It was time for lunch, so the members of the multi-school expedition sat at the base of some trees that formed a clearing and ate. Timmy left his sensor unit set for "alarm" while they did so.
"Lucy, I'm curious about something," said Timmy, "Jolly said you were "dark, not evil". What's the difference? I thought all Witches were evil to some degree. That's why they're Witches."
Lucy sat and chewed, staring at Timmy. She was trying to decide if he was being insulting or not.
Mirta piped up and answered the question. "That's kind of a prejudiced statement, Timmy. It's really a matter of attitude and preference," she explained.
Lucy nodded at Mirta, indicating she should proceed.
"See, Fairies and Witches get their winx, their magic, from things they are attuned to, like Musa with music, or Stormy with tornadoes. That's a matter of genetics, not choice. But in addition Witches can also draw on negative emotions, which Fairies can't, or don't.
Fairies like to be in groups, while Witches tend to be loners. Along with that is a disregard for rules and authority. That might be mischief or mayhem, but not necessarily evil."
Lucy had decided Timmy was being curious, not insulting, so she said, "Right. And a Witch is more likely to seek revenge, while a Fairy would forgive. Me, I have ethics, but it's 'situational ethics'. I do what I feel is right according to the situation. And I'll even bend those if it would benefit me more."
She shook her head, and her green hair fell in front of her face. She brushed it aside. "I don't embrace evil, Timmy. I'm not out to take over the realms, or kill and destroy for no reason other than to kill and destroy."
Timmy looked thoughtful, but still a bit unsure.
"Look at it this way," said Lucy, "If you hired me to be your bodyguard, for instance, I would be loyal and you could trust me to do my job as long as the contract lasted. It's bad business to betray your employer. Nobody would hire me if I did. But if someone offered me the same job at better pay, I'd take it as soon as the contract ran out."
"In my case, I'm still between Witch and Fairy even after three years at Alfea," said Mirta, "The source of my winx, pumpkins, isn't evil or violent. But I still find it easier to draw on negative emotions. Doing that makes me feel bad because I'm trying to be a Fairy, but even that adds to the power." She sighed. "That's why I still set off magic detectors as a Witch. I have friends, and like being with them, but I also like being by myself," she added.
The philosophical discussion suddenly came to a halt when they all noticed something odd. The branches of the trees over them were rustling and cracking, but there was no wind.
"That's not normal," commented Timmy, dropping his sandwich and picking up the sensor unit.
"No, really?" asked Lucy, sarcastically.
Zing flew up above them, seeming like she was listening to something. She gasped in alarm, and turned to the three below.
"There are insects coming! Lots of them, and big, too!" she said loudly.
Mirta seemed to be concentrating as well. "It's the trees calling them!" she cried, "The dark magic has changed them so they work together! We'd better get ready for an attack!"
They tried to stand up, but could not. Their suits seemed to be stuck to the trees. They all struggled, but could not free themselves.
"What is going ON!" said Lucy, straining to pull free.
Zing flew down and looked behind Lucy, as the Witch strained to one side so Zing could see.
"It looks like the tree sap has hardened against you, to hold you for the insects!" she said.
"I see, it's symbiosis!" said Timmy, "The trees hold you while the insects kill and devour you, and the tree gets the leftovers! Very efficient!"
"Don't waste time admiring it, DO SOMETHING!" shouted Lucy.
"I'll try communicating with the trees, maybe I can persuade them to let us go!" said Mirta.
"Better hurry," said Zing, "The insects will be here in about a minute."
Mirta closed her eyes, but after a few seconds opened them with a disgusted look. "Ugh! The trees are pure evil! Argh, my mind feels dirty after that! They won't let us go." Then she looked more hopeful. "I might have something to dissolve the sap," she said, and started rummaging through her backpack.
"HERE THEY COME!" shouted Zing, pointing.
Indeed, a swarm of giant wasp-like insects each nearly a foot long were approaching rapidly. An angry buzzing filled the air as they angled downward toward their (supposedly) helpless prey.
As Mirta rummaged, Lucy called her dark magic, and her hands began glowing dark green. Timmy pulled his pistol and released the safety.
In an act of sacrifice, bravery, or utter foolhardiness, Zing flew up to meet the insects. "Stop!" she shouted to them, "We mean you no harm! Don't harm us! Please!"
But they ignored her, changing course slightly to flow around her like a river. Zing flew out of the stream toward the ground and made her way back to the others.
"Don't look at this!" Timmy fired once, and several small balls of light were released. They flew up and exploded releasing a very bright light that disoriented the insects. the 'stream' broke apart as blinded wasps flew around dazed and confused.
Lucy threw magic blasts at them, hampered a bit in her aim by the sap holding her. Many of the insects fell to the ground, dead, but many more remained.
Timmy fired at random, since the insect's pattern had been disrupted, and many more were destroyed.
"Here it is!" said Mirta triumphantly, holding up a bottle. She unscrewed the cap, and poured some down her back. With a sound like cloth ripping, the sap let go. A bit more from the bottle, and she was free. She ran over to Lucy, doing the same to her, then Timmy.
Now standing, Witch and Specialist fired at the insects, blasting them out of the sky. A few changed course to come at them from a different angle, but Zing could handle this. She took control of them one at a time, and made them fly into the trees, splattering against their partners in symbiosis. The trees didn't care, it was just more food to them.
"I've got our stuff!" announced Mirta, all three backpacks in hand. But the others were too busy to acknowledge her.
"Uh oh, my pistol's getting low on charges," said Timmy, looking at a gauge on the grip.
"Okay, then, stand back," said Lucy, "I'm gonna finish this!"
Having an idea of what Lucy was going to do, she dropped the backpacks, grabbed Timmy by the sleeve with one hand, and gently grabbed Zing in the other. She hit the ground with them.
Behind them, Lucy paused to gather her strength, took a deep breath, and shouted "FIRE BLANKET!" From her hands erupted an enormous gout of dark green fire. It spread outward as it moved away from her. To her and her companions, the heat was tremendous, but not nearly as hot as the wasps felt.
The entire remaining swarm was engulfed by the flame, and none had any chance at all. They were burned to a crisp, falling from the sky as blackened exoskeletons and ash.
The flame stopped, and Lucy fell to her knees, then down to her hands, sweating heavily and trying to catch her breath. Timmy and Mirta ran over to her, Zing flying behind. Mirta helped her sit up, and Timmy handed her a canteen of water.
Lucy took a deep draught, and gave a sigh as she handed the canteen back. "That took a lot out of me," she said, "I hope I won't have to do it again any time soon."
"You got all of them," said a tiny voice, sadly.
The three humans looked at the Pixie, who was sitting on the ground with tears falling.
"What's wrong?" asked Mirta.
"I-- I killed. I killed insects!" she looked up at them. "I'm the Pixie of Insects, and I KILLED them! I'm so ashamed." She started crying in earnest, then.
"It wasn't your fault," said Timmy, "They were evil, and trying to kill us! You just did what you had to!"
Zing looked up with anger. She flew up and got into Lucy's face. "No, it's HER fault!" she pointed at Lucy. "SHE chose this place to stop. If she hadn't, I wouldn't have had to kill!" She got closer to Lucy, who sat shocked. "I-HATE-YOU!" Zing shouted, then flew away.
wcwcwc
On the witch's ship, repairs were progressing nicely, and would be finished soon.
As Zee was replacing a control panel, something moving outside caught her eye. "Hey, look at that!" she said, pointing. She was joined by Inez and Megan as a mass of green flame could be seen above the trees. Then it faded away.
"That's where those others are," said Inez, "We'd better check on them."
A spell was cast, and they saw the three humans sitting together in a clearing resting. There was no sign of the Pixie.
"Looks like they got out of some trouble," commented Megan.
"Yeah," said Zee, "Good thing, too. I really don't want to have to go fetch that weapon myself."
The spell ended, and they went back to fixing the ship.