A/N: So I was reading 'Magic Winx! Fanfictionix!' by Akela Victoire. It takes the piss out of the most clichéd plots in the Winx Club fanfiction. One of the topics was falling in love with the enemy (most of the time, it is apparently because the author thought the two would look hot together) and I just thought 'shit, I hope people don't think that about mine'. Because I actually have two reasons (maybe one and a half, I'm still a bit sketchy on how I'm going to get the second one to play out), one is actually based off of canon information; at least information provided in the Rai version; it's a little quote by Darkar. Still worried about my characterisation of the characters, hope they aren't flat, boring or OOC.
Also, I will mention that a cool cross-over (even if the time zones are way off for the fanfiction to happen, I still like it. And Darkar's in it, who is my favourite Winx villain. I've got my fingers crossed for Dark Bloom making a reappearance in it) is 'Winx to Hogwarts' by MidnightEden234.
PierceTheVeil: I'm glad that you like the psychological aspect, I wasn't sure how people would take it. Your theory isn't totally crazy! Certainly original, you should try it, and way better than BloomxValtor fanfics. Sorry if I just offended anyone but I don't like them. I haven't heard 'Fire' but 'Animal', I was going to use that later on. But songs have more than one verse! So song suggestion credit of 'Animal I have become' goes to PierceTheVeil. I'm still thinking about Dark Tecna but I do have a plot in mind – it would be just a one-shot though. I like rambly and crazy reviews, lets me know that people like my stuff ;) Is it weird that I like listening to the transformation songs from the first movie onwards? They're catchy!
Some parts of this fan fiction (including last chapter) are influenced by an additional scene in the Nickelodeon special of season 2 – there is a scene added where Darkar watches over Bloom. Also it is Marion, right? That's what I saw on the wiki page but isn't spelt in Miriam in one episode? So I'm not sure. The large italic part is a flashback, not a dream. Also why does Bloom's empathy never come back? Why didn't it warn her about Sky, the Trix or Diaspro? It was in there for one or two episodes and never seen again, like Damon with the crow and mist in Vampire Diaries. Some of the dialogue near the end is a mix of the lines from season 2, episode 19 in the Rai version and in the 4Kids dub. Also line from the pilot of Firefly is right at the end.
'I'm suffocating,
I can't breathe.
Let me out of this cage,
I'm not gonna hold back.
Gonna break these chains!
I'm taking control now,
Gonna give ya something to talk about.
It's another side of me,
I'm acting out.'
Acting Out by Ashley Tisdale
'Falling to pieces,
Count me in.
Violent,
Let's begin.
Feeding to sickness,
How do I simplify.
The enemy's on the way,'
Unknown Soldier by Breaking Benjamin
'Somebody get me through this nightmare,
I can't control myself.
So what if you can see,
The darkest side of me.
No-one will never change,
This animal that I have become.
Help me believe it's not the real me,
Somebody help me tame this animal.'
Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace
"So where did you find this ritual?" Bloom asked Gabriel, as she picked up a crystal and held it up to the lights in the spare room of Mike and Vanessa's house. All of the furniture had been shoved in the corners of the room, all the dusk cleaned up. The wooden floor was decorated with a large circle made of rock salt.
"In one of my books. One of the dark magic ones." He answered. "Most magic requires thoughts, will and magic. Then there are my brother's rituals, the oldest and very traditional dark magic. After that, is this type; they're a little different. They require the use of herbs and crystals; natural things to draw power from. Whoever said dark magic isn't natural? It's too dangerous to use the Dragon Fire to draw from, because most people's magic is like another entity inside them but people like you and my brother, it's different. It's a part of you, interweaved with your life force. Nobody can take your powers from either of you."
She nodded, looking over all of the objects on the table. She clicked her finger and a flame sparked to life; she lit the candles. "So what's with all the stuff?"
"Pass me that those crystals." Gabriel pointed to a collection of purple crystals, they radiated a purple light that scattered like sun on an ocean floor. She passed them to him. "These are amethysts. They help increase spiritual awareness."
He paced over to the north of the room, counting out the steps. He placed them on the ground, at the top of the salt circle. "Pass me a candle."
She did.
"Candles bring particular energies and magic. Yellow is associated with memory, understanding and comprehension."
He placed it half a foot away from the handful of amethysts, on the outside of the circle. "Okay, those clear stones next."
The stones were clear with lines of light. They scattered light like a diamond. "I know what these are. Clear quartz." Bloom said, handing him the pebble-sized crystals. Gabriel nodded.
"They're a key ingredient. They help people to be released from the past, in this case by viewing it." He told her as he placed them on the rock salt, half a foot away from the lit candle, pointing to the east. Her eyes landed on the very meretricious ring on his finger. It glowed in the fire light, green light being cast out of it.
"What's with the ring?" She questioned, imagining Stella's reaction if she ever saw it. She'd probably try to burn it.
"Huh? Oh, this gaudy thing. It's an emerald, related to precognition. Sometimes I think my dad meant it as a joke… But it was the last thing that he gave to me before he passed away." Gabriel answered, his green eyes wistful.
"Sorry."
"Don't be. He died peacefully, in his sleep. I was twenty one. Christian took the throne a few weeks later after the funeral." He said, walking over to her and the table.
"What about your mother? Surely, she could have taken it for a while."
Gabriel chuckled darkly as he picked up a handful of seemingly blue stones and another candle; the crystals looked like the ocean floor. All blue and metallic green, rainbow light defused from it. Once again, he placed the lit candle half a foot away from the quartz on the outside of the circle. "My mother died giving birth to me." He sighed. "People think it's bad when boys don't have a father but it's even worse when you don't have a mother. My father was strict, he wasn't like a father. He was like a military officer yet that didn't mean that I didn't want his approval. Everyone used to tell me stories about how my mother was a kind and caring woman, and all I had ever wanted was to see my mother. Just once, but no. I didn't get along with my father, I was too soft. He blamed my mother's death for that. I just wanted to see my mother, to hug her… I always went to her grave when I was upset. Sometimes, it felt like she was there, helping me and comforting me but I'm not a necromancer so I'll never know." Gabriel was freely crying now. He shook his head and wiped his tears away. "Time and a place for crying, preparing for a ritual isn't one of them."
"But-" Bloom started to say, unable to stop her concern.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine, her grave still helps. How's er, how's the voice?" He asked, swallowing thickly as he placed the blue stones half a foot away from the last candle, on top of the salt.
"Strangely quiet. I'm not used to the quiet." She answered.
"It's because the past is something you both need, you both need to understand and she's content in waiting for that. Those-" he coughed, "those are opals. They help with psychic visions and the second sight, they represent fire as well. Can you put that last lot of crystals there?" He asked, pointing directly opposite the quartz, a point that faced the west. He headed over to the table and picked up the last two candles. He placed one directly in-between the opals and where Bloom was placing the dark blue stones and another in-between the amethysts and dark blue stones. Both were on the outside of the salt.
The dark blue stones were a beautifully rich blue colour and reflected blue and black light.
"That's lapis lazuli. Helps to stimulate truth and psychic awareness."
"So what's with the shape?" To her, it all created the image of a star inside a circle inside her head.
"It creates a pentagram."
"I thought that was devil worship."
"Knew that was coming. On Earth, the wiccans and pagans blame Hollywood for that belief. But no, the pentagram is a symbol of the pagan Goddess, or in the realms, a symbol of the Great Dragon; also a Goddess. But most people have forgotten about it because it's not used in the festivals and the flame worship stuff which is what most people here know about. I think they felt it was too close to Shadow Worship so they ended up phasing it out, in basic terms." He shrugged. "Pass me two of those white plants and keep two."
She passed him them. "What are we doing with these?"
"Burn them. One to a corner." He replied, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a lighter that he flicked open.
Bloom clicked her fingers, placing the flame on the white leaves. She put one into the stone bowl in the closest corner and heading over to the other one. "And this is?"
"You're curious, aren't you? They say curiosity killed the cat." Gabriel countered, placing one of his plants into another of the stone bowls. She grinned back.
"Satisfaction brought it back." She told him, dropping the other into the basin.
Gabriel placed his last one in the final dish. "White sage, used to purify places. We have to purify the room before we can begin the ritual. This isn't a set ritual place where rituals are usually done so anything could happen if we didn't."
"Set religious place?"
"Yeah. It's believed that the Dragon created specific places to be used for rituals. Every city, town or village has at least one because that's what they're built around. Most people just celebrate the festivals now because of the whole pentagram thing. We're almost done. You need to get into the middle of the circle. Don't touch anything; sit or lay down because that's what you'll be doing when the spell begins."
She hopped over the white line and sat down, with her legs crossed like a child's, in the middle of the circle. Gabriel picked up the last thing on the table. Another stone bowl, this one engraved with various dark and light symbols. He flicked his lighter and placed it to whatever was in there. The smell of burning plants began to waft around the room.
"This is belladonna, which you should never, ever eat because it's deadly poisonous and you shouldn't touch it really anyway, the poison can be absorbed through the skin. People have died using this so it's not recommended but there was a spell in the ritual that allowed use to use it safely. It's used to achieve altered states of mind. Also Fern Leaf, for mental clarity, and willow. Willow is used for divination." He explained and then paused, fiddling with his ring. "I don't know what you'll see. It's unpredictable. It be your happiest, sweetest memory ever or your darkest, most fucked up one. Just be prepared because once this is started, I can't do anything to help you. Like you can't wake people who sleep-walk or have nightmares or schizophrenics in the middle of their hallucinations. You have to remember that you can't change what you see because it's already happened. It isn't real. And rituals can feel weird the first time. Like sex."
"Like sex?" She snorted at the comparison. "This isn't my first ritual."
Images of the fake Professor Avalon's mock rituals and Darkar's ritual appeared and she shook her head, desperate to rid of the images of floating purple orbs, strange languages and symbols and burning crystals. "It's complicated… And a long story."
"We got time later. Besides, I love long stories, they're the best. They're the ones that keep you awake at night and make you wonder."
"You're so weird."
"Now you sound like my brother. So you ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." She replied, steeling herself for anything and everything.
Light began to glow in Gabriel's hands. "Peregrinatione memoriam praeteritorum, videat veritatem," he chanted. "Peregrinatione memoriam praeteritorum, videat veritatem."
The light in the crystals got brighter, more intense. The flames shot up. Bloom's vision began to spin and she began to feel sick.
"Peregrinatione memoriam praeteritorum, videat veritatem. Peregrinatione memoriam praeteritorum, videat veritatem."
The world righted itself but the room wasn't the spare one in the house. It was opulent, bright and glittering. Also huge with a sweeping balcony. Outside, Bloom could see a beautiful landscape of grass, rolling hills, jewel colored flowers as far as the eye could see, trees with plaited trunks. Large mountains stood proudly in the distance.
The room itself was decorated with pale stones and light marble. Two gold and bronze glided thrones sat side by side on a dais at the back of the room, directly in the middle of the pale green painted wall. Thousands of unlit candles decorated the edges of the expansive hall, a domed ceiling made of stained glass created a swirling pattern around a brilliant orange dragon breathing red flames. The scintillating mosaic reflected on the marble floor, through the mammoth of a gold-glided candelabrum.
A young woman sat on one of the thrones – her red hair piled up on top of her head, moulded around her gold, jewel-encrusted crown, loose artificial curls rested on her shoulders. Her skin was pale but not as pale as Bloom's and she had no freckles and her almond shaped eyes were a brilliant shade of emerald. She was dressed in a pale outfit with puffy, pink sleeves covering her forearms; the Sparxian royal family crest on the clasp of her attire. There was no doubting who this woman was. Queen Marion of Sparx Domino. Her biological mother.
Studying the woman up close, Bloom hypothesised she could be no more than twenty-six, when she compared Daphne's and Marion's ages. They didn't look much alike aside from the red hair and pale skin; where Marion's chin was sharp and pointed, Bloom's was soft and rounded. Marion had upturned nose, her own nose had a slender bridge and straight, no upturned tip. Their eyes were completely different; the colour and the shape. Marion's were emerald green, almond-shaped but small. Bloom's were wide, had a slight cat-look shape to them. She had bow-shaped lips, Marion had full. She had freckles, her mother didn't. Maybe she looked more like her father.
There was a woman talking to Marion, she was easy to recognize. Ms. Faragonda.
"How are things getting along?" She asked. Marion sighed, glancing over at the baby in Daphne's arms. Daphne was showing the infant – her – the golden ribbons of light wrapping around her fingers.
"Awkward." The woman replied. "It's like she knows."
"She's not even a year old. Don't be preposterous." Faragonda chided her. Marion's shoulders slumped against her throne.
"She's bonded with Daphne, she likes her but whenever we go to pick her up or feed her or-or anything, all she does is cry."
"Just give it time, she'll adjust and forget them. We'll have nothing to worry about. Nobody remembers anything about the first five years of their life."
"It was necessary." The Queen of Sparx told the old woman in front of her. "It was necessary. The Dragon hasn't gifted anyone with the Fire since my great-great grandmother – at least, nobody who belonged this family biologically, where it rightfully belongs."
"The Flame is only gifted once a century remember? When the Dragon chooses a vessel." Faragonda interlaced her fingers. Marion scowled.
"I know the lore." She paused. "The Shadow Lord, how are things going with him?"
"Not good. The Company are trying to stop him but he has powerful assets, he's appeared to have recruited the Primeval Witches and their 'son'."
"Do we have any idea what he wants?"
Faragonda shrugged. "There are a million possibilities; power, revenge, boredom."
The opulent throne room began to spin again, becoming a dizzy pale color blur. Bloom felt sick and she closed her eyes, squeezing her eyes shut so tight she began to feel light-headed.
The new scene before her was a much smaller, more intimate one. A tired looking young woman was holding a baby that was a few weeks old. She had dark shadows underneath her cyan eyes, her skin deathly pale, making her freckles stand out even more. She had the same chin as Bloom, the same cat-like shape to her eyes, the same nose.
A fire blazed in the stone hearth, making the woman seem even more pale and the shadows even more prominent, as she tickled the infant's stomach, causing her to giggle loudly. The living room wasn't even the size of her dorm room, decorated with only a sofa, the fireplace and a switched off TV on the wall.
"Rockabye baby on the tree top, when the wind blows the cradle will rock." The woman sang, as she continued to tickle the baby. The young woman wasn't a good singer but the love in the woman's voice sounded sweet nonetheless.
Everything felt strangely peaceful and quiet to Bloom. Then a single sharp knock at the door made her jump. The baby didn't cry at the noise but turned her head to where the noise came from and began to babble. The woman laughed tiredly as she got up and headed to the front door. Bloom couldn't see who it was but the woman bowed, the baby peeking over the woman's shoulder; looking right through her, and the red-headed young woman made a come in gesture. She closed the door behind the man.
He was an athletic-looking old man like an aged military officer, his hair was a steel colored grey but his eyebrows were black, his eyes green. Gabriel and Darkar's father.
"How are you, Rosario?" The old king asked gently.
"I'm fine, thank you... Is this a social visit?"
"Sort of... How is Ibraham? And the baby?"
Rosario smiled gently as she absent-mindedly stroked the infants red tuffs of hair. "He's at work, not as tired as me. He's doing fine and she's doing great, I can't believe how she's coming along. She was so cold when she came out but the mid-wife placed her in the fire!" Rosario's cyan eyes were incredibly wide, the flames in the hearth reflected in them before she chuckled lightly. "I screamed at her. She told me that she was just warming her up, that that was the procedure."
This certainly surprised the king, judging by his expression. He raised a dark eyebrow. "Really? That's interesting, really interesting... Actually, I'm here about your maternity leave."
"I thought being a duchess was a noble blood thing, not something you could take a break from."
"You've just had a baby, of course you can. The court have agreed with me, we're giving you paid leave until this little one is schooling age. Five, I believe?"
Rosario nodded. "Thank you, sir."
The world began to spin again. Dizzingly, violently. Bloom was going to be sick, she was going to faint. Her heart was pounding so strongly that she felt each pulse in the tips of her toes and fingers. She closed her eyes and then they snapped open again. A familiar looking ceiling swam into view before it solidified. Strong hands on her, helping her up. Gabriel.
Bloom groaned. "Fuck."
"What happened?" Gabriel questioned.
We can trust him!
I know but I'm not sure if I want to tell him.
"So, basically I still have no clue." Bloom sighed, lazily swinging her leg as she raised a glass of water to her lips.
"I think you do." Gabriel told her, placing his glass down on Vanessa's kitchen counter. "I think that you have two and two but you need to come up with four."
She nodded, deep in thought but quickly bought of it by a sudden, rapid knocking. Pounding on the front door with no sign of stopping anytime soon. Who would knock like that?
She ran to the front door, coming face to face with a teenage boy with shaggy, messy blonde hair.
"Sky, what are you doing here?" She asked in surprise, allowing him in.
"I was worried-" He started to say but stopped abruptly as his blue eyes landed on Gabriel. "Who are you?"
"Gabriel Reaves and I think it's time I was going. You'll tell your dad that I was looking for him?"
Huh?
You moron! It's an excuse! You haven't recognized the look on Sky's face?!
"Oh, sure." She replied. "I'll get him to call you when he gets in."
"Thanks. I'll see you later." Gabriel said, heading out of the back door that he closed behind him. Sky was silent for a moment.
"Why was he here?"
"He just said, he was looking for my dad. Gabriel's a friend of my parents."
Nice, not a complete lie. The voice in the back of her head complemented her.
Huh?
"I don't like him." Sky stated. "I don't trust him."
You don't even know him!
"Sky... Are you jealous?" She asked, unable to believe it.
"What?! No! No, I'm not jealous?"
"You don't trust me." Bloom stated as the front door swung open. Mike and Vanessa walked in, carrying heavy looking grocery bags.
"No, it's not that! It's just- it's just-" He struggled to come up with an answer.
We both knew it. We both knew that he didn't trust us. Why else has he been so distant?
"Just leave me alone." Bloom told him and started to walk away but Sky grabbed her wrist. Unbelievable. She pulled her wrist from his grasp, all of her anger from the past month and a half bubbling and rapidly coming to the surface. "Just leave me alone!" She yelled, slamming the kitchen-living-room door shut in his face. As she ran upstairs, she dimly heard Mike questioning Sky and light footsteps following her up.
When she got to her bedroom, she threw herself down onto the bed and began to cry.
"Shh." Vanessa's voice floated to her ears as she felt her mother wrap her arms around her in a tight hug.
"He doesn't trust me." She sobbed. "I've always trusted him! Always! Even when I forgave him for lying about who he was and Diaspro!"
Her mother stroked her red hair. "I know, baby, I know."
"He told he wouldn't let me go! When-when Darkar..." She broke off in tears, her voice splintered. "He said he wouldn't let me go."
Bloom's eyes snapped open, her mind burning with a realization as her sleepy eyes focused on her night-darkened bedroom. She looked at her clock. A luminescent green '4:32am' blinked at her. How could she not have seen it? Rosario was her biological mother. A Shadowhaunt Duchess was her mother, the Trix's prank had been right. She was a witch.
She leaned down and groped around the carpeted floor for her phone charger. After half a minute, she found it and pulled the cord closer to her. She grabbed the phone and rang her newest number. What time would it be in Magix? Around lunch time?
"Hello?" Gabriel's voice answered.
"Rosario's my mother?! And you neglected to tell me?!" She questioned angrily. Gabriel sighed on the other end.
"The mind has to figure things out on its own. It has to process things on its own, if it doesn't get that change, it'll just be unable to process it and forget it."
"My mother is from Shadowhaunt! I'm a witch!" Bloom sobbed.
"Have you been listening to a word that I've been saying? Everyone has a choice, being born in Shadowhaunt doesn't automatically make you dark. Your mother was a wonderful person, she was from Shadowhaunt, yes but that doesn't change anything. When it came to these dark and light concepts, your parents were neutral; that sort of thing didn't matter to her. Rosario helped people, fed the homeless and stopped things from being destroyed. She was a kind woman, devoted to religion. She prayed to the Dragon every night. She performed all the rituals, visited the temple every holiday and festivals.
"The sacred place in Shadowhaunt is the only place that grows any plant life now. There's a great willow tree right in the center, flowers everywhere... Mourning for Rosario." Gabriel paused. "A few weeks after she married your father, the doctors rang her and asked her to come in. The news was devastating to her, her womb wasn't the right shape for a child. The next week, she was pregnant. The doctors did a test – her womb had been altered somehow, someone had changed the shape."
"The Great Dragon." She whispered.
"Yes. Rosario was over-joyed at the fact that she was having you. She never asked the doctors about your gender or your power – it didn't matter to her. When it came to seven months, she went on a pilgrimage across all of the realms – praying in every temple as she made her way to Sparx, the Dragon's resting place, to thank her. It was the week of the First Flame – it's a week of celebrating the week that the Dragon created everything, when the first flames were blown. Pilgrimages are common then, pilgrims pray for what they're thankful for. The journeys always finish on Sparx, just like the Dragon. Your mother got there in the middle of one of the dances, about to pray when Oritel recognized her and threw her out; despite the fact that she was obviously heavily pregnant."
Bloom laid back down on her bed, staring up at her pale ceiling as she listened to Gabriel.
"So she snuck in later and prayed about how thankful she was for you. Daphne spotted her, Rosario told her about you – that you were her miracle. Daphne was so happy for her, she let it slip to her parents though. Marion and Oritel had Daphne keep an eye out. But the girl was oblivious, she thought her parents wanted to know about Rosario's miracle child. Then you were born. Rosario wasn't a priestess so she couldn't recognize the signs, but Oritel and Marion did. They had you kidnapped but it was Faragonda who decided to kill your parents."
Bloom closed her eyes for a moment. "What about my dad? What did I get from him?"
"You got your red hair and blue eyes from both your parents because those are both recessive genes. From what I know about you, you get your curiosity, insecurity, escapist streak and stubbornness off him. Of course, you will have some traits from Mike and Vanessa."
Bloom groaned in frustration as she weakly clutched the sink for the fifth time that day. A thin layer of cold sweat covered her, her hair was more of a mess than usual and she just felt sick. She wretched and wretched but nothing, she felt too ill to eat. Sunlight poured down on her through the large windows, every passing second made her feel weaker and weaker. She reached into her backpack with shaking hands and pulled out her phone. She managed to send a one word text ('help') before her eyes closed and she slipped into unconsciousness.
When she came to, she was in her dorm room. She tried to sit up, but her body felt too weak and her arms shook. The world spun.
"Don't." Gabriel said, passing her some strange glowing drink. She took it and frowned.
"How did you get in? Does anyone know that you're here?" She asked.
"One question at a time." Gabriel chuckled, running a hand through his short brown hair. "I came through the front door; I told everyone that you were just tired after spending the night at my apartment, per your dad's worried orders."
"She's strangely quiet." Bloom mumbled, feeling like she was high on happy gas.
"It's because you're so weak." He told her. "Drink that. It'll make you feel better."
"What is it?"
The drink was fizzy, silver and glowed with a white light.
"It's an energy regulator because... I hope I'm going explain it correctly but it's to do with the fact that people who are born in a 'dark realm' can go a few years in a 'light realm' – and visa versa. The only effect being weakened powers, but without energy regulators, they eventually fall ill and die. Cloudtower has these installed in machines that pump it into the air..." He paused. "I'm guessing Faragonda never gave any of you one when you went to Shadowhaunt?"
"Considering that I've never heard of it, go with no." She replied, raising the drink to her lips and swallowing. It fizzed up her nose and it actually tasted pretty good – like Mike's lemonade that he always made during the summer. The glass was empty before she knew it.
"Give it half an hour to being to work properly and you should be fine for the next four days." Gabriel frowned, resting his chin on his knuckles as he sat down on a chair next to her bed. "The weakening effect has always been there because in your current form, you should be able to level all of Magix city and the surrounding villages, killing all of the people there, if you actually wanted to. Maybe Faragonda wanted to see something, wanted to test you? Possibly. Test her actions or yours? Test my brother? I could go to the extreme theory and suggest that she wanted to kill you but I don't know." He sighed. "There's too much that we don't actually know and these are all just theories."
"We need to make a list of all the stuff that we have to figure out." She said.
"It's already on my to-do list."
Bloom bit her bottom lip. "I want to know more about your brother." She told him, avoiding his gaze and tugged on a red curl. "Was he born evil? Was he an evil kid?"
"No, nobody is born evil. Not even my brother but it was always inside him. He couldn't help it, couldn't resist it. But that's a story for another time, once you're feeling better and once you or we know a bit more." He replied, fiddling with his emerald ring, the 'G' in the middle of the silver that encased the emerald catching the light. "Okay, so I have to get back to work. I've left a book for you considering you're still supposed to be asleep for the next couple of hours. That's what I told your teachers. See you later." He said, ruffling her red hair and exiting the dorm. Bloom glared at his back before she reached over and picked up the hard-back tome that Gabriel had left on her bedside table.
Resting it in her lap, she turned to the contents page. It was a spell book! At least, it was a book full of neutral rituals and spells. She skimmed down the page, mesmerized by the feeling of aged parchment and old, crack ink beneath her fingertip.
Her phone began to ring loudly causing her to jump. She made a mental note to change her ringtone, this one was killing her ears. She checked the ID. 'Sky'. She pressed ignore. She didn't want to listen to any excuses right now. She flicked through the grimore until she fell asleep.
The dungeon was dark and damp. Rats squeaked so loudly, it was murder on her ears. She didn't dare create a fire; who knows what she'd see? The Trix were waiting outside her cell, giggling to themselves in sadistic pleasure. Darkar had told them to watch her 'and watch her only'. Although judging by the snippets of conversation and laughter that she had caught, they hadn't listened to him.
A light appeared above her, a bare light bulb that consistently flickered. Stella stood near the door, dressed in her tiered orange and yellow dress. She looked strange in the darkness of Shadowhaunt. Stella's brown eyes glared at her, a look on disgust on her face; nose scrunched.
"I can't believe that we were ever friends." She told her.
"Stel, what are you talking about?"
"We're all better without you. You did nothing but bring us down. If it wasn't for you, the Trix would never have been able to summon the Army of Decay. You and your search for your parents. It's pathetic, you're pathetic. You should stay with Darkar, you belong there!" Stella told her.
Sky stepped out of the darkness, his blue eyes furious. "She's right. We're happier without you! What will people think of you when they compare you to Stella or Daphne? You're nothing, you hear me? Nothing."
"You only screw up. We're better without you! You let the Trix take the Dragon Flame, you stole the Codex!" Stella crowed.
"You only hurt people." Sky told her, his revolted eyes cast down on her. "You only hurt people. You hurt Diaspro, you hurt Vanessa and Mike, you got Daphne killed! If it wasn't for you, the entire of Sparx would still be alive."
"No." She whispered. "No, it's not true."
"Yes, it is." Stella told her, sincerity in her eyes. "It's all your fault. You have the Dragon Flame, if you hadn't been born the Ancestral Witches would never have targeted Sparx. The planet wouldn't be dead, nobody would be dead."
"It's all your fault. Everything is your fault." Sky told her.
"No. No, it isn't." Bloom whispered hoarsely. "It's not true. It can't be."
"But it is." Stella insisted. "You know that it is. You only hurt and destroy."
"You got me killed." Sky continued. "You may have brought me back but you got me killed."
Bloom began to sob, looking down. "I – I didn't." She countered, raising her head to Stella and Sky in the middle of making out. Flora walked towards her, ignoring the two blondes.
"You only hurt us. We're better without you, you're so weak. You couldn't keep the Dragon Flame; you let Darkar into the school. Everything is your fault. It's like you were created to destroy, even if that wasn't your intention. You still only hurt and destroy. It's like you were created to spread misery and darkness."
"No." She sobbed. "It's not true. It isn't true."
"We always hated you." Flora told her.
Suddenly, the light and the other three disappeared. A different scene reappeared a second later. Sky had his chest ripped open, Stella's throat was ripped out. Flora was a bloody and tattered mess; Musa and Tecna were the same. Layla looked like she had been drowned in blood. Bloom whimpered, bringing her hand to mouth. Only to recoil in horror, her hands were covered in thick scarlet blood. Dripping blood, it was still hot. Then it all disappeared as quickly as it had reappeared. Loud screams, girl's screams, came from the hallway.
"You directly disobeyed my orders. I don't give out orders for people like you to ignore them." Darkar. There was a flash of black light beneath the gap in the door followed by Icy's scream. She could hear Stormy and Darcy cowering.
"Get out of my sight! All three of you while I decide what to do with you." He told them. She could hear the sound of running footsteps then black fire lit her cell. It wasn't what she expected. A small room with black stone walls and floor, empty chains on the wall. Nothing else. The heavy door swung open. Her head jolted upwards and became annoyingly aware that she was still crying. She wiped away her tears, no blood. He walked up to her as she tried to press herself against the stone wall, desperately wishing that she could just walk through it. He stopped close to her and reached out. He wiped away her stray tears.
"I'm sorry." He apologized. "I should have left somebody else with you. I had no idea that – that they would-"
"You did." She accused angrily, cutting him off and shoving him away. "You knew! You fucking knew! You probably told them to do it so you could in and do this so I'd start to like you."
"While that would have worked for someone else, that wasn't my plan. For my plan, I need you to be completely intact and that includes your mind. So that idea doesn't actually make sense now, does it? If you don't believe me, you have empathetic abilities. Use them."
Bloom frowned as she closed her eyes and willed the power forward. Darkar's aura was a bright burning red. He was telling the truth. "You're pissed off." She told him. "Really, really pissed off."
He nodded. "You need to be sane and completely whole for what I have planned, even if you don't agree to it. They're being bullies, doing what bullies do best and throwing a temper tantrum because they're pissed off that I brought you here."
Her eyes opened, a dark grin creeping onto her face. She jumped up out of the disgustingly pale bed sheets and headed to the mirror in excitement. A blue-eyed carbon copy stood in the mirror, tears pouring down her face as she beat the glass inside, it rippled like water.
"No!" The girl in the mirror screamed. She smiled, stretching and moving her hands before squealing loudly and jumping up and down.
"I'm back bitch!" She told the girl in the mirror. She spun around and flexed all of her fingers.
"No!" The girl in the mirror screamed. "No!"
The girl's grin stretched wider as she shook her head, her wild red curls shaking, and exited the dorm. In the common room, all six girls were waiting with anxious expressions. None of them were looking at each other; Flora was absent-mindedly stroking Kiko, Layla couldn't stand still, Stella was pacing, Tecna was playing with her skinny fingers and Musa was sat in a foetal position on the ground, her back pressed up against the sofa.
Stella saw her first, running up to her and hugging her tightly. Urgh, she didn't really like hugs. The others jumped up when they saw her.
"Are you okay? You're okay, right?" The blonde babbled.
She smiled. "Never been better."
"That's good." Flora grinned. Stella cut in again.
"So who's the hottie?"
Gabriel? Ew. His brother, however…
"His name's Gabriel Reaves. He's a friend of my parents but don't bother trying anything. He's over thirty." She replied.
'When will this shit finish?' She thought angrily, unable to wait for the end of class. They were going to be surprised to see that she was still here. 'You can't get rid of me so easily, bitches.' God, all the good vibrations and touchy-feely-ness was making her feel ill. A few seconds later, Avalon dismissed them. She grinned and ran.
"Bloom, wait." Flora cried. She ignored her.
"Why's she in a hurry?" Stella asked.
"No idea." Tecna replied.
"It could be trouble." Musa pointed out.
"Trouble? Does this mean that we're going to follow her?" Stella asked the others, groaning. Bloom rolled her eyes as she headed down a different corridor. Where was that archive? It was the perfect battleground, nobody would think to look for them there and it would allow her to go and talk to Faragonda with no worries.
"This all looks bright and new." She commented as she walked into the archive, all of the books she burnt had been either replaced or recreated from the ashes. Just like a phoenix.
Please stop! The little voice in her head begged.
No way! I want to see the look in Faragonda's face when she realizes what her actions have caused!
"Bloom?" A surprised Concorda asked. "It-it's a surprise to see you here."
"Yeah. I bet it is." She laughed and things clicked for the pixie.
"You!" She accused.
She giggled. "No shit."
"You're not getting the codex." The pixie crossed her tiny arms with a look of defiance on her face. She rolled her eyes and summoned a blast of power, trapping the pixie in a ball of purple energy.
"I'm not after it." She told her, transforming and fluttering her wings. She rose in the air and hovered. The feeling of wind on her skin meant freedom, even if she was in the horrible pale blue outfit.
"Bloom?" She heard Stella call as they entered the archive. She grinned to herself. Show time.
"Yes?" She asked.
"Is something wrong?" Flora asked.
"Yeah. Something is. I'm tired of all your cheeriness and good vibrations; you should save those for someone who actually cares. And those little heart-felt notes that you pass to those morons that you call boyfriends, eww! You're all pathetic."
Flora looked like she was going to cry.
"That can't be Bloom talking." Lockette told her.
"Oh, Lockette! You're here. I wondered where you were." She said, casting the spell that she had cast on Concorda.
"Bloom!" Tecna scolded. "Stop that." She just laughed.
"But it's so much fun!" She told them, grinning.
"She's still under Darkar's spell." Musa insisted.
"But he's dead." Layla countered.
"But his spell must not be." Tecna said.
She sent a purple blast at them but they all ducked. She gritted her teeth and sent out five purple blasts that exploded in a rain of fire. She had hit them but she had only wounded them. She wanted to draw this out.
"Why aren't you fighting?" She growled. "Are you scared? Is it because I'm more powerful than all of you combined?" She laughed. "If you want to run away, I won't hold it against you. Come on! Fight back!"
"Sun storm!" Stella yelled as she threw a ball of light at her. It exploded brightly. She sighed, feeling nothing at the attack, only her body absorbing the energy. The light of the blast faded away.
"What?" Stella cried.
"You got nothing! Nothing! Destroying you is going to be so much fun!" She shrieked with laughter.
"Electric storm." Tecna sent a blast of green electricity towards her.
"Fire blade!" She yelled, sending out two beams of fire from her open palms. She aimed at Tecna's blast. Her power cancelled out the green blast and the resulting energy threw all five of them and the pixie's to the ground.
"Did she say destroy us?" Layla asked.
"Yeah, I did." She replied. "It's going to be so much fun!"
"She's just toying with us." Tecna told them. "She's unfocused... Did anyone else notice that she keeps talking about fun? She never did that before."
Rolling her eyes, she sent a blast of purple energy at them. Flora shrieked in pain. She giggled in delight as she hopped from one foot to the other in mid-air.
"Deafening chord." Musa shot pink sound-waves at her. She let it hit her arm and waved it away.
"That was weak." She giggled as they started to get to their feet. "Dragon's heart!" She yelled, releasing two balls of fire at the five fairies. They glowed with orange and blue fairy dust, exploding on contact and sent them back on the floor, gasping.
"Yup, totally playing with us." Musa agreed.
"Shouldn't Bloom be back to normal? Darkar's gone and Sky saved her." Stella commented.
"Sky?" She laughed. "He was round the other night. Let's just say that things didn't end well for us. He keeps trying to apologize."
"What? Is that enough?" Flora questioned, gripping her arm.
"Seems like." Layla answered.
"Aww, I don't suppose you're bleeding Flora?" She asked, flying down.
Flora grimaced. "No."
"Shame, I'm hungry."
"Time out." Musa flew up to her eye-level. "Did you just say that you would have drunk Flora's blood?"
"Would you really like me to spell it out for you?" She questioned. "Get out of my face or I'll destroy you first. Fire arrow." She sent out a beam of fire that, due to their close proximity, blasted Musa completely out of the air in two seconds.
"Why would you drink blood? You're not a vampire." Stella shrieked, fluttering up into the air.
She sighed as she summoned a ball of fiery, purple energy. "It tastes so nice. I don't know what it does, just that it does something."
"Darkar." Stella paused. "You drank Darkar's blood?!"
She laughed. "It took you long enough! It tasted so nice. I was still a prisoner back then. I couldn't help it, it was calling to me, begging for me to. I wonder if you guys taste the same."
"Please, tell me that I'm not the only one grossed out?" Stella asked them.
"Didn't you listen? Bloom drank Darkar's blood before he turned her." Tecna told them. "Calling to her? Why?"
"Oh, I don't know." She replied. "I'm afraid Lord Darkar is the only one with that answer." She giggled as she dodged the blast Layla sent at her. "I'd say give it your best shot but it looks like you just did. And it was very bad, very weak."
"Okay, Bloom. You're totally asking for this so I don't feel sorry." Stella said, creating a brilliant wave of silver energy that made her grimace. "Supernova!"
She crossed her arms over her chest. "Fire catcher." She yelled, absorbing Stella's attack.
"What?!" Stella shrieked, summoning her scepter.
"I'm going enjoy wiping the floor with you guys." She said, sending out a blast of purple energy that Stella managed to dodge but Layla didn't and was thrown back onto the floor.
"Dazzling spiral." Stella sent a translucent bean of light at her. She waved it away.
"Guys, her power level is completely off the scale. Like way off." Tecna told them. "There's nothing we can do that can against her."
"Imagine what she'll be like if she gets properly mad? Like last time with the witch outfit?" Musa asked. "There must be a reason she chose this room."
"She's not after the codex!" Concorda yelled from her fiery cage. "I already checked."
"Concorda?" Layla asked in surprise. The trapped pixie nodded.
"We can always hold her." Flora suggested. "Earth cage." She yelled, vines growing up out of the floor and wrapping around her. She gritted her teeth.
"I hate flowers!" She yelled. "You guys asked for this! When you play with fire, you get burned!"
She stopped hovering, letting herself fall to the ground where everyone else was. She curled her hands into fists and brought them down onto the floor. "Dragon fire!" She screamed, unleashing a very powerful wave for fiery energy that shattered and tore up the concrete.
The other five girls screamed and shrieked, flying up into the air.
Suddenly her head began to pound.
No! No! Stop it! I'm in control of you! I'm in control now!
Her internal screaming became quieter as she was violently shoved back into her place inside the recesses of the mind that they shared. Bloom began to cry as she de-transformed.
She threw herself down to the ground. "Guys, I'm sorry." She whispered hoarsely. "I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean – I – I-" She couldn't talk anymore, she just broke down crying.
The Trix walked through one of the hallways of the Shadowhaunt palace towards the throne room. Darkar was in there with a servant, a bloodied switch-blade laid on the floor. His mouth on the servant's neck as though he was kissing her but her body was completely limp, her eyes closed. Then he drew back, dropping the body to the ground. A huge gash was in the woman's neck, blood covered her uniform.
Darkar sat on his throne, wiping away the thick, deep scarlet blood from his mouth. "Come in." He told them before they had knocked.
"Hungry?" Icy asked.
He cast a look at her as he finished wiping away the blood. "We were trapped in Realix for over a month. I'm starving." He sighed, leaning back in his throne and throwing his legs over the arm of the throne. "How did your spying go?"
"Fine. She was fine and with some guy." Icy replied, flicking her white-blonde ponytail around.
"A guy with a lot of dark energy." Darcy added. Darkar raised a black eyebrow.
"That's interesting. What did this guy look like?" He asked, resting his chin on his enclosed fist.
"Pale, brown hair, looked average height." Icy replied.
"Broad forehead, angular jaw line, athletic and wearing a very gaudy emerald ring?" He asked, playing with his own gaudy ring; a black crystal rather than an emerald.
"Yeah, that's him." Stormy answered.
"I know him." Darkar said. "So she was fine? Completely unharmed?"
"Why do we have to spy when you can do that viewing thing?" Darcy asked but Darkar ignored her.
"Yup." Icy replied. "I wish she wasn't. Little bitch deserves some pain."
He jumped up and wrapped the room in a cocoon of thick, black darkness. He grabbed Icy by the throat and raised her up off of the floor. "I thought I ordered you not to hurt her! If you disobey orders like you did last time, then you will be useless to me. You want to know what I do to useless people? I drain them. And after that month in Realix, both me and the Shadows need a lot of feeding!" He yelled.
"I- I'm sorry." Icy gasped out.
"Good." He said, dropping her.
Darcy paused. "So who is that guy that she was with? Not her Prince Charming, obviously."
Darkar laughed. "No, he definitely isn't. He's nobody you need to concern yourself with. I'm glad he's there. He's helping her."
"Helping her like your spy did last time?" Stormy asked.
"No," He replied. "He's actually helping her. Which is good, she's going to need all the help she can get."
"Why the fuck would you want someone to help that little bitch?" Icy asked. Darkar rounded on her again, picking her up the throat once more and began to squeeze.
"Remember what I just told you?" He asked.
"Y-yes." She choked out. He dropped her again, she landed in a heap on the floor.
"Sorry, she's not good with people, even by witch standards. What she meant to say was if she's on the opposing side to us, why do you think it's good to have someone help her? Please?"
"You have patience, that's good. It's important with things like this. But I don't put all my eggs into one basket. So have you ever heard that if you tell people a story so much that you begin to forget the actual events and believe what you tell people?"
"Yes." Darcy replied. Stormy and Icy nodded.
"Good. Let's just say that's happening to a certain person named Faragonda with a certain incident. But enough about that, I have another mission for you. I want you to go to Alfea and just show yourself to the staff and students."
"That's it?!" Stormy asked in disbelief.
"Yes. Don't attack them, we just want to scare them." Darkar replied.
"Pain is scary." Icy commented.
"Yes but while it is, it's not the most scariest thing. What's worse is waiting for the attacks and the pain, driving yourself mad as you wait for it to begin. The paranoia slowly eating away at you, not knowing when it'll begin but wanting it to so the waiting is over. Just suspecting that it will is enough, fear is more powerful than pain."