"Tomorrow we'll have a convergence test, here in the simulator." Faragonda said as all of the winx are inside the simulation room. "Test? Tomorrow?" Stella asked.
"You really think we're ready for it?" Flora asked and Faragonda nods. "You should start practicing. If you need help, you can always come to me but the key lies in each of you." Faragonda said as she walks out of the room.
"Hey, Musa. Look who's here. You think he came especially to see you?" Stella said pointing behind them where Jared stood by the control room. "Stella, he's here to learn about the simulator. Faragonda gave him access." Musa said annoyed.
"Guys, let's not start arguing. We need harmony." Bloom said and Diaspro nods. "She's right and with all of the arguing is not going to help us get that convergence for the simulation." Diaspro said crossing her arms.
"And the six of us will cast one big mega spell all together!" Stella said with a grin and Diaspro frowns as Layla runs out of the room crying. "The six of us? I'm starting to think you can't count right, you hurt her feelings." Diaspro said with a glare and walks after Layla.
Diaspro manage to catch Layla outside sitting against a tree, she saw Layla wipe her tears.
"You okay?" She asked Layla and Layla looks at her. "It's okay, Diaspro. I'm okay." Layla said holding her legs close and Diaspro takes a spot beside her.
"You know, is okay to cry and even fine if you need to be here alone." Diaspro said. "I do the same when I feel things getting hard on me." She said and Layla looks at her.
"Like what?" Layla asked and frowns. "That is if you're fine with it."
"The pressure of my parents to get married to my best friend, more from my mom than my dad." Diaspro said with a shrug. "No matter what I say or do, she wants me to be with Sky. I get the feeling that the only reason she wants me to get married with him is because it will mean that I won't be getting the title of the Queen of Crystal Empire from her."
"Also because it means more power from Sky's kingdom, she's all about power and fame." She said and Layla looks at her.
"You know there's a way to take the title from her right?" Layla asked and Diaspro nods. "I know but I need to buy some time and get strong before I do that. That's why I decided to come here at Alfea and practice with the specialists." Diaspro said and Layla nods, she's surprised when Diaspro hugs her side.
"Remember you're not alone anymore, you have me and the girls now. So you can trust us to help you when you need it." She said, Layla smiles and nods. "So, what do you like to do for fun?"
"I really like dancing, it's my passion." Layla said with a smile and Diaspro smiles. "That's great, maybe you can teach me how to dance? I can only do like those formal dances."
"Sounds like a plan." Layla said and the girls look away from each other when Bloom runs towards them. "Girls!" Bloom said taking a deep breath.
"What's up Bloom?" Diaspro asked.
"Layla, listen. I know it seems sometimes like you're being left out, but you do belong in the group. Just as much as any of us." Bloom said and Layla nods. "And I know exactly what will bring back harmony to the Winx Club." She said with a grin.
"Like what?" Layla and Diaspro asked.
"Tonight it's pyjama party time! That'll bring us back together."
______
"I was a pimple-faced thirteen year old ugly duckling on her first day at school." Stella said with a smile as she tells the girls about her childhood crush, they were laying on the floor with blankets and pillows to get comfortable.
"Then the most super handsome boy in the whole school came and sat right next to me." She said with a smile. "Yes, it was love at first sight!"
"Well, for me anyway. Because his eyes were set firmly on someone else entirely." She said with a sigh. "The coolest girl in our level."
Diaspro smiles as she eats a cookie.
"But, then came prom time." Stella said and Diaspro looks at knowingly. "Something that no girl ever wants to miss out." Diaspro said and Stella nods.
"Tough time for an ugly duckling." Tecna said as she takes a cookie and Stella smiles. "But there's a special twist." Stella grins.
"On the eve of the prom the girl fell down a flight of stairs and broke her leg! Yes, magic does exist! That's when I knew I'd be a fairy." She said celebrating a little.
"So that night you got to dance with your prince?" Bloom asked. "Actually, she came to the prom anyway. And my true love spent the whole evening taking care of her broken leg." Stella said with a laugh and the girls laugh as well.
"This is what we needed, to spend some time together." Bloom said as they changed positions on the ground Diaspro laying on Layla's lap who was braiding her hair. "Just us girls. No boys or anything." Stella said and Diaspro laughs.
"Who are you and what have you done to our Stella?" Diaspro asked jokingly and the girls laugh. "Well, when they're not here we can talk about them." Stella said laughing with them.
"Let's start with Jared. Come on, Musa, we wanna know. Does he tickle your fancy?" Stella asked as she stands on her knees to look at Musa.
"Well, no." Musa said with a shake of her head.
"That's because you like Riven, isn't it?" Tecna asked and Musa looks down sadly. "There's nothing between Riven and me." Musa said bringing her hands together.
"Oh, yeah right." Flora said.
"The thing is, I don't think Riven could ever be interested in a tomboy like me." Musa said and Diaspro saw her look sad. "I'm sure that idiot likes you even if he doesn't want to admit it, he's still in that little boy phase." Diaspro said with a smirk.
"What phase?" Tecna asked.
"Girls still have germs." Diaspro said and the girls shake their heads but had smiles on their faces even Musa smiles. "By the way he looks at you, or doesn't rather, he obviously is. You know how I got together with my Brandon?" Stella asked and Layla laughs.
"Ha! Let me guess." Layla said as she stands up quickly using a blue blanket and all the stuff she could get to represent Brandon in his specialist uniform. "Hey girls, I'm the best fighter in the world and the best looking guy in Magix. Who wants to be my girlfriend?" Layla said in a deep voice with a bow.
"And you just fell at his feet." She said her voice going back to normal. "Actually, he fell at my feet." Stella said with a smirk.
"But you know who else fell at Diaspro's feet? Helia." She said with a smirk and Diaspro felt a blush forming, she cover her face with a pillow.
"Shut up! That's not true." Diaspro said the girls giggles. "Come on, we all know that he has a crush on you and I'm starting to notice that you do as well." Tecna said with a smile.
"Have you ever dated anyone?" Stella asked and Diaspro frowns someone coming into mind. "You have haven't you! Come on tell us." She said with excitement shaking her.
"We dated when we were maybe about 11 or 12, his name was Ray a guard in training. He was also my bodyguard a bit serious of his job wherever we went he looked out for me which little me found it a pain in the as- butt, let's just say that after a while I warmed up to him and he let his walls down for me." Diaspro said with a sad smile but that smile turns into a frown. "We liked to train together and walk around the kingdom in secret of course, we even had some small dates that we could have."
"Aww, a forbidden romance." Flora said with a sigh and Diaspro smiles but sighs.
"One day he disappeared without saying anything, my mother said that he had ran away with some servant from the castle."
"You don't believe her?" Stella asked and Diaspro nods. "One thing we did make sure is that my mom never found out about our relationship that was, but I was shocked when she told me about our secret." Diaspro said with a frown.
"And she never bothers to know the servants of the castle and I knew at that time, no servants had ran away." She said. "You think his out there somewhere?" Bloom asked and Diaspro nods.
"I know he's out there but if he did really love me as he said he was, Ray could have come back and talk to me in secret or tell me that he was fine and alive." She said and sighs. "But that's in the past and I'm not going to think about him at all."
"How old were you guys, what all that happened?" Flora asked. "14." Diaspro said and looks away when the girls give her sad looks.
_____
All the girls stand in the chamber of the simulation room with Jared and Palladium.
"Now, Layla, don't worry when the walkway disappears from under your feet, you'll remain suspended." Palladium said and Layla nods. "Right, I promise I won't panic." She said.
"Hey, Jared. Are you okay?" Musa asked Jared who leaves without saying anything. Palladium also leaves with him. "Alright, girls, pay attention. You'll find yourselves in a quiet village on a bright summer day. You will have to use magical convergence to solve a series of puzzles." Faragonda said.
"Everyone ready?" She asked and the winx nod. "Ready." They said as the room lights up brightly.
Instead of the bright village as Faragonda had said they stood in front of a dark forest making the girls confused.
"Where in the world are we?" Musa asked as mist appeared. "A quiet village on a bright summer day?" Stella asked in disbelief, Diaspro holds herself as she felt cold the temperature dropping.
"It's awfully damp here. It feels like we're near a swamp." Flora said also holding herself and Layla points to somewhere. "Look." Layla said as they see the trees and sky are upside down.
"Oh, my. If the sky is the forest, what are we walking on?" Bloom asked and Diaspro gasps holding her face. "Is it me or does this feel like when the Trix tried to ruin the simulation like last time?" Diaspro said and Tecna raised an eyebrow.
"You're right but how do you know about that?" Tecna asked and Diaspro mentally slaps herself for the mistake. "I mean I do hang out with the guys and they told me about the Trix breaking into the school, plus the girls from my kingdom do like to gossip." She said and Tecna nods.
"We have to get out of here, with the Trix in this situation is too dangerous." Musa said as they stood between trees and they nodded. "Girls, I've added the magical data of an exit program, but I don't know what form it will take. So look around for anything that doesn't fit in." Palladium's voice sounded around them.
"You mean like something normal?" Stella asked, A monster approaches Musa and she gasps. "Like that?" Musa asked backing away in fear.
"A wolf in the woods is normal. So, that's the exit?" Stella said and screams as the monster wolf charge at her. "Stella!" Layla pushed her out of the way knocking both each other at the ground.
"Look! Our way out, right Professor?" Diaspro asked pointing to a pink orb going around them. "Correct, you must be in contact with it." Palladium said.
"Come on, let's surround it." Bloom said and all the girls form a circle trying to catch the orb but they stop when a faint form of Darcy holds the orb laughing at them. "No!" Diaspro shouts as the wolf from before eats the orb holding it hostage.
"Transforming sounds about right." She said as the wolf turns huge is appearance changing horribly with four arms. "Magic Winx!"
Diaspro closed her eyes letting herself change into her fairy form, she pose as her transformation finished.
"Sonic bomb!" Musa is the first one to throw her attack but no damage was done shocking the girls. "No effect at all." Tecna said with a frown.
The monster reaches for Flora and Musa but they fly out of the way. It reaches for Layla but she also flips out of the way and Diaspro kicked herself away from the monster as it swings is claw at her getting far away from it.
"We gotta thank Griselda for her dodging exercises." Tecna said with a smile and Diaspro nods. "Definitely." She said now flying.
"Come on, everyone attack together." Bloom said, Diaspro raised her hands up a pink circle big enough to trapped the monster with its claws, the girls all shoot their powers.
Smoke covers everything and Diaspro clench her hands seeing the monster break out of her ring and no damage at all. "The monster is completely immune to magic. You've got to find another way to beat it."
"Professor, if you cut power to the crystals it'll kill the simulation, right?" Tecna asked as they fly out of the monsters claws. "Yes, but the backlash could burn out all your powers. You've got to think of something else, Tecna." Palladium said.
"Like what? We'll never take it down without magic." Layla said and Diaspro stood beside her looking down at the monster now hiding behind some pullers. "We have to use convergence like what we have been trying to do this whole day, it has to be only way out." Diaspro said.
"Using convergence magic? We've never done this before." Flora asked as they look at the monster who was looking for them. "In theory it's possible if we join our most fundamental powers." Tecna said and Diaspro looks at Layla.
"Like last time, remember? But this time is you who should do the foundation." She said and Layla nods bringing her hands out together, she creates a body made of morphix slowly getting bigger. "That's it keep going, we need it big enough to take on the monster." Diaspro said beside her as she made a shield on time before the monster hits them.
"Flora, it needs some sort of skeletal support." She said and Flora nods looking at the pink body which was slowly wobbling. "Bearing Branches!" Flora shoots the spell, vines emerged around around the morphix. The monster growls and knocks the body to the ground and focuses on Flora.
"It needs a brain." Tecna said as she stood on top of a pillar. "Central Processor! Creature, hurry, stand up!"
Tecna uses her magic to give the creature a brain and it stands up and starts to walk on it's on. "Stella, it can't see anything!" Bloom said and Stella was quick to give it vision to see.
"Bloom, you need to give them a flame of life. So that they can fight with their own will." Diaspro said as she kicked herself away from the monster and did it again pushing herself from the pillar, the monster was pushed away from her by their creation who was now struggling to push.
"My turn." Diaspro said with a smile as she closed her eyes holding her hands out, a bright orange light touched their creations hand a sword made out of crystal stabs the monster in the chest and the creation kicked him it lands on pillars.
The sword suddenly turns into a Amethyst whip holding the monster to the ground, they reach for the orb through its mouth even breaking it a bit to prevent it from getting bitten and nothing happens.
"What's going on? Why aren't we leaving?" Layla asked and Palladium speaks up. "Your creature has to say "derime elucienem" to open the exit." Palladium said and Musa was quick to help.
"Soundstream Power of Words!" Musa said and the girls comes together. "Derime elucienem." The girls said at the same time and their creation did the same, Diaspro closed her eyes by the light but she knew they got out.
"We did it! Come on." Stella said her hand out as everyone got together in a circle, Diaspro tugs Layla into the circle joining in. "Magic Winx!"