"The army's ready."
Icy stared out at the battalions assembled on the road below, at the rot monsters marching across the bridge to join them, and the countless more monsters she knew were in the halls of Cloud Tower. Her pale lips curled into a cruel smile, just imagining what Alfea was going to look like when they'd finished reducing it to nothing more than rubble.
"Perfect," she purred.
Stormy and Darcy hovered behind her, waiting for her next orders.
"Ready to fly over there?" Stormy asked eagerly, when the silence stretched too long.
Icy chuckled carelessly. "Oh, we're not flying. We're traveling in a manner befitting the future rulers of the dimension." Icy waved a hand, and a squad of monsters instantly dissolved, the slime transforming into three towering thrones.
Darcy grinned, and Stormy's eyes lit up at the sight. In unison, the three witches spread their arms and their magic lifted them up, carrying them over the heads of their army, and settled them in their new thrones.
"Ready ladies?"
Icy looked first to Darcy, then to Stormy, and then, once her coven-sisters had nodded, she pointed a sharp fingernail forwards, and the rows of monsters surrounding their thrones instantly fell into a march, heading for Alfea. Icy couldn't help but laugh a little as their thrones slid smoothly forward; soon she would have every witch, fairy, and hero at that school bowing to her, and after that, the rest of the dimension along with them.
The first thing Sky noticed when he finally reached the outskirts of Magic, was how completely empty it felt. The usually bustling city was deadly silent, and as Sky made his way towards the center he didn't see a single person out on the streets. He'd expected the city to be on edge, maybe confused by what was making the sky act so bizarrely, but this went well beyond.
Then Sky saw the abandoned car in the middle of the street.
He stopped dead, swallowing roughly, and fighting the urge to shudder. Then at a much slower pace, he started to approach the car, aiming for the open driver door, hand hovering over the sword hilt in his belt. Sky clenched his teeth, and took the final step to see what was inside the car. He jumped back in shock and it took all that he had not to yell out loud.
The driver had clearly been attempting to escape their car, but hadn't quite made it all the way. For they were leaning back against their chair, covered head to toe in the same greyish sludge that the rot monsters had been dissolving into. Hoping he wouldn't live to regret it, Sky reached out and poked the sludge and found, with a mixture of horror and fascination, that the sludge had turned hard and formed a cocoon around the poor person.
A scuffle behind him had Sky whirling around and simultaneously yanking his sword free, bringing it up into a defensive stance. But there was no one there, and slowly Sky felt his shoulders start to relax. Until he noticed what he hadn't before; there was another body lying on the sidewalk, covered in the same sludge cocoon. And not too far away, there was a third person, lying curled on the stoop of a building. Nausea rose up in Sky's stomach when he noticed a smaller cocoon in the person's arms; a mother and her child just trying to get home when they'd been attacked, Sky guessed.
He turned away feeling sick, and hurried off down the street. There was nothing he could do for these people, except that hope defeating the Trix would mean they could be revived. He clearly wasn't going to get the reinforcements he was hoping for, but maybe some people had escaped the attack and were hiding out somewhere.
"Hello!" he called out, even if it went against every instinct in his body. "Is anyone there?! If you're hiding, I'm one of the good guys! I'm a student at Red Fountain! We've been attacked!"
But there was no answer, even as Sky went from street to street calling out. Finally he heard another scuffle coming from behind him.
"Hello?" he called turning around and striding towards where he thought he'd heard the noise.
But this time he was answered by an inhuman roar that made the back of his neck prickle. Sky tightened his hold on his sword and backed towards the center of the street, not knowing where the monster was hiding, but sure that it was going to attack at any moment.
And then it did, stepping out from behind a pillar, the monster was large and clawed, with tentacles instead of a mouth. It narrowed it's little eyes at him and broke into a run, heading straight for him.
Sky ducked out of it's way easily; what the monsters made up for in size and strength, they lacked in intelligence and strategy. From what he'd seen, the monsters had only rudimentary planning skills, something that Sky could more than take advantage of with his smaller size, but also superior strategy; one of the first classes they had to take in Red Fountain was a course on attacking enemies larger than themselves.
Sky stepped around it easily and followed it up with a vicious swipe to its side. But it's skin was so tough, the sword barely made a scratch. The pair spared back and forth, the monster swiping with it's claws and Sky ducking and dodging out of the way, attempting to slice and stab with his sword when he got the opportunity.
"Come on," Sky panted, as he flipped out of the way of yet another attack. He lunged back in, intent on skewering the monster right through the middle but the monster was too fast and knocked him aside. Sky landed hard and the sword flew from his grip, blade disappearing. The monster ran for Sky, but before he could, the hero dove for his sword, flicked the blade back out again, and swung it at the monster's claw. The hit landed, but only barely, and Sky wasn't sure the monster had even felt the blow.
"Come on!" Sky yelled again, voice rising. He didn't wait for the monster to strike again, but lept in with his own move, surprising the monster so much that he finally managed to stab the monster low on it's torso. Sky wrenched his blade free and darted backwards before the monster could retaliate. But the monster didn't come after Sky; instead it just stood there for a moment, head cocked before it looked towards the sky and let out another terrible shriek. Bad feeling growing in the pit of his stomach, Sky really hoped that the call wasn't what it sounded like, because it sounded like the monster was calling for backup.
"I wish something would just happen already," Stella groaned. They'd retreated back to their dorm room, and Stella was standing on Bloom and Flora's balcony, looking out at the dark sky. "This waiting is killing me."
It was the fifth time in as many minutes that Stella had said it, so her friends, where they were hanging out in Flora and Bloom's room, ignored her. Musa was sitting on Bloom's bed, with Lady's head in her lap, scratching the dog behind the ears, Tecna was pacing, too worried about Bloom and Sky to sit still, and Flora was examining the pumpkin Mirta had been turned to, where it had been living on her desk for weeks. There was a gloomy sort of lethargy to the air, the students left with nothing to do but wait for another attack.
"Poor Mirta," Flora sighed, shifting the pumpkin's leaves. "I can't think of anything else that might change her back."
Musa stopped scratching Lady to say, "You might as well toss it in, Flo." Lady looked up at the fairy as if to ask what the deal was, and Musa resumed petting her.
Stella slipped back inside, and joined Flora, who was looking at Musa with a mixture of shock and hurt. "I can't just give up!"
Musa sighed. "If any of us could break Icy's spell it's you, and you've already tried everything. It's better than beating yourself up about it."
"It's sad but true," Stella said, hooking her arm around Flora's shoulder and pulling her in for a sideways hug. Flora hummed sadly and rested her head against Stella's shoulder. "It might be time to go find her a nice sunny pumpkin patch."
"Don't say that," Flora said furiously, pulling away and pacing back and forth in front of the desk.
Stella held up her hands in surrender, and went to sit next to Musa on the bed. Tecna was watching Flora, a sad sort of pride on her face. "Flora will never give up on her."
"You got that right," Flora all but growled, balling up her fists.
"Then give it one last go," Musa said, jumping up from the bed. "We'll put all our winx into it and reach out for her."
"That's right," Tecna said, moving closer. Stella nodded and followed suit. "With the magic of all four of us, it might just be enough to reverse Icy's spell."
Flora squared her shoulders, and nodded bravely, placing her hands on either side of the pumpkin. The other girls crowded around the desk and also touched their hands to the pumpkin, allowing their magic to flow into it to be directed by Flora.
They could tell something was different this time, because a bright golden light burst from the pumpkin. The girls gasped and looked away, but didn't remove their hands, meanwhile Flora closed her eyes, brow furrowing as she concentrated. A roaring, that sounded like the wind could be heard whipping around the room, and beneath it the girls thought they heard a quiet voice.
"Flora."
Flora gritted her teeth and reached out with all that she hand, until slowly the pumpkin she was holding turned into two hands. The wind abruptly died down, the golden light vanished, and Flora slowly opened her eyes to find a smiling witch sitting exactly where the pumpkin had been. Stella, Tecna, and Musa all let out quiet gasps and slowly rounded the table to get a better look at the girl.
"Mirta, I presume?" Flora asked.
Mirta's smile widened. "Yeah. And you're Flora?"
Mirta pushed herself off the edge of the table and without preamble threw her arms around Flora, pulling her into a tight hug. Flora let out a quiet noise of surprise, but being Flora, didn't hesitate to return the hug. After a few moments the two girls pulled away, and Mirta turned to wave to the other girls, who slightly surprised waved back. Bloom had told them Mirta was a witch, and although they'd known she'd tried to help their friend out, they'd still been expecting someone… well someone a little more witch-like. Not Mirta, with her big smile, warm eyes, and cute pumpkin shirt.
"Thank you so, so, so much," Mirta gushed, wringing Flora's hands.
"You're welcome. I'm just glad I could finally change you back. I guess with all of us trying way harder than we had before it finally worked."
Something caught Stella's attention and she left Flora and the others to fill Mirta in on everything she'd missed during her weeks as a pumpkin and wandered back out onto the balcony, smiling a little when she caught sight of the figure standing below.
"Not to upstage your grand entrance, Mirta darling, but there's a tall, dark, brooding hunk of a hero pacing around under our balcony. Why don't you go see what's troubling him, Musa?"
Musa's brows drew together in confusion, and she opened her mouth to answer, but Tecna beat her to it.
"Is it Riven?"
"The very same."
Stella turned her eyes back to the ground where she could see Riven stalking back and forth, muttering to himself and occasionally throwing looks up at their balcony. When he saw Stella looking back down again, he glanced away hurriedly, but didn't walk away.
"Yeah, what do I care?" Musa said brusquely, but a second later grabbed Mirta by the hand. "But we really should take Mirta to Professor Griffin and tell her what's what. Come on, Mirta." And with that she pulled the bemused witch out of the dorm and slammed the door behind them.
Stella smiled smugly. "You can stop pouting now, Riven," she called over the railing to the hero. "She's on her way down."
Riven's head jerked up hopefully, but he said, "Uh, who?"
Stella rolled her eyes, and turned away, heading back into the room. "Boys," she said in disgust. She shared exasperated looks with the other girls for a moment, before silently they resumed their previous activities, Tecna pacing around the room, Flora taking Musa's spot petting Lady, and Stella examining the dark, brooding sky.
After showing Mirta to Faragonda's office, and leaving the witch to answer their many questions, Musa pretended to consider going straight back to the dorm, but it was no use; she knew, just as her friends had known, she was going down to talk to Riven.
She didn't even know what drew her to the hero. Riven was surly and irritated Musa most of the times they interacted, and that didn't even consider the times he was outright horrible to her and her friends; Musa wouldn't soon forget the terror of being chased by a crowd of witches while Riven did nothing to help. But still there were moments, the wry twist of his smile, a sarcastic quip muttered under his breath, that drew her back to him all over again.
Musa hovered in the doorway of the main entrance, eyeing Riven for a moment, the brooding clench of his jaw, the way his muscles rippled as he walked, before striding over.
"Did you need something, Riven?" Musa said shortly.
Riven spun around and stared at her wide-eyed.
"Only because you're pacing right under our balcony," Musa added when he didn't say anything.
Riven shifted and pulled at the clasp of his cape, and if Musa didn't know any better she'd have thought he was nervous. He cleared his throat and shuffled his feet again. "Well, I uh, well I just wanted to apologise to you guys, I guess," he finally said, scratching his neck. "You, most especially. I did a lot of messed up things, and there were times when you, you and the others, needed me, but I was too caught up with Darcy to see it. Or to see who she really was. And I'm really bad at this, but I'm sorry."
Musa had felt her eyebrows rise throughout, and she was honestly stumped for what to say. Riven shuffled again, and was looking anywhere but at Musa.
"And I uh- well, I think you're really amazing and I hope you still want to hang out with me after all this is over. And now I really got to go."
And leaving Musa speechless behind him, Riven hurried off. She was still standing there staring into the distance when her friends found her there ten minutes later.
"How did it go?" Stella cooed, draping her arms around her friend's shoulders.
Musa shook herself out of her reverie, but didn't pull away from Stella. "Fine," she said blandly, even as Riven's words 'I think you're really amazing' repeated on a loop in her head.
Stella hummed, obviously not convinced, but for once, let it go. Instead she examined her own fingernails over Musa's shoulders, and huffed an irritated breath.
"All this fighting has completely destroyed my nails. I need a spa day stat."
"I don't know how you can think about such things at a time like this," Tecna sniffed.
Stella's eyes narrowed and she slowly straightened, disentangling herself from Musa.
"Your best friend is missing and you're cracking jokes."
"Did you ever think that maybe I'm trying not to think about the fact that my best friend is missing because I can't do anything about it."
"Well did you think-"
"Guys!" Flora broke in, looking upset. "We're all worried about Bloom and Sky but we can't argue amongst ourselves. We're only going to get through this if we're united."
Tecna and Stella avoided each other's eye for a long moment before reluctantly nodding, and Flora drew them both in, along with Musa for a group hug.
"Besides," Musa mumbled into Tecna's shoulder. "I'm sure there's a reason they haven't made it back yet. I have a feeling we'll see them soon."
Tecna sighed. "I hope so."
Bloom was sweating in her jeans and t-shirt by the time she made it back to Lake Roccaluce. Even though the sun was still hidden behind a thick layer of cloud, Bloom had hurried the entire way and the closer she got to the swampy sections of the forest the muggier it got. But now that she'd reached the edge of the lake she found herself inexplicably slowing. This was what Daphne had been leading her towards this entire time, and if Bloom was right, this was when she would finally get her powers back.
She paused at the edge of the lake, before toeing off her sneakers and socks. For a moment she contemplated rolling up the cuffs of her jeans, but she figured they were going to get wet anyway, rolling them up wouldn't save them. And without any further ado, Bloom stepped into the lake, shivering slightly at the cool temperatures, and hoping that this would work even without her powers. The last time she and Faragonda had astral-projected to Daphne's cave, Faragonda had said it wasn't a place that one could physically visit. Bloom just hoped that that wasn't exactly true, and that Daphne might meet her halfway.
"Daphne," Bloom called, when she'd waded so far in that her shoulders were underwater, and her hair was drifting around her. "Daphne, I'm here." When no one responded, least of all Daphne, Bloom took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and plunged underwater.
For a moment all she felt was the cold, crushing pressure of the water all around her, but then, just as her lungs started to seize and beg her for oxygen, the pressure disappeared and air flooded into her lungs. Cautiously, she opened her eyes and looked around, startled to find herself no longer near the surface of the lake but rather in an underwater cavern. And that nearby, perched on a rock, sat Daphne, who was smiling at her.
"Hello, Bloom."
Bloom opened her mouth without thinking and shut it again abruptly, thinking that she was going to give up her precious air and swallow a mouthful of water. But surprisingly, when she opened her mouth there was only more air, and although water still surrounded her, and she could feel it on her skin, she remained dry and breathing.
"How?"
Daphne's smile grew and she pushed off the rock, floating through the water, hair and dress streaming behind her. "Magic," she said simply, before laughing in delight.
Bloom frowned at her, bothered by the clear and unabashed joy on her sister's face - and wasn't that still an odd thought, her sister. "Don't-" she began uncertainly. "Don't you know what's happening up there? The witches are destroying everything, I need to get my powers back, I came here-"
"I know why you came here, Bloom," Daphne said quietly, smile fading a little. Her feet touched down on the sandy floor and she paced around Bloom in a wide circle "Don't you see? You're here." Bloom didn't see, and Daphne must have been able to tell because she clicked her tongue impatiently, and gestured towards the far wall of the cavern. "Look! What do you see?"
Bloom followed her gaze, but much to her surprise, there was no rocky wall to look at; instead an image of her house on Earth appeared, rippling in the shifting water. The front door opened to reveal Mike carrying a glass of water which he took to Vanessa who was tending to one of the garden beds. Bloom's heart panged at the sight of them, and for the first time in a long time she wished to be with them again, to be held in their arms like when she was a little girl, and be told that everything would be okay.
"That's my home, on Earth."
"Yes!" Daphne said eagerly. "That's the place I took you when the coven destroyed our kingdom. The place where you would begin your journey. A place I knew you would grow up in loved, so loved, and unharmed until the time was right."
The image of the Bloom's house faded, replaced with the sight of a younger Mike and Vanessa cradling a tiny baby with a tuft of red hair.
"Earth was wonderful for you, Bloom. You had parents. Friends." Vanessa and Mike disappeared, and in their place stood Kayla, Bria, Charlie, and McKenzie all laughing and shoving each other as they walked down the street. "Even people who maybe didn't quite understand you." Mitzi's face flashed by and even after everything seeing her was a comfort. "All of these things helped make you who you are." Bloom watched as her own figure appeared, showing her the moment when she zapped Knut with that first spell to save Stella.
"But who am I?" Bloom burst out. "Am I a regular Earth girl, the girl who can do that-" she pointed to herself where she was helping Stella out of the park "- or someone else completely different? A lost Princess of Sparx?"
Daphne smiled at her. "We are the sum of all our parts! All our experiences! The friends we make." Bloom looked at her new friends where they had appeared, mid-battle, looking exhausted but determined. "The people we love." Sky's face appeared, and Bloom looked away, sure her cheeks were bright red. "All of these things make us who we are. Ordinary Earth girl, and heir to the royal throne of Sparx, that is who you are. Daughter to Mike and Vanessa, but also to Oritel and Miriam, that is who you are. My little sister."
Daphne spoke with such pride in her voice that Bloom had to meet her eyes, heart clenching at the pain and happiness splayed simultaneously across her sister's face.
"Last keeper of the Dragon Flame, that is who you are. And who you are, Bloom, can never be taken from you. What's inside can never be taken from you. What's in your heart: that can never be taken."
Daphne's eyes dug into Bloom, imploring her to understand.
"I love you so much, angel."
Daphne's hand brushed over Bloom's forehead, a ghost of warmth the only indication of it at all, before Daphne shimmered once and disappeared, and Bloom found herself back at the surface of the lake, head breaking the surface and gulping down a gasp of air. Bloom treaded water for a moment, thinking over everything Daphne had told her.
"Who I am," Bloom repeated. "What's inside me. What's in my heart."
She thought about Mike and Vanessa, the only parents she had ever known, the way they had believed in her and supported her no matter what she did. And she thought of Oritel and Miriam, the parents she had never known, and would never know. And of Daphne, her sister, who at only 16 years old, Bloom's age now, had sacrificed everything for her chance to live. And she thought of Sky, and Stella, and Flora, and Tecna, and Musa, and Brandon, and Timmy, and Riven, all her new friends who were still fighting, who would continue to fight even with the odds stacked against them.
It was time that Bloom tipped the scales back in their favour.
"I am Bloom Peters," she said firmly. "I am a princess. I am the keeper of the Dragon Fire. And no one can take that away from me."
She burst from the lake, her soaking jeans and t-shirt disappearing in a flash of light, and when it cleared she was wearing her blue skirt and top, shining despite the lack of sun, and the familiar, comforting weight of her wings was back between her shoulder blades, fluttering quickly to keep her aloft. A warmth wrapped around her, drying her skin and hair, and without looking, Bloom knew that flames, her flames, had returned and were surrounding her.
On the outskirts of Black-Mud Swamp Thalne, Mitriel, and Lusiz were looking mournfully up at the dark sky when they heard the approaching sound of thunderous footsteps. They dove quickly under the cover of some nearby water lilies, peering out from under the leaves fearfully, to see what was coming.
"It's the witches," Thalne whispered to her friends. And indeed it was, Icy, Darcy, and Stormy leading their army on their grandiose thrones.
"Oh no," Lusiz whispered back. "They're taking the invisible road."
The invisible road was aptly named for the thick canopy of trees that shielded it from overhead scouts, meaning that the Army of Decay would not only arrive at Alfea much earlier than expected, but the lookouts would likely be unaware of the armies imminent arrival until it was much too late.
"We have to warn them," Mitriel said, and leading her friends, the undines dove underwater. They raced through the swamp, skirting around rocks, and dodging fish, and using their magic to encourage the water to help them along. In a matter of minutes they had crossed the lake and shot from the water, spreading their arms wide to catch the updraft against their membranous wings and carry them into the Alfea quad.
A red fountain student saw them and called out, drawing the attention of all the various students and teachers milling around on the quad. Faragonda came hurrying down the front steps to meet them, Saladin and Griffin on her heels. The undines, with their wings best suited for gliding were losing height rapidly, but Faragonda murmured an incantation and a tank of water appeared for them to dive into.
"Thank you," Mitriel gasped as the trio resurfaced and peered at Faragonda over the edge of the tank.
"Of course. What news do you bring us?"
"It isn't good," Lusiz said, her sweet voice unusually grave.
"The Army of Decay is taking the Invisible Road," Thalne explained. "They'll be here soon."
"And that's not all," Mitriel added. "Icy, Darcy, and Stormy are personally leading the charge."
"Thank you," Faragonda said, before sending them and their tank inside to take cover. It would be much too dangerous for them to try and fly back with the Army of Decay so close. Faragonda turned, face grave, to the students of all three schools assembled, but there was a determined glint in her eyes. "This is it! You have your instructions, you know the best way to defeat this army, work together, protect each other! Now to your positions!"
After the last battle the squadrons had been reshuffled to not only integrate the 3 schools together, but also to restructure their attack around the increased numbers. Some squadrons had been moved inside the castle as a reserve guard, while others had been moved to subsidise the aerial and archery squads. The students moved quickly into position, shepherded by the teachers, knowing it wouldn't be long before the Trix arrived with the Army of Decay and the battle began once again.
Blood was trickling from a gash on his forehead, and he was pretty sure something was wrong with his left shoulder, but Sky didn't have the luxury of letting it slow him down, not with four monsters after him, so he just thanked his lucky stars that his right was his dominant side and kept running. The monster had called for reinforcements earlier which had forced Sky to make a tactical retreat and he had been running ever since. Sky knew he wouldn't be able to keep it up much longer, because although his body was built for it and Red Fountain put them through intense endurance training, even he had his limits.
Which was why he just had to hope the monsters fell for his plan.
Sky gradually slowed his pace, feigning exhaustion, and soon enough two of the monsters peeled off, no doubt planning on running around and flanking him. Just as Sky had hoped they would, because that gave him a chance to attack the remaining two monsters. Faster than the monsters could comprehend, Sky spun on his heel and doubled back, charging straight for one of the monsters and swinging his sword. The monster clearly hadn't expected the move and it lost it's arm to Sky's blade with little more than an inhuman shriek.
Not even giving himself a chance to get his breath Sky spun away from the first monster and skewered the second straight through it's abdomen. Yanking his blade free Sky took off again. The strikes wouldn't kill the monsters but it would hopefully slow them down and give him a chance to get away again. Unfortunately the other monsters had flanked him quicker than expected and he almost ran straight into them. But when he turned around to go the other way the two monsters he'd injured had recovered enough to cage him in.
Heart beating in his throat and spewing curses, Sky clicked away his sword and tucked the hilt into his belt, palming a few throwing stars instead. The monsters hesitated on either side of him, obviously unconcerned now that they had him trapped, and he used the split second to his advantage to fling the stars, one at each of the monsters, aiming for their vulnerable stomachs and throats. The stars did little damage however, annoying the monsters more than anything else, and they advanced on him even faster.
Sky knew he was running out of options fast but refused to go down without a fight and was reaching for his sword hilt again when a brilliant golden red light filled the dark sky. It was so luminous that it even drew the attention of the monsters, and all five of them stopped and stared upwards, Sky hardly believing what he was seeing.
Hovering above their heads was Bloom, wings and powers restored, a brilliant, shimmering aura of a dragon curled behind her, the magic surrounding her thrumming so powerfully that even Sky could feel it on the ground. "Hey," she said, voice strong and clear and eyes narrow with determination. "Back away from the prince!"
It was like the magic within her was so potent that it even affected her words because the monsters took a few uncertain steps backward.
"Bloom!" Sky called to her, relief easing the tension in his muscles. "Am I glad to see you."
"Back at you, Sky," she said, flashing him a beautiful smile. "Now hang on, I'm gonna get you out of there."
The monsters seemed to come out of their stupor, and obviously identified the renewed threat because they let out more ghastly screeches and started towards them. Bloom dived out of the air and settled beside Sky, looking calm but resolved.
"We need to work together on this," she said, eyes never leaving the monsters coming towards them. "We can't defeat them on our own."
"You got it," Sky said, glancing sidelong at Bloom. She met his eye and grinned again, a glimmer about her that Sky hadn't even realised was missing back.
Without needing to talk about it they turned back to back waiting until the monsters were close enough to attack. Once they were it was a free for all. Sky ran between two on one side of them, slashing at their tough skin, and parrying their powerful blows. Meanwhile on the other side, Bloom had wrapped flames around the other two, rooting them to the spot, while they struggled to get away from the blaze.
"Sky!" Bloom called for him, sustaining the blaze clearly taxing on her, and Sky swiped at the monsters one last time before dashing to her side. Bloom let the flames disappear and Sky charged at them, thrusting his sword into the abdomen of one, before beheading the other, reducing both to piles of sludge. The monsters tried to rise up again, the sludge quivering and trying to take form, but Bloom was quick to blast them, and finally they laid still.
They paid the same treatment to the other two monsters, using a combination of Bloom's flames and Sky's sword to defeat them and keep them from reforming. Finally it was just the two of them, panting and surrounded by large amounts of monster sludge. They turned to each other.
"Hey," Bloom said.
"Hey," Sky returned, grinning back at her.
Bloom's eyes traced to Sky's forehead, and the deep cut one of the monster's claws had made, her smile fading. "Are you okay?" She made an aborted movement like she was going to reach for him but restrained herself.
"Yeah," Sky said quickly, eager to brush the awkward moment off. "Don't worry about me. You- you got your powers back then?" he asked, eyes sweeping over her blue skirt and top combo and returned wings.
A wry smile twisted at Bloom's lips, as she inclined her head to indicate they move away from rotting sludge. "They never left me. I just can't believe it took me so long to realise that."
"Better late than never, right?" Sky said, knocking his shoulder against hers as they walked.
"I guess." Bloom took in the street, paling slightly as she took in the poor people cocooned in sludge. "What happened to them?"
"I'm not entirely sure," Sky confessed. "But I'm positive the Army of Decay had something to do with it."
Bloom nodded in vague agreement, hand raised to hover in front of her mouth as she stared aghast at the poor residents of Magix.
"Hey," Sky said gently. "Hopefully when we defeat the Army of Decay they'll go back to normal."
Bloom glanced at him, eyes twinkling. "'When we defeat the Army of Decay', huh?"
"Well, yeah. Once we get back there they stand no chance."
Bloom couldn't help but laugh. "Guess we need a ride then?" She glanced upwards and without needing to say a word, the dragon aura that was still hovering in the air flew down to meet them.
"Uhh." Sky reached out a hesitant hand to touch the dragon, half expecting his hand to go straight through the dragon seeing as how it looked to be made entirely of golden light. But instead his hand touched the dragon's curiously warm back. Bloom boosted herself up to sit astride the dragon and a second later, Sky climbed up behind her.
"Alright, hold on. This won't take long," Bloom promised and after only a moment's hesitation, Sky settled his hands on her waist, holding on tight at the dragon launched itself into the air.
Despite the number of people crowded onto it, the Alfea quad was near silent, the students waiting in quiet rows as they waited for the Trix's forces to arrive at Alfea. Standing in one of the squads near the ruined tower Riven looked out at the lines of stoic teenagers and wondered if this was what his father, a general in the Magix army, saw every time he went to battle. Then he wondered who, if anyone, would tell him about his son if Riven happened not to make it out of this alive. Something warm touched his hand, and he jerked in surprise, looking around to find Musa at his side, slipping her hand into his. He stared at her for a beat longer, but she stared steadfastly forward, pretending for all intents and purposes as though they weren't holding hands.
Further down the row Timmy and Tecna stood, quietly talking about the computer system they'd been designing together all semester, letting it distract them from the impending danger. Every now and then their shoulders would brush lightly and they'd both take quiet comfort in the gentle contact. Flora stood on Tecna's other side, looking around at her classmates and thinking of her family back on Lynphea. Flora had never felt cold before in her fairy form, the magic thrumming under her skin usually keeping her warm, but for the first time she was shivering.
Stella and Brandon had been placed a few rows behind the others, standing mostly in silence until Stella turned to him abruptly. "If we survive all this you're taking me on a date."
Brandon blinked at her, barely daring to hope.
"You mean-"
"And it had better be the best date we've ever been on," Stella barrelled on. "I want to go somewhere we haven't been before, you're going to get me flowers, and get properly dressed up. The whole nine yards."
Brandon quickly nodded his head. "Yes, that sounds-"
"And I want you to tell me about your real family, all your brothers and sisters names, what your parents are like. I want to know the real you, not the 'you' you think I want."
Stella's face was deadly serious and yet Brandon couldn't help but smile in relief that he was getting a second chance.
"You got it, princess."
Stella bit her lip against the smile that was threatening to emerge, and tightened her grip on her sceptre, facing forward again.
Griffin and Faragonda stood on a section of roof overlooking their students. Nearby Faylinn was reshuffling her aerial squads to make room for some of the witches Griffin had recommended to her.
"You're thinking about Bloom, aren't you?" she abruptly said to Faragonda, who glanced at her in surprise.
"Yes," she sighed. "How can I not? Fairies don't give up on each other."
Griffin sniffed. "Neither do witches. You believe that she could still make it back?" she asked.
"I have to," was all Faragonda seemed willing to say.
Griffin's eyes hardened as she glared at the other headmistress. "And if she doesn't? Are you asking me to sacrifice my students in a battle we have no hope of winning?"
"Of course not!" Faragonda cried. "I believe in the strength of our students. I believe that by working together there is a hope those witches can still be defeated."
Griffin harrumphed, not convinced by Faragonda's words.
"Even if you think it's naive," Faragonda said gently. "I have to believe that we are all capable of making a difference in our fate, that our actions can influence the universe."
"Spoken like a true pixie," Griffin said, but there was something softer in her voice now. "Lucille, I-" she began but cut herself off unable to go on.
"I know," Faragonda said, voice soft. "I'm glad you're here too, Xantha." She reached out and took Griffin's gloved hand, and although the witch didn't look away from the horizon, her fingers tightened on Faragonda's. They stood like that, hand in hand, for several long minutes until the sound of thunderous approaching footsteps reached them.
Griffin loosed a shuddering breath. "Do you hear that?"
"Yes," Faragonda said grimly. "They're here."
Helloooooo my lovelies,
Feels like it has been ages since I've updated, although it always feels like that so it probably hasn't been much longer than usual. This chapter was a bit of a grind tbh, and it's a little shorter, probably because there isn't much battling (except for Sky vs some rot monsters) so there's just a lot of dialogue scenes and as the summary suggests; introspection.
There isn't much to talk about this chapter itself just that I hope you like it. The scene where Bloom gets her powers back is one of my all-time favourites (I usually can't pick favourite scenes out of entire shows but this time I definitely can) so I hope I did it justice. If you've never seen that scene in the 4kids dub I highly recommending you check it out on YouTube because I just think it's so beautiful. Daphne has such a lovely VA in the 4kids dub (who am i kidding i love all the 4kids VAs) and the music in the background is gorgeous, just seriously go check it out.
In other news, there's only one chapter left, holy fucking shit how did that happen? I know last time I posted I said I wanted to update quickly and it didn't happen, but I'm saying the same thing now lol. I really want to get the last chapter written as quickly as possible because ta da I want to do a massive edit of the entire book (I know crazy right). I'm really happy with how this book turned out, probably like 85-90% happy, there are a few things that I sort of threw together as I went that I think you can really tell with (the nymph lore, the dragon fire lore, what exactly was happening with riven while he dated darcy etc.) The edits won't be massive, the plot will stay nearly exactly the same, its just some background lore stuff that I want to tidy up, as well as possibly add a few more scenes for the specialists and other couples. So I'm hoping to get the next chapter out in early Feb and spend the rest of Feb (and possibly a bit of March) editing this book as well as doing a thorough outline for book 2.
I think that's everything I needed to tell you, as always thank you so much for reading, favourite-ing, writing reviews, and following this fic. It means so so so much to me. See you next time xx