Chapter 4: Unveiled

The light from Stella's torch glinted off the skyscrapers towering over her. The small amount of daylight that had previously been filtering through the mass of clouds overhead was gone and there was only complete darkness cloaking everything now. The group had had no choice but to bring the flashlights out. They had been using the dull glow of Nabu's sceptre to guide them earlier but as it had grown darker, its illumination hadn't been enough and they'd had to risk using the torches. Stella had reluctantly switched hers on. She already felt paranoid enough walking down street after street, seeing shadows dart across buildings; with the flashlight in hand, she felt almost completely sure that a creature was going to burst out from the shadows and attack her, drawn to her like moths to flame.

What was worse, she didn't feel as if she would be able to ward a creature off should one come at her. And it wasn't just because she was powerless: she had begun to feel, suddenly, strangely, weak, as if her muscles had collectively decided to become tired. But the sensation of weakness hadn't been all that sudden, she realised. She had started feeling her energy drain away long before, around the time the group had run into the electronics store.

Along with the sense of weakness there was a slight sense of nausea and a peculiar tightness in her chest, as if she were about to cry. Then there was the coldness. The others were cold too, she noted, glancing fleetingly at their hunched bodies, but she was the only one shivering and the only one wearing a thick jacket. She didn't understand it; she had never felt like this before, not even on days when she'd been ill enough to require the attention of the palace doctor or Alfea's nurse.

Passing the feeling off as a result of a mix of fear, exhaustion and hunger, she tuned in to the conversation around her. The voices that spoke were quiet, as to not draw the attention of nearby creatures any more than the torches did.

"We left at just the right time," Sky was saying. "If we'd stayed at Rick's weapons for another ten minutes, we'd be burning to ash along with it."

Riven, who was walking beside Sky, nodded. "I told you they must have realised we weren't moving. But what I don't understand is how. How can they possibly know where we are, whether we've stopped or that we're even here at all? They're monsters, they can't possibly have the brains to be able to track us and so know where to direct a meteor."

Stella's eyes widened at Riven and Sky's words. She glanced behind herself and saw that the air was stained orange and red in the distance, where the weaponry store obviously stood. A meteor had indeed fallen and she hadn't even noticed. Hadn't even heard it whistle through the air, flames crackling, or heard the terrible sound of it crashing to the ground, let alone felt the tremble in the earth beneath her feet as it did. How could she have missed that? Had she been so lost in thought? She hadn't even seen the space around her light up to near-daylight brightness as the meteor had fallen.

By the time Stella returned her attention to the conversation she had missed what Tecna had said in return to Riven. He seemed in disagreement with the laptop-holding fairy and was shaking his head. Sky seemed disbelieving too.

"No–that's ridiculous. If they had a base, we would see creatures flying from its location and we haven't. And, if their base is what's tracking us and giving those bastards our coordinates, if it's so powerful, surely we would have felt a pulse of energy come from it by now."

"I agree with Riven," Sky said. "You think the base is tracking us by producing its own holographic map of the realm, and if that's the case, then it would have to be sending out a very large wave of magic to encompass the entire realm again and again, and we haven't felt anything. When the Magix council updates the realm's holographic map every year, they use the same technique and everyone feels a wave of energy go through them, so just as Riven said, surely we would've felt something by now if the creatures' base is doing the same thing but more frequently."

"And they must be doing it frequently," Riven added, "or they would have no way of knowing where we are or if we've moved."

Tecna was silent for a moment, as if she was considering what Riven and Sky had said. "Maybe," she said at last, "they're not using magic to produce the map. Maybe they're using something else–"

"Like what?" Riven sounded irritated, or maybe it was just that he didn't want to believe any alternatives. Didn't want to believe there could be a base or that the creatures had more intelligence than they did.

"Like laser waves," Tecna said calmly, ignoring Riven. "The kind my laptop uses to scan things. You can't feel them if they go through you."

"But I thought they could only be projected short distances. How could they be used to scan the entire realm?" Sky asked, though judging by the expression on his face, he seemed a little less disbelieving of Tecna's idea.

"I'm not saying laser waves are definitely being used. The creatures could quite possibly have another way, one that isn't known to us. My point is that it's likely they have a base somewhere in Magix and that it's how they're locating us. It's only logical. Their intelligence has to be concentrated somewhere."

Stella felt a shiver run down her spine. She didn't like the idea of someone tracking her every move, much less the idea of someone using that information to try and kill her. She picked up her pace, hurrying forward to Tecna's side. "Is there any way we can deflect whatever they're doing to track us?" she asked. "Any way we could make ourselves invisible to them?"

Tecna shook her head, and as she did, Stella noticed how dirty her hair had become: the pink tendrils were sprinkled with dust and stiff with sweat. "Making ourselves invisible to them would require knowing exactly what they're using to track us and then knowing what to block that with. If we knew that, then yes, we could potentially be invisible. But since we don't know, let's focus on keeping our energy up and eat." She gestured to the side.

Stella turned her torch in the direction of Tecna's hand. The light from it chased away the shadows shrouding the building before her and revealed the grocery store Tecna had said they would find downtown. One of large windows at the front of the store had been smashed in; a rack of food hung out of it. There were loaves of bread lying on the ground, though each loaf looked as if it has been dusted off with powdery ash. None of the loaves looked edible. It seemed that Tecna's desire for a slice of plain bread would be left a desire.

Sky, stepping forward after kicking aside a loaf, pointed his torch at the shop's doorway. Stella peered around his broad shoulders. It was dark inside even with the illumination from Sky's torch. She could only see faint outlines of shelves stacked with bulky objects and the shape of the overhead lights dangling from the ceiling of the store like huge misshapen bats. She feared for a second that shapes were creatures but then the light from Sky's flashlight passed over the shop's ceiling and she breathed out in relief.

"Okay," Sky said, turning to face the group, apparently satisfied nothing lurked within the shop. "We can't spend too long here, so take whatever you can and make sure the food is long lasting. We don't know when we'll get another chance to find more."

Layla and Riven entered the store first, swords extended and gripped firmly and confidently in their hands. Nabu went in behind them; he was holding his torch in one hand, lighting the way for his fiancée and friend and his sceptre was raised in the other. He had weaponry on him but he clearly preferred being armed with magic. Stella preferred being armed with magic too, but she was powerless, forced to grip her stun-gun rather than raise her hands. Still, the stun-gun was a lot more assuring than a sword, she had to admit – not that it did anything to quell the violent churning in her stomach as she moved forward into the store. She followed Nabu tentatively, staying so close to him that the hair on the back of his neck stirred when she breathed out. They weaved their way through items of food lying on the ground, bodies tense, senses alert. Stella could feel Tecna and Sky behind her as the group continued further into the store; the heat from their bodies was a welcome blanket to her shivering muscles.

The group stopped in the dairy aisle; it was lined with fridges, darkened by the lack of electricity. The air around them stunk of spoiled milk and yogurt. Stella wrinkled her nose and when that didn't help, buried it in her jacket's collar.

"Spread out and be quick," Riven hissed. "And try not to knock anything over."

The group dispersed, their feet scuffing the floor as they went. Stella was moving toward a different aisle when her foot slipped on melted ice-cream leaking from a busted tub. She went down with a gasp. The impact from landing on the floor went up her spine in a painful shudder. She gasped again, this time through gritted teeth. Her eyes shut for a moment as she recovered and when they reopened, a figure was crouched down in front of her. She couldn't tell who. Her vision was hazy, like she was looking through smoke. It hadn't been like that a moment ago, and she knew it wasn't because of the fall. The haziness was accompanying the weakness she'd felt earlier, the weakness which was rolling over her now.

Her stun-gun fell from her hand, hitting the floor with a clatter. She saw the figure extend its arms and the next thing she knew, she was propped up against its torso. His torso. The figure was Riven; she could tell from the rough feel of his bandage against her cheek. It was stained a deep red just beneath where her chin rested. All she could think was that it desperately needed changing as she slipped away, the haziness melting to darkness.

A cool slap of air roused Stella from her unconsciousness. The first thing she was aware of was that she was bobbing up and down and her left foot was stinging with pins and needles. The second thing was the warmness. Her cheek was warm, resting on something solid and soft. The underside of her thighs were warm too and she could even feel warmth on a portion of her back. The warmth was pleasant, thawing the ice which seemed to have frozen just under her skin, leaving her colder than she'd been when she and the Winx had visited Domino when it had been encased in snow.

Suddenly her body jerked upwards and she became aware of arms holding her, arms responsible for the warmth seeping through her clothes. She was being carried, she realised, and every time her carrier walked, she bobbed slightly, up and down with each step. She didn't have to open her eyes to tell who her carrier was. She was familiar enough with his scent now, a faint musk of sandalwood; she could smell it despite the overpowering stench of blood carrying on the air.

It was obvious they were no longer in the grocery store but were moving. She could only guess they were heading towards the medical research facility. She would have opened her eyes to look but she felt too weak and too tired. She wasn't sure what she'd do if a creature turned up suddenly; she could barely move her arms and it was hard to even stay conscious. Snuggling closer to Riven, she buried her head in the crook of his neck and fought in vain against the blackness trying to pull her away again.

"I'm not a pillow, Stella," Riven growled, sensing her move against him. "You fainted back in the grocery store, if you're wondering. You've been out cold for half an hour now. How – how are you feeling?"

"Terrible," she whispered and Riven shuddered as her breath ghosted over his skin.

"Just hang in there. We've almost reached the research facility; I'll find something to make you feel better once we get there."

"What's wrong with me, Riven?" Stella asked. Her voice was so weak, so defeated; Riven felt his heart ache at the sound of it. "I was fine before."

"You–" Riven stopped himself. She couldn't know that her powers were so depleted that she was dying. "I don't know," he said finally. "But don't start complaining or whining. You're going to be fine. Just hang in there."

From the front of the group, he heard Tecna say they were almost there. A couple of minutes later they had turned onto the street on which the research facility stood. It was located at the end of the street and it seemed as if it didn't exist at all: there was no giant building or sign marking its presence. The facility was underground, its entrance a secret known only to the researchers who worked there. Riven had no doubt, though, that Tecna new exactly where the entrance was.

He was right. The moment the group arrived at the bottom of the street, Tecna handed her laptop to Sky and walked up to the ordinary looking white stone wall of a bank. She placed her palm against the wall and the tips of her fingers seemed to scratch the stone bricks as a faint green glow appeared around her hand.

"Stella, look," Riven said, gently shaking her body.

Stella managed to pry her eyelids open and look. The wall they stood before had started sparkling as if glitter had rained down and covered it. Tecna stood beside it, her curious expression half-lit by the sparkling. Her lips curled into a smile as the stone bricks shuddered and then vanished completely, leaving behind a pitch-black rectangle where white stones had been a moment ago.

The dark entrance was only big enough to let the group pass through one at a time, so Riven had to put Stella down. She struggled to find her balance: her knees buckled several times and she clutched at Riven desperately to stay upright. Riven was alarmed at how quickly she'd weakened. It had only been a few hours since Tecna had told him about Stella's condition and it seemed that her strength had completely vanished in that time.

He held Stella up, one arm around her waist, as she stepped through the entrance. There was a spiral staircase beyond, leading down into the facility. The others were already partway down the stairs; their torches threw up bright yellow light which danced against the stone walls. Riven and Stella followed the light, taking the steps as fast as Stella's weakness would allow.

The staircase grew wider as they neared the bottom. There, it gave way to a reception area. A white desk was placed against a wall set with huge square windows; through them, Riven could see a dark laboratory. It was undamaged Riven noticed as he squinted. The sight seemed almost odd to him after having seen only utter wreckage for hours.

There were two corridors leading away from the reception in opposite directions. Tecna stood staring at them, seeming conflicted over which to head down. "One leads to the lab and office and the other leads to the storage units and toilets, I know that," she said. "I took an internship here one summer. But I can't remember which goes where."

Riven hoisted Stella up as she sagged in his grip. "Tecna," he said urgently, nodding towards Stella, "we don't have much time."

Tecna glanced back towards the corridors, her gaze shifting frantically between them. Sweat gleamed on her brow.

"Tecna," Riven said again, his voice desperate.

Suddenly there was a shocking sound of shattering and glass rained down from the window above the desk. The group stared wide-eyed at Tecna, who'd picked up a paperweight from the desk and thrown it at the window. She whirled on Riven now, looking tense. "Go," she barked at him. "There's medicine at the back of the lab in fridges. Some of it has to be right for Stella. Give it to her and then find the office; we'll be there trying to get help. Go!"

Riven nodded, hurrying toward the broken window with Stella limp in his arms. He propped her on the window sill and then climbed through into the lab himself. When he turned around to pick her up, he saw for the first time just how pale she'd become. Her colour was sickly, bordering on paper white. With a renewed sense of urgency, he took her in his arms and hurried toward the back of the lab, weaving through the benches and strange, unfamiliar equipment. When he glanced behind himself briefly, he saw that his friends were no longer there; they'd disappeared down one of the corridors. He hoped they managed to call in help because Stella needed to get to a hospital; medication wasn't going to be enough to save her.

Throwing Stella over his shoulder, he swung his torch around wildly, cursing under his breath. Where were the fridges? Back of the lab Tecna had said, but he couldn't find them.

"Riven," Stella murmured, tugging at his shirt feebly. "Fridge."

If it hadn't been for the pin-drop silence, he wouldn't have heard her. Her voice was almost without volume, barely a whisper. He set her down against a cupboard and then went over to the fridge. It was locked, unsurprisingly. But he already had a solution to that, thanks to Tecna in part. Grabbing a strange metal contraption from a nearby bench, he threw it at the glass door of the fridge. It shattered, glass falling to the floor, sharp and deadly.

Riven pointed his torch to the rows and rows of small bottles inside. He stared at them for a brief moment then started grabbing them and scanning over their labels. The labels were incomprehensible: strange words with even stranger spellings. He couldn't figure out what any of the drugs were for or what the correct dosage was. Finally, he pulled out a small red bottle filled with whitish pills; the label showed the medicine had 'essence' in its peculiar name. He glanced back at Stella. She had almost sagged to the floor, her hair straggling around her pale face. The drugs in his hand would have to do.

Unscrewing the lid on the bottle, he rushed to her side and fell on his knees. His eyes were wild, panicked; his entire body tense. She looked ghastly, like a patient lying on their deathbed in a hospital. Her skin was bluish white like moonlight, her eyes were droopy, and her hands lay limply on her lap. He couldn't imagine how she felt – probably like death was knocking on her door, inching closer, closer.

He shook two of pills out from the bottle and into his palm. His hand was trembling, he realised, as he raised it to her pale, drawn mouth.

"Stella," he whispered to her, rolling the pills to the tips of his fingers. His voice sounded weak even to him. "Take these. They'll make you feel better."

All Stella did was groan softly in response, her head sliding further towards the ground, almost as if it were being pulled. Riven steadied her head with his free hand, which was trembling just like the one cradling the pills. Not in any battle had Riven seen her like this. No matter how bruised and exhausted she'd been, she had never look like this. Like her very soul was being sucked out of her.

He felt like a wimp crouched down before her, so flustered and fearful as if it were his own life in peril. He didn't think it possible for him to feel like this. He tried to regain composure, tried remembering strategies they'd learned in sophomore year at Red Fountain to help remain calm, but his nerves only buzzed more frantically.

Almost brutally, he separated her lips and thrust the white pills into her mouth. She groaned again, her head rolling against the cupboard door. He grabbed for the grey bag he'd found in outdoor section in the grocery store and pulled from it a clear bottle filled with orange liquid. Taking the lid off, he put the bottle to her lips and tipped it upwards. While some of the liquid poured into Stella's mouth, most ran down her chin and wetted her trousers.

"Swallow," Riven said, now tilting her chin upwards. "Stella, you need to swallow."

She heard his voice as if from a mile away, but she couldn't mistake the urgency in it. It rung in each word that came from his mouth.

She swallowed.

It was as if some powerful being were transferring energy to her. She could feel it, the energy, spread slowly through her veins and restore her strength. No longer did her limbs feel like they were melting, no longer did her eyelids feel as if they had weights placed on them. The pallor had gone from her skin and it glowed once more. The oppressive weakness she'd felt earlier had gone too, like a tide drawing back out to sea.

She opened her eyes. Riven's anxious face was the first thing to come into view, then it was laboratory and all its clinical equipment. His violet eyes seemed to be swimming with tears. Stella blinked, but there were still tears lingering at his tearline; she wasn't imagining it.

"Stella," Riven breathed and his mouth curved upwards in relief. His hands – now no longer trembling – cupped her face and then his mouth was on hers, and she could feel his smile even as he kissed her. She sat shocked for a moment and then found herself responding. Her arms went around his neck and his circled her waist, moving her onto his lap.

He was an amazing kisser, she noted, as her lips moved hungrily against his. His lips were just as soft and smooth as she remembered them being at the clothing store, where he'd saved her life, just like he'd done again here in the lab. She didn't try to push him away this time, but pulled him closer, tangling her fingers in his hair.

They broke apart a few seconds later and Stella simply stared at him, her head tingling. "I've always wanted to do that," she admitted, and it was true. Since the first time she'd seen him – at Bloom's house on Earth – she had always wondered what his lips would feel like, the kind of pressure they'd put against her own. Whether he would suckle on them, bite, or just leave a small peck. She knew her thoughts had been fuelled by lust and lust alone, since he was hardly pleasant towards her. Yet she hadn't been able to stop fantasying about kissing him; she'd even been plagued with dreams in which his lips were against her own.

Riven leaned down and pecked her swollen lips. "Me too," he said, barely able to believe what she had just said. He had always thought she had only held contempt for him. Of course, she must have thought the same about him. It was a pity, Riven thought, that their mutual feelings towards each other were being unveiled only now, when the future was uncertain.

He made as if to stand up but Stella grabbed his hand. "You're bandage needs changing," she said before digging out the first aid kit from his bag and unravelling the gauze.

Riven watched her curiously and with some amusement as she unwrapped the bloody bandage from his waist, trying not to show that the deep red stain affected her. She quickly replaced it, wrapping the gauze more confidently than she had back at the clothing store.

"Do I get a thank you this time?" she asked.

Riven only smirked.

"I'll take that as a no."

Standing up, Riven shoved the bottle of drugs and the first aid kit into his bag and helped Stella up. She was still a little wobbly but considerably better than before. Magical medicine worked fast.

"Keep sipping this," Riven said, holding out the bottle filled with orange liquid.

"What is it?" Stella took the bottle from him.

"It's a special kind of energy drink. Enchanted, I think. A lot of the Red Fountain boys used to drink it during training to help them in combat."

"Didn't you ever drink it?"

Riven smirked as they headed for the laboratory's exit. "Don't be ridiculous. As if I would need an upper hand in combat."

As if to prove it, Riven kicked the locked exit door down and sauntered through. Stella couldn't help but think as she followed him down the shadowy corridors of the facility how similar they were in being cocky about the things they exceled at.

"We have to get to the office," Riven said as they turned a corner. "That's where the others are. Do you think you're strong enough to feel their energy and lead us to them?"

"I think so," Stella replied. Then she paused to concentrate, closing her eyes. It was like looking at a hazy film of herself running through the facility, being drawn to her friends by something inexplicable. She saw their magical auras hunched around a flickering monitor screen. A moment later, she'd mentally mapped out the path she and Riven would have to take to get to them.

When she reopened her eyes she could see the path marked by a silvery sheen of energy hanging on the air. She immediately began following it, Riven hurrying behind her looking confused. He couldn't see the energy but he seemed to trust that Stella was leading them in the right direction.

They raced down various corridors, banking left and right every now and then. The rooms they passed were all dark with locked doors. The air had a clinical smell to it and it became colder as they drew nearer to the office. Riven saw Stella's breath coming out in visible clouds as she led the way, but she wasn't shivering like she'd been outside, which was reassuring.

After passing through two more long and freezing corridors, they finally reached a lit room with the door left wide open. They stopped in front of it, a little out of breath. There were rows and rows of desks with computers filling the room. The screens of the computers were all dark, facing hard-looking grey chairs. Large, rectangular lights hung from the ceiling, bathing everything in the room in a harsh white glow, and cabinets lined all four walls. There was a droning hum coming from the lights overhead and the sound of voices came from the far end of a row of desks. Riven and Stella hurried towards the sound.

Their friends were crouched on the ground, huddled around Tecna's laptop, which had been plugged in with an array of multi-coloured wires. Tecna looked anxious as she peered at the laptop screen or maybe that was because the light from the screen threw strange shadows across her face. Nevertheless, she didn't look pleased, like she might have done if she had managed to call in rescue.

"What's going on?" Riven asked, dropping to a crouch beside Nabu.

Everyone turned to look at him and then their gazes went to Stella. The distress on their faces ebbed a little upon seeing her well and upright. Layla stood up and went to Stella's side, sliding an arm around her. Then she turned to address Riven. "We've managed to get online, but we've had no other luck," she told him. "Tecna's tried contacting every realm we can think of; it's just that no one's answering."

"Send them distress messages," Riven suggested. "Maybe the signal is too weak to tap into their military bases."

"I've tried that." Tecna's voice was brimming with frustration. "I've sent several already, all marked with urgency, but no one's responded. I don't even know if the messages are getting through or not."

Sky put a hand on Tecna's shoulder. "Keep it together, Tec. Stressing won't solve anything."

"I know it won't!" Tecna shrugged away Sky's hand fiercely. "But I can't help it. What else am I supposed to do? Nothing's working and it needs to or we'll be stuck here and left to die. That's the reality of it. This is essentially our last chance of surviving, it's our only hope, and it's just not working and I don't know what to do…"

The group was silent as Tecna buried her head in her hands. It was heart breaking to see her break down when she was always the one to keep faith and remain optimistic in every battle. It almost felt like they'd lost this one because she'd seemingly given up.

She raised her head and swiped at the tears that had leaked from her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to–"

"It's okay." Nabu gave a reassuring half-smile. "We know you've done all you can and you've done it extraordinarily. We wouldn't have made it this far without you, Tecna, and I'm sure everyone agrees. It's difficult to reach another realm sometimes, even in normal situations. We have just to wait and keep hope that someone will finally answer our calls." He glanced up at Sky. "Give her some water."

Sky took a bottle of water from his bag and handed it to Tecna. She still looked defeated but what Nabu had said had eased some of the tension in her shoulders. Riven felt a small pang of jealously. He wished reassuring words came as easily to him as they did to Nabu. Maybe then his effort at consoling Stella wouldn't have gone so terribly.

He glanced towards her. Layla had left her side to go cuddle up against Nabu, and now she stood alone, her eyes fixed on Tecna, guilt and regret creasing her brow. Riven approached her, thinking that now was a good a time as any to fix his earlier attempt at a consolation. He drew her aside, out of the group's earshot.

"Look," he said, "I'm not very good at this and I know I've said it before, but you need to stop blaming yourself. You couldn't have stopped any of us from coming to look for you. And if it were to happen again and if we were to be given a choice, we'd all still come looking; I'd still come looking. Just like you would come searching for any one of us, regardless of the consequences. You wouldn't blame us for whatever situation we ended up in if we were in your place, and we don't blame you for any of this." He stared at her, hoping she understood. His hands were on her arms, almost as if he meant to shake her, and she stared back at him with a sadness he could barely stand.

"You might not blame me," she said, her voice only a little louder than a whisper, "but I blame myself. Riven, I've never seen Tecna look like that. I can't explain how it made me feel but in that moment, I wished none of you had come for me. Because of me, you've risked your lives."

"And like I said, we'd do it again." He slid his hands down her arms and gripped her fingers firmly. "Stella, we knew what the consequences were when we decided to search for you and none of us cared; we were willing to accept them. Tecna isn't worried that she might die, she's frustrated that what she was so sure about – getting help from another realm – isn't working."

Stella looked down but squeezed Riven's hands. A little flutter of triumph and relief went through him, but before he could say anything, a sharp beeping sounded from Tecna's laptop. He rushed back over to the group, Stella behind him, and on the screen saw the grainy image of a man dressed in military-style uniform.

"Hello," the man said, his voice unclear. "I'm captain of the Breconize military. We got your distress call."