Brandon was mesmerised by the quick movements of Stella's lips moving up and down, even occasionally jutting forward into a small pout when she took a break from talking. Sometimes when Stella's mouth opened wide enough he could see Layla on the other side, and it looked like his girlfriend was about to take a bite of her friend, which made Brandon smile. When her lips had stopped moving completely and her mouth was at a rest Brandon diverted his attention to Layla's mouth, which was moving animatedly with sharp flicks of the tongue as she spoke about the topic at hand. Of course, Brandon wasn't entirely sure what they were talking about, but he had a vague idea. There was only so much a guy could listen to before he complained, and consequently received a scolding from his girlfriend. With this in mind Brandon had prepared by hiding some earphones behind his hair before boarding the OWL. He was ready to nod his head if either of the girls was to ask him any questions, to show he was listening when really he was doing anything but. For the time being it seemed that the pair was still deep in conversation, and Brandon had nothing to worry about.

"I was completely blind for over a day – couldn't see a thing – and all she has to do is climb a freaking hill and wear a necklace? If earning your Enchantix is that easy then I would have travelled to Pyros a long time ago," Layla grumbled as she leant towards Stella, who in turn rested against the arm closest to Layla.

"Tell me about it," Stella agreed disapprovingly. "I had to protect my daddy from a dragon with literally no power left, I could have died! And poor Tecna…"

"She could have been gone for good, for all Bloom knew," Layla finished, unable to hide the malice in her voice. "How was earning her own Enchantix more important than saving her best friend?"

"Well if it's Bloom and the mighty power of the Dragon Fire we're talking about then of course it'll be a higher priority than Tecna's safety," Stella scoffed. "Honestly, if she became queen I'd doubt her ability to think about what was best for her people, wouldn't you Brandon?"

When Brandon didn't reply, Stella and Layla turned to the brunette whose head immediately shot up and started nodding enthusiastically. The girls seemed to accept his response and returned to their conversation, leaving Brandon to focus on the movement of his girlfriend's lips for the next warning.

Meanwhile, in the cockpit of the OWL, Timmy and Helia were watching their friend with great disbelief and to some extent admiration, as Layla and Stella continued to gossip (loudly) in the back of the ship. With Timmy at the controls and Helia insisting he take up the role of co-pilot, they had accidentally left Brandon behind to keep an eye on the girls. To both Stella's and Layla's knowledge he was doing a pretty good job too, only Timmy and Helia knew better, as they noticed the earphones tucked comfortably into Brandon's ears not long after take-off.

"I really don't think we give Brandon enough credit," Helia grinned as he noticed Brandon's eyes beginning to droop.

"Don't sing his praises just yet," Timmy reminded him, "he'll slip up soon."

"You think so?"

"It's highly probable," Timmy answered casually as he manoeuvred the ship slightly to the left. "We're almost there."

"Won't the girls notice him taking out the earphones when we land?" Helia asked.

"That's what I'm looking forward to," Timmy smirked.

The brief silence at the front of the ship allowed both boys to listen in on the conversation between Stella and Layla, who were still recollecting the events in Omega when they had rescued Tecna. Timmy's chest began to ache as the memories of not knowing whether Tecna was alive resurfaced in his mind, making him feel a little shaky. This change didn't go unnoticed by Helia.

"They have a point, you know."

"Huh?"

"About Tecna. She shouldn't have had to risk her life in Omega to gain Enchantix if Bloom didn't have to," Helia explained.

"Bloom hasn't reached the full potential of her Enchantix powers-"

"But they still somehow dominate the girls'?"

Timmy pursed his lips thoughtfully in an attempt to conjure up a reasonable response, but found none. He wasn't an expert in how magic was exchanged within different realms, nor how one power could dominate another, but all the time he had known Bloom it became apparent that nothing could beat the dragon flame. Nothing. Which understandably confused and annoyed many people, including Tecna.

"Preparing to land," Timmy announced loudly, distracting Helia momentarily. He narrowed his dark eyes at Timmy before flipping several switches to alert any bystanders that the craft was about to land in what was estimated to be the centre of Black Mud Swamp. As the swamp was located in northern Magix it took little over an hour to travel by ship, and even though it would have been much easier to teleport using Stella's sceptre the Specialists felt it would be better to take the OWL so they could gain a clearer understanding of where they would be starting their expedition.

As the ship dipped to land, Stella's grip on the arms of her chair tightened, and all talking came to a halt as she focused on remaining calm. Noticing her friend's discomfort, Layla patted her knee supportively, whilst Brandon wrapped an arm around her shoulder. He saw her lips say a few words, but as he was unable to hear them he gave her a wide smile and nodded his head.

"I almost feel sorry for him," Helia chuckled quietly to Timmy, who was struggling to keep the grin off of his face.

"Told you he'd slip up."

"Poor guy doesn't even know what he's agreed to."

"What are you guys talking about?" Layla asked from the back of the ship.

"No creatures on the radar," Helia lied. "Set her down, Tim."

Musa sat cross-legged with an old, heavy book nestled between her thighs opened to a page about gender-swapping spells. She had touched on the subject during her sophomore year and was sure she aced it, but she wanted to perfect the spell so it lasted longer than a few seconds. Tecna had found the book inside the Magic Archive whilst looking for a spell that could help them form a Super-Winx, as there was a restriction on the number of spell books available in Alfea's library. It was Musa's job to guard the door whilst Tecna and Flora searched the Archive, so no one could see what they were up to and start asking questions. The hallway had remained undisturbed, until Musa's cell phone vibrated in the pocket of the shorts Stella had made.

It was a text from Riven.

Hey, wanna hang out?

Can't, she replied, I'm studying :(

Riven responded a few seconds later. Call me when you're done. Sky said Bloom's coming to RF in an hour

Musa knew this translated to 'you have to be at Red Fountain before Bloom arrives so we can spy on her and Sky', and she also knew that Riven wouldn't be happy if he had to do it alone. With Helia, Brandon and Timmy gone and Nabu nowhere to be found since the break-in, Musa was Riven's only hope. She began to type out a quick reply when something disrupted the silence Musa had grown so comfortable with.

"Hey Musa!"

Musa jumped with a start, almost dropping her cell phone. She lifted her eyes to see who had interrupted her, and when she spotted the pumpkin shirt she realised they weren't a threat and relaxed. "Hi Mirta."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," the dark fairy blushed heavily, already sliding down the wall to sit beside Musa. "Gender swapping spells, huh?"

"Yeah, I made some stupid bet with Riven and if he wins, we swap bodies at graduation," Musa grinned, wishing the bet was all too true. Watching Riven teeter on stage in a skirt and 'accidentally' switch back to his former self mid-ceremony would provide Musa with enough ammo to last for… well… ever.

"Sounds, uh, fun," Mirta smiled, a varnished fingernail tracing a paragraph of text. "You know, we did a little gender swapping at Cloud Tower during my freshman year."

"Really?"

"Yup," Mirta nodded, a strand of dark hair falling into her face. "It was more like a morphing class, you know, you picture someone in your head and appear exactly like them, that kind of thing."

This intrigued Musa greatly. "Really."

"Uh huh, not easy to do though. The pronunciation is a little different from your average gender-swapping spell, you've really gotta curl your r's and crack on the c's. I'll show you."

Musa watched in awe as Mirta's body began shifting to look identical to her own. Her newly-darkened hair grew to her hips, her eyes narrowed and moved further up her head, and her legs grew a little longer. "That's incredible!"

"Thank you," Mirta replied as she shifted back to her normal self. "Didn't think I could still do it."

Musa's smile faltered. "You don't have my voice?"

"No, I don't have a spell for that." Musa's smile changed to a frown as she began to frantically browse the pages with a location spell.

"There's nothing here," she sighed dejectedly, shutting the book and setting it down next to her cell phone. "What brings you down here?"

"Oh! Felicia thought she could colour her hair herself but the potion went really… well… wrong."

"You mean she didn't get the colour she wanted?"

"No she did… it's just that her hair keeps falling out, then growing back really quickly, then falling out, and repeat."

Musa was stunned. "Wow."

Mirta smiled awkwardly. "Yeah. Kind of my fault. That's why I came down here, to look for an antidote in the Archives-"

"You don't wanna go in there," Musa interrupted. "Concorda's having a huge clear-out, she practically threw this book at me." Mirta gave her a suspicious look. "I'm sure Palladium has an antidote you could use," Musa suggested.

"I didn't think of that!" Mirta snapped her fingers and stood up, ready to head back the way she came. "Thank Musa!"

Musa let out a sigh of relief. "No problem."

Mirta turned back suddenly, as if she'd just remembered something. "Hey, you're from Melody right?"

"I am," Musa replied, wondering where this was going.

"If you wanted to sound like Riven, couldn't you just listen to his voice and imitate it?" Mirta looked at the clock above the door to the Magic Archive. "Gotta run, class'll be ending soon and Palladium might have a free period! Bye Musa!"

"Bye Mirta!" Musa waved until she saw her friend disappear. She walked briskly to the large door leading to the Magic Archive, wrapped twice and yelled "Motherboard!" in a hushed voice.

The door opened slowly to reveal a wild-eyed Tecna with her pink hair sticking out at all ends. "Well?" she asked impatiently.

"I found a spell, and I'm going to Red Fountain." Tecna nodded approvingly. "Will you be okay here?"

"We'll be fine," Tecna assured her, tilting her head upwards to check on Flora. "I'll call you if I need you. Here, take this." Tecna reached into the pocket of her skirt and handed Musa her NERD. "My number's already inside, and you can contact Timmy's NERD by selecting the 5-digit code under his name."

Musa exchanged the small device for the book she'd borrowed and tucked the NERD carefully inside her pocket. Once she noticed the absence of her cell phone, Musa walked back hurriedly to where she had sat so she could tell Riven she was on her way. She was about to hit the call button when she heard Tecna call her name. "Musa?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you please tell Timmy I say hi? He should be back from Black Mud Swamp by the time you and Riven get to work."

"You got it Tec," Musa smiled as Tecna shut the door, leaving Musa alone to call her boyfriend.

"Come on snookums!" Stella said in a sing-song voice as she jumped on Brandon, who was mid-walk down the ramp of the OWL.

"Ow, Stella be careful. There's weapons in my back pocket!" Brandon winced as his girlfriend adjusted herself so she fit into the small of his back, her arms swung loosely around his shoulders.

"Well get a move on grouchy pants, my hiking boots are in the back compartment and we don't have all day!"

"When did I agree on piggy-backing you there?" Brandon asked, tilting his head to give her a questionable look, which she returned with just as much confusion.

"Just before, on the ship?" Brandon turned towards Timmy and Helia and mouthed 'I did?', raising his eyebrows in surprise. The two Specialists nodded. Stupid earphones.

"Why didn't you put your hiking boots on before we left?" Brandon groaned, tightening his grip on Stella's legs before carrying her to the rear end of the ship.

"Because I wanted to show off my new Spooks boots," Stella explained, extending her left leg for Brandon to see a shiny, lilac boot that matched the colour of Stella's ascot perfectly. "They match my ascot perfectly."

"They are nice boots Stella," Helia agreed. "You wouldn't wanna get them dirty."

"Can we hurry this up already?" Layla shouted impatiently a good few metres away from the others.

"You and Helia get a head-start, and I'll help Stella with her boots," Brandon suggested, seating Stella on the edge of the opened compartment so she could change her shoes.

"I'd prefer to go with Stella."

"Why?" Helia and Brandon asked simultaneously; the latter confused and the former slightly offended.

"It'd be safer for me to explore this place with someone who knows it well."

Stella hopped down from the opened compartment in a pair of neutral-coloured hiking boots that matched the wilderness uniforms she and Layla were told to wear. "Seriously Layla, it's basically green wherever you look with the occasional tree or rock. No matter where you go, you're gonna get lost." She looked up to Brandon. "So can we go already?"

"Lead the way," Brandon grinned, turning back to stick his tongue out immaturely at Layla. He jogged forward again to catch up with Stella, who was half hidden by the trees, and a second later the two were gone.

Not wanting to stay around any longer than was necessary, Timmy returned to the ship, giving Layla and Helia a small wave goodbye before closing the back compartment of the OWL and preparing it for take-off. Layla was a safe distance away from the ship, so the only impact she received from the turbines was a slight breeze that blew back some of her curls. The same couldn't be said for Helia, who could barely stand his ground and whose hair transformed into a birds nest in a matter of seconds. As the ship took off Helia started to catch up with Layla, who already had a head-start and was slowly disappearing into the foliage.

"There's something in your hair," she told him indifferently as she untangled a browning leaf from his pony tail. He chose to ignore the comment and kept walking at a brisk pace.

"A river's located not far south," he murmured quietly. "If we find it we can follow it to the clearing I saw on the map back at Alfea."

"And then what? We need Stella's ring to memorise the location so we can transport there quickly."

"I'll contact Brandon and give him the coordinates, then he and Stella can meet us in the clearing and she can use her ring," Helia explained, lifting a narrow branch so he and Layla could walk on without being hit. She gave him a grateful nod and took the lead, leaving Helia to wonder whether it would have been easier if Layla went with Stella and he with Brandon.

"Oh wow," Riven gasped mockingly, holding both hands over his chest. "You've never looked so beautiful."

"Shut up," Musa scolded him in a deep, familiar voice as she tightened the belt around the borrowed pair of jeans to stop them from falling down. "These pants are too wide."

Riven quirked an eyebrow. "What are you trying to say?"

"You might wanna think about losing a little weight." Riven hit her playfully across the arm. "Ow!"

"Remember, you're a guy now. If you can't take a small blow like that you'll never fit in." Riven was right. Musa looked in the full-length mirror in the corner of Riven's dorm and examined her new body from all angles, taking in the change of height and build. Unfortunately for her, her new body was slightly slimmer than her boyfriend's, and her body's original owner had password-protected his closet after Riven went snooping for the sake of being nosy.

"It's weird being Helia," Musa chuckled in her newly-adopted voice, which she was using a great deal of her power to maintain. After listening to vocal recordings of Helia she was able to mimic the tone to suit other pieces of dialogue. Much like picking up an accent, it wasn't easy to pick up a new voice, but Musa's powers allowed her to switch with ease. Making it last was the hard part.

"You'll be fine, he's usually pretty quiet anyway. With our luck you won't have to say anything. Just act natural." Musa sat on the end of Riven's bed and crossed one leg over the other, folding both hands comfortably on her knee. "Or not."

"Why don't guys sit like this?" Musa wondered aloud, switching legs to try a different position. "It's so comfortable."

Riven sighed loudly, gently slapping his palm against his forehead. "We have a lot of work to do. Just… don't be yourself. Be Helia."

"How do I be Helia?"

"Stop doing that." A door opened and closed next door. "Bloom's here. Ready for action?"

"Sure Riv," Musa replied, relaxing her face and standing with an overly-chilled demeanour. "Let's go."

"That's too much," Riven told her quietly as he stepped out into the hall. Without knocking he entered the room and instantly headed towards Timmy's desk, as if he were searching for something. Barely looking up from an opened drawer, Riven said "Hey guys."

"Hey Riv," Sky replied uncertainly, his laid-back position against the wall suddenly shifting to a more defensive one. "What brings you here?"

"Timmy asked me to get him something," Riven lied, allowing his hands to skim the surface of notebooks and a roll of tape before deciding the object Timmy wanted wouldn't be found in that drawer. He moved onto the next. "Not interrupting anything, am I?"

Bloom cleared her throat loudly before giving Riven a cheery "Hi!"

"Hi," Riven waved her off rudely with one hand as the other beckoned Musa to enter the room. She lingered in the threshhold a second longer before finally stepping into the small room, her gaze fixed on a carpet stain.

"Hi Helia," Bloom smiled, catching Musa off-guard.

"Hey." Musa's expression remained dismissive, but on the inside she was panicking like crazy. Was that deep enough? Would Helia say her name aswell? Does Helia even say 'hey'? Oh gosh, she knows it's me, the whole plan's doomed to failure. Oh no, Riven's staring at me. What do I do?

'Sit down!' Riven mouthed, his violet eyes burning into her temporary grey ones. Musa took a seat at Timmy's desk chair, tempted to cross one leg over the other like she usually did. Riven gave her a warning glare, and started to slowly part his forefinger and his middle finger, indicating Musa to open her legs. No way.

"So, what are you guys looking for exactly?" Sky questioned, scratching the nape of his neck awkwardly as he gave Bloom an apologetic look.

"Timmy'll be back soon and he's got some gunk on his glasses. He can't find his napkin thingy so he told me to check your room," Riven lied, closing the second drawer and moving onto the top of the desk, which was littered with notes on various codes and suggested websites as well as their purposes.

Musa couldn't stand the tension, it was almost too much to handle. She felt completely exposed slumped in the desk chair with her legs opened wide, and couldn't shake off the feeling that Bloom and Sky were eying her suspiciously. Before she completely broke character under their gaze Riven moved from Timmy's desk to his bedside table, temporarily distracting Bloom and Sky and giving Musa enough time to place a bug atop Timmy's desk. She sighed in relief and sat a little straighter, more confident now that her only task was completed.

"Can you think of anywhere else he would keep it Helia?" Riven spun around to face Musa, his eyes searching her face for an answer.

"Nope, nothing comes to mind," Musa responded, keeping her voice steady and her eyes away from Bloom's. The redhead smiled at them both and rose from her seat to help usher Riven, and who appeared to be Helia, out of Sky's dorm so she and Sky could have some long-awaited privacy. The two didn't need telling twice, and left as quickly as they came.

"Let's check the hangar!" Riven bellowed before the door clicked shut, at which point he and Musa hurried back into Riven's dorm to listen in on Bloom and Sky's conversation.

"It's set to 'record all'," Musa told Riven after double-checking the status of Tecna's NERD. The only active bug was the one next door, so there wouldn't be any interference from other sources. "Could you keep an eye on it while I get changed?"

"Sure," Riven shrugged, taking the small mint-coloured device from Musa and keeping his eyes fixed obediently on the screen. "Could you drop the voice aswell? It's bad enough my girlfriend has to look like my roommate!"

"Whatever you want babe," Musa giggled in her regular voice before she closed the door to Riven's small bathroom. He'd only averted his gaze for a second but when he looked back at the screen it was filled with text, and was quickly filling with more. Riven could barely keep up with the flow of messages and decided it was best to start at the top and scroll down.

"How much farther?" Layla grumbled, stomping on a lone tuft of grass.

"We're almost there," Helia sighed, lagging behind the mocha-skinned fairy by a step or two. He had said the same thing twenty minutes ago, and twenty minutes before that. They had been walking non-stop for almost two hours, and his patience with the swamp was wearing thin as the river they were following didn't seem to be leading them anywhere new.

"Stella was right, it's just green with a couple of rocks and tr- gah!" Layla jumped back in surprise as a six-legged reptile darted its tongue too close for her liking. "I hate this place!"

"Me, too," Helia admitted. Layla smirked at him. "Don't tell Flora."

"Your secret's safe with me," Layla promised after giving the carefree reptile a glare. It didn't seem to notice and scurried up a tree to hunt for bugs. "Do you guys come here often?"

"Who, me and the guys?"

"You and Flora."

Helia paused. "Sometimes… if I can't persuade her that it's too dangerous. I've been here a couple of times for field exercises with the rest of the Specialists, but we're usually dependant on Timmy's gadgets and Riven's natural hostility to help us through this place."

"Hostility?"

Helia smiled. "You might not have noticed this, since he's so very subtle about it, but Riven has trust issues…"

Layla thought back to the very first time she met Riven, when she rode his bike for a mere minute. He totally freaked out and gave her a cold shoulder after she refused to budge that lasted the rest of sophomore year. "No kidding," she scoffed.

But then again, for a kid who didn't have much to begin with, it's no wonder he'd been so protective. Kind of like Bloom, who was trying so hard to prove she was a strong fairy –

No, Layla told herself, that's completely different. She doesn't have to make it all about her. I'm just as good as she is, if not better.

"We should turn back," Layla told Helia flatly, stopping dead in her tracks to give him a second to catch up.

"What? Why?"

"I think the clearing must be back there." Layla pointed past Helia's shoulder in the direction the pair had just been walking. "We would have come to it by now, otherwise."

Layla had a point, and Helia wasn't in the mood to argue, so he simply shrugged his shoulders and said, "Okay."

Layla marched past him and headed down the path the two had trodden, with Helia once again lagging behind. The two had just reached the tree where the six-legged reptile had scared Layla when she decided to break the awkward silence between them. "We haven't heard from Stella or Brandon."

"Brandon wouldn't hear us even if we did try to contact him," Helia sniggered, thinking back to the earphones on the ship. He wondered if Brandon was using the power of the earphones to ignore Stella at that very moment.

"What do you mean he wouldn't hear us?" Layla slowed her pace, allowing her steps to match Helia's.

"Nothing."

"No, it's something." Layla pressed her hand firmly on Helia's chest, stopping him mid-stride and forcing him to face her. "Spill."

"Brandon was listening to his MP3 on the way here, and nodded his head whenever you or Stella asked him a question," Helia admitted, suddenly feeling bad for betraying his friend like that. But Layla let him go, which kind of compensated for the guilt.

"I thought he was acting funny! Is that why he agreed to carry Stella to the back of the ship?" Layla asked with the hint of a laugh breaking through her usually steady voice.

"Well yeah, I mean who's going to willingly carry their girlfriend from A to B so they can change their boots?"

"You said so yourself, they were pretty nice boots," Layla reminded him.

"And they matched her ascot perfectly," Helia added. Layla grinned up at him, and he grinned right back. Suddenly he didn't seem to mind that he was partnered with Layla instead of Brandon.

"You're not that bad," Layla smiled, elbowing Helia lightly in the side.

"Thank you, I'll take that as a compliment," Helia chuckled.

"I can see why Flora thinks you're the perfect boyfriend."

Helia was taken aback. "She said that?"

"Uh-huh."

"I'm not perfect."

"You sure act like it," Layla stated, kicking some brambles out of her way.

Helia picked up a long, narrow stick by the riverbed and used it to push aside some of the brambles and nettles. "Does Nabu act like the perfect boyfriend?"

Layla's cheeks reddened. "I guess…"

Helia nudged Layla playfully and murmured "It's okay, I won't tell. You really like him, huh?" He frowned when Layla didn't reply. "You know, it's not a crime to like someone."

"I don't know if I like being in a relationship," Layla confessed, bowing her head in a vain attempt to hide the blush rising in her cheeks. This was the first time she'd admitted it to anyone beside herself, and she wasn't sure how Helia would take it.

It seemed Helia didn't either. "Oh."

"I've been pretty isolated most of my life, and it took me a while to warm up to the girls. Then out of the blue my parents tell me I'm engaged… and I just… it just…"

"Layla, calm down," Helia soothed, noticing the panic in Layla's eyes and her heaving chest.

"The only adventures of my childhood were the ones in books, where the handsome prince has to rescue the princess, and it annoyed me. Why did the princess never rescue the prince? Why couldn't she save herself? I didn't want to be that kind of princess," she grimaced.

A silence swept over the two, giving Layla enough time to recover from her outburst and compose herself properly. When she finally looked up and started walking again, Helia bravely asked, "Is that why you're so competitive?"

"Probably," she answered with a bitter smile. "It's nothing personal, it's just that growing up I never had to do anything, so ever since I've been proving that I can take care of myself. And people never see it because they think Bloom does all the work!" Layla softened her harsh expression and gave Helia an apologetic smile. "Sorry."

"It's okay Layla, I'm sorry for being insensitive before," Helia told her earnestly.

"You have nothing to apologise for," Layla laughed gently, "Nabu is great. Really."

"So he hasn't pulled a Brandon?" Helia grinned.

"Not yet," Layla joked, stepping over a small ditch leading into the rushing river. "We should try calling Brandon, just to make sure he and Stella are okay."

Helia nodded in agreement and held down the communication button on the side of his earpiece. He wasn't sure how Tecna created the technology or how it worked, but Timmy explained that it was made to respond to the wearer's thoughts in order to contact another device. He pictured Brandon's face and repeated the name in his head, until he heard the faint beep that alerted him that his earpiece was searching for Brandon's. But Brandon didn't pick up.

A frown adorned his face. He held down the button again and thought of Brandon, hoping that his friend would pick up, but all he heard was static. "Something's wrong."

A/N: My apologies to TecnaLogica for not updating this yesterday as promised, especially as she kept her promise to update Lost in Our Dreams (if you haven't already, go check it out!) Of course I owe the rest of you an apology for not updating sooner, and a big thanks to those who have read, reviewed, alerted or favourited this story, it means a lot to me because I honestly didn't think it would go down well with the fandom.

If there's anything you think needs improving then please don't hesitate to let me know:) I don't know when I'll next be updating, but let's just say that this chapter has dropped a few hints about what chapter 8 will entail, and let's just say that this chapter was the calm before the storm...