W.I.T.C.H: The Lost One
It Begins
Heatherfield. Just like any other day. Quiet at one point, noisy the next. Even the birds outside were quiet. But Will Vandom's room that same morning was the noisiest inside the two story townhouse, occupied by her mother, father, and little brother. But out of all of them… No one could beat Will's snoring. The vibrating comforter that bore Will's obsession with frogs was evident. Littered with the strange amphibians shrouding her from view. They were all over the place. On the dresser, the floor, and of course the bed, providing a makeshift pillow for a white head with a bunch of red hair. A pair of brown eyes slowly parted open before Will trained them on the digital alarm clock, glowing in the darkness. Five fifty-nine. A minute before Shelly the alarm was scheduled to start screaming in her ear.
After dropping her head back onto the pillow, Will sighed and grumbled, "Shelly, snooze the alarm for me, please." The only sound Will got in response was the rough sound of the alarm as it toggled on and off. Blaring and letting Will know it was time to rise. She groaned and repeated, "Stop being rude and cut off, please… Shelly?" Will propped her head back up and looked up at the alarm clock. Something was up. Why wasn't it cutting off? Let alone responding? Will's tired eyes narrowed at it.
"Will, time to get up!" Her mother yelled from the next room over. Susan sighed and cradled her husband, burying her head of blue hair into Dean's chest.
Sighing, Will reached up and snoozed the clock manually. Then continued staring at it tiredly. Most of the time, thanks to her Quintessence powers Shelly would be telling her exactly what her mother told her. Except in the most annoying and irritating voice possible. Sometimes loud, sometimes a whisper. Either way, it didn't happen this morning. Maybe it was something else? Will shrugged it off with her comforter, it wasn't that big of a deal. Right now, anyway. She placed her feet on the cold floor, frigid with the winter air. It was January. Nineteenth. Her fifteenth birthday. With that bit of knowledge, Will's smile eventually turned into a big grin. "Alright, my birthday," she whispered. "I need a present. Mom, it's my birthday!" She announced, apparently excited.
Susan popped into the room and wrapped Will into a hug almost immediately, squeezing her into her chest. It was so sudden, Will almost electrocuted her. "Ohh, I know~! Happy birthday, sweetheart! Now try not to be too loud, William's still sleeping." Susan pulled away to bend over slightly and kiss her daughter's forehead. Then turned back and walked across the cold floors out of the bedroom.
After vigorously brushing her teeth, taking a bath, grooming and getting dressed, all with excitement Will grabbed the Heart of Kandracar and tucked it under her red sweater. Then made her way out the door and down the steps for the kitchen. Her mother was cooking, but she had no time to sit and eat. "Make it to-go!" She ordered.
Susan looked over her shoulder amused at Will's cocky attitude. Ten minutes later, Will was outside in the thirty degree weather walking the sidewalk, heading for Sheffield Institute while eating some breakfast burritos. The buildings in Heatherfield were tall. Car horns were honking in the distance. Birds were flying overhead as the sun's rays hit her coat, providing no warmth against her skin.
Will took a bite out of one of the burritos, humming in appreciation for the taste and warmth it provided her tongue. "It's some girl's birthdayyyy!" A huge weight was suddenly thrown on her back, nearly forcing Will to the ground face first. Irma's dirty blonde hair cascaded over Will's head when she wrapped her arms around her neck, grinning like a maniac. "Happy Birthday, pink purple pookie pumpkin!"
"Er… thanks?" Irma hopped off Will's back and walked with her for the school. During the time, and after eating her burritos, Will pulled out her phone and stared at it strangely. Irma poked in and asked, "Something wrong with your phone?"
Will flipped it over and answered, "Not sure. This morning… None of my electronics talked to me. You know how I can speak to electronics?"
"How about the TV? Or Radio? They talk a lot." Irma's wink let Will know she was once more being sarcastic.
"Irma, I'm serious. Something's wrong… I can feel it." The two stopped with a few more heading towards Sheffield Institute across the street. Cornelia, Taranee, and Hay-Lin were already there waiting for them on the other side while the cars passed.
Irma stated, "Will we haven't been on a mission in forever. No Guardians of the Infinite Dimensions ready for battle. And there's no problem with the other worlds or else we would have been summoned way before now."
"This is different." Will and Irma walked across the concrete street, heading for the property's entrance where their friends were waiting. Unlike the rest of them, Cornelia seemed to embrace the cold weather by being stylish too. Of course. A hot pink trench coat with a bunch of sparkle, topped off with a stylish toboggan, and probably something else bright underneath it. Irma could definitely tell. That's why she just had to crack one when they reached the other side.
"Like a pink umbrella ready to fly open," Irma joked. "Showering us with candy and blindness."
Taranee giggled from the side while Cornelia huffed through her nose, clearly unamused if the hands on her hips were a clue. Rolling her eyes, Cornelia responded unenthusiastically, "Oh ha ha, laugh it up why don't you." Ignoring them, Cornelia walked towards Will and wrapped her in a tight hug. "Happy fifteenth, birthday girl. We're doing what we did last year, surprising you with a birthday party."
Will rolled her eyes then pried herself from Cornelia's embrace. "No thanks, I'm good."
Hay-Lin shook her head and eagerly skipped forward, wearing the biggest smile she could make that scared Will a little. "No can do, girl! We're throwing you a surprise party!"
"But last year was a surprise party."
"I know. The surprise this time is when and where we're throwing the party. You know we're throwing you a party. Question is… Where and when? It could be in the middle of class, the school—"
Irma bumped in and added, "The bathroom."
"The bathroom?" Will asked awkwardly, "Has that ever happened to you?"
Irma replied with only a deep sigh through her nose and a chill smile before Hay-Lin pushed her away. "Or at your house, Will," she continued.
Will smiled but shook her head. "Thanks, girls. But I'd rather not have a party this time. Seriously."
Irma wrapped an occupied arm around Will's shoulder, letting a small light blue wrapped present poke into her peripheral vision. Countering, "Then at least take the present, jeez. This is from all of us. Sponsored by Cornelia. You'll see what I'm talking about." Will chuckled and took the present while Cornelia and Irma held their little playful spat each other. Just like yesterday. And the day before that.
The gift was about the size of a jewelry box, wrapped in reflective blue and topped off with a tiny bow. She didn't want to just throw the bow so she went ahead and took off the wrapping with it. Just like she guessed, it was a jewelry box. A hot pink Jewelry box. Taranee walked over and pointed at it. "Cornelia just happened to match," she whispered.
Will chuckled and popped it open, gasping in surprise. It was a necklace with a small brass heart shaped pendant. It was small compared to a majority of pendants, but for Will was big enough. Ignoring Cornelia's rant about how calling her Corny all the time, Irma cracked open the heart with a tag on the side, revealing a picture. It was small and Will could barely see it. But she could make out herself and the rest of her friends at the fair last year. Including Elyon and Caleb. Grinning, smiling, and making funny faces. Well all of them except Caleb. He could make a dog look like they were laughing he was so stoic.
Will grinned and pulled Taranee into a hug before the others piled on. "Thanks, girls," she whispered.
"Happy birthday, Will," Cornelia responded. She was the first to pull back and decree, "Now can we go inside, it's cold out here."
"You're wearing a dress underneath that coat aren't you?"
Cornelia shrugged innocently as if it were no big deal. "I always wear something else underneath all these clothes. Now come on, birthday girl!" She grabbed Will's hand and pulled her in. Then tugged her throught the gate and towards the front of the school. "You guys can stay out here and freeze if you prefer, but Will and I are loving the inside warmth."
Realizing that Cornelia may indeed have a point, the rest followed Will and her into the schools. Irma could practically feel drama dripping off the walls, lockers, and definitely the students. Poor Alchemy was doing her best to avoid it based off the fact that Irma saw her duck into the library at the same time they walked into the cafeteria. Their hangout spot before school started They flopped down into their seats and took off their coats. After Hay-Lin took off hers, she reached in her pocket and whipped out her phone that was tossed recklessly on the table. The friends sort of just stopped and looked at it. It was a white smartphone of some sort that had a small crack in the bottom left corner.
Irma nodded at it and inquired, "Phone issues?"
"Phone annoyances," she clarified. "It talked to me this morning."
Cornelia nodded and stated, "Yeah that happens when you make a phone call. You know, when the other person—"
"I haven't made a phone call today," Hay-Lin interrupted. "I woke up and it was all 'Good morning, Hay-Lin'. And I was all, 'My gosh!'"
"Your gosh?" Taranee asked before Hay-Lin shot a crumb at her glasses.
"That's not the only weird thing," Hay-Lin whispered. She looked around and placed her arm in the middle of the cafeteria table with her hand palm-up, fingers spread. Will, sipping from a juice box leaned in and watched with the others. Pink lightning began dancing around her fingers, pulling a gasp out of their mouths. The straw popped out of Will's mouth while she stared in confusion. Quintessence?!
"You have Quintessence?" Taranee whispered. She and everyone else turned to Will and stated, "But that's Will's power!"
Will set the carton aside then slapped her hand down in front of Hay-Lin's, summoning Quintessence. But… nothing happened. She pushed harder, soon grunting. But still nothing. Irma pulled back and glanced at Will. She looked more confused than ever. "Okay," she said slowly. "Yeah I think it's time we made a call to Kandracar customer support."
Will wasn't even listening. Too busy trying to get her powers to work. She began straining, eventually forming a red face before Taranee popped her hand, cutting her concentration. "It's not working right now, Will. We'll talk to the Oracle about it alright?"
Will took a deep breath then subtly nodded with pursed lips and strange eyes. Irma couldn't explain it, but she was getting a strange vibe from this. And not just the power thing either. But also Will's reaction. She either got lost in the moment, or was truly desperate to get her powers to work. It was concerning. Very concerning. So she stashed that bit of information away in the archived region of her mind for later.
Before the bell rang for the school day to begin, the girls decided that they should head to Kandracar during lunch, which lasted thirty minutes. After agreeing, they grabbed their stuff and headed to class. Irma with Will and Taranee, Cornelia with Hay-Lin. Taranee could tell something happened back there with Will. For it to be her birthday she was truly bummed. "Will." She turned her head to face Taranee, who was shooting her that confused expression. "Are you okay?"
"Seriously," Irma added from the left.
"I'll be fine," she answered. "We need to talk to the oracle and get this all straightened out." She chuckled and mumbled, "My birthday just took a wild turn."
Irma smirked. As least she was still the same a little. "I'll say. But if something's wrong, you'll tell us, right?"
She saw Will glance over, then blink her eyes to the classroom once more. "I… I don't know."
"Will—"
"I don't want to talk about it right now, alright?!" Will snapped. That made Irma and Taranee stop while she continued forward into the classroom. "Just… Not right now." Once she was out of view, Taranee and Irma shared a glance. Will was taking this hard. She's not telling anyone, but they could easily read her. The first period was pretty tense. Very tense. Work was handed out, completed, lessons were taught. An hour and thirteen minutes of that then the bell rang and they were off for their own second periods. The only one in that close with her was Taranee.
Once the three were out the classroom doors back into the busy halls filled with teenagers, Will quickly apologized. "Look girls, I didn't mean to snap at you earlier. I just don't want to talk about it." she gripped the strap of her bag tighter.
Rolling her eyes, Irma waved it off and popped her shoulder. "It's alright. Just don't go all crazy on us, alright? I'll see you at lunch." Irma turned and made her way back towards the cafeteria while Taranee had her say.
"Just don't take it too hard. We'll figure it out." She wrapped an arm around Will and led her through the loud halls away from the classroom towards another. Science. Will enjoyed Science subjects. Mainly biology but she's shown Taranee up on several occasions involving the subject. So much so that it made her jealous a little. It was usually the one thing that could make her relax when stressed, which has been happening a lot lately.
W~I~T~C~H
They didn't bother with Astral Drops when they left the cafeteria. It's not like someone's going to point out you skipped lunch. So they all went straight from the cafeteria to the engineering hall in the back of the school. It was widely known across the campus that the staff here takes time off during the entirety of lunch. A great place to open a portal. After looking around, Will opened one of the double steel doors for the room and sneaked in first. The girls followed after, then slowly shut the door behind them. A single saw sat on top of a wooden board while ladders littered the corner. A steel cabinet with one door open held bolts and screws, brightened by the long lights above.
They looked around for reassurance while Will took off the necklace and swiped the air with it, destination for Kandracar on her mind. But nothing happened. Will pulled her arm back and swiped again. Same result. Cornelia stuck her head into Will's peripheral and suggested, "Maybe let Hay-Lin try. She has your power, so…"
Will hummed. She didn't want to. Like at all. But the sooner they figured this out, the better. Will held the heart by string to her left, dangling it in front of Hay-Lin's face. Hay-Lin took it like it was gross with two fingers. The Heart seemed to glow brighter when she did, lighting up the room in a pink glow. Everyone else except Will turned to the glowing marble-sized orb in surprise. "Hay-Lin has super Guardian mojo," Irma joked.
"Can we just go already?" They looked to Will who took on a pretty good "Cornelia" expression. Hands on hips with an annoyed face. "I want to figure this out so I don't have to worry about it anymore."
Hay-Lin took the initiative and did what Will did before. Thought of Kandracar, pulled her arm back and swiped the air. A bright white rift similar to a lightning bolt flashed in their faces. Blowing back their hair a little. Cornelia swung her arm around Hay-Lin and cheered, "That's my girl!" The others piled on like—to Will—a bunch of monkeys and delivered congratulations.
"Ugh, come on and stop wasting time. We have things to do." Will stepped through the rift first and onto the stone stairs of the grand floating fortress of Kandracar, surrounded by pink clouds. She looked around, thinking this place was too big. Way too big. Only like ten people stayed here, right? The other girls stepped out of the rift and looked around the quiet fortress for a moment, taking in the silence.
Cornelia placed her hands on her hips and commented, "No TV, radio, nothing. How can they stand this?"
Before anyone could proceed further, Will placed her hand out in front of Hay-Lin, waiting for the Heart. Hay-Lin glanced down at it, then up at its owner who was holding a look of impatience. So she held the Heart up and dropped it in her palm. Will balled her fist around it. Then turned and walked up the stairs, anxiously heading for the Congregation and leaving them behind. Confused eyes on Will, Cornelia leaned over to Hay-Lin and whispered, "So. What was that?"
Hay-Lin shrugged and answered just as timid, "I guess she wanted the Heart back?" Then followed Will up the stairs. She was way ahead of them by now. Meters ahead. By the time they reached her, she was in front of the doors leading to the Congregation, knocking respectfully.
"Enter." Tibor. Had to be Tibor.
Will took the initiative and pushed the door open, granting her and her friends' vision with the grandeur of the Hall. The chamber was high and grand, with stands that curved with the rest of the room on the far side made of white decorative stone. The Council were in their usual places. Luba, Tibor, Yan-Lin, Himerish, all nine of them. Including... Caleb? Cornelia grinned and asked, "And what are you doing here? And is that a beard?"
He was still gorgeous. With his head of messy brown hair, that strange smile on his face. And that beard… which had to go. "I'm in a meeting," he excused. Then looked around and added, "The stink monkey's around here somewhere. Probably lost. Why are you here?"
Will strode into the middle of the hall and answered, "Oracle, we have an issue with our powers."
The oracle stood up and asked, "Please go into more detail."
"Well for one Hay-Lin has Quintessence. And I don't. I think our powers switched."
Tibor's eyebrows raised when he asked, "Switched? How?" The rest of the council started muttering things among each other. Except Caleb who was just watching with his feet kicked up. Cornelia slowly shook her head his way.
The Oracle eyed Will and hummed for a moment, thinking to himself. There was a possible explanation, but the reason was really rare. But if this was an exception, then there was no telling what it meant. He levitated out of his setting and over to the girls. "Step forward, Hay-Lin and Will." The two did as asked and stood in a line in front of the Oracle when he landed. "May I see the Heart please?" Will held it out to him and allowed him to take it. He held it up in front of Will and peered into her eyes through it. It seemed dull and lifeless. Until he moved it over to Hay-Lin. It gradually lit up on the way over until it shone at full brightness. The Oracle lowered the Heart and said, " am sure all of you know about Xin Jing and the Dragons. Correct?"
The Guardians nodded. They remembered Hay-Lin telling them about it for a school play or something in the past. Yan-Lin also held a hand in it. "Well there are a few things left out. Before Xin Jing became the heart with the four Dragons, she was married and had a daughter. She was given the Heart, her mother and became the first Keeper. Once she gained control of the powers, she opened a fold to Kandracar and met the Oracle of that time. The Oracle then told her the powers it possessed, and that she was given the opportunity to split the powers amongst four others."
"They were the first Guardians," Will assumed.
Himerish nodded and answered, "Yes. The first Guardians of Kandracar."
Hay-Lin glanced around awkwardly and asked, "Yes, but what does this have to do with me?"
"As the daughter of the original, no one was as strong as Xin Jing's daughter. Sin Jing. But eventually, Sin Jing raised a family, had children, and they had children. One of those children married another and raised a family in a different name. Lin."
Hay-Lin gasped and asked, "Lin? As in my family?"
With a smile, Himerish nodded and answered, "Yes. Into your very family line. But one of those descendants in your family line became the Keeper. And she was wise. I met her myself, Mia Jing. She was smart. So much so I thought she would replace me as the Oracle. She had a vision that was believed to be a prophecy. In the vision, she saw five girls. All Guardians, during the time a great evil was beginning to take root in the ground. She wrote it down." Himerish clapped his hands together and pulled them apart, levitating a scroll in between them. He grabbed and unrolled it, then began to read it aloud. "'A new evil will begin to take root after one feels lost, alone, and without purpose. They create their own path, creating damage along the way. A new leader will be chosen and abilities switched to prepare for this new evil. The Lost One.' I fear this prophecy may now be coming true."
Taranee raised a hand as if she were in school and asked, "So… Are you saying, Hay-Lin is the new leader? The Keeper of the Heart?"
"I… Am afraid so." Irma glanced to Will, whose expression was unreadable. It was like she was walking down the street heading to the store, focusing on a shopping list. But there was no walking, no shopping list, and there was no checking off items.
After a moment of silence, Will asked, "So, what? I'm… Air now? Because of a prophecy? Has this ever happened to anyone else?"
Himerish shook his head and answered, "No. This is the first instance of a Prophecy made by a Guardian is coming true, as well as a switching of powers. I'm afraid Hay-Lin is now the leader of the Guardians, Will." Himerish held the Heart over to Hay-Lin and placed it in her outstretched hand. Then grabbed her fingers and balled them up around it. "Be careful with it."
Hay-Lin's nod prompted the Oracle to move his hand back and ask, "I hope this doesn't affect any of you negatively."
Cornelia shook her head and said, "No, we're cool with it. Right girls?"
"Yep!"
"Uh huh."
"I can handle it," Hay-Lin added. Everyone turned to Will. Who was no longer there. "Will?" They looked around the Congregation. But she was nowhere. "So.. Where exactly can she go without being noticed in here?"
The large doors for the hall closed with bang, forcing everyone to look that way.
Taranee muttered, "Apparently, the door."
Irma rolled her eyes and commented, "Well… Everyone in here is cool with it."
Himerish sighed and ordered, "Watch and look out for Will. This must be really sudden and a little confusing for her."
Irma and Taranee nodded. Then turned around and led the party for the doors. Confusing wasn't exactly the right word for it. Within that time frame, Will had silently walked through the silent fortress back towards the stairs leading to empty air. Hay-Lin was a descendant of a Guardian who was wise enough to predict a prophecy about their powers switching. For an enemy who was "lost". What did that even mean? She couldn't figure it out. Not even while staring out at the sea of nothing at the steps that led up to Kandracar. The sea of clouds was soothing to calm her nerves.
Quintessence had always been her thing. She knew how to use it. How to harness the power and make it her own. Manipulate it into her own thing. Now… It's been transferred over to Hay-Lin. Was that even fair? It sounded like the Heart needed a new leader to defeat an enemy they have yet to discover. A fresh mind. But wasn't she good enough? She always thought she was. Coming up with plans to defeat Phobos and Nerissa. Tracker, Cedric. Miranda. All of that was because of her leadership.
It was like Fadden Hills all over again. Not good enough. "Will?" She didn't even turn around to Irma's voice. "Are you okay?"
"Let's just get home," she answered forcefully. Like she spat the words out of her mouth. "And I'm not talking about it. So… Don't even bother to ask."
The others glanced at each other before Hay-Lin walked over to Will's left to open a fold. Irma took note that Will turned her head to the right so she didn't have to see her. Was she… Jealous? Once it was opened and after Hay-Lin walked through, Will jumped in next and proceeded to walk towards the door to the engineering room before anyone else. And once they did they stopped moving and watched her walk away.
Taranee called, "We're still celebrating your birthday."
Will stopped and stated, "I said I don't want a party. You can throw one all you want, but I'm not going to be there." Then opened the door to the engineering hall and strode out. Leaving the others with a feeling they couldn't comprehend. At least not yet.
