Author's Note: This chapter is also dedicated to Christopher. Reports of his death were greatly exaggerated.

Chapter Thirteen: Ready and Set

The day of the dance came quickly... well, it was only the next day. Story and her friends rushed through the decoration day, eagerly anticipating the dance- not just for the fun of it, but for the beginning of their detective work.

When at last, the party planning duties were through, they all met in Story and Morgan's dorm. "So," Lara said. She was still in her everyday black tank top and jeans, but a formal gown was draped over her arms delicately. She stroked it as she spoke. "Do we have a plan?"

Everyone looked to Grace, who shrugged. "Enjoy ourselves... and we'll meet back here to talk later. Hopefully if we stick close to the witches, especially Rainier, we can find some pretty vital stuff out."

"I dunno," Morgan said. "Would they really be talking business at a dance?"

"They would if they were trying to spy on us like we're doing on them," Story commented. "For all we know, Rainier is just as curious and relatively uneased by Grace as Grace is by her. Maybe she'll want to see what she can find out while they're here."

Grace bit her lip. "Okay, part two of my pretty much nonexistent plan- be careful."

"Aka, first rule of Winx Daughters Club, nobody talks about Winx Daughters Club," Morgan said, her eyes laughing but the rest of her face remaining perfectly serious.

Story rolled her eyes. "We are NOT the Winx Daughters Club."

Grace smiled. "Well, we do need a name. Makes it easy for quick reference."

"I'm thinking! I'll let you know when I have one!"

Lara started changing out of her school outfit and into her formal dress- a long, deep red sheath dress with what looked like a black dahlia sparkle decal above her right breast. "So, we're just going to see if we can hear anything?"

"Pretty much," Story said. "Need any help with that, Lara?" She was referencing the dress, which now featured a very stuck zipper. "Close," she said, embedding the word with power. The door to the open closet in the room slammed. "Okay... um, free?" Lara's dress fell to the floor, her zipper looser. "Well, it almost worked."

Lara slipped her gown on again, zipping with no problem. "I'm not quite sure whether to thank you or just be happy you didn't cause any worse damage."

"So Grace," Morgan said. "Aren't you going to put your dress on?"

Grace blushed. "In my room. You so don't get to see it until the dance!"

"That's not fair!" the fairy of wild animals protested.

"Oh, it is so!"

"You guys can see my dress and tell me what you think," Story said, breaking into the conversation. She re-opened the door of the closet and pulled out a large, pale purple tee shirt.

Everyone stared. After a couple beats of silence, Lara said what they were all thinking. "You realize that you're going to look like a total slut in that?"

"No, I'm not. I've been practicing with my powers, and experimenting with some of the stuff I've learned in AP Spells and Comp. Watch this." Story cleared her throat, then recited, "A stretchy shirt of violet cloth, I bid you make a dress. A formal gown, but please not goth, these conditions I do stress. If this spell fails I shall be wroth, for there may be a mess."

The shirt leaped out of Story's hand, twisting and stretching before the eyes of the group. The collar dropped a little, the hem was lengthened so it touched the floor, and the entire thing filled out. It had been transformed into a glittery prom-type formal dress.

And then the sparkles exploded into flowers, the flowers throwing petals across the room.

"Agh! No!" Story cried, waving her arms back and forth in a desperate, pathetic attempt to stop the spell. "I said DON'T make a mess! Sort of! Aw, come on, this worked when I tried it before!"

Grace frowned. "Did you do anything differently? At all?"

"Well, I had Professor DuFour's help..." Story trailed.

"Maybe you just need a little assistance directing your powers," the communications fairy suggested. "Maybe if we all transform and converge."

"What?" Lara said. "Convergence? Isn't that sophomore or junior stuff?"

"Morgan and I have done it before. It's really not hard."

Lara stayed skeptical. "It isn't all sexy, is it?"

"Nope."

"Well... if you wanna try, Story, I'm game."

Story nodded and allowed her body to take over as she transformed. She was aware of her friends changing around her, but could barely see them in the swirl of magic around herself. When the transformation was complete, she looked around.

Grace's magic form was the simplest- purple pants and a purple tube top. Her deep purple hair was unbraided for the first time since Story had known her, flowing freely onto her green, linear wings. A necklace of little green jewels accompanied the ensemble, as did silver heels.

Lara was looking a little unhappy, a little embarrassed... and very pink. A pink ultra-miniskirt with black lace fringe at the bottom showed off her legs in a way that was almost too slutty for Magix (and that took a lot). Her top looked like it consisted completely of pink and black criss-crossing ribbons, covering quite a bit, though the overall effect seemed to scream "SEX PIXIE!" anyhow. Pink go-go boots were on her feet, and pink and black roses had magically appeared in her dark hair, some spilling onto her translucent black wings.

It was Morgan who was truly spectacular, however. Her skirt was made completely of different layers of tulle, alternating green and pink. A white long-sleeved tee shirt was underneath a more prominent green vest. Her short hair had lengthened considerably, a few strands going blonde. It now hung to her butt, with a low ponytail keeping it out of her face. Green flats with white knee socks adorned her feet. And her wings were huge, a see-through green with pink edges. "That's not your magic form, is it?" Story gasped.

Morgan shrugged. "Well, no... I'm a Believix fairy. But it has about the same amount of power as my magic form unless I'm on Earth."

"It's... it's incredible," Lara said.

"Yeah, isn't it? She looks even more gorgeous than normal in Believix form!" Grace said, proud as if she had been the Believix fairy and not Morgan.

"How'd you get it?" Story was seriously curious.

"Well, every world has a special power you can unlock... like, for Adquistes, you can go Charmix. It seriously powers you up, but only while you are in the realm you got it from. Otherwise, it's just another outfit. Anyway, when I was dating Snake, I accidentally fulfilled the requirements to get Believix by getting her to believe in magic. No big deal. In fact, I was originally planning to be a witch, and so I really didn't care at all. But now, it's nice. It has the same amount of magic as going into Magic Morgan, and it looks a hell of a lot cuter. Plus, I have fairy dust and I can shrink... that normally doesn't happen until you gain Enchantix and become a real fairy. And my spells are different. But really, that's it."

Lara was full-on gaping. "That is so totally sweet."

Grace took Morgan's hand- very delicately- and took Lara's fingers in the other hand. "Okay. Let's join hands and channel our magic all together." Lara and Morgan grasped Story's hands, completing the circle. Story looked gratefully at her friends.

"Now, concentrate on how the dress looked before it exploded," Grace instructed, her eyes closed. "Focus your powers into your hands and the hands of everyone else, and into the dress."

The girls complied. Story could pick out the dark, floral strands of Lara's power... the bright and animal wild magic that was Morgan's... the pure energy Grace commanded. She channeled her own power around the group, and into her ruined dress.

"Okay!" Grace near-shouted. She, as all the others were, was glowing softly, radiant with the shared power. "Now we each have to add something to it... I'll start." She threw her head back and directed her magic. "Power of communications... I give this dress the highest protection and repairs!"

The dress pulsed and returned to it's first state.

"I give it the beauty of a thousand roses," Lara said, throwing her own magic in.

"The confidence of the wilderness to the dress and it's wearer!" Morgan said. "And, does anybody else feel like the fairies in Sleeping Beauty?"

"What?" asked Lara.

"Never mind."

Story smiled. "And I give it the ability to render all cute boys absolutely speechless."

They released the power. "Oh Dragon," Morgan breathed. "I think we overdid it."

Story immediately transformed back into her civilian form and slipped on the purple dress. It wasn't at all it's original design. But that was fine by her. The new dress was like a fairy dress in an Earth story- a purple laced loose bodice with a skirt that was made of thousands of white rose petals. The design was wild, carefree, and stunning. With Story's blonde hair loose around it, the effect made her look like a nature goddess.

"All we need now is Maria singing "I Feel Pretty," and we're good!" Morgan exclaimed, taking her own dress out of the closet. It wasn't special- just a blue corset with a matching tutu attached. She let her civilian form take over and started to strip.

Grace paled. "Um... I'm going to go change now. In my room. Away from here."

When she had nervously backed out of the dorm, Lara smiled mischievously at Morgan. "Haven't seen each other naked yet?"

"Lar, I'm sixteen. She's fifteen. We're young, there's tons of time for all of this."

"Looks like I'm the old maid, huh? I took a year off before college, so I'll be eighteen in a couple of months. Didn't realize you all were so young. Since when do they let kids like Grace into Alfea, anyway?"

"Grace is obviously brilliant," Morgan said huffily. "Much older than she seems."

"I'm just kidding with you, Mor."

Story laughed as she strapped on her heels. It was great to already have friends she felt this close to.

Seven to be turned to more
Power plenty is in store
Three to covet what they need
Six to be tempted by greed
A Company to be split in two
Who of your friends are truly with you?

Story shrieked a little as the words popped into her head. Lara and Morgan turned towards her. "What's wrong?" asked the flower fairy, looking worried.

"It's nothing." The word fairy shook her head to clear it. "I thought I saw a spider."

"Oh! Really? Where? Spiders are so cute and sweet!" Morgan started eagerly searching the floor. "Here, spider spider spider... oh, wait." She started to glow, then stopped a moment later, looking very confused. "I don't sense any spiders? Are you sure?"

"Um, no... maybe I saw something that just looked like a spider."

"What could look like a spider?" Lara muttered. But the girls turned back to getting ready for the dance, and Story started silently freaking out while keeping a small smile on her face.

What was that? Did I just get like, a prophecy or something? What does it mean? 'Seven to be turned to more?' Like, splitting or something? Her brain was starting to hurt. She decided to keep the words out of her head until the dance was over. But as she thought this, more words- a second part- entered her head like a stampede.

A blonde to go black and never go back
Destiny tricked and turned off track
The position desired will not be fulfilled
For the darkness within is cunning and skilled
Your choice is made, your fate is set
But the universe will not fall to you yet.

Story took care not to gasp- but it was harder this time. She looked at her straight, golden hair and cringed.

Was she- granddaughter of the reknowned Poesia Faragonda- dark? Should she really have been a witch?

More importantly- was she, Story of Romula, really evil enough to alter the history of the magical universe?