Once upon a crime

Chapter 6

Hamstead leaped out of the way and the blast missed him by inches. Unfortunately, it crashed into a rack of polyester dresses that exploded into flames. "My spring collection!" Twilarose shouted as she desperately tried to put out the fire that was melting her gowns. She stomped feverishly on a pink, hoop-skirted prom dress, completely ignoring the peril of everyone around her. In the chaos, Sabrina watched Cobweb fly out of the shop. "Forget the dresses!" she cried, as flames rapidly spread throughout the store. "Get us out of these chains."

Twilarose turned and flicked her wand. The chains vanished, freeing the group. Unfortunately, smoke was filling the room, and Tony Fats and Bobby Screwball, who seemed to be having trouble seeing, were shooting their wands in every direction. Bobby seemed to have particularly bad aim; each blast from his wand spiraled toward a random target.

"Now I know why they call him Bobby Screwball," Sabrina said as she rushed to rescue Puck's cocoon from a nest of smoldering feather boas. She scampered over to her family, who were hiding behind a rack of capes.

"Where's Cobweb?" Daphne cried.

"He got away," Sabrina said, ducking her head to avoid a blast. "We need to get out of here, too!"

"Bess!"

Tony Fats bellowed as he fired again. "You're my girl now and always."

"They're blinded by the smoke! They aren't expecting any of us to fly out," Sabrina said, handing Moth Puck's cocoon. "Get him out of here."

"My pleasure," the fairy girl said as her wings sprang from her back and lifted her off the ground. She zipped in between the fairy godfathers' wand blasts and soared out the open door to safety. With so much smoke in the air, Tony and Bobby hadn't even noticed Moth fly by.

"Ernie, take my hand," Bess said. She reached behind her back, pushed something on her backpack, and suddenly a flame shot out that lifted her and her chubby new boyfriend right off the ground. Sabrina was stunned as she watched them rocket out of the store.

"Uh, I want one of those," Daphne said.

Twilarose hurried out next, stumbling over a stack of tiaras before making it to the door.

"Our turn!" Sabrina cried. She snatched Daphne and Granny by the hand and raced across the room. By this time, Bobby and Tony seemed to have gotten wise to what was going on. Their shots came more quickly and the Grimms had to race at full speed to get to the exit. But just as they reached the door, Daphne pulled away and raced back the way they had come, scooping something off the floor and then rejoining her family.

They tumbled out into the street, gasping for air, while Tony and Bobby continued to fire their wands obliviously inside the store. It was amazing they didn't hit each other.

Sabrina rubbed the soot out of her eyes and scanned her surroundings. Twilarose was gone, but Sabrina spied Cobweb flying down the street. "There he is!"

"We'll never catch him on foot," Granny said, whirling around in search of a taxi. She knocked into a woman carrying grocery bags.

"Did you see that?" the woman cried, staring down the street at Cobweb. "That man is flying, like an angel."

Granny nodded, reached into her handbag, and then blew forgetful dust all over the woman. Her eyes glazed over. "You had a very boring day," Granny said. "I did," the woman replied.

"Wait a minute!" Daphne cried. She reached up and felt around in the woman's grocery bag.

"What are you doing?" Sabrina asked, eyeing the doorway nervously. Bobby and Tony weren't going to stay in the store forever.

"I need something… like a pumpkin," the little girl explained, then yanked out a long green zucchini. "I hope this is close enough."

Sabrina watched Daphne place the zucchini on the ground and then take a long, thin piece of wood out of her pocket-it was Twilarose's magic wand.

"She dropped this," the little girl explained.

"Liebling, you have no idea how to use that," Granny said.

"I watched her. It's all in the wrist," Daphne said.

Daphne flicked her wrist and a bolt of energy shot out of the wand and hit the zucchini. There was a blinding flash and when Sabrina's eyes adjusted, she looked down. The zucchini was still there.

Daphne shook the wand vigorously. "I think it needs new batteries."

But in seconds the zucchini began to change. It grew in size and shape, morphing and twisting, creating wheels, hubcaps, headlights, and more. When the transformation was complete, the investigators were standing in front of an emerald-green car, complete with sunroof, spoiler, and whitewall tires.

"This is incredible," Granny Relda said.

"And it goes nicely in a salad," Daphne said, grinning. Then she glanced around and spotted the orange tomcat hovering in the doorway. "Now we need a driver."

She waved the wand again and a blast hit the cat. It let out a surprised shriek and then, just like the zucchini, began to change its shape. In no time at all, the tabby had become a young, redheaded man wearing a black suit and a little leather cap.

"What's your name?" Daphne said.

" Chester," the driver said.

"We need you to follow a flying fairy," Granny said.

"Now there's a sentence you don't hear every day," Chester said. He pushed a button on a keychain he was holding and the car's alarm deactivated. Then he rushed to open the doors and helped everyone inside. When this was done, he hopped into the front seat and turned on the ignition.

"Buckle up," Chester said, slamming his foot on the gas. The car roared down the street after Cobweb.

Chester zipped around cars and pedestrians like a professional racecar driver. Sabrina quickly fastened her seat belt and then craned her neck out the window in hopes of spotting their quarry. She didn't have to search for long. Cobweb was directly in front of them, darting in and out of traffic.

Unfortunately as Sabrina discovered when she peeked out the rear window, they were being followed, too. Tony Fats and Bobby Screwball were flying after them.

A blast of energy slammed into a nearby fire hydrant and Sabrina watched it explode, sending a geyser of water high into the air.

"They're shooting at us," Daphne said.

Chester made a quick left and then a right. He beat a couple lights but an unfortunate turn landed them right in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Cobweb soared over the cars ahead with ease. Meanwhile, Chester sat in the front seat, licking the back of his hands. Sabrina watched him. She'd almost forgotten he was a cat.

Daphne tapped Chester on the shoulder. "Can you open the sunroof?" she asked.

"Liebling, what are you thinking?" Granny Relda said.

"Don't worry, Granny," Daphne replied as she took the magic wand from her pocket. "I think I'm getting the hang of this."

When the sunroof slid open, Daphne stood up on the seat so she was halfway out of the car and sent a flash of magic toward the traffic in front of them. Cars were jerked off to the side of the road as if by some invisible force. When the way was clear, Chester stomped on the gas pedal and they were off once more.

"You're going to get hurt," Sabrina said as she pulled Daphne back into the car.

"You're not the boss of me," Daphne snapped.

They raced into Times Square and came to a screeching halt when a crowd of pedestrians stepped out into the intersection. Cobweb soared over the tourists' heads, yet no one noticed. They were all too distracted by the dizzying lights and sights of Broadway. The dark fairy zipped down into a subway station and disappeared.

"Sorry, folks, I can't take the car down there," Chester said.

The group climbed out of the car just as Tony Fats and Bobby appeared. Hamstead had to leap out of the way of an incoming blast, which hit a stop sign instead and transformed it into a monkey. The monkey shrieked and disappeared into the crowd.

Daphne turned on the goons and fired a return volley. It hit the fairy godfathers dead on, and in a flash their feet were encased in concrete. With their wings unable to keep the extra weight aloft, the men crashed to the ground. Their wands tumbled out of their hands and rolled into an open sewer.

A crowd gathered around the family, stunned by what they had seen. Granny smiled nervously and reached into her handbag. Moments later the crowd had forgotten everything. When the people dispersed, Granny quickly took the magic wand from Daphne and handed it to Chester. "Would you be a dear and give this back to Twilarose?"

Chester nodded. "Sure, can I keep the car?"

"What are we waiting for? Cobweb is getting away!" Moth cried and raced away, down into the subway. The others hurried to follow.

As Sabrina helped Granny Relda down the steps to the subway below, she caught glimpses of Cobweb in the busy station. He'd hidden his wings and was trying to blend in with everyone else. When they reached the bottom of the steps, she saw him remove something from his pocket and swipe it at the subway turnstile. Then he stepped through and hurried to the platform just as a train pulled into the station.

Sabrina and Granny rushed to the turnstile, but without fare cards they were denied entry. Granny called out to Cobweb and the fairy turned to face her.

"If you're innocent then you will have a chance to prove it when you go to trial," Granny said.

"You fools, there is no justice in Faerie. There are no courts, no defenders. I would be tried and convicted by Titania herself. My head would be in the Hudson River by sunup."

The subway car doors opened and Cobweb stepped inside. Helpless, the family could only watch as the train disappeared into the tunnels.

"I will pursue him," Moth declared as her wings began to unfurl.

"No, you won't," Granny said, taking hold of Moth's arm.

"But he's getting away!" the fairy shouted.

"Yes, he is," the old woman said. "And we're letting him."

Granny ushered everyone into a nearby coffee shop and then asked one of its employees where the closest pay phone was located. The old woman bought everyone hot chocolate and then went outside in search of the phone.

"The old woman is a complete incompetent," Moth sneered. "We had Cobweb within our grasp and she let him go."

"You say another bad thing about my granny and you're going to get a sock in the nose," Daphne threatened.

Moth rolled her eyes.

Daphne turned to Mr. Hamstead. "What does incompetent mean?"

"She's saying that your grandmother isn't any good at her job," Hamstead replied.

Daphne shot the fairy girl another nasty look and then turned to her hot cocoa.

"So you don't need me with the big words, anymore?" Sabrina asked, trying not to sound too hurt.

"I never said I didn't need you, Sabrina. I just can't count on you," the little girl answered.

Granny returned, brushing snow off her coat. "All right, everyone, let's go," she said.

"Where are we going?" Daphne asked.

"To see Titania," the old woman said.

"What?" Sabrina cried. "She tried to kill us!"

Granny smiled. "I remember, liebling"

Night had fallen by the time they reached Central Park. They found the Hans Christian Andersen statue, waited while a dark-haired woman walking a little West Highland White Terrier passed out of sight, then said the magic words. As before, the Golden Egg was revealed.

The damage to the restaurant from the night before had been cleaned up, and except for a few broken chairs in the corner, there was no sign that a disturbance had occurred at all. The place was empty except for a cat playing Irish jigs on a fiddle. Momma was behind the bar washing some glasses.

"Good to see you, folks," she said. "Care for something to eat? The kitchen's open."

"No, thank you," Granny said. "We're meeting Titania here."

The woman sighed. "And I just got this place cleaned up."

"Which Everafter are you?" Daphne asked.

The woman smiled. "Mother Goose, in the flesh, or in this case, in the feather." Suddenly, she transformed into a large black goose with a blue bonnet on its head. Daphne clapped and the goose changed back into the woman.

"So, you're part of the Grimm family," Momma said, as she turned back to her glasses. "I was so busy with customers I didn't get a chance to talk to you the other night. I knew Wilhelm pretty well. Nice guy. He was always trying to help. I guess it runs in the family. Veronica was the same way."

Sabrina sat down at a nearby table. "You knew my mother?"

Momma nodded. "Sweet lady. Helped me get into bartending school. Without her, I'd still be living at the Sunshine Hotel on the Bowery."

"The Sunshine Hotel?" Granny asked.

"Yeah, it's a flop house, one of those pay-by-the-day places. Real classy," Momma said sarcastically. "A few Everafters live there-the ones that can afford the rent."

"And the others?"

"They make do in shelters. Some of them live on the street."

"But you're magical beings," Sabrina said. "Why would you live so hard? You don't have to."

"Kiddo, just 'cause I can turn into a goose doesn't mean I don't have bills to pay. It ain't easy being an Everafter. None of us have identification. We can't get driver's licenses 'cause eventually people are going to notice that we aren't getting older. Getting a lease on an apartment without any credit history is impossible. Why, you can't even get a job without a social security number. Technically none of us exist. That's why Veronica was so well liked. She helped us find ways to work around the humans' rules. She cut the red tape when it was possible. When she disappeared, things went from bad to worse. Sad, too, as she told me she was working on a plan for us to help ourselves. She was supposed to give some big speech about it but then she disappeared."

Just then, Titania and Mustardseed appeared. Mustardseed stood close to his mother, holding her hand. Titania's heartbreak was plain on her face. She said hello to everyone, then turned her attention to Moth. "How is my son?"

Moth stepped forward with the cocoon. Titania took it in her hands and held it close to her face. "Get well, my son. You are needed." She handed the cocoon back to the small fairy and said, "Keep him safe."

"Oz said you needed to speak to us," Mustardseed prompted. He was so serious and mature. Sabrina studied his face, looking for signs that he was truly Puck's brother. They shared the same mouth and nose-that was about it.

"Yes, and this is difficult to say, but we can no longer help you solve Oberon's murder," Granny Relda said.

"What?" Daphne cried. Even Sabrina was surprised by her grandmother's words.

"Why?" Titania demanded.

"We were told that Cobweb killed your husband," Granny said. "But Cobweb claims he is innocent."

"Cobweb is lying!" Titania said.

"Maybe so," the old woman replied. "But he also says he cannot turn himself in because he would be executed immediately." Mustardseed lowered his eyes. "So it's true," Granny said.

"Of course it's true!" Titania screamed. "Murderers reap what they sow. That is the way of Faerie."

"So he will not be given a trial?" Granny Relda said.

Titania raged. "You are just like Veronica! She was always forcing her beliefs about justice on the rest of us. Cobweb killed my husband and I will oversee his execution myself!"

"Then you can find him without our help," Granny said.

"Veronica and I obviously share the same sense of right and wrong."

"I have never heard such treachery," Moth cried. "Who are you to tell us how to behave?"

"We will give him a trial," Mustardseed said quietly.

"You are overstepping your authority!" Titania raged at her son. "I am still Queen of Faerie."

"There is no Faerie, Mother. It has been gone for ten years," Mustardseed said. "We're living here, now. It's time to embrace our new home."

"You would throw away thousands of years of our history?" Titania argued.

"No, there is room for tradition," Mustardseed said. "But not traditions that oppress and create mistrust. Sentencing a man to die because that has always been the way of things is wrong. My father struggled for too long trying to rebuild that way of life. I will not allow you or anyone else to do the same. You will fail as he did."

"Mustardseed!"

"Mother, the humans have traditions of their own. Adopting a few of them might do us all a world of good. We will allow Cobweb to defend himself," Mustardseed said, and then turned to Granny Relda. "You have my word."

"Do we have hers?" Mr. Hamstead said, pointing at Titania.

Titania got up and stormed out of the room.

"I will make her understand," Mustardseed said.

Granny regarded the young fairy for a moment and then nodded. "And we will do our best to find Cobweb."

Mustardseed returned the nod, then turned and exited the room.

"So, I guess we're back to the subway," Daphne said.

"It's a place to start," said Granny. "Someone may have seen where he went."

"Or he may still be down there," said Momma. "It's a good place to hide from other fairies since they're technically forbidden to be in the tunnels."

"Great," Sabrina said. "Anyone got a flashlight and two years? Do you know how many miles of subway track there are? Six hundred and fifty six!" She recalled the report she had done in the fourth grade after a trip to the Transit Museum.

"It's the realm of the six dwarfs," Momma said. "They control the underground. If he's down there they'll help you find him."

Granny smiled. "And where would we find these dwarfs?"

Everyone agreed to continue the search for Cobweb in the morning. The sun had set long ago and it had grown bitterly cold, plus they were exhausted.

The group returned to the hotel to find Mr. Hamstead's room had been destroyed. His bed had been torn apart and his drawers rifled through. There was a note on the bathroom door that read, "You can go back to Ferryport Landing dead or alive. Your choice." Hamstead snatched the note and crumbled it into a ball.

"At least he gave me a choice," he said with a forced smile. "Maybe I'm too much trouble for you," Bess said. Hamstead shook his head. "I've dealt with bigger threats than Tony Fats."

Bess gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You take care, doll face. I'll see you bright and early in the morning."

"I hope we get invited to the wedding," Daphne sang after the blonde beauty was gone.

Mr. Hamstead rolled his eyes but grinned from ear to ear. "I'm going to have the hotel put me in another room. You folks go get some rest. We've got a big day tomorrow."

Granny led Sabrina, Moth, and Daphne back to their room. Moth propped Puck's cocoon on the bed next to her and crawled under the covers. Sabrina lay next to her grandmother and sister in the other bed. She fell asleep listening to her sister plan Bess and Mr. Hamstead's wedding. That night, Sabrina dreamed of doves flying out of the top of a wedding cake.

When Sabrina woke the next morning, she crawled out of bed and went into the bathroom in hopes of finding a glass of water to get rid of her morning breath. She quietly shut the door so that her family and Moth could sleep. She gargled, washed her face, and checked herself in the mirror. Then she screamed.

Hovering several feet off the ground behind her was Puck's cocoon. She turned to find that the top of it had split open and something was gurgling inside. When she craned her neck to get a better look, a thick, green gas seeped out. It had the foulest smell Sabrina had ever experienced-like rotten cabbage, dirty laundry, and string cheese. Sabrina instinctively leaped back but the cocoon followed her, like a smelly puppy.

"Get this thing away from me!" Sabrina cried, but no one came. She tried to maneuver around it, but every step she took the cocoon mimicked. She faked to the left and then to the right, only to have the cocoon block the bathroom door, trapping her inside. Then the real nightmare started.

A sound like a steam whistle filled Sabrina's ears and green gas blasted out of the top of the cocoon, filling the bathroom with a funky fog. It seeped into Sabrina. It was in her hair, in her socks-she could even taste it. She pinched her nose tightly but it didn't help.

"Sabrina, are you okay in there?" her grandmother said as she tapped on the door. "No!" Sabrina cried.

"It sounds as if your dinner isn't agreeing with you. Is there anything I can do? The hotel might have some antacids for your belly," the old woman said.

There was another knock on the door. "Hey! Light a match in there," Daphne shouted.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Moth shrieked in rage.

"How dare you!" she cried.

"My goodness gracious," Granny Relda said. "What is going on in here?"

"This thing just blew up on me," Sabrina cried as the cocoon continued to spray her with fumes. "Make it stop!"

"What you've done is unforgivable!" Moth seethed. "You have stolen my right!"

"I didn't steal anything!" Sabrina cried. "It followed me in here."

"Moth, could you tell us what is happening?" Granny asked.

Moth growled. "During the larval stage, when a fairy is most vulnerable, he chooses the one person in the world he trusts the most to look after him. Once the choice is made the cocoon marks the person with a special scent, one the cocoon can easily follow. This is an honor that should have gone to me.

"Well, then," Granny said as the last of the gas fizzed out of the top of the cocoon. "I suppose congratulations are in order."

The smell was all over Sabrina and no amount of washing could get it off. She took six showers, washed her hair, and scrubbed every inch of her body, but each time the smell returned with a vengeance. She could even smell it on her toothbrush. If she hadn't been so angry she might have cried.

Still, the smell was only half the nightmare. Sabrina discovered that wherever she went the cocoon hovered behind her, step for step. She shouted at it, hid from it, even threatened to drop-kick it out the hotel window, but nothing would stop it. As she couldn't reasonably walk the streets with a flying, eggplant-shaped gas bomb hovering at her shoulder, Granny and Daphne went out in search of something that might work as camouflage.

Left alone with an angry Moth, Sabrina ignored the fairy, watching talk shows she was certain were inappropriate for her. Moth stalked around the room with clenched fists, muttering bitter words under her breath.

"What's this?" Sabrina said when her grandmother and sister returned with a long piece of string.

Granny tied one end of the string to the bottom of the cocoon and handed the other end to Sabrina. "Now, isn't that a lovely balloon?"

Sabrina grumbled, knowing she looked like an unhappy child at the worst birthday party ever.

Mother Goose's directions were far better than any Bess or Oz had given the group. Momma knew exactly where to find the dwarfs. They lived in an abandoned subway station underneath the mayor's office downtown. The City Hall station had been closed decades ago, when the new, longer subway cars had made the platform impractical.

The walk to the station was chilly and the Grimms were glad to have scarves and mittens. Even Mr. Canis had found a big pair of gloves for his claws and a scarf to wrap around his whiskered head. Moth, Mr. Hamstead, and Bess didn't seem bothered by the cold, Moth because of her fairy blood and Mr. Hamstead and Bess because they were too busy giggling and holding hands to notice the temperature.

The group crossed a small park and found the steel door in the sidewalk that Momma told them led into the ancient subway station. There was no one out in the harsh weather, so they didn't have to worry about being seen when Canis pulled the door open, revealing a flight of steps that led down into darkness. Mr. Hamstead insisted that he go first, claiming his police training prepared him for any kind of danger. It was obvious his boasting was for Bess's benefit, but Sabrina held her tongue.

Hamstead led the group down the steps and when everyone was inside, Canis pulled the door closed, plunging them into darkness.

"Creepy," Daphne said.

"Just be patient, liebling.

Your eyes will adjust," Granny promised.

"Man, it smells foul down here," Bess said.

"I believe that is the girl," Canis said.

"Uh, hello? I'm standing right here!" Sabrina said.

Before long, their eyes adjusted, and Mr. Hamstead was leading them along a damp concrete passageway lined with huge pipes and electrical wiring. Every once in a while they would pass under a dingy, flickering lightbulb, which helped them see a few feet ahead.

"We are close," Canis said, sniffing the air. "I smell them."

The tunnel opened into a huge station with an arched ceiling held up by elegant columns and cut through with skylights that allowed rays of light to shine down on the gold-tiled walls and floor. The room looked like the lost tomb of a pharaoh. At the center was a single train track, where a lone subway car was parked. Sabrina had been in many subway stations in New York City, but this one, by far, was the most beautiful.

"Hello?" Granny shouted out. Her voice bounced off the walls and echoed back. "Is anyone here?"

"They have obviously abandoned this station," Moth said.

Something flickered in the corner of Sabrina's vision. She spun quickly and thought she saw movement in the shadows along the far wall. She turned to Mr. Canis, whose senses were much more acute than hers. He held his finger to his lips to let her know he had seen something, too, and to be quiet.

"What are we waiting for?" Moth continued as she headed for the train car. "We should take their train and search the tunnels ourselves."

Before she could step into the car, the station erupted with movement as five tiny men bore down on them, flipping and jumping, shouting and screaming. They stopped just short of the group, surrounding them like tiny ninjas from a martial arts film.

The door to the subway car opened and a sixth little man with a long, white beard stepped out and eyed the group angrily through round glasses. He wore a blue uniform jacket with a patch that said MTA. Sabrina knew what the letters stood for-

Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The little man worked for the subway.

"You're trespassing in the domain of the six dwarfs," he said, signaling to the others to close in on the group. "Invaders get a beating."

Sabrina watched as one of the little men slipped a set of brass knuckles on his hand.

Granny stepped forward. "We're not here to invade your territory."

A second dwarf clenched his fists. He had greasy little half spectacles on his nose. "These are our tunnels," he said. "We'll fight every one of you, chickadee!"

Mr. Canis growled. Sabrina could see he was losing his patience, again.

"We're looking for someone and we were told you could help," Sabrina said quickly. "A fairy flew down here last night. We think he's hiding in the tunnels."

"A fairy!" cried the dwarfs in horror. "No fairies in the subway! Your kind isn't welcome here."

"We're not fairies," Daphne said. "Well, except for her," she added, pointing at Moth. "We're detectives."

Suddenly, the white-bearded leader of the group cried out. "My oh my, it's you! It's Veronica's girls."

The little men immediately lowered their fists and smiled. They crowded around Sabrina and Daphne, offering up praise for their mother.

"Veronica was a gem."

"A real inspiration!"

"We loved her."

"What charisma!"

The men smiled and introduced themselves. Each had a different story about Sabrina and Daphne's mother. They all seemed to idolize her and regretted the day she had disappeared. The day of the "big speech," they added. It was clear they thought the speech would have changed their lives.

When it grew quiet again, the leader, who called himself Mr. One, spoke. "What are you doing down here?" he asked.

"We're looking for Cobweb," Daphne replied.

"Just like your mother," Mr. One said with a chuckle. "Veronica was always taking on other people's troubles. She wanted to help, even when it put her in some sticky situations. Your mother introduced me to my wife. Anything we can do to help you would be an honor."

"Can you help us search for Cobweb? We think he went underground in these tunnels," Hamstead said.

"Nobody knows these tunnels better than you do," Bess added, and the dwarfs puffed up with pride at her compliment.

"What do you say, boys?" Mr. One asked his companions. "Up for a fairy hunt?" He pronounced the word fairy as one might the word rat.

It was clear that dwarfs and fairies weren't fond of each other.

"Can we keep the train windows open?" Mr. Two asked, pointing his thumb at Sabrina. "Someone's a little funky."

Sabrina scowled.

Nevertheless, the other dwarfs cheered and raced for their subway car. The girls and their group followed. As they climbed aboard, Mr. One opened the conductor's door at the front of the car and stepped inside the control room. The rest of the dwarfs hurried to different parts of the train car. Mr. Two and Mr. Six made sure everyone got into a comfortable seat while Mr. Five and Mr. Three opened a couple panels on the wall. Inside each panel was a bright yellow handle. The dwarfs each pulled one down and suddenly there was a loud hiss and the train doors closed. Mr. One's voice came over the loudspeaker. "All passengers, welcome to the D train. Please, no eating, drinking, or playing loud music while onboard. Next stop… well, I guess we're just going to have to see. All right, everyone. Hold onto something! We're going express."

The train car suddenly surged forward, sending the little men tumbling and skidding across the floor. Sabrina and Daphne helped them to their feet, then grabbed onto the pole in the center of the car to steady themselves. They looked out the windows and saw they were rocketing through the tunnels.

"You wouldn't happen to know a Mr. Seven would you?" Daphne asked Mr. Two.

"He's my brother," the dwarf said.

"We know him. He lives in Ferryport Landing," Sabrina said.

Mr. Two frowned. "Well, next time you see him, remind him he owes me twenty bucks."

"What's with the balloon?" Mr. Five asked Sabrina as he lifted his little blue toboggan hat out of his eyes.

"It is King Puck's medicinal vessel!" Moth said indignantly.

"Smells like the N train coming back from Coney Island," Mr. Four grumbled.

Mr. Six snatched a walkie-talkie off his belt and held it to his mouth. "Kenny, this is Mr. Six. I'm in train 499. Have there been any unusual sightings in the tunnels today?"

A voice on the other end grunted. "You mean like six little people driving a stolen subway car through the system?"

Mr. Six scowled and turned to the group. "Kenny's a human.

We trust him-helped get him the job with the MTA-but he's a pain in the morning."

"Especially when he hasn't had his coffee," Mr. Four added.

"Kenny, I'm talking about fairies," Mr. Six said into the device. "You know, anyone report seeing a flying person with wings?"

There was silence on the other end and then Kenny responded. "Actually, there's a report of an incident at the Fifty-ninth Street station. Some woman claimed she saw an angel in the tunnel."

"Sounds like our fairy. When did it happen?" Bess asked.

Mr. Six repeated the question into his walkie-talkie.

"Five minutes ago," Kenny said.

"All right, pal, I'm on the 6 line coming up on Spring Street. I need to jump to the F line at Broadway-Lafayette."

"Thanks for the warning," Kenny said grumpily.

"Kenny, just do it!" Mr. Six shouted into the walkie-talkie. In no time, the train was racing into the Broadway-Lafayette station, where it jumped onto an intersecting track, forcing the car to make a hairpin turn. Nearly everyone fell out of their seat and onto the floor.

"Cobweb is lucky you guys are going to catch him," Mr. Two said, as he helped everyone back into their seats. "If we caught him down here we'd teach him a lesson he wouldn't soon forget. The tunnels belong to us."

"Like anyone else would want them, half-breed," Moth sneered.

"You'll be singing a different tune when we strike it rich down here," Mr. Four said as he scratched his sideburns. "There's diamonds down here somewhere. I can smell 'em. All we have to do is find them."

Mr. Six raised his hand for quiet and held his walkie-talkie to his mouth. "Kenny, Six here again. I need you to divert us to the uptown A track at West Fourth Street."

The car was suddenly diverted again and whipped through the next tunnel so fast Sabrina was sure they would derail.

"I got him!" Mr. One shouted over the loud speaker.

Everyone raced to join him at the front of the car. There, flying directly in front of the train, was Cobweb. He turned back to look at them and Sabrina saw his face. It was angry and desperate. His wings began to beat even harder and he zipped ahead into the tunnel.

"He's getting away, fool!" Moth cried. "Can't you make this thing go faster?"

"You got it!" One shouted.

The train car zipped through the tunnels, taking turns at blistering speeds. It slammed through one station after another, blasting waiting passengers with wind that blew their newspapers and coffee cups out of their hands. All the time, Mr. Six barked orders to Kenny on his walkie-talkie that sent the train jumping onto different lines. More than once they nearly collided with another train. If the constant near crashes bothered the dwarfs, they didn't show it. In fact, they seemed bored by the whole experience.

Cobweb was almost impossible to catch. He could easily switch to a different tunnel, or backtrack the way he came before the train car had a chance to maneuver. Still, the dwarfs did a good job of keeping up.

Just as they seemed almost on top of the fairy, there was a loud thump on the roof of the car.

The dwarfs looked at one another with serious expressions.

"What?" Mr. Canis growled.

Mr. Four held his finger to his lips urging him to be quiet. After a few seconds, there was another loud thump.

Mr. Five looked to the roof. "Uh oh."

"What's uh oh?" Granny cried.

"Yahoos," Five replied.

"Yahoos? What's a Yahoo?" Daphne asked.

"Dirty lunatics that keep invading our tunnels. Gulliver should have never brought them over here!" Mr. Six complained.

"You mean Gulliver? The Gulliver from

Gulliver's Travels?"

Sabrina asked.

"The same. He felt sorry for the little heathens and tried to civilize them by bringing them to the United States. They took over the Bowery and were happy enough playing in punk rock bands and working in coffee shops-you know, being worthless slackers-but now the neighborhood is being taken over by boutiques and health food stores. So they're in search of new turf and have been eyeing the tunnels all year."

There was another loud thump and one of the glass windows shattered. A thick, hairy hand reached into the car from outside. Mr. Six swatted at it. "Dirty, stinking slackers. Go find another neighborhood. Haven't you ever heard of Brooklyn?"

Then the entire train started rocking back and forth. Loud hooting and hollering could be heard, followed by more of the frightening pounding on the train.

"They're trying to derail us!" Mr. One shouted from his conductor seat. "If they keep rocking this train we're going to jump right off the tracks and slam into the wall."

"That's bad, isn't it?" Daphne asked the little men. They all nodded.

"I've got an idea!" Mr. Two said. "But you're not going to like it. Let's slam on the brakes." The rest of the men stared at him.

"You're right, we don't like it," Mr. Six said. "We'll just derail ourselves."

"That's the idea!" Mr. Two cried. "We whip the car into South Ferry Station and then slam on the brakes."

"South Ferry is the end of the line, you imbecile!" Mr. Five shouted. "If we can't stop we'll crash."

"Even if we can stop, the train will probably catch on fire," Mr. Three cried. "The brakes can't handle the strain."

Another window shattered in the back of the train car.

Mr. Two shrugged. "It doesn't look like we have much choice. We can slam into the wall and get mangled in twisted metal or save ourselves but possibly die a fiery death."

"You fools cannot be serious," Mr. Canis said, rising to his feet. "Stop the train now, and I will get out and take care of these little parasites."

"No can do, buddy," Mr. Six said. "We're in a tunnel and these tracks are electrified. If you stepped on one you'd be an instant French fry."

"Grab onto something, people," Mr. One said over the loudspeaker. "Sorry we don't have any seat belts." The dwarfs scurried over to seats and hugged them tightly. The girls and their friends looked at one another in disbelief.

Mr. Six shouted into his walkie-talkie. "Kenny, we need you to clear the platform at South Ferry." There was a groan on the other end of the line. "When?"

"Two minutes," Mr. Six replied. "Two minutes?"

"Just do it, Kenny!"

Daphne wrapped her arms around Granny Relda. Even in all the excitement, Sabrina felt stung that the little girl would turn to their grandmother instead of her sister, who had been there for her whole life! Now, it was like Sabrina didn't even exist.

"South Ferry is the last and final stop on this train!" Mr. One said over the loudspeaker. Then he raced out of the conductor's room, climbed up onto one of the seats, and reached for a red cord on the wall. A sign above it read EMERGENCY BRAKE.

Mr. Hamstead wrapped his arms around Bess and pulled her to the floor.

"You gonna save my life again, cowboy?" she said. Hamstead nodded. "That's my job."

"I hope this hurts!" Mr. Six shouted to the Yahoos on the ceiling just as Mr. One pulled the brake cord.