Winx Club: Dark Magic (Season 4)

III: Hard To Catch

The girl was quick, Ogron had to admit. One moment, she was lying on the concrete, struggling to recover from the Black Portal's effects, and suddenly she was on her feet, sprinting between Ogron and Gantlos. By the time Ogron turned to see where she was going, she had already made it across the street and nearly disappeared from sight round the corner. 

"Anagan," he bellowed to his subordinate, jerking his chin in the direction the young fairy had run off in. "Get the girl back."

The Wizard nodded once before speeding after her. 

Ogron then turned to the youngest Wizard, Duman, who winced in anticipation of the verbal beating he was about to receive. 

Duman sighed, "Sorry, boss-"

"Watch yourself next time," Ogron snapped. "These humans are too careless for their own good. You should have anticipated something like that, instead of allowing your own hubris to blind you. I expect better from a Wizard of your stature."

Duman bowed his head. Looking briefly to Gantlos, Ogron found a bit of sympathy in his eyes, as though asking him to take it easier on the youngest among them, but Ogron refused to go back on what he'd said. Duman really should have seen that vehicle coming, if he had learned anything from their hundreds of trips to Earth over the years. 

Anagan made contact then. "She's ridiculously fast, Ogron."

"Then run faster," Ogron said coldly. While it did say something about the fairy's speed if even Anagan was willing to compliment her like that, that didn't excuse that the Wizard should have no trouble in catching her.

"I'll get her," Anagan assured.

"Make certain of it." Ogron turned to Gantlos and Duman. "Let's go," he instructed immediately before teleporting to Anagan's location. 

Aiyana was still a good fifty yards ahead of Anagan when they arrived, and she didn't look to be losing speed at all. If anything, Anagan -though he was undoubtedly faster than she was- seemed to be tiring already from chasing the girl. Likely a result of his arrogance at believing his natural gift for speed would crown him the victor without any effort on his part. Ogron would discuss that with him later.

Gantlos chuckled. "Looks like Anagan's got his work cut out for him."

"Why don't you give him a hand, then?" Ogron required.

"Glad to," Gantlos replied, clapping his hands together and creating a powerful ripple effect. It had no effect on Anagan, but it caused Aiyana to stumble and trip forward when it reached her. 

But, much to Ogron's surprise, she didn't fall. Rather, she used the momentum to compensate for her knees giving out beneath her, tucking into a roll before regaining her footing and continuing on. 

"What is she made of?" was Duman's startled reaction. 

"Nothing special," Ogron insisted, purposely downplaying the girl's impressive speed and ability to adapt. "She's quick on her feet, that's all. Nothing we haven't seen before."

"If you say so," Duman shrugged. He then shapeshifted into a hawk and flew after the two runners.

As Anagan and Aiyana rounded another corner and were gone from sight once more, Ogron pointed to a high rooftop two blocks over. "Let's get a vantage point," he said to Gantlos. A second later, both Wizards found themselves looking down from the top of a rather tall building at the city below. They could see Anagan speeding after Aiyana, and quickly catching up now. Only a few seconds more, and he would have her. She turned down an alley, and Ogron smiled to himself: it was a dead end, save for a metal fence at the end. Aiyana wouldn't be able to scale it quickly enough to evade Anagan. Their chase had lasted a full few minutes now, and that was much too long for Ogron's liking.

As the pursuit seemed to be nearing its end, Ogron relaxed the tension he hadn't even realized he was holding. There was no reason to be concerned at all that he and his Wizards couldn't capture one mere human girl. They'd captured hundreds of fairies from dozens of worlds, and this one was no different. In a few minutes, they would have this one trapped in the Black Portal, her powers surrendered to them, and she would simply be another pathetic earth fairy who never stood a chance against the Wizards of the Black Circle. Really, she was foolish to even run. Did she truly believe she could escape?

Aiyana neared the fence, Anagan just a few meters behind her now, and... suddenly she was on the other side of the fence, rolling into another somersault then sprinting on. 

Gantlos leaned forward over the edge of the roof to get a better look. Apparently, Ogron wasn't the only one who had missed something. 

Ogron felt Anagan's frustration as the speedster hissed, "there was a gap in the fence. She dove right through it." 

Ogron clenched his fists. The girl was beginning to become more trouble than she was worth. 

Anagan paused his pursuit and used his powers to turn the fence to ash. He picked up Aiyana's trail a second later and took off again. 

Ogron and Gantlos followed Aiyana with their eyes as she raced across the street before ducking into another alley. She wound through a few tight corners and then became invisible to them once more. With nothing more than a frustrated huff, Gantlos dropped off the side of the building and landed in the alley where Aiyana and Anagan had been only moments earlier. Ogron watched him, but did not move. The light-haired Wizard dropped to a kneeling position and felt the asphalt beneath him with his right hand, assumedly tracing Aiyana's steps and using them to see her current whereabouts. 

"Well?" Ogron asked, rather impatiently.

At first, nothing. Gantlos remained quiet while his visualization spell followed Aiyana. Then, he called out in alarm: "Anagan, watch out!" 

He was too late, it seemed, as Ogron could feel that something else had interrupted Anagan just before Gantlos' warning. 

"What's happened?" Ogron ordered. 

Gantlos' anger sounded through in his response: "The fairy was waiting around the corner with a lead pipe... She must have picked it up in one of those alleys. She hit him right in head, and now she's getting away again."

"Not for long," Ogron growled. "Duman, where are you?" 

"I'm right over her," came Duman's reply. "Use my location."

Ogron and Gantlos did exactly that, and found themselves several streets over, watching Aiyana continue to run further from them. Duman swooped down and returned to his natural form beside the other two Wizards. They watched as the girl seemed to be losing speed, finally. Not that it mattered anymore. They were done playing games. 

"This girl has reached my last nerve," Ogron fumed. "Gantlos," he summoned, "show the girl what you can do."

The Wizard obeyed without a word, leaping high into the air and propelling himself forward  before landing hard with his fist to the ground, creating a localized earthquake. The pavement cracked and crumbled, opening a small chasm that stretched out in Aiyana's direction. The earth beneath her trembled and broke open, and she finally lost her footing, landing on her hands and knees. 

"Duman," Ogron seethed. "Get her."

Duman took the form of a giant predatory cat and charged after her. Aiyana was still struggling to her feet when Duman reached her, pouncing on top of her and forcing her back to the ground. He transformed back and wrestled her into an arm hold, then dragged her to her feet. He twisted her arm behind her back, and although she struggled against him fiercely, he was much too strong for her to break his grip. Duman forced her to walk back towards Ogron and Gantlos, though she did not quit fighting him. 

Anagan caught up to them eventually, rubbing his temple with one hand. 

"Too much to handle, Anagan?" Ogron said, turning to look at him.

The Wizard gave a sheepish look. "It, uh... it got out of hand."

"I could see that. This girl has made fools of us," Ogron snarled, glancing back at her as Duman continued to push her along. "We will discuss the many failings each of you had once we've dealt with the girl." Then, a wicked grin tugged at the corners of his mouth, "For now, let's teach this fairy a lesson for challenging the Wizards of the Black Circle."