WARNING: THIS FIC CONTAINS TRIGGERS SUCH AS BLOOD, GORE, TORTURE, AND THE MENTION OF RAPE. IF YOU ARE EASILY TRIGGERED BY THESE THINGS I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU DO NOT READ THIS FIC FOR THE SAFETY OF YOUR OWN MENTAL HEALTH.
Every inch of my body ached. Any slight movement of a finger or toe sent a deep throbbing sensation through my muscles, tired of being held in the same position for so long.
How long had I been here? Hours? Days? Weeks? Time seemed nonexistent here. With the lack of sunlight, there was no way to tell if it was night or day. The only light I had in the room was small bowls of fire perched on top of posts that lined the walls. It wasn't much, but I definitely preferred it to total darkness.
My ankles and wrists prickled, numb to the straps of metal pinning them down. I attempted creating a fireball in my hand to melt the restraints. Nothing. Not even smoke.
They must be draining my magic, I thought to myself. Time to find another way out.
I didn't recognize my surroundings. From the stalactites that precariously dangled from the high, dirt ceilings, I deduced that I was either underground or in a cave somewhere. I had no evidence, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I wasn't in Magix anymore.
Dark energy reverberated all around me, bombarding me with negative vibes. It was near sickening. Even Cloud Tower didn't put off an aura this evil.
Tilting my head to the right to look around, my eyes couldn't pass the enormous throne that spanned the wall. Stone steps formed a triangular pedestal for the ornately decorated chair, allowing anyone who sat upon it to tower over the rest. Behind it, a menacing bird-like creature carved out of the same stone was perched, its wingspan stretching across the entire cave wall.
Well, I definitely wasn't at Alfea, that's for sure.
Think, Bloom. What's the last thing you remember?
Scouring my mind, I desperately searched through my memories. I easily recalled leaving campus to practice magic out at the edge of Gloomywood Forest. I was angry and frustrated that I wasn't getting any better at controlling my powers even with my Charmix. I began lashing out, throwing fireballs at every tree in my reach.
Then what?
I tried to dig deeper, desperate for what little information my brain allowed me. In spite of my efforts, I kept hitting block after block, unable to turn up anything. It was like a large chunk of my memory had been blacked out.
Suddenly a memory popped into my head, shooting a chill down my spine.
Mirta.
While I was mid-rage, Mirta had appeared, saying Professor Avalon sent her to find me. Apparently he'd found a breakthrough for my magical regression journey and suggested that we try it out right away. The odd urgency of it never struck me as suspicious. That is, until I'd followed him into his classroom and I heard him lock the door. But I'd still trusted him.
Regret slammed into me as intensely as a bag of bricks. Tecna had been right about Avalon all along. I was too blinded by his promises to help me find out more about my birth parents to believe her negative remarks towards him. I'd been so desperate, and he'd taken advantage of me. I'd never felt more stupid in my life.
Tearing me from my self-loathing thoughts, a clicking sound began to echo through the room, gradually growing louder with each passing second. At first it sounded solitary, but then I could distinctly make out at least two or three sources making the same sound. The noise was somewhat familiar, but I couldn't place it.
"Well, well, well. Look who decided to wake up."
Shooting my eyes downward, three tall figures stood at the opposite side of the room. They didn't bother to hide from me. We all knew that there was nothing I could do to hurt them, considering my powers were restricted. The three witches strutted across the room like peacocks in their high-heeled boots, proud to know that they had the upper hand.
Icy grinned madly at my helpless state, circling me like a hawk. "Comfortable?"
I didn't say anything, glaring at her.
"Good."
Once I saw the witches, my murky environment began to make sense. My instincts had technically been correct when I'd felt that I wasn't in Magix. I was underneath it. I was in Shadow Haunt.
A cold sense of dread spread through my stomach.
"So, we're supposed to sit here and play guard dog until Darkar shows up?" Darcy questioned, already looking bored with the scene.
"That's what he said." Stormy harshly replied, toying with a bolt of lightning between her fingertips.
"Don't start your bitching now, Darcy." Icy snapped at her. "I do not have the patience to listen to it for this long."
"Why are we even waiting?" the witch of storms interrupted. "What's Darkar doing that's more important than getting into Realix?"
I frowned my brow, not recognizing the name.
Icy rolled her eyes, setting her jaw. "I don't know, Stormy. Why don't you burst into his chamber and find out? I'm sure he won't incinerate you." she drawled, sarcastically.
Quietly, I cleared my throat and mentally prepared myself for the upcoming backlash. "I'd love to sit here and listen to the three of you bicker all day," I cut off, "but is there any way we could speed this up? I have a Potions final I need to be studying for."
"Oh, how cute," Icy cackled, menacingly. "The pixie thinks she's going home. That is just so sad."
"You do know that you're being held hostage, right?" Darcy asked, pointing to my restraints.
"Well, I definitely didn't assume I was at a party." I replied with a facetious tone.
"Darkar needs you for the next step of the plan." Stormy elucidated. "He can't do it without you."
Icy glared at her. "Let's not be over-dramatic, witch." she cursed her. "He can do it without her. She's not special. He just can't do it without -"
The temperature dropped considerably, cutting off the ice witch's rant.
The man was skeletal, appearing to be formed from nothing but metal armor and blackened bone. He was the color of blood, and long wispy tendrils trailed from his arms like ghostly dying feathers. A helmet shielded his face (if he even had one), only allowing his red eyes to glow from underneath. As he got closer, the stench of rot strengthened, nearly overpowering my senses.
I recognized him almost instantly, recalling the perfect description Layla had given us upon her arrival at Alfea.
Lord Darkar.
It didn't hit me till then that this was my first time truly meeting him face-to-face. The girls and I had been battling him through the witches and his minions so much, it never really dawned on me that we'd never actually faced him. He didn't seem all that intimidating. Last year, I'd fought decay monsters that looked tougher than him. If I poked him, there was a good chance he'd crumble into a pile of metal.
"Princess Bloom," he hissed, menacingly. "Welcome to my humble abode."
I shifted my eyes over the spiked ceiling, shrugging the best I could. "I'm not sure if humble would be the best term."
He smirked, showing off his sharp teeth. "I've been anxious to make your acquaintance, my dear." My skin crawled at his endearment. "You are quite the elusive one."
"As are you," I replied. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced. However, I'd say that being proper has been throw out the window a bit considering you had me kidnapped and chained to a table."
I could tell by the slight shift in his expression that he'd caught the venom in my voice.
Daringly, I lifted my head some off the altar, glaring and sneering at him. "Now, if I could please be enlightened as to why I was kidnapped and chained to a table, it would be much appreciated."
Briefly, he offered nothing but silence; yet he relented after a few moments. "As you're aware, Princess," he spat, "I've spent every waking moment since my return attempting to obtain all four pieces of the Codex. Do you know what kind of power they can create when put together?"
I was silent, letting my head fall back against the stone. Faragonda had never truly explained to us what danger could be unleashed if Darkar was to have all four pieces in his possession. She had only said that great evil would overthrow the Magic Dimension. She'd never gone into specifics.
"When pieced together, the Codex creates a portal to a hidden realm that the Magic Council cut off from the rest of the Dimension." he continued. "A realm known as Realix. This realm, holds a power unlike any other –the Ultimate Power."
"And I assume that you're wanting to reach this realm?" I inferred. "What does this have to do with me? You have all four pieces of the Codex."
"The Magix Council put a failsafe spell on the Codex." he hissed, infuriated. "My Shadow Fire is not enough to activate its power."
Realization sank in, understanding the direction he was taking this in. The only power that could overrule a failsafe spell as powerful as one that would be mine. He needed my Dragon Fire. It made sense.
"You're here for one purpose and one purpose alone." Darkar said, his beady eyes baring down on me. "You're going to help me get the thing I desire most –the Ultimate Power. You're going to help me take over the universe."
I shook my head, not feeling the least bit threatened. "That's not going to happen."
He chuckled, and the witches followed suit. "How sweet, the fairy thinks she has a choice."
"I'm not helping you." I repeated, firmly.
As his laughter died off, a serious frown was painted across his face. "The Shadow Fire and the Dragon Fire must be united." he said, his voice dangerously similar to a growl. "I cannot open the portal to Realix unless this is done."
I shrugged. "Then I guess you're not getting into Realix."
"This is not a game, fairy. You will help me retrieve the Ultimate Power."
"Bite me."
The sound of the cold, metallic slap echoed through the open space. Pain erupted from my cheek and I felt the skin split open, allowing a trace amount of blood to flow freely. I tasted rust in my mouth.
With a flash of his hand, he roughly clutched my chin in his bone-like fingers. My heart raced in my chest, not expecting his change in demeanor.
"There is no situation in which this ends well for you, Princess of Sparx." Darkar said, his voice low. I could feel his hot breath in my ear, and I fought to keep from squirming. "The only thing I truly require from you is your Dragon Fire. And I will get it from you. If I have to cut it straight out of your still-beating heart, then that is precisely what I will do. And I will make sure that you are still alive when I rip it from your chest." He paused. "Do you know what I have in store for you once I've taken what I need?"
"Seeing as you're the typical antagonist and I'm the typical protagonist? Death, I would imagine." I snidely replied, trying not to breathe in the putrid air that surrounded him.
Digging his claw-like fingers into my face, he turned my head to the far side of the room. In the shadows, I could see a faint silhouette of a tall figure watching us. The figure stood motionless for a moment before stepping into the dim light. My eyes widened, recognizing the man immediately. Large ivory wings sprouted from his back, complementing his white suit. His long black hair was pulled back into a long braid that fell down his back, leaving the long jagged red scars that criss-crossed his face completely visible. When his gaze landed on me, his thin lips pulled back into a smile, revealing his sharp teeth. I couldn't help but notice red spattered across them.
"You remember Avalon, do you not?" Darkar inquired, knowingly. "I sent him to keep an eye on you until I made sure if I truly needed your powers to access the portal to Realix. He's grown to be rather fond of you." Jerking my head back upright, Darkar forced me to look at him. "You will be of no use to me once you've helped me achieve the Ultimate Power. However, Avalon has told me that he has many uses for you in his bed chamber." A bright, devilish smile crept onto his face. "When I'm done with you, you'll be handed over to Avalon who will take what he wants from you. Only then will you finally be graced with the opportunity of death."
Fear gripped my insides, and an intense chill was wracking through my limbs. Trying to still my quivering, I dared to look the Lord of Shadow Haunt directly in his eyes. "I'm not afraid of you." my voice trembled.
He leaned in dangerously close to my face, tightening his grip on me. "When I'm finished with you," he threatened lowly, "you will be."
With a flick of his wrist, he released his hold on me, allowing my head to return to its previous position. I was still trembling, but I set my jaw tightly to prevent it as much as I could.
Darkar shifted his gaze back towards Avalon. "Avalon, please see to it that my guest is properly escorted back to the portal. I have a feeling we're going to be a while."
The demonic paladin gave him a curt nod before exiting the room.
"Guest?" Darcy repeated, furrowing her brow. Out of everyone in the room, I knew full well that Darcy was the most apt at determining an unknown presence in the area. It was clear that the idea of someone slipping under her radar made her extremely wary.
"It's none of your concern." he told her, brushing it off. "Now, let's begin."
"Finally," the ice witch viciously muttered. Excitement dripped in her voice.
Icy stood at my head, and Darcy and Stormy were to my left and right. Moving their hands in a circular motion, their Whisperian Crystals appeared before them, hovering above me. The intricate magical objects slowly spun in a triangle formation over my chest, glowing brightly as they sensed the Dragon Fire.
My heart pounded, remembering the last time I'd encountered the crystals. It hadn't exactly ended well for me. Icy, Darcy, and Stormy had used them to rip the Dragon Fire from me, leaving me powerless for quite some time. However, unbeknownst to everyone, despite them taking the Flame from me, it hadn't taken all of it. Once I'd searched deep inside myself, my powers rejuvenated to their full strength and I was able to regain the powers they'd stolen from me.
Unbeknownst to them, though, I had a trick up my sleeve.
"They won't work." I said, wincing from the cut on my cheek.
"Oh, we don't need all of your Dragon Fire." Darcy said. "Just enough to let the portal recognize that it's there."
"What are we waiting for?" Stormy shrieked, annoyed. "Let's just do it!"
"Hold on a sec!" Icy threatened.
The amount of power in the crystals dissipated some. Darcy and Stormy's concentration wavered at their sister's interruption. The restraint on Icy's face was clear, yet something glinting in her eyes was keeping her from using the crystals on me.
"It's not going to work." she surprisingly agreed with me.
Darkar stepped back into view, appearing furious that she'd stopped. "And why do you presume that?'"
"She's too calm. She knows that something's going to happen that's going to work in her favor." She glanced down at me, menacingly. "She has that annoyingly smug look on her face."
"So what's going to happen if we try using the Whisperian Crystals on her?" Stormy asked, hesitating herself.
Icy rolled her eyes. "If I knew don't you think I would've said it by now, you idiot?"
The ice witch was suddenly pushed aside, and Darkar took her place. His hands rested on the table on either side of my head. Not a sound echoed through the room.
"What do you know?" he questioned, calmly.
I shrugged. I had nothing to fear. The more I thought about it, once I told them about what I knew, the chances of me getting out alive would most likely be much better.
"You can't take the Dragon Fire." I said.
Darkar didn't seem amused by my vague response. "And why is that?"
"After the battle with the Army of Decay, Faragonda, Saladin, Griffin and I all came together and agreed that since the Dragon Fire wasn't completely protected inside me, we needed to make sure no one tried to steal it ever again. So, they conjured an unbreakable spell to keep the Dragon Fire safe. It can never be taken again. Not the entire source; not bits and pieces."
Icy groaned loudly, annoyance taking over. "Of course those heartfelt idiots did that! Because why not!"
"Ice, it's an easy fix!" Stormy interjected. "We'll just go ambush the headmasters and make them take the spell off of her. It'll be a piece of cake!"
The ice witch paused, looking at her sister with disgust. "If you ever suggest something that stupid to me ever again, I'm going to witch you up and throw you inside one of your own twisters."
"Silence!" Darkar's interruption came as a dangerous hiss that shot ice through my chest.
The quarreling witches immediately halted mid-sentence, but continued to glare menacingly at each other.
"So what do we do now?" Darcy finally spoke up, arms crossed. "It's not like she's going to willingly open the portal for us."
Triumph overwhelmed me, and I nearly broke a smile. Despite my current predicament, I finally had the upperhand. I held the ace, and I'd won. Now that they couldn't simply take the Fire from me, they'd have to come up with some other plan, buying me more time to try and figure out an escape plan.
My eyes met Darkar's beady red irises, proud of myself. The boastful bubble in my chest popped. He looked just as sure of himself as he had moments ago. Almost as if my news hadn't fazed the Shadow Phoenix whatsoever.
"We continue." he simply replied.
Terror crept up my rib cage.
He stepped to the side again, allowing Icy to retake her place at my head.
"Wait, so what's going to happen -" Stormy began to ask, perplexed.
"Continue!"
The witches didn't hesitate again, immediately beginning the spell: "Crystals of Whisperia, dark magic from our kin. Reach inside this girl and steal her powers from within!"
The tugging sensation was familiar. Unlike the first time though, a shooting pain suddenly cut it off. It was an intense blast inside my chest, reminding me of a ball of energy exploding.
As I shut my eyes, pain flooded my senses. Hot, searing agony scorched through my body and through every bone and muscle in sight. I fought the urge to cry out, clenching my teeth so hard I thought one might break.
After what I'm sure was only a few moments, everything stopped. The silence that followed was so thick, a ringing echoed in my ear drums. My tense muscles collapsed in exhaustion, and my breaths came out loud and ragged.
"What was that?" Stormy asked, sounding as confused as she looked.
"The spell the Company of Light placed on her." Darkar elucidated, smirking. "It aims to protect the Dragon Fire at all costs; attacking anything that tries to take it from her. And tell me ladies, in your experience, what happens when you attack something Light?"
The dark look on Icy's face intensified with glee, understanding his implication. "It only fights back harder."
Darkar's face was suddenly in my line of sight again, proudly grinning. "We don't have to continue." he said to me, lifting his hand to wipe a tear off my cheek. "In fact, all of this can stop." His voice was in my ear again, soft and poisonous. "You just have to agree to help me get the Ultimate Power."
I shook my head again, refusing. "I'll never help you."
Darkar growled, furiously. "You have no choice!"
My rational side slipped momentarily. Before I could stop myself, I spat in his face.
Pain bolted through the side of my face once more. The shock of it caused one of the tears I was holding back to carelessly slip out onto my stinging cheek. A burst of warmth spread through my lower lip, and I felt a sliver of blood trickle down onto my chin.
Stepping away from the table, he practically flew across the throne room, taking a lazy seat on his throne. "Again!"
"Enough!"
My body slumped against the slab like a lifeless ragdoll. I could no longer hold back the intense sobs that shook my shoulders, leaving me a weak and snotty mess. My lungs ached painfully from the constant inability to breathe. The sound that left my throat with every breath was nothing but a brutally pitiful mix between a cry and a wheeze.
"Enough?" Icy questioned, angrily. "I'm just getting started."
"If we continue for much longer we're going to kill the girl." he argued with her, clearly not a fan of her backtalk. "If she's dead, we no longer have the key to entering Realix."
"Oh, please, a few more hits isn't going to kill her." She paused. "At least we can only hope that it will."
"I said, enough!" he called again, enraged. His voice sounded closer, like he'd moved back towards us again. "We're achieving nothing using this strategy. We need a new plan of action if we're to get the Dragon Fire."
Suddenly, Darkar's fingertips were buried in my face again, jerking my head up. My eyes shot open, meeting his the moment they did. "I'm nowhere close to finished with you yet," he fumed.
The Shadow Phoenix stormed out, not bothering to address the witches further.
Every inch of me was emanating some form of pain. My throat was raw; my wrists were chaffed bloody; my cheek and lip were throbbing awfully. I felt like hell. And deep down I knew that Darkar wasn't issuing meaningless threats. This truly was just the beginning.
I didn't know just how much more I could take. Every time the witches would attempt to absorb my power, the spell fighting against them would only torture me further. Who knew how long I would hold out?
The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if being alive was truly worth it. Death seemed like a much more pleasant option than being tortured into submission. It was almost preferable. Darkar would never let it happen though. Not with the Dragon Fire unable to leave my body.
"That was a quick four hours," Darcy commented, adjusting her choker.
"Too quick," Icy remarked under her breath.
"Guys, what happens if Darkar can't figure out a way to make her open the portal?" Stormy asked, not caring about the small talk. "We all know the Winx girls and their boy toys are on their way here. What if he can't figure it out by then?"
"He will, Stormy." Icy sounded annoyed.
"Yeah, but what if he doesn't?"
"She has a point," Darcy interjected. "They already have a connection with the Queen of the Under Realm. It shouldn't take them too long to convince her to join their cause after what we did to the trogs while retrieving the last piece of the Codex. We're running out of time."
"He's obviously invested in her; therefore, he'll come up with something." Icy snarled. "He couldn't come up with any sort of plan when it came to Codex, but for her he'll make sure he whips one right up."
Stormy and Darcy looked at each other, doubtfully.
Icy rolled her eyes and began walking towards the door. "Whatever. Come on, let's go check to make sure none of the fairies decided to play rogue."
Instinctively, I picked up on a lingering hint in her tone. One that I honestly couldn't believe she had.
Jealousy.
Despite the fact that I was being tortured, Icy was jealous that Darkar was focusing his attention on me. It was sick, but it made sense. From what I'd seen of her over the last few months, she'd constantly talked about being Darkar's main witch. It was an idea she'd seemed to become infatuated with. And she couldn't stand that I, the one person she hated most, was being given his utmost attention.
My ego suddenly boiled over the edge. I lost control of my ability to think before the words came spilling out of my mouth. I was tired of appearing weak to Icy in this situation. I'd done nothing but cower and cry while the witches endlessly used the Whisperian Crystals on me. But now that I knew Darkar had no intention of killing me now, I was free to show her just how unafraid of her I truly was.
I pouted at her turned back. "Aw, is your wittle boyfwiend spending more time with me than you?"
Icy froze mid-stride.
Got her.
"You've been so caught up in trying to be his 'main witch' that you don't even see what's right in front of your nose." I continued, cockily. "He needs my power. He needs my Dragon Fire. He needs me to open the gate to Realix. He needs me. That must irk the hell out of you." I smirked to myself, shakily breathing. "We all know how this is going to end. I will be his main witch. And you?" I snorted. "You'll be nothing."
"That's it!"
Icy's voice pierced the air. The temperature instantly dropped. A thin coat of frost covered the room, and a light snowfall began to drift down from the ceiling.
Darcy and Stormy looked around, fear dripping into their expressions. "Hey, Ice –"
"I have had it with her!" Icy shouted. Her entire body was quivering, muscles tightened with rage. Her fists were clenched by her sides, shaking even more violently than the rest of her. Ice crystals began forming at her fingertips, growing larger and larger with each passing second.
"Ice, just forget about her. Once Darkar's done with her –" Stormy remarked, shying away from the boiling witch.
"Fuck what Darkar wants to do with her!"
"Icy –"
"No!" she shrieked, furiously. "I am finished with this whiny little pixie bitch! She. Is. Over."
Spinning on her spiked heel, Icy glared me. Her face was twisted in pure, unfiltered rage. Her pupils had shrunk in her widened, bloodshot bright blue eyes. A thin veil of frenzy had settled in her expression, ready to pounce if I even breathed too loudly. She'd turned animalistic, bloodthirsty even. She'd snapped.
And all because I couldn't keep my mouth shut.
Before I could blink, Icy had thrown herself on the altar, kneeling over me. Darcy and Stormy tried to stop her, but she was too powerful. With a flick of her wrist, the two were tossed to the other side of the room and pinned to the wall in sheaths of ice. My heart raced, realizing just how defenseless I was.
Her long, claw-like nails dug into my cheeks as she grabbed my face, pulling my head up. Our faces were barely an inch apart, and the rage in Icy's eyes chilled me to my core. I was trembling in her grasp, practically gasping for breath. I knew then and there, I was going to die.
"If we can't take the Dragon Fire from you," Icy whispered, maniacally, "then I guess I'll just have to cut it out myself."
Glancing down, I saw an icicle materialize in her right hand. It was long and jagged, covered in a thin layer of frost from the falling snow around us. However, what stood out the most was the sharpness of it. The icicle's pointed end rivaled that of the sharpest razor, glinting in the dim torch light.
"I've wanted to do this for a long time." she muttered. "I'm going to love watching you die on this table." Pushing my head back down on the altar, she raised the icicle high above her head with both hands. "Say hi to your parents for me."
She slammed the icicle deep into my chest.
My cry echoed through the underground palace.
The freezing cold from the shard of ice buried in my chest emanated a creeping numbness through my insides. It didn't take but a few moments for shock to settle in, and since the initial impact didn't send me straight into unconsciousness, I was left to witness the horror before me.
Once I realized that I was still aware of what was going on, my eyes unwillingly fell to my chest. My sweater was wet with blood slowly pooling around the wound. Fear gripped my heart, yet I felt nothing. Not a single twinge of pain or pressure. Just cold.
It was difficult to breathe. The shock of the assault stole the air from my lungs. I was so stunned, I couldn't even manage to remember how to make myself breathe. Yet I was more amazed that I'd stayed alive this long.
Unfortunately for me, it appeared that Icy felt the same way.
"No!" She yelled, furiously. "You don't deserve the privilege of a painless death!"
Gripping the icicle, she deftly pulled it down.
The numbness melted away instantly. I felt every inch of my skin tear apart around the icicle. My loud scream pierced through the frigid air. For a brief moment, it didn't seem like it was even my own. Darkness spotted the edges of my vision, creeping in as my energy drained with each tug of the icicle. My heartbeat pounded loudly in my ears, barely drowning out the protests from Darcy and Stormy from across the room.
I couldn't help but notice the beats were quickly growing further apart. I was dying and fast. Everything in my head was a heavy, dull blur, barely able to comprehend what was happening to me. The only thing I could process was the pain.
Through the beating in my ears, I could barely hear the sudden yelling. Icy was thrown off of me, hit by a shadowy blast that tossed her clear across the room. More yelling ensued, but my focus remained on the shard of ice still buried in my chest.
Darkar suddenly appeared in my blurred view, teeth furiously bared. Seeing the burning anger in his eyes, I felt a wave of content through my pain. My suffering would finally end, and Darkar would never get his hands on the Ultimate Power. I would gladly die in exchange for the Magic Dimension's safety.
My friends and parents would mourn. Sky would grieve. But they would be safe. They wouldn't have to worry about Realix or the Ultimate Power. That was something I could live with. Granted, it wasn't my first choice, but it would have to do.
A burst of magic struck me in the chest. The creeping darkness immediately closed in. My screams died. The frigid cold settled in. And nothingness swallowed the rest of my existence.
When I came to, exhaustion overwhelmed me. A thousand pound weight had lodged itself in my skull, making it nearly impossible to move. My chest throbbed intensely with each steady beat of my heart. It felt like someone had grabbed a sledgehammer and just went to town on every part of my body they could hit.
It took a great deal of effort to open my heavy eyelids. Blinking hard, it took a few moments for my vision to focus. Odd shapes filled my line of sight, but the longer I stared the more I could make out.
All feeling left my body as I looked up at stalactites.
I was still in Shadow Haunt.
I was still alive.
"Did you think I would let you die that easily?"
Tilting my head to the side, I saw Darkar standing close by, facing away from me. Pain ripped through my skull with any movement of my head. I had to clench my teeth to keep from crying out.
My eyes panned over the room, noticing that for the first time since I'd arrived, we were alone. Avalon and the witches were gone.
"I've waited a long time to get my hands on the Ultimate Power, Princess." he said. The Shadow Phoenix was standing in front of another altar similar to mine, the four pieces of the Codex were carefully displayed before him. "I didn't come this far to let my one opportunity slip between my fingers at the last second. My Shadow Fire isn't equipped for healing like your Dragon Fire; however, we made do."
Unsure of what he meant, I glanced down at my chest. I didn't see much of anything; too disgusted by the sight of my sweater drenched in my own blood. Sky had bought it for me for my birthday. And now it was torn apart and covered in gore.
"We don't have much time. Your friends are already on their way to the main cavern to save you with Queen Amentia and her warriors in tow. I knew those cave-dwellers were going to be a nuisance to me one day. I should've eradicated them all when I had the chance."
I should've felt relieved, overjoyed even. Yet I remained apathetic.
"It's no matter." Darkar said, surprisingly not minding that his conversation was one-sided. "By the time they reach the castle, we will already be in Realix." -
"You're going to lose."
My statement seemed to throw him. Darkar chuckled darkly. "No, I'm going to do quite the opposite of lose. Once you hand me the Ultimate Power, I will be unstoppable."
"My friends will stop you." I pitifully defended. "It doesn't matter what happens to me; they'll find you. They won't let you win."
"Oh, they won't have time to try and stop me." he replied. "They'll be too busy trying to stop you."
Finally turning to face me, I felt a wave of intensely dark energy appear before me. The burgundy-colored orb in his hand was enveloped with shadows. They swirled intensely around the orb, nearly blotting out the red hue. Watching it was enough to make my already twisted stomach curl.
"I believe you're already familiar with this curse." Darkar stated, holding it closer to my face. Whispers emanated from it, speaking a language I didn't understand. "Avalon cast it on you when I was in need of Alfea's piece of the Codex. Some friends of mine gave it to me as a gift a long time ago. I've been diligently working on perfecting it. Having a curse like this that only lasts a few hours is no fun at all." He continued. "Permanent curses are much more fun, don't you agree?"
A numb sensation spread across my skin, remembering it vividly. I could easily recall the destruction I caused –the fires, the blood, the memory of Timmy being carried off on a stretcher. I started to shiver, but instantly regretted it. The trembling was enough to triple the severity of my pain.
"How does it feel," he asked, "knowing that your friends will die because of you?" A sinister grin broke his face from ear to ear. "How does it feel knowing that you've lost?"
I was amazed that I was still able to produce tears. They leaked out of the corners of my eyes, unbidden. I was tired of looking weak to him; being at his mercy. Regrettably, I was more tired of being awake.
"If you get the Ultimate Power," I weakly mustered. "I hope you choke on it."
Darkar smirked. "Unfortunately for you, if I did, you won't be around to see it."
Not wasting another second, he plunged the orb into my chest.
All of the air disappeared from my lungs in one swoop. The fervency of it was enough to stun me into silence, my face scrunched into a muted scream.
My skin was scorching hot. Briefly, I truly thought it was melting off my body. Flames licked at my bones and acid gushed through my veins. I writhed against my restraints, tugging hard at the metal bands but to no avail.
The pain in my chest suddenly halved itself. One remained where it originated, the other quickly made its way up inside my head. It was agonizing. Whatever had manifested there had a mind of its own. Something crawled around inside my brain, digging it's shadowy claws deep into my head and violently raking through across my skull.
I couldn't stop the scream that erupted from my throat as my eyes began to burn. They felt as if they were boiling in their sockets. Darkness crept into the edges of my vision once the boiling morphed into a pain similar to a knife being dragged across my eyes.
I desperately clawed at my restraints. White spots danced behind my eyelids. Helplessness crept into my gut. I was losing control. In a matter of moments, I knew I would be lost to the dark curse Darkar had forced on me. There was no stopping it.
In between my bouts of agony, my thoughts shifted to my friends. Memories from the past few months came into mind –the back to school celebration, meeting Layla, Musa's concert, Sky officially asking me to be his girlfriend, our trip to the Resort Realm. If anything, they only made my suffering worse, coming off as a painful reminder that those might be the last memories I ever have of my friends.
The privilege of getting to say my goodbyes was ripped away from me. I wasn't going to get the chance to tell my friends how much they meant to me. I would never get the chance to tell Sky I loved him. And if the battle went as horribly as I imagined it would, my parents on Earth would never know what happened to me.
And all because I was too stupid to see through Avalon's lies.
My screaming died off as the pain suddenly vanished. The darkness lingering in my vision started to close in at a quicker pace, driving me closer and closer to unconsciousness. My body felt as if it were being submerged underwater, becoming heavier and heavier with each passing moment.
I was out of time.
Taking a final, shallow breath, I stopped fighting. My eyelids slid shut, and my body went limp as if all life had been drained from its limbs. Slow, tantalizing whispers began to slip into my ears, murmuring dark and evil things. In my final moments of consciousness, I kept forcing myself to repeat the same phrase until my thoughts were no longer my own: I'm sorry.
Then I was gone.
After almost two and a half years, I think I'm finally content with this.
It's two o'clock in the morning. I'm exhausted. I don't have my Microsoft Word because I had to buy a new laptop a few weeks ago and it doesn't have a CD drive. Please forgive me for any glaring errors. I really tried to make sure everything was okay with this. However when you don't have a proper tool to check you grammatically, it's a major pain in the ass.
I've been working on this for so damn long, and after all this time, I think it's ready to be released. It originally was incomplete, but I've been watching a lot of season 2 lately and for some reason it really just sparked me to try and finish this for you guys. It's a huge piece that connects with the Broken Pieces storyline obviously, so it's very important to me. And it has some little mysterious tidbits in there that I added that may or may not come into play in Break In (hint hint). I know it's a bit darker than what I normally do, but this is the Shadow Haunt thing we talk about all the time in Broken Pieces and it's a traumatic time for Bloom. I didn't want to pass over it like it was no big deal, because it was. I actually even thought about doing a whole rewrite for season 2 kind of like how I did for season 3, but I'm not sure how that would really work out since I couldn't put Baltor in it, so it's probably not going to happen. Because as we all know I put Baltor in all of my fics.
I do plan for this to be a two-shot. The next one will take place in Realix when Bloom wakes up. I don't know when it will be posted though because I am still doing a butt ton of work on it to make sure it ties in exactly how I want it to. I'm also trying to work on the next update for Break In. It's more of a filler chapter so it's a bit of a struggle for me to write, but I do feel it's essential to the story and the dynamic between Bloom and her birth parents so I want to try and make it work and best as I can, so please bear with me.
I'm going to try to come back with something as soon as I possibly can. I'm all over the place with work, plus I have some personal shit going on like most of you know, so those things are a bit of a priority, unfortunately.
Thank you all so much for reading this! I truly appreciate each and every one of you, and if you liked this please leave a review! They mean the world to me.
~Bloom