Disclaimer: I do not own Winx Club.

It's been almost ten years since I last saw a total lunar eclipse. I'd forgotten just how unnerving that red moon is.

Speaking of the moon, something I've sort of implied but never really said is that Altivix has no moon. At all. This has pretty much no relevance to the plot, but it's one of the quirks of Altivix. Make of it what you will.

On with the story!

THUD. The ground shook, waking the Classix. Even Artis was shaken from her sleep by the massive concussion.

THUD. The ground shook again.

"What's going on?" Dhalia asked.

Perdi, who had drawn the morning watch, turned to her friend. "I'm not sure. Whatever's making that noise, it's too far away for me to sense it."

THUD.

"What about that thing that's been stalking us?" Amelia asked.

"It's still around. It's moved into the rocks east of here."

"And it's not making the noise?" Reyva asked.

"I don't think so." Perdi said, worried.

THUD. Small pebbles rained from the ceiling of the cave.

"Get out!" Reyva shouted. They grabbed their gear and dashed outside.

THUD.

The Classix turned to stare at the cave.

THUD.

The cave collapsed, rocks falling from the ceiling.

"We have to get out of here." Reyva said. "That wall could collapse at any moment."

They turned and ran deeper into the maze of rocks.

THUD.

The Classix paused in a clearing amid the rock formations.

THUD.

"We can't stay down in here with this constant shaking!" Dhalia said. "It's too dangerous!"

"What else can we do?" Artis asked.

"We have to fly!" Perdi answered.

"But..."

"No choice!" Dhalia replied. "Magix!"

(Cue very loud transformation music)

Five fairies took to the air on unsteady wings.

THUD.

They managed to set down atop one of the rocks, although some landings were more graceful than others.

THUD.

"What is that?" Artis demanded, pointing back towards the wasteland they had come from. A massive thing was moving towards them. It was so big that even at that distance they couldn't make out its true shape. A massive clawed foot larger than all of Alfea rose and fell.

THUD.

"Perdi..." Amelia said in a very worried tone.

"Yes Amelia?"

"What is that?"

"I have no idea."

THUD.

The thing continued to advance.

"We can't fight this thing!" Dhalia shouted. "We need to retreat!"

"Where?" Artis asked. "Where can we go? There's nowhere safe from that thing!"

THUD. Every step it took brought the beast closer to the fairies. It was advancing with terrifying and relentless speed.

"I don't know! But we have to get away from that thing!"

Something descended from the clouds. Scales were followed by teeth the size of ships. The form continued to slide out from the hazy dust clouds that covered the sky. The eyes were the size of houses, and horns of unbelievable size jutted out from the monster's head.

"That looks like-" Dhalia said.

"A Veccan Dragon." Amelia answered. "I knew they could grow to massive size, but this-"

The beast opened its mouth. Several seconds passed, then a sound like a living thunderclap rolled over the fairies.

"We have to go." Dhalia said. "Now."

Four fairies took the air.

"Reyva! What are you doing?"

Reyva did not move.

"Reyva!"

No response. The Classix returned to Reyva's side.

"Reyva?" Dhalia went over to her friend. She'd seen Reyva in all sorts of situations. She'd seen her laugh, she'd seen her cry, she'd seen her mad, and she'd seen her embarrassed. She'd never seen Reyva absolutely terrified before.

THUD.

"Koroboras." Reyva whispered in horror.

"Who?"

"Koroboras. Destroyer of Vecca."

"Tell us." Dhalia commanded, forcing her friend to look her in the eye. "We need to know."

Reyva stared for a moment, then shook herself. "You know my realm has five planets, right?"

"Yes, Illmar, Posay, Norlic, Lerdan, and Invac. What's your point?"

"There used to be six."

"Used to be?"

THUD.

"The sixth planet was named Vecca, and it was the original home of the Veccan Dragons. Koroboras destroyed it."

"He destroyed an entire planet."

"Yes."

"Why?"

THUD.

"For fun."

"What?"

"He lives to destroy. To kill. To annihilate."

"What is he doing here?"

"He was defeated nearly six thousand years ago. We thought he was dead."

"He doesn't look very dead to me." Artis said.

THUD.

"What can we do?" Dhalia asked.

"Run." Reyva said. "And hope he doesn't catch us."

"Then let's go."

The fairies took to the air again, flying as fast as they could without crashing. Altivix had granted them greater speed, but controlling their flight was difficult.

The fairies flew across the landscape at speeds they'd never even dreamed of, but Koroboras was still gaining on them.

"How can anything that big move that fast?" Perdi wailed.

"Keep flying!" Dhalia shouted back.

They buzzed over rocks, over lakes, over forests both alive and dead, over hills, and over fields, until finally they couldn't fly anymore. They landed atop a large hill and turned to face the oncoming monster.

"We can't keep running." Dhalia said. "We make our stand here."

"Anyone have any ideas on how to beat this thing?" Artis asked.

"I'd say take out the magic that fuels him, but he's too powerful for that." Amelia said.

"Koroboras was stronger than any other Veccan dragon ever was." Reyva said. "It was the effort to stop him that united Invac, and even then it almost failed."

"And unlike the people of Invac, we don't have a handy universe to imprison him in." Artis said.

"We have to try." Dhalia said. "If we die here, the Magic Dimension will be destroyed by Eclipsis's son. Everyone, get ready. Hit him with the strongest attack you can safely use.

THUD. The beast was a mere three miles away.

THUD. Two miles.

THUD.

"Now! Thunder Shot!" Dhalia yelled, firing a sphere of electricity. The energy drain drove her to her knees in exhaustion.

"Mystic Spear!" A narrow line of magic flew from Amelia's outstretched hand. She wobbled a bit on her feet as the spell sapped her remaining strength.

"Thought Ray!" Perdi cried, a beam of mental energy flying from her forehead. She fell backwards to the ground, panting for breath.

"Chrono Blast!" Artis exclaimed. A ball of energy left her hands as Artis crumpled to the ground, utterly spent.

"Spacial Orb!" Reyva shouted, a black sphere ripping through the air. She wavered for a moment, but remained standing.

Five attacks impacted the great dragon's face. He barely noticed. Drawing back his head, his mouth fell open, preparing for the attack that would end the now exhausted fairies lives.

"Begone Koroboras." A strange voice filled the air. It was reptilian, and twisted with anger and hatred, but beneath that it held a curious beauty. "These fairies are my prey."

"What? Who's there? Show yourself!" The great beast roared, forcing the girls to cover their ears.

"As you wish." Another dragon appeared, seeming to materialize out of the air. It appeared tiny before the monstrous Koroboras, yet unlike Koroboras's massive power and bulk, this dragon was slender and graceful. Its iridescent wings glowed with every color of the rainbow and its scales gleamed in the sun.

"You!"

"Me. Begone Koroboras. These fairies are mine."

"One of these fairies is a descendant of those who trapped me here. I will see her dead before me!"

"She will die when she ceases to amuse me, just like her friends will."

"No, she will die now!"

"Are you challenging me Koroboras? I'm sure you remember what happened the last time tried that. Do the burns still hurt?" The smaller dragon's voice held an edge of loving menace.

"That was three thousand years ago. I've grown stronger since then. Even stronger than you!"

"Believe what you want, but these fairies are mine. They will die when I choose to kill them."

"They will die now!" With that, Koroboras spat a deluge of poison at the other dragon.

"Fool." The smaller dragon opened its mouth and a plume of blinding white fire blasted out. The two attacks met in the air, the poison vaporizing as the white hot flame burned back along it to Koroboras, scorching his face.

"I warned you what would happen if you defied me again. Now you shall pay for your arrogance." The dragon opened it's mouth again. An even brighter jet of fire flew through the air, slamming into Koroboras. His scales melted and his body burned, turned to ashes in the wind by the sheer power of the smaller dragon's breath.

"What a shame. He made such a lovely plaything." The dragon turned to the Classix. The five fairies were unable to move, utterly poleaxed by the speed with which this beautiful creature had obliterated Koroboras.

"You amuse me fairies. I do so enjoy seeing you struggle to control your powers." The lovely voice was tainted with a vicious joy. "Especially because you are Magix fairies. So accustomed to having control over yourself and the world around you. What does it feel like to lose all control? It must be truly dreadful. I'll be watching you." With that, the creature faded from view.

"What," Amelia panted out, "just happened?"

"I don't know," Dhalia said, "but we need to find somewhere to shelter for the rest of the day and tonight. We're in no condition to keep traveling."

They turned to examine their surroundings. In the heat of the moment, they'd paid little attention to the landscape. Now as they looked out from atop their hill, they were greeted with a bleak sight. The hill they stood upon was surrounded by a foul-looking swamp, with things moving just beneath the surface of the tainted water.

"We're going to have to camp here." Reyva said. "It's a good thing there are some trees here. We use them to help set up a shelter."

"We should get started." Dhalia said. "We only have a few hours until sundown."

The girls set to work.

A/N: For those who were wondering what sort of creatures Altivix has to offer, there's your answer. Dragons the size of small continents. Or dragons the size of a van that can effortlessly destroy things the size of small continents. At least Univix gave the girls a fighting chance!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, and thanks to PiercetheVeils for introducing me to a new song. A very creepy new song, but an interesting one all the same. It does have a certain connection with this story too. Yet another source of inspiration to work with as I push my poor girls to their limits.

That's it for now, see everyone next chapter.