AN: Ahem, so HEY! How's it going?

I'm sure you guys wanna know why I haven't updated in like, a year. Long story short, I haven't been in the prettiest headspace, and needed a break from fanfiction as a result. I really hope you guys understand.

Anyway, here's the long awaited chapter 11! It's mostly Bloom and Valtor fluff—a nice break from last chapter's vicious action. Next chapter is going to be back to "BATTLES! I LOVE BATTLES!" mode!

Hope u all enjoy :3

Chapter Eleven: Don't Let the Spirits Bite

Valtor despised moments like these.

When things went far, far off plan and caused a domino effect of issues that he didn't set up. As a result, he would be crushed if he allowed the final one to fall.

Then how to stop it?

How to ensure things didn't keep slipping through his fingers? And most of all why did that blasted fairy not take his mercy and her mostly intact ring with a cordial thank you and scuttle back to her—

No, no, calm. He needed to stay calm. He needed a plan to get out of this with as minimal issues as possible.

Fly back? Fight those fairies and threaten them with pain if they told? No, what would be the point? Even if they kept their word to not tell Faragonda, that place had ears and eyes for walls, it would slip out somehow one way or another, and he couldn't gauge when. It would be far more prudent to spend his time thinking of something properly foolproof.

Return to the jeweler store and punish that woman for selling him pathetic—

No, no. Focus.

Go back but don't threaten them—kill them. Something quick and painless to send them to the Afterlife without them even realizing it; a blast to the heart or the brain...that would be detected in any autopsy from any Healing Fairy worth her pay, especially with a power source like his. And some would know, Faragonda would know and he couldn't—

Valtor closed eyes and filled his lungs with windy evening air to calm himself again, wincing in regret when a sharp pain sliced through his ribs at the action. He pressed a palm against it, frowning. That princess—a high-schooler—had managed to ravage his magic core with enough vigor to send him completely off kilter.

Another reason Faragonda could not find out about him yet.

Right. Leave Magix with Bloom as fast as possible—now, right now. But, but, Bloom had a friend here. Would he find it suspicious if a new girl with a strangely named tutor left at about the same time the Magic Dimension was made known of a previously imprisoned terrorist? He might not, but he could, he could. And what of Bloom? Would she find the timing suspicious and lose faith in him? He didn't want—he couldn't gamble right now—was he over thinking this— ?

Maybe he could—but no—or perhaps—but that could end disastrously—then maybe—he couldn't gamble—

"Dammit!" Valtor roared at the sky, clenched fists exploding with blue and violet flame and pupils burning crimson.

"Figured you were having a rough night."

Valtor jerked slightly in surprise before turning to the voice's source; Bloom in her pajamas, standing on the balcony in bunny slippers and holding two mugs of hot chocolate. She held one up towards him, raising an eyebrow in invitation.

Valtor sighed, letting his eyelids fall before rubbing his temples. But when he opened them, he was able to manage a weary smile. "What, pray tell, gave it away?" he asked as he floated towards the balcony and sat atop the rail.

"You flew out in a weird rush," Bloom said, handing him a mug. He crossed one leg over the other and accepted the drink, resting it on his raised thigh as she continued, "Also you had this...intense look on your face. Kinda like this but less...extreme. You weren't at swearing territory, at least."

Valtor frowned as he took a sip from his mug, pleasantly surprised that Bloom had bothered to add extra sweetening to it. "I did not swear."

"Kinda hard to ignore someone yelling, 'dammit!'' Bloom said, helpfully adding a mock baritone at the end as she hopped on the railing next to him.

"'Dammit' is not a swear word."

"A word doesn't become classy just because you said it, Mr. Dinosaur."

"Be that as it may, 'dammit' is not a swear word."

"The dictionary says so. Take your own advice and crack it open some time," she said with an impish glint in her gaze and a slow sip of her mug.

Valtor narrowed his eyes. "Brat."

"Snob."

"I will shove you off this railing."

Bloom smiled. "No you won't," she said, before clinking their mugs together and looking upwards at the stars, sighing happily to herself.

Valtor's scowl withered away and he allowed himself a breath of amusement as he followed her gaze skyward.

He'd always loved the sky, the night sky in particular; the blinking lights of stars and galaxies and realms, the elegant blue-black backdropping them, the vivacious moon and the sweeping dark clouds. That love had been amplified after Omega—absence made the heart grow fonder after all.

He wondered if he'd be sent back once Faragonda learned of him. He wondered if she'd kill him instead.

He wondered which would be worse.

"You wanna tell me?" Bloom asked hesitantly. Valtor turned from the sky to look at her, humming questioningly in response. "About...what you're so worked up over?"

Valtor frowned, opening his mouth to respond when Bloom blurted out, "I know, I know, it's none of my business it's just...well remember when I said I wanted to help you with those Wizard Mafia people? I meant it, you know?" She shrugged awkwardly, clinking her nails against the mug's rim. "I mean…I'm not saying that that's what's bothering you now but—well the concept's still the same; I'm here if you need me. Like how you've been here for me."

Valtor regarded her for a moment and nodded slowly to himself. He supposed it wouldn't be too terrible if Bloom knew the partial truth of the situation, if only to stop her from finding a potentially disruptive well to quench her curiosity.

"No this has nothing to do with…whatever you just said. Let's just say an old friend of mine may come back into my life sooner than I hoped," he said finally, sipping from his mug again.

"Okay, and by friend you mean…"

"Mortal enemy."

"Right," Bloom said. "And that's bad because you're not at full strength yet."

"Correct."

Bloom let out a breath. "Well, I get the swearing now."

Valtor smiled tightly. "I'm glad you understand my predicament—and I was not swearing."

Bloom rolled her eyes and finished off her hot chocolate before leaping off the railing. "Whatever. I got to order last time so tell me what you want if or when you're up for dinner."

Valtor nodded before turning back to the sky. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Don't brood too much! It's bad for your health!" She called as she closed the balcony doors. It was Valtor's turn to roll his eyes, although he paired it with an amused smirk.

For a moment, his rampaging mind had quieted. And with his mug and the night sky, the sound of the city and...perhaps, to an extent, Bloom's—

That smile faded as the stars did one by one from the evening sky and the sounds of the city shrunk to silence. The only thing left was Valtor and three pairs of glowing sharp eyes.

"Bantering with the Lost Heiress of Sparx, Valtor?" The one in the center simpered before her form manifested.

"How scandalous!" The next one said.

"For what reason?" The final question from the left. "She isn't dead so you must have some plan for her."

Valtor scoffed and glared upwards, avoiding all their gazes. He wasn't ready for their foolishness at the moment but it would seem that once again he wasn't being given a choice. "If you must know, yes, I do have plans for her."

"And what would that be?" Lyliss drawled. "Taking her to the movies?"

"Having heart to hearts on the balcony with cute wittle mugs of cocoa?" Tharma giggled.

"Training her, Valtor? Why, we're curious indeed!" Belladonna finished.

"Spying on me instead of doing something useful with yourselves? Typical."

"Bah!" Tharma barked, hands crackling with lightning. "If you actually cared enough to help us—!"

"Enough," Belladonna said simply, causing her sister to begrudgingly calm down with a harrumph. "Now, Valtor, dearest. We have something we want you to do."

"Next you're going to tell me that the sky is blue," Valtor scoffed sardonically.

"Watch. Your. Tongue!" Tharma snapped as the dark void surrounding them glowed bright with violet magic. Valtor hated himself for flinching instinctively as Belladonna shot her sister an agitated glare.

Tharma let her magic subside before spitting, "I rue the day you gave our child your obnoxious sarcasm, Lyliss."

"Oh yes, because you have such a pleasant personality, sister."

"You see! That! That! Why did you give him that!?"

"I said enough! For the love of The Phoenix we are not here to bicker!" Belladonna exclaimed before sighing heavily and turning back to Valtor. "Now, son. It would appear that you're in a bit of a…predicament."

Valtor clenched his jaw.

"But don't worry! Those irritable pixies have yet to reach Faragonda's domain. Lyliss could very well wipe their memories of the entire incident—"

"Not that you deserve it," Lyliss supplied helpfully.

"—and even plant new ones for your convenience! Of course you'd need to return the ring to make the ruse even semi-feasible—"

"And how, precisely, do you plan on doing that as you are?" Valtor scoffed.

The witches watched him silently, sharing grins. Valtor snarled a vicious, "No."

"Now, now, Valtor. With our power as it is we can't stay for too long—"

"No."

"Is your pride that bloated that you can't accept our help?" Tharma demanded.

"Help?" Valtor demanded. "By giving you more control over me? No. Never."

This time, it was Lyliss's hands were the ones to glow. "Unfortunately for you, your consent was simply a formality."

"We tried giving you a chance, Dearie," Belladonna cooed in false sadness. "But as they say, 'mother knows b—AHH!"

Light exploded through the darkness, and the images of the three witches dissipated in a trio of wails. Valtor let out a strangled cry of surprise and pain himself as he felt himself fall backwards. As he did, the darkness retreated from him in a flurry of whispers and hissing before the stars and the moon reappeared and the sounds of the city became audible once more.

"Yes! It worked!" Bloom exclaimed as she flew into view in her fairy form. Valtor blinked dazedly up at her for a moment before quickly rolling onto his side to upheave and cough a lung full of water. The motion caused bruises he certainly didn't have before to flare, and he hissed as he rolled onto his back once more, clutching at his stomach with one hand and rubbing his cheek with the other.

Bloom winced. "Oooh right. Yeah that—sorry. Here." She landed in front of him and dispelled her wings before crouching down to help him up.

Valtor nudged her away and got to his feet himself staring baffled at his soaping clothes and the water they released, soaking the concrete of the balcony. "Bloom?" He said slowly, staring at the growing pool and then at the awkwardly shuffling redhead. "Explain."

She'd been practicing when she felt it, that sense of wrongness in her chest. And sure, yeah, maybe it was her growing frustration at not being able to create more than one orb at once, and not being able to do that cool Sailor Mars move as a result, but she had a…feeling. So she'd opened up the balcony doors to check on Valtor and he was still where she'd left him, sitting on the railing with his hot chocolate.

Except he was a bit too…stiff. He looked less like a man sitting and thinking and more like a mannequin.

"Valtor?" She'd called to no answer. "Valtor?" She repeated, and as she stepped forwards gingerly in case he was doing some weird wizard napping, that the wrongness increased ten-fold and had her shivering. She hugged herself tightly as she got even closer before tapping him on the shoulder.

Nothing.

"Valtor?"

Nada.

She shook his shoulders lightly.

Zilch.

"Oh crap," she muttered, stepping back and biting her knuckles nervously. What the hell was happening here?

Inhaling and exhaling slowly, Bloom vaulted atop the railing and scooched towards the still frozen Valtor and leaned forward slightly to check his face. She then squeaked in horror at the sight of his eyes; blank and emotionless. Valtor's eyes had never ever lacked that…spark. Smugness, or viciousness, or anger, but never nothing.

"Oooh, crap!" she repeated, and then immediately did the first thing that came to mind, slapping him across the face. Hard. So hard in fact, that his head jerked to the side and he began to teeter off the railing.

Bloom let out a quick sharp shriek in panic before quickly lunging forward to catch him. She righted him again with a sigh of relief before quickly spinning around and leaping off the railing. Dashing back into the room, she snatched a tall glass and filled it to the rim with water. Then she ran back, gave Valtor a quick apology, and poured it all over his head.

The only difference was that instead of a creepy mannequin, he was now a creepy wet mannequin.

Bloom made a panicked noise through gritted teeth as she tugged at her hair, before dashing once more into the hotel room.

"Trances, trances, trances," she muttered under her breath as she snatched the top book on Valtor's mini stack of spell books by his bead. She flipped through the pages rapid fire before shaking her head with a growl and tossing it away.

Screw it. She was going to Drive, Intent, Power that stupid trance!

Bloom charged out onto the balcony yet again, this time, transforming before launching into the air. She let out a quick shriek as she jerked a bit in the air, before righting herself and inhaling slowly. "Wake…up!" she yelled, tossing what she hoped was a Break a Trance Spell and not an attack spell that would burn Valtor to a crisp.

Thankfully, it was the former. Valtor hit the balcony floor and blinked several times as consciousness returned, and Bloom was left with a heart swollen with pride.

"…so yeah, that's basically it," she told Valtor. "And hey! I learned a new spell in the process, so win, win, right?"

Valtor paused in his hair wringing to let out an apathetic hum. "I admire your quick thinking, But do avoid water next time." he waved his hand and let a geyser of flame erupt beneath him and dry away the last of the water. "It's a waste of magic, drying myself off."

Bloom's smile faded and she crossed her arms. "That's it?"

"Pardon?" Valtor asked nonchalantly.

Bloom snorted. "Seriously? No thank you? Or at least an explanation for the weird trance thing?"

Valtor looked away from her and straightened his vest for literally no reason. "It…that was a side affect of too much magic usage." He said. "Don't worry yourself about it."

"You going to explain why you were using so much magic?" Bloom pressed.

Valtor sighed heavily and turned on his heel towards the hotel room.

"Hey! Valtor, wait! Does it have something to with you rushing out earlier?"

"Please refer to my prior sentence," he said over his shoulder.

"But—hey!" Valtor slammed the doors closed with a flick, causing Bloom to bump into the glass. She tried tried the handle and found it locked, and when she made the mistake of tugging at it, it zapped her.

"Ow! Valtor!"

"Go fly around and find something else to be curious about," his muffled voice stated as he picked up one of his spell books and began leafing through it atop the bed.

Bloom stuck her tongue out, though he didn't glance her way, so it was kind of for nothing.

Jerk.

Valtor's gaze repeatedly flickered between the pages of his spell books and the evening news, and much to his frustration, despite said news not saying a word about escaped terrorists, his anxiety continued to mount.

Perhaps those fairy brats hadn't made it to Alfea yet. Or perhaps, far more disturbingly, they had, and Faragonda, now privy to his existence was keeping it under wraps so as not to startle the public.

Which meant she was probably looking for him right now.

And if that wasn't enough, he had to keep his no doubt now furious mothers away from him. Even when he'd been at full power, a mental barrier had done embarrassingly little to keep them at bay, so he wasn't about to waste power trying so now. No, what he needed to do was ensure he hadn't a moment of relaxation or respite, not even the most powerful of spirits could enter a mind too chaotic.

On that note, perhaps it was a mistake to quite rudely send Bloom on her way. If there was anyone who could fill his head up with irrelevant nonsense, it was her. Though even if he did do something as woefully pathetic as apologize and insist she return, she hadn't brought her cell phone, and he wasn't about go around searching for her.

So, for now at least, Valtor was on his own. Which was fine. He could better focus on practicing when—

The hotel door flung open and Bloom triumphantly exclaimed, "Ha!"

Valtor stared at her for a few moments before sighing heavily. Right. He hadn't blocked the door.

Curse him.

"Alright, Mister," Bloom continued, kicking the door shut and stalking forwards with narrowed eyes and crossed arms. "You're going to tell me what's wrong."

"Or?" Valtor questioned sardonically as I turned back to his book and flipped a page with more force than necessary.

Bloom sighed and sat on the bed next to him. "I don't have any threats," she admitted. "But…I do have a promise."

Valtor looked up from his book again and regarded her with a raised eyebrow of silent questioning.

"You'll feel better," she said.

Valtor scoffed and went turn back to his reading when Bloom said, "No, no, wait, I mean it!" and covered the pages with her hand. "You can't just keep things bottled up. If you do you—look, think of it this way; if you get if off your chest you'll be in the right mind to fight anymore Goggle Guys that come after us, yeah?"

Valtor stared at her hand and then to her earnest gaze and sighed heavily. He had been in want of a distraction, he supposed. And while a stressed mind kept his mothers away, it did no such thing to make finding out how to deal with this new Faragonda conundrum any easier.

"Alright," he put the book aside. "What would you like to know?"

Bloom's eyes widened briefly in surprise before she said, "Oh! Okay, well…firstly, the real reason you went all trance-y on me."

"Dark spirits," Valtor stated vaguely. "When you've acquired the sort of power I have you…tend to draw a lot of unwanted attention on to yourself."

"More weirdos trying to steal your power?"

"Quite." And it wasn't even a full lie—Valtor was abhorrently off today.

Bloom shuddered and hugged herself. "So…how do we keep them away?"

"You don't," was on the tip of Valtor's tongue, but he quickly changed course and said, "By occupying oneself." No need to scare her, after all.

Bloom nodded slowly. "Okay, okay," before a grin slowly spread across her face.

"And what does this face mean?" Valtor asked with hint of trepidation.

"Oh I dunno," Bloom shrugged innocently before pushing off the bed and moving towards her bed. She crouched by the bed head and ruffled through her suitcase. "Just a little…" She gasped loudly. "Wait a sec!"

Valtor frowned curiously as Bloom shot back up with a black, thick square in hand. "I bought my portal DVD player! Yes!" She punched the air triumphantly and said, "Take that technology gap!"

She excitedly jumped onto the bed and opened the player up, beaming brighter when she found the battery healthy. She then popped open the DVD hatch and let out another jubilant "Yes!" before closing it again. "I was going to read you one of my Harry Potter books—"

"I thought I made it clear to you already that I found it to be painfully inaccurate garbage written by the hand of a moronic human beaming."

"I know! Which is why this is so much better!"

Bloom scooted close to his side and placed the player atop the space between their legs. "Now, Round Two, The Road to understanding Bloom's Pop Culture References!"

She jabbed the play button and leaned back with a pleased smile. Valtor watched the credits roll by and the movie title spring into existence. "'Labyrinth?'"

"I watched it so much as a kid that the VHS we had fried," Bloom said.

Valtor rose his eyebrows. "In that case, this movie best be a masterpiece."

"Aw, you really think my opinion's that important?"

Valtor snorted but didn't bother mentioning that he was being sarcastic. It wouldn't do to harm her feelings after she'd decided to help him.

He couldn't quite pinpoint why the broadened smile at his silence was counted as bonus, however.

Faragonda's breath caught and she hid her gaped mouth with a quick, subtly shaky sip from her tea cup. "Again, Stella," she said tightly as she placed it back on the saucer and steepled her fingers. "Describe this man?"

But it was the same: Fire wizard, long hair, strawberry blonde. Gothic clothing, cleft chin, piercing ice blue eyes and high cheekbones. "Could've been handsome if he wasn't a fucking—"

"Language, Stella!" Grizelda barked from beside the Headmistress's desk, lips pursed in displeasure as she pushed her glasses up her nose.

Stella sighed, nothing to retort as she stared down at her own untouched cup of tea. "But anyways, that's it, Headmistress. That and he…seemed worried that I'd tell you."

Of course he would be. If it was who she feared, then he certainly wouldn't want Stella alerting her of his presence. Still, she needed to make sure she wasn't being paranoid. Until then, however…

"Thank you, Stella. Please return to your dorm, and keep this incident as discreet as possible."

"And don't even think about sneaking out again. The only reason you aren't getting detention is that I believe what happened to you this evening is punishment enough," Grizelda said firmly.

The princess nodded silently and placed her tea atop the desk before exiting the office and lightly shutting the doors behind her. Once she was gone, Grizelda uttered, "Do you think she'll keep quiet enough?"

"I do. It wouldn't bode well to have a panic spread throughout the Dimensions," Faragonda said. "The Solarian Heirloom going missing...dear what chaos that would casue."

"And what of…" Grizelda swallowed nervously. "Him?"

Faragonda narrowed her eyes and stood slowly from her seat, striding towards the large office windows and frowning deeply. "I will deal with him. If he isn't proudly broadcasting his schemes then he must be attempting to remain discreet. And if that's the case…"

"He's afraid to fight you at the moment; he's weakened," Grizelda said. "But knowing him that won't always be the case. We must pin him down before he's able to escape somewhere else and cause more havoc."

Faragonda nodded once before turning back to the woman. "But again…discretely."

Grizelda poured a cup of tea for herself and asked. "What do you propose we do?"

"I'm not sure," Faragonda admitted with a sigh and slumped shoulders.

"And I'm certain I don't need to explain why this cannot be for too long," Griselda warned over a sip of her drink.

"Agreed," Faragonda said warily. "Who knows what sort of madness Valtor could be up to right now?"

"What an odd declaration," Valtor mused as he dropped a single popcorn kernel into his mouth. "What kind of fool offers to be another's slave?"

"I think it was romantic," Bloom said, devouring a handful for herself.

Valtor snorted. "To offer up your freedom?"

"It was hyperbolic, y'know? He's giving himself to Sarah as in, letting her in, being vulnerable with her. That's what love is."

Valtor snorted again and Bloom rolled her eyes. "My Dad always had the same reaction."

Valtor shuddered. "Then I must quickly rectify my opinion."

It was Bloom's turn to snort as the final scene of the movie played—Sarah seeing all her goblin friends and running over to hug them instead of being forced to say goodbye. The familiar giddy feeling of a happy ending bloomed (ha!) in her heart and she sighed in content.

"So…she's gone insane," Valtor said dryly.

Bloom scowled half-heartedly and punched his shoulder. "Jerk. You had to ruin it, didn't you?"

Valtor chuckled lightly before he took four popcorn kernels and popped them one by one into his mouth. The credits began to roll and Bloom closed her DVD player. "So…" she said with a small nervous smile. "Did you…did you like it?"

Valtor chewed slowly and narrowed his eyes in thought before swallowing and answering, "It was another failed attempt by Earthlings to capture the wonder of the Magic Dimension, the effects were abysmal and Jereth remains a fool for asking to be a slave but…" he nodded slowly and gave Bloom a sideways half-smile. "I believe I did enjoy my time watching it, yes."

"Woo!" Bloom cheered as she punched the air triumphantly. "I've finally found an Earth thing that you like!"

"Try not to get used to it," Valtor warned as he slid off the bed and stretched. "I fear the things I end up liking about that useless rock will be counted on one hand."

"You're going to eat your jacket when I prove you wrong, buster," Bloom said as she took the near empty popcorn bowl and the DVD player off the bed. She put the player atop her suitcase and took the bowl to the kitchen counter where she took another handful of popcorn. "You know, since you liked Labyrinth I think you'll really enjoy…" Her voice trailed off as she watched Valtor staring out the window, arms crossed and posture tensed. It was as if the previous hour and a half of popcorn and snarky commentary hasn't existed.

"You're brooding again," Bloom said.

There was a pause before he answered, "It isn't your fault. The fact of the matter is I can't occupy my mind forever. I need rest, especially after tonight."

"I guess 'after tonight' is in None-of-Your-Business territory?"

"You guess correctly."

Bloom sighed and leaned against the counter with a frown. What could she do to—oh!

"Y'know, when I was trying and failing to do that Sailor Mars spell I was able to figure out something!" Bloom said as she strode over towards her brooding mentor. He turned to look over at her curiously as she triumphantly held up a glowing orb and tossed it into the air, causing it to hover in place. "See? I can only make two at a time right now but—"

"A nightlight will not keep spirits away," Valtor said bitingly before glaring outside the window once more.

Bloom flinched at the venom in his voice before insisting, "But it isn't just a nightlight. It's that Wake Up spell I DIPed—"

"What?"

"Remember my acronym for your spell casting advice? Drive, intent, power? But anyway, I conjured up that today and it got rid of them so…" She shrugged. "I don't know maybe…maybe this is a bit lame but I figured it couldn't hurt to…you know, give you a magic dream catcher?"

Valtor's scowl softened slightly as he glanced up at the floating orb, then at her. He let out an amused breath and said, "You're getting better."

Bloom grinned. "Well, I have a good teacher." She then lead him towards the bed by his shoulder. "Now come on, get to bed. I won't let the spirits bite, scout's honor!"

Valtor snorted and sat at his bed, the orb following by the command of Bloom's hand and will. "You'll be heading to bed now too, I suppose?"

"After my nightly parent check in," Bloom agreed as he began to slip his boots off. Frowning in thought as he lay back against the pillows with a sigh, she said, "Hey, you don't have pyjamas, do you?"

"No need," Valtor said without opening his eyes.

"You don't prefer something…comfy?"

"This is comfy."

Making a mental note to get him pyjamas eventually, Bloom shrugged and said, "Good night."

She went to her bed and began to dial her home number when Valtor said, "Bloom."

Bloom looked up from her phone with a curious hum. Valtor had opened his eyes again and he was staring at her, for so long in fact that Bloom figured he'd changed his mind about saying something to her. When he turned his head to the ceiling and closed his eyes again though, he finally stated, "Thank you."

Bloom smiled. "Any time."

AN: I hope you enjoyed! Throughout the rest of the week I'm going to be revising the older chapters. Nothing major, just minor tweaks and spelling + grammar checks! That's all for now!

Fantasy Fan OUT!