ally

Everything was dark.

and cold.

So. Cold.

Tecna opened her eyes, trying to regain some sense of awareness through her skull-splitting headache and the endless, frigid, creeping feeling sliding down her spine and into her veins.

The all-consuming sensation of power and adrenaline and pure magic had vanished as soon as it had appeared. It was replaced by an all-consuming weakness, and for the first time in probably ever, Tecna’s head was void of logical thinking.

She should be dead.

That was the one persistent thought ringing through her head. She should, by all means, and on impact alone, be utterly and entirely dead.

But she wasn’t. She was here, in the Omega Dimension. The portal closed behind her and she’d successfully sealed herself away in the depths of the most dangerous and unforgivingly cruel prison in the entire magical universe.

Tecna didn’t even know for sure if her sacrifice had saved Andros (surely it must have meant something, or she wouldn’t have earned her Enchantix… right?), nor did she know how much time had passed between when she hit the ground and when she woke up (enough that her hands were almost numb from the cold), but she was here now. And she should be dead.

Looking around from where she’d landed hard on frozen ground, Tecna slowly became aware of three things:

1. She was alone. For now.

2. There was absolutely no way she’d have enough strength to search for a possible exit any time soon.

3. She was in more pain than she’d ever felt before and her heart ached.

This, she was unfamiliar with on a different level than the sensation of her body giving out. The excruciating pain and spreading through her limbs was one thing, but the longer she sat on the icy ground, chill seeping through her skin unlike any cold she’d ever felt, the moments right before the fall came rushing back to her.

Bloom and Aisha trying to push through the vortex together, only to be spit back and rejected by the viciously powerful negative energy.

Tebok, the wizard, losing his failsafe in the eye of the storm.

That feeling in Tecna’s chest. The one she could only describe as an undeniable pull. That feeling telling Tecna to march full force into the unfolding chaos and do something she’d never do.

Except, she did.

The act of closing the portal was still a fuzzy blur to her, but the moment she fell was one she feared she’d never forget.

Her body, tethered to the hurricane of darkness that she could only think to compare to standing inside of a collapsing star. Like a magnet, before it let go and she entered a complete free fall— her wings, nothing more than accessories against the gravity.

Musa’s scream.

That was the last thing she heard before the deafening crunch of rocks sealed her fate and form in this otherworldly hellscape.

Tecna sobbed. The sound startled her. She’d been so taken aback by the flood of memories returning to her that she hadn’t taken notice of the tears falling down her cheeks— turning into frozen crystals against her skin almost instantly, adding to the litany of pain she felt.

But once she’d noticed, it was too late to stop, and she cried out loud. Agony and helplessness bubbled to the surface and Tecna just sobbed. She never knew what she sounded like crying this hard before. She had never cried this hard before.

It hurt, the shaking of her diaphragm against her injured ribs, but she couldn’t stop it.

She mourned her friends, who likely presumed her dead (because she should. be. dead.). She wondered if they were crying as hard as she was.

She could feel Digit’s anguish. The girls must be safe back at Alfea if the pixie’s had received the news (she wasn’t quite cognizant enough to calculate how long the travel time back to Magix was and therefore figure out how long ago she’d fallen). The bond with her pixie was weaker than it had ever been and Tecna was struck with the fear that she might lose it— she didn’t have enough strength to maintain the balance that came with the deep bond between them. She hoped the sweet, smart pixie would be alright without her.

She grieved the rest of her life. She wasn’t dead. But she’d die here. Frozen and alone.

Alone.

Timmy.

Oh god— her stomach lurched as the thought of the auburn haired Specialist crossed her mind. How would he react? What would he do? Her Timmy… the love of her life…

Timmy, with his bright eyes hidden behind wiry glasses frames. The way he stumbled over words when he was nervous, and tripped over his own feet more times than anyone Tecna had ever seen. Timmy, who rambled on and on about the latest gadget or upgrade or game to her and let her ramble right back. He brought her so much comfort and safety. He showed her how much true joy another person could bring into her life…

He taught her that she was capable of falling in love… and loving every second of it.

Now she was as good as dead, and she’d never get to tell Timmy any of that.

With as much air as she could gather in her lungs, Tecna collapsed in on herself and screamed.

The sound struck the cavern from wall to wall and echoed hauntingly through the darkness.

Ice pebbles fell around her and her voice gave out pathetically with a soft, crackling cry.

From the depths surrounding her, a deeper sound resonated, one Tecna could feel through the ground.

She should’ve anticipated something or someone making themselves known, but she hadn’t. Her guard was as down as it would ever get, and she was still crying useless, frozen tears.

When the sound rumbled again, closer, it didn’t register. Her usual alarm bells didn’t ring.

But she sure felt it when something— no, definitely someone, violently grabbed a hold of her arm and yanked. She felt her shoulder pop, before her other arm was grabbed by someone else and she was hoisted into the air.

Dangling from injured limbs, Tecna kicked and screamed with fear and a fresh wave of adrenaline shocking her system.

She couldn’t get a good look at her attackers. She couldn’t fight back, not even without her magic. She couldn’t feel her fingers anymore from the cold. Her fine motor skills were thoroughly shot. The massive assailants donned masks and heavy equipment, and it was already hard enough to see in the dark cave. They dragged rough, gloved hands along her body in search of anything to steal. Every place giant fingers struck shot a vicious pain through a new part of her body and Tecna could feel herself starting to drift in and out of consciousness from the severity of her injuries.

The hands retreated after a moment that lasted a lifetime, and held the shattered remains of her phone and the portal device she built to bring the Winx to Andros.

In any hands besides her own, she prayed it was destroyed beyond repair.

Gruff voices shouted something at her, but blood rushed in her ears, sheer terror coursed through her veins, and she couldn’t hear a thing they said.

They yelled again, louder, and Tecna flinched. She could feel them moving and carrying her with them, the uncaring tug on her arms sending jolts of white hot pain through her body.

Hot pain. Burning cold. Freezing hot. Scalding frigid scorching paralyzing—

With one last violent twist, nothing but salt in the wound, her perpetrators flung her body forwards into the endless void as she fell again.

Faster. Deeper. Colder. Lonelier. Winx. Timmy.

And then she felt nothing.

And then she felt. Everything.

——————————————-

Tecna shot upright in her bed with a gut-wrenching scream. Every part of her body was trembling, a violent shake that kept her lungs from breathing and her mind from thinking.

She kicked at linen sheets— anything to get them off her get off get off get off—

She couldn’t see anything in the dark room, but her mind unpleasantly supplied visuals of jagged icicles and dark stone rougher than obsidian and the phantom feeling of rough hands everywhere as she gasped for air and wailed.

“—ey! Hey! It’s okay! Tecna, hey!” Someone was calling to her. Someone had their hands on her shoulders, clutching, grounding—

Seizing, attacking, cold, dark, so cold, I’m gonna die, so dark, let go let go let go!!!!

The lights were on.

Through her tears, she could somewhat make out five figures gathered around. Making noise. No- talking to her.

The same hands moved from Tecna’s shoulders to the sides of her face, and she was forced to look at the person in front of her.

Her eyes were wide and unfocused, eyelashes wet with tears and pupils concerningly dilated as the image of the people surrounding her came in and out of focus.

“Tecna,” The voice was gentle, startlingly so, and it cut through the deafening static fogging up her brain. “You’re safe. You’re at Alfea. You’re in our dorm room. It’s Musa…”

Musa. Musamusamusamusa her scream—

“Can you come back to us? I know you’re there. Come on Tecna, you can do it. What do I do guys, she’s freezing!” The voice— it’s Musa— shook, though it was clear she was trying to stay calm.

Another hand— smaller, softer— carefully picked up one of Tecna’s shaking hands and held it against warm palms, rubbing a thumb soothingly across the back. But she couldn’t move her eyes from their fixated spot trying to bring Musa into focus.

“Tecna, sweetie, it’s Flora. Everything is going to be okay. You’re safe here with us, and we’re not gonna let anything bad happen to you, I promise.”

The words ignited a flicker of clarity in Tecna’s mind. Us. Flora. Musa. Us. The Winx. That must be us.

A hand found purchase on her back, brushing back and forth against her shoulder blades. One more hand softly brushed short, pink strands of hair out of her face. They weren’t gloved and harsh and uncaring. They were soft and gentle and grounding.

The steady stream of reassurance combined with gentle familiar hands were able to split through the primal fear occupying the forefront of her thoughts and slowly, slowly, Tecna found herself coming back into reality.

After a handful of minutes spent coaxing her out of her own head, Tecna’s eyes finally refocused. She blinked a few times, adjusting to the light and the proximity to her friends.

Visible relief spread across their faces, and she could see them holding back the urge to make any sudden celebratory movements.

“Welcome back, honey. You did so well. I’m so proud of you.” Flora whispered, squeezing her hand gently, the warmth of her palms sending away the cold that had followed her out of her nightmare.

Now that she was able, Tecna turned her gaze to the right, where Flora was crouching beside her bed, tears tracing down her face. She was visibly shaken but the gentle tracing on the back of Tecna’s hand never stopped.

She let her eyes wander around. Behind Flora stood Stella, who was uncharacteristically quiet, but her eyes were wide and she appeared to be on high alert.

Bloom stood just behind Musa, with a comforting hand on the music fairy’s shoulder. She offered an empathetic smile when Tecna met her eyes, but she couldn’t gather the energy to return it.

To the far left was Aisha. The usually brave fairy was hugging herself tightly, a fearful, guilty look painted across her face. Tecna didn’t quite know what to make of it.

Then there was Musa. Right in front of her, her own gently trembling hands holding Tecna’s face a bit too tightly now as her composure slipped a little further and a tear fell down her cheek.

She loved them all so much.

The dam broke.

She took a shuddering gasp and broke down crying. It was less hysterical and more exhausted, but her eyes squeezed shut and her heart clenched nonetheless. She forced out her first few words of the night brokenly.

“I’m sorry.”

A chorus of gasps and consolations erupted from the girls and Tecna fought through the chill in her bones to continue speaking.

“I was— I was there. I was back there and it…” She cried harder into the weight of Musa’s hands.

“It felt like the first time all over again. It wasn't a dream. It was real.”

Almost immediately, Musa threw herself at Tecna, wrapping the shuddering girl into a tight hug and burying her face against her shoulder.

The others were quick to follow, albeit more carefully and cautiously as they maneuvered onto the bed.

Soon, Tecna was wrapped up in the middle of a Winx hug pile and she found that the closeness and sensations weren’t overwhelming. It was just comforting. She felt safe.

——————————————-

When she woke up hours later, the sun was soft in the mid-morning sky. Tecna hadn’t even realized she’d fallen asleep, but she quickly realized why she’d not been plagued by nightmares again.

The other five Winx remained on Tecna’s bed. She’d been moved to lay against the pillows, and they’d snuggled in close around her.

Musa was practically on top of her, arms wrapped securely around her waist, Flora’s head lay on Tecna’s left shoulder, Stella on the right shoulder. Bloom rested beside Flora, and Aisha was almost horizontal across their laps, protectively covering what Musa couldn’t of Tecna, and cuddling into the blanket draped over her.

The blanket itself, Tecna noticed, was not her own. It was new. It was a soft blue colour (her favourite), but it had an almost golden glow to it. She realized it must’ve been Stella’s magic— the comforting heat it emanated was similar to that of Stella herself. It cut through the chill in her bones, the one that had been present ever since her rescue. The one she feared would always be there to remind her.

Musa groaned in her sleep, tightening her hold on Tecna’s waist. She smiled down at her best friend, careful not to disrupt her any further. She let herself relax into the mattress and the arms of her friends, letting their love and safety wash over her.

1. As Tecna closed her eyes once more, she slowly became aware of three things:

2. That horrid, evil chill couldn’t get her here anymore— not when her heart was so warm and full of love.

3. It would take a long time for her to heal from this. She didn’t know if she ever really would. At least not fully.

No matter what grip these memories would hold over her, she was surrounded by her best friends in the whole universe, and nothing could take that away from her.

She drifted off back into a peaceful, dreamless sleep with one last thought on her mind.