Disclaimer: I don't own Winx Club.
Cyborg, for future reference, Fanfiction dot net hates links, and will usually delete them on sight. So unfortunately, I have no idea what you were listening to. I do have my own soundtrack though. There were three songs I listened to while writing last chapter:
O Fortuna. You may not recognize the name, but I can pretty much guarantee you've heard it at least once. Basically, scary Latin chanting.
The next two both come from the game Final Fantasy Dissidia: 012 Duodecim. The first is Cantata Mortis, which is even more scary Latin chanting. (The title literally translates as "Chanted Death".)
The second is God in Fire, which doubles as the theme for some of the nastier places in Altivix. It even manages to capture some of the elements of various characters, particularly Sasha, so I'm quite fond of it.
Alenadira, a significant part of last chapter was letting all the characters show off. That was a no-holds barred grudge match between good and evil. It was also the last major battle of the series, so it had to be pretty spectacular.
Now for something completely different...
The Classix stumbled from Reyva's portal, dragging Eclipsis behind them. They stood in the massive chamber with the Gate of Mortality.
"Quickly!" Dhalia said. "We have to get her through the gate before she wakes up!"
They started for the portal.
None of you are leaving this place. A soundless voice echoed through the chamber. You will remain here for eternity. The cavern disappeared in a blinding flash of light.
Artis awoke on a burnt and scarred plain. She was lying on her back, surrounded by a horde of motionless fire skeletons. Ekroin's corpse lay beside her. Her friends stood motionless in various poses. The Ember Blades were there too, equally motionless.
"No..." Artis's voice was a breathy whisper. "No..."
There was no response. Nothing moved.
"NO!" She screamed. She was back, trapped in her nightmare again.
"This can't be real." Artis said, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "It can't. I died. Amelia brought me back. We stopped Sasha, we reached Melivon, we fought the Ember Blades, we fought Eclipsis. That was all real!"
Or was it? A cold voice asked in her mind. Was it real? Or was it all a desperate dream?
"It was real! I saw it! I felt it!"
That doesn't mean anything. You were insane for quite sometime. How can you trust your own mind?
"I..."
You can't. You can't tell reality from illusion. You never could.
"I can-" Artis paused, struck by a sudden thought. "Can't tell reality from illusion..."
You can't trust yourself. You can't trust anyone.
"If I can't tell the two apart, then what's the difference?"
The icy voice was silent.
"If they're the same, what difference does it make? Even if my life is an illusion, I'm going to live it like it's real. I can't tell the difference anyways. Isn't that right?"
What?
"Reality is subjective. Who knows what's actually real? What's to say the whole world isn't the dream of some madman? That doesn't change our responsibility to the people in it."
The voice was silent again.
"Whether or not it really exists, it's real to me. So that's the reality I accept."
But...
"I choose my life. Now show yourself, Altivix!"
Artis turned and found herself face to face with herself.
"Really Altivix? A doppleganger? Is that the best you can do?"
"You are an interesting specimen. You do not view the world the same way most mortals do."
"I spent a hundred years in isolation. It changes how you view the world."
"Clearly."
"Glad we agree. Now let me go."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't- oomph!" Artis had planted her elbow in the impostor's midriff, driving the breath out of her. She followed up with a palm strike to the chin, then a spinning kick to the side of the head. Altivix's avatar fell to the ground, stunned.
"You know," Artis said conversationally, "for something I developed because I was bored, this really is an effective fighting form."
"That won't help you." Altivix got to its feet.
"No, but it makes me feel better. However, I'm fairly certain this isn't an actual illusion, is it? All of this is happening inside my mind."
"So what if it is?"
"My mind, my rules." She closed in on Altivix's form, lashing out with a powerful kick to the chest. It struck with a sound like shattering glass as the burnt field vanished, revealing the cavern again. "And under my rules, you lose." She spat on the floor of the cave with contempt.
The rest of the Classix were on the ground, each with an expression of terror or hopelessness. Artis rushed over.
"Amelia! Dhalia! Reyva! Nyssa! Perdi!" She hurried to each in turn. "Argh! If only I could do something!" She put her hand on Perdi's shoulder.
Help me... Amelia heard Perdi's voice in her head.
"How?"
Come with me...
The cave vanished, and Artis had the strange feeling that she was falling.
Artis landed on her stomach in an enormous room. The floor was a solid sheet of marble. Pillars of obsidian marched into the distance. There were no walls or ceiling that Artis could see. In front of her were two people. Perdi knelt on the ground, a hollow, broken look in her eyes. In front of her stood a familiar man. Albert Anthony Sophus. Perdi's older brother.
"That's right Perdilla, forsake emotions. They've never given you anything but pain. Surrender them, and be free."
Perdi said nothing, just stared at the floor blankly.
"Stop that!" Artis shouted, getting to her feet. "You're hurting her!"
Albert turned to face her. "I am not hurting her. I am helping her escape the pain."
"There is more to emotions than pain!"
"You are wrong. Every emotion leads to pain in the end. Joy becomes pain when there is loss. Pleasure becomes pain. Even love leads to pain."
"That doesn't mean they aren't worth feeling!"
"Foolish girl. One day you'll understand."
"No. You'll understand. Right now."
"Oh?"
"I'll prove to you that emotions are worth feeling, right here, right now."
"Then do so. Enlighten me. Show me something that is worth the pain."
"Gladly."
Artis walked over to Perdi. "Perdi, look at me."
No response.
"Perdi, I can't do this alone. You have to help me help you."
Perdi looked up, her eyes clouded over. "What's the use?"
"Because people care about you! Your friends care about you! I care about you! I- I-"
Perdi went back to looking at the floor.
"Oh, this was so much easier in my head." Artis said. "And now I'm...in your head. Aheh. Heh." She started to giggle weakly, then shook herself. "Perdi, I- Oh forget it." She took Perdi's face in her hands, leaned forward, and kissed her.
Perdi's eyes flew open. Artis broke away. "Perdi, I love you. I'm not sure when it happened, and I'm not sure how, but I do. I just wish I'd had the courage to tell you sooner."
Perdi blinked. She looked like someone had walked up to her, accused her of painting his nose blue, smacked her with a live salmon, and then walked away humming "Happy Birthday" to himself.
"Perdi?" Perdi continued to stare, utterly poleaxed. The blood drained from Artis's face.
"Oh Perdi, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have, I should have asked, should have told, shouldn't have ki- mmph!"
"Please don't finish that sentence." Perdi said as she broke the kiss.
"Okay." Artis said meekly.
Perdi turned to her brother. "I think Artis has proven her point. Begone!" She swiped her hand through the air, dissolving the illusion and putting them back in the cave.
"Artis, did you-"
"Yes."
"And you really-"
"Yeah."
"...I love you too."
"Perdi..."
"Let's help the others." Perdi said.
"How?"
"Like this." Perdi took the emotions welling up inside her. Rather than analyze them, or fight them as she usually did, she just... felt them. They surged within her, growing stronger and stronger by the second until she couldn't hold them in anymore.
A psychic wave burst from Perdi, carrying with it her feelings of hope, joy, courage, and determination. It swept through the Classix, breaking them from their trances. It burst out from the mountain they stood within, sweeping across Altivix.
Luminé was training, trying to work off her anger with the Classix. She blasted the training dummies with unbridled ferocity, her face a feral snarl. Suddenly, her rage eased. She felt...hope. Maybe the Classix had lied to her, but they were fighting for a good cause. They'd already resolved the problem of Sasha for her.
She frowned, feeling guilty. She shouldn't have gone off at them. They were good kids. Hopefully they would suceed in their mission. Just the bare facts of it made it clear they were quite skilled. She wished them luck.
Kobet stood with his shoulders hunched in the room Luminé had found for him. He tried not to show it, but he really had come to care about the three men placed in his charge. Sure, they'd had their flaws, but they had been improving, and their loss hurt more than he was willing to admit. Suddenly, his pain softened.
It wasn't his fault. He couldn't have saved them, but he could devote himself to continuing to help others. For the men he couldn't save, he would help the ones he could.
Vellantai stopped, struck by a sudden surge of emotion. Her madness retreated, leaving her mind clear for a moment,
"You feel that Talu?" She asked. "That's the feeling of a young person in love. You know, you don't have to be angry all the time."
She heard a soft snort inside her mind. Talu withdrew to consider the new feelings he was experiencing.
The Classix rose to their feet, their minds freed from the effects of Altivix.
"We can do this." Dhalia said. "We're going through the gate. Grab-"
Eclipsis stood between them and the portal. "You aren't leaving. You're all about to die."
A/N: In case you were wondering, Artis actually invented her own martial art. She had a human lifetime by herself, so she did a lot of things. Like taking up wood carving. Learning a martial art. Teaching herself to play a flute that she made. All sorts of things.
On to Artis and Perdi. Awwwwww. Enough said.
However, Eclipsis is back up, and the Classix are out of power and out of tricks. This does not look good.
See you all next chapter.