｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

｡･:*:･ﾟ★"You are my family, in life and death. Not even Hades himself could separate us.":*:･ﾟ☆

Octavia

"Stop the bleeding." I tell Dane while I unscrew the caps on the Zanbaq oil. "Bea, Bea listen to me. You're going to be okay."

Fuck I have no clue if she's going to be okay.

Distantly, the sound of clashing blades and war cries register in the back of my mind. A quick glance at my surroundings confirms that Irene and Sky are still fighting off an approaching three Burned Ones.

I cringe as Beatrix's screams echo through the forest, pouring a vial of Zanbaq into her mouth as I whisper words of comfort. Her wound is barely more than a graze but the infection has already set in. Dane's hand begins to slip from her wound and I realise his attention is no longer on our patient but on the fallen bodies of three specialists.

"Dane?" He looks up at me, eyes wide with fear. "Hold your nerve. Stay focused on the task at hand and grieve later."

He shakily nods but seemingly can't tear his gaze away from his fallen comrades.

"Dane, look at me." I murmur gently, bringing a hand up to clasp on the back of his neck. "We did everything we could for them, they fought and died valiantly. But they are dead now, we are still alive, and to be alive means to keep going."

"They shouldn't have died."

Guilt begins to crush my chest, making it hard to breath.

"No." My voice is soft and sad. "They shouldn't have."

I fucked up.

I really fucked up this time.

Helios, what have I done? I pour Zanbaq onto Beatrix's thigh, the wound looking dark and mottled, her screams force tears to pour down my cheeks. This is all my fault. I was too rash, I should have thought this mission through more. I should have never used the specialists in the first place.

A roar cuts off my thoughts and I look up to see my sister and mate dragging Silva between. Thank Helios they're alive. I choke back a relieved whimper, telling Dane to remain with Beatrix before running to my mate.

"Riv!" I call, voice breaking. "Stel?"

"We're okay, We're okay." Stella calls back, "It's Silva, he's been infected."

And with the shit load of mud covering them all he's fucked. The Burned One behind them screeches with rage and I fling out my hands towards it, sending it flying back into a tree only for it to be impaled on a branch and dying with a loud crunch.

Well that one was easy at least.

"Regroup! REGROUP!" Sky's voice rises above the chaos and I take my sister's place under Silva's arm, helping Riven to drag him towards our small group hidden in a cave.

"Beatrix!" My sister's scream catches me by surprise.

I forgot they were sort of close before all the Ricki business.

"Inside! All of you to the cave," I look back out the cave entrance to see Sky signalling to the remaining specialists outside. "surround the entrance. Keep the Burned Ones at bay!"

Riven's group must have merged with Sky and with darkness quickly descending it's a small mercy. I look through the trees, seeing the sun slowly begin to sink to the ground, it won't be long now, Burned Ones hunt better in the dark.

"Show me the wound."

I turn back to the task at hand, building a shield of power around our cave as I watch my sister fuss over Beatrix.

"I don't understand, it was black and filled with goo-"

"They must have killed the Burned One that infected her." Stella cuts him off, holding her glowing hands against the wound.

I am absolutely going to scream at my sister later for being here but right now I couldn't be more grateful for her healing abilities.

My thoughts are broken by a whimpering cry and I turn to see Irene's Dire wolf form limping away from a slain Burned One.

Fuck, not good.

"Mum!" My mate races towards the wolf, gently leading her into the centre of our pack until she unsteadily lays down.

The Burned Ones seem to have retreated, regrouping no doubt before striking us as one.

How many are left?

Three. Darkling whispers, sounding just as exhausted as I after leading the creatures on wild goose chases as distractions for us. Reinforcements are on the way, Dowling is 5 minutes out.

Oh thank Helios for that stupid bitch.

Bloom is still out there. Little shadow whispers sadly.

Oh for fucks sake.

Are you being serious right now? I groan in annoyance, Of all the times to have Bloom drama it has to be now.

In her defence, it's not like she knew there would be 18 Burned Ones in the Alfea area. Darkling has suddenly decided to play devil's advocate. That was private knowledge.

"Pix, Pix!" I hear a harsh whisper and I lower my hands from the shield to turn and see my mate limping towards me.

"Riv?" Fear flashes through me as I rush to his side. "What happened? Was it-"

"Just a sprain." He interrupts gently, brushing the hair from my face. "Stel is going to fix it for me so I can go join Sky."

I tense at the words. I don't want him to go. As if he could read my mind, Riven gives me a soft smile.

"I have to join him, Pixie." He murmurs gently. "Are you up for joining us both?"

Always.

But that doesn't mean I like seeing them walk directly into harm's way.

"Yeah, and I'm coming with you too." Beatrix adds on as we move to the side to allow 5 injured specialists to be dragged into our cave by their fellow comrade. "Stella and Dane are going to stay here and run medical, we'll take care of the Burned Ones."

"Seconds ago you were-" I hissed but she cut me off.

"That was earlier, this is now. I won't lie and say it doesn't hurt like a motherfucker but we have bigger problems to deal with." She gives me the look that I know means she won't back down. "Go get your ankle fixed and let's get out there."

Riv gives me a look before striding off towards Stella.

"Are you sure?" I ask desperately, stepping closer to Beatrix. "The after effects-"

"Are setting in already." She murmurs, allowing the fear to enter her eyes. "I'm fucked. I know. But we are low on fairies that can fight, we will all die if I don't do this."

I pause, thinking over her words. She's right. None of us will survive the night if we don't get rid of the Burned Ones currently hunting us. My shields around our encampment won't hold out forever.

"How long can you last?" I ask with a resolute nod.

"Long enough for the cavalry to arrive." Her smirk is something of dark savage beauty.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" She asks me as we watch Sky reorder the lines. "I know the responsibility of their lives weighs heavy-"

"Are you saying you're not willing to die by my side?"

She rolls her eyes at my shitty conversation redirect. "We might get separated during the fight, I want to make sure you won't get consumed by grief... again."

Like I was with Ricki, though now might be a good time to go on a killing spree and lose control.

Except you would kill all the specialists and your friends here too. Darkling murmurs, ever the voice of reason

"I'll be fine." I murmur, giving her a soft smile as we watch the sun begin to set, the quiet before the storm. "Besides, you are my family, in life and death. Not even Hades himself could separate us."

"Shall we?" Riv asks as he joins us.

We share a look, one that conveys our fear and determination before we quickly stride out into the waning light. Sky is hovering by Irene's side as she slowly climbs to her feet, Stella having stepped away from the injured specialists to heal her leg.

"How are you both?" Beatrix asks as she steps towards the pair, I feel Riven shuffle awkwardly as Sky gives Bea an odd look.

"We're-"

"The baby?" Beatrix cuts Sky off as she stares intently at Irene and I choke back a noise of surprise.

YOU DIDN'T THINK THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO TELL ME!!! I yell at the shadows.

Oh my Helios she's going to have a baby, little shadow squeals, That's so adorable.

Oh I'm so excited, she and Silva deserve to start their own family-

WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A BATTLE!, I cry, Now isn't the time to fangirl.

Right.... Sorry.

I rub at my forehead as the shadows immediately begin to swirl around Irene's body as though they were armour. She merely chuffs at them and Beatrix, who has taken to softly brushing through her fur.

I'm starting to get really annoyed that Irene's shapeshifter gene means that I can't tell things such as a pregnancy until her scent entirely changes or the heartbeat develops. Stupid shadows actually having flaws.

A choked noise of shock has my attention darting to Sky who is gaping at his mother like he's seen a ghost.

"You- you're" A soft smile fills his face before he lunges forward to wrap his arms around Irene's wolf body in a bear hug.

"Oh this is the best news." I hear him murmur into her fur;

Four Burned Ones on your 2 o'clock, 3 minutes out.

"They're three minutes out, get to your places." I command, frowning slightly when Sky is forced to pull away from Irene.

"Go to the cave," Bea tells her, "Silva is waiting for you there."

I grin when Irene's ears prick forward before she immediately darts off.

Dowling is a few metres away.

Good, Irene can rest then. The specialists all shudder as the Burned One screeches echo through the forest, distorting the direction they are coming from. Sky quickly moves to my side and even the current battle can't dim the light in his eyes at Irene's news.

I pity the poor child, Sky's going to take overprotective brother to a whole new level.

"Hold your nerve!"

They all turn to Dowling's figure in shock as she strides through our ranks with an actual Alfean troop behind her. The ranks seamlessly join and I see some of the more tired specialists of our retreat to the cave. They shouldn't have been on their feet in the first place but it's not like we could be picky with our fighters.

"What were you thinking?" Dowling hisses to me.

"What took you so long?" Beatrix snarls back from Dowling's other side, refusing to look at the headmistress as she stares out into the forest. "The call for help went out hours ago."

"I beg your pardon?"

By now Dowling has caught all of the soldier's attention, most of them remain vigil but I don't like that they are distracted.

"Then beg."

The specialists cry out in shock as a Burned One tears through their ranks, throwing soldiers against trees until Beatrix sends a bolt of lightning at it, managing to stun it long enough for the nearby soldiers to scramble back to a safer distance.

"Holy Helios." Dowling murmurs to herself, staring at the Burned One as though she had seen a ghost.

ON YOUR LEFT

I whip around, forcing the Burned One to slam against a shield of pure shadow and I grin when it screeches with rage.

It takes far too much effort to fix the Burned One's legs to the ground stopping it from moving any closer as it swings at Riven and the three other specialists who joined our little hunting party. Gasping breaths escape me as I lift a hand to the Burned One's body before ripping it away and using my shadows to pull one of its arms off with the movement.

The specialists descend onto the creature in seconds, grief fueling their rage as they slash and jab at the creature, each taking vague turns to drive their blade through its chest. Finally, Riven steps forwards with his twin blades and holds them against the Burned One's throat, silence descends in our little corner of the battlefield as the other step back to allow my mate to cut off its head.

There are no cheers for this kill, not after what we have lost. Who we have lost.

Beatrix and Sky have brought down a Burned One.

That leaves two in this area.

Roars and clicks echo from within the forest and a flash of bright flame in the distance gives me hope that Bloom is managing to fend for herself. Darkness has fully descended now and I can feel the ground shake as more burned ones approach.

We've killed two here, Sky and I took down one earlier, Beatrix and Irene slaughter four between them before we arrived.

I pause.

Fuck.

The reports on the residue said there were at least 18 Burned Ones we were tracking. So at the very least we still have 11 in this forest with us, and from the screams around me we have already begun to lose more soldiers from Alfea's auxilary troops.

We're overwhelmed, we need to retreat to the school. We won't be able to kill all the Burned Ones tonight, especially not in the dark.

"Evacuate the injured!" I call out, catching Sky's attention and he quickly begins to mimic my orders to his own troops. "Retreat to the school."

If we move as a group we might be able to make it.

I race through the carnage, dodging fires that have begun to burn along the forest floor thanks to the Burned Ones. Stella looks up at me, eyes bright but fear hidden.

"We're evacuating." I state to the gathered soldiers. "Get those who can't walk onto Irene's back, pair up and we move as a group."

They nod and mercifully do as I say without question.

I help Silva stand up. "You sound like a real commander, you know that."

"Alright, grandpa." I joke, "No need to start with the ye olden day quotes."

He lets out a dark chuckle as Irene slowly lowers herself into a crouch with a low whine.

"I'm alright, my love." He soothes as I awkwardly help him clamber onto her back. "Can't believe you have to carry even more people now."

She snorts out what I think is a laugh at his pathetic joke.

"We're ready to go." Stella whispers to me as two other specialists are quickly hoisted onto Irene's back before being strapped onto her with makeshift rope out of belt. That's quite smart actually.

I give my sister a hesitant nod, looking out at the carnage outside. More Burned Ones are drawn to the increasingly larger flames.

Bloom has spotted them too. She's coming to us with another Burned One on her tail

Quite literally bringing us more problems I see, but good on her for making it this far.

I lead the group out of the hollow, command my shield I had placed around the cave and attach it onto Irene as It's centre, creating a bubble of protection for the injured who are smart enough to stick close to her and stay within the magic's confines.

Dowling just took down two Burned One.

More approaching from the south but they are being delayed by something.

Please don't be more stupid students. Why was the winx group even out there in the first place?

A roar echoes through the silence and I realise I'm still needed in the fight, can't exactly have the only fairies who can fight out of commission. Even if Dowling did bring us more fairies, most of them will cover the convoy of injured back to the school.

"Have you got this covered?" I ask Stella who gives me a terrified nod in response. "I'll keep the shield up for as long as I can."

She brings me into a crushing hug, wishing me luck before realising me with a forced smile. I smile back and lunge into the fray, running straight towards the Burned One following Bloom who stumbles at the sight of me.

"Don't stop now." I command, "Go to Stella."

She nods and does as I say, for once being willing to follow orders.

The area has descended into chaos and I distantly register Dowling fighting with another Burned One. Sky and Riven are soon by my side, helping me fend off the creature in front of us. Exhaustion begins to flicker through me as more and more of my magic is drained in an attempt to pin the creature down.

Riven and Sky move as a team, where one attacks the other defends. It's like a dark dance of violence as they both anticipate the others movement, mimicking and mirror fighting styles and decisions. I send daggers of pure shadow at the creature, wishing my sentient ones such as Belial weren't on recon missions for me. The creature screeches and Riven lunges forward to cut off one of its arms.

That was surprisingly hot of him.

The other Burned Ones are getting close, three have been left dead in the forest.

Another fairy? I ask, please don't be the Maahes. I don't have the energy to deal with that tiger beast creature.

My heart begins to race as I start to be solely fueled by adrenaline and pure spite. Sky lunges at the creature, sword drawn but it knocks the blade from his hand and sends him flying to the floor. Half a thought has my shadows lashing out to pin the creature in place, rage fueling each movement as I stare and stare at my mate, all the while listening to the cries of the Burned Ones as more draw closer.

What are we going to do?

Pain echoes through me as the Burned One breaks free of my power, and I hear Riven's scream of fear as the creature lunges straight towards Sky. I watch in horror as Sky can do nothing but bring his arms up to defend himself. I desperately pull on my shadows but they won't make it to him in time.

I can distantly hear Silva let out a roar of rage, his words barely registering in my head as he begs Sky to move.

I freeze when the Burned One jerks, gurgling slightly as a spear is thrust through its body. The whole battle seems to stop as the Burned One falls to its knees before Sky, cries of sheer anguish escaping its lips until the entire battle is brought to halt in the wake of the noise. Its brethren let out screeches of rage and seemingly horror as they take in the newcomer.

His blade is covered in blood guts as he glares down at the creature before him.

"Get away from my son."

A/N: ...... surprise?