I have returned!

So yeah, after my month-long hiatus I am back with a new chapter for High Hopes. I don't know if I'll have to go back, but for now, I am good and writing!

Also, random note, this chapter goes out to Authoress-In-Training as her late birthday present! Happy Birthday, A!f

Pain. Everything was pain.

Bloom wasn't aware of anything else around her, only that intense throbbing in her head that seemed to be much clearer that the little twinge she'd felt at the back of her mind that afternoon.

But how could she stop it?

One part of her head kept trying to tell her, but there was something in those thoughts that made her feel like they weren't hers. That they were someone else's. What with talking about crowns and forgetting and skies...

…Though maybe the skies were supposed to mean something else?

Every time she tried to move away from those thoughts, tried to think for herself, the pain got worse…ooh, so much worse. Maybe it would better if she just…just allowed it take control back. And if it meant the pain would stop…

…Bloom, darling? Just stay with me. Keep fighting. You can do this; I know you can…

That voice. She knew that voice. She…loved that voice…right?

"No!" those thoughts screamed at her, loud and with malice. "He abandoned you remember? He's never cared for you…"

She cringed as different voices started talking in her mind, weaving in out, jumbling words, creating a loud mess of thoughts that was almost too much to bear...

…I don't want pain and destruction, no more that what is needed, at least…

…I'm responsible for Oritel and Miriam's demise…

…Agreed. No mercy!

…I'm going to take my place as the greatest wizard in the entire magical universe, and you're either with me, or against me.

"Yeah? Well put me down for against!"

No… that couldn't be right. It may have started that way, but that wasn't what it was now.

…Alison, how much longer…

…Quit yelling, Valen! It won't make time go faster…

Valen…Valentine. Valentine and Victoria. The name's seemed old, like they were out of eighteenth century London. And she had chosen them for that reason. But chosen them for what? And why did they remind her of that first voice?

…Just a few more minutes. I know you can here me in there somewhere you crazy girl. Don't give up. Please Bloom…I already lost you once. I can't do it again…

It was the first voice again. And there was something in it that struck a chord in her heart. Bloom could feel the pain in there; the love. At that moment the fog in her head cleared, and she knew what she had to do.

"You don't know what you're saying!" the voices in her head protested, but they seemed more muffled than before. "He abandoned you! He never loved you! Listen to me!"

…No. He abandoned me because I abandoned him first. And I will not do it again! Get out of my head, Icy!

With a large gasp, Bloom jerked into a sitting position, feeling as though something inside her had just snapped. Her vision was a little blurry, and her ears were ringing, but it slowly faded off as different voices became prominent.

"Her pulse is still slightly elevated, but brain function is back to normal…hey, step back guys; step back! Give her some air."

"Alec, go grab a glass of water."

"Valen, go get your Dad and March from the control room. Tell them she's awake."

Bloom blinked rapidly, and when her vision cleared, she saw Tori sitting on the small bed next to her, looking worried. "Mom? Are you ok?"

She started at him for a moment, memories flooding into her head about what she'd told her and Valen in the last few days. A million ideas of what to say raced into her head, but only one managed to escape her mouth. "Did I really tell you I was madly in love with a prick like Sky?"

After a moment, a grin spread across Tori's face, and she threw her arms around her mother. "You wanted me to help pick wedding dresses."

The older woman chuckled a little, relaxing as she realized her children were alright. "What happened?"

"Icy happened."

Bloom turned in the direction of the voice, surprised to find Alison there, looking at a few small monitors next to the bed. She saw there were some small nodes attached to her arms, sending data to the machines. "Would you care to be a bit more specific, Alison?" Bloom asked, her tone cooler than it had previously been.

Tori laid a hand on her shoulder. "Mom, it's ok. She's on our side, and she's more than proven it."

"She has yet to prove it to me."

Ali was used to Bloom's black and white judgment of subjects, but it was a bit nerve-wracking when that judgment was on her, and not in her favor. She cleared her throat. "From what we gathered, Icy placed an advanced hypnosis spell on you, making you fall back in love with Sky so you'd stay out of her way until she launched it dimension-wide, putting everyone under her control. We managed to work up an anti-potion…and I suppose you know the rest."

"How long was I out of it?"

"About a day, since Icy broke out of Light Rock."

"Light Rock?" At the mention of those two words, a certain flashback jolted into Bloom's head, giving her an all to clear picture.

"I don't care where you take him, just as long as you get him out of my sight."

"We're going to ask the courts for a death sentence."

"Oh my God, Baltor." Bloom put a hand to her mouth. There was a stinging in the back of her eyes. "I sent him to the Omega Dimension. He's probably already been taken there."

Tori looked surprised, but then an odd look of amusement and relief crossed over her face. "Mom –"

"Well, well, well; look who's finally awake."

Bloom's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. She turned towards the entrance to the small alcove, and found Baltor standing there, a smirk on his face and a glass of water in his hand that she remembered Tori asking someone to get.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Baltor said, his gaze falling to Alison. "March needs your help to perfect the tracker we're using to locate Icy. Alec and Valentine are already there."

Ali glanced at the monitors. "Alright…you're pulse is leveling out. You should be fine in a few minutes. When you guys are all set, come find us."

Tori glanced between her parents. "And I don't have an excuse to leave you two alone with each other, so I'm going to pretend Dad was talking to me too."

"Smooth," Ali muttered as the two got up and walked out the door.

"What? I had to do something!"

Baltor chuckled, walking over to Bloom's besides. He set the glass down and sat on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a train hit me." She replied, reaching over to grab the water. She took a sip, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye but refusing to make eye contact. "I…was worried they wouldn't find you in time."

"So was I. It turns out more of the Winx Club is on my side than I thought. Were it not for your friend Tecna, I more than likely would've been killed by Darcy and Stormy."

She was surprised to hear about Darcy and Stormy; she assumed they would be with Icy. "What happened to the Trix?"

"We left them to Tecna. They've more than likely been taken into custody."

Bloom took another gulp of water. "That's good."

It was quiet for a moment. "Bloom, do I want to know why you refuse to look at me?"

Bloom focused on the half-empty glass on the table, fighting the stinging in her eyes. "I'm afraid I'm going to start crying and blubbering on about how sorry I am."

"Oh, darling." Before she could protest, he took her by the arms and slid her into his lap, as though she weighed no more than a pillow. Baltor wrapped his arms around her, effectively trapping her against his chest. "It wasn't your fault," he whispered soothingly, running his fingers through her hair, working at any knots he came across. "I should've known not to trust a person like Icy for information, regardless of her mental health."

She wrapped her arms around him, listening to his heartbeat. "I ordered them to take you to Omega."

"You couldn't help it."

"I was going to ask the Council to try you for the death penalty."

"I would've gotten away the moment they unfroze me."

"It doesn't matter. I betrayed you fifteen years ago, and it doesn't even take me a full day to do it again. What does that say about me?"

His grip tightened on her. "You can't count actions you had no control over against you. You and I both know everything that happened on Light Rock was out of our control. All that matters is that I have you back in my arms, and I'll be damned if I let go of you again."

A faint blush crept over Bloom cheeks. She glanced up at him and found a small smile on his lips. "I know this is supposed to be the part where I declare my undying love to you in a long and formal speech, and give you a ring that would make Solaria pale. But," He leaned down and gave her a long, deep kiss that left her ears ringing and her brain begging for more. "All I can tell you is that once this is all over, I intended to stay with you for the rest of my life."

Bloom smiled and kissed him again. "I love you."

"I love you, too. Now come on; I'm sure the kids have worked out Icy's location by now."

With Alison there to provide information about the type of spell the Trix were designing when she worked for them, it didn't take March long to pinpoint the perfect location for the spell to be launched; the Magix Tower.

Baltor knew more about the tower than Bloom did, as it had been built after she left the magic dimension (and Baltor had accidentally stolen some blueprints for it in the Magix Museum). It had been built to 'symbolize the never-ending triumph of good over evil in the magic dimension.'

"Stella voted on naming it Winx Tower," Tecna chuckled over the earpiece. It was surprisingly easy for Bloom to hear her, considering she was zooming through the city on a Levabike at sixty miles an hour. She'd insisted she was fine to drive (hell, she'd jumped through fiery hoops before when they crashed King Radius' wedding), but Baltor and Valen had stubbornly denied it. So she was in the back while Baltor drove, one arm wrapped around his chest and the other holding a Phantom Blade, ready to slice whatever dared to mess with her.

"It may as well have been," Alec remarked dryly. He was riding another bike with Ali. Next to him was Tori and Valen, and March (the only one with his own bike). "Can you tell what's going on in there?"

"I wish. They're too many firewalls. But based on the area around it and the open gardens in the first floor I can see, it's a hotspot."

Bloom groaned. "As if the Shadow Monsters weren't annoying enough the first time…what's the plan, T?"

"Your best bet is to try and trap them all in the conservatory on the first floor. It's in the center of the building; you can't miss it. From there, you should have a clear shot up the elevator shafts. Icy's more than likely on the top floor."

"Good. I want to have a word with her."

Baltor gripped her hand. "Trust me, I do too, but we can't just rush in there. We need to think this through."

"He's right Bloom," Tecna said. "Take it from the king of not-thinking-plans-through."

Everyone laughed. "Thank you Tecna."

"Anytime."

"So with all the Shadow Monsters there," Valen said, sounding slightly nervous, "should we all go in?"

"Definitely not. Some of you should be guarding the perimeter, so that more Shadow Monsters can't enter the building after the ground floor's secure."

Ali chuckled. "I vote for the two boys with the Red Fountain training."

"I'm ok with that," March said. "Alec?"

"I'd rather be outside than in there with Icy."

"Sounds good Tec," Bloom said. "Anything else?"

"Just one thing," she said as they turned the corner to the entrance of Magix Tower. "There is a very real possibility that you won't be able to stop Icy before she launches the spell. If that happens, everyone in at least Magix and possibly Solaria will under her control. Baltor, is there a way for you to mark everyone without them becoming complete slaves to you?"

He chuckled dryly, for a moment sounding very much like the dark man he used to be. "It certainly won't be as much fun…but yes, it is possible."

"Then do it. When that spell goes live, everyone will more than likely be under orders to kill you. Try to get to Zenith as soon as possible if it happens."

"Got it." Tori said. "And Tecna, if it's not too much trouble, could you make a call to some friends of ours in the Resort Realm? Roxy will be steamed if Andy becomes a mindless slave."

"I can do that. What's the number?" Tori rattled off the digits she'd memorized long ago. "Alright, I'll give them a call. You're approaching the vicinity of the Tower barriers. To be undetected, the best thing to do is cut the connection."

Bloom took a deep breath. "Tecna…if we don't get out of this…thank you. For everything. Tell the other girls and the Specialists I love them."

She didn't try to contradict her statement. "You know we love you too. Good luck everyone."

"See you on the other side, Aunt T." March said. The connection cut off just before they reached the tower.

"I don't see any Shadow Monsters." Ali said, slipping her helmet off and looking around.

"They're here." Alec said. "Probably on the other side by the main entrance."

"There's a service entrance behind the bushes somewhere." Baltor said. "I can probably get it open if someone uses a spell to cover me."

"You know I'm with you," Bloom said. "Tori, Valen, Ali; stay here. Alec and March, start patrolling."

"Yes ma'am."

Valen shook Alec's hand. "Watch it out there, man."

"You too. Great to meet you."

"God why are we all so pessimistic?" Ali asked with a smirk. "We're gonna kick ass!"

Alec shook his head and smiled, though it looked forced. "I'm sure you're right." Before anyone could blink, he gave her a kiss on the cheek, then Tori. "Good luck guys. Ready March?"

"I'll go the other way and meet you in the middle."

"Good plan." With that, he lowered the visor of the helmet and sped off.

March shook Valen's hand, and gave Ali a hug. When he got to Tori, they stood and stared at each other for a moment before giving each other a tight hug.

"Good luck in there." He whispered.

"You too. If anything goes wrong, just call."

March chuckled. "I get the feeling you'll be pre-occupied."

Tori smiled a little and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to dull the pleasant tingles running down her arms. "Yeah well, you gotta watch yourself out there, you know?"

She expected him to laugh, but instead he just started at her, genuinely curious. Her gaze fell to her gloved hands, silently cursing her Enchantix for being so revealing (and for about the millionth time). Tori sucked in a breath. "Look I didn't mean to imply –"

She was cut off as March leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers, one hand reaching out to cradle her head.

The kiss itself was so unexpected that it almost was expected as the same time. Cautiously, Tori reached up and let her hands rest on March's chest, feeling the rhythm of his heart under her gloved fingertips. He had a distinct taste of mint and something sweet. When they finally pulled apart, he rested his forehead against hers, his hand still cradling her. "When this is over," he said, his voice suddenly a bit more nervous. "I have some things that I…sort of want to talk to you about."

"I think I'd be willing to listen."

March's arms wrapped around her, and he hugged her fiercely. "Be dazzling."

"As if you've come to expect anything else from me."

He chuckled. "I don't." And with that, he turned and headed to catch up with Alec.

Valen stared at her. "Well…that just came right the fuck out of left field."

"Are you nuts?" Ali asked, looking amused. "Alec and I had a bet on it. And in case you're curious, I won."

Tori chuckled. "Gee thanks, Ali."

She stuck her tongue out in response. "You care and you know it."

There was a loud bang from the bushes, along with some smoke. Valen smirked. "I'm guessing they got the door open."

"Yep let's go."

"Magix Survivor," Tori said absently as they started walking. Both Ali and Valen turned to look at her, and she shrugged. "If we get out of this. We should call the band Magix Survivor."

Alison laughed. "I think that's the first decent name you've suggested."

"And right before our possible deaths. How appropriate."

...yep.

So, this chapter was on the shorter side (especially for me), but more because the last chapter is going to be long. It's the final battle, after all, and everyone's got a bone to pick with Icy. There are still some dramatic twists and turns to be taken, and we find out what our secret plot twist is.

On that note, the contest for guessing what the plot twist isis closed. Everyone had great theories, but no one could quite get it. Thanks for participating!

After this there are only two chapters...and not to mention that this story is only ten reviews away from hitting the 100 mark...it would really make my day. Just saying ;-)

Well, that's about it. Have an awesome week everyone!

ember