Promises of Protection

Promises of Protection

Chapter One: The Last Straw

This was the fiercest battle Alfea had ever witnessed. Darkar, Valtor, the Trix, and the Wizards of the Black Circle had joined together to become the Dark Alliance. They only wanted two things, the Dragon's Flame, and the fairy that gave Earth the chance to have magic again. The Dark Alliance would destroy anything and anyone to get what they wanted. Most of the Winx' enemies wanted the Dragon's Flame, except for the Wizards. The Wizards of the Black Circle joined together with the Winx' other enemies to use the opportunity to capture Roxy. With the additional power they had from the rest of the Alliance, it gave all of them more of a chance to succeed in both tasks. Even the Army of Decay from the Winx's first year at Alfea had taken over the school of fairies. The scene was a horrid battle of fear, blood and a few ripped off pairs of fairy wings. However, the Winx Club remained strong, especially with one more member added to their team. Despite their determination, there were times when hope became too far out of reach.

"They're too strong, it's hopeless." Flora groaned, landing next to Layla after being shot backward by one of Anagon's strongest attacks.

"We can't give up Flora, just keep fighting." Layla encouraged her, "Winx never give up!" The nature fairy nodded in agreement and lifting herself off the ground, following her friend's lead.

"You fairies are so pathetic; you have no idea that this time we have stronger combined power! We will conquer the Magical Dimension, and Earth along with it." Anagon cackled, inching towards them.

Meanwhile, the Trix' rot monsters had Tecna surrounded. She was firing laser energy in all directions to defend herself, but they were about to devour her in decay. Suddenly she heard a voice ring out from a distance.

"Get your slimy claws away from her!" Timmy swung in between Tecna and the rot monsters, and then took out his laser gun. He shot at every single rot monster that was attacking Tecna. After they were defeated, he ran towards her and held her tightly in his embrace.

"Are you okay?" He asked her worried.

"I'm fine now. Thank you, Timmy." Tecna smiled, but Timmy knew that behind those thankful eyes, he could see there was a lot of uncertainty about how the battle would end.

"No matter how terrible this battle becomes, I will always stay by your side." Timmy reassured her as he noticed that she was trying desperately not to show any fear. This was the second time she ever truly believed death was close at hand. Of course, she did not want to rehash the memories of the first time.

"Timmy, I.., I have always entrusted myself to logic whenever we face our enemies, but..., I have to admit that..., I'm frightened." Tecna confessed softly, embarrassed by the admission of her weakness.

"I have seen you fight your own battles; you are incredible. This is the biggest battle we've ever seen, so don't be ashamed to admit your fears, especially to me. After…, what happened to you before…, I don't want anything to happen to you again. I'm just afraid there are some battles you might not come out of." Timmy pulled Tecna close to him, holding her tight as if he never wanted to let go.

"Please don't remind me." Was all Tecna needed to ask in a strained voice for Timmy not to say another word, the pain in her eyes said it all.

"I'm so sorry, Cupcake, I won't speak of it again." He reassured her in a comforting whisper. Just the very mention of her sacrifice a year ago brought her great trauma. Suddenly, the technology fairy straightened, stifling all the emotions that were threatening to surface.

"I have to be strong!" Tecna insisted sharply to herself. Then, she turned to watch for more rot monsters. What the two young geniuses saw instead were the Trix.

"Didn't I already make a popsicle out of you once?" Icy laughed viciously, "I think we've already established how strong you are, or should I re-enforce it."

"Use your icy magic on her and I'll…!" Timmy pulled Tecna behind him and put up his shield. Once again, he had his laser gun in hand, if chance needed it.

"Timmy, you can't fight Icy. She'll freeze you easier than she can freeze me." Tecna whispered fearfully.

"I don't care. I am your hero, and I said I would always be by your side." Timmy reassured her, holding her even closer behind his shield.

"We won't touch her, not until you are out of the way!" Icy shouted, shooting shards of ice towards Timmy's shield. He tried his hardest to block them, but he and his shield flew backward, and Tecna fell to the ground. Timmy was about to run back to her when Icy froze his feet. The ice began to creep up his legs and eventually incase his entire body up to his neck. He couldn't move, and he was terrified that Tecna would be hurt without him. Then Icy conjured up more rot monsters to attack Tecna once again, now that she had no one to help her.

"Timmy!" Tecna gasped, seeing Timmy merely frozen in the ice. She was so occupied with the fact that her boyfriend had been frozen that she didn't see the rot monsters advancing towards her.

"Tecna, look out!" Timmy shouted, and Tecna turned around. After Timmy's last warning, the ice materialized, covering his mouth. In an instant reaction, Tecna went to put up a barrier for herself.

"Defender Plate!" She shouted as the barrier formed around her, but the rot monsters kept coming. When they were at the barrier, Tecna tried hard to keep it going. Unfortunately, the barrier broke and she was defenseless. The rot creatures slowly swallowed her in decay. All that was heard were the Trix' evil laughs and Tecna's painful screams.

Moments after the screaming silenced, Icy figured that the rot monsters had weakened Tecna enough, and then ordered them to stop. When they did, Tecna's nearly unconscious body was exposed, covered in bruises, blood and slime. Icy laughed wickedly at the sight before her. In his frozen state, Timmy's eyes widened as he saw Tecna in this painful condition, she was so wounded and weak that she could barely lift herself off the ground. Icy walked triumphantly behind the wounded fairy and smiled cruelly.

"I've always wanted to do this to Bloom, but I guess you'll have to do." She bent over and dug into the root of Tecna's wings, tearing them from her back. Tecna let out a piercing cry of pain, and when the deed was done, the Trix vanished with Tecna's wings. They were a prize for their accomplishment. Tecna was left to fall deep into unconsciousness in order to spare herself the agony of her bloody wounds.

The remaining fairies, Bloom, Stella and Roxy, fought violently against the Dark Alliance. Finally, after long hours of battle, the army weakened. With a combined attack including intense amounts of Dragon's Flame, the villains retreated. Many were wounded during this great battle. Flora had a few scrapes and cuts from the fight; Musa and Layla were nowhere to be seen, and no one found poor Tecna. The three less wounded girls went on an endless search for their missing friends

"Hey, do you guys see that?" Roxy asked after searching the nearby grounds of Alfea for what felt like hours.

"It's an ice coffin; we know who's been here." Bloom was the first to fly down, observing what Roxy had spotted.

"Wait girls!" Stella followed Bloom towards it, seeing an exposed part of Timmy's head from the top of the ice, "That's Timmy!"

"Then, where's…? Tecna! Oh no!" Bloom swung around to see her wounded, bleeding, unconscious friend.

"I'll get Timmy out of that ice!" Stella rose above the frozen Specialist and shone her sunray powers over the ice. The ice melted instantly, and once Timmy was completely unfrozen, it took him a few minutes to get his bearings. Once he remembered what he last witnessed, his face went pale with shock.

"Tecna, no!" He ran toward his unconscious girlfriend, seeing her covered in blood made his eyes tear up and heart shatter. He gathered her in his arms and looked at her painfully.

"Tecna, why… why do these things always happen to you? You convinced yourself that you had to be strong, but you never should've had to face this. This…, this is more than any nightmare I could ever dream." Timmy pulled Tecna close to him, tears flooding from his eyes. Then he looked up at Bloom, and suddenly it clicked. Almost every villain the Winx had ever faced wanted her Dragon's Flame; they would spare no one in the process of getting it, absolutely no one.

"Tecna has never been safe here in Magix. The Dragon's Flame is too valuable to spare any lives." He began in a choked voice, "I'm taking Tecna back to Zenith." Bloom, Stella, even Roxy's mouth dropped in shock, Timmy had finally lost it.