Bloom sat with her legs crossed beneath her, enjoying the sun shining down on her on what was probably one of the last warm days before winter well and truly hit. The chatter of the other students was a pleasant backdrop as she focused on keeping her breathing deep and even as Avalon had taught her. Also as she'd been instructed, she concentrated not on the activity around her, but on her dreams from the night before.

As always they'd been a twisting maze of people, images, and scenes, shifting fluidly between them without much reason. Asterin had once again featured, her face white and full of pain as Bloom had been forced to watch the Trix surround and taunt her. Asterin's eyes, glowing a brilliant silver in the dream, had sought Bloom out, begging for her help even as she remained silent under the Trix's torture.

Bloom's dream self had tried to intervene, but before she was able she'd been whisked away and deposited in the middle of a grand ballroom. All around her, couples danced, looking elegant in their beautiful dresses and sharp suits, and when she looked to the front of the ballroom she saw a red headed queen looking resplendent with her gleaming crown. The woman had looked familiar but it was only when a tall man appeared before Bloom and she looked up into the face of her birth father, did she realise who the queen was.

"Oritel?" she'd asked, but rather than answering, he'd taken her hands in his and swept her amongst the dancing couples, spinning her around and around.

Then Oritel had morphed into Sky, but far from her father's easy smile, Sky had looked down at her in concern.

"Bloom, are you okay?" he'd asked over and over again as they danced, before disappearing altogether, taking Oritel, Miriam, and the rest of the guests with him.

Thinking she was all alone, Bloom had just stood there for a moment, feeling muddled and unsure of what was coming next. Then she'd heard the steady dripping of water hitting the pristine floors, and she'd whirled around, coming face to face with Daphne. Her sister was soaking wet as though she'd just dragged herself out of Lake Roccaluce and there was something infinitely sad about her expression.

"Bloom," she'd said. "Bloom, where are you? Bloom."

The first tears had just spilled from Daphne's eyes when Bloom had awoken with a gasp, heart thumping in her chest. When she'd checked, the shining numbers of the clock on her bedside table told her that it was still the early hours of the morning but Bloom had never felt more awake. She'd tried to get back to sleep but instead had found herself lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling for a long time as the sun slowly rose.

Perturbed by the dream, she'd told her friends that she was going down to the lake to visit Daphne, but had never made it there. She'd ended up on the quad instead, mind turning the pieces of her dream over and over. Avalon had warned her that her dreams could be helpful but that they could also be deceitful. The trick, he'd said, was being able to pull out the pieces that could aid her in her genealogical study and discard the rest. So sitting there under the sun, she obediently cast aside the visions of Asterin at the mercy of the Trix, Sky's concern, and even Daphne's unhappiness, concentrating instead on dancing with her father and the sight of her mother on her throne.

But still Bloom struggled to interpret the dream. Was the dream supposed to represent the life she should have had? Was dancing with Oritel at the royal ball symbolic of the luxury and opulence she'd once been surrounded by? Was the vision of Miriam on the throne a look into her own future? One that she hoped included rebuilding the kingdom of Sparx. And what did any of this have to do with controlling her powers better, which was supposed to be the point of genealogy.

Bloom could feel the frustration beginning to rise in her chest, and she was wondering if she was going to have to consult Avalon in order to decipher this dream when the chittering of giggles broke her concentration completely. Cracking one eye open, Bloom resisted the urge to roll her eyes when she caught sight of Amaryl and a cluster of her flunkies watching her, mean sneers on each of their faces.

"Oh, we didn't mean to interrupt you," Amaryl sniggered, even though Bloom was willing to bet that was exactly what the other girl had been hoping for. "What were you doing? Meditating?"

"I was working on an exercise for Avalon's class," Bloom said through gritted teeth, hoping that the mention of Avalon's class, which Amaryl hadn't been selected for, would be enough of a jab to make the other girl back off.

But Amaryl continued as though Bloom hadn't spoken. "'Cause I was thinking maybe meditation would really help you, Bloom. We know you can be a little prone to… outbursts," she said, clearly referencing those moments last year when Bloom's power had completely overwhelmed her.

Bloom bit back a retort, but by the slow spreading of Amaryl's smile, she could tell that the other girl knew she'd struck a nerve.

"Of course, it's a lot of power to control," Amaryl continued, stalking forward. "Having the Flame of the Great Dragon inside you."

"I can control it just fine."

Amaryl lifted her hand to her heart in a show of sympathy that Bloom didn't believe for a second was truly sincere. "It's okay, Bloom. We all saw you struggle with that cushioning spell in charms class the other day. It must be so frustrating to have a power that's so inconsistent."

Bloom wasn't even sure if Amaryl realised just how raw the nerve she'd just touched was, but it was too late and the damage was done. She shot up from the bench and strode towards the other fairy.

"And we all know you're failing Faylinn's class, so why don't you concentrate on your own school work instead of sticking your nose in mine?"

Bloom saw a flash of Amaryl's wide eyes, clearly taken aback by the venom in her retort, but she didn't stick around to see the rest of the reaction, choosing instead to stomp off in the direction of the castle. And she didn't stop stomping until she made it back to the dorm room, thundering through the door and slamming it closed behind her hard enough to rattle the glass panels.

"Alright there, Bloom?"

Bloom's breath caught in her throat as she looked over and saw that the other girls were all sitting there, now looking at her in concern. She'd been so mad from the confrontation with Amaryl that she hadn't even noticed they were in the dorm.

"Yeah," she muttered, beelining for her room. "Fine." It was Sunday and even though she still had a mountain of homework to get through, Bloom thought she could rationalise having a quick nap to make up for her disrupted sleep the night before.

"Did your visit with Daphne go badly?" Flora asked.

Bloom forced herself to stop in the doorway of her room, feeling a flash of irritation towards her friend even though Flora's voice had been full of nothing but concern.

"It's just Amaryl," she said instead of explaining that she'd never actually made it to the lake, which would surely only invite more questions. "I ran into her and she started giving me shit for flopping on that charm the other day."

The others hummed sympathetically while Musa rolled her eyes. "God, she's such a bitch. I swear she acts like she's the best in the grade."

"Yeah, well, I reminded her that she's not doing too crash hot with her flying this year."

Musa and Stella nodded approvingly, but Flora bit her lip. "You shouldn't lower yourself to her level," she said gently. "You're better than that."

Bloom rolled her eyes. "And she shouldn't dish out the attitude if she can't take it in return."

Flora looked a little surprised but didn't argue.

Layla, in an attempt to change the subject, said, "Well, we're thinking about heading into the city since the weather's so nice."

"Yeah, we figured we're going to be doing a lot less of that once the cold weather hits."

"I think I'll just stay here," Bloom said. "I didn't sleep well last night so I'm going to try and take a nap. And besides, I have to find Professor Avalon later, there's something I need to ask him."

"You saw him every afternoon last week," Tecna said, a small, exasperated chuckle escaping her.

Bloom, who had turned to finally escape into her room, paused and turned back, cocking her head to the side as she regarded her friend. "Yeah? So?"

Tecna stiffened a little, and the others, noticing the tension crackle between them, straightened, glancing between the two girls.

"No- nothing," Tecna stammered, which was unlike her. She had noticed Bloom spending even more time with Avalon ever since they'd returned for their second term; where she'd once drop into his office one or two afternoons a week, or stay behind in class to talk to him a couple times, now there wasn't an afternoon during the week where she wasn't spending time with him. "We just-"

"He's been helping me with my study. It's a hard course."

She looked to Layla and Musa for support but they both avoided her eye. Although it was true that Avalon's course was every bit as hard as he'd warned, neither of them had found the need to take on extra lessons with the professor.

Hoping to diffuse the situation, Tecna leaned forward, spreading her hands in a peaceful gesture. "I didn't mean anything by it, Bloom. Just that between Avalon and Sky we haven't seen much of you lately, we thought it would be nice to all hang out toge-"

"Well, maybe I don't have time for that at the moment. It's not like I just sit around with Avalon doing nothing, he's helping me research my history. So I have a better chance of actually learning how to control this power inside of me. So I might someday work out how I'm supposed to rebuild my kingdom one day. So if you can't support that, Tecna, maybe you should just back off and keep your opinions to yourself."

Bloom didn't slam the door when she went into the room, but there was something forceful in the way it clicked shut all the same, leaving the other girls to descend into silence and look at each other, wondering where it had all gone wrong.

Thinking that the best thing they could do was give Bloom some space, the girls had cleared out of the dorm for the rest of the afternoon. They'd decided while they were out to get some dinner, and discussed Bloom's behaviour over a pizza, rationalising it as an unfortunate symptom of all the stress she was under. They'd crept back into the dorm before curfew, not wanting to disrupt the red head but found they needn't have bothered as she was already in bed when they peeked in on her. And if she wasn't actually asleep when they got back, she gave them no indication of it, staying turned away when Flora softly called her name.

But if they'd hoped that all would be back to normal in the morning, they were disappointed to see that that wasn't quite the case. Bloom didn't bring up the argument from the night before, but she wasn't exactly back to her usual happy self either, and there was something cool and polite about her interactions with Tecna in particular.

Picking up on the lingering tension between the pair, the others overcompensated with enthusiastic conversation while they ate breakfast.

"I'm still hungry," Stella complained theatrically, staring mournfully down at her empty plate.

For the first time all morning, something close to Bloom's usual smile appeared. She'd never met someone who could eat as much as Stella did and it never ceased to amaze her that the other girl could fit it all in.

"Why don't they put out more food in the morning? Don't they know we're growing girls?"

"Actually," Tecna broke in and Bloom's smile faded. "I think you'll find that not only have most of us completed growing, but the meals Alfea serves are perfectly balanced to provide us all the nutrients necessary for an active fairy."

"Actually Tecna," Digit corrected, tapping away at her device. "According to my calculations, as much as 58% of the Alfea student population still have 1-2 more years of growing left."

"Really?" Stella said thoughtfully, hand inching towards Tecna's place which was still half full. "That's super interesting, Digit."

Even though Tecna was frowning at her phone as she re-ran Digit's calculations she didn't miss Stella's play for her food and casually moved her plate out of the blonde's reach.

"Oh, come on," Stella grumbled. "You heard Digit, and you're not even eating it."

Tecna sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said, shoving it back towards her. "Take it."

"Thank you," Stella sighed, hand darting out to grab the remaining piece of toast. Except when she brought it to her mouth it abruptly disappeared. Stella's eyes narrowed and she went for the apple instead but this time when she touched it, her fingers passed right through it and two more apples appeared beside it. "Oh, ha ha, Tecna, very funny, now knock it off."

Tecna finally looked up from her phone, her frown turning thoughtful as she took in Stella's predicament.

"Isn't it obvious, Stella?" Amaryl piped up from further down the table. "Someone thinks you've grown enough." Her friends sniggered around her, at least until Musa snapped at them all to knock it off.

Ignoring Amaryl's cattiness and looking much more intrigued by the apples, Tecna poked one of them with her finger, eyebrow arching in surprise when six more appeared.

"How curious," she murmured, leaning closer. "They're like holograms."

"I see you've fallen for my latest spell," they heard a voice pipe up from behind them, and they twisted in their seats to see Wizgiz watching on in amusement.

"You're creating a new spell?" Bloom asked curiously.

"Indeed I am. By combining elements of transfiguration, a multiplication spell, and several summoning spells, I'm hoping to create one all-purpose spell that allows you to reproduce matter much quicker. Like so."

Wizgiz spread his hands and furrowed his brow as he concentrated, doubling the seven apples again and again until they were stacked in a large pyramid.

"The only problem," he said, after the girls had clapped politely at the demonstration. "Is making the replicas solid, rather than holograms."

He leaned between Tecna and Flora to pass a hand through the apples, making them all vanish, except for the one original apple, which Stella was quick to snatch up and take a bite out of.

"Ah, well, I'll keep working on it. See you in Metamorphosis class, girls." Wizgiz gave them a cheery wave and went on his way.

In just a few bites, Stella had demolished her apple and was looking hopefully at the rest of the table. When she saw that friend's had all finished their breakfast, she slumped in her seat, looking glum. "Today sucks," she whined, balancing her chin on her hand. "The rain is making my hair go all frizzy, I'm still hungry, and we've got a whole day of classes ahead of us."

As if conjured by her words, a beautiful pink lily appeared on the table before her, identical flowers also materialising in front of the other girls at the table as well. Excited whispers broke out amongst the students, but Stella squinted at the flower suspiciously before finally picking it up, looking pleased when her hand didn't pass right through it like the apples.

"How beautiful," she sighed, bringing it to her nose to inhale the delicate fragrance.

"This is a very rare flower," Flora said. "I wonder who did this."

They got their answer right away as Avalon stepped in front of the three long student tables. "Good morning, ladies," he said, his usual charming smile firmly in place. Quicker than any other teacher could manage, except maybe Griselda, Avalon's presence had the entire dining hall quieting, just about every student looking up at him with expectant eyes. "Considering the miserable weather," Avalon continued when he had their full attention, gesturing to the rain lashing at the windows. "I thought you might need something to get your day off to a cheery start. So I hope these flowers can make you smile on this dreary Monday."

"Thank you, Professor Avalon," the students chorused, and his smile widened as he inclined his head and made his way towards the door.

"How thoughtful," Bloom said to her friends, touching the flower's velvety petals.

"Yeah. And it's my favourite colour as well," Flora sighed.

The only two students who didn't seem completely taken by the gesture were Tecna and Layla, neither of whom had touched the flowers before them. The others didn't seem to notice however, and even if they had, they were distracted by Bloom calling out to Avalon as he passed by.

"Oh, Professor Avalon, I was hoping I could talk to you."

"Certainly, Bloom," he said, stopping by their section of the table.

"Well, first of all, thank you for the flower, it's so beautiful." Avalon smiled and bowed his head slightly, and Bloom continued. "The other thing is: I've been having more dreams about my parents lately, but I haven't had much luck interpreting them, so I was hoping I could get your help."

"Of course, it would be my pleasure. How about you stop by my office this afternoon after last period?"

"That would be great, thank you so much."

Avalon just smiled in response, but when his eyes settled on Layla his expression turned slightly more somber. "I was sad to hear you'd decided to drop my course, Miss Asherah."

The others had been surprised when Layla had told them on returning for second term that she wouldn't be continuing with Avalon's class. None had been more shocked than Bloom however, who already couldn't imagine not having Avalon's class as part of her regular routine.

"It was a hard decision," Layla said carefully. "And I'll miss the class a lot, but the workload is quite high considering I'm already trying to find my feet at a new school."

It was a perfect, diplomatic answer that made Avalon smile in understanding. "Of course," he said graciously. "It's always hard starting at a new school, but I must say you've done an admirable job so far."

Layla smiled in thanks, and Avalon bade them all a good day before departing. They watched him go, Stella and Flora in particular with expressions of clear admiration on their faces.

"Did I tell you guys, he's composed a spell to keep white clothes from staining and he's offered to let me try it out," Stella said, explaining the return of her smitten feelings for the professor after her previous coldness.

"He told me about a book on Eirenian flora in the library that he thought I'd like," Flora added dreamily, her cheeks blushing a faint pink.

Even Musa smiled begrudgingly and told them about the potion Avalon had mentioned to her that was supposed to make her voice clearer.

Bloom smiled, glad to hear that Avalon was finding a way to help her friends as much as he was helping her. But Tecna didn't seem as impressed as everyone else, and was in fact frowning as she listened.

"Don't you find it at all odd that he seems to know just what to offer everyone to make them like him?"

Bloom felt her irritation from the night before rising up in her again, and was glad when Stella rolled her eyes and jumped in to defend the professor. "Maybe he's just a generous person. I think someone might be a little jealous that Avalon hasn't offered to help them too."

Tecna scoffed and rolled her eyes back at the blonde fairy, but pursed her lips rather than rising to the bait.

"Hey," Layla said to Tecna later that day after finding the other girl sitting alone on the bench in the quad during their free period. It was cold outside, but the rain had temporarily stopped and with the extra layers they were both wearing it wasn't too bad.

Tecna looked up from her laptop, seeming a bit surprised to see Layla as she took a seat beside her. Tecna had tried to broach the subject of Avalon again with the other girls in their dorm while Bloom and Musa had been in class, but after effectively being told to back off by Stella and Flora, she'd ended up leaving in a huff.

"I felt bad," Layla said, explaining her presence.

Tecna rolled her eyes a little, not at Layla, but at the situation in general. "It is what it is."

"Yeah, but I should have had your back…" Layla let the thought hang unfinished in the air, and Tecna arched a curious eyebrow. Layla sighed a little, and glanced around for eavesdroppers. But the bad weather meant they had the entire quad completely to themselves. "I know I said I dropped his class because it was too hard, and it is, but that wasn't the only reason. Avalon…" she paused and swallowed roughly as if she weren't sure whether she should continue or not. "He just gave me a really bad vibe."

Tecna closed the lid of her laptop and set it aside, Layla having her full attention now. She turned to her friend, grey eyes full of concern. "What do you mean?"

"It's like he didn't care that I was there. Or that most of the other students were there. He wasn't obvious about it so I don't know if anyone else even noticed, but we definitely weren't what he was focussed on."

Understanding swept across those stormy eyes and Tecna said, "Bloom?"

"Yeah," Layla replied, exhaling a breath. "It was like… I don't know, he seems almost fascinated by her. I mean, you've seen how much time they spend together. I don't even know if it's her he's interested in, or if it's her power, I mean that's what they always seem to be talking about."

"Have you brought this up with Bloom?"

"No," Layla said quickly, before biting her lip. "I wasn't even sure I should tell you. I'm still new… and with how Bloom reacted this morning…"

"I get it. Bloom is very loyal, not to mention stubborn, qualities that are great when you're her friend…"

"...but when it comes to Avalon…" Layla said, picking up on Tecna's thought before trailing off again when she caught sight of something over Tecna's shoulder.

The other fairy frowned and followed her gaze, expression tightening when she caught sight of Avalon emerging from the edge of the forest and making a beeline for the castle's front door. He smiled and lifted a hand when he caught sight of them but didn't stop to chat.

"What's he doing out here?" Tecna hissed, looking at Layla. "He's supposed to be in class."

"I don't know," Layla murmured, still staring at where Avalon had disappeared inside. "All I know is that we have to find out more about this guy."

Up in Avalon's classroom, the professor was concluding his lecture of the study of one's family tree and how they were to apply it to their broader study of genealogy. "I want everyone to have looked at their family tree and begun a primary analysis before our next class. We'll be going through them together."

The bell rang just as Avalon finished speaking and he smiled, signalling for them to gather their books and head off to their next class. As usual, a few blushing students lingered, hanging on his every word as they asked him question after question. This time Bloom and Musa were among them, the former wanting to double check that it was still okay they meet in his office that afternoon.

"Have you taught in other schools before Alfea," Bria asked.

"Oh yes," Avalon said, leaning back casually against his desk and crossing his arms over his chest. "Our love of scholarship leads most paladins to take on teaching roles at one time or another. Most recently I taught in the realm of Koudeh but that was a few years ago now - I had been on sabbatical from teaching when Headmistress Faragonda managed to coax me back."

"Why were you on sabbatical?" Musa asked, cocking her head to the side curiously.

But Avalon didn't seem to hear her question, and as his eyes slid to the clock on the wall he straightened and clapped his hands. "Now off you go, girls. Or else you'll be late for your next class and I'll be in trouble."

The straggling girls tittered and allowed themselves to be ushered to the doorway by Avalon.

"Professor, I was wondering if you had a copy of that potion you mentioned the other day."

Avalon blinked, momentarily lost, and there was a moment as Musa shifted uncomfortably, wondering if she had somehow misunderstood before his expression smoothed into one of understanding.

"Of course," he said, swiftly returning to his desk and rustling through one of the draws. "It's one of my own creations," he told them, a hint of modest pride in his voice before finally locating the recipe. "Here you are."

Avalon inclined his head graciously as Musa thanked him before sliding his attention to Bloom. "My office after final period, did we say?"

"Yes, I'll see you then."

Later that afternoon, Tecna and Layla took advantage of the unusually empty dorm to do some research into Avalon without being interrupted by the other girls. Bloom was with Avalon of course, but the others were also out with Stella meeting Brandon in the city for a date, Musa checking out a potions lab so she could try Avalon's potion, and Flora heading to the library.

So Tecna and Layla made themselves comfortable at Tecna's desk and, with the aid of Digit, got down to some serious research.

"Cross-reference 'paladin' with 'evil'," the pixie suggested.

Tecna's fingers obediently flew across the keyboard bringing up the terms in her search engine.

"Doesn't look there is much," Layla commented as they scrolled through the results.

"This is all just talking about what peaceful people are," Tecna said, rolling her eyes. "'Their true love is the pursuit of knowledge and are wholly devoted to the sharing of that knowledge'. Oh, give me a break, no magical class is wholly good or evil, there's got to be something."

Digit hummed, trying to think of a search term that would give them the results they were after. "Didn't Musa say something about Avalon's last teaching post?"

"Yeah," Layla said slowly, trying to remember the exact details of what Musa had said. "She said he's been on a break from teaching for a few years, right? After teaching in Koudeh?"

"Koudeh," Tecna repeated, slowly typing the name into the search bar. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

Digit and Layla both shook their heads, mystified. Neither of them were familiar with the realm.

"I think it's one of Celestia's moons," Tecna said thoughtfully as she hit enter, before gasping at the news articles that popped up in the results.

"Celestial moon still rebuilding after disastrous attack," Layla read aloud from one of the headlines and Tecna clicked on the link.

"Koudeh, one of Celestia's many moons, is still rebuilding over half of its city buildings after an attack three years ago killed hundreds of its citizens. But this healing phase that Koudeh finds itself in goes well beyond infrastructure according to Mayor Rheshan.

'We were such an open community,' he says of Koudeh, who's beautiful landscape once made it a popular tourist destination despite it's cold climate. 'There were always events and festivals in the streets, my people welcomed strangers in with open arms, our universities were places of vibrant learning from professors visiting from all over the universe. That is all over now, the people feel as though their hospitality was taken advantage of, and they are unwilling to be vulnerable like that again.'

The perpetrators have never been caught but it has been theorised by Guardian Network investigators that due to the efficiency with which the attack was carried out that the perpetrators likely spent much time on Koudeh in order to familiarise themselves with the people and city. Investigators have a name for this type of perpetrator, 'The Angel of Doom', for they will often insert themselves into the community posing as a friend, teacher, or guide, using that position to gain the trust of those around them before they attack."

There was a long, awful silence after Tecna finished reading the article, during which the three girls could barely look at each other.

"That was…" Layla began, looking sick.

"Horrible?" Digit suggested.

"But also familiar, don't you think?" Tecna said.

"You don't actually think-"

"Why not?" Tecna said, interrupting Layla, who was staring at her aghast. "He said that he was teaching on Koudeh a couple of years ago, which would have been right around the time they were attacked. And who would ever even suspect that a paladin, or even a group of paladins were behind it, you read what was said on those other sites, everyone thinks they're totally peaceful. And you've seen how he is with the others, always giving them things they want to make them trust him, just like an Angel of Doom or whatever they're called."

It sounded ridiculous, but at the same time made an alarming amount of sense.

"Whether he was part of the attack on Koudeh or not, there's definitely something off about that guy," Layla agreed. "I think we have to go find them right now."

"They were meeting in Avalon's office, right?" Digit put in and the other two nodded, jumping to their feet.

The trio made their way quickly out of the dorm but only took a handful of steps along the hallway beyond when they came across Avalon himself walking towards them. Unable to help themselves they stopped dead and could do nothing but stare as he smiled politely at them and kept walking.

"What's he doing here?" Tecna hissed once he'd disappeared around the corner. "He's supposed to be with Bloom in his office."

"I don't know," Layla said, looking worried. "You don't think he's done something to her already, do you? What if we're too late."

Tecna stared in the direction Avalon had gone, thinking hard. "You follow him, Digit," she instructed the pixie. "Work out where he's going and report back to me. We'll check his office for Bloom."

Digit nodded and zipped off after him, needing only a few whispered words to make herself invisible as she went. Meanwhile, Tecna and Layla strode off in the other direction, heading towards the wing opposite that housed the teacher's offices and private rooms. They had just reached the staircase that divided the two sides of the floor when they yet again saw Avalon coming towards them and they froze, mouths dropping open.

"Professor-" Tecna began, although she wasn't quite sure exactly what she was going to say.

It didn't matter however because Avalon looked like he was in a hurry and merely waved a hand in greeting before hurrying down the stairs and out of sight.

"There's no way he could get there so fast," Layla whispered. Tecna, who was running the layout of the school over in her head, nodded her agreement. There was just no way he could have gotten there in time, unless he'd used magic and Tecna was sure Digit would have alerted her if that was the case.

Unless Avalon had done something to Digit.

Tecna felt her blood run cold and she lifted her watch, which she and Digit had rigged to be a direct radio link to each other, to her mouth. "Digit, come in. Digit, are you there?"

There was a long moment of silence where Tecna thought her heart completely stopped beating, then Digit's voice rang clear through the watch. "Digit here, what's up, Tecna?"

Tecna and Layla exchanged confused glances at her nonchalance.

"What happened?" Tecna demanded. "Why didn't you tell us you lost Avalon?"

There was another beat and then, "I didn't lose Avalon, Tecna. I'm tracking him down towards the lake."

"How is that possible? We just passed him on the way to his office."

"I don't know, but there's definitely an Avalon walking towards the lake right now. Maybe he knows we're onto him and is trying to distract us with a spell or something."

Digit's words tugged at something in Tecna's memory but she couldn't put her finger on exactly what. "Alright, stick with him, Digit, just in case he's the real Avalon."

"You got it," came Digit's reply, before she signed off.

"You'd better go follow the Avalon we just saw," Tecna said grimly, and Layla nodded in agreement.

"I'll text you when I find him and let you know what he's up to."

Without another word Layla took off down the other direction, and bad feeling growing in her stomach, Tecna broke into a run down the hallway. She was running along, peering at the nameplate on each of the doors and cursing herself for not remembering exactly where Avalon's office was when she caught sight of Lockette and the rest of the pixies coming the other way.

"Lockette," she cried in relief and the pixie zipped towards her, concern on her little face.

"Tecna, what's the matter?"

"Can you find Bloom for me? Right now."

"Of course, but what's wrong? Is Bloom in trouble?"

"I'm not sure, I just want to check on her."

Lockette took out her clip and in a flash of light had transformed it into it's sceptre form. "She's this way," Lockette told them and the sceptre started to guide them further down the hallway.

"Okay, let's go," Tecna said, breaking into a jog once more. "And hurry!"

"The dream you described is interesting," Avalon said to Bloom after she finished recounting her dream for him. "But it doesn't sound as though it's trying to tell you anything in particular, which can happen," he added hastily, when she looked disappointed. "Dream analysis is just one aspect of study in genealogy, and one that not everyone is able to utilise - not everyone dreams about their family. But if you keep having dreams such as this one I'm sure it will yield results very soon. Not every student will connect with every mode of study, which is why you try out multiple to see which works best for you. Speaking of, how is your family tree analysis going?"

"I haven't done much yet," Bloom said, perking up a little at the subject change. "I mean I looked at it when I first found out the truth about my biological family, but not since then."

"How about we look at it together now? I can help you get started."

"You know my family tree?"

Avalon smiled and reached for a book on top of a nearby stack, and flipped it open. "I always read a little into the realm each of my students are from so I can better guide them through the course, but I will admit that I have found your history truly fascinating. I don't think I've ever had a student with such a richly complex family history."

Bloom blushed a little, something in her pleased at the thought of Avalon being interested in her background. Avalon made a quiet noise of recognition as he found the page he was looking for and shifted his chair around to the side of his desk so they could look at the page together. The double page spread showed a large and detailed family tree with the family name 'Drago' inked in beautiful calligraphy at the top.

"So, here you are of course," he said pointing to the very bottom of the tree. "And your sister, Daphne."

It almost felt a little strange to hear him say her sister's name so casually and Bloom found herself wondering what Daphne would think of the professor. She would like him, Bloom decided, thinking that there were similarities with how Daphne had helped guide Bloom last year, and how Avalon was helping her this year.

"And your parents," Avalon continued, oblivious to Bloom's thoughts. "Queen Miriam and King Oritel. Your father only had an older brother who inherited their father's title, but your mother on the other hand, had four siblings, unusually large for a magical family."

"She had an older brother," Bloom murmured, fingers skimming over the birth years sketched beneath each name. "But she ended up Queen, I wonder why."

Avalon coughed uncomfortably and Bloom glanced at him. "Well, the first Queen of Sparx didn't subscribe to the popular belief that the eldest child should be the natural successor to the throne. Instead she instituted a law that allowed the reigning monarch to name someone in the family but wasn't necessarily their child to succeed them. Eventually the custom fell out of fashion, and the law even became forgotten although it always remained, and it became commonplace for the eldest child to assume that they would be named heir. So it was quite the scandal when the Queen Mother," he indicated to Bloom's grandmother on the tree, "named your mother, Miriam, as her heir rather than her elder brother."

"Bet that made for awkward family dinners," Bloom murmured, eyes returning to the tree as she traced over her uncle's name.

"Yes," Avalon said, sounding as though he'd rather change the subject. "The public weren't privy to all the details of course, but Miriam and her brother had been quite close up until that point and I don't believe things were ever the same between them again. Your mother's brother left Sparx shortly after the announcement and I'm not sure if he ever returned. Now your father's line is quite interesting of course," he said, before stopping when he realised he had lost Bloom's attention.

For she was tracing the finger over the dates under her mother and father's names, and under her aunt and uncle's names, and under their children's names, her cousins.

"Bloom?"

"They all died the same year," was the only thing she could think to say. Her eyes burned and she begged the tears not to fall.

"Yes," Avalon said gently. "They all resided on Sparx when the Ancestral Witches attacked and unfortunately they perished. Bloom," he said, when she didn't say anything. "If you need to take a break-"

"No," Bloom said forcefully, straightening and wiping at her thankfully still dry eyes. "Let's keep going, what's interesting about my father's line."

Avalon hesitated, looking at her intently, as if to be sure she really was alright. Finally he continued, "Well, they actually have some Magixian blood in them from long ago."

He traced his finger back through the generations.

"A powerful healer from Magix married one of your father's ancestors. And you know, of course, that Magix's magical core is healing. Now, I'm not sure how much you know of how power is passed on but the offspring of two different magical cores will have both, but over generations, depending on which cores they are in closer proximity to and what other magical cores are mixed into the bloodline, one will take dominance, in this case Sparx's fire over Magix's healing. The Magixian blood in your line has likely become so diluted that you wouldn't have much more than a drop or two of it in you. But," he continued, "With the power of the Dragon, which is the power of life itself, amplifying it, that drop could easily be capable of much more than we would initially think."

"So, you think I could have healing powers?" Bloom asked eagerly, leaning forward.

"Your family tree certainly indicates that you might. It would definitely be worth exploring, you might unlock a whole new subset of power, which, of course, is the beauty of genealogy."

"That would be so cool," Bloom said, leaning back in her chair, mind already spinning with the possibilities. But something else was tugging at her, something that she'd been noticing ever since Avalon had come to Alfea. "Professor," she began slowly. "Can I ask you something?"

"Certainly, Bloom," Avalon replied, looking up from the book at her.

Bloom was quiet for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts. "You… you never ask me about last year, about the power outbursts or how I thought I lost my power, but you must have heard about it, you must have noticed that I still can't always control my powers. And I guess I'm just confused why you never ask about that, I mean, it must be relevant to genealogy, right?"

Avalon's voice was kind when he responded. "It is relevant, and I had heard about it before, but from Miss Faragonda actually. We had discussed it at the end of the last school year, and I don't want you to think we were talking behind your back, Bloom, but the headmistress and I both thought that you could really benefit from genealogy. She's been trying to coax me back to teaching for some years now, but this was the first time I really felt a purpose in coming back, it's why I was very happy that you decided to apply for the course, and why I am very honoured in being able to help you."

Bloom's face warmed at the knowledge that Avalon had come to Alfea for her more or less. "You knew but you never said anything…"

"I wanted it to be something you trusted me to talk about," Avalon said earnestly.

"Thank you," Bloom said. "I… I do trust you. You're one of the only people at Alfea who doesn't look at me like a bomb that's about to explode." She tried to play it off as a joke but there was something knowing in Avalon's eyes.

"With all due respect to my fellow colleagues and your school peers, I don't think they quite understand the level of control that I know you must possess." When Bloom cocked her head curiously, Avalon explained, "I'm sure you've read by now that a single person was never meant to possess the entirety of the Dragon's flame; it was meant to be spread through the entire royal family. For you to be so young and possess it all, to be brimming with that much power and not be overwhelmed by it, well I think it's a testament to the admirable job you're doing controlling it."

"Not good enough yet," Bloom said, although she was smiling from Avalon's praise.

"Maybe, maybe not," Avalon said fairly. "The only threshold of 'good enough' that you have to meet is your own. And if you think there is more to master of your powers, then genealogy can help with that. Now, shall we continue?"

Avalon pulled another book from the stack and flipped it open, the pair leaning forward to pour over it together, completely oblivious to the fact that a certain fairy and group of pixies had been listening at the door for the last few minutes.

"What's the big deal, Tecna?" Lockette asked once they had determined that Bloom was alright inside the office. "Bloom sounds fine, Avalon's even helping her with something."

"He says he's helping her," Tecna said darkly, before jerking her head to indicate the pixies should follow her back down the hallway; the last thing she wanted was for Bloom or Avalon to find out she'd been spying on them.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tune asked sharply as they went.

Tecna sighed. "Okay, if I tell you you have to promise to keep it between us for now. The others can't know."

The pixies shifted and looked at one another, uncomfortable at the prospect of keeping something from their bonded fairies but eventually agreed, Lockette being the last and looking the most unsure. So Tecna explained everything she, Digit, and Layla had found out about Avalon's suspected past and their suspicions that he was trying to get close to Bloom.

"He was laying it on pretty thick in there," Chatta said thoughtfully, when Tecna was done. "If I didn't know any better I'd think he was using a bit of Charmspeak."

"Was he?" Tecna asked sharply, but Chatta and Amore, the two pixies gifted with the vocal ability, both shook their heads.

"What I don't understand is what he wants from her," Amore said, looking worried.

"That's what we don't know yet, but it could be anything. Bloom has the Dragon Fire after all, not to mention she's the heir to the most influential planet in the history of the Magical Universe."

"If Bloom might be in danger we need to tell her, and Headmistress Faragonda," Lockette said, trying to sound firm despite her quavering voice.

"No," Tecna insisted. "Not yet. Not until we have proof that he's up to something. Promise you won't say anything, Lockette."

"Fine," Lockette sighed. "I promise. But I don't like it."

"I can live with that. Come on, let's get back to the dorm, I want to meet back up with Layla and Digit and see what they found out."

But they didn't make it halfway back to the dorm before they ran into the fairy and pixie in question who were clearly coming to look for them.

"What happened?" Tecna asked at once when she saw them together.

"We lost Avalon, both of them," Digit explained.

"How?"

"It was so weird," Layla said. "I was following him through a hallway but it got kind of crowded and I fell behind and by the time I caught up he was gone. It was like he just vanished."

"The same thing happened to me," Digit said. "He was walking through the forest and the trees got really thick and I just completely lost sight of him. I don't understand how he got away so quickly."

"Did he do anything in particular? Talk to anyone?"

"No."

"Nope."

"Well, I found him, or another version of him at least, and Bloom in his office, but she was fine, they were just talking about genealogy." Tecna quickly recounted everything she had overheard and explained about looping in the rest of the pixies.

"So, what do we do now?" Layla asked.

"Keep looking into his history?" Tecna said, sounding unsure. "We need something concrete before we go to Faragonda, a motive or his plan, something."

The others all agreed but they didn't look happy about it; all of them harboured a secret worry that something terrible was going to happen to Bloom before they could find the evidence they needed.

"Have I said how much I approve of Palladium's new look?" Stella said in an undertone to the other girls the next day in their morning Magical Reality class. Palladium had returned to Alfea that year much more tanned and toned than when he had left. The transformation, he said, was due to a summer spent building homes in developing realms.

"Just about in every class we've had since the start of the year," Musa muttered.

"Well, I approve. He's even dressing better this year."

"Someone's got a crush," Musa snarked, and Stella rolled her eyes.

"Hardly."

"Today we will be learning about a spell that reveals the true nature of one's enemy. It will be particularly useful for any of you planning to join the Guardian Network after graduation, as not only does it reveal any disguises one might be wearing but if used correctly can also compel the recipient to tell the truth."

Tecna perked up in her seat, mind already racing.

"The spell is called 'The Sphere of Truth'. Now, watch closely, girls, as I demonstrate."

Palladium walked into the middle of the amphitheatre classroom they were using, the class peering down at him. He had set up three targets on the other side of the room, and stood to face them directly.

"Now, you have to concentrate very hard on compelling the person you are targeting to tell the truth. If your concentration slips this spell can become even more dangerous than it already is, so it's imperative that you keep your focus. The hand placement is also important so pay attention."

Palladium clasped his hands together and held them straight out in front of him. Then he slowly drew them apart, straining slightly as if he were fighting against an invisible force, until he had an orb of golden energy around the size of a volleyball hovering between his hands.

"Then you merely aim and fire."

Palladium adjusted his aim slightly before the orb flew with deadly speed from his hands and hurtled towards the target. It exploded on contact but the target was made of tougher stuff and was still standing, practically unblemished, when the smoke cleared.

"Without a recipient to act on the energy in the Sphere of Truth will merely explode which can be dangerous in of itself, so do take care when aiming. Now, who wants to have a go first?"

The students were hesitant however; no one wanted to get up in front of the whole class and potentially make a fool of themselves. Finally, Stella, who was trying to stay on Palladium's good side and raise her mark from the year before, waved a lazy hand in the air.

"Miss Haleigha?" Palladium asked, looking pleased and gesturing for her to join him on the floor. "Oh, and I must warn you all," he added, as Stella made to get to her feet. "There is a slight chance that if the sphere rebounds it could turn its effect on the caster; that is force them to reveal any disguises or compel them to reveal their secrets.

Stella abruptly sat back down, and gestured to Amaryl further down the row. "I was actually just going to say that I think Amaryl looked like she wanted to have a go. Off you go, Amaryl, honey."

If looks could kill, Stella would surely be six feet under with the glare Amaryl shot her way. But there was little she could do to protest under Palladium's watchful eye so she had no choice but to stand up reluctantly and take what had to be Stella's payback for Amaryl's rude comments from the other morning.

Amaryl positioned herself in front of the targets and stuck her hands out in front of her just like Palladium had. From a safe distance away, the professor coached her through the spell, "Now, Miss Clarirel, concentrate fully and completely, and the sphere will come to you. Empty all of your thoughts and focus only on the sphere. It can help to say the name of the spell out loud, it helps give intent to the spell when you are first familiarising yourself with it."

"Sphere of Truth," Amaryl said confidently, and began to draw her palms apart, a small orb of energy appearing.

"Very good!" Palladium praised. "Lovely colour… keep your summoning focus steady… a little bigger now… perfect. Now, adjust your aim as needed and then fire, the sphere will feel as though it wants to pull away so you simply have to let it go. Make sure you're completely sure of your aim before you let go, though, we wouldn't want you to hit one of your classmates and cause some kind of scandal."

Palladium chuckled at the thought while Amaryl made a show of adjusting her stance slightly. She narrowed her eyes and it looked for all intents and purposes that she was about to fire the sphere at the middle target, but then she twisted, spinning around and aiming right at Stella. The sphere shot from Amaryl's hands and a scream went up from the class as they all tried to dive out of the way. The sphere moved so fast that Stella only had time to yelp, throw her hands up in front of her face, and brace herself for impact.

The impact never came however because Palladium flung out a hand, stopping the sphere in its tracks. Stella opened her eyes, which had closed on instinct, and slowly lowered her arms. Palladium clenched his fist, haltingly like the sphere was straining against him, but he didn't let up until it disappeared completely.

"Amaryl Clarirel," Palladium barked, and the girl in question shrunk back, her victorious smirk nowhere to be seen as her plan was foiled. "Casting unauthorised spells on classmates is against Alfea's code of conduct! Detention every afternoon for the next two weeks."

Amaryl scowled at the ground and muttered an insincere apology. Palladium didn't look particularly impressed but seemed nevertheless eager to carry on with the lesson and went on calling the next student down to try summoning the Sphere of Truth.

"Did I tell you guys that Avalon thinks I might have some healing powers from Oritel's family?" Bloom said to the others over lunch later.

"Three times," Musa grunted, before taking a large bite of her sandwich.

"It wouldn't be much but with the Dragon Fire he thinks it could be amplified so I could actually use it," Bloom continued, oblivious to the tension at the table.

"Good for you," Stella muttered under her breath, too low for Bloom, who was finishing off her own lunch, to hear.

Tecna and Layla however, picked up on the quip and both raised their eyebrows wondering what had happened between yesterday and today to so dramatically change Stella's attitude, not to mention Musa and Flora who also didn't seem particularly interested in hearing about Avalon.

"That's me done," Bloom said cheerfully even though the lunch period was only half over. "I'm gonna go to the library, I want to see if Barbatea knows of any books that have traced my biological family in more detail."

Stella, Musa, and Flora barely looked up as Bloom departed, so Tecna and Layla offered her a wave goodbye instead, before turning to the others once she was gone.

"What's up with you guys?"

"Maybe we're just sick of hearing about how amazing Avalon is," Musa groused. She'd given up on eating and was picking the crust off her sandwich instead.

"Why?" Layla asked.

"Because he clearly doesn't give a crap about actually helping anyone who isn't Bloom," Stella snapped, both her vehemence and the fact that she swore, making the other's raise their eyebrows.

"What happened to, 'maybe I'm just jealous because Avalon hasn't offered to help me'," Tecna taunted, unable to help herself.

"Yeah, well, that was before I tried to use that spell he told me about on my new white jacket. But it was a total dud! I wore it out with Brandon last night and the spell was supposed to keep it from staining but tell that to the soup the server spilled all over me."

"Maybe you said the incantation wrong," Flora said, but even she didn't sound sure.

"Oh come on, Flo," Musa said. "Even you said that the book he told you about wasn't in the library. Barbatea had no idea what you were talking about. And the potion he gave me was shit. It was supposed to give me a clear voice and instead it made me sound awful, a frog would have been less croaky than me."

"It's clear he was just trying to suck up to us," Stella agreed. "But he couldn't be bothered actually putting the effort in. He didn't want it to look like he was favouring Bloom over everyone else, even though he clearly is."

"If that's what he's doing…" Tecna said mysteriously, and the others frowned at her.

"What do you mean by that, Tecna?" Flora asked.

Tecna and Layla glanced at one another before shrugging, figuring they were either going to believe them or not. They leaned closer so the surrounding students wouldn't overhear and recounted everything they'd learned so far, from their research, to following the multiple Avalon's around the school, to overhearing his and Bloom's conversation the afternoon before. By the end, Stella, Musa, and Flora were staring at them, gobsmacked.

"That's a lot of circumstantial evidence," Musa pointed out, but she looked worried.

"But it fits," Tecna insisted.

"It fits but that doesn't mean it's actually true," Flora said, seeming the most upset by Tecna and Layla's theories.

But Stella seemed to have other worries. "Amore, you knew about this," she asked her bonded pixie, looking hurt by the betrayal. "You all suspected something was wrong and didn't tell us."

"Stella-" Amore began but Tecna jumped in.

"Don't blame Amore, Stella," she said. "We wanted to tell you but you all were so taken by Avalon we didn't think you'd believe us."

"Bloom's my best friend," Stella said. She still looked hurt although now the others couldn't tell if it was really because they hadn't told her about their suspicions or if it was because she might have been duped by Avalon. "It wouldn't matter how cute Avalon is or what spells he tells me about, even if they had worked, if he was a danger to Bloom, I'd believe you."

"This is what he does, Stella," Layla said kindly. "It's why they call them the Angels of Doom, because they know exactly what to say to get you on their side. That's why Bloom doesn't suspect anything either."

"But that's also why we need to find out what he's up to. Because she trusts him completely at the moment, she thinks he's there to help her, and she'd let him do just about anything to her if she thought it meant getting a better control of her powers. She's completely vulnerable to him."

"So, first things first, keep Bloom away from Avalon?" Musa asked.

"And if we can't do that, keep an eye on them and make sure he's not doing anything to hurt her," Layla said.

"And if it looks like he's going to?"

"Then we attack, and use Palladium's Sphere of Truth to make him reveal everything," Tecna said decisively, while Flora looked positively terrified at the thought.

But their plan proved to be easier said than done. Because it wasn't long after the bell rang after their last period that Bloom announced that she was off to see Avalon once more. Their attempts to talk her out of it fell on deaf ears, and when they tried to follow her, they were thwarted by Griselda who demanded to know why they were in the teacher's wing if they didn't have an appointment with any of the professors. When they couldn't come up with a good enough reason to be there, Griselda sent them on their way, her expression thunderous enough that they counted themselves lucky to be escaping without a detention each.

"What the hell do we do now?" Musa hissed to the others, mindful of the way Griselda was frowning at their retreating backs. "If we go back to try again and Griselda's still there, we'll be toast."

They turned the corner and looked at each other beseechingly, hoping someone would come up with a plan.

"We can't send the pixies in invisible either, she's way too sharp for that," Flora added, worrying her lip between her teeth as she thought.

"We'll wait to see if she leaves soon," Tecna said finally. "If she doesn't we'll have to cause a distraction that'll draw her away."

No one was particularly happy with the plan, but lacking better ideas, they moved further down the hallway and settled in to wait.

In Avalon's office, he and Bloom were discussing their next possible steps in Bloom's study of genealogy.

"Bloom," Avalon said carefully, peering at her from the other side of his desk. "I've been thinking about our conversation yesterday, and I have something to propose to you."

"Sure," Bloom said, leaning forward eagerly.

"I think what happened at the end of last year is still having a profound effect on you, and is likely stopping you from progressing with genealogy."

"What do you mean?"

"The girl who died last year-"

"Asterin," Bloom said softly.

"Yes. You've said that she's appeared a few times in your dreams, which leads me to think you're holding onto a lot of grief about Asterin's death that's affecting how you think and feel about your powers."

"I barely even knew her," Bloom said quietly, avoiding Avalon's kind gaze. But she knew, deep down, that Asterin's death still plagued her.

"Losing a classmate so young, it would be impossible for you to not be affected by her death, no matter what the circumstances were or your relationship with her was like. Thinking you lost your powers meant the battle was extended, and I think you're blaming your powers for Asterin's death. The longer you do this, and the longer you refuse to confront these feelings, the more out of control you'll feel, and consequently, the more out of control your powers will become."

"I thought magic was powered by emotions," Bloom said, knowing she was stalling.

"They are, Bloom. But as with most things, it's a careful balancing act. Restrict your emotions too much, and you feel nothing and your magic becomes choked. But let them get too out of control and your magic will do the same."

"This doesn't sound like genealogy."

"It's not really. A colleague of mine was deeply interested in the relationship between emotions and magical output, and he ended up choosing it as his field of study. The spell I propose using on you would transport you to a place within your own mind where these unresolved emotions would manifest as a physical entity that you can not only confront, but also master."

"Sounds like therapy," Bloom said weakly, the joke falling flat. Avalon just looked at her and she knew he was waiting for her decision. "I'm scared," she finally whispered.

"We don't have to do it today, take some time to think about-"

"No, I'm not scared of the spell. I'm scared of myself. I'm scared of my own powers, of what they can do, and who else might get hurt if I'm never able to control them."

The words came pouring out of Bloom, and Avalon let her speak, as if knowing this was something she'd needed to say for a long time.

"I'm scared of being the last Princess of Sparx. I'm scared that I'll never be able to break the curse of Sparx and that I'll let everyone down. But even more than that I'm scared that I will actually break the curse, and I'll have to take my place on the throne. I'm scared because I have no idea what I'm doing.

"And I'm scared that I'm still not okay after everything that happened last year. Everyone else is moving on and I'm scared to admit to anyone but you that I still have dreams about Asterin, that I still have moments where I'm terrified of having to battle the Trix again. I'm scared that I'm never going to feel completely safe again."

Finally she was done, and for a long time neither she nor Avalon spoke. And she wondered why these were things that she'd never been able to say to Rhonwen but had been able to share with Avalon. But it was because, she realised, that he looked at her like her problems were perfectly ordinary. They weren't, she knew that, but he didn't look at her like her power was going to explode out of her at any second, or like she was some amazing fairy princess who was going to revive the most powerful planet in the universe's history some day. He looked at her like she was an ordinary student who's problems could be solved by a little extra help in his office after class. And she hadn't realised it until now, but that's exactly who she wanted to be.

"I'm glad you felt like you could share all that with me, Bloom," Avalon said quietly. He didn't look at all put off by everything Bloom had shared, and she was once again struck by that sense of assuredness that Avalon would be able to help her. "I'm hoping this spell could be a first step for you, to that safety, to feeling in control once again. But if you aren't ready-"

"No," Bloom said, surprised by how sure she felt. "I'm ready. I want to do it today." When Avalon didn't look convinced, she continued, "I need to feel in control again. And I think confronting how I feel about last year is the only way to do that."

"Okay," Avalon said, looking at her with complete seriousness. "Then let's begin."

"We can't wait anymore," Stella insisted, pacing back and forth along the hallway. The others looked inclined to agree but Tune piped up to be the voice of reason.

"Wait until Lockette gets back. If Griselda's still there then Layla, Musa, and Chatta will head down to the quad to enact phase one of the plan."

But they needn't have worried because Lockette at that moment zipped around the corner and became visible again to report that Griselda had finally moved on from the hallway.

"Alright," Stella said, impatient to get moving. "Let's do this."

"Wait, I think we should cast a containment spell first," Tecna said. "If he thinks we're onto him he might try and get away. At least with a containment spell he won't be able to leave the castle if we need to go and get help."

"Good idea, Tec," Musa said.

The girls instantly linked hands and said the words to the spell, each hoping that they would be powerful enough to hold Avalon, who's immense power they'd each seen first hand.

Avalon recited the incantation of the spell, and immediately a bright white began to emit from his raised hands, growing and widening until it had enveloped the entire room, blinding Bloom and taking her away to a place far within her own mind.

She found herself standing in a completely blank space that was covered in rolling dark smoke that no matter how much she blinked or wiped at her eyes never seemed to clear. The smoke had no smell to it, nor did it really bother her, but still Bloom turned around, and again, and then again until she had lost all sense of direction but had confirmed that not only did the smoke come from every direction but also that she was completely alone.

At least that's what she thought until she heard a voice speak from behind her.

"Hello."

Bloom froze, heart ratcheting up in her chest, as she contemplated who might be standing behind her when she was sure she'd been completely alone a moment ago. Steeling herself, Bloom swung around, coming face to face with her perfect mirror double.

"Who-"

Her double smiled, something sharp and terrifying about it, and the longer Bloom looked at her the more she realised the slight differences; her hair, red like Bloom's but sleek and pulled back in a way that was at odds with her usual frizzy and messy bun, her face fixed in an expression of hunger that Bloom had never seen in her own face, and her eyes, oh god, her eyes-

"I think you know who I am," her double said, voice silky and taunting.

"You're a manifestation of my unresolved feelings," Bloom said, voice shaking and betraying her nervousness.

"Among other things: hidden feelings, secret desires, your worst thoughts, I'm all of them. The things you'd never admit out loud."

"Like what?" Bloom challenged, hating the knowing gleam in her double's eyes.

"Like the fact that you know you're to blame for Asterin's death. Like the fact that you resent your friends for being able to get over it so quickly. Like the fact that you don't know how to feel about your birth parents, whether you love them or hate them. Like the fact that you sometimes think you'd be better off if Stella had never found you on Earth that day."

Each one was like a punch to the stomach and they just kept coming, every single terrible and petty thought she'd ever had about herself, about her friends, her family, Sky, no matter how brief or deeply buried, her double knew them all and taunted her with them.

"Stop," she croaked, when she finally could bear to hear no more.

"Why?" her double asked. "This is what you're here to do, right? Confront your demons, face up to how you really feel?"

It was. It was what Avalon had sent her here to do, but she hadn't thought it would be like this. She thought it would just be about Asterin, about the battle, about the end of last year. She might have been able to handle that. But not this. This was everything.

"Leave me alone," she whispered, wanting nothing more than to curl up in a ball and wait for it all to be over.

"Don't you see, Bloom," her double said, stepping closer. "I can't leave you alone, I'm always going to be inside of you."

And she smiled, and for a second Bloom swore she saw blood-stained teeth, then her double leapt at her with an exhilarated shriek and tackled her to the ground. Her head slammed against the ground and everything went dark.

"I can't hear anything," Layla whispered from where she was listening at the door to Avalon's office. The room beyond was completely silent, not even a shuffle of movement to indicate what was occurring within its depths.

"She might have left already," Flora said hopefully, but the others shook their heads.

"We have to know for sure," Tecna said decisively. "Are we all ready? We have to be ready to transform if something's wrong."

The others, fairy and pixie alike, nodded their heads in confirmation, even if Flora's was a little unsure. Tecna seized the doorknob and twisted it, kicking the door open in the same movement. Behind his desk Avalon jumped to his feet at the interruption.

"What's going on here?" he demanded, voice rougher than anything they'd ever heard from the professor before.

Not that they noticed, for the girls only had eyes for Bloom who was sitting in a chair, eyes closed and so still that it was only the steady rise and fall of her chest that assured them that she was still breathing.

"Bloom!" Lockette yelped.

"What are you doing to her?" Stella asked furiously.

"I knew it," Tecna said triumphantly, and transformed in a flash of bright light, the others following suit.

The anger faded from Avalon's expression a little and he held up his hands in what he surely thought was a placating gesture. "Girls, I need you all to calm down. Bloom is-"

"Don't listen to him!" Musa said quickly. "He's just manipulating us again!"

"I don't know what you mean," Avalon tried again. "But-"

"We know the truth," Tecna said. "We know you're an Angel of Doom, we know you attacked Koudeh, and we know you're trying to get close to Bloom now. So whatever you're doing to her, stop it right now."

"I can't, Bloom needs to come out of it naturally, to bring her out early could be dangerous."

"Do it!" Stella barked. "Do it, or we'll make you."

Avalon's expression hardened and in a flash of light that wasn't unlike their own when they transformed, the wings that Avalon had had that day in the Shadowhaunt but hadn't seen since appeared, unfurling from between his shoulder blades.

"I can't let you do that," he said simply, and soared into the air, ducking between the girls and giving them no choice but to chase after him.

But the commotion was all too much for Bloom and she awoke with a loud gasp, looking around, eyes wild, like she wasn't totally sure where she was. The pixies, who had stayed behind to try and help, fluttered around her nervously as she took them in before shifting her gaze just in time to see her friends chase Avalon out of the room.

"What the hell's going on?" she barked, jumping up from the chair and trying not to stumble in the process. "What are they doing?"

"They think Avalon's trying to hurt you," Lockette explained, keeping pace with Bloom as she made it to the door despite the floor feeling like it was pitching and rolling beneath her.

"Are they crazy?" she said in disbelief, shaking her head to try and clear it. The spell had done a number on her and all she could remember from her trance was a vague feeling of unease. "Stop!" she yelled after her friends, but they paid her no heed and continued flying off.

The fairies flew after Avalon, trying to use whatever magic they could to slow him down without causing any serious damage to the castle around them. Flora coaxed a pair of pot plants to attack him with their vines, but he forced them away with a casual flick of his wrist. Musa sent soundwaves through the air to throw him off but Avalon just blasted up a shield of gold light. And when Stella tried to concentrate the sunshine streaming in through the windows to blind him, Avalon just barrelled on and turned down a windowless corridor.

On and on they pursued him, flying through the castle and ignoring the stunned faces of students and teachers alike that they blew past. Bloom ran after them, not trusting herself to transform and fly while she was feeling so unsteady, and yelling at them to stop but they just ignored her.

"Don't let him get away," Tecna barked, and they shepherded him into the empty dining hall.

Avalon realised his mistake a heartbeat too late, as the only exit to the large room was suddenly blocked by the girls. He landed on the ground, his wings instantly tucking in close to his body, and he backed away towards the windows.

"I have no idea what you girls are talking about, but I would never harm Bloom."

"Just like you'd never harm the people of Koudeh?" Tecna snarled.

Recognition washed over Avalon's face and he raised his hands. "Koudeh? No, you don't understand-"

"We understand plenty. Sphere of Truth!"

The ball of gold light appeared between Tecna's palms and for the first time true fear showed on his face.

"No-"

"Wait, Tecna," Flora said urgently, looking intently at Avalon's face. "I'm really not sure if we're right about this."

"Listen to her-"

"No, don't-

"Just throw it, Tec-"

"What are you guys doing?!"

In the chaos of all the voices and the arguing, of Bloom arriving puffing and panting, an incredulous look on her face, and the growing noise of approaching staff and students, Tecna felt her concentration slip right as the sphere pulled away from her hands and charged at Avalon. It caught Avalon in the stomach, throwing him to the ground and exploding with such a force that it blew out the entire wall of glass.

"Oh, shit-" Musa said, grimacing, while Avalon coughed and slowly pushed himself back upright. But she wasn't looking at him, but rather at the doorway where Griselda had just stormed into the room.

"Someone had better explain what is going on here right this second!"

An hour later, the nosy students had been ushered away, a handful of staff were setting about cleaning up and repairing the windows, and Bloom, Tecna, Flora, Layla, Musa, and Stella had been frog-marched up to Faragonda's office to explain just what had happened. Avalon, having been checked out by the school healer, was sitting on one side of Faragonda, their headmistress looking unusually grave, while Griselda sat on her other side. Palladium and Wizgiz flanked them on either end of the desk.

"I really don't feel comfortable with Professor Avalon here," Tecna said, scorn evident in her voice as she said his name.

"I would be less concerned with your comfort level if I were you," Griselda bit out. "And be more worried about how you're going to justify attacking a member of the staff!"

"Please," Faragonda said, her fingers steepled in front of her. "Explain why you did this."

So Tecna launched into an explanation of the last few days, from noticing how much more attention Avalon paid Bloom over the other students, to researching his history and finding out that he taught at Koudeh right around the time of the attack, to seeing him not only in multiple different places at the same time but at times when he was supposed to be teaching, to finally finding Bloom in some kind of trance in his office.

"Now it is only right that Professor Avalon has a chance to defend himself."

"You are correct, Tecna, I was among a group of paladins who were visiting professors on Koudeh right around the attack. But not only had I returned to my home realm by the time the attack occurred, but it is also well documented that myself and my colleagues were deeply saddened by the attacks and helped rebuild some of the schools and universities on Koudeh."

Tecna's mouth dropped open, and she looked as though she wanted to refute what Avalon had said but couldn't.

"And Professor Avalon is particularly attentive to Bloom because I asked him to be," Faragonda said, picking up where Avalon had left off, the disapproval clear in her voice. "He is here to teach all those in his course but I thought Bloom more than anyone would benefit from his expertise, something that as her friends I would have thought you would want."

The girls shifted uncomfortably at the implication.

"What about that weird spell you had her under?"

At this Bloom stirred for the first time, looking like she was going to jump in, but Avalon merely said, "It was a spell to help her on her genealogical journey. If you want to know anything more than that, then it will be up to Bloom to disclose those details to you."

Faragonda looked satisfied by that, but Tecna wasn't done, even if the rest of her friends were starting to realise how circumstantial their evidence had been.

"Well, how do you explain that you appeared in multiple places at one time?"

For the first time, Avalon looked mystified, but this time it was Professor Wizgiz who had the answer. "That was actually my doing, Tecna," he said, a note of apprehension in his voice. "Remember my new spell that I was telling you about at breakfast the other morning? I was doing an experiment to see if I would have better results with living beings. I didn't see the harm in testing it on the teachers around campus."

There was a long silence after he was finished, where the girls couldn't look at one another let alone face up to the teachers. Instead they stared down at the carpet, cheeks burning with embarrassment that every piece of evidence they'd had against Avalon had been debunked.

"I guess it looks like we were wrong," Musa said finally, grinding the toe of her sneaker into the ground.

"We really messed up this time," Flora said, sounding mortified.

"I don't understand," Tecna said slowly. "The evidence fits-"

"While the evidence may fit," Faragonda interrupted. "That doesn't make it true. As hard as this may be to accept, you acted rashly on faulty, circumstantial evidence and you all owe Professor Avalon an apology."

"We're sorry, Professor Avalon," Musa, Flora, Stella, and Layla chorused immediately.

But still Tecna hesitated, and it wasn't until Faragonda raised her eyebrows, that she said quietly, "I'm sorry, Professor."

"It looks like you've all seen the error of your ways, so I'll accept your apology."

"Really, girls, this behaviour isn't acceptable," Griselda broke in. "And cannot go unpunished."

Faragonda looked inclined to agree, but surprising them, Avalon spoke up again. "I would rather you didn't punish them. With all due respect, Headmistress, Deputy," he said, nodding to first Faragonda and then Griselda. "But I think they've been humbled by this experience and have learnt their lesson. A punishment on my behalf really isn't necessary."

Faragonda gave him a long searching look before nodding. "As you like, Professor."

Unexpectedly, Avalon smiled at them. "Bloom is very lucky to have friends who are so protective of her, and if you continue to show this level of passion and courage I think you'll all make great Guardian Fairies one day."

The girls forced themselves to smile, but only Flora thanked the professor for his kind words. Faragonda waved them out of the office, and they made to leave, only pausing when Avalon called Bloom back.

"Did you want to meet tomorrow afternoon in my office, Bloom?"

Bloom looked torn between surprise and hope. "You'd still be willing to help me?"

And maybe it was their imagination, but Bloom's friends were sure there was something smug in Avalon's voice as he said, "Of course. I'll see you tomorrow."

There was total silence between the girls as they left the office and walked all the way back to the dorm. They only found the nerve to speak once they had shut the door behind them and collapsed onto the lounges.

"Well that was…" Stella said.

"Yeah…" Musa agreed.

"He has an answer for everything, doesn't he?" Tecna asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"Tec," Layla started, glancing between her and Bloom, the only one who hadn't joined them. "Maybe now's not the time…"

"I'm just saying-"

The sense of unsteadiness and unease that had plagued Bloom since she'd woken up, which had developed into a pounding headache that had only grown which had only grown with her anger at what had happened in Faragonda's office, hit a peak, and she found herself opening her mouth with no idea of what was about to come out.

"Are you guys fucking serious right now?"

Her voice was so cold and harsh, that the other five girls sat straight up and turned around to look at her.

"You attacked him for no reason, you got everything wrong, and you're still defending what you did?"

"Bloom…" Stella said, sounding tired. "We're not exactly defending what we did-"

"I am," Tecna broke in. "I still think he's hiding something. Maybe we got some things wrong, but not that. He's up to something."

"He's helping me!" Bloom exploded. "He is helping me! Why is that so hard for you all to understand?! He's the only person who can help me understand my powers and you almost ruined that! Why would you do that?! How am I supposed to face him now?!"

Tecna didn't answer, choosing instead to just sit stony-faced on the lounge. Flora looked ready to cry at all the yelling, and Stella, Layla, and Musa just looked like they wanted to diffuse the situation.

"We were just worried about you, Bloom," Stella tried.

"Try and see how dodgy it looks," Musa added, but Bloom just made a noise of disgust.

"I told you everything was fine. If you were really my friends, you would have trusted me."

"Of course we're your friends, Bloom," Flora said, on the verge of tears now.

But Bloom just shook her head and stormed out of the room. Flora and Stella both tried to go after her, but surprisingly it was Layla, who had been silent since they'd been hauled up to Faragonda's office, who stopped them.

"Let her be. She's angry, she needs to walk it off."

"Let her walk right off to Avalon?" Stella snapped, but sat back down despite her words.

"If that's what she wants to do, you're not going to stop her, she's not thinking clearly when it comes to him."

Flora stared at her, then around at the others. "You really think she's still in danger?"

"I think he has us all right where he wants us," Layla said. "We tried to expose him and it didn't work at all, now if we say anything against him, Faragonda and the other teachers are going to think we're biased against him. Not to mention that Bloom trusts him more than ever."

"So what do we do?"

But this time Layla didn't have an answer. None of them did.

Bloom stormed through the halls of Alfea, ignoring the stares and whispers that followed her, evidence that news of what her friends had done was already spreading through the school. She considered where she could go, and dismissed each one in turn: quad, too cold, library, too many people, back to her dorm, no way,

She pulled her phone out as she walked and checked the time, seeing that she still had hours before curfew, which made up her mind for her.

Sky answered on the third ring, something that made Bloom want to melt right into his arms.

"What are you doing right now?"

"Nothing," he said instantly.

"Want to meet me in Magix in half an hour?"

"You're on."

She could already hear him moving around his room, and knowing she would be in his company soon made her feel as though the tiniest of weights had lifted off her chest. She ended the call, and jogged down the front steps, already feeling lighter. A bus was just pulling up outside when she got there, and she got on board and took a seat, happy, for the time being, to leave Alfea far behind her.

Not me saying I probs won't be updating earlier than one every two months then coming back the next month with a new chapter. I don't know what it was about this one but it just came together very quickly and pretty easily. And I'm so so so happy with it so I really hope that you all enjoyed it. I think it really sets up how the rest of the fic is going to go, with cracks starting to appear between Bloom and the others, plus the way she's starting to lean and rely on Avalon.

I don't have much to say after this one, except it might really be a while until I update again. My honours is due in almost exactly two months now, so we're into the final push and it's going to take a lot of my attention, so I'll see how I go with updating this fic. But as always you guys are so welcome to blow up my inbox on tumblr ( /gins-potter) or just come check in on me or tell me what's up with your lives; I love hearing from you.

Anyway, yeah, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, please let me know what you liked or didn't like in a review and stay safe everyone.