Musa raised an eyebrow. "Its that Daphne diva, right?" Bloom shook her head. "No, its a male's voice... or a thing's voice..." Tecna frowned from in her bed. "The Overloard..." She whispered to herself. "Bloom! Its the Overloard!" She called painfully. "Don't listen to him, he's trying to change your mind about Faragonda!"
Bloom shuddred. "But, Tecna... what if he's right? I mean, Faragonda might get mad or something and-" "-Bloom! Don't listen to him! Agh!" Tecna was too weak to be talking to Bloom like that, and through all the stress she managed to injure her back. "Just go, Bloom." She said. "Go to Faragonda."
Bloom paused. "I... okay..." Everyone smiled and left the room, with Bloom bringing up the rear. She couldn't believe that the Overloard could find her, and now he was holding her back...
Back from her Destiny...
Stella tapped lightly on Faragonda's office door. "Come in." The headmistress said. "We need to talk to you, Miss Faragonda. Its important." Flora said quietly. By now the Overloard was tugging feircely in Bloom's mind. She didn't want to tell Miss Faragonda about the Terminal.
"Listen, we're being targeted by a Terminal." Musa said. "Its an Overloard." Miss Faragonda's eyes widened. "No... it can't be possible!" Faragonda said. "Overloards are a dying race... someone couldn't possibly have revived Rarion..." Faragonda faced the girls. "You alone can't defeat him... Rarion is too powerful..."
"So you're saying that this Terminal, which is an Overloard, his name is Rarion?" Stella asked. "Come on we have to go! Sorry Miss Faragonda!" Bloom suddenly said. "No, Bloom, you know what Tecna said!" Stella growled, grabbing Bloom's arm.
Faragonda continued. "Rarion lives in the tombs of Shadowfist Ravine. Only the bravest go there- if you're being targeted by him in your dreams, you must be extra careful." Flora nodded. "All of us are, even some of the Specialists at Red Fountain."
"In that case, we'll have to send many Red Fountain boys to help. I can't risk losing you girls... and boys. Leave the office, please. I must consult the Elders..." The four girls nodded and quickly left. Bloom felt horrible- as if she had told ten thousand lies, as if she had murdered, as if she had stolen. She felt lower then dirt. The Overloard was still convincing her to not go. And if she didnt, that would easily lead to the death of her friends.
One of her friends was already dangerously close to death...
Quickly the girls entered the dorm and looked at the clock. "Class with Palladium is about to start." Flora said. "We better hurry up and get ready." Suddenly someone screamed from Tecna's room. Everyone quickly rushed inside, alarmed. Musa was standing over Tecna, her eyes wide with terror, and she was pointing. "She's dead! She's dead!" Musa repeated, her heart beating fast.
Flora's teeth chattered with fear as a shudder trickled down her spine. "Are you sure?" She asked. Tecna had all the traits of death- pale skin, and unmoving. She wasn't breathing either. "Maybe the Terminal killed her!" Stella said fearfully. "But it couldn't have. Overloards are nocturnal. They only strike at night." Bloom suddenly said. Everyone now turned to her. "How did you know that?" Asked Flora. "No time to worry about that now! She's not dead yet!" Stella exlaimed, hope returning to her.
"She's got a pulse. Quick, get a nurse! We'll have to ask what happened to her later!" Musa said, her hand over Tecna's chest. "Don't forget to ask Bloom how in the Realms she knew more about Overloards then we did!" Flora pointed out. "Come on, let's get the nurse, quick! Stella can stay behind and keep an eye on Tecna."
The bell rang for the next class, but the girls weren't going to be there. Quickly they retrieved the nurse. Hopefully they could save Tecna before she would truly die.
Quickly, the girls returned, a nurse running along their side. Not only was there a nurse, but there was a doctor as well. Quickly they gathered around the fallen fairy, checking to see what was wrong. "Quick, I need a painless spell. We need to preform operation A-C." The doctor said calmly as the nurse casted a spell. "Don't worry, girls, your friend will be fine, but I'm glad you got us in time. We'll have to cut into her injury and get to her the medication. This happens commonly in Binary Galaxy people, so we know how to handle it. You get on to class and we'll handle this."
Musa huffed. She didn't want to go to class with her best friend in her condition. But she didn't want to see any bleeding open wounds either, so she and the others sadly left to their classess.
Images of the Overloard flooded Bloom's mind as she walked down the hall. "Fear me... do not come... fear will consume your friends... and it will all be your fault..." His gurgly voice filled her mind. "Their death will be on your shoulders..." Bloom saw Flora in her visions, halfway disembodied and lying at the Overloard's heavy feet. She saw Stella slammed and stuck to the wall. She saw a piece of Musa's shirt in one of the Overloard's teeth- and she saw Tecna wrapped in one of his tentecles- strangled. "This will happen if you come... so do not dare..." The voice faded, and Bloom was pale and clammy. If she went, the overloard would terminate all of her friends and let her excape- and the deaths will be on her shoulders.
The rest of the afternoon went this way. The Overloard continued to pester Bloom in her mind, showing her all the posibilities of how he could destroy her friends. The more Bloom saw, the more she did not want to destroy the Overloard. But if you think about it, either way the Overloard would have his way- to have all of her friends defeated. If Bloom did try to stop him, he would kill her friends. But if she didn't, he would kill them in their dreams.
But that was just what she thought.
The Overloard was truly afraid of her, and he tried with every possible way he could to change her mind. Bloom found it impossible to pay attention in class, all she could think about was what the Overloard would do.
Finally the day drifted on, and all the girls were able to retreat to their dorm. "I can't belive I got a D in that class!" Stella complained. "I thought I studied yesteday, but I guess the Terminal problems are holding me back. Man, we HAVE to get rid of it!" Bloom paused. No, they shouldn't. They'd get hurt. Flora noticed the way Bloom was acting. "What's wrong, honey?"
"Nothing." Bloom replied. "Let's just check on Tecna"
Musa quickly went to Tecna's side of the room to see what was up. She seemed fine, and was awake, to her relief. "Hey! You're alive!" Musa said suddenly, then blushed. "What do you mean? Was I dead?" Tecna asked worriedly. "Yeah, you were, sorta." Musa replied. "But I guess the doctor saved you, that's awesome."
Tecna blushed. Had she really caused so much trouble on her friends? Then she saw Bloom, who was obviously troubled by the Overloard. "Don't listen to him, Bloom! Don't do it. Whatever he's telling you is a lie. Trust me." Tecna told her.
Bloom shook her head. "No, Tecna. I belive him."
-
Everyone faced Bloom, worried. "What do you mean, you belive him? Did you not HEAR Tecna!" Stella said. Bloom nodded. "I heard her. But I don't believe her. The Overloard's right- we can't fight him! None of us can."
Tecna groaned. Was Bloom too late to turn back? Would Bloom end up like her father? Her father didn't trust himself with the Overloard until the last oppurtunity possible- and most of his friends died because he didn't fight the Overloard in time. If they went without Bloom, they could be in the same position as Tecna's father- or worse.
"Bloom! My father made the same mistake you're making now! He almost DIED because of it! Don't let that happen to you! Trust me!" Tecna pleaded, feeling as useless as she was the past few days. She had enough strength to stand on her feet, so she quickly scrambled out of bed and faced Bloom square in the eyes. Maybe if Bloom saw how serious she was she would understand just how decieving the Overloard was.
Bloom paused, staring into Tecna's bright green eyes and finally, she said, "Alright. I understand." In her mind, she hear the Overloard squeal, his plan fading.
The Overloard had to get rid of Tecna some way, somehow. If Tecna knew the answers to all of his lies, she could pull Bloom out of wanting to let the Overloard handle her friends without her. If he could get his hands on Tecna's neck- if he could kill her, then Bloom would be all his to torment.
Tonight would be his moment to strike.
Tonight, in just two hours.
TO BE CONTINUED
((And just in case you're wondering, it IS spelled "Overloard" and not "Overlord". I wanted to make the spelling different because there is this video game with an "Overlord" in it. I just thought that was a cool name and switched up the spelling ))
I've decided to add more...
Meanwhile, Icy, Darcy, and Stormy stood in the Overloard's rancid cave, standing in front of the beast. "Well? What's the information? Speak up before I turn you into a kitten!" The Overloard grumbled in reply, then said, "The red-haired one was decieved until the logical one kept her from my challenges..." He said in his gurgly voice, looking at Icy, Darcy, and Stormy with his many eyes. "I will try to destroy her tonight so I may do as you command. For restoring me you have your wish... For I know of whom my new target is. Her father killed me..."
Icy smiled. "Good. If you don't devour her, I'd like her wings as a trophy. They are an interesting peice..." The Overloard nodded. "You will have your wish..." Icy then laughed and snapped her fingers for Darcy. "On it." Replied the Darkness witch and they teleported back to Cloud Tower. They'll visit the Overloard tomorrow morning for their prize...
"We're here." Flora said, finding herself in a familiar place. One by one, she saw her friends take on materialization (sp) around her. "Now let's find the boys." Stella said, quickly turning her ring into a Scepter. "I agree, let's go." Musa said, pointing to the hill.
Bloom found it hard to follow, but with Tecna's support she was able to come along with the girls. They were so occupied in finding the Red Fountain boys that they didn't notice a creature watching them from above.
"His wish is my command." The creature said to himself, his eyes glowing faintly. He was a Werewolven, similar to a Werewolf, but more cunning and agile. His eyes were locked on a particular vibrant-haired girl...
"You're mine, fairy of the Techno Dust!"
Stella slammed her Scepter into the ground with a satisfied huff. "Well, I guess all we have to do now is-" She was inturuppted by a scream for help over a nearby rocky hill. "Uh-oh!" Flora said. "Let's go see who needs help!" Musa, Flora, and Tecna nodded, ready for action. Bloom just paused, but finnaly agreed. Quickly, the group went into Winx and flew as fast as they could to reach the hilltop.
All but Tecna.
From her drained energy, she couldn't keep up with them, and she found herself falling from being airborne and resting upon the ground. "I'll catch up." She said, gathering her energy.
The wrong move.
"I've got you now..." The Werewolven said to himself as he crept up behind her. With a swift move, he grabbed her from behind and threw his paw over her mouth so she couldn't call for help, and he took her quickly into the shadows. Tecna struggled in vain to dispatch herself from his grasp, but she was hopeless. The Werewolven now grabbed her neck, then punched her so hard that he knocked out one of her teeth, tearing at the gums that surrounded it. The tooth skittered across the rocky ground. She moaned in pain but couldn't scream any louder, he was choking her. Sickening amounts of blood rolled down her chin, and the Werewolven smiled, licking his teeth. He liked the taste and looks of blood. With his paw, he wiped off her chin, then licked his furry hand clean. "Now then..." He said, facing her square in the eyes, "I'll take your wings." Tecna struggled as he put his free paw on her right wing, tugging painfully at it. She thought she could feel a segment of it begin to tear away from her Winx outfit...
Tecna shut her eyes as she felt even more of her wing begin to tear away from herself. Through all the horrible pain, she thought of Timmy. Now she would never marry him. The world spun as she gave up on all traces of hope, letting her life excape.
"RRRROOOAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!" The sound shook the very floor, rumbling through the mountains and canyons. The Werewolven stopped, dropping Tecna heavily on the ground, fear in his bright yellow eyes. The roar repeated, except closer, and over the top of a mountain jumped none other then a...
...Dragon.
The Dragon beared his teeth and watched the Werewolven. The Wolven squealed with fright and tried to get away, but the dragon pounced upon it and ate it whole. Tecna, after gathering her breath, watched with horror. The dragon eyed her narrowly, then flew away, uninterested. To Tecna, it was a mirical.
By now her mouth was filled with the sickening salty taste of blood that had poured out of the hole where her tooth was. She spit out the remains and located the tooth. Perhaps when they got out of this nightmare she could get it replaced. "How embarrasing..." She said to herself, the 'S' sounding more like a whistle.
"Tecna!" The Winx girls and Prince Sky ran down the hill towards her. "Are you alright?" Flora asked, worried. "I'm fine..." She said, swallowing a bit more blood. "Just lost a tooth..." Prince Sky grimaced. "Come on, you look a bit more hurt then that, can you at least agree that you're injured? Look at me, I can feel a lot of pain right now. Tell us what happened!" Tecna sighed. "Okay... here it goes... When I fell behind, I was suddenly attacked by this werewolf thing. He almost killed me and took my wings..." She winced in pain as she was reminded of her wing. It felt slightly askew and hurt terribly. "Turn around." Bloom said and examined her wing. "Wow, I'm glad he didn't take it off! That's going to take a while to heal." She exclaimed, noticing that the green, glowing wing was horribly off where it should be. "Anyway, he managed to punch one of my teeth out. I would've been dead if it wasn't for the dragon." Sky smiled. "The dragon! What color was it?" Tecna shrugged. "I think it was green but it was hard to see with the Werewolf choking me like he was."
"That's my dragon!" Sky said and laughed. "I knew that would work! Last night Timmy launched a program to bring the dragon into his owners' dreams. Since our dreams are real, I think my dragon got in." Tecna smiled. "That's a great plan..."
She looked over on the horizon as Timmy and Riven came shouting. "We found you!" Riven said. "Do you know how long we were out here?" He slowed down to catch his breath as Timmy ran strait over to Tecna. "You're hurt!" He said worriedly. "What happened?" His girlfriend sighed and told him the story again. "Well you better get some rest and recover. In the meantime we have to look for-" Timmy began, but was cut off by a sudden shout from Bloom. "BRANDON!" She cried. "He's in danger!"
How do you know that, Bloom?" Stella asked. "I just... I just know, let's go." Musa held up her hand. "Wait a minute, Bloom. First you knew that the Overloard is nocturnal, and NOW you know that Brandon is in danger. What is going on?"
Bloom sighed. "Look, I don't know how I know this. But I do, and I don't really know how." Tecna stood up. "I know." She said. "Bloom is the keeper of the Dragonfire. She, when the Overloard looked into her mind, took some of the memory and information from the Overloard as well. So now, since the Overloard had gotten into her brain, she can get into his." Bloom nodded. "Yeah, I agree with Tecna. I think that's the problem."
"Problem?" Flora asked. "Do you know what this means, Bloom? It means you can get into the Overloard's mind and see just what he's planning!" Bloom smiled, then said, "I'll figure that out later. Now we have to save Brandon"
The five fairys and three specialists had to make their way over a ravine. Musa picked Riven and then carried him, flying across first. "Dude, you're HEAVY!" She said and caught her breath when she made it to the other side. Stella winked to Sky and lifted him up next, flying him across. Flora lifted up Tecna and carried her, because she didn't have enough energy to fly, and she couldn't anyway with her injured glider/wing. Bloom took Timmy. Luckily, it all went well and the girls were able to fly everyone across. "Man, that ravine is deep!" Commented Flora, leaning over the edge. It seemed to go on forever- she couldn't see the bottom.
"I'm glad no one dropped anyone." Riven said. "I didn't trust anyone but Musa on that one." He blushed, had he said too much? Luckily for him, no one took notice- their attention was fixed on a nearby cave. "Brandon is in there." Bloom said with determination.
"NO!" The Overloard squealed from in his caverns. Tecna got away? How dare she! The Overloard shivered with anger. Now what would he say to the witches? He had to find out another way to destroy her before the Witches would check on him for her wings in the morning.
With his third eye, he checked on the location of the travelers. "Blood ravine..." He moaned to himself. "Maybe I can knock that annoing fairy down there"
"There's a huge clot of rocks over here! How are we going to break in?" Sky asked, looking at the cave entrance, which was covered over in rocks and boulders. "Here!" Timmy said. "Stand back, everybody!" He took his Bee-kicker blaster out of his hostler and pulled the trigger.
The stinger bullets slammed into the boulders, instantly knocking them in. "Good work, Timmy." Sky said and gave the geek a thumbs-up. ((Lol, geek, just had to say that.))
The group entered the cave and immediatly noticed a huge creature chewing on something. Bloom's heart fell as she imagined the worst. With all her might, she blasted the creature with the Dragonfire...
It moaned and stepped backwards, revealing not Brandon's corpse, but a mere animal. Brandon was stuck to the wall in a sticky substance, obviously next on the menu. Bloom screamed and flew over to him- he was unconscios but not dead. Bloom quickly removed him from the wall and lowered him gently to the ground while everyone else was locked in combat.
The creature roared with anger, locking his eyes on Flora. She gasped as he charged at her, slamming her with his horns! Tecna gasped and saw the impact knock her friend out of the cave and over the ravine- Flora was knocked cold and couldn't fly back up!
With single-minded determination, Tecna jumped down the ravine after her, eyes closed. She couldn't see what waited below anyway. "Please work... please work..." She told herself over and over, hoping her wings would allow her to fly...
Slam! A rock scraped up against her spine, tearing the flesh... SMACK! Another rock rammed up against her arm. Luckily for Flora, she hadn't hit anything yet...
Tecna held her breath and closed her eyes as she tried to fall faster then Flora. Quickly, when she leveled up to her, she grabbed Flora and tried to fly, but it was useless. Wind rushed past as she dare not look down. She knew she would die even if she saw what lie ahead, but she held Flora above herself so maybe she could save her...
The Overloard smiled as he watched.