CHAPTER TWELVE
BREAKING TENSION
"I cannot believe this." Stella huffed. "She suddenly left us here!"
Tecna shook her head. "Stella, she stated the reason clearly." She told the other. "She has errands to run."
"What's so important that she has to leave us in the dust?!" The blonde countered furiously.
Once again, Musa interfered as she inserted herself between them. "Come on you two," she groaned. "We're going to walk all the way there whether Toriel left us here for that or not."
"She's right, girls," Bloom added. "Besides, it's not like we're going down on a simple task such as this."
That's when they all began trotting their way through the long corridor. There was tension and impatience in the atmosphere, shaking up half of the group. Roxy and Bloom were not bothered however, their patience unwavering. Tecna was persevering the heaviness of the situation whilst the others were quite disturbed.
The Winx were just about halfway when Musa couldn't go on anymore. "You know what, girls?" She began, stopping them from their track. "I can't take this anymore. It's like every step we make, we're increasing our chances of encountering a FIGHT."
"But the corridor is empty!" Exclaimed Stella. "The chances of suddenly getting into a random monster is slim."
The current situation made Bloom think. She wasn't going to lie, she was feeling a sort of dread too. How can you wave off uneasiness...?
An idea finally clicked for her. Her determination led her to something the group could follow with.
"Woke up this morning," she sang softly. "I am so lazy I'm late again."
The familiar lyrics and melody instantly made Musa catch on. "Put on my make-up, the sun is shining--I feel great!"
"I rush out to the street," Bloom continued. "My friends are waiting there for me."
Aisha smiled as she began to clap along. The others looked at each other and shrugged, but figured that this was Bloom's idea to melt the growing ice around them.
"One more adventure," Flora resumed after the pause. "It's gonna be a tough day at school."
Tecna chimed in as the nature fairy finished. "There's so much to learn, and we are giving all our best!"
"No time for fooling," Bloom voiced. "It may seem hard but it's our life."
Stella decided to tag along at the perfect moment--at least for her. "The teacher caught me daydreaming--"
"--again," Musa intercepted with a playful smile.
"All I could think is you," Stella went on, sending a squint to the bluenette who merely chuckled and grinned back.
Roxy had been humming along, recalling how the girls around her sang the chosen song back at the Frutti Music Bar. The Winx as a band was a sight to see, and was clearly new that time that even their headmaster was surprised. She was glad anyhow, and knew well that their music made her father's place popular together with them.
"Will we make it to the end?" Bloom asked, still singing. Her eyes snapped open in realization thay the line itself was relatable to their current situation in the corridor. None of the girls seemed to continue for her, stopping the singing session right at the moment they're about to arrive at the chorus. The moment seemed to make her realize that they were about past halfway the violet zone.
Then, at the quietest moment, her voice resonated once again, singing, "My friends keep telling me--"
"You're the One!" They all chorused, with Roxy now singing as well. "You can do the incredible things you do~!"
"You're the best!" Bloom vocalized, stretching the last word in tune with the song's melody as the others continued with, "And baby you deserve the gifts you have, can't you see?"
The chorus continued on with enthusiasm as the fairies caroled the song whilst walking the long road. Nearing the end, the leader decided to cut the song short from the second verse and skipped to the third. A little closer now, she thought. We should stop by that lone pillar at the end of the hallway.
"Why be extraordinary," she intonated, signaling the song to be cut short. "When you can always be yourself?"
Then, Stella wrapped an arm around Roxy, reminiscent of a time when the half-blood didn't believe what they said. The blonde resumed, "You are a fairy, believe it! Why can't you see that--"
"You're the one, who can do the incredible things you do!" Musa chimed. "You're the best, and baby you deserve the gifts you have, can't you see?"
Flora's soft voice was heard next. "You are strong--you fight against the demons everyday."
"You're a star!" The Winx chanted. "Remember where you come from and who you are--come join us!"
The rest of the song wasn't much, but it was indeed a good blending of the girls' voices. It was as if they were a choir making their own a capella version of their own song.
Bloom decided to end the song just as she began it. "You are a fairy, believe it! You gotta believe it, 'cause you're the one."
Before they even knew it, they were already at the end of the room. Once the girls realized this they all broke into a gleeful celebration, hugging each other as a reward for making it to the ending of the hall. Toriel had already come out of the pillar, unbeknowst to them. She watched them giggle and smile as her own lips curled into a small one. Such beautiful creatures, she thought. They even have great voices.
It took the girls quite a while before they managed to acknowledge Toriel's presence. "O-Oh! Toriel!" Bloom exclaimed, surprised. "We didn't see you there!"
"It's alright, my child," the goat woman replied. "For I had been hiding behind this very pillar all along."
The given fact alone silenced the Winx. It was quiet for a little while, until Stella bursted with, "So you left us alone at the other side only to hide there?!"
"I only wanted to see how you would act on different situations." Toriel inquired. "It seems that I can trust you all on your own, but I feel as if the puzzles are still quite dangerous to you."
Aisha waved it off as she said, "Don't worry about us, Tori. We can do just fine. We've faced different witches and wizards. Puzzles won't harm us."
The brunette's assurance wasn't enough to relieve Toriel of her skepticism. Luckily, an idea had come into her mind as she searched through the hidden pockets of her tunic. "I know!" She chirped. "I will give one of you a cell phone. It has my number in it, and you will be able to call me should you need anything."
True to her words, the anthropomorph gave the cell phone to none other than the leader of the group--Bloom. "I must go now, truly. I have duties to finish here." She stated after bestowing the device to the redhead. She hugged them all, and--for real, this time--left.
Stella sighed, "She has quite the habit of leaving people in the dust, huh?"
"Once again, Stella, she has things to do," Tecna sneered. "And this time, she's not hiding somewhere to see how we act on situations."
The bluenette decided to leave the two bickering, too fed up with the fact that she always had to break them up. Fortunately, Bloom cut their argument short as she reminded them of the phone given from Toriel. "Tecna, you might want to look at it," she told her.
The techno fairy turned to the fire fairy with interest as the phone was passed to her. She didn't have to observe too much because something about the device was very clear to her.
"...this phone is ancient!" She commented, slightly irked. "This can be a collector's item at this point in time."
Bloom sweatdropped as Roxy explained. "We don't know how long she's been stuck here. Who knows, maybe it's been a century since. These people were trapped here long ago, right?"
"I suppose," the pinkette nodded. "I will just see where I can find Toriel's number and distribute it to everyone's phones. Sound good?"
Bloom nodded, but decided on keeping the phone anyway. Tecna told her that it was going to be safe in her possession, and that the redhead doesn't have to worry. She is the fairy of technology after all.
Right after receiving Toriel's number, Bloom chose to call the goat monster to say hi. She tapped on the digits that had just been added to her contacts, and pressed on the phone button to initiate the call. The redhead presses the phone onto her left ear, making sure that the earpiece hasn't materialized yet.
Ring... ring...
"Hello?" Echoed the familiar voice from the other side. "This is Toriel."
Almost instantaneously, Bloom's eyes sparkled with glee. The other girls giggled at her childish achievement, watching their leader smile at them. "This is Bloom--the girl with red hair. I called to say hi. The girls also wanted to say hi."
A small chuckle was heard from the other person as she smiled. "Well, Bloom, tell everyone I said hello! I hope that can suffice. I'll see you all soon, my children."
Click.
"That was... nice." Musa commented. "Anyway, I think we should really get going now."
The others agreed with the music fairy's notion, and together they advanced to the next room.