The Winx?! No! No! No, they didn't have time for this! They couldn't get into a fight, Ogron could barely stand! Even if they had Gregory-

Gregory! Ogron's gaze whipped to the teenager who seconds earlier had threatened to leave. Where did his loyalties lie? Was he about to run to the Winx? Sell them out? Watch them plunge into the depths of Omega? No…

But, to his surprise and relief, Gregory looked almost as nervous as the rest of them, following Gantlos's gaze with worried, cautious eyes, already flickering with the energy of battle. Maybe they wouldn't be alone this time…maybe.

'I'll stall them,' Anagan offered, glancing between the other three wizards. 'Let you guys figure out a battle plan.'

Ogron tried to find the words to warn Anagan that it was too dangerous, but, he reasoned, for Anagan, it might not be. If he was just stalling, not fighting, he stood a shot. He wasn't weak like Ogron, and his speed would once again be far more of an ally than he believed.

'…Okay. Go. Contact us at once if you need backup.'

Anagan nodded, vanishing in a blur that was rapidly followed by the escalating sounds of a scuffle. Left with a few precious minutes, Ogron turned his focus back to Gregory, who seemed at a complete loss.

'…Gregory…' he started, no other words in his mouth but the boy's name. Thankfully, others followed suit, coaxed and chivvied out by his fear and general need to survive. 'I know you're confused right now, and scared, but…I promise…I can explain…I can explain everything…but you have to help us. Please, help us against the Winx. You know the future they promised you, know that it doesn't work, know it's wrong.'

Gregory backed up as Ogron stepped towards him, but his gaze flickered with uncertainty.

'Please…' Ogron had never been one to beg. But he had left pride behind a while ago. 'Gregory, please, I'm sorry for how I acted, I can be better, I promise, just please, please don't abandon this fight.' He almost said 'us', but he wasn't that pathetic.

'…I don't want to get into the Winx's hands any more than you do,' Gregory admitted, biting his lip as he looked to the dusty floor for answers. 'But don't think for a second that I trust you, that I can trust you after the way you acted, and whatever the heck I just heard.' Ogron held his breath as Gregory shifted, thinking. '…But whatever.' Whatever? What did whatever denote? 'I'll have your backs.' Ogron could have wept with relief. 'But you have mine, got it?'

Ogron nodded wildly, almost making himself dizzy. Oh thank god…they'd be okay. Probably. Gregory might still kill them all in a quake, but then at least he'd be dead, and wouldn't that be nice? Very quiet…

'If we've finished setting up this little alliance, you guys want to come help Anagan?' Gantlos snapped, staring worriedly towards the sounds of battle. 'He can't hold his own forever, and we got more Winx approaching. So far we just got the tech one and the sun fairy, along with Roxy. But the others will get here soon, and he can't handle them all.'

'Okay.' Ogron thought for a moment. They had to match up as best they could, if they were to win this…Gregory, take Roxy, and help Anagan against Flora, if she shows up.' Not only was Roxy weaker, and easier to overcome, but Flora's vines would be torn to shreds by Gregory's quakes and general mayhem. 'I'll handle Bloom and Tecna, Gantlos, take Musa and Aisha. Come on!'

'You think the wizards are here?'

'If they are, my detector will find them!' The Winx always did have a propensity for loudly announcing what they were doing…very handy for anyone looking to track them down.

'Tecna, that's- girls, look out!' Roxy shoved Tecna and Stella out of the way, getting slammed into the wall herself as Anagan barrelled into the group. He'd been looking for a strike; this wasn't quite the devastating move he'd intended.

'Anagan!' Stella stepped protectively in front of Roxy as Tecna helped her to her feet. 'Why the solo act? Your friends get sick of hanging around the reject Flash?'

Anagan so wasn't in the mood for this, but that kinda stung. Like his powers weren't already a sore spot…

'No, they didn't.'

'Wow, back here again?' Roxy snapped, leaning on Tecna. 'Can't believe we didn't check here! I assumed you'd be too dumb to come back here again!'

'How did you even get here?!' Anagan demanded. They had wards up everywhere!

'Uh, we walked?' Stella replied, like he was stupid. 'Doi.'

'Not how did you get here, how'd you get past the wards?!'

Roxy smirked, glancing to a black and white cat peeking round the wall like a shy little bystander. 'New magic lesson: wards don't work on animals. So they didn't work on my little guide, genius.'

'And when she says genius, she means it sarcastically,' Tecna chipped in, and, to their credit, Stella and Roxy just totally rolled with the pointless interjection.

'Give us back Gregory!' Stella snarled, her rather impractical sundress morphing into an equally impractical tutu skirt and crop top as her wings burst from her back. 'Or you'll be getting a pretty painful tan, Anagan!'

'Hate to break it to you,' Anagan replied, tensing to run, 'but Gregory isn't our prisoner. If he wanted to come back to your little clique, he would have.'

'You think we believe you?' Tecna scoffed. 'Anagan, you're a liar and a kidnapper, and we're not letting you keep up whatever little game you're playing here. Surrender, and we can negotiate gentle treatment on the transport to Omega.'

'I'm really at rock bottom, huh, if 'government officials not beating the shit out of me' is the best you can offer me?'

'Have it your way. Winx Believix!' Tecna transformed, and Anagan have to dive to avoid some surprisingly deadly numbers barrelling for his head.

'Solar Storm! A barrage of golden light rained down on him, forcing him to shield his eyes. So what? He could fight blind! Just as he readied himself to stand, he felt something on his hands. What…?

Cracking his eyes open just a tad, he bit back a cry. Thousands upon thousands of insects crawled across his skin in a black sea of creepy crawlies. Roxy! Ugh, when did this girl get so powerful?!

The cry escaped his lips as the bugs started biting, a fair few horseflies in the mix contributing their powerful, angry stings to the mix. When had she got so vicious?!

'Aaaaah!' Anagan shook them off as fast as he could, hearing a soft, anguished cry from Roxy as droves of insects fell from him in a wave of toxic, lethal dark magic. Well, what had she been expecting?

'Okay, that really hurt!' he snarled, zipping across the concrete and managing to land a damn good hit to the Earth fairy, sending her sprawling backwards with a whimper.

'Roxy! Megawatt!'

Anagan stumbled to his knees as his body lit up with electricity, his limbs jolting and jerking madly as he tried to regain control.

'Roxy, are you okay? Did he hurt you? Can you stand?' Wow. They sure still liked to baby her.

'Ow…f*#k, I think I twisted my stupid f*#king ankle…f*#k him…' Damn. Someone swore like a sailor. Stella helped Roxy to her feet, and the young fairy quickly transformed, using her wings to keep the weight off her ankle.

'Much better.'

'Great. Yet again, fate fixes everything for a fairy…' Anagan muttered, sweeping Tecna away from him with a wave of dark power and staggering upright.

'Universe of Light!'

Anagan barely shut his eyes in time, the light already searing through his eyelids. Dammit…how was this spell so strong? He was just summoning a counterspell when he felt something far too physical and metallic slam into his stomach, sending him tumbling back. What the hell?! The Winx didn't have…

…Weapons. As he opened his eyes, he grimaced to see a blazing hot piece of metal pointed right in his face, glowing with a bright, ethereal light that just reeked of royal fairy weaponry that could cook him.

'Meet the Sword Ring of Solaria. Or, as I like to call it, that thing I'll use to fry you if you make a move.' Okay, why the hell hadn't she used this thing before?! What was wrong with her? Was it in the shop?!

'And you didn't use this before because…?' He was stalling. He was doomed. Sue him.

'It's not just mine, genius. It belongs to the royal family of Solaria, and, after the debacle with Domino, my father was using it to restore the formerly frozen kingdom. Besides, as we all learned, I don't need it to kick your asses!'

'Care to prove that?' The staff flew out of Stella's hands, zipping across the estate and landing in Ogron's outstretched hand. 'Three against one? Not very fair from the fairies.'

'Ogron!' Roxy almost landed, but winced as she put pressure on her ankle, forcing her back into the air. 'Okay, spill it, where's Gregory?! You have three seconds before I have you wizards eaten by rats!'

'My, someone got feisty…' Ogron muttered irritably. 'And if you're looking for Gregory, well, then I see no reason to waste your time. Here you go.' He stepped aside and all three girls found themselves landing in the dirt, knocked back by a devastating wave of green magic.

'Damn, when'd Gantlos get so strong…?' Stella moaned, rubbing her head.

'Wasn't me.'

All three girls' eyes widened as they saw their attacker. He'd never replace Duman, but…Anagan had to confess…Gregory did fit in amongst them rather well, his jet black hair waving dangerously in the backlash winds from his attack as he stalked closer.

'Gregory!' Stella pelted closer on unsteady legs, her eyes wide with confusion. 'Gregory, don't! I know you're confused, but whatever they told you, don't trust them! They're-'

Anagan didn't get to hear what he was, as Stella went flying, almost under her own power as her giant wings caught Gregory's gust beautifully, sending her tumbling through the air.

'I don't trust them, dumbass,' Gregory snapped, stalking towards the dazed fairies. 'But I don't trust you guys either, and I already picked my side.'

Tecna tried her beloved reason. 'The wizards' side? Gregory, you can't-'

'Mine.' Gregory stomped, and the earth shook. The energy was wild, and untamed, but right now, it was all they needed. 'And the wizards happen to serve that better than you do.'

'Oh, are you kidding me?!' Roxy snarled. She shot Ogron a furious glare. 'I want you to know I blame you completely for this!'

'You overestimate how much that bothers me…'

Anagan got to his feet, slamming Tecna into a wall before joining Ogron and Gantlos. 'As you've seen, Gregory doesn't need saving…so if you wouldn't mind leaving…'

'Oh, hell no!' The sceptre flew out of Ogron's grasp, landing back in manicured hands of its rightful owner, burning with a righteous fire. 'Double Eclipse!' Two blazing balls of light shot from her staff, shooting across the estate and straight for the wizards. Anagan tried to grab his friends and duck to the ground, but he was only fast enough to drop to the floor, the others flying back into the wall. Ogron absorbed some of the energy, but only barely, while Gantlos groaned, a blaze of scarlet skin creeping up his face as the skin blistered and charred.

'Oh, that was a bad move!' Gregory grabbed the sceptre, yanking it towards him and driving his knee into Stella's gut.

'Oof!' Winded, Stella fell, screaming as Ogron unleashed what he'd managed to absorb back at her, dealing her a few blisters of her own. Don't blame him, blame the Believix magic and its scant clothing.

'Wolf Talon!'

Ogron stumbled back, grimacing as he touched his bleeding cheek.

'You should have stayed in Omega, you murderer!' Roxy snarled, dealing a swift and surprisingly hard punch to Ogron's jaw. Now, she was a strong enough kid, but she was still just a kid - the most strenuous activity her muscles were accustomed to probably being lifting the odd stock box at the bar. Which was why Anagan's jaw dropped as Ogron screamed and fell to his knees, tears of pain brimming in his eyes.

'Ogron!' Anagan was at his side in a heartbeat, glowering up at Roxy.

'You boys remember this?' Roxy teased, holding up her hand to show off a very familiar ring glinting in the light. Oh, shit… 'My mom might be missing some jewellery, but she still had a piece to lend me…' The White Circle. Oh, they were screwed…

'Now…' Roxy growled, as low and dangerous as one of her animals. 'If we're not going back the heroes that saved Gregory, I want to know: where's my mom's necklace?'

'Wouldn't you like to know…' Ogron choked out, an ugly burn already forming where he'd been punched.

'I would, and I will!' Roxy raised the Circle, but found herself flung clear across the estate a second later as Gantlos grabbed her wrist and tossed her like a ragdoll.

'Don't touch him!'

For once, it looked like they were actually winning this. Roxy was hazily flying back upright, while Stella was forcing herself to her knees with her staff, whilst Tecna was barely dodging Gregory's magic. As she hit the floor, victory seemed assured. It had seemed assured before, too.

'Dragon Wing!' All the wizards, Gregory included, were swept up into the air in blazing amber cages. Ogron, Gantlos and Anagan were slammed back into the floor in a heartbeat, leaving Anagan's ears ringing and his vision blurring.

'Gregory!'

'Cindy, wait!'

Cindy ignored Bloom's call, the chunky boots customary of any base level fairy clacking across the concrete as she hurled herself towards where her boyfriend struggled against his blazing bindings.

'Gregory! You have to stop this, leave the wizards, you can't trust them! I'm sorry I didn't understand before, but you can't just throw your life away like this!' She spoke with such blind, loving conviction that Anagan felt guilt lance through his frame at the knowledge they were actively trying to rip Gregory away from this girl. Or that might just be his possibly broken bones.

'And what, I should force my life into the Winx's little boxes?! No way!' The cage shattered, and Gregory dropped to the ground, the tarmac trembling and crumbling under his feet, knocking Cindy to the floor, her wings trembling like her pink-glossed lips.

'Gregory…'

'Cindy, get out of the way!' Bloom ordered, flames surging into the estate and encasing the battleground. The fairy smirked, somehow looking every inch the ferocious warrior in what one could reasonably describe as a promiscuous clubbing outfit. 'No way out, boys.'

'How unfortunate for you,' Ogron growled, staggering to his feet. They were getting closer and closer to having nothing left to lose. Which meant Ogron was losing more and more restraint with each passing second.

'Wizards! Surrender now, and tell us what you did with Lady Morgana's necklace!' Bloom ordered.

'And if we have a lick of sense and refuse?' Ogron retorted, drawing only an exasperated sigh from the Fairy of the Dragon Flame.

'Then I lock you in a room with Aisha and pretend I didn't see anything.'

Ogron stepped back unconsciously, eyeing Aisha cautiously. Just because she hadn't slit their throats in Omega, that didn't mean the woman didn't hate them for everything they'd done. She was certainly not their ideal choice for an interrogator…

Ogron bit his lip, but shook his head, dragging himself back into the role of leader rather than broken mess. 'No. Lovely offer, but I'm afraid I must decline. You will not be taking us, Gregory or the necklace. It's your turn to taste failure, Winx!'

'Or it's your turn to taste asphalt!' Musa snarked. 'Flora!'

'Winter Rose!' Ogron was yanked to the ground by thorny vines, but freed a second later as Gregory's touch turned them all to ash. The Winx stepped back in surprise at the kid's power, but Gregory was past awe at his own abilities.

'Hey, I know I'm not part of your little squad here, so how come I'm carrying it?' Gregory demanded, knocking Tecna and Musa out of the sky and decimating a squadron of Flora's vines.

'R-right!' Ogron quickly took Bloom and Tecna off Gregory's hands, shocking Bloom out of the sky with her own teammate's electric attack, whilst Tecna lost an eyebrow or two to his newly-acquired blaze.

Musa and Gantlos's sonic waves clashed in quakes more devastating than the ones Gregory was unleashing on anyone and everyone sporting a pair of wings, and Anagan just tried to take out anyone his speed let him get close to.

'You!'

Anagan froze. Oh, hell.

'You're not running away this time!'

'You're base level, kid,' he sighed tiredly. 'Don't hurl yourself into a fight you're gonna lose.'

Cindy practically growled at him. 'Don't tell me what to do! I don't know what you've done to Gregory, whether you mind controlled him or what, but he's not your little sidekick! If you think this is some kind of Mitzi do-over…'

Anagan grimaced. Ah, Mitzi. Giving her and her friends magic had been…admittedly one of their lower points.

'No, of course it's not. For one, we didn't give him his magic. We just taught him how to control it.'

Cindy glanced skeptically at where Gregory was practically falling into a sinkhole of his own making as he destroyed Aisha's Morphix. 'Yeah, he looks real controlled.'

Anagan had no comeback. Gregory was a magical mess, but it wasn't like they'd been aiming for this! They'd really just been aiming for Ogron to get out of this alive! There had been no further thought process!

'Fury's Flourish!' Anagan ducked the attack, only to feel a very determined foot make very determined contact with his very possibly bruised ribs.

'Ah!' Not a particularly hard kick, but enough to wind him. Dammit, for a newbie fairy, she sure remembered she could punch and kick…

'Okay, now you're making me mad!'

'I woulda made you madder if you'd let that attack hit you!' Cindy took to the skies, tumbling out of the way of Anagan's barrage of attacks. He was weak and lethargic, but he didn't have to run a marathon later; he could expend what little he had left here.

'Harmonic Attack!'

Anagan's ears were bleeding as he fell to his knees, cursing himself for focusing on the weakest party here, letting the Winx slip his mind in the spur of the moment. And now he could barely hear…no, no he could hear…just no sound reached his ears but an endless, screaming cacophony. Harmonic attack? Yeah right…

'Morphix Tidal Wave!' He felt his body fly up into the air, then collide with a wall, his limbs bound to his body by a sinister pink goo.

'You boys are slipping…' Aisha remarked, strolling towards him with a smirk that said she hadn't let even an ounce of hate go.

'Get away from him!' Gantlos knocked Aisha and Musa down, pelting over and ripping the Morphix from Anagan's body and yanking him to his feet. He steadied him, hands on his shoulders for a second, waiting for the weak, dizzied nod that told him Anagan could jump back into the fight. When he got it, he turned right back to the Winx, knocking them out of the sky and crushing the ground beneath them into dust, sending Musa, Aisha and Cindy tumbling into a sinkhole.

'Cindy!' Gregory dropped his fight in a heartbeat, pelting over and staring at the hole in horror. 'Are you f*#king insane?! She could die!!'

'Are you insane? Get back to your goddamn fight before we die!' Gantlos snapped back. Thankfully, Flora's vines carefully pulled the three fairies back up to the surface, sporting several new bruises.

'Are you okay?!' Gregory pelted over to the girl he claimed to be over, stopping just short of sweeping her up in his arms. Anagan's stomach started to sink. This…Gregory's feelings…this was something they hadn't taken into account in this fight. He couldn't hurt her. That much was evident. And as she stood alongside the people they realistically had to destroy, that…was a complication.

Just so long as Gregory kept Roxy and the White Circle off their backs, Ogron was pretty sure they could win this. Well, sort of sure. He was already trying to think up some decent last words. 'It's about time,' seemed apt…

'Techno Shock!'

'Dragon Heart!'

Ogron absorbed both, then dropped to his knees and almost threw up from the exertion. His shield barely protected him as he gasped in air, struggling back to his feet. He needed backup…where was everyone?!

A quick glance around brought his heart juddering to a stop. Anagan and Gantlos were squaring off against the Winx whilst Gregory, their one ace up their sleeve, their one real shot at survival, was…staring at a girl like a lovesick teen. Gradually, it occurred to him that he was a lovesick teen. This girl…the one Ogron had almost killed…Cindy. He was in love with her. And when he had to fight against her, that didn't end well.

'Gregory!' he shouted, hurling everything he had at Tecna. 'Gregory, get your head in the game!'

'What?' Gregory blinked rapidly, seeming to once again register that he was in a fight, not a slow motion scene in a romantic movie. '…Right! I knew that!' Like hell you did…

Gregory began fighting once again, but he was distracted and sloppy. Fortunately, he was so powerful that 'distracted and sloppy' translated into 'deadly natural disaster unleashed on the battleground'. His blows always managed to avoid Cindy, but Ogron didn't give a damn about what happened to some random teenage fairy, so he could do as he pleased when it came to her.

Gregory's powers turned on the wizards almost as much as the Winx, but they were practised enough to successfully avoid the stray blasts of magic, watching with delight as the Winx found themselves on the grimy floor, several detransforming with the impact and influx of dark magic.

'Yes!' Ogron actually punched the air with elation. Oh, finally! They could get out of there. They could run, take Gregory away, complete their mission. But…this was their chance. Their chance to finally be rid of those awful fairies that had made it their life's purpose to ruin them.

'Well done…' Ogron breathed, walking up to Gregory, drinking in the sight of the Winx dazed and confused on the ground. It was a sight he'd seen before, but had never dreamed he'd be able to witness again.

He'd been brought so low…he couldn't resist. 'Nice to see you all back on your knees, Winx…'

'You're going to pay for this-!' Aisha was knocked back down by a quick blast to the chest, and Ogron smirked.

'Gregory, end this.' The words left his lips so easily. Only later would it occur to him that he was casually asking a teenager to commit murder. Lots of things would only occur to him later.

'Don't listen to him!'

For a moment, Ogron thought Gregory's ex was overstepping her power levels yet again, but no. This was a girl that should have vanished into the Abyss the first day they met.

'Gregory, I know everything is weird as f*#k right now, and I can't blame you for trusting in the people with magic like yours.'

'Shut up…' Ogron growled, but Roxy continued, casually giving him the finger.

'I know we freaked you out, and kinda screwed up, and I'm sorry. Honestly, that was mostly Bloom's fault - believe me, I know how bad she can be at telling someone they got the ability to manipulate reality.'

'Uh, Roxy-' Bloom looked a tad offended, but she was rather focused on healing up Musa's leg, which apparently had been broken in the fight.

Gregory faltered slightly as Roxy spoke, the energy crackling at his fingertips flickering uncertainly.

'Do you really want to do this?' Roxy asked, stepping past her friends to approach. Slow, calm, the way one would interact with a scared animal. 'Kill a bunch of people because the goth has-been says to?'

'How dare-!'

Roxy ignored Ogron thoroughly, stopping just short of Gregory's personal space. 'Don't do something that's gonna land you in a whole lifetime of trouble. You haven't done anything that can't be fixed. Keep going and that'll stop being true. You seriously willing to risk going to jail for murder? Or even just assault? Because the leather patrol said they can help?'

Gregory actually lowered his arms. Dammit. This was why Ogron had opted for avoiding the wording 'kill'. It made everything seem far less real and to be questioned.

'I'm not saying to trust us,' Roxy continued, her confidence growing as her words had a more obvious effect on the already-uncertain young wizard. 'But don't throw everything in with people that are going back to Omega, whether you kill us or not. They're not your only option, and neither are we, or the jerks at the Fortress of Light. Just stop, okay? Calm down, and think about what you're doing. You're on an industrial estate. With a bunch of girls in glittery costumes and some guys dressed like the punk era threw up on them. And you're about to kill people. This really the way you want your life to go?'

The summary struck a chord in Gregory, and he stepped back, glancing between Ogron and Roxy. 'I…I don't…no, I-'

'Listen to her, Gregory!' Cindy pleaded, hurrying over on unsteady legs, her feet back in her human kitten heels after her wings vanished from the exertion. 'I know you don't wanna do this, don't!'

The Winx were recovering by now, fairy forms reappearing as Bloom healed everyone's injuries and they got back to their feet, their second wind evident in every flutter of their wings.

Meanwhile, the wizards' every wind was rapidly deserting them, and Ogron could see it was very much now or never. And since he'd never been much of a fan of never, he opted for now, unleashing a powerful wave of dark magic against Roxy and sending her tumbling to the ground, albeit far too late to stop her shattering any hold he'd had on Gregory.

'Don't!' Gregory cried, sounding far less like the force of nature Neruman sought to control and far more like the scared, unsteady teenager he truly was. 'Ogron, stop!'

'Are you really giving up now, because she made a little hero speech?' Ogron spat, his eyes wild with panic and fury. 'Gregory, you said you'd back us up, now do it!'

'…No…' Gregory stepped back, edging closer to the Winx as he seemed to really think about who he was working with. 'No, I don't want this, Ogron. I don't want to hurt people. Can't…can't we just…you…get out of here?'

'And run like rabbits the rest of our lives?' Ogron snarled, breathing hard, his gaze flicking around for any way out. 'Gregory, they are manipulating you-'

'Oh, like you're not?' Roxy stalked nearer, and Ogron backed up, eyeing the White Circle warily. 'Do you think we're dumb enough to stand around and watch you try and, what? Imply you give a damn about him? You took a kid and tried to make him your weapon, anyone can see that, and I'm not gonna let you get away with it.'

'We…we didn't…' Anagan tried, his voice trailing off, guilt softening his tone. Ogron winced; it was evident Anagan wasn't at all on board with handing Gregory over to Neruman. Not that Ogron was either; he knew all too well how it felt to become a pawn to someone that lorded their power over you, made you into a weapon, a tool, nothing. But screw that! He didn't have the strength, the energy, the willpower to give a damn about what happened to Gregory. It was Gregory's freedom or his own sanity, and only a fool would choose some kid they barely knew over themselves.

He was exhausted, weak, barely able to summon another spark, but he was boxed in, they were all boxed in, even as Bloom's flames flickered with her own worn energy. If Gregory wouldn't help them, he'd come with them when the Winx were dead on the ground.

As silence hung heavy, Ogron shattered it, sending Bloom slamming into an iron shipping container. There was a sharp snap of something breaking, but all Ogron could focus on were the dimming flames. They were low enough to escape past now. They might get burned, but he'd been burned before, been beaten, been broken, he could handle this.

'Bloom!' Stella's eyes widened in horror, and her wings zipped her across to her friend, bruised and bleeding against the metal. 'Ogron! If you don't feel like losing a limb, I'd surrender now!'

'Oh, scary.' Gantlos rolled his eyes, turning the shipping container to rubble that fell on both girls, only kept from crushing them by a hasty shelter summoned by Flora.

'This is going too far!' Flora shouted, struggling to keep the rubble off her friends as Tecna levitated it away. 'Surrender before someone gets hurt beyond repair-' She didn't finish, and Bloom and Stella barely rolled out of the way as her vines hit the floor the same time she did, Ogron's hands still crackling with energy.

'Techno Shock!' Tecna's spell, formerly barely a static tickle, was stronger now, angrier, and Ogron cried out as it slammed into his chest, tumbling back into Anagan's arms, his body half-limp.

The remaining Winx attempted to converge on them, and, as Ogron struggled to regain mobility, Gantlos brought half the warehouse down on them, buying the time Ogron needed to get back on his feet, still twitching and wincing through residual shocks.

'Stop! Everyone, just…just stop!' Gregory's panicked, distressed shouts caused more destruction than the attacks he was trying to stop, and he let out a yelp of surprise as he almost tumbled into a sudden sinkhole.

'Gregory!' Cindy pulled him back, murmuring calming reassurances as his breathing picked up, the lights of exchanged attacks reflecting brightly in his fearful gaze.

'I didn't…I didn't want this…Cin, you gotta believe me, I didn't want this…' The vulnerability in his voice, the pure, raw regret, sent chills of fear down Ogron's spine. If they'd ever had him, they were losing him, faster and faster.

'I know…I know, I believe you, Greg…but you gotta pick a side. And please…' Cindy's big doe eyes filled with nervous tears, glistening in the light of battle. 'Please don't pick theirs…'

'Shut up!' Ogron roared, sick of this girl trying to send him to his doom, however unknowingly. 'Why must you insert yourself into this?!'

'Because I love him, you jackass! So you better stop tryin' to recruit him into your weird little cult, or there'll be hell to pay!'

If he weren't so scared for his life, dodging and deflecting attacks left and right, Ogron would have snickered at the implication that this little girl, barely accustomed to her own wings, stood half a chance at inflicting a paper cut.

The amusement must have shown on his face, as Cindy's cheeks puffed out like an annoyed chipmunk, her wings flashing back into being. 'Fury's Flourish!'

The attack hit him right in the ribs he didn't want to admit were broken. A few seconds of silence followed. His eyes burned. He would not be brought to scream by a base-level fairy! She was weak! She was ruining everything!

'How dare you!' Half his remaining energy went into this attack. Were he in his right mind, he'd have seen how foolish that was, but he was too angry, too scared, too lost in his own mind, and he just watched with detached satisfaction as the maelstrom of magic shot straight for Cindy.

'No!'

Ogron's mouth dropped open as his attack was torn to shreds by a familiar green energy. As the light faded, he couldn't help stepping back, swallowing nervously as he caught the look in Gregory's eyes. The look that told him his choice had been made. The look that told him just how many broken bones he was coming out of this with.

'How…dare…you.' Gregory panted, his eyes alight with purpose. 'Don't…you…ever…try and hurt her again!' Every building on the estate crumbled away to rubble with the force of his shout, the Winx taking to the skies to avoid the chasms that split across the concrete under the furious wave of energy that shot forth from his hands, colliding with the wizards and knocking every breath from their lungs.

Everything hurt…it hurt so much… Ogron tried to sit up, falling back with a whimper. Something warm and wet was trickling down his forehead, dripping into his vision, painting his sight a sick crimson.

'Ogron!' Hands. He felt hands on him, lifting him up. He wanted to push them away, make them leave him alone, stop the pain that landed through him with every movement, every breath, but he couldn't dredge up the strength. He just lay, limp as a ragdoll, letting his consciousness drift through the sea of pain.

'Come on, come on, up…' There was a soft whimper of pain he thought came from him, but as his eyes cracked open, he saw the pain etched on Gantlos's face as he scooped him up and into his arms. Blood painted his skin, his hair grey with dust and debris, but he still stood, Ogron held safely in his grasp, his gaze focused on something Ogron couldn't make himself focus on.

'…What…happ…en…ed…?' he managed to croak out, squinting across the wasteland at the weak, hazy glows of the Winx, all standing around…Gregory? Was that Gregory? What was happening, what were they doing?

'Gregory, it's okay…it's okay, just breathe, you can get this under control, I know you can…' Cindy was softly reassuring him, drawing him back from the furious haze he'd lost himself in.

Even as Anagan dragged himself out of the rubble, carefully stepping over to Ogron and Gantlos, the Winx didn't make a move to attack. If they did, they'd likely set Gregory off once again. The environment had to stay calm, or he'd lose it completely. Ogron felt a quiet guilt churn in his stomach as he took in the devastation. This was his doing. He'd forced Gregory into power he couldn't control.

'We have to get out of-'

'Shh…' Gantlos whispered, cutting Anagan off. 'We make a move, we'll startle him and then we're all dead. Trust me…'

Anagan nodded silently, turning his attention to Ogron, trying to staunch wherever the hell all this blood was coming from. How much more did he have to lose before he could just leave life behind? He assumed Anagan would make it stop before then, but still…it would be nice. All the pain would stop. Desperate for respite, any escape at all, his vision blurred, Gantlos's face disappearing into a haze, before vanishing into a sweet, sweet oblivion.