Chapter 6: The Party crashers and the Codex
In Shadowhaunt Abolithon sat on the Shadow Throne of Darkar and yawned. "My sons today comes your first mission, the information we've been able to extract from our captive has proven useful, the time has come to implement our plan, we have found the Relix Codex, and it is currently in the ruins of Old Red Fountain, thus the time has come for a mission, I have it on good authority the Codex is well guarded and thus we will need a distraction, the New Red Fountain opens today, as such we will have the opportunity to have such a distraction; my sons I am tasking you with retrieving the Codex" Abolithon explained.
"What about the diversion, who will handle that" Deception asked.
"I have already thought that thru: Grackthroat!" Abolithon stated and a Faceless clad in red armor flew into the room.
"What is your command Lord Abolithon?" Grackthroat asked, holding in his hand a halberd with the free arm held over his heart as he knelt.
"You are to serve as a diversionary attack, we will wait until reopening party is underway, then when it is in full swing you will attack in the form of a terrifying beast, you are to cause as much chaos as possible, while your attack is underway my sons will enter the underground of Old Red Fountain and acquire the Codex, it is guarded rather well but nothing you three won't be able to handle; I have high hopes for you my sons you proved yourself well in the taking of Shadowhaunt now I want to see what you three can do, bring the me the Codex; anything else is secondary, as soon as you have it you leave and return to Shadowhaunt" Abolithon ordered.
"Yes, father it shall be done" All three Phoenixes stated, they put down their visors which concealed their handsome faces each of which was alike to each other with the only difference being in eye color and hair color.
"Excellent" Abolithon stated then began to laugh.
At Alfea… "Well Bloom are you ready?" Erasiel stated knocking on the door dressed in his normal clothes. "Because I really need to use the Bathroom!" Erasiel remarked.
"Almost, just need to put my mother's bracelet on, there now I'm done" Bloom stated and she walked out in different outfit then Erasiel had seen before, Bloom wore a light blue and white collared short-sleeve midriff/crop top with four dark pink hearts on the right side over a long sleeved shirt which left her navel bare, a short layered dark denim skirt, really long light blue knee socks, dark blue high heels with dark pink laces, and a dark pink band which is (measuring from the bottom of her arm) three quarters up her arm. "How do I look?" Bloom asked.
"Like a million bucks, now I really need to use the Bathroom" Erasiel stated then rushed past her into the Bathroom and locked it.
Musa walked up to Bloom. "I Like your new outfit, I'm glad the reopening isn't formal dance, I left my best dress and home and it hasn't arrived in the mail" Musa remarked, she was wearing a short, dark blue kimono with silver trim, a pink, wrap belt, a pair of light pink tights, a pair of lace-up, navy blue sandals, and a silver headband.
"Well I'm glad it least it will be a party with refreshments, also I'm glad they invited the Cloud Tower students, last thing we need is them to crash the party" Bloom replied.
"They can't crash the party if they're invited that's for sure; anyway, I hope the new Red Fountain is as awesome as they are claiming" Musa remarked.
"It should be amazing after all Nathan said he would have it rebuilt state of the art" Bloom replied.
"You know if it wasn't for the whole Downland incident a few days ago I wouldn't have bought his whole stich about having more wealth then he knows what to do with, but then again I should have realized he was telling the truth with all the expensive gifts he's been giving me on our dates and giving them to Flora and Tecna as well" Musa noted.
"You know I never doubted he was rich, I mean have you seen his staff, anyone with a staff that exotic has got to have a lot of dough" Bloom stated, Musa laughed; she had gotten used to Earth slang by this point. "You know Musa things are getting pricy around here, I think I'll get an after-school job to make up for the extra costs" Bloom explained.
"Why not ask Nathan to give you money?" Musa jested.
"Well he's done so much for me already, besides my godmother Vanessa always told me nothing in this world is given to you for free you always have to work for it, especially when it comes to money" Bloom explained.
"Relax Bloom I was only kidding" Musa replied, and the door opened and Erasiel came into the room.
"Ah, that is much better, wouldn't advise going in there for a while, anyway what's all this talk about money?" Erasiel greeted.
"Nothing to worry about, I'm just going to get a side job, know anyone who might be hiring?" Bloom replied.
"Nope, not around here, been too busy thinking about what Abolithon could possibly want with Pixies, on top of that I have my mother's birthday to think about, it's this Friday and I don't intend to disappoint her with less than amazing gift" Erasiel answered.
"That sucks; anyone you know I could ask Musa?" Bloom asked.
"Well ask one of the local girls around here they'll probably know about anyone who's hiring" Musa stated.
"Your right, I'll go ask Francis, she's from Magix City maybe she knows someone who's hiring" Bloom stated and left to find Francis. Musa then frowned and looked bleak.
"What's wrong Musa" Erasiel asked.
"It's that day Nathan" Musa responded.
"Oh, the day Matlin died, your right, I remember that, I was there for her funeral if you remember me" Erasiel stated.
"I don't actually" Musa replied.
"That's alright, you were only two at the time, and you spent most of the funeral asking why they were burying mommy" Erasiel replied, which caused Musa to break down in tears, Erasiel hugged her and held her as she cried into his shoulder. Ayesha walked into the room; she was wearing a two-piece navy blue outfit, a midriff turtleneck tank top and a mini-skirt, both were decorated with silver beads, navy blue leg-warmers, and blue sandals. On her arms she wore navy blue, zebra-striped gloves.
"What's wrong Musa, Nathan did you have anything to do with this?" Ayesha asked.
"Nothing Ayesha, it's just a sad day for Musa, this day was very sad for her years ago" Erasiel commented.
"What happened today?" Ayesha asked.
"Today was the day her mother Matlin died" Erasiel answered.
"I understand" Ayesha noted and pated Musa on the shoulder.
"Anyway, we should get going, everyone else is ready to go and Stella will have a hissy if we don't get there on time" Ayesha explained, Musa recovered her composure.
"Alright then let's get going" Erasiel stated and held Musa's hand as they left the room to find Bloom and Francis waiting for them, Francis wore a teal tank-top over a rainbow sweater, in addition to a red skirt over shorts with red lace stockings and stilettos.
"Come on Nathan it's time to go by the way Francis told me about a job opening" Bloom explained.
"Yes, I told her about the White Horse my boss Greta said she is looking for a new person to help around the restaurant" Francis commented.
"That's good, I'll have to drop by some time, do they serve Chicken and French Fries" Erasiel asked.
"Yep" Francis remarked. "Alright lets go, come on Ayesha you're with me" Francis stated.
"You know it party girl" Ayesha remarked, the two of them were becoming fast friends what with sharing a room.
They left the Winx Dorm and proceeded to a crowd where they found Flora, Stella, Tecna, and Diaspro waiting for them along with the Pixies. "Well guess who finally showed up" Stella teased.
"Please Stella we weren't even remotely late, the transports to Red Fountain don't leave for another ten minutes" Erasiel commented.
"He is correct, though it's actually nine minutes and 27 seconds now" Tecna replied logically.
"We don't need to get technical here Tecna, no offense" Musa remarked.
"Hey Nathan, what do you think of my outfit" Diaspro asked, she wore an outfit that consisted of orange top with white hearts in the right corner and a strap on her left shoulder, off-the-shoulder sleeve on her right arm, and an orange bow on the strap. She also sported an orange sleeveless midriff top with white buttons over the orange top and a red ruffled mini-skirt. She accessorizes with two gold necklaces studded with jasper, two orange bangles, and orange over-the-knee socks. Her shoes were red high-heeled boots with orange heels and orange ribbons wrapped around her leg and tying onto the back of her hamstring. Her curly blonde hair was smoothed out and her bangs were parted mostly to the right and cheek length, but the other side was pulled behind her left ear with a short piece hanging down and was decorated with a gold jasper studded barrette on the right side of her head, she also wore her silver tiara.
"You look like an Eraklyion Angel" Erasiel commented.
"Thanks Nathan" Diaspro remarked given him a hug and planted a kiss on his lips, the chatter went on until it was time to leave.
"Students form up into five groups, Headmistress Faragonda will address us now, Professor Gelt will be in charge of supervising the first group, with the other professors following suit" Griselda instructed, Erasiel and the Winx found themselves in the first group much to Stella's annoyance as Professor Gelt kept an eye on her, despite her good grades last year he still was suspicious when it came to her, blowing up the Alchemy class two years ago would do that to you.
"Students, no doubt you are all aware of the Battle for Magix that happened last year and the unfortunate destruction of Red Fountain College by the Lighthaveners, since then the college has been rebuilt and the destruction that happened last year won't be repeated. In light of that a celebration party is being held for the grand reopening of Red Fountain, with said party however will come some rules; Rule number one. No fighting with the Specialists or with the Witches of Cloud Tower. Rule Number two, listen to the Teachers. Rule Number Three. Do not enter the ruins of the old school, there is still rubble. Rule Number four, don't listen to Griselda, Rule number five. Have fun" Faragonda instructed, people laughed and grinned about rule number four. "Now everyone please head to the transports in a dignified and orderly manner as well as in order, Professor Gelt your group is first" Faragonda instructed, group one marched out the gate, and got onto the transport which the inside of which resembled a school bus to a degree however there was more room to move about the every seat had a seat belt, Erasiel sat down in on the chairs and Flora sat down next to him, while Zing Livy and Chatta hovered above them.
"So, Nathan Flora can't stop talking about you when she sleeps" Chatta remarked.
"Chatta! That's private" Flora replied.
"Don't worry I have that effect on people sometimes, don't worry Flora it shouldn't be a problem, Chatta refrain from talking about Flora's private life in the future" Erasiel instructed, and Chatta nodded.
"So, what do you think of Professor Gelt, he gives me the creeps with that mask of his, also his voice is creepy" Chatta stated.
"Professor Gelt is a great wizard, one of the finest Gold Wizards I've ever met, the man is good at what he does, as for his mask, well I don't tend to ask questions about it, he did tell me though it was a biproduct of a failed Alchemy experiment though" Erasiel replied.
"He's also an amazing teacher and really supports those who want to learn Alchemy from him, he also is willing to let people try and make up for failed assignments" Flora added.
"Well he still gives me the creeps, so is that mask of his something he wears to hide his face or is it his face?" Chatta remarked.
"I don't know, he never answered that question other than to remark which one do your think, personally I'm in the camp of not asking, besides it makes him look serious, there aren't many people who wouldn't take him seriously and those few who didn't well they were mostly Morden and now they are solid gold skulls adorning his office, also he has one on his desk in his class in case you haven't noticed" Erasiel stated.
"Oh that, I always thought it was something interesting, I had no idea though it was a Mordan though, but I should have guessed by the teeth" Flora commented, the Transport took off, followed by the others, they then flew to Red Fountain and landed in port of the School alongside transports from Cloud Tower, where Witches had already gotten off. As they left the ship Erasiel noted the Trix, they looked surprisingly different than usual, Icy's hair was down and it flowed all the way to the back of her knees, all the way, Darcy had her hair in the same style of Pony-tail that Icy usually wore, and Stormy well her hair was straightened and flowed past her shoulders. Icy wore a silver winter jacket with a dark blue bottom hem that stops just short of her belly button, blue jeans with silver-lined pockets and grey high-tops. While Darcy wore a purple long-sleeved blazer with high shoulders that exposed her midriff, a matching purple miniskirt, and greyish-blue leather boots as well silky fingerless gloves that were lavender in color were worn over her hands as she carried a greyish-blue clutch purse. Stormy wore a light blue, long-sleeved sweater with a red collar, bottom hem and cuffs, a dark blue miniskirt, red knee-high socks, and brown shoes with grey soles. Trixie still wore her hair the same though she wore a dark elven outfit which was green in color.
All the students fell in line and moved towards the courtyard, where numerous specialists gathered, as well as a few news reporters with drone cameras following them, in the courtyard was a large screen which showed the outside of the school, something the Winx couldn't understand, Erasiel knew full well what is was for though. Above the courtyard the Teachers of Red Fountain stood in a Balcony alongside Saladin who wore his usual attire. "Excellent everyone is here, the time has come for the Grand reopening of Red Fountain College for Specialists, Wizards, Battle Mages, and Sorceresses, everyone ready themselves as we watch the screen to show off the grand reopening" Saladin announced, the ground shook, a shield was projected and the sound of engines roared to life as the school ascended into the sky, about 300 feet in the air, the School outstretched fins and began to slowly rotate. "As you can see the new Red Fountain is state of the art and will be unassailable by any land army, it offered new state of the art systems and a larger amphitheater for the exhibitions, as well as state of art zoos and quarters for the school's Dragons and other creatures, in addition to this our library has been expanded, and each classroom is now larger than before, we have more extensive dormitories and campus security is the most elite it has ever been, our new courses are state of the art and we will be expanding our training program, more Wizards, Battle Mages, and Sorceresses have joined our students and will now be equivalent to our specialists in terms of numbers, speaking of new students I have a someone I would like to introduce to you all, the newest instructor and returning student my daughter Helia" Saladin explained, with that a graceful well-endowed athletically fit woman strode forward, she had long black hair and blue eyes, she wore a full armored suit that was dark blue over which was surcoat which had the school's insignia, that of a crimson Dragon rider battling another dragon rider with a series of vines wrapped about the scene, she also sported a blue cape, she had a khilij style hilt on her side which was an inactive phanto-blade on her wrist she wore a strange band which stood out from the rest of her outfit. "My daughter has returned after a year's absence in the study of the arts, now she will instruct here at Red Fountain alongside her older sister Kordatura" Saladin explained. Helia nodded.
"Now that I have cleared up all the new things coming to Red Fountain let the celebration commence in earnest!" Saladin exclaimed, and the music began.
Ayesha and Musa stood next each other in earnest discussion when Darcy walked up. "Hey Darcy, What with the new look?" Musa asked.
"I just thought I'd spice things up a little bit, the new outfit is something I've been meaning to wear for some time in my opinion it's the most fashionable outfit I've worn in some time, new outfit by the way a gift from Nathan, as for my hair, well if Icy is going to let hers down well I thought I might try her look" Darcy remarked.
"I never took you for being so fashion savvy Darcy" Musa remarked.
"Please I know I've got better tastes then Stella; trust me true fashion is the stuff that highlights the rest of your look, it takes a good deal of proper preparation" Darcy explained.
"Well maybe you should give Stella some tips" Ayesha remarked.
"Please, she wouldn't believe me if I told her she wasn't truly fashion savvy enough, also there is the whole thing that we use opposing magics, so I'd prefer not to stretch our friendship to the limits" Darcy replied.
While they were having this conversation Erasiel was of course mingling, Riven and Artesia immediately came and hugged him on first sight and then clung to his arms in the meantime, Erasiel walked up to Helia. "Hey" Erasiel greeted.
"Hey, never seen you before, you new here?" Helia replied.
"Nope, don't go to Red Fountain, I'm a tutor who goes back and forth between Alfea and Cloud Tower tutoring students with my established track record as a teacher" Erasiel explained. "Speaking of I just got hired as a Teacher's assistant for all the Professors at Alfea" Erasiel continued.
"You're Erasiel Darkar, aren't you, my father told me you two were good friends and Kordatura, well she can't stop talking about you" Helia replied.
"That would be me, Kordatura of course she can't stop talking about me, I'm the only person who brings out her soft and caring side, well apart from our kids, so I've not seen you around before, Saladin didn't mention he'd had another daughter in my absence" Erasiel commented.
"Trust me my father is has more time on his hands then you think, just ask my mother" Helia stated.
"Ah yes, Erinaya Essentar one of the marvelous 20 daughters of Tieru Essentar and Arcadia the first Fairy, I remember playing matchmaker for your father and mother when they were both students of mine; interesting things have happened" Erasiel stated.
"I know, well if you're ever free, I'm single, Kordatura says you're the most handsome man and the best man in the Magic Dimension, she was right about the handsome part and I'm up to see if my sister was right" Helia remarked,
"Glad you could say so, let's dance" Erasiel noted, the music played louder and soon Erasiel had dominated the dancing scene, the lovely girls and ladies from all three schools danced with him.
Shortly… "So, Nathan what do you think of my hair" Stormy asked.
"I think it looks lovely, I've never seen you with it down before and well I am impressed" Erasiel noted.
"You haven't seen me with it down either Nathan" Icy stated, Erasiel was dancing with the two of them.
"And I've never seen you in that lovely outfit" Erasiel remarked.
"You're too kind" Icy remarked, then scanned the crowd for a face she did not want to see. "Great it's Sky why is that scumbag still attending Red Fountain" Icy commented.
"No idea; Stormy feel free to tell the new ladies around here about his scumbag status, and if he tries anything feel free to kick his ass" Erasiel remarked, Stormy went towards Sky and stared him down with an angry glare.
"Hey Air-pollution, let's get things straight, try anything with any of the girls here, I'll personally kick your ass all the way back to Eraklyion, by the way I still haven't paid you back for what you did to my sister!" Stormy remarked and proceeded to fling him across the room, he came back at her with his fists raise and Stormy dodged his blows and kicked him in the groin. "There that was from my sister, try to break anyone else's heart and I'll give you a lightning bolt where it will really hurt; to your junk!" Stormy stated.
"My father will hear about this" Sky protested a large crowd had gathered around them.
"Yeah like I'm afraid of him, I'm not and just because your some royal princeling doesn't mean you get to take advantage of girls and ladies and break their heart, personally I hope you get married then when you get your wife mad at you that she'll cut your wiener off one night, and then you'll wake up the next morning and question why Mr. Happy is gone; get bent and stay the fuck away from any of the new girls" Stormy stated, with a number of ladies shooting razor glares at Sky.
Brandon came up and helped Sky to his feet. "You know she's right" Brandon remarked.
"Ugh one of these day's you'll pay for that witch!" Sky stated and stormed off, Stormy hit him with a minor shock spell. "YEOGH!" Sky screamed. Bloom had walked up to Stormy.
"What did I say Sky?!" Stormy yelled and Sky ran off. "What an asshole, I hope he gives me a reason to maim him further" Stormy stated to Bloom.
"I agree with you on that Stormy, personally I hope this will make him know that he shouldn't break anyone's heart" Bloom replied.
"Next time he causes trouble you want in on the fun?" Stormy asked.
"Yes, but keep magic out of it, the last time I tried to use magic on him it started a war, I'd prefer to not start another one" Bloom explained and Stormy chuckled.
"I guess you can say that, though personally I'd love to kick some ass of anyone who starts a war with you Bloom" Stormy stated and they both laughed
Unaware to those partying a group had just arrived out of sight of any but in sight of the school.
"Well the time has come Grackthroat for you to do your part in the plan" Ambition stated.
"Yes, try not to mess it up" Retribution remarked.
"Shut up Retribution!" Deception stated.
"Please you two we have a serious mission this is no time for you two to act like hatchlings" Ambition stated.
"Shut up Ambition!" they both said, before he wacked both of them upside the head.
"Remember who's in charge of this mission" Grackthroat stated.
"Yes indeed, now let us begin" Ambition stated, "Assume the form of great monstrosity that no one in their right mind would ignore and most people would be terrified of" Ambition ordered and Grackthroat dawned the form of a Leodragus a true monstrosity: it was bipedal and extremely large in this form, large enough to almost reach the ceiling of Lord Darkar's throne room. its skin was shinny and grey just in a lighter shade, it had large bat like wings that were pink in the inner flaps. the head almost looks like a lion's mane, except it was purple, smooth and has a lower part that is furry, the eyes were gold with no pupils. It had a canine-like mouth, the hands are both replaced with maws of sharp teeth and eyes above that as well a long tail that has a snake head at the end of it.
Grackthroat let out a bestial roar and charged towards the school, Ambition and his brothers landed in a forest near the ruins of the old school, there were a few guards standing vigil over what was clearly an important part of the school. "Inferonost!" Ambition casted and black flames emerged from his palms frying the guards to ashes bar on who was terrified by the black armored figures with duel axes on either side and who carried black staffs in their hands, Retribution seized the cowering man. "Where is the Codex?! Where is the Place it is kept!" Retribution shouted.
"If I may brother this requires a bit more of a finesse touch" Deception stated and strolled up "Mentos Moxi!" Deception casted, "We are your friends tell us where the Codex is" Deception stated with a silken voice.
"The Codex is kept in the vault I'll show you the way" the Guard stated, and he showed them to a large circle, and pressed a button revealing a great spiral staircase.
"Thank you for your kindness friend" Deception stated, then decapitated him with one of his axes. "Come brothers let us see to finding the Codex" Deception stated, then they descended the stairs, they noted the guards were heavily armored and armed and hadn't seen them yet.
"Shallow shroud" Ambition casted, a cloud of darkness masked their presence. "Blaze of Sharook!" Ambition casted and a red and black flame wave came out of his palms and struck the guards they were fried alive and their screams were audible and attracted the attention of more guards, causing a mock fight.
"Penumbral Pendulum!" Deception casted and dark purple pendulum swung slicing the guards in half, the front half of their body fell forward and their back half backwards leaving a mulchy mess, another guard came charging at Ambition.
"VATRA MAZOG GRAZATH SLICTRA!" Ambition casted invoking the word of pain, the guard felt the worst pain any person could even receive as layers of his flesh peeled off like an onion as he was flayed alive, other guards ran at the sight only to be cut off by a wall of black and red flames. "Pit of Shades!" Ambition casted, the whole time behind his visor he had been maintain a cold emotionless demeanor, and his voice was equal cold and emotionless, a good-sized hole appeared dark shards of energy pulled the guards screaming into the vortex, which stretched them out before eviscerating them in bits, which were spat out, all the guards now lay dead, the brother continued into the main room where a giant set of Scales stood unbalanced.
"Now what" Retribution asked.
"We have here a weighted scale, Darkar's design no doubt, and don't touch it either of you, it is clearly a trap that if we don't balance it properly will activate those Shantiri Golems over there" Ambition explained, and the brothers did noticed said golems, they were far beyond their ability to defeat, the black and orange statues stood silently, among them were Shanteri Gargoyles as well.
"Now as you can see the scale is unbalanced, meaning the entrance to the Codex's resting place is closed, you can see that alter, on it are a number of items, we must put the ones that have the exact weight as that well weight on the other end of the Scales, put too much weight and the guardians will awaken and kill us; thus we will require a bit trickery" Deception explained. "the first step will be to figure out the weight of the weight on the scale already; that will be simple" Deception stated, then pulled out a scanner, which was able to get the density of the weight and thus its mass from that the weight. "The weight is about 200 pounds, now to way the objects on the alter" Deception stated then scanned the first of the objects, an iron ingot, it weighed about 20 pounds, or a tenth of the weight, then he noted the large candelabra which was made out of brass, that weighed ten pounds and so on until they had done a calculation of the weight.
Meanwhile… as the three Brothers were at work Grackthroat had succeeded in causing chaos, diving into the refreshment table, Sky, some of his friends, and a number of green specialists attempted to be heroes but got flung across the courtyard and in one case eaten by Grackthroat. "What is that thing Nathan!?" Bloom asked.
"Leodragus! Nasty creature, fortunately not a Manticore, if it was well I'd be cowering in a corner" Erasiel explained.
"You are afraid of Manticores?" Bloom asked in her Fairy form just like every other fairy who wasn't running off.
"What is there not the be afraid of when it comes to a Manticore, they can fly, they have the body of a lion but are the size of truck, a tail of a scorpion that can fire barbs from it that are the size of Ballista bolts and on top of that they are the most poisonous creatures in the Magic Dimension, trust me no way will I go near one of those things, not even a tame one; which is absurdly hard to obtain in the first place" Erasiel explained.
"So how are we going to deal with it?" Musa asked.
"By a bit of psychology, Leodragai are afraid of one thing, their natural predator a Royal Griffon; the largest of Griffons they are massive, and I can summon one" Erasiel explained. "Metric Vanta haoboss!" Erasiel casted and a massive Griffin the size of a semi-truck descended from the sky, to Erasiel's surprise the Leodragus let out a barrage of magic which terrified the Griffin and caused it to fly away. "That's no normal Leodragus; It's a faceless disguised as a Leodragus, Abolithon's behind this" Erasiel stated.
"Alright sisters let's give this Leodragus a piece of our minds" Stormy stated. "Electric Tornado!" Stormy casted and large tornado formed around her and tossed Grackthroat about before he sent wind flying from his wings sending her flying backward, Grackthroat turned to Erasiel.
"Darkar! Lord Abolithon sends his regards, surrender the Pixies!" Grackthroat roared.
"Over my ashes!" Erasiel replied and then flung a fireball at Grackthroat who absorbed the attack.
"Fool!" Grackthroat roared and then charged.
Back in the Ruins… "There one last thing" Deception stated and put a feather on top of the pile on the scale, the scale evened out and the sound of floor moving, as the floor folded in revealing a spiral flight of stairs leading downwards. "Don't make me drag you two down there" Deception remarked, and all three brothers descended the stairs, the bottom of said stairwell was a large door which opened with touch of the disc in the center, the large door slid open, revealing an alter where the Codex sat atop, in front of it a pixie sat in a throne.
"Surrender the Codex and you shall not be harmed" Deception stated
"Trespassers, you shall not take the Codex, I am Athena Pixie of War and I will not give up my charge to any who are not of the Order of the Red Cloak!" the Pixie remarked flying up from her chair and picking up a spear and a shield, Athena had fair skin, orange hair and olive eyes. She wore a Greek goddess dress. Her hairstyle was a high bun with a golden hair tie and with two strands of hair hanging at both sides of her face. She wore orange eyeshadow. Her wings are yellow with green outline and big green spots at the edge. Her wings generated an orange aura around her, her spear was polished white with a red colored tip which was jagged, the spear was made of Relix, the shield was a round Hoplon with the image of a Hydra on the face of it.
"You have got to be kidding; I'll fling you across the room tiny!" Retribution ranted, at this Athena adapted a human form which she still looked like she did in her pixie form but was now clearly human in appearance and size.
"Not so small now!" Athena stated.
"Enough let's get this over with!" Retribution stated drawing his axes and charging, his brothers flanked with their staves, Athena danced in between the brothers knocking one away with her shield and hitting the other with a ball head on the bottom of her spear with another, she attempted to isolate the brothers and soon turned Retribution's hubris against him driving her spear past his guard and thru his chest before yanking it out hitting him with the ball head to knock him down and sending his helm flying revealing his stunned face then she drove the spear thru his throat before countering a follow up attack from Ambition.
"NO!" Ambition yelled, he knew his brother would reincarnate but still seeing him die was something he was outraged about; his outrage caught Athena's spear after she attempted to embed it in his shoulder, it only barely pierced the first of the four layers of plates and still would have had to go thru the mail under that and then his hide which was stronger than most; How this Pixie had a Relix Spear was beyond him much less that she was able to handle three Phoenixes at once, granted they were only 500 years old but still a Phoenix is usually stronger than a pixie and there were three of them, Ambition though and he attempted to drive Athena's spear into her, she parried with her shield and yanked the weapon from him, before she was struck by Deception with his staff, knocking her down.
"Blindness of Agony!" Deception casted causing Athena's sight to fade and her eyes to hurt she dropped her spear. "Shadow binds of Valdaka!" Deception casted binding her. "Now for me to have some fun with you" Deception stated as he stripped her of her clothes.
"Brother we are here for the Codex" Ambition reminded.
"I'm aware of that but I'm sure you want to have your way with the guardian especially after what she did to Retribution" Deception retorted, Ambition smirked and removed his armor, Deception did the same, then they seized Athena and forced themselves into her, they were surprised by her not being a virgin, but they enjoyed sticking themselves into her none the less, Athena moaned in pain as she was violated both vaginally and anally, this went on for several rounds and both brothers took turns raping her from various angles, soon Athena was knocked out and they covered her with their cream before redressing. "There, let her live with that humiliation, now for the Codex" Deception remarked and took the Codex. "I'll be taking this spear too" Deception commented to the unconscious Athena "bitch" Deception muttered. "Shadow net of Amyntok" Deception casted leaving Athena tied up, he and his brother left, though not before defacing the alter and tattering Athena's gown.
Above… Grackthroat soon found himself entangled in at a net as Helia dragged him to ground level. "It's over now tell me minion of Abolithon why you attacked Red Fountain" Erasiel interrogated, to the laughter of Grackthroat.
"You think that you defeated me, I held back lost to you on purpose, you are a fool, you think that Abolithon sent me to cause panic, if so you are a fool farewell Darkar!" Grackthroat stated and transformed in a normal Faceless bat and flew off faster than Erasiel and the others could react, then teleported away.
"That isn't good, this whole thing was a diversion" Erasiel stated shocked. Erasiel then searched for Saladin and Faragonda, finding both not too far from where he was. "Saladin, this attack was only a diversion, something else happened, something was most likely stolen while we were busy fighting any ideas as to what that might be?" Erasiel explained.
"Stolen, well Erasiel our artifacts and more powerful objects are still at Alfea, we may have restocked our library, but we don't have everything we did in the old school" Saladin explained.
"Then it must have been in the ruins of old school, but we got virtually everything out of there during the battle last year what could- wait Saladin did you move the Codex?" Erasiel replied.
"No, the preparations for a new vault are not finished in the new school, therefore we kept it in the old vault which survived the explosion, under heavy guard, the guards there had enough supplies to last for 10 years; long enough for us to actually move the Codex" Saladin explained.
"Then that's what they were after, come on gather the other Professors, members of the Order of the Red Cloak only, I'll go explain things to the students" Erasiel ordered.
"I will do that" Saladin stated, Erasiel went to the Winx and the Trix who were still a bit shaken by the whole ordeal.
"Girls I'll be back, there is something that has come up, the place I'm going allows only members of my order to enter without being in danger of the defenses, I'll explain everything when I get back, in the meantime see to helping anybody who was hurt in that attack, also make sure to keep an eye out, there may be another attack" Erasiel instructed, the Winx and Trix nodded.
Shortly… Erasiel had gathered with the Professors, Faragonda stood at his side, as well Balthazar Gelt, Zatura and Saladin. "I was right, the main entrance is open" Erasiel stated.
"Indeed, let us continue on and see what has happened" Balthazar remarked, the group continued, descending down the stairs to the interior, there they found ashes and charred armor which was still warm. "The guards were overpowered by powerful magic; no normal attackers could be behind this" Balthazar stated.
"This looks like the work of Phoenixes, there are few who could overpower the guards here" Saladin stated.
"Indeed, I can tell" Erasiel replied, they continued onward, finding bodies that where charred, as well some that were shredded bloody chunks, and in the case of one, flayed like an onion. "Definitely Phoenix work" Erasiel stated, they then entered the main room where the scales were balanced, and more bodies lay dead on the ground. "They figured out the puzzle, the guardians are still inactive, which means we are likely to find more dead, poor Athena" Erasiel stated, they descended the stairwell and entered the grand vault, what Erasiel saw outraged him, Athena, naked with tattered clothing, covered in semen. Erasiel ran over to her and checked for a pulse and was relived to find she was still alive, he pulled out a robe and used magic to clean and cloth her before picking her up, he then turned to the alter where just as expected the Codex was gone. "Well now we know what happened here, and importantly we know Abolithon's plan, he wants to enter the Relix Dimension and use it to provide himself and his forces with Relix weaponry and armor, with that kind of power at his hands he could conquer Magix easily" Erasiel observed to the sharp focus of the others. "Fortunately, he doesn't know an important fact; that the Codex he stole is only one of four parts, he would need to find them all, on top of that he needs the Dragon flame to activate the codex and enter the Relix Dimension, so for now we need to bide our time and double our guard; Griffin, Faragonda I need you two to make sure the security for your codex parts are doubled, on top of that make sure that the guardian Pixies are made aware of what happened to Athena; I'll inform Ninfea of what happened here, the Pixies are still priority, Abolithon may use them as hostages to get Ninfea's Codex piece" Erasiel explained.
"We must notify the council" Saladin stated.
"Indeed, I'll inform the members myself; they'll debate though before we can get anything remotely done" Erasiel replied, Athena groaned recovering consciousness; Erasiel helped her up.
"I've failed you Erasiel my love, I failed to keep the Codex safe; not only was I beaten I've been- violated and by the looks of things robbed; my spear its gone!" Athena exclaimed, Erasiel wrapped his arms around her to comfort her, her hair was a mess, he comforted her.
"It's alright Athena, I forgive you, don't worry I'll make sure whoever did this to you pays, also I'll get your spear back, now in the meantime I'm going to have you stay at the new school, the ruins are fully compromised, also I'm glad to see someone alive down here, the rest of the defenders well they're all dead now" Erasiel explained.
"I can move past this, I'll heal from this, though memories will remain" Athena stated glumly.
"Trust me they'll rot in the Oblivion Dimension when I'm done with them" Erasiel explained.
Meanwhile at Shadowhaunt….
Retribution stood irately, clad in his armor but his hair and eyes were white, a side effect of Reincarnation. "I can't believe that Pixie beat me, me a Phoenix, a not just a Phoenix but a son of House Shadowthorn" Retribution mumbled. Abolithon sat on the Shadow Throne smiling at the gift his two sons had brought him.
"Father we have acquired the Codex as planned" Deception stated, Ambition brought the Codex on a cushion and placed it on his father's lap.
"Excellent, now will come- wait" Abolithon stated, studying the Codex as a jeweler would a gem to verify it being an actual gem and not colored glass.
"What's wrong?" Ambition asked.
"Nothing of your doing Ambition, no the Codex- It's incomplete, these is only a part of the Codex, you've done well my sons, bar you Retribution; your foolishness cost you an incarnation, don't let your rage blind you in the future. Deception you and Retribution have risen in importance, now we wait and bide our time and look for information about the Codex, as well as to allow for them to let their guard down" Abolithon stated. "We are one step closer to our goal" Abolithon noted then stared off and laughed manically.