Hi everyone !
Sorry I didn't update last week, school has been crazy !
To keep up on which character is where : Bloom and Layla have both earned their Charmix by talking things out, Flora by trusting herself, and Stella by accepting her mistakes.
VampireNinja1706 : Thank you ! The character development is my main concern so hearing you like it is amazing and extremely reassuring !
Winx4Ever : Thank you ^^
Heato-kun : Layla a eu son Charmix avec Bloom ^^ Et les autres transformations n'apparaîtront pas avant l'Enchantix (car je considère que ce sont des « extensions » de l'Enchantix). Quant aux Trix qui tortureraient Musa… je ne les voient pas faire ça, pas quand les filles ne peuvent pas se défendre (pour moi elles ont une sorte de code d'honneur qui fait qu'elles n'attaquent pas un ennemi à terre). Et puis bon, pour Valtor et les profs… je te laisse lire, cette partie arrive XD
Saramus92 : not yet ;)
Everything went too fast for the brunette.
She clearly remembers the cold hands on her arms before the feeling of darkness enveloped her.
The first time she ever travelled thanks to the magic of a witch had been with Mrs. Griffin, during the battle against the Trix in her first year. She could clearly remember the unease and the weird feeling like the magic had been crawling on her skin, but nothing too bad. Seconds later, she'd found herself in Alfea, surrounded by Fairies and Specialists, with the Witches behind her.
She never dwelt on it, too focused on the battle to come.
This time, it felt wrong. Terribly so.
As if electricity went through her veins, but it was too much for her body to handle. She screamed and bent forward, but the ice Witch quickly caught her hair and pulled on it, forcing the Fairy to straighten up.
The feeling faded soon enough, and she knew they arrived where the Witches had planned, but black dots clouded her vision. She vaguely remembered hearing them talk about something, as if they'd been angry, or stressed, before feeling someone push her forward.
She accepted the treatment and forced her feet to move accordingly.
Eventually, her vision came back and she was able to understand they were walking in a corridor. Seeing the grey stones all around her, she quickly understood the Trix brought her to Darkar's Fortress.
Her heart started racing when she understood what it meant, but felt the lack of energy around her. This was the Trix' playground after all, and she didn't even have a Charmix. There was no way she could put up a fight, especially if she was to believe what Bloom and Stella had told her about their little trip in this exact place.
Maybe she could take one of them down, if she was smart enough. But taking them all heads on was suicide. So she decided to lay low, and act as if she was still too dazed to even think properly.
They walked for what seemed like an eternity, neither of them speaking up. Musa could only feel the tension in her back, somewhat understanding that this had not been the plan.
Some part of her grew hopeful, and knew she could take advantage of the situation.
But another part told her that, if the Trix were scared of something, maybe she should too. Especially if that something revealed itself to be Lord Darkar.
Layla was the only one of them who ever saw him, and it had sounded like horror stories. She barely survived her encounter with him, and she was the toughest of their group.
They walked down multiple stairs, so many that she eventually gave up on trying to understand where they came from. It was like a horrible maze, and Musa didn't particularly enjoy those. Tecna would've been delighted, though.
She felt the magic leave the air around her, and almost suffocated from the lack of it.
The light started disappearing, as they entered another corridor full of wooden doors. She didn't ask any question, even at that moment, but somehow knew she wouldn't like to see what layed beyond them.
They walked to the furthest and biggest door, before Stormy stepped in front of all of them and started opening it.
'Wait,' interrupted Darcy.
Musa could only see Stormy's annoyed face turn to her sister, Icy still behind her.
'What ?'
She couldn't see what Darcy did or mouthed to the other Witch, but clearly understood that was important enough for the youngest to let go of the handle and move to the closest door.
This time, she opened it without being interrupted.
Icy pushed her inside the room, before they closed her only way to escape behind them. She could only hear their cackles as they walked away, and she found herself alone in the dark.
The only sound reaching her ears was her own breathing. She stayed still for a long time, maybe hours, before her knees gave up. The tears started to pour by themselves on her cheeks, but she didn't allow herself to make any more noise.
At some point, she fell asleep, but only realized it once she woke up, and wondered why her head was now on the ground.
The dark energy around her made her extremely weak, but she still had her wits.
Her brain started to work.
First, she tried to find the door. It took a moment, but she succeeded. The only problem was that she didn't have a handle on her side.
The door was most likely enchanted to resist to magic, so she didn't even bother try to open it with her magic.
There was also a lot of probability that her magic could make everything fall apart, and she wasn't about to test that theory.
Instead she tried to discover a bit more of the room. With her hands, she traced the walls to evaluate how big the room was.
After a few rounds, she understood that this was a cell made for only one person, and she was lucky to not be chained to the walls.
She was somewhat reassured by the fact that there didn't seem to be anyone else in this cell, but some part of her longed for some contact.
She realized that it had been a long time since she'd been all alone. Most of the time her friends were outside her bedroom in Alfea, or she had some way of contacting them.
But sitting alone in the dark made her realize how much she grew accustomed to it. She was no longer the Tomboy Fairy who distanced herself from others on Melody, simply because she was too focused on her studies and couldn't find anyone who had the same level of ambition as her.
In less than two years, she made friends with the greatest people she'd ever met, and started enjoying life a little bit more. She came back to music thanks to her friends, who always made sure to acknowledge her talent. She became interested in Riven, even if he made everything too damn difficult.
Most of all, she found a friend and confident in Tecna. The pink haired girl was the first Fairy Musa ever met who seemed as interested as her in learning.
Albeit they had their own differences and sometimes argued because of different cultures, they could always find a middle ground and come to an understanding.
She promised herself that, if she made it out alive, she would enjoy their presence a lot more.
For now, she would simply try to believe in them.
They wouldn't let her down.
At first, no one understood what had just happened. The girls simply stared at where the witches once were, forcing themselves to believe that their enemies simply fled.
But Tecna made a little sound, and suddenly found herself falling to the ground, too shocked to even react. But she didn't really care. Hitting the ground didn't hurt her at all, but the snow quickly .worked its way inside her suit, and brought her back to reality.
The other girls let themselves fall to the ground too, landing on their feet. They looked at each other with uncertainty before their eyes settled on Bloom.
The red head blinked, understanding that she would be the one to take the final decision. Of course they all knew what their only option was at this point.
Only one person would help them. Or rather, could help them.
Their professor was off the list, as tired as she was. They also couldn't exactly go to Ms. Griffin. It would be hard to explain what exactly they'd been doing on Domino.
So they moved Ms. Griselda back to Solaria, letting Astrid take care of her. They trusted Stella's opinion on the girl.
Then, the blonde teleported them all to Magix, in front of a building they were now familiar with. They got inside, and walked up the stairs, not uttering a word along the way.
The wizard let them into the apartment with a small sigh, but didn't oppose himself when he saw the looks on their faces. Or when he realized one member of their party was missing.
Bloom was quick to explain the situation, and straightforward with the reason as to why they came.
The wizard thankfully accepted easily, and with Stella's help, they were all gone at once. Only Tecna was left behind, because they couldn't take too many risks. She needed a Charmix to stand her ground in front of the Trix, especially in the lair of the villains.
The Winx would be at a disadvantage as soon as they would be in the Fortress, and Tecna had to admit that it would be stupid to take such a risk. Her logical mind helped her process these thoughts, but a big part of her still wished she could go with them, somehow.
Fortunately, she could shut that little voice up.
Instead, she decided to monitor Mrs. Griselda in Solaria. She didn't want to stay in Valtor's own lair, after all. Plus she doubted the wizard would be happy if she was left alone. Even she couldn't resist the temptation of sticking her nose everywhere.
The four girls and the wizard appeared at the end of the tunnel, still hidden in the shadows.
Valtor waisted no time and started making his way towards the big castle.
'They either expect us or have already noticed we're here, so let's move.'
The girls nodded and followed his lead, running to keep up with him.
It was a stupid time to realize it, but he was tall. Every step he took asked three from them.
He didn't seem to notice, and none of them complained. They had to find Musa as quickly as possible, before either of them was too weak to stay in this place. If walking a little bit faster than usual was the price to pay, then so be it.
They walked along the walls until they found a bridge, and Bloom understood that getting in would be a bit harder than last time : it led to nothing but a wall, which they would have to climb in order to get in.
The wall wasn't that big, and she knew they could all do it, but it was still another stressful thing to add to what they already had on their mind.
The bridge had been an easy part this time, and oddly enough, there were no witches to attack them either. Stella and Layla didn't comment on it, so Bloom followed their lead, but it still seemed weird.
By now, they should've tried something.
Layla was the first to go, while the wizard simply flew into the air and above them.
He landed in front of the doors, and put himself on one knee. The Andros Fairy stopped moving for a second, her whole body going tense, before he simply took off one of his gloves and presented his hand.
It took another minute for her to register what was happening, before she hesitantly took her left hand off the wall, and put it into his.
He didn't smirk or boast. He didn't even comment on what was happening, and instead lifted her up to his side. Layla thanked him with a little nod, before moving away as Stella started climbing.
She did complain, but was quick to lift herself up. She also accepted the help of Valtor, with a look of defiance in her eyes. He sighed, and simply looked back down at the nature Fairy.
Obviously Flora was experienced, because she didn't even need the help of the wizard.
Bloom was the last one, and stopped for a second when she saw Valtor's hand enter her vision. She lifted her gaze up to his face, seeing the seriousness on his face, and decided that it was alright to accept his help.
He was doing a lot for them, and she wasn't about to provoke him.
Glancing behind her, Bloom couldn't help but feel that this was all a trap.
She could understand that the Trix or the Shadow Phoenix wouldn't come to personally deal with them. But she knew he had an army of monsters, and they were the one sent after Layla when she freed the Pixies.
He stopped Stella when she tried to open the doors, simply putting a hand onto the wooden gate.
'We'll have to be extremely careful. I don't like this silence.'
They all nodded.
He then closed his eyes, and the wind started picking up around him.
The blonde had to turn around and cough from all the dust it had lifted in the air, while he stopped and looked back at them.
'There are four people behind these doors, walking towards us.'
'The Trix and Lord Darkar ?' Asked Flora.
No one answered.
Instead, they all transformed and hid on the wall's sides. Valtor was in front of the gates, prepared to attack. Bloom and Flora were on the right, while Layla and Stella were on the left.
The Solarian Fairy was instructed to do almost nothing. If things turned ugly, she was their only way out.
There was a moment where only the sound of the water around them could be heard.
Bloom stole a quick glance at Valtor, and realized that he didn't seem as confident as usual. They understood he was preparing for the worst adversary, but she didn't know the Shadow Phoenix was that big of an enemy.
For some reason, she missed his usual cockiness. Without his comments, the situation was all too real.
The left door opened slowly. Bloom immediately set her eyes back on it, sensing Flora positioning herself behind her too.
At first, all they could see was a hand, before the doors were violently pushed opened, and the girls had to fly up into the air.
'Valtor !'
The wizard had taken off too, and was staring in boredom at the people in front of him.
Bloom had to move closer to him to eventually see the person who spoke.
'Mrs. Faragonda ?'
They all stared at each other in surprise.
'Don't let them fool you !' Spit a man that looked exactly like the Professor Avalon. 'They're clones !'
It took him less than a second to conjure a ball of lightning, and throw the Wizard and Bloom. The latter immediately grabbed his arm, and pulled him to the side.
'What do we do ?' Asked Layla as she joined the group.
'Are we sure they're our professors ?'
'I don't know Stella… Maybe they're… I don't know !'
Bloom couldn't believe what was happening.
She was supposed to rescue her friend, not meet up with all the professors from Alfea.
It made no sense to see them here.
'Wait !' Spoke up the Professor Wizgiz. 'We have one easy way to know if they're our students.'
The Professor Avalon narrowed his eyes, still fixated on the Fairies, but waited.
'Stella, what did you learn in the last class I taught you personally ?'
The blonde stared at him for some time, while her friends' eyes widened in surprise at the news.
'Nothing, we've never had any personal lessons.'
The Professor stayed quiet for a second, before a big smile appeared on his face, and he turned back to his companions.
'You said the clones didn't have the memory of the people they copy !'
The Professor Avalon sighed, before he nodded.
'Very well, these may be your students. But why is that criminal with them ?'
Bloom glanced at Valtor, suddenly realizing that she may have forgotten about his presence altogether. She didn't even think twice about what her professors would think when they noticed him. It just seemed natural to have him with by their side when they were on a dangerous mission, such as this one.
'Bloom, can you give us an explanation ?' Gently asked the Headmistress.
'Wait !' Interrupted Stella. 'How do we know that you're not clones ?'
Layla and Flora nodded.
'Ask us anything,' sighed Professor Palladium.
He seemed to be weaker than they'd ever seen in their life, and Bloom had to bite her lip.
They had to confirm their identity, but it didn't make things better.
'What happened during my first potion class ?'
The blonde professor smiled at Stella's question.
'You made an extremely rare and deadly poison, when you were only supposed to create scented water.'
Layla and Bloom had to stifle a laugh as Stella's cheeks became red, before she muttered an apology for doubting them.
'Now, can you explain why Valtor is here ?'
'We don't have that luxury,' cut in the Wizard. 'I believe one of your students is in the dungeons, and we need to get there before anything happens.'
Before any of them could protest, he nodded at Stella. She quickly got her sceptre out and flew down towards the teachers.
'I'm bringing you to Solaria, hold on tight.'
Mrs. Faragonda looked at Bloom one last time, before they all disappeared.
Somewhere in her stomach, the red head acknowledged the fact that a discussion would be required from all of them. The truth was finally coming out, but not in the way she'd planned it. It scared her to the core.
In a flash of light, Stella was back, seemingly replenished from spending some mere seconds on her home planet.
She immediately turned back to her civilian clothes, just like her friends, and Valtor started leading them down the corridor.
At first they didn't ask any questions, turning and walking straight towards somewhere when he did, but it eventually grew suspicious.
'Have you been there before ?'
'Yes.'
His voice was cold.
Layla didn't ask any more questions, but it made them realize that there was a lot more to him that they didn't know.
Bloom tried to ignore the thoughts in her head telling her that maybe he was working with Lord Darkar. Some part of her knew it was false, but the likelihood was still very high. He was, after all, and evil Wizard.
If he wished to gain more power, he could turn to the Shadow Phoenix like the Trix had. She bet this Lord would be thrilled to gain someone as powerful as Valtor and add him to his list of minions.
Then again, she didn't picture Valtor working for anyone but himself.
Her friends must've come to the same conclusion as her, because none of them stopped.
It became harder to breath as they walked down the stairs and into the darkest parts of the Fortress. Still, they didn't ask questions. There was no time to lose.
He eventually stopped in a corridor.
'It's a dead end,' noticed Flora.
He hummed, and they all felt his magic rise.
For a moment, the thought that it had been a trap came back, before he turned on his heels and towards one wooden door in particular.
He opened it, and sure enough, they all heard a gasp.
The Wizard looked back at them and nodded.
Layla rushed inside the room with Flora, while Bloom and Stella stayed on their guards.
Soon, the brunette was out. Exhausted, but a happy smile on her face.
'Let's go,' ordered the Wizard.
Stella couldn't teleport them anywhere as long as they were inside the Fortress, so they tried their best to walk out as fast as they could. But of course, they should've known their luck would run out.
When they finally came out unscratched, Stella got her sceptre out and prepared herself to teleport them all away, before they realized three familiar figures were flying in front of them.
'Leaving so soon ?' Cackled Stormy.
The ice Witch moved forward.
'Haven't you forgotten someone ?'
A ball appeared in front of them, with their Pixies asleep inside of them.
'What do you want Icy ?' Asked Bloom, her patience running thin.
The Witch laughed.
'I want to know where the Pixies' Village is !'
'You know we won't tell you,' calmly assured Layla. 'Why try ?'
The Witches widened their eyes in a mocking fashion.
'Here I thought you would want to help your little friends,' pouted Darcy as she moved to take the ball into her own hands.
Layla transformed without thinking twice.
'If you hurt them…'
'It'll be your fault !' Spit out the ice Witch. 'We're willing to exchange those pathetic creatures against the location of their village.'
Layla's breath caught in her throat, and she turned to look at Bloom helplessly.
The red head tightened her fists, trying to come up with some kind of idea.
'We don't know where it is,' she said.
'You may not,' laughed the illusion Witch. 'But she does.'
Bloom refused to turn her eyes back onto Layla.
'We can't accept those terms.'
'Then that's your loss,' gritted Icy between her teeth.
Stormy flew in front of them, and as if she was ready to give them the best show of their life, she clapped two times in her hands.
Layla was the first to notice that the ball was slowly becoming smaller.
'Tick tock Fairies.'
OMG I'm so tired and sorry that I can't give you more than that.
I'm super duper tired, and sick. Horribly sick. So I hope this chapter's quality is ok.
The holidays are starting at the end of this week, so the next two chapters should be up in time.
As always leave a comment, subscribe, like… and see you in the next chapter !