Dreamworks Rise of the Guardians x Winx Club Crossover

Chapter 28: Defendix Club

Alice entered the dorm she shared with Clarice, the Fairy of Fun, their unlikely friendship already blooming. Clarice, a half-year senior at Alfea, and Marzia, the Fairy of Playfulness, were both focused students, though in different ways. The Winx had just left for Earth after Tecna apologized to Alice.

"Hey, let's call our dorm members together!" Alice suggested. "I came up with a name for our own club, based on something Bloom asked me to promise to do, Clarice."

"Sure, why not?!" Clarice replied absentmindedly, then called out boldly, "Marzia, Emma, Trista, and Nica, come on into the common room! We're having a dorm member meeting."

Trista, the Fairy of Wisdom, wasn't a new student either. She was the first member of their group to be a lady of color, hailing from Espiro, a realm with an Indian influence but without its own gods. Espiro had been devastated by Valtor's powers before and after his defeat, left neglected by the Winx and the Company of Light, who were busy restoring Magix and Cloudtower. Trista had arrived at Alfea before her world was attacked the previous year, becoming the only hope for restoring Espiro's former glory.  It was a heavy responsibility, but she carried it with grace.

Emma, the Fairy of Hearts, was shy but kind to her roommates as a freshman. She was the only member with red hair, often worn in two low ponytails or a single braid.

Nica, the Fairy of Gadgets, was the second fairy from Zenith to join Alfea on her own initiative. She was the only member with dyed purple hair, and she was the only one to copy Tecna's pixie haircut, a style that had been around since Season 1.

"We need a name for all of us as a group," Alice continued. "Bloom asked me to help defend Alfea and the rest of the Magic Dimension while the Winx are away!  How would you all feel about us calling ourselves the Defendix Club?!"

"I love it!" Emma said cheerfully.

"Me too," Nica agreed. "Classic, simple, and elegantly easy to use, Alice."

"I'm all for it," Clarice added. "I can't wait to make the Winx proud of our efforts to help protect their home."

"Easier said than done," Trista commented thoughtfully. "This means we have to be completely in sync with each other, relying on each other's strengths, and being diligent, logical, rational, and following all the valuable wisdom we've learned."

Marzia suffered, and was still suffering, from a huge identity crisis. The past year had been a whirlwind of conflicting lessons. Her home planet had taught her that conflict was the only answer to conflict – a complete falsehood, she now knew. But the lessons lingered, a shadow cast upon her soul. This internal turmoil manifested in her physical appearance: she kept her long, straight blonde hair neatly pulled away from her face with a blue bandana, as if trying to contain the chaos within.

The worst part was her own birth name, "Marzia," meaning "devoted to war." It reflected the very legacy of her planet, a legacy she was starting to hate. Now, in the Magic Dimension, where peace and harmony were valued, she felt like a contradiction, a walking irony.

"I might need some help with that, Trista," she admitted, her voice laced with a touch of despair. "Wise advice and valuable codes were never part of my planet's culture, since towns started growing on it for centuries."

Her eyes, usually sparkling with mischievousness, were clouded with a deep sadness. She yearned for something better, but the ingrained beliefs of her past clung to her like a stubborn weed, threatening to choke out the fragile shoots of a new identity.

"Then we'll need to do some trust tests between all of us, Marzia," Trista suggested. "But I do like the name you chose, Alice." 

Despite Trista's wise and calculated remark, the name was approved.

"Me too," Marzia finalized. "I'm terrible at coming up with creative names on the spot, ironic, I know, for being the Fairy of Playfulness!"

"The first trust challenge we will do is The Tempting Whispering Willow Plantathon," Trista responded, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "Ironically, it's very much the same thing as Palladium's first midterm exam options, but in real life."

She paused, glancing at each of them, her gaze lingering on Marzia's troubled expression. "We take a willow sapling, go to a small clearing in pairs. Alice and Clarice will do one, Marzia and I will do the other, and the third will be between Emma and Nica."

Trista continued, her voice taking on a more serious tone. "We plant the tree in the ground and nurture it into growing. Our willow saplings represent peace and potential for growth. We will meet our fears as we grow the tree, and it is our job, together as a team, to protect the tree from being harmed by just one of either of our fears.

"There are three trials to pass through in this trusting trial." Her eyes met each of their gazes, conveying the seriousness of the task before them.

"First, you will only hear your fears manifesting as creeping shadowy whispers, ladies. Second, your emotions will be tempted to tick, to bite, to gnaw, and burst. You must shake off those seeds of doubt, caused by the negative thoughts in your brains. The third trial, you will see your fears and the cause of your fears. They will converse with you, trying to get you to go against every bit of actual wise advice in your heart as well as your mind."

"I'm ready." Alice stated, her voice firm, her fear replaced by a newfound determination. "Let's get the seeds from Palladium and do this trust trial in pairs, as Trista suggests.

Everyone, even Marzia with her internal struggles, nodded in agreement. The air in the room was thick with anticipation, a mixture of fear and hope. The Tempting Whispering Willow Plantathon was a test not only of their abilities, but of their trust in each other. The very foundations of the Defendix Club were about to be tested...

They found Palladium in his potion lab, a whirlwind of bubbling concoctions and swirling fumes. Trista, ever the bold one, walked up to the Elvish professor, who was intimidating to most others, with a confidence that belied her age.

"Trista, what are you and your classmates doing here? My class starts tomorrow for you, young ladies," Palladium said, his voice tinged with curiosity.

"My friends and I have decided that we need to do a trust trial, one of my planet's traditions. It's called The Tempting Whispering Willow Plantathon, Palladium. We came to pick up three willow seeds from you, before we go out and do it today," Trista stated, her voice clear and unwavering.

"Right, the Espiroans were always smart about trust. The Trust Trial Festival was held every 3 years on that planet, in every town," Palladium replied, a knowing glint in his elven eyes.

"It is one of my favorite traditions!" Trista exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with pride. "It's been going on for 5 centuries."

"Here we are, young aspiring fairies!" Palladium said, his voice echoing with gentle kindness. The elven professor, the height of a regular adult human but with features so much more slender and refined, picked up a pouch containing three magic willow seeds and passed it over to Trista. Trista gave one to Alice, another to Nica, and kept the last one for herself and Marzia.

"We'll need to spread out, in our pairs, so we don't interfere with each other's tests," Trista instructed, her voice filled with authority.

"One more thing, a day pass, since this might take all day," Palladium said his voice laced with a hint of amusement. "Notes to show to Griselda, so she doesn't assume you left campus without permission." He handed them each a signed permission slip, indicating the trial they were about to perform.

Alice, Clarice, Marzia, Trista, Emma, and Nica showed their passes to Griselda, standing in the courtyard. Then, they split up, heading in three separate directions, deep into the sprawling Magix Pine forest that bordered Alfea.

The air was thick with the scent of pine needles and the magic that imbued every inch of the forest. The first trial of The Tempting Whispering Willow Plantathon was about to begin.