Read this before you read this chapter: Hey everyone. All right, so I have to admit I was a little disappointed. Out of the reviews I got for the last chapter, not a single person guessed what the two strange things about the group were. I was really looking forward to some of the guesses. All right, but I'll give you one more chance. Read this chapter and then reread the last one, and when you review either one, take a guess as to what the two strange things were. The first one had to do with one of the guys, and it is the more obvious one. The second had to do with one of the girls and it was the much more subtle one. And if you guess the one about the girl correctly, not only are you radically smart, but you have found a very important clue that's going to come up in the next story of the series. Once I get several guesses I will reveal what they are in the starting author's note of the next chapter.

All right, so when we left off, we had Musa under some kind of amnesia spell. That sounds creepy, doesn't it? She's already entered a cave, I think you guys know who's in it, so what's going to happen when she finds him? Happy reading!

Chapter 7: Rancor's Story

Musa walked deeper and deeper into the cave, wondering where she was and what she was doing there. A shiver ran down her spine and she rubbed her arms to try and warm up. She didn't know what, but something about that place gave her a bad feeling. But since she had nowhere else to go, she decided it was better if she just kept going in the same direction. She stopped as she heard the sound of someone sniffling, but then moved forward to see who it was. After a few minutes, she saw someone sitting on the other side of the cave, his face in his hands. She hesitated a moment, then walked over and said, "are you all right?"

The man looked up and he let out a large gasp. For a moment, his face held a look of deep shock before breaking into a wide, very relieved smile.

"Musa," he said. "Thank goodness! I've been so worried about you." He stood up and hugged her before she could say anything.

"I don't want to sound rude here but who are you?" asked Musa.

"What?" he asked, pulling away from her and taking her face in his hands, which made her back away a bit. His ice cold fingers had felt very strange against her skin. "You don't remember me?" he asked her. Musa shook her head and a very troubled look came on his face.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember anything," said Musa.

"Anything at all?"

"No, can you tell me everything I need to know?"

"Of course, sit down, I'll explain everything."

Musa sat down against the cave wall, even though her instincts told her to turn tail and run. Something about this man gave her an abiding sense of fear, but she couldn't figure out what was causing it. She had no choice however but to listen as he began to speak.

First of all Musa, my name is Rancor and you're my sister. We grew up here in Magix together and we used to come to this very cave to play. It was our secret hideaway. Then you started at the Alfea School for Fairies and I started at Red Fountain School for Heroes. You weren't very happy however, with your friends, with your boyfriend. He saw other girls behind your back. I told you multiple times to dump him, but you never listened to me, always saying there was the possibility that he could change. Then, we were supposed to have dinner two nights ago, just the two of us, but you didn't come. No one knew where you were and I assumed the worst. I'm so glad to find out you're all right. Someone must have cast a spell on you to make you lose all your memories. I'll find out who did that and I'll take this spell off you, I promise."

A few feet away, the witches were hiding in a side cave, listening to everything Rancor and Musa said. It took every ounce of self-control they had not to burst out laughing.

"Man, Rancor's a good actor," whispered Darcy.

"Yeah, I almost want to believe him," said Icy.

"Be quiet, I want to hear what's happening," said Stormy.

"Now Musa," continued Rancor. "Do you remember anything about the night you disappeared? Did anyone kidnap you? Were you attacked?"

"No," said Musa. "I told you I don't remember anything...Rancor, was it?"

"Yes," said Rancor. "I was afraid that whoever it was would try to trick you and steal your powers, but I can sense that you still have them. That's both good and bad."

"Why?" asked Musa.

"It's good that whoever it was didn't get your powers, but it's bad because there is a problem with your powers," said Rancor. "You had told me over the phone that you were experiencing some problems with them, that you couldn't cast even the simplest spells without having something backfire on you. I was beginning to get very concerned and suggested to help you. You promised me you would entrust them to me so I could handle them and find out what was wrong with them?"

"I did?" asked Musa.

"Yes, you did. You knew I was the only one you could trust, so you asked me to find out what was wrong with them. We were supposed to have dinner to discuss it further, but then you disappeared. I think someone kidnapped you in order to get a hold of your powers. You must have escaped thank goodness."

"I woke up earlier and I found myself in a room with another girl across the room," said Musa and she went on to describe her room at the fairy school. "I have no idea what that place was."

"It sounds as though you made it back to Alfea, but I can't understand why you're friends didn't call me, they knew how worried I was," said Rancor. In the side passage, the witches had to put up a sound barrier so no one would hear them laughing. They were laughing so hard, they were doubled up, rolling on the floor, gasping for breath.

"Now Musa, since you aren't in full possession of your mind at the moment, will you let me have your powers now? It wouldn't be a good idea for you to have them and not remember how to use them. But if you wish to keep them, I understand. But what do you think?"

Musa took a minute to think about it. She still had an instinct that was telling her to bolt, but she had no reason to believe that what he was saying wasn't true. She looked at him and couldn't find any indication that he was lying.

"You're right Rancor," she said. "You should have them. Just tell me what I need to do to give them to you."

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While Musa and Rancor were talking of her powers, the girls had almost reached the cave.

"I don't understand," said Flora. "How could Musa have just left? She's way too conscientious, she wouldn't go waltzing right into danger."

"Maybe Rancor did something to her," said Layla.

"If he had come anywhere near Alfea, I would definitely have known about it," said Tecna. "I set up my computers and cast some spells so that a warning would go off if he came within ten meters of the school. And my systems never fail, they would have alerted me."

"Unless he had one of the witches get Musa for him," said Bloom.

"You're smarter than you look Bloom," said Icy, flying up out of the cave.

"But guess what, your little pixie friend isn't going anywhere until Rancor is through with her," said Stormy.

"Now isn't the time to get us riled up," said Guinevere. "Get out of the way!"

"Not a chance pixie," said Darcy.

"Don't call us pixies!" yelled Guinevere. "Diamond Storm!"

"Heaven's Charm!" yelled Nirvana.

"Layla, we'll get the witches out of the way," said Bloom. "You go and look for Musa!"

"Right!" yelled Layla. She saw Darcy flying towards her. "Aquarius Current!"

"Venus Vine Wrap!"

With Flora restraining the witches with her vines, the path to the cave was clear. Layla flew inside at top speed, hoping against hope she wasn't too late. Wind whipped her face, cold air from the cave blew against her, trying to push her back, but it did no good. She forced her wings to carry her through the caverns to find Musa, she had to find her best friend. But she didn't know if she would able to get there in time.

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"That's right Musa," said Rancor. "Now just concentrate and all your power will be mine."

"Here goes nothing," said Musa. Suddenly, she felt a tug at her heart, as though something inside was telling her that this wasn't the right thing to do. Something was telling her that if she did this, it would hurt her friends and her boyfriend. She wondered what was giving her this feeling and tried to ignore it, for she didn't remember her friends and didn't even know who her boyfriend was.

"Musa," said Rancor. "What are you waiting for?"

"Sorry," said Musa. She concentrated her energies and a beam of light shot out of her heart and into Rancor's hands. It only took a few minutes to get it all. He started laughing maliciously, a cold, triumphant laugh. Musa fell to the ground unconscious, as Rancor stood over, basking in his newfound power.

"Finally, her power is all mine," said Rancor. "It hasn't reached its peak yet. But that's all right. It will in a matter of days and then I'll rule all the realms!"

"Tidal Wave!" Rancor's laugher stopped as he was swept up against the wall by the current. Layla flew as fast as she could towards them, attacking Rancor with everything she had. "Give her back her magic!"

"That's not going to happen," said Rancor, using one of Musa's attacks on Layla. The water fairy was blasted against the back wall. Rancor then started to power up even more. Layla, not having her full powers yet, decided the best thing to do was get out of there as fast as humanly possible. She grabbed Musa and flew out of the cave. Rancor flew after her, firing at her. She was exhausted, but she forced her wings to carry them both as quickly as they could. Finally, Layla reached the mouth of the cave and was able to rejoin the girls in the air.

"We have to get out of here and back to Alfea!" she yelled. "Rancor's too strong."

"Okay, but we need a distraction, or else we'll never get out of here!" yelled Bloom.

"Leave it to me!" yelled Stella. "Sun Blast!" She used her staff to use the sun's rays to focus and strengthen her attack. It went soaring towards the witches, momentarily blinding them and Rancor. But all knew that it wouldn't last for more than a few minutes.

"Let's get out of here!" yelled Flora.

The girls flew as fast as their wings could carry them, soon leaving Rancor and the witches behind. By the time the four of them managed to regain their vision, the Winx girls were long gone. The three witches wanted to go after them, but Rancor held them back. He decided that it was better to let the girls wallow in fear and uncertainty before he went after them. Since he had Musa's powers, it would allow him to get used to his new found power and to learn how to use it and control it.

"We have to go after them," said Stormy. "We have to get rid of Musa, so she can't get her powers back."

"Yeah, what happens if she regains them?" asked Darcy. "All that hard work and planning of yours will have been for nothing."

"Trust us, that isn't exactly an enjoyable feeling," said Icy.

"Let them escape," said Rancor. "It'll only give me more time to strengthen this amazing power."

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When the girls reached Alfea, they immediately powered down their Winx and put Musa back in her bed. None knew what to think. They weren't sure what had caused Musa to be so foolish as to walk straight into Rancor's hands and just hand over her magic. Obviously something had happened to her, but they didn't know what would cause such a strong-willed fairy to fall into a trap so easily. After a few minutes, the music fairy woke up and when she did, she remembered everything about her life, except for what had just occurred.

"What happened?" she asked. "What happened guys?"

"We were hoping you could tell us," said Bloom.

"The last thing I remember is suddenly having amnesia," said Musa. "I couldn't remember who I was, where I was, anything at all about my life."

"How could that…" began Guinevere, but before they could say another word, they heard the sound of levabikes being parked outside and a few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Layla quickly cast a spell on Musa, so she was changed out of her pajamas and into her usual one strap, red top and jeans. Flora opened the door and the boy's walked in.

"Where's Musa?" asked Riven.

"Here I am," she said, as she sat up on her bed.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Stella.

"Riven made us come," said Sky. "He said he had a feeling in his heart that Musa was in trouble and we had to come see if we could do anything to help."

"Well, you're a little late," said Guinevere.

"What do you mean?" asked Riven.

"Rancor just succeeded in stealing Musa's powers," said Nirvana.

"What?" asked all the boys together.

"Musa, that can't be true," said Riven.

"I'm sorry Riven, it is," said Musa.

"So come on Musa, tell us what happened," said Tecna. "You gave us such a fright when we found you out of bed this morning."

"I woke up in the middle of the night," said Musa. "And I couldn't remember a thing, who I was, where I was. It was so freaky. I thought about screaming for a few minutes. But then, I started walking towards Rancor's cave. I don't know what prompted me there, must have been some kind of spell. Anyway, I found him inside and he started telling me some story about me being his sister and he was worried sick because I had gone missing a couple days ago and I actually bought it. Then he tricked me into handing over my powers. I can't believe I was that stupid!"

"It's not your fault Musa, it was just a spell," said Flora.

"It is my fault Flora," said Musa. "I let Rancor trick me."

"No, it's our fault," said Bloom. "We should have been keeping a closer eye on you."

"Stop arguing, it's not getting us anywhere," said Guinevere. "What do we do now?"

"We have to get Musa's power back, that's what," said Riven.

"And how do you propose we get my powers back?" asked Musa. Riven just kept silent, not having an answer to that question. "That's what I thought," said Musa. "It's hopeless."

"Don't say that," said Nirvana. "There's no such thing as something being hopeless."

"Yes there is," said Musa.

"No there is not," argued Nirvana. "Seeing a power-hungry monarch rule over your realm when you're the one who's supposed to be ruling it, and not being able to do anything to stop him, that's a hopeless situation. But you have the chance of regaining your powers, and you have all of us here to help you. We will get Rancor for this, I know we will."

"As much as I want to believe that Nirvana, it doesn't sound that plausible considering I was foolish enough to hand Rancor my powers." Musa buried her face in her hands and sighed. "I don't know what to do."

"Musa, I'm not going to stand here and hear you say any of that," said Riven. "We'll get your powers back, I promise."

"Just like you promised you'd protect me?" asked Musa scornfully. None of them could find anything to say to this. "I need to be alone. I want to think." She dashed out of the room before any of the others had time to stop her, and once she was out the door, she started running as fast as she could. She ran through the halls, sprinted across the quad and into the forest. She ran deep through several groves of trees until she couldn't run anymore. She reached a clearing and broke down in front of a large tree, crying as though she'd never cried before.

"I can't believe it," she said. "How could I let Rancor walk in and steal my magic?"

"It was quite easy to be honest," said a voice a few feet above her. Musa gasped as she realized who that voice belonged to. She looked up and saw Rancor hovering a few feet above her head, just itching to test his new powers on her.

Author's Note: All right, so we have Musa without her powers and we have Rancor cornering her and ready to use them against her, not good. But next chapter, we will have a possible solution to all this, which will just show that it pays to have Nirvana around. If you paid attention in the last story about Tecna and Paritho, you'd remember that Nirvana used a certain little spell to regain her powers from him. You'll find out more about that spell in the next chapter. It's going to pay even more much later in the series, because Nirvana has a bunch of spell books that a queen from another realm gave her, full of old, archaic spells that come in handy several times. I'm glad I came up with her as a character. Stay tuned!