"Is this necessary?" Alison asked as Alec handcuffed her to the pier.

"If you're from the Brotherhood, it's completely necessary." March said.

"I don't know guys," Alec smirked as he heard the final click. He leaned over her, fingering a strand of her hair. "She's kind of cute."

Ali responded to the comment by narrowing her eyes and kneeing him in the groin. He yelped and stumbled back.

"She bites," Tori said in a purposely dull voice.

"Yeah, thanks for the warning."

"Thanks for telling him to unlock me," Ali added, her blue eyes narrowed.

Tori straightened up. "Unless I get some explanation for your attitude, I owe you precisely nothing. You can stay chained up here until the Pacific freezes over, for all I care."

She yanked on the handcuffs, but they didn't budge. Ali sighed and blew a strand of hair out of her face. "I can explain."

"Good. Let's start with you being in alliance with the Brotherhood of Redemption. When did this happen?"

"Lia…approached me when I was thirteen."

March's eyes widened. "But that's…"

"Not within the last three days? No duh."

"The Brotherhood was keeping tabs on us this whole time?"

"Well they had to figure out it was you first."

Alec raised an eyebrow. "Why did you say yes?"

"I thought she was delusional. You know the creepy homeless guys on the street you just nod at when they talk to you and you think they'll leave you alone? That's what I assumed would happen. My mistake."

"Yeah, because you sound sorry."

"Watch it, blondie."

"Girls, girls, you're both pretty," March said sarcastically. "Can we be friends now?"

Alec rolled his eyes and Ali smirked. "Now…what is it the Brotherhood wants?"

"What does every bad guy on the face of the earth want?"

Tori chuckled darkly. "Let me guess; take over the world?"

"Bingo."

"Method?"

"Hypnosis and post-hypnotic suggestion. That's how they get new flunkies so fast."

"Then why aren't you all 'yes ma'am, Lia?'"

"Well, unless Valen's let it slip when he's talking about me…how often would that be, out of curiosity?"

He wouldn't meet her eye. "Answer our question."

A knowing smirk crossed her face. "Touchy, touchy. My mom's into a lot of 'organic medicine'. She knows basics about hypnosis, and therefore I know how to make sure it can't effect me."

"Even with a magic element added in?"

"Hypnosis is a form of magic. And a good one when done with grace."

Tori glanced from Ali to Valen as she contemplated her next question. "Why do they want Dad?"

She ignored the sharp look from Valen, while Ali regarded it with a smirk. "Dragon Fire is the most powerful magic in the dimension. Using a dark form of it could intensify the spell so much…"

"Everyone falls under it without even realizing it."

"That's what makes hypnosis an art form."

"One more question," Alec said.

"Yes, I'm single."

He glared at her. "Who's really hosting this party?"

Ali shrugged. "If you're really second-generation Winx, you should know the answer. Who knows the properties of dark Dragon Fire and how it can be used to…I don't know, let's say raise the Army of Decay, knows Baltor well enough to figure out he probably had a little thing with Bloom and is still alive, can cause the freak weather in Magix, and has extensive knowledge about hypnosis?"

Tori and Valen exchanged a glance. Ali sounded crazy. Tori turned to March, only to find his jaw set in anger. Alec's look mirrored his. "The Trix." The two boys said at the same time.

"Correct."

Tori raised an eyebrow, her eyes still on March. "What do you think?" she asked. "Is she telling the truth?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "It makes sense. We'll need a truth serum to make sure she's not duping us."

"Hold on," Alec interrupted, his eyes wide. "Didn't Bloom and Baltor say they were headed to Light Rock this morning to see Icy?"

Tori's eyes widened. "If Icy's using hypnosis to control people…"

"They could be in a lot of trouble."

"And what about the Light Rock guards?" March added. "They're trained to see past disguise spells."

"Baltor's smart. Plus the guards would need a big tip off to figure out who he was, and since no one knows that but us…"

"And your Dad."

Everyone turned to state at Valen (except Ali, who was half-heartedly following the conversation). "What are you talking about? Bloom didn't tell my Dad about Baltor. They made up some cover story about him being from Earth."

Ali chuckled. "You look pale, V. Don't tell me you ratted out your dear 'ol Dad?"

"Valen," Tori said, narrowing her eyes.

Her twin chuckled nervously. "C'mon guys, why are you looking at me?"

"Valen!"

"I thought he knew, alright! It was a slip; I'm sorry!"

"If Sky knows about Baltor…"

"We need to get to Light Rock Monetary now."

"Mind un-cuffing me first?"

March glanced at Ali. "Oh no. You're coming with us. We may need more information. Plus, we can't have you ratting us out to the Brotherhood again."

Ali smirked. "I wouldn't dream of missing out. The only way you could make it better is if you were my personal guard."

Tori rolled her eyes, and March's smirk widened. "While I would honored, I think I'll leave that to someone much more…willing. Right Alec?"

The smirk fell right off her face. "What?"

Alec laughed. "Where's your excitement, Alison?"

She glared at him. "You better hope there aren't any of the Trix's minions there, or I might order them to rip you limb from limb."

Alec glanced back at Tori and Valen, who shrugged. "Ain't she a charmer?"

The prince grimaced and went to undo the handcuffs.

"Another pair coming on your left."

Bloom nodded, and as they rounded the next bend she shot out a barrage of fire arrows. The guards were obviously unprepared for the attack, and fell to the ground. Baltor jumped over their fallen bodies and Bloom flew as they kept going. She was surprised Light Rock hadn't activated the anti-magic barriers yet, but so long as her Enchantix was still working she didn't care.

"That has to be at least two dozen guards by now. We're going the wrong way!" Bloom yelled over the sirens.

"Well then where do you suggest we go?" Baltor shot back as they reached the end of the hallway, where it branched into three different corridors. "I don't recognize this part of the building, which means we're further away from the main spell archive at the heart of Light Rock. That puts us towards the edge of the main complex. Now based on where they led us to meet Icy, we should be near the west entrance, and the air hanger is by the east…"

Bloom tuned him out as her head started pounding again. It'd been steadily getting worse since the whole ordeal with Icy, and Baltor's rambling on about the schematics of Light Rock wasn't helping her. She also felt a bit angry at herself; of course Sky would've figured out who Baltor really was by now! He wasn't stupid. Though it'd been so long, she'd forgotten how smart her ex-husband had really been. She was surprised she gave up on Sky so easily.

I'm surprised you gave up on Sky like that.

"Bloom!"

She didn't register that her wings had stopped beating until she crashed to the ground, pain jolting her awake. Bloom hissed in pain and started to get up, but Baltor had already moved forward and scooped her into his arms. Without waiting for a response, he took the corridor to the left and started running again. "Are you alright?" he asked, looking down at her, concern laced in his eyes.

She shook her head, trying to stop the pounding. "F-fine. Just tired."

"I'm serious, Bloom; what's going on? You were fine up until everything with Icy. Did she do something to you?"

I bet that hairpin is getting really hot after feeding a spell to your subconscious mind for the last fifteen minutes. "She was just bluffing. I'll be alright."

"Bluffing about what?"

Bloom sighed; they were running for their lives and now he was choosing to act concerned. "She said she put a spell on me with a hairpin, alright? But nothing bad has happened, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Why didn't you say –"

"Just drop it, ok? I'm fine!"

She regretted the words once she said them, but Baltor didn't drop her flat on the ground, so that was a good sign. "We're getting you a magi-scan once this is over."

Bloom nodded and placed her head in the crook of his neck. "I can walk, you know."

"Not happening. Just fire spells when I say shoot."

She laughed as Baltor pushed open another door, and they walked outside into the sunlight. "Sounds good."

Immediately, a group of guards turned and started firing at them. Bloom blocked it out with a shield and sent another blast at them. Despite what Baltor said to her, she felt her wings working again, and flew out of his arms so she could get a head count on the people blocking them from the ship hanger. There were a good thirty to forty guards, with an official looking airship docking in the hanger now. Bloom recognized the insignia on the side of the ship and almost dropped out of the sky again.

Sky

"Shit, we're in trouble now."

"What's going on?" Baltor yelled up at her.

"Just keep fighting!"

"What the heck is going on here?" March asked, watching as guards rushed by towards the main quad. "It looks like these guys are getting ready for a war."

"Or a battle against man who's beaten them before," Alec said grimly. "Sky must've alerted Light Rock he was here; according to the tracking device on my phone, Dad's airship is on the way here."

"Along with the Eraklyon Royal Guard?" Ali laughed; which she hadn't done since being handcuffed to Alec. "Wow V, you're parents find each other after fifteen years and it takes you less than a day to screw it up? Good work."

Valen felt his cheek's redden. "No one asked you. What's the plan?"

"Find Mom and Dad before the lovesick king?"

"Will you quit calling him that?"

Tori glared at Valen. "What you prefer I call him? 'That guy who knocked up our mother'? Face it V, he's trying. Which is more than the few pricks who tried to date Mom ever did. I know you don't like him, but the fact you don't get along is because you two are so similar. Sooner or later you have to accept that."

"Um, great point Dr. Phil, but we've got bigger troubles ahead of us. Check it out." Ali pointed to the main building, where white light was shooting up from the roof and lighting up the windows. "Looks like Icy's planning her own escape. If she got the Dragon Fire from one of your parents we're in major trouble."

"Worst case scenario; if she does have it and breaks out, how long she can broadcast a mind control spell to the whole dimension?"

"I don't know; a day, maybe two? I was just an informant, it's not like I spoke to the Trix personally!"

March sighed. "Do you have anything that can help us?"

Ali seemed to think for a moment before smiling. "Well, one thing…"

Everyone watched as she closed her eyes and, after a moment, starting glowing. The handcuff attaching her to Alec broke like a toothpick as the light engulfed her. There was a loud roar as the light started to fade, leaving a very different Alison behind. She had on what could've best been described as a turquoise strapless bra with a cut top that showed her cleavage (something Tori had secretly envied for the last year), and a short turquoise skirt. Black cords connected the top to the skirt, and were fashioned on her right leg. A piece of thin, flowing turquoise fabric was attached to her hands with the help of two gold rings. A matching gold pendant hung from her neck.

Tori raised an eyebrow, and the boys' jaws dropped. "It's a…Disenchantix, of some kind." Alec managed to stutter.

Ali flipped a piece of hair over her shoulder and smirked. Her lips were bright red, and her eyes stood out with the black eyeliner. "Well, it took a good amount of magic dosed over the years; I'm still an Earth girl with no power, after all. Since I couldn't form an actual fairy form, this was the closest thing the Brotherhood could give me; a form made of dark magic."

"It's…charming." Valen said carefully.

"Or Victoria Secret gone goth." Tori muttered, summoning her own fairy form. On the short ride to Eraklyon the previous night, her mother had taught her the few basics of Enchantix; how to switch it on and off, how to throw fire balls, and how to create shields. Other than that though, she was a lost cause.

"I say we find our parents before we take on Icy. We'll have a better chance taking her on with more people."

"Sounds good. But we'll have to get past the wall of guards first."

Five pairs of eyes turned to look at the large rally of guards headed toward the hanger entrance, and a moment later a large blast of fire radiated from it, sending most of the guards tumbling backwards.

Alec smirked. "Twenty bucks says its Baltor and Bloom."

"I'm not missing this," Ali insisted as she took to the air. Like Tori, she had wings, but instead of large butterfly ones, they were small, golden, and looked to be shredded. But she still flew into the air with grace. "You with me, T?"

The red blonde girl looked up at her with mild curiosity. "I recognize those earrings. That was you in the library last night, wasn't it?"

Ali didn't smile. "You shouldn't have your Enchantix. Like your mother's, it's been created from pure force of will. But unlike her, it means there's more darkness in your attacks, which if used for an extended period will damage your magic. That's why you surprised me at the library. I would've never let anyone get away normally."

"Hmm," Alec smirked. "It looked like she was kicking your ass from where we stood."

"Hey, no one invited you into this conversation, blondie."

"Easy," Valen said sternly. "Save it for the guards."

"Brotherhood training for three years doesn't leave room for 'easy', honey."

Valen's eyes narrowed. "I will send the picture of you cowering in fear of a poodle all over Facebook. And I'll barbeque that damn cat of yours."

Ali's eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare."

"You want sweet honey barbeque sauce or spicy?"

"Will you two quit flirting and get a move on!" Surprised, Ali and Valen turned to find everyone else was already far ahead, starting to work their way through the guards. "We don't have all day here!" March yelled as he tossed Valen a Phantom Blade. "Avoid hurting these guys!"

"How am I supposed to avoid killing people with a sword?"

A ball of energy almost hit him in the leg, and he looked up to see Ali smirking. "Those are made up of a sleep spell. Want to put the baseball unit of P.E. to good use?"

Valen glanced at the ball, and grinned at her. "Batter up."

"Sky and the rest of the rest of the Eraklyon Guard is getting off the ship!" Baltor yelled, managing to throw another blast at the guards. He was regaining his magic, but nowhere near as fast as was needed with the guards swarming them.

Bloom kept the shield up around them with some difficulty, but her powers were slowly draining. That combined with her headache was not helping her aim. "Once they get, close, we make a break for the ship. Then we head for Zenith, and make this thing public."

He nodded up at her, and a moment later his face paled. "Bloom duck!"

"Mom!"

Before Bloom could do anything, she was pushed out of the way of a line of spears that the Eraklyon guard had shot off. She turned in surprise to look at her daughter, who was now returning fire to the guards. "Can I go to jail for this?" she asked, sounding mildly concerned.

The redhead laughed and started firing with her. "We'll work it out. Where's your brother?"

"I think he and Ali are playing an abstract form of baseball."

"Alison's here?"

"I know, I know; I'll explain later. What's going on here?"

"You know that witch Baltor and I were talking about?"

"Let me guess; take over the free world?"

"Take over the free world." Bloom agreed.

"That should end well." She glanced down. "Baltor's ok, right?"

"He'll be fine once he fully regenerates his power."

Tori turned to look at her. "Is this Icy girl that bad?"

She was about to respond, but she saw one of the Eraklyon soldiers launch something at them. It took a moment for her to recognize it as a pair of magic binding cuffs.

Bloom wasn't the only one to notice. "Victoria; down now!" Baltor grasped her ankle and dragged her down, the cuffs avoiding her. Unfortunately, that gave them a straight trajectory for Bloom.

She swore and cut the shield off before the handcuffs hit her. Their momentum sent her flying across the courtyard and into the side of the air hanger. The cuffs landed on the ground near her, but then zoomed upward, already locked onto her magic signal. She had a split second of inner panic before an old trick Tecna showed her entered her head. Bloom flew forward and grabbed both of the cuffs and pressed them together. After a moment, the pieces of metal went limp in her hand. She sighed in relief and dropped to the ground.

"Bloom!" She looked up and saw Baltor making his way toward her. Behind him she could see Tori and March back to back, taking on the guards with ease.

"Bloom watch out!" another voice yelled from behind her, and a moment later she watched Baltor go flying into a nearby hedge. She gasped and turned to fire a blast at whoever dared to mess with her lover.

And saw Sky standing there, a Plasma gun in his hand and his face concerned.

The fire ball in her hand slowly dissipated, though she didn't want it to. Something in the back of her head felt…funny. Like she was waking up from a dream. Her head was pounding, but at the same time it felt like it was helping her see straight. Bloom started at him, watching the light filter through from the skylight in the hanger and noticed how he looked like a prince there to rescue a damsel in distress, but at the same time she could tell by his expression he didn't have a doubt she couldn't handle herself. He just looked…so damn sexy.

If I were you, I'd forget Baltor ever existed and go back to your prince.

"You're going to regret this, pretty boy." A voice snarled, and she turned to see Baltor emerging from the hedge, looking royally pissed off. His gaze turned to Bloom, and he winked at her. "Feel like taking him on together, darling?"

Her eyes narrowed as a sense of disgust filled her. "In your dreams, asshole."

Baltor's jaw dropped, and Bloom switched the anti-magic cuffs on in her hand and launched them at Baltor. They hit him perfectly and he fell to the ground.

"Baltor was impersonating Christopher. Or he was Christopher." It took her a moment to realize Sky was next to her, his face grim. "I'll have my people go to Earth and try to find him, but you may have to prepare for the worst."

She turned to look at him. She couldn't believe he was trying to make her feel better, especially now. "Christopher doesn't matter," she insisted, and he turned to look at her in surprise. "I…" she took a deep breath. "I've been avoiding this for a while, and I need to just say it. The only reason I was with him was to try and find a replacement for you. And I shouldn't have done that."

Sky raised an eyebrow. "What are you saying then, Bloom?"

The redhead shook her head and smiled. "I didn't love him. I loved you, Sky."

And she kissed him.

"Baltor!" Tori yelled, trying to get past the guards who were forming a tight circle around him. "Let him go!"

One of the guards turned to her in annoyance, and shoved her back into March's arms. "Keep your girlfriend out of our way," he snapped.

"Say that to my face, bastard!" Tori made a lunge for him, but Valen was already at her side with a tight grip on her arm while March held the other one. Alec and Ali weren't far behind. The small courtyard was getting packed. And even worse, it looked like a few reporters were even there, quickly and quietly snapping photos. "They can't do this!" she said, obviously frustrated.

"Actually, they can." Alec said softly. "They have hundreds of terrorist acts they have every right to arrest him for."

"But that's not fair!" She straightened up after a moment, suddenly calm. "We have to find Mom."

"Um, Tori," Ali spoke up, sounding uncertain for the first time that day. "Bloom seems a bit…distracted."

"With what?"

"…Shoving her tongue down the King of Eraklyon's throat."

"What?" Tori, Valen, March, and Alec said together, turning to follow Ali's gaze. Tori thought she might have been going crazy, but to her shock, she saw Ally was right.

"What the frick?" Alec muttered. "What in Magix's name is going on?"

At that moment, a hole was forming in the guards, and one of them brought Baltor through, handcuffs on his wrists and a cut on his cheek. She saw her mother detangle herself from Sky (thank God), and calmly walk toward him.

"Thank goodness, she can fix this…"

And promptly smacked him across the face.

Valen's face dropped. "Or not. Let's go."

"…Don't care where you take him," Bloom was saying as they approached. "Just get him out of my sight and make sure he never threatens me or my family again."

Baltor was trying to fight against the guards, but there were too many. "What is wrong with you?" he asked. "Bloom, this isn't funny!"

"No Baltor, it's not. Just like that spell you put on me all those years ago wasn't funny. You thought I'd just join your side? Dream on."

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" March muttered.

"I want this man on the next ship to the Omega Dimension." Sky said, his eyes alight with triumph. "We don't even need a trial."

"You can't do that!" Tori yelled.

Sky turned to look at her, his face set in fake sympathy. "Victoria dear, you don't know this man. He's committed unspeakable crimes you can't even begin to imagine."

"Sky's right honey." Bloom added, stepping forward and intertwining her fingers with Sky's. "Let us handle this."

"Dad come on!" Alec snapped. "Even you have to know this isn't right! What did you do?"

"He didn't do anything." Tori turned to look at Baltor, who'd gone from looking confused to angry. "It's Icy. She put a spell on her. It must be why she's acting like this. And she's escaping right now if you'd turn your fucking heads!"

Sky huffed. "Please. Icy's in solitary here, with no access to magic."

"Bloom left a hair pin in by accident! You have to believe me!"

"That's pathetic, even for you Baltor. And in front of children, no doubt."

A guard stepped forward. "We can secure the building, sir. I'm sure Icy's still safely contained. I'm sure Baltor was trying to break her out in the first place."

"Bullshit!" Valen snapped. It was the first time he'd spoken up for his father.

"Set up a medical post as well," Bloom added, casting a weary look to her children. "I think they may have a spell on them."

The guard saluted her. "Yes, Your Highness. Take their Majesties to the headquarters, and take the prisoner to the holding dock."

"No!" Tori yelled as the guards started dragging Baltor away. She broke free of the boy's grasp and ran after him, though she didn't really have a plan. "You can't take him away! He's my father, he can fix this!" She reached forward to grasp his hand, but a guard pulled her back at the last minute. "Dad!" she yelled.

And a camera snapped her picture.

*Gasp* What kind of madness is this? Is this the wrong story? I want 2011 back!

So yeah...Happy New Year all! Sorry for being...twenty-three minutes late! I hope it's worth it! Updates will be coming out soon in this new year, so keep reviewing to give me motivation and keep this little circle moving! I want to add more stuff, but I can't think of anything with the fireworks being lit off right by my house. So...that's it! Tell me what you think of this little plot twist in your review!

Have an awesome 2012, everyone!

ember