So look, I LOVE Flora, she's my favorite character, but I've always wondered about the immediate fallout from Flora's death if Bloom gave her the poison in S6E10. This fic didn't exactly go the way I imagined, as we didn't actually get into Flora's death maybe 3/4ths of the way through, but I still really like it. I still haven't decided whether or not I want this story to be a one-shot or a multi-chapter thing, as I have some ideas for later chapters. Let me know what you guys think, one-shot or a few more chapters?
Please enjoy the story, and if you do (or even if you don't), please review. I thrive on reviews. -always101
"There's no time to lose! Go!"
Selina's last words to Bloom weighed heavily on her heart. Here was this young girl, a new fairy discovering her powers, willing to lay down her life to save Flora—a practical stranger, when Bloom couldn't do so in the first place.
A wave of guilt and shame crashed into Bloom as she flew as fast as possible to the greenhouse. Selina, in that moment of bravery, encompassed every quality that Bloom has failed at in the last half hour. The fairy of the Dragon's Flame, the most powerful fairy in the magical dimension, was unable to successfully convince the Winx Club of Selina's authenticity, unable to protect Flora from being poisoned, unable to defeat the plant monsters that arrived in the potion lab, and finally fled from danger, leaving Selina to defend herself against the same undefeatable plant monster.
Blinking away the tears forming in her eyes, Bloom attempted to steel her mind and heart in preparation for the battle she knew was awaiting her in the greenhouse.
As Bloom sped through the hallways of Alfea, she flew low and away from the windows to avoid any other plant monsters that may burst through them. Ignoring most of the shocked cries of the Alfea underclassman, she expertly weaved through them on her way to the greenhouse, the young fairies eventually becoming blurs. However, there was one fairy Bloom could not ignore.
"Young lady!" Griselda screeched as Bloom flew past. "Where do you think you're going in such a rush?!"
Bloom stopped for just a moment a few feet in front of Griselda, turning back to address the Head of Discipline. "The plants at the greenhouse are attacking the Winx, and Flora's been poisoned! I'm bringing the potion to save her and help everyone!"
Griselda visibly paled at the news of the greenhouse plants suddenly attacking the Winx, despite one of them being the guardian fairy of nature. Unable to speak, Griselda simply stared back at Bloom.
Assuming she had permission to leave, Bloom turned back around to fly to the greenhouse, leaving Griselda to deal with the influx of fairies panicking Bloom's information.
As she flew closer to the greenhouse, Bloom thought about her words to Griselda. I'm bringing the potion to save her and help everyone!
Yes. Bloom affirmed to herself. I am going to save everyone.
Sky walked around aimlessly through Alfea, extremely frustrated. The past couple of weeks had a lot of change, change Sky was uncomfortable with. Not only did his traitorous cousin Thoren suddenly decide to become friends with the specialists and somewhat join their group, but he also basically handed Bloom to Diaspro and nearly had her killed in the Vortex of Flames. On top of that mess, Riven was growing more distant and agitated than usual, and Bloom basically ditched him for her childhood friend Selina, whom Bloom never mentioned before today.
That was what bothered him the most. Sky loved Bloom with his whole heart, but she was always a bit gullible, trusting anyone who claimed they were working for good. There was something off about Selina. Childhood friends be damned, and Sky knew he had to protect Bloom from her.
But of course, before Sky could even attempt to talk to Bloom about it, she goes running off to find another clue about a woman she's never met.
One day that trust is going to get her into some serious trouble. I just hope—
"Prince Sky!" Sky's thoughts were interrupted when someone called out to him. He stopped and turned around, but the moment he did he almost wished that he just continued walking.
Selina stood right behind him, a little bit too confident for someone who (a) was addressing a prince, and (b) was allegedly a new fairy (who dressed like a witch) in a foreign land filled with magic that she's never knew existed.
Sky nodded politely, not wanting to waste his breath but also not wanting to seem impolite.
Seeing that she had his attention, Selina continued, "I hope that we haven't started off on the wrong foot before. I am just so new to this."
"No." Sky answered crisply. He still felt a bit off about Selina.
Selina rocked on her heels as she pressed on, "It's just that I haven't seen Bloom in so long, you know? I was looking for my fairy godmother but I find my long-lost best friend! Isn't it incredible?!" Sky could see that the young fairy's eyes were shining when she said this, but something seemed…off. As if the reminiscing about Bloom wasn't…real, as if the joy Selina expressed was all an act.
Sky didn't reply, and simply stared at Selina as he wondered was she was getting on about. As the young fairy continued to speak, Sky had a nagging feeling that she wasn't talking to him, but rather at him, as if to keep him there.
There was something wrong with Selina. Sky couldn't pinpoint it, but he had to tell someone.
"…and so by following my fairy instinct…'
"Actually, Selina…" Sky cut her off, almost enraged by just her presence, "I have to go find Bloom. I'll see you later, perhaps."
"Wait!" Selina caught Sky's arm, just as he was walking away. Sky looked Selina in the eyes as she warned, "You should stay away from Bloom." Unlike before, the alleged fairy's eyes shone with honesty, which seriously disturbed Sky.
Sky tugged his arm free from Selina's grip. "I'll do what I want, thanks." Sky replied coldly. He caught how Selina's face began to contort to a glare at his words. Turning around before she could speak again, Sky started down the hallway.
Stay away from Bloom? Why would I do that?
Sky looked back to see if Selina was still there, to answer his question, but he was surprised to see that she was gone, seemingly disappearing into thin air.
Flora lied helplessly on the floor of the greenhouse, drained of all her energy. Her entire body was betraying her, she could not move her limbs or even attempt to fight and help her friends who were defending her body. Flora could just only barely hear the magical attacks her friends dished out to the plant monsters. Whenever she opened her eyes she could see their Bloomix forms, but everything was becoming increasingly blurry and dark.
Flora knew no tears would come out, but she wanted to sob anyway. How could the plants of this greenhouse attack her and her friends? Roses weren't poisonous, and the plant monsters weren't there when they entered. So, how could this have happened? Since when were the flowers naturally evil?
Why didn't the plants tell her to stay away? Why did they choose to hurt her? What did she do wrong?
No, Flora argued. Nature was inherently good. The plants were healthy, happy—singing even, as she entered the greenhouse. Someone had to have bewitched them at the last minute. But who?
Flora's conflict raged on in her soul as she continued to lie helplessly on the floor of the greenhouse. Scared and fading, all Flora could do was wait and leave it all to her friends to save her.
"What are you guys doing this weekend?" Helia asked the specialists, including Nex and Thoren, as they were hanging around Alfea's courtyard, waiting to rejoin the Winx after they finish their mini-quest. Sky had gone off to sulk, leaving the rest of the men to talk about every topic under the sun.
"I have nothing planned…I'm probably going to train some more, and go out with Stella or something." Brandon responded. Timmy and Thoren nodded in agreement, partly because it was the truth, partly because they were too bored by the sudden question to add anything meaningful.
"Why are you asking?" Nex answered Helia's question, ever resistant to answering questions.
Helia's lips suddenly turned upwards into a sly smile, as he looked out towards the group. "It's Flora's and I's anniversary this weekend, and I'd like to do something special—"
"And let me guess" Nex interrupted, "You'd like for us to be involved?" Before Helia could respond with a quip of his own, Brandon silently reached over and hit Nex over his head.
"Ow!" The Paladin explained, rubbing the sore spot on the top of his head. Opening his mouth to yell out, he was promptly interrupted by the other Paladin.
"You deserved that." Thoren said. They had only just joined the group and he was already dealing with Sky's hostility, there was no need to anger the literal pacifist. "Go 'head Helia."
"Thanks," Helia said drily. "Anyway… I wanted to do something special for our anniversary. We have been dating for a while and I think it's time that we…get married."
Helia paused as he waited for the reactions from the specialists—his best friends. As he stared at Brandon and Timmy processing the news, he figured that he should continue with his proposition. "So, after I propose this Saturday, do you guys wanna bring your girls and we can all go out to dinner? It's a Lynphean tradition to enjoy meals with friends after a proposal."
As the pacifist stood waiting for the men to respond, he began to wonder if he somehow broke his friends, and Nex and Thoren. Luckily, Brandon was the first to respond, by getting up and sprinting towards Helia, enveloping him in a hug.
"You're proposing? That's awesome!"
Brandon's positive reaction seemed to break Timmy out of his spell, as he also walked towards Helia to give him a hug. Nex and Thoren gave their congratulations from a distance.
"Oh my dragon, you're going to be a married man dude!"
Helia couldn't stop grinning as Timmy and Brandon piled on the celebrations.
Yes, he was going to marry his Flora. The woman who he met as a teen, who's beauty, kindness, grace, and bravery convinced him to drop art school and return to Red Fountain and become a hero, literally in less than a day. The woman who taught him that there were some things worth fighting for. The woman who enhanced his appreciation for nature. Flora was absolutely perfect. The woman he loved more than words can say, than numbers can count, than melodies can play. Helia would move heaven and earth to make Flora happy. She didn't have to anything to make him happy, only to say yes when he popped the question.
Not that Helia doubted she would say yes. He knew she would, he knew that she was as dedicated to him as he were her. He knew that they both imagined the same future together, filled with love, kids, and success.
As Helia celebrated and imagined the future he and Flora would share, he felt a sharp pang of pain right in his heart. As if it were in the process of suddenly getting ripped away from his chest.
"You okay man?" Timmy asked at Helia's sudden change in behavior. He grew worried at how Helia increasingly became paler.
"Yeah. Just excited. I'm fine"
But deep, deep down, Helia knew he wasn't fine.
"…They want to rule over all the schools in the magic dimension."
Despite being deeply disturbed by the pointless, yet somehow pointed conversation Selina attempted to have with him, Sky found himself being pulled into another conversation as he passed by an open door. Realizing he was at the infirmary, the young prince stepped in before he could stop himself, intruding on the conversation.
There he found Griffin, lying weakly on the bed, with Faragonda and Palladium standing over her, clearly concerned. "Don't worry Griffin, we'll put an end to it" Faragonda promised.
Before Sky stop himself, he said, "Headmistress Faragonda, have you seen the Winx?" It was completely inappropriate to interrupt the headmaster's conversation in the middle of it, Sky knew, but for some reason, he felt that everything occurring with Griffin and Selina were all somehow connected. At Faragonda's prodding, Sky continued, "It's Bloom's old friend Selina, I have a really bad feeling about her."
Griffin, despite her obvious weakness, struggled to get up in bed to face the group. "Selina?" The witch questioned. "She must be stopped…Selina is working for the Trix!"
The room fell into a tense silence as everyone took in Griffin's words. Sky stood in place, almost frozen in shock. If Selina is working for the Trix, and Selina was in Alfea…that must mean Bloom is in danger.
Suddenly the conversation Sky had with Selina made much more sense. Selina wasn't making small talk. She wanted to distract him away from Bloom! On top of that, Bloom was in danger at the moment, which is why Selina wanted him to stay away from her!
Sky suddenly felt that his legs were on fire as the prince realized he needed to find Bloom. But that couldn't happen when he didn't know where she was!
As if on cue, Griselda suddenly burst into the infirmary. "Faragonda!" The fairy called out, in a far cry from her usual collected demeanor, "The Winx are in danger, Flora has been poisoned, but I believe Bloom has an antidote! They're in the Secret Greenhouse!
"What?" Faragaonda gasped, "How could they even know where that is?"
"Forget that!" Sky ordered, though not missing the relieved look on Palladium's face. "Where is the greenhouse?"
"I know, follow me Sky!" Palladium stated. With that, the two men burst out of the infirmary sprinting towards the greenhouse.
Please be okay, Please be okay, Please be okay Sky prayed.
Helia was slightly embarrassed by the undivided attention Brandon and Timmy were giving him at his announcement of the proposal, so he was slightly relieved when he, as well as Brandon, Timmy, and the paladins received a text from Sky. However, when actually read the contents of said text message, he felt his blood run cold.
SOS. Winx trouble. Flo' pxn. SOS. SKy also sent them a live GPS of his coordinates, so they could all see where he was headed on each of their phones.
As Helia stared down at the text message on his phone, he felt an insurmountable amount of rage well up within him. Who dared to poison his fiancé?
Helia turned and sprinted towards Sky's coordinates, as he had no idea Alfea even had a greenhouse, nevermind where it was. Flora never mentioned one. Brandon's and Timmy's cries for Helia to wait for them fell on death's ears, he figured they could catch up as he went to save Flora.
Expertly running through the halls of Alfea, Helia successfully weaved in between the Alfea underclassman, who for the second time in as many hours found themselves clueless to the danger that caused fairies and specialists alike to run like madmen.
Ignoring the panicked cries of the fairies, Helia felt his panic rising as he continued to sprint. Turning a corner, Helia suddenly stopped, as he ran into a fairy who made his heart leap for joy.
"Flora!"
"Um, no?"
Helia took a step back and used the moment to stare at the young fairy who rejected him a moment before. He then realized that the young fairy was in fact, not Flora. She was obviously some sort of plant fairy, dressed in florals, but her skin was light and her hair was blonde. However, her eyes were green like Flora's, though not as full of life.
The adrenaline rising in him once more, Helia continued down the hall, yelling out a "Sorry!" to the young fairy as an afterthought.
Helia cursed the amount of time he spent with not-Flora, despite the interaction lasting for less than 10 seconds. The more time he spent away from her, the farther the poison could spread, the sicker she could get, even…
Oh my Dragon! She could be dead! The thought seized through Helia's entire body, making his muscles tense. Pushing through the pain, and the thought out of his mind, Helia's resolve to find Flora gave his legs enough energy to carry his body towards her.
When Helia found Flora, he swore that he would save her. He would save her and find whoever hurt her and rip their throat. The pacifist felt his mind go dark as he continued to imagine his plot for revenge once he saved Flora. No one gets to hurt his precious fiancé. No one.
Lost in his thoughts, the pacifist-turned-hypothetical-murderer barely noticed he caught up to Sky and Palladium, until he realized he heard Sky question Palladium about something he couldn't find the energy to care about.
"Are we close?" Helia growled, taking the two men in front of him by surprise, as they never heard Helia sound so aggravated. Palladium merely nodded in confirmation, looking forward to guide the men.
Sky took a moment to turn back and look towards Helia, and the sight nearly made him look sick. Helia had fire in his eyes, clearly desperate to get to Flora. Helia also looked unnaturally pale, as if he could topple over at any moment. Sky looked ahead, knowing he couldn't judge Helia's appearance at the moment, knowing if Bloom was poisoned or hurt (again) he would probably look similar, if not worse.
The men sped through the seemingly endless halls of Alfea with Palladium at the lead, until they entered a classroom that looked like it was ransacked by burglars.
"Oh dear Magix! What happened to my lab?" Palladium cried out. Most of the potions and equipment were thrown against the wall, as if an explosion occurred, and coming from the window there was a huge plant stalk that poured into the laboratory, leaving shattered glass everywhere in its wake.
"Are we here? Where's Flora!?" Helia demanded. Sky was also very interested in knowing the answer to those questions.
"No." Palladium answered, but continued when met by the deadly glares of Sky and Helia, "This is—was my potion lab. I am here to pick a general antidote that should be able to cure Flora. I have a direct teleporting pad from here to the greenhouse so we will be there momentarily."
"Griselda said Bloom already has an antidote!" Sky cried out, anxious by the wasted time.
"I doubt that. All of my antidotes are locked up. Whatever she took, it wasn't the right one."
Sky looked over to Helia, who was currently silent, but obviously fuming at Palladium's words of Flora potentially receiving the wrong antidote.
Anxious to not waste any time, Sky offered, "Can I go right now? Maybe Bloom needs my help." Helia quickly nodded, agreeing with the prince's plan.
"No. You don't know how to use the transportation spell and I will not have you lost when Alfea is under attack!" Palladium may be scrawny, but he could strike fear when he wanted to.
The elf left the two men fuming as he went—a bit too slowly in Helia's and Sky's opinion—to search for the antidote.
Helia stared at the ground as he nearly cried in frustration. His dear Flora, was somewhere in pain and suffering, and he couldn't be there to help her. Flora was probably asking for him, but he wasn't there. She was hurt again and he wasn't there. He couldn't protect her. The Winx Club drags her into all of these impossible situations and stand by as she gets hurt time after time. Of course, they would always help her, but she shouldn't be getting hurt this much in the first place. She was strong, but she was fragile. One day the Winx Club would break her, and they would be unable to pick up the pieces.
Stomping his foot on the ground, Helia let out a deafening, heartbreaking roar, releasing all of his built-up frustrations.
Sky and Palladium snapped their heads at Helia's sudden cry, but let him be, understanding that he had to let it all out.
Sky especially understood the pressure Helia was under. After the countless times, Bloom was hurt or targeted because of her powers, one would assume that he would be used to it, but the truth was that every time Bloom was hurt it weighed more heavily on Sky's heart—especially because Bloom seemed to find danger and run towards it, not the danger finding her. Bloom easily could let other people, people training their whole lives for combat fighting to attack enemies, but no, she and her pack of friends always had to be the ones to do so.
Sky shook his head at his feelings. No. It wasn't Bloom's fault that she was the keeper of Dragon Flame. Nothing's her fault.
Sky looked over to Helia, who seemed to be getting over his temporary breakdown and looked absolutely exhausted, yet still enraged. Ah yes, Sky felt that plenty of times. Taking a step towards Helia, the prince tried to build up the courage to talk to one of his best friends, which felt strange. Usually, Helia would be the one dishing out advice, being the most mature of the specialists, but this time, Helia was the one who needed all the support he could get.
"Hey." Sky felt lame at his opener, but for the life of him couldn't find a better way to start.
"Hey."
"Helia…Flora will be okay. She's really strong."
Helia suddenly felt his frustrations build up all over again at Sky's weak attempt of comforting him. "She wouldn't have to be so strong if she didn't keep on getting dragged into these situations by Bloom and the rest of them!"
Stunned into silence by Helia's outburst, Sky pondered Helia's words for a moment. Deep down, Sky knew that Helia was right. The Winx were consistently getting injured due to blindly following Bloom's lead into battle, as they were desperate to defend their friend against danger. The girls were all blinded by Blooms's pseudo-altruisitc nature. Bloom constantly said that she wanted to face enemies alone, to reduce the number of casualties, but she had to know that she always needed the help of her friends. She had to know the only way to get that help was by manipulating them.
By manipulating him.
Sky took a deep breath as he forced the thoughts out of his head. No. Bloom was a good person, she was just naive. He hoped to dragon she was just that naive.
Sky felt his blood begin to boil, as once again in a matter of minutes he had an internal conflict about his beliefs in Bloom's integrity. Sky would usually never question Bloom, however, her actions the past couple of months have been questionable at best, and Sky didn't know what to think of his girlfriend anymore. He didn't know what to think. What kind of man doesn't know what to think about his woman?! What man allows his woman to get insulted!
Just like Helia, Sky's frustrations reached a boiling point, he didn't know what to think, he only knew of what he was expected to say. "Don't bring Bloom into this! If Flora could defend herself better then she wouldn't need all of us to keep on saving her every time she gets hurt!"
Sky regretted the words the moment they came out. What just came over him? That wasn't what he really meant, he just wanted to defend Bloom. He saw Flora as a little sister of his, of course he'd do everything to protect her. Unfortunately, Sky's anger got the best of him, so instead of immediately apologizing like he felt that he should do, Sky stood tall and proud, making eye contact with Helia's cobalt eyes, ready for the next attack from his friend.
And based on the absolutely murderous face Helia held, the pacifist was ready to throw it back. "Just like you defended yourself against those terrorists Sky?"
Sky physically recoiled at the mention of childhood nightmares. He told Helia that story in confidence, and here the man was throwing it back into his face. What happened to their friendship in the last few mintues? "You little bas—"
"Oh MAGIX!"
The two arguing men stopped momentarily to face Palladium. In his hands, were two vials. One blue, the purple with a skull on it, obviously a poison.
"What's wrong?!" Helia demanded, immediately transferring his anger from Sky to Palladium.
"This vial of poison is the only one missing its fluid. I believe Bloom may have taken this one to give to Flora!"
"Are you sure? Why would she do that?" Sky questioned, "That's obviously poison!"
"I don't know"
Now justified by Palladium's words, Helia's rage at Bloom increased tenfold. However, he pushed that down to satisfy his primary goal. "Palladium" Helia said as his voice strained under his rage, "Do you have the correct antidote for Flora?"
"Yes, but only for the first poison. If Flora ingests the one from this vial, she most likely will not survive."
"What are we waiting for?! Let's go!"
With that, Helia and Sky followed Palladium to the transport pad. As Palladium recited the transport spell, Helia glared at Sky, while the prince could only grimly stare back. Sky longed to apologize to Helia right at that moment, but Helia obviously had greater concerns on his mind, an apology wouldn't mean much right now.
Sky would help Helia save Flora. Then, he would apologize to him, and have a long talk with Bloom.
Helia felt a wave of relief wash over him while the pulling force transported them to the greenhouse. Finally, he would be close to Flora, he'd be able to save her.
Bursting through the entrance of the greenhouse, Bloom was shocked at the sight before her. Stella, Tecna, Musa and Aisha, had not made any progress against the plant monsters. They were truly powerful foes.
"We can't keep this up much longer!" Aisha cried out.
"We've got to until Bloom comes back!"
Flying up so the girls could see her, Bloom shouted, "I'm here! Selina and I found the antidote!"
She could hardly keep her smile back as the rest of the Winx Club loudly whooped their praises. "Just in time! We'll keep these guys busy so you can help Flora!" Musa informed Bloom.
Bloom proudly watched for a moment as the Winx Club banded together and converged their magic to hold back the plant monsters. Pulling herself together, Bloom flew over the plant monsters and landed next to Flora.
"Flora! Here, drink some of this." Bloom prodded as she began to pour the antidote down Flora's throat.
"Thank you Bloom" Flora replied weakly. Bloom smiled slightly as Flora began to drink the antidote. Of course, she thought. Bloom would do anything to help her friends. She would go through heaven or hell to protect anyone of them. That's why when Flora recovered, Bloom would go back and find and protect Selina. That's just the kind of person she was.
Bloom was pulled out of her thoughts as Flora coughed violently against the drink. Raising the bottle slightly so Flora could drink more, Bloom soothed the nature fairy against her objections. "The antidote may sting a bit, but it will make you feel better, keep drinking Flora."
If Flora drank more, then she'd be saved, then Bloom could help defeat the plant monsters, then go save Selina. I am going to save everyone. So she continued to make Flora drink.
Flora knew something was wrong as Bloom forced the "antidote" down Flora's throat. It had a bitter, nasty taste, and the drink burned as it slid down Flora's throat, as if it were acidic. The more Flora drank, the worse she felt. A deep headache formed. Her body was like she was on fire. Every nerve ending began to cry out in pain. Flora felt as if she couldn't even take a breath as she struggled against Bloom.
Bloom…her best friend. Why was she doing this? How could she do this to her? Was Bloom the one who poisoned her in the first place, then used another one disguised as an antidote to finish her off? Just minutes ago she and Bloom were best friends, Bloom was just encouraging her to become the greenhouse caretaker! What happened?
Were the Winx a part of this? Was all of this just an elaborate plan to get rid of Flora? Why did they have to kill her, in a greenhouse of all places? What did she do wrong? What did she do to offend them? Why couldn't have let her live?
A deep pain in Flora's heart ached, not from the "antidote" she was being fed, but from the betrayal. Flora realized the Winx were never her friends. She knew that they have always viewed her as the weakest fairy, always getting hurt or injured. She knew that she held the group back. She's always hated that aspect about herself, but she never realized that the Winx hated her so violently too that they sooner kill her than simply talk to her about it.
Flora reminisced on the good days she had with the Winx, even though she now realized those memories were useless. Defeating the Trix, Darkar, Valtor, The Wizards of the Black Circle, every villain the Winx Club defeated they did so together, and now that Flora was the villain in their eyes, the Winx Club was working together to defeat her.
Did they love her as she had? Or was all of that fake? Did anyone love her or was it all fake? Where was—
"Flora!"
Helia. He was here. Flora used the remaining strength she had to turn away from Bloom and her soon-to-be blood-stained fingers and towards Helia, who was currently running at full speed towards Flora , somehow expertly avoiding the plant monsters.
Even from so far away, Flora could see the love Helia held for her, as he quickly ran to reach her. Helia was yelling something, maybe at her, maybe at Bloom or someone else, but Flora knew he was crying out for her benefit.
Helia was the first person to ever choose Flora. She was born to her parents, and she always knew they were disappointed she wasn't a boy. She was assigned to the Winx Club dorm, and somewhat became their friends (if she could say that now), by default. But Helia only ever chose her. He chose to save her from that monster that almost ate her during Year 2. He chose to kiss her before they marched off to Darkar's lair. He chose to be her boyfriend, he chose to continue loving her, and he chose to save her every time he did. He was not tied by obligation, but by love.
Tears welled up in Flora's eyes as the darkness began to overtake her. In life, and even in death, Helia was the one to ever truly love her. And she loved him more than he could imagine.
Goodbye Helia. I will always love you.
Sky stepped off the transportation pad, not expecting the horrific sight before him. There was Bloom, his typically beautiful, intelligent, powerful girlfriend, crouching next to Flora, giving her the poison.
Time seemed to slow down for Sky while it only sped up for Helia, who sprinted impossibly fast off the transportation pad, to stop that dumbass fairy from killing his fiancé.
"Flora!" Helia shouted, somehow hoping Flora would wake up to the sound of his voice. He could see, even from the far distance that Flora trained her eyes towards him, though they were dilated and unfocused, but she was still alive at least.
"Bloom! STOP!" Helia roared as she somehow continued to deliver the poison to Flora, despite clearly seeing Helia in a state of panic. Expertly (and somehow impossibly) weaving through the plant monsters and Winx's attacks, Helia continued to call out to Bloom who somehow remained clueless to the gravity of the situation. Even the Winx, flying up 10 feet in the air, could hear the tension in Helia's voice, although they were unsure as to why.
Helia finally reached a distance away from Bloom where his laser bracelet would be effective and accurate. Taking aim, he shot a laser towards the potion bottle, knocking it out of Bloom's hand, shattering on the ground near her.
"What's going on?" Bloom asked, confused by Helia's actions.
As Helia approached Bloom, he had half a mind to dropkick Bloom right out of the greenhouse, however, he saw that Flora was pale, and coughing violently. Shoving Bloom out of the way Helia cradled Flora in his arms, crying silently.
"Flora please!" Helia begged the nature fairy while as gasped for air. "Please I love you. Please stay with me!"
"Helia what do you mean? I gave Flora the antidote—"
"You gave her a poison Bloom! She's choking in front of you! How stupid could you be!?"
"But I—" Bloom stammered, clearly in shock. "No! Selina gave me that potion." Bloom couldn't believe what Helia had just told her. Flora was coughing and choking because of a side effect of the antidote. She'd be fine. Selina said she'd be fine!
Palladium finally arrived, slowed down by the attacks from the plant monsters. "It's true Bloom, I'm afraid you were tricked by your friend. Selina is a witch and gave you a poison."
Bloom stepped back as she recoiled in horror by what she had done. Again, for the umpteenth time today, she screwed everything up. Too shocked to even remain in fairy form, Bloom transformed back to her civilian wear, watching as tears fell down her face as Helia and Palladium attended to Flora.
"Sky! Call for an ambulance to Magix General Hospital!" Palladium suddenly ordered.
Sky, who was still standing on the transportation pad, suddenly broke out of his spell and dialed 911. He and Bloom locked eyes for a moment, then Sky looked away, finding himself unable to even look at Bloom. He realized he was also unable to look at Flora. Staring awkwardly at the Winx, who continued to battle the plant monster, Sky spoke to the emergency services operator, begging them to come as soon as possible to Alfea's greenhouse.
Helia held his breath as Flora continued to cough and choke under his hold. Palladium gave her the original antidote moments before, but he stated that it would mostly be ineffective, that her best chance of survival would be at a hospital.
"Baby…please…" Helia begged, willing any force of the universe to heal her. However, any prayers Helia had immediately went unanswered. Helia could only stare in horror as Flora suddenly began to violently convulse and seize in his arms. Once regarded by her as "the safest place in the dimension" Helia felt terribly ill at the notion that she may die, right in that same place.
"Help. Help!" Helia's voice suddenly became hoarse at Flora's condition. He was scared beyond what he imagined possible. That fear froze his entire body up, as he could only stare at Flora, her body dying before him.
Palladium looked with pity at the poor couple. Calling emergency services was simply for liability purposes, and to somewhat comfort Helia. Flora had advanced to the critical stage of the poison takeover. She actually survived for a considerable amount of time after the ingestion, a testament to her power and soul. However, once she—
Flora coughed up a considerable amount of blood all over Helia's uniform, much to his panic. The young man looked over to Palladium, his eyes begging for the elf to provide some sort of miracle for his girlfriend. When Palladium made no such effort, Helia turned back to Flora, cradling the young fairy in his arms.
Once she began coughing up blood, the end was near.
Helia finally seemed to understand the reality of the situation. Savoring his final moments with Flora, Helia pulled her body, though no longer convulsing, but taking shallow breaths, as blood continued to ooze from her mouth. Resting his forehead on hers, Helia recalled all of the memories from their beautiful relationship, whispering her favorite poems in her ear.
Giving the couple their last moments alone, Palladium slowly walked to where Bloom was positioned, seeing the young fairy sitting in a fetal position on the ground. Large tears fell from her face, she held a look of utter defeat. Seeming nothing like the most powerful fairy in the magical dimension, and more like a girl, Palladium felt a terrible sense of pity wash over him.
Bloom was completely destroyed.
"Hey! Can anyone care to help us out up here?" Stella shrieked from up above. Bloom, Sky and Palladium stared above and suddenly realized that the remaining members of the Winx Club were still fighting the plant monsters.
Thankfully, Timmy, Brandon, Nex, and Thoren arrived to the greenhouse moments after Stella's request. Quickly leaping into the action, they all began working on taking down the plant monsters, unable to process the dreadful scene to the side of them.
Sky looked away from the battle. Too exhausted to even consider participating, his eyes fell over Flora and Helia, before quickly looking away. He didn't even attempt to look at Bloom.
His feet fell from under him as Sky collapsed onto the ground. His mind was completely blank, unable to process the situation before him. Flora was dying. Sweet, sweet Flora, who couldn't even hurt a fly, was dying in the arms of her boyfriend, murdered by—
No. Sky decided that he could not allow those dark thoughts to take over his mind. He would have to stay strong. Bloom would be in a lot of pain, and he needed to support her. Despite his extreme disappointment in her actions, Sky knew he had to be there for her, it was his duty.
But did he want to? Did he want to protect Bloom from the fallout of her own actions, again? The question was too difficult to process, and Sky wished he could muster up the energy to stand up and run away from the greenhouse, from Alfea, from Magix, from even Eraklyon and find his way to a simple planet, where he could live his life free from responsibility.
But that wasn't his destiny. He wasn't a boy, he was a man, a man bound by responsibilities. He was bound to Eraklyon, bound to Red Fountain, and bound to Bloom, it was his duty to protect all of them, freedom be damned.
Right?
Exhausted once again, Sky settled for staring at the ground, unable to face anyone.
Bloom held Sky's opposite position. As she stared up to the battle, her mind was running at 1,000 miles a minute.
Selina…her childhood friend, had betrayed her. When Bloom first saw her, she was overjoyed. Now her friend-family would be complete, with Selina joining the Winx Club, and Bloom being a mentor. Selina would learn directly from Bloom, becoming a very powerful fairy. Side by side, they would be able to conquer anything.
But dreams are not reality. Instead of Bloom mentoring Selina, the witch manipulated Bloom into poisoning Flora. Bloom trusted Selina too quickly, and now she…
No, Flora was suffering the consequences. The kind, beautiful nature fairy lay dying all because of Bloom. Never in a million years would Bloom even scratch Flora, never mind kill her. Flora was the embodiment of love. Flora loved her friends, her family, Helia, and nature endlessly. Flora even loved strangers, always ready to give the clothes off of her back to help someone else. Flora never deserved for this to happen.
An epiphany struck Bloom, almost violently. It's all my fault. Realization dawned onto Bloom as she thought back to the encounters that caused people to get hurt because of her. Tecna being sucked into the Omega Dimension, Nabu dying, Sky nearly dying, Daphne losing her body, Sparks falling apart, everything bad that occurred to her loved ones was due to her, or people after her powers.
Bloom was weak. She was the most powerful fairy in the Magic Dimension, but she was very weak. No matter how hard she worked, every few months there would be a new villain after her power, after her, and they wouldn't stop until they reached her, or killed everyone else trying.
Two people dying on her hands was more than enough. Bloom had to protect her family and to protect them, she had to leave. She couldn't stay and watch as Stella, Layla, Musa, Tecna, Roxy, and Sky all sacrificed their lives for her.
Finding the resolve to stand up, Bloom bid a final goodbye to her friends, and to Sky. No one noticed as she exited through the back entrance of the greenhouse, all of them too focused on their own battles. That was exactly how she wanted it. The cleaner the break, the easier it would be on everyone. Bloom could not provide an ounce of more pain to those she cared about.
Bloom left Alfea, once the place she called home, to escape to the one place where she wouldn't be able to hurt anyone.
Helia ran Flora's hair through his fingers, brushing the flyaway strands away from her face. Her breathing was decreasing, the blood pouring endlessly from her mouth. However, Helia thanked the stars, she looked peaceful, as if she weren't in any more pain. Helia stared onto Flora's face, taking in her features, as he knew this would be the last time he saw her. No matter the situation, Helia always thought Flora looked stunning, and she forever would be.
Cradled in his arms, Helia continued to whisper his poems to Flora. She loved Helia's poetry, always begging Helia to recite them to her as she fell asleep. Helia wrote poems for any occasion, and Flora kept all of them, treasuring them in her jewelry box beside her bed, but he knew she preferred when he recited them.
Flora's breathing eased, and Helia regretfully knew he had a limited amount of time. He would kill to have another five minutes with Flora, but he couldn't waste the time he had now. He had time to recite one last poem.
"Flora. Sweet fae of mine
Ever I wish to remain yours, until the end of time
Two bodies, one soul, one heart, one mind,
I cannot imagine my life, any other way,
Flora, will you wed me someday?"
At the conclusion of his poem, Helia used a bit of his magic to summon the engagement ring he selected. The stone, a large cushion-cut emerald, sat on two intertwined bands shaped like vines, with various diamonds sprinkled in between.
Placing the ring on Flora's finger, Helia placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, bidding her his final goodbye. "I will see you soon, my love. Wait for me, please. I love you so much."
Flora's body finally relaxed as she sighed her final breath in his arms, surrounded by his endless love.
A moment later, a bright, green light emerged from the center of Flora's body. Helia stared at it for a moment, unable to comprehend the magic occurring before him. There was a gentle wind emerging from the light, yet a familiar warmth radiated from it.
"Helia." the light whispered.
Helia's mouth momentarily went dry as he stared at the light, "Flora…"
"Yes, I will marry you. Thank you for loving me."
Eyes shining with hope, Helia opened his mouth, but before he could speak again, the light exploded, the rings of magic pulsing throughout the greenhouse.
At the first pulse of magic, the plant monsters finally collapsed, ending the battle. Cheers escaped the mouths of the remaining Winx Club members and the men, unaware of the source of the final blow. However, the cheers quickly vanished as the continuing pulses continued to destroy the remaining plants of the greenhouse. The Secret Greenhouse of Alfea, a source of beautiful and exotic plants from various dimensions, a source of joy for nature fairies and plant lovers alike, slowly died. All the color and life drained from the greenhouse as every plant wilted, fell over, and died. Before long, the greenhouse was much more reminiscent of a cemetery.
Everyone remained in place, all in shock at the sudden turn of events. The first to break out of his state, Helia looked down to Flora's body. She was now cold, a young woman frozen in time, never able to wed, have children, grow old, and become successful. A sweet, joyous woman, shattered by the reality of the world.
The cries of his fellow specialists and the Winx Club, as they realized Flora's demise, sounded distant to Helia as the weight of the world came crashing into him.
Letting out a pained, ongoing cry, Helia clutched Flora tightly as he sobbed. The pain he was experiencing was nothing like he felt before. His heart was completely broken, the pieces scattering away from him and dying with Flora. His heart would never be the same, not after the death of his precious Flora.
Everyone surrounded Helia and Flora in mourning, wailing into the air. The Winx Club was now broken, unable to ever be pieced together again.
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