Musa bit hungrily into a peach, barely chewing its sweet flesh before gulping it down. Within seconds she had devoured the whole thing and dropped the stone onto the plate of food on the counter. She grabbed the buttered crumpets and began wolfing them down too.

"So, where is everyone else?" She asked, the words barely finding their way past the food in her mouth.

"Mike's brother has an empty apartment in Gardenia and offered us a reduced rent to stay there, seeing as we could be here a while." Flora explained. "The others are there with the specialists. They've been furnishing it all day while we were here." 

Musa nodded, washing her breakfast down with a glass of orange juice, and wiped her mouth with her forearm. 

"I forgot to ask, is your leg okay?" Musa remembered how Flora had favoured her left leg when walking.

"Oh, yeah it's alright now." Flora assured her, "I just landed badly protecting Roxy from the blast, that's all." 

Musa smiled apologetically; if she had just kept her emotions in check, she wouldn't have caused so much damage.

"And how is Roxy?" 

Flora sighed but didn't answer immediately.

Musa paused, her arm suspended above her next victim to be devoured (an apple from the fruit bowl), and finally looked at Flora properly. 

She looked completely drained, her usually sparkling eyes, dull and encased by thick, dark circles. 

"She was so exhausted after the fight, we let her go straight home. Bloom figured the wizards wouldn't be too hasty to show up again; after all, it was a pretty big explosion." 

Musa cringed at herself. 

"We haven't seen her since but Bloom wants to speak with Rick as soon as we find out what's going on." Flora finished, cupping her hand over her mouth and yawning.

"Flora, you're exhausted. You need to sleep." Musa insisted but Flora shook her head even as her eyes fluttered dangerously close to shutting.

"No, no I'm fine. I didn't really do anything anyway. It was lucky Helia showed up when he did, otherwise I would have left Roxy completely defenceless." 

Musa frowned but didn't persist. 

"Oh shoot!" Flora exclaimed, making her jump, "We're supposed to be getting in touch with Faragonda any minute now. Come on let's go!" 

She started to usher Musa out of her chair and towards the door, who turned, grabbing desperately for one more crumpet before shoving it in her mouth and disappearing into the streets of Gardenia.

~

The apartment was only a five minute walk from Mike and Vanessa's and as they rounded the corner, the tall tower block loomed into view. 

Their place was right at the top, apparently, and Musa had to shelter her eyes from the sun with her hand as she craned her neck to see.

There was a balcony leaning over the street below, and rusted metal steps leading up to the roof but Musa did remark that there were no plants to be seen- so clearly Flora hadn't got to it yet. 

The grey concrete was cracked in places and most of the windows were unwashed. Musa sighed; it appeared they had their work cut out.

On their way up, she also made a mental note to always take the stairs after the elevator shuddered all the way to the top, creaking and screeching threateningly. On the bright side, the apartment wasn't too shabby, granted two days worth of work had already been done to it. 

The living room was minimalistic, with beige walls that bore water damage in the corners and furnished with a singular grey sofa plus a few beanbags and glass coffee table in the centre of the room. 

The most impressive feature was the far wall, which was completely made of glass. 

Musa pressed her palms against the panes and looked down, her eyes widening at the fatal drop into the street should the glass break. She shuddered at the thought and took a step back. 

The living room ran into the kitchen which was lined with small, dark grey cupboards and a marble counter. 

To the right of the floor were two large bedroom and an adequately sized bathroom containing a shower and a bath which Musa definitely needed to make use of sooner rather than later.

As Flora gave her the tour, the other specialists came in and greeted her. 

She feigned an attempt at small talk with Brandon and Helia but couldn't helping wondering where Riven was. 

All she really wanted to do was speak with him. 

"Welcome back, Musa." Sky beamed, squeezing her firmly in his arms. "The girls are in there. They only just started their call with Headmistress Faragonda." He pointed to one of the bedrooms.

"Thanks," Musa mumbled, "have you seen Riv?"

"Not recently." Sky admitted, "But he was with you all of yesterday. Refused to leave until he knew your condition was stable."

Musa's eyes widened slightly and she breathed out a pitiful laugh.

Why couldn't Riven be that genuinely sweet when she was conscious?

She sighed, but her heart warmed at his act of kindness. 

"Okay don't worry, thanks." She forced a smile before heading into the meeting.

As she pushed open the door, she heard the hushed voices of her friends muttering quietly amongst themselves but the voice predominantly talking was was soft, yet firm- a tone she could recognise anywhere.

"At that time, the planet's energy was in the fairies hands, and they would dispense that energy through air, water and fire." Her headmistress spoke to them through a small laptop screen, "But that ended when four men arrived: the wizards of the black circle." 

Musa took a seat behind Bloom who, though watching the screen intently, reached out a hand behind her, giving Musa's a quick squeeze "hello". 

"Yes and they were total hunks!" Stella squealed. "Ouch!"

Bloom thumped her in the shoulder with her fist, unimpressed by her inappropriate comment. 

Musa's stomach turned slightly as she thought of those wizards, the blond one from her nightmare still fresh in her mind. 

"Their goal was to rule the world by controlling natures forces. They created a powerful spell which made them immune to the Earth fairies' power. This way they could catch the fairies, drain their magic, and kill them." 

Stella felt her grin fade. Millions of Earth fairies, dead at the hands of those wizards. The thought made her shiver. 

"So the wizards began their fairy hunting." Faragonda continued, "One by one, the fairies were defeated while their power made Ogron and the wizards stronger." 

A hologram of Ogron appeared in her hand, his red hair and ice blue eyes even more vibrant and piercing. 

Bloom's eyes narrowed at the image.

"Morgana, queen of the terrestrial fairies, faced Ogron but even she was defeated. Not even the major fairies, the supreme guardians of nature's forces, could escape the wizards of the black circle."

"That's awful!"

"We have to stop them!"

"Calm down, girls. You must first learn about your enemies if you are to defeat them." 

The room fell silent again.

"Little is known about the origin of the wizards' power but we do know that Ogron has the power to absorb fairy magic. Anagan can utilise super speed to outcompete his opponents." 

The hologram changed to the cocky wizard Flora had fought and she smiled as the image of him caught up in her vines replayed in her head.

"Duman shapeshifts and Gantlos uses seismic waves to knock down his enemies." 

The image switched to the eagle-eyed wizard and then to the mysterious blond. Nothing they didn't already know, Musa thought, the wounds of their defeat still fresh. 

"The wizards had won and magic on Earth disappeared. The people of Earth forgot about us and we became nothing more than legendary figures they read about in fairy tales. Thus the human world, with no protection, slipped into chaos, war and intolerance."

Bloom's hands balled into fists as anger began to brew in the pit of her stomach. Her home. It had been at the mercy of those wizards, and they had ruined it.  That made both her planets, now, tainted by dark magic. 

The room fell silent, everyone silently digesting this information. 

Musa was transfixed on Gantlos' frame suspended above Faragonda's hand, his murky eyes almost looking straight through her. 

"For almost a century it was believed that every last Earth fairy had been murdered." Bloom shivered at the intensity of the word. "But it appears one remains. Roxy. Girls, you must protect her at all costs. Should the wizards take her magic, they will become too powerful to ever defeat."

"We understand, headmistress Faragonda. I won't fail." Bloom vowed solemnly. 

"Good." 

Suddenly a large, paperback book appeared on the desk. 

It was quite beautiful- a deep crimson, accented by small gold details and little illustrations of fairies. 

The title, printed in gold, read, "The Book of Fairies".

"This is an ancient text, full of the history of fairy magic. In it you will find information on all branches of fairy transformation- including your Enchantix. Study it. It will teach more about the terrestrial fairies than I ever could and help you understand not only their power, but your own."

"Thank you." Bloom picked up the heavy book off the desk and blew off the thin layer of dust that had accumulated on it. The illustrations on the cover began to dance, sparkling as they left a trail of gold behind them and Bloom smiled.

"Good luck then, girls. I know you can do this." Faragonda finished and the screen went black. 

Bloom let out a long, slow breath.

"Good to see you, Muse." She smiled, turning around to look at her friend. 

Musa started slightly, broken out of another daydream and smiled back. 

"Welcome to your new room." Bloom gestured to the space around her and Musa finally took in her surroundings. 

Much like the rest of their house, the bedroom was largely unfurnished, the wallpaper dull and peeling. Two single beds were shoved carelessly into each far corner each one accompanied by a side table. The only thing of interest was the bohemian lamp shade made of stained glass- though the colours were barely discernible under the quilt of dust that covered it. 

"Thanks... I love what you've done with the place." Her sarcasm was met with a light punch in the shoulder from Stella.

"Hey, at least we've been working hard while you've enjoyed a two-day nap. I'm so jealous." She joked, but Musa couldn't help letting guilt creep into her mind. 

She had noticed the bandages under Stella's crop top and the stitches running along the side of Bloom's head. Not to mention Flora's leg.

"Musa, none of us blame you for what happened." Flora attempted to console her, picking up on her discomfort. "In fact, we probably would have lost way worse had you not gotten rid of them when you did."

"Thanks, Flora. It's fine, honestly." She began, but her voice wobbled and her throat grew tight as she tried to hold back emotion. "I'm sorry I hurt you guys, I-" She choked on her words, a single tear spilling over and rolling down her cheek. 

Heat flushed through her as anger took over. 

How dare she cry! She had no right. 

Her friends were hurt, not her. Her friends risked everything to save Roxy, not her. 

While she was busy struggling with her emotions, her friends were fighting evil wizards. She had just stood there uselessly- her and that stupid wizard, Gantlos. 

There was no malice in their fight; no real intent. 

They weren't trying to hurt each other like they should have been. 

"Hey, hey, it's alright." Bloom said, all three of them wrapping their arms around her comfortingly. "We're alright, see? You didn't hurt us. It's okay." 

Musa shook silently in their arms, her face buried in her hands, completely racked with guilt. 

"I'm so sorry." She forced out the words, repeating them over and over between sobs.

"Shush, you have nothing to apologise for." Flora soothed, running her fingers through Musa's hair, pulling it out of her face. 

Stella rubbed her thumb gently over the back of her hand over and over. An ever-constant presence. Her way of letting Musa know she wasn't alone.

They stayed like that for minutes, huddled together on the floor in jarring silence, broken only by Musa's occasional sniff as she tried to get a grip of herself once again.

"I'm sorry." She whispered feebly one final time and looked up, her eyes red and puffy. "I just need to be alone right now." 

She got up shakily and walked out, without looking behind her.

~

Musa wasn't sure how long she had been sat on the roof of the tower block. 

The cold night air gently blew her hair back, freezing her tears against her face. 

She gazed up at the twinkling lights wondering if somewhere, somehow, Riven was looking at them too and sighed. 

She really needed him right now. 

"Musa, can I talk to you for a second?" A low voice startled her and she spun round to find Riven's head poking out of the top of the trapdoor that led to the rooftop. 

It was as if she had summoned him. 

She nodded hurriedly, standing up as he climbed up the rest of the ladder. He had barely made it upright before she ran into his arms, burying her face in his chest as fresh tears streaked down her cheek.

"Are you... alright?" He asked, running his hand up and down her back, although his voice sounded disconnected- as if he was preoccupied with something else. Musa stepped back to look at him, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. 

"Um... yeah, I'm fine. Sorry." She forced the tears back down, studying his expression. 

His eyes looked torn; between hurt and anger. 

"Are you okay?" She asked nervously.

"Yes." He answered abruptly, without hesitation. He hadn't moved an inch. There was something so robotic about him, and it frightened Musa.

"Okay." She whispered, "What did you want to talk about then?" 

"I wanna know what happened? What happened with you and that wizard?" 

Finally he released the tension in his neck and shoulders, looking down at Musa. 

Though he had only asked a question, accusation hung in his words.

"I- I don't know." Musa muttered. 

Persecuted by his gaze, she looked down at his shoes, unable to maintain eye contact. Riven sighed sharply.

"Bull. Shit." 

He carefully articulated each syllable. Musa's head snapped back up to face him again. His eyes were dead, his face void of any emotion. 

In that moment, he scarily resembled Gantlos.

"What?!" Incredulity seeped into her voice.

"What the fuck is going on with the two of you? I saw the way you looked at him!" He raised his voice, anger finally burning through him. 

Musa stepped back again, stunned by his sudden outburst. 

What could she have possibly given away during her brief interaction with Gantlos that Riven would have picked up on?

"And what exactly did you see Riven?" She scoffed. 

He didn't answer and she began to walk away, glad to escape the tense situation, but Riven grabbed her wrist, preventing her from taking another step. 

She froze, gathering the courage to look behind her and as she turned around, she was caught by his piercing stare.

"I saw that light in your eyes when you fought him." He hissed venomously. 

Musa's eyes widened- the electricity between them, the same light she had found in Gantlos' eyes.

"I nearly just died," Musa breathed in disbelief, "and you're here working yourself up over the man who tried to murder me and my friends. Wow, I knew you got jealous but this? This is a new low for you, Riv." 

She half-laughed incredulously at his expression.

His grip tightened around her wrist as he pulled her closer to him.

"Oh perfect, so I'm the bad guy. Again." He jeered.

"Riv I- That's not what-" Musa stuttered, afraid she had upset him further by completely disregarding his feelings. 

"Save it. I'm done playing this game." Riven spat and let go of her arm, storming back to the trapdoor and slamming it behind him. 

Musa stayed glued to the spot. 

Did he just break up with her? 

"Unbelievable." She whispered to herself and sighed, running her hands through her hair. 

She sat back down on the cold, hard concrete, her legs dangling over the edge of the tower block. The city of Gardenia spanned out before her, small squares of light made up each buildings' windows, small pairs of beams weaved between them, like rodents moving through a rat run. 

At that moment, everything seemed so far away. 

Musa sighed again.

"Doing a lot of sighing tonight?" She started at the deep, gravelly voice behind her and spun round on the spot. 

"Unbelievable." She repeated.

Gantlos stood leaning against the chimney stack, his arms folded, his hazel eyes concentrated on her.

"How did you find me?" Musa asked, turning away from him and facing the rooftops of Gardenia once again. 

Rule number one: never turn your back on the enemy. Though strangely, Musa didn't consider him as one.

"I'll admit it took a few tries." Came his reply. 

She sniffed, a fresh tear rolling down her cheek. 

"You're crying?"

"Oh," she let out a humourless laugh, "I suppose I am." 

She wiped her eyes with the corner of her jumper and sighed again. She was too drained to fight. 

Musa heard his heavy footsteps draw nearer but didn't flinch and even when he had sat down, inches away from her, she just continued to stare out at the concrete jungle before her. 

They sat in silence, listening to the odd car drive by in the street below, occasionally accompanied by the angry beep of a horn or the screeching of tires on tarmac.

"Do you... feel it too?" Gantlos eventually broke the silence. 

Musa stiffened and for the first time, turned to look him dead in the eyes. 

"I knew it." He whispered. 

She tried to discern his expression but, once again, it was unreadable.

"What are you thinking?" She whispered back. He looked at her quizzically.

"Why." He breathed, "Why do we feel this? Why aren't you attacking me? Why am I even here?"

"I wish I knew." Musa chuckled dryly. 

Gantlos hesitated before asking, "What are you thinking?"

"Right now, I'm honestly too overwhelmed to think." 

He didn't reply.

"But I suppose it's only natural for me to wonder about you. You've slain hundreds of fairies. I was completely vulnerable back in that car park. Why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?"

"I'm not a great believer in unnecessary death." He answered quickly and gruffly. 

"So what made the deaths of all those Earth fairies necessary?" Musa pressed. 

Gantlos' eyes darkened.

"Don't ask questions about matters you don't fully understand." He warned.

"Oh, I understand plenty." Musa growled, her anger swelling as she thought of all those innocent lives lost. "You and your wizards are evil. You have slaughtered countless fairies for your selfish desires and-"

Gantlos looked at her suddenly and released a small, fast wave of magic from his fingertips. Musa reflexively shielded and as their magic collided, electricity fluttered inside her and she gasped aloud. 

Almost immediately, the tension she had been building dissipated and Gantlos breathed out a sigh of relief. 

"Sorry. I had to make sure... it was still there." 

Musa looked at him blankly.

"Look, fairy, their are always two sides to a coin. Don't pick heads until you know tails exists too."

She raised a skeptical eyebrow in response, but didn't press him any further. 

They fell back into a comfortable silence. Musa felt strangely calm around him- it made a nice change from the tense atmosphere she felt whenever Riven was near. 

"The more I think about it, the more I realise how similar our powers are. I mean, they're both waves- the only difference is mine are sound and yours are seismic." Musa mused. 

Gantlos considered this for a moment before simply nodding. 

If only he wasn't a mindless fairy killer, Musa thought. Maybe they could have been friends. She smiled at how ridiculous that sounded in her head.

"I should go." Gantlos got up and Musa felt her her heart sink slightly. "I was never supposed to come here."

"I'm glad you did." 

He paused, taken aback.

"Me too." He said eventually. 

Musa's eyes widened as she noticed his lips turned up into a faint smile- the first she'd ever witnessed. But almost immediately, his face became serious. 

"Musa," she shivered as he said her name, "watch yourself, okay? We are more powerful than you know." He warned forebodingly and vanished in front of her eyes.

She lingered on the rooftop for a while, her eyes fixated on the spot her enemy had just been stood upon, wondering what he could have meant by that unnerving sentence. 

Too drained and tired to figure it out, the cold nibbling at her fingertips, she got up, clambered down the rusted steps and went to sleep.