Knock knock.A banging sound echoed through the Winx's dorm. "The guys are here. Come on girls lets go!" Stella cheered as walked over to the door. She opened the door to see Brandon leaning against the doorframe.
"Hey sunshine. You ready to go to the beach?" Brandon winked. Stella giggled and gave him a peck on the cheek.
"You bet shnookums. I can't wait." Brandon smiled and walked out of the door so the others could get through. They rest of the Winx went to their boyfriends and gave them a kiss on the cheek.
They were about to head out when Tecna saw an extra member leaning against the wall. He had sandy blonde hair that slightly covered his hazel eyes. He was as tall as the rest of the guys and looked extremely athletic. He wore a tight white T-shirt that said Try to beat me. I dare you.He wore sports shorts with white stripes going diagonally across the sides. He saw her looking at him and gave her a dazzling white smile. She smiled back politely but asked Timmy, "Hey Timmy who is that over there?"
The girls heard her and look around to see whom she was talking about. The guys saw the other boy and looked at their girlfriends sheepishly. "Uh sorry girls. This is Alex he's part of the group now." Helia said embarrassed.
Alex gave small wave and said, "Hey everybody. As Brandon said I'm Alex, and I'm from Grelam."
Flora was first to say something. "Hi Alex I'm Flora. I'm from Lynphia and I'm the fairy of nature. Nice to meet you."
Stella walked up to him and examined him, "Hmm he seems alright. Tell me Alex, do you think you can keep up with us?"
Alex smirked and stood up straight so Stella had to look up at him. "I think I can manage but I hope you guys don't try to kick me out of the group before I can prove myself."
Stella was about to say something but Bloom came to his rescue. "Hi, sorry about that. That was Stella being protective and proud. She's the princess of Solaria and fairy of the sun and moon." Bloom took Stella by the shoulders and handed her to Brandon. "I'm Bloom. Lost princess of Sparks and fairy of the Dragon Flame."
Alex smiled and shook her hand, "Nice to meet you Bloom. You seem like a nice girl."
Bloom blushed and giggled. Sky looked at him crossly, "Hey man watch it. She's mine and I wont let you steal her from me."
Alex held his hands up as if to surrender. "All right man, my bad. Just trying to be friendly is all." He winked at bloom but turned around to face Tecna, Layla, and Musa. "And who might you ladies be?"
"I'm Tecna, fairy of technology. I'm from Zenith and I'm guessing since you're from Grelam you love to play sports?"
"You'd be correct but I'll tell you about myself later. Lets start walking to beach and you guys can continue telling me about yourselves." Alex laughed and started walking down the hall. "What about you two? I haven't heard your names yet."
"Well I'm Layla and I come from Tides. I'm the crowned princess and I'm betrothed to Nabu."
Nabu wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "You make it sound like a bad thing." Layla laughed and kissed him on the lips. "Haa that's more like it." Nabu chuckled and let her go.
Musa walked up to him and said, "Sup, I'm Musa. I'm the princess of Melody and the fairy of music."
By then they had reached the beach and everyone were starting to unpack their stuff. Layla turned to Alex as she got the volleyball out. "So we told you about us, but we don't know who you are other than your name. So tell us about yourself."
Alex sighed and sat down in the sand. The others followed his example and looked up at him eagerly. Even the boys didn't know much about him other than his name and what they've seen in practice.
"Well I come from Grelam but you already know that. I love to play sports and I love music. Oh and I'm the also the prince." He said the last part as if it was unimportant.
They all looked at him with jaws hanging open. He did not look like a prince at all. Alex looked around kind of shyly, waiting for a reaction. Flora noticed his nervousness so she smiled at him and said, "Wow, nice to meet you Alex. Now come on lets see if you're as good at sports as you say you are. Boys verse girls in volleyball!"
They all jumped up and ran to the volleyball court. They quickly divided into boys and girls and started playing. In the end the girls won by two points. They were walking back to their blanket as Stella cheered. "We Won! We won!"
"Alright Stel no need to brag." Bloom said and sat down. Stella stopped cheering but smiled smugly.
Musa sat on Riven's lap and said, "Hey Alex you said you loved music right? Do you sing?"
Alex looked at the ground and said, "Uh yeah a little. But I'm not that good."
Riven smirked and said to Alex, "Aw come on man lets here you sing!"
Alex glared at him and shook his head. Layla smiled and looked around at the group. "Alex! Alex! Alex!" She chanted and soon the others joined in. She looked over at Alex and yelled above the chanting, "Come on! You know you're going to have to do it!"
Alex sighed and got up. The others started cheering but he glared playfully at them. "Alright here goes nothing."
(Soul sister by Train)
Your lipstick stains
On the front lobe of my
Left-side brains
I knew I wouldn't forget you
And so I went and let you
Blow my mind
Your sweet moonbeam
The smell of you in every
Single dream I dream
I knew when we collided
You're the one I have decided
Who's one of my kind
Hey soul sister
Ain't that mister mister
On the radio, stereo
The way you move ain't fair, you know
Hey soul sister
I don't wanna miss
A single thing you do
Tonight
Hey, hey, hey
Just in time
I'm so glad you have
A one track mind like me
You gave my life direction
A game show love connection
We can't deny
I'm so obsessed
My heart is bound to beat
Right out my untrimmed chest
I believe in you
Like a virgin, you're Madonna
And I'm always gonna wanna blow your mind
Hey soul sister
Ain't that mister mister
On the radio, stereo
The way you move ain't fair, you know
Hey soul sister
I don't wanna miss
A single thing you do
Tonight
The way you can cut a rug
Watching you is the only drug I need
So gangster, I'm so thug
You're the only one I'm dreaming of
You see, I can be myself now finally
In fact there's nothing I can't be
I want the world to see you'll be with me
Hey soul sister
Ain't that mister mister
On the radio, stereo
The way you move ain't fair, you know
Hey soul sister
I don't wanna miss
A single thing you do
Tonight
Hey soul sister
I don't wanna miss
A single thing you do
Tonight
Hey, hey, hey
Tonight
Hey, hey, hey
Tonight
When he was done they all started clapping and gave him a standing ovation. The girls each took turns in hugging him and the guys gave him high fives. "Wow you're amazing! Did you write that yourself? I've never heard it before." Musa said and the others nodded in agreement.
"Thanks! And no I can't write songs for the life of me. I heard some street performer on Lynphia once and I fell in love with the song. He was singing in fornt of a big crowd while one of his sisters played some sort of special guitar and a little gilr danced to it. They were really good, I wonder what happened to them?"
"That's weird. I've never heard of a talented group of street performers before. Mostly commoners don't get educated in music unless they were born gifted in it. Then some noble will take them to a palace and train them but there hasn't been a group of musicians in ages. Only soloists and occasionally duets, but never trios." Flora said puzzled. She wasn't born in the castle but the current prince loved to brag about how well he lived.
"That is odd. But we'll have to figure that out tomorrow. Its getting late and I don't think Ms. Faragonda or Professor Saladin would appreciate us coming back late at night." Helia said and started packing up.
The others sighed but knew he was right. They started packing up their stuff to and enjoyed each other's company. When they were done the giuys gave the Winx a lift to Alfea and then raced back to Red Fountain. They all went to bed thinking the same thing, "I wish tomorrow will be just like today." That couldn't have been any farther from the truth.
NEXT CHAPTER X
The next day the guys had finished all their classes and were just chilling in their room. Brandon and Sky were on the couches watching TV, Riven was leaning against the wall listening to his iPod, Helia was drawing on the kitchen table, Alex was on a chair playing his guitar, and Timmy was reading the newspaper.
They all sat in silence besides the noise of the TV and the strum of the guitar. Breaking the silence Timmy said surprisingly, "Hey Alex. Why didn't you ever tell us you had a brother?"
This caught everyone's attention. Alex jumped up and briskly walked over to where Timmy was sitting, the others following him anxiously. Lax snatched the paper out of Timmy's hand s and cover it so no one but him could read it. Finally looking up he said, "Keep reading and you'll find out why I never mentioned Andrew." He handed the newspaper back to Timmy and sat down solemnly on one of the chairs.
The other Specialists all gathered around Timmy and read the rest of the article. When they had finished reading they all looked up at Alex in pity. Nabu was first to say something, "Aw man I'm sorry. How long has he been missing?"
Alex sighed and strummed his guitar in quietly. Distractedly he said hollowly, "Three weeks. My family tried to keep it a secret, but the press somehow is always able to get what they want. He was a year older than me."
Uncharacteristically, Riven walked over to Alex and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It'll be ok man. I'm sure your family will find him. How old is he?"
"Seventeen. Your guys' age."
The other Specialists look at the prince surprised. Alex looked just as old as the rest of them, if not older. "Well how old are you?" Helia asked cautiously. He didn't want to trigger some pent up emotions and cause him to go in state of rage.
Alex moved his head up to look at the others, "Fifteen. I know I don't look like it, but I'm growing really early." A silence washed over the, none knowing what to say. When Brandon had finally had enough of the awkward silence he tried to think of something to say or do.
"Hey guys why don't we go surprise the girls and take them on a date?" Brandon said, leaning against the wall. The guys smirked knowing that he just wanted to see his girlfriend Stella.
"Sure Brandon," Sky said laughing, "Why don't we go see the girls so you and Stella can spend all day making out."
The guys started cracking up while Brandon just blushed. "Well excuse me for wanting to see my girlfriend. Here, why don't I go down to Alfea and see Stella and tell the other girls that you guys didn't want to go see them."
Brandon smirked and started to walk towards the door when the other guys all screamed, "NO!"
Brandon started laughing at his friends' faces when he got smacked in the back of his head. He turned around and saw Riven smirking with his arms crossed over it chest.
"That's what you get for trying to get us killed by five pissed off fairies."
Brandon was about to say something but Helia interrupted him, "Ok guys no fighting. Let's go see the girls and we'll take them out for lunch."
Nabu got up from the couch and walked over to Helia, Brandon, and Riven. "As you wish almighty pacifist." Nabu did a little bow to Helia and laughed with the others.
"You guys coming?" Brandon asked Alex, Timmy, and Sky. Sky shrugged and walked over to the others followed by Timmy.
When they got to the hanger that held their leva bikes something strange happened. Everything started to freeze over and the lights started dimming.
"Umm guys this doesn't seem right. Timmy what's going on?" Nabu asked.
Timmy took of his glasses and whipped the mist off. "I don't know. This is highly illogical and goes against all the plans that make up the structure of Red Fountain." He put his glasses back on and looked around.
"Be prepared guys, something isn't right." Sky warned and reached for his shield and phantoblade but remembered he left it in his dorm. "Damn. Did any of you guys remember to bring you're weapons?"
The others shook their heads. Then a huge groaning sound echoed through the chamber. They stood back to back in a circle and looked around the room, waiting for something to happen.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Six, no seven wanna-be heroes trapped in their own school. That's just sad. But wait who's the new-be?" Three figures materialized in mid air.
"Icy, Darcy, and Stormy. What a surprise. Come to try and take over Red Fountain again? Well sorry to disappoint you, but just like the last fifty times it's not going to work. You'll just get defeated again, so why don't you dragged your sorry asses back to the Omega Dimension." Riven sneered.
The Trix scowled at him but then they started to laugh. "Oh Riven, we don't want this pathetic excuse for a school. Oh no we need something else." Darcy smirked.
"Yes something much more fun," Icy said. "Now I bet you want to know what we want. Well why don't we show you." Icy looked at her sisters who nodded. "Well Ok then. Ice Coffin!"
The attack hit the boys dead on. They didn't have enough time to dodge it an even if they did they were in too much shock to do anything but stare. They were all trapped in a big block of ice.
"Well that was easier than I thought." Stormy said. The others nodded and flew down to where the boys were frozen.
"Our plan is working out perfectly. Now let's go before anyone else comes." Icy said. Her sisters nodded and they teleported away with the boys.
NEXT CHAPTER X
Meanwhile at Alfea the girls were bored out of their minds. They had no classes and they had ready finished all their homework, even Stella.
"Ugh I'm bored!" Stella moaned and flopped down on the couch. The others sat around her and tried to think of something to do before Stella tries to make them all go shopping.
"Why don't we go see the boys? I'm sure they'd be happy to see us." Flora suggested.
Bloom got up and exclaimed, "Flora you're a genius! We'll go see the guys and go on a picnic. How does that sound?"
The others nodded and got to work on the picnic. "Bloom and I will make the sandwiches." Flora said and got up. She walked onto the kitchen and started getting out the ingredients with Bloom right behind her.
"I'll get the music and blanket." Musa said and ran off towards her room.
"I'll get the Frisbee!" Layla said excitedly. She walked into her room and searched for the Frisbee.
"I'll look on my laptop for a good spot to have a picnic." Tecna said and sat down at the table where her laptop sat.
"Ooh I'll go pick out what we'll wear!" Stella exclaimed and ran into Flora and Bloom's room to go pick out their outfits.
"Don't go overboard Stella!" Bloom called out as she was making sandwiches.
"Kk!" Stella cried and ran into Tecna and Musa's room. Bloom and Flora laughed at their best friend. Typical Stella.
When Layla found the Frisbee she changed into the outfit Stella put out for her (I'm not even going to try and describe what they're wearing because I don't know the first thing about fashion). She met up with Musa, Layla, and and Tecna at the door. Musa was holding a picnic blanket and a stereo while Tecna was holding her laptop. They all waited until Bloom and Flora walked in carrying a picnic basket.
"Go put on your clothes! You need to look stellar for the boys!' Stella scolded them and pushed them into their rooms. When they came back out Stella nodded in approval.
"Ok Tec where we having our picnic?" Layla asked.
Tecna looked proud of herself and said, "We'll have our picnic in a shady spot about two miles into the woods by Red Fountain. It's a wide meadow with a peaceful breeze."
Flora looked happy about being surrounded by all that nature. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's go invite the boys!" she said and walked out the door with the others following close behind.
They walked along the usual path that connected the two schools. They were all laughing and talking about how much fun they would have on the date that the fairies didn't even notice it was becoming colder until it was to late.
"Hey guys did it just colder?" Musa asked, shivering. The others finally noticed that it did get colder since they had left.
"It's probably nothing we should just-" Bloom tried to say but an explosion hit them and they were all blown backwards.
They all groaned and slowly got up. When they looked at where the explosion came form they saw the Trix floating in front of them, laughing evilly.
"What do we have here? Six fairies trying to go see their preciousboyfriends." Icy sneered at them.
"What have you done with my shnookums?!" Stella screamed at them. IT took both Layla and Musa's combined strength to hold her back.
The three sisters laughed at how desperate Stella sounded. "Oh don't worry you spoiled princess. We didn't hurt them. Well there's no physical mark." Darcy said and transported the boys, who were still stuck in ice, to the path.
"Are you looking for these?" Stormy asked innocently. She and her sisters all laughed at the fairies horror-struck expressions.
"No what have you done with Helia?" Flora cried out and ran to him.
"Nabu! Let him go you witches!" Layla screamed at the witches.
"Riven!" Musa screamed and ran over.
"No Brandon!" Stella screamed and tried to dig him of with her nails.
"Timmy!" Tecna cried and ran towards him.
"No Sky!" Bloom yelled and sobbed at his frozen form. "What have you done to them?" She screamed at the Trix. (I love how none of the Winx remembered Alex).
"Oh nothing. We just froze them solid to use them as a negotiation bribe. And if you refuse then I'm afraid that these toy boys will freeze to death." Icy cackled evilly.
The girls all looked at each other with tears in their eyes. "What do you want?" Bloom asked shakily. She could see the others were trying not to cry as well so she decided to be the rock.
Darcy flew forward and landed in the ground. She stepped forward and said with her arms wide open. "We're not here to fight, just talk.
"Ha I thought I'd never see the day." Stella scoffed.
Darcy glared at her but continued, "Here's what we want. You take these boys' place. You come with us and they live as free men. We will not kill you unless we have to, if you come with us."
The girls looked at each other scared. They didn't want to go with the evil witches but they wouldn't let their boyfriends die.
Musa was first to speak up, "I'll go with you but you have to promise that you'll leave Riven and the other boys alone."
The Trix nodded and smiled cruelly. Musa walked over to them with a defiant gleam in her eye. Tecna closed her eyes and walked over to stand next to Musa. Layla sneered at the witches and walked to Musa's other side. Flora looked sadly at Helia. She gave him a kiss on the cheek before walking over to stand by Layla. Stella lightly kissed Brandon's ice covered lips and stood next to Flora. Bloom was last to go. She whispered a silent goodbye to Sky and went over and stood by Tecna.
"Wonderful! Now I'll just reverse the spell and we'll be on our way." Icy said. She cast a reverse spell an instantly all the boys were released from their icy prison.
They fell to the ground on the verge of unconsciousness and gasping for air. When they saw they saw their girlfriends they tried to get up and rescue them but they were to weak.
"No Sunshine!" Brandon yelled in vain.
Stella looked at him with tears in her eyes, "Goodbye Brandon. I love you."
"Give her back you witches!" Sky screamed and tried to get up again but he just fell down again.
"Don't worry Sky I'll always be with you. Take care, I love you." Bloom said sadly. She was on the verge of crying by then but she refused to give the Trix the satisfaction.
"Musa please don't leave me! I love you!" Riven yelled desperately.
"I will never leave you Riven. I know you'll rescue me. I love so much Riven." Musa let a few tears go but only after making sure the witches didn't see.
"Tecna! Please don't leave me! This is illogical! I love you!" Timmy cried out in his nerdy romantic way.
"Oh Timmy, Love is an illogical emotion. But it's the best one I've ever experienced. I love you Timmy." Tecna said sadly at her lover.
"Layla my love! I will rescue you! I love you with all my heart!" Nabu cried out to his fiancé.
"I do and always will love you. We will meet again and we will get married one day Nabu my prince. I love you." Layla whispered.
"Flora my flower! Please you can leave me here all alone! I love you my dove! I love you with all that I am and I promise I will find you!" Helia cried out.
Flora looked at Helia and he could clearly see the tears in her eyes. "I will never leave you Helia. I will always be with you, guiding you through all your challenges. I know you will save me. I look forward to that day but until then goodbye Helia. I love you."
Alex looked up at all the girls trying to figure out what to say . "Girls you can't do this! I've only met you yesterday but I feel like I've known you my whole life! Don't go with them!"
Stormy yawned and said, "Ha boring! Come on time to go. Oh and Darcy remember to do the thing."
Stormy and Icy teleported the Winx away. Darcy floated to the weak boys and whispered, "Darkness engulf."
The boys immediately felt extremely sleepy. They all quickly fell asleep except for Sky. He stayed awake for a few more moments and saw the strangest thing. A person covered in black knelt beside him, and the last thing he remembered was a flash of green light. Then nothing.
NEXT CHAPTER X
"Boys! Come on boys wake up! You're going to miss exams!" The Specialists immediately sat up straight in bed.
"Oh my god we're going to be late!" Timmy yelled and tried to get up.
"Timmy I was just trying to why you boys up. Don't worry there are no exams." they all turned and saw Cordatorta standing next to Professor Saladin who was sitting in a chair. They were in their dorm with all the beds in one room.
"With all due respect sir but that was cruel. By the way how long have we been out?" Brandon said while sitting up in bed.
"Maybe Brandon but we needed you guys to wake up and tell us what happened. As to how long you've been out, about a day and a half." Professor Saladin said gently. "Professor Cordatorta and I were just walking around the school when we saw you boys unconscious on the practice field."
"Wait practice field? Last I remember we were in the forest talking to... OH MY GOD THE WINX!" Riven screamed and got up from bed and tried running out the door but he collapsed midway.
The boys all looked mortified as they remembered the recent events. Saladin saw their expressions and instantly new something was wrong. "Boys what happened? Where are the Winx? Ms. Faragonda said that they were missing and she thought they were with you. Obviously not but it seems that you've seen them."
"We were going down to Alfea to see the girls when the Trix they launched a surprise attack in the hanger and kidnapped us. They took us into the forest where we saw the Winx. The witches said that of the girls didn't come them then they'd kill us, so they traded themselves over and disappeared with the Trix. And then I guess we passed out afterwards." Brandon said emotionlessly.
Professor Saladin nodded and was about to say something but Sky cut him off. "Wait did you guys see that person"
The others looked at him confused and shook their heads. Cordatorta looked at him and said, "Sky you saw someone?"
Sky nodded, "Yeah. I saw a figure come out of the woods and kneel beside me. I saw a flash of green light and then all I saw was darkness."
Saladin stroked is beard and sad thoughtfully, "Hmm that is interesting. Well whoever this mysterious helper is, it seems like he/she is one of the good guys. For now I want you to rest up and try to find out where the Winx Club are being held."
The Specialists nodded and got up out of bed and went to do some research on what happened. They all went back to the place where the Winx were taken away and searched for some kind of a clue as to where they went.
"You guys found anything?" Brand yelled to the others as they searched.
"Nope!"
"Negative!"
"Nothing yet!"
"Nothing here!"
"No!"
Brandon sighed but then remembered something; "Hey guys meet me on the path!" He ran towards the path and waited until the others showed up. When they did Brandon smiled, "Guys we're so stupid! We have a wizard with us. So why don't we just use Nabu's magic to track the girls?"
He thought it was a great idea but the others were frowning at him. "Brandon I can't track them. One, because the Trix probably put some kind of spell on them to make sure I couldn't track them and two, I would need something that they've worn in the last twenty for hours and we were asleep for more than a day." Nabu said sadly.
"Oh well guys. Let's go back and see of we can find anything on the computer or in the newspaper." Helia said. They walked back to their dorm silently. When they got back they all went tithe one computer they had in their dorm.
When Timmy turned it on the first thing they saw was Timmy's email with a new email. He clicked on it and read out loud, "Thought you could use the help." Under that was a link to a newspaper from a planet called Maglai.
"Timmy you didn't leave this up did you "Riven said as more of a statement than a question.
Timmy just shook his head " Maybe it's the person who Sky saw before we passed out." Timmy said as he scrolled down the newspaper until something caught his eye. "Hey guys listen to this. In recent events there has been an unstable negative energy on our usually happy planet. Some citizens have reported that they've seen three mysterious figures fly in and out of a distant mountain called Mt. Atrocitas."
While all the guys stared at the computer screen in shock, Alex looked around to see if there was any clue as to who broke in their dorm. HE scanned the room for any unusual sign. When his gaze landed on the coffee table he saw an envelope addressed to them. He briskly walked over tot eh enveloped and said, "Hey guys listen to this." When he saw all the guys turn their attention towards him he read, "Thought you could use the help."He looked up at his friends' shocked expressions. "Looks like our mysterious helper stuck again."
The guys stood there in silence for a few moments until Riven said, "Well we know where the girls are. Let's go rescue them!"
The rest nodded and quickly started packing.
And that's the end of the chapter! Hoped you all liked it and sorry if there is any grammar mistakes. Since I'm feeling pretty good today and that I got more thank five reviews for this chapter I'm going to put up a preview for the next chapter. Enjoy,
Icy walked towards Bloom and closed her eyes. Instantly Bloom felt her mind being torn open. Icy looked through her most recent memories, looking for the right person to do the job. She saw Stella taking Bloom shopping and having a great time. She saw Flora hugging and comforting her as Bloom cried on he shoulder. She saw Musa and Layla threatening Sky after he hurt Bloom. She saw Tecna helping he study for one of Griselda's finals. She saw all the girls come in for a group hug after they had just defeated Darkar.
When Icy opened her eyes Bloom slumped forward And gasped for air. Icy smiled and walked back over to her sisters to discuss what she had seen. Bloom could hear Icy's thoughts while she was examining he memories. She knew which of her friends she was going to choose.
NEXT CHAPTER X
Meanwhile in an unknown location the girls were pacing around a dark musty cave." I wish Brandon was here." Stella moaned and slid down against the wall.
The girls all stopped what they were doing and thought about their boyfriends. Flora walked over to Stella and sat down next to her. "It's ok sweetie. Brandon loves you with all his heart and I know for a fact that he'll come rescue you. All the guys will." She said the last sentence to all the girls who were listening to her.
Bloom walked over and say down on Flora's other side. "I know they will. It's just... I wish I could see Sky again."
Flora saw Bloom's sad expression and gave her a hug. "You will see him again Bloom. You just have to be strong until he gets here. We all have to be strong."
Musa came over and hugged Bloom too. "Come on guys, Flos right. We have to be strong and stick together. Winx Club forever."
The rest came over and joined the group hug. "Winx Club forever!"
"Aww I hate to break up such a touching moment but looks like I have to." A familiar voice echoed through the cave.
The Trix walked into view and stood in front if the Winx. Stormy walked forward and roughly grabbed Flora by the arm. "Come with us and she doesn't get hurt."
Stormy twisted Flora's arm behind her back and kept her bruising grip on her forearm. The others quickly scramble to their feet when they heard her whimper and saw her face twist in pain.
Layla was tried to run and help Flora. "Leave her alone!" Stormy twisted Flora's arm even more.
"Come any closer and I'll snap her arm." Stormy warned as she pulled Flora closer. Flora had tears streaming down her face by now and it was getting harder and harder not to scream.
The girls exchanged worried looks but didn't move. Icy smiled and walked behind the Winx. "Ok now that me understand each other, time to get down to business. Pixies follow Darcy and don't try anything stupid, or else little miss flower power might lose an arm."
The girls quickly walked towards Darcy, not wanting their friend to get hurt anymore. Darcy led them out of the room and down a dark hall. It was missing big portions of the floor and some places where they stepped gave way. Unfortunately Stella learned the hard way. They were about half way through the hall when a board gave way under Stella's foot.
"Ahhhhhh!" Stella screamed as she fell through the floor.
She closed her eyes and waited to hit the bottom but a hand grabbed her arm before she fell all the way through. She looked up and saw Layla smiling at her through the effort. "Don't worry Stel, I got you."
She pulled Stella back up and gave her a hug. "Hey pixies this isn't a love fest so get back here." Icy said cruelly and kicked each of them in the stomach causing them to groan in pain.
Eventually they came to a dark musty room with chains decorating the wall. And in the middle there was a big wooden post with scratch marks adorning it. There was a white room in the back of the room with a wide window that shows the chamber.
"Ok pixies up against the wall. Now don't worry we don't have to hurt you. We just need Bloom here to willingly give us the Dragon Fire. No one needs to get hurt. So if Bloom would just come with us, we can get started and the rest of you can go home." Darcy said. Stormy let go of Flora and roughly pushed her down towards the chains. But before she hit the ground, Layla and Musa caught her.
"Hey Flo its alright. We got you now. We won't let them hurt you anymore." Layla said soothingly as she tried to calm the shaking girl down. "We'll take a look at your arm when we get back to our room. Don't worry everything will be fine. You'll see."
Flora just nodded and tried to stop the tears from falling. Stormy walked over and grabbed them and shoved them towards the wall with the others.
Darcy locked their wrists and ankles tight so they wouldn't be able to attack he or her sisters. Flora whimpered as Darcy took Flora's bad arm and locked it up against the wall. She smirked and chained it up tighter than everyone else's. Flora gave a sharp cry of pain and sagged against the wall. Darcy moved on and locked up Flora's other wrist at the end, Stella was chained next to her, then Musa, Bloom in the middle, Layla on Bloom's other side, and Tecna at the other end.
Tecna looked at Darcy and said defiantly, "It would be most illogical if Bloom gives you her power. We won't let her so stop wasting your time, and for once, actually do something productive with your lives."
"Haha nice one Tec!" Stella cheered and rattled her chains. The other girls were laughing quietly as they saw the Trix's faces when they heard Tecna insult them.
Stormy walked over to Tecna and slapped her across the face. The smack echoed loudly through the cave and made each girl get a shiver down her spine. "That's what you get if you talk out of line. Take this as a warning pixies. If you talk out of turn then you'll get something much worse."
Icy walked forward and put a hand on Stormy's shoulder. "I think they've learned their lesson. Now time to find out who our victim will be."
Icy walked towards Bloom and closed her eyes. Instantly Bloom felt her mind being torn open. Icy looked through her most recent memories, looking for the right person to do the job. She saw Stella taking Bloom shopping and having a great time. She saw Flora hugging and comforting her as Bloom cried on he shoulder. She saw Musa and Layla threatening Sky after he hurt Bloom. She saw Tecna helping he study for one of Griselda's finals. She saw all the girls come in for a group hug after they had just defeated Darkar.
When Icy opened her eyes Bloom slumped forward And gasped for air. Icy smiled and walked back over to her sisters to discuss what she had seen. Bloom could hear Icy's thoughts while she was examining he memories. She knew which of her friends she was going to choose. She looked over at her friends who were staring at her concerned. She felt Musa take her hand as she tried to comfort her. Bloom just looked over at her best friend and attempted a smile.
The three witches walked back over with a sick grin on their faces. "Well I think we know who's going to be the lucky winner. And the winner is..."
NEXT CHAPTER X
The boys had finished packing their supplies and were outside their ship, waiting for Codatorta, Saladin, and Faragonda. They wanted to wish the boys good luck and give them some advise as to when they got there.
"Well boys looks like here's where all your training pays off. Good luck boys and remember the overhead arm grab. That just might save your lives." Codatorta said with a sly grin.
Professor Saladin laughed at his assistant. "Well Specialists, time to shine. Come back in one piece please. I would really hate to tell your parents that you died on your mission. Specially yours Sky, the King and Queen would have my head if that happened so help an old man live and come back. Oh and remember use your strengths to your advantage and your enemies' weakness to their disadvantage."
Ms. Faragonda looked up at the boys with sadness in her eyes. "Come back safe boys. And please save my girls. They've been through so much already they deserve the best. So please bring them back. And use your resources and the people and terrain around you to help yourselves."
The boys nodded and said goodbye to the headmasters and teacher. They walked into the ship and took their seats. Timmy, Helia, and Riven sat down at the controls and readied the shop for take off. Sky, Brandon, and Nabu stored their provisions in a storage compartment.
"Get ready guys. We'll be taking off soon and Timmy will put the ship in hyper drive as soon as we're in outer space so be ready." Helia warned the others. The others nodded and quickly took a seat in the back.
"Prepare for lift off." Riven said as he pushed many colorful buttons. They all buckled up and waited for the ship to take off. Finally they heard the familiar hum of the engine and soon they were flying trough the air.
"Ok guys prepare for hyper drive. We'll arrive at Maglai in about two hours." Timmy said while punching in the coordinates.
The engine revved and took off at warp speed. Timmy put the ship on autopilot and went to his room so he could rest. Sky, Brandon, Andrew, Nabu, and Helia pulled out a deck of cards and some chips played and played poker. Riven decided to listen to the iPod Musa had given to him on his last birthday.
"So guys, what's the plan? When we get there we can't just waltz into the mountain and demand the girls back." Andrew said as he dealt the cards.
Nabu put a couple chips in the middle. "Hit me," Andrew gave him some cards. "I think the plan is that we'll check out the mountain and see the terrain we're up against and then we'll camp out the first night. Then I think we'll climb the mountain and send Timmy's bug in so it can scan the area. And then we'll figure it out from there."
Beep! Beep! Beep!The autopilot alarm went off. Timmy jogged out of his room and sat down at the control panel. "Ok guys we're arriving at plants Maglai. We'll be passing over the Maglai Ocean, which is supposed to be beautiful, but I guess the witches' presence somehow corrupted it. Brace yourself guys, we'll be entering a pretty bad storm. "
The rain started to pour hard on the ship. Sky put down his cards and went over to the window. "Wow guys look at this. The ocean is beautiful, under all this rain." He admired the breath taking view as the others came over.
Helia was thinking of a poem he could write for Flora when he saw something glide across the ocean. "Hey guys what's that?" He pointed to the zigzagging form.
The other guys looked at where he pointed but the rain had covered the figure and made it disappear. Timmy steered the ship away from the thunderclouds and landed on the main island of Maglai.
"Well we're one step closer to finding the girls. Look out Trix, you now have seven pissed off heroes on your door step." Riven said and walked over to the village they landed in front of.
They started walking towards the village when they noticed something strange. There were no people running about to get to their jobs, there were no children playing in the field, and there weren't even any birds chirping. It was as if someone pushed the mute button.
The village was small but held a decent amount of houses. There wasn't a castle, just another house that was bigger than the rest. There was a river about a quarter mile east and good farmland to the west. In the middle there was a big statue of a, what looked like a hero.
"That's weird. Where is everyone?" Andrew asked. He looked around for any damage but found none.
"Maybe they all evacuated. I mean it said online that it's usually a peaceful place. So probably since the witches' negative energy started to ruin the farmland they all left." Nabu suggested as he walked up to the hero statue. "Hmm I wonder who he is."
The others walked up behind him and stared at the statue too. Timmy looked around the wooden man and saw an information plate. "Hey guys come over here. I think I found out who he is." The other guys came over and crowded around Timmy. "It says that this is a statue of Kyle. Apparently this place was under attack by some raiders. The natives aren't fighters so they couldn't protect themselves. Kyle just graduated from Red Fountain and was roaming the realm to see if anyone needed his help. He saw Maglai under attack and single handedly defeated the entire army of raiders. Unfortunately he died a year later after he was married and had three kids. No one knows how he died; all they found was his body and his wife's body on the floor. The kids had mysteriously disappeared, never to be seen again."
Brandon looked up at the big statue and said " Well that's creepy, But not the time to dwell on it. Come on let's start heading up the mountain. The sooner we get there the sooner we get the girls back."
NEXT CHAPTER X
"And the winner is...
"Flora." The Trix said maliciously. All the girls looked over at Flora with horror in their eyes. Flora however, just sat there shocked and scared. Once she snapped out of it, She looked over at Layla with pleading eyes.
Layla started to struggle against her chains and screamed at the Trix, "NO! NOT HER! TAKE ME INSTEAD!" The Trix just laughed at her futile efforts.
Stormy walked over and unchained Flora. She dragged the poor girl into the center of the room by the other witches. Icy, Darcy, and Stormy started to walk around Flora as if they were examining a new kind of animal.
"Well what are we going to do with you?" Icy asked. She took a step towards Flora and grabbed her by the collar. "Should we kill you now or should we make your death slow painful?"
Flora whimpered and closed her eyes. Icy let go of her collar and threw her back on the floor. By now the rest of the Winx were struggling against their chains, trying to get to Flora.
"Let her go you witches! She doesn't deserve this!" Bloom yelled and fought against the chains that held her against the wall.
"Well we could let her go. If you come with us." Icy said innocently. She grinned at Bloom's torn face.
"Fine... I'll-" Bloom started but she was cut off by Flora.
"No Bloom don't go with them!" Flora screamed at her. Darcy snarled at her and kicked her hard in the stomach. Flora groaned and rolled over on her side, clutching her ribs.
Bloom looked at Flora's weak form and shook her head.
"You won't come with us?" Icy asked as if it was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. Bloom nodded, keeping her eyes on Flora. "Well than I guess miss optimistic is going to pay the price of your mistake Bloom. Transportus!"
Icy transported the Winx and her sisters to a deserted island. The island was covered in a lush green forest. The weird thing about the forestry though, is that it doesn't seem to be alive. Like the Mother Nature forgot about it and it just froze. When they sent Flora to the center of the island while Winx were hovering above on a platform, still chained but this time to wooden post. The Trix were hovering beside the platform, grinning wickedly at Flora.
"Alright pixie here's what you have to do!" Darcy screamed down at the frightened fairy. "All you have to do is survive."
Flora looked up at her in horror. She never thought the witches would actually try and killher. Sure they would try to take over the magic dimension but never did they kill someone.
Stormy summoned a horn and blew into it, "Begin!" Flora took off racing into the forest. She ran through the forest wildly, trying to find somewhere safe. She finally had to stop and rest. She leaned against a tree and breathed heavily, trying to catch her breath. That's when it happened.
A bird flew out of the tree with an ear splitting shriek. The bird was white with golden beaks and razor sharp claws. Its tail feathers were a strange metallic color and sharp ends.
It screeched in the air and dove towards Flora. Flora eye's widened in fright and sprinted away from the bird. But she wasn't fast enough. The bird flew right at her and crashed into her. Flora cried out in pain and tumbled down a hill. When she hit the bottom her back hit a large rock, knocking the wind out of her.
The Winx started crying when they heard Flora groan in pain. " I can't watch." Bloom said and turned her head. Musa tried to do what Bloom did but she couldn't tear her eyes off her best friend.
Musa hated not being able to help Flora. Flora had always been there for her during hard times and now when Flora needed her most, all Musa could do was stand there and watch. It killed her inside to see the girl who was always so sweet and kind (even to those who tried to kill her!) hurting so badly.
The bird had finally caught up to Flora and was circling high over her head. The bird gave another shriek and dove towards her. Flora tried to crawl away but the bird landed on the back over shoulders, pinning her down. The bird's claws dug into Flora's shoulder causing her to scream in pain. That just motivated the bird even more; it dug its claws even deeper into her shoulder.
Flora could fell blood run down her back as she was losing consciousness. "Oh well, at least the Trix wont get the Dragon Fire. I hope the guys come and save everyone else."She thought as she passed out.
"No Flora!" Layla cried out and struggled her chains even more. "This can't be happening."She thought as she let a few tears go. "Is this what these sick witches think of in their free time? How to torture the sweetest girl alive?"
The Trix looked at each other and nodded. "Transportus!" They all cried. When they materialized again the witches walked over to Flora's unconscious form. "Hmm, what do you think girls? Should we finish this little fairy off?" Icy asked.
All the girls' heads snapped up. "No! Please let her go!" Stella cried out. She absolutelyhatedthose witches. They had hurt probably the nicest person in the world and didn't think twice about it! Not to mention that person was one if her best friends! Flora had always listened to Stella and her problems or just listened to her rant about how much she loved Brandon. And now here she was on the ground, bloody and hurting. That just pissed Stella off.
Stormy yawned and turned to her sisters. "I think we should cut them a break. I'm tired and I don't really feel like doing any work." Darcy nodded in agreement. They walked over to the remaining Winx and unlocked them.
"Alright Solaria and Zenith, carry Lynphia. I don't think she can walking in her own just yet." Darcy said while shoving the Stella and Tecna towards Flora.
Stella and Tecna nodded and ran over to the unconscious girl. They carefully picked her up, trying not to irritate her injuries. Flora whimpered in her sleep but she didn't wake up.
Stormy led the girls back to their little dungeon. The girls kept passing nervous glances of their shoulders to make sure Stella, Tecna, and Flora were still there.
Finally they arrived back in their bleak room. Stormy made sure that they were all there before she locked the door and left. Stella and Tecna gently laid Flora down on her stomach. The girls instantly crowded around the injured girl.
"Oh Flora I'm so sorry!" Bloom said with tears in eyes. She felt responsible for everything that had happened so far and hated herself for it.
"Don't worry Flo, we'll get out of here. Just hang on." Musa said. Layla came over and put a hand on her shoulder. They looked at each other with pain in their eyes. Musa leaned her head on Layla's shoulder and let so tears go.
Tecna looked around the room to see if she could find something to make Flora more comfortable. Then she saw the oddest thing. In the corner of the dark room, sat six blankets, small stash food, and a canteen of water. On top of the blankets there was a note. "I promised I would take care of you, and I intend to keep it. Good luck princesses."
NEXT CHAPTER X
The guys were making their way up the mountain when Sky heard a rustle behind a clump of bushes, followed by a grunt. "Wait guys did you heard?" He stopped and looked at the bushes. He took out his shield and phantoblade. And readied himself for an attack.
The other guys walked over to where Sky stood and took out their weapons too. They stood there in silence, waiting for something to jump out at them. They waited there for minutes when finally a werewolf like creature sprang out if the bushes and attacked the Specialists.
The creature had dark bristly fur that spiked up on its back. Its eyes glowed a vibrant yellow and its teeth were just as yellow and as sharp as a knife. The weird thing though was, it had two heads!
"Whoa umm Timmy? What is this thing?" Riven asked, backing up. The guys followed his lead and took out their weapons.
"I… I don't know. This is the oddest creature I have ever seen." Timmy stuttered. It was a rarity that Timmy didn't know what something was.
The creature snarled at the Specialists and got into a hunters position (incase you don't know what a hunters position is its when an animal crouches with its hindquarters in the air). The creature sprang into the air and soared towards Helia. He swift used his laser string and wrapped it around the creature's chest. He spun around and threw the werewolf thing at a tree behind him.
"Nice one Helia!" Nabu called while keeping his eyes on the creature. The creature had gotten up and it was angry. It leapt towards the guys again but this time it did land on one of them. And that person was prince Sky.
The creature had knocked Sky on the ground and pinned him down. It was about to finish Sky off when Alex ran over and slashed the creature across the back. The creature howled in pain and jumped off Sky. It turned around and glared at Andrew who held its gaze evenly, well one of its gazes. It's hard to stare at something with four eyes. What the creature didn't see though, was Timmy coming up behind him. Timmy aimed his mini blaster and shot the creature in the side. Riven ran at the creature at full speed, ready to finish it off. But the creature leapt towards Riven and nearly ripped his throat, but luckily Riven remembered something. He grabbed the creature's front legs and threw his over his shoulder. Brandon ran towards the fallen creature and plunged his phantoblade into its chest, killing it instantly.
They all started at the dead creature while catching their breaths. Riven was first to recover, "Well looks like Codatorta was right. That overhead arm grab can save lives." They all stared at Riven and started to laugh uneasily. It was weird that Codatorta knew that they would need to remember the basic move. They had learned it in their freshman year but had forgotten it over the years (they're in their junior year).
Alex looked around for any more creatures. Once he was satisfied tat there would be no more surprise attacks he said, "Well looks like we're safe. We should eat lunch then continue up the mountain." The others agreed and got out their provisions. They ate their fill and rested for about a half an hour and then resumed their journey.
They got up to the top of the mountain with no more surprises, but what they saw at the top couldn't get any more shocking. There at the peak of the mountain, sat a dark castle. It had a moat twenty feet wide and ten feet deep. Behind the moat was a fifteen-foot wall that bulged out into a ledge. On the wall behind the ledge was a door. The only entrance into the castle. A thick mist and storm clouds clouded the rest of it. But that wasn't the most surprising thing. On a tree sat a young girl in tattered black clothes and a small drawstring bag.
The Specialists immediately got into a battle ready stance, not taking their eyes off the girl. "You guys see the girl too, right?" Brandon asked quietly. The guys nodded and took out their weapons. They weren't taking any chances after the wild beast.
"Well that's a friendly way to say hello." The girl said and stood up. She walked over to the guys while keeping an eye on their weapons. The Specialists raised their weapons as if to say 'back off'.
"Don't come any closer." Riven threatened. The girl did walk any closer but she didn't walk away either.
"Ok half right. Now who the hell are you?" Alex asked coolly.
The girl look around before answering, "I'm just a girl who can help"
"Help with what? We are perfectly in control here." Riven scoffed. He knew that that was a lie. He knew she knew that that was a lie. "Oh we'll. Got nothing to lose."
The girl leaned against a big oak tree and examined them for a minute. The guys squirmed under her intense gaze. Finally she said, "Yeah you were perfectly under control when that beast attacked you. Or when you were searching for the girls. Couldn't find a lead on where the Trix are holding them."
Everyone looked at her incredulously. Nabu was first to get out of the shock. "So Ms. Mysterious, you're the person who's been helping us find the girls."
The girl smirked and gave a small laugh. "Ms. Mysterious, that's a new one. But yeah I'm the one who found that newspaper article. And I gave Codatorta a little push in the right direction on finding a good fighting technique on this planet."
The guys' jaws dropped when they heard what she said. Brandon was first to recover, "Wait. So what you're saying is you broke into Red Fountain, somehow got into Codatorta's office which is locked I might add, left a book that held battle moves that you somehow knew we were going to need to remember, unlocked our dorm, hacked into our computer, and left a clue for us so we could find the girls?" Brandon asked incredulous. The girl smiled slyly and nodded. Brandon turned to the guys and said, "Ok I know we're not supposed to trust her but you have to admit, that's pretty awesome."
Alex walked up to Brandon and smacked him behind the head. "Brandon! We are on a hostile planet with a phsyco girl who broke into Red Fountain and you're complimenting her? That's messed up man."
Brandon grumbled and rubbed his head. "I was just saying..." Alex hit him in the head again. "I'll shut up now." He sighed. Alex smirked and walked over to Nabu and Riven who gave him high fives. "Haters gonna hate." Brandon grumbled again.
The girl gave a small chuckle and said, "Wow you guys have such a unique friendship. Anyways back to business. Are you going to let me tell you the plan or not?"
The guys immediately remembered why they were there. "Who said we were going to let you help? We've got this under control." Sky bluffed. Truth was they had no plan. They didn't even think they'd make it this far.
"Ok so what's your plan?" The girl asked confidently, as if she knew they were stuck. The guys shifted from foot to foot trying to make up a believable plan. The girl smirked and hopped down from her branch and walked over to the guys, this time they didn't stop her. "You guys don't have a plan. You barely know the structure of the castle."
"Yes we do! Here's our plan: we'll swim through the moat then climb the wall up to the ledge. Once we get there we get in, find the girls, and get the out off this planet with the Winx safe in or arms. " Helia said. He was proud of himself. If the Specialists didn't have a plan then there was no way she did. They did go to a school for heroes after all.
Ms. Mysterious walked over to Helia and stood right in front if him. He was a couple inches taller than her but that didn't make her any less intimidating. "Ha. Yeah like that'll ever work. First of all that most is at least twenty feet wide so, hard to say if you'll get to the other side without drowning. Second of all the Trix have probably put some kind of creature in there to prevent intruders, like you, from coming in. Third of all if some kind of miracle happened and you got across that moat, you'd never be able to climb up that wall. It's made of oil infused marble. Hard as marble, slippery as oil. And I'm not going to even start on how you'll navigate through that castle."
Helia and the rest of the Specialists stared at her in astonishment. Only someone with superior knowledge of combat tactics could have come up with that plan. And that's Helia's strong point. After Helia got out of his temporary shock he Hung his head in defeat.
The girl smirked and folded her arms. "Do you guys have any more brilliant plans you would like to share?" All the guys except Helia shook their heads. "Ok now are you going to accept my help?" Ms. Mysterious asked.
The heroes in training looked at one another, as if sending unspoken messages to each other. Finally Sky nodded "Alright what's you're plan?"
A triumphant smile spread across the girl's face. She faced Riven and stuck her tongue at him, just to piss him off. Riven's face contorted into an expression of utter rage. It took all of Brandon, Alex, and Nabu's strength to hold him back and keep him from killing her.
"Alright so here's the plan," Ms. Mysterious started. "Brandon, Sky, and Helia You guys are going to go and try and find the winx, meanwhile the rest of us will try and find a wat outta here ok" ? "Ok lets go then.
After a couple of long hours ealking the 3 specialists came to the mouth of an odd looking cave, "okay that's wierd" said helia, then from the mouth of the cave there came a deafening scream! " FLORA" helia screamed. They all an down to the cave to see Icy realeasing the dreadfull white bird that had origionally attacked flora." NOOOOOO" helia screamed but it was too late, the bird circled flora then landed on her back, she screamed as it dug it's clawes in to her back and the blood started to seep through her cuts. The bird went to take a bit out of flora but Helia kicked it off, then Sky and Brandon fought it and killed it. Flora was slowely losing contiousness but Helia made sure that she stayed awake. "helia flora whimpered as he held her tight to him so then she would not go. "yes im here my love" helia said as he looked dreadfully and his injured flora."im so sorry" helia said, "for what" said flora. "For noy protecting you" Helia said. Meanhile sky and Brandon were untieing the winx when icy can flying down and yanked flora from helia's grasp."NOOOOOOO" screamed helia as his love was tirn from him." This is what you get winx for ruining my plans, icy took out a long and thin shard of ice and whithiut thinking twice she plunged it into flora's side. all of the winx club and the specialists gasped as Flora screamed in agony and droped helplessly to the cold hard floor. they were all shocked to see flora battered and bruised and with a shard of ice sticking out of her left side all of them including Helia ran over too her " quick she needs help and with that the winx transported all the specialists back to alphea. When they got back helia burst in to the girls room and lay flora o the bed he then said to flora" it's gonna be ok, it's just gonna hurt alittle", and with that he grabbed the piece of ice sticking out of flora's side and yanked it out, flora screamed so loud and the pain was unbearably she drifted into unconsciousness.
Next chapter x
When flora woke she saw all the familiar faces, of the winx and the guys but she could not see helia anywhere, after everyone left helia came into the room his yes red and puffy from crying, "helia" flora said, she tried to sit up but the pain seered through her body and she screamed, helia rushed over and caught her before she could fall of the bed, he put her back on the bed and gave her a long passionate kiss, which flora then deepened. They both pulled back after 10 minutes and where breathing hard." O flora i thought i had lost you forever", "no you haven't helia i'm right here and i love you soo much".
3 weeks later Flora was back to normal and everything was great, that night flora and helia went to bed when h=they got some privacy helia grabbed flora round the wait and gave her another long and tender kiss, then he picked her up bridle style and laid her on the bed, he then lay on top of her, and she took of his shirt and trousers the he took of her top and trousers, they they lay there kissing passionately and made love, helia massged her back and she felt his abs that was pretty much how they spent the rest of the night. Flora woke to find herself rapped in helia's arms and she lay there for 10 minutes tring yo think of a more perfect moment but couldn't think of one, ten she unraped herself from his muscular arms and went for a walk, whe she came back helia was still asleep and she watched him, she thought he was so cute when he was sleeping."morning flora" helia said which startled flora but she responded bu giving him a long tender kiss on the lips he then played with her hair, they then lived happily ever after.