Chapter 39

Xavier

Amaryl hated shifts in the kitchen, with her very heart, since her first year. Cooking industrial quantities of food with the fussy tyrant that was chef Sfoglia wasn't her ideal of fun. Moreover, her apartment was only composed of three people: Amaryl, Yomi and Mirta the spineless, who at least was a good cook and thus worked for three. Usually, Amaryl was ok with it, indeed, she blatantly took advantage of it, but that evening she would rather be alone in the kitchen: she couldn't just pour Valtor's filter in the tea!

After some days of thinking, she came to the conclusion that mixing the filter to some beverage was the best way to get it to the victims, and since her kitchen shift was due the following week she waited, hoping that the waiting wouldn't irritate Valtor. Meanwhile, she carefully observed the Trix and the Winx, trying to memorize their eating habits. She noticed that some of them always had tea for breakfast and decided to act consequently. But with her roommates around she could do nothing, she needed a distraction…

Her eyes wandered over the room, and an evil smirk appeared on her face when she saw the canteen's door. Not saying a word, she casted a spell that broke a shelf. Everything that was on it obviously fell down, making a lot of noise.

- What was that? A mouse? - Yomi asked, her eyes wide open.

She almost broke a plate for the scare.

- It can't be a mouse, there should be an army of mice to make all that noise. Maybe one of the fairy animals sneaked in there. - Mirta replied, leaving the plates she was arranging to check it out.

Amaryl took advantage of their distraction to take the bottle and pouring its content into two carafes and enchanted them so that they would appear on the Trix's table the following morning.

- What a mess! A shelf broke! - Mirta said.

- Sfoglia is gonna be so mad. - Yomi complained.

- Oh, you're a crybaby. It's not our fault if this school falls to pieces, is it? We tell him the shelf broke and that's it! - Amaryl said, totally unsincere.

- If you're so brave, you can go tell him! - snapped Yomi.

- Sure, I will. - Amaryl replied leaving the kitchen to look for the chef, smiling satisfied as soon as the other two couldn't see her anymore.

The following morning

Bloom poured tea in her cup, like every morning, and like every morning she passed the carafe to Stella.

- I'll never understand how you work all morning with tea. I'd fall asleep on the desk. - Musa said.

- Are you a coffee addict too? - Rebecca asked her.

The fairy of music nodded and gave her a high five. A little further, Ioanna grimaced.

- Peach tea tastes funny this morning. - she said.

- Let me try it. - said Giunia, who chose the same.

- Yes, it's different than the usual. Maybe Sfoglia used a different brand. -

- Or it expired. - Ioanna replied.

- You're such an optimist, keep it up. - Cassandra said rolling her eyes.

- Optimist my ass, I'm sick. That stuff isn't good. -

- Ioa I think you're right, I'm not feeling well either. And I was doing great until now. - Giunia said.

- Shall we go to the infirmary? - asked the water fairy.

The other one nodded, but as soon as they got up, they fell to the floor with a loud thud.

Icy turned in the direction of the noise. She saw them and jumped up, they weren't too far, but she only took a few steps before falling herself. The world lost its contours, then it became opaque, as if she was underwater, then dark.

"What a weird dream… bad too. I hope it isn't a premonition. Let's wake up and find out" Icy thought, lazily opening her eyes. Why did so many people surround her? They seemed worried, and their voices too. And what about that thing in front of her nose? Wait… that was a nose! Icy tried to get up, but her muscles responded in a strange way, they weren't fully hers, they moved without an order or coordination, and it took her three attempts to sit up. She turned her head, discovering a small thin body covered in white fur. "What the hell?" she thought. She tried to ask what happened, but her mouth only let out wails, and she closed it hastily.

- Roxy, she's awake too. - Aisha called.

The fairy of animals reached her and casted a spell on her.

- You can speak now. How do you feel? - she asked.

- I... don't know. What happened? -

- We have no idea. - Tecna replied, - Suddenly you fainted, your bodies glowed, and when the light vanished you were like this. -

- Like what? - Icy asked again impatiently.

- You turned into a fox cub, Icy. -

"A fox!"

- Who else? -

This time she could barely hear her voice, but because of the shock.

- Bloom, Stella, Giunia and Ioanna. -

- Nobody else? -

- No, only you. -

- It makes no sense. -

- If there's criteria in this I don't understand it. - said sadly the fairy of technology.

- Fairy dust doesn't work again, does it? - Icy said after a short pause.

Tecna shook her head. She was teary. In that moment Darcy and Dafne arrived. Turning to look at them, Icy finally recognized the infirmary.

- We're leaving in a while. - Darcy announced.

- Where are we going? - Icy asked.

Not knowing anything and having to make all those questions made her nervous, so much so that she moved her tail unintentionally.

- To Xavier. - Dafne answered, - This spell comes from the Mystérion for sure, but in the notes we have there's no mention of it. -

- We can't wait for him to accept our request to meet him, we need his help now. You can't stay like this. - Darcy said.

- Where are the others? -

- Here. - answered a voice from the closer bed.

Tecna and Roxy moved away, letting Icy see a duckling with brown eyes and a gray wolf, both awake. On another bed a red dragon was sleeping, while a fawn with very light fur was just opening its eyes. Using a chair as a footstep, the little wolf moved closer.

- How long until I can move normally? - asked Icy.

- It depends on you. You must get used to this form. - answered the wolf, who Icy identified as Giunia. She snorted.

- Then it's gonna take a while, I have no intention of getting used to it. –

- Don't complain, at least your body is proportionated. - replied Stella, who Roxy had just gifted with words, - These legs are worse than stilts! How do you walk with these? - she continued, trying clumsily to get up.

By her side, the little dragon alias Bloom woke up as well. Roxy repeated her spell and explained her the situation.

- ... and the shuttle is coming. - she concluded.

- There's no time to lose. - said Bloom, trying to get up only to tumble in her own wings.

They were much bigger than her body and got in her way with every movement. Frustrated, she sent out a low growl that caught her off guard.

- Use your tail to balance your weight. - Roxy suggested, and this time Bloom managed to get up for a little while.

Meanwhile Icy tried to communicate telepathically with Lzzy. It was hard, very hard, apparently that form inhibited her powers, but she succeeded at last. Lzzy sounded surprised. "Sis, it's super early. How come you call me like this?"

"It's hard to text you when you have paws instead of hands."

"Wait, what?"

"I have no idea how this happened but I turned into a fox. Other girls turned into animals as well, and I feel like Valtor may know something about this."

"Damn! Do you want me to come? Can I help?"

"No, not now at least. We'll go to Xavier, and I want you to be safe."

"Okay. Keep me updated."

"I'll try. Using telepathy is damn hard, and I don't have my powers."

She didn't tell her that she was having a hard time even controlling her own body. That wasn't her body.

"Then I'll reach out."

"Mhmh. Be careful."

"You too."

Feeling really tired, Icy ended the conversation. Bloom had conquered balance, although precarious, and even Stella was getting better. "I have no intention to be picked up by someone. Like it or not, I have to learn to move around." Icy thought. With a little effort, she managed to get confident enough by the time the shuttle arrived.

While the Owl landed in the courtyard, Dafne said:

- I wish I could come with you, but I can't leave the other students. Roxy, the principal authorizes you to participate in the mission. -

The girl nodded.

- Aisha, Rebecca and Musa will stay here, you'll contact them in case of necessity. - Dafne continued.

They silently walked down the stairs, each one of them absorbed in their thoughts. Before they reached the door, Dafne said:

- One more thing: the Specialists team that will escort you isn't Sky's, I thought it wasn't ideal, but they're just as qualified. -

Bloom was about to say something, but then shook her head. It was better that way, things didn't change with Sky and for sure that situation wouldn't make it better.

Much to her surprise, she recognized the Specialist waiting for them by the catwalk. "Walter?" she thought, happy to see him. He wouldn't give problems with Stormy, and not with Darcy for sure.

- Hello, ladies. Welcome on board. - he invited them.

Ioanna couldn't get on due to her new body, so Francesca picked her up.

Three more boys were sitting on the ship. One of them, brown hair and a triangular beard on his chin, introduced himself and his companions.

- Nice to meet you ladies. These are Takeshi, - a boy with black hair and dark eyes greeted them friendly, even though they could tell he was a bit insecure, - and Misha. -

A boy with short white hair raised his hand to greet them, not really paying attention.

-As for me, I'm Vanir, and I have a very eventful memory of my first year in Redfountain. -

Vanir laughed seeing the uncomfortable faces of the two Trix girls.

- Oh, don't worry, it's alright. Although a certain hurricane almost sucked me up, I followed the trial and… well, I don't think I could do better in your place. You had no choice. -

He giggled again at the puzzled expressions of the whole group (it was strange to hear that) while the door closed and the passengers took their seats.

Icy, Bloom, Giunia and Stella sat close, between the wall, Darcy and Flora, so that they wouldn't roll around with every movement of the shuttle. Ioanna preferred to stay on Francesca's lap.

Darcy tried to control herself, but her eyes often landed on Walter and her heart beat harder in her chest, like in that shop in Magix City. The thoughts she had ignored for days came back to her mind, asking her what she felt for him and why she felt such a strong desire to protect him. She wasn't sure she had fallen for him, she was almost afraid of recognizing her feelings as love: she didn't know how to handle it, it was something too delicate and impulsive, uncontrollable even for her, the queen of manipulation. Love burned, she had seen it with Icy, and earlier her crush on Valtor had left a light burn on her. Riven, he counted for nothing: she had been acting almost all the time, and crushes that die out soon don't really hurt. Was that what scared her, being hurt? Yes, it was, but she was also scared to hurt Walter. Not all loves are bound to a happy ending, some are nothing but a series of obstacles to go through, until an obstacle too high to go through comes, and life ends. She felt that times weren't yet right, she had too many uncertainties, and with that excuse she ended her thoughts, waiting to dissipate her doubts.

§§

- Well, professor Xavier doesn't seem to be outgoing. - Cassandra said, observing the track that run up the side of the mountain.

At its end was Xavier's villa, isolated from the city and even from the main streets. The ship couldn't get up there, there wouldn't be enough space to land, so they landed as close as possible and walked the remaining distance. The Specialists would wait on the ship, keeping it ready to take off again.

- Maybe he needs tranquility for his experiments. – said Tecna, - Don't forget that he works with magical objects that can be dangerous or have violent reactions. -

- Let's go. - said Flora walking up, followed by the others.

The track run through the trees, that formed a suggestive hallway. The leaves were mostly green, but many verted to red or gold, and some already spotted the soil. Trees, blocked for years in an eternal spring, had no difficulty to adapt to fall.

The villa had no fence and it looked ancient, despite the antennas on the roof. The lower part was covered in stone, while the rest was light colored wood. The roof was made in stone as well. From the first floor two little towers rose up, making the house look like a small castle.

The group got to the door, and Flora was about to ring the bell when a voice stopped her.

- I wouldn't do that if I were you, prof gets mad when people ring the bell. -

A tall girl in her twenties, brown curled hair that reached her shoulders and dark green eyes, walked towards them at a quick pace, leaving the bench she was sitting on. A bush hid the bench, thus they couldn't see her earlier. The girl wore black leather pants and a violet t-shirt.

- He gets mad when people he doesn't know come over too, so give me a good reason to let you in, or else you're wasting your time. - she continued.

- We're Alfea students, - said Flora, - and we need professor Xavier's help to break a curse. -

The girl, who was staring thoughtfully at Stormy, frowned.

- What kind of curse? -

- The kind that turns girls into animals and isn't easily broken. - said Ioanna.

The girl stood surprised for a moment and understood why the strangers came along with so many different animals.

- Ok, this is bad. - she told herself, opening the door. While she turned the key she said: - Oh, by the way I'm Andrea. You may say I'm one of the prof's experiments. -

- What does it mean? - asked Cassandra.

- He decided he wants to study the peculiarities of a fairy's evolutions. I need a place to live in while studying, and at the same time I want to grow my powers, so in a way I'm his lab mouse. - Andrea answered, leading them in a long corridor full of pictures and mirrors.

When she walked in front of two rectangular mirrors hung in front of each other, she bent down and told the others to do the same.

- It's a safety device, it paralyzes you if you walk in front of it. I forgot it was active. -

Andrea lead the girls to Xavier's study. The door was closed, so the girl knocked and said:

- Prof, some girls asked to see you. You should talk to them. –

- Let them in. - replied a low voice.

A thin man, elegantly dressed, sat behind the desk, reading an old book. By the book was a precious-looking scepter. The professor looked up at his guests. His hooked nose stood upon a white mustache that joined the beard, as white as the hair, but his hard, blue eyes clearly declared that thinking he was weak and tired was a big mistake.

- The reason why you let in the fire-breathing thing as well? - asked the professor as soon as he saw Bloom.

- She's victim of a curse, professor, she isn't a real dragon. - explained Roxy, - She's our friend, and we don't know what spell it is or how to undo it. -

- We know this spell comes from the Mystérion and that you studied it deeply, so we hoped you could help us. - Tecna said.

The professor listened to both girls, but when he heard the name of the Mystérion he jumped up, dragging the chair on the moquette, and walked to the girls.

- How did they transform? I assume the others are humans too… yes, I can see it from their eyes. - he said, examining critically the "animals".

- We don't know that either. - Cassandra said, - One moment they're fine and the moment after they fell down glowing, then… -

- How long? -

- Three hours or something like that. - answered Darcy.

- You better be sure of the time, because you only have forty-eight hours to undo the spell. Then it'll become permanent. -

- What?! - exclaimed Stella and Icy.

Xavier moved a hand as to say "don't worry, it's nothing".

- You're only at the first phase, you have nothing to worry about right now. After six hours from the spell you will transform again, getting more or less the form of adults. After two days you will be fully grown. -

- How do we avoid that? - asked Stormy, impatiently.

Xavier was about to answer, when...

- Stormy? -

The witch of storms turned to the room's door, where a tall, thin boy looked at her as if she was a ghost, his sea green eyes widened.

- I was right then! She is... - Andrea exclaimed.

- My sister. –