Kidnapped


"So, that is basically what happened…" Blade finally came to the end of her hours of recapping and answering questions from the boys. She leaned back against the stump of a tree she had climbed in the greeneries of the Red Fountain school, Team E, Team A and Memphis had joined the class of fairies. It had taken days until they had finally gotten permission to leave Alfea together with Blade and Nebula to meet up with their friends.

"Shit…that's…." Lion started, never had he imagined that the problems would escalate that much after the envoy he had guarded left for the festival preparations.

"…A lot," Seth had been walking up and down between the trees, grounding his teeth. He had simply listened so far not asking any questions.

"So, that's why your story had no head or tail to it when I found you." Memphis smirked at Nebula. "You know you were freaking lucky I took that prototype from your Uncle, Blade."

Blade chuckled, "You have no idea how close any of those calls were, we had to make." She kept an eye on Seth as did most of the guys. He still wasn't saying much besides working up some temper brewing below his calm front.

Mercury rubbed his nose bridge it was so much to take in, "So, there are more traitors out there in possibly every country armed with black magic crystals. The witches are innocent but hated by everyone. Seth might have a shot to be the next King of Desertia…and you told the king and queens yesterday about all of this and they agreed that their daughters stay officially dead until they are sure it's safer? And you are more of a witch than a Fairy right now…" He gazed at Blade. She seemed fine, she was fine and still herself.

"Damn, you are like a chaos magnet," Kai shook his head so fast his green hair spikes were flicking around.

Julius gave him a head slap, "Will you stop… you're so rude..." He was concerned as any of the boys. The girls had stumbled into a real wasp nest.

"So, what do you want to do?" Amber looked at Seth who had come to a hold.

Blade jumped from the tree and took off the necklace the diadem ring was tied to. "I am sorry, I failed you. I couldn't rea-" Tears stood in her eyes as she tried to hold it together.

Seth hugged her shortly, "Not your fault, alright." He held her tight at her shoulders. "I barely knew Jewels…really… but she never would want any of you to feel ashamed or weak." He stared at the dangling ring. Unsure if he should take it.

"It's yours," Nebula restated as she stepped closer, "All of us are sure Jewels would want you to have it. Besides, it's an artefact bound to your bloodline." Even the boys agreed. Team A came closer as most of Team E was still standing guard on the lookout for anyone unwelcomed.

"Whatever you decide, we will back you up," Dahlia reassured him. "You are not alone."

"I know that," Seth looked to his squad.

Lion smiled, "What are you waiting for. At least take it. You can always throw it away later."

Max inspected the ring without touching it, "We could break it down and insert the crystal somewhere else. That crystal is Red Jade right?"

Tyson and Keith, who were brothers themselves, looked at it, "Yeah, you're right."

"That makes sense. Red Jade is used to enhance objects after all. You inscribe a spell or runes of purpose into them and end up with pretty strong magical items if done right. Only very skilled smiths can use it and it's super expensive." Memphis elaborated. Everyone was staring at him. "What? Just because I lead the chaos squad doesn't mean I don't know stuff. I get around you know."

Seth took the ring, "I'll take it for now. But – but… I have to disappoint you girls. I have no intention of leading a kingdom. Not that anyone would welcome me with open arms. I might be of Jewels's bloodline but she wasn't a royal after all. I am not ready to throw my life away for a kingdom that has robbed me of anything of importance."

"Seth…" Damon sighed. Team A knew of Seth's prior views of Desertia. It had improved once he got to know Jewels but with her death, he really had closed that book for good.

"You won't go and face those traitors?!" Sienna couldn't quite believe what she heard.

Alex jumped into his friend's defence, "You got to understand. They told him his sister died when she was an infant. He worked hard to get to into Red Fountain on his own… Noble houses train their youngster from early on it's really hard to secure a spot as a no-name and…"

"To say it short, I never intended to join the Desertian army. There are many ways to help people. I don't need a crown sigil for that. Many orders surpass the borders of kingdoms. And help is needed everywhere. It's not that I hate my home planet particularly. But besides some old friends and kids on the streets, I do not have any ties left. My plan always was - is to make my contribution for a safer universe away from any political agenda, you know to help where help is needed. I never saw myself as a leader much less a king. That's just not in my veins, there is nothing to gain for me there." He took the ring and stored it in his pocket. And took a deep bow, "Don't get me wrong, I am grateful to you all. I thought my sister was dead for years. It is comforting to know she had found a loving family and that she had grown up to be such a won-" Even if Seth played it small or wouldn't accept it. He had taken a big loss and it showed. "…A Wonderful person.

Still, we have been living in separate worlds even if we were on the same planet. Jewels's visions for the future of the planet were inspiring, intriguing even. She never looked down on me or saw my goals as inferior, though. She encouraged me to follow them. Maybe she never told me herself that she was my sister because she knew how dangerous it was. Maybe she was too shy, or she simply understood what made me happy. There are already farmers rising up from the populous in Desertia fighting for a better tomorrow. They love Desertia, if anyone they deserve the chance to lead, it's them. For me, Desertia is a place of loss and hardship of the past. I want to focus on my future. And I don't know how to explain this, but I know Jewels wanted me to be happy and follow my dreams. Leading Desertia to a better future was her dream, it isn't mine. I hope you can understand and forgive me. I simply have no intentions of returning there – nothing is left for me, there."

Everyone stayed silent. No matter what they thought or would choose themselves they wanted to respect his decision. He wasn't wrong, not that there was a definitive right answer. Lion looked in the round it was getting late, "I hate to break this up but we have to prepare for nightshift duties. I also think all of Team A needs a bit of time of their own. You keep us updated?" Lion looked to Julius.

"Right, we need to get you girls back as well, plus we wanted to check that one thing out there no one can see…" Julius gazed at Blade as he tightened his ponytail.

"I'll get an Owl," Memphis stretched his arms. This had been quite the revelation. He had foxed himself into this meeting. Nebula's answers on the islands had made him wonder. So, he had taken up the investigation on behalf of the Red Fountain school. The Selkie had told him that only two fairies had passed her gate that day on a mission to save a baby. So, eager to learn what was up he had lied to the council and the professors. And instead, he had spammed Blade with questions till she had given in. The chances of him being a traitor were slim after all he easily could have let Blade die. Basil also had taken quite the liking to him and his unorthodox ways and his sense of business. Plus, he knew how to keep a secret.

"I'll come with you I only ever saw the stables really last time I was here," Nebula followed him.

They all crammed into one tiny Owl. It really was a tight fit. Memphis had taken the controls as the others prepared their little exercise.

"Alright, so Nebula you take the bracelet of Blade. Remember you need to stay calm and don't butch the metamorphosis spell. The watch works in stages and if we set off the chain, they will pick up on our shenanigans," Dahlia reminded them all.

"I know, don't worry so much. We have been training this," Nebula was pressing her hand against Blade's to copy her better. They had been at it since they had entered the Owl and now a good fifteen minutes later she was transforming into the best copy of Blade she was able to establish.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Dean stood cramped in the Owl, he was simply so big and with that many people he really had to hunch.

"Sure, they can make it work," Mercury smiled at Blade who was still concentrating on staying calm herself.

"Well, then, time to shine girls," Kai grinned, he couldn't wait to see them all transform. He along with some of the boys had chained himself with safety belts to the Owl and opened the ramp to climb on top.

"Will you focus in the presence of girls just once in your lifetime," Julius rolled his eyes as he offered one girl after the other a hand so they could jump out and transform. It was a starry night sky the air was still warm and they were somewhere between the two schools far out from both so they shouldn't be disturbed.

"Okay, ready?" Blade was ready to make a quick swap of the bracelet over to Nebula. "Go." She unlocked the links and placed the bracelet straight around Nebula's arm, who had transformed into an exact copy no one was able to tell apart purely by the eye.

Keith, who had spent a semester in Oskuria College, a wizard school, kept staring at them intensely trying to pick up on any hick-ups in the transformation. "Looks good. What does the bracelet say?"

"A, Okay," Nebula smiled, "We're getting the hang of this."

"Just remember not to use your magic, the spell might fake a base human form but you have different magical sources," Sienna got ready to transform. "Oh, and Blade better get out of range before you transform. We don't want the bracelets sensors to pick up the dark magic." She took Julius's hand and jumped as she transformed, joining the other girls outside.

"Well then, time for me to go. Memphis can you fly up high. I need some distance from the bracelet so it won't pick my dark magic up for sure," Blade waited as he spiralled the Owl upwards and then with a small sprint she jumped off the loading ramp. The air was passing her. She could feel the air getting cooler the longer she fell. 'Let's do this.' Blade grinned it had been some days since she had transformed and soared through the sky.

She noticed that her classmates got concerned.

"Blade?!" Snow asked worried as she dived past them. "Don't tell me it's not working!" Scared she looked to the others.

Blade infused magic into her body, the dark magic overruled her light Fairy magic like always and she went straight into her Zombix form. "All good," Blade smiled and gave a thumbs up. Yet all stared awkwardly at her. The girls had seen the form through Shanna's mind link. Yet to see or rather feel Blade emitting dark magic was strange.

The boys had closed the loading ramp and had lowered their altitude. Still, they waited further away. Mercury, Kai, and Julius were up top on the Owl secured with their lines. Mercury blinked in disbelief. "By the Great Dragon, I hoped they were joking... Look at her she looks like a ghost!"

The sickening green glow and dark clothes plus her silver-white dreadlocks gave her a rather ominous look. "What did our little sister get into..." Julius shook his head in scepticism. His first reflex to the transformation was to go for his sword. Only because of her happy smile and chipper self, he had halted his movement.

"I don't know, I kinda dig it. She looks a bit witchy granted, but crazy girls are hot as well," Kai joked around.

Mercury gave him a glare, "Crazy girls also might go insane and kill you..." He didn't trust that new form. Fairies were aligned with the light magic side after all not the dark.

"Hey..." Kai complained. "That was uncalled for. Blade is a killer lady, and you know it," He stopped as his mimic turned a bit dire, "...she did help kill people after all...I should scratch that joke...ah, damn it. I liked that one." Now, he was sulking.

Blade flew around her classmates. They all found that form weird, to say the least. But they had to hurry if they wanted to finish testing in secret before the Professors might get suspicious or Nebula would screw up her stand-in.

"Let's get this over with," Dahlia scanned their surroundings for onlookers. "I really wish we had Tessa here… her location spell is supreme." The girls lined up.

"Alright, let's see what that form is capable of. As planned we start with a race. So, hm, we'll race from here to, hmmm, Daylight! Over there!" Amber created a glowing sphere and hurled it as far as she could.

"Looks more like a sprint, that way we'll never win against Blade," Sienna bit her lip, "Well, at least if she's in Winx and uses body enhancing magic... ha, didn't you say your stamina sucks in that form? I'll get you this time." Sienna smirked.

"It sucks yes, I still won't let you win," Blade laughed and grinned herself. The other girls freaked a little bit.

"Right… please stop, that, that looks like you will become an evil overlord," Rise shivered shortly. "That form looks like you dug yourself out of a grave…"

"So true, now, get ready," Amber laughed and started their countdown, "Three, two, one, GO!" She darted to the front. Closely followed by Dahlia.

"My grandmother flies faster than that!" Sienna spiralled around them and shot past. "Ahahaha! Eat my Fairy dust!"

Blade infused more magic into her wings and quickly caught up, "For that, you at least have to earn Charmix first!" Blade stuck her tongue out. They were head to head glaring at each other.

"Why are they taking this so seriously…it's just a simple sprint," Rise shook her head, she wasn't the fastest flyer at all, but she was able to cross long distances without any problems. "You alright?" She looked to the back.

Snow was giving it her all, "I will not lose to you, Rise! Not today! AHHHHHH!" She was really trying hard and she was slowly creeping up on Rise.

"By the… fine you want a race I'll give you one!" She sped up as well.

Sienna wasn't giving in, "I'm not gonna lose against you!" They were just mere meters from the Daylight sphere. "See ya!" She infused magic herself into her wings

"No way!?" Blade was surprised that she dashed past her all of the sudden. 'I'm not letting you- what the!?' Blade wasn't sure at first but she could feel it clearly in the trees below, there was black magic rising. She heard the Owl engines ramp up to their side. Quickly she gazed below and glimpsed a few red glowy dots rushing through the forest. "Sienna, STOP!" She shouted as a massive black cloud shot upwards.

"What the fuck are those?!" Sienna just in time looped backwards just to see the light orb vanish behind the humming cloud. They were brimming with black magic, tiny red crystal veins glooming in the beat of the hums. "Black magic creatures here? Why?! Blade?" She looked over her shoulder just to gaze at a wild and teeth-fletching Blade. "Are you insa-"

Blade reached her just in time as she took her hand and flung Sienna backwards, one of those creatures inflated and shot off a barrage of needles in every direction.

From far of Keith shouted through the night, "Barrier of light!"

A ball of light surrounded the two girls and hundreds of needles clash against it and broke to pieces before they started to get stuck in the shield and slowly break it apart. Blade automatically reached to activate her bracelet's shield, "Crap… Sienna, quick we need an AoE spell!"

Nebula couldn't believe it, "Quick Memphis shoot them down! Those are corrupted if they reach their next stage, they'll be a pain in the ass!"

"Chill, I am on it," Memphis initiated the scan of the creatures, while he activated the canons.

"How did we miss those things?! There are so many…" Michael took control of one of the canons.

"Hate to ask, but was that Blade?" Dean checked the data of the creature's scan. "Wait what? Desert Wind Urchins? They aren't even native to Magix…"

"Desert…the traitors!" Nebula's eyes widened as she rushed to the loading ramp, on which Keith was standing, shielding her friends. "They're here for Blade! I got to help her!"

"Hey, wow, they are probably here for the both of ya!" He held her back, "Calm d-" He stopped. Nebula was calm, she was just in a hurry.

"I will not hide in here," She answered him determent and opened the bracelet's call list and pressed on Alfea. "Fairy of mist!" She transformed and darted outside.

Wizgiz laid his royal flush on the table, "Ha, I win, again. Sorry, Mister Paladin. Even your aura reading can't top the skills of experience." The leprechaun laughed out loud. "I believe all this is mine…" With a big grin, he transformed his arms into octopus tentacles and pulled the biggest pool of the evening in so far.

"Ahhh…your aura control is astonishing. I was sure I detected you were bluffing. I will figure this out, just you wait Wizgiz," Avalon collected the cards to shuffle them again.

"You went with a single pair against him, that's way too risky," Griselda chuckled. "You should have waited for a better hand."

"Oh, well we can't all play as defensive as you, Griselda," Palladium added as he sipped on his glass of wine. "Losing slowly is still losing."

"Cute, you still think I don't bluff with a bad hand after all these years," she smirked.

"Well, I always force you to drop out then your hand is bad. You don't like to raise on bad cards," Palladium leaned back satisfied. "By the way Avalon you owe me one bottle of Elven honey wine. Make it a good one this time."

Griselda shook her head, "Don't let the kids find it… will be hard to determine how I will have to discipline you if someone tumbles around drunk," she laughed, but she meant it. "By the way, the best bluff is when the other person thinks he's right and isn't. After all, I'm not stuck at last place." She took the card deck to distribute the next round.

"Ha, we're maybe one pot apa-" Palladium felt a buzzing in his pocket. He pulled the disc out, which was connected to the simulator room.

"Which team? Domino, Streama or Linphea," Griselda asked concerned. They had sent off the first batch of second-year classes on their first missions. And there always was one class that would screw up. And a call this late could only mean one thing, trouble.

"Blade?" Palladium shook his head perplexed as he noticed the code. "Wait those magic stats are…"

"Urgh," Avalon stood up, "I told you all..."

Nebula's hastened voice rang through the speakers the instant Palladium accepted the call, "Sorry! I wanted to check something on her bracelet, I'm wearing it. The alert went off! Nothing to worry about. I'll give it back to her in a second."

Griselda raised her voice, "That is not a toy to hand around. We told her until she can use her Winx again, she has to wear it twenty-four seven." She looked at the clock on the wall. "Red Fountain said you left like half an hour ago, where are you?"

"Fu-, watch your right flank, behind you Amber!" She called out suddenly. The speakers were ringing a bit as she screamed her spells, "Veil, Solid Fog! Shit, don't stop moving mid-battle are you crazy!?"

"What is going on?" Palladium opened up the GPS data while he glanced at the vital readings. They were still far out moving closer to the witches' territory. Even if the bracelet wasn't attuned to Nebula it was clear that she was in a battle of some sort.

"Sorry, gotta go," Nebula's voice resounded all while a cannon shot of an Owl resounded in the background.

"Nebula, don't-" Avalon couldn't even finish his order. "Teenagers…" he growled as he summoned his amour. "Let's move it. Griselda-"

"I'll monitor the other teams in the simulator room, go," She rushed off.

Wizgiz opened the window to the balcony, "And just then I was winning…" He jumped out transforming into a Giant Lighting Falcon.

Palladium took the disc as Avalon pulled him along and jumped with him on Wizgiz's feathery back. "Go!" Avalon gave Wizgiz the moveout order.

"How does this class always end up in trouble…" Palladium sighed as he tried to call Nebula again.

Amber dashed upwards and to the side just in time as the thin fog wall broke, "Way too close. Fox Flames!" Quickly she created several flames that floated around her and sent them off to hit the corrupted urchins that were on her tail.

"Sound Scythe!" Sienna aimed as she hovered above Dahlia who had flown closer to the ground to channel her magic. "Hurry!"

Dahlia concentrated, "Stone Volley!" finally she had infused enough stones with her magic and a barrage of really anything that was lying on the forest floor rose as it glowed in a greenish light, clashing against the spikes of the urchins. "Multiply!" She quickly duplicated her ammunition.

"Freezing heart!" Snow reached out as she flew back to back with Rise.

Rise grinned, "You, things piss me off! Reflecting Lightbeam!" She hit straight against one of the frozen urchins and her beam split on the crystal surface. Hitting the next and the next growing weaker each time. Quickly their attackers were hit from all sides. "How do you like that!"

Blade used her phanto-shortsword and loaded it with magic to send off sickles of dark magic, "Above you Rise! Dahlia below, gain more distance from the ground. Focus on defence, stay away, those needles will shred your wings! Nebula you see them?" Blade flew backwards in zig-zags.

The bracelet was buzzing non-stop. "No, it's too dark down there. Fog Image! Plasma sphere!" She shot down some more urchins that had gotten behind Sienna as the two of them kept moving and spiralling all around the battlefield varying their altitudes. "Man, am I glad the boys are shooting with fat ass canons… at least that obliterates those nasty needles instantaneously." As suddenly Palladium's voice resounded from the bracelet.

"If you hang up again-" Palladium admonished Nebula harshly and abruptly stopped as he cleared his throat. "So, what in Magix is going on? We are on our way. Stop moving towards the witch territory," He asked and commanded, instead of holding his speech.

She covered the bracelet, "How the heck are they getting through? I didn't pick up the call," Nebula panicked a bit since Blade was right next to her and still transformed.

"This is getting us nowhere. They are mid-battle, use the admin mode…" Avalon's voice could be heard in the background of the call.

Nebula stared at the bracelet to Blade and back to the bracelet, "Darkness break!" She quickly reached out and touched Blade.

Blade was searching for the true assailant in the forest behind the cover of Nebula's fog clones that got hammered with even more needles. As suddenly her form vanished and she plummeted towards the tree tops, "EHHH, the fuck are you doing?!" Blade squeaked surprised.

"Fog Image! Mirror space!" Nebula shouted to swap with her clone to catch her, but as she reached out and closed her hand as she reappeared there was no Bade to be caught, "What?! No, did I miscalculate!?"

Blade hovered above her, "Watch out! Pierce!" In haste, she hurled a half-assed light magic spear at another incoming swarm of urchins. They had slowly been drawn out from the main group without noticing themselves, "BOLT!"

"WHAT IS GOING ON!?" Palladium screamed through the communicator. "For crying out loud…" He complained and seconds later the bracelet was blinking and activating functions remotely through the administrative override and the sensor got activated.

With astonishing speed Nebula catapulted Blade upwards into the sky as she kept creating clones and swapping places as a cloud of needles exploded in the sky from their slain foes. The needles burst into black flames and rained down in the forest cutting the plants and trees into pieces and leaving nothing behind but devastation.

"Shit, guys watch it, they are entering second stage!" Blade shouted out loud as the urchins inflated and the red veins grew forcing some to burst, simply because it was too much magic for the creatures to handle hitting some of their own. "Damn it, they are too slow, Nebula!"

"White Fog, Solid Fog!" Nebula covered Amber in a cloud of protection. Dahlia just had directed her stone volley to cover her left flank as she got swarmed from above and below as another light barrier went up around her from Keith. The guys circled the battlefield and shot as often as they got a free line of fire with the Owl canons, while Keith was linked with two cables to the ramp. Rise had created a burning beam to cover her side and Snow had formed an ice shell and kept freezing it further as the now magically enhanced spikes were filling the firmament. Yet even with all their efforts to protect everyone, Sienna got scraped several times as her sonic wave had subsided.

"Shit, Sienna!" Blade dashed towards her, sending another magic energy sickle to destroy the rest of the incoming needles. Yet, Blade felt her stamina rapidly depleting with her costly magic attacks. 'They chose the right creatures to attack us. I can't get close or I die and Nebula's wings are huge compared to most fairies.' She thought as she caught up to Sienna and Dahlia. Suddenly a massive wind rose from their flank pushing them further into the direction of the witches' territory. "What the heck…" Blade noticed some light sparkles in the air. "No way… a magic storm?!" Not even the Owl was able to withstand those turbulences as they picked up in strength without warning and the aircraft spiralled out of control crashing into the tree lines and mowing down everything in its path as it came to a hold burrowing into the ground.

"KEITH!" Julius shouted from inside the owl, the cables had snapped and he had been flung out of the aircraft.

Snow, who was flung around in the air, spotted him first, "THERE!" but she couldn't do anything herself the storm was too strong for anyone to fly against it. They all were nothing but leaves in the wind thrown apart.

"Oh, by the Great Dragon! How did this work again?" Keith used his pike as a focus and barely levitated to slow his fall. It wasn't the prettiest landing, but at least he didn't break any bones as he crashed into a tree crown. "This storm was a light magic spell, damn it." He gazed at the tree. It was darker and covered in some blueish moss. "Oh no, witch territory…as if this could have gone any worse…" Quickly he swapped to his crossbow and opened fire on the Desert Wind Urchins.

"Are you converging? I am picking up massive readings of Fairy mag- behind you a witch. Watch out!" Palladium was trying to interpret the sensor readings of the bracelet, which were really limited not just by range. All he had was a sphere showing what types of magic sources were around Nebula and live signs in the immediate area.

"Not good, they got pushed into the witches' territory," Avalon remarked. They were still far out. "Are the witches really that stupid? They are giving the magic council only more fodder. Are they attacking the last palace survivors for a sad excuse of a cover-up? Revenge? Hhhhh, we should never have let those two leave Alfea…"

"You can't imprison them forever. But I wouldn't put it past the youngsters of Cloud Tower to pull this desperate stunt," Wizgiz cawed. He morphed his eyes into owl ones to scout better in the dark. "There! Smoke must be the ship. Hold on tight!" He gave them a few seconds. Then he sent magic down his wings and the yellow lightning shot beyond his wings enlarging them. With powerful wing beats, he rose high into the night sky. Just to fold in the wings and dive head first towards the crash site. His bird form left behind lightning crackling through the sky as the thunder rolled announcing their prompted arrival.

Blade like the rest of the fairies got smashed into the forest as well. She had tried to hold on to Nebula but they had been forced apart. She groaned as she heard a thunder roll and lighting sapped through the night sky without a cloud in sight. "Fuck, what's that? They got us good…" She got a glimpse of Nebula not far from her and she could sense her friends all over the area to the left. They had been singled out. "Nebula, we need to regroup with the others!" She sprinted towards her as fast as she could as a whole bunch of trees hurled towards her.

Nebula raised her hand just in time, "Veil! Solid Fog!" The trees crashed right into her shield. She rolled to the side trying to reach Blade.

Blade watched as another tree was about to hit her friend, "Shit." She had lost her sword in the turbulence and only had a dagger left, which she infused with magic again to send another sickle. 'No way this is just by chance…those are aimed.' Just after she had released her attack to crack the incoming tree. She heard the dangerous hum from their other flank. Heavily panting her hand already cramping she wanted to infuse once more, but stopped, she did not have any more magic to spare unless she would trade it for her Zombix form. She turned and saw an urchin glowing bright red right beside her.

"Plasma sphere!" Nebula shot straight past Blade's head, "What are you doing?! Stop fooling around!" Just to notice there were more rushing through the forest to attack them.

"All of you quick we have to shoot them down now!" Mercury had taken a crossbow as well and opened fire at the horde of urchins closing in on them from above.

"Snowstorm!" Snow mustered all that was left, without clouds this spell would cost her everything. "How did they not got flung around!?" She hysterically asked as she conjured up a storm to contest the sharp wind blowing.

"We need more cover!" Julius jumped out of the Owl to join everyone outside with his green sword at hand to get a better overview of the situation.

"On it!" Dahlia hammered her hands on the ground, "Time to get this right. Earth Burrow!" she reached out with her hands to the sides and smacked her flat hands together. The earth around the group rose and a dome of earth covered them partially, with an opening facing the attackers.

Sienna readied her attack, "Cross Fade!" She hit the urchins from their flanks pushing them closer together.

"Ignite!" Amber reached out with her hand as hundreds of little flames sparked and hit the needles that got shot off by the exploding urchins.

Memphis who was still in the Owl finally had managed to get the canon working again with Michael and aimed at the darkened sky of enemies, "Eat my lasers, assholes." He grinned they were so close together this was rather easy pickings.

Rise saw the laser beam shooting over their head, "Ha, Radiance!" Her hands glowed brightly and the canon shot exponentially grew in size before it hit the crowd and pierced through. "Give me another!" Rise grinned satisfied.

"Wait! Look, something's incoming!" Mercury pointed to the sky. Where a giant bird just evaded the shot as it passed it by. "Crap, there is no end to this onslaught…"

An ear-deafening shriek echoed through the air as lighting stunned most of the creatures. The students flinched backwards, trembling slightly. "How on earth will we…"

Professor Avalon jumped off Wizgiz's back with his frosted Jian at hand he rammed it into the ground, "Involveo frigus!" Swiftly the ground froze over and massive ice stalagmites shot upwards engulfing each and every one of the desert wind urchins.

Palladium was floating mid-air while he raised his Light Sword, "Summus nullus condicio!" the ice all around lid up and got even clearer and reflected the moonlight in all kinds of blues.

The breath of everyone in the air crystalized as soon as they breathed out, it was freezing cold now. Amber quickly conjured another fox flame surrounding the group as she was scared their wings would freeze over. In awe, the students watched as the magic ice even froze along the magic lighting from the giant falcon, before they dispersed. Some of the frozen urchins cracked in half under the stress of the ice and cold. To top it off the giant lightning falcon hastily warped into a green lump and as that hit the ground a fifteen-meter-long snake appeared. Its blackish scales were protected with a thick layer of ice and spikes and with a loud hiss fletched its fangs opening its ginormous mouth. It swallowed every single one of the urchins.

"De fuck," Dean couldn't believe what he was witnessing, "No way…that's a full-grown Frost Racer! Wait those urchins were corrupted!" He freaked as he expected the snake to go insane any moment now.

"IUUuuu," Kai jumped backwards as the snake gulped up a huge junk of dense red crystals held together by spit and ice. "So, gross!" Slime was dripping down from it.

"Blade, Nebula!" Memphis rushed past the dazzled group. "Move it, slowpokes!" He addressed Mercury and Julius, who still were simply standing there overwhelmed by the display of power. "Hey, are you waiting for an invitation? I'm not resuscitating any of them again…" He growled worried. "Shit, the wind is gone… don't tell me…"

Professor Avalon summoned a rope dart, shimmering in white and quickly wrapped it around the lump of red crystals, "Go, Palladium! We got this! Wizgiz, lend me some more magic here," A circle appeared on the ground around the lump. "EMENDAMUS ATER ARS!"

Nebula and Blade were rushing through the forest, the giant lighting strike and snake had drawn their attention. Yet, they still had trouble getting rid of their pursuers. Plus, the turbulences were pushing and pulling them in all kinds of directions. "Quick, we need to reach the Professors," Blade pulled Nebula along while she was firing Plasma Spheres. "Contact them!"

"You are still in- what, no signal?!" Nebula was hella confused now, "Since then!?"

Blade glanced at the interface, "Damn it, someone is blocking our outgoing signals in this area…right flank!" She pulled her making a roll mid-air as spikes shot past them.

"Veil, solid fog!" Nebula created another surface shield but it broke rather quickly. "I can't keep this up…" She coughed. "Burnout?"

"No, you will collapse," Blade tried to find a way up but the wind was blowing too strongly above the trees, they were stuck in the undergrowth. The wind picked up out of the blue and they got hurled nearly crashing into trees if Blade didn't hit them feet first to push the two of them in time, "Come on, think…oh, shit!" She tried to hit the brakes. She noticed that they were tossed right into a rocky ridge where already some urchins were ready to burst.

"Go! Haze mirage!" Nebula spun around to give Blade some extra speed.

Blade dagger first rammed it into the first urchin and continued to fling it high up into the air stream, which sucked it away like a vacuum cleaner before it exploded and made another high kick to do so with the next one as two smaller Plasma Spheres hit the others. "Ohh, halt!" She saw Nebula getting blown top speed towards the ridge.

"I ca-can't," Nebula's wings simply caught too much wind. "Where are you, coward?!" Angrily she tried to see anything but she could barely open her eyes.

Blade infused her body with just enough magic and jumped forward to catch Nebula. They got smashed against the rocks, which she feathered as her feet hit the stone wall, "Gotcha!"

"Thanks," Nebula tried to move but the wind got stronger and stronger. In the end, it pinned them to the ridge. "Shit… I got maybe one more…"

"I think we need more than that..." Blade cringed as she could feel the wind getting so sharp it scratched her cheek open.

"Got you pesky insects," Lady Eshe chuckled amused as she closed in through the darkened forest. "As if I would let any of you live after you caused Lord Shabaka's death. The scrutiny I am under because of you little worms by my own men - all your fault. Yet, it was us who made a new future, a better future for Desertia possible… they should thank me, praise me." She ground her teeth as she broke off some branches in the way. "You should have stayed dead, where ever you were hiding," She balled her fists as she continued to talk to herself. "As if I would believe for a second that you would be smart enough to keep your mouths shut forever. Not that that matters, I'll never forgive you." Her hands still glowed from controlling the winds. There finally she could see them through the treelines which thinned towards the ridge. "I'll kill you, well, officially, the witches will…always could pin it on that weird as dark Fairy form as well. Her friends killing each other driven mad by witches, nice. I kept this one, especially for you." Behind her, a completely deep red urchin overgrown with red crystal veins floated. She created another wind current to speed up the urchin and chucked it right at the girls.

"Arrgh, the wind is too strong…" Blade tried her best but she couldn't move an inch as she suddenly felt an overwhelming presence of black magic emerge in the forest in front of them. Her neck hairs even stood up.

"We're so dead," Nebula felt it as well. She noticed a red glowing orb darting towards them. "I can't stop that thing!" Nebula didn't know what to do.

"Goodbye," Lady Eshe smiled satisfied with her revenge at hand.

"Indeed, your reckoning has come."

Black magic flames engulfed Lady Eshe as they wrapped tightly around her in the blink of an eye. The burning sensation was unbearable but she couldn't even scream as blackened mud engulfed her face and any scream for help was extinguished at its root. She struggled to get the mud off her but it kept enwrapping her.

Just as the urchin was in range it exploded red crystallised needles shot off in every direction. Abruptly the wind stopped together with it. Blade used their chance and mustered some more dark magic and catapulted them into the air. She felt as her left arm went limp, covered in dark veins, and the skin turned even whiter.

"Veil! Solid fog!" Nebula glowed up in white light and build another solid shield wall. The needles yet still pierced through.

"No!" Blade screamed in anger and fear. Quickly she spun around hurling Nebula onto the ridge behind some smaller rocks as her numb arm swung in front of her face catching some of the red crystal needles. A pain shot through her arm as blood was dripping down. With haste she looked over her shoulder searching for Nebula with a grim expression, 'Damn it, was I too slow?! Did she got hit?'

Lady Eshe's eyes widened as she spotted the cloaked shadow towering above her. 'Who are you?!' She wanted to shout in anger. 'Who dares to snatch away my moment of triumph?!' After she had waited so long in wait for the perfect moment to get her shot. She struggled but the massive Horror Mud had engulfed her completely. She had used most of her magic to control the winds and urchins even with her Enchantix form there was nothing she could do when she was so depleted like right now. Plus, the mud had already entered her system, and she could feel her body cramping. Her Fairy from began to flicker. This mud was itching for a great meal.

"To think I trusted someone as vile as you. You deserve every second of this," Hesitant eyes gazed upon her, the figure pulled out a simple crochet needle of Desertian style. "May your nightmares bring peace to all of Magix," the shadow whispered with a shaking voice as it bowed over her.

Lady Eshe tried to free herself in a last-ditch effort, yet there was no use. Her Fairy form vanished and she felt that the crochet needle scratched her upper arm open. She gave off a muffled scream as the mud entered her bloodstream and watched as the figure stood up.

"I heard a starved Horror Mud eats one whole, bones and all…it also camouflages all life signs. You should have made your position known beforehand. Then again, when do politicians ever do that?" The cloaked one looked up and noticed a person rush to the rescue of the young fairies, who had probably just come into his sight. Just for a second, the shadow stood still, wavering, but then vanished into the forest away from the fighting.

Professor Palladium was staring at the disc while he together with Memphis, Mercury and Julius jumped over the trunks and logs of broken trees to reach the second location. They had left behind the young fairies with Avalon and Wizgiz since they were out of breath and Palladium was more than capable to cover the magic part. "Go take that urchin down! Don't let it escape!" He ordered the three to chase after the needleless urchin. It was the biggest and strongest urchin they had seen so far, but it was fleeing the battle.

"On it!" They rushed off to the side. They had killed any of the remaining corrupted monsters on their way. None of them could take the chance of them infecting more wildlife.

Mercury stopped, "Shit, but he…"

"Let the girls explain. You can't catch up to him anyway," Julius ground his teeth. Palladium was already out of sight.

Palladium had darted onwards. "Calcei ala!" He grew glowing wings on his boots and shot through the air. Finally, he reached them. But the sight that was to behold was grim. There his student Blade was hovering in the air above Nebula, who had trouble getting to her feet. Instantly he noticed the red needles in her limp arm. Her grim expression as she gazed upon Nebula, the sickening green glow of her wings, her overall pale skin, white hair…even her eye sockets had become pure black. 'Shit, she got corrupted.' He could hear Avalon's wings beat, "No, time to waste," he raised his magical sword new. "Astrum idicium facio!"

Blade was about to dash to Nebula to help her onto her feet as she heard Palladium's voice shouting a spell right in the clearing. "Wha-"

"Palladium don't, it's not!" But Avalon's warning came too late. As soon as he had spotted Blade he had read her aura and noticed that she had no aggressive intentions whatsoever. Even if the crystals in her arm gave off black magic. Still, he was confused about the dark magic emitted by her as well.

Blade felt as if an immense light beam shot down from the starry sky. She darted away but the radius was too big for her to escape and she got hit. "AHHHHH," It burned. She watched as the crystals in her arm evaporated in seconds. 'Cleansing spell for black magic! Why-ooooh fuck!' Her skin burned like pins and needles.

Professor Avalon grabbed his colleges arm, "Cancel!" He chanted, but Palladium in reflex had simply bolstered his magic output.

"What are you doing?!" He stared his friend into the eyes, shocked that he would try to stop him.

"You're going to kill her, that's dark magic," Avalon pointed it out, "Now, cancel the spell, it's way too strong for simple dark magic!"

"But, that's…what? How? Fine," Palladium was just about to stop casting as out of nowhere two massive dark holes appeared right above Blade swallowing the light magic before it hit her.

"Ouch…" Blade's head was spinning she couldn't see shit, her skin still in a burning sensation. The light had been so bright inside the spell. She felt as her body grew limper as it drew more magic out of her body to keep the transformation steady, she didn't want to crash into the ground after all. 'I should bolt if only I could see anything…' She tried to find some orientation.

"How dare you enter our territory with forces and attack one of our own" Griffin's voice resounded pissed, she slowed down for just a second as she gazed at Blade. Obviously, she wasn't one of her students but a Fairy. She glared at the Alfean Professors below. 'What in Magix happened, a dark magic form of a Fairy?! That Blade is interesting. Oh well, let's get some answers.' She quickly created a massive number of dark spheres, "Begone, trespassers!" She sent them off bombarding the professors, who quickly scrambled to evade.

"Headmistress Griffin, stop this is just a misunderstanding. We didn't come here to figh-," Professor Palladium tried to apologise.

"Tch. We're leaving," Griffin reappeared next to Blade and took her by the wrist. Right on cue, a portal opened behind her, in which she quickly vanished dragging Blade behind her.

"Fog image, mirror space!" Nebula screamed out, she had just come back to her full senses after the harsh landing she shimmered in a white light again. "BLADE!"

"No, desists!" Palladium dodged the last sphere trying to disperse her clone since there was no chance he would destroy the portal with the other two inside. 'She's using burnout on purpose?! How reckless can she be…' But neither he nor Avalon's ice slash had been fast enough to destroy the clone. And the portal closed with Nebula getting pulled through at the last second as she caught onto Blade's leg. The ice sickle flew straight into the night as there was nothing to hit anymore. "What the heck is wrong with her?! She took one, no two, of our students," Palladium was furious. "I gonna-"

Avalon held him back, "Think for a second, storming in there alone will not get them back. We used way too much magic in these fights. The tower is full of witches right now."

"I will not leave my students as prisoners in Cloud Tower! They are housing witches accused of murdering the royal family of Desertia!" Palladium was beside himself. "What are they going to next?! Turn Nebula as well?" He was panting from fatigue, he had used high-level spells to end everything quickly and still, he had got countered by Headmistress Griffin.

"What?" Avalon couldn't quite follow his friends switching trains of thought.

"Well, how else do you explain Blade using dark magic all of the sudden?" Palladium calmed down just a bit as he angrily stared in the direction of the Cloud Tower. "This was all a ploy to get one of them, now they got both. The next Council hearing is in less than a week..." He balled his fists.

"Griffin has a temper, yes. But she isn't that stupid. Their testimonies will be nullified, if they are bewitched or coerced," Still Avalon had no idea what was going on. 'For opening two portals you need powerful allies. Have so many strong witches converged in the Tower? Could she possibly be in league with the one who shot down the Owl?'

Heavily breathing the three boys had reached the clearing just to see Nebula and Blade vanish in the portal. Mercury gazed around, "Did you see that light and those dark holes in the sky? What is going on? Have we lost them again? Did the traitors get them? We can't have lost them again!" Hurried he gazed up at the Professors still flying there, equally confused. 'Were we too late again!?'

Julius had been upfront and he had recognized the gloves of the arm, who had pulled a stunned Blade through the portal, "That was Griffin…Headmistress of Cloud Tower. Why would she take Blade? This makes no sense whatsoever." He started questioning the other two.

"Took them?" Memphis frowned, "You mean like kidnapped them?" He couldn't help but chuckle a bit. This notion was ridiculous. Nebula and Blade were the closest things the witches had to allies at the moment. 'But then again, who shot us down…' He glanced around but besides a forest fled by animals, there was nothing to be seen.

Julius was pasing, this wasn't going anywhere as planned. Indeed, the girls wanted to contact the witches around this weekend and now they were both gone. "For crying out loud," Julius complained. Today was just an overload of information and disasters. Julius pulled Mercury away into the tree line. He simply couldn't grasp what was going on anymore and flipped out, "What the heck!? Don't tell me it was those witches and we got it all wrong. I knew we shouldn't assume all the witches' innocence." He threw his hands into the air, deactivating his sword. "This is bonkers. We got to tell the Professors!"

Mercury slightly panicked as his team leader went on one of his worst-case rants, "Dude, no. They didn't tell us so we spill the beans at next instance. You know Blade, she can take care of herself so chill," Mercury tried to shush him up pulling him in at his cloak since the Professors were gazing at them from afar. 'She is safe, she has to be…we didn't get this wrong again….'

"No, this is way beyond us!" He freed himself as he smacked away Mercury's hands. "I will not have her blood on my hands, because we thought we knew what was going on."

"Woah, guys, chill…" Memphis was about to go in between before this would end in a full-out brawl. 'Fuck, they are forgetting the Professors...if they hear us…' He glanced up to the professors, who were drawn to their little squabble.

"She will get herself killed! Just look at this destruction…" Julius whisperingly shouted. His gaze wandered along the obliterated ridge. "As Team leaders, it's our job to keep everyone alive." He balled his fists. This reminded him too much about the capital of Desertia lying in ruins as they had arrived with the Red Fountain school's forces.

Mercury looked to the ground, "Julius…" He, like the rest of Team A and E, had been frustrated for weeks. Not that they had brought it up today with the girls. They had been way too slow to reach Desertia to help the girls after Seth had come back. They had been on their own home planets and by the time they had gathered, the armies had already moved in and disaster had struck. Their friends were buried beneath darkness and rubble, proclaimed dead. Just because they had miscalculated the situation and urgency.

"I swear, Blade never jumped the gun like this before. What if the dark m-" He stopped as he noticed the Professors watching them intensely. They had dashed down to them in an instant. "I'm telling you. I did hear a branch crack over there…must be the mystery guy," Julius bit his tongue. 'Fuck, shit, I- damn it…Did they hear me!?,' Slowly he walked backwards as the two professors were glancing at the three boys rather grim.

'They knew about the dark magic form!? You got to be kidding…But Shanna said… that sneaky old PSI-Lady.' Professor Avalon breathed in deeply, these kids had led them on for weeks. "Spill it, now." Professor Avalon overtook them, blocking their way and stared at them ice cold. The situation had grown long past the point of joking around and hiding secrets.

"Damn it, you two," Memphis gave them both a slap on the back of their heads. "I already had more than enough extra stable duties, because of chaos squad. You need to learn how to keep your mouth shut, man. How long was that, one and a half hours? Tch…" The Professors were waiting at the edge of their patients, they definitely had heard the mentioning of dark magic. 'Let's do some damage control…' Memphis stepped forward, "Fine, what happened is…"