/NOTES: I am finally back with another chapter! I mean back as in, I'm posting this, probably see you in half a year. Or sooner if I happen to have any sort of inspiration. I hope some of you are still sticking around even though it's been so long. Feel free to leave your thoughts, speculations and more in the comments. If you want to follow me on any social media: Instagram: eternal_delenas ; Twitter: delenacatradora/

It was nighttime by the time Valtor made it to the palace of Andros. And to his surprise, it had been left unguarded.

Well, almost.

Upon opening the main doors he killed the few guards who dared to stand in his way. There was nothing in particular that he wanted in the palace, Omega's spells fed him all the power he needed, at least for now. He mostly wanted a high viewpoint for when the Winx decide to show their faces. If not all of them do, the princess will for sure. And that alone could be spun to his advantage.

Valtor walked over to the throne and sat himself right at the queen's seat. Though when this was all over, he won't need a crown to make himself a ruler. They will bow to him if they want to survive.

"We need to summon more reinforcements-" the king of Andros stopped in his tracks as soon as he noticed Valtor lounging on the throne.

"Guards, seize him!" the queen yelled to the group behind her. Valtor only rose his eyebrow and laughed. One by one, they started falling, their hearts crushing from the inside of their chests. When he pointed his hand at the king, queen Niobe pleaded: "Stop, stop. Please." Valtor's hand halted, causing the king Teredor to drop onto his knees.

"What do you want Valtor?" she asked while helping her husband get back to his feet. "From you two? Nothing," he answered, looking almost bored as he stood up. Valtor walked over to the windows, noticing someone flying over the flooded area.

"Seems like we've got a visitor," he whispered just loud enough to draw the attention of the royals.

"Whatever you plan on doing, leave our daughter out of it," Teredor commanded, now pointing his magical staff at the wizard's back. He could feel a slight pressure which only made him smirk.

"What are you waiting for? Give it your best," Valtor teased, patiently waiting.

Ready.

And as the glowing sparks erupted from the staff and connected with Valtor's body, he absorbed them all entirely. Niobe and Teredor only stared as he turned around and mirrored the attack at them. They were sent flying, their backs hitting the wall behind them.

"I hope that your daughter will put up more of a fight," he said disappointed. Then he extended an open hand at the royals, shoving them each at their thrones and summoning chains to force them back.

"You won't get away so easily," Niobe shouted at him as Valtor walked back to the large window.

"Oh, I don't plan to."

Stella sat in the common room, pulling her comb through Bloom's now short, disguised hair. Up until then, she didn't realise how much she missed peaceful moments like that.

"So, you mean to tell me that we still aren't sure how she got out?" Musa was asking Tecna on the other sofa, clutching at her earphones. Bloom had to pretend she couldn't hear her.

"No, not yet," Tecna replied, to her credit more quietly, offering Bloom a small smile.

"It must have been so lonely," Flora whispered which earned her a shot of a look from Stella, making her stop talking at once.

Bloom hadn't given them a detailed description of what happened in Omega. She could barely even make herself remember it, let alone speak it out loud. It was all too much too soon.

She could sense the music fairy carefully studying her from across the room. Bloom figured it will take a lot of time for Musa to decide if she trusted her or not. She was sitting in the same room as her though, which at least counted for something. It was a small step of progress. Flora though, had completely softened up, apologizing about a hundred times for not sticking up for her earlier.

Neither of which could be said for Layla. Ever since she walked out of the Archive she hasn't come back into the suite. Bloom couldn't blame her. She wondered if there was any possibility of Layla and her talking face to face alone. It seemed very unlikely by the way things were at the moment. If she could only just fix this, fix this mess that simply continued to spread.

The doors to the suite swung open, breaking her out of her thoughts. Griselda's face was pale and she was completely out of breath.

"Winx, this is an emergency."

All of the girls stood up abruptly, worry already present on all of their faces. Griselda would never barge in like this if the situation wasn't very serious.

"Andros.. has fallen."

She let the words sink in slowly. The colour drained from Musa's face the fastest. "What do you mean Andros has fallen?" the music fairy asked in shock.

"Valtor."

The name alone sent Bloom's mind racing.

"He siphoned the magic from Omega and enslaved half of the citizens," the head of the discipline went on to explain, each new information worse than the next. "There is more... Miss. Layla is gone. She left as soon as the news arrived."

The intention was clear, they needed to go after her.

All the anger Stella felt towards the princess of Andros disappeared instantly. She was going to help her no matter what.

"When do we leave?" she asked, ready to transform right then and there.

"Now," Griselda answered, summoning a portal in the middle of their living space. The girls exchanged looks before stepping closer. Stella stopped, glancing back at Bloom. Even without asking, they knew that Faragonda would never allow her to go with them.

"We'll get him," her best friend tried to reassure her, silent hope and prayer in her voice. "I know," Bloom replied, even though she understood full well how unlikely it was. She watched her friends take a step forward and then through the portal.

She wished she could help them, her magic way beyond strong enough. But at the same time probably unpredictable.

Griselda only nodded at her before she retrieved out of the room, leaving Bloom yet again completely alone. She sat back down, her hands pressed in fists.

The sole fact that Valtor was there, that she could fight him if she went to Andros was making her crazy. The need to snuff out all the light out of him, to see his miserable form crumble at her feet, to drag out the truth about her parents, it was all brewing inside her head.

She stood up and walked to the wall mirror, witnessing now first-hand the slight shift of her eyes. Another blink and she could see Valtor in the reflection. Right there with just a simple spell. All of this could be over. He could be put down, by her, in a wave of a hand. She owned all the power she needed.

Bloom had had enough. Enough of constant loneliness, of pain and guilt and fear. More than half of it has been caused by Valtor. She needed it to stop.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, knowing how many rules she was continuing to break, how furious Faragonda will be when she finds out. But not only did the girls need her, but she needed this for herself too.

Bloom concentrated on her power, scrubbing her mind for the form of Griselda's hands, for the exact words to summon the portal.

There.

Her right hand drew various lines across the empty air as she recited the spell out loud and watched as a clear path to Andros materialised before her.

Valtor watched them from afar.

The Winx.

They had bitten the bait. All except for one.

How long will you hide Bloom? he wondered silently.

He tossed a look behind him, to the chained up king and queen who had stopped resisting by that point.

"I will send the princess your best regards," Valtor said with a crooked smile as he closed the door after him.

A set of guards rushed at him as he paraded the palace halls. They fell, then rose again as additional minions beneath his mark.

He still couldn't feel her. Bloom was alive yes, but far in the shelter of her pitiful school. Faragonda was bound to keep her precious pet on a leash.

But the rest of the fairies were guaranteed to offer a fun morning.

He opened the doors to the main balcony, shooting out a blast of power toward the air. It didn't take long for the Winx to get the signal.

They knew he was here.

And by the rush in the princess' flight, he guessed she could tell that her parents were in trouble. The five of them landed in front of him, anger on all of their features.

"I see you got my message," Valtor taunted, looking directly at Layla.

He stepped aside from the door, letting them witness the bodies of soldiers in the hall behind him. As well as a group of monsters that were approaching them.

The morphix fairy didn't waste any time, she fired straight for his chest. Pink liquid hit Valtor, but he siphoned it right in, ready to repeat the spell. He ducked away from Stella's blast of sunlight, sending the sticky pink goo at her feet. She stumbled, her legs drawn together.

The 3 others flew above them, waiting to use convergence and catch him off guard. But Valtor simply teleported away, right behind Layla's back.

She turned just in time to avoid one of his upcoming blasts.

"Where are my parents Valtor?" she barked at the wizard, managing to shoot a pink sphere at his shoulder. He flinched, though didn't quiver.

"Why don't you see for yourself?"

In a blink they were no longer at the balcony, Valtor had teleported them all inside the throne room.

Teredor and Niobe were seated at their thrones, chains going all around their torsos, magical gags covering their mouth. And with horror, Layla noticed that there were monsters entirely surrounding them.

As soon as they noticed her, they began fighting against their restraints, mumbling words she couldn't understand.

"Don't bother trying to free them, unless you want this fight to end badly."

Layla gritted her teeth in response. There were no good options here. If they tried attacking him, he would just push back harder. If she tried shooting the monsters she would risk hurting the people infected by the mark as well as her parents. And surrendering was out of the question too.

At this point what they needed was a miracle. Hope spread through her as a portal-shaped sphere appeared that maybe more people had come to help them. But all of it died when she saw Bloom in the middle of the room. She was again disguised, but Layla felt the power that was surrounding her.

The same shocked, though a more pleased expression was on Valtor's face. He recognized her.

But how? Unless-

Part of her wondered was this all planned, if maybe Bloom had joined the wizard. But if he had indeed killed her parents, she doubted Bloom would forgive it. But then again, she never imagined for her to kill Sky either.

There she is, rang out in Valtor's head. And as soon as Bloom saw him, a deep rage erupted within her. These were no longer her mere nightmares, this was reality. Valtor was here and she was about to make him pay.

"Stay back!" she heard Stella and Musa yell but she snuffed all the voices out. There were just her and Valtor.

"I was wondering where Alfea's prized possession was," Valtor said, stretching the words out, making Bloom's irritation rise. She needed to transform, but pieces of fear danced in her mind. What if she loses control again?

Stella gripped her wrist before she could say the transformation words. "What are you doing here?" her friend insisted, her eyes still on Valtor.

"I can help you," Bloom said back. She didn't mean to come across as rude but he was hers to deal with.

"At what cost this time?" it was Layla who spoke, cheeks red from fury. Valtor sighed, bored by their bickering. He shot a fireball toward them, knocking Bloom to the floor and sending the other two farther away. The rest of the Winx didn't seem too willing to engage in a fight.

"I didn't think you were so weak Princess," Valtor aimed the words at Bloom who was now isolated in the middle of the room. It was what sent the fire fairy over the edge. She could only feel her anger, her hatred as it boiled while she transformed. It came to no surprise, seeing her black attire and sharp wings. The disguise must have fallen off with the transformation then. It didn't even matter now. Nothing mattered except ending Valtor.

Bloom focused on her dragon, her inner part of the flame and summoned an orb of fire in between her hands. Without hesitating she let it fly, straight at Valtor's chest.

Too late.

She realized her mistake too late.

"No!" she screamed as Valtor grasped the fire and redirected it at Layla's parents.

Flames were everywhere, swallowing up all the flammable surroundings. Smoke covered the entire room and the only sounds loud enough were Layla's screams as she called out for the king and queen.

"Layla are you insane? You can't go there it's dangerous," Tecna was yelling, trying to pull her backwards. But Layla only snapped her hand away, saying with a sob: "I won't let them die."

She flew above the reach of the smoke, heading straight for the twin thrones. Her mother was coughing while her father seemed unconscious. Layla used the hardening morphix, cutting off the chains and shooting back the monsters away from herself.

"Layla go! You need to get to safety," Niobe pleaded, her eyes teary.

"Never," she replied, flinging her father's body over her back and taking her mother's hand. She pushed them all forward, even as the smoke proceeded to fill their lungs.

Valtor to his credit seemed to have left, leaving them all in the flaming haze.

"Over here," Musa was shouting from the corner of the room where the back doors were. Layla began stumbling, her feet refused to go on, but she had to.

For her parents. For her kingdom.

The fire reached her legs, burns already forming on her skin, she bit back the pain and continued fighting forward. And even then, she still tried to use her wings, anything to get them to safety. They were almost away from the blaze when her body gave out and all three of them collapsed down. The heat caught up to her, making her limbs feel like they were melting. Layla saw her father through the blur of the smoke, attempting to crawl towards him. Her head felt heavy, her wings were slumped against her back as if they were merely an inconvenience. She couldn't get herself to stand up anymore and her lungs seemed to be at their end.

It was over.

And in the moment of her surrender, as she finally made peace with letting go, a light emerged, coming from all across her body. It lifted her into the air and she could feel herself recovering, wounds and effects of the fire, gone. There were wings, far bigger than her previous ones, weighting upon her back. This was something new entirely.

When she landed back on the floor, she felt more powerful than ever before. Layla summoned her morphix, so much of it that it covered the entire room, attaching itself to the raging flames and snuffing them out.

And as soon as the fire was gone Layla dropped to her knees, inhaling heavily. The Winx rushed toward her at once. "What- What was that?" Flora mumbled but Layla wasn't listening. She ran for her parents. Queen Niobe seemed stable, but her father still lay unresponsive. Only then did she notice a burn mark on his shoulder.

"Dad come on, wake up!" she cried while shaking his shoulders.

"Maybe I can help," Bloom's quiet voice echoed against the room.

"You've done enough Bloom," the princess of Andros responded without even looking at her.

"But- My healing powers might-" she started but Layla cut her off: "After everything, do you really think I want your help?"

The fire fairy bowed her head down, staring anxiously at her feet. She knew that Layla was right. "Layla, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

Layla got back to her feet, walking past worried Musa and stopping right in front of Bloom. The emotions of anger, relief and fear were switching on her face, but when she looked at Bloom, there was only sadness in her eyes.

"I know you didn't. But what does it matter if the results are always the same?" the tone of her voice had gotten colder.

"You didn't mean to kill Sky either right?"

Bloom's face had gone white. She was too stunned to try and respond.

"And he is still dead and my parents still almost died. Because of you."

There were tears flowing down her cheeks now, and she didn't have the power to make them stop.

"I just wanted to try and protect us-" Bloom's voice cracked.

"That's the problem with you. You think you always know the best solution... Even if it accidentally hurts the people around you."

The words echoed in Bloom's head.

Was- Was Layla right?

Her mending and helping are what got her here. The desire to stop Valtor, and Darkar before that. And all it did was create more trouble. More chaos.

It had to stop.

She had to stop.

"So I can't just forgive you like everyone else."

"I won't ask you to. I understand what I did... But I- Something is wrong with my head. Whenever I think of him it's like I'm not me."

"Save me your excuses, Bloom. I don't care anymore. And now it's time for you to get out," Layla snarled at her, returning her attention back to her father and Flora who was trying to secure his wound.

Bloom tossed an apologetic look to Stella before running out of the room. Not even her best friend could say anything to stop her.

The cold salt-filled air hit her face as she came outside, even though the water had turned mud-brown. She took a deep breath in desperate need to calm herself down. Her powers were already a rollercoaster, she didn't need another outburst.

Bloom flew into the air, towards the messy sky, avoiding collision with any of the people. Hopefully, none of the girls would follow her either. She was just above the water when an object, something cold and heavy struck her from the back.

Her wings gave out, sending her falling into the sea below. Bloom's lungs instantly filled with water and she continued to sink deeper. In desperation she did the first thing anyone would when their air is obstructed. She inhaled. The salt ate away at her throat, burning its way down.

Until her body rested atop of something hard, like a massive rock. She could feel the weird platform beneath her as it began to rise from the bottom. All the way up to the surface. But when Bloom managed to open her eyes, the first thing she noticed was that she wasn't alone.

Because right there, opposite of her, stood Valtor.