Disclaimer: I don't own Winx Club.

Lot of reviews for the last chapter, although I kind of expected that. I did kill two characters off. ...No one cares about Ekroin, do they? I didn't think so.

I should explain why Necromancy is so taboo. I divide what's regard as Necromancy into three categories: Resurrection, necromancy, and Necromancy (note the capitol letter). Simple necromancy is like what Elise could do before Eclipsis killed her. This is summoning spirits to communicate with them, and, if they are amenable, fight with them. This is quite legal, and has uses all over the Magic Dimension. Some of its biggest uses are in law enforcement, entertainment, and education. It's also sometimes used for therapy, although some question if it does more harm than good. Resurrection is also legal, although it's very difficult. If the person is truly dead (Daphne wasn't dead, she was a disembodied spirit) then it's virtually impossible to bring back someone who's been dead for more than twenty four hours. (The Winx managed to break that rule when they brought back Nabu, but the process by which they pulled that off is so stupidly complex that I'm not going to get into it here.) These means resurrection is more in the nature of a magically assisted Near Death Experience. This brings us to Necromancy. Necromancy is the creation of undead. This is morally repugnant because it involves enslaving someone's soul and forcing it to power the body of an undead creature. Ick. However, there's another reason it's not used: They're incredibly dangerous to the person summoning them. More often than not, they break free from the person controlling them in a matter of hours, and they tend to attack the person who created them, making Necromancy too foul for most and too dangerous for the rest.

So, after a not-at-all-deliberate delay, this chapter is ready to go.

Amelia pulled one of the Ember Stones from the group. "Dhalia, do you know CPR?"

"Yes."

"Try to get her heart going." Amelia continued, speaking quickly. "Perdi, I need you to help shield her mind. This is going to be a shock and I don't want to hurt her anymore than we have to. Reyva, look at Perdi's shoulder."

"Okay." Perdi barely even noticed the pain in her shoulder. Artis needed her.

"On it." Reyva grabbed the medical kit they had and began to treat the deep cut Perdi had suffered. Dhalia began to perform CPR on Artis's unresponsive body while Perdi place her hands on the sides of Artis's head.

"Alright, let's do this." Amelia held the Ember Stone in her cupped hands. Closing her eyes, she focused all her power into the small sphere. When she took her hands away, the orb remained, floating. It cracked, flames licking out from it, then shattered, leaving nothing but a small burning flame hovering in midair. Amelia grabbed the flame. It was very hot, but it did not burn her. She split the flame between her hands, then touched Artis's head and chest.

A brilliant light flashed, and all four of the Classix were blasted away from Artis's body. She began to glow white, then she opened her eyes.

"What? I'm...I'm alive?" Artis sat up, her eyes wild. "NO! Great Dragon curse you Altivix, just let me die!"

"...Artis?" Perdi asked, utterly shocked.

Artis's head snapped around to face Perdi. Her eyes went impossibly wide. Then she collapsed.

"Artis!" The girls rushed over to her.

"She's breathing." Reyva said with a sigh of relief.

"We have to find a safe place to rest." Dhalia said. "We'll figure out what happened to Artis when she wakes up."

"Perdi, are you okay to travel?" Amelia asked.

"I think so."

"Can you fly?"

"Probably not."

"Then we walk. Reyva, can you carry Artis?"

"Not a problem." Reyva gently picked up the unconscious girl.

"Let's move." Dhalia said. "I see some hills over that way." She pointed to the East. "Maybe we can find some shelter there."

They started marching.

The girls were soon in among the hills. The sun was sinking as they began to search for some sort of shelter from the creatures of the night. There was nothing.

"Not even a single cave!" Dhalia exclaimed. "And this is dirt, not rock. My powers won't work here either!"

"I have an idea." Reyva said. "Reality Warp!" The hills seemed to move and stretch of their own accord, forming a circular wall around the Classix. When she'd arranged them the way she liked, Reyva severed the spell. Panting with exertion, she sat down. "That should do it."

"Thanks Reyva." Amelia said. She looked at the wall. "I never thought I'd see horizontal grass."

"To be fair, I never thought I'd see a resurrection." Dhalia said. "You did something amazing Amelia."

"Then why doesn't it feel amazing?" Amelia turned to her friends. "You heard what Artis said. She wanted to die. What could have done this to her?"

"I guess we'll find out when she wakes up." Perdi said.

The stars were bright tonight. They shone down with a cold, uncaring brilliance upon the Classix. Reyva continued to tend to Perdi's injuries while Dhalia and Amelia set up camp.

A figure dropped down from above. "Horizontal grass? How did you manage that one?"

"Nyssa, we're not in the mood for this tonight." Amelia said.

"I saw the body. What happened?"

"They used Necromancy. They summoned a horde of fire skeletons and had them attack us." Dhalia said. "We were about to lose when Artis intervened."

"She beat them all. She got rid of all the undead, and she killed Ekroin." Perdi said.

"All by herself?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"We're not sure, but it cost her her life." Amelia said.

"Then why is she opening her eyes?"

They turned to their friend. She was awake.

"Artis!" Perdi exclaimed.

"Huh? Who...Who are you? Who's Artis?"

The Classix stared at her in shock.

"You're Artis." Perdi said.

"I am? I can't even remember my own name, it's been so long." She looked around at the four girls clustered around her. "Who are you again?"

"We're your friends. The Classix." Amelia looked at Artis in horror. What had happened to Artis?

"...It sounds vaguely familiar, but I can't place it."

"I'm Amelia. You know me. You're my friend."

"I'm sorry, but I don't know you, Amelia." Artis looked at the ground. "I don't know anyone."

"Perdi, there must be something you can do!" Dhalia said. "Something!"

"I can try." Perdi focused on Artis.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to find your memories."

"Why?"

"So I can give you back yourself. Memory Surge!"

"What-? Ahhhh!" Artis grabbed her head in her hands. "I- I remember!"

"Good!"

"I...remember...NO!" Artis broke into tears.

"Artis, what happened to you?"

"I think I know." Perdi said. "She used Time Flash."

"The spell that lets her live about thirty minutes in the space of a second?"

"Yes."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Reyva asked.

"We're in Altivix. It didn't last for thirty minutes."

"How long..."

"A hundred years." Artis sobbed out. "A hundred cursed years. A hundred years of NOTHING!"

A/N: Uh, yeah. Artis is not having a good day. Or a good century.

A quick response to the guest who predicted Artis would be coming back because it was "obvious". You were right, she did come back. And she's not happy about this. I didn't bring her back to be nice. I brought her back because I'm not done putting her through the wringer.

As for exactly how that worked, it was in way a soul-for-a-soul exchange. The Ember Stones are the physical remains of an Ember Blade's soul. By completely using one's power, Amelia was able to call back Artis's soul. However, Artis was dead for less than ten minutes, making the whole thing possible in the first place.

That's it for this chapter. See you all next chapter when we deal with some of the psychological damage Artis has suffered. Oh I feel so evil right now.