Authors Note: Here we go, third season. Hope you'll enjoy. Also, the Q&A for the second arc has been uploaded to my channel(Link is in my profile).
Winx Club Rewrite 3: Bane of Domino
Chapter 1: Chimera and Valtor
Bloom sighed happily, as she enjoyed the warm, pleasant light of the rising sun of Harmony. A cool breeze was coming in from the coast, keeping the area at a pleasantly hot temperature. It reminded her of home.
The redhead took a deep breath of fresh air before turning around and walking into the summerhouse again. After having spent the first month of her vacation at Sunny Soul to make sure she wasn't going completely bonkers, she had been picked up by Faragonda and brought to the headmistress' summerhouse. It was a nice, little house, with a well-maintained garden and a nearby gravel path that led to the beach. The surroundings were pleasant, composed of small woodland areas surrounded by fields, hills and the occasional lake. A very picturesque location, though as far as Bloom understood, that was very much to be expected of Harmony. It was already a pleasant planet when people settled it and generations of landscapers, artists and the like had only made it more so.
Of course, being reminded of her home was quite the bittersweet feeling. Due to the incident at last year's Halloween, a group that Bloom was almost completely certain was the infamous Black Circle had taken a close interest in her and Gardenia. And from what her father had told her over the phone, they knew she was a magi and that she was being schooled at Alfea. So Bloom had to stay away from Earth, only communicating with friends and family through her phone. She had had to come up with some convoluted explanations for why she wasn't coming home that summer. Not that she enjoyed lying, or deceiving in general, but she and her parents had agreed that the less people who knew about this, the better.
She walked into the living room and sat down in the sofa, a bloated fuzzy thing that always felt like it was giving you a warm hug. She grabbed the remote and zapped through a couple of TV-channels checking to see if there was anything interesting. Or rather, she was trying to find out what would be the most interesting to watch. Even talk shows, reality TV and fashion shows got exciting once ogres, elves and magi got involved.
As she zapped to another channel, a leprechaun newscaster appeared informing her: "And now a follow up on the case of the Usurper Trio, who received their sentence last Monday for their involvement in the Phoenix War".
It always struck Bloom as strange that she could now honestly boast of being a veteran of the Phoenix War. If somebody had told her three years ago that that would be the case, she would have been certain that her future self would have taken up LARPing.
"The Usurper Trio was sentenced to Omega for the next century, despite insistence that their aid had contributed a lot to the final defeat of the Shadow Phoenix, Darkar," the newscaster continued. "There have been heavy protests from the Bijoux and the Arion families, whose requests for appeal have been denied. They were not the only ones who were dissatisfied. Taren Steele of Lightrock had this to say".
The scene changed to an old elf in the classic Lightrock uniform who said: "The prosecutor argued that the three already had a change to reform. This is pure malarkey, as their treatments were never completed, what with Darkar invading. But all signs up until then pointed at a possible reform".
The newscaster returned, saying: "John Peterson, who was part of the jury, commented that such a thing was at least unlikely to happen on Omega. Headmistress Guinevere Griffin, to many's surprise, also defended the three".
A clip of Griffin played, with the headmistress saying: "This has been nothing but a campaign of revenge against the three. While I will not argue that they are innocent or undeserving of punishment, it is telling that it was made sure that the court would be taking place in Magicalis. While it was argued that enough time had passed that it was not necessary to restrict the jury from being locals, many of the people in the jury were personally affected by the Usurper Crisis, which no doubt affected their judgement. But the three had already been given a sentence for that, a sentence that was never carried out because of Darkar. And what will happen when they are finally released from Omega, if they survive the experience? They will still be the same people, but trapped in a world they know nothing of. It will no doubt have an even worse effect on them. But people will be happy, because at least then they can say to themselves that they got what they deserved".
The newscaster returned, saying: "This sentence has once again brought up discussions about whether the Omega Punishment, which replaced the death penalty in many realms eighty years ago, is a punishment civilised societies should even use. Critics argue that due to the rate of fatal incidents and the like, Omega might as well be considered a means of execution".
Bloom sighed as she zapped to another channel. Faragonda had testified in court and had very much endorsed that the three witches should be re-sentenced to Lightrock. She had been noticeably disappointed when they were sentenced to Omega instead. According to her, Stormy had broken down crying in court and more or less had to be carried out afterwards. Bloom had little room for sympathy for the three after everything they had done, but even she had to admit that at least none of them had desired the end of the multiverse and they had helped in the end, even if it was only out of self-interest. And while she couldn't find it in herself to feel sorry, she could at least wish they had a fair trial. But from what she heard, the deck was stacked against them from the start, which struck the redhead as very much unfair.
Her phone rang, shaking her out of her thoughts. She grabbed it and said: "Bloom Peterson".
"Hey, Bloom," came Stella's voice. "Are you doing anything today?"
"Nothing special. Why?" the redhead asked.
"Because me and the girls are coming to Harmony and we'd like to meet up with you," the blonde answered delighted. "It's been, like, far too long since we've seen you".
"That sounds great," Bloom said enthusiastically. "I just gotta wait 'till Faragonda comes back from buying groceries. Where do you want to meet up?"
...
Two hours later, Bloom walked away from the bus stop and down the dirt road that brought her to the Green Hills Camping Area, while she enthusiastically waved to her five friends from Alfea, who were sitting on a bench eating lunch. "Hi, girls. How have things been?" she asked as she sat down.
"Relaxing. Thankfully," Musa said as she put her food down. "Been home with my Dad for most of the vacation".
"I've also spent some time with my mom. And been seeing a lot of my friends back in the good ol' neighbourhood," Techna said. "Been working on my wingpack too. It's still kinda hazardous, but me and Databoy have been working out the kinks. Give it a year or two and I should have a prototype I can actually use".
"Does it still chase paladins like a lovesick puppy?" Musa asked.
"Nope. Now that we know what went wrong with Blight Knight, I've been able to stop it from doing that," the scarred girl said confidently. "At least, I think I have".
"I have spent some time at home. Mirta has been staying with me for most of the summer," Flora said. "I gather that while she does care for her parents, she does not like spending too much time with them".
"And I've been visiting both my mother and father. They live separately nowadays, but thankfully not that far away," Stella said.
"And I've also been home. My parents insisted that I brushed up on my royal court etiquette. They felt my stay on Alfea had dulled my skills a bit, but still permitted me to stay another year if I brushed up on my skills while home," Aisha said.
"And you were okay with that?" Techna asked.
"Of course. My parents only have my best interest in mind and wants to ensure that my future as a royal will not be filled with scandal and embarrassment," the princess of Tides stated.
"Or freethinking," Musa muttered. "Anyways, what about you Bloom?"
"Well, I've mostly been spending time here on Harmony with Faragonda," the redhead said. "It's been nice. And at least I can chat with my friends and family over the phone. So that's something".
"Kinda sucks a lot that you can't go home," Techna added. "Would be much easier if we could move your family over here".
"Yeah, but they like Gardenia. I can't just take them away from that," Bloom replied sadly. "Though I think if I asked, they would go. But it just doesn't feel right".
"Yeah, well, that's a bummer," Stella said. "But I know just what can cheer you up".
"One of your fashion monstrosities?" Musa quipped.
"I will ignore that comment because I am in such good mood today," Stella continued. "I've got invitation for all of you for my upcoming princess ball". She pulled from her handbag several written invitations and handed them out.
Bloom picked up her letter, noted that it was handwritten and began deciphering the flowery language.
...
The planet Omega was a permanently frozen and almost lifeless planet with a nearly endless night, the sun only occasionally managing to hit its surface due the gas giant Marigold being in the way. And flying through the upper reaches of its atmosphere was a prison transport ship.
The inside of the ship was almost devoid of features besides the gunmetal grey walls and the temperature was low enough that the patrolling guards could see their breaths. Heating up the ship while close to Omega risked making them visible to the less than pleasant lifeforms capable of sustaining themselves in the nightmarish landscape below.
"So, Jenkins," the captain said as he turned from the pilot and observed a soldier of low rank. "I gather this is your first run?"
"Yes, sir," Jenkins replied, suppressing a shiver.
"Do you have any questions about the procedure?" the captain continued.
"Well, I hear there's not any place to land down there. That there isn't anything on the surface but the occasional oxygen generator and a minor camp at the Andros Portal," Jenkins said. "So... How do we drop off the prisoners?"
"The prisoners have been locked in stasis capsules and will be dropped off over reasonably open areas," the captain said. "There, a ship will pick them up once their sentence is over, provided that they are still alive of course".
"But I hear there are... Wild animals down there. Couldn't they just force open the capsules?" Jenkins asked.
"No. The things are designed to be unpalatable and reasonably easy to track for pickup," the captain said. "And it can easily be restarted, should it shut off for any reason. Gives the scum inside a nice choice between stasis and death in the frozen wilds".
"Oh. Just... How many people do get picked up from Omega?" Jenkins asked.
"I think roughly two out of five prisoners get picked up again," the captain guessed. "If I was the one making the call I'd just drop them off without the stasis pod. It's what people like them deserve. But that is not our call to make".
"We're approaching the drop zone," the pilot said.
"Good. Then let's drop of our cargo and get home before we freeze our balls off," the captain grunted.
The ship made a slight dive before specialised compartments in the bottom dropped the contained prisoners. The three stasis pods fell through the freezing atmosphere, enchantments preventing them from reaching a destructive speed. As they got close to the snowy ground below, one of the pods scraped against a frozen cliff, metal and electronics peeled off before they landed on the ground. The pods stood there for a couple of moments, surrounded by pitch black darkness and snow, the only light being that of the stars.
Then the damaged pod's door was kicked off and Icy stumbled out, dizzy from the time in stasis. Her magic kicked in almost instantaneously, shielding her from the freezing cold that would easily have penetrated her light clothes. She looked around, trying to see anything in the thick darkness, before glimpsing the outlines of the other stasis pods. She forced herself through the thick snow and placed her hands on one of them. Ice started to form inside its systems, ripping it apart and disabling the stasis. The white-haired witch gave it a few seconds before opening the pod.
Immediately, a couple of hands fastened around her throat, only barely restrained from exerting enough pressure to make breathing impossible.
"Give. Me. One. Good. Reason," Stormy hissed angrily.
Icy grasped the wild-haired witch's hands, trying to force them off while saying: "I'm the... Only reason... You're not... Freezing... To death".
Stormy thought it over for a second before conceding that killing Icy would indeed be detrimental to her own survival and she let her go.
The white-haired woman gasped for a few seconds as she let the cold air reach her lungs, before hissing: "The fuck is your problem?"
"My problem? MY PROBLEM!?" Stormy yelled. "WE'VE BEEN SENTENCED TO FUCKING OMEGA!"
"Yeah. I noticed," Icy grumbled as she went over to Darcy's pod, repeating the procedure and freeing the dirty-blonde.
"Huh. How unexpected," she noted as she got out. "You managed to escape your pod".
"I think my pod got damaged on the way down," Icy said while eyeing her former prison. "We're lucky".
"Lucky?" Stormy asked as she sat on the edge of her pod. "Lucky how? Lucky because now we get to die out here in the frozen wastes? Lucky because we get to become part of a statistic of prisoners who never come back from Omega?"
"Lucky because we stand a better chance at getting off the planet if we're conscious," Darcy noted.
"Should never have gone off with the two of you when you signed up with Darkar," Stormy grumbled as she got up again. "I could have turned things around, but oh no, you just had to jerk me around".
"I admit that things did not go as anticipated. But let's be fair here, it is not my fault that the justice system was balanced against us," Darcy said. "Well, at least not directly".
"What do you mean?" Icy asked suspiciously with a raised eyebrow.
"You remember the prosecutor? The guy who more or less made us look like the second coming of the Ancestral Witches?" Darcy asked. "Hired by my family. And they also made sure that Magicalis natives could be in the jury. I gather they tried to get rid of me. After the Usurper Crisis, I have become a problem and they used this trial to get me out of the picture, since my presence tarnishes their good name and makes their political games more difficult. The two of you were unfortunate collateral damage".
"Well, that makes me feel better," Stormy mumbled.
"Well, as much as it makes me want to kill your family, I think we should focus on getting off Omega," Icy said. "Maybe we could steal the stasis pod of somebody who's going to be picked up soon".
"Possibly, but it will require extreme luck," Darcy pointed out. "They use the entire surface of the planet exactly to avoid that. There's little for us to eat or survive from. And we will only be protected from frostbite and hypothermia as long as your magic lasts".
"That is a problem, I admit," Icy said.
"I think we have a bigger one," Stormy said with wide eyes, stumbling away from her pod. "Look".
The two other witches glared through the dark, only to see long and white serpentine bodies snake their way through the snow towards them.
"Ice wyrms," Darcy stated as the two backed away. "I doubt we can fight them. We need to get out of here".
Icy huffed a bit, feeling her pride wounded from the thought of having to give up in the face of a couple of mere wild animals, but she had to agree with her companion and followed Darcy as she and Stormy made a run for it, the ice wyrms following the three with hunger blazing in their eyes.
...
"Alright. I think I got what this thing is trying to say," Bloom said and put down the invitation. "Though it took me a moment to figure out what they meant when they requested that I wore..." She picked up the invitation again and read aloud: "Resplendent and felicitous garments".
"What can I say? The dude Dad chose to write them is a bit pompous," Stella said with a shrug.
"Or had a thesaurus jammed up his ass," Techna commented.
"So, what is this princess ball actually?" Bloom asked. "Besides a party".
"Well, it's the party where I am officially introduced to noble society," Stella replied. "In the old days, this was often the first time most of society would even learn of the princess and it was usually signalling that she was ready to be married off. Nowadays, it means I will start getting royal duties, participating in meetings and such. Except not really, since I'm still attending Alfea and my parents wouldn't want me to spend my vacations on state business, so it's more symbolic than anything else. But it is a pretty big party".
"And it is two weeks from now, if my understanding of the Horus calendar is correct," Flora said as she looked through the invitation. "I for one do not have any problems with attending".
"I guess I wouldn't die from hobnobbing with some Solarian bigwigs. Count me in," Techna added.
"I'll come too. I hear that Solarian nobles are slightly more tolerable than those of others realms," Musa commented.
"I just gotta talk with Faragonda about it, but I don't see why I shouldn't be able to make it," Bloom said.
"I think I can also attend. I'll have to talk with my parents about it first though," Aisha said. "I've also got a princess ball next year, so maybe I can try out my dress before then".
"You're also having one? Tots awesome. How are princess balls in Tides?" Stella asked.
"It's where I'll meet my husband," Aisha stated.
Stella blinked. "Oh. You still do that in Tides?"
"Well, of course," the brunette replied matter-of-factly. "It would be far too inconvenient for everyone to have to wait for me to be old enough to decide on my own who would make the best husband. It's far more expedient that my parents make an agreement based on what would benefit our royal lineage the most".
"I... See," the blonde stated. "Good luck with that".
"Thanks," Aisha said happily.
"Anyway, I'm curious," Bloom started, breaking the awkward mood. "What exactly is appropriate clothing? I've only really got the dress I wear to parties at Alfea".
"Well, it's not bad, but it is used goods and it has definitely gotten some wear and tear," Stella said, rubbing her chin. "Tell you what, we'll go shopping in... Let's see, in a week or so. Then we can both go get some totally awesome new clothes". Her head suddenly turned sharply as she stared at Techna and said: "And you're coming too".
The magenta-haired girl blinked a couple of times before asking: "Why? I got plenty of dresses".
"I know," Stella replied. "But your usual style of dress is not appropriate for my princess ball. We've got to, like, get you something that doesn't look like the result of an explosion in a two-nummi costume shop. I mean, at least I know Musa can dress herself properly, even if it's nothing special".
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, your majesty," Musa added dryly.
"Well, okay, but I get the last say in what duds I'll be wearing," Techna stated.
...
A week later, Bloom walked out of the bus that had brought her to Hobsontown, a middle-sized town near the location of Faragonda's summerhouse. It was well known for having the best shopping district in the area. She took a quick walk around town, before hurrying to the plaza to meet up with Stella and Techna.
They were quite easy to find since most people were giving them a wide berth and Bloom quickly found out why.
Techna was accompanied by a floating metal platform, which had a box riveted to it, which apparently carried the scarred girl's luggage. It had the usual slapdash look of things bolted together by the enthusiastic inventor and constantly rumbled and groaned, occasionally wavering in the air or loudly belching clouds of steam. Stella tried to stay far enough away from it that she wouldn't be hit if it exploded but close enough that she didn't look like she was running away. Although she looked sorely tempted to flee.
"So... New gadget?" Bloom asked as she eyed the thing.
"Yep. My very own personalized luggage carrier," Techna said proudly. "I thought I might as well give it a spin now that I was going shopping". The machine groaned ominously and belched out a cloud of black smoke.
"Is it supposed to do that?" Stella asked and pointed at the thing as it rattled with a sound like a rock stuck in a tumble dryer.
"Not at all," Techna replied. "So anyway, what are we going to do first?"
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm rather hungry," Stella said. "And I happen to know that the nearby Francisco the Fast Bear serve some delicious meat pies". After a moment, she added: "Okay, so it's a bit kid themed and stuff, but the food is to die for. Top quality in fact. So good most nobles aren't even ashamed to admit they get their food from there. I just recommend getting take-away unless you want to listen to their overly cheerful mascots for two hours".
"Why do they call him the fast bear anyway?" Techna questioned with a headshake. "The animatronics of him never move anywhere fast. Or move around at all. They usually just stay on stage, greeting customers and playing cheesy kids songs".
"Well, originally they were supposed to move around the restaurants, but I gather that they used some rather cheap artificers for the programming and then, like, things got cray-cray," Stella said with a shrug as they started moving.
It didn't take them long to find the place and the three went inside, after making sure that Techna had tethered her contraption securely, immediately to be greeted by the mascot, a brown bear with a moustache and a sombrero. It surprised Bloom how lively and friendly the animatronic doll looked and sounded. On Earth, those things were usually rather scary looking, having apparently been found in the darkest reaches of the uncanny valley.
The three girls went to the counter and Stella told the guy: "One large meat pie to go please".
"Sure thing. We got one ready in just a few minutes," the guy behind the counter, a freckled teenager with curly orange hair, said.
As the three fairies waited, the bear on stage went into a song about smiling, much to the amusement of the many kids in the resturant. It was a fairly sugary song and Bloom was relieved when the guy came with the packed pie, placing it on the counter with a: "Four nummi please".
Stella reached out for the package with a delighted look, when somebody else grabbed it, dropping four coins as they walked away from the counter with the packaged pie.
Stella blinked, before turning from the desk and calling: "Hey, what the... That's, like, our pie you just took".
The person who had taken the pie turned around, as if only now noticing the blonde's presence. She was a girl with long, flowing black hair and a purple, frilly dress. She wore quite noticeable red lipstick and eyeshadow, the latter of which reminded Bloom of what Stella usually wore when either going to or coming home from Solaria. Apparently, it helped reduce the effect of the blinding light of the planet. "I don't see how this is your pie," she said uncaringly. "I've just paid for it. You can wait for the next".
"Don't worry, the kitchen will have another finished in ten minutes tops," the boy by the counter reassured them.
As the animatronic mascot began singing an enthusiastic song about the importance of optimism, Bloom found herself dreading the prospect.
"Well I ordered it. Sorta," Stella countered with rising agitation. "And I've already waited for it".
"Then you can wait some more. I'm busy," the girl said and turned, walking over to two other girls with red hair and similarly frilled dresses.
"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Stella yelled and lounged for the pie.
"LET GO!" the girl yelled as the two of them began fighting for the pie, quickly earning the attention of everyone else in the restaurant.
"Girls, cool it, please," Bloom tried as the two struggled with the package.
"Why? This is hilarious," Techna said with a grin. "Go Blondie. Kick her in the shins".
The two girls who had accompanied the black-haired pie thief looked nervous, as if unsure if they should interfere or not.
With a final grunt, Stella ripped the pie from her opponent's hands, though with such force that the pie flew from the box and collided with the ceiling fan. It was subsequently sprayed all over the restaurant.
The black-haired girl stared at her dress, which had been stained by splatters of meat. "You clumsy idiot. You've dirtied my dress".
"Well, like, you tots tried to steal my pie," Stella said as she removed some sauce from her hair. "Who in the name of Solaris do you think you are anyway?"
"I am Chimera from Beta Academy," the girl said as she began to magically remove the stains.
Suddenly, the two girls who had accompanied her enthusiastically chanted: "Tick tock, tick tock, Betas rock".
There was a noticeable pause as everyone stared at them, the only sound being that of Francisco telling a knock-knock joke.
"We, ehm, we have a cheerleader routine we're working on," one of the girls said sheepishly. "Just, you know, seemed appropriate".
Chimera rolled her eyes.
"Beta Academy? I've heard of that place. Some sort of super fancy private school that teaches both fairy and witch magic," Techna said.
"Oh, that. Yeah, my parents considered sending me there instead of Alfea," Stella noted. "But they thought the environment would be too insular".
"Like, whatever," the black-haired student said disdainfully as she finished cleaning herself. "I don't need your life story, fairy".
"Well, like, I don't need some snobby diva being all rude and stuff," Stella retorted.
The two girls growled and glared daggers at each other, looking just about ready to go for each other's throats.
"Oh yeah? Well, I don't need some second rate magi from some ramshackle academy from the middle of nowhere telling me what to do," Chimera replied.
"And I don't need some elitist makeup-smeared twerp taking my pie," Stella shot back.
"Watch how you speak to your betters," Chimera said and flicked Stella's nose with her fingers.
The Solarian blonde looked ready to jump the other girl when Bloom and Techna grabbed her and dragged her out, while Bloom said: "Come on Stella, let's not make a scene".
"Chimera, please calm down," one of the cheerleaders said as the two of them gently pulled the angry girl away. "You know it's not healthy to get this agitated".
"Deep breaths, Blondie. I'm pretty sure lasering somebody's face off is illegal, even if they were being a complete cunt," Techna said as she and Bloom managed to drag the furious blonde out of the restaurant.
...
"So that was... Thoroughly unpleasant," Bloom said ten minutes later, noting that Stella didn't look like she was planning murder anymore. They had managed to find a small stand at the plaza, which had sold them some grilled sandwiches with meat.
"Who did she, like, think she was," Stella grumbled. "Just taking our pie like that. We were tots first in line and it didn't look like she was starving or anything".
"Look, I know that Francisco's entertainment isn't nearly as good as their food, but still, couldn't we just have waited for the next pie?" the redhead asked as the three of them walked around town.
"It's not just that," Stella continued annoyed. "It was her whole attitude. Had she apologised or said she thought we were waiting for something else I'd gladly let her take the pie and wait. But she behaved as though, like, the whole world owed her that pie".
"Gotta say, I hope the people at your princess ball is less punch-worthy," Techna commented, her sputtering contraption following her faithfully and noisily. "Otherwise, I might accidentally throw somebody face first through the nearest window".
"Solaris forbid I ever end up like that," Stella groaned while massaging her temples. "I mean, I know I occasionally get a bit... Well..."
"Airheaded?" Bloom suggested.
"Yes. That," Stella replied. "Anyway, forget her. Let's go shopping".
"Cool. So, where are we going?" Techna asked.
"Let's see, what's nearby," the Solarian blonde pondered as she stopped and scouted around. "Ah, Jasper's. That'll do".
As they crossed the street, Bloom admitted: "You know, I thought you had a specific place in mind, rather than just picking whatever we stumbled over first".
"Many of the clothing shops here in Hobsontown are connected," Stella replied. "They have this sort of simulator network, where you can try out illusionary clothing to see what suits you. Then it tells you what store has it. So we might as well go in here and check it out".
"Has it?" Techna questioned after tying her luggage carrier outside. "Don't you mean has them?"
"No, it," Stella confirmed. "These are designer clothes. Unique and one of a kind. No mass production involved. It also helps you avoid showing up with the same dress as somebody else".
Bloom and Techna exchanged glances.
"Why would I be concerned about that?" the scarred girl asked.
"I hear it's bad for... Some non-definable reason," the redhead replied.
"Because if you show up in a dress that's the same as what somebody is already wearing then you are being unoriginal and uncreative. Duh," Stella replied as they moved through the rows of one-of-a-kind dresses to the simulator room.
Inside was a great platform with a glass floor. Stella stepped onto it after putting down her luggage. Seconds later it lit up, small pictures showing various clothes flying around her. "See. Tots easy," she said as she began picking clothes. Every time she picked a piece of cloth, it seemed to appear on her body, replacing what she already wore. There was even a search engine, allowing for guests to search by cloth, colour, style and so forth. "Now, which of you wants to go first?" Stella asked as she stepped down.
"Oh. Oh. Me. Me. Mememe," Techna said eagerly while jumping from foot to foot, before leaping on top of the platform. It didn't take long before she found out she could combine parts from different sets and soon Techna was busy finding outrageous combinations, much to Stella's chagrin. It took about half an hour before they managed to find a combination that Techna liked and Stella wouldn't have her arrested for appearing in.
Next, Bloom went on and quite quickly found something in a soothing blue colour that she felt fitted. Once she found her dress, she could have the address it was stored at printed, along with the price.
Then Stella went back on again, going through a frightening number of dresses, ranging from what looked like a wedding dress that had been inside an exploding paint shop to a long, red silk-dress with a neckline that plunged all the way to the navel and only had three buttons barely preventing indecent exposure.
Finally, Stella made up her mind and departed from the room with a little piece of paper in her hand.
"So, what did you choose?" Bloom asked. "They all kinda blended together in the end".
"I'm going to get the Velva Summer Design Five," Stella and somebody else said at the same time. The blonde froze, before slowly turning to the side, starring at a similarly surprised Chimera, who was still accompanied by the Beta Academy cheerleaders.
"You," the black-haired girl hissed.
"Yes, me," Stella replied. "But fortunately I get to leave so I don't have to look at you anymore".
As she turned towards the door, Chimera said: "So, you're going to try to steal my dress, huh?"
"Okay, first of all, you have no right to complain about stealing," Stella said angrily as she twirled around. "Secondly, it's not your dress because you haven't paid for it yet".
"Well, I'm going to. And it's for something way more important than whatever tea-party you Alfea dofuses have cooked up," Chimera replied.
"I sincerely doubt whatever snobby get-together you're going to is more important than the event I'm going to," Stella retorted cattily.
"Look, maybe if you two stopped being vague, you could actually figure out who is going to the more important shindig," Techna suggested.
"Stay out of this," the two irate girls demanded simultaneously, shooting the scarred girl a glare.
"Wow, hostile," Techna said as she took a step back, hands raised in a defensive posture. "Bite my head off, why don't you?"
"Chimera, please take a deep breath," one of the cheerleaders pleaded. "You know it's not good for you to get so upset".
"I am perfectly calm," Chimera said through gritted teeth. She suddenly relaxed visibly as she pointed and said: "In fact, I think I'd rather have that dress".
"What dress?" Stella asked as she turned to look.
The moment she did, Chimera grabbed a big leather jacket and hurled it at the blonde, before bolting for the exit. Stella stumbled into a shelf before ripping the jacket off and giving chase with a: "OH NO YOU DON'T!"
"Not good. Not good," one of the cheerleaders said as the four remaining girls began pursuing the feuding magi.
"I agree. What are we going to do?" Bloom asked as they followed them out into the streets.
"Start taking bets about who'll win," Techna suggested.
...
Stormy shivered as her and her two friends trudged down another frosty tunnel, almost identical to the hundreds of others they had passed through over the course of the last week. Their stay at Omega could so far only be described as abysmal, if not downright hellish. They had yet to run across anything edible and Stormy's stomach was starting to feel like a void. She was pretty sure that if any of them died, they would immediately be lunch for the two others. The three of them had already lost plenty of weight, their clothes slowly beginning to hang loosely from their starved frames. Icy had to strain herself to the limit to keep all of them protected from the cold and many nights they had to cuddle up with each other in order to minimize the amount of energy Icy would have to spend. The lack of sunlight was utterly depressing and they often found themselves hunted by the frost wyrms that plagued the land. The day before, only Darcy's quick reactions had saved Icy from losing a leg to one of the serpentine creatures. Stormy was at least grateful for the fact that water was easy to come by, even if it was all frozen. Even so, it all felt quite hopeless for the wild-haired witch. Even if they could hijack a pod off planet, they would probably just be dumped right back down again. And if they didn't, they'd most likely starve to death unless they could find a way to kill one of those blasted ice wyrms.
As if summoned by her thoughts, one of the white-scaled creatures roared from the other end of the tunnel and began to slither after them.
"Oh fuck, not again," Stormy gasped as the three witches broke into a run. "Why won't they leave us alone?"
"I imagine they're just as hungry as we are," Darcy, who was running in the front, hoarsely suggested. She was usually the one leading them due to her ability to see through the dark. The dirty-blonde suddenly stopped, but the two others had far too much speed and smashed into her back, causing all three witches to stumble screaming down a steep, snow-covered cliff. Their descent came to an abrupt end as they smashed into a pile of snow. Even with Icy's protection, it was an uncomfortably cold experience.
"Is everybody okay?" Stormy asked as she got up, brushing powdered snow from her hair.
Icy winced as she moved her arm, before saying: "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Think I hit a rock".
"I am fine too," Darcy confirmed as she looked up. "Although it looks like our pursuer is trying to find a way down".
"Then we gotta move," Icy stated and the three hurried down another tunnel. They entered a cave, the faint light of the stars slipping in through a hole in the ceiling, revealing a single solitary stasis pod.
"Huh. What do we have here?" Icy said as she investigated it. "Could we use this to get off the planet?"
"Let's see," Darcy said as she messed with a computer on the side. "Says the guy's name is Valtor and he still has... Wow, that's a lot of nines. Guy must have done something really bad". She started rubbing her chin. "Valtor. Where have I heard that name before?"
The three witches heard a roar from the tunnel behind them.
"Crap, it's closing in on us," Stormy said nervously as she hid behind the pod. "What do we do?"
"I got an idea," Icy said as she put her hands on the pod. "Let's use this Valtor as bait. We'll get out while the wyrm eats".
"Wha... You can't just do that," Stormy protested.
"Sure I can. Rather this fellow than us," Icy said as her ice began breaking open the pod.
"Wait a moment," Darcy said as a history lesson popped up in her mind. "Icy, I don't think..."
The door was forced open by the ice and the white-haired witch grabbed the person inside and harshly pulled him out before pushing him towards the tunnel, where the wyrm was slowly sliding out.
In the faint light of the stars, the witches caught a glimpse of the man. He was very tall and very pale, with caramel blond hair flowing from his head in well-maintained locks. He was wearing a long, maroon, open jacket, which revealed that he was wearing a violet vest over a white ruffled shirt, with matching violet dress pants and grey boots. He blinked a couple of times as the stasis wore off, before he gazed unimpressed at the draconic serpent that was right in front of him. It raised its head, roared and got ready to attack. Just as it lounged, the creature suddenly froze. Valtor held up a hand, all five of his gloved finger touching each other. Then he slowly spread them apart.
The wyrms managed a whimper before its head slowly began coming apart, scales, muscles and bones splitting like a blooming flower, torrents of red blood staining the snow beneath. And then Valtor lowered his hand and the thoroughly dead wyrm collapsed.
Stormy stared a moment, before turning around and puking, though little beyond stomach acid left her deprived stomach.
"Now then," Valtor said smoothly as he turned to face the three witches. "If you are done trying to feed me to the wyrms, perhaps we should introduce ourselves". His voice was dignified but friendly, which just made the witches feel even more threatened.
"It was her idea," Darcy immediately said, pointing at Icy.
"Wow, thanks," the white-haired witch grumbled. "Sounds like somebody doesn't need to have their ass protected from the cold at night any longer".
"Fret not. I understand that you must have been desperate. So do not worry, I bear you no ill will," Valtor continued with a friendly smile. "So, I presume this is Omega, yes?"
"Yep. Worst ball of ice in existence," Stormy said weakly as she finished dry heaving.
"Alright, thanks," the well-dressed magi said as he went up to his stasis pod to investigate the screen. "And I've been here for seventeen years. Not as long as I feared". He stared up through the hole in the cave, observing the stars, before saying: "Then I'll have to go that way". Then he started walking off, humming the melody to an unfamiliar song.
"Where... Where are you going?" Icy asked.
"To the portal to Andros. I have absolutely no intentions of staying in this dreadful place," Valtor replied as he began walking down a tunnel. "I have business to attend to".
The three witches looked at each other.
"Wait, there's a portal out of here?" Darcy questioned as they hurried after the man.
"Indeed. I assume you wish to use it too," Valtor replied as he kept walking.
"That would be nice," Stormy admitted.
"Very well then. Follow me," the man said as they continued. "I will still need your names though".
...
People jumped to the sides as Chimera and Stella stormed through Hobsontown, each trying to be the first to buy a specific dress.
Not far behind them, Bloom, Techna and the two Beta Academy cheerleaders struggled to keep pace with the furious girls, Techna's huffing construct speeding after them with a visible trail of pitch black smoke.
"This is ridiculous," Bloom gasped, while watching the two girls charge across the street, forcing several cars to brake. "It's just a frickin' dress".
"Nah, the dress isn't that important," Techna said. "They're feuding, so right now the important part is winning".
"Chimera does have a habit of letting these things go to her head," one of the girls from Beta Academy said. "We really should stop this before she escalates even more".
Up front, Stella was almost running alongside the black-haired girl. Chimera noticed her and concentrated her magic. A small cloud suddenly manifested in front of Stella and started dropping hail on the street, causing the blonde to skate around as she desperately tried to maintain balance. She landed on her ass as Chimera increased the distance between them with a contemptuous: "Ha ha".
"I'll show you," Stella growled as she got up, before lobbing a ball of light. It passed Chimera and exploded, blinding the girl and causing her to smack into a streetlight. Stella passed her while blowing a raspberry. Chimera growled and charged after the blonde as the two dashed into the city park. Sprinting, Chimera managed to get up besides Stella, before pushing her to the side, causing the blonde to collide with a tree and fall behind. Stella countered by summoning her sceptre and smashing it against Chimera's legs, causing the black-haired girl to trip and fall head first into the grass. Stella tried to use the moment to pass, but Chimera grabbed her ankle and caused her to fall as well, before darting ahead while making sure to stomp on Stella's hand as she passed.
The four other girls followed as the battle kept escalating.
"So they're probably going to start murdering each other really soon," Techna suggested as the four of them entered the park.
"Please don't joke about that," one of the cheerleaders requested.
The two girls ran through another street, stopping all traffic in the process, before charging into a clothing store, rushing to the desk and simultaneously demanding: "Velva Summer Design Five, NOW!" Then they took a moment to glare murderously at each other.
The clerk, an old elf who was now hiding behind his chair, weakly explained that: "I'm sorry, but I sold that three minutes ago".
The two girls stared at him, as if it took extra time for their brains to process the fact that somebody besides them could not only have been interested in the dress, but also have managed to beat them to it by several minutes. There was a short pause, the silence only broken by the four other panting and sweaty girls storming into the shop as Techna's luggage drone gave one final puff of smoke and collapsed on the pavement outside.
Then the two girls accusingly pointed at each other with a: "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
Before they could start fighting again, they were grabbed by their respective companions.
"Alright, you've had your fun, Blondie," Techna said as she and Bloom pulled Stella out of the store.
"Chimera, please calm down. You know it's not good for you to get so angry," one of the cheerleaders pleaded as they restrained the black-haired girl.
"Let me go. I'll take that snot-nosed brat to town, right now," Stella angrily said as she tried to get free.
"Release me. I'll stomp that blonde bimbo into paste," Chimera threatened as she fought her restraints.
"How about we don't turn this nice little store into a crater?" Bloom begged as they finally managed to get Stella out of the shop. "Come on, let's go get you a dress. Think happy thoughts, please".
...
The three witches kept following Valtor through the bleak, cold wasteland of Omega. There wasn't much talk, besides Valtor's occasional humming, which echoed between the frozen canyons and crevasses that surrounded them. Occasionally Valtor would stop to study the stars, apparently familiar enough with Omega's night sky to be able to navigate by them.
"So, you sounded like you knew him?" Stormy finally asked Darcy as they crossed an ice bridge.
"Yeah. I heard that name before," Darcy replied. "If he is who I think he is, then he was pretty close with the Ancestral Witches back when they were running around and causing chaos".
"He seems powerful enough to have been part of it all," Icy noted.
"Ah, we're finally here," Valtor said as they entered another frozen cave. Set in the floor were several circles of stone, each one slightly lower than the rest, culminating in the middle stone which was just about two meters below the first ring. The entire structure was surrounded by small huts and houses of very cheap construction.
"What is this place? Besides a portal," Stormy asked as she looked around.
"Supply shacks," Valtor explained. "In case somebody needs to be retrieved or if guards accidentally crash here. Not that the odds of getting to this location are great, what with there only being one of these portals, but apparently that is a price modern society is willing to pay to make sure people like us don't get out".
"Wait. There's food here?" Icy asked eagerly.
"Canned goods most likely. But given what you have been through, I imagine that will make little difference," Valtor stated as he walked across the stone circles. "Knock yourselves out. I sincerely doubt anyone is going to miss it".
As Icy and Stormy hurried into the nearest shed, smashing the door off its hinges, Darcy walked up to Valtor, who was studying the centre of the circles. "So how do you open it?" she asked.
"Normally, there is a code. I doubt it's the same as when I last heard it," Valtor replied. "If you have the code, a portal will open to a similar circle on Andros. The enchantments here are heavily guarded. It would take a magical genius to untangle the metamagical properties and force the way open".
"And can you do that?" the dirty-blonde asked.
Valtor replied with a confident smirk as he sat down in a meditative pose. "Go help your friends, Darcy," he said as he closed his eyes. "I am sure your body will appreciate the food and rest".
...
"That little... Self-absorbed... Arrogant..." Stella grumbled as she marched back and forth through the sand, swinging the bag with her new dress back and forth with every word. After finding a new dress for Stella and buying what the two other fairies had wanted, they had retreated to the nearby beach to enjoy the warm weather.
"Relax, Blondie. You're wearing out the sand," Techna, who was busy repairing the damages her contraption had sustained from straining itself, said. "She's not here anymore".
"She really did manage to tick you off," Bloom, who was sitting on a public sunbed, noted.
"She was just so... So..." Stella fumed.
"Typically noble," Techna suggested.
"Not funny," the Solarian blonde growled.
"Just please calm down, Stella," Bloom said. "She's gone, you got a new dress, she's going back to Beta and you don't have to hang with her or anything".
"You're right of course," Stella sighed. She took a deep breath as she forced herself to calm down. "She's gone and the odds of ever running into her are low, even if I come back to Hobsontown".
"If she is a noble, couldn't she show up for one of your fancy-pants get-togethers?" Techna asked.
"Well, true, I might have to, like, endure her if she shows up to something important," Stella admitted. "But it's not like I have to sit with her or anything. Or talk with her. Or acknowledge her existence at all".
"And I'm sure she's just as eager to stay away from you," the Dominian princess agreed. "So no reason to stress out over it".
"Right. I think I'll just sit down for a while," the blonde agreed as she sat down on one of the public sunbeds.
"By the way, I was kinda curious," Bloom continued, turning her attention to Techna. "You said that both witches and faeries attend Beta Academy?"
"Well, no, not really," Techna replied. "But they teach both fairy and witch magic. That is, their students learn to use both".
"They're, like, called sorcerers," Stella commented. "They have both the strengths and weaknesses of fairies and witches".
"From what I know, it takes a lot of emotional self-control, since you learn how to turn all your feelings up to eleven for max power," the scarred girl explained. "Though it seems this Chimera chick is less adept at the whole control part".
"You don't say. She looked ready to blast Stella," Bloom said, where after she added: "Then again, Stella looked ready to return fire the moment she tried any funny business".
"Well, I'm kinda glad it didn't end that way," Stella admitted. "I mean, could you imagine the damage if we just started flinging spells all over the place? The police would be on us like... Like..."
"Flies on shit," Techna suggested.
"Thanks for the tots flattering comparison," Stella grumbled. "Maybe I really should take up lasering people, as you put it. Just about all I can do with my knack. That and be a flashlight".
"Come on, Stella, don't be like that," Bloom said sympathetically. "You've done lots of great things with your magic".
"Thanks Bloom, but my knack is just not that useful," Stella said gratefully. "I do occasionally feel a bit left behind, but I've learnt to accept it. Not everyone gets to be a winner when it comes to getting a knack". She yawned and said: "Anyways, with our shopping done we are tots ready for my princess ball. As long as nothing else goes wrong".
...
The planet Andros' surface consisted mostly of water and most of its native lifeforms were aquatic. Not that there weren't any land whatsoever. In fact, there were plenty of islands and the like governed by various kingdoms, fiefdoms, republics and whatever else form of government people could think of. But the dominant species of Andros were the merpeople, sapient beings descendant from fish. Their lands stretched across the bottoms of Andros' oceans and through underwater portals into the seas of other dimensions. They were well suited for the life beneath the waves, with thick and strong muscles, eyes adapted to low light, protective scales and sharp claws and teeth. While the merpeople were as divided and had just as many different countries as any other species, one thing they shared was the agreed on duty of guarding the portal to Omega, a set of stone circles rising out of the ocean, each one higher than the previous. Clad in protective gear, merfolk on duty guarded the rings day and night, mostly from people who attempted to break into Omega to free somebody.
But that particular day, something else happened.
The topmost platform began to sputter and spark, as the very air wavered like it would during intense heat. The merfolk on guard exchanged glances and readied their weapons. In the entirety of their careers, there had never been an unannounced exit from Omega, but it was hypothetically possible if a ship stranded there and the crew got to the portal before their crash was noticed. An unlikely, but possible explanation.
But when the portal opened and the cold air of Omega blasted through, it was Valtor that marched into Andros, followed by the three Usurpers, who were still busy devouring the food from some cans they had found in the sheds.
The merpeople raised their weapons, mostly tridents, harpoons and the like, but a few wielded revolvers, which had been enchanted to resist the detrimental effects of the ocean.
"Such hostility is really unwarranted," Valtor admonished as he stepped down the circles. "Really now, is it a crime for a life-time prisoner to get out and stretch his legs?" As he reached the lowest circle, two merfolk surged out of the water, grabbing his arms and pressing their spears against his throat.
"Don't. Move," one of them warned him.
"Apparently, it is a crime," Valtor mused. "What a world we live in".
The three witches froze, unsure if they should help their new acquaintance or not.
Suddenly, the two merfolk hissed and jerked away from the magi as if they had burnt themselves. On their hands were suddenly emblazoned a black and stylish V. They suddenly went stiff, before turning their weapons towards their former comrades, hissing hostilely.
"My personal mark does tend to make people a lot more agreeable," Valtor continued in a conversational tone. "Now then, do the rest of you value your independence or do you also plan on trying to get in my way?"
"FIRE!" the merfolk commander yelled.
Valtor shrugged and a shimmering barrier manifested around him, blocking the barrage of projectiles. He lifted both of his hands and two merfolk were ripped out of the sea, before being pulled over to him, where after he placed his hands on their foreheads, placing the mark which subsequently robbed them of their free will. As two others were also pulled out of the sea and others struggled with their brainwashed comrades, the commander ordered: "FALL BACK! EVERYONE, FALL BACK!"
As they swam away, Valtor stepped to the edge of the outermost stone circle, his jacket billowing in the wind, as he called to them: "Then swim away! And tell your kings and queens, your presidents and priests, that Valtor is back!" He smiled and softly continued with: "And this time I will not be denied".