Exams were officially upon Alfea, and there wasn't a single student in the entire school that was happy about it. For the Freshman's the exams kickstarted with a bang Monday morning with a gruelling two hour history paper on the First Dimension War, complete with multiple choice, short answers, and an extended response, in which Bloom was sure she'd made absolutely no sense. The history paper was followed by a combined theory and practical exam in potions, practical skills assessments in both Physical Defence and Flying, and an oral assessment in Metamorphosis where they each had ten minutes to discuss the advantages as well as the dangers of human transformations. By the time Thursday afternoon rolled around, the girls were exhausted but thankful that they had but one exam left, Magical Reality, which was to take place the following afternoon.

Magical Reality had started out as a mysterious subject; as Palladium had promised in the first week, they had the class rarely, only twice a week, during which they were taught how to use the skills from their combined classes in real world situations. Unfortunately, as they quickly found out, this was not nearly as exciting as it sounded. Mostly because up until the exam it had been all theoretical work, using textbooks and suggested strategies to outline what they would do in any given scenario. That was all about to change, however, as their exam tomorrow was to be their first practical experience.

Four of the five friends were discussing this down on the Alfea quad, while the fifth, a certain red-haired fairy, lounged at the wishing fountain that made up the central feature of the quad, staring into it's cool, blue depths. In her pocket, Bloom's phone burnt a reminder against her leg, but she resisted the urge to pull it out and read the message that she'd already read countless times. Instead she fingered a gold vlosi coin and thought hard on her wish with all her might.

"Bloom," Stella called suddenly, startling Bloom.

Bloom thought of her wish again and flicked the coin into the fountain, watching it sink to join countless others.

"Ooh," Stella cooed, coming to join her friend on the edge of the fountain. The other three were close behind her. "What did you wish for?"

"I can't tell you," Bloom laughed incredulously. "If I do, it won't come true."

Stella grinned wickedly. "Does it have blonde hair, and blue eyes?"

Bloom hoped desperately that she wasn't blushing, but Musa's next words unfortunately proved that she was.

"From the look on her face, I'm betting it does!"

"Bloom!" Flora sing-songed, her, Musa, and Stella all looking eager while Tecna was watching them curiously.

Bloom had been acting oddly all day, first getting a strange text message at breakfast, which she'd kept carefully hidden from the rest of them, and then seemed glued to her phone for the rest of the day, looking at it before, after, and even during classes.

"Well," Bloom said slyly. "Brandon asked if I wanted to go for a walk tonight, around Red Fountain, 'just the two of us'. What do you think that means?"

Musa chuckled, taking over for Flora and Stella who looked overwhelmed by it all. "I don't know what going on a walk with a boy means on Earth, B. But in my realm when your crush asks you out, we usually call it a date."

Stella seemed to recover and was shaking her head briskly while Bloom blushed deeper and hurriedly said that she did not have a crush on Brandon. "Well, she can't go." Bloom gaped at her and Stella explained, "He asked you less than 72 hours in advance," as if that was reason enough to decline.

Flora seemed to disagree. "Oh, Stella, he's just being spontaneous. Liliana and I first met at a party and within half an hour we were ditching it to go on our first date at a nearby coffee place."

"While that is very cute," Tecna began, seemingly finally able to contribute to the subject. "I'm afraid I have to agree with Stella. Spontaneity is overrated, and advanced planning is a sign of respect."

"And pretending to have a busy social calendar is a sign of self-respect," Stella said, nodding importantly. "Besides what kind of date is going for a walk? It totally limits one's choice of outfit and footwear."

But Bloom had lost interest and was staring into the fountain again. "It doesn't matter," she sighed dreamily. "I want to go."

"Oooh," Musa cooed. "Girl's got it bad."

"Got what bad?" Tecna asked, sounding concerned for her friend's health.

"The love bug," Stella cackled.

Tecna rolled her eyes while Bloom just about squawked, protesting that no way was she in love with Brandon.

"No matter," Tecna said. "Obviously Bloom didn't hear a word we were saying."

"Huh?" Bloom said, proving Tecna's point and making the other three laugh.

"We were talking about how Palladium has offered to meet with the class this afternoon to go over what to expect in the test and show us the chamber," Tecna said.

"Are you guys planning to go?" Bloom asked.

"We'd be stupid not to, I guess," Musa said, tugging at a pigtail thoughtfully.

"Yeah," Flora agreed, suddenly looking worried. "We know next to nothing about what the test will be on, and it will be our first time doing practical for the subject. Every little bit of advice will help."

Tecna glanced at her watch. "In that case, we should start moving. Palladium will be expecting us in five minutes and we have to get to the top of the tower." She nodded at one of the towers and the others glanced towards it.

"Hey, that's where we have assembly," Bloom said, recalling the large ampipheter big enough to hold the entire school.

"Yeah, the chamber is the floor above it, right at the top," Stella explained, as they started walking toward the base of the tower.

"I've heard horror stories about this place," Musa said, sounding slightly nervous as they started the long climb, many other students from their class ahead of and behind them.

"Don't be nervous," Stella said breezily. "They call it 'Magical Reality' but they wouldn't llet us die or anything."

Oddly enough that didn't really comfort the girls.

"Hey," Tecna said, something occurring to her. "You were here last year, Stella. Couldn't you tell us what the test is going to be on?"

Stella shook her head sympathetically. "Sorry, darlings, but it changes every year to stop the freshmen from getting too much preparation. Last year we had to fight off some low level witches and counteract a dark spell placed on a Prince."

The group finally reached the top of the tower, after a leg-burning long climb. They followed the trail of classmates up the last flight of stairs from the amphitheater and into a tiny, artificially lit room. There were no windows in the room but nevertheless was glowing from both lights in the ceiling and from the computers that sat on a bench spanning an entire wall. Above the computers was a large window looking into the actual chamber, but the it was dark and they couldn't make out any details.

Palladium was standing in front of the computers, surveying them as they assembled, nodding his head and looking around as if he were counting them. Finally, as a few final stragglers hurried in, he smiled and glanced around once more.

"I think that might be everyone."

True enough when the students glanced around it was to see the entire class had assembled, no one - not even the slackers of the class - had risked not coming and missing vital information that might help pass the exam.

"I'm sure you must be wondering quite a bit about this place. Well, this is it. This is the control room and this…" Palladium tapped a few buttons on the computer looking much more in his element than he had out in the forest, or even in the classroom giving a lecture. A few more taps at the keyboard and the room beyond the window lit up, giving the students their first glimpse of the notorious chamber. "... is the Magical Reality Chamber."

The class immediately surged forward, those at the back pushing to get a better view while those at the front tried to hold their ground.

Palladium yelped and held up his hands. "Now, now girls, no need to push. You'll all be allowed a better look at the chamber in a moment."

The professor hurried to a door beside the window and opened it, standing back to allow the class to file into the chamber. The chamber was much larger than any of them had realised; the class stepped out onto a wide ledge that wound right around the circular room, the chamber extending many metres above and below the ledge. Metallic panels covered the walls, reflecting the girls' reflections over and over in dozens of bronze replica's and the room was lit by the natural light filtering through the windows on the ceiling. Directly opposite the control room, jutting out from the ledge, was a large catwalk that seemed to hang unsuspended without the aid of supports.

While the class oohed and ahhed over the grand chamber, Palladium talked about the chamber further, "This chamber is the delicate product of the most powerful magic and the most sophisticated technology. The two combine to create just the right mix of magical energy and technological power in order to produce hundreds of virtual worlds, and situations.

"So," Stella said, running her fingers over the walls. "Theoretically you could create a virtual situation where there's no exam?" She fixed Palladium with a pleading smile while the class chuckled.

"Theoretically yes," Palladium replied. "Or I could create a situation where the test lasts forever."

The laughter ended abruptly, the possibility too horrible to consider. Palladium ushered them back into the control room while he continued to talk about the exam.

"While you're in the chamber, the world may be virtual, but the reality is not; meaning, when it is cold, you will really feel cold, and if a rock falls and hits you, believe me you will feel it. While we will of course never let any real harm come to any of you, the chamber is designed to test you, and will ultimately separate the Guardian fairies from the rest."

"Help me study?" Stella murmured pleadingly to Tecna as they gathered around the computers. "Tonight?"

"Sure," Tecna murmured back easily. "Don't I always?" Tecna had a point; in the weeks leading up to the exams, she'd been diligent in assisting her dorm-mate's to study by insisting on assigned quiet times, and drawing them all up study time-tables.

"From this room, I will be able to oversee everything that occurs in the chamber. This year your exam is a survival test; the chamber will randomly select a dead planet for you. It will then place you on a virtual version of this planet's surface where you will have to survive in extremely desolate conditions. Any questions?"

Flora frowned and raised her hand. "Professor, I don't believe there is such thing as a dead planet," she said when he called on her. Sensing his confusion she continued, "I prefer to think of them as planets that are in need. They just need a little love."

Palladium looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head slightly. "That is very interesting, Flora, but perhaps you should bring it up in philosophy class, and focus on the exam for now," he advised kindly.

Flora nodded. "First step: grow some plants," she told her friends in an undertone.

Stella looked worried for a moment before her face smoothed over. "Easy, I'll just bring the family gardener," she said with a shrug.

Unsure whether she was joking or not, Bloom said, "You can't bring anyone with you."

Stella looked perplexed. "Survive without a staff?"

Bloom coughed and tried not to laugh at the worry evident on her friend's face and was saved having to break the news to Stella by Palladium concluding his speech.

"You may bring potion ingredients but nothing else. You will have to rely solely on your Winx to survive. Now, we will begin straight after lunch tomorrow and last until dinner time. The quicker you assemble here the quicker we can get started. Even so the test with last half an hour for each of you, so we will only be able to get through half of you tomorrow. We will reassemble on Saturday morning to do the rest. Now off you go and study hard tonight."

The class trooped out of the tower, many complaining about losing an entire Friday afternoon as well as a Saturday morning. Stella however had more pressing matters on her mind.

"If you insist on accepting Brandon's invitation at least let me help you get ready so we can knock that boy's socks off and show him what our girl will be expecting next time he asks you out."

Bloom's immediate urge was to remind Stella that Brandon hadn't actually used the word 'date' and gently refuse her offer - she had, after all, had had successful relationships in the past - but something held her back. It was true Stella looked amazing every day, and Bloom had never seen the girl have so much as a single hair out of place let alone a bad hair day. Besides something inside her wanted everything about this night to go perfectly.

"Okay," Bloom relented. "But," she continued firmly. "No going overboard. I still want to look like me."

Stella looked put out but nodded her agreement all the same. "Say no more, Bloom, I'll handle everything. Now, what time are you meeting, lover boy?"

Bloom shot her friend a unimpressed glare at Brandon's moniker but didn't comment. "I was thinking of grabbing an early dinner and then hopping the 7pm bus to Red Fountain. That gives us two hours before curfew."

The other girls were nodding in approval but Stella was busy checking her phone for the time, and yelping when she realised how late in the afternoon it was.

"But it's already 4:30," she just about screeched. "That only gives us an hour and a half before you have to be having dinner and we won't have much time afterwards."

While Bloom was puzzling over what she could possible be doing to take an hour and a half to get ready, Stella seized her wrist and start tugging her quickly in the direction of the dorm, yelling over her shoulder for the others to hurry because she was going to need all hands on deck.

And she was right.

The second they got to the dorm, Stella just about shoved Bloom into the shower, yelling for her to be quick and wash her hair. Even over the sound of the water and through the soap in her ears Bloom could hear her barking orders at the others and the scrape as she moved things about in her room. Bloom washed quickly and stepped out into a waiting bathrobe.

"Quickly, Bloom," Stella called impatiently from the other side of the door and as soon as Bloom opened the door bustled her into her room where the others were waiting in her walk-in wardrobe.

Stella all but pushed Bloom into a waiting salon-style chair and she was left to wonder where Stella could have possibly gotten it while the others were put to work. Tecna was in charge of her hair and quickly got to work with the hairdryer, Musa was bent over her face touching up her eyebrows, while Flora was tasked with filing her nails into perfect ovals. Stella meanwhile was flipping through the numerous hangers that lined the walls, looking for the perfect date outfit.

"I don't want to look overdressed," Bloom reminded Stella, as the blonde considered a mini-dress. "I don't even know if he thinks this is a real date, and it's only a walk anyway."

Stella wrinkled her nose, as though she didn't think that was any reason not to go full-out but conceded with a nod and kept looking.

"Also remember she'll be outside," Tecna called over the roar of the hair-dryer. "It's not going to be as warm tonight."

"How about this?" Stella asked, holding up a pretty, floral maxi dress.

"Maybe," Flora said, tilting her head consideringly.

"Nah," Musa said.

"Too summery," Bloom agreed.

Stella hummed thoughtfully and twisted her Solarian Ring. "So maybe pants?"

"How about those black jeans you wore the other day," Musa said distractedly, attacking Bloom's brows viciously with the tweezers. "They just had a couple of rips in them and studs on the pocket."

"Oooh yes," Stella said, remembering. "They look great on you." She hurried quickly from the room to retrieve them.

Tecna, meanwhile had finished drying Bloom's hair and clicked off the dryer, picking the straightener up next. Flora moved from one hand to the other, and Musa apparently finally satisfied with the state of Bloom's eyebrows, stepped back with a nod.

"Ok, so now a top to go with it," Stella said, reappearing.

She rifled through her clothes for a few moments, holding out a couple of options which were each vetoed for being either too revealing for a first date, too dressy for a walk, or too hard to wear a bra with, and as Bloom said firmly, she was not going braless with her chest size.

Finally Stella pulled a top from the rack, considered it for a moment before turning to show the others, receiving approval from all around. The top was a pretty royal blue, cut short so it would play peek-a-boo with Bloom's belly button, and despite the thin straps, the cut allowed Bloom to wear her strapless bra underneath.

"You've got such a beautiful hour-glass shape, Bloom, you really should accentuate it more. And if you wear ankle boots with this, I'll think you'll be the perfect blend of casual and gorgeous." The other nodded in agreement.

The next hour passed in a flurry of chatter, hair straightening courtesy of Tecna, nails being done with a simple clear coat by Flora and Musa, and makeup by Stella. Through it all, they kept her carefully turned away from the mirror as per Stella's instruction, who apparently planning a big reveal at the end. Bloom would have rolled her eyes at the theatrics of it all but was beginning to get excited herself.

Stella watched her like a hawk all through a quick dinner, making sure she didn't do anything to ruin her hair or makeup. In record time they were all finished eating and heading back up to the dorm with just under a half hour for Bloom to get changed and touch-ups before the bus came.

Back in the dorm she was hustled back into the chair, Stella in front of her to fix any smudges in her makeup, while Flora did something to her hair. And then suddenly all that was left to do was spray a few drops of perfume and get changed, the others filing out of the wardrobe to give her privacy. Bloom wriggled into her jeans, pulled on the top, and slipped into the black boots, the heel so small they wouldn't hurt her feet while she walked. Bloom rubbed her hands over her thighs and wished there was a mirror still in the wardrobe before taking a deep breath and walking out to show her friends.

For a long minute after she appeared, her friends could only gape at her, then quietly Stella said, "Damn I'm good."

"Well?" Bloom asked, quirking an eyebrow and fighting the urge to cross her arms over her chest.

"Look for yourself," Stella said, gesturing to a nearby mirror.

Bloom had to admit that damn Stella was good. She was the perfect blend of casual with her jeans and ankle boots, while still looking like she had made an effort. The top revealed the slightest strip of creamy white skin at her waist that she usually kept covered by her baggy t-shirts. Flora had added a few subtle curls to her hair so it fell in casual waves over her shoulders and Stella, who thought a school day was an occasion for false eyelashes had kept her makeup light and subtle. All in all she looked-

"Beautiful," Flora sighed, joining her in the mirror.

"Boy's not going to know what hit him," Musa agreed, coming to stand on her other side.

"Here," Stella said, pushing a small bag into her hands. "Now move it, girl," she said, slapping Bloom's butt to get her moving. "Bus'll be here in ten minutes."


Bloom wasn't the only Alfea fairy on the bus who got off at the Red Fountain stop but she was the most casually dressed. She was also the only one who didn't throw herself at one of the Red Fountain guys waiting, she realised as she came to a stop before Brandon with an awkward wave.

"Hey, you look nice," Brandon said, eyes sweeping over her, briefly enough to still be respectful.

"Thanks. You're not looking too bad yourself," she replied.

Brandon had traded his usual uniform and cape for a more casual look of jeans and a nice shirt that did wonderful things for his arms and chest. Bloom felt herself blush and quickly glanced away and in doing so realised there was a leash looped around his wrist and a honey coloured dog attached to that leash.

"Hey, who's this?" Bloom asked with a grin and squatted before the dog, receiving a wet nose thrust into her hands as a reward.

"This is Lady," Brandon said. "I got her as a kid and we've sort of been inseparable ever since."

"Bet that makes Sky pretty jealous," Bloom teased. "I always wanted a dog," she continued after a moment, scratching behind Lady's ear and making her eyes droop with pleasure.

"She likes you," Brandon grinned.

After a moment they realised they were still surrounded by couples locked in passionate embraces and after sharing an embarrassed look they quickly headed away from the bus stop and towards impressive Red Fountain castle. Where Alfea was a large sprawling campus with large courtyards and quads, the buildings far-reaching but only a few stories high, the Red Fountain campus was the opposite, positively towering over Bloom and Brandon with its multiple stories, towers, and turrets.

While Brandon lead her around, pointing out the different features of the school, the pair lapsed into conversation about the most obvious topic they had in common: school.

"School's a lot better this year," Brandon was telling Bloom.

"Oh yeah?" she asked. "Why's that?"

"Well, we're finally up to all the exciting stuff in class, real missions, and I actually got to ride a dragon today."

Bloom made an impressed noise, trying to picture Brandon atop a dragon.

"Besides, you know, it was also great meeting you. And your friends," Brandon added hastily. "Timmy and Sky are great, but it's been nice to have an even bigger group of friends. What about you. How's Alfea going?"

"Oh, it's great. So different, you know? And we've had midterms all this week. One left tomorrow."

"Eugh," Brandon said emphatically. "They're no fun. What have you got left?" Lady strained at the leash so sniff all along the walkway. Brandon leaned down to unclip her and found a stick she could play fetch with.

"Uh," Bloom sighed, raking a hand through her hair. "Magical reality?"

"No way! I've heard about that one. Do you feel ready?"

Bloom gave a tight laugh. "Uh, not really?"

"Man, now I feel bad about dragging you away from studying."

"Don't," Bloom said, laying a hand on Brandon's arm. "I wanted to be here."

They shared a long, loaded look.

"I want to show you something," Brandon said after a moment.

Brandon lead her further along the walkway, up and up through the castle until they had reached the top story, round the back of the castle.

"This is my favourite place."

"It's… nice," Bloom said politely.

In reality the place looked a bit deserted, the sandstone looked like it could do with a good clean, and there were leaves and grit coating the ground. Brandon chuckled at the blatant lie, nudged her, and nodded out to the view she'd missed.

"Oh wow," Bloom breathed, eyes widening at the beautiful sight laid out before her. The setting sun painted the sky with shades of orange, red, pink, and gold. The sight was only made even more breathtaking by the sparkling surface of the lake below it which glimmered like thousands of shards of diamond. Bloom leaned an elbow on the railing unable to tear her eyes away from the sky. "You know I'd really like to paint this."

"I didn't know you were into painting," Brandon said, leaning against the railing so he could see Bloom's face.

"Yeah. I mean I just do it for fun."

"You'll have to show me some of your stuff sometime."

And even though Bloom almost never showed her work to anyone, let alone a guy she maybe-sort-of-liked, Bloom found herself saying "Yeah sure."

Neither of them had any idea that they had been followed the entire time by their former-friend, Riven. When the conversation turned to unimportant things like Bloom painting, Riven decided he wouldn't learn anything else and turned away to relay what he had heard to Darcy. Ever since they'd met, and Riven had decided to side with the Trix he and Darcy had been able to communicate telepathically; he wasn't sure what else the spell allowed Darcy to do, but she'd told him not to worry about it, so oddly, he hadn't.

Riven touched his index fingers from each hand to his temple as Darcy had told him and waited for the psychic connection to establish. It didn't take long, as usual,and as usual was completely disorienting. He clenched his eyes shut and Darcy appeared before him looking impatient.

"Well?" she snapped.

"The test's tomorrow. She'll play right into your hands."

A slow, cruel smile unfurled across Darcy's face. "Perfect."


"You want me to get on that thing?" Bloom asked dubiously, staring at Brandon's leva-bike like she expected it to bite her. It was one thing, she reasoned, to watch Brandon ride the semi-dangerous bike, it was a whole other to hop on behind him.

They'd spent an enjoyable evening together, talking and watching the sunset while Lady snuffled around their ankles until they were disappointed to find that they had to get going if they were going to get Bloom to Alfea, and Brandon back to Red Fountain again before the curfew barriers came down. Hence why Bloom was standing before the leva-bike, shivering in the breeze while Brandon tried to coax her on.

"Here," Brandon said, shrugging out of his leather jacket. He helped Bloom put it on, it's weight and warmth an instant comfort to her. "You wear this. And put this on," he added, brushing back her hair and settling a spare helmet on her head. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, alright?" he said firmly, meeting Bloom's eyes through the open visor.

Wondering why she was agreeing to this, Bloom sighed and nodded. Brandon grinned, flipped the visor down, and helped her onto the bike before swinging on in front of her.

"Now, hands tight around my waist," he instructed, catching a hold of her hands and guiding them to wrap around him. Being plastered against Brandon's back did nothing to calm Bloom's thundering heartbeat, nor did it help that she could feel his rock-hard abdominals through his t-shirt.

The bike purred to life beneath them, surprising Bloom. She'd half-expected to be loud like a motorbike back on earth but this bike was sleek and quiet, thrumming with contained energy.

"Ready?"

Bloom nodded mutely and squeezed her eyes shut. They pulled away slowly at first but before long they started to gain speed, the wind screaming past them and whipping at Bloom's hair.

"Are you alright," Brandon yelled back to her.

And strangely enough she was. She'd opened her eyes and it was both surreal and thrilling to watch the forest go whizzing past without the usual protection of a car around her. She could tell Brandon was purposefully keeping the bike as steady and straight as possible, and for that she was grateful; this was hair-raising enough for her, for now.

"Yeah," she called back, laughing. "Oh my god, this is insane." Bloom felt more than heard Brandon laugh, feeling the vibrations under her hands.

Too soon they were arriving back at Alfea, Bloom unwinding her body from Brandon's and half-falling off the bike. Brandon leaned against the bike, watching her as she freed herself from the helmet.

"So you liked that?" he asked, after she tucked the helmet under her arm.

"It was amazing," she said, laughing slightly in amazement. "I never thought I'd willingly get on a bike but I'm so happy I did."

"Well, I'm glad," Brandon said. "Maybe one day you'll ride by yourself."

"Oh no," Bloom chuckled. "I am quite happy riding with you, thank you," she said firmly, and shifted closer to offer the helmet back to him.

"Oh yeah?" Brandon asked, abruptly standing straighter, putting them face-to-face. "Just me?" he continued, voice dropping.

Bloom swallowed thickly, eyes betraying her and dropping to glance at Brandon's lips. "Well, I wouldn't get on a bike with someone I didn't trust, would I?" She realised distantly, that they'd slowly been migrating closer to each other and now stood only a few inches from each other.

"So you trust me?" Brandon murmured, his eyes darting between Bloom's eyes and lower to her lips. He shifted even closer, until they could the gentle puff of each other's breaths on their faces.

"Uh huh," Bloom heard herself answer, too intoxicated by Brandon's presence to come up with a better response. There was barely an inch separating them now and yet Brandon still hesitated, eyes unsure like he wasn't sure his advances would be welcomed, so Bloom closed the final distance between them herself, lips just brushing his when a familiar and faintly amused voice interrupted them.

"Barrier's coming down in fifteen minutes."

Bloom and Brandon jumped apart guilty, like two teenagers caught making out on the couch, faces mirror red. In her surprise Bloom dropped the helmet. Professor Callas merely looked amused, though not surprised as he wandered past, evidently on patrol.

"You have to be back in your room in fifteen minutes, Bloom," Callas reminded her.

Bloom swallowed, mouth dry, and ran a shaking hand through her hair, feeling disoriented. "Right, Sir. Will do."

Callas nodded, satisfied and wandered on to remind more couples further along. Brandon meanwhile scooped up the helmet from the ground and tucked it away in a compartment in his bike. He turned back to her his own helmet already in his hands.

"So I had a lot of fun tonight," he offered.

"Yeah, so did I," Bloom agreed. "And I was thinking we could maybe do this again."

Brandon grinned, looking relieved. "I'd like that."

Biting her lip, Bloom glanced over her shoulder where other girls were slowly starting to make their way inside the gates. "I should probably go in. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Bloom."

Bloom smiled one last time and turned to go, hearing the bike thrum to life behind her. At the gate she glanced back to find Brandon still sitting there, watching her go. He raised his hand in farewell, pulled the helmet on over his blonde hair, before driving off, Bloom waving after him. It was only then that Bloom realised that she still wore his leather jacket and he hadn't asked for it back.

She stood there for a moment longer, even after he turned the corner out of sight, leaning against the archway, and pressing her warm cheek to the cool sandstone, only able to breathe a single word, "Wow."


Unfortunately, across the lake trouble was brewing for Bloom, in the form of three senior witches. The Trix were huddled together in their dorm room, refining their plan to get the Dragon Flame from Bloom with minimal effort.

"I sent Knut out for the coriandum-verbosum," she said, stirring a ladle through a dark grey potion bubbling in her cauldron. "He better not be too much longer, half an hour more and this will be worthless and we'll have to start from scratch."

"This is supposed to help us project into Alfea?" Stormy asked, eyeing the lumps in the potion with distaste. "Are you sure you brewed it right?"

"Who's the best at potions here?" Darcy snapped, cheeks pink from both the flame and embarrassment. "I followed the recipe to the letter. Pass me the book."

Stormy shrugged and handed over the ancient potion book they'd swiped from the library. Darcy irritably wiped away some dust from the page before reading snootily, "Lumps are to be expected, even after adding the Acidicine, and will disappear with stirring. If worried, add one to two more drops of Acidicine."

"Well then let's add another drop of Acidicine," Stormy huffed and yanked the stopper from the vial, dropping another drop of the clear liquid into the potion. Sure enough with another few passes of Darcy's ladle, the potion began to smooth out. Stormy still didn't seemed satisfied however. "I don't like the colour still," she remarked, wrinkling her nose. "The potion's supposed to make us 'lighter than air', you'd think the colour would be a bit lighter."

"That's what the coriandum-verbosum is for," Darcy hissed.

"Would you two quit bickering," Icy hollered from below them, where she was sprawled on her bed, not helping. "And get down here." As if sensing Darcy was about to argue, she continued, snapping, "The potion will be fine for five minutes, Darcy. God you're like a mother-troll with her babies."

Bristling at the analogy, Darcy rose and stomped down the stairs, Stormy on her heels. "I'd just prefer for all my hard work not be for nothing. Potion-making is a very subtle art."

"Oh, shut up." Icy rolled her eyes and waved them over. "Are your crystals ready?" she demanded.

"Obviously," Stormy groused. "All that's left is finish the potion and then we'll be ready to crash the test tomorrow. The only problem will be if she doesn't unleash the power."

"Oh, we'll make her unleash it," Icy said knowingly, grinning cruelly as she thought of all the things she could do to anger the fairy.

"If we can't do a simple thing like that then we don't deserve to be called witches," Darcy smirked.

Knut burst into the room before they could say anything else, bringing with him the familiar stench of ogre. The witches wrinkled their noses automatically.

"Sorry, I'm late. I couldn't find any fresh coriandum-verbosum anywhere. It's out of season, you know?"

"So what did you get then," Icy snapped. "And I swear on the pits of Valhalla that if you came back empty-handed I'll turn you into a toads and use you in my next potion."

"I got freeze-dried," Knut grunted nervously, hunching his broad shoulders as though he could shrink. "Will that work? It's top quality stuff," he added quickly, when the Trix simply glared at him venomously. "Imported from Linphea, you know how they are with their plants."

"It'll have to do," Darcy said icily, snatching the little packets from him before stalking back upstairs, Icy and Stormy on her heels.

Darcy dropped to her knees before the cauldron and wasted no time measuring out the leaves and adding them to the potion. Almost instantly the colour change to a reflective silver, the consistency thinning and changing until it seemed to float in the cauldron, suspended somewhere between liquid and gas states. Darcy couldn't help shooting Stormy a triumphant look.

"How long will it last?" Icy asked, watching Darcy ladle the potion out into glasses.

"24 hours."

"But what if Bloom doesn't get called in the first day," Stormy frowned. "The test goes for two days."

The Trix frowned in thought before Darcy shrugged.

"The computer picks the order, right? So I'll just slip in tonight and make sure it picks Bloom first. And while I'm in there I'll mess with it a little bit to make sure no one can interfere while we're there."

"Brilliant," Icy complimented, making Darcy preen. "Then we'll steal the power from the pixie brat and no one will be able to stop us," she cackled, the other two quickly joining in.


It was hard for the freshmans to concentrate on classes the next day with their final and most demanding midterm looming over them. Bloom had fit a solid hour of study in between curfew and light's out last night but she still woke early, and brought books to read through at breakfast and even in between classes. And she wasn't the only one frantically studying either. Lunchtime especially was fraught with tension with many freshman ignoring their food in favour of reading through their textbooks one more time. Ten minutes before the bell was scheduled to go Bloom realised with a flash of irritation that she'd left her backpack up in the dorm.

"I have to run up to the dorm for something," Bloom told the others as she stood. "If I'm not back, go without me and I'll catch up."

She hurried off to the dorms before the others could argue. Because she technically wasn't supposed to be in her dorm during lunch, Bloom ran quickly and quietly, surreptitiously glancing around corners in case any teachers were around.

Finally she burst into her dorm, heading straight for her desk, where her backpack was waiting for her. Strewn across the desk were the books she'd been studying from the night before; figuring she had the time she paged through one of them, wanting to brush up on a protection spell before she left.

At last she found it under the heading 'General Protection Spells' written in elegant script. The one she wanted was fairly simple, requiring no use of ancient languages, nor complicated actions, promised to protect her from dangerous situations and was easy enough to remember: 'Say this once, say this twice, cast the spell and all will be well'.

Bloom frowned, wondering if she actually had to say the spell twice for it to take effect or if that was just the wording; she searched the section for any additional instructions like some of the other spells had but came up empty. Her phone beeped in her pocket, distracting her.

Brandon: Good luck with your test today. You're going to do great.

Smiling, Bloom tapped out an answer.

Bloom: Thanks! Just heading over now.

Brandon: Got my finger's crossed for you.

Almost immediately a second message from him appeared.

Brandon: Timmy and Sky want it known that they too are crossing their fingers for you and the other girls. Bloom: Tell them thanks from us. I'll make sure to pass it along to the other girls.

Bloom caught sight of the time and realised that she was running out of time so she quickly typed out another message.

Bloom: Gotta go now, or I'll be late.

She made sure to put the phone away in her desk, not wanting to get in trouble for having it with her in the exam before snagging her backpack off the floor - unaware that Kiko had crawled inside to take a nap - and hurried off.


"Good afternoon, class!" Professor Palladium chirped, seeming to the class much too excited considering how nervous they all were feeling. "I trust you're all sufficiently ready to take your midterm."

"I don't feel ready," Musa muttered to her friends, despite the many hours she'd spent preparing for the exam.

"I've forgotten what I studied," Flora said, looking worried.

"I just hope I don't have to go first," Bloom said, shifting nervously.

"I think it might be better to go first." Stella looked thoughtful. "That way you can get it over with and it's off your mind."

"Off you go then," Bloom said only half-joking.

Palladium cleared his throat over the din of anxious whispers. "Now, remember this is magical reality not make-believe, so be careful and stay vigilant." The whispers only seemed to increase at this.

"Hey, it's cool," Musa said, trying to remain calm. "Worse comes to worst, something goes wrong, and Palladium presses the emergency button."

"Can he press it now," Stella said, nerves starting to creep into her voice.

"I figured since this is your first exam of the kind, you would all want to watch, but as we progress, feel free to move down to the amphitheater below if you have already completed your test or would like some space to prepare yourself. Okay girls, the computer will now select the first student and then the dead planet they will have to survive." Palladium pressed a few buttons on the computer and it whirred obediently for a few seconds before black writing started to scrawl across the screen: Bloom Peters - Barhaine. Palladium turned sympathetic eyes on Bloom who felt her stomach swoop uncomfortably.

"Looks like, Bloom, you're up first. I can give you some information on Barhaine, if you'd like." At Bloom's eager nod, he began to read from the computer, "'Barhaine, originally inhabited by the hardy Barhanian people, experiences cold temperatures year round, with particularly freezing winters. The rocky terrain on Barhaine made growing crops particularly difficult but was made much worse by a ten-year civil war, after which the surviving people had to abandon the planet to seek refuge in neighbouring realms.' That's all I can give you, Bloom," Palladium said apologetically. "What potion ingredients are you going to bring along?"

"I've got the survival kit we got in lab class."

"Excellent. Are you ready? Or would you like a few more moments."

"No, I'm ready to go now," Bloom said, trying to inject some confidence into her voice for her own sake. On either side of her Stella and Flora grabbed her hands in support, and while Palladium went to open the heavy chamber door her friends bestowed upon her their best advice.

"Stay cool," Musa told her.

"Be careful," Fora added.

"Make us look good," Stella said, throwing in a dazzling smile for good measure.

"Be logical," Tecna said, cool as ever.

Beside Bloom, Stella scoffed. "Tec!" she exclaimed. "What kind of advice is that?"

Tecna looked affronted, "The only logical kind, naturally."

"The chamber's ready," Palladium called to Bloom.

She sent her friends a grateful smile. "See you later, girls."

Palladium seemed more anxious than Bloom was, watching her carefully as she walked to the door. "Now remember you can't leave the chamber until the test time is up but I will be watching and listening at all times and if anything starts to go wrong I can shut down the program."

"I'm sure nothing will go wrong," Bloom assured him.

"That's the spirit. Good luck, Bloom."

Bloom murmured her thanks and with a deep breath, walked into the brightly lit chamber, stomach jolting when she heard the heavy door shut behind her. It felt completely different being in the chamber all alone; it seemed suddenly monstrous in size, completely dwarfing her in size. Bloom had to take several calming breaths before her heart stopped thudding and her head cleared enough to remember the instructions Palladium had given them.

Bloom hurried around the ledge and walked out onto the platform as Palladium had told them to do, very aware that the class was watching her through the large window. Standing near the edge of the platform, she waited for the program to begin.

Palladium's voice came suddenly through the intercom, surprising her, "This will be my last communication with you, Bloom. Once the environment is set, you'll be on your own."

Bloom nodded shakily and tried not to tremble as the chamber started to hum around her, obviously powering up. The lights grew brighter until they blinded Bloom and she couldn't make out any of her surroundings. Then to her horror, she realised the platform beneath her was moving, withdrawing into the ledge, but rather than take her with it, she continued to hang suspended in mid air. Figuring this was the delicate blend of magic and technology Palladium had talked about she tried to stay as still as possible. The light's were still blinding but she could hear the shift of things moving and had the stomach-churning feeling that her environment was changing around her. All of a sudden the light's receded and then there was nothing.

Well, there was rocky dirt beneath her feet, a sky thick with smog, and a bracing temperature but there was no more chamber, no more Palladium, and certainly no more classmates. Bloom was well and truly on her own, as Palladium had warned her. It was perplexing knowing that Palladium and her class were watching her, but she couldn't see them. The bleak environment stretched out endlessly in every direction and for a few moments Bloom could only turn in circles and shiver.

Then oddly enough Tecna's advice came back to her and she started thinking logically. Although she only was going to be here for half an hour, Bloom knew she was being marked on showing skills to survive for an indefinite period of time. And that meant first up she would need a food source.

Kneeling on the uncomfortable ground, Bloom slipped her backpack from her shoulders and unzipped it, only to find Kiko snoozing inside. With an exclamation Bloom slid a hand under the bunny and lifted him out.

"Kiko?"

Kiko blinked awake and wriggled his nose at her. Frowning, she put him on the ground, leaving him to explore the new terrain and looked around, wondering if she was going to get in trouble for this.

"I didn't know he was in there, Sir," she called out.

No voice answered her, and she wasn't returned to the chamber so Bloom figured it was okay and went back to rummaging in her backpack. She pulled out a handful of seed packets and began rummaging through them, trying to remember what her potions teacher had told her.

"Alright, let's get some eco-totalis plants going," she said, speaking to Kiko out of habit, selecting the packets and depositing the rest back in her bag. Eco-totalis plants were good, she remembered, because the leaves could be eaten raw or cooked, contained all the nutrients a person needed to survive, and the plants thrived in even the toughest climates, making them perfect for a developing planet.

Bloom got to work digging out some shallow holes for the seeds which proved tougher than expected because as Palladium had told her the ground was indeed very rocky but eventually she got a line of holes dug. She scattered the seeds in the holes and pushed the soil back over them.

"Alright," she said. "Now all they need is a little bit of Winx and a spell." Bloom held out her hands, already starting to glow faintly, and concentrated hard. "Grow up acceleradum."

Obediently little green shoots pushed up out of the dirt and Bloom felt a flutter of satisfaction in her chest. She thought she understood now why Flora was always so nuts about plants; it felt nice to bring something living into the world.

"Come on, little sprouts," she encouraged, sending a little more winx their way. The plants continued to grow, some of them even starting to sprout leaves and satisfied Bloom sat back to observe her handiwork. She would check on them later, she decided, maybe grow them a little more then.

In the meantime she had other things to do. She'd just stood, brushed off her dirty hands, and was deciding that she would put up a few protective enchantments, and maybe a warming spell if she could manage it, when she heard the woosh of magic behind her.

She spun around, expecting some monster or ghoul to battle but instead was faced with three familiar looking witches.

"Look, she's doing so well," Icy sneered.

"What are you doing here?" Bloom asked, hating how small her voice sound. "You're not supposed to be part of my test," she said, sounding stronger, even as she wondered if they possibly could be. She doubted however that she would have to face witches in a survival test, after all there were no witches on dead planets. Bloom casted a desperate look to the sky but Palladium didn't interfere; it seemed she really was on her own.

"We're here to give you an extra-credit question," Darcy taunted.

"Yeah, can you survive this?" Stormy growled.

Together they raised their hands and blasted an energy ball at Bloom. She managed to dodge Stormy's one which was crackling with dangerous lightning, but she wasn't quick enough to get out of the way of Darcy's. Bloom didn't understand how Darcy could use physical attacks since her magic was rooted in the vulnerabilities and dangers of the mind, but her energy left a scorching burn on Bloom's arm nevertheless.

Bloom cast a quick glance at her arm; the burn didn't look too bad, though it was throbbing. She looked over at Kiko, but the bunny had curled back asleep in her backpack. That settled, Bloom was ready to get down to business and deal with Trix.

"I've beat you witches in reality, I'll beat you here too," Bloom told them and without any further ado she transformed into her fairy form.

Bloom hovered in the air, while the Trix remained unmoved several feet from her, both parties seeming to dare each other to make the next move. Knowing that getting the Trix angry would be the best way to get them off balance, Bloom began to taunt them.

"If I'd known you'd be here, I would have reviewed chapter 8: fungus removal spells." She followed up the taught with a quick fireball at Darcy, payback for the burn on her arm.

Apparently taken aback by the speed of Bloom's attack, the flames quickly enveloped Darcy, sweeping her off her feet. The fire cleared quickly and while Darcy appeared unscathed, she remained lying on the ground stunned, the breath knocked out of her.

"Quit playing around Darcy," Icy snapped and Darcy was quick to jump to her feet.

Stormy, meanwhile flicked a lightning strike at Bloom but it was easy enough to dodge. She sent more fireballs back at the Trix, hitting them sometimes but they seemed unconcerned. They continued like that for several more minutes trading attacks but the Trix's attacks lacked power behind them and Bloom's seemed unable to hurt them.

Bloom wondered for the first time how it was they were there in the chamber, and realised that if they were projecting themselves, and not there corporeally then she might not be able to defeat them. She hoped that wasn't the case and that wherever Palladium was that he was working to get her out.

Icy fired another ice shard at her but the attack didn't even graze her, though the Trix watched her expectantly, almost as if they didn't want to hurt her at all. It was like they were waiting for something, but Bloom had no idea what.

"This isn't working," Bloom heard Icy snap at the other two and wondered what the hell was going on.

"Alright," Darcy replied. "Time to step it up a notch. This one affects her physically and mentally."

Darcy thrust her hand into the air and piercing tones echoed on command, tearing at Bloom's eardrums. She cried out in pain and clapped her hands over her ears even as the spell tossed her a few feet. Bloom landed hard and rolled, the touch ground ripping her skin. Groaning, Bloom tried to pick herself up, but her mind was fighting her every step of the way made ony harder by freezing rain beating down on her courtesy of Icy.

It's too hard, a quiet, unfamiliar voice whispered in her head. Just give up. Bloom slipped in the mud, and just lay there panting hard.

A dark, creeping presence twisted through her mind, slipping through her memories and worming it's way into every crevice of her mind. Shuddering at the intrusion, Bloom screwed up her eyes and curled into a ball.

Unbidden, hers parent's face rose in her mind. Did you actually think they could ever love you? The voice was back, sounding meaner. You're not even their flesh and blood. You're just someone else's cast-off's.

"No," Bloom moaned and there was a sharp stinging in her scalp. Distantly she realised she was pulling her own hair, but try as she might she couldn't force herself to stop.

Faragonda's face appeared but when she opened her mouth it wasn't her voice that spoke but that quiet voice that lurked in her mind. You're a useless fairy, Bloom. You should just go back home, go be normal again.

"But I don't want to be normal," she tried to say but all that came out was a strangled noise.

Faragonda's face was suddenly replaced by her friends, the horrible voice accompanying them. Why would they ever want to be friends with you? You're plain. You're boring. You're nothing.

Bloom groaned, realising what the voice was doing: it was sneaking through her mind, finding each of her darkest insecurities and putting them on display for her to see. But knowing what the spell was doing did nothing to help her fight back against it. Especially when her friend's were replaced in turn by Brandon's smiling face.

You actually thought he was interested in you? The voice laughed meanly, making Bloom shudder and try to twist away. But it was part of her now, entwined so deeply with her mind that they never could be seperated. You're not confident or powerful like Stella. You're not cool like Musa. Or smart like Tecna. Or kind like Flora. You're nothing. You are NOTHING! The last word was a screech, echoing over and over and before her Brandon's smile faded, twisted in disgust, and with a shake of his head he turned and walked away, never looking back.

Bloom couldn't see anything, she couldn't feel anything, and hysterically she thought, this exam is going to kill me. She was actually going to die from an exam, lying in the mud, while a voice whispered over and over that she was nothing.

"No!" The scream tore from Bloom's throat, brutally painful. "No," she repeated, slamming her hands into the voice. "No, no, no," she screamed, shoving at the snarling voice until finally it was out and her head was her own again.

The sight of her hands splayed in the mud, covered in dirt and blood from slamming them into the earth might have been the most beautiful sight, Bloom had ever laid her eyes on. If only because she could actually see them. Breathing like she'd just run a marathon, Bloom rolled on her back, not caring about the mud seeping into her hair or the rain falling in her face, just relieved that it was over.

Except it wasn't because appearing out of the gloom was Stormy, mouth twisted cruelly and hand raised ready to attack.

"You're gonna flunk this test and get kicked out," Stormy snarled viciously but Bloom only blinked up at her. Stormy looked like she was waiting for Bloom to cower at her feet, but after that horrible voice infecting her mind, Stormy didn't seem anywhere near as scary.

Bloom licked her lips and swallowed roughly. "Yeah?" she asked, her voice hoarse. She wondered if she had been screaming.

Stormy looked thrown by the lack of fear in Bloom's voice, which was perfect, because she didn't see Bloom's fireball coming. Vaulting to her feet as soon as Stormy was out of the way, Bloom was acutely aware of every place her body ached. But she pushed that away and focussed on the Trix. But there were only two of them she realised too late, an ice attack hitting her from behind.

Bloom tumbled from the air, ice encasing her legs and the boulder sized chunk hit the ground, anchoring her in spot even as her wings fluttered desperately. Around her the Trix made stupid comments about her apparent lack of a future but Bloom was too busy struggling with the ice to pay them any attention. She tried heating the ice but the chunk was too big and it would take too long to melt and she didn't know any bigger fire spells. She was contemplating blasting chunks of the ice away when Stormy's next words brought her up short.

"If you even make it out of here in one piece."

Bloom looked up through her filthy, tangled hair to see a crack in the earth heading straight for her. The Trix might not scare her anymore but that certainly did; with her legs trapped she wouldn't be able to fly away and falling to her death was a distinct possibility.

She struggled harder with the ice as the crack raced toward her. Where the ground opened up, lava appeared which seemed infinitely worse; falling was one thing but boiling alive in lava? Bloom couldn't think of any fates worse. Finally she looked up at the Trix desperately. "Please," she sobbed, hating herself as she did. "Please, not like this."

But the Trix only cackled.

"Aww, look how scared she is," Darcy cooed.

"Too scared to even fight back," Icy added, cruel mirth making her eyes glitter like ice chips.

Familiar white hot energy began bubbling in the pit of Bloom's stomach as her tears subsided and anger began to overtake her. "Oh yeah," she hissed, shoving out with that white energy, ice exploding from around her and raining down on the dumbstruck Trix.

Icy seemed to regain her composure quickly enough. "I'd have to rate that a C minus," she said but there was an odd note in her voice.

"You sure, Icy?" Bloom snarled, barely recognising her own voice. That hot energy hadn't been abated in the slightest and continued to bubble and grow, aching to be released. "You sound a little scared, if you ask me."

"Well, I didn't ask you," Icy hissed, her cool good looks disappearing as her face twisted grotesquely with rage. "But," she continued, face smoothing out. "Why don't we ask your bunny?"

"Ask my bunny?" Bloom repeated, confused.

Icy nodded to the lava pits where a familiar bunny was shivering nervously on a ledge dangerously close to the boiling liquid. The anger in Bloom eased as dread overtook her.

"Kiko," she called. "Hang on, I'm coming for you."

Bloom leapt into the air, intent on her pet but Icy's words sent a chill through her.

"I just don't think you'll make it in time."

It was like she was watching in slow motion as Icy raised her palm, a simple energy ball forming and racing towards the ledge, blasting it to pieces and sending Kiko tumbling through the air. Bloom shot through the air, every lesson she'd ever had with Faylinn burning in her mind but somehow she knew, no matter how quickly she flew, she wasn't going to reach Kiko in time. Then it was like her mind cleared and all she could see was the words from her textbook: General Protection Spells.

Desperately Bloom summoned her winx. "Say this once, say this twice, cast this spell and all will be well!" And then for good measure and just in case. "Say this once, say this twice, cast this spell and all will be well! No!" she screamed realising she'd lost sight of Kiko. She hovered over the bubbling lava eyes desperately seeking any sign of him but there was nothing.

Tears began to spill over her cheeks as Icy continued to taunt her and Bloom realised that the white hot heat was back, more intense than before, growing so rapidly it felt as though she was going to burn from the inside out. The Bloom realised she wasn't just burning on the inside, she was literally encased in flames, popping and crackling around her, though she felt no pain. Through tears, Bloom glared at Icy.

"You're going to regret you did that, Icy."

Bloom thought she heard Icy yell something to the other two but she didn't care. Because the rage inside her had finally reached a boiling point and something seemed to explode from Bloom, taking on a mind of its own and racing at Trix, overwhelming them. And then just like that they were gone.

Bloom fell from the sky, absolutely no energy left to slow her descent and crashed to earth, landing painfully on her knees. The world around her seemed to flicker and shift, blurring slightly in places. It made Bloom's head spin so she let her gaze drop to the floor where a familiar looking bunny was sitting.

"Kiko," she whispered through cracked lips, a small bloom of hope unfurling in her chest. She reached out just to make sure he was real but when her hand should have touched his fur, instead it just passed right through. Not-Kiko looked at her strangely, flickered, before vanishing without a trace. "What?" Bloom whispered, trying to make sense of what she'd just seen.

She looked up to find another Kiko sitting a foot away. And then another. And another. She looked around and realised she was surrounded by hundreds of Kiko's. Her head swam with the sight, their perfect robotic movements making her feel wrong.

One, however, caught her eye; there was something slightly different about that one. He seemed to move half a beat after all the others as though he hadn't quite gotten the instruction in time. And when he hopped there was something familiar about the movement.

"Kiko!"

The bunny glanced up, twitched an ear, then bounded over. This time when she went to touch him, she felt soft fur instead of empty disappointment. Bloom pulled him to her chest, the relief pouring into her so intense that she slumped over, curled up on her side and snuggling close with her bunny. She was so distracted whispering sweet nothings into his ear that she didn't notice at first the world flicker around her before dissolving, replaced with the familiar sight of the chamber.

Bloom noticed however when the door burst open and the class came flooding in, Palladium and Faragonda leading the charge. Bloom blinked at them blearily, exhaustion crashing down on her, and she wondered why they looked so worried. Away from the Trix Bloom's head felt uncomfortable and raw, as though it had been picked clean; everything from the lights to the worried chatter of the class suddenly was too much and she wanted to shut it all away. She rolled onto her back, smiling slightly at the blue sky she could see through the skylight, much more soothing than the harsh fluorescent lights. It would be alright, she decided, to just close her eyes for a few minutes.

Feet thundered towards her, and vaguely she noticed people kneeling around her but she couldn't bring herself to worry about them. Someone slapped her hand while another called her name desperately, then a shock zipped through her body, but she couldn't respond to any of them, because sleep had her in its clutches and it wasn't letting her go.

Then over the din she heard Tecna's voice, high and panicked, "Professors she really shouldn't go to sleep," and that made her worried because she'd never heard Tecna anything but calm before. But it was too late, sleep had her, and it was dragging her down into the black.


The Trix slowly came to lying on the dusty floor of their dorm. Groaning, they struggled into an upright position, slumping heavily against the nearest objects.

"Man," Stormy grumbled, rubbing her head. "That pixie's power really kicked our butts."

"Who cares," Icy bit out, forcing herself to stand. "All that matters is we've got the power now." She stumbled drunkenly but remained standing. "Get up," she barked when the other two remained slumped on the floor. "I want to check the crystals."

Darcy and Stormy shot her venomous glares but stood nevertheless, wavering on their feet. Together the three witches raised their hands and began summoning their crystals. Once they appeared before them they sent them into the air to create the triangle where the power would be stored. But it was obvious immediately that something was wrong. Everything they'd read had told them that the triangle should be thrumming with the newly acquired power, but the triangle felt as hollow and empty as always.

"No!" Icy screamed, realising that the crystals had failed to capture the power. "No!" she wailed, dismissing her crystal with a furious wave of her hand. Darcy and Stormy wore mirror looks of shock as their crystals too disappeared. Icy turned her livid gaze on Darcy who still looked stunned. "Why?" she bellowed. "You told me that this would work! You promised that the power would be mine!" On her last word something in the dorm shattered and the room seemed to drop ten degrees instantly.

Darcy paled. "I don't know," she said, obviously trying to sound both calm and unafraid. "It should have worked." She started to inch back, heading for a thick book on her nightstand. "It might have something to do with out astral-projection. I'll work it out."

"You'd better!" Icy shrieked, seizing the closest object, a bottle of perfume and flung it at Darcy.

The bottle hit the wall above Darcy's head, and shattered on impact, liquid and glass raining down on Darcy. Eyes dark with rage fixed on Icy and the dorm seemed to tremble as power built at her fingertips. For a long moment the pair glared at each other, Stormy looking between them, and they seemed to stand the precipice of war. Then Darcy blew out a long breath, the power fading from her hands, snatched up her book, and stormed up onto the mezzanine. And Icy went back to destroying the dorm, Stormy just trying to stay firmly out of her way.


Bloom wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep when she woke to the sound of voices. Her head pounded, and her body felt like it had been scraped raw. Bloom tried to open her eyes but they felt like they'd been glued together, and her mouth was dry and uncomfortable and she couldn't make herself say anything.

"... no idea how scary it was," a familiar female voice was saying. Stella, a helpful part of her brain supplied. But Stella sounded funny, her voice stuffed up and blocked as though she had a cold. "She was in so much pain and we couldn't even do anything but stand and watch." Stella made an odd noise, as though she was trying to stifle a sob.

"Hey," another voice said gently, this one male but not as immediately identifiable. "It's alright. She's alright now."

"Yeah," Stella said, her voice sounding muffled.

"You look beat," the male said. "Have you had anything to eat?"

"No," Stella replied. "I didn't want to leave her. I made the others go."

"Come on," the male said, all of a sudden authoritative. "She'll be right without you for half an hour and I'm sure we can get something from the kitchen"

Stella made a noise as though she was going to argue but the male wasn't having any of it, firmly leading her out of the room.

"I'm going to go with them," another familiar voice said. "Give you some time alone with her."

A voice much closer to Bloom sighed, and said, "Thanks, man. I'll catch up with you guys later." Brandon, Bloom knew instantly feeling as though she'd know his voice anywhere. A chair beside her creaked and something warm touched her hand. Another hand, her mind supplied a few long seconds later, holding hers.

"You really scared me, you know?" Brandon continued even though Bloom couldn't respond. "I kept calling and calling and you wouldn't pick up. Then Stella called and I don't think I've been more scared in my life." Just like Stella, Brandon sounded oddly choked. There was a long beat of silence as though Brandon was collecting himself during which Bloom felt her mind start to grow heavy again. "I really regretted not kissing you last night, you know? I couldn't stop thinking about it all day; almost lost a finger in weapons training because of it."

Bloom wanted to squeeze his hand then, show some sign that she felt exactly the same way but her body remained stubbornly prone. Not to mention her thoughts were coming slower and slower and it was getting harder to concentrate on what Brandon was saying. But still she clung tightly to the last threads of consciousness so she didn't miss a word.

"I'm just going to sit with you for a little bit, okay?" She felt a soft brush of lips against the back of her hand and apparently that was enough to push her back over the edge of unconsciousness, and she gladly went, a feeling of warmth spreading in her chest.


The next time Bloom woke up there were no voices, and her eyes actually opened, although her mouth was still dry and uncomfortable. It was daytime, still early if the soft light streaming through the windows was anything to go by, and this time she was alone.

Or maybe not as alone as she thought, because there was a sudden inhale of breath from somewhere to her right, then a face, Stella's face appeared over her. But she didn't look like herself; her hair was bundled back in a careless knot, her eyes were swollen and covered in smudged makeup as though she'd slept in it (which Bloom knew Stella loathed to do), and her face was pinched with worry. Bloom gurgled something, trying to ask if her friend was all right but her throat refused to cooperate.

"Oh, here." Stella disappeared for a moment before coming back with a glass of water with a bendy straw which she fed through Bloom's dry lips.

Bloom drank from the glass greedily, the chilled water feeling like heaven on her throat. She let the straw go with a relieved sigh and Stella set it aside again. There was a scrape as Stella dragged over a chair and sat down.

Bloom cleared her throat a few times. "What happened?" she croaked.

Stella looked trouble. "You don't remember the fight with the Trix?"

Bloom lifted a hand to her head as it all came flooding back, The Trix showing up in her test, that horrible presence in her mind, trying to save Kiko. "No, I do. But what happened after that? You look awful," she said, unable to keep the accusatory note from her tone when Stella only looked at her blankly.

"Watching your best friend take on three witches while your helpless to do anything about it tends to do that to a person," Stella shot back. She sighed after a moment and rubbed her eyes. "Besides, you're not looking too crash hot yourself, girl."

Bloom held her hand up to get a look at it; last time she'd seen it, she'd been covered in cuts and caked in mud and blood. The mud and blood were still there but at least the cuts had healed. She didn't want to get a look at the rest of herself.

"So the test ended, the witches left, what happened next?"

Stella made a face. "Palladium took you straight to the infirmary, that's where we are by the way." Bloom looked around and realised she was right. She'd assumed they were back in the dorm but rather she was lying on a bed in a line of identical white beds in a large, airy, mostly white room. "Faragonda was furious, I've never seen her so angry," Stella whispered, still looking scared about it. "We essentially went into lockdown while the teachers tried to work out how they'd gotten into the chamber which is one of the most guarded parts of the castle. Everyone was confined to their dorms, except for us, we were allowed to come here."

"Where are the others?"

"They went back to the dorm to crash once we were sure you were going to be alright. They stayed up all night with me."

"And what happened to the chamber. It started to get a bit weird there in the end."

"Yeah, major malfunction. Apparently the witches messed with it; it's going to be down for a while, they reckon. So you know, bright side, the test's been postponed. You're pretty popular right now," Stella grinned.

But Bloom's mouth had gone unexpectedly dry again. "Right, the test," she said, trying to play it cool. "Did Palladium say anything about me. Will I have to do it again? Or-"

Stella had a knowing smile on her face. "You passed with flying colours."

Bloom chuckled a little in relief, her head falling to the side and eyes catching on a vase of flowers on the nightstand. She glanced back at Stella, question on her lips, and her friend's smile widened.

"The boys brought them over, very early this morning. Basically as early as Faragonda would let them in." Her smile slipped slightly. "You really scared him, you know?"

"Yeah," Bloom murmured, mind catching on a hazy memory. She doesn't think she was quite awake but she remembers someone holding her hand and talking to her quietly. She shook her head to clear and focussed back on Stella. "So what now?"

"Now?" Stella heaved a heavy sigh. "Well, you have a week of bed rest as prescribed by the healer, apparently Darcy's spell really did a number on you. Then we go back to trying to figure out what the Trix want from you."


Hey guys, feels like it's been forever since I posted but I was busy writing the chapter where Bloom goes home which was super difficult for me for some reason. Anyway I was really happy with what I did with this chapter (though I think the pacing is a little off) and I hope you enjoyed it as well.

Anyway, a question for you this update is who are your favourite canon pairings? I personally like all the canon pairings because I think they were pretty well suited for each other but I'll always have a soft spot for Bloom and Sky. Anyway let me know your answers and what you thought of the chapter in a reviw xx