We're halfway through the remake of the story, so take notice of this chapter 8 2.0 remake quickly as it's changed and you might hear dialogue that's different from the original.
Chapter 8: Through The Fire and Flames! Dark Bloom Rises!
Alfea School
The chapter begins at the Alfea School, where Faragonda and the other Winx are waiting for their companions to come back. Aisha had been waiting for almost an hour when she noticed something in the distance.
"Hey look! They're back!" Aisha exclaimed, gesturing to the approaching item. After additional inspection,
They discovered that Ben, who had his arms crossed and was still a little crimson, was being carried by Stella.
"It's Ben and Stella. But, why is she carrying him like that?" Flora inquired.
"His transformation period must have run out. The Omnitrix is in its recharge mode." Tecna said.
Musa said, "Hey wait, I don't see Bloom," since she had never seen Bloom with them.
Stella had returned to her usual self after they had landed on the balcony.
Tecna asked, "Well, have you two decided to get along?"
"Sort of. It's more of a truce. A temporary truce." Ben replied.
Flora said, "Hey, where's Bloom? Isn't she with you?" Ben, though, had lowered his head in disappointment.
Ben remarked, "Well..about that."
"After we found Ben, Ogron and his goons attacked us. That mummy wizard and his niece were there too. We tried to fight them, but when our backs were turned, they captured Bloom and took her to who knows where." Stella clarified.
Everyone gasped upon hearing this news.
Cursing at Ben, Griselda said, "Well, see what playing hero has done for you, know? I hope you're proud of yourself, young man. For all we know, Bloom could have her wings ripped off by those hooligans and lose her powers forever."
Ben was going to strike back but changed his mind because he realized it would be meaningless.
"Griselda, please don't be so harsh on the young man. It doesn't sound like he intended for this to happen." Faragonda replied.
Dragon Wind, who had manifested in her energy-based form, responded, "I concur. Besides, I hardly think it's fair to blame the death of someone on a kid if that person isn't even dead to begin with."
Flora questioned, "Wait, you're saying Bloom's okay?"
"Yes. I am still able to feel her magical force. The wizards must have required her to get past the first trial to find the statue." Dragonwind responded,
"First trial?" Ben enquired.
"The group who had sealed away the Statue of the Seven Dragons had set up four obstacles before arriving at the sealing location. The first trial could only be accessed by someone who had harnessed the power of one of the elemental dragons," Dragon Wind said.
"But Bloom wouldn't do what they asked willingly. Would she?" Musa replied.
"I'm afraid that she wouldn't have much of a choice. I'm sure the wizards have some sort of trick to provoke her into doing what they ask. We must hurry before they get any closer to the statue." Dragon Wind replied.
Aisha said, "Okay, so where are the wizards right now?"
"The wizards are currently at the towering castle of Magix. It used to be a gathering place for the highest authority figures in all of Magix. But then there was an incident concerning magic synergy, and... well, I've already told you how that played out," Dragon Wind replied. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid we won't be able to get there at our speed."
"Hey, can't you just teleport us there like you did Ben getting to Alfea?" Stella replied.
"I'm afraid that is not possible. The tower had numerous defensive spells placed around it, including spells that prevented access by transporting. I might be able to transport us there, but it will require some time for me to gather the energy we need to break through the barrier. And by the time I finish, it may already be too late. We'll have to find another means to get there," Dragon Wind said.
"Why don't we ask the boys at Red Fountain for a ride?" asked Stella. "I'm sure if we explained the situation to them, they'd be more than happy to help."
Faragonda responded, "I have to agree with you, Stella, at this point."
"Huh? Really?" Stella questioned.
"Yes. I have a hunch that Saladin might have had a little run with Ogron recently." Faragonda replied.
Red Fountain School.
A zoomed-in view of Red Fountain School appears. The group discovers that the experts are fixing Ogron's attack shortly after they arrive.
Examining the damage, Ben said, "Yikes. The place looks a lot nicer from the outside. What happened here?"
"Ogron," Saladin said as he entered the room with Nabu, Sky, and Riven.
Aisha yelled, "Nabu!"
Musa exclaimed, "Riven!"
The two girls had hurried to embrace with their respective boyfriends.
"Nabu, where have you been? I thought the mission you were on ended three days ago," Aisha said.
"I apologize, Aisha. I would have been back sooner, but we ran into a bit of trouble on the way home," Nabu responded.
Pointing to Sky, Riven remarked, "Mr. Navigator here thought it would be a good idea to cut through the dragon's ravine to save time."
"Hey, how was I supposed to know they were territorial?" Sky replied.
Upon noticing Ben, Riven exclaimed, "Hey, who's the kid?"
"His name is Ben Tennyson. He got transported here trying to chase down an old wizard," Musa replied.
"Really?" Riven inquired. "A kid like you shouldn't be jumping dimensions."
Ben answered, "It's not like I had much of a choice."
Sky questioned, "Where's Bloom? Is she doing something else? Or is she sick?" upon realizing Bloom was missing from their group.
Ms. Faragonda replied, "It's a long story. We'll fill you in later. But for now, Saladin, I must request the use of one of your cruisers. The place where the wizards have gone is a sacred place, and we'll be done if we don't stop them in time."
"Well, the others are still undergoing needed repairs. We do have one that should be operational. You'll find Timmy working on it in the left wing," Saladin explained.
Faragonda remarked, "Girls, you and Ben go with the boys to find the ship. I must get Saladin up to speed on what's been happening," as she and Saladin eagerly made their way to a different area of the campus.
The group started moving toward the left wing at that point. The Winx gave a detailed explanation of everything that had happened, from Ben's arrival to Bloom's dissapearnce, while they walked.
After learning that Bloom had been taken prisoner by the Wizards of Black Circle, with the help of Hex and Charmcaster, Sky exclaimed, "So... Bloom was captured by the Wizards of the Black Circle!"
"Yeah. And with that mummy and his niece in their ranks, I don't think it'll be easy getting her back," Stella replied.
"And you say they need her because they seek to reveal the statue of the seven dragons?" Nabu replied. "A relic that has the ability to drain the magical power of the seven creators of Magix?"
Musa answered, "That's right."
"So, the kid uses his watch to transform into aliens, huh?" Riven replied. "Why didn't he use one of those aliens to stop the wizards from taking Bloom?"
Ben responded by stating, "Hey, believe me, I tried. Besides, she was the one who decided to come after me. But I guess if I hadn't left the school, she would have been here. So..sorry."
"Ah, come on, don't beat yourself up over it," Sky replied. "They probably would have come after her soon enough. Right now, we have to focus on finding them before they decide they think she won't be of any use to them. By the way, how are we going to find her?"
Stella stroked Ben's head and said, "Don't worry, we'll find her. This kid here is a practical GPS with the Dragonwind." Ben swatted the pat down swiftly.
After a while they'd come into the room where a big airship hung overhead. With the cockpit located in the back, the ship had a lengthy front. It had two rectangular glass mirrors with a color combination of orange and yellow. A floating boat with its compartment doors open and a Specialist working on it with black smoke covering his face was seen to the side of the ship.
Impressed by the cruiser's size, Ben said, "Woah! Nice ship!"
Sky replied. "You like it? It's one of the Red Fountain standard cruisers, We use these ships to get around Magix. We're either on high-alert missions or doing simple recon. And sometimes we take them for a joyride whenever we get the time."
"So, we're going to use this to go after the wizards, right?" Ben replied.
"Depends if Timmy can get it working again. After one of those dragons attacked the side of the ship, we barely managed to get back here in one piece," Riven remarked.
It was then that a little puff of smoke emerged from the area of the ship where Timmy was working.
Timmy exhaled clouds of smoke and exclaimed, "Gah! Dang it!" Timmy had black gunk all over his face. He had removed his glasses and given them a quick wipe.
Tecna inquired, "How's it coming, Timmy?"
"Oh, Tecna, when did you get here?" Timmy questioned as he turned a lever on the platform to bring it down to the main floor.
"We got here a while ago. We were hoping we could use one of your cruisers to follow the wizards to find Bloom and the wizards," Tecna replied. "But, by the looks of it, it doesn't look like we'll be going anywhere anytime soon."
Ben glanced at the section of the ship emitting smoke while they were speaking.
Timmy noticed Ben and said, "So, who's the kid?"
Stella said, "That's Ben. He... Hey, where'd he go?" but she also noticed Ben's sudden disappearance.
"He's up there!" Nabu said, indicating Ben, who was now ascending using the same top of the ship that Timmy had been using to fix the ship's hole.
Stella shouted, "Ben, get down from there!"
Ben said, "Calm down. I've got this covered."
Flora remarked, "What are you going to do up there anyway?"
"I'm going to fix this thing so we can go after the wizards," Ben declared, peering inside before retreating when he noticed another portion had ignited.
Stella said, "You're going to fix it?"
"And what do you know about this kind of technology? Or any kind of technology for that matter?" Tecna inquired.
Ben answered, "Me? Absolutely nothing."
Stella asked, "Then how are you going to fix the ship?"
As he turned the dial roughly twice, Ben answered, "Because I know a guy who can." He then slammed down the dial and a flash of green light engulfed him.
"What's he?," Riven questioned, shielding his eyes from the green glow.
As she informs Riven about the Omnitrix, Tecna remarks, "That's how he transforms into his aliens."
Riven questioned, "Through his watch?"
The group noticed Ben was missing when the light went out.
Aisha said, "Hey, where'd he go?"
After Ben transformed, Musa screamed "Ben? Ben?!" because she could no longer see him.
Sky questioned, curious about Ben's transformation, "What happened? Didn't he transform into one of his aliens?"
"Well, that is what happens whenever he does that, but I can't see him up there anymore. Maybe the alien he transformed made him shrank down," Tecna replied.
They were cut off abruptly by a roar emanating from the ship's reactivated engines. The cylinders had burst into blue flames and were once more in working order.
Timmy exclaimed, "H-hey. The ships are fixed!" as he showed surprise that the ship had finally been fixed.
A little voice over the ship's intercom stated, "Now, I think a "thank you" is in order."
"Ben? Is that you?" Flora said, taken aback to discover that Ben, in his Grey Matter form, was the tiny individual who had fixed the ship.
"Kind of. On a technical level I'm this alien called Grey Matter. He's a galvanic alien. These guys are extremely intelligent and small. It was a galvanist named Azmuth who made the watch that transformed me into a different alien. But right now, there's no time for stories. We've got to find out where they took Bloom." Grey Matter replied.
"All right. But we've got to go find Ms. Faragonda first. We can't leave without her," Flora replied.
Aisha responded, "I'll go find her," and headed out to find Faragonda and Saladin.
Grey Matter stepped out of the top of the ship and down to the others while they waited. When they could get a better look, they discovered that Ben had been transformed into a little, grayish alien with bug eyes.
"Wow, Tecna, you weren't kidding about him shrinking," Musa said.
Grey Matter said, "Hey! This little guy happens to have a big brain!"
"Aw, he looks so cute," Flora murmured, prodding Grey Matter, who gave a small laugh in return.
Grey Matter stepped away from Flora's finger and exclaimed, "H-hey! Cut that out!" However, Stella picked him up after that.
Stella grinned at Ben and said, "You know, I think I like you better this way. Next time you try to run off on your own, I can just stuff you in my purse."
Grey Matter answered, "Oh yeah? Just keep a tight grip. In a few seconds, you won't be so smug."
Stella enquired, "And what is that supposed to mean?"
"Actually Stella, I'd recommend that you put him down," Tecna replied.
Stella answered, "And why should I?"
"As we already know, Ben's transformations are merely temporary. And if you're still holding him by the time he transforms back." Tecna clarified.
Stella responded, "Oh...right," as she began to understand what Tecna had said.
However, the Omnitrix atop Grey Matter had started to light red at that very time. Stella had tossed the tiny extraterrestrial after jumping at the first sound. Ben landed on his butt after there was a red flash just before he approached the ground.
Ben yelled out, "Ow!" as he returned to his natural state. "You could have put me down, you know!"
In a matter of seconds, Aisha was back with Saladin and Faragonda. At that point, the team started getting ready for takeoff.
Saladin asked, "Well, Timmy, is everything working as it should be?"
"Better than that sir. Whatever Ben did, it improved a couple of problems the ship had before. Everything's ready to go!" Timmy said.
Ben rubbed his palm on his shirt and smirked. "A-yep. I'm a genius. Fixed a few flaws I saw while I was inside that piece of junk."
"Weren't you just using the aliens' brains to do the work?" Stella replied.
"Thanks for that killjoy. Geez, you're almost as annoying as my cousin." Ben said,
However, a voice had called out to Stella before she and Ben boarded.
Stella turned to see Brandon, her boyfriend, had just come into the room with Helia.
"Hey! Stella! Where's everybody going? And how come you didn't invite us?" Brandon inquired.
"BRANDON!" Stella exclaimed, running to her partner and giving him a passionate embrace. Which made Ben a little jealous, as if he was starting to feel something for Stella.
"Am I having feelings for her?" Ben asked himself in his thoughts.
Somehow, Stella realizes that Ben is jealous and wonders, "Is he having a feeling on me?"
Ben's jealousy of Stella was also observed by Flora and Musa, although Brandon was now interacting with Stella.
Brandon said, "H-hey. Good to see ya."
Stella said, "Yeah, it's good to see you, Brandon," putting an end to her thoughts about Ben's jealousy.
Helia asked, "Flora, what's going on?"
Flora exclaimed, "Oh, we'll explain on the way. Come on, we have to go!" as she stopped thinking and realized that Ben was jealous of Stella's boyfriend Brandon.
The cruiser had lifted into the air and rocketed out of the Red Fountain School and into the skies as the ship's bay doors had fully shut.
"Okay, we're airborne. So how do we track down the wizards?" Timmy replied.
As she walked up to Ben, Faragonda said, "Dragonwind, are you ready?"
In little time at all, the Dragonwind had taken on its energy form.
The Dragonwind said, starting to shine with a bright green aura, "Yes. Let's begin."
Flora said, "Hey Ben, can we talk with Musa?"
Ben said, "Okay, what are we going to talk about?"
Musa teased Ben, saying, "Hey Ben, you like Stella, don't you? we noticed that you were a bit jealous when you saw her with Brandon."
Ben blushed and responded, "NO I DON'T," indicating that he had affection for Stella.
Flora said, "Oh Ben, you have to admit that you have a crush on her."
Meanwhile at the tower of Magix…
Hex, Charmcaster, and The Wizard of Black Circle had started scouring the tower for any hints that could point them in the direction of their treasure.
Duman said, "Hey teach, mind if I ask a question?"
Looking at Duman, Hex inquired, "What is it?"
"I know we're supposed to be looking for that statue, but weren't we focused on making those charming things earlier?" Duman questioned. "How exactly are you gonna make 'em?"
Hex questioned aggressively, "And you've waited this long to ask me this?"
Duman answered, "I apologize. It just slipped through my mind."
Hex sighed just now.
Hex remarked, just before Dark Bloom cut him off, "After we have obtained the power we need from the statue, we shall use some of that power to meld the materials you've gathered and re-create the charms. Now, if we can only find..."
Dark Bloom turned to face them all and exclaimed, "HEY! I sense some weird magical energy down here. It's a safe bet that this is where we need to go."
Charmcaster questioned, "And just what makes you so sure?"
Dark Bloom replied, walking down the corridor where she had felt the strange magical presence, "It's just a feeling I have, But if you rather rummage through the rubble here, be my guest. Any of you who wish to follow are welcome."
"Well, you heard the lady," Gantlos remarked as he and the others trailed Dark Bloom down the hallway. Charmcaster groaned as they went along.
A circular room with some old, faded pictures on the wall could be found at the end of the passageway. The portraits had moss growing over them or were ripped in certain places. As the group entered the room, they were surrounded by sculptures of soldiers. The largest component of the armor was a massive shoulder guard that encircled the head opening and protected the upper back, neck, and shoulders. A gold collar encircled the guard. The primary body was made up of descending metal plates that stopped at the belt. Every soldier wore a metal helmet with perforations on the front. They were all carrying either a sword, spear, or shield. Anagan and Duman had decided to examine the stone warriors' armor while the others had searched the chamber for any hints that could aid them in their mission.
"Heh, check the metal on this guy. That looks like some heavy armor." Duman replied.
Anagan pounded his fist against the stone and said, "You got that right, how could these guys take two steps in these things? let alone defend anything?"
Dark Bloom said, "Hey genius, I suggest you refrain from touching those statues."
The statue had raised the sword in its left hand and was ready to chop off the black wizard's head when Anagan murmured, mockingly, "Aw, that's sweet. The bad girl is worried about me that these guys can't do anything. And even if they could-."
Ogron yelled, "ANAGAN, DUCK!"
"Huh?" Anagan exclaimed, perplexed until he noticed the stone soldier poised to deliver the deadly blow. It took all he had not to lose a few of his dreads from his ponytail to barely avoid the slash.
Anagan said, "Shoot, that was close! How's that guy moving?"
Hex said, "It's not just him."
Before long, the room's stone sculptures had all sprung to life, with two brilliant purple eyes emerging from their eye sockets.
"Well, looks like you activated the first defense spell. These were set here to eliminate anyone who might be coming after the statue." Dark Bloom clarified. "If we want to go further, we'll have to beat them."
As Charmcaster shot a mana ray at the first soldier, zapping its head off its torso as it fell back to the ground, she remarked, "I could've told you that much."
"Hmph. Whoever sealed the dragon statue here with these weak defenses must be nothing but a bunch of-." Charmcaster grumbled as she was about to strike the warrior when Dark Bloom sent a dark bolt of fire past her singing a few of her black hairs.
Charmcaster yelled, "Hey! We're on the same side here!"
Dark Bloom answered, glancing behind Charmcaster. "Behind you."
The soldier whose skull Charmcaster had just severed had shown her his hand. However, in a matter of seconds, both his hand and his head began to regenerate. His hand had recovered the sword he had lost.
Charmcaster sighed, saying, "Great. These things regenerate. Now what?"
The group had persisted in combating the stone soldiers stationed to guard the contents of the tower. However, it was evident after a solid five minutes of combat that none of their magic strikes were having any effect on them.
After blasting apart two more troops that had been rebuilt seconds later, Ogron exclaimed in fury, "Damn it all! Why won't these creatures remain as rubble?!"
Duman, though, had already punched through the one on the right before they could launch an attack. Duman emerged from the soldier in the shape of a gorilla. The second soldier had reformed, and Ogron was about to blast it, but it didn't get up.
"Hello, what have we got here?" Ogron asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.
Duman asserted, "These guys seem to reform after each magic attack, but they can't get back up after a simple punch!" after backhanding a soldier who was attempting to outmaneuver him.
Impressed, Ogrons remarked, "And so these soldiers were constructed to feed off the magic of the ones who would seek out the statue. Ingenious."
Charmcaster replied, reaching into her bag to retrieve a few familiar stones. "Well, if that's the case, then I'll just introduce these rock heads to my own team!" They had grown to be the size of the rock golems she used so frequently after she threw them to the ground.
Charmcaster yelled, "Sick 'em boys!" The stone golems had pounced on the stone soldiers who were being pummeled and crushed by the canine-like rock monsters without giving it a second thought. Before long, the soldiers had left the room. The mounds of debris that would have reassembled had become dust when they were beaten.
"Well, I'll admit that was rather clever. Any other foolish magic user might have fallen prey to the trap. Now, how do we proceed?" Ogron responded.
At that moment, a photo of Faragonda was hanging on a wall next to an old painting.
Duman observes that one image is covered. Thus, he lifts the cover to reveal a figure with black hair, gray eyes, and warm yellow complexion. He had on a purple scarf and a leather tunic.
After glancing at the picture, Duman said, "Hey, who's that guy? I've never seen him before"
"Forget about that picture Duman, focus on the objective," Ogron replied.
Duman responded, "Okay, Ogron," and followed the group.
Anagan said, "I guess it's onward and downward from here." However, as they prepared to go down to the next level,
The group felt a strong earthquake that caused several parts of the building to collapse.
After making every effort to stand up, Duman asked, "What's going on? Is this another one of the tests?"
Dark Bloom said, "No, but I think we have a few party crashers."
Gantlos exclaimed, "The Winx! How did they find us?"
"It's that alien kid. Seems like I'm not the only one with an immense source of magic power anymore." Dark Bloom said.
Hex questioned, "What do you mean by that?"
Dark Bloom said as she took to the air, "I'll explain later. You go and see if you can get any closer to finding the dragon statue. I'm going to see our uninvited guests."
"Wait, you're going to take on your friends by yourself? Someone's sure confident." Duman chuckled.
Ogron said as he and the others descended the tower, "Worry not, my friend. If this Bloom's anything like we've read in the archives, then she's more than capable of disposing of the others. Come, we have a statue to find."
Meanwhile, Dark Bloom had flown out one of the open windows and was heading to investigate the source of the tremor.
-Seven minutes earlier-
Dragon Wind said, "There it is. The tower of Magix." as the cruiser approached the almost completely submerged structure.
Aisha enquired, "That's the tower? What happened to it?"
Dragon Wind asked, "Right, you remember when I told you of the incidents concerning the magic synergy? Well, it just so happens that one of those incidents occurred here. The former students attempted to submerge the tower and everyone inside."
Faragonda interjected, saying, "But of course, we were not going to have that. A couple of us veteran magic users, myself included, have countered their spell by parting the water around the tower. After that, the former students were punished accordingly."
"Hmm, I'm guessing Poseidon wasn't too happy about that little stunt," Ben responded as he made a joke.
"Oh he wouldn't be. That is if the body of water we tampered with was larger." Faragonda replied.
Ben said with a deadpan expression, "Uh...that was a joke?"
As the ship got closer to the tower, there was an abrupt strong earthquake that rocked the entire ship and its occupants. They had tried to cling to anything for support as they had slid and slipped.
"Gaaaah! What's going on?" Ben questioned, struggling to stay upright.
Faragonda said, "Oh, well isn't this perfect? Someone's opening a portal!"
Tecna asked, "A portal? But why now?"
Musa asked, "You think the wizards could be doing this?"
"I'm afraid not. They're too preoccupied with finding the statue. They wouldn't have the time to prepare for such a spell. But whatever the case, we need to move. Timmy! Get us away from here post haste!" Faragonda exclaimed.
Timmy said, "R-right!" as he started to maneuver the spacecraft away from the tower, but he stopped short of his goal.
Magical energy bolts had started to shoot everywhere. Before long, a doorway appeared with a pinkish-purple hue. The front end of a car appeared to be the first object to emerge from the spatial fissure. It had a red and blue stripe across the front and was colored something like vanilla. The front had rectangular rear view mirrors and black glass windows with window cleaners. Ben's eyes sprung awake as he took a closer look at the car since he was too familiar with it.
"No way! Is that-?" Ben questioned, stunned by what he had just witnessed.
It was evident that the automobile was the dependable plumber vehicle, the Rustbucket, when it fully emerged from the portal. And this indicated that Max had to be behind the wheel if it was here. The RV made a harsh landing on the cruiser's hood and slid a little before stopping completely.
Stella said, "Wha...what is that hunk of junk?"
Ben soon smiled and said, "It's the Rustbucket. It's my Grandpa's RV"
Max, still dazed by the space/time jump, rubbed his head and asked, "Ugh...did we make it?"
Gwen answered, "Looks like it. I can sense that Ben is close. Real close."
"Isn't that him?" Max said, pointing at Ben as he waved his arms through the window in an attempt to get their attention.
Ben said, "Timmy, bring us down."
Stella said, "Ben, do you know who's in that thing?"
"Yeah. Though I'm sure my cousin is going to be ready to nag my ears off the minute she sees me." Ben sighed.
Ben was prepared for his cousin to disappoint. The cruiser landed and the RV was removed from the ship after two minutes. Max and Gwen had climbed out of the Rustbucket upon realizing Ben was safe. But Gwen was not happy with Ben's departure. She smacked Ben across the head as soon as she got started.
Ben cried, "OW! Hey, that hurt!"
"Good! What the heck were you thinking jumping into after Hex like that?" Gwen yelled.
"Ben spit back, "Hey! I'm alive aren't I? And what did you want me to do? Just sit there and let him have his way?! In fact I was just on my way to stop that mummy till you showed up! You could have waited for us. I would have been able to use the spell that Hex used and we could have solved this problem as a team. But instead, you decided to play the hero like you always do! Next time, try thinking with that peanut sized brain of yours!"
"Freak!" exclaimed Ben.
"Doofus!" Gwen yelled in response. There was a moment of silence, and then, of course, there was laughter between the two.
Stella asked, "Can someone say sibling rivalry?"
Faragonda remarked, "So, I take it you're Ben's grandfather?"
Max said, "That's right, Maxwell Tennyson."
Max said, "That's right, Maxwell Tennyson."
"So, what's been going on? Did you get Hex like you planned to?" Gwen replied.
Ben uttered uneasily, "Yeah, long story. There's been... problems with that plan."
'What kind of problems?" Asked Gwen with her hips to her side.
Dark Bloom said, "I think I can answer that," as she materialized overhead.
Ben said, "What the? Is that Bloom?"
Tecna said, "Worse...it's Dark Bloom. I thought we saw the last of her."
Dark Bloom remarked as she walked down to have a face-to-face meeting with the gang, "You know what they say, Tecna, can't keep a bad girl down. So, that tremor earlier was because of her spell, was it? Impressive for a girl your age to be conjuring portal spells."
Gwen asked, "Uhh...Ben, friend of yours?"
Ben answered, "Right now, not really."
With a phony melancholy, Dark Bloom murmured, "Aww, that hurts Ben. And here I thought we were such good friends in the beginning. Well, compared to you and Stella of course."
Stella cynically responded, "Thanks for including me. I never really liked this side of yours, Bloom. Never really suited you. And what's with the hair color change? Are you looking to turn emo now?"
"Joke all you want. But after the statue is found, you won't have much to laugh about." Dark Bloom replied.
Before Dark Bloom cut him off, Sky pleaded, "Bloom, please. Don't go through with this. If you let them get to that statue, they're going to take the dragon flame from you and-."
Dark Bloom cut him off with a malicious smile, "Ah! Just hold it right there, pretty boy. Exactly what made you think I was helping the wizards just so they could take over? Power like that should be placed in more responsible hands. Say for example..mine."
Faragonda asked, "Bloom, what are you saying?"
"Oh sure, I'll help them find that statue, but the minute they do, I'll be taking the reins." Dark Bloom stated. "And don't think you and your little Dragon Wind are not safe either, Ben, I'll be absorbing her powers soon enough."
Ben challenged her, saying, "Heh. If you think you can, then just try it!"
Ben retaliated by charging a bolt of fire magic that Dark Bloom had fired at him.
Gwen said, "Ben, look out!" Ben, though, had just held his ground.
"Now, wind barrier!" Ben exclaimed, folding his arms. To Gwen's surprise, a barrier of wind had materialized around him, swiftly dispersing the dangerous fire magic.
Gwen said, "Hey, since when were you able to do that?"
"For a while now. I'll tell ya about it later." Ben replied.
After firing two dark fire bolts at him, Dark Bloom said, "Well, you've learned to cast barriers now? My, you're learning fast. But let's see how you handle two for one!" Ben was launched several meters into the air when the explosions struck, landing on his back.
Ben said as he stood back up, "Ugh, darn it! Thought I could take that."
As she launched another dark fire bolt, Dark Bloom questioned, "Well Ben, you want to surrender now? Or do you think you can keep going?"
Ben answered bravely "Please. The first three barely even stung."
"Oh well, your funeral," Dark Bloom replied after hurling three more dark lightning bolts at him.
Ben appeared prepared to respond, but the Winx yelled.
The Winx yelled, "Winx Believix," as they changed into their Believix forms. They retaliated with energy bolts that were purple, green, light green, blue, and yellow. The successive explosions had burst upon contact. Ben noticed that Dark Bloom was following him and that Tecna, Musa, Flora, Aisha, and Stella had all changed into their believix forms.
"You're playing dirty, Bloom. You know Ben's still learning about magic." Musa said.
While her friends were standing right in front of her, Dark Bloom yelled, "Really? Haven't you heard of learning on the job?!" as she directed a dark magic beam at Ben.
Ben clenched his fists, focusing a good deal of wind magic into his hands and launching two orbs of concentrated parts of his power. Before exploding into a massive gust of wind, the two orbs clashed with Dark Bloom's black beam and pushed it back for a few meters. While Dragon Wind had erected a barrier around Ben, Gwen had created one to protect herself and Max.
It was the same strategy Dark Bloom had used to defend herself. She'd seen that Ben was perspiring a little bit as she had lowered her barrier.
"Well, this has been fun, I'm afraid I'll have to stop going easy on you. I'm going to need that Dragon Wind when the statue is found, and I plan on having it, whether you're conscious or not." Dark Bloom replied.
After activating the Omnitrix, Ben remarked, "So, you get an attitude adjustment and a new costume and suddenly you're the stronger one? Well, in case you've forgotten, magic isn't my only strong point."
Ben said, "Now, tell me if you remember this guy." He had changed the watch's dial to the Diamondhead icon, and as he slammed it down, a flare of green light engulfed him once more. A few seconds later, DiamondHead materialized.
Dark Bloom said, "And so, the walking chandelier returns. Take any form you wish. It won't matter in the end."
"Grandpa, I want you and Gwen to take cover in the rust bucket. Something tells me that Bloom is going to be trouble." Diamondhead replied.
Max escorted Gwen back to the RV and said, "Right. Come on, Gwen."
Dark Bloom, having her sights set on Max and Gwen, said, "Ah, ah, ah. And where do you think you're going?"
"No way! She wouldn't!" exclaimed Diamondhead, expressing disbelief at how quickly Dark Bloom passed him.
Dark Bloom smiled and exclaimed, "Oh yeah, I would," as she hurled a dark fireball in Max's and Gwen's direction. But as soon as they were aware of the fireball, a massive wall composed entirely of green crystals rose out of the earth, fully obstructing the onslaught.
Diamondhead fired a gaze at Dark Bloom and said, "All right. That did it."
Hex, Charmcaster, and the wizards of the Black Circle continue their ascent through the tower of magi in search of the statue of the seven dragons, while Ben and the Winx face the darker side of their buddy Bloom. Will Dark Bloom be stopped by Ben and the Winx alone? Or will she prove to be too much for Ben and the Winx put together to handle?
Now that chapter 8 is complete, let me provide some spoilers for my Ultra Legion story.
There's a secret in the story as well. What if I told you that none of the Seven Dragons are real and that Dragon Wind is not a real dragon? That indicates that Dragon Wind is hiding something, but my future Ultra Legion 2.0 story will reveal it.
And further, spoiler
Duman also takes a quick look at a picture of someone with a warm yellow complexion, gray eyes, and black hair. He was wearing a leather tunic and a purple scarf. Who do you think it is? Find out who that individual is.