"Now that the lights are back on, what do you need me to do?" Timmy asked. The headmaster rubbed his chin in thought.
"We need to track down the Diamond ofJjuvios. We have every right to believe that it was stolen by a Dévildanian," he said. "Though I'm not quite sure how they could have managed that. With Tyminium's power decreasing rapidly, there's no way they could have mustered up enough power to break and enter Red Fountain. Our security is too strong, they would have been caught instantly."
Timmy stared at the floor in thought. "Maybe it was a student."
"What?!" the headmaster gasped, turning to Timmy.
Timme scratched the back of his head. "Just what if...a student betrayed the school? That way, they wouldn't have to avoid all of our security, they can just be around all the time."
"I suppose that is a possibility," the headmaster mumbled. "But you sound like you have a certain person in mind?"
Timmy did all he could to avoid eye contact. "Well...you've been kept up to date with our suspicions of-"
"You can't be talking about Alex," the headmaster interrupted. "I've told you boys that I've seen his records and they're spotless."
Timmy wanted to tell the headmaster that he couldn't find any records of Alex, but then he would know that he's been hacking the school's account. "He's gone missing since the heist," Timmy decided on saying. "So I believe that he is a definite suspect."
Bloom licked her lips nervously, looking at the kingdom that stretched out before them, below the cliff.
Standing behind her was Layla, Roxy, Techna, and Faragonda. "This is it," the Headmistress of Alfea breathed. "The remains of a once powerful kingdom."
"Alex is here," Layla stated plainly.
"He must be a citizen of this place, if he wanted the Diamond of Jjuvios," Faragonda told them. "Maybe he even works for the royal family."
"We'll find them," Bloom said determinedly. "And we'll get Red Fountain's power back."
Alex paced in front of the table as the Trix and little Jiminy watched the Diamond of Jjuvios. The back of his throat began to tickle, and he coughed quietly, covering his mouth with the palm of his hand. Clearing his throat, he removed his hand and looked down. His giant brown eyes widened with fear.
Spots of blood speckled his hand, dripping from his lip.
He quickly wiped his mouth on his sleeve and turned around, hiding his hands behind his back. "Darcy! How's it going?"
"I'm getting nothing, boss," Darcy said, concentrating on the waves between her and the diamond. "It's totally confusing."
Alex sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his clean hand. "Stormy, go check on the miner's updates about the rest of the Tyminium."
Stormy nodded. "Are you alright, Alex?"
"I'm fine," the kid shook his head calmly. "Just...frazzled."
Stormy shot Alex one last worried look before rushing out of the room. Jiminy tugged at Alex's pants, looking up with worry.
"I'm alright, kid," Alex ruffled Jiminy's with his clean hand. "I just need to go to the bathroom." Alex made sure to keep his footsteps calm and regular until he left the room. He looked around anxiously, standing against the wall and staring down at his blood-stained hand.
"Not now, not now!" he begged, wiping it off on his pants. Luckily, it was just a little bit of blood, but they were running out of time. Not to mention Alex's mother didn't have much time left before...before...well, he couldn't even bring himself to think about it.
"Young-"
"Alex," Alex corrected instantly, turning to face whoever was approaching (which happened to be Sebastian). "What do you need?"
"Our forces guarding the bottom of the cliff," Sebastian said breathlessly, as if he had been running. "They spotted the Winx, and the Headmistress of Alfea!"
"NO!" Alex hissed through clenched teeth. "Already?! Stella must have gone and blabbed-"
"We'll send out more of our forces, but just to be safe, we should send out the Trix," Sebastian recommended.
"Darcy needs to stay with the Diamond," Alex tangled his lean fingers in his messy hair, deep in thought.
"We must hide you and the Diamond right away," Sebastian said.
"No. You said it was the Winx?" Alex asked. Sebastian nodded. "Just the Winx?" Sebastian nodded again. "And, I have yet to figure out the Diamond of Jjuvios." Alex smirked. "Well, then, I have a plan."
"I wonder how the others are doing," Layla said as they walked through the kingdom.
"Forget about them for a minute, look," Techna said, her head swerving this way and that. "This place is, like, empty!"
Bloom's eyebrows furrowed as they passed a house with shattered windows, the door ripped off of the hinges. "What happened here?"
"I'm afraid I don't know the whole story," Faragonda said regretfully. "No one does. But the Diamond of Jjuvios is a piece of rock found in the mines here. It's very powerful, and the only one that's ever left the kingdom. It's called Tyminium, and it used to be what powered the kingdom."
"Used to be?" Techna questioned. "What happened?"
"I'm not quite sure," Faragonda tapped her chin as they walked. "It happened right around the turn of the era, the power started to diminish from the kingdom. No one outside of the kingdom knows for sure why the power stopped, nor why the Diamond of Jjuvios continues to work to this day."
"Alex must have brought the Diamond here to bring power back to the kingdom," Techna inquired.
"And we can't let that happen," Faragonda shook her head. "Or Dévildania will return to its wickedness, from when it was in its prime."
"Well, well," a new voice called out as two females sauntered out from behind a house with boarded windows and rusty doorknobs. The Alfea girls stiffened.
"What do we have here?" Icy chuckled slickly, circling the fairies that haven't transformed yet. Stormy accompanied her, the two witches circling around them.
"Icy! Stormy!" Bloom gasped. "Where's Darcy?"
"Doesn't matter," Stormy giggled. "We can defeat you just as easily without her!"
Layla quickly transformed, preparing to attack. "Where's Alex?!" she demanded. Both witches stopped their circling to exchange looks. Then, they doubled over with laughter.
"What's so funny?!" Bloom asked angrily.
"Alex?" Icy gasped between giggles, looking up at the Dragon Fire Fairy. "Oh, you just missed him. He's not here anymore."
"What?!" Bloom gasped. "Then where is he?!"
All the Specialists froze as they heard the doorknob on their dorm room door begin to twist. Slowly, they all turned to face the door as it opened, revealing a very familiar face.
"Hello," Alex smiled innocently, his brown eyes shining in the lights that had just returned moments ago. He looked around at all the surprised faces. "Did I miss anything?"
Where are the other Winx? What will happen to Team Bloom? What is Alex doing back at Red Fountain?!
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Thanks for reading!