Despite the fact that the boys are only show up in the last ten minutes or so in this episode, this turned out to be a massive chapter since there's a lot of things that had to be tied up here. Also I had to make it so that the trip to Sparx was not an easy one so let's just get stuck right into it.
Chapter Twenty One – 'The Frozen Palace'
Sky awoke reluctantly the following morning by someone shaking him lightly out of a dreamless sleep. The prince had fallen asleep the second his head had hit the pillow of the cot that had been set up for him and the other heroes by the fairies of Alfea in some cleared out classrooms. Every one of his muscles ached and he felt as though he had gotten no sleep at all. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Sky blinked himself awake to see Pete standing over his bed and that it was still dark outside.
"You're on picket, man," Pete informed the prince who groaned. There was nothing more mind numbing than being on picket duty in the military (1). Hours of sitting in the one place to man a radio while being on the lookout for enemies was not the most enjoyable way to past the time, and even the possibility that there might in fact be actual enemies out there did not overly persuade Sky that he particularly wanted to leave his nice warm cot. Duty, however, won over sloth and the prince reluctantly kicked the blankets off him. One of the pluses of crashing in your clothes meant that you didn't have to get changed in the morning so Sky was at his post in little time at all.
The red suns peered over the far horizon, bloodying the sky. Yawning, Sky wrapped his arms tightly around himself to try and fight off the morning chill. The forest in front of him was dark and gloomy as the rising suns did little to penetrate the thick canopy of the trees. On more than one occasion Sky thought he saw something moving amongst the shadows and made a grab for the radio, only to realize a second later that it was just the trick of the light. But given everything that had happened over the last few days, you couldn't blame him for being a bit on the jumpy side.
The two suns climbed higher into the sky and the hero was just starting to wonder when his shift was going to end so he could go find some breakfast when one of the fairies in Bloom's grade joined him on the wall. Her hair was a tad messy and there were dark circles under her eyes; a clear indication that the students of Alfea were having just as hard a time trying to find sleep as the Red Fountain heroes. But her expression was serious and determined as she looked off in the direction of Cloud Tower.
"Any word?" the fairy asked, and Sky suddenly recalled that her name was Pricilla.
"Nothing yet," Sky informed her emotionlessly. It was the waiting that was the worst part out of all this. The idea that the Trix were just toying with them for a lark was infuriating because they all knew that there was nothing they could about it. At the moment, those witches held all the cards and everyone else was at their mercy. There had been no word of what had happened to Miss Griffin and the rest of the Cloud Tower witches, and neither Saladin nor Faragonda were willing to attempt any kind of attack that may jeopardize the witches lives. The Trix had made their objectives pretty clear, but just how far they were will to go in order to make them happen remained to be seen and no one was willing to push them.
"I hate this," Pricilla admitted, resting her elbows on the wall in front of her and cupping her face in her hands. "I just hate all of it. The waiting. The not knowing. I just hate it."
"If the witches attack, we'll at least have some warning," Sky assured her.
"What about Bloom and the others?"
"What about them?" Sky demanded, suddenly extremely worried. He had been so exhausted and melancholy when he had arrived at Alfea the night before that he hadn't had a chance to go looking for the red haired fairy. He didn't even care if she might not be talking to him; he just wanted to know she was safe.
"Didn't you guys get debriefed on this?" Pricilla asked, and the prince shook his blonde head no. "You know this amazing power the Trix got their hands on that made them this powerful? Yeah, they stole that from Bloom."
"What?"
"Apparently, they like followed her to Earth and attacked her family until Bloom was so weak she couldn't defend herself. And furthermore, it's not just any old winx. The power they stole just happens to be the Dragon Fire that was destined to the Royal Family of Sprax."
"But. . . That would mean . . . "
"Yup, Bloom's a princess and the sole surviving member of the Sprax Royal Family after the destruction of their planet over a decade ago."
Sky's mind reeled at this new information. Bloom? A princess? That was just mind blowing! Bloom? His Bloom? The girl they had save from a hunter troll on Earth? Bloom? The girl that had discovered her winx after she join Alfea? Bloom? The girl that didn't even know she possessed magic until about a year ago turned out to be the heir to the throne of the most powerful realm in the known universe? It was just incredible. At the very least it meant that Sky's parents couldn't be disappointed with the fact that their son was dating someone beneath him.
"Where is she now?" Sky managed to pant out. His mind was going haywire, but he knew that he needed to speak with her and try to explain this whole swapping identities issue. But Pricilla's trouble face made him extremely worried.
"That's the thing," she said sadly. "Faragonda sent her and the rest of the Winx Club on a mission to ensure us the only chance we have to defeat the Trix; she sent them to Sparx to find the Dragon Fire."
"What?!"
Sparx was a dead planet! What were they thinking sending a bunch of freshmen's to that frozen graveyard on their own? Who knows what was lurking around on that dead planet? It had been over a decade since any civilized individual had step foot on Sprax's soil – er, snow – so there was no telling just how much the once great kingdom had changed. Sky didn't care if Bloom didn't want to ever speak to him again, he couldn't stand the thought of that beautiful red haired freshmen with the most amazing blue eyes he had ever seen being lost forever down some deep, dark ice cavern. What was Faragonda thinking? Sending five high school girls to a place where they don't even send seasoned explorers? And with no back up! That whole mission was ludicrous!
"Hey dude, I'm taking over watch for you," Toby greeted, and Sky didn't hesitate for a second before he bolted off. Except now, breakfast couldn't be further from his thoughts.
He managed to find Faragonda and Saladin talking as they stood on the front steps which looked out towards the direction of Cloud Tower. Both looked exhausted, but Sky had no time for sympathy. The Winx Club – the girls that they had sent to Sparx in the first place – could be freezing to death or being eaten alive by an ice monster that hadn't even been classified yet.
"You sent them to Sparx?" Sky accused with uncharacteristic rudeness. Both headmasters seemed a bit taken back with his discourtesy, but the geriatrics weren't that fragile. They could withstand their fair share of tongue lashings. "You sent five unprotected freshmen's to an unpopulated planet?"
"What?" Brandon, who was sitting near by with a few of the boys in his grade, exclaimed as he quickly climbed to his feet. Timmy, who was also with the group though not necessarily talking with Brandon also got to his feet as both boys had a pretty good idea who those five freshmen's were if they got Sky this worried.
"Please try to understand," Faragonda begged. "As long as the Trix alone have the Dragon Fire we have no chance against them. If Bloom can somehow find a way to reawaken that fire within her we just might be able to stop them. It was a gamble I admit to send them to Sparx at this stage in the battle but we have no other choice. All our hope rest with Bloom and we have to help her find the Dragon Fire again."
"So you sent her to her death?"
"I would never risk the lives of my students like that," Faragonda snapped rather protectively. "But at the same time we cannot just sit here and try to stop the Army of Decay head on like this. Without some kind of strategic attempt to find some advantage, we'll be overrun just like what happened at Red Fountain."
"We could have save Red Fountain if we – "
"Stop being childish, Sky," Saladin ordered sharply. "Do you honestly think I would have let Red Fountain fall if there was the slightest chance we could save her? That sacrifice gave us the time now to send Bloom and her friends to Sparx. We need Bloom to find the Dragon Fire or else all will be lost. Do you want the Army of Decay to take over Eraklyon?"
"No," Sky said through clenched teeth, his head bowed. He was furious that they were exposing Bloom and her friends to that kind of danger, but he also knew that the headmasters had good reason for it. If they didn't stop this here, the whole universe could fall.
"I didn't think so," Saladin noted. "I have to admit that I'm rather disappointed that you would think we would do something so dangerous without good reason. We have no time for this foolishness."
"But you have to admit, Saladin, the boy has passion," Faragonda pointed out and Sky could almost hear the little wheels clinking around in her head as the headmistress for Alfea formulated a plan. "And that passion just might be the key to navigating through the obstacle fields."
"Pardon?" Sky asked, finally remembering his manners.
"We sent the Winx Club to Sparx through the Magical Reality Chamber due to the fact that that was the only option open to us at the time, and while it got the girls there instantly it cannot bring them back. So, we need a ship to risk going through the Karibian Pirate (2) territory and through the space mine fields in order to pick them up. Saladin was suggesting sending a few seniors, but I believe that you would better suited for the mission."
"Mission accepted," Sky saluted without even stopping to consider what was being asked of him. Bloom was in trouble – more than likely – and he needed to rescue her. And he wasn't alone when it came to wanting to protect the Winx Club.
"Mission accepted," Brandon saluted.
"You're not going," Sky instantly rejected. "It's too dangerous."
"That's why I have to go. I am your squire bro," Brandon pointed out with a sideways grinned. "Besides, I wouldn't let you go alone even if it wasn't in the job description."
"But we have no ships suited for inter-dimensional travel," Saladin said. He was feeling rather hesitant about sending two of his best students out in such dangerous space terrain, especially since one of them was a crowned prince who's father had recently expressed a strong disappointment in Red Fountain's protection of his son.
"If we install a Hitxikers (3) Warp Drive into one of the ships, I'm certain I could be able to pilot it to Sparx," Timmy offered, stressing the point that only he could to it. Saladin's aged face wrinkled into lines of concern, but he all knew that this had to be done out of necessity. If Bloom couldn't find the Dragon Fire of Sparx, then she needed to return to Alfea immediately and come up with some other strategy.
"Fine, you boys depart as soon as possible."
It took Timmy about two and a half hours into install the Hitxikers Warp Drive into the squad ship, so Sky and Brandon had used that time to confirm directions to Sparx and to make sure they were stocked for any situation. The Karibian Pirate territory was notorious for space raids, and ships rarely traveled through that area on their own as it was safest to go in convoys. And once they got through that area they had the fun of trying to navigate through the mines lift in space from the Eve Wars (4). But all the guys were willing to go through all that and more if it meant making sure the Winx Club were safe.
"Alright, here we go," Timmy said, his fingers flying over the control panels as he prepared for take off. They had already moved the ship to the Space Port on the outskirts of Magix, which was eerily empty. No other ships were moving and there was not a sole in sight giving the three boys the sinking feeling that something wasn't quite right in Magix.
Like all of Red Fountain's ships, the squad ship Timmy was piloting was equipped with the correct gear for space travel, but need the special launch pads of a Space Port in order for them to brake through the gravity of the Realm of Magix. The launch pad weren't really pads at all, but rather long runways with a massive arc like ramp at the end. These ramps curved upwards into a vertical strip and if approached with the right speed could send a ship through the atmosphere and break through the gravitational pull of the planet (5).The squad ship shook as it shot down the runway towards the launch ramp, and the boys could feel the pressure of the speed forcing them against the back of their chairs. They rounded the arc of the ramp and under a second they had made the ninety degree turn as the bolted towards space. Gravity pushed down upon them as the temperature started to increase. Timmy gritted his teeth as he triggered the final blast of the engines that should push them through the atmosphere, and all around him the ship trembled.
And then there was silence. The ship stopped shaking and the temperature dropped as the drifted off into the blackness of space.
Brandon let out an audible sigh. "For a second there I thought we were going to fall apart."
"We were fine," Timmy assured him, almost overflowing with self pride. "Not bad for my first space launch, huh?"
"Say what?" Brandon gasped. Prince Sky also wore a similar look of horror.
"Well, you know, I've been on my fair share of commercial space flights and I've done the take off simulation at Red Fountain, but I've never actually piloted a take off before," Timmy admitted, and the two other boys continued to stare at him. "You guys have never done a real take off either."
"We never said we could!"
"Neither did I. You just assumed."
Brandon groaned and rubbed his forehead with the balls of his hands. "Can you at least pilot the Hitxikers Warp Drive?"
"Theoretically; yes."
"Theoretically?"
"Brandon, relax," Sky said gently. The poor squire had been under a lot of stress lately what with his true identity coming out and having the entire school alienate him, then an undead Army of Decay destroyed his school and now the girl he was completely smitten for was half way across the universe on a dead plant what gods knows what on it. They really couldn't blame him for being a bit on edge. "Thanks for doing this, Timmy."
"Hey, I wonna see the girls home safe just as much as you do," Timmy pointed out.
"I know, but I feel better knowing you're here," Sky admitted before looking over at Brandon. "Both of you."
An awkward silence filled the ship as they traveled deeper into space. There had been no real forgiven and forget session for the boys since the Day of the Royals. They had joined together with the rest of the school to fight the Army of Decay, but even then they had been rather fractured. The only time they had been unified was when they went to find Lady, but they were a bit pressed for time then so they really didn't have much of a chance to talk about their feelings or any of that crap. The Winx Club and possibly all females had the amazing ability to just stop – no matter how awful the situation – and have a group hug and find something positive to laugh about. (6)
And now they did have the time to work everything out but – being guys – none of them was willing to take that first step into that emotional battle field. Sky remembered how horrible and unnatural it felt fighting at Red Fountain without have Brandon, Timmy and even Riven having his back. He never wanted to go through that.
"Hey Timmy, about that whole swapping identities thing," Sky started. "We didn't mean for it to get so far out of hand."
"I know you didn't," Timmy assured, making Sky relax a bit. Least he was listening to what he was saying isn't of point blankly blocking everything this out. "It was just a bit of a shock."
"I bet it was. And we did want to tell you, but we were worried about how you might take it and to be honest I didn't want to go back to having the pressures of the crown again," Sky confessed. He knew he could be completely honest with Brandon and Timmy. "That's really the reason why we changed places in the first place. I wanted to know what it would be like to be a normal guy for once and to not be treated differently just because of who my parents are."
"I can understand why you'd want to do that, and although it hurt that you didn't trust me but at the same time I can see why you didn't go around telling everyone. That would kind of defeat the purpose of it, huh?"
"We didn't mean to hurt you Timmy," Brandon reinstated.
"I know and I have to say no matter how angry I was, not talking to you guys was just . . .weird," Timmy told them. "And honestly, I don't think I'd like to go through that again."
"Me neither," Brandon agreed. "Distancing my self from you guys was the stupidest thing I've done in a while."
"Can I ask why you did that?" Sky asked hesitantly. He and Brandon had never had any massive fights over the years that they had known one another, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to address some of the issues if they were enough to turn Brandon against him.
"I dunno. Just something Riven said I guess."
"What did he say?"
"Just his usual crap to try and hit a nerve, and unfortunately he usually does," Brandon mumbled, and no one disagreed with him. Riven really did have an amazing ability to just look at a person and know exactly where to strike. In freshmen year he had reduced a fairy to tears just by saying the words eyebrows (7). "And, I dunno, he just seemed to make it look like you were using me Sky. You know, treating me like a servant or something. I mean I know I practically am but – "
"I would never think of you that way," Sky interrupted. He never wanted to be like those haunty nobles who treated anyone with a lower rank than them like interferer beings, and having his best friend thinking that way made him want to be sick.
"I know. It just got to me is all," Brandon sighed. "And then this whole thing with Stella didn't help. I guess the only reason she liked me was because she thought I was a prince."
"I think she was just angry because you lied to her," Timmy said. "She may still like you and just needs some time to get used to get used to all this like it did."
"Maybe," Brandon sighed again, and the ship fell silent for a moment. "So, are we cool?"
Sky was silent for a second as he pondered everything that had been said and done until finally he smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I think we are."
"Definitely," Timmy agreed.
"Excellent. Now all we need to do is get past the pirates, not explode our self on the mines, find the girls on Sprax, go back through the pirates and the mines and then try to find a way to defeat the Trix and their army of rot monsters," Brandon mentally check listed.
Sky laughed. "Piece of cake."
"You left something out," Timmy noticed. "What are we going to do about Riven?"
"What about him?" Brandon asked a bit sharply. "He's been a jerk recently."
"Yeah, I don't think that was entirely his fault."
"Riven's always been a jerk," Sky pointed out. "He's just gotten worse recently. I mean, we don't even know where he is right now. He wasn't at Red Fountain when the Army of Decay first attacked and no one's seen him since. If you ask me, I reckon he's hanging out in Cloud Tower laughing it up with Darcy and her sisters."
"Maybe, but I think it's more likely that he's at Cloud Tower keeping company with the rest of the witches and Miss Griffin."
Sky hadn't even considered that possibility. "What?"
"You think Riven got kidnapped by a bunch of high school girls?" Brandon repeated, before bursting out laughing. "That's fantastic!"
"Brandon!" Timmy scolded.
"I'm sorry but it is. That guy's been an ass."
"Yeah, he has and I think it's because Darcy's been messing around with his head," Timmy told them in a serious tone and Brandon's grin instantly dropped. Sure, Riven was a favorite for Jerk of the Year, but the idea of him being that way because of what someone else had willed him to do was just to horrible to consider. They had spent so much time over the last year hating him when he in fact had been the victim. "Brandon, when Riven crashed his bike and Darcy saved him during the Race for the Rose, didn't you say it kind of looked like Darcy was giving off a purple hazy that surround Riven?"
"Yeah," Brandon nodded, already seeing where Timmy was going with this.
"I think Darcy spelled him then and that she's been using him ever since in order to try and bust us and the Winx Club up and to spy on Bloom for her and her sisters," Timmy explained and both Sky and Brandon's face had gone very somber. Why hadn't they suspected something like this? It made sense. Darcy was known to be manipulative and there was no way under normal circumstances that Riven would allow himself to get so involved with a girl like that due to his mistrust of the female species. Why didn't they see that before? And Timmy wasn't finished yet. "There's more."
"Oh gods," Brandon groaned, running a hand through his fridge. Surely this couldn't get any worse.
"Mind control has never been an exact science since every mind is different," Timmy explained. "So there's countless side affects from messing around with someone's head, and one of the most sever is called Darkconus Syndrome which is basically the mind having an allergic reaction to the spell and starts shutting down."
"And you think Riven's suffering form this Darkconus Syndrome," Sky finished. "What makes you so sure? I mean, no offence, but you're not exactly that experience when it come to magical diagnosis."
"Well, the main symptom of Darkconus Syndrome is when a persons emotions and central nervous system is disabled so they can't feel anything," Timmy said, digging through his bag he had brought and pulled out a library book the other two had seen him carrying him around the last few days. "One look at Riven's eyes tells you how emotionless he's become and then a little while ago he had that massive shard of glass go into his leg and he didn't even notice it until Bourne pointed it out."
"That was all a little weird but it really doesn't prove anything," Brandon objected as Timmy handed across the book to Sky which he had opened to one chapter. Sky glanced at the cover which read the Ipswich Index. "I mean, his eyes? He's been wasted or hung over virtually every day. That's gotta take the sparkle out of his eyes. And the glass thing, I dunno. Maybe he's just a freak."
"What are the other symptoms?" Sky asked, trying to find them on the page.
"Mood swings, memory lose, insomnia, loss of appetite, paranoia, anxiety," Timmy listed off the top of his head. He knew there were others, but he couldn't remember them all. "But the one that I think confirms that Riven has Darkconus Syndrome is on the next page over, second paragraph."
Sky flipped the page over and found the paragraph Timmy was speaking off. He read aloud, "'In some cases where mental communication is present with sufferers of Darkconus Syndrome, there have be recordings of what is referred to in the mystic society as 'Resonance' (8). The infected mind is impressed with the mind that connects with it and gradually begins to reflect that mind and its abilities. In these cases, the infected mind loses its identity and its reality is distorted as foreign thoughts and memories enter it.' I don't get it."
"Basically, Riven's mind is being taken over by Darcy's without either of them knowing."
"And how do you plan to prove that?" Brandon asked. He didn't mean to be so difficult, but he couldn't accept the possibility that all this was happening and he didn't pick up on it.
"Because how else would Riven know about all this?" Timmy asked, pulling out some loose leaf sheets. The two Eraklyon's recognized the hand writing and the topic which they covered in class months ago, but the words were completely foreign.
"When the screams of a thousand years are finally heard and the terror of the night erases day. When the moons up above are consumed by shadow then the flames down below will cause doom to rain and the creatures of the night will rise once again."
Sky read allowed. "What is this?"
"I looked it up the night Red Fountain was first attacked," Timmy said. "That's the words that summon the Army of Decay."
"No way," Brandon gasped.
"Question is; how did he know it?"
"Darcy would have told him," Brandon answered, though even he wasn't convinced.
"I don't think that's her style," Sky disagreed, going over everything in his mind. Darcy seemed like the type of girl who kept her cards held close to her chest. He could imagine there were things that she didn't even tell her sisters about. "And I don't think Icy would approve."
"You got a point."
"So, let me get this straight; you think Riven's been acting strange recently because his mind's slowly turning into Darcy's?" Sky recapped. "That doesn't make much sense."
"Well, his mood's all out of wack and he's clearly seeing Darcy's thoughts," Timmy said, gesturing towards the sheets of paper. "You've seen him in class. It's like he's listening to something else beside the lesson. Also, he's mental skills in dragon wrangling is off the charts. No normal guy should have that level of awareness. And it would also how he managed to shatter all that glass in the armory when you were cleaning in, Sky."
"That could have been Darcy," Sky debated.
"It's kind of hard to believe that Darcy would choose the exact moment when Riven's patience broke. And if he can do that then Riven's obtaining mental skills that he shouldn't have."
"Okay, fine. Let's say he has this. How do we test it?"
"Well, I've already spoken to Javelin about it and he tends to agree with my line of thinking. He had an idea of first maybe using the dragon Rouge as like a test dummy since it was Riven who sent her insane in the first place. Javelin thinks that if there's a connection between her mind and Riven's and if she returns to sanity after that link is broken it pretty much proves that both of them had the syndrome."
"Then what?"
"Well then, the link between Riven and Darcy will be broken and the mind will be left to heal on its own accord since there is no real treatment besides breaking the link."
"What happens if the link isn't broken?" Brandon asked. "Like how serious is this Darkconus Syndrome?"
"Well, according to the Ipswich Index, virtually all cases end in either madness or suicide," Timmy answered solemnly. The squire swore loudly, getting to his feet and pacing the ship, his hand covering his mouth as he went over all the information he had just been given.
"Yeah know, I kinda hope Bloom doesn't find the Dragon Fire, because I want to be the one to finish that witch," Brandon spat, still pacing. Underneath it all Riven was still their friend and instead of watching his back so he didn't make these kinds of mistakes they had left him to that witch and her evil ways. They had abandoned him when he really needed them and they were too blind to see it. How were they any different from his family which he now hated so passionately? The poor kid had been abandoned so many times so no wonder he was so messed up. "Does he know? I mean, about all this?"
"I'm sure he knows something's not right with him, but I doubt he knows the extent of it. I don't even think he suspects it has anything to do with Darcy. I wouldn't have even looked at it this way if that witch Dominique who I'm guessing is somehow friends with Riven hadn't directed me towards the Ipswich Index."
"Well, we can't do much about it now, and as much as I want to go introduce Darcy to the end of my sword, we're still on a mission and we still have five girls we need to save," Sky brought them all to the task at hand. "Timmy, are you sure you can pilot this ship with the Hitxikers Warp Drive?"
"I sure can. We'll be traveling fast enough to avoid any dramas in the Karibian Pirate territory, but I'll have to slow down when we get to the space mine fields," Timmy explained, booting up the warp drive.
"Slow and steady don't go ka-boom!" Brandon noted, folding his arms and watching Timmy work.
"I'd hold onto something," Timmy advised. "Okay, engaging Hitxikers Warp Drive."
The ship suddenly sped up, throwing both Timmy and Sky into the backs of their chairs. Brandon, however, who had been standing when the Hitxikers Warp Drive was engaged, fell flat on his back under the sudden burst of speed. The hard, metal floor of the ship did not provide a comfortable landing, and the ships new momentum was enough the send him sliding backwards until he hit the back wall.
"Son of a . . . !" he cursed, clutching his head. Not only had he hit it when he fell to the ground but it had also been the first part of his body to connect with the wall.
"I did tell you to hold on," Timmy repeated.
"I was holding on!"
"You should have been sitting down," Sky noted calmly as he looked over their sensory. With the Hitxikers Warp Drive they were absolutely flying! He'd like to see any pirates try and catch up with them now.
"Oh shut up," Brandon grumbled, finding his chair.
They passed through the pirate territory without any issues. There were a few times where other ships appeared on their radar but they were gone before any of them could give chase. The space mines, on the other hand, was something they couldn't run away from. They had been installed during the Eve Wars when the Jillianous Faction went head to head with the Bobarndal Alliance (9). Though the two forces had called a truce years ago, the space mines had not been cleared due to the danger that surrounded them. A mine would remain stationary in space until something entered a five meter radius of it. Once that happened, it would lock onto whatever trigged it and follow after it until it hit and exploded itself.
"Alright guys. Keep your eyes open," Timmy advised, slowing right down.
"Slow and steady don't go ka-boom!" Brandon noted, folding his arms and watching Timmy work.
"I'd hold onto something," Timmy advised. "Okay, engaging Hitxikers Warp Drive."
The ship suddenly sped up, throwing both Timmy and Sky into the backs of their chairs. Brandon, however, who had been standing when the Hitxikers Warp Drive was engaged, fell flat on his back under the sudden burst of speed. The hard, metal floor of the ship did not provide a comfortable landing, and the ships new momentum was enough the send him sliding backwards until he hit the back wall.
"Son of a . . . !" he cursed, clutching his head. Not only had he hit it when he fell to the ground but it had also been the first part of his body to connect with the wall.
"I did tell you to hold on," Timmy repeated.
"I was holding on!"
"You should have been sitting down," Sky noted calmly as he looked over their sensory. With the Hitxikers Warp Drive they were absolutely flying! He'd like to see any pirates try and catch up with them now.
"Oh shut up," Brandon grumbled, finding his chair.
They passed through the pirate territory without any issues. There were a few times where other ships appeared on their radar but they were gone before any of them could give chase. The space mines, on the other hand, was something they couldn't run away from. They had been installed during the Eve Wars when the Jillianous Faction went head to head with the Bobarndal Alliance (9). Though the two forces had called a truce years ago, the space mines had not been cleared due to the danger that surrounded them. A mine would remain stationary in space until something entered a five meter radius of it. Once that happened, it would lock onto whatever trigged it and follow after it until it hit and exploded itself.
"Alright guys. Keep your eyes open," Timmy advised, slowing right down.
The Red Fountain ship crawled through the mines at a frustratingly slow yet necessary pace. If Timmy let the ship drift even an inch too far off their course, they could be stuck with several hundred mines on their tail. Slow and steady was the only option for them if they wanted to make it to Sprax in one piece.
"Almost there, guys," Timmy told the other two as the edge of the space mines came into view. Beyond the field there was a natural barrier of an asteroid belt that could be navigated through much more easily.
"Thank the gods. This tension is killing me," Brandon muttered, his eyes fixed on the screen in front of him and his finger ready around the trigger button of the massive guns that were set on the ships left side, ready to shoot just in case they somehow tripped one of the mines. Sky was on the right guns and was just as ready in case of an incident. If a mine suddenly locked onto them, it was up to them to shoot it down before it hit the ship which wasn't exactly an easy feat since the mines had been designed to be fast.
They were almost out of the space mine field when the warning systems suddenly went off. A red light filled the cockpit and warning sirens wailed as three mines suddenly started to follow them. Timmy cursed colourfully and increased the ships speed to try and make it to the asteroid belt before the mines caught up to them.
"There's three of them approaching us fast," Timmy told his two gunners.
"Just focus on driving, Timmy," Sky said, trying to get a lock on one of the mines. "We'll take them down."
In their training, the boys had been put through countless flight simulations that involved taking down mines, but this was the first time any of them were facing one for real and they were proving to be a lot harder to lock onto that the simulation had lead them to believe. The ships speed was causing it to shake, thus throwing off their aim, which made it hard for Brandon and Sky considering that they had to shoot carefully to avoid hitting the stationary mines and triggering a chain reaction of explosions.
"Oh c'mon. C'mon," Sky hissed between his teeth as he watched the mine he was trying to shoot down slowly close in on them. Finally, he got a lock on the mine and wasted no time pulling the trigger. The round he fired hit its target, and in a bright yellow light, the mine exploded and took out several other mines surrounding it as well. Another blast indicated that Brandon had also managed to shoot down a mine.
"Yee-ha!" Brandon grinned. "Only one more of these babies left."
"Hey, is it just me or does this mine look different than the other two?" Sky asked as he tried to lock in on the final mine that was trailing them. Unlike the other two mines, this one hadn't closed in on them as fast as a mine normally should.
"Yeah, this one looks bulkier," Brandon noted as he also tried to get a lock on it. "It's also moving a lot slower than the others were."
"Maybe it's an older model?" Sky shrugged. Maybe mines were like mobile phone and a newer more advanced model would come out every couple of months and the army would have to upgrade everything to make sure that they stayed fashionable? The prince was already dismissing that idea when Brandon suddenly stared to swear, his voice slightly panicked.
"Shit! Timmy! Get us out of here!" he ordered. "That's not a mine! It's a missile carrier!"
Timmy swore again as he pushed his speed further to try and get out into the astride belt before the carrier fired. Unlike normal space mines which simply exploded themselves on contact, missile carriers would lock onto a target and trail them till it deemed them in range and them open itself up and fire all the missiles it carried in a scatter pattern to make it impossible for anyone to shot them down. The average missile carrier could hold anywhere between thirty-five to fifty missiles that were designed to travel in a wavering path to decrease the already slim chances of someone shooting them down before they hit so the two Eraklyons and their guns were pretty much completely useless against something like that. Now, they were all counting on getting free from the mine fields to offer them some space to maneuver and Timmy's impressive flying skills. If he could just get into the asteroids he might be able to use them as cover.
"C'mon!" Timmy shouted at himself as the ship shot clear from the mine fields, but the carrier was still on their tail and they hadn't made it into the belt just yet.
"It's opening!" Brandon informed everyone. As the carrier opened itself, about forty or more missiles shot out. Sky and Brandon instantly aimed towards the general area of the missiles and stared firing randomly, hoping on the off chance that they might be able to take out a few missiles. Some explosions indicated that they had gotten lucky a few times, but there were still far too many missiles heading their way.
The ship then made a suddenly right turn that the two gunners were not ready for, sending them both flying into left hand side of their control panels as there were several large explosions outside that rocked the ship. One glance out of the windows told them that they had reached the asteroid field which Timmy was trying to navigate through at intense speeds while also trying to shake off the missiles that were still trailing them.
"C'mon. You can do this," Timmy hissed to both himself and the ship. By ducking behind asteroids, he planned dodge out of harms way and cause the entire group of missile to detonate themselves and leave them completely unscathed.
Hopefully.
The ship made another sudden turn, throwing Brandon face first into the control panel in front of him. The squire clutched onto it and closed his eyes, knowing it was all up to Timmy now. The ship continued to shutter as it continued to weave in and out of the asteroids. Several large explosions told the squire without looking that some of the missiles had hit a few of the space rocks, but who knew how many missiles were still on their tail. Tightly closing his eyes, Brandon silently prayed for the chance to see his parents and his little brother again and not be exploded into tiny little pieces out in the middle of nowhere in space. And he also wished that he'd be able to see Stella again. Another loud explosion rocked the ship, and Brandon braced his body, waiting for it all to end.
And then there was silence.
Looking up ever so slowly, Brandon instantly looked to the ships windows to see that they we no longer traveling at perilous speeds through giant masses of space rocks and most importantly, they were not exploded into thousands of little pieces.
"Yay-yah!!!" Brandon suddenly exclaimed, jumping to his feet and almost causing the other two boys in the ship to have heart attacks. "Timmy!! You did it man!! You actually freaking did it!!"
All Timmy responded with was taking deep, shuttering breathes as he tried to stop himself from shaking after he had almost jumped out of his skin at his friends jubilation.
"Brandon! Don't you ever do that again!" Sky ordered, also shaking. But his squire choose to ignore him, running over to shake Timmy back and forth in his seat while continuing to shout 'You did it! You did it! We're alive!'
After Brandon was restrained and Sky and Timmy felt they had hit him over the head enough times to make up for scaring the living day lights out of them, the squad ship and its crew continued on to Sparx without any more dramas.
Sparx was exactly as Sky expected it to be; deserted, cold and quite possibly one of the best snow fields the universe had on offer. With the help of thermal imaging, Timmy managed to track down the girls location fairly quickly and they quickly headed off in that direction.
"Hey, that looks like a castle up ahead," Sky noted as an ice covered structure suddenly appeared on screen. And swarming its walls was a vast wave of ice crabs that seemed to be under the command of a giant, white snow monster. And there was no denying that the Winx Club had an amazing ability to get themselves into danger. "Yup, this is the place."
"Seriously, we've got consider finding those girls a leash or something to try and keep them out of trouble," Brandon sighed, noticing the snow monster was trying to get into the castle. "Timmy, shot that hairy thing before we land. I have a feeling that he's gonna be trouble."
"You got it," Timmy grinned, taking aim and firing. The monster reeled as the laser hit him, and Timmy slowly took the squad ship in for a landing. Sky wasted no time jumping out of the ship into the snow.
"Looks like somebody wants a piece of us guys," the prince noted as Brandon and Timmy joined him outside. A large bunch of the ice crabs had already moved in on their ship while the rest were still trying to swarm the castle. There was no sign of the Winx Club.
"Let's get 'em," Brandon said as Sky extended his blade. Timmy pulled out his gun while Brandon took out his broadsword. They may be fighting on a planet they had never been to before, but as long as they were fighting alongside one another, there was something calmly familiar about them going into battle.
Sky wasted no time charging into the horde of ice crabs that were moving in on them. His blue phantom blade cleanly cut through the first row of crabs, causing them to shatter and fall to the ground in thousands of tiny pieces. While the new layer of ice made the ground beneath their feet more slippery, Sky was thankful that they didn't have to deal with the hazard of trying to get over a whole pile of crab corpses as they fought, and he was even more grateful that these monsters had the curtsey of staying down once they were defeated unlike the Army of Decay. Behind him, Sky could hear both Brandon and Timmy take down their fair share of ice crabs.
But no matter how many monsters they cut down, the ice crabs outnumber them in a number too great to count, and for every crab they killed, five more would take its place.
"You've got to be kidding me," Sky hissed as a fresh wave of crabs moved in to place the seven he had just shattered. Cursing his initial idea to charge into the crabs on his own, Sky started moving back towards where his two friends were in the notion that there was safety in numbers, even if that number was three verses what looked like a million. The other two probably had the same idea, because the prince suddenly felt his back press up against his two friends as the crabs moved in to completely surround them.
"How dangerous are these things?" Brandon asked.
"They can make fairies disappear," Timmy answered, his gun raised at the approaching ice army. "But I'm not sure what they can do to us."
"Let's not find out," Sky said, though he knew it wasn't as if any one was curious. The ice crabs were all clicking their large, pincers against the ground and started to move in on the heroes, but the boys knew what they needed to do. "Go!"
Jumping out of their tight circle, each boy moved out to try and extend the area of ground they had to fight on. Timmy filled the sky with shots from his gun while Sky slashed at every crab in his path. But it was Brandon that was able to do the most damage with his broadsword. In the same way that he had blocked the other Cloud Tower witches during their little showdown in Magix, Brandon slammed his blade down into the ice to slow the ice crabs approaching them from his side. With the ice crabs temporarily confused, Brandon swiped his broadsword across the monsters and in one wave managed to shatter around twenty crabs. But in a few seconds, the gap he had just created was filled with a new batch of enemies.
"Oh, this is ridiculous!" Brandon complained, taking another swing of his blade. "I mean, we survive an army of rotting gods knows what to get taken out by an army of ice crustaceans! And it gets even better! If we make it out of this one, we get to go back and play with the rot again!"
"We can't keep fighting like this," Timmy noted, shooting out a few more crabs. "There's just too many ice crabs for us to fight out to the death. We need to get the girls and get out of here."
"Timmy's right," Sky agreed. "But where are they?"
"According to the thermal imagining scanner, they were already inside the castle when we landed."
"Right, I'll go in first and you guys try and follow me," Sky explained. "Brandon, can you open up a path for me?"
"Coming right up," the squire said, raising his sword above his head and then slamming it down onto the ice. The green blast continued past the end of his blade and cut through the horde of ice crabs. The second the light faded, Sky took off at a sprint to get through the ice army before they moved in to fill the gap Brandon had just opened up. Slashing through the last few crabs that stood in his way, Sky entered the derelict palace of the royal family of the greatest civilization in the universe.
The inside of the palace was rather dark and even colder. Ice and snow had drifted into the halls of the once great palace and the air seemed to hold the feeling of grief, as if the building itself was mourning the lost of its people and the royal family that used to live inside it. But as well as grief, there seemed to be a strong sense of evil that seemed to radiate from the walls, a sign that although the witches of the Evil Covent may be gone, their presence still remained. It was hard to believe that one of those witches was the grandmother – or possibly great grandmother – of the Trix, who were trying to destroy Magix in the same way. Sky shuttered at the though of Magix, a place that was practically his home away from home, might end up like this place.
But Sky didn't have time to stand around and think about what might happen. Moving quickly yet quietly through the abandon halls of the palace, Sky strained his ears for any sound that might tell him where the girls had run to. He could hear the shuttling of the ice crabs frozen feet across the stone floors and the groan of the snow which had settled on the palace, but other than that he heard no other sound. Then –
"Here they come!" a voice drifted through the empty halls and Sky felt his heart stop.
"That's Blooms voice," Sky said to himself, taking off in the direction of that angelic sound. He just had to get there in time. Bloom was here without her powers, and although he knew the Winx Club were more that capable to take care of themselves, he knew that they be much better off if he was there to guard Bloom so that they could focus on taking out the ice crabs with their magic.
"Flora!" Bloom's voice called out and Sky followed it and the sounds of the other girls fighting until he came to what looked like a ballroom. Back when Sparx was in its glory, this room would no doubt have had been used to hold many grad functions was elegant music, pleasant company and the nights sky shinning through the glass roof above them. But now, snow blocked out the sky, the company was an army of ice crabs bent on destroying them and the only music was that given off by Musa as she blasted a group of crabs that Tecna had trapped in her digital web. Flora and Stella were also in the air, shooting at the ice crabs that were scuttling along the ground, and standing in the centre of the room watch them was a red haired fairy that made Sky's heart pound. "Great team work."
After allowing himself one second to marvel at the beauty of the earth girl, Sky quickly cleared his mind of emotion to focus on the battle before him but cause just as that very moment, both he and Bloom became aware of an ice crab that had gotten passed the Winx Clubs attacks, move in on the defenseless fairy.
"Bloom!" Stella shouted in alarm as the crab lunged at her friend and Bloom closed her eyes and braced herself for the inevitable. But it never came because Sky quickly bolted across the room, his sword ready and sliced the crab directly through the centre. The crab glowed as the phantom blade ripped through it and shattered into a thousand pieces.
"Oh hey," Bloom greeted casually, as if she had expected to find him here, light years from Magix.
Unbeknownst to them, during their efforts to hold off the wave of ice crabs that still existed outside, Brandon and Timmy had ended climbing up the snow drifts and onto one of the roofs of the palace. They were just seconds away from being completely surrounded by the ice army, when they both noticed that they were in fact now standing on glass and could see Sky and the Winx Club below them. Since escape for them was impossible and their friends needed their help, the boys did then logical thing; they broke the glass they were standing on and quite literally dropped in on the battle.
"Hi Bloom," Sky said calmly, getting to his feet as Brandon and Timmy fell to the ground.
"Don't worry girls," Brandon said as he landed, and pins and needles shot through his feet and up his legs after jumping from such a height. "We're here."
"We'll get you out of this," Sky promised, running into a group of ice crabs and chopping them in half. Around him, Sky knew that his friends were doing the same thing until virtually all the crabs were taken out. However, before they could pat each other on the back for a job well done, there was a deep thud that sounded almost exactly like a footstep, though it sounded like it belonged to one massive pair of feet.
"Did hear that?" Tecna asked in a wavering voice.
"What?" Brandon asked just as a shadow moved across the roof from the hole Timmy and him had created, and it was accompanied by a deep growl.
"That."
Looking up, the Winx Club and the heroes felt a fresh wave of dread wash over them as a massive, brown eye blink down at them through the hole in the roof. It was surrounded by snow white fur and was accompanied by the same deep growl they had heard before.
"Uh oh," Brandon muttered as the snow monster realized where they all where hiding. They eye moved away and was replaced with a giant hand that Brandon instantly started slashing at.
"Wait here," Sky ordered Bloom after he had dragged her out of harms way. Timmy stayed with her, gun ready, as Sky moved in to take a few swings at the open palm of the monster. Tiny little cuts etched themselves across the skin of the monster, and given the monster size and the fine, sharp edges of Sky and Brandon's blades, the cuts must have been like paper cuts to the beast. The monster retracted his throbbing hand and growled angry as he stared down at the heroes with blazing brown eyes. There was no denying that it wanted revenge.
"Oh no. How are we going to beat this guy?" Timmy asked from his place next to Bloom.
"Don't worry boys. We're here. We'll save you," Stella said, flying up to the hole in the glass where she was quickly joined by Tecna, Musa and Flora. At Musa's command, the four fairies flew outside to take on the beast on their own.
"You just had to ask, didn't you?" Brandon grumbled to Timmy, a little ticked off that his girlfriend (if he could even call her that) had so casually rejected their help.
"Does it really matter?" Bloom asked, her eyes fix on the girls fighting above them.
"Yes. We're meant to be the rescue party! Not the other way around!"
"This is hardly the time," Sky scolded.
"And if it makes you feel any better, we promise not to tell anyone else," Bloom smirked, to which Brandon simply responded with an un-amused looked. The red head smiled at him, then turned her attention back to her friends. "Hey Tecna! Why don't you use the world wide web to limit his movement?"
"Great idea," the digital fairy replied. "I'll trap him."
"When all this is over, you should consider going to see one of our teachers, Professor Javelin. You're a pretty good battle strategist and he loves natural talent," Timmy said to Bloom as Tecna trapped the monster and Flora, with the help of Stella's sunlight, caused some flowers to grow over the net. Finally, Musa used her sound waves to trigger the blast buds, finishing the snow monster once and for all.
"But if she does that, she'll probably become better at strategy then we are," Brandon pointed out.
"Threatened, Brandon?" Bloom asked cheekily.
"Well yeah. I'm sure you would be too if I suddenly became better that you at running around in mini shirts and high heels."
Laughing, Bloom turned and ran into one of the hallways that attached onto the ballroom. "Come on you guys!"
Left with little other choice, the heroes followed her through the halls of her palace until her made her way outside. The only thing that remained of the snow monster was a massive imprint of its body from where it fell, and without their commander, the ice crabs had scuttled off back into the wilderness. Stella, her scepter in hand, was entertaining herself by shooting some of the slower ones.
"Take that you little nasties," she shouted, blasting one ice crab into pieces. "Try to make me disappear, now do you?"
"Guys!" Bloom shouted, running out of her palace and into the snow. The Winx Club suddenly erupted into laughter, cheers and squeals that made the boys ears hurt as the rest of the ground flew down to embrace Bloom in one massive group hug. Flora, Musa, Tecna and Stella transformed back into snow clothes exactly like Blooms and babbled for five minutes straight about how awesome they had all been during the fight.
"Do you think they even realize that we're here?" Sky asked his friends as they waited from the girls over by their ship. His voice must have caught the attention of Musa's sonar ears because she suddenly looked up and made her way over to them. After a slight pause, the rest of the Winx Club followed.
"So what are you guys doing here?" Musa asked. "I get the feeling that you weren't just in the area and decided to drop in."
"We're thinking of taking a career as taxi drivers," Brandon joked, feeling somewhat uneasy at the way Stella was looking at him. Last time they had spoken was the Day of the Royals, and she had only seemed interested in slapping him in the face.
"Oh really?" Stella said, and Brandon flinched at her cold tone.
"Faragonda and Saladin sent us to come and pick you girls up," Timmy explained since technically there had been no dramas between him and the girls. "The magical reality chamber got you here, but it's a one way trip and we need you girls back in Magix."
"How is everything thing back there?" Flora asked, eager to know if her school was still standing.
"Red Fountain has fallen," Timmy answered swiftly, trying to get it said as fast as possible so as not to prolong the pain, much like the way you quickly rip off a Band-Aid. The girls' response was instant, with gasps, horrified looks and small words of condolence. They all knew how attached one could get to their school since it was also their home for most of the year. "There's still no word from the rest of the Cloud Tower witches, but the Trix have move all their focus to Alfea. When we left they haven't begun attacking, but that may have changed since we've been here."
"Why are they taking their time with it?" Tecna asked. "I would have thought the senior witches would give no hesitation to enslave Magix now that they have the Dragon Fire."
"Who knows what they're thinking," Timmy shrugged. "But what we do know is that every hour that passes, their army grows. Did you happen to find the Dragon Fire, Bloom?"
"No," Bloom said solemnly, shaking her head. "We found a few clues, but no flame. I think that the only place where I'll find the Dragon Fire is at Cloud Tower with the senior witches."
"Well we better get back there then," Sky mumbled, unwilling to look the girls in the eye.
"Hold on a minute," Stella stopped sharply. "Why should we go with you? We don't even know who you are."
"Stella," Flora begged under her breath, but the Princess's look was determined. Her honey eyes were hard and her expression was un-amused. And Brandon felt as though his heart was in a vice.
"Look, we know what we did was wrong, but we never meant for anyone to get hurt. We were going to tell you but . . . Oh I dunno, I guess we thought you might not like us if you found out the truth and the last thing we wanted to do was to lose you guys as friends, although that seemed to kind of backfired on us. And I can understand that you might never want to speak to us again after all this is over, but I've gotta be honest and say that it sucked not speaking to you girls. So I'm just gonna say how sorry I am and hope that you girls find it in your heart to forgive us," Brandon said on behalf of both Sky and himself. Flora, Tecna and Musa all smiled warmly, but Bloom still had he head lower slightly, avoiding their gaze, and Stella was as cold as the ice that surrounded them. Swallowing hard, Brandon forced a cheery expression. "So what do you say Stella? Friends?"
Stella moved closer to him, her expression still unreadable. Unable to decipher an answer out of her face, Brandon tried desperately to keep the anxiety and anguish out of his face. He knew his eyes were the most likely part of his face to betray him, but he just couldn't look away from those golden eyes. He would find out later that it was the emotion and honesty in his eyes that made Stella forget her pride and give him the second chance she had wanted to give him ever since the Day of the Royals.
Stella suddenly smiled, making Brandon's heart soar before it slammed against his rib cage as the princess's slim arms wrapped around his neck. "Okay."
A rather foolish smile spread across the squires face and he suddenly became light headed. Everything – the ice crabs that had almost killed them all, the fall of Red Fountain and the psychotic Trix Sister and their Army of Decay – dissolved away as Stella's flawless face beamed at him, her cheeks rosy from the cold and her eyes glowing. Brandon didn't think he had ever seen her more beautiful. "You look good."
Stella's smile widened, but no matter how much the two of them want to just grin at adoringly at one another in the snow, this wasn't the time nor the place and Tecna brought them back to reality by clearing her throat. "So how did you manage to get to Sparx?" the digital fairy asked.
"We added a special warp drive to the ship to enable intra-dimensional travel. Then we had to fly through enemy territory and survive obstacle fields," Sky explained, trying to make it sound as casual as possible, but a few wide eyes and opened mouths told him that the amount of effort the boys had put into getting to Sparx wasn't lost on the girls. Unfortunately, Bloom still had her head lowered; showing that she still wasn't sure how she felt about him. "It wasn't such a big deal really. I was just glad we able to find you."
Brandon grinned at his friends' understatement but he could see that his prince was rather upset that Bloom wasn't looking at him both adoringly and gratefully like Stella was doing to his squire. The guy needed a wingman to talk him up. "My boy wouldn't stop no matter what. All he wanted to do was help Bloom."
Flora instantly turned all gushy at his words. "That's so nice, and romantic."
Sky felt a small smile tug at the corner of his mouth at Brandon's little input, but died as Stella just as easy shot it out of the sky. "Hold your horses, Miss Cheery. No one said he's off the hook yet."
The Crown Prince of Eraklyon could stop his lower lip from sticking out slightly at his disappointment. How come Brandon got let off the hook but not him? That's hardly fair.
"Come on you guys. We've got a long trip ahead of us and after that we've got a universe to save," Timmy informed them all, and the group climbed aboard the squad ship.
The trip home, as always, seemed to be faster than the trip there. They passed through the mine fields without drama this time thanks to the fact that Tecna help Timmy with the piloting, warning him whenever he drifted one hundredth of a millimeter in the wrong direction. The Hitxikers Warp Drive once again kept them out of reach of the pirates, but they still gave chase, bless their souls. Musa and Stella had encouraged them along, even getting Timmy to slow down a bit to allow the pirates to catch up slightly before they sped off again with the two princesses roaring with laughter.
Once they had traveled through the Karibian Pirate territory, the ship slowed down to its normal speed. Musa was lulling everyone into a peacefully calm mood with her flute. Bloom had taken a seat towards the back of the ship and had been very quiet throughout the entire trip. But given everything that had happened and everything that was expected of her they really could blame her.
Sky had tried to work up the nerve to approach her several times since they had left Sprax, but every time he'd chicken out. He thought that he was suffering in silence, but he should have known he could never get anything past Brandon. So he wasn't that surprised, although a bit alarmed, when he best friend made his way over to him and muttered under his breath so no one else could hear him, "If you don't go over and talk to her now, I am going to get that photo of you when me and Will accidentally cut your hair while you were sleeping and you ended up with a mullet and circulate it around the school."
Sky gawked at his squire. "You wouldn't dare."
"Oh I would."
"But we don't have a school anymore."
"But we still have a student body. And who knows, we might get a new school by next year and I'm sure Jared could get you on the front page of the school newspaper if I really press it."
"I hate you."
"I know, now get to it."
Breathing deep, Sky made his way to the back of the ship. He was grateful that Musa was playing since that might do something to cover up their conversation, but he saw one of Stella's eyes open and look at him as walked passed so he knew she was going to do her very best to eavesdrop in.
"Ah, Bloom?" Sky said nervously and he suddenly found a pair of breathtaking blue eyes locked on him.
"Yeah?"
Sky sighed and took a seat along side her. He needed to get things cleared up between them for nothing more than it would be one less thing she might have on her mind. Plus, there was also the off chance that they might go back to where they were before the whole mess of the Day of the Royals. "There's something I wanted to tell you."
"Yeah?" Bloom said again.
"This whole thing about me being Prince Sky but pretending to be Brandon . . ." Sky trailed off, not certain what he should say after that. He had been rehearsing what he would say to her in his head for the last few days, but when it got to show time he choked.
Bloom, however, wanted to hear what he had to say. "Yeah? Just tell me."
"Right. Well I'm sorry," Sky got right to the point. "I just wanted to see how it feels to be a regular guy for once."
"Yeah, well, I understand all that but you don't have to lie to me and humiliate me," Bloom told him honestly, and although Sky knew that he needed to hear that, it still made him flinch.
"I didn't mean to hurt you. I care about you Bloom. That is why I broke off my arranged marriage to Diaspro," Sky told her. He had been debating for days whither or not to tell her, but he figured that he had kept far too much from her already not to come right out and be completely honest with her. And when he saw the way her eyes light up, he didn't regret his decision to tell her in the slightest.
"I'm so glad you did," Bloom told him before quickly back stepping to try and cover her eagerness and delight at his news. "I mean it's cool you did 'cause, you know, arranged marriages are so old school."
Despite the fact that he was swelling in delight inside at her reaction, he still didn't want to think he was ignoring what he had done. "I feel terrible. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"
Bloom seemed to ponder the thought for a seconded, then smiled as the answer came to her. "Actually there is one thing."
Sky suddenly became hesitant. "Okay?"
"It's too weird calling you Prince Sky, so I want to call you something else," Bloom told him, giving him a sly look. She put on a great show as if she was really thinking about it, but Sky suspected that she already knew what she wanted to call him. "Like, er, how bout, er . . . baby?"
Sky couldn't contain himself and burst out laughing. But the more he thought about it the more he liked. Diaspro had pummeled him with countless pet names since their engagement was arranged, but never once had she called him baby. It was a first for him. "That's cool. I like Baby."
Bloom giggled as he repeated her new name for him and then smiled at him for the first time since the Day of the Royals. But then Sky and her suddenly became aware that they had an audience and their smiles of delight turned into embarrassed grins. Letting out a nervous little laugh, Bloom tired to change the focus. "So Musa, was that a new song you wrote? It was awesome."
"You are aware that I stopped playing ages ago?" the musical fairy smirked, and Sky noticed some red colouring enter Bloom's cheeks.
"Well why don't you play it again?" Sky suggested. With a laugh, Musa raised her flute to her lips as Timmy piloted the ship through space back to Magix where the Trix and the Army of Decay was waiting for them.
(1) I always hated picket in cadets. I'd always try and work m way out of it
(2) Karibian Pirates? Sounds an awful lot like Caribbean, doesn't it?
(3) That name is mainly taken from 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy' since it is the best book to have with you when you go on a inter-galactical trip. I just stuck a X in to make it sound spacey
(4) That was the name of the war in the anime Gundam Wing
(5) They have launch pads very similar to this in Gundam Wing. There are a lot of thing in this chapter inspired by the Gundams series since they already had a pretty good space society set up. The space mines are one of those inspirations
(6) They do that every episode! Something bad happens but they just have a group hug and laugh about it. Like when the witches went to Earth, tortured Blooms family, stole her power and then vanished to d god knows what, her and Stella have a hug fest with her parents. The big, climacteric ending is about to happen in the season but are they worried? Nah! Everything things cool because Bloom loves her parents. God. Would it kill them not to end on a happy note?
(7) That was from Scrubs
(8) Resonance was a way that the Whispered could talk mentally to one another in Full Metal Panic and although it's a useful way of communicating it's also very dangerous. Tessa explain is with a cup of tea when she adds the milk to it. The two liquids merge together and can't be separated. As a result, a person's awareness could be lost completely
(9) I was writing this while watching the Biggest Loser and I need two armies to battle it out with one another
Man that was a long chapter. Actually, they're all pretty long from this point in. Damn
TBC