Here we go kids


Icy couldn't help but sit a little straighter in her throne as they drew nearer and nearer to Alfea. "Hey Stormy," she called lazily over her shoulder to her sister. "How do you feel about being in charge of the pixies when this is all over?"

Stormy's return grin was sharp. "I'd love it. We'll have to do some remodeling though. My throne won't fit in Faragonda's office." She gave a shriek of laughter, and Icy found herself joining in.

"You can have Red Fountain," she added, looking over at Darcy. "We all know how you like to have guys at your beck and call." Darcy smirked, dark eyes shining at the very thought. Then her chin lifted as she caught sight of something in the distance. Icy followed her gaze to find that Alfea had finally come into view.

"It's showtime, ladies."

Icy's eyes narrowed when she saw the combined forces of Red Fountain, Alfea, and Cloud Tower were already in position and waiting for them before shrugging it off. No matter how prepared they were, they were no match for the sheer force of the Army of Decay.

She lifted a lazy hand, crooked a finger and that was all it took to spur the monsters into action; a battalion of boulder-fisted monsters surged forward to take down the front gate, while an entire legion of flying rays which had been hanging at the back of their forces sped forward, creating a torrent with their wings that pulled at the Trix's clothes and rustled their hair.

While the monsters slammed their fists into the gate, the rays flew overhead and darted into the Alfea quad, moving so fast that the students barely had time to brace themselves before they were being attacked. One specialist went down with a yell when a ray slammed into him, while another fairy cried out as the tail of another ray wrapped tightly around her waist and yanked her into the air.

On the roof Griffin and Faragonda gritted their teeth and in unison rose their hands, using their combined magic to construct a protective shield. At once all the rays inside the shield disappeared, and those who touched it from the outside similarly melted with those horrible screeches, but every second of holding the shield was a struggle for Griffin and Faragonda and they knew it wouldn't last much longer.

Stormy cackled with laughter at the display and stood on her throne, arms spread wide. "Do you really think you can keep me out?" she screamed, a feral grin stretching across her face. She twitched her fingers, and that was enough to encourage great bolts of lightning to emerge from the heavy cloud cover and strike at the barrier over and over again.

Inside the barrier, the forces shuddered as a whole at the first strike of lightning but it didn't take them long to recover their resolve, fists tightening, scowls emerging. They weren't going to cower before the Trix any longer. Not even when the final strike hit the barrier and destroyed it.

Flora was the first one to break ranks and throw an energy blast at Stormy, who brushed it aside with the same air of someone swatting a fly. "That's really the best you could come up with?" she asked, baring her teeth.

Before they had a chance to retaliate, the monsters finally smashed their way through the front gate and Faragonda was screaming for them to attack. Their forces surged forward to meet the Army of Decay and the battle began in earnest.

A Red Fountain teacher called out the signal and instantly a volley of arrows were released and flew into the hordes of monsters still waiting to get into the school, taking down a handful. Five more times the teacher called for the attack, taking down more and more until finally it became too dangerous and the archers were forced to pick off the monsters one by one. This left it safe however for Faylinn's aerial squads to launch into the air and fly overhead, finishing off the monsters injured by arrows, and go one on one with the flying raws still choking the sky.

"Oh, those thrones are just nasty," Stella said in disgust to Tecna, who she'd ended up fighting next to after the monsters attacked and broke their lines.

Tecna just grunted in agreement, too distracted with her own monster to answer properly. She wrapped strand after strand of green magic around the monster, pinning it's many arms to it's sides, as the magic cut into the monster and electrocuted it. Finally when it was immobilised completely, Brandon came in and punched his sword right through it's abdomen.

"I've never felt anything like this," Darcy said, using her magic to direct monsters back and forth. "Having the Dragon Fire is unlike anything else."

"That's not the Dragon Fire," a voice boomed in response, so loud, and so familiar that more than a few people fighting looked up in surprise. Mouths, including the Trix's, dropped at the sight of Bloom and Sky riding into battle on the back of the dragon aura. "This is the Dragon Fire." And as if proving her point, a wall of flames appeared within the Army of Decay's troops sending them scrambling in panic and throwing them all into chaos.

"Impossible," Icy breathed, hardly able to believe what she was seeing. "Impossible," she repeated, this time as a screech.

The fairies, heroes, and witches cheered at the sight of Bloom and threw themselves back into battle with renewed vigour, their excitement only mounting further when Sky slipped from the back of the dragon's back and landed nimbly in the midst of his friend's squad.

"Sorry, it took us so long to get here," Sky said with a grin before beheading a monster that was coming up behind Brandon.

The hero stared numbly between the downed monster and his friend before shrugging with faux nonchalance. "You're forgiven, I guess."

Sky shook his head, still smiling and tightened his grip on his sword.

On their thrones, the Trix had conjured their Whisperian Crystals to ensure that the Dragon Fire was still stored safely inside. "What?" Icy mumbled, staring at the pale blue bottle then up at Bloom. "If we've got the Dragon Fire then how-"

"The Dragon Flame is a power like no other. It is not something the first Sparxians were born with, it was not something we found and took for ourselves, it was something gifted to us by the Great Dragon himself. Did you really think you would just be able to take it away?"

Icy flushed faintly, but remained on her throne, even as the dragon aura Bloom was sitting on grew brighter and brighter.

"Did you really think you can invade my school, mess with my friends, try and take my power, and get away with it? Points for effort though."

And before the Trix even had time to react, Bloom had summoned an energy blast so powerful it was painful to look at, so the Trix were forced to look away as it thundered towards them and threw them from their thrones. Icy tumbled through the air until she got her wits about her enough to level out using her magic and shoot back into the air. Stormy and Darcy appeared on either side of her and the three of them stared her down, determined to end her once and for all.

Down on the ground, Bloom's friends stared upwards in worry as Bloom faced down the three witches; even with her powers back, the Trix were still older, more experienced, and at this point had nothing to lose. They'd wound up fighting near each other in their squad, but took the time to pause and look up at their friend, then at each other, before wordlessly seeking out Faragonda where she was overseeing the battle with Griffin. The original plan had been for Faragonda, Griffin, and Saladin to take on the Trix themselves, but now they seemed willing to step back and let Bloom handle it. Faragonda locked eyes with Stella and nodded, giving them permission to fly up into the air.

"We've got your back, B," Musa said, appearing on one side of Bloom.

"Yeah, we're here for you girl," Stella agreed, taking the other side.

Flora and Tecna voiced their agreement, eyes narrowing as they stared at the witches who had made so much trouble for them this year.

"Stormy, Darcy, give me your share of the Dragon Fire," Icy all but growled, sticking out her hand for their vials. They hesitated for only a moment, and Icy's face twisted into something hard and ugly. "You're scared of these pixies?" she sneered. "You won't need more than your regular magic for those four."

Stormy and Darcy exchanged a glance before handing over their crystals, and Icy wasted no time unstoppering them and transferring the flame from their vial to their own. Bloom watched it happen, scowling at the last few embers of Dragon Fire that had yet to be returned to her; she balled her hands into fists, it didn't matter what happened next, but she was determined to get the full flame back to her by the end of the day.

"You good, B?" Musa murmured. None of them had missed Icy's words, and they knew that she intended for it to be her against Bloom at the end while the others took on Darcy and Stormy.

But Bloom wasn't scared; she guessed this was how her parents had felt when they'd ridden into battle that final time, a resigned sense of responsibility, something they had to do to keep their family safe. And Bloom knew exactly how they felt. It had only been a year but she already thought of Stella, Flora, Musa, and Tecna as her sisters, and as the rest of Alfea, Red Fountain, and even Cloud Tower as her crazy extended family. And she was not going to let the Trix hurt them any more.

"Yeah," she said. "I've got this."

She didn't speak a second too soon for in the next instant Icy had conjured a brutal blizzard of ice shards and directed it straight at the fairies. The others scattered but Bloom held her ground, holding her hands out to conjure a wall of flames to melt the ice. She didn't stop there however directing the flames to chase after Icy and force her on the defensive.

Icy snarled at her but took off flying through the air towards Lake Roccaluce. Bloom hesitated only a moment to make sure her friends were okay to take on the other two, before chasing after Icy when they waved her off. Icy zigzagged across the lake, twisting this way and that, and generally making it impossible for Bloom to line up a shot on her. Occasionally she tried, hurling handfuls of flames Icy's way, but most went wide or sailed into the lake and were doused by the water.

The other girls meanwhile were staring down a snarling Stormy and Darcy. Flora, still smarting from her last failed attack, summoned a bouquet of itching flowers and blew them towards Darcy and Stormy, causing them to break out into immediate hives, then hiss and scatter as they tried to shake the spores off.


On the ground Riven wielded his bola with dangerous precision, using it's hefty weight to break apart the stoneskin of the monster before thrusting the dagger he held in his left hand into their vulnerable abdomen. But it didn't matter how fast he cut the monsters down, another always seemed ready to step into it's place. Riven had two bearing down into him when he backed straight into Sky.

"Hey bro," Riven said in greeting as Sky battled with his own monster. "Glad you could make it." Then surprising even himself he said, "I was starting to get worried."

"You were right to be," Sky grunted and slammed the hilt off his sword against a monster to shove it back before running it through. It exploded into sludge and was immediately zapped by a passing witch when it tried to reform. "I made it to Magix and the place was absolutely crawling with monsters. If Bloom hadn't been there, I'd definitely be a goner by now."

Riven gutted another monster and stepped neatly out of the way of it's sludge, then together he and Sky joined forces to take down the remaining monster in their vicinity. Once they were sure it wasn't going to reform, they both looked up where the flashes of light from the girl's magic showed they were still going strong against the witches. Sky's eyes however were fixed on the distance over the lake where spells of red and blue clashed together.

"When this is all over, I'm going to make it up to her," Sky said, more to himself than Riven. "I'm going to do it right this time."

"With that amount of power you'd better, bro," Riven said with an arched eyebrow when Icy momentarily disappeared behind a wall of flames.

They were both so preoccupied with the fairies fighting in the air that they didn't notice the rock-skinned monster approaching until it's giant fist caught Sky in the ribs and sent him flying, while Riven was forced to duck and roll to avoid the second smash of the fist. The pain that exploded in Sky's side was so intense that he thought something had to be broken and couldn't do anything but lie there in the mud for a second gasping for breath.

Which was very bad because the monster was currently stomping towards him, fist raised to finish him off.

The monster seemed to move in slow motion, tromping towards Sky as he tried to force himself to at least sit up, but his breath was catching in his chest on the way in, and burning on the way out, draining Sky completely of the energy to move. The monster brought his fist down and part of him wanted to close his eyes and not watch what was about to happen, but the rest of him didn't want to go out that way. Which was the only reason he saw the green metallic glint as it swept through the air and cut through the monster's thick fist, dismembering it's hand completely.

"Hey, just thought I'd give you a hand," Brandon said with a wink. Sky huffed a laugh at the terrible pun and shook his head.

Brandon twisted and used the other side of his double bladed sword to stab the monster through the back. While the monster was impaled on Brandon's sword, Timmy came sliding through the sludge, blaster in hand which he used to shoot a cluster of bullets into the monster's chest, and the monster melted into a pile of sludge. For a second it quivered as though debating reforming then Diaspro swooped in out of nowhere and unleashed a handful of razor sharp gems on it and it fell still.

"You good, bro?" Brandon asked, offering Sky a hand up, while Timmy hauled Riven to his feet.

"Yeah," Sky said even as his side continued to burn. It hurt but he didn't think it was bad enough to send him to the medical team inside for treatment.

He was one of the lucky ones however because all around them students were crumbling under the might of the Army of Decay. A scream above them had them all looking up to see a flying ray rake it's claws along a fairy's wings, tearing them to shreds; Diaspro cursed - uncharacteristic for her - and darted off, managing to catch the poor fairy between herself and another med fairy and carry her out of the battle range. Nearby a group of three specialists along with a pair of witches were trying to defend a fallen hero. But the monsters around them were so thick that they didn't have a chance to get him out of danger and were forced to protect him where he lay. Even so the five of them weren't enough to keep the monsters away and Sky, Riven, Brandon, and Timmy weren't quick enough to stop the boulder-fisted monster from slamming down on the heroes unguarded legs.

Without thinking Timmy dove at the monster, but his slight form wasn't enough to knock the monster off the hero, and Timmy was forced to twist and squirm as it tried to grab him. The others converged on the monster Sky and Riven swiping at an arm each while, Brandon hacked at the head. The combined effort got the monster off the prone hero and allowed Timmy to slip free, and a spell from a nearby witch doused the monster with what looked like acid, finishing it once and for all. Without needing to discuss it Brandon and Sky each took one of the hero's arms and dragged his unconscious form towards the castle.


Above the lake, having gotten Bloom where she wanted her, Icy stopped flying away and turned to face the red headed fairy, face twisted into a snarl. "I'm going to finally finish what my ancestors started," Icy said, breathing ragged.

"Sure," Bloom huffed in return and before Icy had the chance to attack first Bloom summoned a dragon of flames which lunged at Icy snapping and snarling.

But no matter that Bloom had taken the Dragon Fire back, Icy was still clinging to an ember of it and it showed as ice burst from her with a scream, freezing the dragon into a block of ice which exploded into a million shards.

Bloom flung up an arm to protect her face, gritting her teeth against the stinging pain as the ice bit into her skin. But that meant she didn't see the attack coming when Icy conjured a flurry of ice and directed it at her, hitting her square in the chest and stunning her so much that she fell through the air.

"They destroyed your precious little planet," Icy screamed as Bloom's wings restarted and kept her from crashing into the lake. "And now I'm going to destroy you!" Bloom zipped back into the air and was forced to zig zag across the sky as Icy threw attack after attack at her.

"You're not destroying anything," Bloom growled, turning abruptly and halting in midair, throwing up a wave of heat to melt Icy's daggers of ice which were pelting towards her. Icy let out a frustrated screech as her attack was foiled yet again and Bloom took it as a sign her foe was tiring.


Back towards Alfea, Stella, Flora, Musa, and Tecna faced down Darcy and Stormy who were livid after having recovered from Flora's itching flower attack.

"Stormy," Darcy purred, silky voice so at odds with the furious expression on her face. "Let's join our powers." She brought her fingertips to her forehead and glowed a faint purple before identical clones of herself and Stormy appeared in a circle around the fairies, trapping them in. "How about an electric twister?!" they all spoke at once in Stormy's voice and the girls made the mistake of turning in surprise, making it impossible to remember which had been the real Darcy and Stormy.

The wind began to whip around them, lightning crackling intermittently and Tecna quickly brought up a shield of glowing green magic to encase them and protect them from the twister bearing down on them. Tecna gritted her teeth as the winds buffeted against them but the shield held firm until the twister died down. Then before the witches had a chance to react, Stella twirled her sceptre in a circle, pure sunlight bursting from it and making the Darcy and Stormy clones disappear. Compounding on the overwhelming effects of Stella's sunlight, Flora conjured thick green vines that bound the witches tightly from shoulder to toe, while Musa blasted music from a set of speakers so loud it was disorientating.

Darcy couldn't do much more than groan at the piercing noise, but Stormy wasn't going down so easily, and loosed a scream through gritted teeth, the noise gathering the overhead clouds into an even denser and darker cluster until two lightning bolts struck down simultaneously, blasting Musa's speakers into smoke. Darcy shook her head as though to clear it and after that it was the work of a moment to twitch her fingers and blast Flora's vines to smithereens.


"You're going to wish you never survived the destruction of Sparx, Bloom!" Icy screamed, throwing all she had into her attack as she alternated between conjuring flurries of snow, and hurling razor sharp shards of ice at the fairy. And as much as Bloom could tell she was getting to Icy, she had to admit that constantly being on the defensive was tiring her out as well. "You're going to wish you had died alongside your parents and sister."

Bloom bit her lip and curled her hands into fists, resisting the urge to lash out at the witch, knowing that to do so in anger wouldn't be wise. Lysippe had drilled into their heads over and over again that no matter what type of battle they engaged in, be it physical or magical, a cool, level head was their greatest asset.

But Bloom hesitated a beat too long and Icy wrapped a cage of solid ice around Bloom. Stomach churning, Bloom felt herself drop like a stone through the air and plunge into the lake, the heavy ice around her dragging her straight to the bottom. Icy wasn't done there however and chest heaving with exhaustion she sucked the remaining warmth from the lake freezing it solid.

Inside her ice cage Bloom could already feel her brain starting to slow, her thoughts turning sluggish, and she knew that she didn't have much time before she faded away entirely. But she was so cold, and so tired, and just wanted this all to be over with already.

"Bloom?" a familiar voice called to her in barely more than a whisper. "Bloom, you need to…" But Bloom didn't know what she needed to do because the voice faded away before it could finish.

Distantly Bloom wondered what was happening outside of the lake, whether her friends were winning, whether they were still alive at all, maybe the battle was over, maybe the witches had won, and everything she loved was gone. Would her parents ever know what had happened to her, or would they spend the rest of their lives wondering what had become of their daughter, wondering and regretting ever letting her disappear into another dimension. The thought filled her with such an ache of sadness that had she been even a degree warmer Bloom was sure tears would be spilling down her cheeks.


"Give it up," Stormy snarled when the fairies showed no sign of slowing even as she defeated their latest wave of attacks. Flora staring her down, shivered at the pure venom in the witch's words; she'd seen up close the destruction a witch could wage having seen it completely decimate her village, but this was something different. "We're going to bury you next to Bloom!"

The words had the intended effect because Flora didn't even stop to think it through before she was screaming, "No, you're not," and flying like a javelin through the air straight at the witch and tackling her in midair.

"Flora!" she heard Musa yelp, and then Darcy's dark chuckle but didn't let it stop her as she seized Stormy by the shoulders and shake her roughly, mouth already starting to form the words of a peace spell Liliana had taught her what felt like a hundred years ago.

But Stormy apparently didn't take too kindly to peace spells because Flora wasn't halfway through the incantation when the witch wrenched her arm free and raked her nails down the side of Flora's face. The fairy let go with a shriek of pain and tumbled backwards through the air, hands clenched to her stinging face where blood was dripping into her eye. Musa roared in pure fury at the sight of her injured friend and zapped Stormy and Darcy with a sonic blast strong enough to rattle their bones, but that only seemed to incense Stormy further.

"I'm finishing this once and for all," she yelled, and immediately began to spin in the air, arms spread out wide, going faster and faster until she was little more than a crimson glowing blur. Reacting to her spinning, the wind picked up, swirling around them and the sky got impossibly darker.

The girls huddled together, encircling Flora who was still trying in vain to see through the thick blood streaming down her face, and looked worriedly around at the darkening sky, nowhere to fly without the heavy winds buffeting them back. Before they knew what was happening, and certainly before they could do anything to get away, they realised that Stormy was creating a tornado more powerful than they'd ever seen from her before, and they were trapped right in the middle of it.

"Grab hands!" Tecna screamed over the roar of the wind, and they immediately joined up, wings fluttering double time to keep them from getting swept up completely by the twister.

"What do we do?" Stella cried, eyes nearly closed to protect them from the stinging slap of the wind.

"Palladium mentioned it in class one time," Musa bellowed back over the sound of Stormy's manic laughter. "The only way to overcome weather spells is to take control of it."

"Yes!" Flora agreed, nearly unrecognisable with all the blood on her now. "We need to focus our winx!"

The girls locked eyes and without needing to discuss it they knew exactly what to do. It was hard to do trapped in the middle of a tornado as they were but the fairies forced themselves to relax and focus their winx on loosening Stormy's tight grip on the twister. They wouldn't have enough power to stop it completely but with enough concentration they would be able to direct it.

It took a long minute but slowly the tornado began to inch it's way towards Darcy. What was more neither witch seemed to notice that the twister wasn't completely in Stormy's control anymore, too busy laughing at the sight of the fairies trapped within it. And then it was far too late for Darcy to do anything but scream as she was sucked inside it. Stormy's laughter, meanwhile cut off abruptly as she fought to regain control of her tornado but her panic only loosened her connection to it further and she only managed to fly a few feet away before the twister at the fairy's command overcame her and sucked her in as well.

The twister abruptly died down, flinging Stormy and Darcy through the air, and it was only a testament to the strength of the fairy's wings, which were still fluttering madly, that they didn't follow them.

Faragonda and Griselda noticed them in the air and paused where they'd been fighting side by side, needing to share only a look before they raised their hands simultaneously and a cage made of glowing green bands formed around Stormy and Darcy, lowering them to the ground. Almost immediately they noticed that large hordes of monsters are weakening and that the combined forces of the heroes, witches, and fairies were finally getting a foothold in the battle. But that didn't mean it was over by any measure, what with the monsters under Icy's control still going strong.

Their battle over now, Stella, Musa, Flora, and Tecna slowly floated to the ground, Faragonda and Griffin moving to cover them, where they hadn't the energy to do much more than slump of the sludge-covered grass, and watch Bloom battle Icy in the distance. They desperately wanted to help her but were so exhausted that they didn't think their wings would be able to lift them even if they tried; besides they knew this was her fight.


Bloom stared at her own face reflected back in the ice, vision wavering because of the tears brimming along her eyelids, distorting her own face until she barely recognised herself. Red hair became shorter and blonde, her freckles disappeared, and her blue eyes turned brown. Bloom blinked at the face wondering how the fuck Lysippe had gotten under the frozen surface of the lake and why she looked so furious with her.

"So you're just giving up then are you?"

Lysippe's mouth never moved - she just continued to glare at Bloom - but still she heard the words directly in her brain, and starting to shiver slightly, Bloom realised what was happening. "Oh," she muttered to herself, breath escaping in a puff of white. "This is a hallucination."

If possible Lysippe's glare seemed to intensify as she all but growled, "So? Seems to me it doesn't matter what I am when you've given up."

Bloom rolled her eyes but despite herself she could feel herself getting worked up, brain coming back online a bit. "Haven't given up," she scowled. "Just don't have a plan to get through all this ice."

Lysippe arched an eyebrow at her. "Harness your anger," she said simply as if the answer were obvious, and something about the words seemed familiar to Bloom. "Use it, but don't let it consume you."

Bloom blinked sluggishly, trying to work out what Lysippe meant by that, but before she could ask she was gone, and the only face Bloom was looking at was her own. "Harness my anger," she repeated. "Use it, but don't let it consume me."

It was hard but Bloom forced herself not to think of how cold the ice was, how close she likely was to slipping away, and instead thought of Icy's grating voice gloating about the destruction of Sparx and the death of her family. Immediately Bloom had to grit her teeth at the flash of rage, Icy's voice loud in her ears. She didn't let the anger fade and continued to think, picturing her friends as she'd left them behind to fight Stormy and Darcy, think about Sky as he slipped back into battle alongside Brandon, Timmy, and Riven. She held onto that anger and let it wake her back up as she thought about her parents sitting oblivious back home, no idea how close they were to losing their daughter.

And the anger wasn't just waking her up on the inside she realised. It was rolling off her in waves, hot enough to melt the inner layer of Icy's cage. And so taking Lysippe's advice Bloom decided to harness that anger and the heat that came along with it, and use it to explode out of the frozen lake, smiling smugly when Icy's face went grey at the sight of her flying into the air.

"That-" Icy began but for the first time that Bloom had ever seen her, Icy looked truly lost for words, unable to understand how her strongest attack hadn't been able to keep Bloom down. And for once the sight of the witch didn't scare her, instead Bloom saw her for what she was, a high school dropout who was in over her head with a power she had no hope of understanding, let alone controlling.

The heat continued to radiate from Bloom, thick enough that it was turning the air around her hazy with it, and she felt a familiar sensation of burning white hot heat building in her chest. The air around her shimmered gold, and Icy had to know that something big was coming because she tried to summon one final wave of ice. But the heat exploded from Bloom in such an intense wave that Icy's snow didn't have a chance, evaporating in a second as the heat swept towards the witch, overcoming both her and Bloom.


When Bloom came to her first thought was that something had gone wrong and that her powers were still pouring out of her, because the air around her was still a bright gold. But as her eyes adjusted to the brightness, Bloom realised nothing was wrong at all; the thick cloud cover that had marred their sky since the Army of Decay had risen had finally dissipated and the sun was shining down through the tree tops once again.

Body still stinging from the force of her blast, Bloom pulled herself slowly upright, taking a mental stock of her body for injuries. Her arms were speckled with cuts from the ice that had been thrown at her throughout the battle, but Bloom didn't think she'd been hurt anywhere else.

Nearby Icy lay sprawled on the grass, and for a moment Bloom's heart jumped to her throat, horrified at the possibility that she'd let her powers get too out of control and had actually killed the witch. But even from where Bloom was sitting she could see the rise and fall of her chest, and she relaxed leaning back on a hand for a moment before pushing her aching body to its feet. Even if the battle with Icy was over that didn't mean the Army of Decay had been defeated, or that her friends were okay. Bloom spun in a circle, trying to identify the patch of woods she'd fallen into, and unbidden horrible images rose in her mind, of Sky bleeding from the head, of leaving the girls to fight against Stormy and Darcy, of the other guys going up against monsters more than double their size.

A strangled gasp of relief tore from Bloom's throat when she caught sight of Alfea in the distance, and she took off for it at a shaky run. As she got closer she saw the small, slightly hobbling figure of Headmaster Saladin coming towards her, leaning heavily on his staff.

"Are you okay?" he called, limping towards her even faster now.

It was an odd question, Bloom thought, considering she didn't feel fine at all, but she also knew that wasn't what he meant, so she forced a wane smile onto her face and told him she was fine.

"Is the battle over?" Bloom asked hesitantly

"Yes, the Army of Decay has been defeated. The witch," he added hurriedly. "Is she-"

Bloom turned and pointed back the way she'd come, and Saladin nodded and hobbled over to where Icy was stirring feebly. Bloom, however, had much more important things to attend to.

She wasn't sure what she'd expected when she got back to the grounds of Alfea; maybe something like the endings of war films her father liked to watch sometimes, with soldiers crying out in joy, and tossing their guns away, and throwing their helmets in the air, maybe dipping a girl for a kiss.

This wasn't like that at all.

There was crying but it was as much in fear or sorrow as happiness. Bloom pushed through the people on the quad, med fairies and heroes rushing too and fro, not nearly enough of them for the cuts, and bruises, and blood rising to the surface. Occasionally there's a shout of joy as someone was reunited with the friend they'd lost track of in the midst of the battle. But Bloom didn't care because none of them are the friends she'd lost track of in the middle of the battle.

She knew she was nearing frantic now, breaths coming shorter and shorter as she ran through the crowd, turning around, then again, searching for anything familiar; short black pigtails, a flash of the sun on glasses, the silver blue glint of a sceptre, but there was nothing, and Bloom could feel the tears starting to come every second that passed and she didn't see her friends safe, and sound, and whole.

Until.

"Bloom?!"

She didn't even let herself hesitate to throw herself at Sky, the hero not even staggering as he found himself with an armful of fairy.

"I was so worried about you," Bloom said, half choking on a sob as she buried her face against his neck, revelling in the warmth of it that reassured her that he was still here, that he was still alive.

"Hey," he said gently, combing back her hair from her face with one hand, while the other held her close to him. His skin was tacky with something, probably sludge the back of Bloom's mind supplied helpfully, and she was sure it was smearing all over her, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

Not when she pulled back enough to look him in the eyes and realised how much she wanted to kiss him.

Bloom slipped from his grasp and back onto the ground, smiling up at him weakly, still dizzy with both the relief of finding him okay, but also with the strength of her own feelings.

Sky's eyes slipped over her, checking her quickly for signs of injuries, and asked her regardless, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Bloom manages, gaze skipping away, then back again. "You?"

Sky shrugged a shoulder, the other arm, Bloom realised, he was holding close to his body like it hurt to move it. "Busted my ribs I think, but they'll be okay." He didn't mention the cut on his forehead but he'd had that since Magix and it had finally stopped bleeding.

"Good. That's good. The others?"

"All more or less in one piece. Come on, they're this way."

Bloom shivered at the briefest touch of warmth on her lower back and Sky guarded her through the throngs of people towards the only remaining tower, and she tried not to look at the crying faces she passed. But it was impossible to ignore the deathly white face of a witch who had lost a chunk of her side to the claw of a monster, nor the terrified face of the med fairy who couldn't be more than a year older as she recited healing spell after healing spell. They moved on but were almost mowed down by Lysippe who sprinted past, carrying an unconscious Faylinn in her arms. Bloom watched them go, hand over her mouth, until Sky touched her back lightly again, urging her on. Finally they stepped through the last of the crowds, reaching the tower, where, at it's base, a group of familiar people were clustered. Another sob broke free from Bloom and she hurried towards them.

Stella's smile was sunny despite it all as she pushed away from the wall she was propped up against and met Bloom for a fierce hug. Tecna, Musa, and Flora were quick to join them, all murmuring about how relieved they were to see each other.

The girls she found out had been completely tapped out of magic by the end of their battle with Stormy and Darcy, and they were all showing signs of it. Stella was unsteady on her feet and had to go back to leaning against the toer wall as soon as Bloom released her from the hug. Musa had strained something in her wing flying against Stormy's intense cyclones and had been put under strict instructions not to even change into her fairy form until a wing specialist was there to take a look at it. And Bloom nearly fainted at the sight of Flora's bloody face, pressure bandage pressed hastily to the left side, where Stormy had raked her nails down the side of her face.

"Who knew I should have been looking out for her nails," Flora joked grimly, as Bloom squeezed her tight in an extra hug.

Tecna, Timmy, and Riven had all managed to escape relatively unscathed, although they were sporting a collection of fairly impressive scrapes, cuts, and bruises among the three of them. Brandon hadn't been so lucky however, and the usually hyperactive hero had been forced to remain seated, his leg strapped into a makeshift splint for what a med fairy had thought was a fracture to his femur.

But even with the injuries, Bloom couldn't help the tears of relief as she looked around them, smiling despite it all. There were still here, she couldn't help but think, they were still here and they were still alive, and that, she knew, was what counted.


Sitting, looking out the window, Bloom couldn't believe what change a week had brought; how much Alfea was already looking like it's old self. She supposed that was what happened when almost an entire school had pulled together to clean up. Some had left of course, and no one blamed them, after everything they'd gone through and almost a week of being cut off from the rest of the dimension, many parents had insisted on bringing their daughters home with them straight away. But Bloom had been pleasantly surprised at how many had insisted on staying and helping rebuild what they could. But then again, as Faragonda had told Bloom when she'd confessed her surprise, magical beings are resilient in the face of this sort of thing. The tower still lay in a giant pile of rubble of course, there were some things teenaged fairies just couldn't rebuild after all, but the rest of Alfea was surprisingly spotless; the quad cleaned of sludge, the divots in the grass filled in, cracked glass, and chipped sandstone repaired.

Bloom felt the barest trace of a smile flicker on her lips as she watched the flurry of activity outside, even as her insides warred with herself, grief and heartache fighting for dominance over the vestiges of happiness that were struggling to rise up.

"What are you thinking about, Bloom?"

The smooth voice startled Bloom out of her reverie, and she looked over with a guilty smile at the woman who was sitting patiently in the chair opposite. She was a striking woman, with ebony hair that shone in the sunlight streaming through the window, full lips, and sharp golden eyes that betrayed her intelligence.

Following the battle they were all to see what were known in the Magical Dimension as mind healers, something Bloom understood to be the equivalent of an Earth therapist or psychologist. Just a single session, they'd been assured when some showed signs of resisting, around half an hour in length at the orders of the Council of Magix, just to make sure they were all recovering from the horrors they'd seen. Then if they decided they wanted more sessions arrangements could be made. Never having seen one before, Bloom had been expecting something sort of cold and clinical, a disinterred doctor equivalent ticking off a list of questions in a bored sort of way: "How have you been sleeping? Any nightmares? Feelings of anxiety? Take this potion twice a day. Next!"

What she'd been met with however hadn't been anything like that. Healer Rhonwen, as she'd introduced herself as, had taken Bloom's hand warmly within her own shaking it, before leading her over to a small set up of two comfortable looking armchairs, tea set laid out on a small table in between. Then, after she'd served them both a cup, Rhonwen seemed content to sit back and wait, fragile teacup cradled in her hands, while Bloom, waiting for the first question, stared aimlessly out the window.

"I'm thinking," Bloom began slowly, eyes returning to the window and the activity beyond it. "That's it weird to see this place getting back to normal so quickly."

"Weird?" Rhonwen prompted.

Bloom nodded noncommittally, before sighing when the healer didn't speak. "I guess I just thought it would take longer," she said eventually.

Bloom heard Rhonwen shift slightly in her chair but didn't look around. "Well," she said. "Cleaning up is often seen as the first step of healing."

"Yeah, and I guess with the party tonight they didn't have much choice."

"Are you excited for tonight?"

Bloom contemplated the question, repressing the urge to say she felt weird about it. But it was the truth. A memorial cross with a makeshift prom had been decided upon to mark the end of the school year, and Bloom was pretty sure it was going to be the weirdest celebration she'd ever been to.

"I am looking forward to it," Bloom said truthfully. "Everyone deserves something fun after working so hard all week, and everything before."

"But?" Rhonwen prompted.

Finally Bloom turned and met the healer's eyes dead on as she said bluntly, "But someone just died and I don't feel much like celebrating."

There had been a strange sense of numbness hanging around Bloom ever since hearing about Asteria. Finding out her friends were safe had lulled her into a false sense of security, so that when Stella had gently broke the news it had felt like a punch to the stomach. She hadn't cried, hadn't even come close, and Bloom had wondered what that said about her.

"Someone?"

"Asteria," Bloom said, the name tasting heavy on her tongue.

Rhonwen's eyes narrowed a fraction and she cocked her head, picking up on something in Bloom's face, her tone. "Did you know her? Asteria?"

Bloom's lips twisted. "Not really. We met a few times, her girlfriend was nice to me when I was going through some stuff a few weeks back."

For a second Bloom can tell Rhonwen is debating asking her about the mysterious "stuff" Cyrenia had helped her with, which was maybe why Bloom barrelled on.

"I mean, I know we were lucky; a battle of that size, against monsters that strong? I know we were lucky."

And objectively Bloom knew they had been lucky to only lose one student. Even the major injuries had been limited to a handful; Faylinn would be out of commission for most of the summer but should be back to teach in the fall, a Red Fountain student would have a very dull break while his shattered legs healed, and a sophomore Alfea fairy was going to need a lot of time and magic to repair her wings. But other than that most of their injuries were already disappearing.

And yet, everytime Bloom thought of Asteria…

"I don't feel lucky," Bloom admitted in a whisper. "I feel…" she paused a scrubbed a hand over her face. "I feel guilty. Maybe if I'd gotten back faster, realised I still had my powers faster, done any of it faster, then maybe things would be different."

"Bloom, you know the only people to blame for this attack and for Asteria's death are those three witches?"

"I guess. But I should have known that I still had my powers. What kind of a fairy doesn't realise they still have their powers?"

"A young fairy who has only known she has magic for less than a year." Rhonwen pointed out with a slight smile and an arch of a dark eyebrow. "Even without those circumstances, Bloom, your actions in battling Icy would have been admirable."

Bloom conceded with the barest jerk of a nod, and Rhonwen seemed to understand that she wasn't getting much more from Bloom on the topic because she didn't push. Instead she changed tacts.

"What happens to you when everyone leaves tomorrow?"

"I'll go home to my parents on Earth."

"Do they know about everything that's happened."

Bloom hummed to the affirmative. "They were pretty freaked out 'cause they hadn't been able to get ahold of me for a week, even more freaked out when I explained why, but I think they felt a lot better after hearing my voice."

The conversation had been long and tearful, but the Peters family had become acclimated to life or death situations this year it seemed, because to Bloom's surprise her parents hadn't demanded her immediate return home. Instead they'd understood why she needed to stay and see out this last week. It also helped that Bloom had been calling them morning and night every day since.

As draining as that initial phone call with her parents had been, it had been followed up by an even more tiring conversation with Faragonda, the headmistress explaining how thrown she'd been when the spitting image of her old friend had turned up at the school, how unsure she'd been in what to do as she became more and more aware of Bloom's identity. Faragonda had admitted to her mistakes, and Bloom had apologised for her sharpness the other day in her office, both coming to a mutual and unspoken agreement to forgive and forget each other's past transgressions. The topic of Bloom's birth parents hadn't been broached any further than that, Faragonda understanding without needing to be told that Bloom wasn't quite ready yet; and she'd made sure that her student had known the offer was open whenever she decided she was ready.

"They must be pretty understanding people to take all that in."

Bloom couldn't help her smile. "They're great. They've been unshakable throughout all this, I don't know what I'd do without them."

"Is there anything else you're worried about when you go home?"

There was a beat, before Bloom admitted, "I haven't been sleeping great."

"Nightmares?"

"Yeah, when I can actually get to sleep. But mostly I just lay awake, thinking. I was hoping by working long hours cleaning up would tire me out enough to get so sleep but it's like I can't get my brain to slow down."

Rhonwen nodded in understanding. "It's perfectly natural, both the nightmares and the not sleeping. It's been a crazy few days for you, and your brain's still trying to process it all."

Bloom nodded; crazy was right.


The truth had come out because of course it had.

The witches might have gone back to their school, but the Red Fountain guys, lacking a school of their own to return to, had remained at Alfea to assist them in their cleanup, and with the amount of teenagers on campus having doubled, so had the amount of gossip. So, Bloom wasn't surprised as she could have been to hear from Stella that a veritable media storm had congregated outside Alfea demanding to see the lost Princess of Sparx.

They'd all already had to speak to the Council of Magix, a stern faced group of four who had listened impassionately as they recounted the entire tale of the Trix's quest to gain the Dragon Fire. At the end they'd thank them both for telling their story but also for the efforts in working against the Trix. Later that day the Council had released a brief statement to the public on what had happened, explaining that the attack on Duskall had been a successful ploy to draw the Magix army away but that there had been no casualties, and that the attack on Magix city had been another attempt to keep reinforcements from reaching the three schools, but that again everyone had been thankfully revived.

But they'd had to have known the brief statement wouldn't satisfy not only the public but also the media who were hungry for the full story full of juicy details. Even as the Council had left they'd advised Faragonda to release her own statement on behalf of the school, which she assured them she was planning to do at a press conference. Whether Bloom also spoke, Faragonda had said firmly, was completely up to her.

It took some convincing from Stella and Sky, the two with the most experience, but eventually they convinced Bloom it was the best thing she could do right now.

"I know you're still trying to process all this," Stella said, sitting beside Bloom on her bed and lacing their hands together. "But you're a princess now, and that means most of the time, you come second to everyone else." Her voice was hard and matter-of-fact, but Bloom could hear the undercurrent of sympathy.

Still she scoffed. "I'm a princess in name only. No one cares what I have to say."

"That's not true, Bloom," Sky said gently, crouching down in front of her while Stella squeezed her hand. "They are still Sparxians out there, people who were on vacation when it all happened, or had emigrated out. There aren't many but they are out there, and they just found out the last of their royal family is alive. They're going to want to hear from you, they need to hear from you."

Bloom bit her lip before nodding reluctantly. "Will you guys come with me?"

They didn't even hesitate. "Of course."

Which was how Bloom found herself standing before a crowd of bloodthirsty journalists, flanked on either side by Stella and Sky, and listening vaguely as Faragonda explained in greater detail how the Trix had harassed and attacked them in their search for their flame before ultimately stealing it and using it to attack the three schools. Faragonda was cool and collected under the eyes of the journalists, not flinching even as the magically levitated microphones pressed closer and closer towards her face and the weight of the camera's lenses bore down on her. The press conference was being aired live and the journalists were quiet as Faragonda read her statement, two of the conditions she had been firm on when she'd organised it.

Finally, after Faragonda was finished and the journalists had had their chance to scream their questions, it was finally Bloom's turn. She hesitated for a second and on either side of her, Stella and Sky each squeezed one of her hands and emboldened by the gesture Bloom squared her shoulders and walked towards the podium, trying to ignore the cameras trained on her.

A lot of thought had gone into her outfit today, as simple as it was; nice, dark blue jeans - Stella had insisted on a pair with no rips - a black top, with a white blazer on loan from Stella thrown over the top. Bloom had allowed Stella to apply light, natural makeup, and pull her hair back in a simple half up, half down style. They'd wavered for a while on a tiara, but ultimately Bloom had turned it down and Stella had agreed.

Bloom withdrew a crumpled page from her blazer pocket and smoothed it out, ignoring how her hands were trembling. On it was a statement that Stella, Sky, and Faragonda had helped her draft. Bloom cleared her throat and after re-reading the first line for the umpteenth time, she looked up looking straight into the crowd of journalists.

"Hello, my name is Bloom Peters, and I am the last princess of Sparx."

The words hung there in the air for a moment, heavy and tangible, and although the journalists shifted and edged forward, they kept their promised silence.

"When I was barely a month old, my parents, Queen Miriam and King Oritel, along with the rest of Sparx were destroyed by a great enemy, the Ancestral Witches. In order to protect the Dragon Flame, the power the Ancestral Witches were after and which had been entrusted to the Sparx royal family, my older sister, Crown Princess Daphne, sent me to the safest place she could think of, Earth, before she herself perished.

"I grew up on Earth, loved and cherished by two adoptive parents Mike and Vanessa, not knowing anything about my magic, nor my royal ancestry. That is until I met Princess Stella of Solaria at the beginning of the school who recognised the magic in me and brought me to study at Alfea. During this year my friends and I became aware of a plot concocted by three students from Cloud Tower to finish what their ancestors started and take the Dragon Fire for themselves and use it to take over the dimension. Not knowing that the power they were after was in fact my own we attempted to stop them.

"It wasn't until less than a month ago, when the witches cornered me on a trip back to Earth and took the power from me, that they revealed that I was in fact the lost princess of Sparx and the last keeper of the Dragon Flame. Following several skirmishes I was able to take back the Dragon Flame for myself and along with my friends and the students of Alfea, Red Fountain, and Cloud Tower, the witches along with their army, were finally defeated.

"I have so much still to learn about the Magical Dimension, being a fairy, and indeed being a princess. But I do hope to one day restore the planet of Sparx to its former glory. I know this will be hard, and will likely not be achievable for many years, certainly not until I finish studying at Alfea, but with the love and support of my adoptive parents, my friends, and my community, I hope it to be possible one day.

"Finally, I speak directly to the people of Sparx who managed to survive that terrible day, be it because you were away or because you had immigrated to another realm. I want you to know no matter how long it takes me and however hard it is, I will break the curse on and restore our planet, and as long as you are here and as long as you wish it, there will be a home for you on Sparx. And I hope that as your Princess I do you all very proud."

Bloom's throat was dry by the end, but as she inclined her head towards the cameras and managed a quiet, " Thank you."

The journalists burst into noise but Bloom ignored them and turned to leave. But in doing so she caught sight of Sky watching her, a proud grin on his face, and something occurred to her. So, ignoring Stella's grimace and frantic head shake, she turned back to the podium and held up a hand for quiet, which the journalists obeyed with a disgruntled grumble.

"There's just one more thing I wanted to talk about. A little while ago I was involved in an incident with Prince Sky of Eraklyon and Princess Diaspro of Juvel. I've reached out to Princess Diaspro personally to apologise and the matter has been resolved. Many mistakes were made that day, several of them my own, and I want to sincerely apologise again publicly for how I behaved. My actions were ill-befitting anyone, let alone a princess." She glanced sideways at Sky, meeting and holding his gaze before she continued. "Everyone makes mistakes, and I think what's important is what they do afterwards to make amends. That's what really matters."

Sky mouthed a 'thank you' and Bloom answered with a smile and a wink. She really wanted to finish her address by saying, "So stop bloody talking about us," but thought that might ruin the diplomatic image they'd worked so hard to create for her so she just nodded, murmured another thanks and stepped away.

Again the journalists burst into questions, yelling over each other in attempts to be heard, screaming things like "Will Solaria and Sparx be allies in the future?" and "Princess Bloom! Are you and Prince Sky an item now?" but Bloom followed Stella's clear instructions to ignore them all and allowed them to lead her back inside with Faragonda bringing up the rear.

"Well?" Bloom asked nervously, when they were quiet for a beat too long. "Are they going to rise up and overthrow me before I even get on the throne?"

"You did amazingly," Sky assured her.

"Even with the deviation at the end?" Bloom asked, eyeing Stella who had been suspiciously quiet.

Stella smiled despite herself. "Even with the deviation. You were a natural."


Bloom blinked and she was back sitting across from Rhonwen. She chuckled quietly, "Crazy is right."

Rhonwen tilted her head curiously, looking like she wanted to ask what Bloom had been thinking about, but then her eyes slid to the clock. "Looks like that's all we'll have time for, Bloom. How are you feeling?"

"Not too bad."

"I'm going to offer you a suggestion, Bloom, and it's completely up to you whether you agree or not. But I think it would be very beneficial for you if we followed up with additional sessions during the summer break. We could video chat one a week, once every two weeks, however often you think you need, just to talk about anything that's on your mind."

While Bloom thought on it, Rhonwen busied herself with cleaning the teapot and cups, before vanishing them with a twist of her wrist. She didn't think she particularly needed to continue to talk to Rhonwen but then she thought about the sleepless nights and bad dreams.

"It might not be a bad idea to talk over the summer," she said slowly, and Rhonwen smiled at her encouragingly. "Maybe every two weeks?"

"We can definitely do that. I don't think we would need to talk any more frequently than that, you're coping extraordinarily well considering the circumstances. Do you have a connectix account?"

"Yeah, Tecna set me up with one, and adapted my laptop so I'll be able to access it at home."

Connectix doubled as a search engine and a social media site for the Magical Dimension. Rhonwen explained how to add her as a contact with what was called business level access, which would allow them to private and video message each other but wouldn't allow Rhonwen access to the social media portion of Bloom's account or vice versa. It was the standard way for mind healers to conduct business when distance was an issue, Rhonwen said, before assuring her that the connection allowed for privacy and that they could remove each other once Bloom decided she didn't need to continue with her sessions any longer.

"Will you be coming back next year?" Bloom asked as Rhonwen walked her to the door.

The healer hesitated, considering. "It will depend on how many students wish to partake in ongoing sessions but most likely, yes."

Bloom nodded slowly, before smiling and offering her hand for Rhonwen to shake. "I guess I'll message you to set up a time for our sessions."

"I look forward to hearing from you, Bloom. Enjoy yourself tonight, you deserve it."


"How do you think she's going?" Stella didn't look at the others as she asked the question, choosing instead to stare down at the bottle of mascara in her hands, but it was clear who she was talking about.

"It could be good for her," Tecna said, steadfastly painting her nails with black polish. "I found it very helpful."

"Really?" Musa asked, from where she was methodically tying her hair up into her usual pigtails and taking them out again, trying to decide how she was going to do her hair for that night. "I must have gotten a dud then because my healer was useless."

Tecna opened her mouth to retort, but Flora spoke suddenly before she could. "I hope she gets a good one then. I think she needs it."

Musa abandoned her hair and glanced over where Flora, the only one not getting ready, was curled up on Stella's bed. "What makes you say that, Flo?"

Flora shrugged, an unusually petulant move for her. "I don't think she's sleeping well. I hear her tossing around for hours, and when she does get to sleep it doesn't seem very peaceful, she's been talking in her sleep, calling out for her parents and Daphne."

Stella clucked her tongue sympathetically. "Poor thing. Maybe tonight's just what she needs to distract her."

"Yeah," Flora said quietly. Then, "I don't think I'm going to go."

"What?!" Stella squawked in outrage, and she was across the room in a heartbeat and sitting beside Flora, mindless of her makeup being only half done. Musa and Tecna joined them, all of them looking concerned for their friend, who was avoiding looking at any of them and fiddling with the hem of her top. "What do you mean you're not going?"

Flora sighed and abandoned her hem. "I mean I don't really feel like going. You girls are all going to be hanging out with the guys, Bloom and Sky are making up, Stella, you're practically back with Brandon, and Musa has Riven and Tecna has Timmy."

"I do not have Riven," Musa said, blushing a bright scarlet.

"Timmy and I are just friends."

"Oh you know what I mean. Musa, we all know you have a thing for Riven and have all year, and Tecna you'll be talking computers with Timmy all night. I'll be left on my own with no one to talk to."

"Come on, Flora," Stella said gently, ignoring Musa and Tecna who were still protesting. "We'll all be together, no one will be left out, you know we wouldn't let that happen."

"It's not just that," Flora said miserably. "I don't know what to wear, and- and…"

"And?"

"And I don't want to go out looking like this!" she exploded furiously gesturing to her face. "I look like a freak!"

The other girls sat in silence, partly stunned to hear Flora speak that loud, and partly not knowing what to say. Half of Flora's face was still obscured by a large bandage over the gouges Stormy's nails had left. The healers hadn't known exactly what type of magic had been in Stormy's nails but it had left Flora with a scar that was healing much slower than it should be. They thought it would eventually fade to nothing but estimated it would take much of the summer to do so, and at the moment it was still a bright, ugly red.

"Flora Salgueiro," Stella said fiercely. "You got that scar being a badass bitch defending your school and your friends. And even with it you're beautiful, inside and out. And if anyone has something to say about it, they can come to me."

"And me," Tecna added firmly.

"Don't forget about me."

Flora's visible cheek blushed a faint pink and she mumbled something under her breath.

Stella arched an eyebrow. "What was that?"

"I said 'I still don't have anything to wear'."

"Leave that to me," Stella said firmly, grabbing Flora's hand and hauling her off the bed, dragging her out of the room and into her own.

Half an hour later they all met back in the common area so they could head down to help put the final touches on the quad. Stella, the resident fashion guru, eyed them each in turn scrutinising their appearance before they were deemed ready.

Flora, dressed by Stella herself, was the first to pass inspection in her long, rust coloured skirt, white cropped top that was luminescent against the fairy's brown skin, and sandals. Her makeup was simple and natural, and her dark hair was swept over one shoulder. Tecna was next, getting an approving nod for her full length black denim overalls, white cropped shirt underneath, and shiny, black ankle boots. Stella herself looked gorgeous of course in a short green jumpsuit, patterned with flowers and an off the shoulder neckline and dressed up with nude heels. She'd pulled her hair back in a messy braid and accessorised with golden bangles on both wrists.

But Musa-

"Musa fucking Zhengsheng," Stella all but screamed when she laid eyes on her friend. Musa squirmed uncomfortably tugging her long sleeves over her hands. "Are you in a skirt?"

"Nope, I'm changing," Musa said decisively, spinning on her heel and attempting to escape back into her room.

"You are not," Stella argued, grabbing Musa's hand and spinning her around. "You look amazing."

They'd seen Musa in a dress once before at the start of year dance, but that was knee length and much more modest compared to the short black skirt Musa was wearing tonight. She'd paired it with a long sleeved, cropped maroon shirt, black lace stockings, and her favourite red doc martens. She'd gone for dramatic eye makeup and left her short hair down for once so it framed her face.

She tugged nervously at the hem of her top. "Do I really look alright?"

"Musa, you look beautiful," Flora said, and Tecna nodded vehemently.

"Let's do this, girls," Stella said, satisfied that they all looked amazing and ushering them out of the dorm.


Bloom could have kissed Stella when she got back to the dorm and found that not only had her friend laid out an outfit for her to wear, but that it wasn't too over the top either. Nice blue jeans with rips over the knees, baggy, black cropped jumper, and black sneakers. A note left on top of the clothes read: 'Hair up in a messy ponytail, dramatic eye, and this lipstick' with an arrow indicating a tube of coral-pink lipstick Stella had left for her. Bloom said a quick thank you for best friends, threw the clothes on and her hair up, dashed some dark makeup on, and hurried downstairs, aware that the celebration was going to start soon.

In the entrance hall Bloom came face to face with Diaspro, surprising them both. They gaped at each other for a moment, both looking distinctly un-princess-like.

"Are you coming to the party?" Bloom asked, just for something to say.

"No," Diaspro said with an uncomfortable smile. "I don't think I'd be very welcome."

"Anyone who fought against the Trix is welcome," Bloom said bluntly. "You can sit with us."

Diaspro looked genuinely surprised by Bloom's words but recovered smoothly. "Well, thank you, but it's okay. My mother's been screaming for me to come home all week, where I'm sure a lecture is waiting for me, and honestly getting sweaty and dirty cleaning this place up was preferable. But I can't hide out forever." Diaspro paused, as if considering whether or not to say what was on her mind. "I saw your speech at the press conference; you spoke really well. You're going to make a great ruler one day."

"Thank you. That means a lot."

Diaspro shrugged carelessly, but Bloom thought she saw a faint hint of a blush staining the princess's cheeks before she looked away.

"Yeah well, you're blowing up online, everyone thought you were good. Your connectix account is probably going crazy right now."

Bloom honestly had the time, energy, or interest to check her account recently, but she'd thought she'd heard Musa mention something about all their accounts gaining popularity since Faragonda had credited them by name in her press conference as having fought personally against Icy, Darcy, and Stormy.

"Hey, if you ever want to hang out or talk just send me a message, yeah?"

Diaspro's smile was cordial but not unkind. "I don't really do that sort of thing. But thanks. I'll see you when I see you." She nodded to Bloom politely, and they walked outside together before Diaspro peeled off to meet the ship descending just outside the gates.

Bloom however didn't get very far before she came across Cyrenia, watching the flurry of activity in the quad with a sad sort of smile on her face. Bloom stopped dead, heart freezing in her chest, but before she could figure out if she wanted to say something or sneak in the opposite direction, Cyrenia noticed her, and the fairy put an obvious effort into cheering herself up.

"Bloom, hey," she said, waving her over. "You look nice."

"And you look like you're leaving," Bloom said stupidly, noticing the bags at Cyrenia's feet for the first time.

"Ah yeah, not really up for this, you know?"

"No, of course, I'm so sorry. And I'm so sorry about- if I'd just beaten Icy faster, then maybe-" Bloom rambled still riddled with guilt despite what the healer had said, but Cyrenia cut her off with a shake of her head.

"Don't do that to yourself, Bloom. I don't want that and Ast- she wouldn't want that either. You have nothing to be sorry for."

Bloom didn't agree but she could see how hard this was for Cyrenia so she didn't say anything.

"She would have really loved this, you know?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, she was always up for a party. She's had her dress for prom picked out for weeks." Cyrenia let out a sudden sob and pressed her hand to her mouth, and Bloom, not knowing what else to do, slipped an arm around her shoulder and squeezed her tight. Cyrenia gave her a watery smile in thanks and said, "You've gotta have fun tonight, Bloom. For her, okay?"

Bloom forced herself to smile. "Okay."

"I'd better go, my parents are gonna be here soon. I'll see you around."

"See you, Cyrenia. Good luck with everything."

Cyrenia smiled sadly and waved, before clicking her fingers to levitate her bags so they floated along behind her. Even though a large part of her wanted to go right back upstairs and crawl into bed, Bloom forced herself to forced herself to keep her agreement with Cyrenia and stepped out onto the grass to look for her friends, finding them soon enough helping to levitate some tables into place. While they finished up Bloom found herself talking to Knut, who was dragging a table of his own over.

"What are you going to do next year, Knut? Go back to Cloud Tower?"

The ogre shook his head. "Heading back to my home realm," he grunted. "My brother said he might have some work for me, and I'll get to see my family more."

"That's nice."

Before she could say anything else Hortensia and Priscilla, two fairies who had helped organise the entire thing flew over, coming to a stop on the grass near them.

"Sorry Knut, but could you help with the speakers as well? It's the last thing we need to do and everyone will be down soon."

Knut nodded and walked off with Hortensia so she could show him where the speakers needed to go. Priscilla watched them go, a slightly bemused smile on her face.

"He's been such a help setting up," she confided in Bloom. "Who'd have thought it? An ogre helping out a fairy."

Bloom felt like pointing out that Knut had helped in the battle against the Trix as well but she held her tongue and luckily the arrival of her friends distracted them both.

"Oh, I love your skirt, Flora," Priscilla gasped, and Flora blushed.

"Stella picked it out for me."

"It's gorgeous, you'll have to tell me where you got it. You all just look so good," she added before Flora had a chance to tell her. And then before any of them got the chance to return the compliment the fairy gasped again and sprung into the air. "Speaking of, I have to get ready. I'll see you girls later."

Stella wrinkled her nose at Priscilla's back. "She seems a bit, I don't know-"

"Flighty?" Bloom suggested struggling not to laugh.

Stella snapped her fingers, "That's it."

"Well, well, well," a voice said behind them, and the girls whirled around. "Who are these beautiful looking ladies?"

Brandon winked brazenly at Stella - who looked like she was trying very hard not to smile - as he limped towards them, Sky, Riven, and Timmy behind him. Brandon's leg had been mended by the healers but their magic had been so drained by all the injuries that they'd only been able to mend the actual bone, not take all the pain and stiffness out of it.

"Looking good, princess," he said to Stella, and she shook her head at him.

"Aren't you just charming?"

"You look lovely, girls," Timmy was saying to Flora and Tecna, making them both blush and smile.

Meanwhile Riven was stammering, trying to say something similar to Musa, clearly caught off guard to see her out of her usual style of jeans and baggy jumpers. "You- you look very- I mean, I really like-"

Musa smiled wickedly, dark eyes shining with amusement. "You look good too, Riven."

Riven blushed furiously and scratched the back of his neck. "Uh thanks."

Bloom watched her friends, not realising she was smiling until a quiet voice said in her ear, "It's nice to see you smiling again."

She looked around to look at Sky and quirked an eyebrow. "I didn't realise I'd stopped."

"Yeah," was all Sky said, but Bloom could see the concern in his eyes.

Bloom smiled again, touched by his concern, and realised it felt good to smile. "Aren't you going to tell me how pretty I look?"

Sky's gaze swept over her before snapping back to her face. "You look beautiful," he told her earnestly.

"You don't scrub up too bad yourself."

Sky made a face, picking at the blue button up he had on. "The volunteers from Magix delivered more clothes today so it was a mad scramble to find anything that fit."

Since the guys couldn't get back into their dorms for fresh clothes, and they couldn't live all the time in the uniforms they'd worn into battle, they'd been surviving on clothes donated by the kind people of Magix; with varied results. Timmy and Sky looked like they'd gotten off alright in fairly plain green and blue button ups respectively. But Brandon had been stuck with an ugly mustard yellow shirt with an even uglier pattern on it that Stella looked like she was contemplating burning. And Riven was wearing a very un-Riven-like shirt patterned in alternating blue, yellow, and red stripes that clashed horribly with his maroon hair.

The group headed to claim a table for themselves, chatting about how the guys had just heard that the Council of Magix was pledging funds for a brand new Red Fountain campus to be built over the summer.

"That's so exciting," Stella said. "A shiny new campus for the new school year."

"Yeah, I've heard they're going to be doing major upgrades as well," Brandon said. "A brand new stadium, stables for the dragons."

"And a state of the art garage for all the ships," Timmy said excitedly.

"Speaking of next year," Musa broke in. "I heard Mirta's going to be at Alfea. She's doing an exchange semester."

"That's fun," Flora said, before glancing nervously at Bloom. "Did you hear? The Council of Magix is convening a Justice Conclave."

The group seemed to let out a collective breath at the news and slumped back in their chairs, but Bloom was still in the dark.

"What does that mean?"

Sky turned to her to explain. "Fairies from planet Iudicium have powers of truth, neutrality, and justice, which is why they usually work in jobs that require them to be unbiased. Some of them work in more trivial things like sports referees, in offices to settle workplace disputes, that sort of thing, but the more powerful fairies work in the legal systems. They hear the evidence against the accused, can usually tell when they're being lied to, and because they're completely neutral are usually trusted to decide on a punishment that fits the crime, neither too punitive nor too lenient. If Magix are convening a conclave it means they're not trusting just one justice fairy to decide, but a panel of them." He turned to Flora. "Did you hear who's going to be part of the conclave?"

Flora shook her head. "It was just a rumour I heard. And they didn't mention who would be part of it."

Sky explained to Bloom, "The worst of the worst go before Sibylla herself, that's the Queen of Iudicium. She's very old, very wise, and the way I hear it, kind of terrifying."

"Sibylla won't be there," Stella said decisively. "Last time she was part of a Conclave was for-" she cut herself off with a guilty look at Bloom.

"What?"

"Well, the Ancestral Witches were destroyed along with… Sparx. But they had a handful of high powered lieutenants under their command who were captured by the rest of the Company of Light. The last time Sibylla sat on a Justice Conclave was to decide on their punishment."

"Right," Bloom said quietly, feeling her good mood dimming slightly.

"I thought this was supposed to be a party?" Brandon said suddenly, and the group shook off the dark mood. "Now Bloom, my Earth raised friend, have you ever tasted a drink that makes you feel like there's fireworks in your mouth?"

And just like that Bloom brightened again. "I have not."

"Excellent," Brandon said, seizing one of the jugs off the table and pouring a generous amount into Bloom's cup. The liquid seemed unnaturally blue and glittered like someone had dumped a vial of glitter into it.

"I'm a little scared," she admitted.

"Don't you trust me?" Brandon asked with a wicked smile, but held up a hand when Bloom mirrored his grin. "Don't answer that."

Bloom snickered, and raised the cup to her mouth, drinking a large mouthful. She hadn't known what to expect when Brandon said it tasted like fireworks but that was exactly like it tasted like, like explosions of all different colours and flavours were going off in her mouth. Bloom nodded her head slowly, before carefully putting the cup back down on the table like she thought it might explode.

"Tastes like fireworks."

"Told you. Now this one makes your tongue change colours."


Not too long later, after Brandon had insisted that they all sample the many auto-refilling jugs of drinks on their table, the quiet music drifting from the speakers cut off, and Faragonda took her place on the front steps overlooking the celebration.

"We are gathered here tonight under bittersweet circumstances," she began. "We have come to the end of another outstanding year, but it was a year that was not without its trials, tribulations, and yes, losses. We lost one of our beautiful students just as she was poised to move out into the world and protect it."

A shimmering image of Asteria, smiling toothily at the camera, appeared beside Faragonda and a collective sad sigh passed through the quad.

"We will remember Asteria for her gentle heart, her loud laugh, and her unquenchable desire to do the right thing. It is that desire that took her from us too soon. And it is a desire that has brought you all here to this moment, down this path to become Guardian fairies and Specialists, where one day you too will go out to protect the Magical Dimension. Tonight we remember Asteria, but we also remember what her loss has taught us, about how important it is to live every day to the fullest. Enjoy your night everyone." The crowd clapped politely and Faraonda raised her hand and the music started up again louder.

All over the place fairies were up and pulling heroes out onto the dance floor, laughing and having fun, already healing from the scars of the battle. At their table Riven was telling Bloom about the leva-bike camp Saladin had organised for him to go to, instead of finding a temporary foster home for the summer.

"Hey, maybe next year you can come stay with one of us?" Bloom suggested lightly. "We've got a guest room."

"There's plenty of room at my parent's summer place," Sky put in, and Stella nodded in agreement, thinking of her own palace with it's abundance of rooms.

"I don't have a guest room," Musa said, shy all of a sudden. "But I usually go on tour with whatever band my dad's managing. I'm sure we could find room for you."

Riven smiled, throat oddly tight, and managed a nod. "Thanks guys, it means a lot."

Bloom shrugged it off. "One for all, right?" She looked around the table where all her friends were grinning and nodding.

"Right," they chorused.

"Now," Stella said boldly standing from her seat. "Who's going to dance with me?"

Despite his bad leg, Brandon stood up, grabbed her hand and led her out onto the dance floor.

"Don't think you're getting out of this, Sky," Stella yelled over her shoulder.

Sky chuckled, held up his hands in surrender, and went to join them. Musa grabbed the front of Riven's shirt and despite his protests pulled him along, Tecna and Timmy following. Flora grinned at Bloom across the table and the two girls grabbed hands and went to join their friends.


A while later, flushed and panting, Bloom stumbled over to the well in the middle of the quad, needing a moment to catch her breath after dancing for so long. She sat down on the wide stone rim, and stared up at the stars that shone so much more brightly than they ever did at home. She was only there for a few minutes before Sky joined her, sitting down and offering her a drink.

She squinted into it suspiciously. "What does this one do?"

"Regular soda," he chuckled. "I promise."

"Thanks." She gulped down the cool liquid greedily and shifted her thick ponytail off her sweaty neck. Summer was definitely on the way and she was regretting wearing jeans tonight.

"Are you okay?"

"I just needed some air. Thinking about summer break."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna miss this place. And you… you guys," Bloom chuckled nervously at the slip and took another sip from her cup.

"We'll stay in touch. All of us."

Bloom shifted to lean back on one hand, and in doing so accidentally touched Sky's hand, their fingers overlapping slightly. She stilled for a moment but didn't pull away. "You think so?"

"I know so," Sky said confidently. "And besides, we've still got the rest of tonight."

"Right."

She gazed across the quad, smiling when she realised that Faragonda had managed to convince Musa to sing once again, heart squeezing as her friend's melodic voice started to sing a slow song.

"Oh, I don't know what it is,

But there's something buried

Way down deep inside me

And it feels like magic."

Stella and Brandon had folded together, her arms around his neck, his around her waist, foreheads together and looking deep into each others eyes. Nearby Timmy had an arm thrown around Tecna's shoulders on one side, and Flora's on the other, the three of them swaying together. Riven wasn't dancing, but had gone back to their table, eyes trained on Musa.

"You want to dance?" Bloom asked, turning to Sky.

He looked at her for a long moment, before asking, "Are you sure?"

She knew why he was asking, but she didn't want to think about that tonight, she didn't want to think about anything and just do what her heart was urging her to do.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Come dance with me."

She grabbed his hand and pulled them both out onto the dance floor, slipping her arms around his neck. His settled hesitantly on her waist, and Bloom couldn't help but shiver at the feeling of his fingertips brushing the bare skin where her shirt had ridden up.

"A part of you and a part of me

Close your eyes and you will see

It's not hard to believe."

Bloom sighed as they swayed slowly together, wrapped up in each other's arms, and rested her head against Sky's chest, letting Musa's voice wash over her and thinking that the night couldn't get any more perfect.

"Oh, I don't know what it is

But there's something new

That keeps on going through me.

And it feels like magic

And I've never felt like this."

Bloom didn't know what the future would bring, but she did know that as long as she had her friends around her that it would all be okay.


Far away, on another planet where the ocean was never out of earshot and stretched as far as the eye could see, another princess was attending a party. This princess, with her rich brown skin, and long hair that fell in long tumbling curls down her back, was her parent's eldest, their heir, and the jewel of the kingdom.

A fact that she was well aware of as she stood straight-backed, chin held up proudly and politely bland smile in place, nodding vaguely at whatever her companion was saying, even as she mentally counted down the minutes until she could escape. It was only the knowledge that her parents were watching her like a hawk that kept the princess from slumping, sighing, or shifting, or engaging in any other behaviour ill-befitting a princess.

Speaking of ill-befitting a princess, she had to repress the urge to smirk as she delicately recrossed her ankles and her dress shifted, the slit revealing another strip of skin. Her companion, a prince from somewhere or other, glanced down automatically at the movement before his gaze snapped back up, cheeks pinkening. The princess had thought her mother was going to have a fit when she came down in the dress, midnight blue with a halter neck that not only exposed her muscular arms and shoulders, but also showed skin at her waist and leg, the slit being high enough to border on immodest for a princess. But the approaching summer had already turned the nights too balmy for the conservative gowns her mother had picked out and the princess had purposefully dawdled for long enough that there hadn't been enough time for her to go upstairs and change.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the prince's parents approach her own, blocking their view of her, and granting her the chance she'd been waiting for all night.

"Excuse me," she said suddenly, cutting the prince off mid-sentence, and standing. He leapt to his feet and swept into a low bow but she was already off, sweeping through the crowd, dress swishing around her legs.

Any other night it would be impossible to move through the ballroom this quickly, but enough had gone on in the last week that their gossip sessions were more important than bugging her. Not only had Magix been attacked by three witches, but a fairy had surfaced claiming to be one of the lost princesses from Sparx. Well, some said she was "claiming" to be the princess, but anyone with a brain knew the girl wasn't lying. It only took a single look between her picture and one of the late Queen Miriam to know they were mother and daughter, and besides with the Queen's old friend, Headmistress Faragonda, backing her up, it was a done deal as far as the princess was concerned.

Her parents must have thought the same because they'd been in emergency meetings ever since the news had broken, though what they were saying the princess wouldn't know because she hadn't been considered important or informed enough to attend. But she was willing to guess that her parents, along with every other royal family and leader in the dimension were having meetings to work out what exactly they had to do to get in the young princess's favour. Sparx had been gone almost as long as the princess had been alive and even she knew of it's legendary reputation as a major power player.

So the princess said a quiet thank you to this mysterious fairy who's controversial reappearance meant that for once she wasn't the focus around the palace. Stopping just once to check over her shoulder and make sure her parents were still none the wiser, the princess grinned and slipped out into the dark foyer.

Stooping to undo the straps of her uncomfortable heels, the princess ignored the looks she was receiving from the guards lining the foyer. No doubt they were debating the trouble they would be in if they tried to make her go back inside versus the trouble they'd get in when the king found out they'd let her leave. She winked brazenly at the captain of the guard who was stationed right outside the doors, and the hero heaved a sigh but didn't stop her as she picked up her heels and broke into a run.

Blessedly soon she'd reached the front doors and thrown them open, racing down the front stairs in sure-footed steps. She wasn't sure why her ancestors had insisted on building the reflecting pool into the front courtyard when the ocean was right there, but the princess was glad for it as she splashed into the water, rejoicing at the refreshing feel of it on her skin. She could still hear the gentle music and chatter in the distance but tonight it felt like a world away. The princess knew she was likely getting her dress wet, and that she was in for a severe reprimanding if, when her parents caught her out here, but she couldn't bring herself to care as she spread her arms wide and spun around in the water, face tilted towards the stars and daring to dream about what the coming year might bring her.


Holy fucking shit guys, that's it, the first season is finished.

I just want to thank absolutely everyone who read this, everyone who came back month after month, update after update to read, the people who favourited and followed the fic, and the people who took the time to leave reviews, you're all super stars in my mind and I definitely couldn't have made it this far without you guys.

A little notes about this specific chapter:
- I hope you liked the additions I made, they made sense to me and I know the middle bit might have dragged on a little bit but there wasn't really anything I could have cut out, so I hope you enjoyed it all.
- I mention Sibylla the Major Fairy of Justice, as you might be able to tell she undergo's a complete re-write in my fic, so she's pretty different to how she is in canon s4
- I'll be posting all the pictures I used as inspo for the girl's outfits towards the end so make sure to checkout my tumblr ( gins-potter) if you're interested in seeing them (when i edit the rest of the fic i'll post the inspo for the chapter 3 outfits as well)
- I hope you all liked the little peak at Layla at the end as well, the idea to end the fic with her came to me recently but as soon as it did I couldn't imagine it ending it any other way, i love leaving that tiny little glimpse into the next book for you.

Speaking off, I mentioned this in the last author's note, but I will be taking the next month (possibly two months) off. And by taking them off I will be frantically editing all the mistakes in this book and planning for the next book. Obviously shit happens but I'm hoping to start posting volume 2 possibly around May or June. I know that probably feels a long time away right now, but I do have other multi-chapter fics that are crying out for attention plus I do want to do alot of planning before I start so there aren't as many edits to do at the end next time. If you want to keep up to date with me, or just ask me questions about how I'm progressing please, please, please feel free to drop by my tumblr askbox :D

I think that it's for now? Thanks again so much for coming on this crazy journey with me (almost 300k words and a google doc that's over 600 pages long is pretty crazy in my book lol!). Bye for now and I'll see you very soon.