Diaspro flew up to the other Loopers, sans Helia, discussing to themselves.
"Hey guys. What's going on?"
"Oh, Diaspro. There you are. Look at this." Bloom pointed at a portal, where five familiar faces were talking among themselves.
"Are they... you guys?"
"Yes. No, this isn't a Misaka Glitch." Flora explained.
"Then, what am I seeing?"
"Mini-me Loop," Icy explained. "Have you seen Austin Powers?"
"What powers?"
"Well, it involves a mi-oof!" Darcy shot Musa a dirty look before correcting herself. "Little person that looks exactly like the villain."
"Uh huh."
"Well this is kinda like that, except instead of height, it's Looping."
"So they're not Awake?"
"Yes."
"So just say they're not Awake. It's easier to say that."
"We'll keep that in mind." Stormy said.
"So, what are we going to do?"
"No clue," Tecna shrugged.
"Brainstorming..." Roxy snapped her fingers. "Any ideas?"
"I call vacation." Stella raised her hand.
"Vacation. I like that idea. All approve?" Flora asked, finding everyone raising their hands. "Vacation Loop it is. Where are we going to?"
"That resort planet we were at in Baseline sounds fun." Musa suggested.
"Sounds good. Let's pack our things."
Everyone made their approval known as Helia watched them scatter from his nearby hiding place.
'Perfect. It's time.'
(Jesse Lee)
Diaspro checked the connections on the Barbecue, checking things off her mental list once she was sure there would be no gas leak.
"That's the third time you've checked the connections," Bloom said as she dropped off trays for the not yet cooked food.
"Is everything okay?" Sky asked, still holding the container of cutlery, knowing full well things weren't okay.
"Sorry, it's just... my first mini-me loop, and today is..."
"The day of the Royals," Bloom finished for her, "and it's almost time for our... meeting."
"Yeah," Diaspro sighed, "I didn't think the desire to watch up close would be this... strong. I mean, seeing it in the Hub footage is one thing, but..."
"Being here is different?" Diaspro nodded in response.
"Well, why don't you girls go watch, and I'll get the food started," Sky suggested, flinching when Diaspro turned on him with a serious frown.
"You aren't touching the barbecue Sky."
"Oh come on, I can 'throw a shrimp on the barbie,' just as well as you can," he tried not to pout.
"First of all, it's prawn, you flaming galah, second, we have some emu and 'roo in the meats, they take a little finenessing, so just... wait."
"What does emu even taste like?" Bloom wondered out loud.
"Vengeance," came Diaspro's whispered response as she squinted off into the ether.
Diaspro's brow was wrinkled with a light confusion as the festivities at Red Fountain broke up in the aftermath of the fairy fight.
"Hey," Bloom pulled her attention back from wherever it had gone, "what's wrong?"
The blonde opened her mouth and an odd noise came out as she choked on her tumble of thoughts, clearing her throat, she tried again.
"I remember being so much... angrier, than mini-me was."
"Really? That looked like the normal interaction to me."
Diaspro reacted with slight surprise, "huh... that's weird, maybe it's just because this is..."
"The fight that ended with you killing me once?"
"Yeah, that. Mini-me though, she wasn't... angry so much as she was on the defensive."
Bloom snorted quietly, "well some random crazy did come up to her and start attacking for no reason."
The corner of Diaspro's mouth quirked upwards, "urgh I know, who let that nut-job out in public?"
The two fairies started laughing, Bloom smacking her friend gently in rebuke.
"Come on, we have a barbecue to go cook."
"Oh Fand, I hope no one started the roo meat, that stuff dries out so fast if you cook it wrong."
(Jeanne Summers)
Helia made his way out of Cloud Tower, his latest acquisition clutched in his hand. Dealing with the Trix, making a deal with the Trix, left him feeling slimy in a way that was soul deep. He hadn't wanted to deal with those witches, but they were the only ones who had the ability that he needed for his plan to work.
Besides, in a few short years, it wouldn't matter anyway.
Aisha laughed as she ran from the treeline, Nabu hot on her heels. She whooped as she made it to the picnic rug set on the grassy lawn of the outlook first, flopping down beside the waiting basket. Nabu chuckled as his girlfriend's glee, then smirked and moved to flop on top of her.
Aisha let out a small shriek as he dropped, lifting her arms to catch him. She smacked him lightly on the arm as he caught himself with magic before his weight could land on her, and he accepted the hit with a small chuckle, moving to lay beside her.
The duo lay quietly in the soft sun light for a while, small giggles occasionally break out, both pleased with their hiking date.
Helia felt he was cutting it close as he waited, the world around him falling apart. But he had to wait, or he risked being seen and drawing the wrong sort of attention.
The Winx and the Specialists left the portal, and the Trix were trying to find their own way out, as far as he could figure.
On the ground, the remains of Darkar, if they could be called that, writhed. Unseen and incorporeal the Shadow Fire lingered by the stone where its host-form had been defeated.
Stepping forward, Helia pulled out the vial he had commissioned from the Trix a year prior, and used it to draw in the Shadow Fire.
He couldn't risk running into one of the other loopers once he absorbed it himself, so for the time being, it was safest hidden in his Pocket.
From his memories of base line, the room outside Relix would be cleared quickly, so he didn't wait long before reopening the portal, and letting himself out.
He sneered at the device he'd used to open the portal, throwing back into his Pocket as he made a hasty retreat from the crumbling lair. He may have had to resort to desperate measures, but soon it would be over, and it would all be worth it.
The air of Convent was as warm and oppressive as she remembered, Diaspro pulled her light cowl a little firmer over her hair and went in search of her younger self. She'd kept dropping in over the years, to watch, observe and take stock of her baseline self, and every time, the younger her had been far less angry than she remembered being.
Diaspro found her younger self in the meditative rock garden, her favourite from her own time in Convent. For a moment she watched in silence as the younger fairy argued with her self silently.
With a sneer and a silent snarl, Diaspro the younger tossed her head, hair flipping over her shoulder.
For a brief second, the line of her neck was exposed to view, the archaic loop stop breathing.
'No,' the older Diaspro thought, denial pulling itself from her mind and slamming itself over the evidence before her.
Every single time she'd come to watch her baseline self, the baseline version had been less angry than she remembered.
Until Valtor.
Diaspro raged inside her own mind, planning and plotting her way back to King Erendor's good graces. 'This was all Bloom's fault,' she thought with a huff, flipping her hair
over her shoulder in irritation, 'if I can just get rid of that peasant!'
"I'm not sure if I want to be wrong about this," the voice from the entry arch startled her, Diaspro almost tripped as she turned to face the interloper, freezing as she caught sight of them.
It looked like her, as if she'd ever be caught dead in that outfit, or with her hair cropped short. Before she could say anything, or let the fraud in her face know how badly they'd botched their disguise, the new comer flung out an arm, a small bottle in their hand trailing a fine, sparkling dust. Diaspro raised an arm to defend herself from the attack; since she was still within the first few weeks of her 'rehabilitation,' her magic was bound, she'd have to rely on her princess training to fend off any assaults from this... doppleganger.
The glitter fell over her, seeping into her, but it didn't hurt. The banished princess stumbled, trying to drag in enough air to breathe as the magic tingled throughout her body, dissolving a strangling force she hadn't even noticed was there.
'The king was right to banish me,' she thought suddenly, seeing her recent actions with a new clarity, 'it wasn't... I didn't... but I did, why did I?'
"What have I done?" Her prince, whom she loved and was sworn to protect, and she'd... she'd "WHAT HAVE I DONE!?"
Diaspro felt sick to her stomach as she watched her younger self's confused anguish, genuine tears of regret crystallising on the younger girl's cheeks.
Instincts kicking in, Diaspro gathered the girl in her arms, running a soothing hand through her hair, even as she herself fell off kilter.
She'd hoped she'd been wrong about the Mark of Valtor on her mini-me's neck, but the instant her fairy dust had struck, she'd seen the dark energies dissipate.
As a tainted version of the Dragon Fire, was it possible Valtor's Mark had remained on her through multiple loops? Was it possible everything she'd gone through, everything she'd done, had been because of him?
What had she been thinking, the first time she'd said yes to the love potion? She couldn't even remember any more.
But, she'd broken Valtor's influence since then, hadn't she? Yes, she was sure, she'd Woken up face to face with him, put him through a wall.
So... had it been completely her own decision to take and use that potion?
And every action after that to get Sky back... had that been?
The younger Diaspro wailed, and the elder held her tighter, trying to shove the maelstrom of thoughts as far away from herself as she could.
Surely it didn't even matter now? She'd taken responsibility, she'd made her peace and moved on. What did it matter now?
The idea had come to him when he'd realised what kind of loop this was, when the others had explained it to Diaspro as he watched on from afar. When he realised the unique opportunity this loop presented.
Helia watched the 'mini' Winx from his hiding place as they set the artefacts down on the table, leaving them out in the open while they went off to party.
It was almost too easy to slip past the defences of these Winx, to come and go from the school as he pleased, waiting for just the right moment.
For this moment.
The looping versions were always so much more aware, even when they didn't seem to be paying attention to their surroundings. He never would have gotten away with this if they were anywhere nearby.
The door of the Winx Club's dorm closed, and Helia waited until their footsteps faded down the hall. He gave it another few minutes for them to come back for anything they'd forgotten, then he slipped out into the room.
It was done in seconds.
He left the room with the artefacts in tow, a forged letter left behind from 'Arcadia'.
These Winx wouldn't think anything of it, they were...
younger than the loopers, more naive.
Paler somehow than their looping selves, like a fabric gone through too many washes, their was something... less vibrant about them.
But this... was the way it was meant to be, the way it had to be again.
Helia was doing the right thing.
He was.
The group sat around a large table, beneath an opaque cloth canopy, a cool breeze brought the scent of the wild flower field to them as the chatted over their summer lunch. Plates were swapped, rockmelon for watermelon, the salad was nudged along the table, an olive slice falling from the crisp green leaves to roll across the table cloth.
Aisha stretched and sighed, "this is great, we really deserved this break." Along the table came noises of agreement.
"Is it wrong of me that I'm glad Helia didn't show up at all?" Bloom asked, accepting the salad dressing from Sky.
Flora frowned, "things have been a little weird with him lately."
"Yeah," Bloom allowed, "but I meant more because of Diaspro."
"Where is she anyway?" Icy asked.
"She said something about... 'convent' I think?"
"She's going to talk to her mini-self in exile," Sky explained, more aware of where mini-Diaspro had been sent after... recent events.
"So you noticed it too?" Roxy asked Bloom, "How weird Diaspro suddenly started getting whenever Helia was in the room?"
"Yeah," Bloom nodded.
Stella frowned as she reached for the salad, "why, what's going on between them?"
"No idea, but it was... what was happening at the time... oh right, just after she brought back the baby pictures, you remember, and then she blew up Pluto by accident because someone sent her the death bear."
Stella was frozen, a pair of tongs full of salad half way to her plate.
"Snookums," Brandon placed a hand on her shoulder, "you okay?"
A cherry tomato fell from Stella's gathering of salad, plonking onto her plate before bouncing off.
"SON OF A BITCH!"
The others stared in surprise at the blonde's outburst, watching as she set down the salad tongs with so much force, she cracked both them, and her plate.
"Helia! Who recently Woke up and has been having issues with how things have 'changed,' so much in fact that Fand actually sent him to Setsuna for a chat on coping!? Who we know had explosives that could destroy an entire planetoid? Who's ex-girlfriend's wife was the one to have her Pocket explode!?"
Flora looked like she wanted to be sick, "he wouldn't have, surely? I thought he was doing better."
"Someone call Diaspro, see if she knows who sent her the Bomb-in-a-bear."
Bloom was already on her phone.
"Diaspro! Who sent you the Bomb-in-a-bear?... But as far as you can tell, it was Helia?... Stella's right then, Helia may be the one who blew up Tecna's Pocket... I think we need to have a serious talk with Helia... come meet us a- wow," Sky jerked forwards to catch Bloom as she began tipping out of her seat, across the table Stormy and Roxy grabbed Daphne before she could fall.
"... What, oh sorry Diaspro, dizzy spell... uh, since about the same time as Daphne? Huh that's weird."
"Something feels wrong," Daphne said, holding her head like it would stop her brain from spinning.
"Can you tell what it is?" Flora asked, reaching for her.
"I think it's... The Shadow Fire? or... is that, the Water Stars?"
"What do you mean," Sky asked, catching Bloom's phone before it could fall from her hand, changing it to speaker as he set it on the table.
"The Dragon Fire, the Shadow Fire and the Water Stars are all connected," Bloom answered, "Sometimes Daphne and I can feel them as a result, but this... I don't know what this is?"
"Maybe we should go check this out," Stella suggested, "nothing like this happened in baseline, and this should be a baseline loop."
"But where do we start?" Brandon asked.
"Shadow Haunt," Flora said, "we know the Shadow Fire is involved, we should start there, the Water Stars will be with our younger selves, so they should be able to figure something out where they're concerned. Diaspro?"
"I'll meet you at Darkar's Lair."
"Good," Bloom's phone beeped as Diaspro hung up, "alright everyone, Vacation is officially on hold."
Diaspro, the younger, sniffled as another warm wind brushed over her. The elder Diaspro rubbing a soothing hand along her spine.
"He'll never forgive me, not for this." The younger fairies words were whispered, clogged with unshed tears, a small pile of tears already wept gathered by her feet.
The still, oppressive air of Convent was shattered by a sudden ringing.
"Sorry sweetie," the elder pulled a phone from her pocket and answered. "Don't worry I'll be the- ...The Bomb-in-a-bear? Well I'm not sure if Helia actually sent it, or if it was someone wearing his face, I could only follow the trail back that far with my Tracix, and you can't exactly dispel past illusions in it... yeah?"
Her slight confused frown morphed into something much angrier. "That makes way too much sense, …, agreed where should I meet you? … Bloom? … since when do you get dizzy spells?"
The elder Diaspro became a terrifying shade of pale in response to whatever Bloom had said.
"I'll meet you at Darkar's Lair." She snapped the phone closed and turned to her younger self, "I am so sorry, I would stay here and walk you through this emotion turmoil, but the fabric of the multiverse, certainly our universe, may be in immense danger." Her eyes slid to the side, like she was looking at something far away or long ago, and whispered to herself, "I never thought he'd go this far."
"What's happening? Please! Who Are You!?" The younger Diaspro placed a hand on her elder self's wrist. The older blonde shook her head, standing.
"Sorry, I'm you from an alternate future, and apparently a friend is having a mental breakdown which could destroy this universe and singe the multiverse. One of us should have noticed before this how bad it was getting. Fand, I just hope..." she pressed her hands to her face, "I'm sorry, I have to go." A pair of brilliant wings appeared on her back, and she disappeared. (Jeanne Summers)