Band of Brothers

by tears-in-rain

As the evil of Shadow Haunt threatens to engulf the rest of the universe, the specialists of Red Fountain must bond together to survive new obstacles, aid the Winx Club and pass their junior year. Sequel to Brothers at Arms

20. The First Charmix

Okay, I think my sudden increase in my uploading of chapters over the last few days has more than made up for me dragging my feet over the holidays, but now that we're down to the business end of the season I can't promise that I'll be able to keep up this pace. I have a mammoth amount of text to get through just from the show alone so my editing – which sucks anyway – is probably going to slow down. But I had heaps of fun writing these chapters since we actually have some action happen instead of just sitting around dealing with drama, and I hope you have fun reading it.

So pack your bags kiddies, we're going to the Resort Realm!

---

Chapter Twenty – The First Charmix

"I can't believe you picked that as your topic for the assignment," Sky said sternly to Riven in the kind of tone that sounded like a parent scolding a naughty child.

"All the assignment description said was that we were supposed to come up with and organise a mission that would benefit society," Riven reminded the prince, not sounding worried about his choice of topic at all.

"And how do you think assassinating the Channel 7 Sunrise Morning crew will benefit society?"

Riven folded his arms across his chest and wore an annoyed expression on his face that people tend to wear when they have to explain the bleeding obvious. "Have you seen how infuriatingly annoying the host Koshi is?"

"He's got you there," Brandon told Sky. "Sunrise may have the best morning news program but it's agonising to watch since the hosts are just too over the top and fake."

"I agree, but does that really mean the Channel 7 studio should be infiltrated and have their morning crew slaughtered during the commercial break?" Timmy asked.

"Yes," Riven answered bluntly. "Besides, Brandon dared me to do it (1)."

"Don't you drag me into this," Brandon ordered.

"What? It's true."

"Did you know about this?" Sky asked, looking over at Helia who nodded calmly.

"Of course. I drew the pictures," Helia said.

"I really liked the one where you had Koshi's head on a spike. That was good," Brandon praised the art student, though his prince didn't look impressed. "Are they going to mark it?"

"Yes but they're confiscate all blue prints, notes and security combination's he snitched from the Channel 7 studio," Helia answered for Riven.

"Snitched?" Riven repeated in an insulted tone.

"I know you didn't obtain the information for your assignment legally."

"I know but snitched makes it sound so childish."

"You lot!" a loud voice barked from behind them, and all five boys turned to Codatorta standing behind them with his hands on his hips. "Saladin wants to see you in his office. Now!"

"If this about the Sunrise thing, I had nothing to do with it," Brandon instantly assured him.

Codatorta raised one eyebrow. "What Sunrise thing?"

"Nothing."

"Just go."

---

"You wanted to see us sir?" Sky asked as the five students entered Saladin's office. He really hadn't been to Saladin's office since they got the new campus, so this was his first time seeing Saladin's renovated office. It was certainly more severe that the old one, but he had heard off Helia was that Saladin's private quarters more than made up for the coldness of his office with warm reds and grand gold furnishings.

"Yes," Saladin answered, rearranging some papers on his desk. "As I'm sure you're all aware, part of the junior examination includes field assignments and we've just received a special request from Ms. Faragonda regarding your squad mission."

"Faragonda?" Brandon repeated. Since when was the headmistress of another school – one for girls at that – involved with the plans for their examination? "Let me guess, this has something to do with the Winx Club and Lord Darkar?"

"Half right. Ms. Faragonda is concerned about the girls mental well being – Riven, don't say a word – and she thinks that they might not be able to face Lord Darkar and the Trix with their current fractured state. The rising pressure of their schooling, the theft of three of the four pieces of the Codex and the looming threat of Lord Darkar has lead to tension between the six girls which we simply cannot afford to have right now. Bloom is the only one who can stop Lord Darkar and she relies heavily on the unison of her friends. If we can't help them find that harmony again, then I am certain that Lord Darkar will obtain the Ultimate Power."

"And we come in where?" Timmy asked, a little confused to where they fit in with all this.

"Ms. Faragonda has arranged for the girls to be sent to Resort Realm for a week of skiing, camping and bonding to try and help the Winx Club relax and regroup, and of course they'll be needing protection."

"Oh no," Riven instantly objected. "Our field examination is to play babysitter for a bunch of teenagers? That is – "

"Riven, if you don't stop complaining right now I'll expel you," Saladin told him bluntly. Whether he was serious or not, Riven decided not to push it and kept his mouth shut, but his expression was still stormy. And although he couldn't say a word, the other boys few that he was still thinking along the same line as them.

"Sir, not to sound conceited or anything, but I don't think that body guarding utilizes all the skills we've learnt over the last three years and therefore wouldn't be a suitable assignment to be graded on," Sky said as diplomatically as he could.

"Prince Sky, may I remind you that many of our former Red Fountain students who graduated with higher grades than any of you have went on to use all the skills we taught them in the secret services of many important dignitaries, such as when the Captain of Eraklyon's Royal Guard, Sir Alcester, used a rescue and recovery technique he learnt in his sophomore year here to save your mother from an assassination attempt while she was six months pregnant with you," Saladin reminded him, shutting the prince up immediately.

"Alrighty then! We're going to the Resort Realm!" Brandon cheered, trying to sound enthusiastic about it.

"Excellent. Here are your mission specs including all the information you'll need on your itinerary, the budget you've been given and the task that you'll need to complete throughout the week," Saladin said, handing them a copy of the mission specs each. "Your individual responsibilities as well as your call signs are included."

"Oh you are kidding me?!" Riven broke his forced vow of silence when he saw his call sign name.

"What?" Brandon asked, looking over Riven's shoulder at his papers, and when he saw what was written there, he burst out laughing. "Shocky! Ha! That's hilarious!"

"I wouldn't laugh too soon, Bang Boy," Timmy AKA Charlie Horse said. "We've all got witch nicknames."

"Oh brilliant," Goldilocks AKA Sky groaned.

"There are only four people going," Timmy noted since he had been the only to look beyond the call signs and read through the other pages of the mission specs.

"Yes. Unfortunately Helia does not have enough hours in practical training for him to be sent on a field operation. He'll be staying here monitoring your progress on your tasks. You'll have to radio into him every night to give your reports and will be on stand by in case any incidents occur," Saladin explained. "Please keep in mind that this is not a social line."

"You hear that? No chit-chat," Brandon grinned at Riven. Rolling his violet eyes, Riven slammed his foot down hard on the squires toes making Brandon let out a high pitched whine from behind closed lips. Unfortunately, there was no opportunity for either of them to pick a fight any further in front of their headmaster.

"The Resort Realm will have places where you can pick up your supplies and all the equipment you'll need, so you'll just have to pack you're personal items and clothing. You have two hours to prepare before you're due at Alfea to pick the girls up. As usual, your mode of transport shall be your squad ship. Timmy will be the ships pilot," Saladin assigned.

"Why does Timmy always get to be pilot?" Brandon whinged, but he instantly regretted his question when Saladin shot him a stern looked.

"Because out of the three of you, he's got the cleanest flying record," Saladin reminded him. "Timmy didn't go joy riding and crash a ship in the Black Mud Swamp," Saladin looked at Riven. "He didn't hit the turbo jet while still in the hanger," referring to an incident with Sky in freshmen year. "And he didn't leave a jet hovering in mid-air outside until it ran out of fuel and dropped out of the sky."

"Okay, okay. But about that whole leaving a hovering jet thing, I was in the medical wing after Darcy attacked me and everyone was more focused on the Codex being stolen and Sky nearly being put in a hundred year sleep to notice it."

"I don't want to hear it, Brandon."

"Yes sir."

"And I'm sure I don't need to remind that this is an official mission for you boys, which means there is absolutely no faradisation between you and the mission objective," Saladin told them. "Any breaches of this rule will result in serious mark deductions and other penalties if the level of infringement calls for it. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir!" the boys said in unison, coming to attention sharply.

"Excellent. You're dismissed."

---

Two hours later, Sky, Brandon, Timmy and Riven were on their way to Alfea to pick up their mission objectives, and none of them seemed too thrilled by their situation.

"This is bullshit," Riven finally said what everyone was thinking.

"I'll say," Brandon agreed.

"I hate that damn no frat rule," Sky complained. "I've always hated it."

"Red Fountain is a school for Heroics and Bravery, not Holidays and Babysitting," Brandon whinged. "This is completely beneath us."

"Second that," Riven nodded. "And I bet the girls are going to bring along those annoying pixies of theirs."

"A week. A whole bloody week and we've got to keep three feet away from them at all times," Sky continued on, not really listening to what the others were saying. "That royally sucks."

"Why the hell would anyone want to go camping?" Timmy asked, catching everyone's attention. Timmy wasn't a person to complain about anything, so it was rather odd for him to join in on their bitching session. "I mean, I'm positive that my wireless internet won't get coverage there."

Riven laughed. "You're such a nerd, Timmy."

"I never pretended to be anything otherwise," Timmy said, trying not to look insulted.

"Don't worry Timster, I bet ya that by the end of the week, you'll be a regular jungle boy, swinging from tree to tree and beating your bare chest in a very manly way," Brandon teased with a wide grin on his face.

"Not likely, but then again, who knows how I'll react with the lack of internet," Timmy smirked before returning his attention back to the task of flying the ship. "We're coming up on Alfea now."

"We'll got help the girls with their luggage, or whatever," Brandon offered unenthusiastically as he and Sky got to their feet. Timmy was busy checking the ships monitor and Riven had pulled out a book which held his attention over his mission. Slowly, the two Eraklyains made their way to the ships hatch.

"Remember no socialising," Sky said when he saw the girls, but he wasn't sure if he was reminding Brandon or himself. "Hey girls!"

"Security is here!" Brandon announced.

"Brandon, I thought we had a conversation about muscle shirts," Stella said, a slight hint of venom in her voice. "They're over."

"If we leave the mission objective down an ice cavern, would they fail us?" Brandon muttered to Sky under his breath, shocking his prince. Sky was aware that Stella and Brandon weren't quite as perfect as they usually were, but he had never heard his friend speak that way about the princess before. Sky continued to watch his squire carefully as the Winx Club ran over and boarded the squad ship where it became obvious that it wasn't just Brandon that Sky had to worry about.

"Hi," Tecna greeted Timmy coyly when she saw him sitting at the main control panel.

"Hi!" Timmy responded enthusiastically, delighted that Tecna was finally talking to him again. Things had been very, very, very awkward between them all year and maybe this trip would finally patch things up again. But the he remember that this was a mission, not a holiday. "Er, I can't socialise with you. I'm on duty"

Tecna – clearly offended – huffed and turned away from him.

Musa entered next, but she paused when her navy eyes fell on one particular hero who had his feet propped rather inappropriately on the control panel in front of him and his eyes focused solely on the book in his hands. "Hey Riven."

Riven didn't need to look up to know who had addressed him, but he did anyway. "Musa, hey."

A small smile started to spread across Musa's face, but that quickly faulted when Riven looked back down at his book and continued his reading. "Hey."

Moving over to stand by Tecna, Musa shot her an irritated look to which Tecna nodded in agreement. In unison, they both said, "Boys."

Sky slapped his hand to his forehead and then dragged it down his face slowly to try and relieve some of the tension. This was going to be one long, long trip.

---

"I am so looking forward to this trip. It's going to be awesome!" Bloom cheered, throwing her hands up in the air. "This is just the thing we need to get our mind off of the Codex, the Trix and Lord Darkar."

"Have you ever been skiing before, Bloom?" Flora asked.

"Well we used to get a lot of snow in Gardenia during winter but nothing like what you get at a ski field," Bloom told them all. "Does the Resort Realm have good snow?"

"Powder," Brandon corrected.

"What?"

"Powder snow. That's what you want. Power. And yes, they do. It's also a lot warmer than the Realm of Frost where we went in freshmen year. The temperature there would drop below thirty degrees celiacus every night. Remember that guys?"

"I remember it being bloody cold when Codatorta dragged the two of us out of the pub that night," Riven recalled.

"Oh yeah," Brandon grinned at the memory.

"You were freshmen's. What were you doing in a pub?" Flora asked, a little shocked at the thought of the boys getting into that kind of trouble at that age. But once she thought about it a little longer, her shock faded slightly.

"Picking up lifty chicks," Brandon smiled widely, but it dropped when he noticed Stella was glaring at him. "I . . . Um . . . I'm gonna stop talking now."

"Good plan," Bloom giggled.

"We're entering the Resort Realms atmosphere . . . now," Timmy reported, and they all felt the familiar pull of gravity as the natural force of the planet started the drag them down. Timmy was indeed the best pilot out of the four of them, so he was able to keep the ship steady as they descended to the point where the only indication that they were descending was a slight vibration through the ship.

"Wow. Look at that landscape!" Chatta said, hovering over near the window.

"It's beautiful," Amore gushed.

"The Resort Realm has one of the most unique climates in the universe," Digit informed everyone. "The higher peaks are cold enough to enable snow all year round while the lower regions remain warm enough to allow comfortable camping climates."

"That's weird. I mean, having two totally opposite climates so close to one another," Bloom noted.

"Yeah, but they manage to make a fortune out of it," Musa told her.

"It doesn't hurt that everything here cost an arm and a leg," Layla added. "The price of lift tickets here are almost double what we charge in Tides."

"Yeah, but the teachers are paying for it," Musa reminded her with a grin.

"Oh no," Stella suddenly whined.

"What's up Stell?" Bloom asked.

"I forgot to bring my royal leave in conditioner and we're going skiing. Skiing is such a frizz fest," Stella informed them all, and not a single person could relate to her pain. "If only I could do a hair protection spell, but I can't."

"Are we ready to land?" Brandon asked Timmy. He really wasn't interested in listening to Stella's hair dramas today.

"I was, but there's something else flying out there. Check it out," Timmy suggested, double checking all the monitors. Brandon got to his feet and walked over so that he look over Timmy's shoulder. If there was something obstructing their landing path, then they would have to circle until it was clear which would put them behind on their schedule. Normally they wouldn't care, but they were being marked on time management so they were forced to keep an eye on the clock.

"It can't be another ship if it's not showing up on the radar," Brandon noted just as a massive winged monster from the wildlife preserve flew past their front window, making a few people jump. "There it is!

"Heads up!" Timmy warned, jerking the controls and avoiding the monster. Despite his warning, most of the teenagers weren't prepared for the sudden change in direction, causing a lot of them to scream and lose their balance. Even Brandon nearly ended up on the floor, but he managed to grab onto the control panel and hold himself up.

"Smooth," Riven muttered to Timmy, his sadistic side taking delight in how rattled the fairies and pixies got at something as minor as a slightly rocky ride.

"Sorry guys," Brandon apologised on behalf of Timmy who was focusing on steadying and landing the ship. "Is everybody okay?"

Everyone looked a little shaken and off balance, but there were no signs of any injuries which was fortunate. The boy's marks wouldn't have faired well if they bloodied the mission objective before they even arrived at the resort.

"That thing needs an air traffic etiquette lesson," Tune commented. "It so scared me."

"Bloom, are you alright?" Sky asked, placing a tender hand on her shoulder.

"Decorum!" Bloom reminded him sharply, shaking his hand off her. Sky knew she had a point, but that didn't mean he still didn't feel cut by her rejection. "That's the Red Fountain rules. You're on duty."

"Yeah, I know," Sky said, trying not to sound too insulted.

"Faragonda said you're being graded on this."

"Yeah," Sky grumbled, putting some distance between her and him.

"Listen Sky, I'm just trying to help," Bloom told him. "Hey, I'm not the one who came up with the rules."

"I must say I don't like these rules at all," Amore informed everyone. It was true that the no fraternisation rule was a massive drag, but everyone knew that there would have been absolutely no way the teachers would have let them go on this trip unsupervised if it wasn't in place. The teachers might not have been able to control the sexual actions of their students all the time, but they sure as hell wasn't about to give a bunch of hormone charge teenagers a week long opportunity to act on all their urges. They ran a school, not a fertility clinic.

"Get ready, we're approaching the villa," Brandon informed everyone.

"Oooh. I can't wait to see the villa," Lockette squealed.

"Is that it?" Chatta asked, pointing to the large lodge they were aiming for.

"I think so," Timmy told her. "It matches the address, but I didn't expect it to be so grand looking."

"It's Alfea's private lodge. Everything Alfea owns is grand," Stella reminded them as the ship came in for a landing.

Grand, however, might have been a slight under exaggerating description of the lodge. It was a massive three storied building made completely out of timber and stone. The lower level had a drying room for all your boots and ski clothing, another area to store all skis and snowboards when not in use along with a work bench with all the tools needed for waxing and sharpening edges, a cool room to store food and a spare room where a ping pong table had been set up. The middle level had the kitchen, the dinning room and a large lounge room complete with a large screen TV and an open face fire place. The upper levels had all the bed rooms, but there wasn't enough for everyone to have their own room so they had to double up. Stella went with Bloom, Musa roomed with Layla while Tecna and Flora paired up together. As for the boys, well they naturally split it so Sky and Brandon shared a room with Riven and Timmy in another.

"Have you checked out the size of those rooms?" Brandon asked, coming down the stairs into the lounge room where Sky and Timmy were setting up the radio station that they would use to report into Red Fountain every night. Riven was supervising them from his place sitting in one of the comfortable lounge chairs the villa had on offer with his feet on the coffee table. "They're huge!"

"They're not that big," Musa noted, entering the lounge room after she had finished scouting out the kitchen with Layla following after her.

"Compared to the room we had at the lodge we stayed at in freshmen year, they're massive," Timmy informed her calmly. "Our room was smaller than those ones and they expected to fit the four of us in it."

"You're kidding?" Layla flinched at the thought of the four boys sharing that close quarters with one another.

"No, but what did you expect from budget lodging?" Sky laughed. It wasn't as funny at the time what with the four of them living in each others pockets for a week, but when he looked back on it he saw what a really great memory it was. "What was the name of that lodge? Something possum?"

"Pigmy Possum," Timmy recalled. "They had all the rats, remember?"

"Yeah, they were fun," Riven grinned.

"Rats? Eww!" Stella squealed, hearing the conversation.

"They were native rats. If we killed them, the parks would fine us," Timmy pointed out, but that did little to change the girls' opinion of the idea of living with rats (2). Before any real debate could start up, however, Bloom came bounding down the stairs, a look of childlike delight on her face.

"Come on you guys! Let's go to the Galleria and pick up our ski gear so we can hit the slopes this afternoon!" Bloom cheered, bouncing on her toes. "C'mon! C'mon! C'mon!"

"Yeah okay. We're done here," Sky said, hitting the top of the radio. "Now I'm sure I don't need to tell you girls twice, but let's go shopping."

---

"Alright, now I'm starting to believe that this is actually an exam and not just some twisted joke of Saladin," Riven mumbled, his face expressionless and his violet eyes dull.

"What?" Timmy gasped, staring at Riven as if he had just grown a second head. "You're kidding?"

"Nope, 'cause this is really testing me," Riven spat, staring at the shops in front of him with a bored expression. As part of their examination, the boys were in charge of controlling and budgeting the allowance the schools had given them and the girls. The girls, however, were making more difficult than it sounded, as Stella demonstrated when she suggested Flora buy two ski jackets with a price tag which meant that they wouldn't be able to afford to eat for the rest of the week.

"I better go put a stop to this," Timmy said when he saw Stella start to consider buying two sets of ski boots.

"Kay, I'll go and check on the other girls," Riven told him, moving off quickly to avoid seeing Timmy smirk at him. Both of them knew for a fact that there was only one girl that Riven was going to check out, but that didn't mean Riven had to like Timmy's attitude about it. Grinning, Timmy headed over to begin the impossible task of informing Stella that no, she could not have everything her heart desired and more.

---

"I'm not sure if we're gonna have enough money to last the week," Sky noted as he and Brandon made their way back from the ticket office. And as a person who had never known a limit of money due to his rank, Sky found the looming threat of the budget very troubling. "These ticket prices are murder. The lifts at Eraklyon ski fields aren't that expensive, are they?"

"Dude, nothing in Eraklyon is too expensive to you," Brandon reminded his prince. "You've got your own members discount card for that entire realm."

"Well, yeah," Sky stammered, a little thrown by his sudden reminder of his rank. "But when we went to the Realm of Frost in freshmen year, they managed to get lift tickets for an entire grade and if they were doing that on these prices, our new campus would have been made up of second hand demountables."

"The Realm of Frost is a lot cheaper that the Resort Realm. Frost is still recovering from that massive attack a few years ago by the Angel of Doom and even if you found a ski field that was too expensive for your tastes, all you gotta go is travel five minutes to the next one. That kind of close competition makes from great deals. The Resort Realm Ski Village – if we can even call it that since it's the size of a city – is owned by the one company, and with no other ski field on this planet, you either gotta agree to their prices or spend your whole holiday hiking up a mountain for an hour just to get one run."

"You know, you're making it very hard for me to complain about this," Sky pointed out bitterly.

"Then find something else to bitch about."

"Okay, how 'bout how much this damn 'no frat' rules royally sucks?"

"Oh gods," Brandon said, rolling his eyes. He had really hoped Sky had gotten through complaining about his inability to make mushy eyes at Bloom for a week, but deep down in his heart he knew that had only been a fool's hope. He knew Sky hadn't spent as much time this year with Bloom as would have liked what with her needing to train in order to take on Lord Darkar, but sometimes the squire got tired of talking about the girls all the time. He did have a life outside the Winx Club, after all.

"We have a week with them and we can't socialise," Sky continued to whinge, completely unaware of how uninterested Brandon was with this particular topic at this particular time.

"It's not so bad. You've just got to get into a chill mode," Brandon advised, trying to feign some interest in the matter for the sake of his prince. "I can do it."

"You sure you can handle it, Snookums?" Sky asked, forgetting for a moment that Brandon and Stella were not as perfect as some might think right that second.

"Yeah, can you?" Brandon shot back, elbowing his prince in the ribs.

"Yeah, I guess," Sky shrugged, not sounding too confident about it. "It still sucks though."

"I know," Brandon sighed. "Now I think there's something we need to investigate immediately before something fatal happens."

"What?" Sky asked, both alert and eager to do something other than carry shopping bags for his girlfriend and her friends.

"Find out what it is that Timmy is saying to make Stella look like she's ready to start up some slash and gore."

"Oh," Sky said, sounding inappropriately disappointed. It wasn't that he was hoping for some danger to show up and threaten Bloom, but he couldn't deny that it was a rather boring mission. Bourne and his squad had been sent off to try and stop a group of irate and unreasonable poachers who were all worked up due to the fact that they hadn't been able to hunt the winged liger since the Wrong Righters had started their campaign to protect it. Sky was in no rush to meet up with the Wrong Righters again, but the idea of a mission involving cutting their way through dense forest and fighting off poachers was slightly more appealing that following a bunch of teenage girls around while they shopped.

Meanwhile, in another part of the Galleria, another specialist was also feeling that his skills in heroics and bravery were going to waste on this mission as he watched one of his mission objectives sort through ski clothing, but he also had to admit that this mission did have its perks.

Riven wasn't much of a conversationalist. Unless he was complaining or arguing about something, he actually preferred to keep his mouth shut and just observe people and there wasn't any person he liked to observe more than Musa. He would never admit it out loud, but he liked how her pig tails bounced as she bopped her head to some beat in her head. He liked the way her lips would sometime move as she silently sung the words to some song and he liked the way she could never seem to stand still, even for a second. Even as she stood trying on ski hats, Riven could see her foot move slightly as she tapped out a tune that only she could hear. Riven continued to watch her as he pretended to be checking the area, and he wasn't even aware that he had slipped into a tranquil state of mind until she turned around and made him jump slightly.

"Do you wonna get dinner tonight Riven? Come on," she laughed. She had been well aware that he had been watching her and his continuous attention to her had made her bold. So far this year there had been very little improvement on their relationship – or at least, not in the ways she wanted it too – and the thought of spending a whole week with him was just too good an opportunity to pass up, with or without a fraternisation rule. Plus, she was fairly confident she could make him crack. After all, Riven did like to push the rules.

"No," Riven answered instantly, even though he would have really liked to have said yes. The only stopping him was that if he didn't get a decent grade this year, he might not be able to get his scholarship for his final year, and then he would not only miss out on graduation, but he'd also lose the chance to spend another year living in the same realm as this damn pixie that was tempting him now. "I can't socialise with you."

"Fine. Then why don't you go do a perimeter Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 !-- /* Style Definitions */ , , {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-AU;} page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} 1 {page:Section1;} -- check or something?" Musa suggested, insulted that he had shot her down so quickly. Her navy eyes burned with anger, something that Riven found to be incredibly attractive. Ignoring the rules his teachers and himself had enforced in regards to Musa, Riven moved over to get right in her personal space and cupped one of the poufs that was dangling down from her hat. "Hey!"

"Your hat looks kinda cute," Riven told her with a sly smirk that made Musa's mouth go dry. That smirked annoyed her, and she suddenly had a huge desire to cover that mouth with her own so she wouldn't have to see it any more. She subconsciously shifted her weight into her toes, meaning that all she would have to do was lift her heels and she'd be at perfect height to cover that smirk

She was a heart beat away from doing it when she lost her nerve, which only made her angrier. Snatching the hat out of Riven's reach, Musa death glared him. "Don't socialise!" she snapped, trying to ignore the massive wave of regret and disappointment that gathered up inside of her.

"Well we can be polite, friendly and cordial, you know," Riven reminded her, and he was rewarded with Musa hurling the hat directly into his face.

"I'm out of here!" Musa growled, stalking off. Riven rolled his eyes upwards.

"This is going to be a long week."

---

"What do you mean we can't buy all this stuff? We've got the school's credit card, don't we?" Stella demanded, her hands on her hips and her expression fierce. No one got between her and a descent shopping trip, especially some visually challenged computer nerd who wouldn't know fashion if he googled it.

"Yes, the school is paying for a lot of the trip, but we have a budget," Timmy reminded for the thousandth time. "If we spend it all on the first day, that's it. After that, everything will have to be paid with our own money. Now, I know you have a royal credit card, but a lot of the rest of us don't so we're just going to have to do without some things."

"So what? I can't buy these super cute KC (3) snow boots with the fluffy white fur on the top?"

"Only if it will feed the ten of us for the week," Brandon put bluntly. The ten teenagers and six pixies had all met up together to discuss the budget problem that they were all facing, and by discuss, of course that just meant Stella bitching to the boys about how she couldn't get everything she wanted.

"Stella, we've been over this," Sky said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "We need to have enough money to last this week which will include our camping trip later in the week where I can promise you that you won't need super cute KC snow boots with the fluffy white fur on the top. We need to save money here so we can spend it later. Even Tecna back us up on this."

"Oh, like she's understands fashion," Stella snapped, to angry to keep her tongue in check. "I mean, check out her clothes."

"Hey, that's not fair," Timmy objected, hoping to earn some points with Tecna. Unfortunately, it had the opposite affect.

"I can stand up for myself," Tecna told him sternly.

"Oh gods, shoot me now," Brandon grumbled, rubbing his eyes before leaping in to put a stop to all this. "Listen guys, we've just gotta make some sacrifices here. It'll be fine."

"Oh really? And what do you suggest we do, oh great leader of the people?" Stella asked sarcastically, causing several worried looks to be exchanged by the others. "Because at the moment, the only person who seems to be making any sacrifices is me!"

"Quit crying, princess. You're not the only one not getting what they want," Riven snapped, fed up with Stella's bitching. "We're not allowed to get park tickets because they're an extra expense."

"We're not getting park tickets?" Layla exclaimed, horror written on her face.

"No, we're not allowed. They're too expensive."

"That sucks."

"I know."

"Okay guys. That's enough," Sky stepped in. It was kind of an unwritten rule that whenever Riven and Layla agreed on something, it was time to step in and return everything to normal. "We've got to work this out."

"What's to work out? Timmy's cheap, I'm not getting boots and Riven and Layla want to go to a park. What's the big deal? If you want to go to a park so bad you can go to Riverside when we get home," Stella told them.

"A snow park, Stella. You know, with ramps, rails, jumps and a half pipe? That's the type of park we're talking about," Layla explained.

"Oh, you mean that place where snowboarders go to try and look cool?" Stella asked mockingly.

"Hey – "

"Enough!" Sky shouted, cutting Layla off and making everyone jump. "God, you're all acting like children! Seriously, this is pathetic! You girls were sent here to relax and bond before Lord Darkar's next attack, and look at you! You're ripping into each other over a pair of shoes!"

The group fell silent, and neither Stella nor Layla looked up at anyone.

"Now," Sky said in a much calmer tone of voice. "This is what we're going to do; we're not going to get any of the clothes here and we're not going to get any park tickets. Instead, we're going to hire all our gear from one of the hire shops here so we can spend our money on other things like, oh I don't know, food. Is that okay with everyone?"

"Yes," everyone grumbled, not sounding like they were enjoying their holiday so far at all, but no one dared to go up against Sky. He did not look like he was in the mood.

"Excellent. Let's go now so maybe we can hit the slopes before they call last runs."

As a group, they all headed over to the ski hire to get suited up with their gear. There were no more complaints about the budget, but everyone did hear Stella mumble in a not so quiet voice, "Well, I guess that means a treatment at The Snowflakes Winter Day Spa is out of the question then."

---

Impossible as it seemed, the group managed to collect all their gear and get changed in time to make it out onto the stops for a few runs before the mountain closed down for the night. The Resort Realm did offer night skiing when conditions were good, but reports were that they were only going to open the little kiddies lift that night to give the parents a bit of a night off. And even though they were there at the end of the day when the runs were no longer groomed and they were without park tickets and super cute KC snow boots with the fluffy white fur on the top, the group of teenagers couldn't help but grin as they headed out to the mountain.

"This is gonna be great," Bloom squealed, almost skipping along as she tried to juggle her skis in her arms. Only Sky, Brandon, Riven and Layla had gone for snowboards while the rest had skis. Musa had been tempted to try snowboarding, but she wasn't too thrilled with the thought of spending the next few days on her ass, to which Layla assured her she would find places in her butt to hurt that she didn't even knew existed (4). She could have gotten lesson as could have any of the others, but everyone said they were happy to learn on their own. No one said it, but they all were doing their bit not to push the budget and piss Sky off.

"Why didn't we go skiing last holidays?" Sky asked Brandon.

"Because it was summer," Brandon answered.

"I have a ship and it was winter in other parts of the universe."

"Congratulations. Do you want a metal for that answer?" Brandon teased.

"Oh shut up," Sky ordered, but it lacked the bite he had been using while discussing the budget.

No one could explain it, but it seemed the seconds they stepped out onto the mountain, all the tension seemed to seep out of them and replace it with a good mood. Even Riven didn't complain when Musa dumped her skis in his arms and ordered him to, "Carry these."

"There it is," Sky announced, looking up at the massive peck in front of them. "Sunset Mountain."

"That mountain looks really high," Lockette noted in her quavering voice.

"The view's up there is amazing," Brandon told them all. The Resort Realm was the first place that Brandon had travelled to with the Royal Family outside of Eraklyon. He knew every run on this mountain like the back of his hand and it was one of his favourite places to ski. "Come on."

"Let's go!" Bloom cheered.

"Yeah!" Brandon agreed, leading off the charge to the lift. There were countless lifts that went up Sunset Mountain in many different forms, including T-Bars, poma's, J-Bars, rope tows, magic carpets, chairlifts that carried anywhere between two and eight people and gondolas, just like the one they were all taking to the top of the mountain.

"That's how we get there?" Lockette asked, acting as if the gondola was going to double as her coffin.

Tecna also seemed to have her doubts about this form of transport. Fortunately, she didn't think it would be the means of her death, only her discomfort. "Are we all going to fit in there?"

"Come on!" Brandon told them, jumping up into the gondola. He had complete faith in these machines. He knew for a fact that Eraklyon ski resorts spent thousands of dollars each summer maintaining their lifts and after the attack of the Angel of Doom in the Realm of Frost, half of the charity funds and financial loans given to them by other realms went to fixing their ski facilities since it was their main source of tourism. Brandon was sure that the Resort Realm would practice that same kind of professionalism. "You girls spent half to day getting your outfits. Let's get in here and hit the slopes."

Without any more arguing, they all piled into the lift. Tecna's doubts proved to be pretty much on the mark when they all realised – with the combination of the six girls, four boys, six pixies and all their ski's and snowboards – just how squished it was inside the gondola.

"Think skinny," Brandon advised when the doors closed.

"And keep your hands to yourself," Layla added.

"Yeah, cause that was exactly what I – Whoa!" Riven flinched as Chatta speed through his legs and launched herself into the air like a rocket with an excited squeal which hurt the ears of many of the gondolas occupants.

"This is going to be so fun!" the little being cheered loudly.

"Damn pixies."

"Are you guys sure you'll be able to get down the mountain without skiing lessons?" Lockette asked. She had been asking these annoying questions all day – Is if hygienic to use hired ski boots? What if someone catches hypothermia? Were they aware that two people had been attacked by mountain lions in this region in the last three decades? – but everyone were looking forward to getting out on the slopes so much that they all endured it patiently.

"I have complete confidence that we'll be able to get down the mountain," Timmy assured her, but his smile faded slightly when he remember his last trip to the snow. "The condition of us when we get to the bottom, however, may be another story."

"You got the hang of it last time," Brandon reminded him.

"I got a concussion."

"Least you didn't end up wrapped around a tree."

"True."

Lockette had paled. "That can happen?"

"Yeah, skiing is one of the most dangerous sports you can get. Strapping two long planks to your feet and relying on gravity to get you moving with stationary objects located at various points along the route. It's the perfect combination for bone breaking fun," Riven grinned, freaking the pixies further and earning him a sharp elbow in the side from Bloom. "What?"

Bloom did even dignify that was a response.

A short time later, the teenagers and their companion pixies found themselves on the top of the mountain looking out at the long run in front of them. A light breeze shifted through the air, hitting their exposed skin with a refreshing coolness. The warm sun rays shining through the grounds reflected off the snow with a brightness that would have been painful if not for the yellow tinted glasses they all wore. From this vantage point, they could see all of the snow reign and out to the forest reign. Way out in the distance, they could see the coast where the Resort Realm's sea side reign was in full force, an odd thought to consider when you're standing on a mountain top that's covered in snow. It was an incredible view and a long run ahead of them.

"I should have taken lessons," Timmy groaned, taking in the length of the run.

"You know, sometimes it's good to be spontaneous," Tecna informed him with a sideways look that – despite the cold climate around them – made him feel very warm.

Unable to wait any longer, Sky threw his board onto the ground. Due to magical advancement in recreational sporting equipment, the snowboards they had hired had special bindings that allowed them to just step onto the board and they could be strapped in without the hassle of trying to work the buckles through thick ski gloves, instead relying on the individuals brain waves to determine whether they were strapped or not. It was certainly convenient, but Sky still felt uneasy about them. He didn't like how it looked as he was just standing on top of the board and he also didn't like the fact that the only thing actually holding him onto the board could come undone depending on what he was thinking at any given moment. However, they needed to keep a budget and he wanted to board.

Stepping into his bindings, Sky looked back at the others with a wide grin on his face. Old competitive instincts that he had left at the Realm of Frost suddenly rushed through his veins, and if there was one person he knew he could rely on to slay that desire. "Hey Riven, what do you say you and me board ahead of them?"

"Okay," Riven instantly agreed, picking up on Sky subtle challenge in the same way that a cat instinctively knows to prey on mice. "Last one down pays for dinner tonight."

"Eat my dust!" Sky challenged, tipping his weight and starting his downward decent. A second later, the prince realised that there was snow, not soil, beneath him making it impossible for there to be any dust for Riven to eat, but by then Riven was already clipped in and hot on his heels so there was no time to discuss figure of speech.

"They're the reason skiers hate snowboarders," Brandon muttered to Timmy as they watched their friends speed off. Back in freshmen year, Sky and Riven had spent most of their free time in the Realm of Frost tearing down the slopes at dangerous speeds in an effort to best one another. Eventually, Codatorta threatened to take their lift tickets off them if they didn't slow down after he copped an earful off an elderly skier who got cut off by the two of them.

But there were no teachers here now to tell them off, and everyone was ready to have some fun. Layla in particular, looked to be in her element. The water around them was frozen, but it was still water and Layla could feel every molecule. Her teal eyes were glowing with a delight that none of the boys had seen before, but there was a slight glint of competitiveness that they boys knew all too well.

"Come on Piff. We'll show 'em," Brandon heard her say to her pixie. Moving forward, Layla threw down her board and stepped into the bindings without breaking her pace and in one motion, she started off down the slopes after Sky and Riven. As he watched her board off, Brandon could tell that – even with a head start – Sky and Riven were going to have a hard time keeping her off their tails. That girl could carve.

Layla departure had been like a starting gun for the others. They all stepped into their ski's – or snowboard in the case of Brandon – and with a 'whoo-hoo' in unison, the group skied off, officially starting off their holiday.

Meanwhile, further down the mountain, Sky and Riven were still racing one another and it was proving to be a pretty close race. Sky had years of experience over Riven when it came to snow sports, but Riven had natural talent and he wasn't afraid to take risks, and when that was coupled with the extraordinary balance of a thief, it made for a commendable opponent. And Sky was looking for any advantage he had.

"Who's that behind you?" Sky asked, looking back over his shoulder and seeing Riven one turn behind him looking for a chance to slip into the lead.

"Huh?"

"It's Musa," Sky told him, even though the musical fairy was no where in sight. It was a dirty tactic, but Sky wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if Riven started pulling out his underhanded tricks to win this race.

"Er, I don't see her," Riven confessed, slowing down.

Sky grinned and widened his lead. "Gotcha!"

Riven silently cursed himself for falling for such a foolish and obvious decoy, but when he noticed something Sky didn't due to the fact that the prince was still grinning back at him, Riven dug in his heel-side and came to a swift stop. "Hey Sky! Watch out for that tree!"

"Nice try but I'm not falling for – " Sky started, but when he finally turned around and looked where he's going, he realised with horror that for once in his life Riven was telling the truth. "A tree!"

With as much grace and dignity a person could possibly have in a situation like this – which is absolutely none – Sky ploughed straight into the pine tree obstructing his path with enough force to make his ears ring. His feet clipped out of their bindings and it was only through good luck that his board didn't start sliding down the slope, which would have been both dangerous for people further down the mountain and inconvenient for Sky who really didn't feel like hiking down a mountain. Sky's impact with the tree had enough force behind it to shake large clumps of snow out of the branches and land directly onto the prince who was crumpled at the base of the tree and humiliate him further.

Trying desperately not to laugh out loud at his friends pain, Riven jumped and switched his board so that its nose was once again facing downhill, allowing him to board past the prince with infuriating casualness. "You okay?"

"Oh yeah" Sky assured him, sounding both embarrassed and annoyed that of all the people on the mountain, he had to crash in front of Riven.

Spinning around so that he was toe-side into the mountain, Riven looked back up the mountain with a wide smile that he couldn't hide if he wanted to where Sky was weakly getting to his feet. "You know, you can just give up."

"Yeah, you wish."

"Seriously, if you can't see something like a tree, maybe you should stay in the villa. Or you can go hang out in the chalet with the senior citizens and the under fives?"

"Shut up, Riven," Sky said, rubbing the snow out of his hair as he stepped back into his bindings.

"I'm just watchin' out for you man."

"Well you can watch all you want; watch me kick you ass in this downhill, that it," Sky grinned, kicking off down the mountain. Riven smirked and just like that, Sky's wipe out was forgotten until a time for taunting presented itself again and the race was back on.

Finally, the bottom to the lift came into view, signalling the end of the run and there still wasn't a clear winner. The pair was just too evenly matched. It was only though luck that Sky somehow managed to gain some ground on Riven and slip into the lead. "Almost there," Sky commented as he boarded past.

"Dude?" Riven asked, looking up as Sky slid past him. Narrowing his violet eyes, Riven straightened his board so that he was on neither of his edges and instead was just buttering down the slopes, picking up a dangerous amount of speed. Sky was doing a similar thing with his board in an effort to get that little bit of speed that might win him the race. It was neck and neck right down to the last few meters, when suddenly . . .

"Watch out!" Sky shouted, shifting back onto his heel edge so suddenly that his board curved out and crossed over the nose of Riven's board that had pulled into a similar stance, causing the pair to crash painfully at the bottom of the run. Left in a heap of snow, snowboards and aching limbs, Sky and Riven weakly pushed themselves until they were sitting up right, and it was then that they noticed that there was a person standing in front of them, silhouetted by the sinking sun. Peering past the bright suns rays, the two boys eyes widened when they both realised in unison that the person standing in front of them was none other than . . .

"Layla?"

The Princess of Tides had already unstrapped herself out of her bindings and was leaning on her board which had its nose stuck vertically in the snow in a casual pose that suggested that she had been waiting there for a long time. She looked absolutely delighted at the crumpled heap of boys at her feet, and almost seemed to purr when she said, "I guess you guys are buying dinner tonight."

"You started after us so how the hell did you get down here first?" Riven demanded to know, stomping to his feet and shaking the snow out of his spiky hair like a dog.

"I board every winter and I surf every summer," Layla told him. "Do you think there's even the slightest possibility that I don't know how to carve?"

"Alright; rematch."

"Riven, we had a head start and she just kicked out asses," Sky pointed out, climbing to his feet. "What makes to think a rematch is going to change anything."

"It's the challenge of it all," Riven answered before looking Layla in the eye. "You up for it?"

"Ph-lease, this is going to be a sinch," she grinned, looking like she was finally looked like she was having fun.

Nine runs later and with nine victories to Layla and nil to Sky and Riven, the sun was starting to go down and they only had time for one more run before the mountain closed down for the night. The group all made it to the bottom of the mountain with Bloom and Flora skiing in last.

"Hey guys, let's do one more run before it gets dark," Flora suggested and no one opposed her. While no one was going to be appearing in the next Winter Games, everyone had been able to pick up on skiing to the point that they were confident of being able to get down the slopes no matter how difficult or steep.

With that thought in mind, Digit checked her digital data she had complied on the Resort Realms alpine region to selected their next run. "You should go up to Copper Peak. It's the steepest slope in the entire Resort Realm."

"Yeah, that sounds like fun," Bloom agreed, moving off to the gondola that would take them up to mountain.

"Here we go," Sky said as he ushered the others inside.

"We could ski to the Pie and Gill," Brandon suggested. He was starving and he was dying for some stake. However, Sky had told his squire for budgeting reasons they couldn't afford the meal, but Brandon knew a way to turn his prince around on the matter. "Have a candle lit dinner with the girls?"

Sky was definitely tempted, but his duty remained steadfast. "We can't."

"Dude, these rules really stink," Brandon groaned. He really wanted that steak.

"This is going to be a lot tougher than I thought," Sky confessed, and Brandon knew that he was thinking about a different type of meat.

"It's only for a week."

"A very long week."

"Would you two get over here already?!" Riven ordered and the two Eraklyains quickly scurried off before the lift doors closed.

---

"This is a long lift," Stella noted, peering out the window at the snow field below.

"It's a long run," Sky pointed out.

"Is it safe to build a lift this long and this steep?" Tecna asked as the gondola shook when a strong gust of wind hit it.

"You'd think so," Brandon said as the gondola steadied out. "I mean, they would have had to have had a mountain load of research put into this thing before they even drew up the plans. This is a universal class resort. They've got to make sure everything is first class and a hundred-and-ten percent safe for the sake of their reputation. If the littlest thing goes wrong – even if no one gets hurt – it could shut them down."

"You haven't answered my question," Tecna pointed out. "You're just assuming."

"And you know what they say; never assume. It makes an ASS out of U and ME."

"Who says that?" Musa asked with a grin.

"My Dad. And my eighth grade maths teacher."

"Cute," Bloom said.

"My maths teacher? No way. He was a drunk," Brandon told her. "I'm serious. He used to take a flask full of whiskey to school every day which he used spike his coffee with. You could smell it on him whenever he came back from recess. He never taught us any maths either. Although he did devote a lesson to how to choose a teapot with a spout that doesn't drip. It had diagrams and everything (5). I really miss eighth grade."

"Wow, what a long and pointless story," Riven grumbled.

"If you can't say something nice, you should say nothing at all," Tune told him sternly, but Riven simply rolled his eyes at her lecture. Tune looked ready to skewer Riven with her umbrella when the gondola shook again.

"Bloom, I'm feeling kind of queasy," Lockette said, her voice shaking.

"We're almost there Lockette," Brandon assured her. No sooner had the words left his lips, than the lift came to a sudden and unexpected stop.

"What happened?" Flora asked.

"What's the dealeo?" Musa questioned.

"Why did it stop?" Layla demanded to know, giving the third example of how to asked 'what is going on?' in a matter of a few seconds.

Looking up at the roof, Timmy noticed a maintenance hatch that would lead directly to the cable outside. And he had a feeling that they'd be able to get more of an idea of what was happening once they looked out there. "Give me a hand guys. I can talk a look up there for us."

It was Brandon who volunteered, and with the help of Sky and Riven to steady them, the squire managed to stand at full height with Timmy on his shoulders. "As soon as we get out of here, we need to buy you a cake or something, Timmy," Brandon commented as Timmy worked open the hatch. "I don't think a male your age should be this light."

"Would a cake fit in the budget?" Stella asked venomously.

"You're still not upset about that, are you Stel?" Bloom asked.

"I wanted to go to The Snowflakes Winter Day Spa," Stella pouted.

"Maybe next time."

Meanwhile, Timmy finally stuck his head through the hatch and got a look at the cable, and what he saw did not look good. "Uh-oh."

"What's going on?" Tecna called up.

"This cable is about to break!" Timmy reported. The cable that was the only thing supporting them and the other two-hundred gondola carriages on this lift had become frayed after years of running despite the Resort Realm's budget cuts. Scanning the line, Timmy couldn't see any other people in the carriages near them – as far as he knew, they were the only ones still riding the lift – but he also couldn't see any staff watch stations which had to be a flaw in design.

"Oh!" everyone exclaimed in horror.

Lockette paled dramatically. "Now I'm really queasy."

The pixie looked ready to faint when the cable gave a little more, causing the gondola to drop lower. Everyone screamed, expecting the worse, but the gondola then levelled out. The only question was; how long did they have before it gave away completely.

"You have to transform!" Amore quickly told the girls. Her and the other pixies could fly down safely, but there was no way they were leaving their bonded fairies in this danger.

"We can't transform," Stella reminded her.

"There's got to be a logical solution," Tecna assured everyone.

"Boys, you have to do something. This is the reason why you're here," Musa pointed out to them.

"Right. What are we gonna do?" Brandon asked as soon as they got Timmy off his shoulders.

"I say we sue this realm for all its worth," Riven suggested. "These guys make thousands of dollars of revenue per month and this is an obvious case of negligence of duty of care. If they're going to run these machines they have to unsure that public safety is their highest priority. It's an open and shut case. We'll be set up for life."

"Okay, I'm gonna go ahead and put that in the 'if we survive' pile, but until we get to that, what are we going to do?" Brandon asked again.

"Well, in the Realm of Frost they would evacuate people from lifts by lowering them to the ground using harness and ropes loped over the cables," Timmy said, recalling an assignment they had to do in freshmen year as part of their excursion.

"Except we don't have any harness, ropes or anything that would be strong enough to make those things. Also I don't think it's a good idea to put our faith in a breaking cable. After all, that is the thing that got us into this trouble in the first place," Sky pointed out.

"I blame management," Riven commented.

"Yes, I heard you the first time, but we can sue them later. Right now, can we please focus?" Sky asked, silently praying to the gods that he'd never get himself into a situation that resulted in him relying solely on the help of his classmates. Knowing that they easily got sidetrack did not fill him with much confidence. "Does anyone have their PHA?"

"I left mine back at the villa," Brandon confessed while everyone else simply shook their heads, no. "I didn't think we'd need it skiing. Although now that I think about it, it would come in handy in case anyone needed to readjust their bindings. I'll bring it next time, for sure."

"I think that might belong in the 'if we survive' pile," Riven said dryly.

"Are you guys taking this seriously?" Tecna had to ask, a little unimpressed with the boys rescue skills.

"We're coming up with a plan," Brandon assured her.

"Yeah, and at the moment all those ideas are going straight to the 'if we survive' pile," Stella pointed out bitterly. "And I hate to admit it, but the only one of you making any sense at the moment is Riven and that's only because with his idea, I might be able to afford a decent ski holiday."

"C'mon guys. Let's not start fighting," Bloom begged. "It's not going to help."

"Right, and standing around construction an 'if we survive' list is?" Layla questioned. "Someone do something."

"Yeah guys," Stella stressed.

Even Musa – who was normally the first person to tell everyone to chillax – was getting frustrated. "Why did they ever assign you boys?"

"Yeah, you can't even protect us," Stella added spitefully.

"I told you, we're coming up with a plan" Brandon reminded her sharply.

"Well, what is it?" Layla asked.

Even Flora was starting to get impatient. "Yes, what is it?"

"Hey! Quiet!" Bloom finally snapped, making everyone jump slightly. No one had really ever heard Bloom get angry at them before except for when she was spelled that time when Alfea's part of the Codex was stolen, so her uncharacteristic anger really caught their attention. "Stop arguing. We can do this. We just have to work together."

The look on everyone's face confirmed that everyone was feeling shameful for the childish way they were carrying on, so Layla wasted no time by saying, "She's right."

"Yeah," Brandon agreed.

"Right on," Musa seconded just as the cable dropped lower, freaking everyone else out again.

"Okay, now that everyone agrees to work together, what do we do?" Timmy asked, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

"The first thing you have to do is take off your snow jackets," Bloom ordered, resulting in many raised eyebrows and several confessed sideways glances. "Trust me. I have a plan."

Everyone was hesitant but then did what they were told. As they stripped off, Bloom quickly rushed through her plan for their escape. The idea bordered on the edge of crazy, but it was their only plan at the moment and history had proven that even the most ridiculous of Winx Cub ideas could work, such as the time they used cleaning products to take down a Minotaur. From there, Bloom divided them into groups in ordered to complete different tasks that needed to be done for her plan to work. The four boys were assigned along with Tecna to build a frame made out of their ski equipment while Musa, Stella and Flora started sewing all their jackets together using a sewing kit Tune always carried with her. Bloom supervised them all while doubling as a ladder for Layla as she sat on her shoulders, keeping an eye on the cable.

"Do you think this'll work?" Riven muttered to Sky softly so the others couldn't overheard them.

"It has to cause I really don't feel like dropping out of the sky without a parachute today," Sky told him.

"It's not that big of a drop."

"I don't see you making the jump."

"Oh shut up."

"Timmy, can you put you're finger here please," Tecna asked as she went about tying Bloom's ski pole to one of Flora's ski's.

Brandon looked over at Sky and Riven, a devilish grin plastered on his face. "You reckon that's the first time she said that to him?"

Sky glared at his squire. "You are a dirty, dirty pervert who needs to get you're mind out of the gutter or else someone's gonna punch you right in that pretty boy face of yours. And Riven, stop smiling right now or I'll do it for you."

"You weren't even looking at me," Riven said, wondering when it was that Sky grew eyes in the back of his head.

"I could feel you," Sky told him sternly before turning back around to scold Brandon again when he saw his squire grin at his words. "What did I just tell you?"

Unaware of what it was their friends were talking about, Timmy and Tecna continued working with the dedication and focus that their friends, teachers and themselves expected of them.

"Tenca, I think you need to tie that an inch higher or else the frame will be uneven which would result in the favouring of one side," Timmy pointed out democratically.

"Oh yes. I see your point," Tecna nodded, fixing her mistake. Glancing over at the A Plus student, Tecna couldn't help but note how impressive it was that he could visualise every part of this frame without blue prints and still make the necessary calculations. She was still annoyed with him for never making the first move on her, but she did admire his brilliance. "You're actually pretty good at this Timmy. Not a bad technique."

"You and I make a pretty good team, Tecna," Timmy blurted out before remembering that he wasn't really in the good books with her. But – awkward as it was – Timmy was willing to try and change that. "Maybe we should try . . . er . . . doing other stuff as a team?"

Tecna smiled at both the effort and the adorable blush that spread across Timmy's face. "Maybe."

"He's makin' a move," Brandon noted quietly, jabbing Sky in the side sharply with his elbow.

"Stop eavesdropping," Sky ordered, focusing on his task and not on Timmy's social life. Glancing up for a second when he heard Stella comment on Flora's sewing, he quickly noted that the girls were almost done and luckily, so were they.

"How does it look Layla?" Bloom called.

"Er, not too good," Layla confessed. "You guys almost done?"

"We are!" Stella announced, holding up her patchwork ski/jumper quilt.

Tecna tightened one final knot and then stepped back to view hers and the boys handy work. "I think that'll about do it. Now all we need to do is attach the two of them together."

Five minutes later, Bloom's vision was realised in the form of a very crudely built hang-glider. Its frame was made up of ski's, snowboards and ski poles and the material was the sown together ski jackets. It was in no way going to break any extreme sports records, but it was hopefully going to cushion their fall enough to give them a softer landing.

"I think it looks pretty good," Brandon commented, looking very pleased with himself. "Sure, it's not gonna win any beauty contests, but it's not bad when you remember we didn't have much of a choice when it came to materials."

"Who cares what it looks like, I just hope it works," Stella said.

"How's the cable looking, Layla?" Musa asked.

"It looks pretty bad. You better hurry it up," Layla advised, dropping down.

"We're almost ready," Riven reported as they started edging the hang glider towards the door that he and Sky had pried open a few minutes ago.

"Okay, we really have to do this as a team," Bloom reminded everyone.

"Yeah! As a team!" Musa repeated enthusiastically.

Wasting no time, the group all lined up in front of the bar that would be the only thing stopping them from plummeting to the snowy ground below. From left to right it went Bloom, Sky, Stella, Musa, Flora, Brandon, Riven, Tecna, Timmy and then finally Layla. The weight was relatively even on both sides, but it wasn't the flight they were worried about; it was the landing. There was no time or materials to construct anything that even slightly resembled a breaking system so their only option now was to crash. The only thing that wasn't certain was how soft the snow was going to be. The snow was fresh since it had only fallen that morning, but the shadow had fallen over that side of the mountain so they weren't sure if it was powder or cement that awaited them at the bottom.

"Hold on tight," was Bloom's final instruction, and as the cable snapped and carriage dropped rapidly to the ground, the group pushed off out of the gondola. The hang-glider may not have the looks, but it did the job. The ski jackets caught the wind and carried them out of harms way, and when they crashed into ground, they were fortunate enough to land into powder instead of snow that had started to freeze over. Everyone ended up buried to their neck in snow, but alive and they all knew it was all thanks to one fairy.

"Good work Bloom!" Sky cheered, trying to ignore the chilling snow that had ended up down his pants in the crash.

Bloom's fiery red hair resurfaced out from underneath the snow and the first thing she did was count the heads of her friends. "Yeah! Alright! We did it! Is everybody okay?"

"Thanks to you we are," Layla grinned, looking like a head without a body.

"I can't tell you I was so worried about everybody. I'm just glad we're all out of there and safe," Bloom confessed, shifting through the snow to give Sky a relieved hug. Aft that near death experience, the fraternisation rule could be lift for a second. They had earned it.

"We got out cause of you Bloom," Sky told her. "You were brave and awesome."

Bloom smiled warmly at his words, but that smile quickly changed to surprise as she felt a jolt of magical energy swell inside her and a small, heart shaped broach appeared on her chest. "Hey! What's that?"

"You go a charmix, Bloom," Chatta informed her cheerfully, making the Earth girls eyes widen. Of course, she knew all about charmixes since it had been one of the first things her teachers had taught her this year, but she would have never thought that she'd be the first to get one. So far no one in her grade had received theirs, and she had been told that most fairies didn't get them until they were in the junior year. She knew she was the strongest fairy at Alfea because of the Dragon Fire, but there were other fairies who were smarted and understood magic a whole let better than she did and she had been sure that they would have gotten their charmix before her. "Fairies get them when they get in touch with they're true selves."

Bloom was still stunned when her charmix vanished, but she knew it was there, waiting to be called upon. It was joined by a familiar feeling that she hadn't felt since entering the Resort Realm; a surge of magic. "It's giving me some kind of power."

Whether it was because Bloom had just saved their lives, or because she got her charmix meaning that they now had a little bit of magic at their disposal, everyone cheered and started digging themselves out of the snow.

"Well, now what do we do?" Amore asked as soon as everyone was free.

"I guess we need to report this to the mountain operations staff," Timmy said, looking up at the ruined gondola.

"I'm actually kind of surprised no one's noticed this yet," Brandon commented. "I mean, they've got operator at each end of this lift, don't they? You'd think they'd notice that it was not longer working or even in one piece."

"That is odd," Flora agreed.

"And concerning," Tecna added.

"See if I holiday here again," Stella said with a flick of her blonde hair. "And now we have to walk down the mountain since our ski gears all messed up. Plus, we might not get our deposit back."

"We're not walking," Riven told her firmly, digging a board out of the snow. He wasn't sure if it was his, but it wasn't broken and his boots clipped into the bindings. "I'll go down and get the staff to get up here with snow mobiles."

"Why are you the one who gets to go?" Sky asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"Because you're too nice. These guys deserve to be ripped to shreds, and I'm gonna do that and then rub salt in it," Riven growled and no one challenged him any more. It was a well known fact that if you wanted to rip someone a new one, send in Riven. Strapping up, Riven looked over at Layla who had unearthed her snowboard. "I take it you're coming with me then?"

"Someone's gotta keep you on track," Layla pointed out. "You can insult these guys all you want, but it'll all be kind of pointless if everyone else freezes up here in the process."

"Whatever. Let's go."

Less than an hour later, Riven and Layla returned along with five mountain operation personal on snowmobiles. The personal included two ski patrol first aid officers, two lift mechanics and supervisors and the resort manager. All of them looked extremely troubled by the lift breaking like it did and they kept glancing nervously at Riven and Layla, a clear indication that they had already copped an earful off of the two teenagers at the bottom of the mountain.

"Well, everything looks okay here. Not a single scratch," one of the ski patrollers grinned as sweetly as he could, and all the teenagers noticed how big his mouth and teeth were (6). "In fact, the only thing that's slightly unusual is having so many beautiful young ladies in the one place at the same time."

"Don't even try and be cute. You've still got one hell of a lawsuit heading your way," Riven spat, making the smile to drop from the ski patroller's big mouth and causing the resort manager to pale and break out into a panicked sweat.

"Really, there's no need for talk like that. I'm sure we can work out a compromise of some kind," the resort manager assured them, his voice shaking in a combination of both anxiety and panic.

Riven, however, was as cold as the snow that surrounded them and when he turned to regard the resort manager, he wore an expression that was frighteningly serious. "Don't treat me like a fool. I understand exactly how much trouble you're in. It's your legal obligation to ensure the safety of these machines and yet you let this lift deteriorate to the point where the cable actually snapped is inconceivable for a resort which boasts a universal level of excellence. Not only are you in a world of legal drama, but if this ever gets out, your resorts reputation will ruined."

The resort manager really started to sweat now, and he looked like he was going to be sick. "Yes, well, hopefully we can come to some kind of agreement where – "

"Don't you advertise that your resort is supposed to be the ideal holiday location for all members of the family?" Riven asked. "So you expect children and the elderly to ride this death trap? We only just made it out alive and we're a group of physically fit teenagers."

"Isn't he being slightly melodramatic?" Bloom noted quietly

"You'd never think it, but Riven sometimes has a flare for the dramatic," Brandon told her.

"He does have some excellent points though," Sky commented. "It's enough to make you wonder whether this speech was premeditated or if he's just making it up as he goes along."

"You should have heard the one he gave at the bottom of the mountain," Layla told them. "I wish they had a dictionary for swear words because I had no idea what half the words he said even existed let alone what they mean."

"Yeah, I've had that feeling before," Sky said, before turning his attention back to listening Riven rip the resort manager a new one. His wording was elegantly brutal and in a matter of minutes he had the mountain staff quivering in their snow boots that this teenager was going to single-handedly destroy them to a point where they could never come back from.

"Please," the resort manager begged, looking as if he was going to have a stroke any minute now. "If we could just come to some arrangement where – "

"Are you trying to bribe me so I won't go to the press?" Riven asked, his expression impossible to read.

"No, I – "

"Because if you are, you're going to have to give me everything I ask for and nothing less, understand?"

Everyone blinked. Riven had just spent the last few minutes telling the resort manager exactly how he was going to ruin him and his resort with such detail that it never even occurred to anyone that he was going to do anything other than those things. "What?" several people asked in unison, confused at Riven's sudden change of game.

"You heard me," Riven told them before getting serious. "We have a budget we need to use up, be anything we want that exceeds that budget will be covered by you and your resort. I also want our lift tickets refunded and replaced with all access tickets including park access. They'll of course be free of charge since we're obviously risking our lives to ride these death traps of yours. You're also going to replace all our ski equipment with new equipment that we may keep if we want to – "

"Er, Riven, do we really need that?" Timmy dared to interrupt. He knew that their equipment needed to be replaced since most of it had been damaged when they converted them into a hang-glider and then crashed it into the ground, but he had also seen the prices of some of the ski's and snowboards they had for sale, and if the Resort Realm was just going to hand over that gear to them it was going to cost them thousands upon thousands of dollars to do so.

"It doesn't matter. I want it and I better get it or else we're all going to end up talking to Mel and Koshi on Sunrise and I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that is not what anyone wants," Riven said before returning his attention back to the resort manager. "We'll want all our meals to be catered by one of the many chefs I'm sure you have on offer here and I'm sure they won't mind delivering it to our villa as we need it. I also have a feeling we might want a few snow mobiles just for the hell of it and we'll be needing jet-ski's."

"Jet-ski's?" Sky and the ski patroller with the big teeth repeated.

"We're going to the camping region later in the week. And if you're starting think that maybe it would be easier if you just risked you reputation rather than paying us to be silent, I'm gonna tell you straight up that that would be a very bad idea. We could make this very difficult for you," Riven said, glancing at Stella slyly. "Isn't that right, your Highness?"

Normally, there were no signals before all hell broke loose, but having Riven address Stella with a formal title of respect had to be some sign of the Apocalypse. All the Red Fountain boys were surprised he could say it without his teeth breaking, but it had the exact reaction he had been hoping for. The mountain operations personal all turned – if it was possible – an even lighter shade of pale and it took a long time before the resort manager was able to stutter, "Y-You're royalty?"

"Did I fail to mention that?" Riven asked calmly. "How forgetful of me. Allow me to introduce her Royal Highness Princess Stella, Radiant Jewel of Solaria and sole heir to their throne. And then there's of course His Royal Highness Crowned Prince Sky the Third of Eraklyon, Princess Musa of the Royal House of the Harmonic Nebular, Crown Princess Layla of Tides and finally, Princess Bloom of Earth, the Last Princess of Sparx, Keeper of the Dragon Fire and saviour of the universe."

"You really didn't recognise me?" Stella asked with a coy flick of her hair. She and Riven made pretty dangerous enemies, but as allies, they were positively deadly. "I came here a few years back with my family and a few of our friends from the Royal Court of Solaria. We were actually thinking of coming back here some time next year, but after all that has happened I think I might just ask Daddy if we can go to the Realm of Frost instead."

"Anything you want, it's yours," the resort manager promised them. After all, the Resort Realm could not afford to lose their royal clientele.

Riven almost let himself grin at his victory. "I knew you'd see it our way."

"Also, I want free treatments for me and all my friends at The Snowflakes Winter Day Spa," Stella added on. "After they've closed the runs down for the night of course. I don't want to miss out on any of our time skiing, now do I?"

"Of course, anything you want," the manager offered with a smile.

"Excellent! Now let's get off this mountain and back to the villa already. I'm freezing!"

"Of course, your Highness. Right this way."

"Well, our job just got a whole lot easier," Timmy noted as they all headed for the snow mobiles.

---

(1) See Chapter Eleven: Homesick

(2) I used to live in a place that had rats like that. We couldn't do anything about 'em cause they were endangered so you just got desensitised to them, though it was still kinda gross whenever you saw them scurry over the bench where we stored to pots and pans at one in the morning after the pub had closed

(3) DC and K2 are both brands of snow equipment so I just merged them together. I also have those snow boots by the way and ironically they're neither DC or K2 brand, but I love 'em anyways

(4) So true! My ass was killing me while I was learning to board. The worst ones was when you'll fall on your ass and it went straight up your spine to give you a headache

(5) That little story about Brandon's schooling before he got to Red Fountain is based on actual events from my high school years. We did have a maths teacher who occasionally had coffee that smelt slightly suspicious (though I just that was better than the time one of the geography teachers came to class smelling like pot) and there was a time during a Year 12 (Australia's equivalent of senior year) when the legal studies teacher raised the question 'How do you find a teapot that doesn't drip' before going about explaining it instead of continuing his lesson on crime. Man I miss high school

(6) I know this guy. He was a sexist ass

You may or may not be aware of this, but I've actually worked at a ski resort for a few winters so while I loved writing the snow sports side of it (I probably threw in a few terms that non boarders wouldn't really understand, but oh well), there were a few elements of this episode that annoyed me. You don't have to listen to me vent, but I'm gonna do it anyway.

First of all, what was with their snowboard binding? They looked ridiculous just standing on their boards like they were surf boards. And the fact that they can unclipped out of them is not only stupid, it's dangerous. Rule 6 of the Australian Alpine Code clearly states that you must use all restraining devices on your equipment. Boards don't have ski breaks like ski's do, and when you've got one of them hurling down the mountain with no means of stopping it, it's enough to break bones, as I had to keep telling beginner boarders time and time again. My foot ached when I stepped in front of a board to stop it and that was only at the bottom of the beginners lift which was only 15 meters long. Imagine how bad it would be if it picked up momentum from the top of a mountain. And I haven't skied outside of Australia, but I can't see any reason why a resort would want lifts where you've got to clip out of your ski's and boards for. Seems like a massive waste of time at the start and end of every run.

But the main thing that drives me nuts is the fact that this resort actually let their lift deteriorate to the point where the cable snapped. It didn't just derail, it actually snapped. I know it's fictional, but what the hell were their mechanics doing? And they should have lift operators stations at various points along the life so they can see the entire line. There's no other safe way to do that. And how come no one ever come to rescue them? They were in that broken lift long enough to argue amongst themselves before reuniting to build a hang-glider from scratch. What the hell?

That ski resort has some serious problems.

TBC.