point of origin to be right about here." She pointed to a spot on her map just a little bit south of where she'd seen the strange light the day before.

"You stayed up all night? As in, you didn't sleep at all?" Silvermist gasped.

"That's the definition of staying up all night," Rosetta said with a small sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation. "But, sweetie," she added to Tink. "Why would you do that? A fairy needs her beauty sleep, you know? It's kind of an unsaid law."

"This was more important," Tink replied, shrugging off the garden-talent's look of horror. "Something's behind all of this. This storm wasn't ordinary. Normally we get a day or two warning before a storm, don't we?" Slowly the others nodded. "And this time, we had mere moments. This doesn't seem like something that just happened by accident. This was planned. By who may yet be unknown. But they are out there. And we will find them."

"But how does a bit of a map and a point of origin help us?" Bobble questioned from behind them. He was leaning against a small oak, obviously trying to catch up on what he'd missed the night before. Beside him, Clank nodded in agreement, apparently just as confused.

"Because it gives us a place to start," Tink replied. "And as any good detective knows, a beginning is always the most important part to solving any crime."

"Oh?" Vidia raised an eyebrow. "So this is a crime now, is it?"

"Crime. Mystery. What's the difference?" Tink waved the question off.

"There's a pretty extensive difference," Iridessa replied softly, leaning over to whisper in Rosetta's ear.

Tink ignored her. "Also, there's something else. I went to see Dewey yesterday to ask him about the Harvest Moon. He gave me this." She slid the book across the table and Fawn picked it up. Immediately, the others gathered around her to read it. "Look at the first page."

They did.

"Wow," Iridessa breathed.

"Whoa," Vidia added.