Please be aware that there are edits done to previous chapters, which have and will impacts moments in future chapters.
I've mostly figured out how I will be dealing with my cannon divergent but it will be a while before I upload again due to multiple reasons.
Question: who should Onyx end up with? At this point I could swing it as Onyx/Riven or Onyx/Palladium? Which would you prefer?
Getting Into Trouble
With Stella returned safe and sound, Headmistress Faragonda called the girls into her office to let them know what had happened and that the three witches were now under house arrest. They were instructed to contact her, or another member of staff immediately, if the three witches attempted to steal Stella's ring or otherwise attack them, again. They were not to attempt to deal with the witches on their own. It seemed that Faragonda and Griffen had talked at some point, and now considered the witches to be a far greater threat then they had thought before.
But, with the headmistresses having dealt with the situation, the girls seemed to have felt that the witches were dealt with appropriately because they stopped talking about them and instead turned their conversation to lessons. Well, mostly.
Stella and Bloom were haunting the library to try and figure out why it was the witches were so determined to get Stella's ring. Stella had thought the ring was pretty normal, beyond it being a family heirloom and containing some of its own magical power – nothing particularly abnormal or powerful about it. Definitely nothing that would have seen someone so doggedly chase the ring. So, they had started researching the history of the ring to see if there was some power that Stella didn't know about yet.
Which, three days later, led to a conversation that Onyx walked in on after helping clean up after dinner. The girls were all sat around Bloom's bed, talking.
"Maybe they've got plans written in their rooms." Stella fell backwards on the bed with a dramatic sigh.
"That's it," Bloom sat up.
"What's it?" Musa asked, confused.
"We just need to sneak into Cloud Tower and find their plans – maybe they've left notes of a spell or something lying around which can help us find out why they want the ring so much!" Bloom proposed.
"That's crazy!" Tecna said at once. "Didn't you hear Griselda at the start of the year?! They don't even have a punishment for fairies caught at Cloud Tower because what the Witches will do to them is worse!"
"Yes, I remember; we just won't get caught." Bloom said confidently. "Tecna, you can get a map from online, and we can sneak in while the witches are in lessons."
"I suppose, if I find a good enough map, and we time it right…" Tecna said slowly.
"And I know a spell which can muffle our steps… I accidently made it while trying to create a projection spell." Musa admitted.
"Yes, and I can get rid of our scent, encase they have guard animals. Some plants don't like other scents interfering with their own." Flora added.
"Great," Stella cheered. "So, we're going to sneak in with those evil witches unawares."
"You're not sneaking into Cloud Tower." Onyx interrupted, leaning against Bloom's door with her arms crossed.
"Onyx!" they all straightened up and turned in surprise having not heard her return.
"At the minute headmistress Griffen is on our side, you go around sneaking inside her school, and she might change her mind." Onyx informed them. "And sneaking into their rooms could give the witches a chance to get what they want."
"But Onyx, we need to know why they keep targeting Stella for her ring." Bloom protested.
"The witches are not mentally stable, Bloom. There may not be a logical reason for their targeting of Stella." Onyx pointed out. "And breaking into their school could just endanger you all, not solve anything."
"Not mentally stable?" Musa questioned. "How do you know they aren't completely sane?"
"It's in their actions," Onyx shrugged. "Don't go to Cloud Tower."
With that last warning Onyx turned and left them. She knew that her words probably hadn't stopped their planning but she would know the minute Bloom left for Cloud Tower and would be able to follow them. Which meant, she needed to do her own research on Cloud Tower so that she could go after them and pull their asses out of the fire they were about to light. And maybe, give the Headmistress a heads up that her students were about to endanger themselves – even if that meant serving detention with them.
The next night, just as Onyx predicted, the group snuck out just after lights out.
Bloom had been called into Headmistress Faragonda's office after being caught admitting to trying to read a book about 'the Great Dragon' in the restriction, which she had found when researching myths on the origin of the ring of Solaria. Fortunately, she didn't get in trouble because the doors to the restricted section had opened for her, and she learnt that the Great Dragon had landed on a world known as Sparks – which was later destroyed.
Her accidental wondering had helped Onyx with her own research, since she had come across a dead end with all the books she needed being restricted. But now she had another name to research other than the Great Dragon – the world of Spark. Which would have a history and people which couldn't be hidden or completely removed from the books.
With the worry about the witches looking to get their hands on the Great Dragons power, the girls clearly made the decision that they needed to find out if that was what they really wanted.
Onyx waited until they were in the underground tunnels that led from Alfea to Cloud Tower – formed back in the times when the witches and fairies were actually friends. The senior classes and heads used to use the tunnels for meetings and mixed classes. The tunnels also met up with Red fountain Academy and Magix, but they could be easily closed and locked down so that the schools couldn't be invaded should one of them fall. It was a safety precaution since the tunnels weren't a classified secret.
Once the girls were in the tunnel, Onyx sent off the letter she'd pre-written to warn the headmistress, and followed them at a slight distance. She could stop them in the tunnels, prevent them from reaching Cloud Tower, but that would build resentment. She was going to follow them at a distance, and pull them out of the fire when they triggered Headmistress Griffen's defences. And they would trigger her defences since Griffen wasn't stupid and she was a very powerful witch. So that she could follow closely, Onyx used the invisibility spell that Headmistress Faragonda had used when they followed Icy.
"Tecna, where's you map?" Flora was in the lead with the other girl and so in the prime position to notice that she wasn't using a map. Flora was also the only one holding a flashlight.
"After I downloaded it, I memorized it." Tecna explained.
"I'm still amazed she memorized the cafeteria menu for the rest of the school year." Bloom giggled.
From the point that Onyx had started following them, it took five minutes to reach the secret door high lightened on the easily accessible map. There were another two entrances, but those weren't in a location that Tecna would have been able to find on the online map – she would have needed to go into the library archive to find the map and the entrances passcodes.
"We're here." Flora opened the door and led the way into Cloud Tower. "This was easy."
"Almost too easy." Tecna said suspiciously.
"So, this is it?" Musa looked around, disappointed.
"It's not as scary as I thought it would be." Flora admitted.
"I have a feeling it's creeper than it looks." Bloom at least had the decency to try and keep her voice down as she looked around.
"Their room is on the second floor." Tecna informed them of something Onyx wasn't sure how she had learnt. Student assigned rooms wasn't publicly available, and yet she knew the exact room number.
"Let's go and get 'em." Bloom got them moving, leading the way at the run. They really didn't have any idea how to be discreet – running like that counselled out their step-muffling charm.
When they made it to the witches' rooms, the girls were very lucky to find that the three Trix were out doing something or other. Onyx had no idea what their plan had been if the three witches had been in their beds – they wouldn't have been able to search the rooms if that was the case.
"They're gone but they sure left a stench behind!" Bloom complained, holding her nose. The smell being from their Ogre friend which they had sent after them several times – they must hide him in their bedroom.
"This place reeks like an ogre after a ten-mile run!" Musa agreed.
"Remember that spell we learned about finding stuff fast?" Flora brought them to the reason they were in Cloud Tower, looking around uncomfortable.
"Lead us to what we search, find it at any cost." Tecna cast, causing some papers to glow under one of the bed pillows.
"It's a power convergence and transfer spell." Bloom gasps as she read the paper. "They must want to drain the power from the ring and use it for themselves."
"We've got what we came for, mission accomplished girls!" Stella cheered.
"So, let's get out of here!" Tecna looked around the room.
Bloom opened the door leading back to the corridors of Cloud Tower. "Follow me, you guys."
Instead of leading the way back to the secret door, and getting out without tripping any alarms, Bloom headed in the direction of the library. Onyx frowned to herself – Bloom's curiosity was going to get her in so much trouble! She was going to have to find someone else who could help her keep Bloom out of trouble, otherwise she was never going to get any sleep.
"I just want to stop here for a sec." Bloom informed the girls. "It's their book chamber, it has the only other book that exits about the Great Dragon."
A book which Onyx very much doubted was kept out in the open. The Great Dragon was a myth about a great power which Faragonda and Griffen had gone to great lengths to protect, and they wouldn't leave their books on the creature out in the open for anyone to find. Not when they didn't know what happened to the dragon's flame with the death of its protector. What knowledge Onyx had managed to gain on the Dragon's Flame and the Great Dragon was from her dreams, and the histories of her people which were never kept secret. But there was one thing she did know – the Dragon's Flame was connected to Bloom and not the ring of Solaria.
"That's grand but the gateway to the other school tunnel will close in five minutes." Tecna warned.
"That leaves three minutes to find the book!" Bloom pointed out as she entered the book chamber. "If the witches know about the power in the ring, so should we!"
"Do you know what the book looks like?" Flora worried her hands as she looked around at the dust covered books.
With a suspicious amount of ease, Bloom went directly to a book on a shelf near the door, and pulled the old book down. "It's right here!" Bloom announced. "It looks just like the one in the restricted vault!"
When Bloom put the book down on the reading podium and opened it, it activated an automatic defence that Headmistress Griffen must have cast on it, causing the book to shine a bright light and likely alerting the headmistress to their presence in her school.
"Well, since we can't read that book can we go?" Tecna requested.
Onyx frowned at the door as she felt the security magic activate – Headmistress Griffen had trapped them in the book chamber. Deciding enough was enough, Onix dropped her invisibility spell.
"Time to go, you've been noticed." Onyx cautioned, causing the winx to all scream in surprise.
"What do you mean, noticed?" Stella frowned. "How did you follow us here?"
"That doesn't matter. That book had a security charm on it, and headmistress Griffen has locked the door. We need to get out before she activates any other security measures; like sealing the passage you used to get in here." Onyx informed them. "Let's go."
Onyx moved them back to the wall where the door had been, revealing that it was just a blank stretch of wall.
"So, we need to make a door? What do you guys think?" Bloom questioned, worrying her lip and keeping her eyes averted from Onyx sine she knew that she had been in the wrong. She was the reason they had come to Cloud Tower, and now she was the reason they had been caught.
"Let's bust it!" Musa agreed.
Tecna started gathering energy to her finger tips. "A shot of digital power should do the trick."
"Wait, it's going to take all of us," Onyx disagreed. "On three."
The others transformed into their fairy forms, and nodded their agreement.
"One, two… three." They all blasted the wall and quickly escaped out into the hallway.
"Aren't you going to transform?" Musa panted as she ran.
"No, now focus and keep moving." Onyx snapped back, keeping her senses open but her weapons away. She didn't want to present a major threat to Headmistress Griffen, who had likely been alerted by Headmistress Faragonda, and so was using only a minor scar tactic to discourage them from returning to her school.
"Is this the right way?" Bloom questioned.
"I think it's just an illusion tunnel!" Tecna panted as they all came to a stop. Onyx frowned as she looked between the girls, she was the only one not out of breath and yet the others had the possibility to fly.
"It's not an illusion tunnel," Onyx corrected. "She swopped the corridors around and is confusing us."
"We're lost," Tecna agreed as weird sounds started echoing down the corridor.
"What s that? Does anyone hear that?" Bloom questioned.
"Yeah," Flora agreed as the sounds got louder.
"Don't stand around waiting for the sound to approach, turn and head the other way," Onyx snapped. "We need to find another way out, without waking all the students."
"Red Catapose!" Musa gasped in horror as the creatures appeared from around the corner, as well as the corridor behind them. "We had some in my realm!"
"Are they bad?!" Bloom questioned as they all moved so they were back-to-back, while Onyx stepped away from them so she had more room to fight in.
"They got into my friend's castle and I never saw her again!" Musa explained. "One bite and we're done for!"
"They're everywhere!" Bloom observed, panicked.
"I'd step on them, but not in these boots." Stella sneered in disgust. "What we need is a fire shield! Now!"
They formed the shield around themselves, and as the creatures came into contact with the shield they burnt. It was good thinking, but they couldn't fight back while under the shield.
"Onyx!" Bloom shouted in worry when she realised that she wasn't under the shield.
Onyx didn't answer, simple using an ice wipe she had formed in her hands to cut through the creatures. She made the ice whip a metre long at first to get the ones close to her first, before she extended and enlarge the whip in order to reach the creatures further away. She didn't use a fire wipe, like Stella had suggested a fire shield, because Griffen was smart enough to know that fire was always the first response to being attacked by bugs and so would have taken measures.
Indeed, the cataposes which had burnt on the shield had started regenerating.
"These bugs are fire proof?!" Stella exclaimed.
"It's like the fire made them stronger!" Bloom shouted. "They're getting through the shield! And Onyx won't be able to hold them off forever."
"Hey, I know what we can do." Flora suddenly giggled. "Come one. Follow me!" For the first time, she remembered that she had wings and flew up above the bugs. "Up here everyone!"
"This better be good!" Stella said once the rest of them had joined her in the air.
"In my realm, when we have to get rid of bugs, we use their natural enemies." Flora explained. She blew magic dust from the palm of her hand onto the ground, which evolved and form into a large creature. "Erapnus Sparthus Sirisus."
"That's one of the grossest and coolest things I've ever seen and it works!" Stella said happily as the number of bug Onyx was facing was drastically reduced by being stomped on and eaten.
"It's bio-control." Flora said happily. "Using natural means to fight pests is way affective!"
"As interesting as that is," Onyx caught a bug which was tyring to climb the wall. "but it's time to go." The residue of the bugs she'd been taking down, along with the bugs which Flora's creature had killed, had started to transmute and form together and she really didn't want to be here when whatever dangerous creatures Griffen had thought of next formed.
"Fly, now!" Onyx snapped, using a light burst of wind to get them flying down the corridor.
"You're impatient." Stella grumbled.
"No, I'm proactive and aware of the danger we are in." Onyx snapped back. "Look behind you."
Stella did as asked, only to scream in horror. "What is that?"
"Doesn't matter. It wants us dead." Onyx span and threw her ice whip at the creature, turning it into a solid block of ice to block the corridor and slow the creature down.
"If you're not going to transform, was throwing your weapon the best approach in this situation?" Tecna panted as they took a sharp corner only to come to a holt as they reached a dead-end.
"I can't get slimed! This outfit is couture!" Stella complained.
"I suggest you cease whining and follow my lead!" Tecna snapped. The group all formed together, and this time Onyx joined them. Against a creature this size, and formed by magic, it would take all of them to destroy it even if she could slow it down.
"Wait 'till its' close and then strike!" Tecna cautioned.
"NOW!" Onyx and Bloom spoke as one. They all blasted the monster.
"It's gonna blow! Put the shield up!" Bloom called when she realised what their attack was doing to the monster mad of mud and slime. Tecna formed her shield and raised it to shield them all from the blow back.
"Double gross…" Flora looked out from around the shield to see the mess they had made of the corridor.
"The door is locked!" Stella informed the group, trying to get through the clearly locked door that had prevented their forward movement.
Onyx rolled her eyes and simple blasted the door at the hinges. These girls had clearly never taken part in any kind of training mission or obstacle cause before - it's like logic puzzles completely failed these people.
"Thanks!" Stella said on her way past into the room.
"Huh?" Tecna said in confusion as they entered the room. "According to my map this is supposed to be the grand ball room."
"Headmistress Griffen has changed the corridors around," Onyx explained, scanning the room. They were in what appeared to be a random artefact storage room, and there was something familiar about it. The layout of the room, it matched the diagram she'd pulled up one of the secret entrances but… the hidden entrance to the door was never clarified on this side. But it was along the east facing wall somewhere.
Onyx was pulled from her thoughts and observations by the sound of Musa freaking out.
"A puncture Beetle!"
Onyx span around in time to see Stella use a 'sun burst' attack turning the beetle to ash and setting the room on fire.
"Stella, I could've created a beetle eater. Look at all the fire!" Flora protested.
"I always say "when it comes to bugs, you never have enough fire!" A-ha-ha! Good one Stella." Stella laughed to herself, not realising how dangerous the situation was until the fire grew and spread, rapidly. Powered by external magic, outside of Stella's own. "Uh-wahh! Then again, maybe not!"
"Way to go…" Musa said sarcastically.
"Onyx, you know how to put that out?" Flora asked hopefully, coughing.
"This fire is too big! A spell won't work!" Tecna protested.
"The east wall!" Onyx snapped, "All of you, now."
A magically created and powered fire in an enclosed space was going to take a lot of power for her to suppress. Hopefully, while she was doing that the others would be able to find the exit. A familiar magic had stirred to life inside of Bloom, a friendly and safe magic which Onyx had felt when she dreamt of the day Bloom was saved.
"Aga Damana." Onyx casted, as powerfully as she could, reaching out to every aspect of the fire so that it couldn't spread and reach her friends and nor could the smoke suffocate them.
"It's a way out!" Onyx distantly heard Stella say. "All snaps to you girl!"
"Uh, what?" Bloom asked, confused. "What just happened?"
"Enough talking, it's time to bounce! Onyx won't be able to hold that fire back for long!" Musa encouraged them to get going.
"Onyx, come one!" Bloom paused before going through the portal.
"I'm right behind you," Onyx grunted. "Go."
Onyx started backing up, slowly releasing the hold on the fire as her friends all jumped through the portal. Once they were all through, she released the fire and jumped backwards through the portal – closing it behind her so the fire couldn't follow and destroy the passage.
As she came to the end of the passage, Onyx kicked off the wall so that she didn't end up landing on the pile of fairies who were already groaning in pain.
"You alright Bloom?" Onyx questioned, pulling her friend out from under the others and putting her on her feet.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just glad that the voice was right."
"Voice?" Tecna questioned. "What voice?"
"The one who told me about the portal," Bloom frowned. "Didn't you hear it?"
"We didn't hear anything, Bloom." Stella said worriedly.
"It was the guardian," Onyx spoke softly, her eyes looking off to the distance as she tried to focus on the residue of that magic which had flared.
"Guardian?" Bloom questioned.
"She watched over you, protects you. She always has, always will. In your heart, in your mind." Onyx continued, pulling her power of knowing to offer answers to Bloom – answers that she had risked all their safety to look for. "Love and safety, that's what she wanted for you. Your heart Bloom, it's in your heart…"
Onyx pulled away from her power with a gasp and stumbled into the tunnel wall. She shouldn't have done that, reached out while she was awake; she knew the stories of what happened to those who tried to find the knowledge that should come to them naturally. But Bloom, she had been feeling so lost since entering Alfea and Onyx feared that she would give up on her magic and her friends because of her feeling of disconnect.
"What was that?" Stella demanded.
"That doesn't matter," Bloom disagreed. "Onyx, are you okay?"
"I'll be fine," Onyx straightened up and shook off the backlash. "We need to get back to the school, come on."
"Onyx, do you know who the voice belongs to?" Bloom asked as they started walking, Onyx in the lead as she was the one who had known this secret passageway existed and it wasn't on Tecna's map.
"I don't know her name, not yet," Onyx admitted. "But like you, I've been looking into your past. And when I have answers, I will share them with you. I promise."
"And are you going to explain what happened with the whole… spacing out thing…" Stella felt safe to question again now that Bloom had reassured herself of Onyx's health.
"It's a rare gift of my people," Onyx settled on saying. "It's called 'the gift of knowing'. It's rare and unstable, so can't be relied on. What I did, I should never had done, I reached out to that power instead of allowing it to come to me."
"Why would you do that?" Bloom frowned in concern.
"Because she reached out to you Bloom, for the first time in a long time you heard her voice and you're dangerously curious." Onyx explained sadly. "I had to try."
"Thank you," Bloom said gratefully. "Not just for trying to help me find out my past, but for coming to get us out of trouble."
The rest of the walk back to the school was spent in silence as their exhaustion caught up with the girls. Onyx wasn't tired, but she was suffering from her little magical stunt, and would need to take some time to meditate before bed so that the backlash didn't cripple her the next day. She'd never tried to force herself to look into her gift before, but from the literature that she remembered, looking as she had done was going to come with more than one consequence. Hopefully, meditating would mediate some of those consequences and allow her to act as though nothing was wrong.
"I wish we could use magic to fly to our beds." Flora complained as they entered the hallways of Alfea.
"I'm so tired, that if we could use magic in here, I'd make the bed fly to me and tuck me in." Bloom agreed before letting out a large yawn.
"I'm so tired, I would just crash right here!" Musa joined in, causing Bloom to let out a tired chuckle.
A clearing of the throat had the girls gasping in horror while Onyx' gripped the bridge of her nose. Really, did the girls think they weren't going to get caught after the last time they were out after curfew? After knowing that Faragonda and Griffen had worked together to help Stella?
"To miss Faragonda's office." Griselda said simple.
Once they got to the headmistress's office, it was to find her waiting with her arm's crossed and a frown on her face. Onyx settled herself against the back wall while the others lined up in front of Faragonda, shuffling guiltily.
"We warned you, Cloud Tower is off limits!" Faragonda said disapprovingly. "Yet you went there in the middle of the night and you broke in! Unbelievable!"
"Unthinkable!" Griselda chimed in.
"Unacceptable!" Faragonda agreed.
"You must be punished!" Griselda scolded, causing the girls to sigh.
"We cannot tolerate this kind of behaviour at Alfea! But, I hope you have a reasonable explanation?"
"We were looking-" Bloom started but was interrupted.
"There isn't a reasonable explanation for breaking into Cloud Tower. I believe that in such an extreme violation any reason they could give us would be completely irrelevant." Griselda snapped.
"That might have been the case," Onyx spoke up staring at the corner of Faragonda's desk with her arm's crossed, "Had the headmistress not been forewarned of where they were heading before they even made into Cloud Tower. And the security and traps we faced on the way out were Headmistress Griffen's punishment. She could have simple intercepted them before we made it into the school, but she chose to let us in. Punishment is fine, but it has to be proportional based on all actions and reasons involved."
"Wait, you told them where we were going?!" Stella turned looking furious.
"I told, and I came after you." Onyx agreed. "So, Mrs Griselda can Bloom explain the reason behind their little excursion? And then you can decide your own punishment for breaking rules, taking into consideration that punishment has already happened for the actual act of breaking in."
The was silence as Faragonda and Griselda both assessed Onyx's words and the others stared in surprise at her bluntness.
"You are correct my dear. Griffen did know before you made it into her school, and she could have stopped you." Faragonda sighed. "Tell me, why did you decide to break our rules and go to Cloud Tower?"
"We were looking into the ring of Solaria and why the witches wanted it so badly." Bloom started. "And there was something about a myth of the ring holding the power of the Great Dragon, and we wanted to know what they were planning on doing and weather that was the power they wanted. That… um… that was how I ended up in the restriction section and off course, from what you said that isn't the case. We found paperwork, the witches are planning on transferring the power of the ring to themselves… and when they find out that the Great Dragon's power isn't in the ring…" Bloom shuddered at the prospect.
"My I see these papers?" Faragonda questioned.
"I have them," Tecna produced the papers and handed them over.
Faragonda glanced over them briefly before focusing back on the group. "Your actions were noble," Faragonda started before turning stern. "However, you should have come to me with your suspicion's headmistress Griffen and I would have dealt with it instead of breaking the rules and disregarding your friends' warnings. You should never have done it alone! You endangered your lives, your friends' lives! Instead of trusting us!"
"Sorry headmistress Faragonda," the girls intoned together while Onyx completely agreed. They definitely should have gone to the headmistress with their worries, and she and Griffen could have authorised a search of the rooms.
"With everything considered, I'm afraid I can't bend the rules or punishment laid out. Which means, I'm afraid it's going to have to be punishment 4D." Faragonda spread her arms and green energy filled the room, surrounding Bloom, Stella, Tecna and Musa. Onyx was the only one left alone. "Powerus Revokurus, Magicus Suspendus."
"How long are they going to be without powers?" Onyx frowned, disliking Bloom being powerless.
"A week." Faragonda sighed, slumping into her chair.
"Onyx gets to keep her powers and we don't?" Tecna frowned. "But she broke the rules too?"
"She informed the staff as to what was happening, and the only reason she left the school is because of her vow to protect Bloom." Faragonda informed them. "A vowed that supersedes any rule of this school."
"You vowed to protect me?" Bloom blinked in confusion.
"Yes. I'm a battle fairy Bloom, and we are all born with charges. A fairy to whom they will do everything to protect, and I've always known you were the fairy I was born to protect. That was why I found my way to earth, why I've always stayed so close to you. You're more than just my friend, you're my world." Onyx locked eyes with her friend. "That's why I followed you to cloud tower, that's why I reached out for knowledge I shouldn't have, and that is why I'm going to help you find the truth of who you are."
"You were seven when you came to Gardania." Bloom whispered. "You left your home when you were seven, for me."
Oynx just smiled. "I think it's time we all headed to bed. It's been a very long night."
"As you are without magic, you are excused from lessons for the next week. But we are giving you theoretical work to do over that time, so don't get too comfortable." And with that warning, they were allowed to leave and go to bed.
