Shortly after Alvarez, his lackeys and Flora entered the tunnel, they crossed a couple of rooms until, at last, they reached the end of the tunnel, revealing a kind of sanctuary, with grassy fields all around, some trees and even a river that ended in a waterfall. All lit by a skylight in the stone ceiling that let in sunlight. Of course, the field was split into several plots divided by a deep cliff and the only way to cross them was with some ancient looking wooden bridges.
"Well, isn't it a paradise?" asked the wasp woman.
"Too pretty for my taste." said the lava rhinoceros, brushing aside a pair of butterflies fluttering near him.
"Shall we go on, sir?" asked the ice knight.
"No. From here on, I'll go on alone with the fairy. You two have something to do in the meantime." said Alvarez.
"What is it?" asked the ice knight.
"It seems we have unwanted guests." said Alvarez turning around to show his lackeys his crystal ball that was showing the cruiser that Izuku, the specialists and the rest of the Winx were on approaching the entrance to the stone wall.
"Hey! They're those fairies and their brat!" exclaimed the lava rhino.
"They've come to save me and stop your plans!" exclaimed Flora.
"What a beautiful thing friendship is. Too bad that's what's going to kill them." said the wasp woman.
"Don't worry, sir. We'll take care of them; you go accomplish your goal." said the ice knight.
"I plan to." said Alvarez.
With a slight bow, the three footmen went back the way they came intending to intercept the unwanted guests, while Alvarez continued on his way across one of the wooden bridges, with Flora following him as he floated through the dark magic.
"My friends won't let you get away with this!" said Flora.
"Let them try if they want to. I'll be sure to make them see the difference in power between me and them." said Alvarez with an evil grin as the eye sockets of the skull on his staff glowed with a dark light.
After a few more minutes of travelling, the cruiser finally reached the entrance to the grotto where the mystical tree was located. The ramp went down and Izuku, the rest of the Winx, the specialists and Faragonda stood in front of the entrance to the stone wall.
"So that's where the mystic tree is, huh?" asked Tecna.
Layla glanced around. "I don't see Flora or Alvarez anywhere."
"That means they must have gone in a while ago." said Brandon.
"With Flora." said Izuku.
"Then we should hurry before it's too late." said Faragonda before the group entered the tunnel.
They spent a couple of minutes going through the tunnel until they came to a room filled with huge and glowing crystals.
"Unbelievable, I've never seen so many crystals." said Timmy.
"If it wasn't for the fact that we're on a rescue mission, I'd take a couple of them." Stella commented.
"We mustn't waste time. Let's move on." said Riven taking a couple of steps forward.
It was then that Musa noticed something moving between the crystals, something she recognized immediately, especially when that something was about to do something.
"Riven, look out!" shouted Musa lunging at her boyfriend and knocking him to the ground, in time to dodge an ice beam.
"What was that?" asked Helia.
All around the room, several ice dragons came out of their hiding places.
"Thank you, Musa." said Riven standing up next to his girlfriend.
"I know those creatures. If they are here, that means..." began Izuku remembering those dragons.
At that moment, the ice knight came out of hiding and showed himself to everyone.
"Wow. I seem to have failed, but it won't happen again." said the ice knight.
"You must be one of Alvarez's lackeys!" said Sky.
"That's right and I'm not going to let you pass from here. My lord would be upset if anyone interrupted him." said the ice knight.
Immediately, the specialists drew their weapons, the rest of the Winx transformed into their Belivix form and the rest (Izuku and Faragonda) positioned themselves to fight.
A pair of dragons rushed towards them, but were destroyed by a magical beam from Faragonda.
"You go on, I'll take care of him." said Faragonda, to the surprise of the rest.
"WHAT?" asked the others in unison.
"We can't leave her alone. It's too dangerous." said Bloom.
"It will be even more so if Alvarez gets hold of the power of the mystic tree. We must prevent it at all costs. Besides, I'm old, but not obsolete." said Faragonda with a small smile.
"In that case, I'll stay to lend a hand." said Musa.
"I'll stay too, he wants to make them pay for trying to attack me from behind." said Riven.
"Me too." said Nabu.
"Are you sure, Nabu?" asked Layla worried about her boyfriend.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine." said Nabu with a thumbs up.
"You're deluded if you think I'll let you through." said the ice knight before firing an ice beam from his spear.
"Harmonic Attack!" shouted Musa launching a magical beam that neutralized the enemy attack. "March, quickly!"
Without being told again, the others took off running (or flying) towards the exit.
"I won't allow it!" said the ice knight preparing to launch an attack, but suddenly, Nabu teleported in front of him.
"Hey, you shouldn't lose your concentration." said Nabu casually before trying to hit him with his staff, but the ice knight managed to block it with his spear before pushing him back to those who remained.
"I may have missed a few, but that won't happen to you." said the ice knight as those who remained prepared to fight.
The rest of the group continued to run quickly through the tunnel. After some more running, they came to another room, where the walls were covered with roots.
They stopped for a moment to catch their breath.
"Do you really think they'll be alright?" asked Izuku.
"Trust me. They're tougher than they look." said Brandon.
"Oh, that's nice. You worry about them." said a female voice familiar to half the group. Looking up, they all saw the wasp woman flying in the middle of the room. "Though I think you should worry about yourselves first."
"That's her! She was there when Flora was taken away!" exclaimed Izuku pointing at her.
"Oh, what a surprise. The knight has come to rescue his princess. Too bad he won't be able to make it." said the wasp woman, launching a barrage of stingers at him.
Izuku quickly prepared to activate his Quirk and dodge the attack, but a beam of magical beam neutralized it. Izuku turned to see that it was Stella who saved him.
"You're not going to touch a hair on his head. Not while we're here." said Stella.
"You go ahead. We'll take care of her." said Tecna.
"Are you sure? She's stronger than she looks." said Izuku.
"That's why they'll have help." said Brandon standing next to the two fairies with Timmy.
"Like Faragonda said, the important thing is to stop Alvarez from getting the power from that tree. Don't worry about us. We'll manage." said Timmy.
"All right, but be careful." said Bloom before flying off with the others.
Suddenly, a group of monstrous wasps got in their way.
"Did you really think I wouldn't have a backup plan in a case like this?" asked the wasp woman.
"That won't stop us!" shouted Izuku activating his Quirk and putting pressure on his index finger. "Delaware Smash!" shouted Izuku releasing his finger and sending out a blast of wind so powerful that it knocked down all the wasps and clearing the way. "Let's go!"
Without question, he and the others left the room without looking back.
Needless to say, Sky and Helia were impressed with the green-haired boy's power.
"Geez. When we were told that Izuku had amazing power, I wasn't expecting something like this." commented Sky.
"Me neither and I must say, it's beyond amazing." said Helia before the five of them left the room.
"Hmm. I should have expected that after what that lava brute told us." said the wasp woman before focusing on those who remained. "I guess I'll have to play a game with you."
"Yes. To the game of squash the bug." said Stella getting ready to fight along with her boyfriend, her friend and her friend's boyfriend.
Finally, after a bit more running around, the group of five reached another room, which looked more normal than the previous ones, as the whole room looked like the room of an ancient temple, with its smooth floor and walls and a few pillars at the edges. But that wasn't what was important at the moment.
"Just a little more. We must be close." Layla said.
"Yes. Near your end." said a deep voice, all too familiar to the green-haired boy.
A couple of tremors occurred as a sign that someone heavy was approaching. Everyone looked to the exit to see the lava rhino entering the room.
"YOU!" exclaimed Izuku with surprise and a bit of annoyance.
"You know? I'm glad you got past those two. Because then I can be the one to crush you." said the lava rhino slamming his fist into his palm.
"And what are we? Dry liver?" asked Sky.
"Oh, don't worry. I'll take care of you... As soon as I crush that brat for all the times he's humiliated me!" shouted the lava rhino before charging towards Izuku, completely ignoring the others.
However, before he could get any closer to the green-haired boy, two magical beams struck him, causing him to halt his charge as he was pushed backwards. He looked up to see Bloom and Layla flying over Izuku.
"You shouldn't have ignored us." Bloom said.
"Hey! Don't get in the way! This is between me and the brat!" shouted the lava rhino indignantly before ropes wrapped around him. "Agh! What?!" exclaimed the lava rhino in confusion as he tried to free himself from the ropes, but someone was pulling on them with the intention of restricting his movements.
That someone was Helia, who was using the ropes of his gloves to restrain him.
"Izuku, go save Flora!" shouted Helia, to the surprise of the green-haired boy.
"What? Why me? I'm not leaving you with this guy!" said Izuku.
"Don't worry, we'll manage." said Layla.
"If there's anyone who can rescue Flora, it's you." said Bloom.
Izuku still had his doubts about leaving the others with the lava rhino and going alone to save Flora.
"You can do it, Izuku. We trust you." said Bloom placing a hand on his shoulder.
That was enough to convince him. With a determined look and a nod, Izuku activated his Quirk and at a very fast speed, left the room in the direction where Alvarez had gone.
"Hey! Come back! I'm not done with you yet!" exclaimed the lava rhino furious that his prey had escaped.
"Don't just stare at him!" said Sky running towards him with his sword raised.
Taking advantage of the fact that he was distracted and restrained. Sky hit him so hard that, although it freed him from Helia's ropes, he managed to knock him back, although it seemed that it didn't hurt him much.
"You bastards! You'll pay for ruining him!" said the lava rhino.
"Be careful. Izuku told us that his body is literally made of rock and lava." said Bloom.
"Which means it's dangerous to touch him." continued Layla.
"Good to know." commented Helia getting ready to fight along with the rest.
With all his might, Izuku sprinted through the tunnel at full speed, intent on catching up with Alvarez and rescuing Flora. Although he was determined to do so, he couldn't help but be concerned for those who were left behind to deal with the evil sorcerer's minions, but this was no time to turn back. They had put their trust in him to take care of the matter and he had to reciprocate.
Izuku stopped when he reached the paradise Alvarez and his lackeys found before they parted. But Izuku had no time to contemplate the scenery and continued his journey.
Finally, after a long time waiting and after so much walking, Alvarez had managed to get the mystical tree before his eyes. It looked like a normal tree, but the glowing aura around it showed that it was more special than it appeared.
"Ah, at last. After so long, I will finally gain the power to rule over all." Alvarez said.
"Even if you sent your minions, my friends will get here and stop you." said Flora before the dark aura that made her float disappeared, dropping her to the ground.
"That's likely, but by then it will be too late." Alvarez said turning his gaze towards her. "But before then, I don't think I need your services anymore."
Alvarez pointed his staff at her which was carrying a magic beam. Flora's eyes widened in fear and she jerked, trying to free herself from her bonds. The wizard was about to cast his spell when...
"ALVAREZ!" shouted a young male voice causing the wizard to call off his attack.
Both he and the nature fairy turned at the entrance of the room to see Izuku panting slightly from the exertion.
"Izuku!" exclaimed Flora surprised to see the green-haired boy.
"Well, well, well. You're starting to get really annoying, boy." said Alvarez with a cocky grin.
"Let her go right now!" demanded Izuku.
"I don't think you're in a position to demand anything." said Alvarez.
"Izuku, get away! It's too dangerous!" shouted Flora before a magic gag covered her mouth.
"I'm sorry, but I don't like to be interrupted." said Alvarez.
"Let her go!" demanded Izuku.
"Oh, don't worry. Once I get the power of the mystic tree, I'll release both of you from your lives." said Alvarez.
"I won't let you! I'll stop you right here and now!" shouted Izuku activating his Quirk.
"What are you waiting for? Try if you can." said Alvarez provocatively.
Seeing it as a signal, Izuku launched himself straight at Alvarez with his fist pulled back.
"Smash!" shouted Izuku slamming his fist into Alvarez, generating a small smokescreen.
He thought he had managed to hurt him or something, but to his utter shock, Alvarez had managed to block his fist with the staff.
"Surprised? I had a feeling we were going to have another encounter, so before we got here, I cast a couple of spells on myself that boosted my defense, but I also boosted more stuff." said Alvarez before shoving Izuku so hard that he sent him flying into the wall.
Flora let out a groan due to the gag in concern for the green-haired boy.
Izuku slowly stood up from where he had landed.
"Anyway. Wouldn't hurt to have a little fun before we get to the finish line, right?" asked Alvarez pointing his staff at Izuku, charging up to cast a magic beam.