Chapter 4: Hot Spring of Ohm
Silence fills Headmistress Faragonda's office as the six women take their seats in front of the elder's desk. Ms. Griselda stands sternly behind the girls, her usual sour look showing on her face as she waits from one last person to arrive.
With a soft click, the door opens and the blond haired Palladium struts into the room, a frown upon his face as he speaks, "It's just as you thought headmistress. The magical energy within the girl's is in a state of uncontrolled flux. Any small use of magic could send them out of control."
"This is Roland's fault," Stella blurts her face red with anger, "If he had just let us handle Kileon this wouldn't have happened to us. I bet Roland did this to us on purpose."
"Stella, that's not fair at all. Roll had no idea that something like that would happen when his spell fused together with Blood Arm's." Bloom counters softly, trying to defend her cousin.
"She's right Stella. Roll might be incapable of using his magic, but the probability of him doing that to us on purpose is rather low." Tecna chimes in as her fingers fly over her minicomputer.
"I have to agree with Stella on this one. He didn't have to and force himself to use his magic." Musa's voice was soft, but full of hesitation and doubt. A touch of fear glistens in her eyes.
Suddenly the building shakes, which is followed by a dull thud from outside and Ms. Faragonda turns to look at her students, "Girls, are you sure the man you met at the party called himself Kileon Blood Arm?"
"Yes headmistress," Flora chimes softly, looking rather distressed by her answer, but she continues to speak, "But he said he was a liberator of my world and wanted to restart the Essence wars. This man can't be faking."
Sitting down in her chair, Ms. Faragonda gazes at each of the girls, looking rather serious, "There is no doubt this man is indeed the real Blood Arm from the display of his power and given time he will start up his campaign to slowly take control of the magic dimension once he is back to full strength."
"So what are we going to do about him in the meantime? We can't just let him remain free." Aisha remarks having crossed her arms looking angry.
"I was just about to get to that. The six of you will be heading to Ohm to visit the Spring of Eternity. This spring is said to bring balance back to those whose power have gone out of control like all of yours."
"Faragonda, you can't be serious about sending them on a vacation at a time like this!" Griselda remarks with a hint of anger in her voice.
Now wasn't the time to send away these six.
"This isn't a vacation; it's a reset to their magical energy. This is unavoidable and we all know it. There won't be any danger for you on this trip, but the specialist will be escorting you regardless. Good luck to you."
The six girls look to each other, but silently leave the room as was the norm.
Once the door is shut, Griselda looks to the Headmistress with some concern, "Do you think it is wise to leave Roland out there while he is turning the school grounds into a cratered mess? Someone is going to get hurt."
Faragonda turns in her chair and walks to the window, sliding back the curtain, watching the red haired boy below for a moment as he practiced, "Griselda," Faragonda begins, closing the cloth and turning back to her and Palladium, "The students are safe since Roll is keeping them back. Palladium, if it's not too much trouble, could you spar with Roll?"
The blonde haired professor nods, rising from his seat, "I shall find the proper equipment." With that the man leaves the office, while the two women are left to talk.
Outside in the courtyard, the sounds of labored breathing and the swishing of the blade permeate the open space. Sweat rushes in slowly dripping rivers down Roll's face as forces himself to practice. The boy had been on this practice drill for the better part of four hours with no rest breaks or even one to drink or eat anything. Gripping the sword tightly in his right hand, Roland swings with a horizontal swipe, but overextends his swinging arm and he falls to one knee, panting heavily.
"Roll, take a break. You've already lost forty percent of your fluids. You need to eat and rest." Timmy utters, having just come over with a bottle of water.
"I'm not thirsty. I have practicing to do."
"Timmy's right dude, you're gonna die of dehydration at this rate." Brandon voices from some twenty feet off, walking towards them with Sky.
"I'll rest when this practice is over." The boy utters in a scratchy voice.
"I don't think that's a good idea Roll. You're movements are sluggish now and any attempt to keep going is only going to have you ending up in the nurses office. Sit down and rest."
Grumbling, Roland slowly wobbles to his feet, taking the water as he limps to the bench. Sky remains silent for a time, glaring at Roland for several seconds.
A white hot anger begins to boil in his chest and the blonde marches over, grabbing Roll by the scruff of his neck, "I can't believe you! All you can do after hurting people is practice. You don't have the decency to apologize to them!"
"And how am I going to apologize to them when some of them refuse to speak to me?!" The boy screams back, pushing Sky away from him, a fire of anger burning deep in his eyes as he speaks further, "Should I have run away like Bloom does all the time when she makes a mistake? Oh I made a mistake, I accidentally hurt Flora, and I should run away back to Earth! At least I'm actually trying to better myself so something like this won't happen again, unlike Bloom who can't face what she's done until something else happens!"
"Whoa, both of you are being rather harsh, break it up already!" Brandon reacts quickly walking over to separate Roll and Sky before they started to really go at it.
Sky glares at the red head, a look of hate growing in his eyes, "You're nothing more than a joke Roland. Bloom at the very least has the sense to back away from the situation so she can think about what happened. Timmy, get the Owl ready, we're leaving Ohm."
Turning around, Sky walks away towards the gate of Alfea. Timmy and Brandon exchange quick glances with each other before Timmy scrambles away to do the job he was told to do.
"Just ignore Sky for now man." Brandon utters in a soft tone, patting Roll on the shoulder, "He's on an emotional roller coaster after what happened. I know it's not your fault and I'm sure Bloom does too. Don't do anything crazy while we're gone to Ohm."
With a single stride, Brandon walks away from Roll, heading towards the main courtyard.
"Now that is what I call intense!" A small voice calls out from under the bench and a small looking creature dressed as a storm trooper marches into view.
"Bit short to be a storm trooper, aren't you Zing?"
A chuckle resonates beneath the helmet and the pixie rising into the air like a little spider, "Or I could be rather tall for one! I have a message from Palladium for you by the way. He wants you to come to Pixie Village."
Roll raises an eyebrow at the destination, "Why does he want me to meet him there? Why didn't he send Livy to deliver the message since it is her job?"
"Because I was already here doing something for Jolly. It's time to deploy ensign Roll, March, two three four!"
The little magical creature rams into the back of Roll's skull, forcing the young man to the ground. "Get on your feet ensign; we have a long walk ahead of us!"
"I'm going, I'm going." Roland grunts, slowly standing up and jogging for the forest, while Zing flies behind him, shouting random things.
Roll didn't even see the Owl taking for the skies as it flies above him, heading for Ohm.
The Owl zooms across the tranquil skies of Ohm heading for a small mountain valley that was just over the next ridge. As the vehicle traverses the soupy skies, the clouds slowly part; revealing a monastery in the valley below. Making a quick barrel roll to the side, the Owl quickly descends, landing with a small skid outside the gigantic temple complex.
"Just be glad that landing didn't do any major damage Riven," Timmy scolds just as the hatch opens up, "Any harder and we would have been stuck here for at least a day."
Riven rolls his eyes as he leaves the transport, "Yeah right Timmy. I hardly call a short skid across the ground damaging."
The remaining three specialists glare at Riven, helping Stella with her small pile of bags as they do so.
"I think these should remain here Stella. You aren't going to need this many things while you're here."
"You never know snookum! I may need the dress I packed in one bag for some reason or maybe the hat I have in the other." The blonde pouts, mildly offended that anyone would suggest she wouldn't need any of her things.
"The odds of you needing any of this are only three percent." Tenca voices as she looks at her techno device.
"Oh, who asked you Tecna? Let's just find this spring place already and get on with our spa time."
"I bet this spring will have some interesting rhythms I can use in my music. I should have brought some recording equipment with me." Musa grins at the possibilities of what could be found at their impending destination.
Flora in the meantime, stoops down to gently touch a flower near the stone steps and looks back at her friends, "Girls, would it be too much to ask if we could stay a bit after we used the spring so I can collect some plants? There are so many interesting species I've never seen before."
Aisha crosses her arms to think, but gives Flora a smile, "I really don't see that being a problem. That will defiantly give me time to talk to these monks and learn how they work out."
"I actually think those are wonderful ideas," Bloom remarks, beaming wide, "It may even help to center ourselves after we're done using the spring."
The girls murmur in agreement to this for several seconds, until someone behind them clears their throat, "Welcome to Ohm and the Eternity Temple vanquishers of Valtor. It's an honor to have you here. What can we do for you?"
The monk, who is wearing blue robes, bows to the girls in respect.
"Sir, we've come to use the Spring of Eternity. Our magical energy is out of balance due to an accident."
"I'm telling you Roll did that on purpose Bloom." Stella snaps, crossing her arms and tapping her foot as she begins to lose her temper.
Picking up on this possible hostility, the monk quickly turns around, "If you will, I shall take you to the spring right away. I'm sure you are eager to harmonize your energies. These fine young men can join you in the spring if they so desire."
The monk slowly strolls up the path; the group of eleven following at the same pace, whispering to themselves about what the spring would be like.
Having followed the monk into the heart of the main temple, the Winx follow the aged man down into a cave system at the back of the temple. As they continue forward, Tecna scans the smooth green rock faces, slowly touching a few as she passes.
"I don't like this, the lower we go the weaker I'll get," Stella complains as she remembers her last trip underground, "Is there any way to get a sun lamp down here?"
"There will be no need for that. The spring has an opening for the sun to rain down on you. I'm sure that will be to your like."
As the man finishes speaking, the sounds of soft bubbles churning to the surface echo ahead and the rocky road eventually widens out into a spacious cavern. The spring itself fills half the space, allowing just enough room for those to use the paths on either side to move around.
"This is where I leave you Winx. May things ever be in balance for you." Bowing once more to the girls; the monk disappears from the way they came.
"Alright girls, let's just get in with our clothes on and get our powers back in working order!" Stella yells, wading into the bubbling spring. "Oh it's warm and relaxing!"
"Stella, we could have gotten into our swimsuits for this, but I guess this is more fun." Musa scolds, but breaks out into a giggle and jumps in after Stella.
Grinning deviously, Stella starts splashing Musa, catching the others in the wake of the wave, "Um whoops."
"Stella, the only thing I have to say to this is I'm going to get you." Flora says softly, sliding into the water and attacking her back with it.
Not wanting to miss out on the fun, the other three stroll into the water, having a fun water fight. After several minutes of their Aquarian fun, the girls slosh out of the water, completely drenched, still laughing.
"Alright girls, magic Winx time!" Bloom shouts, as she and other five activate their abilities. The six women disappear in a flash of light and as it fades away, the girls stand before the specialist in their normal shiny Winx attire, all except for one of them.
Stella hadn't even changed and she begins to pout, visibly upset, "Oh come on! I need to use the ring of Solaria again! I thought my magic abilities had gone beyond me needing it. This is so not fair; I left it at the school."
Flora and Musa look to each other, fear etched upon their faces.
Aisha spins in the air, speaking after a moment, "We should go see Faragonda about this. Maybe she'll have a solution."
"Aisha's right," Bloom says softly, "We need to talk to her about our next move."
Not waiting for the others to reply, the Princess of Domino flies back up the passage, Stella running behind her throwing a hissy fit.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'm sorry if Stella seems a bit OOC. Well tell me what you think of the story thus far, any kind of comments is welcome.