..."Mira!" came a voice The Space Faerie recognized as none other than Dr. Sloth's right-hand Grundo, Esterhazy. "I'm so glad to have caught you," he said before flashing his characteristically unabating grin. "Sir Dr. Sloth wants to see you, you know."
"Buzz off, lunatic," she said to him before brushing past him, turning the hallway just before the door to where Fyora would be taking residence.
Esterhazy's smile wavered, just a bit. "I wouldn't go in there, if I were you." He paused, but his smile radiated in full force. "Seriously, you won't like what you see."
"Look, Esterhazy," she grumbled as her hand touched the enchanted doorknob of Fyora's chambers, "I have a job to do. I have a Frank to defeat, a Queen to save, and a Faerieland to restore."
The Grundo shrugged as she opened the door.
"Ah, Mira!" came a cold, non-descript feminine voice. "I'm so glad to see you."
It was Queen Fyora.
Except... it wasn't.
Mira had to rub her eyes. And then she gawked.
It was Dr. Frank Sloth, dressed in the Faerie Queen's pink-mauve dress, wearing a set of wings, and with a nice pink wing.
"Told you," Esterhazy said quietly from behind her.
The Space Faerie almost recoiled. "Er... Dr. Sloth?" she commented in between swallows. And then she regained her composure. "Where's Fyora? What have you done with the Faerie Queen?"
"I am Fyora, Mira."
The faerie frowned with contempt. "Cut the act, Sloth, I know who you are."
Dr. Sloth scowled. "Fine," he said, his voice returning to normal tone. "You know, Mira, the brainwashed faeries see me dressed like this and I instantly can command them to do whatever I please. But, I see you HAVEN'T managed to be swayed by my mind control tricks. And I also see you have my missing piece." He reached forward toward the staff.
She raised it, prepared to strike against him.
"Oh, don't be like that." Sloth grinned malevolently and snapped his fingers. As if by magic -- the sort of magic commanding an army via reverant fear brings -- his large army of Grundos, purple and otherwise, appeared at the scene, stretching all throughout the halls.
But that wasn't all.
There were also many, many faeries! Perhaps every one from Faerieland!
This included Fyora, whom Mira realized was nearby her in the group surrounding her, dressed in rags aside from her crown. "Come, Mira," the brainwashed Faerie Queen started, "come to the Sloth side..." and she held out a spacey hat.
And then Mira remembered the brainwash device that must have been in Fyora's crown -- the only element of Fyora's attire that Frank hadn't taken from her -- from his vantage point of mind control, with good reason. But this gave Mira a plan.
"HEY FAERIES!" the Space Faerie shouted. "This IMPOSTOR," she accused, gesturing toward the real Fyora, "has taken Fyora's," she continued, now pointing at Sloth's, "crown! Y'all should take it from her and give it back to the one from whom it belongs!"
Mumurs and choruses of agreement broke out through the crowds.
"No!" Sloth shouted, as faeries removed Fyora's crown, and started to swarm him, preparing to place it on his head. It was a small battle between the faeries and Grundos, but the Faeries easily won. Sloth panicked as he was being encircled by faeries who just wanted to give him his rightful crown. "Get off--" but before he could issue the command, it was already too late.
Fyora, no longer brainwashed, shook off her headache and noticed Mira.
The Space Faerie grinned at her leader and threw her the staff.
Sloth, now feeling the effects of the brainwash-crown on his head, became rather lethargic.
"Well this is almost too easy," Fyora said to Mira as she descended on the Doctor.
The Space Faerie smiled.
Soon, everything would be back to normal.
THE END
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