This chapter focuses on Musa goodbyes on the same day that Tecna says her goodbyes to her family, so will start back at the start of the day (so basically, it runs alongside the last chapter, NOT after it). Layla, Stella (with Bloom) and Flora will have their own chapter about the same day about their goodbyes too.

Musa opened her eyes reluctantly to see that the sun was barely up. She didn't sleep well at all. She was too scared to say goodbye to her parents and too scared of the task she would have to face. As she sat up, she noticed Tecna sleeping peacefully in her bed. Musa longed to be as strong as Tecna was, but couldn't find the courage to believe in herself.

She sighed and rolled groggily out of bed almost collapsing in an attempt to steady herself. Once she was composed, she quietly got herself dressed, trying her best not to wake Tecna. She didn't want the Winx to see her go, so she decided to leave early. She fumbled her hands over her desk to find a pen and tore a sheet of paper from her notebook.

Winx,

Please don't worry about me, I've gone to Melody with Riven to say goodbye to my parents. I just couldn't face not saying goodbye to them, especially my mum.

Musa paused for a moment as she thought about her mum. She felt lonely tears fill her eyes and sniffed a little before wiping her eyes and scribbling out the last sentence.

Winx,

Please don't worry about me, I've gone to Melody with Riven to say goodbye to my parents. I'll be back soon,

Musa x

She stared at the note and brushed away a few more tears before turning away from it to leave.

As she opened the door, light flooded in from the main dorm room and shone brightly over Tecna who was resting peacefully. The sudden light change seemed to disturb her, causing her to grunt and roll over in her bed. Musa watched her cautiously, hoping that she was still fast asleep and waited patiently until she ceased moving and continued to rest.

"Just because you've got the Dragon Fire…"mumbled Tecna.

Musa giggled quietly before gently closing the door behind her. The corridors were eerily quiet. She could hear the echo of her every footstep as she walked. It didn't help; instead, it made her feel more alone. She needed Riven so much right now.

As she exited the building, she reached into her pocket and called Riven.

At Red Fountain

Riven lay spread-eagle in bed, snoring noisily; it was a wonder how Timmy even managed to sleep. Aside from Riven's snoring, a deafeningly loud melody chirped up from Riven's phone. He frowned disapprovingly and reached out to his alarm clock to switch it off. Timmy rolled over angrily in bed grunting at the sudden burst of noise. His eyes remained closed as he longed to go back to sleep. Riven's hand continued to fumble around for his alarm clock to shut the noise up. Finally, he reached the off button and flicked it thankfully. He was just about to breathe a sigh of relief, only to realise that the noise hadn't gone.

"5 more minutes…" complained Timmy, thinking it was time to get up.

Riven clenched his fists angrily and stood up to locate the source of his irritation. As he opened his eyes properly, he noticed the dim light of his phone glowing on his bedside table and soon found this to be the source.

"If this is another one of those stupid practical jokes from Sky and Brandon, I'm gonna…" he stopped as he read the name on the screen. Musa?

"Hey Musa, what's up?" he said calmly, trying to hide his frustration.

"Could you meet me at Alfea with one of the Red Fountain ships?" she asked politely.

"Why?" he asked bluntly.

"I want to say goodbye to my parents on Melody; I was hoping that you could come with me. It's just that I might not… see them… after…" Musa struggled to get the rest of her words out, but Riven understood what she meant.

"Sure, I'll see you in 20 minutes," he tried to say softly.

"Okay, bye."

"Love you babe, bye," he ended the called and stopped to breathe for a moment. He hated to see Musa in this state, and truly regretted what a jerk he had been the last few years. He'd been so ungrateful for Musa's love at times and just wished he could go back and change it. Of course he couldn't, the best he could do was say sorry and enjoy the time they had left together.

He turned around to see that Timmy was already fast off. He got himself changed and headed to the ships.

At Alfea

Musa sat timidly on the rusty bench outside. There was a small breeze which caused her to shiver at times. She watched as the sun began to rise and listened to the songs of every bird. She tried her best not think too much, rather to enjoy the present than dwell on the past or worry about the future. Before long, she heard the rumbling of an engine and soon, a Red Fountain ship landed on the quad right in front of her.

She smiled contently to see Riven walk towards her in his normal Red Fountain Uniform. Slowly the gap between them grew smaller and soon they were in each other's arms. As Musa decided their hug had reached an appropriate end, she let her arms drop by her side and attempted to step back. As she did, she noticed that Riven's arms were still wrapped tightly around her.

"Whoa, what happened to you?" she asked dazed.

"What do you mean?" he asked as he let Musa go.

"You don't do mushy stuff, yet you were stuck to me like a limpet," she stated.

Riven was still as blunt and sarcastic as ever, but had no idea how to explain his change of heart without upsetting her.

"I just never truly appreciated how important you were to me," he cooed lovingly.

"Never?" asked Musa bluntly.

"Ah, well… err…"

"Well, haven't you got a way with words? C'mon, we'll be here all day if you try and act soft," she giggled, dragging him by the hand towards the ship. He scratched his head in confusion, but decided not to question it.

Riven smoothly lowered the ship down in front of Musa's house and turned to Musa.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?"

Musa gulped nervously. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"You know, just because Tecna, Layla, Stella and Flora are doing it, doesn't mean you have to too."

"I know, but if one backs out, no doubt the rest would follow, then what kind of a club would we be?"

"Look Musa, this might sound heartless, but I don't care so much about what the others do, I'm just scared of losing you. Yes I'd be heart-broken if something happened to the others, but I'm not sure if my life would be worth living if you had gone," he said confidently.

"Aww, that's really sweet. Has Helia been giving you pointers?" said Musa softly, but with hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"No Musa, this is me. Just me," he answered honestly.

"Is that really how you feel?" she questioned.

"Yes Musa, I love you." Musa was shocked by Riven's attitude. She could only assume that her life or death situation had extinguished his arrogance, well, maybe not extinguished, but definitely dulled it down.

Riven reached one of his hands out for Musa to take. Instead, Musa just stared at it, before taking the hint. She reached for his hand and walked steadily off of the ship. As she peered outside, she saw her parents who had left the house to see who had just landed in their front yard.

"Musa? Is that you?" asked Matlin as she squinted to see her daughter's face.

"Yes mum, it's me." Musa walked slowly up to her mother and embraced her tightly. Then, turned to her father and gave him a friendly hug.

"What brings you to Melody? I thought you would be teaching at Alfea today," questioned Hoboe.

"Um, can we talk inside, it's quite important," smiled Musa weakly. Riven reached in for Musa's hand and squeezed it gently to show his support. Musa's parents gave each other a worried look, and lead their daughter and Riven into the house. It was a beautiful large wooden shack which sat right next to the river bed. There wasn't another house for at least another mile.

Musa and Riven sat down anxiously on the sofa opposite Musa's parents in the lounge. They waited patiently for Musa's explanation.

Musa took a deep breath holding one of Riven's hands in her lap.

"Have you heard of the legend of Pandora?" she questioned. Musa's parents racked their brains for any knowledge they could find on the story.

"Wasn't Utopia divided and the people's power taken away, but Pandora released them by accident and the elements became impure or something?" suggested Musa's Father.

"That is the basis, yes. But she has been summoned and she is a threat to the Magic Dimension." Musa cringed as she thought about what Pandora might be like.

"Summoned? How?" asked Matlin, very confused.

"When Valtor was defeated, the Spell of the Elements was released. Originally, that power was hers, so it returned to her and now she is coming back," chipped in Riven.

"How does this involve you?" asked Matlin turning her attention back to Musa.

"I'm going to try and gain Elementix. We all are, well apart from Bloom because her power is pure already. It is the only power strong enough to defeat Pandora, and if she gets her way…" she paused "… there won't be a Magic Dimension left."

"That is awful," gasped Matlin. "But, it sounds like you're in a dilemma. Am I right?"

"Unfortunately, yes. There are consequences if we fail to gain Elementix. But I have made my decision."

"What are these… consequences?" asked Hoboe whose voice was very worried right now.

"If… if we fail the task… we… we… d… die," Musa finally gave in and burst into tears. She turned her body towards Riven hugged him tenderly. All he could do was hug her back whilst her parents sat gobsmacked by her news. Her mother lifted one of her hands to cover her mouth in shock.

"Oh Musa, come here," called Matlin. She stood up and opened her arms out to hug her beautiful daughter. She had a few horrified tears roll down her face as Musa stood up and buried her face into Matlin's chest.

"Come here baby, shhh," she cooed whilst cradling her precious child. Hoboe stood up too to hold the most important women in his life. He had lived for too long in the absence of one of them, and to lose his daughter for the rest of his life would break his heart.

"Musa darling, you know that we will support you no matter what, but, do you really have to do this?" asked Musa's mum anxiously.

"Yes, mum, I do," she tried to say confidently, but instead, her voice quivered.

"I love you Musa, with all my heart." Matlin spoke softly and contently to her daughter.

"Musa, listen to me. I know you will try your best, and I know you will succeed, you just need to believe in yourself, okay?" Hoboe place his hands firmly on his daughter's shoulders and looked directly into her petrified eyes.

Musa looked deep into her father's eyes through her tears and nodded subtly.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go now, or the Winx might get worried about where I am. I love you both, and… as long as I'm still here, I'll ring you tomorrow…" Musa turned her back towards her family and headed to the door with Riven by her side. They walked out of the front door into the chilly breeze and headed towards the ship. As they approached the ship, Musa turned around solemnly to wave goodbye to her parents. They were stood at the front of the house with their arms wrapped around each other.

"Goodbye my sweet angel!" yelled Matlin as she held Hoboe tightly and brushed away her tears. Musa felt lost in time when she heard her mother cry out to her. She felt like her heart had been ripped out, and soon, her love for her parents became too much. She sprinted back towards them and opened her arms as wide as she could to cherish them both leaving Riven waiting next to the ship. She sobbed and sobbed and held them both tightly in her arms for what felt like an eternity. Her mother held Musa's cheeks at an arms distance and wiped away her tears with her thumbs. Then, she pulled Musa closer and whispered something into her ear. Musa just smiled, before kissing her parents each on the cheek and finally made her way back to Riven who had watched them from a distance. Riven held his hand out once more to aid Musa up the slope. They said nothing to each other.

Riven took his place in the driving seat on the ship whilst Musa stood at the window. She raised one hand up to the glass as she felt the ship leave the ground. Her parents just watched and waved, blowing kisses in her direction. As they soared higher in the sky, Matlin and Hoboe became two small dots, before Musa couldn't even see them at all. She sobbed quietly as they travelled further and further away from Melody, until it too became too far away to see. She turned away from the window and placed her hands on Riven's shoulders from behind. He lifted one hand from the dashboard and placed it on Musa's.

"Musa, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but what did your mum say to you?" he asked sensitively.

Musa smiled again as she listened to her mother's words in her head. "She said to me 'Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart'…"

I've not really written about Riven before, so I hope that, despite his attitude changing because of his love for Musa, I haven't made him too nice.

Reviews welcome x