We stood in front of the classroom, anticipating the professor's arrival, when Stella rushed in.
"Hold on, I'm going in first. The professor could be an Avalon look-alike, and we're about to get physical," Stella said, peeking inside with a concerned expression.
As Stella observed, Tecna remarked, "What's wrong? You look like you've seen something horrible."
The door opened further, revealing...
"GRISELDA!"
"Will you girls ever learn to get to class on time?" scolded Griselda.
"This is our magic self-defense class. Shouldn't our teacher be here?" Stella questioned as we entered.
"I am here, and consider yourself lucky. Without a teacher of my caliber, you don't stand a chance against the Trix," Griselda asserted.
...
"Now, you were up against an enemy much more powerful than you. This enemy has just cast a terribly destructive spell. What do you do?" Griselda inquired.
"We combine powers," Musa suggested.
"Too late, Musa. You've just been pulverized into oblivion. Young ladies, what you must do is dodge the attack," Griselda explained.
"Good thing she told us; otherwise, I would have just stood there till I finally got hit," Stella remarked.
"Miss Stella, since you already know it all, let's show the others how it's done. You try to attack me if you can," Griselda challenged.
---
We transformed into our fairy forms outside, attempting to hit Griselda, but it proved futile.
"Okay, everyone, your classmate Stella will demonstrate how to launch a successful attack. Stella, Francis, get in line, please," instructed Griselda.
"Who does Griselda think she is anyway? I mean, all that is left is some tacky green uniform, and we're ready for the army," Stella complained as she walked to the front.
"You really ought to save your breath for the fight, young lady. All right, then show me what you've got," scolded Griselda.
Stella unleashed a "Solar attack," but Griselda erected a shield, rendering the blast ineffective. Stella powered up for a stronger blow, but Griselda effortlessly reflected it, hitting Stella.
"You should have dodged it, Miss Stella. Now, attack all together," Griselda commanded.
"All right, let's go!" Musa said as we took off into the air, circling Griselda, who remained unfazed.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" she asked.
"Tecna, Flora, and Emerald attack," but Griselda created a barrier.
"That wasn't an ordinary barrier," observed Emerald.
"It was an immunity spell," Tecna explained.
"Let's see her try to block my power jab," Layla challenged, but it was also a fail.
I had enough; I concentrated, fueled by my anger from Avalon, and unleashed a powerful spell, but Griselda deflected it.
"Not bad, Caia, almost," remarked Griselda as I dropped down in exhaustion.
Next, Musa's attack was deflected with an opposite wave. All that remained was Bloom.
"Come on, Bloom. It's all up to you," urged Stella.
Bloom sent a blast, but Griselda caught it effortlessly.
Bloom seemed distracted.
"Professor, what kind of spell did you use?" Tecna questioned as we all landed.
"Were you never told to raise your hands before speaking in class?" scolded Griselda.
"Sorry," Tecna apologized.
"If the Trix were here, they'd have torn you to bits. Now, I want you to think seriously about what you have learned here today and save your questions for our next lesson," Griselda said as she walked away.
I noticed Bloom still distracted, so I sent a quick text and then messaged Sky to find out what happened.
---
In the boys' bedroom, Sky checked his phone while Brandon worked out nearby. As Brandon prepared to speak, I burst into the room, screaming, Boo!
"Are you serious?!" Brandon groaned, dropping the dumbbell, glaring at me.
I hugged Sky, laughing.
"Thank you," I said.
Brandon, now seated, asked, "What are you doing here anyway?"
As Brandon went for fresh air on the balcony, I smiled.
"Have you guys seen Helia? I need something from him," I said, prompting Sky to hold my shoulders and shake me. "Helia? Why? Should I be-." I interrupted Sky by pinching his stomach, making him scream.
"Stop! Not there, anywhere but there," he begged in pain.
A blue glint caught my eye, and I picked up a ring from the desk.
"Strange, I feel like I've seen this ring before," I said, examining it.
"Probably because it's Cynric's," Brandon answered, unfazed.
"Uhhh... guys, look out!" Brandon shouted as a ball of dark magic zapped the balcony. Sky covered me with his body as the magic attacked. "Codatorta, mayday! We're under attack!" Sky yelled, pushing me inside.
"It has to be the Trix, looking for something in here," I said, leading us to the control room.
"You go ahead and tell Codatorta about the Trix while we take care of that thing," Sky instructed, and I nodded.
"Stay safe, you two," I said before running out.
---
"Codatorta! The Trix are behind me; they must have come back for whatever is kept here," I reported in my fairy form, only to find Riven and Cynric in the room.
"Yes, Riven just told me about it—a favorite trick of Darcy," Codatorta explained.
"They'll be trying to get to basement levels; they're after the Codex," he said, and I frowned.
"Then we must prevent them from reaching there," I insisted.
"All senior guards to the Codex room, ready for battle. First-year Specialists, mount your dragons and defend access to lower levels," Codatorta instructed. I overheard Sky saying, "Codatorta, the sphere stopped attacking. What do we do?"
"Position yourselves over the lake. The Trix might strike from there," Codatorta advised. Riven and Cynric headed out with their weapons.
"Codatorta, Bloom, Flora, and Tecna are here. They are offering to help," Helia reported, and I pointed to the monitor, suggesting we use it to detect the Trix's dark magic.
"Thank you for the offer, but please sit tight and let us Specialists handle the situation," Codatorta said, focusing on senior specialists.
"Let's track dark magic with some dark magic," I suggested, boosting the monitor's capabilities.
"Here," Timmy said, pointing to three dots heading toward them on a rooftop.
"Wait! Are you seriously going on your ow-," Timmy started, but I disappeared unnoticed while they spoke with Codatorta.
---
In the arena, the Trix broke in, laughing, and made their way to the codex. Icy felt a kick on her face, thrown to the ground.
"Icy!" She winced, holding her cheek in anger, her gaze locking onto me smirking in the air. "You!" she exclaimed.
"Me!" I chuckled, dodging Stormy's lightning blasts aimed at Icy. I threw a punch, hitting Icy through the building, using her to break them. Sensing someone behind me, I turned Icy around to absorb the hit from Stormy's attack.
"That's gotta sting. I'd cool off if I were you," I remarked with a small smile. Icy dropped to the ground, and I noticed we were in the armory/spaceship room. Facing an angry Stormy and Darcy, who created numerous illusions of herself, I landed.
"What's with the ugly faces? Now that I think about it, they always look like that, huh?" I joked.
Turning to my left, I saw the hangar doors open, revealing Brandon on his ship with his sword.
"About time, loser," I teased, and Brandon sighed. "A thank you sounds nice," he said, dropping down beside me to face the Trix.
Darcy spoke in another language, summoning multiple versions of herself to surround Brandon and me. Brandon swung his sword, but they laughed and conjured dark clouds. "Sphere of Midnight!" Darcy declared, and I quickly formed a shield.
"You okay?" I asked Brandon, who nodded, his back facing hers as he stared at the Trix.
"I forgot how strong they have gotten," he admitted.
Icy woke up, holding her back with a wince, glaring at me. However, her attention shifted to her sisters upon seeing the others arriving.
"Stormy, have a little fun, but don't get too carried away. I want her next," Icy instructed, looking at me. They flew away, leaving Stormy behind.
I dropped the shield, running after the flying witches, only to be stopped by Stormy's lightning. Helia used his ropes to bring me to his side, successfully saving me from the second strike. I looked at him surprised, feeling a bit flustered, and turned away.
Embarrassing...
"You always seem to be saving me, huh?" I mumbled.
"Girls, Sky! You guys take care of the other Trix; we'll handle Stormy," Helia said as we stared at Stormy, who was mocking us.
"Let's see what you two are made of," Stormy challenged, creating a small storm. I used my ice whip to grab Stormy by the leg and slammed her down, then tugged the whip to drag her towards me.
"What?" Helia asked as he evaded an attack, using his wires to wrap Stormy's hands, preventing her from attacking. They stood together. "Spin?" he asked, and I nodded. We both spun Stormy in circles as she cursed, looking sick.
"Now," I said, letting her go. Helia and I watched as Stormy slammed her body against the wall. "Enough!" she shouted, her body glowing. Before she could do anything, Darcy came behind her, and both disappeared through the wall. Just before they vanished, Darcy hit me with a dark magic orb, and I hit the wall.
"They took it," Helia said, checking his communicator, frustrated. "Damn it," I added, glaring at them as they flew into the sky.
Helia helped me up. "Here are the test results on the tea that was left for you that day," he said, handing me some papers. I looked at them, and he continued, "Unfortunately, whatever was inside it couldn't be detected."
"Thanks anyway," I said, sighing, and walked away. But I stopped at Helia's voice.
"Hey, if you need anything else, I'm always available. Just know it's okay to ask for help more often; you don't always have to be tough," he said, a bit nervous. I turned around with a smile.
"I—" I paused.
"I'll keep that in mind, Helia," I said, starting to fly and head towards him.
"Hey, don't go forgetting about me either," I waved and flew off, looking for the others. Suddenly, Serenity landed on my shoulder.
"Hey, don't go forgetting about me either. Haha, so smooth," she mocked, laughing at me.
"Whatever," I said, blushing as I continued flying, pushing her off my shoulder.
---
I flew in and saw the others beaten up on the ground.
"The power of the Gloomix makes this almost boring," Darcy remarked.
Gloomix?
Icy placed something on the scale, and a trap door opened on the ground.
The hell is going on?
The Trix walked down.
"Stop!" I screamed. Trying to intervene, the Trix blasted me, and I landed on the ground with a thud.
As they went downstairs, I tried to get up but couldn't.
Ow...
"Don't move! Stay right there!" Timmy instructed as the Trix walked back up.
"Come on, Timmy, you've got the drop on them," Tecna urged.
"Oh no, Sky. What did she do to you?" Bloom asked as she tried to wake him up.
"Well, what have we here? Another boy who wants to play hero," teased Icy.
Timmy gave up, and the Trix got away. Flora came in and went next to Bloom and Sky.
Flora checked his pulse.
"He has no pulse. His heart has stopped," said Flora.
Bloom put Sky's head in her lap.
"Don't do this to me. Open your eyes. I beg you. Please don't leave me," pleaded Bloom.
I got up and walked towards them.
"This cannot be the end. I love you. It's not the end," Bloom cried.
"I have an idea." I crouched and put my hands over Sky. "Bloom, do the same as me."
She did as I said, and a bright light emitted from both of us.
"It's from within Bloom and Caia," Timmy marveled.
"I've never felt such powerful magic," Tecna said.
"They're healing him," Flora observed.
Sky opened his eyes.
"Sky, you're alive," Timmy exclaimed.
"Caia actually made a miracle happen," Flora added.
"Bloom!" Sky called.
Bloom hugged him tight with tears in her eyes.
"Thank you, Bloom. I've been stupid," Sky admitted as he hugged her back.
They embraced, and I smiled awkwardly. Sky looked at me sadly, but when Bloom broke their hug, he slapped on a fake smile. I turned my back to him and walked towards Flora.
"What was that?" Flora whispered.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said quickly, shutting it down.