Three hours before they were supposed to be at the main square in Littus, Bloom received a text on her burner phone with an email address and password. She had just gotten back from another shopping trip, and while these clothes were still a far cry from her normal wardrobe, she wouldn't be tugging her shorts down all night. Baltor had retreated to his own room by then, but Bloom still waited for the sound of running water to grab her datapad and log into the account.

It was empty aside from a single message in the drafts folder with several attached, unnamed files. They were reports, much like the ones the Council had first given her in Magix, on various stars. This grouping was around Solaria, including the Second and Third Suns.

Bloom stared at it in shock, then closed and opened the documents again in hopes the numbers were some datapad malfunction. They weren't.

"What has you in a twist?" Baltor asked in an offhand tone, glancing Bloom's way as he headed for the kitchen. His hair was wet and he wore no shirt, likely to try and startle her.

She was already too startled to care. "Readouts on stars from Solaria's system. The Council sent it."

While Baltor rummaged around for the alcohol of the day, Bloom brought the documents up on a holographic readout in the center of the living room. He wandered in a minute later, and she watched him scan over the data, looking momentarily bored before his eyes went wide with understanding. He set his glass down on the coffee table, then began rearranging the information, grouping certain readouts together on one side. "How recent is this?"

"This morning."

He reexamined his own list, muttering under his breath for several minutes before he seemed to give up. He gave a long sigh, finally stepping back. "If these numbers are correct, Solaria's Second Sun will fail in -"

"Sixty hours. But there's been a steady decrease in its output since Monday, so probably less than that." Bloom leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes. "I don't suppose you told your higher-ups how to do this?"

"They're certainly responsible, but I've never seen anything like this before. Nor do I know how to do it. When I acquired the Second Sun, I merely used its power to bolster my own. This isn't redirecting energy. It's more…snuffing it out."

"Which could hurt the royal family, if not kill them outright. Radius and Luna and…" Bloom trailed off, too nervous to say the last name out loud. She opened her eyes to look at Baltor. "What happens now?"

It was a stupid thing to ask, and she realized it as soon as the words left her mouth. But instead of mocking her, Baltor waved his hand. The readouts disappeared, allowing Bloom to see him on the other side of the coffee table. He picked up his drink, swirling the dark liquid in the lowball glass. "Now… we are going to get dressed, go down to the main square, and meet with whoever it is we're supposed to. There is time to fix this."

God, she was tired of hearing that. Once upon a time people in the Magic Dimension had to sacrifice when evil came to call. It meant working with political opponents, using hoarded resources, and putting the good of the universe ahead of a single planet. Now it was the Winx's job to fix things. They were the ones who needed to be resourceful, who needed to outsmart the bad guys and save the day. And everyone - from Faragonda to the toddlers who would wave at her in the streets of Magix - expected Bloom to lead them in the right direction. It didn't matter if she was tired or if the rulers of a planet had called her incompetent, she was expected to save the day with a smile on her face, expecting nothing in return.

There were safeguards for the Suns of Solaria, Bloom knew that. Other planets with similar magic could help sustain the royal family's powers for at least a few weeks, at no cost to their own world. The Council could force it, if they needed to. But they wouldn't anymore. It would be her problem to fix. Just like it always was.

"I know," was all she said.

He raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of his drink. "Don't let this get in your head. As far as these people know, nothing is even in your head right now."

"Except thoughts of pleasing you?" Bloom gave him a dry smile. "Don't worry, I'll be good."

Baltor didn't look like he believed her for a second, but didn't say anything aloud. Instead he came around the table and held out his drink in a silent offering. Bloom didn't think nearly as long as she should have before taking it, shuddering when the flavor hit her tongue. "Is this…apple infused?"

The disgusted tone earned her a laugh, and a smirk that was a touch playful. "Serves you right for limiting purchases to clothing today. Supplies are running low."

"Shocking, considering how little you drink." Bloom handed the glass back and stood, shutting the data pad off. "Now go put a shirt on. It'd be nice to get food before this starts."

"I think Ayin had a bar menu." Baltor winked, jumping back before Bloom's fist could make contact with his shoulder.

"Shirt! Now!"

Baltor disappeared down the hall, and it wasn't until the bedroom door shut that Bloom realized he had been laughing.

There was, luckily, time to stop at a street vendor as they made their way to the meetup point. Unlike the club, this city square was more to the east, past the kitschy shops and tourist traps. It seemed more residential, with a community job board and a grocery store taking up the whole bottom floor of a building. There were still people - and a good number of them had to be tourists - but the atmosphere was much more relaxed.

It did little to ease Bloom's apprehension. "They should be here," she muttered under her breath, drumming her fingers against the edge of the fountain where they were sitting. She scanned the crowd for anyone standing alone in a corner or under an awning, to no avail.

Next to her, Baltor seemed unaffected. He lifted his arm to check the time on a vintage wristwatch he had haggled with a vendor for earlier that day. He had managed to bring the price down by sixty credits, which wasn't nearly enough to justify the purchase in Bloom's opinion, but then again she hadn't been consulted. She had a feeling he'd go to Omega with it now, to spite her if nothing else. "It's five to seven. Still plenty of time."

"You think they'd be early."

"They're probably checking for heavy spells to make sure we haven't brought backup." He slipped his hand into hers and squeezed to stop her fidgeting, never once turning to meet her gaze. "You're drawing attention to yourself."

She rolled her eyes, pulling away but shoving her hand into the pocket of her skirt. "Fine."

"This is exactly the same as Ayin. You need to pull yourself together, or they will suspect something."

Bloom sighed, too annoyed to admit he was right but unwilling to crawl into his lap again. Instead she looked around at the more obvious couples in the square who (presumably) weren't pretending to be in any kind of relationship. Bloom ignored the pair in line at a coffee cart in the midst of a steamy makeout session - much to the chagrin of the woman behind them in line - and instead found herself focusing on a couple walking arm-in-arm into the grocery store. It gave her an idea, and before she could second guess it she scooted close enough to lean her head on Baltor's shoulder.

He tensed under her, then relaxed enough to lean his head against the top of hers in turn. "Better," Baltor finally said, with enough surprise in his voice that Bloom smirked.

They spent several minutes in silence, watching people walk through the area laughing, talking, and even arguing with one another. A little girl who couldn't have been older than seven came up to the fountain's edge beside them to toss a coin in, running back to her parents giggling as soon as it hit the water. Bloom felt Baltor's arm sneak around her back, his hand coming to rest on her waist. It didn't bother her nearly as much as it would have a few days ago.

It didn't really bother her, period.

"Can I ask you something?" Bloom said, partially to keep her mind from going further with that realization. She waited until she felt his head nod in a yes to continue. "You keep saying how high the stakes are - and you're not wrong about that. I know this is a serious situation, and there's not a lot of room for error. But if that's the case - if these people can kill us so easily…why doesn't that scare you?"

"Who said it doesn't?"

"Oh please," she watched the couple from earlier come out of the store with a brown paper bag. They were laughing, and a second later the taller man leaned down to peck his partner on the cheek. "You're more scared of going back to Omega than these guys killing you. Why is that?"

There was a pause in which the bells of Littus's central clocktower began chiming the top of the hour. At the end of the last one Bloom felt the breath of a sigh brush her cheek.

"You're mistaken. It isn't that I prefer dying at the hands of my…master." Baltor said the word with a touch of annoyance Bloom had come to know too well in the last few days. "I prefer not dying at all - saves a lot of messy work."

"I can imagine."

"Hmm. But I can't deny a particular…relief at the thought. I was resurrected by their magic, therefore dying at their hands would sever the connection. If, when this little charade runs its course, you've merely stopped their plans without killing anyone, I will still be attached. Meaning in however many years when they regain enough power…"

"They can break you out of Omega and use you for their plans." Bloom finished. The thought of Baltor being freed decades - possibly centuries - from that moment only to be forced into the same servitude - disturbed her in spite of their history. "Again."

"And again." His fingers gripped the flesh of her hip, but based on his tone of voice Bloom didn't think it was a conscious action. "Though I don't know. There may be a way to sever the connection without anyone dying - and you would be the person to figure that out. But I know one way out for certain, and I would rather risk finding a new body than spending Arcadia-knows how long in an ice prison with other beings in my head."

That took her by surprise. "A new body. So these people can kill you, but they can't destroy your…essence thing?"

"They can't destroy either of our essence things. Dragon Fire doesn't work that way."

You and I are the same, Bloom.

Her blood ran cold and she sat up suddenly, forcing Baltor to move his head away. "Wait, wait. If that's true, then…is the same thing going to happen to me if - when - I die?"

"What? Of course not -"

As quickly as he'd started dismissing her, Baltor stopped, his mouth snapping shut and his posture straightening. Bloom was about to ask what the problem was before she remembered what they were waiting for. And, more importantly, she felt someone's gaze on her. She turned and followed Baltor's line of sight to see a woman in jeans and a halter crop top coming across the square, heading right for them.

Even from fifty feet away, Bloom could feel the glamour expertly weaved around their newest contact. She appeared thin and blonde, more reminiscent of a model than anything else, yet perfectly in-sync with the people of Vallisto. But despite her beauty, there was something in her gaze Bloom found unsettling that tickled the back of her mind.

She had a feeling it wasn't just her. Baltor's hand didn't leave her side.

The woman stopped a few feet away, arms crossed over her chest as she regarded them with her pale green eyes. Her face was unreadable. "I heard you hurt Leon's feelings the night before last," she finally said in lieu of a greeting.

Baltor blinked at her, unfazed. "He had it coming."

"Probably. He is an asshole. But a nice lapdog to keep around."

"If you say so."

"I do." The woman's gaze slid from Baltor to Bloom, her neutral expression changing to a toothy grin that made Bloom uncomfortable. "He's a great case for just dating women, am I right? Who needs men like that around?"

Baltor's fingers dug into Bloom's skin again. "Oh, don't you worry about her. Any negative impressions were…disregarded."

"Yes, they would be, wouldn't they? Leon mentioned you had a…what was his wording again - a walking sex dolI?"

Bloom bit her tongue to keep from swearing and forced herself to lean her head back on Baltor's shoulder. She kept her eyes in the woman's general direction, and her face as blank as she could manage.

"He does have such a way with words," Baltor replied in a bored tone. "What else did he tell you?"

"That you're some important piece of the plan, and I need to keep you safe. Babysitting shit. Anything beyond that would have ruined the surprise." The woman made air quotes at that, looking annoyed. "But I don't really care, so we can skip the french braids and sleepover questions. Long story short - vacation's over. It's time to say goodbye to the sunshine and the slut and come with me. Anything we need to get on the way out?"

"Some traceable datapads and change of clothes from where I'm staying. That can be collected in half an hour at most. But the girl stays with me."

The woman narrowed her eyes at them, and Bloom was taken aback at how familiar it felt. Every bad guy since Icy had given her an equivalent look. "The sex can't be that great."

"It's not about the sex. She's collateral."

It was the woman's turn to appear unfazed. "Is she? Well how about you drop the disguise spell, and we can talk about it?"

Baltor chuckled. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours?"

"That's not how this works. And you're testing my patience."

Bloom's eyes slid to Baltor, who appeared to be contemplating the idea. It looked natural enough, but she was getting better at reading his facial expressions. She could now pick up on the annoyance in the way his jaw tightened and his eyebrow twitched. "...Well. I certainly didn't mean to offend you. My sincerest apologies."

Bloom was concerned how natural this felt already, turning disguise spells on and off to be as dramatic as possible. It was something she was going to have to work through, when everything was over. Nevertheless, she undid the spell so their contact could see Baltor's true face.

The woman in front of them went absolutely still. The only thing that moved were her eyes as she scanned Baltor several times over, making sure there wasn't some trick at play. It was a reaction Bloom had expected, up until she rolled her shoulders back and lifted her hands.

"Of fucking course it's you. Well, that makes things easier."

Bloom didn't have time to register the sensation of a spell charging before the woman launched the biggest energy bolt Bloom had seen a single person create. And aimed it right at Baltor's chest.

The force of the beam knocked her backwards into the fountain and practically disintegrated the left side of her top. Bloom was glad to have anything on her torso when she resurfaced, choking on the chlorinated water as she tried to fight off disorientation. A moment later there was a loud thud of something crashing into a building and screams. She winced involuntarily and wondered how many bones Baltor had just broken.

Whipping her head back, Bloom focused her gaze enough to see the other woman cracking her neck and practically oozing with glee. It was an unhinged sort of look that Bloom knew was familiar, but didn't have time to question from where. Instead she threw up a circle of fire around her, and scrambled out of the fountain and across the plaza.

People were running and screaming, and in any other situation Bloom would be looking to them first. Instead she ignored them completely, running towards the person-shaped crater in the side of the furthest building.

Miraculously, Baltor was conscious, but disoriented enough that he was running his hand along his (very obviously broken) right arm, trying to execute a healing spell he had no energy for. His shirt below the breastbone was completely missing, the skin underneath already starting to bruise. His eyes were wide with fear but unfocused, darting from one side to the other.

"You're okay," Bloom slid in next to him and pulled his good arm away, executing a spell to heal his arm. "Everything's going to be okay. Do you know where you are right now?"

"I…light - lit…L-Littus."

"Good. Do you know who I am?"

She created a small fire between her thumb and index finger, waving it in front of his eyes. It took a second for Baltor to notice, but when he did the light seemed to break him out of his haze. His head snapped in her direction, then froze as he groaned in pain. "Yes."

"Good. It'll take a few minutes for your arm to stitch itself back together. Anything else broken?"

"I don't think - shield!" Baltor cut himself off, and on the last syllable Bloom heard the crack of another spell firing off. There was barely enough time to get one up before a second blast reverberated off it, sending it into the grocery store and exploding the lights inside.

Baltor groaned as Bloom was shoved into his side from the force. "Who?" he hissed between clenched teeth.

"I don't know. Their glamour's still on."

"It doesn't matter. We need to go."

"We need to get further away, or they'll ride the magic trail back."

"Then do something," Baltor snapped as another round of spells hit the shield. "You're the one with magic, not me."

She'd forgotten that in the chaos.

"Get to cover." Bloom shoved herself away from Baltor and the wall, keeping the shield running. "I'll come find you when she's…incapacitated."

"You could kill her for all I care."

Bloom spared him a glance before heading through the smoke and rubble towards the fountain, throwing some spells of her own out as a distraction.

The person (because Bloom had no idea who she was dealing with at this point) was throwing discs of almost crystalline energy towards where she and Baltor had been pinned down. Through a clearing in the air, Bloom saw them going straight through the stone of the building, and possibly out the other side. The energy it took to execute such spells in quick succession was astronomical.

This is not normal. This is very not normal.

"Come out!" The woman was yelling, turning as she caught sight of the shield. "I've been waiting sixteen years for this, you son of a bitch!"

"Hey!" Bloom lowered the intensity enough that she could be seen through the shield. "You need to stop."

The woman hopped down from the fountain's edge, landing perfectly in stiletto heels. Two blue spheres of energy gathered in her palms. "Where's Baltor?"

"Busy. You can talk to me instead."

"Stay out of this, pixie!" The woman spat with such malice that Bloom actually stopped. And then she understood. The itch at the back of her mind, her unease towards the woman wasn't new - it wasn't due to a lack of familiarity, but an abundance of it. And it was warning her.

Because Bloom only knew three people who used pixie as a regular insult, and two of them were accounted for.

"Icy?"

It had to be, if for no other reason than the shock that went across her face. "How do you -" she started, and now that Bloom was paying attention she could hear the familiar inflection of the witch's voice, even if the pitch was different.

Bloom took the opportunity to launch a counter spell. The magic in Icy's hands morphed into a set of chains, snaking around her and diving into the ground.

"I'm not going to tell you again," Bloom gathered energy in her own hand, hoping it would act as a deterrent but knowing it wouldn't. "Leave."

Any hesitancy Bloom had about naming her assailant disappeared when she laughed. No spell, no matter how powerful, could hide Icy's laugh. "Oh yeah? You're going to stop me? I mean, who even are you?"

Icy raised an eyebrow, and Bloom tasted metal on her tongue a second before she felt her disguise spell melt away in time as Icy's own hair and skin went pale.

Bloom knew she should be scared - of facing Icy alone, of her identity being revealed, of everything - but she held her head high. "I'm the girl who's been kicking your butt for the last eight years. And I'm not afraid to do it again."

To her credit, Icy managed to close her jaw before something flew inside. And then she smirked. "Oh this is rich. They didn't tell me you were the sex doll."

Icy broke the fire chains, stepping away before they could be reactivated. Bloom gulped, but didn't back down. "You didn't have these powers before," she said, ignoring Icy's remark. "Where did they come from? How are you involved in this?"

"I'm not going to tell you again, Bloom. Where. Is he?"

She readied her own spells. "He's going to be dealt with."

The smirk widened. "Wrong answer."

Bloom couldn't count the number of times she fought Icy if she tried. But she could count the number of times she fought Icy one on one - they could fit on a single hand, and the last one had been years ago. They were more evenly matched alone than six (sometimes with six more Specialists) versus three (sometimes with hundreds more minions), but Icy's newly acquired powers put her in a league far above Bloom's. She worried until she realized her own spells were keeping up, and in some cases knocking Icy off her feet.

It didn't take long to figure out why. Taking a defensive position by the fountain, Bloom caught her reflection in the water. The red stone necklace was gleaming, the energy inside very obviously in use.

The sight surprised Bloom so much that she almost missed the barrage of icicles Icy sent her way. Instinctively she drew the water out of the fountain and boiled it, hurling it in a wall that turned to steam the second the ice made contact. Bloom readied a shield in one hand and a sleep-infused fireball in the other, hoping the blows had weakened her enough for the spell to take.

The mist dissipated, and Bloom was alone in the square.

She turned quickly, her eyes darting in dozens of different directions, but Icy was nowhere to be seen. Bloom momentarily wondered if she had retreated, until she heard another boom of a wall collapsing. And a male voice screaming.

Bloom ran towards one of the smaller side streets (because no flying, no transformations that would guarantee her being recognized), magic at the ready, unsure of what she would find.

"...would say it's not personal, but I think we both know this is a little personal."

When she turned the corner, Icy was standing over Baltor - half buried under the remains of a fallen pillar - focusing her energy into something hovering above him. It took a moment for Bloom to recognize it, nearly gasping when she did because it had been years since she'd seen one of the Whisperian Crystals. It vibrated in the air, giving off a high-pitched noise as it shot a beam of some kind at Baltor, encasing him. He screamed, and the Crystal shook for several more seconds before the beam disappeared. The Crystal stopped shaking, and a moment later fell unceremoniously to the ground.

"What?" Icy picked it up, glaring in disbelief. The Crystal evaporated from her hand, which she then used to grab Baltor's shirt and pull him up to her eye level. "Where is it?"

"W-Where's what?" Baltor coughed in response. Bloom saw small red splatters hit the witch's neck.

"Your Dragon Fire. You can be weaker for all I care, but it can't be gone."

"Just under new management."

Icy's head snapped towards Bloom's voice, seemingly itching to start round two of their fight. She wasn't fast enough. The fireball didn't need more energy, but Bloom added it anyway, drawing on the stone before she could think better of it. It was Icy's turn to smash into the side of a building, fire and bricks and magic exploding around her. Bloom had her shield up to be safe, but dropped it when Icy's limp body hit the ground.

The adrenaline of battle was wearing off, and Bloom suddenly felt her heart pounding against her chest. "Oh my god," she murmured, looking down at the wisps of smoke dissipating from her fingertips. "I can't believe I did that."

"Bloom."

She couldn't focus on that. Instead she scrambled over various debris and belongings, grabbing Baltor's shaky form as he attempted to stand. Bloom didn't know if it was the Whisperian Crystals or being crushed under a building, but something had torn a decent hole in his side, visible even as he pressed a hand against it. Blood was everywhere.

Bloom spared Icy a glance to make sure she was out before firing off a teleportation spell.

They vanished.

I would apologize for the eight month unplanned hiatus, because I really am sorry about it, but if you're still reading my stuff on here after all these years, you probably expect it.