The Queen of Shadows - World of Winx rewrite S.1

Chapter 24: A Fight Without Any Return

Aisha carefully lowered Musa to the ground and then turned her horrified gaze toward Stella, who was being gripped by the neck by an unseen assailant. The face of the attacker was obscured by Stella's body, leaving Aisha unable to identify them. The sounds of choking spurred Aisha to act quickly. Bands of morphix materialized around the person in the black skirt, shimmering like white stars against a stormy sky.

As Aisha's morphix bands attempted to pull the assailant away, black flames erupted, consuming the pink substance and reducing it to melted goo. The intense heat radiating from the flames caused Aisha to recoil. These flames were hotter than any she had encountered before. She wondered if the Queen had granted additional power to a shadow creature.

Stella was hurled into the air, only to be caught by Flora's large vines before hitting the ground. Pale and gasping for air, Stella was quickly surrounded by concerned friends who helped her to her feet.

"Let's make a convergence and defeat the Queen...," Tecna suggested, conjuring a green globe around them. They formed a circle, pooling their powers, though one member was conspicuously absent. Aisha's attention turned to Stella.

She observed her friend hyperventilating, her gaze fixed on the ground despite the calls of her companions. Stella's fists were clenched, her nails digging into the hard, dirty ground. She murmured something under her breath, her words barely audible. Aisha knelt beside her, attempting to soothe her.

"Stella, try to calm down and breathe," Aisha urged. Stella's eyes closed, a tear tracing down her cheek—an uncommon sight. It seemed even Stella couldn't contain her emotions after their harrowing ordeal. The World of Dreams had truly played upon their worst fears.

Aisha couldn't keep track of how many illusions of her own nightmares had plagued them since their arrival.

"Stella, can you hear me?" Aisha asked, placing her hand atop Stella's. She felt a brief relaxation before Stella took a deep breath and opened her eyes, staring into Aisha's soul. The princess's golden eyes seemed to radiate emotions—concern, doubt, and above all, fear.

"S-She's back..." Stella's voice trembled, her body shaking.

Aisha couldn't discern if Stella's voice shook from exhaustion or fear. She waited for Stella to elaborate when a sudden explosion startled her. Black flames consumed Tecna's green globe, the evil laughter echoing through the smoke. Yellow eyes glowed within the darkness as a shadowy figure emerged, hands on hips.

"No... it...it can't be..." Musa's voice expressed disbelief. A figure cloaked in darkness, wearing a skirt and shirt with angular wings, stood before them. It chuckled, sending shivers down Aisha's spine—a chilling blend of Icy's and the Queen's laughter.

Aisha stepped forward, channeling her powers, ready to defend her friends. As the smoke cleared, a figure with fiery red, unkempt hair met her gaze, its yellow eyes gleaming like a dragon's in the dim light.

"Bloom?" Aisha shook her head in disbelief at the sight of her friend in her evil state. "H-how... we... we defeated him...?"

Flashes of memories of his face appeared. Aisha could hear the screams echoing inside her head. The big claws that had been trying to pierce through her heart multiple times, the evil grin never leaving her mind during the nights, and the cold, evil feeling of his absence filled her mind. Her body started to tremble. Was one of their worst enemies back?

Dark Bloom grinned ear to ear, showing her sharp teeth. She levitated, conjuring a black flame in her palm.

"So... it wasn't yesterday, Winx. I've missed seeing your pathetic, stubborn fighting spirits fail over and over again," Dark Bloom chuckled, tilting her head. "But don't worry. If you put up a good fight, I might spare you."

Aisha felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She recognized Musa's soft gentle hand. She stopped trembling, feeling new determination and energy fill her. Hearing the calm music playing inside her head reminded her of Piff's soothing lullabies before bedtime.

"I'm here," Musa whispered.

"Alright... uh, Tecna, Musa, and Roxy, you take care of the Queen, while Flora, Stella, and I stall for time so we can take down Bloom together afterward," Aisha suggested.

They all took off, except for Stella, who remained on the ground, looking shocked. Aisha was about to tell Stella to get up and help them when a black fireball flew toward her direction. Quickly, her eyes widened, Aisha flew between them, creating a morphix shield to take the hit. The impact pushed her backward, sending her into a tree. Flora helped her up.

"Owww, how cute. Saving the lazy Princess who's been protected from real life? Who hasn't lifted a finger since she was born," Dark Bloom teased.

Flora shot her a glare, growing vines around her. "At least she fights for her best friends..."

Dark Bloom raised a brow, looking unconvinced. Aisha shot out one of her mystic wraps, grabbing Bloom by her wrist. She yelped in surprise as she was yanked suddenly, but she quickly regained her balance, pulling Aisha from the ground with such strength.

"Was that the best from you? For someone who has gained stronger powers since last time we fought, your attacks are still so weak," Bloom mocked. She blasted Flora in the chest, making her fall to the ground, her vines burning from the flames. Flora clutched her head, shutting her eyes tightly. "Hey... is Miss 'Too Beautiful' too afraid to fight me? Has the darkness taken over her nice, happy vibes?"

This made Stella look up, rising from the ground. Her eyes flickered with anger. She shot a light sphere straight at Bloom, making her scream in pain. The Princess covered her mouth, eyes widened, mumbling quietly, "Sorry."

Aisha helped Flora up from the ground after securing the vines from the black fire.

"Did you see that? We still have a chance," Aisha said, narrowing her eyes at Dark Bloom, who blinked in confusion, lying on the ground after the blast.

"Mhm... I really hope you're right..." Flora sighed. "Let's just not try to hurt her. She's probably still Bloom deep down there... like last time."

***

Tecna noticed the strange magic emanating from the Queen. Besides her already very powerful boosted powers, she was employing fire attacks, which felt peculiar to Tecna. The flames the Queen unleashed were not ordinary fire like those of other fire fairies' spells. They were ten thousand times stronger than a normal fireball.

She ran scans on her Winx watch, waiting for an analysis of the Queen's fire attacks. Soon enough, the screen flashed red, indicating the result of the dragon flame's power. It revealed that the Queen's powers were extremely enhanced by the dragon flame itself, as was her dark magic. The reason behind their stronger shadow creature opponents was that the Queen had also boosted their powers with the help of the dragon's power.

The Queen effortlessly knocked Musa and Roxy down. Her flames bore a resemblance to the black flames Dark Bloom attacked with. This similarity might be attributed to the fact that the dragon's flame was used for evil purposes and was wielded by a sorcerer using dark magic.

Tecna blocked another attack by the Queen. The heat from the flames glitched her shield before melting it down into small plastic particles, covering the already lifeless ground. She attempted to counterattack with a Chain-reaction, sending connected wires lunging at the Queen. The black flames tried to burn away the silvery metal as it ensnared the Queen by her arm. She screamed as an electric shock shot through her muscles, causing her body to twitch. As Tecna increased the voltage of the attack, the shock waves became as fast as fiber optics.

Soon, even Musa joined in, adding two loudspeakers beside the Queen, who now fell to the ground. Roxy immobilized her arms with eagle claws. The Queen grunted as she struggled against the wires binding her.

"Just give up. You're finished..." Musa declared, crossing her arms as she raised the volume on the speakers. Just as it seemed the Queen was about to surrender, attempting to break free, her eyes began to glow red. Red fire blazed like an inferno within those evil eyes. A cruel grin spread across her face as the wires started to crack. This confirmed Tecna's suspicion—the Queen possessed powers too formidable for their abilities to subdue. They needed to find another way to stop her, perhaps by engaging someone as strong as her in combat.

A burst of black fire sent them crashing to the ground. Cables, broken speaker pieces, and singed feathers scattered across the ground. Tecna felt her skin burning with pain, bearing the marks of burns on her arms. Roxy coughed amidst the smoke, gasping for air. Musa rose from the ground, appearing less injured than the others, poised to confront the Queen.

Suddenly, the Queen snapped her fingers, and with a flash of light, the cocoon containing Annabelle appeared in Musa's path. A black chain materialized around Annabelle's neck, pulling her to the ground and holding her on her knees. She gasped as the chain tightened. Musa halted, anger evident in her eyes. Her hands glowed redder than blood itself. Tecna could almost sense the vibrations of sound waves from Musa's magic.

"Let her go!" Musa demanded. The Queen only chuckled evilly as she raised her hand. The cocoon disappeared, and the black chain yanked Annabelle toward the Queen, who seized her by the collar, whispering something in her ear as tears streamed down Annabelle's face.

"What would you say— if you let me defeat your annoying girly club of yours for good, in exchange I'll let you live and let your friend here of yours come with you back to Earth," the Queen offered, with a forced fake smile. Tecna tensed up at the strategic dirty play of the Queen. She hated being outsmarted by her enemies.

"You dirty..." Roxy's words were cut off as a gag of shadows covered her mouth.

"Musa, think about this..." Tecna said, noticing her friend's confused look. Musa's eyes narrowed between the Queen and Annabelle with pleading eyes. She then dropped her hands slowly. This made Tecna wonder if Musa was considering the Queen's offer.

"P-Please just let her go and..." Musa started.

"Time is ticking, Music fairy..." the Queen warned, her grip tightening around the black chain, making Annabelle gasp and groan painfully.

"Musa?" Tecna tried. Her friend didn't even flinch. Then, in the same moment, the Queen threw Annabelle on the ground, pinning her down with shadows, saying "time's up," and flamed up her hand, ready to strike. Musa furrowed her brow, heavy sound beats emanating from her presence, as she lunged for the Queen. A black shadow resembling a dragon wrapped around Musa and sent her flying. The Queen snapped her fingers, making Annabelle disappear, and yellow hand-sized bells appeared above Musa. They started ringing and interfered with her music powers, causing a distortion sound.

Musa lay on the ground covering her ears, hissing in pain. Tecna tried to rise from the ground but felt her legs give out. Roxy attempted to remove the gag from her mouth, screaming Musa's name through muffled sounds.

"Seems like you don't like my kind of music," the Queen mocked Musa. She summoned more bells and caused Musa to pass out. "One down... four more to go."

They had to find another way to stop the Queen; this wasn't optimal for their current strategy. Tecna ran calculations on their possibility to defeat her and Dark Bloom.

Right. Of course!

Dark Bloom. She has the dragon's flame, and if they bring her back to her normal self, they can fight fire with fire. But the next question arose in Tecna's calculations: How were they supposed to break the dark magic from Bloom's heart? Last time they were in the same situation, they had the specialists with them. And the only one who was able to talk Bloom out of the trance was... Sky. Who's not here.

'We're in a rusty situation,' Tecna thought to herself.

***

Flora blocked one of the flames, feeling the burning sensation and pain her plants had to endure. They struggled against the even stronger version of Dark Bloom. Flora didn't know it was even possible. Sometimes, she wished their fights didn't have to include so much violence. Dark Bloom held nothing back, treating them like toys that could endure endless hits.

More vines attempted to grab Dark Bloom, but she effortlessly burned them away. Flora tried to dodge every fireball shot at her. A vine managed to grab Dark Bloom by her wrist and stall her momentarily. Aisha then shot a water beam, drenching her. The dark burning flames died out, and steam rose from Dark Bloom's skin.

Stella fired small shooting stars at Dark Bloom, who easily blocked them with one hand. She tossed one of the shooting stars back, turning it black and blinding them. They all yelped in surprise as a black flash of light expanded in the area.

Stella countered with her sun powers, spreading light to overcome the darkness. Flora's vines wrapped around Dark Bloom's ankles, attempting to knock her over, but it backfired. Flora felt a pain spreading through her legs. The root system had caught fire and was now screaming in agony. She fell to her knees, clutching her legs.

"This was fun and all," Dark Bloom yawned, raising a barrier to block another one of Stella's attacks. "What about you actually try attacking me?"

"Yeah, yeah... keep talking, Miss Dark Bloom— who thinks she's the best," Aisha mumbled, helping Flora cool down and extinguish the fire on the ground. Dark Bloom ignored the taunts. Stella stood in the way, blocking the attack with her sun barrier.

"Please, Bloom. Come back to us," Stella pleaded. "I don't want to fight you."

Dark Bloom watched Stella with a blank face, her yellow glowing eyes scanning the sun and moon fairy up and down. "Oh yeah? First of all, it's Dark Bloom. Second of all, if you now don't want to fight me, then I guess it's even easier to take you down."

The coldness in her voice sent shivers down Flora's spine. Her heart sank, unable to believe what her friend had just said. Stella's warm, confident gaze dropped, her determination seemingly deflated by the comment. She mumbled quietly, "No, you... you wouldn't?"

"Are you trying to test me?" Dark Bloom raised her eyebrow. Stella opened her mouth, perhaps attempting to explain, but before she could speak, a black fireball hurtled toward her. Stella stood paralyzed in her spot. Aisha swiftly flew and tackled Stella, preventing her from being hit.

"Stupid Winx. You girls never know when to step down and just give up," Dark Bloom growled in annoyance.

"We just want to save you..." Stella retorted, clearly hurt.

"Ah yeah... where were you then when I needed you at the watchmaker's tower?" Dark Bloom snapped, her eyes burning. Stella broke their eye contact and deflated. Dark Bloom seized the opportunity to attack, but Flora was quick enough to block it.

"Stella, come on! You have to focus," Aisha urged, helping her up from the ground. Stella only stared at the ground, avoiding eye contact with the Princess of Andros. She shook her head.

"T-This is really happening again..." Stella's voice stuttered, her breath quickening. Flora approached, creating a convergence shield with Aisha to fend off another attack from Dark Bloom. She tried to talk to Stella and calm her down, but the Sun and Moon fairy continued to ramble about how she had been a bad friend and failed everyone she loved.

"Hey, hey... Stella, listen. You haven't let anyone down. Don't let Dark Bloom's words get to you... it's not her speaking," Aisha tried to comfort her as she created a wall of water. Black flames steamed away as they collided with the wall.

"Stella?" Flora asked, noticing her Winx watch flashing. Stella did not respond. It was then that Flora realized who was calling... Ace.

'Oh no... The Finale is today.'

***

Aisha recognized the battle stance Bloom was assuming. She curled up into a little ball, her skin covered with flames crackling aggressively. This was the attack she have been using against the Trix at multiple times and Valtor to defeat them.

Flora's eyes widened in panic as Aisha created big pink morphix orbs around her and the rest of the Winx. She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her skin, causing pain. She knew the impending explosion would require all her energy to be put into this spell.

Black flames emerged from Dark Bloom's chest, emitting a blinding dark light. The ground began to shake, a large crack appearing and lurching toward Aisha. She flew up from the ground and attempted to maintain the strength of her orbs. Grey, thick smoke billowed into the air, resembling clouds in the night sky. She felt her energy being drained from her body, her legs and arms trembling. Dark Bloom's eyes seemed even more bloodthirsty than before. Aisha could see the shade of black flames burning with anger inside her yellow glowing eyes.

The orbs started flickering as the flames attempted to break through. Sweat ran down Aisha's forehead as she fought against the powerful flames, refusing to let them reach her friends. This only seemed to enrage Dark Bloom further. She began hurling black fireballs at Aisha's orb. Soon, the water completely evaporated, and the orb disappeared.

With her last ounce of strength, Aisha shot a water wave, hitting Dark Bloom and causing her to spin around. Flora threw heavy rocks at her, while Aisha restrained Dark Bloom with her Morphix. Stella remained frozen on the spot, watching the battle with wide eyes. If Aisha hadn't recognized her Princess friend's slight panic attack, she would have appreciated some help in blinding their opponent. But for now, she and Flora had to fight Bloom with their powers.

She glanced over at Tecna and Roxy, who were battling the Queen. The Queen appeared slightly surprised after the explosion. Her crown was askew, her clothes bearing burn marks, and one of her arms visibly burned. She coughed as she launched her attacks. Aisha wondered if this presented an opportunity to at least eliminate one of their adversaries.

Aisha spun around in the air, dodging Dark Bloom's fireballs. She could hear Dark Bloom growling in frustration as her attacks came closer and closer with every shot. Aisha conjured a Morphix shield and sword, swinging the blade in the air to slice the fireballs.

"Flora, look out!" Aisha exclaimed, throwing her shield to block an attack aimed at Flora's back.

"Argh! Stop fighting like cowards and blocking my attacks..." Dark Bloom growled. "Come on, put up a real fight."

"Oh, sorry. Are we not fighting as Miss Evil Bloom wants us to? My apologies. But we don't particularly enjoy being beaten after one hit," Aisha teased, realizing she probably shouldn't have provoked Dark Bloom, who now seemed angrier than she had throughout the entire fight.

"Dragon's breath!"

Before Aisha had time to react, she saw a dragon's head lunging towards her. She noticed a green silhouette standing in front of her, with a flash of pink passing by. The attack hit her Morphix shield and landed beside her, but the heat still reached Aisha's skin and burned. She hissed in pain, grimacing and clutching her arm. Beside her, she saw Flora shaking, falling to her knees. Dark Bloom laughed and grinned.

"Flora?! Are you hit?!" Aisha exclaimed, approaching Flora. Flora shook her head, explaining that the attack mostly hit the shield but burned down her vines and rocks, draining all her energy.

"Well... such weak fairies. I'm almost surprised myself that I've been this kind and toyed with you for this long..." Dark Bloom chuckled, her grin never faltering on her twisted, mad face.

Aisha furrowed her brow, feeling this was the last straw.

"If you want a fight, then come on!" she conjured water, forming an armor made of water molecules. In her hand, a pink morphix trident appeared, and her eyes now glowed dark blue like a stormy night on Andros.

"Oh no... she's so powerful and using water against fire. What should I ever do?" Dark Bloom mocked fear before conjuring her own armor of fire surrounding her. "Don't worry. This will be over soon so that you don't have to see the world end."

"Bring it on..."

***

Dark Bloom laughed to herself. She easily knocked down the water fairy onto the ground after a steamy fight. Soon, the Flower fairy joined her as well. They were both covered in red and black burn marks, smoke emerging from their singed forms. The Sun and Moon fairy hadn't moved, still frozen like timid children unsure of how to handle themselves. Dark Bloom only rolled her eyes and prepared to attack when she heard screams from the fight between the Queen and the rest of the Winx.

She watched as the other girls tried to keep up with the Queen. Green, pink, and red beams shot through the air like rainbows, exchanged back and forth between the two sides. None of the fairies landed any hits on the Queen. This battle was too easy, almost boring. But Dark Bloom assumed she would have to stop the Winx soon so they wouldn't have to suffer any longer. After that, she could finally proceed with her plans for the new world she had been introduced to.

It wasn't as grand and fun as the Magical Dimension, but she supposed it was a start before the real fun began. She just had to eliminate any possible enemies besides the Winx who might get in her way and try to stop her. Closing her eyes, she felt the sparking fire inside of her speaking to her. She felt the power coursing through her body, as if the universe itself ran through her veins.

A massive black dragon with burning red eyes emerged from her body. Dark Bloom ran her hand firmly over the dragon's tight, hard scales as it roared and scorched the nearby trees with its dragon's breath. Now that the water fairy was down, she couldn't extinguish the dark flames. Dark Bloom grinned at the sight of the horrified faces. Even the Queen had turned around to look at the dragon, her eyes wide and her jaw dropped.

Dark Bloom observed the Sun and Moon fairy's concerned expression. The Techno-fairy and the Animal-fairy helped their unconscious friend up from the ground while the Queen was distracted. From their direction, Dark Bloom heard a ringing, annoying sound. She shot a small fireball at the bells ringing in her ears. The Queen turned to glare at her when she noticed what she had done.

"Are you helping them?!" she exclaimed, conjuring black spheres in her palms. Dark Bloom only chuckled, grinning in satisfaction, relishing the Queen's agitation. The mind game was entertaining for her.

"Me helping some pathetic fake heroes? Never. The only one I'm helping is myself," Dark Bloom retorted.

The Queen furrowed her brow and was about to attack when Dark Bloom directed her dragon to face the Queen. The Queen's eyes widened in terror. This only fueled Dark Bloom's satisfaction, spurring her on to continue pursuing her goals.

"Are you betraying your Queen of Shadows and World of Dreams? You're supposed to follow my orders and..." The Dragon roared, causing the Queen to flinch and fall silent.

"Why take orders from someone when I can be in charge and make others follow me instead?" Dark Bloom mocked.

The Queen of Shadows attempted to send her minions to attack the dragon, but they were burned away, turning into ashes that littered the already dark ground. Dark Bloom felt it added another layer of darkness to the overly colorful world.

"I should have known..." the Queen growled in frustration. Dark Bloom ignored the Queen's remark and prepared herself for the final blow.

***

Stella watched as her best friend — no, Dark Bloom — threatened the Queen with her dragon. If Stella thought Bloom's dragon Buddy was scary, this one was even more terrifying. The dark magic, combined with the powerful power of the dragon's flame, made her shiver. Her powers felt weaker in its presence, as if it were draining all the existing light and life.

Stella hoped her best friend wouldn't do it again... help the darkness. It couldn't just end like this. Bloom always had a solution to every situation. She had defeated Icy, Lord Darkar, Valtor, and the Ancestral witches. What difference would this make? She... she's...

She swallowed the words before they left her tongue. Dark Bloom stood eye to eye with the Queen, declaring how she would take over the World of Dreams and then the entire Magical Universe.

"...after all, I'm the most powerful being in the universe."

Stella flinched at the memories flooding back. Bloom had said the same thing under Darkar's spell. She remembered how much it had hurt during that fight. Every mean and evil line, every fire attack that Bloom had tried to hit her with, and when they had almost lost, if it hadn't been for Sky breaking the curse.

Wait... Sky.

Stella snapped out of her trance, starting to walk towards Dark Bloom with her back against her. She could hear Dark Bloom talking about how she would have to make a sacrifice to awaken the Dark One — to become even more powerful.

This made Stella pause for a moment. She had never heard Lord Darkar talk about someone called 'the Dark One'. Was that some evil spirit like any other evil presence out there in the Magical Universe waiting to take over the universe?

"Y-You... what no... Argulus..." the Queen murmured something, her gaze shifting from anger to fear and hurt. Stella tilted her head, sensing that the Queen must know who Bloom was talking about and must have some connection to that evil spirit. "You wouldn't..."

"Oh yeah, I would. And what would you say to being my guest to be his sacrifice?" Dark Bloom laughed, pointing with her glowing hand at the Queen. The Dragon furrowed its brow, opening its mouth. Hot air radiated from the dragon's breath as it growled. Stella noticed the black flames building up...

She... she couldn't let Dark Bloom awaken more evil forces. She had to act fast... The next thing she heard was a scream echoing in the air.

***

Musa blinked, feeling the headache worsening in her head.

"Sit still... this is protecting your ears from any more distortion sounds," Tecna's voice spoke.

Musa saw a shining figure rushing hastily in front of a large black creature with scales. She could feel the burning hot air against her face, causing sweat to run down her neck. Something told her this was not good. Had they already lost? Where were the rest of the girls?

A scream made Musa flinch, hearing Flora's yell piercing through the hot air. A blinding light, a mixture of yellow and black colliding, expanded in front of them. Musa covered her eyes and now heard Flora shouting Stella's name. Musa furrowed, trying to figure out why she was doing it, and her eyes locked onto a fairy wearing a bright orange-yellow bodysuit and wings, unmoving.

Dark Bloom, who had been staring at the Queen, now narrowed her eyes on Stella's still body. Her eyes widened slightly. The Queen took advantage and fled into some shadows, disappearing. Dark Bloom dropped her grin and looked genuinely shocked, before grinning the next second. Musa furrowed and was about to rise from the ground and confront Dark Bloom for having killed one of her friends when a figure with a yellow hood appeared by Stella. She could hear coughing and saw a black burn mark on the yellow hooded figure's back. Her jaw dropped when she saw who it was... Jim.

***

Stella felt the burning sensation in her chest. This feeling was even more painful than being struck by a lightning bolt. Her muscles ached, and her fingers felt numb. Though she understood she was alive... or she hoped so.

To her surprise, she noticed she did not have as many burn marks on her skin, as if Dark Bloom's dragon hadn't used its full strength to attack. She felt a heavy weight on top of her that she shoved off. She heard someone groan painfully and coughing. She raised an eyebrow, narrowing her eyes. There was Jim lying, with a horrible burn mark, the smell of burned flesh reaching Stella's nose.

"You're welcome," he grunted.

"Y-You just saved me...?" Stella asked, confused. The silence between them was filled by the ongoing battle between the Queen and her shadow creatures against the Winx. Despite her hatred for this man, who had lured Bloom to the watchmaker's tower alone to get kidnapped, he had shown he had changed. Stella helped Jim up from the ground, and he nodded weakly to confirm her confusion and question.

Dark Bloom stood before them, a black flame in her hand. "I guess you two could work as a sacrifice to awaken the Dark One."

Stella blocked Dark Bloom's flame, feeling that the flame attack was weaker than she had expected. It was as if Dark Blood did not want to hurt her? Another weak attack was shot that Stella easily blocked. She set Jim down safely before slowly approaching Dark Bloom. As soon as Dark Bloom tried to fly and grab Jim, Stella knocked her back, expecting to make Dark Bloom angrier. But instead, she noticed how her face looked conflicted.

"Bloom..." Stella started. She tried to remember how Sky was able to break the curse. It was out of love, right? But would love of friendship work as well? As it looked right now, the Queen had turned Bloom into a stronger, darker version of herself. Dark Bloom tossed a slightly stronger flame attack that left a burning sensation on Stella's palm.

"It's Dark Bloom..." Bloom furrowed, sounding like she forced herself to sound threatening. "I-If you don't let me sacrifice Jim, I can always use you."

Her voice now crackled like angry fire, making Stella pause. She raised her hands in the air, walking slowly closer to Bloom.

"Listen, Dark Bloom. I just want to save you... remember last time this happened. How Sky saved you and..." A powerful fireball hit her in the chest, making her tremble backward. Stella clutched her chest, extinguishing the black flame on her clothing. "Please, Bloom..."

"I have never cared about you... nor any of you Winx! So just stop trying to stop me and let me fulfill my dreams," Bloom exclaimed, two more black flames dancing in her palms.

"Are you sure this is what you really want?" Stella tried. Dark Bloom shot her a warning glare, a flame ready to leave her hand.

Stella gritted her teeth against the pain in her body after Dakr Bloom's last attack. She tried to gather more strength to speak up. 'This is not Bloom talking... this is not her normal self...' she told herself inside her head.

"We all do care about you, Bloom..." This time Bloom did not correct her name pronunciation. Instead, she allowed it, her flames starting to flicker. "If Sky were here, he could surely save you faster."

Bloom's gaze hardened. Stella had to create a big shield when a burst of flame was launched at her. The forceful attack made her slide slightly across the ground. Stella didn't give up, though, and kept walking slowly towards Bloom. Her gaze followed her, showing confusion and suspicion.

"Okay, you don't want to talk about him, I realize, and..." Stella stopped herself as she saw Bloom's eyes now glowing yellow and her body starting to heat up. "Uh... but remember all those fun times we had at Alfea? How we saved the world together and shopped during our breaks? Remember the warmth of the sun and the beautiful buildings in Solaria that inspired you?"

She saw Bloom blink, and her hard gaze softened. Stella walked closer, feeling the heat radiating from Bloom's body. At first, she thought Bloom would attack her and push her back... but she didn't.

"I promised to protect you after the Trix attacked you back in Gardenia... but then year two came, and I made the mistake of trusting fake Avalon who..." she couldn't finish the sentence, unable to say the word. She remembered the panic call from Flora warning her about the fake Avalon and urging her not to take her eyes off Bloom and leave her side. But it had already been too late. She still remembered the muffled scream she had heard in the hallway before bursting into the room, only to find emptiness.

"And then year three came, and I felt terrible for you learning more about your past from Valtor, who tried to confuse you. If I had known how he used Sky and turned him against you, I would have tried to protect you from it," Stella continued.

Stella sniffed, feeling small tears prickle her skin. She felt the pressure and guilt wash over her. Who really wanted a friend who couldn't even hold their promises? And most of all... who would want a queen who could not even help those who are in need?

"I'm so sorry I did not come in time to the tower and save you. I'm sorry you had to go through something similar again... feeling left behind," Stella continued. Bloom's face was blank. She tried to discern any reaction from Bloom, but those yellow eyes were difficult to read. Stella reached out with her hand to put it on Bloom's shoulder, telling her that they can work together on this.

As she was about to make contact with her best friend's shoulder, a hard, tight grip around her wrist stopped her. She yelped in surprise and tried to pull away from the painful grip. Sharp nails were digging into her skin. But her yelp got cut off by a hand covering her mouth. Her eyes stared into Bloom's yellow eyes that looked determined and vengeful. Her blank face had now turned into an evil grin, and small chuckles escaped her mouth.

"I'm sorry, Stel. But that won't work again."



-----

Authors Note:

If you enjoyed this chapter, make sure to leave a comment with your thoughts!

So... I've heard rumors that maybe the Winx reboot will launch on Netflix. To be honest, I hope it's fake news. Because for those who don't know, Netflix is known for canceling their shows after two seasons... And I'd rather not see that happen with another Winx series. But hey, this rewrite might not have happened if they hadn't canceled World of Winx, I guess.

Anyways, while I will continue this series, I'll also work on some other Winx projects in the future. So make sure to subscribe to my profile and works to never miss anything! 

For updates and more info you can follow me on Twitter: BottenAdam (AdamB) or Reddit: AdamBotten