Greeting people! Now, for those of you who've been on my profile lately, you'll see that I am currently abroad, which is why it took so long to get this up (since I promised it at the beginning of the week - bad me!). So, sit back, and enjoy! But, before I forget - because I did last chapter;

Disclaimer (*sigh*, aren't these fun?): I own no rights to the Winx Club's original characters. Everything goes to Rainbow and to Nickelodeon, who have distribution rights here in the US. I do however, own the second generation Winx characters that pop up later in the story, along with Jason. Ali pretty much belongs to miss Authoress-In-Training (she'll get why soon).

"Tori! You have exactly five seconds to give me my guitar back before I throw you in the ocean!"

"Forget the guitar Valen, where did you put my blue hair extensions!"

From the dining room upstairs, Bloom couldn't help but smile a little. Setting down her paintbrush on the paint-covered dining table, she walked over to the landing, hearing her children arguing downstairs.

"What would I want your stupid streaks for?" she heard her son Valentine question, sounding annoyed. She could picture his thin eyebrows twitching ever so slightly, like they always did when he was arguing with his twin sister.

"Well why would I want your guitar?"

The former princess rolled her eyes, still smiling. "Victoria," she finally called down, "give Valen his guitar back."

From below, she heard Valen laugh, and a moment later, Tori appeared at the bottom of the stairs. "Mom!" she yelled, looking annoyed, "I don't have it."

Bloom looked down at her daughter, feeling a twinge of immense love and a great deal of pain she'd never thought possible. True enough, it'd been nothing short of a miracle when her doctor had told her she was carrying twins instead of her one son. She'd almost ripped the man's head off, considering he'd mentioned this while she was in between contractions instead of a more appropriate time – such as any time during her pregnancy.

That being said, it didn't mean she had anything against her daughter. Like her twin brother, she'd come out with a full head of hair. But unlike him, she'd cried for only a few minutes until she managed to get her eyes open and look at the new world around her. The moment Sky looked her in the eyes, he'd turned and left the room.

Now, almost fifteen years later, her features were more prominent and more beautiful. Her hair was a rich red blond color, usually frazzled from the humidity. Her eyes were a bright gold, with a single fleck of blue in her left eye that Bloom could see from upstairs. And much like when Bloom was her age, she had a good pair of legs and was just starting to get a chest. Other than that though, her daughter had no resemblance to Bloom, but rather to another man from a forgotten past.

"Mom?" Tori asked again, looking a bit concerned.

Bloom shook her head, driving her thoughts away. "Didn't you hide the guitar last night because of some science project?"

Tori looked at her for a second before her eyes widened in realization. "Oh yeah." With that, she turned and disappeared from view.

Bloom started down at the empty space for a moment more, then turned and went back to her painting. As she neared the table, she saw a few absent sketches on the piece of paper next to her canvas. When she saw the partial sketch of a particular man, she grabbed one of her small paintbrushes and swiped it across the page, disfiguring the drawing with a light blue color. She sat down with a sigh.

Baltor was their father. It was something Bloom had come to acknowledge; since the first time she'd ever seen Victoria. Valen was less obvious; his hair had been a blend of Baltor and herself, coming out a light red color, and his eyes were blue like her. But his attitude more than made up for the lack of looks; he was stubborn, defiant, and protective, much like Baltor had been with her.

She picked up the page with the disfigured sketch. It was fuzzy remembering where that whole thing started. She had tried to convince herself it just happened, but it sounded too fairy-tale. There had been a connection, since the first time she'd laid eyes on him. She had done everything in her power to hide it from the girls and the Specialists; there were times where she'd look in a mirror and practice saying his name so that none of her real feelings showed. It obviously didn't work, because eventually Baltor discovered her feelings for him. But instead of using those feelings against her (well, he had once or twice), he led her into the most interesting – and dare she say, pleasurable – relationships of her life.

Not to say it was all smooth sailing. There was the fear of being caught, her friends feelings, Sky, that kept the relationship from progressing. And finally, as the final battle between Baltor and the Winx Club came to be, she realized it couldn't go further, despite what she wanted. She spared his life in their final face off in the heart of his essence, but insisted there couldn't be any kind of a relationship with him.

He hadn't taken it well. And before Bloom had even gotten a chance to speak, she had been up against a wall (at least, she thought it was a wall), Baltor's lips forcefully on her own. She remembered feeling his gloves dissipate, remembered his skin on her own, remembered him somehow peeling off her Enchantix dress…

He'd taken her, then and there, and that was what Bloom had had trouble understanding. It technically hadn't been a real physical experience, but the timing of it matched up perfectly with Tori and Valen being born. But by the time she realized it, Baltor had disappeared, Bloom the only one knowing he was alive but not knowing where.

So she had done what anyone in her situation would do. She ran.

Back to Earth, where it was harder to track people down. With Andy and Roxy's help, she'd changed her last name and moved to southern California, only about an hour from Anaheim on the Balboa peninsula. She figured the best place to hide was closest to home. She'd gone to college, her friends helping with Tori and Valen as she got a degree in art and design. She'd established herself as a local artist, which usually led to her dining table being covered in her supplies, as it was now.

Bloom glanced back to the paint covered paper, the top left of her sketch still visible. She'd never found Baltor again, told him what they managed to do. It seemed like their connection was severed.

She sighed and went back to her painting.

"I knew you had it," Valen said matter-of-factly as Tori entered his room, the old Gibson in her hand. Bloom had given them free run of the space, and as a result his room was painted a dark green color, the walls mostly covered by band posters and pictures of family and friends. His desk was covered with paint splatters, and his floor was unusually clean.

"Oh shut up," his twin sister muttered, leaning the guitar on his paint-covered desk and flopping onto his bed. The duvet smelled like Axe and seawater. "She's doing it again."

Valen glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. He'd recently dyed his hair, so it was still a little startling when his brown-red bangs fell into his eyes. "She can't help it, Tori."

"Every year, it's the exact same thing. Every May, just before our birthday, she gets so quiet. She'll stare off into space in the middle of the most random conversations, and…she can't look me in the eyes."

"Tori –"

"I can't help it! If she misses our father so much, why doesn't she go find him?"

Valen closed the drawer to his desk sharply, a few guitar picks in his hand. "It's a big world. He might not even be alive. Or maybe not in States. And –"

"I know, I know," she waved off, straightening her back and talking in Valen's voice; "'if he's not here, he probably didn't want us'."

He shuddered. "Quit imitating my voice like that. You know it creeps it me out." Tori shrugged, though she looked pleased. "Remind me again where you learned to do that?" he asked.

"Not from Mom."

"Enough," Valen said, grabbing the back of Tori's blue tank and pulling her into a sitting position on the bed. "Are you ready? Ali's going to be here any minute, and she'll flip out if we're late for the gig."

"Ever the perfectionist."

"Hey, she's your best friend, and she rocks on drums."

"And you're madly in love with her," Tori added, jumping to her feet, the soles of her sandals slamming on the floor. "Do you find it odd we haven't settled on a band name yet?"

"Well since your best idea was 'Sexy Vampire Mojo'…"

She hit him in the shoulder. A second later, Tori's phone went off in her pocket. She took it out and scanned the screen. "Ali's outside." She announced before darting to her room to grab her backpack.

Valen rolled his eyes, walking out of his room and down the hall to the front door. "Mom!" he called upstairs, "Ali's here to take us to the gig! We'll be back by nine!"

"No later!" he heard his mother call back. Tori was right; she had that little twinge in her voice again, like when she was deep in thought about something sad. "And no drinking!"

"It's the Fruity Music Bar! What the hell could we find?"

He got the reward of hearing her laugh. "Be careful! Love you both."

Tori emerged from the hall then, her backpack slung over her shoulder. "Bye Mom!" she yelled, throwing the front door open and walking outside. There was a white truck idling on the street in front of the house – halfway on the curb, but of course that wasn't important.

"Love you too!" Valen called, walking out after Tori, shutting the door behind them.

Despite never actually settling on a band name, Valen always considered their line-up and actual talent to be on a pretty high level. They were in the middle of transitioning from a cover band to writing their own lyrics, and in the eyes of the almost-fifteen year old boy, it was the best thing they could've asked for.

And now, standing up on stage, he only felt his feelings confirmed. They were a legend of a local band, and, thanks to Andy, The Fruity Music bar was pretty much their official stage. A group of about a hundred and fifty kids crowded around the stage now, jumping up and down with the beat Alison Bally was executing on her drums. As he finished the last notes of his guitar solo, he grabbed the microphone, his adrenaline high. "Does it taste like me?"

"Is the grass as green as you used to think?" The crowd echoed back.

He couldn't help but grin. In an odd way, he felt like he had power over the crowd, and something in the back of his head told him that was a good thing. "I'm on...so on to you. You only take what you want and leave; you always take what you want from me…"

He stepped back, letting Jason Albright take the last chorus as they'd rehearsed. Something in the back of his head urged him to keep singing, but he pushed it back. He glanced over at Tori, who as usual had most of the boy's attention. She caught his gaze and dropped a glittering green eyelid in a wink.

As soon as the last note ended, the crowd erupted into applause. Jason took the microphone. "Thank you guys so much! We're going to be hanging out here for a while and I hope you are too! Maybe I'll give a lucky fan my hoodie!"

The crowd erupted in applause. Valen laughed and spoke into his own microphone. "That's my hoodie, dumbass. You borrowed it last week."

He grinned. "Maybe I'll give you Valen's hoodie! And remember; band names! Think good things here people! Goodnight!" With that, the four of them headed backstage, a good amount of cheers erupting.

"That," Tori said once they were behind the stage, "was epic."

"Ditto that," Ali said, leaning halfway out to the stage. She closed one eye and expertly launched one of her drumsticks into the crowd. "I'm still a little concerned that the covers sound better than the originals. We should work on them more at the next practice."

"Hmm," Valen agreed, putting his guitar in its designated spot. He looked over at Jason, who was grinning devilishly. "And what's your problem, Cheshire Cat? You look like you just won Megabucks."

The grin widened. "Yeah, about that…"

"What?" he asked.

"Okay…so I told you about my uncle, right?"

Ali gave him a questioning look. "Yeah…he works for Disney, right?"

"Yeah. More specifically, the parks up in Anaheim. You know that huge late-night dance party they have in California Adventure now?"

Tori thought for a moment. "Something to do with Tron, right?"

"Electronica."

"Right. So?"

"Well, I talked to him, and…he's willing to let us play next Friday, during the first weekend of summer. And your birthday."

Had Tori been holding her guitar, she was fairly certain she would've dropped it. "Shut up."

"Not even. We're playing in California Adventure!"

"Jason!" Ali screeched, throwing her arms around his neck. "You brilliant little bastard you!"

"You're going to Disneyland?" a voice spoke up excitedly from behind the four celebrating teens.

Valen grinned. Glancing behind him, he saw Roxy and Andy's son Christopher in the doorway that led to the terrace of the Fruity Music Bar. He reached down and picked up the seven-year-old boy so he rested on his shoulders. "I guess we are, bud."

"Can I come?" he questioned, looking at them with pleading eyes.

"Sorry man," Tori said, walking over and ruffling his hair. "We won't be there until after school, and more than likely we're staying until after midnight. I don't think Roxy and Andy would be very happy if we kept you out that long."

He pouted, his black hair falling in front of his eyes. "But I want to! I'm finally tall enough for the Maliboomer and California Screamin!"

"They close the pier during World of Color," Jason pointed out. "And they took the Maliboomer out."

Ali, who had been tossing the other drumstick out to the lingering crowd, jerked. The drumstick flew off to the right, landing on a customer's table. "What!" she screeched. "Since when?"

Tori gave a toothy grin and patted her shoulder. "It's going to be okay." Ali glared at the other girl, and the boys burst out laughing.

"Aside from crushing Miss Bally's dreams," Valen said, lifting Chris off his shoulders (it was getting harder as he grew older) and putting him back on the ground. "It's going to be a long night. But hey, I promise we'll take you before summer's over. We got a deal, bud?"

Chris nodded. "'Kay. Mom and Dad were looking for you."

"Pay day!" Jason grinned. "Who's going to be crowd distraction?"

"You and Ali go," Tori said after a moment. "Valen and I wanted to talk to them, anyway."

"Fair enough." Ali agreed. "Plus, I should probably go apologize to that table."

"And find therapy." The brunette glared at him as Jason grabbed her by the shoulder, leading them out to the crowd. "Come on, Ali Cat."

Tori thought for a moment. "What about 'Cat-like Obscenity'?"

"No!" Ali, Jason, and her brother replied at the same moment.

She huffed. "It was only an idea."

"A bad idea," Valen said, "don't you agree Chris?"

"Don't bring my surrogate child into this," Tori said, pulling the younger boy against her. He came up to her waist.

"Don't say that to Mom," her twin muttered as they walked offstage. The crowd was mostly around Jason and Ali (his jacket was still on, thank goodness), but a few people stopped them to congratulate them on their performance. They politely smiled and took a few pictures, and within a few minutes they were over at the counter where Roxy was washing out a few glasses. She grinned as they approached. "I owe you guys again. If it weren't for you, this place would never be so packed."

"Anything for our godparents," Valen grinned, leaning over and kissing her on the cheek. "How are you?"

"Good. Tired with this little hooligan running out," Chris smiled, which looked a little funny since his left front tooth had just fallen out. "How about you two?"

Tori sighed, hopping onto the counter. "It's May."

Roxy raised an eyebrow at them before her face set in realization. "Your mother?"

"You guessed it."

She sighed, reaching under the counter for a few sodas. She handed one to the twins and her son. "I'm sorry guys. You know you're always welcome at our place."

"And Ali's and Jason's." Valen said, cracking the bottle open. "Just like every year. Thanks Roxy."

"Did you know our father?" Tori spoke up suddenly, her eyes a little wide. Valen hit her shoulder, but she didn't acknowledge it.

Roxy didn't pause as she reached for another glass to clean off, but Valen noticed her smile fade a little. "I didn't know him personally," she said, her voice as calm as it'd ever been. "I only heard about him from your mother. They met when she was in boarding school."

"Did he know about us?"

"Why all the sudden questions about your Dad?" Roxy asked. She didn't make eye contact, which Valen knew meant she was uncomfortable.

Tori seemed oblivious as she pressed on. "I'm almost fifteen. Don't I have the right to be curious?"

"Of course. But why not ask your mother?"

"Because she never talks." She smirked. "You know that."

Roxy sighed. "As far as I knew, no. Your father doesn't know about you. Nor do I know where he is now."

The look on her face faded ever so slowly. "Oh."

Roxy gave a sad smile. "I don't have all the details, kiddo. I never knew your Dad. I only have an idea of what he might have been like through you." She nodded, and Roxy reached out and gave her a stack of envelopes. "The top four are for you guys for playing this month. And a little extra so you can get some stuff at Disney if you want. Jason told me," she said when she saw their confused look. "The rest is some fan mail, though there's one in there just for you two, which I thought was kind of weird."

Tori and Valen glanced at their godmother, and then started shifting though the envelopes until they came to the one with their names printed on the front. There wasn't anything else, not even a stamp. With a raised eyebrow, Valen took the envelope and tore it open from the side. A small piece of paper fell out onto the counter. Tori immediately snatched it and unfolded it. "It's an address." She said after a moment. "6200 Franklin Avenue. There isn't even a city name or a zip code."

Valen drummed his fingers against the counter. "Roxy, do you know any address like that?"

"Never heard of it," she said. Her expression was far less suspicious – she must've still been thinking about Tori's questions regarding their father. "It must be a prank or something."

"Why?"

"No idea. Maybe you're just over thinking this." She saw a man signal from down the bar. "I need to go guys. Good work tonight." With that, she headed down to him.

The phone vibrating in the locked drawer of the counter distracted Bloom from getting the swell of the wave to look just right in her picture. Thankfully she pulled her brush away before any damage could be done. She glared in the direction of the noise, her eyes narrowed. She would never get this picture done by the delivery date to the new gallery.

The phone kept going, and finally she put the brush down and walked to the kitchen, grabbing the key to drawer from a decorative display on the far side of the counter. Her children had never asked why there was one particular drawer in the house that was locked – they assumed it was full of alcohol so they couldn't get into it. Nor had they found out the key was hidden in plain sight.

She popped the rusted hunk of metal into the lock and twisted, the drawer springing open a second later. Inside was her graduation certificate from Alfea, pictures of her and Winx girls at school dances, and the divorce papers from Sky. On top of it all sat her old cell phone that Tecna got her as part of their graduation gift exchange. It had been the latest technology (though it was probably ancient in Magix by now); a battery that could never die, loaded with apps, and programmed with all her contacts.

And just like it did every year in May, it was ringing.

It was usually one of the Winx girls or the Specialists. Sky had been calling more in the recent years, but Bloom had hung up before she could hear what he had to say. She wished the caller ID still worked; it had been disabled when her friend Ryo had messed the phone, removing the small chip that could trace the calls.

Every year it was the same game, trying to convince her to come back to the magical dimension (she'd slipped a few years back and told them she was on Earth). It was the same argument; it's been so long, we haven't seen the kids, what about Sparx… She'd learned to fight it, though it was never easy. The calls lasted for a few weeks, and then abruptly stopped. There were a few here and there for emergencies; Brandon had called to tell her Stella's father died, Flora had told her about Rose going missing, and her birth father telling her that she could either come back and rule her home planet, or abdicate the throne. But other than that the piece of technology remained locked in the drawer.

With a small sigh, she accepted the call. "Hello?"

There was a moment's pause. "Bloom! How are you?"

She sighed, but allowed herself to smile a little. "Hey Musa. You usually aren't signed up for first call of the year."

Her friend laughed. "Stella has the flu. It was me or Riven."

"Well thank you for doing it," she laughed a little, too. It was nice at first to hear the voices of her old friends.

"So what's up? Am I interrupting something?"

"Jut painting," she said, glancing at the half finished canvas on the dining room table. "What about you? How's music?"

"Not bad, not bad."

"Your son okay?"

"Drives me insane at times, but yes. How about Tori and Valen?"

Musa and Riven were the only people who knew their names. Bloom didn't know why, but Musa seemed to have a kind of respect for her leaving, and knew it'd been important. It was one of the reasons she was happy to hear from her. "Good. They're at a concert now."

"Good show?"

"Playing actually. They're in a band."

"…I love your children."

Bloom laughed, leaning against the sliding glass door that led to her patio. "You really should visit."

"You know what Stella would say."

She sighed. "Yeah. So how are all you guys?"

The line went quiet. "Fine."

Bloom's eyebrow shot up. Musa never sugar-coated things or made them seem worse than they actually were. "Is everything ok?" No response. "Musa?"

She heard her friend sigh. "There might be…something."

"Something like what?"

The line crackled. "A few days ago, there was an attack on the schools. Alfea, Red Fountain, and Cloud Tower all sustained massive damage."

She fisted her hand in her paint smock. "The Trix?"

"No; they're still in Light Rock. Apparently they're basically mind wiped, but they're not to blame."

"Then…who was?"

"We don't know. People are calling it a new threat. They thing Magix might be next, and then…"

She was nodding, even though Musa couldn't see her. "And then the planets."

"Sparx has heightened security. The new king and queen are worried. They wanted to contact you, but of course they didn't know how."

Bloom sighed, leaning her head back against the cool glass. "Has anywhere else been harmed?"

"Not as far as we know. But there's rumor the Magix Council is going to ask the Winx Club and the Specialists to investigate. You don't have to say yes." She added when Bloom didn't respond.

"What am I going to tell them?" the redhead questioned, hearing the line crackle again.

It took a second for Musa's voice to come through. "The council or your kids?"

"Both I guess. I can't say no to the council, but what the hell can I say to my kids? 'I have to go to a dimension you don't know and possibly save the day? And that's because I'm a fairy, and you both could possibly have magical powers.'"

The line got scratchy again. Bloom raised her eyebrows. "Musa? Are you still there?" The noises got worse. "Musa!"

"I…kid…Brothers…"

"What? Musa!"

As abruptly as it began, the static disappeared, leaving the line quiet. "Musa?" Bloom questioned. She was gripping the fabric so tightly the tips of her fingers were turning white. Something didn't feel right.

The sound of someone breathing was audible on the line. A moment later, a voice came over the line, sounding very childlike, very afraid, and very, very familiar. "Help me."

Bloom's eyes widened. "Hello? Who is this?"

"Please help me, miss." The child's voice spoke again.

"Who is this? Where's Musa?"

"I'm scared."

"Who are you?"

There was a pause. And then; "They're coming for you."

Bloom's blood froze. "What?"

"They'll find you. You can't hide; they still find you."

And she thought her grip on her smock couldn't get tighter. "Are you the people? The people who attacked the schools?"

"The Brotherhood of Redemption will find you." The child's voice spoke again, as though they were discussing the weather. "They'll find you and whoever else possess the power."

"What power? What's the Brotherhood of Redemption?"

There was another pause "I'm scared. Please help me."

The line went dead.

Thoughts? The next chapter will be posted after I'm back home; maybe next weekend, depending on the kind of feedback I get. Side note to that; I am not holding the story hostage. I'm just saying, if there's a lot of feedback, I'll be more...what's the word? Motivated? Yeah, that's good; I'll be more motivated to not worry about my jet lag and post this. Cheerio, mates!

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