Red Fountain

Helia was sat at his desk in the bedroom he shared with Riven, who thankfully was not there at the moment. He was focused intently on the paper in front of him as he wrote on it.

Her voice is the whisper of wind swept trees

Putting my troubled mind at ease

Her eyes are lit with a new stars aura

I long to be close to my dear

Helia stopped his writing and jumped in his seat when the door slammed open with a bang. Helia sighed in defeat, knowing his concentration was about to be lost for the time being. "You know Riven most people like to keep the doors attached to the wall instead of busting them down when they enter a room."

"I'm insulted you would mistake me for a barbarian like Riven." Helia turned when he heard Brandon's voice instead of his roommates.

Helia rolled his eyes. "Yet you still tried to knock my door off its hinges, and you barged into my room without knocking. You're just as bad as Riven." Helia put Brandon in his place.

Brandon was even more insulted by this. "Excuse you but I'm way prettier than Riven and could never be described as a barbarian, like to think of myself as more of the fun guy."

Helia chose to ignore that last comment and therefore didn't bother asking what part of breaking the schools dorming facilities he found fun and instead got pack to the point. "Did you need something or are you just trying to beat out Riven for most annoying squad mate?" Okay maybe he had one more comment left in him.

"Actually I came to tell you that Codatorta just scheduled a midnight training exercise in the forest tonight."

Helia nodded his head in understanding and when Brandon didn't leave the room he waited for him to speak again.

"So while I've got you here, just the two of us, mano y mano, specialist to special-" Helia cut him off there. "I get it Brandon, so do you think you can you skip to the point please?" Brandon wasted no more time.

"Flora"

Helia tensed slightly, "What about her?" he asked cautiously.

"Don't act all naive with me Helia, it's obvious to everyone you like her, well except maybe her, she's never had the best self-esteem even if it has gotten better over the time I've known her, but anyway I'm getting off topic. I want you to say it."

Helia quirked an eyebrow at the brunette in front of him. "Say what?"

"I want you to admit how you feel about her. I know how you feel, the guys know how you feel, the girls know how you feel, but I want to hear you say it.

"Brandon I really don't think" Helia stopped his rambling when he saw Brandon's raised eyebrow.

"Okay I like Flora, I was mesmerized the moment I saw her, she's the reason I transferred back to Red Fountain, and it's because of her that I feel like I have a reason to fight and to be a hero." Helia looked Brandon straight in the eye now as he smirked.

"Good to finally hear you admit it out loud man, now all you have to do is admit it to her." With that Brandon walked back out of the room. Just when Helia was about to turn around again Brandon popped his head back in the room. "Oh and I think it goes without saying that you better be good to her. Kay bye don't forget about training and make sure to wear clean socks."

Helia couldn't help but shake his head when Brandon was finally gone for sure. He could go from lunatic, to overprotective brother, to total mother in a matter of seconds.

Helia smiled as he got up and left the room to go find everyone else. He was glad his grandfather had put him in this squad.

Alfea

The sun was almost set at Alfea School for Fairies and the stars were just starting to come out. The Winx Club girls were sitting around they're common room. They were planning on having a sleepover that night and were just waiting for the pixies to get back. While they waited Stella decided to instigate a gossip session.

"So girls I think they're a certain topic of conversation we're all interested in, Flora?" Stella raised her eyebrows suggestively at the nature fairy.

"What are you talking about Stella?" she asked

"Oh I think you know. I want to know what's going on between you and Helia?" Everyone's attention was now on Flora, Layla looking at her sympathetically knowing how shy she was about this subject after their talk after class.

"Yeah I saw your notebook the other day you had Helia's name doodled all over it." Bloom piped in as she hugged a pillow to herself on the couch.

"So Flo let's hear it." Musa encouraged

"Well I mean there isn't a whole lot to say. He's really sweet, and Kind, and cute." Flora was about to go off into a day dream when Stella coughed to get her attention back. "But I just don't know if he likes me back. I mean I'm just Flora, nothing special." She looked to the ground at this point pulling her legs up to her chest as she sat on the floor.

"Don't talk like that Flora." Layla admonished her prompting her to lift her head."

"Layla's right your fear is completely illogical and there's no probable reason for you to think that your nothing special." Tecna explained as if it were an obvious fact, which as far as she was concerned it was.

"Flora you have to stop thinking like that. You're great. We wouldn't be the Winx Club without you. It's the six of us together. Best friends." Musa told the girl as she sat down on the ground next her throwing an arm around the girl.

"Yeah!" Bloom and Stella echoed.

"Hey, shouldn't the pixies be back by now, it's getting late and it's already dark out." Layla said concerned for the little pixies that had been her first ever friends.

"Lockette said they were going to play bumbellini ball." Bloom told them looking at the clock to see just how late it was.

Stella started to panic. "Hello, that was hours ago. They should have been back by now and besides we were going to watch Romantic Comedy night on the wishing star network, Amore never misses that!"

"Chill out Stel let's go look for them." Mus suggested as she and Flora stood followed by the others and quickly left the room in search of the missing pixies.

A few hours later in the forest

"I can't believe they got out!" Stella yelled in frustration "It was bad enough somebody spelled them and we had to chase them around the forest once but now it's super late and they have a head start on us. Where do we even start to look?"

"maybe the voice of nature can help us find them." Flora suggested. The six fairies stopped and all of them except Flora landed. Flora flew higher and held out her hands to either side of her body and closed her eyes. The wind picked up around her whipping her hair around as she concentrated on what nature was telling her. A few moments later she flew down to the others.

"They went that way!" and pointed East.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go girls!" Bloom yelled and they were off again, going as fast as their wings could manage.

"How did they get out though, Ms. Faragonda said she spelled that cage they were in so they couldn't get out?" Tecna asked as they continued flying.

"It doesn't matter right now, all that matters is getting them back before they reach the village. We can worry about the how later." Layla told her.

"Look over there!" Musa pointed beneath them and they saw the pixies and it looked like they were slowing down.

"Let's transform back so we can sneak up on them before they fly off again" Stella suggested as she landed on the ground and went back to her civilian clothes, the others following her lead.

They quietly crept up behind the pixies, who didn't notice them until it was too late for them to escape.

Chatta scowled and yelled at the fairies "Just leave us alone!"

Flora looked a little taken aback by her pixies attitude with her and her friends but pushed her shock aside, she was only acting like this because of a spell. "Chatta we care about you and we're only trying to help you. Somebody spelled you guys. If you go back to your village Darkar will follow you."

"I don't care!" Chatta shouted again.

"We just want to go home." Lockette whimpered.

"Yeah so just let us go back!" Digit yelled, also getting an attitude similar to Chatta's

Flora and Tecna shared a look with each other; their pixies would definitely be the hardest to keep under control until this spell was broken.

Layla, however had had enough of their nonsense, whether they actually knew what they were doing or not. "Stand back girls, I'm gonna" but she didn't get a chance to finish her sentence when she was cut off by a roar.

The fairies and pixies all looked to where the noise had come from and saw two huge monsters stalking towards them.

"I knew it monsters are gonna gobble us up!" Lockette whimpered, covering her eyes.

Musa stepped in front of the pixies with the others. "Not while we're here!" and with that they once again transformed and prepared to fight to protect their pixies.

The girls started firing attack after attack at the monsters but were only able to defeat one of them. The other monster, which had more mouths than should ever be on any one single creature, just ate their magic as they threw it at the thing.

Out of the corner of her eyes Flora saw the pixies trying to escape again. "Girls they're getting away!" she called out to them, just missing the spike the creature had sent her way.

"Flora and Musa go after them. The rest of us will deal with this guy!" Layla called out.

A plan having been set Flora and Musa took off after the rogue pixies.

Elsewhere in the forest

"Alright boys line up!" Codatorta yelled.

The heroes in training did as they were told and lined up quickly and efficiently. "Tonight's little exercise will test your skills when thrown into an unexpected situation. Your assignment is to spend the night here in the woods, you been provided with flashlights, and a few other necessities that you should always have with you if on a mission but don't think that means you'll have them in any emergency situation, therefore at a later date you will be given another survival assignment where you are on your own. Seeing as the headmaster is more lenient than I am that assignment will start during daylight. Any other questions about that assignment can be answered later. In case of an emergency you are to contact the school using your communicators. Understood?"

"yes sir!" they all called back

"You are to build fire and shelter. I'll be back to retrieve you boys in the morning." With that said the red Fountain teacher turned around and walked back to the school.

Immediately the boys got to work on starting several fires for both light and warmth then started building huts with Timmy leading them in putting them together. Sky, Brandon, and Riven were just finishing their shelter when a strange noise caught the attention of the specialists. They all looked into the tree line preparing them for whatever it may be. What it actually was was not what they had expected, even if they didn't know what to expect.

In an instant the creature they had all prepared themselves for was revealed to be a group of pixies, who also didn't seem to realize they were there yet. This was proven when they flew straight for Sky, Brandon, and Timmy. Five of the boys instantly recognized them as the Winx girls bonded pixies.

Tune and Amore who were carrying a sleeping Piff between them stopped but the others had yet to do the same.

"No wait!" Timmy yelled, as he dove to the side, but it was too late. The pixies flew straight Sky and Brandon, the force from their flying so fast so strong it knocked the two specialists off their feet and straight into their nearly completed shelter.

"Girls that was very rude of you!" Tune chastised them.

Digit shot right back at her "We don't have time for politeness tune their coming!"

The boys were now worried. "Who's coming?" Helia asked them. They ignored him and were about to fly off again when vines suddenly sprouted from the ground forming a cage around them.

"They put us in a cage again." Tune grumbled unhappy about her current situation.

"There you are." Flora's voice was heard just before she was, as she and Musa flew out of the foliage and into sight of the specialists.

"I can't believe you guys tried to escape again while we were fighting a monster to protect you!" Musa huffed clearly upset at the events that had unfolded that night along with a lack of sleep.

"Uh would someone like to tell us what's going on?" Riven asked rather loudly.

"Well there's no need to shout." Tune said huffily.

Seeing Riven about to make a smart mouthed retort Helia covered his mouth and looked toward Flora and Musa.

"Girls what's going on?" Sky asked one last time.

"Somebody put a homesickness spell on the pixies." Musa answered.

One of the specialists that the two girls didn't know called out from the back. "And…"

"So they want to go back to pixie village but if they do Darkar will find the village and the next piece of the codex. So when we caught them the first time we took them to Ms. Faragonda and she put them in an anti-magic cave but somehow they got out so we went after them again when"

"RROOAARR!" Flora stopped her explanation mid sentence as she heard that all too familiar roar. "When that thing showed up. The others were supposed to get rid of it but it must have gotten away." Musa finished as she and Flora got into fighting stances, the boys behind them doing the same.

The same creature from before stepped out into sight and gave out another roar. In the background Lockette could be heard squealing in fear again. "Musa put a shield around my vine cage to keep that thing out and to keep them in." Flora instructed as she flew up in the air. "You got it!"

Musa did as Flora suggested then flew next to Flora just as the creature sent a burst of dark energy at the nature fairy which she barely avoided by tumbling to the ground. Helia's eyes widened in worry as he rushed to her side and the others slowly started circling around the beast.

Helia knelt next to her on the grass. "Are you okay Flora?" he asked worriedly. He had a feeling he would be worrying a lot about this fairy.

"I'm fine." She assured him before smiling slightly and then flying back up to Musa's height when the other four girls emerged from the trees.

"Thank goodness you girls are okay." Flora said to her friends

"Don't worry about us, this thing just gave us the slip after shooting some kind of energy at us that we had to dodge." Layla answered, basically catching the two up on what had happened since they left.

"I have an idea. Musa do you think you can use your sonic boom to bounce that thing?" Tecna asked as they saw the guys fighting the creature below.

Helia had wrapped the creature with his laser string glove giving the others a chance to attack it while the girls thought up a plan. Getting a nod from Musa when she touched the ground he released it. The creature didn't even have time to turn its head before Musa was bouncing it up and down from the ground to the air and back.

After she knocked it around a few times Flora flew down beside her. "Alright now it's my turn." As Musa bounced it into the air one last time Flora called upon several vines to squeeze the creature and keep it stuck above ground, also squeezing it's mouths shut so it could attack them or eat any more of their spells.

"All yours Stella." Layla gave the all clear.

"Sun Blast!" she shouted putting all her energy into the attack that finally destroyed the creature. Unfortunately as she did so the creature exploded and black gunk that you would find in the under realm covered them and the specialists. The girls were knocked to the ground by the force of it. Stella was not happy "I really hate it when they do that!"

The girls stood up trying to shake off the goop. "Is everybody okay?" Bloom asked.

"Well aside from needing a shower I think we're all fine. Sky told them looking around at his classmates.

"Where are the pixies?" Layla asked looking around.

"Flora and Musa have them under control." Brandon assured her as he pointed his thumb behind him. Everyone turned to see a group of pixies either huffing with their arms crossed in annoyance, or still shaking from the fear of the monster attack, or in Piff's case fast asleep.

Bloom walked up to the cage the pixies were in, musa having gotten rid of the barrier, having found the reversal spell before they escaped again. "I hope this works. Deediacore desadirium encallumos"

The pixies who were just arguing about being let out suddenly all stopped talking and looked around them as Flora released them from the cage. "What happened?" Chatta asked.

"Where are we?" this question came from Amore. There were several more question but they were all jumbled together with the pixies all talking at once. They finally stopped talking when Piff woke up with a loud yawn. The pixie of sweet dream stretched her arms out and look around her. "Ba doo da?

"We'll explain everything to you girls on the way back to Alfea." Bloom promised.

"We'll have plenty of time, we can't fly with this gooey guck on our wings." Flora told themlooking over her shoulder at her own wings.

"Looks like we're walking." Musa concluded

"Hey, what are you guys doing out here anyway?" Layla asked.

"One of Codatorta's training exercises." Riven answered.

"Thanks for the help you guys." Flora told them sincerely wiping her bangs out of her face.

"Don't worry about it, we're just glad you girls and the pixies are okay." Helia told her smiling at the girl that had been clouding his mind recently.

"We will be expecting a more detailed explanation later though." Riven made sure they were aware and the girls nodded their heads already having been planning on keeping the guys up to date

"Well we better get back, see you guys later." Tecna said as they all bade goodbye and the girls started walking back to their school with their pixies floating around them as they started explaining what happened.

When the girls were out of sight the guys all turned to each other. "Well it looks like we're rinsing off in the lake and drying off by the fire. Come on guys." Brandon said as he started walking toward the nearby lake Roccaluce with the others following behind him, all eager to get the goo off of them.

Red Fountain

Later the next evening Helia was in his room meditating, a habit he picked up from a friend from art school that he decided to keep up with as it helped him focus.

He was pulled out of focus by the sun suddenly being blocked from entering the room.

"Huh?" Helia opened his eyes and stood to go see what was blocking the light. When he got to the window he saw a plant with white flowers growing rapidly and blooming right before his eyes. "Nice" Helia said to himself as he leaned against the window sill.

Helia looked up to see a pink clad figure flying off in the direction of Alfea and couldn't keep the smile off his face. Helia thought to himself 'You are something special Flora.'

A/N: Just so you guys know I will not likely be writing about the other survival assignment I wrote about. I only added it because with the timeframe I needed this to be in I couldn't see Saladin leaving a group of teenage boys (heroes or not) alone in pitch black so they are given some things to help them but seeing as this is also Codatorta I can't see him being satisfied with giving them equipment if it was meant to prepare them for an emergency situation where they may not have anything. Also I'm not really sure where I'm going to go with this story after this chapter so the next chapter may be a longer wait again. Sorry and thanks for readin!