Chapter 11: The Monster and the Willow
Erasiel woke the following morning, both Lucy and Mirta had already left gone to their classes, which was a shame as he was in the mood for more, he then remembered something. Flashback… "Don't worry Flora I'll help with your project" Erasiel stated "Thanks Nathan you're the best" Flora responded and kissed him.
"I promised to help Flora with her project" Erasiel stated to himself, dressed into his day clothes and with this he jumped out of bed and dashed down the hallway, running at the speed of Darkar. He passed the Trix in the hallway and yelled "No Practice today ladies go nuts!" Erasiel stated and the Trix cheered and jumped for joy. Erasiel darted out down the hallway to the garage where he had parked his Space Strider put on his suit and took off soaring out of Cloud Tower. With no passengers or inhibitions Erasiel put the pedal to the metal and went as fast as he could, flying over the many sights that he had seen yesterday, looking off to notice occasional movements in the forest, the skyscrapers of Magix City, the Black Mud swamp in all its putridity with the swamp goblins moving in the bogs, usually unseen by most but Erasiel could see them fine and clear with his eyes, and then Alfea, the splendid College with its wonderful courtyard, fine gate and walls, magnificent buildings, its central tower and the number of forts near the school where campus security troops stood vigil watching the forests and ready for anything that might come out of them, mainly Beastmen and Forest Goblins, but other things dwelled in the forest that would be a threat to anyone who entered them, the best policy was to contain the nasty creatures inside, the worst parts of the forest were blocked off by high tech barriers that where both resistant to magic and anything that the Beastmen and Goblins had access to as well as being able to protect against some of the larger denizens like towering Cygors, gigantic and ferocious Arachnorok Spiders, the terrifying Jabbersclythes, horrible Ettins, Trolls of the hunter breed, as well as far worse. None of these horrors however threatened the school as long as the barriers held, and the projectors for them were out of reach of most of the forests inhabitants and those that could reach it had to risk the Sentinels, advanced robots of Phoenix engineering that concealed their true power in floating spheres.
Erasiel flew closer to Magix and slowed down to begin his descent with this kind of situation he wasn't worried about, he arrived and landed parking his Space Strider in front of the fountain to the surprise of the students and to the outrage of Griselda, who made clear her opinions until Erasiel took of his helmet, then she ran off with her tail literally between her legs. Erasiel entered the school after putting his bike attire with his bike, he passed down familiar hallways, kissed Jennifer when he ran into her, continued on his way and arrived at the Winx's Dormitory where he walked in to hear see Stella arguing.
"No, you've gone too far this time Flora!" Stella fumed.
"I don't see what the problem is Stella" Flora stated, then Bloom entered the room.
"No, you've gone way too far and I'm putting a stop to it!" Stella replied.
"What's happening Stella and what's going on?" Bloom asked, Stella and Flora glared at each other.
"Nothing Flora's overdoing it as usual" Stella commented.
"Overdoing it? I have an exam soon Stella in Alchemy, I'm just carrying out a few experiments that's all" Flora stated.
"Overdoing it yes, you have been for about a half the month now oh I'm going to use the power of flowers to repel dark spells, or I'm going to impress Professor Gelt with my knowledge of counter spell potions" Stella retorted.
"So, what's wrong with that" Bloom responded in Flora's defense.
"What's wrong with that, in case you haven't noticed your room with Flora has become a giant Chemistry Lab in addition to being filled with your collection of miniatures" Stella responded.
"So, what, I promised Flora I'd help her study, besides we've already passed the simulator test I don't see what your problem with that is" Bloom responded.
"Yeah some test" Stella retorted.
"Hey, I had to take on Darcy's gauntlet of opponents all 100 waves of them then I had to fight her and her sisters on top of all that! It was by no means an easy test!" Bloom responded.
"What's going on here?" Erasiel stated as he had been quiet the whole time hoping that Bloom would break up the argument.
"Oh Nathan!" All three of them said at once.
"That's my name don't wear it out" Erasiel stated. "Now what in the name of Asha are you three arguing about, also Stella apologize to Bloom" Erasiel continued.
"Oh right, I'm sorry Bloom, you're right I shouldn't fault you for doing so well in the test especially when I haven't taken it yet" Stella apologized.
"That's ok Stella you're just a bit nervous" Bloom responded.
"Nervous, Bloom you should see my room" Stella stated.
"Well show it to me and I'll be the judge of it" Erasiel stated they entered the room and Stella began explaining
"Alright for starters I gave Flora permission to put her flowers by the window seal because they need lots of sunlight which she spread out herself but then she put a bunch of Melanoma-Veracosa- "Stella explained but Flora interrupted to correct saying "Menmosa-vainatosa!" "Whatever, she put them next to my mirror, My Mirror Nathan! My Mirror!" Stella continued.
"Well that's normal they feed off reflected light and your mirror is so huge that they get a lot of it" Flora responded.
"Normal you call that normal!" Stella responded then pointed to the plants which Erasiel noticed for the first time to his amusement as the plants were wearing Stella's clothes and using her cosmetics. "They're wearing my clothes and using my makeup!" Stella stated.
"So that's why they're called Vainatosa Stella" Flora responded.
"It's not that bad Stella" Bloom stated.
"Not that bad! Yes it is! Look at them they're wearing my shoes, using my makeup, and look at them! They have no taste whatsoever! They aren't even wearing the matching shoes and the outfits don't match one bit!" Stella complained.
"What do you expect Stella they're just plants" Flora responded.
"I find this whole situation hilarious" Erasiel commented then broke out in laughter which Bloom joined.
"Besides Stella, Tecna hasn't complained about it" Flora stated after Erasiel and Bloom stopped laughing.
"Speaking of Flora where is Tecna?" Erasiel asked, they then went Tecna and Musa's shared room where they found Musa sitting on her bed listening to Music and playing video games on her laptop. Erasiel tapped Musa on the shoulder and she paused her game and her Music.
"Oh, hey Nathan when did you get here" Musa stated, Erasiel hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.
"Hey Musa, have you seen Tecna?" Erasiel asked.
"No haven't seen her since this morning, but I've been busy playing on my computer, the video games Bloom brought with her are amazing to play and it gives me an excuse to crank up my music while I'm fighting waves of enemies in Star Wars Battlefront also the multiplayer for this game is great you should play it sometime" Musa replied.
"Have you had any problems with my plants" Flora asked.
"We have plants in our room?" Musa asked confused.
"Yes, I asked Tecna to keep some seeds in the dark inside her closet" Flora replied.
"Well then let's check the closet" Erasiel stated having a feeling something was up, he opened the closet door to find Tecna all tied up in vines. "Well Flora I've found Tecna" Erasiel stated in used a simple spell to untangle Tecna.
"About time you got here Nathan, I went in my closet to grab a change of clothes when these plants grabbed me" Tecna stated annoyed though not showing it due to her Zenithian trait of not showing emotion.
"Musa she was in there all this time and you didn't notice" Stella stated to Musa.
"How was I supposed to know, I don't have a habit of searching people closets" Musa stated.
"Alright Flora I'm willing to forgive you but I just want to know what those seeds were" Tecna responded.
"They were triple S's" Flora explained, Erasiel glared at her with the glare of exact name please Flora. "Oh, sorry that means Sequoia-serpaliverous-swifta" Flora clarified.
"What?! Flora those are a highly invasive species not to mention highly aggressive!" Erasiel stated.
"I'm sorry I didn't know they'd grow so fast I'm sorry Tecna" Flora apologized.
"It's ok Flora just don't do it again, also they have to go" Tecna responded.
"I'll take care of that, trust me this particular plant breed and I have mutual experience I'll deal with them" Erasiel stated, then walked into the closet and burned the Triple S's to a crisp pile of ash at which Flora winced.
"Alright well I'll just recover myself, pack up my things and move them off to the Black Mud Swamp, as Alfea clearly isn't suitable for my experiments" Flora stated gloomily.
"The Black Mud Swamp? Flora you can't go there alone! That place is dangerous" Musa stated.
"Yes, remember the last time we went there we were attacked by Goblins, you won't last a day there on your own" Bloom stated, and Flora left.
"Alright she's not going alone, I'm going with her, I promised my dear Flora that I'd help her study and I'm more then capable of handling a few goblins" Erasiel stated.
"Says the guy whose staff was stolen by them at Lake Roccaluchee" Bloom remarked causing laughter.
"That was a fluke, besides I got it back, also I usually use fireballs on them" Erasiel replied
"I'll go with you she's my roommate besides I promised I'd help her too, and where I was raised we keep our promises and our word matters the most" Bloom stated and followed Erasiel.
"Well let's not just stand around here on ceremony lets go help them" Musa stated and Tecna and Stella glared at her. "Come on are you two really going to let your friends go off into a dangerous swamp by themselves, especially Nathan with him they're sure to get into trouble" Musa stated and both Tecna and Stella relented, Tecna because of her love for Erasiel and Stella because of the friendship and she wanted any excuse to get as far from Griselda as possible. "That's better, Winx Club forever" Musa stated.
Within a matter of an hour they had packed and dressed for the trip into the Swamp, Stella had wanted to wear her day clothes but Erasiel glared at her and told her "You'll be complaining about how messy they'll get the whole time" she relented and dawned more sensible clothes however not shoes and that was something Erasiel didn't fight her on believing she'd learn from experience that they would be a bad option. Within an hour they had arrived in the Black Mud Swamp, fortunately the Goblins had retreated back into their territory during the last month and the swamp was safer, also the area they were heading to was a good ways away from the Goblins' territory. Soon they had made camp pitching Flora's tent which was pink and decorated with flowers.
"I'm glad to have friends like you guys, willing to go with me into crazy places like this, I still can't believe we're all here" Flora stated.
"Yeah me neither" Stella stated sarcastically, swatting flies.
"Please Stella I've been in crazier spots then this, for me this is a walk in the park" Erasiel stated the bugs ignored him out of the fact that whenever they came near him they died of combustion from a spell Erasiel used as a perfect bug repellant. "Besides Stella don't be so grumpy the sooner we help Flora with her experiments the sooner we can get out of the swamp" Erasiel stated.
"Nathan's right, besides all we need to do is find this flower" Flora replied, then showed them a picture of a flower from her book. "This is a Cheerful Gladiolus, they are a primary ingredient in curing sadness spells" Flora explained.
"That's a pretty flower Flora, but are you sure it grows here?" Stella asked.
"Yes, it does, the ecosystem of the swamp supports a vast diversity of flora and fauna" Flora replied.
"Including some interesting creatures, some which are dangerous and some that are quite kind" Erasiel stated.
"So, we just need to find the flower and go, it should be easy!" Stella stated.
"It's not that simple Stella, it's a very skittish flower and it doesn't allow itself to be picked easily" Flora explained.
"Yes, very much so, fortunately we only need one petal for this potion" Erasiel stated.
"Yes, even more so with my newest invention, with a drop of this mixture…" Flora explained then took out the invention in question and dripped a drop of the mixture onto a nearby plant, a leaf fell off then grew into multiple plants. "With this I can create an infinite number of petals all for my experiments" Flora explained.
"A useful invention, it took me years to find the right mixture to pull that off Flora, how long did it take you" Erasiel asked.
"With Professor Gelt's help: two hours" Flora replied.
"That's great now let's get to work, Kiko you stay here in the tent, you heard Nathan the swamp is not a safe place" Bloom instructed, her rabbit got the message and ran into the tent and closed the folds of the tent behind him.
"Bloom I think Kiko might be magical" Erasiel commented, Bloom laughed at the suggestion.
"Maybe, he seems highly aware" Bloom stated then laughed again.
"Can I stay here too? Someone has to watch the camp and Kiko" Stella commented this caused more laughter.
"Stella we need you, with us, besides Kerborg can stand watch besides he'll be a better guard" Erasiel stated.
"What do you mean, are you saying I'm not good at standing watch?" Stella asked.
"No nothing of the sort, I'm just saying you are a freshmen fairy who was held back due to blowing up an Alchemy class and Kerborg is an eons old Faceless with just as much experience, combat prowess, and magic to match, trust me the camp will be in good hands" Erasiel responded. "Speaking of Faceless: Kerborg!" Erasiel barked, then Kerborg showed up at attention and in his true form. "Stand watch over the camp and Kiko so nothing happens to either him or our stuff, Gripmaw!" Erasiel ordered, and Gripmaw also appeared. "Bat form, and sit on my shoulder, you'll be coming with us" Erasiel ordered, and Gripmaw transformed and sat on his shoulder.
"Well than everyone ready?" Bloom asked, and everyone nodded.
"Well than no dallying about Tally-ho!" Erasiel stated, donning his explorer garb and Pift Helmet.
They trodded thru the swamp Stella complained about her shoes. "I told you Stella to wear practical clothing, and well you did apart from your shoes" Erasiel commented.
"Hey these are my designer heals I am not going out of Alfea without them" Stella commented.
"Well the fact that there now a mess is your own fault" Erasiel commented then turned to Bloom. "This reminds of my safari to Africa back in 1896, Nebula and Daphne were with me and we were with the expedition of a good friend of mine Lord Oswald Chutney" Erasiel stated.
"Wait you were in Africa, in the 1800s how old are you and how old was Daphne?" Bloom asked.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you how old I am, but I can answer your other question Daphne is about 2016 years old at this point in time" Erasiel replied.
"Well that's a shocker, when she said she was my older sister she wasn't kidding, but she looked so young" Bloom responded.
"Faeries are Immortal Bloom and ever youthful, I'm surprised with all your reading of fairy tales and fantasy novels you didn't realize that sooner" Erasiel stated.
"You are right, I should have realized that soon, but wait does that mean I'm- "Bloom asked.
"Yes, you are, as are Stella, Musa, Flora, Tecna, the Trix and every other Fairy and witch you've met so far, and some of the specialists as well pretty much all magic users in fact, however just because you're immortal Bloom does not mean you're invincible, you can still die in battle, disease can't kill you though you can catch it nor will old age, only death at the hands of another" Erasiel replied.
"Wow but what about you?" Bloom asked.
"Well I can die, but it wouldn't matter" Erasiel stated.
"What do you mean?" Bloom asked.
"That you'll have to figure out for yourself, just saying but the answer really isn't relevant because I am not dying anytime soon" Erasiel stated, then Stella screamed.
There was a quick rush to see what happened then they found Stella face down in mud. "Are you ok Stella" Bloom asked.
"No, I'm not ok, I'm tired, dirty, and my feet are killing me from all this walking around, if only we'd find those stupid flowers!" Stella commented, and Flora gasped.
"Quiet!" Flora stated hearing movement.
"No! I refuse to be quiet! You'd said we'd find them- "Stella started to say but Flora covered her mouth.
"Look" Flora stated, and everyone turned to see what she saw. What Flora had seen were tiny nymphs they looked like miniature mermaids with transparent flaps of skin under their arms, they were different colors one was blue and other purple.
"Undines" Erasiel whispered. "They're miniature water nymphs, they are a rare sight and mostly native to this swamp, keep your voices low, they're shy and distrustful of anything bigger than they are much less that walks on land" Erasiel explained, the laughter of the nymphs could be heard.
"They're beautiful" Bloom whispered.
"And small" Musa commented, the peaceful scene didn't last long as Stella bit Flora's hand causing her to yell in pain, scaring the nymphs.
"Oh no Ground Walkers! Let's run!" One of the nymphs said and they began to run.
"Wait! We aren't going to hurt we're friends, I'm Erasiel of house Darkar and a Phoenix, you worship Shallassa don't you" Erasiel stated diplomatically, Shallassa was the Greater Phoenix of Water and was revered by many creatures who dwelled in water as she had created them.
"Yes, we do, a Phoenix do you serve Shallassa" one of the Undines asked.
"No, I serve Asha the Greater Phoenix of Order, sister to Shallassa and the Phoenix Queen, I am her herald, prophet, consort and king, most importantly though I am her diplomat and your friend, my friends and I need your help can you help us?" Erasiel responded.
"Yes, we can, what do you need" One of the Undines asked.
"We need to find a certain flower the Cheerful Gladiolus do you know anyone who can help" Erasiel responded.
"Our Queen can, follow us we'll take you to her" the Other Undine responded, then they lead them down river to peaceful glen, this glen was a beauty to behold: the trees were proud and clean, the flowers shined on the banks, and in the great pool where the river entered the Glen where many lilies flowered, and they were of numerous breeds, and noticeable beneath the water and on the shore were cities made of a material that only Erasiel knew what it was.
"This place is beautiful the Undines were right to bring us here, look at the all the lilies and the gladioli, and look at the water" Flora stated, then the Winx looked under the water to see a city that was no bigger than a dining room table to the Winx, well from what they could see of it, according to Erasiel he could see further, and the city was much larger.
"Look in the water" Stella stated, in the water they saw the city it was composed of many bubbles similar to that of Otto Gungah from Star Wars but smaller and clearer and with Undines moving from place to place.
"It's a miniature city" Bloom commented, then one of the two Undines swam up, the other had gone ahead of her to notify their Queen.
"I don't mean to be rude, but we can't exactly invite you into our houses" the Undine stated.
"I can- "Erasiel was about to say as the other Undine returned, he was about to explain he could use his magic to miniaturize them, so they could enter the city.
"Our Queen has expressed a desire to meet with you and will see you now" the other Undine stated, and they followed her down river to a large throne dug into the roots of the oldest tree and which was made of flowers and lilies and the court of this open room was festooned with decorations made of rock and flora, the Queen sat on her throne with a number of Undines in courtly attire alongside her, also near her were Undine Warriors, they wore armor made from a material that was known to them and only their race knew how to refine the armor was as strong as steel, they also wielded halberds made from the same material, the Queen herself was dresses in gown made from lilies and she had gold skin unlike many of Undines however there were some with green skin amongst the court, she wore a crown made from gold and shells.
"Welcome to our home, we rarely have visitors much less ones so large in stature and who walk on land, also it is good to see you again Lord Erasiel Darkar" the Queen greeted.
"Thank you for the warm welcome your majesty" Erasiel greeted, he carried himself as well as any noble at a lords court and with a grace of a ruler. "These are my friends the Winx Club faeries, this is Bloom, Stella, Flora, Musa and Tecna" Erasiel introduced, "Bloom and Stella are both Princesses, the Princess of Domino is Bloom and the Princess of Solaria is Stella" Erasiel stated. "also forgive Bloom for her lack of royal etiquette she has been raised on the different world from her home for most of her life" Erasiel explained.
"It is great to meet you, Princess Bloom, Princess Stella, Flora, Musa and Tecna, I am Queen Ninovee Algae and I welcome you to my court, well secondary court there are those among our people who live above ground and those who live in the water, though most of our people live underwater, it has been a long time since we have had outsiders in our midst, 30 years in fact" Queen Ninovee greeted.
"So, wait you know Nathan I mean Erasiel" Musa asked.
"Yes, she does, the Queen and I are well old friends to put it lightly and lovers on the extreme end, I'm also the herald of Sylvanna the Greater Phoenix of Nature and thus care for those who dwell in it, I watch the forests and make sure that the most important of Sylvanna's children and creations are kept safe and aid her children where need be, as Water nymphs the Undines fall in both her domain and Shallassa's domain" Erasiel explained.
"Indeed, and we worship both Greater Phoenixes in our temples, but we also revere Asha, as she is the greatest of their race and of them all" Queen Ninovee explained. "But enough of formalities, it has come to my attention that you seek the Cheerful Gladiolus, I can provide that to you Flora as I can see you are of pure heart and a true friend to nature" Queen Ninovee explained. "However I am in need of your assistance, our people are under threat from the Monster of Black Island, this creature threatens the source of the material needed for our survival, something that we use to make our great cities, it is called Xylith and it can only be found on that island, we use it to make and repair the bubbles of our cities that we live in without it we would be forced to live above ground where the Goblins and other dangerous predators await, it has become dangerous of late to collect it as the Monster has been more aggressive of late, every once in a while when run low one of our warriors volunteers to gather more when we last did so it was Lusiz's turn to go, we haven't seen her since and our supplies have gone lower still and in matter of two weeks we'll have run out" Queen Ninovee explained, the other Undines wept at the mention of Lusiz as they feared the worst, that she had died and that he monster had eaten her.
"That's terrible we'll do whatever we can to help" Bloom stated.
"Praise Asha you will, good, the island isn't too far from here, collect as much Xylith as you can carry, defeat the monster to maintain our supply and see if you can find out what happened to Lusiz" Queen Ninovee stated.
"Alright Winx lets transform and move out" Erasiel commented earning a glare from Bloom. "Alright I won't use that line again, besides Bloom you're in charge and I'm only your humble advisor" Erasiel stated.
"Alright Winx ready" Bloom asked.
"Ready when you are Bloom" Flora responded.
"Then let's go, Magic Winx: Charmix!" Bloom shouted and the other Winx Transformed. (It's the Power of Charmix your magical light the power of Charmix and you will shine Bright Spread you're wings and fly Light it up the Sky its easy if you try It's the power of Charmix. It's the Power of Charmix your magical light the Power of Charmix and you'll shine bright! Spread your wings and fly! Light it up the sky!) "Bloom fairy of the Dragon Flame" Bloom shouted as she transformed.
(If you want to go far, never give up on your dreams! Because you know you're wonderful just the way you are! Deep inside your heart there is the power of a Winx just close your eyes and let it shine!) "Flora Fairy of Nature" Flora shouted as she transformed.
(It's the power of Charmix your magical light the power of Charmix and you'll shine bright, spread your wings and fly! Light it up the sky! It's easy if you try!) "Stella fairy of the Shining sun!" Stella shouted.
(Every day on the edge you know what you've got to do, just give your best and you will see! You'll never be unknown! We are all for one! Burning Brighter than the Sun! Just Close your Eyes and we will shine!) "Musa Fairy of Music!" Musa shouted as she transformed.
(It's the Power of Charmix your magical light the Power of Charmix and you'll shine bright! Spread your wings and fly! Light it up the sky! It's easy if you try! It's the Power of Charmix your magical light the Power of Charmix and you'll shine bright! Spread your wings and fly! Light it up the sky! Charmix!) "Tecna Fairy of Technology!" Tecna shouted as she transformed.
(This is what you are and now you're a powerful Fairy! Irresistible! You will be the Star! Come Fly with the Winx! It's the Power of Charmix your magical light the Power of Charmix and you'll shine bright! Spread your wings and fly! Light it up the sky! It's the power of Charmix!) "Erasiel: Phoenix of Balance" Erasiel shouted as he transformed into his combat form.
"Come on Winx lets move out!" Bloom shouted and they all took flight. They flew above the glade and saw the Island from above, the mass was maze of plants atop a rising hill and on top of it was a red tree. They descended and landed on the bank of the river.
"So, Bloom what do you think when the Queen said Gigantic monster, in my opinion we look gigantic to her so wouldn't the monster be medium sized?" Stella commented.
"I wouldn't be so certain Stella, looks can be deceiving, also my gut tells me to be ready for a big fight and that what we're facing could be seriously dangerous" Erasiel stated.
"Look somethings moving beneath the water" Musa commented.
"Be ready for anything" Erasiel stated and readied a fireball in his free hand, the other held his staff, at his side Bloom couldn't help but notice the two swords, Falchions, like Erasiel's armor they were purple and orange and the seemed to be made of the same metal in addition to those blades was massive two-handed variant of the same design. Everyone's attention however was on what happened next as great monstrous head emerged from the water and roared. Erasiel threw a fireball at the creature burning it and causing it to retreat under the surface.
"Well that was easy" Musa commented.
"Don't be too sure, besides I've never managed to drop anything of that size with one fireball usually it takes about three dozen of them mixed in with a bunch of other spells to boot" Erasiel stated. "Bloom hold this for me use it to focus your magic" Erasiel stated and handed her his staff. "This kind of creature seems to be resistant to magic which means I'm going to need to break out Persuasion and Reason for this" Erasiel stated and drew the two Falchions from his side. Before he could react the monster reared its head out of the water and swallowed Musa into its mouth. "Shit!" Erasiel swore. "Come on don't just stand there we have to save her" Erasiel stated.
"Well water isn't exactly our element" Stella responded.
"We'll use air bubbles like the Undines do" Erasiel stated and cast on each Winx.
"Now for a final touch Lux Luminous" Tecna casted and the bubble glowed with light
"Tally-ho!" Erasiel shouted putting down his face mask as the dived into the water.
"Where did it go?" Bloom asked rhetorically. Erasiel and the Winx studied the water then saw the mouth of a cave of which bubbles were blowing out of.
"There" Erasiel stated.
"But how do we lure it out?" Flora asked.
"Rather simply" Erasiel stated then sheathed one sword. "Shem's Burning Gaze!" Erasiel casted and series of light balls crashed into the caves mouth waking the beast, the monster popped out and opened its jaw allowing Musa to fly out. "Now to make sure we can get out: Optical Darkness!" Erasiel casted blinding the creature, they then flew out of the water and out of the reach of the beast.
"That was a close call now what do we do?" Bloom asked.
"Something is wrong, that creature isn't what it seems to be, this whole place, wait this Island isn't an island at all, It's a Giant River Tortoise and it has gone nuts" Erasiel responded.
"So, the monster isn't really a monster at all, we have to help it this poor creature must have a dark spell cast on it" Flora stated.
"You're right, Giant River Tortoises are usually quite docile creatures they don't attack unless attacked themselves, something is agitating the tortoise that its being aggressive to anything that come near it" Erasiel stated then studied the surroundings. "Look Flora those trees notice anything about them" Erasiel stated.
"Yes, they're Red Willow trees!" Flora stated. "That must be what's causing the tortoise to be so aggressive" Flora continued.
"Alright this looks to be a grove, we'll need to advance from the ground I can't tell which one of these trees is the leader from up here, as you've noticed the trees are in a spiral pattern and they'll move to protect their leader, the only way to find the leader is to approach from the ground be ready for trouble" Erasiel explained, they landed on the shell that was the island and began to follow the path.
"This seems too simple (Yawn) it's like they're letting us pass" Stella stated after they had walked for a bit.
"Yes, that's normal they want us to reach their leader so that the leader can deal with us, be cautious" Erasiel stated.
"You seem really anxious have you seen these before Nathan" Musa asked.
"Yes, and trust me the experience was a mixed bag, on one hand they destroyed a Morden warband that had been chasing me and my companions but on the other they tried to kill us as well, trust me Musa Red Willows are as bad as Briarheart Trees, if not nastier" Erasiel stated.
"So why aren't they attacking us if we are their enemies" Bloom asked.
"They like to toy with their pray let it die of thirst or other things, they don't feed off the dead like Brairhearts who grow from the corpses of the dead and seek to drain the blood of it, Red Willows are cruel and spiteful and love to torment anything that moves about freely" Erasiel explained, soon more yawning.
They had progressed further into the sea of trees when Stella yawned and said "I'm tired I need to rest five minutes please" Stella stated then passed out, Bloom shortly afterwards followed by Musa.
Tecna was drowsy but still conscious, Erasiel was unscathed then he yelled "Tecna stay awake, try and secure your helmet!" Tecna shot alert and green window closed down over her helmet. "Are you feeling better, this is bad Tecna, I forgot Red Willows have sleeping pollen Phoenixes are immune to its effects, but I forgot Faeries weren't" Erasiel stated.
"I'm feeling better, my helmet has a filter system it should make sure I'm breathing oxygen" Tecna stated "What about the others?" Tecna asked.
Erasiel thought for a moment then asked "Tecna can you put up an oxygen bubble?"
"Yes, I can! I can also vent out the bad air" Tecna stated then cast a spell to generate an oxygen bubble around them, Erasiel used his magic to extend the bubble to cover the Winx. Tecna then opened a hole to vent out all the pollen, the Winx woke from their slumber.
"ah that's so nice" Stella mumbled as she woke then noticed a ladybug on her. "AGH!" Stella screamed then jumped up awake and tripped over a rock, causing the rest of the group to laugh.
"Well Stella I didn't realize you had a fear of ladybugs" Flora commented.
"Do not, I just thought it was a poisonous snake!" Stella responded.
"If it was poisonous snake it would have bit you Stella, hard." Erasiel replied. "Come on we have to find this joker of a leader tree and then we can get the hell out of here" Erasiel stated. They continued down the path till they came to a large gnarled tree, at its foot rested an Undine clad in armor similar to that of the Queen's guards at her side rested her halberd also several birds rested in or near the tree. "That must be Lusiz, and that's the leader" Erasiel stated.
"Yes, that must be her, alright Winx here is the plan Tecna extend the barrier see if we can wake Lusiz and those birds, then once they're free we'll deal with the Leader tree" Bloom stated, Tecna extended the barrier with Erasiel's aid and soon it covered most of the island shell. Lusiz stirred and woke grabbed her halberd and readied herself to fight.
"It's alright, you're Lusiz right, Queen Ninovee sent us to rescue you" Bloom stated she calmed down and lowered her halberd.
"You're here to help, good when I got here I realized that the monster we feared wasn't a monster at all just a Giant River Tortoise, these trees must have caused it to go mad with nightmares" Lusiz explained.
"Yeah we figured that part out already" Stella responded.
"Now let's deal with the tree" Musa noted, the Tree stirred and opened eyes then growled and sent out roots to attack, Everyone flew upward out of its reach included Lusiz which surprised the Winx but not Erasiel as he knew Undines were capable of flight.
"You evil tree! I'll turn you into a Bonsai!" Bloom yelled and sent a fireball at the Tree.
"Bloom use my staff it will focus your magic, I'll go and give this a tree an overdue trimming!" Erasiel stated, threw his staff to Bloom then drew Persuasion and Reason and descended on the tree. Bloom unleashed fireballs, while the other Winx sent their own attack downward, "Flaming sword of Rhuin!" Erasiel casted, and his blades ignited aflame, he then charged at the tree and began slicing each limb it attacked with causing the tree to roar in agony, "Now to chop you down to size!" Erasiel taunted. Additional trees attempted seize Erasiel, but he ignited himself on fire burning his attackers with his true fiery aura and flesh. "Alright tree you are giving a good run for my money and that deserves a prize, here have a head that never stops screaming! Burning Head!" Erasiel yelled and a large fiery screaming skull tore itself into reality and began burning the grove.
"Laser pulse attack!" Tecna casted hitting the tree in its top branches. The Winx descended lower as Erasiel had cleared a safe path
"Enough if we're going to solve this problem we're going to have to get to the root of it!" Erasiel shouted, and Bloom hit one of the roots.
"You're right we have to strike underground!" Bloom yelled. Erasiel cast a spell that rent the ground exposing the Tree's roots. Both Bloom and Erasiel sent a cascade of fire at the roots which spread into the tree.
"No! I'll end this!" Flora shouted then shouted, "Death of Nature!" which casted a spell that rotted the tree out of existence, along with all the other trees on the turtles shell.
"We did it!" Stella cheered.
"Don't celebrate so soon Stella, we need to find the Xylith" Erasiel stated.
"I can help with that, though I'm worried the tortoise will leave soon and without it we won't have a supply of Xylith" Lusiz stated.
"I think I can help with that" Flora stated.
A Few hours later… They had returned to the Queens court with as much Xylith as they could carry. "Alright your majesty we have collected all the Xylith we could, and we have found Lusiz" Stella stated. Lusiz ran up to Queen Ninovee who hugged her tight
"Thank you for deeds, not only have you brought us more Xylith and dealt with the monster, but you've brought my dear daughter Lusiz home" Ninovee stated.
"Wait Lusiz is your daughter?" Bloom asked surprised.
"Our daughter" Erasiel amended, "I was so worried when your mother told me what happened Lusiz, I'm so glad though you were saved though, and you're a brave warrior!" Erasiel stated then shrunk himself to the size of an undine and gave Lusiz a hug.
"Wow Nathan you didn't tell us you could do that" Bloom commented.
"I haven't told you a lot about me, anyway I can do the same for you" Erasiel stated returning to his normal size. "Anyway, we found out that the monster wasn't really a monster it was just a grouchy Giant River Tortoise, sadly though it will be leaving soon but Flora has a solution to the Xylith problem" Erasiel stated. Flora took on of the Xylith leaves and planted it then took out her invention and dripped on drop onto the leaf and 20 full grown Xylith plants emerged.
"With this invention of mine you'll have all the Xylith you could ever need" Flora stated.
"Thank You Flora, you have more than proven yourself, also here is the Cheerful Gladiolus" Ninovee stated, as a flower shined from the nearby garden "It will allow you to pick it Flora" Ninovee stated.
"Thanks, but I only need a petal then I can use my invention to get more" Flora stated, she then plucked a petal from the flower, then took a Ziploc bag from her pocket and put the petal in it.
"You have done more for us then anyone ever his, more than Erasiel even on his first visit, we are in your debt and you can always count on us as friends in times of peace and allies in times of war" Queen Ninovee stated.
"Thanks now what are we going to do" Musa asked.
"Well if Erasiel wouldn't mind shrinking us we can have a look around the city" Stella stated.
"I thought you wanted to get out of the swamp as soon as we found the flower" Erasiel responded.
"That was before the whole running into a secret civilization of Undines, now I want to see what they have in terms of fashion, I'd like to get some new outfits then enlarge them to my natural size" Stella commented. Everyone laughed, and they spent hours in the city before returning to campsite and then to Alfea.
At Alfea…. Flora walked into the Alchemy class with a basket of potions and folder of papers. "Professor Gelt, I've finished all those extra credit assignments and I'm here to turn them in" Flora greeted the golden masked and golden robed wizard who sat at his desk.
"Good job Flora bring them here and let me see" Balthazar Gelt stated in his metallic voice, Flora came to his desk and put the basket and the folder on it, Balthazar went thru the papers first checking over them then examined the potions, pulling the cork out of each to smell them, after a couple of minutes of him doing so Gelt turned to Flora, he brought out a red pen. "You have everything I asked for all the mixtures are stable, even Gladiolus extract is there, did my mixture come in useful for that?" Gelt inquired.
"It definitely did, I used it for the petals but also to help some Undines grow Xylith after me, Nathan and other Winx helped them defeat a monster terrorizing them, I even brought some Xylith for future use" Flora stated.
"Excellent work Flora, you get an A+ for each assignment, plus extra credit for bringing me something I was short on and for saving the Undines, after I enter these grades in the computer you should be ahead of everyone else in my class, I'm grateful for your dedication to Alchemy, it's a shame you aren't a metal caster, or I'd teach you some of my less dangerous but still secret concoctions" Balthazar Gelt responded.
"Thank You Professor Gelt be at your class on time Monday" Flora stated then left, behind his mask the wizard smiled.