Dusk rolled across the Scottish highlands. It was a beautiful sunset, dinged purple and scarlet by smoke rising from the forest.
'A picture-perfect ending.' Albus Dumbledore stood on the battlements of his ancient school, hands clasped in a tight grip behind his back. He could have made an excellent British sailing captain, if not for the fact that he was nowhere near a boat.
Of course, he did it in pure defiance of the jeering mobs below. A hundred-hundred dark creatures and wizards, all serving the Dark Lord Voldemort, were arrayed chaotically across the grass between the forest and Hogwarts' walls. An echoing boom rolled up from their efforts to sunder the main gate. It would hold for a while.
'But long enough?' Dumbledore's silent question was answered by a small child, one of the students of his school trapped by the hordes outside. The little girl, no older than 12, ducked around the corner and squeaked at the view below.
"What is it child?" Dumbledore looked over to reassure the girl.
"They're almost ready. The sacrifice is prepared and the ritual begun. Sir!" She stuttered out.
"Sacrifice? Ah, the energy requirement, of course. Temporary, I'm sure. Thank you Miss Fairweather." The girl disappeared the way she came, with the Headmaster following shortly.
Albus strode confidently down the corridors of his ancient school. Paintings and wall hangings, all magical, seemed empty, void of inhabitants. They were all in the dungeons, huddled in heavily warded frames for safety. They were even more fragile than humans.
Every now and then he passed the human defenders of the castle, huddled behind rubble and clustered near gapping holes in the outer walls, flinging spells outward in contest to those coming their way. Several triage stations were chock full of injured. And…
Albus stopped, tears coming to his eyes as he viewed a neat row of bodies, many young. All fallen in defense of the school. And all too young. He steeled his resolve for the coming task. For the living and the dead.
Finally, the Headmaster reached his destination. A room on the fifth floor had been converted into the ritual room. A constant hum swelled out of the door, where four guards, seventh year students, were stationed. One nodded to him as he walked up.
"Report." His quick statement was answered equally fast.
"The five have begun the transference, and await your command. Sir." The boy stepped back to continue his vigilance.
Dumbledore stepped past the guards and looked into the room. It was bare, pure stone walls washed clean. Now, only five figures stood in the middle. The soft hum came from them.
Albus paced closer, until he reached the nearest. Sixth year Harry Potter looked up at his mentor.
"Almost ready, sir. We just need these," The raven-haired boy indicated the azure-metal ring on his hand, "And your order."
Albus looked around. Opposite him was Ronald Weasely. His freckled hand was endowed with a bronze ring. To the boy's left was Hermione Granger, holding a silver ring. Next was Neville Longbottom, clutching his green ring tightly. Finally, next to Harry was Ginny Weasely, clutching a metallic red ring.
"If you are all willing, we should begin. But remember, your sacrifices will save us all. And it should not require your lives, so we won't need to worry about that." A small twinkle returned to the Headmaster's eye at that, and the nervous teens laughed a bit at the sight.
"Now, if you'd ple-' Dumbledore was cut off by a harsh cry from the corridor, and sounds of fighting.
"They've broken through to the corridor! Hold!"
"Begin! Hurry!" Dumbledore gripped Harry's shoulder tightly before sweeping from the room. "We'll hold them off for you! Go! Start!"
The five teens looked nervously at each other before slipping the rings on. The fighting grew closer.
"Neville. You start." Harry blew out a breathe before nodding to his friend. Neville shook a bit before steeling himself.
"Earth." Neville raised his hand to the center. The ritual continued as the participants joined in.
"Wind." Hermione mirrored Neville.
"They're pushing us back!" The screams from the corridor echoed in the empty room.
"Fire." Ron mimicked his two friends.
"Hold! Hold! We need more time!" Dumbledore's shout was drowned out by clashes and explosions just outside the room.
"Water." Harry raised his hand as well.
"They've broken- Argh!" Whoever's warning was cut off, as two dark figures lept into the room. They dove headlong towards the ritual in progress, a last ray of sunlight glinting off knives clutched in both hands.
"Heart." Ginny's hand extended. Time seemed to freeze for a minute, before…
Five beams of light, mirroring the color of the rings, shot from the extended hands, and quickly intersected in the center of the circle. However, they didn't pass through each other, like normal light. No, these beams coalesced into a small ball of pure golden energy, which quickly flared to light. It exploded outwards, scouring the room, and illuminating the hallway outside.
Harry blinked several times to clear his eyes. The flash was unexpected! He spun to face his attackers, only to see a single man standing before them, wreathed in smoke.
The other four students starred in awe at the figure. He was tall, very tall, and very muscular. Light blue skin, almost metallic, stretched across his broad frame. A green flat-top crowned his head. His hands, feet, and torso were clad in more metallic red, like bloody steel. A single hand was clutched around the throat of one of the villains, crushing the life out of him. The other was lying in a pool of blood, the tall man's foot collapsing his ribcage like a watermelon.
Finally, a symbol on his chest drew Harry's eye. It was gold, an oval with circumscribed lines across it. It took a moment for the boy to realize it was like the maps he had seen in a museum once a long time ago. It was… the Earth. The man opened his mouth, brown eyes glinting with the fury of a volcano and the promise of pain for the desecration of his home. His voice rolled like an earthquake, filled with power and malice.
"By your powers combined, I… am Captain Planet."