Chapter 20: To the Winter Wasteland
"So, can you help her?" Flora asked Marana as she shown her Mirta, who is a pumpkin, in her arms.
"Of course." Smiled Marana, "We Hunters are trained to help the cursed."
She put her hand on the pumpkin and chant the words, "Purificent." Light came out her hand and enveloped the pumpkin, and in a flash of light, Mirta is being held by Flora and they fell back to the ground. "Ow!" They grunted.
"Mirta! You're ok!" Exclaimed Flora.
"Thanks to that Hunter here!" Smiled Mirta then turns towards Marana. "Thanks, Ms. Marana."
Marana smiled and nodded. "It is part of our duty."
"So!" Cole put his arm around her. "Looks like those horrors left and retreated, looks like can take a breather."
Marana glared and pushed his arm away. "Yes, looks like we are in the clear. For now. Just, don't get your hands on me, mutant."
"Alright, Ms. Elitist." Cole backed off.
"Why do you seem so unfriendly with each other?" Asked Bloom.
"Because the Hunters has this belief that they consider Supernaturals and Half Humans are 'unnatural abominations'." Replied Cole.
"No," Retorted Marana. "It is because we believe that humans with powers not usually natural to them are considered dangerous to humanity!"
"Don't see me burning down cities, don't I!?" Cole butt heads with her.
"You might as very well will!" Marana pushed back.
"Calm down!" Yelled Techna, and they stopped. "Look, I know you have different ideals that obviously clash with each other, but can we just settle our differences and prepare for the next wave!?"
"Very well." Sighed Marana. "We work with those, Supernaturals, for now. But by then, we're keeping a close eye on them."
"Fine by me." Cole shrugs as they left to their respective groups from their academy.
"Is that we're like when we and the witches are against each other?" Asked Musa.
"Yeah." Said Mirta.
"I believe so." Said Stella.
"Anyway." Smiled Gilda, "How does it feel turning back into a human?"
"As my best friend, Lucy, would say," Mirta clears her throat. "'About damn time'… I really don't like cursing."
…
Faragonda is in her office, with Tsukasa in front of her.
"Looks like things calmed down for now." Said Tsukasa. "But it seems that those witches will attack with their horrors again."
"I know." Replied Faragonda. "Even with the aid from the Hunters and the Supernaturals, I don't think we will last."
"Then we need to strike back when we have the chance." Said a voice coming out the door.
"Hephestia!" Said Faragonda surprised. "Weren't you here yesterday?"
"I was, but I got word from my husband about an attack from those three witches." Replied Hefei.
"So you must be the creator of the Fae Driver," Tsukasa extends his hand.
"And you must be the dimensional traveling Rider I've heard so much about." Hefei shakes his hand. "So, is it true? That you'll send Gilda to fight in a war that involves the others riders?"
"Yes." Replied Tsukasa. "And it involves her as a Rider as well. By the way, have you finish the repairs?"
"No, I have not yet." Sighed Hefei. "But I will sooner than you think. I am mainly here to help my daughter and her friends."
"Then I'm glad you're here." Smiled Faragonda.
A transmission has popped up from the desk, "Hello? Is anyone there? Oh, there it is." Icy said through the transmission. "Hello there. I suppose you've had a taste of our power. If you don't your academies to be destroyed by our Army of Darkness, listen well. We want to have control of your academies on Magix, and we want your headmasters to resign and your reinforcements from the other Academies outside of Magix pull back, or else we'll come to invade their worlds too. You have about 12 hours until ready to respond to our demands."
The transmission is cut as the other headmasters appeared from the screen,
"This is madness!" Yelled Samuels. "Do they really believe that we are willing to accept!?"
"Faragonda," Said Solstice. "Looks like all of us received the same message, but I believe we should keep attacking. I for one, am not willing to let them roam around as a growing threat."
"I agree with her." Said Sir Gatheris. "The Guardians of the Underworld are starting their Harvest from this war, we need to end this now! We can't have them creating more demons!"
"Guess we're not pulling back our forces," Said Wu Kon. "Instead, we send more?"
"Faragonda, what do you think?" Asked Saladin. "Because I wholeheartedly agree."
"I agree as well." Nodded Faragonda. "Sir Gatheris, Commander Samuels, Grand Master Wu Kon, Professor Solstice. Send more of your students. We need all the help we can get to win."
The headmasters nodded and cut the transmission.
"If this escalate any further, it will like the War on The Apocalypse." Said Hefei.
"Hephestia." Responded Faragonda. "We agreed that we should never speak of this ever again."
"What is this, War on The Apocalypse?" Asked Tsukasa.
"As long you won't tell anyone." Sighed Faragonda.
"I won't." Replied Tsukasa.
"The War on The Apocalypse started fifty years ago." Explained Faragonda. "Thirty years before Domino's fall. It started with Shiva, The Fairy of Destruction, who planned to erase the entire Multiverse, so everyone, from all realms, fought her and defeated her. But not without a price. We've lost so many realms and so many lives. I hope it won't come to this."
…
"Are you SURE that we'll make through this?" Stormy asked Icy. "By the looks of things, we are going our butts handed over to them with their reinforcements from the other academies!"
"Just! Just be quiet!" Icy rubbed her temples.
"We can handle Redfountain and Alfea, but with Ravenwing, Graphene, Tiequan, AND Solstice's?" Said Darcy. "How are we going to defeat them all? Even there's a limit to the Dragonfire."
"I know!" Yelled Icy. "I'm trying to think!"
"Maybe I can help." Said a voice.
"Who are you!?" Icy turned to the voice.
"And what's with that getup, old man?" Stormy looks at him.
"I am Narutaki." The old man introduces himself. "And I am here to make a deal with you."
"Um, old man?" Said Stormy, "Last time we made a deal with someone, Icy thought it was a GOOD IDEA, to backstab them."
"Oh, no..." Smiled Narutaki. "This will be a lot better than your other deal. You see, I want to help you in your conquest, as long you help ME with my problem."
"What is it?" Darcy grew interested.
"There is a man at Alfea. Goes by the name, Decade." Said Narutaki. "And I have been trying to get rid of him for years. So, I will send you help, and you destroy Decade for me."
"And what, 'help', you could offer us?" Icy raised an eyebrow.
Narutaki grinned and spread his arms, and out of the veil behind him, many creatures came out of it. Dopants, Yummies, Zodiarts, Phantoms, Inves, Roidmudes, Gamma, Bugsters, and even Smash appeared before the witches. "Will this do?"
"Oh yes..." Grinned Icy. "This will do just fine..."
…
The Winx and the Rider went into Faragonda's office. With Hephestia at the side, "Mom? Why are you here?" Asked Gilda. "Does that mean-?"
"Sorry," Hephestia replied much to Gilda's disappointment. "I haven't finished yet. But Faragonda wants to speak with you."
"What is that you want from us, Headmistress Faragonda?" Asked Bloom.
"Even with our support from the other academies, those three still has the Dragonfire." Said Faragonda grimly. "And that's not the worst of all. Just recently, Tsukasa scouted them and saw that they have reinforcements of their own. The monsters from HIS universe."
"Monsters from Tsukasa's universe?" Stella raised an eyebrow. "That does not sound good."
"They are not creatures that are recognizable from here, they are of completely different species entirely." Said Faragonda as she makes a screen showing examples of said monsters. "Some are from ancient origin, some are even man-made. And Tsukasa said they are brought here by a man named Narutaki, his old ememy."
"Why would he bring them here?" Asked Techna getting irate.
"Because he wants Tsukasa dead and is willing to help our current enemies to help him get to that goal." Replied Faragonda. "Which brings me to tell you this, with the witches' new support, we might not win. So, for starters, we have to remove the Dragonfire from them, and maybe this Narutaki will pull back his forces."
"Ok, how?" Asked Musa.
"Simple, you will head to Domino." Said Tsukasa waking in through a veil. "Since Bloom is connected to Daphne, she might know how to defeat those with the Dragonfire. So you must head to the palace to find her."
"Wait, from what I've heard," Thought Flora. "Hephestia defeated a fairy of Domino with the Dragonfire."
"Oh, yes." Hephestia raised an eyebrow. "I did that once, but it was a long time ago."
"And how did you do it?" Asked Flora.
"I... kinda used their own magic against them by forging them in a metal coffin..." Said Hefei, "With metal that is VERY resistant to heat... So, yeah, you can't do that trick. Sorry." She shrugged her shoulders.
"That's ok, mom." Sighed Gilda. "So, how do we get to Domino?"
"I'll take you there." Smiled Tsukasa, "I can travel from universe to universe with ease, so taking you all there is no challenge to me."
"So, are you willing to do it?" Asked Faragonda.
"I will." Said Bloom adamant. "Like I will let those witches go around hurting others as they please."
"I'll go too." Added Gilda. "Even without my Driver, I can't stand idly by."
"They speak for all of us here." Said Stella. "Look, I would HATE the freezing cold. But I will not let get that to me."
"Wow, I thought you would be worried about breaking a nail from this." Said Musa.
"Breaking a nail is a lot less worse than having the witches take over Magix." Replied Stella.
"Fair point." Said Techna. "And yes, we agree with her."
"Well then." Smiled Faragona. "Get ready in half an hour."
…
In the snowy wastelands of Domino, a veil appeared out of nowhere and the fairies walked out of it in their winter gear as well as their surprise.
"Well, looks like we're here. My... kingdom..." Said Bloom looking around. "Gilda, can you hand me a weapon in case?"
"Sure." Gilda hands a blade. "Even if I don't have my Driver, I can use the RapierVolver." Gilda held up her weapon, and then slides in a coin.
-Spell Coin Slot: Flame-
"That's good to know." Said Stella. "Anyway, how far is the palace from here?"
"From this map Faragonda gave to us," Techna held up a device that show a hologram of the landscape. "About ten kilometers that way." Techna pointed to the direction.
"Great, looks like we have a lot of trekking through blizzards for a while." Musa sighed.
...
A few hours later, the girls felt the harsh cold from the frozen landscape. They huddled together near the flames from Gilda's blade to try to get warm.
"Why has no one had lifted the curse of this place yet?" Said Bloom, shivering. "It has been roughly two decades, right? Someone could've fixed it by now."
Techna shook her head, "Sorry, but no one is able to find a way to lift the Ancestral Witches' curse. Not even the Hunters can lift the curse of this place. Even Mechanists tried to test some settlements, but all of them failed."
"And the curse seems to keep on brushing off spells to break it." Added Flora. "So Domino remains a cold, harsh wasteland."
"Maybe we can find some shelter." Said Stella, "Come on, you have to agree with me here."
"For once." Gilda chuckled to make light of this situation. "I agree."
"Glad to know." Stella slowly smiled.
"Techna," Said Musa, "Does the map say anything about a cave nearby?"
Techna held up the map, "Yeah, a just a few meters nearby."
They nodded and head to a cave.
…
Saladin is in his office, cutting his transmission to Samuels and Wu Kon. "So." He turns around to see Knut, "You said you'll help us?"
"Yes," Said Knut. "I want to pay those three back after they had their butler stab me in the back, literally."
"Then we need all the help we can get." Said Aquila.
"You can count on me." Said Knut.
"So." Said Icy in a holographic projection. "You are still alive. I thought that Devi killed you."
"Luckily I have a health potion on me." Grunted Knut. "As you know, I no longer work for you three."
"No matter." Icy shrugged. "Saladin, you still six hours left to surrender. Even though... you still hadn't sent those Mechanists and Monks back. In fact. More of them are coming this way. Don't try to fool us, we can feel their presence."
"Leave." Said Saladin sternly. "I prefer that I won't be seeing you in these last six hours. And yes. We WON'T surrender to the likes of you."
"Well then." Icy grins even though she is clearly annoyed. "Guess I send you our new addition to our army from our... let's say, our 'supporter', not even your reinforcements or even Aquila here can stop them… Goodbye Saladin."
The transmission cuts off, while Saladin grips his staff in anger.
"What this about this addition to their army?" Asked Aquila.
"No idea." Said Saladin. "Aquila, tell everyone to prepare for battle, and for retreat in case things get messy."
"Alright, I'll do that." Nodded Aquila.
…
The Specialists, The Elemental Monks, and The Mechanists are in formation to prepare for the second wave. But they have gotten that is wasn't expected. A veil appeared, and it came out the Roidmudes, Dopants and Inves.
"What the hell are they!?" Yelled a Specialist Captain.
"They are not any creatures I've seen before." Said a Monk Master.
"No matter! They are enemies! Ready men!" Commanded a Mechanist Captain, "Aim and OPEN FIRE!"
The Mechanists fire their rifles at the creatures, but then everything starts to... slow down.
"What's going on!?" Yelled Sky. "I... can't move!"
"It's those machine-like creatures." Said Leng. "They have done something to make even time slow down."
"Are those monsters even capable of such a thing!?" Shouted Erik and then he was hit by a Lion Inves.
The Inves and Dopants charged forth to attack them while being affected by the Density Shift while Shock Roidmude laughs. "It is the best you can do!?"
Aquila tried to swing his blade, but due to the Density Shift, he can only manage to destroy a few Inves. "We have to destroy those machine creatures!" Yelled Aquila.
The Roidmudes continue to cause Density Shifts to make their enemies slow down for their allies to attack, until one was shot in the head with a bright hole was glowing green as it fell back. They look up to see Mechanist Snipers with their Gauss Plasma Rifles aimed at them to pick them off one by one.
The Shifts are steadily decreasing as they Specialists, Monks and Mechanists began to move normally again. "That did the trick!" Said Sky as he slashes down a Roidmude. Bulwark in guardian form places a coin into his sword,
-Spell Coin Slot: Ignis-
Bulwark slashes some Reaper Legion Roidmudes as they exploded. "Keep on destroying those machine monsters! They won't use that trick that way!"
Leng punches a Violence Dopant down as it strikes him back, only for Leng to use his Arts to defend himself.
"Metal Elemental Art: Iron Skin." Said Leng with parts of his body are in metal. He sends the Violent Dopant upward as Erik drops down to skewer it at the Dopant explodes.
The Monks came forward to use their arts on the Dopants as the Specialist handles the Inves as the Mechanists are firing at the Roidmudes.
The Snipers continue shooting until Komuri Inves are picking them up the air as the Snipers desperately fires at them and drops them below. The Seiryu Inves came up in a line to breathe fire at their enemies as the IceAge and the Magma Dopant comes forth to attack them with ice and fire. The Weather Dopant chuckles as he sends lightning down the Redfountain, destroying the roof that lets in the Inves to raid.
Aquila cuts more down as he takes a look around, as the new enemies are overwhelming the Specialists and their allies. "… This can't continue." Bulwark desperatly cuts more down as more pile on him, Aquila knocks the creatures off him, "Are you ok, Bastion!?" Aquila shouted with concern.
"I'm fine, dad." Replied Bulwark as he then sees a figure behind Aquila. "Dad! Watch out!"
A Byakko Inves came up behind him as a blade came through its chest from behind. As it fell forward, it reveals an... orange, as in the fruit orange, samurai.
"Are you alright?" Said the samurai as Aquila nods.
"Who are you?" Asked Bulwark.
"I am Kamen Rider Gaim." Said the samurai. "Decade sent us here to help you."
"'Us'?" Repeated Aquila.
W and Drive came forward. "Let us handle this." Said W. "We have a lot more experience on fighting these guys than you can."
"Just focus on getting everyone out of here." Added Drive. "Now go!"
"Nice to meet another Rider." Said Bulwark.
"Likewise." Said Gaim.
Aquila nodded and commanded, "Everyone! Get to the hanger! We must retreat!"
The Specialist, hearing his orders, ran to the hanger followed by the monks.
"We get to live to fight another day." Said Leng as he ran with his fellow Monks.
Mechanist Ships fly by and picked up the Mechanists and flew off with the Redfountain Aircrafts to Alfea for safety, leaving the Riders to fight their respective enemies.
"Now, let's count up your sins." Posed W.
"You all are coming alone for a ride!" Said Drive.
"This is our stage now!" Yelled Gaim.
…
In a cave, the girls sit around a fire from old rags they packed and Gilda's flame from her weapon.
"Has everyone warmed up now?" Gilda asked the group.
"Do we have to go back out there again?" Said Musa.
"It's not like we have a choice." Said Stella. "I really don't want to go out there. But the longer we stay here, those witches will continue."
"Nice to know you have your priorities straight." Smiled Techna.
"So, is everyone ready?" Asked Bloom as she looks around.
Flora gets up, "I am. Let's go."
Everyone nodded and head out to the blizzard storm, they continue forward to the palace until they hear a thumping noise nearby.
"What was that?" Asked Stella.
"Whatever it is," Said Musa. "It's getting closer."
She was right, the sound became louder and louder as out of the blizzard, a large creature that is covered in white fur and had large tusks that are covered in frost.
"Ok, what IS that!?" Yelled Stella.
"It's an Ice Behemoth!" Replied Flora. "Run!"
The girls ran away as the Behemoth chases them, Gilda slides in another coin into her weapon,
-Spell Coin Slot: Rapid/Whirlwind-
Gilda fires flaming homing bullets at the Behemoth in quick succession.
The Behemoth retaliates by creating ice spikes to throw at them, as one hit the ground, it creates a fissure. Bloom is dangerously close to the edge, as she was about to fall in, Gilda grabs her. They both sighed with relief. And then the ground gave away under Bloom and Gilda as they fell in the crevice.
"Bloom! Gilda!" Stella exclaimed.
As the two are falling, Gilda grabs Bloom's wrist and jams her weapon into an ice wall, keeping them in place. "Bloom! Climb onto me!" Said Gilda as Bloom slowly climbs up and latches on Gilda's back. They sighed but then the blade goes down slowly while in the ice, much to their dismay, as they slowly slide down into the darkness while Gilda groans, "Oh, you've got to be kidding meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..."
…
The ships land Alfea as the Specialists, Monks, and the Mechanists stepped out of them to meet up with the Fairies, Hunters, and the Supernaturals.
"I can't believe we lost." Grunted Erik.
Bastion puts his hand on his shoulder. "Hey, we'll make through this."
Erik looks back at him, giving him a glare. "We Mechanists won't tolerate failure. Especially against magi."
"You live another day." Said Leng. "So you could fight your enemies at full strength."
Erik sighes. "Alright. You have a point."
Aquila came forth to Hefei as she hugs him. "I'm glad you're ok."
He hugs her back. "Me too."
Saladin came forward to Faragonda. "Sorry, we have failed in pushing them back. It seems that those three witches has some allies."
"I know." Replied Faragonda. "Mr. Tsukasa said his old enemy is helping them by bring the monsters from his world here. So, I'm not sure that even all of here together can push them back and defeat them."
"We can only hope, Faragonda." Said Saladin. "We can only hope."