(Que Opening theme: If you desire you can become one of our bunch! Winx, if your hand is warm in mine it will give us greater power with a feeling we'll be sure-fire winners! Winx, with a smile you can enchant you'll lighten up our world! With a feeling we can take flight! Watch us! If you desire, you can become one of our bunch! With a magic ray, the sky keeps on blazing! An adventure is certain to start in the stars! When I'm cloud-borne I fly through time and space, I color my existence with my imagination! With my flight in heaven! Winx! if your hand is warm in mine it will give us greater power! With a feeling we'll be sure-fire winners! Winx, we're the new kids on the block! We're each other's dearest friends! With a feeling we can take flight, watch us! Winx, you're magical, Winx! And you roam through the stars, you are Winx. A powerful light ray! A fire! Under the sign of the Winx!)
Chapter 1: An Unexpected Event
Erasiel and Griffin wandered the halls of Cloud Tower heading to the dorm room of the Trix sisters, along the way they passed a fair few witches who stared at Erasiel with obvious interest and who blushed as he passed them, Erasiel had that effect on women mainly due his looks but also due to the way he carried himself. The hallways were elaborate and had he not been to Cloud Tower numerous times before he would have been lost, in addition he didn't have to worry about being lost due to Griffin being with him. It only took a matter of minutes to find the room they were looking for after they arrived on the dormitory level in question, Erasiel knocked on the door.
The door was answered by a woman about 18 years old she had long brown hair that reached down her ankles, and bangs that reached to her waist that were a lighter shade of golden brown. She also had yellow eyes. She wore a purple top with a heliotrope darker purple circle in the middle it was attached to a choker around her neck. Her pants were purple bell-bottoms She also wore glasses with yellow lenses. Her shoes were black, purplish boots. Her dark brown hair reached all the way down to her ankles. She had curls that hung loose down to her waist. Her curls were light brown if not golden. Her hair made her look as if she was wearing a cape. Her figure was both well-endowed and athletically slender though not buff, more like the figure of an acrobat or a ballerina. "Headmistress Griffin this is a surprise and who is this?" she asked studying Erasiel with a look of wonder, interest, and attraction.
"Yes, it is a surprise for you anyway, however may I remind you that I told you and your sisters that you would be getting a personal tutor" Griffin responded. "Your grades are the highest of any student at Cloud Tower and your sisters aren't far behind, and because of your seniority at the school I have decided that it is time for you to learn some far more advanced magic than that currently is being taught at Cloud Tower, on that note I would like to let your new tutor introduce himself" she continued then raised a hand towards Erasiel who stepped forward.
"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Erasiel Nathan Darkar, call me Nathan for now as Erasiel is a name I reserve for long-time friends and acquaintances, I am a Phoenix of one of the most powerful houses in the Magic Dimension if not the whole universe, I have millennia of teaching experience and have taught some of the most powerful magic users and warriors of all time, you won't regret anything you learn from me, but I have introduced myself why don't you do the same" Erasiel introduced.
"I am Darcy Trix, come in, and meet my sisters" Darcy responded, Erasiel entered and studied their room which was mostly clean apart from a garbage can that needed emptying, there were four beds, one of which was occupied by one of her sisters a young woman who was quite distinct as she had dark purple frizzy hair shaped like a cloud. Her lavender bangs were shaped like lightning bolts, which went past her shoulders. Her eyes were blue-green. She wore a maroon crop-top with a metal loop decoration attaching the shirt to a loop around her neck. Other than this, her top was strapless. She also wore a shiny maroon mini-skirt with lavender panties which Erasiel could see clearly because of her laying back on her bed allowing him to look up her skirt. Her shoes were maroon platform high-heeled sandals. Her figure was the same as her sister's, she was playing with lightning sparks that emanated from her hands much like someone else would open a garrote. Across from the beds another woman was busy with homework however she rose from her chair to face Erasiel and Griffin and studied them, she had blue-white hair, pulled back into a high ponytail held with a dark teal-tube piece which had a gem of some kind in it. Though her bangs were pulled back into her ponytail, she had pieces of her hair, curled, reaching her shoulders. She had icy blue eyes and wore white eye-shadow. Her outfit was a light blue midriff collared tank top and matching skirt with a belt studded with diamonds. She also wore the same colored boots; her figure was again like her sisters.
If Erasiel hadn't seen them when they were born and hadn't known their parents he would have thought them not to be related, however that wasn't the case, they had the look and resemblance of their true ancestors the Three Seers, albeit with different hair styles, clothing and a lack of a tail and wings, also they weren't as tall, though not by much as they all stood about 6 feet, 6'4 in heels. However he knew them for who they were and knew what they could become, however he didn't like how they were turning out, yes they were the best students at Cloud Tower, however they had a track record of problem causing as bullies, they carried themselves in a way unsuitable for their legacy and if he didn't do anything to change that they would end up like their uncle or their father, vindictive, cruel and uncaring for the welfare of others apart from family, not what he or their mother wanted, granted Griffin had done a good job raising them otherwise, however he was absolutely angry that Griffin hadn't taught them temperance or rained in their cruelty, however all that could be easily corrected given time and if he went about it the right way, more importantly they needed to have all this corrected before he told them anything about their heritage because as it stood right now, if he told them about their royal bloodline and claim to Whisperia's throne they would die a horrible death, something he would never allow. "I heard you talking to Darcy, I hope you realize that you have your work cut out for you" the Woman stated. "Anyway, my name Icy, you have met Darcy already, and our little sister goofing off on her bed is Stormy" she introduced herself.
"Oh, cut it out Icy, I am already done with my homework!" Stormy shouted getting up off her bed and approaching Erasiel. "Let me get one thing straight with you, nobody bosses me around got it, not my sisters, not anyone, now that we're clear explain yourself who are you and what business do you have here!?" Stormy followed up.
Erasiel relaxed his expression then tossed his staff up in the air and caught it with relative ease and grace. "Erasiel Nathan Darkar, call me Nathan, pleased to meet you Stormy" Erasiel stated then walked up and took Stormy's hand and kissed it in a gentlemanly manner.
Stormy smiled and blushed, she was taken aback by his demeanor and his overall bravery, usually the men she met would be showing fear, but he was undaunted and bold, she liked that in a man, also liked the fact he carried himself as a noble but was not arrogant or brash like the specialists she had met at Red Fountain who were nobles, in fact he was the exact opposite, someone who was aware of his position and could care less about it, his attire also reflected that, though she was curious about his tail. Erasiel noted that last part as he caught her staring at his impressive plumed tail and continued "I am Phoenix of House Darkar and son of Lord Argulus Darkar the patriarch of said house and my father, I have seen many things in my life time and have taught many powerful magic users and warriors their skills, you three have potential and that is why I am here, I am here to teach you advanced magic, stuff that is usually taught to the most experienced, as well as other practical and prudent skills, however I will teach these spells and more you need only follow me and my example and most importantly trust me, it will take time and effort for you and your sisters to achieve true mastery but it will most definitely be worth it"
"Well I am glad to see you have all gotten off on the right footing, I will leave you to it Erasiel" Griffin responded and the left the room leaving Erasiel and the Trix alone.
Erasiel set his staff on the bed which had nothing on it, then stated "I will be your new roommate, I have much to teach you three however only when you are ready for it, but for starters lets discuss more about yourselves." The Trix gathered together.
"So how do we know you are really as powerful as you claim to be?" Icy asked her eyes studying him, he investigated them and then responded.
"By testing your abilities, we will start with a test of strength follow me outside" Erasiel stated they then teleported outside the window, all four of them hovering 400 feet above the ground. "Now try and break my wards, hit me with your most powerful attacks" Erasiel ordered, the Trix didn't hesitate and each unleashed their strongest attacks, a cascade of Ice shards came from Icy, a lance of Dark energy was launched by Darcy, and Storm unleashed a twister that sent out lightning bolts in his direction, the attacks hit his wards, leaving him completely unscathed not one hair out of please. "Now for a test of your defenses, Firestorm!" Erasiel responded sending a cascade of fireballs towards each Trix sister, who barely blocked the attacks with a barrier of their signature spells, even then the force sent them flying 20 yards before they stopped. "Excellent you three have passed the first test, for the record that wasn't even my strongest attack, in fact I was holding back, Burning Skull!" Erasiel responded sending a screaming skull of fire in the opposite direction of Trix which lit several trees on fire, he then absorbed all the flames back into him and winked at the Trix, who's jaws were dropped at the sight. "Now do you believe me?" he asked rhetorically.
"That was Awesome!" Stormy yelled.
"Indeed, that was impressive, most impressive" Icy stated calmly, they then went back inside.
Erasiel then parked himself atop his bed and sat back stretched his arms out then sat up. "That wasn't even a warm up. I can see you have learned your first lesson, that of humility, the fact that there will always be so much more to learn, side note even that wasn't my most powerful attack, now I ask you a question what is the most powerful magical source?" Erasiel asked.
"The Dragon Flame and we are going to get it" Stormy responded her sisters looked at her with anger on their faces, Stormy's composure was that of person who had just made told someone their elaborate plan to rob a bank or other such mischief.
"Indeed and you would be incorrect there are far more powerful sources of magic then the Dragon Flame, in fact the name itself isn't correct it is the Eternal Flame, it is called the Dragon Flame because it was originally the power of the Great Dragon Sharukanaath who created the magic dimension, that power flows in the blood of Elder Dragons, normal Dragons, the Greater Phoenixes and of course ordinary Phoenixes like myself in addition to some other people, however if you are dead set on having it mind telling me how you were going to go about that" Erasiel responded his face not betraying what he thought of their plan, he personally thought that this was the sort of thing that would get them into trouble, the kind which would eventually make them pariahs something that would deny them their true potential and their true position and inheritance. The Trix then explained that they intended to find and steal it, then take over the Magic Dimension. "I see and now I ask you a hypothetical question: If you were to obtain the Dragon Flame how would you go about conquering the Magic Dimension?" the Trix were stumped Erasiel waited a few minutes to see if they could answer his question before responding, they were now exactly where he wanted them, in a position that he could recruit them and start grooming them for their rightful position of rulers of Whisperia, his plan was simple: step 1 earn their trust, step 2 temper their ambition and teach them tolerance and how to interact with and influence people, step 3 groom them for their future any other interests he had in them or them in him would be secondary but not unwelcome.
"I see you all clearly haven't thought this through, it takes many things to conquer an entire dimension the first and foremost is a plan second is armies and third is patience it takes a long time, something which being immortal you have, and I have too, you see I have been at this conquest of the Magic Dimension far longer then you have, my goals for it being to keep order in the Magic Dimension and importantly making sure it stable, if you are going to conquer the Magic Dimension you will need allies, armies and time, this a long game and you are playing with the big kids now, many have tried to conquer the Magic Dimension before, some came close others not so much, think of it as a ladder that many try to climb, but they get exhausted and fail causing them fall, the fall breaking them and causing them to either keep what they have gained or risk losing it all, I have been playing this game a long time, and so far my opponents have all lost, yet the game is far from over, you are new to the board, new pieces to board, queens if you will in a game of chess, who have the ability to move as they please but risk being taken by any piece if they don't move carefully, you have the chance of being something great, and it is far better to work with me then to be my enemy, my enemies have been defeated, however I am not satisfied by killing them, I want to humiliate them, turn everyone they love against them, make them utterly humbled, brake them, and then either let them live in their shame or kill them in the most ruthless manner possible and for the worst lock them away in the Oblivion Dimension, I have defeated many enemies, included the Ancestral Witches both in war and in battle, I have died 8 deaths and am on my 9th incarnation, you cannot kill me for good, but you have no need to make yourselves my enemies, in fact you could be my queens, my allies and like my many students before you more powerful then you could possibly imagine, stronger than your parents who were powerful magic users in their own rights, stronger than your enemies, stronger than any witch before you, however you will have make a few sacrifices and have to do things you may not agree with but it will be worth it" Erasiel responded.
The Trix were surprised, however they weren't the type to look a gift horse in the mouth, however they still were the type to want to discuss the matter as a group, which they did, Icy, Darcy, and Stormy gathered in a circle whispering in a discussion; not that Erasiel couldn't hear them but they didn't know that. They discussed the matter for a few minutes before Icy approached Erasiel who had parked himself on his bed. "Alright, we have discussed your offer in depth and we will take you up on it but on a few conditions: one: we are not your servants so don't expect to be giving us orders like you would give to hired grunts or servants, two: we expect to be equals in this partnership, three: we still want the Dragon Flame: get that for us and we will gladly serve you" Icy stated.
"Agreed, welcome to my side, first things first I know how to get the Dragon Flame or the Eternal Flame as its proper name is called, but before I give it to you three you need to prove yourselves to me with tact and skill: I am interested in acquiring a certain ring, not permanently just borrowing it to copy its powers into a copy of my own, that ring happens to be the Ring of Soloria, it happens to be in the possession of Princess Stella of Soloria who is currently a student at Alfea, I want you three to acquire that ring without Stella realizing it and without making an enemy of her, I have plans that require her to be very much alive and not an enemy of you three or me by association, do this and I will get the Dragon Flame for you three as a reward" Erasiel responded.
They then returned inside and the Trix and Erasiel began to discuss at length a plan that accomplished the task Erasiel had in mind while fulfilling the conditions he had for the mission. "So, let's get the most obvious part of this mission and the elephant in the room out of the way: Stella is a fairy; Faeries and Witches don't get along" Icy stated.
"Yeah, who cares about some frilly princess who also is a fairy!" Stormy responded with a deal of venom and cruelty, now came the first problem with Erasiel's re-education of the Trix, convincing them that Witches and Faeries should be allies and fight the common enemies to Order; Order a concept that wasn't necessarily good but was there to stop chaos in all its forms, whether it be Demons or crazed religious fanatics like the Lighthaveners who wanted to wipe out all who didn't believe in their dogmatic religion, Erasiel stepped up and banged his staff repeatedly on the ground until the Trix had their undivided attention on him.
"First things first, Witches and Faeries are not enemies! nor do they need to be, the rivalry always has existed but it is more a friendly rivalry then a war, second the difference between Faeries and Witches is apart from the wings is that they use different types of magic to fight the forces of Chaos, remember the first rule of engagement: don't make unnecessary enemies and make as many allies as possible, you don't have to like your allies, but it is better have them and not need them then to need them and not have them, Stella may be a Fairy however that does not disqualify her from being an ally, now you can prank her and cause mischief but being her enemy is a bad idea, especially considering her position as a princess of a powerful kingdom and the heir to said kingdom and on top the fact that by making her an ally you would have the support of her and her kingdom, in other words make allies where available and let your enemies reveal themselves, it is better to defend then to attack" Erasiel explained sternly standing, starting off loud and ending in a normal tone, the Trix were visually put off by this but they seemed to recover their composure quickly.
"Alright we get it, no fighting with faeries they are our allies not our foes" Stormy stated with a bit of disgust in her voice, electric sparks emanated from her as she said it.
"So now that we have that out of the way what is the best way to acquire the ring, first off there is the direct approach which is take it from her by force" Darcy stated.
"Yes, there is that, however how do you intend on doing that without revealing yourselves to be behind it" Erasiel stated.
"We have a pet Troll and some Ghuls we can use them to get the ring" Stormy responded, then knocked on a nearby closet door, out came a troll with yellow skin and wearing purple overalls. "This is Knut, Knut this is Nathan" Stormy introduced. "Knut put on your glasses" Stormy commanded, the troll put his hand into the front pocket of his overalls and pulled out a simple pair of glasses and put them on.
"Hello, I am Knut I couldn't help but overhear everything here and I may be able to help" Knut stated.
"Excellent, now comes the issue of making sure Knut nor the Ghuls can be traced back to you, now Ghuls are a dime a dozen and can be easily attributed to anyone and anything, however Knut is quite unique and would draw a lot of attention in that Stella would remember his face" Erasiel responded.
"That can be solved with my illusion magic, I can turn him into an Ogre with illusions, then all he needs is an alias" Darcy stated, then disguised Knut as a tall Ogre clad in attire typical to said race. "I can also give him magic abilities for a short time, enough to make it seem like he is a different person and to mount an escape" Darcy continued, then muttered magic under her breath which was followed by flowing tendrils of shadow magic into Knut.
"I can provide a teleportation crystal that can open a retreat portal, limited to one use but I have a few of them" Erasiel responded handing Knut a crystal that shined with magical energy. "To use it Knut simply crush it, now for alias Icy can you think one up?" Erasiel explained and asked.
"I have one, it's a bit blunt but how does Goldug Ripper sound" Icy responded.
"I like it, I can remember it" Knut stated enthusiastically.
"Excellent now we have a plan, however we need a suitable place far from Magix and importantly out of sight of anyone who could see what is at work, in short a place where magic is rare and remote enough that no one would think to look there, in short I know a place that fits all those qualifications, a remote world called Earth, and more specifically Gardenia California, a small suburb which has a quiet park with a secluded grove of trees that no one ever visits, in short a place where no one would think to look" Erasiel stated.
"How do you know no one would look there?" Stormy asked with a puzzled look on her face.
"Easy I have used as a hiding place before for some people who wanted to lie low and out of sight of anyone who might be hunting them, the planet has few magic users all of which live in hiding, and anyone with magic potential has no knowledge of it" Erasiel responded.
"Excellent plan now all we need to do is to give Stella a reason to go there" Icy stated with a grin on her face.
"I know just the way to do it, by giving her a prophetic nightmare" Darcy stated. "All we need to do is wait for nightfall and then I can whip up a spell for the job" Darcy continued, this ended the planning stage.
They waited until nightfall, Erasiel had sent his two chief Faceless servants Kerborg and Gripmaw to monitor Alfea college and more specifically Stella, they then reported she had fallen asleep, then the time came.
"The time has come, Darcy begin the spell" Erasiel stated, Darcy then approached a shelf grabbed several ingredients off of it and brought them to caldron, which she had already filled with a green liquid which Erasiel knew as a simple Alchemical formula for spell weaving, this cauldron would strengthen Darcy's magic and would serve to amplify her magic.
Darcy then began to chant her eyes flashed red with the typical Whisperian glare that appeared when focusing powerful magic. "Dust of Vampire, Claw of Warg, wake the powers of dark bellow, bubble double toil in trouble cauldron turn and bubble, Eye of Goblin, Wing of Hawk open the magic of ancient ones, take the mind of Princess Stella of Soloria, show her a nightmare of prophecy to cloud her mind, double bubble toil in trouble cauldron burn and bubble, Ecvae Eterna maglo noctis!" Darcy chanted her eyes burning red without iris or pupil to be seen, as was typical of Whisperian magic users when focusing their magic.
Meanwhile in Alfea, Stella shook back in forth her bed, her blonde hair shaking back in forth as she muttered in fear "No, no" Inside her dream Stella stood in a dream scape marred by fire and shadow, buildings lied ruin the bodies of marred people beneath her feet and images of an Ogre and an endless tide of Ghuls before her, then suddenly there was light, and a figure with a purple mask clad in purple Greek style clothing stood before her.
"I am the Oracle, what you have seen is a vision of what will come to pass if you do nothing" the Oracle who was secretly Darcy in disguise stated.
Stella paused as the Oracle studied Stella she had long golden blonde hair that stopped below her waist, golden-brown eyes and a medium skin tone she also wore a green halter top and orange skirt with green sandals, her appearance was attractive, and her figure was the same Darcy's own, she could see what Erasiel had in mind for her, or she guessed at least. "Stella Princess of Soloria, I come to warn you of a threat to a peaceful town of Gardenia on the world of Earth, a fierce Ogre by the name Goldug Ripper threatens Gardenia with an army of Ghuls and his own fierce strength, he has limited skill in magic and seeks to take the place for his own, only you can stop him, do not delay you must hurry time is of the essence for soon he will attack" Darcy stated.
"I have to hurry otherwise the people will be danger of being eaten or killed" Stella responded.
"Wake now Stella, go don't hesitate" Darcy stated, Stella woke from her dreams, got dressed, grabbed her Rapier, strapped it to her side and left, little did she know that the "Ogre" lay in wait for her specifically with his Ghuls.
Back at Cloud Tower… "Excellent work Darcy, you have a great deal of potential, now you three stay here I will go and monitor Knut to make sure he succeeds and intervene just in case things go wrong" Erasiel stated then left thru a portal followed by Kerborg and Gripmaw, Stormy brought out a crystal ball and placed it on the table so that she and her sisters could watch the show play out.
Gardenia California, one late June morning…
Vanessa Darkar snuck into her adopted daughter's room Bloom was sleeping in as per usual, and she had already made breakfast however she wanted to have a joke at Bloom's expense, Bloom knew her and Lighthorn as Mike and Vanessa Peterson as well as mom and dad and to everyone else she was simply Bloom Peterson, the alias had worked well for the last 16 years and she had endeavored to raise Bloom as if she were a child of herself and Erasiel whom she had not contacted during those 16 years both to maintain her cover and because she had no idea of current events for all she knew the War of the Ancestresses was still ongoing, and even if she did know, there was no guarantee of finding Erasiel given his wandering nature, as far as she was concerned it was best that Bloom stay hidden until she came of age or until her magic abilities revealed themselves and she could then send her to Alfea. Vanessa was a slightly tan-skinned Phoenix maiden with short brown hair framing her face and hazel-brown eyes. She wore light makeup, usually consisting of pale yellow-gold eye shadow and peach lipstick. Her beauty was that of someone who was in their twenties, but it concealed her true age of over three billion years old, she wore a green and white blouse and blue pants as well as Velcro strapped sandals, her tail would usually be a long periwinkle colored feather tail much like that of a peacock however she kept this concealed at all times except when she used limited free time to actually fly over Gardenia at high altitude or when she had any privacy.
As for Bloom's true heritage, Bloom knew nothing about it and it was best that it stayed that way to keep her safe, however just because she kept that a secret didn't mean she had to make Bloom believe magic didn't exist, in fact she made sure that Bloom held out hope that it did exist and made sure she was open to that which humans regarded as fictional, oh if only they knew it would sure make Bloom's classmates at school shiver to know that Bloom was alien from another world in a different dimension much less that the creatures they thought were myth were all too real and from different worlds, ah that would be a treat but it would put Bloom at risk. Speaking of her encouraging Bloom to believe in magic she had provided her with all sorts of books, games and toys relating to magic; also, sci-fi because not only was magic real but also so were those who used were hyper advanced civilizations with technology that humans could only fantasize about. On one of Bloom's shelves were numbers of books both fiction and non-fiction, also another where miniatures of Warhammer fantasy and Warhammer 40k she had helped Bloom paint them all, her most prized were her Dark Elves which were on her desk, next to her Computer, the centerpiece said collection was Malakith the Witch-King on Black Dragon it also included a Hydra with its beastmasters, a Sorceress on Cold one, a dozen Cold-one knights, two units of Dark elf Swordsmen, Lokir Fellheart and his Black Ark Corsairs, as well as number of other models. Nearby on the shelf were her other two favorite armies, the Empire of Sigmar with her two proud and well painted Steam Tanks and polished ranks of State troops, Greatswords, Knights and Halflings the centerpiece in that being a Karl Franz on his Griffin, her other favorite army was the Dwarves with their axes, crossbows guns and cannons, the centerpiece for that army being the High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer on his throne she also had a number of armies, her models weren't just for decoration Bloom actively used them in competitions as well as causal games with her best friend Selina, she had a number of trophies earned at said events on said shelves. In addition to these models they were joined by the manuals for their armies, as well as Bloom's library of books from Warhammer fantasy and 40k and trophies from a few local competitions, also on that shelf was her complete library of all things Tolkien and all things C.S. Lewis, any number of fantasy novels. One other shelf had all her Star Wars novels, and another her library of other sci-fi novels, another had her video cassettes and DVDs her entire room was thoroughly organized posters adorned her wall as well as many drawings that Bloom herself had drawn these ranged from sketches of grand fantasy battles to adventurers at tables playing cards and Faeries lots of Faeries, they also included a number of other things Bloom had drawn, lastly her pet rabbit Kiko slept in small bed, also at her bed side on the nightstand was the book Faeries: myth or reality.
Now Vanessa had a plan to get Bloom out of bed and this worked every time even during summer break, which it was now, also on Saturdays which today happened to be. "Bloom wake up time for school" Vanessa shouted, Bloom woke in alarm then bolted to her dresser grabbed her day clothes and ran past Vanessa down the hallway to the bathroom showered, then came back having barely put her shirt on.
"Sorry I slept in and- wait its Summer break and its Saturday" Bloom stated, then looked at her mother with annoyance.
"So it is, anyway now that you're up, breakfast is ready for you" Vanessa stated "Scrambled Eggs, toast and nice crispy bacon with you side of morning orange juice just like you like them" Vanessa continued, then Bloom dashed past her, down the stairs and to the dining room where Mike alias Lighthorn sat reading a novel, before putting it down to say "Good Morning Bloom" then resuming his reading, he had the day off for obvious reasons during the weekend, he was fireman for his day job, Vanessa had opened a flower shop; which she prized.
"Good Morning dad" Bloom responded then sat down and began to eat her breakfast, Vanessa arrived shortly walked to the pan and then deposited the freshly cooked bacon on a plate, Bloom soon had finished her breakfast and came for seconds which she soon promptly ate.
"Hey Bloom we got something for you, your father and I bought you a new bike to replace your old one and it is sitting out front" Vanessa stated, Bloom was surprised and slightly disappointed, Vanessa knew Bloom had expected a moeped like her frenemy Mitzi had, but money was tight, Vanessa couldn't just waltz into the bank and take money out of one Erasiel's accounts well she could but then she would have to explain where the money came from, money didn't just appear out of mid-air, Erasiel's accountants did keep track of his money and even though she could take withdrawal as she was listed as part of his allowed withdrawers she still had to explain to Bloom where she got the money to buy something also she hadn't gotten this far without living in her means, besides Bloom made list of things she kept for her spare time which cost a lot of money given the price of say a number of Blood Dragon knights would cost a 100 dollars and those things added up, besides Bloom wasn't the person who left the house on a regular basis to warrant the expense of a motor scooter and its upkeep which no doubt cost a fortune in gas. In spite of her disappointment, Bloom cheered up quickly.
"Hey Mom, can I go to Selina's house?" Bloom asked.
"Sure go ahead just be back before it gets dark" Vanessa stated, she wasn't worried too much about Bloom's safety due having her take a self-defense class as well as a Karate class which would allow her to beat off any one who may attack her, Vanessa also intended to buy Bloom a Gun and permit to carry it when she was old enough to buy her a fire arm, not that she hadn't taught Bloom how to use one, in fact she had last summer, and took her to range once a week for more practice, fire arms at least were cheap to maintain, mainly do a stockpile of bullets she had gotten from one of Erasiel's arms caches, she didn't completely refrain from using Erasiel's stockpiles, that were reserved for the use of friends and family, he probably knew they were being used and could easily guess it was her or any number of people using them.
Bloom left the dining room then went upstairs and grabbed her bag which she packed with her Empire Army as she intended to play a friendly match or three with Selina before playing some Battlefront on Selina's PS2, she then left and then went to her new bike which had a basket on the front which Bloom found perfect for storing her bag. She then took off down the sidewalk unaware of the arrival of Erasiel.
Erasiel had only just arrived in Gardenia a few minutes ago, he had sent Kerborg to monitor Knut and the Ghuls, while sending Gripmaw to look around for anyone with magical ability while he did the same, he had time to kill before Stella arrived, he surveyed the town walking about in his standard clothes though he kept a low profile, well as low a profile as you can keep while carrying an gold plated Relix staff with Dragon's head on it a staff which also doubled as a concealed Glaive and had a concealed sword inside. He studied the crowds and could easily tell magic users from non-magic users by their aura, magic users could see the aura of non-magic users and by doing so their true thoughts and intentions, Magic users however could conceal their aura non-intentionally or intentionally like he did his, this applied to those who could use magic but didn't know they could as well, he noted back and forth men and woman, children and teenagers he could see their auras and not, then he noticed something extremely noticeable, two young women, one on a motor scooter and the other on a bike he could hear their conversation but that didn't concern him as much as the fact he couldn't see their auras the first of two was girl named Mitzi, Mitzi had long black hair, parted on one side with braid on the right side. She had fair tanned skin and dark brown eyes covered with dark black glasses triangle lenses. Mitzi wore a green tank top with a single line being yellow in color with small cut-out sections going down the center. She also wore khaki capris and her figure was generously endowed and physically fit. She wasn't the focus of attention however that was the other girl whose name he hadn't caught but studied her intensively she was a girl with long orange-red hair that stops just above her knees, pale skin, and large cyan eyes. Her outfit was a teal crop top with dark blue trim and pale-yellow sleeves with blue slightly flared jeans that had stars on the bottom of the legs. Her shoes were yellow wedge-sandals with straps over the instep, with a figure much like that of Mitzi's but she had rather large and amazing butt in his opinion and longed to tap it. She didn't have an aura but her magical signature lit up like a Bonfire, that basically clinched it for him, forget Stella and her Ring for the moment, follow her.
Bloom finished talking with Mitzi, who had really not had much to brag about apart from disdain for Bloom's new bike which Bloom could care less about, she rode off heading towards her best shortcut to Selina's house the park, she was confident in her skills as a bike rider, in fact she casually let go of the handle bars and outstretched her arms like Christ on the cross, then continued, Erasiel followed her as fast as he could with his staff and without alarming anyone or making it look like he was stalking her which he wasn't not in that way at least, though the thought of romancing her was not out of the question but not now, then he realized as he followed her that she was heading towards the park, and then he noted that might be problem.
His fear was proved rather quickly as Bloom parked her bike, then ran off in the direction of a copse of trees, she heard the noises of battle, Erasiel heard them too, and ducked out of sight of anyone then teleported to Kerborg who was watching the affair from tree, Stella faced off against Knut in the guise of the Ogre Goldug who held a large bludgeon as well the Ghuls which moved like wolves getting ready to pounce, Stella was in her fairy form, Charmix form actually her Charmix appearance consisted of a sparkling orange one-shoulder crop top and short shorts, with knee-high boots of the same color. She wore her hair in two pigtails with orange tube ties. She also wore light blue forearm-length bands and a headband of the same color. Her wings were three leaflets with the color of powder blue with teal tips. She had the Ring of Soloria in Scepter form a long cyan-blue staff with the sun-shaped circle atop it, in one hand and it flashed with light in the other a Rapier which was of the finest quality.
The Ghuls commenced an attack like a wolf pack, Stella blasted several with light magic which caused them to disintegrate as she cut thru others like butter with her rapier which was a powerful enchanted weapon, however there were too many Ghuls and she would soon be overwhelmed, then something happened, something that would change history as far as Erasiel knew but he didn't know the full extent of it yet, Bloom charged in with a stick and yelled "Leave her alone you monsters!" then she smacked one of the Ghuls which caused it to fall over dead then disappear as if was never there, Knut didn't hesitate and shouted "GET HER!" and Ghuls complied several breaking off from attacking Stella to go after Bloom who fought them back wildly, then she began to glow "What's happening" Bloom stated, then Glow turned into fire and a roaring fiery serpentine dragon shot out of her, burning the Ghuls before taking off into the sky and disappearing, this left Erasiel blindsided and jaw-dropped, Knut and the Ghuls were terrified and Knut broke portal gem and ran off through the portal followed by the Ghuls, the portal snapped shut before Stella could follow leaving her and Bloom standing there in the groove, by the trees and leaving Erasiel stunned with his jaw gapping open, Stella fell over exhausted her form turning back to her princess outfit while the Ring of Solaria resumed its normal ring form and her rapier fell to the ground next to her, the princess outfit consisted of a bright orange crop top and a maxi orange, two tier, skirt. On her head, she wore a silver blue tiara that is very much similar to the design of the Ring of Solaria. Turquoise wings, with sea green tips, protruded from her back. Erasiel was left to study the seen stunned by what he witnessed, he wanted to ask her questions but he couldn't reveal herself not without being associated with the creatures that attacked Stella, no he could only watch, he couldn't get the Ring of Soloria from Stella for the same reasons he couldn't reveal himself, the plan had failed, the time had come for plan B and failing that plan C and so on until he had exhausted the alphabet and had to resort to numbers, but first.
"Kerborg" Erasiel stated telepathically then continued "Follow that girl keep an eye on everything she does as well as an eye on Stella, this is a development that changes a whole lot of things very quickly"
Kerborg assumed the form of a squirrel, then hopped from tree to tree, keeping his eyes on Bloom, who carried Stella over her back, then began to walk her bike and Stella home as quietly as possible.
Erasiel withdrew thru a portal back to Cloud Tower, where the Trix were grilling Knut for answers as to what went wrong. "Don't bother blaming him for something out of his control, there is new factor and an unforeseen individual who has complicated our plan, fortunately I have a backup plan" Erasiel stated.
"Well you better have one!" Stormy yelled annoyed at the failure of Knut, and glaring at Erasiel
"I do have one, and several more in case this fails, now we need to track Stella, and importantly find her before anything goes belly up" Erasiel responded.
"How do you intend to do that?" Icy asked.
"Simple we track her with a Hunting Troll, Knut grabbed a scrap of her friend's clothing in the fight, I happen to have an associate who owes me a favor, his name is Nurgash, he will be able to carry out the plan" Erasiel replied.
Later that day… Bloom had returned Stella to her parents so that they could keep an eye on Stella who was quite out of it, she was sleeping hard like a log and was drained like the fight had taken a lot out of her, Vanessa explained that there wasn't anything Bloom could do for her until she woke up, so she left, went over to Selina's house like planned, played the matches which resulted in her losing the best 5 out 6, though to be fair she made Selina change armies to her Wood Elves from the Orcs she usually played, so at least she had the moral victory and she won two of the matches, playing Battlefront and a few other activities took her mind off of both losing the last game and Stella, though she still had here worries for Stella in the back of her mind; when it got late she returned home around 8:30 where she then returned her beloved Empire army to its place on the shelf, before going to the Living room where Stella had awakened from her sleep.
Meanwhile… Knut had just arrived with Nurgash and the Ghuls ready for round two, Erasiel and the Trix insisted on waiting for nightfall to avoid any civilians who might be walking about, the Blue skinned Nurgash towered over the Ghuls but not Knut. They moved forward when suddenly Knut received a sharp blow to the head followed by the yells of the Ghuls, and the sudden yanking of a portal stone, Nurgash had betrayed them! He yanked on the stone but Nurgash drew a dagger from his back and cut off Knut's hand, before yanking the stone and Knut's arm towards him, tearing the arm out of its socket, Knut roared in pain and Nurgash muttered under his breath then smashed the portal stone and ran thru an open portal. Knut had another stone, but he was in too much pain at the moment to use it, the pain soon subsided as his arm regrew thanks to his regeneration, Knut then picked up his formerly attached arm which Nurgash had thrown on the ground before bellowing out orders to the Ghuls, then they withdrew.
While this event was going on Kerborg had continued his orders to watch and listen to the Girl and Stella, he had new information for starters the girl was named Bloom, secondly, she was unaware of her Magical abilities before today, third he noted that Stella had invited her to Alfea, Kerborg continued his monitoring.
Knut returned instead of receiving a chewing out from the Trix he received genuine concern for the fact his arm was being carried by him and that Nurgash was absent. "Nurgash betrayed us, he stole a portal stone and ran off, I tried to stop him, but he smashed some of the Ghuls and ripped out my arm" Knut explained.
"This is bad, now what do we do?" Stormy asked.
"For one we need to find Nurgash and see to it that he pays for his treachery secondly I need to devise a plan C to get Stella's ring, thirdly I need to think on everything that has happened today: I'll send Gripmaw to look for Nurgash, and more importantly I will look into this new anomaly; this girl could be a powerful ally or a dangerous threat she is a mystery, there hasn't been a new fairy on Earth for centuries and that one would suddenly appear is a matter worth investigating, for now it is best to get some rest, tomorrow we will see what we can do" Erasiel responded, there was no disagreement, they had spent most of the day training and monitoring the plan, now the time had come for sleep.