Heey people. I'm so sorry about the long wait. This chapter was a hard one to write, but I managed. Thanks for everyone who has reviewed, followed and favorited this story. This chapter is the first time jump (there will be a few, though not too long ones). I hope you all enjoy and tell me what you thought. Really, if there's something you wish to see in this story, tell me in your reviews and I'll try to put it. I'm always open for suggestions.
"Wake up, lovebirds!" Flora and Helia were awoken much too soon by an angry Stella. The sun fairy was shaking them awake after screaming didn't work until Musa and Aisha entered the room and held her back.
"Stella, let them sleep. It's only like 8 am." Musa scolded the sun fairy as Aisha shook her head. Both fairies were still in their pajamas and looking exhausted.
"I know that, you think I wanted to be awake this early? But Bloom wants to get this quest started as soon as possible, so we should get going." Stella replied, her tone making clear she didn't agree with the fire fairy. Those words were like cold water being thrown at Flora, reminding her of the situation they were facing. Guilt and Fear filled her as she thought about what had happened. Helia's arms embraced her tightly as he kissed the top of her head and whispered in her ear. "Don't think about it now, okay? Just go back to sleep and I'll handle this." He told her, but she doubted that she'd be able to sleep now. So she slowly disentangled his arms from around her and stood up. She smiled at his confused and sleepy figure on the bed before walking towards the closet, picking se clothes and going to the bathroom.
Her friends watched her actions silently before Stella muttered that they should get ready and each one went back to their bedrooms. Helia was left alone in the room. Deciding that going back to Red Fountain was pointless, he picked some of his clothes that were kept in Flora's closet and changed before waiting for her. She walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later, showered and dressed and the couple took each other's hand and walked towards the Headmistress' office. No words were exchanged, for they didn't need words to convey what they were feeling. Soon, they met Musa, Aisha, Stella and Tecna met Bloom and the other specialists at the Headmistress' office. Miss. Faragonda soon walked out, followed by Miss Griselda, who rapidly greeted the girls before walking in the opposite direction.
"Okay, since we're all here, I guess now it's time to start your quest to defeat the darkness." Miss Faragonda said and then she signed for them to follow her. They walked for a few minutes until they reached a huge purple door. They cast each other confused glances, having thought that they would begin their search in the library.
"Miss Faragonda, where are we?" Bloom asked the question they were all thinking. Well, all except for Tecna, who was looking at her phone, having tracked down where they were.
"This is the magic archive. The most ancient and powerful books of all are kept here, instead of the library. Most of them haven't been used in years, but I guess you'll need them because the answer to how to defeat the darkness is in one of them." The headmistress explained and then she lowered her head and a sad look came o her face. "Unfortunately, I don't know exactly what book will help you. If I did, we wouldn't be standing here. So I guess you'll have to search them all. Good luck!" She looked at them with confidence and gave them a smile before walking out of the Archive and back to her office.
"Okay then. Guess we better get started." Musa broke the awkward silence as everyone was looking at the millions books that surrounded them.
"Yeah. I wonder if we'll ever be finished." Sky said as he walked towards the nearest book shelf. There were sighs and moans as everyone searched for books. Aisha and Bloom conjured some comfortable couches and armchairs for them to sit while they read.
"I can't believe we're gonna spend our summer reading old books. What happened to going to the beach and shopping?" Stella complained as she threw herself at an armchair. Some of them rolled her eyes, but Musa surprised them with her words. "You know, for once, I agree with Stella. I don't want to be stuck in this place all summer." Once the shock at hearing Musa agree with Stella was gone, everyone started thinking about it.
"That's exactly what I was telling Helia last night." Flora called their attention as she ignored her friend's smirks at the mention of her and Helia being together the night before. "We shouldn't stop living our lives because of all of this. That's the last thing I would want you to do. We should try to live our lives normally, going to the beach and shopping, as Stella said."
"There's no way I'm going shopping with Stella again." Aisha complained, but a smile was on her face. They started laughing until Bloom spoke up.
"I agree with what you said, but I still think that finding a way to defeat the darkness should be our main focus. And if that means spending two months on this Archive, reading old books, then that's what we're gonna do." There were groans and disagreements at those words. Stella and Musa gave Bloom an incredulous look, but when Flora looked at the fire fairy, she noticed the dark circles under her eyes. It was clear that Bloom hadn't been able to sleep last night and Flora was sure that she was still blaming herself for what happened. The nature fairy didn't know what to say to make her friend feel better, so she guessed the only way would be to start looking.
"Guys! Please, guys!" She called her friends, who were now arguing. Helia looked at her, but the others ignored her. Anger filled her at being ignored and when she spoke again, her voice was as cold as the night before. "Will you please shut up?!" The discussion suddenly stopped and they looked at her. There was fear in some of their eyes and she tried to calm herself down as she realized that this wasn't who she was. She wasn't the kind of person who would scream like that at the people she loved. She was calm and good, she didn't give into anger. So she took a few deep breaths and controlled herself before speaking again. "Okay. Okay. I'm sorry for screaming." "It's okay." Helia told her and she gave him an appreciative smile. "I just think that we should focus on reading the books for now, as Bloom said. Later we can discuss vocation plans. But as I said before, I want you to keep living your lives. I'm the one who caused all of this, so I'm going to fix it." She spoke firmly and gave Bloom a look of warning when the red head seemed like she was going to disagree.
"Okay. Let's get started then." Musa said, trying to sound excited.
The next few hours in the Archive were silent, with the exception of the sound of pages being turned and books being picked. There wasn't much talking and no one found anything useful by the time they decided to take a break and went to the city to have lunch. It was so strange how they had been to that same restaurant so many times, but everything had changed. Their group lunch was usually filled with chattering and happy conversations, but this time there was almost no talking, everyone seeming to be lost in their thoughts. Flora hated this new atmosphere, she tried to make light conversation, but no one seemed to be interested. Even Helia was more distracted than usual. She eventually gave up on trying to get them to talk and silently ate her lunch.
Later they went back to the Archive and the research continued, only stopping late at night. Tecna dropped her book with a yawn and her eyes widened when she saw the numbers 01:00 on her clock. Knowing they needed sleep, she told everyone to stop reading and they organized the Archive before going to bed.
Soon hours turned into days and before they noticed it, three weeks had already passed since they started their quest. Summer was almost halfway and the Winx and Specialists had barely left the Magic Archive as they kept searching for answers.
In that time, Stella and Brandon went back to her home planet so that she could visit her father and try to make him get along with her boyfriend. They stayed in Solaria for two weeks, but being the loyal friends they were, they took their research there. Of course, they seized the fact that they were on such a beautiful planet to spend time on the beach and going shopping, just as Stella had wished. On the last night they stayed there, Brandon surprised the sun fairy with a romantic dinner on the royal gardens. They enjoyed their picnic and then he surprised her even more by proposing to her. She said yes, of course, and they came back to Alphea happier than ever despite the horrible situation they were facing.
Musa and Riven went to Melody as her mother's birthday arrived. The three of them spent some quality time together during which Musa's father and Riven decided that Musa's happiness mattered more than their dislike towards each other, so they agreed to at least be polite to each other. Musa sensed this difference in treatment amongst them and she thanked Riven for trying. After that, their relationship only improved. They weren't close to the thought of marriage, though.
Tecna and Timmy stayed in Alphea with Flora, Helia and Bloom for all three weeks. The technology loving couple didn't have such a close relationship with their parents that they would desire to visit them every summer. During their time together in the Archive, their relationship only grew.
Bloom and Sky's relationship only got more complicated as time passed. The constant failing in finding an answer only made Bloom's guilt and desperation to grow. She started feeling depressed and Sky couldn't help her, none of his efforts worked. Her obsession with destroying the darkness and proving Luna wrong made them drift apart and eventually Sky decided that they needed some time alone and so he went back to Eraklyon to meet his parents. Bloom barely noticed his absence, too focused she was on the research.
Flora saw how her friend was drowning in guilt and she tried many times to convince Bloom it wasn't her fault, but the fire fairy wasn't up for listening to anyone. So the nature fairy worked harder on finding the answers they seeked, knowing that was the only way to stop Bloom from self-destruction. And also the only way to save her relationship with the people she loved. During those three weeks, she began to change and she knew everyone was worried it might become permanent. The hallucinations eventually became less frequent and when they came, Flora used means to calm herself down and she tried to ignore it. Usually Helia was by her side and he helped distract her until it was over, telling her how much he loved her or about their summer plans. He was her rock, the only constant thing amongst the many changed she ahd to face.
After only a few days she discovered that Dark Ones didn't sleep, so she used this extra time to keep her research. Her body became stronger and she found herself less affected by heat, cold, hunger, tiredness and illness. That didn't mean she felt great, though. Most days she found herself feeling sick and tired because of the strength of the darkness, but she fought it and she managed to win. Miss Faragonda was impressed at how weeks passed and she didn't lose control, didn't give into the darkness.
Her emotions became weapons that the darkness could use, so sometimes she lost control when she became angry or sad and there were a few accidents, but since her friends refused to leave her alone, there was always someone there to help her gain back control and help those who got hurt. One time she almost killed Bloom after an argument during which she tried to convince the fire fairy to stop obsessing and pay more attention to her friends and boyfriend. Thankfully, Tecna had just returned to their room to pick her phone and she heard the two. It took a lot to calm Flora down, but they managed.
The only person that wasn't so involved on their research was Aisha. They knew that was because the water fairy was still healing after Nabu's death. His funeral had been held on Andros, a few days after they began their research. Everyone took a day off to pay their respects to the brave wizard who had saved them all. During the ceremony, which was held at Andro's palace, the air was filled with sadness and pain for the loss of such a good person. It rained hard that day, as if the skies were crying for Nabu with them. It was the only day that Bloom wasn't obsessing over her research and Musa and Stella weren't fighting. It was as if they all agreed to forget about the mess they were handling for just one day and Flora tried extra harder to control the darkness. Aisha cried hard with her parents holding her tight and she felt like her heart ahd been split in two. As she stared into the picture of Nabu that rested near his body, she wondered why had had been taken from her, what she had done to deserve it.
She had decided to keep his body preserved with a spell and later Former Queen Morgana asked her if he could rest on Earth, promising the water fairy that he would be in safe hands and that he would always be remembered as the hero who had saved the earth fairies from the Wizards of the Black Circle. Aisha agreed with the idea and Nabu was moved to an unused chamber at Queen Nebula's palace in Tir Nan Og. The room was decorated with Aisha's favorite flowers and the caring wizard was placed on the bed, a spell keeping his body just as it was.
While most of her friends spent those three weeks at Alphea, Aisha went home to spend time with her parents and attempt to heal. It didn't work out so well, she still felt like her heart had been ripped out of her chest, but her mother told her that healing takes time. Having lost her father at a young age, Queen Niobe knew what Aisha was going through and she helped her. Musa visited the water fairy too and tried to comfort her.
Three weeks after Flora became the dark one, she finally found answers. These answers were not what she had been seeking, though. It was late at night and all her friends were sleeping, even Bloom. Helia slept peacefully on the red couch she had conjured earlier in the Magic Archive. Since she didn't sleep, Flora spent all her time there, so Helia had decided to stay with her. Usually he would still be awake at this hour, but he was too tired from their time spent the night before.
The hallucinations had hit her at three in the morning and she hadn't wanted to wake him, so she breathed deeply and tried to ignore the voices in her head telling her she was weak and worthless. The Darkness had taken advantage of the fact that she was alone and it had been extra though, leading her to a break down. She had been so close to giving up when Helia had awaken due to her cries. Knowing what was happening, he had held her in his arms and comforted her. When that didn't work, he had taken her hand and led her through the forest that surrounded Alphea and towards Rochaluche lake. He placed a blanket on the edge of the lake and told her to lie down. They both spent some time looking at the stars and talking while she calmed down. When the hallucinations were gone, she thanked him for always being there for her and he told her once again that he loved her.
They kissed under the stars and she knew that he was the one for her. There was no one else who'd be okay with waking up at three am to calm her down. He was the only one who truly knew her and loved her with all his heart. When she told him that, he told her that she was the only one in his heart and he knew that everything would be all right for them. When she looked the other way, still doubting that they would have a happy future, he started telling her of the future he imagined. It was happy, simple and she loved it. She wanted that life, desperately, but she didn't think she'd get that. After all, it had been nearly three weeks and they had found nothing useful.
"He looks so peaceful." Her thoughts of the night before were broken by yet another hallucination. She didn't look at Luna and she walked towards the window, attempting to ignore her. But escaping the darkness was no easy task. Before she reached the window, Luna appeared in front of it. The previous dark one wore a dark blue dress Flora recognized from the first book Miss Faragonda had showed them. The dress had been worn on Luna's 18th birthday, only days before she had become the dark one. Flora didn't know why the darkness had chosen that outfit, but she didn't think much into it.
"You know, you're much stronger than I imagined. Not many dark ones lasted for more than a week." Luna told her and a small smile came to her face at the somewhat angry look in the red head's eyes. Flora felt proud of herself after hearing that. She might have changed drastically, but at least she hadn't given up.
"I guess other dark ones didn't have many people who believed in them." She told the other girl.
"True." Luna nodded and then she smiled. "You know, now that you've reached the three weeks mark, I think that you deserve a sort of…prize." Flora didn't trust that smile as she wondered what the darkness had planned.
"A prize? For not following what you want? That barely makes sense." Luna's smile didn't falter.
"The darkness recognizes those who are strong enough to fight it. So, do you want that prize or not?" Flora knew she shouldn't trust anything that Luna said, but she was curious.
"Depends. What is it?" Luna's smile grew.
"A little spell that will help you in your research." Now she was sure this was a trap. Help her research? There was no way the darkness would want to help her destroy it. "Come on, what harm can a little spell do?" Luna urged her and she gave the red head a look. A lot of harm, she thought. But after more convincing, she decided to try it.
"Okay so now you have to close your eyes." She reluctantly closed her eyes. "Now imagine a book with a hard red cover." She frowned in confusion, but obeyed nonetheless. "You have to really picture it. Now imagine that the book will appear I front of you." Her eyes were closed, so she didn't notice that she was engulfed in a dark glow. When she felt something heavy knocking on her chest, she opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was the red book that was now in her arms. It was called "Darkness", something that made her nervous. Then she noticed the dark glow and her eyes widened when she realized it. "This dark glow… It means I'm using dark magic. You tricked me!" She accused, mad at herself for being so naïve. Luna simply smiled at her, seeming to enjoy her moment of rage. She breathed deeply a few times, attempting to calm herself down. Once she felt calm enough, she looked at the book. A dark aura surrounded it, but she tried to ignore it as she slowly opened the book. Her eyes crossed over the introduction when Luna spoke up. "Turn to page 318." Flora decided that since she followed the darkness so far she might as well see what it wanted to tell her.
Her eyes widened as she kept reading page 318. This was definitely not in any of the books they had found. The new information made her fearful and excited. "I have to tell them." She muttered to herself after reading the whole chapter. So she put the book on one of the tables her friends had conjured and walked towards Helia. She gently shook him awake and he quickly jumped. "Flora? What's wrong? Are you okay?" He started to panic, used to her waking him in the middle of the night only when something was wrong.
"Shhhh. Calm down, sweetie. Everything's okay." She told him as she gave him a smile. He looked confused at her happy expression and then asked why she had woken him up then. His tone wasn't accusing, just curious.
"I found something. It's not exactly what we were looking for, but this could change everything." There was an excited glint in her eyes as she spoke. He decided to ask questions later and they both stood up and walked out of the Archive. They went to the Winx's dorm and woke up the girls. Half an hour later, they were all reunited (except Aisha) in the Magic Archive, ready to hear the discoveries Flora had made.
Once again, I'm sorry for the delay. What did you think of this chapter? Did you like the Nabu talk? I don't think any fanfics have discussed what happened after his death, like with the funeral and all. What do you think Flora discovered? And what will happen next? I'll try to post the next chapter this Wednesday in order to make up for the long wait. If not, it should be up by Friday.