Honestly, this chapter would have come out sooner if the website would stop auto-saving and interrupting my sentences.
Palladium's Lesson - 10th October
Palladium strolled up and down his desk seemingly oblivious that his students were far more preoccupied messing about with their phones and makeup. Amaryl and another student decided to test his nescience by playing paper ball badminton although this was the wrong move as the books they were using as racquets were yanked from their hands and dropped onto his desk.
"Is my lesson boring you?" Palladium inquires sitting on his desk as he flips through Amaryl's notebook and, lo and behold, no notes in today's lecture. He closes the book while shaking his head. "You do know there will be an exam on this? I don't plan to go over this again so you better hope that your classmates will lend you their notes."
"Sorry Professor." The girls got up from their seats to get back their notebooks.
Palladium ran a hand through his hair, mourning the vibrant strands that have now gone grey. He pulls a bulky padlock out of the drawer and placed it on his desk.
"This exercise consists of opening this padlock using only magic. The key to an effective technical charm is proper pronunciation. For this instance, this incantation is pronounced 'Expedia Khatenai'. Please remember it," Palladium requests as he waves his wand which corpealises a giant leaf made of energy. "Bloom, give it a try," Palladium suggests.
"Alright. Expedia Khatenai." The padlock unlocks itself easily.
"Excellent. Now see what happens when I switch one letter. Expedia Khatenas."
A green light engulfs Palladium and he is surrounded by a litter of cats which didn't bother them in the slightest. "See what I mean," Palladium comments leaning against his desk while twirling his wand. The girls titter at the scene, it was the right blend between ridiculous and adorable.
By chance Aisha caught a glimpse of Flora doodling Helia's name in her notebook rather than pay attention. If she continues like this then Palladium will catch her. Sure enough, said teacher is starting to keep an eye out on his students and while Flora was well behaved even Palladium will notice the lovestruck look on her face. And he did.
Aisha calls Flora's name in a hushed tone numerous times while the elf marches towards her desk. "Flora, are you paying attention?" Palladium's question snaps Flora from her romantic dream wedding.
"Huh? Oh yes, professor." Flora stands up from her desk.
"All right then please recite the spell," Palladium requests.
"Oh, uh, Exgarra Khatenai."
The cats grow in size knocking Palladium to the ground and inciting another round of laughter from her classmates. There was a knock at the door and before Palladium could present himself in an appropriate manner, the door swings open.
"Oh, Professor Avalon," Palladium stammers as he struggles to compose himself.
"Are you alright?" Avalon inquires eyes glimmering with worry as he offers a hand to help Palladium up.
Palladium accepts the hand and brushes the dust and cat hair from his clothes when he's upright. A light blush dusting his cheeks as he coughs into his fist. "I apologise for my unsightly appearance, I was just... never mind. Is there anything you needed?"
"Yes. It appears I muddled some of my papers with yours. Might I get them back?" Avalon requests.
"Of course," Palladium responds already opening the other drawer on his desk. He hands a stack of papers to Avalon who flips through them before taking the top few.
"Thank you. You are exemplary," Avalon compliments.
"Ah, no, you're too kind," Palladium stutters as he fights the rise of heat in his cheeks.
"Nonsense, I believe that you don't give yourself enough credit." Avalon takes Palladium's hand and places a tender kiss on the back before winking at the elf whose face was as red as a tomato. "I'll see you later."
Avalon leaves the room and not even a second later did a wedding march come on much to the amusements of the girls who once again burst out laughing for the umpteenth time today.
"Stop that!" Palladium demands mortified. He scans the class to see which one of them is responsible but the phones in view all had black screens. "Okay, that's it! Pop quiz!"
Potions Room
A man rummages through the shelves seizing different ingredients before dumping them into a cauldron. The green liquid solidifies into numerous spheres which phase through the wall intending to find their targets.
With the Winx
"I can't believe Professor Palladium would give us a pop quiz but not actually have the papers," Bloom giggles as did the others. Having finished their last class for today, the Winx stroll down the hall as they decide what to do next.
"Especially considering there were only 15 minutes of class left," Flora adds.
"I don't see what the problem was. If a hottie like Avalon kissed my hand then I'd be bragging till my mouth falls off," Stella remarks.
"Don't get our hopes up, Stella," Musa retorts.
"Anyway," Flora interjects, walking in between the two, "what should we do now that class is over?"
"I say we all get tans," Stella suggests excitedly.
"But sun tanning is bad for your skin," Musa responds.
"Oh, who cares? A tan looks awesome," Stella huffs.
"But I'm working on my healing powers," Bloom reminds.
"I was going to call Tecna," Musa informs before she and Bloom leave the group after a quick goodbye.
"You guys are so boring," Stella whines slumped over before asking Flora if she wanted to do anything with her.
"Actually, I have something to do," Flora apologises before walking off in the direction of the infirmary. Dejected that no one wanted to spend time with her, Stella decides an online date with Brandon would be just the thing to liven her spirit.
Flora spots Aisha with Knut buying a milkshake from his cart so she jogs to the two. "Aisha, can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure," Aisha replies. Flora smiles before buying her own drink from Knut and the two girls move to an area where it is more secluded.
"So let me guess this is about Helia?" Aisha guesses sipping on her milkshake.
"Yes. How did you know it was about him?" Flora inquires nibbling on her straw. "I was just gonna ask if you could help me."
"I saw you write his name in your notebook."
"I so wish I could talk to him," Flora sighs leaning on the wall beside Aisha.
"Well, why don't you? There's no reason why a girl can't tell a boy she likes him," Aisha proposes.
"What if he doesn't feel the same about me?" Flora chews on her bottom lip while scuffing the ground with her sandals.
"You won't know unless you say," Aisha counters.
"Yeah, but I was hoping that you would find out for me," Flora solicits.
"Flora, how am I suppose to do that?" Aisha inquires incredulously.
"I don't know, maybe Chatta can lend you a hand, she always knows everyone's secrets," Flora jokes.
"I really don't like these kinds of situations but I'll see what I can do," Aisha relents much to the happiness of Flora who glomps Aisha. It was a miraculous action as neither of their drinks spilt.
Library
Bloom cruises past numerous bookcases carefully scanning the labelled sections for the healing arts. She arrives at the bookcase and finds the shelves riddled with dust but picks out one book but it's not what she needs so she puts in back.
Just as she turns away from the bookcase something falls with a thud making her turn back and it was a book. "Oh, what's this? Healing Spells, Charms and Potions. I guess this would be a good book to start with." Bloom tucks the book under her arm and heads back to her room.
Outside
"Pass it to me! I'm open, Lockette!" Faith yells while hopping backwards with his arms flapping about.
The pixies decided the past week has been dreary enough so to liven up their spirits a titillating game of bamboozle ball was suggested. The girls invited Faith who was initially reluctant to leave his fairy but a little nudge from Glim convinced him.
Now the teams were split into two. Lockette, Zing, Faith and Glim were in one team while Chatta, Amore, Livy and Piff were in the other. Tune was the referee and the babies were goalies.
"Not on my watch!" Chatta leaps into the air and steals the ball before Faith could catch it. "And look at her go, ladies and gentlemen! She is unstoppable!" Chatta cheers as she rollerblades past sports cones only to trip over a bush and fall into a puddle.
"Got it back!" Faith taunts as catches the ball dropped by Chatta and darts towards the goal while encouraging Lockette to follow.
"Wait up!" Lockette implores while attempting to catch up.
Amore who was humming and twirling about skids to a halt beside the fallen Chatta and asks, "Chatta is something wrong?"
"After them!" Chatta growls as she wipes her face so Amore does just that. Chatta was about to follow when she heard something weird, she turns around to see these weird green orbs before one smacks right into her knocking her into unconsciousness.
Lockette and Faith enter the hedge labyrinth and try to navigate their way to their opponents' goal. "I think the way out of this labyrinth is this way." Lockette grabs Faith's hand and turns left.
"I'm catching up," Amore warns singsong. Tune was right behind her until she too was attacked by the green sphere.
"The goal is at the end of this tunnel." Lockette shoves Faith ahead while sparing a glance behind and blanch. "Quick, she's gaining on us!" The two pick up speed leaving a trail of dust and Amore is included in the list of casualties due to the spheres.
"There's the goal!" Faith hurls the ball and it lands straight into the goal much to the jubilation of Faith and Lockette who link arms and dance only to stop when the ball jumps out the goal near their feet. Piff pops out from the goal yawning and rubbing her eyes.
"That's gotta be against the rules," Faith groans falling to his knees.
Lockette shrugs in response before taking note of the emptiness of the field. "Hey, where is everybody?"
"Guys!" Livy bursts out the tunnel at light speed, sweat dripping down her face as she gasps for air. "We're under attack! They got Glim and the others!"
"What?!"
"There they are!" Livy points to the remaining green spheres so the quartet high tail it out of there but their efforts prove futile and they fall victim to the magic of the spheres.
Bloom and Flora's Room
With a finger on the page, Bloom carefully scours each spell and what it does as she searches for the perfect spell to reinvigorate the sickly plant on her desk.
"This seems like a simple one. Conversay Ortaybei Grotai." The plant withers and dies. "That's not good," Bloom winces. If she's learned anything since rooming with her it's that Flora loves her plants. Actually, 'love' seems like an understatement. Maybe worship or glorify?
Anyway, you do not mess with her plants let alone be the reason for its death unless you are willing to go against the self-proclaimed vindicator of life.
"Hi Bloom, have you seen Amore by any chance?" Stella inquires with her brows knitted together in a frown.
"No, I haven't and now that I think about it I haven't seen Lockette for a while," Bloom adds, getting up from her seat.
"They were going to play bamboozle ball but that was hours ago," Stella informs while peering out the window. The sun sat down about an hour ago and the sky is pitch black. While it probably won't be difficult for them to navigate back to their rooms they could still encounter some trouble especially if they left the grounds.
"Call the others. We better go look for them." Bloom seizes her jacket left on the bed and roughly shoves her arm in.
Stella agreed then spots the dead plant on Bloom's desk and points to it. "Is that Flora's?"
"Yes," Bloom admits rubbing the back of her neck.
"You are so dead."
"I know."
Red Fountain
"She locked me out," Timmy throws his hands in the air exasperated as the program he created with Tecna refuses to let him in. He swivels in his chair to face Brandon who was practising his martial arts. "I just don't understand Tecna."
"Timmy, girls are unpredictable. One day they like you and the next day they don't! Sometimes, they'll even pretend not to like you so you'll like them even more," Brandon informs while grunting in between sentences with each move he makes.
"I think she's disappointed in me like I'm not the kind of hero she thought I'd be," Timmy discloses.
"All specialists are heroes, Timmy. You just haven't the chance to show her yet," Brandon assures stopping his workout to place a comforting hand on Timmy's shoulder.
"So you think everything is not lost and I might still impress Tecna?" Timmy questions leaning forward eager to hear his reply.
"Sure and while you're at it some nicer clothes would really give you an edge," Brandon proposes trying to be helpful.
"No thanks, I kinda like how I dress," Timmy responds while eyeing Brandon's current choice of clothing. Not exactly his style.
"Mm, you should try puffing up your hair a bit." Brandon strokes his chin before rummaging through his bag. "Stella gave me this stuff, works like magic."
"No really, it's okay."
"What about contacts?" Brandon already jogs out the door to fetch some contacts without waiting to hear Timmy's reply.
"Never mind." Timmy facepalms.
Alfea
"Where are they?" The Winx comb the ground of the school until they come across the pixies huddled in the front courtyard. It appears after being attacked they chose to regroup before heading back, wanting safety in numbers.
"There you are, we were getting worried." Bloom and the others jog to where the pixies were.
"We must get back to Pixie Village," Chatta informs monotonous as if she were a zombie.
"Are you crazy? You know that Lord Darkar will follow you and you know that he must never ever find out where your village is," Bloom rants.
"Bloom, wait. Why do you want to go home?" Aisha questions bending down as much as she could to the pixies level.
"Because... just because." Chatta crosses her arms and clams up.
"That doesn't make sense."
"Amore, stop this nonsense at once and come over here," Stella demands stamping her foot.
"No, we're homesick. We wanna go," Amore sticks her tongue at out at Stella who didn't know how to respond to that.
"Pixies, scatter." Chatta creates a glittery dustcover allowing the pixies the opportunity to flee the scene.
"They're making a run for it," Flora gasps.
"We can't let them get away," Stella yells.
The Winx transforms and chase after their respective pixies. Flora traps Chatta in the tunnel with her Earth Cage, Stella spots Amore hidden behind a fallen log, Musa gets the drop on Tune and Livy with an embrace and since Piff had only flown 10 feet before falling asleep, Aisha chased and captured Faith and Glim by blocking their way with her morphix.
The Winx combine their magic to create a cage which they stuff their pixies into.
"Let us go!" Chatta demands yanking on the bars.
"This is unfair. You can't keep us here!" Faith yells.
"We wanna go home," Amore adds on the verge of tears.
The girls share a look with one another but ultimately ignore the pleas of the pixies. They lug the cage back to Alfea.
Faragonda's Office
"I've put the pixies in a safe place, it will give us the time we need," Faragonda informs the girls who were crowded around her desk.
"But what's wrong with them?" Flora questions.
"They are under the influence of a homesickness spell, it compels them to return to their village," Faragonda clarifies as she gets up from her seat and stares out the window with her arms behind her back. "Frankly, I believe Lord Darkar is behind this."
"Miss Faragonda, you've been keeping something from us about Darkar and the pixies, am I right?" Musa asks tentatively. She felt the need to ask because Tecna was the one who first brought it up long ago and reminded her recently when Musa informed her about the pixies disappearing. Speaking of which, Musa should really update Tecna about that.
"And what about Red Fountain? Does this have to do with what the Trix stole? The specialists said they can't talk about it. What's going on?" Bloom bombards so quick that she barely gave Faragonda time to answer.
"Saladin and I have discovered that Lord Darkar is after the four quadrants of something called the Codex," Faragonda enlightens yet still brings more questions.
"Is it a magical artefact?" Bloom queries.
"Not quite, but if Darkar gets all four pieces it'll be a disaster," Faragonda states with seriousness.
"So the Trix got the first from Red Fountain," Bloom starts.
"That means another is being kept in Pixie Village," Aisha finishes.
"What about the other two?" Musa reminds slamming her fist on the desk.
"Cloud Tower and Alfea. That means we must be vigilant now that Darkar's plan is in motion," Faragonda warns her lips set in a grim line.
"First things first we gotta help the pixies," Flora cautions before anyone else speaks up. She clamps up, her cheeks bright red, as she ended up a little louder than expected.
"Bloom, don't you think this is a great opportunity to test your healing abilities?" Faragonda insinuates, coming to Flora's aid and taking the heat off her.
"Absolutely, I'll give it my best shot," Bloom pledges, pumping a fist into the air before sallying forth to the library.
"Faragonda, where are you keeping the pixies? Piff needs me." Aisha glances at the carpet while holding herself in her arms. Poor baby must be terrified. She can't even imagine what Faith and Glim must be going through.
"Unfortunately I cannot reveal that," Faragonda was sympathetic yet firm. "I'd rather not have anyone near the pixies while they are in that state so please do not approach or contact the pixies in any shape or form."
The girls shuffle awkwardly not exactly happy with her decision but craven enough not to bicker with her.
Just before she dismisses the girls, Faragonda has this to say, "And if I find out that any of you girls have disobeyed my orders then there will be consequences. No excuses."
And that sharp, callous tone was enough to deter any rule breakers.
Bloom and Flora's Room
Bloom sat on her chair, nibbling on her pencil, with her feet propped up on her desk while she reexamines the numerous spells listed in the book. She's pretty sure she saw a specific spell that was perfect for the current situation but she can't remember what it was called.
"Okay, a purification spell. That could work." Bloom closes the book and puts her feet back on the ground. She stares at the plant that she tested her previous spell on, still withered and dead. If she fixes her mistake then she won't have to deal with Flora's wrath.
Murder isn't so bad if you can undo it.
Filled to the brim with confidence, Bloom recites the purification spell only, instead of restoring the plant to health, it grows aggressive and lunges at Bloom who defends herself with a shriek.
Desperately gasping for air, Bloom had the book in a white-knuckled grip staring at the unconscious plant with impossibly wide eyes. A thin sheen of sweat covers her skin and Bloom hugs herself which is when she notices her shivering.
"Whoa, what's wrong with this book?" Bloom gathers the cursed book off the ground and storms out the room to see Faragonda. She furtively knocks on the door until Faragonda tells her to come in.
"I'm sorry to bother you, Headmistress, but the book I got from the library isn't working. All the healing spells just do the opposite of what they should," Bloom apprises handing the book over.
"I see and this is the book you've been using?" Faragonda wants to confirm and Bloom nods. Sensing the subtle magic placed on the book, Faragonda waves her hand over the cover thus releasing the glamour and the second her gaze settle on the author, all that's left is cold dead gun-blue eyes. "And you found this in the Alfea library?"
If what happened back in her room hadn't of happened then Bloom would have remained ignorant towards Faragonda's current body language but she wasn't. Bloom took note of her brows knitted together in a scowl, the way her nose flares with each deep breath and her voice which was void of emotion as if the calm before the storm.
"Yes. It just fell off the shelf," Bloom notifies
"Did any others fall?" That question was not what Bloom was expecting
"No, just that one," Bloom admits hesitantly as the puzzle slowly starts to piece itself together. "Wait. Did someone plant that book for me to find?" Bloom grits her teeth and digs her nails into her hands leaving behind crescent shapes. Had any of those spells backfired on her...
"I believe so. Listen, Bloom, right now your priority is the fixing the pixies. They cannot be allowed to lead Darkar to the Codex," Faragonda admonishes as she walks to her bookcase and picks out a book which she hands to Bloom. "Here take this book, it should have the appropriate spells needed."
"Thank you." Bloom accepts the book but gives it a quick flip through just in case.
"And keep what you learned to yourself," Faragonda advises under her breath. "If the other students realise that there is a traitor or spy in our midst it'll incite panic and that is the last thing we need."
"Not even my friends?" Bloom licked her uncomfortably dry lips as she shifts her weight back and forth between her feet.
"Not even your friends," Faragonda reiterates staunchly. "Now please get to work. I have business to attend to."
Despite being taken back by the abrupt dismissal, Bloom nods in assent and leaves.
Faragonda casts the book aside and collapses onto her chair, running a hand through her hair. A hand over her mouth she inhales deeply through her nose before glowering at the book innocently resting on her desk.
Another book by Natit Faol Cazists. That's the second one found by her students and in such a short span of time. Someone is planting these abominable works of destruction in her school with the intent of harming her students.
Whoever this is had access to the library but that could be any student and despite having upmost of faith in her faculty members, a teacher could be just as likely especially considering the first book was found in the Golden Gate which is off-limit to students.
Faragonda holds her head in her hands and rubs her temples. How will she flush out the spy? He or she has fully integrated into the school by now. There's literally no one in her head that she finds suspicious.
She has no choice. She has to call a faculty meeting and inform them of her findings. She'll limit exposure by only informing the necessary teachers; Griselda, Palladium, Wizgiz and Avalon.
Hopefully, they'll find the traitor before he or she strikes again. Hopefully.
School Shed
"This is terrible. Piff is homesick," Chatta leans closer to bet a clearer view of the wailing baby.
"We have got to get her back to Pixie Village." Amore hugs Piff and strokes her hat as comfort while Glim pats her back.
"Oi! Let us out of here!" Faith bellows.
"We know you can hear us! Ignoring those in need is extremely disrespectful!" Tune adds in a huff.
"I'm sorry but Faragonda told me not to let you out," Knut answers back apologetically through the door. He would stand guard outside and protect the pixies until Faragonda arrives to take them back.
"I wanna go home so bad it hurts," Lockette whimpers as she falls flat on her bottom and slumps over.
"Well, I'm not giving up! I'm going to get us all back home where we belong!" Faith declares full of enthusiasm, but even his hope is beginning to dwindle. With the way things are going returning home seems like a distant dream for the pixies.
Infirmary
Amongst the numerous beds against the wall only one was occupied, the lone figure of the room blinked owlishly then sits up with a single name tentatively rolling off his tongue. "... Faith..."
What's a 'Faith'? Where is he? Why can't he remember anything?
"Who am I?" Kaneki mumbles holding his head with one hand before dropping back on the bed. Something gnawing at his gut told him that wasn't important now. Finding Faith is.
Kaneki sluggishly examines the room before pushing the covers down to his feet and drags his legs to the edge so he could touch the ground. He stands up then promptly drops like a sack of potatoes knocking a fruit bowl down with him.
He lays on the floor for half a minute before pushing himself up on shaky arms. Kaneki sits on the back of his legs surveying the incident he caused before staring at the bowl. It held the fruit now it's not.
He puts the bowl right side up then gradually returns the fruit one by one until only a banana was left. "Banana." Kaneki stares at the fruit like it was the greatest gift the world could receive before taking a bite. Sideways. And unpeeled.
Kaneki crinkles his nose as he scrapes his tongue with the top of his teeth and glowers at the offending fruit that betrays him. Bananas are supposed to be tasty. But bananas aren't important right now, he has to find Faith.
He went to put the banana in his pocket only to discover he had none but he discovers that the waistband of his nightie is quite stretchy and fun to play with... then he remembers his current mission so he hooks the banana onto his stretchy waistband then makes his way out the infirmary.
Unfortunately, it took him 2 minutes to learn how to open the door.
To come to the conclusion that something was wrong with Kaneki would be the understatement of the year. One thing's for sure he's never going to be the same person he was when he first arrived at Alfea.
Stumbling through the halls, Kaneki places a hand on the wall to guide him to where he needed to go. Despite not remembering what this place is Kaneki navigates himself fairly well considering it's his gut that he's relying on.
"Ghost!" Kaneki hears a shriek and turns only to see a duo of girls flee around the corner still in their nighties. He looks over his shoulder to catch sight of the ghost which leads to him spinning like a dog trying to chase its own tail before picking up the pace. Ghosts are scary after all. They say 'boo!' and that's mean.
When Kaneki finally reaches the outside, he gasps and slowly turns around enamoured by the glittery night sky. "Pretty," Kaneki says in awe before snapping out of it. Faith. Remember Faith. Bad... whoever he is.
Feeling another wave of sadness wash over him, Kaneki continues his journey till he reaches a shed with a large yellowish ogre sleeping outside in a strange position. "That doesn't look comfortable," Kaneki comments tilting his head when he notices the red bump on Knut's head.
"Let us out!" A muffled yell come from inside the shed. Kaneki steps over the fallen body and enters the shed where he sees a cage holding a bunch of miniature people.
"Kenny!" A blue-haired little person with biggest, brightest smile vigorously waving. "Kenny, I'm here! Are you alright? Do you have a headache? Shouldn't you be in bed?"
Kaneki gasps in awe before bouncing on over to the table and kneels to get a closer look, he rests his chin on the wood and whispers, "Are you guys fairies?"
The pixies fall quiet and they share a look before Lockette speaks up, "No, we're pixies."
"What's wrong with your fairy, Faith?" Chatta inquires in a hushed tone.
"Lay off, he was in the hospital," Faith retorts heatedly.
"Kaneki, could you let us out please?" Tune pleads hands clasped together in a praying motion.
"Wait, we can't-ow!" Faith tries to object but is tackled by Chatta and Livy who also gag him.
"Ignore him," Tune intervenes waving her hands to distract Kaneki. "If you would release us then we'll be elated so if you could, Kaneki."
The pixies look up at Kaneki in hope but he just sits there waiting and staring until he gets confused and looks over his shoulder but sees no one. "Who's Kaneki?"
"You are." The pixies point to him.
"I thought I was Kenny?"
"Just open the cage!" The pixies demand fed up with Kaneki's... unKanekiness.
"Okay, okay." Kaneki examines the cage and the keyhole before accidentally rips the door out of its hinges. "Oopsie," Kaneki says as the pixies flit out the cage and out the shed into the night.
Faith panics and darts to Kaneki's face, holding his cheeks with his hands and staring right into his eyes. "This is bad. Kenny, we can't let them escape," Faith admonishes gravely.
"But they wanted to go out," Kaneki mumbles innocently gesturing in the direction the pixies fled in.
"But they weren't supposed to! We need to tell Faragonda," Faith grabs Kaneki's collar and begins tugging him out the door.
"Who's Faragonda?"
"Let's just go," Faith groans and continues to drag Kaneki until the latter reminds his pixie that he can just give directions while Kaneki jogs. They reached Faragonda's office in no time. Faith knocks furtively at her door and does not hear her tell him to come in so she has to open the door with her magic.
"Ken? Faith?" Faragonda gets up from her chair and rushes over to Kaneki placing hands on his shoulders carefully examining him for any injuries.
"What are you doing out of bed, lad?" Wizgiz inquires leaping off his seat on Faragonda's desk.
"You're so small," Kaneki states with a giggle, "like a squidget."
"What?" Wizgiz raises a brow at the unusual behaviour.
"Yeah, he's been kinda loopy today," Faith adds.
"Wait a minute, Faith, where are the other pixies?" Faragonda demands once she realises that Faith who was in the cage with the other pixies is now out of the cage.
"Kenny let them out," Faith illuminates.
"Wow, this 'Kenny' guy sounds like a jerk," Kaneki comments turning away from the stationery he was playing around with on Faragonda's desk. Wizgiz opens to his mouth to correct the white-haired male but wisely decides to keep it shut.
"Wizgiz, please inform the Winx that the pixies have escaped. I need to check on Knut,"
"Of course, Headmistress." Wizgiz nods before transforming into a rabbit and darting out the room to the girls' dorm.
"Knut? Is he that big guy sleeping outside?"
"Sleeping?"
"Yeah, he didn't look very comfortable plus he had a big red bump on his head," Kaneki elucidates while pointing to where the bump formed.
"I see. Tell me more." Faragonda places a hand on Kaneki's shoulder and leads him to the chair opposite her desk.
Musa's and Tecna's Room
Musa, Stella and Flora sat on the beds chatting amicably with one another to distract them from the dilemma with the pixies. Unfortunately, it wasn't working due to the intricate bond between fairy and pixie, the girls endured the despair from their pixies.
Flora invited Aisha who refused as she still wasn't comfortable with Musa and Stella.
Wizgiz barges into the room to inform them that the pixies have escaped so Musa sends an emergency text in their group chat only to notice that Aisha was still not apart of the group so the trio split to find her.
Musa sprints down the hallway and just as she turns the corner, she crashes into someone and they both end up on the ground. "Musa!" Aisha grabs Musa's shoulders, tears streaming from her bloodshot eyes. "Musa, I don't know where Kaneki is! He wasn't in the infirmary and-and what if he's hurt somewhere? Or those shadow monsters somehow got in?"
"Aisha, calm down. I'll call Faragonda, we'll tell her everything but I need you to calm down," Musa soothes. "Listen, someone let the pixies out and they're on the way back to Pixie Village. We need to find them and get them back."
"But Kaneki,"
"Look let's go to Faragonda. She should still be in her office," Musa sends a text to Stella and Flora to go on ahead without her and that she and Aisha will catch up.
The duo ends up outside Faragonda's office and knock but there was no reply so they just opened the door and lo and behold there was Kaneki sitting in Faragonda's chair spinning left and right just generally having fun.
"Kaneki." Aisha dashes around the desk and tackles Kaneki in a hug who stumbles but manages to steady himself and wraps his arms around her.
"Hey, no, oh no, why are crying?" Kaneki worries rubbing his hands up and down her arms before picking up a tissue from the desk and wiping away her tears. "There we go. You wanna go on the spinny chair? It's really fun,"
"No, no, Kaneki, stop. How long have you been here? I've been so worried,"
"I'm sorry Aisha but this isn't the time. You need to get to our friends before they lead Darkar to our home," Faith reminds with his fists clenched.
"Faith is right, Aisha. Our priority is getting our pixies back," Musa advocates.
"What happened to pixies? I mean aren't they safe and locked up?" Aisha queries as Musa drags her out the door by her arm.
"I'll explain on the way."
With Stella and Flora
"Flora, are you sure we're heading the right way?" Stella inquires as she and Flora flew low with the latter guiding them.
"Yes, the forest plants know which way the pixies went," Flora informs as she dodges another bush.
"While you're at it Flora you can tell those thorny bushes not to rip my clothes," Stella huffs.
With the Pixies
"Hurry, they'll catch up with us," Chatta warns glancing over her shoulder to Tune and Livy who were holding onto Piff's hands and carrying her. It was clearly too much as they were beginning to slow down and descend closer to the ground.
"We're going as fast as we can Chatta but Piff is heavy," Tune heaves as exhaustion engulfs the both of them. Pixies generally don't have much strength to them and being apart from their bonded fairies only serves to diminish their energy.
"Listen, why don't Amore and I can carry her for a while?" Lockette offers already taking Piff's hand and that's when a green net encircles them upon one word.
"Firewall."
Bloom's Room
"Let's see this spell will cure magical sadness and longing. That's got to work but there's no time to try it out." Bloom slams the book shut and darts out the door to find the pixies.
With the Pixies
"Tecna!" Stella and Flora gasp upon seeing their friend who had been expelled more than a week ago.
"Hey girls," Tecna greets with a smile.
"What are you doing here?/How'd you find the pixies?" Flora and Stella ask in unison after de-transforming.
"For the first question, Musa has been keeping me updated on the going on's in Alfea including the homesickness spell that has entrapped the minds of the pixies. And for the second question, Digit apparently placed trackers on all of you."
"What?" The pixies begin to pat themselves down checking for the devices on their person even the babies. "Why?"
"Cause of something like this," Digit points out. "If it makes you feel better I only did it when you were all fast asleep on the day Faragonda told us we had to stay."
"Wait, where's Faith?"
"According to my computer, he's still back at Alfea," Digit informs.
"Why?"
"Kiki," Glim answers.
"She means Kaneki. He's the one who let us out in the first place," Amore informs.
"He woke up?"
"Yeah, but he hasn't exactly been in the right state of mind?" Tune words slowly.
"That doesn't matter. What matters is that you let us go!" Chatta demands resisting the urge to tear out her pigtails as they are captured once again.
"No way Jose," Digit tuts while shaking a finger in front of their faces.
"We just wanna go home. What's wrong with that?" Lockette inquires as she holds her tears at bay.
"What's wrong with that?!" Digit reiterates in outrage. "Do you remember what Darkar did to our friends? The ones who were killed before we were rescued? He drained them of their magic just to power his own. Is that you want for Pixie Village?"
"Digit," Tecna hisses knowing that her pixie went too far.
"No," Lockette croaks.
"Then let's go back to Alfea and figure this out," Flora suggests kindly leaning down with her hands on her knees. "This isn't forever. We'll figure this out together."
Just as it seems that the pixies would concede a roar from nearby stops everyone in their tracks.
"Did you guys hear that?" Chatta questions despite knowing the answer.
"Oh, we're going to be gobbled up by monsters." Lockette trembles in her shoes
"No, because we're here to protect you," Stella assures getting into a fighting stance.
"We need to get out of here," Tecna warns but before they could flee two shadow monsters leap out from the bushes cutting off their retreat.
The girls transform and Stella fires a blast at the spiny monster but misses, the monster counters by launching its spines at her. Flora binds it to a tree with roots allowing Stella to make her comeback and destroy it.
The other monster sneaks up from behind Flora who barely has time to dodge. The girls fly into the air to avoid the beast which is when they see the numerous mouths on its back.
"Gross! It's got like twenty mouths!" Stella exclaims.
"That just means it's got more openings!" Aisha exclaims bursting out from the treeline and throwing a pink sphere at the monster. The girls watch in horror as the monster eats the sphere then burps.
"Did it just eat your attack?!" Musa yelps biting her nails as she flies a bit higher to avoid the beast.
"Fascinating, it appears this shadow monster can ingest magic," Tecna marvels then ducks when the monster shoots the morphix out of its mouth. "And redirect it as it's own attack."
"Tecna, nows not the time. How do we defeat a monster that throws our attacks back at us?" Musa questions.
Tecna adjusts the ball-like net in her arms as she comes up with a strategy. "Musa, can you bounce the monster up into a tree?" Tecna asks. It takes a couple of tries but the beast is up in the trees allowing Flora the chance to bind it and Stella to deliver the finishing blow. Unfortunately when the monster explodes covering them and their wings in a sticky residue thus grounding them.
"Tell me this isn't happening," Stella complains sticking her tongue out in disgust.
"Bloom?" The girls question when the redhead bursts out from the trees.
"I got here as fast as I could," Bloom pants as she remains hunched over.
"I got the pixies." Tecna holds up the pixies and Bloom relinquishes them from the hold of the homesickness spell.
"Are you okay?"
"We're so sorry." The pixies burst into tears and cry into the arms of their respective fairies.
"All's well that ends well," Digit says sitting on Tecna's shoulder.
"Tecna!" Bloom gasps and envelops her in a hug. "What are you doing here?"
"Musa kept me updated with what's been going on. When she told me about the pixies and homesickness spell, I couldn't just sit at home and do nothing."
"I hate to interrupt this touching reunion but maybe we should take this back inside," Flora suggests.
"Flora's right. We don't know if there are other shadow creatures out there."
Faragonda's Office
Kaneki still sat in Faragonda's office but this time he was in the other chair and there were 4 other adults in the room besides Faragonda.
"So, Ken, Knut was already on the ground unconscious?"
"Yeah." Kaneki nods.
"And you didn't see anyone nearby? Maybe hear something?" Avalon suggests.
"I don't think so," Kaneki responds after a moment hesitations. He doesn't really remember but he doesn't remember anything before he woke up so there's not much to trust.
"What about Knut?" Wizgiz reminds them that Knut probably saw or heard.
"He said he didn't see anything. He was guarding the pixies as I told him when something hit him from behind."
"We're still on square one," Griselda sighs while shaking her head.
The Winx return to the office only to be met with a grave sight of the teachers conglomerating with frowns on their faces. What was most surprising to most of them was seeing Kaneki sitting there without a care in the world.
"Kaneki?!"
Kaneki turns around and waves upon recognising Aisha and Musa. "Oh, hi again."
"So you really are awake."
"Did you really let the pixies out of the cage?"
"Before we get to that, I want to state that Ken isn't liable for any and all actions he has committed since he woke up due to amnesia," Faragonda informs before the accusations could continue.
"Amnesia?" The girls echo.
"That explains a lot," Chatta comments.
"Okay," Griselda claps gaining the attention of everyone in the room, "it's getting late so please return to your rooms."
"But we have something important to tell you," Flora interjects before they were told to leave again.
"We were attacked by shadow creatures," Tecna adds before further explaining the appearance and abilities of the two monsters that had attacked them.
"Weren't you expelled? What are you doing back on school property?" Griselda questions adjusting her glasses as she glowers at the nervous teen.
"Honestly Griselda worry about that another time," Faragonda tuts shaking her head at the inappropriate question given at this moment. "You girls were attacked by shadow monsters?"
"Yeah, but they only ambushed us when Tecna had the pixies trapped. We think they were following us," Aisha elucidates stroking Piff who was asleep in her arms.
"This is most troubling," Faragonda mutters under her breath before deciding it be best to speak privately with the faculty. "Girls, you must be exhausted from tonight endeavour please head back to your room. Tecna, inform your parents that you are staying here for the night, I'm sure you'll be happy returning to your old room."
"Returning? I thought this is a school you lived at." Kaneki tilts his head to express his befuddlement.
"We'll explain later. Let's go." Aisha clutches Kaneki's arm and leads him out of the room.
"Night, girls."
"Good night professors."
"Now that the students are gone let's get down to business. Faragonda?" Avalon calls when the door closes.
Faragonda brings out the book Bloom had. "When Bloom was searching for a healing based book this dropped from the shelf. Emphasis on dropped. She didn't pick it out."
"As strange as that initially might seem there could be a logical explanation," Avalon offers.
"The book was written by Natit Faol Cazists."
"Him again," Wizgiz snorts in disgust.
"This is serious. How did another of his books end up at Alfea? Are others here? And if so how long till our other students find those books? Sooner or later our students will be landing in the infirmary with missing limbs or worse."
"If anyone knows what that man is capable of its Wizgiz. You were at Alfea when that man was alive, weren't you?" Palladium inquires with a brow raised. Wizgiz is the oldest teacher around even if you combine the ages of every current Alfea teacher you wouldn't reach a fraction of his age.
"23 years into teaching. I remember comforting the girls who were informed that their parents and/or younger siblings were burned by the acid spraying jack in the boxes. Disgusting man." Wizgiz lifts his hat so he could scratch his head.
"So we have one or more of his followers in here. I don't want to suspect our students but we have to investigate each and every one of them," Griselda says, already compiling a mental list of potential suspects.
"I don't think so. How would any of them benefit from freeing the pixies? Darkar is the only one who wants the pixies, the appearance of shadow creatures only support the fact," Palladium counters.
"There's also the fact that followers of Natit Faol Cazists hated any and all magical beings. What would young fairies find captivating about that man?" Wizgiz crosses his arms and glowers at the floor.
"Maybe we're looking at this wrong. Maybe Natit Faol Cazists has nothing to do with this. Perhaps these girls have allied themselves with Lord Darkar," Avalon proposes, holding his chin in his hand.
"You really think our students would ally with a psychopath like him?" The very notion sent shivers down Palladium's spine.
"Is it any more ludicrous than them joining Natit Faol Cazists?" Griselda riposte placing a hand on her hip.
"She has a point. There were fairies who joined Darkar's initial rebellion," Wizgiz reminds.
Faragonda experienced that personally, she stares at the hands that brought down those rogue fairies, some who were her own students, before clenching them into fists. She slammed her fist on her desk garnering the attention of her faculty.
"I hate the idea of accusing our students but Ken saw fit to mention that he spotted two girls flee round the corner. It's likely they were the ones to knock Knut out."
"There's also the case with these books," Griselda intervenes picking up the fake healing spells and flipping through the pages. "I spoke to Barbatea who swears those books weren't in her library before the start of the term. She registers each new book into the system and checks at the start and end of each school year."
"So we have suspected followers of Darkar when we find them what will we do with them?"
"We'll turn them over to the authorities," Griselda states as if it were the most obvious thing in the world which it was. "These girls are old enough to know between wrong and right. If they covet for power and are willing to align themselves to dark forces then they are no better than the criminals in jails."
Faragonda dismisses her staff with the promise that they'll convene again tomorrow morning to discuss a plan. The teachers disperse which allows Faragonda to drop her facade to reveal her tiredness. Ever since the revelation that Domino's youngest princess survived along with the Dragon's Flame trouble began to brew in all of the Magic Dimension. It's not that Faragonda blames Bloom for this, heavens no, but her reappearance is causing the past to haunt the future.
The war on Magix orchestrated by the Trix is tantamount to the eradication of Domino. Both covens coveted the Dragon's Flame, had resurrected the Army of Darkness and were the worse criminals recorded in history. Now the Trix have allied themselves with their ancestresses master, Lord Darkar.
Speaking of Darkar, he is adamant in pursuing the Codex's just as before except this time he's unusually fixated on Kaneki which honestly baffles Faragonda. What is it about Kaneki that besets Darkar? The boy may be rough around the edges with a morose look on life but he's not evil in any shape or form. Why is Darkar desperate for Kaneki to join his side?
Despite not having all the information, this seems a little personal but that doesn't add up. Under no circumstance could they have met in the past so what is the link? Looks like Faragonda has some investigating to do.
With the Winx, Pixies and Kaneki
"This place is huge," Kaneki gasps as he admires his surroundings with starry-eyed wonder.
"I hope you get your memories back soon because this is too weird," Stella comments ogling at him from the corner of her eye as if he were a circus attraction from a freak show while gradually inching away from him.
"Why did my memories go? I didn't get to ask," Kaneki queries looking to Aisha because, of reasons lost to him, he felt most comfortable around her.
Instead of Aisha answering it was Tecna who refuses to meet Kaneki's gaze as she expounds the circumstances that led to his amnesia. "That was because of me. I became suspicious of you and during my investigation, I came to a radical false conclusion. I attacked you without provocation leading to you being taken to the hospital the next morning. I was being stupid and selfish and irresponsible."
"Musa and I are to blame as well," Stella inputs raising her hand.
"Yeah, when you didn't come down that night, we should've left you alone," Musa adds shaking her head.
"Why was I taken to the hospital in the morning if you attacked me at night? Wouldn't it have made sense to call the ambulance as soon as possible?" Kaneki points out much to the befuddlement of the Winx who realise that he had a point.
"That does seem strange now that I think about it. Actually that morning I was with you when you woke up in the infirmary. No amnesia but you started to talk to someone who wasn't even there then freaked out before running away. The next thing I know you're being loaded onto an ambulance with Faragonda," Aisha reveals holding her chin in her hand as she reevaluates what happened that morning.
"Hey, you what this means? Tecna wasn't responsible for Kaneki's amnesia she can come back," Stella suggests excitedly bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"Huh. You're right. Maybe we can appeal to Faragonda to veto the expulsion," Bloom propones as she spins around in the direction of Faragonda's office and tugs on Tecna's arm to encourage her to speak to Faragonda.
"Girls, please no." Tecna shrugs off Bloom's hand and takes a deep breath as she says her final words for tonight. "Kaneki, I'll excogitate the notion that I may not be responsible for your amnesia but it doesn't change the fact that I attacked you without provocation. I humbly accept the consequences of my actions so please stop trying "
"I think we should leave Tecna alone for now," Flora advises as they watch Tecna enter the dorm with Musa trailing close behind.
"Here Kaneki, I'll show you to your room," Aisha takes Kaneki's wrist and drags him into his own dorm.
"This is my room? So boring." Kaneki deflates at the pure plainness and is left pouting at the lack of items in his room. How is he supposed to gauge the type of person he was when his own room refuses to reveal his personality? From what he's learned so far he's some depressing guy who never smiles and keeps to himself.
Maybe there's something in his wardrobe, Kaneki begins to rummage through his clothes only to groan upon realising that his clothing is either black, white or a mixture of both.
"Are you okay?" Aisha inquires placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Just fine," Kaneki assures waving away her concerns.
"If you say so," Aisha concedes. "Listen, I'm going back to my room. You'll be fine with Faith and Glim, right? They can be quite a handful and though you dealt with them before, I can't help but worry."
"Don't worry, Glim and I are the perfect pixie-angels," Faith assures with a thumbs up.
"Right," Aisha drawls with a single brow raised and a hand on her hip.
"It's true!" Faith huffs, his cheeks puffed out in annoyance.
"I think I'll be fine," Kaneki persuades without much trouble.
"I'll come by in the morning," Aisha promises then hugs Kaneki who wraps his arms around her waist. "Hey, Kaneki?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you have something in your pocket?"
"I have a banana in my waistband," Kaneki answers letting go of her to unhook said fruit and hold it up to her.
"Thank goodness," Aisha has her hand on her chest as she breathes a sigh of relief.
"Why?" Kaneki tilts his head to the side looking like a little lost puppy.
"No reason," Aisha giggles nervously before fleeing the room with a quick goodbye.
"What's her deal?" Kaneki questions taking a bite out of the banana only to spit it out because he forgot to peel it. Again.
"Oh, Kenny."
The Next Day - Courtyard
Flora and Aisha lay on the grass bathing in the warm ray of the afternoon sun, the two enjoying nature in its purest form. Flora was the one who invited Aisha for this relaxation session but the latter knew this invite was about Helia.
"I'm sorry Flora but there was nothing I could do," Aisha informs before sitting up and turning to her friend. "I went to Red Fountain to investigate Helia's room but I didn't know what floor it was on."
"Don't worry about it. I shouldn't have asked you of this anyway," Flora responds also getting up into a sitting position.
"You know Flora even if you don't know how he feels about you I think you should send him a message. Tell him how you feel," Aisha advises.
"I'm not sure about that but maybe I'll send him a little something," Flora hums while fiddling with the grass between her fingers.
"Hey, what's going out there?" Aisha points to the front gate where Bloom, Tecna, Musa and Stella jumping around in a large hug with Faragonda standing nearby. The two share a look before jogging ahead to join the group and inquire about the hoo-ha.
"Tecna's back at Alfea!" Stella squeals as she leaps into the air with a cheer.
"Really?" Flora gasps, unable to keep the excitement from her voice.
"Ken came to me this morning and presented a convincing and obstinate argument," Faragonda reveals with a soft smile. "He proposed that I keep you in Alfea and when he regains his memories if he's still mad then I can rescind my decision."
"So I can stay?" Tecna couldn't help but ask. A part of her couldn't help but think of this as some elaborate prank except she knew Faragonda would never be so cruel.
"Yes. I have already informed your parents, your mother is going to journey to Alfea with your belongings."
"Thank you, Faragonda." Tecna then turns to her friends and begin to celebrate.
"It's Ken you need to thank," Faragonda illuminates putting a pause to their little dance party.
"Of course. Where can I find him?"
"I'm not sure. Why don't you try his room?"
"Thank you!" Tecna calls out as she sprints towards the dorms.
Kaneki's Room
"So this is Anteiku," Kaneki hums as he studies the drawing he did of a café. Faith decided the best way to ease his memories back was to start with what he found most precious. His sketchbook filled with mnemonic moments with those he loved most.
"Yep. You worked there for a few months but they were the best months of your life," Faith educates.
"Really?" Before Kaneki could flip to the next page, there was a rapid knocking outside his door. Kaneki uncrosses his legs and backflips off the bed before heading to the door. It was Tecna.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Tecna bombards in a rapid flurry as she leaps into Kaneki's arms and hugs him with all her might.
"So Faragonda told you. It was no problem," Kaneki reassures patting her back awkwardly instead of hugging her back.
"I still don't understand why you would help me though. Especially after everything I did."
"It's hard to be mad when you can't remember what to be mad over," Kaneki points out.
"But..."
"Do you want me to be mad at you? You keep bringing it up. Listen, you're drowning in guilt that I understand but you can't keep punishing yourself like this. Take your punishment in stride knowing you've learnt from your mistakes. Above all learn to forgive yourself."
"I'll try," Tecna promises before leaving.
"So where were we?" Kaneki sighs scratching the back of his head as he strolls back to his bed.
"Your little sister," Faith translates when Glim speaks before him.
"I got a little sister?" Kaneki rushes and leaps onto the bed but his enthusiasm caused him to bounce right off and land on the floor with a thump.
"Even with a new life still a sisacon." Faith shakes his head while Glim facepalms.
I realised why I don't like my previous chapters which is because it's too much like the original. There's not enough extra scenes that add to the world or lore but there's nowhere to go but forward so I'll just have to be extra attentive to future chapters.