"I have no brother." those words were probably what Nereus would consider his worst nightmare come true.
He was aware of how differently their father had treated him and his twin. It didn't help that their mother did nothing about it. Sure, she did comfort Tritannus, but she never tried to stop their father's blatant favouritism.
Even now, as he stood beside his brother, hearing how he said he should have killed everyone made him feel there was something that could have been done to prevent this. It felt as if the person standing right by him right now wasn't his brother at all. Nereus recalled the times his brother would bring him around the oceans, showing him the little discoveries he made.
Nereus remembered how Tritannus would often laugh off his own mistakes. Even when he could see the hurt in his eyes most of the time. He could hear it right now. He snapped out of his thoughts when he realised the laugh wasn't imaginary and was actually happening. Turning to face the triton beside him, Nereus could see that Tritannus was indeed laughing. It looked more like he was snickering but it eventually evolved into him just laughing about this. But this laugh didn't remind him of the past. Instead, it sounded weird, unlike any lighthearted laugh he remembers. It sounded malicious? The moment Tritannus threw his head back and continued laughing was the one moment Nereus felt true fear when facing his brother. He was absolutely horrified. His twin looked like a maniac.
He turned to see the reactions of the other realm leaders. Some were surprised, some concerned, his own father just seemed to be angered by the spectacle. Nereus then felt he was more scared of King Neptune right then. He'd never seen him that angry before.
"Do you think this is some kind of joke?" King Neptune was more than angry, he was livid.
To the king's words, Tritannus halted his laughs. But he wore a sinister smirk on his face. Nereus knew, at that exact moment, something was wrong, something was definitely wrong with his brother. This was more evident when Nereus watched as the younger triton swam towards their father. Tritannus had never done that before when their father is upset. He usually hides from their father, sometimes to the point of flinching at the mere sight of him.
"This," Tritannus gestured with his hands. "is nothing compared to the biggest joke in the entire magic dimension." he laughed once more before looking directly at King Neptune.
"YOU"
Silence hung in the air. Nobody dared move a muscle. King Neptune was stunned, unable to form any words. Queen Ligea was just the same as her husband. They had never seen or heard their son behave this way before.
Nereus couldn't take this anymore. He grabbed onto Tritannus's shoulder and began shaking him lightly. There was something seriously wrong with his brother. He could sense it. How could he be laughing this much when he sensed through the bond they shared that his brother was hurting so much it felt death was mercy?
"Tritannus, snap out of it! What's wrong with you?!" Nereus was desperate to try and knock some sense into his twin. He was creeped out by his unfazed grin. He was even more creeped out when all Tritannus did was to laugh once more. But it was what the younger triton said next that made Nereus's blood run cold. Or in this case, a better way to put it would be that Nereus felt himself die inside.
"Tritannus?" the triton kept laughing as he spoke. "Don't you realise something is wrong since the moment he absorbed the toxins for the first time?" the looks of confusion was satisfying for him to look at. "Tritannus died the moment his body absorbed the toxins."
Nereus didn't know what to think. How could Tritannus have died if he was still right here in front of him? Whoever was standing right in front of him right now, they had a look of satisfaction on their face. But he couldn't grasp what was going on. How could someone die and still be alive at the same time? He didn't want to believe it. It couldn't possibly be true. This has to be an illusion.
"What do you mean 'he's dead'? Tritannus, you're right here in front of us!" Tressa swam up towards her youngest brother.
"You can't seriously be that stupid." the mermaid was taken aback by those words. "Honestly," the triton said as he flexed his fingers. "He was a pretty easy target to begin with. All those negative emotions just swirling in his head. All those insults and name-calling. What was his least favourite again? Oh yes, psycho." he turned to face Aisha. "His favourite individual, just outright calling him a psycho, because he uses dark magic, because he possesses that kind of magic the moment he was born."
Aisha couldn't understand how much her words had truly hurt Tritannus. The triton saw this and smirked. He approached her next and said to her with a grin. "You must really be happy to find out he's dead all this time. Just like your fiancé."
The triton only laughed when Aisha lunged at him. She was the held back by Nereus and Tressa. The two of them just holding her shoulder, trying to calm her down.
"You're mad at me?" The triton feigned innocence. "I'm not the one who blamed him for polluting the oceans when it's the act of some mere mortal."
That made Aisha stop struggling. Sure, in the heat of the moment, she thought it had been Tritannus. She believed it was him because of his desire for toxins. Or whoever was using his body wants those toxins. She never thought the same people who lived on that planet were responsible instead.
"You fairies think you know everything. Don't you realise you're the reason magic is forgotten on Earth?" The triton dropped his smile. He now wore a serious look on his face, paired with a side of disgust.
That was something no one had expected to hear. The Winx were even more curious. The Wizards of the Black Circle had sealed the Earth fairies away. They only did that because the wizards wanted power. This was the only way they could get it. Force the people to live in fear and make them forget about the Earth fairies so magic on Earth would be nonexistent. That was why magic had been forgotten.
"The Earth fairies were locked away by the wizards, who wanted nothing but-" Bloom began to argue for the fairies, but a sharp laugh from the triton interrupted the keeper of the dragon flame.
"Oh, of course, blame it on the wizards. It's their fault, it's always their fault, why wouldn't it be? Since when can fairies ever be at fault? Surely the wizards are the only ones that can be evil, am I right?" the triton sneered. "And they say fairies are the embodiment of all things good. What a joke!"
Bloom didn't know what to say to that. She wasn't used to people questioning her claims before. They had always believed her without aruging.
"What's the matter, keeper? Not used to people not bowing at your feet?" the triton let out yet another cruel laugh. This was all too amusing for him. The fairies truly knew nothing about Earth and its history on magic.
Just as quickly as it started, the laughter just stopped. The triton still had a cruel smirk on his face. He swam closer to Bloom, as if his presence was enough to taunt her. He began to circle her, making her uncomfortable.
"There once was a ruler of the oceans on Earth, beloved by his people. He protected them from the dangers in the water and they couldn't be happier. But the danger then came from above. Pollution..." he trailed off, seemingly trying to recall the bits of memories of someone else. "Pollution had already made its way towards Earth, but the fairies ignored it. They couldn't go into the water, so why bother? There was certainly nothing living in the water. The tritons and mermaid who live there? They just don't care."
"What does that have to-" Aisha interrupts, but is silenced almost immediately. "SHUT UP! I'm not done, dear princess." silence, just as he wanted.
"Where was I? Oh yes... Let's continue. The pollution made its way towards the small kingdom in Earth's oceans. Those who breathed the pollution slowly mutated, turning into monsters. But the king? Not him, he was special. He was mutated, yes, but he never lost his mind. Instead, one taste of it and he craved for more. He began attacking the people on land, wanting to find more of the toxins. The people cried out to the fairies for help, but they didn't care. Underwater magic wasn't their specialty, they claimed they could do nothing. The wizards and witches heard this cry for help and help did they bring." The triton's face seemed sad.
"They defeated the king, they had no choice but to kill the mutants. The fairies caught wind of this and called the wizards and witches murderers. They began hunting the them, chasing them down and stripping them of their magic. One by one, their numbers dwindled. The people tried their best to hide the ones who had saved them, but it was all hopeless. Until a certain young wizard came forth. He and his friends summoned their magic and used it to turn the fairies' artifact against them. Thus, the Wizards of the Black Circle succeeded. But, they failed to make sure that the king of Earth's oceans was truly dead." he turned to the rulers of the realms.
"For I, Poseidon, am alive." Whispers and murmurs happened among the rules of each realm. They thought Poseidon had died and would never return.
"How does it feel? Being told your kind isn't all glitters and rainbows?" Bloom wasn't just mad, she was now out for blood. She wasn't going to believe all these lies. She didn't want to believe this was the truth. She summoned her magic and fired it at the triton. This only succeeded in making him laugh even more.
"Ah, there it is. The good fairies of the realm, the guardians of their home planets." he gestured at Bloom specifically. "Imagine, if this is the keeper of the dragon flame, then the magic dimension is done for." Bloom had nothing to say to that.
"That is enough out of you!" King Neptune's voice was loud and commanding. "You will leave the magic dimension. Most important of all, leave my son. Leave him alone, Poseidon!"
"Didn't you hear me, dear friend?" this caught a few looks from the other royals. "He's already gone."
King Neptune nearly lunged at the triton but was stopped by his family. The triton, now known as Poseidon, was unfazed. He was just staring at the royal family with a look of disgust.
"Oh, dear King Neptune, now you want to be his father? Now you want him as your son?" Poseidon chuckled, seeing this was the best time to reveal all he knew about the former crown prince of Andros. "He was never part of the family, was he? Or that's what he felt?"
Poseidon swam further away from them, capturing everyone's attention. This was the perfect chance to show everyone present what they did to Tritannus and how easy it was to take over his body and mind.
"Listen well, all of you. Our dear King Neptune is nothing you all believe him to be. This filthy excuse of a king couldn't even seem to remember he has a second son. No matter what he did, Tritannus just wasn't enough. Poor boy just wanted his father to look at him, but anytime our beloved king does, he wears a face of disgust. The crown prince tried everything to get his father's attention, just like any other children would. By showing whatever stupid things little children would make to try and gain the praise of even just the attention of their parents. But..." Poseidon trailed off for a moment.
"... he never cared. In his eyes was only his second-born, his first son. His perfect heir who was born just as how he considers a normal triton should be born. The perfect heir to rule over the oceans of Andros one day." Poseidon smiled when he saw that he had everyone's attention.
"At the age of five, the twins had a fight. Tritannus had hurt the poor little golden child and he had been branded as a monster by the king. By his very own father." Poseidon turns to look at the Winx. "At the same time, light magic users began slandering dark magic. Sharing lies of how dark magic is a curse upon the magic dimension."
The faces of the royals and the Winx were just as priceless. It was obvious they didn't want to believe it. They refused to accept this as the truth. But it was as clear as Solaria's sun. Poseidon could see the newer generation were fed nothing but lies.
"You want to know the thing that hurts him the most? The younger crown prince was shunned, pushed aside, he was labelled a mistake, gets told he should never have existed. All of this was done to him by his own dear father." everyone turned to look at Neptune. There was a look of guilt on his face. Poseidon was not impressed. "You're only feeling the guilt now, after you've been caught."
"Haven't you realised I never targeted the people of Andros? They don't deserve what you went through." he could see the look of confusion on their faces. "Then again, it's mostly due to the fact that I wouldn't be able to take over his mind completely if he sees them. He just gets this positive feeling around them. But all of you? You're the ones feeding his magic. All those negative thoughts and all those hurt, it just makes his magic stronger." Poseidon held up a hand to stop Queen Ligea from speaking.
"As much as he hated his father, you want to know whom he hates more?" Poseidon grinned, knowing Ligea couldn't possibly guess who he was referring to. "It was you, my dear queen."
Poseidon could see the look of shock on Ligea's face. Nereus and Tressa were more confused than anything.
"Do you really think you're innocent in all this? You are part of the reason he lost himself." Poseidon smirked, knowing Ligea didn't understand what he was trying to say.
"You stood by as you watch your husband neglect your son. You did nothing as he was verbally abused. Do you honestly think comforting him every night was enough? You told him you would do something about it. But it was all a lie. It was nothing but lies to keep him in line." Poseidon let out a cruel smile. "He hated you more for lying to him."
Ligea couldn't take any more and buried her head in her hands as she began to cry. Tressa swam up to her, offering comfort. The same way she used to comfort Tritannus.
"Why tell us then? How do we know it's not really Tritannus that's talking? Making up stories to-" Aisha was furious when she was cut off.
"What could he possibly gain from this? As I told you all. He's dead, gone, ceased to exist. The only way to save him now, is to remove his magic from this body and let it be reborn. But no one here knows how to do that, do they?" he looks around the crowd of people. "You should've seen how he struggled to stay in control. He put up quite a fight. But you were right about one thing, Neptune." heads turned to the kind of underwater Andros.
"He was nothing but a weakling." Poseidon let out an exhale as he finished.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Send me to Oblivion already. I've had my fun. And I have what I came for." silence followed as Poseidon demonstrated his hold over Tritannus's magic. He was then ordered to be taken away.
Even after Poseidon was sent away, damage has been done. Neptune was forced to acknowledge the abuse he had inflicted upon his own son. Ligea was forced to see that she had failed to protect her child. All the choices they made had killed their youngest and they had no idea how they could bring him back. There were no celebrations that day. No songs, no music, no party.
Andros was saved...
But at what cost...?