Disclaimer: I don't own the Winx Club.
Thanks to TecnaBelievix, SharpieMassacre, Akela Victoire and Goldentigere for your reviews!
Chapter Two: Loyalty
Kantakka let out a low, rumbling growl, and a blown snort before trying to impale Angel on his unicorn horn. Tecna aided Kantakka in his effort by stunting Angel's movements with a green force field. Kantakka's horn dug into Angel's upper chest, and ripped out several wires, and sharp pieces of metal. Angel let out an anguished cry, as Monster tried to knock Tecna away with a blast of energy. Reacting quickly, Tecna moved the force field away from Angel's back, to the front, and deflected Monster's spell back at him.
Angel let out a roar, and began to spit blasts of energy out of her mouth. Working together, Tecna used her magic to block some of the attacks, while Kantakka quickly moved to the side, dodging the blows. Angel charged at Kantakka, and bit down on his leg. Kantakka let out a roar of his own, as Angel's mouth vised down on him, causing the metal casing on his leg to begin cracking.
"Digital Blast!" Tecna fired a large green ball of light at Angel's head at point-blank range. Angel's right eye to burst into hundreds of pieces. Her jaw was knocked loose. Monster took hold of Angel's head and yanked back on it, causing Angel to fly backwards, away from Tecna and Kantakka. Angel's remaining eye began to glow orange, and Monster appeared to slump over slightly. Angel opened her mouth, and shot a stream of orange lightning at Tecna and Kantakka, shocking the two of them. Tecna gripped tightly on to the back of Kantakka's neck, and narrowed her eyes, attempting to overcome the attack with a mind over matter principle. When the attack was over, Angel's eye stopped glowing, and Monster sat up straight once again. His metallic frame had hidden his true emotions from Tecna, but she could tell he was somewhat fearful, when she saw the trembling of his left arm – his human arm. Angel sounded as if she groaned slightly, and began to fall.
"They put everything they had into that last attack," Tecna commented. She had been panting heavily, exhausted from both her wounds, and from fighting on such unfamiliar terms.
"If we can separate the two of them, this fight is as good as won," Kantakka said. Tecna nodded in understanding. Kantakka flapped his wings, before diving down to the rapidly plummeting Angel and Monster. Kantakka's eyes began to rapidly flicker a vivid green. Tecna's own eyelids began to droop, as she began to feel even more drained than before; her skin rapidly paling. Green lightning wrapped around Kantakka's horn, as he drove it through Monster's chest, knocking him off Angel's back. With his hooves, Kantakka began to bash at Angel's head and back as he flew over her. He continued his flight, and turned around, before shooting the green lighting at Angel in a single beam of energy. The blast ripped through Angel's metallic panelling, causing sparks and shrapnel to fly through the air. When the lightning had left Kantakka's horn, his eyes returned to their normal light blue glow. Tecna felt some of her strength return to her, and she shook her head to shake off her dizziness.
"Organic," Kantakka began, "are you still capable of fighting?"
"Yeah," Tecna replied. "I'm a bit tired, but I can keep going."
"Good." Kantakka let out a growl, as if he were in pain. "I syphoned some of your power to apply that last attack. However, it was quite taxing on the both of us. You will need to deal with Monster alone."
"He's still alive then." Tecna looked down to the sand below, where Monster lay. She could see him reaching out towards Angel's broken body. Tecna hopped off of Kantakka's back, and floated down to the desert ground below, where Monster began to glare up at her. "I can't forgive you for what you've done. But, I'm not going to kill you." The shattered man threw a pathetic spell in her direction, which she managed to block almost effortlessly. "You will face justice, and, you will tell me how to get the professor to safety."
"It's too late for that now," Monster replied, his voice thick with static. "I'm not telling you anything." He lifted his metallic right hand, and shot his fingers out at Tecna from his knuckles, only connected by thin wires. She quickly sidestepped and grabbed hold of the wires. Tecna raised her free arm into the air, which began to glow with green energy. She swiftly chopped her hand through the wires. Monster growled as the remnants of the wires retracted into his hand. He pressed a few buttons on the back of his palm, and smirked at Tecna. "Creating digital backup... Deleting data... System shutting down." Monster's body slumped over, as the watery blue crystals in his eyes shattered, and spilled on to the sand he laid upon.
"Back-up systems activated. Reserve power in use." The voice belonged to Angel, who was still operational. Angel had managed to keep herself together, and quickly picked Monster up with her mouth. With a harsh wing flap, Angel managed to knock Tecna down to the ground. Sand kicked up into the fairy's eyes and mouth. Her mouth was barely moist enough to spit the coarse grains out. She could only rub her eyes, while Kantakka watched helplessly as the dying robot gryphon carried her master to the safety of the base in the distance.
"We can't let them get away," Tecna tried to crawl after the fleeing robot, before her chin fell to the sand. She reached vainly for Angel's rapidly vanishing figure in the distance.
"You will not survive without medical aid, organic," Kantakka said. Tecna turned over and looked down upon herself. She was still bleeding from her leg, and arms. The sand certainly wasn't helping things. Kantakka slowly flew over to Tecna's side. He lifted his head up, motioning for her to climb on his back. The young fairy obliged, and carefully flew onto the bull's back. The beast turned away from the Revolutionary Machine Party's base in the distance, and instead began to make his way back to the city. "If little has changed since I was last active, the organic hospitals on this planet should be top of the line."
"Why are you helping me?" Tecna asked weakly. She was holding on to her consciousness as tightly as she possibly could. She kept her eyes tightly shut, to avoid the agitation of the sand like she had just suffered.
"You woke me from my slumber," Kantakka replied. "I am returning the favour."
"How?" Tecna was getting too tired to elaborate on her questions further.
"There's something about you. Something not entirely organic, despite your outward appearance." Kantakka suddenly stopped his flight. "We have arrived in the city. The hospital in directly north of our current position."
"Thanks," Tecna said, surprise in her voice. The robot had moved at an impressive speed. She climbed down from Kantakka's back, and suddenly felt as if her body would collapse in on itself. She began to fly down to the hospital entrance, when she looked back at Kantakka. He had been heavily damaged in the fight, though not to the severe lengths as Monster, Angel, or even Tecna herself. "You should wait around here. I'll be able to repair you when I'm better."
Kantakka turned to her, and nodded. "I shall take you up on your offer, organic." He flew up to the roof of the hospital, and crouched down. "I will wait right here, until you return." His eyes lost their blue glow, slowly becoming black. His entire body changed from its lustrous gold sheen, into a dull grey colour. Tecna took one last look at the peculiar machine, before she made her way into the hospital.
Musa's mind was wracked with worry. Little more than thirty minutes had passed since a news broadcast brought the story of what had occurred on Apex to the rest of the Magical universe. The horrific images continuously flashed through her mind. A large room, with hundreds of bodies, all covered in tarps. While a list of victims had yet to be released to the public, Musa knew that Tecna had been a special guest to the conference. Tecna hadn't called or texted, or even respond to Musa's own calls. Despite the hopelessness surrounding the event, Musa clung to the tiny glimmer of hope, the possibility that her best friend could still be alive.
But one thing was for sure. She wasn't going to wait for answers. Being even more distraught than Musa was, Timmy had decided to go look for Tecna. Musa had been lucky enough to catch up to him before he could begin his search. The past year hadn't been easy on Timmy. Not long had passed since Tecna was trapped within the Omega dimension, and for something like this to happen so soon, was just too much for him to handle. Immediately after they heard the news, the two had borrowed a Red Fountain squad cruiser and made their way to Apex.
The situation on Apex was quite troublesome. All outgoing ships had been grounded, and the incoming traffic had been stopped right in its tracks, in the upper atmosphere of Apex. Musa tapped her feet rhythmically, having lost her patience waiting for a landing spot in the spaceport.
"We are sorry to say we cannot accommodate any landings at this time," a woman on the transport's radio said. "We are sorry for any inconveniences this may cause. For any refuel and repair needs, please visit orbiting Space station RE-42."
Musa looked over at Timmy, whose face had shown how completely devastated he was by the announcement. She stood up, and walked over to the entry door near the back of the vessel. "I don't want you to get in any trouble for what I'm about to do." Timmy gave her a confused look, and she smirked at him. "I'm going to find Tecna. Now." She waved goodbye to Timmy before she pressed a large button on the keypad next to the door. The door quickly opened, and she jumped out.
"Emergency exit opened. Cabin depressurization detected," a recorded voice said, accompanied by a wailing alarm. Timmy pressed a few buttons on the pilot's console, shutting the alarm down. "Emergency door lock engaged. Repressurizing cabin." The door quickly slid shut, and clicked as it locked once again. Timmy cupped his head in his hands, before he threw his glasses to the floor in frustration. He only wished he could somehow go with Musa to find Tecna.
Musa gently glided down to the surface of Apex, with the aid of her glittering Enchantix wings. Her eyes immediately took notice of the ruined ceiling of the domed conference centre, and she raced towards the building, where a large group of people had gathered around a fenced perimeter, held back by a few police wearing riot gear. From her spot up in the sky, Musa could see the blue tarps that had been placed on the bodies still lying inside of the building. Workers wearing protective suits were busy pulling covered bodies out, one at a time. Musa's heart had jumped up into her throat. Her worst fears had taken hold of her. She bit her lower lip at tightly as she could, and dove down to the workers.
"Miss, I'm going to have to ask you to stay back," one of the workers said, his voice coming through a speaker on the front of his helmet. "I can't make exceptions, even for celebrities. This area is under strict quarantine. Dangerous chemical weaponry was utilized in the attack."
"I need to know if my friend is alive!" Musa protested.
"It's possible. There was one survivor."
"Was she a fairy with pink hair?! Tecna, member of the Winx Club?"
"Yes, that's right," the man replied. Musa's face brightened into an open mouthed smile. "She chased the responsible criminals out into the desert."
The smile immediately vanished, and was replaced by a look of complete terror. "Has she come back?"
"I'm sorry miss, but I have no idea. I need to get back to my work." Musa nodded, as the man walked into the dome. She flew high up into the air, and looked down upon the city, and around at the endless stretch of desert in every direction. Above her, were hundreds of vessels locked out of the planet. Before going out on a fruitless search in the desert, Musa decided to look through the city some more, in the hope that she would find a trace of her best friend.
The inside of the Revolutionary Machine Party's base was very cold, under the reasoning that it had helped machinery perform to its fullest. The base itself was a large, fortified complex, with hundreds of subterranean floors, where scientists had worked on top secret projects. In the lowest floor of the complex, basement three-hundred twenty-four, General Masiina had been staring through window into a large chamber, while the young Professor Dalis'Eti had been restrained to a nearby seat.
"What do you want from me?!" The professor yelled angrily. His throat had become raw from his constant repetition of that very same question. He had yet to receive a satisfactory answer.
General Masiina looked at the professor and smiled, as she took a seat on a chair just across a small table from him. "Professor," she began, "how would you feel, if I were to tell you that the technology you're working on already exists?"
"What?" The professor had an absolutely dumbfounded look on his face. "Created by whom?"
"By us of course. We call the machines we've built so far the Konolento."
"You're lying. It's what people like you do." Masiina continued to smile. "Why would you create a technology like that? What possible interest would you have in... enriching people's lives?"
"Perhaps you never thought of the other possible applications for your technology," Masiina replied. The cold temperature of the room hadn't stopped the professor from sweating bullets since the moment he entered the base.
"What interest do you have in a robot that can feel?"
"We want to bridge the gap between our machines and their pilots, whilst allowing for the lowest margin of human error possible, and eliminating the chance of having a robot reprogrammed."
"If you have the technology already, then why do you need me?!"
"Firstly, we can't have any of your research leaked to the greater public. We'd jammed multiple incoming and outgoing signals to prevent such an occurrence. Secondly, you can help us. This is a power the world at large can never know about."
"Why would I help you?" The professor asked.
"Thirdly," Masiina said, ignoring the professor's question, "we were quite intrigued by two important aspects of your breakthrough. Namely, the prospect that a machine can have no biological components and at the same time, run on something other than magical energy. We've managed to have machines that do one, and not the other, but we've never been successful in eliminating both of them in a single machine... except for..." she turned to the nearby window. "We've done it once."
The professor looked at the window from his limited view, but was unable to see anything. "What's behind that glass?"
"What's behind that glass is the reason I brought you here."
The elevator let out a quiet chime before opening. The steps of someone walking out could be heard.
"General Masiina," A man said, as he saluted.
"What is it?" the general asked, not even bothering to turn in his direction.
"Angel has returned from the battle with the trespasser." The man gulped loudly.
"And?"
"She and Monster were both defeated in battle, general." The man trembled as he maintained his salute. "Somehow, the trespasser woke Kantakka, and the two of them were able to escape. Monster deleted his primary system memory at the risk of capture, and has been brought back to the base to begin the reboot procedure."
"That's fine." Masiina stood up, and walked back to the window, which she began to peer through once more. "Kantakka is worthless to us anyway. You are dismissed."
"Tecna?" The voice was accompanied with a quiet tapping on the metallic door.
Tecna sat up in her hospital bed, taken completely by surprise by the voice she heard. Her lips curled into a smile, joyed that one of her friends had somehow found her. She pressed one of the buttons that had been built into the small table beside her. The door was unlocked, and opened. "Musa!" The Midnight-blue haired girl was standing in the door frame, looking into the room.
"Hey there," Musa said, as she stepped in. She looked down to her friend, who had all sorts of wires connected to her body with a steady flow of red flowing through each of them. Her leg been wrapped in bandages. "Blood transfusion?"
"You could say that," Tecna laid back down on the bed. "My blood is artificial, though it looks, smells and tastes like normal blood. It also makes it easier to replenish in case of an emergency."
"Like now?"
"Like now." Tecna looked up at Musa and tilted her head slightly. "You know, there are numerous benefits to-"
"I'm not going to try it," Musa said, cutting Tecna off.
"Suit yourself," Tecna replied. "Though if it weren't for my artificial blood, I'd likely have needed a tetanus shot in addition to a blood transfusion. I'm just saying that the reduced infection rate is highly-"
"I'm not going to try it," Musa repeated. She pulled a chair from the corner of the room over to the side of Tecna's bed, and sat down. "It's been a busy day. You never answered any of my calls or replied to my texts either!"
Tecna twisted her mouth and raised an eyebrow. "I didn't receive any calls, or texts." She picked up her phone from the table by her side. There were no signs of any activity within the last hour or so. "Strange. Maybe there could have been some interference." She looked back over to Musa after putting her phone down. "How did you find me?"
Musa chuckled nervously. "Are you sure you want to know?" Tecna nodded in response. "Fine. But first, I should tell you, I didn't come here alone. Timmy came with me."
The pink haired fairy sat up once more. "Timmy's with you? Where is he?" The liquid in the tubes connected to her skin began to flow faster, matching her increased heartbeat.
Musa laid Tecna back down on the bed. "He came with me, but he couldn't get on to the planet itself. Apex is under planet-wide quarantine." Tecna's heartbeat slowed to a normal pace. She had a look of slight disappointment on her face. Musa sat back in her seat and took a few deep breaths.
"Keep going," Tecna said.
"Alright." Musa let out a sigh. "So, I kinda broke the law so I could come down to the surface." Tecna looked to Musa and widened her eyes, wordlessly asking the girl to elaborate. "I flew to the conference hall, and I found out that you were still alive. They told me you went out into the desert, which isn't vague at all. Instead of going out there, I asked around to see if anyone had seen you, and a few people told me that you were seen here."
"They saw me here?" Tecna asked, with great disbelief in her voice.
"You're one of the most recognizable fairies in the universe," Musa replied with a snicker. "Of course you're going to have a few stalkers."
"Of course. That's why the door was locked." Tecna forced a smile, but it quickly reversed into a frown. "I don't know what they're going to do. I have no idea, and it bothers me."
"What do you mean?"
"Zenith," Tecna said. Musa nodded slowly, knowing the direction their conversation was about to take. "Zenith just... lost its figurehead. There may not be people lining the streets, wailing, or an increase of the suicide rate, but the people are going to want answers, and they're going to want justice."
"But we're in Apex's jurisdiction, and the planet's locked down."
"That may be, but if Apex can't stop who ever is responsible, you can bet that Zenith will come, and they will try. They will annex this realm if they need to." Tecna gave Musa a wary look. "And from what I've seen so far, Apex can't do a thing."
Musa stood up from her seat and walked over to a nearby window. Looking outside, she could tell that the people of Apex had been scared. The police had created perimeters around every government building, hoping to protect those inside the buildings from rioters.
"Things don't look too good," Musa said, as she continued to look outside. She could see that a large mob of people had been slowly making their way through the zigzagging streets. Whether they were peaceful or not, Musa couldn't tell. She turned back to look at Tecna, who had taken out her palmtop, and had stared at the screen intently. "What are you checking?"
"The Magix news coverage," Tecna replied. "It's lagging a bit, but I need an impartial source for the time being."
"Impartial and Magix news?" Musa said sarcastically. "Those are two words I never thought I'd hear together."
"I'll turn up the volume, and go to hologram display." Tecna pressed a few keys on her palmtop, and a 3-d image of the news feed was suddenly being projected from the small device. The image had tinted slightly green, but was still clear. There was a bird's eye view of the ruined conference hall on Apex.
"So far, there have been a reported total of two-hundred and thirty six deaths, with only one unconfirmed survivor of the attack, Tecna of Zenith, guardian fairy, and member of the famous Winx Club," a woman narrated, putting an 'um' or an 'uh' after every third word or so. "High-profile victims include the leadership of the New Labour Party, the Premier Government Party, and the People's Oligarchy Party, which Apex's Prime Minister, Alef Brose was a member of. Also included in the list of victims is King Cryos of Zenith, who was invited to the conference as a special guest. Live from Zenith, our reporter, Julie Yama, brings us the latest on the situation there." The image changed to a picture of a young woman, standing near the king's castle on Zenith, shivering in the cold. "Julie, what's going on over there?"
"Hi Ann," Julie said through chattering teeth. "There's a really... tense atmosphere, all over the realm. Just behind me, inside the castle, multiple members of the Zenith government, are currently discussing the current dilemma, including Princess Genix, daughter of the late king. While a decision has yet to be reached, and the press have not been let into the castle, one thing for certain is that they definitely want action against the responsible party. Back to you-" The hologram disappeared, as Tecna closed the top of her Palmtop down. Her mouth was creased into a frown, as she put the device down.
"Are you going to be alright?" Musa asked, as she walked over to Tecna. She put an arm on her friend's shoulder.
"Yeah," Tecna replied. "I'm just... worried."
Musa placed her free hand on her chin, and narrowed her eyes. "So... Your wounds look like they were pretty severe... how did you get out of the desert?"
"It's a long story," Tecna said. "Are you sure you want to hear it?"
"Of course. We've got a lot of time to kill."
"Alright then."
"Author's" Notes: Second Chapter done! Sorry it's taken so long, even more so considering I left chapter 1 off on a cliffhanger.
Kantakka's flickering eyes and the lightning around his horn is inspired by Zyuranger/Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers of all things. More specifically, Daizyujin's/the megazord's finishing attack. Kantakka using the word "organic" is inspired by the HK-50s from Knights of the Old Republic II.
Thanks for reading this story! Please feel free to leave a review with your thoughts, comments and criticisms so I can improve! :p