Ah, nature.
The only place where flat-screen TVs and ordering pizza simply wasn't an option.
And here I was, standing in the middle of nowhere in a safari-girl outfit with no way to watch the latest episode of Game of Thrones (even though that show didn't even exist in this universe) or pick up a decent Wi-Fi signal.
I wasn't the only one unhappy with the day's newest assignment; the other girls (specifically Candi and Stella) were complaining about each and every little thing. I was surprised Palladium didn't chuck a brick at them already.
"Today's lesson will be rather challenging," began the Legolas rip-off, pacing back and forth. "You will be-"
"Professor, a mosquito just bit me!" shrieked a brunette, interrupting the teacher's instruction.
"May I remind you, this is a forest," pointed out Palladium, sweatdropping. "A little mosquito bite is nothing to worry about, trust me."
"But look where it got me." The brunette pouted and pulled up her right pant leg, revealing a portion of her blue panties and a pointy red bump beside them. The other girls giggled as Palladium turned crimson at the sight of her undergarment.
"Oh…er…oh my," was all he could manage.
"Yes, Professor! I got bit, too!" whined Candi, obviously struggling to hold back a laugh. She unzipped her beige jacket just enough to expose the upper part of her breast. Sure enough, a red zit similar to the other girl's was attached to her skin. How the fuck did that even happen?
"I believe that is called sexual harassment," stated Tecna openly and kind of loudly.
The other girls laughed even harder and Palladium turned away. "Uh, as I was saying!" he declared shakily, holding his chin high and going back to his pacing as if trying not to stare.
"Poor professor. They sure do like giving him a hard time," frowned Bloom disapprovingly. We along with the rest of the Winx were standing behind our classmates, wondering why the professor had dragged us all the way out into some random forest. I had no clue what was going on because I hadn't watched the episode, if it even had one.
Stella shrugged. "Eh, he deserves this. If he were more confident, he'd earn more respect," she yawned, observing her orange nails.
"A good fairy must always stay linked with nature," explained Palladium, his chestnut hair gleaming in the sun as he walked this way and that. "Today's assignment is going to put your skills to the test. Now, you've all been grouped so-"
"Is this one of those stupid nature-survival challenges?" I blurted.
"You have three hours to find your way out of Black Mud Swamp and reach the clearing in the middle of Gloomy Wood Forest without using magic," continued Palladium, ignoring me. "Remember: listen closely to nature's voice and follow her advice." And with that, he disappeared with tiny sparkles flashing in his stead.
"Well, we're going to die," sighed Stella, playing with her green necktie. "And I never got to experience my first time, either."
"Shut up and walk," I grumbled, pushing her forward. We separated ourselves from the other girls, disappearing into a thick mass of bushes. "Ya know, it's not safe for us to be out here on our own like this," I whispered dramatically and mischievously.
"Huh? Why not?" asked Flora, concern spreading across her face as Stella swatted a mosquito against her arm.
"Sexual predators are known to linger in woods like this," I informed with a devilishly giggle, tickling her backside creepily. "They hide in the shadows, just waiting to pounce on innocent young women hopelessly dwelling around their domain."
Flora squeaked and her legs started to tremble. "I-I hope no one like that's out here," she stammered.
"Oh, don't worry about it. If someone does decide to leap out at us, I'll kick their ass," assured Musa, karate-kicking the air.
"HELLO, NEWCOMERS!" exclaimed Creep, suddenly jumping out of the bushes at us.
"EEK!" yelped Flora, Bloom, and Stella, huddling together in some sort of cowering formation.
"Hey, dude," I yawned, giving Creep a tiny wave as he landed on the ground on all-four like a cat ready to leap on a scrambling mouse. To be honest, he looked really retarded but I wasn't going to complain.
"You know this primitive life form?" asked Tecna, raising an eyebrow and putting her hands on her hips. She and Musa didn't look one bit frightened. In fact, Musa looked seconds away from karate-chopping his ass.
"Yeah. This is the pervert that lives near Alfea," I explained dully, "he hangs out in the woods a lot."
"Yeah but what is he doing here?" Musa crossed her arms and knitted her eyebrows at Creep.
"I'm just checking up on you girlies," responded Creep in a creepy giggle, rising to his feet and adjusting his hat so it was crooked once again.
"Uh, you should probably fuck off before you get caught or something," I suggested, rolling my eyes at trembling Stella, Bloom, and Flora. "The professor could be watching us."
"Aye. I have others to visit," giggled Creep, his eyes gleaming like crystals behind his hair. "I'll come back later. Call if you need anything." And he disappeared back into the bushes.
"C'mon! Let's go before he comes back," urged Flora, grabbing Bloom's and Stella's arms and pulling them forward.
"You know a lot of mentally disturbed people," Stella frowned at me over her shoulder as we pressed forward.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
We were about to start arguing if it hadn't been for the thick, muddy swamp in our path. Seeing the damned thing went on for miles meaning we couldn't walk around, we proceeded into it. The bubbly, marshy water went up past our knees, making Stella scowl.
"Ew! This place is so…yucky!" she hissed, shuddering and swatted another pesky bug.
"Oh yes, dear. All this mud is so very inconvenient," joked Musa in a spoiled-royal voice, holding her chin high.
Flora and Bloom laughed but Tecna shook her head. "I don't know if you girls have noticed yet, but we're knee-deep in what I'd call a problematic mud puddle. You guys can take cover. I'll handle it." She raised her glowing hands, but Bloom stopped her just in time.
"No! Remember what the professor said. We have to listen to nature," she reminded, making Stella groan aloud. She sniffed the air cautiously. "Do you guys smell that?"
"You mean Stella's trashy perfume? Yeah, I smell it," I joked rudely.
The princess growled at me. "That's not me!" she insisted, stomping her foot in the mud.
Musa inhaled deeply. "That smells like…gas!" she exclaim-panicked. "Let's get out of here!"
"I told you that wasn't me!" snapped Stella, shoving me in the back as we hurried out of the swamp.
Once we were safely sheltered behind some bushes, Bloom picked up a small but thick (just like my auntie's thighs!) branch and chucked it at one of the bubbles in the swamp. We all cringed as it popped, releasing a foul-smelling gray gas.
"One more step and we would've been fucked," I muttered as the other gas bubbles popped, filling the air with their potent odor.
"Yes, we took a big risk." Flora nodded worriedly.
"Especially you, Tecna. I would've sent you my dress maker's bill," said Stella, flipping her hair over her shoulder. I couldn't tell if she was joking or dead serious, but everyone excluding Tecna laughed anyway.
"Now, let's hurry up and find the clearing before our time's up," urged Musa, standing up. "Who knows what'll happen to us if we fail. We might end up in this forest forever!"
XXX
Lettme tell you.
I've seen some shit in my day but you haven't witnessed anything until you've seen a couple-dozen-ton aircraft falling out of the sky. The Winx, me, and our other classmates just stood there with our mouths hanging open as we watched the floating, smoking aircraft drop out of the sky and disappear over the trees. Eventually, we heard a loud thump and everyone started panicking.
"That looked like a Red Fountain airship!" gasped Bloom.
"Let's go see!" exclaimed Stella as we all charged across a small, marshy pond. "They might need our help!"
After a few moments of forcing our way through fucked-up swamp grass, we came across the air vehicle in the middle of the pond. It was covered in the swampy goo and looked extremely damaged. But thankfully (to an extent), Sky, Timmy, Brandon, and Riven were safe. I was kind of startled to see them because I hadn't expected them to make an appearance so early.
"Are you three alright?" asked Flora with concern, approaching them. "Do you have any wounds or-"
"Yesh, don't you have eyes?" insulted Riven, scowling at her. "We're fine. Isn't it obvious?"
And it was at that moment, I knew I was going to hate Riven. "Well, it sure doesn't look that way, idiot!" I snapped, gesturing towards a tear in his uniform. Blood was gushing out of the wound, soaking the fabric around it. I happened to notice Musa was blushing and staring at him, but Riven obviously didn't give a fuck.
"We're all fine, ladies. Thanks for asking," winked Brandon—whom I forgot was calling himself "Prince Sky"—looking around. He gasped and cringed, noticing the big footprints in the mud and the giant escape whole in the ship at the same time I was. "Oh no," he groaned, "where's the troll?"
"He's escaped!" hissed Sky—who was "Brandon" at the moment—frowning deeply.
"A troll?!" the rest of us yelped in unison.
"You guys were transporting a troll and you let him escape?" asked Tecna, expressionless.
"Yeah! Aren't you idiots supposed to be on top of this?" I added, glaring death at Riven.
"We didn't let anyone escape," the magenta-haired guy spat. He folded his arms across his chest. "There was an accident. We lost altitude and-"
"Mechanical failure," clarified Timmy, adjusting his glances.
"Anyhow, there's nothing to worry about. He's handcuffed," assured Riven arrogantly.
"Um…not anymore," spoke up Brandon, holding up a pair of giant handcuffs that were dripping with slim.
"Oh no!" The rest of our classmates began to panic again.
"So a troll's on the loose, huh? It's probably for Stella so they can mate or something since they're both obviously trolls," commented Candi, flipping her black hair over her shoulder.
Seriously? Would that fucker ever shut up?
"What are you girls doing here anyway?" asked Sky, stopping me from throwing an insult back at Candi.
"We're in the middle of an assignment," replied Bloom, looking down at the swampy water so Sky wouldn't see her blush.
Duh. That could be the only possible explanation. What bunch of stupid-ass girls wandered around a funky-ass swamp in the heat of day without a reason?
"Well, you can get back to your little assignment and don't worry about a thing. Leave it to the Specialists," said Riven arrogantly, pounding on his chest.
"The Specialists are coming?" gasped Stella, mocking surprise. "When?"
Riven gritted his teeth and growled. "We're right here, dumbass!" he snapped.
Oh hell no. "Who are you calling a dumbass, dumbass?" I countered, stomping over to him.
"What Riven is saying is that you girls should probably get back to Alfea while we deal with the animal," clarified Brandon, resting a hand on Riven's shoulder.
"We don't need your editorial comments, Your Highness," Riven growled at Brandon.
HAHAHA, no. "What are you talking about? Brandon isn't a prince!" I dared to snap at Riven, grinning evilly. That shit wasn't going to work on me. The Specialists looked startled and the girls a little confused, but Amaryl broke the silence.
"And we don't need any help from you! We can deal with this ourselves," she jeered at Riven, stepping forward.
"You do what you gotta do, but don't ever say we didn't warn you. C'mon, guys. Let's get to work. We got a troll to recapture," barked Riven, starting back for the wreck of a ship.
While the Winx discussed whether we should help them or not, I charged after the boys. Right as I was reaching out to grab Riven's cape, I fell face-flat into the swamp.
And then there was darkness.
XXX
"Awaken, Guardian of the Wind."
When I awoke, all I saw was twinkling stars and endless space. "What the fluff!?" I swore, quickly rising to my feet. I nearly tripped over the long white skirts I was now wearing. I lost my footing and landed in a pile of white daisies that were conveniently placed under my feet. With bulging eyes, I looked around at my surroundings. I was in some kind of circular Greek temple that was surrounded by vast space and stars.
"What is this?" I muttered, daring to stand up again. Barefoot, I slowly walked across the marble floor and over to one of the columns. Since the temple didn't have any walls, it was almost like I could simply reach out and touch the stars on the other side of the columns. Like I could almost touch space-
The second I held out my hand, my fingers came in contact with an invisible barrier which rippled like water due to my touch.
"The temple is protected by a force field," announced a familiar voice. "Its purpose is to keep the beings within it breathing, since the vacuums of space lack oxygen."
I whirled around to see the three Ethereal Fairies flittering a few feet in front of me. "You guys again?!" I gasped, "where am I this time?" Usually, they only spoke to me through visions and dreams. But this time…they somehow psychically transported me someplace else. At least I think they did.
"You are in the temple of Cassiopeia Fourth Star," explained the blue Ethereal Fairy, flying over to me.
I looked up at her. "The what now?"
"The Cassiopeia Fourth Star. The fourth star temple of the constellation Cassiopeia," went on the blue Ethereal Fairy.
"A star temple? What's that?" I asked, knitting my eyebrows. Seriously, these chicks were confusing.
"The star temples are the celestial structures of all the universes and dimensions. They are all linked to each and every universe and realm in existence," spoke up the orange Ethereal Fairy, "even the Earth you come from, the 'Real World' as you call it and its solar system are even linked to these grounds."
Oh c'mon. Yet another thing I didn't know about. Magix was just full of secrets.
"So why am I here?" I asked kind of impatiently.
The three fairies' faces went grim. "Something is threatening the existence of the celestial star temples," explained the green Ethereal Fairy, "her evil is corrupting them one by one. And because of her dark powers, the temples are in jeopardy of crumbling out of existence. And without them, magic cannot exist."
"Uh, what?"
"Magix and the other universes are in danger. If she continues to manipulate the celestial temples, the only ones with magic will be her and her evil forces." Green Ethereal Fairy frowned deeply.
"She must be defeated by all means. But alas, no one is yet powerful enough to destroy her. Many have tried, but all have failed," continued Orange Ethereal Fairy, "though, you and your fellow friends—the Winx—will soon be capable of doing what they could not."
"Who is 'her'?" I asked, my mind racing. "And where is she? Nothing's wrong back in Magix."
"For now. But once she discovers the dimension, she will no doubt seize its power. That is why you must take these." The orange fairy glowed with magic and small square-ish crystals appeared in midair before her.
"What are they?" I managed to ask, overtaken by their shiny beauty.
"Stones of pure energy. And they belong to you and your friends," explained Green Ethereal Fairy, "we humbly give them to you as-"
The temple suddenly shook, causing me to stagger backwards. "What's happening? Earthquakes are supposed to happen in space," I snapped.
"The dark empress! She's here. We don't have time!" exclaimed Blue Ethereal Fairy. The crystals disappeared back to wherever they came from, and I started to feel dizzy. "We must send you back before she discovers you."
Quickly losing consciousness, I staggered around until I fell helplessly to the ground. And as much as I tried to stop them, my eyelids began to close and my vision to blur.
But right before I fell out for good, I saw something form on the edge of the temple.
She had carrot-red hair, deep blue eyes, and wore an unusual arrogant smile. But instead of being filled with love and compassion like they usually were, they were fueled with lust and thrust for power.
"Bloom," I muttered.
And then there was more blackness.
