Outside


A knock at the door. Blade puffed, 'Is it that late again?' She checked her watch but it wasn't time for dinner yet. She had been cooped up in her dorm room. Besides the three Sorceress Professors, she had not let anyone enter, though. Her wounds were nearly done healing only thing left was her back. She wasn't in Shadion any longer though apparently, the Tower deemed it unnecessary yet that root net under her skin still remained. The Dream Eater or Dream Eaters were her company for now. She had gotten quite used to the swirly masses of doom. Those orbs were also kinda pretty. Another knock. "Yes…" Blade sighed.

"Hey there," Griffin entered and in tow were Shanna and Professor Avalon. Griffin didn't seem so happy.

Blade frowned, "I don't want to talk…" She stood up and sat down at her desk, where all the homework was piling up from both schools.

'Shanna was right? I thought she would freak…' Griffin was a bit surprised. Blade was way calmer than she had thought. She didn't feel threatened as she had expected. She had seen parents, friends and sisters get thrown out faster than one could cast. Not to mention that Avalon was a guy.

"We are not here to talk, Blade," Shanna spoke ever so serenely as it was her thing. "I heard you requested that Professor Avalon's memories should be altered since he saw…"

Blade went red, "You haven't done that yet!?" She wasn't quite sure what to do she was dressed now of course, but the thought that he still knew.

'There it is… emotional outburst. At least she's not passive and shut off,' Professor Avalon stayed calm as well.

"No, I couldn't," Shanna looked to another chair in the room, "May I?" She asked shortly and sat down before Blade could answer, but she already knew her answer. "You need to see that process with your own eyes. Otherwise, you'll always wonder in the back of your mind. I, we and you don't want that. We'll leave you afterwards to your studies." She saw that Blade was riled up and discussing it over in her mind with herself, undecided. "If you don't feel up to it today we can come tomorrow."

That was the last drop, "NO! Stay." Blade nearly fell off her chair.

"Very well then," Shanna smiled, "Professor if you please." She pointed to the floor and pulled out a crystal ball.

Avalon followed suit. He wasn't talking much at all and mainly focused on Shanna so it seemed at least, 'Shanna truly knows how to coax her out of her shell…amazing. Three days we have tried and didn't even get further than medical check-ups and food delivery…'

"What is that for?" Blade stared at the crystal ball, she had seen that thing always in Shanna's office on the shelves. Several of them actually now that she thought about it.

"Well, this is to store memories. Or better said fragments. I won't wipe his memories, I'll replace or alter them depending on what you two decided on. The fragments need to go somewhere since I most certainly don't want to swap places with your Professor. This process would be meaningless in that case. The only one to know what and how we altered it will be you, Blade. Questions?" She looked at both of them.

"No, I have done this many times. I know the process," Professor Avalon was ready to go.

"What?" Blade was a bit confused. "Why not simply wipe? How do you know this? I thought you haven't erased his memories yet…"

"Alter…" Shanna corrected her, "I do not erase, because people have that drive or rather instinct to search for what's missing. A PSI block can be broken by the person suffering it, if they try hard enough and with your Professor's knowledge that would be an easy task. And we don't want to do this over and over."

Professor Avalon already closed his eyes and began to meditate, "White Jade Order has many victims of Black magic, Blade. We help them through hard times and see things. Things they don't want us to remember or we ourselves have to dial down for our own mental stability. It can range from obvious alterations like random flowers or distractions that show up to minor alterations like less blood which we don't even recognise anymore. Anything is possible in the mind and while I have enough restraint to not go hunt for memories PSI blocks can be broken unintentionally for several reasons like, a battle, an enemy attack, the wish to find how to help a person, dreams…"

Blade was a bit perplexed by the seemingly endless list, "But altering is the same… is it not? Less actually…." She got a bit tense, 'He'll never forget, he can't! I was a fool to believe…'

"Blade, calm yourself," Shanna smiled at her. "For one, Professor Avalon will know that something was altered and he knows why. The chances, therefore, are much smaller. Secondly, of course, there still stands the possibility of an enemy attack. But this way Professor Avalon can actually protect the memory in a battle of minds. The risk is so much smaller, that anything will be revealed. Plus, someone still needs to know what they are looking for."

Blade looked at the two, "…" She tried to process the info. Her concentration hadn't been the best these past days and this had ripped her right out of the slump she had created as her shelter and had made herself comfortable in. She gazed at her Professor, 'He's so calm…Shanna?'

'Yes, Blade?' She answered her in a psi link.

'Is he truly…was he telling the truth? He will forget or, well, remember differently?' Blade asked with a pounding heart. 'Why is he meditating?'

'Yes, he told the truth don't worry, we'll fix it. And meditation is to make it easy for me and you to enter his memory letting someone in is hard after all,' Shanna was glad to find Blade so engaging with the topic. "Well then, all ready? All are willing and agree to this?"

"Yes," Avalon stated firmly.

Blade simply nodded as she closed her eyes as well. It was weird they popped right into the boys trying to get inside the infirmary worried and shaken to the core and a wall of teachers holding them back. "Guys…" Blade was astonished by how detailed everything was. She knew Avalon had keen observation skills but this was like a movie, she could even see coloured lights around them. "What are those?"

"Aura reading," Avalon stepped up from behind.

Blade jumped to the side a bit spooked, "Gesh," She breathed in deeply. It felt different to be in the mind of someone else she couldn't interact or move things like she was used to in her sessions, this wasn't hers to control, "Aura reading… that is how it looks like? Wait, where is Shanna?"

'I'm here, I am your anchor Blade, just need to prepare your mind a bit better, one second.' Her voice echoed throughout. Then Shanna's shimmering image appeared before it got more solid. "There we go."

"Well, then, are you ready?" Avalon asked.

"They were so scared…and…" Blade was gazing still at her friends. It was healing and yet also painful to see them like this. Blade didn't even track time she simply had gazed at all those colours and expressions. At some point, she turned around, "Sorry, I got-I didn't mean to pry…"

Avalon smiled at her kindly, "It's alright, I chose this spot to ease you into the process. Next up is the door and the infirmary. You'll be there, you'll see more than you yourself probably remember about this. We can stay here longer if you need more time to prepare. I also can go somewhere completely different, a training session of your class if you like." He offered. "We don't have to rush this."

Blade looked a bit scared to the door, "What do you mean more than I remember? I was there…"

"Blade, everyone sees and feels different things and so they remember stuff differently. Avalon is an outside perspective so to speak. It will be much more down to Magix what you see. Less chaos more…facts, so to speak, or well, his facts," Shanna explained calmly.

"You are safe, Blade. There is nothing to be ashamed of. And whatever you don't like we can fix, alter it," Avalon made clear again. He sounded firm yet concerned. He looked to Shanna.

Blade laid a hand on the door handle.

'I'm scared,' her voice echoed throughout this black emptiness that wasn't hers to control.

Blade jerked she had not expected her surface thoughts to be so clear here, "I… I…"

Avalon's hand laid on her shoulder, "I know and there is nothing wrong with that. We'll resolve this together. Take your time. There is no need to rush things."

Blade breathed in deeply for some time before she pressed down on the handle and Avalon let her into the memory of the infirmary.

To not overload her at once Avalon slowly built up the scene for her. Selecting the easy parts first. The room itself. The confused healers pressed and seized by the vines. The room was mostly clean as one would expect. He gave her time to adjust.

Blade gazed at everything, she knew the infirmary rooms. There were more healers than she remembered. She knew none of them but they seemed in distress a dark blue aura around them. The oldest of them had a different pattern he projected more as concerned and alerted. Maybe even concentrated on the task at hand. "But, where am I?"

Avalon breathed in as he let Blade see more of the scene. A dark crackle of Dark magic right above the examination table a spell had gone haywire and was currently vanishing into nothingness. Ediltrude on the ground kneeling in front of Blade, bright red glaring at Avalon. She looked like she wanted to kill him. Griffin wasn't much different. Yet they were so close at Blade's side that even with so much of her clothes cut open there was not much he had seen at all.

Blade stared at herself, horror written on her face, she had never seen herself like that. A pitch-black aura with purple mixed in between pure chaos. She reached out to herself, tears dripping down her face. "No, no…no… that's not…" She trembled Shanna moved up to her and placed her hands on Blade's shoulders.

"It's alright Blade. You are safe, breath, four, three, two, one… and out…and one, two…" Shanna as her anchor made sure she wouldn't have a breakdown in Avalon's mind. His steadfast composure and mental stability were a blessing right now. She solely could focus on Blade, she didn't have to babysit him.

Avalon could still feel his anger rise inside, but he wouldn't let it take over. Even if this was just a still image, that aura, he was sure now he hadn't misread it. He closed off his thoughts to Blade first as he pondered, 'What did they do to her? Just how far did they go?! Tried to - How, can anyone; who in their right mind would… driven by Black magic is one thing. But they weren't corrupted, they have no excuse whatsoever, how can anyone do something like that to a child!?' He trembled but even if some ripples got sent out like raindrops from him, Shanna was shielding Blade from even noticing the ground around them. Shanna was deflecting the ripples, in her radius everything was still, solid as ice, and steady was the ground around her. He really had to pull himself together he couldn't let this mind construct destabilise. Shanna was counting on him to give Blade an in to deal with this. 'She knew Blade was too afraid to face this…on her own.' He had censored the blood for Blade everywhere with the help of Shanna. For him, it was still there semi-transparent. He actually followed Shanna's breathing instructions for Blade it was helpful to have someone as calm as her around.

Shanna had Blade in her arms as Blade kept staring and looking away again. Time flew by.

Blade let go of Shanna at some point and turned around to face the scene again. She stepped closer to herself and kneeled down and laid her hand on her cheek, "I'll never let this happen again, I'll protect you, I promise you, I'll be better, stronger, faster, smarter, I'll…I'll…" She hugged herself hoping this could somehow erase what had been done, to soothe herself.

"Avalon?" Shanna called out to him again.

"Yes… what?" He had been so deep in his own mind to give Blade the space she needed.

Blade looked at him and asked anew, "What do you see?"

"What do I see?" Perplexed he repeated the question. She looked still devastated but she had calmed down quite a bit. "I…"

"Be honest," Shanna reminded him firmly.

"I…I see you, a strong bright girl, my student, whom I couldn't protect from horrors because I wasn't there because I didn't know. And I would give anything if I could trade places or make it undone… but I can't, no matter how hard I wish, I can't turn back time. I am powerless and I don't want to accept that... but I have to…" He didn't hold back his tears. He couldn't. In one's mind emotions always manifested in one way or another, but neither would he have wanted to hide them. These were his true and honest feelings and he wouldn't hide away from them either. "I am so sor-" A hard hug as Blade bumped into him.

"I tried so hard," She gulped, "I did everything I could, I did everything, I did my best… when- when will my best be good enough? Why does it always end like this? It's not FAIR! It's NOT FAIR!" She hammered against his chest.

"There is no good answer to this…no answer at all, humans can be as horrible as they can be kind," He whispered. Avalon let her vent. No more words, just room for frustration, fear and pain until she couldn't any longer. Her mind was exhausted and she slipped to the ground. He sat down with her. Shanna had stayed close all the time. She had warned him that Blade would seek him out for one reason or another. He had expected as much as he knew this from White Jade. People always search for hold, a rock to cling to. 'School regulations are so out of the window now…'

'They were out of the window once you had the talk in Red Fountain,' Shanna opened a private conversation with him.

'She needed it, she would have destroyed herself, I stayed professional,' Avalon argued.

Shanna chuckled quietly, 'But she wasn't. Faragonda had chosen from the start not to take this burden. You all knew a commoner with no talents for magic as a Fairy could potentially end in disaster and bring major challenges. They are not royalty or nobles, she sees the world differently. It was impossible for all of you to avoid this responsibility.' She reminded him kindly.

'But I can't, if she falls in love… that's simply not something I ca-' Avalon didn't know what to do with himself. 'So, many students… I already have like a hundred googly eyes staring at me all dreamy the whole day long… I can't, that will do more harm than good if Blade-,' He was most certainly not looking for a relationship with a teenage girl.

'PFFFF,' Shanna tried so hard to stay composed, 'Professor, she never ever saw you as anything like a lover. She would rather marry that frost Jian of yours than you. She doesn't even see you as 'hot' hot. She sees a mentor, a friend. Someone to look up to, to guide her. You know how to do this. You said it yourself you worked in the White Jade full time, this is a long-time patient, she chose you. And till she leaves Alfea, you are stuck with her, buddy - at least till then. So, better get used to it now. Though a good distance is a valid point. So, she doesn't get too confused about hierarchies. You are still her Professor.'

Avalon sighed deeply, 'Wonderful, Nimue and Gwaine will have a field day with me. They already teased me about this…aahhhh…' He already could hear his old teammates from his Order laugh their asses off.

They had given Blade a break before they had altered Avalon's memories it had been a rather small alteration since she had been hidden behind the two Sorceresses, they had watched out for her quite well.

It was two days later. Shanna had started her work with Blade as her plan had taken effect to use Avalon as an in for Blade to confront her trauma, they were still at the start though. Blade had a hard time letting her in, although Shanna had worked so long with her. They had not touched the assaults at all.

Blade halted before the door her hand was sweaty. She wasn't sure at all if she really wanted to enter. Her hand trembled. 'You are safe here. You are safe…' Yet with a big breath and squinted eyes she pressed down.

Ediltrude was about to scold whoever dared to be this late and still enter without even knocking, "YOU – Blade…" She was utterly surprised as was the rest of the second years. In Witchcraft One o' one they all were together and not in their smaller classes. Whispers erupted everywhere, "Take a seat." Ediltrude addressed her perplexed half the lesson was already over.

Yet Blade froze overwhelmed by all the people staring at her.

Kitty jumped off the stances, "Let's go have some fun, this is boring as fuck anyways!" She darted towards Blade just like Alyssa, Steela and Dusk.

Ediltrude's eyebrow twitched, "HEY!" She shouted after them dark magic rising from her for good measures. 'Take care of her.' She blurted after them, "That will have CONSEQUENCES, you MAGGOTS!" She turned around pissed as she slammed the big door shut again, "Anyone else thinks this is BORING?!" She hissed at all the students and the room fell into utter silence.

The five girls soared through the air. The sun was out and a nice breeze was blowing. They held onto Blade as her wings were still a bit lacking in strength and manoeuvrability. Kitty was showing off her new monsters and laughing and joking so much about the newest screw-ups of the first years. In fact, she and Dusk were going into half a battle match as they couldn't agree on what new spell they had learned this week was stronger.

It was a total change from Blade's small room in Cloud Tower, but being out in the sun felt so good. "Wow," Blade stared at the broken-up ground. "What happened?"

"Well…we did and Cloud Tower…" Alyssa explained vaguely.

"Yeah, I am sure we scared the shit out of them. Even Council Guard and Hunter Division had come… Griffin was so PROUD," Steela grinned satisfied.

"And pissed…" Dusk sighed deeply.

'Them, the police?' A shiver ran down Blade's spine. Quickly to distract herself she hovered shortly, "Whisper of Creation…" She muttered as she tried to get a sense, but nature seemed at peace, with no lingering anger or anything.

"And what do the trees say?" Alyssa asked intrigued. 'She's scared by just mentioning them?! Those… I'll… urgghh.'

"Nothing, all good…nature is resilient as ever… life just goes on," Blade answered with a heavy heart.

Kitty boobed her on the nose, "Let's have some fun. Pick something. We can A prank the crying red angel or B the glitter bucket. How about it? Choose."

Blade shook her head confused, "Prank? I…eh…"

"Yeah, you have been stuck in that room, time for some smiles, we prescribe two hours of laughter and anti-moping," Dusk looked her deep into her eyes. 'Come on, where is the outspoken girl…'

"I bet you wouldn't dare to colour-bomb the Elf general," Kitty grinned mischievously.

Blade stared at them still a bit overwhelmed, "I…eh…hmmm," She wasn't sure what to pick or if she even wanted to prank anyone.

"Let's break out Nebula and the rest and then we full force crush Red Fountain's training. They'll never see it coming," Steela proposed.

"Yeah!" All the girls agreed and pulled Blade along. They wouldn't take no for an answer. They wanted to see a smile on her face today.

"And that is how you transform a cursed person back from being a turtle… and now it is your turn to try," Wizgiz had finished his explanation. "Oh, look, what have we here, a cat…my and where did you come from?" The old professor hopped towards the window they had left open for some fresh air.

"Since then do we have cats here?" Rise frowned.

Snow eyed the cat more closely but there was no collar, "Maybe it got lost?"

The cat purred as it looked around and tip-toed over to Nebula.

"No, no, no, come here kitty, kitty, kitty. We don't have time for this, much too dangerous for a cat to stroll around those potions," Wizgiz was close behind the cat. 'Not bad at all, nice transformation…' The Leprechaun was ready to grab the sneaky Witch and send her on her way.

Kitty transformed back rapidly while she hissed at him. "HANDS OFF!" The young Sorceress protested. 'Shit, he noticed.'

"Now, now," Professor Wizgiz smirked, "no reason to hiss at me. Don't you have classes to attend?"

Half the class got a heart attack, "Kitty!?" Everyone was so confused now.

"You are taking way too long!" Steela ripped the window open, "LET'S GO PEOPLE! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Come on, Blade's waiting!" She took hold of Amber who sat right at the window and pulled up.

"BLADE!?" Everyone transformed and stormed out of the window. There was no holding them back after that.

"HEY! You can't just leave! We are not at Cloud Tower…" Wizgiz called after them as he jumped out of the window himself. He spotted Blade with no problem her flight was still a bit too unsteady for his taste. 'It's truly her. She went outside? That's the best news we had all week,' he was so relieved to see her running about. "Get back inside!" He called out to the Fairies, but of course, there was no holding them back with simple words.

The ruckus drew the attention of the other Professors as well, who stepped to the windows to spot the Witches and Fairies up in the air they feared the worst, ready to take action. Yet Blade caught their eyes as the girls rushed off into the direction of Red Fountain and a little greenish Needletail right behind them. So, they turned back to their classes for now.

"So good to have you back," Snow hugged Blade tightly as they swapped out to help carry her and give the Sorceresses a bit of a breather.

"Snow…" Sienna got a bit scared that it all was a bit much for Blade. She hadn't said much so far.

"She can protest any time," Snow pouted.

The others laughed and giggled, "You two sound like an old couple." Tessa teased them.

"More importantly what was that about an ambush on the boys?" Nebula asked with a mischievous grin. "Pretty sure they have some combat training right now. At least that's what Memphis wrote this morning."

"Ambush?" Rise had a shiver run down her spine, "Not the blue and white beetles again…don't we have to well vanish to do so anyways? It's broad daylight."

"I can summon a Tide Snake for distraction!" Kitty proclaimed.

"Wonderful and then we have a ten-ton snake crash into the arena smart idea," Dahlia shook her head.

"What are we even attacking with? We can't use spells…" Birdy pondered.

"Oh, no worries about that," Steela and Alyssa grinned wildly. "We prepared," She summoned some wobbly balloons.

"Paint bombs?" Amber was a bit surprised, "Nice… that will work. But how many do we have?"

"Enough," Dusk summoned some more as she distributed them to everyone.

"Awesome," Sienna was all up for it.

"So, Blade, how do we get in?" Nebula slowed down to fly just a bit in front of her backwards.

Blade looked into expecting faces, "I…uhm…don't know…."

Nebula wouldn't let her off that easy, "Come on, you can do this, you are smart and our battle master. I believe in you, I am with you, and I'll back ya up." Everyone nodded in agreement.

Blade breathed out deeply and halted as she closed her eyes. 'They are trying so hard to give me a good time. Alright Blade, come on, battle plan… I have to try. I can't let them down. I have to…' Suddenly she felt a warm embrace from all around. She found herself in the middle of a group hug.

"It's alright Blade, you are safe, this is just for fun, just pick something. We either utterly destroy them or fail with passion!" Dusk declared.

"YEAH!"

Blade looked into the eyes of all her friends, she couldn't help but cry slightly and wiped away her tears as they kept hugging her. After a good ten minutes, Blade breathed out and relaxed. "Okay, we're going to do it like this…" Blade rubbed her red eyes as did the rest.

"Oh, come on people, you can do better than this I barely had to do anything so far!" Master Codatorta laughed out loud. He had a bunch of second-years around him. They were supposed to bring him down and defeat him, yet so far none had succeeded. Often too many stormed at him or too less. He was quick and deflected nearly any ranged attack if he had not completely sidestepped it from the start. They were mostly taking themselves out rather than him and he outlasted them all with his stamina with no problem.

"DUCK!" Julius called out to his team. "Gesh, watch it Team C!" he growled this was a mess everyone had an idea and wanted the glory but the team leaders simply couldn't decide on anything solid or what they had tried failed so everyone reverted back to doing their own stuff.

"Julius, let's make a pincer," Lion called out to him.

Mercury grinned, "Yeah, good call…" He rushed around to group up with Kai and Dean. As Seth, Max, Tyson, Alex, Damon and Lion got into position while Keith, Michael and Julius kept an eye out from the lines behind.

"Oy, waiting for an invitation? Are you scared?" Codatorta grinned devilishly. "I gladly come to you!" Codatorta ran straight at Max and Dean and simply used Dean's shield to push off and Max's hammer as some sort of springboard.

"FIRE!" Memphis ordered his chaos squad he had outfitted them with bows for this training session.

Codatorta laughed and reflected the bolts and landed with a roll right before Michael and Julius. He stopped Julius's sword slash with one hand and grinned, "Gotta be faster than that."

"Grapple!", "Ice Cage!", Willow's grasp!", "Veil, Solid Fog!", "Shadow binds!" Magic erupted out from one of the clouds above the arena as the cloud got dispersed to all sides.

"GET HIM!" Steela infused magic and straight-out shot the colour bombs at Codatorta just like the rest of the girls.

"Oh, you wanna play, too? HA! Didn't know you are so scared of me you called for even more backup," Codatorta grinned at the boys and flung them into the stun spells and evaded himself, those that did hit him he simply ripped free from, the paint splashed over the ground and hit the boys. "Nice job taking your own people out Ladies!" He laughed so hard.

"After him!" Steela shouted as the girls rushed after Codatorta and the rest prepared to stun or cage him with their spells again.

"Memphis, don't let up!" Nebula dashed towards him. "Cavalry is here!"

"Ha, don't you have potion class or something?" Memphis grinned brightly as he saw her. "What are the Sorceresses doing here?"

"We'll gonna make Blade smile," Nebula looked at him, "We can't fail. I got to get in close."

Memphis's eyes widened, "She's- right! Guys forget the bow training we gonna pin him! Take the ropes."

"Ha," Codatorta turned his blade and used it like a bat, "Gotta aim better than that Ladies!" With a massive gust from simply enhancing his swing all of the paint bombs flew directly back at the girls and hit them hard like a rain shower.

"Oh, shit!" Alyssa tried to evade but even with a magic shield the damn things got through. "What in Magix is he?! A DRAGON?"

"How is he evading all those spells!?" Dahlia got just dizzy trying to follow his movements he had sped up so much. It was like with Nebula's after image there and not there. It was total chaos in the arena now, the other teams were a bit unsure of what was going on and used the distraction to regroup at the sidelines.

"Snow!" Dusk called out to her.

Snow loaded up magic "I know! ICE WALL!" She made one massive blockade that even reached the stances railing.

"Ha," Codatorta loaded his sword up as he ran straight at it a horde of students behind him. He hammered his sword down and the ice broke into two from the shockwave. "I can move mountains, ahahaha," Codatorta was enjoying this way too much and blocked all paint bombs yet again and sent them back this time at the boys.

"SCATTER!" The boys ducked and scrambled Damon, Kai and Detlev got hit so hard that they crashed to the ground.

"Ouch…" Kai swiped off some paint.

Damon sat up again, "How?! Just how!?"

"STATIC FIELD!", "SHADOW BINDS!" Tessa and Dusk created a wider circle to ensnare the drillmaster and they raised it higher than before. "GOOO!" They infused the spells with more magic to make them last.

The girls dashed up high and into the ring, "No more running, old man!" Steela grinned.

"Gutsy, ha! I like it. Don't need to run from second years, though, your mistake," Codatorta changed his stance. Sword down, hidden behind his body, firm grip with lightning speed he dashed at her.

"EEHHHH," Steela fired her paint bombs like crazy yet hit nothing.

"Willow's grasp! WATCH OUT!" Alyssa called out to her too late.

Codatorta rammed a paint bomb he had caught straight into Steela's stomach and it burst while she got flung back from the impact of his palm.

"…ooooouuuuuuccccchhh," Steela felt that one and her head was flopping around she felt so dizzy.

"Oh shit," Alyssa pulled her vines up as the drillmaster threw some paint bombs at her as well. 'Sooo close….' She sat behind the vines cowering for cover.

Memphis gave the order, "NOW!" And from behind the lightning and shadowy walls ropes got flung at their drillmaster and wrapped around his ankles. "PULL! GO!"

"Freezing heart!", "GRAPPLE!" Ice shot up Codatorta's legs as stone crawled up around his waist.

"FIRE AWAY!" Amber shouted and Rise, Sienna and Birdy used their chance of a still target.

"AHAHAHA! NOT WITH ME!" Codatorta's voice thundered as he truly flared up magic like a cloak it covered him. The paint bombs exploded before they could get to him. And the ice and stone crumbled to dust.

"CHARMIX! Semblance Phantasms!" Nebula raced at him surrounding him with clones.

"TOO SLOW!"

"MIRROR SPACE!"

He spun on the spot with his sword in hand and a gust got sent out to blow away the clones. 'WHAT?!' Only half of the six clones got destroyed to his surprise.

"WE GOT YOU NOW!" he got tackled by three clones and was pinned to the ground.

Codatorta looked to the sky as a massive white shimmery ball filled with paint was racing towards them all. "HA! Nice one!" He stemmed up but was surprised as he noticed the three Nebulas used body enhancement magic and not just the light magic kind while trying to keep him pinned yet that wasn't enough to hold him down. With a war cry he rose with the girls dangling from him he hurled his sword upwards and with a massive energy wave the ball of doom got cut in half and all the paint-splattered to the sides like a tsunami wave everyone inside the circle got drowned in colour. The Fairies wings were covered in a soupy colour and so they were grounded. And the Sorceresses were still a bit disorientated they had been so sure of their victory and had frozen as they had seen the wave rush at them.

"Answer my call, Tide Snake!" A massive snake got summoned by Kitty who dropped her disguise as Nebula while Codatorta seized her by her shirt and she got flung into the puddle of paint first.

"Oh, come on!" Nebula stared up at the drillmaster as she clung to his leg but got hurled off as he made a spin kick.

Codatorta raised his arm where the last Sorceress, still disguising as Nebula, was clinging onto, "Retreat is the better option in this case my dear." The girl was shaking in fear. 'Oh boy, …' He chuckled, "Calm yourself, this is just training." He ducked away as the Tide Snake tried to swipe him off his feet. With the girl so tight hanging on he simply jumped high into the air and cut right through the head of the snake. And used its falling head as a stepping stone to escape the circle of darkness and lightning. He landed on the railing of the stances to inspect his masterwork.

His second years on the sidelines were pale as ghosts and Team A, E and Chaos squad were utterly speechlessly staring at the poor Fairies and Sorceresses covered in paint. Never had their Master used that level of skill in any of their training sessions and worst of all there was not one drop of paint on him.

'Wait, what!?' Codatorta felt as the trembling subsided without warning. He stared at the girl at his arm who had pulled out one more paint bomb from out of nowhere and point-blank shot at him using her dark magic as a speed boost. 'She faked her fear!? GUTSY WITCH!' Now he really had to use his lightning step full power to evade of course he wouldn't let himself be hit by a Sorceress. Quickly he pivoted on the metal railing he was balancing on as the paint bomb rushed at him. The damn thing passed right by his nose. He flared up magic and tossed the girl to the ground as her hold was not strong enough with just one arm to hold onto him.

"BLADE!" All the girls scared shitless rushed to catch her but all were too far away.

'BLADE?!' Codatorta went pale. He dashed forward and saw a green stripe pass by him.

Wizgiz transformed out of the Needletail and his arm elongated and reached out in haste. Blade hit the floor still, but didn't overturn as he had caught her by then. "Ahhh, Master Codatorta, that was overkill!" He scolded him as Codatorta stopped right next to them. "Your pride could have taken that hit. Seriously," the Leprechaun growled, "Blade, are you okay?"

Her transformation subsided, "Had worse…" Blade sat up. Her back stung a bit more now that was for sure.

"I'm so sorry, if I had known it was you, I - How is your back?" Codatorta was shocked, to say the least. 'Wasn't she stuck in her room!? When? Why? Shit…'

"ASS!" Kitty hissed from behind.

Codatorta turned to face the outburst of anger just to receive a paint bomb right into his face. Bull's eye. She had thrown it normally. So, no magic at all for him to detect and every one of his students knew to stop fighting once someone had to be checked up. Even if he had wanted to he wouldn't have been fast enough for that sucker throw. 'Deserved…' The drillmaster puffed to get the paint out of his mouth and swiped over his face to get more off as it was dripping wet.

Blade stared at the drillmaster. She began to chuckle and snorted, "All that planning, magic, preparations and everything for over an hour and that weak ass throw hit you?! HA! PFFFFF!" She couldn't help but laugh her ass off at that. For nearly two years they had tried to get a hit in, all the teams in fact, and never succeeded.

"HEY, THAT WASN'T WEAK!" Kitty complained directly half insulted. But she like everyone else was so glad to finally see a real laugh and smile on Blade's face.

"Weak enough to fly under the radar it seems," Kai commented with a chuckle.

"So, we won?" Kevin from Chaos Squad asked in disbelief.

Lion shook his head, "Fight was paused…"

Steela pressed her hand into her hip, "Fights don't get paused of course Cloud Tower won!"

"Cloud Tower!?" All the Fairies complained straight away and a massive discussion erupted, about who had earned the glory.

"It was Blade who distracted him!" Rise butted heads with Dusk.

"She's Cloud Tower," Dusk countered, "Still OUR win."

"Is not, she's Alfean!" Snow straight jumped at that comment.

"Also, is on our team…" Michael quietly remarked.

"As if. WE did the WORK!" Sorceresses and Fairies complained all at once.

Memphis laughed so hard, "So it is a WE after all, huh?"

Wizgiz shook his head, "Blade, let's sit you down at the stances. Enough fighting for one day. You're not fully healed yet." The leprechaun glared at the drillmaster yet again, who was still getting rid of the face paint. Codatorta felt bad alright.

"When did you even get here, Professor?" Amber asked a bit confused.

"My class runs still half an hour with you. Your bolting doesn't mean my supervisory duty ends," The Professor sounded a bit displeased, but he took it lightly. Cheering Blade up was a worthy substitution for potion class. "Next time let me join the fray… I gladly give a hand in a fight," He scowled at the drillmaster.

Codatorta flinched slightly. He knew what Wizgiz was capable of if he truly went on a rampage, "Now, now, the battles are for students to learn…"

Keith kneeled down next to Blade, "May I lend you a hand?" He asked politely first.

Blade was a bit perplexed that he asked first he had never done so in the past, but it made her smile. It relaxed her somehow. She took his hand and got pulled up, "CHHHH…" She already felt the stinging pain in her shoulder plates. She had landed on it before Wizgiz had caught her.

"If you let me I'll check you up at the stances. I actually learned a neat trick from Athena that should help you greatly now and in future. When is the webbing to come off, by the way?" Keith walked with her to the gates of the arena.

"GET HIM!" the girls were screaming down in the arena. The Fairies and Sorceresses were all up for a rematch to prove who deserved the glory. Total chaos was ensuing as they were playing more against each other rather than working together this time around.

"Here, use that," Wizgiz tossed Keith a bottle of some oil he had pulled out of his hat.

"Uhh, what's that?" Keith inspected the liquid intrigued.

Wizgiz smirked, "Special recipe, had enough wing muscle injuries in my time as a Professor."

"It's fluid enough, Blade want to apply it yourself?" Keith asked yet again before assuming anything.

Blade stared at him, "You sound like Ediltrude…"

Keith grinned a bit helplessly, "Well…she told me that's important. To ask… I mean." He looked at her still a bit worried. 'Don't want to freak you…'

"You talked to her?" Blade frowned as she took the bottle from him and wordlessly tried herself first. 'What did she tell him…?' With all the excitement gone and her calming down and realising more that she was outside of her room, she got a bit tenser again her distractions were gone after all.

"Well, Iolas said in the forest to be prepared and to know what every team member needs medically and…" He paused. 'Mentally…' He looked at her still worried that the photo had looked horrific. "Since you are a Fairy and on our team, I had to research and well… it's a bit easier for me to understand and learn quicker if people tell me rather than some theory books… Nebula actually was so kind to be a stand-in after she finished training with Memphis and us. She let me train some practices - so you don't screw up with Blade - she said." He imitated her. "I know a lot more about Fairy physic now than a week ago, I can promise you that." He was a bit proud and it showed.

Blade attempts to apply the oil but wasn't as successful as she had hoped, "Ah, shit…" she paused. "Can you…" She could feel her hand slightly tremble. 'Calm down…' Wizgiz was still around but he was currently looking at the fight beneath and gave them some space.

Keith waited patiently, 'Ediltrude was right… she's still skittish. Did the girls push her too far with this?' He gazed at the arena.

Blade breathed in deeply, "Would you be so kind?" She handed the oil to him.

"Sure, if you're fine with it. Can you pull up the shirt on the back? You also can leave it down it would just get less... oily and it's easier for me." Keith asked a bit unsure. He was nervous if he would freak her or not.

"Kay…" Blade nodded. She was jumpy too but managed to calm herself enough.

Keith applied the oil and not five minutes later it felt way better and the oil was absorbed. "Your muscles are all tense Blade you should let it get massaged by someone. It will help the healing process."

"Learned that too?" Blade pulled the shirt down again. She knew that tone of voice.

"Yes…" Keith scratched his head, "Maybe you should ask th-"

Blade smiled at him as she turned around, "Practised?"

"Yes, with Nebula. Actually, more than just her. Last time nearly half your class came… was a bit unexpected... I actually showed the other guys how to do it too. They're not ready for an injured back yet though. At least that was Athena's verdict. That Guardian Pixi of ours is really picky I can tell you that." He rambled on and on.

'Got to try. They are my friends. He is my friend and team healer. I can push myself a bit further, right, Shanna?' Blade pondered for a bit. Shanna had encouraged her to widen her limits but also had warned her to go slowly about it. They hadn't gone into the deeply disturbing stuff of the assaults so far. Blade hadn't been able to open up about it yet. Plus, a lot was still a haze. "I am safe here…" Blade whispered. "Let's try. Sorry, if I should smack you in the face?" She warned him though. 'Better he than one of Professor's Ediltrude had suggested something like this, too. But no way in Magix will I let a Professor do that if I can avoid it.'

"Best would be Winx form and lie on your stomach," Keith was as scared as her. 'Don't screw up…dude…'

It had taken about ten minutes before Blade had calmed down enough for him to even start, but once they had both gotten over their fear. Blade was all calm and relaxed that massage felt really good. "No wonder all the girls wanted a piece of that…Brother," she breathed out deeply as Keith chuckled.