"The train is coming with its shiny cars,

With comfy seats and wheels of stars.

So hush my little ones have no fear,

The man in the moon is the engineer."

-Alice: Madness Returns

Yeah, the Valtor x Tecna pairing gets creepy sometimes, but it tends to grow on you.

Chapter 5: Fireworks

It had been exactly one month since Valtor and Tecna took the pills, and seeing as though they were both alive and not dead was a good enough sign to them that they were successful. Did they necessarily feel any different than they did before? No not really, but they figured the process might go along so gradually that they wouldn't notice a change at all. Even though the cure seemed to be successful; they still continued to do stuff to keep their minds aware.

Tecna sat on the edge of Valtor's bed as he laid face-first in a pillow trying to take a nap to ease his head. He seemed to get periodic migraine headaches that would cause him to be bed-ridden for a couple hours. However, it seemed the headaches were a side-effect of the intense amounts of caffeine Valtor seemed to intake to keep his mind and heart racing. Tecna however didn't dare to touch the stuff again, so it explained why he was getting headaches and she didn't. She still worried about him though.

She sighed quietly and walked across his room to the large bay window and looked down at the city below. Dawn would soon be approaching and they were to meet the rest of the Winx Club at dawn for a special stunt they were all going to pull. It was important for them to be on time.

She cocked her head to the side, "Are you honestly going to stay in bed all day?"

His voice was slightly muffled as he spoke into his pillow, "I've still got a headache. Just…ten more minutes and I think I'll be fine," he lifted his head and laid on his side to face Tecna who was standing across the room, "I'm tired, that's all." To Tecna he didn't look tired at all and she could tell he was lying on the bed in a lot of pain. On top of that he was napping in a heavy vintage trench coat; it must be uncomfortable to wear.

"Yet you illogically drink litres upon litres of caffeinated drinks," she rolled her eyes and let Valtor go back to resting. She looked down at herself, and for the night she wore a short green dress with magenta highlights. She gazed down her arm and looked at the 'accessory' that was around her wrist. On her wrist was a black and glowing purple bracelet that always levitated a couple centimeters off of her wrist. It wasn't that she wanted to wear the silly looking thing, but it served the same purpose as her interface ring. So both the interface bracelet and ring let her communicate with friends, check messages, check the feeds, let the city track her location, and do practically everything her ring did beforehand. The bracelet however did not come off.

The interface bracelet was a 'gift' from the Witches the night they got caught in Harmonic 314. That night she and Valtor were asked dozens upon dozens of questions asking who they were, why they snuck into the abandoned mansion, and why they left their interface rings at home. Tecna tried her best to play dumb and to tell them they snuck into the mansion for some…privacy. The Witches were not impressed with her answer, but even after searching the mansion high and low they could not find a reason to doubt what Tecna was telling them.

The Witches were fed up of their actions and finally put these magical bracelets on them using dark magic. Since the bracelets could not come off then the Witches could follow hers and Valtor's location wherever they went. So since that night nothing exciting ever happened to them. They were truly forced to act like every other person in Magix.

Valtor and Tecna would not submit to the Witches so easily, and were secretly trying to find some sort of spell to counter-act the dark magic in the bracelet. They knew that for every existing spell and magical ability that there was a spell to counter act it. All they needed was the right spell to neutralize the dark magic…then they would be free. Their research would have to be slow and discrete to avoid being caught. For the time being all they knew was that a very powerful spell would be needed to oppose the magic of a dark Witch.

As Tecna gazed one last time at the mysterious interface bracelet she couldn't help but wonder if it was even possible to conjure up such a possible spell.

She sighed and conjured up a lilac scarf out of the Hole in the Wall in her closet. Out of shear paranoia she was sure the Witches would be able to listen in on her conversations through the bracelet. As a precaution she wrapped the scarf over her bracelet to prevent her voice from reaching the product of the Witches. They were not going to listen in on her conversations.

Finally fed up with Valtor she stood next to her bed and looked at his somewhat awake body, "You're being so illogical. Get up already," she tugged at his arm jokingly, "We have somewhere to be." With one final tug she managed to finally stir at him enough to get him to sit up.

She quickly ran to her closet and pulled out a black scarf for Valtor to wear around his identical interface cuff. He spoke to her groggily as she busily tied the scarf around the bracelet, "When are we ever going to get these stupid bracelets off? They are becoming more of an annoyance as the days go by."

Tecna huffed and gave him a grim smile, "When I discover the right counter-acting spells then I promise these things will be history. But in the meantime we just have to hang in there…" She lightly kissed him on the cheek, "The Cure still needs to be a secret between the two of us…the rest of the Winx Club cannot know, or at least not yet anyway."

The main reason for keeping the pills a secret was mainly to prevent Musa from knowing. Tecna was positive she would be upset if she knew that she shared a Cure to essentially open her mind with Valtor instead of her best friend. There was always a feud when it came between best friends, and boys. The last thing she needed right now was any sort of argument.

"Whatever you say Tec," he tightened the scarf around his wrist, "Now I guess we should go meet the rest of the Winx Club, right?" He ushered her out the door and they headed towards the rooftop of Solaria Mansion to meet everyone. Something special was planned for tonight, and it was going to involve some sort of explosion; of sorts.

She slowly spoke up as they exited the building and began walking down the decently populated streets, "Your headaches are becoming more frequent Valtor…" She trailed off, "And more severe."

He gave a short chuckle, "You don't need to worry about me Tecna," he paused and sharply turned to her as they continued to walk, "And don't even think about sending me to the hospital."

"Why not?" Tecna protested; dumbly not knowing why he wouldn't want to get examined by Doctors, "You have me worried." His headaches could put him out for hours, and they would happen all of a sudden without warning. They weren't typical, and the only logical assumption right now would be the extreme intake of caffeine. Something still just didn't add up.

"Yeah, well I'm more worried about the Doctors finding out that my brain has been cured of the lesions. You have to remember; people rarely get sick in Magix. So in my case they might send me to be checked out by an expert…"

Tecna softly spoke up as she realized what Valtor was getting at, "And an expert would be a Witch…"

"I can handle these headaches as long as it means my mind is secure and cured. I can't go back to being the brainless me," he huffed, "My mind has felt open and alive ever since taking that pill, and I'm sure you agree with me."

In relative to how she felt a month ago; yes there was a change. At first it really wasn't that noticeable, but now she found herself less confused, more aware, and she found herself bored with going to Fairy parties. It seemed she was becoming who she used to be. On top of that she was remembering more from her past. She finally remembered spending days alone with Timmy travelling back to Magix after Domino was destroyed, and she even remembered her old friend Flora.

Thinking of Flora made Tecna smile. All she could remember of her appearance was her tan, messy and tangled auburn hair, and sweet emerald eyes. Flora always had the biggest smile even when things were looking less than pleasant. She was sure Flora would take care of Timmy until she…well until she saw him again. Tecna wasn't quite sure how Timmy felt about her at this point or whether he actually cared for her the same way anymore. They've been away for so long, and she was sure he would have moved on at this point.

She had Valtor now, and besides… Pixies and Fairies could never date. She may have had feelings for Timmy before, but whether she even had those feelings was hard to tell.

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxx

"Is everything in place?" Aisha asked everyone sternly; her face barely showing a smile. They all stood on the roof of Solaria Mansion: Aisha, Valtor, Tecna, Brandon, Stella, and Musa. They all gazed at the arranged fireworks around them. On top of that there were four more similar arrangements of fireworks on other buildings. There were so many, and they were sure to cause a loud boom. Possibly a city-shaking boom and that was exactly what they wanted.

Brandon spoke up first, "Everything is except someone to detonate on each building. Besides that just give us a time and we promise everything will go according to plan." He nervously moved some of his brown hair out of his face, "What if it doesn't work? What if we are caught? This is going to be one massive boom, and this isn't something the Wardens will exactly be okay with."

"Are you questioning me?" Aisha snapped, "Because with Tecna's help we have mapped out the fireworks perfectly. There is no doubt our word will shine up in the sky for at least a couple minutes." Aisha took a deep breath to relax her nerves, "You can set the timers as soon as you arrive on the roofs of the buildings, and then flee as far as you can from the explosive zone," she laughed slightly.

Aisha was making it seem like they were going to war against the city. In a way it seemed they were because they were breaking the law by possessing so many fireworks, and setting them off illegally like this. Everyone in the group thought this was a typically 'show off to the city and the people the cool things the Winx Club can do', but oh no there was so much more to this certain stunt. Only Valtor, Tecna, and Aisha knew about the true purpose; to get the attention of Sparx. To the three of them this was to hopefully get Riven, Timmy, or someone else from Sparx to come back to the city because they have been absent for far too long. To Valtor and Tecna this was their way of showing Sparx that the Cure worked, because no ordinary Magix citizen would be able to pull a stunt like this. They would know the pill works, and would bring out more; maybe enough for the entire city.

The word they were going to project in the sky would definitely get the attention of Sparx, but would it also get the attention of the Witches? Tecna really hoped not, because the last thing she needed was to get chased by supernatural Witches. As she remembered the Witches she looked nervously at the Witches bracelet that still remained wrapped up by her scarf.

Musa quietly spoke up, "So are we ready to get this show on the road?"

Aisha nodded her head yes to the group, "Tecna and I will stay here on Building One. I want Valtor to be igniting the fireworks on Building Two, Stella to Building Three, Brandon to Building Four, and Musa to Building Five," she instructed firmly. "It's about 9:30 right now, so T-Minus 30 minutes until I want these things launched."

"Set the timers for a 10:00pm ignition? You got it Aisha," Brandon confirmed to her and gave her a thumb up. Suddenly Brandon and Valtor swiftly harnessed bungee jackets on and they plunged off into the darkness at the base of the building. There was no time to lose if they were to set the timer and make it far enough away to not be around the 'blast zone'.

In unison Stella, Tecna, Musa, and Aisha transformed into Enchantix mode. Stella smiled, "See you girls when I see you next," Stella giggled and waved them off as she flew off, and was soon followed by Musa. Both girls giggled with excitement.

Aisha and Tecna both stood awkwardly for a minute until Aisha spoke up nervously, "So there really hasn't been any communication from Sparx for about a month now?" She looked sadly into the direction Gardenia was. Tecna could tell she was anxious to hopefully talk to them soon.

"Unfortunately no; they've disappeared without a trace."

"Ah," Aisha crossed her arms over her chest nervously, "Do you think something happened?"

"I can't say for sure," she reasoned with her as she found the detonator a few metres away. She used a simple spell and set the ignition time for 10:00. Tecna nudged at Aisha's shoulder as she seemed to zone out, "Come on," Tecna hovered a few feet above the roof, "We better get out of here."

Aisha shook her head as if to exit a daydream, "Right…the fireworks." The two girls flew alongside each other as they flew across the city. Aisha sighed as she flew alongside her friend, "I hope Riven sees this, I really need to talk to him."

"Oh…about what?" Tecna managed to ask. Why Aisha needed to talk to Riven so much was beyond what knowledge she had. Maybe there was some piece of information she was missing.

"You do know what happened between Riven, Brandon, and I right?" Tecna nodded yes. Valtor told her all about how Aisha and Brandon ended up not going to Domino at the last minute which infuriated Riven. They've never spoken since. "Okay good because that saves me a lot of explaining. Well I've been thinking about that night that I ultimately decided to become a Fairy…and I'm feeling regret."

Tecna widened her eyes as they flew very close to the tops of the buildings in downtown Magix, "You can't possibly regret being a Fairy Aisha…"

"He was right Tecna," she clenched her hands into fists and she beat her wings vigorously, "This Fairy life was never meant for me. I should have…I think I should have listened to him about life in Magix. It's getting dull and I miss the thrill I used to have as a Pixie."

Tecna raised an eyebrow, "So this is all so you can talk to Riven, and say he was right?" It all seemed like such a big deal if that was the only reason why she needed to talk to him again.

She laughed, "No, there's something else," she nervously looked at Tecna who she was flying next to, "I also want…I want…I want to go live out in Sparx." After hearing that Tecna was so shocked that her wings stopped fluttering for a moment and she fell for a couple metres before regaining her senses, "Actually, I want all of us to go to Sparx, and to leave Magix behind; forever."

"What?!" Tecna screeched in surprise, "But why?"

"This city is getting too small for the Winx Club. We should be helping with the rebellion…then we would really be making an impact," Aisha explained, "Riven said long ago that the Witches controlled the city, but he was right," she gestured at Tecna's hidden bracelet, "And I'm not okay being in a city controlled by…monsters."

Tecna didn't know how to react. Run away and live in the wild with Pixies? It just seemed so crazy to be true. But maybe that was where she would be safest from Valtor, because they wouldn't have to hide their cure minds anymore. Logically (now that she thought about it), it seemed like a reasonable idea. Maybe she has grown too big for the plastic city known as Magix.

Aisha added, "And I don't want to go unless everyone agrees. The Winx Club will do this together."

"Have you told anyone about this?" Tecna raised an eyebrow, "Or am I the first?"

"I'll tell everyone eventually…but before I tell them I guess we better see if the runaways will come to us…"

"And if they don't?" Tecna asked as they landed near Lake Roccaluce; a safe distance away from the spectacle that was about to be unleashed.

"Then we will go to them," Aisha smiled proudly as the clock struck 10.

It started off as a faint boom, but quickly became an enormous one that ruptured their eardrums. The sound managed to knock the two girls to the ground. The fireworks were set off and high above the city in giant letters was the word SPARX. It hung in the air for a few minutes as Tecna and Aisha sat on the ground in silence and stared happy at their accomplishment. This was sure to reach out to Sparx, and hopefully bring them back to the city so they could talk about escape with them.

As the booms and lights died down Tecna suddenly realized that many windows were blown out, some smoke beckoned from the top of the buildings, and hovercars were flying in every direction in a panic trying to figure out what just happened. Tecna didn't expect such a large explosion, but that's what you get for mesing with fireworks.

Aisha detransformed into her normal clothing, "I'll send a ping to everyone in the club to meet us here. I say we celebrate our accomplishment," she smiled eagerly, "With a bonfire."

Tecna detransformed, "But Aisha…Valtor and I can't go to Gardenia until we get these bracelets off," she pointed at her wrist, "Unless we want Witches following us." Tecna frankly didn't need the Witches to follow her to the runaways for the second time. One time was bad enough.

"We can only go when you two figure out how to get them off then," Aisha sighed, "But I'm sure you'll find a way to get them off; I'm sure of it," she gave her a reassuring smile. "Just put your mind to it and you'll discover the perfect counteracting spell."

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxx

She sat herself next to Valtor as the bonfire grew in size. The others laughed and talked about the experiences they each had because everyone was somewhere different when the explosion happened. Champagne was passed around as everyone needed a way to relax after the Sparx Explosion. She poured two glasses and passed a glass to Valtor. He smiled, "Thanks for sharing."

Tecna knew he was talking about the pills; not the champagne, "No problem," they sipped the champagne in unison, "Together," Tecna giggled. The cure seemed to work more rapidly for Valtor, but it was a little more gradual for Tecna. Even only taking a half-dose of the cure it still worked. Maybe if she had taken both pills…she would have died.

She listened carefully to the conversations happening around her. Everyone was talking, but it was strange because to Tecna they didn't talk how most Magix citizens talked…they talked about their experience as if their brains were cured. They talked like Pixies because no one commented on each other's outfits, or looks. Was it possible? Could a Fairy brain overcome the power of the lesions and cure itself on its own?

He kissed her briefly on the cheek, but suddenly he gave out a low tone yelp of pain. Tecna looked over to see Valtor rubbing the temple of his nose; it only meant he was having another headache episode, "Valtor?" She whispered to him in a worried tone. Sometimes they would last for a few minutes, but sometimes it could last for hours.

"I'm…I'm fine…" Valtor stuttered.

"You need a Doctor," Tecna stated nervously and helped him up to his feet.

He darted his eyes, "We both know why I can't go to a Doctor. Just…take me home for now," he sighed, "I've had enough excitement for tonight." She sighed, what if it got worse? Could she force him to go to the Doctor?

She sighed and told the group she would be gone a couple minutes to escort Valtor back to his apartment. To get him home in a hurry they made a dash through the woods, and decided it was probably best that they avoided taking any of the main streets as they were probably suspects in the Sparx Explosion.

They walked in silence through the deep woods with the only sound being their footsteps on the fresh grassy ground. As soon as Valtor's apartment came into view he finally spoke up, "I can make it back by myself now Tecna. You go back to the others."

"But what am I supposed to tell them? They can't know about the Cure yet…" Tecna bit her lip.

He chuckled very softly, "Just tell them I drank too much," he kissed her goodbye and stumbled the last two-hundred metres back to his apartment. Tecna could only watch, and she hoped he would get better soon. Maybe his brain wasn't used to being cured yet…or maybe it was just the caffeine intakes.

She sighed and trudged by herself through the thick woods. Without Valtor the woods were even creepier and colder, but oddly enough she still felt like she wasn't alone in the woods. Tecna quickened her pace.

Even she began to have a headache, but she knew it was because she had too much stuff on her mind. First was Valtor's headaches, second was hiding the Cure, third was getting the stupid bracelets off, and the forth thing on her mind was the possible escape from the city. She was sure the Winx Club would leave right now to go to Sparx, but would they still feel the same about leaving tomorrow. She grumbled, "Why does this stuff always happen to me?"

To her surprise someone actually replied to her. It was a cold and icy voice that cut her ears like razors, "Well trouble always seems to be drawn to you…right Tecna?" She remembered that voice, and if it was who she thought it was she was in for some trouble.

"H-hello?" She called out nervously. She could hear the swift movement of a figure moving through the tree branches just above her head. However, there was no one to be seen. Finally she spotted a figure casually sitting on a branch just next to her; legs dangling off of the branch.

The figure dropped down a couple metres away from Tecna. In the glistening moonlight she could barely tell who the figure was, but then she spotted a glimmer of her long icy blue hair. Tecna conjured up a simple light spell to see the figure better, but she already knew who it was standing before her.

She couldn't believe that standing before her was the lead Witch herself; Dr. Icy.