Author's Note: I haven't touched this story since the prolog, but then I got tied up trying to figure out how to arrange the setting. I'm updating now, at least you just have to go back and read a few pages of prolog.
The setting for the first battle is the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, AB. I've only been there once myself and that was nearly 3 years ago. I'm taking some artistic licensing with how well you can see the skating rink from the food court. Everything else though has been researched and looked up on the WEM online store guide.
Dedication:Everyone who read and reviewed my first version of this story, thank you. It meant a lot to me and I appreciate you taking the time to read it. I'm sorry that part will never be finished, but I hope this story is also to your liking.g.
Disclaimer:Winx Club and all its characters are property of RAI and Viacom. Shatter Me belongs to Lzzy Hale and Lindsay Sterling, the West Edmonton Mall stores I mention belong to their respective owners. I own only my OCs and a random imagination.
Chapter One:
Chapter One: Beginner's Luck
Flora had managed to make a life for herself and Felicity after winding up in a town called Spruce Grove outside of Edmonton Alberta. Thanks to the small amount of magic on Earth, the nature fairy was able to get back to school while finding childcare for her daughter. Now Flora was a biology teacher and Felicity was on her way to entering grade ten at the local secondary school. Flora had told her daughter nothing about her past on Linphea or as one of the Winx, she felt it was safer for Felicity that way. She told her daughter that Helia had left as soon as she found out she was pregnant. Aside from missing her friends and family, life turned out alright for Flora. She'd managed to change her destiny and hide her past. However the past has a funny way of sneaking up on people who try to bury it.
Summer in Alberta, fifteen years later
The sun shone brightly in the sky and birds chirped loudly in the trees as Felicity cracked one slate grey eye open and looked at the clock on her bedside table.
"Five a.m.? Screw you Canada," The brunette moaned as she reached for the sleep mask that she wore during the summer months. Even though she had been raised in northern Alberta, Felicity just couldn't get used to the fact that it got light out so early. Turning away from the window, she quickly went back to sleep.
Four hours later, Felicity was woken up again by her mom knocking on the door frame.
"Come on sleepy head." Flora called from the doorway, the older brunette was already dressed in a pair of white capris and a pale green top. She held a cup of tea in her hands "The sun's been up for ages."
"That's because we live in Canada." Felicity replied matter of fact as she pushed the blankets aside and ran a hand through her long auburn hair. "Mr. Sun has probably been up since four this morning."
"This is true, but you also said you were meeting up with a friend of yours this morning and you have some chores to finish before you leave. It's already nine thirty"
"Yeah, Vienna wanted to head to the West Edmonton Mall because we haven't gone there since the end of school."
"Okay, that sounds safe enough." Flora allowed,
Felicity gave her mom an odd look. 'How could going to the mall- even the one as big as the one in West Edmonton be dangerous' she thought to herself. Her mom must have had some wild past.
"Don't look at me like that Lissie," Flora said feeling guilty "I'm just worried for you."
"I know, but why can't you just relax a little?" Felicity sighed, heading down the stairs of their townhouse to grab something to eat. Vienna was going to be there in a few minutes and she hated waiting around.
"I'm going to be sixteen in a few months and you won't even let me go far from home unless I'm with a few friends. Vee's mom has been letting her do whatever she wants by herself for years, I can't even head to school on my own."
"There are just some things that I want to protect you from." Flora replied. "People change you know and I don't want to see you hurt."
Felicity raised an eyebrow, assuming her mom meant her father .Flora had always been close lipped on the subject of that man, she just said he had turned out to be someone she couldn't trust and he'd walked away in the end. Sometimes it just didn't add up. All Felicity knew was that the guy didn't live anywhere near Edmonton, Flora had expressed that fact a few times, and it still didn't stop her from being paranoid and over protective.
"Mom, you said that the guy who was my father ran off without a trace before I was a year old." Felicity sighted. "Besides, you aren't even from around here. Your past would need one hell of a GPS to find me."
'Oh, you have no idea how easily trouble can find the Winx' Flora thought to herself remembering all the trouble she'd been in just in her first year at Alfea. If the Black Circle could find Roxy after years of fairies being thought gone from Earth, there was no telling what could find them in Alberta.
"So, can I leave without the usual interrogation since you've decided it was safe?" Felicity asked hopefully.
"What interrogation?" Flora asked confused. "I thought all of your friends' parents asked where their kids were going."
"Yeah, but you're the only one who put a locator app on my phone." Felicity replied dryly, hoping Flora would take the hint.
Flora had the grace to look embarrassed. "Just finish the towels and take out the trash and I'll give you your allowance."
Felicity sighed and dragged herself to the bathroom to get dressed. 'Allowance' 'Chores.' Unlike her friends who were allowed to get part time jobs and their 'L' licenses at fourteen, Felicity was stuck at home because her mom couldn't let her grow up. She had to rely on her friends with vehicles to save her from boredom and a feeling of isolation. Luckily Vienna who was picking her up today to go to Edmonton and her other friend Cadence understood this aspect of being her friend.
An hour later Felicity heard honking in the driveway, Vienna was laying on the horn of her deep blue pickup truck.
"Bye mom, I'll be back around four." Felicity called, grabbing her purse from the coat rack and slipping on a pair of purple Converse.
"Okay Lissie," Flora replied from the kitchen. "I have to go out and do some grocery shopping later, so I may not be home when you get back. You'll be fine though."
Felicity sighed, of course she'd be fine home alone. She was sixteen for crying out loud. As she hopped into the cab, Vienna gave her a knowing look. Felicity just shrugged and buckled her seatbelt,
"The warden let you out again, hey?" Vienna asked, flicking a strand of pale pink hair off her shoulder. She pulled out of the driveway and headed towards Yellowhead Highway, for some reason the brunette liked taking the long way from Spruce Grove to Edmonton.
"I got out without too much of a hassle today," Felicity replied, grabbing her friend's iPod and selecting 'Shatter me' from the playlist, "I think she's finally getting the hint that I'm growing up. In a few years I'll be heading to university anyway."
"This is true, but from what you've told me she had a hard time with your father. That does explain your avoidance of the opposite sex."
"She's always said my father left, she doesn't know where he is, so why would she be so paranoid?" Felicity wondered.
"Who knows? Your mom probably has her reasons though." Vienna suggested, defending Flora's actions. "Maybe he lives somewhere around Edmonton too and she's just being overly cautious for a reason."
Felicity sighed, Vienna could be flakey and she was boy crazy as hell. But she was also annoyingly logical when Felicity didn't want her to be- which was usually when they were discussing her mom.
"Hey, did you know Cadence started working at the ice palace?" Vienna asked after they'd driven in silence for a few minutes.
"No, I didn't, I guess we'll have to see if she's there today. Are we looking for anything in particular?" To say that the West Edmonton mall was large was an understatement, Felicity liked having a plan of action when approaching one of Canada's largest tourist traps.
"Just looking for some new runners before school starts. My brother owes me a new pair because Tornado ate the ones I bought before school ended."
"You'd only had them for a month!" Tornado was Vienna's brother's puppy and what Vienna's brother knew about obedience training could fit on the head of a pin. A more appropriately named dog had never existed thanks to his owner
"Yes, but Chris gave me money to pay for them since it's his fault." Vienna explained "I just have to give him the change. I may just stop in Chapters and buy him 'Dog ownership for dummies'." She threw the truck in to park. "But that may be too advanced for him."
Immediately upon entering the massive mall, Vienna dragged Felicity towards Sport Chek on the second level of the building. After a lengthy discussion of why Vienna's brother shouldn't have to shell out two hundred for a pair of sneakers just because his dog kept eating them, they left to go check out T & T Market in the Chinatown section of the mall.
As soon as they entered the Asian grocery store, Vienna hurried off to check out the snacks, the stranger the better. Felicity decided to wander around and found herself drawn to the costume jewelry- something she usually only checked out when she was bored. Scanning through the necklaces, she spotted a silver necklace with a bottle green stone set in a small pendant. As Felicity removed it from the rack, the stone began to glow. Nothing major, Felicity figured it was some cheap glow in the dark piece from Halloween. However she liked the style, it looked antique, almost like it was from the Victorian era- which would have made it out of place in the store. Vienna would probably shake her pink and blonde head at her choice of accessories, but Felicity didn't care. The necklace felt warm in her palm as she made her decision.
An hour later Vienna and Felicity were sitting in the phase one food court sharing a butter chicken poutine and discussing Felicity's out of the ordinary impulse buy at T & T. Felicity was probably the most frugal out of their group of friends. For her to spend money on anything but new runners for tennis or volleyball was news worthy. Felicity knew Cadence was probably going to get an earful if they ran into her at the mall.
"What would you want with a necklace like that?" Vienna asked taking a sip of her soda. "You hardly wear jewelry outside of your earrings and now you spend twenty five dollars on a shamefully beautiful emerald in a really terrible setting,"
"I can't explain it either, but it just called to me." Felicity replied, stabbing a fry with her fork. "It was like something just drew me to it." She picked up the necklace, which was now around her neck and studied the green stone. Despite Vienna's claim Felicity didn't think the setting was that ugly, nor was it an emerald. If it was, it would have cost more than twenty-five dollars.
"It's probably just sea glass." Felicity reasoned. "But I thought it was interesting."
Vienna rolled her deep blue eyes towards the ceiling. "It sure is," she went to stab a fry covered in melted cheese curds, then paused. With her fork poised just above the container they were sharing, Vienna looked over her friend's shoulder towards a group of people heading towards the Ice Palace. A few others seemed to be hurrying towards the exits, occasionally there was a shout of surprise, but it didn't sound like anything too bad. The random flashes of red light though and the smell of smoke, that did make everything seem a bit more ominous.
"What do you think is going on over there?" she asked, gesturing in the direction of the ice rink with her fork.
Felicity turned in her chair to stare down the mall where her friend was pointing. "I don't know, but it sure beats listening to you critique my shopping choices."
"It beats dealing with the burnt fries too. Seriously why do they leave them in the basket?"
Both girls grabbed their bags and headed off in the direction of the commotion. As they got closer, Felicity grabbed Vienna's hand to keep from being separated by the increasing groups of people heading in the direction of Galaxy Land. Shoppers on the upper levels had taken time from what they were doing to lean over the railings and get a good view of the action. They watched the activity with rapt attention. In the centre of the crowd was a girl around Felicity's age with flaming red hair. In her hands she wielded a glowing blue sword which she handled with ease. Her eyes were narrowed at her opponent, a young man with shoulder length black hair. He towered over the red head, but held no weapon of his own to defend himself.
Felicity and Vienna managed to nudge themselves closer to the activity so they could get a better look at the two fighters. The girls were two rows back when the young man turned and Felicity's heart leaped to her throat. With the exception of the colour of the boy's hair they could have been twins. She shook her head that was impossible, she was just imagining things because of her talks with Vienna, but Vienna saw it too.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that guy was your brother." Vienna whispered, her blue eyes wide with shock.
"Lucky for us, you do know better." Felicity snapped back. "It's just an odd coincidence."
"Are you trying to convince yourself or me?"
Felicity didn't reply.
Vienna shrugged her broad shoulders and decided to change the subject. "So, do you think they're shooting a movie?"
Felicity nodded, but she had her doubts. There weren't any cameras or people cordoning off the area so spectators wouldn't ruin the shots. Something didn't feel right about what they were witnessing. All of the sudden, a blast of red energy seemed to shoot from the boy's hands. The girl deflected the attack with her sword.
"Give me that sword!" He demanded angrily, "Or the next one won't miss."
"Oh, I thought you were aiming." the girl taunted, getting into a defensive stance, "Come and get it then."
"With pleasure, creatures appear." As those words were uttered five small orange imp like creatures appeared from a cloud of grey smoke. They lunged at the girl, knocking her to the floor, much to the dismay of the onlookers.
"Those were some special effects." Vienna whispered in awe.
"I don't think those are special effects." Felicity whispered back uncertainly. "That felt a little too real for me."
Vienna shrugged, but Felicity wasn't the only one in the crowd feeling unsure about what was unfolding in front of them. Other spectators were starting to back away as the battle continued- possibly headed towards the exits or at least to find security guards.
The red head in the centre of the circle had managed to kick the two beasties off her legs causing them to disappear the same way they'd arrived. The other three struggled to hold the girl down and seemingly drain her strength.
The young man however didn't seem to be interested in showing mercy or concern for his opponent's weakened state. He strode over to the girl's body and drew back his foot to aim a blow to her forearm.
"Give up already," He snapped as he kicked the girl just above her wrist. "Even this sword isn't worth dying over."
He then leaned over the red head, Felicity wasn't sure what the young man would do next, but she'd seen enough. Although the more logical part of her brain was screaming for her to grab Vienna and run at high speed towards the closest exit, Felicity chose to ignore it. Instead she chose to listen to the voice in her head that spoke to her the loudest during track meets and jumped in to action. Before Felicity even knew what was happening, she'd pushed herself through the thinning crowd.
"Leave her alone!" Felicity heard herself shout in a commanding tone, much to her shock and Vienna's as well. "Face me instead."
The young man turned slowly to face Felicity's steady silver glare, his own eyes were the colour of storm clouds. His face was equally turbulent as he stared Felicity straight in the eye, sword in hand.
"Foolish little girl," He crooned, turning his attention from the red head on the tiled floor. "You're way out of your element here, do you even know who I am?"
Felicity could feel her heart pounding against her chest, she had no doubt in her mind that this guy would cause her serious harm if he felt like it. Still, she was determined not to show any fear.
"No, I don't know who you are." Felicity replied with a sly smile. "Do you know who I am?"
"Of course not." The young man spat back, placing his hands on his hips. "Why should I?"
"No reason, I guess. Now drop the sword." Felicity tried to sound threatening while trying to work out what she could do next. This wasn't like soccer where her opponent was only after stealing the ball and scoring a point for their team. This guy had already shown that he meant business when it came to that girl's sword. There was no telling what he might do to anyone who tried to intervene, still Felicity had to give it a shot.
The grey eyed man gave Felicity a scornful look, "I don't think so." Before Felicity could react, he'd grabbed her by the wrists and lifted her up so the toes of her sandals hardly grazed the floor. "You should have minded your own business instead of trying to play hero."
From the corner of her eye, Felicity could see Vienna nervously taking in the scene unfolding in front of her and tried to warn her friend not to intervene. She saw two police officers standing nervously at the back of the crowd as well, they were probably trying to find an opening to stop whatever it was that was happening. She even noticed that the other girl, while laying motionless was still conscious and aware of what was going on. What Felicity didn't notice was the necklace she'd picked up at T & T glowing under her t-shirt. Suddenly she felt her hands growing warm as though something was trying to get out.
"Let me go!" Felicity shouted angrily as the stone it that had worked its way from under her shirt emitted a bright green light. The young man dropped Felicity to the ground and shielded his eyes. The sword clattered to the ground as well skidding a foot from the red haired girl's out stretched hand.
Taking advantage of her distracted opponent, the red haired girl threw off the remaining imps and grabbed her weapon. "It would seem as if the tables have turned." She stated, taking a fighting stance. Her bright blue eyes narrowed at the young man, "as I said before, come and get it."
The young man lunged at the two of them, but this time Felicity and the other girl were ready. As the red head prepared to deflect any blasts or beasties, Felicity shot off a counter attack of her own as golden spores shot from her hands and propelled the boy into the side walls of the ice rink behind him.
"Looks like you may need to find out who I am after all." Felicity said with a smirk, she was too stunned to say anything else. Since when could she shoot pollen from her finger tips, this made no sense.
"You'll be saying the same about me soon." The young man threatened as he regained his footing. "Creatures, return to me."
The imps obeyed the young man's command, but not before one of them tore a piece of the red head's pant leg off with its teeth. Then, before anyone could react the boy and his monsters had disappeared in another puff of grey smoke.
Felicity looked around at the shocked crowd and the mall security still poised for action. Vienna was nudging the other onlookers aside to try and get towards her and the red head.
"What on Earth was that all about?" Felicity wondered out loud, looking at the other girl who was now using her sword to support her.
"I haven't the foggiest idea myself." The red head admitted, "This is just my dad's old sword from when he attended Red Fountain."
And with that, the red head sunk to the floor, her sword clattered to the ground as Felicity stopped her decent. Felicity was tempted to pass out herself, but she knew Vienna would never let her live that down. Instead she just sat on the floor as Vienna came through the crowd with the two RCMP.
Holy… nearly 3 years of hemming and hawing about how I wanted this chapter to play out and I finally finished it. So, I guess, tell me what you think since I haven't really written for Winx Club in a while.