It's Friday, Friday, posting updates on Friday! Everybody's looking forward to the chapter, chapter...

Ok, I know it's like a half hour away from being Saturday, but I really wanted to use that joke. :-) So now that I've got that stuck in your head; hello! I hope everyone had a good week, and if you didn't; here's your pick-me-up! Yes, this is the big kickoff of the major climax arc! Action, romance, tears (hint, hint; foreshadowing!), the downfall of King Sky of Eraklyon... all that goodness. Ready?

"I still don't know about this."

The earpiece she was wearing crackled with static, and Ali knew Valen was sighing. "Trust me. This will work."

"He's right," March added. "The pictures of Tori that are circulating around the internet are blurry at best, and a few less than reliable news outlets have already mistaken you for her. There's no mention of Valen, so no one will be looking for him as much as you. All you have to do is impersonate her for a few hours. No big deal."

"It's not like you haven't done it before," Tori added, her voice sarcastic.

Ali sighed and glanced out the window. It was a cloudy day in Magix, and three stories below she saw the hoards of paparazzi trying to get into the hotel, hoping to snap a picture of the new royal family of Eraklyon and (in a matter of a few hours) Sparx. "I know it's easy," she insisted, wrapping her arms around herself. "But I don't like the idea of you, March, and Valen in a huge blockaded warehouse on Zenith looking for Baltor. If you three get caught, what are we supposed to do?"

"Alec can fill you in. Isn't he in there anyway?"

"No. He's been talking on the phone with Diaspro for the last hour. Apparently she isn't too happy right now."

She heard Valen chuckle. "I know how she's feeling." There was a loud clunk in her earpiece, and it was silent for a few seconds. "We need to go," Valen said, his voice sharp. "You and Alec watch each other's backs."

She shuddered. "Why couldn't Alec go with you and you come to Magix with me?"

"Because he's my father. If anyone's going to slap some sense into him, it'll be me."

"Hmm…"

"What?"

"That may be the first time you've called Baltor your father without sarcasm."

He huffed indignantly. "So what?"

"You're starting to care. How sweet. Next thing you know you'll be going to baseball games."

"Goodbye, Alison."

She laughed. "Be safe."

"You too."

The communication cut off, and Ali turned from the window to do another onceover in the mirror. With her hair in a high ponytail, it was harder to tell the shade was a bit darker than Tori's natural red-blond (because there was no way anyone was coming near her with hair dye; planets be damned). A short, black and white V-neck dress, green leggings, and brown ankle boots created a formal look, but Ali chose the outfit mostly because she could run in it with little to no discomfort.

She grabbed a tube of mascara and started applying it. In the mirror, she watched Alec come out of the bedroom, shutting his phone off. He looked uneasy as his eyes met hers in the mirror. "You've gone and screwed up now, Bally."

Alison wanted to question how he'd come to know her last name, but decided not to. "How so?" she asked lightly, admiring how the gold contacts looked.

Alec pointed to his ear, where she could barely see the earpiece. "With that."

"You'll have to be more specific. And I'm surprised you heard anything talking to Diaspro."

He sighed, ignoring the comment. "You do know what Valen's thinking right now, don't you?"

"…That this is risky?"

"Now that you're on our side, he has a chance at you. And by the way, I'm still not sure about it."

She sighed and turned to face Alec. He was dressed sharply; tan pants and a blue and white button-up shirt with some odd design on it. His hair was slicked back into a small ponytail, so for the first time she was able to look into both of his eyes at the same time. "Why don't you trust me?"

"I never trust people like you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"People who do things for 'the opportunity'," he air-quoted the words. "If you hadn't joined the Brotherhood in the first place, maybe none of us would be in this mess."

She dug her fingernails into her arm. "Hey, in case you haven't noticed, I've done nothing but help you. And if you think a bunch of people in ninja costumes are going to jump out and whisk me to safety if things go wrong, you're sorely mistaken. My head's on the chopping block right now – just like you. Come on," she added when she saw he wasn't convinced. "Name one person you know who takes deals 'for opportunity', and has gotten scorched."

"My father."

Alison stopped. Alec smirked. "Exactly. 'Oh, my ex-wife who I was insanely in love with suddenly loves me again, even though last night she couldn't stand me. I should probably make sure everything's ok, but first I'm going to marry her and kill the guy she cheated on me with.'"

She sighed. "And now we're about to expose him to the whole universe as a fraud."

"Yep."

"…So what does that have to do with not trusting me?"

Alec shrugged. "You just seem smarter than that, is all. And when smart people try to outsmart big players, they rarely make it."

She started applying mascara again. "And…" she asked, knowing he was going to make another point.

"It makes me think your ties to the Brotherhood of Redemption aren't completely severed."

It was her turn to smirk. "Ever looked up the definition of the word Alison? It means noble. As in 'showing high moral principles and ideas.'"

"A personality makes a person, not the name." There was a knock on the door, and Alec went to answer it. Before disappearing from the reflection in the mirror, he turned back to her. "Did Valen tell you about that talking parrot March has?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah…what of it?"

"Well it just…I'm over at March's a lot, and he likes to repeat phrases. And he'll…say certain ones most of all."

She raised an eyebrow. "Is that not the definition of a talking parrot?"

"No, no. I just meant –"

"Look Alec, if you're getting paranoid over some silly bird, we really are in trouble. Now will you please answer the door?"

"What nationality are you?"

Alison rolled her eyes. "If I answer you, will you put this whole thing to rest?" He smirked and nodded. "I'm European. Half French, half German."

The smirk fell from Alec's face. "Right. Course you are. Why would you not be?" The knocking continued, and Alec shook his head, as though waking from a dream. He smiled at her. "Don't worry; I'm just speculating. It's probably nothing. And I should get the door."

He was off before Ali could say anything else.

"Damn, this place is creepy," Tori remarked as she, March, and Valen continued down the hallway. The walls around them were made of metal, and the only light was from the small fireball in her hands. The florescent lights in the hall were supposed to be motion activated, but March shut the feature off so they wouldn't be as noticeable.

"It's reminds me of one of those movies where the main characters go into the science lab and get picked off one by one."

A shiver went through Tori's body, making even her wings shake. "Thanks, Valen. That's so helpful."

"Anytime. Hey March, where do we need to start?"

The boy ahead of them held his hand out, a silent signal for them to stop. After a few seconds, he reached into the pocket of his black jeans (everyone was dressed in black, as per his request) and pulled out his phone. He shined the light on the top of a door, where an LED screen showed a set of numbers. "Each room here is marked with the date the prisoners are going to be shipped out. We're looking for the ones who're leaving tomorrow. From there we find Baltor, unfreeze him, and hopefully leave without alerting anyone."

Valen rolled his eyes. "And I said this would be difficult. Silly me."

"Oh hush."

"Check this out," Tori interrupted. She let a few flames raise up from her hand and illuminate the sign above the door. "These prisoners are being sent out on Wednesday. The next doors must be for tomorrow."

March grinned. "Alright. Let's go."

Tori noticed the surprised look on Valen's face. She reached forward and touched his arm lightly. "What?" she asked softly, knowing he was deep in thought.

He shook his head and put an arm around her shoulders. "I just can't believe it. It's Monday right now. This time last week our biggest problem was passing the English final. And now we're…here. This entire world was just a story from when we were little, and now it's real."

She smiled a little. "Are you saying you wish it didn't happen?"

Valen sighed. "No but kind of. I mean, now that everything's happened, I can't picture going though life like before. Being so…naïve."

"But at the same time being naïve and having no knowledge about the cult out to get us seems like a pretty sweet life?"

"Yeah. And back when I thought our father was some multi-billion dollar business tycoon who was just staying away from us to keep us out of the public eye."

His sister smiled sadly. "I always thought he was some famous actor, like George Clooney."

"Or one of those crazy artistic people who'll come back for you in a dramatic scene and you'll spend the rest of your life traveling all over the world." Tori and Valen stared at March, who merely shrugged. "What? I'm part of the 'no biological parent' club, too. I can have my own fantasies."

A loud bang stopped everyone in their tracks.

Tori let the fireball in her hand disintegrate a bit, dimming the light and letting a small amount of ash fall to the floor. March shoved his phone in his pocket, and the three of them pressed against the wall. Tori raised a finger, and everyone stood stiller than statues. A moment later, another bang sounded. Tori's eyes turned in the direction, and when the third one sounded she was sure it was coming from the room two doors down and across the hall.

She turned to Valen, who nodded in approval. Slowly, the three of them headed for the door. When they were closer, Tori saw it was just barely open, letting a dim beam of light pour into the hallway. Valen silently motioned to the bottom the door frame, where a shining piece of duck tape was. Tori guessed the piece of tape was keeping alarm bells from ringing, probably by reflecting a sensor back like the closed door would've. Wearily, she glanced up at the sign above the door, hoping the prisoners in the room were going to be shipped out in a few weeks.

But of course, they were the prisoners being shipped out tomorrow.

"Keep as quiet as possible." Valen's voice was so soft, it took Tori a moment to realize he'd spoken. She nodded, and together the three of them slipped inside and dove behind a desk.

The inside of the room looked like a laboratory and was colder than the Himalayas. The entire room seemed to be lined with large, circular chambers. Almost all of them contained a large piece of ice with a black mass inside. Wires were going through the ice chunks, and flashing information across screens.

"They freeze them a few weeks in advance and monitor them to make sure they're in a good state of suspended animation." March whispered when he saw the look on Tori's face.

Valen had grabbed some papers from above the desk, and was scanning through them hurriedly. He glanced from the nearest prisoner to a diagram on the page of the different tests. "Most of these look like there's still a lot of brain activity," he said quietly. "What do they do if they're still showing signs of life?"

March shrugged. "Let them go anyway. They're criminals, who cares?"

"Does it say where Dad is?"

He flipped a page. "Um…left side, the fifth chamber."

Tori looked to the left wall and counted until she got there. Sure enough, her father was already frozen, his brain activity very elevated by the looks of the monitor. "But if Dad's already frozen…then what was that noise?"

As though some unknown force had heard them, the noise sounded again. But along with it was another noise. Almost like a…yell.

"How can we not find him!" a slightly deep female voice yelled, followed by what sounded like a boot making contact with the wall. "We've been in here for hours!"

"Would it kill you to keep your voice down?" another voice snapped. They were coming from around the corner of the room. "If we get caught, the entire plan goes haywire."

Tori, Valen, and March exchanged a look, and tried to stay low to the ground as the voices got closer. "This is ridiculous," the first voice continued, and Tori watched as she came around the hall. "We have enough power from the first dose, why do we need more?"

The young girl raised an eyebrow. The woman was older, maybe in her middle thirties. Her hair was black and frizzy, and she was dressed in black leggings and a short red dress. Nothing out of the ordinary.

"It's not about more power." The other voice said, and the other owner of the voice came into view. She was brunette, with blonde streaks in her hair. She had a black top and purple jeans. "Based on the information that Icy's gathered, Bloom's pathetic children are planning an assault on us. And more than likely, they'll be breaking Baltor out to aid the cause. If we get rid of him before they find him, there's no way they'll succeed."

"Well are you sure they haven't beat us to it? We've checked every one of these things…"

"Shut up, Stormy!" the brunette snapped. "You'll wake up every prisoner in the warehouse!"

Tori saw March's face pale. "Fuck," he swore, then clamped his hand over his mouth, even though no one within a ten foot radius could've heard him.

"Look who's talking, Darcy. You're the one who said he was in the last room."

While the two were arguing, Valen turned toward March, his eyebrow raised. "Who is that?" he asked.

March gulped. "That's Darcy and Stormy."

Valen's eyes widened. "Darcy and Stormy? Darcy and Stormy 'worked with Baltor to enslave the universe', Darcy and Stormy?"

"Yep. Stormy's probably responsible for the earthquake in Magix, and Darcy will more than likely be the power supply for spreading the hypnosis spell across the dimension."

Tori raised her hand and cast a small spell to create a small bubble around them to keep their voices from reaching the ears of the two witches. It wasn't very strong though, as too much magic in the air would set off an alarm. "What do we do?" she asked, her voice still quiet.

"Check that row again," Darcy snapped at Stormy. "I'll look back around the corner again."

"Whatever we do," Valen said quietly, "we need to do it fast."

March was looking around desperately, trying to find anything that could be of use. After a few moments, his eyes widened. "Tori," he hit her shoulder. Grab that thing above you on the desk and give it to me. Hurry."

She raised an eyebrow, but did as she was told. When Stormy's back was turned, her hand reached up and grabbed the object with lightning speed. Tori examined it before handing it over to March. "A laser pointer?" she asked, her eyes wide. "You'll blow our cover."

"No I won't. I've got a plan." He glanced between Tori and March. "Do you trust me?"

Valen exhaled silently, but nodded.

"Alright," Tori said quietly, her eyes falling back on Stormy. "But whatever you do, do it quick. Stormy's almost to Dad."

The control room of the Omega Dimension Holding Armory (ODHA, as it was often abbreviated by the locals of Zenith) was usually quiet, as the single guard on duty usually slept his night shift away. But on this particular night it was alive with the sound of the coffee machine brewing up a steaming cup of joe for the woman who sat in a large swivel chair, staring intently at the monitor where tomorrow's prisoners were being held.

Tecna absently fiddled with the silver band on her ring finger, waiting for the coffee to finish brewing. She missed the days where she could stay up all night on one cup of the stuff instead of a whole pot, but she wasn't complaining. Especially if staying up meant he'd stay put all night. Her eyes narrowed at the tiny screen, focusing intently on the chamber she knew Baltor was being held in.

Details on the entire affair between her former enemy and the former leader of the Winx Club were few and far between. She'd tried calling Musa for information, but Riven said she'd been too swamped with calls from the media and was catching up on sleep. So Tecna was left to her own devices, trying to piece together what in the realms could've brought them together.

Needless to say, she wasn't getting anywhere.

The fairy of technology sighed, and was just about to go and get that cup of coffee she was desperately craving, when something on the monitor caught her eye. Namely, that the screen giving her the perfect view of Baltor's holding chamber was now bright white.

Tecna sat back down in the chair with a thud. A moment later, the screen went back to the picture of the holding room. And after another moment, it went back to white. And then back to the holding room. She tapped the monitor, but it didn't do anything to help.

Something about the pattern of the changing screens was odd. It tugged at the back of her mind, trying to will her into remembering it. She took a deep breath and sat back, feeling a headache coming on.

I'm old and thick, she thought wearily, head's too full of stuff. I need a bigger head. Especially in an emergency –

That train of thought brought up an old memory. Of a few years back when she sat with Flora in Limphea, drinking tea and discussing things that'd happened in recent years. Remembering how March had sat nearby, toying with an old laser pointer and terrorizing Cagney, Flora's tabby cat. And she remember showing March, who paid close attention, how to spell out words using different light signals.

Tecna's eyes fell back to the screen, and she took a close note of the flashes of white light. After a moment, she was able to make out that they were in fact spelling out letters.

S. O. S. M. A. R. C. H.

In the moments where the screen showed the holding cell, Tecna caught sight of movement by one of the chambers.

The coffee pot beeped to show it was finished brewing, but Tecna was already out the door.

"Darcy! I found him!"

March hissed in annoyance and finally stopped flashing the laser pointer at the camera. He didn't know if Tecna had seen him, but if she did, she'd better move in fast.

"We've got to stop them," Tori insisted, gripping March's hand so tightly he was surprised she wasn't cutting off circulation.

"How?" Valen snapped. "You heard the stories. Those two could kill us with one hand tied behind their back. How are we supposed to stop them?"

"How could you be so heartless? That's our father they're after!"

"Will you two both just –" March raised his arm in a dramatic gesture, but he accidentally hit the top of the desk. He yelped in pain before Tori could clamp a hand over his mouth.

Darcy and Stormy stopped cold. "What was that?" the black haired witch asked, suspiciously raking her eyes over the room. Tori held her breath.

"Search the area," Darcy commanded, her eyes narrowing. "Don't bother with taking prisoners just kill them. We have to get back to Magix to help Icy."

Valen's eyes widened as the woman got closer and closer to the desk. He tugged on March's arm, and he nodded in agreement. Whatever they needed to do to distract her, it needed to be done fast. Tori cringed, and one of her wings started fluttering, a small amount of fairy dust catching the dim light as it fell to the ground. Valen's eyes shot up to Stormy in fear, hoping she hadn't caught it.

To his utter horror, she was staring right at him, grinning wickedly.

"Oh Darcy," Stormy said in an overly sweet voice. "I think I –"

"Time frame freeze!"

As soon as Tori heard the words, Stormy stopped cold. Not just her sentence, but her entire body. She hesitantly glanced over at Darcy, and found her frozen as well. Tori raised her hand to make sure she was still able to move, as Valen and March did the same.

"All right, kid," a voice spoke from behind them, "I know you're in here. Come on out."

March sighed in relief, and with a nod to the others stood up. Tori watched as he went to the woman in the doorway and hugged her tightly. "You're a lifesaver, Aunt Tecna."

The woman chuckled. "Funny how you only say that when I'm saving you from impending doom."

"Not always," he replied, letting her go. He turned and smiled at the twins. "Tecna, this is Tori and Valen. Guys, this is Tecna. Former Winx Club member, head of Omega Dimension safety, and the best hacker you'll ever meet."

Tecna gave them a onceover, her eyes flickering when they landed on Tori. "Well," she said after a few moments, her voice surprisingly calm. "I almost wish I could say I'm doubtful, but it'd be a lie." A smile spread across her face. "You both look so much like Bloom."

The comment made Tori smile a little. "Thanks."

The older woman nodded. "Now then, does anyone want to tell me what this is all about?"

Valen did – in an abbreviated version. Tori divided her time between adding details and watching the witches behind her to make sure they didn't come to life while she wasn't paying attention. It wasn't that she didn't trust Tecna; it was that she didn't trust the witches. By the time Valen was finishing the story, they'd all moved to stand around the chamber where Baltor was.

"…And so we have to get him out of there and try and stop Icy." Valen concluded, casting a worried glance at the chamber. He could feel the cold radiating off of it, and wondered how Baltor could ever stand it. "I know you don't trust him, but…we need him."

The pink haired woman placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "All right."

March's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "You'll help us? That's –"

"Hold up, hot shot. I said I'd help, but that doesn't mean I can." She tapped at a few controls on the chamber, looking upset. "Sky personally set up this chamber. It's voice control, and I don't have any codes that can override it."

Valen and Tori exchanged a knowing look. "We can fix that."

Tecna raised an eyebrow. "And how do you propose to do that? Do you have a recording of him saying 'defrost prisoner?'"

Tori smirked. "Step aside, dearie. Let me show you why Valen and I were the best local band on the west coast."

Both Tecna and March looked skeptical, but nevertheless they moved off, letting Tori get a good look at the control panel. She pressed a button, and an automated voice sounded. "Please state request."

Bloom's daughter cleared her throat. "Defrost Prisoner." She said, her voice sounding exactly like Sky's.

The machine beeped, and a green light flashed from the panel. "Access granted. Defrosting prisoner."

Tecna's jaw dropped. "How did you do that?"

"I'm talented." Tori responded, taking a step back from the machine so Baltor would have room to step out.

"Or a freak," Valen shrugged. "Depends on how you look at the situation."

From the direction of the chamber, there was an amused chuckle. "Shouldn't you be a bit more kind to your sister?"

Tori's head snapped to her father. He was gripping the sides of the chamber for support, as though his legs weren't quite ready to function yet. He cast an annoyed glance at Tecna. "Would it have killed you to use less sedation on me?"

Tecna's eyes narrowed and she clicked her tongue; like Musa and Flora, she obviously didn't like him. But unlike the others, she held her composure. "Nothing personal. You kill me, I kill you; fair's fair."

He gave her a dry smile. "Kick a man while he's down; that's very you."

"Would you prefer I actually kick you?"

"I wouldn't, actually. How much longer until I can walk?"

"It'll take a few minutes for your nerves to restart." She replied, eyeing him curiously.

Baltor didn't respond, but slowly lifted his leg and took a step down from the chamber. His stance was shaky, and his knuckles white from gripping the metal sides, but his face was determined. Valen raised an eyebrow. "How do you feel?" he asked.

"Like shit," he replied, a familiar smirk crossing his face. "And as much as I'd like to believe you broke me out of here because you care, I'm assuming there's another reason."

March chuckled and pointed to a frozen Darcy behind him. "A fairly good one."

If Baltor was surprised, he didn't show it. "She's gained weight." He said simply as he tried to walk on his own without gripping the chamber. It was a poor decision, as his left leg gave out the minute it had to support him.

Tecna rushed forward and grabbed him, looping an arm around his shoulders. She grunted in annoyance. "Yeah, she's gained weight. Grab me that office chair, March."

He obeyed, and after a bit of readjusting Baltor was sitting comfortably, rubbing his temples. "How long have I been out?" he muttered. "I remember everything in Light Rock…"

"It's been a day." Valen said. "And we're in major trouble."

"Big surprise. What's going on?"

"Mom's under a spell that's made her fall back in love with Sky. They're currently in Magix, and are about to tie the knot."

Baltor stopped rubbing his temples. "Getting married, you mean?"

"Yes. Now, Ali figured out how to reverse the spell, but we're missing a key ingredient. An ingredient only Lia knows. And she's being held on the private hospital in Eraklyon under close guard."

"Use the passages."

"You stole the schematics for the passages years ago. We need your help to get in. Plus you're the only person Lia might listen to."

"…I won't deny you there. But what are we supposed to do once we get the final ingredient?"

"Tell Ali, let her finish the potion, cure Bloom, and stop the Trix before they enslave the entire universe."

Tecna raised an eyebrow. "Did we sound this crazy when we were teenagers?"

"Mostly," Baltor said nonchalantly. He gripped the arms of the chair and slowly stood, this time managing to stay on his feet. "How much longer until the witches unfreeze?"

March glanced at them thoughtfully. "I've studied the spell Tecna used. It usually lasts for about fifteen minutes, right?" he looked toward her, and she nodded in approval.

"We should be out of here by then."

Tecna crossed her arms and glared at Baltor. "I'm going with you."

"No your not."

"Baltor I –"

"Tecna, listen to me," Baltor snapped, gripping her arms. "If Icy is planning to launch this spell, Zenith is our best line of defense. You're the furthest planet from Magix, and you have a lot of shields up around the main cities. You and Timmy need to start taking this thing down from the inside; make it public, warn planets, get protection shield up. We're on the eve of war, my dear, and there's no time to waste."

She glared at him for a moment, but she finally sighed. "Never thought I'd say this; you're right." She stepped away from him and started tapping her finger against the side of her head; deep in thought." Ok…we can use the teleports in the main offices to get out of here. Preferably before the witches wake up. You can get to the outskirts of the Eraklyon Palace, and I can get to City Center and start working with Timmy."

"I've got an extra headset," March spoke up. "So she can keep in touch with us."

Baltor nodded. "Sounds good to me. Let's get moving."

Everyone nodded and started to head out (not before Baltor shot down the cameras in the room). Just before Tori and Valen were out the door, Baltor pulled them both back, so they were alone in the room. "I want to thank you both." He said, his eyes flickering between the two. "For helping me. Especially with…all that's happened."

Valen didn't look impressed, but he nodded. "Family sticks together, right? Even if they hate each other." He walked out the door before he could respond, leaving Tori alone with Baltor.

"You've been quiet," her father remarked.

Tori realized she hadn't spoken since unlocking the chamber. "I was just… thinking, I guess. You sure have a lot of enemies."

"And rightly so. I'm not on everyone's favorites list."

"I've noticed." Her eyes fell down to the floor. "I'm really glad you're ok, Dad."

It was silent for a few moments, and Tori worried it was a bad idea to call him 'Dad'. She was about to speak up, when she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders. "Just like I'm glad you're ok," he said softly, kissing her forehead. "Now, let's finish this, shall we?"

"Agreed."

"Ugh, how ridiculous is this?" Ali asked as she peered out the window of the car, waiting for the rest of the paparazzi to disperse. She stayed low to the floor "They already got the shots of Bloom and Sky; why are they waiting?"

"Because they think we're around here." Alec replied. "Hey come on; we've been hiding here for like twenty minutes. It can't be much longer."

"I hope you're right."

A static noise came from the earpiece. "Ali? Alec? You guys there?"

"We're here March," Alec said. "How's it going?"

"Good. Baltor's out, we've got Tecna on our side, and we're heading for Eraklyon."

Ali raised an eyebrow. "Who's Tecna?"

"Seriously? What kind of spy are you?" Alec hit her upside the head, and she glared at him. "Tecna was a Winx Club member."

"Right," March said. "She's working on trying to make this public. If she gets anything big she'll call."

"Awesome."

"What about your end?"

Ali raised her head to look out the window again. "We've been hiding in the car to avoid the paparazzi; if they know where we are, Icy probably does too. So we're keeping a low profile. It looks like we can head into the building now."

"Sounds great. We'll message you once we're on Eraklyon."

"Got it. Good luck you guys."

"You too."

The signal cut off, and Alison and Alec got out of the car as the last photographer sped away in his car. The young girl's eyes followed the sleek building all the way up to where it disappeared into the clouds. "This is crazy…" she muttered.

"It may be," Alec replied as they started climbing the stairs, "but it's all we've got. Let's just –"

Ali didn't know what he was going to say, but he never finished it. The moment Alec's hand touched the door, he was thrown back with a brutal force. Alison barely managed to catch his arm before he went tumbling down the stairs. She looked back to the building and saw a purplish ripple where Alec's hand had touched the door. "What the hell…"

"What was that?" The prince of Eraklyon asked, looking shocked.

"…I think it's a forcefield." She carefully reached out her hand out to brush her fingers a few inches away from the door. A purple ripple spread out, confirming her thoughts. "This is the Brotherhood's handiwork. I can tell by the coloring; dark forcfield spells tend to look more purplish than blue."

Alec looked equally curious. "Around the whole building?"

"I think so."

"But that doesn't make sense? Why would they do that? To keep Bloom and Sky from getting out?"

It was becoming eerily quiet, as though a force was settling around them. "Maybe," Ali said slowly, watching as the clouds moved to completely cover the sun in the low horizon, "it's meant to keep something from getting in."

Slowly, Alec stopped and looked around. "…Something like what?"

For the second time that week, the ground shook. Ali reached out and grabbed the railing of the stairs, and Alec grabbed Alison. They watched in shock as the ground literally started morphing, dark shapes rising up and detaching from the ground. They were insect looking, making horrible clicking and buzzing noises as they tested out their new limbs. Alison watched as one of the larger ones turned to a nearby car and started eating the bumper.

A nauseous feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. "I'm going to be sick." She said shakily. "I hate bugs."

Next to her, Alec was muttering under his breath. "No…no she couldn't have – it's impossible…"

Alison cleared her throat. "Alec…what are they?"

He didn't pay attention to her. "God…with Baltor's power – already infused with darkness, and she still would've had the Whisperean Crystals…"

"Alec! English please!"

The boy gulped, and Alison knew whatever he was about to tell her wasn't good. And the minute he spoke, Alison wished she'd never asked in the first place.

"Icy's re-raised the Army of Decay."

*insert dramatic music here*

So...yeah! Tecna's part of our tag-team now! She never gets any love in the series, but she does in the hearts of the fanfiction community! Hopefully she'll whip out some badass stuff to aid our young heros.

I must again give inspirational credit to my little cousin Eliza, who was also responsible for the Tower of Terror mayhem in the faraway land of chapter 3. I've personally wanted to see the return of the Army of Decay as well, just because it was so awesome and, you know, final battle-y! We haven't had something like that again in the series (Shadow Monsters get an honorable mention, but they aren't as terrifying, IMHO). And who missed Darcy and Stormy? You can't have a story with just one member of the Trix. Come on, guys. ;-)

And, last but not least, it's contest time! Yay! You see, we have some dark foreshadowing in our midst involving one of our beloved characters and the fate they might meet *insert even more dramatic piano solo here*! Can YOU figure it out? It's very small and far between (you'd have to have been paying very close attention over multiple chapters), but your friend Alec might have just given you a clue... If you can correctly tell me, you'll get the rest of the chapters of High Hopes in Velvet Ropes a day in advance, as well as a billion shout outs for being so clever! (Note, this can be submitted either by review or PM, if you'd rather keep your cleverness to yourself.)

I also highly recommend you review. There are only four opportunities left, after all, and it really makes my day...

Later, all! (and good luck!)

ember