Pallagis light-stepped as a breeze walked around the examination table. They had removed the cursed memory ruby before Votzaak's jade tattoos stopped to counter all effects. As Pallagis had expected Blade's system was hit with a hard backlash. Even after hours Blade still was sweating a lot, a heavy breath. The herbs and her magic were countering the drugs, but Clayton had forced down her throat a lot of Crimson Nettle candy. The young Fairy was lying in her room filled with all kinds of plants Pallagis knew would be nessecary to counter the durgs effects. Besides the state that felt dire it was more or less a simple waiting game with close monitoring to get the timing right for the next set of medicine. Pallagis continued to request Nuala, his assistant, to bring over additional plant-pots as the healing process progressed. The drugs were gradually breaking down in Blade's body, producing side effects that needed to be countered. As the hours passed, he meticulously dabbed Blade's face and skin with a wet towel, relieved that the worst was over by now.

"You can't go in there…" Nuala energetically protested.

"Out of my way, she's my student,' a well-known voice argued.

Nuala growled annoyed, "Don't make me pull rank, Professor. You won't like it."

A deep sigh from Pallagis, 'Bother is impatient as ever.' He quietly opened the door and peeked outside. "I know I am the older brother, nonetheless, I thought I relaid that visitors may come on Sunday…"

"Older by like ten minutes," Palladium nagged. Normally he was this composed Professor but with his older twin around everything was…different. They knew each other too well to hide their true feelings and intentions. So why bother?

"Nineteen, a miracle it makes that much of a difference," Pallagis smirked slightly. "You should go home, visit Mum and Dad…see Pallakar. He is eager to show you his newest system code for your simulator room back at Alfea. It's a real artwork if you ask me."

Palladium pushed past Nuala, who puffed offended but let Pallagis deal with his unruly brother, "I will. How is Blade? Is her circulation alright? Have you considered using dark magic plants as well as light? She has both magic types, don't forget that. You need to-" Palladium already tried to slip into the treatment room.

Pallagis shifted his weight from one leg to the other and blocked his brother's view and the entrance, "Balance the herbs and medicine for the best recovery rate? Yes, I used Queen's Avens and King's Lilligrass. A-" He ever so gently and in no hurry answered serenely as he closed the door behind him and the seal activated.

"Stop being so possessive. I know her much better than you. You need me!" Palladium growled. He even glared at his brother, since of course, he had noticed him activating the seal.

"Possessive? I'd call it protecting the privacy of my patient, yet you were always the one with the words," Pallagis teased yet tilted his head and laid a hand on Palladium's shoulder, his brother truly was upset. Pallagis could even feel his brother's magic flow was affected by his emotional state. "And indeed, I need you…" Pallagis ever so kindly smiled at him, "… to calm down and go home."

Palladium scowled at his twin brother, "This isn't funny, Pallagis!" He brushed away his hand. "I got to see her." Worry was written on his face. Palladium had a vast knowledge of a lot of fields he knew all too well what that Crimson Nettle effects could be on a young Fairy.

Pallagis shook his head slightly, "Your impatients is astounding." He stayed as calm as a willow in the summer breeze. "I got this." He tried to reassure his brother once more.

"No, kidding," Nuala mumbled to herself at the impatient comment, rubbed her nose bridge and turned to leave. "I'll get the new scrolls…"

Palladium ground his teeth, "Scrolls? What scrolls? Is she that bad?" He wouldn't settle down at all, every word was too much.

"I'm sure I can get some great Brilliant Milkweed tea from the gardens. Why don't you sit at one of the tables at the fountain? I'll be right there," Pallagis suggested calmly. This wouldn't help Blade, his brother or the healing process.

"Seriously?! Tea, that's your answer? My student got drugged and nearly raped again! Nerrocean talked on for hours, I was expected to stay in that damned assembly. Not anymore. So, move!" Palladium had it and tried to simply push Pallagis away from the door. He just had to see her for himself. That gentle and chilled demeanour of Pallagis in the face of adversity was so vexing, nothing phased his brother EVER or at least that was what he showed to the outside. And Palladium could already tell he had no intention of willingly letting him in. 'That little -, he has no right!'

Pallagis sidestepped his rampaging brother as he somewhat charged him and as Palladium had passed him slung his arms around Palladium's arms and chest to calm him down that always had worked when they had been kids and there was no difference to it now, "Breathe brother, she'll be alright." He held on beside him struggling like a child at first - before Palladium found his composure again. "She's not in mortal danger. She wasn't alone, we were more than prepared," Pallagis reached up with one hand and brushed over Palladium's hair. Pallagis was so used by now to the highly critical states of his patients, it didn't throw him off, instead it helped him focus. Unlike his brother who rarely faced such scenarios these days.

Palladium's heartbeat slowed, less pounding in his head, his frustration vented he calmed down. His brother always managed that somehow, whenever he was troubled, he was the one to still his worries. "Stop, we aren't a hundred anymore…" Palladium whispered and let his hands slip from the door and just stood there. Tears streamed down his cheeks. "I should have been there. I'm her Professor! In the cell, today… Blade's always so reckless. Why…why didn't she tell me? Doesn't she believe that I – I thought…I. We easily could have…" He shook his head, "Instead I kept getting angry at her, all of them in fact. We thought they, the whole class…they did so many missions on top of it all. We made everything worse with all that detention! Why didn't you tell me?!" His guilt turned to anger.

Pallagis held on to him and set his chin down on his brother's shoulder, "I just knew a day ago. And we didn't truly expect anything that… savage. I understand, brother, even if I basically can heal anything with all these herbs in these gardens regarding poison. It still is devastating to watch her go through the healing stages. Yes, she is young, I understand, Palladium, I understand..." he let his light magic flow through him to calm Palladium anew. "I promise you she is fine. Her body is surprisingly resistant for a Fairy. She indeed is an interesting Fairy. A true fighter. So, please, stop worrying about what could have been or has been, she's in good hands. Let me do my job and meet her once she has recovered and is up on her feet. Right now, … we're still in the process of countering the toxins, that is not how you want to see her, brother. She wasn't even once in a critical condition. We were prepared, I was PREPARED." Pallagis ever so slowly turned Palladium around and looked him in the eyes to make sure Palladium understood the message and gave him another hug to console him. "She'll be more than fine. From what you told me she simply jumps off the bed and goes her way; tomorrow."

Nuala came back with the scrolls. A bit perplexed she stared at the grown Elf brothers hugging like that and hid behind a fern for a few more seconds. Yet she got a bit more impatient. She didn't want to disturb but they were kinda in the way. So, Nuala theatrically complained as she pretended that she had dropped a scroll, "Ahhh. My apologies." She picked up the scroll from the floor. The brothers already were apart when she looked up again. She hadn't even seen them disengage from the hug in that second. "I'll do the tests and adjust the medicine composition, while you have your cup of tea?"

Pallagis smirked, of course he knew after all she never dropped things. "Careful. And that's a splendid idea," Pallagis moved Palladium along, who finally didn't resist anymore. "By the way where is that White Jade beauty of yours?" He tried to get Palladium out of his headspace of worries he still was stuck in.

"Don't you dare start! He's not my boyfriend," Palladium growled annoyed.

"Oh, little brother, I'm not asking for you…" Pallagis grinned cheekily.

Palladium stared at Pallagis wide-eyed, "Don't tell me Pallakar still is…"

"Of course, he is! Young love lasts forever! Whole room is plastered with posters. He even tried the test for White Jade. He was so devastated that he didn't have the needed talents… poor thing. Nimue and Gwaine had a field day with him. - You know, you totally should bring Avalon over again. Pallakar will be forever indebted to you." He laughed out loud and smacked Palladium on the back.

Palladium rubbed his forehead, "I should never have asked Pallakar to help out occasionally after the first school year debacle…You know this was partially your fault. You were supposed to jump in for me." He glared at Pallagis. "Sending our young brother off planet…seriously."

Pallagis laughed out loud, "Ah, come on, he was so sure of himself. Besides, now he is ahead in his age group. At least it was educational for him." He snorted.

"The students were supposed to learn something, not him… Faragonda should have… She's just too good-hearted and she didn't want to let me off the hook that easily…" Palladium sighed. "She planned on it…"

"Ahh, poor brother, got Court played by a Fairy younger than him, HA! At least you found your calling. So, it turned out alright," Pallagis still snickered. "Besides you even asked for more help from our little brother, that attack on the Pixi village was your fault."

Palladium bit his tongue, "We were all just so busy because of Darkar. I couldn't just say no to my old team leader when he was in dire need of help. It was just a few days." He defended his decision. "How was I supposed to know… no one even noticed that that fake Avalon was a Black magic creation…"

Pallagis grunted amused, "For someone so well versed in so many fields you surely screwed-up that one. To think Pallakar was alone in the forest with that Dakar monster. Collecting flowers of all things…with his CRUSH, just to have him turn out to be a Black magic monster an ever so tragic lovestory – now that truly could have gone terribly wrong." Pallagis sounded a bit scolding there at the end. Palladium looked to the ground taking it to heart. "Ahh, come on, everyone screws up. Even I didn't detect any Black magic when you came on weekends. That's the power of the Black Phoenix." He reminded him kindly before he switched to mock Palladium yet again, "Still though, you totally should invite Avalon over. Pallakar will kiss you from head to toe. He will forever be indebted to you." A bright grin on his face.

"…" Palladium sighed, "And I'll be indebted to Avalon, he would never let that go…You do know he can read auras?"

"Oh, I heard. Pallakar told me he snuck onto the campus once or twice more and bumped into Avalon. Too bad I wasn't there to see that. Pallakar was so excited to meet the real deal and wasn't disappointed considering his poster collection…"

Palladium stared at Pallagis blankly, "Yeah, good for him. HE didn't have the SIT DOWN with Avalon. That was one awkward conversation!"

"The Paladin sat you down for a talk? You never told me that," Pallagis laughed even harder, "Don't tell me he thought someone enchanted you, or you were seriously ill because your auras were switching so drastically." He plucked some tea leafs to take with them in his herb pouch.

"Of course, he did!" Palladium growled, "I swear, he already knew the truth and made it even more awkward on purpose…He's just like you teasing on end when no one's around. He-" He got interrupted.

"Aahhhh, the bane of love triangles…" Pallagis massaged his brother's shoulders as he shoved him along, "Since we are already on the topic…" He cheekily started, "Anyone that catches your eye? Marriage maybe? How did Avalon say the students call her… Cloudy face? Sounds like a perfect match for Mr. Alfean Sunshine."

"Just stop…please…" Palladium begged terribly reminded of the Halucinga accident. He didn't even notice that his worries were washed away with his brother's shenanigans.

Griffin had her head propped up on her hand and stared at the printout of the operation results. "Thirty per cent, of the police got flagged…thirty…" She kept repeating.

"That's …less than I thought…" Ediltrude sounded more surprised than devastated her sister nodded in agreement.

Saladin sighed, "Well, at least ten per cent will be expelled from the Police force. Fiveteen get demoted and the other five will have some sort of disciplinary punishment… If I understand the preliminaries right. Still, has to go through the Court hearings…but those cases are solid," He was skimming through the pages once more.

Codatorta shook his head, "And I thought I was losing my touch as a drillmaster… They just preferred their own drill…" He was proud, amazed and relieved.

Wizgiz laughed, "The Denied? That most certainly is the most edgy student union name I ever heard. And I heard a lot…Do the kids understand that they have to create a board and have to attend some meetings in the Council since Nerrocean officially recognised them? It's not just a club they can use on weekends anymore."

"Now those badges make so much more sense. It's basically their emblem. And I thought it to be some fashion thing…" Pikass sighed deeply as he focused on the more important things, "I hope they choose Queen Dusk for the Sorceress faction to represent the Wit-Sorceresses… she at least knows etiquette. Otherwise, we'll deal with a lot more PR disasters…"

Faragonda sat there for minutes without having said a word, 'Why didn't they tell us? Why did she…this was so dangerous. She could have said no. It's one thing to end up in danger, but to bluntly run into it.' Her head went up as Griffin touched her wrist.

"What's wrong?" Griffin could see the worries reflected in her friend's eyes, "This is better news than any of us could have hoped for. We got Clayton, Cutis, Russell… that Gary… and as a cherry on top, we-" Griffin looked at her old friend.

Griselda sighed, "They went in alone again without saying a word. Do you know how much punishment we burrowed them under while they were doing important and dangerous undercover work!? No wonder they fell asleep working two jobs. Why are you so chilled about this? You of all people should be furious!" Griselda hammered her hands down on the table. Pissed at the students but even more so at herself for not recognising it. All those weekends away, evenings at home, and family matters to attend to it all had been distractions from the truth. Lies- Cover-ups.

Griffin chuckled entertained, "Why? Blade said she'd do anything in her power. Try EVERYTHING. They have a record of surprising us and this time they not only did get the scumbags we knew off, they got more, A LOT MORE. And it's Court proof." She simply was proud, this was +A Sorceress's work. "Not to mention, that Cloud Tower got a year's worth of Police funding since Councillor Nerrocean was so kind to redistribute it. I never in my life had so much money to spend." She was still a bit stunned by it. She bumped Faragonda in the side, "What do you spend your funds on?" She asked a bit off track. But the Alfean teachers mostly looked at her as if she was crazy or negligent. Annoyed the Headmistress exhaled, "Oh, come on, they'll partake in the Joined Track in a few weeks. They are not shivering, incompetent, powder-sissies. Of course, they got shit done. They achieved what they clearly stated all along. You all should be proud!"

Avalon opened the door to Faragonda's office a bit reluctantly as he could already hear the arguments. He cleared his throat as he entered Faragonda's office where the large table conjured up, "Students are back and debriefed by the Council, I sent them to their beds, was a long night. I put the boys in the sports room, since school rules, but it's not likely that they'll stay there… And Palladium is, well, I don't know for sure, but my best guess as of now is, as he is of the Yaggdronus Order and therefore has access to the herb gardens...probably went there in person, despite the fact that Eques Pallagis threw me and Grandmaster Votzaak out once Blade was in their care. Official visiting times start on Sunday. Pallagis said not to come before then."

"Hmm, you think Blade will be alright?" Codatorta asked straight forward. He like all the rest was still concerned. That video feed had been vivid.

Avalon smirked shortly in thought, "I didn't stay long in the treatment room. The extraction of the cursed ruby went without a hitch."

Wizgiz nodded pleased, "So, it's simply sweating out the toxins, good, Blade'll manage that. Her body can take a punch. And they already prepared while the feed was running. One couldn't ask for a better setup."

Faragonda grumbled a bit displeased, "I'd not say that. Councillor Nerrocean had no right to bypass us. We are their caretakers first and foremost. Not only didn't he tell us that they were on official missions. He didn't even tell us when we were punishing them. They are exhausted to the bones. When tired mistakes happen and they are not fully trained yet, none of them."

Saladin understood where Faragonda was coming from, "I get what you mean. But what was he supposed to do? If he hadn't included them, they would have gone off on their own."

"THEY SHOULDN'T!" Faragonda protested heavily, "Not even the Winx were so FOOLISH. They always asked for advice, wisdom...and they face much greater magical threats."

Zarathustra snorted and laughed out loud earning a scorching glare from Faragonda. "Why are you so upset?" She crossed her arms challengingly, "You chose not to get too involved with Blade to be able to stay objective for that other project of yours. And she was the centerpiece this time around. Yes, they didn't ask us. But they asked Master Nerrocean, who is older than any of us here, well, Leprachaun excluded." She already had seen Wizigz in the corner of her eyes ready to correct her. "Headmistress Faragonda, you should make up your mind if you want to be an observer or not. You are really bad at sitting on the sidelines, still, you can't have it both ways." The Sorceress Professor stated harshly without even smooth-talking it a bit. Even her sister was taken a bit by surprise. "What?" Zarathustra addressed Edilthrude next to her. "We'll see a lot more of each other with the JoinedTrack coming up. If I have something to say, I'll say it how it is. If you think, I turn all Fairy just because we collaborate, you're all bloody wrong."

Quiete food steps running through the hallways. The moonlight painted the walls in a blueish light. Only the sound of night owls and crickets broke the silence. The dome shimmered in its golden glyphs as always.

"Hey, stop pushing…"

"I'm not PUSHING"

"Ouch, that was my toe"

"Shh, someone's there."

"OH; SHIT!"

"PSSSSSSHHHHH!"

The boys came around the corner and saw the girls all piled up along the walls and half-hidden behind flowerpots and pillars. "What are you doing?" Lion snorted so hard.

"Lion!" Rise rushed up to him and into his arms, "You scared the shit out of us, I thought you were Griselda…"

"Hey, there twinkle star," He gave her a quick kiss. Before he looked around. "We shouldn't stay out in the open. Anywhere where we could go?"

Kai laughed, "Why bother? We all stampeded through the hallways, we are kinda a big group."

Julius had to agree, "True, and I won't break into any room. We had enough detention."

"Are you saying we can't open one measly door without the Professors noticing?" Kitty grinned challengingly.

"No, no one breaks in anywhere," Tasu protested. "Follow me, I am too tired for this crap." So, the whole lot walked after the Crown Princess of Streama. She led them straight out of the building and into the courtyard, where she simply sat down. It was such a beautiful night; the rainy clouds had vanished, and now a bright moon illuminated the stars. A warm breeze swept through the air, typical for this time of year.

"Are you nuts, they'll see us," Alyssa protested.

Nebula weighed the options, "Well, they'll notice either way…And we hid a lot for two months. Might get us into good graces…" She sat down in the cool grass and let herself fall backwards staring at the stars.

"We're still missing one though, otherwise this would be perfect…" Snow did the same. Everyone was simply too exhausted to debate this and everyone took a spot and sat or laid down.

"Three," Marble reminded them before Nebula could, "Memphis is still out there doing arrests with the Elves and the rest of Chaossquad and Amal is still monitoring the magicWeb."

"Ahhh, enough work already…" Serina sighed, "Can't we just relax…"

Everyone had such a bright smile on their faces. "We really did it…" Misery stated quietly still amazed, "It worked. We won, we found the root of corruption and dismantled it…"

"We were lucky. We nearly missed the most important one," Tasu hissed a bit back, scoldingly.

Mercury agreed, "No kidding… such a large-scale operation and we didn't find them till… now." He ground his teeth in anger.

Steela turned on her side to spot him, "You're wrong, Amal had found that meeting way earlier, we simply didn't know what it was."

Dusk sat up, "Yeah, but to tie that to Chief Simon in the aftermath… might have failed, we are lucky that he couldn't resist listening in. That was solid proof in front of the Council right there."

"Scourge…" Birdy recalled in disbelief her fists still trembled just thinking about it.

Tyson puffed, "They don't even know you. You are no scourge what bullshit."

"Yeah," Kai agreed wholeheartedly.

"How can you stand that?" Seth asked into the round, "I mean you are so used to that. How did you not burn Magix City to the ground; fill the streets with blood? I'm not sure I would take that hit day by day and do nothing."

Breeze laughed out loud, maybe a bit too loud, "We didn't, why do you think there was so much property damage or curses? But we also used it as a shield…"

"Yeah, Griffin taught us how to use their fear and anger as a shield. It works," Polarissa explained vaguely.

Amber clicked her tongue no one could dispute that, not entirely, "You don't need it any longer."

"Oh, Fairies," Volcano laughed, "Of course, we'll need it. That's how we operate. They simply got another reason to fear us now; with Nerrocean we have a significant ally in the Council."

Michael disagreed, "No, he won't show favours. He's not the type to turn a blind eye. We all know that."

"Indeed, besides," Max added, "You have a chance to build a completely new foundation. Maybe Witches needed to be feared. But Sorceresses don't."

"Hmmm," Alyssa mauled it over in her head, "I'm not sure if I can make that work… in the long run."

Dean stretched his neck, "You don't have to make it work. WE will make it WORK. You are no longer alone. Get used to it." He chuckled as the Sorceresses looked at him a bit perplexed and cheeks blushed.

"Aye to that!" Alex shouted out and smiled. Everyone looked at him wide-eyed. That the Professors couldn't have missed. "OH, come on, we were sneaky for like two and a half months. I am sick of running from shadow to shadow!" He complained and grimaced.

"So, are we," Codatorta resounded from the balcony where one by one the teachers came out to look at the bunch of troublemakers. Every one of the boys jumped to their feet to salute.

"At ease," Saladin looked proudly upon them, "You did well, don't think this will go unnoticed."

"So… no more stable duty?" Julius asked nearly pleading.

"What? Think saving the world means we drop all disciplinary actions?" Griselda butted in. "You will finish them of course. ALL of you."

"WHAT?!" The whole lot of students whined.

Griffin laughed amused, "Well, maybe then you learn not to keep us out of the loop. Besides, I believe there are still some exams to write." She watched all of the students go pale. Their studies had gone down the drain with all that running around for Nerrocean, he truly had sent them on missions nearly every night, unlike other students.

"In light of our achievements… could we at least push them back…" Tessa commented carefully.

Faragonda's anger vanished into thin air for the moment at least, "Well, it would be just to give you at least a chance to let you sleep and recuperate. Not to mention actually STUDY for once as you are SUPPOSED TO DO." She pushed back her glasses. "Don't stay up too late. Blade can be visited on Sunday - NOT before. And not all at once. If you like to see her there you need to submit a form as Yaggdrasor has strict rules about who can visit the planet." She turned around to go inside again.

"Good job, you all," Saladin said since the two Ladies weren't going to for different reasons. Yet he knew they deserved to hear it at least from one of the Headmasters.

Blade sat there in the middle of all these flowers plants even trees and bushes. The Fountain was beautiful. Some lotus flowers and other plants grew above and below the water. She still felt a bit exhausted but all was well again, no more toxins the healing process had worked without a hitch. Shanna was right next to her and Iolas, Nerrocean, Avalon and Palladium were on the other side of the table.

"Here we go," Pallagis set down a gorgeous tea set. "Everything okay?" He kept a close eye on Blade, who just now had shortly massaged her neck and shoulder.

"Yes, yes," Blade raised her hands to calm him, "Just a bit stiff from lying all day." She smiled a bit helpless, 'Gesh, he is sooo…' And of course, Pallagis stepped right over, behind her and sent first a magic spark through her shoulder before he started to massage her neck and shoulders. It was relaxing, yet also made it hard to keep her focus on her visitors.

"Well then," Nerrocean simply ignored it. "We're here to debrief you. Shanna is here for your emotional support and as Avalon is your secondary support and teacher he of course was invited as well." He glared a bit at Palladium, "Iolas was your on-site team leader, and I oversaw the whole operation. Do you want someone to leave this round? Are you sure you want all of us here at once?" He made sure Blade wasn't overdoing it. She simply had stated she wanted to do all these talks at once rather than doing the same one five times.

"Yes, all good," Blade had her eyes closed that massage was too good to be true on par with Virion's for sure. She mustered all the concentration she had, "So, what is there to talk about? We did it. Mission was a success, no lasting injuries. Seems flawless to me."

"Blade…" Palladium already looked at her concerned.

Iolas raised his hands to silence the worried Professor, "We went very close if not over the prior set limits of what you were willing to endure. A debrief is not simply there to state the results but to make sure you are stable and content with what happened. To estimate what you might need for further healing, body-wise and mentally. It also gives us and you the chance to receive feedback." Iolas calmly stated the purpose of their little get-together.

"Hm…" Blade hadn't thought that much about it yet, she still was tired after all. Weeks of undercover work did take its toll and one day of sleep did not erase that.

"So? Anything you want to say upfront?" Master Nerrocean asked, giving her the floor.

Blade blinked, Pallagis stopped his massage and pulled up another chair keeping an eye on her, "It went well… we got them all, haven't we?"

Shanna snorted, "Blade, it's not about the results. Stop evading." She knew her all too well.

Blade gave her a side glare, "Fine. It was…" She wasn't sure what to say. They all were so composed and chilled, well, besides Palladium who indeed was a bit upset? "What?" She asked him straight forward because she wasn't sure at all what to say here.

Palladium shook his head, "This was dangerous even with backup. You got hurt again. Not to mention that stream was seen by the whole assembly." He glared at Ioals and Nerrocean.

Iolas pinched his nose bridge, 'Blade was supposed to state her opinion first…So, she wouldn't be influenced.'

"It was a risk I was willing to take. Besides as far as our chat stated, I was blurred out. There was nothing for those officials to see," Blade straight went into the defences, which made everyone sigh. "WHAT!?" Blade growled, "Iolas, you sat me down, we discussed even similar scenarios and I told you what my limits were, you kept that promise. Why are you so-"

"Calm yourself, Blade," Avalon spoke ever so softly. "It is one thing to set limits and boundaries it's another to actually have them reached or crossed. We simply want to ensure that next time it works out better and you have no lasting backlash. We don't want to miss something. Your health is our priority here." The Paladin had always a way of just taking the right tone with her, stern yet worried, but without triggering her deflectivness.

"I don't know…" Blade simply stated, "I am glad we went through with it. Yes, it was creepy as fuck. And it was-" She stopped and looked at the table, 'So close…too close.'

"Blade?" Shanna first made sure that she was okay, of course, she was reading her thoughts for this meeting. "Be honest, it's fine. There is no judgment here, only understanding."

Blade sighed as she simply focused on the plants to her side, "It's hard to say…it's just… I don't remember it like you do…" It felt like a confession although everyone knew what actually had gone on that evening.

"It is normal to have a discrepancy between what you felt when being drugged and what you think and feel about it after your brain's not in a haze any longer," Nerrocean leaned back and simply mirrored Blade and looked around to make her feel at ease. The herb gardens always were a sight to see after all.

"No kidding…" Blade commented dryly as she traced the edge of her teacup.

"Maybe we should split the talks," Avalon looked to Shanna.

"No," Blade protested directly. "I won't talk this over and over. Fine. I was, well, drugged and high, so it was fun. There was nothing wrong. I did feel that I couldn't say no, but at some point, I also didn't care," Blade rambled agitated in high speed. "It was-"

"Blade, slow down," Iolas instantly intervened. "Don't rush this. It's okay to take time. This isn't something you get done and over with." He cautioned her.

Blade took a deep breath, "What do you want to hear then?" She was a bit frustrated.

Iolas smirked, "Come on, what's wrong? Talk to me." The Eques used his ever-favourite question. He knew she knew what he wanted to hear.

A deadpan stare from Blade, "You are insufferable."

Iolas laughed, "That's my job. Now from the start, slowly." He propped his head on his folded hands.

Blade growled, "Alright, alright. I was sloppy. I nearly screwed up at the start."

"You mean with the memory ruby?" Iolas wanted to make sure he got it right.

"Yes, I had a total jump scare…" Blade growled annoyed by her actions. Yet the smell in the gardens was fantastic every breath she noticed something else and that also calmed her somehow.

Nerrocean chuckled slightly, "That's normal and to be expected in a high-pressure situation with a noob." He wasn't one to sugarcoat his words in such a meeting.

Blade tilted her head not sure if she should be offended or not, "I'm not that green…" She finally answered.

"HA!" Nerrocean laughed even harder, "Two months and you think you have experience? You are as green as you can be, you haven't even finished your school yet." He reminded her kindly. "Not to mention this was a non-magic threat. Haven't you kids even noticed how much babysitting the Council guard had to do?"

"Babysitting?" Blade puffed, "We did WORK a LOT." She crossed her arms.

Avalon cleared his throat, "He just means to say that the Council guards had to compensate for all mistakes made on those missions by you students. No one is disputing what you did was a lot of work."

"Indeed, Blade, there was a lot more recon, paperwork and reports than just what you students did," Iolas went just a bit more into detail, "Anyways, we get a bit off track here." He had picked up Shanna's glance, who wanted to keep this focused on her psyche.

Blade squinted her eyes shortly, "There was more work? Wait, all the paper stacks you…there were more? Holy electron…" She was a bit dazzled by that revelation.

"More? You only saw a few stacks. Iolas is quite fast in paper work I have to admit," Nerrocean smirked. "Well, what did upset you about the situation with the memory ruby?" He might not be Shanna but he knew there was more Blade was reluctant to talk about.

"I was stupid to touch it," Blade mumbled.

"That's already a step up ahead," Shanna noted. "Tell them, or rather ask."

Blade let her head hang truly Shanna didn't let anything slip, "You didn't contact me, I was a bit confused. Well, actually, I thought you would jump in. And when I noticed my mistake, because Shane explained it, of course, it made sense… But still, I thought Zhoron would contact me. You went off the grid," Blade criticised.

Iolas nodded and used his bracelet to open a file and input her feedback, "My apologies I didn't mean to scare you. How exactly would it have made a difference?"

"Well, the whole mission was creepy. We didn't know what would happen and then you were so quiet…" Blade started. 'This meeting will take a while…if we go into everything this deep…'

And indeed, three hours went by so quickly. They had all agreed to make a break and Blade was wandering around in the garden intrigued by all those exotic plants. This was astonishingly exhausting. The grown-ups had asked so, so, SO many questions. It was like having five Shannas all focusing on different aspects. She never had a debrief on such a scale. Blade watched a few Yaggdronus Order members run around doing their jobs watering plants with their spells or trimming, collecting herbs... Blade sat down on a patch of grass and leaned back to watch the forcefield above the whole compound. It was one ginormous greenhouse. The warm sunlight on her skin was just perfect.

"Blade…" Pallagis kneeled next to her. "You alright?" He ever so gently woke the young Fairy.

"Hmmm," She opened her eyes, "Is the break over?" She spotted Palladium meditating back to back with Iolas next to her.

"It was since an hour," Pallagis smiled, "Shanna decided we did enough for a day. And Master Nerrocean has enough to sort out as it is. Avalon went back to Alfea. It became more than obvious that the rest of your friends need a bit more in depth debrief as well."

Blade rubbed her eyes and looked at her Professor, "Your twin brother was truly scared wasn't he, Pallagis?"

The Elf tilted his head, "I know Elves are very similar, but how do you know that we are twin brothers of all things?"

Blade giggled amused, "We researched, why do you think we stabbed Palladium with a Luna Vindex?"

"WHAT?!" Palladium choked on his own words.

Iolas intrigued by the panic rising in both brothers commented, "Oh? Due tell," A certain danger in his voice, "so that is why you asked…wait does that mean?" He stared at both Pallagis and Palladium.

Blade snorted, "Yes, we used the Luna Vindex as a cover-up for our sleep deprivation. Knowing full well the WHOLE truth. It was the perfect cover-up. At least leaks better than a 'teacher transformation'. It was your little brother Pallakar after all, who taught or rather tried to teach when the Winx first came to Alfea. But he was basically sixteen why would you send him in your stead?"

Pallagis stood there perplexed, he had not thought the whole truth meant the WHOLE truth. 'Oh crap…' His eyes met Iolas's.

Iolas cleared his throat, "Was that a hurt bird that crashed, excuse me." He quickly stood up and pretended he had heard nothing, 'Idiots! No wonder he never came to visit the Council Headquarters in his first school year…' And gave the two brothers a stern glare as he left.

"Heh?" Blade was so confused. "Why is he leaving?"

Palladium facepalmed so hard, "Because that is an offence called impostering. And it wasn't sanctioned…"

"Oh," Blade looked from one Elf to the other, "OOOOOHHHHH, my bad, I thought…sorry."

"So, you stabbed me on purpose," Her Professor gave her a mad stare down. Palladium indeed was frustrated with Blade.

Blade just wished she had shut up, "I'm truly sorry. It's just- we, I had the pity card so… I didn't want to stab you… it simply was the most effective solution!"

"Effective?" Palladium growled, "You nearly sent a bunch of Order Masters on my heels. Do you have any idea how twitchy Apex Predator Itzcali is? You - pity card is gone now for sure, MS ASHFALLOW." He scolded her in disbelief. 'What were they thinking!? This could have damaged my reputation…if… well, arrgh…at least they picked a good time.'

Pallagis sighed, "Oh, brother… you should relax more. That sword didn't even leave a scratch on you. Don't be a pouty willow."

"She stabbed me," Palladium hissed half-loud.