Chapter Text
The sun is shining on Gardenia, a deep and golden hue that bathes the whole city in light. It’s a gorgeous summer morning, full of promises and adventure. There’s a tinge of excitement in the air, a tinge of magic. And it flows through the air, flows through Bloom, and that's enough to force her from her dreaming state.
Bloom wakes quietly. It almost seems like a normal day. It’s not though, and that’s purely because she’s back in her 16 year old body, on Earth, and she can’t feel her Enchantix powers.
“Well, fuck.” That’s the first thing Bloom mutters as she quickly stands and tests all her limbs to see if they’re working. She pinches her face, just to make sure she’s not dreaming.
‘Okay,’ Bloom thinks. ‘This might just be a test or a hallucination, like in the simulations at Alfea that I did when I was working on my Charmix. This could be a dream, or I could be seeing flashes of my life before I die.’
She mulls over it for a minute as she stands in her bedroom, tapping her lips and pursing her lips, shifting her weight from hip to hip.
‘Wait, what was the last thing I was doing before I woke up?’ Bloom suddenly thinks. She's scared to know the answer.
It flows into her head like a dream- maybe it was- but she remembers the noise of shattering glass, the ground breaking beneath her, the crumbling and the shocked face of Sky as they plummet from the rapidly disintegrating Obsidian Dimension, and into the void- she feels magic sweep through her system, overloading her, overloading her magic and threatening to send her into a supernova, and she screams-
Oh.
She died, after destroying the Obsidian Dimension to save her planet, her parents, and the universe.
She can feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she chokes back a small sob- she died, she sacrificed herself, she went through two or three years of her life, trials and tribulations- and here she is, right back at the start.
It’s so hard not to start crying right then and there.
Bloom sits down heavily on the floor. Why would she be sent back, then? There has to be an explanation- some sort of reason. She wipes her eyes and starts dreaming up some ideas.
A few minutes of thinking later, Bloom has some theories. One, it could have all been a long dream. Bloom dismisses it, mostly because it’s really unlikely for her to remember that whole dream. And it was far too realistic for it to be a dream.
Two, she could have been in a coma, but that’s also unlikely because she would have woken up in a hospital, with IV needles and the incessant beeping of a heart monitor.
The last theory makes the most sense to her- The magic from the disintegrating Obsidian Dimension was powerful enough to send her back in time to the day she first discovered her magic. It’s not perfect reasoning- but it makes sense, given all the magic the realm consisted of.
Bloom puts her head in her hands and sighs gustily. So she’s either been sent back in time, or she woke up from a very long dream. She puts her palms on the ground and pushes herself up, and looks at her alarm clock. It reads 6:32 am.
‘I guess I should probably get ready for the day, and get ready to face whatever life is going to throw at me next.’ She pulls off her pajamas and puts on her normal clothes, marvelling at the normalcy of her life so far.
She snaps her fingers, and her favorite pair of jeans comes sailing slowly out of the closet drawers among faint orange sparkles. The small show of magic almost amuses her- it's such a simple pleasure, that makes life so much easier (especially when you're a teenager).
‘I still have magic, that’s good.’ She waves her hand and the jeans drop onto her shoulder, and she finishes getting dressed quickly.
Bloom does a quick check of the date, too- it’s the first day of summer vacation. Stella will be picking a fight in the park in a few hours. She has to be ready. She has to be ready for the whole universe, the Trix- everything. All the villains she's faced, all the work she's done. All the schoolwork. She groans.
She stretches for a bit, breathes and listens to the Dragon’s flame that crackles and burns with the intensity of a million suns in her chest. When her Enchantix was out of control, she would breathe and listen to the fire in her- it soothes her, calms her, focuses her. She sits still for a very long time, listening to her power, the fire burning away underneath her.
Her magic is awakened now- that means her more alien traits are bound to grow in. Her Dominian heritage gives her sharpened nails, pointed ears, and scales on certain parts of her body- her eyes also become heat sensitive.
She won’t be able to hide her traits for too long, but hopefully it will be enough time to hopefully get into Alfea College again, with less suspicion this time.
There’s a knock at the door, and Bloom is startled from her meditation.
“Yes?” she calls, and Bloom is astounded at how babyish her voice sounds.
“Oh, you’re awake?” Bloom’s mother says cheerily as she enters the room, the door creaking on the way. “I was going to wake you up and tell you that you were late for school, but..”
“Mooooomm…”
“Heh, I was hoping that you would fall for it, but I guess I can’t pull that now.”
Bloom rolls her eyes as she gently pushes past her mother.
“I suppose you’re going to tell me that I can help out in the shop all summer, too?” Bloom quips, treading down the stairs and entering the kitchen to grab an apple and pet Kiko.
“Why, how did you know?” Her mother says back, leaning on the door frame and crossing her arms in surprise. “I didn’t even tell you yet!”
Bloom is suddenly struck with the realization that she should probably keep quiet about her time travelling, or it might raise questions. Because time travelling isn't normal on earth, and even less normal in Magix. She should keep her mouth shut.
“Uh, I know one of your other employees just quit, so I assumed you would ask me for now?” Bloom stutters, taking a bite out of her apple before she’s asked more questions from her mother, or her father, who is sitting across the room patiently reading a newspaper article.
“Hmm, you’re right about that…”
“Why, Bloom paying attention to her surroundings? A miracle!” Bloom’s dad guffaws, flipping his newspaper around to read the next article.
“Oh, Dad, you’re so mean!” Bloom wails jokingly, going over to sit at the opposite chair from her father.
“Well, not mean enough to withhold presents. Speaking of presents-” Bloom’s dad says, putting down his paper. “We have something for you out front.”
Bloom gets up, follows her parents outside. She knows it’s the bike she had once hated, but now, staring at it as it shines in the gold sun, she tears up. What she had once taken for granted when she was naive, foolish and unaware how hard her parents worked- now she appreciates it. Dying really did open your eyes.
“It’s perfect.” She chokes. “I love it.” Bloom wipes her eyes and sniffs once loudly, before going over to examine the bike. It’s exactly how she remembers it- flowers in the basket, slightly wobbly tires.
“Aw, kiddo. I’m glad you like it!”
“Yes, we thought that maybe you wouldn’t have liked it. We know you’ve been hoping for a scooter, but money’s tight sometimes, and-” Bloom’s mother stops as Bloom interrupts.
“It’s okay.” Bloom says. “This is fine. I love it, you even put flowers in the basket for me!”
Bloom is genuinely happy with her bike now- it’s a lovely way of getting around that lets her appreciate the scenery.
Her parents hold each other’s hands as they beam at their daughter. Bloom shakes her head, her fair flying up.
“I’m gonna go for a ride. Is that okay?”
“Of course, but come back in time for dinner!”
Bloom quickly goes back inside to pack a quick lunch- not for herself, but for when Stella inevitably passes out and needs to recover fast. She also grabs Kiko, just for companionship. As she leaves the house again, she hears her parents, murmuring how surprised they are at Bloom's sudden change of character. Just yesterday, Bloom had been nothing more than a normal teenager, bored with her life and ungrateful, and here she was, thankful for for the not as showy gift as she had once hoped for.
Bloom says nothing.
She puts Kiko and her lunch bag in the basket on her bike, gets on, and rides.The air flowing through her hair is wonderful, and combined with the feeling of riding almost effortlessly on the bike, she feels like she’s flying again, just like she did as a fairy.
It’s freeing, everything clicks within her, and she fights the urge to transform then and there so she can fly.
She gets off her bike and starts walking with it instead so she doesn’t do anything really stupid.
Then she passes by Mitzi, and Mitzi happens to open her mouth and ruin it all.
“Hey, Bloom. Vacationing in Gardenia again?” Mitzi drawls, her pointed nose turning up at the sight of Bloom, simply strolling along the street with her pet bunny.
“Yes.” Bloom says, and she continues marching.
“Don’t walk away from me!” Mitzi snaps, standing up and looking angry, like an animal that’s been wronged in some way.
“Why? I’m not obligated to talk to you. You’re just a stuck up girl who’s so far into her own head that she doesn’t realize she’s unpleasant and quite frankly, a bitch.”
Bloom can hear Mitzi sputtering behind her as she walks off, and the self satisfaction blossoms inside of her.
Bloom’s wanted to say that to her face for years now, and it feels so, so good. It might come back to bite her in the ass later, but it’s whatever. The self satisfaction is like a drug, and Bloom feels heady off of it. She has to bring herself back down soon, to ready herself for the fight. She's not as powerful right now.
When she finally gets to the park, Bloom sets her bike against the same tree, and she holds Kiko close for a minute.
“This is where it all starts, Kiko.” she murmurs into his fur. Kiko sniffs at her and nestles in her arms, like a comfort. Bloom puts him back in the basket. She knows he’ll wait.
The screams and sounds of fighting start from the forest, and Bloom takes a deep, steadying breath, and walks towards it.
“Ready or not, here I come.”