Just a little bit of information you may be interested in, the original inspiration for 'His Strength, His Weakness' was Panic! At the Disco's song 'Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off''. I love that song, and you may find a few of their lyrics from their song in this chapter, and I don't own them either. You may also find one of my favorite Alanis Morissette lyric that I thought wasn't beyond Darcy. I love the corrupt.

Chapter Eight – It Will Always Just Be Me

"Hey sweetie."

Riven looked up, no longer surprised by Darcy's sudden appearances. She stepped out of the shadows, her tight fitting clothes hiding nothing even in the lack of light. Her skin was silver in the moonlight and with her dark make-up it made her look rather sickly.

"What do you want, Darcy," Riven asked in a detached tone. He was still so hurt by the evening's events that he didn't even consider the danger he may be in with her around. Frankly, he really didn't care.

"Just to chat," she told him, walking over to stand close to him. A little too close, perhaps, but Riven paid no attention to it.

"You seem to be doing that a lot lately."

"Well, after being stuck with my sisters in that realm, you can hardly blame me for being a little starved for conversation," Darcy grinned, but Riven continued to look at her with dead eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Leaving."

"You're running you mean. Let me guess, you'll go to some pointless battlefield in search of some kind of release from this life. Where will you go? The shoulder of Orion? Or the Pippus Arc? Maybe even the gate of Tannhauser? But what got you thinking this way?" Darcy wondered out loud.

"Go away Darcy."

"I know; you had a fight with that fairy of yours. Oh, what's happened to you Riven? You're running from a girl of all things?"

"I'm not running."

"Yeah you are," Darcy corrected. "But I think you're running in the wrong direction. You're not going to find what you really need in some meaningless battle or even in death. You need something else."

"And what do I need?" Riven asked, swinging one of his legs over the bike so he was leaning on one side of it, eager for any kind of direction. He was just so damn lost at the moment.

"You need to forget her. You don't need her. She was only trying to make you into something you're not. You're never going to be like that blonde little Prince Charming loser Bloom has. Let's face it, you were fine before her and her friends came in and tried to turn you into something that fitted their concept of how a man should behave. You were happy before all that."

"Maybe," Riven muttered, not really impressed with what he was hearing. It was true that he life had become a lot more complicated since the Winx Club had entered the picture and he did think that some of their expectations were completely unnecessary, that didn't mean that he found their presence to be negative part of his life. Musa and her friends all fought to make the universe a better place and by doing that they challenged other to do the same. They had challenged Riven to be a better person by caring for him regardless of his dark past. He couldn't honestly say that he was happy with the person he was before they had impacted him life.

"I can help you get back to the way you were before they tainted you," Darcy offered.

"No Darcy."

"Why? You worried to might like it?" Darcy questioned, her voice suddenly deep and seductive. She edged her way in between in legs, her hands lightly skimming across his inner thighs and, like so many time before, Riven felt himself being turn on by her against his better judgment.

"Darcy," he gasped, swallowing hard.

"Oh come on. You really shouldn't deny you urges. I know you still think about me late at night and I'm sure I can still make you sweat and writhe in anticipation," Darcy purred, leaning forward and biting his neck in that one spot that always drove him mad with desire. His entire body shuttered as he let out a pleasurable gasp. There was no way he could deny he had missed this, but that didn't mean he could let it continue.

"Darcy, please."

"I know what you really want, Riven. Let's face it; I've got a got more wit, a better kiss and a hotter touch then any girl you'll ever meet. You need me and you don't need Musa in the same way. Tell me, has she ever really forgiven you for being with me? You can't just replace me with that fairy. I'm not going to just fade away. Sweetie, you had me and when you left me for her we both know she wasn't worth it. Only I can satisfy you. Only I know what you really are. What you really want. Is she perverted like me? Would she ever go down on you in a theatre like me? I don't think so, Riven. She's a poor replacement for me and you're a poor match for her. She's a princess, street rat. You'll never be good enough for her. There's only one person who's really good enough for you and you know it will always just be me."

"But . . . " Riven trailed off, horrified because he knew she was right. It would always just be her who he was worthy of. Musa was too far out of reach for him. She completely outranked him. Musa had told him time and time again that she didn't care about that out dated feudal issue of rank, but Riven was well aware that there were people out there who did care about that kind of thing. All his life he had been looked down on because he was a classless street rat, so he was painfully aware of the massive social gap between Musa and himself. Riven knew all his friends out ranked him and none of them seemed to understand what an issue status could be. Even Brandon, though he was just a squire, had a fairly powerful position as Sky's first royal squire, not to mention he had his Prince's trust and enough blackmail on him to manipulate things to suit him. Riven didn't have that advantage.

"Just give in," Darcy said huskily in his ear before returning to grazing on his neck and Riven's resistance crumbled. Ignoring everything he knew was right, Riven pressed his mouth against her and forced his tongue into her mouth without waiting for permission. There was no need to be gentle with the likes of her.

He thrust himself on her and she welcomed his advances by shifting slightly until she was straddling him. She had been coped up on her own for too long and he had been dreaming about her far too often for there to be any tenderness or hesitation between them. All that existed was wild, animal lust.

And all Musa could do was watch it all play out before her.

Darcy had put her into some kind of painful body lock that she was unable to break free from. This must have been the spell she had put on Bloom the first time they had battled in Shadow Haunt. Musa couldn't even move her neck to look away from the horrible scene playing out in front of her.

Musa had felt sick when Darcy had explained how she had been the one that had ultimately caused the fight between Riven and Musa, but that dropped to a deep level of horror, disgust and self-loathing for Musa when she saw Riven hunched over his bike, struggling to get his emotions under control. Her careless words had done that to him, she knew it.

And now she was watching her nightmares play out before her, only this time she wouldn't be able to wake up from it because it was real. Darcy really was in Riven's arms and she was going to get her way with him.

Musa was no stranger to jealousy, but this was something completely different. Here she was watching some witch making out with her boyfriend after cleverly manipulating him. And who knew what Darcy would do after she had stratified her cravings. Would she kill him or continue to play these games with him? The very thought made Musa growl in anger.

Suddenly, a small bolt of power surged through Musa, making her gasp in surprise and then just as suddenly it was gone. While her mind tried to decipher what had just happened, her eyes continued to drink in the scene that was carrying on before her. Frustrated beyond belief, she let out another growl since she couldn't curse out loud due to her jaw being clench shut by Darcy's dark magic. And once again, a small bolt of magic surge through her.

'Of course!' Musa mentally exclaimed. She got her power from music! And singing was after all only just the vibration of ones vocal cords. Her growling had activated her magic the same way she normally did when she was able to speak.

Forcing herself to concentrate, Musa began to hum to herself, trying to get enough power to break though Darcy's spell.

"Riven," Darcy panted as he left a trail of aggressive kisses down her collarbone. His hands where all over her, both above and under her clothing, and she could not suppress the waves of pleasure that threatened to consume her from his proximity.

She loved him; she knew it but refused to voice it. Darcy could still remember how captivating Riven had been the first time she laid eyes on him. Sure, he was a little worse for wear since he had just been thrown through a window, but he had still left an impression on her. That was why she had pushed her sisters to agree to use him in their plans. While it was true they did need a spy, she wanted him to be so much more than that and once she had him in her clutches, her infatuation for him grew dangerously deeper. She could remember the way she'd get all out of sorts if he was late for any of their meetings, be it physical, over the phone or via the mind link she had set up between the two of them. He was like some kind of drug and even though she knew he was doing her status with her sisters' damage, she really didn't care.

Darcy really had no idea why Riven had such an affect on her. She had been with countless emotionally messed up meatheads over the years, but Riven had somehow wormed his way under her skin. Maybe it was because Riven was smarter than the other boys she had been with. He wasn't book smart or anything like his nerdy little friend, but rather street smart. She could remember one date she had with him in the City of Magix where Riven had managed to work the streets in such skilful manner one might think he possessed some level of magic. He stole, bargained, pick pocketed and shoplifted everything they had needed for their date and if it ever blew up in his face, he knew exactly where to turn in order to lose their pursuit. Darcy had been very taken by just how talent and confident he had been that night.

Plus, like every teenage girl, Darcy needed validation that she was important, and Riven had offered her that, and not just because she made him do it. He would sometimes look at her with such clarity in his eyes that Darcy would fear that she had lost control over him and yet he'd still praise her and highlighted things she had never noticed without his insights.

"I don't know why you let Icy boss you around like that," he had said to her on one of their dates that involved him accompanying her in her search for a particular rare and poison mushroom that was needed for some spell the Trix were brewing up. The couple had originally planned to head into the City but one order from Icy had derailed everything.

"We need her leadership and ambition," Darcy had replied, scanning the forest floor.

"I don't think so. I think she just needs the confirmation that someone's always got her back. If she was ambitious as you say she is, don't you think she would have deserted you and Stormy by now so she could have all the glory for herself? That's what I would do. And as far as leadership goes, she's not as great as she's got you thinking she is. I mean, her plan to look for the Dragon Fire while all of Alfea was at that concert fell through because a bunch of pixies were on detention. And they didn't even have their powers. That doesn't seem like good leadership to me. I think she needs you more than you need her."

That one point from him had completely altered Darcy's view on her sisters. She no longer followed Icy with such blind obedience and always tired to come up with back up plans and escape routes for when Icy's plans fell through. It was his insight that had triggered that.

However the one thing she would always remember most clearly happened during some ungodly hour one morning at Cloud Tower. Riven had spent the night with her even though both their teachers would have had a fit if they had known, but neither of them really cared. Hell, it wasn't the first time they had done something like that.

After a few hours of sinful passion, Darcy sat up in bed, her sheets the only thing covering her naked body. The room was lit by a single candle and she flipped through the pages of an old spell book looking for the curse that would generate an ooze that reduced a persons skin to shrivels and make them look like an old lady. She planned to leave some in the room of a sophomore that had given her cheek the day before.

Riven had been lying beside her, trying to fall asleep. He had combat class first period that morning and he had to make sure he got up early enough to sneak home before anyone noticed he was missing. He would had already headed off except he was absolutely exhausted and then only thing that stopped him from passing out was the creaking of the pages and Darcy's irritated muttering.

Darcy didn't know if he had been staring or if he just happened to be looking up at her when she glanced at him, but she could clearly remember their eyes locking. His expression was blank but his eyes were probing yet at the same time soft. Normally Darcy would have been put off by such tenderness, but for some reason the look Riven was giving her made her breath catch. Slowly, Riven reached up and tucked a lose strand of her hair behind her ear, his eyes never leaving her face.

"You're beautiful."

All he said were two words. Just two words, but they had filled Darcy with a thrill she had never known before. She knew she was beautiful. She had had enough people tell her that in the past, but there was something in the way Riven had said it and the way he violet eyes watched her that made it different. She didn't care that he then rolled back over and tried to sleep, it was the most amazing moment she had ever experienced.

Maybe it was because he had said it when she knew she wasn't looking her best. Her hair was disheveled, her skin was covered in sweat, she smelt horrible and she hadn't removed her eye shadow, which must have become smudged beyond belief. And yet he still thought she was beautiful. Did he see something deeper within her? Was it something so beautiful that no outer appearance could affect that? Darcy didn't care. All she knew was she completely forgotten about skin shrivelling ooze and sophomores. The only thing that filled her mind was that wonderful feeling and how she wasn't going to let Riven get any sleep regardless of how hard Codatorta was going to ride his ass in combat class.

It was then that she first thought of and rejected the possibility that her feelings for Riven had deepened into something she was too scared to name.

And now, after months of waiting and planning, she finally had Riven back in her arms again. Once her desire was sated she'd continue having fun by torturing Musa and forcing Riven to watch. The surrounding woods would be perfect for a little game of hide and seek. Darcy and Musa would hide and Riven would have to seek them but she'd make it fair by giving Riven clues to where to find them, like maybe Musa screaming. And once that pathetic pixie was out of her hair for good, she'd take Riven as her own, wiping his mind clean of any good thoughts he might have and transforming him into a dark warrior that was suited to stand alongside her.

The Lord and Lady of Darkness.

Things were finally happening the way she had wanted them too. She had just started to try and unbuckle Riven's belt when she sensed something wasn't right, but by then it was already too late.

"Boogie Blaster!"

TBC. Oh, another thing, Puppis is a star cobstilation of a ship. And the Shoulder of Orion and the Gate of Tannhauser are part of my favorite quote in the whole wide world. See my home page thingy and even my pen name and you'll see what I mean.