Dinner was ready within twenty minutes. During that twenty minutes, Makenna took Tracey up to the guest room and showed him where he would be sleeping that night. Tracey was fascinated by the guest room, only because it reminded him of his own room back on Merlin's Island. Makenna was happy he liked it. Even though she was in so much trouble with her mother and even after that terrifying experience on the beach with the Octopus Man, she was in a really good mood. She was in such a good mood that for the next ten minutes after she got Tracey settled, she actually went into her room and did some of her homework! Her! Makenna Delling! She never did homework! Hmm, maybe she was changing? Maybe even just a teeny bit? Perhaps there was some hope she would earn her second and third transformations and save Merlin? Well, we shall find out.

Just when Makenna thought all was loosey-goosey and goody-goody in her world, surprise, stuff happened; stuff that wasn't exactly positive. Things really didn't kick into action though until during and after dinner. Dinner that night was served in the dining room. It was roast beast, beans, salad, and bread night. It was a formal dinner in the Delling household that they usually didn't have unless it was a special occasion. Well, Makenna finally turning into a full-fledged, Level 1 Metamorphic Fairy was a pretty big deal. Caleb and Tracey talked Mr. and Mrs. Delling into the formal dinner. Tonight, to Caleb at least, a roast beast, beans, salad, and bread dinner was only necessary. Mrs. Delling granted Caleb's wish, of course, and she gave Makenna the fun job of pouring tea and delivering cookies to everybody.

At the dining room table that night, Michelle sat on one end, and she was directly across from Tracey, who was sitting as tall as a king, on the other end, and whose large wings were sitting just as tall as him. Merlin had taught him how to eat and sit at a dinner table, so Tracey knew what he was doing. Mr. Delling and Caleb were sitting on either side of him, and both of them were enjoying their meal. Fluttering her wings, Makenna approached Tracey's back from behind, and she was balancing a tray with a tea kettle and some cookies on it in her hand. She was hovering over his shoulder.

Mrs. Delling soon decided to start a conversation.
"So, Tracey," she voiced, and she poked at her food, trying her best to remain calm, "Do you by any chance go to school?"
"Oh no," he replied, and he focused his attention on Makenna's mother, "You see, Apprentice Fairies aren't allowed to attend fairy school because we're educated under our masters."
"I see." Mrs. Delling said, and she squeezed her glass of water, "And this Merlin you speak of is your master?"
"Yes, ma'am." Tracey politely yet nervously answered. He lowered his head and shut his mouth. He was super nervous. He had never experienced something like this before. This was totally new to him.

Makenna, who was still hovering behind his head with the tray of tea, tried to pour him some, but Tracey's wings got in her way.
Leaning toward him, she asked, "Excuse me, Tracey, do you mind?"
"Oh," he said. He glanced at her, "Of course," and moved his chair off to the side, but his wings got in Mr. Delling's face.
Gasping, Mr. Delling exclaimed, "My word!"
Tracey glanced at him and said, "Oh no, I'm so sorry." As usual, he remained calm. He turned his chair the other way, and this time, his wings smacked Caleb in the face and knocked him and his chair to the ground!
Gasping, Mrs. Delling yelped, "Caleb!" and she quickly stood up, rushing toward her son.
Tracey was still trying to remain calm, but it was starting to get difficult. "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Delling!" he whimpered, "I don't know what's happening to me!" Standing up, he reached down to pick up Caleb's chair, but his wings smacked the tea kettle, and it tipped, spilling out all over the table and everybody's dinner! Makenna and Mr. Delling gasped. Tracey glanced at the spill and said, "Oh no, I'm so sorry! Here, let me help you clean that up!"
He reached for a napkin to clean the table, but Mr. Delling stood up and smacked his hand away. "Don't touch anything else!" he yelled at the ninja-like fairy. Tracey jumped. He didn't like being yelled at. Mr. Delling sighed and said, "Perhaps, young Tracey, it'd be best if you just sat down!" Embarrassed, Tracey obeyed. Mr. Delling also sat down, and he added, "You should also move into the hall."
Tracey turned red. "Of course, Mr. Delling," he spoke, completely humiliated. He flapped his wings and picked up his chair, sliding it all the way out into the hallway.
Dramatically sighing, Mr. Delling turned to Makenna and told her, "Makenna, go get some paper towels please."
"Yes, Daddy." Makenna said, and she nodded. She landed and started toward the kitchen, but she tripped, and the tray went flying from her hands. It crashed into her father and drenched him in cookies and tea!
From where he was hovering, Tracey gasped and said, "Oh no!" He got off the chair, and it crashed into the floor, splintering. Tracey gasped again. He peered down to the broken chair.
"That's it!" Mr. Delling shouted. He quickly stood up, "From this point on, dinner is over!" He stormed away, and Tracey, still embarrassed, covered his face with his hands. He groaned and quickly flew up the staircase, hurrying toward his quarters for the night.

Behind, Makenna held her hand out and called,
"Tracey!" She heard the guest door slam shut. "Tracey!" Makenna added with. She flapped her small wings and also lifted into the sky.
She too started toward the staircase, but a, "Hold it!" was heard behind her, and suddenly, the powerful hand of Michelle Delling grabbed her arm and pulled her down and back toward the table. "Not so fast!" she snapped at her daughter, "You have some explaining to do!"
"But, Mom." Makenna protested, and she peered back to her mom, "You don't understand. This is all very new to Tracey. I have to comfort him."
"You will not!" yelled Mrs. Delling, and with her other hand, she grabbed Caleb who was trying to sneak away, "You will sit down right now, young lady and explain to me, in detail, why you did what you did today! I don't care if that Tracey's your boyfriend, but he's not going to get in the way of your studies!"
"No, Mom!" Makenna yelled, and she tried to rip her arm free, but Mrs. Delling had a tight grip on it, "You don't understand! Tracey's not my boyfriend! He's not the one I snuck out to go see today! He just appeared from out of nowhere! He tends to do that! He's innocent!"
"Then who did you sneak out to see today?!" bellowed Mrs. Delling, "And you better not lie to me again, Makenna! I'm getting sick of your lying!"
"Mom." Caleb begged, and he tried to release his arm from his mother's grasp, "I'm starting to lose feeling in my arm."
"Oh, sorry Caleb," apologized Mrs. Delling, and she released his arm. Caleb rubbed it and looked her in the eyes. "Sit down, Caleb." Mrs. Delling added, "You're going to help explain this nonsense."
"What?" Caleb asked, "Why, Mom? Why are you bringing me into this too? I had nothing to do with Makenna sneaking out! Like you, I didn't know she snuck out!"
"Don't worry, Caleb," said Mrs. Delling, and she, Caleb, and Makenna left the dining room and sat down in the living room, "Makenna's going to do the explaining there. You're going to explain about her so-called fairy form."
"But, Mom!" Caleb protested, "I already explained it to you! But you didn't believe me!" He and Michelle were sitting together on the couch, and Makenna was sitting in an armchair across from them.

Mr. Delling soon entered the living room, rubbing his face down with a towel, and at the sight of the gathering, he stopped and asked,
"Hey, what's going on here?"
"Sit, dear." Mrs. Delling said. She pointed at another armchair, "Makenna here is going to explain to us why she did what she did today."
Makenna groaned. "Why can't I just leave?" she mumbled under her breath.
"Where's Tracey?" Mr. Delling asked. He searched the area for him.
"He went up to his room," explained Makenna. She hopped off the armchair, "I'm so sorry about his clumsiness, Daddy, but understand that Tracey's been living on Merlin's Island all his life. He's never had the chance to experience the real world past it. He's completely humiliated. I have to go to him. I'm going to go to him, and you can't stop me."
"You will not, Makenna!" Mrs. Delling snapped at her, "You're not going to get an inch closer to that boy until you give us the scoop on what exactly you did when you got home from school!"
"Sorry, Mom." Makenna said, and she shook her head, "But I don't have time for parental lectures. Currently, Tracey needs me. I'll tell you later. For now, Caleb's going to take the stage."
"Whoa, what?" asked Caleb.
"Re-explain to them why I'm a fairy." Makenna told him, and her wings began to flap, "I'm going to go up to Tracey. I'll bring him down with me when I return so he can help with the explanation. Then, after we finish that explanation, I'll tell you what I did after school. I promise." Mrs. Delling gave her a suspicious look. Did Makenna mean what she said? She had a habit of breaking promises. "I promise." Makenna repeated. She had noticed her mother's suspicious face, "I'll be down in ten minutes. Caleb, please. Do this for Tracey. Please."
Caleb smiled. "All right, Makenna," he said, and he nodded, "I'll re-explain to them about fairy form."
"Thank you, Caleb," uttered Makenna. Next, she focused her attention on her mom, "Please, Mom."
"Fine," she growled. She was still glaring at Makenna, "But you heard yourself. Ten minutes. If you're not back down in that amount of time, there will be consequences."
"I understand, Mom," said Makenna, and she bowed her head to her mother, "Thank you." She again flapped her wings, and her family members watched as she slowly lifted into the air. Makenna waved at them. Then, acting out her flying pose, she hurried toward the staircase and started flying up it, toward the guest room.

Behind, Mr. and Mrs. Delling together turned their heads toward Caleb, and he chuckled nervously. "Well, Caleb," said Mrs. Delling, "You heard your sister. Hit us."
"Right," Caleb spoke. He cleared his throat and watched as Mr. Delling sat down in an armchair across from him. Then, turning to his mom, he added, "Mom, Makenna is what people call, a Metamorphic Fairy."

Tracey, Merlin's apprentice, was completely humiliated.
In the guest room, he was lying sprawled out on the bed's covers, curled in a ball, and he was staring out a window that was across from him. "I'm a disgrace to the world of humans," he mumbled, and he tightly clenched his fist, "I'm such a junior fairy. I'm sure I embarrassed Makenna and her family members like crazy. I've failed you, Sensei." Suddenly, he cried out as a knife of pain suddenly stabbed his head! Lifting one hand, Tracey reached for his head and clutched it. "My head!" he yelled. He closed his eyes and shook it.

Soon, from the other side of the guest room's door, came the voice of Makenna Delling.
"Tracey," she called. The door opened, and she was revealed to be hovering in the doorway. She flew into the room and added, "Tracey, I need to talk to you. Mom also wants you to..." However, she cut off when she saw Tracey lying on the bed, clutching his head. "What's wrong?" she asked. Hurrying to the bed, she landed choppily next to it and peered down on the ninja-like fairy.
Feeling her presence, he quickly sat up and faced her, yelling, "Makenna!"
Makenna jumped. "Yes, it's Makenna," she told him, and she took a step back, "Tracey, I need to talk to you about what happened at dinner. Mom also wants you to return downstairs with me."
"No, Makenna!" Tracey announced, and lifting his other hand, he clutched either side of his head, "I have a terrible headache! They're back! The sirens are back!"

"Sirens?" Makenna asked Merlin's apprentice, and she reached for Tracey's shoulder, "Calm down, Tracey, please. You're good at that."
"I am calm!" he shouted, and he clutched his head harder, "But it burns! I feel like my skull is splitting in two!" His wings fell behind his back and started to shake. Makenna was worried. What was wrong with Merlin's apprentice?
He had never acted this way before. "Tracey," was all she could say. She tried to think of a way to comfort him. Makenna thought for a moment. Then, she got it. Approaching Tracey, she reached for his shoulder and said, "You're still recovering from your unconsciousness, Tracey. You just need to rest. I don't even know why Merlin let you come back here. Here, let me help you lie down."
She took the apprentice's shoulder, but he pushed her off and shouted, "Don't touch me!" He clutched his head again.
"Tracey!" Makenna yelled, and she reached for him again, "I'm just trying to help you! We're friends, and friends look out for one another!"
"Don't touch me!" he shouted again, and he forcibly shook his head, "AHHH!"
"Calm down," said Makenna. She pulled back the covers of the bed and took his shoulders.
She tried to lie him down, but Tracey shouted, "Get off!" as the mark of the Octopus Man flashed on his arm again. With his eyes still closed, he took one hand off his head and held his palm out to Makenna. In his palm appeared a ball of green and purple light. Makenna watched it and gasped. The spell flew out of Tracey's hand and hit the Metamorphic Fairy square in the chest! She cried out in pain and was thrown backward!

Makenna crashed into the floor, barely missing the wall, and her necklace pendant went flying from her neck! It landed behind the dresser next to the guest room's bed, and from where she landed, Makenna groaned.
Tracey, who was still holding his head, fell onto the pillows of the bed and yelled, "Leave me alone!" at the sirens.

Makenna Delling soon got up on her knees, and she had a pained expression on her face.
"Tracey attacked me?" she asked.
"Makenna!" suddenly came the voice of Mrs. Delling from the first story of the house at the base of the stairs, "What is going on up there?!"
At the sound of her voice, Makenna gasped. "Nothing, Mom!" she shouted, "Don't come up! Please don't come up!" However, she heard the pounding feet of her mother hurrying up the staircase. Makenna gasped again. Quickly standing up, she brushed herself off and sprinted to Tracey. Soon standing next to him, she asked, "Tracey, what is wrong with you? There is obviously something more than a magic overload going on with you! But what?!"
"It burns!" he again shouted, "My head!" Makenna clenched her teeth. She had a bad feeling.
Nervously lifting her hand, she pressed the palm of it on Tracey's forehead. "Oh, my God!" she shouted, and she quickly pulled away, "You have a fever, Tracey! What should I do?! How do you treat a fairy fever?!" She reached for her cheeks, "Caleb! I need Caleb! He's the fairy expert!" Removing her hands from her cheeks, her eyes shifted away from Tracey's face and landed on the mark of the Octopus Man on his arm instead. She gasped, "Tracey, what's wrong with your arm?!" and reached for his arm. Taking it, she examined the Octopus Man's trident, and her next question was, "Why do you have this mark on your arm?!" She released Tracey's arm, "Caleb!" and turned on her heel, "Caleb, please! Tracey needs help!"
She sprinted out of the room, and Tracey was left behind, shaking from pain and fever. "It burns!" he shouted for the third time.

He didn't see it, but not far from him, from behind the dresser, Makenna's necklace pendant was starting to glow again. Blue sparkles escaped it and went to him, starting to circle his arm that had the Octopus Man's mark and his head. Tracey suddenly felt very drowsy. His headache started to ease, and the mark vanished from his arm. He breathed deeply, and his head drooped to the side. He fell asleep. Makenna's necklace was the one who had put him to sleep this time!
Very faintly, from the pendant, came a mysterious, magical voice! "Sleep," it said, and the sparkles left Tracey's head and arm, "Sleep, my child. You just need to rest. You'll be okay in the morning. Promise."
"I'm craving chicken soup." Tracey mumbled in his sleep, and sweat from his forehead, due to his fever, started to trickle down his face.
"Sleep," repeated the pendant. It stopped glowing, and all was finally still and quiet in the guest room.

Makenna soon returned to Tracey's room, with Caleb and her parents on either side of her, and she pointed at the ninja-like fairy, "There he is! Caleb, please! You're the fairy expert! What's wrong with him?"
"Hmm," thoughtfully spoke Caleb. He tapped his chin, "How interesting," and approached the bed. Stopping next to it, he placed his own palm to Tracey's forehead. "Oh yeah," he spoke after a bit, and he removed his hand, "That is definitely a fever."
"I don't understand!" Makenna choked, "He's never acted this way before! He didn't start to act like this until after he was dragged into the ocean on Merlin's Island!"
Next to her, Mrs. Delling was dabbing her face with a wet towel. "Of course," she uttered in a small voice, "Merlin's Island. I've always wanted to go to a make-believe fairyland."
Mr. Delling, who was next to her, holding a thermometer, glared at her and asked, "Would it kill you to just believe a smidgen of this?" Mrs. Delling lowered her towel and glanced at him. She placed her hands behind her back and didn't speak. "Whatever." Mr. Delling said after a bit, and he turned toward Tracey, "This boy is ill! He may be a fairy, but he is still a person! Let's have a look at that temperature of his. And you, Michelle," He glanced at his wife, "will go get a bucket of cold water and a towel for his forehead."
"He's a ninja." Mrs. Delling mumbled, "Can't he take care of himself?" She dabbed her face again with her towel.
"Michelle." Andy growled, and he gave her the evil death glare. Makenna and Caleb did too.
Mrs. Delling finally shrugged. "Fine," she spoke, and she turned, hobbling out of the room.

When she disappeared down the hallway, Makenna feebly smiled at her dad and said,
"Nice job, Dad. Thank you for helping us."
"No problem, Makenna." Andy uttered with a smile, and he approached the bed, coming within reach of Tracey, "All right, Tracey, let's take a look at that temperature of yours." He lifted the thermometer and stuck it under Tracey's tongue.
"If you're not better by morning, Tracey," Makenna told the ninja, "then I am going to take you back to Merlin's Island." She glanced at Caleb who was examining Tracey up and down, "Caleb, have you come up with a diagnosis yet?"
Caleb nodded. "Yeah," he replied, and he met Makenna's eyes, "It's a spell fever."
"A spell fever?" Makenna asked, and a question mark appeared above her head, "What's a spell fever?"
Caleb explained, "It's a fever that a fairy acquires when they are being affected greatly by either a spell, magic overload, or are right on the brink of magetical shock."
"He can't be under a spell though, Caleb!" Makenna argued, "Merlin clearly told us that it's most likely a magic overload instead!"
"I didn't say he was." Caleb explained, "But he is obviously suffering from something! The best thing we can do now is watch him. When a fairy has a spell fever, the best thing for them is rest. Rest will help their magic level return to base level. Tracey may have woken up from his magic coma, but it doesn't mean that his magic level is back at base level yet. The thing is, he's been pushing himself too hard today."
"Why did Merlin send him back then?" Makenna inquired, "This makes no sense. And what about that mark on his arm?!"
"Mark?" asked Caleb, and bewilderment flashed across his face, "What mark, Makenna?" Mr. Delling soon removed the thermometer from under Tracey's tongue, and he checked it.
Makenna, with her eyes still glued on Caleb, pointed at Tracey's now mark-free arm and said, "A strange mark of a trident has appeared on his arm!"
"A mark of a trident?" Caleb confusingly asked. He turned his head toward Tracey's arm and examined it up and down. "I don't see any mark, Makenna," he admitted.
"What?" Makenna asked. Her eyes again landed on Tracey's arm, and now multiple question marks appeared above her head. "But," she added in a small voice, "there was one."
Caleb crossed his arms, "You were probably just imagining things."
"Maybe." Makenna softly spoke. She sighed and reached for her neck. However, she gasped when she didn't feel her necklace! "My necklace!" Makenna yelped, and her fingernails turned black, "Where's my necklace?!"
"Is that it down there?" asked Mr. Delling. He was pointing behind the dresser where Makenna's necklace was still hanging out.
"Oh, thank God!" said the Metamorphic Fairy. She fell to her knees and crawled hurriedly to the dresser. Soon reaching it, she reached behind it and dug out her necklace. Her fingernails changed back to blue. "Thank goodness I still have it." Makenna said to herself. She closed her eyes and hugged her necklace to her chest. Mr. Delling and Caleb stared confusingly at her.

Mrs. Delling soon reentered the room, and she was carrying a bucket and towel in her hand.
"I've returned," she growled. Makenna, Caleb, and Mrs. Delling focused their attention on her.
"Thank you, dear," uttered Mr. Delling, and he gestured his wife over with his hand, "Now hurry! He has a temperature of 103°F!"
"103°F?!" worriedly inquired Makenna, "Oh, Tracey." She took his hand and hugged it. "Don't worry," she added with, and she closed her eyes, "You'll be better in the morning. Your fever will be broken. And if it's not, then I will take you back to Merlin's Island. I promise." Behind her, she didn't notice this, nor did Mr. and Mrs. Delling, but Caleb was smiling. This was good. Makenna was starting to change. She was starting to think about other people besides herself now. There was hope she would become and Level 2 and Level 3 Metamorphic Fairy. Caleb just hoped that she would continue down the path she was going. If she did, no doubt about it, she would become a Soon to Be a Crystal Metamorphic Fairy very soon. Makenna's small wings sparkled, and she continued to hug Tracey's hand.