Chapter Text
The battle had raged on for hours without relent. No one could afford to surrender. The Winx were resolute – Acheron couldn't be allowed to triumph. His dreaded legends had cast a shadow over every corner of the universe. Once-legendary tales had manifested as grim realities, with suffering inflicted upon countless worlds. The once-pristine lakes now mirrored bloodbaths, the Dimension was engulfed in an unyielding darkness, and safety was but a distant memory.
Amidst this turmoil, Bloom found herself wrestling with an unfamiliar sensation: hopelessness. The sting of betrayal from Selina, a friend from their childhood whom she had believed to possess a good heart, cut deep. Selina's deception – handing over the very key that was the only way to unlock the Legendarium Book - The Dragon Flame - to Acheron had freed him from his prison. Eldora's once-protective barrier had crumbled, leaving Acheron free to wreak havoc.
Face-to-face, Selina and Bloom stood, former best friends now locked in an irreversible confrontation. Selina couldn't forget how Bloom had abandoned her, keeping her in ignorance of the magical dimension even during their vacations. She had watched Bloom’s seemingly perfect life from the shadows, questioning the authenticity of their friendship. The promised partnership to battle evil, the camaraderie that once bound them, shattered the day Bloom turned her back on Selina, leaving her at the mercy of tormentors like Mitzy.
"Selina, together we can find a way out of this. Trust me," Bloom implored.
Trust? The word reverberated in Selina's mind, a bitter reminder of the betrayal she had endured. The one person she had trusted had forsaken her, leaving her isolated and vulnerable. Selina couldn't help but wonder if she too possessed a good heart, as Bloom claimed. Her aspirations of becoming a witch had always conflicted with her best’s friends dream of them becoming fairies. Perhaps, had her dreams aligned with Bloom’s, their friendship might have persisted.
"Your heart is pure," Bloom persisted.
But Selina questioned the purity of her own heart. Her longing to be a witch had always set her apart. She mused whether Bloom would have stayed had she shared those aspirations. Stella's appearance, however, had torn away the possibility of normalcy. Selina believed Stella to be the interloper who had seized Bloom’s attention, erasing their friendship from Bloom’s memory.
"Give me the legendarium key, and we can restore normalcy," Bloom urged.
Normalcy, Selina scoffed inwardly. Ever since Stella's intrusion, normalcy had become a fantasy. Stella had robbed Selina of her friendship with Bloom, replacing it with a void of abandonment. Why had Bloom forgotten her, and left behind all the memories they had made together?
"Selina?"
Selina found it surreal to hear her old best friend call out her name, the sound of that familiar voice after all these years feeling almost dreamlike. However, this was no joyful reunion of friends. Instead, it marked a clash of adversaries, each poised to thwart the other – one determined to halt the villain's schemes, the other driven by a thirst for vengeance.
"Please…"
Selina surveyed the surroundings, enveloped in the suffocating shroud of darkness. All vitality seemed to have faded, leaving behind a desolate void. Amidst this abyss, a glimmer of light emerged – the Winx's transformation cast a luminous radiance that pierced through the obscurity. Their attire sparkled with a resplendent beauty, their wings reflecting the light. Selina's gaze traversed Bloom's light blue eyes before sweeping across the other Winx members. Their expressions bore an evident concern, a reflection of the gravity of the situation. Selina's gaze eventually locked onto Stella, the intensity of her radiance nearly blinding, yet undeniably perfect. Even within the encompassing darkness, Stella's light endured, a fact that stirred a twinge of envy within Selina. Although she acknowledged that Bloom's relationship with Stella was nothing more than friendship, their deep connection seemed almost uncomfortably intimate to her and made her envy Stella.
"Selina?"
Disregarding Bloom, Selina furrowed her brow and fixed a piercing gaze on Stella. If Selina was denied the friendship she yearned for, then Bloom, too, should not be allowed the luxury of friends. With determination, Selina raised her hand, invoking her magic to form a sizable sphere of deep blue darkness. This sphere radiated an azure glow akin to moonlight, poised to be unleashed. In a heartbeat, Selina harnessed her fury, channeling it into her spell, granting it a heightened potency. Initially first aiming at Bloom. Selina felt her own eyes widen as she witnessed the fear etched in Bloom's gaze.
"Please, do not…"
Prior to Bloom's completion of her sentence, Selina abruptly switched her target and unleashed the sphere towards Stella. Events unfolded with breathtaking speed. Bloom's scream pierced the air as she hurtled into the sphere's path, positioning herself between the arcane projectile and Stella. A collective cry of "No!" resonated among the Winx, dissipating into the void. The chilling impact struck Bloom's chest, sending her tumbling to the ground.
As the echo of the impact subsided, Selina was engulfed by an overwhelming remorse. Her heart sank as she beheld Bloom lying motionless on the ground, an eerie stillness replacing her once-vibrant spirit. The world seemed to freeze, time suspended in a cruel moment. A luminous, golden aura enveloped Bloom, signifying the dissolution of her transformation, her ethereal form returning to the mundanity of civilian attire.
"What have you done?" Stella's tear-laden voice rang out.
A reverberating roar akin to that of a dragon resounded through the air. An immense form, radiant in golden splendor, materialized against the sky's expanse. The colossal dragon glided closer to Selina, their gaze locking in an unbreakable connection. In that moment, it felt as though Selina glimpsed a fragment of Bloom within the dragon's eyes – a silent message, a final farewell. And as abruptly as it had emerged, the majestic golden dragon dissolved into the ether, leaving behind a sense of ephemeral wonder.
"Why!" Stella's cry echoed, a sphere of golden light blazing with an intensity that rivaled the sun. Selina perceived the fury radiating from her.
"Well… None of this would have happened if you hadn't taken Bloom to Alfea and made her forget about me!" Selina retorted, conjuring another sphere, this one a sapphire shade, brimming with dark energy. Her eyes remained fixed on Stella, a mix of determination and resentment.
"What are you talking about?!" Stella's confusion was palpable, yet beneath it, anger burned fiercely in her eyes. “I didn’t even know you were friends back then, until now?!”
Selina read Stella's expressions like a book, her face a blend of perplexity and simmering rage. Did Bloom never tell Stella about her, Selina wondered. Did she withhold the existence of a best friend, a confidante from her past? The bitterness Selina felt deepened at the realization that, despite all their adventures, Bloom never shared the story of their friendship.
Selina's attention lingered on the Legendarium key and the Book of Legends suspended from her belt. They sparked a memory of a distant legend she had once read – a tale of time travel. In that story, two sisters possessed the extraordinary ability to traverse time. To unlock this power, they had to be in perfect harmony and wield their magic in unison, aligning their light and moon powers. One sister controlled the power of light, allowing her to peer into the future and manipulate time. The other held the moon's sway, a force that reflected the light's touch, capable of unveiling the past and even rewriting it.
The idea began to take shape within Selina's mind – what if she could turn back time, rewrite history? What if she could prevent Bloom from departing for Alfea, sparing herself the years of solitude in Gardenia? A glimmer of hope stirred within her.
Selina's fingers closed around the Legendarium book, a silent affirmation of her intent. She intoned ancient words, the book's pages resonating with energy, a soft glow emanating from its core. With the moon's essence coursing through her, Selina summoned a spell, her gaze fixed on Stella. As if mirrored, Stella unleashed her own light magic in response. Their conflicting energies collided in a blinding crescendo, their combined forces weaving a dazzling tapestry.
When the luminance subsided, Selina found herself surrounded by a whirlwind of memories, her life flashing before her eyes. She relived moments of solitude, endless hours spent alone in Gardenia's park, yearning for the companionship she had lost. The past unfurled, an intricate mosaic of emotions, fragments of time woven into a symphony of longing.
In an instant, a brilliant light enveloped Selina once more. As her vision cleared, she found herself standing outside the Gardenia school, immersed in the symphony of children's laughter and playful shouts on the playground. The world around her seemed magnified, casting a sense of unfamiliarity over her surroundings. And cradled in her hands, a weighty tome – the Legendarium Book – rested. Yet, she noticed, its weight bore a newfound heft, inexplicably heavier than before.
A child breezed past Selina, catching her attention and prompting her to realize an astonishing truth – either the children were as tall as her, or she was as tall as them. Her gaze fell upon her own form, suddenly aware that she inhabited her six-year-old body. It was as if she had journeyed back in time, to the very threshold of her earliest school days. She felt a rush of nostalgia, a tangle of emotions coursing through her. This must be the first day at the new school?
Amidst the vibrant canvas of memories, Selina's gaze fixed upon a bench where a young Bloom sat, absorbed in her world of creativity. Crayon in hand, she etched her imagination onto a sheet of paper. Selina inhaled deeply, understanding that this was the pivotal moment, the inception of their profound friendship. The scene radiated the aura of newness, an innocence untouched by the adversities that would unfold.
Bloom's drawing depicted a fierce clash between a dragon and a winged humanoid, resembling a fairy. Selina's heart swelled with fondness, recognizing the rudimentary strokes that would one day evolve into the intricate artistry of Bloom's future drawings. With a mixture of nostalgia and determination, Selina took measured steps towards Bloom, bridging the gap of time to the moment their friendship was forged, for the first time.
"Um, Hi?" Selina's voice trembled with a mix of nerves and anticipation.
Bloom looked up from her drawing and greeted her with a warm smile. "Hi!" She scooted over to make room on the bench, inviting Selina to sit beside her.
"Selina," she introduced herself, her own smile growing wider.
"What?" Bloom's eyes held a hint of confusion.
"My name's Selina," she clarified with a gentle grin.
"Oh… My name’s Bloom," Bloom responded, her smile mirrored by Selina.
They exchanged smiles, the camaraderie of a first meeting bridging the gap between them. Selina inquired about Bloom's drawing, her curiosity piqued by the fantastical scene taking shape on the paper – a fairy locked in a fierce struggle against a dragon. She learned that the fairy possessed the power of water, a testament to Bloom's early fascination with these magical beings.
A question tugged at Selina's mind, a subtle prompt for a change she hoped to initiate. "Have you ever thought about drawing witches, maybe? They can be really cool."
Bloom blinked. "Witches?"
“Yeah. You know, they are pretty cool as well.”
Bloom shrugged, "I guess I could try…?"
Turning the paper around, Bloom sought Selina's guidance on how to depict a witch. Selina embarked on an explanation, describing witches as diverse beings, capable of resembling ordinary humans.
She remembered her time at Cloud Tower. The encounters with kind-hearted witches who wore regular attire. These encounters had fulfilled her long-held aspirations for benevolent witches, proving that they were not solely evil and mean. They could also be kind. She felt a genuine elation at the realization that her hopes were validated, even if Cloud Tower later fell under the sway of sinister forces.
Simultaneously, Selina harbored a fascination for the Trix, an inexplicable allure that she struggled to comprehend. She mused on their offer of augmented powers, a tantalizing alternative to her former drab existence dictated by the Legendarium. The complexity of the book's rules paled in comparison to the allure of possessing her own abilities. The Trix had granted her Moon powers after their encounter in Solaria.
In the midst of their conversation, Bloom's artistic endeavors took form. She sketched a figure with bold strokes, depicting a person clad in a green dress, crowned with long brown hair. A broom graced the character's hand. Selina gently intervened, dispelling the notion of witches using brooms for flight.
Bloom's curiosity rippled through her expression. "How do you know that? What I've heard from…"
"No, trust me. Witches can fly without brooms. Their flight is powered by magic," Selina assured her.
An effervescent glow of joy illuminated Bloom's eyes as she continued to embellish her drawing. Her strokes redefined the broom into a symbol of enchantment. The addition of sparkling star-shaped motifs lent an air of magic to the witch's depiction. Upon completion, Selina's smile conveyed a profound sentiment. While the artwork might not be a masterpiece, it symbolized the potential realization of her cherished aspiration – the realization of her dream, the adventuring witch duo of Selina and Bloom.