Winx Club Rewrite 3.5: Curse of the Coven

AN: Hello everyone. ArachCobra and Givenea here. This is the beginning of our rewrite of the first Winx Club movie, which will be divided into three chapters. Hope you all have fun reading it and we'll be looking forward to seeing your reviews.

Chapter 1: Summer Days

The taxi followed the snaking road through the beautiful hills of Harmony. The sun was bathing the area in heat, baking the interior of the car. So it was with great relief that the passenger could step outside, after the hovering vehicle finally came to a halt.

"You have a good day now, buddy," the driver hollered, before driving on to his next assignment.

The passenger, Hagen Samson, took a deep breath of the fresh wind coming in from the ocean, happy to be out of the stuffy car. He was an man in his sixties, with the signs of age apparent in his long white beard, the many wrinkles on his face and his scarred, weather-beaten skin. But he was still in his prime, as evident by his unbending posture and massive muscles that bulged beneath his fine blue clothes. He marched down the road and soon arrived at a nice little house. He paused for a moment, before retrieving a small piece of paper from his pocket, on which he had written down an address. He checked the number of the house with the one on the paper, before finally concluding that the taxi had indeed brought him to the right place. He marched up on the porch, raised a massive, meaty fist and gently knocked on the front door, before folding his arms behind his back as he patiently waited.

A few seconds passed, before the door opened, revealing the face of Faragonda. "Ah, hello Hagen. You're early."

"Well, I gave myself some extra time in case I got lost," he replied in a gruff voice, before bowing and greeting the headmistress with a: "It's good to see you again, Emanuela."

"Likewise. Please, do come in." The Fairy headmistress pulled back, allowing the massive man entry into the house. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Some cold water would be nice, yes," he confirmed. "Taxi ride was sweltering. Is it summer around here? I always get the seasons confused between worlds."

"It's actually mid-spring," Faragonda replied, as she went into the kitchen. "But it won't get much hotter than this. Harmonians generally like their summer to be without heatstrokes."

"Generally?"

"Well, you know how weird Oppositus can be." She handed him a large glass of cold water, which he poured into his mouth.

"Ah, that hit the spot," he said happily, as he handed the glass back. "Much appreciated."

"My pleasure. Now, I have to get lunch ready, so I'll be with you in a moment." Faragonda opened the refrigerator and started looking through its content. "Perhaps you can have a chat with Bloom and Eugene while I get things ready. They're in the living room."

"Ah, Bloom." Hagen paused. "That was the girl you mentioned when you contacted me, right? The lost heir of Domino?"

"That is indeed the case."

The large man left the kitchen and moved into the living room, listening to the conversation coming from there. "...and then I revealed that the weird trees had actually been Abyss mutated ents the entire time. Though I might have overdone it. Almost a complete wipe. Fortunately, they where high level enough that..."

Hagen entered the living room, noticing the redheaded girl and the white-haired boy sitting by the table, the latter telling some sort of story while waving his arms around a lot, though he stopped talking when he suddenly noticed the newcomer. "Sorry, I did not mean to interrupt you," the big assured them. "I am Hagen Samson."

"Oh, Emanuela mentioned you would be visiting today," the redhead noted.

"Indeed. And you're Bloom I take it." He got a confirming nod from the Dominian princess, before he turned to the boy. "And you are?"

"Eugene Bijoux," the bespectacled teen replied, while correcting his glasses. "Wait, you're Hagen Samson of the Shining Steel, right? From the Company of Light?"

"Yes. Though please, it's just Hagen," the large man requested, as he sat down in the sofa, which slightly protested from the weight of his massive musculature. "I'm not much of a title person. I'm just very good at my job."

"I get that," Bloom sighed. "Not only do I have to be called Princess Bloom Peterson of Domino every time I run into a journalist, half the time they can't get my name right."
"Because of the court cases, if I remember," Eugene commented.

"Yeah. Now there are people who insist on calling me Princess Phila Kadmos of Domino," Bloom replied annoyed. "No disrespect to my biological family, but that's just not my name. I mean, I'd be willing to add the last name or something if it's so dang important, but I'm not changing my first name."

Hagen scratched his beard. "Apologies, but... What court cases?"

"You know, with Valtor and the Usurpers," the redhead explained. There was a slight and awkward pause. "You know, Valtor Kadmos. My brother."

"Hagen is an incurable workaholic who forgets to keep taps on the worlds," Faragonda commented, as she walked in with a large pot of fresh tea. "He's probably been busy with something and forgot to check the news for months."

The large man huffed, causing his large beard to form waves. "I've had several patrons requesting some very important custom jobs. And I do know who Valtor is." He paused. "I just didn't know the court cases were over." He eyed Bloom, his face taking on a much more sombre expression. "I also heard about your sister. My condolences. Daphne was a good woman. Wish I had gotten the chance to know her better."

"Thank you. It helps knowing she managed to accomplish what she wanted before she moved on," Bloom replied gratefully." And as for the court cases, well, they're not entirely over." The redhead sighed. "Icy, Darcy and Stormy are still be hurled from court to court, as everyone tries to figure out who should judge them for what."

"It has my sister frustrated, to say the least," Eugene mumbled.

"But Valtor's case has been finished, yes. With the Omega sentence having been completely abolished, he was judged by a Dominian court in cooperation with the court of the Roccalucian Order, where he was sentenced to a stay at Lightrock Monastery until a professional therapist judges him capable of rejoining society."

"Right. Well, that sounds good. Very good," Hagen stated, nodding his head. "I did hear you helped stop him some months ago."

"Yeah." Bloom was silent for a moment. "It was rough. I don't want to go through anything like that again. But hopefully what we did will be enough to make him stay on the right path."

"If nothing else, you did everything you could," Eugene assured her. "That's really all anyone can do."

"Alright, lunch is ready," Faragonda said, as she finished putting dishes on the table.

"Great. I was starting to get hungry," Eugene said, as he got up. "So anyway, as I was saying, Bloom, they were high level enough that..."

...

In the far distance, the sun was slowly approaching the horizon, bathing the entire area in an orange glow. Inside the house, Bloom, Hagen and Emanuela sat around the wooden table eating dinner.

The bearded man had just finished eating the ground beef-esque meat they had been served, when he asked: "So where did you meet this Eugene fella?"

"Oh, let's see..." Bloom mumbled as she thought back. "It was... Last year. At Stella's princess ball. Back when she got turned into a giant frog. He was at the party and I struck up a conversation with him because he seemed nice. Also to get away from the journalists and other nobles who were hounding me with questions."

"No wonder so many of our leaders turns into complete basket cases with the way everyone new is hunted down for titbits of gossip," the headmistress mumbled annoyed.

"And when I ran into him during all those court cases, we just started hanging out occasionally." The redhead took a sip of water. "And no, unlike what some papers claim, we are not dating. We just happen to have become friends."

"I didn't imagine anything else," Hagen assured her.

"Thanks. It's nice having some more friends." The Dominian princess sighed. "Especially with me being unable to go to Earth."

"Have you heard from your friends there?" Faragonda asked.

"Yeah. Mitzi called a couple of days ago. I think she's starting to get suspicious."

"I know it must be hard on you, Bloom. But there's sadly little that can be done about it."

"And don't I know it." The redhead sighed, before turning her attention to Hagen. "By the way, Eugene mentioned that you were part of the Company of Light. Did you go on missions with them and such?"

"Heh. Occasionally, but mostly I made equipment for them," Hagen stated proudly. "Not fancy techno-gadgets and weird modern dohickies, mind you. I'm an old school artificer, so I made armour that could stop artillery and blades that could slice through rock like it was made out of butter. Wondrous enchanted rings and amulets that granted great boons to the wielder."

"And then there was the wrong trousers," Emanuela commented.

"I was going through a phase," the bearded artificer huffed. "Anyway, my greatest achievement was the creation of your father's sword. Months went into folding the complex enchantments into the layers of steel. And when it was done, I swear, you'd be hard-pressed to find a finer blade. That thing was forged to be near-indestructible, capable of interacting with the flows of magic itself. Why, with but a swing it could cut enchantments apart or even reflect them. It could slice apart steel and I had to forge a special scabbard for it just to prevent accidental havoc."

"Oh. What happened to it?" Bloom asked eagerly.

Hagen sighed. "It disappeared alongside your parents. Once hoped to use it to pinpoint where they had ended up, but either those damn Ancestral Witches actually did manage to obliterate it or it ended up somewhere I couldn't sense it. Probably because of that dang curse they helped your brother place on Domino, if I had to make a guess." He paused. "I never gave up looking for them, mind you. Parts of me dearly wishes that they are alive, somewhere out there, but after so long, it's getting kinda hard to believe."
Bloom rubbed her chin. "Well, maybe Valtor can help you. I'm sure he knows something."

"Unfortunately, Valtor should not be discussing anything related to Domino until his appointed therapist says that it's safe to do so," Faragonda mentioned. "So that will have to wait."

"It's okay," Hagen assured the redhead. "And I do appreciate the thought, Bloom. If you hear anything from him that might help us track down your parents, do give me a call. I was a good friend of your father and I'd feel like a sodding poor pal if I didn't give it my all trying to find them. If they truly have passed on, at least having some closure would be nice."

"Yeah," Bloom replied, as she jabbed a piece of meat with her fork. "I can kinda understand that."

...

Hagen went home the next evening and a couple more days drifted by without anything major happening. Bloom started to get accustomed to the feeling of peace her vacation brought her. No school, no issues, just enjoying the calm and quiet while occasionally being visited by her friends.

Still, even in the midst of such peacefulness, there was a slight sliver of concern that prevented her from fully relaxing. The fact that, according to Valtor, somewhere, somehow, a member of the Coven was still alive. And that they were working to keep the curse that had befallen Domino active.

Still, she was not going to let something like that spoil her vacation. And so, one delightful summer day, she eagerly ran outside upon hearing from Emanuela that her friends had arrived.

"Girls. It's so good to see you all again," Bloom said happily, as she greeted her five friends.

"Likewise," Musa replied cheerfully.

"It is good to see you too," Flora said courteously.

"'Sbeen a while, Firetop," Techna added exuberantly.

"The pleasure is all mine," Aisha greeted in a dignified tone.

"'Ello," Stella replied in a subdued voice.

Bloom blinked. "Is everything okay, Stella?"

"No."
"Results just came back from Alfea," Musa said. "And... Well... Things didn't go that well for her."

"Didn't go that well? It was a totally unmitigated disaster," Stella commented, before marching over to a nearby bench to sulk.

"Her reliance upon her family's artefact finally caught up with her in the practical exams. Combined with a lack of theoretical knowledge, it resulted in her exam result being graded as unsatisfactory," Flora said.

"And that means?" Bloom inquired.

"That Suntop is going to be joining our class next year," Techna added. "Isn't that great? I mean, sure, it sucks that she flopped, but now she gets to hang with us in class all year."

"All this adventuring business hasn't been helping," the Solarian blonde complained, as the others joined her by the picnic bench. "I've been flying around left and right to stop Valtor from mucking up everything. It's tots unfair."

"Stella, you should not see it as a mark of failure," Flora tried sympathetically. "Rather, it simply indicated that you are not yet ready to take that step forward. There is always a couple for whom that happens, especially in the higher grades. At least our teachers are still convinced that you are committed to learning."

"Easy for you to say. I bet you wouldn't write that wild magic was another word for a nature knack," the blonde gloomily insisted.

"Wild magic?" Bloom asked.

"Raw magic in a physical form. A rather dangerous, if potent substance," Flora explained.

"See. That's tots what I mean," Stella said exasperatedly. "You know this stuff before you've even started your fourth year."

"True, but then again I had to learn about it during my education on Limphea," the noble brunette explained.

"Why is that?" Aisha inquired.

"Puddles of wild magic occasionally manifest on Limphea. They can make the wildlife very dangerous."

"Wait, when you say very dangerous, do you mean as in comparison to how things normally are on Limphea?" Musa asked surprised.

"Yes."

"That is a horrifying thought."

"So what have you all been up to this summer?" Techna asked, changing the subject. "I've been hanging with Timmy and working on my wingpack."

"That flying death-trap?" Musa asked. "What, you're going to sell it as an instrument of spectacular suicide?"

"Laugh it up Cacophony, but I'm nearing a breakthrough," the scarred girl replied proudly. "Soon, everyone in the multiverse will be able to fly."

"Face first into the earth must likely," the black-haired musician commented.

"I, for one, look forward to seeing if your endeavour will be a success," Flora said supportively. "Especially considering the great amounts of effort you have put into the device. And as for what I have been doing lately, me and Mirta went to one of Helia's exhibits the other day."

"Helia has an exhibit?" Aisha asked.

"Well, to be precise, he was part of an exhibit. He is still only a slowly rising star in the art community."

"Doing better than me in that regard," Bloom commented. "I don't think anything I ever sketched would have even gotten noticed if he didn't paint on it."

"Well, it's not like you need the extra fame," Musa said. "What with being the up and coming queen of Domino, you've gotten plenty of spotlight action already."

"Don't remind me," the redhead groaned, as she buried her head in her arms. "I fear the day they shush out that I'm here."

"Yes. This picturesque piece of Harmony would be quite marred by the addition of mountains of insincere gifts and letters oiled up with unnecessary flattery," Flora commented dryly.

"So what have you been doing, besides dodging the press?" Aisha inquired.

"Well, a couple of days ago, Emanuela was visited by Hagen Samson, another Company of Light member," Bloom said. "He's a cool guy. An artificer. Apparently made a really impressive sword for my biological father back in the day. Other than that..." She rubbed her chin. "Well, Eugene has come by visiting a couple of times."

"Ah yes, the Dominian redhead's new paramour if the gossip mongers are to be believed," Musa teased.

"My first action as queen will be to declare total war on the tabloid media," the redhead grumbled. "No, we're just good friends. We talk about normal stuff. It's nice to meet nobles who don't want to fish for political favours."

"It can get quite tiresome, yes," Stella agreed.

"And what else? Oh, I've been planning a date with Sky two days from now. So hopefully that will go well."

"If nothing else, ought to be interesting," Techna added. "Squire always knows how to make things special."

"Usually by putting his neurons on pause and leaving the thinking to his testosterones," Musa snarked.

"Well, at least he tries to do the right thing," Aisha said. "I think that, at the very least, is commendable."

"Yes, but you also think Nabu's sticky flattery is charming."

"Well, we can't all be drawn to grumpy jackasses with exploded hairdos," Techna added innocently.

"I'm starting to get why you're so scarred."

"It's a gift."

...

"So how has life been treating you, Bloom?" Sky asked. Having just finished dinner at a seaside restaurant, the two of them were now walking hand-in-hand down a path by the beach, which was bathed in the last rays of the setting sun.

"It's been... Nice," the redhead said. "I've had so much stuff to worry about lately, I almost forgot how it felt to be able to just relax. I occasionally have trouble sleeping, but my therapist says that's pretty normal for one who has gone through what I have."

"I can relate," the blond stated. "All the training in the world can't really prepare you for how things will be when shit really hits the fan. At least Valtor wasn't as destructive as either the Usurpers or Darkar."

"Have they come up with a fancy name for it yet?" Bloom inquired. "You know, like the Usurper Crisis and the Phoenix War?"

"Currently, most seem to go with the Second Valtor Rebellion," the Eraklian prince said. "By the way, speaking of Valtor, how is he doing?"

"Not sure. I talked with his therapist and he said he would like to wait a bit before allowing us to meet. He wants to make sure seeing me won't cause him to experience relapses."

"Well, doesn't sound like things are worsening, if nothing else."

They walked in silence for a bit longer.

"What about you?" Bloom finally asked. "You haven't really said anything about how things have been back at Eraklyon."

"I've been trying not to think too much about it. 'Fraid I might get an ulcer if I do," Sky groaned. "It's been busy like you wouldn't believe. Going out with you has been one of the few concessions I've been allowed lately. Otherwise, it's just been a non-stop barrage of official business because..."

He was cut off by the roaring of an engine, as a teal vessel flew over them, before stopping in mid-air and hitting the two with a projector light. "Prince Sky Herakles," sounded an obviously magnified voice from a loudspeaker. "This is guard captain Tressa Vilmore. What the fuck are you doing out here?"

"I'M ON A DATE!" Sky yelled at the ship. "I TOLD YOU SO BEFORE I LEFT!"

The vessel slowly lowered, as a hatch in the side opened, allowing an armed woman to exit. "No you did not."

"I didn't?" the Eraklian prince asked. "I could have sworn that..."

"And if you had told us, you wouldn't have been allowed to go anywhere. The king has ordered that you are to stay within the castle until things are finished," Tressa interrupted him. "So get in already. Your father is kinda pissed that you ran off without saying anything."

"Aw, sheesh," Sky groaned. "Look, can I at least finish my..."

"No, you cannot," Tressa barked. "Get in, now. I was allowed to handcuff you if necessary."

"Sounds like your dad is kinda miffed," Bloom dryly noted.

"Yeah. Sorry 'bout that. I'll message you as soon as possible," Sky said, before giving her a quick peck on the cheek and then jumped on-board. "Though I might not be able to contact you for a while."

"Probably not," Tressa groaned, as she pressed a button to close the hatch. "If I have to go flying around the multiverse for you again, I swear by the dragon's flaming breath that I will take your..." Her threats where muted by the closing hatch and the vessel darted off.

Bloom blinked a couple of times, before slowly touching her cheek. A small smile slowly blossomed on her face. "Ought to be interesting indeed."

She stood there for a moment, before her phone's ringtone shook her out of her thoughts. She took the call and put the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Phil-I mean... Bloom?" sounded a familiar voice.

"Valtor?" she asked in surprise.

"I'll take that as a yes," came her half-brother's voice. "So good news. I am now allowed to talk with you, due to a reduced risk of me trying to take over the world."

"Did your therapist say that?" Bloom asked, eyebrow raised.

"I'm paraphrasing," the Dominian prince added. "Anyway, I've also been allowed to look at some old reports about Domino. Surveys and such. And I might just have stumbled across a vital clue that could possibly help us find a way to end the curse. Interested?"

Bloom thought about it for a moment. "Well, uhm... Guess it couldn't hurt."

"It probably won't. When can you come to Lightrock?"

"Oh well, I haven't got any plans for tomorrow, so I'll try to see if it's feasible. And if not, uhn, well I'll call you back."

...

It was a little past noon when Bloom arrived at Lightrock Monastery. She had to admit, the mountaintop structure was awe inspiring. A friendly ogre secretary had shown her the way to her brother's room, where the redhead now found herself at a standstill.

She took a deep breath as she looked at the door. Last time she had met Valtor, it had involved four natural disasters, an abandoned troglodyte city, a hit squad of elemental spirits and the guy himself temporarily losing his mind and turning into a demon, followed by the final death of her sister. She hoped that it would go better this time.

Finally, she swallowed and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

The redhead went inside. It was a small, but well-kept room. Rather sparse decoration wise, with the most colourful items being a collection of books and folders on a shelf and Daphne's mask, which rested on top of the bookshelf. A large window let a steady stream of light into the room, which fell on a large black chair, in which Valtor was sitting with a book. His usually extravagant clothes had been exchanged with a set of white robes and the Dominian prince looked up to see who had arrived. A spark glimmered in his eyes as he greeted the redhead with: "Ah, glad you could make it... Bloom. Please, sit down."

"Good to see you too," the redhead tried, before sitting down.

There was an awkward pause.

"So..." Bloom slowly began. "How have things been around here?"

"Just fine, thank you very much," Valtor replied. "Everything going well outside? I still haven't earned unrestricted access to newspapers and television."

"That seems rather harsh."

"So does threatening people with a tornado," mumbled the dandy magi. "Do not worry, Sister. I am content with my stay and I trust that my therapist knows when I'll be ready. But back to my question. How have things been for you?"

"Relaxed, for once. Still worried about journalists finding out where I currently live. Techna offered to place landmines around Emanuela's summer home, but that's most likely illegal." She paused. "She might also have been kidding, but it's sometimes hard to tell."

"Techna? Ah yes, the charming ladette who blew a wall up in my face." He looked contemplative for a moment. "Well, back of my head if you want to be pedantic."

Bloom chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah. Also, I've been keeping up with my royal training with Avalon and dragonflame exercises with Maya."

"Good to hear," the dandy magi said approvingly. "I'd offer to give you some lessons myself, but I have neither earned spellcasting privilege nor managed to rid myself of the effects of the water star quite yet."

Bloom adjusted her shirt. Reminders of the two sibling's clashes made her feel slightly uncomfortable and she briefly wondered if the dandy magi was poking her intentionally. Yet he looked quite at peace and talked about it so matter-of-factly. Perhaps that just made it even weirder than if he had sounded bitter about it. "So anyway, you said you found something important?"

"Indeed." Valtor went over to the bookshelf and pulled out a folder. "After Domino fell to eternal winter, several teams were sent in to survey the area, locate survivors and attempt to dispel the curse. While the only survivors they found were animals and all attempts at undoing the curse failed, they did get a lot of info on Domino's current layout. This information has been updated a couple of times over the last decade. And while studying the reports, I noticed something the scouts had missed." He pointed at a strangely shaped mountaintop on the map. "This is the Library on the Roc."

"Library on the Rock?" Bloom questioned.

"Exactly. A mobile Coven base. It was from there I cast the ritual spell. However, in the post curse confusion, it was forgotten. I can recognise it because I was part of the Coven and had helped move it to Domino, but most people don't know of its existence."

"Alright then. A library," the redhead said. "How does that help with the curse?"

"There's no guarantee that it will," the dandy magi admitted. "But as I said, it's a library. Filled with documents and books bought, stolen and sometimes made by the Coven itself. I'm willing to bet that there's even info about the Obsidian Prison. And that could be key info in finding out how to undo the curse." He sighed. "But alas, I have yet to earn the privilege of leaving Lightrock. But I imagine you could figure out something to do with this. If nothing else, you probably have at least some contacts at this point that can be drawn upon. If I'm wrong about the library's content, that's fine. But it is worth a shot, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah," Bloom mumbled, as she traced the library's outline with her finger. "I guess it is."