Chapter 4
(A/N: Thanks to all the people who reviewed this story so far :))
It was very late at night. The party was over, and while the graduates were in their rooms sleeping one more time before leaving Alfea forever, the school' staff was cleaning up the mess they've made.
The girls of the Winx Club (sans Flora, obviously) were helping to tidy everything up too.
"Hey, any of you have seen Flora?" asked Bloom, suddenly realizing that it's been a while since she left with Mirta.
"No," replied Musa.
"Negative," said Tecna.
"And I hope she gets here quickly, she has things to clean as well," said Stella.
"I don't think that Bloom asked for Flora because of that," said Layla sarcastically. "But it's weird. She told us that they would be back for the party once Mirta talked with Lucy."
"There's no need to worry," said Tecna. "Maybe they decided to stay there a bit longer and they lost the track of time."
"Yeah, sure," said Musa. "There's no need to worry only because whenever any of us went to Cloud Tower, nothing good happened."
"Well, we could call her," said Stella before pulling out her cell phone. "Uh, any of you guys have Flora's number?"
"Flora doesn't have a cell," said Layla. "Remember that she's from Linphea, and technology is forbidden there."
"How unpractical," said Stella. "I think that I should buy her one for her next birthday. She could use it whenever she's away from home."
"Anyway, I'm with Tecna," said Bloom. "Let's not get into hasty conclusions. I'm sure that Flora and Mirta are okay and have a good reason to be late."
Bloom had no idea to what extend she was right.
...
Mirta opened her eyes slowly. She stood up, and saw Flora looking at her, smiling.
"Good morning, sleepy head," said Flora gently. "Although I don't know if it's morning or not."
"How much time have I been asleep?" asked Mirta.
"I don't know," said Flora. "Like half an hour more than me. I decided not to wake you up since I thought that you needed to rest a bit."
"Well, I can resist darkness better than you," said Mirta, although she wasn't bragging. "How do you feel?"
"Much better," said Flora. "I'm willing to continue, if you are."
"Sure!" said Mirta.
She walked towards the door and tried to open it, but much to her horror, it didn't open.
"Mirta? What's going on?" asked Flora.
"This door won't open!" said Mirta as she pulled the knob with all her might. "It's like it's stuck to the wall!"
"Let me help you," said Flora before trying to open the door alongside Mirta, but the door didn't move.
"How can this be?" asked Mirta. "These doors can only be locked on the inside!"
"It seems that they don't want us to leave," guessed Flora. "Whoever is in control of Cloud Tower locked us there."
"Oh, great, now we-" said Mirta, but she was quickly hushed by Flora. "What's going on?"
"Listen," whispered Flora.
They both could heard the sound of metallic footsteps echoing through the outer corridor. There was somebody there.
"Oh, thanks goodness, there's somebody else here!" cheered Mirta.
"Be silent!" whispered Flora. "We don't know if it's a friend or foe."
They could hear footsteps getting louder, which meant whoever was outside was getting closer.. In fact, they could see its shadow when it went pass their room...but it didn't advance any further. It remained there, in front of the door, much to the girls' distress.
Mirta and Flora let out a scream when the stranger hit the door violently. That clarified its intentions.
"It's another one of those things!" screamed Flora.
Much to their horror, they saw what it seemed to be the tip of a sword breaking the door.
"Come on Flora, let's fight!" said Mirta.
"This place is too small to put up a fight" said Flora, much to Mirta's frustration and distress. But she was painfully right. Their attacker had a sword, and although fairies can be wonderful fighters, they were extremely vulnerable in melee combat. Besides, whatever Cloud Tower has sent this time to slay them would be anything but weak.
The crack in the door, although was still small, was getting bigger with each hit. They had to think, and fast. But they were too frightened and nervous to think properly. Suddenly, Mirta's cell rang. Another text message. It couldn't be less untimely. However, Mirta read it:
Hide in the closet
Mirta looked around, and they saw that there was an old, worm eaten closet. The suggestion was stupid, but she couldn't think of anything better. Without thinking it over, she grabbed Flora by her wrist, got into the closet and closed the doors, leaving a small gap to see. Although the closet wasn't too spacious, they fit perfectly in it.
Seconds later, the stranger knocked down the door, and entered. Through the gap in the doors they could see that it was a big, broad man, who was 2 meters(6 foot 8) tall, who wore a black, rusty armor that covered his whole body and head (This made debatable if he was even human, but surely not). In his right hand he was wielding a blackened sword, although it looked more like a huge butcher knife rather that a proper sword.
The black knight began to register the room.
"This is pointless, he's going to spot us," thought Flora.
"Please don't look here, please don't look here..." was thinking Mirta, holding tears of fear.
The knight spent several more minutes in the room, looking for possible enemies, but he didn't think of opening the closet. He finally gave up and left the room. However, neither Mirta nor Flora dared to come out of the closet until they didn't heard the footsteps.
"Is he gone?" whispered Mirta.
"I don't know," said Flora. "But we can't be here forever. Let's see."
Unsure, they left the closet, and saw the room. The door was completely wrecked, but at least they weren't trapped anymore. Flora went to the hallway to see if the black knight was still there, but it was as empty as before. Flora sighed in relief. However, she suddenly gasped when she spotted something on the wall.
"Mirta, come here!" shouted Flora, shocked.
"What?" asked Mirta as she came out. She couldn't help but stare in shock when she saw what Flora was pointing: there was something carved in the wall in big and irregular letters.
There won't be any mercy for traitors
Mirta instantly felt a lump in her throat. The few times she visited Cloud Tower (mostly to see her friend Lucy), she ran into some witches that called her a traitor for obvious reasons. She usually played down most of the insults she received, but this was different. If whoever who took over Cloud Tower hated her for that, she was in big trouble.
"Mirta?" asked Flora when she saw the red haired girl looking at the wall with her eyes wide opened. "Are-are you okay?"
Mirta took a moment to reply.
"Yes," said Mirta, almost stammering. "Let's get out of here."
Mirta led Flora through another flight of stairs that would take them to the fourth floor. They had to avoid the numerous spiderwebs that hanged from the roof. Also, some of the steps were wet due to the damp, and Flora almost tripped.
"You okay?" asked Mirta as she turned back to the nature fairy.
"Yes," replied Flora. "But I guess that these shoes aren't made for this kind of places," joked Flora, looking at her platform sandals.
Mirta smiled back. They continued until they reached the fourth floor.
"So, here we are," said Mirta. "Fortunately, the stairs of the bedrooms wing won't be blocked, so we can go directly to the seventh floor. Once there, reaching the upper terrace would be easy."
"I hope it to be as easy as it sounds," said Flora, worried.
The fourth floor of Cloud Tower housed mostly classrooms, however it also had a teacher's lounge, teacher's offices, a small library and it mandatory bedrooms. They had to cross through several classrooms, being on the alert of any nightmarish creature, but it everything seemed to be silent. When they left the last classroom, they found themselves in a black abyss.
"Whoa!" shouted Mirta in shock, before returning to the class. "What's this?"
"I don't know," said Flora. "But we're going to find it out. Look."
The blackness started to disappear, revealing the streets of a city. It was the city of Magix, a place they knew very well. However, there wasn't the exact Magix. By the model of the cars, the clothes everybody dressed and other details, they both guessed that it was Magix in the past. In a nearby cafe they recognized two women having a drink, talking. One of them was Griffin; the other one was a woman with glasses, pink hair styled in two twisted buns, and wore a short white and blue dress.
"That's Griffin," pointed Flora.
"The other woman is...Faragonda?" asked Mirta, a bit astonished.
"It seems so," said Flora. "If Stella was here, she'll probably make a remark about her clothes or appearance."
Mirta snickered in response.
"I can't hear what they're saying" said Flora.
"Let's take a closer look," said Mirta.
Mirta and Flora came closer to the then young teachers.
"Faragonda, I told you a thousand times before, but I'm going to say it one more time," said Griffin seriously. "What I do or which people I befriend is none of your business"
"I know," reply Faragonda. "But I can't help but care about you. I' heard that you plan to join the Ancient Witch Coven"
"So what if do?" asked Griffin snidely.
"Are you insane?" shouted Faragonda in disbelief. "You have no idea of what you're doing!"
"I know perfectly what I'm doing," replied Griffin. "Besides, like I said before, it's none of your business"
"Please...don't do it," begged Faragonda. "Despite what you may think, you are not aware of many of the things those witches and their followers have done, and more importantly, will do."
"And you do?" asked Griffin.
"Yes, I do," said Faragonda. "I don't know the details, but I know others who do. They plan to attack many, many worlds. The monarchs of Domino are gathering an army to stop them. I plan to join them. And you should come with me".
"Don't make me laugh!" said Griffin. "The Coven plan to track and find a source of power that would take witchcraft to a whole new level. If somebody dares to interfere in their plans, that's their problem."
"If you join the Coven, it will be a path of no return" said Faragonda. "And I don't want to lose you. Your friendship is very important for me."
"Stop deluding yourself, fairy," said Griffin. "We're not friends. I don't have any friends. I don't NEED any friends."
"I guess that you made up your mind," said Faragonda as she stood up. "There's nothing I can do but wish you luck in your future endeavors, and hope that you know what you're doing. Farewell."
Griffin remained there, silent, looking at her former friend going away.
"You're right. You don't need her," said a male voice behind her.
Griffin turned around, and saw a bald man dressed with black clothes. The man had tanned skin, and a light beard, and smiled at Griffin.
"Please allow me to introduce myself." said the bald man. He had a deep and suave voice. "My name is Gaul, " said the man, as he rolled up his sleeve, revealing a tattoo in his forearm that Griffin immediately recognize.
"Griffin. Are you part of the Coven?" asked Griffin.
"Yes," confirmed Gaul. "Now please excuse me, but I overheard the conversation you had with that fairy. Did she want you to quit?"
"Yes," said Griffin. "But she couldn't stand my motivations. My life is a quest for power, and only the Coven can grant me what I look for."
"Your words are full of wisdom, witch," praised Gaul. "You know, I've never seen anybody talking about the Coven so...carelessly. Most of its members avoid talking about it in public due to it...bad reputation."
"I'm not ashamed of what I am," said Griffin proudly.
"And that's good," said Gaul. "Don't worry. Soon this puny world will see what we're capable of."
Suddenly, the fairy of nature and the half witch were again in Cloud tower.
"Griffin had no idea of what she was doing," said Flora. "The Ancient Witches were evil incarnate."
Only those who had to deal with said witches personally knew how horrible they really were.
"Fortunately, she realized of her mistake" said Mirta. The something hit her brain. "Do you think that these visions are some kind of...message?"
"Message? Saying what?" asked Flora, confused.
"I don't know," said Mirta. "But there must be a reason of why we're watching this. Maybe Griffin is trying to contact us."
"In that case, I don't know what's she trying to tell us," said Flora. "We better continue."
After a short walk, they reached the bedroom wing. They could see stairs in the end of the hallway. However, they both stopped after hearing a roar coming from one of the bedrooms. Both girls stopped. They could heard more roars. Carefully, they continued walking, but the more they walked, the louder the roars became. However, they made it to the stairs successfully.
"Come on, we're near the..." Mirta was about to say, but she was abruptly interrupted when a dire monster suddenly tackled her, knocking her down. The monster was an elongated creature with black skin, a small head with no eyes a huge mouth full of fangs, bat-like wings ending in yellow claws, and a tail. Among the witches, it was known as a night lurker.
Mirta struggled with the lurker with all her might, but was too much for her. Fortunately, Flora reacted in time. She waved her hand, and doused the monster with green pollen. Suddenly, the monster released Mirta and began to let out insane roars. Flora then helped Mirta to stand up.
"Thanks," said Mirta, still a bit shocked. "What did you do?"
"Use a kind of pollen that causes irritation," explained Flora.
"Let's finish him," said Mirta, ready to transform into her fairy form.
However, before neither of them could transform, a bunch of night lurkers came down flying, alerted by the roars. Flora and Mirta decided to go back to the hallway, so they could fight them better.
"Come on Flora! Magic Winx!" shouted Mirta.
"Enchantix!" shouted Flora.
Once their transformation was complete, they got ready for the fight.
"Let me handle this, Mirta," said Flora, as the small floack of night lurkers charged against them. "Nature Symphony!"
he nature fairy always hated to use violence, much less against animals (even if they were so violent and horrid like those), but she knew that there wasn't any other option. Flora turned at Mirta, and smiled with satisfaction.
"Great job Flora!" praised Mirta. "You totally...!"
But Mirta's speech as interrupted, once again, by another, bigger and angrier bunch of night lurkers that came out of the rooms breaking the doors apart. They took Flora completely by surprise.
"Flora, watch out!" shouted Mirta, as she waved her hands, and created a glowing purple protective barrier around Flora and herself. The lurkers crashed against the barrier and were repelled, but they continued attacking.
More lurkers came out of the remaining rooms. Soon, they were completely surrounded.
"We need a way to escape!" shouted Mirta, still holding the barrier. "Those things are dangerous! A bite would be fatal!"
"Keep the barrier a bit longer," suggested Flora, remaining calm. "I know how we're going to escape."
Flora gestured toward the bunch of attacking lurkers, and a tornado made of yellow flowers came out of her hands, dispersing the hellish creatures. However, instead of fleeing, the lurkers decided to change their tactic. They flew into the air and dived at the fairies..
"We need something more powerful. Flora, keep the barrier for me," said Mirta as she prepared a spell.
The magic shield changed from purple to green the moment Flora took hold of it. Mirta was gathering all the power she could on her hands. Once she thought it was enough, released it.
"Crimson Flare!"shouted Mirta as she, using both hands, cast a wide red beam of energy towards the lurkers, forcing them to disperse more effectively than Flora's attack. Those hit by Mirta's spell roared in agony as their bodies or limbs were burned.
It seemed that this time the lurkers had enough and were ready to flee, however, the fairies weren't the reasons for escaping.
Suddenly, the whole building began to shake.
Mirta's spell also had hit the roof , and it was slowly crumbling. Cloud Tower was designed to resist battles indoors, however Mirta gathered a lot of energy on her spell, and the roof of this version of Cloud Tower was eroded by the damp and woodworsm. The roof then began to fall, crumbling the whole hallway in the process.
Without losing a single second, Mirta and Flora flied their way back to the fourth floor's main hall as heavy debris fell behind them. They could heard the desperate screams of the night lurkers that couldn't escape from there in time, and were buried alive under a ton of rocks, concrete and wood. Fortunately, they were fast enough to escape in time. Once they were (relatively) safe, they reverted back to their normal forms and flopped down on the floor.
"...that was close," said Flora, exhausted.
"Yes, but our fastest way to the upper terrace is now blocked," said Mirta sadly. "Now we have to take the long way around."
"By the way, what was those monsters?" asked Flora.
"Night Lurkers. It's a kind of nocturnal creature that lives in the swamps. They're amongst the deadliest predators in the universe. The posion of one of their fangs is enough to kill a human being in forty eight hours." explained Mirta.
"How do you know them?" asked Flora.
"We studied them in biology class" said Mirta with a shrug.
"Biology?" asked Flora in disgust. "Witches' take on some subjects are rather sinister"
"Tell me about it," chuckled Mirta. "All the animals we studied were like those."
Mirta's cell rang again. Mirta thought it was another text message, but it wasn't. It was a phone call. Mirta's eyes opened wide when she saw the number.
It was Lucy!
