Chapter 3: Under Attack
Outside of Cloud Tower, the man in black, Kharel, and Neyra were ready to launch an assault at Cloud Tower. Since they weren't in the Omega Dimension, the man in black's followers didn't wear winter clothes: Neyra wore a yellow and brown knee short sleeved long dress , adorned with many jewels and talismans, and brown sandals, while Kharel wore red plate armor that covered his whole body, minus his head.
"Okay, Gaul told me about your abilities, and this is what we're going to do," the man in black began. "Neyra, we'll need a distraction. Something that will keep the few witches here busy while I seek Griffin."
"Alright," said Neyra.
"Once we're in, I also want you to get hold of Cloud Tower. That would make things easier."
"What about me, Master?" asked Kharel.
"You'll neutralize the witches one by one," said the man in black. "But do not harm them...too much."
"Understood."
"Now, let the party start..."
…
Lucy, Ember and Electra were in their way to the cafeteria.
"I forgot to tell you the best thing," said Lucy. "Griffin promoted me to teacher of the Combat and Self-Defense class this year."
"Wow, congratulations, Lucy!" greeted Ember.
"You totally deserve it. You're the best witch I've ever met, not counting Griffin," praised Electra.
"Yeah, it's going to be great and..." was about to say Ember, when she realized that Lucy was smiling wickedly. "Wait a minute, it's not! You're going to put me through hell for that practical joke, aren't you?"
"You should already know that a witch always seeks revenge," said Lucy. "See? The school year hasn't started yet and you already learn a very valuable lesson: don't mess with somebody that can make you pay. Badly."
"What a good teacher you are, Lucy!" joked Electra.
"You're mean..." said Ember, a bit saddened. "...and you rock so much for it!" she said, in a completely opposite mood.
"Don't waste your time flattering me, it won't work," said Lucy. "But for trying, I think that I'm not going to be too hard with your retribution."
"Hey, I was being sincere and..."
But Ember's words were interrupted by a huge explosion that shattered the glass in the windows, knocking them down. Suddenly, a swarm of red-winged demons entered in the building, attacking everything they saw.
"What the hell is this?" asked Electra.
"Don't know! But it's not a drill, that's for sure!" said Lucy.
"So what are we going to do?" asked Ember.
"What do you think, genius?" said Lucy standing up. "Viper Fang!"
Lucy channeled a blue and green beam at one of the demons. The demon began to melt in agony like it has been bathed in acid. However, Lucy's attack attracted the attention of other demons. They flew at the witches, casting blazing beams.
"Come on, girls, I can't hold them all! What are you waiting for?" said Lucy, angered at her friends' passivity.
"S-sorry, Lucy! Thundering Pulse!" said Electra, casting a lightning bolt at a bunch of demons.
"Molten Bolt!" said Ember shooting a ball of magma at them.
The trio of witches kept fighting the demons, but they were interminable. Lucy ordered them to move so they could reunite with other witches and join forces, but they found nobody. There were too few witches to protect the school.
"Damn, we can't hold them forever!" said Electra.
"Why isn't Griffin using the school to protect us?" asked Ember.
"I'd like to know that too," thought Lucy. She then did the only thing she could: picked up her cell phone and dialed a number.
"What are you doing?"
"Calling for reinforcements."
...
"I think that we should have offered ourselves for that mission first," said Stella, expressing her boredom.
Stella, along with Bloom, Tecna and Mirta, were in one of the common rooms having a talk.
"Come on, Stella, they'll do it fine," said Bloom.
"It's not that," said Stella. "They're going to have all the fun while we're stuck here."
"Remember what Faragonda said," interjected Mirta. "We have to stay here if something happens."
"Like what?"
"They could attack Alfea. Or Cloud Tower. Or Red Fountain. Or Magix. Or..." said Tecna.
"Okay, I get it!" interrupted Stella. "But are you telling me that, if we weren't here, nobody would be able to protect those places?"
"Who knows?" said Bloom. "But it's our duty."
"Bloom's right," said Tecna. "What we should do is rest and save our energy for the right moment."
"Although, now that you say it, how do you think the world would be if none of us existed?"
Their conversation was disrupted by Mirta's cell phone.
"Hey, it's Lucy," said Mirta. "Wonder what she wants..."
…
Griffin already felt that the school was under attack, but she also felt that there was somebody trying to control Cloud Tower. She couldn't let it happen. She had to fight with all her might not to lose it. Once she regained the full control of the school, the rest would be easy. However, she still couldn't help but think of the witches that were already here. Hopefully, they could defend themselves.
It was that moment when the headmistress felt a dark presence...that she hadn't felt in twenty years.
…
The Main Hall was full of the bodies of unconscious witches. One of them was conscious, and trying to escape. Kharel, the red knight, wielding his impressive sword, walked towards her, slowly. The witch tried to defend herself by shooting a blast of energy at the red knight, but he used his sword to deflect it.
"No, please, don't hurt me..." said the defenseless witch, almost crying.
"It isn't that cute? She's begging for my mercy," laughed Kharel.
"You're a witch, and witches don't cry! Don't be so pathetic! Show some pride!" said Neyra, who was offended by the witch's attitude.
Kharel raised his sword, which began to glow blue. The sword then shot a beam of energy at the witch, knocking her unconscious.
"Mmmmm...tasty," said Kharel in delight.
"Good job, you two," said the man in black. "How are your demons doing?"
"Fine," replied Neyra. "They've already occupied the three lower floors."
"Excellent," said the man in black. "Neyra, is the time to take over the tower. Kharel, you'll have to protect her meanwhile."
Both underlings nodded in response.
"I have to settle scores with an old friend of mine..."
…
"Hey, Lucy, what's up?" asked Mirta in a happy tone. "Slow down! What's going on?"
The other three girls tried to figure out what they were talking about.
"What! But that's impos-" said Mirta before being interrupted by Lucy. "Okay, yes, find Griffin, we will tell Faragonda before going there!" Mirta then hung up.
"I deduce that something bad happened in Cloud Tower," said Tecna.
"Yes! Lucy said that the school has been attacked by demons!" said Mirta. "We have to go and help them!"
"Two attacks in three months," said Bloom. "They must be the same guys who sent the Void Lord to take over it."
"It's the most logical conclusion," said Tecna. "Well, now we have a chance to capture them and find some answers."
"Come on, we need to be there as fast as possible!" urged Mirta.
"Unfortunately, we'll take at least half an hour flying."
"Hey, did you already forget that I have a wonderful ring that can take us whenever I want?" said Stella, showing her ring. "We'll be there in a blink!"
"Okay, we'll first have to tell Faragonda about what's going on before leaving," said Bloom, and the other girls nodded in response. "Guess that it was a good thing that Faragonda made us to stay here after all."
...
Lucy, Ember and Electra made their way through the swarm of demons to Griffin's office. Lucy suggested that staying with the headmistress was the best thing to do, and her two friends agreed. They didn't meet any fellow witches, which only made them worried. Lucy kept repeating that the place was half empty, to kept them calmed. However, they were soon going to face an enemy much more dreadful than said demons.
"Come on, Griffin's office is near!" said Lucy, trying to cheer her friends up.
"What about the reinforcements you talked about?" asked Ember.
"They're on their way," replied Lucy.
Suddenly, Lucy began to felt weird...like time itself stopped, or like the fabric of reality was being deformed. And then, he saw him.
A man wearing a black hooded cloak over black armor and a silver mask appeared from a nearby hallway. The three girls froze in shock at the impressive figure of the stranger, who had stopped to look at them. They felt an immense power coming from the masked man. Of course, all of them concluded that that man was behind the ensuing chaos.
"Who are you?" was able to say Lucy.
"I came here to save you," said the man.
Upon hearing the man's deep and distorted voice, the three witches felt their hearts shrink.
Lucy then realized that she couldn't be afraid. With no other teachers in sight, she was responsible for those girls, who were her friends as well. She had to be brave.
"Listen, weirdo," said Lucy, trying to hide her fear. "I don't know who you are or what you want, but nobody enters here, attack the witches of this school and causes such massive damage and goes without a punishment, so there!"
Lucy's rant took the desired effect, although only partially. The man in black wasn't so impressed, but at least Ember and Electra weren't scared anymore, or that's what it seemed.
"Well said, Lucy!" said Ember.
"I like your attitude, you're a good witch," said the man. "However, you're very unwise. Now, get out of the way, or I'll be forced to kill you."
"Ohhhh, look at me, I'm shivering!" mocked Lucy. However, her face quickly turned serious, and cast a very powerful blast of energy at the man in black.
The man, however, just waved his hand, and a shadowy barrier appeared before him, protecting him from Lucy's attack.
"My turn," said the man calmly. He clenched his fist, and cast a black beam of energy at Lucy. The surprised witch took the attack at full force.
Far from being intimidated, Ember and Electra reacted accordingly and cast bolts of magma and lightning respectively at their foe. The man in black used the same shield as before, nullifying the witches' attacks. He then slammed the floor with his right foot, causing the whole building to shake, knocking back the three witches.
"Come on girls," said Lucy while she and the others stood up. "All together now! Viper Fang!"
"Vulcan Cannon!" shouted Ember.
"Eye of the Storm!" yelled Electra.
The man did not raise any shield this time, but raised both hands, glowing black.
"Nightmare Current!" said the man, casting a wide bolt of dark energy.
The four attacks clashed, creating a huge explosion. The shockwave knocked the girls back once again. However, the man in black came out of the smoke, totally unharmed.
"He's too strong! We can't beat him!" said a desperate Ember.
"I see that you're now aware of your mistake," said the man. "Too bad that it's too late for you..."
Only a miracle would save them now. However, a miracle happened when a wall grew from the floor, separating Lucy and her friends from the dreadful man in black. She then heard Griffin's voice in her head.
"I just recovered the control of the tower. Meet me at the Heart," said Griffin.
At last, Lucy felt some relief.
…
Bloom, Stella, Tecna and Mirta appeared in the middle of the first floor of Cloud Tower. Stella's memory of Cloud Tower wasn't too accurate, so she told the others that they could appear anywhere. Mirta, however, recognized the place.
"Hope we're not too late," said Mirta.
"Girls, we're not alone!" said Stella, pointing to the bunch of demons that fluttered around the place. They also noticed the newcomers.
"Come on, Enchantix!" shouted Bloom, and she and the rest of the girls transformed into their advanced fairy forms.
They felt that the demons weren't much of a challenge, since apart from flying really fast and shoot fireballs, they didn't do too much. However, their strength lay in their massive numbers.
"I'd like to check if Lucy is okay," said Mirta.
"Then go!" said Bloom.
"Are you sure?" asked Mirta. "I don't want to leave you in the lurch..."
"Don't worry! We will be fine!" said Tecna while dodging a fireball.
Still feeling a bit remorseful, Mirta left the group to find Lucy, and possibly any other witch.
Minutes later, Bloom, Stella and Tecna already destroyed all the demons of the first floor.
"Boy, that was easy," said Stella.
"Too easy," said Bloom, suspicious.
"I agree," said Tecna. "This was probably the tip of the iceberg. We should move to the next floor."
"Hey, what's that?" asked Bloom, pointing at something lying near a door.
They came close, and they found that it was the body of a witch. Tecna took her pulse, and sighed.
"She's alive," said Tecna. "But very exhausted."
"Maybe she used all of her energy fighting," deduced Stella.
"I don't think so," replied Tecna. "You said yourself that those demons were too weak to be a serious menace, and Cloud Tower witches aren't weaklings either. Besides, it's like..."
"Like what?" asked Stella.
"Like something drained her energy." said Tecna. Bloom and Stella opened her eyes wide.
Bloom then spotted more witches lying unconscious across the floor, like a trail. Tecna checked them all, and her conclusion was the same. They followed the trail of bodies, until they founf the culprits: a man in a red armor, looking at a woman who, apparently, was channeling a spell. The man didn't take too long to notice them.
"Neyra, cut it off, we have company," said Kharel.
Neyra stopped the spell, and looked at the newcomers.
"Fairies? What are they doing here?" asked Neyra.
"Who cares!" said Kharel while drawing his sword. The sword glowed again, and cast a beam at the girls. However, the girls dodged it gracefully, and Bloom lost no time to counterattack.
"Dragon Fury!" yelled Bloom, while a dragon made of fire came out of her hands and blasted the red knight, knocking him unconscious.
"Kharel!" shouted Neyra, and then looked at the Winx with hateful eyes. "You're going to pay for this!"
The sorceress then cast a red fireball that had an eerie dark glow at Stella, but the fairy of the sun dodged it.
"Ha! You missed!" mocked Stella.
"I don't think so," replied Neyra, smiling evilly at her.
Tecna then saw how the passing fireball turned around and dive-bombed at Stella again.
"Stella, watch out!" shouted Tecna.
"Uh?" asked Stella.
But Stella didn't react in time, and got hit by the fiery spell.
"You two are next," said Neyra, summoning three small fireballs between her hands. "Dance of the Raging Flames!"
The sorceress released the three fireballs at Bloom and Tecna. They dodged them, but as expected, the three fireballs turned around and followed them like they were alive. Instead of dodging them again, Bloom decided to fight fire with fire and cast a fireball at one of Neyra's projectiles, blasting it.
"Ha! Do you think that you can avoid my attack that easily, fairy?" laughed Neyra.
Bloom them watched in shock how the living fireball reformed from smoke, and chased her again.
"Bloom, come here!" said Tecna. When Bloom was near her, she cast one of her signature spells. "Firewall!"
A laser cage surrounded the two fairies, but the three living fireballs attacked it relentlessly. Meanwhile, Stella recovered from the attack.
"Okay, I'm starting to get sick of this!" said an angry Stella, and took her ring, tossed it up, and in mid-air, it transformed it into a scepter. "Don't worry, girls! Stella to the rescue!"
Stella's scepter began to glow with a golden light, and the living fireballs suddenly turned golden as well. They stopped burning the Firewall, rushed at Neyra and blasted the confused sorceress' chest, knocking her away.
"So, she can turn dark spells against its users..." deduced the aching sorceress.
"Good job, Stella!" praised Tecna.
"Yeah, you totally...!" was about to say Bloom, until she was stunned by an energy beam coming from her back. She then returned to her civilian outfit, and fell to the ground unconscious. Stella caught her in time.
Tecna then saw that the knight was again on his feet, holding his magic sword, aiming at Bloom.
"Bloom! Bloom!" yelled Stella. But Bloom didn't answer. She feared the worst, but fortunately, Bloom was breathing.
"What did you did to her?" asked Tecna.
"Why don't you come here and find out for yourself?" asked the knight. "So, this is the Dragon Fire? I've never experienced this before! What a rush!" said the knight, euphoric.
"What...what did you say?" asked Stella, terrified.
"He stole Bloom's powers!" said Tecna in horror.
"Yes, and soon I'll have yours as well," said the knight, sporting sadistic glee. "Now perish!"
The knight waved his hand and cast a wave of fire at Stella and Tecna. The fairy of technology summoned a shield to protect herself, Stella, and Bloom. It resisted the attack, but left Tecna exhausted.
"We can't fight him," said Tecna. "We have to escape!"
"I'll get Bloom!" said Stella. Stella wasn't physically strong, but Bloom was a very thin girl, so Stella could hold her in her arms easily. Tecna, Stella and an unconscious Bloom flew away.
"Yes! Run away, little fairies! Run!" said the knight, before letting out a maniac laugh.
…
Mirta was on her way to find Lucy when she saw a bunch of witches fighting an army of those red demons. She was about to join them; however, dire mouths appeared on the walls. Many tongues came out from the mouths, trapping the demons, and swallowing them. The demons yelled in terror before being engulfed by the building itself. The witches cheered in unison.
Mirta spoke with the witches, and they told her that Griffin had summoned them to the core of Cloud Tower. Mirta joined them.
During their short trip to Cloud Tower's heart, they were ambushed by many demons, but they didn't have to fight, since the school destroyed the demons for them. They knew that it was Griffin. Soon they arrived at the core, where Griffin and a dozen witches were gathered. Lucy was one of them.
"Lucy!" said Mirta, and rushed to hug her.
"Mirta! I'm so happy to see you!" said Lucy. "Did you come alone?"
"No, Bloom, Stella and Tecna are in the lower floors, clearing the place of demons. Although I see that you already have this under control."
"Unfortunately, we don't," said Lucy.
"What do you mean?" asked a puzzled Mirta.
"Get ready, everybody! He's coming!" said Griffin. All the witches adopted a fighting stance.
"Who's coming?" asked Mirta.
Mirta's answer came in the form of an explosion that tore down one of the walls of the core chamber. From the hole, a terrifying man in black appeared. Mirta was shocked.
"What is this? A fairy?" asked the man, outraged. "Is this what Cloud Tower has bocame? Another school for fairies? You're a bigger traitor than I thought, Griffin..."
"You know that guy?" asked a random witch.
"Unfortunately, yes," replied Griffin. "I met him in my time with the Coven. But...how can you be here? You should be in the Omega dimension!"
"Let's skip the tiny details, shall we?" asked the masked man.
"Why did you come here? What do you want?" asked Griffin
"To claim what does not belong to you. Cloud Tower belongs to the Ancient Witch Coven," said the man.
"The Coven does not exist anymore!" replied Griffin.
"I beg to differ," said the man in black. "Now, you'll die alongside your corrupted witches, and from your ashes, a new Cloud Tower will be born. Your sacrifice will mark the dawn of a new age...an age that should have begun decades ago! "
"You're insane!"
"Probably. To spend twenty years encased in a block of ice can do that to the mind. Now, instruct your students to refrain from fighting, since it will be useless." The man then summoned a small ball of black fire between his hands.
Griffin was shocked; she knew what he was about to do.
"Now, burn, Cloud Tower, and be reborn!" yelled the man, expanding the black fire. "Flames of the Black Sun, release!"
Black flames began to spread everywhere, surrounding the terrified witches. The flames also began to devour the light of the room, plunging everything into darkness.
"This is the end!" said a witch.
"I don't think so!" said Mirta, who flew above the flames, and took the vial from her neck. "Now, fairy dust, put out this fire!" said Mirta, pouring out her fairy dust. However, the flames did not shrink. "It doesn't work!"
"Of course it doesn't work, you stupid fairy!" shouted the man in black, while he walked forward. The flames moved along with him. "Now all of you will-AAAARGHHHH!"
The man in black suddenly fell on his knees, and grabbed his chest. Waves of pain scourged his body. The flames began to shrink.
Lucy took a step forward, and cast a green ball of energy that blasted the masked man in the chest, knocking him backwards. The flames disappeared completely.
"You attacked me the second I became vulnerable..." said the man, trying to stand up. "Maybe you aren't a bad witch after all."
"It seems that you have reached your limit," deduced Griffin, walking toward the now-defenseless man in black. "I hope that you liked the Omega Dimension, because you're going back!"
However, a cloud of smoke appeared between Griffin and the man in black. The smoke quickly vanished, revealing a man covered by a purple cloud. The man raised a gloved hand, and cast a shockwave at Griffin, pushing her back.
"I told you this would happen," said the cloaked man.
"Shut up," said the man in black, resentful. "And get us out of here."
Another cloud of smoke enveloped the two men. When the cloud vanished, nobody was there.
…
Hours later, Griffin, along with Mirta, Lucy, Stella and Tecna, were talking in her office. Bloom, finally conscious, was lying on a couch. Stella sat beside her. All the intruders had been successfully repelled, but many of the witches were gravely injured.
"Bloom...what have they done to you..." said Stella, while stroking her red hair. She remembered when the Trix stripped Bloom of her powers. Stella wondered if she could get them back again.
"Don't worry...I'm okay..." whispered Bloom weakly.
"There's no doubt," said Griffin. "Those guys were behind the attack from three months ago. It's obvious that they want Cloud Tower."
"Fortunately, this time they didn't succeed," said Lucy. "Cloud Tower has been invaded too many times, in my opinion."
"I don't think that Cloud Tower was their only goal," said Tecna who was typing something in her PDA.
"What do you mean?" asked Mirta.
"I think that the recent attacks of some royal libraries were perpetrated by our adversaries as well. In fact, we fought a warrior and a witch that agreed with the description of the attackers and—hey, I found it!" said Tecna.
"Found what?" asked Stella.
"The sword that guy used to steal Bloom's powers. It's an ancient artifact named the Sword of Bane." said Tecna. The pink haired girl began to read the description. "It was created in a place called the Forge of Nightmares, and its main ability is to drain energy from the target."
The Forge of Nightmares. That name sounded familiar to everybody in that room.
"However, the effect only lasts a few hours, and the stolen powers will go back to its owner over time. So, Bloom will recover her powers soon."
Stella let out a sigh of relief. Bloom also sported a shy smile.
Tecna then remembered the unconscious witches they found. That guy probably stripped off their powers the same way he did with Bloom. Without their powers, they were unable to defend themselves.
"By the way, who was that man, Ms. Griffin?" asked Lucy. Lucy and Mirta had already told the Winx girls about the man in black.
"As I told you before, he was a member of the Ancient Witch Coven. One of Valtor's apprentices," the old witch said. Bloom snapped when she heard the name of her former nemesis.
"If that guy was trained by Valtor, then he must be somebody to be afraid of," deduced Tecna.
"Well, maybe 'apprentice' wasn't the most appropriate word," said Griffin.
"What do you mean?"
"As you probably know, Valtor was obsessed with becoming the most powerful sorcerer known, and, to achieve his goal, he stole spells and source of energy here and there,"
"Yeah, we know," said Bloom sourly.
"Many of the spells he stole, however, were too dangerous or unpredictable, and Valtor wasn't stupid enough to test them on himself. That's why he gathered a small group of acolytes that would test the spells for him. Many of them died after finding themselves unable to control the forces they unleashed."
"And why anybody would risk his life in doing Valtor's dirty job?" asked Stella.
"Because Valtor was a master manipulator," Griffin replied. "He promised them great power, which was true to some extent. That's why Valtor's 'apprentices' saw him as a benevolent master, and swore blind loyalty to him and the Coven, but Valtor only saw them as disposable guinea pigs."
"And that man in black was one of them?" asked Mirta.
"Yes, one of the few who did survive."
"I remember," Bloom began "that when we fought the Trix, they sometimes had new powers. Do you think that Valtor was using them as guinea pigs as well?"
"Probably," replied Griffin.
"Geez, I can't believe that so many people where so reckless as to let Valtor to experiment on them," said Stella out of disgust.
Griffin felt a bit of remorse. She almost became one of his guinea pigs, seduced by promises of power.
"Once again, thanks for your help, fairies. I hope someday we find a way to repay you," said Griffin.
"Oh, it's nothing," said Stella.
"Can we stay here until Bloom gets better?" asked Tecna.
"Of course you can," said Griffin. "But you should take her to a more comfortable place. Maybe one of the empty rooms?"
"Okay, thanks for the suggestion," said Stella, helping Bloom to get up before leaving the room. Tecna, Mirta and Lucy left the office with Stella as well.
Cloud Tower was safe. However, they had been unable to defeat their foes, and couldn't help but feel that their victory was the fruit of coincidence. The next time, they probably wouldn't be so lucky.
Tecna thought of Timmy and the rest of their friends on their way to the Opal Nebula, wondering what kind of enemies they had to face.
...
Author's note: So, we finally got some action! But don't worry, it doesn't end here. Remember that Mirage is waiting for Timmy' group in the Opal Nebula. By the way, thanks again to my beta Stills, who told me that the order of some scenes make it a bit confusing to read. I rearranged it and now I think that it looks better. Oh, and thanks to RT and Darev, who told me that I was writting Prometheus wrong. It's now fixed.
The Man in Black was part of the Ancient Witch Coven, as some of you probably guessed, but there's moreabout him. Much more. Oh, and Gaul ;) I'm glad that you like him.
And Kharel...it came to me when I was thinking in an enemy the Winx couldn't defeat but the specialists could. It was a bit unfair for them being always pushovers due to their lack of magic powers.
Anyway, I hope that you liked this chapter, and thanks a lot to all the people who reviewed this story. And remember, the action will keep going for a couple of chapters ;)
