Hey people, I'm back. I'm sorry I've not updated for ages, but now I've done my exams! On with the story ;)

Layla awoke nervously in a cold sweat. Her stomach was wrenching and her heart was beating rapidly. She squinted intensely at her clock to see the time. 7:33 AM. It wasn't worth going back to bed now. She sighed, wiping the moisture from her forehead and catching her breath. She forcefully sat herself upright and swung her legs off of the edge of her bed allowing her toasty feet to meet the icy floor. She pushed herself off of her bed and trudged slowly towards the door. She opened it quietly and sat at the table in the main dorm room. As she sat down, a piece of paper on the table caught her attention. She grasped it in one hand and began to read in her head.

Winx,

Please don't worry about me, I've gone to Melody with Riven to say goodbye to my parents. I'll be back soon,

Musa x

Layla swallowed hard as she thought about her own parents. What if she just left without ever saying goodbye? How would she ever forgive herself?

As she began to fear the worst, she was distracted by the sound of a door squeaking. She looked up to Flora edging her way out of her room.

"Oh, hi Flora," smiled Layla.

"Hi, Layla, what's that?" she questioned.

"It's a note from Musa, did she tell you about this?" she replied.

Flora reached out for Musa's note on the table and turned it around so she could read it. Layla watched Flora's reaction as she read the note. She saw the realisation in her eyes as she thought hard about her own family.

"No, I didn't know, but it's a good point. What if something happens and we never said goodbye?" suggested Flora.

"All these transformations we've earned, and never once have we told our parents about it, but then again, the stakes have never been so high," said Layla anxiously.

"Maybe we should get the other girls up and go home to say goodbye, then get back in time to get to the museum," proposed Flora.

"Sounds like a good idea. Bagsie not waking Stella up!" said Layla quickly.

"Fine, I'll go," huffed Flora as she headed for Stella's dorm.

Layla felt a bit guilty for making Flora wake Stella up but knew she'd rather Flora do it than herself. Layla walked around the edge of the table and headed for Bloom's dorm. As she entered, she could hear the red head snoozing quietly.

"Bloom, Bloom…" she said softly. Bloom squirmed a little but eventually opened her eyes and looked quite surprised to see Layla gazing down at her.

"We're having a meeting in the main dorm room," she continued.

Bloom nodded groggily and pulled herself together to get up. Layla then left Bloom for a minute and went to wake up Tecna.

Layla tried not to laugh as she heard Tecna unconsciously muttering away in her sleep.

"Tecna, you need to get up," said Layla in the same soft tone she used with Bloom.

Layla almost jumped as Tecna's eyes snapped open widely.

"Layla, it is 7:39 AM, why on Magix do I need to wake up now?" she questioned aggressively.

"Go into the main dorm and I will tell you."

Tecna's face was very puzzled and she was very intrigued to find out was this meeting was about.

Together, Tecna and Layla headed for the main dorm room, soon accompanied by Bloom. Suddenly, they heard:

"STELLA!"

Followed by:

"No! No! Not spots with stripes…"

The three of them fell into fits of giggles upon seeing Flora's frustrated face, but quickly pulled themselves together upon seeing a very agitated Stella.

Once they were all gathered around the table, Layla decided it was time to speak.

"The reason we got all you guys up, is because we found this note from Musa, and figured we should all do the same," she advised as she handed Tecna, Bloom and Stella the note.

"I never thought to…" stuttered Stella as she thought about her parents.

"If we never… said… goodbye…" Tecna paused for a moment. "Musa was telling me about how she was nervous to say her goodbyes last night," she stated.

"If we all go out and say our goodbyes this morning, then we can go to Magix later and get the book. We can't postpone our mission any longer; else we give Pandora a chance to get stronger," continued Layla, hiding her fear.

"Well, we're gonna need to call the guys, aren't we?" suggested Bloom.

"I'll ring Timmy. Wait, how are we getting there, I can use my Inter dimensional portal."

"I can use my ring," shipped in Stella.

"Me and Nabu can use our magic to create a portal, what about you Flora?"

"I don't know. I guess me and Helia could use a Red Fountain ship."

"Right, so the guys don't need to bring their levabikes, I'll get them to fly a ship over here for Flora and Helia to take to Linphea." Tecna took the phone from her pocket and disappeared into her dorm to make the call.

"Right, well we'd better go get ready then." And with that, they all headed off to get changed.

20 minutes later

As they waited on the quad for the boys, this gave Layla time to ponder about what to say to her parents, how they might react and the dreaded thought of her Elementix task. The butterflies in her stomach grew stronger, but soon, she was reassured with the Red Fountain craft which soon landed in front of them. She squinted as the silhouettes of the boys appeared at the rear of the ship. Soon, she had pinpointed Nabu, and couldn't help but giggle when she saw what he was wearing: A Red Fountain uniform with a purple fastener on the cape. She couldn't help but find it amusing as he never needed to wear a uniform before. But because he was offered a place at Red Fountain to improve his combat skills, the uniform was apparently necessary.

Nabu looked quite embarrassed. He knew Layla would laugh at him continuously, but he couldn't help but find her laugh infectious in such a way that he wanted to join in.

"I know I look ridiculous, you don't need to remind me," groaned Nabu as he approached her.

Layla's giggles faded away and soon she became more serious and embraced Nabu with a tight hug.

"Come on now, we'd better get going. Ready?"

Layla sighed and nodded silently. They reached both of their arms into the air and combined their magic to make an ocean blue coloured portal right into the throne room of Tides. Together, they walked hand in hand through the portal before it disappeared behind them in a puff of smoke.

As they stepped into the room, they were greeted with surprised faces of Layla's parents who were delighted and yet curious of her arrival. They stopped the conversation they were having and sat silently on their magnificent thrones. Finally, Layla's father spoke up.

"Layla, Nabu, how lovely it is to see you both. Tell me, what is it that brings you to Tides?"

Layla turned her head to see Nabu, who turned his head and caught her eye. He gently squeezed her hand giving her a sense of reassurance. She smiled bravely and turned her attention to her parents.

"Have you heard the news of Pandora?" asked Layla nervously.

"I wish I could say we haven't," answered Niobe, Layla's mother.

"We all know that she needs to be stopped. The only solution that we have found, is to stop her with Elementix fairies," continued Layla.

"But, the Elementix fairies are extinct, am I correct… unless you mean…" questioned Teredor.

"Yes father. The power of Elementix is not extinct. So, me and the Winx are going to try and gain Elementix," said Layla bluntly and emotionlessly.

"Layla, do you understand what you are choosing, do you know the consequences?" asked Teredor quite angrily, clenching his fists in protest.

"Believe me father, the consequences will be much greater if we do not try and gain this power. The keepers of the Superior Powers can try to destroy Pandora themselves, but they have kingdoms to protect."

"But you my dear, are my daughter and the Guardian Fairy of Tides. We need you here," added Niobe.

"But you, along with the keepers of the Superior of Power Tides can protect the kingdom, my duty lies elsewhere."

Nabu remained silent as he didn't particularly was to become a part of this argument.

"The reason I have come is not to debate my decision, but to say goodbye… If I fail this task, if I fail Elementix, then I need to know that I have said goodbye." A small tear escaped the corner of her cerulean eyes. This wasn't the way she wanted possibly one of her last memories to go. She didn't want to finish on an argument, and neither did her father.

Teredor could see the fear in her daughter's eyes and could feel Niobe's shock. Together, they left their thrones and went to hug their daughter. Layla was doing her best to stay strong and eventually parted her grip from Nabu and approached her parents with her arms wide open.

"Layla," said Teredor as he squeezed Layla tight, "sometimes I wish you weren't as brave as you are, just so I have the comfort of knowing you are safe, but then I remember how proud I am to be your father."

"I love you Layla," added her mother.

"You too," Layla answered.

From behind, Nabu was surprised to see how strong Layla was, but he knew she was hurting on the inside and that she would need a lot of comforting afterwards.

Layla brushed away her stray tears and swallowed hard. "I've got to go now. The girls are waiting…" she trailed off, not wanting this moment ever to end. She parted from her parents just as her mother said:

"Do your best Layla, because we know you will succeed."

Layla smiled and joined hands with Nabu again to create the portal. As their magic combined for a second time, she looked out to see her parents stood next to each other, smiling proudly, her mother was also putting on a brave face, trying to hide her tears.

Layla snivelled a little but finally stepped into the portal, back to Alfea.

I'm sorry that there is not much emotion in this chapter, but Layla/Aisha's parents have always been very formal, but of course they still care, I hope that came across.

SPOILERS!

You'll see the rest of Layla's reaction upon getting back to Alfea and some more LxN when Nabu tries to comfort her afterwards, just to show she was putting on a brave face. That will be either in chapter 9 or 10, we'll see.

The next chapter is Stella's chapter. Will it run as smoothly for her as it has done for the rest of the girls? Only one way to find out!

Please review, concrit appreciated x