Musa
She stumbled through the portal and onto cracked stone. The air here was cold—dead. The walls of the ruined fortress loomed around her like broken teeth. She didn't know where Damon had gone, only that he was here somewhere.
She became alert again.
Musa barely takes two steps before something slammed into her side—a blast of dark energy.
Pain ripped through her as she hit the ground hard.
Damon emerged from the dark, eyes burning with fury. "You shouldn't have followed me, fairy," he hissed.
Then, clutching his side where her earlier strike had burned through, he staggered toward a corridor and vanished into it, leaving a trail of blood.
Musa groaned, trying to lift herself up—but the world spun and faded.
Moments later, someone else came through the portal.
"Musa!" Riven's voice cut through the dark as he dropped beside her.
*******
BACK AT THE PALACE
"Where did they go?" Aisha asks, after the portal closes after Riven and Musa,her voice sharp with worry.
"I don't know," Stella answers, glancing around in confusion.
Tecna's fingers fly over her wrist device. "I'm not detecting their presence anywhere near us," she says. "Wherever they went... it's nowhere close to here."
"We have to find them," Flora insists. "They might need help taking down Damon."
"Damon..." Stella whispers, her voice trembling. "That monster."
Their attention shifts to Bloom, kneeling beside Sky's motionless body. Tears stream down her cheeks as she shakes him gently.
"He's not waking up," she cries, her voice breaking.
Sky's mother drops to her knees beside them, shaking her head in disbelief. "No... no, he couldn't be—"
Nabu hurries over, his expression grave. "Move back," he says firmly. "Let me look at him."
The others hesitate, but step aside. Nabu places his glowing hands over Sky's chest,checking his vitals.
"He's still alive," he finally says, and the tension breaks for a moment. "But... barely."
Sky's mother presses a hand to her heart, letting out a cry of relief.
"Do something—heal him!" she orders in a queenly voice.
"There's a spell I can try," Nabu says, "but I'll need him in a bed first."
Bloom wipes her eyes and gets up. She then uses her magic to lift Sky gently from the floor, quickly guiding him toward their room.
Once inside, Nabu looks at everyone. "All of you,please—leave the room. I need to concentrate."
"No way," Bloom protests, voice shaking. "I'm not leaving him!"
"Bloom," Nabu says softly, glancing to Aisha for help.
"Bloom," Aisha adds, "he needs to focus."
"But—"
"The sooner we leave, the sooner he can start helping Sky," Sky's mother urges.
Bloom's lips tremble. "Save him, Nabu. Please."
"I'll try my best," he says without looking up, his hands already glowing brighter over Sky's still form.
The girls gently guide Bloom out of the room. The moment the door closes, Bloom breaks down again.
"How could this happen,Winx?" she sobs. "And on our wedding day?"
"I'm so sorry, Bloom," Flora whispers, tears welling in her own eyes.She doesnt know what else to say.
Bloom buries her face in her hands—then suddenly freezes, looking up.
"Wait... where's Musa? And Riven?"
"They went into the portal," Brandon answers grimly. "After Damon."
"Where?" Bloom asks,in a panicked voice.
Timmy looks down at his scanner and shakes his head in confusion. "That's the problem," he says quietly.
"We don't know."
*****
RIVEN
Panic lined Riven's face as he shook Musa's shoulders gently. "Hey—come on, wake up."
Her eyelids fluttered. "Riven?" she murmured weakly.
"Yeah, it's me." Relief flooded his face, and he pulled her into a hug before she could protest. "Are you okay?"
"Just… a little weak," she said, wincing."Damon got me good."
Riven's jaw tightened. "Where is he?"
"I don't know," she said. "He hit me with a surprise attack—then I blacked out."
"What were you thinking, going after him alone?" Riven's voice cracked, sharp with anger and fear.
"I wasn't about to let him get away—not after what he did to Sky. Or Bloom. And you saw that commander he murdered."
Riven froze, pain flashing through his eyes. "I saw," he said quietly.
"You knew him,didnt you?"Musa asked in a quiet voice.
Riven nodded slowly.
"Varel—he was my mentor. He took me under his wing when I came to Eraklyon. He was like a second father to me."
Musa's breath caught. "Riven… I'm so sorry."
He nodded, swallowing hard. Suddenly, his eyes gleamed with something that made her nervous.
"Damon's the one who'll be sorry,"he tells her.
His tone made her flinch. It was one which belonged to the old Riven again—the anguished one who liked to spread his hurt. But she stayed silent; after all, grief had a way of sharpening old edges.
She touched his arm gently. "So what now?"
"We find Damon," he said, voice rough. "And we make him pay."
"And then what?" she asked. "Unlike Damon,I cant make portals. We've got no way back."
Riven gave a humorless smile. "Guess you didn't think this through, huh?"
"You didn't either," she shot back.
His smirk softened. "Fair point." He then gets up and offers her his hand. "Come on.We'll figure out the exit strategy after we catch him."
Musa took it, nearly stumbling. Riven caught her instantly, hands steadying her at the waist. Their faces were inches apart.
"Thanks," she breathed.
"Yeah," he said awkwardly, stepping back and clearing his throat. "Let's move. And remember,he's injured, but that might make him more dangerous.
Are you sure you're up to this?"
Musa's eyes glowed faint blue. "Oh,yeah."
****
DAMON
Every step burned.
Damon pressed a trembling hand to his side, feeling the warmth of his own blood through the torn fabric. The fortress walls tilted and twisted in the dark.
He reached the heart of the ruin, collapsed against a pillar, and exhaled shakily. "No," he hissed. "Not yet. Not like this."
He reached inward—into the black coil of energy that bound him to his resurrected allies—and sent his thoughts through it. "Stormy. Icy. Darcy. Hear me."
The air around him shimmered faintly.
*****
THE TRiX
"Someone's calling," Stormy said, twirling a strand of hair.
The three witches stood in the dim expanse of a close wasteland—an ancient stronghold where the Ancestral Witches whispered like wind.
"Let me guess," Icy said coldly. "Our impatient little ally."
Stormy grinned. "Hey, handsome," she purred, voice echoing through the void. "Miss us?"
On the other end of the connection, Damon's voice trembled with pain.
"I need you. I'm injured—the fairies and specialists are closing in. I need an exit. Now."
Icy rolled her eyes. "We're in the middle of something important."
"This is important!" Damon snapped. "You owe me your lives. Now come get me before I bleed out."
Darcy crossed her arms. "You should've listened when we told you not to attack Sky during his wedding. The timing was terrible."
Icy nodded. "We told you to wait until after me and my sisters regained all of our strength. But no, Damon wanted his grand revenge moment."
"Enough!" Damon's voice roared through the link. "I didn't raise you from the grave to hear you lecture me. You owe me!"
Stormy sighed. "Fine. We'll come."
Icy shot her a look. "Oh, really?"
"Yeah," Stormy said. "He did bring us back from the dead."
"Are you sure it's not that you're developing a little crush on him, sister?"Darcy sks accusingly.
"Maybe.But you have to admit that he's a little cute,"Stormy says defensively. "That and he's going to be King."
"Not when he's dead,"Icy says.
Stormy frowns.
"Sister,Did you forget what the Ancestral witches said we needed to takeover the entire magic dimension?We cant do it without him,"She says.
Icy groaned, but after a beat, nodded.
"All right. But after this, he and us are even,"she says,starting to float.Her sisters followed suit and together, they headed towards Damon's fortress at max speed.