Author's Note: I'm terrible. I literally haven't updated in a few MONTHS. Well, I'm gonna make up for it. Promise.
ღ Greyshire Castle ღ
"Well, I'm guessing this is the place," announced Bloom as she slowly approached the entrance of the dark castle. Greyshire Castle was perched atop a cliff that loomed above the rest of the shire. Oddly, dark clouds were spiraling above the dark fortress as if symbolizing a threat inside.
Stella let out a sound of disgust. "This place seriously reminds me of Cloud Tower," she said distastefully as Nex slowly pushed open one of the creaking stone doors. "Let's just hurry and get this over with." With Nex leading the group, everyone slowly walked into the dark castle's entrance hall. They were greeted by a chilling drift and the echoes from the squeaky door.
"Well…this place doesn't look too bad," said Bunny with a nervous laugh, staying close to Alistair as they got a good look around the entrance hall. The place would be completely dark if it wasn't for the little light leaking through the large arch windows.
"What are you doing? Don't close the door!" snapped Stella as Nex proceeded to shut the door behind them. "That's how people end up being trapped in these kinds of places!"
"Wow, Stella. I didn't think you were one to be paranoid," commented Briar as the group followed Bloom down the wide arched corridor, the sounds of their footsteps echoing through the castle.
"I'm not! It's just….the dark gives me bad vibes," explained Stella, "Fairy of the Shining Sun, remember? The dark really doesn't agree with me."
"Now, where did that Earl Monday guy say the vault was?" pondered Bloom as they stopped at an intersection.
"The vault's located on the top floor," recalled Lizzie.
"Great. No telling how many levels this place has," said Stella with a frown, putting her hands on her hips. "Where's an elevator when you need one?"
"There's no need to worry," assured Tecna, tapping on the touch screen of her cellular device. "My phone isn't exactly one hundred-percent fixed, but I think I can still download the floor plan of the castle and find out where the stairs are. It's gonna take a few minutes, though."
"Or, we can just try one of these doors," suggested Darling adventurously, reaching out to grasp the handle of one of the identical doors that aligned the hall. She opened the door to a room of pure darkness. However, a huge pair of green eyes illuminated all the way in the back of the space. "Or maybe not," Darling corrected herself quickly, swiftly closing the door.
Tecna's phone beeped. "According to my phone, there's a staircase at the end of the east corridor," she informed, "it should lead us straight to the top level. Hopefully. Just follow me." Gesturing for the others to follow, Tecna started down the wide marble hall.
"Just watch. We're gonna end up getting lost," assured Stella, frowning deeply.
"Oh, don't worry, Stella! In Wonderland, getting lost is a good thing," giggled Maddie, "for an example, there was this time-"
"Maddie. Now…isn't the time," interrupted Raven.
"Maddie has a point, though. Misdirection here in Wonderland can often lead to discovery," nodded Lizzie in agreement. "And sometimes disaster."
ღ Cloud Tower ღ
"Sisters! It looks like the Winx are up to something again," reported Darcy, scowling at the crystal ball. "How they managed to escape Alfea is beyond me. The shields haven't went down yet."
"WHAT?" Icy brung her fist down on the table, causing it to shake. She peered into the crystal ball to see the Winx and their new allies wandering through some kind of dark fortress she wasn't familiar with.
"Don't worry, sisters. It doesn't matter how they escaped. In fact, this might be a great thing." Stormy smirked naughtily, putting her hands on her hips. "Now, we can have some fun with them."
"I see." The corners of Darcy's mouth tugged into a matching dark smile. "They think they can save their friends just because they managed to get away. They think they're out of our reach."
"But they don't know how wrong they are," cackled Icy, "sisters, together!" The witch sisters took a step back and joined hands, forming a circle around the table. Selina just stood by the exit, pressing the Legendarium against her chest as she observed the Trix with yearning eyes.
"Dark magic convergence!" the trio shouted simultaneously. Their bodies glowed with dark auras, a complex magic circle formed underneath their feet, and a harsh wind began to rage around the room.
"With this spell, we'll curse the Winx," chanted Stormy.
"And kill their hope with our little jinx," continued Darcy.
"The darkness will triumph through our great link," said Icy.
"And with the dark fortress we are hereby synced!" they all shouted. Lightning, icicles, and rays of illusion magic flowed out of their bodies and into the crystal ball.
"Hehe. Now things will get interesting," giggled Stormy as they unlinked their hands, causing the magic circle to disappear and winds die down.
"That was some intense magic," breathed Selina, joining them around the crystal ball. "What kind of spell was that?"
"It was a mixture of every dark enchantment spell we know," responded Stormy arrogantly and boastfully, "now we can control the Winx's environment to the fullest."
"Yeah. That dark castle now belongs to us," added Darcy, her new evil grin spreading across her face, "which means bad news for our little fairy friends."
ღ Greyshire Castle ღ
"I suddenly got a very bad feeling about this place," announced Raven, stopping dead in her tracks in the middle of the hall. "Like someone's watching us or something. It's creepy." She shuddered.
"Tecna, how much longer? We've been wandering around this place for hours," whined Stella, crossing her arms and sticking out her bottom lip.
"Uh, it's only been a few minutes," corrected invisible Kitty from somewhere. Though she wasn't visible, it was obvious she was giving Stella an eye roll.
"I don't understand. My phone…it says the staircase should be right here," frowned Tecna, pointing downward at the marble floor.
"This is Wonderland, Tecna," reminded Lizzie, resting a warm hand on the girl's shoulder. "You cannot locate anything by logical means. You have to think outside the box, remember?"
"Which will be really hard since none of us have a box," spoke up Maddie, tapping her chin in deep thought. "Narrator, do you have any tips or hints for us?"
No comment.
Right as Apple was about to make a suggestion, the whole castle began to shake, causing everyone to stagger backwards or fall. "What's going on?" cried out Apple, grabbing hold of a table.
"Yay! Something exciting!" applauded Maddie madly, bouncing up and down happily. Oddly, she wasn't one bit shaken by the earthquake.
"Please tell me this is normal!" pleaded Stella, holding on to Briar.
"Far from it!" replied Lizzie loudly, "in fact, structures aren't supposed to do this until Dance-a-thon Day!" At the mention of the Wonderlandian holiday, the building stopped shaking. "That's better."
"Wait. Something still isn't right," frowned Bloom, cautiously looking around. "I think we're-" But before she could finish, a black vortex-like portal appeared on the ceiling.
"You mean, LIKE THAT?" squeaked Stella, pointing upward at it.
And right as everyone was about to react, the darkness spread all throughout the hall, trapping our heroes within its thick mass.