Don't own W.I.T.C.H, never will.

Set on the TV series, after season two.

Thank you XV-Dragon, cartoonloverfan101, GxYu5598 and Rain on Roses for reviewing so far.

Enjoy!

Echoes of Our Worlds

Chapter Eleven

"GUARDIANS UNITE!" Will felt the hearts power flowing out, five thick coloured bands connecting the guardians.

A light blue band reached out to Iva, catching her as she fell away and spinning her, catching herself in her guardian form, pink, long sleeved top with short green shorts and alternating purple and green striped tights that clashed with her spiky blue hair. She yelled out amid the rush.

"Ice!"

A brick red band reached out to where Laura lay, lifting her up and changing her to her guardian form, a short sleeveless pink top coupled with pink trousers, which revealed an ugly purple scar stretching across her stomach. But still she remained strong, catching herself in a fighting stance; fists clenched with a thick red glow forming around them. She shouted out, an unseen anger rolling in her normally quiet voice.

"Lava!"

A pale yellow band snaked towards Dee, crashing through the pipes before lifting her clear, and spinning her into her guardian form- a long flowing green skirt coupled with a pink top and a green scarf. She paused holding her fist clenched in front of her before letting what looked like sand pour out of it, only whispering her power though it was heard as clearly as the others.

"Dust…"

A sludge coloured band dove towards the skip Lizzie had landed in, surrounding her and changing her into guardian form- purple and green leggings with a green top. Thick balls of mud formed around her clenched wrists and she yelled out.

"Swamp!"

Will was so stunned by the others transformations she barely noticed her own 'til she found herself shouting.

"Quintessence!"

The glow of the heart faded and one by one they landed in the centre of the yard. No one needed to point out that the hag had gone.

The Hag lay on all fours back in her cave. How?! How had it gone so wrong? Everything was so mixed, the red haired one here. That gave the guardians power. If only they'd kept their interfering noses out! The Hag leapt up with a growl.

"I should have taken the Heart when I could. Then there wouldn't be any more interference after the Oracle." The Hag yelled, sending out a jet of magic that crashed into the wall, creating a spider's web of cracks. She stood there gazing at the cracks then at the machine. She sent a second bolt into the machine, sending bits flying. She stumbled back as one piece bounced off a quickly constructed shield. She paused, calming down. She did not need to make any more mistakes, and she wandered over to the machine and started to repair some of the damage, wrestling off deformed limbs, and replacing them with polished new ones. She kept quiet whilst she worked, but slowly a plan formed in her head.

She took a couple of steps back, review the machine, and the plan. A smirk crawled onto her face, widening into a crevasse that let out a sharp cackle that mutated and charged round the cavern, a chilling sound that surprised even the Hag, but only for a moment. She smiled to herself. Maybe it was best that those mistakes had occurred. It would take a while, but those witches would regret crossing the Hag. There was a good phrase that would cover what she planned; she frowned as she tried to sift through all her memories of years ago when she lived on Meridian.

She turned and with a quick burst of magic scrawled something onto the cave wall.

12 birds with one stone.

She glanced around her.

"Not quite a stone but who'll stop me?"

Back at the construction site they all stood in guardian form, looking at each other. Will looked at Iva, Laura, Dee and Lizzie in turn, and they all looked at her, with an awkward silence growing between them. Dee plucked up the courage to speak first.

"What's Quintessence?" Will looked at Dee in surprise, before answering with a question of her own.

"Why aren't your powers plain elements, and why don't you know about quintessence?" Will sighed. "Never mind that for the moment, you're lucky I came across the Heart when I did. How'd you even drop it?"

They all looked at Iva. She shuffled a bit, clearly nervous.

"When I had the Heart at first, it was fine. I put it in the pack; it'd stay in the pack. But then after… Sorry Will, in Meridian we touched you with the Heart- We had to see what you were."

"And?"

"We saw you in guardian form, a leader and one who was stronger than Sarah. To be honest we were a bit scared."

"What?!" Will exclaimed. Iva fell silent, staring at the ground, so Lizzie spoke up.

"Will, you got to think about it from our point of view: A new guardian, someone we don't know and who could so easily take control of us, and not necessarily for good either- We were scared, so we kept you closely guarded. And we kept you away from the Heart." Will nodded. She'd done the same.

"But after Meridian," Iva continued "The Heart was drawn to you, like it knew you were the leader. That's how I knew you were hiding in that classroom. Anyway although it had been acting weird, it hadn't tried to escape before. It caught me off guard."

They paused for a moment, and then Dee spoke up.

"Well I know you said it was lucky you found the Heart, but it might not be. How'd you get out the apartment?"

"The door was unlocked and I needed a walk."

"Even though I locked it. Where were you going?"

"Anywhere really, I was just exploring when I found it." Dee looked at Will pointedly. "Oh. Err; you guys should have it back." Will reached for the Heart.

"No." They said in unison before Lizzie continued. "Will, you should look after it, as leader. Just, please don't go psycho on us." Will smiled.

"Ok, then- But I doubt I'd go psycho."

"Yea, she just saved ours butts and she hates the Hag too." Iva put in. Will looked at her in surprise, and she smiled.

"Yep we all hate the Hag." Dee quipped.

"It's starting to sound like a club." Laura moaned.

"Had problems with some old sorceress ruining your lives? Need a place to vent your anger? Have you suffered thanks to the Hag? Join We all Hate the Hag today and get a free pen!" Lizzie held her serious face for barley a moment before they all burst out laughing. "Ok guys come on. It's late and we need to get back. We can stop off round the pizza place one the way." They all agreed and started the long walk back to the apartment, before Will stopped.

"Guys," the others turned around "We're still in guardian form, couldn't we fly?"

They looked at each other sheepishly before taking off and continuing towards the flats, at a much faster pace, Laura peeling off to get the pizza and Lizzie taking a quick detour to the bottom of the lake in the park, returning with a cooler box of pop. Watching the other guardians dive through the window, Will suddenly thought of something.

"Guys…"

A loud shriek came from inside, and Will dove in.