X - normal text
X - text where Bloom is not present
'X' - thoughts
'#$X#$' - Parseltongue
Chapter : : More than High School Pt.2
We got off the bus in outfits that Stella lent each of us (which helped to make our more flattering features stand out, so I guess I can't complain.
"Is this really necessary?" I complained, Tecna's hands were over my eyes. I really shouldn't have let it slip that I'd never been to Magix City, although that could've been deduced since I'd come from a magicless planet.
"I have yet to study a live expression of shock. This should prove both interesting and educational." I heard Tecna state from behind me. Despite myself, I rolled my eyes. I made a note to get this girl in check with her emotions more often. She sounded like the female version of that AI text-to-speech that I sometimes used when I played a video game with other people online.
I huffed. "Why must I be the guinea pig?"
"What's a guinea pig?" Musa asked curiously. I seriously needed to give these girls a crash course in Earth culture, otherwise, half of my humor here would end up making me sound like a crack addict. "It's another Earth expression. It roughly translates to 'Why am I the lab rat?'."
"Ah. A logical question." Tecna said, still not removing her hands from my face.
"Ok, we're here. Can you let go--" I cut off as she dropped her hands allowing me to see.
My jaw dropped as I stared at the technological city in front of us. Trees line the streets. Futuristic buildings, like something out of Star Wars. Hover cars, bikes, and buses moved up and down the streets (strangely with no traffic lights). There were roads high above, transparent blue energy that even more of those vehicles traveled on; like a freeway.
Most of the buildings were as tall as skyscrapers. Shops, restaurants, and beauty parlors lined the street as far as the eye could see. Televisions hovered outside of buildings and over streets. The wind rushed by us, ruffling my hair as a guy in a black hovercar with painted flames zoomed by.
And just like in Alfea's courtyard, there were dozens of people walking. Some girls moved in packs, to two or three, to just one. All of them were dressed in similar styles (flaring pants, short crop tops, bob or pixie haircuts, or long hair. miniskirts, and dresses), and their giggling was as loud as the magic buzzing in my ears. There were guys too, though they were fewer. All of them wore pants, close-toed shoes, and shirts that hugged their developed, chiseled chests and muscular arms.
In the distance, I could see what appeared to be a stadium of sorts, lights on poles rising high into the air. As I looked higher, I could see the sun moving west, casting shadows over the streets.
"Wow." I breathed, taking everything in. It shouldn't surprise me, but for someone who had memories of discovering the magical world deep in the past--Victorian/Feudal era--I was completely blown away.
"Based on your reaction, I conclude that Earth is technologically behind by six point three centuries." Tecna's comment disturbed my trance-like state.
"Uh, yeah." I rubbed my head as I looked around. "To be honest, I kinda expected there to be fairies zipping around like Tinkerbells, houses made from trees, wizards on flying brooms, hippogriffs, wand shops, hot guys riding on the back of dragons, and something more...feudal."
Musa chuckled. "That only happens in fairytales. Dragons do exist, but they live on Pyros primarily, apart from the few dragons still being tended to at Red Fountain. Most of the technology in Magix runs off of magic--", that explains the migraine building in my head, "--And Tinkerbell was an Air Fairy Godmother."
I blinked. "Wait, Tink was real?"
The other girls exchanged looks of amusement. "Yes, why?" Flora asked.
I shook my head. "Earth made a movie with her in it. And dozens of books."
Flora and Musa looked interested. I looked around some more, feeling all of the ambient magic in the air. "So, where do we start?"
"Why fashion of course!" Stella chirped, and the rest of us suppressed our groans as she dragged us to the nearest dress store.
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After an hour of going through most of the dress shops and girls' clothing stores, we decided to take a break. It was about four o'clock, nearing five, and some of us were getting a little hungry. Stella led us to a cafe she'd been to multiple times.
The cafe as it turns out was mostly outdoors, with only the kitchen, counter, and door to the bathrooms actually inside. Tables were spread out with chairs and umbrellas (yellow-white striped) in the middle.
We all chose a seat around the same table and fell into it, laughing. A girl with emerald green hair in a white apron and pink blouse came over, asking us what we wanted from the menu. I picked one up and studied it.
What? There were only four choices, but each had the weirdest name, along with a list of ingredients on the side.
Mooka Mokka was coffee (coffee, milk, and sugar).
Mooka Margarita was lemonade (lemon, sugar, salt, water).
Salty Mook was a...(salt, expresso, milk) salty coffee?
And Bitter Mook was a sour, salty coffee (salt, espresso, lemon).
Weird choices, but I could tell that no one around really cared all that much. I went with a Mooka Margarita, as that was the only one that made sense to me. It's lemonade.
The waitress came back a minute later with our orders, and then it hit me that I couldn't pay for this, for any of this. I leaned over to Stella. "Stella, I don't have any money."
She shrugged. "Chill, girl. I got your tab. It's the least I can do since you saved my life." her voice went real quiet at the end there.
I knew that Musa overheard us, as her eyes went wide, but a warning glance from me meant that she didn't ask. I suspected that she'd interrogate us later.
We were mostly quiet as we drank. "So, Bloom, how do you like Magix & Alfea so far?" Musa asked instead.
I shrugged. "I've been both impressed and slightly let down. Kinda hoped to see more magic and less technology, but I am very interested to see how the two were combined." I paused, then added, "As for Alfea, well, Stella can tell you my initial reaction to seeing it."
Stella burst into snickers. "Her reaction was too funny." I flushed red and glared as Stella eagerly told the others my reaction to seeing and speaking aloud about Alfea.
"Hey, Bloom. I haven't heard anything about Earth. We all know a bit about the other realms. What's Earth like?" Flora asked.
I smiled at her before taking a sip. "Well, it's very diverse. Imagine deserts, taigas, savannas, oases, forests, oceans, cities, ruins, landmarks, multiple continents, multiplied governments--each with their own culture and style of ruling their people, and no magic, and you have Earth."
"And you were there, Stella?" Musa asked, at least making an effort to get along.
Stella nodded, more excited to talk about my homeworld than the other realms. "Earth has such diverse cultures. Fashion, music, food, meditation, martial arts, militaries, religions, ideals."
I shook my head. "You will never find a more diverse planet than Earth. But it's home, and it's where I grew up."
"What's it like?" Musa asked eagerly, leaning in. The other girls all looked curious, Tecna (to my amusement) had out a digital notepad and a stylus.
I told them about growing up in my family in Gardenia. I told them about its beaches, the water. I talked about California, its education system, America & Britain's governments, theme parks (Disneyland), and some of the children & Grim Brothers' tales.
I gave them brief descriptions of the history of several kingdoms and empires. I told them about the American Revolution, the Roman Empire, and Genghis Khan. I talked about Shakespeare & his plays.
I talked about the multiple ethnicities and some of the darker facts related to their treatment of one another. I briefly touched on both World Wars, as well as the Cold War, and the American Civil War.
I talked about the magic and mythological lore of Earth & its religions and theories in history, including King Arthur, Camelot, Merlin, Morgana, the Gods of Olympus (Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Artemis, Ares, Hades, Poseidon), the Norse Gods (Thor, Loki, Odin), and children's Disney stories.
(I wished that I could talk about the Wizarding World, but it doesn't exist here)
I talked until my throat turned sore and the sun was starting to set. By then, we'd ordered food from another restaurant and Tecna had forty-six digital pages of notes on Earth's culture, government structure, currency, and what little I recalled of their politics.
"Wow. Earth is so diverse. You weren't kidding." Musa said through a mouthful of what I assumed was spaghetti.
"Seeing it believing," Stella said as she twirled her fork around. "And they have this food on Earth called pizza. It is literally the best baked savory dish I've ever tasted. If I can, I plan on making it a popular item in Solaria. Maybe even the national dish."
The other girls quieted and listened as Stella gushed about pizza. All this talk of home reminded me that I'd promised to call my parents. "Uh, girls, do any of you know how to work this?"
So saying, I pulled out the phone the Headmistress had given me. Predictably, Tecna gasped. "That's the Zen-16 cell phone! With all of the latest features. It's got a CPU integrated with a VD-58fg chip designed to run at an approximate speed of 341.35% MGHZ.M per--" Tecna spouted off what I call technobabble for the next three minutes before the girls showed me how to work it.
It was very different from an Earth phone. Take the Samsung design, for example. On most of its models, you have the arrow tab (to go back), the home button (usually a square), and a set of lines (to check what tabs you have open) at the bottom of your screen. Those were at the top of the Zen-16 phone.
The search bar (kinda like Google, but here it's called Magi-Net) was at the very bottom of the phone. Apps were scattered in folders in the middle, with the time & weather (set to the Magix planet) just above the search bar.
It took a while but with Stella & Tecna's help, I was able to figure out what app did what. Another thing: Magix had no emotes. No emojis! I definitely had to introduce that to this world. If I couldn't spam fire emojis whenever I wanted, I was going to freak out.
While the girls waited by the fountain, I moved onto a small side street (technically an alleyway if you wanna be specific) and pressed call.
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Violet was in her sister's room, which felt colder, more empty, despite it only being a day. Most of Bloom's stuff was still here, including her collection of Transformers. Violet smiled as she recalled her sister trying and failing to imitate Optimus Prime's voice.
Ever since they returned to Earth, Violet had been keeping her head on a swivel for the pale man with odd red hair. He hadn't shown himself since Stella left, but then again, neither she nor her mother had done any more magic.
She brushed her arms, feeling the chill in the room. Bloom was her step-sister, but as she'd said when both of them were little girls; you choose your family, blood doesn't have to define it.
And Bloom had chosen them--chosen her. She wanted her as her sister, and Violet loved her for it. Sure, they argued--what sibling didn't?--but no matter what disagreements popped up between them, they always found a way to work things out.
Bloom was the kind of girl to tackle things head-on, no matter what they were. To Violet's own shame, she was more of an escapist, always looking for a way to avoid her problems. Her sister tried to help her, even when she had that odd period of acting more like a guy than a girl and hating skirts with a vengeance.
Violet's lip twitched. You couldn't piss off her sister faster back then than if you ordered her to wear a dress or a skirt back before she and Andy started going out.
She was pulled from reminiscing when the phone that her future headmistress, Faragonda gave her lit up with a buzz. Violet leaned over, seeing the number, and the name. BLOOM.
The name made her heart thud. "MOM! DAD! BLOOM'S CALLING!" she shouted down the stairs before swiping up.
Then her sister's face appeared on the screen, the cheeky girl grinning from ear to ear. "Hey, sis! How's it hanging?"
It was understandable when Violet burst into tears.
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"Everything's great." I'd smiled for so long that my face was starting to hurt, but I didn't care. Despite it being less than a day, I couldn't help it. I loved my adoptive (technically last life's) family beyond words. It wasn't until I saw them that I realized how much I missed all three of them (their faces were crowding in the camera).
"Did you get an apartment with Stella?" Mum asked me.
I nodded. "Her and three other girls. Flora, Musa, and Tecna. Three guesses as to what their powers are."
My family chuckled. "Plants, music, and technology?" Violet said with a smirk.
"Ding ding ding!" I mock-raised an arm.
"Do you have homework yet?" Dad asked.
I shook my head with a slight giggle. "No, we start tomorrow. We were given today to explore Magix City and Alfea."
"What's it like?" Mum asked. I responded by switching the camera and pointing it in the direction of the street. I heard three 'ah's on the other end. I turned it back. "It's the most futuristic thing I've ever seen--makes Star Wars look like a joke, well apart from the wars and stuff. Everything here is powered by magic if you can believe that."
"Crazier things have happened." Mum chuckled. Movement caught the corner of my eye. I looked away from the phone and saw the same ogre that led both attacks on Stella and my home sneaking down another alleyway. And he was wearing the same pair of overalls too. What a surprise, the ogre hasn't heard of this amazing concept called a washing machine.
"--Bloom?"
"Hm?" I snapped my head back. "Sorry, the girls are calling me back." I hated to lie to them, but informing them would only cause them to worry more. And if there's one thing I've learned, it's best to leave a dead enemy at your back than a living one.
They gave me understanding smiles. "Go, have fun!" Mum said. "No boys!" Dad added. Violet gave me a mischievous look. "Better befriend your dormmates quick Bloom, and share your embarrassing stories. Because I know what I'll do once I get to Alfea."
"Love you guys. Bye!" I flushed red and hit 'end' on the call. Slipping the phone back into the pocket of my jacket, I zipped it up and then traced the Ogre's steps with Fairy Sight (technically Mage Sight, but whatever).
It seems that the big lump left a trail of faint dark magic in his wake. I followed it down two alleyways before spotting him, leaning around the corner. I turned to see what he was looking at (& why it seemed so familiar) when it hit me. There was the fountain that we were supposed to rendevous at when we were done.
Tecna and Flora were sitting on the edge while Musa and Stella were standing, and looked to be arguing. I sighed, rubbing my brow. Could those two not get along? I didn't want to deal with that all year while dealing with migraines. Merlin knows I endured enough inter-friend arguments from Ron and Hermione.
'He's spying on my dormmates'. My eyes narrowed. 'Just what are you up to?'
When he moved away, I followed, using my Hitwizard training and sticking to the shadows (it's not like I could just cast a disillusion and silencing charm on myself & follow...actually, that's something I'll have to test at a later date).
To my surprise, the yellow oaf didn't go far, only two alleyways down. While he entered, I snuck behind some silver canisters that were six times the size of fire extinguishers. Just big enough for a slender frame to hide behind.
"Finally. It took you long enough, Knut." The voice had the icy, detached, cold tone of a pureblood down pat. I was amused by the ogre's name, but more concerned about the ones who clearly hired him. Peeking over the canisters, I saw three girls (I assumed witches) whose clothing and makeup Lavender Brown would have a heart attack over.
The first (& the one that spoke) was the tallest of the bunch. She had a cerulean blue-green outfit That was snugly wrapped around her body and showed off her curves (kinda like a catsuit). Something that looked like a finger trap of the same color with three pale blue-white diamonds held up her silver-white hair (the rest of it fell from the raised end down to her thighs). Over her shoulders were two crests that looked like they were made from pure ice. An 'I' was over her waist, also made out of ice.
The inner part of her outfit was a deep blue, as was her cape that rested over both her shoulders. Her wrists to her forearms were covered in the same material. She wore ridiculously raised heels that rose up, stopping just at her knees in dark aqua green. Around her eyes (eyelids & the immediate area around them) was blue-green eyeshadow. Around her neck was a choker of the same color as the main part of her outfit with more of those oddly-colored diamonds.
The second stood to the left of the middle & lead figure. Of the three, she had the smallest boobs, and her grey-auburn hair was a cross between an afro & an unwashed disaster (like someone who had bedhead for weeks but never washed it). Of the three, she also had the most muscle (still less than say, Hermione, but definitely toned).
Her catsuit went from her shoulders down to her upper thighs, leaving the pale pink tights underneath to cover her skin down her long legs to her (again, ridiculously) high heels, this time in pinkish-magenta. Her elbows down her forearms to her wrists were also covered in that weird forearm cover of the same design. Much like the lead witch, she had a choker around her neck--pinkish-magenta, with pale pink diamonds set in the middle. What looked like lightning was sizzling and bouncing between her fingertips. She too had a letter over her stomach, this one being an 'S' made out of active lightning, though I couldn't hear the crackles or sizzles.
The third and last one was half-blocked by the big lump, but I could tell that she was shorter than the other two, and appeared to have a similar dress & makeup style. Her hair was light brown, though it darkened the further down in shades it went. Her shoulders were covered just like the ice-themed witch, but her crests looked like the Void. Starry but dark, eternal night. Her letter was also that same, inky dark void color, in the shape of a 'D'.
"Well? Did you find the Earthling?" the lead one drawled as the ogre blocked my vision of the third witch, which was bad.
"Uh, no, your nastiness. But I saw Princess Stella. And she's wearing the ring." the ogre growled.
So, they're after Stella's scepter. And they hired this yellow lump to do their dirty work for them. And they want to know where I am...likely to 'teach me a lesson for interfering with their plans'. Seriously, after fighting multiple Dark Lords and a lady, all of their monologues tend to blend together.
He pointed in my direction and I ducked down. Thinking quickly, I sent a text to Stella. I waited several moments before peeking out again.
"Where is she?"
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The girls were sitting around the fountain. Stella was standing and Musa was leaning against a light post. They all looked bored, except for Tecna, who was adjusting something on a weird device she had.
"That's weird," she murmured, too quiet for anyone except Flora to hear.
"Has something come up?" Flora asked. "Not that it's my business or anything--but..."
Tecna turned to her, not seeing any reason to not explain what she was fiddling with. "It's a device I built to detect large amounts of magic. Active, or passive--and right now, I'm getting a strong energy reading."
"Could that not simply be Magix City?" Musa asked from her place.
Tecna moved her arms in what could be considered a half-shrug. "I do not know. I do not have enough readings of the city yet, but this energy appears to be fluctuating, like when magic is cast."
None of the girls could think of anything to say to that. Maybe it was just a weird occurrence, or something else.
"Stella. How come you and Bloom are so close?" Flora asked.
"Yeah," Musa added. "You claim to have only met a few days ago, but the way you two act around each other makes us think you've known each other for years."
"Well," Stella drawled. "I haven't known her for years."
"But you're close." Musa pressed. "What could've caused you to become so close in such a short amount of time? Or caused her to save your life?"
That drew the attention of both girls, who looked like they wanted answers too.
Stella scowled at her. "It's none of your business."
Musa crossed her arms. "No need to be so rude."
"That's rich coming from you." Stella crossed her arms. "No respect for privacy. Didn't your mother teach you not to eavesdrop on other people's conversations?"
"Didn't your mother teach you that if you want to keep something a secret, you should talk about it elsewhere?" Musa shot back, anger flashing across her face. Stella's expression flashed with something--hurt?--before it hardened.
Musa could feel Stella's anger, as well as an overwhelming feeling of concern for Bloom, a bit of guilt, and more worry than she could comprehend. She struggled under the sudden onslaught of emotions.
Despite being a Fairy of Music, she also was unlucky enough to inherit the powers of a mind fairy: that of an empath. She could feel people's emotions, which is why she usually blocked them out.
But Stella's emotions were running rampant, and Musa's body was confusing the emotions she was feeling with her own; resulting in her growing angry, tense, and worried too. She was already pissed at the jab at her own mother, not that Stella could've known, but angered her all the same.
Both girls stood, facing each other. Tension was heavy in the air, and both girls looked ready to pounce, coiled like springs.
"Hey, speaking of Bloom, where is she?" Flora said, glancing around. "Didn't she say that she was going to call her family?"
"Calls to families should take approximately five to ten minutes," Tecna said matter-of-factly. "Any longer than this forces me to add clauses for emotional breakdowns."
Stella had been ignoring her phone buzzing in her pocket for the last two minutes. Her gut screamed at her that something was wrong with Bloom. She picked it up and saw a message in her DMs from the very girl they were curious about.
9:16: Stella.
Found ogre. Hired by witches. Am eavesdropping two blocks east, in an alleyway.
They want the scepter. Don't know why yet.
Stella unleashed a series of curses, angry at herself for not checking sooner, and at the very girl, she was cussing out for going alone.
"What's wrong?" Flora asked, despite not understanding what a 'stupid, idiotic bitch' was (English, not Magiris), she understood that Bloom had gotten caught up in something bad.
"You want to know why Bloom and I are so close?" Stella asked as she motioned for them to follow her. Not waiting for a reply, she continued, "I was attacked by an Ogre and over two dozen Ghouls the day I left Solaria to head to Magix for private lessons."
All three girls gasped in shock. Tecna held up a holodisk and an image of the creature that attacked Stella appeared, along with a lengthy description that Tecna started reading.
"Ghouls. A dangerous entity created from an XXX-class restricted Summoner's Rite. Consists of concentrating the life force of livestock into demented, decaying creatures with small auras of dark magic. Raw magic is best suited to destroy them--" Tecna rattled off before Stella interrupted.
"Bloom came across our battle and helped me drive them back. She didn't even transform, didn't even know how, but she had done powerful, raw magic. After they fled, I passed out, only to awaken and discover that she and her mother brought me home a day ago." She heard gasps behind her but didn't stop, if anything, she sped up her walk.
"I learned that Bloom was adopted, though neither she nor the family that took her in know anything about her ancestry, realm, or where she came from." Stella cursed again as traffic changed, and they had to wait for the rows of hover cars to pass. "We were learning more about each other and sharing our cultures and schools when, that night, the ogre breached the back door of Bloom's house with more Ghouls and a hunter troll."
The gasps of her dormmates behind her grew more understanding, and shocked. "Bloom dealt with the ogre, blasting him out the front door--", snickers and a bit of laughter, "--before she helped her family to destroy most of the Ghouls. I fought the hunter troll and the ogre before I was knocked around so hard that I got paralyzed temporarily." And wasn't that a terrifying experience for the young fairy?
"Bloom tried to get me out of the troll's way, only for her to get grabbed instead, and nearly crushed to death while the ugly thing molested her," That had given her nightmares, which was a part of the reason why she'd taken to 'mother-henning' Bloom as she liked to call it.
Musa growled angrily (surprising Stella), and Flora looked angry. "Bloom was saved when a Specialist team I knew arrived and turned the tide."
The traffic changed, and Stella sprinted down the crosswalk to the other side, the other girls panting as they tried to keep up with the angry princess. "The Ogre and a few Ghouls escaped while the Specialists took the troll back to Red Fountain. I spent a week with Bloom as we healed, that's how I knew about Earth culture. Nothing quite like facing death together to build a friendship."
"But what does that have to do with her condition now?" Tecna asked, not seeing a connection as they rushed to keep up with Stella.
"Because Bloom just texted me. The brainless girl followed the ogre that attacked us both to an alleyway--right there!" the blonde pointed out grimly, where you could see flashes of light--spells. A chill went through the girls, Bloom was under attack!
The shriek of a girl--Bloom's shriek, prompted them into action. They ran forward, across the street (which was thankfully barren of cars). "But who hired the ogre?" asked Tecna as they reached the other side.
They turned the corner and froze at the sight of a red-haired girl who was frozen, suspended in a block of ice, her back arched mid-jump, an expression of fear and anguish on her face.
And three young women stood around that block of ice, a yellow ogre at their backs.
"Bloom!" Stella whispered, her eyes glowing molten gold.
Flora's eyes were glowing violet as she looked at their enemies. "Witches." the timid Nature Fairy hissed.
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Three minutes ago:
I slipped my phone back into my pocket, my heart beating loudly in my chest.
"Where are they?"
"I spotted Princess Stella standing with her friends next to the fountain."
"That's too open for us to act." The lead witch spoke.
"Why did you take so long?" the one in pinkish-magenta snarled, sounding eerily similar to one late Bellatrix Lestrange.
"I had to track them slowly and from the shadows, otherwise I would've been spotted." I could spot fake groveling when I saw it, though it seems these three in their hubris didn't.
"And you're certain that it's the princess?" I heard a calm, cool collected tone, with tension laced within her voice. I shuddered, it sounded too close to a feminine Diary-Riddle for me to be comfortable with. "Because if you're wrong, Knut, we will make you regret it."
"I am sure, your wickednesses!" 'Knut' spoke again, now completely devoid of all the growling.
"The ring is close, I can sense it." The witch with the 'S' said.
Then, I saw the witch with 'D' whisper something to the other three that I couldn't hear. Then, Knut shifted so he was blocking the view of the alleyway. I scowled. 'Move, you fat oaf'.
I wasn't about to move and expose myself. I did notice that all three of them seemed tenser. My heart was pounding faster. Had I been spotted?
Then Knut started speaking. "So, I think the Earthling girl was with Princess Stella--"
Warning bells went off in the back of my brain. My instincts kicked in as I felt a subtle aura of dark magic behind me. Witches. Without turning around, I shifted quickly on my hands and kicked out, striking someone's shin before sweeping their legs. A pained groan was heard before someone behind me fell.
I spun and saw that it was the third witch in purple, the one on the right. But...how? I turned, peeking over, only to see the girl standing there vanish. My eyes widened, and I turned back, only to see that she'd gotten on her hands and knees, staring at me with anger in her dark yellow (with flecks of gold) eyes.
'Shit'.
"Surprise!" she hissed as she raised her hands and blasted me with a psionic wave (a more sound-based version of mind and shadow magic). I was slammed into the canisters and ungracefully flopped over them to my knees, my hairband snapping under the magic and my body in pain from the magic assault.
I slammed every mental shield I had up (this girl used an illusion spell, I was taking no risks with my mind), wincing as the searing pain coursed through my body. I glanced up to see all three witches standing above me with cold (close-lipped) smiles on their faces. Their eyes looked like those of wolves that were about to devour their prey and relish in its pain.
These were the kind of witches that Faragonda warned us about. Despite myself, my lip twitched upwards. 'The Potter Luck strikes again'. I thought as I struggle to my feet.
This close, I could feel each of their auras, dark, and dangerous. The ice theme witch felt cold and unforgiving. The lightning-themed witch felt chaotic with insanity. And the void one felt like a darkened well that I could never escape from.
"So, did you like our little joke?" the one with the lightning giggled darkly.
I raised a brow at them before getting to my feet and dusting off my jacket. "Not really, this jacket was kinda expensive."
I studied each witch carefully, including where their hands were. "I assume that the big yellow lug belongs to you?"
"Ignorant girl. You must be a fairy." Sniffed the 'D' witch, who was now sporting a bruise on her cheek, and seemed to be favoring her left side slightly.
I could feel the Dragon Flame within me yearning to burst out. All the memories I'd fed it had turned it slightly. While the Flame was still a light-grey magical power, its sentience was pure grey, based on the experiences it gained from its keeper.
"That's her! She's the one who attacked me on Earth." Knut pointed at me.
The white-silver-haired witch eyed me with some wariness, but also dark amusement. "So, you're the princess's new bestie?"
I guided some power to my eyes, glowing orange. "I'd stay back. Unless you want a live demonstration of what I did to poor little Knut when he touched me."
The witches' eyes widened as they glanced back at the ogre (where his injuries had been) before looking back at me with surprise. That surprise quickly turned into identical, malicious shark grins.
"The little Earthling girl wants to play."
"I say we teach her a lesson."
"I agree, dear sister."
They were in sync and their powers were familiar...they were just like...Oh my god.
My eyes widened. My heart beat faster, and I felt a shiver go down my spine. The Ancestresses had destroyed my kingdom to get their hands on the Dragon Flame. And these three sound too similar to them to be a coincidence.
I glared fiercely. "Stay back, I'm a fairy!" There was more bravado in my voice than I was feeling at that moment.
"Stay back, I'm a fairy". the lightning witch mocked in a baby voice that actually did get me angry. If my aura wasn't behind Occulmency barriers, these witches might've figured it out or at least suspected something.
"Well, little fairy, it seems Alfea forgot to tell you a few things." The girl in purple purred, her eyes cat slits.
"Do tell," I said as I began to formulate a plan that gambled on Stella and our dormmates showing up on time.
"Didn't Griselda warn you to, oh, what was it? Ah yes. 'Stay away from the witches of Cloud Tower'?" she drawled.
I raised a brow. That was astonishingly accurate. "Last I checked, Magix is a free realm. I go where I want." Gotta stall them, keep them at bay, come on Stella. Where are you?
The lightning witch chuckled, the sound deep and throaty. "Oh, I like this one. She has fight in her."
"Who are you three, anyway?" I asked.
The girls all shared a dark look before turning to me. The girl with ice stepped forward, and I felt a sudden chill in the air. Pain exploded in my head and reeled back as she unleashed the full might of her aura, glowing a soft, crystal-blue hue.
"I, am Icy, the witch of Ice," Icy introduced before her hands glowed, and ice shards exploded out from the ground to encircle my body and arms in a cage. I yelped, the cold freezing my body, and the magic attacking my senses.
"I, am Darcy, the witch of Darkness." the witch I'd tripped introduced herself before blasting another psionic attack at me. It shattered the ice and threw me back into the ground. I winced, getting off my back, but struggling to get to my knees, taking strangled gasps. The active ambient magic was hurting me even more than the wards of Alfea, and I was unsure how much more abuse I could take.
The third and final witch stepped forward. I glared at her weakly. "I, am Stormy, the witch of Storms!" Her arms glowed, crackling with lighting before a fucking tornado erupted from the ground and flew in my direction.
I struggled to get to my feet, only to be pulled into the tornado. I yelped as I spun around, flipped upside down, and then launched out of the tornado into the night sky. Thinking quickly, I reached out and managed to grab purchase on the wall.
'Dammit Stella! Where are you?' I thought as I hung there, listening to the three arses below laugh and cackle at my predicament.
I was suddenly pulled from the wall by a levitation spell, rather chilly (which told me which witch cast it), "I don't want to leave you hanging, so come on down." By down, she meant slamming me into a bunch of boxes, which broke under my fall.
I felt bruised and battered all over. My nerve ending felt similar to how they felt while I'd been under a weak Cruciatus curse. I could already see blackness appearing at the edges of my vision. No! No! No!
"Oh, thank you for your generosity." I mocked as I struggled to turn over, getting to my hands and knees again. "Also, did your mothers get dropped on the head? How is Darcy the only normal name among you?"
The three of them gasped, Darcy covering her hand with her mouth. Stormy's face turned red and Icy's turned pink.
Then I winced as a heel dug into my hand. "Since when do fairies give their saviors such disrespect?" Stormy growled.
"Since they don't give a shit." I hissed, glaring up at her. "Also, they don't thank the bitches who put them in the situation in the first place."
Stormy kicked me. I gasped as my side flared with pain--Merlin those heels were bloody sharp. I think she might've busted a rib.
"Oh, what's that?" I taunted, my anger getting the better of me. "A little too close to home?"
I heard them growl and I grinned.
"Look pixie, since you're here, you can help us with something." The purple- catsuit witch said. "We want Stella's scepter, and you're going to get it for us?"
"Out of the goodness of my heart?" I scoffed. "Find another lackey, arses."
"Icy, please let me fry this fairy trash." The magenta-catsuit witch begged.
"No." Icy stepped forward, and grabbed me by my chin, lifting me up so that I was to my knees. She looked into my eyes, her's shades of blue lighter than my own. "Look, whatever your name is, you're going to help us pixie. Or else we'll make you pay for what you did on Earth."
"You don't scare me." I stared into her eyes, refusing to blink, or shiver in fear. "I won't quiver in fear or cower at your feet. You're just a bunch of bullies."
Stormy burst into mocking laughter. "Bullies? That's the best you could come up with?"
I glared at her. "I was referring to those two. You're just nothing."
She growled, lifting her hand, sharp nails shining. Then she moved them down the intent to rake my face. I flinched, involuntarily shutting my eyes and twisting my head to the side, bracing for pain that never came.
"Ha ha!" I peeked through my eyelashes to see Stormy stepping back, looking very satisfied with herself. "Made you flinch."
"Let me go, and we can pretend this never happened." I offered, though I doubted that they'd accept.
Icy released my jaw and I looked to the side, staring at the floor instead of them. "You already know too much, fairy."
"Cliche, much?" I muttered in amusement. Alright, the time to play possum is over.
I sprang to my feet, faintly registering the flare of pain in my head, and Icy's cry as my head rammed into her jaw.
She stumbled back, clutching her mouth, which was turning red, even in the dark. Her eyes flickered with weakness and anger.
Stormy's eyes flashed, and she stalked towards me. "Why you--"
'WHAM!'
Her head snapped up & back as my fist connected with her jaw. Taking advantage of her weakness, I punched Stormy again, this time in her gut, knocking her down.
"Ouch," I muttered, shaking my hand; my knuckles were bruised. I hadn't fought anyone, though I retained my combat knowledge as a child soldier and a wizard. I knew how to fight, I had my instincts, I had endurance, but my body lacked combat skills. James wasn't very enthusiastic about the idea of his daughter taking Kung Fu classes.
"The movies make it look so easy," I muttered aloud as I massaged my swelling appendage. Great, I hope I didn't break anything.
Darcy looked astonished, her sisters were clutching their wounds, their expressions livid. Knut looked surprised.
"What?" I said as I moved back into a fighting position, ignoring my throbbing hand and side. "Didn't think that a poor, weak, helpless fairy needed magic to beat up some bitches?"
I really should learn to keep my mouth shut.
Both girls bared their teeth and snarled in unison. "Knut! Get her!"
"With pleasure." He rumbled before charging at me.
I waited until he was close enough to snatch me, then I slid under him. Bringing my power to my arms, I grabbed the ogre's fat ankle and tugged.
"WHa--oomph!" he groaned as he slammed face-down on the cement.
I jumped back up. "Now that's a faceplant," I said while cracking my neck. "Who's next?"
I noticed that Darcy was gone. I turned, only for there to suddenly be eight of her surrounding me. I snorted. "How stupid do you think I am, Darcy?"
"Very stupid, to challenge us." all eight of them said at once.
I raised my brow, trying to hide how much the active magic was impacting me. I turned my head, trying to keep an eye on all of the illusions at once. She'd been smart to mask her aura this time, which meant that I had no clue which witch was which (yes, I went there).
As they approached, I raised a hand and thrust it out. Using extreme control, I unleashed the weakest magic burst that I could.
Fire, sparkles, and embers flew in the direction of the witches, before suddenly sagging and dispersing in front of their surprised faces, which quickly grew confident. If I wasn't so worried about how much more punishment my body could handle, I'd have been more pleased that my deception had worked.
"Remind me Knut, this is the super powerful Earth girl?" the ice witch drawled from behind the circle of eight Darcys. "The one that took your Ghouls on with one hand?"
"I am powerful." I glared.
"Touche." a voice behind me said before all eight blasted me at once. It was from every side...it was overwhelming. Pressure and magic struck me from every side. There was no escape, and for the first time, I felt helpless, writhing in pain.
I cried out in pain as something exploded in my eardrums.
The world had gone silent around me, as though I was deaf to everything but my own heartbeat. I collapsed to my knees, feeling something leak out of my ears. I touched one, and it came back with blood. I looked around...why was it so quiet?
I looked up at them, all three together. Why were they laughing? Why couldn't I--no. No.
My heart seized.
'I couldn't hear. They'd taken my hearing. I couldn't hear. It's silent.'
The mantra repeated in my head, fueling my rage. I saw red. I dropped one of my shields, barely registering the pain. I screeched like an enraged harpy before rushing them, fire forming around my body, enhancing my muscles.
Their eyes widened I ducked under a lightning blast, then a shard of ice, then another lightning blast. As I got closer, their fear became more visible.
Then Darcy--the witch who took my hearing was in front of me. I cocked back my fist and swung forward--and then was knocked to the ground by a psionic attack.
While I was flying through the air I saw their mouths moving, but I couldn't hear. Then, something cold slammed into me. That feeling grew colder and colder. I'd stopped moving, tears streaming down my face. I shrieked, not that I could hear it, the fact only made me scream louder.
I couldn't hear, and though I couldn't see it, I knew that ice was enveloping me. I felt ice wrap around me like cold, unforgiving chains. Then, I was frozen, my body as still as the sound, the icy chill freezing me. My tears froze on my cheeks as ice consumed me entirely, something warm and liquid dripping from my ears.
I could barely see long nails carve lines down the ice prison in front of my face. Then, I willingly surrendered to the darkness and knew nothing but the void.
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"Ha ha ha." the lightning witch cackled as she removed her nails. "You're pretty tough for a fairy, although your Winx is weaker than your punch."
"And now, she's met the Trix." the witch with what looked like a starless void in her hands sniggered.
Stella marched into the alleyway, fury in her gaze. "Hey! Bitches!"
The witches spun in surprise. "Hello, princess."
"So, you know who I am." Stella's knuckles whitened. "Then you know what I'll have my realm do if you don't let her go!"
"Sadly, we aren't in the habit of giving away prizes. But, if you hand over the scepter, we might not shatter her into tiny pieces."
"Not a chance. What have you done to Bloom!" she demanded, her magic simmering just under her skin, ready to make these three pay. The ogre too.
"So, that's this little pixie's name? How pathetic." sneered the witch in blue-green.
"I'd say that she's not so pathetic. Especially since it looks like she roughed you up." Musa observed, noticing the way the brunette in purple favored her right side with a limp, the red and purpling jaw that the white-haired witch had, and the noticeable bruise on the frizzy-haired girl's cheek while her other arm was placed protectively in front of her abdomen.
All three witches snarled in anger, before a glamor hid their injuries.
"Back away," Stella growled, her eyes on the purple-clad witch when she moved to scratch her nails on the ice. "You do not touch her."
The one in magenta cackled before poking the ice with a finger. "I'm touching her, I'm touching her." she taunted. "What are you going to do, bimbo?"
Stella gritted her teeth, her body shivering. The other girls would've thought that it was from the chilly air were it not for the rage lining every muscle in the blonde's face.
"We need to be careful," Flora whispered as she studied the witches with Fairy Sight. "Their auras are powerful."
Tecna noticed something else as she studied the witches' auras. "Judging by your auras, you've been using Dark Magic for at least three hundred and forty-five days, something which is banned by the Council of Light."
"Oh great." the one with frizzy hair snarled. "An aura-seeing Zenithian."
"Enough of this!" Stella burst out. "You either let Bloom go, or I'll unleash the full power of Solaria on your asses."
"Stella, language." Flora gasped.
"How cute." the brunette chuckled. "You think you can threaten us? Why don't we have Icy thicken the red-haired bitch's prison?"
"You wouldn't." Stella braced herself. The thought of her friend suffocating and dying in the ice was too much for her to bear. Bloom had been her rock, supporting and encouraging her ever since she met her. She'd risked her life for her, and they'd only just met.
She reluctantly let the magic she'd been gathering in her palms fade.
"Good." The ice witch purred. "Now hand over your scepter."
Stella stared at her ring, the one her father had entrusted to her. It wasn't just to help her relearn to control her magic. It was also to give her another sense of responsibility and train her for the day that she was to be crowned queen.
Her hand shook as she struggled to make her choice. Fortunately, Tecna stepped in. "It's illogical."
"What is?" The frizzy-haired witch demanded. "What's illogical?"
"You are outnumbered," Tecna replied confidently. "We all have our powers. It is four against three."
The witches cackled. "It's four on four, pixie. Clearly, you have a few screws loose if you forgot our ogre."
"Not that he's got powers." The purple-clad witch reminded her fellows. "But I agree, this pixie needs a reboot if she was created without the ability to count."
"I was not built, I was born." Tecna corrected. "Secondly, you may be more advanced than us, but we have right on our side."
"Hmph. For all the good that'll do." The purple-clad witch sneered.
"I grow weary of this prattle. Knut, attack." the ice witch ordered.
All of the girls gasped and stepped back when he roared, mouth opening to reveal his sharp teeth. The ground shook as he charged them, the very cement breaking up each time he slammed his foot down, stomping in rage.
He jumped in the air and slammed his fists down...right where the girls were. Stella stood up, each girl surrounding the ogre in a half-circle.
"Sisters, let's give these pixies a demonstration of what we did to poor little Bloom." the cold, detached witch toying with ice said mockingly. Stella instantly knew that they were mocking Bloom and she saw red.
A yellow light began to surround her, swirling around as her eyes glowed bright molten gold. Her golden yellow hair was divided and pulled into two ponytails with the rest of her hair, lengthening and falling down her back to just over her butt.
Her dress vanished, a white light protecting her modesty, which quickly turned into a sparkling orange top that covered her breasts as her little glittering orange shorts formed around her hips down to her inner thighs. In a flash, her shoes vanished to be replaced with orange boots with heels. Her tri-layered wings grew out from her back, crystalline-like light.
Pale blue armbands flashed into existence around her arms, and her ring glowed before turning into the blue-white glowing scepter with the smaller orange balls around it.
Tecna gasped as she saw it. "The Scepter of Solaria, the royal artifact, passed down to Princess Stella Soleil."
"Huh, so she is a princess." Musa mused aloud.
"Wow." Flora gasped in surprise.
Stella cursed as her cover was blown (the secret was bound to come out anyways).
"Hurry up and transform. I want to kick their asses." she snarled at the other girls, her eyes glowing a menacing gold.
Flora's eyes glowed a bright forest green as her whole body glowed violet. A flower-pink corset (with magenta lines down the inner front part over & below her breasts) with a petal skirt that covered half her thighs. Her shoulders were left bare, and similar to the witches, she gained fingerless gloves that went from her wrist to her upper bicep.
Her vine choker was replaced with a gold choker and a fuchsia-colored four-petal flower. Her gold hoop earrings remained but gained tiny vines that swirled around them. Her stunning legs were left bare down to her ankle-high, high-heeled boots. Nothing was done to her hair apart from lengthening it out by another two inches or so. From her back grew bee wings in jade green, just like her eyes (and if you looked really close, you could see that their pattern was made like plant cells).
Musa's eyes glowed a deep, vivid blue as her body shined a dark reddish pink. A small reddish-pink miniskirt formed around her hips and halfway down her thighs. A top of the same color with a single strap over her right shoulder appeared. And a transparent pale pink material covered her back and midriff.
Her hair was pulled into two small ponytails, and like Stella, a hairband--this time in pale pink--formed over her head. Heel boots covered her ankle and up her leg to just under her knees. Her armband changed color, and from her back erupted dragonfly wings in a shimmering blue with a pinkish-magenta aura around them. If you looked closely at the aura, you'd see very tiny music notes floating off.
Tecna's eyes glowed sky blue as her whole body, from her toes to her hair glowed with a bright green light. From her knees to her toes long bluish-silver boots with two-inch heels formed, rising up to her knees, tightly hugging her legs. From her shoulders to her hands, long gloves made out of the same bluish-silver material covered her skin.
From her neck down to her thighs, covering the rest of her body was a tight, frame-hugging glittery-purple outfit that nicely showed off her cute hips and ass. Just over her small breasts was a shining green gem.
Over her head formed a hood with a bluish-silver outline. A bit of her hair fell through, the rest contained in the purple hood. And from her back grew two white-green wings, each in a jagged, technological shape (and if you looked closer, you'd notice that they appeared to be shifting and moving, like thousands of tiny electrical signals).
All of their fairy forms were glittery and sparkly. All of their wings were slightly transparent and shined with a small hint of their element.
"Huh!" Knut gulped as he found himself looking at four transformed, and very pissed fairies. He pulled himself together and growled menacingly before charging them.
"Any ideas on how to stop an Ogre? Hey Tecna! Any weaknesses?" Stella called as she flew out of the rampaging yellow brute's path.
"Ogres. Known for brute strength and less used but still adequate tracking skills." Tecna rattled off.
"We need a weakness," Flora said, wary of the angry monster, choosing to keep her distance.
"Ogre's eyes are vulnerable to bright lights. The ears are sensitive to high-pitched frequencies. Mild allergy to most common pollens." Tecna listed.
"Good enough for me." Stella nodded. "Musa, bring the noise, and I'll bring the lights."
"You got it." Musa concentrated before her hands glowed magenta with musical notes. "Sonic Blast!"
Two giant speakers appeared on either side of the ogre, and he tried to punch one, only for him to pull his fist back. "Ow," he grumbled before crying out as a loud noise battered his ears and nose.
"Now Tecna." Stella urged. "Flora, be ready."
Tecna took a step back, her hands glowing a soft green with computer code particles as she prepared a spell. "Static Spear!" she yelled and hurled a jet of white-green energy stream at the ogre.
Knut raised his arms before yelping as he was thrown back in an explosion. "Whoa--oomph!"
He was then raised into the air, trapped in a sphere of moving digital waves, still clutching his ears from the noise.
Flora stepped forward, her hands glowing green with leaf particles. "Hearty Pollen!" she brought the magic to her lips and softly blew.
The pollen flew upward, into the ogre's nose, causing him to violently sneeze. Knut screeched and roared angrily within his cage.
Stella floated up until she was level with the cage. "Have a nice trip," she said as she shined as bright as a star before unleashing a big blast out of her scepter.
"We'll see you next fall." she finished with a smirk as the ogre was blasted back, nearly hitting the witches before crashing through the wall at the back of the alley.
"As I stated," Tecna said with a smile in her tone. "Three against four."
The witches weren't smiling anymore. "What a dimwit." the ice witch muttered. She turned to the fairies. "You pixies think that you can take on senior witches from Cloud Tower?!?"
Stella smirked. "And here I thought that this was a political move. You're just a bunch of students."
"Great going, Icy." the purple-clad witch hissed.
"We'll wipe their memories. Fret not, Darcy." Icy dismissed the other witch's concerns.
"Why do you even want my ring? It won't look good with your outfits anyways." Stella mocked.
Icy's eyes flashed with anger. She opened her cape with a battle cry, and sharp ice projectiles launched out, the missiles streaking toward the fairies.
"I will generate a protective barrier. It would be logical for you all to--oh, just get behind me." Tecna groaned at her inner emotional struggle before creating a glowing lime-green shield. "Firewall!"
The other girls ducked down as ice shards slammed into Tecna's barrier with the speed and force of bullets, shooting at them as fast as a Gatling gun.
"Great going, Stella," Musa yelled at her. "Now you've pissed the ice witch off."
"Hey, I didn't know that she'd get that offended." Stella defended herself. "Besides, it's true. Witch fashion sucks. Goth is so out of this world."
Tecna's arm jolted and shook as she struggled to hold up the barrier. She was about to say something when the attack ceased.
"Let me at 'em." snarled the lightning witch. Clouds formed over Magix City, along with flashes of lightning. The fairies gulped, to be able to influence the very environment on such as level they had to be very strong.
"Eat lightning fairies!" the storm witch cackled before hurling a stream of lightning at the girls. The electric volts were more powerful than the ice spikes. Tecna's shield cracked under the force of highly-charged magic.
"My shield is breaking. What should we do?" she asked, pouring as much magic as she could into her spell, and thus the barrier.
Musa and Flora turned to Stella, who was thinking. "Stella?" Musa asked.
"Flora." Stella turned to her. "Can you create vines to drag the witches down, and pull them into the ground if you can?"
"I think I can do that, yes." Flora nodded, glancing at the witches nervously. Stella didn't blame her, these three were scary. Scary powerful. But they had Bloom on ice, and so they would fight.
She glanced at the other fairy. "Musa, make as much noise as you can."
"What about you?" Musa asked. Stella's eyes glowed brighter. "I'm gonna bring the power of three suns down on these bitches."
Tecna's shield broke, and the backlash knocked her out. Stella flew into the air as Musa and Flora flew to either side.
Flora's hands glowed as she used a different spell, "Golden Pollen!" Vines wrapped around the wrists and ankles of all three witches before reeling them in.
The storm witch summoned lightning that freed herself as the ice witch cut herself free with an ice dagger. The darkness witch was the one who was struggling (Stella guessed that her magic was based on mind and illusions, useless against the reality of plant tentacles), and both witches looked to be in a bit of a conundrum.
Musa then battered the witches with music, and Stella unleashed the biggest, brightest fall of searing sunlight she could, forcing the witches to shield their eyes and cover their ears.
The sun ball exploded, lighting up their portion of Magix City in a soft yellow glow. It died down, and the witches were down, but for the moment.
Darcy exploded out of the ground looking very angry, and not even winded. It was like their attacks had only bowled them over, but done nothing else. Her negative emotions fed into negative energies that in turn fed her powers. In other words, she'd just become a supercharged battery.
"Enough!" she screeched, sending out the strongest psionic wave. It knocked Stella out of the sky and both Flora and Musa out. And broke the ice.
Stella fell, landing and scraping her knees. She glanced at her friends worriedly and with guilt. She'd led them to this, and now all her friends were hurt. Because of her.
The witches approached, hands raised, each glowing with power, their eyes gleaming menacingly, all their previous amusement absent. Now they were well and truly angered, and they would take out their frustrations on the princess.
Stella raised her scepter, aiming it at the nearest witch. They all fired their magic at her at once. She responded by hurling the strongest beam of light back at them, their magic pooling in the center of the two streams.
She worked, her shoulders shaking, her body quickly nearing the state of exhaustion that she'd been in when the troll attacked.
As the ball of magic slowly moved towards her, and the maniacal cackling of the witches filled her ears, Stella felt a familiar pair of feelings overwhelm her. Helplessness and fear.
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The world was spinning around me, and I felt nothing but agonizing pain. So much that I wasn't even sure if I was breathing. I felt like I was suffocating. I opened my eyes, and as I did a rush of memories came back.
I couldn't hear anything, but I could see plenty as my vision returned. My body felt like it had been dunked in the Giant Squid's Lake during winter and put under the Cruciatus curse for hours. I didn't know how long I was out for, but I could see Stella struggle, engaged in a magic duel with the witches.
Coherence returned, and with it was a mind-bending amount of emotions. Anger flooded through me. I wasn't just mad, oh no. I was pissed. Enraged. Fuming.
Words couldn't describe how far into my emotions I was. I was furious at how easily those three had taken me down. It wasn't just a blow to my pride, but also to my draconic instincts.
I could see my dorm mates lying on the ground. Tecna was lying on her back, one arm reaching for a lifeline that wasn't there. Flora lay on her stomach, blood trickling down from an open gash on her forehead. Musa was struggling to raise herself, and with Mage Sight I could see a halo of dark magic around her, keeping her weak.
At that moment, I didn't care that I needed to keep my power a secret. I didn't care about what Faragonda, Ofelia, Stella, or my family thought. All thoughts of Alfea's rules vanished from my mind. At that moment, I desired revenge, to tear these witches limb from limb and laugh. And unlike last time (with the troll), I embraced those bestial desires.
The Dragon Flame eagerly came as I called. Power flooded through my veins, pushing back the pain. I directed my power toward my friends, healing their internal injuries. I could feel that Flora had a busted rip and Musa's hip was cracked. Once they were partially healed, I allowed primal fury to surround my being.
My irises shifted from cyan to an intense glowing orange, my body heating up to unsafe levels (if I'd been a normal human). Whisps of fire began to travel up and down my arms. My body heat melted the ice beneath me into puddles that soaked my clothes before they also dried.
The witches poured all their magic towards Stella, who was struggling to hold their combined might back with her own energy. The ball of magic flowing between the two sets of beams strongly reminded me of my first duel with Voldemort, and the activation of 'Priori Incantio'.
But unlike how that event ended, evil triumphed here. The witches laughed and cackled cruelly as the beam grew closer, and closer to the trembling sun fairy. Then, it was striking her.
Stella screamed in pain as she was blasted back, barely staying on her feet. Her wings fluttered weakly as she stumbled, the scepter falling out of her hands, her body shivering with electricity, her hands and chest encased in ice, her eyes covered with some sort of magical shadow.
"Fall, fall princess!" The storm witch--Stormy, hurled another bolt of lightning that struck her in the gut. Stella weakly cried out, doubling over before falling onto her back. I could barely feel her aura--a testament to how much of her magic had been spent.
I could see the triumphant expressions of the witches. One of them walked closer, and a surge of new hate swelled within my breast. It was the one who took my hearing--Darcy. She'd unknowingly stolen something precious from a dragon.
Don't you know not to tickle a sleeping Dragon?
As she stepped down and reached for the handle, I felt the scepter, almost calling out to me again. It felt like it was begging me to use it, to save it. To take it's power and punish those responsible.
The Dragon Flame reacted to the scepter's frantic calls, and I made my choice.
The Scepter of Solaria glowed an intense reddish-orange before flying backward, smacking into Darcy's jaw with enough force to snap her head to the side--a pity it didn't snap--before slamming into my waiting palm as I shot to my feet. I could feel its eagerness to be used, and the searing desire to avenge Stella.
I glanced at the darkness witch's rapidly black and purple jaw. Not what I intended, but a little extra bruising was only the icing on the cake.
The witches all froze as they turned to look at me in surprise and anger. Seems they didn't expect me to recover as fast as I did.
Icy spoke, but I didn't bother trying to lip-read, likely mocking me and how silly I looked, trying to wield the powerful magical artifact. Blah blah blah. I'd heard it all before, and I wasn't interested, nor did I care. The time for words was over.
I raised the scepter, my face blank, devoid of all emotion, my eyes burning embers. I saw the witches laugh--the fact that I couldn't hear only made me angrier. Using my anger, pain, and agony, I fueled those emotions into my magic, my magic into the Dragon Flame, which I then funneled into the scepter.
My body glowed a bright orange before that glow transitioned into the scepter. It glowed a brighter orange-yellow before launching out a wave of sunlight and fire.
I saw the witches cry out, and I felt cool satisfaction as I saw the burns on their faces, skin, and ash in their hair. They looked shocked, and the one with the lightning fetish held up her blackened hand in pain, before looking at me with fear.
"Leave. Now." I couldn't hear myself say it, only feel the vibrations of my vocal cords, but I knew that's what I said.
The ice witch struggled to her feet with anger in her eyes--glowing an eerie whitish-blue. Snow and ice.
I stepped back so that I could see all of the witches, the unconscious ogre, and my friends in my vision.
Icy moved forward, a blizzard of ice magic forming into a massive ball in her hands. I could feel the pain mounting in my head, I had to do this fast.
I pulled up my memory of apparating and gripped the scepter tightly before slamming it down. A white light enveloped me and my friends, and I felt a pull behind my navel. Then we were back in the square by the fountain.
On the horizon, a massive blue-white light filled the sky some distance from us, lighting up all of Magix City in a blue-white hue. Seems we got out of there just in time.
A wave of exhaustion overtook me, followed by pain. I gasped, dropping the scepter as I fell to my knees. That took nearly as much out of me as when I unleashed the Dragon Flame back in Gardenia, but I was more exhausted and feeling hurt all over because of all the ambient magic (passive and active) that I'd been exposed to since the start of this morning.
I barely registered the surge of jealousy that went through me as I saw all of my dorm mates in their glittery fairy forms. I summoned the last of my strength and focused the Dragon Flame on removing the dark halo of lingering magic around my friends, purifying them in a way. Magic leaves scars, some that aren't visible to the naked eye, and those were the ones I concentrated on fixing.
I was panting as I finished, my consciousness already fading again. I cursed my weakness, but a surge of relief swept through me as I saw Stella's concerned face pop up in my vision, her eyes no longer obscured by the shadow magic. Seems that my healing gambit had paid off.
'Nothing's gonna keep that girl down', I thought with a weak grin at her before the land of Morpheus claimed me. Again.
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"Bloom saved us," Musa said quietly. They were all on the hover bus back to Alfea, Bloom's unconscious, shivering form lying over Flora & Stella's laps.
"And healed us, at her expense," Stella said grimly, glowing with the sun's heat as she directed it into the still-cold body of her friend. It wasn't as much heat as the fire fairy could generate, but she would take what she got until they could get her into the hospital wing. She owed her again, as did the other girls. "She's got a fever and the starting signs of hypothermia."
"Bloom's magic system might not be able to take the strain much longer. She was exposed to active magic for seven minutes and sixteen seconds. The magical properties in the ice likely accelerated her freezing state. Freezing temperatures affect fire fairies much stronger than other elemental types. Not to mention that the active magic will attack her sixth senses more directly than ambient magic." Tecna stated.
Stella wanted to say something about Tecna being insensitive, but she remembered Bloom's words and saw in the digital fairy's eyes what she denied: worry, concern, and fear.
"But how did she do it? She's got no training since she's from Earth." Musa asked, her eyes locked onto Stella's face. "You know something."
Stella sighed. "Bloom used my scepter in the fight during the clearing. It just..flew at her, and she used it to blast them apart. She didn't even use any spells, just intent."
That startled the other three girls. "That should be impossible on both counts." Tecna objected. "Magic cannot be cast without speaking a spell It is the words that give the spell the shape it needs to be unleashed. A higher-form fairy might be able to accomplish such a feat, but the chances are 4.5 to a million. And, the Scepter of Solaria is a blood-bound artifact, passed down from generation to generation. Unless Bloom is secretly of the Solarian royal bloodline, she could not use its power, and would have difficulty channeling her own through it."
"Speaking of the royal bloodline, how come you never said you were THE princess Stella? Hm?" Musa asked nosily.
"Keep your voice down. I don't need you singing my personal information to the world." Stella hissed, glancing at the other two passengers on the bus. One was sleeping, the other was divided by a wall, so they wouldn't be able to hear anything said.
Musa opened her mouth to say something else, but Stella held up a hand. "Listen. I cannot say anything about it because I am under the Secrecy Program. All of the heirs who attend the prestigious schools here in Magix are also automatically signed up for the program. They either change their name, are no-names, or only change their last names. This is for the good of the bloodlines, as well as anonymity should something happen to the one sitting on the throne. I am Stella Sol while I attend, not Princess Stella Soleil."
"That makes sense. It's for their own protection." Flora said in understanding.
"Back to the part about the scepter. I do not see how it would be possible for Bloom to wield it. Unless she has some greater power that could override the scepter." Tecna said thoughtfully. Then, her eyes lit up. "I did get data during the fight. I can review the data it recorded and see if it got readings of her powers."
She pulled out the device she showed the girls earlier and set it up so that she could analyze the data collected in the last hour.
"These spikes were what I recorded when we were by the fountain." She said as she activated the projection & interaction feature, showing a glowing green line graph. She pointed before pointing at the new set of spikes, along with the time recorded. "This right here is the data that was taken during the battle with us and those witches."
Some of the spikes were slightly different in wavelength and color. Some were jagged, showing a quick rise, and others were more wavy, as seen by their slow or immediate impact.
She pointed at the largest spike, which rose in the air at least sixteen times higher than the others, going off the chart. "And this is the largest spike. I was not conscious when this was recorded, but I would've thought that this was from your light blast Stella, were it not for the lapse in casted magic here and here."
She indicated the areas where no active magic was detected. Stella sighed. "It's Bloom's business, not ours."
"So you acknowledge that she created this anomaly then?" Tecna was sharp.
Stella sighed. "Yes. Now, just...drop it please."
They were all silent for a time, apart from Bloom's quiet breathing, which started to even out. She'd stopped trembling and now was perfectly still, apart from the rise and fall of her chest.
"How are we going to explain this?" Flora asked as Alfea came into view. Most of the windows were dark, and the gate was shut. She then froze. "Oh no! We're way past curfew!"
Stella groaned and hit her head on the hard part of the wall behind her. "I don't know, but I'm more worried about what Faragonda and Ofelia will do to me. I was tasked with protecting Bloom, but I don't see how I can sneak her into the infirmary without having to explain myself."
"We tell the truth," Musa said, and the other girls turned to her in surprise. Stella opened her mouth to protest, but Musa beat her to the punch. "Look, technically, we haven't done anything wrong or broken any rules. Bloom separated from us during our exploration of Magix City, found and followed the ogre, and traced it to a group of witches, who want Stella's scepter for some reason."
She paused, thinking how she wanted to embellish the truth a little. "We investigated her disappearance and found that Bloom was frozen in ice by the Trix, who likely discovered her before she could flee. They caught us trying to free Bloom, then attacked us without provocation. They knocked us around, Bloom woke up, teleported us all out with your scepter, and then passed out. Then we fled."
Tecna nodded. "I see the logic in this plan. We have a logical excuse for our absence, and we have evidence to prove our claims." she gestured to Bloom's feverish, shivering form and the bruises on the other girls, plus the blood-dried cuts on Stella's knees and the dried blood on Flora's forehead.
Stella sighed. "It's going to ruin my reputation, but sure."
Musa scoffed. "I thought that you cared more about fashion than your reputation?"
Stella actually looked a bit sheepish. "I'm a bit of a klutz when it comes to using magic, so my rep has taken a few dips before. I had to relearn to use my powers after an accident. It's why I have the Scepter of Solaria with me to use as a casting focus."
The other girls looked surprised.
Stella tilted back and forth, looking a few minutes away from a breakdown. Or passing our from magical and emotional exhaustion. "I act all bubbly, loud, and annoying, but it's an act. One that Bloom saw right through." she looked down at the sleeping redhead with a fond smile and brushed a lock of red hair out of her face. She looked peaceful, and content. Stella would hate to wake her up and disturb this sight of innocence.
She choked back strangled laughter. "I don't even know why I'm telling you girls this. Maybe it's because I've faced death a third time again this year, or that I'm growing soft--"
"Or that we faced death together, and came out of it as friends," Musa said softly, quietly. Stella's gaze shot to Musa in surprise, seeing understanding and sympathy.
"I had the wrong idea about you Stella," she admitted. "When I heard that I was rooming with a Solarian fairy, I thought that you'd be stuck up, prudish, arrogant, and loud. Well," A smirk crossed her face. "I was right about one out of four."
Stella gave her a blinding smile. "Me too. I thought that you'd be some music-worshipping addict, but Bloom told me to keep an open mind."
All the girls smiled. "She is wise," Flora said quietly. "Kind too."
"But awesome, powerful, and badass," Musa said with a smile. "And a great healer."
She tilted her head as she looked at Stella, "Want to start over?"
Stella sent her a grateful look. "I'd get up but I have Arcadia knows how many pounds of Bloom on me."
The other girls giggled. Musa's lip twitched as she got up and held out her hand. "Hi. I'm Musa, Fairy of Music and Daughter of Melody."
Stella took it and shook the dainty hand with her own. "Hiya. I'm Stella, Fairy of the shining sun, and Daughter of Solaria. Also princess, fashion queen...I ruined the moment, didn't I?"
"No," Musa said as she leaned in over Bloom to wrap her arms around the radiant blonde in a hug. "You saved it."
Flora leaned in too, and Tecna looked troubled. "I have the strangest, illogical urge to join in this social act of comfort."
"Come on Tecna." Flora encourages. Tecna's mouth twitched upwards and she left her seat to lean over Bloom and hesitantly wrapped an arm around Musa's shoulder while her other arm moved around Flora's outstretched arm. And below them, a slumbering Bloom leaned into Musa's tummy while a hand gripped Tecna's shorts and Flora's skirt.
While three witches raged in the dorm room of their tower, five teenagers took comfort in each other's presence, at peace...and happy.