Chapter 2

Marinette

"Whew, that was tiring, wasn't it Tikki?" I asked my kwami, after fighting a supervillain, who called himself the Gamer. Actually, it was my friend Max, who was akumatized, but Chat Noir and I managed to save him. "Defeating The Gamer and then winning the Tournament with Max- wow! What a day!" I exclaimed.

"I agree Marinette," Tikki spoke, in her cute little voice, "you and I both deserve a good rest."

Climbing up the stairs onto my balcony, I looked into the sunset. The colours looked beautiful as they were reflected onto the Eiffel Tower and the buildings that surrounded it. I smiled; to protect a place as beautiful as Paris was truly an amazing experience. There wasn't a thing I wouldn't do to protect my beloved city.

"You're thinking about saving Paris, aren't you Marinette?" Tikki asked me, knowingly. I nodded. "Paris is lucky to have a superheroine like you, Marinette," my kwami complimented, "just see how beautiful Paris is with your-"

All of a sudden, I felt a shockwave pass through me. It wasn't like an earthquake or anything I've felt before; it was like a wave of pure energy just passed by me. It wasn't painful, but it was warm, strong and very, very powerful.

"Tikki, did you feel that?" I asked, unsure of whether it required Ladybug to interfere or not.

"Yes, I did Marinette" she replied softly, and I looked at my little guardian: her expression was one a wise person may have when recalling or understanding a faint memory.

"You know what caused it, didn't you," I asked her.

She did not reply at first. "Marinette, when the time comes, you will understand who or what caused that energy wave tonight. To be honest, I myself don't fully know what it was but I do know that we shall both find out, very soon."

From her words, I realised that Tikki, as old and wise as she was, had never encountered such a power before. If she didn't know what to expect, then how would I? Was it something to be afraid of? Was there another threat besides Hawkmoth in Paris?

Looking at my furrowed expression, Tikki smiled at me. "Don't worry, Marinette. I know one thing for certain- this power is not something we should be afraid of. Didn't you feel it? It was a wave of pure, positive magic. Powerful, yes, but not a threat."

I smiled at her. "You always know what I'm thinking, don't you Tikki?" I asked fondly.

She laughed, a little twinkling sound. "Come on, it's time to go to sleep now. Don't forget, you've got a quiz tomorrow."

As realization struck me and appeared on my facial features, Tikki laughed once more, as I ran down the steps to quickly prepare for another day at school.

Bloom

"I promise Winx, I'll be back soon, I have to go on this mission Daphne's set me." I finished telling the Winx about the mission; they deserved to know that at least.

"But Bloom," Stella whined, "you know we need you! What if on the way to China, there's another attack- we have to use our convergence magic and we need you for that! It works best if we're all together! And besides," Stella's voice dropped, "it's no fun travelling the world without you."

I hugged my best friend. "Stella, I promise I'll be there when you guys get to China. I know how important this quest is and I'm not leaving you. But Daphne knows that this is something I have to do, for all of us."

Flora walked up to me, and held my hands. "Bloom," she said softly, "some of us can go with you. You know that we can help you, right sweetie?"

"Of course Flora," I smiled, "my best friends are the guardian fairies of their realms. That's why I need all of you to protect the students here and continue with the quest until I return. All of you have to be ready if Alfea needs you."

"Are you sure about this Bloom?" Musa asked me, her face concerned.

"You know we trust you, but shouldn't one of us at least come with you?" Tecna asked.

Aisha walked over and put one hand on my shoulder. "I know you're strong but Tecna's right- can't one of us go too?"

I put a hand over Aisha's. "Guys, I won't be alone. Sky's going to meet me in Paris."

"WHAT!" they all shouted.

"Come on, as if he can protect you more than we can," Aisha muttered.

"Well, he is a Specialist," Flora commented, with a slight smile.

"Alright," Stella declared, "we're letting this go for now missy. But you better be true to your word otherwise I will NOT hesitate to fly over there and bring you back, with force if necessary," she threatened, wagging a finger at me.

I laughed and hugged all of my best friends once more. I walked over to Daphne, who was watching us with adoration.

"Take care of them for me, alright?" I pleaded, hugging her. She nodded, and as I let go of her, I saw fierce pride in her eyes.

"Time to transform," I declared, "Winx, Bloomix!"

As I felt the familiar thrum of wings on my back I flew up into the sky and into a portal that would take me to Paris, and to a new type of magic.

Coming out onto the other end of the portal, I saw a very familiar monument, one I had seen in pictures many times. Faragonda once told me that the Eiffel Tower holds the key to the magic of Paris, and now, I think I know what she implied.

I flew at a high altitude, unwilling to attract attention. As I looked down at the city below me, I saw two figures, one red and one black dashing across the rooftops. Surprised, I stopped but by the time I looked again, they had gone. Although I felt a nagging feeling inside, I pushed it down: I had to meet Sky.

Zooming past the beautiful city, I saw the top of the Eiffel Tower. I smiled to myself, as this was a typical destination choice that Sky had chosen, when we had decided a few nights ago, where to meet. I flew towards it and sat on the little flat plane beside the pointy tip.

"Nice view, isn't it?"

I turned around to see my favourite Specialist in the world. "It's nice to see you again, Bloom." He greeted me, one hand out, inviting me to ride on his hover bike. Smiling, I took it and leapt onto the seat behind him, and wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

"I've missed you," I whispered into his hair.

"Me too," he replied, as we set off zooming in the air once more. "How about some sightseeing?"

"Paris is really beautiful, isn't it Sky?" I asked, holding his hand. I was back in civilian form, as I thought it would attract less attention that way.

"Absolutely, and the best part is that I get to spend it with you," he grinned, as I shook my head at his corny remark. Strolling down a Parisian street, a flash of red caught my eye once again. I stiffened; Sky noticed the change in my behaviour and looked in the same direction as me.

"Time to check it out?" he asked, serious. I nodded. He left to find his bike and I went into a small alley nearby, and transformed.

Up into the sky once more, I scanned my surroundings. I knew I'd seen that flash of red before but where to look? Suddenly, I remembered Daphne's advice.

Follow your heart.

I closed my eyes and focused on the magic trail around me. I could feel it close, but this was an unfamiliar type of magic, nothing I've experienced before. The magic was positive but apart from that, I couldn't zone in on it.

"Sky, I can't find it," I said, as he hovered beside me, "it's like trying to search for something that I've never seen."

"I think it'll take more than one try," he suggested, "you'll have to start feeling this presence more and more often until you're familiar with it, to actually know what to look for."

"You're right," I replied, "but instead of me searching for it, I'll let it find me instead."

Focussing on my family, the Winx, Sky, Daphne and all the incredible moments at Alfea, I concentrated on fixing all my positive memories into one glowing orb of fire. I let it grow bigger and bigger…

And then I released it.

A wave of pure, positive magic exited my body and bounded all across Paris. I knew that even non-magical beings would feel it, although to them, it would be just like experiencing a really happy moment. If there were any magical beings in the area, and I was sure there was, it would also bounce off them slightly: enough for me to detect.

Sure enough, I felt four strong presences, and a few fainter ones, which was slightly confusing. Why were there so many little refractions? I decided to focus on the four that I felt, though I noticed one to feel colder than the rest.

"What did you find?" Sky asked, anxious.

I thought about the magical energy that came back to me, and which one felt the strongest. It wasn't far from here.

"I think I know where to start looking."

There will be some Adrien, I promise and also a very special character is about to appear soon.

Thank you once again!