Disclaimer: I do not own Winx Club.

I'm sorry this has taken so long. I ended up rewriting this chapter several times, and dealing with several tests and essays at the same time. Now that that's mostly out of the way, I should be able to get back to writing.

Let's get started.

"You are a long way from where you should be." Nyssa said, stalking into their camp. The Classix had set up a small camouflaged shelter using tree branches. Amelia had taken first watch while Dhalia and Reyva finished the construction. Artis and Perdi were busy with the interior.

"How did you find us?" Amelia demanded.

"Why are you this far South?" Nyssa asked, ignoring the question.

"We were chased here by a dragon named Koroboras." Amelia replied. "How did you know where to find us?"

"Where is Koroboras?" Nyssa asked.

"He's dead. Now answer my question!"

"What killed him?"

"How did you find us?" Amelia roared.

"I have my ways. What killed Koroboras?"

"Another dragon." Dhalia said, coming up behind Amelia.

"What did the dragon look like?"

"Small. Beautiful. Almost regal." Artis supplied.

"What happened?"

"Koroboras wanted to kill me." Reyva said. "The other dragon said we were its prey, and that we would die when it stopped finding us amusing."

Nyssa scowled at the girls. "You have no idea what this means, do you?"

"Explain then." Amelia growled.

"That was Sasha you met. She rules the creatures of Altivix with both power and cunning. If she said she will kill you, she will kill you."

"We can't accept that." Dhalia said. "There has to be a way to survive."

"Only one place in Altivix is safe from her: Melivon."

"We're already headed there."

"Yes, but you are a long way off course. By the time you get there, it will most likely be too late."

"Then we have to get to Melivon sooner." Dhalia answered.

"Yes, you do." Nyssa turned away from the Classix. "Gather your supplies. We leave in ten minutes."

"I thought you said traveling at night was too dangerous." Amelia said.

"That was before Sasha took an interest in you. You have a lot of ground to cover and not much time to do it in. This is the only option."

"We're in no shape to travel." Dhalia said. "We expended all of our magic trying to escape Koroboras."

"...You really are fools." Nyssa turned back to the Classix. I can lend you some of my power. It should be enough to allow you to travel tonight." She raised her hands, pointing at the Classix.

"Shadow Energy!" Dark tendrils of energy extended from her fingers, connecting with the Classix. Power flowed through them, and their exhaustion vanished.

"Gather your things." She said.

The Classix obeyed.

"How did she do that?" Perdi asked as they flew. Nyssa flew before them, her black wings invisible against the night sky.

"Which?" Amelia replied. "Find us? Or restore our power?"

"Both, but mostly the second." Perdi stared at Amelia. "She's strong enough to restore all five of us to full power without even trying."

"I know." Amelia said. "I can only think of six people in the Magic Dimension strong enough to do that."

"The Winx." Dhalia said.

"Exactly. She's at least as strong as they are."

"You say that like you think she has even more power." Dhalia commented.

"I can't tell. She's very good at controlling herself." Amelia paused for a moment. "Yes. I think she is stronger than the Winx."

"How is that possible?" Artis asked. "I thought the Dragon Flame was the most powerful force in the universe."

"It is."

"But you just said she was stronger than the Winx."

"She's stronger than Bloom. She's not stronger than the Dragon Flame."

"I don't understand."

"This is something I've learned since becoming the Fairy of Magic. Most fairies have far more power than they can use. Their power is stronger than they are. Bloom may possess infinite power, but she can't use it without destroying herself. That's how Nebula was able to destroy all those monsters. She released her full power, and her body couldn't handle it." Amelia brushed a tear from her eye. Nebula's death still haunted her.

"Oh."

"That's also why transformations work the way they do. They don't make the fairy's power any stronger, they just allow the fairy to use more of their power."

"But what does this have to do with Nyssa?" Dhalia asked.

"She's lived in Altivix for so long, her body has gotten accustomed to channeling magic. She can tap into more of her power than anyone we've ever seen."

"So she's stronger than Bloom."

"Yes."

Dhalia glanced ahead. Nyssa was still flying in front of them, not even looking back. "In that case, we need to be even more careful around her."

"Agreed."

They flew for hours. Several times they were attacked by monsters, but Nyssa destroyed every single monster effortlessly, and with neither compassion nor mercy. If it got in her way, it died.

"What is her issue?" Reyva asked. "That bat thing wasn't even trying to attack!"

"I wish I knew." Amelia said.

"Girls?" Dhalia's voice was worried. "Where's Perdi?"

Perdi was trailing the group by quite a distance. She was clearly trying to keep up, but she was completely exhausted.

"Perdi!"

"I'm...okay..." Perdi panted out.

"No, you're not." Reyva said. "We have to stop."

"I'm fine." Perdi insisted.

"We're stopping Perdi." Dhalia declared.

"I'll get Nyssa." Amelia said.

"Let's find a place to rest." Artis said, looking down.

They were hovering over a vast forest. Lush trees covered the landscape. In the light of the stars it looked almost ethereal, as though it were something out of a forgotten tale.

"Better than any of our previous camp sites." Dhalia commented. "I for one am sick of caves."

Amelia came back with Nyssa in tow.

"Why are you stopping?" Nyssa demanded. "Melivon is still a long ways away."

"We're exhausted." Dhalia said. "We need to rest. We need sleep."

"I gave you more than enough energy to keep going."

"You gave us magic. What we need is sleep."

"...Fine." She looked down. "I suppose this is as safe a place as any for you to stop."

"So glad you approve." Artis snarked at her.

Nyssa simply ignored the other girl as she descended towards the trees. The Classix followed.

The girls sat in the bowl of a truly massive stump. The former giant of a tree still rose thirty feet above the ground and was ten feet across. With Nyssa's help they quickly constructed a pair of small shelters to sleep in. Artis and Perdi were already asleep in one.

"I'll keep an eye on Nyssa." Amelia said. "You two get some sleep."

"Are you sure?" Dhalia asked.

"I am."

"Wake me in an hour or two." Reyva said. "I'll take over."

"I will. Get some sleep."

Dhalia and Reyva rose and entered the second shelter. Soon they too were fast asleep.

Amelia sat for a moment. Sometimes it was hard to remember that she was just seventeen. Most seventeen year old fairies weren't responsible for a war.

She sighed and stood up. Looking around, she saw Nyssa sitting on one of the jagged pillars of broken wood and bark that stuck up from the edges of the stump. Amelia shook her head. No matter how she tried, she couldn't figure that girl out.

"You're going to try interrogating me again, aren't you?" Nyssa's harsh voice interrupted Amelia's reverie.

"And what if I am?"

"It won't work. You should leave Altivix as soon as possible. You don't belong here."

"I don't think you belong here either." Amelia replied. "You clearly don't like it here, so why don't you leave?"

"I gave my word. And even if I hadn't, I still wouldn't leave. Better to have half a life than none at all."

"What does that mean?"

"Stay here long enough and you'll find out for yourself."

"You're not being particularly helpful."

"Does it look like I care?"

"Yes."

"...You're wrong."

"I don't think so."

"Think what you want. In the end, it doesn't matter in the slightest." With that, Nyssa leapt into the air, her wings forming soundlessly as she flew to a branch hanging over the Classix.

A/N: Oh Nyssa. You're so much fun to write. Difficult, but fun.

Something I wanted to address. Altivix is not inherently evil. It's no more evil than Univix was. The creatures that inhabit it on the other hand, can be evil. Or very, very good. Once they get to Melivon, I'll be introducing you to some of the ancient heroes of the Magic Dimension. I'm particularly fond of former queen Luminé, who created the fourth Company of Light. For reference, the Winx are the sixteenth Company of Light.

One other thing. I make a distinction between magical energy and physical energy. Therefore, giving someone magical energy does not make up for the fact that they've been awake for an entire day, much of which was spent running for their lives.

That's it for now. See everyone next chapter.