Second chapter, so, yay?

Faragonda was an old woman. Very old, in fact, for her age was already well into the triple digits. She was also a very talented fairy, and a former witch convert, which was why she was the headmistress of Alfea College for Fairies, the best school there was for fairies in the Magix Dimension. The aged headmistress sat in her padded chair inside the cool office that she was usually found in, facing a stack of paperwork that she was currently working through, reading and signing petitions by students, agreeing to widen the range of the books stored in the library... it was a lot of work, but Faragonda had no complaints.

As she read over a piece of paperwork, this one detailing an encounter that a freshman fairy had with a couple of senior witches from Cloudtower, Faragonda wondered where the Winx Club was. The Winx, elite students that she wasn't ashamed to say had been the saviours of the dimensions more than once, were usually the most efficient students in the school, and with a situation as dire as the opening of the Omega portal, she was surprised that they weren't back yet. The headmistress felt worry creep into her heart for the six students.

A rap on the door made her set the paperwork aside and look up, adjusting her spectacles as she placed her hands on the table and smiled to appear more welcoming to those that came in. "Come in," she said pleasantly.

"Miss Faragonda," croaked a voice weakly. Aisha slowly pushed the door opened and she shuffled in, her face streaked with tear tracks and her movements sluggish. She looked like she hadn't slept for over a week, her body just screamed 'fatigue'. As she neared the aged fairy, Faragonda could see that her eyes were red, and the girl was sniffling, like she had just been crying. "I-I'm sorry," Aisha sobbed, her shoulders shaking.

"What for, Aisha?" Faragonda's brow furrowed. "The portal - did it-"

"No." Tecna's quiet voice sounded almost mechanical as the pink-haired girl walked into her office, the rest of the Winx close behind, but try as she might, Faragonda for the life of her could not see why they were all so melancholic. Stella and Flora were leaning on each other while Musa was biting on her lower lip like it was chewing gum.

Faragonda's eyes went to the door, waiting for the familiar mop of vibrant red hair to appear in the doorway, and for Bloom to appear, apologizing profusely for being late, but the girl never came. Her mind started making up wild, fantastical stories about why Bloom wasn't there, but she refused to believe any of them, until the most likely possibility entered her thoughts. Was Bloom, Dragon forbid, dead? At this morbid thought, Faragonda just slumped in her chair. It would certainly explain the girls' actions.

"Girls," Faragonda started. Her voice was shaking, the aged headmistress realized. Was she really that scared of losing Bloom? She had mentored the young girl a few times, but was her bond to her really that strong that she would crumble at the suggestion that she was gone? She forced back her thoughts, and continued to speak. "Is Bloom... dead?"

At the mention of Bloom's name, Stella and Aisha broke down, Flora softly comforting the blonde while Musa gently spoke with the water fairy.

Faragonda's heart sank at their reaction.

"She might as well be," Tecna whispered weakly. "No one's ever returned alive from the Omega Dimension without help."

The headmistress felt her heart plummet. Bloom was in the Omega Dimension? Where the worst criminals in the entire realm were held? She felt faint. "Oh Dragon," Faragonda muttered. "What happened?"

At this point, Aisha grit her teeth and her hands balled into fists. "I happened," she spat angrily. "I wasn't fast enough. If I hadn't let myself get thrown back by that blast, Bloom would still be with us!"

Tecna looked at her and her eyes narrowed. "It wasn't your fault!" snapped Tecna. "I was there too! It was just about as much of your fault as it's mine!"

Aisha snapped at that. "Andros is my home!" she yelled. "It was my responsibility! And I let Bloom disappear into the Omega Dimension because I wasn't fast enough!"

Faragonda left the girls to their screaming and arguing, holding her head in her hands as she tried to process her muddled thoughts. It can't be, she repeated to herself. Bloom has to be all right. The Magix dimension... everything, it hinges on her well-being. When she falls, all will fall with her. "Oh, Great Dragon," Faragonda could only mutter. "Strike me down now, and spare me the pain of watching everything fall to that despicable monster Valtor." The aged fairy finally looked up, seeing Aisha and Tecna yelling at each other with tears in their eyes.

Truly, Faragonda considered, Bloom was the glue that held the team together, being their trusted leader and the one they depended on for what to do in situations like this. Without her, the girls were turning on each other and blaming themselves for her loss. "Enough," she ordered, authority practically oozing from her voice. "Arguing will not help save Bloom from the Omega Dimension. Only working together will."

The girls looked at each other, wiping the tears from their red eyes, and slowly looked back to her, determination gleaming in their eyes. "What can we do, Miss F?" Stella asked, her voice shaking, but determined, as she stood up.

Faragonda sat up straight, looking sternly at the girls through her spectacles. "An Enchantix level fairy leaves a very distinguishable impression," she spoke, recalling her own knowledge of the place. "And Bloom is a very powerful fairy."

Tecna seemed to understand, for the girl was already pulling out one of her multiple gadgets, typing rapidly on it as she muttered words under her breath. "Bloom," Faragonda heard. "I'm coming for you, Bloom. Just hang on." After a few minutes of tense silence, the miniature gadget finally beeped, but Tecna's eyes darkened as she scowled heavily. "It's not working," she reported, looking even more drained. "My tech isn't working," she repeated.

Stella looked irritated. "Then try harder!" she yelled. "Bloom's out there, and we need to find her before it's too late!"

Tecna's head snapped up, glowering at the blond sun fairy. "I am trying," she hissed. She typed on her gadget for a few more minutes before she clenched her fists in frustration. Tossing the beeping gadget to the side, she sat down heavily into a chair in front of Faragonda's desk. "My tech is too primitive to detect her from here, especially with no working pathways," she grumbled, picking up the small thing again and stashing it away into her pocket.

Stella looked just about ready to cry again. "Isn't there some way else, Tecna?" the sun fairy asked, her brown eyes filled with the need to find her friend. Faragonda couldn't help but feel the slightest bit impressed by the dedication she showed for Bloom. "We need to find Bloom. We have to."

The fairy of technology fell silent for a while, deep in thought, and Faragonda didn't dare to interrupt her train of thoughts, for she, too was worried about the well-being of the most powerful student Alfea had ever seen. After a while, Tecna spoke. "Zenith," she said, rather abruptly. The others blinked at the non sequitur. "Zenith," Tecna repeated. "We need to go to Zenith."

"Zenith," mused Faragonda. "That is your home world, isn't it, Tecna?"

Tecna nodded, and pulled out a holo-projector. The gadget blinked and displayed a cold-looking place, made entirely out of metal and looking like a futuristic dystopia. "This is Zenith, I've lived there all my life. The people on Zenith have a very high standard of living, so high that their technology is far more advanced than my best invention yet, and my inventions are considered the best in Alfea. We need to head over there. I can use the technology there to track Bloom's signature."

At this, the remaining Winx girls perked up. "Then what are we waiting for?" Stella all but demanded. "We're leaving for Zenith! Oh, I hope they have a large mall..."

Faragonda chuckled, tuning the rest of Stella's rant out. The girls would find Bloom, and everything would go back to normal in no time. She just hoped Bloom was ready to venture into the deepest reaches of the realm to find the fabled Water Stars.

And there we go!