W.I.T.C.H
"The World is Broken"
"Now what?"
The question hung in the air, daring any of the Guardians to answer it. No one did, not for a while. The seriousness of the situation was starting to set in. Before, with every other problem, there had always been a way out. Before, they had always had a plan, some way to win. Before, they were human.
The Heart of Kandrakar lay on the floor in front of them. Will tried once more to pick it up, but it started sparking violently and Will withdrew her hand. The Heart was the first thing they had tried to use to reverse the transformation, but every attempt to use it was met with the same result. The Heart refused to be handled by Will.
This wasn't a problem that they could simply punch away. They were helpless, more then ever before, and it showed. They were panicking. Any thought that came to mind, no matter how ridiculous, was instantly thought of as their salvation. Eventually, they had to face facts. There was nothing they could do. Maybe no one could.
Elyon entered the room.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Oh just peachy! You?" Irma said.
"About as well as can be expected." Taranee said.
"That's good to hear." Elyon said. "Look, girls, I just wanted to say, thanks. For everything. It was my stupidity that made you girls this way…"
"Elyon, it wasn't…"
"No, no. We all know this is my fault. But I'm going to fix it. I swear."
Nobody said anything for a while. Everyone in the room felt that they were responsible for their situation. If only they had fought better, tried harder, then everything would be fine.
"We need to focus." Will said. "We need more information, and there's only one place we can get them."
"Kandrakar." Cornelia said.
"My thoughts exactly." Elyon said. "If anyone knows what to do, it's the Oracle. Don't you agree Will? Will?"
Will gave no answer. She just stared blankly in front of her. Elyon waved her hand in front of Will's face but to no avail. The same had happened to the rest of the Guardians as well. It was as if the girls were no longer there, as if their minds were blank. Elyon slowly backed up and stuck her head out the door.
"Medic!"
Will looked all around her. The last thing she remembered, she was talking to Elyon, and now, she was in a meadow? But not just a meadow, the most beautiful, picturesque meadow she had ever seen. Birds sang, Butterfly's danced around her and tall, snow-capped mountains could be seen in the distance. It was paradise.
She soon found she was not alone. The rest of the Guardians were there with her. They were still in their elemental forms, as was Will. Will frowned.
"Taranee, should you be burning up the ground?" Will asked.
"Yeah, I should be." Taranee said, lifting her feet up. The grass that had been engulfed in her flame was still pristine.
"Then why isn't it?" Irma asked.
"Because I would never allow this beautiful place to burn down." Answered a voice from behind.
The girls spun to find a man standing behind them. The man was the most handsome man any of them had ever seen. He had perfectly combed, long blonde hair, and chiseled features barely hidden under an expensive Italian suit. He was beauty personified.
"Who are you?" Irma asked.
"My, my, I'm disappointed." The man said with a sigh. "Everything that is happened, all these mysteries, and the first question you ask is 'who are you'? How mundane. I expected much more from the Guardians."
"Fine." Taranee said. "Who are you, did you bring us here, how did you do it, what did you do, where are we, and when are go going to put us back? Better?"
"Very good!" The man said, clapping his hands. "Yes, that's much better. Now let me see, hmmmm, yes, I can answer all of those questions."
Will felt something brush against the back of her leg. She turned around and saw that five large, throne like chairs had appeared behind them, one for each girl. She also saw that the man was now sitting in a similar chair. The Guardians sat down.
"My name is Isaiah, though that is hardly important." he said. "I've brought you here so we could talk without interference."
"And where exactly is here?" Cornelia asked.
"Everything you see before you is a product of my mind." Isaiah said. "Your bodies are still back in Meridian, unharmed. You simply 'think' that you are in a meadow."
"So you're a telepath?" Hay Lin asked.
"I am not just a mere telepath." Isaiah said, glaring at Hay Lin. "Yes, I can read people's minds, but I can also control what they see, and what they do."
"Why the meadow?" Irma asked. "Not that I'm complaining."
"I felt that after all you had been through recently, you could use a tranquil setting." Isaiah said.
"What did you want to talk about?" Hay Lin asked. "Why bring us here at all?"
"Two reasons." Isaiah said. "First of all, there are things you must know. I am human, and have spent my entire life on Earth. How I got my abilities is unimportant, but because of them, I have led a much longer life then the average person."
"How much longer?" Cornelia asked.
"Last month was my 652nd birthday." Isaiah said.
Irma whistled in awe.
"That's a lot of candles."
"And because of this elongated life span, I have seen a great many things." Isaiah continued. "I have watched empires come and go. Nations prosper and die. The balance of power has changed countless times and this is what I've learned. The world is broken."
"Um…"
"Not literally, of course. But still, broken. War is everywhere. Poverty and hunger are at an all time high. The disparity between the powerful and the weak has never been greater. The Earth dies beneath our feet, choked by our gears and engines. Any chance the human race once had for a happy ending is slowly slipping away. The clock is nearing midnight."
The girls looked at each other.
"Don't you think that's a bit harsh?" Will asked.
"No. Not when you've seen the things I have. I have seen atrocities committed through both the eyes of both the victim and the aggressor. At first, I thought this decay was regrettable, but inevitable. It appeared that nothing short of the coming of the gods would save mankind from itself. All hope seemed lost. Then something happened that changed my mind. That allowed me to believe that humanity was not doomed."
"What?" Hay Lin asked.
"The gods came."
The girls stared at Isaiah like he was a rapid dog.
"Um, I know I got D's in history, but I think even I would have heard about gods." Irma said.
"It was about a hundred years ago." Isaiah said. "Five gods, each controlling a different element."
"Wait a sec, are you talking about the Guardians?" Will asked.
"Yes." Isaiah said. "Your Grandma was not the first Guardian, Hay Lin. There were those before her and I watched them come. I remember clearly the hope I felt when they came, and the disappointment I felt when they did nothing."
"What do you mean, nothing? The Guardians were heroes." Hay Lin said.
"Oh sure, they stopped a few petty tyrants, much to the joy of Meridian and Zamballa, but as soon as they returned home, they were content to sit back and watch the world crumble around them. They could have changed everything. They could have led humanity into a golden age. Instead, they did nothing." Isaiah said.
The Guardians were torn. On one hand, Will had never thought that the Guardians as a global force for good, but there was no reason why they couldn't be. There were many problems in the world today, and the Guardians could make a difference, but it would require sacrifice, and they had already given up so much. Will wasn't sold on it.
"What's the second reason?" she asked.
"The second reason I called you here, is because I'm a fan." Isaiah said.
"Great. Have an autograph and send us home." Irma said.
Isaiah laughed.
"No, thanks." he said. "No, you see the reason I've waited this long to talk to the Guardians is because the Heart of Kandrakar changes your mind, as well as your body."
"It what?" Will said.
"It protects your mind." Isaiah replied. "Creates some kind of, magical barrier around it. It means that I couldn't enter your mind like I'm doing now. I could only pick up bits and pieces of your thoughts. Like your names, and where you live."
"Woah, woah, woah. You know where we live?" Irma said, getting to her feet.
"Believe me Irma, I am in no, er, position to do any thing with that information, even if I wanted to." Isaiah said.
"So why have things changed, how come you can talk to us now? Is it because of our, condition?" Taranee asked.
"I believe so, yes." Isaiah said. "As soon as you entered your pure, elemental form, all magical mental protection was lost. If anything, your mind is now more vulnerable then that of a normal person. If I wanted to, I could control every move you make, for the rest of your life."
The girls paused when they heard this. They seemed to finally realize what type of a power they were dealing with. This man had the vision to shape the world any way he pleased, and, with them under his control, he had the power as well.
"Then why don't you?" Will asked. "We're right here, why don't you take control of us? What's stopping you?"
"As I said before, I am a fan of yours." Isaiah said. "I would not dream of controlling your mind or body with out at first giving you a chance to serve me willingly. This is that chance. In 72 hours, I will return to your mind to hear your decision. You will either see it my way and join my cause, or I will control your every action. The choice is yours."
He waved his arm, and before any of the girls could make an attempt to stop him, he had swept the girls back to reality, and back to Meridian.
Will woke up to find herself surrounded by men and woman in white outfits. Meridian's medics. She had been out for a while.
"She's awake!" One of them shouted as she started to move.
"Will, are you okay? What happened?" Elyon ask leaning over to get a better view of Will.
Will shook off the remaining medics.
"I don't know." She said, rubbing her electric head. "The others…"
"We're all fine" Hay Lin said.
The rest of the girls slowly got to their feet.
"Speak for yourself." Irma said. "I'm still a human swimming pool. I'm the opposite of fine."
"You we're just standing here, talking, when all of a sudden, BOOM. You hit the floor like a ton of bricks." Elyon said.
The Guardians filled Elyon in on everything that had happened with Isaiah. They told her about his idea for a perfect world, and how he would be able to control them thanks to their current, inhuman condition. They also told her about their 72-hour deadline.
"So not only do we have no body, but our minds suck now too. That's just great." Irma said after Elyon had been brought up to date.
"For some of us, that's a bigger change then others." Cornelia said.
"What did you say Miss Sunflower?"
"Girls, enough!" Elyon said. "Don't fight with each other."
"Yeah," Hay Lin said. "You'll just create mud anyways."
"Great, now she's even more of an airhead."
"Hey, leave Hay Lin alone!"
"Bring it, spark plug!"
"I said, enough!" Elyon screamed.
The Guardians stopped fighting at the sound of Elyon's tone. The girls were stressed, that much was obvious to Elyon. They needed something to do, something to focus on, or they would start losing it.
"Come on, you're all still the same people inside. Your all still friends, nothing changes that." Elyon said.
The girls exchanged apologies under Elyon's watchful gaze.
"Now, your not going to find answers by yelling at each other, you need to go to the source." Elyon continued.
She created a fold in the air.
"Let's go pay Kandrakar a visit."