Flora could only stare in shock as Valtor stood in front of her, as if he weren't destroyed by Bloom over a year ago. He looked as healthy as could be, not even a strand of hair out of place.

Pleased by her shock, Valtor chuckled, " So I presume you're surprised to see me?"

"What...what are you doing here?" Flora squeaked out. She swallowed the thick lump that formed in her throat. "I thought that Bloom destroyed you."

"The Dragon Fire can never be destroyed. Weakened...sure, but never extinguished… and to answer your first question, I am here to gather all the magical artifacts of the universe and become the most powerful wizard in the Magical Dimension."

"So...you're the one who took my powers?"

Valtor lightly chuckled at the fairy's assumption. "I wouldn't collect your powers even if it meant saving my life. You are much too weak for me, fairy."

As Valtor took a few steps forward, Flora lost all of her resolve to stand up to the wizard, choosing to cower behind the tree.

"Look at you," he continued, "The Guardian fairy of Nature, hiding behind a tree that won't even protect you." With a wave of his hand, the tree Flora hid behind suddenly disappeared, leaving her hideously exposed.

Flora waved her hand and shot out a blast of magic, striking Valtor directly at his chest. Unfortunately, the attack did absolutely nothing to him, not even slowing the man down as he advanced towards her.

"You're nothing. You're weak and insecure. Everyone you know is with you out of obligation. Your family, your friends, your boyfriend...no one loves you, you deserve to be alone from now until the day you die!"

Valtor stopped in his tracks for a moment as he looked up to something beyond Flora. Following his line of sight, Flora turned to see what—or who, rather—he was looking at as he snarled, "Isn't that right… Helia."

Helia stepped out of the shadows at the mention of his name. He looked the same, but his eyes held a darkness that Flora had never seen before. Sick to her stomach, Flora couldn't help herself as she physically recoiled back towards Valtor's direction.

"Exactly." Helia snarled. "I could never love someone so weak, so pitiful, so useless as her."

"You...you don't love me?" Flora never thought that Helia could hurt her so much, but there he was, standing over her, spewing out words that broke Flora's heart into a thousand pieces.

Helia looked down to directly address Flora, "I only tolerated you because the sex was great, but I've never respected you." At Flora's lack of an answer, Helia continued, "The most basic spells Flora, the most basic of enemies you are unable to defeat! Everyone has to hold your hand because you can't do anything! Do you know how embarrassing that is? Why couldn't you stop the humans from destroying the forest on your own? Why couldn't you break out of Diana's vines? Why couldn't you save Nabu? Because you're the weakest fairy I have ever met!"

At Helia's rant, Flora could only hang her head in shame. Although every word stung, Flora knew deep down inside that he was right. She was weak. Flora had never defeated an enemy on her own, she was always assisted by the Winx. She knew that she was the weakest member, and the group constantly slowed down to help her whenever she was knocked down.

Every so often, Flora would have dreams about the success of her friends if she never became a part of The Winx. Would they have defeated Valtor earlier? The Trix? Would they have prevented The Wizards of the Black Circle from killing Nabu?

Nabu's death rocked Flora to the core. She believed that her magic wouldn't be able to help him, but she didn't try either, a fact that has haunted her for months. Did she not help him because she knew it wouldn't work, or because she thought it wouldn't work. She didn't know which option was worse: to be so weak at one's own natural magic, or to be insecure about it?

"...I've always hated you."

Flora gasped as, Helia, the love of her life, admitted that he never loved her, that he in fact, hated her. The confession broke Flora in a way that she never knew existed. She felt as if every ounce of joy was violently ripped away from her body. If Helia didn't love her...who would? She never deserved love anyway. A weak, insecure, terrible fairy like her never deserved to exist in the first place. She was a waste of air, a waste of space, a waste of magic. Whatever happened to her at this moment, she would accept.

"Young lady...Do you remember the magic of the cave dwellers from the Underrealm?"

All too well. Not even bothering to defend herself, she sat still as once again, as darkness began to consume her.

"She didn't even put up a fight, there was nothing to be afraid of."

Flora wasn't sure who said that, but for some reason, just as the spell fully covered her, instead of fear, she felt a sense of acceptance take over.

Flora spent her entire life revolted by darkness, by the dangers it hid, the secrets it held, the lives it took. Yet here she was, comfortably sitting in a dark spell meant to destroy her mind.

The darkness this time was different. It was not grotesquely penetrating, like Valtor's, or terrifying, like Neruman's, but instead warm, and intimate. Like she was a baby floating in her mother's womb, understanding nothing of her existence, but comforted anyway. On top of that, Flora still had all of her senses, even sight. Somehow, Flora felt that she could see through the darkness, she could see through all of the secrets and lies, through the danger, through 'Valtor's' and Neruman's spells, through everything, to find the very core of darkness.

There was...nothing.

Flora couldn't hold back her uncontrollable laugh as she stared ahead. All of her life she was afraid of...nothing? That in its essence, darkness was...nothing? What was she always afraid of?

She was afraid of nothing. Well, actually she was afraid of what she didn't know . She was afraid of the darkness, because she never understood it, she never knew what to expect. Darkness itself was not inherently evil, but instead a product of those who wield it, and those who experienced it. When Flora accepted the darkness taking her over, she instantly negated the negative effects the magic may have inflicted on her.

She was afraid of her friend's acceptance because she could never really know if it was true. She was afraid of Helia's love faltering, because she never knew if he really meant it. She was afraid of herself, because she didn't know if she deserved the power that nature granted her. She learned to fear uncertainty.

Flora thought back to all of the battles she was involved in. She was never weak, she just never knew how to attack, for fear she may actually end up accidentally killing someone, or letting people down. She was, in fact, insecure, but that was because she never knew what people really thought about her.

But as she stood in the truth of the darkness, Flora understood the reality. While she could never know for sure what others thought about her, she could trust in their actions, their words. When Helia said he loved her, she would believe him. She would believe in her friends when they supported her.

Most importantly, she would believe in herself. She would believe in her power, in the fact that she can make a difference.

Flora felt her Believix magic build up as she found the sudden strength to stand up. "I'm not afraid of you!" Flora roared against the darkness, "I am more powerful than you!"

With a flash of light that emerged from the fairy, the darkness shattered, the spell broke. Flora flew up into the air, fully expecting a battle with 'Valtor' and 'Helia', but instead found two shadow monsters in their place. Throwing two spells towards them, the shadow monsters quickly disintegrated as the forest began to collapse around her. Unafraid, Flora remained in place midair as Neruman's spell broke, awaiting for her real body to wake up and battle the real enemy and save her friends.

She was ready, she was no longer afraid.

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