Hello, people. Thanks everyone who reviewed the last chapter, you're amazing! I have a goal in mind to make it to 150 reviews by the end of this story, so let's get reviewing.
Here we have chapter 25 and the last one in the "Real World". :( The next few one will be set back in the Magic Dimension, so it's time to say goodbye to the new characters I introduced since chapter 10 because they won't appear much after this. We still have the last plot regarding Henry/Catherine here, but that's about it.
So, the next few chapters will be the aftermath of everything that happened in the "Real World" and they will follow some of the Winx's Season 6 episodes. There will be a lot of Tecna X Timmy and Flora X Helia scenes and the other couples will have their moments as well. I hope that you'll enjoy them!
To the shoutouts:
winxkate: You'll see in this chapter. I'm glad you did so, these two couples will be the main characters from now on. They'll go back in time in this chapter.
AlexisPeaney: You'll see here when they go back in time. I'm glad you like those two, they will have a lot of scenes from now on.
CherryMuser: First of all, welcome to this story. Second, thank you for your suggestion, I'll see what I can do. To tell the truth, Aisha and Nabu won't have as many scenes in this part of the story as they did in the first, these next few chapters will be mostly about Flora X Helia and Tecna X Timmy. But thanks anyways. I hope you have enjoyed reading this story.
Alemara: Good! Tecna will be a main character here, alongside Flora, Helia and Timmy. You'll see in this chapter. There is a lot of drama and a few heartbreaking scenes.
Rockmantic: Just wait and see...
Before the chapter, let me make it clear that I don't know much about time travel, so you should take that into consideration while reading. There are many things here that might not be right, but since I don't have much experience with it, I suppose it's okay if I make some things up.
Okay, happy reading!
"Well, we have time." Daphne said firmly while giving them a look that told them that they could wait. This was more important. So everyone waited for Kenna to explain how the little girl had suddenly come back from the dead.
Many minutes earlier...
"So, how exactly do you know Flora? " Kenna suspiciously asked to the maid after her and Bash had sat on the comfortable couch.
"Well, it's not as if I know exactly who she is." The maid looked nervous and afraid and she avoided looking at them. Kenna and Bash shared looks, recognizing this kind of behavior since Flora had acted the same way when she was telling them the truth about her disappearance.
"Then you've heard of her?" Bash attempted to make things easier for her and she nodded.
"I really need to talk to her, this is important." The maid said firmly and Kenna, knowing Flora desired to be left alone and didn't need a stranger chasing her, decided to lie.
"Well, she's very busy these days, so you should talk to me. I'm her best friend and advisor." The maid looked rather confused and surprised, but before she could say anything, there was a crash that made Kenna jump.
"What the hell was that?" The brunette asked, her eyes wide and filled with fear. Always prepared, Bash had stood up and taken out his sword while he looked around the room.
"Oh, I'm sorry."The maid apologized, confusing them, before she walked towards the counter where the noise had come from. After she opened one of the cabinets, they saw a small child come out, looking embarrassed. Her red hair was braided and her green eyes looked at the maid apologizing.
"I'm sorry, Miss. Cornelia." The young girl apologized, her voice was sweet and cute.
"Who's that now?" Kenna asked once she had calmed herself down after the sudden appearance of the mysterious little girl.
"She's the reason I came here once again to talk to Miss. Flora." The maid answered and the young couple was even more confused. The little girl looked at them curiously after she was picked up and the maid walked back to the couch with her.
"Is that Flora?" She asked the maid, Cornelia, in the same sweet tone of before.
"How does she know Flora now?" Bash asked confusingly and the maid sighed deeply.
"Her name is Claude and, unless I'm terribly mistaken, she is Miss. Flora's younger sister." These words seemed impossible as Kenna and Bash recalled how Flora's younger sister had died years before.
"But that's not possible, she died years ago." Kenna said disbelievingly and Cornelia sighed once again.
"Actually, she didn't. She was kidnapped by a terrible man, a monster." They were curious now and they didn't even have to ask for her to elaborate. "His name is Richard Delacroix and, for reasons I'm not sure of, he wanted to kill little Claude years ago. I knew of his plan and I convinced him not to do so, but I had no idea that he would kidnap her instead." The maid lowered her head in shame.
"But how do you know about Flora? What does she have to do with this?" Cornelia looked at them with guilt and sadness as she ran her fingers through the little girl's soft hair. Claude was too busy playing with the pink bracelet on her arm to pay much attention to the conversation.
"Do you see her bracelet?" Cornelia asked and they nodded. "It was a gift from her older sister, Flora. At least that's what it says." They were shocked by now and the possibility of this actually being Flora's younger sister started to sink in.
"So Flora gave this to her? This can't be a coincidence, there aren't many girls named Flora around here." Kenna said in amazement and surprise.
"Could you tell us more about her, so we can be sure? Where was she kidnapped? Where did she live?" Bash questioned the maid repeatedly.
"She was kidnapped right here, her crib used to be there, I think." Cornelia pointed towards the empty space near the huge canvas where Leonardo did his paintings and Kenna recalled Flora saying that that's where her little sister used to sleep during Henry and Isabella's trip to England. "
"You wouldn't know that unless you were here." Bash accused suspiciously and the maid sighed.
"I was here the night she was kidnapped. After I figured his plan, Richard trapped me in the house and threatened to kill me if I ever told anyone. But I couldn't let him kill an innocent child, especially not after I had just lost my own. So I came here after gathering some information from other maids about where Claude's parents lived."Cornelia took a pause and they looked at her expectantly and excitedly, shocked that all the details were fitting right in." I looked through the window and I saw that he had her in his arms and there was a man, her father I assumed, knocked on the ground. I wanted to go in, but I had no idea how to stop him, so I stood there frozen."
"But he didn't kill her. Why?" Bash asked curiously and confusingly. Neither him nor Kenna knew who this man was, but from what they were gathering, he didn't seem like a good person.
"I'm not so sure. After he came outside, covered in blood and holding the little girl in his arms, I was terrified and confused. I thought that he was going to kill me right there and then, but he didn't. Instead he told me how he hadn't killed Claude and instead had changed her for an already dead child that he had found on the village. He said something about revenge and then he forced me to take her with us back to his property. I didn't want to, but he had a knife and he threatened to kill us both if I didn't comply." By then Cornelia was hysterically crying and, despite what she had done, the young couple was starting to feel sorry for her. After all, it was clear that she had done nothing on her own, she had been forced.
"It's okay, Cornelia. We don't blame you." Kenna said comfortingly and she put a hand on the older woman's shoulder.
"Indeed, the villain in this story's clearly this unknown man." Bash added with a reassuring smile.
"He's a monster, but he's also not normal like us. He has serious mental issues." Cornelia attempted to defend her boss, to no avail.
"So he kidnapped Claude and put a dead baby on her crib. That actually makes sense." Kenna commented and Bash nodded in agreement.
"And then he forced me to raise her under his strict supervision, so that's what I've done for the past 3 years. There were many times when I tried to escape with Claude, take her back home, but it was no use. Every Time he would find me before I even left the house. When we came back to Paris for a secret mission, as he told me, I decided to take the opportunity to come back here. It was a miracle that I remembered which house it was, but I did. I was expecting to meet her parents here or her sister." Cornelia looked back at them with hope.
"Could you take her to her sister? She deserves to be with her family now." Kenna and Bash shared a look.
"What about you? Won't he hurt you if he finds out that Claude is gone?" The brunette asked the maid, who looked at them with a sad smile.
"Don't worry about me, I will be okay. What matters most is that she's safe and happy." Cornelia said before kissing the top of Claude's head. Upon seeing this act of kindness, the young couple made up their minds.
"Okay, then. You're coming with us now and we'll tell the King everything that you told us." The maid looked surprised and afraid, but Kenna kept talking before she could object. "We will protect you from this man, Cornelia. We can clearly see that you're the victim here and King Henry will too. He is a good person." Cornelia smiled upon seeing the reassurance in Kenna's face and she handed Claude to the brunette.
"Can you take her? I'm sort of tired after carrying her all day." At first, she was surprised, but Kenna easily overcame the shock and she took the little girl in her arms. Claude quickly put her head on the brunette's shoulder and she yawned, clearly tired. The three adults stood up before walking out of the chateau and towards the palace, having no idea what awaited them there.
Back to present...
"So, she's truly alive?" Henry asked after Kenna and Bash were done telling their tale.
"It's crazy, isn't it?" The brunette laughed and the little girl looked at her curiously.
"Where is Cornelia now? Didn't she come here with you?" Bloom asked and everyone suddenly noticed that the maid was nowhere in sight.
"We don't know, we sorta lost her." Kenna said after sighing.
"She probably went into hiding, afraid of Richard seeing her." Bash added angrily and Henry smiled, much to their surprise.
"Well, she doesn't need to worry about him, he's gone."The king pointed towards the dead body on the floor near him and Kenna and Bash widened their eyes.
"Is that him?" She asked and upon seeing Henry's nod, she was confused. "What is he doing here?" Henry sighed deeply before answering.
"He came here to kill Flora, apparently killing my son and kidnapping my daughter wasn't enough revenge." He said bitterly and angrily.
"Wait, so this guy was the one who killed Will?" Stella asked curiously and Henry nodded.
"Catherine and I had some history with him, but I had no idea that he would take it that far." Everyone noticed the way his voice shook when saying the name of the woman she loved.
"He killed Flora." Helia spoke, voice hoarse and they looked at him sadly.
"And he will be punished for it, he will rot in hell." Henry spoke firmly and they decided arguing wasn't a good idea.
"Now that this is cleared up, I think that we should go." Daphne said and Kenna and Bash looked at the group in confusion.
"Go where?" The brunette asked and Bloom answered.
"Home. We got our magic back, so we need to go and fix things there." Kenna looked surprised and sad.
"I'm gonna miss you guys." She said tearfully and the little girl in her arms started crying just then. "Oh, no, little Claude, please don't cry." She begged the child, to no avail.
"I guess this is goodbye then." Bash said with sad smile.
"We're gonna miss you too and this place. Perhaps we'll come back one day, to visit." Bloom told them and Henry smiled at them.
"I sure hope you do, this place is gonna be lonely without Catherine and Flora." He said sorrowfully and it was his turn to receive pitiful looks from the six fairies.
"Then come with us. I'm sure that you'd be much happier in the Magic Dimension." Bloom told him gently and he shook his head, a sad smile on his face.
"I can't. France still needs me and now I'm all that they've got." They said nothing, understanding his choice. "Could you do me a favor?" He asked them.
"Of course." Helia was the one who replied, having let go of Flora so that he could walk towards the king. The blue haired specialist had seen Henry's suffering, had understood it and so he had decided that he should try to comfort the man. He knew that's what Flora would have wanted him to do.
"Take Claude with you." They looked at him in shock, failing to understand his request. "I know that you're thinking that I should be with her, that maybe it would help me recover, but being a parent means that you think about your children's well being first. I know I haven't been the best father, neither towards Will or Flora, but I won't make the same mistakes with her. She deserves to grow up in a world where she won't be forced to marry someone, where she can be happy without pressure. And if that means letting her go, then that's what I'm gonna do." The room was silent after his passionate speech.
"I think that you're doing the right thing." Helia told him gently. "And I know you haven't asked me, but I promise you that I will keep Flora safe and happy." Henry smiled at him.
"I know you will. Good luck to you all." He said and he and Helia did an awkward handshake. Soon everyone started saying their goodbyes, Kenna and Bash hugged everyone after they put Claude on the ground. When it came to Kenna and Musa's turn to hug, the brunette suddenly remembered the book she held in her hands.
"Musa, you should take this with you." She handed it to Musa, who looked at it curiously.
"What is this?" The fairy of music asked.
"It's Catherine's, I think it contains many spells, so it should be useful to you. And there's a picture of her family. You should give that to Flora." Musa nodded and they hugged once again.
"Thank you."She whispered in the brunette's ear before she went back to where her friends were standing, waiting for her. Each couple had their arms wrapped around each other, with the exception of Timmy and Tecna, since she was in his arms. Helia held Claude in his arms and the little girl played with his hear happily.
"Send our best wishes to the others, okay?" Bloom asked the young couple that stood near Henry and Kenna nodded.
"Of course. Good luck!" She wished and the group cast one last smile at them before the Winx used their magic to teleport themselves back to the Magic Dimension. As Roxy had explained, they needed to be there so that they could go back in time.
At Alfea...
Once the spell was over, the Winx found themselves at a deserted clearing where they could see a few ruins not so far. They looked around curiously and confusingly as they wondered if they had performed the spell correctly. "Where are we?" Stella asked and Roxy sighed before she answered.
"This is what's left of Alfea." She said sadly and they widened their eyes upon seeing the destruction that was made in their school.
"This is terrible." Aisha said in horror and she used her hands to cover Lana's eyes.
"We really have to fix this." Bloom added determinately and Roxy nodded before she took out her necklace.
"I think that you should step back." She warned and they took a few steps back once she touched the necklace. A bright, colorful light erupted from it, blinding them for a second before the portal appeared. It was a huge, swirling rainbow and the Winx were nervous.
"Now we jump, right?" Musa asked and Roxy nodded. She was the first to go, then Bloom and Sky, then Daphne and Thoren, then Musa and Riven, Stella and Brandon, Timmy with Tecna in his arms and, at last, Helia with Claude. Soon they found themselves in a room that resembled space as there were many stars around them. In the middle of it, there were 7 stones in different colors that seemed to shine brighter than the sun.
"This room is beautiful!" Stella said in amazement while she looked around and the others nodded.
"I had never actually entered it, but I agree." Roxy commented before she walked towards the nearest stone. "I think that all we have to do now is take the stones and then think about the moment we should go back to. Magic will perform the rest." She told them and they nodded. Each Winx girl took a stone while their partners held onto them, with the exception of Helia, who took Flora's stone while holding Claude in his arms.
"What moment should we go back to?" Aisha asked and Bloom and Stella had thoughtful looks on their faces.
"The moment right before we left, in the Greenhouse." Tecna answered deeply and Timmy nodded while casting her another worried glance.
"That's the most logical solution." He said simply and the others agreed. So they held onto the stones and waited for it to work. It did and soon they felt like they were spinning around and only a few seconds later, they found themselves in the Alfea Greenhouse, in the same positions they were in. Musa opened her eyes to find herself wrapped in Riven's arms, Stella and Tecna were standing up with their fiancées close to them, Daphne and Thoren stood side by side and Bloom sat down near Helia, who was happy to spot Flora in his arms, while Sky knelt down by the fairy of the dragon flame's side. They were surprised at first to spot Selina, who stood in the middle of the room with a smirk on her face.
"Yes, I did." She said, confusing them.
"Did what?" Bloom asked her curiously and Selina looked at her like she was crazy.
"I tricked you, made you believe that we were still friends when we haven't for years." She said while raising her eyebrows and recognition flashed Bloom's face.
"That's right, I remember this. Guys, she's going to show up any second now." She said urgently and Daphne smiled from the other side of the room.
"Leave this to me, Bloom." She told her sister reassuringly and Bloom nodded.
"Now that's enough chatting." As they had expected, Catherine showed up. It was strange seeing her less than an hour after her suicide, but they knew better than to give into the shock.
"I couldn't agree more." Daphne said before she sent a spell towards Catherine. Within seconds, the blonde woman fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Wow." Thoren said in amazement and she blushed.
"This was kinda scary." Brandon said while he stared at her in shock, as well as the other specialists. Except for one, who had his eyes set on another beautiful woman. A relieved look came to his face once he watched as she opened her gorgeous green eyes and looked at him.
"Helia." Her soft voice was heard and everyone turned back to look at her, disbelief on their faces.
"Flora?" Helia questioned, looking suddenly pale, and he slowly touched her cheek.
"Are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost?" She asked him worriedly while her right hand came to rest on his shoulder. With careful movements, she sat up.
"I'm... You're..." He attempted to speak and she looked more worried by the seconds. "I thought I had lost you." He said sincerely and her face broke into a reassuring smile.
"Hey, I promised that I would never leave you, remember? I'm still here and I'm fine." She reassured him while her not so warm hands cupped his face. "Well, except for the fact that my head's hurting a bit. I better go to the infirmary later, check it out." She added before her eyes met those of her friends, who looked just as shocked as Helia.
"Flora, you're alive!" Tecna said in disbelief and Flora raised her eyebrows.
"Yeah. I knew you guys would find the antidote and save me." She said excitedly and they shared worried looks.
"The antidote?" Bloom asked, confused, and Flora looked at her in concern.
"Why are you acting weird?" The nature fairy questioned and Aisha suddenly gasped.
"Guys, I don't think that she remembers anything." The fairy of waves said worriedly and Tecna face palmed.
"Of course. The spell would only work on those who were alive, so it didn't work for her." She told them logically and Flora looked more confused than ever.
"What spell? What are you talking about?" She asked while she attempted to stand up, catching Helia by surprise. The blue haired specialist quickly recovered from the shock and stood up as well so that he could help her.
"Should we tell her?" Stella asked as she shared a look with the Winx.
"What we should do is get her memories back." Tecna said firmly and they nodded, understanding that this was necessary. So the Winx and Daphne combined their powers and used their convergence on both Flora and Catherine, knowing that the latter needed to remember everything too. Once the spell was done, there were a few minutes of silence as they awaited for the memories to return. When Flora's eyes opened again, a look of shock was on her face.
"Oh My God." She screamed before she pulled away from Helia."I can't believe this! I was dead, and now I'm not. How?" She hysterically said before she looked at them madly.
"It's hard to explain, really." Stella said sheepishly and Flora raised her eyebrows.
"Girls! Oh, thank goodness." A new voice was heard and everyone was surprised to spot an worried Miss. Faragonda as she entered the Greenhouse.
"Miss. Faragonda?" Bloom asked in disbelief, momentarily forgetting that they had went back in time.
"Bloom, dear, you look pale. Is everything alright here?"The headmistress asked concernedly.
"Yes, everything's great. We were able to heal Flora." Tecna came to their rescue as her mind worked faster and she recalled the reason why they had gone to the Greenhouse all those months ago. Miss. Faragonda sighed before she gave them a relieved smile.
"That's good. And what about Selina?" At the mention of her name, they realized that she was no longer in the room.
"She went back to Cloud Tower." Bloom guessed as she shared worried looks with the others.
"Miss. Faragonda, we really need to talk to you about something." Tecna spoke once again, her voice sounding weak and tired and the headmistress was worried.
"Are you alright, Tecna?" She questioned and the fairy of technology shook her head.
"I'm definitely not okay, but there are important things that need to be discussed right now." Miss. Faragonda was surprised by how urgent she sounded and decided that she'd better hear what they had to say, since it must be related to the Trix.
"Okay, then follow me to my office." She said before she turned around. After sharing more disbelieved looks, the Winx followed her. They were almost out of the Greenhouse when there was a small cry.
"What was that?" The headmistress curiously asked and they looked panicked.
"You were leaving without me." Little Claude complained as she came out from behind some bushes, where she had apparently been hiding.
"Of course not, Claude." Helia said gently and he took a few steps forward. "Now, come on. We need to follow the nice lady." He added and Claude looked at him with raised eyebrows, her little arms crossed over her chest, before her face broke into a smile and she ran towards him. He kneeled down just as she threw herself in his arms. Flora watched the scene curiously.
"Who is she again?" She asked Stella, who was closer to her and the fairy of the sun sighed.
"That's a long story. We'll tel you later." She said and Flora nodded. Now that they had stopped, Musa spotted Catherine, who they had forgotten about as well.
"Hey, guys, what about Catherine?" She asked her friends and their eyes went wide.
"I had completely forgotten about her." Aisha said, looking panicked.
"Who is that woman?" Miss. Faragonda asked curiously and the fairy of the dragon flame answered.
"We'll explain everything to you soon, Miss. Faragonda. Is there a place in this school that unables someone from using magic?" Bloom asked and Miss. Faragonda looked surprised.
"Well, we do have a sort of prison, but why would you want to enable her from using magic?" The headmistress surprisingly asked.
"We have our reasons." Stella said and the headmistress decided it'd be better not to argue. So she used her magic to send Catherine to said prison and they went back to walking to her office.
About an hour later...
The Winx had just finished filling Miss. Faragonda in on everything that had happened in the past few months. The headmistress had been shocked to learn about Flora's lies, but being the kindhearted person that she was, forgave the nature fairy easily. After all, she understood what it was like, running from the past and trying to start anew.
She had been even more surprised to learn about the three months that she had no memories of, but she had believed them, unlike Miss. Griselda, who had looked at them suspiciously. Only after Roxy showed them the necklace containing the room of time did Griselda realized that they were telling the truth.
After telling them the truth, it was time to fill Flora in on the events after her death. Everyone was still having a hard time dealing with the fact that she had died, so they avoided mentioning it, treating the subject as if she had simply been unconscious. Tecna and Timmy told them about how the technology fairy suspected that she was ill and how they worried about what it could be. Other couples, like Bloom and Sky and Stella and Brandon, who had big news to tell them, decided against it. They wanted to wait for a more happy and special occasion to share their news.
The nature fairy was extremely surprised and glad to learn that her sister still lived and she had confirmed it after seeing the small bracelet that the little girl carried. She and Claude had quickly bonded and the little girl had excitedly sat on her lap as they talked about many details of their lives. The one thing the redhead talked more was Helia, whom she had gotten really close to.
Speaking of said specialist, he was doing better now that Flora was alive and okay, but the memory of her death still haunted him. Guilt and pain wouldn't leave him for a while, as he was sure, and he kept glancing at her to make sure that she remained alright. Due to them being in a room filled with people and to the explanations needed, they hadn't been able to talk about themselves.
"Miss. Faragonda, I have urgent news." Professor Palladium came in just as Flora was about to ask Helia to take a walk with her, so that they could talk.
"Is everything alright, professor?" The headmistress asked him worriedly, seeing how panicked he looked.
"Well, I'm not sure if this is good news, but your prisoner, Miss. Catherine, has just awoken." The Winx shared worried looks once they heard the name and Flora sighed.
"Did she say anything?" Bloom asked him curiously, knowing that depending on the answer, they could be sure that Catherine had regained her memories.
"She demanded to see the Winx." Palladium replied, looking confused.
"Well, I guess that's my cue." Flora said and she stood up with sleeping Claude in her arms. Aisha and Stella looked at her in concern.
"Are you sure that this is a good idea?" The latter asked the fairy of nature unsurely.
"Yeah, we know that she's your mother, but she's dangerous." The fairy of waves added cautiously. Flora gave them a sad smile that had become frequent over the past few months.
"I need to talk to her, we haven't finished our conversation from before you came into my father's office." She told them and, though she looked like she wanted to argue, Aisha said nothing. "Can you take her to my room so that she can rest?" Flora then turned back to Helia, who looked at her confusingly before he realized that she was pointing towards the sleeping child in her arms.
"Sure. Perhaps we could take a walk later?" He asked her and her smile enlarged.
"I would love to." She replied before handing him Claude. Within a few minutes, she was gone and silence filled the room.
"So, what now?" Stella asked, breaking it.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'd like to go home. After everything that Roxy told us, I want to see for myself that everything is truly alright." Bloom commented and some of them nodded.
"Then let's all go home. We'll meet tomorrow, at Krystal's ball." Tecna said and they looked at her confusingly. "Have you forgotten? Well, of course you have. I recall how she invited us to her ball right before we went on our trip to Earth. It will be tomorrow night, if I'm not mistaken." The fairy of technology added and their expressions didn't change.
"I'll send her a message to make sure." Helia said lowly and the others thanked him before everyone left the room to go home.
So, what are your thoughts? Did you like the Claude plot? What about the scenes with Henry? What about them going back in time? What do you think happened during the conversation between Catherine and Flora?
I know that you were expecting some FloraXHelia and TecnaXTimmy scenes, but this chapter was getting way too long, so I thought that I'd better split it. It's better this way, I can go deeper in their scenes next chapter and there will be more romance. So, I'll hurry up with the next one, it's already half written, so it should come by Saturday, perhaps even tomorrow if I get five reviews to this one.
So, the next two chapters will cover the Winx and Specialists Visit to their home planets, with their parents and all. Chapter 26 will cover FloraXHelia and TecnaXTimmy, as promised, and another couple that I still haven't decided on. The other one will cover the rest and we'll have Krystals' princess ball.
VERY IMPORTANT:
Now that we've reached the final five chapters, it's time for me to think about what I'm gonna do after I finish this fic. There are two options here, so I'm asking you to help me choose. In order to do that, you'll consider my two options and give ONE vote to the one you like most. The one with most votes will be the story I will write after this one.
So, would you prefer if I:
1-Continued Darkness
2-Wrote a Flora X Helia fic/Hercules Style that would include:
a-FXH romance previous to S1
b-FXH working for evil
c-Gods and Goddesses: like Hades, Zeus, etc
d-Flora as the princess of Limphea