Chapter Six: Happy Days

The girls spent the next three days in complete good behaviour, focusing all their attentions to getting better. Soon they were able to walk properly without limping but the dull ache was always there where the wires had pierced their skin. They were all glad that the wounds had magically disappeared all by themselves but this still wasn't good enough for Dr Winters, she was astounded at how fast they were recovering, she was convinced that some kind of magic was at work here, she just couldn't find any evidence.

Every day the girl's parents would come and visit, they too were shocked at their rapid recovery but didn't question it. They spent their time chatting and asking the girls questions about their plans for the future, always reminding them that their true futures were running their future kingdoms and findings husbands, the girls brushed this advice of as much as they could. For once in their lives they weren't really interested in boyfriends or being princesses, they just wanted the world to not hate them first. In these visits Bloom would go back to her room and sit quietly, trying not to cry about the loss of her parents.

For the most of the three days the girls didn't venture back into the cafeteria, they didn't need the stress of all those stares; they ate together in Stella's room and joked about various things. Even Bloom's evil self seemed to stop bugging her and let her get back to her life, Bloom would have found her silence puzzling but she was too busy chatting with her friends.

Nobody mentioned the new evil. It seemed the girls wanted to put off the whole thing of finding out who she was and what she wanted, this didn't mean they let their guards down it simply meant they were putting their minds to other things.

On the fourth day of recovering the girls all sat in the recreational room filled with books and a TV that was currently being used by Stella, flipping aimlessly through the channels as she usually did, never finding one that satisfied her. She lounged on the couch next to Musa who had somehow convinced her father to smuggle her in an iPod, she had barely put it down for three days. Her excuse was that she 'needed to catch up with today's modern music'. Techna sat happily over by the bookshelf reading, she had been itching for a phone or computer but Dr Winters hadn't allowed, so she contented herself with thorough reading. Next to her Layla was doing various stretches and impossible poses in order to keep her body fit, always the extremist athlete. Flora was just outside the open door which led to a small and limited garden, humming to herself as she observed different plants. Bloom was sitting across the room at the window, watching people pass her as she tried to familiarize herself with the new kids of the school.

They had been sitting there for ages in silence with the TV as the only sound when the tall and lovely Dr Winters entered the room. Over the three days the girls had really come to like their new doctor, she was strict and firm but she always had a sense of gentleness and understanding in her tone.

"Good morning girls. How are we today?" Her question was met with a "Fine thank you" from Flora, a smile and a nod from Techna who quickly went back to reading, a grunt from Stella as she focused all her attention on the TV, Musa didn't even hear the woman over her music, Layla pocked her head up from a stretch and said "Great, I can run now" and Bloom turned from the window and actually walked over to the doctor and said "Great, I think we've improved a lot"

"I think so too" The woman looked down at a chart she was holding "From your latest tests you're all looking remarkable well. You say you still feel a bit sore in your joints but that should clear up soon. Everything looks good"

Bloom listened to this report with undivided attention "That's great. Umm Dr Winters?" The woman looked up from the chart with raised eyebrows to stare at Bloom "I was thinking now that we're almost back to full health and things have been going pretty well around here, I was wondering if it would be at all possible if we could...move out of the infirmary and back to our old house"

The woman blinked at her in surprise, Bloom quickly continued on "We'll come in for regular checks of course and we'll follow any instruction you might have for us. I just think that we're fit to move along now"

Before the woman could answer Miss Faragonda walked into the room, it was obvious she had heard everything Bloom had said and now she fixed her with a wary stare "Dr Winters do you have any objections to the girls request? Are they healthy enough to move out of the infirmary?"

Dr Winters thought for a moment and eyed each of the girls, who had stopped to listen to the conversation, after a moment she nodded her head and said "I think the girls have made a sufficient recovery to vacate the premises"

At this Stella threw up her hands and yelled "freedom!" and this was met with claps and cheers from the girls. Miss Faragonda raised her hands for quiet "Now hold on girls. Umm Dr Winters, could you excuse us for a moment?" The woman quickly exited the room, Miss Faragonda tuned back to the girls with a concerned expression "I know Dr Winters has given you her permission to leave but I'm not sure it's a good idea"

The girls raised their eyebrows in shock "What do you mean?" Layla said as she straightened out of her stretch.

"I mean, in the safety of the infirmary I was able to protect you from the rumours and abuse that is being directed your way on the outside. You girls have barely ventured outside these walls and you have no idea what the media has done to your reputations" This made the girls gasp. At one point of their lives their reputations had been very important to them, now it was ruined.

"How bad is it?" Stella asked warily

Miss Faragonda paused for a moment "When you disappeared you were painted as hero's kidnapped and brainwashed but from your recent behaviour you're now heartless criminals. Girls I know you want your freedom but you have to know that there are forces out there working to destroy you"

Oh don't talk to us about forces wanting to destroy us; we've got an endless list! Was the general thought between the girls, they sat in silence mulling this over.

Bloom finally spoke up "Miss Faragonda we appreciate the concern but I think we can handle the media"

Miss Faragonda glanced over at her "And Lucus?"

The girls all groaned as one "Oh that guy?! What has he done?" Musa yelled from her seat.

"He's on the warpath to get you girls locked up. When you were sentenced to death he put all his hopes on that plan, that it would go ahead and then you come back and ruined his reputation, he wants to even the score" Miss Faragonda looked to be almost rolling her eyes.

"But we're good now and we want to make amends for our actions" Flora said as she stood in the doorways, still half in the sun.

"I know and that's the argument we have to use if we want to keep him at bay. You girls need to do everything in your power to show the world that you're sorry and that you want to become the powerful Winx Club again" This small speech roused determination and power in each of the girls, more than anything they wanted things to go back to the way they were and they would do anything to make that happen.

"We will. We'll do anything" Bloom said with certainty. Each of the girls second this by stepping forward and standing up "We promise" they all said as one.

And so the Winx Club were able to move out of the infirmary, their parents were in full support of this but they were a little disheartened when they found out they were going back to their old home. Stella pointed out that her parents had wanted to take her back to Saloria and teach her how to be a proper princess again. It had taken her a full two hours to convince them that she would be fine. So the next day the girls were discharged and given a lengthy list of things they were not to do and places they could not go, they agreed to this wholeheartedly.

On arriving back at their old house they were shocked to see it in such bad condition. The most noticeable thing about the house was it was now covered in graffiti, writing covering every inch of its pretty maroon paint; mostly swear words and phrases which told the girls where to go. Windows were broken and even the front door was missing, looking into the house they could see the furniture had been stolen and it looked as if someone had been using it as a hangout spot for late at night with friends. The girls stared with their mouths somewhere on the stone pavement, Miss Faragonda stood next to them. She was looking at the house as if it was a ruined cake a small child had made and didn't want to show her true feelings on its completion.

"Well I'm sure I can fix this" She says, clapping her hands together once and sneaking a glance at the girls who still stood staring. Miss Faragonda raised her hand and quickly said a spell that sounded like gibberish and gold magic shot out of her hand and in a few short seconds covered the house from top to bottom. The graffiti soon disappeared and the house seemed to heal. The ugly marks faded away and the door reappeared where they had once sat. Looking through the windows the girls could see the furniture in the house rebuild itself and stand in place.

"It's the same spell I always use on the school when something happens, cleaning up the mess by hand is such a bother" Miss Faragonda said as she started toward the door with the girls following.

Opening the door Bloom stepped in first, she was relieved to see that the house now looked exactly the same as they had left it. All their belongings were back and the place was looking tidy and lived in, it was again the loving place they had created.

"Are our clothes back too?" Stella said as she raced into the foyer and up the stairs. A few seconds later the girls heard a gleeful squeal from their enthusiastic friend which caused them to chuckle.

After half an hour of checking everything was back in its rightful place Miss Faragonda left the house to go back to Alfea. The girls spent a happy afternoon in their old house getting reacquainted with it; Flora watered all her flowers and actually baked a welcome home cake in the kitchen, Musa was so happy to be home she danced around singing at the top of her lugs, Stella spent the better part of her afternoon in her wardrobe looking at all her clothes and making a mental list on what to get when she went shopping, Layla took a three hour bubble bath, she emerged looked very clean and happy, Bloom had gone up to her room and looked over her stuff with new interest, she found an old picture of her parents and her at the park when she was seven. The memory was a happy one and before she could start crying she quickly stuffed the photo back into the box she had gotten it from. Techna spent the whole day on her laptop in the conservatory.

She was currently trying to look for a new car for the girls, since all their other ones had been blown up and Musa's bike had been stolen in their absence. She typed furiously, going page to page looking for a car that seated six people comfortably and was flashy and modern. She let out a loud "Finally" when she had spotted one. Flora on hearing her friends triumph walked back into the room from outside, gardening clippers still in hand.

"Did you find us a car?"

"Nope, I found us a glorious eight person jeep, it can also be transformed into a truck and it also has air conditioning and heating, a mega 2000X stereo and an engine to die for. It's perfect!" Techna clapped her hands happily.

"How come we never have a ship to fly in?" Flora asked from her place across the small white bared table. Techna looked up at her for a few seconds and then looked down at her laptop, the thought to get a ship had never occurred to her. They certainly had the money and the means to get one, so why didn't they?

"I don't know" Techna said a rare phrase for her to say. Flora shrugged her shoulders and went back to gardening. At that moment Stella came thundering down the stairs with a phone in her hands, she looked shocked.

"You guys, you've got to hear this!" This she shouted upstairs, a few seconds later Bloom, Musa and layla came running into the foyer with curious expressions.

"What is it?" Layla said as she dried her hair with a town, bits of water escaped onto the floor. Stella looked at each of them in shock, turning in a full circle before gesturing to her phone "My mom just called me. Melron's been attacked!" This caused everyone but Bloom to gasp in horror. She looked at her friend confused for moment before asking "Who's Melron?"

"Melron is a planet! It's been destroyed!" Stella said as she jumped up and down. This time Bloom did gasp.

"Oh my god! Who attacked it?" Flora said as she stripped her hands of her gardening gloves and walked further into the room.

"They don't know. They thought it could have been one of the neighbouring planets but they've been cleared of suspicion, all planets are now on high alert for an enemy that might attack" Stella said quickly. Flora and Layla quickly ran in different directions of the room and grabbed their phones that had been lying around. They dialled furiously while Musa ran into the lounge and switched on the TV with Stella behind her. Bloom followed her friends curiously as Stella quickly found the news channel, she could hear Flora talking to her mother in the other room, it appeared everything was alright. Layla paced the floor nervously as she waited for someone to answer her call. Bloom watched as Techna carried her laptop into the lounge and settle on the couch; she typed furiously, eyes whipping across the screen.

Bloom didn't know much about neighbouring planets and the Magix dimensions laws on war but she could tell from her friends that this was serious. Walking up behind Musa who looked solemn and straight-faced she whispered to her "Is there something I should know?"

Musa answered her without looking away from the TV "Melron is one of the top three planets in the Magix dimension, right after Saloria and Eraklyon. An act of war on a planet that powerful is a huge thing. Everybody thought that Melron would never be destroyed but now that it has people are bound to be scared. Who knows whose next?"

Bloom felt a chill go through her, she knew that if she still had a planet to worry about she would be freaking out right about now. She was also shocked to hear that Stella and Sky's two kingdoms were ranked the two top ones in the Magix Dimension; she wondered why Stella and Sky had never gotten married that would have made a whole lot more sense than Diaspro. Bloom shook her head at the thought of Stella and Sky married, it was silly. Flora and Layla walked hurriedly back into the room.

"My planet is safe" Flora said as she sat down on the couch "Since it's located very near Melron everyone has been locked down for the next twenty four hours and told not to go anywhere" Layla sat down next to Flora with a far away expression "Mine too but my mom says that their rallying their forces in case there is an attack"

"Everyone is rallying their forces" Says Stella from her place in front of the TV. The girls look at the screen to see a live footage of a huge blue planet labelled Melron. Even from space you could see the red and dark patches of chaos on the surface, the screen then switched to a shot of a burning palace. The girls gasped in shock as they saw people sitting in the streets and buildings falling apart. The speaker over the broadcast told them that the enemy is unidentified.

Bloom watched the screen to see a soldier being helped by two people; he looked like he had been burned alive. Stella quickly grabbed the remote and switched off the TV in disgust. They sat in silence for a long time, each trying to sort out the chaos going through their minds; the only sound was Techna's furious typing.

"What was Melron's population?" Stella asked looking toward Techna who paused her typing for a moment "Around one million"

"Oh god all those people?" Flora asked putting her hand to her face and closing her eyes "Well what if another planet is attacked? What if we're attacked? Where would people go?"

Techna finally found the information she was looking for "I've just hacked in Magix security mainframe" This was met with lots of shouting "Oh would you all relax, I may not want to break into buildings or skip class but I have no qualms about hacking into this if it will tell me what I want to know" This shut everyone up and they all gathered around the laptop to see what Techna could tell them.

"Ok here's the official report, it's a live report so it could change anytime. Around four hours ago the planet Melron was attached by an unidentified enemy. Witnesses say the attack came out of nowhere and quote 'the evil spread like black fire and consumed all in its path'. This sentence struck Bloom to her core, an idea came slamming into her head. She glanced at her friends to see if they had made the connections also, they looked sadly at the screen but didn't show any signs of a revelation.

It...It couldn't be...her? Could it? Black fire...black Dragon Fire!

Bloom whirled around to look in a nearby mirror, she saw her reflection staring blankly back at her. After a moment of heated tension between the two halves of one girl, the evil one nodded her head in the tiniest movement.

Techna continued on "It says that as soon as the royal family had been evacuated from Melron the enemy suddenly ceased but by this time most of the planet had been destroyed. Allying planets have gathered a total of one hundred thousand soldiers to aid the planet from any lingering enemy. More information is being gathered as we speak"

"What will happen to the royal family?" Stella asked still glancing at the screen.

"I suppose they'll be transported to a secure location and kept there until they figure out what to do. But right now Alfea seems like the most safe place a person can be" Techna says closing her laptop and leaning back into the couch.

"Why?" Bloom asked while still glancing in the mirror's direction.

"Well after the attack we pulled the leaders of Magix payed to have new and improved spells cast around the school, state of the art spells that re near impossible to break. So we know no matter what the fairies and the Specialists will be safe" The girls sighed in relief at this news, it seemed like the only thing they could do at this point is wait for more news. It did frustrate them that all they seemed to be doing was waiting around for something to happen with the new evil and the Magix Dimensions new troubles.

But still...they waited.