Disclaimer: I own nothing of this series.
Summary: Summertime does not mean Meridian stays perfectly safe. And the consequences put Cornelia and Will in one of the most terrifying positions since the Oracle's warning. Semi-sequel to "Elemental." A (late!) birthday fic for emeraldflame91.
Inspiration: My earlier oneshot "Elemental" was actually a set-up to this idea. The poem I quoted from is "Song" by Christina Rossetti. The title is also from the poem.
Author's Note: I finally got around to writing it because I promised my dear friend emeraldflame91 – it is way late, but hey! Happy Birthday! I know it's not all about Matt and Will, but I provided a healthy dose of them just for you!
...
Showers and Dewdrops
...
Upon Feeling the Shockwaves of Cedric's Defeat—
Upon the ocean floor, in the coldest granite depths of the sea, it stirred. One eye points sightlessly toward the sheerest sliver of light. And the clawed fins begin to move.
One Year, Five Months Later:
It came from the underwater caverns, through the deepest tunnels that lead to the sea. The transition from salt water to inland lakes did not slow or wound the creature.
And nothing could have stopped it, even if the people knew it was coming.
Meridian
"Get down!"
"Lead it! Lead it away!"
"To the horses, quickly!"
"Get out of—"
BOOM.
A twisting stream of smoke spilled into the sky above. The haze obscured the castle from Caleb's angle. He cut off his curses, unwilling to add to the din of noise and deflect attention from where it should be directed. His eyes scanned the edge of the crowd, noting here a mother dragging a child into her arms, there a soldier drawing back his spear. People abandoning their homes at the lakeside just within sight of the Queen's castle, a small town located at the edge what was supposed to be a stable source of water, fish, and safety.
Now, colorless scaled fins with huge, blunt talons tore rocks from the water's edge. The thing had to have come through a previously-unknown tunnel under the surface of the lake. Its body was massive, much too big to have existed in the lake system for all of its life. Muscles rippled visibly even under armor-plated skin. The scales alone were tougher than any material he'd ever seen before, and the thing's sightless, bulging eyes had pupils the size of serving platters. Those disturbing eyes did not track any movement, but the amount of damage it could cause made accuracy unnecessary. The tail broke the water again, throwing gallons into the air.
Caleb swore under his breath as his feet skidded on mud. Everyone was already soaked, which made handling weapons tricky. And the ground itself rapidly became unstable. The dirt was used to a few showers in the rainy season, and the humidity from the lake was only enough to keep it from cracking like the deserts. The terrain was fast turning into a disadvantage.
All of this was something he had to depend on the other soldiers to handle, at least for a short while. Though the creature moved almost glacially slow, it was clear that the direction it moved was in a straight line towards the Queen's castle. And nothing they had tried to stop it was working.
They needed help, the kind that only a certain Passling could request: the Guardians.
Which meant that he had to go find said Passling, or luckily stumble across a portal on his own—neither option allowed him to remain in this fight, for now. Caleb slung himself up on a horse he'd requested Vathek to bring. His blue friend offered only a nod before focusing his attention back on the mysterious monster.
His legs dug into the sides of the horse. It was fast, running all out towards the Queen's castle with that little motivation.
Hopefully Blunk would be in his usual hideout, because they didn't have time to waste.
Earth
"'When I am dead, my dearest, / Sing no sad songs for me;'." She pushed a few strands of long, blonde hair back from her eyes. "Well, that's obvious…" Her pen marked the margin of the anthology. "'Plant thou no roses at my head, / Nor shady cypress tree: / Be the green grass above me'. Be the grass…" Another note was made. "'And if thou wilt, remember, / And if thou wilt, forget.' Sad." Her eyes fell to the next lines. "This poem is so depressing. Christina, you suck."
Cornelia dropped her pen to the desk with a clatter and ran her hands back through her hair. Twining the long strands around her fingers, she then laced them together on top of her head to expose the back of her neck to the air. Muttering threats against the weather, the poet, and the need for her to catch up to her grade level over the summer, Cornelia stood up from the desk she had remained hunched over for the majority of the morning.
Flicking a switch on her stereo, she swayed to the center of the room and pulled her hair up again, holding it in place with her hands. Her eyes drifted shut as she let herself stop thinking about literature and just listened to the soothing instrumental track.
Unfortunately, the pause in work allowed thoughts that she wanted to keep at bay back into her head.
Cornelia's eyes fluttered open and her gaze caught on one of the older pictures she kept tacked to her bulletin board. Herself, Will, Irma, Taranee, Hay Lin seated around their favorite table at the Dragon; Caleb with a serving platter, raising an eyebrow at the cameraperson; and at the very edge of the frame, captured in time, Blunk's hand reaching for a plate already set on the table. Cornalia's memory informed her that Matt had taken the picture, that Blunk had successfully stolen one dumpling. That she and Caleb had parted with a kiss that night, in the alley and without anyone watching or interrupting them—for once!
A faint heat rose in her cheeks as she recalled that happy memory. And a crease on her forehead formed as she recalled how the calm had not lasted. Oh, she and Caleb were perfectly fine. But she and the girls…
Cornelia supposed that it had something to do with being practically in each others' back pockets for most of the previous couple of years. She loved them, but at the same time summer vacation was an undeniable relief. Every one of them always made sure to answer her phone in case it was an emergency. But she noted, with some relief and some guilt, that none of them made an effort to keep hanging out every day once the final bell rang at the end of the semester. There was no huge fight, no dramatics—not even from her—and they did see each other once a week.
Luck had been on their side regarding Guardian duties, which made their summer trips possible. It has been four weeks since summer vacation started and just over three and a half since Irma left with her parents for New York—the next day, Hay Lin was off to China with her mother to visit family and Taranee to California with her brother Peter, visiting colleges. And Will left the day after that, to spend some quality time with her father.
Cornelia herself was stuck in Heatherfield while her friends were away. Lillian had been signed up for a summer day-camp, which kept her entertained and busy—but also meant that someone had to drop her off, pick her up, and stay with her on the days that she wasn't at the camp. The only good thing about this obligation was that Cornelia did not have to job hunt, and took summer school classes. It meant a lot to her GPA, which took a hit when she had to keep running off for Guardian duties all the time during the school year.
All the same…she tilted her head to the side, still staring at the picture. The only thing that she could do about the current situation with her friends was exactly nothing.
She didn't like being unable to do anything. But no amount of disliking it would fix the reality.
Rolling her shoulders, Cornelia took a step toward her desk and—
BAM!
"Ahhh!"
Creak, screech—"Blunk in pain—and sorry!"
Hand pressed against her chest, Cornelia glared at the smelly Passling who flung himself into her window before having the sense to open it. "What do you want?" she snapped, her heart still racing from the unexpected sound that jolted her out of her thoughts. Heat drifted through the room, leeching away the air-conditioned cold.
Rubbing his nose with one hand, Blunk looked up at her with wide, frightened eyes. "Blunk in hurry! Caleb say come fast, need Guardians!"
Her heart had been slowing until she heard that. "What's wrong?"
"Monster from the Deep Water!"
Meridian
The creature clawed the dirt, stretching the thick neck out as far as it could, towards the sky. A deep, growling sound thudded against the eardrums of every person still attempting to face it. The beast turned its snout towards the palace, as if following a scent only it could detect, and it lurched a few feet closer—crushing another home in the process—before hesitating at the fire they had set across its path. They were banking on its nature as a creature of the water to make it wary of fire, but after a brief pause it simply stepped over the line of flames.
Behind his shelter of an overturned building, Vathek grumbled a curse to himself as their latest attempt failed. Where is Caleb? Where are the Guardians?
Earth
"—hope you've gotten the last couple of messages. Please hurry, Will." Closing the phone with one hand, Matt turned a wary eye to the girl who was freaking out in front of him.
Irma, Taranee and Hay Lin were definitely not going to be able to get back to Heatherfield. Unless some fancy portal-jumping was done, the only two Guardians who could possibly help Meridian were Will and Cornelia. From the sounds of what Blunk said, whatever this monster was might be defeated even with two-fifths of the girls' usual power. It didn't exhibit any exceptional or magical powers, but since those who were fighting it didn't have anything of their own besides hand-combat weapons, their options against a creature of such size were very limited.
The problem was that, while the other three Guardians had answered their phones, Will wasn't answering hers. He and Cornelia had each called her at least four times in the past twenty minutes, to no avail. Something could still be done, since Matt had powers of his own and Blunk had come through a naturally-created portal.
But Cornelia didn't have access to her Guardian form. Without the Heart of Kandrakar…
And she knew it. He could see it in the lines creasing her forehead, the clenched fists, and the imperious toss of her head as she glared at thin air. She was frustrated, and furious, and he knew a big part of her emotional state had to do with the fact that Elyon might be—and Caleb definitely was—in danger. Elyon's castle seemed by all appearances to be the creature's target, and if so Elyon herself. And Caleb had sent Blunk instead of coming himself, which meant he probably turned right back around and went to face the creature with the rest of the soldiers. While Elyon had magical powers, Caleb only had skill with hand-to-hand combat and close-range weapons. But Caleb was a natural leader, and thus very much needed among the soldiers to organize and inspire them.
He ran a hand through his own unruly hair. Despite her distinct disadvantage, there was no way Cornelia was going to stay behind in Heatherfield while he went off with Blunk. Since Mr. Huggles was with him, and Napoleon would be back to Cornelia's place in a few minutes—he could tell where his fellow Regent was, and when he was needed—he wouldn't be without supernatural backup.
He reached forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, slowing her jittery shifting from foot to foot. "Hey." He met her eyes squarely. "They'll be okay."
She snorted. "Elyon will. But Caleb…if he goes and does something stupid—like he usually does…" she shrugged off his hand and took a few steps away. Softly, as if to herself, she said, "I should be able to do something."
"You can. You did. You are."
One shoulder rose and fell.
Scratching sounds came from the window. They turned as Napoleon jumped in. "Why's that Passling here?" he demanded without preamble.
Matt spoke up before Blunk could get into a fight with the cat. "Something's going down in Meridian. We have to get through the portal Blunk came through and help out. You know none of the other Guardians are here—they're limited on backup."
Napoleon nodded without demanding more explanation, obviously noting the urgency of the situation. But to Matt's surprise, the cat stared at Cornelia for a good amount of time instead of immediately jumping into action. She raised an eyebrow and placed her hands on her hips. "What?"
"Without Kandrakar's heart here, you'll have to use the power of Earth's heart to transform." Both humans gave a visible start at that information. Napoleon rolled his eyes. "The power of any world's heart is enough to jumpstart your transformation. What did you think Nerissa was using?"
Cornelia's cheeks flushed pink, but Matt was relieved to see confidence all over her face again. To be honest, he was equally grateful that Napoleon had thought of it. Although the possibility hadn't occurred to him, it was comforting that at least one of the Guardians would be with them. He started dialing Will's number again to update her on the situation.
And beside him, Cornelia grinned. "Show me how."
Meridian
Blue light crackled around her as she stepped through, onto a cobble-stone alley. The area was only vaguely familiar to her, an assurance that she was close to Elyon's castle and in the city at the foot of it.
Cornelia tugged lightly on the sleeves of her Guardian outfit, a comforting gesture to reassure that Earth's heart had powered her own transformation. The Regents had guided her in connecting to and allowing the heart's power to fuel her change, slightly different from the usual transformation. Taking a few steps out of the way, to the mouth of the alley, she glanced around and saw heavy clouds of smoke in the sky to her right.
She felt the familiar urge to protect-defend-destroy, and demanded, "Follow me."
Earth
Feeling the sun on her cheeks, Will lazily drew her arms over her head and began another leisurely lap across the pool. The cool water in her ears created a serene silence, but even if she had been lying on the deck, the cell phone would have been unable to catch her attention from the top of her bedroom dresser.
This much-needed vacation was nice, but only a few more minutes of this silence would be tolerable. Then she'd get out, take a shower, and maybe go to that place a few blocks over for lunch. Of course, it would be just her, what with her dad at work…
A faint crease between her eyebrows served as a warning sign, before she flipped over and began to swim much more quickly.
Meridian
As the creature opened its massive jaws, the dirty but sharp teeth a frightening picture above him, Caleb drew back his arm and threw the makeshift explosive as hard as he could. Their supply of spark-powder was limited, but so were their options. The small bombs scorched the colorless scales, but they couldn't be sure how much it bothered the thing since it just kept moving forward.
He breathed in—the tied cloth bundle arched through the air—out—the fuse all but disappeared—in, and—
BANG!
A horrible snarl shook the air.
He threw himself back behind the cart, swearing under his breath. Too high, it hadn't entered the beast's mouth but rather, exploded right under its nose. And with those sightless eyes, the bright explosion hadn't startled it, either.
Tilting his head back around to observe the creature, he saw that for the first time since its appearance, the thing had paused in its relentless, plodding pace towards the castle. The massive head was swinging from side to side, as if dazed. So, even though it was blind, its other senses were good. Caleb couldn't tell whether it was sound or smell that had thrown it off, but it was showing a weakness. That could only be a good thing.
Aldarn caught his eye from across the street and lifted something familiar. Caleb couldn't hold back the fleeting, devious grin at the sight of an algae bomb—a scent horrendous enough even for human senses. It was a fair guess, especially since the chaos around him indicated that it was far less likely noise was what had bothered the beast.
Turning his attention back to their adversary, Caleb was startled to see the ground cracking and small green shoots sprout from under the creature's paws. Only for a moment, before a wider, more genuine smile appeared on his face.
Blunk got through.
His gaze went skyward. Sure enough, a familiar form was coming their way. Her hands were stretched out before her, golden hair whipping back from her face at the speed she flew. Even from his distance, he could see her lips were pinched, her eyes wide and locked on the creature.
Almost directly over his head, Cornelia slowed to a halt, her hands lifting and a crease appearing between her eyebrows. Caleb returned his gaze to the creature, watching the thick vines twisting around the thing's legs. The creature didn't seem to notice the plants growing with irregular speed over skin, its head still slowly swinging from side to side.
Feathered black wings caught his attention. He turned to Matt, noting that he was not alone. "Why did the Regents come?" His eyes darted to the sky again, but he realized then that only Cornelia floated above. "Where are the rest of the Guardians?"
"Not available," Matt replied, ruffling his wings as if in agitation. "They're all out of town. We used the Heart of Earth's power to activate Cornelia's full powers, and came with her for backup. But against this…I'm not sure what we can do."
Caleb could see that point. Although Matt could shoot beams from his eyes, they wouldn't do much damage to a beast this size. And the other two only had brute strength, which again, would do little against this monster. However…they didn't just need to fight the thing. "Can you use magic to protect Elyon's castle?"
Napoleon nodded, being the more knowledgeable about the Regent's magical powers. "We can set up a barrier. If the Guardian and the rest of you somehow can't defeat it, the barrier will hold. Only problem is, it would need constant maintenance—which leaves the three of us out of the fight."
"Better than nothing. The Queen must be protected." The Regents went on their way without further fuss, and Caleb took off towards where he had last seen Aldarn.
Whatever was going on with this creature, their main goal was to stop its progress. Already it seemed that Aldarn's algae bomb had done something, and since he knew his friend he knew that soldiers were in the process of bringing more to the front lines. Skidding to a stop, he kept one eye on the creature which strained against thick roots grown at a magical rate and let his focus be split upon it and his friend. "What do you think?"
"I think scent. The sounds of battle don't seem to be slowing it any. Perhaps also the heat being so close to its face?" Aldarn raised an eyebrow. "It did come from the water."
Caleb nodded slowly. Briefly, he wondered how it was breathing—perhaps it was like a frog, which Will had rambled on about early on in their friendship? Or was it more like a whale? He'd seen pictures, and Cornelia had described, the Earth-dwelling creature known as a whale. Whatever it was… "Plain gunpowder didn't scare it as much, though."
He clapped Aldarn's shoulder with one hand as he stood again. "Keep the algae bombs coming!"
Caleb heard Aldarn's laugh behind him as he strode away, trying to keep out of the thing's direct line of sight. They were sneaking around and taking shelter behind buildings out of caution, because even though the thing didn't seem to be returning their blows—well, it had to be magical to get to that size. It was the only explanation they had, and with that knowledge came the fear that it could somehow retaliate. Besides, taking cover was almost second nature by now.
He almost skidded to a halt when he saw one of its clawed paws break free from the vines, the appendage flexing as if uncomfortable, and another clearly unhappy rumble shook the very air. Instead of backing away, he ran forward, seeing Cornelia coming down to the ground. "Is it too strong?" he called to her when only a few feet separated them.
She didn't turn her head all the way, keeping a wary eye on the thing. "It must be! Those roots were deep, it took some effort to get them to the surface." That was big: she explained to him once that it seemed more like she guided plants which already wanted to grow, rather than forcing them to expand at an unnatural rate.
This wasn't the time to let her dwell on that. He rested a hand gently on her arm. "Can you think of anything else that could get the thing to back off? If nothing else, we want to stop it from reaching Elyon's castle."
"Where is Elyon?" she asked, faint worry appearing on her face.
"Safe," he replied. "She's staying away from this battle for now. It took some effort to get her to agree. But she did say she'll show up if it looks like we can't win." His pride felt wounded at that accusation.
It had its intended effect, though. Cornelia laughed. "I'm surprised. Maybe if she was already here, you would have won by now."
Defensively, he said, "We just don't know what it is, or where it came from. It's obviously magical somehow, to be that size, so neither she nor I know what that might mean for her own magic."
Cornelia nodded in understanding, the laughter fading from her face as she refocused on the situation. Her fingers wove into her hair and he let her think for a moment. Then she nodded decisively and he backed up as she crouched to the ground. "Maybe the dirt can do something for me," she said. Closing her eyes, she sunk her fingers into the ground.
He tilted his head back, ready and watching in case the creature decided to retaliate. But it didn't, as the ground rolled beneath its feet, even as it seemed almost to drift backwards. She moved it until it reached the edge of the lake it emerged from, and then she stopped, panting for breath. "Bought you some time," she gasped.
He squeezed her shoulder in thanks. "Catch your breath. I'm leading some men down there, we have something that might work." He didn't wait for an answer, but took off with a gesture for Aldarn to come with him, and a shout for Vathek to go stay with Cornelia.
A faint smile caught him off guard when she shouted after him that she could take care of herself. Sure, she could—but Vathek also had more information for her, such as how long the thing had been here and what they had already tried to do to stop it. Caleb was confident that his older friend knew to share that information, and that it was the true reason for his orders.
The soldiers already close to the water had tossed a few algae bombs already, and the creature was roaring unhappily at them. Caleb ran faster, calling out orders for the men to give the creature space. They might want to crowd it out and back into the water, but they were too small in body size. The beast had to be driven back because it wanted to flee.
They quickly set up a perimeter around it, and kept tossing off the algae bombs in frequent intervals towards the beasts' nose and mouth. The creature didn't have time to recover, and it actually backed up a few steps on its own.
A hand clapped on his shoulder and he turned, expecting Aldarn or Vathek. Instead, Elyon's wide eyes met his and he swore right in her face at the surprise of it. That made her laugh. "That's how you speak to your Queen?"
"What are you doing here? You're too close to it!" Caleb was right in the middle of the fray, and that was certainly no place for the Queen to be. He caught Aldarn's eyes a few yards away, his friend already heading in their direction. He'd get her away.
"It's not working, and I had to come and try. But you need to pull the soldiers back and give me a cushion of—"
While they had been speaking, the soldiers had not eased up on their attack. And so neither Queen nor Commander was paying full attention to the battle when the beast decided to retaliate against the comparatively puny beings attacking it. Without warning, it lurched forward several steps and swiped one clawed appendage at the group.
It moved faster than any of them expected, as if allowing gravity to pull the claw down to the earth. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye, immediately pulled Elyon behind him, but was too slow to push either himself or her out of the way.
For a moment, the world spun dizzily, and then—it just hurt. Something cracked, maybe his bones, maybe whatever he hit, maybe the armor he wore.
Pain cracked down his body.
And through a haze, he heard Cornelia scream.
Earth
Stretching her arms above her head, Will rolled her head around her neck and breathed deeply. The refreshing swim had done her a load of good, but all the chlorine she could definitely do without. Scratching her head with one hand, she entered her bedroom and reached for the drawers on her dresser. She knelt to pull out her clothes, and then jumped when her phone beeped from the top.
She gathered her change of clothes as she stood. Blinking at the missed calls, she raised an eyebrow in surprise. A frown appeared on her face as she navigated to the voicemail messages, pressed the phone to her ear, and walked toward the door for the bedroom.
"First message:
"Will, Blunk came from Meridian. Huge problem. Pick up the phone."
The clothes in her hands fell almost silently to the floor.
Meridian
Her vision tunneled.
Colorless scales, claws, and human bodies tossed through the air like rag dolls. A cart broken against the wall of a house by that particular flung body. The elegant clothes draped over a girl who had waved at her in greeting moments before as she headed to speak to her commanding soldier, the best friend who now lay deathly still. The familiar coat, fluttering slightly as it came to a rest on crumpled, familiar legs, over familiar boots and a familiar body that had been standing beside her not that long ago. Touching her. Breathing beside her.
She couldn't move.
The tunnel widened. She wasn't the only one in shock over the retaliation, but others were still moving. She saw his second-in-command, shouting directions as he also made his way toward the crumpled bodies.
Which were not moving.
Her lungs expanded suddenly, rushing air through her lungs, and suddenly the muted sounds of battle were sharper again. Her gaze turned away from them—how could they be alive after that she has to he has to but they can't or shouldn't if they were they would be moving if they were okay they would—and fixed on the scaled limb. On the huge body, almost dragon-like in shape but nothing, nothing like a dragon. No wings, but fins. No fire, but muscles that could crush a—could crush.
Her chest ached.
They'd been in grave danger before, a faint part of her mind whispered. She always knew he was in danger, that she was too. Why was this so hard to accept?
Because. Because they always made it. Because she was a Queen, nothing ever happened to the Queen especially one with magical powers and who could take care of herself. Because he might have been a Rebel, a warrior, a soldier, a leader, but he could fight against opponents in his way. He was always strong and smart and careful when he fought. But this creature, he couldn't fight with his own brand of strength. She hadn't raised her magical powers fast enough. And Cornelia had failed—the vines broke, great job plant-witch—her own strength had failed them both.
And at that moment, she felt anger like nothing she had ever experienced before. Thoughts raced through her head—why did they leave me to do this alone? Where are they when I need them? Where are their powers, they could have helped!—but under the surface of another thought which had plagued her and tortured her even though it still existed. It was a siren call.
The power. The danger. But also, the strength.
It would work, she knew that it would, and she was alone—the Regents couldn't help when occupied with a barrier—and these soldiers had no magic to help her and…and what was the danger to her now?
She never gave up. He always gave it everything he had. I will, too.
She shoved the Oracle's warning aside, the crazy thought passing through—maybe the Regents can pull me out of it—her fears numbed in grief, and focused.
Cornelia concentrated on what she felt inside. On the power she felt. On the dampdarksunlight, the caressingwaterfood and the growth. The sensations that made up her connection to the plants grew, and grew, and grew, and shoved out everything else she felt—pain despair sorrow rage—to leave her in a void. A blessed void, removing her from everything except the certainty that she was strong enough, now.
She let the void consume her in a burst of magic.
Earth
The Heart of Kandrakar glowed, highlighting in pink a quickly-scribbled note on the counter.
A rip in the veil shone with light.
She stepped through.
Meridian
Will flew.
She flung herself forward as fast as she could, eyes desperately seeking what she had to find. Matt's messages were vague about what precisely they were facing—but she saw it in seconds. A barrier up around Elyon's castle, which she would have to fly through to join the fight. And, beyond it near the lakeside, a giant…white…thing. She had no name for what it was, beyond "huge" and "slightly dragon-y".
Her wings carried her up to where the three Regents floated in a circle, holding up the barrier. Napoleon cracked one eye open as she approached. "You can get through," he growled without preamble. "She needs you."
That almost stopped her heart, but she flew off again, eyes already locked on the creature ahead. As she started making plans, though, the earth underneath the creature suddenly jolted, shook, and shot up into the air. It crumbled away as it threw the beast into the water, and Will recalled a faintly similar scene involving a mudslug. This beast was thrown much more easily than the slug had been that time.
And neither was it content to stay where it had been thrown. Snout breaking through the water, it roared as it moved—much more quickly than she thought it should be able to move. But not without injury—rocks were flying at it, no doubt thrown by a certain Guardian. This time, a twinge of concern tugged at her. Cornelia was better with her powers now, sure. But throwing so many huge rocks…
The beast took the beating and began crawling back onto the shore—only for the claws to become wound in golden strands, and lifted into the air.
Golden strands that were attached to a brown, trunk-like body of vaguely female shape.
"Cornelia!"
Eyes wide in horror, Will almost fell out of the sky. She struggled to pull herself together as she watched the creature dangling in the air, held by golden hair. Roots burst from the earth thicker than she had ever seen before, and the huge beast was cocooned in vines and mud. Then it fell with a mighty splash on the very edge of the lake. Only the snout showed, likely for air, and from inside the thick trap a mournful moan shook the air.
Cornelia floated slowly, as if she didn't know what to do next, to the ground. And Will finally skidded to a halt, panting for air, devastation probably leaking from her every pore. "Cornelia!"
Cornelia was in Elemental form. But she wasn't sixteen yet, the age when the form would have been relatively safe to access.
She might be stuck.
His chest. And back. Hurt.
Caleb breathed in as deeply as he dared, and tried to roll over so his face wasn't planted in the dirt. Someone helped him, and his unfocused eyes finally made out that Aldarn was crouching beside him. Worry painted his friend's expression, and Caleb dared crack a smile. "I'm breathing."
"So I see." Aldarn let out a sigh. "You had me worried for a minute."
"Takes more than that to stop me," Caleb joked. He finally managed to sit up, determined to control his breathing as he held one arm protectively over his ribs, and pressed a hand to his forehead. "The Queen—"
"Vathek's helping her. Her arm was broken, but she's lucid."
A gnawing in the pit of his stomach erupted at that. His Queen, hurt on his watch. It was his job to keep her from harm. Damnit, couldn't she ever follow directions and stay in safety? He frowned, and Aldarn rolled his eyes slightly. "Like you could have seen that coming," he said, correctly guessing his friend and commanding officer's thoughts.
"If she weren't so impatient…" He sighed. She was still alive, if injured, which meant that maybe this would serve as a lesson for the future. Not that he wanted her to learn it so painfully. "I think a rib's broken."
Aldarn reached forward, and he smacked his friend's hand away. "Not here. I'll be careful until we get somewhere secure with the Queen."
Rolling his eyes, Aldarn muttered under his breath, "If your lung punctures it's on you."
Caleb offered a strained smile before he glanced around to catch up on the situation…and saw what was happening over his friend's shoulder.
"What? Did you hit your head, too? Are you seeing…" Aldarn turned in the middle of his speech and trailed off.
Caleb couldn't blame him. But his speechlessness was for an entirely different reason.
The blond hair that he was so familiar with reached toward the sky like the branches of a tree. Complete with golden leaves, falling gently to the ground. Her skin was roughened like bark, the same color, and her legs had fused to form the trunk. Her arms looked like actual branches, twig-like fingers at the end.
This had to be her Elemental form. It was powerful, and terrifying.
And she was not sixteen. He knew that as a fact.
What was she doing? What had she done?
"Cornelia!" He tried to stand up but his legs wobbled under the pain of sharp movement, his ribs moving in a way that was not natural. Aldarn grabbed his arm to steady or stop him, and in that time they were shocked into silence again as the ground underneath the beast trembled—then flew straight up into the air. The creature landed far out in the lake with a giant splash.
She glided forward, seeming to float on the air. Caleb heard Elyon call out her name, but focused instead of the soldiers. None of them had a clue what had happened to her, and he snapped a warning at those in her way. "Move away from the Guardian!" They obeyed without question, the shock of her transformation having startled the soldiers into inaction.
Not that any of us seem necessary anymore, he mused in shock, as she proceeded to rip stones from the lakebed and hurl them at the creature which was paddling its way back to shore. It was determined, even after that throw and being pelted with rocks. And once it reached the shore again…
His eyes could get no wider.
Her hair was obviously magical, but this—she tossed her head and the strands lashed out like living rope, grasping the paws of the creature. And she floated straight up—and up, and up, and dragged it by the front paws with her into the air. The ground underneath cracked and broke. Roots and vines came out again, twisting around themselves to make stronger, bigger vines and roots. And wrapped around and around the creature, which by now looked almost pitiful and pitiable. The Guardian—it seemed to be some being other than his Cornelia—released it from her hair little by little as it was wound up, and finally—
Oh shit.
"Move!"
A great wave of water exploded onto the shore as the beast fell from a significant height in the sky. He managed not to get drenched, but he did lose his footing at the tremor that shook the earth from dropping that thing. From underneath layers of vines and mud, the creature was moaning as if in pain, or sad.
And floating back down to earth, gracefully if absently, was Elemental super-powered Cornelia.
He shoved himself to his feet with Aldarn's help, desperately ignoring the pain in his back. Aldarn muttered obscenities under his breath, but Caleb didn't bother saying anything. What could he say?
Why did you do this, Cornelia? The Oracle had warned the Guardians. She knew the dangers of doing this. She knew and she—she risked herself! Needlessly!
He could only hope that somehow, he would be able to call her back from this, but it was such a small chance. The girls had said that if they were alone in whatever headspace they went to, they didn't think that they could, even with a loved one calling to them.
He stopped in front of her, staring at her emotionless face. A wide barrier of space existed around them. He knew the others were too afraid to get closer to the Guardian, especially when she was like this. Hesitant to touch her, and feeling wrenched in all kinds of directions, he just stared.
"Cornelia…" Elyon, behind him. Panic and disbelief coloring her voice. She knew, too.
"Cornelia!" Will. Will in her Guardian outfit, breathing as harshly as if she had run straight from Earth. She reached out to clasp brown-bark arms, but the hovering form didn't react well—she shied back a few inches, but remained as emotionless as ever. "Cornelia, come back," she called, a hint of desperation in her voice as her hands fell. "Can you hear me? Come back!"
"Cornelia," he called her name, and reached out for her arms, unable to stop even if she had resisted Will's touch. To his surprise, she didn't draw back—but neither did she recognize him, or react to his voice. "What were you thinking?" he said under his breath. Then, louder, "Please, can you hear us? Come back, Cornelia!"
Off to her side, Will was pacing and running her fingers through her hair. A faint murmur under her breath kept Caleb's attention split, but he tried to focus on the basics. Calling her name again, he rubbed his thumb over the rough bark of her arm, wondering if she could feel his touch. Maybe it would help. "Come on, you have to come back," he said, hating the near pleading tone of his voice. "You took down that thing all on your own! You need to get back here and brag about it." No change. "Cornelia, come back."
"Please, Cornelia. Can you hear us?" Elyon's hand fell on her shoulder. "Follow our voices. You can do it."
Nothing happened.
This is my fault. Will glanced up, catching sight of black-feathered wings. The barrier wasn't necessary anymore, then. I should have been here, I should have answered my phone, I should have…
Matt landed in front of her. Although she was unable to see his eyes or face through the mask, there was no doubting he saw Cornelia. "Oh my gosh. Why…?"
"She must have thought she had no choice." Will turned her head away, looking back at her friend. "She's not responding to them." Caleb's hands were on Cornelia's bark-like arms, holding her, pleading with her. Elyon was touching her as well, as if both of them hoped contact would be enough to pull her back. Their repeated pleas fell on the ears of a—a being, a creature, who couldn't hear. Her hair rustled like leaves in the wind and her face remained blank.
Matt reached for her, but she barely allowed him a moment of contact before she removed his grip by moving closer to Cornelia.
Her eyes locked on the bark-covered face, tracing the familiar lines and curves. It was still her face, under the differently textured skin. For some reason, the sight gave her a vague hope that Cornelia was still there somewhere. And she remembered what it was like before…and knew.
She turned around, noting that Matt had only followed a half step closer. She had room, but had to move fast.
His shoulders tensed as he saw her face, knowing her too well. She spared only enough time to say, "Sorry."
Then she concentrated on her inner power. On the surgingflowingsparks, the jaggedelectricpulse and the energy. Her connection to quintessence grew, and grew, and grew, and shoved out everything else she felt—desperation pain anger sorrow—to leave her in a void. A terrifying void, removing her from everything except the certainty that she had to do this for Cornelia. Removing the sound of a familiar voice from her mind.
She let the void consume her in a burst of magic.
"Will! No!"
It was too late, though. Matt reached out even as he saw the electricity steal over her form, transforming her into a figure made of pure energy. The faint hum of electricity filled the air as she floated in place, unmoving.
The memory was just as sharp as this new reality. He thought seeing this again was a long way off, that by the time he might see her take this form she would be able to control it. But she couldn't now, neither she nor Cornelia were old enough. The Oracle had been clear when warning the Guardians.
He knew he should have said something. He'd hesitated, not even thinking that she would go this far to assuage her guilt. Oh, it was obvious she felt guilty for not being here, not being able to stop Cornelia from making the very same mistake. He knew she wanted to feel useful, having arrived too late to help in the fight.
He stepped forward, let himself get as close as he could to her electric, Elemental form. "Will, please," he said. "Remember why you want to come back. Follow the heart—can you feel the heart?" It rested somewhere on her body, within her possibly. And they had followed it before. "Listen to me, please Will. Come back."
This had not been the way to handle it! He should have said something before she jumped on this idea. Now both of them were in danger.
In danger of being unable to return.
Unknown
Black. Or nothing. Which was it? Was there a difference?
Where am I?
Something in her jumped at the familiarity of that statement, at the strange cocoon of un-feeling that surrounded her. She had been here before. But still, did not know where or how to go somewhere else.
Was there anything else? There was the vague sound of a voice, maybe more than one… What was a voice? Why would it speak?
What happened?
She turned something—her head, but she didn't move. Beside her was another girl, one with shorter hair and large, confused eyes. She blinked. What do you mean?
I mean… The other girl paused for a moment, and her hand reached toward her chest. Cornelia, why did you come here?
One beat. Two.
And suddenly, the vague memories of a time before the nothingness opened up in her head—the recollection of a creature, and important bodies being tossed into the air, and the subsequent rage that gripped her and wrapped everything in sorrow. Oh my gosh—Elyon. Caleb!
For them? The girl—Will, that was her name—tilted her head to the side. But why?
They were hurt! If not dead! She wrapped her arms around herself in grief, almost wishing that the nothing could replace the feelings again.
Hurt, maybe. But can't you hear them calling you back?
She stared at Will for the longest moment, trying to reconcile the image in her mind with what her friend was telling her. Then she closed her eyes, and listened. Past the void, past the nothing that surrounded them, but there was only radio static.
Then, underneath the static, she heard them.
"…can you…back, Cornelia…"
"…follow our voices…please come back to me…"
Her heart stuttered. They're okay! She automatically started moving, but paused almost immediately. Opening her eyes, she stared at Will in desperation. I can't figure out which direction to go.
It's okay. Will held out her hand. I know.
Cornelia took it without hesitation, and closed her eyes as she drew nearer to the sound…
Meridian
The world felt wobbly, almost too real. And her senses were almost overpowered by the sheer vivid reality of the gardens. Her fingers drove into the damp soil mindlessly, flexing like cat paws. She didn't even flinch at the earthworm that was uncovered in her unconscious reassurance that the ground was real. Her shoulders were shaded by the leaves, which had taken it upon themselves to grow around her since she was leaking green energy.
The reason for the leakage was that her powers were momentarily out of control, fueled by emotional instability. She rested her chin on her knees, drawn up to her chest. Sniffed against the reviled tears threatening to pour from her eyes.
Tried not to think. But that was impossible when there was so much to think about.
Waking up from sheer nothing was not easy. Cornelia had retreated to it to ignore the pain of losing two important people in her life, only to be brought back by—no, it couldn't be them—their voices. But—their faces were the first she saw when she could feel again, relief evident in every line. Shocked, still feeling the couldn't be I though they were gone, and her eyelids were so heavy…
She had caught a glimpse of Will collapsing into Matt's arms before her eyes fluttered closed from exhaustion.
The next time that she woke up—from normal, exhausted sleep this time—it was to hospital-like sounds. Soft, muffled shoes on tile floors, softly murmuring voices reciting vital signs, and an executive decision to, "Let them rest, they'll wake when they are ready." A male's argumentative declaration that the Oracle should be involved, a reply from another man that they did not know how to reach Kandrakar…
The anxiety she could hear, and the guilt that started seeping into her grief-stricken heart, made her open her eyes. Arching above her, the ceiling had been creamy stone and late afternoon light, a sight which placed her in Meridian and most likely Elyon's castle. She had vaguely wondered if she had been out for only an hour or so or an entire day before turning her head toward the familiar voices.
The door at the end of the small hall was just closing behind a stranger who must have been a Meridian healer. Left standing in the room were Matt in his regular form again, Huggles on his shoulder, Napoleon at his feet…and Caleb.
Caleb.
Her first thought—when she could think again, past the sheer relief—was to slide back to horror, asking, "Elyon?" Her voice cracked, throat suddenly making its dryness well-felt.
Caleb turned at the sound of her voice, coming to her bedside immediately. At first, she was teary-eyed and confused—it had hurt so much she'd been so sure how had they not been hurt—and he calmed her down, comforted her. Elyon was okay, she was taking care of things, her arm had broken and he had two cracked ribs and held an arm stiffly over his chest and they were both pretty bruised but okay…
Pressing her head further to her knees, Cornelia's shoulders shook as she tried desperately to stop from sobbing.
Yes, they had reunited, her heart no longer felt shattered. And she was okay, and Will had woken up soon after, as well—but the new pain that trembled through her veins like ice also left her feeling frustrated, and hurt, and alone.
"What were you thinking? Did you even think?"
"You know how dangerous it is!"
"Will risked herself to save you!"
"Both of you could have been stuck!"
She wasn't stupid. She wasn't careless. She wasn't heartless. She knew the risks and did it anyway—because she couldn't think of anything else to do. She was practically alone on the battlefield, the soldiers having been unable to stop the thing, the leader of the country assumed injured and unavailable, the only other allies nearby already doing what they could, and she was desperate. The rest of the Guardians were nowhere nearby to help, they'd left her alone—not of their own will, though she had still felt alone without their power to supplement hers. It wasn't the first thing she had chosen to do, and it had scared her more than anything in the world, but it was her last resort.
Didn't they understand that?
Yelling back was all she could do, but she couldn't come up with a coherent argument when all of them were still feeling the effects of an adrenaline-soaked battle. When even steady Matt kept breaking his cool, when Napoleon was catty and vicious, and when Caleb—as was the norm when they fought—was his usual volatile self.
And when Elyon came in, she tried to stay calm. She tried to break up the tension by telling them what the court historian had discovered about the creature, in old texts—a nearly immortal beast from the Old Ages, which must have hidden itself when the dark forces rose and re-emerged from the deep sea when those powers—Phobos, Cedric, Nerissa—were removed from Meridian. It was a magic-absorber, intent on the Queen and castle's energy to replenish its own. But even that was no good to stop the tension, the accusation was in her tone, and Cornelia's eyes kept fall to her arm in a sling and Caleb's slightly hunched posture with his arm around his stomach.
And then Will woke up and it started in a lesser degree towards her, and more piled upon Cornelia when Will, of course, reacted just as defensively.
It ended when the Meridian healer returned and started yelling at all of them, her patients for working themselves up and the visitors who were not letting them heal. Kicking everyone except Will and Cornelia out of the room, and shoving them both back into bed, the healer then left them with strict instructions to rest and rejuvenate.
Will had curled up in her bed, back to the other Guardian. So Cornelia made her wordless escape out the window, calling a vine with ease in her overemotional state.
And found herself in the garden, alone, with only the plants to comfort her bruised heart.
She wanted to electrocute something. Then it could talk to her, and as an added bonus, not yell at her.
Will scrunched the pillow underneath her head so that her neck was better supported. She pretended valiantly that she was not feeling the tears at the corners of her eyes, and focused on calming down.
So…that hadn't gone well. Okay, she knew that. She knew she should have kept her cool, too, knew that she should have told them all to cut it out when she saw Cornelia's frozen expression. It was frozen as anger, but still clearly a mask that she had thrown on to keep something in. And she knew her friend well, knew the guilt that was digging at her, knew that she had made a rather rash decision which had made her feel achy and cold but it was necessary. The other Guardian had definitely been just as scared—if not more so—to make so drastic a choice.
Logically, she knew that. But in the heat of the moment, in the tension that had risen, it was so hard to keep that in perspective.
And it didn't change how hurt she'd felt that Matt hadn't kept his even temper, either. He tried, but she could see the unsaid all over his face. He was mad. At her, at Cornelia, maybe both of them—and while she could understand that he didn't like her doing something so risky, she also didn't see why he couldn't understand how necessary it was. The Heart had been necessary to guide them out of that place. Cornelia would have been stuck if she had done nothing.
She knew Cornelia, and she also knew that they had to have a talk before reuniting with the other Guardians…but that wasn't going to be today. Cornelia needed a bit of time to re-stabilize, just like Will, because that Elemental state had been just as terrifying as the first time. As expected, the earth Guardian had gone outside, and knowing her would be in a garden to think. The use of her powers almost startled Will, if not for the understanding of how comforting it would be to have her own crackling around her. Except she didn't want to scare anyone who came in.
A faint creak of wood on stone made her focus on the world around her again. She propped herself on an elbow, and caught sight of the person she thought would be coming soon enough. "Matt."
"Hey, Will." He smiled. Strained, but it was effort and understanding. She sat up fully as he neared, scooting back to lean against the wall and curling her legs up in front of her. She wrapped her arms around them as he stopped at the foot of her bed, and just looked at him. He let out a slow breath. "I'm sorry for yelling at you."
"Me, too." She nodded to the bed and he sat down. "I went on automatic defense."
"Should have said this first, but—I'm glad that you're okay." She returned his hesitant smile. Matt ran a hand through his hair. "But I'm angry that you did it. Grateful that it worked out, but you shouldn't have done that at all. You know what the Oracle said."
She met his pointed gaze. "I'm sorry I scared you."
"I know."
Biting her lip, Will continued, "And despite the Oracle's warning…I knew that Cornelia could not get out of there on her own. She needed the Heart."
His nostrils flared slightly and he sighed. "Well, can't say I'm not irritated at her for deciding to go Elemental, She put both of you at risk. But…" he paused, making it clear that he knew the situation was more complicated than just blaming Cornelia for her bad decision. "I know all of you were really freaked out the first time, even thinking about it makes you all twitchy."
Will nodded, feeling a little of her tension ease as she saw that they were on the same page. "She was pretty desperate to use it at all. And once she did, I couldn't leave her like that."
"I'll apologize to her. Later." He raised an eyebrow, and Will knew that had to mean Caleb was looking for her already.
They fell into a silence, hands somehow having found each other in the course of their conversation. She looked at the larger, guitar-calloused fingers covering hers. Legs still drawn up to her chest, she tilted her head to the side as she considered his body: stiffly held, hand clasping hers just a little too softly. "There's something else you want to say."
Matt's eyes were gentle as they met hers. "You didn't pick up your phone."
But it still hurt as if he were glaring. She bit her lip again, anxiety bubbling up in her stomach. "I was swimming, but if I had known—"
"It's not your fault." She blinked, and he leaned forward, his other hand landing on her shoulder. "None of you expected something to happen. You shouldn't have to put your lives on hold. So don't think that being here could have made things magically better, could have stopped Cornelia from being desperate enough to go Elemental."
She sighed, and gave in to sharing what had been on her mind since she got his first message. "If she hadn't been alone, she wouldn't have felt alone enough to make that choice."
He shook his head, cupping her cheek now. "You don't know that for sure. Whatever pushed those buttons, you couldn't have predicted. Neither should you feel guilty about it. You can't see the future. And you can't fix everything, or solve everything, just by being there."
She met his gaze for a long period of time, seeing nothing but honesty. He believed what he was saying, and she blew a few strands of hair away from her eyes. "I don't like it when you use logic."
Finally, his smile was broad and his eyes were content. "I know." She felt the same expression on her face, having said what she needed to and hearing what he had to say.
Releasing her knees, she scooted forward into his arms. The feeling of them wrapped around her was enough to drive away the last shadows of stress. "Love you."
"I love you, too."
"Hey."
She almost flinched at the unexpected sound of his voice, considered recoiling into the overgrowth of greenery around her—and decided against it. She didn't want to hide from him, when he could have been gone from her forever without a bit of luck. But neither was she anticipating more shouting. Setting her face so that he wouldn't see her fears, she turned to look at him.
To her surprise, he didn't seem confrontational. He didn't even have his coat on, which startled her more than anything. That coat was like unofficial armor. On Earth, he would refrain from wearing it because it did not blend in. But he was never without it here.
The lack of coat softened his appearance in a strange way. As if removing battle, declaring peace, in some twisted, weird Caleb way.
Unless she was simply reading too much into a lack of certain articles of clothing.
Her lips parted as if to return the greeting, but despite her surprise she was still too wary of the anger. That was how they worked with each other, as if yelling were a substitution for conversation. They worked well by yelling at each other, both passionate people with a lot to say.
He stepped closer and crouched down in front of her. She shifted her legs slightly, drawing her feet further back into the green. Most of her weight rested on one hip, her legs curled to her right and slightly tucked underneath her.
For a moment, they just stared at each other. Cornelia felt that familiar tingling in her stomach, a sensation that was always there whenever he was around. But instead of speaking, she waited to see what he had to say. What argument he would state, the shouts that would break her garden-found peace.
He kept surprising her.
Caleb sighed and took a seat in front of her, moving gently in deference to his injuries. He looked away from her, at the plants that had bloomed in response to her turmoil. "The last time you went Elemental, I wasn't there. I only heard about it after you were yourself again. Mostly from Elyon. None of you Guardians like to talk about it. I got the impression that it was so horrible, you didn't want to."
She bit her lip, but nodded slightly. He caught the movement, and she was the one to avert her eyes this time. To his chest, trying to see through the fabric and judge the damage for herself. "I was there when the Oracle warned you girls. I was there when you reacted to the idea of it happening again. And I know being angry at you didn't help, but Cornelia—" Her heart stuttered at the tone, her eyes meeting his without thought. "—I was terrified. Because you were before, but for some reason you did it anyway."
A tear began forming at the corner of her eye. "I still was. I—" she wiped a hand under her eye roughly "—I was alone. The soldiers couldn't do anything, the Regents were busy, and you and Elyon were—I thought you—and there was no one else coming to help! The other Guardians—Will didn't come! She wasn't there when I needed her!"
His face was sorrowful. "I'm sorry." Empathy.
It only enflamed her temper more. "You should be! I already knew everything you were yelling! I'm not dumb, Caleb! I knew it was reckless and it scared me to even think of it and I did it because I thought there was nothing else to do! I knew!" She had shot to her feet, breaking away from the plants, pacing away from him, and turned at the last statement.
He had risen to his feet more slowly, and only finished straightening up when she whipped around to see it. His expression was open, irate, and he yelled back, "I'm sorry!"
Familiarity, and—I could have lost this forever—and she stepped closer to him. "You weren't the only one who was scared!"
"Cornelia—" His voice was slightly angry, the natural tension between their two personalities having risen. And that was it, the last confirmation that he was alive, and it hit her like she was standing on the train tracks and the train had just plowed into her.
A faint sob escaped her lips as she threw her arms around him, faintly remembering to be careful because he was injured. His shoulders remained tense, but his arms softened almost immediately. He supported her as much as he could, she being careful not to rest all of her weight on him as she squeezed her eyes tight and refused to cry. For a long moment, they were silent—and then he said, "Cornelia." Slow, gentle, heartfelt.
She breathed in deeply, finally inhaling his scent, and blurted, "I'm sorry, I didn't know what else to do, I thought you were—I thought it killed you."
His chin rested on top of her head. "I'm alive. I'm right here."
"I'm sorry I scared you."
She felt him laugh slightly. "And I'm sorry that I started the fight this time."
Smiling to herself, she shrugged. "I'll get the next one."
He pressed his lips to her forehead, and she slid one hand to the back of his neck to rub lightly at the base of his skull. Comforting gestures. Reassuring ones. The familiar movements that declared more to either of them than any words could.
And the remaining pain she felt in her heart began to fade.
Earth
"Hey, Will?"
"Yeah?"
"Want to hit the mall when you get back from your trip? I'll treat you to ice cream."
"Only if you let me—"
"Eh—no. My treat!"
"Okay, all right! I'll call you when I'm back, then, Cornelia."
"Looking forward to it."