"All right, let's go" Stella said, turning her ring into a scepter and making a little more light. "All right, Flora and Musa, you guys have to guard Tecna- make sure nothing happens to her, okay?" Tecna blushed as her two friends closed in around her, gathering their Winx and getting their outfits. "Are we ready?" Flora asked. Bloom nodded. "Let's go, keep an eye out for everything."
They were very awareful, but not enough. A shadow moved in the darkness.
The group had walked at least a mile until they had finally found Prince Sky rummaging around next to a clifftop. "Sky! Yoo-hoo?" Stella called, waving her hands. "Stella! Girls!" Sky called and climbed back down the cliff. "Riven's on the other side, looking for you all, but we can find him later. Right now I'm mainly worried about the others- Brandon and Timmy, that is."
"I think we should get Riven first, safety in numbers, you know?" Sky nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's the best choice of action. Let's go. He should be across the ridge, but if he's being lazy then he'd be at the beginning." Everyone agreed that Riven would most defiantly be in the beginning of the ridge.
As the group walked across the surrounding cliffs, they managed to locate Riven down the corridor. "What do you think you're doing?" Musa demanded, tapping her heel impatiently. "I got tired," Riven said with a frown. "Still looking around for your boyfriend, that nerd Timmy?" Riven said rudely, facing Tecna.
Tecna gave him an offended huff and winced. "He is NOT a nerd!" Riven laughed. "Yeah, sure. And Bloom still likes that goody-goody, Brandon!" Bloom gasped. "What is your problem, Riven?"
"Yo, guys, no time to chit-chat, we've got some people to find!" Announced Prince Sky, irritated. Everyone got settled down and prepared themselves for a long and tireful walk with Riven.
Luckily for the group, they managed to track down Timmy and Brandon to a nearby cave. The cave was very small and had an odd-shaped wall, but it was very tightly packed in, about five yards in diameter, just room enough for the whole group to pile in and get comfortable. The cave hadn't been occupied before, until they found the two boys hiding out in it. "Hey guys!" Bloom said, running inside. "We were looking for you!" Timmy nodded. "Great! Thank you, but we don't really have enough time to have a nice introduction." He twiddled with his glasses. "Sorry, but Brandon and I have made a few discoveries while you all were out. Brandon and I figured out that not only is every dream becoming harder and harder to overcome, but the Overloard, Rarion, is also making the dreams more and more unstable."
"What do you mean?" Flora asked, worried. "What I mean is that the Overloard is trying his hardest to put more and more creatures into our nightmares- the danger level is off the charts. And I also found out that the Terminal is in fact targeting Tecna specifically..." Timmy replied, looking over at his girlfriend worriedly. "Anyway, I guess you already knew that he's after Tecna- but I must say, you're really lucky not to have any contact with something so far, so I'm wondering if they're regrouping their forces and planning a strike on our position."
Brandon nodded, then added, "and I've discovered something else. The Terminal is in the dreams, and we can't really attack him with more members from Red Fountain or Alfea because of the activation- the only way to activate the Overloard is by telling him who and where to strike. And since we don't know where he is, Timmy and I began to do a few quick researches on how far we explored as a group, and how much region is unexplored"
((Here comes the infamous Tecna angst.))
Some of the others found it hard to follow what Brandon and Timmy were saying, but they were paying so much attention to the speech that Flora and Musa forgot their duties to stay more protective to Tecna. From out of the shadows lurked a hungry looking creature into the cave. He edged up to Tecna, without drawing her attention.
Pink haired girl... check. He thought to himself as he prepared to grab her. With a swift motion, he swept her up and before she could attack, or scream for help, before anyone could attack, he had thrown her into the nearby wall. "NO!" Stella yelled as she was the first one to catch and react to what had just happened. The poor digital fairy collided with the wall, and the rocks and boulders that had made up the illusion of a wall piled in over her- she was either buried alive or dead under the massive weight.
Kill the target... check.
Of course, by now, most of the group was attacking the creature with rage. Timmy had somehow grabbed the sword out of Brandon's hand and tackled the creature and cut it furiously, rage burning in his eyes under his glasses. "Timmy, what are you doing! He's gone mad!" Riven cried.
Soon, the creature was dead at their feet. "Exellent work, Tim!" Musa said, smiling for a brief second, then she immediatly ran over to the rocks with Timmy, followed by everyone else. "Quick! Get these rocks off of her!" Sky yelled. "Oh no... she couldn't possibly live through this..." Bloom said, tears filling her eyes. "Now... now what? Because she's dead are we all going to die?"
Timmy didn't want to think that she was dead. He felt that somehow, someway, Tecna was alive.
Soon, the group had managed to remove every one of the rocks off of Tecna, with Timmy running over to her side. "No..." He said to himself as he took out his heath-seeking device and pressed a few buttons on it. After checking the screen of the invention, immediatly, he began crying, and soon everyone, even Riven, were actually crying over the fallen fairy. "Now what? Are we going to bury her here or how are we going to take her back to Alfea for a proper funeral?" Riven said, who was the only one who had the courage to do so.
"Guys..." Timmy said, wiping away his tears. "...she's alive..." He wasn't crying for a loss- they were tears of joy. "No way, really!" Stella said, brightening up. "How in the realms did she live through that?" Timmy shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe she was able to cast a protection spell or something that saved her from dying... but she's broken quite a few bones in that incident. My health-seeker device here tells me that she's broken approximatly seven different major bones, probably a few fingers too, but the important thing is that she's alive..." Everyone was sighing with relief. "Riven, I gave you that medical kit, do you have it?" Brandon said, turning to Riven. Riven nodded. "Luckily, I remembered to keep up with it." He said and handed the kit over to Brandon.
"I've taken a few health classess. Lets see if I can wrap her injuries. Timmy, what all has she broken?" Timmy looked at his device again and frowned. "Three ribs, left knee, left arm, right shoulder, spinal cord, and right leg." Musa gave a pained inhale. "Whoo, that's gotta hurt." She said with intended enthusiasm, trying to cheer up the company.
As Brandon applied the medical bandages, the others waited pateintly, checking out the cave that the creature must have not intended to open. "The boulders were blocking the interance to this tunnel... and boy, does it stink!" Stella said. "I'm begining to wonder if Rarion lives somewhere in there..." Prince Sky perked up. "Wait a minute! If the Overloard lives down there then I think we should relocate camp- you know, to a safer spot." Flora nodded and said, "I agree wtih Stella and Sky, he probably does live down there."
Brandon nodded. "I agree. But how are we going to carry Tecna without hurting her even further?" He said, staring helplessly at her. "We have to transport her some way, we can't stay like, right next to Rarion's lair." Musa said. Quickly, Timmy, Riven, and Brandon lifted Tecna gently off the ground, trying their best not to put too much pressure on her casts. "Where to, Bloom?" Brandon asked. Bloom looked around, then pointed towards the horizon. "We still need to find Sky's Dragon, so lets hurry up and get somewhere away from that creepy tunnel."
The group made their way where Bloom had pointed them in the direction of. They had to climb over many rocks, making it most difficult on Brandon, Timmy, and Riven, who were cooperating on carrying the unconscious Tecna. They still hadn't found Sky's Dragon, but they found a nice spot to take cover from any other creature that may be looking for them.
Brandon, Riven, and Timmy causiously laid Tecna down on the floor of the ground, in the softest place they could find. Timmy brushed a few rocks away before they laid her down, making sure she'd be confortable. "Tecna, can you hear me?" Timmy asked, sitting next to her, hoping that maybe she would be able to awaken in the nightmare. He feared if she ws fainted in the nightmare, she would be fainted in the real world as well, and if they left the dream before she awoke, then she would be taken and killed.
"Tecna, please wake up." Timmy said, glancing up at the moon, then froze. "Umm... Flora?" He said, turning to the nearest member. "What? Is something wrong, sweetie?" Flora asked, turning to him. "The moon... its still high..." Timmy replied, not turning his attention from the moon. He shuddered. The moon was in the exact same spot at least two hours ago.
"Oh no... you don't think the Overloard is stopping time, do you?" Flora said, disturbed. "It would appear so... he knows Tecna's still alive and I think he's trying to stop time so we don't wake up!" Timmy replied and frowned. "I wish that the Overloard would just... just die already!" Flora faced him, shocked. She had never heard Timmy wish bad doings onto another person, but this was the Overloard they were talking about! It was obvious he wanted the Overloard to die. Everyone did.
She yawned. Not only was she asleep in the real world, but in the dream, she was also feeling tired. "I think we better get some rest. I hear time-stopping can take a lot of energy off someone. If we just hold to each other, I'm sure the Overloard will have to stop holding time to get his energy back."
Timmy nodded and yawned also. He took off his glasses. "Someone needs to take watch while the more tired ones get some rest," he said. "I'm on it. I don't need sleep." Riven insisted. "I think I'll stay up too just in case he falls asleep on the job." Prince Sky said, knowing Riven better.
Timmy laid down next to Tecna, putting his glasses safely over on a sturdy rock. Hopefully when the Overloard stopped holding time, Tecna would be awake and out of the nightmare.
Timmy was awoken by a soft voice from next to him. Quickly he put on his glasses and faced Tecna. The moon was still high, but not as high as it was from when he last fell asleep- the Overloard was losing control of time.
"Timmy...?" Tecna said painfully. "What is it?" He asked her worriedly, hoping she was alright. "I feel horrible... what happened?" Tecna replied. "You were almost dead, Tecna, buried under boulders. I guess you must be hurting really bad?"
Tecna nodded and winced with pain. "Timmy... I... I feel weak..." She said, looking up at him with pale grey eyes. All the color seemed drained from her skin and eyes, as if she was more then just injured. "What's wrong, Tecna?" Timmy asked, even more worried. "Please don't die, Tecna! Please don't die..."
Prince Sky walked over to them. "What's going on?" He asked. "Its Tecna," Timmy replied. Tecna was watching the two, not paying much attention. She didn't know what was wrong wtih her either- sure, her bones were broken but she felt something else- something inside her- either it was sickness, doubt, or just the insane thought of them not living through the night.
"Timmy... why isn't the moon going anywhere? The overloard must be holding time, right?" She said. Timmy nodded. "You're going to be alright, Tecna. Just hang in there, and when we get out of here, the other girls will find you a cure to whatever's wrong."
"They're all alive, right? Is everyone okay?"
"Everyone but you."
"Timmy... I'm..."
"You're what?"
"I'm so sorry..."
Timmy paused. "What are you sorry about?" He asked her, shocked. "I'm sorry I pulled you all into this mess..." She replied. "You didn't do it, Icy and her gang did." Timmy replied. "Not just them, Timmy. You know my father, I'm sure you know his tale of the Terminals. Well... its my fault all this has happened..."
Timmy hesitated, then said slowly, "What are you saying?" Tecna groaned. "I'm saying that the Overloard is after me because of my father and because of my knowledge. He's actually wanted to kill me for years- even before I came to Alfea- but you see, the Overloard was dead. Now that he's back he... he wants revenge. If I wasn't involved with you or the group, you wouldn't be here right now."
Timmy sighed. "Tecna, I'd do anything just to be with you. This has been pretty interesting, actually, this adventure wtih the Overloard has brought us closer together. I'd never leave you, even if the whole universe of evil creatures were after you."
Tecna smiled, she knew Timmy would say this, but she didn't believe him completely. But suddenly she felt calm and secure- now she felt as if she and the others could kill the Overloard with no troulbe at all.
TO BE CONTINUED
A new breed of creature edjed its way slowly up into the moonlight, then down to where the group couldn't see it. Tecna, his target, had fallen asleep once more next to Timmy. The creature growled, clicking its fangs and scraping a rock quietly with his claw.
The creature was called a Ghrinon- from a cunning, fast, and agile race capable of great power. They came in different elemets: Poison, Shadow, Fire, Ice, and Electric. The Ghrinon here was a Poison Ghrinon, capable of jabbing his apponents with his claw with its poison tip and sending his victoms to the ground in pain and sickness, causing them to faint. The Poison Ghrinon was black and green in color and was the most fierce of all the Ghrinons.
He edjed his way slowly around the camp, hiding from the watchfull eye of Brandon and the sleepy eye of Riven. It locked its eyes on Tecna. The best way he could get the poison to travel was to strike her chest- but he would have to go out in the open, a dangerous risk factor. But taking this risk was what he was sent by the Overloard to do.
Slowly it made its way into the center of the camp, its grey back shielding it from the watcher's eyes. Carefully, he placed his claw in-between two of Tecna's broken ribs, sliding the claw in through the clothing and bandages, tearing her flesh. Since she was asleep and the poison was numbing, she didn't feel a thing.
"Wha-" Riven said, turning around, then gave a loud battle cry. The Ghrinon stood on its two front legs, looking much bigger then he was. Everyone quickly woke up. "What is that awful thing!" Bloom cried, stepping backwards. "Tecna? Oh no, she's been stabbed by it!"
TO BE CONTINUED
Timmy gasped and quickly dropped down to Tecna's level, grabbing her hand. "Tecna! Tecna are you alive?" He said, eyes wide with terror. "Watch out, he'll poison you, Brandon!" Prince Sky called, noticing Brandon coming towards the creature.
"I've got it under control," Brandon insisted, parrying with his weapon. The creature tried jabbing him, but he evaded, trying to strike its feet. "Timmy! A little help first then we'll worry about her!"
Timmy frowned and put on his glasses, then grabbed his gun.
Musa quickly hit the creature from behind with sound energy. It turned around and hissed at her, giving Brandon long enough to lash its back. Bloom quickly launched the Dragonfire at it, causing it to crash into the side of the mountain, defeated.
Wordless, everone gathered around Tecna. The hole that was dug in her ribs was large, and not only blood, but a strange green fluid poured out of the injury. "Is she alive?" Riven asked, kneeling next to her. Timmy took out his health-seeking device. "Yeah, she is, she, being a fairy, couldn't die from that... but she's in critical health." Timmy replied. "But we have to wake her- just in case we-" Timmy gasped as his hand began to dissolve. He looked up at the moon- it had set!
"Girls, wake Tecna!" He said, his final words before he, Riven, Brandon, and Sky disappeared in a unison- back to Red Fountain. Stella frowned, sitting next to her. "Well, how are we going to do it?" She asked. "I don't wanna hurt her any more then she is."
Musa licked her finger and stuck it in Tecna's ear.
Tecna gasped and her eyelidss shot open. She swallowed, then said, "Musa?" She looked around. "Guys?" Her breath was rapid. Musa gave her a slight smirk. "Those wet willies work all the time." Then she frowned, "are you ok?"
Tecna shook her head. "My chest... the pain..." Her teeth chattered, and she shivered. "So... c... c...cold..." Bloom gave her a funny look. "How could you be cold? Its really warm over here. Tecna shivered, and her skin seemed to turn purplish peach. "I'm freezing..." She said and winced.
"Oh, poor thing..." Flora said, frowning. "Well, at least we know you're alive." Tecna shivered more. "W...what time is it?" She asked, looking over at Bloom. "Well, I think its around fourty-five minutes until we get out of here..."
"Bloom?"
"What?"
"I'm cold..."
Bloom frowned, then pulled a dead branch off of a tree. "Let's build a fire for Tecna." She told the others as they gathered firewood. Bloom laid rocks around the sticks, then blasted the sticks with the Dragonfire. "Does that help?"
Tecna nodded. "Thanks"
Finally, Bloom was in her room. The sun shone through her window. Flora quickly jumped out of her bed across from the room and ran to Tecna and Musa's room.
"Tecna, sweetie," she said, "I'm going to get you a few things, okay? You stay here for the rest of the day and we'll tell you how classes went." Tecna nodded. "Thanks, guys... you've been really nice to me. I'm so sorry I'm such a nuisence... I feel like I'm making your lives horrible."
Flora smiled. "Don't worry about it!" She said. Musa had given Tecna a few of her own bedsheets. "So how'd you get so cold?" She asked. "I think its the poison... I'll analyze it..."
She painfully pulled her arm out of the blankets and consulted her database. A hologram appeared, showing the venom and its outcomes. "Turns out the coldness is only the first stage... I can't believe this is going to happen to me..." She closed her hand.
Flora returned with some medicine, magic scrolls, a plate of food, a glass of water with ice, bandages, and a thermal heater. She placed the heater on the blankets and laid the rest of the items on the nightstand, then carefully re-bandaged Tecna's chest, using the medications to help the healing, then cast a spell on it. "We'll be in class, OK, Tecna? If you need me, page me- you always have that little pager with you."
Tecna took the triangle pager off of her vest. "Ok," she said. "Thanks, Flora."
The group left to their classes.
Bloom paused, hearing something in her mind. "Your friend will die one way or the other." The Overloard told her. "We'll kill her before you know it. You might as well kill her now to get her out of the misery she will be in..." Bloom gritted her teeth. "NO!" She said in her mind. "I won't let you do it! We all will destroy you!"
The overloard cackled. "That's just what you think... do you know who I am? I am eternal darkness!"
Bloom clenched her teeth. "You have no idea what I can do!"
TO BE CONTINUED
"Miss Faragonda?" Stella said, knocking on her door. "Come in," the fariy godmother replied. Stella walked inside slowly. She was the only one who's class was in freetime- it was that time of day when the Winx club went to seperate classrooms.
"The Terminal is really in the dream... we can't send more people to get it then already there." Faragonda gasped. "Oh... that's dreadful! I could try casting a spell, but it would drain all my magic..." Stella frowned. "And it even managed to get ahold of Tecna again. Do you want to go try and heal her? The poison made her go crazy almost!"
"Poor dear..." Faragonda said, looking at Stella sadly. "I really wish we could help you all defeat the Overloard, but the least I can do is tend to your friend's injuries... What about Bloom?"
Stella shrugged. "I think he's trying to wear down her defences, with Tecna disabled she might fall for him again. He's trying to kill Tecna so he can get to Bloom." Faragonda quickly told Stella to follow her outside. "I'm going to try my best to heal Tecna. I'll use many protection spells as well, but I need your help. I'm not going to let Icy do this to you girls..."
She opened their dorm door and quickly ran inside. Tecna, as Stella had predicted, had fallen onto the floor again, this time she was in obvious pain. "Faragonda...?" She said weakly, coughing. "Don't worry, I'm going to help you..."
She quickly put a spell onto Tecna, reducing her injuries slightly. Stella joined in, and the two tried their best to reduce Tecna's injuries to the minimum- but it didn't seem to do much for her.
It was almost as if her new injuries were perminate...
TO BE CONTINUED
Tecna's teeth chattered as she looked up at the headmistress. "Miss... miss Faragonda..." she said, "The overloard... he's going to kill us all..."
Faragonda frowned. "Don't believe him, Tecna! Don't believe him!" She said. "Whatever he's telling you and Bloom, trust me its not good. Believe in yourself, Tecna."
Tecna paused, her energy almost seemed to return as she tried to stand up, but couldn't because her knee was busted as it was yesterday. Stella helped her stand. "Well? What happened? Did the spells work?"
Tecna shrugged, "Let me cauculate..." She opened her hand, and a hologram appeared. "The poison... its gone!" She smiled, turning to Miss Faragonda. "But I'm still in horrible pain..."
Faragonda smiled, though her magic was drained, she trusted that Tecna and the others would know what to do to destroy the Overloard and his evil creations...
...for good.
"Well, its another night." Bloom said, entering the room. "I hope Tecna's okay," Flora said, immediatly walking over to Tecna's room. She seemed fine, lying in her bed, but otherwise the casts still remained tight on her broken injuries. "Hey guys," Tecna said, facing them.
"She's too weak to go back into the dream, she'd be killed on spot!" Musa said worriedly. "Maybe we should try another healing spell and see if we can at least heal her knee and leg," Stella suggested. "But I'm kinda drained from getting the poison out of her so, do you guys know any fracture-healing spells?"
"Yeah, I think so..." Flora said. "Yeah so do I." Bloom said also, facing Tecna. "So can you walk or not?" She asked. "Not horribly well..." Tecna said, "but enough that I'm sure I can handle a nightmare."
"I'm not letting you pull that 'I'm fine' thing off on me again," Bloom said, referring back to the time Tecna insisted she was fine when she really had a huge injury. "Come on, Flora, lets do this." Bloom said, getting her Winx ready. Tecna felt horribly embarassed to be the center of attention once more, but her injuries hurt less and less as Bloom and Flora combined their Winx.
"Great job, I think its working, what do you think, Tec?" Musa said. "I think it worked quite well..." Tecna said, attemtping to stand. She was able to stand, but was a bit unsteady. "My knee still hurts a little, but I'm sure everything will go mighty fine tonight..."
The clock struck 10. "Well, we can't sit here and let the Overloard plan some more devious assassianation plan." Musa said. "And the boys are probably already there..."
Bloom nodded. "I agree..." She took in a breath. "We're going to go to the tunnel- except... he's trying to tell me not to... Tecna... what if he kills you?" Tecna groaned. "Bloom, what did I tell you? He's lying, you know he is. Trust me, everything is going to be fine. I lived through being buried under boulders so I think I'd live through confronting the Overloard."
TO BE CONTINUED
Chapter Four: RARION
Materialization took place.
All of the Winx girls found themselves side-by-side, together.
"Hey, I know this place..." Tecna said. "Yeah, me too. We're in the ravine"
Flora replied. They were all floating on a small island in the river. "This is really
unsteady..." Bloom said, then Winxed. "We're flying out of here."
Everyone else winxed, and Stella, Bloom, Flora, and Musa flew off the ground, leaving Tecna behind.
"Um... guys?" Tecna said. "Oh, sorry, Tec, can you fly?" Musa asked. Tecna shook her head. "Try," Flora said.
Tecna jumped, then landed hard on her injured leg. "Ow!" She said, falling over. "Well, THAT was a dud..." Stella said, then suggested,
"Try again!"
Tecna jumped, hovered for two seconds, then landed. "I can't, my wings still won't work"
Stella rolled her eyes, then flew down and carried Tecna. "A little help?" She said, struggling.
"I'll help." Flora said, flying back down.
They carried Tecna up over the ravine- which was long and hard. "You FELL all the way down here!"
Musa said, referring to when Tecna jumped down after Flora. "Yes..." Tecna said. "My back still hurts from where.
that rock right there... scraped me." She said, pointing to a particular rock.
"Look, that rock has a piece of your shirt on it, Tecna!" Bloom said, picking it off the rock. "Oh and there's blood on it too! Wow, that had to hurt!" Tecna nodded, then grimaced.
At last, the group made it to the top of the ravine.
The cave was still where it was, and the wall was still caved in.
"Hey, Bloom!" Brandon said, running out of the cave, followed
by Riven.
"Hey guys! Where's Timmy and Sky?" Stella asked. "They're somewhere around here.
They'd meet us here in a minute... look, there they are now." Riven said, pointing.
Riven and Timmy ran over a couple of rocks, joining the group. "Sorry abou the wait"
Sky said. "Is everyone alright?"
"Yeah, we just need to get brave enough to go down into that creepy tunnel"
Musa said, eyeing the tunnel.
The Overloard lived down there, no mistake.
TO BE CONTINUED
The group began their trek down into the tunnel.
Riven coughed and choked on something in the air, then said, "There's some kind of mist here... I can hardly breathe!"
"Neither can I," Brandon said. "Foward march... or something..." Stella said, walking deeper still into the yawning chasm.
It seemed to go on for miles on end- the darkness was so ensnaring, the group found themselves running into eachother.
"Ow... hey, look!" Bloom said, shortly after Timmy nudged the handle of his gun into her back. "Do you see that?"
She said, her voice becoming softer. "Yes, I believe I do... some kind of eerie green light." Tecna said, squinting.
It WAS eerie, and probably the most eerie thing the group has ever seen. The soft, green glow became brighter as they walked,
and they soon came to realize that there wasn't just one of the green lights, but five. And they weren't green- they were actually red-
but through all of the poisonous mist the light bled through as green to them- a smokey, green substance.
Suddenly all five of the lights went out, leaving the group breathing hard.
Then they opened again.
Musa shuddered, and was the first to realize- with her sonar ears, she could hear something... breathing... breathing.
and a steady hearbeat. She was the first to talk. "Rarion..." She said, her voice choked.
"Welcome... to my home..." The groaning voice said, and suddenly the tunnel behind them caved in- blocking the way out.
All the girls screamed. All the boys shook with fear and yelped with terror. Out of the walls jumped a total of eleven Ghrinons-
Fire. Poison. Ash. Smoke. Dragon. Aqua. Numerous. Air. Earth. Electric. And the leader- Light of Shadow.
Suddenly there was a flash of pure light. "SUN POWER!" Stella screamed, light filled the chamber. Then she stopped cold.
The most horrifying, the most dreadful, the most terrifying, the most evil looking thing Stella had ever seen, heard, or read about
was standing right before her. She was too frightened to even scream, to let out a terrified yell.
But Tecna suddenly screamed- not out of fear or doubt, but out of rage. Anger burned in her eyes as she jumped off the ground,
two Digital Triangles in her hands, and more well on their way.
She hovered and flew.
"Don't let him decieve you! Bloom! The Dragonfire is you! Its on your side!"
Bloom stood still, her breath stopped.
"BLOOM!" Tecna yelled. Brandon ran over to her, then fanned his blade out, followed by the other boys- except Timmy, who had a gun.
"I am the monument... of all your fear..." Rarion growled, lifting Flora off the ground. Flora screamed loudly, wriggling in his grasp.
"The harder you shake... the farther you will pull your own limbs from your body..." The Overloard grumbled. Flora stopped cold.
He was trying to disembody her.
With his other tentecle, he grabbed Musa. "NO!" She screamed, as it attemtped to eat her. She grabbed on to his tooth and evaded the crunching. He was going to eat her.
A Ghrinon approaced Stella, and grabbed her neck, preparing to break her body and fling her into the wall.
Bloom paused. The boys tried their hardest to retrieve the girls, but they were being annhilated by the Ghrinon Swarm. Sweat flooded down Bloom's forehead. Her heart pounded like a drum.
"BLOOM!" Tecna screamed, she was snatched out of the air by the Overloard's tentecle.
"Help! Bloom! Don't listen to him! He will kill us all!" Tears streamed down her neck as she watched Bloom.
The tentacle wrapped around her neck tighter. "Bloom- don't... do... it..." Tecna growled, then made a peculiar chocking noise
with her throat.
Bloom's eyes were filled with dread as she faced the Overloard.
"Bow down to me..." He said.
Bloom shuddered as she saw the grip of the Overloard's tentecle tighten on Tecna's neck- and the boys were being practically embedded in the walls of the cavern by their pursuers. Bloom watched with fear as all of her friends were beginning to be defeated.
"Turn back while you can!" The Overloard screeched. Bloom looked back at the cave wall, which was closed in the entrance.
She could blast a way through...
She looked over at Tecna, who wanted to say something but her breath was obviously running low.
"Tecna..." Bloom said, then watched her other friends- Musa was barely evading being crunched by the Overloard-
Stella was about to be crushed herself- Flora seemed streached too far and torn, and all of the boys were singed,
drinched, electicuted, and pummeled as far as they could handle- and Bloom herself was untouched.
"Bloom... save us..." Tecna said, coughing.
"RUN while you can!" The Overloard growled.
False. Bloom's powers told her that all the Overloard was, was false. He was lying. He was afraid of her.
Bloom's teeth chattered with rage as she fluttered off the ground. "LET THEM GO!" She screamed, and her mind
seemed to be taken over by something other then her- something within her- that allowed her to feel- to
see what the Overloard really was...
Suddenly there was a blinding flash of light that filled the chamber. Bloom couldn't see, but she heard the Ghrinons squeal, the grunts of her friends released onto the ground, and the Overloard squealing with a yell so terrifying that it shook the cave itself- unblocking the way out.
The light vanished, and suddenly the Overloard and his followers lie on the ground, defeated. A triumphant sight-
"Yes!" Bloom said, so enjoyed that she felt more alive then she had the whole day. Everyone regained their footing,
rejoicing in the tremendous victory brought on only by the Dragonfire.
-at least until what they saw happen next.
As the legends told, the Overloard suddenly began dematerialising, and in the place of the dead was a poisonous fume. "Don't breathe it! It could kill one in a matter of seconds!" Timmy yelled, gathering his will. "Go! Go! Go! GET OUT OF HERE!" Musa yelled, scrambling out of the Rarion's open mouth.
The group let off in a dead run towards the exit, many meters above ground, despite their injuries.
Eight companions raced to the finish line- trying to savor their triumph so they could live to tell the tale.
Eight?
TO BE CONTINUED
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"Where is Tecna!" Bloom said, fear in her voice. She looked back down the tunnel- the group was already halfway up.
"Oh no, you don't think she-" Flora said, but Bloom cut her off. "You guys go! I'll go back and get her." Bloom took a deep breath,
not waiting for protests, and flew as fast as her fairy wings could carry her back down the tunnel.
She searched high and low, left and right for her friend. At last, she reached the inner chasm and found her.
Tecna was still wrapped in the Overloard's tentacle- she was alive, her eyes were open but she seemed wrong- something
about her made Bloom shudder. Quickly, Bloom took Tecna out of the tentecle and flew back up the chasm, the jouney
long and difficult, and her lungs were about to burst... At last, she appeared out of the cave and collapsed on the ground,
breathing hard in the fresh air. She dropped Tecna on the ground, who was shivering uncontrollably.
"Is she alive?" Timmy asked, kneeling down next to her. Tecna's eyes seemed blank, but she was breathing, but her breath was more
of a pained wheeze. "Oh no... oh no, oh no, oh no..." Timmy said, over and over. "What? What's wrong?" Asked Musa worriedly.
"She..." Timmy gulped. "She had been strangled earlier... so she had no breath, until the Overloard released his grip on her in death- she
had no choice but to let her instincts take over and..." He paused. "...and breathe the fumes..." She had been infected with the Overloard's poison-
the last thing anyone would want.
Tecna's mind was going blank- suddenly she felt so hot she felt like she was melting- then the next split second she felt so cold it felt as if every vein in her body was frozen over, then suddenly heat took on again, then cold. "Look at her! That's not normal!" Stella said, touching Tecna's skin. "That's freaky!" She said, fear in her voice. "Its like her body tempature is changing from like, one hundred and fifty degrees to like, negitive thirty!"
Riven paused, then pointed to the moon. "Keep her alive- maybe we still have hope..." His fingers began disappearing. "Girls! You can do this without us for just
one more hour! Look, the dream- its breaking everywhere! Be careful!" Riven and the other boys began vanishing- along with some of the dream.
Bloom felt happy and horrified at the same time- the dream was collapsing everywhere- the death of the Overloard causing serious transformations- the once plantless
dream was spreading into vegetation, and the nasty cave disappeared, along with a strange crystal air that sizzled up into the black sky. What the crystal air was, was a mystery,
but for now, the Winx Club had to worry about keeping Tecna alive for one hour more, if they could...
"Tecna! Just keep breathing! Everything's going to be alright, as soon as we're out of here we're getting the nurse as fast as possible!" Flora said quickly,
holding Tecna's hand. "The poison won't kill you, just stay with us!" Flora was crying up a storm, as well as the others. Tecna stayed with them- she, even though her mind
was breaking, felt a tiny flicker of life within her...
...for now.
The heartbeat machine steadily beeped one at a time, zigzag lines going across the screen.
Half of Alfea was in the large room, watching. Some of them didn't believe what had happened
to the Winx Club and the boys in the dream, but almost all of them did, half-dead proof was
lying in front of them.
A roar of a Red Fountain Craft engine boomed outside, then five minutes later, some of the boys, including
Timmy, Brandon, Riven, and Sky entered the room. "Is she going to be alright?" Timmy asked, doubting everything.
"We'll try as much as we can," Miss Faragonda said, glancing at the motionless Tecna on the bed. The shivering
heat stopped, but her life was fading rapidly. "What the girls did in the dream took more willpower then imagined,
and it can take Tecna's life," continued Miss Faragonda. "I suppose some of you knew her..."
Timmy paused, horrible thoughts flooding his mind. He hoped this would be a happy ending... He imagined visiting a graveyard every day, finding the words,
"In Memory of Tecna, Princess of Techno Dust- Third Vector of Binary Galaxy.
Died in a clash between monstrosities and nightmare wars- died by fighting an Overloard"
He imagined people holding memorial day- this day, August 25th in Alfea, in memory of the Overloard Defeat.
He imagined people looking back to these days with dread, always bringing up the word Overloard.
As everyone imagined what would happen, a dreadful noise suddenly filled the room. Terror and doubt flooded over Timmy's face as he looked over at the health detector, which suddenly let out a firm, steady note-
Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
A long line came over the machine, announcing the stop of Tecna's hearbeat.
Everyone gasped, the medications had failed. Many of the fairies- and even the boys-
began crying-
especially Timmy.
"No... no..." Timmy said through his tears. Quickly, he shuffled past Miss Faragonda and Griselda, who were also crying over a loss they could not stop.
Quickly, Timmy stood over her, and everyone watched. Here he was- half of everyone he knew, staring at him-
he was the center of attention- and everyone was staring at him and Tecna. He bent down to her level, took off his glasses,
and kissed her strait on the lips- in front of everyone. All the fear was gone, all the shyness that held him back.
How could he wait until she was DEAD to actually show how he truly felt about her? And now that oppurtunity left.
Everyone gasped, then most of them felt horrible about the situation- she had a boyfriend, and she died.
Suddenly there was another sound.
Beep... beep... beep...
Her heart was throbbing again- she lives.
Timmy gasped. "Tecna!" He said, watching in complete awe as she opened her eyes- which were now green as they should be. "Timmy!" She said, breathing harder. "Why... why is everyone staring at me?"
"How... it can't be... its magic!" Griselda said, astonished. Timmy now knew what happened. That was who he was!
Technology magic- that was his power, and it had always been. There was a logical explaination for how he
brought Tecna back to life- not only his feelings for her, but he had actually removed the poison from her- without drawing
it into himself! "I don't believe it..." Faragonda said, staring at Timmy. "You saved her! Bless you!"
Tecna smiled, then looked around. "Really... why is everyone staring at me? Did I die or something"
There was no light- there was darkness. Surrounded by darkness, in a cold, dreary place. A familiar place.
The revived Tecna shuddered- it couldn't be happening again! A creature stood next to her, then jumped- devouring her completely.
Tecna shot up from her sleep, sweat beaded her forehead. She looked around. It was just a dream! Just a dream! That meant the Overloard was truly gone! She sighed and sat back down, staring at a picture of her and Timmy playing on a video game console, laughing. She smiled. It was a happy ending after all.