Chapter 4: School for Fairies
Ever since the day Taren was swept away from Destiny Islands, it was the hardest moment Sora and Kairi had ever experienced since the day he was born, fearing that their enemies would come after him. Kairi was in tears the moment she learned of his disappearance and used her husband for support while in an emotional breakdown worrying nonstop about what could happen to him, fear that something terrible had happened to him.
It was then they learned that not only was Taren the target, but so was Ben, Belle and Adam's son when their world was attacked by the creatures known as the Grimm. However, all is not lost as they learned about Yen Sid's gone but were told he was with the new keyblade wielders to train when they had recently been chosen as the new wielders. Sora was both proud and worried that his son was given a keyblade just like him but at the same time feared for his concern. The princess of Radiant Garden was slowly recovering, but still clinging to hope for his safety and bringing him home no matter how far he is, they will find Taren.
But one day, something changed when they heard the news.
"YOU FOUND HIM!?" Kairi and Sora both raised their voices so loud, that anyone in the building could hear them shouting from the top of their lungs.
"GAH!" Cid fell from his chair when they shouted after giving the news. , He was much older with greying hair from the sides and a short beard across his chin as a sign of his age. He remained physically active and Felt the ringing in his ears and narrowed his eyes at his parents who almost made him deaf. "Jeez! Will you turn down your voices?! I could lose my hearing if you keep at it."
Both of them calmed down until they responded, Sora held his hand on Kairi's shoulder who was blushing with embarrassment for startling Cid. "We're sorry, it's just that for the past several months we heard nothing from them and hoped he was ok at least."
Kairi nodded and agreed with him. "And especially with these Grimm about, we feared he might be in danger. But, is it true... you found him and Ben?" At least hoping to give some good news to Ben's parents, Belle must be as worried as she was.
"Well, at first we didn't, but it was just then we finally received word from the old man himself."
"Yen Sid?" Sora thought, knowing it had to be him.
"You got it. Seems the bastard who let those Grimm loose on our worlds hasn't found him, yet. Told me to tell you that the kid's fine." Cid reassured the parents, seeing them so relieved about it.
Kairi smiled and hugged Sora, crying in joy while struggling to fight off the tears. "Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to us."
Sora smiled and stroked her hair. "So where is he now?" Hoping they can find him and see him again, if what they found out is true that he's got a keyblade, it could be worth seeing how much his skills have improved.
Cid however, stroked the back of his head and chuckled nervously. "Ehh, see the thing is... he was on a planet called Earth, someplace named Gardenia."
Kairi smiled brightly. "Great! Then let's go there and... wait a minute, 'was'?" Not understanding what he meant, and she might not like the answer.
Gulped nervously and felt her staring at him, afraid of giving the wrong answer. "Well, not sure you're not gonna like it, but you better stay calm and not scream."
Outside his office, Tifa walked up to Riku after learning that they were here, possibly for an update on Taren and the other two teens' whereabouts. "Hey, Riku. Heard the great news." She smiled at the silver-haired male who stood by the door.
Riku looked at the busty brunette and returned the greeting. He was glad to know Taren was ok as was everyone. "Yeah, I'm certain Ben's folks will be very happy about it."
"Yeah, and best of all, they've got keyblades! That must be awesome!" She clapped her hands together.
"Well, if it weren't for the Grimm and new threat about, would've been a little different. But found out where he is, something his parents may not like."
Tifa smiled and "Oh come on, we waited seven months for this day. And besides it's not like something like this never happened before when you were their age and went on crazy adventures, How bad could it be?"
"He's WHERE?!"
Both of them suddenly jumped by Kairi's shrieked voice, possibly being told where Taren was that shocked her. "What the hell are they doing in the Magic Dimension?!"
"For crying out loud, woman! Inside voices!" Now they could hear Cid complaining about his ears from Kairi's outburst. This was new to Riku and was familiar with the place, but the thing is they sealed the veil between their realms for safety measures.
"Ok... I'm guessing it's bad?" Tifa asked him.
Riku turned to her and sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "It must be serious if the kids are there. But, I'm sure they'll be fine, like you said. Taren takes after his old man and no doubt is an exceptionally skilled keyblade wielder for sure. Ben's with him, so at least they'll help each other out."
"And no doubt, they'll be off going on adventures, fighting monsters, and villains, and saving damsels and distress." Tifa smirked, thinking it would be something that Taren would do, just like his father had saved Kairi many times.
It was one of those things everyone would be thinking about, eager to see a new generation of keybladers, out there making their own adventures. Yet, so much face in times of peril and danger.
They can only hope those kids would be safe and wait for the others to help them.
Magic Dimension
"ACHOO!"
Taren strangely felt a draft from his nose and sneezed jut after they made it to the world of Magix, unsure why but just did. Rubbing his nose to prevent another coming.
"Gesundheit." Ben said to him after he sneezed.
Taren rubbed and is feeling better now. "Thanks, weird, almost like someone far away just said my name."
Mal rolled her eyes and lightly shook her head when thinking he must be losing it or just trying to mess with them. She could now see the castle as the school for fairies. "So this is Alfea." Mal had to admit, it seemed impressive, and could feel the flow of magic stronger in the dimension than she was used to. They were in some sort of forest but can see the school
"Guess we finally arrived." She turned to see Ben behind her and seeing the school for fairies close by found Bloom looked pretty excited to learn magic as a fairy, even her parents were amazed by the sight of it. "Now we just have to think of a way to-"
Suddenly they heard Mike grunt as he just stopped his approach to Alfea, like he bumped into something.
Taren watched him held his hands out and didn't know what was going on. "Hey, something the matter?"
"I dunno. It's like an invisible wall." They watched as Mike was pushing his hands out, almost like he was doing a mime trick. But they were confused as Taren decided to walk passed him to try it out and felt nothing. Whatever it was, something was not letting Mike through.
"Don't feel anything."
Bloom walked past her father and felt nothing either, uncertain if he was fooling around. "Are you guys pulling on our legs?"
"No, honey, honest," Mike said defensively, Mal became curious about it. Stepping through and almost feels certain amount of magic between them, like some sort of barrier .
"He's right, there is something here." Mal brought their attention to her. Casting a spell to tap against where the invisible barrier should be, revealing its presence through a shimmering wave that was some sort of wall between them and Bloom's parents. "The reason you two can't go through is because you don't have magic."
"Oh, that's just the protection barrier to keep non-magic beings out. They do that sometimes." Stella remembered the rules and seemingly forgot about the protective barrier. Turning to Bloom's parents to break it to them. "I'm afraid Mal is correct, you can't go any further from here. Sorry about that."
"You-You don't mean..." Bloom couldn't believe her parents were not allowed to go any further, it feels too sudden for her to be separated from them already.
Vanessa was saddened to learn that neither she or her husband would see her daughter go to the new school due to the rules of this world. But was also sad to leave and bid farewell to their daughter and wish her the best. "I guess it's time to say goodbye, Bloom." Both she and her husband feel they should at least give some encouraging words to support her new goals.
The wielders of the keyblade felt bad for her to see them off so soon, the reason they could pass was that they used magic and wielded the keyblades despite being human. The teenagers watch Bloom leave the barrier to say goodbye to them, Ben smiles and remembers the last time he gave his goodbyes to his parents before leaving home, seeing his mom keeping a brave face and promising his dad that he'll make them proud. But Taren, he never got that chance with his family, only to have been whisked away from the islands to a far-off world after being attacked by the Grimm. Mal was very quiet when she watched them hug each other and give some encouraging advice before they left. She looked to the ground with a downcast expression. Her arms crossed and frowned softly, no one noticed but Ben who kept quiet.
Kiko runs up to his owner to stick close to her since he can pass through it.
"Taren, Ben, Mal." The trio turned to Mike who called out to them. "Listen, all I ask is if you can keep my daughter safe, and make certain nothing happens to her." He had a feeling he could trust them after helping Bloom last night against the Ogre and his ghouls.
"We'll make sure she's safe here." Taren assured her parents not wanting to see her hurt. Especially from the Grimm and any villains that might hurt her.
"And don't worry, she's in good hands." Stella knew they did not have much time and needed to get a move on. Whispering to Bloom's ear. "Come on we gotta go!"
Bloom promises them that she'll come back to see them on her break and keep in contact, once that is all done, Stella summons her scepter and sends them safely back to Earth. "Ready to take the plunge? Once you cross the barrier, there's no going back."
"My mind's made up, Stella I'm going with you." Bloom said and turned to the keybalde bearers. "What about you guys? Aren't you coming?"
Mal shook her head softly. "Sorry, but we gotta part ways and meet up with our mentor."
Taren sighed and almost forgot about that. "Yeah, Macbeth is probably here now and waiting for us."
Bloom looked a little disappointed to see them go so suddenly, wishing they could stay a little. She was very grateful for them saving her life and especially for Taren for coming to her rescue from the Grimm. "You sure?"
"We're sure, Bloom, also best not to say anything about us or our keyblades. The less anyone knows, the better." Ben said. "Just to keep a low profile for the time being." Can't reveal the whole truth and risk getting the girls involved since they promised her parents to watch over her during their mission.
"Oh, I see, to avoid the fans." Stella seems to have bought it. "No worries, I'm good at keeping secrets." Smiling brightly at them, yet somehow that didn't seem to make the others feel at ease after she told Bloom's parents about her origins.
"Yeah, maybe when we're not busy we could come around to visit and hang out." Taren offered and thought it wouldn't be so bad to hang out with them when not on missions.
This brightened up Bloom's crestfallen look and smiled at him. "Really? Y-Yeah that would be great!" Brushing the locks of her hair, suddenly felt shy for a moment, but couldn't explain why when thinking about it. Unaware of the blonde next to her was fighting the urge to smile.
"OK, you two can have fun later. But we gotta go before Macbeth gets impatient!" Mal grabbed him by the arm and yanked him from his feet as they made their leave before the fairies could say their farewells.
Stella watched them leave and turned to Bloom. "Well that's a pity, I would've liked to ask them more about their keyblades. But that Mal seriously needs to lighten up as if they were in trouble or something."
"You're not gonna keep asking them about wanting your own, are you?" Bloom looked at her, remembering what they told her about a bond with their blades.
The Solarian princess thought about what she said. "Hmm, that's not a bad idea. And if I do, it'll be beautiful and stylish like me!" She proclaimed just by thinking of it, causing the redhead to giggle and shake her head over such an idea. But, having to admit it is interesting to have one herself, if possible. Maybe next time she could ask Taren about how he got his in the near future.
"You know, you could've been a little easy back there." Taren had dusted his coat before sliding his hands in his pockets and narrowed his eyes at the witch for yanking him away from the girls. He didn't see the harm in just hanging out with them.
Mal looked over her shoulder at him. "Look, you heard what Master Yen Sid said, we need to keep a low profile while in Magix to find the you-know-what before Tezzeret does." Reminding him of the reason they came here for. This came at a surprise this coming from a witch that detests rules. She noticed the two looking at her with mixed odd and doubtful looks, causing her to sigh and placed her hands on her hips. "Hey, when it comes to either the keyblade master and sorcerer, along with a guy who trained us through 7 months of torture, would you want to make them mad?"
Both the boys stiffened upon the mention of it as she brought a valid point, the training they received was tough to become strong enough to face bigger foes than just the Grimm. But they didn't get off so easily if failed on practice runs or something like getting into trouble.
"Uh... good point. So long as he doesn't know what happened on Earth, we should be safe." Taren was positive things will turn out ok. "Gotta wait until they finish welcoming the students and we'll go in and meet the principal."
Ben agreed with him. "Besides, we should have more chances of contacting him here now. And if we get the chance Taren can have time for his date." Doing what he can from snickering on the last part.
"Yeah, we should-wait, what?" Taren looked at the brunette with a baffled look. Unsure what he meant by a date?
"Nothing." Acting all innocent and pretending he never said anything. Mal heard him and kept quiet since she knew what the prince was on about. "Anyway, he's right, best to approach the headmistress after the students have gone, she knows him well and perhaps Macbeth be here."
Mal looks at him and thinking over what he said, would perhaps be a good idea to inform her of their arrival in Magix as she is one of the three to contact with. "Well, when you put it like that, I guess it could work. Can use my magic to sneak in and check to make sure no students are present."
"Or perhaps you three can explain the reasons for snooping around outside the school grounds."
The keyblade wielders were startled to see a tall middle-aged woman who appeared out of nowhere and gave a stern look on her face with arms folded over her chest. She has straight brunette hair in a short sharp hairstyle and brown eyes, wearing a pair of sharp glasses to match her style, and wearing a navy blue dress.
"Who are you?" Mal asked her, tempting to bring out her keyblade if the woman was up to no good after sneaking up on them. But waited for her answer.
"I, young lady, am Griselda, Head of Discipline of this school. Now, I would like to whom the three of you are and what you are doing here?" Griselda inspected them with her glasses and was uncertain if they were up to no good or not.
Taren gulped nervously with that look of hers some reminded him a little of Yen Sid. "Uh, h-hey, we came here to meet the headmistress of Alfea."
"Yeah, we're apprentices of Master Yen Sid and were brought here to meet her." Mal added, feeling somewhat at ease but not sure if she believed them.
"Yen Sid?" Cupping her chin to think, hearing that name sounded familiar to her.
"Yeah, has a long grey bear, wears a blue robe and a wizard's hat." Taren gave her the description.
Mal nodded. "And always has that serious look on his face." No matter how much she tried, those piercing eyes were hard to ignore.
By now Griselda remembers the name well and who they were describing. "Ah, yes, Master Yen Sid. We were expecting you to be here yesterday." She responded and questioned for their lateness.
"Yeah, we ran into some trouble back on Earth." Ben said, knowing that they ran into a pair of Grimm on Earth.
"Well, you can explain everything to Headmistress Faragonda. But I expect you to be on your behavior while on school grounds. Is that clear?" Narrowed her eyes at the teenagers, mostly towards the two boys since Alfea is a school for girls learning to use magic as fairies, especially since this is the first day for new students and not want them to cause any disturbance. The purple-haired girl, however, looks like a troublemaker with the way she's dressed and the attitude she displayed just earlier, easily believed she was a student of Cloud Tower.
They all nodded to her in response, being used by those who speak with authority but have her reasons. Leading them into the school with all the students now in their dorms to settle in for their first semester. The trio took a glance at the school as they walked through and admitted it was nice up close, following the Head of Discipline to the headmistress' office but she stopped and turned to the three. "I will let her know you are here, so wait out here for a moment."
They nodded their heads and watched her enter first before they would. Moments later they walked into the office that had so many books, a large window, and a desk where an elderly woman with short curly grey hair stood behind the desk, wearing a blue top with white sleeves and a pink skirt down to her ankles and black shoes. Giving a warm smile to the three as she stepped forward. "I'm relieved to see that you managed to come safely, I had hoped to see our old friend again after many years."
"Well, he was needed back home to make sure the other Keyblade masters and allies are all ok. Said that once things are settled and the bridge between our worlds is fully open, he'll show up." Ben told her about the master sorcerer.
She understood his reasons for remaining behind for the time being but was a little concerned for the three students. Faragonda sighs and begins to explain to them what is happening. "As you are no doubt aware, the Magic Dimension is facing a growing peril as these creatures... the Grimm, are slowly becoming a danger to everyone in the realm of magic. Macbeth came to us the other day and explained that they were under the control of Tezzeret, which isn't good at all with his return."
Mal folded her arms over her chest and mentally agreed with her. "Yeah, which seems like he had others to work with him before we even got here."
This news was surprising to the two fairies of such discovery and not so well. "You mean, someone else can summon them?" Faragonda asked her, fearing that Stella might have been hurt since she was assigned to go to Earth to bring the keyblade wielders to Magix.
"An ogre by the name Knut. Had this thing, some kind of gem or something to command them but we took care of it. And Stella is fine with some help on the way." Ben assured her.
Griselda may be hard at times to discipline any student breaking the rules, but she does have a caring moment, relieved to hear about Stella's safety. "But, we still have problems with them but fortunately we have the barrier for that to keep intruders out for the students' safety."
"But at the time, we should be careful and find out what he's planning. Macbeth is already at Red Fountain with the headmaster, so until then you are guests in Alfea." Offering them the invitation and can find some spare rooms until further notice.
"What about Stella? She sort of found out about our keyblades." Taren pointed it out to her, including Bloom as well but didn't mention her in case.
"I'll have a word with her shortly, the less anyone knows the better." Faragonda said but more to say to them. "And that goes for you as well considering this is an important mission."
They understood perfectly but hoped that Macbeth wouldn't be mad for such a reason. They've been given credit for public transport and free to explore the city of Magix. Watching them leave, Griselda turned to her old friend. "Do you suppose it's right to let them be part of this? They are only children."
The headmistress sighed and would agree with her on the subject. "I understand how you feel, but after what Yen Sid told me about what happened to them was dreadful to be taken away from their families by Tezzeret and his Grimm. However, since they are the new chosen wielders of the keyblades we should give them a chance."
"I hope you're right." Griselda said but had something else on her mind. "But something has been bothering me this morning, about that student princess Stella was with, Varanda. Something about her seems odd."
Faraganda raised an eyebrow and was curious about it. "Varanda? The princess of Callisto? How odd, I could've sworn they sent a letter about her unable to attend the school."
This was something the Head of Discipline did not know. But had a feeling that the Solarian Fairy is part of this, but wondered if those three know something about her since they met Stella on Earth.
"So, seeing as Macbeth is out and granted us the day to relax, might as well have some time to explore." Ben suggested to his friends as they walked around the halls.
"I'm all for that. Man, I could go for something like a hot dog, maybe pizza... or some burritos." Taren grins while eager for food, all the cleaning up at Bloom's home has made him hungry.
Mal shrugged her shoulders and got the chance to find books about magic in this dimension. "Guess we might as well enjoy the spare time and know more about Magix." Going along with it, but also maybe get some souvenirs and spell books to learn.
"So you gotta take Stella's advice for fashion?" Taren resisted the urge to snicker.
Mal gave him a deadpan look. "Funny. Like I take the word from someone who advises on what I should wear after seeing her in that glitter outfit. At least she is in school and I'm not."
The boys were about to respond to her statement when they noticed two familiar faces at the end of the hallway. "Uh, wouldn't be so sure." Taren said. Before Mal could ask what she saw both Bloom and Stella came out, but with three girls they didn't recognize.
Bloom noticed them and was happy to see them. "Hey guys!" Waves her hand to them, the others but Stella doesn't know them and is curious to find out. She didn't expect to meet them so soon but was glad about it anyway, and ran up to catch up with the three. "Did you manage to meet Ms. Faragonda?"
"Hey, didn't expect to run into you here." Mal greeted her. "But yeah, seems our mentor is having some talk with the headmaster at Red Fountain."
"Well, fancy seeing you guys here." Stella greeted them before turning to Mal. "And Mal of course." Purposely pretending not noticing her for a moment, receiving a deadpanned look from the purple-haired teen.
"Remember, we promised to behave." Taren whispered to Mal, reminding her of what Griselda told them to avoid drawing attention themselves in Alfea.
Mal let out a sigh. "Fine." Crossed her arms over her chest. Considering the princess was lucky, for now.
Bloom didn't want her friends to start arguing in front of her new roommates. "Stella."
"Oh, chill, was only teasing to lighten the mood." Stella replied with a wave of her.
"Hello? Oh, I didn't know we had guests." A female voice came from their door, revealing a young girl with tanned skin, emerald eyes, and long soft brown hair with blonde highlights within her bangs. Her choice of attire consisted of a green midriff, an off-shoulder top, a pink skirt with strawberry decoration, yellow bracelets on each arm, and fushia platform pink sandals.
"Of course, me and Varanda met them on the way here." Stella told the brunette and then to Bloom-Varanda as she was now being called.
'Varanda?' The trio had the same thought in their mind, what was going on here and why did Stella call Bloom by a different name?
Bloom nervously smiled, knowing this would complicate things but will have to find some time to explain to them. "Oh, yeah, we just met them and kindly offered their assistance."
"Hope you are settling in, Varanda?" Mal raised her eyebrow and sounding a little suspicious, turned to Stella who seemed to be behind the scheme.
The blonde-haired teen secretly smiled sheepishly. "W-Well, she did say she usually likes to be called Bloom as a nickname, remember?"
"Guess that seems to make sense." Taren easily picked up on it and went with it, unknowingly earning a relieved and grateful smile from Bloom.
"So what brings you to Alfea?" They noticed two more girls show up, the first one had a light skin tone, teal-blue eyes, and magenta-colored hai hair in an asymmetrical hairstyle brushed to the side. She wore a purple and green sleeveless vest and pants, exposing her stomach and showing her hourglass figure. She didn't know why, but something about them seemed off. "Shouldn't you two boys be in Red Fountain?"
The last one had a blue shade of dark hair in pigtails with her bangs in a straight cut and blue eyes. Wore a red one-strap top, a purple armband on her right arm top, and a pair of baggy jeans. Like the other two, she didn't know them and wondered who they were, obviously not students in Alfea.
"Guys, these are our roommates, Flora, Tecna and Musa." Stella introduced the girls in order to the keyblade wielders in-training.
"Well it's nice to meet you, so what are your names?" The one named Flora gave a friendly smile to them.
"Same here, my name is Ben." The Auradon prince introduced himself first.
"Names Mal." But she had a feeling they already guessed when Stella mentioned her name.
"And I'm Taren, nice to meet ya." Taren came last to the rest of the girls. "We just went to meet the headmistress as being... exchange students to Magix."
"Really? Where from?" Tecna asked out of curiosity of what origin of planet they came from.
Both Ben and Mal gave a quick glance at each other to have an idea when Ben took the chance to answer her question. "From a remote world that decided to open up, Auradon. Obviously a place you wouldn't have heard about."
"So we were one of the first to be picked." Mal added with a smile.
"Well, wait until you see the wonders of this place." Flora seemed to buy their story and happy to meet new faces.
"Well, I'm certain the boys would do great in Red Fountain, especially for their amazing- keyblmmph!" A hand shot clasped over Stella's mouth, looking over to find it belonged to Mal, narrowing a glare at the blonde for almost revealing their secret.
Mal was mentally relieved to stop her from finishing the last part they were not supposed to hear. "Sorry, academy secrets that we can't risk exposing to others... for surprise events. Like to keep things safe, you know."
Bloom noted of Mal's excuse for silencing Stella when she realised that she almost said keyblades to her new roommates as it was supposed to be a secret. Decided to play along to avoid suspicion. "Guess she has a point, we just met after all. But hey, we were just heading to head out for a bite to get to know each other. Maybe you guys wanna come along since you wanted to see much of Magix."
Stella pulled Mal's hand off, slightly annoyed but got over it as she almost spilled their secret. "That would be a great idea. So whaddya say, be a blast to see the capital of the Magix Dimension?"
The wielders were thinking of it, would be a good idea to see the place easier. Before anyone could say a word, a strange gurgling noise caught everyone by surprise, and wondered where it came from. Until they saw Mal's face turning bright red and tried to hide the embarrassment on her face and hands over her stomach. They tried not to laugh but couldn't help by her reaction.
"Guess that answers the question." Flora giggled and tried to hide it.
"It's not funny!" Mal growls, having only a light breakfast when they spent the morning fixing Bloom's house after last night's battle with an Ogre and a Troll. Yet still had the blush on her face. Turned to the boys who tried as they might to hide the amused looks on their faces until she gave in by the second rumble of her stomach for food. "Alright, maybe a bite to eat would be a good idea." She thinks it wouldn't be so bad anyway to try out what they serve in this dimension.
"I'm all eager to check out the city while we have time." Taren wouldn't turn down the offer and get a chance to explore the new world.
"Great, I'm sure you'll love the place." Stella proclaimed and was happy for them to come along, and perhaps find out more about their keyblades while she was at it.
Hope you like it, was trying to build up the interactions between the characters, like wanting Taren and Mal to have some sibling-relationship, wanting to build up the development of the characters. I have ideas for each of their powers so thought I keep them a secret until they fight the Grimm and help the Winx and Specialists. If you have any ideas let me know, also ask for any betas on action since I might need some help with that in the near future.
There will be some appearances of KH characters that will make an appearance soon, not saying, but will leave some hints for you to figure them out. ^^