"No, the Overmind is." Timmy replied. "He controls the Zerg- that's how the Eggs formed so quickly. He sees everything out of the eyes of the Zerg..." Timmy ducked as the Wall attempted to attack him again. "This crazy building is going to eat us alive if we don't get out," Riven said, jumping over a few strange tentecles. The Hatchery groaned as it tried to shapeshift again. "Quick! Let's get out of here!" Riven yelled, running as fast as he could. "I see the exit! And the others are waiting!" He yelled. The wall was closing fast- they would either excape or be crushed.
Riven and Timmy ran as fast as they could, and Riven made it out first. He grabbed Tecna out of Timmy's hands, then helped him through the exit just as the Wall closed on Timmy's foot. "Its got me!" Timmy yelled, trying to pry his foot out of the Wall. It took his shoe off as he scrambled away, breathing hard. "You guys okay? What happened?" Brandon said, helping them up. The group had tried to kill the Hatchery to save Timmy and Riven- it was bleeding in so many places on the outside, but to Riven and Timmy, the inside was unscathed.
"What happened to Tecna!" Yelled Bloom, kneeling down next to her. "She's alive, but something seem's wrong with her." Timmy frowned, then picked her up. "We have to get her to Alfea. I don't know what happened to her, but it isn't fatal. She's breathing fine, and her skin isn't torn." He still hadn't noticed the purple marks- right now they were very faint. "We'll just let her rest in her room. She'll recover." The group didn't question Timmy- he was the brains of the operation.
They scrambled away from the Zerg Base quickly, not wanting to rouse the attention of the other troops that had spawned. "I wonder if Brutesbane is okay," Stella said worriedly. "It was a great task to drive them away." She looked around, then screamed with alarm as Brutesbane appeared out of the forest in front of the group, tattered, but breathing. "Brutesbane! Are you okay?" Asked Musa. "I'm fine, I was able to trap some of the group in the ravine and leave them to the animals- unicorns and dragons. They'll take care of them." Brutesbane replied. "Good job, good to see you're okay." Said Prince Sky.
"I'm going to Red Fountain with you guys to recooperate," Brutesbane said, blushing. "I can't here, I'm way to tired." Brandon shrugged. "That'd be fine. Timmy's going to drive back to Red Fountain when we reach Alfea."
The group walked quickly, trying their best to get away from the Zerg base in time. When they reached Alfea, they felt extremly tired and weak, and to make matters worse, they did not get the Psi-energy. "What are we going to tell Faragonda?" Said Flora. "We didn't get what we set out to do... and Tecna got hurt!"
Timmy frowned, looking down on Tecna, not sure if she was doing as well as he thought she was. "Don't worry, Flora. We'll figure out something. Right now, you all need to rest. You've had a tiring day." He looked at Bloom, then at the space ship that was parked some ways away from the Alfea courtyard. "Here, Bloom. Think you can carry Tecna?" Bloom paused, then nodded, taking the wieght from Timmy. Tecna wieghed at least 100 pounds, and was an awkward load.
"See ya, guys." Said Musa, waving goodbye, especially to Riven. She waited for the ship to depart before heading into Alfea. They were able to make it all the way to their dorm without drawing anny attention to themselves. They would tell Miss Faragonda about this after they rested, and they would also have to explain to their teachers why they were absent.
In the dorm, Bloom laid Tecna carefully on her bed, watching Musa collapse on her own. "I'm going strait to sleep," she said, "I'm really sore after fighting those animals..." Bloom nodded. "I understand," she stood up. "Does anyone want any herbal tea? It'll make you feel better." Flora said, walking into the room. "Sure," said Stella, taking a cup. Flora had brought four cups, and everyone took one (except Tecna).
After a quick chat, the girls headed back to their dorms, falling asleep immediatly.
Musa was awoken suddenly by a strange sound in her room. "Who's there!" She gasped, shooting up from her bed. The sound resounded again, reminding her of the Zerg. She looked around. No one was here, except her and Tecna. She froze. "Tecna...?" She did not want to turn her head to see her roommate, but slowly, she looked over at her. Tecna was lying down, but she was the one who was growling.
Musa walked over to Tecna, her heart beating fast. "Tecna?" She approached her roommate slowly, as if she was a coiled snake ready to strike. Musa gasped at what she had saw- a strange purple formation was under Tecna's eyes, and it was very clear to view by now. Images flashed through Musa's mind- the infested Hydralisk- the girl she had taken to the nurse- when she was a Hydralisk, the same mark was under her eyes. Musa gasped- Timmy was wrong, Tecna was not fine. She was infested.
"Tecna!" Musa cried, stepping backwards. Tecna's eyelids slid open, revealing a red iris- definatly not green. Tecna growled, this time baring rows of sharp, pointed teeth. When she stood up, two horns slid out of her forehead. A strange, dragonwing like membrane ripped through the back of her shirt, strange wings on her back. Her arms and legs were spiny with spikes. She took a step towards Musa, raising her claws. "TECNA!" Musa screamed, rousing the attention of the others. "What's going on?" Stella shouted from outside. They stormed into Musa's room, then everyone gasped at Tecna.
Tecna roared in a monstrous voice, raising her hand towards Flora. "Look out!" Bloom yelled, but too late. A spike drove into Flora's side, shooting out of Tecna's palm. Flora yelped with pain, dropping to the ground. "NO!" Musa yelled. She did not want to hurt Tecna- she believed that somewhere, Tecna was still there.
"Remember how we stopped the infestion on the Hydralisk?" Said Bloom, who had just pryed the spike out of Flora. Flora was still unconscious. Musa nodded, afraid. Tecna was about to strike again. "A sonic blast did it last time..." Musa said. "But I don't want to hurt her..." Tecna growled, raising her palm towards Musa. She had no choice now. Musa gathered her Winx, and sent a blow towards her best friend, knocking her into her computer. For a moment, Tecna lay motionless, then opened her eyes again, they were still red, and the purple mark remained. Musa hit her again, this time the impact was so strong, Tecna was knocked strait into her computer desk, snapping it in two.
Musa gasped, placing her hand over her mouth. Sweat dripped down her forehead. Did she kill Tecna?
The group, ran over to Tecna, checking her closely. This time, the marks were gone. The wings disappeared, and the horns sank back into her forehead, but Tecna remained unconscious. Bloom lifted her up, and gathered up what was left of Tecna's desk. Luckily, her computer wasn't damaged, or any of the disks.
"Do you think I should call the boys?" Asked Stella. "Yeah, you better do so." Said Bloom. "I'll get Flora and Tecna to Nurse Ophelia. She'll know what to do." Bloom said, then frowned. Tecna was injured gravely by none other then Musa's power. Musa was saddened greatly- she had hurt one of her best friends. Infestion was much more then she thought it was.
Infestion was the Revenge.
Stella had free time in one of her classes that day, whilst everyone else was attending to their studies. She walked through the hall quickly, wanting to get to the nurse and check on her friends. She knocked on the door with a loud bang. "Goodness! Come in!" Nurse Ophelia said, opening the door before Stella knocked it off its hinges. "Oops. Sorry," Stella said, entering. "I came to check on my friends, Flora and Tecna. You know them, right?"
"How could I forget your lovely pink-haired friend." The nurse said with a slight smile. "Flora... she's the brown-haired one, right? I haven't had her here in a while." Stella nodded. "How are they?" She asked, anxious. "Flora is doing fine, but she will have to wear a chest cast for a few weeks until that horrid injury heals. As for Tecna," the nurse said, then hesitated. "her fever has been going up and down like a roller coaster, but right now its quite stable at 102. But she's broken her back- a great deal. Tell me, how did this happen to them?"
Stella paused. Should she tell the nurse what happened? "Well," Stella said, not knowing where to start. She remembered the infested Hydralisk she had destroyed a while back. "Remember that injured one Musa brought in not long ago?" The nurse listened quietly as Stella explained how that happened, then closed her eyes. "... and now I'm afraid Tecna won't be the same ever again"
The nurse frowned, feeling deeply sorry. If the Zerg were spreading, she needed to warn Miss Faragonda. "You can go see Tecna while I tell Miss Faragonda about this," said the nurse, patting Stella's shoulder. Stella nodded, swallowing hard. She didn't want to see Tecna, but she did, and was shocked at how little she had changed on the outside- she was thankful Tecna didn't have any signs of the Zerg on her, but she was pale and shaky. "Tecna?" Stella said, approaching her.
"Stella!" Flora said from the other side of the room. "Oh, hey!" Stella said, thankful one of her friends was okay. "You got out of class to see us? You're so nice!" Flora said with a smile, trying not to sit up and hurt herself. "Yeah... has Tecna woken up?" Asked Stella, walking over to her other friend. "Yes, but only twice. And she didn't do anything but sit there. I don't even think she knew I was here," Flora replied. "I think she's in a state of shock, but when she wakes up again, I think she'll figure out what happened."
Stella nodded. "I hope so... so how are ya? Are you mad at Tecna for doing that to you?" Flora shrugged. "It hurts, but I'm not mad at Tecna. She didn't know what she was doing, if I did the same thing to Tecna if I was infested, and she didn't forgive me, then she wouldn't be a friend." Stella thought for a moment, glad that Flora didn't hold anything against Tecna.
Stella looked over at Tecna, then paused. Tecna was awake now, and she seemed very sad. "Tec! You're awake! Why didn't you say something?" Asked Stella, walking over to her. Tecna didn't reply, she just stared off into space. "Tecna?" Stella waved her hand in front of Tecna's face. Her eyes followed it, but still, she didn't say anything. "Can you talk? If you can hear me, blink." Tecna blinked, but didn't talk. "If you can say something, say something!" Stella yelled. "I find that... hard..." Tecna said, in a choked voice, then coughed harshly. "You had to make me talk..." Tecna swallowed, a foul taste in her mouth. She had never felt so horrible in her life.
"Sorry," Stella said. "So... are you okay?" Tecna shook her head. "I feel horrible... emotionally and..." she coughed, then said, "phisically..." She looked over at Flora with greyish-green eyes. "I hurt my friends... I can't believe I did so..." Flora smiled. "Its okay, Tecna. These things happen. Besides, I think you'll be better by tomorrow."
Tecna nodded. "Hopefully..." But in her heart, she knew things wouldn't get better. The Zerg were spreading like rust- leave a bike out in the rain, and it doesn't get better.
It gets worse.