Disclaimer: I don't own Winx Club

Thanks to Darev for betareading this story.

Author's note: This story is set a year after "Secret of the Lost Kingdom", however, I'm going to skip season 4, so don't expect to see Roxy, the Believix, etc...On another note, this story follows the RAI version. Okay, let's start...

Chapter 1

It was the end of the journey. Mirta, despite not earning her enchantix, had successfully passed the final exams, and she was about to graduate from Alfea. Unable to hold her emotions in any longer, Mirta felt her eyes begin to tear as she attended the graduation ceremony. While Faragonda delivered a speech about the role of the fairies in the world, and more specifically, the role of the graduates, she took a look at he crowd .

She saw her parents, in the first row, smiling at her. She smiled back and waved them timidly. They weren't too pleased with her when Mirta told them that she didn't want to be a witch anymore, but a fairy instead. However, they grew to accept her decision over time. She also saw six familiar and friendly faces: the Winx Club, her first friends among the fairies. All of them were watching the ceremony expectantly, looking at Mirta.

However, there was somebody who wasn't there. A very important person, that, with her mere presence, would make the graduation ceremony much more meaningful than what it already was.

Lucy wasn't there.

Lucy graduated from Cloud Tower the last year, but instead of going back to her homeworld to look for some job, asked for an internship at the school, which Griffin granted to her with pleasure since any help was appreciated.

During Mirta's last year, she tried to stay in contact with Lucy as much as possible. Her new job didn't leave her too much free time, but they usually met on weekends to have some a drink and talk a bit.

However, for some unknown reason, from the last couple of weeks onwards, she lost contact with Lucy. She didn't answer her phone calls nor replied her text messages. It's like she didn't want to see her again. No matter how many times Mirta thought about it, she couldn't understand why Lucy was acting this way. She also tried to remember if she did or said anything that would spark such a reaction. If it wasn't for the final exams and the upcoming graduation ceremony, she would go to Cloud Tower to ask her what was going on.

Mirta was in her room, lying on her bed, looking at the roof, when somebody knocked the door.

"Come in", said Mirta.

The door opened, and Flora walked in.

"Oh, hi, Flora," said Mirta, with a bit of apathy.

"Mirta, what are you doing here?" asked Flora, surprised to see Mirta locked in her room. "You should be in the party. We wondered where you were."

"I'm...not in the mood for a party" said Mirta as she turned around. "Don't worry about me. Enjoy the party."

Flora frowned, and sat on her bed.

"Mirta, is there something wrong?" asked Flora. "It's the day of your graduation, when you finally become a full fairy, and you're acting like you're at a funeral. Come on, tell me what's wrong."

Mirta turned around again, and sat up.

"It's Lucy," said Mirta. "She didn't come."

"Oh..." said Flora in realization. "Did something happen between you two?"

"That what's bugging me," said Mirta. "I don't even know."

"Huh?"

"I've been unable to talk with Lucy in the last ten days," said Mirta. "I phoned her, and sent her several text messages, but got no reply." Mirta sighed deeply. "Do you think that something happened?"

"Well, maybe you should meet her and ask her directly," said Flora.

"I've thought that too, but I couldn't," replied Mirta. "You know, exams and stuff."

"Then it's a good thing you don't have exams anymore, right?" asked Flora with a smile.

"What do you mean?" asked Mirta. "Are you saying I should go talk with Lucy right now?"

"I don't see why not," said Flora with a shrug.

"It's obvious that I don't have anything better to do," said Mirta. "Alright, you convinced me, I'm going to Cloud Tower to find Lucy! "

"That's the spirit!" said Flora cheerful. "Just wait a minute, I'm going to tell rest of the girls that we're going to Cloud Tower."

"We?" asked Mirta. "You're coming too?"

"Of course," said Flora. "Cloud Tower is no place to be alone. Besides, I'm sure that all this is just a big misunderstanding, but in case I'm wrong I want to be there for you."

Flora then stood up and went to the door.

"Flora," Mirta began.

"Yes?" asked Flora as she turned back.

"...thanks," said Mirta, more upbeat.

"It's alright," said Flora with a smile.

Some minutes later, after Flora told Bloom and the others about their trip to Cloud Tower, Mirta and Flora were on their way to the school of witches. It actually takes an hour and a half walking, but since they decided to go flying, the trip would last less than half an hour.

Mirta was getting more and more flustered as they flied, and Flora was trying to calm Mirta down saying thing like that Lucy lost her cell phone. However, it didn't worked.

"Here we are, " said Mirta as she and Flora landed.

Flora will never ceased to be amazed at how drastically different the landscape was around Cloud Tower.

Cloud Tower's surroundings resembled a wasteland. There was no sun and sky was blotted out with storm clouds. At first, Mirta regretted leaving Alfea for such an inhospitable place (for fairies, anyway), but then she remembered why she was here. She was here to find a friend. Her best friend.

"Okay, let's go in, " said Flora.

As they walked towards the main door, they both began to feel uneasy.

Mirta knocked on the door several times, and the noise of the knocks echoes throughout the huge building. Nobody came to greet them.

"There's something wrong," said Mirta suspiciously.

"What do you mean?" asked Flora.

"Cloudtower has a magic energy field that detects all the people, and even animals, that come close to it," said Mirta. "And it sends Griffin and some of the teachers an image of the possible visitor or intruder. They should know that we're here"

"Maybe they don't want to let us in," wondered Flora.

"In that case, we should see a magical projection of Griffin or any of the teachers telling us to go away," said Mirta.

Flora was about to reply, but the main door was suddenly opened with a screech.

"Well, it seems that they will allow us to enter," said Flora. "Shall we go in?"

"That's why we're here," said Mirta, as they both entered in the school. After they entered, the door closed with a slam.

Once in, they were greeted with a shocking sight.

"I know that witches like gloomy places," said Flora, uneasy. "But it isn't this a bit much even for a witch?"

Cloud Tower could be easily described as dark and gloomy, but nothing compared to what they saw before their eyes. The hall was in complete ruins. The walls, now cracked were covered in rust and damp, there were numerous spiderwebs. Puddles formed from the roof's leakings, and lots of broken objects and furniture were scattered around.

"What happened here?" asked Mirta in shock.

"It seems like this place has been abandoned for years..." said Flora as she looked around.

"Hello?" shouted Mirta,but all what she could hear was the echo of her voice. "Where's everybody?"

"I don't know," said Flora. "And I don't like this. I can feel that there's something horribly wrong with this place"

"I can feel it too," said Mirta, worried. Mirta began to guess why Lucy didn't reply to her messages. Suddenly, the idea of Lucy not wanting to see her again wasn't so bad, since it was better than what she was thinking.

"Mirta," said Flora. "We should leave. Let's go back to Alfea and tell Faragonda what happened here."

"Yes, that's the best idea" said Mirta. She wanted to know what happened here, and if Lucy was okay, but couldn't help but agree with Flora's suggestion. However, when Mirta tried to open the door, it didn't move a bit.

"Mirta, what are you doing?" asked Flora.

"The door! I can't open it!" said Mirta while struggling with the door.

"Let me help you" said Flora. The tried to open the door together, but the results were the same.

After several minutes, they gave up.

"How about if we try to blast it with our magic?" suggested Flora. She wasn't one for blowing things up, but there wasn't any choice.

"It would be useless," said Mirta. "Cloudtower's doors and walls are protected by a powerful shield."

"Then what...?" asked Flora, but her question was interrupted.

Suddenly, Mirta's cell rang. She looked at the screen. It said You have a new text message.

Mirta opened the message box, and read the new message. Her already pale face paled even more.

Sorry, but I can't let you leave