Disclaimer: Have you SEEN the fatality rate on most of my fics? Do you see that kind of fatality rate on W.I.T.C.H? Didn't think so. Although if you're really stupid enough to believe I own W.I.T.C.H…

AN: When I'm referring to Astral Will's perspective in this chapter, I will type her name like this Will, in an attempt to avoid confusion.

Will opened her eyes and let out a gasp of surprise. The Heart had never hurt her before when she'd summoned it, but this time it had really hurt as pains had shot through her chest. Turning her head to her left, she let out another gasp of surprise as she saw a precise copy of herself looking back at her. If looks could kill, the look Will's mirror image was giving her could have vaporised her on the spot.

From her alcove, Taranee watched as the two Will's turned to look at each other and although Taranee couldn't see the expression on the other Will's face, the one that she could see had an expression of pure surprise, as though she had never intended to summon forth the other. Curious, Taranee decided to watch and wait. She was no match for the Traitorous Bitch one on one anyway, the Heart of Candracar meant that she was far to powerful for Taranee to even consider.

Telepathically, she summoned the other Phoenix Commando's to her position.

"Be quiet, we want to avoid a fight for as long as possible." She whispered telepathically. Eric, Alchemie, Sarah and Thomas silently acknowledged her and started heading for her position.

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Nerissa blasted another root from the Dark Mother aside as attempted to grab her. The Dark Mother was no match for Nerissa's Knights working together. Ember burnt the roots away, while Shagon's wings provided a draft to blow the ashes away. Tridart's blades of ice froze the water in the branches, causing them to explode, while Khor grabbed the shattered remains and threw them aside. But on the horizon, Nerissa could see Phobos and his troops charging into Candracar.

"You'd better have gotten through Taranee." Nerissa murmured under her breath as she turned her attentions onto reconnecting Hay Lin to her Auramere.

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"W-w-w-what are you doing here? I didn't summon you!" Will exclaimed, backing off from her double. (Probably an Astral Drop, but Will couldn't say for certain that it was. Weren't Astral drops supposed to come out when YOU summoned them, not at random.)

"Of course you didn't summon me, little girl. The Heart" Will's double pulled forth a copy of the Heart forward and thrust it into Will's face. "Summoned me, no doubt to destroy you."

"But…" Will began, only for her double to begin talking once more.

"I am the one who's been running things for the past ten years of course." Will's double gave Will a cruel smile. "Of the two of us, who do you think had the strength and the sophistication to win Phobos's heart? Who had the wisdom to realise that Phobos's victory was inevitable? It was me of course! You didn't even have what it takes to win Matt Olsen over and he was a pathetic excuse for a man! You are just my weakness!" Will's double glanced at Hay Lin contemptuously. "Your loyalty to your friends is as contemptible as you are. A sign of your weakness."

Will pulled herself up to her full height and glared at her astral drop. (She still wasn't sure that it was an astral drop, but it was the closest thing she could thing of.)

"This may surprise you, whatever you are."

"Astral drop." Will's Astral drop supplied.

"Astral drop then. My friends are not a weakness, they're the greatest strength a girl could ask for. Phobos's victory, far from being inevitable, was something that should've been stopped. And Matt Olsen was a far better person and a far stronger person, than you and Phobos." Will paused as she felt a tear slide down her eye at the thought of losing Matt Olsen, as surely she had, before composing herself. "I'm not the weak one here, you are!"

With a snarl, Will's astral drop sent a blast of black energy from her copy of the Heart flying at Will. Barely inches away from her face, Will's hastily erected shield stopped the blast. (Much to Will's surprise, her magic was WHITE!)

"I will destroy you." Will's astral drop snarled. "I will show you the meaning of true power!" And with that, the two Will's sent a continuous stream of magical energy at each other, the two beams hitting each other firmly in the middle of the two Will's.

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Nerissa grinned as she saw Hay Lin's Auramere connected to its former owner once more. Turning towards her knights, she yelled out for them to retreat. It made no sense to die unnecessarily after all. Even if, and Nerissa felt a slight twinge of loss at the thought of her old friend, she was rescuing the granddaughter of her old friend Yan Lin.

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Hay Lin let out a small gasp of surprise as swirls of purple magic began to swirl around her starved, beaten and battered body. Both Will's where far to caught up in their own battle to notice it though. (Much to Hay Lin's relief. She wasn't sure what to make of what had just happened in front of her and she wanted to avoid drawing the attention of both Will's for now.)

Taranee stared in amazement as the two Will's battled one another. Admittedly, it only consisted of the two Will's sending a continuous stream of magical energy at each other, Taranee was intrigued by what Will's astral drop had said. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hay Lin engulfed in a purple magic sphere and, determined to keep either Will from noticing what was happening, Taranee stepped forward and sent a stream of her magic towards the astral drop. Not because she believed that Will was innocent as per say, but out of the two of them, it was the none-astral drop Will who was less likely to attack her and Hay Lin.

Will let out a gasp of surprise as a stream of red fire magic joined her own beam of white.

"Taranee! What…how…?" she exclaimed in surprise. Taranee nodded towards Will's Astral Drop.

"Later." She mouthed, but her expression was one of distrust and truthfully, Will couldn't blame her.

As the purple bubble surrounded Hay Lin, she felt a distinct tingling sensation, as though her magic was happy to be back with her once more. Ten years of starvation and abuse were not easy to cure though, even for magic.

A sudden look of fear and concentration crossed the face of Will's astral drop as her magic gave way to the combined powers of Will and Taranee. Will's astral drops flow of magic exploded backwards with such force that the Astral Will was sent flying into the wall behind her.

Taranee walked up to the unconscious form of Will's astral drop and glared. Opening the palm of her hand, a stream of fire swept forth and incinerated Will's astral drop.

Will fell to her knees as ten years of memories flooded her mind all at once.

Astral Drops flashback one

Will felt herself pop into existence, with a slight tingling sensation. Her mind was nothing more than a blank slate, with neither personality nor feelings of any kind. Funny, Will remembered this event from her own perspective, but now she was seeing it from the astral drops perspective.

It was the time when they first entered Meridian. Will and the others had been cornered by Frost the Hunter and were hiding in a barn. Will had summoned up their astral drops for the first time from the Heart of Candracar, in an attempt to divert Frost's attention away from them.

Will felt herself and the other astral drops charge out of the barn door. As planned, they caught Frost's attention. Slamming his sword into the ground a cage of magical energy formed around them. Although Will was trapped by Frost, she still wasn't feeling any fear.

She merely watched with absolutely no feelings whatsoever as the real Will and the others made their escape. She felt nothing when she watched Taranee being captured. Even as the other astral drops began to dissolve away, she felt nothing.

Then Phobos grinned at her and waved his hand and suddenly she could FEEL and THINK. And there were two things she could feel right now. One was fear, fear that she was going to dissolve away like the others. The other feeling was a surge of pure hate to Will and the other guardians for using her and her fellow astral drops to cover their escape.

With a smile, Phobos waved his hand and Will was transported to an underground palace. A moment later she was joined by Phobos, who was wearing a kind expression and a gentle smile. His hands were open and welcoming.

"Welcome" he began "to your new home my sweet. No one can see us here. Not even the Oracle." He finished with a grin.

End flashback

Astral Drop flashback two

"Can I ask something?" Will asked Phobos across the table where they were eating dinner. Phobos waved a hand to say she could. "Well…umm" Will began nervously, playing with her food. "Why do I need to hide from the Oracle and Candracar?"

Phobos gave her a kind smile and Will felt her insides go all gooey.

"The Oracle and the others, the guardians and all their kind, would seek to destroy you and I couldn't live with that." Phobos said and then he bent over to her and placed a small kiss on Will's lips. After Phobos left, Will practically jumped for joy.

End Flashback

Astral Drops flashback three

For the past two months, Will had been dining with Phobos. He kissed and caressed her, made her feel like she was the most important person in his life. She was smitten and she didn't care. And last night, Phobos told Will that he had a way to make her completely human in every sense of the word. Much as she loved being alive, the fact that she was only an astral drop, created in a rush, meant that the intimate sexual parts of her body weren't really there.

The door opened and Phobos walked in with a golden book under his arm.

"Please, sit down." He told Will. As she sat down on the floor, Phobos sat down facing her. "The process requires me to turn you into Will Vandom as she is now." He told her calmly. Opening the book, he began to chant in a strange tongue and Will felt a slight tingling as her body became younger and less mature. When it was over, Phobos leaned over to her ear.

"You are as beautiful as the day I first met you." He whispered, before giving her a sensual lick in her ear that sent a shiver down her spine. "Now for the second part of the process."

Phobos gave Will a green potion. "Drink up, for you will need this to possess the guardian leader. It will keep you hidden from the Oracle as well." He told her and Will could've sworn she saw a glint of victory in Phobos's eyes. There was a sudden flash and Will suddenly found herself staring at another copy of herself. Or more accurately Will's astral drop. Another astral drop. There was a sudden pop! And the other astral drop vanished away. Will stepped out, feeling a surge of happiness. She'd make them all pay, every last one. Candracar and the Guardians and especially Will Vandom.

"You will need to let her reabsorb you. Then, when she sleeps, seize control of her body. Her mind will remain asleep for all eternity, while you my love will have her body to control."

And so, when Will woke her up later that night, Will didn't fight her or try to stop her. She simply allowed Will to reabsorb her. And as she felt Will fall asleep, she felt her mind seize control. A control that was to remain for another ten years.

End flashback

Astral Drops flashback four

Will watched as Elyon's double stepped towards Phobos at the coronation. She felt herself grin. Not one of the Guardians had figured out that Will was in control of their leaders body. She had played the role to perfection. But not for much longer. Today was the day she could finally reveal herself.

Closing her hands together, she stared at the real Elyon, who was hidden in the crowd, right in front of her. Whispering the magic words, she exchanged the two Elyon's as Phobos lowered the crown of light onto Elyon's head.

Elyon let out a scream of agony as the crown drained away her powers and her life. As Elyon died, her double vanished. Will teleported herself onto the stage to stand beside the love of her life, Phobos himself. And then she reverted the guardians back to their human forms, an evil grin forming on her face.

It was Cornelia who was the first to realise what had happened.

"Elyon!" Cornelia screamed as she charged up to her friends fallen body. But as she reached the stage, a Meridian guard slammed his axe into her back with a sickening thud. As Cornelia fell to the ground, pools of her blood forming at the bottom of Will's feet. Caleb rushed towards her, sword in hand, screaming her name, only for Phobos to revert him to a flower once more.

It was Taranee though, who pulled the guardians together though.

"Guardians, retreat!" Taranee bellowed telepathically. But as Irma, Taranee and Hay Lin retreated to a sewer, they were surrounded by Phobos's troops. Hay Lin turned to her friends Irma and Taranee and said something. Will couldn't hear her at this distance, but she imagined Hay Lin was telling the others that she'd cover their retreat, then join them. Then Will felt it for the first time. Will's consciousness had partially woken up, but Will sent her back to sleep.

Turning to face Phobos's soldiers, she sent the closest ones flying back with tremendous force with the most powerful gust of wind she'd ever produced. But as she turned to rejoin her friends, Cedric fell on her and grabbed her by the wrists. . Taranee and Irma tried to reach her, but were forced back by yet more soldiers.

Will smiled. Revenge was very sweet indeed. That night, Phobos took her to his bed for the very first time and Will discovered that he was very good in THAT department.

End Flashback

Astral Drops flashback five

Will stepped forward and looked at Hay Lin, hanging in chains. Stripped naked, you could see the whip marks down her back, long streaks of gashes that would scar her for life. Mixed in with the gashes were burn marks where Cedric had branded Hay Lin with a red-hot poker. There were bruises on her face, chest and between her legs where Cedric had hurt her in particular while he raped her. A stream of blood ran down her hands and arms where her fingernails had been ripped out and her fingers were at unnatural angles, a result of Cedric's handiwork with a hammer.

"With Elyon gone, I can unleash on you, what I planned for your friend Taranee. And soon, she'll be in my clutches as well." Cedric gloated to Hay Lin with an evil smile on his face.

"Hay, Hay, just tell us what we want to know and you can join us in luxury in the palace." Will said in a calm voice.

Hay Lin looked at Will with a look of pure defeat in her eyes.

"Come closer." She whispered hoarsely. Will grinned inwardly, believing that Hay Lin has finally broken. Will stepped forward, determined not to miss a single word.

"Closer." Hay Lin whispers and Will puts her ear next to Hay Lin's mouth. Suddenly Will felt a sharp pain in her ear as Hay Lin bit down as hard as she could. Yelling in pain, Will pulled herself away hard as Hay Lin was beaten back by the guards.

"Unlike you, some of us know what loyalty is!" Hay Lin screamed at Will. Turning away in disgust, Will walked away. Turning to Cedric on her way out of the dungeon, Will said to him in a cold voice.

"Do whatever you deem necessary to break her, but make sure she lives, I want her to suffer."

As Will left the dungeon, Hay Lin began to scream once more as Cedric started to put her through a fresh round of torture. But Hay Lin didn't break, she never did.

End flashback

Astral drop flashback six

Candracar. Will stood in its halls once more, but not as a prisoner. No she stood as a victorious conqueror. The body of the Oracle lay firmly at her feet and the council shattered. Taranee and Irma had fought hard and so had the council, but ultimately they were no match for the combined powers of Phobos and Will. The Heart of Candracar had allowed them to reach Candracar and had shielded them from the council's defences.

Phobos then lead his troops into Candracar, the powers stolen from his sister being used to devastating effect against the council members, who fought hard to stop him.

It wasn't all one sided though. Yan Lin left Cedric half-dead from a thorough attack of the winds. Apparently, she'd seen what Cedric had inflicted on her beloved granddaughter and wanted to make sure he never hurt anyone again. It was only because Phobos blasted her away with a massive blast of magical energy, that Cedric was still alive at all.

Frost, on the other hand, was far less lucky. He'd stepped in to stop the deadly whirlwind that was Luba from killing any more of his troops. Frost charged at Luba, atop his stead Crimson, determined to run her down. Luba, however, didn't stand there obligingly. Leaping into the air, Luba sent a flying kick into Frost's chin, sending him sprawling to the ground. Before he could even pick himself up, Luba's sword swung through his throat so fast, it was practically a blur. Ultimately though, she was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of troops Phobos brought along with him and she too died defending Candracar.

It was the Oracle who gave them the most trouble. Together, with a group of other council members, he held them back with a truly powerful shield that the troops could not penetrate, while Taranee and Irma blasted troops back with fire and water. But unlike before, where they'd held back from fatal shots, this time they were shooting to kill.

It wasn't until Will forcibly absorbed the remaining Aurameres (Taranee and Irma had already absorbed theirs) that they were able to break through, killing the Oracle with the feedback. Taranee, Irma and a handful of others were able to escape to Earth, while those left behind, died where they stood.

"Not to worry my love, they will not last long against us when we conquer Earth." Phobos whispered in Will's ear. Sliding his hands up the back of her top, he began kissing her neck in an erotic fashion. She started to return his kisses, removing his clothing as well. And in the halls of Candracar, they made love to each other.

End flashback

Astral Drops flashback seven

Will felt a tingle in her magic as Irma and Taranee slipped into her magical detection grid.

"They're here!" She whispered to Phobos,

Taking a contingent of troops with her (more for Phobos's reassurance than any real need.) she attacked Taranee and Irma's little group. Irma's group is firing at Will's troops, keep their heads down, while Irma and Taranee lead their troops back to where they came through. One archer is able to get a shot at Irma as she retreats and the arrow hits her in the shoulder. None of the others who are with her notice that she's not with them anymore.

Will walked forward to Irma and looks down at her. Irma's in some kind of military getup and Will feels Will's consciousness partially awaken once more. Summoning forth the Heart of Candracar, Will unleashes a blast of pink magic and vaporises Irma on the spot. She can feel the Hearts unhappiness at being used by her, but she's determined to hold onto it.

End Flashback

Astral drops flashback eight

Will walks into the dungeon and turns to face Hay Lin.

"My dear Hay Lin" Will begins in a mockingly friendly

voice "I have some good news for you."

"You've decided to kill Phobos?" Hay Lin asked sarcastically.

Will shook her head. "Why would I do something like that?" she asks, sarcasm dripping from her every word. "No, your friends have attempted to rescue you. I think you'll enjoy seeing how it turned out." And without further ado, Will projected onto the nearby wall what had happened. When it was finished, Will turned towards her former friend and smiled cruelly. "Perhaps you'll reconsider your resistance now?"

Hay Lin spat in Will's face.

"Go to hell bitch." Hay Lin whispered, but her words came out with such power that Will practically recoiled from them.

Astral Drops flashback nine

Will looks out over her kingdom into the setting sun. It's a quiet, peaceful scene and it's helping Will to think about what Phobos is asking of her. It's been ten years since the fall of the old guardians and still there is resistance to Phobos across the worlds. On Earth, Britain stands alone against them, protected by King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. In turn, they provide support to the few rebel groups around the world.

The door opens and Will hears a man step in. She knows, without even turning around, that it's Phobos and suddenly she knows what her answer will be. She turns to face him.

"Yes, yes I will!" Will tells Phobos enthusiastically, a smile lighting up her face. "Yes, I think we should try for a baby!" And for the first time, they don't use contraceptive magic during their lovemaking.

End Flashback

The memories continue to flood Will and her mind boggles at the sheer volume of memories. Eventually though, they finally run out.

Will turns and looks at her two friends, Taranee and Hay Lin. Hay Lin's cage has been busted open and Hay Lin is suddenly a beautiful young woman in her old guardian costume.

"What the hell just happened there?" Taranee asked Will with a calm voice that defies her posture. A fireball is sitting in Taranee's hand, pointed firmly at Will, while Hay Lin's hands are glowing purple with magic. Both of them look like they want to kill Will and to be honest, Will can't blame them. Realising that she needs them to trust her, Will pulled forth the Heart of Candracar and put it in Hay Lin's hands.

"Taranee" Will began "I need you to open a telepathic link with us." Putting her hand up to forestall Taranee's objections. "Hay Lin can keep an eye on you, make sure I don't do anything to you, and you can act as a protective barrier between me and Hay Lin, I know you can do that."

Taranee nodded. Let's get one thing straight though. If it hadn't been for that little display just now and the fact that you gave the Heart to Hay Lin just now, I wouldn't be doing this." She growled angrily.

Will nodded and felt a slight tingle as Taranee established a link that hadn't been used in ten years. With the link in place, Will began to transmit the important memories down the link and prayed that they would believe her.

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Eric, Alchemie, Sarah and Thomas had met up and were almost at Taranee's position, when suddenly Cedric came round the corner with a group of soldiers at his back. On his return to Meridian, he'd had a hunch that trouble was brewing in the dungeons and Cedric had learnt to trust his hunches.

There was a momentary pause, as both groups looked at each other in a kind of numb shock. Then the firefight started.

"We've been discovered!" Eric transmitted to Taranee telepathically.

"Retreat, I've got Hay Lin, we can finish the job!" Taranee ordered in reply. Eric nodded mentally and passed on her orders to the others. Blasting a hole in the ceiling, Eric led the Phoenix commandos out across Meridian and back to the portal home, not caring if they were seen or not.

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Taranee looked at Will curiously. If the memories she'd seen were true, then Will hadn't betrayed them and Taranee had incinerated the real traitor. The trouble is, Taranee reminded herself, she wasn't sure if they were and Taranee wasn't prepared to take that risk.

"I have a way to destroy Phobos once and for all." Will told Taranee and Hay Lin firmly. "But I need you to get away from here." Will turned and a tear ran down her cheek. "There won't be a Meridian left after this." And she felt sick to her stomach at what she was proposing to do and the people that would die. People that she'd fought to free, people she'd let down and people who'd fought Phobos for longer than anyone else.

Taranee shook her head. "Sorry Will, I don't trust you enough to just take your word. If what you've told us is true, I can forgive you." Taranee turned her face away, a bitter look in her eyes.

"I agree with T here." Hay Lin added. "Last time we trusted you, we lost friends and I spent ten years in a living hell. Much as I'd love to believe you, you've fooled us before, you may well be trying to fool us again."

Will let out a sigh of frustration, Will threw her hands into the air. "But…" Will began, but Taranee cut her off with a wave of her hand.

"No arguments, I'm coming with you." Taranee said in a tone that would brook no argument.

"Count me in as well. I owe Cedric some serious payback for what he did to me." Hay Lin added, with a nasty glint in her eyes. "Besides, what kind of friends would we be if we let you do this alone?"

And despite everything that had happened, despite what she was going to do, Will felt a brief surge of happiness and love for her friends and she almost broke down into tears at her friends loyalty and trust in her, despite all that she'd done.

"Very well, we go together." Will said, with a small smile forming on her face.

AN: Phew, that was a hugely difficult chapter to do, hope I got it right. As the next chapter should be the final chapter, I'm putting up a poll as to which W.I.T.C.H fic I should put up next.

The first idea is called Dark Mirror. Basically it involves Hay Lin fighting an evil version of W.I.T.C.H during the Nerissa saga in the comics.

The second idea is a D&D/W.I.T.C.H crossover about a young drow who is adopted by Susan Vandom towards the end of the elven wars between the surface alliance (The moon elves, humans and dwarves) and the drow. Twenty years after the peace treaty was signed, an elven prince, Prince Phobos is determined to restart the war and only the young drow and her dragon can stop him.

As always please R&R.