What's happening…? Why does the air burn? And why does my shoulder hurt so much? Anagan tried to force his mind into enough of a state of clarity to find answers to some of these questions, but everything was too fuzzy. And, frankly, he could feel a painful throb in his shoulder, and he had a strong feeling that being fully conscious would just make that a lot more painful, so maybe he'd stay asleep. Yes, staying asleep was good…that was nice.

'Anagan, I swear, if you die in the dirt, I will just view it as another reason I despise you!'

Anagan was jolted from his attempts to crawl back into the soft darkness of his mind as his shoulder burned, and he gasped with pain, coughing and choking on the smoke that filled his lungs. Smoke? Why is there smoke? He opened his eyes, seeing the orange blaze all around him, and it came rushing back to him. …Right. Forest fire.

He turned his head weakly, his eyes widening as he saw a blurry outline he was damn sure was Diana shoving a ball of fabric against a worrying river of blood pouring from his shoulder.

She glanced down at him, rolling her eyes as she saw he was awake. 'Have a nice nap?'

'I was shot…' Anagan mumbled, hissing with pain as Diana increased the pressure. 'That wasn't a nap, it was haemorrhaging.'

'Oh, you're fine.' She pressed more firmly as the fabric turned red, and Anagan frowned in confusion.

'…What…what are you doing?'

Diana rolled her eyes again, not taking her eyes off her ministrations. 'I'm opening an ice rink. What's it look like I'm doing? I'm saving your life.'

'…Oh.' Anagan just stared at her. '…Why?'

'I have no f*#king clue. Now hold still.'

'Why-' Anagan quickly got his answer as Diana pressed down hard, and he had to bite his lip to hold back a shout of pain.

'I just said to hold still.'

'I am holding still,' he gritted out. 'I'm also not screaming. Feels like that deserves some credit. You got shot, and you screamed.'

Diana flushed bright red, pressing harder than was perhaps necessary. 'That's no way to talk to someone who's saving your life.'

'That's no way to talk to someone who saved yours. Twice.'

'I could kill you right now.'

'But instead you're keeping me from bleeding out.' Anagan fell quiet, the distraction of the conversation starting to fade, leaving little to pull his focus from his body loudly informing him that it was now sporting a new hole that had relieved it of a rather worrying quantity of blood. '…Thanks.'

'Don't mention it. Genuinely. Don't.' Diana sighed as the cloth she was pressing to the wound became more like a hunk of blood with some fabric holding it together, and it was promptly discarded into the inferno.

'I need this,' she said, tearing the fabric from the shirt of one of the men lying unconscious in the ash next to them and balling it up. 'This will hurt. I'd find it very helpful if you could avoid screaming.'

'Again…you're the screamer here.'

'It's wise not to antagonise the person about to shove something inside your bullet wound, Anagan.'

Anagan dug his fingers into the ash, focusing on the oppressive heat pressing against his fingertips in an attempt to distract himself as Diana rolled up the fabric and edged it inside the wound. Despite his assertions he wasn't going to scream (well, actually, he'd promised no such thing), his throat rather humiliatingly betrayed him, and he whimpered like a child, biting his lip to keep from begging Diana to stop.

'Almost done…' Diana murmured.

'Are you…reassuring me?'

Diana scowled. 'Be quiet and let me focus.'

'Felt like you might be worried.'

'Shut up.' She sat back, lifting her hands away from where the fabric was doing its level-best to staunch the bleeding. 'That probably needs to be cauterised; you can ask your fire friend to do it.'

'Or I could just get it stitched…' Anagan groaned, struggling to sit up as Diana grew vines to hold the fabric in place.

'True,' Diana acknowledged. 'But I would enjoy the former far more.'

'Nice bedside manner.'

'You jest, yet, for me and you, it is.'

Anagan gingerly touched the makeshift fix, wincing. 'Why…why did you do that?'

Diana shook her head exasperatedly. 'I don't know, okay? Why did you save me?'

Anagan shrugged, instantly regretting it as the movement sent waves of pain radiating from his shoulder, making him quietly retch. '…No clue.' He thought it over. '…Morals?'

'I was unaware you possessed such a thing.'

'Likewise.'

'Your attitude is sorely tempting me to punch you in your shoulder, you know.'

'Please don't.'

'Stop irritating me.'

'Fine.' Anagan groaned, pushing himself into some semblance of upright. 'Unless you feel like getting burned to death, we should get out of here.' He offered Diana his hand, but she ignored it, stumbling to her feet unaided, and though there was a part of him that rankled slightly at her brush-off, Anagan was quietly glad he hadn't had to pull Diana upright, as he had a horrible feeling that his weakness would just have had them both tumbling back into the ash.

'I do not believe that is a concern for much longer,' Diana murmured, glancing over Anagan's shoulder at where the white-hot girl in the centre of the inferno let out a cry of determination, and the fire decimating the forest roared, recoiling for a moment before surging towards her, the light growing so bright that Anagan and Diana had to shield their eyes, the heat feeling like it was searing away at their very souls.

Diana groaned, nature crying out as the fire was pulled away from it. 'Anagan…I am about to pass out…' she mumbled dizzily. 'Do not, under any circumstances, touch me in order to catch me. I swear I will kill you if you do.' In accordance with her request (well, death threat, but she was passing out, so he was being charitable with the naming), Anagan stepped back as Diana dropped to the ground, watching her with worry. He wanted to check her pulse, which would not be touching her in order to catch her, but he had a feeling she'd still at least break several of his bones, and with good reason, so he simply stood and kept an eye out for any deforesters who might wish to use the sharp edges of their shovels to make rather rapid contact.

The rain gradually eased, Aisha dismissing her clouds as Bloom came in to land, her entire body trembling as her hair crackled like fire behind her, her Believix outfit singed and smoking - apparently magically-summoned clothing wasn't completely fireproof.

'Yo! Anagan!' Musa shouted from across the new clearing. 'You okay?'

'…' Anagan had absolutely no idea how to respond to that. He was very much still bleeding, quite possibly to death, he wasn't sure, his strength was more or less spent, and the woman who had tried to kill him, been saved by him, then subsequently saved him was lying unconscious at his feet, having given him very specific instructions not to touch her, though she did seem to be breathing, so it was a mixed bag, really.

'…Fine!' he called back.

'Why are you covered in blood then?' Aisha asked worriedly, flying over to him as Musa caught a smouldering Bloom as the Fairy of the Dragon Flame mumbled that she was 'just resting her eyes for a second'.

Anagan winced. 'Ah. Yeah. That. I was shot. Little bit. It's fine, it's been mostly staunched.' Anagan saw the exact look on Aisha's face that Gantlos experienced every time he broke a limb or almost lost a vital organ and shrugged it off. Oh God, am I being Gantlos? Oh, that's not safe…

Aisha glared at the mess of vines, fabric and blood adorning Anagan's shoulder, before her gaze caught on Diana, unconscious on the ground. 'What the hell-'

'She passed out,' Anagan explained. 'I have express orders not to touch her.'

'Well, she didn't give those orders to my Morphix,' Aisha muttered, kneeling next to Diana. 'We need to get her tied up before she-'

'I'm not sure you need to worry, actually,' Anagan interjected softly, kneeling next to Aisha. 'I think she might actually have calmed down.'

Aisha raised an eyebrow. '…Did you get hit in the head or something?'

'Yes, but that's not important right now. Though I wouldn't mind having Tecna perform a scan later to check for internal bleeding.' As Aisha continued to stare at him, he gestured to the vines holding the only thing keeping him from bleeding out in place. 'Who do you think did this?'

'She helped you? Why?'

Anagan shrugged, wincing again. Why the hell do I keep doing that when I have a bullet wound in my shoulder? 'Why'd you help me and my friends?'

'That's a fair point,' Aisha acknowledged.

'She's angry,' Anagan murmured. 'And let's face it, she had good reason to be. Not with all of humanity, but with us. Maybe she's finally able to see past it.'

Flora's mind swam in and out of consciousness, her friends and the falls a blur of hazy shapes. Everything hurt… She had a worrying feeling that her brief connection to the Bud had rendered her far more vulnerable to nature's pain, and right then, she could feel the fire scorching and searing shoots and stems, an unstoppable, ravenous beast that could not be reasoned with and almost none could tame. She clung to the knowledge that one of those few capable of controlling the blaze was flying through the jungle towards it as she drew each ragged breath, but it was like holding onto a twig in a stormy sea of hazy pain, snapping and splintering beneath her fingers as each wave crashed over her, dragging her deeper and deeper into the dark abyss, the light of clarity and coherence filtering more and more weakly through the water, until it was barely even a glow.

No! Her entire body tensed as she realised she was passing out. No! Get it together, Flora!

Another wave of pain and screaming slapped her in the face, and her thoughts backed up warily, cautious of attempting to intervene again, but they were far more courageous than her, stepping once more into the breach of her mind, shouting for her to wake up, to lift her head, to get up and save the world, because she was a Winx, and it didn't matter if she was the Winx with the legendary power and the predetermined magical destiny, or if she was the Winx from a bungalow on Lynphea who'd kinda figured she'd get through Alfea with her wildest experience maybe being her first kiss. She was a Winx, and that meant she fought just as hard to save people as her friends.

Her fist clenched, and she pushed herself upright, ignoring the concern cautions from the mouths attached to the hands holding her.

'Flora…'

'Flora, you're too weak…'

'Flora, hold onto us…'

She shook her head. No. No, she wasn't too weak. Her head was swimming, and her eyes were actually still closed - she should rectify that as soon as the light stopped burning her retinas - but she wasn't weak. She was still breathing, and if she was breathing, she was moving.

She cracked her eyes open, her gaze fixating on the Sacred Bud, pain and beauty rolling off the plant in equal, dizzying waves.

She dragged her leg forward, pushing through the cool water tugging at her waist, coaxing her to let go and lie down in its cold, quiet depths where nobody needed saving, and all she needed do was drown. She ignored it, taking a step. Another step.

'Flora, what are you doing?' Stella demanded, hurrying to her side, her golden eyes big pools of worried sunshine.

Flora didn't respond right away, her gaze locked on the dozens of warrior fairies gathered around the Bud, their spears drawn, their only purpose for standing through their own evident pain from nature's destruction to prevent her from reaching that flower. She really, truly hated to interfere with someone's sole purpose for standing, but this was an emergency.

'Get them out of the way,' she said through teeth gritted against the constant, gut-wrenching screaming.

'Flora-'

'Just get them out of the way,' Flora repeated. 'I can handle the rest.' I will make myself handle the rest. Because I'm not stopping until everyone's safe.

Stella looked at her with concern, but nodded. 'Okay, everyone! You heard the woman! Let's get them out of the way!'

Her friends charged, magical attacks zipping through the air, fairies being swarmed by the animals of the jungle as Roxy invoked her bond with all animals. Flora's steps didn't falter, not even as Gantlos unleashed shuddering quakes against the fairies, knocking them into the water.

'You shall not touch the Bud!' screamed a warrior fairy, flying above Flora and raising her spear above her head.

'Winter Rose!' Flora's magic was weak and lethargic, but it possessed all the determination of the girl herself, calling on nature with a fierce, ragged voice to summon thorny vines to ensnare the fairy's spear. Her vines yanked with all their might, but they were slashed to pieces by the fairy's fury, and Flora gasped as the weapon slashed towards her neck.

There was a clang of metal on metal, and her eyes widened to see Ogron bracing himself in place, a spear likely wrenched from another of the warrior fairies clutched in his grip, the weapon blocking the fairy's assault.

'Well don't just stand there and stare!' the wizard gritted out. 'Go!'

Flora nodded, fluttering her wings and managing to get herself airborne, flying over where Ogron focused intently on preventing the warrior fairy from striking a blow, her wet form weighing her down but not pulling her to defeat.

Her feet splashed back into the churning froth acting as the medium of their battle, her platform boots finding soft lakebed as she stepped forward, her friends keeping the fairies off her back as her fingers trailed through the water, coming up to hover just a centimetre from the delicate blue petals.

Her heart sank as she saw the Bud was wilting. So much destruction, so close to it, was evidently taking its toll. But, then again, had it been wilted earlier? It had already shone with such a radiant beauty, but how much brighter could it shine? As Diana had said at the bar, the Earth had been afflicted with environmental catastrophes for centuries. How long had the Bud been struck with nature's constant agony? How many gashes and gouges had been struck against it, and still it glowed with the hope and promise of life, of the rebirth from the cold darkness into the glorious green of spring, a promise nature whispered in every ear, no matter how dire the circumstances. It would always regrow, always rise, just as Flora would. She would not allow herself to be felled like a tree in the dirt, to abandon the people of Earth to the fate Diana had written for them.

With a deep breath, she cupped the Bud in her hands, gasping as the energy flowed through her. Again, desperate screams clawed at her sanity, threatening to pull her into their sea of agony, to drag her into their dark trench, but she clenched her jaw, summoning the sounds of other screams. The screams of the terrified denizens of Gardenia, screaming and fleeing in panic from the vines overtaking their home, her and the Winx desperately trying to calm and soothe them, though knowing that could do little for people wrenched from their lives by forces they could not understand nor stand up to. Those screams would echo forever in her mind alongside the tortured cries of nature itself if she did not stay on her feet and push through the cacophony dragging nails down her mental chalkboard.

'I'll help you, I promise.' She was unsure if the assurance was to nature or the people of Earth, or even to her friends, battling for their lives behind her while she stood still and shaky, her fingertips starting to glow with a soft green light that began to seep into the Bud's own light, mingling in a warm teal that was reminiscent of Roxy's magical aura.

As her magic intertwined more strongly with that of the Bud, she felt her awareness start to slip for her own body, leaving her form stark and rigid as a puppet, a marionette held in place by the strings of a power far greater and stronger than any she'd ever dreamt of being a part of.

Her mind slipped past the screams, floating up and away from the pain and into a glorious, endless web of green. Was this terrestrial nature? All of it? It was…it was breathtaking.

She didn't know if this was her body, or her consciousness, or some combination of both that was witnessing this, but she reached out, brushing the ethereal, vibrant life surrounding her. She wouldn't be able to tell you if she reached out with her fingers, or simply imagined the movement, but she felt a warmth wash over her, even stronger and more beautifully intoxicating than Bloom's Dragon Flame. She wondered if this was how the Great Dragon had felt when it had created the universe. Gazing out across an infinite existence. Watching life just…exist. Intertwine with itself, grow, change, evolve. Never once in her entire life had Flora felt so small. She was just a small corner of this beauty, and the idea of speaking into this web, of having the audacity to ask anything of the most ancient force on the planet, was overwhelming. But she had to. Had to call back the jungle.

'He-hello?' she whispered, her voice breathless. The truth was, she didn't know if she was supposed to speak. Perhaps she should just find the parts of nature that were supposed to be culled, and pull them back. But she couldn't. Couldn't force nature into anything. This power was far more ancient than she, and deserved the highest possible measure of respect.

'Hello?' she called again, her voice strengthening from the timid, mouselike murmur to a firm and determined greeting. 'My…my name is Flora Hiedra, Lynphean Fairy of Nature, and I have…I have come here to save Earth.'

Save Earth? Flora gasped as she heard the words. They weren't spoken, not truly. Nature had no mouth from which to utter a sentence, and yet she understood. It was a clear and pure clarity, echoing through her mind in a voice she couldn't identify as deep or soft, as loud or quiet, simply…there. Real. True.

Save it from what?

'From…from the jungle Diana has summoned to cover the planet,' Flora replied, refusing to allow her voice to shake. She was overwhelmed by this, by speaking to all of nature itself, but, no matter how small her part, she was a part of this place. A part of life. And she had a right to speak. For herself. For her friends. For every human on Earth.

That jungle is life, young one. I do not see why Earth would need saving from life.

'Because…because that life is threatening the lives of billions.' Flora felt herself internally shrivel under the feeling of judgement, of inaccuracy, inadequacy, but she wouldn't be cowed. She wouldn't back down. Not when there was so much more than just her self-confidence at stake.

With a rush of confidence dragged from Sage-knew-where, she spoke again. 'The jungle is threatening whatever fragile equilibrium Earth has been maintaining, and it was unleashed out of fury and hatred-'

Unleashed? That's a very strange way to speak of the plants that keep every being on Earth alive.

Flora swallowed hard, determined to hold her nerve. 'Humans are being driven from their homes by these plants; lives are being threatened!'

Lives are decimated daily, child. Fields and forests are culled every heartbeat by humanity. Perhaps they have been overdue for a culling of their own.

Flora's eyes narrowed, and her voice hardened. 'No. Being hurt does not mean that hurting others is the solution to your pain.' She didn't know if her physical form was here, or if she only imagined her legs moving, but she stepped forward in stubborn challenge. 'I will not allow humans to be culled. I will not allow them to be wrenched from their homes and lives by an act of revenge.'

Do you believe yourself strong enough to drag the tendrils of life from their cities?

'No.' Flora took a deep breath, staring up and into the endless emerald shining upon her. 'No. I believe myself strong enough to convince you to withdraw them yourself.' Her eyes shone with a passion she hadn't known she possessed as she spoke, her voice clear and strong. 'I know nature has been afflicted. Been culled. Poisoned. Burned. Earth would likely be far more harmonious had humanity never evolved, but they are here, and they are as alive as you are. They feel the pain you inflicted upon them in retribution for blows struck by a mere few. They will suffer, just as you did, and it will create a vicious cycle. They will fight back. Nature will be struck down, human lives will be lost, until Earth is nothing but a smouldering mass of death, strewn with the corpses of those struck down because of the anger of only one.' Through her speech, her voice remained calm and level, arguing her case not with the desperate begging of someone struck with the fear of failure, but with the simple clarity of a girl who knew her words to be true and worthy of respect.

There was a long moment of silence, and Flora held her breath. Had it worked?

…You are wise beyond your years, child. I can heed your words, and acknowledge and value their truth, but you must surely know that I cannot live on, not for centuries, not if humans continue to abuse me the way they have.

'I know…' Flora whispered. 'I swear, I will do all in my power to aid you. To heal you. To help all of life exist in the harmony it should.'

The Bud…it wilts. It fades as its brethren are scorched and slain so close to its heart. As nature's voice echoed in her mind, Flora saw the green glow dim to her left, and her eyes were drawn to a speck, a small, ashen blight on the green, toxic smoke spiralling off it.

The blaze has been extinguished, but the land still screams. I am covered in many such afflictions.

Flora's eyes welled up with tears as she gazed around, noticing for the first time the toxic stains on the web, each one small, but strong enough to twist a knife in her heart.

'I'm so sorry…'

I hope this shows you that you must uphold your vow. Humanity must realise the faults in its ways. I am struck with a new blight every day, every hour, every minute. I am choked with pollution, slashed with blades, burned by fire. I cannot regrow everywhere they cull me, Flora.

'I know. I'm so sorry.' There was nothing she could do for the thousands of blights spread across the web, but perhaps her magic was strong enough to heal just one. With a deep breath, she pressed whatever ethereal form she currently possessed against the smouldering ash in front of her, summoning the strongest healing power she could muster. 'Breath of the World.' Her power flowed into the blight, the green glow that burned so brightly in Gardenia barely even a flicker amongst the light of all life as it spread across the ash. To her delight, the edges of the blight began to flicker, the ash glowing green and starting to mesh with the energy around it, the grey fading into a pale, tentative green, like new shoots poking through the springtime soil. The healing was hesitant, as though the plants did not truly believe themselves healed, but it was there.

She felt a quiet sigh from nature as exhaustion washed over her, the task of healing a blight no more than a few inches across a task greater than any she'd used her magic for prior. Thank you, young one.

'I wish I could heal the others,' she mourned, gazing at the beautiful and broken light that spread around her. 'I wish I was strong enough.'

You are strong. You were strong enough to stand up for your ideals, even when so small in the face of my presence. You were strong enough to make me call back my tendrils from your human cities. Flora watched with a combination of triumph and regret as the light dimmed, the jungle being drawn back from the cities to leave them as they had been.

'Thank you,' she whispered. 'And I'm sorry.' Casting one last glance around her, she let her consciousness slip from this plane, feeling the coolness of the water as it sloshed around her legs, the humidity of the jungle pressing in on her skin once again.

She opened her eyes, finding herself back at Nymph Water Falls, her legs shaking as her fingers fell away from the Bud. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief as she saw the petals returning to their original powder blue, the glow strengthening with the small relief of her healing.

It gradually occurred to her that she could no longer hear the sounds of magic and metal clashing in combat, and she slowly turned, intending to see what had ceased the battle, but her legs gave out beneath her, stumbling in the water, and she tumbled towards the lake.

Just before she could end up with lungs full of water for the second time that day, she felt hands on her waist, catching her and lifting her up.

'Don't worry, I got you, girl.' She looked up to see Stella pulling her upright, and she sagged gratefully into her friend's support.

'Are you okay?' Roxy exclaimed, sloshing over. 'You went all glowy and your eyes rolled back in your head and you were mumbling… What happened?!'

Flora managed to dredge up a weak smile. 'Nature withdrew. Gardenia, every city…they're safe.'

Roxy's expression flooded with relief at the news, and Stella squeezed Flora's arm.

'Nice work, Flora! You saved the world! And I think ya gave this place a major glow up.' Flora tried to register Stella's words. I…I saved the world. I did it. I actually did it.

'Wait…' She glanced around. 'Glow up?' She saw Stella had been right: the falls, having seemed to glow with an ethereal light before, now shone with a vibrancy that would be breathtaking even in the eyes of the Great Sage. New flowers bloomed all across the shoreline, whilst the animals drawn near by Roxy chirped and splashed in the shallows, unconcerned by the events of the day.

'…Wow.'

'You can say that again. That was way more impressive than I was expecting.' Flora turned at the sound of the slightly slurred voice, seeing Duman leaning against Gantlos, watching her with quiet respect.

'…Thanks. Um…are you okay?'

''M fine,' he mumbled, attempting to look like he wasn't completely reliant on Gantlos to stay upright.

'You're not,' Gantlos said firmly. 'You shouldn't have been in this fight in the first place.

'You worry too much.'

'You are almost passing out on me.'

'It's your fault for being so goddamn comfortable.'

Flora's attention was drawn from the quietly arguing couple to the strange serenity surrounding her. What had happened to the battle? Where were the warrior fairies?

Her question was quickly answered as she turned, her jaw dropping open as she saw the fairies that had been trying to impale her bowing their heads, their spears discarded as they stared at her with something that could only be identified as the deepest respect.

'What…what are they doing?' she whispered to Stella, squirming slightly under the weight of so many gazes.

'I have no idea,' Stella hissed back. 'We were fighting, then you connected with the Bud, everyone was yelling, then this place kinda bloomed, and they all just…well, stopped. They've been staring at you ever since.'

'Nature listened to her.' Stella started with surprise as one of the warrior fairies spoke. 'Nature respects her. We cannot fight one who nature has deemed so noble as to heed her words through the Sacred Bud.' Flora wasn't really sure what to do with that. She'd…she'd stopped the fight? By getting nature to listen to her? Wow…

'So…' Stella started awkwardly. 'Does that mean…does that mean we're good?'

The warrior fairies all exchanged looks. 'I…would not say we are 'good'. However, nature has deemed you worthy of listening to, and thus, we respect your judgement.'

'Okay, but what does that mean?' Stella demanded. 'Are you gonna keep trying to kill us?'

'No, we are not,' the fairy sighed reluctantly. 'Not if she has you under her protection.'

'Damn,' Stella muttered. 'Is Flora a god now?'

Flora blushed furiously at the suggestion. 'No, Stella, I'm not a god, we just all listen to the words of nature.'

Stella rolled her eyes. 'This is why I never understand what the heck anyone's talking about when we go to Lynphea.'

'Are they gonna be okay?' Musa asked, looking worriedly down at the unconscious warrior fairies, her gaze lingering on where Diana lay prone in the ash.

'I should heal them,' Bloom mumbled from where she was leaning on Musa, her eyes fluttering open and shut, unable to decide on a state of consciousness, opting to just randomly switch between awake and asleep at such a speed it was presumably less restful than either option.

'Yeah, because you're so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed,' Musa muttered, rolling her eyes. 'I dunno, Bloom. Something tells me that invoking the greatest power in the universe when you can't stand might not be an amazing idea. But that's just me.'

'We need to move them,' Anagan said firmly. 'The destroyed forest is hurting them.'

'Great…' Musa grumbled. 'We get to drag a bunch of unconscious people through some ash. Never let it be said being a Winx isn't glamorous…'

Aisha reached out to pull Diana up, but just as her fingers extended towards the other fairy, the four of them gasped as a wave of power swept over the forest.

'What…' Bloom murmured. 'What is that?'

Anagan hadn't felt such a power before. A wild, untameable force of life, flooding the ashen clearing with magic and hope. Green shoots poked their heads above ground, strong vines blooming with bold blossoms ensnaring the corpses of the trees and helping them to their rightful stature, towering over the forest, strong brown bark overtaking the ashen wounds torn down their trunks, green leaves exploding from buds that sprouted from strong branches, the forest being resurrected before their eyes.

'Sweet Melody…' Musa muttered. 'That sure isn't something you see every day…'

'Why is this happening?' Aisha asked, her voice breathless with wonder as the ash beneath her feet burst into a thick carpet of twisting plants locked in a loving embrace with the web of life covering the forest.

'She did it…' Anagan breathed. 'Flora connected with the Sacred Bud. This…this is her. It has to be.'

'Way to go, Flora…' Bloom whispered, smiling at the symphony of life blooming before her.

Everyone's attention was drawn from the majestic sight as there was a weak groan from the ground beneath them, and they quickly looked down to see Diana opening her eyes.

'Ugh…' she muttered, rubbing her temples. 'What…what happened?'

'You collapsed,' Anagan replied.

Diana frowned, rubbing her forehead and breathing deeply. 'Nature…nature was screaming.' Her eyes widened as they took in the lush forest surrounding her. 'By the Bud…what happened?! This place was dead! Ash and mud!'

'You underestimated Flora,' Musa replied, smirking as she watched Diana's dumbstruck expression. 'Most people tend to. Got no clue why, when the girl can do this.'

'She…she connected with the Bud?' Diana breathed.

'We're assuming.' Anagan extended a hand (remembering to use the arm that didn't have a giant bleeding hole in it). He was fully expecting Diana to scoff, possibly issue a threat of some violently creative death, but, to his utter shock, after her green eyes flicked uncertainly down at the ground, he felt her slender fingers slip into hers, her grip strong for a woman who had been unconscious a minute ago. He pulled her up, and she quickly dropped his hand, though she issued a movement of her head that might almost be considered a nod of gratitude.

'You're still bleeding.' The words were issued with the cold, clinical tone of a coroner, but the fact she was acknowledging his injury at all was still making a damn good case for her having been replaced with some alternate reality version of herself.

He looked down at his shoulder, grimacing as he noted that blood was still trickling down his arm. 'Yeah. It's fine, really.'

'It's not,' Bloom interjected. 'We need to get Flora to see to that as soon as possible.'

'Uhm, I hate to pull focus from Anagan here, but…' Musa gestured to the warrior fairies slowly coming to their senses on the ground around them. 'Are we still fighting them?'

All gazes swivelled to Diana, the Winx's bodies tensing slightly in anticipation of a fight. However, Diana just stared out at the lush carpet of life Flora had restored, letting out a deep sigh. '…No. We are loyal to Morgana, and we were slaves to vengeance, but our first and truest loyalty is to nature. Your friend has saved that. We will not raise arms against her, nor any she deems worthy of her protection.'

'…Does that include the wizards?' Musa asked after a minute.

'Yes. I am certain it will be to many of my fairies' chagrin, but that includes the wizards.'

Anagan let out a quiet sigh of relief. They weren't dying today. He was practically dizzy with relief. Or blood loss. Probably both.

'We need to get back to the Bud,' Bloom announced. 'We need to make sure everyone's okay.'

'Wait…' Aisha muttered, glancing around. 'Weren't…weren't there a bunch of deforesters? Where'd they go?'

Everyone looked around, realising she was right. After a moment, an amused smile crept across Diana's face. 'I believe I have found them.' She pointed up, and everyone stared to see the deforesters held firm in the sturdy branches of a might tree.

'Is…is a tree arresting them?' Bloom asked.

'Sure.' Musa shrugged. 'They do that on Lynphea.'

Bloom raised an eyebrow. 'Even after three years in the Magic Dimension, I'm still surprised…'

'We need to go find the others,' Flora murmured, still keeping her eyes on the warrior fairies that apparently respected her now. It was a bit unnerving, honestly. People didn't usually pay this much attention to her.

'Yeah, we gotta let Diana know that we're all apparently over the whole 'trying to impale each other' thing!' Stella agreed. 'Before anyone gets, y'know. Impaled.'

'They won't. I'm already aware.' Everyone whipped around to see Diana emerging from the forest, ashy and shaken, but standing tall nonetheless.

Her attention immediately turned to Flora, and she bowed her head in a quiet show of respect. 'You have healed my forest. I am grateful.'

Flora blushed. 'Oh, I…um…I didn't really do much…it's not a big deal…'

'She says you're very welcome, and that she's the coolest and most powerful Winx that everyone loves because she's an ass-kicking sweetheart,' Stella interjected, eliciting a bright red flush across Flora's cheeks.

'Stella…'

'Can't argue with that.' Flora searched for the source of the voice, exhaling with relief when she saw Anagan come out of the trees alongside Bloom, Musa and Aisha, thankfully not having been killed by vengeance fairies. However, her gaze quickly landed on the bloodstained mess covering his right shoulder. Apparently, Ogron noticed at the same time she did.

'What the hell happened to you?' the redhead demanded, rushing over and examining Anagan's shoulder. 'You're bleeding! Badly!'

'I kinda got shot…' Anagan mumbled, wincing as Ogron touched the injury. 'Don't touch it…'

'You got kinda shot? Anagan, this is not 'kinda' shot. This is very much in-and-out, bleeding to death, shot!'

'Has anyone ever told you how relaxing an individual you are?' Diana asked sarcastically.

Ogron shot her a glare, stepping back cautiously. 'Did you do this?'

'Did I do what? Shoot him? No, and I'm offended you think I would so much as touch one of those filthy human weapons. Did I keep him from bleeding out? Yes, I did. You can thank me any time, but I shan't hold my breath.'

Ogron just quietly stared at her, while Flora sloshed over to the edge of the water. 'Let me look.'

Anagan grimaced, but offered his shoulder. Flora examined the injury, moving around to determine that it was an exit wound, which meant no bullet to remove.

'I can fix this. We just need to head back to Gardenia, and I can use my healing supplies to patch you up.'

'Head back to Gardenia?' Roxy repeated. 'Does that mean…does that mean all this is over?'

Bloom started to nod, a relieved smile blossoming on her face. 'Yeah, I think it does.'

Just as the tension started to ease from everyone's bodies, a harsh voice cut across the falls. 'Oh, I believe it is quite the contrary.'

Everyone whipped around, and Flora's stomach turned to lead. Hovering above the falls, silver light shining through her wings, a sadistic scowl on her face, was Nebula, flanked by fairies in full armour, Morgana glaring down at the gathering with disapproval and anger.

'Well…' Nebula muttered, watching Diana standing next to Ogron and Anagan, the nature fairy not making a move to attack them. 'Isn't this quite the plot twist?'

Morgana and Nebula were set to come get the wizards...that probably just slipped everyone's minds what with all the fire and fighting. Also, I loved Anagan and Diana's interactions so much!