Maiden- Long time no see, huh? I would've updated sooner, but my trusty laptop of eight years finally decided to die… And of course, all my Fanfiction files went with it. So I've had to rewrite everything from scratch. Thank you to all those who stuck by me! It means the world!
Winx! Dragonix!
Chapter 3 – The Shadow Lives
Daphne's golden eyes took in the beauty that was Solaria. The palace gates were solid gold, yellow crystal flowers bloomed along the court yard, and not a cloud in the sky. The royal guards let Daphne pass, knowing full well of the Nymph's reputation.
"Princess Stella?" Daphne called upon entering the throne room. However, instead of Stella, she was met with the king and queen. Daphne had never met either of them, so it was a shock to see how much Stella favored her mother.
"Are you looking for our daughter, dear?" Luna asked.
"Um, yes ma'am. I wish for an audience with the princess. I am Daphne, of Sparx."
"D-Daphne!?" King Radius sputtered. "Forgive us for the rude welcome, your highness."
The revered king stood and bowed to the young woman.
"It is an honor to be visited by the most powerful fairy in existence."
Daphne stood awkwardly, not quite sure what to think of the renown King of Solaria bowing to her. She managed a wiry smile as Radius called for Stella. A few seconds later, in a shower of yellow and orange stars, Stella appeared.
"Daphne!" Stella chirped, hugging her best friend's sister. "How've you been!? And how are you liking life back on land?"
"Stella!' Radius thundered. "Show a little more respect to our esteemed guest!"
"It's fine, your majesty." Daphne nervously chuckled. "I consider Stella a close friend. And if no one minds, I wish to talk to Stella in private."
"Of course!" Luna clapped and several guards appeared. "You may use the sitting room by Stella's wing of the palace. These guards will assure you have complete privacy."
Stella led Daphne down the maze of hallways that was the Solaria palace. Coming to a stop outside marble double doors. Stella threw them open to reveal a quaint sitting room complete with a fire place and library.
"So, what's up?" the fairy of the shining sun asked once the doors were closed.
"I've called the other Winx here, too. I would rather this be a group discussion."
Just then, the sitting room door's opened and in walked Musa, Tecna, Flora and Aisha.
"What's the emergency?" Flora asked, taking her seat beside Daphne. The other girls followed suit.
"I'm afraid evil has awoken in Sparx." Daphne explained. "Something strange has been going on with Bloom lately. She's not herself. She angers easily, threatens anyone who crosses her, and challenges any decision made by our parents."
"Maybe she's just stressed." Stella threw casually. "I mean we did just defeat one of the most evil guys we've ever met, plus the Trix."
"I sense an evil power within her, Stella." the golden Nymph spoke sternly. "I've tried to find answers on my own but all I have discovered is that this is somehow linked to Darkar."
"Darkar?" Musa asked, cocking a thin eyebrow. "But how can that be? We defeated him four years ago. There's no way he can still be living."
"That's what I thought. But we can't afford to take any chances. We need to form a plan and confront Bloom. If something has truly taken over her, then it will take all of us just to contain her."
"I'm running an analysis now to check for Darkar's life force." Tecna announced, typing away on her tablet. "If he's alive, we should know in a matter of seconds."
"But there's no way you can check the entire magic dimension with just that little gadget." Aisha rolled her eyes.
"You're forgetting that I'm the fairy of technology." Tecna deadpanned. "I built this program myself and it's flawless. It uses my own magic as a medium to connect with every device in this dimension…And the results are in."
Tecna's light blue eyes darkened and her facial expression turned worried.
" I'm afraid Daphne may be right. I'm picking up faint traces of Darkar's magic. It's hard to pinpoint exactly where it's coming from, but the majority of it is concentrated around the palace of Sparx!"
"Bloom could be in trouble!" Flora cried.
"That's why I asked for all of you to assist me." Daphne explained. "It will take everything we've got just to contain her. And I'm hoping that a mixture of your Enchantix fairy dust and my Heart of Sirenix can purge Darkar's influence from Bloom."
"And what if we can't?" Aisha asked, aqua eyes shining with uncertainty.
"Then that would leave me with only one option..."
!
!
!
"Bloom, we need to talk about your attitude lately." Oritel looked sternly at his youngest daughter. He could deal with the typical teenage/young adult snarky-ness but he would be damned if he would put up with the constant threats, disrespect and abuse of power.
Not long after Daphne left to gather the Winx, Bloom had all but erupted. Nothing was good enough for her anymore. She flatly refused to attend anymore meetings with other diplomats or royalty, severely burned any hand maiden that tried to 'pamper' her, and demanded that Oritel and Marian refuse Daphne her birth right and make Bloom the crown princess of Sparx.
"You mean me finally standing up for myself?" Bloom laughed malevolently. "It's time I get what I deserve, daddy dearest. I was severely under privileged growing up, despite the fact I'm a princess, and not to mention the strongest fairy alive. No one ever asked me if I wanted to be the leader of a mediocre group of pitiful fairies! And because I'm the holder of the Dragon Flame, I'm always targeted! I'm sick of always watching out for other people who only want to exploit me! All that you and the rest of Sparx want is for me to be your puppet! To be a mindless servant to your needs and wants! I don't give a rat's ass about some filthy commoners needing 'more land' for raising disease ridden animals! Or negotiating a trade treaty with other realms! All I care about is complete power over everything! I deserve it! And how dare you try and stop me!"
Bloom finally snapped. Her regular outfit dissolved into a dark version of her Charmix. Blue eyes shifted permanently to venomous yellow, her perfectly styled red hair became wild and unruly, and her body seemed to be shrouded in black flames.
"That's a good girl." came a new voice. From the shadows came a skeleton figure bathed in blood red armor. "Give in to your hatred and it shall grant you all the power you want."
"Darkar." Oritel snarled, drawing his sword. "Release my daughter!"
"Release her?" the shadow prince chuckled. "I've done nothing to control her. What you see before you is a manifestation of her inner hatred. Something that has festered ever since learning she wasn't an ordinary human."
"How are you still alive?" Marian demanded, summoning her own magic.
"With every awakening of the Dragon Flame, I too shall be reborn. Just like a phoenix, I rise from the ashes of defeat with due time."
"Then maybe someone needs to sweep up those ashes!"
A magical portal opened in the middle of the room and from it emerged the Winx and Daphne.
"Ah, the esteemed Nymph of Sparx." Darkar drawled. "I really should thank you. With your return to the living, I too was resurrected."
"I was the cause of this?" Daphne's golden eyes widened with fear.
"Now it makes sense!" Tecna piped. "The first time we met Darkar was right after Bloom fully realized her power. And since Daphne is still tied to the Dragon Flame, when she was freed of the Sirenix curse and returned to life, so did Darkar! It's a vicious cycle… whenever a user of the Dragon Flame unleashes their power for the first time, the Shadow Phoenix; the complete opposite of the Dragon Flame, reemerges!"
"The technological fairy hits it right on the nose." Darkar laughed. "You're a lot smarter than the last time we met."
"Enough of this nonsense!" Oritel barked. "Return to where you came from or face our wrath!"
"Do you honestly think I'm afraid of you? I have your dear daughter on my side. Besides, you couldn't hurt me if you tried. That fancy sword of yours is useless against me. My armor protects me from any and all weapons; magic or otherwise."
"Dad, you and mom stand back." Daphne ordered. "The Winx and I will take care of this."
"MAGIC WINX! TRANSFORM!"
In a bright multicolored shower of light, the girls transformed. Stella, Tecna and Flora emerged in their Enchantix while Daphne, Aisha and Musa donned Sirenix.
"ENCHANTIX FAIRY DUST!"
Stella, Tecna and Flora pulled the small vial of fairy dust from their necklaces and poured a considerable amount on the redheaded fairy. Bloom voiced her pain through screams and groans, but a short burst of shadow magic forced the three Winx away.
"Our turn." Aisha smirked. "Tide of Sirenix!"
A mixture of water and morphix bound Bloom in place. Musa followed suit with her Voice of Sirenix. Effectively dazing Bloom.
"Daphne! Now!" Aisha shouted.
"Heart of Sirenix!" the golden nymph made a heart shape with her hands and from this came a burst of tiny gold hearts. "Let your mind and heart now be purged from any and all evil and darkness."
Bloom smirked in reply, breaking free of Aisha's hold and blasting her sister and friends with a shadow flame.
"Do you really think those cheap tricks can stop me?" she asked, towering over them.
"I didn't want to resort to this, Bloom...But you leave me with no other option." Daphne growled. She stood and transformed again. Her Sirenix dissolved into a floor length golden dress with a long sash. Her hair was pulled back by a wing shaped mask.
"By the power of Sparx, and the nine Nymphs of Magix, I hereby strip you of your power."
Bloom screamed in agony as the source of her power was pulled from her being. A large swirling flame of red, orange and yellow now occupied Daphne's outstretched hands. Bloom fell to the floor unconscious. Her transformation dispelling.
"I'm sorry, sister. But you are a fairy no longer." Daphne said with remorse. She then turned to the Winx. "If we want to defeat Darkar again, we will need all the help we can get."
The flame in Daphne's hands suddenly split into six smaller flames.
"From this day forth, the Dragon Flame has new guardians."
Each of the Winx absorbed one of the flames, including Daphne.
"Wow… Talk about a power boost." Musa smiled, reveling in her newfound energy.
"Yea, major upgrade." Tecna could feel her magic increase exponentially.
"There is an old legend of Sparx." Daphne began. "That tells of a fairy with the power of the Dragon Flame gaining a transformation that is deeply linked with dragons. I'm not sure of the entire story but I know who is. On planet Pyros there is a mage that knows all the secrets of dragons. I'm sure she will help us."