Mal Voyage

Summary: Chrysta informs Sofia of a strange recurring incident in a location known as the Bixtou Realm, where hundreds of couples from many different realms have gone missing while on a supposed couples' getaway retreat. Desperate to know more and recover the missing participants, she sends Sofia on an undercover mission, but there's a catch: she has to go with Cedric, and they must pose as a newlywed couple to avoid suspicion.

Disclaimer: I only own the Bixtou Realm and any OCs mentioned on the ship. Though they are not in the story and are only mentioned, Nana and Tanya both belong to MarionetteJ2X. Everything else belongs to Craig Gerber.

A/N: Heh, I told you guys that I may have a story before Weakened Link, and here we are! 😊 This one works as another transitional type of story, but there is also a great deal of substance and character development in here. There will be plenty of fluff and humor. And I finally get to write for Chrysta again. I think most people know how much I enjoy her. 😉Anyway! Let's get started, and I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1: Vanished Voyagers

Chrysta stood talking to Orion and Vega at their headquarters, a clearly perplexed look on the younger Protector's face. She'd recently learned of a strange event that would take a bit of leg work, and she hoped her plan would work. She turned around the moment she heard the door open behind them and the double set of footfalls on the floor, which she'd recognize anywhere by now. A relieved grin appeared on her face. "Hey, Sofia," she greeted cheerfully. "I'm glad you could make it!" Her grin switched to a smirk as she observed the sorcerer next to her. "Cedric."

"Oh, Princess Sofia," Orion acknowledged with a warm smile. "And Cedric, I'm glad to see you as well."

"What are you both doing here?" Vega wondered curiously. "I don't think we had any missions in line for you, Sofia."

"Actually, I went out on a limb and decided to give them the Bixtou Realm case." Chrysta smiled sheepishly as the other Protectors eyed her warily. "What? It'll be fine! They've done something similar to this before. Besides, the other two who were supposed to work this case got sick: a nasty case of food poisoning, since Big Bertha-Maude cooked her infamous 'mystery meal' last night." The mere mention seemed to make all three Mystic Isles residents queasy, though the Enchancians had no idea what they were talking about. "Doc said they'd be down for a few days. And even if they start feeling better, there's no way they'd be ready for this case."

"But Cedric and Sofia haven't worked a case quite to this level, Chrysta," Orion reminded her before glancing at the confused partners. "I do hope you know what you're getting into." It wasn't clear whether that statement was directed at Cedric and Sofia or Chrysta, but he let the words hang between him and the others before reaching out to place a hand on Vega's arm. "Come, Vega. We have that meeting with the minotaur representative in ten minutes."

"Right." She nodded toward the visitors. "Nice to see you two. Take care. And Chrysta…" She glanced at her friend. "Make sure they're fully prepared." With that, she left with the other wind walker.

"All right," Cedric finally spoke, folding his arms as Chrysta sighed and glanced back toward them, "what is it you aren't telling us?"

"Let's go to my place, and we'll talk."

Sofia sat down in a chair next to Cedric while Chrysta passed them each some tea and a little plate of random sweets. Her keen observational skills led her to believe that her former trainer was definitely a bit nervous and yet…excited? Sure, some missions could be pretty interesting and even fun, but the last several she'd been on had been nothing of the sort. After the crystal fairy sat down, the princess finally asked, "What exactly is the Bixtou Realm? I know you told me you had a mission for me, but you also asked me to bring Cedric, which is…unusual for you, to say the least."

The woman laughed, "That's…kind of because you're going to need him."

"What's going on, Chrysta?" Cedric pressed, sipping some of his tea.

"I'm gonna need you guys to be married for a few days."

The sorcerer managed the decency not to spew his tea, instead coughing after painfully gulping it down. He breathed in sharply as Sofia patted his back. His brown eyes were wide as he stared at the snickering fairy. "What?!"

Sofia fought back an impending blush, knowing that there must have been more to the Protector's statement than that. "Chrysta… Please tell me…there's a very good reason for your request."

Chrysta grinned playfully. "Actually, no. That's your mission. I legitimately want you to marry Cedric already." She laughed as the partners did start blushing, appearing rather nervous. "I'm just kidding. Look. Here's what's really going on." She hopped out of her seat and moved into her kitchenette, searching for something as she talked. "There is a galleon that ships out at the southmost end of the Ever Realm every two days. It's a supposed getaway retreat that will venture into what is known as the Bixtou Realm: literally a realm with nothing but the sea and a consistently pleasant atmosphere."

While still listening, Sofia gently rubbed Cedric's back again, leaning over to whisper and check on him. When he nodded his affirmation that he was fine, she turned her attention back to Chrysta, her hand still gently caressing his back.

The crystal fairy made a victorious sound as she grabbed a scroll from behind some of the canisters of spices she kept stacked on her cabinet. She walked back into the main area and unrolled the parchment, revealing a rough map of what appeared to be the Ever Realm fading into the Bixtou Realm. She pointed at the transition point. "Here's where the voyage starts." She traced her finger into the watery area beyond the border. "And this whole area is the Bixtou Realm. It's not exactly hard to get to, but it does take a long time to get there if you don't have magical means. And most people don't go there anyway, since it's literally just the sea."

"So…what is the purpose of this 'getaway retreat voyage,' exactly?" Cedric asked.

"It's for couples, or at least that's what the advertisers have said. The rumor is that a crew representative has sent out invitations to several couples (courting, engaged, or married) all throughout the Ever Realm. There have been plenty of voyages since earlier this year. However, there is an issue that we've only just recently discovered: the several hundred passengers from previous voyages? They never came back."

"Their families reported them missing," Sofia surmised, seeing Chrysta nod. "How long is the voyage supposed to last?"

"A week."

"Ohh, I don't know if that's feasible for us," Cedric remarked, sighing. "I can't just leave my job for a week…again. And Sofia, you're supposed to help Princess Vivian with something in a few days, aren't you?"

"No, she rescheduled that to next week," she reminded him. "But still, we can't take Nana and Tanya with us. We'd have to ask Cordelia if she wouldn't mind watching them…one more time." She laughed softly. "We're going to owe her big time if she ever decides to collect on all the favors that she's done for us."

"Well, is there someone who could take your place for the time being, Cedric?" Chrysta wondered. "Anyone you'd trust in your position?"

"I suppose Cordelia and Calista would be fine overseeing my duties, but…" He shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure how King Roland will take this news. We've kind of been gone quite a bit recently, for different reasons, and I'm afraid he'll start questioning my competence."

"You've got me to vouch for you though," Sofia told him sweetly. "Besides, I'm sure when he understands that it's a Protector mission, and you're coming along with me, for…protection…or whatever…" She giggled as he offered her a sarcastic stare. "…He'll be fine. If nothing else, I'm sure Mom will also agree that this is important, and he'll be okay with it." She glanced at Chrysta. "We need some more details before we go, though… We'll definitely want to be prepared, especially with it being another realm."

"Oh, of course. First of all, you shouldn't use your real names. Any idea for undercover names this time?"

"We might as well just use the same ones we did for our pirate adventure," Cedric suggested. "What were they? Horatio and Raelyn?" He smiled as Sofia grinned. "But not 'Ruthless Raelyn' or 'Heartless Horatio' this time. Just the names without the 'menacing' adjectives."

"Right, and you'll need to pretend to be a newlywed couple." Chrysta laughed at their hesitant expressions. "Guys, it's just an undercover mission. But if you don't play the part, you'll be found out quickly, and the cover will be blown, and you'll probably be in danger." She shook her head. "And we don't want that happening."

"I'm not saying we won't go," Sofia began, "but…is there any reason you're not using Nerissa and the other underwater Protectors for this mission?"

"They have their hands full with a cyclops invasion." She shuddered at the details she'd heard of the case. "They'll be…pretty busy for a while. Heh."

"Hmm. So… We'll be Raelyn and Horatio again, a newlywed couple…" Sofia smiled softly at the scenario, though she did continue with, "And…we'll be 'participating' in this getaway retreat for couples… What's the ship called?"

"The Vista di Galileo," Chrysta responded. "It's a voyager's galleon, apparently built to sustain the constant sea treks. It leaves from port again in two days, so…"

"And we're looking for what, exactly?" Cedric clarified. "Suspicious crewmen? Fine. But what if we get caught up on a voyage that also disappears? Considering the fact that you indicated that none of the previous passengers have returned, I'd say there is a high chance that we might be—no pun intended—in the same boat."

"Galleon, Cedric." The fairy grinned at his annoyed look. "And you're more than equipped to handle any challenge that comes along. Between the magic you both share, Sofia's Enchantlet, and the Amulet of Avalor, I'm sure you'll be fine. But if it looks like you're in some serious danger, Sofia…" She turned to her former trainee. "You contact me or the others. We'll track your location via your Enchantlet, and we'll come to help. But keep in contact anyway so that we can know what's going on, okay?"

Sofia nodded. "Okay. So…" She looked at Cedric. "I guess we need to go home, tell Mom and Dad and the others what's going on, pack, have a plan, and then head to the Bixtou Realm port."

"Yeah. Leave tomorrow morning to get there in time. Here." Chrysta walked over and took Sofia's wrist, tapping the Enchantlet a few times. "I'm putting in the coordinates to help match up with Cedric's AutoCoach."

"You can do that?" Cedric asked, surprised.

The crystal fairy grinned. "Isn't modern magical technology great?" She snapped her fingers as she released Sofia's wrist. "Oh. When you guys get back to Enchancia, you may want to pin down some details about your undercover personalities: birthdays, marriage date, and other specifics that any real couple would have to know. You don't want to get caught up in a suspicious situation, where your comments aren't matching up and you end up getting into some serious trouble."

"That would be our luck," Sofia laughed. "We'll work on that tonight then. Is there anything else we need to know?"

The older woman sighed. "Not that I know of… I honestly hate sending you guys into a situation where we don't really know what sort of enemy we're up against, and where the disappearance rate is one hundred percent. I'm surprised there are so many who continue to board the galleon, but I guess word doesn't travel fast enough in some of the smaller areas to steer them away, so several hundred people can still fall prey to such a thing. Just…be careful, okay?"

"We will," Cedric assured her. He took Sofia's hand, squeezing it gently. "I'll protect her with my life."

Chrysta grinned. "Spoken like a true husband."

Sofia blushed, as did Cedric. "Chrysta!"

To be continued…

Next Chapter: The Return of Raelyn and Horatio