Disclaimer: I don't own Winx Club. Trust me, if I did, little girls everywhere would be fleeing from their TVs in abject horror.
Hey all, it's back! And right on sched- Wait a minute! This isn't May! Artis, have you been messing with time again? You were bored? Really? That's your excuse? Well, I had plans for you this book anyways...
I originally planned to start publishing this, the third and final installment in the series, at the beginning of May. Then inspiration struck. Hard. So the publishing date got pushed up.
Welcome back to all my old readers, and welcome to any new readers. If you haven't read the first two books in the series, you should probably go do that before reading this, because recapping the story so far would probably eat up two full chapters. With that said, let's get started.
Amelia slowly awoke. Where was she? She opened her eyes. Above her was the unworked stone roof of a cave. How had they ended up here? The last thing she remembered was her and her friends, Dhalia, Artis, Perdi, and Reyva, Jumping through the portal to Altivix with-
Amelia bolted upright. "Eclipsis!" She cried out.
"Are all of you going to shout that when you wake up?" A rather annoyed-sounding voice came from behind Amelia. "It's getting old."
Amelia turned to see an unfamiliar girl standing at the back of the cave. She was tall, maybe Reyva's height, with long brown hair that hung halfway down her back. Her dark brown eyes glanced at Amelia, then went back to watching the entrance. A sword hung from her belt, and a bag was on her back.
"Who are you?" Amelia asked.
"The Fairy of Night and- The Fairy of Night. That's all you need to know."
"She hasn't told us her name either." Perdi said. She and Dhalia were sitting against the wall of the cave, their weapons beside them. Reyva was stationed by the entrance, while Artis was still unconscious on the floor.
"How long do you think it will be until Artis wakes up?" Amelia asked.
"No idea." Dhalia said.
"And miss Fairy of Night here isn't answering any questions, is she?"
"Nope." Reyva said. She looked outside. There was no moon in the sky, but the stars were bright, casting a ghostly light over a bleak landscape. Dead grass and trees covered the area, and the ground was scarred from fire and acid. Dark shapes moved about, tearing into the already battered landscape.
"Eclipsis!" Artis shouted as she sat up abruptly.
"And that makes five." The Fairy of Night sighed.
"Who are you?" Artis asked.
"She's the Fairy of Night, and she won't tell you her name." Dhalia said.
"What happened?" Amelia asked.
"Hah. I'll tell you what happened." The unnamed fairy said. "Five idiots decided to bring a powerful spell, and a convergence at that, into Altivix. Were you trying to kill yourselves or are you just plain stupid?"
"What does that mean?" Perdi asked, feeling insulted.
"Don't you know anything about this place?"
"We know it can remove a person's magic." Artis answered.
"And that's all you know, isn't it?"
"...Yes." Artis answered.
"Why do I even bother?" The fairy asked herself almost theatrically. "You'll be dead in a week!"
"Bother with what?"
"Saving your lives of course. What, you thought the portal dropped you here?" She looked at the fairies. "I dragged you here, all five of you, so that you wouldn't get eaten." She turned to Reyva. "You were particularly difficult to carry."
"Thank you then, for saving our lives." Dhalia said.
"Try to do a better job of protecting yourselves in the future."
"What did you mean when you were talking about us bringing a powerful spell into Altivix?" Artis asked. "Is there something we should know about using magic here?"
"You." The fairy pointed at Dhalia. "You're a fairy of energy, right?"
"Yes, how did you know?"
"I saw your wings when you first arrived. It was obvious."
"What's your point?"
"You can create light. Try to create a light. Not a big one, just a candlelight."
"Whatever." Dhalia focused energy into her palm, and it started to glow. "See?"
Then things went wrong. The glow turned into a spotlight, and Dhalia cried out. She quickly severed the flow of magic before the spell could completely drain her.
"What just happened?" She demanded.
"That's why using magic in Altivix is hard. The realm is hungry, demanding power. It will draw forth as much magic as it can from you. If you aren't careful, it will kill you."
"So that's why we passed out." Amelia said. "The spell we were using was already tapping most of our power, and when we reached Altivix..."
"Very good. You may survive yet."
"Is there a way to beat the magic draining effect?" Perdi asked.
"Control. More self-control than you can imagine. It takes years of practice."
"We don't have that long." Artis said. "We have to find Eclipsis."
"There has to be a way around this." Amelia said. "Something that will let us use our powers."
"Not that I know of." The fairy said. She pulled a piece of paper out of her bag. "Here. Follow this map. It will take you to Melivon."
"And Melivon is?" Dhalia asked.
"A town. And the only safe place in Altivix." The fairy said, handing the map over to Dhalia. She glanced outside. "The sun will rise soon. You should leave then."
"What about you?" Perdi asked.
"My business is my own." The fairy snapped.
"I just thought, maybe you could help us." Perdi said, trembling ever so slightly. Something about this fairy wasn't quite right.
"Well you thought wrong. I will not travel with you!" The fairy scowled at Perdi. "But... I will visit you at night." She relented.
"How will you find us?" Asked Reyva.
"I will." The fairy walked off into the night without a single backward glance. Just before she disappeared, Amelia thought she saw something under the fairy's hair shine in the starlight, but before she could get a good look, the girl was gone.
"I don't trust her." Artis said.
"Anyone else think she's hiding something?" Dhalia asked. Everyone's hand went up.
"I couldn't sense anything from her." Perdi said. "Maybe it's because I'm not used to the effect Altivix has on my telepathy, but I don't think so. I can still sense you girls, but her mind is hidden from me. She must have powerful mental shields."
"So what do we do about it?" Reyva asked.
"We follow her map." Dhalia said. "It's not like we have any other leads, and even if it is a trap, at least we'll learn something."
"Perdi, can you let us know if anything dangerous is coming for us?" Artis asked.
"I can try, but it's hard to focus right now." Perdi said. "It's like being caught in a crowd. I can hear everyone, but nothing makes sense."
"Amelia?" Artis turned to her friend. "What about you?"
"I can't sense anything. There's so much magic here that I can't make anything out."
"We'll have to be careful then." Dhalia said. "Who knows what lives here. Reyva, can you get our supplies?"
"I can try." Reyva said. "Stand back. Spacial Pocket!" Instead of the usual small opening just big enough to allow them to grab their gear, a massive hole in the universe opened, dumping their supplies on the floor of the cave.
"Leave the tents." Dhalia said. "If what that fairy said is true, the last thing we want to do is camp out in the open."
They quickly gathered up their gear into packs. Fortunately, food doesn't go bad while it's trapped in a pocket universe, so they had about a week's worth of supplies.
"We have to move quickly. The Winx can only hold off Eclipsis's son for so long."
"I don't think we should fly." Amelia said. "We don't know how Altivix will affect that, and we don't want to draw attention to ourselves."
"Agreed. We need to move fast, but we should also be careful." Said Dhalia. "Until we figure out a safe way to use our powers, let's try to keep our use of magic to a minimum."
"We should get moving." Artis said. "The sun is up and we have a long way to go before we reach this 'Melivon' place she mentioned."
"Alright Classix, let's get started." Dhalia said, hefting her pack. The girls began the long march.
"This place is nothing like Univix was." Artis commented. "Everything's so dead here."
Indeed it was. They'd gotten a glimpse of the wasteland in the starlight last night, but it was even more depressing in the day. The trees were dead, twisted and gnarled into unnatural shapes, scorched by fire, and burned by acid. The grass was brown and dead, and the landscape was heavily scarred by the beasts that roamed it. A thin haze covered the sky, casting a dreary light on an already dreary land.
"This isn't Univix." Amelia said bitterly. The effects of the realm were hammering her even harder than the others. A faint corona of magic covered her body at all times. "It's Altivix. This is where magic goes to die."
No one felt like talking after that. They continued marching.
The sun was directly above when Dhalia finally called for a halt. They stopped near a small pool of water. A large boulder sat beside it, a massive overhang offering a chance to get out of the murderous sun.
"We can rest here." Dhalia said. "Perdi, Amelia, I know you're having a hard time, but if you can sense anything, anything at all, that would be useful."
"I'm not finding anything." Amelia said. "There's just too much magic here."
"I can sense a little." Perdi said. "Most of the monsters seem to fear the sun. They're all hiding until nightfall. But there are a few still up and moving."
"Are there any near us?" Artis asked.
"Not really. Most of them seem to be several miles away. There is one that's a lot closer though. Maybe half a mile due north. It seems to be circling us."
"Let me try focusing my powers there." Amelia said, screwing up her face in concentration. Then she went pale. "I found it."
"And?" Dhalia asked.
"And it's a lot stronger than anything we've faced, except for Eclipsis."
"Good thing we're heading south east." Reyva said.
"Let's just hope we don't have to fight it." Dhalia said.
The sun was just beginning to set as the Classix crossed out of the wasteland and into a huge rock formation. Jagged boulders jutted up from the hard ground, and narrow winding passages between the rocks turned the place into a maze.
"Do we really have to go in there?" Perdi whined.
"I don't like it anymore than you do Perdi," Dhalia replied, "but that town is on the other side of it."
"I don't like it." Reyva said. "It's a perfect place for an ambush."
"It's getting late." Artis said. "Maybe we should try to find shelter for tonight and tackle this place tomorrow."
"Good idea. As Reyva said, this place would be perfect for an ambush, and we're all tired." Dhalia said.
"We need to find somewhere to rest." Amelia glanced around. "All I see is a bunch of solid walls."
"The sun is setting. We don't have time to look for something." Artis said.
"We could fly to the top of one of those boulders." Perdi suggested.
"Too risky." Dhalia replied. "Not only do we not know how well our wings work here, but it would also leave us in the open."
"Do you have another plan?"
"Yes actually." Dhalia stepped into a small clearing between two of the massive rocks. "Stand back girls." She turned to the rock face and pointed imperiously at it. "Kinetic Ripple."
At first nothing happened except for a slight sound like someone tapping a stone with their fingernail. Then the rock began to shatter and fly outwards as Dhalia's spell bored a hole through the stone. This continued for several minutes until Dhalia managed to sever the flow of magic, wobbling on her feet ever so slighty. When the dust cleared, the other Classix step forward.
The clearing was now full of pulverized rock and gravel. A large cave yawned before them where previously there had been nothing but a solid wall.
"What spell was that?" Perdi asked. "I've never seen you use it before."
"Kinetic Ripple." Dhalia said as she examined her handiwork. "Suitable for clearing out spiderwebs and shooting down flies. I use it to keep my room clean."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"We should make camp." Reyva said.
The five girls entered the cave as the last rays of sunlight faded from the sky.
A/N: So, Altivix. Not a nice place. Before the Omega Dimension was created, this was where evil villains and powerful monsters were placed. The rules are very different here, and not just with regards to magic. The Classix must find Eclipsis and force her through the portal that leads back to the Magic Dimension before her son can destroy everything. The clock is ticking.