Tecna woke up with the worst headache of her life. "Ugh, what's wrong with me," she asked as she walked into the common area for coffee.
Riven noticed her sway and caught her wrist, "Woah, be careful. You're still recovering from a massive hangover."
"I didn't drink last night," Tecna argued. She then realized she couldn't remember any of last night and added, "Or, at least I don't think I did."
She took a sip of coffee and mumbled, "How am I going to get through class today?"
Helia gave her a week smile and suggested, "I can inform Codatorta that you are feeling under the weather. I am sure he will understand."
Tecna nodded and thought, 'maybe that is for the best.' She then looked over at the group of boys and asked, "Do any of you have a pair of sunglasses I could borrow? The light is killing me."
Brandon smirked; she was kind of cute when she was smashed. He walked into his room and grabbed a pair from his drawer. "Here you go."
"Thanks," Tecna replied.
…
Despite feeling sick as a dog, Tecna spent her time doing something she wanted to do. She looked out the window and observed each of the Specialists' strengths and weaknesses in class. She planned to ask the top person in each category to tutor her, so she could become a better fighter
She noticed Sky was the best when handling a sword, while Riven kicked ass in hand-to-hand combat and stealth. Brandon was superior in defensive maneuvers, and Timmy was an excellent marksman and strategist. Bishop was an expert when handling daggers, and Davos was a master dragon rider.
When two boys in the group got into a real fight, Helia used his laser gloves to quickly disarm the boy. She would have continued watching, but an overwhelming sense of nausea washed over her. The next thing she knew, she was in the bathroom with her head in the toilet.
…
Riven came back from practice early since Codatorta asked him to check on his daughter. When he opened the door to the apartment, he heard a retching sound and started laughing. He walked up to the dorm bathroom and found her sprawled out on the floor, resting her head on the toilet. "Having fun?" he asked cheekily.
She shot him the bird and asked, "What the hell did I do last night."
Riven laughed and asked, "Before or after you tried to clean a spilled drink with a burrito."
Tecna groaned and said, "You know, I think I liked you better when you hated everybody."
"Oh, I still do, but annoying you brings me great pleasure," Riven replied before leaving her vomit in peace.
…
A few days later, Tecna decided to put her training plan into action. Today she was meeting with Sky to learn how to handle a sword. To her surprise, Brandon was also waiting for her in the practice field. "I heard that you were going to be tutored by Sky. So, I stuck around to see if I could help," he said.
Tecna nodded, and Sky started to teach, "There are several different types of swords. You will be trained to use them all, but the one you choose to use on missions tends to be a personal preference. A long sword, like the one I wield, is generally used with both hands. It's heavier than most, which is why it is probably not the best choice for you. However, it is double-edged, so it can be more lethal than others. The broadsword, which Brandon uses, has a wider blade but tends to be lighter. Brandon has managed to master the blade well enough to reflect magic attacks. That is an advanced move, so put that in the back of your mind for now."
"So, what sword will I be using," Tecna asked.
Brandon pulled out a sword hilt and handed it to her. She pressed the button, and a phantoblade appeared.
"We think the best blade for you would be a phantoblade, like Timmy uses in class. It is much lighter, so it's better suited for those who have less muscle mass. However, that does not mean it is powerless. A phantoblade can cut through virtually any material and once mastered can reflect magic back to your opponent."
Tecna got into the position she learned in one of her classes and asked, "Before we start, is the safety on these?"
Sky nodded and showed her how to adjust the schools' blades to safety mode. Once all three were ready, "Brandon counted down: three, two, one, on guard."
As the two swords clashed, Sky was careful with how much strength he put into each blow. He wanted to train her, not hurt her. Surprisingly she seemed to be transitioning between the stances taught in class with little trouble.
"Watch your footwork," Brandon commented as he saw she nearly got knocked down by one of the blows. Sky raised his sword to the crown guard position and was surprised when she snapped the blade up with a long guard.
It would have been a good move had she not locked her arms. Sky took that opportunity to counterattack, he swept his leg behind her and kicked behind her knees making her lose balance. Tecna ended up on the ground with her sword knocked out of her hand. Sky held his sword to her throat, before lowering it and helping her up, "Not bad strategy-wise, but never lock your arms. It is too easy for your opponent to gain the upper hand."
He pulled her up, and they had a few more rounds before Brandon commented, "I think that's enough for the day. You look pretty tired."
Tecna wiped the sweat from her brow and nodded before asking, "Does Red Fountain have an archery range?"
Brandon raised an eyebrow and replied, "Of course, but we haven't discussed archery in class yet."
Tecna shook her head and replied, "Don't need to. My mother taught me, and it has been a while since I've been able to practice. I would like to start working on it tomorrow morning."
It was then the boys noticed the light bow and arrows she had by her backpack. Sky nodded and said, "I'll show you where it's at."
Tecna nodded and followed him to the archery gallery. To say that she was disappointed would be an understatement. If it was any smaller, she would have thought it was a shooting range at a carnival.
Sky asked, "Can I see you shoot?" He couldn't help but be curious about her skill level, considering how confident she seemed about archery.
"Sure, flip on the machine," Tecna replied.
He was about to do so when Codatorta walked in. "That won't be necessary," he said. He held up three tennis balls and continued, "If your mother taught you, I would like to see you practice the way she did."
"How did you know we were in here?" Tecna asked curiously.
"I ran into Brandon on the way to his dorm. He told me what you were doing, and I had to see for myself. I'll order more tennis balls for you to practice with later tonight," He replied before he let the balls loose. As they bounced in the air, Tecna grabbed one arrow right after another, the arrows piercing each ball through the center before pinning the balls to the wall.
"Holy shit," Sky mumbled. He knew that if you didn't hit the balls in just the right spot, it wouldn't pierce the ball. It would either slip past the ball clumsily or bounce off if hit at a bad angle. He was certain that she could give Timmy a run for his money.
Codatorta smiled proudly and said, "like mother like daughter."
Tecna bit her lip. It was painful thinking about her mom right now, even the good memories. She grabbed her quiver and said, "I'm going grab dinner. Thanks for showing me the range."
…
While eating, she couldn't help but be irritated by how outdated the archery gallery was. She needed another way to practice but didn't want to bother Codatorta any further.
She thought for a moment, Musa would be competing in a piano competition tomorrow. She had been training all last year for the chance to compete, so she would be too busy.
'Maybe one of the girls would be able to help,' Tecna thought to herself. She called Musa and greeted, "Hey Muse, can you put me on speakerphone with the girls?"
"Sure," replied dancing to some imaginary music in her head, "go on, Tecna, everyone's here."
"Hey girls, I was wondering if any of you were available tomorrow morning. I need help with something that the guys can't do," she said simply.
"I'm free," Bloom offered, "What do you need to do?"
"Fly," Tecna replied simply.
…
After Tecna finished explaining to the girls her plans, she searched the school for things she could use to build hanging targets.
She glued several pieces of cardboard together at the dorm table until they were super thick but still light. She noticed the guys watching her curiously from the couch. Tecna chose to ignore them rather than indulge their curiosity. They really needed to find a new hobby other than babysitting her.
…
The next day Tecna woke up extra early to pack her new targets and some rope. Then, not wanting to wake her roommates, she snuck out to meet Bloom near the stables.
Bloom was a couple minutes late, but Tecna didn't mind because it gave her time to saddle a horse. She pet her horse, Freedom, as she waited. Freedom was a temperamental black stallion she rode in her escape from Zenith with Codatorta. Others at red fountain had a hard time riding him, but he bonded with Tecna instantly. Tecna figured being a fairy helped in taming the beast.
Tecna saw Bloom approaching in the distance and waved. It was a beautiful day with a slight breeze. She was looking forward to hanging these along the path leading to Alfea. She painted both sides last night, so she could practice both ways to and from Alfea.
"Sorry, I'm late. My alarm clock didn't go off," Bloom yelled, running towards her.
"No problem," Tecna replied. She then showed her the targets and explained, "I want to hang these along the trees to and from Alfea. It will give me a chance to do target practice while I ride my horse."
Bloom nodded and transformed before saying, "Lead the way."
They rode down the path, and Tecna pointed to the trees and branches she wanted the Targets hung.
When they finally finished, Bloom asked, "So am I going to get to see you use this course?"
Tecna nodded, "Sure, fly high and tell me when to go." she said as she tightened a grip on the reigns.
Bloom sent up a flare, signaling Tecna to start. "Yah!" She screamed, taking off at full speed. She pulled her first arrow from her quiver and took aim.
…
Meanwhile, the boys were outside preparing to go to the competition when they saw a flare in the sky. "
"That looked like one of Bloom's flares," Sky commented. He pulled his hoverboard out of his pocket and pressed the button to expand it full size.
The rest of his friends did the same and followed him through the woods in that direction. They avoided the main path in case they needed to launch a sneak attack.
A few minutes in, they saw Tecna ride past at top speed with Bloom flying behind her. "When the guys realized nothing was chasing them, they flew their hoverboard closer to the girls and yelled, "Bloom, what's going on."
She stopped flying for a moment and explained, "I am watching Tecna do target practice."
At that moment, they heard an arrow fly and hit a target.
Tecna pulled another arrow out of her quiver and fired again as she rode down the path. The guys were shocked to see nearly all the shots were bullseyes, even with the wind moving the targets.
Bloom then pulled out her cellphone and started to film as she flew. When Tecna reached the end of the course, the guys met up with her.
"Wow, Tec, that was amazing," Timmy praised. Tecna smiled, noticing he used the shortened version of her name again.
Riven added, "Yeah, not bad."
"Great job, Hawkeye," Brandon complimented.
Tecna dismounted and gave the horse a treat from his saddlebag when Sky asked, "You really learned how to do that from your mom?"
Tecna nodded and explained, "Yes, that's actually how my mother met Codatorta. They were competing in an archery competition. This was before she was dating Cryos, obviously. When she won the championship, she thought Codatorta was going to be furious, considering he was the favored competitor. But, to her surprise, he asked her out instead."
"Aww, that's so romantic," Bloom commented.
The group then heard a voice behind them say, "It was." They turned to see Codatorta looking on proudly. "I saw the flare and thought someone might need help," he explained. He then continued his story about Tecna's mom, "Magnethia was everything you could have asked for in a woman: gorgeous, brilliant, and independent. I was smitten from the first time I laid eyes on her. When she won the competition, I knew she was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. We were happy until Magnethia's parents arranged for her to get married to Cryos." Codatorta paused looking disappointed, "Now that I know the flare wasn't an emergency. I am heading back."
With Codatorta gone, Sky asked, "We were going to head into Magix to watch Musa's performance, if you two want to join us?"
The girls looked at each other excitedly and replied, "Sure."
…
After returning to Red Fountain, the boys grabbed their hoverbikes and headed to the competition. When they reached the concert hall, the rest of the Winx were inside holding their seats. "It's about time you guys made it here," Stella commented, "I thought you got lost in the trees."
"I'm sure Flora would have found us if that were the case," Bloom replied jokingly.
"And we would have helped too," Sky said, hugging Bloom from behind and kissing her on the cheek.
"Prince Sky?" a voice called out.
Sky turned, and his eyes got wide, "Diaspro? What are you doing here?"'
"Catching you making out with this peasant girl. Is this how you plan on treating me once we're married?" Diaspro asked.
Bloom looked at the girl in surprise and concern, "Married? Miss Diaspro, maybe we should get you to a doctor. Clearly, you must have hit your head or something."
"That's Princess Diaspro to you, and there is no mistake. Prince Sky is my fiancé," She proclaimed, transforming into her fairy form.
"Sky isn't a prince. He's just a squire," Bloom explained before transforming to defend herself. Clearly, this Diaspro person was out of her mind, but why wasn't Sky saying anything, "Tell her Sky."
Sky looked at the two girls awkwardly, not knowing what to do.
Tecna knew things were about to get dangerous, she stepped between the girls. "Both of you, calm down. This competition means the world to Musa, and I'm not going to let you two ruin it."
Princess Diaspro scoffed, "And what do you plan on doing about it?"
"Tecna, stay out of this before you get hurt," Bloom said, glaring at Diaspro.
Tecna looked over to Sky, who put his head down in shame, "Unfortunately, I'm not the one who's going to get hurt in this situation."
Sky let out a sigh and clarified, "She's right, girls. Now transform back, and let's go talk about this."
"No way, there's nothing to talk about. You are my fiancé, Sky. So why are you even looking at other girls?" Diaspro asked angrily.
"This can't be true," Bloom responded tearfully.
She then looked over to Tecna and asked, "And you knew? Why didn't you tell me?"
Bloom ran out of the room, betrayed by both her lover and her friend. Tecna tried to run after her, but her sadness had caused the lights to flicker on and off, giving Bloom just enough time to escape.
The group looked around for a while but couldn't find Bloom.
Tecna estimated the time Musa would be performing, returned to the auditorium to hear her play. Musa had chosen to play a ballad she'd written last year called 'Bad Liar.'
Tecna knew the piece was about how Riven had hidden his feelings from her, but the rest of the group was clueless.
When Tecna and Musa roomed together last year, they became super close, almost like sisters. Musa was the only one who didn't treat her like a robot at Alfea. She was also the only person that tried to reach out to her in the first place. Alfea would have been a lonely experience if she had never met the pigtailed popstar.
When the song came to an end, they all clapped and resumed their search for Bloom. Tecna eventually found Bloom sitting on a bench crying. Emotions weren't Tecna's strongpoint, but she knew she couldn't just stand there and watch her cry, so she walked up to the girl.
When Tecna's shadow blocked out the sun, Bloom looked up and asked, "How long have you known?"
"It was a day or two after we went shopping," Tecna answered truthfully.
"Then why the hell didn't you tell me? Did I mean so little to you that you would keep such an awful secret from me?" Bloom asked.
Tecna sat next to her and replied, "I barely knew you at the time, and Sky's my roommate. Although I disagreed with what he was doing, I still had to live with him."
Bloom thought for a moment before saying, "You know, Musa told me that you had a hard time making friends… Now I can see why."
Tecna bit her lip, Musa was the only female friend she had. After hanging up all those targets, she thought maybe she made another. But Bloom was right, 'Who would want to be friends with a girl like her?'
Tecna stood up and said, "I'm sorry, Bloom. Truly I am." She was about to leave when a powerful spell knocked her off her feet. "Ahhh," Tecna screamed as her body crashed to the ground.
Bloom quickly transformed and said, "Tecna get out of here."
Tecna stood up wobbly, "No, y…you're going to g…get hurt."
A red ring appeared around Tecna, holding her arms down as Diaspro said, "I think you should listen to your friend."
"She's not my friend," Bloom replied angrily, "at least not anymore. Now let her go."
"She's not really my concern right now," Diaspro said. She used her magic to throw Tecna into a dumpster nearby, "Besides, even you should agree that this is exactly where she belongs for hiding this secret from us."
Bloom looked at Tecna in the corner of her eye, who kept slipping as she tried to climb out. No matter how mad she was at Tecna, she couldn't let Diaspro treat her like this. Besides, Sky is the one that cheated, not Tecna.
"I said leave her alone," Bloom transformed and yelled, "Heat storm!"
Fireballs started forming and flying towards Diaspro. The princess easily dodged it and sent a blast flying back.
Meanwhile, the guys saw loose magic flying in the air, signaling a magical duel. Figuring it was the girls, they headed to the location. Seeing shots being fired, they stood off to the side.
"What are we going to do?" Sky asked, trying to figure out a way to safely stop them.
"Nothing, let them kill each other, so you don't have to choose," Riven said as if it was perfectly reasonable.
Timmy thought for a moment and said, "I have an idea." He pulled out his laser gun and shot at the ground, away from the group. The sound startled the girls and they screamed. Brandon and Sky quickly separated the girls while Riven investigated a third scream he heard coming from the dumpster. Timmy walked over to see what he was looking at and was shocked to see Tecna.
"Tec, what are you doing in there," He asked.
"Yeah, if you were hungry, you should have just said so. You didn't have to go dumpster diving," Riven taunted.
"Just get me out of here already," Tecna said, trying not to let her temper flare.
Timmy climbed on the top and extended a hand down to her.
"Ugh, you stink," Riven said, holding his nose.
Tecna bit her lip, trying to reign in on her emotions. "I'll see you all back at Red Fountain," she said before running off on her own.
"Riven," Timmy scolded.
"What, she was in a dumpster. It makes sense that she stinks," Riven defended.
At that moment, Musa and the rest of the Winx ran up with a giant trophy, "I won!" Musa screamed.
"That's my girl," Riven said with a smirk while the others cheered.
"Congrats Musa," Timmy replied politely. Then, he turned away, and Musa asked, "Where are you going, Timmy? We're all going to go out for pizza to celebrate."
Timmy didn't want to upset Musa on her big day, so he said, "I am just going to grab my bike and head back. There's a big test coming up in combat class."
Musa looked disappointed but nodded, "Okay, I will see you later."
After Timmy ran off, Musa looked around and noticed someone was missing. "Where's Tecna?"
Sky and Bloom cringed before explaining the events of the day.
…
When Timmy had found his bike and rode back to Red Fountain, Tecna was already in their dorm and taking a shower. When she exited the bathroom, he could tell she was crying from her red and puffy eyes. "I'm sorry Riven said that to you," Timmy said softly.
Tecna ran a brush through her hair as she replied, "I'm not upset over that."
"But you are upset," Timmy countered, "Do you want to talk about it."
Tecna let out a sigh, "I don't know if you know this, but Musa is the only female friend I have. She was the only friend I had at all before coming to Red Fountain."
She continued, "When Bloom helped me this morning, I fooled myself into thinking that maybe... just maybe, I found another person who liked me for me, quirks and all. Now thanks to Sky's inability to keep it in his pants, I am pretty sure Bloom hates me."
Timmy could feel the sadness and frustration coming off in waves. He couldn't change what happened, but maybe he could try to make it better. At that moment, he received a text from Musa.
"Keep her occupied," it said simply.
Timmy looked back up at Tecna and asked, "Are you hungry?
…
Tecna was working on developing a new app when she heard a knock on the door. She opened it and was surprised to see Timmy carrying about eight pizzas. "Timmy!" she said, grabbing half of them before he tripped from not being able to see. "Why did you get so many? It's just us here," she asked.
"I didn't know what you liked," he joked as he grabbed a stack of paper plates and some plastic cups. Tecna went to close the door when a foot stopped her. She looked up to see Musa and the rest of the girls standing there. The guys were behind them, holding bags of junk food and video games. "What's going on?" Tecna asked.
Musa smiled and said, "I won the competition, so I get to choose how we spend the day. I want to spend the day with you, so grab your stretchy pants, and let's feast on junk food while kicking the guys' butts in video games."
Tecna smiled but looked over to Bloom hesitantly, "Are you fine with this?"
"Call it a temporary truce," Bloom responded simply.
Tecna nodded and said, "Well, don't just stand there, come on in."
A/N: Hi, I noticed a viewer was uncertain whether Tecna was the Princess of Zenith or Codatorta's daughter. The answer is, she grew up thinking that King Cryos was her father, but after a blood test, she found out her biological father is Codatorta. Now she is unsure who she wants to call her father: the man who raised her only to betray her, or the man who is trying to make up for lost time.