*Waves* Hi! It's been a month (well...more like a month and a half). I know that's bad. And I know you guys are kinda mad at the new twist that has been taken (it sucks getting hit with virtual pancakes, especially if they were covered in syrup… Though that comment did make me laugh; thanks general Z!), so I'm going to shut up as I usually do, and you can hear me ramble at the end as usual.

"Put in…I don't know, three cups of willow tree sap."

Alec looked up at Alison with critical eyes as she chopped up petals from a healing rose. "Did you just say 'I don't know?' As in you're unsure?"

She sighed. "Excuse me, Prince Perfect. I've done hypnosis spells, but I've never found a foolproof formula to undo them."

Tori glanced up from the spell book she was going through. "So basically, you're going to put a bunch of crap together, shove it down Mom's throat, and hope for the best?"

Ali's eyes narrowed at her. "We don't really have any other options right now, do we? Because if so, I'm open for suggestion."

"She's right," Valen spoke up. He was lounging on a large chair in the potions lab, deep in thought. "It all just sounds like some fancy chemistry to me, and let's face it; the whole sophomore class would be failing if it weren't for her. Let her guess."

"Or," Tori shot back, "she guesses and Mom grows another head."

"What do I look like, a CT witch? I know what I'm doing."

"Sure," Alec muttered. "Because everyone who knows what they're doing uses the phrase 'I don't know.'"

The blond girl straightened up and stopped cutting the petals, instead pointing the large knife at Alec. "I am not in the mood, buddy. Keep up the sarcastic comments and you're toast."

Alec looked equally steamed. He hopped down from the counter and looked her straight in the eye. "Oh yeah? You and what toaster?"

"Will you guys stop!" a voice snapped from the doorway. Everyone turned to look at March as he walked into the room. He'd gone to take a shower in Alec's room (since Tori, Valen, and Alec had been dragged back to Eraklyon, so he and Alison had no choice but to follow him), and was wearing faded jeans and – much to Tori's surprise – an LMFAO shirt. He had a laptop open and balancing on his forearm, and his face was grim. "Knife down. Now."

Ali rolled her eyes, but obliged.

"We are in serious trouble, boys and girls. Now is not a time to fight." He set the computer down on a table nearby and motioned everyone to gather around. "Here are some of the latest news reports from the Magix Journal. Does anyone want to take a guess as to what it involves?"

Tori braced herself as her eyes fell to the screen. The picture on the article was of her reaching to touch Baltor when he was getting led away by the Light Rock guards. She glanced up at the title, and immediately looked away when she saw the word 'psychotic'.

Surprisingly, March was the one to offer her comfort, looping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her to his side. She rested her cheek on his shoulder, breathing in the scent of a spicy cologne. "What does it say?"

"What it doesn't say will take less time. There are the basics of course; your mother's back, her children are with her, Baltor's spelled them, blah, blah, blah. But then it gets…odd."

"Define odd."

"Well, they've said you're now clear of the spell, and they'd usually drag that out. That means they're kind of terrified."

"They should be. Tori in a bad mood is a force to reckon with."

"I don't doubt that. But then it goes on again, saying that Baltor had been captured and is being shipped to the Omega dimension tomorrow. And it…stops."

Alec raised an eyebrow. "That can't be right."

Ali raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Oh please. This is the Magix Journal. They live on gossip. They have it for breakfast with toast and orange juice. If they aren't going ape over Baltor…"

"Something's seriously wrong."

"Something like…"

"I don't know. But whatever it is, it's not good."

Ali gave him a pointed look. "Well, that makes things much more clear, doesn't it? What do you plan to do about this apparently blackmail of a realm-acclaimed paper?"

"I don't know what the plan is. I was just commenting on how odd it is. The majority of the article talks about how Bloom and Sky are back together and are planning to be married again…"

Alec sighed. "When this is over, I'm going to live with Mom."

Valen's eyes narrowed. "No offense Alec, but if he even thinks about setting a finger on my mother, I'll kill him in his sleep."

"None taken. I'll help you."

March ran a hand through his hair. "Well, we could get real answers, considering the people they're gossiping about are right here in the castle."

"…He's got a point."

"I'll talk to Mom," Tori said. "A little girl on girl romance discussion."

Valen nodded. "Alec and I will go talk to Sky. March, keep us posted on the article. Ali, keep working on the reversal potion. Meet back here in say, half an hour?"

"Who made you team leader?" Ali smirked.

Alec rolled his eyes and dragged Valen to the door. "So long as it's not you, it'll be fine."

"Mom? Do you have a second?"

Bloom glanced up from the catalogue she was looking through as her daughter stepped through the doorway. A smile crossed her face. "Why wouldn't I?" She patted the spot next to her on the couch of the lavish suite. "Come sit; help me look through these. How do you feel?"

Tori shrugged. "I'm alright. Tired."

"I know." She set the magazine aside and sighed. "I'm sorry everything came out like it did today. I'd planned to tell you and Valen when you got older…I'd never dreamed things would happen like this."

"Mom –"

"Let me finish." She held up a hand, and Tori reluctantly fell silent. "I know the doctors at Light Rock said you weren't under any sort of spell, but I can't help but think Baltor said something to you that's gotten you really shook up."

No kidding, Tori thought sarcastically as her mother continued on. "I just want you to know honey; whatever Baltor wanted you to believe, it wasn't true. Wither it was about me or Sky or you or Valen…"

"Or all of them."

Bloom shook her head. "I knew it. What did he say?"

"Everything you never did!" she snapped, growing impatient. "That you were a fairy, that you were a princess, that I'm a fairy and a princess. That you almost stayed married to a complete jerk who didn't even try to care about us." Tori watched her mother sigh, and the anger that was building up receded slightly. "You said Baltor was our father. He is, isn't he?"

"Unfortunately."

"You didn't use the word unfortunately last night."

Bloom raised an eyebrow. "You weren't here last night."

Tori made a mental note of that. Whatever was wrong with her mother, it was obviously messing with her memories. "Then where was I?"

"Honey," Bloom rubbed her temples and stood, walking around the room as though trying to control her annoyance. "You and Valen have been with Roxy and Andy in the Resort Realm. Remember; they got you out of Disney before the Brotherhood could find you and kept you safe."

"…Alright. What about you? You didn't have time to tell me how you found Sky again."

"There was an earthquake in Magix last night. He'd been deployed with the Eraklyon Guard and we met up outside the Council Library. We took refuge in there, and that's where we found Baltor. He fled after a short fight, and we figured the next thing he'd try to do was break out Icy."

Tori nodded, her hands balled in her shirt to keep from swinging at her mother. "Is he leading the Brotherhood?"

"We think so. Now," Bloom turned to face her, a small smile on her face. "Anything else?"

She stared right into Bloom's eyes. "Did Baltor mention anyone named Lia?"

"It doesn't sound familiar." She replied, reaching down to grab a magazine.

Trying to process this new information, Tori grabbed another one of the magazines on the table. "What are all these?"

"Wedding dresses, mostly. Of course the extremely formal service won't be for a few weeks, we're getting the marriage certificate with a few close friends tomorrow."

Tori lost her grip on the magazine, and it fell to the floor. "What?"

Bloom bit her lip and shook her head, but Tori saw a small smile on her face. "I was hoping you wouldn't react that way."

"How else should I react? Jump up and down like a kid on Christmas?" A well of emotions were in her head, but all Tori could do was sit on the couch and stare at her mother in complete shock. "Why?"

"Besides the fact we love each other?" Tori shuddered, but her mother kept talking. "If we combine the armies from Sparx and Eraklyon, we can help clean Magix up faster. Also with the courts; we could try and bypass Baltor's sentence for the Omega dimension."

That statement caused the young girl's eyes to widen. "So you'll release him?"

"In a sense, yes. If it happens, he'll be put on trial by the Magix Council, with most or all of the planets charging him."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, most of the accusations will come back with a guilty verdict; there's more than enough evidence to convict him. If Stella gets Solaria on our side, and Sky talks to Diaspro…the four royal courts can come together and ask for a death sentence to be carried out."

And Tori thought the shock couldn't get any worse. "You…you want to kill him?"

"It's what he deserves, sweetie."

"B-b-but," she stuttered, though nothing was coming out. "You're going to kill my father?"

Bloom smiled sympathetically, and put a hand on Tori's shoulder. "I know this is hard, but Baltor isn't a person you'd want to get to know. You may think there's something kind under there, but it's just the workings of a psychopath. There's so much more to family than just blood. Once you really get to know Sky you'll see –"

Tori scoffed and pushed her hand away. "Well maybe I don't want to get to know Sky." She stood up and walked to the door, not wanting to participate any further in the conversation. "I think I'm going to bed."

Bloom looked like she wanted to say something, but finally she sighed. "Alright. But please don't tell your brother about this; I'd rather do it myself."

She nodded. As she put her hand on the doorknob, she turned back to her mother. "Can I ask you something? If I've been with Roxy and Andy for the last few days, how did I meet March and Alec? And how did Alison get here?" She didn't respond, and Tori huffed in annoyance. "Right. Hypnosis spells don't connect all the dots, but as long as you think you're right we have no problems."

Before Bloom could respond, she walked out of the room.

"It doesn't look like things went well," March remarked as Tori stalked into the lab, her face set in a mask of cold fury.

"No shit, Sherlock." She replied, flopping down onto the chair. Her red tank top was riding up, leaving her stomach exposed, but she was too tired to pull it back down. "My mother is, without a doubt, one-hundred percent gone."

"No she's not," Ali spoke calmly. She'd made considerable progress from when Tori left, but there were still numerous vials around the table. She set down a glass of blue liquid and looked at her. "Think of Bloom's memory like an old cassette tape. And think of the hypnosis spell as someone taping over a particular song on the tape. The new footage is more prominent; the main thing you hear. But there are pauses in the song, just like there are gaps in the story the spell fed your mother. And through those you can still hear the original song."

"But once you tape over a song," March said, "isn't it impossible to get it back?"

Ali picked up a vial again. "In the case of a cassette tape, yes. But not with memory. Everything is stored in the brain somewhere. The trick is to find the original memories and coax them out. And in theory, that should happen once we get rid of the spell."

"But even if we reverse the spell, how do we know the old memories will return? What if we're left with a blank slate? Or amnesia?"

Tori rolled her eyes and leaned back against the chair. "You two are making my brain hurt. But March does have a point; what if that happens?"

Ali gave her a sympathetic look. "Wish I knew, T. But right now we can only hope for the best."

"Hmm," Tori mumbled, rubbing her temples.

"Here," she opened her eyes to find March holding out a soda. "Caffeine helps headaches. Something about dilating blood vessels to stop throbbing."

She smiled lightly. "Thanks. You wanna sit? I can move over…"

"Don't worry," March smirked, and sat on the arm of the chair, one leg dangling over the edge. "I'm flexible."

Tori tried to keep her mind from wandering to the less…child appropriate thoughts that statement brought. "So," she said, trying to clear her head. "Any more information?"

"Not that I could find. Really there isn't much circulating through the media besides rumors. And Valen and Alec aren't back yet. Hey," he placed a hand on her shoulder. "What's up? You look like your going to be sick."

"You could say that." She sighed and took another sip of the soda. "According to my mother, she's marrying Sky tomorrow."

March's eyes widened, and from behind her she could hear Ali gasp. "Besides the insane idea that she loves him, they're hoping to ask for Baltor's death sentence."

"And I thought the Brotherhood was nuts," Ali muttered. "Is that in the media?"

"Not that I saw," March said. "But it'll probably be sometime tomorrow."

"Then that'd be the most likely time for Icy to attack. If everyone's focused on those two, she'll be able to pull off a mass spell with few people noticing her."

"That sounds like trouble."

Tori glanced over her shoulder in time to see Alec shut the door. Valen looked to be about as happy as Tori. She smiled sadly at her twin. "Things didn't go well for me either, if it makes you feel better."

"Slightly," Valen replied, his voice cold. "Alec, no offense –"

"Sky's a douchebag. I know."

"What'd he say?" Ali asked.

"What he didn't say is a better question." Valen sat on the other arm of the chair, and Tori rested her head on the side of his leg, as she'd done countless times at home during movie marathon Friday. "He's apparently 'oblivious' as to why Mom's had a sudden change of heart about him, but he assured me it's nothing to be concerned over."

"He also said you both could call him 'Dad.'" Alec spoke up, his voice slightly muffled as his head was stuck in the small fridge looking for a soda.

Tori shuddered. "He wishes. Did he say they were getting married?"

"Yep."

"I hate to add to the stakes, especially with Valen in a bad mood," Ali ran a hand through her hair and crossed something out in the notebook she had on the table. "I've got most of the reversal spell figured out, but I'm missing an ingredient; some kind of magical thing that can unbind the spell."

March groaned. "Let me guess; as per typical clichés, there's only one person who knows what it is."

"No. However, there's only one person who knows the ingredient that we have a location on. Lia."

"And based on the medical reports I stole from Dad's office," Alec added, "the least likely to kill us, since she's pretty close to death herself."

"Didn't Sky say there was mass security on the building?" Valen asked.

"Wouldn't be any fun if there wasn't."

Everyone groaned. "There must be something," Tori insisted. "Back entrances, hidden tunnels…"

March shrugged. "There are rumors of passageways in the hospital – it used to be strictly reserved for members of the Eraklyon court. But the blueprints for the hospital itself were stolen years ago."

"Stolen by whom?" Tori asked. March and Alec both gave her a look, and sighed. "Let me guess; Dad took them."

Alec smirked. "My mother hand-delivered them to him personally – don't ask how she got involved with Baltor, it's a very long story. But wherever Baltor was hiding out over the last decade is where you'll find the blueprints."

Valen raised his hand mockingly. "So let me get this straight; to cure Mom, we need to find the final ingredient for the anti-potion or whatever the hell it is. And to find this ingredient, we need Lia's help; not to mention she tried to kill us. Twice. But to get to Lia we need the blueprints to the hospital, and they were stolen by Baltor and are probably gathering dust somewhere in the universe we can't find ourselves. So what you're basically saying is we have to break him out of this holding place before he's shipped off to Omega tomorrow night, and do all of this before Mom and Sky say 'I do?'"

Everyone glanced at each other, as though nervous to speak. "That sounds…pretty accurate." Alec said in a purposely light tone.

Valen banged his head against the chair. "We're doomed."

"Hey; says who?" March wacked Valen's shoulder with a smirk. "I think we have a pretty good chance."

Valen raised an eyebrow, and everyone in the room took note of how at that moment with the look of disbelief on his face and the sarcasm in his tone, he could've passed for Baltor. "You're joking right? We are – in short – two California kids who have known about magic for less than a week, a kid from Planet Hippie who's channeling an emo side, and a prince and former traitor with God only knows how much underlying sexual tension between them. Now tell me my friend; do we really have a chance?"

March stared at him for a few seconds. "First off; I am not emo."

"And I'd sooner sleep with Tori than Alec. No offense," Ali added, throwing a look to Alec, who rolled his eyes.

"Oodly enough, offense was taken."

"Second," March continued, ignoring the others, "you should never underestimate the power of good things in small numbers. Look at the positives here."

"…My parents won't have to worry about me getting a girl pregnant for a long time, since they all seem to hate me?"

"Besides that, Alec. You," he pointed to Tori. "are driven. That's a fantastic quality that few people possess. You," his finger moved to Valen, "take charge in situations, and no one can change your mind when it's made up. Combine the both of you, and you're already a good threat.

"Now let's add in the others." His gaze shifted across the room. "Alec my friend; you can work the media like no one else. Along with that, you are really good at finding important information, and finding it fast. And you," Ali crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, and March gave a small, nervous chuckle. "Do we even to say it? You're a master manipulator, and an apparent genius in any lab. Now add in my combat skills and the fact I know how the court systems works since my Mom is actively involved in them, and I'd say we're a pretty badass team people should think long and hard about messing with."

Everyone stared at each other, and a few moments later burst into laughter and overly-zealous applause. "Dr. Phil has spoken," Ali chuckled.

March was pretending to look serious, but the grin on his face gave him away. "So unless someone wants to hear that speech again, we are going to come up with a kick-ass plan and save the universe. Who's with me?"

Alec smirked. "If we don't have to hear anything like that again, I'm in."

"Same here," Tori added, giving a genuine smile for what felt like the first time in a while.

March squeezed her shoulder. "That's my girl. Alison?"

The blonde girl shrugged. "What the hell? I'm in."

"Valen?"

All eyes fell upon the dark-haired boy on the arm of the chair. He seemed to be doing quick calculations in his head, weighing his options out. Finally, he looked up at the four other people in the room, and he grinned devilishly. "Ladies and gentlemen, I have a plan."

Soooo...

First off, I have to say thanks again. I know second-generation stories aren't always met with positive feedback (to date, there are only two in the Winx Club universe I've really fallen in love with; Between Two Times and What Comes Next - both are linked in my favorite stories in case you're interested), so to receive all this encouragement is really awesome. Knock on wood I didn't just jinx myself!

Now then, I know this chapter was basically setting up all the action-y goodness to come, but I hope you liked it. Because trust me, the rest of this story is a treasure trove of action, romance, and the slow demise of Sky's happily ever after with Bloom (*insert evil chuckle here*). We have five, yes count 'em five, chapters left of High Hopes in Velvet Ropes. I'm hoping to have the story wrapped up by June, since I won't have internet access during July. Keep your fingers crossed!

Lastly (and kind of exciting), High Hopes is just two reviews away from being my most reviewed story that I've written solo (Leap of Faith has it beaten out; blame it on Authoress' clever writing ability, lol). I'm really hoping that good reader karma kicks in, and this chapter helps me break that record, and the even more daunting record ahead of being my first story to have over 100 reviews!

Thanks everyone, and an early happy National Singles Awareness Day to all! (I understand some people refer to it as Valentine's Day, but those guys are like the total minority of the holiday, lol)

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