I was absolutely appalled by the previous version of this chapter, the result of Tecna's injury on the obstacle course had her staying in the infirmary overnight and she was still having effects from it the next morning. Not to mention the chapter was just filled with Stella giving Tecna such a hard time when they were suppose to be focused on finding Bloom. And Flora insisting on worrying too much about Tecna after her injury. A lot of that has been edited out. I'm actually glad I was able to add a couple of Timmy scenes in this chapter, although now that Brandon/Sky is under the impression that Bloom is fated to be evil, Timmy feels the need to do double duty as a secret agent for the FPP. I'm also thrilled that I could still make my 8,000 word quota without filling the chapter with too much worthless crap. Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy.
Winx Club Episode Dialogue (c) Iginio Straffi And Rainbow S.r.l
Chapter Fourteen: Bloom's Dark Secret
Timmy's Point of View
Midterms were finally over, and I was getting ready to return to the Fairy Protection Program Headquarters in my home realm for the semester break. The last time I had got any information about Tecna was after the midterms at Alfea started, she said that the simulator midterm had to be postponed because the Trix managed to temper with the controls and sabotage Bloom's exam. I hadn't heard from her since, and was beginning to wonder if I wasn't doing the best at my assignment as I should be. I was so deep in my thoughts, trying to figure out how to get more information on Tecna so I am aware of what exactly I'd be protecting her from. I barely heard my computer beeping, and the screen of my webcam flashed to life as I turned my attention to the sound.
Unexpectedly, it was a call from General Tyler, and his face appeared on screen when I accepted.
"Agent Timothy Windez, how is the mission with Miss Tecna coming along?" He asked evenly, I honestly had nothing to say to him that he probably didn't already know, that is except the threat of the Trix.
"Well, nothing too dangerous hasn't happened yet. Though there are three witches from Cloudtower who insist on doing anything they can to put one of her roommates in danger. I've seen the girl and it looks like she holds some pretty intense powers. If Tecna's roommate Bloom holds a power that could be catastrophic in the wrong hands, Tecna could more than likely get caught in the crossfire." I informed him seriously.
"That's much more than we needed to worry about, this is quite the unexpected turn of events." He answered roughly, "and that just makes your job even harder Windez. We don't just have the unknown threat lurking from Tecna's home life to deal with, but we also have to make sure that these witches don't hurt her either."
"Do we even know what this unknown threat from Zenith is?" I asked, perhaps he had gathered more information in the time I was studying at Red Fountain.
"No, Mrs. Faragonda is not allowed to disclose that information on grounds of confidentiality between her and her students. All we need to know for now is to watch Tecna for anything out of the ordinary." He told me, "Although Mrs. Faragonda has given me some information about Tecna that might be crucial to her protection. Tecna has told her that as long as she can remember, she has never been to a general practitioner or other medical professional. This means that her health could very well be in great jeopardy, and being a fairy training in battle on a daily basis, it could be more dangerous for her than it would be for the average fairy." General Tyler continued. I froze in shock, how could Tecna not remember going to a doctor, or could her parents just not have taken her to one? But why, this new piece of information made things sound very suspicious to me, now I knew that as soon as I got back from semester break, I would have a better strategy for getting more information about Tecna's life in Zenith, and what exactly I'd be protecting her from.
Tecna's Point of View
Semester break was finally over, the next day after Bloom told us about her discoveries was Monday. Mrs. Faragonda wanted to see me in her office before the first day of classes, and as usual, I sat across from her as she looked at me with clasped hands placed on the desk.
"So, Tecna, we've had a pretty exciting week, haven't we." She began and I just nodded slowly in response, "And with the results of your simulation midterm, and taking into consideration everything that's happened and your progress in the one on one battle classes with me.., I have thought something over very carefully. I have also taken into account what might happen if I do decide to let you do what I am going to tell you now."
"What were you thinking of, headmistress?" I pressed, of course I wasn't sure if what she was proposing was going to be a good idea or not, but I was still open to it nonetheless.
"I was thinking of allowing you to participate in the class that Professor Palladium, Professor Wizgiz, Professor Defour and I are teaching this afternoon. The first class will be an obstacle course that will test the skills you've learned last semester." She continued, and as I heard her decision, I actually did wonder if it was the best thing to do.
"Are you sure I'm able to go through the obstacle course without getting hurt, I still remember the humiliation of my midterm in the simulator." I inquired doubtfully. I also couldn't get the image out of my head of waking up with Timmy looking down at me after Stormy knocked me out just a little under a month ago. Realizing just how easily I could be knocked out was a scary thought.
"If I knew you were going to get hurt like you did during your exam, I would've definitely went against it. However I'm always willing to give my students the opportunity to reach their hidden potential. It just wouldn't be fair not to let you have a chance because of what happened in the past." She reassured me with a knowing smile. I thanked her as she dismissed me from her office and I headed to my first class of the new semester.
I sat with the girls in the auditorium that afternoon for the class that Mrs. Faragonda mentioned that morning. The teachers of Alfea had set up an obstacle course for us, Mrs. Faragonda once again explained that this was to determine how much we've learned during our first semester. We watched a fairy named Judith fly through the course in the center of the room. She finished with a final battle cry as she placed a rose surrounded by a magic sphere on the platform while blasting an oncoming boulder with her powers.
"Well done, Judith, you get an A." Ms Faragonda announced, "Bloom, it's your turn." The redhead fairy of fire walked down the bleachers to the centre of the auditorium and transformed into her Magic Winx form. Then she stood strong, full of confidence and ready for action. Professor Wizgiz, Professor Palladium and Professor Defour, a lesser known teacher of Alfea who taught etiquette, were watching every student's turn in the obstacle course from a desk on the outside of the huge room. Bloom turned her gaze to see the rose in the magic orb floating in mid air. Ms Faragonda grunted while he snapped her fingers, and Bloom began her demonstration. Bloom flew and twirled around the obstacle course trying to avoid the lights that shone from multiple angles. Mrs. Faragonda explained that when you were hit by the lights, it would be as if you were hit by opposing magic attack. Bloom suddenly screamed when she got too close to one of the spotlights and fell to the floor, barely missing it. Although he was quick to get her bearings, and gasped while she sat up. She watched the spotlights surround her target. After staring down her target, she quickly jumped, managing to grab the rose within its orb while one of the lights created a bright blast of light as a way to try to distract her from achieving success. Luckily she was not phased by any of it. The redhead fairy landed gracefully on her knees next to a golden platform with the rose in her hands. Stella, Flora, Musa and I gasped in amazement as we watched Bloom. She was so full of determination, and even if the course appeared difficult, Bloom made it look almost effortless. Ms Faragonda snapped her fingers once more, and the huge boulder of ice from every previous demonstration began to materialize above Bloom. She screamed once she saw the boulder falling down towards her, and raised her hands to brace herself. She threw a blast of magic fire towards it, destroying it with a gigantic explosion. The rest of the Winx and I had amazed expression on our faces for a split second before cheering happily. I gave Musa a high five as Stella and Flora raised their hands joyously for Bloom's success in the obstacle course.
"Settle down, girls," Mrs Faragonda told our group, "excellent performance, Bloom, return to your seat. Next please!" With the headmistres's instructions, Bloom de-transformed and walked back to join us. A few more fairies went up to take their turns, and then Musa, Stella and Flora were up after that. Once Flora completed her demonstration on the obstacle course, Mrs Faragonda looked in my direction.
"Tecna, it's your turn to go." She told me warmly, I had a feeling that she waited until the last minute to let me have my turn. I still knew that despite her confidence to give me a chance to get stronger, she was still very hesitant to have me participate, and as humiliating as it was to admit, I understood why. So I walked up toward the middle of the obstacle course and transformed into my Magic Winx form, and just like Bloom, stared at the the rose within the magic orb.
"Okay I'm ready, Ms Faragonda." I breathed, she snapped her fingers like before as the lights appeared around me. As with Bloom and the other students before me, I began to dodge them, remembering perfecting this for weeks during the battle classes with Alfea"s headmistress. It occurred to me that I was definitely not as fast at avoiding the spotlights as the rest of my thoughts classmates were, however that didn't stop me from trying my best. Suddenly the lights began to get a bit too close for my comfort, I flew frantically through the air, trying not to get hit by them. Getting very close to my target, the spotlights surrounded me, I was almost about to grab the orb, when suddenly the lights caught up to me, and before I could react, I was falling o the ground, drifting into unconsciousness once I was hit by the impact.
My eyes opened, and I squinted to get used to the light again. My head hurt tremendously and I didn't want to move at all. Ms Faragonda was looking down at me with great concern. As I began to look around, I realized that I was in the infirmary, and Nurse Ophelia was dipping a cloth in cool water. I groaned once more and turned to my side.
"How in the Magical Dimension could I not think this was going to happen?" Ms Faragonda was sitting with her hands buried in her face, whispering softly, "This just tells me that you'll have to resume your one on one training classes with me." I wanted to
talk, but I just lay there confused and once again humiliated.
"Wh-what happened?" I inquired groggily.
"As soon as you were knocked out, the rest of your friends wanted to come to make sure you were all right. I told them they could see you when you were ready." Ms Faragonda explained, "You definitely took a serious blow." Knowing that my friends have seen exactly just how weak I was as a fairy on the battlefield, the humiliation and worthlessness only increased. Not only did the rest of the Winx see how easily I could be knocked out, but the entire class of freshmen fairies as well. Even those fairies who didn't particularly live up to the name of doing good for the Magical Dimension, which only made me begin to worry that this could cause me to be the school's biggest joke. Usually this was expected of students residing at Cloudtower, they were known for humiliating their other classmates daily, but here at Alfea I knew that Mrs. Faragonda wouldn't tolerate such behaviour. Though that didn't mean a few of my classmates wouldn't slip through the cracks, that was what I was most afraid of.
"Stay still, Tecna, this will help the headache." Nurse Ophelia replied gently as she placed the cool cloth on my forehead, "From what I can see, you are far too weak right now to stand up. I think it's best that you stay here for a little while longer so I can keep an eye on you. Then you can return to your dorm and rest even longer if you have to." This didn't make any sense to me, why had the impact that I was exposed to be so strong that it is now causing me to have this spitting headache? I felt even worse than when I woke up after Stormy knocked me out not too long ago, at least then I was able to get to the Red Fountain ship without too much assistance.
"I don't understand it." I groaned painfully, "This has been the worst result from any battle experience I've ever had. Being away from Zenith, shouldn't I be stronger by now?"
"Tecna, this is a whole new semester, that obstacle course was a test of everything the others have learned from their training. Since you were focusing on the basics of defence, there was a lot more they've learned compared to you." She told me, "Even I didn't expect this to happen to you. As I said before, I would have never allowed you to do this If I knew you were going to get hurt." I sighed heavily.
"I know, Ms Faragonda, I remember." I moaned, "I just wish I wasn't so pathetic. Despite being homeschooled and not being compared to other average Zenithians, I was always known to excel in everything I do, now I know that isn't as true as I thought."
"You are not pathetic." Mrs. Faragonda reassured me, "Part of real life experiences is realizing that we aren't perfect, we can't be the best at everything, and every day is a new opportunity to learn something new. Even if you've had setbacks in self defence and battle skills, I have total faith that one day you'll be right there alongside your friends doing everything they do. It just takes more time for you. Now, rest some more, and Nurse Ophelia will be here if you need anything."
"Thank you." I replied quietly, as I turned to my side and closed my eyes. It was hard to fall asleep because of the headache, but I eventually drifted off to sleep again.
Timmy's Point of View
During the semester break, since I didn't have to focus on schoolwork, I could devote all my time into my mission as a Fairy Protection Program secret agent. Once I returned to Red Fountain, I had a plan of action, now that midterms were over for both Tecna and myself, we had more time to hang out. The most important thing I had to remember was to keep my focus on the mission, I was determined to put every bit of my logical thinking into my job so I wouldn't get tongue tied and nervous around Tecna. That was the biggest thing that was holding me back from my mission, having to protect any woman, no matter who it was, was very intimidating. As usual, I was sitting at my computer desk while Sky was laying idly on his bed. Brandon left to go with Bloom to Magix an hour ago, and should be returning shortly. About five minutes later, the blonde entered our dorm, immediately walking towards me.
"Timmy, I really need your help," He began, "Bloom is looking for answers, she's discovered that her parents adopted her and she isn't from Earth. She believes the answers might be in the Cloudtower archives. I just need help getting her in there undetected."
"Are you crazy, man, do you know how much trouble you two could get in if you get caught by Ms. Griffin?" Sky protested worriedly, "Her punishments are far worse than Mrs. Faragonda's, at least the head of discipline only lets us off with a warning or a temporary suspension if it's more than a first offence."
"Geez, dude, you make it sound like we'd be breaking the law, we're not vandalizing the place." Brandon joked, "but joking aside, I said I'd help Bloom, and I never go back on my word. Please help me Timmy." He looked at me for a long period of time with a pleading expression on his face. I had my own mission to worry about, even if no one else knew about it, but I guess I could give Brandon a hand with his own mission.
"All right," I agreed finally, "just give me a few minutes and I should be able to download the architectural schematics of Cloudtower." As a secret agent, I had to know every inch of the three Magix schools, just in case they were needed. It didn't take even a minute before I had the diagrams up on my computer screen and ready to print out. I sat cross legged on the floor while Brandon sat on the opposite side of me, and Sky continued to lay on his bed.
"I knew Cloudtower was a pretty big school, but I wouldn't have guessed it'd be this big, it's on top of a gigantic mountain. How in the Magical Dimension am I suppose to get Bloom inside at all, never mind getting her in without being noticed? Isn't there any secret passages into the school from underground?"
"Yes, but they're all from the other schools and from Magix, and I know you don't want to get spotted by Ms. Griselda before being at risk of being caught by Griffin." I advised with an edge of concern in my voice.
"Right, so if I sneak Bloom out of Alfea, how am I able to get her into Cloudtower from the outside?" Brandon continued to ask me.
"Well, you can use your Wind Rider." I suggested hesitantly.
"But.., we're talking very high altitude here." He pointed out, looking at the maps I had printed out while scratching his chin in deep thought.
"No problem," I reassured my good friend, "just ride close to the wall, and zigzag all the way up." After examining the maps of Cloudtower carefully myself, I was instantly able to find a solution to Brandon's problem.
"And don't worry Sky, I'll be careful." He turned back to his best friend who was still giving him a look of complete disapproval from his bed.
"I know you'll be careful, but that's not the point," Sky prompted, "accidents happen, and in this case Brandon, an accident would result in a three hundred foot free fall." As the brunette spoke, he stood up off his bed, crossing his arms to emphasize the seriousness of his statement. Brandon just got up off the ground and walked over to his childhood best friend.
"Listen, I told Bloom I would help her, and I'll do it." He insisted, placing a hand on Sky's shoulder, "She needs me."
"Whatever, just don't say I didn't warn you." Sky pressed once more, but nothing was going to break Brandon's determination to help the redhead fairy.
"Well, do you want to go over this stuff again?" I offered, and thankfully the blonde turned his attention back to me.
"Sure thing, I do want to remember everything before I leave tonight." He got back onto the floor as we continued to discuss all the possible situations he could get into while sneaking into the school for witches. I was told that Cloudtower had a mind of its own and was able to trap intruders within its walls. Even if Bloom was still a basic form fairy, that still gave her and Brandon a bit more of an advantage with defence from magic obstacles.
"There is one thing I'm curious to find out when you get back," I told Brandon, "I want to know what you found out." Normally it wouldn't be any of my business to know about Bloom's past, but if Bloom does in fact hold some serious power, it could pose a danger to Tecna. I kept thinking of all the possible ways she could be caught in this mess, the encounter with Stormy and Icy being a prime example.
"Why, its not like we have any obligation to protect the Winx except for the fact that we'd help them out as friends." Unknown to Brandon, his statement struck me more than he intended, what could I tell him that would justify my curiosity?
"Just so we know what we might be up against, if we know more about Bloom's powers, we could be one step ahead of the Trix if they try to get their hands on her." That was the only explanation l come up with that would spark Brandon's concern for Bloom. I could tell that he cared about her a lot, and knowing the Trix would do anything for a way to conquer all of Magix, I definitely had to bring that to his attention. The immediate look of horror on the blonde's face was exactly what I expected.
"You're definitely right about that, but what would you need with that information?" He inquired.
"I'm the team's strategist," I reminded him with a proud smile, "I work behind the scenes and I can use the information you've gathered to figure out exactly how the Trix might want to take advantage of Bloom's discoveries." I continued to explain, on a very personal level I'd use this information to find out the origin of Bloom's powers so I can be aware if she could be a potential threat to Tecna's safety or not. Not that I was assuming anything bad about Bloom, but someone holding that great amount of power could easily be turned on to the side of evil, resulting in tragic events.
"That's a good enough reason for the both of us." Sky chimed in, "I care very deeply about Stella, and I'm sure you don't want Bloom in any danger as well, telling us what you found out during your mission could give us all an advantage."
"But what if Bloom doesn't want me to tell anyone, or what if she sees something I don't and won't tell me about it?" Brandon asked worriedly after a moment of deep consideration.
"Don't worry, bro, Bloom trusts you, she knows you'll keep any secrets she tells you." Sky reassured him, and without another word, he began packing some equipment for sneaking into the enormous school for witches. It wasn't until lights out that he left to get Bloom for their mission.
Tecna's Point of View
A few hours later, I woke up once more, and surprisingly I was feeling much stronger than before. Looking out the window, I realized it was getting dark outside, and I didn't expect to have slept for that long.
"How are you feeling now, Tecna?" Nurse Ophelia asked as she came up to the bed with a tray of food from the school cafeteria, "I thought I'd bring you supper just in case you weren't feeling strong enough to go back to your dorm."
"I'm actually much stronger now that I've slept for a bit, thank you Nurse Ophelia." I told her as she gave the tray to me. After I had my dinner, I excused myself from the infirmary and returned to the freshman dormitories. When I opened the door, the common room was quiet, Stella had retreated to her bedroom, Flora was reading a book in one of the chairs and Musa had her earphones in, listening to music to pass the time. I had no idea where Bloom was but I had a feeling she was around here somewhere.
"Hey, Tecna," Flora was the first to greet me as my roommate pulled her earphones out, "I was getting really worried, how are you feeling now."
"No need to worry too much about me, Flora, I'm okay now." I reassured her, "I just had a bit of a headache from the impact."
"I'm glad you're okay, just take it easy for the rest of the night." Musa advised, I just nodded in acknowledgement to her concerns and went to the bedroom that we shared. I was actually just as well that it was only the first day of classes for the new semester, I didn't have the energy for schoolwork at the moment. I got ready for bed and thought about what Mrs. Faragonda told me earlier while I stared blankly at the ceiling. I just couldn't understand why I was just so weak compared to the rest of my classmates, I realized I had no real experience using my fairy wings like everyone else, but that didn't explain the fact that I didn't get stronger over time, I remained just as weak as I've ever been since I first started my one on one training with the Alfea headmistress. That's what was getting to me the most, and now it was causing me a lot of humiliation.
Timmy's Point of View
Brandon didn't return from helping Bloom get into Cloudtower until about one in the morning, and I was determined to stay up to get the information I needed in order to make sure Tecna wasn't in any more danger than General Tyler and I originally thought. As Brandon entered our dorm, his face was full of fear and he didn't say a thing. All he could do was sit on his own bed, looking toward his best friend for a split second, Sky had fallen fast asleep a while ago. Then he just buried his face in his hands and stayed silent.
"Brandon.., it sounds bad, did Bloom tell you anything?" I asked him hesitantly, he looked like he was in no mood to talk about it, in fact it appeared that he might still be in shock from the new piece of information he received.
"She found out that she is a reincarnation of the three ancient witches who destroyed Domino, and once she becomes a true fairy, they'll return to take possession of her." Brandon admitted in a low voice, "She doesn't seem like the type of person to even want to be evil... But I suppose fate doesn't lie." Now I understood why he was so quiet when he came in the door, he was conflicted about his emotions towards Bloom, he was deeply concerned for her and at the same time he might find her dangerous if she ever used her powers for evil.
"If the Trix ever got ahold of this knowledge, they could be at a greater advantage if the power Bloom holds is already meant for evil purposes." I thought in a whisper. That wasn't the only issue, if Bloom decides to use her powers for evil on her own accord, she could put the rest of the school in danger, that is including Tecna, who is at greater risk of getting hurt than anyone else at Alfea.
"You're right, Timmy, but I know she doesn't want to be evil, that's my main concern." He told me, "I don't know how to help her now. I don't know what to do."
"I'm not entirely sure either, Brandon, but Bloom must be very scared right now, I would just give her some time to let it all sink in and then she can make her decision on what to do about it. But whatever she decides, there is really nothing we can do about it. This is her stuff."
"Hey, you're the one who wanted to know what she found out, and now your telling me it's none of our business." Brandon raised his voice slightly and I could hear Sky groan from his bed.
"We just need the information to know what could potentially happen, what Bloom decides to do next is her own choice." I clarified, "All you can do for her now is make sure she doesn't decide to hurt herself."
"Great," Brandon groaned, "thanks for scaring me."
"Sorry..." We both got ready to go to sleep in silence, if Bloom was indeed the reincarnation of the three witches, she could be quite dangerous no matter how her power is used, and I could just feel that if any evil forces wanted to possess her powers, they would spare absolutely no lives. Forgot trying to get to know about Tecna's life on Zenith, now I had to make sure that she would not get hurt while Bloom was fighting her own personal demons.
Tecna's Point of View
The next morning, I woke up to frantic knocking on my bedroom door, and as I opened my eyes, I noticed Musa was already answering it for Flora, who looked very concerned when she came in our room.
"What's the matter, Flora?" She asked while I got out from under my blankets.
"Bloom's gone missing!" She exclaimed in a panic.
"What do you mean?" I asked her while picking out my usual attire for the day, only setting it on my bed for now.
"I looked in her bed this morning when I got up, and she was gone!" Flora continued, "she said something about going with Brandon to Cloudtower to get answers to her past.., and for some reason I guess she never returned."
"She could be in danger, we have to go look for her." I replied with slight concern in my voice. I was worried about Bloom, but I also knew she couldn't have gone too far from Alfea if she had been with Brandon, he would make sure she was safe.
"What about Stella?" Musa asked us, "shouldn't we wake her up and let her know about this?"
"Let her be, she'll need at least two more hours to 'beautify' herself." Flora advised us. So, after getting dressed, we quietly
walked out to Alfea's quad and transformed, then we began flying through the air, looking for Bloom.
"Okay, we'll split up, Tecna, you search the East wing, I'll search the West and Musa will check the rest of Alfea." Flora instructed.
"Here are some communicators so if we find Bloom, we can keep easy contact with each other." I made three little devices appear around our wrists with my magic, and then we went our separate ways to search for our friend. I met up an hour later with the girls and de-transformed without any word of Bloom's location.
"Any luck?" Flora asked us.
"No, no sign of her." I sighed.
"Not with me either." Musa told us, now this was a time for me to worry because we knew she was off campus grounds, and that meant anything could have happened to her.
"Do you think we should let Stella know and do another search in the forest?" Flora asked.
"No yet," Musa suggested, "I think we should call Brandon first, you said he took her to Cloudtower last night, he might know where Bloom is.
"Yes, she might even be safe and sound with him for all we know." Because Flora was such a caring friend, she had Brandon's number on speed-dial just in case something did happen to Bloom, she called him instantly and put us all on holo-speaker phone.
"Hi girls, is Bloom there with you?" He asked, he sounded slightly tired to me, and for some reason I could sense he was a bit shook up, but I didn't make that big of a note about it.
"No, she suddenly disappeared, she told me about your mission to take her to Cloudtower but she didn't come back." Flora told him frantically.
"Oh no!" Brandon gasped in complete horror when he heard what Flora had told him, "I dropped her off at Alfea's gates and I thought she went inside. Please let me know as soon as you find her, I.., I don't want to be the one responsible If anything happened to her."
"You made sure she got back to Alfea safely, that's all you could have done Brandon." Flora reassured him, "but why would she want to run away?"
"I think I might know the reason," Brandon continued, "in the Cloudtower archives we saw an old book that told Bloom that she was the incarnation of the three ancient witches who destroyed Domino. Once she found this out, she was really upset, all she told me was that it wasn't her fault and she didn't want it to happen. She insisted that I take her back to Alfea but I never thought she'd want to run away.., I should have stayed with her."
"Thank you for letting us know, Brandon, we'll be sure to let you know when we find her." I reassured him, the expression on his face was beyond fearful, I could tell he was very concerned for the redhead fire fairy..
"Thank you, girls." Brandon replied, and then the call ended, now we knew that Bloom was indeed off school grounds, and not with Brandon either, it was time to bring the whole team together for a full and thorough search.
"So now what, Bloom could be anywhere." Flora inquired, her voice growing more worried with every second.
"Now we get Stella, we need to find Bloom with everyone's contribution." I insisted, and without hesitation, we returned to our dorm and Flora began knocking wildly on Stella's door. After about a minute of knocking, she was let in.
"Ugh, am I that late?" The blonde princess of Solaria asked irritably before closing the door behind her and Flora
"That's not why I'm here," I heard Flora tell Stella, "Bloom never came back last night."
"Oh, really?" Stella asked in surprise, it didn't sound like she was left out of the loop about where Bloom went. Being her best friend, Bloom would have wanted to tell Stella what she wanted to do. I suddenly opened the door and walked into Stella's huge single suite with Musa following behind me.
"Well, we looked high and low," I added Stella, "Bloom is nowhere to be found."
"We even talked to Brandon." Musa chimed in as we both sat down on the steps, "He said she brought her back here last night, the thing is she never entered the building. We've got to go look for her."
"What are we waiting for? There's no time to waste," Stella panicked, "Bloom could be in real trouble!" We ran back down the hallway through the school to the quad once again, and when we got there, we watched the trees to see if Bloom could be coming back, however she wasn't.
"We got a situation here," I pressed, if Bloom hadn't returned by now, her chances of being in real trouble were definite, " we've got to do something A.S.A.P!"
"Right," Flora agreed, "so..., the only way to find Bloom now is through our powers."
"Right!" Musa, Stella and I shouted in unison before the four of us transformed into our Magic Winx forms. It had been a while since we transformed as a group, I remembered the last time we did was before I was knocked out by Stormy in Magix when we were rescuing Musa. Considering being constantly reminded of just how weak I am compared to the other fairies, I hoped we didn't have to do too much fighting in order to get Bloom back safely.
"Now, let's get down to business," Stella began before a moment of silence as we heard the early morning wind blow through the trees , " okay, so which way are we going?"
"Easy," Flora answered her, "something has seen Bloom walk through here, and we're standing right on it."
"The grass?" I inquired with slight surprise.
"Smart thinking Flora." Musa added while Flora placed her hands in front of her, and her magic emerged from her fingertips.
"Golden Pollen!" She called out as the magic shot from her feet and hands, and the pollen dusted around every inch of the ground surrounding us. We were all amazed at what she had done, and laughed with awe as the magic created ripples on the forest floor, forming an arrow showing us which way Bloom went.
"Look everybody, Bloom went that way." Flora informed us as the arrow took form, "Grassy fields have an excellent memory."
"I'll generate an ultrasonic wave to probe the area." Musa told us as she began a highly concentrated hum, moving her arms outward to focus her sound powers. We could see small waves coming from her in all directions as she stood there scanning the forest for any sign of our redhead friend. In minutes, she stopped and opened her eyes, "Scanning complete."
"And now I'll analyze the data." I chimed in as Musa and I focused our powers to connect with each other in order for her to send the information she had collected to me, "All right, got it! The probe detected a life form, right here. The dot represents Bloom." I pointed to a yellowish green dot on the magical map that appeared from the palm of my hand.
"Woohoo! Now it's my turn to put in my two sense worth!" Stella shouted excitedly, "Through my sparkling beauty and sunny disposition! We shall see the light!"
"You done yet?" I asked her irritably, "Are you going to do it or what?"
"Of course," the spunky blonde princess giggled as she flew up into the air, "Rising Sun!" When she called out, her entire body began glowing like the sun so that we could find our way easier in the woods, "I'm shining light over the whole dark forest!" She announced, " See, I do have good ideas once in a while. I knew you'd need my help one of these days, I'm so beautiful and totally essential!" Oh Stella, your unintentional boasting will never get old,even if I sometimes find it conceded. We followed Stella as she lead us through the forests of Magix so we could find our good friend Bloom. Suddenly, we spotted her, which none other than the Trix. Things had definitely taken a turn for the worst when I realized those three had something to do with Bloom's strange disappearance last night.
"It's payback time, little Mirta, and it's going to hurt!" I heard Icy announce as she blasted Bloom with her ice powers. Someone else was also with her, and I assumed that had to be Mirta. The two girls huddle together as they were covered in the ice.
"Now all we have to do is destroy that beautiful little ice sculpture and rip the power right out of Bloom's heart," Icy continued wickedly as Stella began to form an attack in her hands, shooting it at the witch of ice, "It's over." Just then, she was shot back by Stella's attack as the sun princess stopped shinning.
"Who's that little girl?" Stella asked, looking at the girl who was with Bloom in the ice sculpture, "Leave them alone!" At the fairy of the sun and moon's command, she melted the ice to let Bloom and the girl free, and as the ice melted, we could see that Kiko was with them as well.
"You pesky little gnats!" Icy shouted furiously, "Agh I hate you!"
"You won't win this time!" The girl shot back.
"Chill out, sister," Stormy reassured Icy, "I'll settle this for you in a minute." She flew towards us with
her arms out stretched, and we began circling each other in mid air. Two tornadoes appeared in front of Stormy, and were headed right for us. We screamed and struggled to get way, however it was too late, we were tied up by some type of magic resistant rope, and Stormy continued circling us like pray.
"No!" Bloom shouted, throwing her hand out, and instantly transforming into her fairy form. Once her transformation was complete, she was about to fly out to help us out of our situation, however she was shot back by Darcy.
"Bloom!" The girl called out as the Trix began laughing triumphantly. The girls and I continued to struggle in our restraints as the tornadoes advanced towards us, we were completely screwed now, but I was glad the rest of the girls were stuck in the same situation I was so that I didn't look so pathetic on my own. The Trix continued to laugh while Bloom managed to got her bearings, and the girl accompanying her was getting angry as well. I did not know who she was or where she came from, but she knew who Bloom was, and wanted to help, so she must be someone we could trust. She stood up, and used her magic to create a huge monster in front of the three witches, causing them to lose concentration on keeping us held captive. It roared and startled the witches, and even us. We screamed, thinking it was coming for us, when it actually helped us get away. The tornadoes vanished, and the rope that restrained us loosened up. We gasped in relief when we realized that the monster was an illusion from the girl. Though, because of this little mishap, Stormy was beginning to get very pissed off, and considering her short temper, it was an extremely dangerous thing.
"Aww, she broke my concentration!" She whined.
"Not smart." Darcy hissed irritably.
"This is it, Mirta, I have had it with you!" Icy snapped, "You're a pain in the neck, you're a
bothersome little... Agh, a.., a bothersome little.., pumpkin? Why not?" A few seconds passed while the girl,
Mirta, stood there, until Icy shot her with a blast of her power. We all screamed to see what Icy was going to do to Mirta.
"No!" Bloom cried out, when suddenly the blast of power hit Mirta's feet and soared up above her head and back down, turning the girl into a pumpkin as Icy intended. The witches continued to laugh with triumph until they saw Bloom begin to fire up her own powers. She had her arms crossed, and her hair was blowing, being pushed back by the intensity of her energy. She groaned in frustration as fire surrounded her and her eyes widened. A bright light emerged from her body as a dragon
spirit flew through the air and exploded, making the Trix vanish with it. That blast of power must have transported them elsewhere, and it didn't matter to us where they ended up. Pepe the duck and Bloom's bunny Kiko were going at it, when Pepe
noticed Icy had disappeared, and ran off to go find her. The girls and I were flown backward, and the force of the magic caused us to de-transform in the process.
"Hey, we're all back to normal." Stella acknowledged as we found ourselves lying on the ground beside the pumpkin girl.
"What an amazing burst of power.' Musa thought, "Where's Bloom?" I got up off the ground, rubbing my head.
"She disappeared." I answered.
"Not again!" Stella wailed as she fell back down again.
"Yoohoo! I'm over here!" I heard Bloom's voice coming from the bushes as we all saw her arm
waving us over.
"Bloom!" I shouted, and Flora parted the bushes and we looked down to see our good friend on the ground.
"Great to see you again, girls." Bloom replied with a slight giggle.
"What in the world did you do to the witches?" I inquired, lifting her head in my arm supportively.
"Don't worry, Tecna," Bloom assured me, "they got their just desserts." As I was making sure that Bloom was okay, Flora ran over to where the girl was left there, stuck as a pumpkin.
"Who is that little girl?" Flora asked, she was now kneeling beside the girl.
"That's Mirta," Bloom explained, "she helped me."
"There's nothing we can do for her right now." Flora informed us sadly, "Icy's spell was black magic."
"Maybe we can find a way to break that spell." Musa thought.
"I'm sure we can, but for now, let's take her back to Alfea." Flora suggested with determination in her voice as we all walked back toward Alfea.
Once we got to the school for fairies, we headed inside before standing in the entrance room hesitantly.
"So, do you think we should tell Ms Faragonda about Mirta?" Flora asked, and we all agreed that it would be the best thing to do. There was no harm in letting the headmistress know that we were going to have another guest in our apartment for a little while, and who knows, she may have a spell that could turn Mirta back. As we went up to Ms Faragonda's office, Flora gently held Mirta in her arms while Bloom knocked on the door.
"Come in!" The Alfea headmistress answered, the Winx and I entered the office, and gathered around the desk.
"Ms Faragonda, there is something we need to tell you." Bloom began.
"Yes, this pumpkin I have in my arms, is actually a girl named Mirta." Flora added.
"She was defending us in the forest against the Trix when Icy turned her into a pumpkin." Musa continued to explain.
"The spell is black magic, so.., we were hoping that you'd know a way to undo it." Stella told the headmistress.
"Well, this is a chance for you girls to expand your powers more, I could give you girls the easy way out by giving you an antidote spell, but you wouldn't learn anything by it." Ms Faragonda told us seriously.
"But we didn't do anything that needed a consequence, we were simply out searching for Bloom." Stella protested, and just when she opened her mouth, the Solarian Princess just caused us a lot of trouble. However Bloom was willing to admit what she had done.
"Stella's right, I ran away after sneaking into Cloudtower a second time to find out more about my past and my powers. I was told by what I thought was one of the lost books that contains the answers to everything, that I was the incarnation of the three ancient witches that destroyed Domino. Though it turns out that it was just a scheme by the Trix. They made me think I was a threat to the whole Magic Dimension, so I want to go to Magix to go home. That's when I met Mirta, she's the one who told me the truth and helped us fend off the witches.., but at a costly price." Bloom confessed.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Ms Faragonda shook her head in disapproval, "So those witches took the opportunity to mislead you when you had so many doubts about your past, and now this young girl was caught up in this whole mess."
"Yes, Ms Faragonda." Bloom answered, lowering her head in shame.
"Do you think things would be better if you hadn't gone to Cloudtower?" The headmistress advised Bloom.
"Yes, I do." Bloom agreed with a sad sigh.
"There, now you girls can try to figure out how to turn Mirta back on your own." Ms Faragonda confirmed, "I wouldn't have made you do this by yourselves if I knew you weren't able to do it. I have faith in you girls. And do not hesitate to ask for help, but remember that you're the ones who have to do this on your own."
"I will do whatever it takes to help Mirta return to normal." Flora told the rest of us with fierce determination.
"But Flora, Mirta got into this because I went to Cloudtower. If I hadn't gone, she would still be a girl." Bloom protested.
"You can help me find a counter-spell." Flora encouraged her, "It'll be a team effort."
"Thank you, Flora." Bloom replied with a small smile. For the rest of the day, Bloom and Flora searched the school library to find an antidote to turn Mirta back to her human form, and the rest of us were relieved that Bloom was back with us at Alfea. After talking with Mrs. Faragonda, Stella called Brandon back to tell him that Bloom was safe, although she also advised him that Bloom would have to talk to him on her own terms and that might take a while. It was unfortunate but the shock on Brandon's face looked very clear to us and probably wouldn't die down any time soon. Though that was Bloom's choice, and she would speak to Brandon when she felt she was ready, all I was ever concerned about was that she was safe and not being led into traps set by the Trix.