01x05 - Wither Into the Truth

[bunniefuu]

Tell me why you're at this school.

- Farah, she's not talking.

- I can make her.

You're hurting her.

What I'm doing is pushing through her mental defenses.

It's painless.

This is an act.

I wonder if anyone will believe you.

I doubt it.

My story's the better one.

It's what they'll whisper in the halls when this is all over.

They'll say Beatrix was damaged, everyone knew that, but the headmistress was f*cking obsessed.

Callum was clearly trying to help you.

Why did you k*ll him? They'll say Dowling went to her cell every night for a week and violently prodded her fragile mind.

There's nothing fragile about you.

Where did you go with Bloom? Did she help you break into my office? "Beatrix's screams echoed through the school.

" The b*rned Ones that have appeared, do you have something to do with them? "Then one night the screaming stopped.

" "No one knows what happened to the poor girl, but everyone knows who did it.

" Beatrix you are not the victim here.

Maybe not to you.

But I can't promise the rest of the school will agree.

Sorry.

Was that not the story you wanted to hear? - Late-night stroll? - Hmm? Yeah.

I I needed some air.

- This particular air? - Hmm? - I know what you're doing.

- You don't know anything.

You wanna talk to her, don't you? Beatrix.

I can help you.

What do you mean? My guard shift is tomorrow night.

Maybe you'll need some air then too.

- Where is it? - Um, I don't know.

Stay close.

Bloom? Bloom! I got it! How many of these weird magic training dummies do we have to fight? As many as it takes to actually b*at one? You're bleeding.

- Is it bad? - No.

You You want me to Oh Yeah, sure.

There you go.

Good as new.

Thank you.

I just wish they'd tell us how to fight these things.

We've literally aced every exercise but this one.

Fire! Didn't you do a training day last year? Yeah, but it was nothing like this.

- It's like they've gone full w*r games.

- Oh.

Well I mean, they were soldiers before they were teachers, so I guess it's very on-brand for Alfea faculty.

Professor Harvey? Can we get a hint? Every failure brings you one step closer to success.

Very good lesson, Professor, as usual.

Just be patient.

Look, fire magic is effective if used properly.

Inside each b*rned One is a magical core called a cinder, and with time and finesse, you can use your magic to destroy it.

But the key is mutual trust.

You must trust your Specialist to hold it back while you channel controlled magic, and you must trust your fairy to get the job done.

So I guess that's the question then.

Can I trust you? Kinda wanna ask you the same thing.

Who was that girl? "A good lesson, Professor, as usual.

" Ever since my trip with Beatrix, they've been watching me like a hawk.

I have to make sure they don't think I'm one of her evil henchwomen.

- Why? Because Beatrix is a Bond villain? - Bad choice of words! Are you gonna help her carve her name on the moon with a laser? - Shut up.

- Steal the Eiffel Tower? Can we go again, please? That'll be attempt five for Bloom and Sky.

- And? - He's slightly winded.

She's frustrated, but neither of them are fatigued.

Good.

They know that I'm reading them, but it still feels invasive.

Can't I use my magic against an actual enemy? Not all fairy magic is suited to combat roles.

Support is equally, if not more, important.

Your magic can help us assess fragile states of mind or uncover hidden enemies.

Like Beatrix? Exactly.

How is she, by the way? Have you found out why she k*lled Callum? Let's keep focused.

Who's next? That vine restraint move's not half bad, Ter.

Thanks.

It's, uh It's all about the, um, the tensile strength of the cellulose.

Ah, tensile strength.

Hot.

She's right, you know.

You're a force out there.

Thanks.

- You too.

- f*ck off.

I was sh*t.

After two attempts with me, Aisha quit combat and switched to support so Well, it's It's been a weird week.

I'm sorry.

I know that you and Beatrix were close, so this must be really hard.

Sweet moves, Riv! I've never seen somebody die so many different ways so quickly.

You should go for Alfea's Got Talent.

What was that? That was a shitty burn from the first-year monster I created.

Or Beatrix created.

He's still got, like, a hard-on for her, a weird, gay hard-on.

Is he even gay? I don't know anything anymore.

Well, see you in a bit.

Silva? Seriously, pairing me with Bloom, it seems pretty obvious.

Well, Bloom's a powerful fairy.

You're a strong Specialist.

Nobody questioned it.

What've you found out? She's hasn't said anything about her road trip with Beatrix.

I'm telling you, Bloom isn't some mastermind.

The more time I spend with her, the more I'm convinced of that, and the more I'm convinced What is it? Stella's gone, Riven is a mess, and the person I'm spending the most time with I am spying on.

What you are doing matters.

You have to trust me.

Everything I do and everything I have done is to keep the Otherworld safe.

It's something your father and I had in common, and, yes, it's lonely, but there is an honor in that, Sky.

No need to get up.

You clearly love it down there.

Let me know when you want to start pulling your weight, Saul.

I've got one kid at home.

Don't need another one on the b*ttlefield.

Though given how that b*rned One nearly finished you, Sky might be more useful.

How would you know how useful Sky is? When was the last time you saw your son? Is he dissecting again? - What do you think? - We've still got a lot to learn from them.

Or we could contaminate it.

Lovely! Not bad today.

Two minutes, 15 seconds.

That's the fastest that you've brought one down.

Let's try for under two minutes next time, shall we? Do you remember how well-trained we were? - Rosalind - put us through hell.

I've still got the scars.

And not one of the students took down a simulation.

Most of them gave up.

They're not ready yet, which is why we are training them.

Marco? What happened? Noura and I were tracking a b*rned One not far from the school.

Once we k*lled it, we let our guard down.

It wasn't alone.

- I'll get some Zanbaq.

- How close was it to the school? Noura and the battalion will take care of it.

Don't worry.

But we were taught that the b*rned Ones are solitary hunters.

Two of them traveling together Well, it's rare, but it happens.

Ah Then we should alert the Solarians.

We tried.

They've been radio silent for days, and they pulled their troops from the battalion.

What? When was the last time you spoke with Luna? Is there something happening I should know about? The queen removed her daughter from the school over a week ago.

Since then, she's been distant.

We don't have many more troops.

If the Solarians abandon us, we're in serious trouble.

Sorry.

Force of habit.

Well, I guess now you know Sam and I are kinda together, it Please keep doing it.

I don't want to accidentally see a weird sext from bleurgh, my brother! In your mind, I just sit on my bed, listening to grunge, doing runes homework and sexting your brother, don't I? Just a few more plants, and then it won't feel so ghostly in there.

Stella plant exorcism, is it? No, it's just an empty room really creeps me out.

And, you know, it's been a week.

We have to accept that she's not coming back, no matter how much we wonder how she's doing or text or call or check her Insta, Snap, Tumblr Wait.

Do you miss Stella? No.

She was mean and insulting and and and left without saying goodbye, which is the meanest thing she could've done.

Would you like me to insult you? Will that make you feel better? What? No! Maybe.

Maybe, um, like, my outfit? 'Cause I made it myself.

Isn't that lame? What was that? Can we agree it's green enough? Not content to overwhelm us with her weird Stella grief, Terra has also overwhelmed Stella's room with plants.

Bloom? You know I'm here if you wanna talk, right? I know after everything, you feel like you can't trust Dowling, but I would never You can talk to me.

About anything.

- It's between us.

- I know.

I wanna focus on training this week.

I've spent too much time focusing on everything other than school so Oh, I should get this.

We need to talk about Bloom.

She's been single-minded about her birth parents and Rosalind for weeks, and now it seems like she doesn't care at all.

Are we actually meant to believe she's just over it? I know she's keeping something from us.

I just don't know what it is.

Why is she texting Dane? She was texting Dane? Riven says he's still Team Beatrix.

It's OK.

He's out.

What did you do to him? Relax.

It's a minor sedative.

He'll be awake in an hour.

She's waiting.

Somebody took her sweet time.

- Did you k*ll Callum? - Right at it, then.

Good girl.

Did you? Short answer, yes.

What the hell, Beatrix? Do I wanna know the long answer? How about the medium one? Callum wasn't just some suck-up assistant.

He wanted the same thing I want.

He was here to break Rosalind out? Bit more complicated than "evil Beatrix kills hapless assistant.

" I mean, that's the story the faculty's going with, right? I mean, I get it.

Who wants to deal with nuance? Dowling, Harvey, Silva, they haven't told me the truth about a lot of things, but just because they haven't doesn't mean that you have.

You don't believe me that they torched Aster Dell? If they did, if they k*lled my birth parents I have to actually find out what happened that day.

I know somebody who could tell you.

Where are they keeping her? I can show you how to get to her.

Rosalind.

What do you want? These lovely accessories Dowling gave me hurt like a m*therf*cker.

On your way out, Dane will give you a trinket that can help get rid of them.

Think of it like a fairy battery.

You can use your magic to charge it at the Stone Circle.

You want me to free you? You don't trust me.

You shouldn't.

You shouldn't trust your friends, you shouldn't trust the faculty.

The only person you should trust is Rosalind.

And if you want to see her, this is your only option.

- I know you and Beatrix are friends, but - Why am I helping her? Easy.

She's the only person here who ever made me feel like being different was a good thing.

So, why are you here? You know, Beatrix is the only one who's given me answers.

I just don't know how far I'm willing to go to get them.

You like holding that big stick? - I'll take that as a yes.

- I think I just threw up.

I saw you on the support rounds with Miss Dowling at training.

I wouldn't expect a mind fairy to have such good moves.

I used to be a dancer.

- Kinda miss being physical.

- Yeah, well, too bad.

You're a fairy.

They don't care what you wanna be in this place, only what they want you to be.

You really hate being here, don't you? Stay the f*ck out of my head.

Mind fairies.

Walking red flags.

Good luck with that one, mate.

- What was that about? - Nothing.

You wanna head back to the suite? This is hot.

You're hot.

Hotter without commentary.

OK, I don't wanna say "aggressive," but OK, I I can't believe I'm being this guy, but just because I'm not an empath doesn't mean I don't have empathy.

What's going on? I'm just annoyed about training.

Sitting on the sidelines and not being able to do anything.

- Mind fairies are really powerful - Bullshit! We're powerless when things actually go wrong.

OK, this is about way more than training.

- Did something happen? - No.

I mean, yeah.

It was a long time ago.

Just family stuff.

And all this training is just It's not a big deal.

I'm just frustrated.

So if I were you, I would take advantage of the frustration whilst you still can.

Fair enough.

Be frustrated.

Please don't judge me based on my completely legitimate and masculine fear of ghosts, which are objectively creepy and - Moment's passed.

- Yeah.

- I should get dressed.

- Yeah.

I need to catch up with Terra and Aisha.

- I'll see you later, yeah? - Bye.

Wanna come out now? New magic.

Not bad.

Thanks.

I've had some practice.

How long have you been hiding here? A few days.

You wanna talk about it? This where the overachievers hang out? Yeah, it gets, uh loud in the suite.

What's that? That is a book.

Bit concerned you've never seen one.

- I don't wanna do this, Bloom.

- Hmm? I don't wanna lie to each other and I don't wanna play a game.

There's no game.

Silva wanted me to watch you.

I I told him that he was crazy, that there was there was nothing going on.

And that you were just frustrated, and you wanted answers, and you You've been spying on me? - And you just blindly did what he said.

- He gave me an order.

Which he could have given to anyone, but he used you, used our our friendship.

Are you But I'm the bad guy, right? What is this, Bloom? I am trying to be on your side here.

You're making it really difficult.

Bloom.

You can trust me.

I'm not sure I can trust you.

But maybe I can convince you that what I'm doing is right.

Let's just start with this.

Have you ever heard of Aster Dell? Everything was fine at first, but you have no idea what it's like.

What she's like.

Who? My mother.

I'm struggling to see how a single b*rned One outside the Barrier is a serious problem.

There are two of them traveling together.

That hasn't happened since In a long time.

The problem is getting worse.

Why did you withdraw your troops? I ran away a couple of days ago.

Mum probably has the whole army out looking for me.

Not that you'd hear about it.

The realm has more concerns than just your school, Farah.

- She not gonna look for you here? - No.

Not at first.

To do that, she'd have to admit that she lost control of something.

And that'll never happen.

And Alfea is not defenseless.

You are training the students to fight.

Isn't that what you were supposed to be teaching my daughter? Project strength and power.

Never show weakness.

See, that's all she cares about.

And I'm an extension of her strength.

Is this a punishment for not rehabilitating Stella in the way you wanted? My magic has to be powerful at any cost.

- That's what she taught me.

- This isn't punishment.

But you might consider updating your methods, given the threats we clearly face.

My mum tutored me growing up.

When positive emotions didn't work, she went right to the negative.

Hard.

My methods are effective, and they don't cause students to lose control and blind their friends.

My magic is erratic because of her.

Feel free to let me know when the b*rned One has been eliminated.

Ricki was my best friend.

I didn't mean to hurt her.

I just lost control, and it was better for my mum if people thought I did it on purpose.

'Cause at least if I'm a raging bitch or a monster, I'm not weak.

That's messed up, Stel.

You're telling me! Then the second I got home, it just started again.

So here I am till I figure out what to do next.

Please just don't tell people that I'm here.

You don't have to hide.

All the girls in the suite will be OK with you being here.

Are you kidding? Do you know how judgmental they are? So, what, you're a full-on wake-and-bake delinquent now? - And in the courtyard too.

Smart.

- Yep.

Want some? - What is wrong with you? - Oh, she cares about me again.

- I've always cared about you.

- Really? 'Cause I did one bad thing, and you cut me off.

So, you're all about Beatrix now? Well, she never did anything to make me feel that shitty.

No, she just m*rder*d someone, Dane.

- I'm done with this.

- Except you kind of aren't.

- What's going on with you and Bloom? - Tell us.

Or What? You're not gonna hurt me.

Well, that probably depends on what your definition of "hurt" is.

Maybe not physical pain, but don't think I'm above leaving you in that chair until you talk.

That looks like a pretty big bottle of water.

Hope you can hold it, otherwise messy.

Two options.

Talk, or we'll tell Silva and Dowling.

I've lived at Alfea my entire life.

- Silva raised me.

- I saw Aster Dell with my own eyes.

He'd never help m*ssacre an entire village.

Even if he thought he was k*lling b*rned Ones? If he thought he'd help save more lives in the future? I don't think that Dowling and Silva are evil, Sky.

I think they're protecting this place, but they're also protecting themselves.

So, whatever happened that day, whatever the truth is, they're not gonna tell me.

I know what it's like.

Not to know your parents.

At least you were raised by people who knew yours.

You had stories.

You saw pictures.

Are you cold? Do you want Have my jumper.

Thanks, but I'm a fire fairy.

Right.

'Cause you never need anyone's help.

Part of my charm.

Frustrating charm.

'Cause you're a fixer, and I don't need to be fixed.

I am a fixer.

What'd you expect? I'm the son of a w*r hero, raised in Alfea.

I've heard more stories about the great Andreas than I can count.

It's almost like he's still alive.

But he's not.

He's an ideal.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to live up to? Even Silva, it's like he's It's like he's playing some role out of a sense of duty, when all I really want Hey.

Sky.

I'm a fixer 'cause I have to be.

'Cause I'm supposed to be.

Because When I fix others, I don't have to think about how f*cking broken I am.

Sky We're all broken, Bloom.

There's a charm in that too.

Still haven't told me what this is yet.

You still don't trust me.

I do, actually.

But I also know that if I told you, you'd stop me.

Whoa.

What's happening? It's just a tiny sedative.

Dane said it would just last for a little bit.

I'm so sorry.

Damn! Ah, man! All right, be honest.

Am I doing better or worse than old man Silva here? Well, your first b*rned One wound is always the most painful.

Consider it a rite of passage.

That means "worse," by the way.

Did Andreas's son really play a role in taking down the one that got you? Mm-hmm.

He'll be a fine soldier.

Does he have any of Andreas's less ideal qualities, his bloodlust? We've taken our time with him.

We've been careful.

He's his own man.

We'll need to keep doing this twice a day because it will spread.

Slowly.

Weeks to months.

I ain't worried.

Noura and the battalion will track it down by the end of the day.

Would you look at that? There she is now.

What's the status? They're dead.

What? The entire battalion.

They're all dead.

I think my leg is broken.

- I can't fight.

- We'll send someone for you.

You don't understand.

Get yourself to the Barrier, Noura.

Get yourself to the Barrier.

Noura, it's behind you.

Run! Noura, run! Now! I'm so sorry, Marco.

I couldn't k*ll the one that att*cked you.

Keep moving.

You've got this.

Remember what we trained for.

I can't outrun all of them! "Them"? Yes, you can.

Move.

Get up! Get up! Noura! - I need to get to her.

I can't sit - Wait.

She said "them.

" Can't be How many of them are there? We will take care of this, Marco.

You have my word.

Noura - He's not coming.

- What the hell are you doing, Bloom? - Breaking Beatrix out? - Dowling has been lying to me.

Everyone here is lying.

You guys don't know what I know.

We do.

Dane told us about Aster Dell.

So, you get it? You understand that w No.

No.

Bloom, my dad would never do something like that.

- Hmm.

- Beatrix is a liar and a m*rder*r.

You're his daughter.

You're Dowling's little helper.

- I won't convince either of you, like Sky.

- I am not Dowling's little helper.

I've been spying on the woman for days for you.

- What? - I've seen how hard she's trying.

They're all trying to keep us safe.

They lied about a woman being dead for 16 years, about a w*r crime! I get that you guys wanna believe in them, but they're destructive, maybe dangerous! Bloom, listen to yourself.

You literally sound like a crazy person.

We haven't told anyone what you're doing.

And if you give us the key, we won't.

But if you don't I don't wanna see you in the cell next to her.

Bloom.

We're your friends, Bloom.

- I know how hard this must be - You don't.

None of you do.

I can't believe everyone is listening to Aisha like she knows everything.

You have no idea how hard it's been for me to keep my mouth shut while the suite goes to sh*t.

I mean, I can only break so much.

- You're the reason stuff keeps breaking? - I have opinions.

And if I can't express them verbally, I'm not above poltergeisting.

I just don't know what else we can do.

We can put this all behind us and Where have you been? Didn't you get my texts? Uh, I did, yeah.

Sorry.

I was busy, and Sam was here, and - Ugh.

Not in our room, right? - It's OK.

We stopped Bloom.

I think she's losing it.

I know I said we wouldn't, but I wonder if we have to tell Dowling.

Don't you dare.

No, I think we should tell her.

Stella has an opinion about that.

What? I refuse to keep cleaning them up, so just tell them.

I have an opinion.

Everyone in this damn suite is so black or white.

Bloom is a pain in the arse, but she deserves to know who she is, not the stories the faculty is telling her.

Now we can worry about being right, or we can help our friend.

Which is it? - Excuse me.

- I wanna see her.

Rosalind.

- I told you.

She's - I know that she's alive.

Don't lie again.

I don't have time for this right now, Bloom.

I'm from Aster Dell.

Yeah.

That's where I was born.

That's where my birth parents lived.

That is until you, Mr.

Silva, and Professor Harvey destroyed it.

Is that true? How could you do that? How could you think k*lling b*rned Ones is more important than people's lives? - You think we did it on purpose? - That's what Beatrix said, that Rosalind had a crisis of conscience, and you did it anyways.

Rosalind She's still manipulating people after all these years.

What does that mean? Tell me what happened that day.

That day, I made a mistake.

Rosalind was my mentor.

The most powerful fairy in Alfea.

Feared but respected.

I never doubted her, never questioned her.

So when she told us about the b*rned Ones at Aster Dell, we followed.

The magic we unleashed that day was immensely powerful.

Till then, we didn't know fairies could combine their magic.

It was a secret Rosalind kept.

Not the first.

Still, we never questioned her.

She told us she'd taken pains to evacuate the village.

She told us only b*rned Ones would be k*lled in the blast.

We should've questioned her.

When we realized what she'd done what we'd done That day has lived in my mind for 16 years.

If Aster Dell is where you're from there are no words that I can say that can make right the damage I've caused you.

Why would she do that? Why? She was a zealot.

She wanted every b*rned One dead, no matter the cost.

She thought if she told us she couldn't evacuate, we'd say no.

She'd have been right.

What about me? Why did she save me? Why did she put me in the human world? Why did she tell me That much I do not know, Bloom.

Rosalind kept many things from me.

Which is why I want to see her.

Beatrix said you're keeping her under the school Whatever she has to give you is not worth unleashing her back into the world for, Bloom.

I will help you get the answers you need.

I give you my word.

We need to go.

Now.

Tomorrow.

You need answers.

People have been keeping them from you, and we didn't wanna be those people too.

Where's Aisha? Um Well, she had a lot of feelings, and, um, she didn't exactly totally agree with - She's in the suite.

- Yeah.

I guess that's as good as I could ask for! Um So, you're gonna help me break Beatrix out? That's actually the bit that, uh, Aisha couldn't quite get on board with.

Yeah, well, she never really liked my ideas anyway, so You look like sh*t.

Well, I feel like it, so that makes sense.

Yeah, well, Terra the super spy got Dane to spill.

He said Bloom went out there to do something with a magic key, and I couldn't reach you - Where's Dane? - He's gearing up.

- Please tell me Beatrix - She's still locked up.

- But we got bigger problems.

- Riven, what the hell is going on? Silva needs us at the Barrier.

And here I was doubting you.

Can we please just do this? Still gotta get this situation handled.

Here we go.

Let me see if I can amplify the sounds of the forest.

There they are.

- You're late.

- I had to How many of them are there? Get to school! You shouldn't be this close to the Barrier.

- It's no time for extra credit.

- I'm not looking for extra credit.

I'm here because you need to know what's happening.

Once Dane gets here, we can push him through.

Seems a bit harsh using him to spring the trap.

He'll be game.

Or he won't, and we'll do it anyway.

What about you? Are you game? That was much more satisfying than a flowerpot.

See? Break out the villain to get what Bloom wants, and then trap her again.

Simple.

My ideas rock.

Probably going to regret this, but you OK? I just freed a prisoner and broke into the headmistress's office.

Ever since I can remember, whenever I felt scared or unsure, I've always turned to one person for answers.

My dad.

I've always known I'd be able to close my eyes in the dark, and he'd lead me the right way.

But I don't know if he'd lead me down here.

Look, even the best parents are doing what they think is best for us.

At some point, we have to take over for ourselves.

By the way, that outfit Everything I've been looking for is right through that door.

We'll be here when you come out.

Hello, Bloom.

Rosalind?