I DON'T OWN W.I.T.C.H!

HEART OF EARTH:

CHAPTER ELEVEN: STOP THE PRESSES:

"How could you let the guard Vathek escape?! He'll reveal our search for Princess Elyon to the rebels, making it that much harder!" Eris ran her fingers through her hair. "We must prepare for her transfer now!" Lady Iquen knelt before her. "Then it is time for the Ritual of Amalgamation. To weaken your daughter's resistance, you shall have the three items soon."

Elyon sighed, throwing the school paper aside. "Is our school paper totally lame?"

"What's more than totally?"

"'Teacher parks too close to fire hydrant-almost.'"

"'Wheat rolls in cafeteria-the untold story.'"

"And the photos! Look at this picture of a wheat roll!"

"Um, I think that's a teacher. Mr. Collins, maybe?" Taranee grinned, getting an idea. "Oh, Irma! Why don't we see if we can help them out on the paper?" Irma rolled her eyes. "Thanks, but I think I'd rather be stung by bees." Cornelia examined the paper. "Speaking of pictures, how about the ones of me?"

"There aren't any."

"Exactly! They call this a paper?" She cringed as Mr. Collins walked over. "H-Hey, Mr. Colliins! Nice newspaper!" He grinned. "You think so? I'm the staff supervisor, you know!" Hay Lin grinned. "Oh, we love it at the restaurant for wrapping fish guts!" Mr. Collins stared at her. "Well, I had only five students on it, and the editor quit, so we're down to four. I don't suppose any of you-" When he looked up, all the girls had tried to run except an extremely eager Taranee. "Taranee and Irma, consider yourselves the paper's new editors!"

Taranee grinned. "Sweet!" Irma slumped to the ground in disbelief. "Evenings and weekends at school. Okay. Could it get any worse?" She looked up to see Martin. "Greetings, Madam Boss! Now we can be together all the time."

"I rest my case."

"Journalism's more than just what happened! It's why! Isn't getting to the truth why we joined the school paper?"

"We wanted to write about clothes!" Uriah tossed a wadded-up piece of paper into the trash. "I got detention. It was this or clean toilets!" Irma looked over at him. "Is that job still open?"

"We need to put out a paper that matters! No more silly stuff about wheat rolls! Real stories that really matter!" Martin cheered, and Taranee continued. "Research, facts-checking!"

"I hear you, sister!"

"Let's get to the truth, people!"

"Hallelujah! I'll do it!" Irma groaned. "News flash: I hate my life."

Elyon frowned. "I don't get it. Why would someone break into my locker, and then take my hairbrush and a math test I made a perfect score on?" Cornelia grabbed Will's sleeve. "It's gotta be Phobos! We have to warn her!"

"We're not even sure this has anything to do with him!"

Iquen knelt before Eris, holding the hairbrush and math test. "Representations of the princess: her mind and body."

"Excellent. And her spirit?"

"I shall get the last sample by tomorrow, before the sun sets."

Yan Lin paced back and forth. "It is beginning. Phobos is preparing for the Ritual of Amalgamation. Hair for body; perfect test for her mind. Spirit is hardest. He must capture her breath."

"Well, if this creature thinks he's even getting that close to her, just him try." Caleb accidentally broke a lamp, and Yan Lin gasped. "Uh, okay. That's five lamps I owe you."

"Once he's performed the Ritual, a part of her is already in Meridian. Her resistance to his emissary's appeals will weaken." Cornelia looked at the others. "That's why Elyon needs to know!"

"Cornelia, if we tell her, she either won't believe us, or she'll believe us and totally freak! How does that help her?" Hay Lin got out the map of the portals. "Someone needs to keep an eye on her! Someone who doesn't go to school, or work, or have anything important to do!" They all turned to look at Blunk.

"Blunk do stakeout! Nail suspect! Report H.Q! All for low fee!" Hay Lin tossed him a donut. "Blunk on case!"

"Oh, yeah! You wouldn't let me warn her, but you're letting the wonder-frog watch her!" Yan Lin sighed. "Cornelia, you must respect Will's instincts." The Heart revealed a portal just then. "New portal! It's in the school!"

"Phobos is shaping the Veil so all the holes in it are near his sister."

"Taranee and Irma are at the school right now!"

"Okay, okay. This is really big. Greta Morano wore her blue plaid skirt twice this week!" Taranee sighed. "Okay, that's not exactly a school story." Irma groaned. "Oh, forget it and let's go!" She looked up when she heard a noise. "What was that?"

"Well, Martin said he wasn't coming in until he had a huge story, which means he's in the cafeteria, and that was probably him knocking over all the pans."

Martin clamped his hand over his mouth to keep from screaming when he saw a freaky-looking creature. "A good reporter stays calm." He got up to take a picture, but nothing was there. He jumped when he heard noises, then lept up onto the table, taking photos.

Martin burst into the room. "An exclusive story! School ghosts! Photos to come!" Taranee rolled her eyes. "Martin, I told you. That's called air-conditioning!"

"Oh, no! I saw it this time! Uh...well, I didn't see it, but I saw what it did, or what it done. You'll see!" Taranee and Irma looked at each other as he ran out of the room.

Will, Cornelia, Hay Lin and Caleb stood in front of the open portal and Will was about to close it when Caleb stopped her. "Wait! Don't close the portal!" He looked around. "Purple slime. That could only come from one thing. A Hermeneuta beast!" Hay Lin wrinkled her nose. "I'm afraid to ask."

"Maybe it went back in. Maybe it got scared, or-" They yelled as trashcans got knocked over behind them by an unseen force. "-Or maybe not." Just then, Caleb was knocked off his feet. "I didn't see anything."

"When it's upset, it becomes invisible." Will got knocked over. "You can only see it when it's calm! Don't move!" Eventually, the Hermenteua beast calmed down, showing itself. Cornelia stared at it. "That's what did all this?"

"It's a juvenile." Hay Lin gasped. "Can we keep it?"

"Oh, sure! Let's be Guardians of the Veil and raise a wild slimy invisible pig!" Hay Lin got knocked over, and was riding the Hermeneuta beast backwards, and it threw her off into the wall. "Bad pig!"

"Guardians unite!" Hay Lin walked over to it. "Okay, easy now." She laughed nervously, and it disappeared. Hay Lin gasped. Cornelia used some bricks as a wall, and the beast smashed into it.

"This is fun! How do we close the portal?" They looked over to see Caleb being knocked around by the beast. "Let go of my leg!"

"Leave him alone, you slime-ball!" Will and Cornelia tried to drag the beast off of Caleb, but they were the ones getting pulled around. Then the beast took off, and they went after it. "Ugh! Who left the door open?!" Will sighed as they entered the hallway, seeing a long trail of purple slime. "Get the mops."

The next morning, Martin stood in front of the class, regaling them with his "ghost adventures". "Ghost to the left of me, ghost to the right! I fought, but I was outnumbered! Then one lifted a desk!"

"Uh, last time, you said a chair."

"Uh..it was one of those desk-chair things a lot of schools are using now, okay? Please! Hold your questions until the end!" The teacher cut him off. "As fascinating as this is, let's get back to studying geography, not ghosts." Hay Lin looked over at Taranee. "Caleb watched the school all night. Nothing! I guess even a crazy destructo-pig has to sleep!" Just then, they all heard a noise, and looked out into the hallway, and gasped, seeing the slime everywhere.

Martin grinned, grabbing his camera. "Ectoplasma! Sorry, teach, geography takes a backseat to people's right to know the truth!" He took off, and they all stared after him.

Eris turned to Iquen. "You will follow the princess, capture her, and steal her breath."

"I have captured her friendship. Now her spirit she will willingly give me."

"Yes, yes, but quickly!"

Everyone exclaimed in disgust to the slime-filled hallways. Irma strolled over to the other girls. "So far, Martin has nothing. And what he says, nobody believes."

"Good thing he's unpopular."

"We've gotta get that thing back home, but we can't let anyone see us do it as the Guardians." Martin walked over. "Martin? What's with the sleeping bag?"

"Oh, I'm staking out this joint! Day and night!"

That night, Will, Hay Lin, Cornelia and Caleb sat around a table at the Silver Dragon. "Guys, we have to get that portal closed. That's our job as Guardians."

"Not before we get the Hermeneuta beast back in."

"Then we have to do it tonight. It's time for W.I.T.C.H!" Will sighed, looking over at Hay Lin. "Did you forget about Martin? He's sleeping there to get his big scoop."

"Oh, and he's stubborn! Nothing could get him to leave the school!" Cornelia smirked. "Actually, I can think of one thing that might."

"No! I won't do it! Forget it!" The other girls laughed as Cornelia held out a coat, and Caleb stood scowling in the background. She sighed. "Hand me the stupid lip gloss." Cornelia put the coat on her. "Remember, you have to keep Martin away the whole evening. He can't see us as W.I.T.C.H."

"I'm going, I'm going! I'm going!" Caleb watched her leave, a scowl on his face, and Cornelia smirked. "You're not jealous, are you?" He stormed off.

Irma walked into the room Martin was in, a grimace on her face. "My, my, my! Don't we look lovely! By we, I mean you." Irma groaned. "Note to self: Kill Cornelia when this is over."

"What's up?"

She jimmied the handle. "Uh, Martin, well...would you like to-Oh, let me try the door again!" The girls had locked her in. "Would you like to...go...out?" Her shoulders slumped in defeat. Martin's eyes lit up. "You mean...a date?"

"No, no, no, definitely not a date."

"Oh, if it's not a date, I gotta stay here and catch this ghost." She groaned. "All right, it's a stupid date!" He lept up out of his chair. "WOW! LET'S GO!" He dragged her screaming out the door just as the girls unlocked it. "This will be the best evening I've ever had! I'll take a lot of pictures!"

Will turned to the others. "It's Guardian time."

Blunk spied on Elyon in her bedroom with binoculars. "So, little passling." He yelped when he saw Yan Lin. "Elyon go school, then go home, then Blunk see scary strange person."

"Yes?"

"Reflection Blunk in window." Yan Lin sighed. "Phobos does not have her breath. At least...not yet."

"We got it into the hallway, now chase it into one of those nets! Go!" They sped after the beast, and it got caught in a net. "We did it!"

"Now we drop it in the portal, I close it up-"

"And we're home in time to shower."

"Oh, I'll kinda miss the little guy." They whirled around to hear see an adult Hermeneuta beast behind them. "Apparently, so did its mother."

The beast charged at them. "Okay, it's mad." Taranee sent fireballs at it, and it threw Hay Lin into a wall. "Okay. Any guesses?" Will got knocked over. "Will!" The juvenile got free, and the mother charged after it.

"I never thought I'd say this, but I envy Irma."

Irma sat next to Martin in Iquen's store, bored out of her mind, and Elyon walked over. "Hey, Elyon! What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I help out in the store sometimes."

"How 'bout you?"

"Oh, me? I'm just here, because you see, the thing is-"

"-We're dating!"

"Oh, no we are not!"

"Oh, then I'd better get back to school." She grimaced, finally losing it. "Okay, we're dating!" Iquen looked over, and smirked, walking over to Elyon, who had just finished her soda. "Elyon, let me throw that away for you."

"Thanks, Sarah, but I've got it." She crushed the soda can, and tossed it in the garbage as Iquen scowled.

"Okay, have we got it cornered, or has it got us cornered?" Caleb skidded on some slime, landing right in front of Mommy Beast. Cornelia threw a desk at the beast, and it ran out the door. "Guys, even if we catch the mom, what do we hold her in?" Cornelia smiled. "We don't need to catch her! She follows the baby! And baby's hungry!"

They stretched a net over the door to the kitchen as Taranee "cooked" some meat. "Okay, this is it!"

"Oh, that smells so good! I didn't have dinner."

"Shh! Or you'll be dinner!" The baby charged into the net, and they caught it. Hay Lin took a bite out of the meat. "Listen, you guys! He wants his mommy!"

"Yeah? Well, they can have a dysfunctional family reunion on the other side." The mother entered. "Okay. Now for the tricky part." The mother charged, and they flew to the portal, tossing the baby through, and the mother followed, and Will closed the portal, changing them back.

"So, is anyone else hungry?"

"I need a hot bath!"

"I need to forget that ever happened. But my readers won't when they see this."

"So, was the night as magical for you as it was for me?"

"Honestly? I've had...worse nights."

"Really?" He dropped his ice cream as she kissed him on the cheek, then promptly passed out. Irma gagged as she walked away. "Note to self: DEFINITELY kill Cornelia."

"The time grows short." Iquen looked up at Eris. "I shall have her breath by tomorrow. Count on it."

Everyone groaned in disgust the next morning at the slimy hallways. Uriah backed out of a room. "Martin, in here, quick! A purple ghost!" Martin ran into the room, followed by the teacher. "No! Just Martin!" They skidded on a bucket of paint placed over the door. "Oh, man!" Everyone burst into laughter, and Uriah winced as Martin and the teacher approached him. "You set this whole thing up, you-you cad! Uh, pardon my languages, ladies."

"I didn't! I mean, not the other stuff! Just this!"

"We should've known Uriah was behind the whole thing!" Taranee grinned. "Well, that's our story! Someone call a janitor! And one day, Irma, the world may know the dating sacrifice you made." Irma glared at her. "Or not."

Elyon sighed. "I'm always kinda sad after it rains." Iquen smiled. "I know what you mean."

"I don't know how anyone could believe in this stuff. Magic, monsters, evil creatures? Please."

"People are such a strange species."

"Yeah. Like, Cornelia's supposed to be my best friend, but last night when I called, her mom said she went out with the other girls! I mean, she didn't even invite me!"

"One day, there will be those who really understand you." Iquen started digging around in a box.

"Well, I think you do."

"I'm so pleased you feel that way." She retrieved a un-inflated balloon. "Balloons would be a nice touch for the window display. Do you mind?" She took the balloon, blowing into it, then tying it off. "There's always a nice sunset after the rain."

Miranda burst into the cave. "We're too late. Eris has completed the Ritual."