As to some questions asked in a review of the last episode, yes, Stella and Flora both have daughters (in fact, they both had multiples, Flora with twins and Stella with triplets), but Celeste (Stella's oldest daughter) and Daisy and Violet (Flora's daughters) are all a year younger than Angel, and will start Alfea in the second season. You can still read my original Vixen story, as well as the second year. As for the rest of the Winx, Musa has no children (at this point, though that may change), Aisha only has Charm (her son) and Tecna only has Mech (her son). Bloom has two more kids (Bud and Heaven, 2 and 4 years younger than Angel respectively). Daphne has twins, Helena and Phillip, three years or so older than Angel. I haven't decided on Roxy yet. The Trix have kids as well (each has a son, two years older than Angel, as well, Darcy and Icy have daughters a year older than Angel). I wanted to stay away from having six girls, each an exact clone of their mother. I want them to all be different. Many of them do resemble their parent(s), but on the other hand, where Timmy wasn't the greatest specialist, Mech is really good (just not much at flying). Where Flora is super sweet, Daisy is like her mother, but Violet is very different. I purposely don't have them all have kids the same age and all best friends (which isn't to say that they aren't friends for the most part) because life isn't that way. It's also more fun to create family dynamics where Timmy freaks out when his son crashes a ship or where Aisha can't relate to Charm but Brandon (senior that is) can. I also threw in Diaspro's son as a good friend of Angel when Diaspro hated Bloom. You never know who will and won't be friends. So, where are Flora's daughters and Stella's daughters? Waiting until the day they get their acceptance letters to Alfea.
Okay, that was long winded.
Episode 6: The Midnight Club
"Well, if it isn't Vixen," Daniela said, mocking dripping off her tongue. "Heard you really embarrassed yourselves in front of some real heroes." She and her friend laughed as they passed by the five girls of Vixen in the hall.
"Oh, help me," the other girl said. "It's some dirt."
Emma frowned, fisting her hands. Kaida noticed this and placed a hand on Emma's arm. "Just ignore them," she said. "It'll go away soon enough."
"It's been two days," Emma said.
"When I accidentally inflated my professor at ISM, I heard about it for weeks," Cicada said. That didn't seem to help the situation. "But, then Titan molted, right there in class. No one even remembered what happened to me because, come on, molting is kind of a private thing in Insectus."
Her friends stared at her for a moment. "You're not going to... Molt... Are you?" Trend asked.
"Me?" Cicada asked, then laughed. "No way. Not all from Insectus are actually insects. I'm, after all, a fairy. I mean, my father molts, but my mother doesn't. Most of my siblings take after Mama. I mean, Scorp doesn't, but then again, he's got no magic. Yet. But June, Lady, Scarab, Kricket, Weevil... Most of us don't molt."
"Good, because I am not cleaning up exoskeletons," Kaida said.
"Though, if molting would make only you the topic of gossip, you can do that in class if you like," Emma said.
"I don't molt," Cicada said, a little lower.
Trend sighed. "I don't even know if a wardrobe change would make this go away," she said. She looked at her friends. "But it couldn't hurt. I'll start planning now. Tomorrow, we will sparkle again."
"Changing our wardrobe will only bring more attention to us," Emm said.
"I can't possibly hurt," Trend said.
"I like my clothes," Cicada said.
Trend looked at Angel, who usually backed Trend's fashion decisions. But Angel just sighed in depression. "Whatever," she said. "A new outfit isn't going to erase Brandon's memory."
"A memory potion would," Cicada said.
Kaida gasped. "Don't even think about it, Angel," she said.
Angel looked down and shook her head. "Memory potions are tricky," she said. "I might erase memories that I want him to remember."
Emma gave her a hard stare. "Not that you'd ever think of trying to alter his memory," she said, trying to get her friend to agree.
Angel looked up. "Oh, no, never!" She said.
"Anyway, memory spells work so much better," Cicada said. Emma responded to that by hitting the back of her head. "Ow, violent much? I was just joking."
"It's actually quite pathetic," Trend said over the phone to her brother. "I mean, don't get me wrong, but it's like they've all lost ther will to live." She was standing on her balcony so that Angel, who was lying face down on her bed, wouldn't hear. She turned away from the door and looked out over the Alfea quad. There were a few girls milling around. A couple were sitting at the large fountain sharing notes. Cassandra had a camera out and was taking pictures. Trend smiled when the camera turned her way, but the girl lowered the camera and decided to look for something else to photograph.
"Well, as far as I know, they're all proud girls," Marvel said. "Having lost a battle must be a major blow to their esteem."
Trend nodded. She wiggled her fingers, changing the color of her shoes. "I guess," she said. "I just wish I could cheer them up. They're my friends." She sighed. "I never had this problem with Audrey."
"Well, Audrey never fought a battle in her life," Marvel said. "But, I think I've got a solution. Get permission to be out late tonight for all you girls, and get them looking good by eight. I'll take care of the rest." Marvel hung up his phone.
"Who was that?" Charm asked flipping the page of the book he was reading. Choosing the attend Red Fountain rather than a school for Paladins hadn't been the easiest decision for Charm, and because of it, he always had to do extra work. His paladin father meant he had access to magic passed onto him by his mother, something most of his friends didn't understand.
"That was Trend," Marvel said walking to his wardrobe. He opened it revealing a lot of clothes that he didn't wear often, all of it provided by his sister. "As soon as you're done with that, get changed. We're taking the girls out tonight."
"Where to?" Charm asked, marking his spot in the book. It intrigued him that Marvel had decided on a plan with the girls.
"The only place worth going to tonight," Marvel said. "The Midnight Club."
"What are you doing, lazy bones?" Ebony asked walking into the bedroom she shared with Bryony and Frosty. Bryony was just behind her and they were both carrying shopping bags. Frosty, on the other hand, was at her desk, having finished her homework for the next week. Of the three girls of Hex, she was the only one that was at all academically inclined.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Frosty asked, not looking up. She began looking over an assignment due the next day.
"Come on," Bryony said. "The Midnight Club is opening tonight, and we're going."
Frosty snorted. "We're witches," she said. "We're never going to get into a club opening."
"Not looking like that, you're not," Ebony said. She flicked her fingers and a dress in her bag automatically slipped onto her body, replacing her usual skirt and shirt. It was a strapless black dress with a slanting bottom and a cinched waist. Suddenly, Ebony looked different, yet the same, as if she was more beautiful even though her features hadn't changed. "But, with our new purchases, we can do whatever we want."
"And, we want to go clubbing," Bryony said, already having changed into her dress as well, a long and tight dark aqua dress with a flared out bottom. "Don't you at least want to see what we got for you?"
Frosty sighed. "You're going to force me anyway, so let me have it." Ebony smiled and tossed her cousin a bag. Frosty pulled out a dress, and didn't even hesitate to put it on. It was a dark blue cocktail dress with a single arm, covered in glitter at the waist and a lot of swish in the skirt. Frosty didn't have to ask how it looked, because she instantly knew she looked amazing. She smiled. "Okay, girls, let's go clubbing.
"Honestly, Trend, I don't want to do this," Kaida said. She was standing in Trend and Angel's room wearing a flower-print dress that fell just past her knees with a modest neck line and thick straps. Usually, Trend would have made the neckline lower or the skirt shorter, but she knew Kaida was too modest to wear anything less.
"Please," Trend begged, while digging through Angel's clothes. "It will be worth it."
"What exactly is 'it'?" Kaida asked.
Trend stopped for a moment and looked at Kaida and Angel. "I don't know," Trend said. "Now brush Angel's hair while I find something for her to wear."
Kaida sighed but grabbed Angel's hair brush and sat behind the girl. Finally, Trend emerged with a honey-colored dressed. It was strapless and had a short, flared skirt. "Mind if I play with this?" Trend asked.
"Sure," Angel said, not really paying attention.
Trend smiled and magically changed the skirt, so that it fell at different lengths rather than all about her thighs. She then added a a beaded belt and matching straps. "Put that on," she said. "I've got to hit up Emma and Cicada." With that said, she left the room.
Within a relatively short time, she had all the girls dressed, made-up and hair done. And, at eight on the dot, there was a knock on their door. Trend smiled with glee. "Come on, girls," she said, opening the door.
"I thought you didn't open the door for your dates," Marvel said, standing in the doorway wearing a black and white suit.
Trend stuck her head in the hall. "Where are the other guys?" She asked.
"They're in the courtyard," Marvel said. He nodded his head toward the hall. "Now, why don't you all come out. Your chariot awaits."
The girls of Vixen all looked at one another before following Marvel. Once again, all the girls were staring, only now with envy. They were heading out with Prince Marvel. A few girls smiled and giggled and one brave senior even managed a flirty greeting. Marvel just nodded and smiled.
"She looks so good in that color," Daniela said to Cassandra, eyes fixed on Cicada in her red dress.
"And Emma looks like a model," Cassandra replied in agreement.
Walking out into the courtyard stood Brandon, Trine, Charm, and Mech. The two princes and Trine, like Marvel, were wearing dashing suits. Mech wore nice pants and a button-up. They had all cleaned up nicely. And even more surprising, a limousine was waiting for them, not the Windriders the boys usually rode.
The boys all motioned for the girls to get in, and more envied wispers were flying around the courtyard. Angel turned around to look at all the other girls, and her eyes landed on Avery, the usual victim of gossiping girls. Avery had a book in her hand, but she looked up and stared for a moment at the group.
And then Angel was stepping inside. She made room as Brandon took a seat next to her and smiled at him and all thoughts of Avery were dashed from her mind as he took her hand.
"So, where are we going?" Emma asked.
"You'll see," Charm said. He leaned back and slipped his arms around Emma and Kaida who were on either side of him. Emma brushed his arm off and Kaida turned bright red at the contact.
Within a few minutes, the group was in Magix. The building they stopped in front of had velvet ropes and a line at least a mile long. A few people walked right up to the doorman, who would check a list and either let them through, or point them to the line.
"We'll never get in," Cicada said, looking at the line.
"Let me worry about that," Marvel said as the door was opened by the driver. He stepped out first and held a hand out, helping Cicada out. Each of the boys followed his example. Marvel walked up to the bouncer. "Prince Marvel of Popularis, Prince Brandon of Solaria, Prince Charm of Andros, Princess Angel of Eraklyon, and Princess Trend of Popularis... and our plus ones."
The bouncer nodded and allowed them all to pass through.
"So, basically you're using your royal statuses to get us all in?" Emma questioned.
"What else would we use them for?" Trend asked, looking at her green friend.
"Oh, I don't know, influence others to help the environment, instigate peace treaties between warring realms, feed the hungry, house the poor..." Emma ticked off each one as she spoke.
"Well, right now we're using our status to cheer up some friends," Brandon said. "It's a good deed, in a way." He gave her a cheeky smile. "Anyway, we're all the face of some charity or another. My sister Selena loves all that stuff and is always signing us up for some charity event. I spend most of my birthdays in a food kitchen cooking for orphans."
"And every season I have a new outfit made specifically to have proceeds donated to a charity," Trend said. "I'm sure you've seen girls wearing the purple puppy shirt I designed. The proceeds of that shirt go to animal rescue agencies."
"And you're one to speak about warring countries," Trine said. "You're trained to keep the peace after your people overthrew my family."
"Correct me if I'm wrong," Charm said. "But we're here to let off some steam, right?"
"You are not wrong," Trend said. "So, who wants to dance with me."
Trine rolled his eyes. "I suppose I could escort you for a dance," he said, holding out his hand.
Trend laughed lightly. "Not with that attitude," she said, and sauntered off to find a more eager dance partner which took her no longer than a second.
"But I'll take that dance," Cicada said, grabbing his hand. Trine made a face that Cicada didn't see as she dragged Trine out to the dance floor.
"Would either of you care to dance?" Mech asked, turning to Emma and Kaida and holding out a hand.
"Oh, I'm sure Kaida here would love to," Emma said, giving her shorter friend a light shove toward Mech.
"And I suppose that you want to dance with me then?" Charm asked, looked at Emma.
"Nope," Emma said. "There's a much more handsome senior over there." She patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm sure some floozy will want to dance with you." She then slid past the crowd toward her destination. Charm shrugged and rolled his eyes before taking off to find a dance partner of his own.
Marvel laughed a little bit and followed the others into the crowd.
That left Brandon and Angel. He held a hand out for her. "May I have this dance, Princess?"
Angel's cheeks reddened, because, of course she wanted to dance with Brandon. She wanted nothing more. But she still felt off after the fight with Gaea. She couldn't imagine that he could possibly still like her, if he ever had in the first place. She lifted her hand, as if to put it in his, but then lowered it to her side.
"Brandon... I know that you're only doing this to make me feel better," she said.
He reached out and took her hand. "Did it occur to you that maybe I actually want to dance with you?" He asked. He pulled her hand to his lips and gave it a small kiss. "And I would be honored if you would accept this dance."
Angel shyly nodded. "Okay," she said, her voice quiet.
Brandon smiled at her and led her to the dance floor.
It was about that time that the three witches of Hex came strutting down the street. They all smiled at the catcalls and whistles sent in their direction. Stepping up to the bouncer, they knew they'd have no problem getting into the club as he was taking in their appearance with appreciation. "Names?"
Frosty and Bryony both looked at Ebony. She stepped up and placed a hand on the man's shoulder, using her other to point randomly at the list. Her eyes flashed black for a moment. "Oh, we're right there," she said. "Don't you see us?"
The man nodded before stepping aside and allowing them in. The three looked around. "Look at all the Specialists," Ebony said with delight. "This is going to be so much fun." With that, she slipped into the crowd and was quickly dancing with the first handsome guy she ran into.
The other two Hex witches just looked at one another with a shrug. "Might as well follow her," Bryony finally said and the two walked into the crowd as well. They, however, were not as easy to impress. Men of all types asked them to dance, but they weren't quite what either of the witches were looking for. They wanted the cream of the crop, and that meant princes.
Trend fanned herself as she stepped away from her fifth–or was that her sixth?–dance partner of the night. She spotted Kaida and Cicada talking not to far, and so she pulled them with her to a table, making sure that they sat on either side of her. "Having fun?"
"I'm having a blast," Cicada said. She flagged a waitress down. "Can I have an ice water?"
"Make that three," Trend said. "And a diet ginger ale."
The woman nodded and scurried off to fulfill their order. A few moments later, Mech and Emma joined them as well. Emma's hair was a little wild, so Trend made Cicada trade seats as she set to work at straightening Emma's green locks. "Do you go to a lot of these?" Emma asked, batting at Trend's hands after a moment.
"Not a lot," Trend said. She took a moment, before going at Emma's hair again. The green fairy stopped resisting. "Mostly just when they open on Popularis. And my parents didn't even let be go until last year."
"Well, I wish I could go to more of these," Emma said.
"Ask Charm to invite you," Mech said. He grabbed one of the waters the waitress put down. "He goes to them all the time. Usually travels to other realms just to attend."
Emma laughed. "I'm not so desperate to go that I'd be his date," she said.
Mech shrugged his shoulders. "Just a suggestion," he said.
"Anyway, look at all the other girls that want to dance with him," Kaida said. "I doubt that he takes dates to these things. Leaves him open to dance with anyone."
"Hey, your brother seems to have the same problem," Cicada said, lightly elbowing Trend.
"That usually happens," Trend said, looking to where her brother was. "Oh, one of those girls is wearing one of my dresses." Trend smiled happily.
"Um, that girl is Frosty," Emma said, noticing as the ice witch sent other girls scattering.
Trend stopped playing with Emma's hair. "What does Frosty want with my brother?" She questioned.
"Um, let's see," Cicada began. "She's a spoiled witch. He's a handsome prince."
"And he doesn't look comfortable," Kaida said.
"Which means we should save him," Emma said. She stood up. "Are you coming?"
The others all nodded and stood.
"Oh, come on, Prince Marvel," Frosty said, stepping closer to him. She had sent a slight chill in the air to get the other girls to scatter. She had assumed that with no competition, Prince Marvel would accept a dance with her, but he instead had backed himself up against the bar. "What's one little dance going to hurt?"
"Look, Frosty," Marvel said, avoiding eye contact. "You're very pretty, I'm not denying that." He turned his head to the side. "It's just, you and my sister have had a few tiffs, and she'd be really angry if she saw me dancing with you."
Frosty frowned. "Who cares about your sister?"
"I do," Marvel said, finally turning to look at her.
"And, as a warning, next time you want to sneak into one of these, you might want to avoid wearing one of my designs," Trend said, stepping up behind her with Emma, Cicada, and Kaida with her. "Now, I'm going to give you one chance to leave my brother alone before I make you."
Frosty turned a glaring eye to Trend. "Oh, and what are you going to do?" She asked. "Throw glitter at me?"
Trend narrowed her light green eyes. Then she smirked, raised one hand, and snapped her fingers. Suddenly, the magic that came with Frosty's dress dissipated and the glamour that made her look more beautiful wore off. All around, people that didn't know Frosty gasped and backed away. After all, it was a witch at a club opening.
Frosty's eyes flashed. "How dare you," she growled, and a moment later, she had donned her witch outfit. "You are going to pay for that."
Trend's eyes widened as Frosty sent a blast of ice at her, knocking her to the ground. "That was a mistake," Emma said, and launched herself at Frosty, knocking her right off her feet. However, before she could take another step, dark poisonous vines had burst through the floor of the club and were wrapping around her feet.
"Should have guessed," Cicda said, spinning to see Bryony. "Where one goes, the other's are never far."
"Little fairies should know better than to mess with witches," Bryony said. Her nails all elongated into points and began dripping different poisons. "Which of you do I take out first." She charged at Kaida.
"Watch out," Mech called, grabbing Kaida's hand and pulling her out of the way, causing Bryony to crash with the body behind the small fairy, Charm.
"Seriously, do you girls ever give up?" He asked.
"And why do you always come to their rescue?" Bryony asked. She then slashed him across the chest with one hand, leaving four rips in his clothes and scratches on his chest. Charm's body seized up and he collapsed on the ground. "Oops," Bryony said then laughed quite manically.
"Oh, you are so gonna wish you hadn't done that," Emma said.
"That's right," Cicada said. "Come on, let's go Vixen!" Trend, Emma, Cicada, and Kaida all transformed and took stances, ready to fight.
Meanwhile, across the club, Brandon was relieved to see Angel smile as he spun her. He pulled her back against his chest and held her close as they continued to dance. He looked down at her and smiled when she looked up at him with her aqua eyes. He leaned his head down so his forehead was touching hers. "Having fun?" He asked.
She nodded. "Yes, I am," she said. "Thanks."
Brandon decided to finally try what he'd been dying to do for weeks. However, just as he tried to bend even more, Angel turned away suddenly. He closed his eyes, embarrassed that she'd run away, until she heard her speak. "What's happening over there?"
Brandon looked where she had turned and saw the other four fairies had transformed. "That looks like trouble," he said.
"We'd better check it out," she said, and left his arms completely to make her way through the thick crowd that had gathered.
The four fairies and two witches were in an intense battle, ice and shattered emeralds showering the crowd. People dodged droplets that were poisonous and blasts of fireworks. Glitter and webbing rained down around.
"Oh, Dragon, Charm," Angel called, seeing the prince on the floor, Marvel and Mech on either side of him. She then stepped into the fray of it all and transformed herself. "Flame of the dragon!" She called, knocking both Frosty and Bryony over the drink bar and out.
"Break it up," a bouncer yelled, pushing everyone out of the way. "You five," he pointed at the girls of Vixen. "Out. You two as well." He motioned to the two witches pulling themselves to their feet.
The girls returned to their human forms and gathered around Charm. "We should get him some medical attention. Who knows what kind of poisons Bryony used on him," Kaida said.
"We can patch him up best at Alfea," Emma said. "Come on, Marvel, you get his other side." With that, Emma pulled one of Charm's arms over her shoulder and hoisted him up with Marvel's help."
They all filed out of the club and back into their limo. "Okay, I'm feeling better," Angel said after a minute.
"Really?" Charm questioned, then groaned.
"Oh, yeah, totally," Trend said. "It's always great to defeat those witches."
"Um, does anyone knew where Trine is?" Marvel asked, realizing that their last friend was missing.
Still inside, Trine and Ebony were seated at a small table, talking closely, holding hands, and occasionally pausing to share a kiss. It wasn't until late that they both realized that their parties had left long earlier.
"I guess we had better head back," Ebony said, pulling herself from the table.
"Allow me to escort you," Trine said. "I have a feeling that the transports aren't running at this time at night."
"That's okay, Trine," Ebony said. "I have my own way of moving about." She grabbed his shoulders and he took her waist. Ebony smiled wickedly, and in a black cloud, the two disappeared. The cloud moved past Red Fountain, leaving Trine behind, before making its way to Cloud Tower.
I feel like this was a long chapter. Agreed? Anyway, I threw in a small fight scene for good measure. It did end a bit differently than in the original, but can still fit into the story line.
Anyway, please review! Thanks. And next, I'm doing a mini chapter before the next episode.
