Chapter 12- Searching

Roxy hugged Brandon tightly as the forest zipped past them. She felt the wind tugging her pink hair back behind her and she wished she'd flown with the rest of the Winx girls. She absolutely loved the feeling of flight, loved flying free like the birds. But ever since the Winx had returned to the Magic Dimension they'd only been using their Enchantix powers and Roxy felt alien compared to them in her Believix. So she resorted to simpler forms of transportation, like walking, jogging, or in this case, riding levi-bikes.

She could feel Brandon was tense and focusing hard on their mission to save Bloom. His shoulders were stiff and his arms taut as he steered the levi-bike through the trees and bushes. She supposed he hated to see Sky and Stella so distraught. He must've also grown attached to Bloom considering everything they'd been through. She had to admire him for his determination to find Bloom and bring her home safely.

An open clearing allowed Roxy to finally glance up and see the Winx girls flying far ahead of them. She noticed Layla wasn't with them just before they were hidden once more by the leafy canopies of the trees.

"I saw the girls! We're not too far behind them!" Roxy shouted over the wind, her voice slightly muffled by her helmet. She watched Brandon nod his head and somehow he got his bike to accelerate even faster. She glanced behind them and saw that the other guys were speeding up too.

Roxy closed her eyes and imagined that Bloom was flying free above them. Bloom waved to Roxy and beckoned for her to come fly with them. The thought made Roxy smile and she opened her eyes, her gaze fixed on the portion of sky she'd imagined Bloom. But she didn't see Bloom. Instead there was the thick leafy canopy of the forest. She blinked away the start of tears and focused instead on the mission. Bloom was the only one who truly understood Roxy because she too had lived on Earth. Without her, Roxy felt lost and alone, even with the other Winx girls. They just had to find her.

"We'll save you Bloom. Just like how you saved all of us." Roxy whispered.

"Did you say something?" Brandon shouted.

Roxy remained quiet and fixed her gaze once more on the sky above. They hit another clear patch and Roxy blinked in the intense sunlight. She was searching for the girls again when an explosion shook the area. Roxy even felt it on the levi-bike. She caught sight of flames rising up from the forest, and then Roxy spotted Layla…plummeting from the sky!

"Brandon! Layla!" Roxy pointed toward the direction she'd seen Layla fall, but Brandon was already driving that way. Roxy's heart was pounding as she felt another explosion shake the forest. Was Layla okay? What was causing the explosion?

A dark thought clouded Roxy's thoughts. Perhaps it had been Eilian? Maybe Eilian was targeting the Winx Club. An anger grew within Roxy and she glared ahead. She'd had enough of this.

They burst through the undergrowth into a clearing and Brandon whipped his bike around to a stop. Roxy was off even before the bike had completely halted, stumbling to her feet all while running forward. Ahead of her she saw three people caught up in a harsh magic battle. But her mind was focused on locating Layla. She searched the clearing frantically, but when she turned to the boys to ask for insight she saw they weren't even looking.

"What is wrong with you!" Roxy shouted. "You should be looking for Layla!"

Brandon had a grim expression, his stare locked on a particular person within the battle. Roxy followed his gaze and saw the man involved in the magic duel.

"It can't be." Sky muttered.

Roxy glanced at the guys and saw that they all had the same grim expression in their eyes. She glanced again at the man, then turned to Sky. "It can't be who?"

"Baltor."

The line was endless. Slowly they trudged forward one step at a time, dreading and begging for the end of the seemingly perpetual wait. Some knew where they were and why they stood there waiting; they either stood with reflective patience while others were impatient and angry. Then there were those who stood in the line with absolutely no idea where they were, why they were there, and how they'd gotten there.

Bloom was one of those.

She didn't remember arriving at that place. She couldn't recall the moment she'd stepped into the endless line of people. She'd even had trouble retaining her own identity for mere moments. Not that those mere moments were significant, considering that place seemed eternal. But then she remembered her name, her family and friends, her life story, and she was left instead wondering where she was, how she'd gotten there, and why she had been sent there.

Why was she, Princess Bloom of Sparks, there?

Bloom had tried socializing with some of the others who stood in line with her in an attempt to gain some information about…anything, really. But they either sat in resolute silence or screamed maniacally, so she gave up on that idea. That's when she took to trying to pick out the details of the place. But she found she couldn't gather any concrete information on that either. Just that it was dark and dismal.

Bloom closed her eyes and took a deep breath to fight back the tears and panic. She had to decide what she was going to do.

Escape.

The single word echoed through her head and her heart began to beat faster. What was the point in deciding when there was only one thing to do? What was the other part of her decision? To stand there in the endless line for eternity and let everything she'd made for herself in life go? Bloom glanced around and carefully approached the point of stepping out of line.

But then she stopped. Her blood pounded in her ears, her breaths came in shorter, quicker breaths. She felt something, something that compelled her to turn around and stand once more in line. Her gut told her that if she stepped beyond the line something bad would happen to her. Something irreversible.

Bloom shivered and gazed off into the darkness that existed just beyond the line, searching to the source that would make her feel that way. But she saw nothing.

When she tried to urge herself beyond the point again, she glanced up quickly and stumbled back at what she saw. Eyes, cruel and heeding surrounded the line, hidden by the darkness. As she stumbled back they became invisible once more, but she knew they were there. She stood up at the point beyond the line and glared into the darkness, fighting the nearly overpowering urge to stand quietly back in line.

"I see you!" Bloom shouted angrily. "Who are you? Why have you brought me here? What is here?"

Moments passed and Bloom felt her hope beginning to break to pieces. Would she get any answers? Then a figure broke free of the dark invisibility and walked toward her.

"You are not dead. You are not a spirit or a soul." The voice was filled with minor curiosity, but sounded just as cruel as its gaze.

"Okay. You've answered one of my unsaid questions." Bloom said annoyed. "Now what about those other questions?"

"We're the watchers of the line. We keep souls and spirits from leaving the line. We've never had to watch a living being in the line before. And you are so far up in the line too."

Bloom gawked at the figure. "So far up? What do you mean 'so far up'? I haven't seen an end to this line yet!"

The figure cocked its head at her. "You will face judgment soon."

"Judgment? Whatever for?" Bloom stared for a moment. "You mean like judgment for getting into heaven or hell or something of that sort? But you said I'm not dead!"

The figure shrugged, indifferent to her protests. "You are among the dead. Those who stand in line await judgment for their completed time in life. Your time must be up. You will be judged with the rest."

"No…wait. I don't understand! How can the time of my life be up if I'm not dead! And my body still contains my soul obviously! I must still be alive!" Bloom sighed angrily. "How did I get here? Why am I here? Give me answers."

"I cannot answer questions I do not know the answers to. Your questions of why can only be answered by Fate. And Fate answers to no one." The figure began to draw back into the darkness. "Stay in the line. Or else…"

"Or else what ? What will happen! Hello!" Bloom shouted at the darkness after the figure but the figure said nothing else to her. Bloom was ushered forward a step as the whole line of souls stepped forward. Just as she was beginning to despair her situation, Bloom made out the faint outline of a building in the distance and she finally saw the end of the line.

Author's Note- Okay, I apologize for not updating sooner but I had a sudden lapse in creativity lately. I think it has something to do with school. You've all been wondering where Bloom is and I hope this chapter will help you all out a little bit. Please review!