Winx 14
As Riven entered Saladin's office, he saw the headmaster and Codatorta were behind the desk.
"Did you want to speak with me sirs?" Riven asked unsure what this meeting was about.
"Mr. Jolokia, do you recall the first time we've meet?" Codatorta asked.
Riven rubbed the back of his neck "Yeah, last year I got in arrested for beating up a senior squad. But it was only because they were harassing the staff at my favorite diner."
Saladin chuckles "Yes you did, I was honestly surprised that someone could best a senior squad in unarmed combat on their own."
"It was clear that your talents could be of good use to our academy. It's why we set up a scholarship for you." Codatorta added.
Riven gave a small smile "Honestly getting into a fight with those punks is probably the best decision I ever made."
Curious Codatorta tilted his head "Really, and why's that?"
"Because I've made some pretty great friends. Sky, Brandon , Timmy and especially Austin. If it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't find my grandparents." Riven explained.
Saladin mentioned "Speaking of which, Raymond and Gwen came to me about you. They wish to become your guardians and pay for your enrollment."
"Seriously, I know we've been bonding but wouldn't they have to go through my dad for custody." Riven said with a bit of fear in his voice.
Saladin says "They wish to know if you're okay with it before going to court. And as a personal friend of theirs and your headmaster, they wanted me to be the one to ask."
Riven took several moments to think the offer over. When he was a child, he sometimes dreamed of this situation happening. Of a kind couple taking him in and away from his deadbeat dad, though he'd usually wake up and see himself stuck in the same run down apartment.
"I… I might need to think this over a bit longer." Riven answered.
Saladin nodded "It is a difficult decision. You can speak with your grandparents about it after the Day of The Royal."
"But until then, make sure you get more practice for the dragon exhibition." Codatorta mentioned in an attempt lighten the mood.
Riven nodded"Of course, I'll take your advice." He got up and walked out of the room.
As he wandered into his dorm room, he saw Brandon and Timmy trying to console a panicking Sky.
"What's wrong with his majesty?" Riven asked sarcastically.
Sky took a second to compose himself as he muttered "They finally did it, after all these years they actually followed through with it."
Confused Riven says "Since he's broken, can one of you guys tell me what's going on?"
Brandon took Sky's phone and showed Riven a picture of a tan skinned girl with wavy pale blonde hair and amber eyes.
"It seems Sky's parents arranged for him to marry this girl." Timmy revealed.
"Her name is Diaspro of the House Quartz. Her family has always been good allies with the crown and is wealthy thanks to their gemstones business." Brandon added further context.
Sky screamed "It's not fair, we're just about to crack the Yoshinoya case wide open. But no, they have to marry me off to a girl, I've only exchanged small greetings with."
"Relax man, sure they made an arrangement but don't these things take time. Plus you're still in school, so you won't have to worry about it for a while." Riven tried to ease the pressure off Sky.
Sky groaned "That's what I thought too, but it seems they want to make the reveal it to the public at the closing ceremony of the Day of the Royal."
Riven winched "Okay now that's bad news, especially when Bloom finds out."
Brandon and Sky stiffened in terror at the realization Bloom and Stella would not only find out about the prince's engagement but their identity switch as well.
Timmy sighed "Nice going Riv, now they're both freaking out."
"Relax, I'm sure when AUSTIN WAKES UP! He can get them to chill out." Riven said as he looked at Austin's bed with the beast tamer hidden under the cover with several books onto of him.
Curious Timmy took the blanket off to see the Austin that Riven was speaking to was a couple of pillow.
Riven hurried to check Austin's trunk and exclaimed "Shit he took the suit!"
"Wait I know he's been researching that mark he saw on Stormy, but you don't think he'd actually break into Cloud Tower." Brandon asked.
Riven says "What other reason why he'd take the suit to go bird watching."
Timmy shrugged his shoulders and said unconvincingly "Possible."
At the same time Austin found himself in Miss Griffin's office attempting to find any information on the Trix. He was dressed in his modified Ghost Owl suit that was primarily colored black with a birdlike cowl that covered his upper face with a dull silver wristguards, elbowpads, kneepads and utility belt and a pair of escima sticks sheathed in his back.
Several thoughts ran through his head as he was combing through the headmistress files. How if he's caught, he's sure to get him and his squad in trouble. That he'd ruin the reputation of the Ghost Owl. That Knut and Lucy might've been caught helping him sneak into the school in the first place.
But he couldn't focus on those things as he needed to confirm his suspicions and to confirm them fast.
He looked at a file labeled Anderson, Toril. He opened the file to see a picture of Stormy and thought "Jackpot."
He took a seat as he skimmed through the information and found three major takeaways . The first was her early acceptance into Alfea, so despite being a second year student, she's the same age as the rest of the Winx barring Stella. The second seemed was her history of bouncing around from orphanages to foster homes since she was 5 and along with a few stays in juvie at the ages of 9,11,12, and 14 she stayed at for most of her life. The third and final fact was prior to her last stay in Juvenile Hall, she was admitted to the Morrison Clinic for Magic Rehabilitation or what he knew it as "Infershia's Child Soldier Boot Camp."
"Must be an interesting read, Owl II." He heard a voice speak behind him.
Austin flipped out of the seat and landed in a fighting stance until he saw the voice came from Headmistress Griffin.
"May I ask why you choose to break into my office Austin?" Griffin asked in a stern yet surprisingly polite tone.
Austin took off the cowl "So I guess Raymond told you about the changing of the guards."
"Just get to the reason why you're here as your reason might be the difference between expulsion from Red Fountain or volunteer to clean our school's dungeons next weekend." Griffin suggested.
Austin takes out a scrap of paper that showed a dragon formed from jagged black flames coiled into a loop with a pentagram on the inside. "I saw this symbol on Stormy and this file proves she has some connection to Infershia."
Griffin dismissed the evidence "I know, but like all of those who were at that clinic, she went through a psychological examination and wasn't diagnosed as being brainwashed by them."
Austin argued "So, she easily could've joined without being coerced. Judging on her file, she had a violent mindset prior to joining. Hell I even fought her during the liberation of that clinic."
This caught the headmistress attention "Really? That last piece of information wasn't in her file."
"It was left out of reports, Ken and me decided to chalk up any attack from the kids as self defense. But seems that might've not been the case based on her and the Trix's recent behavior." Austin admits as he clenched his fist.
Griffin placed her hand on Austin's shoulders "Believe me, I know what's it like to make a mistake, especially about Infershia. But you don't have to worry about them. The Trix have been expelled and have no chance obtaining the Dragon Flame, so you don't have to take on this burden."
Austin objects as shrugged her hand off him"But they've told me themselves that they have a lead, plus the attacks on those Alfea girls can't be a coincidence!"
Griffin's brow furrowed as she shouts "And what if you're right, if you go in there guns blazing you could get hurt or worse. Can you really throw your life away after Valen did everything to ensure you could be here today."
The beast tamer hung his head in disappointment as he says "Seems you're just like everyone else. Constantly comparing me to my mother, Daphne or my uncle." He shouts "I'm my own person, so don't put their failings on me!"
The room went silent for several moments until Griffin sighed "I apologize, it's just hard not to see the resemblance between you and him. I'll have the Trix monitored, but for the time being don't do anything stupid."
Austin nodded before with a snap of the headmistress fingers, the beast tamer found himself back in his dorm.
Curious Riven asked "Dude where have you been in the suit?"
Austin fell onto his bed as he answered "The finer details aren't important but the good news is the Trix shouldn't be a problem anymore."
Brandon noticed the difference between Austin's suit and the one he's seen in comic and said "Im guessing youre going through a rebrand?"
"Yeah, its about time I do my own thing. Im thinking Condor." Austin explained.
Several days passed as Team SABER were about to start the performance for the Day of The Royal.
Austin huddled the team together "Alright guys, our routine is solid and I've seen you bond with your dragons well. So let's show everyone here why SABER is the team to beat."
Sky exclaimed "Yeah, here's to my last day as a free man."
The team minus Austin mounted their dragons and flew into the stadium with an announcer stating " From lands, distant and unexplored - the mustang dragons! These wild and dangerous beasts are the fiercest dragons of all the known realms! But fear not, our boys have masters the art of dragon wrangling and will control the creatures one thought uncontrollable!"
As the dragon circled around in the air Riven complimented Timmy "Seems Austin's after school lessons helped you out."
"Yeah, but you and Garnet have been the best of buddies since you've meet." Timmy argued.
"Emerald didn't cover me in spit and we're a solid team." Brandon states.
Sky chuckles "True but you've always been a hit with the ladies, even dragons."
Just as the boys were about to descend , Riven and Garnet winched in pain as the broke formation.
The apart of the crowd began to flee as Garnet crashed into a wall. Sky exclaimed "RIVEN!" as he went to check on his teammate.
But to his shock, Garnet stood up and attempted to bite his dragon Sapphire.
Riven groaned in pain "I'm not sure what's going on but Garnet gone berserk."
Austin rushed to the commotion as he jumped up and mounted onto Garbet.
"Weird, Garnet usually isn't this wild." Austin said as he rubbed between the dragon's ears to calm it down but found it wasn't as effective as usual.
Riven took in reins and tried flying Garnet back into the stable yet the dragon seemed to be fighting every step of the way.
If matters couldn't get worse, the ground of the stadium erupted as two fairies flew out in the middle of battle.
Austin was unfamiliar with the blonde gem fairy but was surprised that Bloom was her opponent.
The Earth fairy conjured a shield to block several energy beams and immediately counters with a blast that sent the gem fairy crashing into the ground.
Sky rushed over to the two as he exclaimed "Diaspro."
Austin gasped as he realized that Bloom has been fighting the heiress of the House of Quartz and that Sky's secret was about to be revealed.
Shocked Bloom asked "You know her?!" As Diaspro latches onto the blonde specialist.
Bloom called out in disbelief "Brandon..."
Diaspro angrily corrected the girl "You worthless fan! His name isn't Brandon! This is Sky, Prince of Eraklyon and my beloved fiance! Now you-!"
Sky shoves past Diaspro, desperately wanting to explain himself "Bloom you have to understand.."
With tears flowing down her cheeks, she states "You don't have to explain anything!"as she flew away from the stadium.
Sky's dad, King Erendor, stood up and shouted loud enough one would think he was using microphone "Squire! Over here! Now!"
Brandon silently grunted as he ran over to the furious king and kneeled before him.
"Where's the security?! We pay your tuition at Red Fountain so that you can protect our son! This is an embarrassment and a disgrace!" The king said before angrily storming off with his wife and bodyguard.
As the rest of SABER were watching what was occurring, Timmy says "This isn't going to bode well for us will it."
Riven and Austin simultaneously shook their heads , worried about how this will affect not just their teammates but their friends from Alfea.