Posted April 17, 2022.


CHAPTER 30: THE AMAZON RAINFOREST

On the Matter of the First Chakra

The earth chakra is located at the base of the spine. It represents courage and is blocked by fear. Its representative gemstone is a garnet.

In order to open this chakra, one must renounce all fear and find the courage inside.

– From the Book of Fay


Amazon Rainforest, Brazil

Musa gazed in admiration at the thick green foliage that filled the rainforest. There was more greenery here than she'd ever seen in her lifetime, with the exception of the foliage in her homeworld, Linphea. She stared up at the beautiful canopies, at the flowers that blossomed around, at the bountiful animals. Tecna stepped forward. "It's beautiful – isn't it?"

"It definitely is." For once, Tune was at a loss for words. "It's amazing."

"Yeah," Musa agreed. Roxy would've loved this… She sighed, thinking of the pink-haired girl.

Her father had forbidden her from going on the trip. Though Roxy had protested, he'd held firm that her schoolwork was important. She'd been in a mood all day, upset that she wasn't able to come with the Winx to help them out. Musa sighed, raising her head.

She frowned. Something was not right. She could sense in the air that there was a magical energy that was coming towards them. Almost like… She gasped as soon as she felt the energy grow stronger.

"It's the Earth fairies!" she hissed. "Quick, hide!"

The Winx and Pixies darted behind the rocks. Musa peered upwards, staring at the Earth fairies, who were flying above them. Their expressions looked grim as they flew around.

"I feel like I can sense a magical presence around here," one of them said. "Almost like other fairies are here."

"Don't worry," the other Warrior Fairy snorted. "There can't possibly be anyone here other than" – Her eyes widened as she saw the Winx and Pixies together.

"After them!" she yelled, pointing a javelin at the Winx.

Scooping up Tune, Musa flew away from the rocks, trying to catch up with the other Winx. Unfortunately, they were much faster – she could barely keep up.

"They can go faster than us!" Bloom shouted frantically. "They're on their own turf!"

And so it was true. The Amazon Fairies could fly faster than the Winx, and were shooting magical energy at them through their javelins. Flora pointed down to a canopy.

"Let's revert back to our civilian forms," she said, "and then hide."

She and the Winx flew down to the floor of the forest. Immediately reverting back to their civilian forms, they let out sighs of relief as the Amazon Fairies flew above them, away from them. They walked through the foliage, Stella smiling at Flora.

"Good thinking," she said. "Our magical energy isn't so easy to track, now that we're" – She froze as she stared in front of her, her eyes wide.

Musa stared after Stella. Two ugly cranes were in front of them, bright yellow in color. Men were working on the machines, the loud sounds of whirring filling the air. But that wasn't all.

Around the grove, the trees had been cut down.

"It looks awful!" Musa gasped. Flora held her hands to her ears, her knees buckling. Layla caught her, looking stunned.

"Flora," she said, "are you" –

Musa turned around. Two men were walking towards them, nothing but irritation in their eyes. "You fairies again," one of them snarled. "What're you doing here?"

"Stopping you from destroying this forest, that's what!" Chatta yelled. "What you're doing is illegal. Stop now, or we will call the authorities!"

"What she's trying to say is," Bloom cut in, "you're not helping the situation. The fairies of vengeance will be angry with you. This forest is filled with valuable nutrients and life-saving resources. Please, we beg you – stop destroying the rainforest!"

"We don't care what happens!" one of the men answered defiantly. "We're gonna take this forest down, and anyone who protects it, too!" He leapt onto the crane. "Let's go!"


It was a quiet, peaceful day. Roxy was standing in the Gardenia square, feeling lighter than she had in ages. She and Artu had gone out to get gelato, and they were standing together, heading towards the beach.

She sighed, all of her aches and pains for once flowing away as she gazed at the waters. It was such a beautiful day. She smiled, imagining wading in the waters, Artu happily splashing along with her. The dog loved getting wet, and would practically submerge himself every time she took him for a bath. She sighed, gazing at the horizon, and then froze.

The sky was darkening, even though it was bright at noon. She stared in disbelief as a dark haze shot across the world, staring in confusion. The other people on the beach stared in surprise, too.

"What is that?"

"Is that a ship?"

"Is this a trick of the fairies?"

Then suddenly, rainbow flames appeared on the water's surface. It skated across the ocean, shooting straight towards them. The sky grew dark, and menacing clouds appeared. Roxy watched in horror as the flames became greater and greater.

And then it reached the shores.

The people screamed and turned around. The rainbow energy was destroying everything in its wake, waters and beaches alike. It burned people down whole; inside, she could hear a woman's cackle. She stared, transfixed, as a flare of fire hit her in the heart –

Roxy woke up with a flash, her heart racing. She stared at the alarm-clock which was ringing persistently. On the floor, Artu got up as well, having sensed her terror.

She stared at the clock. 7:15. If she was late to class, Daidí would be furious. She threw on some clothes and ran out the door with Artu by her side, heading towards the school building.

She sighed, remembering the argument she and her father had the previous day. He had ranted about her grades, which clearly weren't that good.

"You speak English to the customers at the Frutti Music Bar all the time," he had said, "and yet, you got a '5' out of '9'? Your English grade should be at least '8'! And what is this – a '4' in math? Roxy, this is ridiculous!"

"So what?" Roxy asked, bored. "Am I really gonna use any of this stuff in real life?"

"I don't care whether you're a fairy or not!" her father snapped. "This doesn't mean your grades have to suffer. Just because magic doesn't involve quadratic equations doesn't mean you shouldn't know how to use them!"

"I never asked to be a fairy!" Roxy snapped back. "Do you even have any idea how hard the last few months have been for me? You try getting chased around the world by four demonic wizards, getting blackmailed by one of the most powerful fairies on Earth, and being humanity's sole hope for survival – having to balance chakras, on top of that – and let's see how you like it!" She stormed to her room, slamming the door shut.

After that fight, her father had banned her from going on the Winx's next mission – partially because of her grades, but mostly because of his fear about how the last mission had turned out. Now she was stuck in boring old Gardenia, heading towards boring old secondary-school. She and Artu were just about to head inside when two people cornered her. She recognized them immediately: Giovanni and Ana.

"Hello," Ana snarled, her voice filled with hate. "Missed us, haven't you?"

Roxy smirked at them. Ever since Roxy had come home, Ana and Giovanni were the only people who hadn't treated her like a celebrity – they were still filled with the same hatred. Giovanni walked forward, glaring at Roxy.

"You just wait," he snarled.

"Whatever," Roxy answered. "I'm heading to class."

"Really?" Ana sneered. "You're not ditching like normal, with that little mutt of yours?" He pointed at Artu, who was growling ferociously at him.

"Artu isn't a mutt," Roxy snapped back, "he's the most loyal dog in the world. And he's more popular than you, that's for sure."

That struck a nerve with Ana and Giovanni, Roxy knew. Ever since her return to Gardenia, Artu had been hailed as a hero as well. She sighed, turning around.

"Goodbye," she snarled, heading down the road.

"Stay as popular as you like," Giovanni said, "but you're weak. One of these days, you're gonna get it. You're not strong enough to stand with those fairies – and everyone knows it."

His words sent a chill through her spine. Giovanni smirked, turning away.

"Bye," he said. Taking Ana's arm, he departed with her down the road.

"What's going on?" a voice sounded behind her. Roxy turned around, staring at Krithi as she walked down the road. "What just happened?"

"Just those idiots again," Roxy groused. "I can't stand them." She angrily kicked a pebble on the ground. Krithi looked sympathetic.

"They weren't very nice to me, too," she agreed. "Don't worry. We'll both stick together."

"You can come with me after school," Roxy offered. "We can eat lunch together. I'm sure that'll be fun."

"Thank you," Krithi smiled. "I'd really appreciate that."

Artu woofed happily. They continued onwards towards school, weariness in their hearts.


"Please," Bloom pleaded with the loggers, "we don't want to fight you! We just want you to stop logging this area!"

From her position on the ground, Flora watched as the loggers growled to each other, looking angry. One of them stepped forward.

"We don't care!" he shouted defiantly. "Our clients need wood – the whole world needs wood to survive! Besides, this is what we're being paid for!"

"He's got a point," Riven muttered from his position at the back of the group. Musa glared at him.

He's right, Flora realized. After all, even on Linphea, trees were cut down, too – though they were always replaced with a new sapling. She frowned, thinking of her family back on Linphea.

As part of the priestly-caste of Linphea, her family had always taught her the importance of pacifism. It had been through her bisabuela that she had learned healing magic, and through her mother and grandmother that she'd learned the importance of diplomacy and compassion towards all. If she was to succeed in this mission, she would have to use all of those skills. She was about to open her mouth to interject, when just then, the Amazon Fairies appeared.

"There they are!" one of them shouted. The lead logger lifted his axe.

"Let's take care of the wild fairies first!" he shouted, running forward.

Flora watched as the Amazon Fairies created a dent in the ground. One of the men fell in it, collapsing. The other two drew forward with their axes, shouting.

But the axes were simply blasted out of their hands. Now it was the Amazon Fairies on the offensive, shooting spears of magic at them through their javelins. The loggers shouted in dismay as they were hit. They turned around, running in terror. The lead Amazon Fairy turned to her comrades, shouting, "Now it's time we deal with our Lady Diana's enemies!"

"Enough!" Flora stood up. "We don't want to fight you – we just want to talk!"

"There is nothing to talk about," the fairy answered grimly. She glared at her. "Now, prepare to face your doom!"

Flora sighed. Guess we'll have to do this the hard way… She transformed and held her hands to her heart, summoning all of her magic. The fairies stared at her, completely taken aback as she held her hands high above her head.

"Breath of nature!" she called, using her special Etherix spell. Immediately, she felt herself healing, all of the magic within her restoring to its full capacity. Her hands gleamed green once, and then, a brilliant white light shined from its depths.

Flora watched as seeds from the Amazon trees landed on the ground. With her guidance, they rose up into saplings, replacing the trees that had been cut down. The loggers gasped in amazement, staring at each other.

"It's so beautiful," one of them said. "How could we have ever thought about destroying this pristine forest?"

"We won't do it again." The second man threw down his axes. "From now on, we will respect nature completely and utterly!" The fairies of vengeance stared at Flora and the loggers – or ex-loggers, rather – in disbelief, then turned towards their leader.

"She's completely in-tune with nature," one of them said. The lead fairy shook her head.

"She's still one of Diana's enemies," she said grimly, "so we must attack." She lifted her javelin, ready to strike –

But Flora raised her hands again. Immediately, vines from the trees shot out and furled around the fairies, trapping them. She gazed at them apologetically.

"I'm sorry," she said, "but we have to do this. Once our work is done, the trees themselves will free you."

"This isn't over yet!" the fairies snarled. Flora sighed, turning towards the other Winx. Chatta grabbed her hand.

"That was brilliant, Flora!" she burst out. "You were so in-tune with nature and everything!"

"What now?" Bloom stared forward.

Flora looked forward as well. As far as she could tell, she couldn't make out much of anything. She rose in the air, staring around.

Her eyes widened as she saw a tower. Nestled at the top of the trees, it was a clear opening, one that was obviously of-significance to Diana. "That must be where the Specialists are held!"

"Okay," Bloom said. "So Stella, Tecna, Riven, and I will see if the Specialists are being held there. Flora, Musa, Layla, Pixies – you try and find the source of Diana's power."

"All right," Flora agreed. The fairies flew into the air, each on their own tasks.


Roxy entered her house, dumping her schoolbag on the ground just as Artu leapt on the sofa. She nodded to Krithi, saying, "We've only got leftover pasta."

"That's fine," Krithi answered as Roxy heated it in the microwave. Roxy frowned, staring around.

Something was off. She frowned, noticing that everything was silent. Usually, that would be fine, considering that her father was generally at work during this time; however, he'd told her he'd be home today. She headed into the living-room.

Her father was staring at the TV. A newscaster spoke urgently in English.

"The Winx fairies are currently in the Amazon Rainforest, fighting against the Amazon Fairies who have stolen their companions, a group known as the Specialists." He turned to his companion. "How dangerous do you think this is?"

"We've interviewed a few loggers," the second newscaster answered grimly, "and they have a lot of fears. Those Amazon Fairies are not to be reckoned with." He frowned. "Roll the tape, please."

Roxy stared in horror as a poorly-shot cell-phone video appeared on the screen. She could make out a glimpse of the fairies, fighting against the humans. She turned towards her father.

"We have to go and help the Winx!" she cried out.

"Absolutely not," her father said sternly. "It is too dangerous."

Roxy knew she was scared. She had never faced a Major Fairy, after all. She stared at her father.

"I wish you wouldn't be so worried about me," she said. "I can handle this. I'm strong enough."

"No." Her father stood up. "This is the end of discussion."

"Daidí," Roxy began, but her father continued speaking.

"Do you have any idea how scared I was for you when you disappeared with those Winx?" he asked. "When you went in that helicopter, all around the world? Do you have any idea how scary that was?"

"Daidí, I know it's scary," Roxy answered. "I'm scared, too. But I can't let fear stop me." She lifted her head. "I'm going to make sure I help the Winx, and save them from the fairies' wrath!"

Immediately, she felt something in her spine shift. A magical, red glow emanated from the base of her spine, and she let out a cry as warm, red energy poured through. Her father stared at her. "What is that?"

"My first chakra," Roxy answered. "I opened it by admitting my fears and overcoming them." Her father smiled at her, nodding shakily.

"Very well," he said, "on one condition." He turned to Krithi. "You're going with her."

"Okay," Krithi said, her eyes flashing. Klaus nodded.

"I'll take care of Artu for you," he said. "Be on your way."


Flora flew forwards, heading straight towards the trees. Musa and Layla followed her as she used her powers, sensing the location of the center of the Rainforest.

That is where Diana's power-source is. She knew, if they were to defeat Diana in battle, they would have to find the source of her power. She flew forwards, sensing it closely.

"We're almost there," she breathed. The three fairies and their Pixies drew to a halt as they reached the grove.

It was situated just under a cliff, a waterfall cascading pleasantly into a pool. The trees around it seemed to shimmer with power, shining golden at the warm sunshine. At the center of the pond levitated a pink lotus, a beautiful flower. Chatta stared at it.

"That's the source of Diana's power," she breathed. "I can tell it's very power" –

Suddenly, a shout sounded behind her. Flora spun around, staring as she saw a group of brown-skinned men and women, with red paint designs over their chests. She frowned.

"What do they want?" Amore wondered.

The men and women were smiling and pointing. In confusion, Flora flew over to them. She could make out their friendly expressions. Digit tapped a few keys on her keyboard, then turned towards the others.

"They're natives from this region," she said, "and very hospitable." A chieftain walked up to her, a kind expression on his face.

"We saw you heal the forest earlier," he said in flawless English, "great magical creatures of the forest. We saw you defeat those who destroyed our forest, and those who wanted nothing but revenge. Thanks to you, perhaps all will return as it once was. We shall help you connect with the Sacred Lotus, the core of the Rainforest's power."

The three fairies, the Pixies, and the natives walked up to the Sacred Lotus, gazing at it. Flora held it in her hands.

"This is it," she whispered, "the Rainforest's magic heart." She touched it gently, admiring the Lotus's power. "So this is the source of Diana's power."

"If we destroy it, we'll be able to defeat Diana," Musa realized.

"But the heart of the forest beats within it," the chieftain pointed out.

Flora frowned, holding the fragile Lotus. A glimmering light shined within it, one which enveloped the entire Rainforest with golden rays. She breathed in deeply, sensing its magical energy.

She had never felt such power as immense as this – not even when she'd been granted the Gift of the Guardian Nymph of Linphea, at graduation. This wild magic was something of its own – something immensely sacred. And in that moment, she knew what she had to do.

"We will protect the Lotus from anyone who may want to destroy it," she declared. "This flower is sacred, and it will be our mission to make sure it doesn't come to harm. My bisabuela taught me that nothing good comes from destruction – it is the Linphean way, after all, to spread peace and harmony to the world. I will keep her mission." She lifted her hands. "Breath of nature!"

A green light shined from her heart, straight into the bud. She felt it warming her entire soul, filling her with such wonderful energy. Then the green aura disappeared, and she let go of the Lotus.

"You are a very wise fairy," the chief said solemnly. "We thank you for your courage and heart." He smiled at Flora. "Now, let us connect with the Sacred" –

"There they are!" a shout sounded behind them.

Suddenly, Flora let out a cry as she was trapped in vines and leaves. She tried to use her own magic to break free, but to no avail. The Amazon Fairies appeared, gleeful expressions on their faces.

"We have you now," one of them snarled. She pointed her javelin at Flora. "Now, it is time for you to face Lady Diana's wrath."

A green energy shot over Flora. She let out a cry as she collapsed to the ground, her eyes falling shut. Then blackness overtook her, and she knew no more.


Musa woke up, her entire body sore. "What happened?" she murmured, gazing around. She let out a gasp.

She was inside the trunk of an especially-large tree, chained to it with forest vines. Around her, she could see the rest of the Winx, Pixies, and Specialists – all of them were trapped together. Including Riven. She stared around, disbelief on her face.

"How?" she whispered. "How did Diana capture us?"

"She was too powerful," Flora whispered. "Even my nature magic couldn't stop her." She stared at Nabu, who was across the room from her.

Musa stared as well. Nabu was completely unconscious; he wouldn't wake up one bit. Layla thrashed against the vines, shouting, "Nabu!"

"Mirta!" Flora cried out, staring at her girlfriend. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Mirta panted. Tears were in her eyes as she stared at Flora.

"I wanted you all to be careful," she said. "Especially you, Flora. When Bloom, Stella, and Tecna were captured first, I was terrified, but relieved that you were safe. But then you ended up here, too." Tears appeared in her eyes.

"I didn't realize how much I'd miss you until you were gone," she burst out. "When you and the Pixies disappeared on that mission with Roxy, trying to save her from the Wizards, I was so – terrified. I didn't know what to do!"

Musa exchanged an uncomfortable glance with Riven. I missed him, too. Though she'd rather have faced ten of Diana's armies than admit it, she truly cared about Riven. Tears began to fall from Mirta's eyes.

"Mirta." Flora took her hand. "I know it was scary, that it was a difficult time. But I'm not going anywhere." Her eyes glowed. "I won't let you go ever again."

"Nor will I," Mirta agreed. "I'll help you, too." Her eyes glowed. "I'll make sure our love lasts through the test of time!"

Suddenly, a glow appeared over Mirta's body. Musa stared as a Charmix, in the shape of an infinity-loop, appeared on Mirta's chest. Her orange Winx outfit appeared, and a red fuzzy bag appeared at her left hip. Stella let out a whoop.

"You got your Charmix!" she cheered. Mirta smiled, her eyes flashing.

"Yes," she declared. She faced the other Specialists, who were gazing at her with respect in their eyes. She raised her head.

"We'll get free of this," she said. "I'm sure of it."

Musa nodded, her face exhausted. I hope we get through this… She stared at the top of the cave, nothing but bleakness in her eyes.


Next chapter:

The Winx escape from their prison in Diana's lair.

Layla uses her special Etherix spell.

Roxy opens her second chakra.