"And then we finished school while somehow managing to keep our secret. Ricky gave that stuff to Blake and he actually started crying."

"What was with Anagan's burns and cuts?"

"Ya know, we've never actually figured that part out."

"That's crazy!" Roxy said, her eyes were still wide. "Did all of that really happen?!"

"Yup," he answered. Now Roxy started to look sad. "What's wrong, Love?"

"The Earth Fairies really did that to wizards? That's so horrible," Roxy said, feeling ashamed. Duman pulled her into a warm embrace.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Roxy, it wasn't your fault," he said. "It's not like we blame you personally." Roxy looked up at him.

"You miss them, don't you?" She was finally starting to understand his mind as well as he understood hers. He looked away, trying not to seem sad but failing miserably.

"Yeah, I guess I do," he said. However much Roxy regretted saying this, if you love something you're supposed to set it free. And if it doesn't come back, it was never yours in the first place.

"Maybe it's time to let them know that you're back," she said. He smiled at the ground, a bit happy.

"If I do, I won't be around much anymore. And of course, there're the fights. The others will definitely notice if I don't attack you. And they'll know if I'm talking to you through our minds. We won't have much contact at all," he said solemnly.

"So," she said. He looked at her. "Make it up to me now." She smiled at him, but he didn't return it. Instead he held her chin and drew her in for a kiss. She was startled and held her eyes wide open, this was her first kiss. With her first boyfriend. Her eyes fluttered shut and she wrapped her arms around his neck. They broke and rested their foreheads together. Duman returned her smile. "Ya know something?" She said.

"What?" He asked. Roxy giggled a bit.

"My dad would kill me if he saw this," she said. They both started laughing. It's true, though. No one would understand if they knew about this. Duman put his arm around her shoulders as he looked out the window. The full force of that storm had finally come; it was raining even harder than the first day Roxy came over.

"You'll catch a cold if you go out in that," he said. "But I can't risk getting too close to your house."

"I could always just sleep over," she said. Duman stood up and held her hand, leading her to the stairs and his bedroom. Roxy changed into a cami and shorts while Duman had on those same sweatpants. They climbed into his bed and nestled into each other.

"Night, Roxy."

"Goodnight, Duman," she answered. Those words felt so foreign on her tongue. She was sleeping with a criminal. "Oh well," she thought. "I'm a fairy, not an angel." She smiled at her little mental joke as the warmth of his body slowly lulled her to sleep.

.oOo.

When Roxy woke up, she was in the bed alone. She sat up and looked around, but Duman was nowhere to be found. She stood and wandered around, eventually making her way downstairs. Duman was laying on the couch reading and heard her approaching footsteps.

"So, how'd you sleep?" he said without moving his gaze. Roxy walked up and sat next to him, she knew she would miss visits like these.

"Best sleep I've had in my whole life," she said.

"Well, that's good," he said. He drifted the book back to the shelf and sat up, kissing her on the cheek. "Want something to eat?"

"Nah, I'm not really hungry," she said. Duman held her hand and looked into her eyes.

"Then I've got something to teach you," he said. She raised her eyebrow as he stood up. "I've figured out a way to make it so I don't have to fight you." Roxy was excited; she wouldn't run the risk of being torn to bits by her boyfriend, yippee!

"How?" she asked enthusiastically.

"I remembered a spell that some fairies would use on animals in the circus, a way to control their minds so they would be subservient," he said cautiously. Roxy was worried, of course. "It didn't hurt them and it was only temporary, but it was good for keeping people from dying during shows."

"I have to control you?" she asked.

"It won't hurt and you can stop it whenever you want to, but you can't make it too obvious that you want to stop it. It should be easy for you; you're the fairy of animals, after all. Are you up to it?" he asked. She thought for a minute and looked him in the eyes.

"Alright, I'll do it," she said. If it wouldn't do any harm, why not? It would preserve their secret. Duman smiled, they were safe for now.

"Good, now all you have to do is say an incantation," he said. "Repeat after me, Rialú tú mé-"

"Rialú tú mé-"

"A leanúint-"

"A leanúint-"

"Mo orduithe."

"Mo orduithe."

"Good, now say it all together while you focus your magic." Roxy took a deep breath and started to glow.

"Rialú tú mé, a leanúint mo omruithe," she said. Duman cringed and grabbed his head, shaking and crumpling over. Roxy stopped concentrating out of worry, freeing him from her grasp. "Are you ok?" He slowly returned to an upright position.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, rubbing his forehead. "I told you it doesn't hurt. It's just a reflex to try and avoid control, whether I want to or not. But if you didn't stop, I'd be in a trance, and you could tell me to do whatever you want."

"And you'll be ok?"

"And I'll be ok. Don't worry about it, Roxy." She was worried about it, but she loved him more than anything. They shared what they knew would be their last embrace for a long time. Roxy started to cry so he held her tighter. She buried her face into his shoulder. When they let go, Duman looked into her eyes and held her face, wiping away her tears with the back of his fingers. "I love you, Beautiful. We'll see each other soon, I promise." He smiled at her, and she returned it. "You should go, before I rethink this," he said with a slight laugh. She kissed him on the lips one last time and broke away.

"Love you," she said. She waved at him how she did the day that they revealed their feelings to each other. She turned and walked out the door, leaving him staring in silence. He ran his hand through his hair, questioning how he was going to work this out. "I wonder if this is how Bonnie and Clyde felt," he thought. That spell would work for a while, but not forever. He would have to come clean sometime… but he didn't think about that for now. His brothers were out there and he missed them, no matter how much he loved her. So he got dressed and walked to the nearest alleyway. At the end of it was a manhole, not big enough for a person to go through. He looked around for passersby, and turned himself into water. He ran through the holes and gathered himself at the bottom. He stood up and stretched, it always felt weird to do that. He lifted his head and sniffed the air around him, also turning his ears to listen. Without too much hassle he located his brothers, they were about four miles down one of the tunnels. He transformed into a wolf and sprinted into the darkness ahead of him, sensing that he was coming closer and closer to his destination with each stride. As he ran, the lyrics to a song from a band both he and Roxy loved came into his head.

"Wild and running for one reason, they can't stop us from our freedom…" He smiled. No one could keep him from seeing Roxy. He would find a way.

.oOo.

The wizards were meditating on the whereabouts of Roxy and the white circle when Gantlos heard something approaching. He stood up and went out of their little dry spot to look around. Ogron and Anagan watched him in confusion; he was never distracted.

"What are you looking at?" Anagan asked. Gantlos was focused on the seemingly endless darkness.

"There's something coming towards us from somewhere, and its coming fast," he said. "It's an animal that runs on four legs."

"There are a lot of animals that run on four legs," Ogron pointed out. The animal drew closer and closer until it stepped into the light, a black wolf with pink fur on his belly, ears and the tip of his tail. It sat down and watched them, looking very focused. It had golden eyes, and Gantlos noticed something right away; two piercings in its ear, connected by a chain. This was strange to him; he only knew one animal with a pierced ear.

"I don't think normal wolves have earrings," he said suspiciously.

"They don't, but I'm not a normal wolf," it said, shocking the wizards.

"That sounds just like-"

"Duman?!" Anagan finished. The wolf laughed. Those two always finish each other's sentences.

"In the flesh," he said. Ogron was leaning against a wall in silence. Something was different… wrong.

"We thought you were dead," Anagan said.

"Where have you been all this time? We've missed you," Gantlos said.

"Spell, Omega Dimension, making my way out, blah blah blah, it's not really an interesting story," Duman said as he transformed into the shape they all knew. Ogron was still giving him a strange look and Duman tried not to notice, knowing he would weasel the information out of him in any way possible.

"Duman, I have a question for you," Ogron said. Everyone looked at him, he sounded like something was on his mind.

"What's up?" He asked. Ogron walked towards him and crinkled his nose.

"You smell like a fairy. Mind telling me why?" Ogron said. Duman shrugged his shoulders and came up with a pretty obvious lie.

"I was fighting a fairy before I came down here."

"Interesting, which one?" Ogron asked pryingly.

"I don't remember, their faces just blend together in my head," he said.

"Oh, really? Do you remember what she smelled like? With your sense of smell, you should have noticed. Did she smell like flowers?" He asked, talking about Flora.

"No."

"Sea water?" Aisha.

"No," Duman was growing irritated.

"Well, how about—" Duman was tired of this. He snarled and raised his voice.

"It was the Earth fairy, alright?" he snapped. "Now, if you're done interrogating me, I'd like to get some shut eye. I'm tired and need to regain some strength," he said, looking Ogron in the eyes. He was shaken by Duman's show of dominance. For as long as Ogron had known him, he was always obedient, like a beta wolf in a pack. He never showed the slightest rebellion, but now he was barking at his leader? Ogron knows that with Duman where there is bark, bite will not be far behind. He also knows that his friend probably had to face some terrible situations in the Omega Dimension that he wouldn't willingly talk about, so he let him off without taking offense.

"Very well, we'll attack the Winx after you're feeling better."

"It's good to have you back," Anagan said as he patted Duman's shoulder. He and Gantlos were also surprised at his change in attitude, so he was cautious.

"Good to be back," he answered, changing into the wolf and walking to a dark corner of the dry patch. He paced around in a circle and lay down, resting his head on his forepaws. It never ceased to amaze his friends how he could sleep while using his power. Gantlos sensed something just like Ogron did, but it was different.

"I'm going to fly around the city to see if the Winx are anywhere vulnerable," he said.

"I'll come, too," Anagan said. He couldn't sense any other difference; he was too blinded by happiness and a bit of shock to think straight. He just wanted room to stretch out. Ogron nodded his head.

"I'll stay here until Duman wakes up," he said. Even if he wouldn't admit it, Ogron was worried about Duman. He seemed different, too different to go unnoticed. Meanwhile, Anagan and Gantlos sped off into the shadows and up to the surface, flying where no one could see them. Humans were still not accustomed to flying people everywhere and they didn't want to cause a panic without being able to fully enjoy it. As they flew around to scope out the area, Gantlos raised the question that he had been pondering since his little brother came back.

"Anagan, did you notice anything different about Duman?" Anagan looked at him with a blank expression. "So that's a no?"

"I didn't notice anything," he said. "Did you?" Gantlos stopped and stared into the distance. Anagan circled back and floated in front of him.

"Well, for one thing, he talked back to Ogron. Also, why would he be so sore about saying he fought the Earth Fairy?" Anagan thought for a second.

"Now that I think about it, he did seem kind of angry. And he would have won in a fight against her, so why don't we have her wings? Come on, she's only sixteen, it should have been easy for him."

"Unless he really doesn't have enough strength left."

"So, you think she beat him?" Anagan asked, not wanting to believe the words he just said. Gantlos looked around, as if a building would have the answer painted on top of it. He shook his head.

"No, I don't think that's it. I mean, maybe, but I think it's something else," he said. Dusting off his hat and putting it over his eyes. "It seems like something's in his heart." This took Anagan by surprise. He always thought of Duman as a person who acted solely on his instincts, not on sentient whims.

"I don't know," he said. "I guess only time will tell." They flew around until they saw the Winx screwing around in the woods with their little boy toys in tow. They smirked at each other and took their time getting back to their home, knowing that the fairies would be entertained for quite a while.

.oOo.

Roxy pulled her phone out of her pocket to see if her dad had blown it up lately. Instead, she found that she had sent him messages telling him where she was, and he was ok with her sleeping over at "Marissa's" house. Roxy smiled and rolled her eyes. Duman did that. She also found one from Flora. The Winx were in the forest and wanted her to come hang out. She sighed and made her way to the music bar so her dad wouldn't freak out about not seeing her.

"Hey Roxy, leave your friend so soon?" he said.

"Yeah, they had to go on a business trip," she said. Not entirely false. "I'm gonna go hang out with the girls, ok?"

"Have fun." She walked up to the woods, knowing full well that the wizards would attack at some point. There was a large clearing far from the city where they could do whatever they want without freaking out the humans.

"Hey girls," she said. They were sitting in a circle and chatting while the guys were sparring with each other for who knows what reason.

"Hey, Roxy," Aisha said. "Wanna join?"

"Sure," she said as she sat down. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much," Stella said as she leaned in closer to her. "Except that angel who has a crush on you." Roxy rolled her eyes.

"Really, girls?"

"Hey, Stella started it," Musa said. Their laughter at Stella's face was short lived. A big black cloud appeared in the center of the clearing.

"Knew it," Roxy thought to herself. She took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself to take over Duman's mind. She didn't even know what to have him do. Would he be ok with hurting his brothers?

"That's fine," he said to Roxy.

"Ok, just say when."

"Winx, how long has it been since we last met?" Ogron said sarcastically. The girls were scared, of course. "We have a surprise for you." The Specialists jumped in front of the Winx with their weapons drawn.

"Who cares, we'll still beat you easily," Sky yelled. The wizards laughed as everyone went slack jawed. Duman was back. He appeared right in front of the specialists. No one moved a muscle.

"What, no welcome back party?" Duman asked mockingly.

"You're supposed to be dead!" Nabu said. Duman threw his head back and laughed.

"Then you need to get better with your spells, magician!" To Roxy, it was a bit disconcerting to see how good of an actor Duman was. Without warning, he turned into a wolf and bit Timmy right in the calf. He screamed and fell to the ground. Duman still had his leg and started shaking him around, causing him to scream more.

"Techno Shock!" Tecna blasted the beast with all she had. Duman flew backwards but landed on his feet, licking the blood off of his jaws.

"Flaming arrow!" Bloom aimed for Duman but he dodged it with ease.

"Your poor little friend," Anagan said. "You may want to get that checked out, you know." Bloom flew over to Timmy, now being held by Tecna, and healed his leg. Ogron blasted Stella right in the heart and she was sent flying into a tree. Duman glared at Roxy and she knew what he was going to do. He transformed into a bear and roared, shaking the whole area. He sped at Roxy but she dodged, circling back and standing next to the wizards. Time to put on a show.

"Long time no see," she said with a smirk. Duman changed back to his original form and crouched down.

"Not long enough," he replied, wiping off the remaining blood with his wrist. Roxy turned to the wizards.

"You know, I was fighting your little pet today," she said. "And there's a reason he didn't win." The wizards glared at her while the Winx were just confused. She fought Duman without telling them? She won? That would explain how nonchalant she was about his return. "Duman, remember that fun new spell I learned?" He growled and bared his fangs at her.

"In full detail," he snarled as he stood up. Now the wizards were confused as well.

"What spell?" Anagan asked. Duman looked at him like he was going to rip his throat out. "What?"

"What are you talking about?" Gantlos asked harshly.

"Hear that? Your friends want a show," Roxy said with a laugh.

"Big mouths," Duman growled, getting in a position that looked like he was about to attack them, he was baring his fangs and snarling at them. They were starting to look scared. Roxy focused her energy.

"Rialú tú mé, a leanúint mo omruithe!" she yelled.

"Huh—" Duman said. He was cut off. A ball of energy flew into his chest and he grabbed his head, yelling and shaking.

"What's going on?" Ogron said. He tried to grab his wrist but Duman broke his grip immediately, roaring at him. It was strange; sort of like his voice mixed with a lion.

"Stop resisting, beast!" Roxy yelled, her hands were on her temples so she could concentrate. He was still snarling and swiping at anyone who got close to him. Roxy focused on one final surge of energy. "YOU'RE MINE!" She roared. He growled once more and fell to a crouching position with one hand on the ground. He was breathing heavily for a few seconds, but it evened out soon. When he lifted his head, everyone was shocked. His once glittering eyes were black and clouded over. Roxy smirked and dusted her hands together. "Much better." The Winx and Specialists were gaping at him and the wizards had confused expressions.

"Roxy… What did you just do?" Nabu asked.

"I took over his mind," she said. Now even the wizards were gaping. "He's my puppet now."

"Really?!" Riven said. Roxy nodded her head.

"Just watch. Duman," she commanded. He stood up and stared straight ahead. Roxy looked at the wizards and put on a demonic smile. "Attack Anagan." Everyone looked at Anagan who had a raised eyebrow. Duman nodded and turned to him. Anagan looked into his eyes to try and find remnants of his old friend, but he could see nothing other than black mist. Duman turned into a jaguar and roared, charging at him. Anagan's eyes widened and he tried to dodge—but he failed. Duman's claws tore into his stomach and sent him flying. Anagan blacked out for a few seconds but he woke up in no time, feeling a stinging pain on his torso. He looked at it and was shocked. Blood was seeping out of four deep slashes that stretched from his left shoulder to his right hip. He looked up and saw a jaguar charging at him. He stood up and ran back to his friends. Duman turned and ran again. "Enough!" Roxy yelled, stopping him in his tracks. "Duman, come!" the beast ran to his master and sat down next to her. She smirked at Anagan. "Poor you," she mocked him. "You may want to get that checked out."

"Roxy, that was amazing!" Bloom didn't know whether to fear her or be proud of her.

"Thanks," she said. "So Anagan, how you feeling?" She sneered at him. He touched his chest and looked at his hand.

"Bloody." He flicked the blood at the ground, but his hand was still stained.

"Excellent. Now if you leave us alone like good boys, I won't order Duman to kill any of you and I'll let him go as an extra incentive. Seem fair?" Ogron glared at her.

"Fine."

"Good," she said, turning to Duman. He shifted into a person again, his hand stained with Anagan's blood. Roxy waved her hand, freeing him. He shook his head and opened his eyes, they were turning gold again. He looked around at the shocked faces, Anagan's chest, and his hand. He put two and two together, and figured out what happened. He growled and changed into a fox, sprinting off into the woods. Anagan reached after him, but Gantlos grabbed his shoulder and shook his head. They all disappeared in puffs of smoke. The Winx and the Specialists were left in confusion.

"Why did Duman run off like that?" Tecna asked. Roxy smirked on the outside but felt guilty on the inside.

"Because he feels ashamed, poor thing," she said mockingly. "I think I'll go pay him a visit." She sped off before anyone had time to object.

"Isn't that a bit dangerous?" Helia said.

"Well… she DOES have that spell…" Sky said. "So she should be fine."

"I think we finally have the wizards beat," Brandon said hopefully.

"She reminds me of a puppet master," Aisha said with a laugh.

"Let's use an over watch spell, just in case she needs us," Tecna said, projecting an image of what Roxy was doing.

.oOo.

Roxy flew through the woods looking for Duman. She was worried that she upset him by having him hurt Anagan; he looked troubled when he ran off. She came to the edge of the forest and a steep cliff. Duman was still in fox form, biting at the paw he used to hurt Anagan. He heard her and sensed the spell her friends were using.

"What not brave enough to come on your own?"

"Huh?"

"Your friends are using an over watch spell to keep an eye on you," he said. Roxy got what he meant by that: watch your words. Little did they know, though, the wizards were using the same spell to watch Duman.

"What are you trying to do, chew your paw off?"

"I'm pissed off at myself," he said. "I shouldn't have attacked Anagan, spell or no spell." He dug his claws into the ground.

"Sorry bud, but you have absolutely no say in your actions when I'm around," she said with a smirk. He started growling at her.

"Why'd you follow me, Fairy?"

"Ah ah ah, you wouldn't want to make your master mad now, would you?"

"You aren't my master."

"But I could be in no time at all if you don't stop irritating me." She walked over towards him. "So call me master."

"You have to be crazy to think I would ever serve you by choice," he snarled. She smirked and made a gesture with her hand that looked like she was holding his neck. She extended her arm very fast and sent him flying into a tree. He was whimpering and squirming, clawing at an invisible hand that held him against the tree. "What… are… you… doing?!" he coughed. She took him by surprise with this move. He knew it wasn't doing any permanent damage, but BOY did it look like it. This reminded the wizards of that day so many years ago.

"Mind control isn't the only new trick I learned," off in their own safe places, the wizards, Winx and Specialists all gasped at her. She looked like she was power crazed. "You can call this a dollhouse spell. It makes my victim like a little doll that I can manipulate to my will. So, would you rather me make you see what you do to your friends as you do it," she said, clamping on his throat more, "or make it all go away while it happens? But, of course, you'll still have to live with the guilt of hurting your precious comrades. It's your choice, Beast," she said. He didn't answer, but just glared at her. "Oh, you can't talk now, can you?" She let go and he fell to the ground, coughing. "There, is that better?"

"Much," he said, still scowling at her. He transformed back into his normal shape. He swung his left leg over the side of the cliff and bent his right leg up, slouching over and staring into the distance. Roxy furrowed her eyebrows at him.

"What's wrong with you?"

"What do you think? I nearly killed one of my best friends."

"You mean only friends?" She smirked at him.

"Fuck off you insolent brat!" He yelled at her. She looked shocked at first, but then scowled.

"Whatever. You should know that the next time you and your friends attack us, they won't be living any longer," she said as she turned and walked away. Duman looked down in shame. She was right. They would die.

And it would be by his own hand.