A Secret Past

{3}

Hey! So, I know I'm totally making up the stuff about Tecna's dad and the king of Zenith being cousins, but I wanted to give her some sort of relationship to the king prior to becoming guardian fairy. Also, this is set after Secret of the Lost Kingdom, so Domino is saved yada yada yada, but no Ogron and his wizards or Roxy...yet.

"Hey, Tec, you coming with us?"

Tecna looked up from her phone, where she'd been texting Timmy. Musa stood over her bed with Aisha behind her.

"Uh...no thanks. I'm still a little behind in Palladium's class. I need to catch up on homework."

"Ugh! Work, work, work, too much work!" Stella groaned as she stomped into Tecna and Musa's shared dorm. "Come on, Tecna, there's a sale in Magix and I saw this outfit that would look absolutely fabulous on you."

"Stella, she said she doesn't want to come." Musa contradicted her, but Stella lifted her chin in defiance.

"But I want to see you in it first, so you have to come with us, otherwise we'll never know how it looks--"

Tecna sighed. "Fine, Stella, I'll go, but don't--"

"Yay!" She exclaimed, attacking Tecna in a hug and dragging her out of the dorm room.

Stella dragged the girls through Magix, trying to visit every single store open in the entire town. Tecna did get a couple things, so the trip wasn't a total waste, but she still would have rather stayed  at Alfea, texting Timmy.

Unfortunately...duty calls.

Literally.

As they were sitting in the food court and talking, (well, the others were, Tecna was scrolling through her cell) her phone began ringing. She didn't recognize the number, but she answered anyway, and held the phone above the table. A hologram materialized above it.

"That's King Cryos!" Tecna exclaimed in surprise. "It's an emergency message to me from Zenith!"

The king looked the same as always; totally composed. "Tecna, guardian fairy of the planet of Zenith, your assistance is required immediately. Zenith is under attack. Come to the palace as soon as you arrive. Please come quickly, Tecna. You are our only hope."

The hologram disappeared. Tecna jumped out of her seat, frantic. "I have to go!"

"We'll come with you!" Musa and the others got up too. "If they're attacking my best friend, they're attacking me too."

Tecna nodded and the six girls ran from the building in order to leave.

The moment they were out of the court, Tecna used her cell phone to summon a portal to Zenith. The girls flew through, and Tecna gasped.

Her home planet was in a state of disaster. There were cracks in the foundations of the buildings, as well as several smoking craters. The paths were crusted in scorch marks and debris.

"What happened here?" Musa exclaimed, looking around. Tecna tried hard not to focus on the damage; instead, she turned to look at the castle, which was surrounded by a forcefield projected by the techno droids.

"There's the palace of King Cryos." Tecna pointed it out to the other girls. "We'd better go see him."

"We're right behind you, Tecna." Musa encouraged her.

The girls ran as fast as they could to the entrance. Two guards stood guarding it. As they approached, the guards crossed their spears over the palace doors.

"State your business here." Said the one on the left.

"I'm Tecna, guardian fairy of Zenith, and these are my friends, the Winx. King Cryos personally asked me to meet with him about the attack on Zenith."

The guards exchanged looks before unblocking the entrance. Tecna thanked them and the girls ran on to the throne room.

It wasn't the first time Tecna had ever been inside the walls of the palace. Her father, a man named Electronio, had worked there for a while, and had brought her with him occasionally to look at the technology of the castle. She remembered the schematics to that day, and it came in handy quite well.

She reached the throne room and threw the doors open. Cryos was pacing in front of his throne while his assistant watched him nervously. When the assistant noticed Tecna and her friends, he smiled. "Oh, thank goodness! Your Majesty, Tecna and the Winx have arrived!"

Cryos looked up at the announcement, and his expression lifted a little. "Tecna, it is good to see you again after so long, although I wish it didn't have to be under such dire circumstances."

"What happened?" She asked, not bothering with an official title. King Cryos was actually her cousin, (first removed, anyway) so she'd always known him, and he her.

"We're still not entirely sure." Cryos shook his head. "The attacks began randomly, widespread across all of Central Zenith. Our fighter bots captured a photograph of one of the attackers, but we don't know who it is."

"Let me see." Tecna urged. Cryos nodded and pulled a PDA from his pocket. He tapped a few buttons and a holographic image appeared. It showed a blurry shot of a man in all black; T-shirt, boots, long overcoat, jeans and all. He looked pale, but built, and he was using magic through a bronze colored staff topped with a black gem glowing with royal blue energy.

"Do you recognize this man, Tecna?"

Tecna studied it a moment longer, hoping to notice something, anything, familiar, but there was nothing. She sighed and hung her head dejectedly. "No. Nothing stands out."

"Tecna, be rational. You may not know who this is, but we can still stop them when they return."

"They?" Aisha asked. King Cryos turned to her.

"Oh, apologies, Your Majesty, for speaking out of turn, but you didn't mention there were more than one attackers."

"Yes, there were two. This man, and a dark fairy no one recognized either."

Flora gasped. "A dark fairy, Your Majesty? You're sure?"

"Yes, the fairy had wings and was attacking my kingdom. She could only have been a dark fairy."

"It's the most logical conclusion." Tecna agreed. She sighed. "So...what should we do?"

"For now, I...I think you should go see your parents."

Tecna's eyes widened. "My...my parents...?"

Cryos nodded. "Yes, Tecna, your parents. Their house was obliterated in the attack. I let them stay in a guest room here in the palace, but they're still quite shaken.

Tecna felt her eyes beginning to sting, so she knew it was time to go. She nodded once. "Thank you.  If they're foolish enough to return to Zenith, then we'll stop them."

"I am very pleased to hear you say that, Tecna."

"We won't let you down."