Chapter 26 : Morgana, Part 2
Within a few days, Morgana moves in with Darcy who finds her spacious apartment suddenly much too large, empty and lonely with both Icy and Stormy gone. Stormy's old room is still set up for a child so Morgana settles herself into Icy's vacated room and seems to be overjoyed to be occupying a place that once was hers.
During the weeks that follow, Darcy and Morgana become solid sharing each other's secrets, joys and woes. Morgana insists that Darcy reinstate her claim to Riven and to fight back to repossess what she believes is hers. This reignites Darcy's passion and she becomes more and more determined to exact revenge against a certain pixie named Musa for stealing her man and just as determined to let Musa feel the full fury of her wrath.
Darcy first has to set herself free which, so far, has been a futile effort for no matter how deep into the bowels of Cloud Tower or how high into its turrets and spires or to the east or the west she goes, she runs smack into a barrier that transports her back to her apartment or the Cloud Tower foyer. She realizes that the field must have some way to distinguish her from all the other students so she tries mimicking the appearance of every student in Cloud Tower including Icy and Stormy but again to no avail. Finally, she creates as many clones of herself as she can and together they throw themselves at the barrier all at once. Darcy feels the tingling of the barrier and opens her eyes expecting to be back in Cloud Tower but suddenly finds that she is outside the barrier. Suppressing her immediate joy she tries flying half way to Magix and back and finds she can do it without any interference or obstruction.
"Well," thinks Darcy, "this is well and good so far but maybe just a fluke. I need to be able to go to and from Cloud Tower at will for to stay outside the barrier will raise the alarm with both Miss Griffin and especially with M'Trika who would not hesitate to organize a pussycat posse to come searching for me, and… this time chances are too good that she will just kill me on the spot rather than drag me back to Cloud Tower."
Darcy flies to her balcony at Cloud Tower and, praying that she is not once more a prisoner, she tries again to go through the boundary and finds that she has passed the boundary point as if there was no boundary there at all and continues to fly half way to Magix and back to her balcony at Cloud Tower. She repeats the same process another five times and then allows herself a quiet moment of joy knowing that she is once again free and whatever it was that was keeping her a prisoner seems to have given up trying to keep her imprisoned any longer.
Once Darcy breaks free of her prison at Cloud Tower it does not take long for a confrontation to ensue. The Winx Club Faeries and Ishandra are flying to Magix as so too are Darcy and Morgana when the two groups nearly collide with each other.
"Well, Musa my dear, we meet again," purrs Darcy nastily but seductively. "I've come to collect what is mine."
"You mean Riven?" replies Musa, her face twisted into an angry snarl. "No way am I going to give him up to you now that he has come back to me and we are to be married. You have meddled in our lives for the last time, Darcy. If you want Riven then you will have to fight me for him!"
"Just the words I was hoping to hear," spits Darcy with the expression of one mulling over how many ways a Faerie can be dissected and prepared for the dinner table. "I plan to kick your pixie butt all the way back to the Harmonic Nebula and take Riven for myself."
Meanwhile, Bloom has a bewildered gaze fixed on Morgana. "Diaspro?" she enquires.
"No, not Diasbro her name is Morgana," replies Ishandra locking eyes with the blonde-haired, blue-eyed Witch. "You have your nerve showing your face back here, Morgana," she growls in Witchspeak.
"Newsflash for you, Icy," retorts Morgana also in Witchspeak. "I'm back and we have a score to settle and now that you are a traitor as well settling it is going to be doubly rewarding."
« I'm here guarding your back, Isha, » sends Layla telepathically to Ishandra.
Flora is watching Darcy and thinking almost sympathetically, "Ishandra's right. There is no way I can reason with Darcy in her present state and I don't like the vibes coming from this Witch Morgana at all," her gut feelings telling her that this one is not to be underestimated during a fire-fight.
"Enough talk!" shouts Morgana. "Have at them!" and from her hands she sends a ball of blue plasma hurtling into their midst.
Ishandra knows that she can move in time to avoid Morgana's attack but Layla is hovering staring into the oncoming plasma ball like an insect trapped in the glow of a lamplight. "Scatter!" she screams at the remaining Faeries and then tackles Layla seconds before the plasma ball flies over their heads and into the forest dissolving everything in its path as if nothing was there at all. Ishandra smacks Layla hard across the face and shakes her. « For the Goddess' sake snap out of it, Layla! » she urgently sends to her telepathically.
Meanwhile, the Faeries regroup and launch a counterattack. "Solar-Ivy-Lash!" scream Flora and Stella together, creating a thorny ribbon of solar fire that lashes over the Witches' heads causing them to duck fast.
"Illusion-Delusion-Brain-Twister!" yells Darcy, sending a spiralling vapour from her hands that hits the Faeries and Ishandra dead on. This time, Ishandra's training kicks in and both she and the Faeries are able to recover in a matter of seconds.
"Bass-Boom-Web-Blast!" scream Musa and Tecna together and a vibrating fishnet smashes into the Witches sending them hurtling through the sky but they too rally and come flying in for another have-at-them.
"Dragon Fire-Solar-Flair!" shout Bloom and Stella together, sending a red and yellow ball of fire hurtling towards the Witches that misses.
"Plasma-Scythe!" screams Morgana, sending a storm of blue razor-darts hurtling into the Faeries.
Ishandra is at a distance away from the main body of Faeries holding a semi-conscious Layla in her arms. She watches approvingly as Tecna counters Morgana's latest attack by creating a large Tecno-Shield and calling the rest of the Faeries to take shelter behind it. But then Ishandra realizes Tecna's mistake of using a transparent shield and yells to her in panic. "Opaque, Tecna, opaque!"
Flora realizes the danger to her comrades and yells, "Ivy-Vine-Wrap!" which covers the outside of Tecna's shield but when the scythe hits there is the sound of vines being flash-fried and set ablaze and Flora screams in agony and shrieks, "I'm on fire!" then slips into unconsciousness and begins to plummet from the sky.
"Flora!" cries Bloom as she dives to the rescue of her falling comrade.
By this time, Ishandra with a fully conscious Layla has rejoined the group. Black-Ice-Tecno-Shield," call Ishandra and Tecna together, forming an opaque shield that protects them but leaves them jarred.
Morgana, believing that she is now on a roll, raises her arms to launch another volley of plasma fire when Layla sees her chance for a clear shot, and, doing a jack-in-the-box manoeuvre, yells, Morphix-Manacles which traps Morgana's hands in sticky, binding glue and a follow-up shot from Layla binds both her legs in the same manner.
Morgana, realizing that she has been put out of action, decides to run for it before another Faerie attack does her in. Darcy, realizing that she has lost her support, decides likewise but Tecna and Musa give chase in the hopes of catching her in a Thatch weave so they can blast her from both sides and bring her down permanently. However, Darcy is a seasoned veteran in escaping from such an offensive and dives below the tree tops and into the thickest part of the forest knowing that the Faeries would not pursue her into there lest they tear their wings to shreds.
"Blast! She's gone!" snarls Musa angrily.
"I'm afraid she is," replies Tecna. "Let's get back to the others."
Tecna and Musa arrive back and find the others hovering but still dazed from the battle. Bloom is weeping openly and uncontrollably while holding an unconscious Flora in her arms. Everyone looks at Flora's hands that resemble two slabs of roasted meat and realize that this most likely finishes her career as a practitioner of magic.
"Let's get her home," says Layla who is the most stable among the Faeries. "Perhaps there is a way to at least ease her pain."