Oh my god, a 20 page chapter in two days. You guys are SUPER lucky! I had major inspiration since i reached 100! reviews on this story! I wanted to say THANK YOU to EVERYONE who has reviewed. I now have two stories with over 100 reviews! I am so happy! I literally cried from happiness. I never dreamed that i would get 100 reviews on anything.
THANK YOU TO ALL MY READERS! I LOVE YOU ALL!
I have slaved over the keyboard for this chapter so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send me A LOT OF REVIEWS! I only got three reviews last chapter so please send me more! I hope that you all enjoy this awesome chapter! I love you all!
Disclaimer: I don't own Winx Club or any of the songs.
"He showed up, I can't believe he showed up" Stella ranted pacing around the dorm.
Layla and Bloom rolled their eyes at Stella. Ever since Layla sent Brandon away hours ago, Stella had been, in Layla's opinion, obsessing. Stella was fuming about him showing up without calling, passing over the fact that earlier in the week she was complaining about his constant calling, resulting in her smashing his phone, which he hasn't discovered yet. Layla had her head on a pillow as she laid on the couch silently praying for the insanity to stop.
"Stella, please shut up" Layla said calmly.
"But the nerve of him" Stella continued ignoring her friend.
"You already said that" Bloom and Layla yelled in annoyance.
Stella was about to continue her rant when Flora and Helia walked inside followed by Tecna and Timmy.
"Oh thank god" Bloom exclaimed happily running over to the newcomers.
"What's been going on?" Flora asked noticing Bloom and Layla's behaviour and Stella's ranting.
"Don't ask!" Layla cried.
"Brandon, that's what" Stella replied.
Layla and Bloom groaned predicting Stella's rant to repeat for the millionth time.
"What do you mean?" Tecna asked.
"Brandon ambushed me at the dorm" Stella answered.
"Ambush?" Helia said confused.
"Yes, ambush. He should've called!" Stella ranted.
Layla and Bloom had had enough so they grabbed Tecna and literally ran out of the dorm leaving a confused Flora, Helia and Timmy in their tracks.
"They just took my girlfriend" Timmy said confused.
"Stella, haven't you been ignoring all of Brandon's phone calls these past two weeks?" Flora asked ignoring Tecna, Layla and Bloom's sudden departure.
"Well…yes, but to ambush me at home when he obviously knew that I didn't want to speak to him is absolutely absurd!" Stella complained.
"To be fair, Stella, Brandon has lost his phone earlier this week" Timmy informed.
"That's because I smashed it and couldn't take any more of his phone calls!" Stella retorted angrily.
"So why are you surprised that he came by?" Helia questioned.
Stella stopped in her place realising what her friends were getting at.
"You in effect, Stella, brought his 'ambush' upon yourself" Timmy added.
Stella whipped her head at Timmy and death glared at him.
"I'm just going to go" Timmy said before almost running out of the dorm.
Then there were two left to deal with Stella and her craziness. Flora and Helia looked at Stella's face, still annoyed with Timmy's accusation.
"Stella, why don't you go take a nice long relaxing bath to take your mind off of this" Flora suggested calmly.
Stella sighed with a smile. "That sounds lovely."
"Great. I'll go get the bath salts and candles while you turn the water on" Flora said leading Stella to her bathroom.
Once Stella closed the bathroom door, Flora walked back over to Helia.
"This is getting ridiculous" Helia said.
"She's broken up with him on reasonable grounds but continues to obsess over him. That doesn't sound like she's moving on and isn't still in love with him."
"I agree" Flora replied.
"It may be the anger talking for her now, and probably doesn't want to admit it, but she still needs Brandon just like Brandon still needs her."
"What do you think we should do?"
"Definitely something" Flora answered.
"It is clear that neither of them want to move on without having each other in their lives."
Timmy returned to Red Fountain and sighed in relief at the quiet filling the dorm. Too quiet for his dorm he thought but then realised that it was because Riven was not there. Riven had AWOL since the incident with Musa, and Timmy and the guys were getting worried. Timmy walked further into the dorm and found Nabu and Sky sitting in the lounge with their laptops open.
"Hey guys" Timmy greeted.
"Mind if I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure what's wrong?" Sky asked tilting his laptop screen down.
"It's about Riven" Timmy began.
"I am starting to get worried and I think that we should try and find him and bring him back. The last time he went AWOL he ended up in a dungeon in Cloud Tower with the Army of Decay."
"We agree" Nabu replied.
"You do?" Timmy said shocked.
"Of course" Sky added.
"But Sky, you were the one who thought that we should wait it out for Riven to return" Timmy explained.
"Yes," Sky answered. "That is true. But that was two weeks ago."
"So you do want to find him?"
"What do you think we're doing right now?" Nabu asked rhetorically.
Timmy smiled at Nabu's response and picked up a GPS, his laptop, a map of Magix, and other gadgets and brought them to the coffee table in the centre of the room.
"Then let's find Riven" Timmy said determined.
Musa walked into Tony's office and saw Tony sitting at his desk with Ellie standing beside him.
"Hi guys" Musa greeted with a smile.
Musa had been tired all afternoon since finishing the filming of her music video. When she got home, she found a voice message from Tony telling her that the video draft had been completed and he wanted Musa to come in and see it for herself. Musa didn't feel like going since she wanted time to relax before her big day at the performance tomorrow but did want to see how good the video turned out.
"Musa, baby" Tony greeted with a smile and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Or should I say 'Lady M'"
Musa raised an eyebrow at Tony. What was he talking about, she wandered. Ellie slightly slouched in the corner causing Musa to get a little worried if Ellie was starting to act a little sheepish.
"What?" Musa asked.
"That's your new stage name, darling" Tony explained.
"A stage name?" Musa repeated confused.
"I don't have a stage name. I just use my real name."
"You have one now. Musa sounds so boring and out of date" Tony replied. "Lady M brings in a new demographic to the world."
"You're kidding?" Tony chuckled.
"Why would I joke about you and your career?" Musa was stunned.
He was actually seriously considering calling him Lady M. The M, Tony explained, represented Musa and the Lady suited the demographic. Just like famous Earth singers 'Lady Gaga' and the band 'Lady Antebellum', Tony believed that if it worked for Earth, it could work for Magix. If he thinks that he can just change her name with the snap of his fingers then he had another thing coming, Musa thought. Before Musa had a chance to disagree, Tony continued talking.
"And there's more" Tony continued excited.
"There's more?" Musa said a little afraid.
Tony gently led Musa to the couch in front of his desk and sat her down. Ellie slowly walked over to the couch and joined Musa. Tony walked up to his desk and picked up a remote and pointed it to the television hanging on the wall behind the desk.
"Musa, I give you, 'Glamorous'" Tony said before pressing play.
"You know you want my life"
Musa smiled at the introduction she wanted when imagining this music video but her smile turned upside down after that when she saw that the music video had completely changed. The music had a bit of an edge with more pop music in the background. The dancers were wearing all silver and dancing like robots as they wore large black glasses. The set was edited to be all white with no staircase. The only thing that was the same as she rehearsed was her dress. There was no couch at the beginning or sexy socialite aspects that she wanted and was there when she rehearsed over and over this past week. Musa was stunned when the video finished. There were no words to describe her frustration and fury with the monstrosity she had just witnessed.
"So what do you think?" Tony asked looking like he was about to burst with excitement.
Musa just sat their completely motionless. Her throat felt dry and had no words to say. Ellie gently elbowed Musa to pull her back into reality. Musa pulled herself together for what she was about to say.
"What the hell was that?" Musa shrieked louder than expected.
"That was your music video" Tony replied with a smile. Ellie and Musa were stunned.
Ellie's mouth hung open seeing that the only thing that stayed the same on the video was Musa's dress and the very beginning.
"That was not my music video" Musa said gob smacked. "None of my specifications were in there. Nothing that we have been rehearsing all week was in there!"
"This one suits more to the demographic" Tony explained.
"And my voice! You have added techno and computer generated voices" Musa yelled. "My music is all real. There was nothing real about that."
"Musa, baby, these days in the music industry are about keeping up with trends. This video will follow the modern times of the music industry."
"But that is not what I want for me" Musa clarified.
"Yes, but since you work for me and you have a contract signed this is what is going to happen." Tony threatened. "Now tomorrow night you are going to show up in the sexy dress and sing this song. No matter what, you will be there and these dancers will be dancing" he added before turning off the TV and walking off to his next appointment.
Timmy, Sky and Nabu had been sitting in the lounge ever since Timmy came home. They had not moved for lunch, for their phones, nothing. They were all determined to find Riven before he regretted his decision. Sky was on his phone calling all available contacts that could know where Riven had run off to. Timmy had hacked into the Magix mall's security cameras and Riven's account and had Nabu checking all camera footage and following Riven's possible movements on his credit card. Timmy was on his laptop using his GPS to hack into the GPS device in Riven's phone as he crossed out places on the map. Sky hung up his phone after yet another dead end with a friend of Riven's and sighed with frustration.
"Yet another dead end?" Nabu asked not looking up from his laptop.
"Nothing" Sky answered. "What about your end, Nabu?"
"Riven hasn't used his credit card since before the interview with Elara" Nabu informed.
"There is no footage at all from the mall that suggests that Riven had been there."
"But it's not like he vanished out of nowhere" Timmy said."He has to be somewhere."
A loud beep sounded from Timmy's GPS sitting on the coffee table. Timmy's eyebrow raised and looked at the device.
"Looks like I was right" Timmy smirked.
"What do you mean?" Sky asked.
"I think I just found Riven" Timmy replied.
"Seriously?" Nabu said.
"Or rather his phone" Timmy corrected. "I finally managed to hack into the GPS signal on Riven's phone and found a location."
"So where is he?" Sky asked.
"Magix Air Force Base."
Flora and Helia sat in the lounge room of the Winx's dorm as Stella took her bath. The whole dorm was silent which Flora hoped would cause Stella to relax better. The silence didn't last long though as a knock sounded at the door. Helia got up and walked over to the door and opened it to reveal Brandon standing on the other side.
"Hey Helia" Brandon greeted with a nervous smile.
"Hey man" Helia replied and let Brandon inside.
Brandon walked in and saw Flora sitting on the couch looking suspiciously at Brandon. When Brandon got the call from Helia telling him to meet at the girls' dorm, he was thinking that the dorm would be empty. He didn't expect to find the girl who discovered his whole mess in the first place.
"Flora" Brandon said surprised.
"Hi Brandon" Flora greeted quietly.
Brandon stood awkward under Flora's judging gaze. He felt like she was judging him inside and out, checking him out like he was going out on a first date with Stella and the friends were making sure that he was good enough for her.
"I guess you're wondering why Helia called you here" Flora guessed.
"How did you know about that?"
"Because she asked me to call you" Helia answered.
"What?" Flora smiled slightly seeing Brandon's surprise.
To be honest, Flora was still upset with Brandon's behaviour, especially towards Stella, and she still felt that what he did was wrong, but if she had learned anything from her experience, it was that no matter how bad the circumstances, there is always a chance for redemption and if you still love each other, then maybe things could get better. Look at Helia, she lied to him, said such horrible things to him, and kissed another guy and got attacked for it but he still forgave her. But Flora didn't cheat even though Eric was the one who kissed her first and she pulled away instantly.
"I am still upset with you" Flora began.
"Oh jeez" Brandon whispered under his breath. "Look, I'm not here for another 'You suck' lecture."
"But" Flora interrupted. "We both can see that you and Stella both need each other. You both need love in your lives and you both are refusing to let each other go."
"Stella has made it perfectly clear that she wants nothing to do with me anymore" Brandon rebutted.
"Then why has she been obsessing over you since the moment you left earlier today?" Helia questioned.
"She has?"
"Yes" Flora answered. "So much that she drove Tecna, Layla and Bloom out of the dorm."
"Why are you telling me this?" Brandon asked Flora.
"Because" Flora began standing up and slowly walking over to him. "If there is one thing that I have learned through this whole experience is that things can still be corrected. There is always time for forgiveness."
"Not always, Flora" Brandon rebutted.
"No?" Flora questioned. "I forgave Helia last year when he broke up with me because his uncle made him, leading us to win the school band competition (1)."
"That is true, you did" Helia added. "Which I am so grateful for."
"I called Helia names, called him a liar, broke up with him, got kissed by Eric, and got attacked after he warned me, and yet we're standing here like nothing happened."
Brandon stood there silently as Flora gave Brandon a list of examples that proved him wrong. Flora did have a point. There were a lot of times with everyone, not just her and Helia, where people have done things that they regret and wish to take back and have been forgiven. But the one thing that was always at the back of Brandon's mind was that in all of those examples, not one person cheat on the other. A kiss maybe but not cheating. Could someone really forgive somebody for cheating on them? For breaking their promise to each other and betraying their trust?
"But Flora" Brandon interrupted. "Nobody cheated."
Flora immediately stopped talking and looked at Brandon. She finally took notice in Brandon's appearance since the last time she saw him. His eyes were red rimmed with dark circles underneath showing loss of sleep. His eyes showed remorse and regret. Clearly Brandon and been dealing with inner turmoil with this whole situation and he clearly was punishing himself for it.
"Brandon, you can't keep punishing yourself" Flora soothed.
"How can you say that when you were the one who discovered all of this in the first place and slapped me for it?"
Helia's eyes widened upon hearing this. He was never in the room when the rest of the group was locked in Musa's room during Stella and Brandon's massive break-up blow out. He turned to look at Flora who smiled sheepishly at him.
"Sorry" Flora whispered.
Helia smiled back seeing as how it wasn't important for him to worry about at the moment.
"Brandon, I have the same morals as Flora. You heard from me personally that what I thought and you got an ear full. You also gave me an ear full which now I thank you for. If you hadn't done that then I wouldn't have spoken to Flora and asked for her forgiveness for my behaviour as well. It is my turn to repay that. Yes what you did was terrible, but if you really love Stella and want to make it right, don't you think that you should at least try instead of wasting time and wondering in the future what could have happened if you did try?" Helia reasoned.
Brandon was silent as he contemplated Helia's words. Flora smiled sadly at Brandon.
"Brandon, do you want Stella back?" Flora asked.
"Yes" Brandon replied determined.
"Then we will help you" Helia said with a smile.
"I don't know but it's been said, air force wings are made of lead; sound off 1/ 2, sound off 3/ 4"
Timmy, Nabu and Sky watched the squads of men training as they sat on a camouflaged jeep taking them to their destination. The jeep drove half way through the base until it arrived at a large building complex. The boys jumped off and walking inside the building gasping when they saw large planes and ships docked inside with pilots getting them ready for the next training session.
"Prince Sky" a voice echoed through the complex.
The boys turned and saw a tall brown hair man in a high ranking dark blue officer uniform walk up to them. When he approached them, he saluted them, for which they returned, before relaxing and greeting them.
"I am Corporal Jacob Powell" Jacob greeted shaking Sky's hand. "I have been informed that you men are looking for Riven."
"That is correct, sir" Sky replied."He's been missing for two weeks. Is he here?"
Jacob smiled at the guys' concern for Riven. "He is" Jacob answered.
The guys sighed in relief. They had finally found Riven. Jacob shook Timmy and Nabu's hands before leading them further into the complex. As they walked, Jacob began telling them what happened.
"Riven showed up at my doorstep two weeks ago in the middle of the night" Jacob explained to the guys.
"Yeah, he snuck out after breaking up with his girlfriend, Musa" Nabu added.
"Yes, I have heard a lot about Musa" Jacob sighed.
"I'm guessing all were bad" Timmy thought aloud.
"Let's just say we had to leave Riven to have at it in a boxing ring for hours" Jacob explained.
"Oh, that's not good" Sky said sadly.
"He was a mess" Jacob continued. "I had never seen my friend like that in all of the years I've known him, and I saw him during the Army of Decay disaster."
"You two are friends?" Timmy asked.
"Yes, I was kind of like a mentor to him when he first arrived at Red Fountain when I was a senior" Jacob answered.
"So why did Riven come here?" Nabu asked.
Jacob sighed as he considered his answer carefully. "The pain that Riven showed up with had consumed him leaving him the shadow of who he previously was. All that was left was a living mass of anger and pain."
"Oh god" Sky said shocked.
"Hence the boxing ring" Timmy deduced.
"Yes. He tried to pick fights with everybody, even captains" Jacob replied. "By coming here, Riven thought that it would take his mind off of all of that pain and could put it to good use, by fighting the bad guys, but here, if you are fuelled only by your emotions, especially anger, they will soon control you, sending you to your grave. I let Riven stay here to release all of his anger and pain and now he is half way back to his normal self."
"That's good to hear" Sky said optimistically.
"Yes, but he can't hide out here forever" Jacob continued. "I can't keep helping him. I have my own squad of men to help. I am grateful that you found him."
"We are grateful to you for taking care of him" Nabu replied.
Jacob smiled back in reply just as a large plan ran down the run way from an afternoon flight. The guys covered their ears from the loud noise of the propeller as the wind picked up, blowing their hair all over the place. Jacob stood next to them with his hands behind his back, standing up straight, watching the plane slowly turn off. The hatch of the plane opened and a tall figure stood up.
"Cadet" Jacob called gaining the man's attention.
Jacob motioned for the figure to remove his gear. The figure pulled off his helmet and goggles revealing Riven in the same light blue uniform as all the other men.
"Riven" the guys gasped.
"Oh great" Riven groaned in frustration.
Tecna, Layla and Bloom sighed in relief as they walked around the mall having escaped Stella's obsessive Brandon rant.
"Could you believe how long Stella was ranting earlier" Bloom complained.
"I know. It's like she never broke up with him, she talked about him that much" Layla agreed.
"I'm just glad that I wasn't there to see it" Tecna smirked.
Layla and Bloom stopped walking and glared at Tecna who laughed. The girls continued walking around the mall as they held some of their purchases in their own bags. They felt more carefree that all of the stress from the band was over and that their major assessment pieces for Alfea were done. They had more time to 'smell the roses' as it were. The girls got a hot chocolate from a coffee shop in the food court and walked over to the large fountain in the middle and sat down on the ledge. The girls were silent as they drank their hot drinks watching some of the little kids run around happily with their families enjoying a family day out.
"Do you girls remember that age?" Bloom asked suddenly.
"Yeah, a time where you didn't have a care in the world" Layla agreed dreamily.
"And there was nothing stopping you from doing whatever you wanted" Tecna added.
"And everyone was nice to each other" Bloom finished.
The girls all sighed dreamily at the same time thinking about that times that have passed. They were all happily thinking about their childhood when they were pulled out of their thoughts by a soft voice in front of them.
"Excuse me" a soft voice said.
The girls looked down and saw a little girl, about seven or eight standing by their feet looking up at them with a gorgeous smile. The little girl was wearing a magenta dress with sandals. She had long auburn hair, brown eyes, and wore a butterfly clip in her hair.
"What can we do for you, sweetie?" Bloom asked sweetly leaning down to the girl's level.
"Are you Bloom, Layla and Tecna from 'The Winx'?" the little girl asked shyly.
The girls looked at each other and blushed.
"Why, yes we are" Tecna answered.
The little girl squealed in delight and called for four other girls. The group ran over to the girls and squealed too when the first girl said it was really them.
"D-do you i-if we can have your autographs, p-please" the little girl asked nervously.
The girls were so stunned by what she asked and thought that she may have gotten the wrong people. After a few seconds of realising that she was serious and the girls were the right people, they felt so touched and immediately said yes. The group of girls squealed again and took out small little books and pens.
"Who should we make this out too?" Tecna asked taking the first girl's book and pen.
"M-Mel-Melanie" the little girl replied.
"That is such a lovely name" Tecna replied signing her name before passing it to Layla and taking another girl's book and pen.
After a couple of minutes, all books were signed and the girls each gave the kids a hug before they skipped off happily showing their parents the autographs.
"Aren't they adorable" Layla gushed watching them happily.
"They are" Tecna agreed.
"See, that's what music should be about" Bloom said suddenly gaining the other two's attention. "It shouldn't be about fame, money or popularity. It's about making girls like them happy. About bringing joy to everyone through your own words. About writing something that means something to somebody. It is about cheering someone up with just one of your songs when they have had a bad day. That is what Musa used to be about."
"Yeah, until she sold us and her beliefs out for fame, money and popularity" Layla said spitefully.
"It's such a shame too" Tecna added. "Because Musa thought exactly how Bloom is describing."
"Who do you think I got all of this from?" Bloom asked.
"This was Musa's morals. What happened?"
"She sold herself out and allowed herself to be brainwashed by Tony, that's what" Layla answered.
"I just want to perform one last time, you know? Not for Musa, but for people like those girls who got so much enjoyment from just by us signing our names" Bloom wished dreamily.
"If only we could" Tecna agreed.
"I would love to do one last show. A farewell concert before we all quit."
"But it wasn't like us quitting was something planned" Layla reminded.
"True, but just one last time" Bloom said.
"One last time" Tecna and Layla said together.
Stella had finished her bath and was drying her hair with the towel. She looked at herself in the mirror and saw how well her persona to everyone looked. She looked like she was coping with the whole Brandon thing, but the truth was she wasn't. Her mind knows that what Brandon did was unforgiveable and terrible, but her heart is telling her that she still loves him, even after what she did. On closer inspection, Stella saw that the only thing betraying her was her eyes. Her eyes showed her inner turmoil that she was having between mind and heart. Stella couldn't take the look in the eyes and got dressed and walked out of the bathroom. Flora was right, the bath had really relaxed Stella and she felt completely calm. Stella's relaxation was instantly shattered when she saw her lying cheating on an ex sitting on the couch with Flora and Helia. There goes the calm and serene feeling.
"Brandon" Stella gasped slightly.
Everyone in the room was silent as they waited for Stella's next move. None of them wanted to do something that would set her off. Stella looked at the three people sitting on the couch and was already annoyed. How dare they allow Brandon to be let into the dorm, especially when she was in there. Stella looked on the table next to her and saw something useful. She picked up the outer casing of Bloom's broken phone and smashed it on the ground. Brandon, Flora and Helia jumped at Stella's outburst.
"Stella" Flora called running over to Stella stopping her from doing it again.
"Why is he here, again!" Stella hissed as Flora tried to restrain her.
"Stella, relax" Flora said. "Don't let that hour of bath relaxation be taken from you."
"Then you shouldn't have let Brandon inside the dorm in the first place" Stella rebutted.
"Technically we didn't let him in" Flora said softly.
Stella stood still with Flora still holding her hands as she looked confused at Flora.
"We asked in over" Flora finished.
"You did what!" Stella shrieked and began thrashing.
Stella's thrashing was too much for Flora causing Helia to jump off from the couch and grab Stella's waist from behind and restrain her as Flora restrained her arms from the front.
"Stella, Stella" Flora called trying to gain her attention again. "Stella, look at me. Look at me."
Stella slowly let her gaze fall on Flora.
"Let it go" Flora said calmly.
Stella didn't understand.
"Let it go."
Brandon stood away from Stella and watched as Flora's words started to sink into Stella's brain and she began to understand what she was saying.
"Let it go" Flora repeated.
"Let all the anger go, Stella" Flora instructed.
Stella became really quiet and felt her eyes become hot and watery.
"No" Stella whimpered and Flora and Helia released their grip on Stella.
Helia backed away from Stella and walked over to stand by Brandon. Flora still had a gentle hold on Stella's wrists to get her attention still. Stella had kept all of the anger contained for weeks so that no one would see the pain that she was hiding. So that no one would see how vulnerable she had become. She used the anger as a brick wall so that she wouldn't get hurt, but it seems that Flora was trying to bring it down.
"Stella, look at me" Flora instructed again.
Stella lifted her gaze back to Flora.
"This isn't healthy" Flora said softly. "You can't keep doing this to yourself."
"Yes I can" Stella whimpered. "It protects me"
"It does not protect you, sweetie" Flora assured. "It is making it worse. You have to deal with the pain otherwise you will let it consume you and you will turn out like the AWOL Riven. He's a shadow of a man, don't turn out like him. Please, sweetie."
Stella shook her head as she felt her eyes betray her and let hot tears pour from her eyes. Flora saw Stella's brick wall slowly coming down and she motioned for Brandon to come closer. One last try should do it, Flora thought.
"Let the anger go" Flora repeated.
"I can't" Stella said sadly.
"Yes you can" Brandon replied.
Stella looked up and saw that Brandon was standing directly beside Flora. Stella instantly ripped her hands from Flora's grip and rammed into Brandon's chest, pounding him with her fists. Flora wanted to intervene but Helia stopped her and pulled her to the opposite side of the room as Brandon wrapped his arms around Stella's waist preventing her from moving and showing her that he is not going anywhere. Stella wanted him to let her go, so she could attack him with all winx she had and curse him in every language she knew, but Brandon was being stubborn and he held her tight, allowing her to fight him.
"Let it all go, Stella" Brandon whispered.
Stella slowly stopped struggling and let her choked sobs escape her mouth. Tears poured out of Stella's eyes as she sobbed loudly. Brandon continued to keep a firm hold on Stella. Stella's pain made her go weak in the knees and Brandon knelt on the ground as Stella continued to cry in his arms.
"Does this mean that she forgives him?" Helia asked.
"No" Flora whispered sadly. "This is only the first step. They've still got a long journey ahead of them."
Riven, Timmy, Nabu and Sky all stood silently. Jacob smirked at Riven's reaction and motioned for him to jump off the plane. Riven reluctantly jumped off the plane, handing the gear to a crew member before walking over to Jacob and the guys.
"Fantastic" Riven said sarcastically.
"It's the hug-it-out crew." "Cadet" Jacob said with a bit of authority.
Riven sighed before standing in front of Jacob and saluting him. Jacob returned the gesture before they relaxed.
"Did you bring them here?" Riven asked annoyed.
"No I did not" Jacob answered.
"We found you" Sky informed.
"How?" Riven groaned.
"GPS on your phone" Timmy explained.
Riven rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"I'll leave you men to it" Jacob said before leaving.
Riven looked at the guys standing in front of him before turning on his heel and walking back inside the building complex that contained some of the planes and ships. The guys instantly followed behind Riven.
"Riven" Sky called.
"I don't want to hear it, Princey" Riven replied continuing to walk.
"You can't keep running from us" Nabu said.
"I've been doing it for two weeks so I say I've done a pretty good job at it and will continue to do so" Riven rebutted sarcastically.
"Riven, we have to talk about what happened" Timmy reasoned.
"There is nothing to talk about"
"Well too bad because we're going to talk about Musa anyway" Sky said.
Riven stopped in his tracks and whipped around and stormed up to Sky.
"Don't you dare say her name" Riven threatened.
"Well, that is progress" Sky said unfazed by Riven's threat. "Jacob said that you shoved him against a plane wing last time he said her name in front of you."
"Shut your mouth before I make you"
"Riven, light up" Nabu warned.
Riven huffed before stepping back from Sky.
"I don't want to talk about it, especially not to you" Riven said and he turned back around and started walking.
"But you talked to Jacob about it. Why not us?" Timmy asked generally curious.
Riven didn't respond and continued to walk into a room where he placed his flight suit. The guys pushed the door open too and followed in suit.
"Riven, what she did was absolutely horrible" Nabu began softly.
"I'm not talking about it" Riven said.
"Too bad because we are" Sky replied. "You need to come back to Red Fountain."
"Why should I?"
"Because that is your home" Sky answered.
Riven scoffed at the pathetic and 'weak' response.
"I am happy here. I have everything that I've dreamed of right on this base. Why would I leave?"
"Because you are only here to hide from dealing with what happened to Musa" Nabu reasoned.
"I am NOT hiding!" Riven yelled.
"Clearly you are since you don't want to talk about what happened or the fact that you can't say or hear her name without lashing out at someone" Sky replied.
Riven threw the suit on the ground and punched a nearby locker angrily growling in frustration.
"Okay, you want the truth?" Riven yelled facing the guys. "I miss her, okay? Is that what you want to hear? Fine! I…..miss…..Musa! She broke my heart!"
The guys fell instantly silent. They had never heard Riven be so open and honest about his feelings.
"She shattered it badly that I can't even….." Riven stopped when the words got caught in his throat showing his emotions were bursting. "I can't even think about her or say her name without remembering the pain. Feeling the pain tear me apart slowly, like an agonising death."
"Riven-" Sky said shocked.
"So there! That's the truth. You got what you wanted" Riven yelled, his eyes becoming red rimmed. "Now leave me be to deal with things the only way I know!"
And with that being said, Riven stormed out of the room leaving the guys in silence and awe. Riven slammed the door behind him shut and felt hot tears running down his cheeks. He couldn't take the fact that his body betrayed him and he allowed the guys, especially Sky, to see him at his weakest point. He never felt so weak before. He hated the fact that he allowed his emotions to get the better of him and cause him to be weak. Riven needed something to contain the emotions again, to rebuild his brick wall. The only way he knew how to do that was through flying. Riven marched over to one of the ships, which were better models to the ones at Red Fountain, and sat in the pilot's seat. He knew that this was breaking protocol but he didn't care. He just needed to feel nothing, to feel no pain at all. Riven turned on the ship and started taking off.
"Excuse me, sir" one of the air space commanders said.
The air base commander looked at the man speaking and walked over to the monitor.
"Sir, it appears that we have a non-approved air force ship enter the training space" the air space commander said.
'Ship 323, you are entering an unapproved flight session. You are to disengage immediately' a voice said through the ships intercom.
Riven ignored the commander's orders. He needed to be free. Just like Jacob said, he wanted to feel good about something other than pain.
'Ship 323, do you copy?"
The guys walked out of the complex feeling pity towards Riven. They didn't mean for him to be that open about what he was feeling. They were about to get into the jeep and head back to Red Fountain when they noticed Jacob running towards the communications tower.
"Jacob" Sky called out. "Is everything alright?"
"Riven has taken a ship and is flying in an air training zone" Jacob replied.
"Which means?" Nabu asked.
"Riven is going to crash into one of the currently training planes" Jacob said running off.
The guys immediately started running after Jacob.
"Riven" Jacob's voice said through the ship's intercom. "You will reduce your speed and come in immediately."
Riven laughed at Jacob. He needed to do this. He had to.
"You know what I need, Jacob?" Riven replied rhetorically.
"Some of that light-year ship speed therapy you were talking about."
Jacob, at the communications tower turned to look at Sky and the others a little scared at Riven's response.
"Riven" Jacob warned.
Sky, Nabu and Timmy looked at each other getting worried at the sound of the conversation. Riven flew through the air, passing over trees and swooping around corners like a pro. As he continued to fly, the speed of the ship continued to increase. Jacob had told Riven when he first got to the base that there was nothing more thrilling than pushing the ship up to the base's air space maximum speed of 6 light-year/hour. Jacob had said that the best thing to get your mind off of things, was to hit the skies, and that is exactly what Riven planned to do.
"Nobody can go past 6 in the base's air space right?" Riven asked as he flew seeing the communications tower in the distance. "Let's see about 8" Riven added pushing the ship's speed to 8light-years/hour.
Jacob and the guys stood helplessly from the communications tower watching Riven sore through the air at dangerous speeds.
"Riven!" Jacob yelled into his headset.
"You were right, Jacob. This feels pretty good" Riven said through the headset.
Jacob's heart was thumbing so loud he could hear it in his chest.
"Riven!" Jacob yelled again.
"You are to disengage. Do you hear me? Disengage!"
"Do you hear me? Disengage!"Riven ignored Jacob's orders and continued to fly.
He never felt so free. He could feel how high above the ground he was. He could start to feel something other than pain, he began to feel alive. His freedom was shattered when thoughts of Musa began appearing in his head. From when he first talked to her, to the present.
Season 1: The Voice of Nature
"Look who it is," Stella said with a smile.
The boys turned to see Stella followed by the rest of her friends heading towards them.
"You guys okay?" Flora asked concerned.
"We saw your plane crash," Tecna informed them.
"It wasn't a crash. It was more like an emergency landing," Riven corrected.
"What happened?" Stella asked, observing the wrecked ship. "Pilot Ed get a little out of control?"
"Actually, we were transporting a . . ." Brandon rambled trying to cover his embarrassment.
"Transporting a very…..um….important package to...uh…." Sky stuttered but was interrupted.
"The troll got away!"
"Prince Sky!" Sky scolded Brandon's past self.
"You guys let a troll escape!" Stella shrieked.
"We didn't let anything escape," Riven corrected. "We had an accident. The ship malfunctioned."
"Mechanical failure," Timmy agreed.
"But, we got him in addle shacklers so it's fine," Riven continued.
As Riven tried controlling the winx's freak out, Brandon was looking through the mud and saw the troll's shackles.
"Exactly," Sky agreed with Riven. "They slow you down like a tranquilizer. He won't get very far."
"Actually guys, it looks like the shacklers came off," Brandon interrupted picking up the shackles. "Look!"
"They came loose?" all the girls shrieked in unison.
"What are you girls doing here anyway?" Sky asked side-stepping the situation.
"A field exercise for nature class," Bloom answered.
"So then get back to your little exercise girls and leave this problem to the specialists," Riven ordered.
"The specialists are coming? When?" Stella asked sarcastically.
"Oh snap!" Musa grinned, making Stella giggle.
Season 1: The Great Witch Invasion
"You can stop pouting now, Riven. She's on her way down" Stella called down to Riven over the balcony.
"Um…who?" Riven questioned playing dumb.
"Oh, hey, Riven" Musa greeted with a smile.
"Oh…..uh….listen, they don't really teach this in Heroics school but, I gotta say I really like you so bye" Riven stuttered in a hurry before walking off.
Season 2: Trouble in Paradise
"Come on," Riven said, beginning to get up. "Let's go."
"No Riven, wait. You should stay here," Musa suggested.
"So I can figure out where the traps are."
"Exactly. Oh and also I like you. A lot."
"Don't panic. You don't have to tell me how much you like me. You can do it later," Musa added with a wink. "Good luck."
"Riven" Musa said happily and she could feel their bodies touching as Riven started to softly kiss her neck.
"Hey" Riven replied as he continued to kiss her neck.
"Riven, this is a workplace, you can't do that here" Musa said giggling.
"This is your office" Riven informed.
"With people walking in and out of here at any time" she reminded him.
Riven sighed as he stopped kissing Musa's neck and just rested his chin on her shoulder.
"Let me guess, you didn't know about my appointment even though I sent you a rose" Riven joked.
"Maybe..." Musa answered playfully.
"Oh, I'm hurt" Riven said with a laugh.
Musa turned herself around in Riven's arms and their eyes met.
"I'm sorry...what can I do to make it up to you?" Musa asked as their faces got close.
"I can think of something" Riven replied as he looked into her eyes.
Musa smiled and gave Riven a kiss. It was soft at first, giving Riven time to stop smiling, but then started to get a little passionate as Riven moved his arms from her waist to one on the back of her neck and the other in her hair and her hands wrapped around his neck.
"Why the hell didn't you tell me that you were coming to the party? Or that you even knew about it?" Musa demanded.
"Oh God, Musa, is that what you're so mad about?" Riven complained. "This is nuts, it's just one party. It's not like I was flirting or was going to flirt with anyone."
"I didn't even mean it that way Riven. How could you even think that that was what was going through my head?"
"Look I'm sorry but that's what most of our arguments are all about"
"Oh, I can't believe that's what you think of me? You kept something from me, Riven. You lied to my face! That's our biggest problem sometimes. A relationship is based on love and honesty. If you don't tell me things, how can I trust you? If you keep lying to me, how can I trust you? The love is there but how can you think that I don't trust you when it comes to you flirting with other women? I know that you wouldn't do that. Why can't you open up to me and be honest with me?"
"Look, I'm a secretive guy. I had a tough life growing up. I have grown up not trusting anyone but myself! When someone is nice, there is always a secret agenda. When you see other people, you keep an eye on them. When you are alone with someone you don't trust, you expect others not to trust them. When something good happens in my life, I don't trust it because I know that somehow, some way it ends! My family ended, my childhood ended, my education almost ended and I get worried that somewhere down the track that this relationship will end because I am not good enough for you and lie to you because that is how I was raised!"
"I have been building up walls for so long that it is hard for me to bring them down, especially to you, because I worry that some hot shot guy is going to come take you away from me. I am sorry that I lied to you, alright, it wasn't my choice but Sky asked me to. I wouldn't have done it if I had known that it wasn't in the duty for a friend."
"Riven" she said placing a hand on his cheek. "If you think that you are not good enough for me, then you are dumber than I thought."
"But what about your royal status and-"
"I don't care about that. If it doesn't bother me, it shouldn't bother you. I know that you have walls up and scared of commitment, but, I need you to be honest with me, okay? I know you have had a hard life and you don't trust very easily, but I need you to trust me."
"I do trust you."
"Then be upfront and honest with me. If you told me about Sky's party and you were going but didn't want Bloom to find out, then I would've understood and kept it a secret. If you trust me, then we won't have any problems. I'm not asking you to bulldoze your brick wall to protect yourself and I'm going to need you to listen to me carefully now" Musa said turning Riven's head to look directly into her eyes. "I am not going anywhere. You won't be losing me. Have all of the brick walls you want, have all the childhood secrets you want, but all I'm asking is for you to trust me. One crack in the brick work is all I'm asking. I am not Stella, I don't go bragging and spreading rumours left, right and centre. If you're sworn to secrecy, than so am I."
Riven looked into Musa's eyes and smiled. Every time he looked into her eyes, he always felt a wave of peace and bliss.
"Prepared? Ever heard of the term, 'winging it'?"
"Isn't that what you do when you get in trouble for destroying a Red Fountain air craft?" Musa asked sarcastically but coming across spitefully.
"You have some attitude, Musa" Riven said.
"You are one to talk"
"At least I'm upfront about it. Instead of writing notes about the show, maybe you should, I don't know, apologise to Flora about the whole recording studio incident."
"What?" Musa said stopping her pacing.
"It has been two weeks since then and you haven't even apologised for the way you acted."
"I've been too busy-"
"Too busy to apologise to one of your best friends" Riven interrupted.
"Yes"
Riven gave her an almost disgusted look.
"Oh, come on, Riven. She knows that I am sorry for what I said."
"Are you though?"
"No" Musa instantly replied.
"I meant every word that I said to her. It's not my fault that she took too much to heart and ran into the arms of a psycho ex-boyfriend."
"Who are you?" Riven asked in disbelief before storming away from her.
"Well" Musa huffed. "That was a little harsh."
"Don't you think that you deserved it?" Riven said annoyed.
"Excuse me?" Musa said angrily. "What gives you the right to say that to me?"
"The fact that I am your boyfriend and I hate how you are treating all of your friends. What has happened to you, Musa?"
"Nothing has happened to me, Riven. I just did the things I needed to do to get us to the top."
"No, more like getting you to the top. How is betraying your friends and feeding them to the wolves helping?"
Musa started to get a little emotional.
"You know what Riven; I don't need this right now. I'm going to go back to the apartment. Tony and I are organising with Elara an exclusive interview about my career."
"No Musa, you need to stay so we can talk about this" Riven said angrily.
"No, I need to go and organise my career. There is nothing else to talk about with you, Riven. This is my life, so butt out of it!" Musa yelled and started storming out.
"Musa" Riven called out and he grabbed her wrist forcing her to face him. "You can't just yell at me and storm out."
"Yes I can when you say that everything is my fault"
"Everything is your own fault, Musa. How could you sit out there in front of a live audience and say that Flora's attack was her own doing? How could you sit there and act like nothing happened?"
"Because nothing happened except telling the truth"
"Stop being so blind!"
"Stop being such an ass"
"Don't call me an ass, Musa. I'm not the one betraying me friends."
"Why are you yelling at me?"
"Because you are not you anymore! I don't even know who you are."
"I'm being myself, Riven. All I have done is stay true to who I am."
"But you're not! You're not being true to yourself. Your old self wouldn't sit out there throwing out insults to her friends and spilling out their secrets when you yourself have your own."
"Riven, instead of standing there pointing out all of my flaws, maybe you should look in the mirror instead!"
"I acknowledge my flaws Musa. At least I'm upfront about it."
"Hey, I am being upfront"
"You're being upfront about your friends' personal lives. That is all you are upfront about!"
"How about you spend less time yelling at me and butting into my life, and start worrying about your own. I thought you would be happy for me. This is my big opportunity. You never listen to what I want. You are so attention deficit. I have my own solo career now. I am so sick of you making me feel bad for my accomplishments. Why aren't you supporting me?"
"Because I don't support someone who throws her friends under the bus just so that she can get ahead in the business"
"I haven't done anything like that! Get your head out of the gutter, Riven. This is my moment to shine like I've always dreamed. They chose to leave. I have always put my friends first, you first, and even this city and the magical dimension first! It's my time to do something for me. I've always been good Riven, that hasn't changed. What the hell? It's time that I get something back."
"And you think that all of this is what you really want?"
"Yes it is"
"A life with no friends, and only fake realities" Riven added.
"I do have friends, Riven and I have you. There is nothing fake about it."
"If you keep acting like this you will have none of that"
"This is not the place to be discussing this right now, Riven" Musa gritted through her teeth. "I do not want to talk anymore" she added before she stormed out of the studio.
"Musa" another voice interrupted her thoughts.
"I see that Tony gave you the VIP pass" Musa said annoyed.
"Obviously" Riven said with his hands in his pocket.
"If you've come here to apologise to me, you're doing a lousy job" Musa replied after a few minutes of silence.
"Apologise?" Riven raised his eyebrow. "What do I have to apologise for? You're the one who should be apologising. Not to me, but to your friends."
"Not this again" Musa groaned.
"Yes this again" Riven said angrily walking closer to Musa.
Musa turned back around to face him.
"What do you want from me?"
"I want you back"
"I haven't gone anywhere!" Musa yelled.
"Yes you have! You've changed Musa, and not for the better. You used to love performing for the sake of performing and hearing the music that empowers you. Now, you are selling out your friends, your beliefs and for what? To be alone in your profession that took betrayal and lies to get you here"
"Why can't you just accept the fact that this is what I want now?"
"Because I hate who you're becoming!"
"Then maybe if I weren't around you would hate it less!"
"What are you saying?" Riven yelled annoyed.
"I'm done!" Musa yelled back. "I'm done. We're done. Done."
Riven was taken aback by Musa's comment.
"What?"
"You heard me. If you can't accept who I am then maybe you shouldn't have me anymore. I am so sick of you bringing me down when I have something that I've always dreamed about. You are holding me back, Riven. And I am so sick of it. God, every time something good happens in my life you try to bring it down."
"That is not true" Riven yelled angrily.
"Yes it is" Musa screeched. "It is always the same. Sometimes I just want to scream in frustration with you. And it only took my solo career to realise how patronising, and judgemental and unsupportive you are."
"That is Tony speaking for you, Musa"
"No it's not. Ever since our first recording, you done nothing but yell and scream at me."
"You are acting like-"
"Like what, Riven?"
"Like Icy" Riven yelled. "You've sold everyone you love out all for the sake of yourself and what you think you want. Icy does the exact same thing and that is what causes her to loose. Pretty soon Musa, you will drive everyone in your life out and you will be all alone."
"Shut up, Riven!" Musa suddenly screamed at him. "Nothing you say is going to change my mind. You are holding me back! We are through!"
Riven was so caught up on the memoires flashing in his mind that he didn't notice an oncoming ship heading straight towards him. The ship made a sharp turn but Riven's ship crashed into the other's ship's wing. The ship jerked and began spinning uncontrollably. Riven cried out as some of the machinery sparked and exploded on collision. The engine malfunction and an error appeared on the screen. The ship began descending hard and fast towards the ground.
"Riven!" Sky yelled from the communications tower seeing Riven's ship collide with the other.
"Riven, disengage!" Jacob yelled into the headset.
The ship kept falling from the sky until it skidded along the ground, scraping up dirt and debris until making a stop by crashing into a large tree.
"Riven!" everyone yelled and they all ran out of the communications tower towards the crashed ship. Fire and smoke had already started consuming the ship. Sky and Jacob were the first to arrive.
"Riven!" Timmy and Nabu yelled running up closer behind them.
Jacob and Sky kicked open the side door of the ship. The fire burst at them when the door fell down. Jacob crawled into the ship and slowly pulled the unconscious Riven out of the ship. Sky met Jacob half way and the two pulled Riven out of the wreckage and pulled him a good distance away from the flames. Riven has blood coming out of his nose and he remained unresponsive.
"Riven!" Jacob yelled trying to wake Riven up.
"Riven….Riven!" It was no use. Riven was still and did not move. Panic coursed through Sky like poison fearing the worse.
"Hold on!" Sky yelled holding his friend. "Hold on, Riven. Come man, hold on. Just hold on!"
(1) Reference to Behind The Melody
I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. Please send a lot of reviews! Thanks again!
~AngelAlexandra~