And we're back with another update! Ta-da! Sorry about the wait; I'll try and update sooner next time.

'Um, Tecna?' Stella began awkwardly, looking around at the jungle they'd just appeared in. 'I hate to be the one to point this out, but…this doesn't look like the temple from your computer.' Tecna frowned down at her palmtop.

'This doesn't make sense; I put in the accurate coordinates…' She tapped at a few keys. 'We should be right there.' Stella shrugged.

'Well, unless the temple is invisible, we're not.' Tecna bit her lip. This was illogical. Unless…

'Ugh.' Sometimes locations could be shielded from teleportation. She should have expected a Major Fairy to have that kind of magic. It was completely logical that Diana would prevent any ambushes.

'Tecna?' Bloom asked. 'What is it?' Tecna sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

'I think there's a teleportation dead-zone. We're going to have to walk the rest of the way.'

'Fantastic,' Stella huffed. 'Because there's nothing I love more than a good jungle hike.' Roxy frowned.

'Why don't we just fly? It'd be faster.'

'It would,' Tecna acknowledged. 'But a fairy as powerful as Diana will be able to sense our magic if we get any closer, and since we don't have the advantage of a teleportation surprise attack, we'd be seated waterfowl.' Roxy stared at her, and she sighed. 'I didn't get the expression right, did I?'

'No. It's 'sitting ducks'.' Tecna nodded. Why were Earth expressions so confusing? Why would being sitting ducks mean being an easy target? Who'd want to fight a duck? Perhaps another duck that had a grudge…could ducks hold grudges? They had seemed to care a great deal about the food Roxy had brought them when they'd gone to the park…perhaps enough to start a generations-long-feud?

'Tecna.' Roxy snapped her fingers. 'Are you with us, or are you trying to ascribe logic to the motivations of ducks?' Tecna blinked.

'How did you…?' Roxy rolled her eyes.

'Because you asked me about seventy questions about it when we went to the park. They're birds, Tec. They don't start feuds.'

'Actually, on Magix, there's a species of bird that, when angered, passes its grudge on to its descendants, who will attempt to enact vengeance on their predecessor's enemies.' Roxy gaped.

'…Okay, I gotta see that. But right now, where are we going?' Tecna turned her attention back to her palmtop. She tried to bring up the map, but the screen was glitching when she tried to bring up the topography.

'Oh, circuit boards! Work!' Her computer, being insentient and incapable of being influenced by pleading or threats, just continued to glitch. She resisted the urge to throw it down in frustration; destroying her own property would resolve nothing.

Wondering why this was happening, her mind drifted back to visiting Lynphea with Flora. Her gadgets had been ineffective there, too. All the wild power of nature magic had interfered with her techno-magic. Her mind desperately wished that was not the case here, but her sense of logic told her that it undeniably was. Which rendered all her calculations and calibrations utterly worthless, as her tech would simply become less and less functional the further they went into the jungle.

She puffed out her cheeks in frustration, letting out an irritated huff. Well that was just fantastic.

'Um, Tecna?' Roxy asked. 'You good?'

'Of course I'm good,' Tecna replied. 'I've risked my life on numerous occasions to defend the safety of others. That's very good.' Roxy rolled her eyes.

'No, I mean…are you okay?' Tecna sighed.

'Diana's nature magic is interfering with my tech. I can't use my gadgets to navigate the jungle.' She glared at a tree like it was personally responsible for the failure of her beloved gadgets.

'Well that's okay,' Flora reassured her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. 'Between the two of us, Roxy and I can figure out our way to Diana. The plants and animals must have seen her or her fairies.'

'Yeah,' Aisha agreed. 'All that matters is that we find Diana and get her to stop this.' Bloom nodded.

'Yeah. Flora, Roxy, you guys think you can work out where we're going?' Flora nodded.

'We're on it, Bloom.' Roxy gave her a thumbs-up, before beelining for a snake in a nearby tree. Tecna followed her, but inwardly she was still sullen. The Fairy of Technology, stuck in the least tech-filled environment in the dimension. Great. Just great. This was the worst mission ever.

This was the best mission ever. Flora caressed the petals of a huge purple flower blossoming on a tree, breathing in the sweet scent of nectar and life. She glanced to her right, everything a beautiful tapestry of green, catching Roxy's eye. Her friend was sporting a grin as wide as her own as she listened attentively to a monkey chattering, before the small animal leapt onto her shoulders, nuzzling her lovingly, eliciting a delighted giggle.

'Aw! I love you too!' Roxy looked round to Flora. 'This is so amazing.' She tickled the monkey, and Flora grinned, breathing in the sweet air, free of the sour toxins she always tasted in Gardenia. Her friends didn't notice, but she tasted the exhaust fumes of cars, the bitter emissions from the industrial district, every particle of pollution a choking reminder that she was a long, long way from her home world, where someone mentioning 'global warming' would be met with raised eyebrows and the suggestion of transportation harming the surroundings would elicit dumbfounded dropped jaws.

She missed Lynphea. Earth was…nice. But it was polluted. Badly. To the extent that she frequently had a headache from the destruction and poisoning of nature. But here… She drew in another lungful of air. Here she could breathe.

She turned to a huge, towering tree, its uppermost leaves so high up that she couldn't see them even if she craned her head back as far as it would go. It must have been there for centuries.

Ensuring she was respectful of such an ancient being, she bowed slightly before gently brushing her fingertips over the rough bark. She wondered how much this tree had seen. It had stood tall as wars had raged, as empires had risen and crumbled, as a thousand human lifetimes came and went. And through it all, it had simply continued its steady growth towards the heavens, unperturbed by all the many changes around it.

Excuse me… She gently began communication, very aware that this tree had likely not been disturbed in some time.

You do not need to fear offending me, young one. The tree's voice came back, strong and clear, filled with a reassuring warmth. I can sense your love and respect for nature. You may ask whatever is on your mind.

Do you know where Diana, Major Fairy of Nature, lives?

I had a feeling you planned to ask me of her, sapling. I have felt her return to this forest. Her magic spreads to all nature, though it has changed since I felt it last. It is different; soured by anger and hatred. Flora sighed. She wished Diana could see that blind rage wasn't the answer. Earth needed her help after so many centuries of nature being harmed, and simply destroying humanity wasn't the answer. She knew people could live in harmony with nature; she'd seen it on her own planet. The only factor missing from Earth had been magic. And now it was back… Diana could do so much good, if only she could see it.

The fairy you seek resides in the heart of the Amazon. Follow the setting Sun from here and you shall find her. West. They had to go west. Flora bowed deeply to the tree.

Thank you…thank you!

Always, sapling. It is one of the great pleasures of wisdom: using it to aid those that need you. Good luck. Flora lifted her fingers away from the trunk, smiling up at the tree.

'Flora?' She turned to see Bloom looking at her questioningly. 'You got anything?' She nodded.

'West. We need to head west.' Tecna promptly pulled out her handheld, before her face fell as she remembered it wasn't working.

'I can't use my computer to show us west,' she grumbled. 'How are we going to find Diana?' Stella pointed up at the Sun, its golden glow just beginning its descent towards the horizon.

'We follow the Sun! It's nature's compass. This way, people!' Stella promptly began trekking after the setting Sun, Flora giving one last respectful bow to the tree before following her.

'So you just had a conversation with that tree?' Roxy asked, falling into step beside her. Flora nodded.

'Mhm. It's pretty normal where I'm from. We have trees in the government.' Roxy stared agog for a moment.

'…Just when I think I've heard it all. Trees help run your planet?'

'Of course. They're a part of the population, aren't they? They have a right to representation. Not letting them have a hand in decisions would be like if the Senate refused representatives from…I don't know…Canada.' She frowned as Roxy started laughing. 'Mexico?' Roxy laughed harder. '…France?' She rolled her eyes. 'Okay, I don't know the states.'

'I…I get it, Flora,' Roxy giggled. 'Yeah, that makes sense. And you're doing better with the states than Stella. She thought McDonalds was a state.' Flora opened her mouth to reply, but she was suddenly hit by a sharp pain in her skull.

'Ahhh!' She dropped to her knees, whimpering with pain. She felt a hand on her shoulder, vaguely aware of someone saying her name, but all she could hear were screams of torment.

Help! Somebody! Anybody! Save us! Please! Please! Anyone! Help! As she moaned with pain, she heard one voice die out from the clamour, replaced with a horrible, cold silence as the other voices wailed with grief and pain.

'No!' she shrieked, unaware of her friends trying to talk to her. It hurt…it hurt so much… Nature was screaming. Begging for help. She had to do something. Had to get off the floor and do something!

Her friends exclaiming with surprise, she bolted to her feet and took off through the trees, following the screams.

'Hold on, I'm coming!' she called, pelting through the forest at a speed that made her Speedix wings look fairly redundant.

'Flora! Flora, wait!' That was Bloom. Bloom was calling her. Well, if she wanted to talk to her, she was going to have to catch up, because nature needed her, and she wasn't stopping.

As she ran, she began to taste familiar fumes again. Petrol. Diesel. Sulphur. She coughed, the sudden return of pollution an assault on her lungs. What were these fumes doing in a rainforest?

As she burst through the undergrowth, she got her answer. Her eyes pricked with tears as she took in the scene of devastation before her. Death…death, everywhere… Trees lay felled everywhere in a newly-gouged clearing, left to die alone in the mud like soldiers forgotten in war as men wandered around them, not sparing their victims a glance as they wielded their toxic machines like reapers' scythes to torment the forest in a cacophony of screams as life after life was torn from the world, tossed aside like meaningless waste.

Flora choked back a sob. She hadn't seen this much pain and destruction since Valtor had set Gloomywood Forest ablaze. It was horrible. How…how could they do this? How could they rip centuries' worth of life from the world so casually?

'How dare you!' she roared, her voice somehow carrying over the rumble of machinery, drawing the deforesters' gazes to her. 'How dare you!' she repeated, hot fury at the loss of life spilling out in her shouts. Watching her yell, the men exchanged glances.

'Who the heck is this?' The other man shrugged. 'Bet she's one of those nature-lovin' protestors. She better not start chainin' herself to trees.'

One man stepped forward from the others.

'Look, sweetheart, I'm sure you're mad, but this is a work site. You need to leave.' Flora's blood boiled.

'Don't call me sweetheart! How can you do this?! Don't you see that you're hurting the forest?' The man rolled his eyes as though he was dealing with a small child.

'Look, kid, the forest's big. It can handle a little pruning.'

'Pruning?' she repeated, her cheeks colouring. 'Pruning?! Look at what you've done! Look at all this death! It's unconscionable!'

'I get that you think that in whatever perfect cotton-candy everyone-lives-in-harmony-with-nature world you live in, but this is reality. And in reality, we got a job to do, and I'm not gonna let you interfere, okay? Now beat it before I escort you off the premises personally.' Flora stayed rooted to the spot.

'You have no idea how much pain you're causing…' she whispered, her head aching with the screams of the dying trees. 'I can hear it…' The man looked a bit more concerned now, as though starting to worry that he wasn't dealing with some protestor but instead had a mentally-ill girl running around his site.

'…Okay…you can hear trees…that's totally normal.' He gestured for two of the others to escort her away. 'Well tell them from me that it's not personal; I just need to get paid.'

'I'm not insane!' Flora snapped. 'I'm a fairy, and I can hear what you're doing! This would never be allowed on Lynphea!'

'And Lynphea is…'

'My home planet!' That sentence appeared to confirm her mental instability to the man.

'Of course it is…' he replied in the voice one might use to talk to a small child. 'And the trees are sad. Because trees can talk to you.' He spoke out of the corner of his mouth to one of his subordinates. 'Get her off my site.'

'Uh, Rick, haven't other guys said they've run into fairies…?' Flora's eyes widened. Others in the area had encountered Diana? That must mean they were on the right track to find her!

'Manny, shut the hell up.' Rick turned back to Flora. 'Okay, I've been nice, but now you have to go.' Flora gasped as she felt hands grab her wrists, and she turned to see two burly guys dragging her away from the site.

'Let go of me!'

'I don't want her messing with this site again!' Rick called. 'Do what you gotta do, boys.' Flora's eyes burned with fury. How dare he be so callously cruel!

'Believix!' she screamed. Rick started to laugh at her cry, before his jaw dropped open as Flora was enveloped in light, before being revealed in her fairy form. 'I told you. I. Am. A. Fairy! Autumn Wind!' Rick gaped as he was knocked to the ground by a burst of colourful leaves.

'What the hell?!' Flora didn't waste time watching his reaction, too focused on getting these goons off her.

'Winter Rose!' Thorny vines burst out of the soil, wrapping around the men and swiftly freeing her from their grasp. 'Leave the forest alone!' she demanded. Having seen her magic, a few smarter deforesters simply threw down their tools and ran gibbering from the site. Unfortunately, most adopted fighting stances and gripped their tools harder, preparing for a scrap. Well, she was game.

'Kid, I don't know whether you're insane, magical, or just a really quick changer, but I'm only gonna say this once…' Flora watched apprehensively as Rick got to his feet, pulling out a battered handgun. 'Get the hell off my site.' Flora glared at him with all the fury of the injured forest.

'Get the hell out of my forest.' Rick sighed.

'Well then your blood is on your own hands.' The shot was deafening; nothing on Lynphea made that kind of noise. But she'd come prepared.

'Spring Ring!' The bullet's impact was far harder than she'd have expected from something so small, but her shield held firm. Rick gaped at her.

'…The hell?'

'Told you I was a fairy. Summer Thunder!' She blasted at his gun, knocking it from his hand as his face turned puce with rage.

'Somebody do me a favour and kill her!' Rick screamed, incensed.

'Try it and burn!' spat a voice from the forest. Flora turned to see Bloom stalking out of the trees flanked by the Winx, her eyes literally burning, fires of rage crackling in her irises.

'Oh, come on! What did you do, bring your Girl Scout troop?'

'You could say that,' Bloom seethed. 'Anyone tries touching her, and the police will need dental records to identify them.' Flora blinked. Sometimes she forgot how fiercely protective Bloom could actually be. Rick scowled.

'What, you bring a flamethrower?' Bloom shook her head, her flaming hair flicking like an angry blaze behind her.

'No. Believix!' Fire enveloped her, blazing over her body and revealing her fairy form. 'I am a flamethrower. Fire Arrow!' A machine was melted in half as the men watched, jaws agape.

'I'd listen to her if I were you,' Roxy remarked, smirking. 'The Fairy of the Dragon Flame isn't someone you want mad at you.'

'Fairy of the what now?' A guy asked. 'You guys sure we should be tangling with these girls?'

'Are you kidding?' Rick demanded. 'Are you seriously doubting our chances against some teenagers? Just get them the hell off the site, and don't let them damage any more equipment or it's coming outta your paycheques!'

'Why do people never just give up?' Stella wondered aloud. 'This is the smugglers all over again. Believix!' All the other Winx transformed as well, flying up in preparation for the fight. As expected, it wasn't hard. They were powerful fairies with the ability to summon energy from thin air and psychically control their environment, and the deforesters were goons with shovels. Even the few guys with guns were rapidly disarmed and bound with vines or Morphix. All in all, it was the easiest fight they'd had in a while. Right up until it wasn't.

'Our lady warned us you might try to follow her here.' Flora gasped, whipping around to see dozens of warrior fairies swarming down into the clearing. Roxy muttered an surprisingly harsh expletive under her breath, glowering at the fairies.

'Oh, you gotta be kidding me.'

'They must have sensed our energy!' Bloom cried. One warrior fairy laughed.

'You think? When seven Believix fairies start flinging spells around our forest, we notice.' She took in the destruction of the forest, shaking her head. 'I see mankind is incapable of learning its lessons. Stand aside and allow us to rid the forest of these fleas.' Flora's blood ran cold. She hated what these men were doing, but no way was she letting this turn into an execution. Apparently, neither was Bloom.

'No way. We're going to hand them over to the authorities, and then the forest will be safe.' The fairy laughed bitterly.

'Safe? Safe?! We have stopped dozens of men just like this, and yet more crawl from the sludge of their species to attack nature's glory time and time again! The only way to protect the forest is to permanently rid Earth of these parasites! Now get out of our way!'

'You don't have to do this!' Roxy cried. 'We can resolve this peacefully!' The fairy answered in the form of a magical beam that barely missed Roxy. 'Okay, apparently we can't. Wolf Talon!' Roxy could give even better than she could take, knocking the fairy out of the sky with her magic.

As the battle began, the deforesters wisely fled the scene, much to Flora's relief. She couldn't manage to fight the fairies and defend these lowlifes at the same time. Her head was already pounding with nature's pain.

'Look around you!' she begged the fairies as she defended against attacks. 'We should be focused on fixing this, not hurting the environment more with our conflict!' Her enemies refused to listen, using their magic to twist the remaining trees into huge, lumbering monsters. 'No! Don't force them to fight!' she pleaded, trying to defend herself without causing the forest more pain. 'Breath of the World!' Two trees were returned to their own forms, their sighs of relief echoing through her mind among the fearful cries of their brethren. She choked back a sob. This was awful.

'Megawatt!' Tecna cried, struggling to hold her own in an environment where everything drew its power from life and wild vitality. Everything was so wild and confusing…logic made a valiant effort to make sense of it all, but as vines whipped out to grab at her limbs with every second and mutant trees seized her in their woody grasp, she was at a loss. She missed Gardenia, with all its clean lines and simple concrete. It was so much simpler to fight in.

'Techno Shock!' She blasted at the vines trying to bind her ankles, gritting her teeth with irritation. Zenith didn't have any plants, and she was starting to see why her people liked it better that way.

A flower puffed pollen in her face, and she coughed, her eyes streaming.

'What's wrong?' mocked a warrior fairy. 'A little out of your element?'

'I think that it's fairly obvious that I am,' Tecna coughed. 'Super Prism!' The words had barely left her mouth when she felt wood close around her, turning and gasping to see a lumbering tree sealing her in its crushing grip, the air being squeezed out of her lungs. She fought to summon a spell, but her vision was already blurring.

'Tecna!' Bloom cried with panic. 'Hold on! Fire Arrow!' Bloom's attack slammed into the tree, loosening its grip and allowing Tecna to gasp in a lungful of air. However, as she took a deep breath, she found herself coughing on…smoke. Oh no… Fire magic in a jungle… She slowly turned to see a bright orange blaze crackling menacingly on the side of the tree. Bad idea!

'Bloom!' she called over the sounds of battle. 'Don't use more fire spells!' Bloom looked at her in confusion for a moment, before her gaze shifted to the fire rapidly spreading up the tree, panic streaking across her expression.

'Oh my God! Get out of the way, I'll put it out!' Tecna flew aside as Bloom summoned a spell to rectify the problem before it could get out of hand. 'Fire Catcher!' The flames started to be drawn into the spell, but just as things seemed to be under control, Bloom screamed as she was hit by a blast of magic, the shock causing her to lose control of her spell, the fire bursting out of her hands in every direction in a ferocious blaze of panic, the ground at Bloom's feet charring instantly, while the trees around her began to blaze.

Staggering back to her feet, Bloom stared around in horror at the scene.

'No!'

The warrior fairies screamed with agony at the destruction of nature, Flora's cry joining the chorus as she dropped to her knees, Musa kneeling next to her in a futile attempt to comfort her.

'What do we do?' Stella cried in a panic. 'This was so totally not a part of the plan!' Tecna was with her there. This was not in the plan.

Yeah...maybe fire spells in a forest aren't the best plan. And I want to say that they won't be using Sophix in this, because the Gifts of Destiny just never made that much sense to me, and Sophix felt like a way to give everyone Flora's power, and I'm not stealing Flora's limelight here.

I imagined that the pollution of a city might be quite difficult for Flora to cope with, since she grew up somewhere where everything was in harmony with nature. And as for Tecna, it makes sense that she'd struggle in a jungle. Her powers are the opposite of nature, after all.

And don't worry, the wizards will be back soon!