TW (trigger warning): This chapter has a lot of angst (seriously) that involves self-hatred and doubt, accidental almost-su1s!d$, manipulation, and that's the just. If you are sensitive to these things please skip the chapter, and at the beginning of the next chapter there will be a vague description of this chapter so you don't miss the plot development
Darcy
The pavilion, as it turns out, was stable.
I hesitantly placed a foot on the stone, half expecting it to be just like the ink around and below us. A second went by, then another, and then I trusted the stone enough to stop levitating and walk onto it. Everyone else followed after realizing that it was safe, staying transformed in case of danger.
It was when I walked closer to the center of the structure that I really felt that it was… weird. It must be those 'weird vibes' Kat mentioned earlier, but even as weird as her description was, it fit. The pavilion was under the dim light normal to everything in The Dark World, but it didn't seem purely evil or purely good. It just… was.
"This place is seriously creepy," Musa stated from afar.
I turned around in circles, looking at the three doorways holding up the ring above. Each of the doorways' centers was a swirly mass of darkness and light, swirling and undulating within each other in harmony. The frame of the doors was the same stone as everything around us, just gray gray and more gray. I would say I prefer this to the colours of Alfea if not for the weird feeling surrounding this place.
Against my better judgment, I stepped closer to one of the doorways—the border slightly different than the rest, adorned with carvings of the rising sun and budding plants—and peered into the center of it. Nothing except—and then the center started to move and change into… a picture, a vision.
There was… a city? It looked like Magix. Then several figures appeared in the blurred cityscape: me, Icy, Stormy, and… the Winx? We were all in Magix. Then as if in slow-motion, the figures started to move. We were all smiling and laughing in the streets of Magix, talking with one another. Even Aisha in the vision seemed to have abandoned all of her prejudices. No one was glaring at each other and everyone was… at ease being together. Even me…
"Icy, Stormy. Come take a look at this," I call them over. They looked over to where I was and then walked to the door I was standing in front of, looking as confused as I was. "Do you see the same thing I do? All of us in Magix?"
Icy and Stormy looked into the door suspiciously, and I was keeping my gaze on them to see any clues to what they were seeing. Stormy was still, but Icy smiled softly, tears forming in her eyes. She tried to form words, but nothing was coming out until she finally managed to say:
"I—I see Diamond," Icy said in disbelief, wiping away her tears. "It's like when I was a child. And… Sapphire is human again." She laughed—I could practically feel the relief in her voice—before looking even closer. "Everything is normal again. And Sapphire and I are looking at the flowers."
Stormy looked between the two of us as if we were crazy. "How are you two's vision-things so normal? I see all of us—and the Winx, mind you—at a dance at Alfea. As if I'll ever go to one of those things willingly, ugh. Unless it's a million years into the future when I've lost all my dignity."
I paused, an idea of what this was popping into my mind. "Say that again, Stormy."
"What?"
"The last thing you said."
"When I've lost all my dignity?"
I sigh, rolling my eyes. "Before that."
"What? That it'll never happen unless it's a million years into the future—"
"Yes!" I exclaim, looking at Icy. "These things might be able to show the future. Our future."
Icy looked at the door again before staring up at the sky, trying to not let even more tears fall. "I'm actually going to get Sapphire back. Diamond is going to be fine. I'm going to fix my mistake…" She embraced the two of us, and I laughed at the sight of Stormy's expression of confusion and amusement. "Everything's going to be okay."
The embrace soon ended—I realized that all of us were alive in the visions, so… none of us are going to die gaining Inseimix. We'll be okay—and of course, Stormy being Stormy, immediately decided to flaunt our discovery to the Winx who were on the other side of the pavilion.
"Hey, Winx!" Stormy called out teasingly, laughing under her breath. "These things show the future! In case you haven't figured it out yet!"
The Winx loomed towards us, and Bloom tilted her head in confusion, tapping the second doorway she, Stella, Aisha, and Tecna were standing in front of. "Really? Then this one must not work… It's only showing us standing in front of it."
"As if it's a mirror," Tecna said, looking just as perplexed as everyone else.
I looked at Icy and Stormy, then over to the third doorway where Musa, Flora, and Kat were—the latter was seemingly frozen in front of the doorway. "Musa! Flora! Kat! Is your doorway showing anything!"
Kat bit her lip—she felt panicked, and her mind was chaotic; as if her thoughts were flying around everywhere, and I didn't even have to read her mind to feel that—before she forced herself to look away from the doorway, breathing in deeply.
"Past," she said. It was barely able to be heard, and the only reason I heard it from all the way over here is that her thought of the word was extremely strong—so much that I could hear it even without telepathically communicating with her.
"Past!" Musa yelled out, looking uncomfortable at whatever she saw in the door.
Flora was the calmest out of the three, and of course, Kat was the least at ease. She walked away from the door, shaking her head and tapping her hand with the other as if to distract herself from the thoughts of her past. I didn't even have to think to guess what she saw, and I buried the guilt that arose with the thought. Reassuring myself that it was in the past and that I need to stop blaming myself for everything.
"These things must show the past, present, and future!" Stella concluded, a smile appearing on her face. "Let's go around all the doors! I definitely wanna see my future!"
Everyone started to go around the different doors, the Winx to the door of the future, and Icy, Stormy, and I to the door of the past—none of us went to the door that showed the present. We all know what the present is: walking around the pavilion. The three of us paused at the door before sharing a glance without looking into the doorway.
"Let's skip that one," Icy said with a grimace, and we all agreed without any hesitation.
With no other doorway to look at, I walked over to the door of the present. Anything that it would show wouldn't be a surprise, so might as well just see what it is all about.
"It's not gonna show anything new," Stormy stated—as if I didn't already know that—but then she and Icy followed.
I stood in front of the doorway, the two of them behind me, seeing the exact thing I expected to see: the three of us in front of the doorway. I peered closer, and I was able to see the Winx behind us looking at the doorway of the future, the rest of the pavilion, a shadow among the ink around the pavilion. It looked… like a person—oh no!
"Something's here!" I yelled, bolting around.
The Winx turned with a start, and Icy and Stormy prepared their magic as everyone rushed to the center of the pavilion. I looked towards what the equivalent of where I saw the shadow in the mirror must be and then I saw that the shadow, without a doubt, was a person. We were so focused on the doors that we forgot that everything here is trying to kill us. I glanced to my left—seeking to see what the others' reaction was—and then I saw a second shadow.
"There!" Flora called out, pointing to my right, and I saw that there was a third shadow.
"Those things are turning into… people," Aisha said, eyes wide, and as I looked between the three shadows I realized that they weren't just turning into people. They were people! And even though they were still far from the pavilion, they were getting closer
The first figure was taller than the others, with long brown hair done up partially in a bun. She wore a simple dress beaded with reds as if they were made of fire, and blues as dark as Oscurita itself. She wore a purple potion bottle as a necklace, and her eyes… they were dangerous, yet alluring, and I banished the thought that it was like looking in a mirror.
The figure at my left had dark hair that shone brightly, silver and gold running through her hair, a bag hanging from her shoulder that I didn't know what I was filled with. She was eerily calm, and looked strangely threatening compared to the first figure.
Lastly, the figure at my right wore robes of black, curly blonde hair falling over her shoulders. She had a staff held in her hand—for the other… seemed to be torn off as if from an attack—that was as dark as the ink surrounding the pavilion. But the thing that all three of the figures have in common was that dark wisps were coming off of them, smoking off into the air.
Kat swore to herself.
"Do you know who they are?" I asked, building up a sphere of darkness between my hands.
"Aria, Son, and Dagi," Kat explained, her hands flickering with magic. "If I remember right they are three sorceresses who were banished because they used their powers of music to hurt others, and then they took on shadow magic instead." She began mumbling under her breath. "Dragon, I should have realized sooner. If I wasn't so distracted I would have actually—"
"Uhhhh the creeps are coming closer so someone think of a plan!" Stella yelled, preparing her magic to attack. And she was right, the three sorceresses were now on the pavilion, one floating above each door.
"Just attack these things!" Stormy swung her hand at the figure—the one with brown hair that was lazily sitting on the ring above the door of the past—and a lightning bolt flew out toward her. She disappeared, avoiding the attack, before reappearing.
"Awww, is that the best you can do?" She smirked, laying down across the ring without a care in the world. We all looked at each other, sharing the same confusion and indecision. The figure—I had no idea which one was which—smiled down at us. "Welcome to my playground, magi: the pavilion of doors that show the past, present, and, well, possible future. Not any of this is guaranteed." She chuckled before her gaze darkened, touching the potion vial hanging from her neck. "My name is Aria, as if it would matter to you all."
"What she means is…" The figure above the door of the future—the one with curly blonde hair—stood still, rolling her eyes at Aria. "That we are going to kill you. Every single one of you, and it won't be pleasant by any means."
A shrill laugh came from above the door to the present, and the figure with hair streaks with silver and gold, adjusting her bag. "Don't mind Dagi, but she is right that we are going to kill you! I'm Sona, and, dragon, am I looking forward to watching all of you die! Maybe we'll drown you in the ink, or we'll attack you until you can't even stand, or—"
Aria chuckled darkly. "Please excuse Sona, but you can't blame her for being excited to kill you. Getting rid of all of you at once, painfully, will be the thing that separates us from the rest of the vermin in Oscurita in the eyes of the Shaman Witch. But I myself have special orders from the Shaman to make sure the lucky one of you falls by my hands." Her eyes narrowed, and when she met my gaze, fear jolted into my heart. "That someone is you, Darcy."
I froze, looking between the three sorceresses, before burying the fear. "I'd like to see you try. Everyone! Start attacking these wannabes!"
I levitated up from the ground, my eyes set on Aria. She was so at ease. Why? I threw my attack at her, expecting it to hit, but she just moved to the side before levitating up into the air. Icy fired spears of ice and Stormy tried her lightning attack again, but Aria kept on avoiding it!
"Are you really gonna keep trying?" Aria scoffed before she waved her hand, and a potion vial appeared in thin air and she grabbed it swiftly. "Then I guess I'll play this little game before I get to the reason I'm here." She popped the top off the potion bottle before pouring it down on the ground in front of us, the green liquid soaking into the stone before emitting a neon smoke.
"Stop—" Stormy threw more lightning at Aria, only for her to avoid it again — "disappearing! Oh my dragon!"
The smoke was wafting over to our feet, and I knelt down to it—Aria wasn't doing anything besides annoying the ome out of us, and the Winx were handling Sona and Dagi just fine, and seemed to be having the same problem we were with fighting the sorceresses—and I immediately smelled something acidic in the gas.
"Guys I think we're slowly being surrounded by poison!" I yelled out.
"I'll handle this!" Stormy began conjuring up wind, and the poison was slowly being dispelled.
"Oh no you don't," Dagi sneered from behind this, and with a wave of her hand, conjured up a ring that bound Stormy's hands together, stopping her from casting the spell.
"Oh come on!" Stormy threw her hands down and began struggling to get rid of the ring around her wrists with no avail.
The poison began floating up, and I coughed on the gas. I cover my mouth and look around to the Winx, who were also struggling with trying not to breathe the poison into their lungs. The three sorceresses were just having a sweet time above the doors, acting as if we were just flies waiting to be squashed. It was cowardly, and they could at least fight us instead of using backhanded tricks!
"Haha! Have fun dying!" Sona laughed from above.
"Flora!" Kat said—the only one not coughing on the poison because of her immunity to it, and at that moment I envied her as my lungs were burning like fire—and looked over to her friend beside her. "Conjure up vines around us!"
"That'll just make the gas worse!" Aisha pointed out. "Why can't we just use an attack to blow it away or smother it?"
"Because then it'll keep coming back, and if something is protecting us from the sorceress from attacking us or blocking our magic then—" Kat stopped herself before speaking loud enough for us to hear it, but so that the sorceresses can't. "...then I can absorb the poison."
"It's likely going to work," Tecna said, coughing, then she looked at Kat. "As long as you absorb it fast enough."
Kat bit her lip and looked off to the side as if she was doubting her ability to do this without failing. Her emotions swarmed her mind before she buried them, then she shook her head again before breathing in deeply.
"I can do it," Kat said, clearly determined, as she began to focus her magic without letting it go overboard so the sorceresses couldn't see what she was planning.
My breaths are becoming hard enough to fill my lungs, and the coughing was only worsening. I was fanning away the gas with the hand that isn't covering my mouth, but it kept rising higher and higher until fanning it away wasn't doing anything. I could hear the Winx coughing behind me.
"Now, Flora!" Kat yelled, trying to be heard over the coughing.
Flora held her breath and waved her hands swiftly, and immediately thick green vines shot up through the stone and began forming a roof around us. I heard the voices of the sorceresses through the gas, but the sound disappeared the moment the vines closed the final hole and we were now protected from any interference. Then I realized that the gas was becoming so thick that I couldn't see!
"Hold on!" Kat said, and I felt her casting a spell, and I was praying that she would absorb the gas in time before we all suffocated.
A second went by, and I could see through my burning and teary eyes that the smoke was becoming thinner. My lungs were aching from the lack of air, and through the pain, I felt guilty that I was being put through the same thing that I once inflicted on someone else: the person on who my life depended on. The gas was slowly settling to the ground, now only half filling the dome, and I could hear Kat breathing shakily. Of course, the gas would be strong dark magic to absorb… she just has to hold on for a little longer and then we'll all be okay. Then we might live to get the futures we saw in the door. Then as the smoke was just floating on the ground, it was gone.
I immediately took in a breath—my lungs were still burning, but I didn't care—and wiped the remains of the tears from my eyes. I could hear the Winx breathing and cheering from behind us, and I saw that Stormy was just now able to destroy the ring restraining her magic, laughing gladly in response.
I turned around in realization, and I saw that Kat was breathing heavily, her eyes closed in discomfort. "Are you okay…?" I asked, knowing that she clearly wasn't—considering she looks so worn out.
Kat turned around and composed herself, brushing away the sweat on her face. "Yeah, I'm fine. The poison in the gas was just strong, but at least now we can worry about the sorceresses."
It didn't take a genius to realize that Kat was lying, but when spells started being bombarded against the vines from the outside it was clear we had more important things to worry about. Flora's hands were glowing bright green as she added more and more vines to the dome, strengthening it.
"The dome isn't going to hold up for much longer! We need a plan!" Flora said, glancing back at everyone.
"There's three of them and ten of us," Musa began. "We can divide up and then fight them. We'll be the ones with the advantage!"
To my surprise, Icy was the one who responded—positively at that—to the plan. "That'll probably work! Is there any information about the sorceresses any of you know?"
"I'm pretty sure each of them has a different power source, or a way of using their magic," Kat explained. "Aria uses potions, and Sona uses spores or different powders, at least that's what I remember. Dagi, the one with the staff, uses shadows and controls them. But each of the sorceresses will probably be able to attack offensively and defensively!"
Tecna thought for a moment. "Then when we divide up, if we have two on offence and one on defence shielding the others, we can overwhelm them." She looked around at all of us, deliberating who would be best together in the groups. "Icy, Darcy, Stormy, you three will be good as a group against Aria. Darcy can use her powers on the defensive while you two attack."
The three of us shared a glance and nodded. Most of the time, even in past battles, I would use my magic for defensive purposes—like tricking opponents and confusing them. I would have to use more shields in this case, but if Icy and Stormy attack ruthlessly at Aria while I protect them from her attacks then this will be an easy fight!
"Aisha, Flora, and Stella, you will have the advantage to go against Dagi. Aisha on the defensive, and Stella, don't stop attacking no matter what!" Tecna ordered.
Stella smiled, her hands already glowing with magic. Aisha began forming her… pink stuff—oh right, morphix—and looked as determined as ever. Flora nodded at Tecna, hurriedly replacing the slowly breaking vines with even stronger ones. The strength of her Inseimix powers clearly shows in comparison to her old powers, not that they were weak by any means.
"Lastly, Bloom, Musa, and I will fight against Sona, with myself on defence." Tecna looked at Kat. "And if either of the sorceresses uses a poison like before, are you able to absorb it?"
"Yes," Kat said without hesitation, which was confusing. Considering how beat up she was after absorbing the poison.
"Ready?" Bloom exclaimed, wings and hands sparkling. I jumped, startled, and I glanced at everyone else and I realized that they were also fully prepared to attack the sorceresses. I focused on my magic, and my hands got surrounded by a black aura.
"Ready!"
"Definitely!"
"Let's do this!"
Flora pulled down the vines, and then all of us flew up into the air toward our targets. There was more than enough space among the pavilion for us to spread out and attack without us crowding around each other, and I felt the connection to my magic strengthen as I focused on the anger I have for the Shaman Witch and any of her lackeys.
Icy, Stormy, and I flew toward Aria, who was still calm as she was earlier. She wasn't making a move, and it was the perfect opportunity to gain the upper hand. I shared a glance with Icy and Stormy, and I knew at that moment that we were all ready to get rid of Aria and continue trying to gain Inseimix.
"Shadow sphere!" I cast a sphere of darkness around us, moving it to follow our cohesive movements to protect us from any spells from the outside while still allowing us to push spells at Aria from the inside.
"Icicle barrage!"
"Rain of Lightning!"
Icy and Stormy shot out a combined attack, the spell of ice shards and sparks of electricity passing through the barrier and toward Aria. She wasn't reacting. Why wasn't she reacting?
With a swish of her hand the moment when she would get hit, Aria flicked away the spell without any thought, leaving the attack to hit the stone floor. Is she somehow immune to our attacks?
The three of us shared a confused glance, none of us sure of what to do or how to attack Aria in a way that would actually work.
"It was nice playing with you all…" Aria drawled as she stretched her arms calmly. It still bothered me that she was so calm. It was three against one, so she would at least be scared of her defeat. Aria waved her hand, and then a thin potion bottle containing a swirling, black mixture appeared in her hand. She carefully took the stopper off, and I didn't look away from her so I could try to find an opening where we could attack and not miss. "It's time to start what I was sent here for."
Aria poured the mixture into her hand—it looks identical to the ink we had come close to drowning in—and it moved and angulated as if it had a mind of its own. The sorceress smiled cruelly, and Stormy prepared an attack. Then the ink in Aria's hand shot forward directly at us!
"What even is that?" Icy was disgusted at the mass, and her hand was glowing.
"Don't really know," I answered. "But the barrier will stop it from reaching us."
I focused my magic on the barrier, and it stopped the inky mass that stuck onto the outside. I winced as the mass wormed its way through the barrier as if it was acid or a worm, and I regretted putting so much of my energy into the barrier. I started to cast another spell—
"Darcy!"
I whipped my head at Stormy, then the mass shot through the last bit of the barrier. I didn't have to blink before I felt it attach to my face! I couldn't see anything, and I brought my hands up to peel it off. I heard the panicked voices of my sisters while I failed to get the mass off my face. I need to get this thing off! I breathed in, but then I felt a burning coolness as the mass went through my mouth within seconds.
"Ugh—" I brought my hands to my throat in fear, trying to breathe when all that I succeeded in was coughing. "Just—" I hacked, now realizing that the mass was stopping me from breathing.
Just get air in, now! I can't die like this! My vision is getting dark, and I don't know if I'm hearing Icy and Stormy or if I'm just imagining it. The mass or potion thing was staying lodged in my throat. My head was pounding and my lungs were stinging, my heart was slowing down. I hated this feeling. Icy grabbed my wrist and Stormy was… yelling? But then I stopped struggling. I'm too tired to… what was I…?
I closed my eyes, and I fell to the ground.
Kat
Sona had just launched another attack of poison spores at Bloom, Musa, and Tecna—the sorceress was struggling to defend herself from the three of them at once. They were different from the ones Aria had used from her potion, and they seemed to hone in on the fairies' positions, all of them trying to avoid the spores.
"Just stop with the dust already!" Musa yelled angrily, firing spells at the green spores before even more floated toward her.
I flew towards the group, already wincing internally knowing how much this will hurt. I have to admit that the vision in the door—the one to the future—made me realize how much the change I've been avoiding telling the Winx was getting closer. It's been almost two years now since the flashes started, and if I remember right I just have… three more of them left. Just Sirenix to Dark Sirenix, Bloomix to Darkix, then… Inseimix. I need to tell the Winx before the final one happens, and it's not like I can go back after… changing classes. I don't know how they'll take it, or how I will take it.
"Get out of the spores!" I exclaimed, reaching Bloom and the others, trying to focus on positive feelings. It would hurt miles less to use negative energy at this point, but I can't risk a flash happening here where everyone can see.
"Thanks!" Bloom smiled, worn out from the fighting, as she, Musa, and Tecna flew up out of the cloud of spores.
"Don't mention it," I answered quietly, raising my hands up to absorb the poisonous spores.
My hands glowed a dark purple as I thought of absorbing the poison, cleaning the air. I could feel my magic getting stronger and stronger, and I clenched my eyes shut when I felt the spores starting to be absorbed into my hands; my magic. Normally it wouldn't sting, and it wouldn't feel like acid inside me, but I have to get through this. I don't know if the cloud of spores was disappearing; I just closed my eyes, focused on keeping my tears inside. If I didn't have a decent pain tolerance this would be ome, more than it is already. Come on… I've been through worse than this. I buried that thought. The door to the past showed too many memories I wasn't eager to revisit.
"Kat, it's gone now, you can stop."
I opened my eyes. Bloom, Tecna, and Musa were around me, and when I scanned the area, I saw that the cloud of spores had disappeared—including a clearly fuming Sona. Musa looked at me, and I knew that she was concerned.
I forced a smile. "Just blacked out a bit, sorry."
"DARCY!"
That was Icy yelling!
I turned around and I saw Icy and Stormy flying after Darcy who was falling to the ground unconscious. Even from here, I could feel that something was wrong—the presence of Darcy's mind was just… out of it as if it got turned off. Icy shot a beam at Darcy, and the white-hallowed spell floated her safely to the ground. She was still unconscious.
"Come on, quick!" Bloom said, her eyes wide with shock and concern. She looked back at Musa and Tecna. "Can you two handle Sona?"
"On it," Musa nodded before she and Tecna flew towards Sona, firing beams and spells from their hands within an instant. They were probably good to handle themselves, as long as Sona doesn't use any more spores against them.
Bloom glanced at me. "Let's go see what's going on with the Trix."
I nod, too nervous to say anything.
The two of us flew towards the Trix—Stormy and Icy were kneeling over Darcy, who was not moving from what I can tell from over here—and when we landed on the stone floor in front of them I saw that Aria was no longer above the door. Icy kept her gaze fixed on Darcy, while Stormy looked up at us, looking as nervous as her sister.
"What happened?" I asked, looking between Darcy and the lack of Aria.
Stormy looked between us and her sisters, and as she nervously ran a hand through her hair, I saw that she was shaking. "I—I don't know." She looked back at the door where Aria once was. "That—that sorceress pulled out a potion and then it jumped out towards Darcy and went inside her then she fell and then Aria disappeared!"
"She's still breathing!" Icy exclaimed, trembling as she checked Darcy's pulse. Her chest shook, the repressed sobs still visible to those watching. She looked at me, and her eyes were fearful and desperate—so much different from her usual cold and emotionless gaze that I was used to. "Can… can you get that thing out of her? Like you did with the gas?"
I didn't know what to say. Not because I was hesitating to help Darcy, but because I was shocked that Icy would ask me for help. I felt that she changed from the past a while ago, but this is when the realization hit me. Icy was trying her hardest to hide her tears, and I felt just how much she cared for Darcy. I knew that I was going to do whatever I can to make sure Icy and Stormy don't lose someone they care about.
"I can try." I walk over to where Icy was and kneel down next to Darcy's body. I didn't even have to focus my magic to feel Darcy's fear, and it made me wonder what was going on. But I just have to get that potion-thing out of her. I have to hope that I'll be able to absorb it from here and that it hasn't affected her in any permanent way.
I focus my magic, not even worrying about whether or not it will be painful to me. I can feel Stormy and Bloom worriedly looking down on the situation, and from the corner of my eye, I saw Icy not even blinking as she stared at Darcy, waiting for any sign of her awakening. I dive deep into my magic's core and try to find where the potion was. A second went by before I felt something wrong—a poison—in Darcy's mind. Dragon… if it permanently alters her mind that will be horrible for her. Focusing on getting the poison out was hard on its own, but focusing on that while being careful not to harm Darcy's mind is an entirely different thing on its own. I just have to do this. For Icy, Stormy, and Darcy herself. I carefully tried to pull on the poison, but it just stayed there. It was already… it was already absorbed by her mind. Then I felt it. I felt a foreign energy in Darcy's mind.
"What is it?" Icy asked urgently.
I breathed deeply, planning out what I was going to say without worrying her further. "I can't take the poison out of her mind." Icy's eyes widened, and when I looked around, I saw that Stormy, and even Bloom, was getting more nervous by the second. "And… I think Aria went inside Darcy's mind. She said earlier that she had orders to…" I refrained from finishing that sentence.
"Can you at least get that hag out?" Stormy asked, her voice rising and rising. "Maybe even get Darcy out of the trance or whatever the potion did to her? Anything! Or are you just gonna do nothing and watch her die!"
"She's doing what she can to help," Bloom protested.
Stormy's accusation stung, but I can see the tears in her eyes. She must be under so much stress and turmoil. I know not to take tone or words personally. It's just fear leading her to say those things.
"It's okay, Bloom," I reassure calmly, before looking at Stormy. "I don't think I can outright pull Darcy out of the trance, but I can try to weaken Aria's influence on her mind to make it easier for her to get out."
Stormy and Icy looked at each other. "Are there… any risks for Darcy while doing that?" Icy questioned, her emotionless tone coming back.
I think for a moment. "No. And going to be easy enough to find Aria without going into Darcy's memories, or anything else like that. There won't be any threat to Darcy, besides the sorceress, while I do this."
"Alright." Icy nods, glancing at Stormy before she nodded as well. They were all okay with the plan, but if anything, their trust was only making this even more nerve-wracking. If it doesn't work and I'm kicked out of Darcy's mind I would just have to have faith that she would be fine. If Aria is using Darcy's past or emotions against her… I've felt Darcy's guilt of the past, and it's strong. If this doesn't work it's going to be an ordeal for her to do this on her own.
I focused my magic once more, feeling it light up within me.
Darcy
It was cold. I felt the floor beneath me; solid like stone. My throat was burning, but from the feeling of my lungs expanding and collapsing, I can tell that I'm breathing. I press a palm into the floor, pushing my body up, before opening my eyes.
Around me was a ghost-like image of the pavilion, the once-solid doors moving like a misty illusion. In the distance, there was just… darkness. Not even the gray sky was there. Or anything.
I stood up and glanced behind me, expecting to see Icy and Stormy—I fell, I think, so they would be worried knowing them—but no one was there. The Winx weren't here either. It was… empty, and I was alone.
This must've been the work of whatever potion Aria used. I shuddered at the memory of the mass clogging up my throat, before I started waking forward. I have to find a way out.
"Leaving so soon?"
I turn to see Aria standing in the center of the ghostly pavilion, toying with the potion bottle hanging from her necklace. I focus on my magic so I can attack her. Nothing happens. The only remnant I can feel of my magic is the feeling that it is still there, but I couldn't access it. This must be Aria's work. I try to focus on the psychic part of my magic, though the only proof of it working was the ick of an intruder in my mind: Aria.
We're inside my mind.
I walk away from Aria. "It's my mind. I can leave when I want, and I'm certainly not obligated to stay here with you."
I hear a laugh from behind me. "If you're so sure of yourself, then leave. See if you can get out, but you won't be able to."
Aria was evidently mocking me, but I tried anyway to leave. There was no sight of this place or Aria going away, no feeling of leaving. I freeze. If Aria is inside my mind and I can't use my powers, how can I stop her from getting into my memories if she chooses to? How can I get her out?
"You won't be able to get out, Darcy. Or use your magic, or even fight me." I turn around, seeing Aria walk towards me. "I have a bargain for you, though. If you agree to it, you'll be able to leave this place."
I force myself to look indifferent, Aria and I meters apart. "In the pavilion, the real one, you said that you have orders from the Shaman Witch to kill me. I'm not going to bargain with you when that is your intention."
"What if I changed my intention…?" Aria asked coyly as she circled around me, a mask of a smile on her face. "Then what?"
"Then I still don't trust you."
Aria laughed. "I'm sure you won't." She came from behind me, standing in front of me, holding the vial hanging from her neck. "You'll never let me help you. Darcy… always the smart and rational one. It's hard to trust people when you're like that, isn't it?"
I think back to waking up this morning, trying to hide my feelings—no! I can't let Aria trick me. I'm fine the way I am and I won't let her manipulate me. Stay calm and don't listen to what she says. She was sent here to kill you.
"Not particularly," I answer, reading every slight change of expression on the sorceress' face. "Just cut to the chase of what you want to say. I can tell you're trying to manipulate me, and I want no part in it. If you're here to kill me, just do it."
"You say you don't want to be manipulated, and yet, that's the only thing you've been doing to others your whole life," Aria said, eyes dancing. "That's a little hypocritical of you. Don't you think so?"
Oh, so this is what this is. I think about what Aria is saying. I've… done those things to a lot of people. Riven and… everyone else. But I have Icy and Stormy. I've never manipulated them. I'm not just what I did with my powers.
"You're wrong," I said, trying to hide the crack in my voice. "I've done more than just manipulate people. And I am done with this conversation." I turn around and walk away again. If this is my mind I can find a way out of here without having to deal with Aria. She clearly knows what she's doing. I can't spiral as I did on Diamond.
"You say that, and yet…" Aria mused. "No one really cares about you, and they only do when you force them to do so." I tense, forcing one step after another. "Your so-called sisters are only still with you because you're useful to them. Both of them are incompetent, so they're using you. How sad."
Anger shoots through me and I turn around. "Don't you dare talk about Icy and Stormy that way!" Something was falling from my eyes, wet and cold. "They have been with me for years and it's not because I'm useful to them!"
Aria tilted her head, absently tapping the potion bottle hanging from her neck. "That may be so…" She mused. "They are your sisters after all, but those fairies are another story. How do you know that they aren't using you? That they're purposefully leading you to your death?"
My mind was swarmed with so many different reasons why Aria was acting this way. She was sent here to kill me, so why is she trying to convince me that Icy and Stormy don't trust me but abandon that notion moments after? I can't read her mind to figure out her reasoning, and that bothered me. I was in front of the magi who wants to kill me and I don't know what her plan is…
She's trying to convince me that the Winx are using me. I don't know more than that for now. Daphne and Faragonda aren't using me, Kat had read their minds so she must know that the two are… somewhat sincere. How do you know that they aren't using you? Aria's words echoed through me. The Winx aren't using me, at least… I think they aren't. Flora and Bloom seem sincere, though… would Aisha go that far? The Winx would kill me if I got caught reading one of their minds, so I haven't, but then… how can I be sure that they aren't using me? That they aren't using Icy and Stormy?
I tried to regain my focus. Even if the Winx are using me, I know that Kat isn't using me. I'm able to feel her emotions, so if she was using me I would have felt it, right? Even back on Ovrum, if she did that then when we were enemies then she would do the same now. She forgives me. Or at the very least, she doesn't hate me. The conversation we had last time in Oscurita was real. Still awkward for both of us, but real. Or…
"I mean, you've hurt the Winx so much that it's not a surprise they would manipulate you. Especially that dark fairy that gives you utterly pathetic hope that you've changed from the manipulative, controlling, narcissistic witch you were." Aria chuckled. "Or, are."
"I have changed…" I insist. "I would know if she is using me."
"Would you?" Aria asked, her eyes filled with false sympathy. What was she trying to do? "I hope I'm not being too pessimistic, but you have hurt Kat so much, what's to say she wouldn't do the same to you? She can read you just as well as you can read her. She has the motivation for it. Kat still fears you, and you know it."
I think back to the fear I could feel from Kat that I kept trying to ignore. "I know." Digging my nails into my arms I cross them over my chest. Aria's words… if Kat, if any of the Winx, wanted to use me they…
"And it's all because of the past." Aria tugged the potion vial off of the thin rope around her neck, the vial snapping off. "This, Darcy, can help you get rid of it. You'll never have to feel guilt over the past again. Of how you had hurt others, manipulated others, and how you doomed your own planet. All of it can disappear."
Zenothe… it's been years since I've gone back there.
When I was a child—fourteen, fifteen years old—I started losing control of my magic. It took years before I realized that it was because of the Ancestors. Stormy had the same problem, not knowing how to have control of the unnatural amount of magic inside of us when we hardly had control over our own magic as is. The Ancestral Witches, apparently, had decided near that time we would be 'worthy descendants of their lineage of magic.' In other words, as I now know, it would be easy for them to mould and manipulate us.
After gaining their magic along with ours, Icy, Stormy, and I were broken from our homes. Icy from Diamond—which was the one situation out of the Ancestors' control—Stormy from Linfea, and myself from Zenothe. In the case of Stormy and I where our over-strengthened powers had developed before we ruined things for our families, I wonder if that was the plan of the Ancestors all along. To give us the magic knowing it would ruin whatever normal pleasures of life we had.
I remember the exact moment everything broke, but I was struggling to control my magic—particularly the psychic part of it—for several months before. My 'normal' magic was that of shadows, and gaining some new magic on top of that wasn't much of a problem considering I was at the top of my class in controlling my magic. But when I suddenly had new psychic and mental powers on top of that I started losing control.
Day after day I couldn't block out the thoughts of people around me, and in fear of hurting my family or my friends, I turned my powers onto myself. I would get excruciating migraines for days on end, and no one I knew had an idea of what the cause could be. I didn't know either. My mothers were evidently worried about my well-being, and it hurt them that they didn't know how to stop it. None of my relatives knew where the sudden psychic magic came from, for they were all pure shadow magi, at least those directly related to me. And because I had no one to blame or no idea what was going on, I blamed myself. I thought that I was the reason I was losing control, not knowing that I was just a pawn in someone else's plan.
The day I lost control and fled Zenothe I was walking home from school. The three friends I had—it's been so long I can't remember their names—had just waved me off, and I was struggling to block out their thoughts. Then I started walking home, trying to enjoy the view of the elegant buildings—both old and futuristic at once, built with white marble and wood-stained blacks and dark greens and purples—but there was a crowd around the route home because of an annual festival. The Festival of the New Night, which was celebrated on the day of the longest night of the year and was the biggest and most valued holiday on Zenothe. I wanted to go and celebrate with my friends and family, but I knew everyone there at once would be too difficult to be blocked out.
I struggled to hold up my mental barrier as I walked past everyone setting up decorations for the festival. There were so many thoughts all at once, and even before that my psychic magic was bringing pain to my mind, that they were being thrown up against my mind, and each one hurt. Planning preparations for the Festival, thoughts of what to do the next day, and even trivial comments on others were banging against my mental defences like a gong. I covered my ears in desperation and walked as fast as I could, and that walk soon turned into a desperate run as tears began to fall down my face.
There was too much pain, and the control I had was breaking. It wasn't a surprise that when I collapsed to the ground, screaming in pain, I unwillingly cast a spell. I couldn't even imagine back then that it affected everyone on Zenothe—it was unfathomable that I had that power—and when the people in my sight screamed their shrill cries before collapsing to the ground I froze before racing over.
I knelt next to the closest person near me—recognizing him as the teacher of potions and transformation from school—and cried next to his body. I saw his chest rising and falling, and in a hurry, I checked his pulse, but there was no other movement. Everyone the spell affected—including the professor I was sobbing over—their eyes were pitch black and clouded. I cried over the professor's body for dragon knows how long before I realized that my mind was silent. No one's thoughts were hurting my mind, and everything was silent.
I raced over to my house, praying that my mothers' would be fine. There were fallen bodies on the ground all the way there, and when I burst open the house's door, I saw that not even my family had been spared mercy from the spell. I had made all of them go silent. Every single person on my planet was in a trance, and I had no idea how to reverse it.
I released a shaken breath, not having acknowledged what happened so vividly for years. After all that I had gone to Linfea—sneaking into the Archive of Plants and Healing—looking for an answer or a cure. There I met Stormy, and I realized that she had the same problem that I did: controlling her newfound magic. Barely anytime later we met Icy in Magix, and years later when we ran into the Ancestral Witches and they told us the truth behind what happened—that they gave us these new powers—Icy had to hold Stormy and I back from burying the Ancestors into the ground. Later on, I tentatively seeked answers from Lilith if there was a cure to what I have done, but either there was no cure, or she hid what she knew from me on purpose.
Years have passed, and I'm still looking for a cure…
"It's hopeless," Aria stated. "All of this, looking for the saving grace for what you've done for years on end, must be draining." She held out the potion, a dark green liquid moving within it. "The memories, the guilt, can all go away if you use this. It will get rid of those painful memories within a second, and you will be free."
I started at the potion. All I felt was a numbness that came from looking back on what I've done, both of Zenothe and to the Winx and how hopeless it is to fix it. The best I can do is to forget all of it, then… maybe I don't have to be afraid. To show what I feel without the fear of doing the same thing to the people I love as I did on Zenothe.
I stared at Aria, carefully taking the vial out of her hand. "This will only get rid of the bad memories? Not the ones I want to keep, right?"
I still want to remember Icy and Stormy, even the few good moments I've had with the Winx. The conversation with Stella in the dorm wasn't too bad, as well as the conversations with Kat. If I forget everything in the past that brings me guilt then I can live the way I want to live without having this… this weight over me.
"Yes," Aria nodded, smiling. "None of the memories you cherish will be gone. Only the things of the past that bring you guilt will disappear. Everything can go away, Darcy. You just have to take the potion, that's all you have to do."
I hold the vial, staring at it. I ran my finger along the cork stopper and the patterns along the outside of the glass. The green liquid within the vial was still, dark like grass and the night sky all at once. If I drink this will all the guilt really end? When I forget about Zenothe and everything I've done will I be able to live happily and without guilt? This, the potion, is the easiest way out of this.
I pull out the stopper, letting it fall to the floor—
There's another intruder in my mind. I turn around, looking into the darkness, but the only one I can see is Aria. A second passes before I look behind me, and several meters back I see an illusion fading in and out of sight.
"Darcy! Don't listen to her!"
I recognize the voice before the illusion becomes clearer, and I realize that Kat entered my mind somehow. The illusion of her was blinking in and out, and it was clear to see that it was her. She must have projected herself here, and seeing her here made me even more sure of my decision.
"Why shouldn't I listen to her?" I yell, stepping forwards, forcing myself not to brush away the repressed tears that were falling down my face. "I have lived with so much guilt for years and it hasn't gone away! People say it gets better but it never does! I'm not going to live my entire life hating myself, so give me one damn reason why I should have to remember everything! Why I have to live like this!"
Kat's eyes widened before her face softened in sympathy. I didn't know why she was being sympathetic even after everything! She was silent. I was silent. Aria behind us was silent. Kat didn't know what to say—she couldn't think of a way to convince me out of this choice—and that was enough for me.
"Exactly." I glared at her before turning around, raising the vial up to my lips before pausing. I took a breath, knowing that I can't regret what I'm about to do—
"Maybe the reason it hasn't gotten better is because you haven't acknowledged it!"
I pause before turning around, feeling relieved and annoyed all at once. Kat looked panicked—for whatever reason—and seemed to feel remorseful that she had yelled her words. I didn't turn my back on her again, because I might as well hear what she has to say. It… it won't change my decision though. I need to do this.
Kat took a deep breath before sighing. "If you bury those things for years on end, Darcy, you're never going to be able to heal from it. Believe me, it is so hard to do, but the journey to heal from everything is worth it." She's shaking. "You may feel like you hate yourself, but there are people who don't, even with everything that went on. Icy and Stormy are out there praying that you'll wake up, and they care about you. That—" She gestured to the potion. "Won't help you. Aria was sent here to kill you! You can't trust her!"
"She's lying," Aria whispered, but I could hardly hear her through the flood of my emotions overwhelming me.
"You say that, but how do I know that I can trust you?" I questioned, trying to ignore the hysteria in my voice. "Out of all the Winx, you have the most reasons to want me dead! I know that you are still—" I swallow a sob. "Are still afraid of me! I can feel it! How can I trust you when I've hurt you like I did? Why are you even trying to save me when I've done those things?"
Kat's projection was fading out of view, flickering like a dining light. "I'm trying to help you because I care about you!" She paused, regaining her composure. "I understand why you did those things back then, and I don't resent you for it. I don't want you dead, and I never, ever, have wanted you dead." There were tears falling down her face, or was it just the projection fading? "Darcy, you are an amazing, beautiful, kind person that deserves so much, and I'm not just saying that because I can feel your emotions. You know that as much as I do, and what I feel is a girl who has been hurt. I'm trying to save you because I know you, the real you, and the you I see is someone worthy of living a good life. But that potion won't fix anything, okay?" She wiped away the tears on her face. "You can trust me."
I freeze. She… doesn't resent me for what I did back then? I think back to the times I've felt her emotions, and even though I've felt her fear I have never once since I came to Alfea felt resentment. I could only feel my heart beating, and it was echoing through my ears. The fact that even in the past she hasn't wished I was dead didn't—it didn't make any sense. But there was so much raw emotion in her voice that she couldn't be lying. I've never thought of myself as kind—not since I… destroyed Zenothe's people—so how can I be kind like Kat says? Can I really trust her words? Would listening to her help me more than forgetting everything will…?
Aria was not saying anything and neither was Kat. I have to rely on myself to make the choice. Taking the potion will make me forget all the memories that bring me guilt, and it will allow me to be free. On the other hand… Kat says I can trust her. She says that doing this won't fix anything. Is she right?
The projection of Kat was fading more than ever, and I could barely see it, but I could still see the desperate look in her eyes. Did she actually care about my well-being? I glance down at the potion in my hand, to Aria behind me—a smile of joy on her face—and then back to Kat.
"Please," Kat said, the image of her fading away like smoke. She knows that these would be her last words before she leaves my mind, and the moment I realize that I don't want her to leave—to stop convincing me to hold on—was the same moment I made my choice.
If Kat can trust me after all I've done, then I can learn to trust myself and who I was.
"Don't worry." I smirk kindly, recalling how at ease I felt when Kat and I were talking together in Oscurita when everyone else was asleep. "I trust your judgment."
The second before her projection completely disappeared Kat smiled, then she disappeared. I stared at where she was before I turned around, glaring at Aria whose eyes were still sparking with cunning, not realizing that she was not about to succeed in killing me off.
"Are you sure you—" Aria began, her tone light, but I've had enough of her mind games.
"I trust her, and maybe down the line I'll be able to trust myself," I interrupt, a smile on my face as I raise the potion up with new intent. "Way more than I trust the hag that wants me dead."
I smash the potion against the ground—the liquid leaking out before disappearing—watching the look of horror on Aria's face as I did so. I sigh, chuckling as I wipe away the residue of my tears.
Then I felt it.
It felt as if I just became stronger within seconds, that I was myself for the first time in years. My magic was flowing through me like it was my blood and my very being. There was a feeling of hope and lightness coursing through me, and when I looked down, I saw that I was unwillingly levitating. I didn't even have to contemplate what was going on.
This was Inseimix.
Kat
I jolted back into the real world with a start. For a moment, I still felt as if I was in Darcy's mind before I focused on the feeling of the stone floor pressing into my palms, the slight wind in the air, and the sound of the Winx—excluding Bloom—fighting Sona and Dagi. Darcy's body was still breathing, and I can feel that she now has a stronger hold on her mind and consciousness.
Icy whipped her head towards me, now realizing I was out of Darcy's mind. "Is she okay? Will she be able to get out?" She asked urgently.
I took a deep breath. Absorbing the poisons twice combined with this was tiring me out, but it hadn't drained my magic, so I didn't have to worry about not being able to fight. I met Icy's gaze, and my heart panged at the worry in her eyes. "I think she'll be able to get out soon. Aria clearly knew how to get to her, but she'll be fine."
I glanced at Stormy and Bloom. Stormy sighed, a small smile appearing on her face. She was so relieved, and it was beautiful how much she cared for her sister. Bloom was relieved as well, and she looked off to where the rest of the Winx were fighting Sona and Dagi. "I think the Winx need some help with the sorceresses."
I stand up, looking at the scene of the battle. Dagi was firing shadow beams one after another at the Winx while Sona was busy casting another gas spell. I closed my eyes in frustration. This will be the third time I absorb some sort of poison, and I don't know how much more I can take if I continue to use positive energy to avoid the risk of a flash occurring. I opened my eyes, ready to fight if it meant helping the Winx, ignoring the look of vague concern I could see coming from Icy.
"On it, let's go!" I stepped forward, preparing to fly as Bloom leapt off the ground and into the air before I paused, looking back at Icy and Stormy. "When Darcy wakes up she may be a bit startled, so… just a warning so she doesn't accidentally punch one of you two in the face."
Stormy chuckled softly. "Noted."
Focusing on the positive feelings of relief inside of me I jumped up from the ground and started flying toward the Winx. Tecna was holding up a barrier to keep the gas—even from my distance I could feel that it was poison—but Dagi's continuous attacks at the holographic barrier were starting to break and crack it. I focused my magic in preparation, telling myself that I will be able to do this.
Here goes nothing.
4/9/2023
Holy crap this chapter had a lot of angst. It's safe to say Kat and Darcy are my favourite characters to write (I love thier friendship so much omg) but seriously, writing Stormy is so fun and just adds laughter to this chapter.
This was Darcy's chapter (also next chapter, or at least half of it), Stormy has had her's, Icy will have her chapter(s) later on in this story. The next chapter (and likely some after) will be Kat's chapter, and yeessh... there's going to be more angst than this chapter belive it or not.