Okay, now it's time for one of those long chapters I mentioned before, but finally some stuff starts happening. Yay! So let's get into it
Chapter Three – Into the Under Realm
Riven's headache had come on suddenly and without any prior warning. It had started out as a dull thudding ache but had quick aspired to the stage where it was so powerful that he couldn't tolerate the simple act of getting vertical. This, coupled with Riven's regular foul attitude towards life, resulted in him developing a more than irritable and bad tempered mood that most people tried not to agitate further.
But Brandon was never like most people.
"Maybe your brain's broken," Brandon said helpfully as he watched his friend suffer.
"You can't break a brain, Brandon," Timmy reminded the squire from his place typing away at his computer. "Or at least you can't break a brain and continue living."
"Well, Darcy messed around with it last year," Brandon pointed out. "Maybe she busted it up real good and now it needs a kick start."
"And how do you suggest we do that?" Sky asked casually, not looking up from the text book he was reading.
"That same way you fix a computer or indeed anything that's broken; give it a good, hard whack."
Timmy stared at his friend in horror and unconsciously moved between the squire and his beloved computer. "I am never letting you use my computer again, you go that? Never, never, never, never!"
"Stop talking," Riven groaned from his place lying on the floor with his arm draped over his eyes to block out the light. "You're making it worse."
"As if I am," Brandon dismissed casually.
"Are you trying to die at a young age?" Sky asked his best friend.
"What can I say? I'm a thrill seeker," Brandon smirked.
"I'll thrill seeker you in a minute," Riven growled.
"You'll thrill seeker me? Is that supposed to be a threat or something(1)?"
"Just shut up."
"Why should I?"
"Brandon, leave Riven alone," Timmy warned, but Brandon took no heed to his friends wise words.
"Oh, I'm just teasing him. You know that, right Rivie?" Brandon continued. "Rivie Rivie Roo Roo."
"I think that when Riven murders Brandon, you'd be the best person to speak at his funeral," Timmy said to Sky calmly who nodded in agreement.
"You are so dead," Riven hissed between clenched teeth while rubbing his temples to try and relieve some of the tension.
"Oh come on. You know you love me to much to do . . ." Brandon trailed off as Riven's eyes suddenly snapped open with frightening determination, indicating that Riven was willing to endure the blinding pain of his headache so he could attempt to kill his friend. "Oh shit!"
Without even issuing a threat, Riven sprung to his feet and made a lunge for Brandon's throat. The squire scrambled off his bed like a deer trying to escape the claws of a mountain lion and made a bolt for the door.
"You're dead, squire," Riven growled as he made after his friend, but when Brandon came to a sudden stop at the doorway Riven had no time to reduce his speed and collided straight into Brandon from behind and in doing so bit part of his lip. "Son of a . . ." Riven spat, touching his lip that he could already tell was gonna swell. "What you do that for?"
"Staying out of trouble I hope, boys," said a quiet voice so soft that the boys almost didn't catch it. None of them knew when Professor Javelin had appeared in their doorway, but the thin teacher was there none the less with the same, tranquil expression on his face that he always seemed to ware. "After all, starting the semester with a casualty does not set off us to a good school year now does it?"
"No sir," all four boys answered, trying to shake of the uneasy feeling they got with the calm, expressionless way Javelin had addressed the schools policy on the murdering of its students.
"Excellent," Javelin nodded approvingly. "Headmaster Saladin requests that the four of you see him in his office."
"What about sir?" Brandon asked.
"I'm not sure but I'm certain that you'll find out if you go see Headmaster Saladin," Javelin repeated without sarcasm or irritation. "Best not to keep him waiting, boys."
"Yes sir!"
Headmaster Saladin's office had not faired well after the Great Witch Invasion. The walls had massive cracks in them, parts of the ceiling had collapsed in giving the sorcerer an unasked for sky light and the rugs had a faint moldy smell to them as a result of the school flooring when the ice that had been installed courtesy of Icy during the Great Witch Invasion had melted. But since he was getting a new office in a few weeks anyway, Saladin endured the discomfort and the smell calmly though the thought of his new school was never far from his mind. Most of his belongings had already been cleared from his office and only the things he used on a daily basis had been left behind.
"You wanted to see us sir?" Sky asked on behalf of the rest of the group of teenagers.
"Yes, I did," Saladin said, putting down the papers he had been shuffling through so he could give his students his full attention. "Since I am certain that you four have been in contact with Bloom and the rest of the Winx Club since the school year started, I'm sure there is no need to inform you about the condition of Princess Layla of Tides."
"Yes, we've heard," Sky nodded. "She was found in the forest just outside of Alfea over a week ago and has been sleeping in Alfea's infirmary ever since then."
"Actually you mean; up until two days ago," Saladin corrected calmly. "Princess Layla is awake and has made a complete recovery. Apparently she's quite an athlete so her body was able to revive itself quickly."
"She's healed already?" Brandon repeated, his eyes widening. Stella of course had given him a full recount on the discovery of Layla so he was a bit surprised to hear that she was back on her feet after the way she had just collapsed.
"Did they find out what happened to her?" Timmy asked.
"Yes, apparently the young lady had her powers and her energy drained from her while she was search for a group of kidnapped pixies in the Under Realm," Saladin told them.
"The Under Realm?!" the boys all exclaimed in horror and shock. They had covered the Under Realm in their freshmen year since it was such a powerfully negative realm that was close by the school. Located under the Arid Mountain Range in the Realm of Magix, the Under Realm was home to a civilization of beings the lived in a secluded world untouched by outsiders. These beings were trogs, who mostly kept to themselves and therefore very little was known about their way of life. But there was another form of life that existed in the Under Realm. A dark shadow plagued the Under Realm, and ruled over the darkest part of the caves; Shadow Haunt. The shadow, which some reports claimed to exist in the form of a bird, was rumored to be made up of pure darkness and was completely evil.
In short, the Under Realm and Shadow Haunt was not a place one ventured into lightly.
"What was a fairy doing in the Under Realm?" Sky asked. "And a princess at that?"
"Princess Layla was investigating the disappearance of several pixies from Pixie Village who were apparently kidnapped by a group of shadow monsters and taken to Shadow Haunt," Saladin explained. "Unfortunately she was unsuccessful at freeing the pixies which is why she, Bloom and Stella will be returning to Shadow Haunt to rescue the pixies and at Ms. Faragonda's request I have decided to send two of you boys as a support team."
"Say what?" Brandon exclaimed. He knew all about the danger that Shadow Haunt and the Under Realm had on offer, and he also knew that there were countless other nasties that lurked unknown in the shadows that were yet to be discovered, and they were going to send a bunch of high school students right into the thick of it? "I mean, I'm sure I can handle it, but still. Shadow Haunt? You can't be serious?"
"Yes Brandon, I am."
"It's a pretty high risk mission, sir," Timmy noted. "If you don't mind me asking; why are we making such a dangerous risk?"
"Yeah," Riven agreed. "Why all the effort to save a bunch of bugs?"
Saladin shot Riven a warning look before answering, "Given the pixies positive energy and the negative energy the caves in Shadow Haunt give off, the pixies strength would be rapidly draining. They won't last much longer so we have no time to plan a safer way to rescue them. There lives are in danger. Also, Red Fountain, along with Alfea and Cloud Tower, has always had a strong alliance with the pixies of Pixie Village so we will not abandon them in their time of need. Athena wouldn't allow it."
"Who wouldn't?" Sky asked.
"I wouldn't," a soft, female voice answered, and all four boys jumped and tried to work out where that voice belonged to. They found their answer in the shape of a small pixie with rose coloured hair. The dress she wore was the same shade as cherry blossoms and was cut in a slightly regal style and her golden and green wings were fluttering as she hovered over Saladin's desk. She regarded each of the boys in turn with her cherry eyes and then turned her head to address Saladin. "I guess they'll do."
"Gentlemen," Saladin said with a slight grin in his voice from the pixie's comment. "May I introduce the Pixie Elder Athena, the honourable pixie of Red Fountain."
Brandon's brown eye widened. "We have a pixie here at Red Fountain?"
"Not just a pixie, a Pixie Elder," Timmy corrected. "They're pretty much like pixie royalty."
A soft smile spread across Athena's tiny face. "Oh, I like that one."
"How long has Red Fountain had a resident Pixie Elder?" Sky asked.
"Athena had been her almost as long as I have," Saladin said with a warm smile. "She is responsible for guarding a very special and very powerful artifact and over the years we have formed a fond friendship. So when Athena asked me to help in the rescue of several of her personal friends I couldn't help but comply too her wishes. As a result, I will be sending both Brandon and Sky with the three girls that Faragonda has decided to let go to Shadow Haunt. Timmy and Riven will accompany them on the squad ship to help transport them to the caves."
"What? Why do we get reduced to the task of delivery boys?" Riven demanded on behalf of both Timmy and himself.
"Because you called the mission objectives bugs," Athena said stiffly and Riven's violet eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Actually we made our decision based on the results of the course you did last year on surviving uninhabited terrain," Saladin informed the boys. "Brandon and Sky received the highest grades out of your class."
"Oh that's hardly fair," Riven complained heatedly. "Doc wouldn't let me participate in most of that course."
"That's because you had your leg impaled by a massive shard of glass (2)," Brandon reminded him calmly. "You were supposed to be resting it."
"I could walk on it fine."
"Yeah, well, you shouldn't have."
"Whatever the reason, our decision has been made and no amount of complaining is going to change our minds. Do I make myself clear, boys?" Saladin asked in a no nonsense tone of voice.
"Yes sir," the four boys answered in unison though Timmy and Riven didn't sound too pleased about it.
"Excellent. Now, the girls wish to leave as soon as possible so I'll ask you to prepare yourselves as quickly as you can and then make your way over to Alfea so you can pick up the girls. I suggest you bring your standard weapons and supplies as well as you PHA with as many attachments as you can carry."
"Awesome," Brandon said with a massive grin spreading across his face. A Personal Heroes Assistant – or PHA as it was known for short – was standard equipment given to all juniors at Red Fountain, and this years model had been recently updated so the boys were being give top of the line gear. Brandon and Timmy were totally loving the different functions and tasks the PHA could do and would use theirs every chance they could. Sky and Riven, however, were still content with simply beating each other up with the phantom blades they had been given in freshmen year.
"And please hurry," Athena begged them. "Those pixies are more than just my friends; they're my family."
"Don't worry Athena. We'll do our very best to rescue the pixies and return them to Magix safely," Sky promised earnestly.
"I hope you can, but I fear time may be running out for them," Saladin said solemnly. "Now you boys get ready. You have a very difficult task ahead of you, and I wish you all the best of luck."
"This is bullshit," Riven snarled as he mounted his levi bike. "Brandon and Sky received the highest grades out of your class. Blah. As if grades have to do with anything?"
"I love it how easily you accept orders, Riv," Brandon muttered sarcastically as he also climbed on his bike.
"Oh shut up."
"You started it, man."
"I said shut up."
"Children, behave yourselves," Sky scolded before activating the radio on his bike that linked him to Timmy on the squad ship. "Sky to Timmy."
"Go for Timmy," the teenage genius replied via the intercom.
"We're about to head over to Alfea now. Are you right to follow us in the squad ship?"
"Ten four. See ya there."
"Ten four," Sky said as he pulled on his helmet. Twisting slightly in his seat, the prince looked over at his two friends who would be riding with him to Alfea. "You two good to go?"
"You bet I am," Brandon grinned, also pulling on his helmet. Riven only grunted in response to Sky's question, but he started up the engine to his bike to indicate that he was ready.
The trip to Alfea occurred without any dramas so it wasn't long before the three boys pulled into the quad of Alfea where a group of people were waiting for them. Saladin was there since he had left Red Fountain while the boys were getting ready, as was Ms Faragonda. The Headmistress of Alfea looked gentle and delicate as always, but her purple eyes were hard with concern for both the pixies and the students that she was sending to such a dangerous place. All five members of the Winx Club were there as well as another girl that only Sky recognized. Her dark brown hair was long and wavy and her skin was dark. Her eyes were an enchanting shade of teal and seemed to posses a steely kind of strength, but the thing that stood out most to the boys was that she didn't seem too impressed to see them.
The new girl – which all the boys guessed correctly to be Princess Layla of the Realm of Tides – was dressed in a tan coloured survival uniform that they had seen the Winx Club wear when they had come across them doing a field assignment in the Black Mud Swamp. Bloom and Stella were dressed in the same attire while Tecna, Musa and Flora were wearing their normal civilian clothes, and they did not look too happy about that.
"The boys are going? That's not fair," Tecna complained loudly as the boys came to a stop on their bikes.
Stella, however, looked thrilled. Leaning over, she whispered to Bloom, "This'll be so much fun."
Musa was as unimpressed as Tecna was. "Oh come on. They don't even have powers."
"Which means that they don't have powers to lose," Ms. Faragonda pointed out wisely.
"Last year the boys took a course on surviving unexplored terrain. These two did the best in their class," Saladin explain, gesturing to the two boys he was sending on the mission. "Brandon and Sky should be of great help."
"Oh yeah!" Stella cheered and Bloom giggled happily.
The rest of the girls remained unenthusiastic.
"According to my calculations their presences barely improves their chance of success," Tecna noted before leaning towards Layla. "You'd be much better off with us along."
"Hmm, you're right," Layla agreed without much thought on the matter. "Why would we need high school boys?"
"We're not just high school boys," Brandon told her, somewhat insulted. "We're heroes."
"And what does that mean?"
"We go to Red Fountain," Sky told her with a smile and a ridiculous little hand jig to try and relieve the tension. All it succeeded in doing was cause a couple of baffled looks in his direction from Brandon and a few members of the Winx Club.
Riven was trying his very best not to rip into the princess who had insulted him and his school so he simply tried to detach himself from the conversation that was going on around him, but that proved to be rather difficult went he felt someone's eyes on him. Looking over at the group while Saladin explained how his students were highly trained and prepared for any emergency situation be it worldly or magical, Riven quickly identified Musa's navy blue eyes as the ones watching him. As soon as she realized she had his attention, however, her eyes narrowed to inform him that she was still angry at him for what he had said at the start of year mixer. Riven turned his head away but kept his eyes on her so he saw her face fall as soon as she thought he wasn't looking. She was unaware that he had seen this thanks to the windshield of his helmet.
Suddenly, the attention of the group was turned skywards as a red squad ship flew over the quad and slowed itself down till it was hovering in mid air just outside the walls of Alfea.
"Hey it's Timmy," Tecna said happily, but then she remembered that she was supposed to be angry about the current situation her headmistress was enforcing and her mood changed swiftly. "Is he going too?"
"Timmy and Riven are going to use the squad ship to transport them. Only Brandon and Sky will go on the mission," Saladin explained to the girls.
The hatch to the squad ship opened and Timmy suddenly appeared in the doorway. He looked down at the group and waved to them all, though everyone knew who he was really greeting. "Tecna! How's it going?"
"Hello there," Tecna replied happily. Apparently she got the drift that Timmy and Riven were just as unhappy with Saladin's and Faragonda's decision so she decided to cut him some slack.
Stella was one person who definitely wasn't upset by the current situation. She practically skipped over to Brandon's bike and climbed on behind him happily. She didn't even complain about the chance of her getting helmet hair when he gave her the helmet. Giving Brandon a small hug from behind, she grinned gleefully and said, "Ready to go honey bear."
"Me too," Bloom said, leaning closer to Sky and wrapping her arms around him, and in doing so sent shivers of delight down the princes spine.
Two people who certainly weren't getting shivers at the impending closeness they were being forced to endure was Riven and Layla, though they were trying their best to be civil and not have their irritation show though.
"Can you hand me that helmet?" Layla asked pleasantly, which Riven complied to. "Now slide to the back seat."
"Huh?" Riven asked, exchanging a look with the other guys.
"Come on. How am I gonna drive with you sitting in the front like that?" Layla asked, unaware of just how thin the ice she was walking on was.
"What?" Riven snarled in a feral tone of voice. She thought she was going to drive his bike? His levi bike? Fat chance of that happening. He had spent all summer modifying it and cleaning the engine to ensure that it was in pristine condition and she thought he was going to let her touch it? She was lucky he was letting her ride on it. He valued the state of his bike over his friends' lives from time to time. And this princess thought she was just going to waltz right in and defile his baby? Not in this life time.
"Oh no," Bloom groaned, sensing the dangerous signs. Brandon and Sky were also on edge. Riven had been in a pretty feral mood over the last few days and this Layla girl had no idea of the volcano she was tempting.
"Move," Layla ordered, placing her hands on her hips impatiently.
Riven chuckled maliciously to himself as he shifted his shoulders and geared up to tear this snot nosed princess to shreds. The nerve of her to demand that she be the one to drive his bike. That spoiled princess had spent far too long locked away in her little palace where her servants jumped to her every command. Well, Riven was going to snap her back to reality and she wasn't going to know what hit her.
Breathing deep, Riven got ready to let his first insults fly when Musa's voice suddenly filled his mind, causing the words to die on his lips.
Style is change, and unfortunately you are never going to be stylish because you will never change from the self centered, chauvinist, arrogant prick that you are!
Damn that woman! It was those words that had caused him to be so moody over the last few days which is probably why he had developed a headache before and right now they were forcing him into an internal tug-a-war between his pride and his desire to prove to Musa that he was somewhat worthy of her attention. If he let Layla drive his bike that would mean that he would prove Musa wrong and that might change her attitude about him. But of course that would mean giving up his darling bike who had never let him down before. It was impossible to choose between them, and yet Riven knew that he needed too, and quickly.
"Well?" Layla asked impatiently.
Clenching his teeth in pure frustration, Riven wordlessly slide to the back of his bike and sat seething as he watch Layla molest his beloved bike with her wretched hands. He shot a look in Musa's direction, hoping she'd understand that he could change, and judging by the small smile that touched her lips she got the message.
"Well, that was unexpected," Stella whispered to Brandon, who nodded in agreement since he was too stunned to speak. He was broken out of his trance as Layla and Sky powered up their bikes and took off out of the quad. "See you later."
The three bikes shot out of Alfea's front great and headed off towards the ship where Timmy was waiting to take them to the Under Realm. Riven felt some level of satisfaction when he saw that Layla didn't know how to really get the most out of his bike so Sky easily over took her. Brandon was still trailing behind them, but that was mostly because he had left last.
Sky increased the speed of his bike as he prepared to fly up towards the squad ship. Setting the vertical boosters on maximum, the ground started to drop away from them as they rose into the sky. "Hang on Bloom."
Swinging the bike around, Sky brought it in for a smooth landing in the ships cargo bay, and he was followed closely by Layla on Riven's bike. The platform they landed on slid back into the ship and Brandon flew his bike in just before the hatch started to close. As soon as the hatch to the squad ship had been closed completely, Sky removed his helmet and waited patiently for Bloom to climb off of the back of the bike so he could do the same. "Come into the cockpit, guys. It's a lot more comfortable than the cargo bay."
"Not to mention not as stinky," Stella added making her way into the cockpit where Timmy was piloting the ship. The rest of the group followed, though Riven did linger behind a bit to make sure his bike hadn't been damaged in the few minutes that Layla had driven it. "Why is it that all cargo bay smell like petrol, grease or rotting food?"
"I dunno," Brandon shrugged. "Just one of those homely characteristics that all ships pick up, I guess."
"Homely? I don't recall my place ever smelling like a cargo bay," Sky said with a laugh and it was in that moment he got the feeling that someone was watching him. Looking around, Sky quickly saw that Princess Layla was staring at him questioningly with those teal eyes of hers.
"I know you, don't I?" Layla asked in a confident voice.
"Yes, you do, your highness," Sky answered, bowing his head formally. "My name is Prince Sky, heir to the royal throne of the Realm of Eraklyon. May I also introduce Brandon, my first royal squire, Timmy, our pilot for today and Riven, who was surprisingly kind enough to lend you his bike earlier."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, your highness," Brandon greeted warmly.
"Please, just call me Layla," the Princess of Tides insisted. "I tend to find all that formality tediously annoying."
"I know exactly what you mean," Sky told her with a grin. "That's one of the reasons I love going to Red Fountain so much, Most of the guys there take no notice of a rank like that."
"So what is it that you heroes do exactly?" Layla asked.
Stella swivel in the chair she was sitting in to look at her boyfriend. "Why don't you tell her Brandon?"
"Well, we're not officially heroes until we graduated," Brandon corrected. "But we do all sorts of heroic activities like rescue operations. We also battle monsters and evil forces in general."
"Right," Layla said in a slightly cynical tone of voice.
Brandon did his best not to notice. "We also get to have really cool gear like out brand new PHA."
"Bran, what is a PHA?" Stella asked him.
"A Personal Heroes' Assistant," Brandon explained, pulling out his PHA to show off to the girls. Bloom and Stella looked impressed, but Layla only took one glance at it then looked out the window. "It's a top of the line cyber tool that does tons of cool stuff."
"Er, Brandon?" Layla tried to cut in, but Brandon had put far too much effort in trying to block out her and her cynical attitude towards him and the other boys that he took no notice of her.
"And this is one of the fastest ships in Magix. Show 'em."
"Sure," Timmy grinned, accelerating the ships speed. The fast speed to clearly be felt and the girls gripped their seats as the squad ship shot through the air. Then boys, however, were barely affected.
"Isn't it great?" Brandon asked, hoping to finally get Layla to starting thinking that maybe it was a good idea to bring them along.
"It's really impressive," Layla admitted and a victorious grin spread across Brandon's face. "But it'd be even more impressive if you were going in the right direction."
Brandon's smile instantly faded. "Oops. Turn around Timmy."
It took them about an hour and a half to get from Alfea to the outer boundaries of the Under Realm, and that was with Timmy gunning it the whole way. Unlike the lush, green woodlands that surrounded Magix, the upper layer of the Under Realm was a desolate waste land that lack vegetation of any kind. Tall cliffs and chasms gave the land a very jagged and rugged feel and no one could spot any form of life from the ship.
"Not exactly the most inviting place, huh?" Stella commented, peering down at the alien looking land that was only a short trip from her school.
"How do we get into the Under Realm?" Bloom asked, looking over at Layla for some kind of answer.
"Last time I took the north entrance and I definitely don't want to do that again," Layla said, regarding the controls and the ship display monitors. "Keep going this way. It looks like the south entrance should be right over there."
"But isn't the north entrance better?" Timmy asked her. While Brandon and Sky had been getting ready, Timmy had pulled out all his old notes from freshmen year about the Under Realm to try and get so idea of the topography of the cave entrances.
"Well I think going in this way might give us the element of surprise we need."
"Set her down," Sky ordered and Timmy was quick to comply.
"Oh, how dramatic (3)," Riven muttered sarcastically.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Timmy blocked his friends out and tried to focus on landing the ship so his friends could get out. But one look at the readings the ships monitors were feeding back to him told him that that would be impossible. "I won't be able to land guys. If the ship touches the rock its power will be instantly drained. This is as close as the ship should get to the ground. Can you guys get out here?"
Sky pulled out a rope. "No problem."
"Wait. You're gonna make us climb out of the ship while it's hovering in mid air and then land on the ledge of a cliff?" Stella asked with a noticeable level of panic in her voice.
"Don't worry Stell," Brandon told her. "It'll be fine."
"Um, oh no it won't!" Stella said in alarm. "Timmy, you land this ship now! I don't care if the power drains and you and Riven have to walk back! I am not getting off until this ship is on the ground!"
"What's the matter, Stella?" Bloom asked, clearly worried for her friend. Stella looked at everyone in turn and everyone saw how pale she had gotten. Lowering her eyes, Stella mumbled something, but no one was able to catch the words she said. "What was that?"
"I'm scared of height!" Stella quickly admitted and then stared intensely at her shoes. A stunned silence filled the ship and unfortunately it was Riven who found his voice first.
"What do you mean you're scared of height?" Riven demanded. "You're a fairy for crying out loud! You have wings!"
"Riven! Stop it!" Sky scolded.
"Oh come on! I kept my mouth shut while miss anti man here threw all her crap around, but this is just ridiculous!"
"Riven! That's enough!" Sky ordered angrily. Riven continued to mutter stuff under his breath but no one could understand what he was saying. Getting his anger under control, Sky smiled reassuringly at Stella. "Don't worry Stella. We'll get the ship as close as we can to the rocks and then we'll make sure it's absolutely safe before you have to climb down."
"You promise?" Stella asked in a timid little voice.
"I promise," Sky told her. "I'll even go down first to make double sure it's safe."
"And I'll be right behind you," Brandon said, slipping his hand into her and giving it a quick squeeze. "It'll be okay."
"Oh Snookums," Stella cried, but she nodded her head in agreement to what the boys were promising her. "Alright. We'll go down the rope."
As Brandon edge slowly with Stella towards the hatch of the ship, Sky slide down the rope and landed on the ground. Brandon managed to get Stella all the way to the edge of the ship before she lost it again.
"I'm sorry. I can't," Stella said, taking a step backwards.
"I told you she was too chicken," Riven muttered from his place leaning up against the side of the ship with his arms folded across his chest. Brandon, Bloom and Layla all glared at Riven, but all three of them combined had nothing on the filthy look Stella gave him.
"Now look here, mister. I stood up to a Minotaur when I was without my powers. I went to Sparx and battled a giant snow monster! I took on the Trix and the Army of Decay and didn't once mess my hair! I am not too chicken for anything!"
"Oh yeah? Prove it," Riven challenged.
"I will!" Stella snapped, turning on heel and marching to the edge of the hatch. She was just bending down to take hold of the rope when she suddenly froze and looked back at Riven. "I know what you're doing."
"Do you now?"
"Yeah. And thanks," Stella said with a smile and even more amazing was that Riven returned it with a one sided grin of his own.
"I'm confused. Are they friends or not?" Layla asked Brandon who shrugged.
"It's too complex to say," Brandon explained.
"Come on!" Sky called up to them from the ledge below. "Come on down guys!"
Stella steeled herself and then went to go over the edge of the hatch and slide down to join him, but before she could move and inch, her makeup case fell out of one of her pockets and started plummeting down towards the ledge below. "Oh no!" Stella wailed. Forgetting her fear of heights, she made a lunge for the case but ended up falling out of the ship instead. With lightning fast reflexes she grabbed onto the rope, but her makeup case continued to fall. "Sky! That's the royal makeup case!"
Before Sky could react, the case bounced at his feet and fell off ledge. "I'm sorry Stella. I'll get you a new one."
"You can't!" Stella told him bitterly. "It's couture."
"Well I'm sure that you won't need any makeup here," Sky said, trying to get her so see to positive.
Stella did not take it very well. "Boys can be so clueless sometimes."
As Stella and Bloom made their way down the rope, Brandon waited with Riven for Layla to climb down. Before the aquatic fairy started down the rope, however, she shot a look in Riven's direction. "I'm not sure if I like you," she confessed to him.
"Most people don't," Riven responded with a completely straight face. Layla gave him another questioningly look and then started down the rope.
"You've been acting very strange today," Brandon commented, and then without another word he headed for the rope and began climbing down. When all five teenagers were down, Riven pulled up the rope and gave Timmy the all clear to head back to Red Fountain.
"Be careful," Riven waved as the hatch closed and Timmy started to take off. Below them, the others waved to them as they left.
"See ya!" Stella called after them.
"Thanks guys!" Bloom added, and they all watched as the ship arced around a cliff and then vanished from sight.
"Come on guys," Layla said as she entered the cave. "We should go this way."
"Why do we always have to go through tunnels?" Brandon asked as they all followed Layla. "I mean, that time we went to Cloud Tower during the Great Witch Invasion was through tunnels as well and after a while the smell of dirt gets to you."
"Well, this is a cave which is mostly rock so hopefully it won't smell so bad this time," Sky shrugged.
"Still, I got a bad feeling about this."
"We've got to rescue the pixies," Layla said determinedly.
"I know, I know," Brandon assured her. "I mean we didn't drop in just because we were in the neighbourhood or anything like that. But still . . ."
"I think that's enough chatter for now," Sky said from his place in the lead. Layla was right behind him, followed but Brandon, then Bloom and then Stella. "Keep your ears open guys. Who knows what's hiding in the shadows."
The five of them walked silently through the tunnels staining their ears to catch any murmur of sound that might tell them of an enemy that was trying to sneak up on them. But out of the five of them, only Stella heard the faint roar echoing down the tunnel.
"Guys? Did any one hear that noise? I heard something strange," Stella said in a scared sounding voice and a second later she tripped over her own feet in the dark and fell to the ground. "Who ever you are you don't scare me so just bring it!"
"What the . . ?" Brandon asked, looking back to where Stella was and a sudden blast of light caused his eyes which had become adjusted to the lack of light ache. Blinking, Brandon gradually saw that the painful light was in actual fact Stella transformed in full winx form, scepter and all.
"I'm ready for action now," Stella told them all, holding her scepter out in front of her.
"Could be a false alarm," Bloom reminded her. "I didn't hear anything."
"Unfortunately I think Stella might be right," Sky confessed, and at that very second his fears were confirmed with a roar echoed down the tunnel, and whatever made it sounded close. "Huh?"
Surprisingly it was Stella who took control first. "Okay, you guys go and try and find a way out of here and make it fast," she ordered them, gripping her scepter tightly and the others obeyed without any argument. Bolting as fast as they could in the dark, the group ran until they were forced to stop when a large, iron set of double doors blocked their path.
"We've gotta get through that door!" Layla shouted.
Sky tried to push the doors open but they wouldn't budge, and he quickly saw why. An old fashion looking lock was fixed in the center of the doors. Inscribed on it were two dragons with an evil looking spider in the center of them and one look at it told Sky that he was not going to be able to pick it quickly if ever. "It's locked."
"Get out of the way!" Stella ordered, flying in and spelling the door with the magic from her scepter. Her sun rays started to burn through the iron lock, but then golden magic suddenly stared to vanish into the lock like water seeping into the ground.
"That door just absorbed your magic!" Bloom exclaimed in horror.
"We'll blow it open then," Brandon finalized. They were running out of time and had no other options. Besides, who said saving your skin didn't have to be fun? "The PHA should be able to handle that, don't you think Sky?"
Another roar filled the tunnels and this time it sounded dangerously close. "Ah. You better hurry," Bloom advised, looking back over her shoulder. "Look!"
Out of the many other tunnels came six long necked shadow monsters. They had no visible eyes but they had a set of very obvious fangs that filled a drooling mouth and each of their four legs was clawed. And to top it all off, a long, powerful looking tail slashed behind them like an anger snake, and all six of them were moving in on the group of teenagers. While the girls freaked out a little the two boys get their gear together to bust open their only escape route.
"You're gonna need the detonator module for this Brandon," Sky advised his friend. The last thing they need on top of all this was for Brandon to blow his face off.
"Alright. We're good to go," Brandon said, pulling out PHA and some explosive putty from some unseen pocket (4). "Bloom! Distract those guys!"
"Where the hell is Riven when you need him?" Sky complained as he and Brandon set up the PHA. Behind them, Bloom and Layla transformed into their winx forms and joined Stella in trying to take out the shadow monsters. "That sneaky little thief could probably get this thing open in half a second."
"I'm sure that when Saladin was picking the support team he wasn't expecting an underground cave labyrinth to have a door," Brandon said, attaching the PHA bomb to the door. "Besides, this is more fun."
Sky shot his friend a disapproving look, but he forgot all about it when he heard Bloom cry out in a slight panic, "My power's not working!"
"Bloom!" Sky hissed, pulling out his phantom blade and bolting back towards to girls, abandoning Brandon to finish to bomb on his own. He was not going to let anything happen to Bloom and it had nothing to do with the fact that it was what his duty stated.
"They're shadow monsters. A sun blast should get them," Stella mused out loud. "Stand back now!"
Without waiting for confirmation that the others had done what she said, the Princess of the Sun and the Moon blasted the monsters with an intense light that made all the other teenagers flinch at the sudden pain that filled their eyes. But it also made all the shadow monsters vanish.
"Nice one Stella," Bloom congratulated with a proud grin.
"Take cover!" Brandon suddenly shouted to the others from his place safely behind a rock. The other four found similar hiding places and Brandon hit the detonation switch. The blast that followed was so strong that Brandon could feel the tremors of it go through the ground under his feet and it successfully blew the lock to pieces. Stepping out from behind his rock to view the carnage, Brandon couldn't stop a grin from spreading across his face. "Awesome."
"Let's get out of here fast!" Bloom suggested as more shadow monsters arrived to replace the ones that Stella had just defeated.
Sky wasted no time and bolted over to the slightly smoking door and kicked it open. Sky had seen enough movies where the heroes finally get the locked door open only to discover that there were more of their enemies on the other side or a giant wall of water, and fortunately none of that was waiting on the other side of this locked door. "It's clear! Let's go!"
The two boys ran through the door and the three fairies followed them with their wings. Unfortunately the shadow monsters were also right on their tail so Sky wasted no time in trying to shut the right door while Brandon got started on the left.
"They're coming!" Layla shouted as the boys were close to shutting the door completely but one monster stops them by sticking its head through the crack. Twisting its long neck, the monster snapped at Sky who was luckily just out of reach.
"I'll get 'im! Hang on!" Brandon told his best friend, switching his stance so he was pushing the door with his back. Reaching into that unseen pocket again, the squire pulled out his green phantom hunting blade that he had packed at the last minute just in case. Throwing it in the air only re-catch it in order to change his hold on it, Brandon then stabs the monster in the foot, embedding his green blade deep into the monsters flesh. It pulls back with a wail of pain and the boys were finally about to shut the door. But since it was no longer locked there was no way of stopping the monsters from reopening the door once it was no longer guarded. Fortunately, Layla had an answer to their problem.
"I'll seal the deal," she told the boys once she had flown to the ground. Using her powers, the Princess of Tides welded the doors together with a strange, pink kind of liquid that no one could seem to identify. A second later it set and held the door shut.
Brandon was impressed. "Cool."
"How did you do that?" Sky had to asked, glancing between the pink substance and the fairy that had created it.
"I'm from the Realm of Tides. I can turn water molecules into any shape," Layla explained and she spelled five more lines across the door with the same pink substance to ensure that the door was well and truly locked.
"Sweet power."
"Thanks," Layla smiled, but that grin quickly faded and was replaced by an exhausted look. The aquatic fairy suddenly looked unwell and she sighed deeply. "I feel so tired."
A bolt of panic shot through everyone as Layla sunk to her knees and transforms back into normal clothes. Her dark skin was beaded with sweat and hands were trembling. "Are you okay?" Bloom asked her, but Layla only responded with a slight nod of her head.
"Layla, allow me to help you up," Sky said, formally offering her his hand. He was half expecting her to decline his help, but instead she accepted it.
"Thanks," she said as he helped her to her feet. The prince was too busy checking to see if Layla was physically fit to continue, so he didn't see the small look of jealousy that flashed across Bloom's face. Half a second later, the red head had schooled her expression again. (5)
"Let's get moving," Bloom suggested, and the group headed off down the tunnels at a jog to get as much distance between them and the monsters as possible. But it wasn't long before they had to slow down again.
"I'm sorry," Layla apologized, breathing heavily. "I just feel so drained."
"Don't worry Layla," Sky told her, placing a supportive hand on her shoulder. Again, a small flash of jealousy crossed Blooms face but no one noticed it in the dark. "Why don't you set the pace so that we're no pushing you too hard? Or we could stop of a minute and let everyone rest?"
"No! We've got to rescue the pixies. They may not last much longer," Layla said with a determined expression and she started of walking through the tunnels. Left with no other choice, the other four teenagers followed her.
"So, do you wonna head back over to Alfea?" Timmy asked, pulling the sweatshirt Tecna had given him over the summer over his head. He and Riven had returned to Red Fountain a few hours ago and after putting the squad ship through its shut down procedure, had discovered that they had nothing to do but sit around and wait till Sky and Brandon radioed them to tell them to play taxi again.
"And why would we want to do that?" Riven asked from his place lounging on Brandon's bed. He had gotten change into his civies much faster than Timmy had so now he was just waiting around till they worked out what their next move was going to be.
"Well, Tecna said that she was going to set up a magical link between her and the group going to Shadow Haunt so that way we can track them."
"So basically you want to spend the day watching a computer screen to see if some goes bad knowing full well that if something does actually go wrong that we are hopeless to help them? I mean, they're over an hours flight away, and that's just to the entrance of the caves."
"Do you have a better idea?"
"Not really. Let's go."
A quick levi bike ride later, Timmy and Riven pulled up in the quad of Alfea and came to a stop not far from where Tecna, Musa and Flore were walking. Flora was holding Bloom's pet rabbit Kiko in her arms and all of them had a worried expression on their faces.
"Hey Tecna," Timmy greeted. "How is everything working out?"
"Something interfered with our signal and jammed the tracking device so we lost our connection," the digital fairy told him with a look of anguish.
Timmy's stomach sank. "That's really bad news."
"Let's try and regain contact," Tecna suggested. "Come on."
Climbing off their bikes, the boys followed the girls inside so they could go to the girls dorm to used Tecna's main computer to get the magical link working again. Timmy moved ahead to walk along side Tecna, while Riven decided to tail the group from a small distance. Musa looked over her shoulder at him once and then when back to ignoring him.
"Don't worry Tec. I'm sure the two of us will be able to get it working again," Timmy assured Tecna. "I mean, I doubt you'll be able to find a better partner in this particular tasked."
A faint blush made its way into Tecna's cheeks as they finally made it to the door to their dorm. "My thoughts exactly."
"How are you feeling now, Layla?" Sky asked as the group continued to walk through the tunnels. Stella was using her scepter to light the way for them so there was no longer the risk of something sneaking up on them, but Layla still looked pretty tried so Sky couldn't relax just yet.
"I'm okay," Layla assured him. "My powers just feel a little zapped. I guess the caves are draining them just like they did last time."
"Don't worry about not having your powers, Layla," Stella said cheerfully. "We totally have your back."
"Yeah, we all stick up for each other so have no fear," Brandon told her. "If those shadow monsters come back I'll be right there to protect you."
Layla did not look impressed by his noble offer. "As long as Bloom and Stella have their winx, I'm not worried."
"Well, er . . ." Brandon stammered, not sure how he was supposed to respond to that. He had nothing against a chick being strong and independent, but did she have to shot him down all the time like that? So he was born with a Y chromosome but that was no reason to treat him and his friends like dirt. If these caves were as powerful as he had been led to believe, then Stella and Bloom's power might not last much longer and then what will they do? He and Sky were specially trained for this kind of thing. Was it so horrible for them to help?
"Guys. Wait," a weak voice cut Brandon out of his thoughts. The group stopped and turned around to see Bloom – who had been walking at the back of the group – with her head drooped and her knees shaking. The powerful fairy was only standing with thanks to the wall and she did not look well at all. "I don't feel so," she started before dropping to her knees and transforming back out of her winx form, "good."
Sky stared in horror as the girl he was completely smitten with collapsed to the ground and lay there without moving. "Bloom!" he cried out in alarm, bolting over to her side. "Oh Bloom. Please be okay. I'm here."
"Sky?" Bloom whispered weakly, but at least she was able to respond.
Bandon, alarmed by what had happened to Bloom, turned sharply to regard his dear Stella. "Are you okay Stella?"
The radiant Princess of Solaria had become very pale in an alarmingly short amount of time, and she too was drooping slightly in her stance. "I'm losing my winx too."
Brandon was instantly by her side and half a second later Stella too started to collapse. Her boyfriend caught her before she fell and the fairy transformed back in his arms. Planting a kiss on the top of her head, Brandon held her strongly in her arms. "Shh. Don't speak. Save your strength. Don't worry. I'll look after you."
Sky pulled out a torch and quickly examined the girl lying on the ground. "Hey, how do you feel?" he asked, reaching over cautiously and placing his hand on her shoulder gently so not to hurt her. At his touch, the last Princess of Sparx sat upright, though she still looked a little unwell.
"I've never experienced anything like that before," Bloom said as Sky helped her stand. Brandon moved closer to them with a torch in one hand and sickly looking Stella in the other.
"I feel really woozy," Stella mumbled weakly and Brandon tightened his arm around her.
"The caves are draining power much faster than they did last time. Which means that it will be more difficult for our winx to re-generate," Layla informed them all.
"What should we do?" Bloom asked.
"All I know is that we don't want to run into the Shadow Phoenix without our powers cause if we do we're history."
"I heard of that guy. He's like so super evil being that resides in Shadow Haunt, right? And that's the reason why this place is so negative, huh?" Brandon asked.
"That's right," Layla nodded as the group started walking again with the boys helping their girlfriends along. "That guys a nightmare in physical form. Last time I was here, he almost finished me for good."
"You fought the Shadow Phoenix?" Sky gasped. "No way."
"I didn't do very well," Layla admitted and the conversation ended at that point. The two boys helped Stella and Bloom until the two girls felt fit to walk on their own again. It was about then that they came across a part of the caves where there were even more tunnels running every direction, so they relied greatly on Layla's knowledge of the area to guide them through. "I recognize this area. Look. The passage ways are this way. We just have to find the right one. The one that goes to Shadow Haunt."
"Wait for us!" Bloom shouted as Layla's desire to rescue the pixies over took her better judgment and she bolted off on her own. "We'll help you look!"
"I'll check the group of passage ways over there!" Brandon told them before he too bolted off without them.
"Brandon!" Sky shouted, but his friend was gone. "Idiot! First rule of exploring a hostile area; never split up."
"Let's find Layla since she knows her way around here a bit better than us," Bloom suggested and her, Stella and Sky took off down the tunnel after the Princess of Tides.
"Wow. We're not where I thought," Layla admitted as Bloom, Stella and Sky joined her out of the ledge. The tunnel had led them out into a massive cavern that Sky couldn't see the bottom of. Several other tunnels led to ledges just like the ones they were standing on now and from the looks of it they had come to a dead end.
"There you are," Bloom said, heading over to where Layla stood.
"Hey girls, look!" Layla said and everyone followed her pointed finger over to a lower ledge and walking out from the tunnel that led to it was Brandon.
"Snookums!" Stella called to her boyfriend which had somehow become separated from them.
"Hey!" Brandon called back. "There's so many different passageways I have no idea how I ended up down here."
"Brandon, come back up here!" Layla shouted. "I don't think we're in the right place."
'Didn't I just say that I have no idea how I ended up down here?' Brandon thought to himself but he was just about to turn around and try and find his way back through the caves when a deep roar echoed down the tunnel he had just traveled up. 'Oh no.'
Brandon watched in horror as a long necked shadow monster made its way down the tunnel to where the squire was trapped on the ledge thanks to the massive drop that was beyond it. Pulling out his green broadsword, Brandon held it defensively out in front of him. There was no way he'd be able to run from this battle, so his only option was to fight.
"Brandon!" Stella wailed from the ledge above him.
"I'll go get him!" Layla told the others. He winx must have regenerated because the aquatic princess was able to transform into her winx from. Another shadow monster had started to make its way to join the first one and before Brandon could get to either one of them, Layla flew in and shot one of them. Her magic was still too weak to do any real damage and in retaliation the shadow monster spat a mouth full of its sticky saliva in her direction, effectively sticking her to the wall. "Ah! Bloom! Stella!"
"She needs us!" Bloom told Stella who was watching the fight from above.
"Ready," Stella agreed.
The two fairies jumped up into the air, ready to transform and shouted in unison, "Let's get 'em!"
Unfortunately, nothing happened.
"No. We're still out of winx," Stella noted.
"But what do we do to help Brandon and Layla?" Bloom asked.
"I'm not sure if there's anything we can do," Sky told her regretfully.
Meanwhile, back on the ledge below the shadow monsters continued to move in on Brandon and the trapped Layla. The monster that had stuck Layla to the wall edged closer to the trapped fairy, bearing its teeth and salivating.
"Oh no you don't!" Brandon told it, lunging forward and slicing his broadsword through its neck. The decapitated shadow monster collapsed onto the ground and its body dissolved itself like a wisp of cloud. "I told you I'd be right there to protect you incase those shadow monsters showed up again. You can always count on a hero to watch your back."
"Ah! I think you better worry about your own back, Brandon!" Layla advised in a slightly panicked voice. "Look!"
The remaining shadow monster regarded the place where its companion once filled with its eyeless face, and then let out a roar of rage. Moving forward with deadly determination, the shadow monster backed Brandon back out onto the ledge so it could conduct its revenge for its fallen comrade.
"Don't worry about me," Brandon said, gripping his broadsword. "If anyone comes up against me they'll feel the wrath of maximum sword power! Yeah that's right! (6)"
Backing out onto the ledge so he made a less confined area to move, Brandon did a back flip behind rock and waited for the monster to follow him. The monster blindly followed him out of the tunnel, where Brandon was waiting for him with his broadsword ready.
"Take this!" Brandon cried as he slammed his sword into what he thought would be the think hide of the shadow monster. What he failed to take into account was that shadow monster were called shadow monsters because a majority of their body was made up from shadows in the same way people are mostly made up of water. The blade cut through the monsters flesh easily and then followed through to smash into the ledge that both Brandon and the monster were standing on. The rock ledge instantly started to crumble.
"Brandon!" Stella screamed in anguish as she watched her beloved boyfriend fall into the seemingly endless gorge below him. While the others remained rooted to the spot in horror, the Princess of Solaria ran a few feet backwards and then turned to face the edge of the chasm. "Hang on!"
"Stella! You're out of winx!" Bloom shouted at her as Stella started to run towards the edge of the ledge. The red haired fairy tried to move forward to stop Stella, but Sky quickly broke out of his trance and held her back.
"No!" he exclaimed. He had just lost his best friend to that drop. There was no way he was going to lose her too.
Stella, however, was too far away for him to stop, and she was running at a dead sprint towards the edge. Bloom and Sky watched helplessly as Stella came to the edge of the ledge and hurled herself off of it.
"I'm coming Snookums!" Stella cried as she dropped into the blackness below and vanished from Bloom and Sky's sight.
"Oh no!" Bloom wailed, dropping to her knees as tears filled her eyes.
"Bloom," Sky tried to comfort, but he too was reeling from the loss of Brandon so he was in no position to console her.
"Stella," Bloom sobbed and her crying echoed off the cold stones that surrounded them. "Stella."
(1) That obviously follows the same line as a famous Simpson's quote where Homer says to Lisa 'I'll practice you'. I had a friend in high school who used to quote the Simpson's all the time (a drink coke, that's it) and that was one particular quote he used to say all the time until we absolutely hated it. Serious, he'd slide it into conversation like twelve time a day. It's only now, years later, that I find it funny again
(2) See Brothers at Arms, Chapter Eleven – Junior League
(3) When I first saw this episode, I scoffed at the way Sky said that too
(4) I have no idea where that unseen pocket it, but it's pretty impressive. It's like something out of Doctor Who. They can hold a whole bunch of stuff down there, including weapons, PHA stuff, torches, anything. You name it, those guys probably got it in their back pocket
(5) Did anyone else that Sky and Layla were getting awfully cuddly down in the caves? And here I was thinking that he was utterly hooked on Bloom and she was a feminist who was still having trouble grasping the idea that we really do need a couple members of the opposite sex around. Layla pisses me off sometimes
(6) 'Feel the wrath of maximum sword power' has got to be one of the dorkies lines 4Kids ever came up with. It's right up there with Sky's line to Bloom at the end of last season when they beat the witches, 'you've gotta give me five'. I tried to manipulate that sentence so he didn't sound like such a tool, but there's only so much I can do
TBC.