Flora usually loved cooking, and while she really did like her roommates and enjoyed their company, they were incredibly annoying to cook with. Tecna worried Flora the most, she'd had to ban her from peeling and cutting potatoes, she was getting closer and closer to slicing her finger, with how flimsy she was doing it. So now Tecna had been assigned to stand by Flora, to collect the potato skins, and to move Flora's peeled potatoes to the bins. Bloom and Musa (thankfully) were not as unskilled in terms of kitchen duties, though they wouldn't stop complaining. Flora couldn't exactly blame them, as peeling was always her least favorite thing to do when she helped her dad cook dinner, but it didn't change the fact she was annoyed by the idea of cooking with magic, that took away the fun for her!
"I hate kitchen duties, I just don't get it!" Bloom repeated, yet again, looking around the large kitchen. She couldn't help but think of her Mom, who would no doubt love the kitchen, purely due to the size. Her Mom would probably want to clean or neaten the place up, rather than the chaos of the pots and pans being hung wherever, she'd probably hang them by pots largest to smallest and then pans largest to smallest. Instead of the bland white walls with the hint of green tint (which didn't appetise Bloom for much food), Vanessa would paint the walls a dark blue or maybe a lighter pink, just to add a bit of color. The wooden drawers and cupboards were almost reminiscent of the ones at home, but Vanessa expressed desires to Bloom and Mike to wanting more modern drawers and cupboards, Bloom didn't exactly know what that meant, but Bloom knew it'd be pretty difficult to make 'modern' cupboards fit with such colorful walls. With all things happening, Bloom had forgotten she missed home, maybe that added to her disdain of kitchen duties.
"Oh Bloom you haven't mentioned this before!" Musa started, mock shock apparent, "Please inform us as to why you hate these responsibilities!"
"Why a school of fairies can't use magic to peel some stupid potatoes!" Bloom snapped, as she put her knife down, "All we should have to do is wave a magic wand; snap the fingers and I don't know, wiggle your nose three times, and then voila!" She seemed more calm, as she looped around in the air to demonstrate her point, orange flickering around her as she did so.
Kiko watched from atop the fridge, that was decorated with scribbled recipes, he munched on a
carrot almost dreamily. His daze was interrupted, as was Bloom's demonstration, as the Chef of Alfea stormed into the kitchen.
"Home Cooked meals are much healthier and more rewarding!" The Chef said, storming into his kitchen and inspecting their progress.
"Yes sir," Bloom grumbled.
"And what did I tell you about that cat?" The Chef continued.
Bloom rolled her eyes and spoke up, "It's a rabbit, sir."
He ignored her, and walked along the kitchen, Musa ignored him, until he got to her and Bloom's station, "We're almost finished, sir!"
He saw the potatoes, and squealed, "What?! These potatoes are too small! Take off less skin! And those omelets? Flip them!" He ordered jogging towards them.
Musa followed him along to the mentioned omelets, the others arriving one by one to join her. The omelets looked about as good as you'd expect from four teenagers with only one being decently experienced. The chef sneered at them.
"When I leave her, I'm gonna make a point to eat out, every night," Musa snarked, to the other three, causing them all to giggle lightly.
"I said: Flip them!" The chef growled.
One by one they flipped them, Flora was the first, her nervous features melted away as soon as her omelet landed back within the pan.
Musa was next, Flora whispered, "Gentle." Musa flipped her omelet, perhaps a tad too forceful but despite this she managed to semi-successfully catch it, even if it did go a little wonky, due to her decent reflexes she managed to catch it within the pan.
Bloom was next, she felt confident, she'd done this before, she could do this. She flipped the omelet and it landed.
Tecna was last. Flora looked terrified, Bloom and Musa looked worried. They could only watch what would happen with horror on their faces (or perhaps glee). Tecna flipped the omelet sharply, and it flew and flew and flew, until it stuck to the moving fan.
Tecna looked mildly embarrassed, "I thought I had calculated the force needed to be applied just right."
The chef didn't look on with sympathy, instead he shouted, "Someone knock the fan off!"
Flora scrambled off in response to the direction of the switches. In her frenzy Flora had forgotten what switch correlated to which reaction, so just decided to flip the switch in the middle.
The fan sped up.
Flora heard Musa rap to the omelet, she couldn't help but giggle with Bloom as Musa continued. The rap was cut short by the chef's shout of horror, it contrasted to Musa's set beat, due to the opera like qualities of the chef's screams, "TURN IT OOOFF!"
Flora continued her panicking, while she smiled nervously. Tecna came over to help, noticing her friend's worry growing. She poked the correct button immediately. The omelet batter flew off in slow motion it seemed before landing on the chef's face.
They watched in tense silence. He inhaled and exhaled. Inhaled and exhaled. Inhaled and exhaled. He spoke slowly, with gritted teeth, "I will speak with the headmistress, to assure your permanent expulsion from kitchen duties. Until I get back, just watch the roast."
Bloom had never smiled quicker. And with that he stormed out.
Minutes passed, and the girls had come to entertain themselves via teaching Tecna to actually peel the potatoes, with them taking turns to check the state of the roast. These were interrupted with Stella's grand entrance.
Bloom noticed her grin, "What's caused you to smile so widely?"
Stella wandered over closer to them holding a note, Musa rolled her eyes, "This better be good, we had to deal with kitchen duties and the chef on our own," She shuddered.
"I don't know, Sweets, is this a good excuse? I have been invited," She announced, holding the piece of paper up for grabs.
"To the 'Shoe of the Month' club? Aren't they a bit later than usual?" Flora asked, confused.
"No, it's from a certain prince," Stella smiled, looking upwards to the sky.
"What?!" The girls chorused, Bloom continued alone, "He's actually, finally asked you out?"
Stella giggled, "Took him a while, right?"
"For tonight?" Tecna questioned, "Does he lose points for the late notice?"
"Yes and normally that would be the case, but he gains points back due to the pure romanticism of sending a handwritten note!" Stella said, clutching her hands.
"Where is it?" Musa asked, snatching the note from Tecna, she read it, "The Black Lagoon? That actually sounds quite cute," Musa complimented.
"I know, it's at the outskirts of Magix City," Stella explained, "I've been struggling to decide what to wear!"
Bloom smirked, "Say no more."
The girls left the kitchen unsupervised and followed Stella back to their dorm. It was a relatively long walk, due to the placement of the kitchen being on the ground floor around the entrance, compared to that of their dorm, being at one of the towers, at the top. They all liked where it was, the view being amazing was a deciding factor in it, but no one would be happy with the large trek to and from areas of the school.
"Are you nervous at all, Stel?" Bloom asked, joining Stella at the 'front'.
Stella laughed, "No?"
Musa joined them, "Are you sure?"
"She sounds unsure," Tecna remarked.
Stella rolled her eyes, "Maybe a bit, but I know he likes me and he knows I like him. I'm trying to think, what else matters? But at the same time, I want it to be perfect, because it's well: Sky."
Flora smiled, and snuck behind her and Bloom, to slot next to Stella, "I think you're just making worries, you've said it yourself. Does it really matter how it goes, as long as you're with the right person?"
Stella turned to her, and contemplated her words, "You're right, but you can't go wrong with the perfect outfit," She winked, before taking her key to open their dorm and then ran to their room.
She led them to her closet, it was incredibly long, taking the entire width of her massive bedroom. It sat directly opposite her four post bed, that was next to the door, as well as next to the additional set of stairs in her room. Stella had decorated her room incredibly well, no one could deny that it was hers. Her mirror that was on the wall next to the wardrobe, was covered with pictures of her family and gardens, as well as models of outfits. Across from that though, there was a notice board also filled with pictures, but these photos contrasted to the others; they were more recent, and contained people they actually knew, themselves and their favorite group of specialists.
As the closet was so big, the girls all claimed different spots and began rummaging through, to find an outfit. There were some interesting outfits to say the least, things they wouldn't have expected to see within Stella's closet.
"Could I use this at any point Stella?" Flora asked, showing a black dress, that had a rough edge about it, "I don't own much black!"
"Flora you can keep the damn thing, if we find me a nice outfit!" Stella snapped.
Tecna pulled another dress out, laughing, "Please tell us the story behind this." She gestured to the dress, a long pink dress with blue triangles decorating it, finished by dark ruffles around the neck and wrist, with additional feathers that were off by a shade to the blue ruffles.
Stella grimaced and shuddered, "Oh let's not."
Musa laughed, "Let's!"
"I designed it," Stella mumbled, teeth grit.
"In the dark?"
The girls laughed.
Stella coughed, "Hello! Date in like 20 minutes? And no outfit!"
"Hi," Tecna smiled, Stella face palmed.
Bloom rolled her eyes, "What about this? It reminds me of the dress I had for the Alfea and Red Fountain Opening Party!" It was a baby blue halter neck dress that was relatively short, there was dark blue lining to support and emphasize the halter neck design.
"Yes!" Stella exclaimed, discarding her clothes and slipping the item on, "And I have the perfect shoes! But jewelry? Musa can you bring out that chest please?" She requested, pointing behind where Musa stood.
Musa bent down to grab it, but as she pulled she got stuck, "Bloom come help!" She hissed out.
"How much jewelry?" Bloom asked, as the two struggled to carry it even with the both of them helping.
Stella only laughed, opening it as soon as it was set down. She tried various things on, before deciding on a silver bracelet for each wrist. She held her hands out and smiled, before her vision singled out her ring. She was silent for a few seconds.
She took the ring off, "I won't be needing magic tonight, look after it for me Bloom," She smiled, as Bloom put it in her jean pocket.
"Are you sure?" Flora asked.
"Yes, you are not being particularly logical. Why all this for just a boy?" Tecna asked, rolling her eyes.
"Aw, you guys shouldn't be worried," Stella smiled, "Me and Sky can protect ourselves."
"Only if you're sure," Bloom stated.
Stella nodded.
"Say, Brandon's not gonna be there is he?" Bloom smiled.
Stella smirked, "No, Sky decided to give his servant the night off, sorry darlin!"
"He's his squire, Stella, not servant!" Bloom snapped.
"You're right, but the same point stands true," Stella shrugged.
Bloom rolled her eyes.
Musa thought aloud, "I feel like we're forgetting something."
Flora's eyes widened, "The kitchen!"
They made a run for it, calling back to wish good luck for Stella. Stella also made a run for it, though out the window to Sky, rather than to the kitchen.
As they got closer and closer, there was a strong smell of smoke, Flora groaned, "I'll get the extinguisher!"
The other three arrived in the kitchen, and the smoke was thick. The three grabbed towels and started waving them to clear out the smoke. Musa joked, "Think the roast is a tad welldone."
"'Well' and 'done' are two words that are rarely used consecutively in reference to you girls," Griselda said, spawning from the smoke it seemed, "The chef has let me know that you are excluded from the preparatory duties of the kitchen, I may have let you had the after dinner free had you been responsible, but now you will be doing the dishes. Only after that will you be free to go to your dorm." She let her words and the smoke settle, before she casted, "Aero Luxo." The smoke dissipated around them, revealing the hardened features of her face.
The girls kept their groans to a minimum, in fear of extra punishment. They lit up, when they heard Flora shout, "Incoming!" Before, yet again life seemed to go in slow motion, as she sprayed the extinguisher into Griselda's face.
Bloom blinked.
Tecna stared blankly.
Musa snorted.
Flora flinched.
And Griselda, she growled and stormed off.
The time it took to eat the food and clean all first year dishes with help from the already elected to dish duty, resulted in the time being as to when the moon reached its peak. They were all exhausted. Bloom and Flora headed to their room, where they both flopped onto their bed.
"I haven't heard Stella yet, is that a good sign?" Bloom pondered aloud to Flora.
She only heard her snores in response, Bloom couldn't help but laugh. She heard Musa and Tecna laugh outside, causing her to join them.
"What's going on?" Bloom asked, smiling lazily.
"Nothing much," Musa replied.
Tecna rolled her eyes, "Musa was on about how she wanted to be asked out and she suggested that I should go out with Timmy, it caused me to chuckle."
Bloom nodded, "It'd be nice to be asked out, but it makes sense Sky would ask Stella out, from what she's told me they've been dancing around each other since this time last year!"
"Doesn't mean I can't be jealous," Musa stated.
Bloom agreed, before she asked, "Who do you want to be asked out by anyway?"
"No one in particular," Musa replied, she nudged Bloom, "I think we all know yours."
Bloom laughed, "You can't blame me!"
"Nah, I can, he's not exactly my type," Musa contemplated.
The three continued the mindless chatter before, yawns became a consistent topic in the conversation.
"I guess, it's time for bed! Night!"
"Bloom," A voice called out to her. It was familiar, it felt almost like home, she'd heard this voice before, yet she didn't know where.
The voice kept repeating her name again and again, it sounded as though it was coming from the water and it began to get more and more desperate, "Bloom! Bloom! Bloom!"
She was now walking in her dream, aimlessly it seemed, "Where are you?" She cried out, "Who are you?" She instead tried.
It was no use. The only word it said was her name, the voice didn't just say it: it demanded.
The demands ceased as a crash woke her up. "What was that?" She said, in hopes that Flora was awake.
"I don't know, but are you okay, you were talking?" Flora asked, joining Bloom in her bed.
"Yeah, just this stupid dream. I'm more worried about Stella though, let's check it out," She replied, her annoyance of the dream lacing her tone.
They both got up, Bloom still in pajamas, compared to Flora who was still in her clothes from yesterday, due to her abrupt sleep the previous night. Before she exited her room she noticed her rabbit, Kiko, still asleep, she rolled her eyes, that rabbit could sleep through anything. They left their room and noticed Tecna and Musa peeking out, still clad in their pajamas. Simultaneously, they all flinched.
"That sounded expensive," Musa noted. In response they all grimaced.
"And something tells me, we won't be seeing the specialists for a while," Flora joked.
"Why not?" Tecna asked, oblivious.
"From Stella's actions, it'd seem the date didn't go all too well," Musa explained, Tecna's mouth opened ever so slightly.
"Well there's only one way to find out," Bloom said, walking towards Stella's door to knock, "Everything alright?"
The others huddled around the door.
"Just peachy!" Stella snapped.
Flora joined in, "Are you sure, sweetie? We didn't hear you get in?"
"It was great," She said in a happy tone, though it didn't sound like her voice, it had a rougher tone to it, and it was much deeper. In addition to that she was in her normal clothes and there was no sight of her date clothes on the ground.
Bloom looked at her friends in confusion and her friends' faces mirrored her confusion. Stella swung the door and looked them over, Bloom peaked over her shoulder to look in the room, it was in discord: clothes were scattered everywhere; the usually untouched school books were also everywhere; the mirror had been knocked over and her bed sheets were atop the four posts.
"Do you want to tell us how it went?" Musa probed.
"It was fine."
"You have got to use more descriptive vocabulary to describe your fate, I had thought you were excited," Tecna said.
"It was romantic. Go back to sleep," Stella demanded.
"The alarms are about to go off," Flora raised her eyebrows.
Stella closed her eyes and inhaled, before smiling menacingly, "Then get ready."
And with that she slammed the door.
"Something isn't right," Bloom said, the others agreed.
"Let's try again later," Flora suggested, "We'll just get on with our day as per usual."
They did just that, and had gotten to their final lesson: Metamorphosis. Stella had still yet to show up to any lessons, the girls had thought if she was going to show up to any lesson, it'd be Wizgiz's. This only confirmed that something was up with their friend.
Today's lesson was about transforming their head into something they could mimic, next lesson would be transforming their head into something they visualized in their head. Wizgiz always emphasized the art of the small steps to help them fully achieve their 'goal', this was shown in his lesson planning. Hair to head to what she assumed would eventually be next their: full body.
They were mimicking a pumpkin today. There were no true words for the spell. A fairy could do it silently, or utter a few words, for the changing of a head, it was whatever helped an individual fairy.
One by one they had traded their usual head, to a pumpkin with much more simplistic features.
"You all look marvelous," The leprechaun announced with glee, "Now to undo it, there is a spell. Listen and repeat after me: Vanish Pumpkin."
A rather simple spell, Bloom thought, though despite its simplicity one pumpkin still remained. It was Lexi. She cried, "Professor! What should I do?"
"You're worried and your mind is plagued with something else," His tone did not match the gloom of the words, "No need to worry though, here you go!"
Lexi screamed at the sight of the mouse, causing Wizgiz to laugh. Soon after he dismissed the class early (as he usually did) and it was the end of the day.
"Girls," He called out to them, "Where's Stella? Is she alright?"
"We don't know, she was acting odd this morning too," Bloom explained.
"Did she do anything last night?" He continued.
Musa replied, "She was supposed to go on a date."
"How odd, well anyway have a good day!"
"We can go check on her again now," Flora suggested, there were no objections and so they headed to their dormitory.
Once they were in they noticed that they entire dorm was similar to the state of Stella's room this morning, Musa felt her anger spike, "What the fuck?"
"Nevermind that for now," Bloom responded, "We can fix it with a flick of a finger, we can't fix Stella that easily."
"Me? Need fixing, you are out of your mind," Stella stated, walking out of Tecna and Musa's room.
"Yeah, we're the crazy ones," Musa rolled her eyes.
Stella laughed fakely, "I guess you're right, I have been acting odd. I wish I could say I'm sorry, but I'm looking for something very important to me."
"What are you looking for?" Tecna asked.
"My ring."
"You gave it to Bloom last night, is your memory faulty?" Tecna asked, with genuine concern.
Musa face palmed.
"You could say that," Stella smirked, before baring her teeth towards Bloom, "Give it to me."
"No," Bloom said, clutching her jean pocket in security, "You're acting weird, I don't want you to hurt anyone or yourself."
Stella's eyes glowed purple, as did hands, she blasted Bloom with an energy blast that contrasted to her usual ones. Where her usual ones were so light they could be mistaken for the sun itself, this blast was light purple with a splotchy, shadowy outline. 'Stella' didn't stick around much longer, not seeing the impact of the beam, as it was absorbed by a shield Tecna had conjured.
"Dark magic," Tecna noted, "How odd."
"Something is definitely wrong with Stella," Bloom said, alarmed.
"Do you think she's being controlled?" Flora asked worriedly.
"I don't know," Bloom answered.
"I think we know our prime suspect," Musa said, walking through to Stella's room, she bent down and picked the note up, "Prince Sky of Eraklyon."
"Well, it's a good place to start," Bloom said unsurely, "Let's go."
They caught the bus, which ran after school hours, to get to Red Fountain. They did have to ask as to where the boys' room was located (they may have also gotten lost in addition to that). Eventually, they did arrive at the boys' dorm and knocked, Sky was quick to answer the door offering a smile to them once he realized who they were, his smile faltering when he saw the stoney faces that met him.
"Would you like to come in?" He offered despite these faces.
They complied and took in the room. It was surprisingly neat and was somewhat similar to their dorm. It had a living room that, while neat, was absolutely packed, with a television, many books, a weapon stand and a clothes hook that was empty besides a few coats. It was only one floor and even contained a minimalist kitchen, there were three other doors (probably two bedrooms and the bathroom).
He laughed, nervously, "I would offer you a spot on the couch but…" He gestured for them to look. They saw Brandon flopped face first lengthways on it, Timmy and Riven looking equally as tired beside each other on the couch with a dog lying on the two of them.
"What happened?" Flora asked, mesmerized by the sight.
"As our last day of punishment for losing the troll, Codatorta the Terrible, made us do an intense obstacle course," Sky laughed, heartily, "We're now officially allowed outside campus!"
"Why aren't you tired?" Musa asked, looking directly into his eyes.
Before he could answer, Brandon let out a muffled shout, "Because he's a freaky, gym rat!"
Sky rolled his eyes.
"Where were you last night?" Musa tried again, now leaning in.
He took a step back, blushing, "I was in the gym."
Brandon intercepted, "See!" His voice was less muffled due to him turning his cheek to face them.
"You sure you didn't sweep a princess off her feet?" Bloom added, helping Musa.
"No? Did Stella send you? I haven't been on any dates, she knows that," Sky explained, beginning to look ever so slightly annoyed.
Flora had been the designated note holder and held it out for him to read, his eyes briefly skimming over the page, he looked up at them with confusion.
Riven lazily laughed, "He couldn't have written that, didn't you girls know he spent so much time on his royal throne, he lost out on essential school time."
Oblivious to the other boys laughing, she snapped, "Keep laughing Riven, cause no one else is going to!"
The dog, excited at the new voices, ran towards the girls, barking happily. Tecna flinched, and kept attempting to usher the dog down, "Down, please? Down?"
"No dogs where you're from, Tec?" Sky laughed, trying to coax the dog off of her, "She doesn't listen much to me either, don't worry about it."
"Lady!" Brandon shouted from the couch, "Come here, I need comfort."
"Is Stella alright?" Sky asked, reverting the conversation back to where it was.
Bloom grimaced, "Yes?" Before noticing his eyebrow twitch, "No. She's been acting really odd, and well un-Stella-like."
"Okay," He said, breathing, "We'll help look for her."
The boys groaned. Flora noticed this and said, "You don't have to it's rea-"
"Nope." Sky said, interrupting her heading to the couch, where the others were, "We're helping."
He pulled each of them up, the four of them looking as though they wouldn't mind someone striking them or Sky down.
"We'll take you on the ship to the center of Magix and we'll split up to look for this 'Black Lagoon'. Unless anybody knows where it is," Sky continued, voice holding an assertive tone to it.
"I hate it when he gets like this," Riven muttered to Timmy, who couldn't help but nod in agreement, "All heroic and shit."
Brandon walked over to Riven to put a hand on Riven's shoulder, "Me too." Riven soon after shoved the hand off.
"Lead the way," Bloom said, ignoring the tired three (she wouldn't admit this aloud, but she found the bed-headed Sky very adorable).
It was the same ship that had taken them to their professor last week, it had their dodgy patch work in an attempt to fix the ship. Tecna noticed this, "Oh is the aircraft alright, despite the crash then?"
Timmy grimaced, "Not really, we got a big enough telling off from Codatora, we didn't want it to get worse."
Tecna nodded, "As long as it is not in the danger of crashing."
"Yep, I'm hoping to fix it day by day though, I've been working on the internal status I think over this weekend I'll be able to fix the external bits," He added, gesturing to the patch work, "Riven's going to help, and then Sky and Brandon are going to do a recoating of the paint entirely."
"Ships are not really my expertise," Tecna explained, "I would enjoy getting to know more about them."
"Maybe next time, when a friend isn't in danger I can teach you some things," He offered, blushing.
Tecna smiled, oblivious to the blushing.
Due to the airborne transportation method used, they arrived relatively quickly, and devised a meeting point they would meet at every hour, unless they found The Black Lagoon. If the cafe or restaurant or club was found, the group would head over and send the coordinates to the other group, who would be tasked with catching up and providing support upon arrival.
The four were still clad in their Specialist Uniforms and looked significantly more awake, the two groups split up and looked for Stella. The four boys did look a sight, as the Winx watched them, they marched in semi-unison and to unsuspecting civilians rather intimidating, the Winx gathered from the almost miniscule flinches they displayed.
"They seem to be more of a team now," Musa noted, "And, I can see why Sky is the leader now."
"What do you mean?" Bloom asked, curiously.
"Well you saw that, right? He actually took charge, rather than just a passenger view of them, I guess?"
Flora agreed, "Yeah, I saw it too."
Tecna nodded.
Bloom contemplated it, "You're right! I hadn't noticed it before."
"In literary pieces, leaders share qualities of him too, for example him being the tallest and most muscular," Tecna added.
"Careful, Tec, Stella might get defensive!" Musa laughed, and the other three joined her.
Tecna pulled out one of her self-made devices from her pocket, "This should find The Black Lagoon, it is linked to the mapping system of Magix."
"Did you make it?" Bloom asked, not seeing anything like it before.
"Yes, though it may not work, it is its first time in the field," Tecna explained, ever so slightly embarrassed.
"You still made it, sweetie! That's an accomplishment in itself!" Flora smiled towards her.
"What's its name?" Bloom wondered.
Tecna blushed, "That is a work in progress."
"Nevermind that!" Musa said, "We need to find Stella!"
Tecna, input the information required (just the name) and nothing came up, but tried again with another name, and it worked, "That's suspicious," She commented.
"I guess we'll have to use our own searching systems now," Bloom grimaced, the girls looking over to Bloom who walked over to a young adult, "Do you know where The Black Lagoon is?"
The person looked at Bloom in confusion, they said, "I'm sorry, what?"
"A cafe, or restaurant, maybe a club?" Bloom tried, hoping those words would trigger a memory.
The person gave no response and walked off.
"Ooooh," Musa cooed sarcastically, "What a fun operating system!"
"Well, this is our only way now," Bloom snapped, before saying aside, "No offense Tecna."
Tecna shrugged, "Non taken, I suppose."
"What? Will we regroup in a couple of minutes?" Flora asked.
"Yeah, on that corner," Bloom suggested.
The four boys had walked around aimlessly for a couple of minutes, and Timmy knew they would continue to do so unless someone spoke up. Timmy looked at the other two, they looked like walking zombies who were about to maul each other. Despite their new found 'civility' neither Timmy or Sky trusted the two in a room together, in fear they would snap, the looks proved their worries correct, or at least supported what they suspected (neither wanted to test the theory out). Timmy concluded that he would have to be the silence breaker.
"So, do we have an actual plan or…?" Timmy asked.
"Yeah, dude, we can't just walk around looking intimidating in the hopes we get given the information we want," Brandon added, walking to Sky for additional support.
"We ask someone?" Sky asked in response.
"That's a start!" Timmy encouraged, "But, that may not be effective?"
"What do you mean, Timmy?" Riven implored.
"It's just well… No offense Riven, but you're not the most social, and well neither am I," He started, watching Riven nod in somewhat agreement, "And in all honesty neither are you Brandon."
Brandon grimaced, but didn't counter.
Sky nodded in understanding, before coming to the realization, "And it's going to look intimidating if I'm asking questions, with four other 'specialists' behind me."
"Yeah, pretty much," Timmy agreed, looking in amusement at the delayed realizations of their two tired teammates.
Sky was silent for a few moments, thinking. Something suddenly seemed to click, he smirked at the boys, "Time we ask for some public input."
The three looked on with bored astonishment, as he leaped onto a bench shouting for attention. He was confident all three cringed at his confidence to just seemingly make a fool of himself by shouting for directions to a cafe, though no one looked at him with confusion or disbelief, they just went to answer, though all Timmy could decipher were similar phrases to 'I don't know what that is' and 'pardon'.
There was awkward silence between the three of them, Timmy hated it but he also hated being the one to break it. He considered his two options: sit in silence while they gave each other death glares, or try for conversation to dissipate (possible) rising tensions.
"So. You guys feel better?"
Riven raised his eyebrows, "I feel better than the Squire seems to."
"You're probably not wrong," Brandon mumbled, seemingly drifting off again.
Riven rolled his eyes, "You know for the 'bodyguard' of a prince, you sure do a shit job of it."
Timmy's eyes widened, he realized he would have been better staying silent, he said the first thing he thought, "Wow! Crazy about that fake note, sure hope Stella is okay!"
Brandon's face of anger melted into a look of concern for Timmy. Riven was looking at him in a similar way. They both looked as though he was insane.
When Brandon spoke it was in a slow tone, "Yeah, she's our friend Timmy, we don't want her dead."
Riven squinted, "She may be your friend but she's not mine," He seemed to realize how childish that sounded before continuing, "Just because she's annoying doesn't mean I want her gone."
Sky arrived just in time to save Timmy from any more painful conversations, though his face was one of confusion, "It's like it doesn't exist."
Flora had asked multiple people by the time the few minutes had passed, she was the first to arrive at the spot they had decided on. She perked up when she noticed Bloom's arrival, though Bloom had a glum face, they'd had the same success rate it seemed. Next was Tecna, she was harder to read upon arrival, her face was blank as it usually was, though she was twitching her lip ever so slightly, a quirk that showed Tecna's annoyance. Last was Musa, she was rather outright about her annoyance as she stormed over.
"Maybe we would be better off telling a teacher," Tecna proposed.
"What? So Griselda can blame Stella for being naive or call her stupid?" Bloom said, hotly.
"It was a suggestion, I will shut up next time," Tecna replied, at an equal temperature.
"Guys," Flora couldn't help but moan, putting her head in her hands.
Musa put her hand on Flora's back, and the other two apologized.
"Maybe, the guys had better luck over finding The Black Lagoon," Musa suggested.
A portly man approached them, he was shorter than Tecna and Flora, he wore all black and his hair reminded Flora of a mushroom, she noticed he had an unsteady quality to his voice as he spoke, "Did I hear you cats chat about The Black Lagoon?"
Flora grimaced, she saw Bloom join her in doing so out of the corner of her eye, Musa spoke up for them, "Yeah our friend was chatting about it, but we can't find it anyway."
"Your friend has good taste," The man said, "Follow to the end of this road," He said, pointing ahead, "It'll lead you to a river on the outskirts of the city, cross it and you'll see an orange oak tree. Behind is this cute cottage and you'll have it."
Tecna made a mental note of his directions, they were incredibly simple so it wouldn't exactly be hard.
Bloom stood up from her seat, ready to thank the guy but he'd gone, "Huh?" The girls shared her confusion, "Maybe that's just how hipsters are?"
That was a decent sounding reason and with that, they followed his directions. Soon enough they arrived, it did seem like a prime place to have a first date, it was cute.
"Bloom share your location to Sky or Brandon," Tecna reminded Bloom, as they stepped foot into the serene area.
"Isn't it just precious?" Flora commented, looking at the cottage closer, "And this oak tree is so beautiful." She smiled, before she touched it, her smile melted off.
"Sounds like you'll have to update your system some more!" Musa laughed to Tecna.
Tecna looked affronted, "It is this place that is wrong!"
"She's right," Flora muttered, "This tree is dead."
"What?"
"It has been for a while," Flora continued, "There's an illusion spell here, I'm confident."
In confirmation, wind rushed out of the cottage and the whole area changed around them. The cottage's beautifully painted walls changed to uneven splotches of dark browns, the wooden beams decorating it were now rotten and the window frames and door hinges had all rust. The grassy lands fared no better, instead of the healthy greens previously displayed, the grass was patchy and yellow on a mix of dry soil and wet mud. The tree lost its leaves, all of them disappearing into the shadows and the strong tree now truly seemed dead, with its withered branches and such. This place was no longer 'cute'. Now it was foul, disgusting, revolting, the only positive being the still sunny weather.
"No turning back now, girls," Bloom announced, before making her way in.
They were reintroduced with the man who gave them directions, "You found your way here! Soon you will be served, if you follow me."
He guided them downstairs, where they were met with Stella. She was flying, no not flying: she was floating. Like a witch. She seemed to notice them, and placed herself on the ground gently. She still had that rough voice when she spoke, "My dearest friend the pixies! I don't want to hurt you, but you give me no choice if you continue your refusal to give me the ring."
The girls looked at her in confusion, over what she'd called them. They didn't have much more time to ponder over her words as she flew up again, laughing maniacally.
"Stella! Your aura is very negative now," Flora called out.
Stella let out a growl and sent a purple blast towards them, splitting the four up: Musa and Tecna behind a table for protection and Flora and Bloom attempting to gather protection from a minimal beam.
Musa called out to Flora, "That helped," She was ignored, so she looked over towards them, "Oh no! Their cover isn't gonna last long at the rate she's going!"
Tecna looked over and nodded, "Don't worry, I will handle this." She transformed, her casual clothes now turning into her purple, glittering suit with a matching hood and green kite like wings. She conjured a large shield, controlling where it went with her forearm she ran over to her other friends to help transport them back to the more stable protection of the table, at least compared to the decimated beam.
Stella continued blasting towards them.
"I'm sick of her shit! Friend or not, I'm not gonna stick around and be blasted," Musa grumbled.
Bloom looked at her and then Stella, "We all know that's not Stella, right?"
"Pixies!" 'Stella' sang, "Come out now, we don't have to fight!"
Flora spoke next, "We all know who calls us pixies."
Bloom nodded and stood up, "All right! Which witch are you?"
Stella's form disappeared, the person ever so slightly shrank, her yellow hair changing into a muddy green, her ever so slightly tanned skin went fair and her skirt and crop top changed into a dark purple jumpsuit. 'Stella' was revealed to be Darcy.
She said, "And the slowest horse crosses the finishing line!" At either side of her, Icy and Stormy appeared.
"Get ready girls!" Bloom announced, cueing the three remaining to transform, "Looks like we're on an even playing field."
Icy looked at the four of them and raised her eyebrow, before she could say anything though the man who had guided them to The Black Lagoon begged, "Do me! Do me!"
Darcy rolled her eyes but complied nevertheless, he was revealed to be the ogre they had already encountered.
Both sides posed ready for battle, Icy interrupted them, "Now, now, before you do anything rash, just know that whatever you do will be the decider of your friend's fate."
"What?" Bloom growled.
Icy continued, "Darcy?"
As if it was a cue, Darcy flicked her wrist and revealed Stella within a magical cage. It looked like an electrical current, that by the second seemed to get tighter. Stella looked ragged, her blue dress torn into shreds and her hair mattered. Stella's eyes widened and she cried out, "I'm so sorry! They tricked me!"
The girls observed in horror, Tecna asked, "Why are you sorry?"
"Not now Tec."
Bloom ignored the voices and just stared at Stella's eyes, they were red rimmed as though she'd already been crying, she shook her head, "What are your conditions?"
"Give us the ring and Stella walks away free," Stormy answered, quickly.
Musa said, "I say we take them. It's four vs three and an idiot!"
Tecna agreed, Flora remained silent.
"I'd be careful, pixies," Darcy interrupted, "These rings you see, if they get tight enough, there'll be pixie all over the walls."
Bloom flinched, she blanked everyone out. She felt her surroundings go dark and her head go dizzy. She knew what her choice would be, no matter the consequences.
"Okay." She started, "The wings are off."
Her friends looked at her in shock and Stella began to erratically shake her head.
She couldn't tell who, but someone muttered, "What are you doing?"
She ignored them, she went in her jean pocket, "Here's the ring. Please just give us Stella," She didn't know or care whether she sounded as though she was begging, she was desperate.
Icy landed, and walked over to them, each step causing a flinch from each girl. She snatched the ring and clicked her fingers. Stella dropped to the floor. Icy remarked, "Pleasure doing business with you all."
And with that the three witches and one ogre disappeared, they ran to tend to their sobbing friend.
Musa broke the silence, "You okay, Stella?"
Stella paused her shaky breaths, "I've been better."
"Well, you wanna blow this popsicle stand?" Bloom said, jokingly.
She felt the confused glares in her direction, Musa was the most vocal, "What the fuck did you just say?"
Flora just blinked.
Stella actually laughed, "Sure," She remained silent, before saying, "I don't think I'm gonna be allowed out though."
"Why not?" Tecna asked, before looking at Stella, "Oh, yes. You are dressed slightly indecent now."
Before Stella could agree, she was interrupted by the sound of a ship landing, and the feeling of the uneven surface they stood on shaking, "Is that?"
"Hopefully," Bloom nodded.
"Stella!" Sky's voice boomed, "You girls okay?"
"Yeah!" Musa shouted, "Come down the stairs, dude!"
A few seconds later he appeared looking quite frazzled, his eyes lit up when he saw Stella, "You're alright!" He closed the distance between him and the girls, though his eyes were trained on Stella only.
"Yeah," Stella smiled, though sadness was still evident on her face, "Though my dress is in tatters."
He cupped her face and caressed under her eyes, where there was puffiness, "Oh, my. Yeah that is a bit, shit," Sky said looking at it, "You want my cape?"
Stella thought about it, briefly, "Yeah, that'd be good," She laughed.
He didn't need telling twice, he flicked it off and attached it to her and laughed back.
"Sky!" Brandon's voice shouted, "Where are you?"
"Down here! But we'll come up to you," He shouted back, before turning to the girls, "You want a lift home?"
"That would be incredible, please?" Flora agreed.
"Awesome! Let's go then," Sky said, gesturing for them to go ahead, "You alright, princess?"
Stella nodded, before smirking, "I do have jelly legs though."
"Say no more," Sky said, smirking back, before picking her up.
They got to the aircraft, and greeted their other friends, and couldn't help but notice the tiniest bit of tension leaving their faces at the sight of Stella's safety. Though that tension was replaced with disgust as Stella and Sky were all over each other throughout the ride home. The girls were glad of the ride home, due to their cases of 'jelly legs', though they did not have anyone willing to pick them up and be their way of transportation.
On their arrival home, Stella returned the cape to Sky, looking significantly happier and less stressed out. (Not counting her regretful farewell to Sky, who looked equally remorseful). Each of them changed into their pajamas despite the still light sky and decided to hang out in their living room
"We fell for it like amateurs," Musa complained, flopping on the couch.
Stella considered this, "Maybe because we are amateurs?"
"We could have beaten them," Tecna grumbled, looking up at Bloom to give her the dead-eye, "It was four on four."
"A battle could have aggravated them, to me the exchange was the safest option to have a favorable outcome," Bloom explained, her voice showing no regret.
"Yeah and who elected you our 'leader'," Tecna countered.
Bloom looked at her with confusion, "What are you on about?"
Flora looked at Tecna, who was sitting on the floor, "I would have done the same thing."
Musa was upside down hanging off the sofa, she added, "Plus, it needed to be a quick decision, we couldn't exactly have a discussion."
Bloom smiled, "They may have scored a goal but the game isn't quite over!" She winked.
She was again met with blank stares, Stella said, "You and your weird Earth phrases."
Bloom laughed nervously, "What do you guys not have soccer here?"
"No," Tecna answered.
"What is it?" Flora encouraged.
"You have two teams and both are trying to kick their ball into the team's net!" Bloom got up and ran to a pair of socks to kick them, "Like this!"
"Wow, how riveting," Stella commented, before pausing, "I know how to score our goal though."
"Yeah?" Bloom asked.
"We or I need to get my ring back," Stella stated.
The girls all looked at eachother, Flora smiled, "You know we're gonna help you."