Last time we watched as Bloom and her friends watch Faragonda explain to Layla how she could undo the curse afflicting her eyes, which Layla did thanks to Fairy Dust. Later on, we met three newly discovered survivors of Domino. After that, Bloom and The Winx were formally invited to Eraklyon's Millennium Ball. Yet not everyone was excited about the upcoming party. Over on Xaldo, Diaspro once again plotted to bring misery to Bloom and Sky, while Vicky and The Trix prepared to seek out the next piece of the Construct, and do a little treasure hunting on the side. 'Nuff said, on with the show!

Chapter 10: Millennium Ball Blitz

As Bloom and Sky entered the ballroom, each grinning happily, Bloom had to remind herself that this wasn't a dream, that she and Sky were about to make their engagement official in the eyes of the nobility of The Magical Dimension.

She thought about the past few hours since her arrival on Eraklyon. Bloom and The Winx had barely finished deciding on what they were to wear to the Millennium Ball...well...Bloom, Flora, Musa, Tecna and Layla had their outfits already packed and ready, but Stella, to say the least, she needed extra time. But everyone and everything made it to Eraklyon on time.

Bloom was surprised to see that Sky's parents, the King and Queen of Eraklyon, were there to greet them when she and heir friends exited the transport ship at the main space port.

(Note: I'm guessing the names of Sky's parents, since I can't find them online, so bare with me on this)

"Ah, welcome home, son," said King Justin.

"Mom, dad," said Sky as he was hugged by his parents, "I said I would make it back in time for the party."

"I never doubted it for a second," said Queen Janelle. She then caught sight of Bloom, "Oh, here's the lady of the hour; my future daughter-in-law."

"It is an honor to see you both again, Your Majesties," said Bloom as she curtsied.

"Oh there's no need for such formalities," said Queen Janelle as she gave Bloom a reassuring smile, "We're practically family, or, we will be soon enough."

"My wife has her spirited moments," said King Justin, "And I couldn't agree more with this one. I am looking forward to the day you, Bloom, and my son are together as one."

This was a little disturbing to Bloom. The first time she met Sky's parents was the day she made a complete fool of herself in front of so many people, back at The Day of the Royals, when she still thought Sky was Brandon and vice versa.

Then there was the time that Diaspro was taken hostage, and Bloom and Sky had to rescue her. That was before everyone learned just how crazy Diaspro was, but the point was that at that time, Bloom had the impression that Sky's mom and dad didn't approve of her.

It was later on, when Stella and the girls were getting ready for the party that night, when Queen Janelle asked to speak with Bloom in private.

"I'll be honest," said Queen Janelle, "I didn't approve at first of you, young Bloom. But that was before I learned just who you really are and what you hope to become. And let's not forget that is it you whom my son loves with all his heart. He had to convince me of that himself, and now I couldn't agree more. Yes, you are a much better choice than her."

"Her who?" Bloom asked, but then remembered, "Oh, her." Sky had already told Bloom that his parents had decreed that, for her crimes, Diaspro's name was to never be spoken again on Eraklyon soil.

"Fortunately we have nothing to worry about her," said Queen Janelle, "That lunatic may have fooled us for such a long time, but no longer. Between you and me, Bloom, I never did like that one in the first place. I figured that such a selfish brat would eventually prove herself unworthy of being the next Queen of Eraklyon, but I would have never guess that she would go to such extreme length to discredit herself."

"Extreme isn't a word I'd use to describe her actions, Queen Janelle," said Bloom, "What Di- I mean, what she tried to do to Sky and me was pure evil, and I've seen pure evil before, so I know what I'm talking about."

"I believe you," said Queen Janelle, "And I also believe that you've more than proven yourself worthy in my eyes, as well as the eyes of my husband. I know that it's still a little early, but welcome to the family, Bloom of Domino."

This left Bloom with mixed feelings. She was glad that Sky's mom and dad had accepted her, but she was also still confused that they changed their minds. But as she headed to the palace guest rooms were Stella and the others were waiting, Bloom felt confident that everything would turn out alright. Little did she know that her prediction would go horribly wrong that evening.

Several hours later everyone and everything was ready for the big party, and Bloom and her friends were more than prepared to make a big splash.

Bloom wore a red and orange gown with yellow sequences. Her hair was done up in high curls set with a silver and gold headpiece. She also wore matching silver and gold dragon earrings with a platinum dragon bracelet on her left wrist.

The other girls were also well dressed for the evening. Flora's dress had three shades of green with rainbow-themed floral embroidery, finished with flower earrings and a rose shaped necklace. Her hair was set with flower pins.

Musa wore a blue and green single shoulder dress with musical notes embroider here and there. Her jewelry was also music themed, while she had let her hair out of their pigtails and was set with note-shaped pins.

Tecna sported a blue and orange sleeveless gown with mathematical symbol jewelry, while Layla's dress was blue and indigo with green spots and coral jewelry. Her hair was set in ringlets.

But the most dazzling of The Winx was, naturally, Stella. Her dress was six shades of gold and silver, representing the sun and the moon. Her hair was set in a high ponytail and set with gold bands. To complete the image, she wore around her neck a platinum necklace that had a gold and silver charm in the center, a sunburst pattern over a full moon, which Stella had already said was the symbol of her family, representing both noble houses that her mother and father came from.

"You sure you want to wear that tonight?" Brandon asked as the boys escorted the girls into the ballroom.

"Absolutely," said Stella in a highly confident tone.

"Even though you know who'll be here," said Brandon in a concerned tone.

"I know they'll be here," said Stella, "and I want them to see it."

It wasn't long before Bloom saw who Stella meant by them; she recognized them from Stella's descriptions as well as news images. The whole gang soon noticed that Stella's father, Radiant, King of Solaria, had arrived, and with him was none other that the insidious Countess Cassandra and her daughter, the not so nice Chimera.

But with them was someone that Bloom didn't recognize, someone that Stella didn't expect to come to the party. Walking a pace or two behind the representatives from Solaria was a girl about 22 or 23 with shoulder length brown hair and dark brown, almost black eyes. She wore a red and gold uniform, the colors of the Solarian Royal Guard.

"Gabrielle," said Stella in a distant tone.

"Who?" Bloom asked.

"Gabrielle Membrane," said Stella, "She one of my family's personal bodyguards. But I thought she quit when Cassandra moved in."

"You sure you want to do this?" Brandon asked, concerned that what his beloved princess was planning would only upset her.

"I'll be fine," said Stella as she gave Brandon a reassuring smile, "someone has to teach those home wreckers a lesson."

"What's this all about?" Bloom asked Sky as they, Stella and Brandon, maneuvered among the guests towards the other side of the ballroom, where Stella's father and so and so were mingling. "What's Stella planning?"

"I could be wrong," said Sky, "But I think Stella's going to provoke Cassandra and Chimera into making fools of themselves in front of everyone here."

"I agree," said Carmen, who was wearing a black sleeveless number with matching black pearl earrings and necklace.

"Where's everyone else?" Bloom asked as she noticed that some of her fellow survivors of Domino weren't at the party.

"Mace, Payton and Kegan are with the 'newbes' back on Magix," said Carmen, "They really didn't want to come. Kurt is over there, sampling the nibbles," she pointed to where Kurt stood enjoying the wide variety of snacks, wearing a red and blue uniform with his revolver in a ceremonial holster.

"Elise is in her element," she pointed to where Elise, wearing yellow and green, was talking to several other smart people, "And Morgan, well," Carmen pointed to Morgan, dressed in pink and black, was talking up a storm with other visiting magic users, "She's happy where she is. Well, I'd better go make sure that she doesn't get into too much trouble, again." With that she headed towards Morgan.

Sky's was soon proven right. As they got closer, Bloom sensed that dark magic was at work; that Stella was right when she said that Cassandra had an unnatural hold on her father. Unfortunately the sense of dark magic was too faint to be detected by most magic users. Bloom suspected that she could sense such a faint trace was due to the boost of her as of yet uncontrollable Enchantix. Any accusation made by Bloom would never be held up in a court of law, so she decided to stay quiet about it, for now.

It was obvious, as they got closer, that Stella was trying to get Cassandra's attention without causing suspicion among the other guests, and it worked.

Bloom watched as Stella and Cassandra glared at each other, but remained silent. The staring contest lasted only about ten seconds before Cassandra gave a 'humph' of contentment, then directed King Radiant to move onto the main floor of the party. Bloom also saw Gabrielle looking at Stella in a longing manner, as if wishing circumstances were very different, before obediently following Radiant and Cassandra.

But the real 'fun' started when Chimera caught sight of Stella's necklace.

"What the hell are you doing with that?" snapped Chimera as she pointed a finger at said necklace, "That's mine!"

"I beg your pardon?" said Stella innocently as her hand touched the necklace, "This was a gift from my mother. She had it made for me on my 13th birthday, so it's mine, not yours."

"Well it should be mine," said Chimera spitefully, "Just like everything else that was yours, Stella; your clothes, your accessories, your room, it's all mine, just like the throne of Solaria will be one day. Oh, nothing to say? No insults to trade?"

"You will never be Queen of Solaria, Chimera," said Stella in a confident tone, "Not in a million years you won't."

This was surprising, coming from Stella. Bloom had no idea that her best friend could act so calmly in the face of such spoiled, rotten meanness. But then Bloom remembered that Stella was raised to play the game of noble houses and politics. Stella may not be the smartest egg in the basket, but there were some things, like being fabulous, that she was a natural at. Antagonizing nasty nobles is another.

"Oh really," said Chimera in a taunting manner, "you're dumber than you look, Stella. My mother is soon to marry your father, the King of Solaria, the same king who banished you. When they are married, my mom will be Queen, and that will make me the heir to the throne, and that will make me Queen someday, not you, me."

"You're forgetting something," said Stella, "I maybe banished from the world I love, separated from the man I once called father, I may have lost all hope of ruling Solaria someday, but neither will you, all because of one thing."

"And what's that?" Chimera asked.

"If you don't know it," said Stella, "Then you've already proven yourself unworthy." she turned around, "Come on, Bloom, Brandon, Sky, let's not let these home wreckers ruin such a beautiful night."

"Don't you want to talk to your dad?" Brandon asked.

"I have nothing to say to my father," said Stella in a neutral tone, but Bloom could sense that on the inside, Stella was on the verge of another emotional breakdown, which would have happened already had Brandon and the others not been there to reinforce Stella's fractured heart.

Bloom then sensed that King Radiant wanted to say something to Stella, but then she saw Cassandra give Radiant a sharp look, silencing the King of Solaria before he could say anything. But someone else had something to talk about.

"Your Majesty," said Gabrielle Membrane to King Radiant, "Isn't there anything you wish to say to your daughter?"

"My future husband can speak for himself," said Cassandra in a disapproving tone, as if she were talking to someone worthless, "And I'll thank you to keep your mouth shut, or else." Bloom then noticed that Cassandra had focused her piercing cobalt blue eyes on her, "Is something wrong, young lady?"

"No," said Bloom, even though she had a thousand things to say on what was wrong, "It's just that, on Domino, we don't treat those loyal to us like dirt."

"How dare you speak to me like that!" snapped Cassandra, "Who do you think you are?! Oh, wait…yes, you are Oritel and Miriam's brat, I can see the resemblance. Well let me tell you something, young lady of Domino, your parents thought they could change the ways of the privileged class, and look what happened to them. You'd be wise not to stick your nose where it isn't wanted, or else you'll wind up just like your mother and father, disappeared without a trace."

"My mother and father are alive, thank you very much," said Bloom, "And you should remember that nobody likes a thief."

There was just a slight pause as Cassandra blinked in frustration, but it was enough to reveal that Bloom had struck a nerve. "I've heard a lot about you, Bloom of Domino. I've heard that you and your friends have gotten out of many sticky situations. One would think that you have the devil's own luck. But remember, luck always runs out in the end."

"It'll last long enough," said Bloom, then spoke to Stella, "You're right, Stella, we shouldn't let these home wreckers ruin the party for us."

"Couldn't agree more," said Sky while Brandon nodded in agreement. With that they turned to join the rest of the party.

"Oh no you don't!" snapped Chimera, "You're not going anywhere, Stella! Not until you tell me what you meant!"

"I don't think so," said Stella.

"You will tell me!" demanded Chimera.

"I'm no longer a citizen of Solaria," said Stella, "I've been banished, remember? You can't tell me what to do, no matter what. Enjoy the party."

"You will tell me what you meant!" exclaimed Chimera. Buy now she was attracting way too much attention. "I'll make you tell me! Gabrielle, bring her back!"

"No," said Gabrielle in a neutral tone, "I won't."

"Excuse me!?" Chimera asked, her left eyelid twitching, "I gave you an order! You will grab hold of that bleach-headed bitch and make her tell me what she meant!"

"I will not," said Gabrielle defiantly, "My duties are to protect the royal house of Solaria from danger, not to hurt innocents. Even if that were my job, I absolutely refuse to harm the daughter of Queen Luna."

Without warning, Cassandra slapped Gabrielle hard across the face, earning a loud gasp of shock from the dozen or so party guests whose attention was drawn by Chimera's outburst. Gabrielle's lip was cut, but she remained standing, her defiant expression holding firm.

"I told you to never say that name, Gabrielle," said Cassandra in a cold tone, "I am your Queen now, and you will remember to keep your place. Now do as my daughter commanded."

"No," said Gabrielle, earning her another slap from Cassandra.

"You will obey us!" shouted Cassandra, "Now bring that upstart slit of a girl back here!"

"I'd rather die!" said Gabrielle.

"That can be arranged," said Cassandra, her voice heavy with fury, "Once we're back on Solaria."

"You're not on Solaria, Cassandra," said Queen Janelle as she walked over, "And you're certainly not Queen of Solaria, not yet anyway."

"I'll thank you to keep out of other people's personal matters, Janelle," said Cassandra.

"And I'll thank you to remember that you are a guest here, Cassandra," said Janelle, "What you do on Solaria is your business, and I could care less what you do in your own house. But this is my house, and I won't have guests in my house be threatened by other, unruly guests. I'll also thank you to keep your offspring on a short leash."

"I beg your pardon!" said an exasperated Cassandra.

"You heard me," said Janelle in a calm tone, "either control your daughter's tongue, or go home." Bloom was impressed by Janelle's calm expression and tone of voice. The Queen of Eraklyon was in complete control of the situation.

There was a tense moment as the two noblewomen glared at each other, but Cassandra backed down before Janelle, "I apologize for my daughters' behavior; her temper sometimes gets the better of her."

'Well duh!' thought Bloom, Sky, Brandon and Stella at the same time.

"I accept your apology," said Queen Janelle, "I do hope that this little outburst from your 'lovely' daughter won't happen again."

"I'll make sure it won't," said Cassandra.

"Mother!" whined Chimera.

"Don't make a bigger fool of yourself than you already have, Chimera," said Cassandra sternly. Bloom saw Cassandra give Chimera a look that said 'don't push your luck.'

Chimera looked like she was about to have a tantrum, but calmed down, "As you wish, mother." She then gave Stella a look that said 'this isn't over!' then both mother and daughter glared at Gabrielle, 'I'll deal with you later.' Then Cassandra gave Radiant a look that said 'come!' With that the four of them headed towards the other side of the ballroom.

Bloom sighed with relief, "For a minute there I thought a war was about to start."

"It may yet," said Queen Janelle, "It's not my place, but someone will have to do something to set things right on Solaria." She gave a suggestive glance towards Stella, then spoke to her son, "Sky, if I ever plan to invite those riffraff harlots here again, you have my permission to knock some sense into me."

"Did she really plan all that?" Bloom asked Sky as they and the others rejoined the party, "Stella, did she really plan to make Cassandra and Chimera act like idiots?"

"I know," said Sky, "I'm a little afraid to. I think Stella's getting smarter on us." But then he was proven wrong when they saw Stella and Brandon talking with Tecna and Timmy, who had met up with some old friends of them. For all Bloom could tell, the assembled smart were speaking in tongues, and when Elise came over, now wearing blue and white due to a color shifting spell, the conversation became even more incomprehensible.

Then Stella laughed at something she thought was funny, but the conversation was completely serious, once again making Stella looking foolish.

"Nope," said Sky, "She's still our Stella."

"That's a relief," said Bloom.

Later on, when King Justin and Queen Janelle were making their speech to commemorate the event, Bloom noticed that Stella wasn't with the group. She looked around and saw Stella standing next to a column, having a whispered conversation with someone on the other side of the column, and Bloom could guess who that person was.

"Are you alright, Gaz?" Stella asked.

"Nothing broken if that's what you mean, Princess Stella," whispered Gabrielle, or Gaz as she likes her friends to call her.

"You shouldn't call me that," said Stella, "After what my father did."

"Your father was wrong to banish you, Princess Stella," said Gaz, "He hasn't been himself since that whore Cassandra got her claws into him, excuse me, her fangs."

"I know that," said Stella, "that's what I said to everyone back home, but nobody believe me, and I got banished for it. I want to go home and set things right, but…"

"But you are the rightful heir to the throne," said Gaz, "If there's anyone who can set things right on Solaria, it should be you."

Stella hesitated before continuing , "But what about my mother? Surely she still has some strings to pull among the Solarian nobility."

"Will all due respect to you, Princess Stella," said Gaz, "and to your mother, Queen Luna, but that…that serpentine bitch Cassandra, she has persuaded your father, King Radiant, to banish Queen Luna as well. If either of you return to Solaria…"

"We'll be immediately executed," said Stella, "I know the conditions. But why hasn't mom said anything about this? She should at least called me or something."

"No one has seen your mother since she was banished," said Gaz in a regretful tone, "I'm sorry I had to give you the news."

"It's not your fault," said Stella, "I would know if something bad had happened to mom. But what about my father's supporters among the nobles? Don't they have anything to say about this?"

"Anyone who could have stopped Cassandra has either been arrested on false charges, banished or has left of his or her free will," said Gaz, "Solaria is falling apart at the seams. Did you know that it's been raining in the capital?"

"Rain?" a shocked Stella asked, "in the capital city? But it never gets dark there, and it only rains on the rest of Solaria on specific days. That's part of the planet's magical life-force. How long has this been happening?"

"Since you left," said Gaz, "That's why we need you to come back and set things right, Princess Stella, you are the hope of the future for Solaria. We need you to bring light back to the darkness."

"I can't," said Stella, who sounded like she was going to start crying again, "And not because I'll be killed as soon as I get there. I just can't…I'm…I'm not strong enough. I'm sorry, Gaz."

"It's not your fault," said Gaz, "I wasn't strong enough either. If I had known what Cassandra would have done, I would have killed that usurping whore with my bare hands before she got within a mile of the King."

"I'll bet you would have," said Stella. "So what will you do now?"

"Well I'm certainly not going back to Solaria," said Gaz, "Not after what happened just now. You really frazzled Cassandra's hair, Chimera's as well. Your mother would be proud."

"You're right," said Stella, "And I'm sorry it got you hurt."

"I've had worse pains," said Gaz, "and it would have been inevitable. Sooner or later the home wreckers would have given me an order that I couldn't obey. I'm just glad it happened in public so they couldn't kill me outright."

"So what's the plan?" Stella asked.

"The first thing I'm gonna do is write up a letter of resignation," said Gaz, "and hand it to your father; I refuse to serve a king who submits to a snake like Cassandra. Then I'll go straight to the King and Queen of Eraklyon and ask for asylum. They only way Cassandra and Chimera will make me go back to Solaria is in chains, and they'll have to drag me the whole way. From there, who knows."

It was then that the assembled guests began applauding at the end of Justin and Janelle's speech. Servants were handing out glasses of wine and punch for the commemoration toast.

"I have to go," said Stella.

"I know," said Gaz, "good luck, Princess Stella. May the Light be with you."

"May the Light be with you as well, Gabrielle," said Stella. With that she rejoined Bloom and the others, just in time to be handed her glass of punch.

"You okay?" Bloom asked.

"Couldn't be better," said Stella. Bloom knew that things weren't alright for Stella, but decided to worry about it later. Just then the clocks chimed 8:00 p.m., the exact time a thousand years ago the charter for Eraklyon was signed.

Everyone drank their drinks. Bloom was glad that hers was fruit punch. Back before she met Stella for the first time, she went with Mike and Vanessa to a wine tasting party. When her adoptive parents weren't looking, Bloom had snuck a taste of red wine and she didn't like it one bit. She hasn't touched anything alcoholic since.

Then it was time to announce the engagement.

"You ready?" Sky asked nervously, equally nervous as Bloom was.

"As I'll ever be," said Bloom. The next few minutes were a slight emotional blur to Bloom as she tired to focus on Justin's speech, introducing her as Sky's fiancé and future Queen, and not on the pounding of her heart.

She then snapped back to reality when she heard Justin say her name, "It is my proud honor to introduce you to the future wife of my son, Sky. I give you, the future Queen of Eraklyon, Bloom of Domino!"

The whole ballroom erupted in ecstatic cheering and clapping, with Stella and the others being the loudest. But as the applause died down, an all too familiar voice filled the ballroom.

"Bravo, Sky and Bloom, bravo indeed."

"That voice," said Bloom in a shocked tone, "But it's impossible! She's been locked away!"

"There's no prison in all the Magical Dimension that can deny me my vengeance!" There in the middle of the ballroom stood Diaspro. The shocked guests backed away from the disgraced princess

"How!?" exclaimed Sky, "I saw them take you away!"

"That's what I wanted you and everyone else to think, Sky dearest," said Diaspro venomously, "I outsmarted you all once before, and now I've outsmarted you again."

"How?" Bloom asked, "How did you outsmart us?"

"That can wait," said Diaspro, "but first tell me, Bloom, did you honestly believe that you could take what was rightfully mine?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Bloom, though deep down she suspected what Diaspro was accusing her of.

"Why, the throne of Eraklyon, silly," said Diaspro in a teasing tone, "and with it, its future king of course. Did you, you, a scraggly Earth girl…oh, that's right, you're not from Earth at all, you're a princess of a cursed world with no living family, so I guess that does give you some right as a suitor, but I was here first! And you had to come along and steal what was mine!"

"How many times are we going to go through this, Diaspro," said Bloom in an accusing, irritated tone, "Sky isn't a prize to be won. He loves me and I love him, end of discussion."

"And how many times do I have to tell you, you usurping skank," said Diaspro, "I don't give a flying f#ck about love. But I do care about settling a score, so now it's time to settle this score once and for all."

"I'd say that I'd hate to interrupt," said Carmen as she walked next to Bloom in a nonchalant manner, "But I'd be lying. Instead I'm gonna say that I'm real glad that you broke out of jail, Diaspro."

"You are?" Diaspro asked.

"Oh yes I am," said Carmen as she held her hands behind her back, "I am glad, so I can do this!!" before anyone could react, Carmen threw a dark sphere spell at Diaspro. But instead of blasting the disgraced princess to smithereens, the curse passed right through her and kept going until it hit a nearby window and burst outside. But the more startling thing was that Diaspro flickered and her color shifted like a photo negative.

"A hologram," said Timmy as he, Tecna and Elise, whose outfit had shifted to orange and purple, began scanning for the source of the image.

"You didn't think that I would risk my own neck in enemy territory," said the image of Diaspro as the color and format settled, "No, I've learned that lesson all to well."

"Then what is it that you're here for?" Sky asked, "If you're not really here, then why come here at all?"

"I may not be on Eraklyon physically," said Diaspro, "But that won't deny me my revenge, revenge that will be carried out soon enough."

"She's up to something," Carmen said to Kurt, "Be ready for anything."

"I always am," said Kurt as he unsnapped the cover on his gun.

"Whatever it is that you're planning, Diaspro," said Bloom, "It won't work, not now, not ever."

"Such a simple mind," taunted Diaspro, "talk all you want, but my victory is inevitable."

Bloom was about to ask why Diaspro was going to win, when she suddenly had that all too familiar feeling that something bad was about to happen, and sure enough, something bad did happen.

The assembled guests were momentarily blinded by fifty or so teleportation flashes, and were then shocked to see over four dozen strangers had appeared throughout the ballroom, each wearing black combat armor, carrying black swords and wore black masks, and without any warning the menacing strangers attacked.

Normally this would cause quite the panic, but one needed to remember that well over half the guests at the ball were male noblemen, and most of them were Red Fountain graduates, not to mention that each group of guests had at least one professional bodyguard, so it wasn't total chaos as the strange enemy tried to kill everyone in the room.

But there was one more thing going against the invaders; Bloom and the other Winx had gotten very good at transforming quickly. As for Sky and the boys, well, they've learned to never go anywhere unarmed, their various energy weapons at the ready in an instant.

As for Carmen, Morgan and Elise, well, Morgan was a little out of it from too much to drink, so Elise had to get her to safety before joining the fray, leaving plenty for Carmen to do, once she kicked off her high-heals so to move better.

Kurt on the other hand was at a bit of a disadvantage, with a ballroom full of high-ranking innocents, he couldn't very well draw his gun and start shooting without risking someone getting hurt. But that didn't mean he couldn't cold-cock a villain here and there.

Unfortunately, these baddies weren't that easy to get rid off. Bloom found this out first hand when she threw a double fireball at one of the strange attackers, fully expecting it to be incinerated, but instead had to duck from a sword slash as the fireballs dissipated upon impact, barely fazing the intruder.

The others were also having a hard time, especially Sky and the boys as they fought for their lives against superior sword masters who seemed to possess inhuman stamina, speed and agility that had our heroes against he ropes.

But then Flora and Tecna teamed up to ensnare one of the attackers with thorny vines, then electrocuted it with green lighting, destroying it in a puff of black smoke.

Musa and Stella then blasted another of the intruders with a double pulse of music and sunlight, overloading the creature's senses and making its head explode, while Bloom and Layla destroyed another with a blast of superheated morphix.

Helia managed to restrain one with his wire gloves, allowing Riven to slice its head off, while Sky and Brandon blocked the attacks of two more, allowing Timmy to get in two good shots.

The only one who was doing well by herself was Carmen, who had managed to take down three of the intruders already with gravity spells. Then Elise showed up and electrocuted two more herself.

"Never a dull moment in the Magical Dimension," remarked Elise, whose outfit had shifted to a more fightworthy style, as shocked two more of the intruders.

"And here I thought this would be a boring party," said Carmen as she called forth a very small black hole and threw it at one of the creatures. The intruder was sucked into the black hole, which dissipated afterwards.

Just then Stella noticed that Cassandra and Chimera were dragging Radiant towards the exit. Bloom and the others saw Stella looking at her father.

"Go!" said Bloom, "We'll be alright!"

Stella flew after her father, but there were too many of the attackers in the way. But then Layla powered up to her Enchantix form and took down four of the intruders with spears made from enhanced morphix.

Nodding her thanks to Layla, Stella flew through the gap, but was too late to stop Cassandra from pushing Radiant out the door. Stella was infuriated when Chimera smirked and closed the door, just as two more of the intruders lunged at Stella.

But the intruders never got close, for Gaz jumped in front of Stella and took out the attackers with single-hit death-blows to the chests.

"I almost forgot," said Stella as she blasted another intruder with her Sun Staff, "You're a fighter, Gaz."

"I'm more than a fighter, Princess Stella," said Gaz as she killed another attacker with a single tap in just the right place on the skull, "I swore an oath to protect you and your family. Your father doesn't apply to that oath right now, but the day I can no longer protect you will be the day I commit suicide."

"Well if you kill yourself," said Stella as she used her staff to block a sword slash, then blasted the intruder, "then I'm not cleaning up the mess."

"I would never leave you with that burden," said Gaz as she disarmed one attacker and threw it behind her, then disarmed two more. Unfortunately, the intruders had other weapons. With their swords no longer at hand, the attackers grew razor-sharp claws out from their fingertips.

"Oh gross!" exclaimed Stella as she dodged a clawed slash at her face, "Someone needs a manicure!"

It was then that Stella saw one of the enemy about to attack Gaz from behind. Before she could react, the creature slashed at Gaz's back. She sensed the attack, but was too late to block it, resulting in a small but serious cut near her spine. She fell to the ground.

"Hang on, Gaz!" shouted Stella as she flew to her former bodyguard, just as the creature raised it's claws for a killing blow.

But Stella got there first, intercepting the strike with her staff, then retaliated with a sun-blast, destroying the creature. But then another of the things jumped in and slashed Stella across her left arm. It hurt like nothing Stella had experienced before, but she shrugged it off like it was nothing more than a paper cut; all she cared about was helping Gaz.

The offending creature was incinerated by another sun-blast, but three more came in to take its place. But by now Gaz was back on her feat and destroying the offending intruders with strikes that looked to be nothing more than finger pokes in its torso.

But then the intruders contorted in agony as the pressure points that Gaz hit caused an irreversible overload of energy in the bodies of the attackers, causing them to explode from the inside out.

"Are you alright, Princess Stella?!" Gaz asked as she helped Stella up.

"I'll be fine," said Stella, although the pain in her arm was slow to dissipate, "I'm more worried about you."

"I'll survive," said Gaz, "And fight another day." By now the immediate area was free of the creatures, so the two girls could relax somewhat, "We need to get you to a healer, that arm doesn't look good."

"It's just a scratch," said Stella confidently, and she was right to feel so, because for some reason, the would on her arm wasn't hurting at all. In fact, she was beginning to feel great, really great, as if something incredibly good was waking up inside her.

"A scratch my eye," said Gaz, "You got that wound saving my life. And before you say anything else, I would do the same for you, because it's my job…well…it was my job, before that snake-bitch Cassandra came along and ruined everything."

"Well I did it because we were friends back home," said Stella as she smiled happily, "And I'd like us to still be friends."

Before Gaz could retort, Stella was suddenly engulfed in a bright light that shone like the sun, radiating warmth and goodness on all who saw it. Those who's hearts were full of love and compassion were comforted by this light, while the remaining strange creatures that attacked the party, those left standing, were filled with fear and revulsion at the light.

"What is this?!" shouted Brandon, "what's happening to Stella!?"

"There's a distinct possibility that I'm wrong," said Tecna, "But it looks like Stella just earned her Enchantix!"

When the light cleared, Stella was transformed in more ways that one. She now wore an orange short skirt that resembled the petals of a flower with a pink strip in front and back. She also sported a small orange top with a star design, with pink, translucent above-the-elbow gloves on her arms and orange barefoot sandals on her feet. A turquoise tiara rests on her head and her wings were several times larger, like a butterflies', blue with a deep chrome yellow outlining. Her blonde hair has also lengthened to her ankles, as well as grown an extra set of pigtails on either side of her head.

"Goodness!" said Flora and Tecna.

"Far out!" said Musa and Layla.

Brandon was naturally speechless at the sight of his beloved's final fairy form.

Gaz to was speechless as she fell to her knees, not from pain or anguish, but from awe. She then whispered something in ancient Solarian that could be interpreted as 'The Angel of Light.'

Everyone else in the ballroom, attackers and defenders alike, were stunned by Stella's transformation. The good guys recovered their wits first, including Bloom, who took stock of the situation. There were about fifteen of the intruders left.

"Looks like these guys are in need of a little sunshine," said Stella. With one hand she shot a beam of pure sunlight that vaporized two of the intruders. She did the same with her other hand.

The remaining attackers all lunged at Stella, who, with a calm but eager smile, sent a pulse of light at the intruders, reducing them to dust in less time that could be measure by the naked eye; Tecna, Timmy and Elise would register the speed of Stella's spell as that of light itself.

When the intense light from Stella's spell faded, all of the intruders were destroyed, all but one, a really big one that stood at over two meters tall.

"That one must be the leader," said Kurt, who now had a clear line of sight at the oversized intruder.

"Thanks for stating the obvious," said Carmen, "So let's get rid of this creep!" She cast her curse, "Giganoreis!!" sending a large sphere of dark energy at the creature, whom deflected it into the ceiling with one hand.

The oversized intruder then rushed at Stella. Kurt shot two bullets at the creature, each shot hitting it in the torso, but doing very little damage. Kurt got another shot off as the intruder ran past him, hitting it in the back, but doing noting to slow it down.

Stella flew out of the way as the intruder tried to stab her, missing her by inches. But then Brandon got behind the creature and stabbed it in the back, then twisted his energy sword before pulling it out.

Brandon jumped back as the wounded creature swung its sword at him, only to have its sword arm sliced off by Sky, while Riven stabbed it in one leg, the two wounds crippling the intruder.

Gaz then moved in for the kill, delivering a chop with each hand to the creature's neck. It fell to the ground and disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

"My doctor always said that I should avoid second-hand smoke," said Gaz.

"She can deliver puns," said an impressed Carmen, "We're definitely keeping her."

With no more intruders to fight, everyone began to calm down. Healers and paramedics rushed into the ballroom to help the wounded. Fortunately, none of Bloom's friends were seriously hurt; Riven had a sprained wrist, while Carmen had cut her foot on a piece of glass, but other than a scrape or bruise here and there, everyone was fine. The same could be said for the rest of the party; none of the guests were killed, and only a handful were seriously hurt.

It was at that time that Morgan stumbled back into the ballroom, still a little drunk, but unhurt, "What the f#ck$ng hell happened here?" she asked in a discombobulated tone.

"It would appear," said Elsie, whose outfit had shifted to blue and green, "That we've learned that you can't hold your liquor."

"You hear that?" Carmen said to Morgan, "No more booze for you, ever."

Bloom then noticed that the hologram of Diaspro was still there in the middle of the room. "Is that all you've got, Diaspro?" Bloom asked daringly, "Once again you've tried to destroy me, yet all you've done this time is helped my best friend achieve her full powers!"

"What just happened was not of my doing, Bloom," said Diaspro in an irritated tone, "as much as I'd like to claim responsibility for any attempt on your life, this attack was not part of my plan, for if it were, I wouldn't be speaking to you right now.

"No, another is responsible for this cluster-f#ck of an assassination, and I have a rotten feeling who is the guilty party. I'll deal with that one later. But to continue from where we were so rudely interrupted, my victory is inevitable."

"Oh get a grip, Diaspro," said Sky, "You couldn't kill us before, and whoever is behind the attack just now couldn't kill us today, so what makes you think you can destroy our love, now or ever?"

"Such naivety," said Diaspro, "Another of your faults I had hoped to correct once we were married. I spoke the truth when I sad I had already won, for I had already killed Bloom."

"What?!" exclaimed Bloom, Carmen, Kurt, Stella and Sky at the same time.

"Oh yes!" squealed Diaspro in insidious glee, "I killed you, Bloom. When you drank that punch during the official toast to commemorate the founding of Eraklyon, didn't you notice any funny aftertaste to the liquid? If you didn't then, you should notice it now."

Come to think of it, Bloom did have this funny taste in the back of her mouth, sort of like slightly sour apples.

"Then I have won!" shouted Diaspro, "I had your cup spiked with a very interesting potion. By now the potion has infiltrated your body fully, and all that is needed is the activation spell, which I'll cast now!" she snapped her fingers. (insert finger snapping sound).

Suddenly, Bloom's vision blurred and she felt very dizzy, as if from riding a tilt-a-whirl for too long. Then she felt exhausted, like she had just ran a marathon without slowing down the whole way. She staggered about before collapsing into Sky's arms, her Winx form dissipating as she reverted back to her human attire.

"Bloom!!" exclaimed Sky, while Stella, Flora, Brandon, Carmen, Kurt and the others crowded around to see what just happened.

"I feel funny," said Bloom in a voice barely above a whisper. She couldn't keep her eyes open, "I…I feel…tired…" she closed her eyes and didn't open them again.

"Oh my god!" said a shocked Layla.

"Is she…?" said Flora, she just couldn't say the last word of the question.

"She's alive," said Carmen as she and Sky checked Bloom's pulse and breathing, "But barely."

Sky then got back up and glared at Diaspro, "What did you do to her!?!" he demanded.

"As I said," smirked Diaspro, "I killed her. Or, she will be dead soon enough, unless you do exactly as I say, Sky."

"I don't care how long it takes," said Sky through gritted teeth, his face contorted with rage, "No matter how far I have to go, I'll destroy you for this, Diaspro!!"

"I'm sure you will," said Diaspro in a clam tone, obviously unaffected by Sky's threat, "But you should know that if you do succeed in killing me, the secret to restoring your beloved Bloom to life will die as well."

She snapped her fingers again, (insert another finger snapping sound) and a note appeared hovering in front of Sky, "meet me at those coordinates and at that time, alone. If you truly wish to kill me, you may do so then.

"However, if it is Bloom whom you wish to save, then you'll come with a more civil mannerism. As I said, you will come alone, or the whole deal is off. And before we go any further, I know that your loyal geeks and freaks are trying to track the signal of this transmission, they will not succeed in time, but I'll finish what I have to say regardless.

"I am perfectly willing to give you back Bloom, but to do so, you'll have to convince me of your sincerity, and to do that, you'll have to do something that Bloom won't like at all," at that she ginned venomously, "To save Bloom, you'll have to betray her love for you. To win is to lose, dearest Sky, to win is to lose!" She laughed like the lunatic she was and vanished.

It was Morgan who broke the stunned silence that Diaspro's departure initiated, "will someone please tell me what the f#ck is going on here?"

"Let's just say that the party is over," said Carmen, "big time."

…elsewhere…

"This is a waste of time," said Stormy impatiently as she blasted another house with a dark lighting spell, setting the wooden building on fire. The Trix, Toro and Vicky had reached Aquatica and easily located the Construct piece. With that done, they began searching for leads as to the location of the treasure, a treasure which the locals referred to as 'One Piece.'

Yet nobody on the island where the baddies arrived on had any idea as to where One Piece was. Despite the range of horrors Vicky and her sisters unleashed on the helpless islanders, nobody had any information on the treasure.

"Nobody here is going to talk," said Toro after snapping a woman's neck, "Not on this island anyway."

"We'll we've got our pick as to where to look next," said Vicky, "this world has thousands of islands in this part of the ocean alone. I'm sure that someone, somewhere, knows where we can find One Piece."

But then Vicky's phone rang, "Oh you've got to be sh$tt$ng me," said Vicky as she pulled out her cell phone, "What does she want now?" she pressed the answer button and put the phone to her ear, adopting a more cheerful mannerism, "Yes, Lady Zahidia."

"Have you found the Construct piece?" Zahidia asked on the other end of the phone.

"We have indeed," said Vicky. She then used her phone to send a picture of Darcy and Toro holding the newest Construct piece (about the size of a bowling ball but with twenty sides), with Icy and Stormy in the background destroying the few remaining intact buildings in the village where they found the object and were looking for information.

"Excellent," said Zahidia, "But now you must return to Xaldo, we require your presence for a pressing matter."

"You want us to give up the search for the treasure?" Vicky asked, "Just when we were finally getting somewhere?"

"What's she talking about?" Toro whispered to Darcy, "We haven't found anything on where the treasure is."

"I'm guessing that Vicky is stalling for more time," said Darcy.

"What's going on?" Icy asked as she came over.

"Vicky's negotiating with Zahidia to let us keep looking for the treasure," said Toro, "And from the look on your sister's face, she's not winning."

"Of course, Lady Zahidia," said Vicky reluctantly, "Of course, we'll be there directly."

"Good," said Zahidia, "I hate to make an example of you, Vicky, to show the faithful of the empire the fate of those who waste time and resources, especially on what most likely will amount to a wild goose chase."

"I would never dream of wasting imperial time or resources, Lady Zahidia," said Vicky, "Especially not on a wild goose chase."

"See that you don't," said Zahidia. With that she hung up.

"What was that about?" Stormy asked as she came over.

"We'll have to look for the treasure later," said Vicky as she put her phone away, "Right now we're needed back on Xaldo."

"Why?" Icy asked, "Did they find another Construct piece already?"

"No," said Vicky, "Apparently, one of Zahidia's pet subordinates screwed up, big time. The boss lady want's everyone to witness the offender's punishment. And before any of you protest, trust me on this, you don't want to know what Zahidia did to the last wretched soul who kept her waiting."

"How bad could it be?" Darcy asked.

"Remember what I said about the bloodworms and the leaches?" Vicky asked, "Well, they also cut out small parts of your brain and force you to eat it, the parts that you don't use, but you're awake the whole time."

"I'd rather not eat my own brains," said Toro nervously, "Call me a coward if you want, but I'm going back to Xaldo."

"It's not being a coward," said Darcy, "It's being smart. And I'd also like to keep all of my brain."

"Wish some of us would use all of hers," said Icy.

"What are you talking about?" Stormy asked.

"Never mind," grumbled Icy.

"Look on the fun side, sisters and furutr brother-in-law," said Vicky, "not only did we acquire another Construct piece, we've also done out witchly duty for the day." She indicated the village, a once thriving community of a thousand or so souls, now a ruined wasteland of charred, frozen and overall wholesale destroyed building, with dead bodies all over the place.

"I'd say we've outdone ourselves," said Icy.

"I agree," said Darcy, "And we can always look for the treasure another time."

"I'd rather have it now," muttered Stormy.

"Same here," said Toro, "but another search will give me the excuse for some more 'fun.'"

"We'll have plenty of time for fun later," said Vicky, "right now we got to go, or it's stir-fried brains for dinner."

"There goes my appetite," said Icy. With that the four witches and dark martial artist teleported out.

A few minutes later the handful of survivors came out from their hiding places. At first they looked about at the devastation of the homes in absolute despair. To make thing worse, the attackers had done something to the soil of the island that made it completely infertile, so nothing, not even weeds, could go there ever again. At the same time the island's fresh-water wells were also contaminated. Any water not bottled or in an airtight container was rendered poisonous.

It was an hour or so later when one of the surviving villagers gathered his wits and decided to leave the island. The other survivors also pulled themselves together and followed suit. Gathering what supplies they could find in the wrecked village, they began loading the handful of boats that made it through the attack.

But then one of the villagers saw a sail on the horizon; a ship was approaching the island. Someone with a spyglass described it as a two-mast schooner with a strange design on the mainsail. When the ship was a little closer, he saw that the picture on the sail was similar to the design on the ship's black flag; a grinning skull and crossbones that wore a red banded straw hat.

This caused the villagers to panic once again, thinking that of all the times for a pirate attack, this had to be the worst. But then one of the villagers recognized this particular pirate flag, declaring that this ship belonged to a crew of what could best be described as 'righteous pirates.' To confirm this, the flag dipped twice, a pirate code for a friendly visit.

The ship pulled up at one of the docks in the island's harbor, one of the few spots on the island the attackers didn't botther to fully destroy. Seven individuals left the ship and calmly walked to the small group of survivors. The one in front, obviously the captain at first glance, turned out to be a young man in his late teens. He wore a red, sleeveless shirt with blue shorts and yellow sandals. He had black hair, black, friendly eyes and had a long, horizontal scar under his left eye. To complete the image, he wore a straw hat that matched the one on the ship's flag and mainsail.

"What happened here?" the boy asked.

"It was horrible," said one of the survivors, "these terrible people, they came out of nowhere and destroyed the village."

"Why?" asked one of the pirates, a girl in her late teens. She had shoulder-length orange hair, blue eyes and wore a blue and white shirt and a blue skirt.

"We don't know," said another of the survivors. "They just appeared in the village, broke into the mayor's house and took something from there, an ornament or something. Then they began destroying and killing everyone and everything they saw."

"Then they just left," said a third survivor, "They just disappeared. I think they were witches, or at least the four women were. The fifth was a man, some kind of fighter, he did most of the killings; it was awful."

"Where did they go?" asked another of the pirates. This one was a man in his early twenties. He also had black eyes and wore a green scarf over his hair. He wore a white shirt, black pants and a wide green sash that held three swords; two with black scabbards, with the third white.

"They just vanished," said another survivor, "I think they were about to go to another island, but something made them nervous, so they just left. But the strangest part was that, even though they didn't look like pirates or treasure hunters, they kept asking about One Piece."

"They did what?!" exclaimed the boy with the straw hat, "They're looking for Gold Rodger's treasure?!"

"They were," said another survivor, "But they didn't find it here. No one in this village knows the location of One Piece. We tried to explain to them, but they wouldn't listen, they just killed everyone who got in their way."

"What do you think?" asked the man with the swords, "Another pirate crew?"

"Or treasure hunters?" asked the girl with the orange hair.

"I don't know," said the boy with the straw hat, "But whoever they were, they're evil, through and through, and I'm gonna do something about what they did here, or my name ain't Monkey D. Luffy!"

The end of chapter 10

As the life of the dragon princess hangs by a thread, the dark ones witness as a comrade faces repercussions for transgressions against the dark empress. The one true love of the dragon princess faces the most difficult choice of his life; to save the life of his love and risk losing her heart, or to do nothing and risk losing her life.

Next chapter: Punishment and Planning

'for those with wings, fly to your dreams.'