Vortex of Flames
Sky catches Bloom as she falls, then hears her whisper in his mind.
Dias…pro…is here…
That gets him even more worried, but not as much as he is about what is going on with Bloom right this instant. Daphne kneels beside Bloom, and he asks "Daphne, what's wrong with her?"
She focuses for a minute, then says "It's the Dragon Flame, she doesn't have enough of it." All the rest of the Winx make guilty noises, but Daphne says "It's okay, nobody could have known. And Bloom would refuse if you offered to give them back."
Bloom suddenly moans, and says "Some…thing's….coming…run…"
When Sky picks her up to take her to her room, giant, lion-like creatures come out of the hallway - they're dark blue, have manes almost as red as Ogron's hair, and they don't look like they eat grass.
Duman and Roxy finally get why Bloom doesn't care for the royal life - they all start screaming and get into a panic immediately, Bloom would throw her knife into one of them at once and jump onto it's back.
The rest of the Winx transform, and now Duman knows what Daphne was talking about with Bloom's Dragon Fire - she gave most of it to her friends, leaving herself a sixth of her normal amount. No wonder she can hardly talk.
Daphne yells "They're Fire Eaters! Sky, don't let them near Bloom! According to their legend, they'll…they're called 'Fire Eaters' for a reason."
Sky glares at the massive things, and the Winx all blast them to the ground - they just get back up like it was nothing. Daphne mutters "Looks like their legendary endurance is every bit as real as they are."
Stella sarcastically says "I'm going to take a bet and say they're Selina and the Trix's coronation present for you."
"I'm gonna have to send back anything that tries to kill my people - or my sister." She shoots another blast at one, but it swallows the attack like it was nothing.
Sky gets blocked by another of the Fire Eaters - they seem to think Bloom is like candy to them or something - but Thoren knocks it to the side with his hammer. Sky nods in thanks, and they keep moving - only to get blocked by none other than Diaspro - this is just about the last thing Sky can deal with right now, and she's certainly not something Bloom can currently handle. "Get out of our way, Diaspro. I'm not in the mood for any of your games."
"The monsters took over the whole northern wing of the palace. The Vortex of Flames is the only place where we can restore Bloom's powers."
Thoren looks at Sky, and asks "You buying this, Sky?"
"Not for a single instant. You'd never help Bloom, Diaspro. Chances are you're working with the Trix, just like the Millennium party. Now, either get out of our way, or I swear I'll-!" Another Fire Eater comes out of nowhere, and Sky barely has time to shield Bloom with his own body.
They're both knocked to the ground, and Diaspro blasts the monster - then pretends it was so very hard, like the shallow, spoiled girl she is. "Get Bloom and leave Sky here, the Fire Eaters should ignore him if he isn't holding Bloom."
Thoren nods, and throws Bloom over his shoulder to be able to use his hammer. When the Fire Eater gets up off the ground, Diaspro traps it in a giant crystal - seems that wasn't too much work when shooting a few crystal pieces at it was.
When Sky wakes up, he's being shaken awake by the shoulder - by Roxy and her dance partner. "Ugggnnhh, what happened?"
"You tell us! We just found you out cold here!"
Sky doesn't have to think hard, it all comes rushing back to him. "Diaspro took Bloom to the Vortex!"
Roxy looks at the guy Sky doesn't recognize - which can only mean he's Duman, as he's met nearly every royal that was at the party - and asks "What is that?"
"Diaspro says it will restore Bloom's powers. So either she's lying and it'll kill her, or there's a catch that'll kill her." Sky runs back to the great hall, and comes back maybe a minute later with Daphne - who's Sirenix transformation is identical to Bloom's but with a different color scheme.
"Historically, the Vortex of Flames was a place to test the Dragon Flame. But after so long without being used, it's power has grown out of control. In her current state, Bloom can't handle it - it'll kill her!"
Sky angrily mutters "I knew it. Diaspro, you freaking-"
Roxy says "Get Bloom back first, colorfully curse Diaspro out later."
They follow Daphne deep into the palace, and get in earshot of the right place just in time to hear "Now, just place Bloom in the Vortex. The rest will take care of itself."
Another voice asks "In there? Are you sure?"
"She's the fairy of the Dragon Flame. Therefore, fire is good for her. It's not that hard to figure out."
Duman snickers and says "If she only knew."
Roxy mutters "I've seen Ember breathe a stream of fire onto Bloom, she just absorbed it like Stella does sunlight."
Daphne yells "Thoren, don't!"
Sky adds "Don't listen to her, Thoren!"
Thoren glares at Diaspro, and yells "You are one twisted girl!"
"Oh, please. This is me on a good day." She blasts Thoren and knocks him to the ground, and levitates Bloom over the fire pit - none of which gets even a twitch out of her.
Duman could transform and tear the girl to pieces, except that would break the only thing keeping Bloom from falling to what would likely be her death - and then he realizes the heat coming out of that thing is enough to cook something in an instant, and the shimmering in the air has vanished above Bloom.
He nudges Roxy in the ribs and mentally says She really is an idiot, she's holding Bloom in so much heat she'd be on an overload in any other circumstances.
Roxy nearly snickers at that, but nobody else seems to notice the fact that Bloom's fingers start twitching.
Sky yells "Diaspro, don't you dare!"
She scoffs "Give it up, Sky. Your too good for her! She's just a half-animal freak who happened to be born into a responsibility she doesn't deserve or care about!"
Everybody shares a look at that, Diaspro's really grasping at straws here if she thinks Bloom doesn't care about her responsibilities. She was on that two-year-long obsessive search for the curse that was put on Daphne so the elder princess could have her life back, she became part-dragon to better protect the Dragon Flame - and Diaspro's just a spoiled brat who cares more about getting Sky to be with her than the consequences of what she does, she's got no right to say anything.
One look at Sky says he's furious beyond the telling of it, but before anyone can react Diaspro's hit with a blast of magic from the side and slammed into a wall - orange magic, looks like Diaspro used up all her time. The magic holding up a now-conscious Bloom ends, and she falls into the Vortex - until Sky and Daphne catch her hand.
Bloom looks up gratefully, saying 'Thanks for keeping her talking, guys. Seriously, who holds the Fairy of the Dragon Flame over a giant firepit?!"
Daphne starts laughing, and then she starts crying, and Sky says "Let's get you out of there."
Roxy kneels next to them, and says "Bloom, you have excellent timing. Um, how much of her rant did you hear?"
"The heat woke me up, I heard more than enough. And yes, I know it's baking in here - which is why I'm awake." She suddenly looks down and sees the fire spiraling up, and her breath catches in her throat - she knows fire is dangerous, but it's also rather beautiful at times as well.
The five-headed dragon that's formed from the fire, not so much.
She suddenly says "Guys, you take care of the Fire Eaters."
Thoren says "She's not kidding guys, look!" They're surrounded!
Roxy nervously says "Bloom, now would be a great time to come up with one of your plans."
Duman mutters "No kidding."
Bloom bites her lip, and says "Hold them off, I'll be right back." and pushes away from the wall - and out of Sky and Daphne's hands. Sky screams her name, Daphne flies down after her - and gets thrown back by a wave of magic once Bloom hits the magical fires.
She gets thrown back so hard she hits a Fire Eater and sends it through the wall. Thoren goes to her side and helps her up, asking "You alright?"
"The test has started, and it's Bloom's test to pass or fail. Either she beats that thing down there, or she dies." Daphne glares at Diaspro, looking like she wants to set the girl on fire herself, but blasts at the nearest Fire Eater.
Duman nervously says "I've seen Bloom fight and all, but…"
Roxy finishes "But a five-headed dragon that's designed to test the Dragon Flame and who's power has grown uncontrollable is a bit much even for her?"
"Yeah, that about sums it up."
In the Vortex of Flames, Bloom's having an apparent staring contest - or glaring contest, in this case - with the five-headed dragon.
It's just another dragon, nothing you can't handle.
The thing's tail suddenly lashes out, knocking her to the side. "Alright then, my turn. Dragon of Domino!" She manifests the Dragon Flame into a corporeal dragon and sends it at the opposing one - and then runs along the wall, and jumps on the thing's back and ties it's heads together. "Come on, you giant, scaly, overgrown lizard! Let's see what you can do!"
It lets out a roar of anger and pain when she binds all its heads together with a rope made of fire, and then even more when she cuts off one head with her sword and stabs another with her knife.
Her own dragon is doing a lot of damage on its own, and Bloom gets an idea - when it tries to shake her off, she takes her sword and knife and lets it. She lands at the bottom of the Vortex, where the source of all the fire is, and plunges her sword and knife into them along with her hands. She fashions an expanding rope from the fires, and throws it at the middle head - sure enough, it ties the thing's jaws shut.
She then grabs her weapons and jumps onto her dragon's back, and charges straight for the dragon. It explodes in a burst of fiery magic, carrying her up to the top of the giant pit to the others.
Roxy winces and her face falls when they all hear the roar coming up from the bottom of the pit - it could mean anything, and Bloom is nowhere near her full strength…
Daphne says "Everybody get in a huddle!"
They do, charging up spells and getting their weapons ready - until a familiar and oh so very welcome knife comes soaring through the air and hits the nearest Fire Eater in the head. It gets consumed by the fire from the knife, and everybody looks over in the direction of the spell that gets shouted.
Bloom's floating there, in the same kind of transformation as the rest of the Winx and looking very happy about the fact.
Daphne and Roxy fly up and hug her, which she returns so hard Roxy starts desperately hitting her back as a sign of 'loosen up!'
When they land, Sky immediately gives Bloom a crushing hug of his own, and says "Bloom, do me a favor and never, ever scare me like that again."
Duman suddenly laughs so hard he has to hold his sides, and yells "You are the freaking luckiest, most danger-prone fairy I've ever met!"
Bloom smirks, crosses her arms, and says "No arguments there."
Diaspro moans, and only just now wakes up from the blow Bloom gave her. "Ow…what in the hell?" She's staring at Bloom in horror, shock, and no small amount of fear.
Bloom says "Looks like you finally said something true, Diaspro. The Vortex of Flames did restore my powers, fire is good for me. Congratulations, too bad you had to try to commit murder of a princess to achieve that." Diaspro just falls sideways in a dead faint, and Daphne quickly casts a spell to bind her in chains.
Roxy looks over at Bloom's knife, and asks "What happened? Your knife is silver-orange, but now it looks almost white!"
"I might have put my knife and sword in the fires of the Vortex, had them absorb the power of it. Diaspro really is an idiot."
She doesn't mention the tiny little detail of her dress, Stella's going to go ballistic about it though. She got clawed at, attacked, and rode a five-headed dragon - and it was not at all appreciative of the last one, trying to bite her and roast her and all.
AN: Yeah, Bloom handled the test with ease - like subduing a dragon is anything new to her. Or having an attempt on her life, after so many years of fighting people. And yeah, I thought I'd give her weapons a boost as well, seeing as she uses them so much. But seriously, who the heck holds the girl who can absorb heat over a massive pit full of fire if your trying to kill her? I know they said the Vortex of Flames would be too much for her, but seriously? They should have taken her to Omega or something - somewhere cold! Throwing her into a pit of the element that she draws strength from? Not the smartest move. On any of their parts. Especially since the Vortex of Flames had the only power that could stop the Fire Eaters. Anyway, enjoy! Comment, review, suggest myths and such, tell your friends about the story, anything you want to do! More updates coming soon, just have a lot to do at the moment. And, I'm sorry to say, as Crown Princess Daphne can't stay single - one part of ruling your kingdom is having an heir to the kingdom because your not going to live forever. It's the reason why I made Sky and Thoren so far apart in family - because SKy's cousin marrying his fiancé's sister was kind of weird. As for being overprotective, got that covered. Promise. Daphne might not have gotten a massive power-boost because the Vortex tests the Dragon Flame and it was already started - nobody messes with the test kind of thing - but she does draw from it and is viably the second-most powerful person in the universe from that, or was now that all the Winx have powers from the Dragon Flame. It's why Bloom was searching through ancient and powerful curses to find what turned out to be the Sirenix Curse.