Disclaimer: I don't own Winx – it is the property of Rainbow and Nick. I do however own the concept of this storyline and the dialogue and writing herein.

Previously on Black Mud Swamp:

Sirusa had no such issues with talking. 'Magic deficiency and almost poisoned by a spider. Luckily Flora arrived just before that happened, because there's no way she would have held on until I came with that venom in her system.'

'I'm right here,' Musa muttered, hoping to alleviate the situation but Sirusa was in no mood to back off. She was like a Cloud Tower Minotaur when it came to defending her patients.

'And where were you, lover boy?'

'I… left her.' Riven's words were blunt and filled with self-recrimination as he dropped his hand and stood up. Musa sighed softly and tried to catch his eyes but they didn't lift from the ground. 'I went to check on my team – my friends.' Brandon would be cartwheeling for joy hearing that term falling from Riven's lips, but it was a testament to how much Sirusa's question had rocked him.

'Aw, that's so sweet, Wiven's got fwiends.'

Part Nine

Riven's head snapped up, his sword flaring bright as he slipped into a defensive stance, placing himself firmly between the fairies and the hovering witch. Musa tried to move to get a lock on Darcy but Sirusa's deceptively strong grip kept her in place.

'Protect Musa,' Riven called over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off Darcy.

'Healix, Surgeon Shield.'

The green opaque tent formed around them and then another appeared within it, swelling to knit with the first. From inside, Musa watched Riven. Her stomach churned, and her fingertips tingled. She needed to get out there; she needed to help him. Magic fought magic, and while Riven might have been a good physical match for Darcy, her psychological skills far outmatched his. He needed Musa to watch his back, the same way he would watch hers.

'Sirusa, he can't fight her on his own.'

'You can't fight at all and I'm not a warrior.' Despite this Sirusa's eyes were worried as they flicked back and forth from her patient to the Specialist. 'You just have to trust that he knows what he's doing, he's been training all this time after all.'

That wasn't reassuring. Sirusa hadn't been at their previous fights, she hadn't seen the tortured expression Riven wore when he talked about the way he betrayed his squad. Sirusa hadn't heard his desperate battle with the Witch of Darkness or Darcy's cajoling words. The Witch was the Queen of Manipulations and Riven was doubly susceptible to her. They had a past and –

Musa slumped. 'You're right. Riven, make it fast! I'm kind of hungry.'

Riven snorted and threw her a smirk that made her stomach flutter. 'Seriously, just concentrate on walking first; doing both might be too much for your little pixie brains to handle.'

She shook her head with a rueful smile, enjoying Darcy's growl of disgust.

A ball of crackling purple and black energy blasted the ground in front of Riven. 'Pay attention, sweetums,' Darcy drawled, slowly dropping down to the ground. 'Your little Pixie friend doesn't look too good. Is she dying?' She oozed feigned sweetness, as if she really cared about Riven's friends. 'Aw, poor Wiven. Do you need a hug?'

Riven's posture relaxed, his fingers loosening on the hilt of his phantoblade, giving him a deceptively lazy look, but Musa knew him. He was more alert than ever. She could see his head subtly tilting left and right as if he was listening out for other dangers.

'Is that one of the Trix?'

'That's Darcy,' Musa answered Sirusa, as the Healix fairy continued to spread warmth and yellow magic into her solar plexus.

'Oh, she was part of the Army of Decay fiasco.'

'Mm.' It wasn't that Musa wanted to be rude but she did want to hear what Darcy was saying.

'Where's Icy?' Riven asked, his tone conversational as he idly podded the toe of his boot with the tip of his blade.

'Oh you know Icy, she ah, is playing a little game: Hunt and destroy. I'm kind of jealous; it's a fun game. I was prepared to play too, had found a nice spot to pick off some victims, but then you appeared. I decided to follow you instead to make sure you were okay.'

Musa tried to sense her friends as Darcy's words created a cold dark space inside her. Brandon had said that they had the Trix trapped. Obviously that wasn't true because Darcy was there in front of them.

'Your friends still think we're in our little cave,' Darcy said, with a secretive smile, drawing her teeth over her bottom lip.

Riven's body tensed. 'How?'

'Oh, you have your little geeky, nerd friend with his little holograms, and we have, well, me.' She spread her hands and pushed out her hip as she posed for him. 'I am the Queen of Illusions.'

Riven's shoulders slump as his grip clenched on his scimitar. 'You weren't in the tube.'

Darcy snorted, drawing her fingers through her long hair. 'Like we'd be caught dead in such a cramped little sty. No, we just threw up a few barriers, created a little illusion and your boy soldiers fell for it. I'm quite proud of myself,' she said with a delighted smirk.

Her body swayed in front of him; dancing to music only she could hear. The witch oozed sex appeal – it was yet another of her manipulations. Musa growled under her breath as her fingers tapped rapidly at her phone. She had to alert the others. Icy was hunting them and they didn't even know it.

'Icy is out numbered.'

'Icy likes those odds,' Darcy smirked, golden eyes growing bright. 'She's surprisingly good at hiding and then striking someone where it hurts the most, emotionally as well as physically.'

'Why do this?'

'Oh, Riven,' the Witch groaned. To Musa's ears, she sounded disappointed with him. 'I don't want to play question games.' She stepped forward; slow, measured steps that made her hips roll. 'I want to play with you.'

Musa's blood ran cold.

'Why?' His tone was sharp, commanding.

Studying the ends of her hair, Darcy answered him. 'Because we're going to get captured.' She looked up and placed her hands on her waist, her brown hair falling down to frame her svelte figure. 'We know that, but we can live with it. We'll just break out again. We didn't plan to go back but Stormy…' She clenched her fists. 'Stormy got caught and we need her. The easiest way to get her back is to get recaptured.'

'So hold your hands out and I'll cuff you, make sure the two of you get neighbouring cells.'

'Aw, that's sweet Puppy, but…' she bit her lip, leaning close to him only to fly backwards with a laugh when his sword swiped at her. 'Naughty, naughty. No, we will get caught or turn ourselves in, but we thought that since we're here, and you all are here, why don't we get a little revenge.'

Riven's body braced, while Musa tensed. Her messages weren't going through again and the swamp was getting darker, shadows creeping out from the long limbed branches and folding between the trunks. She couldn't hear the bubbling of mud pools or the buzz of nearby flies. All sound was swallowed except for faint hum of Sirusa's shield.

'Your 'friends' always underestimated us. They thought that we were merely senior witches but Riven, puppy, we're not merely anything. I am a descendant from the Ancestral witches, I'm the Queen of Darkness and Illusion, and,' she held up her wrist, enclosed in an intricate wrist brace of woven indigo runes that glowed, 'I have a Whisperian crystal.'

She wet her lips and chuckled softly. 'You should have destroyed us when you had the chance, but you, with your honour – your weak, weak honour – simply won't do that.'

Riven growled, the blade of his sword quivering. 'What are you planning?'

Don't lose your temper, Riven, Musa thought at him. She tried to pull magic to her fingertips, but while she could feel energy swirling in the well deep within her body, its movements were sluggish and nothing responded to her call.

'Now you have to wonder, how would Bloom function without Sky? Or the little Squire without his Sun Princess? Or, how about, the nerd without other nerd?' They wouldn't… Musa blinked, a numb sensation settling like a blanket over her.

'Icy has so many to choose from and you're all so close –' Musa's heart thudded hard when the witch looked past Riven and waved at her. 'Hello Musa, did you think I'd forgotten about you?'

'Don't talk to her,' Riven ordered lightly, reaching back under his cloak to pull out his bolas.

Darcy ran her hands back to her hair and arched her body in a long stretch. 'Don't even try using that toy on me, it won't work; as for your little fairy friend, I think she should know that she's not getting out of here alive. My sisters and I just wanted to be left alone. She and her friends came after us, disturbed our peace, and now they'll be punished. Stay out of my way, Riven, you can't fight me. I'm not even sure you want to, if you're honest with yourself.'

Musa swallowed hard while Sirusa sat up on her heels, looking around at the witch warily. 'Musa, I think we're in big trouble.'

'Don't get in my way, Riven.' Darcy swept up into the air and blasted dark energy at the music fairy.

Musa's hands flew up to cover her face. Riven shouted. There was a shuddering bang and Musa flinched at the noise before slowly looking up.

The shield stood firm and Sirusa knelt before her, scowling. 'Stupid witch, it will take more than that to take down that shield. She may be a powerful witch but I'm a Healix Fairy, and I'm very good at what I do.'

'Darcy!' Riven snarled, charging the witch with his sword raised.

Darcy dodged and laughed bitterly, as she threw more energy at the shield. It rippled and shuddered, but showed no sign of breaking. Musa watched the scene with her hand over her mouth. Riven couldn't land a hit on the witch, she was too fast, airborne, and she refused to attack him. It was the most frustrating battle, more so, because Musa couldn't get involved. Every sharp movement made her head spin but at least her stomach wasn't churning anymore, just cramping but that was bearable. She wanted to help Riven, or at least summon help. Where were the others? Weren't Ralan and Kiloru coming back? Didn't Faragonda understand how strong the Trix were? What was happening with the others?

Musa's body clenched and she tasted copper. Touching her lip, her finger came away with a spot of crimson on the tip. Watching this fight was agony. She had to do something.

Suddenly, Riven froze. His hand lowered, his sword dropped and his whole body relaxed.

A hissed curse escaped Musa's lips as she scrambled to the shield and pounded a fist against it. 'Riven!'

'Don't hit my shield – Why isn't he moving?'

Musa shook her head, eyes smarting with fury as realisation set in. 'She's in his head. That witch is in his head.' She spun and seized Sirusa's hands. 'We need to do something.'

The Healix fairy sighed, untangling Musa's tight grip on her. 'Even if I could take down this barrier, there's nothing you could do to fight her. While she might not have a glittery transformation, she's still a formidable witch and her power, her experience, far out matches yours.'

'I took her on before.'

'And she's still standing, which tells me she escaped and you're not strong enough…'

Sirusa's words faded away and Musa turned back to Riven. On the ground, shadows were now slithering towards his motionless form. Darcy landed on the ground and approached him, her face curiously soft. With a heavy twist in her gut, Musa watched as the witch's bejewelled hand came up to stroke his cheek. The intimate moment made Musa's skin crawl, her chest hurt. She wanted Riven to flinch but she knew from the rigidity of his body that he was already trapped in Darcy's spell.

Her palm burned with the urge to hurl magic at the witch. How dare Darcy take advantage of Riven like that? She was violating him and he couldn't defend himself – worse, some part of him was probably aware that she and Sirusa were watching him in this vulnerable state. How could Darcy claim to care about him and then subject him to this?

The shadows swirled around Riven's parted legs and slid up around the couple. Darcy's eyes flashed indigo. The shadows folded over them like petals closing. Then there was nothing but darkness.

For a moment Musa stared at the dark spot where they'd stood but she could see nothing in the dense shadows. Were they still there or had they translocated somewhere?

'Riven? Riven!'

'Where did they go? I can't see them,' Sirusa whispered.

Musa shook her head, denial screaming through her. 'This is Darcy's magic; he has to be there. I – Sirusa, we have to do something. We have to save him.'

Riven had been exposed enough times to Darcy's magic that he knew he was trapped in a spell. The woman had an uncanny knack of weaving them around him before he could counteract her magic. It might be an idea, he mused, refusing to panic, to talk to Saladin about an anti-possession charm. He'd never considered one before because Darcy had cast him aside once he was no longer useful, but today had forced him to revise that theory. Darcy had popped into his head one too many times for his liking. He didn't like the way the spells rendered him useless on the battlefield. No doubt such a thing wouldn't happen to Sky or Brandon; they were too noble to be swayed by darkness.

Hissing out a curse, he stalked along the narrow passageway as walls of melting purple hues closed around him. The shadows swallowed his footsteps and obscured the direction he travelled; the only light seemed to exude from his own body in a small circle. His sword was gone, his fingers felt strange and useless, and he couldn't hear any signs of life around him. He was effectively blind and defenceless, perfect prey.

He was more concerned about the others. Icy was obviously going to attack the others to destroy their morale. If she killed Sky, Bloom would be out of the game; if anyone else got hurt, the guilt would cripple the group. It was the curse of their little faction. Emotions, he knew, were a weakness in war and yet here he was caring more about stupid fairies than his own lack of a weapon. Great Dragon, he hoped that Darcy was in this spell somewhere and not outside attacking Musa. He didn't know how much damage the Healix fairy's shield could take.

He stalked forward along the road, keeping his hands loose as he looked around. Where was he? Where was the exit out of this spell? There was always an out; he just had to maintain focus. Saladin had pushed him hard, at Riven's request, to break spells like this. Illusions were tough – and in the hands of Darcy, the Queen of Illusions, they were almost impossible to break – but he had experienced this before, he refused to feel trapped.

Goosebumps prickled along his skin as the magic grew thicker and slipped down into his airways. There was a childish impulse in him to hold his breath or pinch his nose, but losing consciousness was hardly a master plan. Unless Darcy actually cared about him… he could try feigning death, wait for her to coo over him and then choke her. And then he'd just have to live with Musa's horror, the disappointment in his team's eyes, and Icy and Stormy breathing down his neck. He'd save that for plan B.

He turned a corner on the path, and the wavering light from his body stretched further to illuminate a cobblestone street. He frowned, and the liquid walls became structures. As they did, as the ghostly forms of people began to rush by him, he realised that he was in a shadow version of Magix's Market Street. It was just off Main Street, and catered to the quieter shops, the places where traffic wasn't as frequent, and also played host to Maggie's Tearoom, the place where most of Cloud Tower tended to congregate. It wasn't as brightly lit as other establishments, and Maggie had a tendency to turn a blind eye to any use of small magic. It was a little bit shady, but it served the best brownies and a decent beer on tap.

Something cold slid down his spine, a phantom caress, but it still made him roll his shoulders and seek out the exits. Except where Dragon Lane met Nymph Blvd., there was nothing but swirling shadows. He allowed himself to be herded towards Maggie's, and as soon as he resigned himself to that, the street misted away, and he was in the café. Around him, figures outlined in inverted purple light sat at tables, lined up at the counter and created the echoic buzz of conversation associated with a crowded establishment. He looked around, sidestepped a ghostly waif, and froze at the sight of himself, clear and solid, sitting at a table with… Darcy.

He scowled at his former, arrogant self. When had wearing a copped white Tee seemed like a good idea? Just looking at the smug smirk, the eager body language of a puppy dying for its next bit of praise, made him embarrassed. At the table Darcy reached for his former self's hand and looked deep in his eyes, her eyes glowing indigo. Persuasion spell. Why hadn't he seen it at the time? Because he'd been too damn blinded by pride, arrogance, and the desire to feel understood and needed by someone.

Striding towards them, intent on breaking up the show, he slammed into a barrier. It rippled on contact, but stayed strong. He sighed. Was this Darcy's game? Play their little moments over and over again? He folded his arms and turned his back on the show.

They were still in front of him.

He tucked his tongue in his cheek, scratched his arm and rolled his neck. This wouldn't take long. Their 'relationship' had consisted of this date, him telling her about Sky and Bloom's plans, and the odd visit to Cloud Tower before she'd imprisoned him when he was no longer useful.

Looking up, Darcy met his gaze. 'Join me,' she called.

No longer did he stand on the side-lines, now he sat across from her at the little intimate table with the small candle encased in thin, intricately woven, vines. As the light from the flame flickered over her face, he could understand what drew him to her initially. Darcy was unlike the other girls, especially the fairies from Alfea. She was beautiful, and aware of it. He had liked the envious looks his classmates had sent him, the way they'd hover back and nudge each other as he, a sophomore Specialist, dated one of the Trix. She didn't play coy or chase after him. Her mystery, however, was constructed on lies and illusions.

She hadn't wanted him. He'd been a means to an end.

He leaned back in his chair and studied her. This time there would be no more illusions. He wouldn't fall for the little tricks she used, the way she circled her finger around the edge of her glass, the soft suction she applied when she 'burnt' her finger, or the way she carefully kept her gaze off him when toying with him. This time, instead of using these moments of distraction to stare at her, Riven followed her gaze and lifted a brow in incredulity when he saw their reflections mirrored back in the tarnished glass.

Darcy smirked and turned to face him. 'You think you're so clever now, don't you?'

'Clever enough to know you're playing me and that this,' he gestured to the 'café' around them, 'is a spell.'

'Well I didn't really attempt to hide that,' she retorted, sipping her mocha. 'The walls are purple.'

'Let's just end this now, come with me peacefully, and you can return to your little vacation in the Fortress –'

Darcy rolled her eyes to the ceiling. 'Some vacation. It's boring and I don't like peaceful.' She sat forward, eyes intent on him. 'Why can't you accept who you are? At least here you can be yourself, be honest.'

'Honest? In an illusion,' Riven scoffed. 'Nothing about us was honest. I was under a spell, you were in my head, and you were playing with me.'

'You have a darkness in you, that's why I was attracted to you, but when you're out there, with them, you suppress it. You let them manipulate you into being something good, someone heroic. You should embrace who you really are and, if they truly cared, they'd accept you.'

'They do accept me,' he growled, raking a hand through his hair.

'No,' she sighed, 'they don't. They want you to be good and righteous – you're more than that.' She leaned forward, ferventness or madness burning a fire in her pale gold eyes. 'Riven, you're strong, resourceful and you don't need to abide by their rules. They constrain you, and your 'team' hold you back with their manipulations, forcing you to feel guilt for things you shouldn't.'

She stood, circling around the table so that she leaned over him, the faint scent of sage and lemon drifting from her hair as it slid down over her shoulders. 'They still blame you for what happened last year, don't they? You'll be forever paying for it, and every time something goes wrong in their perfect little world, the finger will point immediately at you. It's easier for them to blame you instead of face up to their own troubles, isn't it?'

'You released the Army of Decay on them. You destroyed Red Fountain –'

'Three different schools,' she said, straightening to tuck a blonde tendril of hair behind her ears, 'causes division. By levelling them we could have united the youth of Magix. There wouldn't be a school for fairies, witches and Specialists but one school for all of us. There would be no segregation and people would have no reason to fear each other.'

Riven rolled his eyes. 'That wasn't your reason for it.'

She chuckled softly and stretched, showing off her the smooth lines of her body. 'No, but it sounded good. That's how Bloom and her little friends would justify it, right? The greater good, but what that boils down to is a great big lie. We wanted power; we wanted to prove that we had power. We were student witches who summoned the Army of Decay. We're legends now.'

'You're an escaped convict now,' Riven muttered, tightening his hands on his knees, trying to surreptitiously wipe the clamminess off them. What was going on here? He didn't understand what was happening. Did Darcy trap him here to talk? Usually she played around in his head, like burning fingertips raking through his thoughts, pulling up his squirreled away memories, his little secret desires. Usually she liked to twist them, and while they tore at his gut, he could defend against that, harden himself to whatever little perversion she chose to play. This was unnerving. This camaraderie made his skin crawl.

'Hardly Riven. There are no simple labels for us. We don't do things because we have an agenda. We want to be powerful. We're fed up of people's rules. You understand that.' She trailed her fingers along the back of a chair; then paused. Her eyes met his, glowing faintly.

Riven felt his skin grow hot and begin to prickle. He looked away sharply, surging to his feet. 'Stop trying to manipulate me, I'm not –'

'You keep trying to be noble,' she spun the chair around and sat on it, folding her arms over the back, 'but it's not like you. Don't you see they're trying to control you? I would never do that –'

Except, she had, clearly, when she'd placed her magic in his head. If that didn't stink of magical mind control he didn't know what did.

'Okay, so maybe I would, but you wouldn't have noticed me otherwise.' She pouted, a little moue that curved her dark lips. When he failed to respond, she sighed gustily. 'The point is, you keep trying to change, to fit in with them but you never will because they can't accept you, they can't trust you. I hate to see you hide yourself to please them.'

When his hand reached lower towards his weapon again he quickly folded his arms across his chest, resting his hip on the table. His lips pressed in a firm line, his jaw clenched.

'Oh Dragon,' she groaned with a huffed out laugh. 'You can't seriously believe they're your friends. Oh Puppy, you're still so naïve. They don't trust you. If they did, why did the Squire send you away?'

The abrupt change in her tactics made him pause for a moment, his brain struggling to connect his thoughts.

'He told me to get the other fairies.' The words fell flat at her smoky laugh.

'Is that why he phoned them? Riven, face it, he wanted to get you away because he didn't trust you around me. He thought you'd join with us, turn on them. Better to put you out of the way of temptation, right?'

He grabbed the cup of coffee in front of him and drank it down, easing his dust-dry throat. 'You don't know that.'

She shrugged, lacing her fingers under her chin. 'And what about –' Her eyes narrowed over the amber lenses of her glasses. 'Why are you here?'

He tensed, then glanced over his shoulder. Musa. She was dressed in her Enchantix, standing by an archway, her eyes wild and her hands braced against the walls. His heart slammed hard into his ribs, then dropped. He backed up, glancing at Darcy trying to gauge her reaction. Had she conjured Musa? Was this another trick?

'How did you get here?' he asked.

'I jumped into the darkness. I thought you needed help. I didn't expect to find you sipping tea with her.' She sneered in Darcy's direction. 'Don't you know what she's doing? She's playing you, again. How can you fall for it again? It's like you want her to keep dragging you into the dark.'

No, that wasn't what he wanted. He just wanted to be left alone. He didn't want to be tugged on like a ragdoll.

'Oh and here comes the drama,' Darcy drawled, lifting her feet onto a nearby chair and crossing her ankles. 'Why must you be so loud?'

Musa, quivering on her heeled sandals, seared her with a look. 'Shut up! You keep your poisonous tongue in your mouth.'

'Riven likes my tongue in his mouth.'

'Again? Riven – why – I don't – How could you do this to me?'

Do this to her? He wasn't doing anything. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes trying to block out this train wreck. Why couldn't Musa trust him to handle this? After what they'd gone through in the Black Mud Swamp surely she should… he shook his head.

Something was wrong with this.

He crossed to her but she shook her head, holding up her hands and backing away. Something was off. Was she real? Why wouldn't she look at him? He needed to see her eyes; things would make sense then. He tried to seize her shoulders but she slipped away, head down. Tears trailed down her cheeks and his stomach cramped hard. He didn't like this. He never wanted this. He needed to get out, needed to fix this.

'I hate you, Riven! You're always doing this to me.'

'I – I didn't mean –'

Raking a hand through his hair, with his chest trembling, he looked around for the exit. Something was wrong. Musa was wrong.

'See Riven,' Darcy sighed, rising to her feet, 'she doesn't understand you. She doesn't believe in you. None of them do. You're not like them, you'll never belong.' Her voice circled in his head, soft like velvet.

'You're always going to go back to them. You should just join them,' Musa spat, tears streaming down her cheeks.

His hands lifted to close over his ears. There was a shrieking in his head, a loud rushing roar crashing over him. His skin tightened to a hot vice around his body, and, as he tried to compose his thoughts, he saw her.

She was standing in a beam of light, hands clasped behind her back as she watched him. He blinked hard. She was still there and she looked like Musa, but not one he'd ever seen. While she was wearing the red Winx costume – the one he preferred on her – with the platform boots and the pink ribbons on her arms, her hair was different, still long but now tied in low pigtails. More than that, she was too serene to be Musa; there was none of that vibrant energy around her.

Someone grabbed him roughly and he looked down at the white knuckled fists that Enchantix Musa had locked on his cloak. Her head was turned down and her voice was thick, 'Riven, you have to come with me. Darcy's just toying with you. Please, Riven. You have to believe me.'

He shrugged her off, feeling caged. This wasn't like Musa. He forced himself to really look at her. She looked wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on what. It was like looking at identical twins and knowing they were different. This was not the Musa he spent hours with in the Swamp.

His gaze passed over her to the second Musa, and he frowned, feeling himself pulled towards her. Darcy tried to call out his name, Enchantix Musa began sobbing, but Riven didn't care. He needed to get to ethereal Musa standing in the spotlight. She was like the calm in the storm, exuding tranquillity.

'Riven –'

'Riven! You can't leave me with her. Darcy will kill me.' He let the words roll off his back.

'Where are you going?'

The Musa in red pressed her finger to her lips and pointed to a dark corner where the purple had turned to black. That was the exit. Not wasting any time, Riven jogged towards it, hoping it wouldn't disappear. He needed to get out of Darcy's spell and see what was going on. The idea that she had distracted him in order to hamper his team twisted his guts into a greasy knot. There would be no regaining his honour this time if he'd failed them again. More importantly, he needed to make sure Musa and the Healix fairy were safe.

The spell began to crumble, as he got closer to the dark vortex, and Darcy's sound of outrage and Musa's cry merged. A quick glance over his shoulder and he saw two Darcy's standing there looking outraged, oblivious to Red Musa raising a hand in a wave with a faint smile on her lips.

He dived through the vortex just as everything shattered. Blinding light scorched his vision turning it white as he hit the ground, tucking into a roll. Everything spun as he tried to regain his bearings. He grabbed for his sword, relieved to find it back in place, and it flared to life in his grip.

'He's back!'

He blinked rapidly, bringing Musa's concerned face into focus as she stood behind the shield, fists clenched against it. Sirusa stood behind her, propped against the tree looking peaked.

'You broke it… how did you break it?'

He turned his attention to Darcy as the witch, slowly straightened, pressing her fingers to her temple. He could imagine that she had a throbbing headache, but he couldn't bring himself to feel sympathy. Her eyes glowed indigo as she split her body into four more copies. Riven swayed, his head spinning as he slid into a defensive stance and raised his sword. Purple energy pooled in eight hands as they rose to target him. Violet shards took form, hovering in front of the witch.

Through the white noise he heard Musa's muted shout.

'Dark Daggers!' the witch shouted.

Riven threw himself to the side and felt the wind whistle as they passed over him. He opened his eyes to see the line of dark crystals impaled in the tree above him. His hands moved to his chest, searching for wounds just as Musa slid to her knees at his side, blocking out the light. She stared down at him, her pupils so dilated that the navy was only a faint rim, her face was bone white with hot colour on her cheeks as her breath came in shallow pants. If he took her pulse right now he knew it would be racing from the fight. Her hair brushed his chest, smelling of violets. Her soft, gloved hands carefully cradled his face as she searched his expression. This was the Musa he knew.

'Are you hurt?'

He shook his head and caught sight of Darcy rising over them in the air. As the air glowed purple again, he cursed and rolled Musa to the side, covering her body.

'Riven!'

Dark Dagger!'

'Ivy Fortress'

He felt the earth move under Musa's body and he stared into her startled eyes. They both sprang apart to look behind them where thick vines had rushed up to the sky, forming a thick reedy barrier. Purple crystals glittered, wedged within them before dispersing into motes of light.

'Musa, Riven? Are you guys okay?'

Riven had to snort at his own sense of relief at hearing Stella's voice. Not a year ago he would have been furious at their appearance. He hadn't needed the fairies help, but now he gladly took it, especially if it meant that he and Musa would get out of this alive. His gaze swept to the Healix fairy, protected behind a small barrier but her frantic gaze was latched on them.

Musa scrambled to her feet, vibrating with fury. 'Darcy, you witch!'

Stella landed beside Musa, taking her hand. Both girls stretched out their free hands. 'Flora!'

The vines parted to show Darcy hovering in front of them, hands glowing once more.

'Psychic Blast!'

'Enchantix Convergence!' Yellow and magenta energy beamed like lasers from the girls' hands, overwhelming the dark attack and shot straight into Darcy. She screeched and slammed into a tree, her head bouncing with the impact, before she slumped to the ground. The Ivy fortress unravelled, returning to the earth but for two vines that wound their way across the clearing to bind Darcy's hands and legs.

'Thank the Dragon,' Stella muttered, blowing out a breath. 'I didn't realise the Trix would be so hard to take down.'

'Bloom and the others, are they okay?' Musa blurted out. 'It was a trick, Icy and Darcy weren't really in –'

'Tecna worked it out, but she kept playing along, and Brandon figured that Darcy would probably follow Riven, so he sent Riven back to get us. It worked, Icy tried to attack Bloom and Sky, but the others ambushed her and caught her.'

Riven felt his blood go hot. 'Wait, Brandon wanted me to lead Darcy back to Musa?'

'No… well kind of.' Stella spread her hands and shrugged. 'I don't really understand what the plan was. The main thing is that the Trix are caught.' With a smile, the Sun fairy scurried off to help Flora and Sirusa.

Heat burned at his side and he looked down. A dark stain had begun to spread and he grunted, beginning to feel the sting of pain. Musa followed his gaze and her face whitened.

'It's just a flesh wound,' he told her, prying the saturated cloth away from the scratch. Using his cloak, he wiped away the pooling blood, trying to show her that it was only a surface scratch. 'I was lucky.'

'You –' Musa broke off with a hiss of her breath, dropping to her knees beside him. He found himself staring at skin, lots of skin. He clenched his jaw and averted his gaze, taking in her wings. That's what Darcy had got wrong, he noted, but he became distracted when Musa prodded the injury.

'What are you doing?' he ground out.

'You've been injured by dark magic,' she replied, taking the small bottle from her throat, and opening it, she tapped a little onto his side. He felt the sizzle and tingle of magic seeping into his wound and then the sting was gone.

'Musa, it was just a scratch. You didn't have to waste magic on me.'

She smiled faintly as she rose to her feet, wings twitching, and held out a hand for him. He took it and stood beside her. It was over, he realised. The Trix were captured. Icy was on her way to join Stormy at Alfea and soon Darcy would be there too, so the three could be returned to the Fortress of Light. Hopefully, this time they wouldn't escape again.

His mission with Musa had ended and he didn't know how felt about that.

Riven watched as Stella and Flora jerked Darcy to her feet and they began a slow march towards the portal. He sighed, and glanced over at Musa. Her eyes were closed, she was breathing in deep and slow and there was a faint wavering in her stance. Alarm leapt through him.

'Time to get you to the infirmary, Musa. You can't put it off any longer.' Sirusa didn't waste time; grabbing the Music fairy, she led her from the clearing.

Musa glanced back at him, but he couldn't meet her gaze. He needed time to process what had happened. From the moment they'd left Alfea and stepped into the swamp, so many things had occurred that Riven didn't think he was the same person anymore.

He stashed his sword, picked up the bolas he'd dropped when Darcy had bespelled him and headed for the portal. Once he got back to Red Fountain, he and Brandon were going to have a little chat.

Author Note: So finally, Musa and Riven have managed to escape Black Mud Swamp. There will be one more chapter after this. Reviews are really appreciated.