Winx: the Finale

Chapter 13

I remain completely motionless, as tears stream down my cheeks. There's no way I can beat her. If that woman was telling the truth, then she knows everything. Even so, the thought of my friends betraying me is hard to believe.

I bury my face in my palms, wishing there was something I could do to change the events that were about to occur. I clench my fists in desperation and purse my lips, knowing that she's planning something big.

Footsteps echo through the hallway, interrupting my train of thought. I lift my head, as Rena and my future self stand in front of the bars. "You have five minutes," my future self says sharply, as Rena nods in response. Once she utters those words, she turns and walks away.

I narrow my eyes at Rena, as an amused smirk forms on her lips. "You know, Aqua, for such a powerful fairy, you sure look pathetic," she mocks, as I shoot a glare at her. "The thought of seeing you helpless is so entertaining. Although you're the fairy of the water stars, you've always been weak. It's amusing and quite laughable."

Tears form in my eyes, as a heaviness forms within my chest. "I'm sure I do," I say quietly, which causes Rena's eyebrows to raise. "We both know that this is where Jax and I were once tortured by Valtor. That day, I lost apart of myself. I was beaten and tortured and almost died. Not only did that traumatize me, but Jax witnessed it all. Once all of the torture was complete, I was turned evil and genuinely hated all of you."

Tears stream down my cheeks, as a sympathetic look forms on Rena's face. "I will never forget those feelings," I continue, before wiping the tears from my cheeks. "In that moment, I almost lost everything. You, the Winx, all of our friends, even Jax. It definitely was the worst experience of my life, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone, including you, a person who betrayed us. Even so, please, Rena, tell me why you turned your back on us..."

Rena heaves a sigh and lowers her head in dismay. "I have no admirable reason for betraying you, Aqua," she admits, before pursing her lips. "Even so, you've always cared about me no matter what I did and even searched for the best in me. Why is that, Aqua...? Why do you still care about me?"

I meet her gaze, as tears trickle down her cheeks. "Rena..." I murmur, as she crosses her arms and squeezes her eyes shut. The said female lowers her hands and looks at me for a moment, before making her way towards me.

"Aqua, I know this is asking a lot, but please listen to what I have to say," says Rena, who scrunches her brow in concern. "I never revealed to her anything about your future. In fact, she was the one who approached me soon after I became Fate. She helped me learn how to control my powers, before revealing the truth about the future."

"I wanted to attempt to change the present and create a better future, but the events that are about to occur are fate," she continues, as I stare at her with wide eyes. "Fate cannot be altered. That's just the way things are supposed to be."

"You're wrong!" I declare, as she blankly peers at me. "We can decide our own destiny! Don't be stupid, Rena! You can't let your position and power as Fate consume you! You...!"

"No, you're the one that's incorrect," she responds in a surprisingly formal tone, as her eyes turn white. "I am Fate, and the future has already been decided. The prophecy must be met, and there is nothing you can do about that."

"Rena, you can't give up that easily!"

"Aqua," Rena states, which causes me to silent down. "Listen to me carefully. I spent days researching it and looking at various futures, but it all led back to this. There is no way to change the events that are about to occur."

"Rena, you could've missed something!" I proclaim, clenching my fists in desperation. "There's always a way! If you can't see it, then we'll just have to make a new one!" Rena's eyes flash dangerously, as she extends her arm. A powerful wind slams me into the wall, as I groan in pain.

"Aqua, that's enough," she says in a surprisingly stoic tone. "There's things in life you can't change, and you need to learn to accept that. It sucks, but that's the way the world works." Her serious expression is immediately replaced with an amused one. "Besides, you're clearly in denial. Although this may come as a shock to you, I can't wait to see how my mistress breaks you, Aqua."

"What? Why?"

"Well, it's easy to say that I've always been jealous of you," Rena answers darkly. "Even before the Winx were created, you were so powerful. You had so much potential to become the most powerful fairy to ever exist. You made so many new friends so quickly, and I was so envious. How does someone become so popular in such a short amount of time? I was upset about that for a little while, but I was so happy and relieved when we became friends again."

Her eyes soften for a split second, before an emotionless expression washes over her face. "It was great for awhile, until you decided to take it upon yourself to become the empress of the infinite ocean," she continues. "You lost control over your powers countless times before learning how to control your powers, before vanishing to another world to escape your responsibility of watching the infinite ocean."

"But..."

"I'm not done," Rena remarks, before shooting me a glare. "All you wanted was to become human again and rejoin your beloved friends, but even that had consequences. Unbeknownst to you, that unleashed a greater evil to the world. That evil was your future self. After that, you took every single battle we had and fought it. We were never able to fight alongside you anymore. It constantly felt like you were protecting us, even though we didn't need it."

"Rena, I'm sorry..."

"Save it!" She retorts, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "Once I met your future self, she told me about the events that were about to occur. Truthfully, I wanted to prevent it, but it's impossible. Now, Aqua, I'd rather just watch you burn."

Once she utters those words, Rena turns around and leaves the cell. Tears stream down my cheeks, as I lower my head in dismay and bury my knees into my chest. Why didn't I think about how she was feeling back then? Why was I so selfish?

I clench my fists in rage, before slamming them against the ground. Stop being so selfish, Aqua! Stop thinking about what happened in the past and focus on the present and future! I think to myself, before getting to my feet. If anything, I need to get out of here before it's too late. Before I have time to think about what to do, the cell door slams open.