A Planeswalker's Recovery 4

Bloom shuddered as she stared at Professor Ryan. She was still upset about him referring to Darkar as a mere hack, but... he just looked so broken. It was terrifying to see the ragged looking man who'd been able to effortlessly break Stella's curse, which had even given Headmistress Faragonda trouble, look so weary. Over the past two months, Professor Ryan had been an unwavering specter of doom within Alfea's walls. He was sarcastic, cavalier, eternally pessimistic, and his class was consistently one of the most brutal ordeals she had yet endured, but she was learning. Her spells had gotten faster, stronger, and her repertoire more varied as a result of his... well, she hesitated to call it teaching, but that was technically what he was doing. And his claims... she could barely believe them, but at the same time she knew it was possible to at least defeat god-like beings. She and her friends had done it to Darkar, so Bloom couldn't just dismiss Professor Ryan's assertions out of hand even though she really really wanted to. The thought of something so powerful that people would go insane just from looking at it sounded more like a monster from one of those old horror novels she used to read, and the idea that something like them might really exist was enough to make her want to crawl under her covers and never come out. Even Darkar, an ancient deity of pure darkness, hadn't done that.

The class was utterly silent as Professor Ryan's Power filled the room, pressing on them from all sides and causing an uncomfortable feeling of... of... space, like everything didn't actually have the right dimensions, even though her senses insisted everything was fine. The emptiness dragged on for a few more moments as the professor's eyes turned not-gray, and then the sensation passed, and the ragged man was suddenly the same cynical drunk they'd all grown to know and fear.

"Class dismissed," he grunted abruptly. "No homework, just remember what I said." They all gathered their bags and rushed out the door.

"So... are we going to talk about that?" Tecna asked as she nervously ran a hand through her short magenta hair.

"Yeah?" Stella replied uncertainly as she chewed on her bottom lip. "I mean, that was freaky. Like, I'm not sure if I'll be sleeping tonight freaky."

"And what was all that about killing gods?" Musa demanded as she played with her navy hair. The pale skinned girl chewed on her lip nervously as she glanced around, as if fearing that she'd be overheard. "I mean, Darkar was technically a god, I suppose, but he implied that he's killed several." The group was silent as they processed the implications.

"He's got the scars to show for it, though," Flora eventually said as they started up the final set of stairs to their dorm rooms. "No wonder he drinks."

"Ugh, you know what? Forget all this depressing stuff. Stella's stepmother is still an evil harpy, that Valtor guy those Trix were on about is still out there, and worst of all, he's invading Andros!" Aisha declared. The boisterous ebony skinned girl bounced up the stairs and spun around once she reached the landing, shaking her index finger at them. "This may be callous, but that's his problem to deal with. We've got our own!" Bloom frowned and pursed her lips as she considered her friend's assertions. She wasn't entirely sure that Professor Ryan's problems were entirely his own, or that their problems wouldn't become his. So far he'd proven himself to be far more powerful than even Faragonda, and... Bloom shook her head.

"Bloom? What is it?" Flora asked. Of course she would pick up on that, Bloom lamented. Flora always was more observant than anybody realized.

"It's just... I dunno, I've got a funny feeling," Bloom sighed. "Like... listen, Valtor's bad news, right?" The girls nodded, clearly wondering where she was taking this. "He claims to have escaped this... Omega Dimension, or..."

"He did," Aisha interrupted. "Which should have been impossible, I'd like to add. But that psycho is still taking over my home, and I'm going to do something about it!"

"Like what?" Stella demanded stridently. "We can't just break the spell. We don't know how yet!"

"I'll bet Professor Ryan can figure out how," Tecna suggested, and then quailed slightly as they all turned to her. "Listen, he broke Stella's curse like it was nothing, didn't he? Logically, he's the most likely candidate for outside help." Bloom opened the door to their dorm and stood off to one side so her friends could enter the expansive suite they all shared.

"But will he?" Aisha demanded. "I'm going to be honest here, the only reason I'm not on Andros right now is because I thought maybe Alfea would have something in the library that could help, but my research has turned up nothing. Just because he can reverse one curse on Stella doesn't mean he can undo the curse Valtor placed on my people and seal the Omega Portal."

"Well, who else can do it?" Stella demanded. "Faragonda, maybe?"

"I asked, but she just said that she was looking into it," Aisha shook her head. "Come on girls, we handled Darkar, we can take care of this."

"We barely destroyed Darkar," Musa pointed out. "And that was only because of our Charmix forms, which we still can't maintain for long. Breaking a curse on an entire realm is a serious undertaking."

"I know!" Aisha snapped fiercely as the ebony skinned princess shoved her face into Musa's. After a second she leaned back and ran a hand through her long, curly black hair. "Sorry, Musa, I didn't mean that. It's just..."

"I know," Musa wrapped her friend in a supportive hug. "You're under a lot of stress."

"Yeah, it isn't easy seeing your home being taken over, whether it's by a curse or an actual evil stepmother," Stella agreed vigorously. Her green eyes sparkled fiercely as she leapt up off her bed and struck a heroic pose. "That's why we should at least ask Professor Ryan, and if he can't help us we'll just take care of it ourselves like we did Darkar!" Stella ended her inspiring little speech with a triumphant fist pump, and Bloom couldn't help but giggle at her friend's theatrics.

"She's right," Bloom declared. "Besides, I'm sure the boys would jump at the chance to help us out."

"They do so love playing dashing heroes," Aisha agreed slowly. "Alright, let's call them up first and see if they know anything. Red Fountain might have information Alfea doesn't."

"So, Skye says Red Fountain's got nothing on saving an entire realm from an evil spell other than, and I quote, 'stab the evil bastard that did it,'" Bloom reported morosely two days later. "Apparently some of the other Specialists there have heard about what happened to Andros and have been looking into it as well."

"Right, so that leaves us with Professor Ryan, or... what?" Musa demanded.

"Well, there's Taboc, but there's no guarantee he's even alive anymore," Aisha mumbled thoughtfully as she rubbed her chin. "Between old age, the curse, and all the criminals escaping from the Omega Portal, he might be dead," she finished with a pained expression.

"Who's Taboc?" Flora asked timidly.

"He's a family friend, and one of the wizards who created the Omega Portal in the first place," Aisha explained morosely. "If anyone would know how to close it, he would. But t-there's no guarantee he's still alive."

"We should look for him," Stella exclaimed. "If he's the guy who originally created the portal, then he's the man we should go to first."

"It does seem more reasonable than taking a wild shot in the dark, or hoping that our unstable teacher can somehow pull another miracle out of his whiskey flask," Tecna agreed reasonably as she squinted at the screen of her handheld computer. The maroon haired fairy frowned and stashed the device in her pocket before bouncing up off her bed. "So, that's the plan?"

"Head to Andros, find Taboc, go from there," Aisha confirmed with a nod. "Yeah. Now I'm kicking myself for not thinking of him earlier. We'll still have to break the curse Valtor cast, but maybe Taboc will have an idea for that, too."

"Why didn't you think of him earlier, if you don't mind me asking?" Musa inquired.

"I haven't seen him in years," Aisha replied sheepishly. "It... just didn't occur to me, you know? I was so focused on the danger my parents and my people are in."

"Don't worry, we'll stop him," Bloom reassured Aisha.

"We'll need someone to cover for us," Stella pointed out from her bed. "This sounds like it'll take a few days, at least, and claiming we're sick won't cut it."

"You're not backing out on us, are you Stella?" Musa teased the blonde princess, though there was a slight edge in her voice.

"No!" Stella snapped. "But are you really confident in sneaking a simple 'oh I'm sick' excuse past the nurse, Griselda, and Ryan?" They all thought about for a few seconds.

"Good point," - Bloom conceded - "and we'll need somebody to pick up our classwork anyways."

"Plus, you're concerned about your father, aren't you?" Flora asked quietly.

"He didn't recognize me! His own daughter, after my talent-less stepmother and stepsister managed to somehow get enough power to transform me into a monster!" Stella shrieked. "Of course I'm worried."

"Hey, I totally understand," Aisha interjected. "At least we can just zap the scumbags laying siege to Andros. If Valtor is behind Cassandra's marriage to your father, as well as hers and Chimera's sudden power boost, he could conquer Solaria without ever even firing a shot."

"Yeah," Stella sighed. "Good luck guys. I'll be sure to pay attention in class for you."

"You'd better," Tecna growled facetiously. "I've seen the abominations you call notes."

"Aw, come on. They're not that bad," Stella objected as her friends began packing their bags.

"Yes, they are," the other five girls agreed in stereo.

"Hey, how are we getting there? It's not like we can use Alfea's portal network," Bloom pointed out.

"Oh, don't you worry, Bloom," - Tecna waved her hand reassuringly - "just give me twenty four hours or so to whip something up."